Downfall And Rise

by Nathan Thompson

  Now, then. Freedom. I went back to counting how long I had until one of them came for me.

  Beat...Beat...Beat…

  Should be right about...now.

  “Ugh,” a voice came down from the hall. “I can't believe they want me to shred this brat so early on a Friday.”

  “Why are they doing it at all?” Another man's voice whined. “It's not like he's really a loose end. Just leave him down there to starve.”

  Two of them. Crap.

  Was Chris wrong? Did these people finally grow a brain, at the worst time possible?

  “Mr. Rhodes' boogey man said we won't get any new toys until he's dead. And it wants the kid's head in a way that he can preserve it.”

  “Why the head?”

  “Present for the thing's run-away girlfriend. At least that's what people heard it say.”

  “Hah!” the second voice laughed. “Now that is twisted.”

  There was approval in the second man's voice.

  Because of course there was.

  “Do me a favor,” The second man continued. “Swing by with the head before you drop it off. Shepherd wants me to train the kids for a new confession.”

  “All three at once?” The first voice continued. “Don't they break easier if you do it one by one?”

  “Not at this point.” The second voice snorted. “That only mattered back when they thought someone would come to save them. This way it's just faster.”

  “What are you going to do if they don't confess, that you weren't going to do anyway?”

  “Leave the head with them for an hour.”

  “Ha!”

  The conversation continued for another five minutes. I stopped paying attention to what they were saying because I didn't need anymore incentive to kick their asses and I didn't want my vision to get any redder. Then the second maggot finally said what I was hoping he'd say:

  “Well I'm going to go get the tools. Swing by when you're done. The natives are taking a while to break and I don't have time to go through them all on my own.”

  “Have you figured out how they keep healing?”

  “Hell if I know. Even we're not supposed to heal that fast.”

  “Either way, we've gotta figure out how to break them or management will have our asses. I'll see you in a bit.” The second voice walked off.

  I heard the first man sigh by the door. I stopped counting my heartbeats and got ready.

  I had recognized the first voice too. He had been there for a couple of my deaths. Maybe more, because most of me had gone to my quiet place by the end. But I had retained enough awareness to loosely measure how powerful he was.

  Rhodes' people had grown powerful quickly here. By now they could have probably competed with my strength back when I fought them earlier. And I could tell it hadn't taken them nearly as much effort and focus. But there was an... off-ness to them. Like they weren't fully confident in the bodies they had here. I didn't know why.

  But as soon as the man opening the door came close enough, I was going to use the one shot I had to take full advantage of it.

  The door opened loudly.

  “Rise and shine, princess,” The man laughed as he walked in.

  It was hard not to hold my breath, but I kept my pattern going until I heard the door close behind him. Then I fought the urge to sigh in relief.

  He was still talking, but I ignored him.

  I had gotten everything I wanted. Now I needed him to keep coming closer.

  If he did that, I had him.

  One footstep. Two footsteps. Three footsteps.

  “Hey! I'm talking to you cripple-head!”

  Sigh. Of course you are.

  “I had to get up an hour early today just to haul your crippled ass to the incinerator! You got anything to say about that?”

  Maybe he's drunk, I decided. Not entirely stupid. Just drunk.

  Could we even get drunk on Avalon? Or does it depend on which body comes here?

  Save it, I told myself. He's walking again.

  Four footsteps. Five footsteps. Six footsteps.

  “Alright, whatever. It's your last death. If you want to just curl up in a ball that's your choice.”

  Seven steps. Eight steps.

  “But I'll make you a deal. If you can be aware enough to beg, one last time, I'll make it quick. It'll take ten seconds tops for you to bleed out. Then you're gone for good. Promise.”

  I shifted slightly at that. Just enough to where he could wonder if I understood him. I heard him grunt in curiosity, then I heard him walk closer again.

  Nine footsteps. Ten footsteps.

  I was facing away from him. Since he needed to remove my head anyway, I knew he had to lean over me to reach it.

  I heard him shift. I counted two more heartbeats.

  Beat...Beat…

  Then…

  Push.

  I felt my pain scream at me one last time, and then it winked out. Power and memory rushed through all of my limbs, shaking me greater than it had during my first Rise.

  Something in my previous deaths had stripped my powers away from me. Or maybe it was one of the tests they had done to me. I didn't know. But they took it to be the final nail in my coffin. I even remembered that some of them taunted me with it, reminding me that I was a cripple again, and that I'd that way.

  I had nearly lost it then and there. Because I had wanted to laugh.

