Project Xero: Reblood: A LitRPG and Gamelit Adventure

by J. Cee

  Jexaka raised an eyebrow at Ceph, but she stopped sending Soulstrikes at him. Ceph slowly made his way back to the passageway’s start with one eye on the swirling glass spheres and another on Jexaka.

  “You can focus on the spheres. I won’t attack you.” Jexaka shifted to the side, dodging a sphere.

  “Uh, thanks?”

  Ceph was standing side by side with Jexaka. He was dimly aware of Aeri fighting Jexaka’s twin on the other side of the glass wall, but he couldn’t take his attention off the glass spheres. He noticed that Aeri’s Jexaka had drawn her sword.

  “A little help?” Ceph asked as he shattered another glass sphere.

  “You seem to have things under control.”

  Ceph was relieved that Jexaka had agreed to the truce. The truth was that fighting her on his own terrified him. It would be the same as fighting Aeri, from what he could tell, and Aeri always beat him in practice fights. Always. This was not a fight he could win.

  Ceph finished off the last glass sphere. The two figures stood motionless, unwilling to trigger additional glass spheres with their steps. Ceph squinted at Jexaka with a critical eye, but she remained silent.

  He glanced through the glass wall to see Aeri and Jexaka exchanging a series of sword blows. Looking back to the Jexaka on his side, he stared at the sword still hanging from her hip.

  What had Zeudah said about his Twin Paradox skill? They shared the same blood and spirit pool. What happened to skills and equipment? They shared the same cooldown, but what did that mean? He noticed that Jexaka was wearing what looked like Aeri’s Rush boots. What else? Jexaka had to split her attention between two bodies.

  Jexaka’s stalling, Ceph realized. She could fight Aeri with her full attention if his copy didn’t do anything.

  Jexaka seemed to read Ceph’s mind, smiling as she met Ceph’s gaze. “You’re no match for me, even as half of a Twin. Stand aside, and I’ll let you live.”

  She was right. He was no match for half of Jexaka. But Aeri was.

  Ceph stepped away from Jexaka, tightening his grip on his sword. His feet left a glow on the floor as he moved, signaling that a glass sphere would soon emerge from his former position.

  Standing aside wasn’t an option. Jexaka was offering a false choice. He and Aeri would perish or succeed together, if not against Jexaka, against the Word waiting outside the Glass Vaults.

  Ceph wasn’t running anymore. He had to fight. If nothing else, he would distract Jexaka enough to give Aeri an advantage. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ceph glimpsed streaks of violet light bouncing around the room. Aeri needed him.

  Ceph slashed at Jexaka and followed with a Soulstrike from his left wrist. His sword attack missed as Jexaka stepped sideways, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver in the passageway’s entrance. Ceph’s Soulstrike struck Jexaka in the hip. She hadn’t used a shield.

  “Fool. I gave you a chance.”

  Jexaka sent a Soulstrike. He tried to parry it but failed. He checked his blood pool. He had lost ten blood to that attack.

  By now, a new glass sphere had emerged. It poked and prodded at Ceph’s defenses, but he kept it at bay with his sword. The sphere turned instead toward Jexaka, who destroyed it with a single Soulstrike.

  As Jexaka finished dealing with the glass sphere, Ceph swept his sword low at her legs. Jexaka leapt, dodging the attack. Nearby, the ground began to glow again as more glass spheres formed.

  Ceph pressed the attack, slashing up. Jexaka kicked off a wall, rolling away from Ceph. She glared at him, as if he were an irritating insect, and finally drew her sword. Why now, Ceph wondered. He saw that Aeri and her copy were standing still on the other side of the glass wall.

  Jexaka attacked Ceph with a vicious urgency. Ceph blocked one sword swing after another, but she was relentless, not slowing the pace of attacks. In between sword attacks, Jexaka launched Soulstrikes. Ceph was forced to use his small spirit pool to defend with shields. He only had six spirit left.

  “Ugh!”

  A glass sphere smashed into Ceph’s back, knocking him off balance. Jexaka used the distraction to hit Ceph with dual Steelstrike and Soulstrike attacks. Another glass sphere smashed into the back of his head. Ceph fell to one knee at the combined onslaught from the front and rear.

