Exordium

by Tyson Jordan

  With Engeltrane in hand, Argenta began to cut a neat swath through the Betas, while I stared at the damaged bomb, unsure what to do. With my chronopatch I attempted to interface with it, and small holograms appeared over my hand, flickering from blue to red before all connection was lost, and the bomb began to glow with a brilliant violent light. I cried back, “We have to move! Now!”

  We began to run, but I noticed that Argenta was absent. I turned, and saw her staring down the Gamma in a defensive posture, with Engeltrane at the ready. I screamed, “Are you insane? We have to go! Now!” I knew that she heard me, but the red Sentry did not listen.

  For far too long I stood rooted to the spot, and Janus stood with me. I looked at our resolute ally and part of me screamed to leave her behind to be consumed by the Gamma or by the hellfire that we would soon unleash on the tower. I did not listen.

  Drawing my gun from its holster, I took hasty aim and fired percussive plasma at the tortoise time and again, stepping forward. Janus muttered, “Oh, damn it all,” as he drew his gun and did the same.

  We were successful in drawing the beast’s attention, if only for a moment. It turned its head, curious and unhurt, and saw the two of us running along the perimeter of the room. Argenta seized that opportunity and leapt forward, her nodachi in hand. Drawing a simple and clean arc through the air, she removed one of the Gamma’s eyes.

  Yellow jelly sprayed forth. The monster roared in pain and fury, clutching its ruined face, and fell to the floor. I stared in stark disbelief as Argenta moved again, ready to claim the Malinvictus’s life. Regrettably, she had misjudged her enemy.

  One of the monster’s long sinewy arms lashed forth with astonishing speed. It struck Argenta squarely in the chest, and she made a slight utterance of surprise before falling to the floor some distance away. The Betas beyond began to squeal in delight, and Janus sneered, “To hell with you all,” as he shot one in the head. It dropped to the floor, the remains of its head smoking, and the others stared in momentary confusion. They began to devour the body greedily, and my friend groaned in revulsion as he opened fire upon the rest.

  My feet carried me towards Argenta’s unconscious form as the Gamma regained its footing, shaking the floor as it shifted its great mass. It advanced on her broken body slowly, and there was little time to spare. I curved around the monster, getting a clear view of the long, segmented plates covering its back, and began to sprint.

  The Gamma was on my comrade already, and it readied a crushing claw high in the air. With a deep breath I bounded forward, stepping on the plates of its back and clambering madly up. The rungs of its shell were dusty and slick with a foul oil, and I swore as I nearly lost my footing. The monster groaned in slow incomprehension as I sprang up, over its head. As I returned to the earthy floor, I twisted my body and slashed out wildly. I landed painfully, and struggled to my feet. I saw that I had hit my mark. The creature’s cries of fury and pain filled the room again, and the vile jelly on my sword told me it was blind.

  It began to lash out in every direction, swinging furiously and spinning from one side to the next. The ground beneath it crumbled, offering no resistance to the Gamma’s rage. There was little time to waste. I knelt beside Argenta and slung her unconscious form over my shoulder. She was still breathing, but could clearly offer no further assistance. I sped away, with Janus in tow, towards the tunnel.

  It did not dawn on me that the halls were so narrow when we entered, and fighting there with a sword was not an option. As we pierced the darkness, breathing heavily and drenched with sweat, an Alpha burst forth from a crumbling section of wall, snarling greedily. I stumbled, trying to draw my gun, when the scorching heat and sound of Janus’s weapon split the air.

  The plasma bolt singed my ear, and I yelped in terror, nevertheless feeling gratitude as the wolf fell to its side, twitching in its last throes of death. We continued our escape, and found ourselves bathed in incandescent light once more. I burst forth, glad to be free of the darkness, and slammed my fist against the wall, commanding the quick shaft to appear.

  The doors swung open, and we entered in disbelief, only aware of what had happened in a curious fashion. Blood and ichor covered my hands, and Janus’s gun barrel began to fill the compartment with smoke.

  “Can we get to the roof for extraction?” The doors closed, and Janus stared at the panel. I shook my head and glanced at my chronopatch.

