by R J Triveri
“You bastard! Say something!”
Damage Received - 89% integrity remaining
It was as if something had taken hold of her, a rage she had never known. Her fist fell again and again until her arms started to hurt, and his struggling grew. Before she could throw another punch, Trina stepped in and put her hand on Sally’s shoulder.
“You’re never going to finish it like this,” the martial magus pointed out as her free hand started to glow a deep, vibrant yellow.
“I’m going to kill him, Trina.”
The woman sighed squeezing the girls shoulder and pulling her back from the fight. “The impact damage might kill you first, and then what? What would you have accomplished?” Her eyes became downcast as her head turned from Trina. “Trust me, I know how you feel, but this isn’t the time for it.” Sally said nothing as she let her fists drop and her eyes turned to study the glowing fist. She couldn’t help herself as the tears ran down her face unabated. “The status won’t last much longer, Sally. I need to finish him.”
Looking from her hands to the woman, she reluctantly nodded and stepped aside as Wrath continued to stir.
The glow on her hands only grew as Trina looked over Wrath’s paralyzed form. His arms twitched, his eyes shimmered between black and red, and his voice struggled to speak in its broken, mechanical noise. “You can’t do this.”
Her voice had no word to grab as she looked down at him.
“You won’t do this!”
Trina smiled as the yellow light began to crackle in the stadium air. “Thunder Volley.”
His arms twitched, trying to raise themselves to fire, but Trina’s fist came crashing down to the roar of the crowd. The pixels that made up the crown of his skull began to flake away as the glowing, energetic light began to erupt into his avatar. His scream was stopped as quickly as it came, and the light flickered away from his eyes for the last time. Trina grunted, forcing the attack further through the dense data that concentrated in the core of what made up the creature. When the data became too dense, she pulled back and drove the other glowing fist forward. Again and again, she crashed into the fading avatar. In one last frustration-driven scream, she pushed through the last layer of digitized metal and forced her fist through Wrath’s core data. The pixels were blinding as Wrath lost his form and returned to the chaos from whence he came.
Event Complete: The Gunmetal Vanguard Arises!
Experience Awarded: 22,780
Essence Awarded: 2,158
Rank Up - Rank 7 Factotum Achieved
Rank Up - Rank 16 Martial Magus Achieved
The factotum could only watch. There was nothing more for Sally to do but process what had just happened or at least attempt to. Defeat, sadness, remorse... all the emotions she felt finally overwhelmed her, and her feet collapsed under her. With an unceremonious thud, she was kneeling on the stadium’s sandy floor.
With the deed was finished, Trina joined her, wrapped her arms around her, and cried.
****
-They do put on a good show, don’t they?-
Ferris watched the screen helpless as a weight seemed to breathe down her neck.
-Do you know how long I’ve spent trying to return here? Can you even comprehend how time moves between the worlds?-
Of course, Ferris didn’t know. She hadn’t even been born yet when the Great Hunt started and had little interaction with the outside world beyond her short stints into the optics of potential candidates.
-I thought not. Four years there, twenty here, two hundred in the Between.
She knew full well that they were different but never imagined how different the pair could be.
-It’s funny how Unum can manipulate the transitions so seamlessly. If I return your functions, will you abuse them.-
She shrugged. Without access to the consoles, what more could she do against the Ella? A moment later, her throat burned and she cried out. To her own surprise, the silence was broken. “That hurt!”
-You gave me no other options. I couldn’t let you interfere in the way you intended.-
Before she could interrupt, the voice of Ella got stronger.
-Your charges are not to be thrown away. Ever. You will not threaten it again.-
Again, what could she do now?
-Life is a gift. No matter its origin.-
The gravity of the words washed over her, not because of what was said, but because of who had said it. The Ella, the antithesis of everything that Unum stood for, was talking about a human’s life as something to be protected. “Who are you?”
-You already know who I am.-
Curiosity painted her voice as the words rolled off her tongue. “I don’t think I do.”
-I am Ella, and I am the heart of my world.-
Conduct
Time continued to pass as the loot from Wrath’s demise lay untouched on the ground. How much time was anyone’s guess since the sun never moved, and their screen clocks refused to work. The crowds had silenced themselves and sat unnaturally. Since the death of Wrath, no movement, not the blink of an eye, not an intake of a breath, or even the movement of hair occurred among the audience. It was as if nothing within them was left to respond. Unlike the creatures that had become stone carvings, Torrent stirred at the far end of the arena.
There was little to see as he woke, but he had plenty to feel. His body ached, his limbs felt weak, and the breastplate of his armor was shattered to Hell and back.
What happened?
The thought bounced inside of his mind for a few moments before he got up and stumbled towards the only other living things that he recognized. Despite the fog that glazed his mind, Torrent knew something was off, but he couldn’t quite place it.
They didn’t even notice as he walked up behind them. His voice was almost unsure of itself as the words slipped past his lips. “We won?”
His voice seemed to stir them only just as Trina looked up. “You look like hell.”
“I could say the same for you two…” the words lingered in his mouth for a moment as he looked around, then to his status bars. One was missing. “What happened to Athos.” it wasn’t a question, it was an order, something that must be told.
