Nothing but bones 2: The chaos rifts

by J. Carrarn

  "I want something in return. You can't just expect me to repair it and then watch you walk off, leaving me here, continuing to gather dust for the next who knows how long. My power source will outlast the life of this galaxy, so that will be a very long time. Wait, or should I say the death of this galaxy? It's all so very confusing…" The sphere seemed to become distracted, green lights blinking and flickering on its surface.

  Surprisingly enough, Solus noticed he wasn't getting angry this time. Instead, his roiling emotions calmed down as he thought about the possibilities. If he could bring this sphere, including its power source, to Skulltown... Drys would have another target for his endless stream of questions and would leave him in peace for once!

  With glittering eyes, Solus rose and looked down on the sphere.

  "I suppose I can bring you along to my city. How do you propose that we move your energy source?"

  "Well, yes, about that. Are you capable of shaping the earth yet?"

  Solus nodded, wondering what the sphere was getting at.

  "Good, good. Then there is no need to worry. I will repair your pattern when we arrive at my new destination."

  Solus had learned a lot in the last year, and one thing he had learned was that others would promise many things before turning around and doing the exact opposite.

  "How do I know you will do as you say?"

  "Oh, come now, why would I lie?"

  "Because you want me to take you away from here?" Solus stated matter-of-factly.

  The sphere didn't respond right away, seemingly stumped by Solus's line of logic. Solus decided he would have to thank Norg and Vingria for trying to manipulate him all the time. Without the practice, he probably would have just brought the sphere along without questioning it.

  "Fine, then how about this? I will partially repair your inscription. You will be able to use most of its features, but not all. Then, once we have arrived at my new location, I will restore your inscription to full functionality."

  A wide grin surfaced on Solus's face.

  "Deal! Now, repair it and show me where your energy source is!"

  —

  Digging his toes into the earth, Solus pushed forward, dragging his load through the wasteland. He left behind a long, deep trail. A loose rock caused his foot to slide away, and he fell forward, letting go of the cable just in time to catch himself on his hands. As he lay on the ground, his chest heaving while he spat out dirt, Solus knew he'd been had.

  "I need to rest," he said in a deep, ragged voice.

  As he rolled on his back, he looked at the massive metallic cube behind him. It was three times as high as he was, and he was sure it must weigh as much as the wyrm tower back in Skulltown.

  "I thought you were more powerful than this. Ah, well. Take your rest," the sphere's voice, currently the most annoying thing in Solus's world, harped.

  Long cables that came from inside the cube held the sphere in place atop the massive cube. Another cable looped back on itself like a lasso and led to Solus. He was using it as a tether to pull the infernal thing through the wasteland.

  Closing his eyes, Solus felt a trickle of energy from the ground flow into his body. Then a slow, tired grin surfaced on his face, wiping away the annoyance.

  Status, he chanted.

  > Warning! Warning!

  > There was an issue while upgrading to the full version. Please contact the nearest service point.

  > Partial inscription list unlocked.

  > Partial skill list unlocked.

  Name: Os Solus

  Age: 1

  Sex: Male

  Race: Pseudo stone elemental

  Type: Mutation

  Class: Stone shaper

  Strength: 39/48

  Constitution: 34/39

  Dexterity: 18/24

  Endurance: 61/90

  Intelligence: 24/34

  Wisdom: 19/23

  Charisma: 9/16

  Mana-field: 12900/14000

  Physical density: 16500/19000

  Skills: 2

  Inscriptions: 3/7

  Mana generation: 32

  Looking at the blue screen in front of his eyes, Solus examined the different numbers. It had been such a long time since he last saw it that he kept summoning it when he was resting, just to make sure it was still there. He couldn't completely recall what the numbers had been the last time he checked, but he was confident the current values were much higher.

  "That should be enough of a rest, right? Now, come, come. I want to leave this wretched desert!"

  The sphere's chipper voice pierced through his pleasant feelings.

