by Alex Knight
Blast Warden Werner10 assisted kill - 8,000 EXP gained!
“You, uh, handled that,” Kaiden said, still in awe at the onslaught.
Thorne shook out her shoulders and her hammer hand, then smiled.
“That felt good.” She craned her neck to one side, then the other. “I needed that.”
An explosion from behind caught his attention and Kaiden spun to see Zelda firing away at PlayaSlaya. Titus’ shield was overloaded but Nando had PlayaSlaya thoroughly occupied, the two of them near the exit and trading a brutal flurry of blows back and forth.
Abilities fired off one after another with no thought for defense, the cybernetic knight and brawler duking it out in a straight damage race.
Ability: Mano A Mano
A ‘trap and scrap’ ability, Mano A Mano locks the user and one target together for three seconds plus X, where X is 1% of the user’s total strength stat.
Nando activated the ability and the chains around him unwound, then lashed forward and caught PlayaSlaya tightly.
The guild leader retorted with Wind-Up Swing, a slow but powerful attack that would have knocked Nando back had the two not been chained together. Nonetheless, the blow connected with an explosion of force so strong it shattered the floor beneath their feet.
Nando’s health dropped into the red but he seemed unconcerned as he replied with a Frenzied Barrage. The attacks fell in rapid succession, each dealing more damage than the last as Nando’s blazing fists punched through his opponent’s armor.
“I’ll never forgive you for this,” PlayaSlaya growled, then broke away with his own health in the red as Mano A Mano ended. “You ruined it. Ruined it all. We could have had everything we’ve ever wanted!” PlayaSlaya shouted.
“Everything you ever wanted,” Nando said back, slow and sad. “And think of the cost. How could anyone live with that?”
“Damn you!” PlayaSlaya screamed and sprung forward. He reared back with his axe for a killing blow.
Ability: Cataclysmic Unmaking
An attack that deals massive damage, bypasses armor, and knocks the target back. On a critical hit, damage from this attack and any fall damage is doubled.
Nando reacted with his own attack, raising two flaming fists above his head.
Ability: Untimely End
Deals 2x base damage, staggers the opponent and deals burning damage per second equal to your base damage. On a critical hit, this ability deals 3x base damage.
Nando’s fists came down on Playa’s head at the same time as Playa’s war-axe rose up into Nando’s stomach. Cataclysmic Unmaking hit far harder, bypassing Nando’s armor. He crumpled inward at the blow and his health dropped to zero as he flew up into the ceiling
Party member killed!
PlayaSlaya staggered backwards, his health down to single digits.
“Damn you, Nando,” he said, looking down at the corpse. “We could…”
Magma from Untimely End was seeping down from his shoulder and over his chest. It sizzled and hissed, eating through his armor and boiling his health away.
“We could have had it all, man. We could’ve…”
The damage-over-time effect of the magma did its job. PlayaSlaya’s eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Cybernetic Knight PlayaSlaya assisted kill - 8,000 EXP gained!
Level 53 achieved!
Max health and stamina increased
+3 stat points
Ability Unlocked!
Dual Wielding
More text followed, explaining the ability. Kaiden snapped a screenshot of it on instinct but he really wasn’t focused on it because it didn’t matter. Relief was flooding through his body. They’d won, and this time, for good. The battle was done, and with – he checked the timer – thirty-five minutes to spare.
“Guys,” he said, looking at them across the chaos of the room. Five dead players, a host of busted floor tiles, a cracked ceiling, and a rapidly cooling pool of magma. It was chaos, but they’d won.
“We did it,” Kaiden said, letting a smile stretch across his face. Werner had set the trap but it hadn’t mattered. PlayaSlaya had misjudged his followers. Nando had stayed true, and together they’d turned the tide. Reversed the trap on those who’d set it.
“We did it,” Kaiden said again.
“No.” Thorne was frowning sharply. There was no humor in her eyes. As Kaiden watched, he saw Zelda had the same expression.
“What?” he asked, looking between them both and swallowing the dread rising inside him.
“PlayaSlaya betrayed us. He worked with the Warden Corps to set this trap, to lure us in.”
“Yeah, and we just kicked their ass for it,” Titus said.
“No,” Thorne said again. “Werner isn’t smart enough to act alone. He doesn’t think for himself; he just obeys. It wasn’t his idea to set this trap.” She turned her eyes toward the door that led to the tunnel, and beyond, the broadcast control room.
“There’s one last person standing between us and victory.” She grimaced as she spoke, and suddenly, Kaiden understood why.
The name echoed in his thoughts and sent a shiver of fear down his spine. Their plan had hinged on not fighting him. On surprising the Warden Corps and the Party with their attack here. But PlayaSlaya had sold them out, and that meant the Party had been ready for them. Meant the one person they had intended to avoid at all costs had been ready for them.
“Moran,” Kaiden said, then swallowed hard. “Shit.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
“You really think he’s here?” Titus asked, leaning forward and peering down the tunnel ahead. It was long, dark, and revealed nothing of what awaited them.
“He’s here,” Thorne said. “This whole thing has his handiwork all over it.”
Kaiden couldn’t help but agree.
