by J. Carrarn
"Long ago, the first sphere I met showed me a pattern that allowed me to see all my possible evolutions."
A silence fell that lasted until Solus's patience ran out. "Can you give me that pattern?"
"I can, but only if you do something for me in return…"
Solus suppressed the desire to boot the sphere out the nearest window. "I've already brought you here! What more do you want?"
The silence lasted longer this time, and it was the sphere that finally broke it.
"Drys will not stop pestering me with his incessant questioning… I want you to take me with you when you leave!"
Solus blinked, and his anger melted away. The idea of the two annoying each other instead of him struck him as hilarious. He was about to give in and laugh at the sphere's misfortune when he remembered the power source. The thought of hauling it along wherever he went made him groan. Remembering its weight, he wondered if he could make a stone wagon that was strong enough to carry the cube.
"How? I can't keep dragging that power source of yours with me!"
"Of course not! While I was alone all those millennia, I had time to run some calculations… trillions truth be told. I have found a way to compress and engrave my program onto a mana-field."
A blue beam came from the sphere and scanned Solus before winking out again.
"Although you are still weak, you show promise, and your field is barely large enough. Even though undead are limited in their maximum potential, your evolution makes you more powerful than most."
Solus frowned again, a nameless fear turning his guts into a mass of writhing Wyrms. It wasn't fear of death, but of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"It will be beneficial to you as well! I'll be able to help you evolve into the most powerful shape available to you. You will also regain all of the knowledge that the first sphere gave to you."
"But you said I couldn't evolve yet!"
"No, but I have every faith that we can find a solution for that."
Solus sat down and looked at the sphere. The idea of all that information at his fingertips was incredibly alluring, and getting the best evolutions just as tempting. There was something very disturbing about the idea of having the AI become a permanent part of him, however.
He didn't know how long he had sat there, trying to make up his mind, when someone came stomping up the stairs. From the quick pace, Solus knew there was something wrong, and he stood up.
The Blackguard he had sent after Norg rushed in, a fist-shaped dent in his helmet.
"Norg took that zombie to Vingria's inn, and then they locked the door." A small amount of aggravation was discernible in the Blackguard's deep voice.
Solus rushed forward past the Blackguard and down the stairs. He left his projected voice behind, emanating from the spot he had been.
"Stay here with Domain. Only allow Drys or Sig inside!"
The trip down the stairs took mere seconds, and the steps groaned under his passing. He played with the idea of jumping down but rejected it for fear of bringing the whole tower down.
At the bottom, he focused as he ran outside. A stone slab surged from the ground to block the entrance.
"What did you do, Norg?" His growl echoed ahead of him as he barged forward, every step shaking the buildings around him, startled shouts coming from inside.
Three streets later, he shot out of a narrow alleyway and onto another square. Many undead were gathered opposite the battle-inn, mainly zombies. They were whispering and muttering to each other as they fearfully gazed at the inn. Solus's arrival caused most of them to turn to him, and they immediately hushed.
Taking long paces, Solus moved toward the building, and the crowd parted to let him pass.
He didn't bother asking what had happened and had barely looked at the enormous double doors. He raised his foot mid-step and kicked the doors, causing them to crack dangerously as they swung inside. Tears appeared in them as they rebounded off the walls with a loud boom and splintered pieces of bone flew into the room while he stomped inside.
In the middle of a gigantic chamber, filled with bone tables and chairs, stood a bone enclosure with a grey sandy arena. In the center stood Vingria, holding the zombie shell that housed Scathia. She didn't turn to Solus but slapped the undead repeatedly while screaming in her face.
Norg stood to the side with a helpless look on his bruised face.
Solus didn't bother with the door to the arena. He growled, and two stone arms shot out of the ground of the arena. One grabbed Vingria's hand mid-swing; the other tried to drag Scathia from her grip.
Two cracks sounded out, and both stone arms snapped. They crumbled to the ground while Vingria's hand struck the shell's head. Neither of the arms had been able to slow her down.
Solus's anger grew, but this time he let it as he charged forward, smashing through the bone fence as if it weren't there. He grabbed Vingria by her arm and hurled her away. Vingria flew through the arena, crashed through the bone fence, rolled across the ground, and slammed hard into a wall.
"She just went crazy! I tried to stop her!" Norg said in a fearful tone. He stepped forward, between Solus and Vingria.
Solus barely noticed Norg as he stared at the mangled shape on the ground. The zombie's head had bone fragments sticking out of it, while the sides seemed soft and malleable. There were no signs of movement from the zombie.
As he bent down and picked the body up, the head lolled back, two pieces of the neck bone jotting through the skin. Feeling his temper flare up, Solus dropped the zombie and turned to Vingria.
"Why did you do that? We needed her!"
Party time
The shade lay on the roof with its head phased through the building's ceiling that the grey giant had gone into. It hadn't dared follow into the dead thing's propped-up body, but the stone held no danger.
It watched as the confrontation between the female who had slaughtered its brethren and the grey giant unfolded. They would fight. One would destroy the other and absorb its essence stone. One less thing to worry about, it thought.
