Journey to Chaos Book 4: Transcending Limitations
By
Brian Wilkerson
Published 2017
Copyright filed: 2016
First draft completed: 2015
First Edition
ISBN: 9780988306660
Map Design and Illustration:
Editing and Formatting: BZHercules.com
Cover Design and Illustration: LLPix Design
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and events are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act Of 1976, The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means – including, but not limited to, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
DEDICATIONS
To my beta readers April Epley, Daniel Stahel Christansen, and Cat Skinner, for their help in refining the story.
To my fans, for their questions and continued interest in the series.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 How Do I Play the Role?
Chapter 2 The Festival of Arin’s Ascension
Chapter 3 Re-enacting History
Chapter 4 A Red Hood, A Wolf, and Stories
Chapter 5 A Class X Chaotic Zone
Chapter 6 Oh Ye of Little Faith
Chapter 7 Your Purpose
Chapter 8 “Two Roads Diverge in a Yellow Wood”
Chapter 9 Self-Control is True Freedom
Chapter 10 Orderly Interlude
Chapter 11 Ritual Gone Wrong
Chapter 12 Omnias! Omnias! Omnias!
Chapter 13 Scouring the Soul
Chapter 14 Smash the Living Ruby!
Chapter 15 I Will Solve Your Problem by Creating a New One
Chapter 16 Consequences of Spilling Bad Blood
Chapter 17 Cheap Immortality...
Chapter 18: This is My World and I am Its Goddess!
Chapter 19 Your Final Wish Has Been Granted
Afterword
Connect with the Author
Prologue
The ground shook and the air trembled as the Astral Oversoul roared. The people of Coral Plane screamed and scattered, but there was no escaping the terror of its presence. One little boy was too slow and one of its many spiritual hands grabbed him from behind. He wriggled like an insect as the creature brought him to its great maw.
“NOT TODAY!”
A golden-brown blur severed the hand, then swerved in midair, back to the falling boy. Catching him in her arms, she placed him safely on the ground. Then she waved her staff over him and intoned the words of a prayer.
“Interesting times are dangerous times; boring ones safe. For now, stay safe!”
A pale gold aura encompassed the boy and she pushed him away.
“This will only hold for a few minutes. Go find your parents and don’t wander off again.”
“Thanks, lady!”
The creature whipped its mighty hand at her and she raised her staff to block it. The explosion of energy shattered the ground around her but couldn’t hurt the boy or her.
“You’re welcome. I’m here to help.”
The kid scampered off while the lady squared off against the Astral Oversoul.
It was forty feet tall and had a body like a dragon. Composed of soul mist, its body was also ghostly and transparent. It had many arms down its length and all of them were tipped with hands, claws, and feelers. Its head was a giant set of pincers with a mouth at the base.
She herself was about five and a half feet tall. Her only armor was a fancy priestess habit and her only weapons were a bow, a quiver, a staff without a blade, and a holy paidrin necklace. The spirit monster reached out to grab her and she shouted, “Perrault, go!”
A golden-brown wolf appeared at her side and lunged at the hostile hand. Her teeth sank into its incorporeal flesh and melted it down to the creature’s wrist.
“Keep him busy while I prepare the killing blow.”
The wolf nodded and then darted up the soul creature’s main body. She bit and tore with each step, and each wound released a stream of grey gas.
Shrinking her staff, the priestess placed it behind her ear. Then she took the bow and nocked an arrow. Pulling the string back, she generated a magic circle underneath her feet. It contained routines for channeling her chaotic power in addition to her faith in Lady Chaos, along with the intended mechanical function. With the spell construction complete, she took aim at the dread beast.
“Return to the veins of Noitearc!”
She released the drawstring and the arrow struck the creature’s center of mass. There, it released its payload of holy power. Golden-brown light lanced up and down the monster’s body and disintegrated it. In its place was a towering mass of grey smoke and unearthly screaming.
Ten screams across ten thousand pitches filled the area. They came from the ten souls composing the former Astral Oversoul as they flew about in fear and confusion. Again, the arrow flashed as its secondary function activated.
From its point, a circle appeared in the air. This circle expanded until it was the size of a desk and its insides filled with a complex magical rune. It pulsed once and the writing faded to reveal a tunnel of rainbow light.
“Off you go!”
Air was drawn into the portal and the souls along with it. All of them resisted, but none of them escaped. Perrault tossed the last one in herself. Her mistress scanned the area to make sure they didn’t miss any, then she snapped her fingers. The arrow flashed a third time and the portal closed without fuss.
Perrault trotted to her mistress’ side and heeled. The priestess petted her head while rubbing her back.
“Good girl!”
“Cleaning up after your boyfriend?”
Floating behind the cleric and wolf was a demonic troll. He was squat in height and broader in bulk. His skin was pale, molting, and rotten. He wore an oversized and threadbare black robe through which ratty black bat wings emerged. The robe’s hood concealed his face except for his long and liver-spotted nose. His scythe was a worm-eaten wooden pole with a bronze blade coated in patina.