“He’s down there,” he said. “Waiting right next to the broadcast control console, I don’t doubt. It’s the best way for him to make sure no one uploads the database.”
There was some comfort in that knowledge. A chilling, frightening sort of comfort. It was the undeniability of the fact that everything had led up to this. One final confrontation, and for all the marbles. Lose, and Killswitch would take down Nova. Win, and – well, win and maybe they’d change the world.
There were no more ifs or ands or buts. Just the certainty of what needed to be done.
“We’re gonna kick this guy’s ass, broadcast the database, and bring down the Party,” Kaiden said, and he knew it was true. Memories of everything they’d been through flashed through his mind, all starting with the day he’d found Bernstein murdered and been blamed for it. From prison to the resistance. The attack on their base to being harbored by King Street. Eventually kicked out of there, then living out of a damn van, then... Thorne. And from there, everything had changed.
We’ve come too far to fail now. People have died to help us get here. Lives have been ruined. But no more. This ends today. Now.
“No part of this is going to be easy,” Zelda said. “We need to be realistic about that. Moran is the Warden Hierarch. He’s stronger than any one player has a right to be.”
“Should we go back for reinforcements?” Titus asked, half turning to look back at the exit.
“There’s no time,” Zelda said. And she was right. The timer was still ticking down. Thirty-two minutes to go. That was it.
Kaiden’s quick check of the command module revealed the battle up top was drawing to a close, both sides depleted from the fighting, but it still wasn’t clear who the victor would be. He didn’t have time to wait around to find out.
It didn’t matter anyway. The army had done its job by getting him and Zelda and Titus and Thorne here. They couldn’t expect any more help. All they had now was each other, and that was going to have to be enough. Was going to be enough.
“We’re each at full health,” Kaiden said, looking them all over even though he knew what he’d find. Nando taking down PlayaS
laya had been a gift in two parts. One, it removed PlayaSlaya from the equation, but two, the experience from it had leveled them all up. Full health, then, and level fifty-three each. It was far from max level, but it would have to do. They’d also looted stimpacks from the remains of the last fight, bringing them each to a full three.
And then there were the new abilities.
Kaiden pulled up the screenshot he’d snapped of his newest ability then sent it to each of them.
“Study up as we walk,” he said, taking his first steps into the dark of the tunnel. “We’re going to need every advantage we can get.”
Ability Unlocked!
Dual Wielding: For a duration of 1 minute your shield reforms itself into an energy hammer, which you may use alongside your normal weapon. While Dual Wielding you cannot block, your charge capacity is increased by 50%, and the effect of your Slayer passive is doubled, meaning each critical hit restores 10 charge.
Cost: 0
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Admittedly, it was one hell of an ability. Sounded like fun, if he was being frank. He paused for a moment, salivating over the thought of burying Moran under a stream of critical hits from two hammers at once. The pleasant daydream was interrupted as Titus’ screenshot arrived.
Ability Unlocked!
Center of Attention: For the next 30 seconds, a target of your choosing must target you or take 2x base damage for every second they don’t. You must be standing still to use this ability.
Cost: 80 charge
Cooldown: 15 minutes
“Finally, the recognition I deserve,” Titus said with a nervous laugh. “In all seriousness, though, this is a nasty ability. It’ll either force an opponent to focus on me instead of y’all, or it’ll just pump damage into them. And two times my base damage, so those would actually be respectable attacks.”
Kaiden nodded along.
“Most people want to go around the tank. This’ll stop that plan dead in its tracks.”
“Yeah, keep all the attention on you,” Thorne said as sent her screenshot. “That’ll tie in nicely when I come back from the dead with a vengeance, eh?”
Ability Unlocked!
Improved Last Rites (passive): When you reach 0% health this ability triggers. You have 30 seconds to kill all opponents in a 50-foot radius of your point of death. Every kill made during this time extends the kill timer by 3 seconds. Should you succeed, you will be given 1 HP back. If not, you will die. Kills made during this time earn no EXP. Abilities can be used during Improved Last Rites.
Cooldown: 6 hours
“Anything that increases our survivability is going to be a huge asset,” Zelda said, stepping carefully through the dark of the tunnel. “Even if it only keeps you up for an extra thirty seconds, every one of those counts.”
“And what about you, Zelda?” Kaiden asked. “What new trick are you packing after that level-up?”
Her screenshot arrived with a ding.
Ability Unlocked!
Pain for Gain: You may sacrifice 25% of your max health to make your next attack deal 2x damage. If you sacrifice 50% of your max health that attack will deal 4x damage instead.
Cost: 70 charge
Cooldown: 5 minutes
“Holy crap,” Kaiden said, his mouth falling open. Blast wardens really did get all the insane DPS abilities. Though this one came at quite a price.
“I’m pretty sure that ability officially gives me glass cannon status. If I use it, that is. Can’t imagine I’d have much health left.”
“So, uh, don’t miss, I suppose?” Kaiden smirked.
“Real funny,” Zelda shot back, but there was slight smirk on her face as well.
Kaiden made to respond but the tunnel pulled a tight turn, and as they rounded it, he stopped in his tracks. The path ahead opened into a large cavern and at the center of it, Commander Slaen Moran stood waiting for them.
