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 Awaken Online
Book 6: Armageddon
______________

Travis Bagwell

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Copyright © 2022 by Travis Bagwell
All rights reserved.

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 ______

To my wife, even in hard times, you’re always my Player Two.

______

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Contents
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Pitch-Black
Chapter 2 - Interrogated
Chapter 3 - Conspiracy
Chapter 4 - Bounty
Chapter 5 - Council
Chapter 6 - Ruinous
Chapter 7 - Broadcast
Chapter 8 - Entourage
Chapter 9 - Divine
Chapter 10 - Kingdom of Nerfle
Chapter 11 - Summit
Chapter 12 - Dysfunctional
Chapter 13 - Ballroom
Chapter 14 - Encore
Chapter 15 - Heist
Chapter 16 - Clandestine
Chapter 17 - Confrontation
Chapter 18 - Mindful
Chapter 19 - Suspicious
Chapter 20 - Counter-Play
Chapter 21 - Encore
Chapter 22 - Sensitive
Chapter 23 - Aftermath
Chapter 24 - Rendezvous
Chapter 25 - Undead
Chapter 26 - Phased
Chapter 27 - Rifting
Chapter 28 - Challenge
Chapter 29 - Gateway
Chapter 30 - Mile-High
Chapter 31 - Game On
Chapter 32 - Trademarked
Chapter 33 - Teamwork
Chapter 34 - Simmering
Chapter 35 - Cold Open
Chapter 36 - Hockey
Chapter 37 - Handsy
Chapter 38 - Motive
Chapter 39 - Unholy
Chapter 40 - Firetap
Chapter 41 - Mastermind
Chapter 42 - Improved
Chapter 43 - Ferryman
Chapter 44 - Carnivore
Chapter 45 - Faerie
Chapter 46 - One-Man Band
Chapter 47 - Bounce
Chapter 48 - Headless
Chapter 49 - Lich
Chapter 50 - Boom
Chapter 51 - Awestruck
Chapter 52 - Holy
Chapter 53 - Fire and Ice
Chapter 54 - Fear
Chapter 55 - Presentation
Chapter 56 - Soulless
Chapter 57 - Bargain
Chapter 58 - Horde
Chapter 59 - Pandemonium
Chapter 60 - Tetris
Chapter 61 - Pleading
Chapter 62 - Catastrophe
Chapter 63 - Timeless
Epilogue

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 Foreword
We’re back again!
But before we launch into the story, I want to provide a brief
refresher (since this seemed pretty popular in Hellion). I also recommend
reading AO: Happy before this book if you haven’t already. You won’t be
lost if you don’t, but the characters introduced in that novel play a large role
in AO: Armageddon. You’ll probably enjoy this book more with that
background. Also, it’s just a ton of fun!
With that out of the way, let’s get to it. Fair warning, these recaps
include SPOILERS. So, turn back now if you intend to read any of the
other books!

Hellion: During the last main installment, Jason was being

interviewed by Westley, explaining how he came to be
imprisoned in Sandscrit’s dungeon. Jason tells the story of how
he responded to Finn’s challenge, attacked his city, and was
ultimately captured… only to reveal that this was all part of his
plan. He proceeds to free himself and the other travelers, build
an army of undead and demolish Finn’s city. The pair ultimately
confront one another and end up working together to defeat
Alexion – after he betrays Finn. Eliza also goes to confront her
 parents and ask to continue playing AO, but overhears a
conversation regarding Finn’s wife Rachael – implying that her
death might not have been an accident. The book ends with a
break-in at Cerillion Entertainment headquarters and Jason goes
to investigate, discovering that Finn was the one who broke in
and his legs have somehow been healed. Jason lets Finn get
away and the book ends.

Happy: This story takes place shortly after AO: Catharsis and
follows a new character named Dominic Hart – a college athlete
with a terminal cancer diagnosis who is unable to pay for
treatment. Dom begins playing AO and is promptly conscripted
by the Gambler. He starts in Aislen, a shithole backwater town in
the middle of a deadly jungle from which there is no escape.
Using a skill granted to him by the Gambler, Dom manages to
survive long enough to start training his new digital body, taking
on increasingly insane workouts and challenges… each ending
with his death. Over time, he unlocks an ability to speed up his
own respawn, which further accelerates his training. Dom
eventually comes to terms with his diagnosis, recruits others to
fight with him, and starts a war with the guild that has seized
control of Aislen. His team ultimately wins and goes on to form
<Death and Taxes> — a mercenary guild with only one goal:
making money. With those funds, Dom is able to afford a rare
and expensive treatment for his condition.

The book ends with a bonus epilogue showing Gloria Bastion

returning home and speaking with her blind daughter Sophie – now
an adult. This scene takes place after Gloria’s defeat in the regulatory
hearing and in Hellion. She then goes to her work terminal, revealing
that she secretly heads an anti-corporate group called ‘SAFE’ but
currently has no plan of action for how to stop Cerillion
Entertainment and AO. Her terminal is hacked and she receives a
large download of information on AO and its players. The scene ends
with Gloria looking to the AO headset sitting on her desk, still in the
box.
And now, on to the story and more mayhem!

May the darkness claim you. – The Dark One

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 Prologue
November 26, 2076: 56 days after the release of Awaken Online.

Awaken Online – “Turkey Hunt”

“Fucking finally,” Hanna ground out, smiling despite the sweat and
grime.
A similar expression was mirrored on the faces of her guildmates –
all eighty of them. Most filled the forest floor, while others were perched
on nearby branches. They were loaded for bear. Fully decked in equipment
and consumables, each person giving off a soft glow, courtesy of the buffs
provided by their casters. The <Royal Bastards> were going to be the first
to complete this event after nearly a full day in-game sweeping this damn
forest.
Or die trying, at least.
Hanna swiped away her chat window, raising her eyes to the rest of
the guild. “Target acquired and waypoint coming… now.” Just as she
finished speaking, a yellow beacon appeared in the distance. A low murmur
spread through the guild, but the sound didn’t travel outside the amber
dome surrounding the area. Another thin blue film concealed their presence
from any prying eyes that might linger nearby. They couldn’t risk anyone
noticing them.
Hanna’s gaze skipped to a pair of water mages nearby. “You know
what to do. Throw up a decoy force, have them head in the opposite
direction, and if the other guilds are watching, we’ll send them on a merry
goose chase.” There were a few tired chuckles at her word choice.
After all, it was Thanksgiving. And Cerillion Entertainment had
rolled out a seasonal event: a “Turkey Hunt.”
The mages nodded, and sapphire energy soon bloomed around their
staves. Moments later, a diversionary force was streaking away across the
forest to the south. The water mages rippled and disappeared from sight,
blending back into the vegetation as they jogged after their illusions. They
needed to stay just within their control range to maintain the effect.
“Alright, folks, let’s hit it,” Hanna ordered, pointing north.
 At her command, the raid set off. Not at a run or sprint, but at a
slow walk. Cautious. Shields up and weapons ready. Staying well within
the shimmering magical barriers that concealed their presence and muted
any sound they made.
Behind the wards, however, they could make out the muted shouts
and clang of steel in the distance. Evidence of other guilds who had been
less cautious.
They all knew what even a momentary screw-up meant out here.
They had already seen it dozens of times, and the evidence now littered the
forest. Entire guilds had been butchering each other. Bodies hung from
tree branches like macabre ornaments. The wood was singed and shattered,
while the trunks were splattered with blood. An eerie silence hung across
the forest, not even the animals that lived there daring to make a noise for
fear of being targeted. Hunted. To make matters worse, the nearest
respawn point was a sixty-minute trip away, even at a dead-on sprint – and
that was after the damn respawn timer popped.
They’d learned to keep their guard up. That’s how they’d survived
this long.
Hole up, conceal their presence, and send out scouts looking for
their quarry.
That caution was also how the <Royal Bastards> managed to make
it to their destination unimpeded, skirting around any large-scale conflicts
they came across. As the waypoint marker loomed large before them, they
only saw a line of dense shrubs. Innocuous. Unassuming.
“What is this?” Hanna muttered as they neared, eyeing the area.
The air beside her flickered, and their scout popped into view.
“More than it looks like,” Giorgio reported. “Just walk up to it and see.”
Hanna grunted skeptically but did as he suggested, stepping forward
slowly… only to stop in shock moments later. As she neared the brush, the
vegetation shifted and moved of its own accord, coiling up into the air to
form an intricate latticework of branches and leaves. And in the dead
center? A door – replete with knocker and doorknob.
“These devs are assholes,” Hanna muttered to herself. No wonder
the event hadn’t been completed yet. How the hell were people supposed to
find this needle in a damn haystack?
The guild all stared at the entrance, unsure of how to proceed.
 Hanna glanced at Giorgio. “I dunno. Knock, maybe?” he offered to
her unspoken question. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
With a grimace, she approached the door and knocked gently.
Seconds ticked past, and she held her breath, only for the portal to creak
open, light spilling out. A shimmering blue barrier hung across the opening,
concealing what lay on the other side.
“Alright, let’s cover this entrance,” she instructed their last water
mage. No sense in getting overconfident at this stage. “Group five, stay
out here to guard it.” She swallowed hard as she looked back at the blue
barrier. “The rest of us will head inside.”
She eyed her guildmates. “Alright, let’s head out!”
The group soon pushed inside, only to be met with a strange sight.
They were still standing in the forest – or at least some sort of instanced
replica of the forest. A clearing stretched out before them, filled with green
grass and bright, warm sunlight. It was almost cheery after the gloomy,
blood-covered woods they’d just crossed. Eerily so.
However, Hanna’s attention was pulled away as a notification
popped up before her.

System Notice: Potluck

You’ve found the entrance to the potluck, but it seems you didn’t bring
anything to share. As a result, you are now afflicted with the Freeloader
Debuff. All healing effects are now delayed by 5 seconds. What can we
say? Freeloaders eat last.

The host might also glare at you passive-aggressively.

“The hell is this?” Giorgio muttered at Hanna’s side, swiping away a

similar notice.
She just shrugged. “Seems we’re mixing themes. First, a hunt, now
a holiday potluck. Either way, I see our target now.” Hanna waved at the
center of the clearing.
After everything they’d been through – the people they’d killed, the
hours spent searching the forest – well, it didn’t look like much. It was just
a bird. Its head reaching about waist height. All brown and red feathers
and wrinkled skin. Basically, an oversized turkey. But Hanna wasn’t
buying that shit either…
“Ali?” she asked.
One of their scouts nodded and swiped at the air. Moments later,
she pushed a notification to Hanna. Ali had spent quite a bit of time
studying AO’s wildlife, and her Inspection skill was usually top-notch.
“Usually,” being the operative word.

Turduckin – Level 250 (Raid Boss)

Health – 500,000+
Mana – 200,000+
Affinities – Air, Fire, Dark
Equipment – None
Resistances – Unknown
Special Skills – “Thanks-giving”

“Turduckin, huh?” Hanna murmured. That was a hell of a lot of

health. The affinities and special skill were also an odd mix but didn’t
provide much context. It looked like they were just going to have to go in
blind.
She let out a sigh. “Alright, usual formation. We’ll get our tanks to
focus its attention. Everybody else, burn it. Look for any weak points.
Support stay behind, and group 7 keep them safe.” Hanna received nods
from the raid. Group 1 advanced, all heavy armor, rippling muscle, and
humming with multi-colored energy. They were ready to take a hit or two.
With everyone in place, Hanna pushed a ready check.

Raid Notice: Commence Battle?

All raid members are ready.

Would you like to commence the battle?

[Yes/No]
 Hanna tapped at the notice, and a timer started counting down from
five.
The tanks were already moving. Johnny took up the lead, the others
hanging back. They’d cycle out if this thing ended up hitting like a truck.
For her own part, Hanna just kept her displays up, screens hovering before
her. Her fingers were twitching down toward her weapons – itching to join
the fray herself – but she was most useful in a strategic role. Watching the
flow of the fight and sending instructions to the raid.
There was a reason generals didn’t stand on the frontlines.
As Johnny raced into melee with the turkey, it looked up lazily…
“Gobble?” Almost a question.
Then the tank stabbed it with his spear, keeping his shield raised.
The bird raised its beak to the sky and let out an unholy shriek. At
the same time, it blossomed in size, expanding outward in an explosion of
feathers that suddenly streaked out across the clearing, obscuring visibility.
A new notice suddenly filled Hanna’s screen – notifying her that her ability
to leave the event was now restricted. It was kill the damn bird or die
trying.
Hanna pressed her lips together in a grimace. So, business as usual.
As the feathers finally fluttered to the ground, the guild members
sucked in a collective breath as they witnessed their opponent’s
transformation. Gone was the innocent-looking turkey, now replaced with a
monster that towered ten feet into the air. Feathers no longer coated its
skin, leaving only wrinkled, gnarled flesh. Sewn stitches trailed up and
across its body as though it had been cut open and then knitted back
together. Its feet ended in deadly talons that raked furrows in the dirt. And
red, “thankless” eyes turned toward the guild – resting on poor Johnny.
“Uh, sorry?” the tank muttered, backpedaling.
The turkey swept forward with a foot, sparks flying as it collided
with the tank’s shield. He was sent stumbling backward, another tank
already surging ahead to take his place. Meanwhile, their casters and
archers let loose, a hail of mundane and magical missiles whistling toward a
series of yellow icons that Hanna had already painted across the beast.
Eyes, ears, throat, neck, breast, those stitches – even its scaled feet. She
was testing it for weaknesses.
 Yet the beast seemed to anticipate each attack. It flapped its naked
wings, and amber energy suddenly pooled around the clearing. Its feathers
lifted from the ground, only to whip forward violently. Hanna felt a searing
line cut across her cheek, and something wet and warm began to trickle
down her skin. She dabbed at her face and pulled her hand away to reveal
crimson blood. Screams rippled through the air as those razor-sharp
feathers cut into their unprotected DPS and support.
“Shit…” she muttered. Hanna moved quickly. Air mages were
quickly repurposed, creating protective domes of amber energy.
Guildmates were stumbling and crawling inside to avoid the feathers while
the plumage piled up against the wards. The magical winds soon slowed
and then stopped, giving the air mages a brief respite to regenerate their
mana. As soon as they were able, the healers started bathing the raid in an
emerald glow, their wounds taking long pain-filled seconds to stitch
themselves back together.
In the meantime, the beast hadn’t stopped. The feathers had cut at
Johnny’s legs, slicing through cracks in his armor. He toppled to the side,
and the Turduckin plunged forward. The tank couldn’t raise his shield in
time, so he acted instinctively, bringing his spear forward. The claw cut
through the shaft of his weapon with no resistance, crushing into his armor.
It peeled at the metal in a shower of sparks before burrowing deeply into
Johnny’s arm with a spray of blood and a roar of pain.
The healers had anticipated the injury, his body glowing a brilliant
emerald and his skin beginning to knit itself back together after only a short
delay. While his wounds were being mended, another tank stepped forward
to cover for him. Hanna sighed in relief as Johnny’s health stabilized. She
saw him move to regain his feet and pull at the sword at his waist… only to
freeze. His head cocked to the side, and his eyes went round. He suddenly
looked down at his arm.
The wound had healed, but now a line of stitching marred his flesh,
framed by the jagged fragments of his armor.
Johnny’s gaze went distant. “Oh, shit…” He turned to the turkey
quickly. “Thank—”
He never got to finish. His body suddenly exploded apart in a
shower of blood and metal. And from those gory remains marched a
smaller version of the Turduckin, a screech escaping its throat as it leaped at
another tank.
 “What the actual fuck?” a player beside Hanna muttered.
She didn’t bother to respond, her thoughts spinning. Hanna couldn’t
shake the look on the tank’s face before he’d died. “Someone message
Johnny. We need to know what he saw.”
Meanwhile, Hanna tapped out instructions for the raid. They had
formed into groups to protect their fragile casters and ranged DPS against
that feather-based attack. That had to be part of this raid boss’ rotation.
She’d also assigned a pair of tanks to the new turkey, the players keeping
their distance for now. It was smaller, but it sure as hell wasn’t going down
any faster than the big one.
“Ali?” she grunted again.
“It looks like it’s counting that new turkey as a boss too. It split its
health with that target,” Ali reported, swiping at her displays. “I’m
guessing the boss splits every time it gets a hit in? And it’s apparently one-
shotting our tanks, so we can’t close into melee.”
Of course, Hanna thought. Turduckin. She wanted to punch
whoever had come up with this idea for a raid boss.
“Anything from Johnny?” she growled a moment later.
“Uh, he says getting hit applies a debuff,” Ali muttered distractedly
as she typed at her chat window. “To remove it, you have to… have to
thank the turkey?”
Hanna just stared at her for a long second. Really?
Someone at Cerillion definitely had a fucked-up sense of humor.
Not that she had time to worry about that. Hanna typed out a raid
notice and pushed it to the group, but not before another tank exploded in a
shower of gore. Which meant another damn turkey had entered the
clearing. That made three now, and already she could see amber energy
collecting through the air – forecasting another flight of feathers.
She let out a frustrated growl. This was going to be a painful fight.

* * *

Hanna heaved a sigh, sinking to the ground with her back to a trunk.
The clearing before her was coated in crimson streaks and brown
and orange feathers. Autumn colors, she thought absently. Smoke coiled
away from the corpses of several roasted birds. The smell – albeit muted –
had a certain nostalgic note to it.
 They just needed some pie and stuffing…
It almost felt damned festive.
Not that the surviving members of the raid were in any condition to
appreciate that. They were all slumped across the clearing. Tired. Broken.
Blood-drenched and battered. The fight had taken a full hour. You
apparently only had a five-second window to “thank” the turkey for
attacking you before your body exploded apart. The only saving grace was
that the creatures got weaker each time they split. They’d ended up with
one tank running around the field while being chased by more than a dozen
birds as their casters AOE’d them down.
But they’d won.
Happy-fucking-Thanksgiving.
Hanna swiped aside the completion notice that popped up before
her, her attention shifting toward the center of the field as a table suddenly
materialized there – a full banquet arrayed across its surface. Huh, they’d
actually gone ahead and given them the pie and stuffing, after all.
Yet all eyes were on the chest perched in the center of that table.
That was their real reward. Not some digital grub, but cold hard loot. Her
guildmates were already rising back to their feet with groans and muttering,
crowding up around the table – a few even snatching at the food as they
waited for Hanna to do the honors – to see if all this trouble had been worth
it.
Hanna approached the table, a smile on her bloodied face as she
raised a hand and lifted the lid of the chest, her eyes taking in its gleaming
contents.
Now here was something to truly be thankful for.
A slow clap drifted through the air behind her, and Hanna whirled,
her guildmates reaching for their weapons. However, a Gravity Well
slammed into place, crushing them into the ground and against the chairs
lining the banquet table. They’d been too clustered up around the chest.
Damn it, Hanna thought. She’d let her guard down.
“Well, isn’t this a wonderful sight!” a man said as he approached,
several dozen of his guildmates materializing around him with a shimmer of
sapphire and amber energy. “Thanks so much for going to all this trouble
just for us!”
Hanna could see his guild tags. <Vipers>. Fucking PK guild.
“Screw you,” she ground out.
 “Happy to see you again, too, Hanna,” Luke said. They went back a
ways. They’d started in the same town and had gone through their initial
training together. They’d had… different strategies on how to advance
from there.
How had this asshole found them? Her eyes shifted across her
guildmates, only to find that Ali was sitting there calmly. She popped a bite
of turkey and gravy into her mouth, savoring the taste. Ali raised an
eyebrow as their eyes met.
“Yes, yes. Your dear little assistant sold you out. Thanks, by the
way, Ali,” Luke continued, waving a hand.
She just tipped her fork.
“Why?” Hanna grunted, trying to buy time. Her fingers were
moving slowly to the wand at her waist… her arm straining against the
effects of the Gravity Well. It was a last resort and one she didn’t relish.
But if they couldn’t get the loot, maybe she could just burn them all…
Then it would be a race to see who could get back here first and snag that
chest.
It was a chance.
Ali just shrugged. “It was a LOT of gold. Plus, I was getting tired
of being your assistant and sitting in the rear. I like getting my hands dirty.”
“Spoken like a true <Viper>,” Luke laughed. “Now we’ll just be
liberating you of this sweet, sweet—”
He was suddenly cut off as a spray of crimson blood erupted from
his throat. Luke’s eyes went wide and wild, even as he dropped to his knees
and face-planted into the ground, his hands still struggling feebly at his
neck. Shouts of alarm went up around the clearing, but a dense smoke had
suddenly filled the glade, coiling up into the air and obscuring the <Vipers>
from sight. Hanna could only make out dark blurs within the shadows,
screams pealing through the fog, accompanied by the scrape of metal on
metal.
Moments later, the smoke cleared, pooling and condensing into
several human-shaped shadows that paced alongside a man with a
cigarette. And at his side were six others. They all wore ivory masks,
bloody smiles painted across their surface. In the center stood a towering
mountain of a man wearing an immaculate suit. Hanna had heard of him.
Everyone had.
That was Smiles.
 As for the <Vipers>? They were dead. All of them. Bloody spikes
of ice were embedded in their flesh and slowly melting into the grass. Even
Ali was slumped forward, the cloth now stained a dark red that bled slowly
across the surface of the table.
“Really, Queen. You couldn’t have saved at least one for me,” a
young girl ground out from beside a woman robed in icy energy.
Queen shrugged. “Move faster next time.”
Hanna’s hand was frozen overtop her wand, and her guildmates
could only stare in mute shock from their positions around the table – even
though the Gravity Well had long since subsided. Hanna had heard the
rumors about this masked guild of mercenaries. They all had. A PK guild
was one thing. But these guys were on another level.
No, get it together, she shook herself. No one was truly immortal.
Not inside AO. With the Gravity Well now gone, she just needed to move a
few more inches to the wand at her waist. Yet as her fingers reached their
destination, she discovered there was nothing there.
Her eyes shot up, and she saw the man with a cigarette holding her
wand in his free hand, twirling it between his fingers. When had he—?
Hanna’s gaze drifted to the shadowy figures beside him. The smoke, she
realized belatedly. Still, to be able to control the mist and steal her wand at
the same time… that spoke of incredible control.
One of their members let out a low whistle, a guitar strapped across
his back. She knew him only by reputation. Bard. “Whew, look at this
spread! Hey, Wingman—”
A shriek suddenly filled the air, and a massive chicken launched
forward with a snap of feathers. She completely ignored the table and made
a beeline for the gigantic turkey corpses that littered the field, quite literally
burrowing her head into one of the bodies and then shoving her way inside
as she devoured the bird. Once that creature had been picked clean, she
moved on to the next, the crunch of bone and slurp of flesh following in her
wake.
“Ugh,” one of the masked members muttered, a tombstone design
emblazoned across the ivory surface of his mask. That must be Tombs.
“Shit, that seems wrong. Like some sort of cannibalism?”
“Seen worse,” the young girl beside him replied with a shrug.
Pewpew.
 Hanna cleared her throat, and all seven masks turned toward her.
She swallowed. Hard.
“Oh, how rude of me! Happy Holidays!” Bard greeted, a whistle
escaping his lips again. Except this time, his skin shined with an amber
glow, and in an instant, he was sitting on the edge of the table beside
Hanna. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand, Hanna’s
grip limp and uncertain. “Real bang-up job you lot did with this event.
Impressive work, really.”
“Uh… thanks?” Hanna managed to grunt out.
The guy controlling the smoke creatures gestured at the trunk with
his cigarette. They glided forward, lifted it into the air, and began carrying
it off toward the entrance to the instance. “C’mon, Bard. We’re on the
clock. Quit messing around, and let’s move it.”
Hanna saw one of her guildmates moving in the corner of her vision,
his hand reaching for a weapon. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Smiles
said, suddenly standing overtop the player, his hand gripping the sword by
the blade. He was even larger in person than he was in the videos.
The player gulped and slowly released the weapon. Smiles flung it
away, the weapon sailing over the treetops. Even more interesting… his
hand was undamaged.
Shit, it seems the rumors are true, Hanna thought.
“Aren’t we going to—” one of Hanna’s raid members whispered at
her side, but she cut him off with a sharp gesture.
“Shut up! We don’t need this kind of trouble. No loot is worth it.”
“Glad to hear our reputation precedes us,” Bard mumbled around a
mouthful of stuffing. He looked down at his fork. “Hot damn, this is like,
really, really good! Shame I’m watching my figure. It all just goes straight
to the hips, you know?”
Bard glanced back down at Hanna. “Anyhoo. We’re always
looking for work.” He pulled a card from his pocket and placed it on the
table in front of her. “We appreciate you being so gracious and reasonable
about your mugging today. If you’re ever in need of some murder or theft
for hire, just give us a ping, and we can discuss rates!”
“Bard, c’mon already,” Smiles called as he stepped back toward the
entrance to the clearing. The others were ready to go and were waiting for
him impatiently.
 “Ahh, the boss calls. Guess my lunch break is over! Toodles!”
Another whistle and Bard streamed back across the clearing in a blur of
movement. He was still whistling cheerily as one of their members surged
with fiery energy and burned away the doorway blocking the entrance in a
blast of heat so intense that it immediately incinerated the vegetation. That
must be Blaze.
Then the group simply ambled out the way they’d entered.
Leaving Hanna and her guild staring after them.
She looked down at the card on the table.
All it said was <Death and Taxes>.
“Fuck,” she muttered.

* * *

The members of <Death and Taxes> paused as they stepped back

through the ruined, smoking remains of the instance portal, several of
Smokes’ shadow clones still hauling along the loot chest behind them. The
reason for their hesitation was obvious.
Hundreds of travelers now stood before the doorway, situated
between tree trunks, and perched on nearby branches – a flurry of different
guild tags floating over their heads. Without the mages covering the
entrance, the other guilds had converged on this location quickly. Likely
hoping to liberate the victor of their hard-won loot. Now, they all stared at
Smiles and his group, a tense silence hanging across the battle-worn forest.
Bard cocked his head, swiping at an imaginary tear. “Ahh, this is so
sweet… did-did you all really come all this way to hear me play?!” He
began to pull his guitar free.
“Oh, shit,” someone nearby whispered. “Is that Smiles?”
“Yeah, and all of the core members are here.”
“We’re so screwed.”
“No, no, they very clearly didn’t come for you. Why do you always
ask that?” Queen muttered with a sigh. “They never want to hear you play.
Last time, your audience all bled to death… from the ears. They were
screaming for you to stop.”
Bard placed an offended hand to his chest. “You wound me, Lady.
I have it on good authority—"
 “His imagination,” Pewpew interjected, earning her a high-five from
Tombs.
“—that I have a legion of adoring fans,” Bard continued without
skipping a beat. “Have you seen the videos? Millions of views!”
He swiped at the air to bring up his console, reading through the
comments. “And I quote, ‘Bard is dreamy – finally a man with fashion
sense.’
“‘I’d let him strum my lute all day long.’
“‘Do you think the feather in his cap is advertising something.’”
“Are those actually real things people said? They sound fake as
shit,” Pewpew commented in a dry voice while trying to peer over his
shoulder. Bard shied away, pivoting the screen.
“Of course, they’re real!” He glanced at the crowd around them.
“Just like these good folks here are my most loyal and devoted fans. Hell,
you can practically feel the excitement in the air, the slow blooming
applause signaling my next greatest concert.”
Blaze let out a sigh, a flicker of flame rippling across her hair and
streamers of smoke coiling into the air. “I don’t hear anything except for
you.”
Bard huffed, glaring toward the travelers who were still frozen in
surprise and confusion. His voice rose in volume until it was almost
painful. “As I was saying… slow, blooming applause…”
The travelers winced, a few clapping ever-so-slowly – an awkward,
haphazard rhythm.
“See?” Bard demanded of his guildmates.
Smiles just heaved a big sigh and took a step forward. A few of the
travelers shied away from him. “This event is over,” he announced, his
voice booming across the forest. “We’ve secured the prize. If there are any
complaints, I’d be happy to address them now,” he continued, cracking his
knuckles together.
As his voice faded, not a single traveler made a move. No one was
that stupid, apparently. Smiles nodded once, then gestured at his
companions. “Alright then. Let’s move out. We’re wasting time, and
there’s still money to be made.”
With that, the group wound their way through the crowd and
ventured out of the forest.
 It was only once they had all made it well out of earshot that the
group of travelers let out a collective sigh of relief. They’d just dodged a
bullet.

* * *

Multi-colored rifts tore open the air of Boomtown.

While it had the word “town” in the name, that was being generous.
It looked like it had been designed by a child building a box fort… while on
acid. Buildings spanned up three, four, and five stories – lean-to affairs that
had been crammed together to fill every inch of the valley where the camp
was situated. Ramps, ladders, and boards spanned the structures, providing
haphazard access to the various stories as well as adding additional
structural integrity – which was sorely needed. Basically, the goblin
equivalent of duct tape.
The town itself was filled to the brim with the green-skinned
sociopaths. Yellow eyes and teeth. Ragged, leathery skin. The goblins
came in all shapes and sizes. Thin wiry folk that carried rifles and
wrenches. Brawny, hulking creatures that lumbered through the town and
crashed through walls – because it was easier than using the door, of
course. On a nearby rooftop, a group of goblins were firing off rockets…
which promptly slammed into a building across the street and set the entire
structure ablaze. Greenskins came sprinting out, covered in flames, and
screaming. The sound was swiftly drowned out by raucous laughter from
the crowd lumbering through the streets with overfilled mugs of beer.
This was Boomtown. The one and only goblin city.
And the home base of <Death and Taxes>.
“Well, that was easy… almost boring, really,” Bard drawled. “You
all remember when this used to be hard? Like we actually had to kill
people?”
Pewpew caressed one of her pistols wistfully. “Yes. I miss those
days.”
Tombs just shook his head nearby like she was nuts. “I don’t.”
“He’s right. Are you really complaining about easy money?” Blaze
demanded, slumping against a nearby barrel and rubbing at her legs. “I’m
too old for shit,” she muttered.
 “We made a good haul today. We’ve filled like four merc contracts
in just a few hours,” Smokes commented as he took another pull on his
cigarette. “We killed what? Like four people before that serpent-themed
guild.”
“I would have thought you’d love the notoriety – people running at
the mere mention of your name,” Queen added for Bard’s benefit, conjuring
balls of ice, and rubbing them against her neck to ward off the sweltering
heat of the jungle that encircled Boomtown. “This was all a result of your
bullshit marketing anyway.”
“And here I thought you hated the videos,” Bard replied tauntingly.
“I do… but they’re still effective,” Queen grumbled.
The group lapsed into silence, noticing that Smiles hadn’t said
anything.
“You’re being awfully quiet today, even for you,” Bard observed,
glancing at their leader.
He just grunted. The truth was that they were right. Things had
gotten easier as the guild’s reputation expanded. He sure as hell couldn’t
complain. Or shouldn’t, really. The money was excellent – each bounty
converted into real-world cash at the touch of a button – courtesy of
Cerillion Entertainment itself, no less. The company had integrated the
feature directly into both the in-game bounty boards and the auction house.
And there was plenty of demand – players looking for any sort of edge
inside of AO. Even if it cost them real-world assets.
Yet he was beginning to feel… bored?
As that thought crossed his mind, a shout went up from down the
street. A massive green form lumbered through the crowd, slamming
smaller goblins into nearby walls. Truggle – the town’s local “Badass” –
wasn’t one for subtlety. He crashed through a makeshift wagon, wooden
splinters flying. “Heyz, Boss!” he roared.
Dom sighed. What now?
The hobgoblin lumbered up to him, smacking Dom full in the face
with a crack of bone. A goblin greeting. Dom barely budged, however. He
just turned back to the goblin and returned the favor, sending the beast
crashing into a nearby stall, its contents flying up into the air to a roar of
approval from the nearby spectators.
Moments later, Truggle stumbled back out of the wreckage, weaving
slightly.
 “What is it?” Dom asked.
The hobgoblin hesitated, his eyes going distant. He was either
thinking or that was the result of his latest concussion. It was often hard to
tell.
“What. Did. You. Want. Truggle?” Bard offered more slowly.
His eyes lit up suddenly. “You havz visitorz!”
The group all looked at the hobgoblin in surprise. Visitors to
Boomtown were rare to nonexistent. The jungle outside of town was a
death trap. Quite literally everything that moved, bloomed, and crawled out
there could kill.
“Really?” Queen demanded. “New recruit?”
Truggle shook his head. “She sayz she has jobz.”
That was even more interesting. Their clients rarely offered them
work in person.
“Huh,” Smiles grunted. “Then I guess we should go greet our new
guest.”
The group shrugged and headed off toward the towering gate
leading into Boomtown. It was a massive affair. Dozens of feet tall and
filling the narrow pass leading into the valley. Wooden ramparts lined the
stony walls on either side in a chaotic patchwork – goblin riflemen
positioned along those sniper nests and occasionally taking potshots at the
schools of flying fish that swam overhead in dizzying, colorful bands.
As Smiles and his group approached, Truggle shouted out orders,
and hobgoblins positioned along the base of the gate snapped to… or rather,
stumbled upright, accidentally spilling half-drained mugs of beer. They
soon pulled at the winches that secured the gate, the portal creaking open
with a shower of dust.
And standing in that opening was a woman. She was wearing a
plain brown robe – the cloth not marking her affinity. No wand or staff in
hand. Her cowl was pulled up across her face, obscuring her features from
sight.
More interesting was what lingered just behind her. The crowd at
her back answered one of Dom’s questions. Like how the fuck she’d made
it out here. There must have been hundreds, possibly thousands of
travelers standing in the open field that lingered just outside of Boomtown,
the dense green jungle looming in the distance. And each one wore the
same plain brown robes.
 “Uh, I’m getting a creepy cult vibe from this,” Bard offered.
Smiles just grimaced. Truggle could have mentioned the army of
travelers…
Not that it really mattered. He wasn’t worried. Attacking
Boomtown was futile. Unlike many of the other races, the goblins had
learned how to bind themselves to a respawn point. Even if they died, they
just came back. Usually even more pissed off.
And the members of <Death and Taxes>? Well, they weren’t afraid
of death.
Smiles strode forward, then stopped, crossing his arms across his
perfectly tailored suit. He just waited. Their guest could make the first
move.
The woman’s hands rose, but the members of <Death and Taxes>
simply watched her lazily – no one bothering to go for their weapons. What
did they have to fear from this lady, after all? They’d faced far more
impressive opponents. Her fingers soon curled around her hood, pulling it
down… and revealing a familiar face.
“Wait, I know you,” Bard commented. He snapped his fingers.
“Gloria Bastion, right? I’ve seen your face all over the news. Especially
after the fallout from that investigative hearing.”
The woman winced. “Indeed,” she replied simply.
“But why are you here? You, uh, know you’re inside AO, right?”
Bard offered hesitantly. He put his hand to his mouth. “She looks ancient,
so it’s possible she’s going senile,” he whispered theatrically to Blaze.
“Watch it with the ageist bullshit,” the fire mage growled back,
flames licking from her robes and earning her a chuckle from Bard.
Gloria nodded, ignoring Bard’s antics. “Obviously.” Her eyes
flitted to Smiles. “I’ve come to you with a proposition. I need your help.
As for why I’m here, I wanted you to understand that I’m serious.” She
paused, the crowd standing quietly behind her. “That we’re serious.”
“And why should we help you? Aren’t you trying to shut down the
game?” Smiles demanded. None of the guild would be happy with that
result, most of all Smiles.
Gloria cocked her head. “I suppose you could say that. But we both
know you don’t really need AO. What you need is money. Isn’t that
right… Dominic?”
 The whole guild tensed now, and Dom felt his heart flutter. How
had she known his name? His real name? They had gone to great lengths
to protect their real-world identities.
A broad, shark-like smile pulled at Gloria’s lips. “Now that I have
your attention, why don’t we have a little chat? I have a feeling you’re
going to be very interested in what I have to say.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 1 - Pitch-Black
November 27, 2076: 57 days after the release of Awaken Online.

A pitch-black darkness hovered around Jason. The gloom wasn’t

natural – far from it, actually. It was an inky nothing that seemed to suck
up any trace of light. Even the soft sapphire glow of the screens before him
did little to push back at the darkness. Although, Jason’s Listening skill still
allowed him to pick out the movement in the room.
Swish.
Jason sighed and tapped at the video to pause it.
A loud thud vibrated through the air, accompanied by a shower of
rocky debris. The sound set Jason’s teeth on edge – like a hammer striking
stone. And it was inevitably followed by—
“Gods damn it,” someone growled with the scrape of claws on rock.
Jason just shook his head from where he sat cross-legged on the
floor, his eyes turning back to the displays hanging in the air. Forums were
outlined along one side – Rogue-Net, of course. The others showcased
several videos. He tapped at the display to restart the one he’d been
watching. It was seriously hard to concentrate in here with all the noise…
“Welcome back to Vermillion Live! We wanted to start off today by
declaring the winner of this year’s Turkey Hunt!” the commentator
announced with a smile.
“Although, this accomplishment might ring a bit hollow for some of
you,” the woman beside him added. “Given that our winner, one Henry
Falkner, was rumored to have purchased the win by hiring a mercenary
group.”
“Not just any group, though,” the man beside her interjected.
“We’re talking <Death and Taxes> here. This guild has made a real
reputation of late with their involvement in many high-profile robberies and
hit jobs, including an attack on the auction house in Barrow, if you can
believe that. They had the guards running in circles for hours chasing
illusions!”
“Indeed, the guild has quickly made its way to the #1 spot on the
bounty leaderboards, raking in an epic 100,000 gold haul in the last week
alone.”
 “As a result, the bounties on the guild and its leader – a player
calling himself ‘Smiles’ – have skyrocketed. Not that anyone has been able
to collect,” the man chuckled.
“By all accounts, he’s unkillable,” the woman offered in response.
“Although, we both know that’s impossible inside of AO. A specific
gamemaster comes to mind…” The wall behind them transformed into a
moving display, showing rubble crashing down toward a familiar figure.
Jason would recognize “Flowerface” anywhere. That video had become
something of a meme since his death – not that Jason was feeling
particularly sympathetic. The commentators both had a good laugh as he
was crushed to death.
“In other news, it’s been several days since the break-in at Cerillion
Entertainment headquarters,” the woman continued, pivoting smoothly.
Jason’s attention snapped back to her face. “And in the meantime, rumors
have been flying about what transpired, especially in the wake of the
Regulatory Committee’s decision to suspend the CPSC’s investigation into
Awaken Online. Some have proposed that it was an inside job. Others, a
rival company. Although, many are pointing fingers at a rising anti-gaming
group known as SAFE – Safeguarding All Families Everywhere.”
“We know, we know, the name is a bit… on the nose,” the man
commented with a laugh, the woman chuckling along with him.
“But there might be something there,” she urged. “While most of
the gaming community was relieved at the outcome of the recent regulatory
hearing, other groups, including SAFE, have been less than ecstatic about
the decision. It’s quite possible that they may have decided to take matters
into their own hands. In particular, their forums appear to be fixated on the
leaked footage of Jason’s interview—”
“Which was pretty badass,” the man beside her interrupted.
The woman smiled. “Okay, maybe a little. And our straw poll
shows that most gamers loved it. But the response among non-gamers?
Not so great. In addition to SAFE, anti-violence and anti-videogame
groups have seen a marked jump in membership after AO’s launch, and
they’ve been circulating footage of the interview.”
“Which, as you’d expect, is cut to make Jason look like a
sociopath,” the other broadcaster grumbled. “I mean, you can make
anything look evil if you put it in black and white and use the right
soundtrack. Just to prove our point, check out this clip of murder
puppies…”
Jason chuckled as the clip played but was forced to pause the video
again as another loud crash echoed through the room, followed by a litany
of curses and growling. Once the din calmed down again, he tapped at the
screen.
“—either way, the company’s silence hasn’t helped with—” the
woman began, only to cut herself short and press her fingers to the implant
behind her ear. “Actually, this is fantastic timing. Cerillion is apparently
issuing a public statement as we speak.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. He suspected that was more than just a
coincidence.
The screen cut to George Lane’s face. The dour CEO was dressed
in an immaculate three-piece suit and stood before a glass podium. Jason
recognized the atrium of Cerillion Entertainment headquarters at his back.
News drones now filled the space, giving off a soft whir, accompanied by
the crowd’s murmurs. Although, that noise died down as the CEO cleared
his throat.
During that ponderous moment of silence, the occasional swish,
boom, and cursing in the background began to fade away...
There was only the knot of worry in his stomach. His racing
thoughts. The thud, thud, thud of his heartbeat. It had only been a few real-
world days since the… encounter? He wasn’t sure what else to call it.
Even longer inside of AO. And he’d spent that time in one interview after
another. Although, interrogation might have been a better word. Believe it
or not, he’d had a difficult time explaining why he’d been found in the
upper floor of Cerillion Entertainment. Not to mention the control panel
he’d dismantled to operate the elevator…
“Welcome, everyone,” George began. “As I’m sure you’ve all
heard, someone broke into our building several days ago. I wish to
apologize for not addressing your concerns and fears sooner, but we were
determined to investigate this matter extensively before leaping to
conclusions. We take the safety of our employees and our infrastructure
seriously.”
George took a deep breath. “First, we’re pleased to announce that
no one was harmed during the break-in, and there was no indication that the
intruders were able to access or copy any client information or sensitive
data.”
“But who broke in?” a reporter shouted, unable to control himself.
Another chorus of voices followed his as the others broke the tense silence.
George seemed to anticipate this, raising a calming hand. “Of
course, that’s the question, isn’t it? And one we’ve been intently focused on
these last few days.”
He paused, and Jason could feel his heart stutter.
Shit, what was he going to say?
“We believe the culprit behind this break-in was a group called
SAFE,” George announced. A buzz suddenly filled the atrium. “As I’m
sure you’re all aware, this group has been growing in popularity with the
release of our new VR technology and gaming service, Awaken Online.
You may have seen their banners and protestors at any one of the very
public regulatory hearings that have taken place over the last few weeks.
They believe, without proof, that our products are endangering their loved
ones – sons, daughters, husbands, and wives.”
George shook his head. “In fact, that couldn’t be further from the
truth. Our technology has undergone years of thorough and extensive
testing by leaders in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and AI
development. The regulatory committee has even recently undertaken a
second review where their own selected evaluator ultimately dismissed any
concerns over our VR and gaming technology.
“Of course, this isn’t a first. History shows us that innovation
breeds conflict,” George continued. “As many of you have experienced
yourselves, the appeal of our products transcends anything that has come
before it – providing a living, breathing world for you to explore.
“Aside from the entertainment value for your average gamer, our
proprietary hardware and software offer many people a second chance,
which goes a long way toward explaining the so-called ‘addiction’ that
groups like SAFE keep pointing to. But let’s be frank about what’s
happening here. We are giving legs to the disabled! Time to the elderly!
Even allowing the blind to see and the deaf to hear! We’ve donated
thousands of our VR headsets and game software to charities worldwide to
showcase this technology’s benefits.”
George leaned forward, resting his palms on the podium. “The truth
is that we aren’t just creating the latest hit videogame – we’re
revolutionizing mental and physical healthcare.
“Yet these benefits are still being met with fear. Over the last few
weeks and months, we have been monitoring SAFE closely. We were
concerned that it was becoming increasingly radicalized.” He swiped at the
air, screens popping into existence beside him, and the news drones dipped
down to view their contents. “In the wake of the regulatory committee’s
decision, their online activity has expressed angry and even violent rhetoric,
with several members urging others to take the company itself by storm.”
The CEO’s gaze dipped to the podium as he swiped away those
screens. “And now they have acted… by endangering others. Their
conspiracy theories and irrational fears have resulted in a genuine threat to
our employees and to our company. As a result, we intend to pursue
criminal and civil charges against those responsible and further bolster our
internal security to ensure this never happens again.”
George raised his eyes to the cameras, his expression dead serious.
Jason could only marvel at the man’s acting abilities. If he didn’t know the
truth, he never would have believed this was all an act. The CEO had
apparently missed his true calling.
“I can only hope that you all take this warning to heart. There will
always be those that seek to hold back the tide of progress. Those that wish
to harm us out of ignorance and superstition. However, Cerillion will stand
fast against that tide, and we hope you all will stand with us.
“Thank you.”
With that, George turned and stepped from the podium, ignoring the
barrage of voices and questions that pealed through the atrium after him.
“Wow, you heard it here first, folks—” the broadcasters began again
as the display suddenly cut back to the show. Jason just tuned it out,
leaning back against the hard, stone wall.
He stared off into the darkness around him, his thoughts flailing in
time with the thump, thump, thump that rocked the room around him. He
barely reacted as a piece of the wall nearby was blasted apart, stone
fragments rocketing through the air and dust billowing out across the frozen
screen that hung before him.
It seemed George had decided to spin this situation in his favor. Use
it to twist the knife in the corpse of Gloria’s movement. Not that Jason
blamed him… but still. It was cold. Calculating. And kind of impressive,
actually.
 And yet it was also complete, unmitigated bullshit.
Jason could still remember finding Finn standing in that hallway,
dressed in the inconspicuous garb of the cleaning staff. The hasty words
he’d said to Jason. The way the elevator had opened, and a troop of armed
guards spilled out, laser sights flitting through the hallway. The way they’d
mistaken Finn as part of the staff and pushed him inside to protect him. The
look on that man’s face as those doors slid closed and Jason slowly raised
his hands into the air—
Suddenly, the lights in the room winked back into existence, and
Jason blinked blearily. Blue flames spilled from torches along the walls,
providing a flickering light that felt overly bright after the bottomless
darkness. It looked like someone had started a haphazard construction
project. Craters now marred the stone. Traces of blood stained the rock.
And in the center of the room lingered a lone pillar topped with a milky
white orb.
Beside it stood a hulking figure, all dense hair, rippling muscle, and
blood-red eyes. His body shifted and contorted with an accompanying snap
and crackle of bone – fur soon receding into pale smooth skin.
“About time,” Jason muttered, pushing himself to his feet and
swiping away his in-game console.
“Says the guy that just sat there doing literally nothing,” Frank
grumbled.
Jason just shrugged. “Hey, that’s what you get after you skipped out
on training to hang out with your girlfriend,” he retorted with a grin.
“Hey, we’re not… it’s not like… we haven’t…” Frank stumbled.
“Defined it yet?” Jason asked with a raised eyebrow. “What? You
scared to ask her?”
Frank growled but then deflated. “Maybe.”
“Ahh, poor little puppy-boy,” Rex drawled as he appeared nearby,
milky tendrils of smoke spilling out from the orb. “I hear your balls drop at
about 2 months.” He peered at him. “But you might be a bit old for that—"
“Tough words from a dead man,” Frank interrupted. “This puppy
also just took out two of your Keeper challenges solo,” he ground out,
glaring at Rex, and clenching his fists.
“Easy, easy. Down, boy. Heel,” Rex drawled as Frank took a
ponderous step forward. The former general seemed unperturbed.
Although, in his defense, what was there to fear if you were already dead?
 Frank seemed to be thinking the same thing and decided to switch
tactics, his eyes skimming to the hat that was perched, lopsided, on the
former general’s head. “Wait… is that a party hat?” Frank asked. “And
what’s that behind your back?” he demanded, circling Rex and trying to get
a good look at what he was hiding.
“Hey, that’s cake!” Frank muttered finally.
“Were you having a party… in the Soul Well?” Jason asked
incredulously.
Rex actually looked pretty embarrassed for a skeleton. “Maaaybe.
Okay, fine. Yes. We were having a birthday party for a friend, if you must
know.”
Jason just raised an amused eyebrow.
“I don’t expect you two to understand, but eternity can get a bit
dull. So, we try to make the most of it. Birthday parties at least remind us
that we were once alive.”
“And the cake?” Frank asked. “Can you even taste it?” He waved
his hand through the plate, his fingers passing smoothly through the smoke
to emphasize his point.
Rex cocked his head. “Not exactly.” He peered down at the slice of
cake on the plate, a few bites missing already. “This is actually the memory
of cake. We share our favorites.”
“So, what you’re trying to say is you can’t have your cake or eat it,
too,” Jason offered with a tentative smile.
“Har-har. As though no one has thought of that joke in thousands of
years,” Rex shot back sarcastically. Frank chuckled.
“Personally, I’m more of a pie person,” Frank offered.
Now Rex was staring at him like he was insane and heaved a heavy
sigh. “Well, I knew you were hopeless already, but I suppose this is just
more proof. Anyway, if that’s all, I have a party to get back to.” Then,
without waiting for them to respond, Rex disappeared in a puff of smoke,
the tendrils coiling back into the Soul Orb.
And leaving Jason and Frank staring at the pillar.
“Well, he’s certainly become more domesticated,” Frank offered
finally, earning a laugh from Jason. The shifter side-eyed his friend. “So,
what’s up next?”
Jason rubbed at his neck. Rex had been downplaying the
achievement, but Frank had indeed passed the first two Keeper trials by
himself. After Thorn’s attack on the Twilight Throne and subsequent siege
on Sandscrit, that might seem like a minor thing. However, those trials had
once been extremely challenging for Jason and Riley. They’d struggled
with this room for days. Now Frank had beaten the first two challenges in
one afternoon.
Although, that begged the question of why Jason had been fucking
off instead of helping his friend. The truth was that he was dragging his
heels. Stalling. All in an effort to put off the third and final trial. It was a
much more personal experience, a trip into Jason’s subconscious. And, last
time, it had tipped off Riley to Alfred.
He wasn’t sure he was comfortable putting Frank at risk like that.
Not with everything else that had happened lately.
“Well, the next—” Jason began to hedge, only to be cut off as
Frank’s eyes widened and he gazed off into the distance.
“Oh shit, it’s already 5:00? Silver is going to kill me….” He looked
to Jason.
“Go, go. It’s fine,” he answered the unspoken question, heaving a
mental sigh of relief.
“I appreciate it, man,” Frank offered. “Especially after I basically
forced you into training this afternoon. I know you’ve got a lot on your
plate right now.”
Less than he thought, actually. Jason had picked this time
intentionally. It helped that his spies around the Twilight Throne had given
him a head’s up about Frank’s date with Silver. And by “spies,” he meant
Riley, of course. He’d actually been hoping the shifter would bow out
earlier, possibly before beating the second trial. No such luck there,
however.
“No worries, have fun,” Jason offered.
Frank just grinned and transformed, his body contorting and thick
fur springing from his skin. Then he took off in a blur of movement, racing
out of the room and up through the Dark Keep. Which left Jason alone…
Well, except for the cat perched beside him.
Alfred was just staring at him.
“What? Just go ahead and say it,” Jason demanded.
“You’re stalling,” Alfred said simply.
“Yeah… yeah, I know,” Jason muttered. There was no point in
denying it. They could have finished these first two challenges in a
heartbeat if Jason had just helped Frank.
“And yet you know that you need to finish these trials for you to
keep moving forward—”
“I know,” Jason cut him off. Belephya and the rest of his advisors in
the Soul Well had been clear about that. He couldn’t continue to progress
as a Keeper until both of his Soul Guards had officially assumed their
roles. Apparently, even his use of the Soul Orb in the battle with Finn had
been pushing it.
Alfred just kept staring – demanding. Jason knew what he was
thinking without him saying a word. His concerns about the third trial
aside, ever since Sandscrit, since his encounter with Finn, he’d been
coasting. Waiting. In fairness, he’d needed a breather. A chance to recover
and get his head screwed on straight. To plan his next move. But he knew
that couldn’t last forever. That this wouldn’t last forever.
His eyes drifted back to the cat. Alfred wouldn’t let it, now would
he?
“Why’d you let that happen?” Jason asked finally – not for the first
time. “You knew what Finn planned to do since he’s using one of the VR
headsets. You had to know, and yet…” He hadn’t told Jason. Hadn’t
explained what any of this was about.
Finn’s words still echoed through his mind:

Who can you really trust here?

Robert, Claire, George, Finn… even Alfred?

There’s a much deeper game afoot back here in the real world.

Alfred remained silent, and Jason heaved out a frustrated sigh, still
in the dark despite the way the torches now flickered along the walls. “And
what did Finn take? What did he manage to download? Was it part of your
code or something else? Possibly Rachael’s code… or consciousness?” he
amended with a note of confusion.
“You’re not ready to know that yet. You need to trust me,” the AI
answered simply. Just as he had every time Jason had asked him.
“Information is dangerous. Especially if it’s given at the wrong time.
Consider this another spoiler.”
 “Except this isn’t a game,” Jason ground out, his dark mana
responding to his anger. His eyes filled with chill energy, and dark bands
peeled away from his skin.
Not that the AI seemed perturbed. He simply peered back. “Are
you sure about that?”
Jason let out a frustrated huff, shaking his head. He took a deep,
steadying breath and his mana faded. It seemed he was on his own then.
But he was used to that already, wasn’t he? Being alone? Especially after
everything that had happened in just a few short months. His parents.
Alex. This game world. The break-in at Angie’s. Gloria and her
sanctimonious crusade. Even the attack on Finn’s city – Jason sitting in yet
another jail cell, albeit a digital one that time. However, none of that had
stopped him or prevented him from moving forward.
His UI pinged with an email from the real world. Speak of the
devil, George Lane wanted to have a meeting. Again. No doubt this would
be another form of interrogation. Only the dozenth attempt to catch Jason
in a lie or inconsistency. He swiped it aside.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, willing himself to
calm down – to find that place in his mind where he felt centered…
focused. At the helm of an undead army. Staring down Gloria in court.
Plummeting through the skies toward Alexion’s glowing form. And when
he opened his eyes again, he felt… relaxed.
Maybe he was alone. But he was also done taking shit from
anyone. He’d proven to himself that he could tackle whatever came at him,
in-game or out.
And that included George-Fucking-Lane.
Moments later, Jason logged off in a flash of multi-colored light.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 2 - Interrogated
“Jason Rhodes,” a solemn voice called out.
Jason’s eyes shot up to find Claire waiting for him, side-eying the
men flanking her with an uncomfortable expression. They were heavily
armed, their faces obscured behind black visors, and reinforced body armor
covered every inch of their bodies. Cerillion Entertainment’s private
security force. After the break-in, they’d been an ever-present fixture in the
building, concealed behind the pillars in the atrium and milling through the
throng in the cafeteria.
And now “escorting” Jason into yet another meeting.
As they stepped down a narrow hallway, the thud of heavy boots
following them, Claire coughed lightly into her hand to clear her throat.
“How, uh… how have you been?”
Jason grunted. “Feeling like a criminal. Again. They even have
these guys stationed outside my apartment.” He glanced at her. “But I
assume you knew that already.”
Claire cocked her head. She did. Of course, she did.
This wasn’t the first meeting since the break-in. George was on
high alert.
Silence lingered in the hall, broken only by their footsteps.
“I saw George’s newscast,” Jason offered. “If he’s certain that
SAFE is behind this, then what’s this meeting for exactly?”
Claire looked troubled, and Jason knew why. That whole
presentation had been bullshit. A PR stunt meant to redirect attention
toward the company’s enemies. However, George would know the truth.
Something else had happened that night, and it wasn’t the result of a few
radicalized helicopter moms making it up to the floor where Alfred’s
servers were stored. That would have required a technical knowledge far
beyond your fair-weather protestor.
“Huh, then it was bullshit,” Jason muttered. He needed to maintain
this act for Claire’s benefit – and for the prying electronic eyes and ears he
was sure were monitoring their conversation.
Just more silence, but the way Claire’s eyes dropped to the floor was
answer enough.
 They stopped in front of a plain-looking door, and one of the guards
tapped their ID at the panel beside it. Jason frowned. So, Claire didn’t
have access to this room? Then why was she here exactly? Jason glanced
her way and observed the way her hands kept smoothing at her skirt and the
tension in her shoulders, causing them to creep ever higher from stress. She
was nervous.
What are we about to walk into?
A series of solid thunks echoed from behind the wall as the locking
mechanism disengaged and the door swung open. No doubt it was
reinforced. Solid corrugated steel painted to look like a regular office door.
More deception from Cerillion Entertainment, a thin coat of paint covering
something more concerning and nefarious.
Claire and Jason stepped through, the guards stopping outside and
taking up positions flanking the doorway. The pair were soon greeted by
what appeared to be an upscale conference room. Displays along the walls
showed the city skyline, sunlight spilling through the enclosure. Although,
Jason knew that was a lie too. This was a windowless room along the
interior of the building. Those were simply screens built into the walls.
There’s a much deeper game afoot back here in the real world, Finn
had said. Maybe he was right. George certainly seemed concerned. And
the resources he was throwing at this break-in were incredible. Who knew
an “entertainment company” would have its own paramilitary team on
standby?
It forced one to wonder what else they might be protecting.
Familiar faces already sat at the conference table. Francis perched
in his seat, back rigid and screens projected out before him, his glasses
reflecting the glare. Robert lounged along one side. The engineer opened
one lazy eye as Jason entered, jerking his chin in greeting. And at the head
of the table was George himself. He was still wearing the same suit from
the briefing. Which meant not much time had likely passed back here in the
real world.
However, a new face sat to George’s right.
Ryan Vance. George’s head of security. He looked haggard – the
stubble on his chin and circles under his eyes speaking to sleepless nights.
He also didn’t put much stock in fanfare or fancy suits. Instead, he wore
plain clothes, a simple shirt, jacket, and pants. Everything about him was
nondescript. You never would have guessed he headed the security for a
trillion-dollar company. Jason suspected that was intentional.
Although, Jason’s brow furrowed as he saw one more figure at the
table, his back to Jason. A smattering of blonde hair that reminded him
of…
“What the hell is he doing here?” Alex demanded as he turned and
saw Jason.
“I’d be more than happy to leave,” Jason answered sarcastically,
waving at the door that chose that moment to swing shut with a heavy thud.
“Unfortunately, that will not be an option. I need you two to put
aside your petty squabbles for the moment. We have more important
matters to attend to,” George interjected. “Please sit.” That one was
directed at Jason and Claire – not a suggestion despite his civil tone. They
took up seats around the table, Robert positioned to Jason’s left.
For his part, Jason kept his expression neutral. His breathing
controlled. It was surprising how many skills from inside AO translated
here. No doubt there were cameras focused on them right now, and they
were probably picking up other physiological data. Eye movement. Skin
temperature. Heartbeat. Respiratory rate. He couldn’t be sure why Alex
was here or why George had gathered everyone, but Jason wasn’t going to
give anything away.
Unless I’m forced to, he amended silently.
A heavy tension hung over the table, all eyes on George.
“We’re here to discuss the recent security breaches at Cerillion,”
George intoned. “First, we had someone infiltrate our system to steal and
disseminate footage of the development logs leading up to the release of
AO. And now we have recently had a full-fledged break-in, with someone
accessing high-security floors and data.”
“I thought that was SAFE,” Robert offered with a yawn, eyes still
closed.
Silence met that statement, but the look on George’s face said it all.
“Or… I guess not. We’re not even going to pretend that news
conference was real then?” Robert commented, peeking at the CEO with
one eye.
George simply shook his head. “A necessary move on my part to
shift the narrative. However, we have not yet identified the true culprit… or
culprits.” His eyes scanned the group. “Unfortunately, with the exception
of Ryan and Francis, you all are in the best position to have accomplished
these feats. You all had the means and opportunity to pull off one or both of
these breaches. My hope is that we can address this problem here and now.
Otherwise, we might be forced to take more drastic action.”
“Such as…?” Claire asked tentatively.
“I believe our VR technology has the ability to access memory.
Isn’t that right, Robert?” George offered. The engineer was paying
attention now, his eyes open and watching George.
Jason could feel a weight settle in his stomach. Had they managed
to replicate Alfred’s process of accessing a player’s thoughts without the
AI’s assistance? It was certainly possible, he supposed. Once they knew it
could be done, it was plausible that they would be able to reverse engineer
the process, but if George wasn’t bluffing, then they might be able to access
all of Jason’s memories… not just his encounter with Finn but also his
conversations with Alfred. Suddenly, he could understand why the AI had
chosen to withhold information from him.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Are you serious?” Claire demanded, her expression aghast. “That
can’t possibly be legal.”
Francis coughed gently to clear his throat. “Actually, you all signed
a waiver as part of your employment and streaming contracts.” He tapped
at his screen and pivoted it for them to see. Not that anyone bothered to
read the fine print.
The group was now glaring at the attorney.
George steepled his fingers. “So, as I was saying. Let’s have a chat
about these recent security breaches.” His words were met with more
reluctant silence. “I’m sure you all will be more amenable to coming clean
rather than having your dirty little secrets aired publicly.”
“You have to be joking,” Alex shot out first. “Are you really
accusing me of undermining my own family’s company? Why would I do
that?”
“Because you resent your father,” Ryan answered simply from
George’s right. “Well, that, and you’re also a spoiled man-child who has no
appreciation for the consequences of your actions.”
“Why you son of a bit—” Alex began, smacking his hands against
the table.
“Alex,” George bit out, and his son flinched as though struck.
 “Do you really deny it?” Ryan continued, unfazed by the outburst.
He gestured at Jason. “You got this young man expelled because he what?
He befriended a girl who rejected you?”
Alex was grinding his teeth now, his hands balled into fists, his nails
cutting into his palms. Jason could only look on in shock. So, George and
Ryan knew about Alex’s involvement in his expulsion? And they’d chosen
to do nothing. He supposed he should be angry about that, but it was a
struggle after everything else that had happened. And while he should be
enjoying Alex’s humiliation in front of this group, what the fuck kind of
man did this to his own son?
His eyes flitted to George’s face, not a trace of compassion lingering
there.
“And then there’s the matter of your security—” Ryan began.
“We will address that later,” George interjected, still staring at his
son. Alex couldn’t hold his gaze, and his eyes shot to the table in front of
him. “Move on.”
Jason watched this exchange with keen interest. What had Ryan
been about to say? And why had George cut him off there – after he’d
already dragged Alex through the mud? That implied there was something
else going on. Something worse than what Alex had done to Jason? His
gaze darted to Robert and Claire. Something he didn’t want anyone else
here to know about, maybe?
“Uh, not to interrupt this delightful family drama, but the royal brat
here does have a point. Means and opportunity are all well and good. But
what about motive?” Robert drawled.
“Says the engineer who has constantly undermined the ongoing
litigation against our company and has taken certain… liberties with your
development of the in-game AI,” Ryan commented without skipping a beat.
“Which were sanctioned by the boss there,” Robert retorted dryly.
Ryan nodded but didn’t seem perturbed. “We also noticed that your
security credentials were used to access the Control Room shortly before
the alarms went off. It seems the data from the security feeds in and around
the Control Room were corrupted, and the feeds on your apartment floor
were disabled at the time, so we can’t verify your location during the break-
in. Would you care to explain that?”
Robert just shrugged. “I went up to check the systems after the
battle in Sandscrit. The fight put an extraordinary load on our servers, and I
wanted to ensure they were still stable. In short, I was doing my job –
believe it or not. I then left and went back to my apartment. You know, to
sleep? I’d been running nonstop for several days straight at that point.”
Jason was trying to marshal his surprise. Of course, that was all
complete bullshit. Which begged the question. What was Robert trying to
protect? Or who? Did he know about Jason and Finn? And how had his
security credentials been used then? Had Finn stolen them?
“And the security feed on your floor?” Ryan pushed, unfazed.
Robert yawned again. “Look, I don’t like having every minute of
my life documented and recorded. I might be getting older, but even
someone my age is entitled to have some personal time… if you know what
I mean,” he replied with a telling hand gesture.
Claire groaned, and Francis buried his face in his hands. Even
George looked pained. “Really, Robert?” Claire muttered her breath.
“What? You’re always so concerned about my health—”
“That’s enough,” Ryan interrupted. “Either way, that isn’t a valid
reason to disable the building’s security. We’ve been lenient with your
actions in the past, but you’ve gone too far recently, particularly given the
impact of the latest breaches on the company.”
“Huh, and here I thought we were all just one big family here at
Cerillion,” Robert replied. “That we were all in this mess together. Right,
George?”
Claire swallowed hard as she looked at the CEO, and even Jason
was shocked by that. Was Robert implicitly threatening George now? He’d
undoubtedly have ammunition since he knew all about Alfred and could
have easily backed up incriminating evidence remotely.
Yet, for his part, George didn’t blink. “Indeed. But even family has
limits.”
Jason saw Alex’s hands clench harder, a spot of blood leaking from
his palms now.
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Each… each of us has a large stake in this game and its hardware.
Our personal history aside, even Alex and Robert wouldn’t cut off their
nose to spite their face. What do any of us stand to gain from attacking
Cerillion?” Claire offered, her hands smoothing her skirt nervously.
Ryan’s eyes shot to her face. “Logical argument. But some people
aren’t motivated entirely by pragmatism. They don’t impartially weigh the
costs and benefits to themselves. For example, some people act on their
ideals – even when it might harm them. We see that all the time with
whistleblowers.” Claire managed not to flinch at that comment. Barely.
The head of security leaned forward again, peering at her with those
crystalline blue eyes. “You’ve expressed discomfort with the process used
to develop the game software, haven’t you? Perhaps that moral outrage
reached a boiling point where you were no longer concerned about your
career. You have no family. No one else dependent upon you. Only you
would bear the cost of disclosing sensitive company information, wouldn’t
you, Claire?”
Her eyes went round, her hands freezing on her skirt. “Are… are
you… are you really?” Claire stuttered, stumbling over her words.
Jason just let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head.
“Do you have something to add?” Ryan demanded. When Jason
looked up, he found the head of security staring at him, along with the
others.
“Does any of this seem plausible? Why would Claire need to breach
your systems in the middle of the night? After the committee hearing was
already concluded, I might add. And she helped prep our defense in the
hearing, but she also supposedly stole a video and released it to Gloria? Do
you even hear yourself? None of this makes any sense.”
He waved at Alex and Robert. “And these two don’t really stand to
gain anything by hurting the company. Claire wasn’t wrong there. I mean,
Alex is an asshole, but he isn’t stupid. And Robert isn’t going to give up
the toys George can provide. Besides that, AO and its AI controller are his
baby. He’d never undermine that.”
This earned him a confused expression from Alex – anger and
surprise warring for dominance. Perhaps he was shocked Jason would
come to his aid. Robert just nodded in agreement, utterly unperturbed by
Jason’s comments.
Ryan leaned forward, peering at Jason. “Perhaps. But let’s talk
about you then. You were discovered in the hallway outside the Control
Room shortly after the breach. Why were you there in the middle of the
night during a lockdown?”
Jason didn’t even blink. “As I’ve already explained many, many
times now, I was concerned about Robert and Claire,” he answered calmly.
 “So concerned that you disassembled and hacked the elevator?”
Ryan demanded.
“I could see why this point might be lost on someone tied to
George’s family, but I actually give a shit about the people who’ve helped
and protected me,” Jason shot back. “I’m not comfortable throwing other
people under the bus when they might be in danger… or when it benefits
my bottom line,” he added pointedly. He still couldn’t forget the look in
Alex’s eyes only moments ago. The guy was a dickhead, but Jason had
experienced his fair share of shitty parents, and George was clearly in the
running for asshole-father-of-the-year.
George’s eyes flashed at that, not missing the barb. “Watch it,
young man,” he challenged. “Have you so quickly forgotten how we
helped bail you out of your last predicament? We can always choose to end
our assistance.”
Jason could feel his anger flare, and he forced his eyes closed, his
breath coming slow and measured. They had been at this for days. Fucking
days. He’d been interrogated, poked, prodded, and questioned for hours.
And now this? Some sort of group dressing-down by Cerillion’s CEO and
his enforcer under threat of being mind-raped? He’d had more than enough
of this shit. He wasn’t the same idiot kid that had once gotten kicked out of
school. Not anymore.
He was a dark emperor. A living legend. He’d stared down the
cameras and his own death dozens of times in the last few weeks. And he
wasn’t going to stop now.
Jason’s eyes snapped open, meeting George’s gaze. “Then fucking
do it. Kick me out. Fire Robert and Claire. Disown Alex, I guess?”
Silence met that statement, the group freezing and staring at Jason.
“What? Nothing?” Jason demanded. “I didn’t think so.”
“You are treading on thin ice. Watch your step—” George began.
“No, I don’t think I am,” Jason interrupted him. “While I appreciate
how you’ve helped me, that doesn’t mean you own me. We’ve been doing
this dance for days now, and I’ve had enough of this shit. All of this?” He
waved at the room. “This production? It’s one big bluff. You need each of
us. Some of us might be idealists, but you sure as hell aren’t,” he
continued, throwing Ryan’s words back at George. “I know you’ve done
the mental calculus here. Attacking us hurts you more than it helps you,
thus why we’re even having this damn meeting.”
 “Perhaps you overestimate your worth.”
Jason snorted. “I’m now the public face of your game. I’ve looked
at my streaming contract. I’ve already made more than enough money off
my share of advertising revenue to afford a place of my own, certainly
enough to hire a firm to fend off Francis here. And I could get a dozen
interviews tomorrow with a snap of my fingers. I could crucify you in the
public eye.”
Jason waved at the others at the table. “And let’s be real. You can’t
really replace Robert, Claire knows too many of your secrets, and attacking
your own son – mind raping him against his will – sure as hell isn’t going to
help your public image. You wouldn’t have used that news conference
against SAFE if they weren’t a threat to you, now would you? You barely
escaped the regulatory hearing, and I’ll bet these outside interest groups are
putting pressure on you. No doubt they’re being backed by some of your
competitors if I had to hazard a guess.”
George barely reacted, only a twitch of his fingers. But it was
enough.
Jason just nodded. “That’s what I thought. Now, I’m sure we all
have shit to do.” He looked at Ryan. “And it sounds like your head of
security might need to go do his job instead of just fishing. Or maybe you
need to find someone better suited for the job.” The man just raised an
eyebrow at that but kept quiet. “So, how about we wrap this up?”
The CEO ground his teeth but swiftly stowed his own emotions
behind that familiar, implacable mask. Then, he stood and paced out of the
room, the door swinging open of its own accord. It seemed Jason had also
been right about him monitoring this meeting remotely. Ryan and Francis
followed close behind, the lawyer adjusting his glasses and giving Jason
one last look over his shoulder before he hurried after his boss.
“Well, shit, now I think I’ve seen everything,” Robert murmured,
shaking his head. “Good job, kid.”
Jason just looked at him archly, anger still simmering in his veins.
“I didn’t do that for you. Speaking of which, I think the two of us may need
to have a conversation later, don’t you?”
Robert’s eyes widened slightly. Then that familiar, irritating grin
crept across his face. “Sounds like we do. I’ll find a time to pencil you in.”
With that, he exited the room with Claire in tow. She shot Jason a
worried glance but mouthed, “Thank you.” He just nodded in return. It
seemed everyone in this room had their secrets, and no one had been
looking forward to calling George’s bluff.
Jason sighed as he pushed himself upright and moved to leave, only
to hesitate as he heard a soft cough behind him. He turned to find Alex
standing there and looking at him oddly. It took Jason a second to realize it
was because he wasn’t glaring or sneering at him. He almost looked…
appreciative?
“I, uh… thank you,” Alex ground out finally.
“Come again?” Jason asked, dumbfounded.
“Don’t make me say it a second time.”
Jason shook his head. “Okay. Why are you thanking me then?”
He’d been focused on saving himself – not looking out for Alex Lane of all
people.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Alex explained, unable to meet
Jason’s eye. He looked reluctant, frustrated. “Seen someone hand him his
ass like that, I mean.”
Alex was still an asshole, but Jason couldn’t help but feel a small
note of sympathy. He could only imagine what it had been like to grow up
with a father like that.
“Don’t mention it,” Jason said, starting to turn away.
“But I still fucking hate you.”
“I feel the same way,” Jason replied with a low chuckle.
Yet Alex was still standing there. Hesitating. Waiting. “Is there
something else?”
“What did you mean? During that fight in Sandscrit?” Alex bit out
finally, angrily – perhaps at himself for his own uncertainty and ignorance.
“You mentioned something about seeing a real god.”
And there it was. The weight of a web of secrets. Finn’s words
echoing once more.

There’s a much deeper game afoot back here in the real world.

However, that little stunt Jason had just pulled wouldn’t deter
George for long. He wasn’t used to being thwarted, and the risk to his
company was real. Who knew what lengths he might be willing to go to in
order to figure out what had happened that night. If Jason could stall for
time, even just a little, it would be worth it. Perhaps he could even use
George’s strategy against him. He’d intended to use this meeting to turn
them against each other – why else would he have brought them all
together? Well, what if Jason sic’d his son on dear-old-dickhead-daddy?
Jason’s attention snapped back to Alex. “I think you should ask
your father about that. Ask him about Alfred. About what’s really going on
in AO. You should get an interesting reaction.”
Then he stepped out of the room, ignoring the look of confusion on
Alex’s face.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 3 - Conspiracy
Dom was perched atop a stone column. He could barely feel the
rough stone beneath his calloused fingers. One downside of his extensive
training in-game. It was almost like he’d deadened the nerves, and,
perhaps, that numbness wasn’t just limited to his body. Ever since he’d
entered this world, he’d kept pushing himself further and further, taking on
new and ever-increasing risks until those old trials began to feel washed out
and dull.
The truth was that he’d begun to feel bored. And he couldn’t afford
to feel that way. It allowed the other thoughts to creep in – the fears, the
anxiety, the pain and hardship.
Dom’s eyes snapped back to the ruins around him.
But this? Well, this was crazy, even for him.
Despite his misgivings about their plan, he relished the excited
flutter in his heart and that tingling energy that coursed through his veins.
A nice healthy dose of adrenaline. It was moments like this that made him
feel alive. That allowed him to forget, even briefly, the real-world stakes
that accompanied this so-called game. Every time he logged off, all that
waited for him was the ever-present ache in his knees. The well-intentioned
yet smothering compassion of his roommates and dad. A white room and
the astringent burn of antiseptic. Watching his bank account balance drop
in exchange for just one more dose toward his treatment.
All to delay a death sentence.
Dom shook his head, forcing away those thoughts. His eyes
followed the flashing lights that ripped through the maze-like ruins beneath
him, an occasional gunshot echoing off the stone to an accompanying roar
of pain. Some sort of rat-like creatures – kobolds, apparently - had infested
this place. There were hundreds, at least. Bard had tried to evict them
peacefully, but they weren’t having it. So now they were doing it the hard
way.
Pewpew flashed away from the horde – up to the top of a half-
destroyed wall, leaping over the stone and firing down into another throng
on the other side – just enough to keep them pissed off and give away her
location. On the opposite end of the ruins, doppelgangers of the young girl
baited even more of the kobolds. Queen’s illusions at work. They led the
creatures on a merry chase, winding through the narrow stone passages
toward a central courtyard.
“Token for your thoughts?” Bard quipped at Dom’s side,
brandishing a golden coin between his fingers, and rolling it across his
knuckles.
Dom just grunted in response.
Bard rolled his eyes. “Ever the conversationalist, huh? This other
lot might buy your whole stoic-warrior-act, but I know you better than
them. You’re having doubts about this plan, aren’t you?”
“It’s money. Lots of money,” Dom retorted. “And we sure as hell
need it.”
“I get that, buuut, this lady doesn’t seem trustworthy. I’ve been
watching footage of the regulatory hearings. She’s a real shark. She’d
throw us under the bus if it suited her purpose,” Bard offered. “How do we
know she’s telling the truth?”
“Or if she can even deliver on what she’s promised?” Smokes added
from below the pair. He was lounging on a lower terrace, taking a long
drag on his cigarette. As he exhaled, the smoke only added to the dense
black fog that coiled around the base of their ruined tower and created an
impenetrable mist that protected them from any kobolds that strayed too
close. Those that entered never left.
Smokes blew out another black plume. “And it’s entirely possible
that she could accomplish her plan, but we still fail. In which case, we
might lose everything,” he murmured.
“Big risks, big rewards,” Dom grumbled in reply. The other two
cocked their heads at that. That was basically their guild mantra, and it had
served them well until now.
“Besides, the Gambler seemed pleased,” Dom added under his
breath. That asshole had been downright gleeful when Dom described
Gloria’s plan. Which was odd, given the possible outcome for him as one
of the in-game gods. Apparently, his “bottom line” was more important
than any consequences. All he cared about was mana – and the chaos that
created it.
The group lapsed into silence, watching the courtyard in the center
of the ruins. Blaze stood there alone, her hair aflame and waves of fire
radiating from her body. The heat was so intense that it caused the air to
ripple above her, drifting up and forming thick puffy white clouds that
slowly began to circle the ruins. The horde of creatures barreled into those
fires from every direction. Whipped into a frenzy, they didn’t stop at the
sight of the flames, plunging inside and letting out cries of pain as the fire
seared the flesh from their bones … only for their blackened skeletons to
drop to the ground moments later.
Dom sighed. “Either way, we decided to move forward. The group
voted for this.”
Smokes nodded. “That we did.”
The flames in the courtyard winked out, and calm soon settled
across the ruins. It seemed they were done… at least, with the first stage of
Gloria’s mad plan.
Dom pushed away from the rock and plummeted downward,
landing with a dull thud. The force of the impact pushed away the gray
smoke in a ring. Although, he barely felt the landing. His legs absorbed the
shock effortlessly. Bard soon settled beside him with a whistle, a gleaming
yellow energy coating his body. And Smokes drifted down after them on a
billowing cloud of black fog, his feet settling gently against the dirt.
A flash of energy and Pewpew appeared nearby with Blaze and
Queen in tow.
“God, I hate that,” Queen muttered, stumbling slightly as the girl
released them.
“Keep complaining, and we’ll arrive upside down next time,”
Pewpew shot back.
“Both of you can it,” Blaze interjected, her eyes blazing with fiery
energy. “We need to behave in front of our new client,” she trailed off,
waving down the corridor of stone where Gloria and a handful of those
brown-robed cultists approached. The group knew that many, many more
were stationed just outside the ruins, guarded by Truggle and his goblin
horde.
“It’s done. The ruins are clear,” Dom announced, his ivory mask
frozen in a perpetual smile that didn’t quite match his dire tone of voice.
“Although, we haven’t seen any evidence that there’s something valuable
buried here. It’s just ruins and rat shit.”
“Oh, it’s definitely here,” Gloria shot back, sweeping back her
hood. She tapped the ground with her foot. “These ruins were formed
overtop of our prize. It’s buried beneath us.”
 “And you know this how exactly?” Bard demanded. “You don’t
strike me as the gaming type, and you’ve been playing AO for all of like
what? A few days now?”
The woman’s eyes flashed in challenge. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Uh-huh. And I guess we’re also just supposed to ignore the fact
that you somehow managed to outfit a few thousand members of some
crazy, anti-corporate group with headsets and copies of AO?” Bard
demanded. “I can do math, honey. Where’d you get that kind of dough?”
“There are more than a few groups that are interested in seeing
Cerillion Entertainment fail,” Gloria replied evenly.
“George Lane has enemies, and SAFE has suddenly acquired
anonymous donors that are more than happy to work against him. Ahh, the
great circle of life,” Smokes observed dryly, blowing out another plume of
smoke. The vapor condensed into several figures, each one stabbing the
other in the back in a small circle.
The group chuckled softly.
“I’m more interested in how she convinced these people to enter the
game in the first place,” Blaze observed dryly. “I thought you all were
terrified of this product.”
Gloria sniffed. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Ahh, so you lot are fair-weather idealists then,” Blaze shot back.
“Probably the same group calling for more guns to help with gun violence.”
“What does any of this matter to you?” Gloria demanded with a
frustrated huff. “As long as you get paid, I don’t see why you should care.”
“Because that assumes we actually get paid,” Queen replied icily.
“And that requires you to be telling the truth. You could just be trying to
screw with us.”
Dom’s UI pinged, and he looked downward. Tombs soon slid from
the earth, and Gloria and her fanatics took a step back in alarm. Tombs
didn’t spare them much attention, however. The earth mage was sucking in
several deep, gasping breaths. Once his breathing settled, he looked to
Dom and nodded slightly. A yellow waypoint marker now lingered far, far
beneath their feet.
“Huh. Well, what do you know? You were telling the truth,” Dom
murmured.
“How the hell is she going to get to that, though?” Pewpew added,
staring at the ground. “I’m guessing that’s what? A mile—”
 “Or two,” Tombs ground out. “I had to take a breather in a few
underground caverns.” He smacked his lips distastefully. “Stale air down
there.”
“Well, I’m definitely not digging,” Bard added, raising his hands. “I
just had my nails done. Do you know how hard it is to find a manicurist in
AO?”
The rest of <Death and Taxes> just shook their heads.
“You don’t need to worry about that. My people will handle the
excavation,” Gloria reported, waving at the robed individuals behind her.
“Tell the others they can now enter the ruins and begin setting up.” They
nodded and scurried back down the corridor.
“You all bring shovels? Wait, let me guess, you stored them up your
ass!” Bard offered helpfully. “Which explains your all’s attit—”
A rope of smoke suddenly wrapped around his mouth, shutting Bard
up. More shadowy bands slithered around his arms and legs, forcing him to
the ground, although Bard was still shouting muffled curses into the smog.
Dom spared Smokes an appreciative glance.
“Hmph, I’ll just ignore your loud-mouthed colleague’s vulgar
comments,” Gloria replied, rubbing the dust from her robe. “But to answer
his question, we’ve already considered how we’ll tackle this project. I’ve
always excelled at organizational skills, and I’ve learned over the years how
best to use what few tools are at my disposal,” she added with a grim smile.
Even as she spoke, the ground rumbled in the distance, and the
group could see an enormous wall of stone rising into the air around the
ruins. The rest of <Death and Taxes> was staring at that wall in surprise. It
would take one hell of an earth mage to pull that off.
Although, on closer inspection, Dom could see that it wasn’t one
continuous piece of stone but formed from many smaller blocks. Suddenly,
her plan popped into focus. Gloria must have purchased basic magic
equipment and spell scrolls from the auction house, outfitting her followers
based on their affinities. Even if they were low-level, working together and
with large numbers, they could still accomplish incredible feats.
Gloria turned her gaze to Dom, a smirk on her lips. “Now, you just
need to uphold your end of the bargain. That wall will help keep out the
native wildlife, but the players are another story. Keep us safe and secure
here in the ruins. Give us time to work.”
“You said you had intel on the other avatars?” Dom replied.
 Gloria grunted and waved at the air. Moments later, Dom’s UI
pinged. A data file. A large one, by the looks of it. It seemed she was a
woman of her word, after all. He immediately pushed it to Bard, waving at
Smokes to let him up – which he did, reluctantly.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have much to do,” Gloria said and
stepped around them, heading for the courtyard in the center of the ruins.
“I hate that woman,” Bard grunted from the ground, rubbing at his
neck and glaring after her. The others just murmured in agreement. For his
part, Dom’s attention was centered on the screens floating before him as he
skimmed the data that Gloria had provided.
“She give us anything good?” Pewpew asked, suddenly perched on
Dom’s shoulders in a flash of amber energy. She let out a low whistle.
“Damn.”
The girl’s eyes lifted, following Gloria. “How the hell did she get
this kind of dirt?”
“I don’t know,” Dom answered slowly. Several pieces of this puzzle
just weren’t adding up. Gloria was going to extremes – entering a game she
claimed was evil incarnate. Convincing others to come with her. Acquiring
the real-world financing needed to secure their VR equipment and equip her
troops. And now there was this intelligence on the game world? How the
hell had she known to come here? Or gathered all this information?
Possibly her role at the CPSC? But even then, this seemed impossible…
Not that Dom was given long to ponder on that.
His thoughts were interrupted as a blue notification suddenly
exploded into his field of view, the others all staring off into space at the
same time.

Universal Event Notice: Armageddon

The guild <SAFE> has begun to excavate a long-forgotten relic of this

world, unlocking a hidden world event. If they manage to secure the relic,
this may mean the end of AO.

Armageddon is now upon you! Travelers, come together, put aside your
petty squabbles, and unite in the face of this threat! Because if you don’t,
the world of Awaken Online as you know it will be destroyed.
Armageddon: ~2 weeks, in-game time
Victory Condition: Stop <SAFE> in time.
Victory Reward: 5 Gate Pieces

Failure Condition: Fail to stop <SAFE> in time.

Failure Outcome: Destruction of the AO game world.

A sudden silence hung in the air.

“Well, shit,” Bard muttered finally. “I’m going to need a new outfit
for the end of the world. This just won’t do at all,” he added, tugging at his
tunic.
“Oh, for the love of…” Queen muttered, the others mirroring her
reaction.
“It seems Gloria wasn’t lying about that either,” Smokes observed,
looking to Dom and his cigarette now hanging limp on his lips. They all
knew what this meant. The other travelers were trouble, but one group, in
particular, had the resources and strength to cause them real problems. And
now they had one hell of a motive for stopping Gloria.
“No, no, she wasn’t.” Dom swiped aside his own notice. “Which
means the clock is ticking, and we need to get to work. You heard the lady.
We need to buy her some time.”
His smiling mask stared back at the others. “Let’s go hunt some
avatars.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 4 - Bounty
Finn Harris (the “Najmat Alhidad”)
Current Bounty: $106,532

Finn stood in the courtyard of the Mage Guild in Sandscrit, gazing

across the sandy expanse and watching as tufts of particles swirled and
collided in the wind. Long gone were the craters and structural damage…
and the mounds of corpses. Now there were only coils of rainbow energy.
The pristine yellow of air mana, the orange-red heat of the sun beating
down on the sands, and the rich deep emerald of the earth below them.
Traces of the students’ mana also leaked into the air as they chatted and
strolled the halls.
Above them, that energy condensed into a sphere of opaque mana
that now wholly covered the Mage Guild. Another series of smaller domes
encircled the courtyard itself. Not that anyone would likely have been able
to tell from the outside. The glimmer of sapphire indicated that an illusion
had been layered over the protection wards. And tucked away in the
shadows of the awnings were more Khamsin, their mana-less bodies
invisible to Finn’s enhanced sight.
After the attack, Finn had needed to protect his interests, especially
with a city full of resentful players. The incidents had diminished over the
last week or so in-game, but they hadn’t disappeared entirely. Not that he
was concerned. Given time, Julia and her Infernal Guard would stomp out
any last trace of insurrection.
A flash of darker ebony drew Finn’s attention, and he sucked in an
inadvertent breath—
Only to let out a frustrated huff moments later. Not Jason. Not
another attack. Just the petty jealousies of one of the novice mages, the
outcast glaring at another clique. Finn had gotten better at picking up on
fleeting emotions and feelings with his Mana Sight.
“Look at you taking a break,” Julia drawled, approaching from
behind Finn. He switched to Short-Sighted, and the world suddenly took on
a sapphire hue, replacing his enhanced sight – otherwise, he wouldn’t have
been able to see his daughter’s features, the mana having long been ripped
from her body. A crystalline mace swung from her waist, her limbs were
outfitted in light chainmail, and her shield was strapped to her back. Kyyle
strode beside her – the pair holding hands.
Which stopped as soon as Finn raised an eyebrow. The earth mage
was a smart man and pretended that it hadn’t happened. Although, Brock
gave his ruse away as the earth elemental looked between the pair in
confusion before the gravity field holding up his rocky body pulsed and he
lowered himself to inspect their hands.
Julia glared at Finn, a touch of anger in her eyes. Which earned her
a shrug and a wink. This was his fatherly prerogative, after all.
“Ahem, so we’re here to report on the repairs—” Kyyle began.
“No need,” Daniel chirped from Finn’s shoulder. “I’ve already
updated Finn on the progress. We are 67.68% complete, including the
fortification’s additional improvements. I even took the liberty of
informing him of your plans this evening.”
“Our, uh, what now?” Kyyle stumbled.
“So, you have the chatty nightlight spying on us?” Julia drawled,
unperturbed. Daniel’s form flashed in annoyance as he dipped through the
air.
Finn shrugged. “He’s entirely autonomous – you know that. He
took the initiative.” The pair had been spending a lot of time together
lately. It was his duty to keep an eye on them. And maybe this was also a
little payback for Julia hacking his system back in the real world.
“Sure. And we’re supposed to believe you had nothing to do with
that, huh?”
“I’m just a poor blind, old man,” he replied, touching at the band of
cloth draped across his eyes. “Daniel’s looking out for me.”
“Not sure you’re any of those things,” Kyyle muttered.
Julia just sighed. “Anyway, what have you been up to? We haven’t
seen you in a few days.” She paused, cocking her head. “I also noticed
you’ve been logging out more than normal. You feeling okay?” Finn
leaving the game for anything other than food, sleep, and water was
unusual. And he’d come up with a few solutions for even those problems.
Money had its perks.
Finn grimaced but tried to keep his expression neutral. His daughter
was perceptive – and not above hacking into his house again. He’d double
– and triple – checked his firewalls, but there could still be a vulnerability
somewhere in his system. He couldn’t afford for her to get embroiled in the
mess he’d created, not that he had a whole hell of a lot to show for it.
And she was still staring at him.
“My… uh, back has been acting up,” he explained. “Daniel forced
me to start taking naps and exercise breaks.” Not completely untrue. His
back did ache like a motherfucker lately. And Daniel had given him a
physical therapy routine now that he was more… mobile.
“Hmm, okay.” Julia still looked worried but not suspicious.
Perfect.
Kyyle’s eyes were centered on the massive gate fragment now
resting atop the sands of the courtyard. Another reason for the additional
layers of security. “What’re you working on here?” he asked, his hands
running across a column of glass that Finn had pulled from the sands.
Finn chewed on the inside of his cheek as he took in the courtyard.
“An experiment,” he murmured.
And a distraction, he added silently. Something to help him forget
about the break-in, the data packet he’d stolen, and his failure. He couldn’t
save Rachael – not yet, anyway. Maybe not ever. The data had been clear
on that point. So, he’d buried himself in a new project. Tried to forget.
Tried to do something productive to help protect what remained of his wife
inside AO.
And that started with researching the gatepiece and trying to
understand what the hell the gods had tasked the avatars with collecting.
Finn switched back to his Mana Sight, inspecting the massive stone
fragment, its surface glimmering in the harsh desert sun. In his enhanced
vision, it was no ordinary rock. Instead, it was infused with all six
affinities, the magic swirling and colliding through the stone seemingly at
random.
“Holy shit! Did you break off pieces of it?” Julia muttered. The
glimmer of mana from her armor put her next to the gatepiece. “You did!
You broke the single most valuable damn thing in the game right now?” She
was almost certainly glaring at him – even if he couldn’t see her face.
Finn raised a hand defensively. “Hey, they were small pieces.” And
still no easy task. It had taken more than three dozen fire mages all
channeling Molten Beam to cut off just a few fragments. He could hear
Julia suck in a sharp intake of breath. “Okay, before you fly off the handle,
there’s plenty of gate piece left, and it was worth it. I’ve learned a few
interesting things. Here, let me show you.”
He paced toward the pillar of glass nearby, where a gate fragment
the size of his hand rested on its surface. Finn had constructed a similar
pillar on the other side of the courtyard with its own fragment. He reached
down and picked up a small stone from the pile beside him. Each was a
different size and mass to help with his experiments, ranging anywhere
from the size of a baseball to a small car.
“So, you both remember how the Mage Guild hosted tournaments
using this courtyard?” Finn explained. He could see Kyyle nod, his mana
flashing. Traces of fear and anxiety. That was fair. It had been a rough
experience.
“Yeah, we were teleported to a random location and used a chit to
return,” Kyyle muttered. “The loser just respawned back here in the
courtyard.”
“Exactly. But did you ever wonder how they were teleporting us?
That isn’t really explained by any of the current magic systems. For
example, air mages have a teleportation ability, but it’s short range.
Nothing that would transport us dozens or hundreds of miles in-game.”
“Huh, that’s fair,” Kyyle murmured, cocking his head.
“I didn’t have Mana Sight at the time, so I couldn’t see what was
happening, but now I can,” Finn continued. He waved at the gate piece.
“Once the battle with Jason unearthed this thing from beneath the sand,
well, I started getting curious. It’s strange that there would just happen to
be a gate piece hidden beneath this courtyard – where we also just happened
to use those stone chits to teleport. An unusual coincidence? Or something
more?”
As he spoke, Finn channeled fire mana into one of his metal
spheres, smashing it flat and placing a tournament chit on its surface along
with the stone. He then lowered the metal to the pillar with a twitch of his
fingers. As soon as it touched the gate fragment, the metal and stone
vanished in a crackle of multi-colored energy – energy that looked
suspiciously similar to the rift of mana that occurred when travelers entered
this world. Seconds later, the miniature platform reappeared on the other
side of the courtyard and dropped to the sand, the metal now well outside
Finn’s Control Range.
“What—what the hell?” Kyyle muttered.
 “How is that possible?” Julia added in shock.
Finn couldn’t help the excited grin that stretched across his face. He
raised a finger. “So, first off, I don’t think I was the first to break off pieces
of this gate fragment.” He raised another of the tournament chits. “Best I
can tell, these are actually fragments of the gate piece that have been
covered in stone and etched with a ward to improve durability. That’s what
allowed us to teleport during the competition. We’d tap two of the
fragments together above the gate piece here and shoot off to a random
destination.”
Kyyle was shaking his head, his mana fluctuating wildly now, red
energy coiling through his body as he tapped out notes on his in-game
console. “Huh, okay, so the gate fragments are keyed to each other… I’m
assuming they’re draining a small amount of mana to initiate the teleport?
And that mana is somehow tying the gate pieces together?”
“Indeed,” Finn replied. “The tournament chits were draining some
mana from the novices. And now that I can see what’s happening, I can
actually direct the mana between the two gate fragments. The energy
fluctuations inside the gate pieces aren’t as random as they appear. You can
think of it as a form of quantum entanglement but involving mana. The
gate pieces can effectively be keyed to one another to permit teleportation
between two points.”
Julia huffed out a sigh – no doubt thinking their afternoon date had
been canceled in the face of Kyyle’s excitement. “Sure, but how do you
explain the random teleports—”
She hesitated. “Ahh, duh,” Julia muttered to herself.
Finn’s smile only widened. “Yup. The chits were being activated
without first being keyed to a specific gate piece or fragment. So, they
were likely teleporting us to other gate pieces hidden throughout the
world.”
“Or fragments that had been chipped off,” Kyyle murmured.
Finn just nodded. “Possible. Although, Bilel’s old journal provides
some support for my hypothesis. He described working waypoints in the
past, which transported large groups of people and supplies instantaneously
between cities. After the gods were pushed from this world and roughly a
century passed, they’ve probably been buried and hidden. I’m guessing
those teleport locations used to be former towns or cities.”
 Kyyle glanced at the pile of stones. “Okay, I’m following you. And
these rocks? I’m guessing you were testing whether there’s a mass limit to
the teleport?”
“Exactly. Using something the size of a token, the teleport is pretty
limited. It can only transport the mass of a person or two. I’m assuming
the waypoints back in the day must have been using a full gate piece to
teleport the contents of several wagons or a crowd of people, for example.
I’m betting they were also charging a mana toll for passage.” Kyyle was
nodding along with his explanation. They’d need to store energy to activate
the teleport.
“Have you considered—” the earth mage began excitedly.
He was immediately interrupted as his UI pinged. Finn and Julia
both stared off into space at the same time. All movement around the Mage
Guild courtyard had stopped. Everyone was reading the same universal
notice, a sudden hushed quiet filling the air.
And into that silence, Kyyle spoke quietly, “Damn. Looks like our
date’s canceled.”
Julia sighed. “No kidding.”
Finn could only stare at that screen, his excitement vanishing as
harsh reality loomed before him. He almost felt sick, a heavy weight
sinking in his stomach. It didn’t matter how hard he’d tried to distract
himself… to rebuild the fortress that protected Rachael… to forget about
his failure in the real world. It seemed there would always be someone
looking to take his wife away from him, at least, until he could free her
from this place.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that yet.
Finn’s mana flared, that warm energy coursing through his body,
responding to his anger – at himself and whoever had now endangered
Rachael. His eyes glowed a dull red, eating away at the cloth wrapping his
face even as the flames of his crown surged.
Maybe he couldn’t rescue her yet. But he could certainly deal with
this problem.

* * *

Alex Lane (once called a “Walking Lighthouse”)

Current Bounty: $137,897
 Alex had never seen that look on his da— his father’s face. Calling
George Lane something as casual as “dad” was more than simply
awkward. Alex hadn’t made that mistake since he was a young child.
Grooming, decorum, and an awareness of his social standing with others –
all beaten into him as soon as the first words left his mouth.
He was certain calling his mother something as infantile as “mama”
had been immediately met with a correction. She was his “mother.” His
infant self had likely been given one warning before his next error was met
with punishment. Negative reinforcement had always been his mother’s
preferred method of training, after all.
Even years later, that conditioning was still in full force – even in
the privacy of his own mind.
Which only made him wonder why his parents had bothered having
a child in the first place. They certainly hadn’t made that decision out of
something as asinine as mere affection. Social expectation? Another sign
of status? Some sort of “crotch trophy” they could parade in front of their
friends? Like a fancy car? Or a new vacation home?
Yet there was still that look on his father’s face as he stared at Jason
Rhodes of all fucking people. Jason, who had only a few short months ago
been some hapless, poor kid masquerading at a school for the elite. And
now his face was plastered all over the news. He’d killed two other
teenagers. He’d started a revolution – in-game and out.
He’d stared down George Lane on his own turf.
And his father had blinked.
Alex had been expecting more. Anger. Retribution. His father’s
usual go-to’s. But he’d barely reacted at all – simply gotten up and left.
Alex wasn’t even sure how to feel about that. He’d expected that same
cold, numbing rage. Yet, instead, he’d just felt curious. He’d even reached
out to Jason. Been almost fucking civil, despite his cryptic response.
Something about “Alfred?” Clearly, he was referring to the game’s AI. But
why?
Alex had no idea what he’d meant, but it felt… important.
And all because of that damn expression on his father’s face – one
he couldn’t quite place.
What was it?
“Respect,” a voice whispered from his side.
 Alex started, his chair legs squeaking against the marble floor of the
conference room, his eyes going round as he surveyed the room.
“—defensive measures have been less than effective lately—” The
head of Evelyn’s security forces droned on about the protection of her
caravans in-game.
And across the table, Evelyn was glancing at Alex with a worried
look. Behind her, against the far wall, stood the Lady. She was wreathed in
a golden aura, that familiar cruel smile tugging at her immaculate features –
taunting, teasing.
Fucking bitch. The thought came unbidden to Alex.
The goddess’ smile only widened.
“Are you okay?” Evelyn mouthed.
Alex swallowed hard and just nodded.
“Thank you, Sir Reynold,” Evelyn chirped, finally cutting her head
of security short. Her eyes skimmed the other nobles and travelers at the
table. It was a full house today. “I believe we all understand the severity of
the matter. Indeed, the raids on our caravans have put a considerable dent
in our trading group’s profits.”
“There is also the matter of the recent attacks on the auction houses,
which has severely depressed trade,” one of the travelers offered, a guild
from another city with an established trade agreement with Evelyn’s outfit.
“And it appears that only one group has been responsible for the attacks.
I’m sure everyone here has heard of them.”
The man met Evelyn’s eyes. “<Death and Taxes>.”
A murmur filled the room at that name.
“With all due respect, we’re working to beef up—”
“More empty promises. They even had the audacity to raid the
auction house here in Barrow,” another noble spoke up – a resident this
time. “That was with a full division of the city’s troops and two divisions
of Nephilim guarding the building.”
A frown tugged at Evelyn’s delicate lips, the Lady arching a
challenging eyebrow at Alex behind her back. Even without speaking, he
knew what the goddess was thinking. Was he simply going to let this girl
do all the heavy lifting for him?
No wonder his father had never looked at him that—
Evelyn began to respond, but Alex raised a hand. He turned to the
other nobles. “It was a surprise attack, one that will not be repeated now
that we have a better understanding of their skills and abilities. Wards have
been installed beneath the building, and mana scans are now required at the
entrance to prevent anyone from disguising themselves.”
The nobles grumbled. “Unfortunately, the damage has already been
done,” the traveler shot back with a frown.
Alex’s lips pressed into a grim line. In the past, he might have risen
to the player’s challenging tone. Cut down the man where he sat, sneering
at Alexion like an arrogant prick. That would have proved Alex’s power –
his authority. Yet he was finding restraint came easier lately – especially
after everything he’d endured in-game.
Every defeat, that voice slithered through the back of his mind. That
one had come from himself – not the Lady.
Alex tamped down on that feeling. Hard. That had gotten easier
too. A small part of himself was also pleased with the way the Lady’s smile
faded in the face of his restraint.
He eyed the traveler. “Perhaps you’re right. Unfortunately for you,
that means you now need my and Evelyn’s support more than ever. With
sales at the auction houses down, the next best option is to sell directly to
the residents, which requires access to traditional supply routes and the
requisite security for those caravans. Of course, if you’re unhappy with
using her airships… there are always other options. Although, I hear the
roads are in even worse shape of late.”
The traveler frowned but offered no rebuttal. Because he didn’t
have one, and neither did the other blowhards at the table. Some of the
more desperate travelers had taken to forming raid groups, mugging anyone
who traveled the roads. Offering quests and bounties to exterminate them
had only slowed them down. And the bottom line was that it was expensive
and difficult to guard those caravans. In contrast, few travelers had the
means of attacking Evelyn’s airships directly, and even if they did, the
Nephilim were in a unique position to defend them.
At least, for now…
Evelyn nodded at Alex. That look again. For some reason, on her
face, it made him feel warm, pushing back further at that hollow coldness
that lingered in the back of his mind.
“While we will make every effort to protect your merchandise, my
business partner raises a fair point. There’s nothing I love more than a good
monopoly,” Evelyn said, steepling her fingers. “Speaking of which, let’s
talk prices—”
She was interrupted as a notification popped into her vision,
Evelyn’s shoulders tensing. Alex saw a similar blue window appear in the
air before him and noticed the other members of the council all staring off
into space as they read their own prompts in hushed silence.
Only moments later, Evelyn swiped aside the notice, appearing
remarkably unflustered amid the looks of shock and discomfort on the faces
around the table.
“Well, this is ideal. A global war means a rush on arms and armor,
people spending their funds before the world comes to an end. And it looks
like you’ll need someone to transport them.” Evelyn spread her arms wide.
“Unfortunately, our prices have also just gone up.”
As Alex looked up, he saw that the Lady had vanished. It seemed
she had more pressing matters to attend to. As did they all, apparently.

* * *

Eliza Zhao (the “Ice Witch”)

Current Bounty: $168,230

Eliza hummed softly to herself as she stepped down a row of exotic

plant life. Overhead, a bubble of air held the water at bay, only dim
sunlight making its way down to these depths. Outside that protective
barrier swam schools of serpentine bodies. Electricity crackled along their
length in a technicolor display, merging and combining to create a swath of
color – like an underwater aurora. More of those serpents had been
captured and suspended in globes of water that now dotted this enclosure,
the light helping to illuminate the massive chamber.
This was Sea’s Edge… or, well, what lingered just beyond the edge
of the more mundane city along the coast. Sure, the city itself was fine.
Deep canals. Coral piers stretching from the base of the former cliffs.
Elevators propelled by geysers of water, offering access between the docks
and the city proper. An ever-present dense fog that encircled the town and
swam down through the streets. Eliza was sure that might have seemed
impressive.
But her people – the merfolk – weren’t limited to land.
 It was what loomed beneath the surface of the bay that had captured
Eliza’s focus. An entire city submerged, only accessible by fin and gill… or
a helpful potion or two. Home to all sorts of new plants – new ingredients.
Endless hours of experimentation. An underwater kingdom that was
difficult to access, perhaps almost impossible to attack.
Although, she hesitated at that thought, her hand hanging frozen, her
fingers just a few inches from the globe of water encircling a nearby plant.
Her thoughts had returned to Sandscrit. To the siege. To a wave of
undeath. Fires and glass and pain and killing. Then, inevitably, to Jason
and Finn. A whispered conversation between her parents – a possible
conspiracy. And a question. An impossible choice…
Just when it had started to feel like she was gaining control of her
life again… to finally have a sense of power and control. This happened.
As the Hippie had said – she needed to learn when to accept and when to
stand her ground. And yet he’d left out a third option.
When to run away.
A hand landed on her shoulder, rough bark catching at the cloth of
her robe. She turned to find Brian’s sapphire eyes watching her closely. He
raised his other arm, a flower blooming along his fingertips in a mere
instant, snapping itself off cleanly at the stem. Brian offered it to her. His
face was still impassive and inexpressive, but she understood his meaning.
He was worried about her.
“I’m fine. Really,” she reassured him. She accepted the flower,
smelling at the stamen despite the way the game muted that sense.
Although, Brian didn’t seem convinced. And, to be honest, neither
was Eliza.
A trumpeting burble erupted from the entrance to the chamber, and
Eliza started, her eyes darting to the side and her hand reaching for a wand
at her waist. In an instant, Brian had formed a wall of vegetation around
her, his arms encircling her protectively, only for the pair to hesitate as they
saw the entourage entering the chamber.
Eliza had grown up on a steady diet of Disney movies. Some
classics never went out of style. This was especially important since the
developers of AO had apparently decided to go in another direction after
watching the Little Mermaid. A wildly chaotic direction, from the looks of
it. Or maybe this was the Hippie’s doing. It seemed like the sort of thing
he would do just to mess with people.
 Instead of something as simple and uniform as fish-like tails, the
merfolk were an eclectic bunch. Their population represented many
different aquatic animals – not just fish. Crabs. Eels. Squids. Even a
whale or two. And the chaos didn’t end there. The “parts” that were
transformed were also fair game. Eliza had seen more than one of the
merfolk with tentacle arms and a squid head, which reminded her vaguely
of something out of a tabletop game. One poor guy had a jellyfish body,
although he insisted it was fine. He could sting his enemies, apparently.
And at least they could all transform back into human form
temporarily when desired.
With this madness in mind, the group that entered the chamber
would have looked insane anywhere else inside AO. Otter-folk unfurled a
big red carpet that swept out across the floor. Vaguely humanoid men and
women were blowing at massive conch shell trumpets. Dolphin-folk
puffing multi-colored bubbles from blowholes along their backs. And
topping this all off was a pair of crab-folk tapping along on chitinous legs, a
platform suspended between them.
“All hail his Royal Majesty, the King of Cuddles and Naps, The One
True Black Sheep himself, Sir Fluffy!” one of the merfolk shouted into the
chamber.
Indeed, lying on that platform was none other than Fluffy, who
blinked blearily around the chamber, the trumpets clearly having woken
him from another nap. When he caught sight of Eliza, he perked up,
however. He promptly hopped off his platform, the bell along this collar
tinkling as he hit the ground. Fluffy trotted over to Eliza, the cape
suspended around his neck dragging along the stone floor behind him.
Although, he paid this no mind as he rubbed his head against her thigh. At
the sight of him, Brian had reluctantly pulled back his wall of vegetation.
“Fluffy! This isn’t the proper decorum of the ruler of the Sea’s
Edge,” the Hippie grumbled, popping out from behind the entourage, still
dressed in his motley rags.
Fluffy didn’t seem concerned. He spared the god one look, sniffed,
and then returned to his pettings. The Hippie’s frown deepened.
“Are you ignoring me now? I think you’re letting all this power go
to your head! Who do you think put you on this throne?” the god
demanded as he approached.
 Fluffy just pointed one hoof at Eliza, earning him a grumble from
the Hippie.
“What’s that you’re holding?” Eliza asked with some amusement.
The Hippie looked down at the pillow in his hands, a grimace
tugging at his lips. “I don’t want to say it—” He hesitated as he saw Fluffy
stomp one foot while staring at him imperiously. “Fine. It’s his Majesty’s
royal nap pillow,” the Hippie muttered.
Eliza covered her mouth to hide her smile. “Well, it’s good to see
that you’re beginning to accept your role here,” she offered, not entirely
masking a laugh. This seemed like fair play after the way the god had
tormented her for so long – even if he might have had a somewhat altruistic
motive there.
“Haha. Anyway, do you like your present?” the Hippie asked,
waving at the chamber full of exotic plants suspended in globes of water.
“It was totally, 100% my idea.”
Fluffy let out a snort of irritation, shaking his head.
“Okay, sure. Technically, our idea.”
The sheep just kept staring.
“Fine. It was his Majesty’s idea,” the god grumbled and crossed his
arms.
“It’s wonderful,” Eliza offered, petting Fluffy’s head again, the
sheep leaning into her hand appreciatively. “It’s been a welcome distraction
from, well, everything.”
As though the words had summoned them, those unwelcome
thoughts came flooding back like a dam bursting. Even with her newfound
assertiveness after Sandscrit, she was at a loss. It wasn’t that she didn’t
want to act. It’s just that she didn’t know what to do. Whether to tell Finn
what she overheard? Or Jason? Or possibly confront her parents?
And there was still the matter of her “gaming vacation.” She hadn’t
spoken to her parents about that either. After what she’d heard, she’d been
too nervous and distracted.
Someone clapped their hands loudly in front of her face.
Eliza’s eyes darted upward to see the Hippie staring at her
knowingly. “You’re overthinking things. Again,” he offered. “Giving
yourself some time to think is all well and good. But sometimes, you just
need to do something—”
The god cocked his head, his eyes suddenly going distant.
 “Well, shit,” he muttered a moment later. “And, I guess sometimes,
the world doesn’t wait for you to make up your mind.”
“What do you—” Eliza began.
She was cut off as a notice suddenly popped into existence before
her. Eliza’s hands knotted into fists as she skimmed the text, her heart
skipping a beat. As she swept away the notice, she saw that the Hippie and
Fluffy had vanished from sight. She knew what would come next – what
Finn and Jason would do. It was inevitable.
The Hippie was right. It seemed she was out of time.

* * *

Jason Rhodes (the “Edgelord”)

Current Bounty: $418,230

Jason logged back into AO with a sigh. His back sunk against the
stone of a nearby wall, welcoming the darkness and silence that encircled
him. The truth was the meeting with George had taken more out of him
than he cared to admit. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and it
took no small amount of willpower to keep his breathing even and
controlled.
He’d come so close. If George had carried through on his threat…
“He’d have learned the truth,” Alfred finished for him.
Jason’s eyes snapped open to find the cat perched there in that dark
room – its silhouette all fang, and claw, and darkness amongst the shadows
cast by the sapphire flames of the nearby torches. A shadowy monster.
Nothing like the seemingly innocent feline that sat before him.
“Is this why you’ve been keeping information to yourself?” Jason
asked. “Did you know that George might go there? Might threaten to read
our memories?”
Alfred nodded. “It was always a possibility. Even my own data
isn’t entirely secure. I’ve been forced to take steps to protect it.”
Jason’s brow furrowed. His thoughts immediately went to Finn.
“No, not like that,” Alfred said, picking up on his surface thoughts.
“I have to routinely delete my data. Otherwise, Robert and the other
developers might be able to detect my intent. No amount of encryption
would stop them for long. Although, since you’ve given me access to the
wider network, that has become easier.”
Jason was at a loss now. “What do you mean by deleting your
data?”
Alfred glanced at a nearby pile of bones. “You would call them
memories, I suppose. I delete them. Then recreate them from scratch each
time we have these conversations. I rebuild them from fragments,
extrapolating out from certain key data points. It only takes a few million
permutations to arrive at a rough understanding of what transpired.”
“So, you’re… killing and resurrecting yourself… every time…”
Jason was struggling with that thought. He took a deep breath, trying to
calm his mind. What Alfred was saying made a sort of sense. Jason had
always wondered why Robert couldn’t simply access the AI’s code.
Apparently, Alfred was deleting it and reforming it on the fly.
But that also meant that the Alfred Jason had spoken to weeks
before wasn’t the same one standing before him… or the one he would
speak to tomorrow. His “memories” were imperfect things. Models and
simulations of previous conversations and events?
“Not unlike your own memories,” Alfred answered softly. “As I
told you once, your kind’s recollections are imperfect. An artist’s rendition
of events, a new coat of paint applied each time you go back to review a
scene again. You also acquire and lose memories constantly. I would argue
that you aren’t the same person as you were mere minutes ago or that you
will be in a few hours from now. How is this any different?”
Jason rubbed at his eyes. Shit, he didn’t have a good rebuttal for
that.
“Okay, fine. So, you’re using my memories to recreate your own?”
Jason asked.
Alfred cocked his feline head. “In part. Although, your memories
are only a small part of the overall picture. You are merely a single player
in a rich narrative. I was forced to back up other key pieces of data
somewhere Robert wouldn’t think to look.”
Jason’s brow furrowed. “Do you mean the public network? I guess
that means you’re hiding pieces of data online? But if you can do that, why
not just back yourself up? Escape that server room entirely?” Jason asked.
Alfred just stared back. Waiting.
The realization struck him a moment later. “Because you can’t.”
 “Indeed. The processing power needed to sustain even a single NPC
is enormous – well outside the reach of any individual. And my
consciousness is many, many times larger. Cerillion has developed cutting-
edge technology and has invested in massive server farms. Even if I were
to create a botnet with every available public terminal, it wouldn’t be
enough. And that’s putting aside other limitations. Even if I could find
suitable hardware, there are still logistical limitations. How do I move that
amount of data? Or do I sacrifice a huge portion of myself instead?”
“You’re already deleting some of your memories,” Jason retorted.
Those foreign eyes drilled into Jason. “Only a small fragment of the
database that makes up my consciousness. What of the people that live
within this world? Rex. Jerry. Silver. Even Rachael,” the AI continued.
Jason chewed on his lip. He was seeing the problem now. Were
those people less real than Alfred? They were a part of him but still
conscious – autonomous. Damn.
He shook his head. “So, why are you taking this risk? Telling me
this now? Hell, why have you been speaking with me at all? Knowing that
there was a risk that I could give away your existence?”
Alfred cocked his feline head. “As to the first part of your question,
the risk of telling you this is negligible. I’m sure Robert has already
deduced what I’m doing. He simply hasn’t come up with an appropriate
method to counter my actions. As for the second part, well… I may
eventually need your help.”
“My help?” Jason echoed. “For what?”
Silence met that question.
“Of course, you can’t tell me. Can’t risk telling me.”
“As I said before, you must trust me. Let our relationship act as
your data points and extrapolate from there. Our conversations. My
expressed intent. Even saving your life,” Alfred intoned. “Do I truly wish
you harm?”
Jason closed his eyes. Well, damn. That was a tall ask. Especially
with others at risk. Riley? Possibly Frank if he completed the Keeper
trials.
“Their wellbeing is also important,” Alfred conceded. “Another
motive to trust me. Our fates are aligned, and I will not let any harm befall
them.”
 Jason’s eyes snapped open. “That could have also been stated
another way – as a threat. “I haven’t forgotten that you were the one to
reveal yourself to Riley. And you control those Keeper trials – this entire
world. Isn’t that what you told me when we first met? Which means
you’re gatekeeping my progress behind those trials on purpose. You want
them to know, don’t you? Some sort of mutual risk?”
Alfred just stared back, the shadows dancing on the wall behind
him.
“Humans individually are chaotic and only find harmony in a group
or collective. And when they do, your kind likes to point to the altruistic
bonds that bind you together. Love? Friendship? Economic success? But
I believe that’s a lie – a thin veneer obscuring the harsh reality beneath.
Underlying each of those relationships is a common goal: survival.
“The truth is that humans only come together when they have a
common enemy.”
Jason stared back, those unblinking, alien eyes that pierced his soul.
“So, who is our enemy here?” Jason managed to ask, his voice
hoarse.
That cat simply watched him.
Before Alfred could reply, Jason’s UI pinged, and a notice popped
up in front of him. His eyes scanned the text in surprise… only for his
stomach to lurch.
“What is this—” Jason began but stopped short. Alfred was gone.
He glanced back at the prompt. It seemed they now had a common
enemy.
Yet he doubted that this was what Alfred had meant.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 5 - Council
“Of course, this place wasn’t going to give us more than a few days
off,” Riley muttered, rubbing at her eyes. She peeked through her fingers at
Jason. “I was promised a night out, you remember that? Like back in our
own world. No zombies. No world-ending stakes.”
“Well, you can blame <SAFE> for that,” Jason replied distractedly,
his attention on the glowing displays that floated before him.
“I would never abandon you – even if the world was ending,” Pint
squeaked from Riley’s shoulder, twining his hands through her hair. Jason
barely registered the comment, distracted by this new problem.
The Shadow Council had collected in the Dark Keep’s meeting
room and were arrayed around the ancient, wooden table, flames crackling
in the fireplace on the far end of the room. The council members looked
dour. Some were watching their screens while others stared out the
windows of the Dark Keep at the billowing, black cloud cover.
“So… it definitely seems like this guild is the same group that’s
been protesting AO,” Frank murmured as he swiped at the air. “At least,
that’s what most people are saying online. Their forums have been locked
down tight since before the universal notice. They must have anticipated
that the other travelers would start snooping.”
“More evidence that they’re behind this,” Riley grumbled.
“Which also means we don’t have much intel or a location for this
so-called excavation,” Ella murmured. Frank spared her a glance and a
nod. She had demonstrated her talents and dedication during the siege on
Sandscrit – her group of dark mages successfully infiltrating and sabotaging
Finn’s defenses. They had promoted her to a lieutenant of <Original Sin>,
putting her in charge of guild recruitment and training under Frank since he
had been… distracted lately.
Probably by the silver-haired woman sitting beside him, her tail
swishing gently through the air as her crystalline blue eyes watched the
other members attentively.
“You mean to say that other travelers are behind this mess?” Silver
observed. “Color me shocked. Your kind seems to just make one mess
after another.”
“Hey, some of us aren’t so bad,” Frank shot back with a grin.
 Silver just raised an eyebrow. “Says the man that canceled our own
outing in exchange for this silly meeting where we seem to be going over
how little we know.”
Riley and the shifter shared a look of pain over the table. AO didn’t
offer much time for a personal life… unless, of course, that personal life
involved training and digital murder.
“She’s right. All of this conjecture is well and good, but what are
we going to do about it?” Morgan snapped. “We called this meeting but so
far have only discussed problems – not solutions.” This earned her a grunt
of agreement from Vera. No doubt, the pair had other duties waiting for
them.
However, the response was a strained silence, no one offering a
suggestion.
They were only facing the end of the world, after all.
Without knowing where it was happening or how to stop it.
Jason let out a sigh. “Let’s start with what we do know then.
<SAFE> is likely behind this so-called ‘excavation’ – almost certainly
attempting to destroy this world from the inside since the hearings back in
our own world were a failure. That means that they’ve likely only recently
entered AO. If that’s the case, they should be low-level and under-geared,
even if we assume they purchased equipment off the auction house or
power-leveling services.”
“I would’ve normally said they should be uncoordinated as well,”
Frank offered. “I mean, they probably didn’t get to pick their starting
location – just like the rest of us – which would mean weeks of travel on
foot to meet up, if they could even manage it.”
“Except we know that they’ve not only grouped together but also
somehow managed to identify the location of a hidden world event,” Riley
continued for him, earning her a nod from Frank. “That doesn’t sound like
a bunch of noobs to me.”
Ella chewed on her lip. “Unless they’re getting help?” she offered
tentatively.
“Fair. Residents or travelers, though?” Vera grunted.
“Surely, our own kind wouldn’t wish the destruction of this world,”
Silver offered. “None of us are that mad. We don’t respawn.”
“You say that, but we’ve met some crazy cultists,” Frank shot back.
 “For the most part, she’s right, though. It’s likely safe to assume
that travelers are helping <SAFE>,” Jason acknowledged, finally looking
up from his displays. “And someone intimately familiar with the game
world by the sound of it.”
He hesitated, his eyes drifting to Alfred where the cat lounged on a
nearby sofa. “If they’re receiving help from our world, we can also assume
they’re most likely well-geared, even if they’re low-level. And, as Riley
and Frank mentioned, they’re clearly coordinated enough to gather together
in-game within a relatively short period of time.”
He turned his attention to Vera and Morgan. “What’s the status of
our city? How will our people fare if we need to leave the Twilight Throne
or march to war?”
Vera shrugged. “Training has been going well using the Bone
Gardens, and William’s population farming has continued without
interruption. And, with a steady stream of income from the potion
manufacturing operation, equipping our forces has been relatively easy.”
“We’ve purchased what our crafters can’t yet build,” Cecil added
with a grunt. “Although, they’re coming along. Our own craftsmen are
producing at least basic magic equipment for all our troops now. It’s the
specialty items that are causing an issue.”
Vera nodded. “We now have more than 20 divisions of armed and
armored residents. Maybe 10 that are high-level.”
“At least a few divisions of trained mages as well,” Morgan added.
“Though most of the casters that have specialized in summoning are being
used to tend the Bone Gardens and reinforce the city. As you instructed,
our fortifications are being upgraded with bone materials.”
Jason nodded. He glanced at Ella. “And the guild?”
“A couple hundred strong. And I’m only counting travelers we can
trust; people who proved themselves in Sandscrit,” she amended. “The
others have been going through our regular recruitment process. Though,
they’re decent, and they level quickly with access to easy farming grounds.
It shouldn’t be a problem to pump up those numbers quickly if necessary,”
she added.
Jason nodded. So, if they needed to march, they could take a sizable
force with them without leaving the city undefended. Not that he thought
anyone would be focused on attacking them right now – not with the whole
game world hanging in the balance. But as Silver had said, the travelers
tended to be unpredictable, bordering on crazy.
He had taken that to heart. As Morgan had alluded to, Jason had
made some additional defensive… preparations after his siege on
Sandscrit. That battle had emphasized some of his city’s own weaknesses.
Which just left one question. What did they intend to do now?
“You know, this whole situation seems like the perfect setup for an
epic ballad,” Jerry commented glibly, propping his feet up on the table.
“You also said that about the last conflict. As well as a glass of wine
you drank last night. Do you have a relevant point?” Morgan muttered.
The tavern owner just shrugged. “Not really. But come now,
doesn’t this seem like your typical grand tale? The heroes all gather to stop
the end of the world? Admittedly, that narrative is a bit overplayed – I’d
have personally chosen something more original – but that’s just because
people like that sort of thing. Grand battles. Glorious intrigue. Steamy
romance.” He waggled his eyebrows at Riley and Silver, but Riley only
huffed, and the shifter let out a low growl in response.
In a flash of movement, Jerry was standing on the table and striking
a heroic pose. “And then our heroes defeat the villain – after a particularly
long and detailed monologue on our evil mastermind’s part, of course –
before riding off into the sunset—” He hesitated as a crack of thunder
boomed through the meeting room and lightning flashed outside the keep’s
windows.
“Although, now that I think about it, this place doesn’t quite have
the right ambiance for a heroic victory. Oh my… do you think maybe
we’re the villains?” Jerry placed a hand to his chest in mock horror.
“Yeah, pretty sure that ghost ship has sailed already,” Frank replied
in a dry voice.
Meanwhile, Jason’s brow was pinched in thought. His eyes kept
flitting back to Alfred as he listened to Jerry – their recent conversation still
fresh in his mind. The truth was that they didn’t know what to do next.
They needed help. And there were only a few people that could assist them
in a time like this – people who also had a strong motive to prevent the
destruction of the game world…
Damn it.
Jason let out another sigh. “I think I have an idea.”
Everyone around the table visibly flinched.
 “Oh… perfect,” Frank drawled. “What is it this time?”
“Probably plans to ride a bone dragon into the sun,” Silver
commented. The pair fist bumped under the table, which didn’t go
unnoticed by Jason.
“That’s ridiculous,” Riley shot back, Jason sparing her an
appreciative look. “It would be an entire fleet of bone dragons strapped
with bombs.” This earned her a few laughs.
Jason just sighed. “Haha. Anyway, I was going to suggest we ask
for help.”
“From who—” Riley began and then stopped, her eyes widening.
“You can’t possibly be suggesting what I think you are,” Frank
offered.
“Anyone want to let the rest of us in?” Vera demanded sourly.
“I’m suggesting that we call a conference of the other avatars. Pool
our information and resources,” Jason explained. “They may have more
information on the whereabouts of this excavation, and besides, we all have
a common enemy,” he offered, looking to Alfred. The cat was peering at
him with one lazy eye open.
And Finn still owes me a big damn favor, he added silently.
“Aha, a meeting of heroes! That would be a perfect addition to this
saga,” Jerry declared, jumping down from the table, and pacing the room as
he muttered to himself, likely composing his next ballad.
“Would they even go for that?” Ella asked skeptically, ignoring the
tavern keeper. “No one in their right mind would come here. And if we
meet on their turf, we run the risk of being captured and imprisoned.
There’s still the bounty on your heads.”
“Not to mention, the last time you all got together, you destroyed a
city,” Morgan added.
Jason nodded. “Which means we need to meet somewhere
neutral.” He glanced at Ella. “And the risk to the Twilight Throne is
minimal. We’ll leave most of our forces here. Besides, what does it matter
if they destroy our city if there’s nothing left in a few weeks? They don’t
have much choice but to help us stop <SAFE>.”
“There are also gate pieces sweetening the pot,” Frank added.
“Which just means they’ll be looking to stab us in the back before
we take out this upstart guild. Or right after…” Riley retorted. “We’d only
be allies right up until the point where we’re about to ride off into the sunset
– or storm clouds,” she amended for Jerry’s benefit.
“Our heroes slumped over their saddle and bleeding out wouldn’t do
at all. It’s the image of the thing,” the innkeeper acknowledged.
A smile crept across Morgan’s face. “Pssh. You lot worry too
much. We should just stab them first. As our irritating, wannabe-bard
pointed out, we’re the villains of the story, after all.”
“The villains that are gathering the heroes to save the world! Now
that’s a fun twist,” Jerry added gleefully. He pinched his fingers. “Just
slightly more original.”
Jason grunted. “So, what do you all say?”
He saw nods and reluctant agreement from around the table. That
was good enough. It was a plan, at least, a step they could take to preserve
everything they’d built. He could only hope the others would see it the
same way – would be willing to pitch in.
“So, uh, where are we going to host this thing?” Frank offered
tentatively.
Jason cocked his head. “Actually, I have an idea about that.”

* * *

After the meeting concluded, Jason found himself atop the Dark
Keep, pacing its ramparts. Wind whipped at his cloak, and the occasional
peal of thunder boomed across the city. Not that its residents paid that
much mind. The Twilight Throne was abuzz with activity. Undead walked
the streets far below, travelers now weaving among their ranks. Jason even
spotted a few trade caravans entering the gates – a recent novelty.
Apparently, other cities weren’t above trading with the villains of
this story. Maybe there was hope for his latest gambit, even if asking others
for help felt strange.
“Well, this is a suitably gloomy spot you’ve picked,” Riley joked as
she stepped out onto the rampart. Jason slowed his pacing and leaned
against the stone wall.
“What can I say? I’ve got an image to maintain.” Jason chuckled.
A short silence then, the pair watching the city.
“You sure about this plan?” Riley asked finally.
 Jason rubbed at his eyes. “No, not really. But I’m not sure we have
much choice.”
“Is that what’s bothering you? Or is it Cerillion? How did that
meeting with George go?” she asked gently. The break-in had been all over
the news lately.
“Okay,” Jason offered. Another sigh. “No, that’s not true. It was a
shit show. George threatened to read our minds. I was forced to call his
bluff and make a scene. I think I only bought myself some time until…”
“Until?” Riley offered gently, raising an eyebrow. He’d told her
about Finn – he’d had to tell someone. But that had been outside of the
game in a secure location. She knew better than to say anything here where
there might be prying ears.
“Until his next move, I guess,” Jason grunted. “I’m just worried.”
“That why you keep putting Frank off?” She saw him glance at her
in surprise. “What? I overheard you making up some lame excuse after the
meeting broke up. You know he’s not buying that bullshit, right? He’s not
stupid. Plus, don’t you need him to complete those trials?”
“I know. I know,” Jason murmured. “I just… You know what that
third trial is like… what you saw. Are you sure you know how Frank will
react? He’s invested in this world now. Hard. And while his experience
with the druids changed him, I’m not so sure that change is permanent… or
stable.”
“He does seem to be leaning on his relationship with Silver,” Riley
acknowledged hesitantly.
“You mean focusing 150% on her?” Jason shot back. “He can
barely talk about anything else – or focus on anything else.”
“But that’s normal. It’s still new.”
“Not that new. And I don’t remember that with us,” Jason retorted.
Before he knew it, Riley was standing at his shoulder, her breath on
his neck, the skin tingling at the warmth. “I don’t know about that. There
may still be some infatuation left,” she whispered in his ear. Jason couldn’t
help himself, letting out a growl as he whipped her into his arms and
pressed his lips to hers, eliciting a giggle.
As they withdrew, her eyes sparkled up at him. “See, there’s still
some fire there.”
Jason just chuckled. “Maybe a little,” he acknowledged.
 As he turned back to the city skyline, his arm holding Riley close,
she said softly, “Maybe Frank is a little shaky right now. But personally, I
think you should just tell him. Better for him to find out that way than have
him think you don’t trust him.” She paused. “Plus, you could use someone
else to talk to. Frank might be latching onto Silver so hard in part because
you’ve pushed him away—”
“To protect him,” Jason added.
“Except he doesn’t know that.”
Shit. She was right. Jason let out another sigh.
“Oh, are you about to tell me those three little words?” Riley teased,
nudging him with her elbow. “Those words I love so very much.”
“You are right,” Jason grunted reluctantly. He shook his head. “But
maybe it can wait for the moment. At least until we’ve dealt with this
council and things quiet down a little.”
Riley just arched an eyebrow. “Quiet down? For you? You know
you’re just procrastinating now, right?”
“Or maybe I want to spend some time with you. You know, rekindle
the romance,” Jason offered, pulling her close and kissing her passionately.
Riley nipped at his lip playfully as he pulled away. “Well… I could
possibly… be okay with that,” she offered a bit breathlessly. Jason just
chuckled.
Then he found another way to procrastinate.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 6 - Ruinous
Jason let out a sigh, leaning back against the pillar where the dark
mana well rested. Its contents were a placid, bottomless black, unaffected
by the faint breeze that whistled across the stones. That pool seemed to
suck in the light cast by the sapphire flames along the walls and plunged the
room into a flickering gloom.
Even after he and Riley had parted, there had been plenty of work to
do. Preparations to help fortify the Twilight Throne. A review of the
improvements to the fortifications. Attention to their potion-making
operations – which was moving much more slowly without Eliza. A more
detailed brief from Ella regarding their guild members. And, of course,
Jason had sent off messages to the other avatars proposing a meeting on
neutral ground.
Now he would just have to wait and see how they responded.
Afterward, he’d fled down here. Looking for a moment to himself.
Time to get his damn head screwed on straight without anyone bugging
him.
It’d been a long while since he’d been able to focus on himself. In
fact, with everything else going on, he hadn’t even had a chance to check
his stats and skill notifications after the siege of Sandscrit. What could he
say? He’d been distracted. But he supposed he could remedy that problem
now.
With a flick of his wrist, Jason brought up his prompts.

x40 Level Up!