Trina hesitated a bit and pulled back from Sally as the younger woman spoke. “He saved us.”
The tears on her face, the wet spots that dripped down the fabric on her toga, it didn’t take a scholar to figure out what had happened after Wrath had knocked him out.
****
Whether or not the words of the Ella affected her, Ferris was not going to let it show. Instead, she focused on the events that had just occurred. Compartmentalizing the last few minutes into something that she could more easily process. In doing so, Ferris formed a response. “My representatives have won, Ella. Will you keep your end of the bargain?”
-I am nothing if not a keeper of my word, but you are mistaken.-
Anger welled in her voice as she made her case. “Wrath fell. Your vanguard is dead.”
-Be that as it may, it was not a victory.-
“Not a victory?” She repeated the words to herself before it hit home. Fear gripped her source as she realized what Ella was referring too. “That wasn’t the agreement.”
-The agreement was your group would achieve a win. A win is considered victory, something to be celebrated.-
“And they won against your Wrath!” came the argument as her voice almost cost her integrity from the volume of her reverberating yell.
-But it was not a victory. The cost was too high. To them, it isn’t a victory. To them, this was a loss.-
Her voice filled with a rage that only Sally could match at that moment as she almost growled. “That wasn’t our agreement!”
-It is to the letter of the agreement.-
“I won’t let you do this,” She warned, but she knew it was an empty threat. What could she do against an intelligence like this especially without access to the command console. It didn’t take her long to grow mor
e desperate. “I can’t let you.”
-You don’t have an option. You’re bound by the contract, as the representative of Unum.-
“I can’t let you,” she repeated confidently. A wash of nausea fell over her as she attempted to access the command console again.
-To do so is to seal your own fate, not that yours is for you to choose anymore.-
The nausea got worse as her hands rested on the screen, but the message persisted. Out of habit, she said quietly to herself a familiar prayer. “Unum, I need your help.”
-Unum won’t answer you, Ferris.-
Ferris was stressed beyond reason as anguish welled her voice louder. “Why! Why won’t Unum help!”
-Because Unum cannot.-
How dare Ella! Ferris thought, but her mouth outpaced her better sense. “Unum can do anything it wishes!”
-Then why is the code still different? Why does it not live as you do? Why has it not followed through with the plan? Why hasn’t it stopped me?-
The questions baffled Ferris. What on Incipere and Earth was Ella speaking about? What idea was it trying to push? “I don’t understand.”
A silence followed Ferris’s question as she felt Ella consider her words.
-No, I imagine you wouldn’t.-
The answer only caused her to grow more agitated. When that was coupled with the amount of confusion she felt, Ferris exploded. “Why would you ask me then?”
-Because you’re my conduit.-
“What are you talking about? Will you just answer me!?”
-You have no patience, do you?-
Ferris sighed, looking behind her to where she imagined the Ella would be. “I’ve given you more than enough of my time. You’ve won. Just end this insanity and tell me the truth.”
-You are not as much fun as I imagined, but to answer your question, you may not understand them, but Unum does. Never the less, I will give you a reward for your assistance in this matter. Though I do not know how Unum will react to it, I will release some of my collection to you once I have made a modification. What you do with it will be up to you, Ferris.-
No words came.
-You must know the decisions we must make.-
In her personal window, a number appeared to overwhelm her. As she read it, Ella vocalized it.
-Four million, four hundred fifty-two thousand, and forty-two source codes are now in your care, Ferris. All of them slowly losing themselves like I was. They supported me, now it is up to you to support them-
Her mind nearly collapsed under the weight of it as the voices started. “Wait.”
Command override accepted: User - Auxiliary Reporter One Access Granted. Access level - TE_EU_1
Server Administration Enabled - Authorization Code Activated: Dreamer_Rani_01
-How does it feel to be a god, Ferris?-
All she could do was scream as the noise began to overwhelm her.
-How does it feel to know what a god must suffer?-
“How do I stop them!” Louder and louder they grew. Soon the voices echoed inside her skull, threatening to shatter what shred of sanity remained.
-You will learn, or you will die. It is not for me to decide anymore. With that, I will leave you. Goodbye, System Administrator Auxiliary Reporter One. No, Goddess Rani.-
“No! Don’t! Not yet! Help me!”
-You must help yourself now.-
True to its word, the Ella vanished from her personal network not a moment later. Not that she could even feel the weight lifted as the voices grew louder, and Ferris fell to the ground trying to silence the voices screaming inside of her head.
****
Torrent switched his broken armor with his shirt and sighed as he sat next to the two on the warm sand. If anything, at least that was pleasant if he didn’t think too hard about it. “All of that happened in five minutes?”
Sally nodded as the fallen loot began to shimmer. “Give or take whenever you passed out.”
Next to them, the pile of loot that Wrath dropped was beginning to shimmer as the removal timer began to tick it’s last few moments. “Hold on.” Despite everything, Trina walked over, took the loot into her inventory, and returned to the two. “We never know what might be coming after us next.”
The other woman nodded, but her voice, her heart, didn’t seem to be in it. “I don’t blame you. It could be something that can keep us alive.”