Slaen Moran
Class: Warden Hierarch
Faction: Warden Corps
Level: 60
Quick facts: The Warden Hierarch is a unique class only available to the leader of the Warden Corps. The progenitor of all warden classes, the Hierarch is a dangerous adversary and a very valuable ally.
Something tells me Moran is going to lean more on the adversary side of things, Kaiden thought.
Moran greeted them each with a gentle nod, eyes sliding from one to the next. Finally, they came to rest on the last member of their party.
“Thorne.” There was a clear note of distaste in his tone.
So, this is the fearsome Commander Moran?
To be honest, Kaiden was surprised by the man in front of him. Like all warden accounts, his avatar was locked into a realistic representation of what he looked like in the real world. He had light brown hair, kept close in a military cut and parted too neatly down the side. His eyes were equally brown and rested high above a nose that was crooked, as if it’d once been broken. But that wasn’t what caught Kaiden’s attention most. Instead, it was the expression on his face. The slight frown at the corners of his mouth. The sadness in his eyes. The disappointment evident in every wrinkle and fissure of his clearly stress-strained face. He looked nothing like the fearsome tyrant Kaiden had always imagined. Instead, he just looked... sad. Tired. Like he’d expected better of all of them and had been sorely disappointed.
Whatever unexpected emotions Kaiden found in Moran’s face were immediately overshadowed, however, as he took in the commander’s armor. It was clearly warden armor – with mechanical veins and tendons running across it to carry charge throughout – but it seemed older somehow. Heavier and thicker than the sleek suits most wore today. At the same time, it didn’t look old in a dusty, relic sort of way. No, it looked old like a mountain looked old. A monolith of days long gone by but standing tall and proud still. Resilient, defiant until the end. As Kaiden stared, his visor brought up details on the armor.
Warden Hierarch Power Suit,
Rarity: Singularly Unique
Durability: 100%
+10% charge gained from Atmospheric Charge
+10% charge gained from critical hits
+10% AOE damage resistance
+10% melee damage resistance
+10% ranged damage resistance
+10% charge regeneration
+80% charge capacity
Stimulant Cooling Slots: 0
No stimulant cooling slots, Kaiden noted. That was a boon. Everything else he saw was not. It left him swallowing hard.
In contrast to his armor, the weapon Moran held was far from impressive. It looked for all the world like a regular old Warden Corps hammer. Could easily have been the standard hammer given out to all ensigns.
“Thorne. I am truly sorry to see you here.” Moran’s voice echoed through the cavern. The place was smaller than Kaiden had expected. It was a simple space lacking any decoration or adornment. A simple room with a simple purpose: to house the All-Frequencies Broadcast System. As Kaiden looked closer, though, he realized there was no console in the room. Instead, it was off to one side in a room of its own, half the size of the one they were in now. Almost as if it’d been an afterthought.
Afterthought or not, the control panel was nestled into its room, a sleek console jutting from the otherwise jagged and scarred core of the asteroid.
“Yeah, gotta admit I’d be a lot happier not seeing you here,” Thorne said back. “It’d certainly make things a lot easier.”
Kaiden kept his hammer held tight and his shield at the ready as they spoke. It’d been long enough since the fight against Werner that Intangible Defense was active again, but all the same, he preferred not to lose it to just any old surprise attack.
“There was no eventuality in which this story ended without me here,” Moran said, and he didn’t sound the least bit happy about it. “After all, this isn’t a new story, is it?” He shook his head at that. “Once again, the world stands on the brink of chaos and it falls to me to stop it. To protect everythin
g we’ve built.” He gave Thorne a stern gaze. “You were there during the Great Test, Thorne. I thought for all our differences of opinion that you would at least understand this. This business with the database, with broadcasting it to the world – it’s playing with matches. It’s going to start a fire none of us can put out.”
“That’s the idea,” Thorne growled. Kaiden saw her fist clench on the grip of her hammer.
Moran shook his head and tutted at that.
“You have a problem with my methods? Fine. Then oppose me,” he said, and there was a hint of anger in his voice now. “Challenge me. Take me down and claim my spot at the top. Honestly, that’s what I always hoped you’d do. Or if you’re not strong enough for that, then fine. Take your toys and go home. But this isn’t either of those options. You’re not just refusing to play; you’re threatening to burn down the whole playground. It’s childish, and it’s dangerous.”
“We’re doing more than threatening,” Titus snapped. “We’re going to see it through.”
“Titus, right?” Moran turned his attention to him. “The murderer. The petty criminal who took a fall for his boss. Loyal to a fault, I hear. But not too bright.” He didn’t say it cruelly, just as a calm statement of fact, devoid of emotion.
Titus growled deep down in his throat but Moran had already moved on, looking at Kaiden now.
“And Kaiden, I presume? The leader of this little operation. But are you really? Or are you just the convenient puppet they’re propping up? Real power doesn’t lie with the figurehead. Everyone knows that. If you’re not pulling the strings, you’re the puppet.”
“No strings here,” Kaiden said, stretching his hands out. “But you’ll learn that soon enough.”