Viridian Gate Online- Absolution

by N H Paxton

  The image of a great monstrosity, a two-headed beast with the heads of bears and the body of a lion, roared. It had fangs the size of a man’s arm that dripped with venom. A great serpent was attached to its back as its tail, and it folded a pair of enormous bat wings at its side.

  “The darkness within a heart can be fed with anger, rage, and sorrow, no matter the heart’s intentions.”

  The image shifted to the young Accipiter again, standing outside a manor, the sun setting behind him. He stood in front of a grave carved with the name Henryk of the Gatherers, the gravestone where his father presumably lay buried. His face went through a variety of emotions as he stared at the hills that the manor overlooked and at the grave in front of him.

  In the long shadows of the evening, a swirling arose, then changed and formed into a creature much like Mathias. Valstrine spun quickly, his spear in his hand with a flash.

  The shadowy creature held up a hand before Valstrine could strike, his body posture nonthreatening.

  They spoke for a while, Valstrine nodding along as the shade spoke.

  “You can have your father back,” the shade said.

  “None can bring back the dead,” Valstrine replied, his face falling.

  “What is darkness can return from the darkness,” the shade hissed, offering a hand to Valstrine.

  “Valstrine denied the shade at first, his conscience reminding him that one cannot trust the darkness, and how it corrupts hearts,” Mathias continued. “However, Valstrine’s father had been taken from him swiftly, and he was not prepared to give up on him.”

  Finally, the sun fell beyond the horizon, and everything was coated in shadow. The shade vanished, leaving only a sparking mote of darkness behind.

  “Knowing that there was a chance to bring his father back, Valstrine gave of himself in a great personal sacrifice.”

  Valstrine outstretched his hands toward the sparking mass of darkness, then recoiled. His face went through a series of terrible emotions: fear, hatred, sorrow. Eventually, he clenched his fists and reached out to the darkness again. This time, he didn’t recoil. He took slow, sure steps until he had grasped the mote of shadow.

  There was a moment of stillness, followed by tendrils launching out of the orb, covering Valstrine. He writhed against them, fighting hard, his face expressing terror and grief over what he had chosen.

  “And then comes the transformation.” Mathias’ voice was low, sorrowful. As though he had lived the life he was showing us.

  Valstrine’s body was covered in shadows, his wings rent from his body, his legs twisted backwards and bent like those of a goat demon from stories on Earth. His face was marred, elongated. It formed a long snout like a dog’s or coyote’s, and his body slumped over.

  Gone was the beauty that was the young Accipiter. What stood after the darkness had taken hold was something horrendous.

  “Valstrine’s sacrifice was his existence. Everything he was had been consumed by the shadow, taken from him by the force of a decision he hadn’t fully considered. His regret would weigh heavily on his soul for the rest of eternity.”

  An image of the Dark Collector appeared before us. He was kneeling in a garden that was obviously once beautiful, but all of the flowers were dead, the trees decaying and corrupted. Before him stood the grave of his father, the stone twisting and warping as it was corrupted by Valstrine’s darkness.

  The Dark Collector raised his hands toward the stone, straining for power, and chanted words that I could not make out. His face contorted and shifted as he poured everything he had into the desire to revive his father.

  After a few moments, his legs faltered and the power he had been pouring into the stone stopped. He fell to the ground, his face a mask of rage.

  He pounded at the dirt on the ground, dust kicking up in the cold moonlight.

  Then a hand exploded from beneath the dirt, rotten and decaying. It was almost skeletal, the finger bones sticking through the flesh.

  Slowly, a body dragged itself from the grave and shambled to a standing position in front of Valstrine. The hollow eyes of the skull looked at its body, and its mouth hung open in horror.

  “The father, not knowing what had occurred, stared hard at Valstrine, who was twisted and broken by the dark powers of corruption. He cursed him, swore at him for bringing him back to life here, when he was happy in the underworld with his wife,” Mathias said, the images shifting as the decaying remains of Henryk pointed boney fingers and slapped Valstrine across the face.