  Outside of Earth, people grow by overcoming Challenges. Big ones, little ones, it doesn't matter. Every little triumph throughout the day helps, even if it's only a little bit.

  That might have been the thing that kept me sane. The knowledge that the one thing they were constantly piling on me wasn't deaths, wasn't torture, wasn't pain, wasn't humiliations.

  It was Challenges to overcome.

  They didn't realize that they were trying to maim me by smothering me in opportunities for more power.

  They had piled so much that if I took it all in at once I might explode.

  So I tried to control my inhalation of that power, and perform something called a half-Rise.

  Bringing myself to the state I was when Stell had done her first assessment of me.

  I wasn't sure what the results would be. But I knew it would at the very least bring me back to my beginning capabilities.

  I was wrong.

  I felt myself lift up into the air as I pushed off the ground, exerting at least twice the amount of force I had intended to. For a half second I was an awkward, flailing mess off the ground, nearly colliding into my executioner, but then I recovered enough to get my bearings.

  My sudden power had surprised me briefly. It had surprised my would-be murderer for far longer.

  I got my bearings enough to whirl and face him. He was a tall man, built much like the ones I had fought at the beginning, large and overly muscular. Scars and tattoos covered most of his face and forearms, and he had black eyes and a shock of black hair. He had the silvery short sword I had gotten from the Horde pit in his right hand, apparently to kill me with my own weapon.

  That was all I needed to know. I launched a kick into his stomach, pulling most of the power as I hit him. I didn't know what would happen if I hit him too hard. Either he'd die on the spot, slam into the wall hard enough to make a loud noise and raise the alarm, or survive the hit, recognize I was dangerous and raise the alarm on his own. But if he thought I just got a lucky hit that barely hurt him, he would take care of me personally. Because he was already ticked off and didn't want to be seen needing help to kill the famously weak cripple-head.

  My leg hit his stomach and knocked the air out with a whoosh. My foe was lifted off the ground and fell down on his hand and knees, barely holding onto his weapon. As he staggered on the ground for a second, I got my bearings again and became aware of the prompts in my brain.

  The Expanse has detected in new inhabitant of the seven worlds. Welcome to life, child of Avalon- ERROR

  Recognizing the newly formed awareness
of Earthborn Challenger Wes Malcolm. Welcome to Avalon, Challenger- ERROR.

  Inhabitant is displaying characteristics of both having an original body and being from Earth at the same time. Records also show that the inhabitant has Risen in the past, and therefore should have already attained awareness.

  Falling back on Starsown-configured protocols for error-detection…

  Resolution accepted. Earthborn Challenger has somehow managed to bring their primary body to Avalon.

  Challenger should be aware that gains will be different with Rising in their original body.

  Challenger's Saga is developing.

  I trembled. Data and knowledge were still flowing into my mind faster than I could take in.

  Focus, I told myself. Dangerous guy in front of me. Make him bloody and harmless.

  “How the hell?” the man wheezed as he tried to rise from the ground.

  I answered with another kick.

  This time I didn't hold back

  My foot slammed into his head with a loud crack and he went prone again. I felt his version of the vital guard trigger, diminishing the damage my blow would have done to him. A moment later I felt most of his vital guard give way, letting some of the trauma pass to his body. He let out a moan and tried to get up again.

  “Did you kill him?” I asked quietly.

  It was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake. If I didn't finish him off soon he'd call for help. I had no idea how strong I was right now and I didn't know how I compared to the rest of the guards here were.

  But I needed to know who had killed Dad.

  “Huh? What? Who? Where?”

  The would-be murdering idiot was being ungratefully uncooperative and was using his recent head injury as an excuse. I was not sympathetic. Especially since I knew just how much a kick to the head did and didn't limit a person.

  “Did you,” I enunciated. “Kill John Malcolm? Did you pull the trigger? Did you help hold him down?” I kept speaking slowly, walking closer to get ready to launch another kick. “Did you make his wife a widow? Did you make his daughter a half-orphan? Did you kill,” my voice rose “John Malcolm?”

  “What? No,” I heard him stammer.

  He was getting off of his knees now. Fear had moved into his eyes and was beginning to evict all the murderous arrogance right out of them.

  “Explain, 'no,'” I raised my voice again. “No, you didn't pull the trigger? No, you didn't make my mother a widow? No, you didn't murder the man who would give my sister away on her wedding? No, you didn't beat him a bunch like you did with me? No, you didn't stab him many times like you did with me? Tell me what your 'no' means! Tell me!”

  He fell on his back and began to scoot away from me. He had dropped my short sword at some point. Neither of us saw when.