  Groaning, he got up and banished his status screen before flexing his arms and neck. Popping and cracking sounds came from his joints as some of the tension was released, and he sighed tiredly as he picked up the cable.

  When he was about to pull, a soft shiver ran from the ground up to his legs. Curious, he looked around. Something was moving far off in the distance. He leaped on top of the square to get a better view.

  A small dust trail on the horizon moved almost in the same direction as they were. Remembering the ruined city he had seen from the mountain, he guessed it must be a Wyrm. An idea formed, and a wicked smile spread across his face.

  "Stay here. I will be right back," he yelled.

  As he dashed off, he created a tall stone pillar next to the cube as a marker. From behind him, he heard the sphere shout something, but he was already too far away to make it out.

  Solus raced across the wasteland at top speed, quickly closing in on what was indeed a Wyrm. It was about average-sized, but he noticed something was off. Large gaping wounds covered one of its sides, and it moved slowly. Digging his feet into the ground, Solus stopped, intrigued as to what may have caused such heavy damage to a Wyrm.

  The wounds seemed fresh, but apart from the city, he hadn't seen anything nearby. Besides, who or what was capable of doing this? Frowning, an involuntary act he had picked up from the zombies in Skulltown, he scanned his surroundings. All he saw was the familiar vast stretch of empty wasteland, dotted here and there with boulders and low hills—nothing out of the ordinary.

  As the Wyrm staggered away, he moved in for a closer look. It was four times as high as he was and covered in dirty white plates that interlocked, creating what looked like an impenetrable suit of armor. A horrid white liquid oozed out of the gaping wounds, leaving long lines of ichor in the dust behind it. The ordinarily aggressive tongue hung listlessly out of its mouth. The second, smaller tongue hid between the razor-sharp teeth, paying no attention to Solus.

  Jogging next to the Wyrm, Solus decided that this was not the time to launch an investigation. His first priority was to get the sphere back to Skulltown. Moving close enough to touch the Wyrm, he pushed it. Even though it was much bigger than he was, the Wyrm slid to the side, and Solus grinned. A few more pushes, and it was heading toward the sphere. Speeding ahead of it, Solus made his way back to where the sphere lay to prepare his plan.

  "How could you just leave me here! What if one of those horrible Wyrms came along and devoured me?"

  The sphere spoke in a somewhat whiny tone that made Solus's ears hurt, and he cringed.

  "I've got you a ride."

  "A what? Wait, why is that thing heading this way? Oh no! Hurry, kill it! No, wait. It's already dead. Destroy it!"

  Ignoring the sphere, Solus scanned below the wasteland and found a mass of stone not too deep. Focusing, he forced it up.

  The dust on the wasteland started shaking as rips appeared in the soil surrounding the large cube. Stone chains rushed out and wrapped around the cube, binding it in place while leaving a few long pieces on the ground beside Solus. Picking up the ends, he looked at the Wyrm. It would take a while before it was there, but that was fine.

  "Please tell me that you are not going to do what I think you are going to do."

  Solus ignored this.

  —

  "…"

  "Still angry
?" Solus tried to sound like he cared, but he had a hard time keeping in his laughter. He sat on the cube next to a simple stone container. Inside was the sphere, hidden away securely.

  Getting no response, Solus grinned and sat back, enjoying the fact he didn't have to pull the sphere all the way back to Skulltown. In front of him was the Wyrm. It had a chain wrapped around its tail, and it dragged the cube slowly forward. He had nudged it toward Skulltown and estimated it would take twice as long than if he were pulling it himself, but he didn't mind. The cube swayed from side to side, following the movement of the Wyrm's tail, and he felt himself grow drowsy.

  "Wake me if anything happens," he mumbled before lying down on his back and closing his eyes. He thought he heard the sphere mutter something as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

  Trouble loves company

  Solus woke with a start. A loud noise, alternating between a droning buzz and a sharp howl, drilled into his eardrums.

  "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."

  The sphere's voice mixed with the cacophony to create the most incredibly annoying sound he had heard in his short life.