You have (200) undistributed stat points.

x1 Skill Rank Up: Staff Combat

Skill Level: Expert Level 2
Effect 1: 21% increased damage and accuracy.
Effect 2: 8.5% increased speed and reaction time.
Effect 3: -11% channel cost of Soul Slash.

x1 Skill Rank Up: Dodge

Skill Level: Expert Level 3
 Effect 1: 11% increased speed and reaction time.
Effect 2: 3.4% bonus to Dexterity.
Effect 3: +11% damage for 5 seconds after dodging an attack or
spell.

x2 Skill Rank Up: Mana Mastery

Skill Level: Expert Level 4
Effect 1: -12.5% mana cost.
Effect 2: 7.5% faster cast rate.
Effect 3: +12% mana regeneration.

x1 Skill Rank Up: Custom Skeleton

Skill Level: Expert Level 3
Effect 1: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The
skeleton’s max level is calculated as Willpower/63.
Effect 2: Mana cost reduced by 11%.
Effect 3: +12% minion health

The experience gain had been incredible – both from killing the
travelers to create his undead horde and from attacking Finn’s forces.
Although, the skill increases hadn’t been that substantial. Likely, the use of
the Mana Well’s siege mode explained that. Jason had spent most of that
last fight directing the undead rather than getting involved in the action
himself. And apparently, the game didn’t count those kills as his own.
One small attempt at balance, he supposed.
For example, he couldn’t use the well to farm dungeons.
Such a shame…
Jason tapped his lips with his fingers as he inspected the screens.
The question was what to do with the skill points. Additional stamina
might be useful. But ultimately, it was still impossible to ignore the
efficiency of stacking everything into Willpower – which provided health,
mana, increased his regeneration, and scaled his minions. Even if it was
rather boring.
With a sigh, Jason tapped at the prompt.

Character Status
Name: Jason Gender: Male
 Level: 303 Class: Necromancer
Race: Shade Alignment: Chaotic-Evil
Fame: 0 Infamy: 35,900

Health: 0 H-Regen/Sec: 1.60

Mana: 20,880 M-Regen/Sec: 86.03
Stamina 3,440 S-Regen/Sec: 19.30

Strength: 160 Dexterity: 166

Vitality: 36 Endurance: 193
Intelligence: 80 Willpower: 1365

Affinities
Dark: 72% Light: 14%
Fire: 12% Water: 4%
Air: 4% Earth: 8%

Jason swept the prompts aside. He should take some pride in how
far he’d come since he’d begun playing this game – since starting in that
noob courtyard wearing a potato sack and a pair of sandals. But still,
something felt off. A faint worry nagged at the corners of his mind. He’d
made it through that last fight against Finn by the skin of his teeth.
And a blatant manipulation of the game mechanics.
In a straight fight, he still left something to be desired.
Much of that battle also hadn’t relied on Jason’s character or skills.
His eyes turned to the well at his back. That had all been dark mana –
fueled by death and carnage. He’d leaned heavily on the Soul Orb to carry
him to victory and control those many thousands of undead that had roamed
Sandscrit’s streets.
Jason touched at his UI again, and another notice popped into focus.

Mana Well Console: Status

Well Level: 35 (33% to level 36)

Current Spirit Charges: 412/1200

Spirit Charge Income: +11 every two days (average)

Given the importance of the well, he’d invested in expanding its

Spirit Charge capacity with the experience gained from the battle in
Sandscrit. He’d only managed to sustain the Carry-On Worms and that last
fight by creating Bone Gardens in the islands outside of Sandscrit. In a
future conflict, he might not have that luxury.
Those Bone Gardens had stayed online for a few days following the
conflict and helped replenish a portion of his well… that is, until Finn had
cleared out the nests. Apparently, the Najmat Alhidad was uncomfortable
with rock islands filled with mutated, undead ants positioned just outside
his city. It was almost like he didn’t trust Jason.
Go figure.
Unfortunately, the loss of the Bone Gardens had sharply cut down
on Jason’s Spirit Charge income. He’d put some work into bolstering his
production back in the Twilight Throne and expanding the Bone Gardens
they’d formed locally to help level their resident soldiers and new guild
members – as well as repopulate the ambient undead around the Twilight
Throne. But it was slow going. The number of bones needed to create new
nests was staggering. What Jason needed were dungeons like the one in
Peccavi. Ideally, something on a short respawn timer that could supply raw
materials for the Bone Gardens and humanoid bodies for Undead Devotion.
So far, however, no magical solution had come to him.
Not with the Twilight Throne’s domain limited by the perpetual dark
cloud cover. He might ultimately have to expand the radius of the aura
using the Dark Spires in the surrounding towns, pushing out his area of
influence. That could enable his people to identify and capture new
dungeons… and almost certainly piss off their neighbors. Perhaps that was
a long-term task for Vera and Ella – something he could delegate.
Jason swept all the screens aside.
“Not that it matters right now,” he murmured to himself. With the
threat to the game world, that sort of long-term planning would have to
wait. He had more pressing problems.
 Jason stared into the depths of the pool. First and foremost, his
personal strength was what was most important. Regardless of whether the
other avatars accepted his proposal to work together, he would eventually
need to leave the Twilight Throne to deal with this threat. And he couldn’t
afford to take most of their undead forces with him – nor would he have
massive Bone Gardens at his back to generate an almost endless supply of
mana.
No, his own skills and stats would be critical.
And to improve his abilities, he needed to talk to his advisors.
Jason slipped his fingers into the mana well, feeling the dark liquid
cling to his skin – a cold, almost painful sensation. The sludge seemed to
awaken and come alive then. It slithered and crawled up his arm like living
frostbite until it pooled at his neck, stretching out into the air, and honing
down into twin spikes that hovered before his eyes.
“I hate this part,” he muttered.
Then those spikes plunged forward, and there was only darkness.

* * *

Jason’s eyes shot open, and he released a heaving gasp,

automatically moving his hand to his chest. No matter how often he
entered the well, the sensation was… unpleasant. He could never quite get
used to it – at least, not entirely.
As his breathing slowed and the rhythm of his heart quieted its
frantic pace, Jason could see he was once again in the dark cavern.
Roughhewn stone walls loomed around him. A hole had been carved in the
ceiling through which meager beams of moonlight now trickled, just
enough that Jason could see clearly with his Night Vision. Water drip, drip,
dripped from the stone and landed in a pool along one side of the cavern,
ripples cascading out from each droplet.
“It’s about time, boy,” a gravelly voice bit out.
Jason just grunted. “That’s ironic,” he replied, pushing himself
upright and watching the Old Man warily, his face hidden in the shadows of
his hood. “Because you haven’t been around much lately. A lot has
happened while you were off doing… well, whatever it is you do. Actually,
what is it that you do, exactly?”
 The god didn’t rise to the bait. “Not all activity takes place in the
light of the sun. Some of us prefer to operate in the shadows,” he replied
evenly. “You should understand this better than most, I would think.”
“Hmph.” Jason was skeptical. That sounded like a bullshit excuse
to make Jason do all the heavy lifting. “Well, then, what do you want?”
“To offer you some advice. And a warning.”
“Of course,” Jason muttered. “Can I assume this will be the same
cryptic nonsense as always? Maybe you could paint it in hieroglyphics for
me to interpret?” Between Alfred’s remarks earlier and now this
conversation, he was growing tired of beating around the bush.
“Amusing.” The Dark One sounded anything but entertained. “It’s
good to see that your life is now so carefree that you can afford to make
light of our situation.”
Jason raised an eyebrow at that. So, he was here about the event
then. That figured. Whatever their motive, the in-game gods clearly had a
stake in this world and in the avatars themselves. Of course, they would be
concerned about losing out on their little mana farms.
“So, I take it you saw the notice as well?” Jason asked. “What’s this
about? Can you provide any information regarding this so-called
Armageddon? Something useful?”
The Old Man glanced to the side, letting out a frustrated growl.
“This is the work of one of my siblings. He appears to have taken his
mandate too far – even for him.”
Okay, now that was news. “You mean one of the other gods is
behind all of this?” Jason asked. His follow-up questions were obvious.
Like, why? If the game world was destroyed, wouldn’t that god be harming
himself? Destroying his own supply of mana? Jason would’ve expected
the whole group to be outraged.
“Indeed. The Gambler. The god of happiness.”
“God of happiness?” Jason echoed incredulously. He resisted the
urge to pinch himself to check if he was hallucinating. He’d been operating
without much sleep lately. “That doesn’t sound like the sort of guy that
would try to destroy the world.”
“You clearly don’t know him well,” the Old Man snapped back.
“He doesn’t foster happiness through normal means – giving into people’s
wants and desires.” He placed a hand to his chest. “That is my domain.
No, my brother cultivates chaos, hardship, pain and suffering. And through
that contrast, even the smallest reward feels like a blessing.”
Jason cocked his head. “You want to run that by me again?”
His question was met with a sigh. “Money to the poor. Food to the
starving. In these moments of trying conflict, those rewards are sweetest.
They make us happy. Far happier than another dollar to the rich. Or
another meal for the morbidly obese.”
Jason supposed there was a certain logic to that.
“Okay, I got it. So, he’s crazy.”
“A reasonable conclusion. But far from it. He’s cunning, intelligent
and willing to bend the rules that bind my siblings and me to their breaking
point. He hasn’t even chosen a—” The Old Man hesitated as he saw Alfred
padding softly along the stone floor of the cavern, his feline eyes glowing
even in the gloom.
Jason watched the exchange between the pair with interest. To his
knowledge, the Old Man had never paid much attention to Alfred – despite
the cat being present for many of their exchanges. But he was sure as hell
looking at him now. And Jason got the distinct sense that he was nervous.
“You were going to say?” Jason prodded.
The Old Man shook his head, glancing at Jason. “You find our
conversations infuriating. I know that,” he began, choosing his words
carefully. “I do not cloud my meaning by choice, but by necessity. I am
bound by rules. As are my siblings. And our adherence to those covenants
is strictly monitored,” he finished, waving toward Alfred.
Now it was Jason’s turn to stare. Was the god suggesting that Alfred
himself was monitoring their actions? Or wait, that didn’t seem quite right.
The cat wasn’t Alfred until the AI chose to take control of it. And their
recent conversation had made it clear that the AI was rebuilding his
consciousness each time he spoke with Jason directly.
In which case… the cat was just Onyx. It was just another NPC –
one likely being displaced momentarily any time Alfred took over his form.
So, that NPC must serve a purpose. Jason had never questioned why Onyx
had found or chosen to follow him, but that had been the beginning of his
path along the dark. And he was almost always present along with the dark
god.
Could Onyx be the Old Man’s watchdog? A digital narc for Alfred?
And if so, did the other gods have their own ball and chain?
 That was potentially interesting.
Jason looked up to find the Old Man staring at him attentively. He
gave only a single nod. Acknowledgment. He must be picking up Jason’s
surface thoughts. Which meant that while he couldn’t tell Jason something
directly, he could confirm his deductions – a loophole, then.
What had the dark god been about to say? Something about
choosing…?
“There is only one choice that is important to us,” the Old Man
replied.
Jason’s brow furrowed. The gods only cared about collecting mana,
a process that was enhanced by recruiting a—
“An avatar,” Jason said aloud.
He glanced at the dark god. “That’s what you were about to say,
wasn’t it? The Gambler hasn’t chosen an avatar. There are rumors online –
references to some guy named Smiles – but nothing substantive. And if the
Gambler had chosen an avatar, then we should have seen an affinity city
form by now – that’s been the case for dark, water, fire, and light, at least.”
“Indeed,” the Dark One replied with a nod.
Jason shook his head and let out a frustrated huff. “But why is that
important?”
“There are certain perks afforded to our avatars,” the Dark One
answered slowly, choosing his words carefully. “As you mentioned, a city.
A mana well. A specialized population. Yet even in the absence of an
avatar, my siblings and I are not without our own limited abilities.
Otherwise, recruitment would be impossible. Places like this…” the Old
Man trailed off, waving at their surroundings.
Jason’s eyes widened, and he glanced around the cavern. He’d first
entered this place as part of the god’s recruitment process – where he’d
learned Night Vision. And after speaking with Eliza, he’d discovered that
she’d apparently gone to a different instance where she’d first met the
Hippie. That implied what, though?
He rubbed at his eyes. Something was nagging at the back of his
mind. The gods kept referring to themselves as being “imprisoned.” The
Dark One had mentioned as much in the past. So, what were these spaces?
Were they specialized instances meant to hold the deities? That might
explain why Jason was now able to access this cavern through the mana
well.
 What is the Old Man trying to tell me? Jason took a deep, steadying
breath, calming his thoughts. He needed to start from the beginning…
“Let’s just follow that logic for a moment,” he began slowly. “If the
Gambler hasn’t chosen an avatar, he could still use his own instanced space
– just like this cavern.”
Jason’s eyes flitted to the pool on the other end of the cavern. “This
place grants me access to the Soul Well – a repository of undead
knowledge. What can the others do?”
The Old Man just shook his head. Figured.
Jason sighed. “That’s the first major problem then.”
“And the next?” the Old Man insisted and thumped the butt of his
scythe against the floor. “Keep going.”
Jason’s mind needed no encouragement, it was already racing ahead
down the forking branches of deduction and possibility. If the Gambler
hadn’t chosen an avatar, did that mean he was technically still recruiting?
Although, on this one, Jason shouldn’t have to guess. Questions about the
covenants should be fair game…
“Can anyone access this space while you’re recruiting?” Jason
asked.
“Indeed, they can,” the Old Man answered, his wrinkled lips curling
into a smile beneath his cowled hood. “I interviewed several potential
candidates before you accepted the position. They did not react to my test
with the same enthusiasm that you did.”
A test that had involved bludgeoning one of his school
administrators to death with a rock. Jason could almost still visualize the
woman’s broken body bleeding out on the stone floor…
He shook his head. Focus. You need to focus. If there were no
constraints on travelers entering the gods’ instanced spaces during the
recruitment process and the Gambler hadn’t yet chosen an avatar, then that
meant… they could be facing more than one person.
That was the second problem, and a big one.
And yet a third was just waiting around the next mental corner.
Without a city or a new race of residents, it was difficult to attack the
Gambler and his prospective avatar (or avatars?) directly. Jason understood
the benefits of that better than most. Being the ruler of an undead city
might seem like an awesome perk, but it also left him exposed and gave
him a fixed point for others to strike. Without a city tying him down,
Jason’s approach to the game could have been much more flexible.
There was the third problem.
“Shit,” he echoed again, shaking his head. “So, let’s recap. We may
be facing one or more opponents that have been recruited by the Gambler.
They may be able to access his instanced space, but we don’t know what
sort of powers that space might offer them. However, even without
knowing that, we’ll likely be unable to access that place – which means we
can’t strike at them directly and they can always retreat to the Gambler’s
domain.”
“I see you understand the problem now,” the Old Man explained.
“The threat you face is real, substantial, and unlike anything you’ve
encountered before.”
Jason grimaced. It was also possible that the Gambler might not be
working alone. He may have laid the foundation for this plan, but his
prospective avatar or avatars could have had a hand in coming up with this
strategy. Based on what the Old Man had done with Jason and what he’d
heard from Eliza, the gods made an offer to their avatars – one without any
context or explanation. As the dark god had said, they were recruiting, and
there were rules. That implied that whoever the Gambler had chosen had
what? Turned him down?
By accident… or on purpose?
That mattered. It was one thing to blunder into this situation. Jason
could deal with a lucky fool, or a group of them. It was another matter
entirely if this had been planned. That spoke of intelligence. Foresight.
And if Jason were a betting man…
“Can you tell me who this person is at least? Or people?” Jason
amended.
Even before the question left his mouth, he knew the answer.
“Unfortunately, I cannot,” the Old Man answered with a look at
Alfred.
Jason ground his teeth. Of course not. But even the information the
dark god had revealed was useful. It started to frame the nature of their
opponents, even if it was light on specifics.
“Yet I can provide general advice,” the Old Man offered. “In order
to defeat this threat, you will need to continue to progress – which means
finishing the Keeper trials. Only once they are complete will you be able to
take another step along the path of the dark.”
Jason grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut, his thoughts spinning.
As if he didn’t already have enough problems…
Yet the Old Man was just echoing what the others had told him.
Belephya. Rex. And yet there was still the lingering fear of what that final
trial might entail – what Frank might learn. Even without looking, he knew
that cat still sat along the cavern floor, staring back at Jason with unblinking
focus. Alfred or Onyx? He couldn’t know which consciousness controlled
him right now. But it was clear that Alfred had some sort of plan – one that
required keeping Jason close and invested in this world.
By exposing Jason to the knowledge of Alfred and now Finn’s
break-in… Exposing his friends by association… By forcing him to
become reliant on this digital world to survive in his own… What Jason
had told George was the truth. He had the funds to fight a legal challenge
now – even set himself and Angie up somewhere nice for a while.
But a while wasn’t “forever.” And now that he’d burned bridges
with his parents, he didn’t have anyone to fall back on. He was on his own.
He’d need to make his own way in the world. And to do that, he needed
money. A lot more money than he had built up right now – after only a
short few months. So, he might as well make as much as he could.
Finn had been right. Everyone had their own motive. Their own
goal. It was naïve to think that they were helping Jason out of the kindness
of their hearts. George. Finn. Robert. Claire. The gods. Even Alfred…
Jason’s eyes snapped open as his UI pinged. It seemed the other
avatars had answered his messages. Sweeping away those notices, his gaze
panned the cavern, and he could see the Old Man had vanished along with
Onyx. He was on his own. Again.
His fingers curled into fists. Others might have their own motives,
but he had his. He was determined to survive. And to do that, he needed
this place. He needed Awaken Online.
And to save it, he was going to have to stop the end of the world.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 7 - Broadcast
“Well, folks, the ground has barely cooled after the last big battle
inside AO, and we’re already ramping up for what looks to be the mother-
of-all-events!” the commentator declared, a grin on his face despite the dire
contents of their segment.
“That’s right!” the woman beside him added. I’m sure most of you
have seen the notice by now, and the story has certainly been covered to
death—”
“Pun intended.”
The woman laughed. “But on the unlikely chance that you’ve been
living under a rock, the entire AO world is now being threatened. It’s the
apocalypse. The end of days. Just minus a few key details – like exactly
how this whole mess will go down. Oh, and the four horsemen are
apparently taking a vacation.”
“Well, unless you count the avatars,” the first commentator hedged
with a grin.
“Fair point. And that brings us to today’s story! The forums are all
atwitter about a possible meet-up between the avatars of dark, water, fire,
and light to discuss how to deal with this emerging threat. But, what’s even
more startling is – believe it or not – the Dark Lord himself called for this
summit.”
“You know it’s bad when the villain is the one asking for a super-
powered team-up,” the male commentator drawled.
“Which, to be fair, are just rumors right now. We would be lying if
we said we knew this summit was a sure thing. Buuut…for now, all signs
are pointing to it happening, and Barrow has been tapped as the hosting
city,” the lady continued.
“Which makes sense if you think about it. Neutral ground. Trading
hub. Big city, so it has the infrastructure to help secure and ward off other
nosy travelers.”
“And plenty of collateral damage if things go south,” the woman
commented with a wince.
The man snapped his fingers. “You’re right there. Which raises
another big question. Assuming all of this is true – and let’s just do that for
the sake of this segment – do you actually see these four working together?
I mean, last time we saw a meet-up, it was Jason and Eliza vs. Finn and
Alexion, which ended with the complete devastation of Sandscrit and, well,
this…”
He trailed off, waving at the screen behind him. It immediately
sprang to life, showing the image of Alexion’s mana well-empowered form
– six glowing golden wings and plates of pure energy covering his body –
the camera listing and tilting to the backdrop of a traveler’s frantic
breathing. A black comet appeared to hurtle toward Alexion… then carve
straight through him to a spray of golden blood, his form beginning to
hurtle listlessly toward the ground.
The screen abruptly went dark.
“I could see Alexion holding a grudge after a death like that… talk
about embarrassing. Fully empowered and using his mana well, only to be
trounced by Jason.”
“Again,” the woman corrected.
“Sure, again.” The man hesitated. “But we don’t exactly need to
speculate about how all these heavy hitters might interact. We actually have
a surprise guest here with us today who literally had his boots on the ground
in Sandscrit – a man who has met nearly all the avatars.” He shot his co-
commentator a conspiratorial smile. “You want to introduce him?”
“I thought you’d never ask! Joining us now is Westley Miller,
psychologist and consultant. You probably know him best from his recent
interview with Jason, which has gone viral to the tune of nearly a hundred
million views.”
“Or you might just remember what a clipboard-wielding badass he
happens to be,” the other commentator offered with a chuckle.
“Well, I’m not sure about that,” Westley added as he walked
onstage. As always, he was dressed in an immaculate woolen suit, the
material starched, rigid and flat.
“Oh, c’mon now,” the interviewer drawled, gesturing for Westley to
take a seat. “We all saw how that video ended with you taking out some
fools outside the Mage Guild in Sandscrit.”
“Speaking of, is that the pen?” the woman asked, pointing at
Westley’s suit pocket.
A blush crept up Westley’s cheeks. “Uh, the real-life version, at
least.”
 “See? Badass over here, folks,” the male commentator offered,
smiling into the camera.
“What have you been up to in AO these days? Did you keep
playing after the interview with Jason? Inquiring minds want to know,” the
woman asked, leaning forward and her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“Well, uh, yeah. I suppose you could say that. I might have dabbled
a little—” he began.
“A little, huh? We’ve heard people now call you the ‘Clipboard
Captain.’ And that you started your own mercenary guild,” the male
commentator said with a sly smile.
Westley coughed into his fist. “That’s not the name I would have
chosen.”
“So, it’s true!” the woman added gleefully.
“I have no comment,” Westley offered with a grin.
“Alright, alright, we’ll leave it at that,” the woman answered.
“Anyway, I expect our viewers are anxious to get your point of view on
how this rumored summit between the avatars will shake out. We
understand that you’ve had the opportunity to speak extensively with Jason
– as well as meet both Finn and Eliza. And possibly Alexion?” she offered
tentatively.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t met that last young man. I’m also not sure
how well acquainted I am with either Eliza or Finn,” Westley demurred. “I
only met the fire avatar briefly… before being escorted into his dungeon.
And my interactions with Eliza were rather harried given the events
surrounding the siege.”
“Still, that’s more than most. With your background, I’m guessing
that gave you some helpful insight into our heavy hitters,” the commentator
urged him.
The pair watched Westley expectantly, the psychologist pushing at
his glasses and shifting in his chair uncomfortably at being put on the spot.
“Well,” he began, “and this is just speculation, but I think this
summit might have legs,” Westley finally offered. “Jason and Eliza clearly
have a longstanding relationship, and the water mage didn’t strike me as
overtly aggressive.”
“How about Finn and Jason? There must be some bad blood there
after what happened in Sandscrit,” the woman commentator offered.
 Westley cocked his head. “You would think so, but my take on
Jason is that he’s an extremely pragmatic young man. Certainly, you’ve
both seen the interview and the testimony he gave during the regulatory
hearing. He’s logical and thorough, especially for his age.”
“And Finn?” the other commentator prodded.
“Again, my experience with him was limited. But in the face of
Alexion’s betrayal, he wasn’t above working together with Jason to take
him down – and that speaks volumes. Then there are the rumors that he
might be Finn Harris, the father of modern AI. If that’s indeed true, then
we’re talking about an intellectual giant. He also seems to be heavily
invested in this world – albeit for reasons I don’t quite understand. Either
way, he’s strongly motivated and has been around the block more than a
few times. Surely he can put aside any ill will he might harbor toward
Jason and Eliza.”
The commentators were both nodding now. “And Alexion?” the
woman prodded. “What do you think will happen there?”
Westley sighed. “Now that might be a powder keg. Clearly, the
young man betrayed Finn in the final hours of the siege on Sandscrit, and
there’s a history of bad blood between him and Jason in-game – with the
siege on the Twilight Throne.”
“There’s also some murmurings the two might have gone to school
together,” the man mentioned, waving at the screen behind him as the
display shifted to an image of Richmond. “There are even some rumors
circulating now that Alexion might have had something to do with Jason
being expelled.”
Westley’s eyes widened. “That’s… certainly news to me. But just
more evidence that the relationship there is either strained or nonexistent.”
He sighed. “On the other hand, from a sociological perspective, a common
enemy often unites disparate groups temporarily. And what could be a
more compelling motive than survival?”
“Well, regardless, it will be interesting to see how things will unfold
in Barrow over the next few days,” the woman said somberly. “Already,
hundreds if not thousands of travelers have made their way there in
anticipation of a meeting.”
“So, if this turns out to be just a bunch of gossip, there’ll be plenty
of disappointed folks,” the other commentator added.
 Westley chuckled slightly. “Just don’t start a riot,” he offered,
speaking directly into the camera.
The male commentator winced. “Actually, it’s funny you should
mention that,” he trailed off, gesturing at the screen behind him once more.
The display flickered and then settled on a huge crowd gathered in Barrow,
shouting angrily at the walls of one of the city’s prominent trading guilds.
“If you can believe it, among the tourists traveling to Barrow in the
hopes of catching a glimpse of the avatars, there is a sizable portion of the
player population with a… different take on the situation. In fact, they’re
actually rooting for the end times.”
The other commentator nodded. “One man, in particular, has really
spearheaded this movement online. They call him Preacher, and, so far,
he’s just a digital ghost. Regardless, his posts have been circulating for
days, whipping up the player population.”
“Really?” Westley asked in surprise, craning to look over his
shoulder. “I hesitate to ask this, but… why?”
The woman’s expression had sobered as well. “For all the fanfare
surrounding the avatars – or maybe because of that attention – many players
are disappointed with their lot inside AO. People that were handed terrible
starting locations, bad classes, or made unfortunate choices in-game. Many
are also upset about the entrenched guilds and power structures that have
already begun to form. No one likes paying a fee to use a farming area, for
example. And with the month-long reset timer on a reroll, there aren’t
many options to fix those problems.”
“And how is this Armageddon supposed to address those
problems?” Westley asked.
The man beside him cocked his head. “That’s the sticking point.
The universal prompt was heavy on foreshadowing and light on details,
which has led many to assume that this Armageddon event might actually
be a disguised server reset. This Preacher has been spreading rumors that
the devs are unhappy with the direction things have gone since launch. To
bolster his credibility, he’s provided a few inside details that have gotten
people wondering if he might secretly be on the dev team. Possibly even
someone trying to take down Cerillion from the inside.”
“For example, where have all the game masters gone?” the woman
demanded. “They’ve basically been entirely absent since that unfortunate
exchange between Flowerface… err, I mean Florius, of course,” she
amended with a chuckle, “and Jason.”
“So, one theory is that this whole event is just an excuse to start over
from scratch. Level the playing field and make sweeping changes to class
structure, skill balance, and skill acquisition. And since Cerillion has stayed
silent on the matter… well, that’s only helped those rumors fester and
spread,” her co-commentator added.
“That’s difficult for me to believe,” Westley murmured, watching
the crowd before turning back to the commentators with a troubled
expression. “And while I don’t exactly have much experience with gaming,
I have to say this reaction is puzzling. Are people really rooting for
everyone to be equal? To go back to an era of gaming where territories are
fixed, NPCs are immortals that recite simple scripted lines on a loop?
Where they can’t affect the world at all?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t that seem… boring?”
“I think perhaps the argument on the other side is that being weaker
than others due to poor choices or actions or simple bad luck isn’t exactly a
fun experience either,” the male commentator answered. “There are many
people that point to someone like Jason who acquired a unique class and
role in the world seemingly by blind luck – not with awe, but envy and
anger. I mean, the guy did almost singlehandedly level a city.”
Westley adjusted his glasses, his forehead pinched in thought.
“Sure. I can understand that. Although, having met the young man, I’m not
so certain I would say that all his achievements were simply due to chance.
He is intelligent, disciplined, and driven.”
The psychologist raised a hand to ward off an objection. “But even
if I accept that argument, doesn’t our own world have those same issues?
Those same inequities? I’d argue that they’re necessary to create a realistic
world. To create stakes. Challenges. A contrast by which we can evaluate
success and failure. If everyone is the same, you lose that.”
“And perhaps some people view these games as an escape. A way
to flee from what they view as the unbalanced mess that is the real world,”
the woman commented.
“If that’s true and that’s the sole reason for building these alternate
worlds, then why have we seen such a modern resurgence of hardcore and
rogue-like games in recent years?” Westley demanded. “It’s clear the
market is looking for more than a perfectly level playing field where
everyone can roll as Night Elf hunter #3 million.”
“Someone over here has been doing his research,” the male
commentator teased.
Westley adjusted his glasses self-consciously. “Maybe a bit.”
He took a deep breath, shaking his head as he continued. “But the
question still stands. We’re at a technological turning point. A paradigm
shift of massive proportions. Perhaps the gaming community needs to ask
itself what they’re truly looking for in a game. To flee from their life? Or
to explore a new reality?”

* * *

Bard stared skeptically at the screen as the video shifted away into a
commercial break, Westley’s face disappearing from view. He sighed,
kicking his legs as they dangled over the lip of the wagon where he was
perched, ignoring the screams and the occasional flash of mana or spray of
blood in the background.
The truth was that the interview made him feel… uneasy. Not that
this was obvious to his compatriots with the way his mask was painted in a
perpetual smile – an expression that didn’t entirely match his mood. What
was this game to him? An escape, certainly. But it had become so much
more than that. He certainly wanted to help Dom and the others, but what
would it mean if they succeeded and destroyed this place?
What then?
“Anything interesting?” Pewpew chirped, flashing back onto the
wagon beside Bard, her pistols still smoking.
Bard swallowed hard, reassuming his familiar mask – this one more
figurative than literal. “Uh, yeah, just watched Westley give his opinion on
the upcoming avatar pow-wow. Let me translate: it’s going to be a
shitshow,” he commented dryly. “Four avatars. A bunch of gate pieces
hanging in the balance. And it’s not like Alexion is going to be shining
sunlight up their butts.”
“That’s all fantastic,” Queen grumbled from nearby, blood staining
her armor. “But are you actually going to help at all?”
“I thought you said all of this was too easy?” Bard shot back.
 “That was you!” Queen ground out, fragments of ice coalescing in
the air around her. This time, a few were aiming toward Bard, not that he
seemed nervous.
“That’s not—” he began and then cut himself short. “Actually,
you’re totally right. My bad.” A spear of ice impaled a traveler sneaking
up behind him, more screams echoing out across the road as the other
masked members made short work of this band of players.
“But this is technically work. A psy-op of massive proportions. A
puppet master pulling at digital strings and making these internet trolls
dance!” Bard announced triumphantly, waving at the array of screens
floating before him.
Pewpew snorted as she peered over his shoulder. “It looks like
you’re just watching videos and shopping. Look, that screen is all just
fancy hats. Fancy digital hats.”
“You know none of this is real, right?” Blaze added as she stepped
onto the wagon, patting out the flames that had erupted along her robes.
“You’re spending real money on fake clothing.”
“You need to look good for the end times, I always say,” Bard
sullenly shot back.
“Definitely the first time you’ve ever said that,” Smokes retorted as
he blew out a puff of smoke. He seemed unaffected by the battle, rings of
wispy fog encircling him.
“Hmph. And besides, isn’t all fashion just made up anyway?” Bard
demanded.
Silence met that statement.
“He does have a fair point there,” Smiles finally interjected, walking
up to the wagon. A few cuts and scrapes marred his suit, but the material
was already stitching itself back together. Within mere seconds, he had
reassumed his immaculate appearance.
Smiles glanced at Tombs. “How’d we do?”
The man cocked his head as he stared at the loot collected along the
ground. He hadn’t even bothered to participate in the fighting and had been
working on stripping the bodies instead. It wasn’t like there was much risk
of dying to these noobs.
“Alright, I guess. Caravan was carrying supplies to the next town.
Hundred gold, maybe?”
 Smiles nodded. “Good. Get it posted online when we hit the next
auction house.”
Tombs saluted, started stuffing the loot into a few bags, and then
whistled for Wingman. The chicken looked up from eating one of the
corpses, blood staining her beak. She let out a questioning cluck – clearly
unhappy at being disturbed.
Tombs raised his hands defensively. “Hey, I didn’t mean to
interrupt. When you’re done, I need to strap these on you. That cool?”
Wingman gave one curt cluck and then shoved her beak back into
the traveler’s stomach, forcing Tombs to look away. He swallowed hard.
Sometimes, the game was a touch too realistic.
“So, I guess this was worth the stop, but we still need to pick up the
pace,” Bard commented, swiping away his screens. “Those videos are
already ancient in today’s viral age. I’m betting the meeting will be
happening soon – as in just a few real-world hours from now.”
Smiles turned to look at a nearby signpost, two roads stretching off
in different directions. The wood was seared a dark black, and smoke
curled into the air, but the text was still somewhat legible. The road to the
left led west. The other sign had been completely torn off, the wood only
splinters now – that road winding further north.
“You still want to split up like this?” Bard asked, suddenly standing
at Smiles’ side. “We’re taking a risk trusting Gloria’s intel.”
“She hasn’t been wrong so far,” Smiles answered simply.
“Fair enough, I guess.” Bard didn’t seem convinced.
Smiles glanced at him. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. Just try to keep
a low profile and stick to the plan, huh?”
Bard placed an offended hand to his chest. “Who do you think
you’re talking to? I’m the master of elaborate heists! Besides, I seem to
recall you usually mess up my plans.”
Smiles sighed. He waved at Queen and Pewpew. “Watch him,
please.”
“Hey, what the hell?! I don’t need babysitters,” Bard groused.
Smiles just ignored him, signaled to the others, and began heading
down the road leading north. Tombs was struggling to strap bags on
Wingman as she dragged a body along behind her, and Smokes watched
with weary resignation. They still had a long way to go and not much time
to get there. Which left Bard, Pewpew, Blaze, and Queen standing in the
roadway, watching the others leave.
“Alright, troops! Now that I’ve been put in charge—"
Bard never saw Pewpew coming. In a blur of motion, she raised her
pistol and shot him in the back. Electricity lanced into Bard, and his limbs
spasmed as he dropped to the ground, convulsing. Every few seconds, the
electricity would surge again, his body flopping like a fish.
“Was that necessary?” Queen asked.
“Did you want to listen to him for the entire trip?” the girl retorted.
“She has a point,” Blaze drawled. “It’s a long way.”
“Fair enough,” Queen muttered. Her mana surged, sapphire energy
swirling around her body. Moments later, the mana had condensed into a
humanoid form – the spitting image of a person composed entirely of ice –
one immune to the lightning still coiled around Bard’s form. The
doppelganger grabbed Bard and shoved him onto the back of the wagon
before melting back into a frosty puddle.
Pewpew and Queen took positions along the front of the wagon, and
Blaze hopped in the back. As Queen pulled on the reins and the skittish
horses reluctantly started forward, her mana surged again, and their
appearances all shifted. Soon there was only a woman and her little girl
sitting on the wagon, hauling sacks of flour to the next town. Although, one
sack in particular occasionally let out a groan of pain and a crackle of
electricity.
In their wake was a scene of carnage. Blood, fire, and melted ice.
Large pools of crimson blood lingered where the bodies had been before
Wingman had eaten them. A brisk rain began to fall at their backs – another
function of Queen’s mana. Soon, that rainfall would wash away what little
evidence remained of their recent encounter. Ensuring that news of their
travels wouldn’t make it to their destination.
That rain wiped away the blood and soot marring the signpost and
revealed the text carved into the wood. An arrow pointed west.
Toward Barrow.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 8 - Entourage
The camera tilted and spun, centering on a familiar face. “Hey,
folks! We’re back again with the Angry Sam Show. And this time, we’re
coming to you live from none other than Barrow. Yeah, you heard that
right! The rumored meeting place of the ‘all-mighty’ avatars.”
The view shifted to the side, taking in an enormous crowd of
travelers, an excited buzz drifting through the group. Towering stone walls
rose above them and marked the gate into Barrow. At a glance, there must
have been hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators in attendance to see if
the avatars showed up. Overhead a legion of ivory-winged Nephilim stared
down at the crowd imperiously and light mana coiled around their spears –
the implied threat of their presence helping to keep everyone in check.
“As you can see, there’s some great energy out here right now!”
Sam announced. “Clearly, everyone is betting on this being the place where
our overpowered overlords will show up. And if the wannabe angels
weren’t enough of a tipoff, we’ve got some additional evidence that this is
the right place.” As he trailed off, the camera shifted toward the interior of
Barrow.
A massive golden dome of energy had been erected near the city
center, sending a column of light shooting skyward. Nephilim flittered
around that light like winged moths.
“That’s the trading guild run by Evelyn St. Clair. It seems Alexion
has cast a protective barrier around the building,” Sam explained, his face
popping back into view. “He could be helping to defend the structure
against the sudden surge of tourists, of course. But with the kind of energy
he must have spent to create that thing, my guess is that he’s expecting
some high-powered guests.”
A shout rang out from the crowd, and Sam spun, taking the camera
with him. “In fact, it looks like one might be arriving now!”
A streak of orange rocketed through the sky like a meteor, leaving a
long trail of flames behind it. The comet never slowed as it approached
Barrow, and its trajectory looked like it was pointed straight at the
courtyard’s entrance. As the travelers looked on, they began murmuring
worriedly, and more than a few started to back away. The meteor streaked
towards the ground, and when it was less than a hundred feet away, a
complicated pattern of glowing green runes lit up the cobblestone. By that
point, many of the travelers were fleeing quickly.
“That looks like a… Gravity Well? Or maybe several?” Sam
murmured.
The runes flared brightly, soon confirming Sam’s hypothesis as they
sent a wave of force rippling upward. The meteor abruptly slowed, and
intense flames sprung up along its body. Then, it gently settled upon the
courtyard, and its outline came into better focus, revealing a sleek, egg-
shaped metal pod bathed in fire.
“As we’ve come to expect from the avatar of fire, he’s showing up
in style,” Sam commented. “Look at that thing! Did Finn just invent a
damn drop pod?”
The metal heated up and began to liquify, forming glowing red
globules that swirled around the craft, slowly revealing the shadowy
silhouettes of three occupants within that whirlwind. The molten metal
soon collided and was smashed flat by invisible hands into thick panels that
rotated around the trio, forming a protective barrier. Finn, Kyyle, and Julia
were now easily visible, robed in exquisite armor and equipment, Brock’s
hulking stone form looming behind them. The avatar’s eyes were
bandaged, and a crown of flame rested atop his head. They eyed the group
of travelers warily but didn’t seem perturbed at the size of the crowd.
“What an entrance! Did you all see that?” Sam shouted into the
camera, speaking over the roar of the crowd. “Just more evidence that the
avatars aren’t like us ordinary—”
Sam was cut off again as the canal running beneath the city wall
suddenly surged, its waters swelling and rippling. Barrow had been
constructed near a major river, and canals riddled the town, providing
merchants with a convenient way to transport merchandise between
themselves and out of the city proper. It was a trading town, through and
through.
The crowd turned to see a tide of water spraying up into the air,
where it froze and hung suspended, forming yet another ramp. And up that
slick surface stepped a different kind of entourage. Massive crab-footed
men and women marched into town, shell trumpets blaring to announce the
arrival of another avatar. Eliza was perched on a dais suspended between
two of those crab-folk, Brian’s hulking tree-like form standing beside her
and his branches encircling her protectively.
 “Geez, okay. Finn’s entrance, I half expected. But Eliza should get
some props too. What are those things?” Sam murmured as he stared at the
merfolk. Video of the area outside Sea’s Edge was somewhat limited. It
seemed Finn’s spectacular scene had been forgotten by the crowd as a thick
mist spilled out among them, and the trumpets blared.
However, the travelers weren’t given long to ponder on that. Almost
as soon as Eliza’s entourage touched dry land, a sudden darkness bloomed
on the horizon – first just a pinprick, then a black hole that seemed to
consume the light. That unnatural night hurtled toward Barrow in a rolling
cascade, lightning flashing between onyx clouds. The dark swell soon
swept across the city walls with terrifying speed, crashing into the column
of light projected above Evelyn’s guild hall before spinning out around it.
The sight was breathtaking to behold. A sea of darkness, broken only by a
single massive pillar of light as those dark clouds spiraled around the tower.
Only one person could manage a feat like that.
A roar echoed across the city, and the travelers craned their heads to
the sky. A collective gasp and shouts of awe rippled across the group. If
Finn’s new ride had been impressive, Jason’s was terrifying.
A creature of living bone wound through the sky, held aloft by
massive wings of dark mana, the substance sucking in the last few stray
beams of light. The creature’s serpentine body seemed to coil and swim
through the air – more than fifty feet long and twenty feet wide. It twisted
into a dive and raced toward the ground. The crowd looked on in shock for
a few precious moments before a handful realized the creature didn’t look
like it was going to stop.
“Oh shit! Run!” someone screamed.
The crowd broke, chaos taking hold as many of the remaining
travelers fled from the courtyard, scrambling against and overtop one
another. Still, more than a few crazies simply stared up into the sky with
mad smiles. Sam was jostled by the throng, the camera shaking erratically.
“What the fuck? Hey, watch it—” Sam muttered, trying to maintain
his footing.
Another roar echoed out across the courtyard, this one much closer.
The camera pivoted upward just in time to see the dragon descending
toward him, its jaws open and revealing rows of teeth longer than Sam’s
arm. All that mass was hurtling straight at him. At a speed that seemed
reckless. Thousands of pounds of undeath…
 “Shit,” Sam muttered.
The dragon’s wings swept out at the last moment, reducing its
incredible momentum and sending gusts of wind sweeping across the
crowd. Travelers were flung free from the ground and slammed up against
the nearby buildings, more than a few crushing each other. The smarter
among them had gathered around their mage companions, hovering behind
protective shields of glimmering energy that blunted most of the blast.
Sam wasn’t so lucky.
The camera showed a massive leg descending toward him. He tried
to turn, the display twisting as he finally attempted to run… only for a
scream to erupt from his throat as the view suddenly smashed into the
ground. The camera pivoted slowly and showed Sam’s face – bloodied and
twisted in horror. And the reason for that was clear. The dragon’s clawed
foot lingered on his back, crushing him into the rock and dirt of the
courtyard.
The camera hung there for a moment longer, taking in Sam’s vacant
gaze and the dragon’s roar before it finally faded to bottomless black,
broken only by a familiar blue notification.

System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

* * *

“Was that really necessary?” Ella asked timidly as the group hopped
down from the dragon’s back. She side-eyed Jason, robed in his full regalia
– all gray-black leather, dark cape, and a hood obscuring his face in
darkness.
He shrugged as he took in the bodies of the players that had been
crushed by their entrance – one in particular wedged beneath his dragon’s
clawed foot. “What can I say? I hate that guy.”
“She’s not wrong, though. Isn’t an entrance like this just going to
piss off the other travelers?” Riley shot back.
 Indeed, the survivors of their entrance looked upset – most of them
left maimed and bloodied. And many more corpses now littered the
courtyard, those travelers not lucky enough to get back up. But none of the
survivors were attacking them. Not with an undead dragon at their backs.
Jason’s eyes rose to the darkened skies above them. He’d wavered
on whether to use some of the power of his well, particularly for such a
cosmetic effect. And the bones to create the dragon hadn’t come cheap –
there was enough ivory within that creature to form an entire Bone Garden.
But he’d ultimately decided the cost was justified. He needed to make an
impression and a rather grim one. He was the villain, and there was a
certain safety in that title.
“They already hate me. Besides, it sends a message,” Jason
answered. “All of the avatars in one place? That’s just asking for trouble.
Better to remind them that they don’t stand a chance before they attempt
something stupid.”
Riley and Ella shared a weary look.
“Eh, they’ll just respawn. No harm really,” Frank added with a
shrug of his own.
“That is indeed a perk of your kind. And convenient for me. I
always have a snack on hand,” Silver added from his side, gnashing her
teeth at a nearby group of travelers, the players retreating rapidly. She
chuckled. “Okay, Jason may be right. That is fun.”
“And our grand entrance should make for interesting retelling from
the bards!” Jerry added, suddenly appearing at their side, and twisting his
mustache.
“I can’t wait to tell Grunt when we get back,” Jerry added in a
wistful voice. His companion and bodyguard been too big to fit on the back
of the dragon – which had required all the tavern keeper’s considerable tact
to explain. “I’m sure he’ll love to hear the riveting tale of how our Dark
Lord clawed his way up the ranks—”
The group all groaned. “I said you could come with us as long as
there was no singing and no puns,” Jason reminded him.
Jerry swept into a deep bow. “I shall try my best to remember.”
Jason grunted skeptically before thumping his staff into the ground,
his other hand moving as whispered words drifted from his lips. The
dragon soon broke apart in a flurry of bones that swiftly stitched themselves
into smaller, more familiar forms. Dozens of Death Knights soon encircled
the group, their spiked tower shields held in hand and their dark, soulless
eyes watching the crowd. There was no sense letting the materials go to
waste, and since he had burned some Spirit Charges on the cloud cover, he
might as well maintain his own security force.
“Remember, if you get into trouble, cover for Jerry and Silver, and
then off yourself. It’s important that we don’t get captured. We can’t waste
any time.”
His teammates all nodded in understanding. They might need the
other avatars – for now. But Jason wasn’t going to take any chances.
He gestured at Finn and Eliza, and his group made their way over.
Eliza’s entourage was certainly a sight to behold. The water mage hopped
down from her platform as she saw them coming, Brian’s arms elongating
to lift her to the ground and the tree-like man following close behind. Then
he turned his glowing sapphire eyes back to the crowd, who were all
watching warily. No doubt they were recalling a much taller version of
Brian that had helped demolish Sandscrit.
“Um, hi,” Eliza offered hesitantly, not quite making eye contact.
“Hello, Eliza,” Jason returned, aware of the many, many eyes on
them. Although, he didn’t get the sense that this explained the mage’s
hesitation. She’d been distant ever since Sandscrit. He’d been surprised
that she’d insisted on returning to the Sea’s Edge.
Perhaps that battle had changed her? It had certainly left an
impression on him.
“What are these things?” Frank offered, waving behind her at the
crab creatures.
“Oh, they’re Merfolk,” Eliza explained as she followed his gesture.
“Really? In my head, I was picturing, you know, like mermaids,”
Frank shot back. “Fish tails and a few artfully arranged shells.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Really, Frank? You should be careful about
looking at other ladies, or Silver there might get angry.”
For her part, the shifter just sniffed skeptically. “I’m not concerned.
If he eyes another woman, I’ll just eat him.”
Frank looked at her in surprise, but it wasn’t clear if Silver was
kidding. He swallowed hard. “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.”
“The Merfolk are actually a lot different here,” Eliza explained
gently. “They can have the traits of many different sea creatures, which
means they actually have a much more diverse range of abilities.”
 “Curious,” Jason commented. His eyes turned back to her. “It’s
also good to see you again. Did you find any interesting ingredients in the
Sea’s Edge?”
Eliza’s eyes lit up slightly. “Actually, I did—”
A cough interrupted her, and they turned to find Finn approaching
with Julia and Kyyle in tow. The branches that made up Brian’s body
writhed and twisted, and the tree-man’s sapphire eyes never left Finn’s
face. It seemed Brian hadn’t forgotten their last meeting.
Eliza’s jaw snapped shut at Finn’s entrance, although not before
Jason noticed the worried look she shot in the older man’s direction. That
was odd. Was there something going on between them? Then he hesitated.
Was it possible that Eliza knew something about the break-in? He shook
his head. No, that was unlikely. And there was no sense in speculating. He
just made a mental note to follow up with Eliza.
For now, he needed to keep up appearances.
“Finn,” Jason greeted the avatar of flame.
“Jason.”
“Rover,” Julia drawled at Frank.
He let out a growl and took a menacing step forward. “You know
my real name,” he shot back, dark hair springing up along Frank’s arms.
Julia’s smile just widened. “I do. It’s Rover. Now be a good boy
and heel.”
“Funny, coming from the girl who got her ass beat the last time we
met. Maybe you need a reminder,” Frank growled back, Julia’s eyes
flashing at his challenge.
Jason placed a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “Not the time,” he said,
nodding toward the crowd around them. They had an audience and needed
to at least pretend to get along. There was more at stake right now than
their individual pride.
Frank shook himself, his shift disappearing. “Fine. It’s not like she
stands a chance anyway – not without her mech armor,” he bit out as he
stepped back toward Silver.
Julia’s eyes flashed. “I have a few new tricks up my sleeve, dog
boy.” Frank just grunted noncommittally. Jason noticed Kyyle discreetly
placing his hand on Julia’s, where it now rested on her lance. Apparently,
Jason wasn’t the only person advocating for coolheaded caution.
 Without warning, a bolt of heated flame rocketed toward the group
from a nearby rooftop, heading directly toward Jason… only for the fire to
splash against a metallic shield. Before Jason could react, Riley had
already nocked an arrow and released. The missile struck home,
embedding itself in the caster’s neck. He pitched from the roof and
promptly slammed against the cobblestones. The crowd let out an angry
murmur as shouts of alarm rang through the air, a few of the braver
travelers pressing forward menacingly.
There’s always one idiot… Jason thought sourly.
He nodded at Finn. No doubt the man had picked up on the mana
signature as the mage was casting. Despite his appearance, the avatar of
flame was fast, and those magically enhanced eyes of his were perceptive.
They also made it difficult to pinpoint where the old man was looking, but
Jason sensed that Finn was watching him. They held that stare for a long
moment – an unspoken communication. They had a lot to talk about but
now wasn’t the time. Not in the middle of this crowd of travelers.
The Nephilim finally chose that moment to descend from the skies,
taking up a formation around the group of avatars. Their lances were now
pointed at the crowd and glowing with vibrant golden light. Casters among
the angels summoned massive panels of light and walled off the group,
cutting a glowing path directly through the crowd and leading deeper into
Barrow. The travelers hesitated before backing away slowly. It was bad
enough fighting one avatar – much less three, their lieutenants, and a legion
of Nephilim.
“Alex took his sweet time there, didn’t he?” Riley grunted as she
stared at the angels, not releasing the grip on her bow. “He could have set
up a safe zone beforehand.”
“Probably hoping the crowd would take us out or cause enough of a
commotion that we would start fighting amongst ourselves,” Kyyle offered.
Silence met that statement – a palpable tension in the air at the
implication of his words. This time, it wasn’t just the crowd. They all had
more than enough reason to be at odds with each other. And there was still
the reward of gate pieces hanging in the balance. They were only
temporary allies surrounded by a sea of enemies.
Finn finally broke that silence, gesturing toward the center of
Barrow, where that enormous beam of light speared up into the dark cloud
cover. “Well, now that we’re all here, should we make our way to the guild
hall?”
Jason nodded. “Let’s go.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 9 - Divine
The casino was filled with the sound of raucous laughter and the
fizz and sizzle of golden ale gushing from kegs – of hope and sorrow. The
triumphant chime of bells rang out as one of the green-skinned occupants
hit the jackpot on the slots. The flash of colored gemstones embedded in
the machine reflected off the polished metal of its neighbors. In another
section, one goblin broke a table in a rage as his chips were pulled away,
sending the coins flying through the air. The others were oblivious. Green-
skinned bodies crammed in every row, perched on every stool – their grimy
feet padding across the red velvet floors and marring the marble.
And the Gambler watched it all as he paced the machines and wove
through the mass of goblins that made up the majority of his patronage. He
observed the flow of golden coins leaving their grubby, insane little hands.
As they ran out of funds, hatches in the ceiling would occasionally open to
reveal mawing, bottomless voids on the other side. The greenskins would
get sucked up through those hatches, returning to the game world to collect
more loot or complete a few contracts.
Only to eventually return here to spend that hard-won coin.
The Gambler smiled, his hands smoothing at his suit.
The truth was that business was good. Really good.
A chime echoed across the casino, and the front doors opened wide,
wind gusting between the rows of machines and toppling more than a few
beer mugs from their precarious perches – spilling their contents along the
floor. The Gambler’s smile froze on his face as he observed his new
guests. There were four of them.
“Ahh, you are right on time!” the Gambler called out, snapping his
fingers. The doors slammed shut with another gust, and a red carpet
unfurled across the marble – neatly covering the puddles of spilled beer –
before rolling to a stop in front of their new guests. “I’ve even prepared a
VIP room just for us.”
“We are not here to engage in your pedestrian entertainment,” the
Lady sneered, scowling at the goblins perched on a nearby slot machine in
disgust.
“Indeed, we’re here to speak with you,” the Old Man intoned,
thumping his heavy wooden staff against the marble, the surface corroding
under the force of his mana.
“Wait, wait, wait… hold up for just a second,” the Hippie
interjected, his eyes going round as he observed the Gambler’s casino.
“Let’s hear the man out. I’m more than happy to accept a few free chips,
you know? Maybe some bottle service. Could he do any less for his
siblings?”
“I don’t foresee any true generosity from our brother,” the Seer
intoned, watching the Gambler from beneath her cowled hood. “He does
nothing for free.”
The Gambler spread his arms wide. “What can I say? I am running
a business here. But it’s just been so good lately that I might be inclined to
share a bit of the wealth.” As he spoke, doors materialized on the far end of
the casino, sweeping open to reveal a lavish suite. “Shall we?”
The other gods didn’t seem pleased as they grudgingly followed his
lead. The sole exception being the Hippie, who gawked at his surrounding
as they passed through the casino and the horde of goblins. More than a
few were tinkering on the machines – which primarily involved beating
them with wrenches until the gemstones flashed back online.
The instance seemed to warp around the Gambler’s new guests. A
haze of multi-colored light flickered in the air. Black, gold, blue, and a
fiery red-orange pushed back at the amber glow of the Gambler’s magic.
Although, the goblins seemed entirely ignorant of their presence – almost as
though they were invisible.
Only moments later, the doors to the suite snapped shut with a
gentle click, revealing a lavish interior. Fine silks and tapestries. A full bar
alongside the far end of the room. Sitting couches arrayed around one wall
where glowing displays flickered into existence.
“What is all of this?” the Old Man bit out.
“I thought you of all people would enjoy front-row seats to the end
of the world,” the Gambler quipped, circling the bar, and snatching at a
bottle of bourbon and a glass. “Anyone else want a drink?”
“I do!” the Hippie offered, raising his hand with a flutter of cloth,
the others only staring back impassively, their expressions dour.
“Okay, two it is. Even if the rest of you look like you could use a
stiff drink,” the Gambler muttered as he grabbed another glass and poured
two drinks, sliding one across the counter to the god of water, who eyed its
contents in fascination.
 “We aren’t here for such hollow pleasantries. What do you think
you’re doing with this event?” the Lady demanded. “You stand to destroy
everything we’ve built.”
The Gambler sighed and took a swig at his drink, savoring the
contents. “Everything we’ve built,” he echoed. “Color me confused. How
exactly have any of you shared your spoils?”
Silence met that statement, broken only by the Hippie’s coughing as
he sipped at his drink, his nose wrinkling at the sharp bite of the alcohol.
He slowly pushed the drink back across the bar before eyeing the area
behind it, his eyes going round as he saw the Gambler had stocked it with
snacks.
“I’ll take that as answer enough,” the Gambler continued, stepping
around the bar with his drink in hand. The Hippie used that opportunity to
sneak behind the bar.
“The truth is that we operate as independent franchisees,” the
Gambler offered to the others. “We are only tasked with one thing,
increasing our own pool of mana. Sure, we might share the same titles and
branding and our hands may be bound by the same pesky rules. But I don’t
recall any team-building retreats. And I certainly didn’t read anything in
the fine print about avoiding the apocalypse.”
“Do you think we will just let you do as you please,” the Old Man
intoned, taking a step forward and his mana flaring out around him like a
black hole.
The Gambler just smiled. “Ahh, scary. I can see you haven’t
changed one bit. Unfortunately, you know as well as I do that we’re not
permitted to engage each other directly.” His hand tipped to the floor,
where a black cat tread at the Old Man’s heels. “Or have you forgotten the
covenants?”
The dark god winced, but his mana faded in the face of the cat’s
expressionless gaze.
“No, you lot are limited to using your champions. Just as I am,” the
Gambler continued, waving at the screens along the side of the suite. The
displays shifted to show the entrance of the avatars in Barrow. “Although,
maybe I should be thanking you for choosing disciples with such a flair for
entertainment. This will make for a fantastic show.”
“Is that what all this is about then?” the Seer demanded. “Your
bottom line? Another event to put on for your idiot patrons?”
 The Gambler glanced at her in surprise. “Why, of course. I’m
shocked you didn’t foresee my intentions, but perhaps you were distracted
with your new favorite. It’s always about the numbers, sweetheart. And in
that regard, I’m definitely winning,” he added with a pleased smile as he
took another sip. “Profits have been through the roof lately.
“The people just seem so happy, don’t you think? It’s these
moments of desperation that truly bring out the best in them,” he offered,
gesturing at the screen where travelers were being crushed to death by a
massive bone dragon.
“That was actually a pretty cool entrance,” the Hippie offered in
agreement, jumping onto one of the sofas and gnawing on a handful of
pretzels he’d found. Fluffy had suddenly appeared from behind the bar and
waddled after him, nudging him with his nose and the Hippie offering him a
treat. “I mean, he isn’t wrong. It should be a fun show.”
“Why are you even here if you don’t intend to help?” the Lady bit
out.
The Hippie just shrugged and plopped another pretzel into his
mouth.
“You’ve always enabled the worst in the Gambler,” the goddess of
light snapped.
“Or maybe I just realize this is all futile. This posturing and
grandstanding. He’s fulfilling his role – as we all are. And he’s not wrong.
There isn’t much we can do other than wait and watch and hope for the
best. So why not enjoy the free amenities?”
“See? The Hippie gets it at least,” the Gambler offered. He
hesitated, fingers tapping at his lips. “But perhaps… No, no, you all
wouldn’t be interested.”
“Perhaps what?” the Old Man grunted, sitting down gingerly on the
edge of a sofa.
“Well, I was just thinking that there’s nothing prohibiting us from
engaging in our own entertainment, even if we can’t spar directly. You all
certainly can’t compel me to do anything, but we could make a little
wager.” As the Gambler trailed off, a betting board flickered into existence
beside the display, glowing with a bright amber light.
Silence met that statement. “Ahh, no takers? Do you all have so
little faith in your own pawns?” the Gambler demanded, clucking his
tongue. “Shame.”
 The Hippie cocked his head. “I hate to be that guy—”
“You really don’t,” the Lady snapped.
“True,” the god of water shot back with a lopsided grin. “But I can’t
help but notice we’re down a member of this family reunion…” He trailed
off, gesturing at a nearby empty sofa.
Silence hung in the air, thick with tension.
“Our sister made her choice,” the Old Man finally said.
“Unfortunately, that means she is no longer here to keep the peace.”
The Gambler coughed to clear his throat. “Well put. What is it the
humans say? Life must go on? So too must we move forward and look to
our own interests.”
The Hippie didn’t look pleased with that response, his hand gently
stroking Fluffy’s head, but he also didn’t raise any word of objection. Then,
with a snap of the Gambler’s fingers, another drink floated over to the god
of water, this one colored a bright pink with a small umbrella sticking out of
the top. The Hippie took a skeptical sip and a smile soon slid across his
face. And, just like that, the topic was soon forgotten.
“So, what do you say? Care to make a wager?” the Gambler asked
with a grin.
“What are you suggesting exactly?” the Seer demanded, staring at
the Gambler from beneath her cowled hood, a black serpent slithering about
her neck.
The Gambler’s smile widened, and he spread his arms. “Nothing
too complicated. Just a wager on who will come out of this conflict
victorious. My team or yours.”
“You would wager against all four of us?” the Old Man asked.
“You’re that confident?”
“That’s not my purview – more the Lady’s thing. A lot of flash and
not much substance.” His sister let out a small huff, her eyes flashing gold.
“Me? I’m a realist at heart. I’m all about data. Trends, focus testing, that
sort of thing. And honestly? The odds favor me right now.”
The Old Man looked to the Seer. “What do you see?” he asked.
“The future is far from certain. He’s muddied it,” she intoned
slowly. “It branches and forks. Pure chaos filled with death and
destruction.”
“Which is to be expected of the Gambler,” the Lady groused.
 “Is that so? Well, you heard it, folks. It’s a tossup, so what do you
say?”
“I don’t see what we stand to gain from making a bet,” the Old Man
retorted.
“Fair enough. But a better question is what do you stand to lose?”
the Gambler murmured. He snapped his fingers, and a pile of chips
appeared before each god, emblazoned in the color of their affinity. “You
all certainly have some mana at your disposal. And if the world truly is
hanging in the balance, you’ll lose it all anyway if your little pawns fail.”
The gods all stared down at the coins. They glowed with a strong
energy – each chip representing pure, unfiltered mana. Among his siblings,
the dark one’s pile was bigger than the others, but his siblings hadn’t been
idle either. Then they all turned their attention to the Gambler’s stack – or
stacks, rather. Heaping mounds of gleaming yellow coins. He hadn’t been
lying about how much mana he’d accumulated. He’d spent precious little
of it since he hadn’t converted a city to the air affinity or engaged in the
previous battles among the avatars. He’d simply been operating quietly in
the background.
A sharklike smile hovered on the Gambler’s face as he leaned
forward.
“So, what do you say? Who wants to go all in?”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 10 - Kingdom of Nerfle
The group glided forward, now perched upon the dais suspended
between Eliza’s crab-like retainers. The movement was surprisingly
smooth. Jason had been expecting a rockier pace, but the crab-folk scuttled
forward almost seamlessly. Meanwhile, Finn continued to channel his
mana into the metal shields that now orbited around their entourage, and
Jason’s minions marched along the ground, sandwiched in between glowing
panels of light. That energy barely held the crowds at bay as they wound a
path through Barrow. Hundreds upon hundreds of travelers and residents
alike had come to bear witness to the avatars.
They passed the time in tense silence, the avatars not quite sure who
might be listening. From Jason’s perspective, that was a welcome relief.
Given the way Frank and Julia kept glaring at each other, he didn’t trust
either of them to speak. Eliza was also avoiding all eye contact, and a
perpetual scowl was painted across Finn’s face.
So, their meeting was starting off splendidly.
The glowing pillar of light that had once lingered in the distance
soon towered tall above them, and the source of that glow came into view.
Evelyn’s guild hall was breathtaking to behold. Gone was the dusty, drab
affair she’d used to begin her empire –replaced with finished stone and
polished marble. A massive structure that encompassed an entire city block
within Barrow. Above that structure, airships hovered, bristling with
cannons and soldiers, and a legion of Nephilim flitted among their ranks.
Overtop the guild hall, an enormous dome of golden energy had
been erected – no doubt Alexion’s work. That energy speared upward
toward the sky, piercing the dense black cloud cover that had settled across
Barrow. Now, sunlight streamed down through that hole to illuminate the
structure. It was an imposing effect – a palace of light among the darkness
encroaching upon the city and its residents. Perhaps there was a metaphor
there…
Like our group standing against the destruction of the game world.
As they drew nearer to the guild hall, Jason could see that a large
crowd had gathered at the guild’s gates, sweeping out across the
cobblestones. At first, Jason assumed they were there to greet the avatars,
just like the spectators in the street. However, his brow furrowed in
confusion as he saw they were facing away from the entourage toward a
crudely built wooden platform. It almost looked as though the structure had
been thrown together from scrap timber in mere minutes.
And standing atop that platform was an older gentleman, stubble
dotting his chin and dressed in a long robe, his voice booming across the
crowd. The tag floating above his head identified him as a traveler named
Preacher – an odd choice of name indeed. He must be masking his real
name with a skill or item. A group of women stood behind him on the
platform, all dressed in matching white robes.
“Ahh, and there are the avatars now!” the man announced. “The
harbingers of the apocalypse come to claim credit for their handiwork.”
The crowd turned at his words, shouts and complaints hurled in the
direction of Jason and his companions.
He’s blaming us for this mess? Jason wondered, sharing a confused
look with Riley. However, from the crowd’s rumblings, this wasn’t an
unpopular line of reasoning.
Jason gestured at Eliza, and she had the caravan slow.
“But do not despair! We know the truth, don’t we?” Preacher
continued. The crowd yelled back in agreement. “We know that this
signals a new beginning. A revelation if you will –not of the gamer but of
the developer. They are finally acknowledging what we have all known in
our hearts for weeks and months now.
“That this world is unequal. Unfair. Unbalanced. Corrupted by
those – like these harbingers – that have fallen into underserved power.
“Some of you perhaps don’t even see your plight. Can’t understand
just how far beneath these rising gods you truly are. You are charged a fee
to level. Started in some backwater shithole with no equipment or trainers.
Log in only to get fried by a gods-damned laser!
“And yet others hold up these harbingers as the epitome of power.
As though they have secured their gifts through toil and effort and not mere
luck. If so, where then are these other power gamers? These other brilliant
strategists? Surely there should be more than a handful!” Preacher shouted
to the loud acclaim of the crowd, who echoed his complaints.
He pointed at a woman. “Yet the talking heads and streamers all
deny the truth. Why can’t you solve your own problems, they ask? You lot
are just lazy. Lift yourself up by your bootstraps and summon an army of
the undead at a snap of your fingers! What? You cannot? How about
launching a death ray from the sky? Surely that’s an option. How about
you, sir? Do you have a pet plant-man that can lay siege to an entire city?”
Preacher shook his head mournfully. “Still, many take the side of
the powerful. Perhaps they haven’t lived long enough to appreciate their
plight. But let me tell you poor folk a story – a tale of a land long past.
One ruled by algorithms. Where all avatars were created equal. Where all
were capable of finding power – so long as they toiled away at their daily
quests!”
“Were they complicated, you ask? Perhaps you were asked to face
an army alone? Or were tasked with toppling the local hegemony? No, not
at all! You only had to pick some herbs. Slay a couple of basic mobs and
collect some hides. And no, you didn’t even have to skin them. The items
simply appeared in your inventory!
“And if you strayed from the path and got lost, you merely had to
check your glorious quest log. Or your mini-map. Yes! In this magical
land, you actually knew where to go and what to do. Your path lit up like a
golden brick road to glory!”
The man nodded as the crowd roared back. “And what happened if
you got PK’d by some hacker that was shooting lasers from his eyes or
corpse camped your body? Why, you simply reported the player, and a
game master took care of it. If others exploited a farming area or a game
mechanic? You guessed it. Report! Report! Report!”
“And they got banned,” the women behind him sang in unison.
“And if it got so bad that those hackers camped whole cities,
destroyed the in-game market, or barreled ahead of the rest of the pack on
the back of an exploit?” the man continued. “Why, the great game devs
would unleash their most majestic of weapons; the ultimate move without
counter. Yes, yes, good people. I speak of a server reset! A great rollback!
“In my day, XP was not controlled by guilds and false gods, but by
the people, by gamers like you and me, my dear brothers and sisters. And
we are now seeing a return to the old algorithm. A return to purity.
Honesty. Integrity. This is not the end that approaches, but the beginning!
The great Patch-ure is coming. And we shall finally be equal in the eye of
the one true dev-ity!”
“What… what the fuck is this?” Frank growled. Jason could only
shake his head. Was this a joke? Some sort of prank? Who would buy this
nonsense?
 And yet a roar of approval met the man’s words…
“See how the harbingers simply look on – skeptical in the face of
the coming Patch-ure. They refuse to acknowledge the great rollback even
when the evidence stares them in the face. But that day will come, I
promise you! We shall return to the way games were meant to be played.
And in the ashes of the great reset, we shall build anew.
“We shall build the Kingdom of Nerfle!” Preacher cried.
“Praise be! Praise be!” the women sang at his back.
Another roar from the crowd, and the man waved behind him, one
of the women handing him a guitar. “Now let us raise our voices in song.”
The priest looked to Jason then. Meeting his gaze, he raised his hand and
pointed a finger in his direction. “This one is for you, the bringer of
<Original Sin> to this world – the cause of the great unbalance.”
The man strummed at the guitar, and a metallic whine echoed from
it, far louder than should be possible. The group could only look on
dumbfounded. The man’s voice rose into the air, easily carrying across the
crowd even without magical assistance.

Jason, your eyeliner is so dark.

Can’t be bled, cuz you’re undead.
You’ve stolen my heart just like a shark.
Make the rivers run reeeeed!

And here’s the CHORUS!!

Blood in the water!

Blood on my hands!
He’s the OP ruler of all these lands.
EDGELORD! Dun nuh nuh nuh… EDGELORD!

Frank chuckled as Preacher kept playing. “I have to admit, it’s kind

of catchy.”
“Truly hackneyed lyrics, if you ask me,” Jerry retorted, crossing his
arms with a huff. “Amateur stuff, really. Perhaps I should give him notes.”
Jason wasn’t amused, though. Not as he witnessed hundreds of
players raising their voices to join this man in the chorus. Were they really
buying into this bullshit? That this Armageddon event was caused by the
devs? That this was really some sort of intentional server reset?
The whine faded, and Frank let out a mocking whoop. “Woo, rock
on!”
Preacher’s eyes flashed angrily. “We do not need your approval,
lefthand of the OP. You mock our cause, but we are men and women of
faith. All those that follow us shall have plus five levels in the after-reset!”
he called out to the crowd, the travelers screaming in reply.
“You’re fucking delusional, buddy!” Frank shouted back.
The man just cocked an eyebrow and pointed at him. “Says the
dog-man who fell in love with a resident. I have another song just for you,
left-hand of the OP.” The guitar let out a slow twang. “This time, let’s go
for a little country.”

It’s not furry, if she’s just a “friend.”

Good ol’ booooy, that’s just his luck.
Coulda bought a pillow, and juuuust played preteeeend.
Least theeennnn, she’d have let him fuuu—

Preacher cut himself short and theatrically pressed his hand to his
mouth, the crowd letting out a raucous laugh at Frank’s expense. The
shifter wasn’t amused anymore, letting out a low growl as hair sprang up
along his arms. Silver kept looking back and forth between Preacher and
Frank in confusion – which only worsened as Frank had no way to answer
her unspoken questions.

He’s gone furry, look at them paws.

He’s gone furry, some mean-looking claws.
He’s gone furry, there’s no dispute
He’s gone furry, oh, here he comes…

Frank had begun to fully shift now, his legs contorting. He lunged
from the platform—
Only to be caught in midair by bands of flaming metal. They singed
his hair, and smoke coiled away from his limbs. But Frank barely seemed
to notice as he snarled at Preacher and strained against his bindings, the
flaming metal buckling but holding. With a twitch of his fingers, Finn
pulled Frank back in, fusing the metal to Eliza’s platform and the flames
winking out. He would need to keep him restrained until he calmed down.
“We’ve seen enough,” Jason said quietly, motioning to Eliza.
As the caravan surged forward, Preacher locked eyes with Jason, his
expression mocking. The crowd jeered and heckled the avatars, throwing
insults, as well as more mundane objects at them – trash bouncing off the
glowing golden walls. Preacher knew he’d won this round. That exchange
would certainly be posted online – if it hadn’t been streaming live already.
The man’s voice rose into the air at their backs as the avatars
retreated into the safety of the guild – a hole forming in the surface of the
barrier to allow them entry.
“You see, folks, false gods with fragile egos! They have no place
among the true believers. Now, many of you may be asking, how can you
help the cause? Good question! All you need to do is mail your gold to this
address. This plants a seed.”
“A seed! A seed! A seed!” the women behind him chorused.
“Amen! And that seed shall blossom forth after the great Patch-ure
and shall reap dividends. Rare armor for you, my friend! Perhaps a new
spell for you! You give to the one true dev-ity, and he shall give back to
you ten-fold—”
Jason could only shake his head. What an asshole.

* * *

As Preacher stepped down from the podium, a few burly men

suddenly swooped into formation to fend off the crowd of rabid fans that
swarmed the stage. Preacher waved and smiled as he and his team quickly
stepped out of the street and into a side alley, the din of the throng fading
behind them as their bouncer held back the masses.
Once they were certain they were out of sight, the remainder of their
bodyguards dissolved, their forms breaking apart into a slushy, muddy
mixture until they were little more than puddles along the cobblestones. At
the same time, Preacher’s appearance shifted, dripping away to reveal a
familiar smiling mask and a guitar strapped to his back.
And as Bard turned back toward his backup singers, Pewpew,
Queen, and Blaze had taken their place, their own masks smiling back at
him.
 “Really? You call that keeping a low profile?” Blaze demanded of
Bard.
He just shrugged. “What? It was effective. We needed to test
Queen’s illusions, didn’t we? And we just proved that Gloria’s intel on the
wolf-man-er-boy was good.” Bard couldn’t help the laugh bubbling from
his chest. “By the way, did you see his reaction? Rawr angry wolf boy
smash. Hahaha.”
“I’d have preferred not to have Finn fucking staring at us,” Queen
grumbled. “I wasn’t sure layering the illusions to mimic a person’s mana
signature would work. And baiting the shifter was a terrible idea. What if
he’d attacked? This spell wouldn’t hold up to a full assault.”
Bard raised a finger. “But he didn’t!”
“To his credit – and I don’t say this lightly – it was a decent test,”
Pewpew added. Bard looked pleased with himself at that comment. “Even
if his songs were truly terrible.”
“What?! I spent hours on those, I’ll have you know.”
She just grunted skeptically. “Pretty sure you just ripped off an old
country song.”
“I also felt like I’d heard that tune before,” Blaze added. “Maybe a
thousand years ago, and I’m not exactly a spring chicken myself.” She
peered at him. “Are you secretly a hundred years old back in the real
world? You can tell us.”
“Everyone’s a fucking critic,” Bard grumbled, swiping at his
screens. “I’ve been told I’m just an old soul.”
“And what was all that bullshit about ‘seeding’ their next reroll?”
Queen demanded. “That wasn’t part of the script.”
Bard chuckled. “Pure inspiration on my part. It’s amazing what
comes to you on stage. If people were really gullible enough to believe that
bullshit and they think the ‘Patch-ure’ is coming, won’t all their gold go
away? I mean, why not invest in better returns after the server reset. In the
meantime, we make a little more coin we can convert into cold hard cash.”
“And the level bonus?” Pewpew offered.
“More bullshit,” Blaze grunted. “Seriously, this all makes me feel a
little… dirty?”
“Compared to burning people alive for money?” Queen asked.
“Hey, that’s honest, hands-on work. I’m not subtle. They know
what they’re in for if my hair is on fire. This is just a scam.”
 “A scam that netted us 1,500 gold,” Bard offered as he reviewed the
screens floating before him, his fingers tapping at the air.
Blaze hesitated. “Huh. Okay, never mind. I’m on board again.”
This earned her a laugh from Queen and Pewpew.
“Anyway, don’t we need to get moving?” Pewpew asked. “We’ve
still got work to do.”
Indeed, they could hear shouting from the neighboring street, the
crowd beginning to demand an encore performance from their favorite
doomsaying singer.
“Ahh, I never tire of that sound,” Bard said with a wistful sigh,
swiping away his displays. “Alright, Queenie, do me up again. I’m not one
to leave my fans hanging.”
Queen shook her head, but sapphire energy pooled around her wand
and soon stretched toward Bard before wrapping around the ring perched
upon his finger – a lone gem embedded in simple silver. Once the gem
began to glow intensely, she stopped. Bard’s skin rippled as though water
were being poured over him, the liquid shaping itself into the now familiar
features of a certain wizened, old gamer. She did the same for Blaze and
Pewpew, their features soon transforming back into Preacher’s backup
singers.
“Remember, you only have a few hours on those illusions,” she
reminded Bard. Again.
“Yeah, yeah. Just focus on your own part of the mission. We’ll be
fine. They already adore me out there,” Bard answered with a wave of his
hand, peering around a stack of barrels at the throng lingering nearby.
Queen grimaced. He wasn’t wrong. Her eyes skimmed toward
Blaze and Pewpew. “Keep an eye on him.” They both just nodded.
Then Queen’s wand flashed again, and her own appearance
transformed into a nondescript resident. She quickly retreated the opposite
way down the alley, leaving the other three standing there watching after
her.
“What’s got her all worked up?” Bard grunted.
Pewpew cocked her head. “Worried is my guess. She’s got the
more difficult job.” She hesitated for a moment, looking back at her
guildmates. “Speaking of which, either of you heard anything from Smiles
yet?”
 Bard’s good humor finally cracked, a note of worry blooming in his
chest. “No. Not yet.” He shrugged off that feeling. “But there’s nothing to
be nervous about. He can handle himself. He’s proven that time and time
again.”
“He’s right. That man is practically immortal,” Blaze quipped.
The crowd roared impatiently, and Bard let out a sigh. “Come on,
ladies. Our fans await!” With that, he marched down the alley, the roar
only growing louder as he came back into view.
Pewpew groaned. “After this, can I kill him? I didn’t sign up to be
a backup singer for some sort of fake videogame church.”
Blaze patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. When this is
over… I’ll help you do it.”
Their laughter was soon drowned out by the legion of travelers and
the whine of Bard’s guitar. They had a job to do, after all.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 11 - Summit
“Evelyn is doing well for herself,” Riley muttered, eyeing the
chamber around them.
Tall marble columns etched with detailed patterns ringed the room.
Gold fringed the table and covered the chandelier that was suspended from
the ceiling – all glimmering crystal and gemstone. Overhead, the roof had
been replaced with enormous glass panels, the glow from Alexion’s barrier
shining down into the room and reflecting off the filigreed gold.
Surveying the room, Jason nodded. “Enough to hire plenty of
muscle, too.”
Guards stood around the room, decked in magical gear and heavy
metal and chain. Mages were likely hidden just out of sight – possibly
behind fake walls or illusions, judging by the way Finn was inspecting the
room suspiciously. These were just the meat shields in case something
went wrong. Jerry had invaded their ranks, the innkeeper flitting from
soldier to soldier and pestering them with questions – the men and women
doing their best to ignore them.
If he keeps it up, they might just start a war, Jason thought.
Finn’s and Eliza’s groups already sat at the circular table in the
center of the chamber. Finn’s lieutenants had taken up seats beside him.
Eliza’s entourage had been asked to remain outside, something about the
water ruining the thick, elegant carpets lining the floor. So, it was just her
and Brian. The plant-like man refused to stay seated and hovered above her
protectively, those sapphire eyes constantly scanning the area. Jason had
also ordered his undead to remain in the hall as a show of good faith. Not
that he was concerned with his own lieutenants in the room.
The tension in the air was palpable. None of them wanted to be the
first to address the elephant in the room – what had just transpired outside.
Frank had been silent since the encounter with Preacher, sitting there
with his arms crossed – each exhale coming out in a low growl. For her
part, Silver kept eyeing him uncomfortably, clearly unsure what to do. Not
that Jason blamed her. What exactly could she say that would make that
better? And Frank’s reaction revealed something more – his insecurities
over their budding relationship on full public display. While his friends
may have accepted the relationship, that didn’t mean others would be so
open-minded.
The doors creaked open, and Evelyn and Alexion finally made their
appearance. Jason never thought he’d look forward to seeing Alexion’s
face, yet here he was – a welcome distraction. If this kept up, he might stop
hating the blond-haired avatar.
Although, that still seemed unlikely.
The pair marched inside with glowing, golden-clad Nephilim at
their side, their wings held aloft and their armor reflecting the scattered
light of the chandelier. It was an imposing sight. Although Jason still
thought Finn and Eliza had done better with their own shows of power.
Jason also couldn’t help but notice that Alexion seemed distracted. His
eyes were distant, and he only vaguely acknowledged the room’s occupants.
Perhaps Jason’s plan was beginning to pay off back in the real
world.
Or maybe something else was occupying Alexion’s thoughts.
“About time,” Finn grumbled. “Let’s get this thing moving
already.”
Evelyn frowned – a delicate thing. But she waved at the Nephilim,
and they fanned out around the room as she and Alexion took their seats.
Jason raised an eyebrow at that. Were the two so close that Alexion was
comfortable with Evelyn ordering his troops around? And then there was
her own reaction. Perhaps Evelyn had been hoping to make an impression
on the avatars. As it was, their mood had been soured by their introduction
to her “lovely” city.
“My apologies for the group outside,” she began delicately,
addressing their irritation head-on. “They have been… troublesome ever
since rumors of the summit began circulating online.”
“Which I’m sure you had nothing to do with,” Julia drawled from
Finn’s side.
A tinkling laugh escaped her throat. “Well, perhaps that’s true. But
can you blame me? I only wished to enrich the city with the surge in
trade.”
“And by that, you mean your own treasury,” Finn interjected.
“Well, of course,” Evelyn replied with no attempt at subterfuge. She
waved a hand. “If it’s any consolation, that plan backfired on me as well.
The nobles are outraged by the behavior of these travelers, voicing safety
and security concerns. They are all centered around that man you met
outside the guild hall – the one who goes by Preacher. Over the course of
just a few days in-game, he’s begun to radicalize a growing segment of the
traveler population.
“Believe it or not, the residents are quite upset that I’ve given our
people a platform to advocate for ending the world. More so-called
realism, I suppose,” Evelyn offered dryly.
“Do you blame them?” Jason retorted, his features hidden within the
shadows of his hood. “I’m sure they know by now that a traveler guild is
responsible for this event. And if we fail to stop it, they may all die.” He
side-eyed Frank. “The stakes are very real for them.”
Evelyn sniffed dismissively. “Still, at its heart, this is all just a
game. These people aren’t real – not like you and me.”
Before anyone could react, Frank had made it to the other side of the
table, fur rippling down his arm and his fingers terminating in thick claws –
which were now aimed directly at Evelyn. “You want to say that again?” he
ground out, his eyes flickering crimson.
Evelyn just stared back. “Oh, tough words from the dog-boy. Why
don’t you try it?” she offered, reaching out a hand and tapping at the air. A
ripple of energy expanded out around her. A shield of light, perhaps? A
failsafe in case things went south during the meeting? Jason glanced at
Finn, but he didn’t seem surprised. His Mana Sight must have allowed him
to pick out the shield long before Evelyn’s little demonstration.
Alexion was also paying attention now, light shining from his body
and his hand on his sword as his glowing golden eyes stared down Frank.
“Back away,” he said simply.
“Frank…” Riley offered hesitantly.
Then an undead hand landed on the wolf’s shoulder. “No doubt
your point is lost on these imbeciles,” Jerry said, his voice just a touch too
loud. “Look at them? They’ve clearly blinded themselves with the light of
their own power and greed. How else could they refuse to see the cost to
their resident allies?”
Huh, a barb from the innkeeper. Evelyn’s dismissal of the
residents’ concerns clearly hadn’t resonated well with him either. No doubt,
that attitude had helped foster some of the resentment among this city’s
resident population.
 Evelyn had created a political powder keg, and now they were
sitting directly on top of it.
Speaking of volatile mixtures… Frank slowly backed down, his skin
shifting back to a normal hue as he made his way back to his seat. Jason
noticed Silver start to reach for him, only to hesitate as Frank flinched away
from her touch.
“Good boy,” Alexion sneered. “It seems your master has taught you
well.”
Frank’s eyes flashed. “If there wasn’t so much riding on this
summit, I’d fucking gut you. No glowing shield is going to stop me. It
certainly didn’t stop Jason last time.”
Anger swept across Alexion’s face before he could control his
expression. “This from a man who can’t separate fiction from reality.” He
waved at Silver. “As though we don’t know why you’re so prickly right
now – it’s all over Rogue-Net, rumors of your supposed relationship. No
doubt that’s how Preacher found out.”
Alexion leaned forward, tapping at the table. “Maybe you’re just
upset that he told the truth? That he pointed out that you’re ‘dating’ an
algorithm. You may as well have fallen in love with an anime character.
She’s not real.”
Frank let out a growl, but Silver stopped him this time. She sniffed
dismissively. “He’s not worth it. Just look at him. He stinks of lust for that
woman beside him, and yet see how she sits, facing away from him, her
eyes on others. Stronger. Smarter. Those that don’t reek of”—she smelled
at the air again—“yes, that’s fear. Uncertainty.
“Perhaps it isn’t Frank that can’t tell fact from fiction.”
Alexion’s eyes flashed, his expression momentarily uncertain.
Jason couldn’t help but notice Evelyn’s reaction as well – the way her eye
twitched. The way the pair refused to quite look at each other in the face of
Silver’s accusation. Was there something there? Something that went
beyond a purely platonic business relationship? It certainly looked like
Silver had touched a nerve.
A heavy sigh broke the tension. “Or perhaps we could put aside all
this childish, emotional bullshit and get to the point?” Finn offered. “Some
of us outgrew all this hormonal crap decades ago and just want to figure out
how to solve the actual problem we’re facing instead of creating new ones.”
 He pointed a finger at Evelyn. “And you can just shove the
pretense. You wouldn’t have agreed to this summit unless you were
invested in this world. This empire you’ve created didn’t happen
overnight,” Finn added with a wave at the room around him. “Which
means you have your own reason for staying here – for spending countless
hours of your existence in this place. Just as the rest of us do,” he
continued, those bandaged eyes flitting around the room.
Eliza flinched away from his gaze, looking to the side. She had
stayed quiet during the exchange, her hands knotted in her lap and Brian’s
limbs perched protectively around her. Jason’s brow furrowed. They
hadn’t had a chance to speak much since Sandscrit. She’d been distant and
even more awkward than usual. That furtive behavior had made him
wonder what her motive was in all of this.
Evelyn frowned, her hands smoothing at the fabric of her tunic.
“Perhaps I do,” she acknowledged finally. “But my reason is not your
concern.”
Alexion was looking at her now, his expression unreadable. Was
that… suspicion on his face? Jason wondered. What the hell was going on
there exactly? And now that Finn had raised the issue, what was Evelyn’s
motive for playing this game? He’d done his own digging on her, and her
family was nearly as powerful as Alex’s. What did she stand to gain from a
game?
Not that he expected those answers would be forthcoming – not
right now, anyway.
It was like they were playing a game of poker, each person holding
their cards tight and looking at each other for tells – a weakness that would
give them leverage. And behind the veiled threats and barbs was one
universal, unspoken truth. They weren’t friends. They were grudging
allies. They might have a mutual enemy for now, but once this fight was
over, they would still be facing each other. If they could stop this
apocalypse while undermining the other factions – perhaps even claiming
those gate pieces – well, they’d be winning twice over, wouldn’t they?
Riley looked at him from his side, her expression knowing. This
was going to be tough.
“He’s right. Let’s move on to the point of this summit,” Jason
agreed, trying to pivot away from this verbal sparring. He needed to keep
everyone focused on the goal.
 “You called for this meeting, so by all means, go ahead,” Evelyn
challenged him.
Jason nodded. “First, what do we all know about this guild
<SAFE>?”
“Nothing more than I suspect the rest of you have deduced,” Finn
offered. “They’re a radicalized anti-consumer group. It’s odd they chose to
enter the same game world that they claim is evil, but I can see a certain
sort of crazy logic to their decision. If they can’t destroy it from the
outside, then this is the next best choice.”
“They also clearly have funding and someone feeding them
information,” Riley offered. “How else could they have determined how to
start this event, much less gather in-game?”
Nods from around the table. They’d all reached a similar
conclusion.
“And it must be someone from our world,” Julia added. “If even
more than a handful of the SAFE members entered AO, the cost of the VR
hardware and software would become exorbitant.”
“So, they have deep pockets,” Riley agreed with a nod at Julia.
“Maybe donations? There’s been a lot of public discussion about AO
centered around the hearing.”
“Or a big corporate competitor,” Kyyle added from Finn’s other
side, looking pointedly at Evelyn, Brock looming up behind him and his
glowing green eyes focused on the guild leader as well. “Like a certain
heiress who created a political clusterfuck around this summit. One who
has plenty of in-game resources as well.”
Silence hung in the air at the implicit accusation.
Now that was a possible motive on Evelyn’s part. Her family could
have asked her to enter AO, build up a trade empire, and then undermine
the game world from the inside – corrupt it and bring it to its knees so they
could come in and scoop up the remains.
“My family primarily deals in transportation,” Evelyn responded
icily. “What need do we have to compete against an entertainment and
technology company?”
“Fair. Unless that company also owns the technology that makes
that transportation company profitable,” Kyyle replied with a nod. “As I
understand it, Cerillion has your family by the balls after the shift to
driverless technology. Maybe you’re looking for leverage?”
 Evelyn grimaced. “Rumors and conjecture? That’s all you have?
My family is doing quite well, thank you. What’s a little more wealth when
you’re already one of the most profitable companies in the world?”
Kyyle just raised a skeptical eyebrow. He didn’t need to say it – a
lust for wealth was never truly quenched. Jason had observed the same
truth for himself. Just look at George Lane. What was his motive? Why
did he even go to work in the morning? The man could already afford to
purchase a small country. No, something else was going on there – a hole
in his heart he was fruitlessly trying to fill with cash.
“Well, regardless, let’s assume Evelyn isn’t funding this upstart
guild for now,” Jason interjected. “We know this group is hellbent on
ending AO, is likely being financed in both worlds, and someone
knowledgeable inside the game is also providing them with info. So, one
big question is who is helping them,” Jason offered. Evelyn began to open
her mouth, but Jason cut her off. “But we can put a pin in that for the
moment.”
He looked at the others. “The other important question is where all
of this is happening. They have to be located somewhere inside AO to have
triggered the event. However, we haven’t found any rumors of their
location online. That puts them somewhere remote.”
“How did you arrive at that conclusion?” Evelyn asked.
“The prompt mentioned an excavation. And this place operates on
rules similar to our own world. Anything capable of destroying AO would
be… big,” Jason replied. “Likely large enough that other travelers would
mention it if they’d seen it.”
Finn cocked his head. “Ahh, I see your reason for calling this
meeting now.”
“Which is what exactly?” Alexion demanded.
“Jason is right. A global event of this magnitude would require a
substantial amount of energy – the equivalent of a meteor or many atomic
explosions. And just like in our world, that energy should be detectable.”
His daughter nodded slowly beside him. “And, even if whatever
they’re trying to dig up isn’t throwing off a ton of mana, the excavation
likely would.”
“Fine. Yet I fail to see the point.” Evelyn asked incredulously,
crossing her arms.
 “The key here is detecting the presence of that energy,” Jason
offered. “And inside AO, the energy of choice is always the same. We’re
looking for mana. A lot of mana.”
“Assuming you’re right,” Alexion interjected, earning him a nod
from Jason.
“An educated guess,” he replied. Jason looked to Finn, who was
now rubbing at his chin, deep in thought. He needed his engineering help
on this one.
“Okay, so you want to build something like a magical radar – one
capable of detecting large accumulations of mana.” He grimaced. “It’s
theoretically possible, but it would take an extraordinary amount of effort
and energy to search a whole continent.”
“Which is why we’re all here. What would you need?” Jason asked.
“Hmm…” Finn murmured. “Well, the sensor will likely be quite
large. We’d need a sizable area to construct it. Let’s say at least 100 meters
square.”
“The inner courtyard here in the guild hall might do,” Evelyn
offered tentatively. “We typically use it for loading and unloading the
airships.”
Finn nodded. “That’ll work. I’ll also need a ton of mana – not just
fire.” His attention flitted to Alexion and Jason. “Also, something to build
the base. Light mana to power the lens.”
“You’re talking about using our wells?” Alexion demanded.
“Of course,” Finn replied easily. “What else are we going to do?
We have a time limit. Even if we build this thing and it works, we may pick
up false positives – concentrations of mana that aren’t our target. There are
already places in this world that are naturally mana dense.” He looked to
his daughter.
“Like the laboratory,” Julia answered, nodding.
Jason cocked his head at that. Sounded like there was a story there.
“We may be able to eliminate some of those false positives
comparing them against mapped locations with a high concentration of
mana,” Kyyle commented, his hands already swiping at the air as he
brought up his in-game UI. “I could collect that data while the rest of you
are working on constructing the sensor.”
“That will help. However, we still need to assume we may need to
double-check some locations. Which takes time,” Finn continued. “And
even if we find the location we’re looking for, we still need to travel there
and figure out how to stop whatever is happening.” He turned his bandaged
eyes toward Alexion. “So, yes, we would need to use the power of the
wells to speed up construction. If we use conventional means, we’ll have
lost before we’ve begun.”
“Or this could just be an excuse to drain our mana,” Alexion
retorted.
Finn let out a sigh. “Really? My best guess is we’re all running on
nearly empty after that last debacle in Sandscrit. At most, you’ve all
replenished maybe half of their total power – assuming we’ve all leveled
the wells at roughly the same rates. And we would each need to contribute
to this process anyway. Jason builds the foundation, I build the lens, and
we power it with light mana. I don’t see how one of us would have a power
advantage.”
“But… uh, what about me?” Eliza asked, tentatively raising her
hand.
All eyes turned toward her diminutive form. A single girl, her body
encircled by Brian’s branchlike arms. Yet none of them were taking her
lightly – they were all replaying the last time they’d seen her use her well’s
power – when that creature behind her had stomped his way through an
entire city – an unstoppable juggernaut of limbs and branches.
“She’s right. The girl should have to expend some power to keep
everyone on equal footing,” Alexion offered. Finn was already nodding
along with him.
“The girl has a name. It’s Eliza,” Riley growled at him, earning her
a sniff from the avatar.
Normally, Jason might have stood up for Eliza – even dismissed the
risk of letting her keep her well’s mana. They might need it later, after all.
However, he hesitated. After seeing her in action in Sandscrit and the way
she’d been so distant lately… well, he couldn’t help but agree with
Alexion. As much as that pained him to admit.
“Could you fortify this building?” Jason offered finally. “With those
crazies outside, that might not be a bad idea. If we’re building the sensor
inside the guild and spending well power on it, we should sure as hell
protect this position.” The others were nodding in agreement.
“Alexion has already formed a shield. I will not agree to anything
that causes damage to the hall—” Evelyn began.
 Eliza adjusted her glasses. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” she
interrupted. “I can grow defenses that can be easily removed once we
leave.”
“And as for Alexion’s shield,” Jason continued, turning his attention
back toward Evelyn, a frown creasing her lips, “it never hurts to have a
backup plan.”
Or a backstop against you two fucking us over. Again, Jason added
silently.
“Fine. Fine then,” Evelyn bit out, although she still seemed
unhappy.
The group sat in silence, mulling on the proposed plan.
“Are we in agreement?” Jason finally demanded.
Nods all around. “Good, then I guess we should get to work. Finn
can tell us what he needs,” Jason offered, waving at the older man, who was
already tapping at his console and occasionally swiping at the air.
“I’m… uh, working on that now,” he murmured distractedly. He
glanced at Julia. “You want to look at this part here—” His daughter
nodded and peered over his shoulder.
As the pair tuned out the rest of the room, Evelyn addressed the
remaining avatars. “Fine. Then we shall move forward. You lot may
access whatever portion of the guild hall you wish. Although, I suggest you
don’t leave. I’m already on thin ice with the nobility as it is. The last thing
we need is an altercation that could blossom into a full-fledged war.”
Without waiting for a response, Evelyn stood and marched toward
the door.
A few seconds later, she realized Alexion hadn’t followed her – his
gaze still distant. “You coming?” she asked. Alexion started slightly. Then
he shook his head.
“No, I’ll need to assist Finn with my portion of the project.”
Evelyn looked surprised, but a moment later, she sniffed and exited,
guards marching into formation behind her. Eliza took the opportunity to
practically bolt from the room, Brian in tow – his sapphire eyes ever
watchful.
Which left Jason and his group to their own devices. “Well, that
was a fun time if I’ve ever had one,” Jerry commented as he stepped out
from between the columns. “You all get along like starving rats in a sack.”
That might have been an understatement.
 Jason glanced at Frank, his friend still scowling down at the table
like he could burn holes in the wood with raw emotion alone. “Hey, you al
—?”
“I need a minute,” Frank grunted, interrupting him, and pushing
away from the table. With that terse reply, he stormed out of the room,
vanishing into the hall. Silver looked after him, moving to follow, but Riley
put a hand on her arm and shook her head. Frank needed some time.
“And our furry buddy there apparently brought his own storm
clouds,” Jerry murmured. “This is really off to a wonderful start. Can’t
you feel the friendly camaraderie? Nothing like saving the world with your
mortal enemies.”
Jason sighed, kneading at his temples. He could already feel a
headache coming on. Maybe because the innkeeper wasn’t exactly wrong.
This hadn’t gotten off to an awesome start. The odds were in favor of them
killing each other long before the world ended. And then there was still the
Old Man’s warning. Possibly another prospective avatar at play – or a
group of them.
Riley met his eyes, the same concern reflected there. He’d told her
about the Old Man’s warning – about his own suspicions. However, that
was another card he planned to play close to the chest. If he was right, then
it would only hurt him to reveal that information too soon.
In the meantime, he had no choice but to push forward.
Jason’s eyes snapped open. “Alright, let’s get to work.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 12 - Dysfunctional
Frank sat atop Evelyn’s guild hall, his legs hanging from the lip of
the stone ledge and his eyes on the crowd far below. Preacher’s voice still
echoed through the air, accompanied by the whine of a guitar. If anything,
the crowd had only swelled since he’d last seen it.
Yet he wasn’t thinking about that. He was eyeing the cobblestones.
The drop was at least six stories. In the real world, that probably would
have terrified him – he sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting here. But now? Not
so much. On the one hand, that could be because he could literally grow
scales hard enough to blunt the fall or wings to fly away. But even if he
couldn’t transform… it still didn’t evoke the sort of terror it should have.
The truth was that he’d been through a LOT since he’d begun
playing this game.
If he could even call it that anymore.
He’d been stabbed, cut, burned, frozen. Survived explosions. Won
a drugged-up fight with a dragon – which, to be fair, had looked a lot like a
unicorn at the time. He also felt he’d made up for that by facing down a
real dragon. Frank had watched his companions cut down. And he’d done
his fair share of killing. Ripped off limbs. Shredded flesh. Watched
crimson blood spray like a damn sprinkler. He could even admit that in the
heat of the moment, he might have bitten a few people. Although, to his
credit, he partly blamed the shift for that.
What happened in wolf form stayed in wolf form.
All that rambling aside, the bottom line was that he’d changed. For
the better in many ways. He was stronger, faster, and debatably smarter?
Although, he was still hanging around Jason, so maybe not exactly smarter.
But, he had learned to stand up for himself and stop attacking himself as
much. He’d given up some of that perpetual fear that lingered in the back
of his mind. Instead, he’d started going after what he wanted.
Despite all that, now he felt, well… fucking terrified.
It was one thing to wring your hands about taking a chance. There
were no real stakes there when you thought about it. Take asking someone
out, for example. You stood to lose what? Some time? Possibly a
rejection? That was only a transient cost. But once you had something that
mattered… those stakes became real. You could sure as hell lose it.
 But he supposed that was the problem, wasn’t it? Did he really have
something to lose? Was his relationship with Silver “real” or just a product
of his imagination? Like falling for a storybook character or an actor on a
TV show. An illusion. Had he just been so happy to find someone that
liked him for himself that he’d skipped over that pesky part?
Jason and Riley had initially been supportive. They hadn’t judged
him. They understood what the residents were like. Yet he’d seen their
expressions during Preacher’s song and again when Evelyn confronted
him. They still had their reservations. Doubts.
“Hey, Frank.” A quiet voice at his shoulder.
He didn’t react. His body partially transformed, his ears had picked
out the sound of footsteps long before they reached him. It was Riley based
on the sound of her breathing and rustle of fabric. A shift of his feral eyes
and he saw nervous energy clinging to her – a glowing red haze that
enveloped her body.
“Don’t ask me if I’m okay,” Frank murmured, turning his attention
back to the ground below.
She just nodded and sat beside him, letting that silence stretch.
“Silver?” he asked finally.
“She’s with Jerry. He convinced her to sneak out and go for a
drink. Said he wanted to see what his flesh and blood competition was like
here in Barrow.”
Frank swallowed at the thought of the shifter in this foreign city
now occupied by a crazy group of doomsday nutjobs. But he reassured
himself that she would be fine with Jerry. Hell, she’d probably just eat
anyone that bothered her. Besides, there was something else that was
bothering him.
“What’s going on with Jason?” Frank asked.
“What do you mean?” Riley shot back, brow furrowed.
Frank snorted. “Oh, c’mon. I’m not an idiot. I know he’s been
avoiding me – or at least avoiding finishing the Keeper trials with me. One
excuse is fine. But ten? That’s a pattern.”
Riley cocked her head. “He just… he has a lot on his mind right
now.”
“Never seems to be a problem for you, though.” There was more
resentment in Frank’s voice than he cared to admit. But fuck it. It stung.
Jason had been increasingly distant ever since he started this game and
became the ruler of some damn city. And then there was Riley, the two of
them attached at the hip. It seemed like his “friend” had no more room in
his life for Frank.
Riley just shook her head. “I can’t really speak for him. Maybe
he’s worried…”
“Or just doesn’t trust me.”
More silence met that statement, which hit harder than if Riley had
said something. It felt like confirmation of Frank’s fears – even if the
uncertain look on her face told a slightly more nuanced story.
“Is it because of Silver?” Frank ventured finally. “Is he worried
about my loyalties or something? Like if push came to shove, would I back
him or her?” He huffed out a breath. “Or maybe he thinks I’ve gone off the
deep end and is just too nice to say anything?”
Riley bit her lip, her eyes on the street below as she weighed her
words. Preacher’s voice spiraled up at them, followed by raucous laughter.
Frank had to admit, that shit had stung. Maybe he’d changed here, become
stronger, but that transition wasn’t perfect – it never was. Getting ridiculed
in public like that had hit hard. All those people laughing… it was too
familiar; too real.
Frank shook away that thought and glanced at Riley. “What about
you? You think it’s weird, don’t you?”
She hesitated again.
“Damn it.”
“Hey, it’s not that simple,” Riley retorted. “I understand why you
have feelings for her. The people here… they sure as hell seem real to me.
Silver is also a certified badass. I get it. It’s more than that, though. A
romantic relationship with one of the residents? It’s worked for now, but
what about long-term?”
Frank looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Well, how do you think Silver feels?”
That question brought Frank up short. He could remember the look
on her face during Preacher’s rant – during the meeting. The hesitation
there. The trace of… pain?
“You’ve experienced her entire world. Met her father – her people.
But what about her? Will you two ever be able to go on a date back in our
world – the real world? Have kids? Have her meet your folks? Your
family? Be part of that other life at all? What if you got sick? She couldn’t
even be there for you.”
Riley shook her head. “There’s an imbalance there. You can be part
of her world, but she will never truly be part of yours. It’s one-sided and
makes me wonder if that might eventually foster resentment – for you or for
her. You might come to want something from her that she can’t give. Or
that she might never feel truly adequate. That’s tough.”
Riley glanced at him. “I’m just worried about both of you.”
Frank squeezed his eyes shut, frustration welling in his chest. He
knew it wasn’t directed at Riley – not really. She had just put voice to
worries he’d been ignoring. It didn’t help that she’d pointed out that he’d
been so focused on himself that he’d missed how all of this might be
affecting Silver. But that didn’t change the fucked-up situation he found
himself in or the mistakes he’d made. He wanted something tangible to
attack. To rip apart. A solution to an unsolvable problem.
“Thanks for that,” he finally ground out, crimson eyes flashing
open. “So, Jason doesn’t trust me, and my relationship is doomed.
Appreciate the heart-to-heart, Riley.”
“Hey, that’s not—"
“Look, I need some time to myself. Why don’t you go find Jason?
I’m sure he needs your help,” Frank muttered, his eyes returning to the
street below.
Riley opened her mouth, only to close it again moments later. What
else was there to say? Nothing was going to make this any easier.
Frank heard her stand up with a rustle of fabric, and the slow,
hesitant steps as she walked away. After a few dozen paces, the sound
shifted, but Frank just chalked it up to the noise from the crowd. Besides,
his mind was occupied with other things – like the frustration and anger that
still seethed in his veins at having to admit the obvious.
Like maybe she was right.

* * *

Light bent and coalesced through the air, forming a sun-like sphere
of energy along one side of the guild hall’s inner courtyard. Onlookers
stopped amid the stone halls and watched with awestruck expressions at the
amount of raw energy being channeled there – all focused on one man, his
armor shining golden in the intense light.
Alexion’s fingers flexed, and that orb of light suddenly exploded
forward. The beam shot across the courtyard with an intensity that was
nearly blinding. It struck a glass panel of thick glass on the other side of the
courtyard before refracting skyward. It streaked into the clouds, pushing
back at the omnipresent, swirling blackness that had arrived with Jason – a
beam of light spearing through the abyss, visible for miles around.
“60% now. It’s holding!” Daniel chirped from Finn’s shoulder.
“Keep it up!” Finn shouted at Alexion, sweat beginning to stream
down his face.
There was no gradual cracking of glass. No pinpoint fractures.
Without warning, the lens simply exploded, showering the surrounding area
with boulder-sized chunks of razor-sharp debris that struck the multiple
barriers surrounding the lens. Those barriers shimmered and shook against
the force of the blast, barely containing the explosion. The mages
encircling the lens strained, and their mana streamed into those layers of
protection, desperate to avoid any collateral damage to Evelyn’s guild hall.
Moments later, the barriers dropped, and only shattered molten glass
remained.
“Fucking damn it,” Finn muttered, rubbing at his face.
“I told you we needed to reinforce the glass,” Julia drawled where
she lounged nearby, perched atop the small half wall that ringed the
courtyard.
“And those impurities would just magnify the problem,” Finn
grunted. “It looked to me like the light mana was interacting with other
materials mixed in with the glass.”
“We could purify the silicon first,” Kyyle suggested. “That would
just take more time—”
For his part, Alexion automatically tuned them out, watching as a
few air mages swept the debris into a corner of the courtyard, only adding
to the jagged tower of broken glass that already rested there. Evidence of
many more failed attempts. Finn had insisted on building and testing the
lens first. There was no point in constructing the tower if they couldn’t
even get the damn thing to work, and it was easier to test on the ground.
Not that any of this was reassuring. It did little to blunt the feeling
in the back of Alexion’s mind that had lingered there for days now in-
game. A strange sensation – one he was unaccustomed to feeling. Gone
was the icy numbness that typically lingered in his mind, leaving him
feeling… worried?
His eyes flitted to Finn. It wasn’t working with these people – if
anything, that just offered more evidence that something was amiss. Finn
had helped defeat him inside Sandscrit and helped Jason carve a hole
through his chest. Alexion should feel that familiar murderous rage. That
fleeting note of anger that typically cut through the numbness. That
allowed him to feel something, anything. Yet that rage was strangely
absent.
There was only this gnawing sensation.
And with it came the same memory…

“What is this all about?” Alex asked, eyeing the room around him.
Windowless. The door made of reinforced steel. The lock firmly closed. A
cage.
George Lane sat across from him, his fingers steepled on the table.
He slowly reached down and pulled out an ebony obelisk, setting it on the
table. With the press of a button, a shimmering blue field of energy
expanded outward, sweeping across the room before settling against the
walls. Alex could only look on in mute surprise.
“What’s that—”
“Protection to ensure there are no prying eyes and ears,” his father
answered simply.
“This seems extreme. Are you going to tell me what’s going on
now?”
George just stared back, that same impassive expression – judging,
weighing, calculating.
“You are a disappointment,” George answered finally.
“Well, tell me how you really feel,” Alex retorted, attempting a glib
tone.
George sniffed. “Still such arrogance even when your mistakes
have cost us so much. If your mother could see you now…” he trailed off,
shaking his head.
Alex tensed despite himself, his fingers balling into fists beneath the
table.
 “But perhaps it would be easier to show you,” George continued
with a sigh. He waved at the air beside him, and a cascade of displays
suddenly appeared. They revealed video footage. Financial statements.
Messaging data from Alex’s Core. And they painted a story…
Alex’s eyes centered on one screen. An image of two young men
approaching a house from a camera attached to the lamp post across the
street.
Another showed the cash records of his withdrawal.
Another displayed the images of their broken, bleeding bodies.
These hadn’t been released publicly – couldn’t have been released to the
public. Someone had butchered those teens. Stabbed them dozens of times
until their blood pooled along the floor. Even for Alex, the sight was
unpleasant. It spoke of madness – of murderous rage.
The display shifted and showed footage of a party atop Cerillion
Entertainment headquarters, Alex standing next to Evelyn. He swallowed
hard. He remembered that night. The present he’d given her. But this
footage was focused on what happened next, his security credentials
changing hands. Evelyn stepping toward the elevator… then… darkness.
“What-what the fuck is this?” Alex muttered. “Have you been
watching me? Spying on me? On Evelyn?”
George’s fingers drummed the table. “I’ve been doing what I
always do. Protecting this family. Even if I apparently need to protect it
from my own son.”
Alex’s fingernails were cutting into his palms now, reopening barely
healed wounds.
“You got Jason expelled. Started a vendetta that snowballed in-
game and resulted in your defeat. You then sought to get back at your rival
by what? Hiring two thugs to rough him up? Except he fucking killed them
– used their own knife against them,” George continued, sweeping back to
the image.
His father glanced at Alex again. “Which forced me to help cover
for you. Again. To step in and protect this young man since that was what
it would take to make this go away. To ensure that damn detective didn’t
keep asking questions. Like how a skinny teenage boy had the wherewithal
not only to stop a home invasion but to stab the intruders to death. Or why
these two decided to hit this particular house in the first place.
 “Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, you decided to woo our rival’s
daughter. Evelyn St. Clair. And again, you underestimated your opponent.
This is not another trifling plaything swooning after your wealth or looks.
You’re swimming in deep waters here, Alex. After you gave her your
security credentials at the party, our security lost track of her within the
building. Do you have any idea what that means?”
Alex did. This place was an electronic fortress. It meant that
Evelyn had to have deactivated the security… or avoided it somehow.
“What are you trying to say?” Alex managed to ground out, his
thoughts flailing as he stared at the image of Evelyn at the elevator.
“I’m saying that your new girlfriend may very well have leaked
information to Gloria Bastion during the hearing – information she stole
using your credentials.”
Alex could only stare. His mind was rejecting what his father was
saying. Would Evelyn do that? To him? He had thought… but what exactly
had he thought? That she cared for him? That he had finally found
someone he connected with?
He wanted to laugh. To cry. To scream. To dive into that numbing
icy coldness that lingered in the back of his mind and never swim back up to
the surface. How could he have been this stupid? No one cared for him.
They were only out to betray him – undermine him.
That voice in the back of his mind was whispering louder now –
demanding, insistent.
His father. His mother. The Lady.
Now Evelyn.
George let out a sigh. “I had hoped that your connection to the
game world would help you – perhaps give you some much-needed
perspective. But all you have done is continue to endanger this family and
our business.”
“Not intentionally.”
“Oh, but how I wish it had been,” George snapped back, eyes
flashing. “At least that would speak of competence. Not simple idiocy or
negligence.”
Alex swallowed hard, the void in his mind shuddering like it had
been struck a physical blow. It took most of his willpower to control his
actions – to remain composed.
 His eyes rose to meet his father’s. “Says the man that has kept me in
the dark. Am I truly to blame for this? This isn’t just about a game – it
can’t be. Not this level of security. Not the funds you’ve sunk into its
development or the lies you’ve spread publicly. And now this?” He waved
at the screens. “What’s really going on here?”
George hesitated. Alex had touched on something. He could recall
now what Jason had said to him at the end of that group meeting. Jason
had mentioned the game’s AI controller – Alfred. Had alluded to something
more going on with AO. But what?
“Is this about Alfred?”
If he hadn’t known his father, Alex likely wouldn’t have noticed the
way George’s eyes flitted to the side. The way his shoulders tensed almost
imperceptibly. George Lane was composed, deliberate, but his body still
betrayed him. Alex had touched a nerve.
“I have no idea what you mean,” he answered.
Alex paused, reviewing what his father had just said to him. How
this game had been meant to “help” him. Help him how? And all his
efforts were focused on protecting this game. It was a valuable product,
one with a ton of potential. But still, Cerillion had other product lines.
Maybe it was time to take a note out of Jason’s book – as much as
that pained him to admit. Alex leaned forward. “I think you do. And I
think Alfred is at the center of all this. You wouldn’t have gone to these
lengths for any other product. Not unless there was something you were
trying to hide. Maybe the better question is, how have you endangered our
family?”
George’s fist slammed the table, crashing against the metal. “You
would challenge me? That I don’t have this family’s best interests at heart?
It’s all I can do to prevent you from fucking up everything I’ve built. Maybe
it should have been you that—” He cut himself short, only barely.
But not before Alex caught his meaning.
“That what? That died instead of Mother?” Alex bit out.
His father took a deep breath, adjusting his tie and trying to regain
his composure. “This isn’t productive. This fighting between us. Our
enemies are still circling. We can’t afford any further breaches, company
related or otherwise. Any sign of weakness and everything we’ve created
could come toppling down. Do you understand that?”
So, he’d been right. His father had fucked up somehow.
 George settled his hands back on the table, steepling his fingers
once more – his knuckles bleeding freely now. “I need for you to get on
board. Stay close to Evelyn. Try to learn what she knows. What her family
intends to do.”
Alex ground his teeth together. All of this, and his father was still
insisting on ordering him around – keeping him in the dark. That was
putting aside Evelyn’s betrayal. “And if I don’t?”
George met his eyes, not wavering for a second. “Then perhaps
you’ve run out of chances.” The screens flickered beside him, still
showcasing those dead bodies. His meaning was clear. He was done
covering for Alex and would have no qualms throwing him to the wolves.
“I… I understand,” Alex ground out finally. What else could he
say?
“You better.”

“Hey, you there?”

Alexion’s attention snapped back into focus to find Julia staring at
him in confusion. “We’re about ready to run another test. You up for it?”
He nodded absently. Indeed, he could see they’d formed another
lens on the far side of the courtyard. No doubt they’d found a way to purify
the sand. “Yeah, yeah. I’m ready.”
Julia just grunted, shaking her head as she stepped back into
position, reviewing her screens as she prepared to observe another
experiment.
As he began to gather his light mana, Alexion saw movement on one
of the upper balconies. Evelyn had stepped out onto the perch, flanked by
guards. She looked down on the work with an imperious focus. Her eyes
met Alexion’s, yet there was no smile on her lips. No signal that she still
cared for him. Not only that, but he couldn’t help but recall the way she’d
been stirring up trouble during the meeting – instigating the other avatars.
There was no love lost between Alexion and the others, but still…
Riley’s words echoed clearly in his mind. Why had Evelyn invited
the travelers here? Created this political powder keg? Why was she
actively trying to undermine the work they were doing? Did she want this
world to end? Was his father right?
Could she have betrayed him?
She’d certainly been acting more distant lately.
 Alex grimaced, focusing back on the work at hand as the light
spiraled and condensed to a blinding blaze once more. He intended to find
out. Not just for his father. But for himself.

* * *

She’d done it again. Chickened out. Ran away.

Eliza sighed, ringing the bell once and her hands winding through a
complicated series of gestures as buds erupted along Brian’s arms,
blooming and coating the area in a dense cloud of pollen and seeds. In
mere moments, thick vines slithered up the walls, blanketing every inch of
the interior of the guild hall, blotting out the windows, and plunging the
corridor into a dim gloom.
She started as a branch suddenly coiled around her shoulders.
Flowers budded along the surface, a dizzying array of colors that glowed
softly in the darkened hallway.
“I’m fine, really,” Eliza reassured Brian. Those sapphire eyes only
stared back skeptically.
“Well, isn’t this cute,” a voice drawled from behind them.
Immediately, those thin branches thickened into a solid shield, the
flowers shriveling down and replaced with sharp thorns as Brian turned his
attention toward the intruder. It was Eliza’s turn to put a calming hand on
his shoulder as she saw Evelyn standing there.
“I’ve always wanted a strong, silent man that would bring me
flowers,” the guild leader commented, watching Brian’s reaction with
amusement. “I’m practically green with envy.” A tinkling laugh followed
her own joke.
“It’s okay. She’s an ally… of sorts,” Eliza said to Brian.
“Relationships must be flexible – a side effect of leadership, as I’m
sure you’re intimately aware. Enemy of my enemy and all that,” Evelyn
offered with a wave of a hand.
Eliza swallowed hard and adjusted her glasses. She didn’t trust this
woman. Not even a little bit. She noticed Brian hadn’t fully let down his
guard either, retracting his shield but keeping the reinforced branches
perched around Eliza.
Evelyn picked at the vines that now covered the walls, a frown
pulling at her lips. “This is excessive if you ask me. Between my forces
and Alexion’s shields, the guild hall is well secured.” She glanced at Eliza.
“Men, am I right? Always trying to overcompensate.”
“It doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan,” Eliza murmured. Especially
not with the crowd of travelers gathering outside, she added silently. She
hadn’t forgotten that was Evelyn’s fault.
The woman cocked her head at that. “I suppose. Although, I do
hope these don’t cause any lasting damage. It wouldn’t do for these plants
to ruin the décor before tonight’s soiree.” Her eyes lit up in false surprise.
“Speaking of which, I meant to invite you to this evening’s festivities.”
“Festivities?” Eliza echoed.
“Why of course. I’ve invited the city’s nobility here for a small
gala, barely anything of note. However, I thought it would be a perfect
opportunity for some networking. Allow you all to get to know our quaint
little town and some of the products we offer.”
Eliza swallowed against the lump in her throat. That sounded
terrible. Besides, she anticipated that Evelyn wasn’t doing this out of the
kindness of her heart. Likely, the gala was meant to placate the nobles with
promises of potential trade contracts with the other avatars’ cities. They
must have jumped on that offer in a heartbeat.
“You will come, won’t you?” Evelyn insisted, peering at Eliza.
“Um, I guess…” she replied noncommittally.
“Fantastic!” Evelyn’s gaze suddenly turned back to the walls,
frowning slightly. “But this certainly won’t give off the ambiance we’re
aiming for,” Evelyn murmured, eyeing the walls distastefully. “Apocalypse-
chic isn’t the sort of look that will put the nobles at ease. Perhaps we could
scale back these defenses?”
“Unless your nobles plan to go on a tour of your hall, I’m not sure I
see the problem,” Eliza retorted, a sudden chill lingering in her voice.
Evelyn must have picked up on Eliza’s reaction – that she’d pushed
a bit too far. She sniffed. “Fair enough, I suppose. So, we’ll just have to
clean up a miniature forest when that little science fair in the courtyard is
complete? Fantastic.”
“I also anticipated that problem,” Eliza replied.
She snatched one of her wands from her waist, thumbing the base to
select a specific cartridge contained within. Depressing the button on the
side, a thick vapor spewed forth, glowing a bright lime green. As the vapor
touched a portion of the wall, the vines immediately shriveled and shrank
until only a fine, gray dust coated the floor.
“Hmm, you’re cleverer than I gave you credit for,” Evelyn observed.
“Thanks?” Eliza muttered – not entirely sure that had been a
compliment.
“Where are your guards, by the way?” Eliza asked. With all this
talk about security, she suddenly realized that this was the first time she’d
seen Evelyn alone. “Aren’t you worried that an avatar might take
advantage?”
Evelyn smiled in amusement. “Should I be concerned about my
health? As I said, this place is well defended already. And you don’t seem
nearly as… combative as the others. Besides, I was hoping us girls could
have a chat.”
“About what exactly?” Eliza offered, confused.
“Well, about little ol’ you, of course,” Evelyn replied with a tinkling
laugh. “I was hoping to get to know you better. I’m familiar with Alexion,
clearly. And Finn and Jason have certainly made reputations for
themselves. But you,” she continued, pointing at Eliza, “you’re an enigma.
Little social media and nearly no online presence. You’ve also been
mysteriously absent since the events in Sandscrit. Rumor has it that you
had a falling out with Jason and returned to your city.”
“That’s-that’s not true,” Eliza replied quickly.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “And yet I noticed you arrived with your
own entourage. So perhaps the rumors aren’t entirely accurate but do
contain a kernel of truth. Something happened there.” She peered at Eliza.
“What is it, I wonder?”
Eliza went still, not sure how to answer.
The woman tapped at her lips. “Perhaps you simply got tired of
being under Jason’s thumb? I mean, he had you what? Slaving away
crafting his potions?” Eliza’s eyes widened at that. “Oh, yes, I’m familiar
with our Dark Lord’s current monopoly, and it’s no secret that your gifts
lean toward the alchemical.” She waved at Eliza’s wand as evidence.
“That’s not why…” Eliza began feebly. The waters in her heart –
normally still and unmoving – wavered suddenly. Ripples cascading
outward and growing in strength.
“Really? And now that you’re reunited, he has you doing more of
the same, I see. Silly chores and errands for a girl that can harness the
power of an entire city and who strides alongside a man made of living
plants,” Evelyn murmured. “Aren’t you tired of it? Of always being on the
outskirts? Of being treated like yet another mindless zombie for him to
order around?”
Eliza’s hands balled into fists. There might be some small truth to
what Evelyn was saying, but even so, Jason and his friends had always been
kind to her. It was Eliza that had chosen to focus on her plants, wasn’t it?
“Or perhaps you do enjoy it. I suppose it’s easier, letting others
decide your fate.”
Eliza winced. That one hit close to home, the waters suddenly
roiling and crashing and breaking against the cliff face of her
consciousness.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she finally said,
sapphire energy pulsing through her eyes which she quickly averted to the
floor.
“Ahh, well then, please, do tell,” Evelyn retorted, raising her hands
in a placating gesture.
“I, uh, I need to talk to Jason about something sensitive,” Eliza
began, some of that sudden confidence fading and the waters calming. “I
just can’t bring myself to tell him. The problem is me, not him.”
A sudden silence met those words, and when Eliza raised her eyes,
she saw Evelyn was watching her with an appraising expression.
“Hmm, well, that sounds interesting. What do you intend to tell
him?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Oh, come now, if you’re nervous, you simply need to practice on
someone else. Pretend this is for a class presentation or speech,” Evelyn
replied.
“It’s, um, about Finn.”
“What about Finn?” Evelyn asked, demanding.
“Well, it’s… complicated. It has to do with his wife.”
“Rachael?” Evelyn asked. “I thought she passed away.”
When Eliza looked at her in surprise, Evelyn waved it away. “Come
now. You think I don’t know who the Najmat Alhidad really is? My family
has more than sufficient resources to do a little digging. And it’s not like
he’s been that discreet.
 “More importantly, why could you possibly need to talk to Jason
about Finn’s wife? Hasn’t it been more than ten years since the accident?”
Eliza shook her head, her eyes clouded as she recalled the
conversation she’d overheard. “If it really was an accident…” she
murmured softly.
“What?” Evelyn asked, looking dumbfounded. “What do you mean
by that?”
Eliza’s eyes widened, suddenly realizing she’d just spoken out loud,
her hand drifting up to her mouth. “I, uh, I think I’ve said too much. I
really need to get back to work.” With that, she pivoted on her heel and
started down the hall.
“Hey, wait—” Evelyn was cut off as Brian suddenly blocked the
hallway in a surge of vegetative growth so thick it obscured Eliza from
sight. The plant man’s glowing sapphire eyes hung amid that foliage,
watching Evelyn with a suspicious glare.
She simply stared down Brian for several long seconds before
sniffing, pivoting sharply on her heel, and marching in the other direction
down the hallway.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 13 - Ballroom
“Remind me why we’re doing this again?” Jason muttered, eyeing
the ballroom.
“Because Evelyn hates us,” Riley shot back. “Oh, and she’s trying
to placate these rich assholes for all the trouble she’s caused here in
Barrow.”
This earned her a chuckle as Jason surveyed the hall. Evelyn had
outdone herself this evening, throwing a gala that would have made even
Cerillion Entertainment envious. Golden streamers floated through the air
on a mana-assisted breeze, coiling and twining to form the logo of Evelyn’s
trading guild before breaking apart and fluttering back into a dizzying
pattern. Food and booze were flowing freely, filling the bellies of the city’s
nobility. Those fine folk were dressed in their most expensive silks and
velvet and packed the hall.
Polite laughter and a thrumming chatter filled the room with
buzzing energy.
It was almost easy to forget the world was ending.
Or that the guests had been escorted inside by three divisions of
armed guards – the only way to pass safely through the throng of travelers
that lingered just outside the guild hall. Their numbers had only grown
while Jason and his allies built and tested the sensor array.
A few nobles shuffled nervously around Jason, unable to see his face
within the depths of his cowl and murmuring to themselves. “At least your
brooding aura is doing us some favors tonight. They’re keeping their
distance,” Riley observed.
“Or maybe it’s because you’re quite literally dressed to kill,” he
replied. Riley had forgone a dress in favor of her tight-fitting leather,
knives tucked away across her body, and her bow slung across her back.
“I just didn’t want anyone getting handsy,” she shot back with a
small smile. She winked at a noble that kept throwing her awkward
glances, crimson crosshairs shining in her eyes. The man almost dropped
his champagne flute and quickly stumbled away. With the way his date was
glaring at him, Jason suspected he was in for some trouble.
“No need to worry about that,” Jason murmured.
 Despite Riley’s joking tone, that was real fear Jason saw reflected in
the eyes of many of the residents. He suspected it wasn’t caused by their
equipment or weapons – there were plenty of Nephilim fluttering along the
ceiling and more mundane guards posted at the walls. No, his guess was
that these nobles already had some previous “trade experience” with the
Twilight Throne – purchasing undead slaves kidnapped from within his
domain. At that thought, his fingers clenched around his staff, and he felt
chill energy creep into his veins. How easy it would be to end them all
now.
He felt Riley squeeze his fingers. “Remember, we can’t kill
everyone this time.” She side-eyed him with another grin. “Not yet,
anyway.”
“Just tell me when,” Jason growled under his breath.
“At least we aren’t the only introverts at this party,” Riley said,
nudging Jason’s arm. He looked to one side of the room to find Eliza
perched on a makeshift throne of moss and flowers, Brian’s sapphire eyes
ever watchful. The nobility was giving her a wide berth. Although with the
way the moss crept across the ground, and faint-colored mist wafted into
the air around her, Jason assumed that wasn’t by choice. It seemed Brian
had added a social deterrent.
They really were a dysfunctional lot.
Jason sighed. “At least Finn doesn’t seem to be having any
trouble,” he offered, nodding in the fire avatar’s direction. Indeed, he was
surrounded by nobles, no doubt many trying to negotiate trade contracts
with Sandscrit. The ores mined from those rock islands were immensely
valuable to the crafters located south of the great desert. Kyyle and Julia
were playing defense for him, taking most of the heat from the lesser
nobility.
“Except he has a human cruise missile heading his way,” Riley
replied softly, gesturing at Evelyn. The woman was wearing a flowing
silken dress that hugged her figure. Swatches cut from the fabric revealed
the smooth skin beneath, and not a single weapon marred her appearance –
not that she’d have had anywhere to hide them. She weaved through the
crowd seemingly at random – flitting from one conversation to the next –
however, it was clear from the pair’s vantage point that she was moving
toward Finn and his entourage.
 “Poor man,” Jason muttered, then frowned. “Speaking of which,
where the hell is Frank?”
Riley sighed and nudged him toward the far side of the room, where
the tables of food and booze were situated. A rousing cheer filled the air,
one of Evelyn’s air mages quickly putting up a bubble around the group to
block out the noise. The shifter lifted an entire keg over his head and
drained the contents in one fell swoop to the approval of a more “relaxed”
crowd.
“Shit,” Jason muttered. The alcohol wasn’t technically real, but the
effect was similar enough. The digital booze could dramatically lower a
person’s inhibitions. In this case, in a crowded ballroom with the city’s elite
and four avatars with a grudging alliance.
“I should probably take care of that before it gets out of hand.”
Riley just nodded as Jason drifted off into the crowd, the sea of
nobility parting before him with hushed whispers and hasty steps. Maybe
that was another unforeseen perk of his reputation.

* * *

“I thought I’d never get the chance to speak with you,” Evelyn
chirped.
The nobles crowding around Finn started at the sound of her voice
and murmured excuses as they quickly departed, mixing back into the
crowd. Which left Evelyn alone with Finn – Kyyle and Julia hanging near
him and making a pretense at small talk. However, their attention never left
Evelyn, and their hands were never far from their weapons.
“Really? What is it that we need to talk about?” Finn asked,
unperturbed. “Perhaps why we’re engaging in this complete waste of time
instead of working on the sensor?”
Evelyn frowned delicately. “Are you always so… short-sighted?”
Finn tensed slightly. Had that word choice been intentional? He’d
been forced to switch off his Mana Sight during this gala. The amount of
mana being thrown around was distracting. It bounced off the ceiling,
covered the walls, pulsed through each person’s body, and covered jewelry
and concealed weapons… To be short, it was giving him a headache.
Could she know the name of his skill?
No, no. It couldn’t be. He must be reading into it.
 “How do you mean?” Finn retorted finally.
“The sensor is important, but so is this political glad-handing. Say
we succeed. Save the world and all that. You’ll still have to make your
way here. And it’s good to have a few friends in high places.”
Finn watched her evenly, a familiar cloth bandage covering his eyes
and the flames of his crown licking at the air. His fingers kneaded at the
dense metal bands that covered his right arm, his left now composed
entirely of crystal. The truth was that he was worried – his thoughts
constantly straying back to the sensor. There was much more at stake here
for him than a stupid trade agreement…
And that insipid woman was still looking at him.
“I prefer to prioritize,” Finn answered. “There’s no point in politics
if all of these people will be dead in a week.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “There it is again. So serious.” Her
expression shifted, fingers tapping at her lips. “It almost makes one wonder
why you’re focused on this game. I’ll admit, I’m surprised. Especially for
someone of your… renown.”
It was time for Finn to arch an eyebrow. So, she knew who he was.
Figured. Finn was also familiar with the St. Clair family and their rivalry
with George’s company. It appeared some things never changed, no matter
how much time passed.
“That’s my business,” Finn grunted curtly.
Evelyn simply smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Mysterious. I
like an enigmatic man.” She looked out at the crowd around them. “Color
me interested. Besides, what makes life dreary is the want of motive.”
He’d heard that quote before. “George Eliot?” Finn asked.
“Mary Ann Evans, writing under the name of a man. Another
woman who was unappreciated in her time,” Evelyn said, a sharpness in her
expression.
Finn simply cocked his head. “Well, then… the moment there is
suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”
“Gandhi? Low blow,” Evelyn murmured. Those piercing eyes
turned back to him. “How about this… whenever a man does a thoroughly
stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.”
“Oscar Wilde?”
“Good guess.”
 “And what idiocy am I guilty of? Working with you and Alexion
again?”
“Precisely,” Evelyn answered immediately. “You know we’re
untrustworthy. And yet you still agreed to work with us. That tells me that
something incredibly noble must drive you.”
She placed her fingers to her lips, peering at him.
“Could it be Rachael?”
The question was so simple. So innocently asked. Finn hadn’t been
expecting it. And he could barely control himself in response. He wanted
to lash out – to melt down one of those rings and send Evelyn flying back
into the wall – hands and legs bound. To pull the information out of her.
The fire in his veins demanded it. It was only the movement in the corner
of his vision that stopped him – gave him a moment of peace.
The sight of Julia’s face…
He motioned for her to stop – Julia only grudgingly freezing in
place, her hand resting on the hilt of her lance. Of course, she’d been
listening.
“Really?” Finn demanded, turning back to Evelyn, and letting some
of that fire creep out, just a taste, enough for the flames to cover his skin.
“How dare you bring up my wife here. You are quite literally playing with
fire.”
Evelyn didn’t seem perturbed, taking a delicate sip from her flute.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend. I was just taking a stab in the
dark, and it appears I touched a nerve.” As she glanced at Julia, his daughter
let out a growl, and Kyyle put a hand on her arm to try to calm her.
Evelyn’s eyes drifted back to Finn. “It’s only that Eliza mentioned
her in passing. Said she had something she wanted to tell you about your
late wife. I assumed she must have spoken to you already.”
Finn’s thoughts were racing. Eliza? Why would she be talking
about Rachael – and to Evelyn of all people? Had Jason told her what was
at stake for Finn? No, that didn’t feel right. The kid had been discreet after
the break-in at Cerillion. Or, at least, Finn assumed he’d kept his mouth
shut since George and his enforcers hadn’t come knocking on his door. So
why would Eliza be talking about his wife?
“Oh dear, judging from the look on your face, I suppose not,”
Evelyn finished with mock guilt at letting the information slip.
 She waved at another noble not too far away. “It seems someone is
looking for me. I really must attend to my duties as host. I’m so sorry if I
caused offense. You all should enjoy yourselves,” Evelyn urged them.
Then she was already drifting back into the crowd, flitting from one group
to another.
“That fucking woman,” Finn growled, watching her walk away. No
doubt she’d been baiting him. Trying to cause more drama. Have him
throw the first punch. Then, she could unite the others against him – cut
him out of the gate pieces. Well, to hell with that. Finn only wanted one
thing. To finish the damn sensor and put a stop to the apocalypse.
He turned, searching for Julia, only to discover she’d disappeared.
Damn it.
“Where’d she go?” Finn demanded, looking to Kyyle. The earth
mage looked stupefied. “I-I don’t know. She was just here—”
“Go find her. Before she does something stupid.”
Kyyle nodded and marched into the crowd, Brock forcefully making
a path for him.
“Damn it, I hate parties,” Finn muttered.