  “He demanded that Valstrine kill him and send him back to the underworld, where he could once again rest in peace,” Mathias continued.

  The image changed and Henryk had Valstrine by the throat, holding him in the air, a boney fist clenched to strike him in the face.

  Valstrine shifted one of his hands, a few of the talons on his clawed arm flicking through the air, and the body of Henryk collapsed into dust.

  “Valstrine discovered that the darkness does not offer true life, but only damnation. He wept bitter tears that night, knowing that he could never go back.” Mathias snapped his fingers, and the image zoomed out to Valstrine kneeling in the garden.

  “Agonized over the decision he had made and the loss he had incurred for the power he now wielded, the newly minted Dark Collector, sworn to the Gatherers, fled his old home and found The Dearth.”

  The image flickered and flared, replaced with a sky view of a towering citadel. A black meteor streaked across the sky toward it, slamming into the bell tower. The building shook but remained standing. A time lapse began, showing hundreds, then thousands of days passing, and the corruption spread from the inside of the citadel, burying it into the ground, killing the land around it.

  “Thus ended the age of Valstrine, of the House of Gatherers, and began the era of the Dark Collector. Having lost everything to the darkness, he began to horde everything in search of power. During this search, he found the power to summon and enslave shades, which he uses to do his work here within the dungeon. I am merely the most recent.” Mathias snapped his hand closed, the darkness around us fading.

  We were back in the cage, the runes blazing with power all around us. Ken was asleep, seated on the floor. Garret had his glasses on and a notebook out.

  “Wow, I really didn’t get Garret right at all, huh?” Mathias leaned against the cage.

  “No, but is fine. How I knew.” I nodded at Garret, then at Mathias.

  “That’s intense, dude.” Garret snapped his notebook closed and stood.

  “Why is Dark Collector having relics here?” I looked around the cavern to the piles of various things. “Why not deposit into Vault?”

  “Good question!” Mathias pointed at me. “He lost his key.”

  “Did I miss the movie?” Ken yawned hard, standing from the place he had been sitting. He stretched his arms over his head, then leaned over, eliciting a loud pop from his back.

  “Yeah, you missed it all.” Garret shook his head.

  “Now have background, but no tactical information.” I noticed that my HP was back to max, and the pains in my body had subsided.

  “Yeah, he’s not much of a weapon user anymore. He prefers to fight with his claws and his artifacts,” Mathias replied.

  “So, how do we fight this beast?” Ken asked.

  “I don’t really know, but you’re going to have to work hard and work together,” Mathias said.

  “Okay, so we have no additional information, and we just know that he’s a big monster with a hell of an appetite for artifacts.” Garret shook his head.

  “Basically,” Mathias agreed.

  “Ken, get us out of here. I have a monster to kill,” Garret said.

  “One unlocked door, coming up.” Ken slipped the Shatterproof Key out of his glove and slid it into the lock of the cage.

  “I’d offer, but I don’t have the key,” Mathias said as Ken worked the lock.

  “Just a little nudge here...” Ken stuck the edge of his tongue o
ut of his mouth as he worked the key in the lock. “And a quick twist there...”

  “Are you going to make love to it or open the door?” Garret joked.

  “And we’re good.” Ken’s hand slipped away from the door as the cage swung open with a creak.

  “Nicely done,” Mathias said with a slight smile.

  I stood carefully from the stone floor, making sure my legs were steady.

  Garret cocked his arm back and launched a haymaker at Mathias. The fighter’s fist slammed into the side of the shade’s face with a sickening crunch, knocking him to the floor.

  “Wow, that hurt.” Mathias stood up from the ground, holding the side of his face. His Health bar was reduced by nearly twenty percent.

  “Titan strength, bro,” Garret said as he dusted his hands off.

  “Feel better now?” Mathias asked.

  “Yeah, actually.” Garret nodded.

  “Great, will be plenty of time for fighting with Dark Collector,” I said, staring hard at the two of them.