It squinted, following the grey giant as it moved toward the one called Vingria.
—
"Stop being so angry all the time! She would not have helped you! She only wants one thing, more power!"
The sound of Vingria's petulant voice followed Solus as he stomped angrily through the city, back to his tower. Norg hovered between them, looking afraid that Solus might lash out at Vingria.
Solus shook his head. He wouldn't do that even if he felt like it. It wouldn't undo what she had done. Besides, that was probably exactly what Scathia wanted, for them to turn on each other. If he had to go out after Scathia, Skulltown would need as many powerful undead to defend it as possible.
The trip back to the tower took longer than he had expected, and his mood soured even more when he saw the damaged ground and walls he had caused where he had barged through. He repaired the stone as best he could, but he could do nothing for the damaged bone structures.
"Are you going to say something or what?" Vingria whined. "You know—"
"Shut up!" Solus snapped, his voice a bit louder than normal, causing the dust all around him to ripple away from him in concentric waves. "Go to the school and find out how things are going there. Then go into the city and seek out all of the remaining things that came through the rift and end them!"
Vingria seemed ready to continue her tirade when Norg placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with an annoyed glare. Norg shook his head, and she sighed deeply before turning away.
"Fine!" she said as she stomped off.
Norg exchanged a wary glance with Solus.
"Go with her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."
Norg grinned, relieved, and ran after Vingria. Solus didn't bother to watch them leave but continued toward the tower.
When he got there, a tall, gaunt shape waited for him at the door. It was striking the slab of stone with its fist while
muttering. Bone plates covered most of its lower body, leaving its thin upper body bare except for were long black hair fell across its shoulders. Its skin was a washed-out grey, not unlike the dusty expanses of the wasteland, with thick, bulging veins running just below its flesh, throbbing with an almost hypnotic rhythm.
One of the undead from the rifts? Staring at the figure, Solus prepared himself.
"Stop staring at me and come help me open this thing. I must talk with Domain."
Drys's dry voice rang out. It was controlled and mellow, and it surprised Solus how much it resembled his skeletal voice of old.
Moving beside Drys, he had to look slightly up at him. He couldn't recall having to do that since before his last evolution. Two sharp black eyes set in an angular face stared back, a silvery light glowing deep inside them as the thin lips curved up in a slight smile.
"You were right. I do feel much better. My mind is clear. Could you please open the door?"
Solus focused on the stone slab covering the entrance to the tower, causing it to sink back into the ground, "After you," he said.
—
The shade watched as the grey giant and the newly changed tall one headed into the dead-thing building. It didn't dare to follow them inside. Too risky. The giant was powerful, but now so was his previously weak companion! How had that weak one changed so fast? Drawing the lines was a gamble, and it rarely paid off. Is this their secret? I must find out!
It turned and headed back into the shadows of the city.
—
As they marched up the stairs, Solus kept looking at Drys. Something about his grey skin and black hair seemed familiar.
"Still haven't figured it out?"
Drys sounded slightly amused and turned to Solus. His body floated up, and two orbs of crackling green energy formed in his outstretched hands.
Solus's eyes widened. The memory of a flying figure with long black hair throwing energy bolts at him from the sky played through his mind.
"Him? Of all the evolutions to take, it had to be that loathsome..." he grumbled as he continued up the stairs.
Drys stopped hovering, his feet tapping on the stone.
"Well, not exactly like him, of course! It seems I was somewhat bothersome in my previous form, and so, to get rid of me, Domain gave me an amalgamation of patterns. And, well..."
As Drys fell in line with Solus, he muttered something that Solus only just barely heard.
"Three? Didn't you say that mixing patterns was impossible before?" He felt somewhat annoyed by this. Although he knew his stone elemental pattern was quite powerful, especially after mutating, it wasn't without its weaknesses—his inability to catch flying adversaries being one of the most notable.
Drys didn't seem to notice his mood as he began to eagerly explain.
"It was...or so I thought. Domain helped. He mixed the flying one... What did he call it? Ah, yes... a Vampire Fledgling, and a part of your pattern!" Drys raised his arm and patted the thick grey flesh.
Solus realized that was why Drys seemed so familiar. He had the same thick, solid skin as him! Curious, he shaped the stone in one of the stairways and created a small tree that blocked their way.
"Can you do that?"
"No. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Domain had to change the racial pattern so I could use skills from different races and classes. He had a word for it… multiclassing. I could pick one of the abilities you have and chose your durability. All of your other abilities, your strength and your loud voice, for instance, wouldn't fit on my mana-field."
Drys shook his head, seeming vexed at the memory.
"I tried to take your stone-shaping ability, but that didn't work. Domain said I didn't have the required attunement. Whatever that means."
So I still have to create all of the structures, Solus thought as he shook his head. He was both relieved and sad at the same time. This new mixture of emotions was fresh and strong, and he almost closed his eyes as he savored them. It was the first time he had been able to do that in a very long time, and he knew that being back in Skulltown had something to do with it.
"And the third one?"
Drys continued up the stairs, staring straight ahead.
"Drys?"