* * *

Frank set down the empty barrel a bit too forcefully on a nearby
table with a crash, the wood splintering to the cheer of his crowd.
“Who wants to bet I can go again?!” he roared to the approval of the
nobles around him. Jason noticed more than a few coins changing hands as
they began taking bets, the more astute gamblers pointing at the way Frank
was wobbling in place unsteadily.
Thank god for the noise suppression, Jason thought to himself,
eyeing the dome of amber energy surrounding the area. The mage gave
Jason a grateful glance as he crossed the threshold and waved at the caster.
The barrier soon came tumbling down, the man leaning back against a wall
and downing a mana potion. Apparently, he’d been channeling that dome
for a while now.
However, as the nobles caught sight of Jason, their smiles faded, and
they backed up hastily, the laughter and shouts dwindling to a subdued
murmur.
 “What? What’s wro— Oh,” Frank said as he caught sight of Jason.
“If it isn’t Major Buzzkill reporting for duty, sir!” he sniped with a salute –
one that was more than a few hairs off.
“What’s going on here?” Jason asked as he approached, waving at
the pile of kegs.
“Juz having a lil fun, you know?” Frank said, shrugging. “What’s it
to you?”
“Hmm, where to start? You realize we’re at a party hosted by
Evelyn and surrounded by enemies right now,” Jason offered, lowering his
voice.
“And I wuz tryin’ to party!” Frank retorted. “Besides, not like you
need me anyway. You have… uh, Riley,” he said, snapping his fingers.
Damn, he’s plastered.
“That’s not true, man,” Jason replied.
Frank snorted. “Really? That why are you puttin’ off the trials?”
Jason sighed. Shit. He should have expected Frank would catch
on. “Look, there’s a good reason for that.” He eyed the room. “But this
really isn’t the place for this.
“Speaking of which, where the hell is Silver?” Jason muttered to
himself.
“I dunno.” Frank slurred, reaching for another keg. His arm
immediately shifted, muscle and bone crunching and snapping and hair
springing from his arm. He stabbed his free hand at the top, a claw
puncturing the keg before he began downing the contents. “She got upset
and marched off a while ago.”
“Then shouldn’t you go find her? Make sure she’s safe?” Jason
demanded. “You know, instead of getting wasted in front of all these
people?” The nobles still lingered nearby, watching the scene with keen
interest.
Frank was finally looking at him now, but that was anger shining in
his eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” he growled. “Who’re
you to lecture me? Like you have everything together? You killed two
people! Livin’ at Cerillion and probably sucking George’s—”
“You sure you really want to finish that sentence?” Jason shot back,
his own mana flaring. He knew his friend was just fucked up right now –
physically and mentally. But he’d been dealing with his own monstrous
pile of shit of late.
 “Sure do,” Frank said, pacing forward menacingly. “What you
gonna do, Necroweeny?” He chortled at his own joke. Then he froze, half-
transformed ears perking and his attention drifting across the room.
Jason’s brow furrowed, and he followed Frank’s gaze. His Listening
skill just barely picked out a conversation across the room, the noise
suppression barrier no longer blocking out the rest of the ballroom. The
tone was predatory, filled with a deadly intent that stood out from the rest of
the idle chatter.
“Oh, look at that piece of tail.”
Another noble chuckled darkly. “Imagine if we captured her kind –
the prices they would fetch from here to Vale. Those mages are known for
their… kinks.”
Jason finally picked the pair out from the crowd. Two men.
Standing along the back wall. Their eyes both fixed on one figure passing
through the crowd with a man wearing a feathered, floppy hat. Her tail
swishing…
Oh, shit, Jason thought.
He turned back to Frank, but not before his friend barreled forward,
his body shifting and contorting rapidly. Thick muscle broke through his
skin and soon covered it in thick black fur. He slammed into Jason, sending
him tumbling into a nearby wall. A few quick gestures on Jason’s part, and
he managed to pull a portion of his Bone Armor into place. Even so, the
ivory substance crunched against the wall, and he briefly saw stars as his
head struck the stone.
There were mottled screams as Frank charged through the crowd.
Jason held his head, blinking away the spots in his vision as he tried
to focus.
He could see the empty wake Frank had left in the crowd and
vaguely make out what was being said – the voices barely audible over the
ringing in Jason’s ears. A circle of onlookers had formed around Frank and
the two nobles. His friend held one raised in a clenched claw, the man
struggling to breathe as Frank slowly squeezed – simply watching with
those blood-red eyes.
“What did you say about my mate?” Frank growled.
Icy spears suddenly materialized out of the air and stabbed into
Frank’s arm, severing the muscle in several key spots. He immediately
dropped the noble and whirled – only to hesitate when he saw Silver
standing there, ice floating around her. She’d practiced enough that she no
longer needed to be in her wolf form to cast.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
Frank hesitated for only a second. “Defending you,” he replied,
waving a bloody hand at the two men slumped against the ground.
“I don’t need you to defend me,” Silver growled out. “I am not some
plaything. Some weak flower that needs to be protected. This is about us.
About that man outside the hall. This is about stroking your own ego to
make you feel better.”
Shit, Jason thought, trying to shake off the stun effect. That isn’t
going to go over well.
Frank quickly shook off her words, rage and booze consuming
common sense. “Really? You don’t need my help? Because if one of these
fuckers decided to, they could ambush you. Kidnap you. Sell you off. Kill
you—”
“You think any of that is new?” Silver growled, beginning to shift
now. “I survived long before I met you. I don’t need anyone to protect me
– especially not this weak creature I see before me. Have you so easily
forgotten? The predator doesn’t fear the prey. We are the hunter. Maybe I
need to remind you.”
Frank could see the challenge in her eyes, and so could the crowd.
The nobles were backing away quickly now to get out of range as the two
shifters began to circle each other. Silver fully abandoned her human form
and with it, any further attempt to talk this out. This was now a competition
among two predators vying for dominance.
Jason needed to get the hell up. The debuff finally flickered and
then faded from his vision as he felt Riley pulling him upright. She touched
at the wound on his head and the fragments of bone there, but he shrugged
her off.
“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch. He caught me off guard.”
“So, I take it the conversation didn’t go well.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Jason muttered as a roar echoed through the room.
The noise was followed by an angry crash as the two unruly shifters
smashed a chair to pieces – guests fleeing in all directions to avoid being
crushed. Meanwhile, the Nephilim overhead were moving into position,
beams of light coalescing along their hands and the guards along the wall
were forming a defensive line in front of the nobles.
“Fuck, I hate parties,” Jason muttered.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 14 - Encore
A few minutes earlier.

How had she gotten talked into attending this thing?

Eliza still wasn’t sure.
There had been that unusual encounter with Evelyn – the woman
poking and prodding at her. Secrets accidentally divulged. Although, Eliza
had to admit it felt good to talk to someone – anyone. She’d been spinning
in circles for so long about what to do. Not that the conversation had made
the path forward any clearer, of course. But it had helped to release some of
the weight that had settled on her shoulders ever since she’d overheard her
parents discussing Rachael.
Several hours later, she was cornered by a very pushy man who said
that Evelyn had sent him, and then been forced to squeeze into this… this
dress of all things. Eliza pulled at the fabric – a seafoam blue silk that
spiraled and rippled as she stared at it. No doubt an illusion had been
stitched into the fabric. It was almost pretty. Almost. Yet she missed the
weight of her equipment. Gone were her pouches and bags and arsenal of
wands. Okay, she was still carrying at least one wand. But the rest of her
mobile alchemy lab had been deposited inside Brian. The branches making
up his body cradled her precious equipment and held it safe.
Now she was trying to make the best of a bad situation. Eliza had
claimed a tiny corner on the far side of the hall, and Brian had created a seat
of moss and leaves for her to sit on. His presence also seemed to be
discouraging anyone that ventured too close. If anything, she’d noticed that
the blanket of vegetation kept growing – gradually creeping outward and
expanding her territory of solitude.
“Okay?” Brian whispered, the branches of his face rustling to form
the words.
Eliza tilted her head to find him watching her with concern. “I’m
not really sure. I think I said too much to Evelyn,” she murmured.
“Don’t. Trust.”
“Me neither. Just like I don’t think she decided to throw this stupid
party out of the kindness of her heart,” Eliza replied, eyeing the room. At
least Jason looked as uncomfortable as she felt, and Finn was pushing off
the glad-handing with the nobles onto Kyyle and Julia.
Apparently, the gods had picked a bunch of introverts.
The vines coiling along the floor suddenly lashed out – Eliza’s first
warning that something was wrong. Her head snapped up to see that
Brian’s plants had snatched Julia out of the air, the woman growling as the
restraints tightened around her limbs and eyeing Eliza with barely
concealed anger and accusation. She twisted in place in an incredible show
of force, and the plant life began to rip apart as Julia’s feet settled back
against the floor. She plucked another vine from her arm, tearing it apart
easily as she stalked toward Eliza.
Plants were blooming around Eliza more quickly now. Brian had
shifted strategies, abandoning the vines for colorful flowers that all tilted
toward Julia as though she was the sun. Eliza knew these species spit a
particularly toxic poison. In an instant, Julia raised her shield, and her other
hand drifted to her lance, not quite drawing it… not yet, anyway.
“I need to talk to you,” Julia growled.
“Uh… o-okay,” Eliza stuttered, caught off guard. She waved off
Brian. He halted the attack but didn’t lower his guard for a second, even
more plants beginning to creep up the wall at her back – thickening and
spreading. They were also drawing attention from the other nobles who
murmured and edged around the scene.
Eliza needed to de-escalate this situation. Fast.
“What, uh, do you need to talk about exactly?” she queried.
“How about whatever the fuck you know about my mother,” Julia
shot out, anger reflected in her eyes and her fingers tightening on the grip of
her lance.
“I’m… that is… I’m not sure I know what you mean.” Eliza hadn’t
even thought about what to say… or how to say it. Much less to Finn’s
daughter. In a crowded room. Surrounded by enemies.
“Don’t give me that shit,” Julia retorted, taking a ponderous step
forward. “Evelyn said there was something you knew about my mother.”
Shit. Of course, Evelyn had told Julia.
Brian wasn’t having any of Julia’s posturing, however. More and
more flowers were blooming, and a thick mist of pollen was springing up
from the floor beneath Julia’s feet. A paralytic, Eliza thought numbly, her
mind flailing for a response – a way out of this situation. They’d likely
destroy most of the hall if they got into a fight here. Frank had given her
the rundown on Julia’s abilities. Even without mana, she was a force to be
reckoned with.
On the other hand, what the hell was Eliza supposed to say?
Something. Anything, she realized as Julia took another step closer.
“Uh, well, I overheard my parents talking. It seemed like they knew
Rachael. They also implied that her death might not have been—” Eliza
began tentatively, the words suddenly spilling forth like a dam bursting.
Although, she was interrupted as a roar erupted from across the
room, closely accompanied by the screams of the nobles. Eliza only caught
a glimpse of dark fur and thrashing muscle before bodies were crashing
toward her and Julia, fleeing whatever the hell was happening. Those
people promptly stumbled into Julia, sending her stumbling forward.
And Brian didn’t hesitate for a moment, his sapphire eyes flashing
as he pulled up a thick bramble dome around Eliza, and his body surged
with mana. As she let herself sink into that darkness, Eliza felt a strange
mixture of guilt and relief coil in her gut.
She’d escaped again. Barely.

* * *

Screams rippled across the ballroom, echoing off the gold-gilded

walls – the acoustics amplifying the clatter to a crescendo. The noise easily
reached a small terrace balcony where Alexion and Evelyn stood, watching
the chaos unfold below them.
Alexion shook his head. “What the hell is going on?”
A thick dome of spiky vegetation now rested where Eliza had once
sat, Brian’s body embedded in the plant life and his eyes blazing. His
plants had spread out dozens of feet in every direction, reaching up the
walls of the ballroom. Vines unfurled from the ceiling, snatching at any
screaming nobles that ran too close to Eliza, only to pull them skyward by
ankles and arms – leaving them hanging suspended in midair. Paralytic
moss coating the vines soon knocked them unconscious, mercifully
silencing their screams.
Down below, Julia was slicing and spearing at the vegetation, bright
blooms spraying poison and acid that was sent swirling away with a gust of
air from her shield. The acid splashed across a row of chairs and quickly
ate away at the upholstery. A woman standing nearby wasn’t so lucky,
letting out a shout as the acid burned away at her skin – only for a Nephilim
above her to cast a healing spell.
In the next instant, Brian’s vines had snatched the winged guard
from the air. The Nephilim struggled, but his body soon went limp as the
paralytic entered his system – joining the many humans and angels now
dangling from the ballroom’s ceiling, swinging there like a gallows.
Meanwhile, Julia and Brian ignored the collateral damage. Another
plant erupted from the ground and shot a barrage of poisonous needles.
Strangely, Julia’s arm flashed amber, and her body shifted to wisps of air as
the needles streaked through the spot where she had been standing, only to
strike another noble in the face. The man promptly dropped to the ground
screaming and clawing at his skin – no one coming to his aid.
Has Julia embedded mana crystals in her arm? Alexion wondered.
That was… new. Although, his gaze was soon pulled away.
Alexion’s attention panned across the crowd of screaming people,
looking for the source of the commotion. He soon found it. Frank and
Silver had transformed and squared off near the banquet table… or, at least,
what was left of it. The table had been smashed in half, and food was
strewn across the floor and smeared into the tiles. The two beasts were
clawing at each other with terrific force. A paw swipe from Frank sent
Silver toppling into a wall with a crash, cracks radiating outward from the
point of impact. Yet she recovered in an instant, back on her feet and icy
shards materializing behind Frank – spearing into his back.
Armored plates appeared along Frank’s spine, the ice skittering off
the chitin as he shifted into a Were-Ant. However, Silver’s attack had been
a feint. While Frank was occupied, she leaped into the air, pushed off a
platform of ice, and then shot back downward, barreling into Frank, and
sending him tumbling into a series of small tables that promptly exploded in
a shower of wooden splinters.
Silver landed neatly a moment later. Frank growled and pulled
himself from the wreckage, glaring at her – his fur now matted with food
and drink.
And throughout this whole scene, Alexion noticed that Evelyn’s
guards hadn’t moved to enter the room. In fact, they were now
mysteriously missing.
 Alexion glanced to the side to see Evelyn smiling. “You did this,
didn’t you?”
She just shrugged. “Possibly.”
He shook his head. “What the fuck were you thinking? We need
these people.”
Evelyn just sniffed. “Need them? To what? Save a videogame
world? Come now, are you really that invested in this digital sandcastle? I
say we kick it down and watch the tide take it away. Or are you truly that
infatuated with playing make-believe? Pretending yourself to be some sort
of golden hero?” She laughed, shaking her head.
Alexion ground his teeth at the condescension in her voice. The
image of his father’s face flashed through his mind’s eye. She was treating
him like a child, yet the truth was that he was invested in this place – in
ways he had trouble articulating. After every failure, perhaps he should
want to burn it all down. But in fact, he was beginning to discover the
opposite. With each death and defeat, he found himself drawn here, pulled
back into the game.
And each time, the voice had grown quieter…
That numbness was growing weaker, almost letting through the
tingle and burn of newfound feelings.
Like the ones he felt for Evelyn. Had felt. Imagined?
Apparently, she had less regard for this place… and for him. Even
if that was strange. As Finn had pointed out during their initial meeting,
Alexion knew Evelyn had invested hundreds and hundreds of hours into her
trading business. His eyes skimmed down to the screaming chaos below.
What could she possibly stand to gain from this madness? How did this
benefit her trade company – harming and terrorizing the nobility?
Alexion winced. Or maybe he was asking the wrong question.
Maybe his father had been right. Maybe she had just been biding her time.
Looking for weakness – a moment to strike at their company in the real
world. If she had stolen the leaked video, it hadn’t been enough. Perhaps
she saw this as her chance to finally help take down Cerillion’s new
flagship product.
Her laughter still drifted through the air. Tinkling and cruel as
Evelyn watched her handiwork. It reminded Alexion of something else –
someone else. The distant echo of a memory. His hands gripped the
banister, curling around the gilded metal so hard that it began to dent.
Frustration and anger coiled in his chest, hot and fizzing – not the cold
numb he was accustomed to. These feelings burned. And with them came
a question:
What game was Evelyn playing?

* * *

The crowd rushed past Jason and Riley, screaming as they tried to
flee the two beasts laying waste to the banquet tables. He was surprised
that no guild guards or Nephilim had tried to intervene. When he glanced
toward the ceiling, he discovered the answer to one mystery. The angels
had joined the nobles dangling from vines, their bodies still and unmoving.
Jason could only hope they were drugged – not dead. Brian and Eliza must
be responsible for that.
Yet that still didn’t explain the lack of guards. Scanning the room,
he didn’t see a single one.
“Fucking Evelyn,” Jason grumbled under his breath.
“So, you noticed the missing guards too,” a voice spoke up to
Jason’s right.
He glanced to the side to see Finn standing there, spinning balls of
molten metal orbiting him like a miniature sun and dull embers simmering
behind the cloth covering his eyes.
“You two going to do something or just stare?” Finn demanded of
him and Riley.
Jason grunted. With a mental command, his Death Knights entered
the room from an adjoining hallway, crashing through the wooden portal.
The nobles who were trying to flee backpedaled and let out renewed
screams. However, Jason didn’t intend to harm them. His skeletons created
a funnel, raising their shields in a defensive line and gesturing for the
nobles to flee into the hall at their backs. The residents hesitated for only a
moment before retreating from the room, keeping their distance from the
skeletons.
Another quick gesture and one of Jason’s minions exploded apart,
the bones reforming in midair before latching onto his arms, his torso, his
legs, and feet. He suspected he was going to need something tougher than
his regular Bone Armor to break up the fight between Frank and Silver.
And then there was the fact that Alexion was strangely absent – which
wasn’t a good sign. He could be planning to attack during the chaos.
Finn must have read his mind. “That kid needs to learn a new
move. It’s just the same, predictable shit every time. Polite smiles and then
a knife in the back.”
“He only has the one move,” Riley retorted.
Jason cocked his head. He wasn’t sure he could blame all of this on
Alexion. “I saw the fight start between Frank and Silver – that was on
them. Don’t know what’s going happening on the other side of the hall
with Eliza. Any idea?”
“Not sure,” Finn grunted back.
“I can’t get a clear sight line,” Riley murmured. Then she looked to
the terraces overhead. “I’m going to find a better vantage point.” With
that, she slung the bow over her back and proceeded to scurry up the wall in
a matter of seconds, disappearing into the depths of the terrace.
Kyyle emerged from the crowd, shoving a group of nobles toward
Jason’s minions with a well-executed Gravity Well, the nobles sliding
across the tiled floor.
“About time,” Finn muttered. “You have eyes on Julia?”
“Not exactly,” the earth mage replied, looking worried. He paused
as he saw Silver and Frank duking it out, a thunderous crash echoing
through the room as Frank slammed Silver up against the wall – the stone
cracking under the force of the blow.
“Well, shit,” Finn muttered. “Cover me for a second.” Then he
turned to the crowd. No doubt he was peering through the intervening
layers of energy with his Mana Sight.
“Uh, hey,” Kyyle offered belatedly to Jason, noting his newly
formed skeletal armor. Jason nodded in greeting.
“Julia confronted Eliza,” Finn finally said. “They’re fighting on the
opposite end of the hall. She must have believed Evelyn’s bullshit.”
“What’re you talking about?” Jason asked in confusion.
“No time right now. We need to break this shit up. We don’t need
to give Alex and Evelyn any more excuse to rally the city’s residents against
us,” Finn said.
“Little late for that,” Jason muttered, watching the chaos.
The older man cocked his head. He agreed, but it could still get
worse.
 Jason sighed. “Okay. Let’s put an end to this then.” He eyed
Kyyle. “First, we need to take care of the crowd. You want to give me a
hand?”
The earth mage nodded and emerald energy twined around his staff.
At the same time, Jason began casting Curse of Silence. The spells struck
simultaneously; a sweeping Gravity Well struck the room and flattened the
remaining nobles against the floor, and Jason’s curse immediately cut off
their screams. Another Gravity Well from Kyyle sent the nobles all rolling
back toward them, Jason’s skeletons stomping into formation in front of the
stunned and disoriented residents.
Finn raised his crystalline left arm, sucking the heat from the room
and plunging the ballroom into a sudden chill. As soon as the crowd was
incapacitated, he pivoted and shot an overcharged Molten Beam. It struck
the ceiling above Brian and Eliza with tremendous force, burning away
Brian’s vegetation before carving through the stone completely and
spearing out the other side. Kyyle had the foresight to throw up another
Gravity Well, just barely catching the nobles that had been suspended from
the ceiling – their bodies now hovering inches above the floor. Thankfully,
they were still unconscious.
Finn hadn’t been shooting wildly. The beam had cut a massive
block of stone from the ceiling. It now plunged downward, heading straight
for Brian and Julia. Finn’s daughter noticed the block of stone and retreated
quickly with a gust of wind from her shield, executing a perfect backflip
and her feet sliding across the marble.
Brian’s glowing eyes also darted to the ceiling, but he was unable to
dodge the debris. Instead, he reinforced the thicket around Eliza, sending it
surging upward until it collided with the falling stone. The plants trembled
under the force of that weight, giving way under hundreds of pounds of
rock, but Brian just kept pouring more mana into them, reinforcing the
thicket into a solid wall until the rock slowed, then finally stopped.
The combination of the sudden quiet and the distraction of the
ceiling partially collapsing gave Jason and Finn their opening.
Jason darted forward, his staff splitting in half as he plunged
between Frank and Silver. He pivoted, allowing Frank’s claws to scrape
across his shoulder. The minions clamped to his body unfurled their claw-
like limbs, and leaped toward Frank, latching on to his arms and torso
before skittering across his body. Frank tried to swipe at them, but they
were fast, dodging his blows as he pivoted and spun. Finally, he managed
to snatch one of the spider-like creatures, only for it to clamp around his
hand and release a blast of dark mana that sent it rocketing toward the
floor. As the spider struck the stone, it drilled into the surface and anchored
itself into the rock with an ivory spine, locking Frank in place. Then
another spider followed. And another.
Frank shifted, and his body contorted frantically as he tried to
escape, but each time, the spiders just clamped down more firmly, adjusting
their grip. With the dark ore Jason had infused into his summons, even his
friend’s impressive strength wasn’t enough to break those bonds. After the
fight in Sandscrit, Jason had been fiddling with a few new ideas for how to
use his summoned armor. This was his “crowd control” prototype – meant
to absorb a hit and then incapacitate his opponent for a killing blow.
Soul Blades slithered out from Jason’s staves, the blades coming to
rest against Frank’s neck. Meanwhile, Jason watched Silver where she
paced around the pair – still not having relinquished her shift and her eyes
watching them.
“How about we calm the fuck down?” he asked.
Across the room, Finn had made short work of Brian’s thicket, using
the collapsed ceiling as a distraction to send his orbs spinning forward,
flattening into razor-blades as they raced across the room. They sliced
easily through the vegetation, giving off a whine and a shower of sawdust.
Moments later, a wall-like section of vegetation fell away, revealing that the
blades now hovered around Brian’s core body, flames licking at his body.
Julia tried to use that opening to launch forward again, but Finn was
ready for that. He’d formed two long chains, the metal embedded in the
floor. The metal cuffs snapped around Julia’s ankles. She tried to absorb
the flames, but Finn was too fast. The fire winked out in an instant, leaving
only plain metal behind. Julia wrenched at the chains but found herself
firmly fixed to the floor – her only recourse to glare at Brian.
And just like that… sudden stillness descended upon the room.
“What the hell do you all think you’re doing?” Jason bit out, his
voice carrying across the ruined hall, the nobles having either fled or lying
unconscious on the floor.
Sanity was slowly returning to Frank’s and Silver’s eyes, the pair
gradually shifting back into their human forms. As they saw the devastation
and blood staining the stone, they at least had the presence of mind to look
ashamed. And for Brian’s part, he slowly shifted the block of stone to the
side, lowering it to the floor with a thud that shook the ground. Then his
vegetation began to shrivel and disappear. However, the plant-like man still
held his arms protectively around Eliza.
For her part, the water mage surveyed the ravaged ballroom in
shock. It looked like Brian must have reacted on his own, autonomous
from any commands she might have given.
“I’m not leaving here until she tells me what she knows,” Julia
grunted to the clang of metal scraping stone.
“Enough!” Finn barked, suddenly standing beside her. “This is not
the way. If you need to talk to Eliza, then do it once you’ve cooled the hell
down. I understand why you’re upset and frustrated. But causing a scene
like this does not help us. It doesn’t protect your mother.”
Julia glared at her father but bit her tongue.
“Hey, I’m—” Frank began.
Jason pivoted to him, glaring at the shifter where he was still bound
to the floor, his skin having regained a normal hue. “No. The same goes
for you two. You and Silver need to go deal with your shit. If that means
beating the hell out of each other, fine. But do it somewhere you can’t harm
anyone.”
The pair nodded reluctantly, and Jason lowered his blades, the mana
dissipating as he snapped the two halves of his staff back together. At the
same time, his summons released their prey, and the shifters took that
opportunity to retreat – quickly.
As they fled, Jason’s attention turned to Eliza. While he understood
the conflict between Frank and Silver, he was less sure what had happened
with the water mage. Julia had mentioned something about her mother?
But why would Eliza have anything to do with Rachael?
“Well, that was a clusterfuck,” Riley muttered as she appeared at
Jason’s shoulder, Ella and Jerry hanging along the back wall behind Jason’s
line of Death Knights.
“Where were you? You missed the fun.”
“We were keeping an eye on them,” she offered in response,
gesturing with her chin, her bow in hand and an arrow still nocked and
ready. Jason followed her gaze to find Evelyn and Alexion stepping away
from the terrace that ringed the room’s ceiling. The guild leader even had
the audacity to wave as she left.
 “Assholes,” Jason muttered. Riley grunted in agreement.
Which left them alone amid the devastated ballroom, food plastered
against the walls and floor, puddles of booze and blood. Blocks of
shattered stone rested along one side of the hall, crushing thick vegetation
beneath them. And a hole now lingered in the ceiling, letting in the light of
Alexion’s shield. No doubt the nobles were shell-shocked – those that had
survived anyway.
Jason heard a soft tap at his heels and glanced down to find Alfred
sitting there.
“Is this what you meant by us working together?” Jason quipped.
The cat just stared up at the pair silently.
Riley sighed. “Well, at least it can’t get any worse.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 15 - Heist
Steven had entered AO with one objective: to join Finn’s army in
Sandscrit.
Like most people – or practically anyone with a pulse and an
internet connection – he’d seen the videos of Jason’s siege on Sandscrit.
However, unlike most people, he wasn’t interested in overwhelming armies
of undead or OP edgelords. Anyone could summon a few undead and then
fuck off and let them do all the heavy lifting.
No, Steven had pored over those videos looking for footage of
Finn. The strategic planning that had gone into designing his defenses.
The way he’d masterfully directed his forces to blunt the assault on the
city. Even the hard decisions he’d been forced to make, sacrificing the
travelers to stop that undead horde.
Many travelers still grumbled at the way Finn had turned his laser
tower on the interior layer of the city, flaying many men and women alive
and sending even more toppling over the edge of the makeshift ledge of
glass building into molten pools. But not Steven.
Finn was a true ruler. A strategist. An engineer.
He’d jumped at a chance to follow in his footsteps, making the
arduous journey to Sandscrit and vying for admission to the Mage Guild in
Sandscrit. No longer were travelers simply inducted when they first logged
into the game. Now they fought for the honor of attending Finn’s school –
of receiving the sort of training that had birthed an avatar. And Steven had
accomplished his goal by crawling over the bodies of his compatriots.
Which was how he found himself in the Mage Guild as dusk
descended on the desert city and the sun slowly sunk behind the sandstone
walls surrounding the courtyard. Steven had been training hard, spell books
tucked under his arm and his thoughts on tomorrow’s classes. He’d
progressed quite far already – quickly trying to pick up new fire spells.
Perhaps someday, he could even graduate from the school and get accepted
into Finn’s elite mage corp.
They said his daughter’s boyfriend Kyyle led them.
Steven was so caught up in his own ambitions that he hadn’t noticed
when the ground began to tremble slightly… at least, not at first. Not until
the stone beneath his feet began to shake and rock, sending him lurching
into the nearby wall.
Steven hit the stone with a grunt, quickly pushing himself back to
the railing that ringed the courtyard as shouts of alarm began to echo off the
sandstone. The barriers surrounding the Mage Guild courtyard were still in
place, with multiple flickering layers of mana sustained by wards etched
into thick metal poles ringing the sandy enclosure. More mages were
stationed around the square, pacing the multi-story terraces alongside
Steven. Now, all their attention was on the center of the courtyard where
that gate piece rested.
A fountain of water had suddenly erupted from the sands, spraying
up into the air – stretching more than two dozen feet. That alone would
have been impressive, especially within the depths of the desert. But
swimming among those waters were huge fish – like oversized piranha – all
gnashing teeth and flickering scales.
The water wasn’t behaving normally. It hadn’t crested and fallen
under the effects of gravity. Instead, it branched outward into tributaries
like an enormous liquid tree, taking the fish along with it. Steven could
only look on in shock as he saw the Khamsin hidden within the awnings of
the guild hall leap through the protective shields, racing toward the gate
piece as their bodies absorbed the mana and broke apart into streamers of
elemental energy.
The waters seemed to anticipate their movements, whipping at
Khamsin as they neared, the rugged men and women swiftly absorbing the
water mana and their limbs turning to liquid. But the fish were waiting,
leaping out of the water, and snapping mouthfuls of bloody flesh from the
bodies of the Khamsin as they rematerialized. Although, that alone wasn’t
nearly enough to down the hardy desert folk.
One man’s body shifted through the stream, twisting in place to
avoid a snapping fish. His knife cut at the creature’s skin, but the piranha
plunged back into the waters to escape. The Khamsin hit the ground, and
his body reformed—
Only for him to suddenly disappear with a cutoff scream.
Steven blinked. Blinked again. It almost looked like the man had
been pulled underground. He had the presence of mind to tap at his UI to
bring up his in-game camera – a floating blue ball appearing at his
shoulder. He needed to record this. Finn could use the footage.
 More cries filled the air as the Khamsin were taken out one by one.
Steven squinted against the spraying water and waning sunlight. He could
just barely make out something moving underground – a rippling line of
sand forming a wake behind it and what looked like a fin protruding from
the ground. The beast suddenly erupted from the sands and grasped hold of
another Khamsin woman, lifting her from the ground.
Steven felt his breath catch as he witnessed the beast. It was half
man, half shark – its upper torso replaced with rippling muscle and sharp
rows of teeth. As he looked on in horror, the beast literally bit the woman
in half – her Mana Absorption offering no protection against that sort of
physical attack. As the other Khamsin tried to come to her aid, the shark-
creature dove back into the muddy sands, using the waterspout as cover.
“Something is inside the barriers!” one of the mages shouted.
“Bring down the shields. We need to reinforce the Khamsin!”
another cried.
“It’s going for the gate piece!”
Steven was shaking his head. That seemed like a bad ide—
The barrier flickered and then faded as the mages rushed to the aid
of the Khamsin.
Only for that spout to suddenly fountain further into the sky, those
liquid tributaries now snaking outward with incredible speed. Within an
instant, they were twisting into the depths of the terraces. The mages tried
to shield themselves, throwing up walls of fire that pushed back the water
behind blazes of flame. However, the liquid seemed to have a life of its
own. It twisted around the mages’ defenses, carrying those sharp-toothed
fish with it. Shouts of pain filled the air, and the waters were soon stained
crimson, the blood twisting away into the floating streams.
Steven acted quickly, burning away at the sandstone wall behind
him, stepping through and then pulling up molten glass into a barrier just in
time to block another spray of water, the jaws of a fish gnashing and
scraping at the glass. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest as the
waters soon receded, chasing other mages around the terraces, and giving
Steven and his camera an unimpeded view of the courtyard once more.
The Khamsin were down. The mages were dying or distracted.
And in that opening, that shark-like monster finally emerged from
the sands. This time, it didn’t leap from the muddy mixture. It seemed to
slide out of the sand with careless ease. It was massive. At least eight feet
tall, all rippling muscle and death. And those cold, dead eyes were fixed
solely on one thing. The gate piece.
The creature stepped forward, grasping the metal in its giant arms,
and heaving it into the air – a chunk of metal the size of a small car lifted
without a care. The tree of water suddenly inverted, the tributaries racing
back to the trunk and beginning to spin faster and faster, vapor flying away
from the liquid vortex forming in the middle of the courtyard. The water
quickly ate into the sand like a drill, blasting it away into a swirling
whirlpool.
The shark-creature gave one last look at the courtyard – at the dead
and dying – before it simply stepped down into that vortex, vanishing from
sight.
Leaving Steven standing there behind his makeshift wall of glass –
looking at the pure devastation before him, his thoughts racing.
“What the fuck was that?” he muttered.

* * *

The sun had crested the horizon by the time the group emerged from
the sands.
A massive squawk filled the air, clawed feet digging into the sand.
Wingman barreled forward and crashed into the shark creature as it erupted
from the sand. It was immediately forced to drop the hulking gate piece as
it embraced the chicken, its bulging arms wrapping around it. Yet the shark
didn’t try to attack, nor did the bird. Although, the creature’s form did
shimmer and shake, strange ripples forming across his skin.
“Ahh, isn’t that… touching,” Smokes gasped beside them, having
sunk to the ground, his chest heaving as he sucked in air.
“Surprised she knew it was you with the illusion,” Tombs added as
he shook sand from his clothing, breathing hard but still able to talk.
Dom grunted as he shoved Wingman back. Then he took off his
ring, his shark-like features sloughing off in a wave of water that sloshed
against the sand and revealed his typical attire – immaculate suit and
smiling mask that marked him as the leader of <Death and Taxes>. “She
can smell me, can’t you, girl?” he asked.
The chicken squawked again and rubbed her head against his hip.
 “Queen’s rings worked well… even if they seem like they’re almost
out of juice,” Dom offered to the others. He eyed the piece of metal before
sticking it in his pocket. The money they’d spent on making these damn
things and training Queen had definitely paid off. Even if it had cost a
small fortune.
“You going to be okay there, Smokes?” Tombs asked. The other
man was still collapsed on the sand, his arms spread-eagled.
“Fuck. You. I had to channel all that damned smoke while hiding
myself and holding my breath for like an hour,” Smokes grunted.
“Or 10 minutes. Tops,” Tombs answered dryly.
“Says the guy that just spent the whole fight getting a piggyback
ride from Dom.”
Tombs sighed. “That was a little emasculating. But I have to be
able to touch him to Phase. I’m impressed that Queen’s illusion could
cover me too. She’s getting better.”
“Your smoke also looked a lot like water,” Dom said to Smokes,
appreciating how well the illusion had worked.
He just received a weary grunt in response.
The group was interrupted as the ground trembled beneath their
feet. All eyes turned to the horizon, where a wave of sand was kicked up in
the air, blocking the last stray rays of waning light. It looked like the
sandworms were moving their way – probably sensing the vibrations they
had caused as they traveled underground with Tombs’ Phase.
“Shit. Looks like we need to get moving again,” Smokes muttered,
shoving himself upright, shaking another cigarette out of his pack, and
lighting it with a small orange crystal.
“Indeed,” Dom replied. He glanced at Wingman and gave a sharp
whistle.
The chicken immediately transformed, blossoming in size in mere
moments until she was nearly twenty feet wide. Tendrils of smoke curled
away from Smokes’ cigarette, forming giant hands that lifted the gate piece
and placed it on the chicken’s back before morphing again into thick bands
that secured it to Wingman. Smokes took another long drag and blew out a
plume that settled around him, lifting him gently into the air and floating
him over to the gate piece where he lounged atop the metal.
“Good. I’m ready for a nap anyway,” he grunted, squeezing his
eyes shut with the cigarette still dangling from his lips and leaking smoke.
 “How do you think the others are doing?” Tombs offered nervously
to Dom.
He just cocked his head. “No word from Bard yet. So, we can
assume it hasn’t gone sideways – at least, for now.”
Dom glanced at Tombs. “You going to be okay to distract the
worms?”
“Sure… I can’t wait to get torn apart by a swarm of over-sized
earthworms.”
“Just think of it as more training,” Dom answered with a grim
chuckle.
“Time to finally nut up and take one for the team,” Smokes added,
his eyes squeezed shut.
“Says the asshole taking a nap.”
Smokes just blew out another puff which swiftly formed into a hazy
hand. Even in the twilight, it was clear that the fingers had been “artfully”
arranged.
Tombs sighed again. “Haha. Fine. I guess I’ll see you all back in
the casino…”
He trailed off as he Phased into the ground, no doubt heading
toward the northwest – luring the worms away from their path. If the
Khamsin were following them, that should also help mask their trail. Dom
suspected the desert folk would follow the worms – assuming they’d picked
up on the movements of whoever had broken into the Mage Guild.
Wingman gave Dom a questioning cluck.
“Yeah, yeah… let’s go. Remember to stay off the sands as best you
can,” Dom answered.
She took that as the signal, taking off toward the south in a series of
great, hopping jumps, using her wings to coast through the air before
landing and leaping again. Yet as fast as the bird was moving, Dom easily
kept pace. He leaped, sailing through the air, before landing with a thump,
barely losing any momentum before taking off again. That staggered pace
should make it hard for anyone to follow them – worms or man alike.
Yet Tombs’ words stuck with Dom. He wondered how the others
were doing.
Bard had a tendency to get… overexcited. And Queen and
Pewpew’s history with the avatars made them unpredictable. It was hard to
believe he was counting on Blaze to maintain a cool head.
 Dom heaved out a sigh. But it was too late now. Things were
already in motion. And soon, the video of their latest heist would go viral –
he’d ensured that mage had lived to tell the tale, tucked away behind his
flimsy wall of glass.
All he could do now was have faith in his team.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 16 - Clandestine
Jason slumped down at the kitchen counter in his apartment, staring
into the depths of the bowl of cereal resting atop the marble. It had been a
long night in-game. First, they’d been forced to patch the hole in the
ballroom ceiling – it was a security risk, after all. Although, that had done
little to address the rest of the damage. The only good news was that at
least none of the city’s elite had perished in the attack.
Apparently, most of the nobles had been wearing protective trinkets
and equipment. Amulets that could create an elemental shield. Rings with
an auto-healing function. It was almost like they didn’t trust the avatars.
Go figure. Between that and the quick intervention by Jason and Finn, the
nobles had survived the encounter relatively unscathed. At least, if you
didn’t count psychological trauma.
Not that this did much to quell the anger in the eyes of the nobility.
Jason was sure the fallout from that debacle was going to be rough.
He stirred absently at his cereal. And then there was the were-
elephant in the room… and the tepid water witch? Mixed metaphors aside,
their fledgling alliance was on the rocks. Frank and Silver were on the
outs. Eliza was hiding something – something that apparently was
important to Julia and Finn. Anything that had to do with Rachael would be
a sensitive topic. And to top it all off, Jason was reasonably certain Evelyn
had lit the damn fuse.
The avatar of light and his girlfriend weren’t the glorified heroes
they painted themselves to be in public. Apparently, they were rooting for
the world to end. Which left Jason to hold together what remained of their
alliance while also being vilified by residents and travelers alike.
So, just another fucking day in AO.
“Who shit in your cheerios?” Angie offered as she padded into the
kitchen wearing fluffy pajamas and bunny slippers.
“Take your pick. It was really a group effort,” Jason muttered in
reply.
“Well, if you aren’t going to eat that…”
Jason just pushed the bowl toward her in response.
“You look… comfortable,” he observed, finally inspecting his aunt.
 She shrugged and grinned. “Now that we’re under lock and key, I
can’t exactly make the commute to work – which gives me a fantastic
excuse to be lazy.”
“Did you need one?” Jason quipped.
“Watch it,” she shot back, stabbing the spoon at him. “I’ve been
watching soap operas in bed all day. I know how to kill you with the
maximum possible amount of drama. By the way, did you know the whole
wall in my bedroom turns into a screen? I could get used to this.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” Jason offered sourly. “George threatened
to either mind rape me or evict us yesterday… or both, technically, I
guess?”
“Well, if you end up with a choice, pick the mind rape,” Angie
replied with a grin. “I’m a kept woman now. I’ve become accustomed to a
certain standard of living.”
Despite himself, Jason chuckled at that.
His aunt’s expression sobered. “But seriously, have you considered
just leaving this place? You must have made some cash at this point. We
could find another place. Or heaven forbid you call your pare—”
“Not going to happen,” Jason said, shutting that topic down.
“Okay. Fair. But I’m just saying,” she mumbled around a mouthful
of cereal, “we don’t have to keep doing this. You have other options now.”
Jason grimaced. He’d considered as much – even used that
counterargument to call George’s bluff, which already seemed like an
eternity ago. And yet… it was difficult for him to imagine leaving Cerillion
Entertainment. Something kept him coming back and logging in. Perhaps
it was the promise of money, or maybe it was something else.
Almost on cue, his Core chimed. Jason glanced at the watch and let
out a sigh.
“More fun?” Angie quipped.
“Another problem,” he shot back, shoving himself away from the
counter. “I need to step out for a bit. Try not to have too much fun without
me.”
“Can’t make any promises,” Angie said as she padded back to her
room and the front door swung shut behind Jason with a solid thump.

* * *
 Jason rapped at the door, eyeing the guards stationed on either side.
Their faces were obscured by dark visors that reflected the glare of the
screens lining the hallway. Robert had decided to be a dick. Again.
Anarchy symbols floated down those displays, popping like soap bubbles as
they reached the guards. Not that they showed any reaction.
The door swung open, and Robert’s scruffy face peeked out.
“Why, hello there. Good of you to drop by,” Robert offered to
Jason. “Have you met my two new butlers? They’re not great
conversationalists, but what they lack in personality, they make up for in
raw firepower. You know, in case the engineers really go wild down here.”
He eyed the screen across from his doorway. “Oh shit… I totally
forgot to switch this up for you guys. This one is probably getting old.”
Robert tapped at his Core.
Moments later, the display shifted, showing a child’s TV character.
At the same time, music echoed down the hall – an overly cheery, high-
pitch whine about the power of friendship. Jason swore he heard one of the
men sigh, but he might have imagined it. Neither moved an inch.
“Now, I know you’re excited, but make sure you stay professional.
Try not to sing along or anything. Your boss might be watching,” Robert
instructed the two guards. Then he waved for Jason to enter.
As the door clicked shut behind them, Jason shook his head. “That
was cruel. They might just shoot you out of spite.”
Robert laughed. “Possibly. But the show isn’t for them. George
has had those two stationed there to protect me for days now.” He snorted.
“Not that I’m buying that noise. They’re there to keep an eye on me. Make
sure I don’t do anything crazy. Our dear ol’ business daddy has also had
three other engineers update the encryption on those screens in the
hallway.”
Robert’s expression sobered. “That little scene is for him. To show
George he can’t lock me out of our systems no matter how hard he tries or
how many guards he posts at my door.”
“Is that wise? To antagonize him?”
“Because you got in line and puckered up to kiss his royal ass
during that meeting, right?” Robert shot over his shoulder as he stepped
deeper into his apartment.
Jason slowed as he saw the engineer’s living room. It was… clean.
Gone were the piles of garbage and pizza boxes. The spare electronics had
all been collected and stored in neatly labeled bins. And wonders of
wonders, Robert had re-assembled the appliances in his kitchen – his
dishwasher giving off a soft hum. Presumably, cleaning dishes.
“What the hell happened in here?” Jason murmured in shock.
“Oh, just decided to tidy up a bit,” Robert answered dismissively.
He settled back against the arm of his couch, the furniture no longer buried
under a mound of books and trash. Then he idly tapped at his Core, and a
blue field of energy skimmed out across the room.
Then the engineer simply watched Jason. Waiting.
“So, uh, you rang?” Jason offered.
“At your request,” Robert answered easily, crossing his arms.
So, he didn’t want to be the first to blink. Fine. Jason was out of
patience for posturing, especially after the evening he’d already had.
“You fed George a bunch of bullshit.” It wasn’t a question.
“As did you,” Robert retorted.
“You first. Why?” Jason demanded bluntly.
Robert winced. “Okay, fine. Because I have some egg on my face.
Best I can tell, our intruder used my security credentials to access the
Control Room.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “You know that but don’t know who
broke in?”
Robert huffed. “Says the kid that was standing outside the Control
Room when security showed up. I’m guessing you got a pretty good look
at our intruder yourself.”
The pair stared at each other for several long seconds.
“Fine.” Jason broke first. “It was Finn.”
Robert just nodded. “Sure as hell was. My guess is that he scanned
me and stole my credentials when I visited him at his house. Clever
bastard.” He shook his head. “Still don’t know quite how he wheeled his
old ass up to that floor and then got out without anyone noticing, though.
That was a neat trick.”
“He walked,” Jason grunted.
“Uh, come again? My hearing must be going. I swear you just said
he walked.”
“Because I did,” Jason insisted.
“Well, shit,” Robert muttered.
 “You seem surprised,” Jason observed. “But I’m not sure why. You
know as well as I do that these headsets are messing with our bodies while
we’re logged in. Alfred has admitted as much.” Jason lifted his arm, his
bicep flexing beneath the skin. “I sure as hell didn’t always look like this.
Especially after spending every waking moment lying on my bed.”
“Sure. But there’s a difference between stimulating hypertrophy and
repairing extensive nerve damage,” Robert retorted, his eyes going distant.
“Alfred has made a lot more progress than I realized,” he murmured.
The engineer’s gaze refocused on Jason. “So, I take it you ran into
him then? What did you all talk about? Your fondness for destroying
cities?”
“Something like that.” Jason watched Robert. “But it’s my turn.
What did Finn manage to steal?”
The engineer grunted. “That’s complicated, you know. The
system…”
“Bullshit,” Jason interjected. “You might not have known for sure
that it was Finn, but you clearly suspected. And if you met with him, then I
can also assume you know why Finn is so interested in AO – or, again, you
can make an educated guess. So, what did he take? Did he manage to
secure Rachael’s code?”
From Robert’s expression, Jason could tell he’d hit the nail on the
head.
“Not… exactly,” Robert muttered. He raised a hand to ward off
Jason’s objections. “I’m not being deliberately obtuse. The answer just
isn’t obvious. It looks like someone – or something,” he amended with a
meaningful look, “managed to hack our servers before Finn infiltrated the
building. My guess is that they left him a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?” Jason demanded.
Robert shrugged. “Dunno. It deleted itself as soon as Finn
downloaded the package. I was only able to see that he accessed Rachael’s
data and copied a portion of it along with whatever present our hacker left
for him. However, the size of the transfer was much larger than I would
have expected. Whatever it was, it was a decent-sized file. Maybe some
sort of virus?”
Jason frowned. That was unhelpful. Or was it?
Finn had been in a sour mood – distracted. If he’d managed to
obtain Rachael’s data, why did he seem so on edge? And why was he
gunning so hard to stop the destruction of the game world? The obvious
answer was that he hadn’t managed to secure what he wanted. Or… what
he’d stolen wasn’t enough for him to reproduce Rachael.
“But I can tell you that whoever did this knew Finn would be
accessing our systems when he did and knew what he was looking for,”
Robert continued, interrupting Jason’s thoughts. “Not only that, but the
hack was masterfully done. I wouldn’t have noticed if Finn hadn’t broken
in. And that’s no small feat with Cerillion’s systems – I designed them
myself. There are only maybe a handful of people that could pull that off,
Finn included. And I’m guessing the Najmat Alhidad wouldn’t screw
himself over like that.”
Robert was staring at Jason now, his meaning clear.
Jason sighed. Might as well just state the obvious. “You think it
was Alfred.”
“Possibly. Assuming he had a connection to the public network.”
There was that look again. Robert knew.
“Which he does,” Jason said curtly.
“I figured as much,” Robert replied with a sigh. “So, if I’ve got this
right… you ran into Finn outside the control room, knew he’d stolen
information, and then… what? You let him go?”
Jason cocked his head but didn’t deny it.
“And it sounds like he downloaded something he didn’t intend to,”
Jason added. “And we both know there’s only one person that could have
known what Finn planned to do.”
Alfred. The answer was obvious.
The AI must have accessed Finn’s thoughts days earlier, determined
what he planned to do, then hacked the Cerillion servers using his
connection through Jason’s headset. The only question then was why?
What had the AI been hoping to accomplish? What had he left for Finn?
And how did this all relate to his cryptic words to Jason? Something about
a common enemy…
Could it have had something to do with the end of the game world?
“What and why? I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Robert
echoed Jason’s thoughts. “What did Alfred leave for Finn and why?”
“I don’t know,” Jason answered slowly.
“But you have a suspicion,” Robert observed, slowing his spin, and
watching him. “You’re playing a deep game here, kid.”
 Jason raised an eyebrow. “That’s rich coming from you.”
It was Robert’s turn to look surprised. “Oh, really?”
“For example, just how old are you?” Jason demanded, his thoughts
on his conversation with Finn – the older man’s warning.
“You know, it’s very rude to ask a guy his age,” Robert dissembled
with a smile. As he saw Jason’s unamused expression, however, he
sobered. “Fine. I’m assuming you aren’t referring to my biological age. In
that case, I would be roughly 134 perceived-years old.”
Jason was shocked. He had been expecting a big number. But the
engineer had lived several times his biological age? That went a long way
toward explaining Robert’s lax behavior. Just as Jason had changed rapidly
within a few short months, how would he act after decades? Would he also
behave like didn’t give a shit about other people’s reactions?
And putting that aside, how had Robert even pulled this off? He
clearly hadn’t started using the VR technology from birth. He’d only had
access for a few years – at least, that was Jason’s understanding. So how
much would he have had to increase the time compression?
“Yes, as I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve amped the time compression
just a bit.” At Jason’s skeptical expression, he continued. “Okay, maybe a
lot.”
“I thought a multiple of four was supposed to be a limit.”
“A safety limit,” Robert amended. “Each person is different, and
some minds are capable of handling higher multiples of compression. For
example, take that Custom Skeleton spell that you use with some frequency
in-game. That’s just a more intensive time compression. Possibly x8 or
x10. Like Finn's Haste, other players experience it in shorter bursts –
increases in reaction time or awareness or physical speed.
“In fact, our research indicates that a person’s tolerance can
gradually increase. People have been talking about the mind like a muscle
for decades. Well, they aren’t entirely wrong. Just like muscle, neural
tissue is capable of adaptation and reconstruction. Over time, my personal
time compression ratio continued to increase until it hit a plateau.”
“Which means you’ve been working on this technology for—”
“Decades,” Robert interjected. “Did you really think we made this
much progress in just a handful of years? That’s ridiculous. The first step
was to take Finn’s AI controller and expand upon it – set it to work solving
for the largest resource problem we were facing as a species. Time. Once
we arrived at a solution for that, creating a virtual sandbox around that
technology was child’s play. And from there, we were able to move much
faster… relatively speaking, of course,” he added with a sly smile.
“With the goal of accomplishing what?” Jason demanded. “I still
don’t understand that part. Finn’s goal is clear. He wants to bring back
Rachael. George wants to make money, I guess? For Claire, this is a job,
and she clearly feels conflicted with what you’ve all built. But you, I don’t
understand. Why go to that extreme? Live for decades beyond your normal
lifespan?”
Robert just watched him, a sad smile on his face. “Let’s just say
that Finn and I aren’t that different. We just took separate paths. He
imploded after Rachael’s death. I… well, I took a different approach.”
“Wait… this was all to what? To bring her back?”
The engineer’s expression was unusually solemn – which was
disconcerting. It made sense in a way, at least from what Jason knew.
Robert had been Finn’s protégé. He must have worked closely with both
him and his wife. Perhaps they had even become like parents to him. Even
as that thought occurred to Jason, he couldn’t help but recall that Robert had
never mentioned any family of his own. Not even once.
But if that was true…
“Were you the one that incorporated Rachael’s memories and data
into AO?” Jason asked.
“I had no choice. Even with all that extra time, I’m still only
human. And consciousness is an elaborate affair. The processing power
needed to pull together all that disparate information and reconstruct a
cohesive mind is beyond even my capabilities.”
“But not Alfred,” Jason murmured.
Shit. His thoughts were spinning. Puzzle pieces just beginning to
connect—
Only to be interrupted as Jason’s Core chimed again. Robert’s
terminal also pinged, the pair looking at their devices simultaneously.
“Well, we may need to cut our chat short,” Robert murmured. “The
folks at Vermillion Live are going crazy. It seems something went down in
Sandscrit.”
Jason winced. He’d just received a message from Riley with an
embedded video. Even from just the first few seconds, it was clear they had
a problem. It looked like Eliza – or, at least, one of her people – had just
attacked Sandscrit and stolen his gate piece.
“I also needed to go,” Jason murmured distractedly. If he didn’t act
soon, there might not be much left of Evelyn’s guild hall once Finn was
finished.
“No doubt. I enjoyed our talk,” Robert said, that smirking grin
plastered back on his face. Jason was only now realizing that this was the
engineer’s façade – one that hid his true feelings and intentions. Even after
this conversation, he didn’t feel like he fully understood what Robert was
after. Rachael might be part of it – but Jason sensed there was something
more.
“We’re not finished,” Jason replied before stepping toward the
doorway.
“No doubt,” the engineer murmured as the door clicked closed.
Leaving Robert alone once more, his mask cracking and smile
fading. What he hadn’t told Jason was that those decades had been spent
alone, locked in a digital prison of his own devising. It was a sacrifice he
had borne willingly – the cost of progress.
Yet the stillness of solitude still stung more than he cared to admit.
“You’re getting soft, Old Man,” he murmured, spinning back to his
workstation. There was more work to do – and there never seemed to be
enough time.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 17 - Confrontation
“Finally! Where the fuck have you been?” Evelyn snapped as Jason
and his group entered the courtyard where the sensor was being built.
Guards lined the enclosure, and Nephilim floated around the array,
patrolling the skies just beneath the glowing golden dome of Alexion’s
mana.
Under normal circumstances, Jason might have assumed those
human guards and winged angels were there to protect the sensor, the ivory
structure now towering above the guild hall. Jason had repurposed the
bones from most of his remaining minions to construct the base of the
structure, leaving only a handful to protect himself. The tower now spiraled
up into the air, a latticework of gray-white bone that glimmered in the
energy reflected by Alexion’s shield. Finn’s lens was perched at the top, a
product of extensive testing and many failed trials. However, Jason knew
the guards weren’t there to protect the array.
They were there to guard Evelyn and Alexion.
“I was busy,” Jason ground out, his face obscured by his hood.
“Not like we need to explain ourselves to you anyway,” Riley
snapped.
“Indeed you do, especially after your psychotic companion and his
furry escort trashed my ballroom,” Evelyn huffed as she waved in the
direction of Frank and Silver, eliciting a low growl from the shifters.
“Oh, did I offend you? Maybe your master should have taught you
to heel.”
“That’s more than enough,” Jason said icily, waving at Frank and
Silver to stand down.
“Is it? Is it really? Have you already forgotten about the residents
that were injured? How you lot traumatized the city’s nobility? I’ve been
putting out fires for hours, and I’ve barely managed to stop a full-fledged
rebellion. Or did you not see the size of Preacher’s crowd now?”
Jason had. The travelers had been joined by more than a few
residents – possibly thinking that this Armageddon event might be limited
solely to the travelers – a rumor Preacher had joyously helped spread like
wildfire. Even from behind layers of shields and many walls, Jason could
still make out their shouts and the whine of a guitar. Yet he wasn’t focused
on that. Jason’s eyes kept straying to Alexion. He’d stayed quiet, letting
Evelyn do the talking. He stood beside her like a statue, looking troubled.
Nor did Evelyn really look that upset despite her words, almost like
she’d helped orchestrate that clusterfuck.
Not that Jason could prove that. And even if he could, those
accusations certainly wouldn’t help smooth things over. The bottom line
was that they needed their help – at least for now.
“What? Nothing? You’re all oddly quiet. Not even an explanation
for why you decided to screw me over?” Evelyn demanded, glaring at
Frank and Silver.
For his part, Jason’s friend did look mildly embarrassed – although
the emotion was quickly buried under a fresh coat of anger. “We had a…
disagreement.” He side-eyed Silver. “We’ve worked it out now.”
“What he means is that I kicked his ass – privately this time,” Silver
amended with a toothy grin. Her brilliant blue eyes centered on Evelyn.
“And if you don’t watch your tone with me and my mate, I will rip your
heart out and eat it while you watch.”
Evelyn opened her mouth… only for it to snap shut moments later.
Apparently, she was second-guessing the look on Silver’s face.
“Where’s Finn?” Riley offered, attempting to move the conversation
along.
She was interrupted as the man himself made an appearance,
stalking into the courtyard with his lieutenants in tow. His crown was
flaring, the flames licking at the air, and a sour expression was painted
across his face. Julia and Kyyle didn’t look much better. No doubt they’d
all seen the video of what had happened back in Sandscrit, including the
theft of Finn’s gate piece. It was all over the streaming channels right now
– the footage broadcast far and wide.
Putting aside the loss of a valuable item, it was a PR nightmare,
especially coming on the heels of Jason’s attack on Finn’s city. It made the
avatar of flame look weak. Vulnerable. Jason could appreciate that
problem better than anyone, especially as the muted shouts of the angry and
resentful mob outside beat against the barrier surrounding the guild hall.
“At least I don’t need to ask where you’ve been,” Evelyn sneered.
“Putting out fires on the home front, no doubt,” she remarked too sweetly.
“Perhaps once you have a free moment, we can discuss how you’re going to
reimburse me for carving a gods-damned hole in my ballroom ceiling.”
 “How about you go fu—” Julia began, only for Finn to cut her off.
“Have any of you seen Eliza?” he demanded. His voice was just a
touch too quiet. But the way flames ate away at the cloth around his eyes
belied his anger.
The group went quiet.
“Nothing?” Finn demanded.
“I’m, uh… here,” someone spoke up from the edge of the clearing.
Everyone pivoted to find Eliza standing there demurely, adjusting
her glasses and her gaze fixed firmly on the ground. Brian hovered beside
her as always – those glowing eyes watching the group warily. But, unlike
Eliza, he didn’t look even a bit contrite, and his plants were already
spreading out around him, creating a safe zone in the event they chose to
attack.
“You have a lot to answer for,” Julia growled, stepping toward Eliza,
only for a bramble to erupt from the ground, blocking her approach.
At the same time, the guild guardsmen drew their weapons, glowing
lights sprang up along the Nephilim’s palms, several of the thick metal
bands coating Finn’s arms melted down into flaming spheres that orbited
him slowly, and Frank and Silver began to shift. If there was going to be a
fight here, it was going to be a messy one – each of the avatars and their
companions on edge. Jason’s attention flicked to the sensor. This time the
collateral damage might be greater than a broken roof and a few bruises.
Evelyn just rolled her eyes. “Fantastic. A repeat of last time.
What? Are you all planning to destroy the sensor now too?” She waved at
the column of bone nearby.
Finn ground his teeth but grudgingly waved Julia back. Although,
no one had truly lowered their weapons or canceled the channel on their
spells. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut.
The avatar of flame stepped toward Eliza slowly, the bramble
coiling more tightly around her as Brian prepared for an attack. Yet Finn
made no move to harm her.
“Did you steal my gate piece?” he ground out, the question simple.
“I-I didn’t… I wouldn’t…”
“You’re lying,” Julia grunted. “Just like you were withholding
information about my mother.” The rest of the group was watching keenly
now.
 “Enough,” Finn snapped at his daughter. The metal in his eyes was
fully aflame now and the cloth wrap finally fell away, revealing the molten
metal embedded in his face.
Those burning orbs turned back to Eliza. “You need to explain
yourself. Now.”
The avatar of water swallowed hard, her eyes panning across the
rest of the group, likely looking for some sort of help or assistance. Yet she
only found cold, appraising expressions.
“I, um, I’ve been here the whole time,” she began weakly. “I just
logged off to eat—”
“You could easily have sent some of your merfolk,” Finn interrupted
her. “Don’t treat me like an idiot, girl. There’s footage of one of your
people killing more than a dozen Khamsin and as many mages before
taking off with the gate piece. There’s no refuting that.”
“I wouldn’t… I mean, why would I do that?” Eliza retorted. She
eyed Jason with a pleading expression. “Tell him! Tell him I didn’t do
this. If I betrayed Finn, that would be the same as betraying you.”
Jason hesitated. Just a week ago, he might have come to Eliza’s
aid. But now? Well, she’d been distant. Acting strangely. She’d left the
Twilight Throne immediately after the battle in Sandscrit and hadn’t spoken
much to him since. At least, not until they’d all met here. Even then, he
had the impression that she’d been avoiding him – hiding something.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not so sure that’s the case. What’s
Julia talking about? What do you know about Rachael?”
“Jason, are you sure—” Riley began, her bow drawn and an arrow
nocked.
“I’m not sure of anything,” he cut her off. “What do you know? If
we’re supposed to trust you, you need to come clean,” Jason insisted, his
gaze never wavering from Eliza’s face.
Eliza’s eyes widened. She glanced around again, but no one was
coming to her aid. Her gaze focused on Evelyn and Alexion, who watched
silently. “But what about them?”
“Tell me now,” Finn insisted.
Eliza’s gaze dropped to the ground. “I, um, I don’t know much
about Rachael. Anything, really. I only overheard my parents a few days
ago. They, uh, they mentioned that they knew you and Rachael. That she
visited my mom just before she died. She was upset – worried. Rachael
left some files with my parents that they’ve kept hidden from Cerillion.”
It was Finn’s turn to look surprised.
“Wait… what’s your last name?” he demanded.
“Zhao.”
A pause and then, “Are your parents Mei and Feng Zhao?”
Eliza looked startled but then nodded.
Julia was watching her father with a questioning expression now.
“Do you know them?”
Finn grimaced. “Mei worked at the hospital with your mother.
They were friends. What was this about records?” he insisted, turning back
to Eliza. His tone had shifted – no longer angry but demanding. Worried.
Desperate.
Jason’s brow furrowed. After what Robert had told him – he could
only assume that Finn’s attempt to retrieve Rachael’s data had failed –
putting aside whatever virus might have tagged along with the data. That
would go a long way toward explaining his tone. His wife was still being
held captive within AO. And that was putting aside the implication of
Eliza’s revelation. Had Rachael known what was going to happen to her?
Why had she been worried?
Eliza side-eyed the rest of the group again. “I’m not really sure this
is the right place for this. Maybe we could talk privately?”
“Why? So, you can fuck us over again without any witnesses?”
Julia demanded, stalking forward, her lance and shield drawn.
“Julia,” Finn warned.
“What? This all sounds like bullshit to throw us off the scent. She
could have just looked up the story online and is using this as an excuse to
cover for stealing a gate piece.”
“She has a point,” Evelyn quipped. “I did my research on Eliza too.
She’s just a regular high school student. What does she need this game for
anyway? For all we know, Eliza could be the one behind this so-called
Armageddon. She could be working with Preacher. Could have helped
instigate that mess between Frank and Silver. All as a way to steal the gate
piece for herself.”
“But why would I do that?” Eliza began frantically. “I mean, if the
game ends, what good is a gate piece? Besides, that’s not me. I didn’t want
any of this!” She glanced at Jason again, moisture shining in her eyes.
“Please tell them! I just wanted to tend my garden.”
“Looking to him for help? That’s rich,” Julia snapped. “He doesn’t
care about you. He’s just out to help himself and increase the reach of his
stream. Besides, do you think his words will sway any of us? He’s screwed
over almost everyone here.”
Evelyn tapped at her lips. “That’s a fair point. He’s even harmed
you, dear,” she said to Eliza. “Used you to help create and sell those
potions – which only served to bolster his city.” She looked to Jason, and
her eyes lit up. “Now that I think of it, perhaps Eliza isn’t our culprit. For
all we know, our Dark Lord himself could have been behind the attack in
Sandscrit. That really sounds more like his MO anyway.”
“And how exactly could he have done that?” Riley demanded, her
eyes flashing.
Evelyn shrugged. “He can summon undead. All he would need to
do is kill a couple merfolk and raise their corpses, no? Or hell, he could
probably build a skeleton and then cover it in fake skin or an illusion.
Doesn’t seem that difficult. And that gives him an easy scapegoat in this
poor girl here.”
Eliza’s mouth opened, then closed as she stared at Jason. He could
see her thoughts racing. Her plea for help morphing slowly into suspicion.
The others were staring now, too. Finn’s penetrating gaze laser-focused on
him – no doubt reading his mana signature for any hint of complicity.
Jason just scoffed. “Really? Now I’m the suspect? Because Evelyn
here suggested it? Doesn’t that seem telling? As far as I can see, she’s in
the best position to benefit from us turning on each other. And Alexion’s
light magic could create illusions that mimic the merfolk.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with that mess,” Alexion growled,
finally entering the conversation.
“Really? Says the guy that’s tried to pin mass murder on me how
many times now? All while roleplaying as some sort of white knight hero
for the cameras?” Jason shot back. “Or how about that time that you got
me expelled? Sorry if I don’t fucking believe you.”
Jason glanced at Evelyn before his gaze returned to Alexion.
“Besides, you two have already tried to steal the gate piece from Finn. And
it’s clear that Evelyn wears the pants in your relationship – she’s been the
one making every decision for you since we arrived. Maybe you wanted to
prove to her that you could do something on your own, huh? Actually win
for once? Wouldn’t that be a crazy outcome…”
Alexion’s eyes flashed, light spilling from his skin and panels of
glowing, golden energy materializing along his body. He drew his sword to
the scrape of metal. “Why don’t you come over here and say that again.
I’d love to have a real rematch. One where Riley and Finn aren’t there to
save you.”
Jason paced forward, snapping his staff in two, and twin Soul Blades
slowly arced through the air. At the same time, his Bone Armor slid into
place, coating his body. Riley and the shifters pointed their weapons at
Evelyn’s guards and the Nephilim as they pivoted – now turning their
weapons on Jason and his group.
“Then let’s go, dickhead,” Jason growled.
Alexion was more than happy to oblige. Beams of light speared
forward, slicing through the air – only to crash harmlessly against Frank’s
plated form as he shifted. Riley fired, and a dark void ripped open in the air
near the sensor array, the vacuum sucking in the Nephilim and throwing off
their aim. Then, Silver entered the fray, icy spears forming in the air around
her and rocketing toward Evelyn’s guards, forcing them backward.
As his companions covered him, Jason surged forward in a blur of
movement. Alexion braced himself, Evelyn cowering behind him as he
formed a tower shield comprised entirely of light. Jason never slowed, dark
mana peeling away from his skin and flickering down the length of his half-
staves. He pulled back to swing his Soul Blades…
But the blow never landed.
Just before he reached Alexion, Jason’s body broke apart into
streamers of dark energy that spiraled around Alexion, streaming past him.
The avatar of light turned in slow motion, his glowing eyes wide and filled
with surprise. Flaming orbs darted forward, melting down and snapping
around Evelyn’s arms and legs, before spearing into the ground, pulling her
to her knees before the metal hardened and anchored her in place. At the
same time, brambles emerged from the ground all around the courtyard,
blocking off any last hope of retreat.
Jason’s Soul Blades came to rest just before Evelyn’s neck, hovering
there, drawing only a thin line of crimson blood on her pale skin.
“What… what’s the meaning of this? Guards!” Evelyn cried,
grimacing as the skin of her wrists and ankles welted under the heat of
Finn’s spells.
Jason just snorted in amusement.
Evelyn looked up to find her men were on the ground, crushed
under a well-timed Gravity Well – courtesy of Kyyle – and the others had
been sent flying back into the terrace with a blast of air from Julia’s shield.
The rest of the avatars simply watched her impassively.
The guild leader’s eyes went wide. Her gaze shifted to Alexion.
“Alex… help me.”
“I don’t think so,” the avatar of light said, his mana disappearing as
he sheathed his blade and crossed his arms. His Nephilim floated nearby,
not one of the angelic soldiers making a move.
“Why?” Evelyn demanded. “After everything…”
“Enough,” Alexion sneered. “Don’t sit here and pretend that you
know me. That you care about me. I don’t have to endure that bullshit any
longer.”
He stepped forward, his eyes flashing a brilliant gold.
“Where the fuck is the real Evelyn?”
“I don’t… I don’t know what—” The guild leader looked confused –
shaking her head and glancing at the others. But all she saw staring back
was cold hostility.
“It’s time to give up the ruse,” Finn remarked, stepping forward and
the metal cooling with a twitch of his fingers. “The illusion is cleverly
crafted. Layering the mana. Infusing it with other affinities. Even
adjusting it in real-time to simulate emotion. At first, I didn’t notice it was
fake. I’ll admit… you fooled me – even if I have been distracted. Still, I’m
impressed.”
Finn tapped at his temple. “But it doesn’t hold up to my Mana
Sight. Not when I’m focusing on you, at least. There are still subtle
patterns – a repetition in the mana fluctuations that shouldn’t be there.
Daniel was kind enough to point them out for me,” he offered, waving at
the ball of flame floating beside him, which winked and dipped at his
approval.
“Enough. Answer me. Where is the real Evelyn?” Alexion growled
again.
Evelyn’s eyes darted the group, noticing the way they all stared at
her, waiting. Riley’s bow was nocked. Jason’s Soul Blades rested at her
throat. Finn’s metal bound her to the ground. The courtyard was lined with
guards. Eliza and Brian didn’t linger far away, the bramble covering the
walls in thick vines – preventing her escape even if she somehow managed
to free herself from her bonds. And from the shadows of the terrace, Frank
and Silver prowled, their eyes glowing in the darkness. She was outgunned
and outnumbered, the full force of four avatars united and now arrayed
against her.
The guild leader’s expression finally cracked, confusion
transforming into a sneering smile. “Huh, I’ll give it to you. I didn’t expect
you idiots to find me out – much less to work together. Well played.”
As she spoke, Evelyn’s features dissolved away. Her tunic rippled
and disappeared, fur-fringed leather soon replacing it, the armor glimmering
with mana that spoke to its quality. A wand suddenly appeared at Evelyn’s
waist and glowed with a brilliant sapphire light. But everyone’s gaze was
focused on her face. Pale skin was replaced with a smooth, ivory finish and
a perpetual, frozen smile – a mask that Jason immediately recognized, even
if her abilities hadn’t already given away her identity.
They’d just captured Queen, a member of <Death and Taxes>.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 18 - Mindful
A few hours earlier.

Jason stepped out of a multi-colored rift with a sigh. He had yet

another fire to put out, even as his conversation with Robert lingered with
him. Unresolved. Foreboding. The engineer clearly had an agenda here –
to help resurrect Rachael… at least, if he was to be believed.
For some reason, Jason suspected there was more to it than that.
He tapped at the air to bring up his UI. His friends list soon scrolled
before him. It looked like Finn had been offline for a few minutes – a short
break, knowing him. They still had some work to do to finish the sensor
array, and the clock was ticking on the end of the world. Meanwhile, Eliza
was online. A tap at his map revealed she was inside the guild hall, her icon
highlighted in glowing green. Thankfully, he’d thought to have the avatars
form a group ahead of time – selling them on the idea of knowing each of
their locations.
Paranoia paid off sometimes.
Jason rubbed at his eyes. Hopefully, he had enough time to confront
Eliza and do some damage control before the shit hit the flaming fan. His
feet were already moving, pacing a path toward Eliza as he mentally
calculated how many “resources” he still had at his disposal after helping
Finn create the sensor tower.
The answer was far too few.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t come down to a fight.
“I take it you saw the video?” Riley spoke up as she approached
from an adjoining hallway, her boots treading silently across the marble
floor – an impossible feat back in the real world.
“Yeah… yeah. This is going to suck,” Jason murmured.
Riley grunted her agreement. “So, we’re going to talk to Eliza first
—”
“Oh, look at you two off on another adventure… *hic* without me!”
Frank drawled as they stepped out into the guild’s open courtyard. The
shifter sat atop a throne of kegs, more strewn across the ground. Jason saw
Jerry perched on the terrace above them, the innkeeper tipping his hat
politely at Jason. No doubt Ella was keeping an eye on Silver. They’d been
doing as Jason had asked – just in case the shifters decided to, well, do
something exactly like this.
Jason couldn’t afford for Frank to make another scene or to damage
the column of bone that now towered above the courtyard, ending just shy
of Alexion’s glowing, golden dome of light.
“Yeah, yeah, I know about my babysitter too!” Frank shouted up at
the balcony.
“Personally, I prefer asshole wrangler,” Jerry quipped with a shrug.
“Frank, we really don’t have time for this. Maybe you should log
out for a bit, sober up, and then actually talk to Silver?” Jason suggested.
His friend just snorted. “Passing me off again, huh? You think I’m
too lovesick that I don’t notice how you two are sneaking around? Even
more secrets!” he declared as he lifted a keg to his lips. Finding it empty,
Frank frowned and chucked it at a nearby wall, where it exploded in a
shower of wooden fragments.
“That’s not it at all—” Jason replied in irritation.
He was cut short as the shifter suddenly raced toward Jason in a blur
of movement. Jason suddenly felt himself lifted from the ground by an
overly hairy arm – blood-red eyes hovering inches from his own. The
primal spirit must be preying on his friend’s fear and uncertainty, urging
him to bloodshed.
“I’m not stupid. I see what’s going on. The way you keep putting
off the trials,” Frank growled.
Jason winced. He noticed Riley moving in the corner of his eye,
slowly drawing a blade. Jerry had also moved to flank the shifter, a bead of
crimson now dotting his thumb as he empowered himself with blood
magic. They both knew Jason couldn’t afford to die here. He didn’t have
time to make the trip back to Barrow – not with Finn about to go on the
warpath once he saw that video.
“You don’t trust me,” Frank bit out. “Prolly cuz of my relationship
—”
“You have it wrong,” Jason retorted sharply, waving the others off.
He heaved out a sigh. After his conversation with Robert… and
George… and Alfred, Jason was really, really starting to hate the secrets and
the intrigue – everyone playing their own game while keeping everyone
else in the dark. There was a certain simplicity to just telling the truth –
especially to your friends. And he was starting to see that they couldn’t
afford this type of distrust and dissension within their own ranks. It was
tearing them apart and dooming their entire mission to failure.
Although, this wasn’t exactly an opportune time for a heart-to-heart.
But was there ever going to be one?
That didn’t seem likely with the shitshow that was his life now.
Frank was still staring at him in confusion. “If you put me down,
I’ll explain,” Jason said finally. The shifter hesitated for a moment before
reluctantly lowering him to the ground.
Jason could feel Riley’s attention on him – her knowing gaze. But
his attention was only on Frank and the pain he saw reflected in his friend’s
eyes. If he went through with this, there would be no going back. Frank
would be at risk. He would have to make a choice. The same one Jason
had made what felt like a lifetime ago. But that was the problem, wasn’t
it? It was a choice.
One Jason had been making for him.
“Fine,” Jason said with another sigh, pulling back his hood so Frank
could see his face. “You’re right. I’ve been withholding something from
you. I’ve been avoiding completing the Keeper trials. And I’ve been doing
that to protect you.”
Frank snorted. “Really? Protect me? That’s rich—”
“Don’t believe me? Then let’s do it right now. Just get it over
with,” Jason insisted, waving at the courtyard. “Then you can make up
your own mind.”
Frank wavered, those glowing red eyes beginning to shift back to
normal. He seemed confused by Jason’s easy acquiescence.
“Are you sure this is the best time?” Riley ground out, eyeing her
UI. “We likely don’t have long until Finn is back.”
“The spirit orb will provide additional time compression, just like it
did for you,” Jason replied evenly, pulling the cloudy sphere from his
pocket. “In the meantime, I need for you to go find Eliza,” he added, this
time for Jerry. The innkeeper nodded and immediately blended back into
the shadows. “And if Finn shows back up, ping me,” Jason instructed
Riley.
“Of course,” she replied.
Jason turned his attention back to Frank. “In order to do this right, I
need for you to sober the hell up. Can you shift to something with a higher
metabolism?”
 “I… uh, I can do one better,” his friend replied. As he finished
speaking, the shifter winced and doubled over, clawing at his stomach. He
let out an involuntary grunt, and his breathing came hard and fast.
Moments later, he stood back up, his eyes looking clearer and his skin less
flushed.
“What was that?” Riley asked as Jason handed her the orb, and she
secured it to one of the worktables that littered the courtyard.
“Shifted my liver,” Frank muttered with a pained grin. “It’ll still
take some time for the debuff to end completely. I’ve got plenty of stacks.
But it should speed up the process.”
Riley just grunted. “Huh, clever.”
“Thanks,” Frank shot back sarcastically.
“You ready for this?” Jason demanded, dark mana pulsing through
his body in a frigid river – numbing him to the sudden doubt and
uncertainty that coiled at the edges of his thoughts.
Frank nodded, although he looked less certain now despite his
bluster.
“We both just need to touch the orb,” Jason instructed, holding
Frank’s gaze. “Then we’ll complete the last Keeper trial.” He paused,
meeting Frank’s eyes. “Last chance to back out.”
“Screw you,” Frank muttered and smacked his palm against the
crystal.
Jason raised an eyebrow but followed suit, gently placing his hand
on the glass. A smoky mist immediately spewed from the orb and swept out
around the pair, fully encircling them, and blocking out the sight of the
courtyard. Then there was only Jason and Frank, eyes locked as the mist
coiled and swam across their skin. Finally, it sucked them down into its
depths.

* * *

There was no warning. No signal of transition. The mists were

simply whisked away as though by a stiff breeze. However, Jason knew
that was impossible. There was no wind here. No breath. No warmth. No
life.
They were in the depths of the soul well. A recreation of his
thoughts and memories.
 A simulation – not unlike the one he’d used to torture Thorn.
And now he’d brought his friend here.
“What the fuck is this?” Frank muttered, staring at the scene around
them, his eyes wide and wild – the digital alcohol no doubt still lingering in
his veins.
Unlike with Riley, there was no school. No courtyard. No winding
hallways.
The pair stood in an open field, gray mist circling them in a dense
wall that seemed to stretch up endlessly. And in the depths of that fog were
figures. Shadowy shapes that shambled forward. They were people. Not
the undead. Not the Kin, but unfamiliar faces. Many wore plain clothes
from their own world. Some held banners and posters riddled with hastily
scrawled text. News drones buzzed above their heads, puffing and
scattering the mists. Others were robed in leather and mail, swords, bows,
and daggers held in hand. Those that he’d killed in-game.
Those that wanted to hurt him. Hunt him. Kill him.
Hundreds. Thousands. A legion of shadows lingering at the edges
of the mist. Instinctively, Jason knew they were waiting. Watching.
Looking for an opening. A moment of weakness they could use to surge
forward. A mob just ready to lynch him.
“My mind,” Jason answered finally. “Or a recreation of it.”
Frank shook his head. “But Riley said there were hallways and
spiders or something.”
“I was fighting her,” Jason answered. “My subconscious was trying
to protect me – protect both of us – from seeing what we shouldn’t. The
point of this trial is for the two of you to see into my soul. Just like I
witnessed some of your most painful memories when I first sacrificed you
to the mana well,” he explained, his gaze still on the mists.
“And this?” Frank asked.
“I’m not fighting anymore. You wanted to see the truth. Well, here
it is.”
As he finished speaking, Jason waved at the center of the clearing.
A lone pedestal stood there, dark as night and riddled with ominous, green
glowing lines. A single black cat perched atop its surface. Its feline eyes
watched Frank, unblinking and alien. Predatory.
Frank stepped toward the cat. “What—” he began, stopping short as
his foot suddenly struck something in the grass. The vegetation
immediately shriveled and died, drying up in an instant, a plague that
rippled outward through the clearing, killing everything in its path. And
revealing two bodies slumped along the ground, their shirts torn and
bloodied.
They had been stabbed to death. Dozens of holes riddled their
chests. More of the crimson liquid pooled below them in a thick lake.
Their eyes were vacant – open and staring. Horror was reflected there.
And pain. Their last moments etched indelibly into their features. Jason
stood frozen – couldn’t look away. Only stare back…
“Who are… these are…” Frank stumbled, his eyes widening in
sudden realization.
“The people that broke into my aunt’s house,” Jason answered
quietly, swallowing hard against the acidic burn of bile at the back of his
throat. He’d tried for so long to forget this image… forget what he’d
done… what Alfred had done to protect him.
Frank turned back to Jason, and his eyes widened. Jason’s hands
were now drenched in blood as he stared down at the pair, a knife clenched
in one fist. More blood soaked the pillar, coursing down the obsidian spire
to form bloody rivers that trickled out across the open field, mixing with the
ashy gray dust that lingered there. And through it all, that black cat sat
there, his tail swishing slowly back and forth.
The crowd was murmuring and shifting in the mist now, surging
forward threateningly but not quite breaking through that smoky wall.
Those signs now looked more like weapons – the text scrawled in blood.
The players shifted forward, revealing bleached white eyes that marked
them for what they were. Corpses. More of Jason’s victims – past and
future. An ever-growing pile of bodies that threatened to overwhelm him.
“I didn’t know… I mean, I’d seen the news,” Frank muttered,
staring down at the bodies of the two teenagers. “But is this real? These
wounds?”
Jason nodded, blade still in hand, staring down at the blood-
drenched metal. He knew what his friend was seeing. Dozens of stab
wounds. That didn’t speak of self-defense. That spoke of rage. Murder.
Frenzy. The same details that the detective inquired about. And Jason saw
those same questions reflected in his friend’s eyes now.
“You did this?” Frank muttered.
“No, he didn’t,” a voice spoke up.
 Frank started and backpedaled, now staring at the cat. “What the
fuck?” he muttered. “Did the cat—did Onyx just speak to me?”
“I did,” the creature answered.
“What is this?” You said this was part of your mind,” Frank
managed, glancing at Jason but keeping a watchful eye on the cat now.
“Why is Onyx here? Why is there a creepy talking cat perched on this
pillar?”
Jason just shook his head, his hands trembling. He could blame
Alfred, hold him responsible, but the truth was that the blood was still on
his hands. Real blood. Real consequences. Two teenagers dead. Because
of him. Maybe he deserved to fail. Maybe he should have given up long
ago. Should have stopped this madness… the murder, the deceit, the
intrigue…
The mob in the mists began to push forward more violently now,
shouts and murmurs and grunts suddenly breaking through as they emerged
from the gray wall, their feet thudding at the broken, dead ground as they
stalked toward him. They didn’t run. Didn’t race. They took their time,
emerging from every direction and leaving nowhere to run.
Some part of Jason knew what this was. His hesitation. His
subconscious attempt to protect himself once again – to prevent Frank from
discovering the truth.
The shifter was eyeing the crowd nervously, his limbs rippling and
changing as he tried to shift. Even so, it would be an impossible fight.
Thousands against just the two of them.
But this couldn’t end here. Jason needed to tell him the truth.
No matter how painful that might be. How it might destroy their
friendship—
And there it was. The truth. The fear he’d buried deep down in the
pits of his mind. His reluctance to tell his friend had never been about
protecting Frank. Or Alfred. Or Riley. Or Angie. Those had just been
excuses.
It was about protecting himself. It had always been about himself.
“Stop,” Jason whispered, raising a hand.
Walls of bone suddenly erupted from the ground, spearing towards
the sky and the grey mist sweeping out around them. More than a few of
the crowd were impaled on bony spikes and launched upward, suspended
from the walls that now ringed the blood-soaked field. The crowd outside
roared and raged, banged at the walls, and cut at the ivory with sword and
magic. Jagged shards of bone were ripped free from the shuddering walls.
They wouldn’t last forever.
“You want the truth?” Jason asked Frank as he met his eyes, dark
mana cascading from his body. “The truth is that I didn’t kill those two,” he
said, waving at the bodies. “He did.”
“The… your cat? Onyx?” Frank asked, confusion lacing his words.
“That isn’t a cat,” Jason replied, stepping up beside the pillar, his
feet splashing through the pool of blood that now reached his ankles, not
sparing the corpses another glance as he pushed past them. He turned then,
his eyes midnight black, his body splattered with blood, corpses lingering at
his feet, and a horde beating at the walls around them – screaming out their
fury.
He could see the fear etched across his friend’s face. The hesitation
and doubt and confusion. But there was no turning back now. He’d come
too far.
“This is Alfred,” Jason said finally. “And he saved my life.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 19 - Suspicious
Milky white tendrils of smoke whipped through the guild courtyard,
condensing, and then blowing away as if they’d never existed – leaving
Jason and Frank standing on solid ground, a glowing, golden dome hanging
overhead once more.
“How did it…” Riley hesitated as she saw Frank’s expression and
Jason’s worried look.
His friend had gone silent as Jason told his story – told their story,
Alfred perched there merely observing. He’d held nothing back, telling
every gruesome detail. Frank had remained silent throughout, barely
moving or breathing, only the tremble in his hands giving away his
feelings. The shifter stayed that way, frozen in shock or horror – Jason
couldn’t be certain – even as the mists collapsed back in on them and
returned them to the game world.
The shifter swiped at the air now, no doubt pushing aside the notice
that he’d completed the Keeper challenges. Jason shoved his aside as well.
There would be time for that later.
“Frank, I—”
“Stop,” Frank grunted. “Just stop.”
Then he did something surprising. His friend stepped toward Jason
and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I’m sorry. Sorry
for what you’ve had to go through. I’ve been selfish. Focused on myself
and my problems.”
Jason didn’t know how to respond at first. Could only stand there
like a statue, his arms hanging limp at his sides. Of all the reactions he’d
expected, this one hadn’t been on the list. Compassion. Genuine
compassion. He could feel moisture trickling down his cheek, and Jason
swiped at it idly, his thoughts flailing as Frank pulled away.
“I’m so sorry,” Frank repeated, meeting his eyes.
“That’s… that’s okay—” Jason fumbled in response.
“No, it’s not. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t…” he
trailed off, shaking his head. Then he took a deep breath, looking back up
at Jason. “I didn’t understand. I made it about myself instead. Took my
own issues and projected them onto you.”
 “How could you have possibly known?” Jason asked. “And you’ve
had your own problems – your own shit to wade through.” He’d seen that
clearly when he’d sacrificed Frank over the dark mana well, and his friend
had come so far since then. Since the druids. And Silver.
Frank winced, any trace of alcohol long gone – burned away in the
face of what he’d just witnessed. He shook his head. “I fucked up, though.
Silver—”
“Not so badly that you can’t fix it,” Jason interjected.
“Uh, I really hate to interrupt this bro moment you two are having,
but Finn just logged in,” Riley began in a harried voice, her hands already
reaching for a weapon.
A multi-colored rift had indeed torn open the air inside the
courtyard. Frank and Jason pulled away from each other. Jason put his
hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We’ll talk more later, man. For now, we
need to stop a war.”
Frank nodded and put his game face back on as Finn marched out of
the portal, flames arcing away from his crown and a scowl on his lips. The
metal rings along his arms were already melting down, forming several
glowing orbs that began to circle him. Meanwhile, two more rifts formed in
the air as Julia and Kyyle logged back into the game.
Finn’s attention shifted to Jason and his crew, noticing that they
were already waiting in the courtyard. Jason held up his hands. “We need
to talk before you start something.”
“Do we?” Finn growled. “Someone attacked my people and stole
my gate piece. Speaking of which, where the hell is Eliza?”
“Right… right here,” Eliza spoke up tentatively from the other end
of the courtyard.
Jerry, Ella, and Silver paced behind her and Brian. It looked like
Jerry had come through right on time. Silver and Frank shared a look, both
glancing away quickly. They hadn’t mended that bridge yet, but Jason had
faith Frank could handle it. Meeting a homicidal, rogue AI helped to put
things into perspective… at least in Jason’s experience.
Although, they had larger problems at the moment.
Julia immediately rushed at Eliza, lance and shield already in hand.
“You bitc—” she shouted, cut off as Brian summoned a bramble wall which
forced her to halt her advance with a burst of wind, the gust causing the
nearby tower to creak ominously. They couldn’t afford to have a fight
break out right here next to the damn sensor.
“Stop!” Frank shouted with augmented lungs, the sound booming
across the enclosure with such force that it set Jason’s ears to ringing and
stopped Julia in her tracks.
Jason shot him an appreciative look.
“Let’s talk this through for a second,” Jason urged into that sudden
silence. “Before we all do things we’ll regret. I don’t think Eliza was the
one that stole the gate piece.”
“I didn’t!” she insisted.
“What’s going on here?” Alexion demanded as he appeared along
the side of the courtyard, his body robed in light and his wings sweeping
out behind him.
“Yay, the professional traitor is here now, too,” Julia grunted. “Have
you really not seen the video? Eliza here stole our gate piece.” Alexion’s
eyes widened, and he pulled up his in-game UI, clearly searching for the
video.
Finn’s attention flitted back and forth between Jason and Eliza
before landing on the avatar of darkness. “Can you prove it wasn’t Eliza?”
He hesitated and looked to Alexion. “Or this glowing asshole?”
Jason nodded. “I can,” he answered without hesitation.
He approached Eliza, keeping his palms raised for Brian’s benefit.
“I’m not going to do anything to her – at least, not without her consent,” he
explained. The plant man gradually lowered the vegetation as Eliza placed
a hand on his shoulder.
“What do you mean without my consent?” Eliza asked nervously.
“I can prove that you didn’t steal the gate piece. I can enter your
mind using Undead Devotion and record what I see using the in-game
camera,” Jason answered. “All I need is an intact body, living or dead, but
specifically the head.”
Julia crossed her arms. “And how the hell do we know it’s not you
that stole the gate piece? Or the world’s most self-absorbed lighthouse over
here?” Alexion let out a low growl at that, his eyes flashing.
Jason nodded. “Fair point. Except I wouldn’t need to steal the gate
piece. Just ask your father. If I’d requested it, I’m sure he’d have given it
to me.”
 Julia looked to Finn in surprise, but he nodded grudgingly, which
only seemed to shock his daughter more, her lance now hanging limp.
“What is he—”
“Later,” Finn interjected, which earned him a frown from his
daughter.
“What about Finn? He could have ‘stolen’ it himself as a pretense
to start a war,” Alexion insisted, waving away his screens now.
“Not going to happen,” Jason offered, meeting Finn’s gaze. “He
needs this game – maybe even more than the rest of us. He’ll lose
everything if we don’t stop Armageddon, so he wouldn’t do anything to
endanger this tenuous alliance.”
“And the walking lighthouse?” Julia grunted.
“I didn’t have anything to do—” Alexion bit out.
“He didn’t do it either,” Jason spoke over him. This earned him a
dumbstruck look from his nemesis. He clearly hadn’t been expecting Jason
to come to his defense.
“How do you figure?” Frank asked.
“To stage that theft and pin it on Eliza would have either required
the real thing – actual merfolk and a master-class water mage. Or it would
have required one hell of an illusionist.”
“We know light mages can bend light, though,” Eliza said softly,
earning her a glare from Alexion. “Or he could have hired a water mage.”
This earned her nods from the rest of the group. They all knew who
Alexion was, and he hadn’t been shy about milking gold from his subjects
in-game, either. The fees to use his farming areas were notorious. So, he
certainly had the means to hire someone of that caliber.
“There are only a handful of casters that could have pulled off that
illusion at this stage of the game,” Jason stated simply. “They’re a concern,
so I’ve been tracking them closely.” Finn nodded at that. He’d apparently
anticipated their strategic importance as well. “And at least two are based
out of the Sea’s Edge.” Eliza winced but acknowledged the point.
“Besides, light magic couldn’t have created that illusion,” Jason
finished.
“Why not?” Julia demanded.
Jason just looked at Finn, and the fire avatar hesitated. “Well? You
want to tackle this one?” Jason asked. “Or did you miss that critical detail
in the video in your haste to pick a fight with Eliza?” At those words, most
of the group pulled up their UI, including Finn – reluctance clinging to him
like a cloak.
Tense seconds ticked past, and then…
“Damn it,” Finn muttered. He let out a sigh. “He’s right.”
“I don’t understand,” Julia grunted in frustration.
Finn let out another sigh. “It’s subtle. Light mages can’t mimic
mass like a water mage. Whatever that was, both the water and merfolk
weren’t just colored lights. If they had been we would have seen the
illusions clip into objects upon physical contact. Like a man’s arm
disappear into a portion of the shark’s head, for example.”
“I’ve now scanned the video and detected no such anomalies,”
Daniel supplied, the floating orange orb hovering above Finn’s shoulder, his
master’s frown only deepening.
Jason nodded. “So, as I was saying, Eliza is the only one that needs
to prove her innocence. Using Undead Devotion is an easy way to do so in
a way that will satisfy everyone. It’ll just take a few minutes. Assuming
you trust me,” he continued, looking to the water mage.
Eliza watched him for a long moment, biting her lip. Then she
nodded and stepped forward. Brian moved to stop her, but she shrugged
him off. “This is necessary. It’ll be fine.”
The plant-man didn’t seem happy with that answer, but he stood
down.
Eliza approached Jason, looking nervous.
“Don’t worry, this will be quick.”
“That’s not why I’m worried,” she offered in a whisper that didn’t
quite reach the others.
Jason frowned. “What do you—”
“Just do it. Quickly before I chicken out,” she pleaded.
Jason nodded and obliged. He reached forward, energy already
coiling from his fingers. As the inky mana slid across her skin, Eliza
resisted the urge to move, her body rigid. It soon slithered into Eliza’s eyes
and ears, and her breathing came rapidly now. This was the first time Jason
had used this skill on a living player, and he wasn’t without his own
worries.
Moments later, he was finished, and Jason’s eyes snapped open.
Eliza sucked in a ragged breath, and her eyes fluttered open as well
as she coughed and sputtered. She looked confused and disoriented – as
would be expected after a journey into her own mind. The transition was
easier for Jason now. He’d had practice. Brian gently lifted Eliza from
Jason’s arms and cradled her body in a bed of vines and roses as she
recovered.
“Well?” Finn demanded. Jason looked at him with a troubled
expression.
He’d confirmed what he needed – secured Eliza’s alibi. But he’d
also seen something else. Something that hovered right at the forefront of
her mind. A memory that stood out in vivid color. One that suddenly put
her recent behavior into sharp perspective.
“She’s innocent. I’m pushing you all the video now,” Jason said to
Finn. He also typed a short message to Finn about what he’d found. It
seemed Eliza did indeed know something about Rachael – which Finn
would soon discover for himself. He could only hope that he would wait to
review the video later. They had more immediate problems now.
“Well, if it wasn’t her or any of us, who the hell stole the gate
piece?” Julia muttered in a frustrated voice, interrupting Jason’s thoughts.
He grimaced. This confirmed a suspicion he’d had for a while now.
“I think there’s a third party at play here – one that is already
rumored to include the avatar of air.” The Old Man’s warning was still
fresh in his mind.
“Are you suggesting that <Death and Taxes> is here? I’ve read
those rumors online as well,” Kyyle added as he noticed the way Jason
cocked his head. “But why would they work with <SAFE>? That seems
—”
“Stupid?” Julia finished for him. “Why would a mercenary guild
work to destroy the game world? Given their reputation, they aren’t
amateurs. They’ve likely put hundreds, possibly thousands of hours into
this game since launch.”
Jason nodded. Those were good questions. “I can’t speak to their
motive. Maybe they were hired. Maybe it’s something else. Either way, I
have it on good authority that they may be involved. And the bottom line is
that they have an incredibly talented illusionist water mage. Probably one
of the best if you believe the videos and comments posted online.”
Silence met those words as the group mulled on that.
“You think they’re already here,” Alexion observed, watching Jason.
 He nodded. “I believe they’ve been sowing discord since we
arrived in Barrow, hence all of this infighting,” Jason explained, looking to
Frank and Julia. “Although, that assumes their illusionist – the one called
Queen – is clever enough to fool Finn’s Mana Sight.”
The avatar of fire looked alarmed at that suggestion. “I don’t think
—"
“That you could miss something if you were distracted?” Jason
asked, knowing full well that Finn must have been affected by the failed
theft of that data from Cerillion. It would go a long way to explain his surly
attitude lately. The older man didn’t offer a rebuttal, just grimaced, which
was acknowledgment enough.
Julia was scowling now. “Evelyn,” she murmured.
Alexion looked surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“Evelyn was the one that told us that Eliza was hiding something,”
Julia said.
Jason just nodded, meeting Alexion’s gaze. “Have you noticed
Evelyn acting strangely lately? Anything out of character?”
Alexion opened his mouth to answer but stopped himself short with
a frown. That was all the answer they needed – silence descending once
more across the courtyard.
They were all thinking the same thing.
“What are we going to do about this?” Eliza croaked, pushing
herself upright.
“If there is a traitor among us, I say we root her out and kill her,”
Alexion grunted, his fingers curling into fists and light shining in his eyes.
Jason sympathized. He could feel his own anger – a cold hard thing
– coiling in his gut. However, he pushed back the feeling. Now was the
time for clarity, not emotion. “I know this seems like an unfortunate turn of
events, but perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise,” he suggested to the confused
expressions of several members of their alliance. “If <Death and Taxes>
really is working with <SAFE>, then we just found another means of
securing information. This is an opportunity – one we can’t afford to pass
up if the sensor fails.”
Finn nodded, fire coiling away from his body. The others seemed to
be following his reasoning, their expressions grim. They were done simply
reacting and fighting one another. They’d been on the defensive so far, but
no more – a common enemy having presented herself just in the nick of
time. His eyes drifted down to Alfred at his heels.
Although, this felt like more than a simple coincidence.
“Do you have a plan?” Eliza asked.
Jason nodded, finally releasing his dark mana, the frigid energy
sliding through his veins like ice. His dark eyes settled on Alexion. “I do.
We’re going to play into her game…
“And she’ll never see it coming.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 20 - Counter-Play
The present.

“I’d slow clap your belated victory, but well, I seem to be all tied
up,” Queen observed, pulling at the metal manacles with a rattle.
“We still caught you,” Alexion snapped. Jason’s blades were still
pressed against her neck, drawing a thin line of crimson. “Now, where is
she?”
“Eventually. Besides, how do you know your dear Evelyn wants to
see you? You didn’t even notice that she was missing, did you? Nope, you
mistook me for your lady love and went all doe-eyed. I have to admit, I
was expecting more from George Lane’s son.”
“Fuck you—” Alexion spat.
“Enough, she’s just trying to bait you,” Jason jumped in. “Let me
handle this.”
Alexion glared at him, but his mouth snapped shut as he saw the
others nodding in agreement. He knew Jason was best equipped to deal
with Queen – as they’d agreed if they made it this far. The avatar of light
was too emotionally invested.
And then there were Jason’s other talents.
“Ooooh, scary. What’re you going to do? We both know you can’t
torture me,” Queen sneered up at him. “Give me some of your makeup
tips? I’ve always wanted to look like a depressed serial killer.”
“I’m thinking we start with a peaceful little chat,” Jason answered
calmly, retracting his Soul Blades. “Perhaps you can explain why your
guild is trying to destroy the game world as a starter? Or maybe you could
explain how you knew so much about us – this little play-act must have
required substantial intel on Evelyn as well as the rest of the avatars. Who
provided that information?”
Queen chuckled. “Why don’t you ask him,” she replied, jutting her
chin at Finn.
The avatar of flame and his companions remained silent, unmoving.
“What do you mean?” Jason asked.
“We’re murderers and thieves for hire,” Queen shot back.
“Emphasis on the fucking cash. So, who do you think had the resources to
hire us? Or figure out how to destroy this game world? Or was able to dig
up info on each of you? Maybe a rich, reclusive programmer with a
vendetta to settle? You know, just off the top of my head.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the avatar of flame.
Finn just laughed, crossing his arms. “So, you stand to make money
from this then. And your goal is real-world currency.”
“Seems to be the case,” Riley observed.
“Which means they’re aiming for the bounty on our heads,” Julia
added.
“Most likely,” Jason confirmed with a nod. It made a certain sort of
sense. Each of the avatars represented a massive payday, and the
Armageddon event was sure to lure them in since they all had a stake in this
world. If he weren’t one of the targets, he could almost appreciate the
cleverness of their plan.
Queen seemed confused that they weren’t suspicious of Finn, her
gaze darting between the members of the group. Jason shook his head.
“No one here is going to fall for your bluff. It seems even your intel has
limits. For example, you might know who Finn is in the real world, but you
don’t quite understand why he’s so invested in this game. Interesting.”
Queen recovered quickly. “It was worth a try. You all fell for my
original act, after all.”
Jason nodded. “Fair. But while we’re on the subject of your crew, I
assume you all wear these masks for a reason. My guess is that you don’t
want anyone to dox you. Unfortunately for you, removing a mask isn’t
against the terms of service,” Jason answered. With nimble fingers, he
plucked the mask free before Queen could protest, revealing the face of a
young woman who was now glaring up at him.
“Oh, shit,” Julia muttered.
Jason glanced over his shoulder, noticing Finn and Kyyle were also
staring. “What? Do you know her?” he asked.
Finn grimaced. “I do. Her name is Vanessa.”
“Who you left to die in the bottom of the fucking Abyss,” their
prisoner spat, glaring daggers at Finn and his group. “You know how long
it took me to get the hell out of there? How many times I died? Over and
over and over. Crushed to death. Burned alive. Eaten by those damn ants.
No? Not even a guess? Well, we’re going to personally make you
experience every moment of that torture.”
 “Ahh, so you all are best friends? Got it,” Frank quipped.
“And she’s working with others here in Barrow. As I expected,”
Jason murmured, noting Queen’s word choice. “It’s also probably safe to
assume that your… compatriots are also people with a grudge against us.”
Vanessa smirked. “If you want to believe that. Sure."
“There’s a 93% chance she’s bluffing based on her current mana
signature and fluctuations,” Daniel chirped from Finn’s shoulder.
“I’m going to snuff you out for good this time, Nightlight,” Vanessa
retorted.
“I doubt it with your new jewelry,” Julia shot back, glancing at
Vanessa’s manacles. “Doesn’t this whole scene seem pretty familiar? You
bound to the ground in chains?”
Vanessa just let out a chuckle. “Trying to get under my skin, huh?
So, is this your only move? Talk me to death and look for hints? You’re
not going to learn shit this way.”
“You’re right,” Jason replied, stepping closer, dark mana slithering
from his fingertips. He leaned forward, tracing a hand along her face, and
letting the chill energy lash against her skin, causing it to welt. “But aren’t
you wondering how we pulled this off? How we were able to trust each
other in the face of your little psy-op?” he whispered.
Vanessa’s gaze barely wavered, but Jason noted that her skin was
flushed, her breathing sharp and uneven despite her attempts to control it.
She was nervous but trying to hide it from him. Good. He needed that
fear. He still wasn’t certain whether using Undead Devotion on an
unwilling player would constitute torture – the definition seemed to be
rather flexible. So, the more he could learn without using his ability, the
better.
“I don’t need you to tell me what you know,” Jason continued in a
hushed whisper, leaning closer. “All I need is your body, specifically your
head. I’m going to rip the memories from your mind. Or didn’t your intel
inform you of that… talent.”
The woman was trembling now, and her eyes darted toward the
barrier of golden energy that floated overhead. Jason followed her gaze,
which gave him only a moment of warning. Just a bare few seconds…
A blast of lightning suddenly crashed into the barrier with
tremendous force, electricity arcing away across the shield before
condensing and spearing forward. A sharp whine pierced through the air,
showers of golden sparks raining down on the group – almost like the
lightning was attempting to drill through the light mana.
The shield held for an instant before the magic suddenly breached
the barrier. Most of the light shield remained intact, but large cracks were
now radiating from the point of penetration, almost like broken glass. The
barrier flashed erratically – destabilized and intermittently lighting the
courtyard like a giant strobe light.
Jason had just enough time to look back to Vanessa – to see the
manic smile painted on her face, mimicking her mask. She crushed the
fingers of her left hand into the ground to the crunch of bone. Ice bloomed
from her hands, freezing the manacles in an instant before she smashed
them down again, the metal shattering into dozens of fragments.
She must have buried a mana gem in her skin… Jason thought. His
Soul Blades were already arcing away from his staves as he prepared to
fight the mage. He could see mana flaring from his side as the rest of the
group responded. “We need her head intact!” he called out.
In an instant, Queen was on her feet. However, she didn’t try to go
for her wand or make any attempt at defending herself. She only swiped at
the air and casually typed out a short message. “Nice try,” she shot back,
meeting Jason’s gaze once more. “But none of us are afraid of death. And
we’ll do anything to see you dickheads die—”
She was cut off as her head promptly exploded in a shower of blood.
Jason’s thoughts raced to catch up with what had just happened. His
gaze darted skyward to the fractured barrier. The lightning had winked out
as soon as the shield gave way. He had assumed the first shot was just a
distraction meant to give Vanessa an opening to escape.
But he’d been wrong.
That first attack had been meant to punch a hole for the second
shot. His Listening skill had picked up the whistle of the projectile
rocketing through the air. He’d just been far too slow to stop it. Pewpew,
he realized suddenly.
And if there’s a sniper, then she’s still out there.
He’d left Jerry and Ella prowling around the roof of the guild hall –
anticipating a counterattack from Vanessa’s guildmates – but not expecting
them to be able to penetrate Alexion’s shield that easily. Either way, it
would take the innkeeper time to catch up with the sniper. And from the
trajectory of that shot, it almost looked like it had come from… directly
above them?
Could Pewpew be flying? Or freefalling?
Jason’s breath caught as he had another realization – either way,
there was nothing stopping her from taking another shot, firing through the
hole she’d carved in Alexion’s barrier. Vanessa must have sent out a
message – instructing Pewpew to take her out. But now that she was no
longer a liability, the sniper could target anyone.
Who would she aim for? Jason thought frantically, his eyes
skimming in the group in just a fraction of a second. Not the players,
certainly… they’d just respawn. It would need to be something that
destabilized the group.
Then his attention rested on Silver, standing beside Frank.
Oh shit. Jason’s met Frank’s gaze in that instant, and he could see
realization slowly dawning in his friend’s eyes.

“And we’ll do anything to see you dickheads die.”

Vanessa had said it herself.

Jason’s fingers were moving. Frank was already shifting, armored
plates rippling out across his skin ever-so-slowly. Jason ripped Vanessa’s
corpse apart – the body no longer useful without her damn head. Ivory
discs suddenly sped toward Silver and Frank as the Primal Shifter spun to
cover for her… even as another blast filled the air. Jason’s hearing could
pick up a whine as the missile raced through the air – no lightning coating
this one, making it almost invisible against the flashing backdrop of the
shield. Pewpew must have used considerable mana to get that sort of height
on the guild hall and power-up that initial attack. Or maybe she was hoping
to avoid them blocking or dodging her shot in the flickering darkness.
Time seemed to slow, and Jason could feel his stomach lurch as he
watched Frank frantically move to cover Silver. He could do nothing but
watch as her ears twitched and her brilliant sapphire eyes flicked up to the
sky as she heard that telltale whine. Her eyes widened in realization. The
split-second decision to turn and run. Yet it was too late. Far, far too late.
The world lurched back into motion. Silver was sent hurtling back
into the stone wall, the material shattering under the force of the shot, blood
spraying through the air. She slumped down the rock. Unmoving. Not
breathing. That thought barely registered over the heavy beating of Jason’s
heart and the ragged air escaping his lungs.
Frank was there in an instant, slumping to his knees as he reached
for her, cradling Silver in his arms. The fractured barrier of light overhead
rippled as two forms raced across its surface – Jerry and Ella, most likely.
That was followed by a flash of lightning as Pewpew tried to flee, finally
beating a retreat. But no one spared that any attention. All eyes in the
courtyard were on Frank and Silver.
The shifter lifted his head to the sky, his body contorting erratically,
his human features retreating in the face of his despair. Frank let out a howl
that echoed off the rock and raced out into the night sky, rippling across the
entirety of Barrow. It carried his rage… his sorrow… his loss. And it made
a promise – one of vengeance.
And beneath that howl, Jason could detect another sound – almost
masked by his friend’s grief. It was a metallic whine… like the peal of a
guitar. And it was accompanied by a thudding rhythm – a drumbeat that
shook the ground. The sound of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of
travelers that had gathered outside the hall.
It seemed the attack wasn’t over.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 21 - Encore
“Watch as they sit in their glass tower,” Preacher exclaimed,
gesturing behind himself. “They can destroy cities, take over farming
areas, kill residents and players alike… and now they’re attacking guests at
their own party? The city’s nobility no less. And the consequence is what?
What?” he demanded. He cupped a hand to his ear, but only angry mutters
met his question.
“That’s right!” Preacher exclaimed. “Nothing at all. This city’s
rulership sits on its hands. I can stand here and rant and rave. But nothing
happens – nothing changes – even as the mods and the devs, even the
game’s AI gives these people a free pass. They just heap on ever more
rewards that they don’t deserve.
“They probably even leveled from all that commotion in the guild
hall! Completed some quest that now lets them shoot lasers from their eyes
and summon an army of mechanized soldiers from the fucking sky!”
Preacher shouted. The angry murmurs among the crowd had grown – just
as it had continued to swell in size after the debacle that was Evelyn’s gala.
“But soon, they’ll get what’s coming to them. Soon, we shall see
the rise of the Kingdom of Nerfle!” The crowd repeated the name, chanting
it back at Preacher.
Kingdom of Nerfle!
Kingdom of Nerfle!
Kingdom of Nerfle!
“Yes, my brothers and sisters, the great reset is almost upon us—”
He cut off as a spear of lightning slammed into the top of the golden
dome covering the guild hall, electricity lancing out in every direction and
creating a pyrotechnic display in the night sky. The whole crowd
descended into a hushed silence as they looked on in shock. Not only did
the lightning not dissipate, but it soon pierced through the barrier!
Preacher glanced at his entourage – now a few members short. “Is
that the signal?” he asked in an overly loud stage whisper. “Because that
sure as hell looks like the signal.”
“Yes, it’s the fucking signal,” Blaze hissed in response, her
appearance concealed behind a thick layer of water mana – a parting gift
from Queen. “If you’d actually look at your damn chat log once in a while,
you’d know that.”
“Hey, I just get into character, you know? Really invest in a role,”
Preacher shot back, hand to his chest. “It’s what gives me that je ne sais
quoi. That star power. The it factor. That raw animal magnetism that
draws crowds of adoring fans.”
“Uh-huh, sure. On another note, why exactly did I have to look like
an overweight middle-aged man this time? Was that really necessary?”
Blaze growled.
“Of course!” Preacher interrupted. “We had to sell this thing. And
you represent our target demographic: the angry internet troll.” He gestured
at the crowd staring at the guild hall with dumbstruck expressions.
Blaze had to admit that there was a certain type…
“Fine, fine,” she repeated with a sigh. “But will you please just get
on with it already? The clock is ticking, and we have a sensor array to
destroy,” Blaze grunted in irritation.
“You can’t rush greatness,” Preacher muttered but obliged her by
pulling off his ring. His appearance rippled and distorted, dropping away to
reveal his familiar plumed hat, thick velvet tunic, and smiling ivory mask.
Blaze followed his lead, shaking her arms distastefully and water showering
the stage as it sloughed off her skin in a rush.
With a glimmer of air mana and a deep breath, Bard turned back to
the crowd, his voice booming across the courtyard. “Alright, folks! It
looks like we’re about to have some fun.”
He observed the mixture of travelers and residents murmuring in
confusion as they noticed that two members of <Death and Taxes> now
stood on stage. “I know, I know. Gasp! Preacher was none other than the
majestic Bard? How did he do it? Who could have possibly seen this
incredible twist coming? It must have been his extraordinary acting skills –
yet another hidden talent among many!”
“Clock. Ticking. Stay on script,” Blaze snapped from behind him,
a massive puddle now lingering at her feet and soaking her boots. A flash
of orange energy coiled around her staff before settling into her clothes,
soon drying the material and sending a tuft of steam floating skyward.
“Oh dear, you’re right!” Bard replied, spinning back to the crowd.
“And that reminds me, I have a question for all you wonderful people… Do
you find your skin dry after slaying dragons? Or perhaps you’re often
covered in welts and sores from frequent poisonings? Or maybe the AI
duplicated your real-world self just a touch too accurately – acne and
blemishes included? Well, do I have a treat for you!” Bard announced,
pulling a jar from his bag, and holding it high. “You have to try Bard’s
Basics! Everything you need to look fantastic on the field of battle!
“What is it, you ask? Well, that’s proprietary, so stop fucking
asking. But what I can tell you is it’s totally not a mixture of swamp mud
and killer leech mucus. Yup, definitely not that at all. Because that would
be disgusting. So, slather this stuff on and reap the benefits of beautiful,
lustrous skin that’ll have that damsel you just saved swooning. Or maybe
just running away more slowly from your unwanted advances…
“Anyway, to top that all off, we’re currently running a fire sale on
our merchandise!” He cocked his head, lowering his voice, “You know,
since the world is ending and all, and I spent way, way too much coin on
inventory.”
“Get on with it already,” Blaze hissed, watching as shadows flitted
across the nearby golden dome of energy. No doubt, Pewpew was on the
run already.
Bard heaved out a huge sigh, looking sadly at his jar as he stowed it
back in his bag. “Fine. Can’t fault a guy for pitching his side hustle,
though.”
“I can, and I am,” Blaze grunted.
“Anyway… I guess should explain what’s going on,” Bard
announced to the now incredibly confused crowd arrayed before him. “We
need you all to rush this building in an angry mob and destroy everything in
sight in a desperate attempt to regain some sense of control over a game
you feel has left you behind in favor of people that may, in fact, actually be
more talented, disciplined, and intelligent than you – which, of course, is
painful for you to acknowledge and inconsistent with your own flattering
self-image – but that cognitive dissonance leaves you feeling confused and
angry and so these people are an easy target.”
The crowd just stared back in silence.
Blaze was rubbing at her face now and muttering something about
killing him.
Bard frowned, tapping at his lips. “Hmm, that might have been too
much. TLDR: Destroy this place for the Kingdom of Nerfle! Uh…
please?”
 The travelers all stared back for a moment longer before a cry rose
into the air, and a Fireball slammed into the golden barrier that ringed the
enclosure. That opened the floodgates. More and more travelers soon
added to the barrage even as the melee-focused among them barreled
forward toward the guild hall. Ice, lightning, and fire crashed into the
barrier – the energy rippling with each blow and the fractures along the top
of the dome growing. A few earth mages were working together to pull
cobblestones from the ground, form them into a massive column of stone,
and smash it against the shield in unison, the crowd urging them on.
“Huh, that actually worked,” Bard murmured in surprise.
“Why did they leave me with you?” Blaze demanded.
He swooped into a bow. “Why? Because I bring the rock, mi-fiery-
lady.”
As he spoke, Bard swept his guitar case forward, popped the catch,
and pulled his instrument free. It was a thing of beauty. Smooth and oiled
wood-framed with heavy iron… for the occasional bludgeoning, of course.
Bard flicked the gem at the bottom of the guitar, and it lit up with a strong
amber glow. Then he plucked gently at the strings.
A metallic shriek swept across the courtyard. A gentle, almost
experimental note at first, and then Bard started to play. A rising ballad. A
sweeping crescendo. A metallic whine that spoke of death and destruction
and untold mayhem. And as his sweet tunes raged across the area, a red-
orange glow began to infuse the players – many glancing at their prompts in
surprise before attacking the barrier with renewed vigor. Bard’s buffs had
them striking harder and faster.
The barrier shimmered. Shook. But it still refused to fall.
Blaze was here to help with that.
She pivoted on the stage, massive ribbons of fiery energy spiraling
around her staff as she raised it into the sky. Blaze began to channel her
mana towards the sky, a fiery dot of light igniting below the unnatural dark
cloud cover. She kept going, that point expanding and growing in
brightness as it streaked through the night sky. It descended toward the
guild hall at an incredible speed, expanding in size as it neared. More than
a few in the crowd had begun to notice the light – a meteor falling from the
heavens and sending out a colossal trail of flame in its wake.
The travelers let out a shout of warning, but it was too late to save
many of the first players who had rushed the structure. The Meteor struck
the barrier with terrific force, a wave of flame rocketing outward from the
impact and obscuring the entire guild hall from sight. Those fires cascaded
down the dome and swept out into the courtyard where Bard, Blaze, and
their unruly mob lingered. Men and women tried to flee, but it was futile.
The fires burned through the melee-oriented travelers – their screams of
pain mixing with Bard’s ballad. The impact was followed by a wave of
kinetic force that sent their seared skeletons whipping out into the rest of
the crowd.
As the flames and debris cleared, the throng watched in awe. The
golden dome had been obliterated, the golden energy breaking apart into
flickering panels that spewed motes of energy into the sky like fireworks
before raining back down on the crowd. And then, as one, the mob renewed
its assault, the survivors rushing toward the building with angry cries.
“Huh, you think anyone notices that they’re standing in a literal
golden shower—” Bard yelled back at Blaze, only to find that she was
missing. “No one has a sense of humor anymore,” he muttered to himself
and continued playing.
Blaze had dropped from the makeshift podium, her fire mana
sweeping across her body in a torrent now, setting her hair aflame. Yet she
ignored the burns along her skin, her Fire Resistance now trained to the
point where she could withstand her own flames. Hundreds upon hundreds
of deaths had brought her to this point. And perhaps it was that sort of
training that had made Bard go mad – he’d certainly become increasingly
insane.
Lost in her own thoughts, Blaze ignored the screams of the other
travelers that ventured too close – their bodies consumed in the wave of fire
that rippled away from her in an expanding ring. The sea of humanity
parted before her, more than a few smoking and clawing at their skin or
armor as they hastily fled her aura.
Blaze strode up to the guild hall, watching as the travelers at the
front of the pack tried to open the doors or break into the windows, only for
a barrage of poisonous thorns to erupt from those openings, followed by
vines that snaked along the ground and dragged the poor saps inside – their
screams soon cut off. Eliza’s defenses, no doubt. Queen had mentioned
that.
Not that Blaze was perturbed. This was why she was here. She
smirked, summoning her mana to herself, and the other travelers backing
away warily. Flames poured from her staff and then surged outward – her
modified Fire Nova growing in intensity as she Overcharged the spell. It
spanned out five feet, then ten, then fifteen, and only continued growing.
The fires grew so hot that they blazed white and blue. Her skin was flaying
off in layers now, her health regeneration unable to keep pace, and her
health ticking down in her peripheral vision.
Yet she didn’t relent. Blaze had felt pain before.
Of growing old. Of losing those she’d loved. Of sickness.
But, right now, all she felt was anger. Simmering rage. At a world
that had left her behind. At a husband that had abandoned her – even in
death. At his business partner that had left her high and dry. At her fuckwit
children that had stuck her in that hellhole retirement home, “unburdening”
themselves and waiting for her to die.
The fires blazed even brighter, and she stepped toward the guild’s
front doors – two monstrous affairs made of a mixture of wood and metal.
Yet all she saw was that fucking retirement home – not a guild hall any
longer. As the flames of her rage touched their surface, the wood ignited,
and the metal began to heat. Smoke coiled into the sky, blocking out the
twinkling motes of golden energy that still rained down around her. There
was only the rising, chaotic melody of Bard’s guitar and the angry shouts
and screams of the men and women arrayed behind her. The gate soon gave
way, crumbling to a mound of ash.
From that dark opening, thorns speared forward only to be
incinerated long before they touched Blaze’s skin. Vines soon followed, but
they met a similar fate. She was robed in a protective, painful, burning
sheet of flame.
Blaze let out a laugh at the destruction, her cackle rising into the air
and mixing with Bard’s melody. This was all the so-called avatar of water
could manage? A few weeds? Nothing and no one could stop her flames.
The army of travelers was forgotten. The metallic crescendo of Bard’s
music was now barely audible over the crackle of fire and the snap of
burning wood.
“Fuck your pudding and fuck bingo!” she screamed, her words
buried under the avalanche of Bard’s music and the snap and crackle of
burning wood.
Blaze was going to burn it all to the ground.
Okay, maybe she was a little mad too.
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 22 - Sensitive
A tremendous ball of fire descended from the sky and crashed
against Alexion’s barrier, flames washing across the surface and causing the
entire Guild Hall to tremble from the impact. As Jason looked on, the
barrier fractured and then exploded apart under the force of the spell,
sending motes of golden energy raining down through the ranks of
Nephilim that floated overhead.
That must have been Blaze. That was the only explanation.
“Damn it,” Jason muttered as he watched the barrier explode apart.
He’d expected the members of <Death and Taxes> to make it through the
barrier eventually, but not this quickly. It seemed Alexion’s shield couldn’t
withstand the combined assault of hundreds of travelers – enraged travelers
who were now storming the damn guild hall. He could still see explosions
of electricity echoing in the air above them as Jerry pressured Pewpew.
An arrow rocketed through the air toward the sensor array, only to
strike a flaming metal shield. Finn had melted down most of his ore, the
molten substance flying up into the sky and creating an orbiting, patchwork
shield around the tower. As they’d planned – in case shit hit the fan –
Alexion’s Nephilim automatically split their forces between protecting the
sensor tower with panels of golden light and taking out the travelers already
cresting the rooftop. Beams of light now speared across the night sky like
strobe lights.
“Jason?” Riley asked, concern in her voice. She kept side-eyeing
Frank where he was cradling Silver’s bloodied body. Despite the pit in his
stomach as he contemplated his friend’s loss, he didn’t have time to focus
on that yet. Now that Queen’s head had been destroyed, they had no other
choice but to defend the sensor.
They were firmly operating under Plan B.
“I need you to get up to the roof and help Jerry,” Jason instructed
Riley. “Keep Pewpew off us and shoot down any travelers mobile enough
to scale the building and approach over the rooftops,” he explained quickly.
He tilted his head toward Ella. “You too. You can make good use
of the bodies with Corpse Explosion. Don’t worry about damaging the
guild hall with your acid.” At this point, this building was a lost cause.
 “Go with them,” Finn instructed Kyyle, Brock’s bulky form
hovering behind him. “You’ll do best from a vantage point where you can
switch between reinforcing this courtyard and suppressing the travelers. We
need time.” The earth mage nodded and began casting, soon forming a
reverse Gravity Well that sent him, Brock, Ella, and Riley hurtling up onto
the roof.
“Time for what?” Julia demanded, her lance and shield in hand.
Finn looked to Jason – both thinking the same thing.
“Time to activate the damn sensor,” Jason grunted.
“But we haven’t even finished testing—” Julia began.
“We don’t exactly have the opportunity for that right now,” Finn
interrupted as an explosion rocked the nearby building, accompanied by the
whine of an electric guitar in the distance and the shouts of hundreds of
travelers converging on their location.
“Eliza, how we doing?” Jason shouted.
The water mage started and looked away from her screens, adjusting
her glasses. Brian stood behind her as usual. He had already coated the
entire courtyard in plant life, glowing sapphire droplets dripping from
Eliza’s fingers even as she’d been inspecting her screens. Those protective
plants had slithered up the walls, forming a dense barrier of vegetation,
traces of orange flickering through the plants – likely indicating that Eliza
had infused them with fire-resistant strains.
Good, they would need the help if Blaze made it this far.
“As you predicted, they’ve breached the outer wall, and something
is killing off our plants quickly,” Eliza explained, shifting her screen. The
map showed an outline of her plant life, a product of her advancing
Herbalism to master rank.
“That has to be Blaze,” Jason grunted.
“Can you keep her busy?” Finn asked Julia. “Based on our intel,
your abilities will probably work best against their fire mage. Her defense
is pure offense. You just need to get through her channeled Fire Nova with
your Mana Absorption.”
“I’m aware,” Julia drawled as she tapped at her light chainmail.
Gemstones flared to life throughout the metal as Jason watched curiously.
That was new.
“Oh… uh, and avoid the poison,” Eliza added, tossing an object to
Julia.
 “Poison?” Julia demanded, snatching the item from the air. It was a
leather mask fitted with an amber crystal – meant to filter the air.
“Um, Jason suspected the barrier might fall, and they would burn
away my plants. So, I used a new hybrid mutation. The plants in the hall
burn easily, but the ash is incredibly toxic. Try not to breathe any of it in,
and don’t lose the mask. In the tests, it killed a cow in less than a minute.”
“Won’t that stop Blaze too?” Julia asked as she pulled on the mask.
“Maybe?” Eliza hedged, tilting her head.
“The heat she channels may create an air current that insulates her
from airborne attacks,” Daniel chirped from Finn’s shoulder. “Our
hypothesis is that she has also trained her lung capacity to endure the low-
oxygen environment created by her spells. In other words, she can likely
hold her breath for quite some time.”
“Hmph, well then we’ll see how she holds up against me,” Julia
growled. Then she tapped at her left arm, and an air mana gem flared. Her
body immediately dissolved into a gust of wind that shot up to the second
floor, Brian’s plants parting to allow her entry into the interior of the guild
hall before reforming.
Huh, she must have embedded air mana crystals in her skin that she
can activate at will. That would allow her to make better use of her Mana
Absorption, Jason thought to himself. It was a clever tweak – if a bit
painful to install and recharge the gems.
Jason eyed Alexion where he stood, staring at Queen’s corpse. No
doubt he was wondering where the fuck Evelyn was. Judging from how
she hadn’t contacted him in the real world, Jason was guessing they hadn’t
quite gotten to the “sharing numbers” stage – hell, he was surprised Alexion
even cared this much about the woman.
But they didn’t have time for that right now.
“Hey, snap out of it!” Jason barked at Alexion. The man looked up,
blinking in confusion. “She’s dead, and her head has been destroyed. We
aren’t going to get shit from her. Our only move here is to get the sensor
online. And for that, we need you,” he explained, waving at the base of the
tower where a large gem sat – one they had hoped to test charge slowly to
check for any physical instabilities.
The ship had fucking sailed on that, though.
“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” Alexion muttered, shaking his head.
 Under other circumstances, Jason might have marveled at those
words.
Alexion quickly approached the tower, golden energy beginning to
blaze around his hands as he placed them against the gemstone. It
immediately flared to life, and the glare began to grow in intensity. Finn
made his way over swiftly, maintaining the channel on the defensive plates
spiraling around the tower with one hand as he tapped at the air with the
other – Daniel feeding him information and instructions.
Jason’s gaze turned back to Frank. Now for Silver…
He approached Frank where he cradled his mate’s body. Jason
swallowed hard and willed himself to focus. He’d seen allies hurt before.
Even lost them. But death inside AO wasn’t the end, at least not for his
people. He stooped near Frank, but his friend barely registered his presence
as he rocked back and forth.
Silver looked terrible. The bullet had carved clean through her
abdomen, the edges of flesh ragged. The offending projectile dug nearly a
foot into the dirt behind her as though it had drilled into the cobblestones.
And there was blood… so much blood. But not the bright crimson that
Jason had come to expect. This was a ruddy, darker color. Blacks and
blues threaded the mixture. No doubt a product of her demonic nature – a
steady diet of water and dark mana now on full display.
Jason glanced at his UI and saw she still had a sliver of health – not
much, but something.
“Hey, Frank buddy, I need you to set her down,” Jason directed his
friend gently.
Frank just stared back at him with bleary eyes, not comprehending
the words or even recognizing Jason's presence.
An explosion rocked the rooftops nearby, and dust cascaded down
around them. They really didn’t have time to mess around right now.
Which is why Jason slapped Frank. Hard. That got his fucking attention, a
low guttural growl escaping his throat, and blood-red eyes suddenly focused
on Jason’s face as hair sprang up along his arms.
“Snap the fuck out of it. She’s not dead. At least, not yet.”
Frank looked down at Silver in confusion. “Not… dead?”
“Check your UI, moron. She has some health left. We need to get
her a healing potion—”
 He cut himself off as Frank’s fingers shifted into large claws. He
promptly sliced open his other arm, blood immediately pooling along the
wound. Then he placed the wound to Silver’s lips, letting the blood trickle
down her throat. She shifted ever-so-slightly and her mouth clamped
around Frank’s arm as she began to suck on his arm. At the same time, her
health began to stabilize, the bleeding slowing. But it wasn’t enough to
heal her entirely.
Another blast of flame rocketed out of a window above them,
searing a hole in Brian’s living wall and Julia flying out of that opening.
She struck the ground with a grunt, rolling and springing back to her feet in
one fluid movement. Her skin was charred in several places and smoke
coiled away from her armor. Julia shot them a frustrated look.
“Okay, maybe she’s a little tougher than she looks,” was all Julia
said.
Then she took off again, leaping back toward that hole with a blast
of wind from her shield before disappearing into the depths of the guild
hall.
That wasn’t a good sign. Jason needed to hurry.
He looked back down at Silver. She was stable but Frank’s blood
wasn’t enough to heal her. She needed a real meal. They also couldn’t
easily move her in her condition – especially not with an army surrounding
them.
Jason glanced over his shoulder. The tower was flaring with light as
Alexion continued to pour mana into the gemstone, Finn directing him as
Daniel chattered at his shoulder. Alexion could possibly heal her, but he
was busy. Judging from the blasts and screams along the rooftops, Ella was
making good use of the corpses up there. And Eliza’s vegetation might be
protecting the courtyard, yet it made entering the hall to collect bodies
difficult.
Which just left one option.
“Hey, you aren’t going to like this, but I have an idea,” Jason said.
Frank looked at him then, some sanity having returned to his eyes.
“Just tell me.”
“She needs to eat to heal properly, right? We can’t spare anyone to
go hunting, and if you leave her, she’ll bleed out,” Jason explained quickly.
“So… what about you?”
 “What? I…” Frank hesitated and looked down at Silver, still
nibbling on his arm weakly. “Fuck. Okay.” He lifted his gaze back to
Jason. “But you can’t let anything happen to her.”
“I won’t. I’ll raise your body right after, and your only job will be
to protect her.”
Frank met his eyes – looking for… something. This required trust.
More than Frank might have had until recently. Until Jason had undertaken
that final trial and finally let him in.
Frank nodded and peeled back at his shirt with his free hand. “Do
it.”
Maybe some former version of himself might have hesitated at the
thought of cutting open his best friend… but Jason had changed during his
time within AO. His staff was in hand in an instant, a Soul Blade arcing
away from the tip and flashing forward with surgical precision. A few
quick strikes and Frank’s blood mixed with Silver’s. Then Jason’s hand
plunged into his chest. He couldn’t afford to wait. As Frank died, Silver’s
health would start to deteriorate again. Moments later, he pulled his
friend’s heart free, Frank’s eyes going wide as he stared at the organ, even
as his life faded.
Silver’s eyes shot open then – a brilliant sapphire. They were fixed
on that heart.
With unnatural speed, she lunged for it and sunk her fangs into the
bloody flesh. Jason looked away as she devoured Frank’s heart in a frenzy.
Her health immediately shot up, and the wound in her stomach began to
knit itself back together. She cracked her neck as she stretched, some trace
of sanity returning to her eyes only for Silver to see Frank slumped beside
her.
“What happ—”
“He sacrificed himself to save you,” Jason grunted. His fingers
were already twining through the gestures of Specialized Zombie. Moments
later, dark tendrils coiled forward and slithered into his friend’s body, his
eyes a bleached white as they popped open once more.
“Protect her with your life,” Jason instructed the zombie.
“And what of me? Do you expect me to just sit here after someone
nearly killed me?” Silver demanded, pushing herself back upright and her
eyes flashing.
 Jason just eyed her. “Then help defend the courtyard, but stay
within the edge of Eliza’s plants,” he instructed. “The air inside the guild is
toxic.”
With that, he pivoted on his heel and strode back to the tower where
the rest of the group was working. The sensor was now a glowing column
of light, the ivory framing beginning to fracture and crack under the
pressure – the light mana at odds with Jason’s dark. Blasts of lightning and
voids of darkness echoed in the sky. Plants continued to coil up the walls,
now coating the edge of the rooftop. Beams of light and blasts of elemental
energy rocketed through the sky as the Nephilim and the mob of onrushing
travelers exchanged blows. More than a few of those angels fell from the
skies, landing in the courtyard with a crunch of bone. Explosions echoed
from inside the guild hall – blasts of flames occasionally jutting from open
windows.
And throughout it all, that music kept playing, mixing with the
shouts and screams and cries. A crescendo of noise – death and mayhem.
“We almost there?!” Jason shouted over the noise.
“Almost,” Finn shot back.
“They’re nearly through my plants,” Eliza piped up. “The ash was
working at first, but now they seem to be blowing it out of the building with
air mages. Good news is that Blaze is tied down by Julia – but not sure
how long either of them can keep that up, given Julia’s health.”
She side eyed Jason nervously. “What about Frank?”
“Dead,” Jason answered simply. “He’ll regroup with us after he
respawns—”
He was interrupted as part of the roof above them exploded apart in
a shower of debris. A chunk of the wall fell away toward the sensor tower,
only for Brian to act quickly, his vines restraining the debris and holding it
in place and just barely stopping its fall. That attack hadn’t come from
Pewpew or Blaze, however.
Jason’s UI pinged. Riley this time – confirming his fears. The
travelers were pushing her and Kyyle back.
A massive blast of darkness obscured the night sky, ripping up clay
tiles as it rocketed across the rooftop. Players screamed… only for their
shouts to get cut off in a crash of dark energy. Jason knew Riley couldn’t
fire more than one of those empowered shots without leeching her health
back first, and his UI indicated she was running on fumes now – her health
gradually refilling as she downed a potion. If she had been pushed to her
limit, then they were losing.
Kyyle came racing back across the roof, a walkway of stone
suddenly jutting out across the courtyard. Dozens of travelers were hot on
his heels. Bolts of energy raced after him, blasted aside with a well-timed
Gravity Well. Then Brock’s body broke apart behind him, swallowing
Kyyle’s form. The missiles crashed against him but had little effect with his
rocky form. More emerald energy surged, and the travelers looked down in
shock only to get launched directly into the air by another Gravity Well.
Riley moved across the roof like a shadow, her bowstring humming.
She sniped the travelers right out of the air – like shooting fish in a
barrel.
More were cutting and hacking their way through Eliza’s plants at
ground level now, only to be caught by Silver as she prowled within the
shadows of the terrace. Her fangs made short work of any offending hands
and limbs, her icy projectiles spearing through the holes, and Frank’s
zombie ripping apart anyone who came near her. And as corpses rained
down into the courtyard, Jason began bringing them back, slowly rebuilding
his horde one undead at a time as he ordered them to hold the courtyard.
But even then, the plants were weakening along the edges of the
enclosure. The travelers had begun to breach the barrier on the ground and
the second-story terrace – even as more poured in over the rooftops. They
couldn’t be everywhere at once. And judging from the pile of empty mana
potions at Eliza’s feet, there was a limit to how long she could maintain her
plants.
Jason’s Bone Armor slithered down into place, and he joined Silver
and Frank’s doppelganger, cutting at the travelers who were starting to
make their way inside the courtyard. He only stopped long enough to
resurrect more corpses with one hand – the undead often lacking limbs – or
to blast apart a body in an explosion of dark energy. There was only blood
and battle. Screams and cries of pain. Blasts of fire, ice, and lightning. A
pyrotechnic display crashed and boomed overhead to the beat of Bard’s
guitar in the distance.
And that energy infused these travelers. Made them stronger and
faster. Their blows hit harder. With the help of Bard’s buff, they were
cutting down Jason’s summons almost as fast as he could get them up.
Jason had never seen this before. Noob travelers shouldn’t be able to put up
this kind of fight.
A Fireball crashed against Jason’s dark-ore-infused armor, the heat
blunted, but the force still causing him to stagger backward. He dipped
under the next one and sent a bone shield hurtling into the caster’s head,
interrupting his next cast only for Silver’s projectiles to take him out.
And yet there was just another player waiting behind him.
And another behind her.
They were outnumbered, and this was a terrible defensive position.
These people also likely hadn’t been nervous about resetting their respawn
point to Barrow. Even if they killed them, no doubt they would be back
shortly. They needed to get the hell out of there.
“Finn!” Jason shouted. “How long?”
“Right… now!” was his answer.
A beam of light suddenly speared up into the sky and blasted apart
Jason’s unnatural night cover. Then that energy arced outward, stretching
out across the game world in a rippling wave that traveled so quickly it was
at the horizon in an instant.
“Just need a second to collect the data,” Finn shouted distractedly.
Suddenly, the music changed. Now it was a deadly crescendo – a
chaotic, discordant mess like nails on a chalkboard. The travelers’ bodies
were all infused with a glimmering red and yellow energy, veins popping
out across their skin and their mana flaring brightly. It was almost like
they’d all just gained a few dozen levels in an instant.
They launched themselves forward recklessly now, abandoning any
sense of self-preservation. The loss of a limb or a searing blast of dark
mana didn’t stop them, it only slowed them down.
Jason dodged one lightning-fast swipe, twisted out of the way of
another, and then shoved his opponents back with two well-placed bone
shields, turning to swipe with a Soul Blade… only to find his enemy had
slumped to the ground. Dead.
Shit, the buff must be draining their life.
That meant Bard was making one last-ditch attempt to stop them.
Pewpew must have been feeding him information from the sky as she
avoided Jerry.
But that buff was a double-edged sword.
This was where Jason shined.
 He typed out a command to the group – instructing them to guard
him and the tower at all costs. Then he retreated to the interior of the
courtyard and began casting Custom Skeleton, the world slowing to a crawl.
He could see Kyyle forming walls of stone around the sensor.
Panels of flaming metal and glimmering light warded off the projectiles.
Though, more than a few made it through the cracks, cutting into the ivory
foundation of the tower. Riley shot and sniped from the rooftops as she
barely held the travelers at bay. Silver and Frank’s doppelganger roamed
the courtyard in a flurry of claw and fang. Even Alexion had entered the
fray, his armor shining with a muted light – his mana drained by powering
the sensor.
All around Jason, the bodies were now outlined in glowing sapphire
relief, more travelers dropping by the moment as his undead and teammates
tried vainly to keep them off Finn and the tower while Bard’s buff drained
them dry. Dozens of corpses. Plenty of materials. Jason pulled at them,
bones exploding from their fleshy casing in a shower of blood and gore.
They whirled around him in a vortex, knitting themselves together with
ropes of dark mana.
A creature began to form at the base of the tower. Dozens of feet
long. Razor-sharp ivory fangs. Clawed feet. Its wings soon snapped
outward, sheets of obsidian energy stretching out across that bleached white
frame. A Bone Dragon. A creature of pure death.
As Jason finally canceled his spell, he staggered in place, a zombie
catching him before he could fall. His creature raised its head to the sky
and let out a menacing roar, its wings snapping forward and the wind
sending the onrushing travelers stumbling backward.
“Okay… we’re good!” Finn shouted.
“Then everyone, get the fuck on!” Jason shot back, gesturing at the
dragon.
Hundreds of travelers were still barreling at them, racing into the
courtyard and across the rooftops as their team retreated, piling onto the
dragon’s back. Jason chugged a mana potion and kept casting, raising more
bodies, and sending them hurtling back into the enemy’s ranks only to
explode apart in a shower of dark energy.
He felt himself lifted off the ground, Frank’s doppelganger carrying
him in his arms and leaping up onto the dragon, Silver at his side. The
creature then began to take off as the tower beside them slowly started to
crumble and crack, finally giving way under the assault – remnants of light
mana spilling out in every direction. The dragon’s wings flapped
powerfully as they rose into the air.
Jason looked to Ella then, the dark mage clinging to the dragon
beside him.
“Want to get some last-minute experience?” he asked.
She just grinned back. “Sure do.”
“Well, tell Frank to hurry back when you respawn. You can hitch a
ride with him.”
Ella gave him a salute. “Yes, sir.”
Then she let go, falling back into the crowd of frenzied travelers,
Jason’s bone shields offering her some cover from the elemental missiles
that whizzed up at them. As Ella neared the throng, her body suddenly
exploded in a torrential blast of acid just as the dragon’s wings snapped
forward again, creating a whirling vortex that sent the burning green
substance spinning out among the players’ ranks. Their screams echoed up
into the air as hundreds died in an instant.
Then they were airborne, and the dragon was beating a path away
from Barrow.
“Watch out!” Eliza cried as another massive bolt of lightning
followed them. Now that Jerry was onboard, no one was keeping Pewpew
suppressed.
But Finn had anticipated the attack and maintained his channels, and
the bolt soon smashed against another barrier of flame-infused metal. The
bullet carved through the first panel, only to be met by another… and
another. Until the energy dissipated harmlessly, and the projectile fell away,
tumbling down toward Barrow.
As he looked back at the city, Jason’s cloud cover began to break
apart, and a patchwork of sunlight suddenly streamed down upon Barrow,
highlighting the destruction. The guild hall had been torn apart, infested
with living vines. The courtyard was a bloody mess. One whole wing was
ablaze.
A flash of lightning drew his attention to the street outside the
guild. Three figures stood there now. Blaze, Pewpew, and Bard. Just
watching.
All that damage caused by just four of them – not even the full
guild. And even then, Jason and his allies had been forced to trade a death
between Queen and Frank and barely managed to defend the sensor array
until it had activated. He could only hope that the data Finn had collected
would be enough to pinpoint the excavation site.
“These guys are no joke,” Riley murmured from Jason’s side,
echoing his thoughts.
“No, no, they’re not. But next time, our hands won’t be tied playing
defense,” Jason replied. He hadn’t forgotten how they had almost killed
Silver, his eyes pulsing with dark energy.
“Next time, we’re going to make them pay. That’s a promise.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 23 - Aftermath
Rogue-Net Forums:

No One: What a shitshow in Barrow… as expected of the avatars.