  “I’m only not killing you because you’re in a shit situation. And we could really use a helping hand against Valstrine,” Garret said, walking past Mathias with his hand up.

  “Appreciated,” Mathias said.

  “So, how to free shade from bonds?” I asked, legitimately curious.

  “There are a couple choices. One is for me to die,” Mathias said without skipping a beat.

  “Can’t you just run?” Ken walked in a slow circle. He appeared rather bored.

  “The runes, you know, everywhere? They keep me bound to that bastard.” Mathias stabbed a finger at the ceiling of the cavern we were in.

  “And if we kill the Dark Collector?” Ken was showing interest in the conversation again.

  “Then I disappear, I get to go home.” Mathias’ face looked serene at the thought.

  “Won’t he just summon you again from wherever home is for you?” Garret asked.

  “Chances are that he won’t get me. He’ll get someone else. Unless he doesn’t respawn,” Mathias responded.

  He turned to walk away but stopped.

  “The Shadelands,” Mathias said softly.

  “The what-now?” Ken asked.

  “Shadelands. My home. The plane where all shades live. We exist there, incorporeal and able to float freely throughout its lands until we’re summoned. Then we’re given physical form and a directive. Most of the time we have free will, but the individual who summons us can give us demands that we have to follow, called Runic Commands. They’re pushed into our existence through the Runes of Binding all over the dungeon.” Mathias frowned.

  “Sounds interesting,” Ken replied.

  “Vlad, you’re after a Heart of Darkness, right?” Mathias asked.

  “Yeah, that’s what we’re after.” Ken spilled the basket of beans on the floor. Great job.

  “Ah, well, it’s not here. It’s in the heart of the dungeon. In fact, it is the heart of the dungeon.” There were eyebrows raised everywhere as Mathias’ sentence ended.

  “A dungeon heart?” Was there really such a thing?

  “Yeah, it’s a power source, basically. It keeps the place running, recharges the mobs, heals the dungeon lord, etcetera,” Mathias said.

  “I bet that shit’s worth a ton.” Ken rubbed his hands together, then stopped when he saw Garret and I staring daggers at him.

  “Can do other things, though?” Curiosity had the best of me.

  “I mean, that depends on what you’re after.” Mathias spun in a circle on one foot. What a strange creature.

  “We know it can make a Guild Banner,” Garret said.

  “You can heavily enchant objects, make a power source, create a new nation...” Mathias stopped turning, looking over his shoulder at me.

  “Create new nation?” I raised an eyebrow at the idea.

  Truly, if one could make an entire nation from the core of a dungeon, perhaps a guild was a waste of the power.

  “Yes, but it needs to be an absolutely ancient dungeon core, having survived for millennia. Really, it needs to be one of the First Dungeons. And those are far beyond your capabilities, Keeper.” Mathias poked his index fingers at me in the air.

  “How old is Dearth?” I was doing the calculations in my head.

  If The Dearth was this difficult, how much more difficult could the First Dungeons be?

  “I’ve been with Valstrine for quite some time, but before that it’s hard to know. I’d say about four hundred years.” Mathias plopped onto the ground, crossing his legs as he landed.

  “The monsters here are like level twenty-five.” Garret pulled out a notebook and a pencil, writing furiously. “If the dungeon is only four hundred years old, then something that would be considered a First Dungeon would be...” He stopped writing, a look of shock on his face.

  “Probably over level one hundred,” Mathias replied.

  “That’s insane.” Garret put his hand to his forehead, holding it with his thumb and forefinger.

  “Isn’t there a player level cap, though? I don’t remember hearing about one,” Ken said.

  “Vlad does not know what is.” I shrugged involuntarily as my mind continued to spin about the potential of creating a nation. With that kind of power...

  “Not really pertinent. It’s pretty much outside of human reach at this point,” Mathias said.

  “Could create nation.” I was still fixated on this concept. It was something that wouldn’t let me move away from it.