  “I didn't pull the trigger! I didn't pull the trigger! It was a big team! I didn't even see who did!”

  “That's good to know,” I whispered, still walking towards him. “You just 'helped' kill him. Just like you probably 'helped' kill some of the locals here. Just like you probably 'helped' torture Val and Sam and Kayla. But now you're going to stop 'helping' everyone...”

  His hand went for his short sword. My foot went for his neck. It was a critical blow that completely overpowered his vital guard. I heard him gurgle as something in his throat stopped working. But it didn't change any of my short-term plans.

  I kicked him again. And again. Then I kept kicking him and decided that I would stop doing it just past the point where his vital guard fully expended and he died, or my anger abated enough to where something other than kicking him to death made sense.

  The former happened all too fast. He stopped breathing or moving, and his body became slightly translucent. Maybe that was how I had looked all those times where I died.

  But I was still angry. He was dead, Dad was still dead, and I didn't feel any different. Maybe that was because I hadn't killed him permanently. But I don't think so.

  Something inside of me was saying this was not the way back to myself and was begging me to listen to it.

  Maybe someday I would listen.

  But not today.

  Today was not about me.

  I knelt down picked up my old short sword. Then I looked at the handle Chris had given me. I had forgotten I had been holding it in my other hand. I stared at it for a moment longer, then I pressed down on its grip and touched it to the short sword in my other hand. Something flashed, and I felt my short sword disappear into the strange handle. I moved the item to my primary hand and focused in a way I couldn't explain. The strange handle shimmered, and my short sword was back in my primary hand, super-imposing somehow over the strange grip.

  Challenger's signature weapon discovered. Primary function (storage) discovered.

  The Order of Malus' Invasion has been resisted by another world-traveler, who has slain a projected body of their faction.

  The Cosmic Council has witnessed the slaying, and hereby declares that Stellar War has begun once again.

  Challenger has enlisted in Stellar War by being the first of his faction to wage it.

  Challenger has embarked upon the Path of War.

  I shook my head at the number of prompts my mind-screen sent at me.

  “Avalon,” I whispered. “Can you hear me?”

  No answer. I looked around and realized that there wasn't any mist around me. I tried to remember that I was deep underground, and there could be a number of reasons why the planetary super-computer wasn't answering me. Next, I tried to look at my Traits and skills:

  Wes Malcolm

  Race: Human. Origin: Earth (Challenger)

  Growth Level: Half-Rise (Glint)

  Path: War (First Step)

  Saga: Forming

  Profession: Unknown

  Vital Pool: 250 points

  Stamina Pool: 250 points.

  Mana Pool: 220 points

  Strength: 17

  Dexterity: 17

  Constitution: 20

  Intelligence: 17

  Wisdom: 34

  Charisma: 15

  Speed: 21

  Deftness: 20

  Wits: 21

  Will: 42

  Rise Points Remaining: 12 (can increase the six primary traits at a 1:1 ratio, or the four secondary traits at a 1:2 ratio.

  Insight into the Following Ideals

  Earth: lvl 5

  Air: lvl 5

  Lightning: lvl 5

  Skill List truncated (New Skills still listed)

  Pain Tolerance Rank 5

  Mental Preservation Rank 6 (Initiate) (New Resistances Gained)

  Spell list truncated

  4 skill points available.

  Signature Spells have improved since last viewing.

  Spark Bolt's mana cost has decreased.

  Outer Circuit's activation time has decreased to instant.

  Bones of the Earth's activation time has decreased to instant.

  Earth Skin's activation time has decreased to instant.

  Wind Steps' activation time has decreased to instant.

  Wind Armor's activation time has decreased to instant.

  Further changes observed, but unidentified.

  For a second I didn't believe the information, until I tried to match it with what I felt. I did feel more powerful than when I first came here. That shouldn't have been the case, I thought. I had died over and over. All of my muscles should have probably suffered some form of long-term damage, but then again, that was in my projected body.

  I had wanted to laugh when I realized that. Of course. That was part of the deal Stell talked about. I got to keep part of what I gained, not lost, here in Avalon and the other worlds. That was by design, because Stell or whoever had designed the system wanted the Challengers to be rewarded, not punished, for facing all sorts of desperate scenarios on other worlds.

  This wasn't Earth.

  This wasn't a place that aimed to break a person every time they tried to do the right thing.


  So I still had working legs and arms. In fact, since this was my original body, they were finally working better than they ever had. I could hear Pain whining in the background, but it could no longer jump up and grab my limbs or brains.