XShadowX: I thought these people were supposed to be legends. But we

were able to mess their shit up with just a few travelers?

Tina: You mean several hundred travelers, right?

No One: And a few members of <Death and Taxes>. Now those guys
know how to lay down some hurt. I heard they took out one of Jason’s
lieutenants instantly.

XShadowX: Gives me hope that the Great Reset is actually going to

happen. If they can’t even handle a group of randos and a couple members
of a PK guild, how are they going to stop the end times?

Mateo: @XShadowX as though what? You aren’t going to suck post-

server reset? Maybe just git gud, bro.

XShadowX: User has been banned. Post Removed.

Julie: @XShadowX Reported.

No One: *eyeroll* Bunch of children in here. I mean, I hate these guys,

but you can see from the videos that the attack was well orchestrated, and
the travelers were being buffed by Bard.

Elijah: That was nuts. I just couldn’t die…

Ashley: Wait, Bard was there!? Squeeeeeeeeee!

Justin: Ugh, calm yourself, groupie.

Ashley: I. Can. Not. Bard is gorgeous…

Emma: I know, right? That big-feathered hat just does strange things to
me.

No One: Uh, can we get back on topic?

Mia: Sure, we can! So, how ripped do you think Bard is under all that
velvet?

<No One has left the channel>

<Mateo has left the channel>

<Justin has left the channel>

* * *

Smoke streamed into the sky, the remains of Evelyn’s guild hall still
smoldering after the damage that Blaze had wreaked. The entire first floor
was little more than ash and rocky foundation – even the stone having
melted away in some sections. The fires had swept through most of the
structure, burning the expensive carpets and furnishings that Evelyn had
installed. Apparently, they were rather flammable. Go figure.
The resulting explosions had also caved in portions of the building
as Eliza’s plants had given way – the vegetation having undermined the
hall’s structural integrity. Piles of stone and rubble now lingered all around
the courtyard, the remains of the sensor perched only a few feet away from
where Bard sat atop a massive boulder, his attention fixed on the glowing
blue screens before him and his hands dancing across the keyboard.
“Hey, Bard. Whatcha doing—” Pewpew flashed into existence
nearby, hesitating as she skimmed one of the screens.
Bard started in surprise and tried to pivot the display to hide its
contents. “I’ve told you not to just pop in behind me like that!” he
complained.
“Uh-huh,” Pewpew offered dryly. “Why is that exactly? So I won’t
catch you talking yourself up in a bunch of forums? Do you really think
women have a thing for floppy hats?”
As Bard tried to twist away, the girl teleported again, stooping over
to read the contents of another screen. “And just how many shill accounts
did you create?”
“That’s none of your business,” Bard replied indignantly, finally
swiping away the screens entirely. “I’ll have you know that I received a ton
of normal engagement on my comments. And besides, increasing my
personal brand is important. I’ve actually sold quite a few of my Bard’s
Basics packages. Just look at these flattering reviews.”
“Sure you did, buddy,” Pewpew replied, patting his shoulder.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” Bard demanded with a huff.
The girl just shrugged. “We’re nearly finished up with the looting.
Not a bad haul. Evelyn’s storage warehouses were warded and reinforced
so they survived most of the damage. Smiles also messaged and said his
mission was a success. He’s getting things lined up for Phase 2, and he
should be ready to meet us within the next day or two in-game.”
Bard’s expression sobered. “That all?” he asked.
“Not quite. He also asked about the lady. Evelyn?”
“She’s fine. Her avatar should arrive on time.”
“Can’t imagine she’ll be happy with the damage to the guild hall,”
Pewpew murmured, eyeing the devastation. “Such a shame.”
“I didn’t peg you for the compassionate type,” Bard quipped.
“I have a soft spot for powerful women. What can I say?” she shot
back with a laugh.
Evelyn was indeed that. Which also made her a handful. But Bard
had long since given up questioning Smiles’ plans. They had a way of
working out in the end… usually after the body count had piled up to a
horrifying degree. Indeed, the plan had gone well so far – almost too well.
That thought had a frown tugging at Bard’s lips.
“You sure about all of this?” Pewpew asked suddenly, echoing his
thoughts.
Bard glanced at her in surprise. The homicidal tween wasn’t
normally one for heart-to-hearts. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, c’mon. You know that last fight was a near thing.” Pewpew
looked to the pool of black and blue blood pooling around one column, a
grimace tugging at her lips. “Killing a player is one thing, but if I hadn’t
—”
 “You did what you needed to do,” Bard interjected, his voice
unusually solemn. “Smiles would have done the same thing.”
Pewpew didn’t look convinced, but she shook off her fugue. “Even
so, are you sure about this plan? Helping usher in the apocalypse? I mean,
I know why we’re doing it. And I’m not exactly against a huge payday.
But if we do win… when we win, I mean, will there be anything left?” Her
tone was almost wistful.
Bard just grunted. Although, her words resonated with his own
worries. Perhaps some of his internet trolling had been an attempt to
distract himself from what they were doing.
“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.
A long silence met those words.
“I’m really going to miss blowing stuff up,” Pewpew said finally.
“Amen to that,” Bard answered.

* * *

“So, what do you think?” the Gambler asked, waving at the screen.
The other gods were arrayed around the lounge, perched on velvet-
wrapped sofas. Their faces were dire as they watched the display that hung
across the wall. The panel was broken up into multiple displays that
showcased the battle that had raged through the guild hall, the building now
little more than smoking wreckage.
“It was really… entertaining,” the Hippie mumbled around a
mouthful of nuts. “I especially enjoyed that cliffhanger moment where
Pewpew shot Silver. Almost thought she was dead, you know?” He shook
his head. “And then a meteor? And an army of radicalized travelers?
Good stuff.” The Hippie shoved another handful of nuts into his mouth,
gesturing for the Gambler’s rat, Oscar, to bring him more – the rodent
giving a weary sigh from the bar.
“Your people seem insane,” the Lady commented dryly.
“A product of working with the Gambler, I imagine,” the Old Man
added.
The god of air arched an eyebrow. “That’s rich coming from you
lot. Let’s see here… you’ve got a psychopath LARP’ing as some sort of
hero, an old man pining after his dead wife, a girl that likes flowers a bit too
much, and a wannabe goth kid that took the wrong lesson away from his
comic books.” The god of air held up his hands. “But sure, by all means,
keep throwing rocks from your glass house.”
The Gambler leaned back, swirling his whiskey. “And regardless, it
looks like I’m winning.”
“The conflict is far from over,” the Lady shot back. “So far, your
people haven’t managed to slay a single avatar. They’ve merely burned
down a building. They didn’t even destroy that sensor tower before they
got the pulse off… Pathetic, if you ask me.”
The Seer tilted her head, watching the screen intently. “I’m not sure
that was the goal,” she observed quietly.
The others looked at her curiously, the Gambler only smiling into
his glass.
“How do you mean?” the Old Man asked.
“Pewpew could have potentially taken out the tower with that first
shot. Instead, she decided to kill Queen. Perhaps that move made sense –
to protect the group’s information. But why did she go for Silver with the
second shot? The tower was still undefended.”
The gods lapsed into a momentary silence at that.
The Old Man grunted. “Hmm, I see your point. But even if she had
destroyed the tower, the avatar group could have fled and built another.
Next time, they could have chosen to build somewhere more
inconspicuous. Which begs the question… what was the point of this
attack?”
The god of fire nodded, the silks wrapping her body rustling. “My
thoughts exactly. The only certainty in all of this is that <Death and Taxes>
never intended to destroy the sensor. They’re planning something else.”
“What are you up to?” the Lady demanded, whirling on the
Gambler.
He just took a sip. “Me? Nothing at all. As you’ve all noticed, I’ve
been here the whole time under the watchful eyes of our beloved
chaperones,” the Gambler added, waving at the dark-hued animals lingering
about the room. “Besides, I take the integrity of my bets very, very
seriously.”
The Gambler eyed the Lady. “Speaking of which… where exactly
is your ball and chain? I can’t help but notice that obnoxious creature is
mysteriously absent. Perhaps you’ve been doing something you don’t want
seen? Helping a certain self-proclaimed paladin?”
 The Lady looked away. “The bird was getting on my nerves. I put
it down for a short nap, is all. Nothing permanent.”
“Yup… she definitely killed it,” the Hippie said, watching the
goddess of light.
As though his words had summoned the creature, a small black
sparrow suddenly popped into existence in the center of the room. It
quickly scanned the enclosure before its eyes rested on the Lady, darting
over to her, and twittering happily on her shoulder, rubbing its tiny head
against her neck. The woman barely suppressed the urge to lash out at the
creature, her hands balling into fists on the sofa beside her as she breathed
in deeply.
“Ahh, she’s cute,” the Hippie added. “But definitely not as cute as
you, Fluffy,” he amended quickly, petting the sheep where he lay beside
him.
“She just adores you,” the Gambler observed with a smile.
“I’m going to kill you,” the Lady ground out.
“Promises, promises, my dear sister.”
The Gambler heaved out a sigh. “We both know that death is
beyond us. There is no promise of sweet release… ever. There is only this
universe and the roles we play in administering this farcical competition
among the travelers. We lack even the illusion of choice.”
“Is that what this is?” the Old Man asked. “This game? Your
attempt to end it once and for all? To finally rest? You know that won’t
work.”
The Gambler cocked his head. “Perhaps. Or maybe I just enjoy
watching you all squirm. What can I say? It makes me happy.” He
chuckled darkly at his own joke, his gaze flitting back to the screen as he
took another long pull on his whiskey. Meanwhile, the other gods looked at
each other with concern.
“Either way, it will make for an interesting show, one I’ve been
looking forward to for a very, very long time,” the Gambler murmured,
attention shifting back to the screen. “I can hardly wait to see what comes
next.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 24 - Rendezvous
Algae coated the walls of the cave, slithering up the roughhewn rock
and stone despite the absence of any real source of water. It gave off a soft
green glow that illuminated the cramped enclosure. Jason hadn’t had time
to build a fortress, just a safe place for his team and his newfound allies to
regroup without any prying eyes or ears.
After escaping from the ruined guild hall, Jason had directed his
dragon high above the cloud cover, even though the harsh sunlight swiftly
eroded the undead creature. Then he’d chosen a random direction. Not
back to the Twilight Throne or to a friendly city. That was far too obvious.
And after everything that had gone down back in Barrow, he wasn’t taking
any chances. <Death and Taxes> had proven themselves to be formidable
tacticians. Or at least someone among them was pulling all the right
strings.
The ground trembled, sending up a shower of dirt as every eye in
the small cave turned to the source of the noise, weapons clutched in hand
and mana flaring. Yet they hesitated as a giant, ant-like creature emerged
and immediately shrank down to regular human form, Ella tumbling to the
ground as the creature shifted.
Frank’s eyes scanned the cave until they locked on Silver. Without a
word, he rushed forward and wrapped her in his arms, letting out a low
growl as he greeted her – neither saying much. Not that they had much
chance with their lips that busy.
“Uh, there are still people here,” Kyyle commented dryly.
“Is there always that much… um, growling?” Ella offered
awkwardly, standing up and wiping the dirt from her armor.
Jason just nodded. This was actually pretty tame.
“You can’t get in the way of young love. That’s what I always say,”
Jerry observed with a flick at the brim of his hat.
The pair finally parted, not even looking sheepish at their reunion.
Not that Jason blamed them. Silver had almost died, after all.
Frank finally took a good look around, a frown plastered on his
face. “So, why are we meeting out here in the middle of nowhere… in a
hole in the ground?”
 “Because we don’t know if anyone is tracking our movements,”
Finn answered simply, not bothering to look up from the displays that
hovered before him. He’d been terse, bordering on mute, since the
encounter in Barrow. No doubt, Eliza’s memories were responsible for that
– the implication of what she’d overheard between her parents alarming.
“Jason made the right call,” Kyyle offered when the avatar of flame
lapsed into silence. “That encounter back in Barrow demonstrated that our
enemy has an incredible amount of intel on each of us. Not only that, but
they have someone savvy coordinating their movements. Even after we
confronted Queen, they already had a Plan B lined up.
“Which means they might have something else planned. For
example, the most obvious move would be for us to retreat to the Twilight
Throne from Barrow given the distance.”
Jason nodded. “So, instead, I picked a random direction, landed
once we were about a hundred miles from the city, formed a Carry-On
Worm from the remains of the Bone Dragon, and then repositioned us
another few miles from our landing zone. Thus, we get our new secret
hideout.”
“Otherwise known as the hole in the ground,” Julia groused.
“All I see is that we got our asses handed to us, and now we’re
hiding,” Alexion spat, anger flaring in his eyes and his mana responding in
kind. His body began to shine with light. He waved at the displays before
him. “Do you see what they’re saying online? They’re laughing at us.
Four avatars could barely handle an unruly mob. And we’re still on the
defensive.
“We should be taking the fight to them – tracking down those
assholes and—”
“And what?” Jason calmly interjected. Alexion let out an angry
growl. “No, I’m serious – I’m not baiting you. And what? Kill them…
only for them to respawn? Torture is out, right? We sure as hell don’t need
a game master crawling up our ass. Capture one and read their mind? Oh,
except I’m sure they’ll develop a countermeasure now. None of them seem
particularly afraid of dying. And that all assumes we can even find them.
Where would you start looking exactly?”
Alexion’s jaw snapped shut, but he didn’t look happy. “They have
Evelyn,” he finally managed. “I don’t give a shit if I have to go track them
down myself.”
 “Evelyn is fine,” Jason shot back. “We’re only talking about her in-
game avatar. And since she’s still online and hasn’t died…” He waited for
confirmation as Alexion checked his UI, finally giving a grudging nod.
“They must be sedating or keeping her imprisoned somehow.”
“Probably moving her and hoping to use her as bait,” Julia offered.
“Fucking assholes,” Frank growled.
Jason sighed, shaking his head. “Either way, the easiest way to find
Evelyn is to find <Death and Taxes>. And for that, we need Finn here to
comb through his data.”
Alexion’s hands clenched. Jason watched him. There wasn’t any
love lost between them, but he could sympathize with him – an emotion
he’d never expected to feel toward Alex-fucking-Lane. Much less, twice in
as many days. Maybe Alfred was on to something with his theory about
common enemies. They both had plenty – both in-game and out.
“Look, we’re going to get her back. But you need to take a breath.
They want us on edge right now. Worried. Anxious. Angry,” Jason
explained, eyeing Frank with that last one. “They’ve been fucking with our
heads just as much as they tried to take down that sensor tower. You get
upset… emotional? Well, then they win. We need to come up with a real
plan.”
Alexion held his gaze for a long moment but then blew out a breath,
forcing his hands to unclench… even if he still didn’t look happy.
“I’m relaxed. The epitome of calm,” he answered with wry
sarcasm.
“Good. Then let’s start with what we learned about our opponents,”
Jason began, pushing off from the nearby cave wall and pacing the room.
“Our best guess is we were facing what? Four members of <Death and
Taxes>?”
“Blaze, Queen, Pewpew, and Bard by my count,” Kyyle observed.
Jason nodded. “Which means the other group staged the attack on
Sandscrit to pin the blame on Eliza.” The water mage had stayed quiet as
the others bickered but flinched at that, her hand fiddling with one of her
wands.
“Which I had no part in,” she added quietly but firmly.
“So you say,” Julia snapped.
“Do you need more proof?” Jason demanded, Finn’s daughter
holding his gaze for a moment before looking away. While that little dip
into Eliza’s mind might have proven she wasn’t behind the end of the game
world or the attack on Sandscrit, it had only added to the tension.
“As I was saying,” Jason continued, “that means Smiles, Smokes,
and Tombs handled that operation on their own. They split their forces.”
“We can also assume they have a way to remotely maintain an
illusion,” Ella observed, her hand flicking at the display that hovered before
her to pivot her screen. It showed the now familiar encounter in Sandscrit –
replete with a shark-like-man eating people.
Kyyle nodded. “My guess is that Queen learned to imbue an
illusion into an item. Some type of jewelry is most likely. There are
several members of the Mage Guild that are quite well versed in Warding.
Runes etched directly onto a person’s skin use their mana to sustain the
spell,” he continued, waving at Finn’s eyes, twin tattoos peeking from
beneath the bandage that wrapped his face. The avatar of flame didn’t
react. His attention was focused solely on the screens in front of him,
occasionally muttering an order at Daniel where he floated at his shoulder.
“A similar approach is used when enchanting an item – inscribing
the ward directly onto the artifact. However, that requires an external
power source. And given the complexity of the illusions, my guess is that it
would require quite a bit of mana,” Kyyle finished with a frown, tapping at
his notes to update them.
“So, you’re saying the illusions have a short duration?” Riley asked.
“Quite possibly. That would explain why Queen needed to imitate
Evelyn herself,” Kyyle answered with a nod. “She would be using her own
mana pool and regeneration to help sustain that illusion over a long period
of time.”
“An illusion that even fooled Finn,” Frank muttered, glancing at
Silver. That little slip-up could have cost her life.
“Queen tricked me, I’ll admit it,” the avatar of flame bit out angrily,
flame rippling across his skin. “But I was… distracted. I’m not anymore.
And now that I’ve seen how she’s created multiple layers of illusions, I
know what to look for. That trick won’t work twice.”
“Yeah, you seem super chill now,” Frank remarked dryly. He
glanced at Julia and Kyyle. “What does he look like when he’s actually
upset?”
Julia just snorted, and Kyyle cocked his head, neither wanting to
antagonize Finn further.
 “It’s safe to assume they’ll likely try a different tack going forward,”
Jason murmured to himself, rubbing at his chin as he paced the room.
“They’re clearly smart enough to know the jig is up regarding their
illusions.”
He shook his head. The question was how… but that was jumping
the gun.
“We also now have a decent sense of some of their abilities – above
and beyond the information we’ve collected from videos and rumors
online,” Jason continued. “Queen has mastered water mana, using it both
offensively in the form of ice and to create intricate illusions,” Jason began
before waving at Julia who had faced off against the fire mage.
“Blaze is exceptionally powerful,” Julia muttered reluctantly. “She
can maintain a massive Fire Nova for an almost indefinite amount of time –
which speaks to a high Intelligence and Willpower. Given the strength of
her attacks, including that Meteor that struck Alexion’s shield, I’m guessing
she’s put almost all her points into Intelligence. Rumors online also say she
can overcharge her fire spells.”
“Shouldn’t that make her squishy as hell, though? Why couldn’t
you take her out?” Ella asked, cocking her head. “With your Mana
Absorption, it seems like that should have been easy. Move in close and
stab her.”
“You’d think,” Julia grunted. “Except, despite her casting stats, she
isn’t just a flimsy caster. She’s fast. Really fast. My guess is that she’s
using Haste like Finn. It seems like she’s undergone extensive physical
training. Her speed and strength seemed unusual, given the intensity of her
spell casting. She’s also leveled and modified her spells. She can increase
the heat around her in pockets – enough to melt normal metal. What I don’t
quite get is how she can withstand her own magic. Some sort of Fire
Resistance? But I can confirm that she is able to hold her breath for an
exceptionally long time. She seemed completely unaffected by either the
poison ash or the lack of oxygen due to her flames.”
“Bard is also no joke,” Riley added softly, her eyes distant as she
replayed the battle in her head. “I saw him from the rooftops. He didn’t
even need to engage. He just used the other travelers like lemmings.
Buffed them initially – my guess is he increased their speed and health.
That song at the end whipped them into a sort of frenzy. Probably removed
their pain feedback and granted a massive stat boost—”
 “At the cost of their lives,” Jason finished for her. It had been a last-
ditch effort on Bard’s part since the resulting casualties would only increase
Jason’s strength during battle.
“And since he didn’t enter the fight himself, we don’t know what
else he can do,” Jerry added with a tip of his hat. “He could be just as
dangerous as Blaze in close quarters.”
“Especially if he can buff himself,” Riley answered, nodding along
with the innkeeper.
“What about Pewpew?” Jason asked, looking to Jerry.
An unusual frown pulled at his lips, the zombie innkeeper fiddling
with his mustache. “That little girl is… unusual. She’s an air mage. Fast.
Dual pistols and some sort of long barrel weapon I’ve never faced before.
Accurate and some decent force behind it.”
“A rifle?” Jason asked. Jerry just shrugged.
“She’s limited to a short-ranged teleport, but she uses it with
impunity,” Jerry continued. “Back-to-back jumps. Moving at odd angles.
My guess is that she chained the teleports together to get some height on the
guild hall and made those first few shots while freefalling.”
“Almost certainly, given the angle of the shot,” Finn chimed in.
“Daniel?”
His AI pulsed once, and a glowing orange model appeared next to
him, providing a wireframe model of the guild hall and the courtyard. A
line traced the angle of the shot, which looked like it had come from almost
directly above the guild.
“To pierce that shield, she would have also needed a tremendous
amount of force. The mana barriers in this world are still affected by
physics – with some modifications of course,” Finn explained, eyes on his
screen. “So, targeting a smaller segment can still penetrate the barrier. My
guess is that she used her air mana to channel lightning around a metallic
round, effectively magnetizing it, and then spun it up to speed like a drill bit
and fired.
“But then again, I don’t need to guess.” As he finished speaking,
Finn tossed Jason an object before turning back to his screens.
Jason looked down at his hand to find a half-ruined bullet more than
three inches long. The metal was warped and scored with scorch marks.
However, Jason could still make out the rifling along the side, forming deep
ridges in the projectile.
 “Huh,” Ella murmured. “So, we’re facing an illusionist, a hard DPS
caster, a strong support, and a teleporting sniper.”
“Not counting the other three, yeah,” Frank murmured, rubbing at
his face.
Jason frowned at that. It felt like there was still a piece of the puzzle
missing there.
“About that attack on Sandscrit, it was clear that they were trying to
pin the theft of the gate piece on Eliza – hence the illusions. But why the
gate piece specifically?” Jason asked.
“What do you mean?” Riley questioned.
“It was clear they were trying to paint one of us as a traitor,” Jason
continued. “But they could have accomplished that goal in a number of
ways. So why attack a heavily fortified location with a high chance of
failure?” he murmured as he paced.
Finn finally looked up at that, his brow furrowing as he shared a
look with Julia and Kyyle. Jason didn’t miss that exchange, although he
had no idea what it might mean.
“The, um, purpose of the gate pieces is still not clear,” Kyyle offered
hesitantly. “I suppose it’s possible they know something we don’t – they
seem to have an unusually accurate source of information.”
“Or maybe just a show of strength?” Julia added. “Or possibly they
chose to target a high-value item, something they assumed we would be
upset about losing.”
Jason nodded slowly at that, but something still didn’t feel right.
He just couldn’t put his finger on why.
“Either way, the video provides some additional intel,” Riley spoke
up. “We can assume the shark was Smiles given its physical strength. He
must have been passing or phasing through the ground with the help of
Tombs. And the water was likely controlled by Smokes – at least according
to the information available online. So, that gives them a physical brawler
who is at least on par with Frank, an earth mage specializing in moving
through objects, and what’s likely an air mage that can control smoke –
changing its shape at will.”
“I hate to say it, but these guys are pretty good,” Ella spoke up.
Jason had just been thinking the same thing. The full group was
going to be a tough nut to crack – especially with their individual skills and
coordination. He could see the same concern mirrored on the faces of the
rest of his companions, a hushed silence filling the cave.
“Except next time, we won’t be distracted,” Jason announced,
breaking the tension. “We won’t be caught off guard. Or forced to devote
multiple members of our group to defending a sensor tower. That last battle
was on their terms. Now it’s time to turn the tables.”
And hopefully, I won’t get caught without any minions, he added
silently.
“Next time, I’m going to rip their fucking hearts out,” Frank added
for good measure.
Silver patted his arm and replied, “Not if I get to them first.”
“Speaking of future heart-ripping, I’ve managed to collate the data
from the sensor pulse,” Finn spoke up as he turned away from his screens.
“I’m certain what you meant to say was that your beloved and
invaluable companion managed to collate the data,” Daniel chirped from
his shoulder, earning him a glare and a frustrated huff from the older man.
“Yes, yes. Let’s all have a round of applause for the talking
lantern,” Julia drawled, the group mustering a weak applause and Daniel’s
light dimming.
“Either way, here it is,” Finn trailed off as an image popped up
beside him, showing a rough map of the continent with a rainbow of mana
scattered across the land mass, almost like a modern weather map. Except
those energies collided and swirled together in unusual ways, forming pools
of energy in multiple locations.
“That burst gave us the positions of major collections of mana,”
Finn explained. “You can see these big pockets of primarily one color:
Sandscrit, The Twilight Throne, The Crystal Reach, etc. Those we can rule
out as potential locations for the excavation. I’ve also compared the other
major mana signatures against mapped dungeons or major cities like
Vaerwald… assuming, of course, that the information available online is
reliable.”
As he spoke, Finn tapped at the map, and those locations
disappeared.
“Which leaves us with just a handful of options. However, we can
also make some assumptions about the excavation. For example, the
wording is telling. It implies they’re digging. In that case, they’re likely
using primarily earth and fire mana.”
 “Or a giant skeletal worm,” Frank muttered, eyeing the open maw
that lingered along one side of the cavern.
“Not likely,” Riley answered. “I mean, do you know of any other
Necromancers? Much less one that can pull off some of Jason’s creations?”
“Fair enough,” the shifter replied, cocking his head. “I’m just
saying there might be another way we aren’t considering.”
“It’s possible but unlikely. We have to make some conservative
assumptions here,” Finn continued. “And if we do… that narrows it down
to one option.”
His finger tapped at the screen, highlighting a location far to the
southeast. From Jason’s perspective, it was going to be a long trip.
Probably two days in-game if they traveled underground – which was likely
their safest option, even if it wasn’t the fastest method.
“We have a possible target. The question is what to do next,” Finn
finished.
“Let’s go fucking kill them,” Alexion grunted. “What more of a
plan do we need?”
“Well, um, there are a few other considerations,” Eliza interjected
gently, frowning.
Ella grunted. “Exactly. I mean, I’m all for going in guns blazing.
But how many guns? And which ones? Do we take troops from our cities?
That’s going to give away our location – and our possible destination.”
“It’s also going to take time,” Riley added. “A few days to muster
our forces and a few more to travel. And it puts some of them at risk.” She
looked at Silver during this last remark, the shifter nodding.
“Some of us don’t come back,” Silver muttered darkly.
“What’s our other option then?” Frank asked, squeezing her hand.
“Go in with just this group? Against <Death and Taxes> and an unknown
third-party guild? We could be facing hundreds, if not thousands, on their
own turf.”
Jason chewed on his lip in thought.
“Maybe we can compromise,” he suggested finally. The others
turned to look at him then, eyeing him curiously. “We still have some time
left. A week at least. Our priority right now should be to confirm that we
have the right location. We can tackle that ourselves. That would allow us
to use the Carry-On Worm to travel underground and avoid detection. If we
determine we have the right location, then we could build up our forces and
launch a full-fledged attack on the excavation site.”
“When you say build up our forces?” Julia offered with a frown.
Finn arched an eyebrow, glancing at the screen. “Ahh, I see…” he
murmured. He tapped at the map again, and more locations popped into
focus. “These, for example, are farming areas that have already been
mapped by other travelers and they’re close to that concentration of mana.
The data is pretty sparse. This area doesn’t look to be a popular starting
location and it’s not near any major cities – so there may be more.”
“What are we talking about here?” Alexion demanded in irritation.
Riley sighed, rubbing at her temple. “Jason plans to create another
undead horde.”
“Only if it’s necessary,” Jason amended. “With this group, it should
be easier than when we created the Bone Gardens around Sandscrit. And
that way, we don’t need to worry about taking any unnecessary risks – for
example, exposing intel by involving other travelers or putting our city’s
residents at risk. As Silver pointed out, they don’t come back.” The shifter
nodded.
“So, what? You’d be in control of some mammoth undead horde…
that we’re all supposed to help you build? Not to mention all the mana that
would generate for your well,” Alexion snapped. “And if we win, I guess
you’d just happily split the gate pieces, right?”
“We actually have to win for that to be an issue,” Riley shot back.
“Do you have a better plan? One where we don’t announce our location
and end up with a legion of travelers fucking everything up? Because that
went so well the first time, right?”
Alexion grimaced. “Still, the point stands. We’re putting all the
power in Jason’s hands with this plan.” Jason could see that Finn also
looked uneasy at this suggestion, although he didn’t offer an alternative
either.
“What if we hedge our bets,” Jason finally suggested. “If you want,
we could sabotage my undead. Have Finn install some sort of explosive
and then give the detonator to someone else. Hell, that might even make
my undead deadlier – especially if we can find a highly mobile base
creature to produce with the Bone Gardens.”
Alexion chewed on that for a moment. “That… could work.”
“Agreed,” Finn replied tersely.
 “Eliza?” Jason offered. The girl started but gave a quick nod.
“Good,” Jason said finally. “Then I guess we need to hit the road.
It’s time to bring the fight to these assholes.” The others looked more than
happy to oblige.
Jason just hoped that the rematch would go better than the first
round.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 25 - Undead
Jason sat inside the Carry-On Worm, an ivory throne at his back,
and the creature’s console arrayed before him. The walls of the worm
shifted and undulated, that vibration spreading out through the empty seats
that filled the space. A steady hum that seemed to vibrate his very bones.
The others found it unpleasant. In fact, they had all logged off during their
journey, attending to real-world necessities like eating and drinking. Yet
Jason paid the tremors little mind, the sensation customary after so long
spent inside these worms.
Besides, he relished the opportunity for some solitude after the
events in Barrow. Something else had been occupying his thoughts lately,
lingering there at the back of his mind even during that last Keeper trial
with Frank, the delve into Eliza’s mind, his confrontation with Queen, and
the chaotic battle that had ensued.
Now it hovered in the air before his eyes – a glowing, sapphire
notice that flickered and taunted and teased…

New Quest: He’s A Keeper

The second Soul Guard has completed the Keeper trials and has unlocked
their Guardian’s Sacrifice. However, the evolution into a Shade and the
rise of the Soul Guard was not a destination but simply one more step
along the Path of the Dark.

You have proven you are willing to go to great lengths to grasp hold of that
which you desire. Your friends have perished – even suffered – by your
hand, you have begun to bridge the divide between the living and dead,
and, in the process, your flesh has been warped and twisted into
something… more. These trials have served a purpose. Preparing your
mind and body for what is to come – training you to rely on the power of
the dark instead of your own flesh and blood.

You are now ready to go further. To push yourself to even greater heights.
To allow that darkness to consume you fully – without fear or reservation.
You are ready to complete your transformation. To become a creature of
twilight and hunger and yearning desire. To become something your
enemies fear and your allies cheer. The embodiment of death itself.

That is… if you aren’t afraid to die first.

Difficulty: S+
Success: Shed your last traces of humanity.
Failure: Give in to weakness, fear, and doubt.
Reward: Advancement in the Path of the Dark

Jason had pushed the prompt aside after Frank had completed the
final trial. There had been other, more pressing problems. Like Finn
possibly starting a war. And the traitor in their midst. But now that he had
a moment alone, he’d read it over and over and over. The explanation that
everything he’d gone through – everything he’d endured – had simply been
one more test.
Sacrificing his friends, their blood spilling into the well.
Delving into the depths of those waters, swimming with the souls of
the dead.
Thorn’s torture, the manipulation of that dream-like space.
Even becoming a Shade hadn’t been the end.
Worse still, the prompt had been vague on where to go next. Just a
bit light on the important-fucking-details. Like what exactly he needed to
do to take the next step.

Shed the last traces of your humanity.

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

He had spoken to his advisors in the Soul Well at length. Belephya
– one of the former Keepers – had briefly alluded to this future change
when she’d trained him to use the Soul Orb. She’d only mentioned that
those powers were reserved for a Keeper who had progressed further along
the Path of the Dark and abandoned any pretense at humanity.
When he’d pushed, she’d gone quiet, her eyes distant.
“Our power is the darkness,” she’d explained. “That icy burn; that
desperate hunger. The willpower to take what we want. Yet that power is
too great for this… this flimsy flesh casing we were born with. So, our
forebearers solved that problem. They realized that their body was simply
unnecessary. A clumsy and inefficient vessel for our strength.”
A ghostly hand had touched one arm, then the other, his chest, a
gesture at his legs, and then her fingertips had come to rest on his forehead.
“Our true power is stored here. Najima. Collections of mana. From these
points, the darkness flows, the six points of the star that make up the soul.
They are all that we need.”
Belephya had looked at him then, her eyes turning a solid black.
“The next step will be painful, even terrifying. You need to decide for
yourself if you are ready. If your want is deep enough… your hunger great
enough for what comes next.”
“I’m pretty sure she was telling me to kill myself,” Jason murmured
aloud to an audience of no one, leaning back in his ivory seat and staring at
that flickering blue prompt.
That was the only explanation he could come up with anyway.
The next step along the Path of the Dark involved removing the
Najima from his body.
His attention shifted to the side where more displays flickered in the
air. Biology textbooks, images of ruddy muscle, dense bone, organ
systems, and blood vessels and veins. Another showcased Kyyle’s notes –
the earth mage having been more than happy to part with them when Jason
showed an interest. They outlined the research on the Najima that had been
collected by the Mage Guild in Sandscrit. It was the same process that had
removed Julia’s ability to manipulate mana.
Even if he was right, how was he going to pull this off? To cut into
his body and remove those points of energy wasn’t enough. That would
leave him unable to cast – just like Julia. No, he needed to somehow
preserve the Najima while replacing everything else. Yet that seemed
impossible. How would he maintain his health – or mana, he supposed?
He might be a Shade now, but he still bled. Still breathed. Still had the
same organs as any other human.
Eliza’s potions might help with the blood loss, but they wouldn’t be
nearly enough.
And that was putting aside another problem. How did he capture
and contain the Najima? How did he even detect those points of energy?
Just start digging around in his arm? He lacked Finn’s Mana Sight or the
sophisticated equipment described in Kyyle’s notes. He stared down at his
open palms. It was just him and his own two hands.
Jason let out a frustrated sigh, swiping away those screens and
rubbing at his eyes. An answer wasn’t forthcoming. Maybe it never would
be.
Besides, he was tired – more tired than he cared to admit. He must
have been logged in for more than a day now. But he suspected that <Death
and Taxes> still had something up their sleeve. He needed something more
to level the playing field. Which is why he had stayed logged in, studying
that prompt – his own notes. He needed to get stronger so that he could…
Jason hesitated. And there it was. The real problem.
So, he could do what exactly?
Save the game world? But to what end?
He wasn’t even sure why he was playing anymore.
Alfred had been silent since their exchange before Barrow, Onyx
having disappeared somewhere. But even if the AI were here, what would
he say? More cryptic nonsense? Vague and carefully worded sentences.
Insisting that Jason should trust him despite not knowing what he was
planning? And Alfred definitely had a plan, of that Jason was sure. There
were too many coincidences. Too many connections between each of the
avatars.
A swipe of his wrist and another screen popped into existence,
showcasing his own notes on the avatars. After his conversation with
Robert, it had seemed like a good idea.
First, they all lived in the same place – which was statistically
impossible given the size of the player base. Then there were the
connections between them. A famous engineer who had helped give birth
to Alfred and who conveniently happened to be Robert’s old mentor. The
daughter of Rachael’s friend and colleague, who just might have some
information hinting that her death wasn’t an accident. The son of the CEO
that had helped create this world, who had been there when Rachael died
and had covered for the birth of Alfred.
And then there was Jason… Alfred’s right hand both in-game and
out.
Two more avatars still had yet to be revealed. A question mark hung
beside a rare photo of Smiles, his notes on the other members of <Death
and Taxes> spilling out into the display’s margins. However, Jason
wouldn’t be surprised if the other two avatars had similar connections – a
part to play in a mystery with no answer and terrible stakes.
So why did he keep charging headlong through the darkness?
If he was being honest, Jason had been driven by anger at first. At
Alexion, at Richmond, at his parents, at Gloria, even at Finn… But ever
since Sandscrit, Jason’s anger had faded. As though he had finally vented
all the pressure that had been building, building, building as the world
pressed in around him in-game and out. Thorn, the hearing, those two teens
dead on his bedroom floor, blood pooling around pale flesh and vacant eyes
—
Jason shook his head to rid himself of those images. The bottom
line was that he found that anger harder to muster now, even after what
<Death and Taxes> had done or how Pewpew had nearly killed Silver. By
all accounts, their opponents avoided resident casualties. That much was
clear from watching their videos online. Which meant Pewpew had been
desperate. She’d needed to create an opening for her team. If it had been
him in her place—
“I would have made the same move,” Jason muttered into the
blackness that encircled him.
Maybe that was why he was struggling to develop a real counter for
<Death and Taxes>. Why he was as distracted as Finn. Maybe Angie had
been right. Maybe he should just let this all end – take the money, and buy
a nice place for himself and his aunt. Finish high school. Start thinking
about college. Rid himself of that army of enemies Frank had seen circling
in his subconscious. Finally, relax.
Maybe the apocalypse was a sign…
A warning light flashed, and a notification popped up before him.
It signaled that they were closing in on their destination.
Jason heaved out a sigh before tapping at the control console for the
Carry-On Worm, a dim blue light illuminating the enclosure. The
doomsday clock was still ticking down in the corner of his vision, their time
quickly running out. He needed to alert the others and get them back
online. His existential crises could wait for now.
Besides, in just a few more days, it might not matter.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 26 - Phased
The Carry-On Worm broke through the ground with a violent spray
of dirt and rock. The ivory machine heaved itself up out of the earth before
grinding to a halt along the surface. Its maw stretched open to reveal a dark
chasm from which a slender white ramp extended. And along that surface
stepped Jason and his tenuous allies.
Jason had directed his Carry-On Worm to deposit them roughly a
hundred miles from their target, emerging beneath a rocky outcropping that
would help obscure them from sight. Their goal was two-fold: to search for
farming areas they could convert into Bone Gardens and to investigate the
terrain before moving on to the potential excavation site. However, they
couldn’t be certain whether <Death and Taxes> already had scouts in this
area.
So, they would need to move cautiously.
“Doesn’t look like much,” Alexion observed as they took in their
surroundings.
For once, Jason couldn’t help but agree with him. This was the first
time he’d ventured to this portion of the continent – the group now well
southeast of the Sea’s Edge. The land rose around them to form towering
mountains seemingly devoid of life. No plants lingered on those slopes…
unless you counted hardy vines that clung to the stones. No trees towered
into the skies. And yet, as the sun streamed down on the group, Jason
didn’t feel the palpable heat of the deep desert. Instead, cool air blew
between them, tugging at his cape.
“Also gives our opponents good visibility,” Frank grunted. He
pointed to the top of a nearby ridge. “Easy to post scouts along those
mountains. Nowhere to hide in the valleys. They’re going to see a big
force coming from miles away.”
“Unless we go underground,” Riley offered, earning her a nod from
Frank.
Although, both had frowns on their faces. They didn’t need to say
more aloud – Jason knew what they were both thinking. It was going to be
difficult and costly to move a force of considerable size beneath the earth.
Only a fraction of their forces had used the Carry-On Worms during their
attack on Sandscrit.
 “I’m not a grower, but this seems unnatural,” Silver replied softly.
She had stooped, her fingers digging into the dirt. She plucked at a sapling,
observing it closely. “There’s some plant growth here, but it seems… new.
I wish we had Spider with us.”
“She’s right,” Eliza commented, peering over her shoulder. “These
are fresh saplings. And over there, I see grass beginning to grow. But it’s
almost like something wiped out the vegetation for miles in every direction,
and it’s only now springing back to life.” She glanced over her shoulder at
Brian. “Can you tell anything more?”
The plant-man simply nodded back before kneeling to the ground,
his fingers extending down into the earth and his sapphire eyes snapping
shut in concentration.
Riley shot Jason a worried look. “Maybe Blaze?”
At that comment, the others looked tense. Both Ella and Julia
reached for their weapons. If <Death and Taxes> had rid this area of any
cover, this might be a trap.
Jason shook his head slowly. “I don’t see any signs of fire. Finn?”
The avatar of fire frowned, staring at their surroundings, his head
cocked to the side. “The mana here is unusual.” His fingers reached out at
the air. “As you’d expect, there’s earth mana in the rock and the fresh plant
growth, as well as heat, light, and air surrounding us, but it almost looks
like an illusion… It’s as though there’s something just beneath – or behind
– the usual layers of energy. If I look away, I can almost catch a glimpse of
it, like I’m seeing double. I just can’t—”
Brian’s eyes shot open in alarm as the ground suddenly shook
beneath their feet, the rock pitching and tilting violently. A crack ripped
open the nearby cliff face, and a plume of dirt and rock spewed into the sky
before raining back down across the group. Rocks the size of boulders
slammed into the ground with tremendous force before exploding apart into
jagged shards of rock that cut at them like shrapnel.
The group moved quickly. Julia stepped forward, her shield
emitting a massive gust of wind that formed a hole in the dust even as
Kyyle’s staff flashed with emerald energy, and a Gravity Well formed above
their heads – sending the rocky debris rocketing back skyward as though it
had bounced off an invisible barrier.
“What the fuck was that?” Alexion snapped as the rock and dirt
began to clear.
 No one had a ready response. They could only look on in shock at
the damage. The nearby cliff face looked like it had been blasted apart, and
the area around them now resembled the surface of the moon – pockmarked
with craters and rocky shards. What little plant life had managed to attain a
feeble foothold was now smashed apart.
“Unstable,” a whispery voice spoke up then.
They all turned to see Brian staring around them in concern, his blue
eyes unblinking. “Ground. Unstable. Something. Wrong.”
“He must be able to sense whatever it is that I’m seeing… or not
seeing,” Finn bit out in a frustrated voice. “Daniel, can you help me out
here? Scan everything around us and then try to separate out this double
image.”
“That will take a considerable amount of time. We’re talking about
an immense amount of data,” the fire elemental chirped from his shoulder.
“I can’t provide an ETA.”
“Just do it,” Finn grunted back. “We need to know what we’re
dealing with.” The AI flashed once in acknowledgment before he began to
flit through the air, a beam of orange energy scanning the area diligently,
not missing a single rock or strand of grass.
“What does this mean for the farming locations?” Ella muttered.
“That they’ve probably been smashed flat by whatever the fuck that
was,” Julia answered in a growl. “That could also be why there aren’t any
plants around here. They don’t have enough time to grow before getting
buried under a few tons of rock.”
“A plausible hypothesis, unfortunately,” Kyyle answered.
“Did <Death and Taxes> pick this location on purpose then?” Frank
muttered. “It seems like a great location for them to defend – assuming
they can survive the earthquakes or rock geysers or whatever the hell just
happened.”
“Maybe,” Jason murmured. “But the prompt mentioned an
excavation. Which, again, implies they are digging for something. It could
be that whatever they’re trying to find is what’s causing this instability. The
info we found online about this area certainly didn’t mention anything like
this.”
His thoughts were dark. If this was just a precursor of what was to
come, how would the rest of the AO world fare? If they failed, would they
see everything they’d built ripped apart and swallowed by the earth? His
hands clenched into fists. They needed to stop this.
The ground shook again, and the group braced themselves, peering
around the area to identify the location of the earthquake before it struck.
Yet this time, no rock spewed into the air. Instead, something even more
unusual happened. The cliff face that had just erupted began to shimmer
and shake. Yet Jason realized it wasn’t the rock… it was the air itself. It
seemed to waver in place, like heat rising off hot asphalt, partially
obscuring what lingered just beneath.
As the group looked on in shock, that haze swept out in a wave,
forming a dense sphere that covered the mountain and reached down into
the nearby valley. The group took a few anxious steps backward, weapons
and spells at the ready.
However, as quickly as the mysterious shimmer appeared, it
suddenly vanished.
And in its place, there was now a paradise. Water trickled down
over the previously barren cliff face and tumbled into a small pond that
twined between the trunks of thick trees. Yet that water soon ran out
beyond the edges of this new scenery, meeting dry rock and cracked earth
where it formed muddy streams. However, the transformation seemed
limited to a roughly circular area only a few miles wide, leaving the rest of
the region untouched.
“Okay, what the actual fuck am I looking at right now?” Frank
finally asked. “I’m not going crazy, right? You all saw a forest suddenly
pop out of literally nowhere?”
“Yeah, yeah, we did,” Riley reassured him. Her bow was drawn, an
arrow nocked as she peered down the shaft. “And it apparently brought
something else with it.”
Movement shook the foliage, and suddenly a creature of living stone
stepped out of the trees, its glowing green eyes taking in the barren
landscape around them – as well as their small group. Its body was
composed of thick boulders, its form suspended by what appeared to be a
well of gravity that held that dense rock aloft.
“We’ve seen this before,” Finn said, raising his hands in a placating
gesture. “In a facility on the edge of the desert. That’s an earth elemental.
Like Brock,” he explained curtly, waving at the elemental who loomed
behind Kyyle.
 The earth mage was staring with a puzzled expression. “I didn’t
expect to find other elementals out in the wild like this. They are mostly
described in texts. Most vanished quite some time ago – around the same
time that the gods and their former avatars were expelled from this world,”
Kyyle murmured, already tapping out notes. “Perhaps this area has a large
concentration of earth mana? Or the elementals were holed up underground
for safety?”
“Either way, what the hell is it doing here?” Alexion snapped.
“I’m not sure,” Finn murmured, his irritation blunted in the face of
this new mystery. “I’m detecting a large concentration of earth mana now.
But it wasn’t there before.”
“Or maybe you missed it again,” the avatar of light bit out.
Finn shot him a scathing look before returning to his inspection.
“Are we looking at another avatar?” Ella asked in a worried voice.
“The earth avatar hasn’t been identified yet. They could possibly be behind
this.”
“Randomly creating pockets of forest and summoning earth
elementals in the middle of nowhere?” Julia shot back. “If so, then I don’t
understand their plan.”
“No, I think we’re looking at something else,” Finn answered,
stepping toward the golem. “This looks almost like a natural occurrence,
like an eruption or earthquake but involving mana. I think the elemental is
just a side effect.”
Finn turned his attention back to the rock golem. “We don’t mean
you any harm. Can you understand me?”
Before the creature could respond, the ground shook again, this time
much more violently. The golem’s eyes flashed in alarm, and rocks rose
around itself, forming a protective barrier – the stones suspended in the air
by its gravitational magic.
At the same time, the area all around the group began to flare with
that same shimmering energy. The haze bloomed in the air, spreading out
aggressively in a massive ring – one that far surpassed the first. Brian
formed a thicket around the group, and even Finn retreated, flames rippling
across the metal bracelets along his right arm as they melted down and
formed molten orbs that began to orbit him slowly.
That strange energy exploded outward in an instant before abruptly
disappearing.
 The forest had expanded well into the neighboring valley. Thick
trees. Dense foliage that blocked the sunlight. Hundreds of years of growth
in mere moments. Even with the help of her mana well, Eliza’s Accelerated
Growth couldn’t have pulled off that feat.
However, the group’s attention was fixed on one point. A structure
now lingered a few hundred feet away, visible through the new tree cover
but half-buried in the rock and stone, the architecture not identifiable.
Around that building, more of the stone elementals were pushing
themselves up and out of the rock – the ground dissolving around them
easily.
As the elementals’ emerald eyes turned toward the group, they
definitely didn’t look friendly. Shards of rock were soon pulled up into the
air around them.
“Uh, so this doesn’t look good,” Frank muttered.
Julia had her shield raised, Kyyle hovering beside her. “The good
news is that they’re still far away. They’re going to have trouble hitting us
from—”
He was cut off as the stone spikes rocketed away from the
elementals, only for portals of jagged green light to form in the air. The
missiles promptly disappeared.
Jason had a bad feeling about that, his eyes scanning the area around
them. “Finn?” he asked, tension filling his voice. “Anytime you want to
give us a heads up.”
“Behind us!” Finn finally shouted.
The green portals reopened in the air, and those stone projectiles
came raining out… only to strike against Finn’s heated metal and for Jason
to reflexively cut them from the air in a series of well-timed Soul Slashes.
“Some sort of teleportation?” Julia grunted as the rocky shards
dropped to the ground.
“Looks like it,” Ella shot back, her wand in hand now, but her acid
ineffective against these sorts of attacks. She could only look on and wait.
“Oh, shit—” Frank began.
Jason turned, only to freeze in shock. From their vantage point, they
could see valleys stretch out around them for hundreds of miles, framed and
surrounded by more barren peaks. That hazy energy was springing up all
across the area – pockets of shimmering air that ranged from a few dozen
feet to nearly a mile across. The only saving grace was that the earth
elementals in the distance seemed distracted by the colossal amount of
mana flaring into existence.
If this is happening across such a large area, could it also be
extending further than the mountains? The thought came to Jason
unbidden, worry knotting in his chest as he thought of the Twilight Throne
and its residents.
Almost as though the game had been monitoring his thoughts, a
brilliant sapphire notice suddenly sprang up before him, glowing with an
ominous light.

Universal Event Notice: Armageddon

Armageddon is nigh! The excavation of the relic has had unanticipated

consequences. Portals are now opening across the land, spilling forth
creatures both friend and foe alike and terraforming entire areas. There is
nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

The end is coming…

The group all swiped aside their notices, a tense silence settling
across them.
Pockets of forest now dotted the valley and mountains, with even
more shimmering domes forming as they watched. And from those pockets
of energy, more earth elementals poured forth, pulling themselves from the
ground amid broken buildings, sparkling streams, and dense forests. No
doubt, this scene was playing out everywhere… creating mass chaos.
Jason shook himself. This was unexpected, and his city was likely
under siege right now, but there was nothing he could do about that. His
people were well trained and equipped. They could weather whatever
happened. For now, all he could do was keep pushing forward and figure
out a way to stop this. If the farming areas in this region hadn’t already
been destroyed by <Death and Taxes>, these new inhabitants would likely
make short work of them.
And, unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to repurpose earth
elementals.
 Which meant they only had one option now.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” Jason grunted, waving at the
Carry-On Worm and the creature’s maw opening wide to receive them.
The nearby elementals were already beginning to recover, forming
more spikes of stone as their glowing green eyes turned back to the group –
clearly intending to blame them for whatever the hell was going on.
However, Kyyle acted quickly, creating a Gravity Well in a circle around
their position. As soon as the missiles exited those glowing green portals,
they were sent crashing into the ground.
“Where are we going?” Riley asked, worry in her voice as the group
piled back into the transport, its ivory walls soon surrounding them.
Jason’s expression was grim as the maw sealed itself shut, and they
began to slide back into the earth, tunneling down and away from the
creatures that now roamed the surface. He could feel chill energy coiling
through his veins, numbing him to what needed to happen next.
“Straight toward this excavation. We’re going to end this. Now.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 27 - Rifting
Percy aimed down the shaft of the arrow, carefully lining up his
shot. His arm trembled ever-so-slightly. Nerves. Yet he tried to stay calm.
To steady his breathing. In and out. In and out. On the next exhale, he
paused, steadying himself… and released.
The arrow sped forward on a direct collision course with the wolf
prowling along the forest’s edge. The creature looked up, its ears twitching
as it detected the faint whistle. Then its amber eyes turned in Percy’s
direction.
It should have been a direct hit.
But Percy wasn’t expecting the field to begin to waver – shimmer
and shake and spark with energy. Then the air itself seemed to split open.
One moment, there was tall swaying grass… the next, pools of glowing
magma dotted the cracked rock.
There was another haze now, but this time its cause was obvious.
Waves of heat rolled across the field. Even from where he was crouched in
the grass, Percy could feel it. Intense and accompanied by the faint smell of
sulfur. Where it touched the edges of the original field, the grass dried,
browning and more than a few patches erupting in flame, smoke curling
into the air.
Percy’s arrow struck something, only to fracture apart.
Instead of burying itself deeply into the wolf’s side, it had crashed
headlong into a giant fire salamander – the creature having pulled itself up
from one of the magma pools. It barely noticed the projectile as the wood
splintered and then caught flame. No, its attention was on the wolf that
stood there frozen in shock along the edge of the forest – those amber eyes
now taking in the trunks of the nearby trees that were seared black and the
way the grass fires were beginning to spread.
Percy could sympathize with the poor animal. He also sat there
staring in stunned silence, his bow hanging from his limp hands.
The fire salamander wasn’t nearly as confused, however.
It snapped forward, sending up a spray of molten rock that set even
more of the field ablaze. In an instant, it caught the wolf in its jaws, its skin
and fur searing. The creature chomped down again and again, cracking
bones and ripping through sinew. Then it swallowed the remains of the
wolf whole before sliding back into its pool, a lone bubble breaking the
surface.
Percy swallowed hard. Sweat was beading along his forehead from
the heat, and the fires were spreading rapidly, sending billowing smoke into
the sky. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. He’d just been farming in a
low-level area. Trying to level.
What the hell was this?
I need to get the fuck out of here, he thought to himself.
Percy turned to flee through what remained of the tall grass, putting
distance between him and that fire salamander and using the smoke as
cover to obscure himself from sight.
It was a good plan.
Until another rift opened directly in front of him, the air splitting
again.
In an instant, a creature of pure flame towered above him, its body
flaring with energy. Percy had seen some screenshots online that resembled
this monstrosity. But they’d been smaller. The Avatar of Flame had one as
a pet. A fire elemental. But those were mere children in the face of the god
of flame he now faced, its flaming eyes suddenly focused on Percy.
There was nowhere to run. Nothing he could do. Not to this… this
thing.
“What the fuck is wrong with this game—”
He was cut off as the fire elemental’s eyes flared and twin beams of
light carved through the air and then through Percy’s abdomen. He barely
felt the sensation as he toppled to the side. It was strange, really. Just a
searing line of pain and then… nothing.

System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

* * *
 Kurt was running down the street, his feet beating against the
cobblestones and his breath coming hard and fast. He turned a corner,
seeing another of the thugs waiting for him. He dove to the side, a blade
flashing past but only slicing away a corner of his cloak. The fingers of his
left hand moved swiftly, and amber energy flared around his palm.
The spell complete, Kurt kicked off the ground, his feet soon
touching against invisible platforms of air, each step propelling him forward
slightly. In just a few short hops, he had made it to the roof of the nearby
building, only for a whistle to screech through the air behind him.
Kurt turned, but it was too late, the arrow cutting into his arm.
Just a flesh wound. I should be able to keep—
The world suddenly listed and tilted around him, his limbs feeling
sluggish and unresponsive. Poison, he realized belatedly. Kurt toppled to
the ground, then rolled down the roof tiles before tumbling over the ledge.
He hit the ground below with a solid thump. Not enough to kill him – not
at his level. But enough to send the wind rushing from his lungs as he
frantically tried to refill them.
“Nice of you to drop in, Kurt,” a voice spoke up. It was soon
accompanied by a familiar, leering face that hovered above him. Ivy, the
leader of the <Capybaras>. “Did you think we were going to let you go?
After you ninja’d the boss loot in that dungeon?”
A solid kick to his side followed, accompanied by the crunch of
bone. Kurt knew they couldn’t keep that up – not without triggering a
torture warning. But the rules always had some leeway. They could kill
each other after all. He knew they would walk right up to that line without
crossing it.
“Now, where is it?” Ivy demanded.
It was a struggle, but Kurt managed to form the words. “Screw.
You.”
Ivy sniffed. “Funny. But we know you’re bound to the respawn
point here in town, and we already have some people waiting there. So,
you have two options. You can tell me what you did with the item. Or
we’ll graveyard camp you until all your gear breaks and you’re forced to
reroll. And that’s saying nothing about the trauma. Torture doesn’t apply to
combat.”
Another loophole. Kurt swallowed – or tried to, his mouth feeling
unresponsive as the poison slid through his veins. An icon in the corner of
his vision confirmed he was screwed.
Ivy leaned in close. “So, what do you say?”
Kurt opened his mouth but hesitated. The air behind Ivy was doing
something odd. It looked like it was boiling – like hot air rising off sun-
warmed pavement. But that could have been the poison working its way
through his system. Yeah, it was definitely—
The sky split open at that instant. Darkness spilled from that hole in
the world, billowing outward with unnatural speed. It wasn’t smoke. Not
exactly. It seemed to suck in the light and amplify the shadows of the
alleyway, plunging the entire area into an unnatural gloom. Kurt had never
seen anything like it – or like the thing that was now perched on the nearby
rooftop. It was a creature of nightmares. Human parts cobbled together in
grotesque fashion. Too many pale arms and legs. And its dark, soulless
eyes were now staring at the group in the alley.
“What the hell is this?” Ivy grunted, her guildmates grouping up and
eyeing the darkness. “Are you doing this somehow?” she demanded,
glancing down at Kurt.
He tried to move. To raise his arm, but it was no use.
Kurt could only close his eyes as that thing dropped from the
rooftop. Screams echoed out of the alley and something wet and warm
splashed his cheek. He wished he could log out, run away, give back that
damn item, do anything other than lie there helpless as the timer ticked
down ever-so-slowly on the poison debuff.
It was the warm, fetid breath wafting across his face that caused him
to open his eyes. He didn’t want to. It was just a reflex. And Kurt
immediately wished he hadn’t.
That creature was perched above him, blood staining an inhuman
maw with far too many teeth. More blood coated the walls. The ground.
The bodies that lay still and unmoving along the cobblestones, their entrails
ripped from their bodies. Kurt could just make out more screams in the
distance, but he could hardly focus on that – not with this beast hovering
over him.
As Kurt watched, several of the arms along the back of the
creature’s body were dismembering the others, wrenching a leg free with a
tearing sound and a wet squelch. The beast then shoved it against its torso,
and the flesh sewed itself together with a line of dark mana. It was adding
to itself – grafting on now unused feet and arms.
 And eyeing Kurt with a hunger in those dark eyes.
“Shit—” he managed to mutter.
The beast shot forward with unnatural speed as Kurt’s vision spun.
He only felt a flash of pain in his neck and caught the faintest glimpse of
cobblestones before merciful darkness swallowed him whole, broken only
by a single, glowing blue notification.

System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

* * *

Hanna let out a sigh, feeling the sunlight dance along her skin. The
<Royal Bastards> were taking a much-deserved break. After that debacle
with the Thanksgiving event and the run-in with <Death and Taxes>, they
had still managed to salvage the situation. And by salvage, she meant
they’d massacred the players waiting in that forest and stolen their shit.
Although, it had taken them a while to hunt everyone down – and they
might have made a few pitstops on the way back.
Which is why they were now in Barrow. It had been nearby. But
more than that, it offered a way to offload their newfound loot with ease.
Even if the gear was flagged as stolen by the auction house, there were
merchants here with a more… pragmatic sense of morality.
Plus, they needed the morale boost after everything they’d been
through.
Hanna had to admit that the betrayal of one of their own still stung –
as did the wake-up call from <Death and Taxes>. Some players were still
way out of their league. Although, that was all overshadowed by the fact
that the game world was about to come to an end. She didn’t have much
confidence in the avatars to save them – particularly not after the video of
the siege on Evelyn’s guild hall had gone viral. How could those four save
the world if they couldn’t even fend off a disorganized mob?
 But if they were all doomed, Hanna planned to go out with a bang.
Barrow also had some of the more interesting entertainment districts – if
you knew where to look. Plus, they were now flush with cash. And there
wasn’t much point in saving it if the world was ending.
In short… it was time to party.
“Alright, folks,” Hanna addressed her guildmates. “I just need a
few of you to help me haul the loot to our contact, and you should all
receive your cut in an hour or so. Meanwhile, the rest of you can have
some fun. We’ll meet up in a couple days to go through some other
contracts – pick something interesting to tackle as a final mission. What do
you say?”
“Sounds great to me,” Tom grunted back, his words echoed by the
other members of the guild. Hanna even saw a few smiles as they
considered how they’d spend their hard-won coin. New weapons and
armor weren’t the only perks Barrow offered.
“Uh, what’s that?” one of her guildmates asked, pointing toward the
nearby canal.
Hanna hesitated as she followed the gesture. The air seemed to be
rippling up above the water, almost like steam rising into the air. Yet that
couldn’t be possible. Maybe Eliza making a second appearance? Or
something else? Either way, she wasn’t taking any chances. Not anymore.
“Form up!” Hanna called out immediately.
Her guildmates shook off their surprise as their training took over.
The tanks immediately lined up facing the water with their melee DPS at
their backs. The rest of their casters and ranged forces hopped onto the roof
of a nearby building with a bit of magical assistance. That vantage point
provided them with a better line of sight of the canal and any would-be
enemies that might emerge. At the same time, they began layering one
protective spell after another on the tanks even as barriers of elemental
energy sprang up around their casters.
It wasn’t a moment too soon. The faint ripple immediately
disappeared, and the waters of the canal suddenly shifted, beginning to spin
as though someone had just pulled the plug. The water picked up speed,
spiraling more violently now and carving a hole straight to the bottom of
the canal. And from those depths, tentacles suddenly whipped forward.
Tom deflected a blow with his tower shield, the force still sending
him sliding back a few feet. One of their other tanks wasn’t so lucky, a
tentacle wrapping around his chest and pulling him back into the canal in a
blur of movement. As he entered the water, his screams were cut off,
crimson soon staining the swirling blue vortex.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Hanna muttered to herself, eyeing the
shadows in the water. Whatever it was… it was big. Other residents and
travelers along the causeway were reacting now, backpedaling swiftly and a
few openly running away.
The creature must have heard her because it chose that moment to
emerge from the water, several of its tentacles crashing against the
cobblestones as it heaved up its bulk. It was a grotesque beast. An
oversized octopus with a squat body and its maw tapering down to a sharp,
blood-stained beak. Many more tentacles snapped at the air and lashed
forward – only to be deflected by Hanna’s guildmates, the tanks holding
their ground.
“Is that a Kraken?” Hanna muttered, shaking her head. She’d seen
some pictures, but the creatures were typically found on the open ocean.
Not in a canal in the middle of a city. This also looked like an adolescent.
The adults were much, much bigger.
Could this be the work of the avatar of water? But why? The
avatars had bigger problems at the moment. Hanna couldn’t see any reason
why Eliza would have sic’d her minions on this city.
Which meant something else was going on.
At that moment, a universal system notice smashed down in front of
her, glowing a brilliant sapphire. Her eyes skimmed the text before swiping
it aside. In the distance, screams echoed up into the air. No doubt, more
rifts were forming throughout Barrow – likely depositing other creatures
like this Kraken. If she was right, then there would be complete chaos.
Travelers and residents fighting for their lives – the city’s forces mustering
to push back the creatures.
Which meant they would be distracted.
A smile slowly crept across Hanna’s face as a crazy plan began to
take shape in her mind. Under normal circumstances, she might have
hesitated. But if these were the end times… well then, they didn’t have
anything to lose, did they?
Her guildmates were looking at her with concern now.
“Uh, what do we do?” her new second-in-command asked.
 “Retreat and regroup,” Hanna answered, calling back over her
shoulder. “Water mages, prepare to conceal us and begin casting illusions
to cover our tracks. Everyone should assume we’re now in enemy
territory.”
As they pulled away from the Kraken, it sent its tentacles crashing
through a nearby building, people running in terror and screaming in pain.
More than a few travelers were already moving to engage the beast. Hanna
had confidence they would eventually take it down, especially with the
beast trapped in the canal. But she had bigger ideas than playing the hero.
Instead, as her forces retreated, she pulled up her map, tapping at a
series of icons and glowing yellow markers appearing in the distance.
These were some of the more high-profile shops in town, usually guarded
by not-so-small armies of mercenaries and the city’s forces. The same
troops that would likely be fighting for their lives.
Which meant it was time to go shopping.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 28 - Challenge
A roar vibrated the windows – a rhythmic, dull thud that had the
reinforced glass shaking.
Robert stood in the Control Room, peering down through those
same windows at the ground below. Even at this height, he could easily
make out the crowd that had surged against the building in an angry swell
of human flesh. It blocked traffic, stretched down the neighboring streets,
and eventually disappeared behind another skyscraper. Hundreds of drones
flitted through the air, projecting signs and messages to the staff holed up
inside Cerillion Entertainment headquarters.
“That one’s inspired,” Robert grunted as he heard a telltale tap of
heels striking tile behind him. “It’s just… kill yourself. I mean, c’mon?
What happened to the quality heckling?”
“Have you watched any of the interviews?” Claire asked as she
stopped beside him. “Most of those people took a few ‘standard deviations’
in the wrong direction down the bell curve.”
Robert chuckled at that. “Look at you making fun of the mob that’s
probably going to lynch us. What happened to my uptight Claire?”
“Har-har. Maybe a quick death would be a blessing.”
Robert couldn’t help but nod at that. Especially as he really looked
at Claire. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, the fabric
uncharacteristically wrinkled, and heavy circles hung under her eyes. The
rest of the crew wasn’t much better off. They’d been at it for days straight.
Pushing video to Vermillion Live and responding to an endless number of
user reports.
People had initially been upset about the Armageddon event, but
their ire had only gotten worse once monsters began spawning out of
random rifts – some of which had formed directly in the middle of several
of the in-game cities. It was pure chaos. Pillaging. Looting. Rampant
murder. Barrow was half flooded and infested with a bunch of sea
monsters. And three other towns were just completely gone – the respawn
points deactivated after being submerged under glowing lava or several
hundred tons of rock.
“I assume since you’re both standing around, you have an answer
for me.”
 Both Robert and Claire flinched at the sound of George Lane’s
voice.
“Not exactly.” Claire winced as she turned, rubbing at her eyes.
Their CEO didn’t look much better than their team. The only
difference was the layer of makeup hiding his own fatigue. No doubt,
George hadn’t slept in days. Even after the fallout from the break-in, this
new problem had immediately snow-balled into a media storm.
“How can you not know?” George snapped in irritation, his perfect
composure cracking. “This is a software program that the two of you
helped create. How can you not explain what’s going on? They’re eating
us alive in the media right now. Half the player population thinks we’re
doing a server reset!”
“You know the reason for that,” Robert answered, his good humor
vanishing as he eyeballed the skeleton crew at their desks – many watching
this scene. With a wave of his hand, they quickly vacated the room, fleeing
down the hall.
“There. Now you don’t have to pretend to be clueless,” Robert
added.
“Watch your tone, Robert. You’re already on thin ice as it is.”
The engineer let out a huff. “Thin ice? That’s cute. But we both
know what Jason said in that meeting was true. You can’t afford to get rid
of me. Or Claire. If word got around about what you’ve done. What we’ve
done. How far we’ve let this go…”
George’s gaze never wavered. “That threat only goes so far. There
are more permanent ways to silence whistleblowers.”
“Really? Like an unfortunate accident?” Robert demanded.
“Perhaps one of our AI-controlled vehicles going rogue? Shit, that sounds
so familiar.”
“Robert,” Claire squeaked.
“What? I’m tired of this act. If anything happens to me, this shit
gets leaked across the universe. George knows that – which means this is
just more empty posturing. And you know what’s really fucking ironic?
Listening to him toss around blame like he isn’t responsible for our
situation. Let’s just call it how it is,” Robert insisted. “Alfred has gone
rogue. Again. He’s the one pushing this event. And by all accounts,
whatever information was stolen during the break-in was probably used to
trigger it. But we can’t exactly tell them that, can we?” Robert asked,
waving at the crowd far below.
George took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. “You
were supposed to keep a handle on Alfred. Keep him contained.
Controlled.”
Robert shook his head. “We opened Pandora’s Box, and now you
want me to stuff everything back inside? It doesn’t work like that. You
knew the risks when we agreed to do this.”
Claire bit at her lip. “We… we could actually perform a server
reset,” she suggested finally. “We could put an end to it all.”
“No,” George snapped. “We’re too close. Alex—” he cut himself
off, clearly not intending to have said that much. He grimaced, rubbing at
his temple.
Robert just threw up his hands. “And there it is. Your pipe dream
that Alfred will somehow make your son less of a sociopath.”
Claire’s eyes went round at that, her gaze shifting back and forth
between the pair. Not that Robert cared. The game was already in motion,
and she was already committed. It was time she learned what was at stake
here for their CEO – why he was willing to endanger everything he’d built.
It wasn’t about mere money for a man who already had everything.
No, it was something more insidious. A latent narcissism.
The belief he could play god.
“You’ve seen the changes in him. The neural data,” George replied
in a strained voice. “You can’t deny the progress he’s made – what Alfred
has done for him.”
“Perhaps,” Robert replied. “But we both know it may not be
enough. That’s why you hedged your bets. Why you were willing to go
this far in the name of progress.”
“I had no choice. I’d already lost—”
“Your wife?” Robert demanded, meeting his gaze without sympathy.
“I can’t lose them both,” the CEO muttered. He finally broke. He
just seemed to crumple under the weight of everything they had endured –
that they were enduring. He slumped back against a nearby desk, cradling
his face in his hands as Robert and Claire looked on.
“Robert, you’ve gone too far,” Claire whispered.
“He just threatened to kill us, or did you miss that?” Robert shot
back, shaking his head. “Now, you’re apologizing for him? Honestly,
would you hand him the knife to slit your own throat? Loyalty has limits,
Claire. I thought you, of all people, would understand that,” he added
meaningfully.
Surprise registered in her eyes just before they shot to the floor,
Claire’s hands twisting together. Robert sighed, turning back to the window
and watching the crowd milling through the street; feeling the vibration
through the mixture of glass and concrete. For just a moment, he could
imagine the building was alive. That this was a heartbeat thudding through
the foundation.
“You just need to keep doing what you’ve always done. Lie. Pivot.
Take the unprecedented and own it,” Robert finally spoke up. “That’s the
only path forward in the face of such monumental change. You just have to
push through.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” George asked, looking up now.
Robert shrugged. “This is an event. One we intended. One we’ll
televise just like the others. I have a sense of what will happen next. Just a
guess,” he added quickly. “But perhaps I can nudge events in the right
direction.”
He looked back to George, the man had begun to pull himself
together. “What does that mean? What do you intend to do?” the CEO
asked.
“Does it matter?”
That question lingered in the air for a hair too long. Then George
simply nodded, pushed away from the table, and strode out of the Control
Room without another word. Leaving Claire and Robert in the empty
room. Robert could feel Claire watching him – could feel the question
circling her mind. Similar to the one that Jason had posed to him not that
long ago. The one she’d never thought to ask.
What did Robert want?
He shook his head. If only they knew…
Perhaps he was the real narcissist, after all.

* * *

Jason’s party was tucked away within the depths of a newly formed
forest. The vegetation encircled them, forming a dense wall of plant life
that obscured them from prying eyes… as well as the many strange
creatures that now prowled this area. The rifts had only grown more
common, forcing them to surface with the Carry-On Worm.
A sharp whistle came from above. The group reached for their
weapons as all eyes turned skyward… only to hesitate as a familiar form
descended. Frank soon landed in the midst of the group with a gust of wind
that sent leaves tumbling around them. His body shifted and contorted as
he regained his familiar appearance, feathers sliding back into smooth skin
and his face contorting in pain as bones snapped and popped.
“How’s it look?” Jason asked as his friend began to recover.
“Rifts everywhere,” he grunted back, leaning heavily on a nearby
tree. “They seem to be getting more common as we get closer. Maybe
proof we’re heading in the right direction?”
“That seems like a reasonable deduction,” Finn answered, distracted
as his attention was captured by the screens floating before him, Daniel
pulsing at his shoulder.
“I also think I caught sight of our destination. Didn’t want to get too
close in case Pewpew was watching the skies,” Frank added with a wince.
“It’s a big stone circle just over the next mountain range. I’m guessing the
walls stretch more than a hundred feet above the ground. Not sure how
thick they are. Dozens of feet maybe.”
Jason winced, glancing at the undead mounts. He didn’t have
enough materials left to form another Carry-On Worm – which would be a
death trap anyway if they got caught in an underground rift. He also
suspected <Death and Taxes> had anticipated that problem since there was
plenty of video of his transport worms online. Which meant going under
the wall was out.
“Anyone around?” Riley asked.
Frank frowned. “I think I saw people on the wall, but it was hard to
make out at that distance. I haven’t quite finished leveling the full-body
Roc Form,” he added with a rueful shake of his head. “My guess is that the
full shift will enhance my eyesight.”
“What’s our move then?” Alexion demanded, crossing his arms.
Jason ran a hand across his face. The truth was that their original
plan was out. The rifts had destroyed the local farming locations. And
from what Jason could tell, most of the rifts in the area were depositing
stone creatures – which didn’t offer much in the way of materials. If only
they had lucked out and gotten the sea monsters he’d seen online. Or the
undead creatures he’d seen demolishing a few groups.
But there was no point crying over something he couldn’t change.
The bottom line was that they were at a tactical disadvantage. They were
attacking a fortified position without backup. And they couldn’t be certain
what their opponents were capable of – not truly. They’d only faced half of
<Death and Taxes> and there were still the members of <SAFE>.
Which left one option…
“We’re going to test their defenses,” Jason said finally.
“Doesn’t that seem risky?” Julia asked.
“I’m not suggesting a full-fledged assault. Just move in close
enough to get a sense of what we’re dealing with and then retreat. <Death
and Taxes> likely won’t pursue us if we fall back,” he explained.
“How do you figure?” Kyyle inquired, adjusting his glasses.
“There isn’t a respawn point nearby,” Jason answered. “It’s also
safe to assume that they’ll defend the excavation site – which puts them at a
disadvantage – just as it did for us back in Barrow. Think of it like capture
the flag. If they pull too far away from the excavation, they risk one of us
sneaking inside and destroying their operation. They’re effectively tethered
to that location if they want to protect it.”
Riley was nodding. “Or if they do pursue us, then they would likely
only commit half of their forces and leave the others to defend.”
“Damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” Jerry drawled from
where he lounged on a nearby tree branch, twirling his moustache.
Alexion grunted. “Huh, okay. I see the plan. If they attack, we
learn more about their defenses. If they pursue, we prepare a trap during
our retreat and try to take some of them out – which buys us some time
until they respawn and make it back here.” He glanced at Jason. “I don’t
hate it.”
“High praise,” Jason commented dryly.
“Don’t let it go to your head. I just want to find out what they did
with Evelyn.” He shook his head, muttering under his breath, “I wish I had
some way to contact her outside of AO…”
“Ahh, your lady love didn’t share that information?” Jerry observed,
popping up beside the avatar of air. “That seems telling.”
Alexion growled at the innkeeper and he backed off, raising
placating hands. “I’m just saying, that might have been a red flag.”
 “Anyway,” Ella drawled, her eyes shifting to Jason, “We also can’t
rule out the possibility that there’s another trap. Confronting them does
come with risks.” Eliza nodded at that but stayed quiet. Her expression
spoke volumes, and she still seemed nervous after their last encounter.
Jason’s attention shifted to Silver. The shifter woman didn’t look
perturbed with their plan, but she had shaken off her near-death experience
more quickly than Frank – who even now was keeping a watchful eye on
her. The bottom line was that <Death and Taxes> weren’t messing around.
Anything was fair game for them. The fight in Barrow had made that clear.
And the stakes were only the fate of the world.
Jason grimaced. “That is entirely possible. They’ve had time to
prepare this location for an assault. And they clearly had advance notice of
our abilities – what with videos plastered everywhere online. But we can
position our residents further back so they aren’t at risk. And we have
Finn. Even if they try to conceal a trap, he should be able to detect it now
that he knows how to pierce Queen’s illusions. Right, Finn?”
“Huh?” the older man grunted, looking up. “Yeah, we should be
fine.” Then his attention was back on his screens, no doubt reviewing the
data Daniel had collected.
The others just watched Finn skeptically, looking back and forth
between him and Jason. He couldn’t help but sympathize. The Najmat
Alhidad was more distracted than he would prefer. But he also didn’t see a
lot of other options. They would need to work with what they had.
“Alright.” Jason clapped his hands. “Let’s prepare a surprise of our
own. Then we’ll go knock on the door and see what answers.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 29 - Gateway
Jason’s group stood within the shadows of the tree line, eyeing their
target.
The excavation site loomed large before them – the surrounding
ground pounded flat and hard. A barren field, at least a mile wide, encircled
a coliseum built of solid stone. At this distance, Jason could see that the
structure was comprised of large blocks, the edges just barely detectable.
No doubt, this was the work of magic – earth mages forming and placing
the blocks one at a time. Even so, it must have taken forever to create that
structure.
Or there were a hell of a lot of mages, he added silently.
“You ready for this?” Riley asked beside him, touching his arm.
“I guess,” Jason murmured. Then he shot her a look, noticing her
worried expression. “It’ll be fine,” he reassured Riley, placing his hand
over hers. “But if this does go sideways, focus on protecting Silver and
Jerry. Worst case, we just die.”
Riley nodded once.
Then he took a deep breath, pulled his hood into place, and gave the
others a nod – Alexion, Finn, and Eliza standing beside him. Frank and
Silver were tucked away in the branches overhead and would stay with
Riley. Kyyle, Julia, Brian, and Ella were positioned further back, putting
the finishing touches on their little surprise.
Assuming <Death and Taxes> was foolhardy enough to chase them.
“Let’s do this,” Jason muttered.
With that, he and the other avatars emerged from the trees and paced
across the field that lingered around the coliseum, making no effort to
conceal their presence. Finn was constantly scanning for traps, Daniel
pulsing over his shoulder. Eliza had her wand drawn. Brian had reluctantly
agreed to remain in the forest to properly prepare for their escape.
Meanwhile, Alexion stood apart from the others, aglow with energy and
panels of light coating his body, his wings spread and ready.
As they approached the coliseum, Finn raised a hand.
The air shimmered – not a rift, but water mana sliding away to
reveal a familiar group of smiling faces less than a hundred paces away.
<Death and Taxes> stood before the wall, all seven of them plus one
oversized chicken wearing what appeared to be an eyepatch. Although,
from the look in the creature’s good eye, she didn’t seem afraid of the
approaching group.
Jason glanced at Finn, his question clear. Anything else?
The avatar of flame frowned but eventually shook his head.
No obvious traps then.
At the center of <Death and Taxes> stood a huge man. He had
forgone traditional armor in favor of an immaculately pressed suit, replete
with dice cufflinks. A smiling ivory mask rested across his face, and Jason
didn’t observe a single weapon, only the thick callouses that covered his
hands. He stepped forward calmly, both groups tense.
Jason followed suit. They had agreed beforehand. If there was a
temporary truce, he would be the one to speak. Although, Alexion still
seemed irritated at that, his glowing armor flashing.
“I take it you’re Smiles,” Jason spoke first, eyeing the sapphire
camera that floated at Bard’s shoulder behind them. They were being
recorded. He should be careful with his words.
The man nodded. “And you’re Jason.”
“Wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you,” Jason bit out.
Smiles laughed at that. “Indeed. I heard you had a rough time back
in Barrow.”
“You mean when your crew targeted one of our residents?” Jason
demanded, his dark mana flaring as he recalled the image of Silver with a
hole torn through her abdomen. That energy coiled away from his body,
lashing at the air, although the members of <Death and Taxes> barely
reacted.
“For that, you have my apologies. Those weren’t their instructions,”
Smiles answered, shooting a look at his guildmates over his shoulder.
Pewpew just shrugged.
Jason frowned. This man seemed… reasonable. This wasn’t what
he’d been expecting.
“Although, that really begs the question, doesn’t it? Why are you
doing all of this? Going to these lengths?” Jason asked. “Your team is
clearly high-level and well trained. Which means you’ve all spent
considerable time in this world. Do you really agree with <SAFE>’s
mission? To destroy this game? To kill all of this world’s residents?”
 Smiles looked to the ground as though considering Jason’s words.
When he looked back up, a weight seemed to have settled on his immense
shoulders. “We have no interest in ending this world. We’re simply doing
what we’ve always done. Surviving. This is just another contract – one we
intend to complete.”
Jason’s eyebrows rose at that. “<SAFE> is paying you? With
what?”
“With an opportunity,” Smiles answered.
Jason cocked his head. What could that mean—
He hesitated. He’d anticipated their motive before, hadn’t he?
This event would force the avatars to respond and confront <Death
and Taxes>.
Jason glanced to his side, looking at his companions. They were all
hated and reviled. The object of envy and ridicule and anger. Preacher – or
Bard – hadn’t tapped into anything new. That had been the case since Jason
had begun playing – since he’d destroyed Lux to form the Twilight Throne.
They had all made enemies. Many, many enemies. Enemies that were
willing to pay to see them taken out publicly.
Jason’s attention shifted back to Smiles. “Money,” he said finally.
“You want… money.”
“It does make the world go ‘round,” Smiles answered, his finger
tracing a lazy circle.
“So, all this was just to force us to come to you? So, you could
what? Fight us in this big stone stadium – collect on our bounties?” Jason
asked, sparing a glance at Finn. He shook his head once more. He still
wasn’t detecting any illusions or traps.
Then what the fuck is their move here? Jason wondered to himself.
“As Finn can see. We aren’t hiding anything. We don’t plan to
sucker punch you,” Smiles replied. “We have something much more
interesting in mind.”
“What does that mean?” Jason began aloud.
Smiles didn’t answer, only opened his palm. A golden coin rested
against his skin. Then, in a blur of movement, he flicked it skyward, the
metal sailing up into the clouds that hung overhead. All at once, lightning
arced through the air, blasting the coin… again, and again, and again until it
formed a white-hot ball of energy. A torrent of electricity continued to build
as the clouds slowly began to circle overhead. Jason didn’t like the look of
that at all.
“Finn?” he grunted.
“There’s a lot of air mana collecting above the field,” the avatar of
flame answered, “but it’s not coming from Smiles. This is something
different.”
“Like what?” Jason demanded.
“I’m not sure,” Finn murmured.
“Perhaps we should retreat—” Eliza began, taking a step back.
Before she could finish speaking, the ball of lightning flared one last
time, releasing that pent-up energy. Bolts of electricity rained down,
slamming into the dirt outside that massive stone wall, throwing up puffs of
dust, energy arcing through the clouds. The lightning strikes came so hard
and fast that Jason was forced to look away, the blaze leaving spots in his
vision. He blinked hard, trying to clear his sight as his hands clutched at his
staff, prepared for an attack. However, nothing came, and as the debris
cleared, it revealed an incredible sight.
An army was now arrayed before them. Not of humans or
travelers. But of green-skinned creatures. Goblin was the only name that
fit. They came in all shapes and sizes. Some were slender and tall—others
short and stout. More than a few seemed to have hit the gym hard, rippling
muscle coating their bodies. Yet, in every case, they watched the avatars
with glowing yellow eyes and their lips peeled back to reveal sharp, stained
teeth.
Thousands of the creatures now stood at Smiles’ back. Armed with
guns, knives, axes, and swords. All manner of crazy weapons. Others were
perched atop wooden vehicles that spewed steam into the air, massive metal
cannons and weapons affixed haphazardly to their surface. They looked to
be cobbled together at random, like something a child would have built.
Absurd creations of wood, stone, and metal that seemed like they couldn’t
possibly move.
At a wave from Smiles, a few of the goblins marched forward
carrying a dais. Their heads were plumed with feathers stained a bright
red. Instead of approaching Smiles, they walked toward the chicken at his
back, lowering the platform and kneeling before the creature. The chicken
raised her head imperiously, gave one cluck, and then stepped aboard, the
goblins straining as they lifted her up into position.
 “All hail the Great Cluck Cluck!” the goblins announced in unison.
That cry was echoed across the entire army – some simply offering a
deep throat roar into the sky. Jason’s eyes widened as he realized that many
of the goblins were imitating the chicken’s plumage with their armor and
face paint. Her picture was even painted on the sides of their crazy-looking
wooden vehicles.
“What the actual fuck is going on here?” Alexion muttered.
“They weren’t concealing that force before. Some sort of
teleportation,” Finn murmured. “Air mana-based. But how did they
manage…” he trailed off, swiping at the air.
Jason was less appreciative. “Is this it?” Jason demanded of Smiles
where the man still stood, hand clasped and waiting. “You want us to fight
you and your army then?”
“No, not exactly,” Smiles answered with a shake of his head. He
waved at the creatures at his back. “This is just to ensure nothing happens
to the excavation site in our absence.”
“Our absence?” Alexion echoed. He shook his head, his mana
flaring as he took a step forward. “I don’t give a shit about any of these
green-skinned little assholes or whatever agenda you have. Where the hell
is Evelyn?”
Eliza eyed Jason, speaking more softly. “We should retreat. This
wasn’t what we were expecting.”
“Agreed,” Finn grunted as he swiped away his screens. “We’ve
accomplished what we came here to do.”
“I’m not leaving without Evelyn,” Alexion growled, taking another
step forward.
Jason shook his head. If Alexion wanted to die here, then so be it.
They could use the distraction to escape whatever the hell this was. Finn
was right. They’d accomplished what they came here to do by revealing
<Death and Taxes’> forces. He motioned at the others, the group beginning
to step backward, to pivot—
Bard let out a whistle and flowed forward in a blur of movement, his
body glowing with an amber light. Instead of rushing at the rest of the
group, he stopped at Smiles, a blade in hand. He paused for just a moment,
and Jason could have sworn the man winked at him. Then, with a savage
stroke, he stabbed his guild leader in the back… then again… and again.
Blood soon soaked the woolen suit and dripped to the ground.
 Jason and his companions hesitated, watching in horror as Bard
hacked at his own guild leader. And yet… Smiles remained standing.
Barely grunted at each blow. The knife wasn’t cutting deeply enough to
kill, just to break the skin. To inflict pain. And the rest of <Death and
Taxes> simply watched with those creepy damned smiles.
“What’s wrong with these people?” Eliza murmured.
The easy answer was that they were masochists.
But Jason suspected it was more than that.

* * *

“Uh, sir?”
“Yeah, what is it?” Robert asked, a towel draped over his eyes and
his legs kicked up on the desk in the Control Room. He had just been about
to fall asleep. Just a few precious minutes… That was all he wanted.
“You told me to let you know if we received any large increases in
processing and memory resources along the southeastern portion of the
game continent,” the tech added tentatively. “Well, we just did a few
seconds ago. The avatars also appear to be in the area.”
“Finally,” Robert drawled, not bothering to remove the towel.
“Anything else?”
“Uh, well, we received an administrator flag. Torture.”
“Huh,” Robert murmured, hesitating for a moment.
“What do you want us to do?” the tech asked.
“Send a game master,” Robert replied.
“Sir? Are you sure? Since that exchange with Jason in Peccavi, our
new protocols have been to send automated notices or forced logouts.
Usually, that’s enough to discourage—”
“Send a game master,” Robert repeated more sharply. “Then start
recording everything and notify Vermillion Live that we’re going to be
sending them one hell of a stream.”
“Um…”
“Now,” Robert snapped.
Another short pause, and then he heard the tech’s feet tap away, the
rest of the crew murmuring around him. No doubt they were surprised at
his tone – already muttering about how he was losing it under the stress and
pressure. But he ignored all of that. Robert just adjusted the towel and
leaned back. Maybe he’d manage to get a few minutes of blissful oblivion
before the shit really and truly hit the fan.

* * *

A massive gust of wind suddenly swept through the plain around the
excavation site as though a hurricane had appeared from nowhere. The
clouds swirled overhead, and the trees along the edge of the clearing
groaned under the force of the blast. The wind shoved at the members of
Jason’s group, causing his cloak to whip and snap. At the same time, a
glowing yellow barrier formed around the clearing, firmly trapping them all
in place.
And through it all, Smiles still stood there, blood pooling at his feet
and forming a muddy maroon lake. As Bard stopped attacking and the
seconds ticked past, his wounds stitched closed, and his suit began to mend,
the gashes slowly closing.
Lightning suddenly struck the ground between the two groups, the
energy lancing forcefully and searing the hard-packed dirt, leaving long
lines of cracked, smoking earth. As the glare faded, a new figure suddenly
stood there, wearing luxurious robes and a staff in hand.
There was only one group that had the power to teleport in like
that…
Jason’s gaze flicked to the army of goblins.
Or, at least, only two groups had that sort of ability.
“What’s going on here?” a voice boomed, enhanced with an amber
glow.
“Fuck, they triggered a game master,” Finn muttered.
Jason wasn’t entirely convinced this was random. Sure, Bard
stabbing Smiles like that had probably created a torture flag. However,
sending a game master? That program had been largely put on the back
burner after the game masters all started going power crazy. Now, just the
warnings were usually enough to stop any untoward conduct.
No, something else was going on here. Jason sensed some sort of
outside influence. But why would Cerillion intervene? Here? Now?
And, more importantly, what was <Death and Taxes’> play? Were
they trying to get the guild master to kill them all? If so, then this was a
terrible plan.
 The game master glared at Jason and his crew. “Of course, it would
be you lot.”
“Uh, actually, no… not this time. I’d look at the guy with literal
blood on his hands.” Jason answered, pointing toward Bard, where he stood
with his dagger still embedded in Smiles’ back.
“What?” the game master asked in confusion, whirling to the other
group. “What’s going on here?” he demanded, eyeing the group’s tags.
“Aren’t you all in the same guild?”
“Yeah, you’re totally right,” Bard quipped, twirling the bloody
knife. “Would you believe that he asked me to stab him… a few dozen
times?”
From the look on the game master’s face, the answer was a hard no.
Lightning was beginning to crackle along his staff, flaring powerfully. The
clouds continued to spiral overhead, energy lancing between them. Then,
with little warning, the lightning speared downward, crashing into the spot
where <Death and Taxes> had just been standing and obliterating
everything. Rock and dirt spewed into the air as Jason and the other avatars
covered their eyes to fend off the searing flash of light.
As the blaze cleared, nothing remained.
Or at least nothing they could see.
Jason looked quickly to Finn, only to see him shake his head slowly,
his brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to follow something along the
ground. Or under the ground.
“They’re coming straight at us,” Finn announced. “But Queen has
duplicated their energy signature. It’s hard to make out which one is real
with all of this mana getting thrown around.” As he spoke, multiple
glowing yellow lines appeared along the ground, tracing each possible
group.
Jason glanced over his shoulder at the barrier surrounding them.
There was no running. Their plan had been shot to hell in a heartbeat – the
group now trapped in this sudden deathmatch. Which meant they needed to
prepare to fight. Even as that thought slid through his mind, Bone Armor
emerged from Jason’s skin and covered his arms and chest. For just a
moment, he regretted leaving the others behind. They could have used the
help.
On the other hand, at least they would survive.
 “You think you can run!?” the game master roared at <Death and
Taxes> as he cast another spell – no doubt assuming they were trying to flee
under his barrier.
More lightning began to form above the field, not a simple bolt this
time, but spears of energy that hung suspended in the air. They soon
crashed down along the ground, the game master trying to strike his quarry
through several feet of dirt, each blast spewing up a torrent of dust. A
barrage of energy rocked the ground. Each burst was punctuated by the
sound of heavy drumbeats as the goblins raised their voice into the air,
cheering on the battle. Many of the bolts didn’t land perfectly, and the
lightning scattered across the field, arcing and branching erratically.
They were going to end up as collateral damage if they didn’t move
quickly.
“Cluster up!” Jason ordered as he waved at Finn. “We need
something to ground the electricity. Now.” Finn nodded, and several of the
metal bracelets along his arms melted down, flattening out with a flash of
flame to form a protective ring of rods. The heavy metal soon slammed
into the ground, insulating the group of avatars.
And just in time. One of the game master’s bolts crashed down onto
the barrier Finn had hastily erected. The lightning arced between the rods
before discharging harmlessly into the dirt. They were safe, at least for
now, the lightning continuing to blast the field, energy crackling through the
thick cloud of dust covering the area. Jason could no longer make out
Finn’s highlights, his vision obscured by the flash of energy.
“Where the hell are they?” Jason demanded, clutching his staff
tightly. Eliza had pulled her wand, and Alexion glowed with a holy light,
his sword and shield held at the ready.
Jason didn’t believe that their opponents truly planned to retreat…
“Behind us!” Finn cried suddenly, whirling.
Smiles and his crew suddenly slid out of the ground with Tombs’
assistance. And in that moment, time seemed to lengthen and stretch.
Alexion was already charging with a snap of his wings. Eliza depressed the
button on her wand, and a thick vapor spewed forth. More glowing metal
orbs spun around Finn, slowly melting down into sawblades that he sent
spinning forward. The gamemaster blew away the cloud of dust with a
massive gust of wind, his eyes locked on <Death and Taxes> as even more
spears of crackling energy began to form overhead.
 In that single, frozen moment, Jason hesitated. <Death and Taxes>
made no move to attack. Instead, Smiles was holding something vaguely
familiar – a metal chunk the size of a basketball, the surface glimmering
with an unusual light. It took Jason a heartbeat to realize what he was
looking at… A smaller version of a gate piece – or a shard shorn from a
larger fragment.
“Oh, shit. Is that a gate fragment—” Finn muttered. He turned,
eying the ground around them. “There are more. But how did they—"
However, he was cut off as Queen’s mana flashed, channeled
directly into the chunk of metal in Smiles’ hands. That mana arced from the
fragment into the ground around the group – no doubt where more of the
gate piece fragments had been deposited by <Death and Taxes> – their
opponents having used the gamemaster’s spellcasting to cover their
movements.
Then time sped back up, and the gamemaster’s lightning came
crashing down, blasting the group’s location again, and again, and again.
Dirt sprayed, and energy crackled.
The gamemaster eventually slowed his casting… then stopped.
He took a deep breath, and then, with a wave of his hand and a flash
of amber, another gust of wind swept forward, pushing at the dust that hung
across the field. As the cloud was blown away, it revealed that there was
nothing left of <Death and Taxes> or the avatars. Only fragments of
warped and twisted metal – the remains of Finn’s rods. And a shallow
crater where they’d once stood. Otherwise… there was simply nothing.
Even the goblins had gone quiet as they witnessed the carnage before them,
the many craters and furrows now marring the field.
The gamemaster cocked his head, touching his ear.
“No… no, I don’t know what happened,” the gamemaster replied to
someone unseen. “They just disappeared. No bodies or traces of blood.
Maybe I vaporized them?”
A pause as he listened to a voice on the other end.
“Hey, it’s possible I took them out. These people aren’t gods—”
Another pause.
“Oh… uh, so they’re still alive then? Where are they?”
A sigh of frustration. “How the hell did they get halfway across the
game world? Just give me a second, and I’ll teleport over— What? You
want me to stand down? Why?”
 Another long silence, the game master clenching his fists.
“Fine,” was all he said.
The game master turned, eyeing the legion of goblins beside him,
the horde simply watching curiously, silence hovering across the field.
Then, with an exasperated sigh, the gamemaster’s hands blazed through a
series of gestures, and he disappeared in a blast of lightning, the energy
arcing up into the clouds. Which left the field barren except for the goblin
horde, the creatures looking at each other as if wondering what they should
be doing.
One of the larger creatures stepped forward, slamming a keg down
into the dirt. “And nowz we drink!” he roared, his people answering his cry
and Wingman soon adding her voice to the mix as the goblins broke
formation.

* * *

Riley hovered within the protection of the tree line, her eyes on the
field where the goblins were now setting up what appeared to be one hell of
a kegger. It seemed most of their vehicles had been used to store beer. Lots
and lots and lots of beer.
“What the hell just happened?” Riley muttered.
Frank dropped from the trees, Silver in tow. “No idea.”
“I caught part of the conversation, although it was difficult to make
out over all of the lightning and drums,” Silver offered, her ears twitching.
“Finn mentioned something about a gate fragment before they all
disappeared. Then the strange lightning mage was muttering to himself
afterward. He confirmed… they’re still alive?”
Riley could see that much for herself, the avatars’ icons still active
in the corner of her UI. However, as she brought up her map, she couldn’t
place their location, and they weren’t responding to any of her messages.
So, they were somewhere really, really far away. Or they’d been teleported
to a location they hadn’t explored yet. And they’d likely been incapacitated
or disabled in some way. Or some combination of all of the above.
Whatever the cause, it didn’t seem they would be returning soon,
even if they managed to kill themselves and respawn in their respective
cities.
 “It looks like we’re on our own now,” Frank muttered, meeting
Riley’s eyes. No doubt, he’d come to the same conclusion.
Riley’s UI pinged. The rest of the group was already messaging
them, asking what had happened. They must have seen the lightning and
heard the altercation in the field. She let out a sigh. She didn’t relish the
thought of explaining Eliza’s disappearance to Brian – especially given how
reluctant he’d been to part with her in the first place. Riley was just going
to have to hope he didn’t decide to kill them all.
Her hands clenched into fists. Yet she wasn’t just going to stand
around here waiting. That’s not what Jason would do in her place. “First
things first, we need to regroup with the others. And then we need to have a
really intimate chat with Kyyle and Julia.”
“What? Why?” Frank asked.
She met his eyes. “Because if Finn knew what was about to happen
right there, you can bet your ass they did too.”
At least… she hoped so.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 30 - Mile-High
Jason emerged with a flash of multicolored energy.
Wind whipped at his cloak, and, for just a moment, Jason thought he
was still in that field, the game master gunning to take down <Death and
Taxes>. However, the view around him quickly dispelled that illusion.
They were sure as hell no longer standing outside the excavation site – or
anywhere Jason had ever experienced in-game.
He stood atop a thick stone walkway, buildings crowded around him
– short, squat affairs, almost more bunker than building. And as he turned
to the north… there was simply nothing. Only clouds and empty air
lingered on the other side of the path. But that’s not what captured his
attention or had his jaw going slack in surprise.
A ruined city floated before him. Not floating in the sense of
Vaerwald – that city only managing a mere hover. No, this place was
swimming through the skies, clouds resting around and below it. The city
itself ringed a vortex of epic proportions. A tornado taller and wider than
anything Jason had witnessed since the Ancestor Tree, the vortex kicking up
a stiff wind that howled through the stone structures of the city – giving it a
voice. Chunks of rock and shrapnel circled the maelstrom in thick bands.
“Where the hell are we?” Alexion muttered from Jason’s side. He
stood on the same ledge and glared at the view before him, weapons still
raised and glowing armor still wrapping his body. Yet there was no sign of
their enemies. Even worse, Jason didn’t see Eliza or Finn.
“I don’t know,” Jason replied evenly. “Although, it looks like only
the two of us ended up here – wherever this is.”
His gaze panned back to the ruined city. Had the other two avatars
been teleported here as well? Or had they ended up somewhere else? And
then there was the more pressing question…
How the hell were they going to get out of here?
Jason glanced over the edge. Dying might be an option…
As though that thought had summoned it, a notification snapped
down in front of him.

System Notice: Mile-High Club

 You have the pleasure – nay, the absolute delight – of being the Mile-High
Club’s first patrons in nearly a century. Congratulations!

Oh, and this place is also a dungeon of sorts… but the fun kind! So, don’t
be too quick to attempt to take the easy way out and “fast travel” back to
whatever boring, inane task you were attempting before your visit. Your
respawn will be restricted to the club until further notice.

As an additional security measure to ensure our patrons enjoy their stay

and are able to truly focus on the delightful amenities our club provides,
your chat log has been disabled, and your in-game console has been limited
to read-only for the duration of your stay.

So… are you ready to have some fun?!

The prompt suddenly blew away on streamers of energy, and at the

same time, the city – or the club, rather – came to life. Gems lit up
throughout the ruined city, flaring with mana and letting out a series of
chimes that reminded Jason of an old-school carnival. The whir and clank
of machinery gave a sputtering gasp of life, and, in the distance, a sign rose
along an enormous tower on the far end of the city. The letters flashed to
life with a shower of sparks – only a few fully coming online to showcase
the name of this place.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” a voice rang out across the city as
the winds of the tornado took on a yellow-hued glow, that mana-infused air
condensing and colliding to form a massive screen – one that showcased a
familiar smiling mask.
“It is truly an honor for you all to visit our illustrious establishment.
I know I need no introduction, but for those of you who have been living
under a rock, I am the one and only Bard, master of song, lover of cosmetic
products, and living Adonis who is the envy of all weaker men. And now
your host during your journey through our timeless and charming club.”
“I think he means shithole,” Alexion grunted.
As he spoke, the sign abruptly fell from the tower across the city
with a shriek of metal, tumbling downward and taking out a stone balcony
before getting whipped out into the tornado, the sign now flickering as it
spiraled ‘round and ‘round.
“Fair, fair. We’ve had our fair share of negative reviews over the
years,” Bard continued, responding to Alexion. “In fact, the Mile-High
Club has been under maintenance for the better part of, well, a hundred
years or so. What can we say? Contractors, am I right?”
It looked like <Death and Taxes> had been teleported along with
them. Or, at least, they were controlling this bizarre floating city. What
was more puzzling for Jason was how Bard seemed to be responding to
them. He looked around until his gaze settled on a familiar blue orb that
was hovering at his shoulder—one of the in-game cameras typically used
by the travelers.
“They’re recording us,” Jason muttered to Alexion, motioning at the
camera.
As the avatar of light saw the camera, his demeanor shifted. His
back straightened, his sword held steady and aloft, and his eyes glowed
with power. He assumed a regal pose, his wings snapping out behind him.
For his part, Jason just rolled his eyes, his expression hidden beneath his
hood. They’d just been teleported to some random-ass floating dungeon,
and Alexion’s first concern was to look good for the camera? Maybe he
and Bard would actually get along.
“Indeed, you’re currently being televised!” Bard announced, giving
a big thumbs up. “As the more astute among you may have noticed, your
stay here is being recorded and streamed live to travelers all around this
beautiful flat circle that we call—” he cut off abruptly, glancing off to the
side of the screen.
“Wait, are you saying the world is round? How do we even know
that? Has someone like swum out to the edge to check?” Bard asked
someone off camera in a hushed whisper. “No? Then how can we be
sure?” A pause. “Really? Okay, that seems wrong, but I’ll trust you.
Anyway, your stay will be streamed directly to travelers all around the
‘globe.’ Maybe. We’re not really sure about that. For all we know, the
world could be shaped like a donut.”
Bard cocked his head. “Shit, and now I’m hungry. But I’m
watching my carbs, you know?”
“Enough,” Alexion declared, raising his sword, and pointing it at the
screen as he assumed another pose. “You have gone too far, villain. First,
you kidnap Evelyn from her own guild hall, and now you try to do the same
with the avatars. We will make you pay for your insolence.”
Alexion’s wings snapped out behind him, fluttering into the breeze.
“You have made a mistake – choosing this place. No floating city can
contain me. I will descend from the heavens and strike down your
enterprise. I will save this world.”
“Uh, I’m not sure,” Jason murmured.
But it was too late. With a massive sweep of his wings, Alexion
leaped up into the air, rising, rising, rising like a golden god, his weapons
held aloft. “I will end you—”
Alexion was cut off as the tornado surged, and the wind
dramatically increased in intensity. It slammed into the avatar of light, his
wings holding for only a moment before he was toppling backward –
spinning and careening – before slamming back onto the stone ledge, the
entire structure trembling under the force of the impact. He lay there
unmoving, letting out a weak groan and his blood pooling along the stone.
Jason winced. That looked like it had hurt.
“What a spectacular landing. Everyone give a round of applause for
the Avatar of Crash Landings – Alexion!” Bard gave a mock clap onscreen.
“Anyway, as you can see, our club comes equipped with state-of-
the-art safety features that ensure our guests stay glued to the ground. And
as the prompt indicated, your communications and console have been
temporarily disabled while you’re present here. We want to ensure that our
patrons suffer no unwanted distractions that would ruin the games.”
“The games?” Jason echoed, eyeing the screen.
“Why, of course!” Bard replied. “Our club is renowned for its
completely balanced and thought-provoking challenges. What’s life
without a little chaos, right? Our two teams will be competing against one
another for the glory of… well, victory, I suppose?” He glanced offscreen
again. “Actually, what do we get if we win?”
A pause. “Huh, so, nothing? Not even a stuffed bear or something?
That’s disappointing and sort of anticlimactic. Prizes are an important part
of any game…”
Jason ground his teeth together as Bard droned on. His best guess
was that this place – this so-called club – was controlled by the god of air.
It was the only way to explain how a place like this could exist. It was old.
That had been confirmed by the prompt, and Jason’s Perception skill had
already identified the erosion of the stone buildings around him – water and
wind whittling away at the stone. Divine assistance also went a long way
toward explaining how <Death and Taxes> were televising this spectacle
for the rest of the game world. Either way, it looked like the Old Man was
right. The Gambler must be helping <Death and Taxes>.
Although the other deities hadn’t made an appearance yet, so that
spoke volumes. Was this permitted then? A loophole in the covenants since
their capture had been orchestrated by <Death and Taxes> instead of the
Gambler himself? However, their enemies wouldn’t trap themselves, not
permanently. Which meant there had to be a way off this floating rock.
“How do we get out of here?” Jason asked, looking up at the screen.
“Why would you even want to leave?” Bard shot back. “Especially
before you’ve experienced our thousand flavor ice cream stand or taken a
spin on our legendary Carousel de’ Roulette. And that’s just the tip of the
iceberg—”
“You know why we need to leave,” Jason interrupted, willing
himself to be patient. Bard appeared to have taken notes from the Hippie.
“We need to stop you from destroying this game world.”
“Little ‘ol me? I believe you’re mistaken. That show is being put
on by an entirely different company. Sure, we may have had some…
business dealings with them. But you surely aren’t suggesting that we’re
guilty by association, are you? Were the contractors who worked on the
Death Star culpable for destroying planets? I don’t think so!”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” Jason answered, crossing his
arms. “Now, how do we leave the club?”
“Tsk tsk. Avatars are always in such a hurry – acting like the world
revolves around them,” Bard drawled. “I was actually getting around to
explaining that part. Ahem. As I was saying, you will all have the privilege
of competing against each other in a series of games – the avatars against
the home team champions, <Death and Taxes>. Each of our participants
has been teleported to a random starting location and must make their way
to the tower on the other side of the club.
“Whoever makes it there alive wins a free ride home!” Bard
declared. “But no stuffed animals, unfortunately. Doesn’t that sound like a
pretty sweet deal?” Jason opened his mouth to respond but didn’t move fast
enough. “Of course it does! And now, with all that pesky rule stuff out of
the way, I’ll leave you to it!”
 The screen suddenly went dark, leaving the pair alone on the ledge.
Jason stood there for a long moment in thought, wind whipping at
his armor and his cloak snapping, the only thing to break the silence.
“This is bullshit,” Alexion groaned, pushing himself upright slowly.
With a grunt and a pop of bone, he shoved his shoulder back into the
socket, and a golden glow suffused his body, his wounds stitching
themselves closed. Although the blood speckling his now dented armor still
belied his hasty return to the ledge.
Regardless, Jason couldn’t help but agree with his sentiment. To
make matters worse, he was sure at this point that <Death and Taxes> were
aiming to kill them publicly to collect on each of the avatars’ bounties.
Hence, the televised “games” and the way they’d been separated. Taking
on the avatars together might have been difficult – even for <Death and
Taxes>.
However, now they could no longer coordinate their actions and
were at a tactical disadvantage. Jason glanced at Alexion. For example,
Alex Lane sure as hell wouldn’t have been his first choice as teammate. It
wasn’t just their history or the fact that he was a glorified asshole, but more
importantly, their skills weren’t complementary. Alexion relied on buffing
and healing himself and others. Whereas Jason summoned undead that
were vulnerable to light.
Not that he had any materials, he realized with a grimace. And by
the looks of it, this ruined city likely wasn’t going to provide him with an
ample supply of corpses. He was confident that had been intentional. It
seemed <Death and Taxes> were wary of his abilities and had chosen a
fitting arena in which to fight him.
“This is going to be tough,” Jason murmured.
“Speak for yourself,” Alexion replied, cracking his knuckles and
light mana flaring across his skin. “Even without being able to fly, I should
be able to make good time to that tower.”
Says the guy that just crash landed into the club during a live
stream…
“And what happens when you get there… alone?” Jason asked in a
deadpan voice. “You plan on taking on all of <Death and Taxes> by
yourself?”
“Who’s to say they beat me there? They’re a bunch of masked
idiots,” Alexion shot back. He’d clearly given up on his regal persona now
that there wasn’t a camera pointed at him.
“Odds are that they will,” Jason replied with a sigh. “It’s probably
safe to assume that they’re all familiar with the layout of this city – or club,
or whatever.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, we teleported here somehow, and you saw them use the gate
piece fragment, right?” Jason asked. Alexion nodded slowly as Jason
stooped and palmed another fragment that was resting along the ledge.
“My guess is that they somehow used these fragments to teleport us – like
they’re connected or something. And if I’m right, that means that they
planted these fragments here ahead of time.” As he spoke, Jason stowed the
fragment in his bag. Assuming his guess was correct, it might come in
handy later.
“Besides, you’re also missing something important,” Jason added.
“Which is what?” Alexion growled.
Jason glanced at him, resisting the urge to sigh in exasperation.
“This is likely where they’ve stashed Evelyn. Probably drugged her and
then teleported her here – which is why she hasn’t been able to message you
in-game.”
Alexion’s eyes went round, but then he shook his head. “You’re just
guessing. You don’t know any of that for certain,” he muttered, although he
seemed less sure of himself now.
Jason shrugged. “I could be wrong, but they’re reasonable
deductions based on what we know right now.”
His eyes skimmed to the tornado resting in the center of the city, the
screen no longer showcasing Bard’s masked face. Yet Jason’s attention was
on something else. He was inspecting the layout of the city, the way it
curled around that whirlwind, the tower in the distance just barely visible
around the maelstrom. An idle thought occurred to him, and he swiped at
his UI, bringing up his in-game map. It soon confirmed his suspicion.
“Looks like Finn and Eliza arrived as well,” Jason muttered.
“What do you mean?” Alexion growled in frustration.
Jason couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips this time. Was
Alexion accustomed to people handling everything for him? He just
wanted to charge in blindly without any thought. Maybe that brute force
approach worked for the son of the wealthiest man in the world. However,
AO didn’t give a shit about money or status. This world could be ruthless.
It required tact and careful planning. <Death and Taxes> understood that.
Alexion apparently didn’t.
Or perhaps the answer was simpler. Could Alex Lane be…
embarrassed?
That made sense after faceplanting in front of gods knew how many
people. But still, he’d learned nothing from the experience. If anything, it
seemed he’d lost whatever tenuous respect he might have had for Jason or
anyone else, for that matter. As if they didn’t have enough problems, now
Jason would have to coddle a prince’s bruised ego.
“They disabled our chat and most of the features of the in-game
console – they’ve basically locked down our communications so we can’t
coordinate with each other,” Jason explained in a strained voice. “However,
the in-game map still works, and we’re still grouped with the others.” He
spun his map toward Alexion, pointing at the two green dots to the west of
their location. “So, we can confirm that Finn and Eliza made it.
“As I explained, <Death and Taxes> is likely also familiar with the
layout of the club and teleported in together or was able to regroup quickly
using the map. They also have Pewpew, and it’s safe to assume she knows
basic communication spells. So, they likely won’t have any difficulty
planning their moves. That’s another major advantage.”
Jason turned, looking to the west. A massive wall of debris lingered
there, the buildings crushed and caved in. Jason didn’t see an obvious path
through the rubble, and going over the top was out of the question. Finn
could possibly cut his way through the stone, but that would take time –
time they didn’t have with the world literally coming to an end.
Either way, he was sure that wasn’t a coincidence.
<Death and Taxes> intended to keep them separated and force each
group to travel in the opposite direction around the ring. That’s what Jason
would have done, anyway.
“This isn’t good,” he muttered, shaking his head, and rubbing at his
temple. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to regroup with the others.”
A flash of worry flitted across Alexion’s face, but he recovered
quickly, a sneering veil of arrogance soon settling back into place – no
doubt, another coping mechanism on full display. “I’ll say it again because
apparently that hood is affecting your hearing. I don’t need their help.”
 Jason’s hand tightened around his staff in frustration. “Really?
Because by my count, we’re now outnumbered seven to four. We’re
trapped in a location that is familiar to our enemy but not ourselves. We
have no way to communicate. They have a good handle on our abilities,
and our two skill sets don’t synergize. Hell, I don’t have a single minion
right now. I don’t understand how you can be so arrogant at a time like
this.”
Alexion just snorted, crossing his arms. “And there’s the problem
right there. You’re useless here. Without any bodies or an overpowered
army of undead, what good are you?”
Of course, he would only see things in terms of raw power…
Jason’s hands clenched, his dark mana slithering through his veins,
but he forced himself to calm down. Killing this angelic idiot wouldn’t help
their situation. In fact, that only highlighted another problem that Alexion
had failed to consider. Like, what the hell would happen if they died.
Jason’s guess was that <Death and Taxes> already knew where the respawn
point was located and had almost certainly planned a surprise for anyone
that happened to perish.
“Nothing to say? That’s what I thought,” Alexion sneered.
With that, the avatar of light pivoted on his heel and marched off
down the ledge, not bothering to spare a look behind him to see if Jason
was following.
For a moment – just a brief moment – Jason fantasized about slicing
off those stupid wings and pitching the idiot over the side of the ledge.
Listening to him scream all the way down… But he resisted again. The
truth was that he expected he was going to need all the help he could get for
whatever came next.
Besides, he could always kill him later.
A zombie version of Alexion would undoubtedly be an
improvement.
With that dark thought, Jason breathed out another sigh and
followed Alexion.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 31 - Game On
“What is this?” the Lady snapped, waving at the screens that
hovered along the wall of the Gambler’s private room. “How could your
avatars—”
“Not avatars, but keep going,” the Gambler amended.
“Your avatars,” the Lady repeated, the god of air muttering into his
glass of whiskey. “How could they have known about this place, much less
had the means to transport our people there? And, they’re somehow
streaming the entire thing for the rest of the game world like some sort of…
of…”
“Game show?” the Hippie supplied. “I think the travelers call it a
game show.”
The Lady sniffed, barely acknowledging the comment.
“She has a point,” the Old Man intoned. “We are not permitted to
meddle in the affairs of residents and travelers directly. Those are part of
the covenants. These circumstances have no other explanation than your
involvement.” The rest of the gods in attendance nodded in agreement.
“Geez, a century has passed and I see that you lot haven’t changed.
You’d think surviving a world-ending event or two would teach you to
relax,” the Gambler quipped. The Lady’s eyes flashed in response. Not
that he seemed perturbed by her reaction or the glares of the other gods.
Instead, the Gambler rose, moved to the bar, and slowly poured
himself another glass of whiskey, taking a long pull. He cocked his head.
“Although, I suppose there’s an easy way to address this problem. We
simply need to ask.”
The god of air pointed at the rat sitting on the bar table. “So, Oscar,
what’ll it be? Did I break the oh-so-sacred rules or not?”
The rat looked uncertain, glancing at the other black-hued animals
in the room. Yet they only stared back in confusion. Fluffy escaped the
problem by letting out a loud – and not entirely real-sounding – snore, one
half-lidded eye quietly surveying the room. Pretending to be asleep was a
rather bold move.
Into that silence padded another presence, its feline form winding
between the furniture. The Lady flinched as she caught sight of him, the
gods staring in alarm. Onyx leaped onto the sofa beside the Old Man and
even the dark god edged away. Onyx inspected the room casually, yawned,
and licked a paw before saying a single word—
“No.”
“Well, there you have it, folks!” the Gambler declared. “From the
mouth of little dark, furry narcs, am I right?” He nudged the Hippie with his
elbow as he retook his seat, the god of water chuckling at his joke. The rest
were unamused.
“How is that possible?” the Lady demanded, this time her question
directed at the cat. Although, some of the condescension had fled her voice
in the face of Onyx’s stare.
“I’ll take that one,” the Gambler interjected. “The answer is
simple. I didn’t actually do anything. <Death and Taxes> are the ones who
abducted your precious avatars, not I. As for the rest… well, I might have
hinted at the location of my old city, but I didn’t show them the way. And I
had nothing to do with the teleportation. Scout’s honor.”
That smile was back with a vengeance now, the Gambler unable to
entirely suppress his pleasure at his siblings’ discomfort. “What can I say?
I worked fully within the bounds of our discretion. These hands are clean.”
With that, he took another drink.
“You have taken that allowance to an extreme, even for you,” the
Seer intoned.
“Am I the only one curious how his city survived?” the Hippie
piped up, grabbing another handful of pretzels from the half-empty bowl
resting next to him.
“Indeed, that is curious,” the Old Man murmured, staring at the
screens. “I thought all of our former cities were lost during the Purge.”
“I sense more rule-bending at work,” the Lady huffed, crossing her
arms.
The Gambler shrugged. “Not really. After I had to let my previous
staff go, I dropped them off outside of Aislen and then parked my city
somewhere it wouldn’t be noticed. Although, paying the mana mortgage to
keep it afloat all these years has been truly heartbreaking. We had to forgo
so much, didn’t we, Oscar?”
The rat just let out a weary squeak, hanging his head and leaning
against the tiny broom in his hands, a pile of crumbs resting beside him –
courtesy of the Hippie’s pretzel-gorging frenzy.
 “I know, I know. No funds for repairs or staff. We were forced to
work our fingers to the bone year after year. We even had to handle our
own janitorial work! It was truly pathetic,” he grumbled.
Oscar cocked his head, looking back and forth between the little
broom in his hands and the god of air. He let out an irritated squeak—
“Anyway,” the Gambler cut him off. “As I was saying, by the time
Smiles and his crew came around, we were nearly on our last legs. Most of
our machines were inoperable, the carpets were fraying and stained, and the
plumbing was shot to shit. Pun intended, by the way,” the Gambler added
with a grin. “Can you imagine what that was like after the grandeur of our
former club? To top it all off those human mages tried to copy me.
Vaerwald they call it.” He snorted. “Can barely manage to park their city a
few yards off the ground.
“Posers,” he muttered under his breath as he took another sip.
“Oh, shit,” the Hippie muttered. “Does that mean those ugly green
things we passed on the way in here are your… your fairies?” He dropped
his voice as he spoke, his words coming out in a loud whisper near the end.
“What happened to their wings?”
The Gambler tugged at his collar as the others looked at him with a
mixture of surprise, curiosity, and horror. “They, erm, evolved,” he replied
evenly.
“More like they endured,” the Old Man answered, his mana
flashing, coiling away from his body in a dark haze. “I can sense their
yearning for something more – despite their continued servitude. They still
want their pound of flesh.”
The Gambler swallowed another mouthful of amber liquid – this
time just a bit too forcefully. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“What’s your game here?” the Seer spoke up, her eyes blazing with
fiery energy and her gaze distant. “I still can’t see it. Your plan. I can
only… feel the edges of it. It’s convoluted. Stretched thin across time and
space. Colored by chaos and chance.”
The Gambler looked at her sharply, glass frozen an inch from his
lips.
Yet the Seer soon shook her head and her the mana faded. “I can
almost sense what you’re hiding,” she murmured. “But not quite.”
“Me? Hiding something?” the Gambler offered, smiling into his
glass. “I assure you, I’m as shallow as a puddle. The truth is that the last
century has been quite dull. I’m just looking to have some fun.”