Looking at him made her sick, so she spoke with her back to him. “I wouldn’t have to if you did your job, Reaper.”
“I don’t have to until I fulfill my Final Wish, which you are preventing me from doing.”
Perrault barked at him.
“All I’m preventing you from doing is exploiting the souls of the dead for a petty grudge.”
“So much damage and so much trouble; it would be better for the world and everyone in it if you would let me kill him.”
The priestess gripped her bow tighter but still did not face him. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her angered. One look at that ugly and smug face of his and she might launch another arrow at him. He loved illustrating how she couldn’t permanently kill him.
“You will never kill him.”
“‘Never’ is a big word, Priestess. Aren’t you always preaching about how ‘all things are possible with chaos’?”
The cleric spun around and nocked an arrow. “Including your death!”
The reaper laughed. He pointed and laughed. The girl grumbled as she put away her bow and arrow. Then she knelt again and whispered into her familiar’s ear.
/> “Bite him.”
Perrault dashed forwards and snapped up the reaper’s left foot. He yelled and shook her to and fro, and when he finally dislodged her, it was because she took his foot clean off. The priestess laughed at him. She pointed and laughed.
“That was immature of you, Annala.”
The girl immediately stopped laughing. “Do not use my real name. You might cause a paradox. Unless you’re talking to my mainstream self, you have to call me ‘Priestess.’”
This started him laughing again. “You’ve been watching too much CV, Priestess. I suppose you’re going to run off and do another thing now? Take your companion and crisscross time and space to make sure everybody lives?”
“Yes, I am.”
“You will fail. I have permission from Lord Death himself. The problem with fighting death is that you can never ever win.”
All of a sudden, the cleric shimmered with golden-brown light. So did her familiar. She examined her hand as it became transparent.
“Looks like there’s no more time for banter, Gruffle. We can pick it up again next time.” Smirking, she said one more word. “Allons-y!”
She winked out of existence.
Chapter 1 How Do I Play the Role?
In an undisclosed area of an undisclosed continent, there was a forest hidden from the world. A dome of light both shielded and shrouded its location from prying eyes and grasping fingers. Underneath its protection was Dnnac Ledo, one of the many hidden elf villages of Tariatla. Outside the village proper, there was a field of earth ripped up by recent battle. This soil shook.
Heads sprouted like sown dragon teeth. Chests and arms followed. At last, the clearing was occupied by an army of terracotta soldiers. As one, they turned to face their source of life, a shining brown light orbiting a grey one within a crystal. This crystal was housed on a staff and the staff was held by their lord.
His hair was the color of fire and his eyes were that of water. His bearing was regal and dignified. Despite the cold, the snow, and the chilly wind, he stood barefoot and garbed in nothing but a toga.
His much more sensible companion wore heavy winter clothing. The only visible skin was around her eyes, and those were behind thick goggles. She stood at his side and her contrast made him appear all the more comical. She chewed on her scarf to restrain her giggles.
“Proud Warriors of the Land!” he boomed. “You have been gathered here today to demonstrate your strength and valor to the lovely Lady Annala.”
He made a sweeping gesture with his staff and then pointed to her with an exaggerated flourish. Annala dropped a curtsy in her snow pants.
“The winner shall receive a kiss from the lady.”
She batted her eyes at them, but no one could tell under the hood and behind the goggles.
“...Ready...FIGHT!”
Thus began the fatal combat tournament of Crusty the Earthmen.
They attacked with amazing apathy and struck with superlative slowness. Unflinchingly, they crumbled into specks, even if they weren’t hit. After all, they were just golems and poorly crafted ones at that. Their puppeteer was inexperienced, and spreading his concentration over all of them meant that none of them received constant instructions. A chunk of them wasn’t moving at any given time. Even so, there could only be one winner. The final duel came and went, and an earthman carrying a lance held an earthman wielding a sword at his mercy.
“Finish him!”
Lance dutifully obeyed by piercing his foe’s neck with his namesake. The latter’s head rolled to a tree trunk and his body disintegrated. The former held his weapon at attention and faced his lord and lady. Chin held high, Annala stepped forward while pretending to hold her skirts up in one hand.
“Oh, brave bearer of the Lance,” she said airily, “verily thou hast proven thy mettle and deserve the promised reward.” Peeling off her scarf, she stood on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek. The cracks forming his mouth curved upwards and he fell to pieces from sheer happiness. She turned to her lord and said, “You’ve become skilled with Divine Earth Magic, Master Eric.”
“Yes indeed, milady,” Eric said with a deep and grand sweep of a bow. The only reason his toga didn’t fall off was the duct tape he used to secure it. “Tis my duty to protect your fair body and pure soul. Why, if you were to ask, I would compel the very earth, sky, and water – indeed, the entire world and everything in it – to bow before you and do you homage.”
