Project Xero: Reblood: A LitRPG and Gamelit Adventure

by J. Cee

  “Yes,” Zeudah replied. “Artifact challenges are different. There’s only one reward, and everyone is competing to win it.”

  “This one’s rather unique. Let me pull up the posting from the Adventurer’s Hall.” Myrtle put on the strange helmet again and wiggled her fingers in the air.

  “She can do that?” Zeudah whispered to Ceph. Ceph shrugged in reply.

  Myrtle began reading while still wearing the helmet. “Challenge description: Earn an artifact. Challenge location: Glass Vaults. Challenge requirements: Blood of an immortal. Soul of a mortal.”

  “That’s weird,” Zeudah said. “I’ve never heard of challenge requirements like that before.”

  Myrtle took off her helmet. “I think it’s pretty clear who that refers to. You.” Myrtle pointed at Ceph. “Maybe you too, but probably not.” She pointed at Zeudah.

  “Wait! I’ve heard that name before. The Glass Vaults. From a talking reindeer,” Ceph said. “Why’s this appearing at the Adventurer’s Hall now? The timing’s really suspicious.”

  “Perhaps it’s a response to Jexaka,” Myrtle said. “I don’t think either the Creator or the Tetramorph would approve of what she’s done to Zeudah.”

  “You think this could be the Tetramorph?” Ceph asked Myrtle.

  The pile of clothing that was Myrtle managed to convey a shrug. “The enemy of my enemy?”

  “If the Tetramorph’s helping, why can’t it just give us an artifact directly? Why make us do a challenge in the first place, if we’re the only ones that can do it?”

  “Because you might not be the only ones that qualify,” Myrtle said. “Based on what I’ve read and what you’ve told me, Jexaka is likely a Onceborn, too.”

  “Oh. I didn’t think of that.” Ceph grabbed his head in frustration. “Balance, right? The Tetramorph is giving us and Jexaka an equal chance, because it can’t help us directly?”

  “I don’t understand everything, but it sounds like there’s two options,” Zeudah said. “We find allies or you go search for the artifact at the Glass Vaults. Then kill the bad guys and save the girl.”

  “You make it sound so simple,” Ceph complained.

  “It’s the same story, as usual,” Zeudah said.

  “Huh? Anyways, so which option are we choosing?” Ceph asked.

  “I know what I’d choose, but I’m not the one doing it,” Zeudah said.

  “It’s not my choice either,” Myrtle said.

  Ceph gave the others a withering glare. “Really? That’s how it is? Fine. Which one would you choose, Zeudah?”

  “The artifact,” Zeudah said. “I’d rather get stronger and win on my own. Always have. You can’t count on others.”

  Zeudah had been the Pit Champion, after all. Someone like that would trust in his own fighting prowess. The problem was that Ceph wasn’t a Pit Champion or blessed with the knowledge of a goddess like Aeri. He was plain Ceph.

  “I don’t know if I can do it,” Ceph said, shaking his head. “I’m not like you. I hate to get others involved, but I think we should find the rest of the cultists.”

  While the idea of making more Onceborn was distasteful, Ceph couldn’t see any other way to proceed. Was it morally wrong? He was fighting to save Aeri. The old Ceph would have run and left Aeri to her fate. He was making the right move.

  “We won’t have time to raise their ranks,” Zeudah said. “Most of them will die in a fight.”

  Zeudah’s words cast a heavy weight, but Ceph didn’t change his mind. “There’s no other way. We’re not forcing them to do anything. We’ll ask them to help. It’s up to them to decide whether saving Aeri is worth it or not.”

  “Okay, it’s your show,” Zeudah said.

  Was Myrtle staring at him with disapproval? Ceph wasn’t sure. Maybe the guilty feeling was making him imagine things. Why was he feeling guilty? Ceph sighed and leaned back in his chair. He turned to Myrtle.

  “So how do I find the remaining First Believers?” Ceph asked.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  Zeudah knocked again on the door of the rundown house built against the southern wall of the city. According to Myrtle, several cultists lived together in the building. Zeudah had been knocking on the door for a minute, but no one had answered.

  “We tried,” Ceph said, stepping up to the door. “I’ll go first.”

  Ceph leaned his weight against the door and pushed. Some kind of barricade or lock cracked audibly under the strain.