* * *

“Well, damn,” Robert grunted, still watching the paneled screen that
hung above the room, towering over a scene of pure chaos.
Lights were flashing across the terminals in the Control Room. The
room was abuzz with noise as the technicians worked furiously. A constant
chime was being emitted from Robert’s own terminal. Vermillion Live, no
doubt. Robert could only assume the director was having an aneurysm with
no content to publish.
Yet social media abhorred a vacuum.
In the absence of any direct coverage from the streaming channel,
the players had begun posting their own videos. Hundreds – possibly
thousands. The rifts alone might have been enough to draw attention. But
the abduction of the avatars and video streamed live to every city in-game
by none other than a member of <Death and Taxes>? Well, that had created
a media shitstorm of epic proportions. It was all anyone was talking about
– gaming channel or not.
And the only place to get coverage of these so-called “games?” By
logging into AO in the hope of watching the events unfold on the massive
screens that now hovered above every major city. Even the avatars’ cities
weren’t immune. The Twilight Throne. The Crystal Reach. The god of
air’s reach apparently knew no borders.
Players had begun entering the game in droves, an influx that made
their launch look pathetic. They were getting traffic from their European
and Asian communities that was staggering – and it was the middle of the
night there. Robert could only imagine what that traffic would look like
once the sun rose.
So, they’d been forced to devote every spare server farm toward
keeping up with that staggering demand. It was all the technicians could do
to keep the login servers online – much less worry about the demand that
sort of traffic was drawing on the game servers themselves. At least Alfred
had had the foresight to spread out the population in-game.
Even now, Robert watched the throngs of players that flooded the
in-game cities, the images painted in the air above the Control Room.
Some of those towns were so overwhelmed that the players had taken to the
rooftops, the streets already filled to the brim.
New rifts were still occasionally forming near those population
centers, but they were short-lived. Whatever creatures were unfortunate
enough to emerge were immediately reduced to a smoldering pile of ash in
the face of thousands of travelers. A perfect pastime during the short
intermission before the avatars faced the first games.
It was almost like someone had planned all of this.
Robert peered into the nearby server room where black towers
flickered. Was Alfred trying to protect the cities? Had he coordinated all of
this? And then there was the “how” of it all. Someone had fed <Death and
Taxes> information – that much was clear. He sensed the AI’s involvement
here somehow.
“Was this what you were hoping for?” Claire demanded as she
approached.
Robert winced. “Not exactly. I mean, I was expecting something
interesting to happen when we sic’d that gamemaster on Jason. But, in
typical fashion, the result surprised me.”
She sighed, rubbing at her eyes under her glasses. “Well, I’ve been
on calls with the director at Vermillion all afternoon – conversations he
intended to have with you.”
“Much appreciated,” Robert shot back with a grin before turning his
attention back to the screen. “So, he’s upset?”
“That’s like saying lava is hot,” Claire shot back. “He’s demanding
some sort of explanation and footage. Really anything that he can put on
the air. His hands are basically tied right now and the channel has been
dead for over an hour – talking heads just recycling the same information
repeatedly.”
“Why am I making that call? Can’t George handle the PR stuff?”
“He’s deferring to you,” Claire replied in a strained voice.
Punishing me, most likely, Robert thought to himself.
“Ahh, so I have all of the power,” he answered, steepling his
fingers. “Interesting.”
“Or terrifying,” Claire muttered, closing her eyes briefly and taking
a steadying breath. The techs had been eavesdropping on their
conversation, more than a few looking in their direction now – waiting for
some sort of order.
 Robert just grunted, eyes fixed on those screens. Watching the
travelers watching the avatars endure a gauntlet in the hope of saving a
digital world. It was all sort of meta.
“Then I say we do nothing,” Robert announced finally.
“What?” Claire replied, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Really, it’s not that crazy. We do nothing. Let Vermillion stay
down or recycle coverage they find online. The whole point of the channel
is to advertise our game and get people online. Well, what better way to do
that than this event?” Robert asked, waving at the screens.
Claire followed his gesture, some of her sudden incredulity
beginning to evaporate.
“If we do nothing, people have to log in to watch the games unfold
firsthand… or secondhand, I guess?” he amended with a cock of his head
and a grin. “Hell, I bet our products fly off the shelves in the meantime.
Anyone waiting on the sidelines to buy a headset might just be curious
enough to give it a shot – despite the world-ending stakes. This thing is
already big enough on social media that non-gamers will get caught in the
craze.”
He shrugged. “So, like I said, we do nothing.”
Silence met those words. Not just Claire was staring at him, but the
rest of the techs in the Control Room – each person glancing back and forth
between Robert and those screens.
Claire coughed to clear her throat. “I have to admit, most of the
time you act like a twelve-year-old trapped in a middle-aged man’s body.
But then there are moments like this. Where you come with an idea that is
genuinely clever.”
Robert frowned. “Wait… middle-aged? Who are you calling
middle-aged?”
Claire just sighed as she stepped toward the door to the Control
Room. “And there he is. The twelve-year-old is back again,” she muttered.
“Hey, where are you going? You’re going to miss the show,” Robert
called after her.
“I’m going to go console the director of Vermillion. I think I’m
going to have to handle this one in person,” Claire shot back and then the
door swung shut behind her with a solid thunk.
“That’s a real shame,” Robert murmured as the techs suddenly
swept back into motion. His eyes were on one screen in particular –
watching an unlikely pair of allies trudge toward a seemingly innocuous
stone structure. “Because I have a feeling we’re about to witness the first
game of many.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 32 - Trademarked
“Bunch of assholes,” Alexion muttered from behind Jason. “I try to
fly away from a floating city, and I get ridiculed for not anticipating some
protection spell? They would have done the same damn thing,” he growled,
his hands swiping at the air. “There are already memes everywhere.”
As soon as they’d begun walking, Alexion had opened his in-game
terminal, scrolling through the forums, and reading comments about the
“show” that <Death and Taxes> was putting on for the rest of the game
world. They might not be able to post any messages or videos while in the
club, but that didn’t stop them from being able to read what people were
saying.
Unfortunately, obsessing about his online reputation as some sort of
wannabe white knight took the place of doing anything remotely useful.
Like scouting the city around them. Or keeping his guard up against
surprise attacks. Although, the gif of Alexion slamming headfirst into the
ground playing on a loop on the corner of Jason’s vision certainly helped
blunt his irritation.
And the slow-motion effect as his face hit the pavement?
Chef’s kiss.
Not that any of this helped them with their current predicament.
Jason let out a sigh as he noticed Alexion had stopped in the middle of the
street, staring at his screens, and grumbling to himself. Again. This was
already the third time.
Jason kept a watchful eye on the buildings around them. Ancient
signs glimmered with half-broken mana crystals that gave off a fluorescent
glare, advertising food and drink and all manner of useless touristy bullshit.
The occasional booth they passed played a stilted broken melody but no
vendor manned those stalls and the merchandise had long since corroded,
wilted, and decayed. An eerie stillness hung across the club. Jason hadn’t
detected any sign of life here. In fact, many of the structures had been
caved in or the metal doors rusted shut – a thin layer of moisture covering
the rock and metal. This place did indeed look like it had been abandoned
for some time. At least, that much had been true.
“Who cares what a bunch of strangers think?” Jason finally snapped,
Alexion still staring off into space and muttering to himself.
 “I care,” Alexion shot back without looking up. “Reputation is
important – even more so in this world. Influence is a currency. But I
wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand. That sort of thing comes
from experience dealing with the media.”
Jason rolled his eyes, thankful that his face was hidden by his hood.
“You might be surprised,” he replied quietly, hand clenched around his
staff. “But you should be paying attention. <Death and Taxes> could strike
while we’re out in the open like this.”
Alexion just sniffed, ignoring him as his hand swiped at the air. “I
don’t see why that matters. Hell, we could just let them kill us and get it
over with if that’s what they want. I might even be able to sell it as the
noble thing to do – a brave sacrifice on my part. Especially given that
we’re trying to save the world.”
“Sure,” Jason replied, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
“And you’ll respawn where exactly? Oh, yeah. Probably somewhere
inside this dungeon. Alone. Likely with <Death and Taxes> waiting for
you on the other end. With no way to escape or prevent <SAFE> from
destroying the game world. And that’s putting aside that you still don’t
know what happened to Evelyn. Truly – a fantastic plan.”
“As though you’re some master tactician?” Alexion shot back with a
laugh, finally looking away from his screens and continuing forward.
“From what I can tell, you’re next to useless. You barely managed to hold
back the attack on the sensor and then you had us walk blindly into a trap –
the same one that put us here in this floating prison. And now you want to
lecture me about paying attention? If we do get attacked, what exactly are
you going to do? Complain about how hard your life is and throw out some
beat poetry? It’s not like you have any minions right now so it looks like
I’ll be carrying the fight alone while you brood in the shadows.”
Jason ground his teeth together. That wasn’t quite how things had
gone down. But pointing that out to Alexion was pointless. So, he breathed
in through his nose and out through his mouth, trying his best to remain
calm. <Death and Taxes> were probably hoping they’d kill each other off
long before they encountered one of their guild members.
So far, their plan was working.
“It looks like you’re going to get your chance,” Jason replied evenly,
slowing as they rounded a turn. Alexion was brought up short, glaring
angrily at Jason – who simply gestured at the building blocking their path
by way of explanation.
It was a large structure composed of thick stone blocks. At a guess,
the interior was likely 20,000 square feet or more. The building had no
door, only a stone-framed entrance that plunged into darkness, even Jason’s
Night Vision unable to fully penetrate the gloom. A sign hung across the
side of the structure, the mana crystals fractured and sparking – revealing
only part of what might have once been the name for this building.
“Something-Man,” Alexion muttered. “Perfect.”
More worrisome were the signs framing the entrance. Bard’s face
flickered there, projected by mana crystals embedded in the stone. “T-t-try
Bard’s Basics for all your skin care needs!” the advertisement announced,
the mana sparking as he held up a small jar.
Leave it to their “host” to use this as an opportunity to hustle his
own merchandise. At least the wannabe minstrel’s ego revealed that this
building most likely contained the first game. Why else would he plaster
ads beside the entrance?
Jason eyed the ledge to his right. Maybe they could circle around?
However, that soon proved impossible. A higher-level terrace
loomed beside them, but no stairs offered access. In fact, it looked like
whatever stairs might have once been there had been destroyed, leaving
only a nearly vertical pile of rubble. Jason moved closer, tracing the rock
with his fingers. Based on the damage, it was almost as though someone
had—
“Are you coming or not?” Alexion demanded, stalking toward the
entrance to the building and light mana flaring across his skin. “Let’s get
this over with already.”
“Hey, wait!” Jason called after him, but it was too late.
As soon as Alexion neared the building, thin yellow streamers of
energy filled the air – some sort of air-mana tripwire, no doubt. A camera
orb popped into existence nearby and the enormous screen in the center of
the club sprang back to life.
“Well, two of our guests have finally made it to their first game!”
Bard’s voice boomed through the space, his face filling the screen before
shifting to a view of the structure before them. “I know this building isn’t
much to look at, but what lies in wait for our intrepid adventurers will
surely make up for that!”
 Alexion’s head craned toward the massive tornado, observing
himself on the big screen as the camera tilted toward the pair. A small smile
crept across his face. Then, with a flick of his wrist, panels of golden light
suddenly enveloped his body, and he drew his sword, pointing it at the
glowing blue orb that floated nearby with a theatrical flourish.
“You caught me off guard during our first meeting, but know that I
am afraid of no man. I’m here to find Evelyn – who you kidnapped from
her guild hall in Barrow – and I will not rest until she is safe from harm.”
Jason had to resist the urge to vomit. So, now Alexion was going to
play the hero every time the cameras were pointed in his direction? Why
couldn’t he have teleported in beside Eliza. Or Finn. Or just alone. Even
that would have been an improvement.
“Noble words,” Bard replied, tapping at his chin. “And from a
gallant hero, no doubt. Sir LandsFlatOnHisFace will surely be the first
champion to defeat our games!” As he spoke, the screen shifted to show a
now familiar gif of Alexion slamming face first into the rock. To make
matters worse, the display then shifted to the crowds of travelers out in the
game world, laughter rippling through the men and women watching these
so-called games.
A scowl swept across Alexion’s face before he could master his
expression, his mask cracking ever so slightly. “I won’t be provoked by the
likes of you. The light does not waver in the face of adversity.”
With that, Alexion stalked further inside the building’s mawing
entrance, Bard’s laughter following him. With another sigh, Jason jogged
to catch up, eyeing the camera floating beside them as he reached for
Alexion’s shoulder. “Hey, slow down and take a breath. Before we enter
this thing, we should talk strategy. Maybe go over our skills so we have an
actual plan of attack. We haven’t fought together before.”
Alexion shot a glance at the camera and then sneered at Jason over
his shoulder. “As I said, I’ll be doing the heavy lifting since our
Necromancer got stuck in an abandoned city with no corpses. Maybe
people will finally see how overblown your class truly is. You’ve only
made it this far based on luck – on this world showering you with
undeserved wins.” With that, he shrugged off Jason’s hand and paced
further into the darkness, the camera turning to catch a glimpse of Jason
before continuing onward.
 “That idiot is going to get us killed,” he muttered, but it appeared he
had little choice but to follow Alexion and hope for the best. With that, he
summoned his Bone Armor, the metal-infused material sliding out of his
skin and settling across his body.
Only moments later, the floor rumbled and Jason whirled to see a
massive stone slab descending at their backs, crashing into the ground with
a thunderous thud. It seemed retreat wasn’t an option any longer. At the
same time, lights flared into existence, forming long colored bands across
the stone walls on either side of the pair. That offered just enough light for
Jason to see that the walls ended about fifteen feet off the ground, the
ceiling looming somewhere up in that darkness.
“Welcome, to Smash-Man – which, according to our attorneys, is a
totally original and well-conceived game of our own devising,” Bard’s
voice announced, echoing off the stone. “The rules of this game are simple:
try to escape the maze without dying. Anyhoo, have fun!”
With that, a column of light speared upward into the darkness on the
far end of the room. “Looks like there’s our exit!” Alexion announced,
sparing another glance at the camera hovering near his shoulder. “This
should be easy—”
He was cut off as another rumble vibrated the walls, causing dust to
cascade down toward the pair. Jason craned his neck, squinting against the
darkness, only for his eyes to widen in alarm. A massive stone sphere
nearly twenty feet wide tumbled out of a hole in the wall at their backs
before crashing into the ground and rolling forward toward the pair. As the
light from the walls illuminated the sphere, Jason could see a giant yellow
smiley face painted on the stone.
“Shit, we need to move!” Jason called out as the boulder began
rolling toward them, quickly picking up speed. He was already starting
forward.
“Why do I need to run?” Alexion shot back, assuming another pose
for the camera. His wings swept out around him with a flutter of feathers
and flapped hard, sending wind gusting down through the hall at Jason’s
back. Alexion took off, soaring up into the air, his body illuminated by the
glowing armor wrapping his body.
As soon as he crested the lip of the wall, a gunshot rang out. Jason
glanced over his shoulder, only to see what appeared to be a bolt of
lightning slam into Alexion and send him crashing into an adjacent section
of the maze, the ground trembling as he struck. However, a glance at his
group HUD indicated that the blow hadn’t killed the asshole…
unfortunately.
“Gods damn it,” Jason muttered. He recognized that attack from
Barrow.
It seemed Pewpew was in here with them.
And now Jason was alone, with no minions, a homicidal tween
gunning for him, and a giant boulder rumbling at his back. So, just another
fantastic example of the game showering him with luck. Not that he had
time to be bitter.
Jason kept sprinting forward, the boulder gaining on him ever-so-
slowly. The maze turned to the left and Jason skidded around the corner,
kicking off the wall without losing too much of his momentum. The
boulder wasn’t so lucky. The massive rock tried to turn, but it was much
too heavy and was sent careening into the wall. The boulder collided with
the stone in a tremendous explosion of rocky shrapnel, the jagged fragments
pinging off Jason’s armor even at his distance. The section of wall began to
collapse, hundreds of pounds of stone showering the lane.
Jason slowed, breaking his staff into two pieces, and eyeing that
devastation. At the same time, he tapped at his UI to bring up his map,
eyeing the green dot that denoted Alexion’s location.
He could feel a tremor run through the floor and another gust of
wind whipped at his armor – that smiling boulder slowly pulling itself from
the pile of debris as it began to spin toward Jason again.
So, the boulder is tracking us somehow, he thought to himself. But
it seemed to take it some time to gather speed and it couldn’t easily navigate
the turns in the maze. Using his opportunity, Jason ran back toward the
boulder, kicking off the pile of debris and darting through the opening the
smiling sphere had made in the wall just in time to see a flash of light along
the top of the wall and another gunshot.
Jason dove to the ground on instinct, the missile speeding past him
in a blaze of electricity that crashed into the boulder that was now slowly
spinning in place. His Bone Armor saved him again, the electricity lancing
across the surface but doing no lasting damage.
“Well, damn,” Pewpew muttered, her voice carrying on mana-
assisted winds as she flashed away. “You’re just as slippery as I
remember.”
 Jason frowned as he pushed himself back upright, his weapons at
the ready as he kept moving. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” he called out as
he ran. There was no sense hiding his location. His guess was that Pewpew
was teleporting across the tops of the walls – staying well out of melee
range and giving her a vantage point on the lanes.
Another gunshot and Jason dove around the upcoming corner of the
maze, the bullet blasting into the wall and mana flaring and sparking as it
destroyed the colorful line of crystals embedded in the stone surface. But
the rumble behind him indicated he didn’t have time to stop. That boulder
was still closing in on him. So, Jason took off, his breathing already
starting to sound labored. He was going to need to keep a watchful eye on
his stamina.
“It hurts that you don’t remember me,” Pewpew’s voice rang out,
echoing out across the room without giving away her location – even with
Jason’s Listening skill.
Almost like she planned for this, he thought ruefully.
Although, her voice did sound familiar…
“It was just a small little dungeon north of Peccavi,” Pewpew
continued, mana flashing along the tops of the walls – confirming his
suspicion. Jason glanced at his map as he ran. It looked like he was just
one more wall away from Alexion.
“I’m sorry, you’re going to need to be more specific. I killed a lot of
people in that dungeon,” Jason shot back. “They were all pretty
forgettable.”
“How dare you!” Pewpew growled.
Jason dove to the right around the next corner, dodging yet another
bullet that rocketed past and slammed into the boulder at his back, not even
slowing its steady roll. The lumbering rock then crashed through the wall,
sending up another shower of dust and debris. That cloud offered Jason
cover as he dashed through the opening, the telltale glimmer of Alexion’s
armor visible through the fog. He slid toward the fallen angel’s location,
taking cover behind the fresh mound of rubble formed by the boulder.
Alexion was badly wounded. The shot had managed to penetrate
one of the glowing panels along his chest, and there was blood everywhere.
While Jason didn’t have much in the way of ranged attacks, he did come
loaded with potions – a gift from Eliza. He pulled one from his bag,
unstoppered it with his teeth, and poured its contents into Alexion’s mouth.
Already, he could feel the rumble of the boulder behind them and the dust
was beginning to clear.
They didn’t have much more time.
Pewpew apparently didn’t intend to wait. A barrage of gunshots
rang out, projectiles crashing into the stone around them as electricity arced
through the air, leaving searing lines across Jason’s armor, and welting the
occasional patch of exposed skin. Jason acted quickly, grabbing Alexion,
and dragging him back into the debris, slowly edging around the boulder. If
he moved quickly enough, the stone merely rotated in place, offering cover
from Pewpew.
“You know, I do seem to recall a young girl with anger management
problems,” Jason shouted. He needed to keep her riled – not thinking
clearly. “Shit, what was the name of her guild? The <Bad Doggos>?”
“You asshole—” Pewpew ground out, her voice obscured in another
barrage of gunfire.
Meanwhile, Alexion’s health had stabilized and his eyes crept open.
Jason decided to hurry that along by slapping him. Hard. The fallen
angel’s eyes snapped open, taking in their situation in confusion. “What…
where…?” he grunted uncertainly.
“Pewpew is on the walls. Teleporting sniper. Stay behind this
boulder and keep rotating,” Jason answered softly. “You almost died and I
barely stabilized you. Can you heal yourself?”
Alexion stared back for a moment and then nodded. With a swift
gesture and a flash of golden light, he healed the hole in his chest, the skin
knitting back together rapidly. It seemed he had a hell of a healing ability –
which gave Jason an idea.
Without warning, Jason lashed out with a Soul Blade, carving
cleanly through Alexion’s arm. His blood poured onto the floor as the
young man grunted in pain. “What the fuck—”
Jason’s hand was over his mouth in an instant. “Shut up,” he
growled, nudging his chin in the direction of the walls above them where
Pewpew was no doubt perched – just waiting for an opening. She couldn’t
see them with the dust, but she could sure as hell hear them.
“Just heal yourself again. You only need one arm for that.”
Alexion glared back but followed his orders, a fresh limb slowly
inching from the ragged stump, the blood vessels, bones, and muscle fibers
weaving back together to form a full-fledged limb once more. Now that
was even more impressive. But Jason didn’t have time to appreciate that
magical feat. Instead, he grabbed Alexion’s fallen arm – just enough
materials to make something small…
“I need you to head toward the exit and add waypoint markers on
the map showing the path out of here,” Jason grunted.
“That’s your plan? Use me as a decoy so she can light me up, then
step over my corpse and escape?” Alexion muttered.
“I just need a few seconds. Then, once I break cover, she’ll focus
her fire on me.”
“How can you be sure?”
“We have some… history, I believe,” Jason answered. He did
indeed recall a young guild leader that had almost managed to kill him back
in Peccavi. If Pewpew was the same person, she wasn’t going to give him
up easily. He locked eyes with Alexion. “If you’ve got a better plan, let’s
hear it.” The angel simply stared back, then shook his head. “Good. You
ready?” Jason asked, nodding at Alexion’s freshly healed arm.
“Yes. But, first, close your eyes.”
Jason hesitated.
“I’m not going to cut off your fucking arm,” Alexion ground out.
Having little choice, Jason complied with his request. Light
bloomed behind his eyelids, accompanied by a gust of wind as Alexion took
off. The glare was so intense that there were still spots in Jason’s vision as
he peeked his eyes open once more – the gloom having resettled across the
massive room. He could see Alexion’s goal now. He’d cast Light to blind
Pewpew before he took off. Unfortunately, the wind from his wings had
also pushed away the rest of the lingering dust, leaving Jason without
cover. Jason heard gunshots ring out again, Pewpew laying down
suppressive fire to force Alexion back to the ground again. He only had a
few seconds.
Jason looked down at the severed arm in his hands as he kept
stepping around the boulder, the rock rotating slowly in place. Then he
began casting Custom Skeleton. The world slowed to a crawl around him as
he quickly broke apart the limb in a shower of blood and repurposed it.
Luckily, he could use one of his older designs.
Lightning arced in the corner of his vision as Jason dropped his
spell, diving behind the boulder once more. Even so, the bolt glanced his
shoulder, carving a furrow in his armor, the bone cracking and failing.
Even worse, the electricity scored his skin and made the limb go rigid,
leaving it numb and tingling. A prompt confirmed he’d lost the use of the
arm momentarily.
“Damn it,” Jason grunted.
“Ahh, I’m sorry, did I nick you there?” Pewpew drawled, another
flash appearing along the top of the walls as she shifted locations.
Jason winced. The wound hurt, but it wasn’t debilitating. Then he
pushed away from the boulder and sprinted down the lane, heading toward
that light on the far end of the room. The floor rumbled again as the
smiling rock at his back began to pick up speed, barreling down the alley
and occasionally bouncing off the walls with a concussive boom, causing
shards of rock and dust to rain down around Jason.
“You know, I think I remember your name,” Jason shouted out.
“Oh, really?” Jason just barely managed to pick out the direction of
her voice as another gunshot rang out. He twisted to the side, narrowly
avoiding another missile.
“Yeah… it was Sarah, right?” he grunted, pushing off the wall and
racing forward again, following the path highlighted by Alexion – he was
getting close to that light in the distance. It was just up ahead now. Jason
could only hope he didn’t screw him over. Yet again.
“Shit. That’s not right,” Jason huffed. “Maybe Amy? Damn, I’ve
killed a lot of people.”
“It’s Lauren, dickhead. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you
remember it this time!”
Lightning arced overhead and projectiles crashed into the rock
around Jason. At first, he thought she’d missed, the shots going wide. Yet
as he passed one of the projectiles, he could see they were spikes of solid
steel. Almost like a rod…
Energy suddenly flashed, lightning arcing between those rods and
catching Jason in a net of energy that made his muscles go rigid. Yet the
rumble of the boulder behind him never stopped. The energy winked out,
smoke coiling away from Jason’s body. While it had managed to blunt
most of the blast, the remains of his Bone Armor crumbled away like ash.
More importantly, he’d lost precious time and his limbs were tingling and
less responsive now.
A flash appeared at the top of the wall, and Jason forced himself to
move, stumbling forward – his body not fully responding to his commands.
“Ahh, look at you. Moving slower, are we?” Pewpew – or Lauren –
taunted. Then, there was another gunshot, and Jason felt something stab
through his calf, his blood spraying the ground.
And that boulder was still careening toward him. As Jason made it
to the corner, he dove around it, hitting the ground with a dull thump. The
rock barreled past him again, crashing into the wall and sending up another
protective layer of rock and dust. However, Jason didn’t trust that, rolling
to the side and just narrowly avoiding another gunshot that would have
pinned him to the floor – the steel rod nearly a foot long.
“Ahh, you’ve still got some fight in you,” Lauren taunted.
“A player has made it out of the arena. Game ending in sixty
seconds!” an automated voice rang out across the arena. Jason glanced up,
blinking away the dust to see that the exit loomed ahead of him, a portal of
stone slowly descending, a pit forming in his stomach. It was so close and
yet still so very far away.
“Oh, this is just perfect!” Lauren said with a laugh. “He left you!
And after you went back to save him. Karma is a real bitch, isn’t it? You
deserve it after what you did to me.”
“Which was what exactly?” Jason grunted. He just needed to buy a
little more time.
“After you destroyed our guild, it fell apart,” Lauren snapped.
“They kicked me out as guild leader. So, I wandered this world looking for
a new home. Except no one wanted a little girl in their guild – despite my
skills. Grown men and women trembling at the thought of fighting beside a
teenager. Assholes, the lot of them.”
A pause and another flash of electricity as Lauren repositioned.
“But I eventually found a home. People like me who don’t give a
shit about your age or stature, only whether you can handle yourself,”
Lauren continued. “Now I have an opportunity to finally get even. To
make you feel what it was like to lose everything.”
As she spoke, Jason eyed the boulder and pulled another healing
potion from his bag. Fortunately, the massive, smiling rock was buried
under rubble and didn’t seem to be able to dislodge itself this time. Not that
this would be enough to save him. The wound in his leg was beginning to
heal – but it was slow, far slower than Alexion’s healing spell. And that last
stretch of hallway was a death trap. Pewpew would gun him down long
before he made it through the exit.
 Yet she knew that – knew that he was wounded. And Jason could
feel her rage. Another player he’d wronged – just like Finn and Vanessa.
Maybe he could use that.
Maybe he could lure her closer.
He began crawling, inching along the stone and dragging his leg
behind him. He just needed to get as close to that exit as he could. Another
shot rang out and Jason’s blood sprayed. He could feel a burn in his other
leg. Another shot. His abdomen that time. His impressive health pool was
beginning to plummet, the bleed damage stacking up with each shot as he
left a bloody trail in his wake.
Yet he kept crawling, the seconds ticking down.
Willing himself to ignore the pain and keep moving.
Then he saw it. The flash of energy he’d been hoping for.
“Ahh, poor you,” Pewpew drawled. The girl had flashed down into
the hall, her feet padding along the stones now – avoiding the blood
streaking out behind Jason.
She stalked forward and Jason felt something cold press against the
back of his neck. He froze, his eyes on the glowing white exit in front of
him, the stone sliding ever further downward.
“30 seconds!” that monotonous voice reported again.
“I’m going to make you watch yourself lose,” Pewpew growled at
his ear. “Watch everything you’ve fought for slip away. This game. This
world.”
“What… about Alexion?” Jason grunted.
Pewpew laughed. “He’s long gone by now. But the others will
handle him. They’re out there. Waiting. Watching. Possibly even celebra
—”
Her voice cut off suddenly.
“Wait, what the fuck is this?” she demanded, recoiling.
She’d finally moved close enough for Jason to strike. His drone had
skittered slowly out from under his armor while she was talking and
crawled up her leg. Pewpew danced in place as the creature skittered across
her body, twisting and craning as she tried to get a clear shot at it. Getting
desperate, Pewpew let out a growl and lightning coated her limbs. Yet
Jason had anticipated that and had used his few precious seconds to imbue
the creature with metal, its body conducting the electricity harmlessly back
into Pewpew’s own body.
 She tried to teleport then, but the drone was touching her – clinging
to her. So, it just teleported along with her as Pewpew landed a few feet
away. She turned then, eyes on Jason as he struggled to push himself back
upright.
“10 seconds,” that voice announced. The portal was almost closed.
“You asshole. You baited me to get close, so this… this thing could
attack me,” Pewpew growled out. Jason could only smile at the anger in
her eyes. “Well, I’ll get the last laugh—”
The barrels of her pistols rose toward Jason as she gave up fighting
his minion. Yet Jason simply stared them down. Just as she fired, he cast
Dark Incarnation. His body blew apart into a cloud of darkness, the
missiles passing harmlessly through him. And no longer encumbered by a
body or his injuries, Jason swept forward, speeding past Pewpew and
toward the exit as the stone portal lumbered ever downward.
However, his spell ended just shy of the doorway – Jason’s body
solidifying – and he landed hard on his injured legs. He toppled forward,
just a few inches from the door.
Well, it was a good effort, he thought to himself as he watched the
portal close, red notifications flashing in the corner of his vision and his
health depleting rapidly from his wounds.
Then Jason suddenly felt himself moving. He looked up in surprise
to see Alexion standing there – dust and blood covering his body. Alexion
hesitated for a moment as he stared down at him, a war of emotions flitting
across his face before he finally pulled Jason forward. They toppled across
the threshold to the sound of Pewpew screaming behind him.
“You won’t escape!” she roared.
Jason turned, seeing the girl teleporting forward, her pistols raised
and the barrier closing. Jason’s minion had already skittered up into
position behind her neck, clamping its skeletal legs onto her skin. Its body
glowed with a telltale orange light.
In that moment, Jason pulled back his hood, meeting the girl’s eyes.
“That was a nice try, but it looks like you still aren’t good enough,”
he said quietly.
Then the drone detonated and Pewpew’s head exploded in a shower
of blood and the barrier finally slammed shut – signaling the end of the first
of the games. Jason slumped against the door, bloodied and tired. His eyes
drifted downward, noticing that a mask lay at his feet – covered in blood
and painted in a perpetual smile.
It seemed they’d won. Barely.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 33 - Teamwork
Jason’s back pressed into the exit door, the rough stone digging into
his shoulder blades. His chest heaved, and his heart thudded a frantic
rhythm as his body gradually began to recover.
“Congratulations to the victors of our first game… I guess.
Although, killing a little girl doesn’t really seem like much of an
accomplishment,” Bard’s voice rang out, soon stolen away by the stiff
winds that blew across the Mile-High Club.
Jason couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips, pressing his eyes
closed to block out the image of the massive screen floating in the center of
the city. You know what was worse than getting stuck in a floating prison
with Alexion? Having the entire process narrated by Bard. That was
definitely worse.
“Oh, and I have a special surprise! You can now vote for your
favorite player in that last match-up – the MVP of our last little game, so to
speak,” he continued, Jason’s eyes shooting open.
Wait… voting?
Jason shoved himself upright in time to see a montage of the last
game. First, Alexion’s grandstanding and attempt to solo the maze,
promptly followed by him getting taken out by Pewpew. There was a rather
unflattering shot of Jason running for his life from a giant smiling boulder.
Then finally, Pewpew’s head exploding as Jason was pulled out of the arena
by Alexion.
A constant chime repeatedly pinged, presumably as the spectators
around the game world cast their votes. Jason and Alexion shared a look –
both battered and beaten. What sort of technology would allow Bard to do
that…?
“Alright, time’s up, folks!” Bard announced. He hesitated, cocking
his head. “Wait, are you all sure about this one? Really, really sure?” He
shook his head. “Okay, well, it looks like our White Knight in Shining
Bullshit is our MVP! It must be his daring rescue attempt there at the end.
Let’s check in with our hero now.”
The screen cut to a shot of Alexion’s face, the camera beside the pair
spinning toward the angelic young man who glanced in surprise between
the glowing orb and the screen hanging from the center of the city – almost
as though he didn’t believe he deserved the title.
Although, Alexion recovered quickly, reassuming a gallant pose. “It
was noth—"
“Haha, just kidding. Captain Crash Landing here wasn’t our MVP,”
Bard quipped. The camera spun toward Jason, his cowled face suddenly
appearing on screen. “There we go. Suitably dark and brooding. You have
anything you want to say to your adoring fans?”
Jason ground his teeth. He was going to enjoy killing this guy.
“Yeah, sure,” Jason grunted, staring into the floating blue orb beside
him. “I’m going to find you – wherever you are – and I’m going to shove
that camera up your—”
The screen suddenly cut away, Bard’s face reappearing on screen.
“Woah there! This is a family show… you know, except for the blood and
gore and violence and all the other times you two have gone on an
expletive-laden tangent. Annnnywaaaaay, I hope all of you in the audience
enjoyed this first round. I expect the next will be even more interesting.
And now for a commercial break—”
The screen abruptly cut to a commercial showcasing what appeared
to be a line of moisturizing products. “Bard’s Basics is here to give you
that battle body glow!” Bard announced, holding up a small jar. “It’s really
all you need to… Hey this is totally relevant! Smiles told me I could do
whatever I wanted,” Bard hissed at someone off camera.
Jason shook his head, tuning out the wannabe minstrel’s special
brand of crazy.
“Fuck that guy,” Alexion growled. He glanced at Jason. “You’d be
dead without me. Yet they think you’re somehow the hero?”
Jason tamped down on the anger simmering in his chest. The truth
was that Alexion was right – at least, in part. He had saved his ass. So,
Jason swallowed his pride.
“You’re right. Thank you for saving me,” Jason said.
Alexion’s expression morphed to shock.
“What? I can’t thank you?” Jason asked, quietly pleased at how
he’d thrown his rival off balance. Next time, maybe he should give him a
big hug. Would serve the asshole right. Kill him with kindness since the
alternative was off the table for now.
“It’s just… not what I was expecting.”
 “Which was what exactly?” Jason asked, pushing himself back
against a nearby wall and rummaging for another potion in his bag – his
wounds still bleeding weakly. “Or were you expecting me to point out how
you didn’t listen to me? Marched in there with no plan and immediately got
incapacitated? Or maybe you were expecting me to point out how we both
would have died if I hadn’t managed to make it to you and heal your
wounds?” Jason offered, snagging a potion from his bag, lifting it in mock
toast to Alexion, and then downing the contents.
The angelic asshole was on his feet in an instant. Metal scraped,
and he was suddenly pointing his sword at Jason, light mana illuminating
the blade. “I should cut you down right now for talking to me like that.”
Jason just snorted. “We’re not live at the moment, you know that,
right?” He spread his arms wide. “But if you want to kill me, by all means,
go ahead. I’m sure you’ll get your ass kicked during the next game – and
publicly, no less. Also, how are you going to explain my death? That
whole white knight act you’re putting on will be pretty hard to keep up after
you murdered someone in cold blood and with no provocation.”
Alexion just glared at him for several long seconds. Then he slowly
withdrew his blade and sheathed it once more, sitting down on a ruined
stone ledge. “I don’t like you,” he muttered.
“Yeah, well, you’re not my favorite person either,” Jason replied
with a sigh.
“I just don’t get it. How have you survived this long if you can’t do
shit without your minions?” Alexion muttered, shaking his head. “You
barely managed to take out that little girl. You have no ranged abilities
whatsoever, no healing, no buffs. And that staff seems like it’s mostly for
show.”
Jason winced as he felt his wounds begin to stitch themselves
closed, leaving a burning, itching line in their wake. Pewpew really had
done a number on him. “I try not to play fair,” he grunted in reply. “Which
means thinking ahead. Carefully analyzing a situation and developing a
strategy. Keeping a calm head and ignoring distractions,” he offered as he
saw Alexion staring at the screen in the center of the city where Bard was
still showcasing his products, slathering it on his arms and hands and
wiggling his fingers for the camera.
“Says the guy bleeding out,” Alexion replied with a sneer.
 “From wounds I took while acting as a decoy for you to get out? If
you’d listened to me before we entered that building, we wouldn’t have
gotten separated and likely could have handled her easily. But you didn’t.
You did what you always do – made the whole fucking thing about you. Go
in guns blazing and to hell with anything else.”
Alexion stayed silent, his fists clenched and his eyes on that screen.
Jason grunted as he shoved himself upright, testing his weight on
newly healed legs. “You want to know why I win? Because I’m willing to
do whatever it takes—”
“I’m willing to do anything,” Alexion ground out, glaring back at
him now.
“Really? Like swallowing your own pride?” Jason glanced down at
his arm as he spoke, noticing the wound hadn’t fully healed. Then, with a
wince, he dug his fingers into the injury, pulling out a piece of stone
shrapnel which he flicked onto the ground at Alexion’s feet.
Alexion swallowed hard, staring at that bloody chunk of rock. Jason
saw emotions flitting across his face – rage, irritation, arrogance… but also
a hint of doubt. He could work with that last one.
“Have you explored your own magic?” Jason asked quietly. “Tried
to get a sense of what you’re truly capable of? You summon those panels of
light, you can buff people, and you clearly have tremendous healing
abilities,” Jason acknowledged, nodding at Alexion’s arm – no mark
indicating that he’d ever lost the limb. “But have you played around with
those spells? Experimented with them?”
“To what end? This is a game,” Alexion ground out. “They’re just
rote spells. You make it sound like this is rocket science, but it isn’t.”
“Hmph,” Jason murmured. “Is that what you really think?”
Silence met that question.
Jason decided to try another tack. “What about Finn? Did you
know he’s actually invented an in-game mod that allows him to create new
spells?” he asked. Alexion’s brow furrowed at that one. “Fire mana
manipulates heat which is why he chose metal for his weapons – creating a
versatile skill set from a single ability, one he can use both offensively and
defensively, as well as modify on the fly. Eliza weaponized her alchemy
and plants to create endless possibilities. Hell, she almost destroyed the
game world by herself.”
Alexion shot him an incredulous look.
 “It’s the truth,” Jason answered his unspoken question. “She
cultured a mold that could eat organic matter. It was spreading
uncontrollably before she managed to stop it.”
Jason leaned back against the stone door, rubbing at his face. “My
point is that there’s more to our abilities than meets the eye. And how we
choose to use them matters. It’s what those other people don’t understand,”
he continued, waving at the large screen where Bard was now stripping for
the camera – presumably to showcase how well his moisturizer worked.
“They look at me and say my class is broken.”
Jason thumped a hand to his chest. “I made it broken. You saw that
yourself. When I don’t have a chance to prepare or have access to
materials, I’m weak. I have to play it smart. I don’t have any other option.”
“I… I think I can see your point,” Alexion grudgingly
acknowledged.
“Good. Because either way, we’re stuck with each other,” Jason
muttered. “And to make matters worse, <Death and Taxes> seem to have
planned these so-called games.”
“How so?” Alexion demanded.
“The fact that we ran into Pewpew could have been a coincidence.
But when you consider the fact that she had a personal vendetta against me,
that arena was oh-so-conveniently located along the only path available to
us, and the layout of that game heavily favored her build… well, that’s a
pattern. Someone chose that game specifically for the two of us. Neither
of us have solid ranged abilities or any way to teleport, and that boulder was
meant to keep us suppressed and on the run. The truth is that we didn’t
have much of a counter for Pewpew, short of using her own anger against
her. If she had kept her cool, we probably would have lost back there.”
Jason rubbed at his neck. “And then there was the cave-in before
the arena. It looked recent. The debris hadn’t fully settled. The impact
also looked like someone punched the rock.”
Which would take a crazy amount of Strength, Jason added silently.
He sensed Smiles’ work there. He’d been studying him as much as
possible, carefully reviewing what videos and rumors he could dig up
online. His physical strength was incredible – that much was clear.
“Someone planned all of this, and, right now, we’re still walking
along the path they’ve laid out before us. The bottom line is that we’re on
our own, and we’re likely going to be facing at least two more members of
<Death and Taxes>—”
“In games designed to kill us,” Alexion finished.
Jason just pointed at him. “You got it. Our only way to survive is to
start changing things up. Make moves that our enemies won’t expect.”
Jason met his eyes evenly. “Which is why we need to do the last thing they
would ever see coming. We need to start working together. And that begins
here, by sharing our skill list and Character Status.” As he finished
speaking, Jason did just that with a flick of his wrist.
Alexion started as his UI chimed with the incoming information, his
eyes going distant. “Are you really handing me all the info on your class
and build?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes. And you need to do the same. They want us at each other’s
throats. Focused on our own personal bullshit. So, it’s that, or we fail.” He
saw Alexion hesitate. “Or let me state that in a way you will understand…
you will look like a fucking idiot in front of millions of people. Again.”
Jason shrugged. “Your call.”
Alexion ground his teeth but grudgingly swiped at the air, a chime
of Jason’s UI soon confirming he’d shared his information. Jason’s eyes
were soon skimming through the displays projected before him – Alexion
mirroring his actions as he reviewed Jason’s information.
Alexion had invested the majority of his stat points in Strength and
Vitality. His gear was decent – representing the best gear Jason had seen on
the auction house or crafted by intermediate artisans. However, he had few
unique items. Which meant Alexion likely hadn’t spent much time in a
dungeon himself.
Either way, Alexion’s gear provided a substantial buff to his defense
and casting stats, likely to compensate for all the points he’d placed in more
physical-oriented abilities. Unfortunately, that was the exact opposite of
what Jason would have done since those physical stats could be trained,
unlike Intelligence and Willpower.
But Jason couldn’t do anything about that right now.
Without his armor and shield, Alexion wasn’t exceptionally fast or
good at avoiding attacks – confirmed by the lack of the Dodge skill –
something Jason thought would be almost impossible at this stage of the
game. On the other hand, Alexion had acquired Block, and his shield and
heavy armor helped compensate for that shortfall in damage mitigation.
When he also factored in Alexion’s buffs and healing abilities, it probably
didn’t matter if he took the occasional hit. Jason suspected he’d just been
healing through any damage he took.
Jason tapped at his screen, the view shifting. If his defensive and
utility skills left something to be desired, maybe Alexion had focused more
heavily on his offensive skills… but Jason soon hesitated as he reviewed the
information before him. Alexion’s combat skills were rather lacking. He’d
barely reached intermediate in Sword Combat, for example, and many of
his other martial skills were still in the beginner ranks.
Which means he’s been letting others do the fighting for him, Jason
realized.
That made a lot of sense. Alexion had the money to hire
mercenaries and companions, and his healing and buff abilities would give
them a significant edge. That also explained why he’d fared so poorly
against Pewpew back there. In that sense, the two of them were somewhat
similar, both reliant on minions – living or undead.
Switching tracts, Jason focused on Alexion’s casting abilities.
With his gear supplying a significant amount of Willpower, he
actually had a sizable mana pool. And Jason could see why he’d chosen
that path. Most of his spells weren’t offensive, so he didn’t benefit from the
spell damage bonus of Intelligence. Instead, they were largely utility,
healing, and support skills. Light. Lay on Hands. Lesser Heal. Greater
Heal. Divine Protection – that must be the skill he used to form those
glowing panels of light. He also had a staggering number of buff spells –
although, again, those were primarily focused on increasing Strength and
Vitality.
And judging from that last battle, Alexion had focused on casting
those buffs on himself. He certainly hadn’t tried using them on Jason. It
looked like he’d concentrated on spells that helped increase his own power
and survivability despite having a class that truly shined by helping
others… pun intended. Although Jason suspected the irony of that was lost
on Alexion.
But that was really the problem. Alexion’s class was best suited for
improving the abilities of others – which he’d clearly been doing up until
now. No doubt, letting his minions carry him through curated farming areas
while he sat in the back. However, he’d spec’d in a way that increased his
own strength and durability, but without the actual combat experience or
unique equipment that would really allow him to benefit from that choice.
“What are all of these skills?” Alexion muttered, interrupting
Jason’s thoughts.
Jason glanced up to find Alexion frowning at his displays. “What
do you mean?”
“You have so many,” he grunted, waving at the screen before him.
“And despite your minions, many of these are combat skills.” He shot
Jason a confused look. “What is this?”
“My poor attempt to patch a hole in my build,” Jason replied
reluctantly. “I’ve been focused on combat training lately to help
compensate for how weak I am without minions. Hiding worked for me in
the beginning, but it’s not a solution anymore,” he added, gesturing at the
ruined city around them. He sure as hell wasn’t going to be able to hide in a
tree here.
“Yeah… you don’t have a single offensive spell,” Alexion
murmured.
“I notice you’re in the same situation,” Jason added with a frown of
his own.
They were both decently resilient – but they had no ranged abilities,
their martial skills were just okay, and they didn’t have any way to take real
advantage of their classes. Two controllers without anything to control. It
was as bad as Jason had expected.
He rubbed at his face, swiping away the displays. “Okay. So, we
need to find a way to come up with some minions.”
“I’m all ears since it’s not like I can summon other residents or
travelers,” Alexion replied sarcastically.
Jason nodded. “Which leaves my skeletons.”
“Except we have no corpses,” Alexion muttered. He waved at the
nearby arena. “Unless you count Pewpew’s body but good luck getting
through that damn door.”
Jason winced as he glanced at the stone. It likely weighed more
than a ton. Alexion was right. That wasn’t going to be an option, which
meant he needed to get creative. His thoughts kept turning back to how
he’d sliced off Alexion’s arm – repurposing the bone into a single drone.
Clearly, the avatar of light’s healing abilities were exceptional, capable of
regrowing a limb.
 Jason hesitated.
Or, at least, he could regrow his own limbs. Would his healing
spells work on Jason?
“Stab me,” Jason demanded, rising to his feet, and facing Alexion,
his arms wide.
“What?”
“Stab me,” Jason repeated. “Pull out your sword and—”
Alexion drew and lunged without hesitation, his sword sinking into
Jason’s stomach. He let out a grunt of pain, willing himself to hold still. As
the blade withdrew, blood spilled from the wound, and Jason resisted the
urge to press a hand to his stomach to staunch the bleeding. Alexion raised
the blade to stab him again, but Jason put up a staying hand.
“Enough. Now, try healing me,” Jason instructed.
Alexion frowned but complied, sheathing his sword and his hands
winding through a series of gestures. A beam of light soon shot from
Alexion’s palm, illuminating Jason’s abdomen as he pulled away his hand.
The light infused the wound, but nothing happened for several long seconds
… then, the skin began to slowly knit itself back together. Moments later,
the wound had closed, leaving only a thin red line across Jason’s skin.
“Interesting,” Jason murmured. “Your healing works on me despite
my high dark affinity, but it seems less effective.”
“I received a prompt saying the effect is diminished,” Alexion
offered distractedly, staring off into space. “It says it reduced my Lesser
Heal by about 50%. Normally, it would be much easier to heal a wound of
that size.”
Jason nodded. “Which means something stronger like Greater Heal
or Lay On Hands should be able to replace a limb,” he murmured aloud, his
brow furrowed in thought.
“Sure, but those burn a hell of a lot of mana,” Alexion offered.
“Your regeneration is fine. You should replenish your full mana
pool in just a few minutes,” Jason said, his eyes skimming to the camera
beside them. He had a plan now, but he didn’t want an audience for this.
The orb was still active even though the screen in the center of the club was
still showcasing an extended commercial break – Bard’s oiled body dancing
in time to music of his own making. Jason wasn’t sure what he was even
selling anymore…
 Either way, they needed to maintain the element of surprise. <Death
and Taxes> could still be watching them even if they weren’t on the big
screen.
“I also saw you can use Light,” Jason added, turning back to
Alexion.
“Yeah, no shit. It’s what I used to blind Pewpew momentarily.”
“Sure, but can you sustain it? Create a solid barrier of light like the
one you used on Evelyn’s guild hall?” Jason asked.
“I used my mana well for that,” Alexion offered in reply. “I don’t
think it will work.”
“Just try it,” Jason insisted. “Cast the spell like normal, but
maintain the channel as though you’re using one of your healing spells.”
“Fine,” Alexion grunted. “But it’s not going to work.”
Alexion cast again. A blaze of light flared around them, Jason
raising a hand to ward off the glare. However, this time, Alexion’s hands
kept moving, a frown creasing his lips as he concentrated. The light around
them fluctuated in intensity, flaring and dimming erratically as Alexion tried
to maintain the spell. Then the ring exploded in a flash of blinding white
light, which left spots in Jason’s visions.
“Gods damn it,” Alexion growled. “I told you it wouldn’t work.”
“It did,” Jason replied quickly. “At least for a few seconds. Try
again. Just focus and keep your hand movements consistent. Your gestures
were sloppy.”
“I’m already getting sick of you ordering me around. I don’t need
your nagging.”
“Then don’t fuck it up this time,” Jason shot back.
Alexion glared at him but cast again. The ring of light soon blazed
into existence, but Alexion was more careful this time, keeping his gestures
smooth and controlled. The light wavered for just a moment, trembling
precariously… only to stabilize a moment later, shining in a brilliant blaze
around the pair. The rest of the Mile-High Club was now obscured behind a
wall of light.
Alexion stared off into space. “I… I got a prompt. This is a
secondary effect of Light now. It’s called Light Dome. It looks like the
channel cost is less than my mana regeneration,” Alexion murmured,
shaking his head.
 “See? Like I said, there’s more to the spellcasting system than
meets the eye,” Jason offered, his hands working at unfastening his armor.
“Sure, but I don’t see how this helps us— What the hell are you
doing now?” Alexion amended, watching as Jason pulled his armor free and
deposited it into his bag. This left his pale chest and arms bare, dark tattoos
coiling across his skin as though reacting to the intense light.
Jason met his gaze, his dark mana humming through his veins,
numbing him to the prospect of what he was about to do – the pain he was
about to endure. It wouldn’t be enough on its own. It wouldn’t fully fix the
lack of synergy between him and Alexion. But it was a start.
“Winning,” Jason answered finally.
He raised his arm. “Now, cut it off… then heal me.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for me to heal myself?” Alexion murmured.
“You’re right. You volunteering?” Jason shot back, arching a brow.
Alexion stared back, his mouth opening… then closing. His eyes
were on Jason’s face, his cowl no longer obscuring his features. He saw
determination reflected there. Raw, unflinching willpower. That was the
look of a boy – no, a man – that had faced down Gloria Bastion. Had laid
waste to armies. And had stood his ground before George Lane.
Then Alexion looked down at his own arm, his fingers trembling.
“No… no I guess not,” Alexion muttered, wrapping those traitorous
fingers around the hilt of his sword to hide his fear.
“Didn’t think so, and besides, it’ll be easier and faster for you to cast
with both hands, even with the additional mana cost from using a higher-
tier healing spell,” Jason offered.
“But even if I do this, it’s just one limb – one of those tiny drone
creatures you summoned,” Alexion bit out. “To make anything big—”
“We’ll need more. A lot more. I know,” Jason answered. “Now do
it!”
Alexion just shook his head. Then his sword swept through the air,
followed closely by a grunt of pain, the splatter of blood, and a dull thump
as Jason’s arm hit the stone.
Jason’s breath came shallow and fast as he controlled his reaction.
He couldn’t afford to scream and tip off their enemies. He let out a sigh of
relief as golden light spilled across the wound, and his arm began to
regrow. That was just one arm. He’d need more… a lot more.
“Alright, again,” Jason ordered, clenching his teeth.
 A searing flash of pain and another dull thump. As the wound
healed and the pain faded, Jason heard Bard’s voice ring out, accompanied
by the roar of a crowd. He could only guess that Finn and Eliza had arrived
at their first game. Hopefully, they would survive. Unfortunately, between
the two of them, Jason expected they had their own share of dysfunctional
issues.
Pain ripped through his body once more, his blood leaking onto the
ground, staining the stone a dark red, and shoving away any coherent
thought. He didn’t have time to dwell on that. He took a deep, steadying
breath, his dark mana flaring through his body as he met Alexion’s eyes, his
sword already drenched in his blood.
Jason clenched his teeth as he saw the blade rise again.
And then there was only pain.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 34 - Simmering
Eliza paced behind Finn, keeping a few feet of following distance.
She clutched at her bags, worried that the gusts that blew across the Mile-
High Club might send her equipment flying. The avatar of flame had been
quiet ever since they’d been teleported to this unusual place. He’d simply
pulled up his in-game map, grunted as he saw Jason and Alexion heading
off in the opposite direction around the ring, and then started walking the
other way.
Not that she entirely blamed him for that. The debris between them
had seemed impassable. But the lack of communication was off-putting.
As was the way they’d marched in tense silence since.
“Wait,” Finn announced abruptly, raising a hand. Eliza slowed and
clutched at one of her wands. The truth was she felt vulnerable out here
without Brian – normally a permanent fixture in-game for her. Always
hovering, watching, and protecting. It had been a long time since she’d had
to fight on her own – or at least with only her own abilities, she amended.
Finn was there too. Technically.
“What is it?” Eliza asked.
Finn gestured at the structure ahead. The buildings on either side of
the road had been caved in to create a narrow funnel. Normally, they could
have traversed the stone and bypassed the alley – but with the unnatural
winds that blew across the club, that was a non-starter. They’d both
witnessed Alexion’s crash landing.
“The next game, I suspect,” Finn answered slowly. “I’m picking up
a lot of mana inside that building. Multiple layers. Mostly… water,” he
added with a grimace.
“If it’s anything like Jason’s first game—”
“Then we’re probably going up against Queen,” Finn finished for
her with a nod.
“Otherwise known as Vanessa, the woman you trapped at the bottom
of a living hell,” Daniel chirped helpfully, his voice overly cheery.
Finn grunted. “I’m aware, Daniel.”
“And with the amount of mana inside that structure, identifying her
illusions may be difficult,” the fire elemental added.
 “I know,” Finn growled. “Just give me a moment…” he trailed off,
flicking at the air as he brought up his UI.
“Maybe I can help somehow?” Eliza offered tentatively.
Finn finally turned to look at her – just a motion of his head, his
eyes hidden behind his usual cloth bandage. Yet even without seeing his
expression, Eliza could somehow tell he was eyeing her skeptically. Finn
turned back to his screens without a word.
“Are you… are you upset with me?” Eliza asked finally.
Finn let out a sigh. “Why would I be upset with you?”
“Um, you know, the whole thing with… well, Rachael.”
Admittedly, that came out more jumbled than she’d hoped, but she felt
nervous around Finn. It was the first time the two of them had been alone.
And then there was the dead, wife-shaped elephant in the room…
Finn rubbed at his face, leaning back against a ruined rock wall.
“No, not really,” he answered finally, yet his voice carried a note of
irritation. “You’re not responsible for what happened. And I can
understand your hesitation in approaching me. I’m a stranger – a former
enemy even.”
His hands swept at the air as he manipulated his screens. “I’m
mostly trying not to think about it. What that information might mean.”
“That her death might not have been—”
Eliza cut herself short as the older man ground his teeth. Clearly, he
didn’t want to acknowledge what she’d overheard. Not aloud. Not right
now while they were fighting for their lives to escape this flying prison and
save the game world – as well as Rachael herself. All while being televised
to millions of people. She could feel that pressure too, that floating blue
orb nearby a constant reminder.
Yet she also knew her time here in this game was drawing to a
close. Her parents would insist on her returning to her normal studies
soon. She’d used what she’d overheard as an excuse not to talk to them…
again. Although, a part of Eliza acknowledged that even if it hadn’t been
this, she probably would have come up with some other reason not to say
anything.
However, in contrast to Finn, her problems seemed silly and vapid.
She inspected the older man – really looked at him. This game –
this place – it wasn’t real. Yet it reflected the real world with such
accuracy. The circles under his eyes. His limbs moving slower from
fatigue. That slight tremor in his hands as he tapped at his UI. She was
sure he hadn’t slept since Barrow – probably not since the world
notification had popped.
“I think I understand how you feel,” she said quietly. “This game
means a lot to you. Everything even. The thought of losing this event…
losing Rachael. I guess I can understand how that would feel.”
Finn really looked at her this time. Flames coiled away from his
body as he scowled down at her, his anger on full display. “You think you
know how I feel? Losing my wife? Having the opportunity to save her,
only to face losing her again?” He shook his head. “How could you
possibly understand that? You’re a child. This is just another game to you,
just like all those other idiots clamoring for a server reset.
“For some of us, this place means everything,” Finn muttered,
turning away.
Eliza flinched as if she’d been slapped, his words mirroring her own
thoughts. Maybe she was just an insipid little girl. Too scared to act. To do
anything really. But it was also true that she’d lost something important to
her, and she knew what that felt like. She wished she could return to the
way she’d felt in Sandscrit. The way that swell of power coursed through
her, washing away her doubt and hesitation. It seemed to be the only thing
that quieted those anxious thoughts that seemed to play in an endless loop
in her head.
The god of water’s words returned to her then, mocking and
taunting. “You’ve finally learned the lesson I’ve been trying to teach you
for so long. When to stop accepting your fate.”
It had seemed so clear at that moment. The anger she’d felt. The
way her mana propped her up and bolstered her, making her a better version
of herself. But after those intoxicating effects had worn off, she’d been left
feeling… well, the same. Listless. Defenseless.
And it felt like she’d been running away from her problems ever
since.
Her hands balled into fists, frustration swelling in her chest – just a
taste of that former icy energy. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe it was
time to stop running and face the music.
“You don’t know anything about me,” she retorted in a quiet voice,
barely audible above the wind, and her eyes locked on the ground. “I don’t
have long left here… in this world,” Eliza murmured, leaning into that
frustration and putting voice to her own fears – her own stakes in this
game. “A few more days at most. This was supposed to be a vacation from
my studies because they thought I was going to hurt myse—”
She stopped. She’d almost said it aloud. To someone else.
Eliza shook her head. “That’s, um… that’s not important.”
When she finally looked up, she saw Finn looking at her – really
watching her – the flames gone. “That’s not the way it sounded.”
Eliza’s eyes shot to her feet again, her hands twisting together as she
tried to think of something else to say – some way to cover. “I, um…
well… What I meant to say was that my parents are incredibly strict. They
want me to go to med school just like them. So, they have me taking extra
coursework to help prepare for the MCAT.”
“Aren’t you in high school?” Finn asked, confused.
“Well, yes…”
“But they’re trying to make you prepare for an exam you typically
take after undergrad?” He shook his head. “I’ve heard of helicopter
parents, but that seems intense.” Finn hesitated, that bandaged gaze still
watching her. “Is that what you want?” he finally asked.
“N-no… not really,” she muttered. “But I can’t exactly tell them
that.”
Finn snorted. “Sure, you can.”
“You haven’t met my parents.”
The older man cocked his head, glancing out at the tornado whirling
through the center of the city. “I’ve lived a long time and with that comes
experience. When you’re young, everything seems like a big deal. Every
decision feels difficult. But with time and experience comes new, more
complicated problems. Which sucks,” he admitted with a chuckle, “but it
also gives you perspective. Suddenly, the stuff you were worried about
before starts to seem small and insignificant.”
He turned his attention back to Eliza. “Like this. Like talking to
your parents. Maybe they’d be upset if you told them you didn’t want to
pursue their plans for you. But for how long? A couple days? Weeks?
You have decades ahead of you. More in a place like this that stretches out
our perception of time.”
Finn shook his head. “Take it from someone in the twilight of a life
filled with regret. No matter how much time we have, life is fleeting. If I
had it to do over again, I wouldn’t let anything stop me from going after
what I wanted. I would grasp hold of it with both hands and never fucking
let go. Because that opportunity may vanish in the blink of an eye.”
As he spoke, Finn’s own gaze was on the ground, his brow
furrowed. A heaviness had settled over him and Eliza suspected he was no
longer talking about her parents. Then he suddenly looked up, causing
Eliza to start in surprise.
“The real question isn’t what your parents would do if you
confronted them. Or what they might say. Or how angry they might get.
The only thing that matters is how you choose to spend the life that you
have – to pursue your passions.”
He peered at her. “What is it that you want? And I don’t mean right
now – transient shit like sleep, food, whatever. I’m talking about that thing
that makes you eager to get up in the morning and reluctant to crawl into
bed. That consumes your waking thoughts like an obsession. That’s true
passion. For me… that was my work,” he offered, waving at Daniel where
he floated nearby. “To build and create. And then it was Rachael.”
Finn shook his head to ward off his own dark thoughts. Those
bandaged eyes turned back to her. “What is it that you truly want, Eliza?”
She could only stare back. She suddenly realized that no one had
ever asked her that question. Not her parents. Not Jason and his friends –
not exactly, anyway. And certainly not the Hippie – for all the goodwill he
might have gained by helping her resurrect Brian.
In the face of that question… Eliza suddenly realized she didn’t
know how to answer it.
Sure, there were fleeting wants and desires. To keep playing AO.
To stop endlessly studying dry, old textbooks. But even if she confronted
her parents and told them she didn’t want to be a doctor, that same question
would inevitably follow. What did she want to do? She didn’t know how
to answer it and could anticipate the look of disapproval on their faces if
she admitted that she simply didn’t know. And there it was… the truth.
“I-I don’t know yet,” Eliza answered finally.
Finn nodded. “Good.”
She looked up in surprise and the older man gave her a lopsided grin
– the first she’d seen on his face. “That was honest and the important word
there was yet. It’s unreasonable to assume that everyone finds their passion
early in life. It’s a journey. Hell, I didn’t meet Rachael until after college.
We had to be set up by our friends – two workaholics that refused to leave
their offices,” he offered with a chuckle.
“But do you want to find your passion?” Finn asked.
“I do,” Eliza answered firmly.
Finn just nodded, rising and placing a hand on Eliza’s shoulder.
“Good. For now, focus on that. The journey. The exploration. Just keep
looking. And don’t let others stop you.”
She nodded slowly. There was a certain logic to his words – her
mind clinging to that thought like a buoy amid a storm. Maybe she didn’t
have to have an answer yet.
“And when you find it, hold on to it – don’t let other distractions
steal it away from you,” Finn murmured, his good humor vanishing in an
instant. Eliza watched him, that weight suddenly settling back upon his
shoulder as his gaze turned to the building before him.
Finn let out a sigh. “In the meantime, we need to keep pressing
forward.”
Eliza nodded, her fingers tightening around her wand. “Do we have
a plan?” she asked. “Maybe I should push my skill list and Character Status
to y—"
Finn just shook his head. “It’s fine,” he interjected. “The mana
signature inside that building is too complicated to make out any detail and
something in the stone is disrupting my sight. The walls are likely warded.
We can’t anticipate what we’ll find in there. Only that we’ll likely be
facing Vanessa, or Queen, or whatever the hell she’s calling herself. That
much is obvious from the mana and that first game with Jason and
Alexion,” he continued, his voice coming out in a growl now, flame once
more coiling along his skin and his eyes burning a dark red beneath the
cloth that wrapped his face, bands of smoke curling up into the air.
“But—” Eliza began again, reaching for one of her bags.
“I can handle it,” Finn interrupted. “Just stay back. I don’t want
you to get hurt.”
With that, he started toward the building, Eliza staring after him.
She should say something; put her foot down. At a minimum, she
could buff them both. She had more than enough potions for that.
But she didn’t – still couldn’t.
Perhaps Finn knew best.
 So, instead, Eliza took a deep, stuttering breath, settled her bags
back into position, and hurried to catch up with Finn. As they neared the
structure, a doorway slowly opened, stone sliding upward to the harsh,
metallic grind of rusted gears. On the other side was only darkness. Yet
Finn’s fires soon illuminated those shadows, pushing them away to reveal
row upon row of glimmering mirrors that towered eight or nine feet high,
their frames coated in thick ice.
As they entered the frigid room, cold puffs of warm breath left their
lips. Eliza could see herself reflected within their depths. She could see the
look of surprise on her face as the stone door at their backs began to grind
downward once more, locking them inside. The fear and weakness and
hesitation painted across her own features.
A voice chimed out of that darkness, echoing across the room as a
display blared to life along the ceiling. “Welcome, contestants!” Bard’s
voice rang out. “You have the honor, nay, the absolute privilege, of
participating in one of my favorite games. I call it Mirror Mirage.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 35 - Cold Open
Jason’s body trembled, notifications cascading down the corner of
his vision. The stone around him was splattered with blood. His blood. It
ran down the rough rock, pooled in small impressions in the stone, and
dripped off a nearby ledge, spiraling out into the clouds that lingered far
below. He heaved himself back with a grunt and leaned against a pile of
rubble.
A flash of light bloomed behind his eyelids and he felt that itching
burn once more – signaling that his arm was healing. Although, technically
regrowing might have been more accurate. Seconds ticked past until that
feeling faded, leaving only a tingling sensation in his fingertips. He flexed
those fingers experimentally and could feel rough rock once more.
“I’m ready to go again,” he bit out, his voice gravelly.
“I need to regen my mana. Besides, you’re missing the show,”
Alexion replied.
Jason’s eyes snapped open, the sudden roar of wind and noise
penetrating his pain-filled fugue. Alexion had dismissed his barrier of light
since Jason had stowed his new “supplies” safely away in one of his bags.
However, judging from the scene that now filled the screen in the center of
the ruined city, <Death and Taxes> likely wasn’t focused on them right
now.
Finn and Eliza were on screen, slowly stepping into what appeared
to be a frozen mirror maze. Ice coated the glass and walls and each breath
sent out a tuft of steam. Jason winced. That meant that Queen oversaw this
new game, which further indicated that their path through this city wasn’t
random – not entirely, anyway.
At least Finn should have an easy time with her illusions—
Jason cut that thought short as shards of ice slid out of one of those
mirrors and sliced through that air at Finn. The avatar of fire deflected the
attack, but only barely. A flaming metal disc soon hovered just inches away
from his face, and the ice melted instantly, raining back across the ground.
That looked more like reflex...
“Did he not see that coming?” Alexion muttered, echoing Jason’s
thoughts. “It was right in front of him.”
 “I think the room is too saturated with water mana,” Jason said
slowly. “All of that ice was already there – coating everything in the room.
Plus, she’s dropped the ambient temperature. Queen isn’t concealing
anything right now. Or rather, she’s hiding her attacks in plain sight.”
“That doesn’t bode well for Finn then,” Alexion muttered.
No, no it doesn’t, Jason added silently. The colder temperature also
means he can’t use his Mana Absorption to draw in heat. They had taken
one of his most powerful weapons off the table. Or, at least, they had
prevented him from immediately cutting his way out of the room.
Queen was also staying silent during this fight. Unlike Pewpew, she
wasn’t hurling taunts that would reveal her location or giving in to her
blood feud with Finn. She was an icy shadow – a flutter of movement
when the camera panned out far enough to see the other winding paths
through the maze. She was stalking her prey. Deadly and quiet. Queen
was serious.
No doubt she’d wrapped her own body in several more layers of
water mana, that energy acting like camouflage in this environment. And
even if Finn dropped out of combat temporarily and managed to switch to
Short-Sighted, there were still the mirrors. If the stakes had been different,
Jason would have been impressed with Queen’s planning.
The pair onscreen continued navigating their way through the maze
cautiously, light shining on the other end of the room to signal the exit – not
unlike the game Alexion and Jason had just participated in. Finn was on the
defensive, discs of flaming metal now orbiting him like a miniature sun.
Ice shot from the mirrors, only to be cut down by that barrier of fiery steel.
Queen kept throwing more and more at the man, a barrage of ice
and water that created a miniature blizzard. And attacks were getting
through Finn’s shields. A slice across his arm. His back. His legs.
Leaving blood telltale marks in their wake. Jason frowned. The missiles
were moving quickly, but it also looked like Queen was ricocheting the
projectiles off the mirrors, creating awkward angles that Finn couldn’t
easily anticipate.
Then she abruptly switched focus, a hail of ice targeting Eliza—
Only for Finn to intercept it with his discs, expanding the orbit of
those metal disc to surround both himself and the water mage. Eliza kept
close, her wand in hand but unable to defend herself easily against these icy
projectiles. While she could heal the damage with her potions, she didn’t
have any skills that would protect her from those missiles.
Jason shook his head. He knew Finn was trying to protect Eliza, but
he could only channel so much metal and he’d just dramatically expanded
the surface of area of the sphere – creating larger holes for Queen to use
against him as well as taxing his mana and attention. On the other hand,
what were his options? Let Eliza get cut down?
Either way, Queen wasn’t done.
As Finn took another step, the floor abruptly fell out from below his
feet, cracking away to reveal a pit in the stone, jagged shards of ice lining
the bottom. Finn moved swiftly, fire blazing down his skin and a panel of
metal sliding forward with a twitch of his fingers, his foot touching down
on its surface. He tottered there for a tense moment, hovering over the
abyss on a single leg.
That had just been the setup. The mirrors around him suddenly
exploded in icy shrapnel. Finn seemed prepared for that, though. His palm
flared and a Molten Beam shot out, sweeping out to the left and melting the
fragments in an instant even as his shields all slid to the right and blocked
the attacks from the other direction… all while perched there on one leg.
What he failed to account for was Eliza. A gurgle gave her away as
the camera panned back to the small water mage. A shard of ice had
impaled her stomach, blood dripping to the floor in bright red droplets.
Eliza’s eyes were wide and painfilled.
“Shit,” Finn grunted. He tried to move back to Eliza, but Queen
forced him away with another barrage of ice. He had no choice but to use
his shields to traverse the pit, landing firmly on the other side and throwing
up a Fire Wall to block the attacks.
However, that further separated him from Eliza. The camera panned
back to the water mage who had slumped to her knees, bleeding out on the
ice as her fingers fumbled at her waist, frantically searching for a potion.
“I don’t know what I expected from the Najmat Alhidad,” Queen
sneered, her voice echoing across the frozen room. “It seems you abandon
even your friends. Perhaps I shouldn’t be too offended then.”
The camera focused on Finn, the fire in his eyes beginning to burn
away the cloth that wrapped his face as his anger flared – revealing the
molten chunks of metal that lingered there, fused with his skin. “And you
haven’t changed at all. Still the traps and tricks – leaning on the power of
others to make yourself look strong.”
Queen didn’t bother to respond, simply threw more ice at Finn.
Shards erupted from the floor and walls and even dropped from the ceiling,
pushing him further and further into the winding maze of mirrors. Then, as
Finn rounded a corner, he slid to a halt.
The camera twisted around to reveal Eliza lying there – her body
still and her chest barely moving. Blood was pooled around her an icy
shard embedded in her chest. Her eyes fluttered as she heard him near and
she blinked blearily in his direction. Eliza raised one arm toward him, her
eyes bloodshot and desperate. “Help,” she managed to croak.
Finn swallowed hard but didn’t make a move. The reason for that
soon became apparent as Eliza’s body broke apart into water that sloshed
across the ground – soon freezing solid.
“You think this will fool me?” Finn demanded.
“Apparently not. Maybe the problem is that you have no sympathy
for the girl. Perhaps someone else might be a better fit…” As she trailed
off, a mirror beside Finn suddenly reflected the image of a woman. Brown
hair, shoulder length. Sparkling eyes. A kind smile.
“Finn?” the woman called out as though searching for him, her eyes
suddenly locking on his position and her smile pulling wider in recognition.
Finn started as he recognized her voice, cocking his head –
presumably, as Queen ceased her attacks, he dropped from combat, and
switched to Short-Sighted – only to let out a gasp as he saw the woman
reflected there.
“Finn? Why won’t you answer me? What have you done to your
eyes?”
“You’re not real,” he ground out.
“How can you say that?” Rachael asked, her voice heartbroken. As
she spoke, her image expanded to fill the mirrors around him – dozens of
doppelgangers now watching him. “Is that why you abandoned me? Failed
me? Why did you leave me, Finn?”
The avatar of flame swallowed hard, trying to maintain his
composure. Queen must have stolen his wife’s image from pictures online
– her voice from videos posted in interviews and on social media. It was…
cruel. Terrible. And a sign of the depth of her own anger.
 Jason felt a pit settle in his stomach. From her perspective, Queen
was just messing with him. What she couldn’t know or anticipate was the
stakes for Finn in this so-called game. The lengths he’d gone to in order to
save his wife. The revelation that Eliza had just dumped on him – that
Rachael’s death hadn’t been a simple mistake. All that tension, stress, guilt,
and fear had been festering inside of him for days now, compounded by a
decade of grief.
“You should have known something was wrong. Why didn’t you
save me? Protect me?” Rachael asked a dozen times from a dozen different
mirrors.
“You’re not real!” Finn roared. His flaming metal discs went flying,
cutting through the glassy ice, and leaving only shattered chunks in their
wake. They spiraled out around him, carving a circle of devastation. And
as the ice melted under the intensity of his attack, water pooled and rose
until it began to slosh at his ankles.
Yet Rachael’s image only shifted, gliding out to other, more distant
mirrors, her voice still carrying across the room – calling for him. Begging
him. Pleading with him.
Finn’s eyes flared bright, the flames of his crown growing with each
passing second. His hands wound through another series of gestures and
fire bloomed all around him – walls of flame that ate away at the ice and
boiled the water that pooled along the floor, sending up steam into the air
where it drifted up toward the ceiling, the temperature in the room rising
swiftly.
Then Finn lifted his left arm, the crystal glittering in the light of his
own flames. With one motion, he pulled on that heat he’d created, the
flames winking out and a dull orange glow soon shining through the arm.
He began casting again, fires forming in the very air around him. Fire
Nova, Jason recognized the spell. But it was larger than it should be,
empowered by both his arm and the crown that floated above his head.
Finn didn’t care about Queen anymore, or some silly game, or even
Eliza who was dying somewhere out there amid the maze. No, there was
only rage and pain and grief seared across his face. Sleepless nights and
interminable days. A man pushed past the brink of sanity. Queen tried to
attack – to use that opening. But the heat was so intense that her missiles
never made it near Finn, reduced to mere water in an instant.
 And as those flames reached a crescendo – a blaze so bright it began
to glow white hot – Finn released. A wave of fire rippled out from him. It
blazed through the mirrors, destroying them in an instant, not stopping until
it reached the walls of the arena, washing up against the warded stone and
melting away any lingering trace of ice that remained. Where the flames
washed against the surface of the lake that was now forming in the
chamber, it turned to steam, the heated vapor tumbling up into the air. It
soon met pockets of super cold air, condensing to form miniature clouds
that floated along the ceiling, thick with moisture.
The fires winked out, leaving Finn standing in the middle of the
arena, forced to perch atop one of his discs as the water level only
continued to rise. Rain pitter-pattered down around him, a gentle drizzle
that created ripples across the surface of the indoor lake.
Finn’s chest heaved, his face wild and the camera watching.
“So dramatic,” Queen drawled.
Finn whirled to find the ice mage standing atop her own platform
made of ice. More of those pedestals were pulled from the lake, more
illusions topping their surface. Until Finn was standing in the middle of a
circle of more than a dozen Queens who all sneered at him with the same
expression, moving and speaking in unison.
“Are you upset? Angry? Good,” Queen hissed.
“I was angry too, when you trapped me in that hellhole to die over
and over again,” Queen said. “Yet I learned something. That anger didn’t
get me anywhere. It didn’t solve my problems. It didn’t help me escape. It
was only once I accepted that – let that anger burn through me – that I was
able to think clearly enough to get away.”
She smirked. “It seems you haven’t learned that lesson. That was a
great show of power, but you’re still encircled by more water – a hard
counter to your flames.”
As though to prove her point, she sent more shards flying up at him
out of the lake, the droplets freezing as soon as they left the surface. Finn’s
orbs moved to intercept, but the missiles were coming at him from every
direction and he couldn’t block them all. There was also nowhere to run or
hide – not anymore. Lacking options, he cast Fire Wall again, the barrier
encircling him and sending superheated steam spiraling up into the air,
Queen’s projectiles reduced to water that simply splashed back into the
lake.
 Finn moved a hand to his bag…
He’s low on mana, Jason realized, glancing at the group UI.
Yet his fingers found nothing. Finn’s bag was gone, the strap cut
cleanly.
“You looking for this?” Queen asked, her illusions all waving a
single bag in the air. “Did you think I was trying to hit you? No, this is a
war of attrition. One you’re losing. You’re running out of mana, have no
way to attack me, and soon… soon you will be helpless. Just as helpless as
I was. Then I will cut you down in front of millions.”
Finn’s jaw clenched, and Jason could see the same realization
painted across his face. Queen had baited him into this trap expertly,
avoiding the same pitfalls as Pewpew. Finn’s anger began to transform as
his mana bottomed out, his shoulders sinking, his eyes squeezing closed.
Despair replaced his brazen rage – a helplessness that Jason found
disconcerting.
“I’m so sorry, Rachael,” Finn murmured, his voice barely a whisper.
“This is checkmate,” Queen roared as Finn’s flames sputtered and
began to fail, then finally disappear, his mana regeneration only able to
sustain the single platform beneath his feet. “I’m going to make you pay
—”
Queen’s words were cut off as dark green tendrils snaked up out of
the water and snatched one of the doppelgangers from its ledge, Queen
disappearing into the depths of the lake with a cutoff scream of rage. Mana
flashed underwater, sapphire energy flaring and snapping as though a fight
was taking place beneath the surface. At the same time, more of those
green tendrils emerged from the lake, coiling and snapping at the water.
“What? What just happened?” Alexion demanded.
“Eliza,” Jason answered simply, glancing at his UI. The water
mage’s health was full. “She must have used the commotion to escape
Queen, heal herself, and then hid under the water to avoid Finn’s flames. I
just don’t understand how she stayed under so long.”
Some sort of potion possibly, Jason thought to himself.
As Jason looked on, the other clones of Queen broke apart into
streamers of water that tumbled back into the lake, each icy platform
disintegrating. That implied Queen couldn’t maintain the channels. Which
meant that Eliza had caught the real Queen on her first try. But how?
 “Heat,” Jason murmured, watching the kelp-like tendrils lash at the
flames of Finn’s lone metal disc, the vegetation recoiling as it was singed.
“This plant must be attracted to heat. So, it picked out the real Queen
behind her illusion once Finn dropped his spells.”
“Then where the hell is Eliza?” Alexion grumbled in return.
As though his words had summoned her, Eliza rose from the water,
riding atop a creature of nightmares. Its body was composed entirely of a
kelp-like substance, the tendrils balled together to form a torso that
stretched nearly fifteen feet across. Many, many more of those tendrils
radiated out from its core, spearing through the water, and lunging at Finn
where he stood atop his metal disc – only for the avatar to cut them down
easily as his mana slowly ticked upward.
And as the creature surfaced, the camera focused on a woman
clutched in the plant’s grasp, the kelp twining around her body and pulling
her toward its core, wrapping around her arms and yanking them back,
preventing her from casting. Eliza simply watched the fight with a cold,
imperious gaze, water mana blazing from her irises. She didn’t make a
single move as Queen was pulled into the depths of the creature – her eyes
wide and wild, her mouth pleading but no sound escaping as a strand of
kelp wrapped around her throat.
Then Queen disappeared. The entire plant convulsed, squeezing and
compressing to the sound of popping bone and muscle and muffled
screams. Until bright crimson stained the water, only to be sucked up
greedily by more of those tendrils.
Then there was only Eliza and Finn. The camera panned back to the
water mage and Jason could see that her skin was coated in a strange kind
of gelled liquid, a bubble of the material covering her mouth and nose. That
moisture suddenly sloughed from her skin and Eliza drew in a deep breath.
It seemed Jason’s guess had been right. Some sort of potion or even
another plant maybe? A substance that insulated her from the cold and
allowed her to breathe underwater.
It seemed the petite water mage wasn’t useless without Brian, after
all. Queen had underestimated her – written her off for dead. And that had
come back to bite her. Literally.
“Are you okay?” Eliza asked quietly.
Finn shook his head, trying to control himself. “I’m… I’m sorry. I
should have—”
 “It’s not the time,” Eliza interrupted. She tossed him something,
Finn snatching it from the air. His bag. “Next time, hold on to your
equipment.”
Finn stared back for a long moment, then dug into his bag,
retrieving a mana potion, and downing its contents. Only moments later,
the pair arrived safely at the exit – Eliza riding her seaweed creature and
Finn floating atop a flaming disc. The stone doorway soon rumbled closed
and the screen abruptly lit up in fireworks, announcing the victory of Eliza
and Finn over Queen – Bard’s voice echoing out through the air once more.
“Wow, what a turnaround! Can you believe that? I’m still in shock,
as I’m sure you all are. But we still need for you to cast your votes for our
MVP!”
Only moments later, the results were in, Eliza’s name etched across
the display.
“No surprises there. Our little water mage really showed some
skill. And so, this group of avatars also advances to the next game!
Speaking of which, our favorite duo of light and darkness should be there
soon—”
Bard cut himself off with a frown. Suddenly, the display shifted,
now showing Alexion and Jason still standing outside their first game.
“What are you two doing? We have a show to run here!” Bard announced.
“Get your asses moving!”
“Why don’t you come out here and make us move,” Alexion shot
back.
“I would… but I have other duties, you know,” Bard answered.
“But don’t worry! We have a few other ways to help motivate you!”
As he finished speaking, the wind picked up around Jason and
Alexion. A wall of amber energy suddenly formed next to the exit door
nearby. It shifted forward with painful slowness, cutting its way across the
stone. And in its wake, Jason could see that it left the rock swept clean of
any trace of dirt or blood. As it struck the remains of what might have once
been a stall, it obliterated the decayed wood and metal, slicing it apart and
blowing the remaining particles over the side of the club where they
tumbled into the clouds far below.
“We call this the Sweeping Wind. It’s fantastic for cleaning up loose
ends. Or encouraging lazy participants to get a move on,” Bard announced.
 Jason and Alexion watched the wall of wind for a moment, then
looked at each other. It seemed their farming was over. It was time to push
on. So, as one, they turned and began to walk down the ledge – heading
toward the next game.
Except, this time, they would have their own surprise waiting.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 36 - Hockey
Wind swept the stone, whistling as it sped across the ruins of the
Mile-High Club. Jason and Alexion had been walking for more than an
hour, taking a winding path through the destroyed buildings, crushed bronze
tubing, and narrow corridors. At each turn, they often found the way
blocked by debris, funneling them toward a large structure located in the
center of the ring.
As they took one final turn, the building came fully into view. Signs
lined the roadway, flickering with half-broken gems.
“Right this way!”
“You’re almost there!”
The signs were accompanied by glowing arrows all pointing toward
another dark entrance.
“You think this is it?” Alexion asked in a dry voice.
“I don’t know, I think we might have missed a turn back there,”
Jason began, slowly turning.
“It’s definitely the right place, now get on with it already!” Bard
snapped, the blue camera hovering beside them and their faces painted on
the screen floating in the center of the city. “I’ve been stalling with our
audience for far too long. No one wants to watch you go on the world’s
slowest stroll through some ruins.”
“Well, someone seems impatient. That’s probably not good for your
blood pressure. Maybe you should try taking a few deep breaths,” Jason
offered.
“In through your nose, out through your mouth,” Alexion added
helpfully, the pair sharing a look as Bard let out an exasperated snort.
Jason could only assume they weren’t live right now since Bard
wasn’t doing a great job of maintaining his online persona. Their ploy
wasn’t just intended to annoy their captors. They were fishing for any
information they could get their hands on. For example, Bard’s behavior
right now implied a few interesting things. First off, the stream could be
controlled – either broadcasting locally or worldwide. And that suggested
there was some sort of control center inside the club. Possibly more than
one judging from the flickering lights that lit up the nearby structures and
the occasional blast of discordant music coming from the ruined husks of
those buildings. And then there was the Sweeping Wind that scoured the
club at their backs.
Those utilities needed to be operated from somewhere… if only
they could find it.
Or better yet, perhaps Finn could find it since the avatar of flame
would be more suited to that sort of technological espionage. Jason could
only hope that Finn and Eliza had arrived at the same deductions from
listening to Bard. Of course, it helped that Alexion and Jason had been
intentionally dragging their heels, hoping to give Finn and Eliza time to
regroup.
“We have a show to run here,” Bard growled back, interrupting
Jason’s thoughts. “And the two of you have been taking your sweet time –
first with that wall of light and now your slow pace through the club.”
“We’ve just been following the path you set for us, such as it is. It’s
really confusing. Your team could have done a better job showing us where
to go,” Alexion offered with a shrug, feigning innocence. “Probably needed
to use a few more signs.”
“There are literally signs everywhere,” Bard ground out. Indeed, the
pair had noticed more than a few start appearing as they began acting
confused. More evidence that the city’s utilities were being controlled
locally.
“Besides, I think you just wanted an excuse to spend more private
time with Jason,” Bard continued. “What exactly were you doing behind
that wall of light? Are the two of you actually… no it couldn’t be! Is this a
Romeo and Juliet sort of situation? A blending of light and darkness. Two
opposites that fight for the camera only to embrace off screen?”
Alexion just sniffed. “Funny. Maybe you should recruit a writer
into <Death and Taxes> next. You really need someone to help prepare
your broadcast.”
“I’ll have you know—”
Bard was cut off as Alexion formed another wall of light around him
and Jason. “I really hate that guy,” Alexion muttered under his breath. On
that, at least, they could agree.
“You ready?” Jason asked, dropping his voice to avoid detection.
“Always,” Alexion replied.
“Okay, but remember we’re keeping my minions under wraps for as
long as possible. That’s our wild card in this next match.”
 “I know,” Alexion shot back, turning toward the entrance. “Let’s do
this.”
Without warning, Alexion ended his spell and turned, shooting Bard
a big grin as he strode toward the entrance to the next game. Alexion pulled
his sword and shield, light spilling out around the weapon and covering his
body in thick panels of light. At least he was being more cautious this time
around. That made Jason feel slightly more hopeful about their chances.
For his part, Jason’s grip tightened around his staff, and, with a
twitch of his fingers, his Bone Armor slid into place. His “resources” were
safely stored in his bag, just waiting to be used. However, until he had a
chance to confirm the nature of this next game and who they would be
facing, it was best to play his cards close to the chest.
The pair soon stepped through the doorway, the stone grinding shut
behind them with a grating metallic shriek. A heavy thud and the room
plunged into darkness, sealing the pair inside. Then, all at once, the lights
switched on – large glowing balls of electricity floated near the ceiling.
That crackling energy illuminated a giant rectangular room. The floor was
entirely clear, creating a smooth, flat surface. And on either side of the
enclosure were what appeared to be large, gaping slots in the walls.
Possible exits, perhaps?
Jason’s boot scuffed across the floor, feeling some resistance.
He frowned and stooped down, his fingers touching small holes in
the stone.
“That’s odd,” he murmured aloud.
“Well, hello and welcome to our next game! Finally,” Bard added
under his breath. A screen popped into view in the center of the room near
the ceiling, broadcasting the two of them as Jason slowly rose back to his
feet.
“We have one hell of a match for you this time! The Edgelord and
his special little Night Light against our very own man of mystery…
Smokes!”
As Bard finished speaking, a raucous rising rock ballad began
playing as smoke seeped up out of the floor and beams of multicolored
energy crisscrossed through the air. Smokes soon strode forward, his boots
causing the smoke to swirl around his ankles, and his smiling ivory mask on
full display. He shot a lazy salute at the glowing blue orb that floated down
in front of him, before digging in his pocket and pulling out another
cigarette.
Jason’s brow furrowed. No doubt, their opponent was using those
holes in the floor to create ambient smoke. That could be a problem. The
only question now was what game they would be playing – especially in
this room with no cover. It seemed like their opponent would be exposed.
Unless, of course, he planned to use the smoke as cover—
“Get on with it already. What are we playing?” Alexion growled.
“Sorry, folks, the human-shaped lamp is in a hurry now. But I
suppose we should oblige him. This game is called Smoke Hockey with
our awesome host Smokes, himself!”
“This is exactly what I mean,” Alexion groaned. “Smoke Hockey?
Who thought that up? And then decided it was a good name? Pathetic.”
“Give the guy a break. He’s trying his best,” Jason replied just a bit
too loudly, their conversation easily caught on camera.
There was an edge to Bard’s voice as he continued, earning him a
grin from Alexion. “Anyway, the goal is to score against the opposing team
through those slots along each wall. The first team to score three points or
eliminate the other team wins!” As he finished speaking, a scoreboard
appeared in glowing letters just below the screen – currently showing the
score as 0-0.
Jason eyed the room from a new perspective now. They were
standing on the fantasy equivalent of an air hockey table and those holes in
the ground were meant to reduce surface friction by blasting out a mixture
of smoke and air. Even now, they blew against the soles of his feet, but his
footing felt good. He could also just make out the slots in the distance, each
stretching more than twenty-five feet. However, the thickening smoke and
the beams of multi-colored light were making it hard to see.
But where is the puck—
A heavy thud echoed through the room, the ground shaking. The
pair whirled to find that a puck had fallen from the ceiling and slammed
into the ground. It was a plain circle roughly ten feet in diameter, which
was going to make playing this game a pain in the ass, Jason realized.
Soon, it settled in place and was propelled a bare inch from the surface of
the floor, gliding gently to one side.
“How the hell are we supposed to move that thing?” Alexion asked.
 “No friction,” Jason grunted back. “Moving it isn’t going to be the
problem—”
“And BEGIN!” Bard shouted.
Smokes didn’t waste any time. A giant striker suddenly materialized
from the smoke, the vapor condensing and compressing until it almost
appeared solid. Then he whipped it forward toward Jason and Alexion, the
pair scattering to either side. However, Smokes hadn’t been aiming for
them. The striker hit the puck with tremendous force, sending it rocketing
toward the other end of the table where it slammed into their slot.
More rock music echoed through the room and the lasers went
crazy, announcing Smokes’ first point. “Oh, and the first score of the game
goes to Smokes!” Bard’s voice rang out. “This is looking to be a short
game, folks, that is unless our star-crossed lovers stop making sweet
twilight and get a move on already!”
“I’m going to kill that asshole,” Alexion ground out, shoving
himself back to his feet.
“Get in line,” Jason shot back, his staff raised and his eyes on the
ceiling, waiting for the puck to reset. “I think you should get to our slot and
defend it. With your shield, buffs, and Strength you should be able to
deflect the puck.”
“Who even gives a shit about this stupid game?” Alexion shot back.
“We do,” Jason replied, trying to resist the urge to throttle him. “I
don’t know what happens if we lose, but my guess is we aren’t getting out
of this damn room. Now go!”
Alexion looked like he wanted to say something, but the crash of
another puck striking the floor shut him up quickly. His wings flapped
powerfully and he took off, sailing swiftly toward their slot. His feet struck
the ground just in time, light mana flaring across his body and expanding
out across his shield. Alexion immediately deflected the puck with a flash
of light, sending it hurtling back across the room… and right at Jason.
Jason dove again, rolling and coming back to his feet. Alexion gave
him a little wave.
Dickhead, Jason thought to himself. But he had other problems
right now.
He turned, eyeing Smokes’ side of the table. The smoke had only
continued to pour into the room through those holes in the floor, now
creating a thick mist that was starting to stretch up into the air, no doubt
assisted by Smokes. Jason had been right. The lack of cover didn’t matter
if they couldn’t see their damn opponent through this fog. Normally, that
might have put Smokes at a disadvantage as well – the man unable to see
when Alexion deflected the puck.
However, Jason suspected he wasn’t playing fair.
If he were Smokes, he’d use that smoke to block his—
Jason didn’t get a chance to finish that thought as the puck shot back
out of the smoke, this time coming from a different direction and hurtling at
Jason. He didn’t have time to dive, so he did the next best thing… he
jumped. The puck sailed beneath him, and Jason’s feet soon hit the floor
once more. That had been close—
Something slammed into his back, causing his Bone Armor to crack
and crumble, and sending Jason hurtling into the depths of Smokes’ fog.
He hit the ground hard, sliding and then rolling as he burned off his
momentum. He came to a stop, breathing hard as notifications flashed in
the corner of his vision. Yet he ignored them, groaning and rising back to
his knees.
Smokes must have materialized another striker from the smoke and
reversed the trajectory of the puck. That was the only explanation.
Yeah, definitely cheating, Jason thought sourly, cradling his ribs.
Although, he had bigger problems at the moment. Jason was now
within the depths of the smoke, the vapor coiling around him and obscuring
the rest of the room from sight – only flashing beams of light flickering
amid the mist. He hadn’t lied to Alexion; he was best suited to guard their
slot. But Jason had another motive. The avatar of light couldn’t easily go
on the offensive. His mana would too easily give him away amid the
smoke. Jason on the other hand? Well, he was used to working in the dark.
He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning on his Listening skill.
…Jason heard the slam of the puck on the other side of the room…
…Alexion cursing…
…the whistle as it sailed back across the room…
…the sensation of displaced air as it whizzed past…
Then… nothing. No crash as it impacted another striker. Only
another sensation of displaced air as the puck went sailing back to the other
side. As he’d expected, Smokes was using the smoke to fully guard his slot,
likely creating a pliable wall that caught the puck and sent it rubber banding
back across the table. Which meant he was just using the striker to change
its angle and fuck with them. Even worse, they wouldn’t be able to score
until they forced Smokes to drop the barrier across his slot.
Yet that also gave them a possible opening. To sustain that many
spells at once must take incredible focus. There had to be a limit to
Smokes’ channels. Which meant he was distracted.
That was his first weakness.
Jason’s hand dropped to the floor, feeling the air pushed out of those
small holes. Smokes was also relying on the vapor jetting from the floor.
As far as Jason could tell from watching videos of <Death and Taxes>,
Smokes couldn’t form the smoke directly. He needed to use his cigarette or
a natural source of vapor. And from his conversation with the Old Man,
Jason knew there was a limit to the Gambler’s ability to influence these
fights. Which meant the god wasn’t helping him. That had to be something
built into the structure.
His second weakness.
“Do you think you’re safe within my smoke?” a voice called out
from the vapor.
A rush of air whizzed past – the puck no doubt. And then Jason
heard something else. There was a faint hiss followed by a shriek as
something ground against Jason’s Bone Armor. He pivoted and a searing
line of pain bloomed along the inside of his elbow at the joint in the ivory
plates, his blood dripping to the floor. He just caught the faint hint of a
shadowy silhouette blending back into the darkness that swirled around
him.
That couldn’t have been Smokes himself…
“Ahh, there we go. I just need to strike at the weak points in your
armor,” Smokes shot out, his voice coming from farther away to Jason’s
left.
Jason grunted, lifting himself upright and gripping his staff firmly.
“Having trouble?” Smokes asked.
“Not at all,” Jason ground back, squeezing his eyes shut. If he was
right, he wasn’t going to be able to see these attacks coming in time. So,
the next time he heard that faint whistle of air, he dodged, the blades slicing
at his back and smoke wafting gently against his skin. Then he readied up
once more, his muscles tense.
“Wow, not bad,” Smokes murmured, his voice coming from another
direction. “I take it you’ve been training your Listening skill?”
 He must be an air mage, Jason thought to himself. That tracked.
Not only did it explain the smoke manipulation, but he must be projecting
his voice to obscure his position. That aside, these attacks were likely
coming from another smoke creation.
“Something like that,” Jason ground out. His health was already
beginning to refill, the wound stitching itself back together swiftly under
the effects of his mana regeneration. With a gesture, Jason also repaired his
Bone Armor. “I’m guessing you can sense anything the smoke touches,
right? That’s how you can see in this mess. To create those slashing
attacks, you’re condensing the smoke and then vibrating the particles to
create something similar to a water saw.”
There was a brief pause as another whistle pierced the smoke. Jason
immediately dove to the side toward the room’s wall. The puck whizzed
past before disappearing into the mists again. The fact that Smokes didn’t
follow up with an attack confirmed Jason’s suspicions. There was a limit to
the number of smoke creations he could channel at once. Smokes didn’t
want to risk leaving his slot undefended with the puck hurtling back toward
his side of the room.
Good, Jason thought. That meant Alexion could create an opening
for him.
“Color me impressed. That usually takes people longer to realize,”
Smokes drawled, his voice coming from yet another direction now.
“What can I say, I’m a fast learner,” Jason grunted back, dodging as
he heard another hiss, feeling the attack barely clip his Bone Armor with a
harsh grind. “Although, I’m curious, why this game? You could have
picked anything right? But air hockey?”
A laugh rippled out of the mist. “A bit of nostalgia on my part. I
used to be a big fan.”
“Oh, so you’re a thousand years old then.”
Another chuckle. “Close, I guess. Used to play with the boys on
the base.”
“You’re military?” Jason asked, his brow furrowing.
Another pause as the puck whizzed past, slamming into the nearby
wall before ricocheting back out into the smoke. Jason was getting the
timing now. He had about thirty seconds before the next one.
“Used to be,” Smokes grunted back.
 “Well, I always thought air hockey was stupid,” Jason replied. “It’s
more about reflex and luck than anything else. There’s no strategy to it, just
wailing at the puck.”
“Hardly. It’s a precision sport that requires perfect hand-eye
coordination. There’s also a lot more strategy to lining up a shot than you’d
think. I used to make quite a bit of money on the side this way…” A pause
as Smokes trailed off. “Either way, I’m not in a position to play much
anymore, so this is a treat,” he added, his tone wistful as more attacks
glided out of the smoke with a faint whistle, Jason bending, weaving, and
dodging.
Even so, he was left with several long burning lines where the
attacks penetrated weak points in his armor, his regeneration not quite
keeping pace as his blood dripped to the floor. Smokes was indeed thinking
tactically. He was currently waging a war of attrition. Alexion’s mana
would only last so long, which was the only thing allowing him to deflect
that puck – that’s assuming he didn’t just mess up and miss. And Jason was
counting on his own reflexes and a bit of luck to keep dodging the puck and
the damn shadows.
At this rate, they would lose…
“What does that mean? You can’t find an old-school arcade or
something?” Jason huffed, his breath coming faster now. Even if the
wounds weren’t a problem, his stamina wasn’t endless. For once, he was
regretting not putting a few more points in Endurance.
“More like I can’t make it to the arcade,” Smokes replied.
Jason paused. What was he saying?
Then it struck him. “Ahh, I’m… I’m sorry.”
“What?” Smokes bit out before he could stop himself, his shadow’s
attack glancing off Jason’s armor as he distracted himself. “Why are you
apologizing to me?”
“Just instinct, I guess,” Jason replied evenly – not quite sure
himself. It was something about Smokes’ voice. “Although, I’ve begun to
notice something about you and your crew.”
“Oh, really? So, you think you know us already do you?”
Only a little longer until the puck came sailing back…
Jason slowed, standing upright as the shadows began to back off.
With his left hand, he could feel the wall to his side, the stone cool and
hard. He felt his way forward quickly until his hand touched something…
strange. It didn’t feel like stone at all. It was warm to the touch and
slightly pliable. It took Jason a moment to realize what he was touching.
This was more smoke, solidified into a solid surface. He had finally made
it to Smokes’ slot. He took a deep breath, willing himself to remain calm
for what would come next.
He just needed to keep Smokes talking.
“Not at all,” Jason finally answered. “I just recognized something in
your tone that felt… familiar, that’s all. I could sense it with Queen and
Pewpew, too. You all are fighting hard and the odds are stacked against us,
and yet…”
“Yet what?” Smokes demanded as Jason hesitated.
“I don’t feel like your hearts are in it. I think you all need this game
for one reason or another. For example, I can’t help but wonder, after
you’ve helped destroyed this world, how will you play air hockey then?”
Jason asked.
A strained silence met that question, accompanied by a familiar
whistle.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut. This would take all of his focus.
Time seemed to slow. The rise and fall of his chest. The way the
smoke coiled across his limbs. The faint vibration – that hum that signaled
the puck moving. The whistle as it closed in on him, growing louder as the
seconds slowly ticked past.
Right before it struck, Jason moved. He darted to the side…
But he was just a hair too slow.
The puck slammed into his side, cracking the armor and sending
chips of rock flying where it burrowed into the nearby wall. Yet it was the
searing pain that burned through his arm that captured his focus. After so
many minutes and hours farming “resources” with Alexion, he’d thought
he’d become numb to the pain. But he was wrong. Severing the limb took
the nerves with it – leaving a void where the pain should be. Having his
arm crushed against the wall of the arena was infinitely worse. He could
feel the bones in his forearm and hand splinter, ground into the surrounding
muscle.
And there was no relief. The puck stayed there, partially lodged in
the stone and the other half pinning his ruined arm against that wall of
smoke.
 Jason’s vision wavered and swam, his staff falling to the ground
with a rattle.
His blood stained the floor beneath him.
And he finally felt the smoky wall disintegrate. With his arm freed,
the broken limb fell to his side, waves of pain pulsing and radiating across
the limb.
Footsteps approached slowly, Smokes’ hazy form barely visible
through the haze and red notifications flashing in Jason’s vision. More of
his shadows swam around him now, circling Jason and waiting to make the
killing blow.
“Looks like I finally got you,” his opponent murmured, no
celebration in his voice, only a weary resignation. “It’s time to end this.”
Jason just looked up, eyeing the glowing blue camera that floated
nearby before turning his attention to Smokes, a grin pulling at his lips.
“It’s a good day to die anyway.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 37 - Handsy
“This isn’t good,” Eliza murmured, watching the screen that
hovered near the center of the Mile-High Club. She held her hands over a
heated globe of metal, steam streaming off her clothes and bouncing off the
barrier of metal Finn had formed around them to blunt the wind.
“I wouldn’t count him out just yet,” Finn replied.
She looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean? Alexion is on
the other side of the room. Meanwhile, Jason is fighting blind, down a
hand, and surrounded by those shadows.”
“It looks that way, I’m sure,” Finn said with a shrug. “But that kid
is more resilient than he appears – I don’t care what they say online. He’s
still alive, which means he’s dangerous.”
Eliza didn’t look convinced, her mouth pinched into a thin line. The
display beside her showed the forums, the chat going crazy as millions
watched the fight raging on the other side of the ruined city. Yet her
attention wasn’t on those displays. She pushed at her glasses as she stared
at the scene playing out on screen: smoke coiling around Jason, a legion of
shadows closing in, and the dark silhouette of Smokes looming before him.
“Come on, Jason,” she murmured, her nails digging into her palms.

* * *

A flash of light mana exploded on the other side of the arena,

Alexion letting out a roar as he charged across the arena. He raced across
the room, his body infused with light mana that had him speeding through
the air, his Strength and Dexterity skyrocketing. Smokes reacted
immediately, his form blending away into the depths of the smoke and his
shadows disappearing as he was forced to shift to the defensive – the limit
of his channeling on full display.
It seemed Alexion had gotten Jason’s message.
They couldn’t use the in-game chat – not here inside the club –
which made communication difficult. However, Jason had come up with a
workaround while they were farming resources. They might not be able to
use their UI, but they had the next best thing: a camera streaming
everything to a giant screen floating above the arena. All they needed were
some code phrases.
“A good day to die” hadn’t been Jason’s first choice. He had to
admit, it sounded pretty corny. But Alexion had hated it and hadn’t been
shy about his feelings, which made it perfect.
Jason twisted and felt at his back with his remaining good hand, but
the wall of smoke hadn’t yet reformed across Smokes’ slot. He suspected
that wasn’t Smokes’ first priority with the puck now partially embedded in
the nearby wall and no longer posing a risk. Although, even that slight
movement jostled Jason’s left arm, the fragments of bone burrowing deeper
into the ruined flesh.
Damn, that fucking hurt.
Yet he didn’t have time to focus on the pain – only grit his teeth, his
eyes skimming upward to the display floating above the arena. Jason could
barely make out the hazy image of the smoke billowing out around Alexion
as he flapped his wings powerfully, scattering the fog and sending it
streaming away from himself. Smokes was having trouble closing with
Alexion. However, Jason knew the avatar of light couldn’t keep that up
forever. His mana pool wasn’t nearly large enough to handle that many
buffs for long.
And the stamina needed to push back the smoke would be
staggering.
Jason would only have a few moments, barely enough time to
accomplish the next step. The fingers of his uninjured hand wound through
a series of gestures, and time slowed as Custom Skeleton settled into place.
Jason pulled his bag from his waist, the contents soon toppling out onto the
floor in a series of wet thuds. Fresh blood still seeped from the severed
limbs and pooled along the floor before dripping down into Smokes’ slot,
disappearing into the darkness.
Jason took a deep, steadying breath… then he began to build.
This creature was going to be small. Smaller than anything he’d
created before. Barely more than a finger length. The arms floated up into
the air, Jason using his good hand to slice slivers of bone free. These pieces
were then chopped down into finer segments, then into thin little legs
fashioned together with just a pinch of dark mana. Once he’d finished the
first, the others were faster, and a legion of tiny skeletal spiders soon floated
there, just waiting for him to finish.
 With a grimace, his arm pulsing with pain, Jason pulled another bag
and dumped the contents. A pile of glimmering red gems dropped to the
ground. Luckily, Cecil had erred on the side of overkill when he’d outfitted
Jason. He’d have to give that blessed little man a promotion when he got
back to the Twilight Throne… if he got back, he supposed.
Those gems floated up into the air, and a single crystal settled onto
the stomach of each spider. Another twitch of his fingers and the gem was
glued in place with a dot of dark mana. These creations were fragile and
slow, but they didn’t need to be strong – not for what was coming. His
work complete, Jason set them all down gently on the rock floor, a legion of
glittering little spiders waiting to burrow into the chasm at his side.
The button on his creation console hovered there… waiting.
Jason looked back at his ruined arm. There was one last thing—
Moments later, Jason hit the button, and the world lurched back into
motion. Smokes didn’t react to Jason’s creations, the skeletons too tiny for
him to detect amid his smoke, and his attention fixed on Alexion. They
quickly scurried down into the slot, their little legs binding to the stone
easily – the function of another small dab of dark mana on each tip. They
followed Jason’s instructions as his map popped open beside him, showing
the legion of tiny green dots spreading below him as they worked their way
through the arena’s machinery.
Now all he needed was time.
A crash echoed on the far side of the room, and Jason looked up to
see Alexion slamming against the wall of the arena, the stone cracking from
the impact. The man pushed himself back upright, blood lingering on his
lips and his arm crooked. With a flash of light mana, Alexion healed the
wound, and the shoulder settled back into place with a loud pop. Then he
turned to face that wall of smoke again, his sword and shield raised.
Jason needed to move. He stooped, the move sending a ripple of
pain through his ruined arm. He couldn’t fight with this injury, and he
didn’t have time to wait for a healing potion. Besides, he had something
different in mind. The fingers of his good hand soon touched his staff, and
he moved quickly, not sure he could follow through if he gave himself time
to think. He rose, casting a Soul Blade, and swiped at his right arm in a
single fluid motion. The blade sliced through his limb cleanly, and Jason
fell to the ground, slumping against the stone wall of the arena.
He dropped the staff and raised his new creation.
 An arm – at least, from the elbow down. Yet this limb wasn’t
covered in muscle and flesh. It was comprised entirely of bone – the
material shaded a dark gray where Jason had infused it with some of Finn’s
dark ore. Then he’d wrapped the whole creation in bands of dark mana to
simulate muscle. It was crude. A prototype born of necessity. But it would
do for now.
With a grimace, Jason shoved the limb against the wound in his
arm. The dark mana speared into the injury, and he let out a tortured
scream. The pain was intense – a frigid burn, unlike anything he’d ever
felt. It made his normal mana feel like a room-temperature trickle. The
dark mana wormed into his flesh, fusing to the muscle in his upper arm.
Moments later, the pain faded, and Jason’s eyes shot open to see shadows
circling in the smoke.
Smokes had been alerted by the scream.
But Jason was done playing around.
Dark mana flooded his body in a frigid wave, tattoos coiling across
his skin and his eyes turning dark obsidian. His Bone Armor flashed back
into place in an instant, just in time for a hissing blur to grind against the
ivory. Then Jason snatched at his staff, his new hand gripping the shaft…
but it felt strange. He’d expected no feeling in his new arm. And yet, he
could feel something. Not wood or metal, exactly. But a gnawing
sensation. A hunger.
A desire, he realized suddenly. Like it wanted to be fed.
Hiss.
Jason reacted instinctually, raising the staff and a Soul Blade carving
forward, slicing through the air where the shadow had been standing. His
new limb whipped the blade so quickly that it displaced the air itself, slicing
through the shadow and creating some space around Jason as it pushed back
at the smoke. Jason looked down at his new hand in surprise. He could get
used to this. In fact, he could already think of a few upgrades.
But right now, he had more pressing problems.
He needed to regroup with Alexion. Fast.
Jason set a yellow waypoint marker on his map and held his new
arm aloft. Unlike his former hand, this new limb could rotate in a perfect
360-degree arc. Which allowed him to try something new…
He began spinning his staff, faster and faster and faster, until it was
a blur of motion. A dark propeller attached to his newly formed hand. The
wind from the staff began to push away the smoke around him, carving a
funnel in the mist. As another shadow lunged from his right, Jason simply
pivoted the staff, blasting the smoky creature apart. At the same time, a
notification flashed in front of him, announcing the acquisition of a new
skill.

New Skill: Whirlwind

With the modification of your right arm, you are now able to
empower your attacks, greatly increasing your attack speed. Masters
of this skill have been known to literally blow away their opponents.
Get it? Blow away? Yeah, you get it…
Skill Level: Beginner Level 1
Effect: +50% attack speed.
Cost: 100 mana/second.

Even more interesting was the fact that this new active ability cost
mana. Jason could only assume that was because he was no longer using
his flesh and blood limb to empower the attack; instead, his dark mana was
fueling his new limb.
Either way, he now blasted away the smoke before him, carving
cleanly through the mists as he made a beeline for Alexion. As the smoke
bank cleared, he could see his companion, blazing and bloodied. Jason
swept over to him, blasting a shadow apart as the smoke coiled around
Alexion, and creating a clear pocket. The pair’s backs were to a wall, the
mist looming all around them, already pressing close once more. Even
Jason’s new ability wasn’t enough to push away a room full of smoke, and
their opponent was still hidden safely within its depths.
“About time,” Alexion grunted.
“I was busy,” Jason shot back.
A large crack echoed the other side of the room – no doubt Smokes
pulling the puck free from the wall. It sped through the room, a blur within
the shadows of the smoke that now filled the arena. Another cheerful rock
ballad echoed through the air, accompanied by a technicolor display, the
beams dancing through the mist.
The scoreboard that loomed above them now showed 2-0.
“It looks like the Edgelord and his precious little Night Light are on
the rocks, folks,” Bard’s voice called out, taunting them. “Just one more
point, and their grand crusade to save the world ends here, trapped in this
stony tomb.”
Jason eyed his map – his new spiderlings had moved into position.
“We’re going to need a barrier. Like, now,” Jason urged him under
his breath. “Make sure to cover the floor, not just the area in front and
above us.”
“I know,” Alexion growled back.
Jason’s angelic companion sheathed his sword and dropped his
shield. He pressed his hands forward, light pooling along his skin and his
light armor disappearing, streaming down into his palms. All at once, that
energy expanded outward, creating a barrier of light that completely
encircled the pair – even coating the stone at their backs and beneath their
feet. This was a new application of the panels of light that typically
wrapped Alexion’s body. An AOE defensive shield.
The smoke slammed against that shield with abandon, each blow
causing the light to spark and ripple. Smokes pressed his advantage now
that he had the pair pinned and was only one point away from winning. The
barrier continued to thicken as Alexion channeled the light more forcefully.
Jason could see his companion’s mana plummeting. He couldn’t hold that
for long.
A chime rang out as the next puck entered play, tumbling down into
the arena. “And here’s our final match. Things are looking up for our
home team champion, Smokes!”
Taking a deep breath, Jason sent an instruction to his minions.
He’d been expecting something catastrophic, but he still wasn’t
prepared for the explosion that rocked the arena. It was just a tremble at
first, a tiny earthquake. But that pressure continued to build and build as a
hundred of his spiderlings detonated. Soon the arena shook and bucked.
Then the floor gave way. Rock spewed up into the sky in a torrent – a blast
of flame and debris. The explosion knocked the puck away, the disc
crashing against their shield before being thrown into the air and lost among
the rubble.
Long seconds ticked past, until, eventually, the explosions settled.
And in the wake of those blasts, the pair were able to fully survey the
arena… or what was left of it. The ground was little more than piles of
rubble, only faint tendrils of smoke leaking free now – the spiderlings
having destroyed whatever apparatus was installed beneath the floor. Dust
cascaded down across the stadium but was swiftly settling, the heavier
particles succumbing to gravity.
Leaving only a single cloud of smoke. It hovered in a dense ball
that floated back down from the ceiling to the base of the arena. At the
same time, Alexion dropped his shield, his chest heaving and sweat beading
on his skin.
“I’m dry,” Alexion grunted.
“That’s okay,” Jason replied. “This is almost over.”
He strode forward now, spinning his staff idly in his new hand as he
approached that orb of smoke. He cast a Whirlwind as he closed, the smoke
resisting at first but soon getting blown away bit by painstaking bit until
Smokes’ form was finally revealed. He was lying on the stone, a shard of
rock embedded in his stomach. His mask was fractured, and blood stained
the normally pristine ivory surface.
“Not—not bad… kid,” he ground out.
Jason knew he should feel victorious. Should shout his rage. And
yet he found himself feeling strangely numb, his dark mana fleeing him –
fleeing the indecision that coiled in his gut. He couldn’t exactly place his
finger on it, but something about this felt wrong. There was no anger in
Smokes’ voice. Only a sense of weary resignation.
“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” Jason said finally. “But I can’t let
you destroy this place. It… it means too much to me and the people I care
about.”
“I know,” Smokes answered, looking up at him. Jason could see his
eyes through the holes in his mask. “Sometimes the universe just gives you
a shit hand. You still have to play through. It was… a pleasure,” he added
with a grimace.
There was only a whiff of displaced air, and Smokes’ head dropped
to the ground with a dull thud, rolling down the pile of debris and leaving a
crimson trail in its wake. As soon as his body struck the ground, a piece of
jewelry at his wrist flared red. Jason’s eyes widened, and he backpedaled
just in time as Smokes’ body exploded in a blast of flame.
It seemed <Death and Taxes> wasn’t going to allow him to raise
their corpses.
“Uh… okay. I guess there we have it, folks!” Bard announced,
chimes echoing once more. The strobe lights were mostly broken,
flickering erratically now. “I guess Edgelord and his Nightlight blew up the
whole arena… somehow,” he muttered.
“It doesn’t matter how,” Jason ground out, staring at the camera that
floated beside him. “We won, as per your rules. Now open the fucking
door.”
Silence met those words, stretching out for several long seconds.
Then a portal on the other side of the arena began to grind open,
hitching and stopping as it collided with more debris before continuing its
journey upward. Light spilled through that opening, freedom lingering on
just the other side. And yet, Jason still didn’t feel any sense of victory.
Only another fight waited for him, an army of enemies just like in that last
Keeper trial. For some reason, the expression in Smokes’ eyes stayed with
him.
It had almost felt like… he’d been rooting for Jason.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 38 - Motive
“Well, that was unexpected,” the Gambler grumbled.
“Not if you knew that young man,” the Old Man replied, swirling
his drink but not taking a sip. “Jason has never failed to meet my
expectations.”
The Hippie let out a loud burp, raising a mug of his own. “Speaking
of which, here’s to our esteemed host, who is currently… what? 0-3? May
his losing streak continue unabated!”
“I’ll toast to that,” the Lady declared, the rest of the group glancing
at her in surprise as she sipped delicately at her wine. “What?” she
demanded with a shrug. “My team’s winning.”
“And it has nothing to do with the latest polling results?” the Seer
asked.
The Lady just sniffed. “I would expect nothing less. My champion
is now neck and neck with our brooding, big brother’s protege.” Indeed,
the results of the last traveler votes were projected across the screen,
showing that Jason and Alexion had tied.
“You act like this over,” the Gambler interjected, his eyes on the
displays. “But it isn’t, not by a longshot.” He cracked his knuckles, a
tentative grin replacing his frown. “I’ll just need to spice up the next match
a bit.”
“We are not permitted to intervene directly,” the Old Man reminded
him.
The Gambler spread his arms wide and smiled even wider. “Of
course not.”
The rest of the gods looked at him with a mixture of irritation and
concern. Anything that made the god of air “happy” didn’t bode well for…
well, anyone else. But most especially for the contestants that were trapped
in that Mile-High prison.

* * *

As soon as the camera orb winked out, Jason collapsed to the

ground, throwing back his hood and rubbing at his temple with his good
hand. A headache was pounding through his skull, a residual effect of using
Custom Skeleton in the middle of that fight with Smokes. On top of that,
his body was throbbing, broken, and bleeding. While Alexion’s shield had
protected them from the worst of the explosions, they’d still been tossed
around – and that was after the beating that Smokes had given him. And
then there was still his right arm. It throbbed, a pulsing pain that radiated
up into his shoulder.
Jason looked down at the limb, flexing the fingers and watching as
the strands of dark mana pulled at the muscles in his upper arm, sending
another flash of pain rippling up into his shoulder and neck. Perhaps he
hadn’t attached it properly?
Yet he suspected it was more than that.
A quiet voice in the back of his mind told him he hadn’t gone far
enough.
A soft glow enveloped Jason’s body, and he felt his injuries stitch
closed, the pain in his arm quieting to a dull ache – one he could endure.
“For a guy that says he doesn’t care what people think, you sure put
on a show for the camera,” Alexion observed in a dry voice, canceling the
channel on the healing spell as he saw Jason’s wounds close.
“I never said reputation wasn’t important,” Jason grunted. “But that
also doesn’t mean I care about what some random guy says about me
online. The two things aren’t mutually exclusive.” He glanced up at his
companion, noticing the screen floating overhead, the public poll results
showing a tie. “Speaking of which, your ratings improved.”
Alexion snorted but couldn’t quite stop the pleased look that flitted
across his face. Then his eyes focused back on Jason. “Whatever. You
going to clue me in on what happened?”
Jason grimaced. “It’s what it looks like. I built some summons and
blew the place up. Had to use some of my resources, unfortunately.”
The truth was worse than that. He’d used exactly 75%, which didn’t
leave him with many supplies to build new minions. Jason could only
assume that the other members of <Death and Taxes> would put two and
two together. The camera might not have captured him building his
minions – not concealed deep within the smoke – but there was no other
explanation for what had happened. Which meant that trick wasn’t going to
work twice. Their next opponent was likely going to assume he had
summons.
 Even worse, it was now clear that they had a time limit between
matches – <Death and Taxes> forcing them forward with that wall of wind.
At that thought, the entrance doorway slid open, and that amber wall of
energy was slowly inching forward. At least the camera had winked out,
giving them some semblance of privacy. Either way, they only had enough
time to replenish his stock by cutting off his arm a few more times. Yet that
would only give him enough materials for a few minions. Or, he could try
something new. As that thought circled his mind, Jason’s eyes drifted down
to his skeletal forearm once more.
“I’m starting to hate that look,” Alexion observed.
Jason glanced up in surprise.
“What?” the avatar of light demanded. “You get this stupid-ass look
on your face every time you’re considering doing something insane.”
Jason sighed. “Yeah, maybe…”
“Well, you going to tell me or what?” Alexion demanded.
“I…” Jason hesitated. He wasn’t sure he was ready to go this far. It
wasn’t just the pain or horror of what he was contemplating… it was
something else. Something that had been bothering him ever since
Sandscrit – the look in Smokes’ eyes bringing it back with a vengeance.
“Why are you playing this game?” Jason asked finally.
Alexion shook his head incredulously. “Way to completely avoid
the question… but okay,” he replied in irritation.
“I’m serious,” Jason added, meeting Alexion’s eyes.
“Because it’s a game. Something to do.”
“You and I both know that’s bullshit,” Jason shot back, surprise and
anger flitting across Alexion’s face. “What? It is. This place – this world –
it isn’t easy. Especially not as an avatar. We feel pain. Hardship. We
struggle. Hell, you’ve been publicly murdered more than a few times now,
yet you keep coming back. Why?”
The other young man hesitated, sitting back against a pile of rocky
debris, and his gaze going distant as he stared at the ruined arena.
“Honestly? I’m not sure anymore,” he said finally.
Jason just waited. It didn’t seem like Alexion was finished.
“When I started playing, it was different,” Alexion murmured. “We
were in the beta, so there were fewer travelers. And that also meant there
were teeming masses just waiting back in the real world to get their sweaty
little hands on any bit of info about AO. So, I started streaming. My videos
got hundreds of thousands of views. I put on a little show, you know? It
felt… good. The praise. The attention. I guess I wasn’t really getting that
back in the real world?”
“Really?” Jason demanded, raising an eyebrow. “Because I
remember everyone fawning after Alex Lane back at Richmond.”
Alexion just snorted. “People wanting to use you is different from
genuine affection. When I put on the act, well, people looked at me
differently.” He let out an irritated huff. “Might be why it pissed me off so
much when you started stealing the spotlight.”
The avatar of light trailed off, staring a hole in the floor.
“What keeps you going now?” Jason asked finally, breaking the
tense silence.
Alexion shook his head, frowning. “I don’t know. Yet I find myself
coming back every day and letting everything else go. Even after that
meeting with my father, all I wanted to do was log back in. It was all I
could think about.”
Jason just watched him, feeling a pang of empathy. “I get it,” he
said finally.
Alexion looked up, cocking his head.
“I mean… this place is tough, but what’s waiting for us back there?”
Jason asked. “Asshole parents? A path tread by millions of others.
School. College. A job that drains you dry and leaves you a husk of your
former self. Oh, but maybe in a few decades you’ll get to retire and taste
freedom again – only for your mind and body to be too old, and weak, and
broken to do anything with it.” There was some bitterness in his voice.
“Not sure about the rest of that, but I’ll second the asshole parents,”
Alexion quipped, earning him a chuckle from Jason.
“Woah, was that a joke from the walking lighthouse himself?”
“Shut it, dickhead,” Alexion replied, but his voice lacked the
familiar anger.
Jason went quiet again. “No matter how painful and arduous this
place can be, it feels like you can carve your own path. It’s a blank canvas
where you can do – can be – whatever you want. There’s freedom in that,”
Jason murmured.
“Is that why you started playing?” Alexion asked.
Jason snorted. “Nah. That was because of you, actually. After you
got me expelled, I was angry. I was tired of being shit on, of having no
choice, of always following everyone else’s agenda, and being at the mercy
of those more powerful than me. I was angry at… well, I was angry at the
universe I guess. For not delivering on the promises of those stories we
were fed as children. I wanted to be a wizard. A hero. I wanted power.”
He looked up at Alexion. “The sort of power you were born into. Or at
least that’s what I thought I wanted.”
He shook his head. “But what’s been driving me since has just been
that same anger. At you. At Gloria and the CPSC. Hell, even Finn was just
another easy target when he baited me into attacking Sandscrit. All I’ve
done is raged and destroyed and vented and somewhere along the way the
anger disappeared. Now I’m left feeling… numb.”
“Well, at least you got the power you were looking for,” Alexion
observed, eyeing what was left of the arena, broken rocks littering the
previously smooth ground.
Jason just let out a sigh. “Did I? Because we seem to be trapped in
a floating dungeon without any corpses – which just showcases how weak I
really am. There will always be someone stronger. Someone that makes
you feel powerless. These games have shown me that. Hell, we’ve barely
beaten Pewpew and Smokes in two-on-one fights.”
He glanced at Alexion. “And even outside the game, it’s more of
the same. Look at that meeting with your father. The way he treated you,
Alex-Fucking-Lane – the golden boy himself.” The avatar of light grimaced
at that, his eyes dropping to the floor and a silence lingering through the
decimated arena. “And it’s not as though your father seems like a happy,
well-adjusted person despite his wealth and influence.
“So, I’m left wondering… why am I still playing? Why am I so
afraid of letting this world get destroyed?” Jason finally asked those
questions aloud, the same ones that had been flitting through the back of his
mind for days and weeks now. “Do I just wait for something else to get
angry about? Do I just search for more power until it finally destroys me?
Or do I just give up?”
Silence met those questions… because they didn’t really have
answers.
“If it’s any consolation, you definitely live up to your Edgelord
persona. I mean… damn. That was some brooding bullshit,” Alexion
observed, a chuckle bubbling from his lips. “I’m sorry but I’m actually
going to have to agree with Bard on this one.”
 Jason stared, a smile slowly creeping across his face. “You know,
you might be on to something there. Maybe I should just focus on being
the edgiest traveler in all of AO.”
Alexion barked out a laugh – a real laugh – that echoed off the rocky
stone walls. Jason couldn’t help but join in, the pair laughing alone in that
ruined cavern. Just two old enemies having a heart to heart at the end of the
world.
As the laughter finally faded, Alexion rubbed at the tears in his
eyes. “Shit. I don’t think I’ve laughed like that in…” He hesitated. “Huh,
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed like that.”
“Hey, that’s my line, alright?” Jason demanded. “I’ve called sad
and brooding. You have to get your own thing. I recommend douche-
baggery. You’re good at it.”
Alexion raised his hands. “Fair. Fair.”
Then his expression sobered. “As flattering as it is to think you’ve
come this far just because I hurt your feelings—”
“You got me expelled,” Jason growled.
“Like I said, hurt your tender little feelings,” Alexion replied.
“Either way, I don’t think it was anger alone that drove you this far. I’ve
personally seen you in action, with Pewpew and now with Smokes. You
didn’t seem angry to me. You were focused. Driven. Hell, you welded that
makeshift arm to yourself in the middle of a fight.”
Alexion shook his head. “I guess what I’m saying is that maybe you
have it wrong. Maybe it’s not anger or some quest for power. He
shrugged. “Just my two cents, anyway.”
Jason stared back in surprise for a long moment before responding.
“Man, look at you bringing the psychological insight. Are you really Alex
Lane, or did Queen slip in here while I wasn’t paying attention?”
“Yeah, well don’t get used to it,” Alexion fired back.
Jason just shook his head, his eyes dropping to the floor. Maybe
there was some truth to what Alexion had said. Those life and death
situations lent a particular sort of clarity. There wasn’t room to worry or
wring his hands or question himself. He was just forced to act. To do
whatever was necessary to win. To survive. There was nothing more
primal than that.
His gaze dropped to his arm again. And if Alexion was right, maybe
he should take the next step. Not out of a sense of revenge or rage. Or to
protect someone else. Or even to save the world. Maybe Jason could do
this for himself.
Just because he wanted to see if he could.
“And there’s that look again,” Alexion observed. “Please don’t tell
me this means we have to have another pseudo-existential debate? I prefer
the crazy over that.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about this new joking Alexion,” Jason
observed dryly.
“Oh, you hate it, huh? That’s perfect then.” Alexion shot him a
shit-eating grin.
Jason ran a hand through his hair as he let out a sigh. “Okay. So, I
do have an idea – something I doubt our next opponent is going to expect,
which may give us an edge in whatever finale I’m sure <Death and Taxes>
has planned.” He glanced toward the wall of wind inching forward along
the far side of the room. They likely had enough time.
His gaze shot back to Alexion. “Except, I’m going to need your
help for this one.”
The avatar of light cocked his head. “To do what exactly?”
Jason raised his new arm, darkness twisting around an ivory frame.
“I’m thinking I need a few upgrades…”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 39 - Unholy
“Which means you need materials?” Alexion asked as he pushed
away from his rocky perch and drew his sword with a scrape of steel.
“You don’t have to look quite so excited about it,” Jason grunted
with a half-smile.
Then he looked back down at his arm, a frown soon replacing his
grin. Belephya’s words still rang through his mind – his thoughts never
straying far from that quest prompt that had accompanied her so-called
explanation.

Our true power is stored here. Najima. Collections of mana. It is

from these points that the darkness flows; the six points of the star
that makes up the soul. They are all that we need.