Annala tugged on her ear through her hat and said, “B-But, Master, this slave is not deserving of such—”
“I was only joking. Like I would ever be in a position to do anything like that.”
Annala nodded and shivered.
“Let’s go back inside.”
Suddenly, the golem behind Annala reassembled itself. To Eric’s horror, the first thing it did was grab Annala’s waist and hoist her into the air. She screamed in fright and wriggled in its grip, and this alarmed Eric further. Rough stone and delicate skin is a bad combination. He could smell her blood already.
“Lance, release her!”
The golem shook its head.
Forcing his earth light to shine brighter, Eric said again, “Lance, your creator and commanding officer issued you an order. Obey it!”
In response, the golem grew a crown out of its forehead. Eric fired a mana bolt at the arm holding Annala, but a spirit barrier emerged to block it.
“That’s not possible...I didn’t give you a soul...”
Lance expanded his barrier and generated an aura as well. When he raised his free hand, a brown light shined from it. The other golems pulled themselves together and fell in line behind him. With a brand new lance, the brand new golem king pointed at Eric.
“I guess I’m not as good as I thought.”
Eric put away his staff and met them in his true form. Two feet taller and several stouter than his human form and covered from head to toe in unique metal, he was now a grendel. With fists like maces and legs with natural greaves, he bashed his way through the enemy ranks. When he reached Lance, the golem stamped his foot and a column grew from the ground to elevate him out of Eric’s reach. The golem soldiers kept coming.
They were much faster this time and stronger as well. With all of them acting at once, they made formidable enemies. Eric’s hide clanged as he weathered their attacks. A human would be pulp in seconds. He beat them into rubble, but they regenerated. Their sheer tenacity forced him away from their king’s tower and his own lady.
“Master Eric! Please save me!”
He disengaged from the golems and leapt for the pillar, but before he climbed two feet, the golems pulled him back down. Now flat on his back, they held him down and stomped on him. A gust of wind blew them away.
Eric stood up and held up his staff once more. Now a sky blue light shined within the crystal. With divine wind magic, he summoned gusts that reduced them all to gravel. For a moment, there was peace and Eric could return his attention to his girlfriend.
The sound of shifting sand filled his ears. All the golems were reforming once again, but instead of rock, they were now made of gravel and sand. He had done nothing but change their external form; their inner essence remained unharmed.
“Do I need an exorcist to kill you guys?”
They answered by launching their fists at him. These were easy to block or dodge, but they were not the true attack. While Eric was occupied with the first wave, a second surrounded him. They wrapped their arms around his barrier and sat on top of it. Then they merged into a single unit and contracted. The physical and spiritual pressure on his barrier increased until it broke through and smothered him. Sand entered his ears, nose, and his mouth. It traveled through his skull to attack his brain.
“Spirits be gone!” The aura around the coffin dissolved. “In the name of Lady Chaos, release that which you have imprisoned!” The coffin itself dissolved. “A third time, I dispel you; return to the Veins of Noitearc!”
This final strike landed on the
back of Eric’s head and knocked out the invading sand. He coughed and sneezed and shook himself. Then he looked upon his savior.
It was a humanoid figure in a hooded habit. Judging by her voice, she was female and, judging by her height, she was his age. On her back were a bow and quiver. At her waist was a pouch. In her hands was a scythe; no, a staff that had been retrofitted with a curved blade to make it serve as a scythe. She cut down the sand golems as if she were one of Lord Death’s reapers. They dissolved into piles and a grey mist arose from the “corpse.”
This priestly figure stamped the butt of her staff on the ground and generated instant runes in the air above her head. These runes opened a portal that led out of the world and into the multiverse’s dimensional corridors. A new wind ushered the grey soul mist into it. Then the priestess closed the portal with a second stamp of her staff.
“Don’t worry about your girlfriend,” she addressed Eric without facing him. “My familiar has rescued her. If you would be so kind as to lower the pillar.”
Eric returned to human form and said, “Sure, but how did you know she was my girlfriend?”
“Ahh...she’s not?”
“No, she is. I guess our love is that obvious.”
The priestess giggled happily. “Yes, it is. Now please, lower the pillar.”
“Pillar of rock, now descend. Return to the ground, this is your end. Retraction!”
Stone ground against stone as the pillar descended. As soon as the top was eye level with Eric, he saw Annala petting a wolf with golden-brown fur. Her face lit up at the sight of him and she jumped into his arms before the retraction was complete.
“Master Eric! Thank you so much for saving me! I’m not worthy of such a kind and caring master!”
“You are definitely worth the trouble, but I’m not your master.”
She nuzzled his chest and babbled, “Master Eric...I was so scared...but this wolf came out of nowhere and destroyed the golem. She’s an amazing creature, but not nearly as amazing as you!”
Eric caressed her while working a healing spell into the areas bruised by the golem’s body. It was basically a magical bandage. He’d get a proper healing for her later. Under his ministrations, she quieted down and nestled. His clerical ally stared intently at him from under her hood.
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