  “Hold on! Hold on!” A muted voice shouted through the door.

  Ceph stopped pushing. He heard the sound of heavy objects dragging across the floor. Then, the door swung open. A man with wispy graying hair and bent back scowled at the two intruders.

  “What do you want?” the old man asked.

  “Um, hi, sorry about that,” Ceph began.

  Zeudah pushed past Ceph and nudged his way into the single-room house.

  “Hey!” the old man protested as Ceph followed after Zeudah.

  Inside the house, Ceph saw three others. A middle-aged woman with bright red hair stood protectively in front of a young boy of about twelve years. An old woman in some kind of religious uniform stood to the side clutching a kitchen knife in her hand.

  “Be gone, you ruffians!” The old woman charged Ceph, waving her knife about in sweeping motions while screaming.

  Ceph flinched from the old woman, even though he knew she couldn’t hurt him. The knife bounced off his belly without harming him. The old woman was vicious. She slashed at Ceph’s face and neck, and when that failed, started jabbing him in the groin.

  “Stop that,” Ceph said, trying to bat the enraged old woman’s hands away without hurting her.

  Zeudah laughed. “This grandma knows how to fight.”

  “Dear, you can stop that,” the old man said. “They’re Everborn.”

  The old woman yelled another warcry as she attempted to mutilate Ceph’s private parts one last time. Then, she stomped back to the other woman and child, still brandishing the knife.

  “Actually, we’re not quite Everborn,” Ceph said. “I’m Ceph. This is Zeudah.”

  The red-haired woman spoke. “I recognize him. He was with the Beastspawn.”

  “Exactly. I’m a Onceborn.” Ceph pointed at Zeudah. “He’s… uh, he’s a Onceborn too, basically.”

  The old man squinted at Zeudah. “He looks familiar. Was he a pit fighter?”

  “Well…” Ceph looked at Zeudah.

  Zeudah cleared his throat. “Yes, I was an Everborn. Things have changed, but that doesn’t matter. We’re here about Aeri.”

  The old woman was still scowling. “I don’t trust them. Where’s the Beastspawn?” The old woman wore a dirty white vestment with faded golden embroidery. The knife she held pointing at him didn’t waver at all despite her age.

  “That’s the reason we’re here. Aeri’s been captured. We’re trying to rescue her and need your help.”

  The old woman stared at Ceph for a long moment. Then she lowered her hand and put the knife on a table. She slumped into a chair with a defeated look.

  “What do you want from us?” the old woman asked. “Kaine’s dead. The others ran. We’re all that’s left of the First Believers. The Flame is dying.”

  Ceph surveyed the room. He took in the old man’s weary expression, the red-haired woman’s nervous fidgeting as she held the frightened boy behind her, the old woman’s empty fury. They weren’t warriors. They weren’t Everborn. They were a leaderless tribe left with nothing.

  But he had to save Aeri. Her mission was beyond them all.

  “I need you to become Onceborn. I need your help fighting higher ranked guards so that we can rescue Aeri.”

  Ceph heard gasps throughout the room. The wooden floor creaked as the red-haired woman shifted weight from one foot to the other.

  “You ask for much,” the old woman said. “You ask for our lives.”

  “You’re right,” Ceph said. “The likelihood of surviving the fight is slim
. You’ll be brand new Onceborn with little practice and little strength. It’s our only option, though. You’re all we have left.”

  That wasn’t strictly true, thought Ceph. There was still the artifact, but Ceph had chosen this path. He tried to avoid Zeudah’s gaze.

  The old man spoke first. “Assuming you’re telling the truth, I would gladly give my life for the Beastspawn.”

  “As would I,” the red-haired woman said.

  “Me too,” the boy said.

  The old woman chuckled. “Not you, Seth. You’re too young.”

  “Is he?” Zeudah asked. Ceph looked at him in surprise. Zeudah continued. “Everborn’s power isn’t ruled by age. We’ll need every Soulstrike and blood point to guarantee our success.”

  “He’s a boy!” Ceph said.

  “This is the road we’re taking,” Zeudah said. The responsibility of the choice was left unspoken. “Either we commit fully or we fail. The boy is old enough to decide for himself.”

  “No, he’s not!” the red-haired woman cried, clutching the boy to her.