  He wouldn’t be able to last long in a straight fight against Jexaka, especially with the glass spheres distracting him. He glanced at the glass wall again, trying to see how Aeri was faring. Had he helped at all?

  Aeri’s back smashed into the glass wall with a dull thud that he could hear through the barrier. The other copy of Jexaka held Aeri’s head in her hands. Black eyes met Ceph’s through the wall.

  “You see? It’s hopeless to fight me.” The copy of Jexaka on his side was addressing Ceph. “A shame. She buries her strength in weakness. You, though? You’re nothing.”

  Ceph spun and shattered an attacking glass sphere with his sword. The second glass sphere darted at Jexaka, who ducked under it.

  Ceph sheathed his sword and faced Jexaka. “You’re right. I’m not like you and Aeri. I’m nothing.” Ceph’s voice grew quiet. “And nothing’s going to beat you.”

  “Finally, some sense. You surrender?” Jexaka’s malicious smile made it clear that there would be no mercy.

  Ceph’s voice grew stronger. “Like you said, call me nothing.”

  Ceph didn’t wait to finish watching confusion overtake Jexaka’s triumphant expression. He turned towards the other end of the passageway, ignoring Jexaka, the glass spheres, the fight in the other room, and everything else. Instead, he ran.

  He saw it now. This time, to run was to fight, to fight was to run. He needed to step forward and take what he should have taken a long time ago.

  Ceph ran as fast as he could, his spirit-imbued legs becoming a blur of matched pistons. He ran and he ran. Ceph kept his eyes on his goal. There. That must be it. The sparkle in the distance had to be the artifact.

  A clattering noise grew louder and louder behind Ceph. A backward glance revealed Jexaka chasing him about ten meters behind. About twenty glass spheres were chasing Jexaka, bouncing into each other and off the walls. Jexaka should have been able to reach Ceph with her superior speed, but she had to dodge a constant barrage of attacks from the glass spheres.

  The ground behind Ceph was littered with the glow of even more nascent spheres. The more he ran, the more spheres emerged.

  The sudden glare of violet light reflecting off the glass walls warned Ceph of a Soulstrike from behind. He cast a Deflection Shield without breaking his stride. Corpus. Ceph’s blood pool was still just over a hundred, but his spirit pool was down to four points. He wouldn’t be able to cast many more shields.

  Ceph didn’t have to worry about shields, though, as Jexaka didn’t send another Soulstrike. Did she need to conserve her spirit pool for the other fight? They were now about halfway down the passageway. Ceph could make out an object sparkling as it floated. All he had to do was grab it first.

  Ceph tumbled forward, somersaulting awkwardly, as something knocked into this legs. A flash of metal caught his eye. Jexaka had thrown her sword.

  Ceph twisted himself into a crouch and started running again when a kick sent him tumbling forward once more. As Jexaka raced past, Ceph snagged her ankle with his right hand. He couldn’t hold on, but the move was enough to trip her for a moment.

  One glass sphere, then a second and a third smashed into Ceph’s back. Ceph yelled in pain as he sprinted forward. A glass sphere missed him. Corpus. He had lost over half of his remaining blood pool in an instant.

  Jexaka had recovered and was running slightly behind Ceph to his right. A lethal wall of glass spheres tumbled behind them, nipping at their heels. Ceph raised his hand to send a Soulstrike.

  “Wait!” Jexaka cried.

  Ceph ignored her and prepared to launch a Soulstrike into Jexaka’s body. Jexaka couldn’t afford to dodge with the glass spheres right behind her. A stutter of steps now would mean instant death.
>
  “You fool! You think you’ve won?” Jexaka veered towards Ceph, trying to trip him from behind, but Ceph was too far ahead.

  The artifact was close enough to see now. It was some kind of circlet or bracelet floating in a column of golden light. Ten more seconds, and Ceph would have the artifact in his hands. He hoped that would be enough.

  Jexaka screamed in rage. To Ceph’s horror, she streaked past Ceph as if he were standing still. In an instant, she reached the artifact. The Rush boots! Ceph had forgotten about it.

  Ceph could only watch as Jexaka snatched the artifact out of the column of light. A brilliant flash of light flooded Ceph’s vision. Blinded and disoriented, Ceph tripped, slamming into something hard.

  He had lost.