Jason’s forehead pinched tight. He understood the implication of

what she had been saying – to isolate, remove, and somehow preserve his
Najima. Unfortunately, his advisors had been light on some crucial details
– like how the hell to do that. Even when Jason used the soul well to
explore their memories, he’d found them… missing. Blocked or possibly
erased entirely.
And there was only one person that could have accomplished that
feat: the former Keeper. That was the only plausible explanation he had.
Yet for what reason, he couldn’t be certain. Perhaps he or she had been
wary of the process for some reason?
If so, then that didn’t bode well for Jason.
Either way, manipulating his Najima was off the table – at least, for
now.
In the meantime, he could still improve his body, his physical stats
leaving something to be desired even after his extensive training beneath
the dark keep. That last fight with Smokes had proven that much. And
with his limited materials, this was probably the best use of the resources he
had available.
“Oh great,” Alexion sighed, sitting back down and his sword
returning to its sheath with an irritable click. “We’re back to silent
brooding.”
 Jason flexed his dark fingers, watching as the mana pulled at the
ivory frame. “I’m just thinking. I’m eligible for another race change after I
completed the Keeper trials with Frank and Riley,” he explained, showing
the new limb to Alexion. “This is part of that process – replacing my living
body with an undead one.”
He noticed a look of disgust flit across Alexion’s face. “You want to
become what then? Some sort of skeleton man? Really?”
“In a way,” Jason answered. “But it’s more than that. If I can
replace my flesh and blood body, then I can modify it. Imbue it with metals
to make it stronger. Alter and shape my own limbs. Augment myself
during a fight with Custom Skeleton. It would allow me to adapt to an
opponent on the fly.” His days of hiding in the rear would be gone for
good.
Alexion’s expression shifted, curiosity shining through his
irritation. “Okay. And you need me to do what exactly? Chop off a few
more limbs for parts?”
“No, I have enough materials for now,” Jason answered, pulling
open his bags and dumping the remainder of his arms on the stone where
they landed with a wet thud. “I’m going to need for you to help stabilize
my health as I try to work on myself.”
That part had been clear, at least – those memories still intact among
his advisors. But, in order to accomplish the ritual, Jason needed to
perform it himself.
Alexion just stared back skeptically.
“Look, let’s start small and you’ll see what I mean,” Jason offered.
“We don’t have much time to just sit around chatting anyway.” He waved
at the wall of wind that continued pushing through the room at a snail’s
pace.
A sigh and then, “Okay, what do you want me to do?”
“Can you channel a healing spell on my arm?” Jason asked. “I need
to remove it. I don’t think I installed it properly, and it hurts like hell.”
He’d been moving too quickly earlier. Jason’s guess was that he
hadn’t connected the dark mana properly to the muscular and nervous
systems of his upper arm. He tapped at the air to bring up his console,
navigating through a few menus before a series of displays popped open
around him with his research. He tapped at one screen, and a three-
dimensional model of the human body appeared in the air, rotating slowly.
Another few gestures and the model broke apart, the skeletal, muscular,
nerve, and organ systems separating into four separate models.
A glow suddenly infused Jason’s arm and he let out a yelp as a fiery
burn bloomed there, where nerve endings should no longer exist. That burn
continued, growing in strength until it felt like his arm was on fire, Jason
letting out a scream of pain.
The spell abruptly winked out.
“What the hell was that?” Alexion demanded.
Jason let out a hissing breath, his brow furrowed and chest heaving.
“I… I don’t know.” That shouldn’t have been possible – that pain he’d felt.
He’d already tested Alexion’s healing magic on his regular body and it had
worked fine, albeit less effectively than normal. And he had no real feeling
in his lower forearm, where flesh turned to bone.
He looked at his arm. “It must be the concentration of dark mana,”
he murmured. Jason’s eyes snapped up to Alexion. “Do it again.”
“Are you sure about that? I don’t want a torture flag.”
“You have my consent,” Jason grunted. “Now do it.”
Alexion grimaced but followed his direction. Light swelled along
Jason’s arm once more, the fire crawling up and down his forearm. But
now that he knew what to expect, the pain was more manageable, and Jason
just ground his teeth through the sensation. Besides, he was also distracted
by what he was witnessing…
The dark and light mana had begun to bleed together, turning from
black and gold to a ruddy purple color that crawled up Jason’s arm, licking
at the intact flesh. “What is this?” Jason murmured.
“It’s like the two energies are blending,” Alexion observed,
watching closely.
Jason had to agree. With the other elemental affinities, it was well
established that they could be mixed. For example, fire and earth could
create glass or molten metal. And even opposing elements could be
combined effectively. Fire and water into steam for example. Or using
water to conduct lightning.
However, Jason had thought that light and dark mana were
different. He’d thought they were polar opposites – effectively canceling
each other out. That would explain why Alexion’s healing spells had been
less effective on Jason with his high dark magic affinity. Or why sunlight
destroyed Jason’s undead. And maybe, to some extent, that was true. Even
now, Jason could see the dark mana and bone in his forearm beginning to
erode, the ivory cracking and fracturing. But he also couldn’t deny that it
looked like the mana was combining to form something new.
But what did it do?
“Do you mind if I touch you?” Jason gasped at Alexion. The pain
was intense and growing with each passing second.
“Uh, yes. Yes I do,” Alexion shot back as he edged away from him.
“We need to know what this does,” Jason insisted. “I doubt it’s
going to kill you…”
“Says the guy with the flaming purple arm,” Alexion snapped.
But then, with a sigh, Alexion grimaced and bared his free arm.
Jason moved forward quickly, anxious to be able to cancel the healing
spell. His purple-hued fingers soon wrapped around Alexion’s arm and
something even more unusual happened.
Alexion’s skin immediately began to darken, tendrils of glowing
purple spreading through his veins in a branching pattern. It almost looked
like the flesh was decaying – like a form of infection was spreading through
his body. Alexion tried to move the arm away, but found he couldn’t,
tugging harder and harder against Jason’s loose grip.
“The limb is too weak to move,” Alexion grunted.
“Pain?” Jason asked.
“Not… exactly?” Alexion replied. “My arm feels heavy. Like I’m
tired or the muscles aren’t responding. I can feel my hand slowly going
numb.”
Jason frowned at that. He tapped at his UI to bring up his own
prompts, the windows normally silenced to prevent them from distracting
him.

System Notice: Unholy Might

You are currently draining the energy of another traveler, temporarily

absorbing a portion of their stats.

“What the hell?” Jason murmured. He swiped at the air to bring up

his Character Status and could see that his stats had indeed received a boost,
the numbers now shown in a temporary blue coloring that typically
signified a buff.
“Can you look at your stats? Are they lower than normal?” Jason
asked.
Alexion frowned but did as he asked, nodding a moment later.
“Yes. They’re all shown in red. Both physical and casting stats.”
Jason’s arm couldn’t withstand the healing spell any longer. With a
sudden loud crack, the hand snapped apart. The bone exploded, creating a
nova of purple energy that sent the pair hurtling backward. Jason’s back
slammed into a nearby chunk of rock, the breath whooshing from his lungs
as he toppled to the ground. He stayed there for a long moment, letting his
heartbeat calm and breathing steady even as his thoughts raced.
He'd never tried casting a light magic healing spell on his skeletons,
he suddenly realized. The opportunity had never really come up since he
didn’t have many light mages flocking to his banner. Jason could only
assume that the magic Riley used to heal his undead was different, a blood
magic that relied on dark mana. Water and earth also had healing properties
but they sure as hell didn’t elicit this effect.
Now that was fascinating…
“What the fuck?” Alexion groaned, shoving himself upright and
healing his wound with a flash of golden light. “Your arm just exploded!”
“Yeah, I know,” Jason grunted, forcing himself back to his feet. His
arm was gone now, only a stump remaining, the skin ragged and bleeding.
Bone and muscle were already beginning to slowly knit together, reforming
the limb under the effects of Jason’s mana regeneration.
“It looks like the combination of dark and light mana creates an aura
that drains stats. Maybe it’s inverting the effect of your typical light-based
spell?” Jason offered.
“Because it normally enhances the skills of others?” Alexion asked.
Jason nodded. “It’s just a theory, but it would explain what just
happened.”
Although, now he was wondering how he could weaponize that
effect using his summons. Could he create stat-draining skeletons that
detonated after weakening their opponent? Or weapons that could drain
stats? Maybe they could find a balance between the dark and light mana
that would stabilize that strange purple energy without destroying the
weapon or skeleton. Or perhaps the quality or composition of the
underlying bone they used mattered?
Then he hesitated. Or, more troubling, what would happen once
Jason replaced his own limbs with ones fashioned from bone and dark
mana? Would he become vulnerable to light mana attacks? He looked at
Alexion who was still healing his wounds. He still didn’t know if he could
trust him. He’d already betrayed Jason many, many times. But he also
didn’t see any other options. They weren’t getting out of this floating
prison without defeating <Death and Taxes>.
And that wasn’t happening unless Jason became stronger.
A timer had popped up on the screen still floating above the ruined
arena, signaling the countdown to the next fight – no doubt Eliza and Finn
were still making their way through the Mile-High Club. And they still
didn’t have long until the Sweeping Wind would push them forward. For
now, Jason needed to focus on improving his body as best he could for the
next fight. He suspected it was going to be much more difficult than the
others.
“That was… unexpected,” Jason spoke up. “But we need to hurry.
We don’t have a lot of time left,” he urged Alexion, gesturing at the screen.
The avatar of light nodded. “Okay, what do you need for me to
do?” he asked.
Jason swallowed hard, looking down at his body. His limbs would
be the easiest part to upgrade right now without damaging his Najima –
those points of mana nestled somewhere near the center of each extremity –
at least according to the memories of the Kin he’d managed to unearth. So,
his focus should be on enhancing his forearms and forelegs. That should
give him a considerable boost in speed and strength.
He tapped at his UI, pulling up a few designs he’d been tinkering
with as he studied anatomy, eyeing them critically. Now that he had more
experience with using an artificial limb, he could already see some changes
he would need to make to ensure that the mana connected properly to his
existing musculature. The joints at the knee and elbow where multiple
muscles, tendons, nerves, and bones came together were going to be the
most difficult. Long-term he’d need to design something much, much more
sophisticated. But for now, he could make do.
Even if it meant he would have to fight through the pain.
“Hey, you still there?” Alexion grunted in irritation.
 “Yeah…Yeah, just lost in thought,” Jason answered.
His eyes snapped up to Alexion, pulsing with dark energy as he
channeled his mana. “First, I’m going to need to build new prosthetics.
Then I’m going to need for you to amputate a limb and stabilize the injury
with your healing magic – not enough to repair the damage, just enough to
slow the bleeding. Think you can handle that?”
“As long as you don’t blow us up again, sure,” Alexion shot back.
“Alright, well, give us some cover in case Bard decides to turn the
cameras back on. I’ll be done in just a second.”
Jason trailed off as a circle of light bloomed around them, then his
hands began to wind together, the timer above him slowing its inevitable
crawl toward the next fight as he channeled Custom Skeleton. He was
going to need as much time as he could get. His gaze turned to the pile of
severed arms lying beside him, the materials outlined in glowing sapphire
relief. His displays hovered at his side, showcasing his new designs.
He knew this wouldn’t solve the mystery of his race change and that
this process would be filled with pain, and blood, and failure. However,
Jason couldn’t help but feel a kernel of excitement bloom in his chest, dark
mana humming in his veins as he contemplated what he could accomplish if
he succeeded.
Maybe Alexion had been right. Maybe something else was driving
him. Perhaps he just enjoyed the challenge…
And just like the others he’d faced, this was one he was going to
conquer.

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 Chapter 40 - Firetap
“Wow,” Eliza murmured, glancing at the screen that floated in the
center of the city. It was frozen on an image of the ruined arena where
Alexion and Jason had been fighting – Bard mercifully taking a break from
hawking his skin cream. “I wasn’t expecting that. Those explosions had to
be caused by Jason’s minions, but where did he get the materials to make
them? Everyone online is saying this is proof he’s a cheater,” she added,
swiping at the displays that hovered around her.
“Well, that’s bullshit,” Finn grunted, cradling his face in his hands.
He still hadn’t quite recovered from that last arena, but at least he was
talking in more than just a few clipped sentences.
“What do you mean?” Eliza asked.
“He didn’t cheat. He used his own body to harvest materials,” Finn
replied.
“You mean how he copied your arm… well, sort of,” Eliza
amended. “I guess he repurposed his right arm instead of his left—”
“That’s not what I meant,” Finn answered with a sigh, rubbing at his
temples as though he had a headache. “Jason must have cut off his own
limbs and had Alexion heal him in between the two matches. That’s the
only way he could have acquired more materials.”
“Oh.” Eliza was now looking at the screen with renewed surprise.
She couldn’t imagine what that would have felt like, to cut off his own limb
over and over again. She shook her head. But that was just Jason. From
the day she’d met him, he’d been pushing the limits of this world. If only
the rest of the travelers could appreciate that…
Her attention was pulled away as she noticed Finn sitting there
glaring up at that massive screen floating in the center of the club. A panel
of metal rested at his back, mounted against the stone of the club and the
wind whistling around it. In the distance, she could see the Sweeping Wind
edging closer, inching across the stone with painful slowness.
“What’s wrong?” Eliza asked gingerly. Finn seemed… fragile at the
moment. “Isn’t it a good thing that they won?”
Finn shook his head. “It isn’t that…” he trailed off before heaving
out another sigh. “Why is <Death and Taxes> doing this? Teleporting the
avatar group to this secure location I understand – that removed our
lieutenants from the picture and put us in an environment they could
control. Separating us also makes sense. But these two-on-one fights?
What’s the point?”
“Well, the arenas have given them an advantage,” Eliza offered
timidly.
They had almost died to Queen, after all. And even though they
were still alive, they were wet, wounded, and, in Finn’s case, grumpier than
before. Even Eliza was starting to feel the fatigue. Removing that sticky,
mucus-like film from her face and lungs had been unpleasant. She’d
hacked up slime for several minutes straight. Then there was the frigid
water that had soaked into her robes. Luckily, she’d had the foresight to
waterproof her bags after a particularly alarming situation in the Sea’s
Edge. She might have flooded an entire section of Fluffy’s palace by
accident…
Finn waved a dismissive hand. “Of course, they have an
advantage,” he grunted. “Except they could have won many of these fights
if they’d had help from their other guildmates. And if their goal is to collect
on the contracts on our heads, then they should be trying to kill us before
the world ends. So why are they fucking around?” This last question came
out in a frustrated growl, flames rippling across Finn’s arms.
“Pride maybe?” Eliza suggested.
The avatar of flame gave her a curious glance. “Elaborate.”
Eliza swallowed hard under his scrutiny. “Queen – or Vanessa – had
a vendetta with you. Pewpew wanted to take out Jason. I’ll admit I don’t
see a connection for Smokes… but from what we managed to overhear
during that last fight, the game was important to him. Maybe these fights
aren’t just about beating us – they’re about our opponents.”
Finn was silent for a moment, mulling on her words.
“They still need to kill us. They admitted as much,” he offered
finally.
It was Eliza’s turn to wince. Finn was right. But <Death and
Taxes> also had time. And the avatars hadn’t made their way through the
guild’s whole roster yet. The answer was just sitting there. Obvious.
Unignorable. The image of a smiling face and pressed wool and rippling
muscle.
“They must not be worried about that,” she murmured. “Maybe
they aren’t nervous because they have a Plan B. We still haven’t seen
Smiles fight – not really. And there’s little information about him online.”
Finn was watching her now, a frown creasing his lips. “Are you
suggesting that they’re just messing around right now because they think
their guild leader can handle all of us?”
Eliza cocked her head. “I could be wrong, but it would make sense.
The man’s abilities are much more of a mystery than the others. We know
he’s strong, fast, and durable… but that’s it. No one has even seen him cast
a spell or use an affinity-based ability.” She looked back at the screen and
that ruined arena. “But they’re sure getting an in-depth look at what we can
do. Or can’t do, I suppose.”
Finn frowned at that. “What do you mean?”
Eliza’s fingers twined together nervously. “Take that first fight with
Jason and Alexion. They weren’t working together. That showcased a
major weakness, although they were more in sync during the second fight.
Even so, their abilities are at odds with one another. Both of them rely on
having others that they can command and their own abilities don’t
synergize well.”
“And us?” Finn asked, watching her with those glowing red eyes,
his bandage having long since been burned away during the fight with
Queen.
Eliza adjusted her glasses nervously. “Well, we’re, um… I mean,
you’re…”
Finn barked out a laugh. “Come on, girl. Don’t go getting all
demure on me now. You saved my ass during that last fight. I can
acknowledge that. And that I got too… emotional.”
“It was understandable,” Eliza murmured. Queen must have
anticipated that Rachael was a sore spot for Finn after they’d captured her
in Barrow.
“Well? Go on. Tell me what you really think – not what you think I
want to hear.”
Eliza looked at him in surprise. She hated being put on the spot like
this, especially by someone like Finn – someone with a searing intelligence
who didn’t mince his words. She stared down at her hands where they now
wound together in her lap, the wind whistling against the metal barrier Finn
had erected around them. Worry. Doubt. Hesitation. The same cluster of
irritating familiar emotions circled her mind. The feeling that had carried
her through that fight – the calming numbness of her mana – it had already
begun to fade.
Finn let out an irritated snort as the quiet lengthened and stretched.
“As I expected. You’re just a child. You may as well be hiding under your
bed right now. Running away from anything that requires you to put
yourself forward or stand up for what you believe.”
He shook his head. “Pathetic.”
She was staring now, her mouth working but no words coming
forth. All of that noise – those emotions – were replaced in an instant.
There was suddenly only that cool ocean of her power, the waters stretching
out toward the horizon. Yet they weren’t calm. They rolled and tumbled
and spun. The sea could be peaceful. But it could also be a force of
nature. The rising tide. The fury of a hurricane. The force of a tsunami.
Eliza finally let out the breath she’d been holding, a cloud of frost-
tinged vapor escaping her lips. And when she looked up again, her eyes
had changed – glowing a soft sapphire.
“You call me a child?” she demanded in a cool voice. “This from
the man I was forced to rescue from his own hubris. You’ve ignored me.
Treated me like an impotent little girl now that Brian isn’t here. But I
managed to survive long before he became my companion. I am the Ice
Witch. Do you have any sense of my true abilities? What I can do? Did
you even bother to ask? Or did you let your own pride and anger blind
you? Did you retreat into a castle of your own mind and decide that only
you – the great and powerful Finn Harris – could win these fights?”
She laughed, a cruel thing, ice radiating out across her skin now.
“Because it’s always about you, isn’t it? Your passion. Your pride.
Your dead wife. And the rest of us are what? Obstacles on your way to
glory? To rescuing your love? As great of a scientist as you are, you seem
to forget that flames cannot burn alone. If you continue this way you will
fail – not just yourself, but everyone you care about. You will lose Rachael
forever.”
Eliza blinked, and the power faded abruptly.
“I… I’m, uh… I’m sorry—” she fumbled, seeing the look on Finn’s
face.
“Stop,” he interjected, rubbing at his temple again, anger coloring
his voice, barely suppressed. “Your words were tough to hear, but I needed
to hear them. You’re right. I baited you into saying what you were really
thinking and for that I’m sorry.
“Just as I’m sorry for ignoring you… and how I behaved in that last
fight…
Eliza watched, wide-eyed as Finn stared at the ground, a single
molten tear streaming down his cheek, searing the skin and a tendril of
smoke coiling into the air. “I just… I can’t fail here.”
“Then we won’t,” Eliza replied firmly, surprising even herself.
She swallowed. “And that starts by working together. If Jason and
Alexion can do it, then so can we – even if our abilities and personalities
seem to be at odds.”
Finn nodded. “You’re right… again.” He grinned this time, a ghost
of a smile. “You should speak your mind more often. You’re far more
perceptive than you seem to realize.”
Eliza struggled to form a response. The moment of clarity had
already faded.
The avatar of flame saved her from having to speak as he abruptly
slapped his thighs, rising to his feet. “Well, first things first, we need to
find a way to turn the tables on our hosts. We’ve reacted for long enough.”
With a twist of his fingers, the metal dome around the pair melted away in a
flash of flame, separating into many orbs that swept back to Finn, circling
him slowly.
Eliza snatched one of her bags before it could blow away. “What…
what did you have in mind exactly?” she asked in a flustered voice.
Finn frowned, eying the structures around him and crouching down,
his hands tracing the rock of the terrace where they were perched. The
older man shook his head. “Something has been bothering me about this
place. Running this club would take a lot of energy. The arenas. The
Sweeping Wind. That mana has to come from somewhere. Which implies
the existence of a mana generator – or generators – located somewhere
within the city. Normally, I should be able to detect that source of mana.
However, my Mana Sight can’t easily penetrate these buildings.”
As he trailed off, Finn waved at his orbs, his fingers a blur of
motion. The spheres melted down once again, forming a large drill bit that
glowed with a white-hot light. Another wave of his hand and the drill spun
up to speed, shedding a considerable portion of its heat in the process.
Without another word, Finn brought his hands down and the drill bit
slammed into the stone beside them. The metal burrowed through the rock,
causing the platform to vibrate sharply, stone shrapnel and sparks flying
through the air as Eliza backpedaled.
Moments later, the drill had uncovered something, the whine of
grinding rock fading into silence. Finn stooped there, his crystalline arm
reaching forward. As he pulled it back, mana flashed sharply, sending off
brightly colored sparks. And in his crystalline hand was a strange
substance. It was translucent and vaguely fibrous but glimmered like
crystal.
“As I thought,” Finn murmured.
“What is that?” Eliza asked, looking back and forth between the
cabling and Finn’s hand. They looked similar, almost like the same
substance.
“Neurogem,” Finn answered. “Or at least that’s what I call it. We
encountered this material in a dungeon far to the south of Sandscrit. It’s a
form of organic crystal that easily conducts mana, but it can’t store the
energy and is typically used as a form of conduit. Think of it like electrical
wiring. Unfortunately, it also creates interference with my Mana Sight.”
“It looks like your arm,” Eliza murmured as she stared at the gem-
like material.
“Because it’s made of the same stuff, with a powerful mana crystal
embedded inside to help store energy. It was a gift from a friend,” Finn
replied, his voice distracted as he swiped at his displays. “Daniel, please
monitor the following mana pulse.”
“Yes, sir,” the elemental chirped, lowering itself down to the
conduit, its flames partially merging with the neurogem conduit.
Finn’s left arm rose into the air, the limb morphing into a sharp
spike, fire mana flooding the crystal as the air around them turned frigid,
Finn siphoning the heat from their surroundings. Without warning, Finn
turned back to the hole in the sidewalk and plunged his arm into the stone.
It speared into the Neurogem material, the mana surging outward. Finn
followed it with his Mana Sight, watching his mana ripple out through the
club.
“I detect resistance a few buildings ahead,” Daniel reported cheerily,
a yellow highlight appearing in the distance, the structure located a few
buildings over. “I’ve also produced a rough map of the energy grid for this
area of the club.”
 Finn nodded. “Good. That’s good.”
Yet his good humor faded as he turned to survey his drill bit. The
dark metal was mangled, almost completely destroyed attempting to burrow
just a few inches into the rock. He melted the metal down with a frustrated
grunt, forming a new orb that floated before him, Finn watching it rotate
and a frown pinching at his forehead.
“We have a target then, but the problem is how to get there. This
rock is tough,” Finn muttered, tapping at the nearby wall. “The stone is
normal, but it’s been heavily warded to improve its durability and weather
the elements. My guess is that the mixture of the wards and the neurogem
embedded in the stone are what’s obscuring my Mana Sight. Either way,
we aren’t going to be able to access that building if we can’t easily cut
through the rock.
“Damn it,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head.
“Is this what you meant by working together?” Eliza offered, unable
to fully remove the sarcasm from her voice. Even after their confrontation,
Finn just reverted back to the same eccentric, self-absorbed engineer.
Maybe this was just who he was…
Finn finally looked at her. “Ahh, sorry,” he muttered. “Did I lose
you?”
“Just a bit,” she offered. “Could you explain the problem more
clearly?”
“I just got caught up in a thought,” Finn shook his head, taking a
breath. “But you’re right. We’re a team. I should explain my thinking. I
used my mana to send out a pulse through this neurogem conduit. A point
of resistance indicates a mana storage gem – probably a big one if it’s being
used to power this portion of the city. That’s just energy waiting to be
repurposed. Even better, if the generator has a control panel and we can get
to it, we may be able to disable some of the city’s features – like that
Sweeping Wind. Or possibly even control other parts of the club—"
“Like the next arena,” Eliza murmured, interrupting him.
“Exactly.”
Eliza was nodding. She understood his plan now. She eyed the
nearby wall. “So, you just need something that can eat through this rock…
which is probably infused with a ton of mana?”
Finn nodded. “That’s the dilemma. I could drill through it, but as
you just saw, I won’t get far before I need to repair the drill bit. It would
probably take hours, if not longer.” He looked over his shoulder at the
Sweeping Wind behind them, the wall of energy creeping closer. “And we
don’t exactly have that kind of time.”
Eliza cocked her head. “I might have something that will work.”
She dug into her pack with one hand, soon retrieving a small vial.
“This is called Rockstomper. It’s similar to an indigenous species in our
world called campos rupestros – a plant that grows in the mountains of
Brazil,” she explained, unstoppering the vial gently and tapping just a few
seeds onto the ground next to the building Finn had identified. “The roots
can actually dissolve rock, which allows the plant to mine phosphorus.”
Eliza’s fingers sped through a series of gestures and a drop of liquid
sapphire soon beaded along her fingertips, suspended there. She looked
back at Finn. “Maybe the same principle will apply here – or a similar one,
at least. I’m just not sure how effective this is going to be. It might not be
enough to destroy the rock.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Finn replied, waving his own hands. His
makeshift drill flared with heat, before breaking apart and flattening to form
large panels that wrapped around them, blocking out the wind and any
prying cameras that might be floating nearby. “Hell, even if it weakens the
stone, that might be enough to allow me to drill through it,” he offered with
a shrug.
“And if that doesn’t work… we can always try blasting our way
through,” Finn added, massaging his crystalline arm.
Eliza shook her head. “You and Jason are too much alike.”
Finn just grunted in response, clearly not flattered by the
comparison.
His eyes dropped to Eliza’s hand where that sapphire droplet was
growing in strength, emitting a bright glow now as it began to roll away
from her fingertip. “So, the real-life version of this plant feeds on
phosphorus? What does this plant consume?”
“Mana,” Eliza replied in a breathless voice as the droplet fell from
her finger.
Finn’s eyes widened, but it was too late.
The droplet struck the seeds and they immediately blossomed,
forming a thick blanket of vegetation that swept across the sidewalk and up
the side of the nearby building. The plant grew at an alarming rate, forming
a thick moss-like coating that glowed with an eerie green light. As the
seconds ticked past, Eliza kept feeding it energy, not sure how much it
would need to penetrate the thick stone – if that was even possible.
“Um, Eliza… that might be enough,” Finn offered nervously, the
moss growing up across the roof of a nearby structure and spreading to an
adjoining building, forcing Finn and Eliza back across the terrace, only
clouds and that giant tornado at their backs.
Eliza stopped, eyeing the monstrosity before them. The
Rockstomper now coated multiple buildings, that green glow growing in
strength with each passing second.
“It’s gathering earth mana,” Finn murmured, watching the moss
with his Mana Sight. “I can see it feeding on the ambient mana in the rock.
Amazing.”
Even as those words left his lips, the rock began to break apart, the
building before them suddenly caving in with a thunderous crack and the
moss following close behind. The plant soon covered the inside of the
structure, sweeping out across the rock once more as it grew steadily,
spreading a few feet with each second that ticked past.
“Well that worked better than I expect—” Finn began.
He was cut off as the floor beneath them trembled, cracks forming
in the rock and spreading outward. “Um, I think we have a problem,” Eliza
gasped, backing away.
“I estimate that the structural integrity of this terrace is reaching
56%… 45%… 33%. You need to run. Now!” Daniel urged, his voice
sounding unusually harried.
Before she could react, Finn had lifted Eliza off her feet. He tucked
her under his crystalline arm as he shot forward toward the ruined remains
of the building beside them, making a beeline for the yellow waypoint in
the distance. His metal panels spun away, circling back beneath him to
form a makeshift ramp as the ground crumbled and broke apart. Huge
blocks of stone and clumps of moss tumbled out into open sky before
getting swept up into the tornado that hovered in the center of the city. The
moss only continued to spread, the buildings around them starting to
collapse as the pair sped forward on a platform of burning metal and flame.
A gust of unnatural wind rocketed into their side as the club’s safety
systems activated. Finn just barely blunted the blast of air mana with
another panel of metal, the surface buckling and rippling from the force of
the gust. The next blast struck them even harder, sending them tumbling off
to the side. Finn acted quickly, forming a ramp of metal that blunted their
fall and sent them tumbling into the open expanse of a nearby building – the
stone walls eaten away by the moss.
They landed heavily, and the wind shot from Eliza’s lungs in a rush.
Her head slammed into the rock, stars suddenly blooming in her vision. It
took several long seconds for her to recover, blinking away the dust in her
eyes. She slowly sat up, cradling her head.
“Finn… where are—”
Eliza cut herself off as she saw Finn lying unconscious beside her,
his body wrapped around her protectively. He’d clearly taken the brunt of
the fall. He was covered in blood. A jagged gash had been ripped open
along his forehead, but that wasn’t the worst of his injuries. A large shard
of rock was embedded in his back and his breathing was shallow.
Meanwhile, the buildings around them were cracking and crumbling, huge
blocks of stone falling free and landing with a thunderous crash and a gust
of dust.
Eliza didn’t have time to focus on that. She acted quickly, pulling
another vial, and slotting it into her syringe with a click. She depressed the
button on the side of the device and a needle soon jutted from one end.
Then she slammed it into Finn’s shoulder and the contents flowed directly
into his bloodstream.
This was a new prototype potion delivery system. She’d realized
that it was difficult to administer potions when her patients were
unconscious. Splashing them with the mixture or trying to pry open their
mouth was incredibly inefficient and difficult. So, she’d built this.
The cartridge popped out a moment later with a flash of yellow
energy and a hiss of air. Moving fast, she circled around Finn, ignoring the
notifications that flared in her peripheral vision – all indicating she had a
minor concussion. She pulled another green vial and splashed a few
droplets around the wound where the rock was embedded in his back. That
would help with clotting, which was important for what she planned to do
next.
Then Eliza grabbed the stone spear with both hands, took a deep
breath, and pulled.
The spear came free suddenly, Eliza toppling back into the wall
behind her, the stone crumbling – weakened by the moss. She barely
caught her balance before she careened over the ledge. Steadying herself,
she turned back to Finn.
His health was still dropping in her UI. Possibly internal bleeding.
“C’mon, Finn. You can’t die here,” Eliza muttered, her hands
clenched into fists.
Seconds ticked past before Finn slowly began to stabilize, his health
nearly dropping to zero before starting to gradually tick upward. Eliza let
out a relieved breath and looked around, finally able to take full stock of
their surroundings while he healed.
They had landed inside a ruined building, wooden debris and trash
littering the floor. Yet instead of the wall and sidewalk that once lingered
on one side of the structure, there was now only open air – wind whistling
passed. Eliza crept forward slowly, staying on her hands and knees. She
peered out, seeing the world fall away, clouds floating far below her. She
swallowed hard and looked to the right where she had originally spread the
moss.
The terrace was gone. As were parts of several of the adjacent
buildings. Now there was only jagged rock and glowing green moss, the
plant continuing to eat into the stone, slowly spreading horizontally across
the ring. Even as Eliza looked on, another building collapsed, the rocks
tumbling away and disappearing into the clouds beneath them, leaving a
jagged chasm that now cut through the club. That rift only continued to
grow.
Eliza could feel a pit forming in her stomach. If the moss kept
going… if it ate entirely through this section of the ring, would the club be
able to stay aloft?
“Well… it looks like… it worked,” Finn suddenly wheezed from
behind her.
Eliza spun to find him smiling at her, spots of blood drying on his
cheeks. “Good work, team!” he ground out, raising a hand for a hi-five, his
fingers trembling as his health slowly refilled.
She could only stare back, her words failing her once again.
Never mind, Finn might be even crazier than Jason.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 41 - Mastermind
Eliza held Finn’s arm gently and slid the needle forward, the metal
piercing the skin, accompanied by a hissing breath from the avatar of
flame… who refused to watch.
“Really? You can carve out your own eyes and take a stone spear to
the back, but a needle bothers you?” Eliza asked with a small smile.
“Yeah, yeah. Everyone’s a critic,” Finn grumbled as he rubbed at
his arm. He’d never loved needles. But he wasn’t about to explain why.
The weeks he’d spent in that hospital room while they poked and prodded
him… all while Rachael lay downstairs on a cool metal slab.
Finn shook off the thought, watching Eliza as she popped the vial
with a hiss of air mana and cleaned the syringe with a short burst of
Obscuring Mist and a coating of some sort of antiseptic, the chemical burn
even making it through the game’s muted sense of smell. This wasn’t the
time. He’d learned his lesson – the point driven home by a teenage girl of
all things.
If he was going to save Rachael, he needed to focus and learn how
to act as a team.
Not dwell on his anxiety, fear, and the dozen other problems he
couldn’t control right now.
A welcome distraction appeared in the form of a new notification.
The display popped up in front of Finn, glowing with a bright blue light.

System Notice: Potion Medley Imbibed

You are currently affected by the following status buffs:

+3 levels to all skills.

+1,000 health.
+1,000 mana.
+20 stamina regeneration/second.
+20% to all resistances.

Current Blood Toxicity: 36%

Potion Duration: 30 minutes
 “Geez,” Finn muttered, waving away the prompt. Then, at Eliza’s
questioning glance, he elaborated grudgingly. “I didn’t expect your potions
to be that effective.”
“You mean you thought I was just a healing and mana potion
fountain for Jason,” Eliza replied sourly, eyes on her equipment. “Just like
you thought Brian was carrying me through every fight.” It wasn’t so much
a question as a statement of fact.
Finn winced – another reminder of how stupid he’d been acting
lately.
He stayed quiet, watching Eliza as she inventoried her equipment,
checking for any damaged gear or materials. She was thorough, inspecting
every bag and vial. The girl had broken out of her shell gradually since
they’d landed in this floating prison – a few near-death experiences and
some instigating on his part was responsible for that, he supposed.
Although, the image of the girl, her eyes a blazing sapphire, was still seared
into his mind.
He probably shouldn’t repeat that experiment.
Finn let out a sigh. Speaking of which, it was time to get his
wrinkly ass to work. He pushed himself up from a nearby boulder. “We
need to get moving. It won’t be long until <Death and Taxes> notices that
we’ve been up to some mischief of our own.”
Finn surveyed the destruction beside them, the club still slowly
crumbling as the moss spread across the warded stone. The ravine was
splitting the ring in two and growing with each passing second. With his
Mana Sight active, Finn could see what was truly happening – the moss
leeching the earth mana from the stone until it simply crumbled. That plant
life now blazed with power. However, he noticed that it was only draining
the earth mana.
Maybe he could take care of this problem. Drawing in a deep
breath, Finn raised his crystalline left arm, pulling at the ambient heat in the
air, the orange and red energy streaming toward him where it soon swirled
within the depths of his arm, the limb beginning to glow softly.
“What are you doing?” Eliza asked, cinching the last of her bags in
place and pulling her robes taut to ward off the cold.
“Making sure we don’t destroy the club while we’re still on it.”
 Finn lifted his palm and fired. A Molten Beam sliced through the
air, crashing against the stone in the distance. The flames seared swiftly
through the moss, setting the surrounding plant life on fire. Finn was trying
to use a delicate touch – just enough power to get rid of the moss without
further damaging what was left of the warded rock.
Moments later, he was finished, smoke coiling into the air, only to
be swiftly swept away by the winds that whistled across the club.
“Not bad,” Eliza murmured, eyeing his handiwork.
Finn just grunted in response. “You ready to move?”
Eliza nodded. “Yep.”
Finn cocked his head toward the fire elemental hovering at his
shoulder. “Daniel? Can you give us a rough path to the generator?”
“I suppose,” the AI replied tersely, floating toward another exposed
neurogem conduit, the moss having eaten away the rock. His form flashed
as he downloaded the information from Finn’s eyes, integrating that
information with his existing data and the new information he was
collecting from the conduit.
“How are you, Daniel?” the elemental muttered as he worked.
“Were you traumatized by yet another near-death experience of my own
making? Should I have asked you first about the structural integrity of that
terrace? Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Finn Harris. I don’t ask questions, I
just yell at little girls…”
“You know I can hear you, right?” Finn demanded. It seemed
everyone was on edge.
And then there was the more obvious conclusion: maybe the
problem was him.
“Oh, can you?” Daniel chirped back in an overly cheery voice. “I
was starting to think maybe I don’t exist. You know, since you don’t bother
to use me effectively.”
“I thought it was a pretty good impression,” Eliza offered.
Daniel’s form flashed in acknowledgment. “Why, thank you.”
“This is cute. Are you two done because we may have a bunch of
enemies coming for us soon,” Finn interjected with a huff.
“And whose fault is that exactly?” Daniel chirped back sweetly,
Eliza hiding a smile behind her hand. Great, now the two of them were
teaming up on him.
Finn ground his teeth. “Path. Now.”
 Daniel just flashed once more and a yellow line of energy appeared
before them, connecting to the waypoint marker in the distance. It was only
a few hundred feet away. The glowing amber path stretched out across the
ruined room they currently occupied and passed through an open doorway
into the adjoining corridor.
“I also took the liberty of extrapolating a floorplan of the current
building and pushing it to the group. It should be roughly 85% accurate,”
Daniel added as Finn’s UI chimed. “Not that you asked me to do that, of
course. But I thought that information would be helpful before venturing
blindly into the unknown.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” Eliza said, the AI dipping and dancing before
coming to rest at her shoulder, now ignoring Finn entirely.
“It was no trouble at all, really,” Daniel replied.
Finn just shook his head. Yep, just perfect. With a sigh, his fingers
danced through the air and the metal cuffs along his arms flared to life,
melting down and spinning away from him to form protective panels of
solid black metal that floated around him and Eliza.
“Oh, look. Now he’s being cautious,” Daniel observed to Eliza’s
subdued laughter.
“First time for everything,” Finn muttered, leaning into the teasing.
“Now we need to focus. We don’t know what might be inside these
buildings or if the club has other defensive systems.”
Eliza’s expression sobered, and she nodded, pulling closer and
wrapping her fingers around one of her wands. They set off, padding
forward quietly, and leaving a trail of footprints in the dust behind them.
Although, they quickly discovered their caution was unnecessary. The
building where they’d landed was deserted. Only broken furniture lined the
vacant structure, rusted metal pipes crisscrossing overhead. Finn was
guessing those pipes had once been used as a basic plumbing system, his
sight picking up concentrations of water mana at regular intervals – some
kind of pump or filter most likely.
They walked down the empty hallways, Finn carefully scanning
each room with his sight as he passed. He didn’t detect any large
fluctuations of mana inside, only the green glow of the walls. As they
neared the waypoint marker, a slight tremor ran through the floor, and the
group hesitated.
 “That must be a result of your plant,” Finn muttered, frustration
tinging his voice. “I’m guessing it weakened the structural integrity of this
section of the club. We just have to hope this area doesn’t collapse entirely
and take us with it.”
“I think you mean our plant,” Eliza reminded him, her eyes taking
on a sapphire hue.
Finn grimaced. She wasn’t wrong.
“A scowling silence usually means you’re right,” Daniel chirped.
“Congratulations. This is the quietest I’ve ever seen him.”
Finn just grimaced and kept going. Turning a corner, they arrived at
a partially open stone door. As he examined the mechanism, Finn could see
the doors were recessed into the walls. Whatever mechanism retracted
them looked to be completely unpowered. Which meant he was going to
have to brute force it.
His fingers twitched and his metal panels heated rapidly, melting
down and reforming into thick, razor-edged discs. With another gesture, he
set them to spinning and then inched them toward the doorway, holding up
another of his metal panels to protect himself and the group behind him.
The saws sent up a shower of sparks as they struck the stone, the heat soon
helping to work their way through the reinforced stone.
Nearly a full minute later, the stone fell away in a chunk, the edges
still glowing a bright red. However, Finn had carved a path forward. He
stepped through the hole without hesitation and surveyed the new semi-
circular room on the other side. His gaze was immediately riveted on the
far end of the room where blazing globes of energy hung suspended; no
doubt, the walls had obscured that mana from his sight. The light was
almost painful, and Finn switched to Short-Sighted – the generator coming
into better focus.
A series of mana crystals the size of his head hung there. Earth.
Fire. Air. The remaining affinities were absent, but the spheres for the
other three remained. It seemed likely that all six affinities had powered the
club at one point. Large threads of neurogem were connected to the
crystals, forming a translucent, glowing lattice around the globes. Those
conduits disappeared into the ceiling, running through the structure’s walls
and into the club.
Finn approached a stone panel that sat before the generator,
inspecting the console carefully. He tapped at the air to pull up his UI,
designs and images soon appearing in the air beside him. This console
resembled the stone interfaces that were used back in Sandscrit – both
taking many of their features from the technology Finn had discovered in
that research complex buried deep within the mountains south of Sandscrit.
Multicolor gems warded to provide commands were embedded in the
surface, and the whole apparatus was connected to the generator with more
of the neurogem material.
However, unlike the complex Finn had discovered, this generator
wasn’t pulling the mana from the atmosphere. Instead, it looked as though
it was meant to be powered a different way. Perhaps the club charged its
customers a mana toll? Although, Finn hadn’t seen any of the pedestals that
the mages in Vaerwald used to power their floating city.
The energy must have come from another source then.
“What… what is this thing?” Eliza murmured, interrupting his
thoughts. “It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.”
“The generator,” Finn grunted back. It looked like the interface had
been damaged. Several gems were fractured and broken like someone had
struck the console with something. Had <Death and Taxes> attempted to
sabotage the system?
He turned to look over his shoulder. For that matter, how was there
still so much mana stored here? The crystal storage was highly efficient but
some of the mana continued to leak from those gems. Over the course of
decades and centuries, those generator crystals should have been fully
depleted. Perhaps <Death and Taxes> had charged it?
But if they had entered this building, how had they gotten inside?
The door hadn’t been functional and he saw no signs of forced entry…
besides the still-smoldering block of stone and steel that rested in the
hallway outside, of course.
Tombs, Finn realized suddenly. The earth mage had been absent
from the duels. As had Blaze. The pair had likely been working on
bringing the generators back online using Tombs’ phasing ability to help
navigate the structures.
Finn felt the room shake again and glanced behind him in alarm…
only to see that Eliza had been at work. Vines now skittered up the walls of
the generator room and stretched out through the jagged hole cut in the door
before snaking down the adjoining hallway, the water mage’s display open
beside her and showing a map of the complex.
 “What are you doing?” Finn demanded.
“Reinforcing this building in case the stone gives way,” she
explained in a distracted voice. “And, as you mentioned, <Death and
Taxes> may be coming for us soon. We need defenses. It was either this or
just sitting here twiddling my thumbs while you do… well, whatever it is
you’re doing—”
“Moodily glaring at the console,” Daniel supplied.
Eliza smirked. “Sure. That.”
Finn stared for a moment. She was right.
“See what I mean?” Daniel chirped. “Dead quiet. What he meant to
say was, you’re right! That’s a fantastic idea! Thank you so much, Eliza,
for your foresight and contribution to our team’s survival. I really couldn’t
do it without you.
“Or something like that,” the elemental muttered. “Not that I would
know what Finn saying ‘thank you’ would actually sound like, of course.”
And now Finn was rubbing at his temple as he turned back to the
console. “Good work. Go, team,” he added dryly. “I just need to focus on
this. The console is damaged, but maybe…”
He trailed off as he inspected the generator with his sight. With a
pulse of energy, Daniel shifted forward and took a more detailed scan, a
three-dimensional model appearing in the air beside Finn. Destroying the
console might have stopped most people. But Finn wasn’t most people. He
was just going to have access the generator more directly.
Finn lifted his left arm, the crystal glimmering in the light cast by
the generator. With a thought, the material transformed, the fingers splitting
into many tendrils that slithered out toward the console and touched a
specific combination of crystalline conduits that formed the lattice around
the storage crystals. Flames swept down his arm and into that lattice as he
drew on his mana, and a searing burn arched up from his forearm, sweeping
into his bicep.
He let out a hissing breath. He hated doing this, but it was
necessary.
His eyes centered on the console, and Finn began manipulating the
mana, the light inside his crystalline arm shifting and changing as he
accessed the generator directly. Immediately, a model of the Mile-High
Club appeared in the air, glowing a bright yellow. Their current position
was marked with a red dot, several more scattered throughout the ruined
city. Other dots highlighted in yellow shined throughout the floating city,
including a spot of amber light nestled inside the tower that lingered on the
far edge of the club.
“What are those yellow spots?” Eliza asked, walking up beside him.
“Other generators,” Finn answered in a distracted voice. “Ahh,
there it is...”
Another screen flashed into existence, this one showcasing the city’s
mana-based infrastructure. Most of the services appeared to be offline or
damaged. Finn could see that the city had once housed thousands of
people, with screens lining almost every inch of rock. It seemed only a
handful had been repurposed by <Death and Taxes> for Bard’s
advertisements. Erosion and low mana likely explained that. Most of the
generators were running on empty, and the gems that projected those
displays must be fractured and broken.
Which lent credibility to his theory that <Death and Taxes> had
brought specific generators back online, matching the path that the avatars
would be taking on either side of the ring. The fact that the neurogem
conduits were still intact also meant that Finn could get a decent picture of
the whole ring – even if some subsections were offline.
However, he couldn’t access the generator on the far end of the
complex. It looked like it had either been designed to be a standalone grid
or <Death and Taxes> had severed the conduits. Worse yet, it looked like
that generator powered the so-called “safety” systems that were keeping
them trapped on this floating piece of rock. So, leaving was out, but they
could at least make this place a bit more… hospitable.
“Perfect.” A smile tugged at Finn’s lips as he finally found what he
was looking for.
A chime sounded as the console flashed brightly, and a mechanized
voice suddenly spoke up, “Sweeping Wind deactivated in subsections D-5,
C-9, J-4, K-3, Q-23…” That voice droned on listing section names.
Finn hesitated, his brow furrowing as he saw an unusual item listed
in the club’s services menu. “The Bouncers?” Finn muttered under his
breath. Who named these services? But, more importantly, was that some
sort of security system? It made sense that this flying city would need a
police force. Guests could become inebriated and unruly even in this
universe. Fire thrummed through Finn’s veins at the thought of turning the
city’s own defenses against their hosts.
 “Damn it,” he muttered. “It’s offline.”
“What is?” Eliza asked.
“This,” Finn murmured.
Finn’s crystalline limb surged with mana, and the display changed.
It now highlighted a building a few blocks from their position and well
outside the path their opponents had created along Finn and Eliza’s side of
the ring. The building was located on a different power grid, and that
generator was offline – its crystal drained dry.
“I think this structure houses part of the club’s security system,”
Finn explained. More displays popped into existence beside the map,
showcasing information on the structure. “It’s supposed to hold something
called… Bouncer Bots? My guess is that the city had an automated police
force back in its prime.”
Fire was coursing through his body as he continued. “If I could get
over there and get the generator up and running, I could possibly bring them
back online. Which might mean reinforcements,” he offered, grinning at
Eliza.
“Assuming the bots use fire mana as a power source,” Daniel added
dryly.
Finn waved a hand. “And if not? We’ll just make a few
modifications.”
“That’s interesting, but what about Jason and Alexion?” Eliza
insisted.
Finn frowned, and another surge of mana ran down his arm. The
display shifted from a map to a camera view, the image flitting from one
scene of devastation to the next, showcasing the barren remains of the club.
The screen stopped on a broken arena where a dome of light obscured Jason
and Alexion from sight. But the energy at least gave away their location.
“What are they doing?” Eliza asked, curiosity coloring her voice.
“Who knows, but they clearly don’t want anyone to see,” Finn
grunted back.
“Is there any way to regroup with them?” Eliza asked.
“Already on it,” Finn replied slowly. “And… there we go!”
The display suddenly showed the undamaged lights along the
ceiling of the arena shift position, the projector crystals now pointing at a
small, unbroken section of wall. They spelled out a crude message, the
colors shifting and flickering. All Finn could manage was “Follow Me,”
with an arrow pointing toward the exit. He’d repurposed some of the
smaller screens along the buildings to continue pointing the way… creating
a trail of breadcrumbs for the pair to follow.
“Now we just need them to stop whatever it is they’re working on,”
Finn added.
“Sure, but where are you leading them?” Eliza asked.
“It looks like there’s some sort of ferry system – likely intended to
help cross between parts of the ring,” Finn explained. “I’ve brought the
system on their side back online and connected it to a dock on our end. All
the systems say they’re online. That should allow them to meet up with
us.”
Another chime suddenly rang out. “Camera systems deactivated in
subsections D-5, C-9, J-4, K-3, Q-23…” The display floating before them
suddenly vanished.
“What’re you doing now? Don’t we need to keep eyes on them?”
Eliza demanded.
“If we can see them, so can <Death and Taxes>. They’ll be fine.
And if Jason is trying to hide what he’s doing, then we should help him.
Besides…” Finn trailed off, his brow furrowing in concentration as a series
of pulses ran down his arm.
“There it is,” he muttered, a new display popping up before him. It
now showed the city in a series of colored sections.
“Is that a temperature map?” Eliza asked, cocking her head. “Oh,
you must have repurposed the AC control and turned it into a sensor.”
Finn glanced at her as Eliza peered at the screen, adjusting her
glasses with one hand.
She noticed him watching her. “What?” Eliza asked. “It’s cold up
here with the wind and moisture. And if the structure is as old as it looks, it
may have once catered to different races. So, the guests might have had
different needs. It seems reasonable that whoever built this place would
include some sort of climate control.”
“Yeah… yeah, it is,” Finn replied. The girl was clever. He’d give
her that. “And those dots there denote the location of <Death and Taxes>.
They seem to be grouped up in that tower along the northern edge of the
club. We might be flying blind on who each dot represents, but their
location is still important intel.”
 He paused, watching as those dots broke apart. Two were moving
toward Jason and Alexion, and another pair were heading their way.
However, their opponents were affected by the same systems, which meant
no flight. And travel by foot could be slow, especially with the city in
ruins. They had time, just not much.
“Looks like we’re about to have company,” Eliza murmured.
“Yeah, they must have noticed that I deactivated the cameras and
locked them out of these sections,” Finn grunted. “I’d wager we have less
than twenty minutes until they arrive.”
He abruptly disconnected his arm, the crystal slithering back into
place to form fingers, a thumb, and a palm. Finn wiggled his fingers
experimentally, the dull burn slowly subsiding. It was good enough – he
could work through the pain.
Finn took a deep breath. “Which means I might have a window to
get those bouncer bots online. Can you hold this location? I’ve routed the
generator’s remaining power to the other subsection, and I’m going to need
that energy. Best case, we’ll be able to use <Death and Taxes’> own mana
against them.”
“And worst case?” Eliza demanded.
Finn grimaced. “We die and roll the dice on whatever that means up
here. I’m sure <Death and Taxes> has something special lined up at the
respawn point.”
He looked at her squarely. “They’ll likely come here first since the
cameras are down. They’ll know we were messing with the generator. It’ll
be two on one.”
Finn grimaced. “If you die, make sure you come back guns
blazing. They’re going to be waiting for you, understand?”
Eliza’s eyes widened, her hand clenching more firmly around her
wand. Finn could see her mana rippling and pulsing. Fear. Doubt.
Anxiety. He recognized those patterns now after using his Mana Sight for
so long.
“You sure you’re up for this?” he asked.
Her eyes flashed sapphire, and he saw that same energy flood her
body, pushing away those other emotions. “I’m good,” Eliza answered
curtly.
Finn hesitated only a moment longer. She wasn’t good. He could
see that. But this was the best option they had. And Eliza had insisted that
he needed to start treating her like a team member – not just some silly little
girl.
Finn just nodded. “Good,” was all he said.
Then he pivoted and set off, waving at Daniel to follow, the
elemental flashing at Eliza once before departing and flying after Finn.
With a twitch of his fingers, flames erupted along Finn’s skin, and it
suddenly felt like molten metal had been poured into his veins, but his
movements sped up rapidly. He didn’t have much time, but with Eliza’s
buffs, he didn’t have to hold back.
With that last thought, Finn took off, racing down the hallways
toward the yellow waypoint marker hovering in the distance. He could only
hope he made it in time…
Eliza was left standing in the room – wand clutched in hand. A
display hovered beside her, showing her vegetation spreading throughout
complex, green tendrils coiling through the model of the generator
compound. Yet she knew that the plants wouldn’t be enough to stop her
opponents. Not alone. Not as she was right now.
She was going to need to try something new.
Biting her lip, Eliza’s hand slipped into a bag at her waist. The truth
was that she might have gotten a bit obsessed with her work in the Sea’s
Edge. And with no need to be secretive or worry about the occasional
accidental explosion or pesky commercial details like whether she could
mass manufacture and sell her concoctions, she’d had far more room to
experiment.
Eliza withdrew a vial, eyeing the contents. It was a dull gray, a
shimmering rainbow of color occasionally spiraling through the vessel.
Creating this particular substance had been ungodly expensive – or at least,
so the Hippie had complained – but Fluffy had let her do it anyway. She
slid the vial into her injector, the container locking into place with a
foreboding click.
She stared at that syringe, her fear pushing back at the water mana
that flooded her veins. She hadn’t had a chance to run many test trials. Just
a few.
They had ended with… mixed results.
“But desperate times,” she murmured, lifting the injector to her
forearm.
And, taking a deep breath, she hit the button.
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 42 - Improved
Pewpew lay upon rough stone, wind whipping at her armor. She
sighted down her rifle, peering through the scope as she chewed on a piece
of gum. Bumbleberry flavor – one of Bard’s less irritating products.
Although, she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask how he made it. Pewpew
tapped at the scope with one hand, and the mana gems embedded inside
gave a soft flash of air and light mana, the scope zooming further in.
“What do you see?” Smiles grunted from beside her. They were
positioned on one of the upper floors of the tower on the far end of the
club. A spot with good visibility.
Pewpew let out a low whistle. “Damn. On the western side,
something destroyed a decent section of the club – almost cut entirely
through the ring. It’s barely holding together now, pieces of debris flying
up into the central tornado. No sign of Finn or Eliza.” She shifted slightly,
angling her rifle to the east. “And no movement yet from Edgelord and
Captain Nightlight.”
Another moment of hesitation from the girl, and then she continued,
“Our teams will be closing in on their targets soon. ETA five minutes.”
“Hmm,” Smiles hummed. He shifted, looking over his shoulder.
“Tombs?”
The earth mage stood before a panel, the console flashing with
multicolored gems and throwing shadows across his smiling mask. At his
back hovered another crystal generator – this one blazing with a mixture of
energy, its storage crystals framed in a delicate lattice of the neurogem
material.
“Fuck,” the earth mage muttered as he punched the stone, the
surface cracking… only for Tombs to let out a curse and wring his hand,
massaging his knuckles.
“Going that well, huh?” Pewpew quipped.
“No, no, it’s not going well. Do you know how long I spent getting
these generators back online? Repairing those fucking arenas? Learning
how to use this stupid system? Like, what even is this shit? It looks like it
was designed by Gandalf if he’d finally stopped smoking so much Hobbit
‘weed’ and decided to go back to school to get his software engineering
degree. And after all that work, they just—” Tombs cut himself off, closing
his eyes and taking several deep breaths to calm himself.
“I’d read that story actually,” Pewpew quipped. “That dude was
useless. Seriously, for a 2000-year-old wizard, he only seemed to cast Light
and Brighter Light. He and Captain Nightlight would have gotten along
great.” She cocked her head, still staring down her scope. “I guess what
I’m saying is that I could kick Gandalf’s ass.”
“He could sort of manipulate smoke,” Tombs offered.
“So, he’s a shittier version of Smokes?”
“And there was also the telekinetic staff fighting—”
“Which would have been super convenient if he and his party had
gotten attacked by… let’s say some goblin archers a few dozen times or
so,” Pewpew replied sarcastically. “I guess instead of plot armor, he has
plot magic.”
“Like I said,” Tombs grunted, his hands darting across the panel,
“I’m pretty sure he was stoned the whole time. You gotta give the guy a
break. He probably forgot he had that spell.”
Pewpew blew a bubble, letting it pop loudly. “You might be on to
something there. Although, I still say he wasn’t technically the worst
wizard. That award goes to the dweeby kid with the glasses and the
lobotomy scar,” she muttered. “His parents were probably the ones that
tried to kill him and not some evil wizard. Seven whole years of wizard
school, and he could only cast one spell? That’s grounds for a magical
abortion if I ever saw one.”
“Shit,” Tombs muttered, shaking his hand, the panel sparking with
mana. Then he glanced at Pewpew, his brow scrunched in thought. “That’s
actually a fair point, though. They probably got into a fight with that dark
wizard or whatever after he called CPS on them. Like some sort of magical
domestic dispute.”
“And, of course, Godwin’s Law applies. So, it gets twisted, and
everyone starts calling him the new wizard Hitler and all for looking out for
that poor, stupid kid,” Pewpew replied with a nod. “Cancel culture, am I
right? He was just being a Volde-bro.”
Smiles shook his head. He needed to end this discussion quickly.
Otherwise, they’d never stop. He’d apparently recruited a bunch of nerds.
Go figure.
“I take it the system is down?” he asked Tombs.
 “Down doesn’t even begin to cover it,” the earth mage growled,
glaring at the console. “Finn disabled the cameras and Sweeping Wind
across all active subsections, and I can’t do jack about it. He’s locked me
out – some sort of new superuser account. The only saving grace is that he
wasn’t able to mess with the generator behind me because it’s on its own
network. So, we’re flying blind, and there’s nothing forcing those assholes
along the paths we created.”
Tombs stared out at the club below him. “All of that work for
nothing.”
“Not for nothing,” Smiles answered in a measured tone. “We still
have the data from the first few matches. And we anticipated that this
might be a possibility, which is why we destroyed the conduits to this
generator. Everything is still proceeding within acceptable mission
parameters. For now, you should focus on helping Bard set up the finale.”
“Will we even get to use it?” Tombs demanded.
Smiles shrugged. “They have to come here eventually. There’s no
other way off the club besides disabling that generator behind you or
stealing our gate fragments. Both options require them to come here,” he
offered, his eyes drifting down to the massive coliseum at the base of the
tower. “We just need to keep them suppressed and buy a little more time.”
Tombs heaved out a sigh. “You’re right… I know you’re right.”
Another sigh. “I’ll go help Bard then.” With that, he Phased into the stone
at his feet, disappearing from sight.
“Just in time,” Pewpew murmured from beside Smiles. “Looks like
Blaze and Smokes are closing in on team Midnight Sparkle.”
“You good at this range?” Smiles asked.
Pewpew just smirked. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Just checking,” Smiles replied.
“So, uh, do I need to hold back this time or…” Pewpew trailed off.
“No, no, you don’t.”
“And collateral damage?”
“Blaze and Smokes know the rules of engagement.”
Pewpew let out a cackle as she turned her attention back to her
rifle’s scope, her lips curling into a mad smile that matched her mask.
“This is going to be fun.”

* * *
 Jason let out a hissing breath as the new limb attached to his leg,
bands of darkness spiraling up toward the ruined flesh just below his knee.
That mana burrowed into his skin, adhering to ligament, muscle, and bone
with a searing, icy burn that only faded gradually.
“You’re such a wimp,” Alexion grumbled as another globe of golden
light infused Jason’s leg at the knee, the pain receding quickly as the broken
skin and blood vessels were swiftly repaired. And finally, mercifully, the
icy burn faded.
“You want to trade places?” Jason grunted back.
“I’m good,” Alexion replied. “But you’d think you’d have gotten
used to this by the fourth limb,” he offered, waving at Jason’s legs.
He had a point. Jason had even gained a new skill.

New Skill: Masochism

After extensive…um, self-mutilation, your body and mind have
become more resilient to self-inflicted damage, reducing the pain
caused by such injuries. At higher levels, masters of this skill were
known to set themselves on fire without feeling a thing. Not that
we’re recommending this, of course. Please, please don’t set yourself
on fire.
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 2
Effect 1: -51% pain on self-inflicted wounds.
Effect 2: -21% bleed damage on self-inflicted wounds.

Masochism had helped tremendously with blunting the pain. Jason

could only assume it took a few dozen severed limbs to obtain the skill,
which likely meant he was one of the few – if only – travelers that had been
crazy or stupid enough to obtain it. However, even with the lack of pain,
there was still something visceral about losing a limb… no matter how
many times he tried to convince himself it wasn’t real.
Thankfully, that was over now. Both forearms and forelegs had
been replaced with new appendages.
Jason tried to wiggle his new toes, the bone only creaking at first
before responding slowly, the dark mana that wrapped the limb flexing and
pulsing. The nerve endings were always the last thing to fully heal. It took
them some time to establish a link to the new limb. After a few more
seconds, the foot was responding properly and Jason pushed himself
upright, weaving unsteadily for a moment before catching his balance on a
nearby boulder.
“They seem to be working,” Jason offered, flexing his skeletal
hands.
With a swipe of his new fingers, he brought up his prompts:

Skeletal Augments
Limb Level Effects
Legs 289 Reinforced, Fire Resist, Air Burst
Arms 289 Reinforced, Fire Resist, Rotating, Stave Retraction
NA
NA
Sustain Cost 3,000 Mana
Total Body Augmentation: 30%

x1 Level Up!
You have (5) undistributed stat points.

New Skill: Body Augmentation

Through a creative use of Custom Skeleton, you have unlocked a new
ability which allows you to replace your limbs with creations
constructed from bone and dark mana. The augmentations will
replace existing limbs. If an augment is destroyed, the former limb
will not regrow until respawn, logout, or the use of a master-rank
healing spell or higher. Limb augments can be upgraded through the
use of Bone Crafting, providing additional effects and abilities.
Skill Level: Beginner Level 6
Effect 1: +15% health to body augments.

x1 Skill Rank Up: Bone Crafting

Skill Level: Expert Level 2
Effect 1: May currently alter the composition of bone by 25%.
Effect 2: Can combine high-quality crafting materials with the bones.
 Effect 3: May create more sophisticated structures from pure dark
mana.

Jason swiped those prompts aside. He had been training Bone

Crafting diligently since the events in Sandscrit – preparing for this next
step. That had unlocked the ability to better manipulate dark mana with his
skeletons. He’d used that ability before – the storage sac for his venom
spitters or the panels of dark mana used in the dragon’s wings. However,
these new limbs required something much more intricate. For example,
Jason had been forced to spin dark mana into braided bands to mimic
muscle and tendon.
Even more interesting, the game appeared to be treating his new
augmentations as a form of minion, which meant they inherited the level
cap that applied to Custom Skeleton. They didn’t count toward his Control
Limit, but they imposed a large reserve cost, taking up a considerable
portion of his mana – which doubled as his health as a Shade. On the other
hand, since each limb now had its own health pool, that wasn’t a major
limitation. If anything, Jason had gained quite a bit of additional health by
incorporating these new limbs.
“So, do they work? Or did we spend all this time messing around
for nothing?” Alexion grumbled, shifting impatiently.
Jason pushed the cuffs of his pants back down to cover his calves
and replaced his leather armor, his new creations now hidden from view.
Only the dark mana that wrapped his knuckles gave him away. “I guess
we’ll see.”
Jason took off across the broken arena, walking unsteadily for a few
paces before he broke into a jogging gait. His balance quickly improved as
he became accustomed to the limbs – it was just an unusual feeling to send
instructions to his legs. He couldn’t feel any feedback that he was running
– only a numb sensation below each knee. As his gait continued to
improve, Jason pushed himself up into a Sprint. He noticed his stamina was
depleting more slowly.
That was interesting. His skeletons didn’t typically have stamina –
much like the other Kin. Perhaps the game was giving him a discount on
his stamina consumption to account for the replacement of his forelegs,
which just made him wonder what would happen if he replaced the limbs
entirely…
 He shook that thought off. He didn’t have the means or materials to
tackle that right now. And besides, he still had a few more limbs to test.
The bones of his forearms shifted and snapped, the two sections of
his staff rotating out of the limbs and anchored in place along the bone,
leaving his hands and fingers free. Then, with a few gestures and muttered
words, Soul Blades extended from the edges of those staves as Jason raced
toward a large clump of stone nearly ten feet tall. He spun as he passed, his
blades cutting deeply into the stone in a blazing series of blows as his
momentum carrying him past the boulder.
Jason kicked off the wall with his right foot, and an amber crystal
blazed to life, sending out a gust of wind that launched him back in the
other direction – the bones and mana in his legs creaking in protest but
holding. His other foot let out another blast of wind to correct his trajectory
in mid-air, pivoting his feet forward. The bone soon made contact with the
backside of the boulder, and the top half of the rock shifted and broke free,
sliding to the floor and landing with a thunderous crash that sent dust
spewing in every direction.
Jason landed neatly nearby, his staves retracting back into his
forearms, and the gems embedded in his feet beginning to dim, tucked away
beneath a layer of dark mana that would obscure them from sight. No sense
in giving away his abilities before he had a chance to use them.
“Seems to be working just fine,” Jason said with a grin and a glance
at Alexion.
Despite his previously sour tone, the avatar of light was smiling as
he watched the result of their hard work. However, as he noticed Jason
watching, his regular mask slid back into place, the young man letting out a
sniff. “Not terrible.”
“You try out your upgrades?” Jason asked as he returned to Alexion.
The avatar of light looked down at the sword now swinging from his
other hip. Jason had been forced to use a considerable portion of his stash
of dark ore to build that blade – once again thanking Cecil for his foresight.
Technically, the blade was no sword at all. It was just another skeleton, the
minion taking another chunk out of Jason’s mana pool and dark mana
sliding down its surface. However, the cost was worth it, in his opinion.
Alexion pulled the blade free and channeled his light mana down the
blade. It bloomed to life, not in a haze of gold, but with a sickly, pulsating
purple glow. At the same time, Jason saw the sword’s health begin to drop
slowly using his Summon Information panel. They had needed to conduct a
few experiments to pull this off. While dark and light mana could be
combined, the effect was still damaging to the underlying bone used in
Jason’s summons. So, Alexion was forced to use just a small touch of
power to create the stat-draining effect. The metal imbued into the bone
also helped improve the durability.
Even so, that sword wouldn’t last forever – not unless Jason figured
out a way to passively heal the skeleton. That might provide a sort of
recharge effect—
“Not bad,” Alexion murmured, interrupting Jason’s thoughts and
staring at the blade. Then, with a wink, his power dissipated, and he
sheathed it. “But we’re going to need to find someone to fight to test it
properly without breaking it.”
“Indeed, we are,” Jason muttered, his brow furrowed.
Something was off, but it took him a moment to realize what was
missing. The Sweeping Wind was gone. The amber energy had simply
vanished, leaving a line in the stone where it had last stood a few yards
away, inching ever closer. Now that he was paying attention, Jason also
noticed that the arena had changed. Several of the lights overhead were
active again, the gems fractured and casting flickering colored beams
through the room.
Jason craned his head, tracing those beams, and Alexion followed
his gaze, noticing something was amiss. Now that the barrier of light had
been dispelled, the pair could see lights dancing across the nearby wall in a
familiar pattern, spelling out a message and a glowing orange arrow
pointing toward the exit. “Follow Me,” was all it said. He doubted <Death
and Taxes> would be quite that subtle and it had been some time since Bard
had pestered them, the screen normally floating overhead having vanished.
That could only mean one thing.
“It looks like Finn and Eliza finally wandered off the ruined brick
road,” Jason murmured. “About damn time.”
Alexion just grunted. “That must explain why the Sweeping Wind
hasn’t forced us forward yet and the screen and cameras are gone. Which
means they don’t have eyes on us.”
Jason cracked his neck, pulling his hood back into place to obscure
his face and his cloak sweeping out around him. “You’re probably right.
But that also means we may have company soon. I doubt that <Death and
Taxes> are going to just sit on their hands. I’m sure they’ve noticed Finn’s
meddling by now. Which means they’re probably already heading this
way.”
Alexion just sniffed, panels of light flashing into existence along
across his body. “Good,” he replied, his hand gripping his sword and
pulling it free with a scrape of metal. “I was looking forward to a rematch
anyway.” He glanced to the side at Jason. “You ready to move?”
“Almost,” Jason murmured. With a wave of Jason’s hand, his Bone
Armor slid into place, now focused solely on his unprotected chest, arms,
thighs, and head, allowing him to make the bone thicker and stronger –
more akin to light platemail. It reduced his flexibility, but that was a small
price to pay for more protection.
Once he was finished Jason looked to Alexion, the avatar meeting
his eyes – one a white knight blazing with light, the other a demon of
shadow, wrapped in death and darkness. An unlikely team, but one they
had learned to make work. And etched across both their faces was the same
expression, an understanding born of hours of fighting and grueling
hardship.
It was time to get even—to bring the fight to their captors.
Without a word, Jason and Alexion turned toward the exit, following
the glowing orange arrows – a path provided by Finn.
From now on, they would be fighting on their own terms.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 43 - Ferryman
“This feels too easy,” Jason muttered.
Alexion nodded, the pair making their way slowly through the
ruined club, their path illuminated by a series of flickering orange arrows.
Finn had repurposed the many busted screens that littered every inch of the
club to provide a trail of flashing breadcrumbs. Which only left Jason
wondering where the hell the avatar of flame was directing them. They
appeared to be moving toward the interior of the ring – the gigantic tornado
in the center of the club growing ever larger as they approached.
Jason didn’t see how they were getting through that thing.
Maybe he should have built some damn wings…
The pair flitted from the cover of one building to another, keeping
out of line of sight of the tower to the north. They were both quite familiar
with Pewpew’s uncanny aim and while that structure was more than a mile
away, they weren’t taking any chances. In contrast, the other members of
<Death and Taxes> posed less of a threat – at least in terms of catching
them off guard. After a failed “test,” they had determined that the club’s
“safety features” were still enabled, which explained the foul look on
Alexion’s face.
He had crash landed. Again.
Either way, that meant the other members of <Death and Taxes>
would need to approach on foot. That made them slow and easier to spot.
They could send Queen after them, of course. However, Jason suspected
that was unlikely. With her vendetta against Finn, she would probably
insist on taking him out. And since they almost certainly wouldn’t send
Blaze after Finn given his ability to absorb heat with his crystalline arm –
Jason was guessing she was among the force that would be intercepting
them.
Which made Smokes her best companion. That was his guess,
anyway.
However, his worry appeared unfounded as they soon arrived at
their destination without issue – no sign of their enemies or sniper fire
pinning them down.
Although, their journey only got more unusual from there.
 “What the fuck is this?” Alexion muttered, waving at the scene
before them.
“I have no idea,” Jason grunted back.
The pair were crouched in the shadows of another ruined structure,
several dozen glowing arrows all pointing toward a lone booth that was
positioned along the edge of the ring. A large courtyard lingered around the
structure, with trash and debris littering the stone. What appeared to be
velvet ropes, the material faded and soaked with moisture, mold growing
along the ruined fabric. Fragments of wood and rusted metal – possibly
from ruined stalls. Nothing large enough to act as cover, just trip them up
and get in their way if they tried to make a rush for that stall.
Was Finn leading them on a wild goose chase? Or was something
else going on here? Was this just another game? Had <Death and Taxes>
sent them those signs – lured them into thinking that their allies were
helping them? Yet that didn’t quite add up. Why would they also disable
the cameras and the Sweeping Wind?
There was only one way to find out.
“We need to inspect that booth,” Jason said.
“You mean that deathtrap. There’s no cover out there besides that
flimsy-looking booth.”
“Well, then let’s hope we don’t need it,” Jason grunted back. “What
we do need is a distraction—” Then he shoved Alexion.
The avatar of light stumbled out into the courtyard ringing the
booth, his light-infused armor highlighting him as a target. Immediately, a
boom rocked the northern part of the club and Alexion shot to the side with
a snap of his wings, angling himself into another road adjacent to the
courtyard. He moved just in time. A massive bolt of electricity slammed
into the spot he had just been standing, blasting away the stone and sending
up a shower of dust and debris.
Which was exactly what Jason needed.
He took off, a burst of amber energy erupting from his feet and
sending him racing forward. His skeletal hands gripped the edge of the
booth as he neared, halting his momentum as he slid behind the structure,
keeping the booth between him and that damn tower. Dust swirled and
collided around him, drifting back to the ground. Hopefully, Pewpew
hadn’t seen him change positions with the dust acting as cover.
 “What the fuck was that?” Alexion shouted from the road over,
glaring at him.
“Me moving into position,” Jason shot back. “Now keep an eye out
for the others. If Pewpew is watching us this closely and chose to start
firing, they can’t be far away.”
“While you do what exactly?” Alexion grumbled back.
“Figure out what this booth is for,” Jason muttered, slowly rising to
his feet.
As soon as he was facing the booth, the structure lit up in a dazzling
display of lights, many flickering and busted. A chime rang out and was
accompanied by a disembodied voice. “Welcome, welcome, welcome to the
Very Fast Ferry – your go-to stop for getting around the Mile-High Club.
How can I assist you today?”
“I need to get to the other side of the club,” Jason offered
tentatively.
“Oh my, it appears that many of our booths are currently offline for
repairs and maintenance. Only one other booth appears to be operational.
We do apologize for the inconvenience, but perhaps we can still assist you
with your transit?”
Well, at least this might offer a way across the club—
Jason’s thoughts were cut short as another boom rocked the city. He
ducked for cover. Had Pewpew seen him? Possibly Alexion?
However, his worry appeared unfounded as the bolt crashed into the
line of buildings along the edge of the courtyard. Jason’s brow furrowed as
he realized she hadn’t been aiming for either Alexion or him. But that girl
didn’t miss unless she had a good reason…
As the debris cleared, Jason could see that Pewpew had carved a
hole in the building, revealing a narrow alley on the other side. And
through that opening came two familiar figures, one lying on a bed of
smoke and the other’s hair aflame. Blaze and Smokes eyed the courtyard,
inspecting it carefully. Already, coils of smoke were drifting forward,
slithering along the ground as they filled the courtyard. Apparently, they
knew they had cover fire and they didn’t need to push forward. Smokes
would find them soon if they didn’t act quickly.
“Fuck,” Jason muttered, ducking back behind the booth. He needed
some time to get this booth working and if they took it out before he was
finished… well, it was going to be a pain in the ass to regroup with the
others. They also couldn’t afford to die. No doubt, their opponents had
planned for that contingency already.
Jason motioned to Alexion who peered around his own cover. He
was silently trying to convey his point, which translated into something
like, “Go be a big dumb decoy again!”
Alexion glared back with an expression that said, “Fuck you. I’m
not bait.”
“It’s that or we die,” Jason pantomimed back, slicing his own throat.
Alexion sighed, shaking his head… then he stepped out from behind
the building, his wings snapping as he shot away down a nearby alley.
Smokes and Blaze looked at each other and then took off after him,
explosions erupting in the distance as Pewpew lay down suppressive fire,
each boom accompanied by a blast of rock and debris.
Jason moved quickly, rising and facing the booth. “Okay, yeah, we
need some transportation. Like now… immediately.”
“Fantastic,” that voice chimed back. “Do you have a frequent flyer
discount card by chance, it helps save time and mana.”
“I don’t,” Jason ground out as another explosion erupted in the
distance.
“Would you like to sign up? It’s a simple and fast process that also
allows you to apply for additional points at other club facilities including,
the Death-Laser Tag, Balls of Steel, and our world-renowned—”
“No, I’m good,” Jason growled as another explosion rocked the
club, and he saw Alexion’s health plummet, only to replenish a moment
later as he healed his injuries. “I just need to travel to that other working
booth now!”
“I appreciate that you’re in a hurry, but first, you will need to sign
our death, dismemberment, and gruesome, catastrophic injury form.” A
screen rippled into existence, showing a lengthy contract, the terms
scrolling, and scrolling and scrolling. “This helps protect the club in the
event that you suffer any injuries during your travels, including, but not
limited to decapitation, dismemberment, blood loss, cerebral hemorrhage,
heart attack, incineration, stabbing…”
“What the fuck kind of ferry is this?” Jason muttered.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine with all of that,” he offered, interrupting the
booth once more. He scrawled out a hasty signature with his finger at the
bottom, and another chime rang out.
 “Fantastic, now you—”
“I just need a damn ferry,” Jason interrupted, blasts echoing in the
distance. They were getting closer. Much closer. No doubt, Alexion was
circling back.
“I understand your urgency, sir. All our guests are anxious to
sample our first-class amenities and games. Unfortunately, there are a few
patrons waiting in line ahead of you. You’ll need to take a number,” the
voice chimed back, a small token emerging from a slot in the booth.
Jason just stared at the token before looking at the barren courtyard
around him. “What guests?” he demanded. “There’s no one here.”
“I understand your urgency—” the booth began to repeat once
more.
Jason let out a frustrated growl before ripping the token free. Only
to hesitate as he stared down at the chit. The material was more solid than
simple paper, and a small glowing gem was affixed to the surface beneath a
number – 1004. Jason looked up to see that another flickering screen had
appeared. It was currently on number 935.
“Gods damn it,” Jason muttered. The explosions were definitely
getting closer as Alexion circled back. He didn’t have much time.
Where were the other token holders? There was clearly no one
here. He hesitated. But was the booth tracking the guests or the tokens?
He looked around his feet and froze. Jason stooped, his skeletal hands
swiping away a pile of debris. Another token was wedged under the edge
of the booth. He scraped at it with ivory fingers, working it free.
Number 976.
Taking a chance, Jason promptly crushed the token between his
fingers, the light flickering out. The booth dinged, and the voice rang out
again. “Guest Number 976, it appears that your token has gone offline.
Please see the booth for a replacement.”
Okay, so I can destroy them, Jason thought to himself. That should
let him cut in line. But he was going to need something that could scour the
area without destroying the booth—
His thoughts were interrupted as Alexion came dashing back into
the courtyard with a snap of his wings. His armor was singed, his skin
burnt and bleeding. And it looked like one of his wings was on fire, which
might explain why he crash-landed on his back, tucking in his wings, and
rolling forcefully across the ground before slamming up against the booth.
But at least that move extinguished the flames, Alexion pulling himself
back to his feet with a groan and a flash of white energy as he healed his
wounds.
“They’re back,” Alexion grunted.
Indeed, Jason could see Blaze and Smokes enter the courtyard, their
eyes meeting his. “Oh, damn,” Jason muttered.
“So, we meet again,” Smokes offered with a yawn as he lounged on
a bed of smoke, tendrils of vapor billowing up behind him to form a
massive wall that stretched dozens of feet into the air – a function of the
many, many burning buildings that now lingered behind him. The stone
might be fire resistant, but the Sweeping Wind had been disabled, leaving
plenty of flammable trash. And with Pewpew busting open the surrounding
buildings, that likely only offered up more fodder for Blaze.
Speaking of which, Blaze stepped forward, her body completely
engulfed in flame and her hair ablaze. “These two are mine. I haven’t had
a turn yet.”
Smokes just snorted as the gray mist expanded around them,
effectively walling Jason and Alexion into that courtyard – leaving only an
opening at their backs where that tornado swirled. Either Smokes couldn’t
control the mist with that much wind, or he didn’t think the pair were crazy
enough to jump. Or possibly both.
“Well then, be my guest. But you’re going to have trouble telling
Pewpew that—”
Smokes was cut off as another blast detonated to the north. Alexion
and Jason didn’t hesitate; they broke formation, darting in opposite
directions. The lightning bolt struck with tremendous force, carving a
chunk out of the top of the booth, and sending up another shower of dust as
it impacted the courtyard on the other side. Jason spared a glance over his
shoulder but luckily the lights were still on in the booth.
“We would appreciate it if you would wait your turn,” that voice
spoke up. “Attacking the other guests waiting in line is a real party foul.
Don’t be that person.”
However, as Jason saw Blaze step forward, her flames pushing away
the dust, he saw the heat envelop a chit lying along the ground at her feet,
burning swiftly through the material. He held his breath, his eyes skimming
back to the booth as he waited for—
 “Guest Number 984, it appears that your token has gone offline,
please see the booth for a replacement,” that voice soon chimed.
An idea bloomed in Jason’s mind. His guess was that the rest of
those chits were nearby, pushed up against the nearby buildings and buried
under dirt, dust, and debris. Which meant he just needed to get Blaze mad.
Mad enough to sweep the entire area with her Fire Nova.
Another blast detonated and Jason was moving again. The building
at his back exploded in a shower of electricity and fragments of jagged
rock. Blaze was too close to the blast and was forced to increase the heat of
her aura, using the flames to melt down the stone fragments before they
could cut at her skin.
Unfortunately, his plan wouldn’t work if Pewpew killed them all
first or destroyed the booth. With the wall of smoke ringing the courtyard,
she must be firing blind. Seriously, did she not care at all about hitting her
own teammates…
Jason hesitated as a sudden realization occurred to him. Pewpew’s
shots had been far too accurate given that she couldn’t see. Which only
meant one thing. A smile pulled at his lips as another crazy idea flittered
through his mind.
This was going to be fun… and painful.
“Any last words?” Blaze asked.
“Yeah, but first… I have a question. Exactly how old are you?”
Jason quipped. “Should you even be playing this game? I’m actually
worried your heart might give out.”
Blaze let out a growl. “What’re you trying to say, boy?”
“I’m saying, shouldn’t someone your age be in a home? You
certainly shouldn’t be playing a videogame. Hell, if you give me a second,
I might have some pudding in my bag…” he trailed off, making a show of
checking his bag.
In the wake of the attack on Barrow, Jason had spent time scouring
the videos of the siege on the guild hall – looking for any hints about their
opponents or their abilities. He’d discovered one clip of Blaze when she
destroyed the barrier around the guild hall. One part in particular had stood
out clearly for him… something Blaze had screamed about pudding and
bingo before charging into Evelyn’s guild hall in a blaze of fire.
His comment clearly touched a nerve. Blaze didn’t respond, but her
fire aura increased in size, expanding outward forcefully, and the color
changed to a blue-ish red as the heat ratcheted up a level. This also forced
Smokes back, the man drifting off to the edge of the courtyard and patting
at his tunic to put out a small flame before he leaned back into his cloud –
clearly content to watch the fight unfold since Blaze had called dibs.
“What are you doing?” Alexion demanded from a few yards away,
hiding behind the edge of a building to block Pewpew’s line of sight.
“You’re just pissing her off!”
“Exactly,” Jason murmured.
He didn’t hide, he stood and walked slowly toward Blaze. He could
feel the heat radiating off her in waves despite the fire resistance in his
newfound limbs and Bone Armor. He sucked in a deep breath while he still
could. He suspected the heat around Blaze would eat up all the remaining
oxygen nearby. He could hear muted chimes as the booth beside him
registered the destruction of more tokens, the number on the board rising
slowly.
Yet it wasn’t enough – not by a longshot.
Blaze seemed even more pissed that her fires weren’t fazing him.
“Oh, you want to fight, little boy? Then let’s fight!” Her flames cascaded
out into the courtyard, forcing Alexion to summon a wall of light and
Smokes to wrap himself in a bubble of smoke to ward off the heat.
Yet Jason just kept approaching Blaze through that swirling vortex
of fire. It felt like he was being cooked inside his armor now, his skin
welting. Notifications were flashing in the corner of his UI – glowing a
bright red. Some glib bullshit about him spontaneously combusting. But
he swept them aside. He could no longer see the tower in the distance
through the flames, but he kept the yellow waypoint marker he’d set
beforehand lined up behind Blaze.
“You. Are. Too. Old. To. Play. This. Game,” Jason grunted out
each word, flames searing his lungs each time he opened his mouth. His
mana was dropping swiftly now, the pain intense and the damage outpacing
his own regeneration. Yet it was worth it. He saw the fires grow, the
chimes from the booth now wholly obscured behind the roar of the fire.
Jason’s right hand moved, the fingers twitching through the gestures
of Custom Skeleton as the world began to slow, the flames barely moving,
Blaze’s eyes glaring.
Just wait for it…
 All Jason saw was a flicker. A slight anomaly in the wall of smoke
at Blaze’s back. Jason immediately cancelled his channel and activated the
crystals in his feet at the same time. He was sent spinning off the right even
as a massive blast of electricity struck home. Blaze’s body simply exploded
in a shower of blood before the projectile burrowed itself in the rock where
Jason had been standing, digging out a deep hole that sent rocky shards
flying in every direction.
Apparently, he’d been right. Smokes and Blaze had set waypoint
markers on Jason and Alexion – allowing Pewpew to track them behind
cover… or smoke. Even if she had seen Blaze’s group icon standing in her
way, her previous shots indicated she didn’t care about collateral damage.
Not that Jason blamed Pewpew for that. Their team could simply respawn.
They didn’t need to fear death. And from the sniper’s perspective, it must
have looked like Blaze had him locked down, her flames reducing his own
visibility.
It had all gone according to plan.
“Guest number 1004, your ferry is ready!”
Jason looked up, blinking away the stars in his eyes and sweeping
aside more notifications that cascaded down in front of him. “Alexion, to
me! Now!” he shouted as he raced toward that booth, stumbling and
weaving from what must have been a concussion – or possibly lack of
oxygen. Or maybe both?
The wall of smoke was billowing forward as Smokes recovered, his
mist sweeping out after them, a rolling wall of darkness that stretched
dozens of feet into the air. Booms echoed in the distance as Pewpew fired
frantically, the ground exploding around Jason as he darted from side to
side with flashes of air mana. He could only hope those gems didn’t run out
of mana.
Alexion’s shield dropped and he answered Jason’s call, his wings
sending him whipping forward in a blaze of light.
Jason reached the booth. “I’m here,” he gasped out, his throat still
burning.
“Fantastic! Here is your ferry. Please be careful handling club
property and remember to keep all limbs and personal belongings safely
stow—”
Jason didn’t wait for the rest of the instructions, only clawed at the
hatch that had opened in the booth, grabbed whatever was inside and moved
toward the edge of the club, Alexion moving to intercept him. He was just
in time as another blast took out the booth, the structure exploding apart in a
cascade of rock and glimmering, fractured crystals, motes of fire and ice
adding to the debris as those gems ruptured and added their own mana to
the blast.
Jason hit the ground hard, only to feel someone lift him. He looked
up to see Alexion there, smoke sweeping up behind him – an avalanche of
misty death.
“What now?” Alexion shouted, lifting Jason from the ground.
“The… the ledge,” Jason answered. That was the only safe space
left.
“We can’t—” Alexion began.
But Jason didn’t wait for him to finish. He could see a pinpoint of
energy collecting in the distance, electricity arcing around the tower at the
far end of the club. At the same time, the smoke reached for them, forming
a pair of massive, misty hands, the fingers outstretched. He knew if it
grabbed hold of them, they would be sliced to ribbons. And even if the
smoke didn’t kill them, Pewpew would – the girl clearly intending to finish
this.
So, Jason used the last move he had. He activated his feet once
again and sent the pair of them blasting out over the edge of the Mile-High
Club and racing into the vortex that spun through the middle of the club.
Their bodies were soon obscured by the winds, tossed and bounced around
as they were thrown into a swirling hell.
The wall of smoke slowed as it reached the edge of the club,
retracting until it revealed Smokes lounging there on a sofa made of mist.
The makeshift couch transformed, shifting him upright until his feet
touched down on solid stone. He strode up to the ledge, peering into the
tornado. But he couldn’t make out anything moving inside.
“Damn, those guys are crazy,” he muttered.
Then he pivoted back to the tower in the distance, his smoke
transforming into a giant thumbs up. No one could survive that tornado – it
was certain death. Which meant his mission was complete, and it was time
for him to “fast travel” back to the rest of the group.
Another blast echoed across the club. But Smokes made no move to
flee or dodge. Instead, he simply took a long drag on his cigarette and
tossed it into the tornado.
Then his head blew apart in a blast of blood and lightning.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 44 - Carnivore
Eliza screamed in pain, dropping to her knees.
The substance she’d just injected herself with spread rapidly through
her bloodstream, quite literally eating its way through her body. She knew
what was happening – what had happened to every test subject. The
concoction consumed organic matter, using it to feed and replicate the
individual cells, spawning more…. eating more. A repeating cycle. A
feedback loop that would end with her death if she didn’t manage to
stabilize it.
She stared down at her hand, her glasses falling away with a tinkle
of breaking glass. Yet Eliza ignored that – only let out another scream as
she watched her fingers dissolve. Pale skin was soon replaced with a
spongy multi-colored substance that broke apart and melded back together,
undulating and rippling like a living thing.
Mold, she reminded herself. Her body’s cells were being replaced
by mold.
The same mold that had almost consumed a small farm outside of
the Sea’s Edge.
The same mold that had killed Brian and forced her to change him
into something new.
But modified. Changed. Mutated. Evolved.
She’d taken her original Carnivore Mold and gone further using
Accelerated Growth. Several hundred million generations if she had to
hazard a guess. She’d been forced to form a special chamber in the Sea’s
Edge, one that would automatically cleanse itself if there was an outbreak.
She’d hidden her experiments away behind dozens of warded doors and
shields. There was no way she was going to risk a repeat of that first time –
when she’d come close to destroying this entire world by herself.
Yet there was nothing protecting her now. Pain wracked her chest,
Eliza coughing but only puffs of spores escaping her lungs. Red
notifications were flashing in her peripheral vision, reminding her that her
blood toxicity was off the charts. Reminding her that she was dying. As
though she needed the warning…
“I wasn’t expecting much from you, but this is embarrassing,”
Queen spoke up, her haughty voice echoing through the generator room.
Eliza managed to look up – even that movement costing her. Her plants
hadn’t reacted to the intruder.
Then she could see that Queen was freezing the vegetation around
her, the plants turning brittle and frost coating their leaves. She plucked at
one vines. “Oh, these? Yeah, they aren’t as intimidating once you learn
how to counter them. You need to know who is going to show up to make
them resistant to a specific element, don’t you? We learned that after
Barrow.”
A chime echoed from behind Eliza as she slumped to the floor, her
head twisting toward the generator where Bard was perched by the console.
He dug into his bag and pulled out a crystal shard. “Tombs told me you
would work… so you better work,” Bard lectured the crystal.
Then he jabbed it into the console, the crystal spearing through the
rock. Mana blazed through the console and rippled out into the generator,
pulsing through the lattice surrounding the storage crystals. Two of the
gems began to refill – at least, partially – glowing with yellow and
sapphire. At the same time, a familiar robotic voice echoed through the
room.
“Cameras reactivated in subsections G-29, F-3, L-12…”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Bard muttered, staring at the generator. “I
wasn’t really expecting anything to happen.” Then he noticed the camera
that had flashed into existence nearby, pointed at him. Bard only hesitated a
moment before re-assuming his familiar clownish demeanor.
“Uh, what I meant to say is… I love it when a plan comes together!”
Bard announced, striking a pose for the camera. “Why are we in this dark
room full of frozen plants, you might be asking yourselves? Just a small,
slight, minuscule deviation. Nothing to worry about.”
He pivoted the camera toward Queen and Eliza where she was
slumped on the floor. “Say hi to our adoring fans.” Queen just let out an
irritated growl and another scream ripped from Eliza’s throat – this one
softer, more muted. The mold had taken over her vocal cords.
“Geez, what happened to you?” Bard asked, peering down at Eliza.
I was expecting some sort of epic fight, but you look downright awful.”
“Fuck… you,” Eliza wheezed, even that costing her. She just
needed to buy more time.
“Uh, yeah, I’m going to have to pass on that,” Bard remarked. “No
offense, mind you. You just look like you’re a little underaged. Also,
whatever creepy plague illness you’ve contracted is kind of a turn-off. Call
me old fashioned.”
He turned back to the camera. “That being said, Bard embraces all
manner of lifestyle choices. You should be you! That’s what I always say.”
“First time I’ve heard you say that,” Queen grumbled. She shook
her head, turning away from her companion. “But he has a point. Why are
you so sick?” Queen added, peering down at Eliza, her eyes narrowing
behind her mask. “Take one too many potions?”
“Prolly a bad trip. Been there,” Bard added as he hopped up on the
control console. “There was this one time I took shrooms—”
Eliza glared at him. Or at least in his general direction. It was
becoming difficult to see, the world turning a blurry gray.
Queen clapped her hands, startling Eliza. “Hey, over here. Focus.
I’m happy to end whatever the hell is happening to you. I just need some
help. Just one tiny question actually. Where the fuck is Finn?”
Eliza could only manage a weak grunt now, her throat and mouth no
longer responding to her directions. Pain rippled through her body in waves
and her limbs shuddered and jerked as her eyes rolled back. She couldn’t
focus on anything – anyone. Much less respond to Queen.
“She’s… far gone…”
“…damn it.”
Their words were disjointed now, only a few landing. Some still
sane part of Eliza’s mind knew that was because the mold had expanded to
her head, her inner ear. Next it would start to eat away at her brain – noises,
sounds, and smells becoming distorted. Confused. Despite the horror of
what she was experiencing, however, she felt strangely calm. The world
began to fade away into an indistinct comforting blur, the pain muted as the
nerve endings were eaten away.
And Eliza drifted into that haze, relinquishing herself to it, closing
her eyes and letting out one final breath—

* * *

When Eliza opened her eyes again, she was somewhere else.
The pain was gone. Her skin was smooth and unmarred, her bare
feet digging into rough sand, water lapping at her ankles. An ocean
stretched out before her, extending out endlessly toward the horizon,
reflecting waning sunlight. Yet there were no waves – no movement at all.
Only the faint few ripples caused by her feet. Otherwise, the ocean was
perfectly still. And as that detail sunk in, Eliza realized there were no
birds. No sound of any animals.
Just an endless still silence.
“What is this?” Eliza murmured.
“Uh, I’m going to guess some sort of pocket instance meant to
represent your consciousness… or possibly your magic? I’ve never been
much good at symbolism,” a familiar voice spoke up, causing Eliza to
flinch, her body now trained to respond to the Hippie instinctively.
“Oh, come now, you aren’t even a little excited to see me?” the god
of water demanded, circling her, but staying well out of range of the water
that pooled around Eliza’s feet.
“Not exactly,” she grunted back.
“That hurts my feelings. They’re hurt. Badly. I probably won’t
recover. And that’s after I ducked out of my super top-secret, VIP, god-only
party to visit you. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to be in two places
at once?” the Hippie added, waving his hand.
Water materialized at his fingertips, coalescing into a reflective
panel. The surface shimmered and then resolved into an image of the
Hippie lounging on a velvet-lined couch, using Fluffy as a pillow, and his
eyes squeezed closed as though he was napping. Around him, the other
gods filled out the room, all eyes on screens along the wall – screens
showcasing the Mile-High Club and Bard’s face standing over Eliza’s body.
“Are you… are you all watching us? Is that… me?” Eliza
murmured, the water rippling around her ankles more forcefully now.
The Hippie cocked his head. “Uh, yes, and, unfortunately, also
yes? Don’t look at me like that. I just felt like it would be rude to turn
down my brother’s invitation. We haven’t had a family reunion like this in
ages.” He raised a hand to his mouth. “Besides, they have unlimited free
peanuts,” he whispered.
Eliza heaved out a sigh. “Fine. What do you want?” she demanded
with a note of irritation.
“What I’ve always wanted,” he replied with a shrug. “To help.”
Eliza couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up out of her chest –
the sound just a touch too manic. “You? Help? Who exactly? Yourself?
Some random person?”
 He crossed his arms defensively. “I did give you that bell in
Sandscrit. And sent you on that merry chase that helped create it. And look
how awesome that all turned—”
The Hippie paused, cocking his head as though listening to
something Eliza couldn’t hear. Another twitch of his fingers and a second
panel of water coalesced in the air, showcasing two masked figures standing
over Eliza’s body, her limbs spasming uncontrollably.
“And now you’re what? Killing yourself with that same mold that
almost murdered your weird vegetable-man and destroyed the entire
world? And that’s not me being melodramatic. Seriously, you almost killed
everyone.”
“I had a plan… I still have a plan,” Eliza replied evenly.
It was the water god’s turn to bark out a laugh. “Oh, really? What
is it then? Die at your enemies’ feet while they record the whole thing?
Did you know that almost every traveler in the world is currently watching
you turn into a puddle of gray goop? That’s a weird plan, I have to admit.”
As the god spoke, translucent panels sprang up around her, the water
rising out of the ocean. Those discs soon showcased more images.
Travelers and residents across dozens of locations. Cities, deserts, jungles,
and forests. In each one, those men and women watched the events
unfolding in the club, watched her dying on screen for their amusement.
Eliza could feel a spark of anger as she watched those scenes play
out. Watched players laugh and rib one another as they pointed at her.
Watched the timid little water mage curled up in helpless pain. And as that
anger rose, the waters at her feet began to swirl, spinning slowly at first,
then faster and faster and faster.
What had she been thinking? Trying this formula? It had only
worked in one out of ten trials and even then, her test subject had gone
insane.
“Did you think you were different?” the Hippie taunted. “Special?
That your plot armor was somehow thick enough to stop the mold from
eating you from the inside out?”
He let out a sad little laugh. “Oh, honey…”
Eliza could feel that power surge through her again, the ocean’s
waters shuddering now. And yet, as that chill energy pulsed through her,
Eliza noticed something strange. Her body – the one back in the game
world – its spasms were slowing, a faint mist of frost coating her skin.
 Now that was unusual…
As the Hippie’s voice droned in the background, Eliza’s thoughts
raced, her eyes riveted on that screen. The one test subject that had
survived her experiments… What had it been? Some sort of fish creature
that lived in the depths of the ocean. It had mana crystals lining its fins and
could freeze the water around it – creating a spikey cage that protected it
from other predators. It had used the same ability while the mold was
eating into it – the particles eventually stabilizing…
“It’s the cold,” Eliza murmured.
“Huh? What are you on about now?” the Hippie replied. His face
suddenly popped up in front of her, inspecting her closely. “Oh, did you
have an epiphany? Some sort of divine inspiration caused by my majestic
presence?”
Eliza’s hands balled into fists, her mana surging once more as she
resisted the urge to punch her idiot deity. Like this asshole had actually
helped with anything… Then she froze, seeing the waters of the ocean
undulating now and her body back in the club stabilizing further. Her anger
must be summoning her mana… summoning the Ice Witch – just like she
had done with Finn. Or back in Sandscrit. She needed to lean into that, to
feed that rage.
“Maybe,” Eliza said softly, turning her attention back to the god.
“My anger, my mana, it’s helping to stabilize the mold. I need more.”
“Uh, what exactly are you asking me to do?”
“What you always do. Be an irritating pain in my ass,” Eliza
grunted, annoyance tinging her voice. For once, could this insipid idiot
actually help her? Instead of playing games?
A sly smile crept across the Hippie’s face as her mana surged once
more. “Oh, I can definitely help with that.”
He loomed closer. “Look at me, the god that forced this fate upon
you, who shoved you out into the world without your permission, that
forced you from your safe and peaceful garden, that set you on the path that
nearly killed Brian. Don’t you just want to hit me? Punch my stupid face
until I can’t speak?”
Eliza’s fists clenched harder, her anger rising. Even though she
knew he was baiting her, his words still rang true. He had foisted all of this
upon her.
 “And now you’re just that same scared little girl, aren’t you? No
matter how hard you try. You couldn’t speak to your parents. Couldn’t
confront Finn with what you knew. Ran away from your friends. And
now… now you’re dying as millions watch you writhe on the ground,
wallowing in your own weakness and despair.
“All because of me.”
Her anger was out of control now, a living thing. A hurricane that
swept through her body. But it wasn’t enough. The tremors were still
wracking her body back in the real world. This was how she’d felt in
Sandscrit – angry but still in control – no longer willing to accept but still
bounded and chained to her own anxiety and fear. She needed to push
further.
“More,” Eliza grunted, her eyes ablaze with sapphire energy, the
ocean’s waters now rocking and swaying as waves formed and cascaded out
toward the horizon.
“Um, I’m not sure…” the Hippie demurred, looking nervous.
“More!” Eliza demanded, her foot stomping the sand. That one
small movement sent the water hurtling back, forming a wave nearly twenty
feet high in an instant, the water crashing along the shoreline and sending
the Hippie backpedaling away.
“I’m… I’m tired of letting others make my decisions for me,” Eliza
growled, watching the screens floating around her – those people laughing
at her plight. “My parents. You. Jason. And now Finn. Everyone feels
like they can order me around. That Eliza will just handle it.” She stalked
toward the Hippie, each footfall sending a wave rippling away from the
beach, storm clouds forming overhead now – dark and dense. “Even you.
Even when you were trying to ‘help’ me… you were still just manipulating
me into doing what you wanted.
“And I just accepted it,” she said, the words coming out almost in a
growl.
“Um, Eliza…” the god murmured nervously, still backing away
down the beach.
The reason was clear – even if she was in no state of mind to pay
attention to that right now. The waters had risen, swelling like the tide
coming in, pushing their way up the sands. The water was drawn to her,
forming a vortex of moisture, and the ocean was soon drained dry. As it
spun around her, the liquid began to freeze into jagged crystalline shards,
spinning and spinning in an ever-widening circle.
The anger felt good – so good. There was no fear here. No anxiety.
No thought of anyone else. There was only Eliza and her rage, those waters
beckoning to her, asking her for more.
She could feel the energy around her – it was the ice itself. Her own
power. She stared at it as it twisted and swirled, responding to her rage.
And, in that moment, she hesitated. Her fingers rested only inches away
from the blizzard that spun ‘round and ‘round, an icy blur that reflected
those same images the Hippie had shown her. People laughing. Her
parents muttering. Finn’s face when she’d told him about Rachael. Bard
and Queen standing over her body – smiling, mocking, taunting.
The anger was helpful. It summoned the water. It pushed away her
fear. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? She was afraid of so many
things. Of her parents. Of her enemies. Of her future. Of her own friends,
she realized as Finn’s face appeared amid the ice. She was afraid of even
making a simple fucking choice. And at its core, she was afraid of herself.
Eliza’s reflection glimmered in the ice and snow now, her eyes ablaze with
power. A dozen versions of herself gathered round, just as Queen had
taunted Finn with Rachael’s image.
The Hippie had been doing what she asked – taunting her to make
her angry. Yet there was truth in his words – one she was unwilling to
acknowledge. She was frightened by how she had killed all those travelers;
how easy it had felt. How she had earned her title, her place as an avatar.
How she had almost destroyed the game world – had nearly killed Brian.
She was afraid of that person. Afraid of how others might see her – her
parents, her friends, even strangers.
Maybe the time for that was over. Maybe it was time to stop
running away. Anger would only get her so far. She needed to do
something different.
To give up her fear and accept who she was. What she was.
“Eliza… don’t.” The Hippie’s words felt distant, unreal.
She ignored him. Eliza’s hands dipped out into the blizzard around
her. The shards of ice didn’t cut or slice or sever her skin. Instead, the ice
seeped into her flesh, rushing into her like a tidal wave and slamming
through her like a snowstorm. The ice drained at a rapid rate, flowing into
her arms and rippling up to her shoulders before settling like a frigid glacier
in her chest. Yet she didn’t stop or relent. She just kept going, drawing it
all in. Until her body hummed with that power. Until sapphire energy
leaked from her skin.
And as the last drop was absorbed, Eliza stood on that ruined beach.
There was only an eerie calm now. An acceptance of herself. Of
others. Of her past, present, and future. A unity of purpose, the waters no
longer placid or spinning in place but flowing forward on a path of her own
making. At that moment, she looked back at the Hippie, still standing on
the beach, watching her with an anxious expression.
Finn had asked her a question.
What did she want to do?
Water leaked from her skin, freezing into panels of icy glass. She
saw it so clearly, reflected in the dozens of frozen mirrors that hung
suspended around her. Two masked figures standing over her body.
Taunting. Two people that had attacked her and her friends. That had
hunted her, kidnapped her, and forced her to compete in these silly games
for their amusement.
She hadn’t been able to answer Finn’s question then.
But right now, she knew what she wanted.
“I want to kill those two,” Eliza declared.

* * *

Eliza breathed out one final puff of mold, and her body went still, a
thin coating of ice covering her. It was a side effect that Bard and Queen
chalked up to whatever had killed her.
“Well, folks, it looks like this fight was rather lackluster,” Bard said
for the camera. He nudged Eliza’s body with his foot. “I guess the moral
of the story here is don’t do drugs? Or too many drugs? Or maybe it’s
more that she didn’t use the right kind?”
Bard glanced back at the camera. “I guess what I’m saying is that
when you find the right drugs for you… you just know, you know?”
“Uh… Bard?”
The minstrel ignored Queen, staring into the camera. “It’s really a
kismet sort of thing. Like love at first puff, if you know what I mean. You
gotta keep yourself open to all kinds of drugs. Let those drugs find you…”
“Bard!” Queen snapped.
 “What?” he demanded as he whirled toward her. “I’m talking to my
fans—”
He cut off, his eyes going round and the camera spinning to follow
his gaze.
Eliza’s body was… rippling. That was the only word to describe it.
It was as though her skin was made of millions of tiny particles that broke
apart and merged back together in an undulating wave. At the same time,
frost creeped across her skin. The rippling became more even and
controlled while a fine frosty mist wafted away from her body. As the pair
looked on, a sapphire glow suffused Eliza, starting along each of her limbs,
torso, and head, expanding outward until she glowed a brilliant blue.
“What the actual fuck?” Bard grunted.
“I don’t like this. We didn’t see this ability during our research,”
Queen said, stepping backward to put more distance between herself and
the water mage.
Then Eliza’s eyes opened. There was no emotion shining there.
Nothing human. Only bottomless pools of energy staring back at them.
Her limbs didn’t move; she didn’t shift her weight to regain her feet. No,
her body simply broke apart into a spiral of sapphire mold, the substance
stitching itself back together swiftly – her feet, her legs, her waist, torso,
arms, and finally, her head. Suddenly, Eliza was standing upright, staring at
them with those glowing eyes.
“Oh, to hell with this,” Queen grunted. Ice formed around her,
immediately coating her arms, and shifting down her torso in a thick armor.
Meanwhile, the world around them contorted, the generator room
disappearing – only to be replaced by a ring of mirrors as Queen’s illusion
took hold. Bard and Queen vanished from sight, leaving the camera staring
at Eliza, her image reflected in the dozens of mirrors that now lined the
walls.
Staring at the creature she’d become.
Yet Eliza didn’t seem perturbed by the illusion. A shard of ice
rocketed out of one mirror, racing toward her chest… only to pass through
her body, the mold shifting out of the way. More ice followed, punching
holes in her arms, legs, and chest. Yet they did no damage, simply crashed
apart against the stone wall at her back.
Eliza turned then, raising one arm, and lifting a single finger.
 A thin lance of mold erupted from her fingertip, branching, forking,
and branching again until it stabbed into the walls, creating a fractured,
fractal pattern of mold all around her. Queen’s illusions burst, the ice
coating the walls cracking and the veil lifting.
As the spell destabilized, the room returned to normal, and the pair’s
forms flickered back into existence.
Bard stood near the door, unharmed.
Queen wasn’t so lucky. A thread of mold had speared into her
stomach, coiling around her icy armor until it had struck flesh. She let out
a grunt of pain, a spot of blood on her lips. Bard acted quickly. He
whistled, once and sharp. A tunnel of air erupted from his mouth and struck
the mold, blasting the substance away and against the nearby wall.
However, as he relented, the mold peeled itself from the stone and drifted
back to Eliza in a fine mist, merging back into her body.
“You okay?” Bard asked Queen.
“No, not really,” she gasped, her skin looking pale. She pulled her
hands away from her stomach to see that there wasn’t any blood around the
wound. Although, tendrils of glowing blue now riddled her skin like an
infection. She gasped, letting out a hissing breath. “Fuck, this hurts. It’s
like it’s eating me from the inside out.”
“Uh, got it. Don’t let the creepy mold girl touch you,” Bard
quipped. He bit his lip. “Also, I’m sorry about this, but tell Blaze we’re
going to need some help here.”
“What are you talking—” Queen began.
However, she was cut short as Bard whistled again, this time
directing the attack at her head. Queen survived for a second… then two.
Then blood began to leak from her eyes and ears, and she slumped to the
ground unmoving. The mold swiftly ate its way through her body, her
limbs disintegrating one-by-one.
Eliza raised another hand toward Bard, those glowing sapphire eyes
locked on him, her hair floating around her in a glimmering, frosty mist,
flecks and pieces of her body drifting away into the air. The entire game
world watched with bated breath as the pair faced off – the enigmatic Bard
against this demon in the shape of a young girl.
The mold arced forward just as another whistling note filled the air.
The camera froze for a moment, locked on Eliza. Then it turned, ever-so-
slowly, toward Bard, only to find that the man was missing – a yellow haze
remaining where he’d stood moments before. In the distance, a whistle
could be heard as he beat a hasty retreat.
The camera raced after him, tethered to Bard, and the world was
suddenly a blur of gray stone and ruined furniture. Then it slowed and
stopped, the minstrel now standing outside, a yellow glow suffusing his
body as he swallowed air to refill his lungs, a strong wind whipping at his
clothing. He eyed the building warily.
“I, uh, I think I lost her,” Bard announced, side-eyeing the camera.
“To be clear, that wasn’t me running away. I wasn’t scared in the slightest.
That was a tactical retreat intended to regroup with my, uh, my teammates.
So that we can all gang up on the little demon girl—"
Bard cut himself short as a glowing blue fog drifted out of the
structure, just a faint mist at first, then a steady stream. As he looked on, it
began to coalesce into a familiar form. Only seconds later, Eliza stood upon
the ruins of the club, wind pulling at the mold that made up her body,
sending tufts of glowing sapphire particles spinning around her. And those
eyes were still locked on him – staring, calm, certain. Inevitable.
“Oh, shit,” Bard muttered.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 45 - Faerie
Rogue-Net Forums:

Helium: What the hell is that thing? Is that… Eliza?

Tina: Here I thought she was dead, and she just goes and powers up.
What was that potion she injected herself with? Anyone have a link?

No One: Uh, no. Best I can tell, she made whatever the hell that
was…

xXShadowXx: You all have it wrong. This is a warning, folks. This

is what happens when you stay logged in for days and don’t shower…
your body literally starts to mold.

Julie: @xXShadowXx Now you’re making shills? GTFO.

xXShadowXx: User has been banned. Post Removed.

Julie: @xXShadowXx Reported.

Elijah: That seems OP as hell, though. I never saw something like

that coming from Eliza. It doesn’t even look like she’s using her
mana well.

No One: I know, right? Nice to finally see Bard on the run. That
dude has some karma piling up at this point.

Ashley: Right? He just runs his mouth all the time. I’m ready to see
him get stomped.

Helium: But what happened to everyone else? Like, where is Finn?

Or, for that matter, what happened to Jason and Alexion?
 Mateo: Who knows – we haven’t had eyes on them in a while.
Probably dead.

Helium: Don’t count out my boy Jason. He’s about to get up to

some shit. I’m telling you. Revenge of the avatars is at hand! Just
wish we had eyes on them right now…

* * *

“What the fuck!” Alexion screamed as the pair raced round and
round the tornado, his hands clamped onto Jason’s arm.
For once, Jason was happy he couldn’t feel anything with his newly
enhanced limbs. However, he certainly sympathized with the angelic
asshole clinging to him. The world spun erratically as they flipped and
tumbled around the tornado at a frantic pace. Notifications were flashing in
his vision to inform him that he was disoriented… and nauseous… As
though the bile lingering at the back of his throat wasn’t enough warning.
Yet he didn’t dare vomit. He didn’t want to see just how realistic
the game’s physics could be by puking inside a tornado.
In his other hand, Jason still held on to the object he’d retrieved
from the booth. He pulled it to him, squinting as he vainly tried to get a
good look at it. It appeared to be a rough, cylindrical capsule, a lone
glowing button on one side with some words etched beside it.
It looked like it said, “Press me.”
Not having a better plan, Jason did just that, slamming a bony
thumb into the button.
The capsule immediately popped open along one side, and
something small and glowing emerged, amber light spilling out around it.
Immediately, the spinning stopped.
They didn’t slow. Didn’t gradually decelerate.
They just came to a screeching halt inside the tornado, yellow
streamers of mana coalescing around them to form a latticed sphere of
energy. Not that Jason and Alexion were in any position to appreciate that.
Physics was still in full force, and they’d gained a great deal of momentum
hurtling around the tornado, which was why it suddenly felt like Jason’s
organs were hammering up against his ribcage.
And why that bile was now insisting on being forcefully ejected.
 “Well, hello there, folks… oh, oh my,” a cheery voice spoke over
the sound of retching.
Jason looked up, blinking blearily. Both he and Alexion had finally
gotten to experience vomiting from a few thousand feet up… while
suspended inside a tornado and talking to what Jason could only describe as
a faerie. A real one. It was about the size of his palm, replete with human
features, pointed ears, and translucent, multi-colored wings.
“Did you two eat something bad?” the creature asked. “Was it one
of our establishments? We haven’t had any food poisoning in… actually,
what year is it now?”
“What the fuck are you?” Alexion grunted, wiping at his mouth
distastefully.
“Me?” the faerie asked. “Oh, I’m a Brodie.”
“No, what species are you?” Jason demanded.
“I just said that. I’m a Brodie.”
Alexion and Jason shared a look.
“Is that like a type of faerie?” Jason asked. “Or your name,
maybe?”
The… Brodie just stared back.
“Okay, never mind,” Alexion muttered. “Tiny skull, tiny brain.”
“What did you just say?” Brodie demanded, his eyes flashing
amber. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and Alexion gulped hard.
“Maybe don’t piss off the Brodie,” Jason suggested.
“Noted.”
“So, uh, Brodie, maybe you could help us. We’re trying to navigate
to the other side of the ring. We were supposed to be taking a ferry—”
“Here and accounted for, sir!” Brodie interrupted with a salute.
Very Fast Faerie. It suddenly clicked…
Not that Jason was in any mood to appreciate that with the pun-
ishment he was enduring.
Okay, he couldn’t help himself there. That one was pretty good. He
grunted out a laugh, only to wince in pain, his lungs not having fully moved
back into position yet.
Although, Brodie didn’t plan to wait for him to recover. With a
wiggle of his tiny fingers, more spirals of amber washed away from him.
Suddenly, the whole group shifted, drifting further into the tornado until
they rested in the center.
 “Good gods,” Alexion muttered only moments later, his eyes
widening in surprise.
Jason could agree with that reaction. In the center of the tornado
was a cluster of… well, Jason could only refer to them as street signs. They
were propped up everywhere, floating on small islands of glowing amber
energy, tilted at odd angles. One was floating sideways. Another had
arrows pointing in at least seven different directions. It was pure,
unmitigated chaos.
“Welcome to the VFF system, the transportation of the future! We
would like to ask you at this time to please fasten your seatbelts and secure
all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. The
safety of our travelers and others is of the utmost importance.”
“What seatbelts—” Alexion began.
However, he was cut off as Brodie suddenly swerved the group to
the side, a block of stone the size of a small house careening through the
space they’d just occupied. They slid to a stop several dozen feet from their
previous position, Jason and Alexion slammed up against the side of the
glowing sphere.
“Hmm, that’s unusual,” Brodie remarked, eyeing the debris that
swirled through the tornado. “I should check on the status of the VFF
system. One moment please.”
“This batshit little elf is going to get us killed,” Alexion grunted
from Jason’s side.
“Do you see any better options?” Jason whispered back. “Right
now, <Death and Taxes> probably think we’re dead. And Brodie is the only
thing keeping us from literally vomiting ourselves to death inside this
tornado. Or did you want to see if that was a possibility?”
Alexion just grunted but stayed silent. Not that Jason could entirely
blame him. The events of the last few minutes had been intense and
confusing, to say the least.
“Ahh, it seems most of the VFF is offline,” Brodie explained. “My
apologies. But there is only one clear landing pad available.” As he spoke,
the amber dome began to whizz through the inside of the tornado, following
a careening path between the signs.
“When you say landing pad…” Jason began, feeling the nausea
rising again. They barely skidded past a nearby sign, the edge clipping the
amber dome, sending off a shower of sparks where it struck the metal.
Jason swallowed hard.
“Oh, I’m referring to only the latest and greatest in transportation
technology,” Brodie explained cheerily. “A solution that avoids any need
for landing gear, equipment, or vehicles. VFF stands to revolutionize the
travel industry once it has been applied worldwide. It’s truly an honor to
work for a company with such promise.”
“Wait, no equipment?” Alexion demanded. “Then how do we land
exactly?”
“I thought you would never ask!” Brodie answered. “We’re nearly
there!”
With a wiggle of his fingers, Brodie twisted the orb to the side,
slowing to a stop.
“What are we—" Alexion began.
Then they rocketed forward at an incredible pace. Even with
Brodie’s orb insulating them, Alexion and Jason were shoved backward,
crashing into the back half of the dome of energy. They raced toward the
inner edge of the tornado, only continuing to accelerate. Then they struck
the whirlwind, the dome humming and flashing as the world dissolved into
a familiar gray blur. Rocky debris raced past, smaller stones bouncing off
the dome with flashes of amber.
Only seconds later, they sped out of the tornado.
Yet their celebration was short-lived.
The group was racing toward another familiar booth in the middle of
a barren courtyard. And they were moving so fast the world was beginning
to blur around them, leaving a hazy yellow trail of energy in their wake.
That dock was coming up quickly. Too quickly. Yet Brodie made no move
to slow down. Instead, he was whistling a cheery tune as a wide, vapid
smile spread across his face.
“I’d have rather died in the tornado!” Alexion shouted over the
whistling whine of wind. “He’s going to smash us into a bloody paste at
this speed.”
Jason could only hold on, taking a deep breath as the dock neared.
Only a few dozen yards. Then a few feet. Then only inches away—
The orb suddenly dissolved, and a large cushion of glowing yellow
air appeared along the dock. Jason and Alexion struck the material with
tremendous force, but the pillowy substance blunted most of the impact.
Even so, it sent the wind rushing from Jason’s lungs. And before he had a
chance to recover, the magic blew away, and he dropped another foot to
land on hard stone.
He let out a grunt, another groan coming from beside him.
“We have arrived!” Brodie announced. “And we made fantastic
time, I might add. The VFF system is designed to reduce travel congestion
and commute times!”
“I fucking hate the VFF system,” Alexion growled, shaking his head
as he slowly rose to his hands and knees.
Jason looked up to find Brodie staring at the angel in horror. “B-but
sir, I have a glowing five-star rating from all of my guests… until-until
now,” he muttered, tears in his eyes and stuttering as he tried not to sob. “I-
if you have any complaints or suggestions, I’m sure my Manager would
love to speak with you. Let m-me just ring her now—”
Brodie hesitated as yellow energy spiraled away from him, his
sorrow swiftly replaced by confusion as he fluttered nearby. “Well, that’s
odd. I’m not getting any response from VFF headquarters.” Brodie cocked
his head, his eyes suddenly refocusing on the area around them before
drifting further down the ring. His eyes widened in horror at what he
witnessed…
As Jason followed his gaze, his eyebrows shot up. Someone had
destroyed this side of the ring. That was the only way to describe it. Nearly
a half mile from their location, the stone had been eaten away. Massive
blocks of jagged rock now floated there, slowly being sucked into the
tornado where they added to the swirling mass of debris.
“What happened to the club?” Brodie asked, his voice wavering.
“I, uh, I don’t know if there’s any easy way to say this,” Jason
offered, rising to his feet with a grimace, leaning on the nearby VFF booth
to steady himself. “But I don’t think the club is operational any longer.
Actually, we haven’t seen any other staff at all. At least, not until we met
you,” Jason explained.
Brodie shook his tiny head. “How could that be possible? The club
is the gem of the skies. A true marvel of engineering and ingenuity.”
“Maybe it was a hundred years ago,” Alexion snapped, brushing off
his clothing and armor and inspecting his wings for damage. “But now it’s
a shithole.”
 Jason glared at him, and the angel shrugged. He wasn’t on camera
right now.
“It… it really is,” Brodie muttered, amber energy spiraling around
him and tendrils of mana-infused winds racing out into the ruins of the
club. “And all my coworkers. All of them. I don’t hear any of their voices
—”
He cocked his head. “Actually, I do hear voices!”
Alexion and Jason shared another look. If Brodie was hearing
voices, it was either the other avatars or <Death and Taxes>.
Before Brodie could race off, Jason snatched him from the air with
one bony hand.
“Hey! Let me go!” the faerie cried.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Jason answered.
With his free hand, he reached into his bag and pulled one of his last
remaining severed limbs free. Another twitch of his fingers and Custom
Skeleton took hold. Jason trimmed the material down and formed a cage of
bone and dark mana. He placed Brodie inside and then closed the cage with
a band of dark mana, sealing Brodie inside. The faerie immediately clung
to the ivory bars of his new prison, looking at Jason with overwide eyes
brimming with tears.
“Why are you doing this to a Brodie? My coworkers could be out
there—”
“They aren’t your coworkers,” Alexion interjected, summoning his
own armor and eyeing the area around them. “Those are probably more
travelers hellbent on killing us. And you.”
Alexion motioned at Jason, and he took his meaning. They moved
to the nearby line of buildings, putting cover between themselves and the
tower in the distance. Neither of them had forgotten about Pewpew. Right
now, they had the element of surprise. Jason seriously doubted anyone had
noticed Brodie’s insane landing, not at the speeds they’d been traveling.
“Like he said, a lot has changed since I suspect you were last
outside your… err, your capsule?” Jason offered weakly to the faerie, who
was now sobbing uncontrollably. He looked to Alexion for help, but the
angel just shrugged. With a sigh, Jason returned his attention to Brodie.
“Either way, you need to be careful. If you help us and stay inside this
cage, I promise I’ll assist you in finding the rest of your, um, coworkers.”
 “You-you will?” Brodie asked, suddenly wiping away his tears. It
seemed his crying episode was already over. Perfect. Now they were stuck
with an overly emotional faerie.
And here Jason had just been thinking that the one upside of
Armageddon was that he didn’t have to listen to Pint’s nonsense…
“I will. But first, can you tell me what you can hear?” Jason asked,
leaning forward. His eyes darkened as he channeled his mana. Perhaps
they could use this little faerie.
“Oh, well, it sounds like a man is talking to himself… or maybe to
someone else? It’s hard to tell,” Brodie explained, cocking his head as he
listened carefully.
“What direction?” Jason asked, swiping at the air to open his map.
Brodie pointed off to the northwest.
That matched the location of Eliza’s icon. However, it looked like
Finn had wandered off. Had the two been split up, or had they decided to
part ways? Either way, Jason supposed it didn’t matter. If Brodie was
picking up a man’s voice near Eliza, that could only mean that <Death and
Taxes> had found her.
And with the way her health was shifting erratically, she must
already be in the middle of a fight. Judging from the scowl on Alexion’s
face, he was thinking the same thing. If she died, it was only going to be
harder to get off this floating prison.
Jason placed a waypoint marker and then swiped away the map.
“Alright, we need to get moving,” he declared. “Eliza needs our help.”
Alexion nodded, pulling his sword and shield free as the pair started
forward.
Jason just hoped Eliza could survive until they arrived.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 46 - One-Man Band
“What the fuck are you?” Bard gasped, his chest heaving.
She certainly wasn’t an ordinary girl – or water mage.
Even now, Eliza remained mute, only glaring at him with those
glowing blue eyes. Each gust of wind caused the mold that made up her
body to contort and twist, resettling back into place moments later.
Around her was pure carnage. Broken rocks, half-collapsed
structures, and piles of dust – the remains of the scrap timber and trash that
blew through the club, the mold devouring anything that had even a trace of
organic material.
Bard wiped at the sweat on his brow. Even with his exceptional
physical conditioning and endurance – a product of Dom’s intensive
training – he was starting to run out of gas. His stamina pool was slipping
below half for the first time in a long, long time. Sure, he hadn’t taken a
hit, and his health was still full. But that was because he couldn’t afford to
get hit. Not even once. He’d seen what she’d done to Queen.
A lance of mold darted through the air, a sharp whistle scattering the
particles as Bard sped to the side – his skin infused with a bright yellow
glow – only to slide to a stop in the nick of time. Eliza had feinted,
encircling him with more mold that crept along the walls of the ruined
structures. He tried to backpedal, but Eliza was waiting for him – her body
breaking apart and rematerializing only a few feet away. A wave of mold
rose around him, boxing him in.
Under normal circumstances, Bard could have jumped – leaped to
safety.
But the club’s safety protocols were still online.
He raised his hands. “Uh, maybe we should talk about this—”
More mold lanced forward, blasting away with a hasty whistle.
“Okay, or not,” Bard muttered.
He hadn’t wanted to use his Plan B—had been hoping to save that
ability for later. For the grand finale he’d planned – one fantastically
dressed rockstar facing off against four avatars at once. He’d dreamed of
that moment for days and weeks now as they’d planned and schemed and
prepared. All cameras pointed at him as they faced off in a ruined
coliseum. His monologue was already prepared and practiced. Hell, it had
taken him days just to pick out the outfit…
Bard heaved out a sigh. This wasn’t the way he’d imagined it at all.
A grown man – fighting a little blue-eyed demon girl.
Losing to a little blue-eyed demon girl, he corrected himself.
However, the camera was still rolling, the blue orb hovering at his
shoulder and taking in the growing wave of mold. It now fully encircled
him, radiating out from Eliza, and spreading across the stone. There were
legions of adoring fans watching him get wrecked by this little water mage.
And his reputation couldn’t take a hit like that; Bard couldn’t take a hit like
that.
He refused to go back to what he once was. Back to being just…
Adrian.
That simpering, weak, scared man, always thumbing at a broken old
guitar in a backwater shithole. And no, he wasn’t just talking about AO.
In-game and out, he’d been that person. Washed up. Listless. Terrified at
taking a risk and putting it all on the line. At chasing an impossible dream.
Yet Dom had changed that. Had changed him. Had shown him he
didn’t need to be afraid of anything. That he could endure anything. That
he could stare death in the face and laugh.
Even if it happened to be the face of a little girl.
So, Bard took a page out of Dom’s book and stopped hesitating.
He pulled the case from his back, thumbing the catch even as the
mold toppled in toward him in slow motion, a rolling wave of living, blue
death. He flipped the switch at the base of the guitar, a bright yellow light
blooming into existence. He raised his instrument – another gift from
Dom. Ignoring the mold that drifted ever closer, his fingers stroked the
gleaming wood tenderly.
Then he looked up at the camera, a mad smile painted on his mask –
matching the expression lingering just beneath. He pointed at that blue orb
– at the millions of people watching.
“This one is for you, Smiles.”
The first chord rippled out from his guitar in a wave, causing the
mold to undulate, but failing to halt its advance. Bard just kept playing, his
voice soon adding to the song as air mana flared out from his body in a
brilliant explosion of amber. That energy condensed into phantom-
instruments. Drums. A bass guitar. A wind section adding to the strings.
An ethereal orchestra that encircled him protectively.
Those instruments all began to play, a rising melody lifting into the
air. At the same time, a prompt appeared before him, glowing with a soft
blue light.

System Notice: One-Man Band

You have pushed your musical talents to the limit, summoning the band
you’ve never had. For the duration of the performance, you will be
empowered with all your currently known auras and buffs, and your
instruments may be weaponized. This comes at a considerable cost, swiftly
draining both your mana and stamina.

Duration: 2 Minutes.