  "Stop it, or I will bury you under the next mountain we pass," he growled, still not fully awake.

  The sound stopped immediately, replaced by the sphere's serious voice.

  "I have detected movement. Something is approaching from the east," the sphere said. It paused before adding, "The same direction the Wyrm came from."

  Solus scrambled to his feet, causing the cube to precariously dip to one side, and looked back along the deep trench in their wake. Not too far away, a figure raced at an incredible speed toward them. It was much faster than the Wyrm and would overtake them within moments.

  The oncoming figure resembled a skeleton, except that it had hundreds of shiny black barbs on its bones. As it got closer, Solus saw that it was large, nearly as large as Skull.

  "Let's see what it wants," he mumbled. He jumped off the cube, causing it to wobble dangerously. He landed in the strange skeleton's path.

  The incoming undead slowed down and stopped. Seeing the other wait and observe, Solus became even more curious. Unlike the skeletons he was familiar with, this one had no lights in his eye sockets. Instead, they were pitch black, almost as if they were absorbing all surrounding light.

  "What do you want?" Solus asked, raising his voice a little.

  The stones and dust around him trembled, some rolling away from him.

  The skeleton made no reply but began moving again, closing in on him. It stopped just out of arm's length, staring at Solus with its dark, empty eye sockets.

  A soft keening voice, barely understandable, echoed all around Solus.

  "What is the name of this world?"

  The hairs on Solus's arms rose as information flooded his mind. This was part of the first sphere's lingering gift. An image of a mass of undead swarming a city and destroying everything in their path was especially clear. Solus's instincts kicked in as he sensed the danger, and he immediately fell into a defensive stance.

  The barbed skeleton took a step back. It raised its left hand, pointing it with spread-out fingers at Solus. One of the barbs on its index finger shivered for an instant before disappearing. A black streak flashed toward Solus's head.

  At the last possible moment, Solus moved his head out of the way. The streak passed by him and hit the side of the Wyrm, causing it to rear up as another large hole appeared in its body. White fluid spurted out of the wound, splattering the ground. As it crashed back down, it continued moving forward considerably slower than before.

  Solus felt a slight burning sensation, and he touched the side of his face. There was a green, thick liquid on his fingers as he drew them back. A slew of emotions, more than he had felt in months, overwhelmed him: shock at being attacked, awe at how such a small barb had managed to pierce his skin, and deep, burning anger. As he saw the skeleton step back again, raising its hand for another attack, Solus roared.

  A shock wave traveled outward from Solus, flinging small rocks and dust away. The sound wave blew the skeleton back a few steps, but then spikes grew from its feet, anchoring it to the ground.

  Solus ignored everything as a red flood of rage filled his vision. How dare this thing just attack him like that?

  Charging forward, he summoned stone from the ground, locking the thing's feet in place.

  "Wait, I..."

  That was all it could utter before Solus's fist crashed into the side of its skull, sending it hurtling through the air. Hairline cracks appeared where Solus had struck it, and the spikes on its feet were violently ripped from the ground, sending dust and small pieces of stone flying everywhere. Flailing its arms, the spikes on the skeleton's legs elongated and drilled into the ground, dragging it to a halt. Exceptionally flexible, the long black spikes raised the skeleton from the ground, and it rotated until it faced Solus.

  Seeing how his attack, which was powerful enough to fell a building or bring down a Wyrm in one strike, only caused a few cracks in the skeleton's skull, Solus regained a small measure of calm. Perhaps it would be wise to see what the skeleton had to say?

  Before he could decide, tens of the thing's barbs streaked toward him. Jumping to the side, he summoned a stone wall to shield him. The sound of heavy collisions upon stone echoed across the empty wasteland, and some of his hastily erected stone shields exploded into fragments. Losing himself to battle lust, Solus charged toward his enemy, summoning long stone tendrils from the ground to grapple it and hold it in place.

  The barbed skeleton dodged through them with ease, firing volley after volley of barbs at Solus.