  “No, there’s no time! The bomb—it took a hit and it’s going to detonate!”

  “What?”

  “This tower is going to explode, one way or another.”

  My friend did not hesitate. He slammed his fist against the keypad, and the elevator began its torturously slow ascent to the ground floor. Argenta moaned slightly as I shifted her weight upon my shoulder.

  Please make it in time, please make it, I’m not ready to die, I don’t want to die …

  31

  Wrath

  The elevator abruptly stopped moving, and we stumbled in our confusion and outrage at the sound of twisting, grinding metal.

  “I don’t suppose that’s an ordinary mechanical failure,” Janus pondered aloud as he reached up, pulling down the access vent from the ceiling. He leapt upwards and extended his hands down. Through the floor, I could hear and then feel a terrible growling, an anguished and furious cry. The booth trembled, shaking violently from side to side, and I swore loudly, fumbling to pass Argenta upwards. Janus pulled her up, grunting, and I was eager to follow. I extended my reach to the ceiling, noticing the interior walls fracturing and cracking, and Janus met my grasp with his.

  The bottom of the elevator collapsed, torn away by an unspeakable force that left my feet dangling over oblivion. The lights in the booth flickered wildly, casting frantic light over the surroundings. I heard my friend cry out, his eyes transfixed beneath me. I looked downward into the tunnel and screamed.

  The Gamma had found us, blind and wrathful. Its face was a gory ruin, dripping with brackish blood and the vile jelly of what its eyes once were, and its howl was deafening and incessant. The tendrils of its mouth extended, whipping frantically from side to side, and brushed my leg. They coiled and contracted in an instant, pulling me down with the promise of death. Janus pulled upwards with all of his might, and I gritted my teeth, feeling a wretched strain.

  With my free hand I unholstered my gun and fired downwards into the Gamma’s face, casting purple bursts of light in all directions. The Malinvictus screamed in disgust as the remnants of its eyes took to flame. I fired again and again, severing the tendrils of its face that fell, blazing as they coiled into the impenetrable darkness below. I jerked my leg upwards, feeling the last remaining tentacles stretch and painfully snap, and Janus pulled me to the roof of the elevator.

  The Gamma refused to die. The fires of its face had spread to the soft surrounding tissue and burned it away to reveal bleached bone and empty eye sockets. With clumsy, unimaginable strength it advanced, effortlessly crumpling the walls of the elevator. The violent rocking and lurching beneath told me that the booth would soon collapse altogether, leaving us to tumble down into the darkness.

  Our gunfire was rampant but ineffectual. The Gamma clambered upwards, seemingly unfazed, and there seemed to be no other options as I felt the frantic and irregular pounding of my heart.

  See the Spheres … Within the recesses of my mind, I heard Innatus speak in a calm and patient voice. I suddenly felt soothed by him, and my grip relaxed on my gun. The blazing violet of Janus’s gun became subdued, then immaterial, and its endless percussion dulled, falling into silence. Our bodies drifted into silhouettes, with my friend surrounded by a calm blue light; the monster below radiated plumes of oily orange and red.

  In the corner of my eye I saw the glittering gold of the Spheres running down the wall of the tunnel, circulating through one electrical conduit after another. I called to them with an outstretched hand, and they began to sing, drifting through the air in obedience before coming to rest in my
palm. They gathered and congregated, and their singing was replaced by an erratic and aggressive crackling, leaving the air seared. I clutched my fist around the lightning, and cried out as I unleashed it upon our foe.

  The material world snapped back into view as a brilliant burst of jagged yellow lightning erupted from my hand and struck the Gamma. Its outraged roar ceased abruptly as the current coursed through its body, bursting through the thick shell and scorching the vulnerable tissues within. Set aflame, the Gamma fell into the blackness, forever destroyed.

  “That … that was unbelievable.” My friend spoke in quiet awe. I turned to face him, unsure how I had faced such an enemy, and nodded in agreement. The twisted chassis of the elevator resumed its motion, and we continued our ascent to the ground floor.