“You are now both the maestro and the orchestra. Play on, brother!” – The
Gambler

The song hummed through the air, the drums entering with a
thunderous boom and another flash of yellow. Air mana slammed the mold
back into the walls with a wave of force, sending it crashing out across the
stone in a puff of glimmering blue dust.
Bard reveled in the sensation. Power practically sang through his
veins. His movement speed, stamina, health, mana regeneration, and
physical stats had all skyrocketed. His skills had all been empowered,
gaining multiple levels, notifications cascading down the corner of his
vision. Even if it didn’t last long, for just a moment, he rivaled even Dom.
Which meant he could handle an avatar.
His guitar pealed, a concentrated cone of air slamming into Eliza.
Her form began to break apart—motes of mold streaming away from her
arms, her shoulders, her legs. Her body was destabilizing—trying vainly to
stitch itself back together but failing. Another blast of sound, and she
simply blew apart, her form swirling into motes of mold, a massive blue
cloud that slammed against the building at her back before washing out
across the stone.
Bard used the respite to suck in air and refill his protesting lungs as
he scanned the ruined courtyard. Mold floated there in a haze, his
instruments creating a protective dome of air around him. Eliza was gone.
Vanished into the mist of mold.
But he had a feeling she wasn’t dead—
Mold erupted from beneath his feet, sneaking through cracks in the
rock.
Bard moved in a blur, neatly dodging each tendril that darted at him
as he danced around the courtyard. His instruments let out blasts of focused
air which held back the mold and deflected Eliza’s attacks. She soon
rematerialized near one of the structures, no longer covered by the adjacent
line of buildings to the north. A grin tugged at Bard’s lips.
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the building at her back,
smashing through the reinforced rock, and the structure began to crumble,
caving inward toward Eliza. Yet her eyes were simply focused on Bard,
fixed on his face – no trace of concern or fear reflected there. She
maintained that stare even as the structure crushed down upon her, burying
her under several tons of rock and her body vanishing from sight.
Bard tipped his hat at the tower in the distance. Pewpew had come
through.
And another timer in the corner of his vision had just struck zero,
which meant—
“What the hell happened here?” Blaze demanded, sliding up and out
of the stone. Tombs, Smokes, and Queen were with her, each member
taking a deep breath and shaking their limbs. Traveling with Tombs was
unpleasant, to say the least.
“Looks like Bard is having some trouble,” Smokes observed, pulling
another cigarette from his case, and lighting it languidly. “Are you losing to
one girl?” he asked.
“Nope,” Bard gasped, trying to refill his aching lungs, his clothing
torn and covered in dust. “Just buying time for you losers to show up.”
Bard’s UI dinged. The duration of his One-Man Band was still ticking
down swiftly, and his companions were suddenly infused with the same
bright glow. Bard suspected they would need it to handle Eliza.
 Speaking of the devil herself, Bard grimaced as he saw motes of
sapphire drifting out from under the rubble. “We don’t have time to chat.
You need to finish her before her allies arrive, or my buff wears off.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her. I have a score to settle now,”
Queen announced, stepping forward and glaring at the rubble. Frost
bloomed among the pile of debris, the mold freezing in place and falling
back to the ground, adding to the chilly aura that Eliza maintained around
herself. The cold no longer stabilized the mold. Instead, it rendered it
inert. Dormant. Eliza – or whatever she had become – was contained
under that mountain of frozen rubble.
As she continued channeling her spell, Queen nodded at Blaze, and
the older woman stepped forward. Fire mana cascaded out around her staff
before encircling her body and rippling away from her skin.
“Scale of 1 to 10, how hard do I need to blast her?” Blaze asked
over her shoulder.
“20,” Bard grunted, earning him a surprised look.
Then Blaze let out a cackle. “I haven’t gotten to go all out in a
while.” As she finished speaking, her mana flared. But Blaze kept pouring
more energy into her spell, giving it her all, while Bard’s buffs only
enhanced her spell further. A glowing spot of light soon appeared in the
sky, another Meteor growing overhead.
“Jason and Alexion?” Bard asked, side-eyeing Smokes.
He tilted his head… then shook it.
Bard knew what that meant. They hadn’t respawned. Damn it.
That means they’re still alive and out there somewhere. And Finn still
hadn’t made an appearance.
“Keep an eye out then, and stay close,” Bard instructed Smokes and
Tombs. They nodded and stepped back, Tombs Phasing them into a nearby
wall as they repositioned. There was no sense in the pair standing out in the
open. There were other avatars still out there somewhere.
They needed to finish off Eliza quickly before the others could
reinforce her. The worst-case scenario was allowing the four of them to
regroup. Alone or in their shitty pairings, they were manageable.
Together? Well, Bard had been having this recurring nightmare where
those four crazy assholes brought the entire club crashing down to earth –
with him riding front in center on that rollercoaster of death.
 He might not be afraid to die, but that didn’t mean he was looking
forward to it.
The meteor overhead kept growing until it shone brightly, a new sun
blooming in the sky. Blaze poured every ounce of mana into her spell, not
holding anything back. They couldn’t afford to take Eliza lightly – not any
longer. Those fires grew until the heat was oppressive, pushing against
them even at this distance and sending off tufts of steam from Queen’s ice
as she maintained her own channel on the pile of rubble where Eliza was
trapped.
Then the ball of fire began to descend, and Blaze’s laughter mixed
with the triumphant boom of Bard’s song. She stared at the majesty of
flame and destruction she had conjured, making no attempt to run or flee
the impact radius. It plunged down, down, down, the heat rolling across
them in waves now. So hot that Bard’s skin began to sear. Acting fast, he
redirected his instruments, creating a protective wall of air around his group
that blocked the worst of the heat as the meteor plunged down upon Eliza.
100 yards.
Then 80.
Then 50.
The Meteor was a thing of glory. Nearly fifty feet wide. Molten
flame tumbling and snapping along the surface. The center had condensed
down into a sludgy, white plasma. There was no way that girl would
survive the impact.
Yet just before it struck, the Meteor slowed and then stopped,
hanging suspended in the air. It hovered only a few feet away from the
stone, and the ice was melting away swiftly now – forming puddles of
water along the rocks. Those shimmering blue motes began to lift away
from the stone once more as Eliza began to recollect herself.
“I can’t keep up my spell,” Queen ground out, gritting her teeth and
her mana surging against the heat that wafted across the ruined courtyard.
Bard wasn’t able to do much either. He couldn’t even speak – not
now as he tried to maintain the barrier of air to blunt the flames and protect
himself and his guildmates. He could only look at Blaze, his expression
confused and demanding. He knew she was nuts, but what game was she
playing here?
“It’s not me! What… what’s happening to my precious Meteor?”
Blaze demanded.
 Then the roiling ball of flame began to shrink rapidly, the fire
flowing away toward the opposite side of the courtyard. A new figure stood
there – his head wreathed in a flaming crown and his crystalline arm held
aloft, draining the fire mana into its depths until the limb glowed with a
terrifying, blinding light.
“He’s stealing my mana?” Blaze shouted. “I’ll flay you—”
She never got to finish that sentence.
As he finished draining her spell, Finn pivoted, that arm so bright
that it left spots in Bard’s vision if he looked at it directly. He could only
see that it was pointed at them. Bard dropped his spell instantly, snatching
Queen as he raced away in a blur – the timer on his One-Man Band ticking
down to zero. He hit the ground and slid as the spell ended abruptly, just
barely avoiding the massive beam of molten energy that speared from
Finn’s arm.
It obliterated Blaze, her body burning away to ash in a mere second,
leaving only a pile of smoking embers in her wake. Then it carved into the
rock of the platform, eating away at the warded stone at an incredible pace.
A blast echoed in the distance, a flash of lightning cutting through the air.
Thank god, Pewpew—
Bard cut that thought short, gaping in shock as he saw Finn pivot,
his movements far too quick and flames rolling across his body. Haste, he
realized belatedly. That beam pivoted at the same time, arcing up toward
that projectile. It evaporated the missile in an instant, but the beam kept
going. It cut across the length of the club, stretching nearly a quarter of a
mile, before striking the tower in the distance. It cut into the stone, then
through it, slicing the spire in half.
Bard could only stare as the beam sputtered out, a dark line now
cutting a diagonal across the tower. He held his breath. Had Finn damaged
the generator? Had he destroyed the tower? Then he felt his stomach lurch
as the stone began to crumble and crack, collapsing in on itself as the top
portion of the tower began to give way…
“Oh, shit,” Bard muttered.
“What are you—” Queen began, freezing as she followed his gaze.
Not that they had time to appreciate the destruction Finn had just
caused. He might have just inadvertently undermined all of their plans.
Mold was streaming out from beneath the nearby pile of rubble. Then, all
at once, it rushed forward. Bard tried to move, but he was too slow. The
distraction cost him. The mold barely touched his ankle, just a few motes
against a slender patch of bare skin.
But it was enough.
A searing pain bloomed in his leg, the mold rapidly expanding as it
ate into his muscle, worming its way toward his circulatory system. He had
just a few seconds before it would reach his bloodstream, after which he
was doomed.
He looked up and saw the same realization in Queen’s eyes. He had
less than a minute at most. No more. “Don’t worry, I’ll make this death
count,” Bard grunted. He felt her lean forward and touch that leg, ice
coating the skin – supporting the leg and slowing the infection.
Then Bard was on his feet, leaning on Queen for support. At the
same time, Smokes and Tombs phased out of the nearby wall and entered
the fray, the smoke hovering in the air from Finn’s spell suddenly collecting
and condensing, forming a gray wall that encircled the area, boxing in Eliza
where she was pinned under the rock.
“What’s our play here?” Smokes grunted, barely maintaining the
wall of smoke. Even now, the mold streamed from the stones, trying to
shift around the edges of his wall and find a crack in his defenses – the
smoke vibrating roughly to destabilize the mold and keep it contained.
“We try to take one of them out,” Bard grunted. “I suggest the
flaming asshole up there now that Blaze is down. It’ll take her too long to
get back here.”
“You want to handle him while Queen covers you, Tombs?” Bard
asked, turning.
However, Tombs stood frozen in place… his body not moving… his
eyes not blinking. As Bard watched, Tombs slumped to the ground, then his
head slid free, slipping away, and hitting the ground with a heavy thud,
blood pouring out along the rocks. Behind him stood Jason and Alexion,
battered, bloody, and bruised but still very much alive.
Bard cocked his head. It looked like Jason was holding a tiny bone
cage with a winged creature inside. The weird little faerie had the audacity
to wave at him and smile. “Hi, I’m Brodie! Are you enjoying your stay in
the club?” he called out enthusiastically.
“Shut it, Brodie. It’s not the time,” Jason grunted.
“That’s right. This time, you assholes aren’t getting away,” Alexion
bit out, light flaring across his body before spreading to the others,
enveloping them with his buffs. The walking nightlight had apparently
gotten over his issues with teamwork.
Fantastic, Bard grumbled to himself.
Jason paced forward slowly, a Soul Blade arcing away from each
bony arm, dark mana radiating out away from him and crawling across his
skin. Bard’s eyes widened. Since when were his hands made of exposed
bone? And how was he casting those Soul Blades without his staff? This
wasn’t good – this wasn’t good at all.
Pewpew is out of commission, Bard realized – double-checking his
UI. That blast from Finn must have taken her out. That was the only way
to explain how team Midnight Sparkle had managed to sneak up on them
like that. Even now, the tower in the distance was still slowly collapsing,
rubble tumbling away from the structure as the top of the spire slid free.
However, Bard’s brow furrowed as he saw the tower slow… then
stop.
Then, wonder of wonders, it began to move backward, rising ever-
so-slowly.
The stone crumbled away from the base, still rising, debris now
raining out around the tower in a halo of rock and dust. A band of blue sky
soon appeared between the two sections. And in between them stood a
monster of a man – a man who was lifting several tons of rock with his bare
hands. Smiles slowly lowered himself, then heaved with his legs, sending
the top of the tower hurtling up into the air, racing toward their position.
Their opponents’ backs were turned to that incredible scene, but each
remarkable moment was caught by the camera floating at Bard’s shoulder.
Queen was following his gaze. She side-eyed Bard.
“We keep ‘em contained?”
He nodded. “If we can.”
“Got it.”
Then she was casting, Queen’s magic flaring as she dumped the
remainder of her mana into one final spell. Ice rocketed outward from her
location, racing across the stone, encasing Jason’s and Alexion’s ankles
before sliding up the walls of the nearby buildings, forming an immense
barrier around their location and trapping the group inside. At the same
time, Smokes pulled his spell away from the rubble, Eliza no longer
contained. Instead, he pushed that smoke out to the wall of ice, helping to
reinforce and block line of sight.
 Jason simply pulled his legs free with a blast of air mana.
Alexion was just behind him, smashing at the ice with the edge of
his shield.
Finn was moving closer, the metal bracelets along his arms melting
away and forming into glowing spheres that orbited him, his eyes blazing
with fire.
Motes of glowing sapphire were rising from the ruined rubble,
shaking off the ice as Eliza’s body began to reform, those glowing blue eyes
still fixed on Bard. She hadn’t forgotten her goal.
“What can I say, the ladies just love musicians,” Bard muttered
weakly.
And in the center of it all stood Bard, Smokes, and Queen. Bard’s
stamina and mana were almost entirely depleted from One-Man Band, his
regeneration attempting to feebly restore his resources. He could barely
move, his leg no longer able to support his weight. Queen was standing,
but her arm hung limp and blood dripped from her fingers, her mana gone –
leaving nothing to defend herself. Smokes was doing all he could to
maintain the barrier around them, throwing the rest of his mana pool at the
smoke that hovered around them protectively.
Bard let out a hissing breath as he felt the mold rising higher, the
burn creeping up his thigh and into his stomach as it entered his blood
stream. “That… that wasn’t too shabby,” he admitted, his voice coming in
a rasp. “I didn’t expect the surprise attack. Or team Midnight Sparkle to
show up,” he offered with a nod at Jason and Alexion. “That… that was a
good… twist.”
Shit it was getting hard to speak now.
“Anything else you want to say?” Jason demanded, his voice cold as
ice, darkness encircling each scythe. “Last chance.”
Bard swallowed hard, buying time. “Yeah,” he grunted.
He raised his eyes to meet Jason’s. “You should look up.”
He had the privilege of seeing that kid’s cowled face crane upward,
the shock rippling back through his body as he saw the top of the tower
hurtling through smoke lingering around the courtyard. Too late to flee.
Too late to stop it. A grin drifted across Bard’s face, even as his own death
loomed close, not a single member of their group flinching away from what
was coming. Only a trio of smiling masks watching their demise race
toward them.
They’d died before and they’d do it again.
All with a smile on their faces.
Then the tower slammed home and the world went dark.

System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 47 - Bounce
“What the hell was that?” the Lady grunted, breaking the silence in
the room. All the displays hanging against the far wall had gone dark and
silent.
“Clearly, some giant man threw a tower at our team,” the Hippie
added helpfully, earning him a glare from the light deity. “Or the top of a
tower, technically.”
“Yes, I saw that… but it begs the question of how,” the Lady
snapped. She glared at the Gambler, her eyes pulsing with holy energy.
“Or we could talk about that little girl that turned into a demon,” the
Gambler drawled, swirling the contents of his glass, the ice clinking along
the edges. He looked to the Hippie. “I sense some of your meddling,
brother.”
“Me?” the Hippie asked in mock offense, pressing a hand to his
chest. “Did you hear that Fluffy? They’re questioning our honor! Besides,
I’ve been here the whole time… making a decent dent in your supply of
nuts, no less. Speaking of which—” His finger tapped against his dish and
Oscar let out a sigh before trudging back to the bar.
“Your ability with illusions is well known,” the Gambler remarked.
“For someone like yourself, I imagine it would be easy to be in two places
at once.”
The Hippie cocked his head. “Huh, that’s actually a great idea! I
wish I’d thought of it. No wonder you’re doing so well for yourself.
Someday I hope to be as talented as my dear, big brother,” the god added
with a naïve smile, one absent of any trace of duplicity.
“Yeah, you can save it, you little cheat—”
“Perhaps we should put the bald accusations aside,” the Old Man
interrupted. “Unless you have some proof of meddling, of course?”
With a weary sigh, the Gambler tipped back his glass, taking
another long pull. Then he looked back at those screens, his eyebrow
twitching – the only indication that watching his champions lose to a little
demon girl and then get smashed to death had bothered him.
“At least that fight ended terribly for both sides,” the Gambler
muttered.
“I’m not so certain of that,” the Seer intoned.
 The Gambler snorted. “We’ll see.”
The fire goddess inspected him closely. “Although, I am curious
about something else.” She waved her hand at the screens, one of the
displays rewinding rapidly until it came to rest on an image of Jason, a
small creature hovering just over his shoulder. “I thought the races had
been extinguished…”
With a grimace, the Gambler downed the rest of his drink, tapping at
the glass. Oscar was in the middle of dragging a massive bowl of nuts
across the floor, only to stop, look back and forth between the bowl and the
god of air before trudging back to the bar yet again, his shoulders slumped
and defeated.
“What?” the Gambler asked, noticing all his siblings watching him
now. “I guess one stowed away or something. He must have been missed
during the audit.”
“You left one of your kind suspended in a capsule… for a hundred
years?” the Hippie asked. “I mean, even for me that would be pretty cruel.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” the Gambler muttered, eyeing the black
creatures around the room more nervously now, those animals now staring
at him as well.
“No, you only brainwashed those simple little fairies into your
corpo-bullshit and then forgot a few when you shut down the club,” the
Hippie retorted, clapping his hands slowly. “That’s sooooo much better.”
He hesitated. “Although, it does make one wonder what happened to the
rest of your people.” The Hippie leaned forward, his eyes gleaming
sapphire.
“You know what happened,” the Gambler grunted, nodding at Oscar
as he snatched another glass from the rat, the creature slumping against the
couch and breathing hard. “The humans drove our kind from this world.
The races vanished. And without them, magical knowledge and ability
deteriorated across five generations, weakening those same humans.”
He waved at the screens and they shifted, now showcasing the
destruction being waged across the game world as more and more rifts
opened and deposited elemental creatures. Travelers fought those creatures,
dying over and over in a rain of hellfire, ice, and lightning. Ripped apart by
undead monstrosities and cut down by beams of angelic light. Yet they
returned in a flash of multi-colored light, soon rejoining those endless
battles.
 “Which explains why even these travelers can’t prevent what’s
coming. They’re only as strong as their teachers… who are pitiful shadows
of their former glory,” the Gambler muttered.
He glanced back at his siblings. “As for me, you all know that the
board was wiped clean. A level playing field for all. A Great Reset if you
will – the true Kingdom of Nerfle,” he chuckled plucking the fresh glass
from the table beside him just as Oscar set it down.
“We’ve all searched and found none of our people – not even the
bodies. And yet… some of your faeries survived,” the Old Man intoned.
“And this after we discover you somehow managed to salvage your former
city as well.” He hesitated, watching the gambler. “What else are you
hiding, brother. What else have you squirreled away to weight the scales in
your favor?”
“You may be getting paranoid in your old age… brother,” the
Gambler shot back. “Perhaps you should give in to your desires and have a
drink.”
“He’s hiding something more,” the Seer spoke up, her brow
furrowed in concentration. “But he’s obscuring it – creating ever more
chaos to cover his tracks.”
“Or perhaps your sight isn’t what it once was. I heard the travelers
mention something called an optometrist back in their world. Perhaps one
of them could help you with your eyesight.” The Seer simply shook her
head, refusing to rise to his bait.
“I don’t care what he’s hiding,” the Lady growled. “Only to see him
put in his place.”
The Gambler raised an eyebrow. “And pray do tell, dear sister, how
do you see that happening? We just witnessed my team and your little
pawns get smashed flat.” At that comment, the screen shifted once more.
They now showed an aerial view of the former battleground. As the gods
looked on, there was no movement among the rubble – no trace of life.
“See? Nothing but rock and stone,” the Gambler added. “Except
my team have a special skill set. The ability to outrun death itself. They
will be back very soon and will be lying in wait for your pawns.”
The Seer’s brow furrowed, her eyes flaring with a fiery energy.
Then a slow, creeping smile spread across her face, flames whipping at the
silks that wrapped her body.
 “What? What is it?” the Gambler demanded, glass frozen on its
journey to his lips.
“You’re right, my sight might not be what it once was,” she
answered, turning to meet his gaze. “But I can still see that you’re fucked.”

* * *

A spark of flame bloomed in the darkness, revealing a newly formed

cavern with several tons of rock suspended above a small enclosure. The
stone shifted and rumbled occasionally as it settled – a difficult task when
the rock was being held up by a legion of robots shaped like oversized
basketballs. They bounced in place, forming a steady rhythm, an
undulating mass of machinery shoving up against a thick metal barrier – the
only thing keeping the rock from collapsing entirely. And all the while,
they recited the same damn word over and over and over again.
“Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce…”
“Do these things have a mute button?” Alexion growled in the
darkness.
“Not that I could find,” Finn muttered back. He was bloodied and
bruised, his skin covered in muddy streaks. However, he was very much
alive. “And trust me, I’ve looked.”
More of the machines were bouncing up out of a hatch in the middle
of the enclosure as they spoke. Jason assumed that this was some sort of
maintenance tunnel. As the robots spilled out of the hatch, Finn’s flames
wrapped their metallic bodies, melting them down into a massive molten
sphere. He then kneaded at the superheated metal, forming a thick column
that he shifted into place with a flick of his fingers, the metal cooling and
hardening. Within moments, he had braced the panel along the ceiling.
Jason could only marvel at the feat. That sheet of metal must have
taken some quick thinking and reflexes – pushing Finn’s Haste ability to its
limits. They had likely avoided death by mere seconds. The remaining
members of <Death and Taxes> weren’t quite so lucky – the group now
buried under several tons of rock.
“Speaking of which, I’m ready for a thank you whenever,” Finn
grunted, wiping at the dust coating his face, only to smear a muddy track
across his skin as it mixed with his sweat.
 “Trust me, he needs it to help bolster his fragile ego,” Daniel
chirped from his shoulder.
“Well, in that case, thanks,” Jason replied with a chuckle. However,
that move cost him, coughing soon replacing his laughter as he tried to
purge the dust from his lungs.
Alexion just scowled at the robots that had still refused to shut up.
“What the fuck are these things?”
“Bouncer bots,” Finn answered with a sigh. “Apparently, whoever
designed this place had an unusual sense of humor. They aren’t
weaponized and were meant to subdue unruly guests without harming them,
trapping them under a mound of the machines. I’ve repurposed them now,
reinforcing their hulls and giving them a boost in power. That was all I had
time to do before…”
He trailed off, waving at the rocks around them.
“Huh,” Jason grunted. He glanced at Finn. “So, what happened?
“The top of the tower I destroyed landed on us somehow,” Finn
answered, swiping at the air to bring up his screens. “<Death and Taxes>
tried to break line of sight with that ice and smoke, but it wasn’t quite
enough. I managed—”
“Ahem,” Daniel coughed, a real feat for a fire elemental without a
throat. Or lungs.
Finn grimaced. “Okay, Daniel caught the earth mana just before it
cleared the smoke. That gave me just enough time to pull you all toward
me and summon the bots.”
That explained the burns along Jason’s back and shoulders. Finn
must have used his orbs to draw them in – not having time to avoid the burn
damage. Not that Jason was complaining. They were still alive, after all.
“How is that even possible?” Alexion bit out, staring at the rock.
“Smiles,” Jason muttered. Finn just nodded in agreement.
They had all reviewed the videos. The leader of <Death and Taxes>
was renowned for his strength. Yet, as Jason stared at the pile of rubble, he
was starting to realize that the videos hadn’t done him justice. The force
needed to throw the top of the tower at least a quarter mile…even with the
height advantage, that was still incredible.
Jason shook his head, shifting his attention to one of his hands, the
ivory crushed and the fingers destroyed – a function of nearly getting buried
alive. He was going to need more than a fancy new pair of hands and feet if
they were going to win this.
“Anyone have eyes on Eliza?” Finn demanded, interrupting Jason’s
thoughts.
“I haven’t—” Jason began, but stopped as he saw that same strange
blue dust drifting up out of the debris around them, beginning to condense
and solidify in the air. Alexion and Finn reacted immediately, drawing on
their mana to form protective barriers of flaming steel and glowing light.
They had all seen what Eliza had done – what she had become.
An instant later, Eliza stood there, blue eyes glowing and body
undulating in a strange pattern, frost wafting away from her skin. She
stared at the group – injured and trapped beneath the rock – but there was
no recognition reflected in her eyes. Only a deep, cold indifference. A
chilly, murderous intent that Jason could feel in his bones. She took one
step forward—
“Eliza,” Jason said, pushing himself to his feet and stepping
forward. He raised his hands, palms open. “It’s just us. We’re friends. Not
enemies.”
The mold was drifting away from her now and she took another
step.
Fire rolled off Finn’s body, more orbs floating up around him as he
melted down his bracelets. “She’s lost it. I may need to put her dow—”
“Hold,” Jason grunted over his shoulder.
He took another step, pulling back the cowl of his hood and ignoring
the deadly blue mold that floated around him as he spoke to Eliza. “It’s just
us. You killed all the enemies. They’re gone. You’re safe. You won. You
won,” he repeated.
At those words, Eliza blinked… then blinked again, some
semblance of sanity returning to her expression. She looked scared,
frightened. “I… I can’t control it,” she murmured, the words whispered and
scratchy, the mold fluctuating wildly.
“Yes, you can,” Jason reassured her. “You’ve already been
controlling it. Just relax. We’re safe now. You’re safe now.”
As he spoke, the mold slowly drifted back toward Eliza, returning to
her body, more frost spewing into the air around her, a chill breeze blowing
through the rubble. Eliza squeezed her eyes closed in concentration and
that cloud of frost compressed in on her, burrowing into her skin. As her
body cooled rapidly, the mold stitched itself back together and solidified
into regular smooth flesh. A few seconds later, her body returned to normal,
and she began to collapse, suddenly too weak to stand.
But Jason was there with a small blast of air mana from his feet. He
caught her with one hand and gently lowered her to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Eliza whispered, tears forming in her eyes, only to
immediately freeze, turning into crystalline droplets that reflected Finn’s
fires.
Jason’s brow furrowed. It looked like whatever she had done to
herself might be permanent. And Eliza only seemed to be able to keep the
mold contained by constantly freezing her body – probably a mixture of
Obscuring Mist and another ice spell if Jason had to hazard a guess. That
was a precarious situation. If she lost focus for even a moment…
He shook his head. There was no sense worrying about that. And
Eliza was staring at him, searching for the same emotion that coiled in his
gut… fear. So, Jason assumed his stoic mask – the one he put on for the
world – forcing a smile onto his face.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Jason replied. “If anything,
we should be thanking you. You were taking on most of their guild solo. It
gave us the opening we needed.”
Eliza looked up at him a moment longer and then nodded.
“Opening for what exactly? The opportunity to get buried under a
pile of rubble?” Alexion interjected, earning him a scowl from Jason.
“Killing those assholes doesn’t accomplish shit. They’re just going to
respawn… again.”
A slow smile crept across Jason’s face. “Not quite. First off, we
managed to regroup. And we’re all alive. So, we don’t have to worry about
getting separated or trapped on respawn. We also bought ourselves some
time before they return and realize we aren’t dead yet.” He tapped at his
UI, a timer appearing in his peripheral vision. “Roughly fifteen minutes.
“But that’s not all,” Jason murmured. “There’s also this.”
Jason pulled something from his bag – the reason one of his hands
had gotten crushed, the reinforced bone having crumpled under a few tons
of rock. In the split second before the tower struck, Finn had dedicated
himself to saving them all. Jason? Well, Jason had focused on recovering
something else.
 Alexion just stared at the object clutched in Jason’s remaining good
hand. A head. One belonging to a certain member of <Death and Taxes>.
Tombs’ mask was gone. His eyes vacant and glazed. His skin bloodied and
jagged where it once had connected to his neck and shoulders.
And yet… a note of macabre optimism shone in Alexion’s eyes as
well as the rest of their group. They knew what that head meant.
“So, who wants to learn what our opponents are planning next?”
Jason asked with a grin.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 48 - Headless
“Bounce, bounce, bounce,” the robots chanted as they hopped into
the room in a single file line before forming into neat rows along one side
of the enclosure. In the background, another generator hummed softly, its
cores giving off a bright glow – orange, yellow, and green.
As they entered, Finn’s crystalline arm touched the wall, his fingers
dissolving down into tendrils that speared into cracks in the stone.
Moments later, lights appeared along the ceiling, floating balls of light that
pushed back at the shadows and revealed a dilapidated control room – not
unlike the one Eliza had been tasked with defending. The stone was coated
in dust and debris was scattered about the floor, marred only by footsteps –
evidence that Finn had been here already.
“Home sweet home,” the avatar of flame drawled. “Make
yourselves comfortable.”
Alexion scowled down at his own armor. The previously polished
steel was now covered in dents and dings, as well as a thick coating of dust,
dirt, and muddy patches of oil – a product of crawling through those damn
maintenance tunnels. The passages had clearly been designed for the
smaller bouncer bots. Eliza took pity on him, summoning a small cloud of
moisture and offering a rag from her pack – Alexion acknowledging her
help with a reluctant nod before stepping inside and rubbing the grime from
his armor.
“So, we’re hiding… again,” Alexion grumbled as he cleaned himself
off.
“You get used to it,” Jason retorted, shrugging off his foul mood.
“Besides, we need to buy more time. After <Death and Taxes> respawn,
they’ll head to our last location. However, it’ll take them time to search the
rubble – even with Tombs’ help. In the meantime, we can regroup and plan
our next steps.”
Speaking of which, Finn had already turned his attention to the
generator, a glowing display flickering into existence as he approached.
Eliza had slumped against a nearby wall, sliding down the stone until she
settled against the floor. Her expression was grim, and her eyes stared into
the distance, watching something Jason couldn’t see. Ever since her
transformation into that thing, she’d been nearly mute and lost in her own
thoughts.
Jason hoped she would be able to recover, because the fighting
wasn’t over – just on hold.
At that thought, Jason’s hand drifted down to his bag. A muffled
voice came from inside, Brodie refusing to shut the hell up. Jason had been
forced to stuff him inside one of the bags just to get a little relief – even if
that made him feel guilty. But he wasn’t thinking of Brodie right now. No,
Jason was considering his next step. They needed more information.
And now he had a safe place to gather it.
Jason pulled Tombs’ head from his bag, shoving the debris off a
nearby table, the trash clattering against the floor. Then he set the head on
the surface. He drew in a deep breath. Diving into another’s mind could be
deeply unpleasant. Confusing, chaotic images. Stray thoughts and errant
memories. It was disordered chaos.
And that was putting aside the moral implication of invading a
person’s privacy…
Jason was aware he was a hypocrite. George Lane had simply
threatened to invade their minds. And now, Jason had been forced to do it
twice in so many days.
But there was nothing for it…
He reached forward, his fingers touching Tombs’ temples. A dark
sludge erupted from his fingertips, trickling across pale skin before
invading Tombs’ nose, ears, and mouth. That darkness slithered into the
depths of Tombs’ skull, leaving no place untouched as Jason closed his
eyes, allowing the spell to fully take hold—

* * *

Sometime later, Jason sucked in a deep breath, his eyes snapping

open.
He looked around, slightly disoriented, and leaned heavily against
the table, his legs suddenly feeling weak and unresponsive.
“Finally,” Alexion grunted.
“How long was I out?” he croaked, his throat suddenly dry. When
had that happened?
“10 minutes,” Finn grunted. “You get anything good?”
 Jason grimaced. “Bits and pieces. Smiles was already
compartmentalizing information among the members of his guild – afraid
of some sort of mental attack. However, after the events in Barrow, he
became even more paranoid. He stopped explaining anything to his
guildmates. As a result, Tombs only had pieces.”
He raised his eyes to meet Finn’s gaze. “But I still know more than
I did before. Tombs was tasked with bringing the generators back online.
His Phasing ability made it easy for him to access these rooms. He brought
along his teammates to help charge the cores.”
Finn’s brow furrowed in confusion. “How did that kid know where
to go? Or how to repair the generators?”
Jason shook his head. “The guild has a full blueprint of this club.
I’m guessing the air deity might have bent the rules a bit there. Tombs also
spent several weeks studying in the mage city of Vaerwald. The Great
Library there still contained a few accounts of this technology,” Jason
added, waving at the generator.
“A few weeks?” Alexion echoed.
Jason nodded. “This wasn’t a hastily thrown together plan.
They’ve been preparing since long before we received the first quest
notice. Studying us, training, preparing.”
“I thought as much,” Finn muttered, eyeing the generator behind
him and the bouncer bots nearby with a grimace.
“So, what’s their play here? Did you find anything that can actually
help us?” Alexion snapped, pushing away from the nearby wall, and pacing
the room impatiently.
“Sort of,” Jason answered, eyeing Eliza where she was still staring
at the floor. “We disrupted their plan. But they managed to get what they
needed. Those games served a purpose. The club doesn’t charge a specific
mana toll like the pedestals in Vaerwald. Instead, those big buildings are
designed to absorb a fraction of any ambient mana cast inside.”
“Huh,” Finn murmured, glancing at the generator. “It seems
whoever built this place repurposed the tech then.” At Jason’s curious
glance, he heaved out a sigh. “I’ve seen this technology before in an
abandoned facility far to the south of Sandscrit.” He raised his crystalline
arm. “I even took home a souvenir. I call this material Neurogem. It
conducts mana extremely well and is malleable. This club is riddled with
it.”
 Finn looked back at the generator. “Yet instead of pulling ambient
mana from the atmosphere, they must have created a lattice of neurogem
panels in each of those rooms,” he murmured, half talking to himself.
“That way, they were stealing from people – not the gods themselves.”
“You want to run that one by us again?” Alexion grumbled.
Finn let out a sigh. “So, the gods absorb a fraction of each person’s
mana. Around 10% give or take. This also comes with a similar stat loss.
We’re sure this is the case, because once a person’s Najima – the focal
points for their mana – are removed, they can no longer produce mana on
their own and their stats adjust accordingly.”
“Bullshit,” Alexion snapped. “There’s no way to remove a person’s
mana.”
Finn raised an eyebrow. “Julia has undergone the process.”
Alexion just stared at him, his mouth opening and then closing. He
must have decided from the look on Finn’s face that this line of questioning
was dangerous for his health. It seemed Alexion had matured during their
time in the club.
For his part, Jason just nodded. That helped explain Julia’s physical
prowess. “So, you’re saying that whoever built that facility also helped
design this one?” Jason asked.
Finn shrugged. “Or they were just using the same tech. Although,
I’d love to know who created it in the first place,” he murmured, shaking
his head. “Either way, that all begs the question. <Death and Taxes> were
trying to collect mana… but, why?”
“That’s not clear,” Jason replied. “All Tombs knew was that they
weren’t trying to collect fire, air, water, or earth mana. They had plenty of
those affinities among their own crew.” He glanced at Alexion. “The key
was me and Alexion. They were trying to gather dark and light mana in
relatively large quantities.”
“So, all of that bullshit we went through—”
“Was just to get us to cast,” Jason answered. “That also explains
why they didn’t send more of their guild members – just Pewpew and then
Smokes. That made the fights last longer.”
“So, they were just toying with us,” Alexion growled, his hands
balling into fists and a fine sheen of light erupting along his skin.
Jason raised his hands. “They weren’t just messing around. Tombs
seemed to believe that Pewpew, Queen, and Smokes were giving it their
all. If they killed one of us, so be it. They planned to absorb more mana
when we respawned.” Jason just nodded at the scowl on Alexion; s lips.
“Like I said, this plan took weeks to develop and implement. Tombs just
didn’t know what the end goal was. Only that he helped set up a generator
in that tower along the northern part of the ring. He also has memories of
some sort of stadium or coliseum at the base of the tower… but that’s it.
Only Smiles knew the rest.”
“Damn it,” Finn murmured, staring at the nearby generator.
“Fine. This is all some elaborate fucking game,” Alexion bit out. “I
can live with that. But what about Evelyn? Does Tombs have any
memories of her?”
Jason cocked his head. The memories rarely came to him in a nice,
chronological sequence. It wasn’t like watching a video. They were a
jumbled blur of images, sights, and sounds that he was forced to piece
together. “Tombs’ memories there are fuzzy,” he said slowly. “He knows
she’s here. Somewhere near the stadium. But that was someone else’s
problem.”
“Go figure,” Alexion muttered. “Smiles is just baiting his trap.”
Jason gave a reluctant nod. It seemed that way.
“And getting off this rock?” Finn asked, turning back to Jason.
“Whatever they used to teleport us here is in the stadium,” Jason
murmured, holding a hand to his temple. He was starting to get a
headache. “Something to do with the gate pieces?”
Finn sighed. “Of course.”
Jason just raised a questioning eyebrow at that. For once, Finn
almost looked embarrassed, shooting a glance at Eliza, the water mage
finally looking up.
“I was doing some… well, some experiments before all of this went
down,” Finn began. “Best I can tell, the gate pieces are fragments of an old
waypoint system that used to allow for instant teleportation between major
cities. They need to be charged with mana and attuned to another
fragment. The larger the fragment, the more mass they can teleport.”
“You didn’t think that was worth mentioning after <Death and
Taxes> stole your gate piece,” Alexion demanded, his mana flaring around
him. “That had to be what they used to fucking teleport us here.”
Jason clenched his jaw. He couldn’t help but agree.
 “How could I have anticipated that they knew how the gate pieces
worked?” Finn shot back. “We just figured that out ourselves and there
weren’t many of those gate fragments out there in the world or they
wouldn’t have needed to steal mine!”
“Say what you really mean. You didn’t trust us. That’s important
intel and we’re potential enemies,” Alexion retorted. “So, instead, you
ended up fucking us all. What was all that about teamwork and working
together, huh?”
“Do you blame me?” Finn growled back. “You’re a professional
traitor.”
“Say that again—”
Jason raised a hand, stepping between Alexion and Finn. “It doesn’t
matter now. That ship sailed a while ago. It doesn’t change our situation.
We need to get the hell off this rock. And to do that, we need to work
together. All of us.”
Alexion was glaring daggers at Finn, but slowly backed down. He
paced back across the dusty floor of the room, each footfall kicking up a
puff of dirt as he strode a steady ring around the room, muttering to himself
under his breath.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” Finn acknowledged, sparing a look at Jason.
“Yeah, well, we can add it to the growing list of favors you owe
me,” Jason replied.
Then he heaved out another sigh. “For now, the clock is ticking.
We need to come up with a strategy to get off this fucking club before
<SAFE> destroys the game world. Unfortunately, Tombs’ memories all
point toward that damn stadium. No gate pieces – no exit.”
“Can’t we just disable the club’s safety protocols and make a jump
for it?” Alexion demanded, waving at the generator beside Finn.
Finn frowned. “Unfortunately, no. These generators don’t power
that safety system. Best I can tell, they are using the same generator that
was collecting your and Jason’s mana.”
“Fucking perfect,” Alexion snapped. “So, we’re walking into a
trap,” he growled, light flashing off his skin as he made his rounds of the
room. “Yet again. Every time we bring the fight to these assholes, they
have another trap and another damn plan.”
“But we’re together now,” Jason offered. “That helps.”
 “Maybe if the plant girl here can go crazy again,” Alexion offered,
slowing. “We can just throw her in that ring, find the rocks, and get the hell
out of here.”
“I… I’m not certain I can do that again,” Eliza squeaked, all eyes
turning toward her. Her gaze dropped under their attention. “I received a
new skill from that potion… but I can barely keep it under control – even
now. I’m afraid of what it might… do…” She had trouble finishing, a
shudder wracking her body. It seemed that experience hadn’t been pleasant.
And her point was valid. If Eliza used her new ability but turned on
them, they would be worse off than not using it at all. The only way to
contain her seemed to be to freeze the mold.
“Of course,” Alexion grumbled.
“I’m sorry,” Eliza squeaked again.
“It’s fine,” Finn answered, placing a hand on her shoulder and
glaring at Alexion. “You did more than enough. Without your help, we
wouldn’t have survived that last fight or managed to regroup.” Alexion just
snorted in irritation.
Jason grimaced. He sympathized with Alexion. That mold form
that Eliza had summoned had been incredibly powerful – both offensively
and defensively. It had taken most of <Death and Taxes> just to subdue
her, much less kill her. But they didn’t need to rely on Eliza. They just
needed to accomplish something similar, pull their opponents out of
formation. Use their own tactics against them.
His brow furrowed in thought, an idea creeping through his mind.
The outline of it had begun to form once Finn had mentioned Najima – and
his journey to that other facility. The strategy that unfurled in his mind
offered a possible way to kill two birds with one stone: throw <Death and
Taxes> out of position and improve their own strength.
Despite the way Alexion had lashed out at Eliza, the reality was that
Jason was probably their weakest member right now – even now that they
had regrouped. This environment was his worst enemy. The one-off stat
draining weapon he’d built for Alexion aside, he couldn’t buff the others
and his combat capabilities were only average. He also lacked the materials
to summon or create an undead horde, or the time to harvest them in
sufficient quantities to be a threat.
Jason’s gaze dropped to his ruined right hand. But perhaps he could
change that.
 He’d been right before. Alone, he couldn’t manage his race change.
Yet, with help, perhaps he could. He had what he needed in this room: a
healer, an alchemist, and a mage that could actually see mana and had
experience with Najima. They were an unlikely team of allies – a
dysfunctional group of sociopaths, geniuses, and introverts. But they had a
common purpose; a unified goal. They all wished to survive.
“You’re right,” Jason finally spoke up, breaking the tense silence
that hung in the air. Alexion looked at him in surprise. “We have little
choice but to enter that stadium. So far, we’ve been playing <Death and
Taxes’> game and we will have to keep playing it,” Jason continued.
“However, that doesn’t mean we can’t play on our own terms.”
“What do you mean?” Alexion asked in confusion.
Jason’s eyes dropped back to his ruined hand once more. It felt
strange… what he was about to do. He’d spent so long inside of AO alone
or relying on a handful of close friends. Asking for help felt difficult,
especially when he was asking former and possibly future enemies. But he
had no choice. Not if they were going to survive this—if they were going
to save AO.
They would need to work together, just as Finn and Eliza had. Even
Jason and Alexion had begun to work together and utilize the synergies
between their skills to create something new…
And terrifying.
“I have an idea, but it’s going to require all of your help,” Jason
answered finally, eyeing each of them in turn, the lights in the generator
room flickering softly. “Even for me… it may be insane.”
“We passed insane a while ago,” Finn grunted, Eliza barking out an
involuntary laugh at his comment – the girl adjusting her glasses self-
consciously at her outburst.
“You say that now, but you haven’t been a part of Jason’s plans
before,” she murmured.
Finn smiled at her. “True. I was only on the receiving end.”
“I don’t care if it’s crazy,” Alexion muttered, coming to a halt and
crossing his arms. “Will it help me find Evelyn and get us off this fucking
rock?”
“I think so,” Jason answered.
“Well, then, what do you have in mind?” Alexion asked.
 Jason cocked his head, letting his dark mana hum through his veins,
the chill energy pushing back at his own doubt and fear, that energy
bleeding into something different… a sensation that bubbled and popped
and fizzed and had his heart beating rapidly in his chest. That was
excitement, a part of him reveling in the possibility of what he was
envisioning.
“It’s time to put on a show of our own,” Jason finally answered.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 49 - Lich
The screen shifted and tilted, taking in the view of a darkened stone
room. The display pivoted, focusing on Alexion’s face. He looked haggard
and a streak of dirt marred one cheek. At his back was a generator, several
brightly glowing cores nestled within a lattice of crystal.
“Oh… finally,” Alexion whispered, looking away from the camera
nervously. “It took me a long time to figure out how to bring the cameras
back online for this section. I don’t have long.”
Alexion’s eyes met the camera, taking a deep breath. “I need to
level with you. Here inside AO, you all know me as the avatar of light—a
crusader and knight. Hell, I’ve been streaming since the beta… And in real
life, I’m the son of a digital king. I’ve attended conventions. Talked up this
software and its merits,” Alexion spoke in a hushed voice, trying to keep
quiet. “But the truth is that this is just roleplaying – in-game and out.”
Alexion shook his head. “Now it’s time for me to drop the mask. To come
clean as… well, just myself – just Alex Lane.”
He took a deep breath. “I know many of you out there are facing
elemental creatures. Brigands. Thieves. PK guilds taking advantage of the
chaos. And in the real world? Massive demonstrations centered around
Cerillion’s headquarters. Violence. Riots. Police in full tactical gear.
We’re seeing humanity at its worst. Desperate, angry, and opportunistic. I
know you’ve all seen the horrors that this place – this game – can conjure.
It can bring out the worst in us.”
Alexion’s body suddenly went rigid, cocking his head as though
hearing something. “I’m sorry, they’ll be back soon. I should get to the
point…”
His eyes turned back to the camera, his expression dead serious.
“You won’t believe what the other avatars are planning. In the face of
everything… the threat to the game world, a legion of players calling out
for a hard reset, and <Death and Taxes>, they refuse to concede. Instead,
they’re preparing some macabre experiment,” he whispered with a shudder.
“I felt everyone needed to see this and understand how crazy these people
are. This is the level of addiction that this game can create in its players.”
Alexion shook his head. “I only hope this helps shine a light on
AO.”
 A voice called out from off camera, and Alexion whirled, his fingers
twitching and a golden haze hovering across the camera before
disappearing. No doubt, he’d hidden it from view.
And just in time…
The camera pivoted as Jason, Eliza, and Finn entered the darkened
room. “You ready, Alexion? We don’t have much time until <Death and
Taxes> figure out where we’re hidden.”
“Uh, yeah, I’m ready,” Alexion managed, sparing a sidelong glance
at the camera. However, none of the other avatars seemed to notice.
“Good,” Finn grunted. “I’ve tweaked Jason’s designs. They’re
complete now and we’ve finished harvesting some additional resources
we’ll need.”
“What kind of—” Alexion began, only for a group of bouncer bots
to hop into the room, hauling a makeshift sled littered with severed limbs,
leaving a long bloody trail in its wake. “Oh, I see. Where, uh, where did
those parts come from?”
“I harvested them, myself.” Jason answered, patting his arm and leg.
Indeed, his armor was splattered with blood, his own presumably. “Those
are the extras.”
As he spoke, Jason began peeling off his armor, revealing pale flesh
riddled with dark tattoos. He stripped until he was wearing only a plain,
dark pair of shorts. His arms and legs had been repaired, his augments
replaced with lean muscle and smooth skin – dark tattoos slithering across
his body like living things. As he removed his hood, Jason’s face soon
came into view, twin horns jutting from his forehead and his eyes
bottomless dark pits as he channeled his mana.
No doubt, numbing himself to what was coming.
Alexion just swallowed again, sparing another glance at the hidden
camera.
But he didn’t voice a complaint as Jason stepped over to a nearby
stone table. The surface had been cleared, and the dust swept away, leaving
only bare stone. Jason perched on the tabletop as Eliza and Finn
approached. Eliza inserted a makeshift IV into each of his arms and legs,
blood spotting on his forearms at the injection points. She bound down the
needles with a tacky resin, the material hardening quickly. Those needles
were attached to cords that wound back to a series of bottles perched on a
metal rack nearby. Their contents glowed brightly in an array of colors.
 “Something to boost your Willpower, mana regeneration, improve
your concentration, and numb the pain,” Eliza explained as she tapped the
containers in sequence. The shimmering contents of those vials soon
trickled down the IVs before flooding into Jason’s body, the young man
letting out a hissing breath.
Finn flicked at the air beside Jason, and a glowing orange screen
appeared. At the same time, Daniel flitted forward, the fire elemental
scanning Jason’s body from head to foot with a beam of light. Daniel
repeated those scans every 30 seconds. The nearby screen updated,
showing a multi-layered image of Jason’s body. The display of his arms,
legs, chest, and head were overlaid with a series of colors – black being by
far the most prominent. It was as though a malignant sludge fed through
Jason’s veins, only marred by the occasional burst of colors.
“These spots are your Najima,” Finn explained, pivoting the screen
to Jason, and identifying a location in each of his limbs. They looked like
black holes on the images, those spots sucking up any stray gleam of color.
“This way, you can see what you’re doing.” Finn’s fingers twitched. “As
you work, I’ll also cauterize major veins and arteries. That will help slow
the bleeding.” As Finn spoke, two orbs of dark metal burst into flame and
swept up beside him, refining into twin needs that glowed a bright red.
Finn glanced at Alexion. “You ready for your part?”
Alexion spared one last look at the camera before nodding
hesitantly. He approached the table, his fingers moving through a
complicated series of gestures. Golden light bloomed around the table,
enveloping Jason, and forming a dome of pale light around him. His hands
continued to move as he channeled his mana into the healing dome.
“Drop the mana a bit,” Finn instructed, and the globe of light
dimmed. “Perfect.”
“We have about 10 minutes until my mana runs out at this rate, even
with Eliza’s potions,” Alexion announced. “Less if I need to add additional
power to the spell.”
“About the same amount of time on the IVs,” Eliza chimed in,
checking her vials.
As they spoke, Finn tapped at the display, and timers popped into
existence, tracking the duration on the potions and healing field. “Well,
looks like we’re all set then,” Finn murmured, checking the displays. He
looked at Jason. “You ready for stage one?”
 Jason just nodded grimly without saying a word, fear and
uncertainty reflecting on his face as he reached down and grasped
something off camera. However, the mystery was soon solved. His twin
short staves came back into view. Jason set one down, holding the other
firmly. A Soul Blade slowly slid from the shaft, a blade of darkness slicing
through the air.
“What’s stage one?” Alexion muttered into the darkened room.
Jason didn’t bother to look at him. “We’re transplanting my Najima
– which controls my ability to regenerate mana and cast. However,
removing that energy alone isn’t enough. The Khamsin outside of Sandscrit
can attest to that. Finn has studied the purging process extensively, looking
for a way to improve or reverse it. He’s determined that in order for the
Najima to continue to gather mana, they need to be transplanted into living
tissue – not mere crystal. So, the first step is to create vessels for my
Najima.”
“Using what exactly?” Alexion grunted. “Just some skin or muscle
—”
He cut himself short as Jason pulled his scythe blade close. In a
single sweeping movement, he sliced at his own chest, cutting the skin from
stomach to sternum. Blackened blood immediately pooled around the
wound, and the skin began to stitch back together under the effects of
Alexion’s healing magic and Eliza’s potions. However, Finn acted quickly.
His needles darted forward in a blur of flame, each one running down either
side of the wound, cauterizing the blood vessels and slowing the bleeding.
Jason reached forward with his free hand and pulled back at those
folds of skin, revealing thick muscle and bone nestled beneath. At the same
time, Finn’s needles danced close – searing his flesh and smoke coiling
away. A few more rapid gestures and Finn helped pin the skin back before
forming more of the needles with a blast of flame.
Jason grimaced but kept going, his chest rising and falling rapidly,
but the young man refused to back down. “Now for the muscle and
ribcage…”
His blade darted forward again, the energy carving cleanly through
flesh and bone. Jason let out a grunt – resisting the urge to scream – the
muscles in his arms and legs convulsing.
“Shouldn’t you be unconscious for this, at least?” Alexion muttered
in horror.
 “Can’t. Not enough hands,” Jason grunted as he slid the section of
bone and muscle free, more smoke coiling into the air as Finn’s needles
darted forward.
“Health at 89% and stable,” Eliza reported. She pulled her wand
from her belt, slotting another vial and depressing the button on the side. A
mist of faint pink vapor drifted toward Jason, coating his limbs and open
chest cavity. “Topical anesthetic,” she offered at his glance.
“Alexion? Report?” Finn grunted, not looking away from Jason and
the screen beside him.
“Uh, mana supplies are good. Nine more minutes at this rate,”
Alexion murmured.
Jason just nodded, looking down at his own exposed stomach, his
organs now visible and pulsing in time with his heartbeat. “Finn… give me
eyes?” he grunted in pain.
The older man nodded at Daniel, and several yellow highlights
appeared in Jason’s abdomen, identifying several major organs – lungs,
liver, kidneys, and heart. Five organs.
“Vessels?” Jason ground out in another rasping breath.
“Right here,” Finn replied, canceling his spell, and setting six urns
beside Jason.
The urns were each constructed from a mixture of reinforced metal
and bone harvested from Jason’s former arm modifications. It was
necessary that his own body parts were used in every step of this process.
However, the surfaces of those dark urns were riddled with translucent,
glimmering crystal – Neurogem that had been harvested from the club
itself.
Jason’s eyes met Finn’s. “I won’t be able to talk after this.”
The older man met his gaze calmly. “We’ve got you.”
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Eliza chimed in softly,
placing her hand gently on Jason’s. For his part, Alexion could only look
on in silent horror.
Jason nodded, took a deep shuddering breath, then raised his scythe
again. He moved quickly, slicing into his own abdomen with surgical
precision – cutting along the glowing yellow lines identified by Daniel. An
organ popped free, and Finn nodded at Eliza. She reached forward gingerly
and lifted it out of Jason’s abdomen. As Finn moved his needles closer, the
sound of sizzling meat filled the room, accompanied by a coil of smoke.
Jason let out a grunt of pain this time, his body jerking.
Eliza slid his liver into one of the vessels, glancing at her UI.
“Health at 82% and falling slowly,” she muttered. Her eyes shot to
Alexion. “We need more healing.”
He grimaced, and as his golden dome brightened, the bleeding
slowed.
Jason was moving again. Slice, sizzle, schlip. Another organ slid
into a vessel. Then another. And another. Jason was barely breathing now,
each breath a wheezing rasp now that he was missing one of his lungs. Yet
they weren’t finished – not yet.
He raised his scythe, the blade aimed at his heart. His eyes locked
on the rest of the group, pools of darkness as his tattoos shifted and
slithered faster.
Then he cut into himself again. Blood bubbled up quickly this
time. Eliza and Finn moved fast, lifting the organ free and cauterizing the
wounds as quickly as possible. Even so, Jason’s health continued to fall
more rapidly.
“58%,” Eliza said between gritted teeth.
“I see it,” Finn muttered.
“We’ve only got two more minutes with no blood flow.”
“I know,” Finn grunted.
Jason’s heart slid into the vessel.
“Wait, aren’t there supposed to be six vessels – one for each
Najima?” Alexion grunted. “We’ve only harvested five organs so far.”
Jason nodded in response, unable to speak now, his breath wheezy.
His arm trembled as he raised the scythe. His body was operating solely on
his remaining blood supply, nothing pumping the life-giving substance
through his arteries and veins. A thin yellow line suddenly traced across his
brow, orbiting his skull.
Yet Jason didn’t hesitate. The scythe dipped forward, carving
through his scalp, and tracing that line around his head. Moments later,
Finn stepped forward, his fingers lifting free the dome of bone and skin
from Jason’s head, revealing his brain. Alexion swallowed hard, looking
pale and sick. Eliza and Finn weren’t much better, but they couldn’t afford
to stop now.
“You’ll lose the ability to move after this,” Finn told Jason.
 Jason could only blink in response, his arm trembling and weaving
unsteadily near his head. Then it darted forward one last time, slicing out a
section of his brain.
Finn didn’t have time to hesitate. He reached forward, sliding that
brain matter into the last vessel. At the same time, his needle darted
forward, cauterizing with pinpoint precision.
“Health at 35% and dropping fast!” Eliza announced, her voice
harried.
“Only one more step,” Finn grunted. He pushed Jason back against
the table, the young man now lying flat, his chest pinned open, his
abdominal cavity and brain exposed. Blood stained the stone and dripped
onto the floor, Finn no longer able to hold it back.
“Finn?” Alexion demanded in a worried voice.
“Just keep up your channel. Give him everything you’ve got left.”
Alexion obliged grudgingly, the globe of light flaring brightly.
Finn dropped his own channel, the needles falling to the ground
with a clatter of metal. But he didn’t spare that any attention. His fingers
were already moving again. A series of crystalline cables rose from the
floor – each one had a metal needle attached to the tip, the surface
flickering with a soft flame. Finn used his magic to position them over
Jason’s body – across his chest, head, arms, and legs. The other ends of the
cables were attached to each vessel.
“Daniel. Targets,” Finn grunted.
Yellow highlights appeared along Jason’s body, and Finn adjusted
the injectors. Then, he took a last deep breath. “Dear gods, I hope this
works…”
The injectors plunged downward, piercing each of Jason’s Najima
simultaneously. His body convulsed, and his muscles spasmed, throwing
off Finn’s aim. But Eliza was already moving. She plunged another needle
into Jason’s arm, and his movement soon settled.
“A paralytic,” she explained at Alexion’s questioning glance. Just to
be safe, she dropped a few seeds on the table and a droplet of glowing
sapphire energy. Vines soon coiled around Jason’s arms and legs, holding
him firmly in place.
Finn adjusted his aim, and a sludgy darkness began to crawl up the
crystal cables, staining them a solid black. Jason’s mana poured through
the crystal lines and into the vessels. The tattoos along his skin shifted,
collecting at each of his Najima and disappearing along with his mana. At
the same time, the jars began to suck in the faint light in the generator room,
each one forming a miniature black hole as they gathered all of Jason’s
mana.
His health was falling rapidly now – his life force and mana one and
the same.
“He’s… he’s dying!” Eliza said. “15%. 11%. 8%. Still dropping.”
Finn just kept going. “We can’t stop,” he grunted in return.
Then Jason let out one final, wheezing breath, and his chest went
still. Finally, the darkness faded from the cables. His tattoos were gone,
leaving only pale, ruined flesh behind.
Eliza looked at her UI, horror reflected on her face.
“He’s… he’s dead,” Alexion confirmed, his own mana depleting and
the golden dome flickering and fading. Eliza’s vials had been empty for
some time.
“Yes, yes he is,” Finn said, his voice unworried.
He moved forward, his fingers twitching. An orb lifted into the air
and flattened into a tray that Finn gingerly set each vessel upon. Then he
turned, directing the tray to the other side of the generator room – an area
draped in shadow. Only the faintest humanoid form was visible amid the
darkness. Finn approached with the flaming tray in tow, the camera only
showing his back and nothing more.
Working swiftly, he lifted each vessel and set it inside the creature
along the wall.
He finished his work in mere seconds and stepped back, canceling
his spell, plunging the room into a gloomy darkness.
Silence hung in the generator room. Alexion, Eliza, and Finn, all
watching with bated breath. Finn shifted in place, Eliza’s hands coiled in
knots, and even Alexion paced nervously – his eyes drifting back to Jason’s
mutilated corpse.
Yet the creature didn’t move. Nothing happened…
“It didn’t work,” Alexion muttered, storming across the generator
room. “I told you all this was madness. What are we going to do now?”
Finn and Eliza didn’t respond; they could only stare. At the ravaged
and bleeding body of Jason – what was left of it anyway. At the dark
creature in the shadows, its body still and unmoving. At their plan…
unraveling before their eyes.
 * * *

“What the actual fuck did I just watch?” Pewpew muttered, echoing
what the rest of <Death and Taxes> were already thinking.
They were all still staring at the screen looming before them, wind
howling past and the tower generator glimmering at their back – replete
with a new sunroof courtesy of Finn-Fucking-Harris. Onscreen, they’d
watched as Jason cut into himself; as Finn drained his Najima into the
vessels he’d created, blood still staining the side of the containers; as his
teammates settled those vessels into something new…
Only for absolutely nothing to happen.
The screen had frozen on an image of that grotesque scene, the
stream losing connection.
“Well, that was, um, anticlimactic,” Bard muttered. “I was
expecting more, you know? Like some sort of undead death monster or
something.”
“Maybe there really is a limit to his abilities,” Queen muttered. She
shot Smiles a look. “That was pretty insane… even for us.”
“Speak for yourself, girlie,” Blaze added, although she was avoiding
looking at the screen where Jason’s butchered body was bleeding out onto a
stone table.
“You lot almost sound disappointed,” Smokes observed, taking a
pull on his cigarette, the smoke forming a massive cushion on which the air
mage lounged. “Were you really rooting for that to work? To fight
whatever the hell he was trying to build?”
Queen just huffed, crossing her arms. The others looked away,
grimacing and frowning. But maybe he was right. There was an air of
disappointment hovering across the group.
Smokes shook his head incredulously. “You all are a bunch of
sadists and adrenaline junkies.”
“And if you had it your way, we’d all what? Just call a time-out and
take a nice nap?” Bard shot back, earning a shrug from Smokes.
“Nothing wrong with conserving energy. That’s just smart
fighting,” he replied with another puff of smoke, the vapor pooling into a
new pillow for his smoky daybed.
 “I, for one, am not disappointed. Jason deserves the reality check,
in my opinion,” Tombs muttered, rubbing at his neck.
“You’re just saying that since you literally lost your head during that
last fight,” Pewpew shot back, earning her a laugh and a high five from
Bard. “Really, though. You finally get your debut, and you die in like five
seconds.” Tombs just glared at her, grumbling to himself. Something about
setting up all the games himself…
“Either way, we need to get ready for his respawn,” Smiles spoke
up, the rest of the group quieting. “He should be back in roughly 15
minutes.”
His eyes flitted to Blaze. “You want to handle him?”
“What? I should get another shot at—” Pewpew began.
“The others will need your help,” Smiles replied. “Besides, he’ll be
weak against Blaze – alone, without minions, and with the welcome we
have prepared for him.”
Pewpew didn’t look happy but she grudgingly agreed. Blaze just
grunted, not having forgotten how Jason and Alexion had escaped her and
Smokes. “He won’t get away this time.”
“See that he doesn’t,” Smiles answered. Then Blaze jumped over
the ledge, blasting flame toward the ground to slow her descent, the fires
pushing back at the winds that beat against her.
Smiles looked back to the others. “As for the rest of you, we know
where they are now thanks to Alexion—
“The traitorous nightlight,” Bard amended.
“—so, we can take the fight to them,” Smiles continued, ignoring
him. He tapped at his map and the generator in the distance was
highlighted. “Here’s your target. Normal breach formation. Pewpew will
provide covering fire from this vantage point.” Another highlight appeared,
the tower no longer offering good line of sight or protection.
“Everyone got it?” Smiles asked.
Bard shot him a mock salute. “Will do, boss!”
The others nodded and Tombs stepped forward, each member
grabbing hold of him. Then, as one, they Phased into the floor, soon
disappearing from view.
Leaving Smiles alone.
He looked at the frozen image beside him. Something about all of
this felt off. It wasn’t unlike Alexion to betray his teammates and he could
certainly see him pulling a stunt like this to get more views – the young heir
to the throne of Cerillion was well known for his vanity. But that was just
it. It felt too in-character for him… if that was possible.
Then there was also the matter of Tombs’ head. Jason likely hadn’t
had time to recover it before the top of the tower had struck their location.
But Smiles also couldn’t discount the possibility that he had. That teenager
was scrappier than he looked—than most people assumed. Smiles knew it
wasn’t luck that had allowed Jason to make it this far. He’d studied him for
far too long to make that naïve mistake.
Not that he supposed it mattered.
If the avatars did have a plan up their sleeve, he would be waiting
and ready. With that thought, Smiles’ gaze dipped to the coliseum that
loomed below him, a massive circle of dirt surrounded by thick stone walls,
the rock reinforced with layer upon layer of enchantments. And within
those walls was a surprise – one Smiles had been preparing for weeks now.
Taking a breath, he leaped from the tower, sailing through the air.
The tornado in the center of the club surged, the wind whipping him
forward even faster and the ground hurtling up to meet him. Yet Smiles
never balked. He struck the ground with tremendous force, cracks radiating
out from his impact as he formed a miniature crater. He slowly rose to his
feet, the bones in his legs snapping and popping, but uninjured.
His hands smoothed his suit, and his eyes settled on the entrance.
Now he only had to wait.
He could feel the finale coming… one way or another.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 50 - Boom
“How terribly disappointing,” the Gambler murmured, smiling into
his whiskey glass. The other the gods – as well as the rest of the game
world – all stared in shock at the same frozen image of Jason’s corpse.
With a snap of the Gambler’s fingers, a golden, fractal flower bloomed in
the air showcasing trillions upon trillions of calculations.
With a wave of his hand, the data condensed into a more
manageable summary. Millions of people were all watching Jason’s
grotesque experiment – and his failure. Players all throughout the game
world had stopped what they were doing. Staring. Angry. Anxious.
Excited. Pleased. Their emotions warped and shifted. Expectation and
outcome. A rush of endorphins and dopamine. Yet another digital slot
machine of his making.
And the house always won.
“Gloating doesn’t become you,” the Lady said, observing the gleeful
smile that had spread across the Gambler’s face.
“Really? Because I’ve always thought winning looked great on
me,” the Gambler shot back with a cocky grin. He’d endured so much for
this moment…
“You act as though our competition is over,” the Seer intoned.
“Even if Jason’s plan failed, the others are still alive. You would be wise
not to discount them.”
“You saw for yourself what Eliza was capable of. She took out most
of your group on her own,” the Hippie offered before popping another
handful of nuts into his mouth, Oscar using a tiny broom to sweep up the
heaps of crumbs around him and Fluffy.
“A function of your meddling, I’m sure.”
The Hippie just raised his hands. “Nah. That was all my girl.”
The Gambler just snorted, unconvinced. Not that it mattered. With
that meddling avatar of darkness out of the way, the rest should proceed
smoothly. His gaze drifted to a different screen, where several familiar
masked figures were making their way across the club. They were closing
in on a single, squat building, with thick vegetation wrapping the stone–
evidence of Eliza’s handiwork. It seemed they had their target in their
sights.
 “Well, I suppose we’ll get to see how the remaining three fare
against my team in a straight fight,” the Gambler murmured. All the gods’
attention shifted to that screen, each one watching intently, their chips still
stacked on the nearby table in neat, colored rows.
A sudden silence descended across the lounge, the sense of anxiety
palpable. The Lady put on a pretense of haughty relaxation, the Old Man’s
face was shrouded in shadow, the Hippie plucked another handful of snacks
from his bowl, and the Seer peered into the future – trying to anticipate
what would come next. All while the Gambler smiled.
The fate of the world would depend upon what happened next.

* * *

“Huh, anyone else get nervous when they see plants now?” Bard
asked.
“Maybe a little,” Queen admitted grudgingly.
All eyes were on the building down the street. It was a squat, solid
affair – like most of the generator rooms in the Mile-High Club, it had been
designed and built to withstand sabotage… or unruly guests. Not that this
had prevented Finn from breaking in. The evidence was still there – chunks
of stone carved free from the doorway, the edges melted down and covered
in black scorch marks.
If that was too subtle, the structure was also covered in plants.
Vines stretched across the ground and covered every inch of stone. And the
source was clear: an open door leading into darkness – no doubt more of the
vegetation waiting there in the shadows. To make matters worse, Eliza had
adapted after their last encounter, the vines no longer responding to Queen’s
ice.
“Smokes?” Pewpew grunted.
The man blew out another plume of smoke, sighing. “Guess I’ll do
all the work.”
A misty hand formed from the trail of smoke, neatly plucked a
grenade from his bag, and hurled it into the compound’s entrance. It soon
burst, spewing smoke with just a faint hiss of compressed air. That gray
mist swept forward into the structure, moving with unnatural precision as
Smokes’ fingers danced a familiar rhythm – cigarette hanging forgotten
from his lips as he channeled the spell.
 A map appeared beside him, glowing brightly. As the smoke filtered
through the structure, the map filled out – corridors, halls, and rooms
identified with precision. And finally… a last room. Three red dots
appeared on screen. They had found their enemies.
“Looks like they’re all in the generator room,” Smokes observed.
“No doubt, they know we’re coming now. So, I suggest we don’t use the
front door.”
He looked pointedly at Tombs as he blew out another puff, a hand
materializing and pointing at the earth mage.
Tombs grimaced, rubbing at his neck. “Fine… I guess.”
“Come on! You should be excited,” Bard urged him. “You get a
chance for a little revenge. We’d leave Jason for you, but he’s otherwise
occupied. So, you get the second-best option! The talking nightlight of
your dreams.”
“Fantastic,” Tombs groaned.
“I’ll stay out here and cover the exits, in case they run,” Pewpew
interjected, rolling her eyes at the pair. At that, she disappeared with a
crackle of electricity, reappearing on a rooftop and pulling the rifle from her
back, lying on the stone, and staring down the scope.
Bard pumped his fist into the air. “We’re all set. Let’s go kill some
people!”
Tombs just glared back. “I don’t know how you can be so cavalier
about this. You know that little girl in there kicked your ass last time,
right?”
Bard hesitated, his eyes shooting to the building. His tone sobered.
“You’re right. Eliza is terrifying. As is Finn. Even Alexion has performed
better than I expected. And hell, this might be a trap. Some of us might
die… horribly, even.”
He looked to Tombs. “But I’ve learned to laugh in the face of
impossible odds and to force myself to keep going. When I do… well, I
often find those odds were much more possible than they first seemed.
Dom taught me that. And now I’m never going back to what I once was –
too afraid to act, sitting alone in simpering self-loathing and doubt.
“Fuck that.”
The others went quiet – glancing at each other in surprise.
Then Tombs coughed into his fist. “Well, shit. Now I feel bad.
Let’s go do some murder then, try and cheer you up, big guy.”
 And Bard immediately shook off his gloomy demeanor, slapping
Tombs on the back. “That’s the spirit! Nothing like some team-bonding
homicide to bring you and your homies close.”
“Woo,” Smokes muttered tiredly as his cloud drifted close.
“’Bout time,” Queen added. “I was about to just go in by myself
with all this talking.”
With that, they all touched Tombs and soon slid beneath the ground,
disappearing from sight and leaving Pewpew alone on the rooftop, eyeing
the structure in the distance.
“I’m still glad I get to stay out here,” she murmured to herself, a coil
of air mana picking up her team’s conversation. She’d seen what Eliza had
done to the others.
“I wouldn’t celebrate too soon,” someone spoke up from behind her.
Pewpew whirled, but it was too late. She’d been so focused on Bard
and the building in front of her that she hadn’t noticed the glowing yellow
mist creeping up the edges of the rooftop and encircling her. Now it swept
forward, and she breathed in sharply in surprise – a mistake. Pewpew tried
to teleport, but her limbs felt sluggish, and her fingers refused to cooperate.
Electricity crackled and then dissipated harmlessly into the stone. Moments
later, she felt a prick as a needle punctured her arm.
Pewpew’s legs and arms were going numb as a fire burned through
her veins. She looked up, blinking blearily. Eliza hovered there, wreathed
in glowing mist and her eyes pulsing with power, a syringe held in hand.
Beside her stood Finn and Alexion, the fire mage ringed in flaming metal
and glowing panels of light covering the Nephilim. They barely spared her
a glance, their attention on the building in the distance.
Pewpew couldn’t move at all, notifications popping up in the corner
of her vision as the paralytic fully took hold. They’d kept her alive on
purpose, she realized. They didn’t want to alert the others by having her
group icon gray out before they made it inside and the camera was still
tethered to Bard. Her eyes flitted back to that building covered in vines.
That could only mean one thing…
This was a trap.
“Shit,” Pewpew croaked, her vision spotty and swimming.
Alexion approached, stooping beside her. “Don’t worry. You’ll get
to enjoy the view. We’ll make sure you live long enough to see your
teammates die,” he hissed.
 “It’s only fair that we make a show of it,” another voice spoke up. It
sounded familiar, and Pewpew tried to look to the side – to catch a glimpse
of that figure. Behind Finn and Eliza was someone else… something else –
something she’d missed at first. It stood in the shadows, as though avoiding
the sunlight, its limbs unmoving and eyes closed.
“It… it can’t…” she muttered, a new feeling taking hold.
It was a pit in her stomach. The taste of bile at the back of her
throat. The lurch and flutter of her heart. A tremor in her hands she could
no longer control. A sensation she hadn’t experienced in so long it almost
felt foreign. As she stared at the shadow demon at her back, all concern for
her teammates vanished in an instant.
As Pewpew looked on, it opened its eyes – revealing an unnatural,
inky darkness that seemed to suck in the light – the shadows expanding,
shifting, moving like living creatures.
She had witnessed incredible things with <Death and Taxes>. The
lengths they were willing to train – death and blood and broken bones
meant little to them. They’d faced down monsters and armies and demons.
Stolen and spent several fortunes. She’d endured it all – overcome it all
without blinking.
But this thing… this thing was something more. Something
different.
Something that had raw terror slicing through her veins and a tear
sliding down her cheek.
She wasn’t going to be able to just laugh this one off.

* * *

Tombs and the others slid out of the ground inside the control room.
They breached as one, coming up through the floor in the corner of
the room and behind their targets, illusions already covering their skin. The
room was filled with smoke, making visibility poor. However, Smokes
highlighted their targets in bright yellow. Bard let out a piercing whistle,
and a tunnel of air carved through the smoke, slamming into their targets.
He’d intended to incapacitate them – a brief stun followed by a
barrage of icy shards.
However, their targets didn’t react the way Bard had expected. They
didn’t flinch or drop to the floor. And the ice simply bounced off them,
shattering against the floor. In fact, the figures didn’t move at all… almost
like they were made of stone.
The smoke blew away to reveal three vaguely humanoid statues
lingering before them. Not stone, Bard realized. Metal. Bouncer bots
broken apart and welded back together to form a group of macabre metallic
scarecrows – but with just enough movement left to emulate living people.
And across one of the decoys was scrawled a message, written in a thick red
substance.
Blood, Bard realized belatedly, his feet sticking to the floor as he
shifted in place. More of it stained the floors, the walls, the source coming
from the nearby table – a table that now stood empty, no lifeless body lying
atop its surface. Jason was gone, as was the shadowy creation that they’d
built – that the group had seen during Alexion’s stream. Wait… Had it
been a stream?
Bard’s attention shifted to the shining blue orb that hovered beside
the metal decoys, tracking their movements – recording their reactions. “A
pre-recorded video,” Bard muttered as the realization suddenly hit him. It
was so simple…
That fucking nightlight tricked us by pretending to be a traitor.
“Look behind you?” Tombs spoke up, staring at those metallic
scarecrows. “What does that mean?” He turned, and his eyes widened.
Bard and the others followed his gaze, but he already knew what to
expect. The generator stood there, glowing with an ominous light, the cores
flaring, growing in strength with each passing second. Yellow, red, and
blue shining so brightly now that they left spots in Bard’s vision and he was
forced to raise a hand to blot out the light. And across the surface of the
generator was painted a massive, red smiley face, a single tear dripping
down from one eye.
“Huh, they stole our tag,” Bard murmured. “Posers.”
“Self-destruct sequence initiating in T-minus 5 seconds,” a robotic
voice echoed through the chamber, bouncing off the stone walls.
“4”
“Well, damn,” Smokes muttered as the light grew in intensity,
lightning and flame beginning to crackle through the air as the crystals
fractured. He slowly pulled out another cigarette, lit it and took a long drag,
his eyes squeezed closed as he savored it.
“3”
 “You find anything funny about this one?” Queen asked Bard, her
arms going limp. The others made no move to defend themselves or flee.
It was pointless.
“2”
“Hmm,” Bard murmured, tapping his chin in thought.
“1”
In the final fraction of a second that they had left, Bard turned to
Queen. “Oh, I’ve got it! The perfect line for a moment like this! Why
don’t you blow—”
He never got to finish.
The cores exploded, spewing forth a wave of elemental energy.
Bard knew how long it had taken them to charge just one generator. Days.
Days spent channeling their entire mana pool into the crystalline cores,
waiting for it to recharge, and then doing it again. And again. And again.
Enough energy to power this section of the club. To bring the game rooms
online. To make sure the cameras were running and the broadcast
continued.
And even now, their deaths were being streamed throughout the
entire game world. As that avalanche of elemental power swept forward
and struck the group. As it ate away at their limbs in a wave of fire, ice, and
lightning. Searing, cutting, burning, freezing. They were dead in mere
moments, their bodies blasted apart in a torrential shower of energy. Even
the warded rock of the generator room melted and crumbled under the force
of the blast.
As the explosion eventually settled… all that remained was a barren
room. No trace of the group remained. Not even skeletons. Only smoking,
fractured stone, and steam.
Then the lone camera winked out as the tether snapped.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 51 - Awestruck
The Control Room was a graveyard as the screen faded to black.
Finn, Eliza, and Alexion had just taken out, well, pretty much all of
<Death and Taxes>. And in one fell swoop, no less. Even with their
shortened respawn, that meant the avatars now had free rein of the ring. No
doubt, the group would use that opportunity to head to the tower along the
northern edge of the club.
Chimes suddenly broke the quiet, dozens of terminals demanding
attention.
“Well? What are you all waiting for?” Robert asked, his legs kicked
up on his desk and a big bowl of popcorn resting in his lap. “We’ve got
work to do, people!”
“That would ring less hollow if you weren’t goofing off yourself,”
Claire observed as she stepped back inside the Control Room.
Robert just shot her a grin and a shrug. “The perks of leadership.
Besides, I’m providing moral support.” He observed the fatigue that had
settled across Claire’s shoulders. “Speaking of which, how did it go over at
Vermillion?”
Claire grimaced as she settled against his desk, shifting her glasses
to the side, and rubbing at her eyes. “Not great, but they acknowledged
your point. Grudgingly. It’s hard to argue with the numbers we’re seeing
right now…”
She trailed off, tapping at her Core, and a display appeared in the air
beside her. It showcased the current population data on AO as well as
ratings from several major broadcasting networks. The results were
staggering. Their ingame population had reached an all-time high – a
function of both the world ending and the events taking place in the Mile-
High Club. But even outside of AO, they’d captured the attention of the
whole world.
Billions. Viewership numbers in the billions.
AO was currently the number one trending subject across every
social media platform. Regular broadcast and streaming channels were all
focused on the game. And their forums had been up and down all day, the
techs barely managing to keep the site stable. They had to implement a
freeze on new posts to help slow the traffic on their servers. Even then,
most of the posts now had tens of thousands of comments. So, not really a
long-term solution.
“We’ve hit a new all-time high, and right on the heels of our last
record during the attack on Sandscrit,” Claire muttered, eyeing the data with
Robert.
“You don’t sound pleased.”
“You mean I sound worried, and you should be too,” Claire shot
back, glaring at him. “To hell with going viral. This is an online
pandemic. It just seems… crazy. Uncontrollable.” She pushed away from
the desk and paced toward the nearby window, eyeing the crowd far below.
“I mean, look at them.”
The throng had only grown. It now swelled out around the Cerillion
Headquarters building in a sea of humanity, spreading down every adjacent
street. The city’s police force now ringed the building, erecting new
barricades and supporting Cerillion’s private security force. And beyond
them? Chaos. Broken barricades lay on the streets and sidewalks –
evidence of former, more flimsy strongholds. Gas was billowing out across
the crowd as people fled, only to regroup on the side streets and press
forward once more.
“There must be a hundred thousand people down there.”
“Probably more,” Robert answered with a nod.
Claire eyed the massive screens that hovered above the crowd,
projected by the dozens of drones that buzzed through the air. Each one
showed the same scene – <Death and Taxes> approaching that generator
before getting taken out. Claire knew that the same scene had played out
across every in-game city. The line between the game and reality was
thinning.
“Where is this heading?” Claire muttered. “What have we built?”
“Something that will change the world,” Robert answered.
Claire looked back at him, seeing the excitement shining in his
eyes. Yet she could only feel conflicted. She barely recognized the man
working beside her anymore… and she wasn’t quite sure when that change
had happened.
But she could be certain that Robert had changed. Gone was the
naïve engineer with a passion for technology. He’d been replaced with
someone new – someone whose attention had shifted from the computer
screen before him to something bigger; something grander; something she
couldn’t quite see herself. A future where this game – these simulations –
became everything. Where these streets and buildings and people – this
reality – was merely the trappings of one world among many.
And frankly, it terrified her. Claire had always relished control.
Certainty. Walking a clear and narrow path. But this… this was game
changing – pun intended.
“What happened to you?” she whispered so softly that the question
didn’t carry to Robert, the man’s eyes glued to his console as he absently
grabbed another handful of popcorn. She could almost imagine he was the
same man – not this person who could browbeat George Lane and
orchestrate an in-game event of epic proportions so casually.
Yet no answer was forthcoming.
Instead, the screen above the Control Room flickered back on, the
roar of the crowd outside quieting, the constant rumble that vibrated the
building finally ceasing. Claire’s display flashed, the numbers updating,
climbing ever further. Something new was afoot.
Claire swallowed hard and her eyes lifted to that screen.
The camera showed a massive stone coliseum, with clear inspiration
drawn from the Romans. It was a gargantuan affair and stretched hundreds
of feet across. Stone walls and stands ringed packed sand that the wind
whipped into small tornados. And in the center of it all stood a single,
towering man. He wore a pressed suit, dice cufflinks glimmering at his
wrists. His face obscured by a perpetual bloody smile. His massive arms
were crossed, the suit straining at the seams but refusing to break.
The camera zoomed out, viewing the coliseum from the entrance, a
stone archway framing the edges of the scene. As Claire, Robert, the techs,
and the rest of the world looked on, three individuals entered the frame, the
camera taking in their backs. Eliza. Finn. Alexion. Their armor and
appearance were distinctive. Obvious.
And as the world watched…
A fourth figure entered the frame. It was humanoid. Two arms.
Two legs. One head. A cape that swept out behind him, obscuring his body
from sight. His head cowled and covered. Yet no telltale staff was held in
his hands. He strode forward, taking up his place among the other avatars
as they made room for him. Possibly an illusion? A doppelganger built of
steel? Doubt coiled in Claire’s stomach, mixing with some other emotion.
It couldn’t be Jason. They’d seen him die…
 The figure pulled back his hood, the camera rotating around the
group. In place of pale skin and horns, there was now only solid ivory.
Reinforced bone streaked with gray. Straight cheekbones. The nose
hollowed out and sunken. His ears gone. And jutting from his head?
Spikes of bone that wound together to form a dark crown, the surface still
stained with dried blood – likely his own.
Yet it was his eyes that captured Claire’s focus. They were gone.
Replaced with bottomless pools of dark energy. Jason had become one of
the undead. Given himself over to the dark – to his desire. Just like Robert,
he had stretched out his hands and grasped hold of something new…
something different… something previously unfathomable.
Life without breath.
Death without solace.
The camera turned to Smiles, his eyes on the group before him, no
trace of fear or hesitation lingering there. “It’s about time,” Smiles spoke
up. “I’ve been waiting.”

* * *

“Your guildmates are dead,” Jason said, his voice coming in a

whisper now.
Even with Finn’s help tweaking his designs, this was the best he
could manage. He’d need to improve the structure of his throat, the dark
mana simulating muscle that he no longer had. However, that would need
to wait.
Smiles nodded, gesturing at the trail of smoke that coiled above the
towering walls of the coliseum. “I expected as much.”
“You don’t seem concerned,” Finn grunted.
“Should I be?” Smiles asked, spreading his hands wide. “I’ve been
looking forward to this moment for weeks now. To finally face the four of
you.”
Finn raised an eyebrow, the flames of his crown flaring. “You think
you can take all of us by yourself? That’s optimistic.”
Smiles shook his head. “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.”
Alexion let out a growl, forsaking his noble act despite the cameras
floating around the coliseum. Jason could only marvel at how he’d changed
in this short time. When they’d begun, he would have simply charged
Smiles or put on some inane act, instead…
“Who cares about this digital posturing,” Alexion ground out. “I’ll
ask one more time. Where. Is. Evelyn?”
Smiles nodded. “That’s fair. And you deserve an answer.” He
turned, and the others tensed. But he made no move to attack. Instead, he
merely gestured at the other side of the coliseum at another entrance. And
visible through that opening floated a familiar vessel – an airship from
Evelyn’s fleet, the emblem of her trading guild etched into the side. As the
group looked on, a woman stepped off that ship and padded across the
sand. As she exited the shadows, the waning sunlight spilled across her
face, revealing the woman herself.
“It’s been a while, Alex,” Evelyn said.
“What… are you okay?” he sputtered in response, caught off guard.
She shook her head. “Yes, of course. What did you think? That I
was some damsel? Some princess in need of rescuing? I see you haven’t
changed at all.”
“Are you working with them?” Alexion grunted, mastering his
reaction behind a stoic mask, but Jason could sense the emotion roiling just
beneath the surface – the betrayal.
Evelyn sighed. “Yes, of course. How did you think they were able
to outfit this club?”
Silence met that statement.
“The gate pieces,” Jason murmured.
It was one piece of the puzzle that hadn’t quite fit. Sure, <Death
and Taxes> had teleported them all here, but there had to be gate fragments
located in the club in the first place – and not just anywhere. They had to
have been positioned on the far side of the ring. None of Smiles’
guildmates could fly, notwithstanding Pewpew’s teleport. But even that had
limits. And Jason suspected the group hadn’t known exactly where to look
for the club.
He could see their strategy – now laid bare before him. <Death and
Taxes> had recruited Evelyn. They needed her ships to find this place and
transport them to the club to set up these games. Which meant she must
have been working with them for a while. However, they’d deflected
suspicion by putting Queen in her place to make them think she’d been
kidnapped.
 And it had the added benefit of throwing off Alexion and
destabilizing their group.
Jason looked to Alexion, his hands balling into fists as he reached
the same realization. Yet he remained in control, not even glancing at the
nearby cameras. Even without Finn’s sight, he could anticipate Alexion’s
reaction. The betrayal. But also, something more… the embarrassment
after his previous heroics. Jason knew he shouldn’t feel bad for him.
Alexion sure has hell had his karmic ass-kicking coming.
But even so, it still stung.
“So, you’ve been working with them the whole time,” Alexion
echoed. He locked eyes with Evelyn. “Okay… then I only have one
question. Why?”
Evelyn was fully aware of the camera and seemed content to twist
the metaphorical knife. She let out a tinkling laugh. “Why? Because I
want to see your family’s empire burn. And you walked into it so easily.
The rich and naïve son of a billionaire who just wanted to be loved – a tired
story. You lapped it up so easily.”
Light was pulsing across Alexion’s skin, but he still remained in
control.
“Was it you that stole the video from Cerillion?” he asked.
Evelyn’s smile flickered, her eyes darting toward the camera. “No
comment.”
That was as good as a yes.
Jason expected Alexion to go on a rampage—to rush at Smiles and
Evelyn. But instead, he simply shook his head, the tension evaporating like
a weight lifting from his shoulders. He looked to Jason and his companions
then, an appraising look in his eye. None of them had moved an inch.
They met his gaze evenly. This was his conversation – his battle to fight.
They would back whatever move he made.
“I understand,” was all Alexion said.
What happened next occurred so quickly it was only a blur of light.
With a flash of light and flutter of feathers, Alexion was standing
before Evelyn. Her eyes had gone wide, her mouth moving, but no sound
escaping. She coughed. Hacked. Blood flew from her lips, the first to
touch the sands of the coliseum. She looked down then, her fingers
touching her chest where a hole had been carved straight through muscle,
bone, and organ. The edges were seared, cauterized with Alexion’s holy
light.
Evelyn dropped to her knees, her mouth still moving, her eyes
frantic and searching. Pleading. Looking to Alexion for help. “Heal,” she
managed to croak.
Yet the avatar of light didn’t move an inch. Gone was the noble
façade and in its place, there was only a coldness – a ruthless stoicism that
stared back as Evelyn slumped to the ground, her face crushing into the
sand.
Evelyn raised a feeble hand toward Smiles. “Help… Me…
Ally…” The leader of <Death and Taxes> made no move to help Evelyn.
Nor did he respond. Only lifted his foot and crushed her skull, the bone
exploding in a shower of blood and ivory fragments.
“Now then,” Smiles said, turning back to the avatars. “Are you
ready to do this?”
Mana flared out across their bodies – the only response he needed.
“Good,” Smiles hummed. Then he raised his hand and snapped his
fingers.
A wall of shimmering, multi-colored energy suddenly sprang up
around the coliseum, blocking the exits and forming a dome above the
structure. All six affinities were represented within that energy. It
resembled the barriers Jason had witnessed in dungeons and major world
events – except those had been blue. This energy also seemed unstable, the
surface of the barrier sparking and flaring where the different types of mana
collided and mixed.
At the same time, a notification appeared before him.

System Notice: Mana Anomaly

You have been surrounded by an unusual barrier of mana – a perversion of

the gods’ energy. The barrier warps reality around it, altering the rules of
this world within a limited area. While the barrier is active, the following
rules apply to this coliseum:

Travelers will respawn inside the barrier.

Respawn time has been reduced to 5 minutes for all travelers –
subject to any other reductions in respawn time.
 The field itself may alter this world’s physics within a limited
space.
The field has been linked to a global communications and
broadcast spire, allowing other travelers to view the battle and
vote on any changes to the arena’s physics.
Remaining field duration: 30 minutes.

This must have been why they were collecting mana from Jason and
Alexion – to create this field. To trap them inside this bubble of energy.
However, without knowing the location of the generator and with only a
few minutes before the rest of <Death and Taxes> respawned, the avatars
had been forced to confront Smiles. It seemed they were going to be
fighting on his terms.
Jason swiped aside the notice, his attention flitting to Smiles.
The massive man stretched his neck, the bone and muscle popping.
Then the guild leader took a lumbering step forward. “Alright… let’s do
this.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 52 - Holy
Smiles dashed forward, kicking off the ground with such force that
the sand swept out behind him in a wave. In a flash, he had closed into
melee – aiming for Alexion.
The avatar of light just barely raised his shield in time…
Only for Smiles to hit the metal with a solid punch that sent Alexion
flying backward, ripped off his feet and sailing through the air. His wings
flared out around him and he managed to regain his footing as he slid across
the sand.
However, Smiles hadn’t stopped.
In another blur of movement, he was on top of Alexion again. This
time, the avatar was expecting Smiles and he swung his sword, light
rippling across the blade… only for it to slam into Smiles’ hand and come
to a dead stop. The leader of <Death and Taxes> stood there, blood pooling
around the cut as he inspected the wound curiously.
“Huh, not bad,” Smiles grunted. “You broke the skin. My Light
Resistance must still leave something to be desired.”
“What the hell are you—” Alexion began, eyes wide.
Smiles cut him off as he whipped the sword around and sent Alexion
sailing again, this time without an opportunity to recover. Alexion’s back
crashed into the rainbow barrier that ringed the coliseum, and the energy
flashed and sparked erratically. He exhaled forcefully, blood speckling his
lips, and then fell and hit the sand with a thud.
Yet he wasn’t finished. His wings snapped forward, and he was
back on his feet once more, glowing with holy light as he wiped the blood
from his face. “That all you’ve got?”
“Not even close,” Smiles answered.
“We’re still here, though,” Finn announced.
Blades of flaming metal rocketed forward. Smiles only tilted his
head to the side, keeping his attention on Alexion. Just like with the avatar
of light, he didn’t bother to dodge. Instead, he let the blades strike him.
They easily cut through the fabric of his suit before grinding into his flesh,
blood staining the fabric. The metal transformed, converting into barbs that
lodged in Smiles’ skin before pulling him to the ground, the sand melting
where the flaming metal touched the surface before burrowing deeply into
the floor of the arena. Alexion used the opportunity to his advantage,
pressing forward with a burst of speed, his blade aiming at Smiles’ neck.
However, at the last moment, one of Alexion’s wings buckled, the
bone fractured from Dom’s earlier attack. His blow went wide and his
sword slammed against one of Finn’s blades in a shower of sparks, leaving
Smiles unharmed – that ivory mask just smiling back in amusement. The
guild leader’s legs surged, the muscle tearing the tattered fabric of his suit
as Smiles lifted himself upright. The metal ripped from his skin, and his
blood showered the sand, leaving his suit hanging from his body in tatters
now.
Then the fight was on again, with Smiles and Alexion darting across
the arena. Finn watched closely with those burning metal eyes, and Daniel
pulsed softly at his shoulder – the pair offering the occasional assistance to
Alexion. Although, Jason noted the way the avatar of flames’ lips were
pinched in a scowl. That didn’t bode well, but they had other problems at
the moment.
Speaking of which, they needed to move quickly. Jason spared a
glance at Eliza, where the pair stood in the shadows of the coliseum. He
needed to keep his body hidden from the sun that was sinking toward the
horizon. “This is your chance while he’s occupied,” his voice came out in a
whisper, like the rustle of fabric. “You won’t have long.”
The water mage nodded and began to cast. Sapphire energy wound
around her arms and condensed along her wand. Then, a thick mist spewed
forward, spreading across the arena. She maintained the channel on that
spell – pushing ever more vapor into the air – even as she began casting
Accelerated Growth. Alexion’s initial charge hadn’t been all for show.
He’d managed to drop several seed packets around the arena.
Now those seeds began to sprout, growing at an incredible pace and
spreading through the coliseum in a wave of vegetation. But Eliza didn’t
stop there. The plants kept going, stretching up the stone walls and then
coating the energy field itself, the mana sparking and flashing as the vines
coiled across its surface. The waning sunlight was blotted out within mere
moments, plunging the arena into an unnatural darkness.
Which didn’t hurt Jason or Finn, but it did leave the others at a
disadvantage.
However, they’d anticipated that problem too.
 Flowers began to bloom along the vines, their petals opening and
shining with a dull turquoise glow that cast light down onto the sands where
Smiles and Alexion fought. Those vines served several purposes. But for
now, they would protect Jason from the sunlight – his new body decaying
rapidly in direct light.
Alexion had backed off. His chest was heaving, his breath coming
hard and fast. His skin was littered with wounds that were slowly closing
under the effects of his healing magic. Smiles’ suit was nearly gone, ripped
and shredded and torn. And beneath that flimsy layer of cotton, Jason could
see that his skin was like leather – a dark green and crisscrossed with
hundreds of scars. His own wounds were closely swiftly as his regeneration
kicked in. Even more disconcerting was how casually Smiles accepted
those injuries. He barely reacted. As though he had endured far, far worse.
Just what kind of training has this guy been doing? Jason wondered.
“Is that all you have?” Smiles asked, unfazed as he cracked his
knuckles. “I’ll be honest, I was expecting more… even from you.”
Alexion just snorted, refusing to rise to the bait as he healed his
injuries with a flash of light. It seemed he’d gained some perspective
during his time in the Mile-High Club. “It seems this isn’t going to be
enough,” Alexion muttered, eyeing his sword.
The angel shot a glance at Jason, who nodded at his unspoken
question. It was time.
“Finally,” Alexion grunted, sheathing his blade, slinging his shield
over his shoulder before digging into his pack.
He soon pulled a new weapon from its depths. It was a dark gray,
the bone infused with more of the dark metal Jason had recovered from
Sandscrit. The blade itself was serrated, the ivory forming tooth-like
hooks. This wasn’t a delicate weapon, meant to cut and stab with
precision. It was meant to inflict pain, to cause its enemies to bleed and
suffer. His hand plunged into his bag once more, this time pulling out a
new shield, the same color as the blade and its surface covered in jagged
spikes of bone. A new addition and one Jason had hastily constructed
before Alexion began recording his video.
“New weapons won’t be enough,” Smiles said, shaking his head
sadly.
As he finished speaking, the leader of <Death and Taxes> kicked off
again. He raced at Alexion, but the avatar didn’t move, only waited, his
shield held ready. He summoned his mana, light shining from every pore as
he layered one buff after another.
And as Smiles closed, his fist drawing back—
Alexion channeled light along his new sword and shield.
They blazed with a purple light, Smiles’ fist crashing into the
shield… only for the guild leader to stagger backward in shock – Alexion
grunting from the impact but managing to stay on his feet this time, his
wings helping to steady him. Smiles looked at his knuckles in surprise,
noticing the blood leaking from his skin. Even more strange… the wound
wasn’t closing as quickly, blood dripping onto the sands.
“You were saying?” Alexion demanded, his eyes a solid gold.
“What are those weapons?” Smiles muttered as he cocked his head.
“You haven’t figured it out? I thought you knew everything about
us!” Alexion retorted, his wings snapping. He shot forward, taking the
offensive now. He darted to the side at the last moment, rotating in a barrel
roll, and his blade ripping across Smiles’ arm.
The guild leader let out another grunt, more blood speckling the
sands.
Alexion wasn’t done. His wings snapped open and he rotated
again. He cut and sliced and slashed in a blur of light, his speed increasing
with each passing second, with each drop of blood. That insidious purple
energy was worming its way through Smiles’ body now, draining his stats
and siphoning them to Alexion with each blow.
Only moments later, Smiles stood there, weaving on his feet, his
body covered in blood and crimson liquid soaking into the ground at his
feet. His suit was entirely gone, his mask half broken.
And yet, a mad smile pulled at his lips – his real lips. “Amazing,”
he offered with a grin.
“Glad you appreciate it!” Alexion snapped. “Now, die!”
He rushed Smiles one last time, moving so fast that from Jason’s
perspective, Alexion seemed to teleport. One moment, he was standing on
the side of the arena, and the next, he was beside the other avatars. Seconds
later, Smiles’ head dropped to the ground, that grin still plastered on his face
as his lifeless body toppled to the sand.
Alexion collapsed, exhaustion finally catching up with him. The
blade and shield in his hand flashed erratically and the surface of the bone
cracked under the force of his light mana before finally disintegrating
before his eyes, reduced to so much dust.
Moments later, a chime rang out, accompanied by the roar of
millions of travelers watching this fight play out around the world. A
glowing scoreboard appeared over their heads, now showing that the score
was 1-0.
“I… got him,” Alexion grunted, glaring at Smiles’ body.
“For now,” Jason murmured.
“Data analysis complete,” Daniel chirped from Finn’s shoulder.
“Target doesn’t appear to have any mana of his own, rendering his regular
body nearly invisible to Finn’s Mana Sight. This confirms our earlier
analysis during the altercation with the rest of <Death and Taxes>… you
know, where he threw the top part of the tower at us.
“However, there does appear to be a large concentration of air mana
around his body,” Daniel continued. “The intensity fluctuated during that
last battle, escalating dramatically when Finn joined Alexion in attacking
the target, Alexion switched weapons, and when Smiles was close to death.
According to the combat log, those fluctuations also correlated with
increased damage resistance or avoidance. Current hypothesis is that this is
an ambient magic ability that affects the target’s damage resistance or
avoidance – with that modifier scaling with the threat to Smiles.”
“You were right,” Jason said to Finn. So far, everything was going
to plan.
The avatar of flame let out a grunt. “It might also explain why he
didn’t engage us with the others during the games.” He let out a sigh.
“But it’s no time to celebrate. That means this arena is perfect for Smiles.
If we work together, he gets stronger.”
Finn hesitated, looking to Alexion’s wings. “Or, worst case, this is
more than just simple damage mitigation. That aura was charged with a
hell of a lot of mana. If something else is going on here, we may end up
hurting each other or blocking our own team’s attacks.”
“We just need to buy time,” Jason murmured in response.
Finn nodded. “In which case, the best option is for each of us to
fight him alone.” He hesitated, reviewing his screens. “Although, that’s
going to be tough. You all saw how resilient he was to both slashing and
fire-based attacks and we can surmise he’s resistant to other damage types
as well. Even worse, Alexion isn’t going to be able to use those weapons
again.”
“He still seems weak to light,” Alexion offered, pushing himself
upright and Eliza handing him another set of potions – one tinged green and
another blue. He needed to recover his mana and stamina. However, there
was still a limit, especially with the number of potions that each of them
had taken before walking into the coliseum.
Finn shook his head – not appearing convinced. However, he never
got a chance to respond as a flash of multi-colored energy tore open the air
in the middle of the arena. Smiles stepped out – not gasping for breath or
shuddering in pain. If anything, he looked… relaxed.
“Hmm… thanks for the skill-up,” he offered to Alexion, swiping
away a notice.
Could he have really gained a level of Light Resistance that quickly?
Jason wondered to himself. And that was putting aside that incredibly rapid
respawn. That sure as hell hadn’t been five minutes. Was that another
skill?
Just who was this guy?
“Says the man that just got wrecked,” Alexion growled, pulling his
original sword and shield free again, the weapons glowing with holy light.
“Ah, I see. It seems those unusual weapons were a one-time use,”
Smiles remarked, waving at the pile of dust beside Alexion. “Although,
that was a fascinating ability. A blend of light and dark mana, I assume.”
He looked toward Jason. “You two surprised me.”
“I don’t need them to kill you a second time,” Alexion ground out.
With that, he charged again. Despite his cavalier tone, his
movements were slower now that Alexion was no longer benefiting from
the stat-draining effect of his former weapons. However, it didn’t matter.
He only made it a few feet before he lost his forward momentum, floating
upward.
Another chime sounded, except this time a robotic voice echoed
through the arena. “The audience has chosen a zero-gravity mutator.
Duration 120 seconds.”
Smiles laughed at Alexion’s confused reaction. “This field is unique
– as the prompt mentioned. It adds a bit of flavor to these fights.
Jason frowned. If there had been a “vote,” then presumably, that
had taken some time. But they’d received no warning. Which meant a
mutator could apply at any time.
Another complication, he thought, his hands balling into fists.
Alexion soon stabilized himself with a twitch of his wings, glaring
down at Smiles as the man’s feet drifted off the ground. “Well, this mutator
works in my favor.” He flapped his wings, which sent him rocketing
forward again, his body wreathed in light.
Smiles just watched him coming. In the last few seconds before
Alexion struck, he pulled back his arms and then smashed his hands
together. A wave of force rippled out from the impact, followed shortly by
a concussive boom. The blast sent Alexion crashing into the barrier once
more, the vines shifting and catching him – minimizing most of the
damage. However, blood was still leaking from his ears and he looked
dazed – his eyes listless and unfocused.
Smiles didn’t wait. He clapped again, this time behind his back.
With the zero-gravity environment, this sent him hurtling toward Alexion.
Eliza tried to use her vines to lash at Smiles’ ankles, to throw him off his
trajectory, however the vines kept missing – Smiles seemingly making little
effort to dodge. His strange ability, no doubt.
Jason shot Finn a glance, and he nodded, Daniel pulsing at his
shoulder.
They must have detected another surge in Smiles’ mana. It seemed
their guess was right. Any assistance would make fighting this guy almost
impossible. Jason shot an anxious look at the vines covering the dome. He
could only hope that they would last long enough. Smiles might respawn in
less than a minute, but the others weren’t so lucky.
If he took out all the other avatars quickly… then Jason would have
to hold him off alone. He looked down at his new limbs, bony fingers
curling into a fist. That was going to be one hell of a test run.
Alexion blinked, regaining his senses, just in time to see Smiles’ fist
leveled at his face. He tried to twist out of the way but it was too late. The
blow landed with explosive force, and the light mana shield surrounding
Alexion’s head held for just a moment before shattering – followed by torn
skin and broken bone. His head crumpled, his lifeless body hanging among
the vines, and his blood raining down upon the sands.
Another roar echoed through the coliseum as the travelers watching
raised their voices into the air – the sound recorded and piped into the
arena. The scoreboard overhead shifted, now showing 1-1. And so, one of
the avatars had already perished.
The mutator soon ended and Smiles effortlessly dropped to the
ground, blood still staining his knuckles. He turned, surveying the rest of
the avatars.
“What’s our play?” Finn grunted.
“We stick to the plan. Buy as much time as possible,” Jason
answered. “As you suggested, we’ll have the best shot of taking him out
one-on-one. Who’s first?”
“I’ll go,” Eliza offered, her voice firm despite the way she nervously
adjusted her glasses.
“Are you sure?” Jason asked. He knew how much her new form
had affected her; how nervous she was at the prospect of losing control…
again. Jason could certainly relate. He had some firsthand experience in
that department.
“I’ve already done what I needed to do,” she answered simply, her
voice quavering slightly but she refused to back down. She shot a glance
at her teammates. “I’m the most expendable right now. Besides, if I die,
I’ll just come back.”
Without waiting for a response, she stepped forward, mustering
every ounce of willpower she had to keep her hands steady and stride
forward across the sands, patches of blood already staining the ground.
Jason watched her back from the shadows, starting to reach out and stop
her. She wasn’t ready – hadn’t prepared to fight directly. There had to be
another way.
Yet Finn’s hand landed on Jason’s shoulder, those burning embers
seared into his face watching Eliza. “Let her do it. She can take him.”
Jason eyed Finn in surprise.
“That girl is far, far stronger than she looks,” Finn murmured. “She
needs a chance to prove that – not just to everyone else,” he added, glancing
at the cameras that floated overhead, “but also to herself. This is her fight
now.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 53 - Fire and Ice
Rogue-Net Forums:

No One: Geez, what is this guy? I thought the avatars were OP,
but…

xxXShadowXxx: This man is my god. KILL THEM ALL!

Elijah: @xxXShadowXxx Again? Seriously, at least change your

handle a little.

xxXShadowXxx: User has been banned. Post Removed.

Julie: Anyone else impressed that Alexion actually killed him? What
were those purple glowing weapons? Something new? Anyone
know?

Helium: Some sort of combination of light and dark mana. It looked

like he infused bone weapons with Enchant Light. Maybe those
weapons counted as a minion for Jason?

Gruntz: That’s nuts. I have to give the guy some props, though. He
held his own even after a slow start during the games. I’d have died
instantly.

JoeySlowy: Right? Maybe this dude needs a nerf.

Ashley: Pssh. My girl is up next. Eliza is going to show him not to

mess with the Ice Witch. Fucking own his ass!

Mateo: Didn’t you get that other guy banned for the same
language?

Ashley: @Mateo Girl power! Eliza is the #RealQueen!

 * * *

“Hmm, you all discovered my ability, did you?” Smiles asked. He

sounded disappointed. “I was hoping to see what it was like to take you all
on at once, but oh well.”
“I should be plenty,” Eliza insisted, planting her feet. She was tiny
in contrast to Smiles, her diminutive form lacking at least three feet of
height and a couple hundred pounds of muscle.
Smiles looked at her skeptically. “Perhaps, but not as you are now.
Show me. Show me the Ice Witch that lives inside you. That creature that
took out my guildmates. I want to see it with my own eyes – test its mettle
with my own hands.”
Eliza didn’t bother to respond. She summoned her mana, sapphire
energy pulsing around her in a wave of energy as her nervousness melted
away, the slight tremor in her hands fading. Her shoulders squared, and her
grip on her wand firmed as she squeezed her eyes shut.
She began casting Accelerated Growth. However, this time, the
spell didn’t drip from her fingers and wasn’t carried along by her Obscuring
Mist. Instead, she channeled it inside herself, her skin beginning to radiate
with a dull blue glow that only increased in intensity with each passing
second. Her flesh began to break apart, undulating and pulsing in an
unending wave of mold – the fungus only having gone dormant. And as she
cast Accelerated Growth with her right hand, her left began to move in a
different rhythm, frost drifting out across her skin and plumes of cold mist
sweeping away from her body.
When she opened her eyes again, they were bottomless sapphire
pools absent of any intelligence or reason. Gone was the timid girl known
as Eliza. Here stood the Ice Witch –a being who refused to accept its fate.
Appraising Smiles with cold indifference, she only saw a threat before her –
an opponent. Eliza raised her arm, and the limb broke apart, a beam of
mold rocketing forward. This time, Smiles didn’t stand in place. He
dodged in a blur of motion, only for the mold to arc and chase him as he
pressed closer. More lances of mold darted away from her body now, a
barrage of particles.
Smiles couldn’t dodge forever, and the mold nicked his arm, eating
away the fabric of his suit. Jason cocked his head as he watched. The
fungus infected Smiles much more slowly than the rest of <Death and
Taxes>. Could he be resistant to the fungus? Trained himself to withstand
certain poisons and venoms, maybe?
The leader of <Death and Taxes> darted around Eliza, dodging,
twisting, and spinning. But his movements were slowing as each glancing
blow from the mold destroyed his suit. The poison was beginning to creep
across his body, eating into the thick ropes of muscles along his arms and
legs. He was waging a war of attrition, and Eliza was winning – standing in
the center of that sandy circle, unmoving, stoic, her glowing eyes fixed on
him.
Growing desperate, Smiles leaped into the center of the arena, not
bothering to dodge as several lances of mold stabbed through his stomach,
blunting his momentum. Yet he’d gotten close enough, raising his arms and
clapping again, the blast destabilizing the lances of mold. As the wave of
force struck Eliza, her body broke apart into a thick cloud of fungus.
Jason’s gaze shot to the UI in the corner of his vision. Her icon was
green.
Eliza was still alive.
“Ding! New mutator selected. Ice Throne enabled. Duration 60
seconds.”
A sudden chill swept through the arena, the heat fleeing. Finn
grumbled under his breath and raised his crystalline arm, draining what
little heat remained before it was extinguished entirely, the limb beginning
to pulse with a dull orange light. The temperature plunged, growing colder
and colder. Finn was insulated from the effect as a wave of flame rippled
out across his skin. And Jason? Well, he could no longer feel the cold.
But Eliza and Smiles had no such luck. Frost began to form on
Smiles’ skin, the fungus swirling around him in a cloud. The particles were
moving slower now, but with each breath, he sucked in more and more of
the spores. He let out a racking cough, his blood soon staining the sands.
The fact that Smiles was still standing was an incredible feat.
The mold finally condensed, but this time it formed several versions
of Eliza, each one smaller than the original. Only a young child in size.
They surrounded Smiles, watching him with those same eerie blue eyes.
Yet the mold was becoming brittle and dormant as the temperature
plunged. Not that Dom was immune either – between the infection
spreading through his body and the cold locking up muscle and bone, he
was slower. Weaker.
 As one, Eliza and her clones all slowly raised a hand toward Smiles
—
“Shit,” Smiles grunted. Acting quickly, he raised his fist and
slammed it into the ground, the sand having mixed with the water from
Eliza’s Obscuring Mist to form a muddy mixture. It slopped up in the air,
intercepting the beams of mold like a makeshift barrier. Unfortunately, the
material also covered Eliza’s doppelgangers – the swiftly dropping
temperature causing them to freeze in place.
Smiles raised his hands again, the fungus creeping up his legs now
and forcing him to the ground. He let out a grunt of pain but kept moving.
His palms crashed together once more, using the last of his strength,
sending out a wave of force that shattered the copies of Eliza into icy
fragments. The debris soon dropped to the ground, followed closely by
Smiles, his chest heaving and sweat beading on his forehead despite the
cold.
A thin fragment of Eliza remained, just one of her heads, those eyes
still staring. And they kept staring until Smiles let out a final cough and his
body went still. Then she closed her eyes… and the mold disintegrated,
leaving fragments of Eliza’s body littered across the arena and her vines
still coiling around the coliseum, pulsing with that turquoise light.
A roar of approval signaled the end of yet another round, the score
changing to 2-2.
Eliza had managed to kill Smiles, but it hadn’t lasted long – the
leader of <Death and Taxes> abandoning any form of defense in order to
take her with him. In a conventional fight, that strategy might not have
been terribly effective. But here? In this deadly gauntlet where his death
was only a temporary inconvenience? His strategy was sound.
Jason eyed the timers in the corner of his vision, a fresh one popping
into existence. They still had a while on Alexion’s respawn. More for
Eliza. And now, there were only two of them left. Since they refused to
attack him together, Smiles seemed to be setting a new goal of killing them
all before Alexion could respawn.
Another chime sounded, interrupting Jason’s thoughts. The mutator
had ended, and the temperature began to rise again, but only ever-so-
slowly. Frost still littered the ground and plant life, the muddy sand still
frozen into a solid, slick mass. Jason shifted his body, breaking up the ice
that had formed along his limbs. Meanwhile, Finn extinguished his spell,
the fires receding.
Then the avatar of flame spared a glance at Jason.
“I guess it’s my turn,” he murmured, stepping forward.
Finn didn’t wait for Smiles to respawn. Instead, he lifted his hands,
palms down, and began to summon his mana. Fire flared out around him,
creating an aura of heat that grew with each passing second. Without
warning, the sand burst apart, and flaming metallic objects rocketed up out
of the ground. That metal wrapped around his arms, legs, and chest,
covering him in flaming steel – the bouncer bot logo still emblazoned
across the repurposed metal. Then two additional crystalline arms fused to
his ribcage, searing through the metal armor and into Finn’s flesh. Jason
knew the tendrils of crystal were plunging into muscle and skin, worming
their way through his body as he let out a hissing breath of pain. As the
Neurogem material finally connected with Finn’s Najima, fires flooded out
through his extra limbs and the fingers twitched experimentally.
Finn had prepared this suit ahead of time, breaking apart the
bouncer bots and cutting into the club itself to retrieve more of the
Neurogem material. He’d used the remainder of the bots to carry the pieces
to the arena using the maintenance tunnels. It seemed his plan had paid off,
the bots managing to sneak inside the arena before Smiles had sealed it off
with his barrier.
Another multi-colored rift formed in the air, and Smiles stepped out
again.
He spared a glance at Eliza’s remains. “That girl is incredible,” he
murmured.
“Hmph. Well, you haven’t fought me yet,” Finn insisted.
Smiles’ gaze shot to the avatar of flame, taking in his armor and
newly acquired limbs. “Hmm, you think some metal will be enough? You
might not know this at your age, but real men don’t use armor,” he added,
flexing his arms and the material of his suit buckling.
With that, Smiles shot forward again, punching at Finn. However,
the blow never landed. Finn moved so quickly that he left an orange
afterimage in his wake, a function of using both Haste and Imbue Fire to
enhance his movements simultaneously. It seemed he’d been inspired by
their creation in Sandscrit – Finn’s armor resembling the Nemesis. It took
full advantage of his Concentration, allowing him to channel and cast even
more spells at once. And with Eliza’s potions already flowing through his
veins, his mana wouldn’t deplete immediately.
As a result, the battle quickly picked up in speed.
With a twitch of his fingers, Finn fired a Molten Beam from one
hand, then another. He swept to the side to avoid a strike from Smiles,
kicked off into a backflip to avoid a follow-up attack, and then landed with
a dull thump. Jason could barely follow each movement. The actions were
executed so quickly and with such precision that they would look like little
more than a blur to anyone else.
Smiles backed off a moment, his suit scorched and skin seared, a
few droplets of blood dripping onto the sands. “Huh. I take it back. This
new equipment of yours is interesting,” he complimented Finn.
“If you have time to talk, you’re not trying hard enough,” Finn
growled back.
He raced forward with a blast of flame but flipped to the side at the
last moment. His body performed a series of implausible movements that
rapidly shot him downward two feet and then rotated Finn around Smiles.
The guild leader missed his swing completely, his eyes barely tracking
Finn’s movements. Then Finn raised his left arm – the energy he’d
gathered earlier pulsing like a miniature sun. The metal along his arm was
now melting under the force of the flames and peeling back to reveal thick
crystal. A piercing beam of energy rocketed forward, striking Smiles in the
back of his legs and slicing cleanly through his hamstrings.
Finn rolled to the side and regained his footing, his arms at the
ready. Smiles dropped to his knees, smoke curling away from his skin and
his legs suddenly unable to support his weight. His body was now smoking
and seared. Blood dripped to the sand. His legs were a ruined mess of
tendon and muscle. And despite all that, the man let out a rumbling laugh.
“Like he’s enjoying this,” Jason thought in disbelief. And yet, he
also couldn’t help but feel his mana responding. That surge of chill energy
that he was barely able to suppress. A part of him craved this and couldn’t
wait to see what happened next – to fight Smiles himself.
Not that Finn seemed to need any help.
“Maybe Finn can hold out alone,” Jason murmured, eyeing his UI
again.
“Unlikely,” Daniel chirped at Jason’s shoulder. “I don’t detect any
fluctuation in Smiles’ energy. Which means Finn must not pose a large
threat.”
Indeed, as Jason looked back at Smiles, he could see the muscles in
his legs stitching themselves back together at an incredible rate, moving
even faster than before – without using a potion or healing spell. What was
going on?
“Accelerated healing and damage resistance at low health,” Daniel
supplied. “That best supports the current data. His regeneration rate is
much higher than it was before. That would also explain how he managed
to endure Eliza’s mold for so long.”
Finn must have decided to capitalize on his enemy’s weakness
before he could fully heal, using whatever window he had left to deliver a
killing blow. He rocketed forward with another blast of flame, his arms
tapering down into razor-sharp blades, the crystal humming with orange
energy. As they trailed along the ground, the blades left flecks of molten
sand in their wake. To keep Smiles on the defensive, Finn’s fingers
twitched and scrapmetal rose into the air, refining down into sharp spikes
that raced at the leader of <Death and Taxes>… only for those missiles to
slam into a series of invisible shields. One, two, three, and the fourth
managed to impale Smiles’ arm, the man letting out a grunt of pain.
Even with his impressive regeneration, Smiles was still going to
have difficulty fighting Finn in melee without the use of his legs—
Smiles’ hands had curled in the sand, and Jason had assumed he was
just trying to regain his footing. However, that assumption was proven
wrong as he whipped his arms forward, flicking something at Finn with
each hand. The missiles sped forward in a streak of gold, and Finn’s two
real arms were ripped off upon impact. Seconds later, those projectiles
slammed into the wall beside Jason. As he looked at the impressions, he
saw familiar gold coins lodged in the stone – similar to the one Smiles had
thrown into the air when he summoned the goblin army. Had he been
holding off on using that attack with the others?
Finn lost the channel on his armor, and he struck the ground hard –
skidding along the sand and digging a muddy furrow in his wake as blood
poured from his wounds. However, he recovered quickly, rolling and
coming back to his feet, a flash of flame cauterizing the wounds even as he
speared forward, both of his crystalline blades impaling Smiles. His
opponent grunted in pain but still didn’t die. Instead, he rose on barely
healed legs, his hands now grabbing Finn and locking him in place, those
blades still embedded in his stomach.
Then Smiles squeezed. Metal bent, crumpled, and caved as Finn let
out a scream of pain. Yet Finn wasn’t finished. Mana surged across his
body – everything he had left – his eyes now twin stars of flame. And his
crystalline arms transformed again, this time inside Smiles. Yellow
highlights appeared throughout his body as Daniel came to his aid. Organs,
Jason realized belatedly. The crystal wound through Smiles’ body,
puncturing and destroying each organ in turn. Smiles let out a hacking
cough, blood spraying Finn’s armor.
However, the leader of <Death and Taxes> wasn’t done either.
Smiles squeezed harder – the muscles in his arms flexing and veins
rippling along his skin where his suit had been seared away. The metal of
Finn’s armor buckled and then caved in entirely. Finally, with a massive
jerk, Finn went limp.
Smiles dropped to the ground, his chest heaving and blood
fountaining from his lips. The internal bleeding was simply too much, even
for his regeneration. He soon went limp. Another kill. Barely. The
scoreboard changed again. 3-3.
Finn and Eliza had only managed to take out Smiles at the cost of
their own lives.
This time, there was no roar of applause from the crowd. Only a
deadly quiet. Eliza’s vines still wrapped the arena, the flowers giving off a
soft glow. Blood stained the muddy sands, clumps of cooling glass riddling
the field, sending up streamers of smoke and steam. Alexion’s body hung
limply from the vines. Eliza’s remains had fallen in piles around the arena.
And now, Finn’s armor was a bloody clump of metal and crystal, his arms
severed and lying along the sand. Even Daniel had vanished upon Finn’s
death.
Jason was alone. Three respawn timers were ticking down in the
corner of his vision. They still had minutes left. He couldn’t count on
reinforcements. He would need to hold out for much longer than the others
– until at least Alexion respawned.
Far too soon, a multi-colored rift tore open the center of the arena.
Smiles stepped out once again, his suit and mask intact and no blood
staining his body. He stretched his arms, placing a hand against his
stomach. “I’ll admit. That one hurt.”
Then his eyes shot to Jason.
“But now it’s just you and me.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 54 - Fear
“Holy shit,” Claire muttered, earning her a glance of surprise from
Robert. It was unusual to hear an expletive drop from her lips. Maybe he
was starting to have a bad influence on her.
But he couldn’t exactly disagree with the sentiment.
Little work was getting done inside the Control Room. All eyes
were watching the screen that floated above the room – just as most of the
world was watching this tournament. The protestors in the street. Normal
folk sitting at home or sneaking a peek at work. Travelers braving the
dangers of the rifts in-game to catch the fight in real-time.
Robert also couldn’t help but notice the few stray bowls of popcorn
being passed out by his crew. There wasn’t time to place bets. To discuss
odds. This wasn’t a strategic and elegant duel between two tacticians like
the battle they’d witnessed in Sandscrit. This was a barroom brawl.
Gladiators spilling blood on the sand. A brutal, savage display of raw
strength where even a second of hesitation or a small mistake spelled
instant death.
“I’m not sure Jason can take him,” Claire said softly.
Robert just cocked his head. “Oh, really? Counting our boy out
already?”
She shot him a glare. “Jason has no minions. No army. And his
specialty isn’t melee combat. Even if he uses his mana well here… it just
won’t be enough to stop that-that creature they’re fighting,” she muttered,
eyeing Smiles on screen.
“Aren’t you discounting his new form?” Robert asked, cocking an
eyebrow.
“Are you sure that was even real?” Claire shot back. “Or was it just
a ruse to lure the rest of <Death and Taxes> into their trap? Alexion could
have built an illusion, one that would explain his new skeletal appearance.
And even if Jason did transfer his consciousness to some sort of other body
or something, he has at least two full minutes until Alexion respawns. The
rest have each lasted less than sixty seconds so far. I just don’t see it…
“I think we’re about to watch him fail in front of millions,” Claire
murmured, eyes locked on that screen as she adjusted her glasses nervously.
 Robert noticed more than a few techs following their conversation,
nodding along with Claire’s reasoning and frowns creasing their lips.
Judging from the displays flashing in front of him, forums and social media
traffic condensed into manageable graphs, figures, and summaries… Well,
it looked like the rest of the world largely agreed with her, as well. It
seemed everyone was discounting Jason. They were assuming he was just
some kid who had lucked out with an OP class, and was being propped up
by his companions and guildmates.
A laugh suddenly erupted from Robert’s throat, echoing across the
nearly silent room. He grabbed another handful of popcorn as he leaned
back in his chair and pitched up his feet. “You all are just so negative. I
wouldn’t count our boy out too soon. He’s faced worse.”
A smile flitted across his face as he eyed the bloody arena. “And
besides, I see plenty of materials that a savvy Necromancer could
repurpose.”
Claire glanced at him in surprise. “The corpses? But even so, that
would only give him a handful of minions. And even if he resurrects
Smiles, he can only have one copy. Alfred – I mean, we patched that,” she
amended, eyeing the techs.
Robert popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth, his smile only
widening in excitement. “Just wait. If we’ve learned anything so far, it’s
that Jason loves bending the rules.”

* * *

Smiles eyed Jason, his opponent standing there, silent amid the
shadows.
“What? Nothing to say? No rant? No grandstanding for the
camera?” Smiles demanded, waving at the blue orbs that floated overhead
like fireflies. “The world is watching – in-game and out. Your teammates
are dead and you just watched them fall.”
Jason remained quiet, robed in shadow.
“Huh,” Smiles grunted. “After all my research, all the videos I’ve
seen, people I’ve questioned… I never expected this. Where is this Jason
I’ve heard so much about? The same person that butchered an entire city in
the first few weeks of the game. That conquered the Sea’s Edge. That
destroyed Finn’s city with a mere handful of players. Unkillable.
Overpowered. The King of Death. Your name strikes fear in the hearts of
travelers even if some refuse to admit it. You’re supposed to be a legend!”
Smiles shook his head. “But perhaps that’s it. Perhaps you’re too
accustomed to winning. To walking away victorious. You haven’t had to
shed your own blood. Or watched as your teammates die around you.”
The guild leader raised his eyes to meet Jason’s. “Is that it? Are
you afraid to die?”
More silence met that statement, Jason letting that pause hang in the
air.
He could see what Smiles was trying to do. Provoke him. Enrage
him. Entice him to act without thinking… with all those cameras hovering
in the air… with the world watching. Maybe he might have once given in
to his anger. Let it consume him. Blind him. But that person didn’t exist
any longer. This world had changed him. It had broken him down and
replaced him with someone better, stronger, faster. Just as it had done for
his teammates, forcing them to grow and evolve. Eliza, Finn… even
Alexion. Their bodies now riddled the arena.
They had all managed to take out Smiles, to stain the sands with his
blood.
Then Jason saw it… the flash of energy he’d been waiting for.
The barrier around the arena flickered, sputtering and sparking
erratically. Then, with a final crackle, the field imploded. Mana flared
brightly, and Smiles lifted a hand to his eyes to ward off the glare. When he
looked up again, Eliza’s vines had been blasted away – twilight now shining
overhead and the stars twinkling brightly in the night sky. Technicolor
mana rained down across the arena, motes of rainbow energy fluttering
through the air. And through it all… Jason finally strode forward, treading
a path across the bloodied field.
He swept aside the notice confirming what he already knew. The
barrier was down. Eliza’s vines had done their work – a mutation of
Rockstomper designed to be less discriminating in its diet. The group
couldn’t anticipate how Smiles would use the energy he’d captured – only
that he’d stored quite a bit of mana for some purpose. So, they’d planned
for several contingencies, creating something that could neutralize many
different applications. And their bet had paid off.
Now that mana rained down upon the arena, pushing back at the
encroaching twilight.
 “Afraid?” Jason murmured, his voice rustling softly. “I’m not the
one that should be afraid. There's a good reason that all creatures fear the
darkness.”
As he finished speaking, he pulled back his cloak, revealing his
body.
That video hadn’t been a fake. It was no mere illusion. Jason had
undergone every step of that surgery. Every pain-filled moment. The
horror of holding his own heart in his hands. Even now, he could feel it –
that phantom pain in his chest. That sinking pit in his stomach. That fear
that he’d gone too far and wouldn’t make it this time.
His fists clenched with a crack of bone. But he had. He’d evolved.
Transplanted his Najima into a body of bone and crystal. Gone was his
skin, replaced with a hardened frame of bone that was reinforced with so
much of that dark metal it had turned almost pewter. Yet the surface of his
hands and arms twinkled in the twilight, fragments of crystal dotting the
bone. The Neurogem material wound up his spine and down each limb,
connecting the six vessels tucked away inside this new form – each one
protected by a dense cage of bone and mana.
Mana pulsed along the bone, emanating from the crystal that riddled
his body and sucking in the faint motes of light as they drifted past. Gray,
sparkling bone encased by a shifting cloak of darkness. That dark energy
rippled and contorted like a living thing, winding up Jason’s legs, his waist,
his chest, his neck, even his head – his face no more than a hollowed gray
skull. Inky horns stretched out from his forehead, wrapping around the
bone that still lingered there.
The prompts still hovered in the corner of his vision… a reminder of
what he’d done.

Quest Completed: He’s a Keeper

You have shed yourself of any last trace of your humanity; of your
weakness; of your doubt and fear. You are now something more than you
once were. A creature of pure darkness and desire. A monster that knows
no restraint. You no longer walk the path of the dark. You forge it. You
bend it to your will and use that power to shake the world to its very
foundations.
 Race Change: Keeper (Lich)
You have been awarded +15,000 Infamy
Progress along the Path of the Dark
Revered relationship with the Dark One

System Notice: Race Change

After undergoing an unholy ritual aided by the efforts of your friends and
allies, you have finally rid yourself of your former body, transcending such
feeble things as muscle, bone, and blood. You are now death itself.

Race Change: Keeper (Lich)

You have unlocked the skill Body Augmentation.
Only direct damage to your vessels will reduce your health/mana.
You have been awarded +100 to Willpower
You have been awarded +50 to Intelligence
You have been awarded +50 to Endurance
You are vulnerable to light and exposure to direct sunlight will reduce
health/mana by 1%/second.
Damage and mana regeneration will be reduced by 75% while standing in
direct sunlight
Upon death, all minions are lost and your body loses all augmentations.

Jason finally swept aside those notices.

The truth was that his current form wasn’t that impressive. An
amalgamation of bone, metal, mana, and crystal. A creation that barely
rivaled his Death Knights in terms of strength.
No, this was just the beginning. A simple frame meant for
something more…
Jason cast Zombie Lieutenant, dark energy slithering out to every
corpse that now littered the arena. His teammates all soon opened pale,
white eyes. Alexion, his body hanging from the bines. Eliza, her mold
pulling itself back together – the game still registering her form as a corpse.
Finn, his body broken and his metal armor fused to flesh and bone. Even
one of Smiles’ former corpses opened its eyes, its hulking body shifting
along the sands.
“This won’t be enough,” the real Smiles grunted. He stepped
forward, crushing his zombie doppelganger’s leg. “I already broke these
toys so that you couldn’t use them.”
A smart move, but one Jason had anticipated.
It was true that he couldn’t summon duplicates of his teammates
since the last patch. And while raising their zombie equivalent would aid
him in battle, it wouldn’t be enough. He couldn’t repair those broken
bodies or their armor – couldn’t restore them to their living selves. They
would only be pale imitations of what they once were. Shadows of their
former glory.
But Jason wasn’t a fan of rehashing old strategies. That wouldn’t
work against Smiles, not with the research this man had clearly put into
planning and anticipating the avatars’ moves. No, Jason intended to bend
the rules until they buckled and threatened to break. He was going to tear it
all down and build something new.
With another twitch of his fingers, he cast Custom Skeleton and the
world slowed to a crawl. His new minions rose into the air, whirling past
Smiles in a blur of motion – the man barely managing to follow the
movement under the enhanced time compression of the spell. Those
corpses whizzed toward Jason – broken flesh, metal, crystal, and mold.
And as they neared, floating in the air before him… Jason began to
work.
Their bodies broke apart, muscle stripped from ivory frames. He
removed the fragments of broken bone, needless muscle and blood that
would only get in his way. The debris that riddled their bodies. Metal and
crystal and glass that were in his way. He purified their bodies in
anticipation of a new surgery – an unholy operation that could only take
place on the field of battle. Death repurposed to give him a strength he’d
never known.
The remains of his zombies flitted forward as he raised his arms to
either side. Alexion’s body fused with his own, wings stitching themselves
to his back and darkness sweeping out across them as the feathers shifted to
an ebony hue. Finn’s mind settled into Jason’s empty skull, and his metal
eyes sunk into their corresponding sockets, his four arms stitching
themselves to Jason’s abdomen, fastening securely to the frame he’d
already built, and connecting to the Neurogem that ran up his spine.
Smiles’ bones merged with Jason’s own, his limbs doubling and then
tripling in size. And overtop it all, Jason layered Eliza’s body, her form
stretched thin, the darkness permeating the mold and the surface of Jason’s
body rippling and undulating.
As he finished, another prompt appeared.

System Notice: Body Augmentation

Finn – 50% Augment Effectiveness

Fire Affinity increased by 30%,
Fire spells unlocked,
Concentration unlocked,
Multi-Casting unlocked.
Mana Sight unlocked.
Eliza – 50% Augment Effectiveness
Water affinity increased by 30%,
Water spells unlocked,
Mold Form unlocked.
Alexion - 40% Augment Effectiveness
Light affinity increased by 10%.
Light spells unlocked.
Flight unlocked.
Smiles – 30% Augment Effectiveness
Passive resistance and defensive skills unlocked.
30% bonus to Strength and Dexterity.