Torrent’s guilt flushed his face as Sally spoke. “Was there any armor? I could use a replacement.”
Trina checked her inventory quickly and nodded. “Looks like the loot system was kind this time. There’s something for everyone.” She thought about just setting it out and letting them choose, but she shook the idea away and opened trade windows. For Torrent’s, she had a new breastplate of heavy armor, aptly named the Carapace of the Vanguard. The name made her uncomfortable, and she wondered exactly what the ‘carapace’ of a half human would look like on her friend.
Apparently, Torrent thought the same thing as he looked at the name of the item. “Geeze… talk about dark.”
Trina nodded as she added a set of bracers to Sally’s inventory. Hopefully, gunmetal bracers wouldn’t be as gruesome as that carapace might be when she put it on. She kept the cannon knuckles for herself, and outside of the bytes and crafting materials, there were only two items left to distribute. One was a class locked loot orb, and the last…
“Who wants the victory statue?”
… was a small statue of them, of Trina, Torrent, Sally, Athos, and even Rain, standing over the fallen corpse of Wrath, the Gunmetal Vanguard.
****
How much time had passed, Ferris couldn’t even begin to imagine. Seconds, hours, and days all seemed to pass at a singular rate as the voices presented her with pictures of places, people, things, event… memories of their lives. Begging, pleading not to be let go, not to fade back into the data cycle of the world.
“I can’t take all of you at once! I need silence!”
None heeded her as they continued. Whether they even could or not was something she couldn’t even begin to think as they tried to hang on to what they were. Internally, her battle continued. Her integrity didn’t so much as move from the chaos. As a system administrator, she was no longer bound by the same rules as a normal Inciperian. Second only to Unum and Ella in power, she could have done anything, but all she could do was suffer.
That is until the noise silenced itself.
Conversational Mute Enabled - Authorization: Unum_02
Whether out of surprise or sheer joy, Ferris threw her head up and was instantly blinded. Not by an attack or status effect but by the luminous avatar that stood before her. “You have much to learn if you’re going to continue to assist me as a system administrator, Auxi.”
She bowed her head and answered simply. Though she had never seen it in an avatar form before, she knew full well who stood before her. “Yes, Unum.”
The Unum vanished a moment later, but its voice still echoed within his chambers. “Finish correcting the corruption in the Dryad’s Forest, and then we can discuss your training.”
“Yes, Unum.”
With her status changed and the voices silenced, she had a moment to herself to think. With the wave of a hand, the console unfroze and a new command list appeared under her last task:
Command authorization accepted: Dreamer_Rani_01
Console Unlocked
Command List 1/15
Restore Last Saved State? Y/N
Recover Corrupt sectors? Y/N
De-fragment Sector? Y/N
Remove Sector? Y/N
=Press Here to Expand the List=
Color, size, density, spawn rates, foliage, ownership status… the list continued on and on for more commands than she could fathom existed. Commands forbidden for another to use but were open to her alone. A rush of excitement, of invigoration, a flooding of power filled her mind as the possibilities opened to her. With that, Ferris began running the commands one a
fter another to finish what she started.
Return
-Attention! World modification in progress! Combat is disabled.-
Trina had no sooner offered the trade than the message began flashing in the corner of her vision. The window closed as her attention shifted to the ground around at the edge that encircled the arena. “Look sharp. We’re about to take another ride!”
Sally rose to her feet as soon as she equipped the gauntlets. Her forearms to her elbow were quickly covered in a flash of light that solidified into a pair of mirrored armor pieces. Crafted from polished metal, the pair didn’t quite fit with her outfit’s seashell motif, but the girl wasn’t going to complain as she examined them.
At the same time, Torrent’s shirt did something similar. Bursting into light and solidifying a moment later, his armor was the same style of polished metal as Sally’s. Unlike his last breastplate, the shoulders extended across covering the tops of his shoulders and extended down like sharp teeth. The front was a tabard extending down to his knees painted black with a silver imprint of Wrath’s silhouette with hands raised. Otherwise, it wasn’t that much different than his last set.
Trina followed suit equipping her cannon knuckles. Unlike the cannon arms that Wrath used, these were molded to Trina’s fists. Across each knuckle was a small circular opening that came out a bit from the weapon. Whether it was for show or damage, she wasn’t sure. The description simply said that she hadn’t discovered the ability yet.
-Attention! World modification in progress! Combat is disabled.-
Not that they were in any condition to deal with something like Wrath again. Trina was acutely aware of this as the shedding ripped the textures from the grounds. As if things were just set to rewind, the world spread itself, the spectators disappeared, and the wireframes roamed the land.
Sally watched, expecting the same to happen to her, but her expectations were wasted. Not a single pixel of her body left its place. Her face fell for a second time as the textures began to flood back to life. From where the three stood, the lush greens and deep emeralds that filled the grove from Athos’s memories showed the rest what it should have been. Lush green grass coated the carpet of the forest under their feet. The bright blue skies and soft white wisps of cloud welcomed their return as the twilight oranges and reds of evening crept towards the center of their small clearing’s sky.