  Seeing the incoming salvo of black projectiles, Solus had a flash of inspiration and created a hole beneath himself. He fell just as the barbs passed through where he had been standing. Forgetting any notions of diplomacy, he formed a tunnel that ended below the skeleton.

  Heading through it, he created an opening where he sensed the skeleton's movements above him and leaped up. The barbed skeleton tried to dodge, but this time Solus was faster, and he engulfed him in a bear hug. Constricting his massive arms, he felt some resistance before the sound of splintering bone filled the air. Sharp flashes of pain came from all over his chest and arms. Black barbs pierced him, trying to drill through his flesh. Realizing the danger, he knew he had no choice but to continue crushing his enemy.

  "Wait, let us talk!" the strange, keening voice echoed around his head.

  "Speak fast," Solus replied, clamping down harder.

  "This world is doomed. More rifts will open, and when they do, hordes of Kaots will come pouring through and devour it. Release me! Without my help, you won't stand a chance. You will perish!"

  Solus hesitated, curious what Kaots were. As he tried to decide what to do with this new information, the voice of the sphere rang out loudly.

  "Look out! Finish him!"

  Growling, Solus renewed his efforts and clamped down on the thing's bones as hard as he could. With a loud and final snap, the resistance ended. A ping came from his status window, as loose barbed bones clattered to the ground. He scanned around, searching for another threat. At eye height, directly behind him, a large black barb rose from the ground, pointing toward where the back of his head had been. Solus backed up until he was next to the Wyrm. It crawled at a snail's pace and had only covered a short distance since the fight had begun.

  "Thanks," he uttered in the direction of the sphere.

  A beam came from the sphere, scanning the remains.

  "Do you have any idea what that was? I cannot find anything about those skills or mutations in my databases."

  For the first time, Solus thought he detected insecurity in the sphere's artificial voice.

  Shaking his head, Solus walked back to the remnants of the barbed skeleton. The earth opened, and a stone box folded up around them. Picking it up, Solus got back on the Wyrm and placed the stone box next to the sphere.

  "We need to get back to Skulltown. This thing mentione
d something about rifts. Tell me everything you know about those, starting with what they are."

  "Let's hope we can find another Wyrm, or the journey will take forever," the sphere said.

  Realizing that the sphere had a point, Solus reached out with his stone sense, picking up minute vibrations as he tried to locate another Wyrm.

  "I will find one. In the meantime, explain."

  —

  Kaj looked down from his vantage point at the scores of undead moving in and out of Skulltown. Their constant chatter echoed up dully, the only relief from this tedious duty. Scratching one of the lesions on his arms, he wished his replacement would show up soon. He had been standing in this bloody tower all day. Since becoming a zombie, it was getting harder and harder to do.

  With a groan, he stretched his neck and turned his attention back to the horizon. His eyes widened, and he blinked against the low sun. He thought he saw something moving on the hill in front of Skulltown. It looked like a giant shadow racing down, and if he didn't know better, he would say it was a Wyrm. But that was ridiculous. The patrols lured those away from Skulltown, and the ones that couldn't be lured got ended by the elite city guards.

  "What is that?"

  Startled, Kaj saw his replacement had sneaked up on him and was looking in the same direction.

  "I don't know. It looks like a Wyrm!"

  Taking a few moments to reflect on his companion's reply, Kaj cursed loudly and ran for the alarm bell.

  —

  Lying on the back of the lethargic Wyrm, Solus looked at his status window.

  Name: Os Solus

  Age: 1

  Sex: Male

  Race: Pseudo stone elemental

  Type: Mutation

  Class: Stone shaper

  Strength: 40/48

  Constitution: 34/39

  Dexterity: 19/24

  Endurance: 61/90

  Intelligence: 24/34

  Wisdom: 20/23

  Charisma: 9/16

  Mana-field: 12900/14000

  Physical density: 16500/19000

  Skills: 2

  Inscriptions: 3/7

  Mana generation: 32