  The boy pushed the woman away. “I’m old enough to understand. I’ll die for the Beastspawn. That’s what father would have wanted.”

  The resemblance was there. He had to be the son of Nikola, the man who had saved him at the very beginning. Ceph wanted to vomit. This is what the Everborn forced them to do. This was their life as long as the Everborn ruled their world.

  “I’m afraid I have to agree with our guest—was it Zeudah?” the old man said. “The Beastspawn’s mission is more important than any one of us. Young or old. Man or woman. The Everborn spare no one. We can’t afford to hold back what little aid we can offer.”

  “You can’t possibly mean that,” the red-haired woman said. “He’s your grandson!”

  “Katrice,” the old man said. “The Beastspawn comes before family. That’s what we vowed. I know this better than most.”

  The old woman sat straighter, coming to a decision. “He’s right. The Beastspawn comes first.” She turned to Ceph. “Even if we agree to help, do you know what the Flame Rite requires? How to become a Onceborn?”

  “I thought one of you could tell us,” Ceph said in an awkward tone.

  “We need the essence of an Everborn,” the old woman said.

  “Essence?” Ceph asked. “Like a body?”

  “Yes, we need the fresh corpse of an Everborn,” the old woman said.

  “But where did you get bodies for Ceph and Aeri?” Zeudah asked. “You don’t have any skills. How could you kill an Everborn?”

  “Well, there was Kaine,” Ceph said. “He was a Onceborn before us.”

  “What about before him?” Zeudah pressed. “How did you make the first Onceborn? Before there were any? A normal man can’t hurt an Everborn.”

  “We have our ways,” the old woman said, baring her teeth. Ceph remembered how Nikola and the workers had attacked the Everborn in golden armor. They had known how to hurt an Everborn, even without Soulstrikes or skills.

  “Okay, so we need to find three Everborn corpses for you?” Ceph asked.

  “Four,” Zeudah said.

  Ceph looked at the boy. Seth was standing apart from the red-haired woman with a determined expression.

  “Right, four,” Ceph said with a sick feeling in his gut.

  Chapter 25

  The locust-man clawed at Aeri’s arm, but she didn’t cry out. She grabbed the child-sized creature with both hands and snapped its neck before tossing the carcass a short distance away. Aeri stood in the middle of an underground cavern lit by the soft glow of phosphorescent lichen on the ceiling. Another locust-man crawled out from a rock formation and removed the dead body. All around her, Aeri could see the reflective eyes of countless creatures hiding among the rocks, watching her.

  Corpus. Aeri had ten blood and five spirit left. Ever since Jexaka had brought Aeri into this underground prison, a steady stream of locust-men had been constantly attacking her. There must have been thousands of them in the underground cavern with her, but they attacked her one by one on a steady schedule. Aeri guessed this was a deliberate tactic to keep her blood and spirit pools drained, leaving her vulnerable and unable to escape in the event of a rescue attempt.

  When Ceph and Zeudah had disappeared, presumably using a recall item, Aeri had panicked briefly, lashing out at Jexaka. The threat of the Swarm had put a quick end to Aeri’s attacks, though, and Jexaka had commanded the Swarm to take her into this underground cavern. The mass of bodies during her transport had blocked her vision deliberately, but judging from the direction they had traveled, Aeri guessed that they were not too far into the Wild along the northern border of the city.

  How long had it been since her capture? There was no sunlight, and without the need for food or sleep, there was nothing that Aeri could use to track the passage of time. She tried counting the regeneration rates of her blood and spirit pools, but after endless attacks from the locust-men, she gave up in exhaustion.

  Aeri’s mind wandered back to thoughts of rescue. Would Ceph rescue her? Could he? Aeri didn’t doubt the man’s courage or ability. She knew what he would become, and she saw the glimpses of his strength despite his early struggles. But she hadn’t known about Jexaka or what Jexaka could do.

  Zeudah. She said the name to herself again. His thread was blue and electric, branching off into the unknown, an unpredictable wildcard. She worried. She was convinced that anything she saw, the Tetramorph would also see. The Creator led them both, her and the Tetramorph, on a delicate chase of fate. It was a fine game played between the Creator and his creation.