  * * *

  The smell of earthy ground and fresh air tickled Ceph’s nose. He opened his eyes, dark spots still floating in his vision. Someone was standing a distance away from him. His eyes focused.

  It was the Word. The other Everborn were gone.

  Ceph checked his surroundings. He was back outside the Glass Vaults, but the gateway was gone. A plain rocky outcropping remained.

  Jexaka stood to his right with a golden band around her wrist. That had to be the artifact. A groan came from Ceph’s left.

  Aeri! Ceph raced over to help a weary looking Aeri to her feet. A second Jexaka was picking itself up. Then, she shimmered and disappeared. Only the single Jexaka with the artifact remained.

  “Aeri.” Ceph’s voice wavered. “I failed.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Aeri said. Ceph followed her gaze to Jexaka.

  “I see some new faces and some old ones.” The Word peered at Ceph. “You again.”

  Jexaka darted away, but the Word was too fast. Before she could take two steps, the Word sent a Soulstrike into Jexaka’s back, then another. Her body disintegrated from the impact.

  Ceph rushed over to the woman’s bloody remains. “No, no,” Ceph’s hands rooted through the bloody mess.

  The Word misunderstood. “Why mourn her fate? You will soon share it.” He laughed.

  Ceph felt something metallic and circular. Hiding his actions with the gore, he slipped the band onto his right wrist.

  Lore.

  A single phrase glowed beneath the usual glyphs and numbers. The Godhand. Grants the skill Zealot’s Fury. Inactive. Ceph stared at the words. Inactive? What did that mean? How was he supposed to activate the bracer?

  The Word seized Ceph and lifted him. Ceph sent a weak Soulstrike into the Word’s hand, but the Everborn only laughed.

  “I would like to know. How did you become Everborn?”

  Ceph’s eyes darted in terror to Aeri. She was walking towards them.

  “Stop! Let him go. It’s me you want. I’m the Beastspawn.”

  The Word turned to gaze at her. “Interesting. Yes, I recognize you. I will settle this matter first.”

  “No, Aeri. Run!” Ceph yelled.

  A streak of violet energy struck the Word’s back.

  “Oh?” The Word turned around to see who had caused the disturbance.

  Zeudah stood at the mouth of the clearing. “Aeri, go!”

  Aeri stood frozen for a moment, then took three slow steps backwards. The Word sighed.

  “If you insist on dying.” The Word held Ceph with his left hand while he raised his right palm at Aeri. Violet energies crackled in the open palm.

  Aeri dashed towards the side of the clearing. The Word’s Soulstrike hit Aeri, but her skin glowed yellow as her Deflection Shield blocked the damage.

  “Next one, then,” the Word said.

  His right hand glowed a second time. Aeri’s shield wouldn’t be ready before the Word’s next strike. He kicked his lower body to the side, clamping his legs around the Everborn’s right arm. Deflection Shield. Ceph blocked the Word’s Soulstrike with his own shield and body.

  Ceph saw Aeri leaping out of the sunken depression to join Zeudah. She had made it.

  The Word screamed. “You! You annoying insect.”

  He seized Ceph’s neck with both hands. Ceph closed his eyes. Someone screamed his name in the distance. A sharp pain stabbed his neck. A quiet emptiness enveloped him.

  Chapter 31

  “Ceph! Ceph!” Aeri screamed.

  His aura was gone.

  This was impossible. She had seen his thread. Ceph couldn’t die now. She turned her mind inward. Her visions were blurry and confused. Damn that Jexaka—

  Zeudah grabbed her arm. “We have to go. It’s too late.”

  The Word tossed Ceph’s lifeless body aside and turned its face towards them.

  “No. No.” Aeri slumped to the ground, half dragging Zeudah down with her. “This can’t be. We need Ceph.”

  Zeudah shook Aeri.

  “Ceph’s gone. Forget it. Stay alive!”

  Zeudah glanced one more time at Aeri, then let go of her arm with a sigh. The former Everborn raced into the forest.

  Aeri stood alone at the edge of the clearing, focused on Ceph’s body. She had failed. Without him, her mission would fail. How could this happen? What could she do? Jexaka…

  The Word took in Aeri’s pained expression. It nudged Ceph’s body with his foot, then gazed up at Aeri. The Word walked at a leisurely pace towards her. “Your response is curious. Will he not return?”