  “Well, bad news. Valstrine’s coming. Better get your shit together.” Mathias clenched his fists, his claws extending with a shick.

  Garret pulled his axe from his back and snarled.

  “Gods-damnit, you’re all free. Well, shit.” Valstrine, the Dark Collector, stood in the tunnel entrance, his body covered in a black robe.

  A fur-covered snout with protruding teeth poked out from under the hood of the robe.

  “And we’re gonna kick your ass.” Garret went to take a step toward Valstrine, but a sudden flash of light from beneath Valstrine’s robe kept Garret in place.

  “No, nope. Not until I get back to the main hall. This is a boss fight, after all.” Valstrine turned swiftly and bolted out of the tunnel, into the main room.

  I tried to move but couldn’t even budge my body.

  <<<>>>

  Debuff Added

  Crystalline Fragment of Time: You have been encased in a sphere of time-space that has been cut off from the rest of Eldgard through the magics of a crystallized piece of time.

  Effect: Unable to move, take action, or use abilities. Duration, 45 seconds.

  <<<>>>

  I had suspected that the Dark Collector was going to play dirty, but I didn’t expect him to freeze us in time. That little ublyudok was going to get what was coming to him.

  Dark Break

  I FELL TO THE GROUND as the debuff wore off, my body shivering slightly. Ken, Garret, and Mathias were all experiencing the same thing from the looks of it. I rose from the cold stone floor, my legs shaking slightly as I found my balance.

  “That was bullshit,” Ken barked.

  “He has many powerful artifacts. There’s no telling what he will be able to do in combat. The only solace I can offer,” Mathias said as he shrugged then pointed to the main hall where the Dark Collector awaited, “is that he probably can’t do that again. And every time he uses a powerful artifact such as that, he brings attention to himself.”

  “What kind of attention, because he straight up pissed me off.” Garret had a scowl on his face that would sour milk with a glance.

  “I don’t know, something big. Something that makes things disappear from Eldgard forever. It doesn’t mean he isn’t going to use the items freely on us, but there are consequences for every action in Eldgard.” There was a round of concerned glances at Mathias’ statement.

  “Will not defeat self,” I said.

  Hopefully it would spur people to get moving. I turned from the group, pull
ed Gamma from my shoulder, and began the journey to the boss room.

  “Yeah, true.” I heard metal shift and slide, followed by footsteps.

  Garret had decided to follow after me. He came up on my right as we walked.

  Ken appeared to my left, grinning with self-satisfaction. I felt a cold and unusual presence behind me, which could only have been Mathias. The four of us were walking into a boss fight none of us had any idea how to handle, but there was very little fear.

  “So, do we flank him?” Ken’s voice shattered the moment, suddenly bringing into perspective how terribly stupid this was.

  “I don’t know. Eberand always had a plan.” Garret sounded less sure of himself than normal, his gravelly voice taking on a tone of concern.

  “Flanking might work, but you’ll need to watch out for Valstrine’s nasty toys.” Mathias was the only one who sounded confident.

  Simply release me to do my work. Gamma’s voice was strong and sure. He had unlocked an ability I hadn’t had the need or chance to use yet, Power Overwhelming. I was looking forward to testing it out on the Dark Collector.

  “Alright, he’s going to talk for a bit. We won’t be able to attack him while he’s doing it, either. Some kind of boss-level cutscene garbage. Unless that’s not a thing here. In which case, we rush his ass and murder us some dickweed.” Garret swung his axe over his shoulder, letting it slam down onto his pauldrons with a heavy metallic clang.

  “So, plan is to kill?” I raised an eyebrow at Garret, then turned to Ken. They both looked away. “No, need real plan.”

  “There’s not much you can plan for with the Dark Collector, my friends. He has such an unusual array of artifacts and powers at his disposal that you’re going to have to play it by ear.” Mathias continued to walk, stepping right through a gap between the three of us.

  “And besides, if you all die, you’ll respawn.” His voice was chipper and pleasant at the statement.