  In Aeri’s visions, Ceph was a thread of orange light twisting its way along the axis of time. Her own thread was a violet light, bound tightly to the orange light for a time, now separated. What was Ceph doing? Her visions showed a haze of possibilities, but Ceph’s orange thread returned to her violet one in most of them. Yes, he would come to rescue her, and their fates would continue.

  Aeri couldn’t make out the far future. There were too many possibilities. Colored threads of all kinds twisted and spun away in all directions. The end, though, was more clear. She saw where all the possibilities ended. In all futures aligned with her current path. Aeri knew her final fate.

  At least she had until meeting Jexaka. Aeri couldn’t see Jexaka’s thread. Instead, Jexaka left an absence, her influence a murky dimness spreading to all the surrounding threads. An icy uncertainty prickled her spine. Had the Creator anticipated Jexaka?

  And then Jexaka had made her offer. Aeri had refused Jexaka at least ten times. She didn’t know how long she could test Jexaka’s patience. There was a skittering as locust-men moved in the distance. Aeri looked up. Jexaka was returning.

  The dark blue woman stepped into the small flattened section of rock where Aeri stood. Under the soft glow of the lichen, Jexaka’s body disappeared into an indistinct shape of floating sigils. The ceiling’s light glinted off the woman’s black eyes.

  “Still waiting?” Jexaka asked.

  Aeri ignored her.

  “I’ll ask you again. Join me. We will punish the Everborn and remake this world. It’s exactly what your Creator wants.”

  “That’s not what he wants,” Aeri snapped.

  “It’s what he wants but can’t give you. He’s weak. His hands are bound, like yours. Let me free you.” Jexaka reached out to hold Aeri’s hands, but she jerked them away.

  “I can show you another way. I know you’re curious.” Jexaka touched Aeri’s face with a gentle caress, but Aeri slapped the hands away and stepped backwards.

  “Get away. My answer’s the same. No.”

  Jexaka scowled. “Hold her down.”

  Aeri cried out as small clawed hands seized her and threw her to the ground. She struggled, kicking a creature away, but sharp teeth bit into her calf. Aeri immediately froze.

  “Fool. Your blood is almost gone.”

  Jexaka stood over Aeri, then lowered herself, straddling the Beastspawn.
She drew her face close to Aeri.

  “I see the uncertainty in your eyes. The questions. The confusion. I can show you how to live, to truly live, as the Everborn do. No fear. No consequences. Be free.”

  Aeri stared into the black eyes, not saying anything for a moment. She couldn’t keep quiet, though. She had to know the answer. “How did you do it? We killed you. How did you come back?”

  Jexaka smiled, a jagged line of carnivorous teeth visible behind her lips. “You want to know that?” A blue finger traced a line down the curves of Aeri’s pale neck. “I can show you everything. I can make you live like you haven’t before. Join me.”

  Aeri met Jexaka’s gaze without blinking. She whispered in a soft voice. “No.”

  Jexaka didn’t respond. She stood up with an exasperated sigh, kicking a locust-man savagely. The creature’s cry went silent as it struck a rock.

  “You’re fools. You, the Creator, all of you.”

  Jexaka suddenly returned to Aeri, who was sitting now, bending low to meet her face. “I’ll tell you what I do. I steal from the Everborn. I claim their lives as my own. Each time I die, I use another Everborn’s body as my seed to return.”

  “Zeudah! What’s going to happen to him? What happens to the Everborn you claim?”

  “What happens?” Jexaka smiled. “That depends. If I live, nothing happens. If I die, I take his life as my own. The Everborn is destroyed in my rebirth. Permanently, in every world.”

  Aeri stared in horror. “This is insanity! You can’t destroy the Everborn. If you provoke them blatantly like that, they could devastate all of Xero!”

  “What about you? Aren’t you a threat to them?”

  “I seek to change, not destroy!” Aeri crawled away backwards from Jexaka. “You have to stop. You must. You’ll destroy everything, including yourself.”

  Jexaka dismissed Aeri with a flick of her hand. “I’ve told you enough. I offer you a chance for true power and true freedom. I didn’t think that you, of all people, would be too cowardly to accept.”

  As Jexaka backed into the darkness, she turned her head towards Aeri. “You put your faith in the weak. Your guardian, the Everborn, they are nothing compared to us. You and I, we are kindred. We strong ones should unite and live as we please. That is the natural order.”