  Argenta’s body had grown heavy as we bolted through the darkness. At any moment the bomb would detonate, and the entirety of the tower would collapse, leaving nothing behind. Far ahead we could see the glimmer of a sunrise through tall window panes, and Janus laughed in triumph when he saw the Destrier streaking through the air towards us. “Just a bit more! Just a bit more!”

  The bomb detonated far below us in the cavern, and the floor was suddenly pierced by unimaginable heat. I felt myself yell out in terror, yet I could not hear my voice, as the smell of superheated paints and finishes filled the air. From beneath and behind came a terrible rushing sound, and the floor began to melt beneath my feet as it superheated under the impossible advance of purple flame. The rushing intensified, and I knew that a shockwave had formed, gathering the air into an ever expanding weapon that fractured and twisted the tower.

  We were a few short steps from the window when the shockwave overtook us, propelling us through the air and into blackness.

  32

  The Enemy

  I could feel the coarse, scorched earth beneath my face in the cool of the night, and I coughed, expelling dust that burned my throat. There was a faint band of yellow sunlight on the horizon that slowly grew and expanded, dispelling the darkness. As I came to, I could feel the slow rhythm of my breathing return, filling my lungs with cool air and reinvigorating my senses.

  I looked down at my lacerated hands and upper arms that were thick with blood. I winced as I turned my head, inspecting the rest of my body. My armour had retracted, leaving behind only tattered clothing, drenched in red. Disoriented and lacking in real judgment, I tried to stand.

  I screamed, feeling a jet of fire leap up my leg, which refused to accept my weight, and I fell back to the dirt, moaning. My light-headedness had ended. Nearby, I could see Argenta slumped over, her long black hair shrouding her face. I could not hear her breathing, and I swore in helplessness. I grimaced, shifting my weight to look for Janus, and gazed back at the smouldering ruin of the tower, a fiery skeleton beset by pulverised glass and twisted metal.

  I saw my friend bowed forward on both knees in silence before two figures wreathed in shadow who spoke in soft murmurs. I could not make out their words, yet I could feel a chilling pressure from them, one that dulled my senses further and left me feeling hollow. I called out to my friend, and he looked back in slow response. The gaze of the figures fell upon me in turn, and the rising sun behind me revealed their faces.

  The first was a woman, silver-skinned and red-haired, who smiled cruelly. She was nearly nude, standing barefoot in the wreckage of the tower, undeterred by the flames and wreckage. She focused upon me for only a moment before her wide eyes turned to Janus once more, and she continued whispering. His gaze and attention were given to her in their entirety, and she would do with them whatever she pleased. I struggled to speak my friend’s name, but he did not answer.

  The second was a man, golden-skinned and familiar. He was wrapped in a loose violet robe that covered his chest and exposed the contours of his defined, muscular arms. His beauty was monstrous. My heart quickened at the sight of him, and my eyes drifted downwards to his hand. He grasped a jagged great sword, one that billowed with brown and green miasma that drifted to the ground and left it forever poisoned.

  It was Vaelryk. I opened my mouth to cry out, but no sound emerged, and his cool stare drifted to meet me. I could feel myself slipping away as I looked into the emptiness of his eyes, and I was suddenly a boy again, crying for his father and watching the Shining Gates unfold, giving mass to silvery light that consumed everything.

  The monster approached me, and in a detached voice asked, “Be ye scared?”

  “No! No!” I cried out, finding my voice at last, and began kicking and scrabbling at the dirt, trying to get away. The pain in my leg was unbearable, yet I struggled all the same, succeeding only in kicking up dust. There was terrible disappointment in Vaelryk’s face, and my hands moved of their own accord, fumbling for a weapon. I could see Demonbite plunged into the earth, far in the distance, and my gun was nowhere to be found.

  The ground crunched beneath his feet as he stepped toward me and stared downwards, his disappointment turning to disgust. He turned away, hefting his wrathful weapon over his shoulder, deeming me unworthy of his attention. My father’s shame was total, and with it, mine grew. Vaelryk returned to Janus and his smiling consort, Nyrvanna, and she drew him into a loving embrace.