  Did he know about the Onceborn? It didn’t matter. Aeri had to escape, even if it meant losing the artifact. She couldn’t win in a straight fight against the Word.

  There was movement behind the Word. How was that possible? There it was again. Aeri was positive. She forced herself to keep her eyes on the Word. She was sure now. Aeri held her breath. What was going on? Inspect. Her eyes widened.

  Ceph’s aura had returned, but it had changed. It was red, not like the red of high ranked Everborns, but a deep purple-tinged red. The color of blood.

  What was happening? Was it the artifact? Behind the Word, Ceph rose to his feet. She had to help him. She had to distract the Word.

  “I have an offer,” Aeri said.

  The Word stopped, tilting its head.

  Aeri spoke in a loud, clear voice. “Leave us in peace, and we’ll spare you.”

  The Word’s mouth twisted in anger. “You jest, but be assured. After killing you, I will find him next.” He pointed at the direction Zeudah had run. “Your deaths will be endless. Your suffering will be endless. I will destroy you all from the inside out.”

  “Not Zeudah. Us,” Aeri said.

  “Who?” The Word paused in confusion.

  “Me, fire-faced mouth-breather!”

  Ceph’s left wrist glowed with violet energy, but the crackling light was unlike anything Aeri had ever seen. She shielded her eyes as a roaring fireball of blinding violet light smashed into the Word.

  The Word’s body lit up like the sun. Then it disintegrated, turning into smaller and smaller pieces before vanishing. There was no explosion. There was no blood. The Word had ceased to exist. Violet sparks danced around Ceph.

  Aeri wiped a tear away from her eyes. Ceph held his left wrist with his right hand, pointing it away from himself as if it was a dangerous snake. The tip of the wrist still had a soft purple glow.

  “It’s called the Godhand,” Ceph said.

  Aeri smiled, tears streaming down her face.

  Chapter 32

  Myrtle took the gold band from Ceph. It was unadorned except for a glowing red inlay that ran down the middle of the band.

  “This is it?” Myrtle hefted the band in her hand and flipped it over with a casual toss.

  Seeing Myrtle handle the artifact like that made Ceph wince. There was no doubt that the object carried immense power. He had felt that power firsthand.

  Myrtle pulled on her helmet and held the band in front of her. “And you’re telling me it only worked once so far?”

  “Well, now it has the red glowing line. When I first put it on, it didn’t do anything. But when I attacked the Word, that single Soulstrike was amazing. I don�
��t know how to describe it. The weird part was that I swear I could feel my left hand again for a moment.”

  “That was after your near death?”

  Ceph shifted in his seat and cast his eyes downward. “Yes.”

  He hadn’t told the others yet, but it hadn’t been a near death. He had been dead. He was sure. After regaining consciousness from his blackout, Ceph had used the Corpus skill to check his blood pool. It had read zero. He looked up to catch Aeri staring at him.

  “Ceph,” Aeri whispered, but Ceph shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about it.

  “And you can’t seem to use your skill again? The Zealot’s Fury?”

  It was awkward talking to the faceplate of Myrtle’s strange helmet. He could see his reflection in it. “I tried casting a few Soulstrikes after the fight. They felt normal. Not like that one time.”

  “I tried my Lore skill, but it couldn’t tell me anything about the Zealot’s Fury skill,” Aeri said.

  Myrtle’s head bobbed under her helmet. “Yes, but I believe there are two different requirements at play here. What did your Corpus display when you first put on the artifact?”

  “It showed the name of the skill, Zealot’s Fury, and listed it as inactive. But it doesn’t show the inactive part anymore.”

  “Ah!” Myrtle snapped her finger. “I bet your near death experience was an activation requirement.”

  Or death, Ceph thought. He guessed that the activation worked like the Halfling’s Return, stopping the death blow.

  Aeri pursed her lips, musing. “I’ve heard of skills having minimum blood pool requirements. Zealot’s Fury could be similar, but in the opposite way. A maximum blood requirement?”

  “Hold that thought.” Myrtle put the artifact down on her table and her fingers began dancing in the air. Ceph reached forward for the band, but Myrtle somehow sensed him through her opaque helmet. She waved his hand away. “Not yet.”

  Myrtle picked up the artifact again, her fingers probing it. “Okay, I’m pretty sure I know how it works.”