"Silt," Drys reluctantly answered.
Solus froze and grabbed Drys by the shoulders. "Have you lost your mind? What if you become like him?"
Drys shook his head in exasperation and stared back. "It doesn't work like that! The patterns don't change your personality; they just augment it. Besides, I only took a small part of his class pattern, nothing else."
Solus took a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. "Can you do what he can?"
"Yes and no."
Solus squeezed Drys's shoulder, feeling how solid his flesh had become. "This isn't the time for riddles!"
Drys's expression suddenly changed, his brow furrowed in concentration, and Solus shivered as he felt his connection to the stone around him vanish. His body felt cumbersome, and he recalled when Silt had done this to him. Still, it wasn't as bad as he remembered.
Drys quickly took a few steps away, and the feeling faded until it disappeared when there were three stairs between them. When Drys took a step forward, it returned.
"I only have a low-level version, so I can't influence the entire city as he could. He had an odd class that let him spread the ability like that. Domain said it was called Mana Dampener and that it had some stringent requirements."
Solus felt slightly more comfortable now. Although he trusted Drys, perhaps more than anybody save for Norg and Skull, the idea of him flying overhead while blocking Solus's powers made him more than a little uncomfortable.
As they continued up, Solus finally calmed down enough to ask another question. "If not just for this ability, why did you choose a part of his pattern?"
"His intelligence was A++."
Solus stumbled, kicking against the top of a stair and almost falling flat on his face. Drys shouldn't know about things like intelligence or rankings. Had Domain told him?
"What? How?"
This time Drys chuckled, and he pointed a finger forward.
"Status!"
The word made Solus's jaw fall open in surprise, but then he grinned and shook his head ruefully. He should have known Drys would find out about the status screen sooner or later.
Drys made an odd dismissive gesture with his hand as if dispelling the invisible status screen. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"And how do you presume I would have done that?" Solus asked, wondering how much Drys knew now and who else possessed that specific inscription.
"By telling me that it was similar to the small version I had created. It's even based on this status inscription! You could have explained what it was!"
"Would you have believed me?"
Drys was quiet for a while before sighing. "Probably, not that it would have done us any good. We didn't have a way to replicate it without an AI sphere."
"So why didn't you select one of the more advanced patterns?" Solus asked as they came to the end of the staircase and entered the room at the top of the tower.
"Because he didn't have the option to do so!" a loud, familiar voice replied from the middle of the room.
Stepping inside, Solus stared at the Blackguard, who stood beside an oddly inert sphere. Its surface had lost its familiar soft blue glow. It seemed dull, empty, and its persistent hum had fallen silent.
Drys stepped past him and looked around the room before lowering his gaze to stare at the Blackguard.
"Domain?"
The Blackguard took a theatrical step forward, making an odd gesture with his hand as he bowed. "At your service!"
"Where is the Blackguard?" Solus hissed as he stepped forward, his fists clenched. What is happening to me? he thought, trying to get a grip on himself. His emotions had been pitching up and down for the better part of a day. He almost felt like he had devolved into a zombie.
; "Still here. Fear not! This is nothing but a test which Hastra was kindly willing to assist with."
Solus was confused for a moment. Hastra? Then his mind started working again as he realized that must be the name of the Blackguard. He had never bothered asking, and the Blackguard had never bothered to give it.
Drys stepped past the Blackguard, patting the sphere while keeping an eye on the changed plate-covered skeleton. Solus immediately realized what he was planning, and he stepped forward to draw Domain's attention.
"What have you done?"
"I tried what I told you about! A tiny part of my program is now written on Hastra's mana-field, allowing me to exist without being chained down in that infernal metal prison!"
As the Blackguard spoke, parts of the armor plates curled up at the edges, their pristine black color becoming a dull grey. Domain raised one of his arms and looked at it like a zombie might inspect a particularly odd-colored lesion.
"It's a shame that this body just isn't powerful enough. Perhaps if I had removed the original patterns there would have been sufficient space…"
The idea of the AI inscribing itself onto his mana-field, overwriting his personality and taking over his body, made Solus sick with fear.
Drys stared at Domain's back with a look of disgust on his face, but he didn't try to move closer to him yet. Instead, he shook his head with obvious distaste as he spoke. "You must release Hastra, or he will fall apart!"
Domain sighed, and his shoulders slumped. "I know, but you two have no idea how it is to be trapped in that thing, unable to move around independently!"
Before either Solus or Drys could reply, the Blackguard slumped to the ground as the sphere lit up again with a pulsating blue light. A few beeps accompanied the pulses, and then the sphere returned to its previous shiny metallic state.
Surging forward, Solus kneeled beside Hastra, quickly inspecting the Blackguard. He was motionless, but the plates on his body had stopped dulling and curling up at the edges.
"If you have any mana-orbs about your person, I suggest you give him some."
Solus looked up in consternation, but Drys grabbed an orb from between the plates covering his lower body. It looked like it had some sort of pocket built into it. Drys tossed the orb to him, and he snatched it out of the air before placing it on the Blackguard's chest. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the orb glowed gently.