  I cried out for Janus again, and he did not answer. He rose to his feet, suddenly unhurt, and followed Vaelryk and Nyrvanna into the dark heart of the ruined facility. I called again and again to no avail. They had vanished. I slumped backward, letting pain overtake me, and lapsed into darkness.

  33

  Failure for the Weak

  I awakened, vaguely aware that my feet were moving without command as I wandered many metal corridors, each of them indistinguishable from the last. Alone and forgotten, I looked at the lights above, which no longer burned my eyes but gave out a subdued glow. There was no one else to be seen, and everything around me felt monotonous, yet comfortable in its structure and safety. I had returned to the Guild.

  That’s impossible … For a moment, I stopped my wayward pace as my mind snapped back into rationality, not quite understanding where I was or where I had been going. The air was stale and lacking in substance, and my breath seemed to echo off the walls. I stood centred in the intersection of two hallways. There were no lecture rooms or living quarters or even doorways to be seen. It was all so horribly grey.

  Boom … boom … boom … The booming thuds of footsteps, not mine, were suddenly heard, their echoing memory giving no hint of where they were coming from. They left me anxious and frightened in a way that I had always hoped to forget. The footsteps continued, their sound a growing dirge, and my heart quickened.

  Boom … boom … boom … Every step dimmed the lights, and the halls stretched on no longer into grey but eerie black. The haunting beat of the steps was coming from behind me, and I turned to face the man coming for me. I had seen this before, knowing that there could be no escape, yet the urge to run was overwhelming. In defeat, I remained.

  Out of the encroaching void came the form of a man who was much larger than any Erdeson should be, yet he was one of my kind nonetheless. His movements were measured and deliberate, and the grey light could not mask the brilliant green of his armour. I saw frigid, unfeeling blue eyes set into scarred, once-fair skin and faded brown hair that was cropped short. His shoulders were back, his arms held taut at his sides, as he marched toward me relentlessly.

  I felt both fear and elation at the sight of him as he drew closer. He dwarfed me completely, as I stood only to his shoulder, and the heavy rectangular plates of his armour seemed to strain against his muscles as he walked. His march stopped and his eyes fell upon me, critical and unfeeling.

  “You weren’t worth the sacrifice. I should have left you to burn.” The pools of ice in his face glittered and shone, the lights above intensifying. I squinted in silence, trying to blot them out. I had heard these words before; I knew their meaning and I knew that he was right.

  “I know. I’m doing all I can,” I replied in a weak voice,
convincing no one. My father’s hand fell heavily on the side of my head, and the gentle ebb of blood, thick and warm, could be felt on my temple. I could not face him.

  “It isn’t enough. You were never enough.” He advanced, and I stepped back from him. My back met an unyielding wall, and a massive gauntleted hand grasped my face, forcing my eyes to meet his. Please wake up … Please wake up …

  “Do you see what you’ve done? They will descend on you soon. They are not so forgiving as I am!”

  “I have seen them. I’ve failed.” I struggled to speak. Cobalt grasped my throat with a crushing grip, forcing me to look into the harsh, unyielding blue of his eyes. His face began to decay. The taut skin loosened, then mottled, turning yellow and grey. Wriggling worms burst forth from beneath the hanging flesh, and his eyes sunk deeply into darkening sockets before vanishing, leaving only twin black pools behind.

  “Weak! Pathetic! Who are you? Not my son! Not my son! ”

  “No more! Please!” I begged, barely breathing beneath his grip. I fumbled awkwardly, trying to push him away, but he did not move. The green knight glowered at me, snorted in contempt, and crushed my throat.

  I bolted awake. Argenta was staring at me intently.

  34

  What Was Lost

  I rubbed my eyes delicately beneath the harsh white lights that ran across the ceiling. I sat up with a groan, feeling a tremendous ache, with neither my body nor my mind willing to meet any further challenge. I was in a basic medical facility, and soon noticed the crude biomedical sensors that had been placed on my forearms and chest, glowing faintly as they processed their data.