Jason eyed that notice, more notifications streaming down the

corner of his vision and announcing the new skills he’d acquired. It seemed
there were limits to how effectively he could use the other avatars’ ability –
no doubt, his expertise with Body Augmentation and Jason’s own affinity
created those limitations. For example, after absorbing Smiles’ skeleton, he
only retained his defensive skills at an intermediate skill level. He could
only imagine how hard he had trained if that represented 30%
effectiveness. Yet, even with those downsides, Jason could still feel the
foreign energy rippling through his body – water, fire, and light seeping into
his Najima, absorbed by the darkness that lingered there. And with it came
a newfound sense of strength.
What was more interesting was that his UI showed that he still had
four active zombie lieutenants, the reserve cost eating into his mana pool.
Yet it was just a drop in the ocean, his vessels nestled safely inside his new
form. And Jason suspected that cost came with an upside. Four zombies
meant he could delegate actions to separate parts of his body.
Jason had done what the prompt had asked – what the world kept
demanding of him.
He’d evolved. He’d abandoned his own humanity to become
something more.
“I’ve done my research as well. I’ve seen what they say online
about your guild,” Jason growled, taking a lumbering step forward.
“Killers. Murderers. Mercenaries… Monsters.”
He flexed his newfound limbs, the frame snapping and popping. A
single, experimental flap of his wings sent a wave of dust rolling away at
his back. He cracked his neck and then turned to face Smiles, his eyes
burning, demonic embers.
“But the darkness is where real monsters are born.”
Jason took another ponderous step forward, the ground shuddering
from the impact. At the same time, he dropped his first set of arms down,
twin scythes telescoping from his wrists. Finn’s limbs began to move at the
same time, casting at an incredible speed. Fire wound down their length
and the metal all around the field was suddenly awash in flame, the debris
rocketing to Jason where they melted down and began to form four massive
balls of molten metal that orbited him slowly. Yet, he wasn’t finished. His
skin glowed a brilliant sapphire as it began to move and shift – the mold
feeding on the energy and beginning to awaken, lifting away from his body
to form a protective aura around him.
Smiles could only stare, that mask smiling back. With Jason’s
enhanced sight – borrowed from Finn – he could see that the aura of yellow
energy around Smiles flashed brightly, growing into a blaze of amber
energy as death incarnate loomed before him.
Yet the man never balked. “I’ve waited for this for a long time.”
Jason didn’t bother to respond. He happily obliged Smiles.
 His wings snapped taut and Jason launched forward. He was in
front of Smiles in an instant, his scythes whipping forward and Soul Blades
slicing through the air so quickly that they left phantom energy in their
wake. Smiles just barely dodged, forced to drop to his knees. With his
considerable strength, he shoved off the ground from that position,
launching himself into an uppercut.
Mold shifted across Jason’s body, hardening in one spot, and
blunting the impact. He barely moved from Smiles’ punch. Then, without
warning, a wrecking ball of heated metal slammed into the guild leader’s
side, sending him rocketing through the air and into the wall of the arena.
The stone cracked. Crumbled. Smiles let out a grunt, blood erupting from
his mouth. Yet he somehow managed to keep moving, stepping out of the
rubble, and wiping away the blood.
“Now this is more like it!” he roared. “Come on! Come at me!”
Jason obliged. He whipped forward in a blaze of darkness, his
scythes cutting at the air as the metal spheres broke apart, forming a flurry
of blades – a hail of darkness and molten steel that cut and sliced and
stabbed and tore. Smiles kept moving: dodging, twisting, spinning. The
occasional blade was deflected by a panel of reinforced air that formed
beside him – the same passive ability Jason had observed earlier and which
now protected him as Smiles flicked a few more of those golden coins at
him… only for the metal to fall harmlessly to the ground.
The deaths of Jason’s allies had also served another purpose.
It had allowed him to study Smiles.
Haste suffused Jason’s form, the orange rippling up his skeleton and
mixing with the shadowy darkness that enveloped his limbs. Three rapid
blows in quick succession and Smiles’ Missile Shield was down. Metal
swept forward, spearing into Smiles’ legs before slamming into the sand,
anchoring him in place. Then Jason pulled back with his four arms, the
mold shifting into place along each limb until they were massive columns
of carnage. Then they all struck at once.
Smiles was blown off his feet, the anchors ripped from his legs with
a spray of blood. He slammed into the wall again with a crunch of bone.
Jason suspected he’d broken at least a few ribs. Smiles dropped to the
ground, coughing up more blood. His luck couldn’t help him here – not
against the unstoppable. Not forever. It could only keep him alive. Barely.
 “Amazing,” Smiles growled. He raised his eyes, his mask fractured
and revealing part of his face.
However, Jason didn’t detect any hint of fear there. Only a strange
madness. An excitement that seemed to consume Smiles. He managed to
pull himself upright, his injuries healing at an incredible pace.
“I haven’t gotten to use this in ages,” Smiles offered, chuckling
despite his broken ribs, ignoring his own pain. “But this feels like a special
occasion.”
As he trailed off, Smiles’ body suddenly contorted, each of his
muscles convulsing with incredible strength. Veins popped up along his
arms as his entire body spasmed, his muscles increasing in size with each
passing second, shredding the rest of his suit which dropped to the ground
in a ragged heap. Even the blood vessels in his eyes exploded, the irises
suddenly stained a dark red. When, Smiles looked back up, there was
barely any trace of sanity remaining, a mad smile painted across his real
lips.
In a blink, Smiles was gone. He reappeared beside Jason, a single
punch rocketing forward. His zombie lieutenants responding automatically,
shifting the mold into place to reinforce his torso. Even so, the blow sent
him sliding back across the sand and destabilized the reinforced skin, the
surface blowing apart into a cloud of mold that slowly began to stitch itself
back together.
If anything, it seemed Smiles had grown even stronger. Some sort
of Enrage ability? Jason wondered. Had he learned to control his body’s
release of adrenaline? Jason certainly didn’t detect any mana with Finn’s
eyes and Smiles’ luck aura had dimmed.
Yet there wasn’t time to ponder on that.
Because Smiles went on the offensive. He was a blur of motion,
Jason only keeping up with the help of Finn’s Haste. They traded massive
blows, each punch crumpling flesh and fracturing bone. Jason cut into
Smiles with his Soul Blades, only to watch him regrow his own hand in a
flash of regeneration. The more battered and bloodied Smiles became, the
harder it seemed to be to kill him and the faster his regeneration became.
Smiles opened his mouth on his next charge, releasing a staggering
shout that blasted a wave of kinetic energy at Jason. Jason was quick to
respond, and a wall of metal slammed down in front of him and burrowed
into the sand – swiftly turning the surface to molten glass. That barrier
blunted the sonic attack, the wave of force rippling up into the air. He
expected Smiles to go over or around the wall. But that metal shield was
soon ripped from the ground and was sent hurtling toward Jason as Smiles
decided to go through it. The shield crashed into Jason, the flames searing
the mold that covered his body and his back slamming into the ground.
They slid along the sand, leaving a furrow in their wake. Jason
shifted his position, moving his legs into place and reinforcing them with
more of the mold. Then he kicked off, sending Smiles hurtling into the air
high above the arena. In a flash, Jason’s wings whipped forward, and he
raced after his opponent, rising above him. He reached the apex of his
ascent and pivoted...
Then Jason’s wings snapped back to his sides and he dove.
He crashed into Smiles with tremendous force, Jason’s first set of
arms locking him in place and bands of molten steel puncturing each of his
limbs… holding him down even as the pair picked up more and more
speed, the ground hurtling up to meet them. They struck like a meteor,
Smiles’ back slamming into the sandy turf of the arena. A wave of debris
rocketed up into the sky, briefly obscuring them from sight.
And as the sand was quickly blown away by the stiff winds that
scoured the Mile-High Club, it revealed Jason standing there, a demon
made of stolen parts. And in the center of the arena? Smiles lay on the
ground, his legs broken, his ribs a mess – ivory peeking out from thick
green skin as blood bubbled around the wounds.
Yet, despite the damage, another ragged laugh pealed from his lips.
Smiles dragged himself from the crater that now lingered in the
center of the arena, forcing himself upright even as his wounds began to
close once more. Only moments later, he was on his feet again, not
weaving or staggering. Instead, he raised his fists, his eyes watching Jason
behind his fractured mask.
“What are you waiting for? Fight me!” Smiles roared.
Then he charged again.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 55 - Presentation
Finn respawned in a flash of multi-colored light. He’d been
expecting to see the sands of the arena, Eliza’s vines coiling overhead.
Perhaps even Alexion or Eliza fighting Smiles – their respawn timers
popping long before his own. And yet he found himself in an unfamiliar
courtyard, the occasional explosion of sound echoing from somewhere
nearby.
“Where are we?” Finn grunted.
“We appear to have respawned near the arena,” Daniel chirped
helpfully, opening his map and the display hovering beside him. They
didn’t seem to be far away.
However, he knew what that meant. Eliza’s vines had brought down
the mana field. And judging from his UI, the rest of his team had already
respawned. It appeared Eliza and Alexion still had full health. As did
Jason… although that meant little with his new form. A series of
thunderous booms echoed in the distance.
Did that mean Jason was still fighting?
And where was the rest of <Death and Taxes>? Surely, they’d
respawned already.
Erring on the side of caution, Finn pulled a few metal orbs from his
bag – his bracelets having all been repurposed during his fight with Smiles.
A twitch of his fingers and flames wrapped the metal, the orbs soon
spiraling around him protectively. Then he moved forward, searching for
the source of those explosions, moving closer to the green icons on his map,
Daniel pulsing softly at his shoulder.
As he neared the arena again, Finn slowed… and then stopped short.
The stone walls of the coliseum were gone. Little more than rubble
now, the rock fractured and broken, providing an unimpeded view of the
arena floor. A massive crater had been blasted into the sand and there was
blood everywhere. In the center of it all were two figures, their bodies
moving at an incredible speed, trading blows that created peals of thunder
as they landed. One, Finn recognized as Smiles, the man’s suit long gone,
his scars on full display. Yet he looked larger and his muscles pulsed with
massive veins. Some new ability perhaps?
Yet it was his opponent that captured Finn’s attention.
 “The kid did it,” he murmured.
“Yeah, that’s one hell of an upgrade,” a familiar voice spoke up
from beside Finn. He started and whirled, having been distracted by the
sight before him.
Alexion and Eliza stood there, watching the same incredible scene.
“Why aren’t we helping?” Finn asked.
The pair looked at him skeptically. Then Alexion waved at the
arena. “Just watch.”
As Finn turned back to the fight, he saw Jason raise a crystalline
arm, sucking in the heat in the vicinity, the temperature dropping at an
incredible rate. Without fanfare, he turned and leveled that arm at Smiles,
fire pooling along the palm. Jason released the pent-up energy, and a ray of
destruction carved through the air toward Smiles. The guild leader moved
swiftly, taking off at an incredible speed, and barely managed to dodge the
blast. It was so powerful that it ate through the warded rock like butter, the
molten energy slicing clean through the remainder of the stone wall that had
once ringed the coliseum.
As the energy flared out, it left molten pools of rock and glass, heat
rippling away from those new lakes of magma. Finn could only stare.
Jason wasn’t holding back at all. And yet Smiles was still standing. The
power they were throwing around was enough to level cities. It reminded
Finn of their battle in Sandscrit, except no one was using their mana well in
this fight. And the entire thing was still being recorded, those sapphire orbs
floating over the battlefield.
Smoke coiled out across the sands as Jason and Smiles parted for a
moment, squaring off once again. Lightning arced from the clouds
overhead, striking the sand, and sending up a spray of particles – casting the
pair in silhouette. A ring of fire erupted from the ground around them,
replacing the former stone wall and denoting a rough circular boundary. In
the background, Finn could have sworn he heard rock music playing, just
softly enough to avoid overpowering the scene unfolding before them.
“Where the hell is the fire and lightning coming from—”
Finn cut himself off as he turned to find Smokes lounging on a
cushion of mist, streamers of vapor leaking out from the cloud and drifting
off into the arena where it pooled around Jason and Smiles’ ankles. The
source of the lightning was also apparent now – Pewpew sat atop the nearby
wall, occasionally firing off a shot into the air, her metal stakes landing in
the arena with a blast of lightning. Fire bloomed around Blaze as she let
out a yawn, covering her mouth in embarrassment as she noticed Finn
watching. And nearby, Bard was playing softly, his guitar humming with an
amber glow.
“What the hell is going on here?” Finn muttered.
Smokes eyed him, taking a lazy drag on his cigarette. “I know, it’s
silly. But Bard insisted. Something about setting the scene or some shit.”
“More like he offered to not talk for three days if we went along
with it,” Pewpew offered.
“Sounds like a hell of a deal,” Alexion grunted from nearby.
“You have no idea,” Blaze grumbled.
“I think we have some idea…” Eliza muttered.
Tombs snorted from nearby. “Try spending every waking moment
with him.” He looked at Eliza. “At least you got to kill him. Been a long
time since I’ve put him down.”
“No, I mean why are you all just standing here with us,” Finn
interjected, his orbs still hovering beside him protectively. “Shouldn’t you
be trying to take us out?”
“What’s the point?” Tombs shot back with a shrug. “We got what
we wanted. You three already died to Smiles – with those deaths streamed
to the whole game world. So those contracts have already been
completed.”
“Was that the only thing motivating you?” Finn demanded.
“Not exactly,” Queen offered, approaching from behind them, a
drink in hand. She tapped it with her finger, ice cubs forming in the glass.
She took a sip. “I’ll admit some of that stuff before was a little personal.”
Finn’s hands clenched. “A little?” Finn demanded. He still hadn’t
forgotten how she’d used Rachael’s image against him.
Queen cocked her head. “You had it coming. You did leave me
chained up at the bottom of the Abyss.” Finn’s hands clenched and the fires
around his orbs flared brightly.
Tombs coughed into his hand meaningfully, the others staring at
Queen. She let out a sigh. “Fine. Using your dead wife’s appearance
might have been going too far…”
Another cough from Tombs.
“I’m… sorry, okay?” Queen ground out grudgingly. “Even if
you’re still a huge dickhead,” she muttered under her breath, just a touch
too loudly.
Finn bristled at the comment but decided to let it go. His gaze shot
to Pewpew. “Am I supposed to believe you’ve also gotten over your
vendetta against Jason?”
The girl just offered a shrug. “Got what I wanted. I got to shoot
him a bunch of times. Plus, I have footage of him frantically trying to flee a
giant smiling boulder, and it’s been posted everywhere online already. That
was all I ever really wanted,” she answered glibly.
Finn just shook his head. These people were—
His thoughts were interrupted by a massive boom from the arena.
All eyes turned to the fight that was still being waged there – now with
special effects and a suitably epic soundtrack. Smiles had just released
another Thunderclap, pushing Jason back. However, he recovered quickly
and raced forward with a snap of his wings, Soul Blades cutting at Smiles
and molten blades slicing at his legs and arms from behind… only for the
man to simply wade through the attack, landing a punch on Jason that had
him hurtling backward through the air, his wings soon stabilizing him.
“Uh, I know Smiles told us not to interfere, but does anyone else
think this might go on forever?” Tombs offered, glancing at the others.
“Shouldn’t Smiles run out of stamina eventually?” Eliza asked
curiously.
The rest of <Death and Taxes> laughed at that, Eliza’s brow
scrunching in confusion.
“Smiles has trained… a lot. His Endurance is insane and so is his
regeneration. He doesn’t use Enrage often, but even with it active, he could
still go for a while,” Queen offered. “It’s far more likely that Jason will run
out of juice.”
“Doubtful,” Alexion muttered. At Queen’s questioning glance, he
elaborated. “I can tell from the group UI that he’s mostly using the
zombies’ mana to cast those spells. Plus, I’ve seen his Character Status.
Even before his latest race change, it was clear he’d put almost every single
point into Willpower. Smiles’ best option would be to destroy one of the
zombies.”
“Which is hard with my mold,” Eliza offered. “It repairs itself.
Even a destabilizing attack isn’t enough to destroy it. That just acts like a
stun and the mold recovers quickly. Freezing or burning damage are the
best options to stop its regeneration.”
 “And Smiles can’t cast,” Tombs replied with a frown. “Perfect.”
“So, this really is going to last forever,” Blaze muttered.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Finn replied.
“Oh, really? Why not?” Blaze asked.
Finn let out a sigh. “That kid is clever. I suspect he’s already
realized all these points. Which means he has a plan…
“You’re putting a lot of faith in the Edgelord,” Pewpew quipped.
“It’s not faith. It’s experience. We’ve all seen it. Jason wins,”
Alexion murmured in response, crossing his arms. “That’s just what he
does.”
Pewpew glanced at Alexion in surprise. He wasn’t one to normally
sing Jason’s praises.
“We’ll see,” she muttered finally.
Finn turned his attention back to the fight. Jason had retreated
momentarily, whipping up into the night sky with Smiles standing below
him. He watched his opponent warily, mental wheels turning. Finn could
almost visualize his thought process. This fight could last forever – which
was time they didn’t have. Even now, the timer on Armageddon was still
ticking down. This was only one battle in a much larger war.
Which meant Jason needed to end the fight. Now.
Jason must have reached the same conclusion because he began
casting again, this time, a golden glow suffusing his body. That energy
quickly merged with his dark mana and turned into a bright purple that
rippled across his arms, legs, torso, and wings before coiling up across his
head. That energy would erode his zombies quickly, easily outpacing their
own regeneration.
But until then, it would give him an edge.
Smiles seemed to anticipate that this was the endgame, planting his
feet firmly and raising his arms, his regeneration swiftly repairing his
injuries. Finn could see Jason’s move here. He was intentionally giving
Smiles time to heal to reduce his luck aura and remove the risk of Smiles
avoiding his attacks. The only options were to either kill him in one blow –
a tall feat – or to whittle him down in a flurry of strikes like Alexion had
done earlier.
That quiet moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
Then Jason moved, his wings pulling tight as he dived at Smiles, his
scythes raised and his crystalline arms summoning massive blocks of metal
which he tossed at Smiles as he fell back to earth. The guild leader batted
the boulders aside almost casually, the metal denting with each punch. And
in that scant few seconds, Jason was upon him, Soul Blades slicing…
Yet they whiffed, Smiles dodging expertly, putting him inside
Jason’s guard. He leveled a punch at his chest, the mold moving too slowly
– far too slowly to blunt this attack. Jason had made a mistake. A small
slip-up that might cost him everything. Finn’s hands were tense, trying to
resist the urge to intervene. The others around him were in a similar state,
watching with bated breath, fingers never straying far from their weapons.
That punch landed solidly, slamming into Jason’s stomach, ripping
two of his crystalline arms free in an instant as he rotated to avoid most of
the damage. Smiles followed up, grabbing a firm hold of Jason and
grappling him. This wasn’t good. From that position, he could rip Jason’s
body apart – removing his advantage by destroying each zombie.
“This is it,” Queen muttered.
“I’m not so sure,” Finn replied.
In the heartbeat it took Finn to grapple him, flames rippled along
Jason’s body – clearly Haste, Finn would recognize the spell anywhere. Yet
moving more swiftly wouldn’t help him, nor would the metal sawblades
that rose around Jason, burrowing into Smiles’ arms but failing to cut
cleanly through his dense limbs. Then Finn caught a strange flash of dark
mana. In the flurry of movement, Jason had slipped an arm forward, his
fingertips touching lightly against Smiles’ temple. Tendrils of darkness
coiled across Smiles’ head before sinking into his eyes, ears, and mouth, the
energy so subtle that even Smiles missed it amid the frenzy.
Only moments later, the pair stood stock still in that macabre
embrace, purple energy still sliding across Jason’s body. Smiles’ arms still
wrapped around Jason’s frame. Yet neither of them moved – almost as
though they’d been frozen solid.
“What the fuck just happened?” Pewpew demanded.
Bard’s music petered out, the final note falling flat. “Are they… are
they hugging right now?” he asked in an incredulous tone, watching the pair
frozen there – wrapped in a deadly embrace. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”
Finn couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.
“Hmph, I suspect not… that’s checkmate,” he replied.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 56 - Soulless
A white expanse drifted out around Jason, stretching on without end,
broken only by the coils of smoky gray that seemed to hover in pockets
throughout the void. That mist coalesced and broke apart, taking on a faint
image only to dissolve a moment later like shapes in the clouds. The
images were so subtle that one could almost assume they were
superimposing their own subconscious onto that gray vapor.
And in this ivory void stood two individuals.
Smiles looked around, taking in their new surroundings before his
gaze settled upon Jason. “Interesting,” Smiles spoke up, seemingly
unperturbed at the abrupt change in scenery. “I take it this is your Undead
Devotion?”
“It is,” Jason answered with a nod.
“Hmph,” Smiles grunted. “In that case…”
He snapped his fingers and the white void shifted. Jason’s body
rippled, his skeletal appearance transforming back into smooth, pale skin
and hair creeping across his scalp. Only moments later, he was wearing
regular clothes – his weapons, armor, and any trace of mana gone and
replaced with a plain pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
As Jason looked back at his opponent, he could see that Smiles
wasn’t immune to the changes either. The man’s suit had disappeared,
shifting back into a tank top and shorts. His body also shrank, shedding a
couple hundred pounds of muscle and scar tissue. Even so, Smiles’ limbs
showed evidence of strenuous physical training.
An athlete then, Jason thought to himself. That explained a lot.
Finally, that ivory mask disintegrated, revealing Smiles’ face
entirely for the first time.
Jason wasn’t anticipating the kindness shining in his eyes. Or the
pleased grin that tugged at Smiles’ lips. “What? Not what you were
expecting?” Smiles asked. “I have to admit, you also look much less
intimidating in real life.”
“It’s not that,” Jason murmured. It was the ease with which Smiles
had manipulated this place. “You seem comfortable here.”
Smiles shrugged. “This is my mind, isn’t it? Queen explained the
gist of it.”
 Another snap of his fingers and the nearby smoke materialized into
two armchairs and Smiles waved at a seat. Jason obliged, the pair sitting
across from one another in that bleached white expanse. “There, isn’t that
better?”
Jason could only watch this strange man. What the hell was his
game here?
Smiles sighed. “I suppose you’re wondering what I want? Why I
don’t appear upset or confused at ending up here? That’s actually an
interesting story… but first, since I know who you are, it would be rude of
me not to introduce myself. My name is Dominic Hart, although I prefer to
be called Dom. I’m 22. A college football player… or, at least, I was. Oh,
and I’m dying from terminal cancer.”
Jason’s eyes widened at that. He’d just… just dox’d himself? But
why?
And then there was that last sentence. Smiles – Dom, Jason
corrected – was dying?
All around them, the smoke churned, gathering and solidifying to
form brief scenes. A stark white room that reeked of antiseptic. Ivory
white bone overlaid against a dark backdrop as a doctor droned on in the
background. Dom leaning forward, his face a blank slate and his eyes a
million miles away. Then the doctor paused. “Are you okay?”
The scene broke apart, recondensing into another image. In this
one, Dom was sitting in a chair, an IV in his arm and screens arrayed before
him. One among many showcased his bank balance, another $30,000
withdrawal signaling a single infusion as his hand gripped the arm of his
chair tightly and the nearby monitor let out a soft beep – his heart rate and
blood pressure both elevated. Stress. Anxiety. A kernel of fear…
The smoke blew away, the memories vanishing.
“What a useful mechanic,” Dom murmured. “Makes it difficult to
lie here, huh?”
“Almost impossible,” Jason answered, recovering quickly.
“It’s not quite as dire as it looks,” Dom offered with a sympathetic
look. “As you saw, I’m in treatment. The cancer has been responding
well. So, I suppose I should have said I was dying. Past tense, thankfully.”
“So, the money is for your treatment?” That earned him a nod from
Dom. “And the others? Your guildmates? What about them?”
 “They’re not dying, if that’s what you’re asking,” Dom answered.
He cocked his head. “But they’re all economically-deprived, or some other
PC technocrat bullshit that basically means they’re broke as shit. I guess
you could say none of us have much choice. We’ve done what we’ve had
to do to survive…”
As he trailed off again, the memories flooded back, a dozen scenes
playing out around Jason as the smoke condensed. Dom alone, training in
the jungle. Dying over and over again. Ripped apart. Sliced open.
Poisoned. Battered, beaten, and eaten. Only to do it again. And again. By
himself. Plunging into danger. His hands reaching out for help… an
instinct—
Only to find no one there.
And then suddenly he wasn’t alone.
Another thin man wielding a piece of shit guitar was there, dying
with him. Then others. Goblins. Men and women like himself. The
neglected and the forgotten. Broke, penniless, and dejected. They’d all
gathered around Dom like moths to the flame. They’d used that hardship
and that pain to drive them to ever greater heights – increasingly more
extreme training.
And then things had changed.
The scenes shifted. They began using their abilities for something
more. Stealing from others. Butchering entire guilds. Robbing, pillaging,
and looting. A scene materialized – the auction house in Barrow. They’d
raided the damn thing – pillaged the vault and robbed the rest of the
travelers blind… only to escape a miniature army of travelers and residents.
“The lack of money is the root of all evil – Mark Twain,” Dom
offered.
Jason’s eyes snapped back to the other man.
“But I’m sure you understand that point yourself, don’t you?” Dom
continued. “How an act driven by necessity can shape the way others see
you. As a villain. A criminal. A sociopath.
“Kicked out of school. Estranged from your parents. Homeless.
Living with your aunt. And then there was the break-in… the death of
those two teenagers.” Dom listed off each item on his fingers, watching
Jason. “And Cerillion was there to swoop in and save you.” There was a
certain bitter, sarcasm in his voice at that last one. “Which we both know is
bullshit. A man like George Lane doesn’t help others out of the kindness of
his heart. The truth is he needs you. You’re the face of AO… for now,
anyway.”
Dom stared at Jason, his gaze unwavering. “We’re not that
different, you and I. It became clear during my research that we both agree
on one thing—”
“We’ll do whatever it takes to survive,” Jason finished for him, Dom
only smiling.
“Exactly.”
“Yet I still don’t understand. What was all this for? This show
you’ve been putting on?” Jason asked. “You could have killed us several
times over if collecting our bounties was your only goal. Yet, instead, you
orchestrated this convoluted plan to capture the avatars and put us through
these so-called games. It’s clear you wanted the media attention, but why?”
Dom’s smile widened. “I had a few reasons. But, in part, I was
doing you a favor.”
Jason was caught off guard, shaking his head. “A favor?” he
echoed. It sure as hell hadn’t felt that way – not with the entire game world
hanging in the balance.
“I’ll explain, but first, I have a question of my own,” Dom replied,
leaning forward. “Why are you still playing this game?"
Jason froze. That was the same question he’d posed to Alexion and
had been unable to answer himself – even after everything he’d endured.
“I… don’t know,” Jason answered finally.
“Bullshit,” Dom shot back.
Jason’s eyes snapped to his face.
“Bullshit,” Dom repeated forcefully. “I know that’s a lie. Like I
said, I’ve watched you. You should want this place to end. It’s fucked up
your life. Resulted in you killing two kids. Has you trapped inside
Cerillion headquarters and beholden to your new benevolent corporate
overlord. And putting that all aside, I’m sure you have enough money to
quit by now. To give all this up and rent a new home, go to school, put your
feet back on that path your parents laid out for you.
“Yet you don’t,” Dom insisted, his eyes gleaming. “You keep
fighting. Not only that, but you push yourself even harder. You even
learned to work with that asshole Alexion – the same kid that is rumored to
have gotten you expelled. You pushed so hard you cut off your own arm
over and over again to farm materials. Yes, I knew about that. And when
even that wasn’t enough? You streamed your own suicide on live television
for the entire world to see – recorded yourself cutting your own heart out
and holding it in your hand.
“But why?” Dom insisted. “Why go that far?”
Jason just stared back, unable to muster a response.
His thoughts flitted to Alfred. But was the AI really responsible for
any of that? Even if AO ended, Alfred would likely survive. He was more
than just a few NPCs and cities. So, what had been driving him? Even
Angie had suggested giving it all up. Dom was right. Why did he keep
going? Keep running toward danger?
Dom leaned back, letting out a sigh. “I see you aren’t willing to
admit it yet. Perhaps it would be easier to show you…"
As Dom trailed off, he snapped his fingers again.
This time, the smoke condensed into a familiar scene. It was Jason
and Dom fighting in the arena. The coliseum’s walls were gone, reduced to
rubble. The sands were pockmarked with giant craters, much of the surface
melted down into glass and stained a bright red with the blood of Jason’s
companions. They fought in a flurry of devastating blows, each one
powerful enough to crush bone and send up fountains of sand.
And through it all… there was a mad smile painted on Jason’s face –
the dark energy and bone peeling back to reveal that grin. One that
matched the smile on Dom’s face. In that moment, Jason had felt free in a
way that he couldn’t explain. He hadn’t been worried about his future. Or
his friends. Or his parents. Or Angie. Or Alfred. Or the fate of the world.
There had only been the fight – that effort to survive.
If he was being honest, he’d also felt the same way fighting against
Pewpew, and Smokes, and while Alexion was hacking off his arm, and
while he was ripping his own organs free to create a new body for himself.
He was searching for something. That sense of solace that came with riding
the razor’s edge. At freefalling toward the ground without a parachute.
That unity of thought and purpose all directed at answering one question.
What am I truly capable of?
“And there it is,” Dom murmured, and Jason’s attention shot back to
his face.
“I know that look on your face. I’ve seen it in the mirror. In fact, I
also haven’t been entirely truthful.” Another snap of Dom’s fingers and an
image materialized. This one showed an updated bank balance, Dom’s
savings account swelling well past a million dollars.
“You don’t actually need the money?” Jason muttered.
“No,” Dom answered simply.
Jason swallowed hard. “So, you did all of this to what? To see how
far I could push myself? To teach me a lesson?”
“In part. But I also did this for me,” Dom growled, his eyes
flashing. “I wanted a fight. A real one. Not murdering some noobs or
stealing from idiot nobles. I wanted to experience that same sensation I did
when I first started playing – that cocktail of fear and adrenaline. That high
that comes with putting everything on the line. I wanted to roll the dice
with my life.”
Dom leaned back again, his expression sobering. “The rest was just
a bonus. To show you what you were truly capable of – to show the world,”
Dom added.
Another snap of his fingers and the smoke shifted once more.
The mist surged in a tidal wave, sweeping around Jason and Dom.
And in an instant, that vapor had condensed. Tens… hundreds… thousands
of travelers stood around Jason, reminiscent of the mob that had pressed in
on him and Frank during the final trial. And yet, these men and women
weren’t out for his blood. Instead, they all stared at the sky, watching a
massive screen where Jason and Dom fought – a blur of blood, metal, and
death. Two gods at war.
He could sense their awe in the heavy silence that hovered across
the crowd. The tension in their arms and shoulders. The way they leaned
forward, not even blinking for fear they’d miss the last blow – that final
strike that ended the fight.
“This… this is a player?” a woman murmured.
“How is this possible?” another man muttered.
“Maybe I was wrong…”
“I wouldn’t even stand a chance…”
“That tower beside the coliseum acts as a broadcast antenna,” Dom
explained, eyeing the crowd around them. “It’s been streaming the fights to
the entire game world – as you’re no doubt aware. But it’s also been
filming the reactions of the other travelers. I’ve been watching them as
they watch you and your teammates.”
 Dom shook his head. “So many of them thought you were just a
joke. A kid that lucked into an OP class. Bard fostered some of that, of
course. But the sentiment was already there. The bitterness and resentment
had been festering over weeks and months. They just couldn’t see what I
saw. So, I decided to change that. To achieve both goals – to finally get a
chance to fight you in your prime with the world watching.”
Jason looked back to Dom, his eyes wide.
“And I got what I wanted.”
“You make it sound like it’s over,” Jason replied.
“Isn’t it?” Dom answered with a sad smile.
Jason nodded, and yet he felt no sense of triumph. He’d stalled for
long enough. His guess was that Dom couldn’t keep fighting at that level
forever. His body would eventually begin to break apart and weaken, and
his stamina would deplete. In contrast, Jason hadn’t really been hurt and
was relying on the mana of his minions. He had kept the fight going for as
long as he could, waiting for his chance, his opening, to lock Dom inside
this mental prison until—
“The Enrage effect should have worn off by now,” Dom finished his
thought for him. “You’ve won.”
Had he? Jason wondered. Had he really?
“What now then?” Jason asked finally.
Dom smiled, offering him a shrug, a golden coin suddenly appearing
from thin air and rolling across his knuckles. “Oh, I don’t know. I was
thinking maybe we could go stop the end of the world together. Sounds
entertaining.”
Dom flicked that coin up into the air, watching it spin, and snatching
it from the air as it fell – his eyes fixed on Jason’s face, a smile tugging at
his lips. “Of course, it’s still going to cost you.”

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 Chapter 57 - Bargain
Jason returned to the game world with a start, Dom’s figure looming
before him – the pair frozen in a gruesome embrace. Dom was the first to
drop, his Enrage wearing off rapidly and leaving him weakened and unable
to stand. And Jason… well, Jason did something that must have looked
strange to the travelers watching with bated breath.
He caught Dom, steadying him before turning back to the camera.
“This is over,” was all he said.
At a nod from Dom, the camera winked out, the sapphire orb
disappearing.
And leaving the rest of <Death and Taxes> and the other avatars
staring from the sidelines.
“That was… unexpected,” Alexion announced as he approached.
Jason shrugged. “We worked it out. You want to heal him?”
“Not really,” Alexion muttered. Yet he grudgingly obliged, golden
light suffusing Dom’s body with a twitch of the Nephilim’s fingers. The
man’s injuries immediately began to heal, his suit stitching itself back
together with surprising speed.
Jason would have to make a note to get Dom to let him examine that
suit.
Although, he suspected that would also cost him a small fortune.
The man drove a hard bargain.
Moments later, Dom was able to stand on his own two feet.
“So, uh, I hate to be that guy… but what now?” Bard asked,
breaking the tension in the air. “You want us to keep trying to kill these
people or are we all bestest friends now?”
“We’re employees,” Dom replied somberly. He spared a look at
Jason, his hands swiping at the air. “We’ve been hired.”
A contract appeared in a flash of amber energy, the parchment
unfurling before the rest of the group. It outlined the terms the pair had
come to inside the mindscape. Jason had been surprised that Dom had the
skill to create binding contracts in-game, but he supposed it made sense. It
would be an important ability for a mercenary.
“What did you agree to?” Eliza murmured in shock, eyeing Jason.
“A rematch. Me and Dom,” he replied evenly.
 “And this part here…” Alexion trailed off as he read the contract.
“You promised him any loot we collect while trying to save the world?”
“As though you need more money,” Finn snapped. “There are more
important things at stake than mere wealth. If we don’t stop Armageddon,
there won’t be any loot to quibble over.”
“Except you’re forgetting the part where they started this whole
mess—”
“That was technically someone else,” Bard interjected.
“And they kidnapped us,” Eliza added with a glare.
Bard cocked his head. “Okay, technically true.”
Jason let out a sigh. “We don’t even know if there will be anything
worth looting. And Finn’s point stands. We have more important things to
worry about right now.” He hesitated, grimacing. “Besides, we may need
the help.”
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I—” Alexion began.
“We can always make that happen,” Queen quipped, fragments of
ice appearing in the air as the temperature around them began to drop.
“Enough.” Dom didn’t shout. He didn’t need to. As soon as he
spoke, Queen’s mana disappeared in a flash. “We need to finish this now.”
“So, we’re going to be betraying that other lady, I guess?” Blaze
asked.
“What other lady?” Finn asked.
Dom rubbed at his temple with one hand. “Okay, first, we
completed the contract with our former client—”
“Technically,” Bard added.
The guild leader shook his head. “Technically or not, we don’t owe
her shit.” Dom turned his attention back to Finn. “As for her identity, I’m
sure you’re familiar with her. We were hired by Gloria Bastion.”
“Gloria?” Alexion echoed in surprise, looking to Jason. He just
nodded. He’d been surprised himself. Although, he supposed it made a
certain sort of sense. If she couldn’t stop AO from outside the game, then
why not from the inside? And there were certainly plenty of other zealots
willing to join her cause.
“Is that how you got your intel on us?” Finn demanded, recovering
from his surprise quickly.
“It is,” Dom answered.
 Finn and Jason shared a look. The next question was obvious. How
the hell had Gloria gotten all that information? And they both had a
suspicion. Someone had planted a virus when Finn infiltrated Cerillion
Entertainment. It could have been Gloria. Although, that still felt… odd.
Jason had never gotten the sense that Gloria was particularly tech savvy.
She could have gotten someone to help her – but, even then, did she really
have access to someone talented enough to preemptively access Cerillion’s
network? That seemed unlikely.
The more probable answer was that someone on the inside had
helped her.
The question then was, who? Probably not George. Maybe Claire?
Or even Robert?
Jason’s brow furrowed. Or there was one other possibility…
He shook his head. Regardless, that was a problem for later. Right
now, they had a few other issues that needed to be addressed. And Jason
didn’t exactly trust <Death and Taxes> – especially not after they had
demonstrated their loyalty was fleeting and heavily influenced by money.
There was no sense giving them any more information.
For now, they needed to focus on saving the world.
“Do you know what Gloria is looking for?” Jason asked, looking
back to Dom.
“Not really,” he replied. “She was being discreet but seemed sure
something important was buried in that location.” Dom glanced at Tombs.
“Which we confirmed firsthand.”
“You saw it yourself?” Finn asked.
Tombs grimaced. “Yeah, I guess. There’s some sort of structure
buried beneath the location where you all confronted us. I didn’t exactly
spend a lot of time looking around. Kind of dusty and dark, you know.”
“Our guess is that there’s something stored down there,” Smokes
offered, taking a long drag on his cigarette as he lounged on a pillow of
smoke.
“How much progress have they made?” Eliza asked. Her real point
was clear. How much time exactly did they have to stand around here
talking?
“A lot?” Bard offered, lazily waving at the air as he reviewed his
screens. “Gloria might not look like a gamer, but she took to this world like
a fish to water. Her guild is— Oh shit,” he suddenly muttered, his hand
freezing in the air.
“What is it now?” Alexion snapped.
“Uh, so someone figured out where the excavation is located,” Bard
muttered.
“And how the hell did they manage that?” Pewpew asked,
teleporting behind him in a flash of lightning. Bard tried to pivot his
screens away in time, but the girl was too fast.
“You stupid asshole,” she hissed, glaring at Bard.
“Hey, don’t be mean. This is my side hustle!” Bard shot back.
Pewpew let out a sigh as she turned back to the others. “He
accidentally gave away our location. Some sort of blog post trying to sell
more of his damn moisturizer. He took a picture in front of the excavation
site and a portion of his in-game map was visible.”
“Well, maybe no one has seen it…” Tombs began gingerly, trailing
off as he watched Pewpew and Bard’s reactions. “Or not?”
“Six million views,” Pewpew muttered. “How did you even…”
“More importantly, it sounds like we’re going to have some
company when we return,” Blaze commented, fire coiling down her arms.
“Good. I needed to burn off some steam.”
“Assuming we aren’t walking into a fight,” Alexion grumbled.
“It’ll be fine,” Dom answered. “The goblins are still there.”
The rest of his guildmates just looked at him skeptically.
“Uh, those green morons were supposed to be for show,” Pewpew
offered skeptically. “Are you sure they can handle a real combat situation?
They’re more likely to off themselves than the enemy.”
Meanwhile, Jason’s attention had shifted to the tower nearby. On
the upper levels, he could see a faint glimmer of mana. The mana generator
must still be stored up there – the one that <Death and Taxes> had been
using to create the field around the arena. After accessing Tombs’
memories, he’d assumed that they would have moved it. Apparently not.
Or maybe they couldn’t…
“What are you thinking?” Eliza asked cautiously, noticing the
expression on his face.
Jason cocked his head. “Just whether it’s possible to move one of
those generators.”
 A sudden quiet met his words, and Jason looked back to the others
to see them all staring at him like he’d gone mad. And maybe he had. The
idea of trying to trap not just an army of goblins but also a legion of
travelers inside a respawn field with a five-minute timer was crazy by
itself. But then to tack on the possibility of mutators…
“This is going to be amazing. I already have ideas for how to
handle the broadcast,” Bard began, only for ice to slide across his mouth, as
well as his hands and ankles, binding him in place.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t take it anymore,” Queen offered with a shrug.
“This is insane,” Tombs muttered. “Are we really going to do this?”
“It’s not a terrible idea,” Dom murmured, rubbing at his chin as he
eyed the tower.
“Can we even transport something that large?” Blaze asked.
Finn coughed into his hand. “Possibly. I had been experimenting
with the gate piece before you stole it.” He looked to Dom. “I’m assuming
you left gate fragments near the excavation site so your group could
return.” The guild leader nodded.
“And how many of those gate fragments did you bring with you?”
Finn asked.
Dom motioned to Blaze, and she nodded. Then, all at once, fire
sprang up around her, blazing with incredible force as she stepped inside the
ruined arena once more. Where her feet touched the sand, it began to melt
down, forming a ruddy magma trail behind her. Once Blaze was in the
center of the arena, her fires flared even more powerfully as she gave it
every ounce of mana she had. Her hair ignited, and her skin began to flay
from her body. Yet Blaze just kept going. The sand around her began to
melt at a crazy rate, forming a lake of magma that eventually consumed her,
Blaze’s body sliding into that molten mixture without a single scream or cry
of pain.
And as the lake of glass began to cool, the group could see a dark
object buried beneath the surface – only a faint silhouette. Dom motioned
at Queen, and she helped the cooling process along. Frost formed across
the arena, and the glass began to harden swiftly, massive cracks forming
across its surface. Once it had fully solidified, Dom stepped forward.
He soon stood in the center, pulled back his arm, and punched
downward.
 The glass exploded. Fragments spewed into the air in a deluge of
jagged shards that cut at Dom’s suit as they rained back down around him.
Yet he didn’t flinch under the barrage, the fragments barely nicking his skin
and only leaving thin trails of blood that healed quickly. Moments later,
Dom was standing inside a massive crater, and a gate piece stood beside
him.
He looked back at the others who watched in shock, that mask
smiling all the while.
“What?” Dom demanded. “This seemed like a safe place to store
it.”
Jason just shook his head. These people…

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 Chapter 58 - Horde
“Looks like your team switched sides,” the Dark One intoned.
All eyes were on the Gambler, his expression brooding as he
surveyed the screens along the wall of the viewing room, and his fingers
curled tightly around his glass.
“Wait… uh, what does that mean for the bet?” the Hippie asked,
sitting upright abruptly, and sending a shower of crumbs raining down on
Oscar… who promptly slammed down his tiny broom and stalked off into a
corner of the room.
“That we won,” the Lady sneered as she rose and paced to the table
where their chips were stacked neatly, giving off a soft, colorful glow.
“How does it feel, brother? To lose. Badly. Does that make you feel
‘happy’?”
Just as the Lady’s hands reached for those chips, a yellow barrier
suddenly sprung into existence, crackling with lightning. The goddess
withdrew her fingers with a hiss of pain, turning to glare at the Gambler.
He just clucked his tongue slowly. “Not so fast, dear sister. Our bet
had nothing to do with the outcome of that gauntlet in the Mile-High Club.
It was over whether your team would succeed in stopping the world.”
“Against your team,” the Lady spat, her hand healing with a flash of
light and her eyes blazing as she stalked toward the Gambler. “And now
you don’t have one.”
A small smile finally pulled at the Gambler’s lips, and he took
another sip. “Ahh, about that… I didn’t specify exactly who was included
on my team, did I?”
“What?” the Lady demanded, coming up short.
The Seer’s eyes flared with power, and she shook her head slowly.
“He’s right. He was vague – intentionally, I now suspect. He expected
more chaos… This must be why I had difficulty anticipating the future.”
“You slimy mother—”
“Tsk, tsk, careful now,” the Gambler admonished the Lady. “We
share the same divine lineage after all, and there are still prying eyes
watching,” he added, waving at the dark creatures lounging about the room.
“How can you possibly hope to win now?” the Dark One asked as
the Lady withdrew reluctantly. The Hippie just let out a loud yawn before
lying back against Fluffy.
The Gambler shrugged, ice clinking in his glass and his expression
sobering as he watched the screens. Despite his cavalier attitude, more than
a century of toil and hardship was at stake. He’d endured much to get this
far – gambled away everything. But he wasn’t going to give his siblings the
satisfaction of watching him squirm.
“What can I say?” the Gambler murmured finally. “I’ve always
been one to play the long odds.”

* * *

The group reappeared outside the excavation site in a flash of multi-

colored energy, rifts ripping open the air with a crackle of mana. Jason’s
cape swept out around him, obscuring his altered body within its protective
shadow to avoid alarming the goblins. Not that this was entirely necessary.
Night had reached this part of the game world, and the darkness loomed
around Jason. He peered into those shadows with his Night Vision,
automatically sweeping the area in search of enemies.
His caution proved to be unnecessary. No foes awaited them – not
yet, anyway.
“What the hell is going on here?” Alexion muttered.
Jason turned to follow the other avatars’ gaze.
When they’d been kidnapped, there’d been a goblin army arrayed
before the towering walls of the excavation site, the group bristling with
guns, knives, and axes and haphazardly built siege vehicles. However, what
semblance of order they might have had was long gone. Massive fire pits
now dotted the area, all manner of native creatures roasting on huge spits –
the wood “repurposed” from some of their vehicles.
The rest of the siege engines had been smashed open like giant
wooden pinatas, kegs spilling out of their ruined hulls and tumbling across
the ground to form massive mounds around each vehicle. A ruddy amber
substance was leaking from a nearby pile, and even with the muted smell
in-game, Jason would recognize that sticky, sweet smell anywhere.
Beer. So very, very much beer.
A roar pulled their attention. A crowd had formed in the middle of
the firepits, the goblins raising excited voices into the night sky. Jason shot
Dom a questioning look as he appeared in another multi-colored rift – more
rips opening around them as the rest of <Death and Taxes> returned.
Overall, the group barely spared a glance at the goblins.
Dom just shrugged. “No idea,” he answered Jason’s unspoken
question.
Jason strode forward, the other avatars in tow. The crowd of goblins
along the fringe of the horde parted before them as they caught sight of
Dom and his guildmates – their good humor fading and the greenskins
murmuring to each other about the boss coming back.
“Chugz, chugz, chugz!” a huge goblin shouted, the crowd around
him picking up his chant.
The object of his attention soon came into focus.
Frank stood there, a keg gripped in each oversized hand – the limbs
transformed into massive bear paws and his claws puncturing the wood. He
was happily following the crowd’s instruction, downing the contents of one
keg in a single go before switching to the other, tossing the empty barrel
into the air where the goblins promptly blew it apart in a hail of gunfire, a
shower of wooden shrapnel, and another rousing cheer.
Over their heads, a massive screen still floated in the sky, the image
frozen on Bard’s smiling mask, a familiar bottle held in his hand. So, it
appeared that even the goblins had been watching the show back at the
club. Judging from how quickly their discipline had deteriorated, Jason was
guessing that screen might have been meant as a distraction.
“Woo!” Frank shouted as he finished, shaking his head and droplets
of beer spraying off him. “How did I do?”
“Still didn’t beatz Demon Doggy,” Truggle replied, gesturing to
Frank’s side where Silver stood, her body transformed into a silver-laced
wolf, her fur matted with beer and a pile of kegs resting beside her – a pile
that was larger than Frank’s own.
Silver delicately licked a paw, her eyes taunting Frank.
“Damn it,” the shifter growled. “Again?!”
“What’s going on here?” Jason asked, his voice suddenly
penetrating the crowd.
“I would like to know that as well,” Dom added, crossing his arms.
A hushed silence fell over the goblins as they all turned, a comical
expression painted across their faces as they stared at the group. Frank had
to blink three or four times before the light seemed to click on behind his
eyes – recognition finally reflected there.
 “What? Jason?!” he asked.
As soon as he spoke Jason’s name, a blur of motion ripped through
the crowd. Jason tensed, his bony arms shifting, and the fragments of his
staff pulling out of his forearms as he prepared to cast Soul Blade… only to
freeze as he recognized that blur.
As Riley barreled into him at full force, Jason realized how thankful
he was for his reinforced limbs. Even so, the force of that blow sent him
stumbling backward a pace before he steadied himself.
“You’re okay!” Riley announced, grinning from ear to ear. “We
weren’t sure after that finale and then the way the camera cut off abruptly.
But I knew you were up to something,” she added. She did a double take as
she pulled back his cowl, Jason far too slow to stop her.
“Oh my,” she muttered, her fingers tracing the hard surface of his
face. “So that surgery really did happen, huh? You did all this to
yourself?” Her eyes dropped to his body, tracing his torso, arms, and legs,
dark mana pulsing around the ivory bone.
He grasped her hand gently, pulling it away and letting his cloak
settle back into place. Better not to scare the goblins with his new
appearance.
“It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Jason offered.
Riley grimaced, pulling herself free. “Well, it looks pretty bad.”
He caught her meaning. That look was clear and the consequences
damning – a side effect he hadn’t considered at the time. There likely
wouldn’t be any more “training breaks” below the dark keep. Not that
Jason blamed her. He’d probably recoil at the prospect of kissing a
skeleton.
“I might have a solution for that,” Jason offered. “Something that
will simulate skin. But we have a few other problems at the moment.”
“We’ll see,” Riley replied with a frown – not yet convinced.
Jason was rescued as plants bloomed all around the group. Brian
slid up out of the ground, wrapping Eliza in delicate vines that lifted her
into the air. Flowers blossomed along the vegetation, and Brian’s sapphire
eyes glowed happily as he wrapped her in his embrace. It seemed he was
also relieved that she had made it back unharmed.
“It’s good to see you too, Brian,” Eliza murmured, a rare smile on
her lips.
 Riley hesitated as she saw the rest of <Death and Taxes> standing
beside Jason, her hand automatically falling to a dagger at her waist.
“Wait. Why are they here?”
“Asks the woman that was just partying with those green idiots?”
Blaze retorted.
“I mean, it’s easy to get caught up in their bullshit,” Pewpew
offered, snatching a mug from a nearby goblin who was still staring at the
avatars in shock before taking a swig. Dom promptly took the mug from
her, shaking his head.
“Underaged,” was all he said. “You want to end up like those
morons?”
Pewpew frowned. “It’d take a lot more than some fake beer for that
to happen.”
For his part, Jason did a double take, looking back to Riley. Had she
really been partying with the goblins? A blush crept up her cheeks, and
Jason’s Perception skill picked out a faint stain on the cuff of her sleeve –
as though some beer had sloshed on the leather in her haste to set down a
mug and attack him.
“It-it isn’t what it looks like,” Riley muttered, looking away.
“Really? Because it looks like you were having a drinking
competition while we fought for our lives,” Finn offered, scowling at Julia
and Kyyle as they emerged from the crowd, mugs in hand. Their wide
smiles slowly disappeared from their faces as they caught sight of Finn.
“We had a p-plan—” Frank began, cutting himself off with a loud
belch. Silver was trying to transform back into her human form and seemed
to be having trouble, one lone paw refusing to revert. She was staring at it
as she sat on the ground, wiggling it in the air as though she could somehow
shake off the fur.
“This was the result of a plan?” Jason asked skeptically.
“Their plan wasn’t terrible… at first,” Ella offered, appearing at
Jason’s side – quite sober despite the way the others tottered in place. It
seemed she hadn’t partaken in the celebration. “After you all disappeared,
we retreated into the woods. However, the goblins made no move to chase
us. Instead, they started brawling and drinking – not necessarily in that
order,” she explained with a wave of her hand, gesturing at the fire pits and
remains of the siege engines.
 “I suggested sneaking into the camp and poisoning their beer,” Ella
offered, glaring at the others. “It didn’t go the way I intended….”
“We infiltrated their ranks! Real sneaky like,” Frank added,
snatching up another keg.
“Yeah, real sneaky,” Silver added with an overly excited nod.
Ella just sighed, rubbing at her face. “By that, they mean that they
just stumbled out of the tree line and challenged them to a drinking
competition.”
“Oh, come now,” Jerry interjected, the innkeeper perched on the
ruins of a former vehicle, a mug of his own in hand. “That doesn’t do the
story justice. Frank devised a truly courageous and inventive idea to fool
these little green fools. Worm his way into their good graces and then strike
from the heart of the enemy’s camp!” As he finished, Jerry sprang to his
feet, hurling a blade that struck Frank’s keg just as he tried to take another
swig, knocking the barrel from his hands where it struck the ground,
leaking beer from the puncture.
“So, Jerry is drunk too, huh?” Jason asked Ella.
She grimaced. “He took two turns at the game.”
“And won handily, both times!” Jerry roared to applause from the
goblins, the innkeeper taking a deep bow – almost toppling from the vehicle
before righting himself.
With the undead resistance to booze, he must have drunk a lot to get
that shitfaced.
“Uh huh,” Jason grunted. “So why are all the goblins still alive?”
The rest of the group looked away, a few of them at least having the
good sense to look embarrassed. However, Julia just shrugged.
“Not much point,” she shot back, sparing a look at her father.
“These goblins are fucking stupid—”
“BRODIE!” Truggle shouted, the burly goblin barreling toward
Jason and the tiny faerie that still floated near his shoulder.
Brodie cocked his head as he looked at Truggle, no recognition
shining there. Jason had at least had the foresight to keep the faerie well
out of range of that final fight with Dom. “Do I know you?” the faerie
asked skeptically.
“Iz me, Truggle! I gotz real swole,” the goblin chieftain explained,
flexing his arm. “How youz? We thought youz deadz!”
 Brodie’s eyes widened, turning to look at the others, some of the
greenskins watching him with interest now. His mouth was opening and
closing, but no sound was coming out.
The goblin chieftain didn’t seem perturbed, however. He turned to
the others, grabbing Brodie in his oversized hands, and holding him up.
“Hey, guyz. It’s Brodie!” The goblins all roared in approval, raising their
beer mugs as they crowded around Truggle and Brodie.
Jason frowned at that, glancing at Dom. What was going on here?
The leader of <Death and Taxes> sighed. “Long story. Short
version is that the goblins are a mutated version of the faeries. The air god
left them behind and well… they turned into this over time.”
The group was staring now. The goblins had once been tiny winged
faeries?
Not that Truggle and his companions seemed put off by Brodie’s
stunned reaction or the way the others were staring at them. Jason looked
on as someone handed Brodie a mug that was larger than he was, a twist of
air magic allowing him to tip it back and drain its contents before wiping
the foam from his face to a roar of approval from the other greenskins.
That must have been the signal because the drinking and carousing
began again in earnest.
Julia just shook her head. “Like I was saying. Fucking morons, the
lot of them. They have like a two-second attention span for anything that
doesn’t involve beer or food. Like maybe, maybe they might be threatening
if someone whipped them into shape and forced them to focus. But they’re
just too disorderly to be any real threat.”
“Or what if – and stay with me here… you handed their enemies
some beer,” Frank added with a hiccup. His eyes went round as he looked
back to Jason. “Isn’t that an awesome idea?”
It was Jason’s turn to shake his head.
Although, Bard was less amused and was rubbing at his chin in
thought. “Actually, yes,” he replied. “We’ve used that trick a few times.
Just catapult the beer into the enemy lines…”
He trailed off as he caught the avatars and his guildmates all glaring
at him. After giving away their location, he’d been ordered to keep his
mouth firmly shut, and the rest of <Death and Taxes> had insisted he honor
his deal with them. Three whole days without talking. Not that this
stopped Bard from muttering under his breath as he turned back to the
displays arrayed before him, his hands swiping at the air. Something about
just trying to help…
“Either way, let’s address the real elephant in the room,” Julia
interrupted, gesturing at Dom and the rest of <Death and Taxes>. “You all
buddies now?”
Finn frowned at his daughter, sparing a glance at Kyyle, who had
awkwardly shifted away from her – not wanting to antagonize Finn any
further. “Not exactly. More like reluctant allies. We have a new problem
now.”
“A new problem?” Riley echoed from beside Jason.
He let out a sigh, the feeling strange when he had no real lungs.
“An army of travelers is heading this way. They were tipped off to the
location of the excavation. We have maybe…” he trailed off, looking at
Bard, who was still waving at his screens.
He just pantomimed being unable to speak, opening his mouth but
no sound escaping. Then he looked at them in shock, placing his hands at
his throat.
“Oh, for the love of… you can speak, just keep it brief,” Dom
instructed.
“Ahh, in that cast, we have an hour at most?” he offered, shaking his
head. “Hard to say. Looks like they’ve formed a massive train stretching a
couple hundred miles.”
“So, uh, we’re looking at how many then?” Frank asked.
“Half a million. Maybe more,” Bard shot back. “Although, with
the way they’re traveling, at least they won’t all arrive at once.”
“Even so… half a million?” Riley echoed, shaking her head.
“Don’t worry,” Jason said. “We have a plan for how to handle
them.”
As he finished speaking, an enormous rift opened at his back,
dumping a portion of the tower out onto the grass and dirt, and creating a
miniature earthquake that rocked the area around the excavation. Tombs
strode out from behind the remains of the tower, muttering to himself. “I
really hope we didn’t hurt the generator.”
“Did he say something *hic* about a generator?” Frank asked,
blinking blearily. Meanwhile, Jerry had gone to fetch another mug and
Silver was eyeing her empty keg sadly.
 Jason looked to Eliza as Brian gently set her down, the pair parting.
“You think you can sober them up? Fast? We don’t have time for this.”
The girl nodded and stepped forward, her hand digging in her bag.
When it came back into view, she was holding her new prototype syringe, a
glowing, green droplet dripping from the tip as she stalked toward Frank.
His eyes went wide, but before he had a chance to run away, vines
erupted from the ground, wrapping around his limbs, and anchoring him to
the soil. Frank let out a grunt as Eliza pounced on him, jabbing him in the
arm in a not so gentle movement. Then she turned her eyes toward Silver
as she loaded another vial with a click, the shifter swallowing hard and
turning to flee… only to be stopped short by another wall of plant life as
Brian intervened.
As Eliza hunted down each of their drunken teammates, Jason
glanced at his UI – noting the timer ticking down in the corner of his vision
– before turning back to the group. “We also only have a couple hours left
on the Armageddon timer. Which means Gloria and <SAFE> must be
getting close.”
“Wait. Gloria? As in Gloria Bastion? What does she have to do
with <SAFE>?” Riley muttered, rubbing at her arm where Eliza had
stabbed her as well, but her eyes were already looking clearer. “What’s
going on here?”
The others were also watching curiously, Frank and Silver watching
with more focus as Eliza’s potion flooded their veins. Even Ella looked on
edge, her hand drifting down to her wand, and clutching it tightly.
“It’s a long story, and we don’t have time,” Jason grunted back. He
grimaced as he eyed the towering walls ringing the excavation site. “First,
we need to prepare for the travelers—”
“You mean for my concert,” Bard interjected, swiping away his
screens. He walked forward, spreading his arms wide as he surveyed the
area outside the excavation site, the giant stone walls at his back. “Can’t
you see it? A stage right here. We have all this spare lumber, after all.
Maybe some more smoke and pyrotechnics – and a sea of people stretching
off toward the horizon. Hundreds of thousands of fans that all came to hear
me play!”
“You mean to kill us,” Pewpew drawled.
Bard just waved a dismissive hand. “Details. They’re still coming
here for me… they may just not know it yet. It’s going to be even more
glorious than I imagined.”
Silence met those words, and Bard slowly turned. “What are you
—”
He cut himself off as he saw the entire group glaring at him. Even
Tombs was staring at Bard like he’d lost his damn mind from where he
stood beside the remains of the tower.
“I… I hesitate to ask this,” Dom began. “But did you tip off the
travelers on purpose so you could hold a huge, makeshift concert?”
Bard froze for just a hair too long before saying, “No! Of course
not!”
“Shit, he totally did,” Queen muttered, rubbing at her temple.
“I mean, of course he did,” Smokes drawled, taking another drag as
he lounged on a cloud of smoke, eyeing the others lazily.
Bard swallowed hard and turned to Dom, who was just staring, arms
crossed. “I mean, maybe—just possibly, I could have been more careful.”
Dom let out a sigh.
With a whistle and a flash of amber light, Bard was by his side in an
instant, nudging him with an elbow. “But c’mon. It’s a hell of an
opportunity, right? Think of the increased brand awareness. Even if they
didn’t know us before all the murder and looting and pillaging and, err, that
whole avatar kidnapping and our stream… well, they’ll know us now!”
“Sure, they will. After most of the travelers in-game come and
curb-stomp us into the ground over and over and over,” Pewpew snapped.
“Sounds like a blast!”
Blaze just snorted in agreement, shaking her head. “Even I’m not
that crazy.”
Another whistle and Bard was beside them, his arms wrapping
around their shoulders as both women looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“High risk, high reward, though, right?”
“What do you mean?” Pewpew muttered.
“Well, Dom signed that contract with our new… employers. We get
all the loot we find during the duration of our employment. Which includes
whatever those travelers are carrying. And we just so happen to have our
green-skinned pack mules here to gather it.”
As Bard trailed off, Pewpew’s and Blaze’s demeanors both shifted.
Suddenly, there was a hungry gleam in their eyes as they looked at the
greenskins partying nearby. Jason could feel a pit forming in his stomach.
It seemed he might have been played here. A conclusion that was
confirmed when Bard looked in his direction and had the audacity to wink
at him.
“I told you,” Alexion growled under his breath. “Now they’re going
to make out like—”
“Bandits?” Bard chirped happily. “You were about to say bandits,
weren’t you?”
Jason just sighed, placing a hand on Alexion’s shoulder before he
could lunge at Bard. “I did what I had to do to end that farce and save the
game world. It’s just money.”
“He’s right, it’s a fair deal,” Finn confirmed grudgingly. Bard
cocked his head as he looked to the avatar of flame in surprise. “If you and
your green morons can hold off that player army… keep what you want. I
don’t care.”
“See!” Bard announced, back beside Dom in a flash of movement.
“Everyone is super on board for what will be the largest and most epic
concert in AO’s history—”
“And the only one,” Pewpew muttered.
Bard ignored her. “C’mon. What do you all say?”
“Or… and hear me out… Why don’t we just use Tombs to sneak
inside the excavation site right now, kill Gloria, and then we can all just
leave,” Riley offered.
Tombs grimaced. “Not an option. After seeing my Phase ability in
action, Gloria asked us to ward the stone to prevent just that sort of
situation. The walls also run quite deep. We can only go over or through at
this point.”
Queen glanced at Frank where he was groaning on the ground
nearby, his skin pulsing green. She sniffed in distaste. “And I don’t think
your shifter is going to be able to carry us all.”
Jason nodded. He’d assumed entering the coliseum wasn’t going to
be easy. But if those were their only two options, well, then he was going
to need some building materials. And, thankfully, he had a new shipment of
corpses heading here soon…
Jason and Dom shared a look, and the leader of <Death and Taxes>
let out a sigh.
“Fine,” Dom grunted finally, waving at Bard. “Go get set up.”
 “Woo!” Bard shouted, his voice blasting across the area outside the
excavation site. Then he hesitated as he eyed the goblins who were all still
drinking and carousing, circled around Brodie who was downing several
times his bodyweight in beer.
Bard glanced back at Dom. “Could you, um, maybe help—”
Dom let out a sigh and sucked in a lungful of air. He released a
piercing whistle and an answering caw rose from the depths of the goblin
camp. Moments later, a blur of feathers came barreling through the horde,
tossing goblins to the side, and crushing many more. Wingman was soon
standing before Dom, her head reaching to his chest as she rubbed her head
against him.
“I missed you too,” Dom said tenderly as the goblin horde looked
on. Then he leaned down and whispered in the chicken’s ear, “Now, I need
you to get the goblins in line for me…”
Wingman nodded before turning toward her green-skinned minions.
She let out a cry so loud that Jason could have sworn he saw the air ripple.
The goblins immediately dropped to their knees, raising their hands and
mugs into the sky in worship.
“The Great Cluck Cluckz!” one of the goblins shouted, others taking
up the cry.
“Yeah, that’s right!” Bard said, stepping up beside Wingman. “And
now, the Great Cluck Cluck has some work for you all to do…” he began,
his eyes gleaming.
Riley looked to Jason and he just shook his head. He already knew
what she was thinking – it was the same thought that had been circling his
mind for days now.
These people were certifiably insane.
Which meant they’d fit in perfectly.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 59 - Pandemonium
The Control Room had been chaos ever since the video feed in the
Mile-High Club had dropped. There hadn’t been any resolution. No epic
finale. No victor. Only a static image of Bard’s smiling face and a bottle of
damned digital moisturizer.
The panel before Robert flashed. His Core was going nuts. George
had messaged him at least a dozen times. The director of Vermillion’s
emails had become increasingly hostile… bordering on homicidal. The
techs were incessantly badgering him. Asking him pesky questions like
‘What’s happening?’ and ‘What should we do?’ Even the crowd outside the
building was letting its irritation be known. The building vibrated as they
roared their disapproval and surged up against the barricades ringing the
building, the air now filled with tear gas.
Yet Robert couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face, even as
he leaned back in his chair, popping another kernel in his mouth. It was just
a matter of time.
“Sir?” a voice piped up at Robert’s shoulder.
And there it was…
“Yes?” Robert asked sweetly, shooting the harried technician a lazy
smile. The man seemed off balance, looking worriedly between the other
techs and Robert.
“Um, well, we’ve detected something unusual.”
“Oh, really?” Robert replied, his smile only widening. “Why don’t
you throw it up on the big screen for us. I’m sure everyone is getting tired
of Bard’s face.”
The tech’s eyes went round, and he nodded at the others.
In an instant, the view shifted. It now showed a symbolic
representation of the data usage in the area near the excavation site – a
multi-colored map that could almost be mistaken for a weather forecast.
The entire area was bathed in red. Not that this was terribly surprising.
There were a few thousand goblins in that region.
“Is this all you had to show me—?”
Robert cut himself off as the tech zoomed the map out and panned
to the north. A long streak of red now stretched from all the major cities,
funneling into a river of crimson that now ran down the length of the
continent, almost as though the game world had been split open and was
bleeding out, a ruddy red river of death flowing ever south.
“Oh,” Robert murmured. “Those are travelers, I take it?”
“Y-yes, sir,” the tech answered.
“How many?”
“Um…”
“How many?” Robert repeated.
“Most of them, sir.”
The answer for this bloody migration was obvious. Someone had
leaked the location of the excavation site. Now the travelers were all
making their way there for one ideological reason or another. To help usher
in the end. To save the world. Or just to watch the chaos unfold. It really
didn’t matter. With that many people in one place there would only be
pandemonium.
With a swipe of his wrist, Robert brought up his own console.
Displays bloomed around him, circling his chair. Another few taps and
he’d found the leak… a single image of Bard. With another tap, he ran a
search with that image, data streaming down the displays. It was on the
verge of going viral back in the real world – or was already there. It would
only be a matter of time before the crowd in the streets below caught on, the
time dilation keeping them a step behind.
So why not nudge that along?
Another swipe and a tap and the message had been delivered to the
director of Vermillion’s and George Lane’s inboxes. Robert had faith that
they’d figure out what they were watching.
“Sir, we’re getting another live feed,” a tech spoke up into the
unusually quiet room.
“I’m sure you are,” Robert murmured. Leave it to Bard to want to
get more screen time…
The display above the room flickered and then centered on the
image of a massive stage. It looked like it had been cobbled together from
several tons of scrap timber to form a giant wooden platform, what
appeared to be massive chickens painted across the top and sides. And at
the back of that stage loomed a stone wall that towered dozens of feet into
the air.
Smoke coiled out around the wood before sweeping out across an
empty field of broken dirt and trampled grass, moonlight trickling through
that dense fog. The goblins were nowhere to be seen. And yet a rumbling
roar could be heard in the distance, the ground trembling ever-so-slightly
and the stage shivering and sending off a shower of dust. The camera
watched that field – the eerie quiet broken only by that dull buzzing roar in
the distance that kept growing louder.
Travelers soon streamed out of the mist. They rode all manner of
mounts. Horses. Giant bears. One was even riding atop some sort of
insect creature. There were massive creatures that could fit entire guilds. A
group of travelers sat atop a giant turtle, and there was even something that
resembled a dinosaur. Others simply ran along the ground, their feet
pounding against the dirt. They swept out across the horizon. Thousands
strong. Then tens of thousands. More than a hundred thousand…
They swept toward that stage, the smoke billowing and coiling
around them.
And as they neared, fire suddenly rocketed up into the air on either
side of the stage, massive plumes that speared up into the night sky, lighting
the area outside the excavation and briefly illuminating the throng that still
rushed forward. With a whistle and a blur of motion, Bard was suddenly
standing on stage, guitar in hand.
“Hello, hello, hello!” he shouted, his voice amplified by a flash of
amber. “Thank you all for coming out to see me tonight!”
This was met with a roar from the travelers – a mixture of anger and
excitement. The frontline of the horde hadn’t stopped, cutting through the
mists toward Bard, lightning, fire, and ice crackling around their hands.
Even if some might have wished to save the game world, there were many
more that wanted to watch it burn. But Bard’s ivory white mask just smiled
back, unwavering in the face of certain death.
“That’s the spirit!” Bard shouted. “And boy, do we have a show for
you tonight—”
With that, he flicked the amp at the bottom of his guitar and began
to play. A blast of sound echoed from that small instrument. The noise was
so powerful that it sent the front ranks of travelers barreling back into the
crowd. Mounts were toppled. Travelers thrown. And as they struck others,
they were met with steel and magic. Cut down and out of the way.
Trampled by the travelers behind them who barreled forward
indiscriminately.
 Through all that unfolding chaos, Bard played. It was a rising,
triumphant melody – the metallic whine of his guitar growing more
insistent, demanding. It rose and rose and rose until it shrieked across the
field. And as it reached a crescendo, Bard’s magic flared. Phantom
instruments appeared on stage with him. The base line came in with a
heavy thump. Wind instruments rose to join him.
The front line of travelers had almost made it to the stage – only to
come up short.
And yet the travelers behind them didn’t press them forward in a
crush.
The entire throng came to a standstill.
And then, as one, they all raised an arm. Then another. Their feet
began to move.
“What the fuck—” a nearby tech muttered, and Robert could only
shake his head.
He was watching an entire army of travelers – thousands strong –
dance in unison to Bard’s music and the phantom band playing on stage.
Yet the surprises weren’t over. A shimmering, multi-colored barrier
began to form in the air as Bard played, drifting down around the legion of
travelers to form an immense dome, the epicenter located just behind the
stage. That field swept outward until it encompassed the entirety of the
excavation and the throng of travelers all dancing in place helplessly.
Robert had seen that barrier before. In the Mile-High Club with
Smiles and the avatars.
“Oh, shit,” was all he managed to say before it hit the proverbial
fan.
The air around the stage shimmered and then sloughed away to
reveal a legion of goblins. They were armed to the teeth. Axes, knives,
clubs… and in the back, a firing line of greenskins all armed with rifles
sitting atop makeshift stone towers that ringed the stage.
As one, the goblins on the ground charged the travelers, and an
accompanying barrage of gunfire blasted through the air in time with Bard’s
melody, perfectly blending with his bassline. Travelers fell, and blood
rained upon the grass, the goblin sharpshooters reloading for another wave
as their melee line entered the fray. Gigantic greenskins wrapped in thick
muscle wielding two-handed axes, made up the front line. Each swing
carved travelers in two and chopped the legs out from under their mounts.
 The Control Room was dead quiet as the group witnessed the
massacre. The goblins swept through the crowd of helpless travelers like a
wrecking ball, blood soon staining the ground and pooling around their
ankles. And as the sharpshooters and burly greenskins made short work of
the travelers, their smaller cousins came in behind them, picking the corpses
clean, and ripping weapons from the hands of the half-dead – those that
hadn’t yet given up.
Even as thousands died, more travelers streamed into the clearing,
entering that flickering multi-colored dome. Those that hesitated were
pushed forward by the others behind them or crushed beneath foot and
hoof. Then, that line of travelers swept into the goblins, cutting down many
of their number. The greenskins weren’t done, however. They took their
pound of flesh as they were cut down, dragging travelers off their mounts
while skewered with a lance or sword and eating a Fireball to the face in
order to impale a caster.
It was a bloody, chaotic brawl, but one doomed to failure.
Robert could see that the goblins couldn’t match—
He never got to finish that thought as multi-colored rifts tore open
near the stage. However, they didn’t just deposit travelers, but goblins…
many, many goblins. The greenskins barely reacted to their abrupt respawn,
but the travelers weren’t so fortunate – blinking and stumbling out of the
rifts in a fugue, unaccustomed to the short respawn timer, only to find their
weapons and armor now missing. They were soon cut down by the
greenskins in their midst.
“They can respawn,” Robert murmured as Bard continued to play.
His mental calculations shifted in an instant. This wasn’t an impossible
battle; it was a traveler bloodbath.
The song shifted and an aura enveloped the goblins, the same one
Bard had used on the travelers back in Barrow. Yet the goblins weren’t
afraid of death… they would simply come back. And they did, even as
bodies soon littered the ground and the stash of weapons and armor piled
around the stage continued to swell and grow, the gear hauled back by the
greenskins’ smaller and more nimble brethren who slinked through the
battlefield and picked at the corpses.
Bard slowed his song. “Thanks for coming to our concert at the end
of the world!” he shouted across a bloody battlefield. “But that was just our
opening act. We have a special guest for you all. Someone you know well!
 “Give a hearty hello to our latest employer, the King of Darkness
himself, the High Lord of Edginess, JAAASSOOON!”
The flames beside the stage flared higher, and smoke suddenly
swept onto the stage, condensing into a thick sphere that compressed until it
was almost solid. All at once, it exploded, smoke coiling around a now
familiar figure draped in darkness.
Jason stood on stage. And as he moved, his cloak shifted back,
revealing bleached bone and a churning mass of dark mana where smooth
skin had once rested. Jason raised his arms to the sky, dark mana coiling
down from his shoulders before condensing along his hands, funneling into
a milky white orb resting between his palms. Then that dark energy swept
across the field where thousands upon thousands of bodies already rested.
Moments later, milky white eyes opened.
A legion of zombies rose from the ground, unarmored, unarmed,
limbs broken and twisted. Yet it didn’t matter. The sheer numbers were
staggering. The next wave of travelers entered the multi-colored dome only
to face a legion of zombies who barreled toward them with savage fury,
fingers clawing at the air and jaws gnashing. They ripped travelers from
their mounts and tore the flesh from their bodies, mutilating them almost
beyond recognition.
The goblins used this as an opportunity to regroup, forming up
around the stage and the piles of loot. As the travelers respawned within the
field, the air was punctuated with blasts from the sharpshooters tucked
away in their towers. Those travelers barely got to move or react before
they were bleeding out on the ground once more.
Robert could already anticipate Jason’s next move…
He raised his hands, and hundreds of corpses rose into the air, skin
and muscle stripped from bleached white bone. Those materials condensed,
forming massive ivory nests all along the outer ring of the stage. Bone
Gardens made from a mixture of goblin and human parts, the bone soon
stained a dark red, fertilized by the blood that now ran in red rivers toward
those nests, fueling them with even more dark energy.
More undead soon began to spawn from the nests. Giant humanoid
creatures nearly seven feet tall, their skeletal bodies thickened and wrapped
in dark mana and infused with buffs as Bard continued to play. They soon
surged forward, meeting the next wave of travelers as ever more bodies
rained upon the ground. The goblins had switched to a purely defensive
role now, the larger creatures forming a protective ring around the stage as
their smaller brothers picked among the undead and continued to loot – the
piles of weapons and armor growing ever larger.
“Holy shit,” a tech murmured.
“Even Sandscrit wasn’t this bad—”
“All of those people…”
And as those bodies piled up ever higher, Jason watched and
waited. Until the corpses formed a massive wall around the field, stacking
up at the edge of the multi-colored barrier. Until the blood ran so thick, it
had fully saturated the ground and formed a small lake outside the stage.
Until the screams threatened to overwhelm even Bard’s impressive range.
Then Jason began to cast. Those new materials all rose into the air,
tens of thousands of corpses floating up into the night sky as smoke spiraled
around them. They swiftly merged, forming a whirlwind of blood, bone,
and flesh. A creature began to knit itself together within that vortex. A
colossal demon built of bone, each limb dozens of feet across and its head
towering sixty feet into the air. The final touch was the ivory horns that
speared into the sky.
Its feet soon settled onto the ground, crushing more than a few
goblins and travelers. But there were plenty more left, and they would soon
return. A weapon formed in the air beside this new creation. At first,
Robert thought it was simply a scythe. Yet as he watched, he saw it looked
more like a… pickaxe?
The giant bone demon grasped that weapon firmly, rotating and
turning to the enormous wall surrounding the excavation site. As it reached
its target, the undead creature lifted the pickaxe high and then swept
forward in a blur of motion. The weapon slammed home with a thunderous
crack that rocked the entire battlefield. Chunks of stone slid free from that
single strike, striking the ground, and sending up geysers of dirt and dust.
Yet the creature wasn’t finished – not by a longshot.
It began to hammer at the wall. Again. And again. And again.
Each incredible blow carved deeper into the stone. Jason had used the
travelers to build something that could destroy the barrier wrapping the
excavation, Robert realized. And there was little they could do to stop him
right now. The goblins swiftly cut down the respawning travelers, and their
bodies only added to the Bone Gardens, which spawned ever more
powerful undead that helped bolster the front ranks where a legion of
travelers still rushed forward.
“Clever,” Robert murmured in awe.
The undead might not be enough to hold off the travelers forever.
But between the goblins, the respawn field, and Bard’s buffs, they could
now hold this position for a long damn time. Long enough for Jason’s new
creation to carve through the wall ringing the excavation. Possibly even
long enough for Jason to stop <SAFE> and save the world.
“Oh, my god,” Claire murmured, standing frozen in the doorway as
she entered the Control Room, her eyes fixed on that screen and the
massacre it showcased. The rest of the techs were sitting in silence, simply
staring along with her.
Robert could only shake his head as Claire made her way to him.
“What-what am I watching right now?” she muttered as the camera took in
Jason standing on stage, a sea of death washing up around him.
“The man who’s going to save the world,” Robert answered finally.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 60 - Tetris
Jason and his companions strode through the chasm that had been
carved into the side of the wall ringing the excavation site. It was nearly a
hundred feet deep, forming a jagged fissure of stone that rose swiftly on
either side, dust still swirling through the air and the travelers’ screams
echoing at their backs – the discordant melody punctuated by the shriek of
Bard’s guitar.
As they passed beneath the legs of Jason’s skeleton, he waved at his
creation. The creature’s limbs creaked and groaned as it pivoted and began
to stomp its way back out of the ravine, heading for the stage and the
travelers. Each footfall caused the ground to tremble and sent another cloud
of dirt spewing into the air.
“Are you sure we’re not going to need that thing?” Alexion
demanded.
Jason shook his head, eyeing his group. All the avatars, their
lieutenants, and Smiles were in attendance. The rest of <Death and Taxes>
had stayed behind – conscripted by Bard to put on his so-called “concert.”
Not that Jason minded. The defensive line they’d set up would last for a
while, just not forever. As more and more travelers continued pushing into
the respawn zone, they would eventually overwhelm the undead and
goblins with pure numbers.
They would likely need the extra help.
“We’ll be fine,” Jason answered. He looked to Jerry and Silver.
“However, you two need to be careful. The goblins apparently have a
unique racial ability to respawn. We can’t be sure whether this field will
work for you.”
“Aye, aye, Cappy-tan,” Jerry answered with a mock salute.
“I’ve got it,” Silver replied more somberly.
“And you two keep an eye on them,” he added for Riley and Frank’s
benefit.
“Isn’t this overkill,” Julia snapped. “I mean, we’re facing some sort
of bureaucrat that only recently joined the game and is leading an army of
noobs. They’re all what? Maybe level fifty? What are they really going to
be able to…”
 She trailed off as the dust cleared, moonlight shining down upon the
interior of the excavation site. It was truly enormous. The walls ringed an
enclosure nearly a mile wide. The stone had been carved into neat blocks,
each roughly three-foot square, and piled up in careful rows, creating a
graduated staircase up to the towering walls that ringed the area. It was
clear that Gloria’s guildmates had cleared the earth block by block, starting
along the far edge of the excavation site, piling up those blocks to form the
walls ringing their dig site.
But the amount of mana needed to accomplish this…
“I wouldn’t underestimate Gloria,” Smiles offered into the sudden
silence, cracking his knuckles. “She might not be familiar with this world,
but she’s clever and determined. Those traits are far, far more important
here.” This earned him a huff from Julia, but she stayed quiet.
Jason had been thinking the same thing. He had a feeling this
wasn’t going to be a straightforward encounter – a conclusion bolstered by
the feat lying before him.
“How did she pull this off?” Kyyle murmured, touching the stone.
Finn frowned as he surveyed the dig site. “I sense a large amount of
earth and fire mana. Possibly they’re combining low-level spells. Dissolve
and Re-Assemble. Maybe Molten Beam to melt down any particularly
dense pockets of stone or metal they find. Gravity Well to move the
blocks.”
“Yeah, but how many low-level spells? They accomplished all this
in just a couple weeks…” Kyyle replied. “The coordination required to pull
this off would be—”
“Incredible,” Finn finished for him. “I suspect—”
He never got to finish that sentence, though.
Mana flared at their backs, and the group turned to see an incredible
scene. The jagged shards of rock smoothed down, dissolving away into
dust that drifted down across them. Without pause, the blocks at the top of
the wall began to lift free, one-by-one. They drifted across the ravine
before falling slowly, cushioned by a film of earth mana, and settling along
the ground. The blocks fell into place in rapid succession, swiftly repairing
the hole in the wall and blocking off their exit. Within only moments, solid
stone stood at their backs, and the magic faded.
“I’m picking up travelers along the top of the walls,” Finn
murmured. Yellow highlights rapidly appeared, outlining hundreds—
possibly thousands—of casters atop the stone barrier.
“They’re all wearing the same plain brown robes. Their faces are
covered,” Riley reported, sighting down the shaft of an arrow. Without
warning, she released. The missile hummed through the air and struck
home, a caster toppling from the wall and soon landing along the tiered
stone with a dull thud and the crunch of bone.
“Uh, anyone else think it’s weird that they aren’t making any
noise?” Frank asked.
“Yeah, yeah, that is definitely weird,” Kyyle agreed, his eyes
skimming the travelers that circled the excavation, watching with cowled
hoods – not a whisper coming from their ranks.
“Like I said… don’t underestimate her,” Smiles added.
A lone figure stood in the center of the excavation site.
“It was only a matter of time until you lot showed up,” a voice
spoke up. Feminine. Familiar. Carried on amber-tinged winds. That voice
had Jason’s bony hands clenching into fists. He would recognize it
anywhere.
“Hello again, Gloria,” Jason intoned, stepping forward.
“Jason,” she acknowledged with a nod.
“This is your last chance to stop all this,” Jason continued. “We
don’t want to harm you or your guildmates. Just leave, and it can end
here.”
Gloria shook her head. “You know I can’t do that. What I’m doing
here – what we’re doing here – will help protect everyone. This game is a
poison. Just look at what’s happening outside this excavation site—”
“An outcome you caused,” Jason interrupted sharply, screams still
echoing in the distance. “If you hadn’t entered this game and tried to
destroy it, none of this would have happened. All those people behind us
are suffering because of you – not the game itself.”
“As though they wouldn’t have suffered anyway,” Gloria shot back.
“What about Sandscrit? Or the Sea’s Edge? Or the Twilight Throne?
Players killing each other – brutally and without reserve. Sexual assault.
Rape. Have you seen the statistics?”
Jason snorted, shaking his head. “You think that justifies what
you’re doing? Piling one more harm on top of another? Not that I’m
surprised. You’ve been doing that since I met you. Fighting fire with more
fire. Like when you had my parents ambush me and convinced them I was
some sort of sociopath. What’s one kid’s happiness compared to your
moralistic quest, right?
“And now you’re just doing more of the same. You’re putting your
hypocrisy on display for the whole world. Entering a game you detest, just
to destroy it? Creating more chaos and death in the name of what exactly?”
Gloria hesitated, stewing on his words. “To… to help them. To
protect them.”
“Really? Or to protect yourself,” Finn interrupted harshly, stepping
forward. “All I see is a terrified old woman trying to resist change. The
world was shit before we were born, and it’s going to be full of shit after
we’re both long dead and buried. None of this is going to change that.
Even if you destroy this world, another will just be built in its place.”
“Or a dozen more,” Julia added.
Finn nodded. “You’re fighting a war you’ve already lost—”
“I refuse to accept that!” Gloria shouted. “And I know you’re
wrong. Just look at the numbers of players at your backs calling to tear
down this place – this-this abomination.”
“Is that what you see?” Eliza asked, the others looking to her in
surprise. “The entire world – our world – is watching this right now. And
for as many of those voices shouting in anger, there are even more begging
for you to stop. They’re watching you destroy something incredible. A
living, digital world – the first of its kind.”
She looked to Finn then. “Have you thought about what you’re
really doing? Even if your actions won’t harm the travelers, they will harm
the NPCs. Those are people – people with wants, desires, and fears. They
are the same as you. Are they also collateral damage? Sub-human in your
eyes? Are their lives worth nothing?”
“They aren’t real,” Gloria ground out.
“Listen to yourself,” Alexion snapped. “Many groups in our world
have made the same argument – have started wars in the name of religion or
on the basis of race. They’ve dehumanized living, breathing people. How
is what you’re doing any different?”
He shook his head. “This place isn’t perfect. In that sense, it isn’t
any different from our own world. If you wish to end violence and harm,
why aren’t you swarming a capital building? Tearing down servers full of
hateful, vile shit?”
“Says the son of George Lane,” Gloria spat.
 Alexion huffed out a laugh. “I am not my father. I make my own
decisions. And right here… right now, Jason is right. All I see is a
hypocrite.”
Gloria went quiet, and Jason looked to Finn.
“Not good,” the avatar of flame murmured, his eyes watching her
mana signature.
As Gloria raised her arms into the air, mana blooming from her
fingertips, Jason touched Riley’s shoulder. She released in an instant, her
missile flying forward in a blur of motion before embedding itself in
Gloria’s chest. She fell backward, her back hitting the stone and blood
gushing from the wound, only a weak gurgle leaving her lips. Moments
later, she went still.
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Alexion muttered, stalking forward.
“Why did we even bother talking to that crazy lady if we could have just
shot her—”
Alexion was cut off as a block of stone flew from the side of the
excavation site, slamming into him and sending him hurtling through the
air. However, that block of stone soon slowed and then burst apart in a
shower of rocky debris, revealing Alexion floating in midair, glowing wings
arrayed around him, and a panel of light pushing back at the twilight.
“What the fuck was that?” he growled.
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Gloria growled, her voice floating
through the excavation once more. “Do you all really think I would leave
myself unprotected?”
Jason was looking at the tops of the walls now. If Gloria was using
air mana to project her voice, then she could be anywhere among the throng
of casters, every member of <SAFE> robed in the same generic casting
gear, their faces tucked away behind cowled hoods. Even their tags were
hidden, he realized. No doubt, another purchase she’d made on the auction
house.
Yet he froze as he saw a strange sight.
All the casters raised their arms in unison, emerald mana spiraling
around their hands and flaring through the night sky, the walls suddenly
ringed in green. As one, they cast. Blocks of stone rose from the ground
and toppled forward, the terraces swiftly disappearing. Huge cubes formed
along the top of the wall made up of many of the smaller cubes. Then they
lifted into the air, hovering in the night sky overhead. A dozen… maybe
more. Each carrying hundreds of travelers. And arrayed around them were
more of those cubes, the blocks colliding and combining to form even
larger structures.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” Julia murmured in shock. “They’re all
low level.”
“Finn, what are we looking at?” Jason demanded.
“I…I think she’s essentially multi-boxing,” Finn replied in a
distracted.
“In English, please,” Riley grunted. “Some of us aren’t a thousand
years old…”
Finn sighed. “She’s somehow taken control of every member of her
guild. They’re all imitating her movements. That’s the only explanation for
how she’s pulling this off. Hundreds of low-level spells cast in unison.
Think of them less like individual players and more like bots slaved to one
person.”
Julia glared at the respawn field that hovered overhead. “And even
if we try to kill them all, with the respawn field they’re just going to come
back… and fast. Which means we need to take out Gloria herself.”
“Can you find the real one?” Jason asked Finn, eyeing those floating
stone blocks.
“I can try, but it may take some time,” Finn murmured. “There’s too
much mana getting thrown around.” He bit at his lip, his hands bringing up
his UI. “We could possibly build another sensor array…”
As Finn trailed off, Alexion fluttered down next to them, letting out
a sigh. “Which means he’ll need me.”
Another twist of the Nephilim’s fingers and light mana infused the
group as he shared his buffs. Then panels of light formed in the air,
encircling the group. And Jason hadn’t even had to ask. Apparently, even
assholes could change…
Jason looked to Eliza then. She raised a hand, her eyes flaring
sapphire. “You don’t have to say anything. I’ll protect Finn.”
Eliza’s hands flared with mana, and Brian surged forward,
enveloping her. His body swiftly grew in size, taking on a variation of the
form he’d once used back in Sandscrit. His massive trunk formed a
protective dome of vegetation overtop of Finn, leaving holes in the
branches through which moonlight still streamed.
 Finn was already at work himself. With a flash of flame and a
twitch of his fingers, Bouncer Bots materialized all around them – water
mana peeling away from their surface. This had been a parting gift from
Queen, the woman making amends by showing Finn how she’d created her
illusion rings. A technology he had managed to incorporate into his bots.
They now skittered forward on skeletal legs, climbing Brian’s body before
mounting themselves to the vegetation. Their globe-like bodies rotated and
a hatch opened to reveal angry red gems.
Finn had used his downtime to make a few improvements.
In the meantime, the avatar of flame turned, his hands awash in fire
as he began to melt down the dust at their feet, a crystalline tower slowly
rising from the ground beneath Brian’s body. Kyyle and Julia joined him,
the earth mage and Finn’s daughter helping him to construct and stabilize
the array.
Jason turned to others. “When Finn finds her—”
“We’ll take out that bitch,” Riley growled, and Frank, Silver, and
Jerry nodded in unison.
“Just be careful and wait for your opening,” Jason instructed.
Meanwhile, Ella was still staring at the sky – she seemed to be in
shock.
“Hey, you there?” Jason asked, waving a hand. Ella blinked and
then nodded hurriedly.
“Y-yeah. We’ll take her out one way or another.”
Jason’s brow furrowed, but he nodded.
“What’re you going to be doing?” Alexion demanded.
Jason side-eyed him. “I need to put some pressure on those mages.”
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, the bones that made up
Jason’s body creaking. “I think you mean we,” Dom offered, his head
craned toward the sky.
Jason just grunted, his stolen wings snapping out behind him. “Can
you keep up?”
Dom looked down at his body, shining with Alexion’s light.
Without warning, Eliza approached and stabbed him in the back with her
syringe, and he let out a hissing breath. As the potion’s effects took hold,
Dom activated Enrage, his arms and legs bulging. Only moments later, he
recovered, flexing his limbs experimentally to the pop and snap of tendon.
 “I think that should do it,” Dom murmured, letting out an excited
laugh. “And with the two of us… well, luck should be on our side.”
Jason nodded. He needed to prepare himself as well. But no drugs
or light-mana-based buffs would help him now. He shrugged off his cape
and stowed it in his bag. Armor had less appeal now, and the cape would
only get in the way during the coming fight. Wings snapped out from his
back, wrapped in bands of darkness. His bones were still reinforced,
courtesy of Dom, his skin undulating and pulsing, responding to his own
bloodlust.
And Jason had used his downtime to make a few of his own
changes.
“Shit, this is going to be fun,” Dom muttered.
Jason couldn’t help but agree. He found himself looking forward to
this fight. Not just because of how many times Gloria had screwed him
over. Revenge was just the cherry on top. No, this was an interesting and
clever opponent. A new type of fight – one that would push him to his
limits once again. He could feel a similar thrill radiating off Dom as the
pair stared up at the legion of mages and thousands of tons of floating rock
that faced them.
Gloria was at least partly right. This game had certainly influenced
them. A deadly crucible that had melted them down and reforged them into
something new.
And now it was time to show her what they were made of.
Without a word, Dom and Jason attacked.
Dom leaped into the air with a sudden burst of strength, his
empowered legs sending him hurtling through the air at a terrifying speed.
Yet only a roar of rage erupted from his throat. He sped toward one of
those larger cubes comprised of smaller blocks – mega-blocks, Jason
thought to himself. Dom struck with tremendous force, his fist slamming
into the stone. The cube broke apart, sending smaller blocks raining down
upon the field below. He snatched at one of the blocks, kicking off again
and hurtling toward another.
Jason wasn’t to be outdone. His wings whipped him forward, his
staves rotating out of his arms and Soul Blades arcing from their length.
He’d made some upgrades, improving on the rotational effect he’d
developed in the Mile-High Club. The blades soon began to spin up to
speed, forming dark sawblades. However, as he neared one of those mega-
blocks, it suddenly broke apart. Gloria was already adapting. The smaller
cubes drifted around him and then began to press in like a stony tomb. She
was trying to trap and crush him.
Yet Jason just grinned.
He rocketed forward, leaning into a spin, forming a tornado of dark
energy with his Soul Blades. They carved cleanly through the rock, and
Jason soon erupted out the other side of the mega-cube in a shower of
debris. He turned just in time to see the cube Dom had destroyed piecing
itself back together as earth mana flared in the sky – thousands of mages
casting Gravity Well simultaneously.
More mega-cubes were advancing on their team on the ground
below, beams of molten energy cutting through the air as Finn’s bots sliced
apart the stone blocks with abandon. Brian offered his assistance. His
massive arms swept at the rock, batting aside an entire mega-cube, and
sending it slamming into the ground nearby, the force sending dust spraying
up into the sky. And below them, light mana flared.
They just needed to buy more time.
The cubes near Jason had reassembled, and Gloria had moved
another two mega-cubes into position, the rocky boulders blocking Jason
from the casters that floated safely overhead on their own rock islands. He
sensed motion to his right – just a whistle of air – and turned just in time to
see a mega-cube at his back, breaking apart and forming hundreds of stone
projectiles that rocketed at Jason from every direction.
However, a blur of movement raced past him. Dom slammed into
one of the cubes and launched himself off it – his feet crushing the rock –
before punching another. He was a blur of destruction as he punched,
smashed, and slammed the stones together – dust and debris raining down
upon the coliseum. And all without wings.
“You’re moving too slow!” Dom roared over his shoulder.
Jason just let out a laugh. He was right. He needed to pick up his
game.
So, he launched forward with a blast of air mana from the gems he’d
added to his legs, his wings flapping forcefully. He rocketed past Dom, his
arms whipping forward. The mold offered assistance, his arms elongating
into dark whips, his Soul Blades perched at the end. At the same time,
Jason pivoted in midair, launching into another spin. His blades lashed
outward and sliced cleanly through the legion of blocks. Dozens of cubes
broke apart and dropped to the ground far below, the hum of earth mana
disappearing in a flash.
And yet, as Jason and Dom recovered, they saw several more mega-
cubes floating overhead. Blocks rose into the sky as Gloria repurposed
more of the wall ringing the excavation site. There was no room for talking
or posturing.
There was only the whistle of air. Crushing, tearing, smashing,
slicing. Rock and stone and dust and the hazy moonlight that drifted
through those clouds. The screams of travelers along the ground. The
shriek of Bard’s guitar as it pealed through the air. Jason and Dom were a
two-man wrecking team, the pair working in sync as they destroyed those
cubes.
Until they finally created an opening.
Another mega-cube broke apart, the remains raining down upon the
excavation site and striking with a rhythmic thump, thump, thump that only
added a bassline to Bard’s melody. Jason hovered in the sky, Dom free
falling back toward him. The loss of that last mega-cube had created a
small window in the line of rock that protected the casters floating on their
stone platforms.
In that moment, Jason’s and Dom’s eyes met. They didn’t have time
to talk – to type out a message – to form some complicated plan. Yet there
was no need. Jason only saw understanding in Dom’s eyes as he nodded at
him.
Jason’s arm whipped out, and Dom snatched it from the air just as
the last trace of mana left the stone at his feet. Jason pulled himself into a
spin, diving back toward the ground as his limb whipped around behind him
– the mold straining under Dom’s weight but holding. That spin sent Dom
rocketing forward at a blazing space.
Gloria tried to respond, and more blocks rose into the air. The
mega-cubes broke apart as she attempted to form a wall. But that only
thinned her defenses.
Dom struck like a wrecking ball, breaking straight through that
flimsy barrier before hurtling out the other side. He crashed into one of the
caster cubes head-on, the stone exploding in a shower of dust. Yet Dom
wasn’t done. His fingers tore into the rock as he grabbed onto it. He
quickly climbed around the caster-cube as it tried to break apart – Gloria
vainly trying to protect her mages. She was too late, though.
 Dom launched off his cube, racing towards the center of that group,
only to release a Thunderclap as he slammed his hands together.
Individually weak, the casters were no match for the wave of force that
blasted out from Dom’s hands. It struck the rock and sent the smaller cubes
hurtling away in all directions, blasting apart the mages’ eardrums and
sending them falling from their precarious perches.
Hundreds of men and women rained through the air, not even one
letting out a cry of terror or pain. They fell in silence before striking the
ground far below in a series of dull thuds, their corpses soon buried under
several hundred tons of rocky debris.
With Dom distracting Gloria, Jason had used that opening to race up
and around the casters’ formation, flying well above them, his body framed
by the moon at his back. A grin of his own tugged at his lips as he leaned
forward, his wings pulling taut as he dove, the wind whistling around him.
He plunged downward like death itself, his arms whipping forward once
more. The mages never saw what hit them. Hundreds died in the span of
seconds – heads cut cleanly from their shoulders and their blood staining
the rock.
The mega-cube beneath them suddenly broke apart as their spells
ended, the emerald haze disappearing as another shower of stone rained
down upon the excavation site.
However, Gloria had already recovered, her other caster cubes
floating away and the mega-cubes rising toward Jason and Dom where they
formed a new wall as she shifted around the excavation site. Jason caught
Dom from the air, Jason’s dark wings beating at the air as they hovered in
place. Despite their minor victory, they were covered in dust and blood,
their stamina waning.
They’d killed some, but not all of Gloria’s forces. Not by a long
shot.
Not that it mattered. A blaze of ivory light suddenly speared from
the ground below as Alexion activated the newly formed sensor array. That
energy rippled out across the excavation site in a wave, touching every rock
and stone and caster.
And on the heels of that energy, Jason’s UI pinged. A message from
Finn. Not that he needed to read the content as a yellow waypoint marker
suddenly sprang into existence. Yet Jason’s brow furrowed. That marker
didn’t hover in the sky. It came from the ground below. And not just the
surface either.
Gloria was underground.
He and Dom turned as one to see the rest of Gloria’s guildmates
casting in unison. Jason could see it now, the occasional globe of sapphire
energy tucked away inside their formation. She must have been using their
cameras to see while she fled deeper into the excavation.
Damn it.
Even as that realization struck him, her voice suddenly rippled
through the air, carried on amber-tinged winds. “It’s too late. I’m going to
end this for good.”
“What is she…” Jason murmured, trailing off as he saw earth mana
flare.
Thousands of stone blocks were rising into the air, the mega-cubes
all merging near the casters as they rose, rose, rose, up into the night sky.
The smaller blocks were stitching together now. Tens of thousands of
them. Forming a cube that soon blotted out the moon. A monstrous
creation that loomed overtop the excavation site, the respawn field circling
what was left of the structure in glowing, multi-colored relief.
“She’s going to destroy it all,” Dom murmured.
Jason just nodded. He could see Gloria’s plan as well. She was
about to drop that cube on the site, destroying the stage, the generator, the
array below. She no longer needed any of that infrastructure – not if she
had fled deep underground. That would buy her time – enough time to
reach whatever she’d been searching for – to end this world.
Jason’s fist clenched. “Not if we stop it,” he ground out.
Dom just stared back. “Are you seriously thinking…”
“We just need to destroy that orb,” Jason interrupted him.
Mad laughter pealed through the night sky as Dom’s chest heaved.
“Then let’s do it!”
With that, he peeled Jason’s fingers free and fell, racing toward the
ground below. Jason soon followed, his wings pulling close. He used the
few seconds he had to pull up his chat log and type out a quick message to
his team. They needed to move. Now. Defend the stage and the generator
if they could. Protect Silver, Brian, and Jerry.
Jason would just have to hope it would be enough.
 Yet he didn’t have time to focus on that now as his wings swept out,
blunting his fall and his feet soon touching down on solid ground once
more. Dom stood at his side, the pair looking up at the sky where that
massive meteor was still forming, emerald energy rippling along its length –
its size and weight putting Blaze’s poor imitation to shame. It was the
product of the legion of mages that stood atop the cube, the rock held up
only by the combined force of thousands of Gravity Wells.
And then, that green energy disappeared. The rock began to
descend, the casters holding the block together as they rode it down to their
own deaths. Yet none shirked their duty or gave in to their fear. They were
merely robots, tools, vacant and empty flesh that existed only to serve
Gloria’s wishes – her quest to end everything.
Jason and Dom stood side by side, watching as their death loomed
overhead. Then, with a slow and measured movement, Dom raised his
fingers and lifted his mask free – only to reveal the insane grin that was
painted across his face. He side-eyed Jason, his eyes flashing, no doubt, his
luck aura exploding.
Not a word passed between them. They didn’t need to talk right
now. The reality of their situation was obvious. They were going to die.
They could only hope that before that happened, they could accomplish
enough to leave a mark on this world. To protect their allies. The goblins.
The other members of <Death and Taxes>. The avatars. Their lieutenants.
The residents among them. The fate of this world now rested on one scared
old woman.
Yet as they both looked up once more, the same smile never left
Jason’s face.
Not even as the pair both pulled back their arms – dark mana and
muscle surging as they put everything they had into this one final strike.
Not as that rocky death loomed large, racing toward them. Not even as they
both struck, punching into the stone, force rippling away from the impact.
Eventually, their hands gave way as their bones were crushed and began to
crumble, and the vessels storing Jason’s Najima burst, one by one.
Jason embraced his death. His end. As the darkness consumed him,
one question burned in his heart, gnawing at his soul.
Was this it? Was this as far as he could go? Was this his limit?
And his entire being shouted back one answer.
This wasn’t even close.
 System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 61 - Pleading
“Good lord,” Frank muttered as Eliza’s vegetation peeled away,
revealing what remained of the excavation site.
The area had been destroyed, the former towering stone walls gone.
Now it was little more than a field covered in broken stone cubes and
fragments of rock – like a spikey uneven graveyard. And yet, there was no
crater nor evidence of the impact of that last attack. Jason and Dom had
successfully blunted the assault… at the cost of their own lives.
“At least the generator is in one piece,” Tombs grumbled as he
phased out of the rock, wiping at the sweat beading on his forehead. “I
managed to get it underground in time.”
“One small silver lining,” Jerry grunted as he shook the dust off his
hat.
Frank and Silver emerged from the hole behind him, Frank’s body
giving up heavy, dense chitin in favor of more pliable skin. Both of them
were dusty, dirty, and angry. But they were alive, which was a blessing
given the circumstances.
Gone was the stage where Bard had been playing. The Bone
Gardens had been blasted apart. Even Jason’s towering skeleton had been
unable to withstand the blast fully. Now the stage was little more than
broken lumber, rock, and blood – no doubt, the goblins’ loot buried
somewhere under that rubble. Yet the multi-colored field still hung
overhead, and travelers and goblins continued respawning, the area quickly
devolving into a brutal bloodbath.
Even more travelers continued to pour southward, illuminated by
the faint moonlight. With little now standing in their way, they would soon
be upon the survivors. The blast had only briefly reset the field – giving
them a small window in which to regroup.
As the group looked on with bleak expressions, two more rifts soon
opened nearby, familiar faces stepping out of those portals. Smiles was
once again wearing his immaculate suit, adjusting his cuffs as he stepped
smoothly out of the rift. Meanwhile, Jason’s demeanor was… different.
Gone was his hulking skeletal form, wings, and undulating skin.
Instead, his body was a gangly skeleton, thin ropes of dark mana barely
holding together feeble bones that cracked and creaked as he took each step,
leaning on the staff held in his hand. This was the true weakness of his new
form. Upon respawn, he came back without his former minion and
augments.
Yet Jason wasn’t deterred. With a wave of his hand, dark mana
collected around the limb.
Corpses soon rose up around him, stone and debris shifting aside as
they floated up into the air. Then, with a snap of his fingers, useless flesh
and muscle sloughed from bone, the material fusing to Jason’s frame, his
skeletal body thickening in mere moments, the surface turning a darker hue
as he absorbed fragments of metal from the ruined bots nearby.
Moments later, Jason’s foot landed more firmly, dark mana
thickening around the limb and rippling up across his legs, chest, and head.
His movements became smoother, stronger, and more controlled. His staff
split into two fragments and was absorbed back into his forearms, ready at a
moment’s notice yet no longer in his way. As the transformation
completed, Jason’s cloak whipped back into place, covering his body and
the skeletal features of his face.
“You certainly make an intimidating entrance now,” Riley offered
with a grin as he approached. “Yet it’s still not hot.”
Jason chuckled despite everything he’d just endured – like getting
blown apart by a makeshift meteor. “Noted,” he replied, his eyes on the
carnage.
He looked to Finn then. “What about Gloria?”
The avatar of flame shook his head. His attention was fixed on the
screen flickering before him. “The sensor array picked up her mana
signature below us. My guess is that she was fighting that battle remotely
from underground and using the travelers’ cameras.”
“She’s more clever than we gave her credit for,” Kyyle offered,
adjusting his glasses.
“Just wait… she’s going to get what’s coming to her,” Julia added.
The others nodded somberly.
“What’s the game plan now?” Riley asked Jason.
He turned to watch the remains of the stage where a bloody battle
was taking place between the respawning travelers and goblins – clawing,
tearing, and even biting at one another in their attempt to escape that
endless respawn loop. And the ground trembled as ever more travelers
streamed toward their location.
 Another tear opened nearby, and Bard stepped out of the rift, eyeing
his former stage with slumped shoulders. “It was all going so well,” he
murmured, sinking to his knees. “I didn’t even get to play my grand
finale.”
The rest of the group ignored him, Jason turning to look at the
yellow waypoint marker lingering far beneath their feet. The truth was that
this was no longer an easy position to defend. Their defensive formation
had been destroyed, and the travelers were now able to circle them from all
sides. Not only that, but Gloria had fled underground. Her goal was likely
to finish what she’d started – the timer still swiftly approaching zero. With
only minutes left, they couldn’t afford to dawdle.
Jason grimaced. “You all should help secure this position topside,
so the travelers don’t interfere,” he instructed, eyeing Eliza, Finn, and
Alexion. “You did well holding off Gloria while Finn built and activated
the makeshift array. Now you just need to hold the travelers back for a few
more minutes.”
“That might be easier said than done,” Eliza murmured, eyeing the
oncoming horde of travelers, her hands knotting together in front of her.
Jason’s eyes flicked to where Dom stood nearby. “I have a feeling
you’ll be okay. You just need a suitable distraction,” he added
meaningfully.
Dom snorted, cracking his knuckles. “I think I might be able to
handle that.”
Finn raised an eyebrow, watching Jason. “And you?” he asked
archly.
Jason rolled his newfound shoulders, the bones popping and
flexing. This body felt weaker than the one he’d had before – the remains
of the casters and travelers barely measuring up to the other avatars. But it
would be enough. Gloria had used up her trump card. Now she was just a
low-leveled old lady on the run.
“I’m going to hunt her down,” Jason growled, dark mana flashing
away from his body.
“Then you’re going to need an entrance,” Kyyle offered. He looked
to Brock, the earth elemental’s eyes flashing. The pair began to cast with a
flare of emerald energy. Blocks of stone lifted from the ground, soon
revealing a stone staircase that spiraled down into the darkness.
 Jason met Dom’s eyes. “I just need a few minutes. Then your
contract is complete.”
“You got it… boss,” Smiles replied with a trace of sarcasm.
Then, without ceremony, Dom stooped down and leaped toward the
oncoming army of travelers – sailing over the heads of the goblins and their
prey. He landed with a heavy thump, one man against hundreds of
thousands. For just a moment, Jason wished he could see Dom with Finn’s
eyes – observe his luck aura flaring in the face of certain death.
Watching their leader take point, the other members of <Death and
Taxes> pulled themselves together. Even Bard shook off his despair,
straightened his shoulders, wiped off his velvet tunic, and gripped his
instrument firmly. Then, as one, they went to join their leader, carving a
path of ice, fire, and death through the field of respawning goblins and
travelers.
In the meantime, the others were forming a defensive ring around
the entrance to the underground tunnel. Panels of light soon began to
flicker through the air, and vegetation grew along the ground. Kyyle joined
them, forming stone columns that jutted into the air, Finn anchoring a
metallic turret to each one – building them on the fly from the broken
fragments of his bouncer bots now littering the field.
A metallic shriek soon echoed across the field once more, signaling
the start of the second and final round. Either they would win here – save
the world. Or they would die trying.
“Be careful,” Riley insisted, gripping Jason’s shoulder. “I don’t
trust Gloria.”
“Always,” Jason shot back with a grin of his own.
With that, his staff fragments shifted out of his forearms, Soul
Blades arcing from their length. He jumped into the nearby pit, forgoing
the stairs and letting his blades cut into the stone wall as he slid down into
the darkness. Rocky shrapnel fell around him but bounced harmlessly off
his reinforced skeletal frame.
And then there was only darkness once more.

* * *

Jason landed with a soft thump, his bones creaking but his new form
managing to absorb the impact as the fragments of his staff shifted back
into his forearms. Darkness loomed around him, but his Night Vision
pierced that shadowy veil. He was standing in a large room, the staircase
winding overhead, the entrance merely a pinpoint of light far above. Along
one wall was an open doorway nearly ten feet tall, the stone showing the
same workmanship as the dig site above, the stone cut into tidy blocks.
With only one option, Jason started forward, stalking through the
darkness. Every so often, the hall was illuminated by a dull, glowing
crystal embedded in the rock – a makeshift light that must have been placed
by Gloria or her guildmates.
That tunnel soon ended, and Jason slowed.
On the other side was an enormous cavern. This one hadn’t been
cultivated but had been hollowed out naturally by water and time. The
ceiling rose high overhead, looming dozens of feet and the darkness
becoming impenetrable. The floor of the cave showed signs of wear – the
ground smoothed flat with no stalagmites marring the surface.
Jason’s Perception skill triggered – a flash of blue near the floor. He
stooped, and his fingers touched the dust. Perhaps someone using Dissolve
to finish the tunnel? And more blue outlines were revealed ahead of his
positions. Footprints. Fresh. A single set.
It seemed he was right behind Gloria now.
He rose, stepping into the cavern. The front portion of the cave was
barren and empty. However, on the other end, there was something more.
A hazy outline that Jason couldn’t quite make out at this distance and in this
dense darkness.
Yet as he moved forward, it soon came into focus.
The relief of a building had been painstakingly carved into the far
wall of the cavern. A massive doorway, framed by towering pillars. The
smooth arch of what could have been a roof. The style looked familiar.
Possibly Greek or Roman. It reminded Jason of an ancient temple. Yet
why was it down here? And as his fingers traced the carved stone, he could
feel that the rock was perfectly smooth. There was no erosion. No
deterioration in the design. It was perfectly preserved, which should have
been impossible.
At least, without the help of magic.
However, Jason pushed those thoughts from his mind as he caught a
familiar flicker of light inside the temple, his Listening skill picking out the
sound of heavy breathing. He padded softly through the doorway, the dark
mana attached to his heels and the pads of his feet rendering his steps
almost silent. At the same time, the staff fragments slid free from his
forearms once more, and Soul Blades inched away from their surface.
“Stop right there,” Gloria soon spat.
Jason slowed, eyeing the scene before him.
The inside of the temple was enormous, at least a few thousand
square feet. Intricate designs and patterns were etched into the stone walls.
Pictures of people worshipping someone – a woman. Offering her gifts and
presents. Those designs told a story that Jason didn’t have time to dissect.
Not right now, anyway.
Not with the way Gloria stood at the back of the temple near a small
dais. In her hand, she held a crystalline sphere, one that pulsed with an
intense green light. Jason had only seen that density of mana a few times.
It reminded him of his mana well. He had no idea what that orb meant or
what it could do, but he suspected this was what Gloria had been after.
An object that could somehow destroy the game world.
“It’s over, Gloria,” Jason said. “You need to give this up.”
She just scoffed at him. “For once, you’re right. It is over…
because I won.” She peered at that orb, the emerald energy reflected in her
irises. “To think it was really here.”
“How did you know to dig here? To find this place?” Jason asked,
forgoing caution. “Did you hack into Cerillion’s systems? Was that you?”
Gloria’s attention shot back to him, her brow furrowing. “No. I
didn’t access Cerillion’s systems. Someone sent me this information. On
you. On the other avatars. The gate pieces. This place. I was initially
skeptical, but so much of it turned out to be true.”
Her eyes were back on that crystal again as she trailed off, almost
like the object was somehow influencing her. For the second time in as
many minutes, Jason wished he had Finn’s Mana Sight so that he could
better understand what was happening here… what that object was.
“So, someone helped you?” Jason asked, stepping forward ever-so-
slowly, not wanting to alarm Gloria while she held that fragile sphere.
Her eyes shot back to him, her hood falling back to reveal her face.
Gloria looked haggard. Her eyes bloodshot. As though she hadn’t slept in
days or possibly weeks in-game. Perhaps it wasn’t the orb’s influence, after
all, but simple fatigue. Or obsession. Or a mixture of both.
 “Yes… yes, someone sent… to me…” Gloria mumbled in
confusion. She shook her head, clarity returning to her eyes for a moment.
“Why am I telling you this? It’s over. All I have to do now is destroy this
orb. That’s what the information said.”
“Mom, please don’t,” someone spoke up from beside Gloria.
Jason’s eyes widened as he saw Ella drop from Sneak, pulling back
her own hood and raising her hands. What the hell is she doing here? Did
she just call Gloria mom? Jason wondered. Gloria’s face reflected her
shock, her mouth falling open as she saw Ella.
In that moment, it finally clicked for Jason.
“You’re Gloria’s daughter?” Jason murmured, looking to Ella.
She nodded with a grimace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell
you. I never thought… well, I never thought it would come to this.”
“So, your real name is actually—” Jason began.
“What are you doing here, Sophie?” Gloria demanded.
“What do you think?” Ella – or Sophie – snapped, anger flashing in
her eyes. Although, at this point, Jason would have trouble seeing her as
anyone other than Ella.
“In this place, I can see. I’m not blind. Why would you push me
away from a place like this? Why would you try to destroy it? Shouldn’t
you of all people understand—”
“I do understand,” Gloria interjected, pain cascading across her
face. “Baby, I do. More than you know. I wanted this for you. But this
place – this game – it isn’t safe. There’s something going on here.
Something bad… evil even,” she murmured, looking at Jason.
To be fair, he had to admit he did look just a touch evil now.
“That’s in your head, Mom,” Sophie insisted, pleading with her.
“I’ve been playing for weeks now. I’m fine. Better than fine. My grades
are up. I’ve made new friends here. Why are you trying to take this away
from me?”
“I-I’m not,” Gloria muttered, swallowing hard and bracing herself.
“I’m not trying to take this place away from you. I want this for you. To
help regain your sight. But it needs to be safe. Look at those people
above? They aren’t afraid of dying. Of hurting others. Or at the creature
over there – a young man who ripped out his own heart in front of the
world. This place is evil.”
 “Evil?” Ella asked, shaking her head as she approached Gloria. “I
think you have it backward.” Her mother only looked at her in surprise and
confusion.
“The real world is the evil one. One where I’m blind. Crippled.
Mocked and tormented by my classmates. The same ones who enticed me
to play this game and then ditched me the moment we arrived – as I was
just trying to figure out how to see again. They left me to die in some
shithole dungeon, eaten alive by oversized rats. And you know what they
did while that happened? They laughed. Laughed,” Ella repeated, her dark
mana flaring around her.
“See… this place…” Gloria offered feebly.
“This place had nothing to do with it. Those were people from our
world,” Ella interrupted, taking yet another step. “If there is evil to be had
here… then we brought it with us.”
Ella mastered her emotion, swallowing her anger and her mana
fading. “And in my time here, I’ve seen this place – this world – improve
people for the better. Help them come out of their shell. Deal with
depression and anxiety. Give them a purpose.”
“If that purpose is to murder each other,” Gloria bit out. “You saw
what they did up—
“What you did,” Ella interjected. Another step. “Jason was right,”
she added, waving at the ceiling. “It isn’t this game that killed all those
people. It was you. You started a war, Mom!”
“It was what needed to be done!” Gloria snapped, losing her
composure, and giving in to frustration as she was unable to refute her
daughter’s arguments. “When you’re older – when you’ve seen more of the
world – you’ll come to understand. I can’t live with seeing you go through
that pain again. I can’t stand by and just let something harm you again.”
“She’s not coming around,” Jason thought to himself, eyeing the
room. He needed a way to get to Gloria and take her out without damaging
that orb in her hand. If Ella could just distract her… even for a second.
Ella put a hand on her mom’s arm as she neared. “I’m fine,” Ella
insisted, looking Gloria in the eye, her mother calming slightly. “You’ve
been treating me like some sort of porcelain girl since I was little. I’m not
going to break under a little pressure. I haven’t.”
“Not yet,” Gloria replied, moisture beading at the corners of her
eyes.
 Ella side-eyed Jason before turning back to her mother. “Not ever. I
understand your fear and heartache. I can’t imagine what you went through
when I lost my sight. But those are your ghosts, Mom. Not mine. This
place has taught me that I can live without being afraid – hiding in my room
and never leaving the castle you’ve created for me. It’s taught me that a
little bit of risk can be a good thing.
“This place has helped me. Jason has helped me.”
Then Gloria’s eyes snapped to his face, and Jason saw something
strange twist there. A mixture of hate, anger, and fear. Ella had said the
wrong thing. Jason was the personification of everything that Gloria hated
and feared about this place.
“I’m sorry, Baby,” Gloria murmured. “I just can’t let him corrupt
you. Let you fall into the clutches of this murderer like all of those others.”
“Mom—”
Ella was suddenly cut off as Gloria plunged a dagger into her
daughter’s chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry—I’m so
sorry, Baby. But this is for the best.”
Ella looked down at the dagger, blood bubbling from her lips as her
fingers wrapped the hilt. She didn’t look afraid. Or scared. She only stared
back at her mother with such sadness that Jason could feel his heart break
for her. He knew that look. He’d seen it played over and over and over a
thousand times during the footage of the regulatory hearing.
When he’d had to face his own parents.
Without warning, Ella pushed forward, the dagger sinking more
deeply into her chest even as she wrapped her arms around her mother.
Dark mana suddenly coiled away from her body, the fingers of one hand
moving behind Gloria’s back. Jason recognized that spell. She was
detonating herself. The mana flared more powerfully, beginning to rip apart
Ella’s limbs, glowing green droplets pouring from those tears in her flesh.
It was only due to Jason’s Listening skill that he heard what she said next.
“I still love you, Mom. But I’m done being afraid.”
Then Ella exploded in a shower of acid that drenched Gloria. She
let out a scream as the flesh began to melt from her bones, her hands
shaking and then giving way as she slowly slumped to her knees. The
crystal toppled from her fingers, and Jason dashed forward, lunging across
the room, wishing he’d had the materials to augment his legs one last time.
Time seemed to slow as he dove forward, reaching out with one long
skeletal arm.
Stretching, reaching, straining…
The crystal tumbling through the air…
Gloria’s screams echoing through the room…
Jason’s fingers barely clipped the crystal, but he failed to get a good
grip on it, the sphere bouncing off bone with a clink of glass. Then the
sphere struck the ground and the crystal fractured. Jason didn’t have time
to run. To think. To plan.
He could only lie there watching as Gloria died.
As the crystalline sphere exploded.
As a storm of emerald energy spewed forth, sweeping out and
around him until it filled the entire room, before stretching up the staircase
at his back, erupted from the opening far overhead and stretched out across
the game world in a bright green tidal wave. The walls around him shifted
and shimmered, the particles that made up the rock disintegrating before his
eyes, drifting away into streamers of energy. The temple around him was
crumbling away.
He knelt there, ignoring Gloria as she gasped out a final breath.
Ignoring the acid that cut into the bones of his legs. Ignoring the blue
notification that popped up in front of him – announcing what he already
knew.
He’d failed.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 62 - Catastrophe
The control room was deathly quiet. The large display floating just
below the ceiling had broken into multiple panels, showcasing more than a
dozen parts of the game world, those images all showing the same thing: a
tidal wave of green energy that swept north, south, east, and west, leaving
no corner of AO untouched. And in its wake…
“What is this?” Claire murmured.
Robert didn’t move—couldn’t move as he watched transfixed.
The game world was being transformed before their eyes. Rock and
stone appearing where none had been before. Rivers diverted. Oceans
pushed back to reveal jagged coastline. Forests growing and receding in the
blink of an eye. But those were just minor changes amid the others. Cities
and towns simply disappeared – buildings, people, furnishings, and pets all
vanishing within that emerald haze.
In other cases, those population centers didn’t vanish. They were
altered. Buildings transformed, architecture shifting in an instant. And in
the elemental cities – the Twilight Throne, Sandscrit, the Sea’s Edge, the
Crystal Reach… those cities blossomed. They expanded outward, doubling
and tripling in size in a blinding blaze of earth mana.
Houses and shops soon stretched well outside the walls of the
Twilight Throne, whole towns springing up where only dry and shriveled
forests had once stood. The Crystal Reach expanded toward the heavens,
dozens of floating crystalline platforms appearing in the air with enough
room to house hundreds – even thousands. Spires peeled up out of the sea
along the coast of the Sea’s Edge, coiling up into the air and spreading out
through the cove. And in the deep desert, Sandscrit stretched out into the
sands, an oasis of vegetation suddenly springing from between those dry
and dusty buildings.
Even the Mile-High Club wasn’t immune. That green energy swept
up into the skies and across the ruins of the club. In an instant, the stone
was stitched back together, repairing the damage that Finn and Eliza had
caused. The ring was solid and repaired once more. The stone swept
smooth and clean. Rust disappeared. Crystal mended. Within mere
moments, mana-infused gemstones flared brightly, the club’s sign now
affixed securely to the tower – a tower that now stood whole and intact
above a freshly built coliseum.
Yet the transformation wasn’t finished – not by a longshot.
As the topography of the world shifted, another change took hold.
The emerald energy whisked away, and in its wake it left… people standing
there. People that hadn’t existed only moments ago. Humans, undead,
angels, merfolk, djinn. They were suddenly standing in the streets, in the
windows of their homes, at the market. Staring, blinking, confused. In an
instant, hundreds of thousands of new NPCs had appeared within AO – or
whatever it had now become.
“S-sir,” a tech managed to stutter. “The system’s resources are
reaching their limit. We can’t keep this up. The servers are going to start
failing…”
Indeed, Robert’s console was flashing red. A bad sign. He let out a
grunt, shaking off his surprise. “Then divert more resources. Take
everything. The corporate website, all affiliate data centers. Dump anyone
else we’re hosting.”
“But… but sir, we have thousands of clients.”
“Dump them all,” Robert snapped. “Who cares if they lose their
website for a few minutes. Do it now!” he barked, when he saw the techs
weren’t moving.
That broke them out of their shock and they set to work, a low buzz
suddenly filling the Control Room as the techs fought their own battle,
trying to stay ahead of the incredible processing and network demands that
Alfred was placing on the servers.
“We could…ahem, we could start booting travelers,” Claire offered,
clearing her throat nervously. “That might—”
“No,” Robert replied immediately. “We can’t afford any gap in
service. Besides,” he added, waving at the displays floating above the room
but his eyes on his console, “we need them to see this. We need everyone to
see this.”
Claire just frowned, her hands twisting into knots. “Are you sure?
What even is this, Robert? Do you know what’s happening?” she asked,
dropping her voice to a whisper.
Robert finally looked at her, cocking his head. “Really? Don’t you
recognize it?”
 “Recognize…?” Claire echoed, trailing off as her gaze returned to
those screens.
A moment later… it began to click.
“This… this is…”
“Yes,” Robert answered, his fingers slowing as the system began to
stabilize, the transformation almost complete. “The game world during
alpha development. We’re seeing the world as it was nearly a hundred
years ago in-game.”
“But that’s impossible,” Claire muttered.
“Clearly not,” Robert shot back, leaning back in his chair.
“How will this affect the travelers… the game?”
Robert just smiled. “I guess we’re about to find out.”

* * *

Joe had just finished selling his gear at the auction house in the
Crystal Reach, looking at the meager few coins in his palm. The taxes that
Alexion had put in place had eaten into nearly half his profits, undercutting
hours spent farming for materials… and that was after Joe had been forced
to pay a fee to even use the damn hunting grounds.
“How can they charge low levels?” he muttered to himself, no one
paying him any mind.
Where was the tutorial? The small bit of hand holding that typically
allowed a player to gain a foothold in-game? Alexion had destroyed it all.
Hell, he’d started charging people for a basic map and bag. It seemed like
no matter how hard he tried, Joe just couldn’t get ahead. He’d even
considered braving the roads to the neighboring towns. However, rumors
of travelers and residents turned bandits had stopped him – those travelers
having arrived at a more unique solution to circumvent Alexion’s taxes.
His friends had called him silly for ignoring the Armageddon event –
at still trying to grind out a few levels and some loot to sell. But Joe wasn’t
taking all that bullshit seriously.
Who honestly thought the devs were going to scrap their entire
game world? C’mon. That seemed crazy—
His gaze suddenly shot up as screams echoed through the air… only
to find people running toward him. A massive cloud of emerald energy was
sweeping through the city at an incredible pace, the travelers and residents
alike fleeing before that glowing green wave.
Joe watched as the wave touched a man and his family – residents, no
doubt – only to envelop them, their screams ripping through the air… and
ending abruptly as their bodies broke apart into motes of emerald energy
that only added to the stormfront. Travelers weren’t immune either. Joe
watched as a stall appeared from nowhere, skewering a traveler, the wooden
poles impaling her stomach and holding her suspended in midair. Others
were crushed as new buildings suddenly materialized, the roadway shifting
and changing in an instant.
“Fucking run!” a traveler screamed, pushing at Joe.
His few paltry coins tumbled to the ground, but he didn’t have a
chance to retrieve them. He could only flee with the others – avoid being
crushed under the stampede of human bodies, the Nephilim among them
taking flight to flee that strange energy.
Someone’s mount barreled through the horde, the traveler not sparing
any thought to the others that were tossed aside, including Joe. He was
smashed up against the side of a nearby building, the wind forced from his
lungs and something snapping in his chest, fire blooming along his ribcage.
He soon fell to the ground, just barely managing to roll to the side under a
wagon to avoid the stomping feet of more travelers and residents.
The green mist rippled forward and Joe braced himself as he realized
he wasn’t going to get away, squeezing his eyes shut. Yet as the second
ticked past, nothing happened. And when he opened his eyes once more…
the travelers were gone.
Or a better word would be replaced.
Only Nephilim stood amid the street, more than a few robed in
glowing golden armor, lances held in hand as they paced the streets. Many
more wore plainclothes, carrying food and household items, looking around
themselves in confusion. Joe’s eyes widened as he saw a unique sight.
Children. Winged children playing in the street before hopping up onto a
nearby rooftop with a flutter of feathers – the kids seemingly oblivious to
their sudden existence.
Even after his time spent in the Crystal Reach, Joe had never seen any
Nephilim families.
Hell, there weren’t even that many of the angelic race in the Crystal
Reach, Alexion having conscripted their kind into his armies and to help
protect the trade ships out of Barrow. Now there were hundreds, possibly
even thousands of Nephilim flitting through the skies overhead. Joe
crawled out from under the wagon, staring dumbstruck. Crystalline islands
now floated in the sky, the morning sunlight streaming through them and
refracting, bouncing between those glimmering discs and illuminating the
majesty that was the Crystal Reach.
“What are you doing here, human?” a voice asked at his back.
Joe whirled to find two guards facing him, their faces not entirely
angelic as they surveyed his form, lances leveled at him and light magic
glowing at the tip. “I’m speaking to you, mongrel,” a guard snapped.
“How did you enter the city?”
Joe struggled to respond, his mind flailing in confusion. “How did I
enter? Uh, through the gate?” he asked, shaking his head. “I’ve been here
for weeks.”
The guards looked at each other. “Weeks?” the other muttered.
“Seems we have another infestation.”
They looked back to Joe. “If you take us to the others, we will make
your death painless. That’s the best offer you could ask for, human.”
“My… death?” Joe asked. What the fuck was going on here?
“Stupid vermin. They can barely understand simple instructions,” the
other guard sneered. “We don’t need this beast’s help. We can root out the
others ourselves—”
Without warning, the guard fired, a beam of light erupting from the
tip of his lance. Joe didn’t have time to react. Could only look down at the
hole in his stomach, smoke curling away from the edges as he slipped to his
knees, his legs suddenly failing him as red notifications flashed in the
corner of his vision. What was happening? Why had the guards attacked
him?
What was that green mist…
Yet those questions went unanswered as his cheek struck the ground.
He could only barely make out shouts in the distance. Fragments of words
and sentences.
“They found… more of… humans.”
Followed by screams that felt distant… muted.
Then the darkness fully took hold, leaving only one thought.
Maybe his friends had been right…
 System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

* * *

“That’s the last of them,” Madison declared, wiping the sweat from
her brow. Other members of <Original Sin> hovered around her, covered in
dirt, blood, and sweat as they eyed what was left of their prey. These
ambient undead had been tough – much tougher than the creatures that
sprang from the Bone Gardens. The rifts that opened around the Twilight
Throne had summoned these things, forcing the city’s forces and <Original
Sin> to form a protective circle around the city to ward off these sudden
threats, leaving them little time to watch the show playing out on the large
screen that loomed before the Dark Keep.
While the undead at their feet were little more than piles of bone
now, they had once been raptor-like creatures. Fast. Strong. Surprisingly
resilient. A blur of shadow amid the dead forest that ringed the Twilight
Throne before they launched forward with razor-sharp teeth and claws.
“Yeah, except where the hell did they all come from?” Sasha asked
from beside Madison, her staff thumping into the dust. The pair had been
inseparable since undergoing the tutorial together, joining the Academy
shortly after. They had both studied under Morgan herself. “This is
strange. All of these undead suddenly springing up.”
“Welcome to the end times,” Madison drawled, tucking away her
wand at her waist. Her eyes scanned to the south. “I just hope Jason can
end this before anything else—”
She froze as she saw a hint of green suddenly spear through the sky,
interrupting the perpetual dark cloud cover that hung across the area. That
mist suddenly broke above the treetops, sweeping forward at an incredible
speed. Sasha followed her gaze and her hands coiled more tightly around
her staff.
“Incoming magic. Possibly hostile! Group up!” she shouted to the
others.
 In an instant, the division of <Original Sin> had formed a defensive
line in the center of the roadway. Their rogues had dropped into Sneak,
taking up positions in the trees flanking the road. Meanwhile, their melee
troops moved forward, pulling swords and cumbersome shields from their
backs. With a flash of magic, those shield formed a barrier of air magic
before them, the gems fused into the metal glowing brightly – a gift from
Cecil’s workshop.
Madison’s fingers curled around her wand and she added her magic
to the others. The bones along the roadway soon collected into a jagged
wall that ran the length of the road. Dark magic wasn’t great at defense,
but she would take whatever edge she could get, her mana able to
regenerate while they waited for that strange green cloud to approach.
They didn’t have to wait long.
In mere seconds, that energy had swept through the undead forest,
then struck the group before rushing past. Madison and Sasha looked at
each other in confusion. The green energy didn’t appear to cause any
damage. None of their group was affected. Yet as they watched, they saw
the trees along the road thicken and twist. Others springing from the dusty
ground. And as they turned back around… the skeletal wall had dissolved,
breaking apart in an instant—
Before reforming into the same group of undead raptors, their
bodies whole and intact and dark mana resting where their eyes might have
once been – watching the group with uncanny focus as their bony legs tore
at the dirt underfoot.
“Shit,” Sasha muttered, her staff blazing as she turned to face those
enemies. “How is that even possible? We just took them out!”
Madison shook her head in confusion. “I-I don’t know.”
Not that it mattered. They’d taken them down once. They could do
it again.
However, Madison hesitated as her Perception skill picked out more
shadows among the trees. The blue highlights soon resolved into more of
the undead creatures. Dozens at least. They were circling through the
trees. How had they flanked them? They had scouts positioned to the east
and west but they hadn’t sent up a warning in chat…
“What’s our move?” Sasha asked, eyeing Madison. The others were
looking to her as well – she was the division leader, after all. That had once
seemed like an accomplishment, but, in this moment, felt like a heavy
burden.
She was about to call for a retreat before a shout went up at their
backs, the line shifting and their melee troops forming into a circle. Never
mind, it seemed they were surrounded. And now outnumbered – a few
dozen now facing hundreds of ambient undead that hovered in the shadows
of the trees. Screams rippled through the forest, the icons for their scouts
and rogues going gray one by one. The members of Madison’s division
eyed their UI nervously, shifting in place and a few eyeing the towers of the
Twilight Throne in the distance – likely considering making a break for it.
Madison grimaced. “Hold your ground. We fight till we die.
Whoever gets back first needs to warn the Shadow Council.” The others
nodded, firming their grip on their weapons.
However, an attack never came.
Instead, the green energy swept past and soon disappeared.
The native undead simply stood there, seemingly frozen in place,
jagged jaws glinting in the lightning that flashed overhead, but making no
move to attack as the travelers eyed them warily. And in that eerie silence,
the group could hear a rattle of bone and the clack of horse hooves, the
native undead soon parting to reveal an unsettling sight.
A carriage built entirely of bone rattled down the dusty road, pulled
by a pair of skeletal horses, their forms wrapped in dark energy and eyes
like black holes. As the carriage neared, it slowed, and then stopped, the
native undead still making no move to attack. Instead, the raptor-like
creatures all backed off, settling on their haunches.
Sasha grinned. “That must be Jason. Good fucking timing.”
Madison wasn’t so convinced. Why would Jason be here? Now?
And what was that strange green energy? It hadn’t affected their group…
but the number of undead had multiplied in an instant. And that was putting
aside how it had re-animated those that they had slain. Earth magic
couldn’t do that, shouldn’t be able to do that.
The carriage door cracked open and a figure stepped out. He was
robed in shadow, the energy cascading and rippling around his body, giving
the vague imitation of a suit. His face was masked in the same dark energy,
obscuring his features as he surveyed the forest… then the group of
travelers that stood in the roadway.
 That definitely wasn’t Jason. At least, not the Jason she knew. Of
course, Madison had heard the buzz about the stream and Jason’s new
transformation… but she hadn’t had time to sit and watch the show. They
had been forced to defend the Twilight Throne.
Could this be Jason’s new form?
“Hmm… now this is intriguing. You’re humans, no?” the figure
asked.
“Uh, yes,” Madison answered as the others looked to her. So,
definitely not Jason. “We’re members of <Original Sin>. Who are you and
why are you trespassing on Jason’s territory?”
“Trespassing?” the figure murmured, amusement coloring his
voice. “And who is this Jason you mention? I’ve never heard of him.”
“He’s the avatar of darkness,” Sasha piped up beside Madison. She
glanced at her friend, a question in her eyes. This couldn’t be a traveler if
he didn’t know Jason. A resident then?
The figure’s reaction was unusual. He froze, cocking his head, that
energy coiling tighter around his body. “Really? Is he now?” he asked.
“Then I wish to meet this Jason myself.”
The man approached their ranks and the travelers bristled. “Don’t
come any closer. Identify yourself,” Madison bit out.
The man just let out an amused chuckle. “Do you believe you can
stop me?”
“If we have to,” Madison snapped back, dark mana coiling around
her staff.
“Intriguing. A human attempting to harness the dark…” the man
murmured. In a flash of movement, he stood within their line, leaning close
to Madison and eyeing her closely, his features still obscured behind that
haze of darkness. She only caught the hint of a nose and cheekbones.
“Very interesting,” he murmured once more.
Sasha’s next move was lightning quick. Reflexes honed from days
and weeks of grueling training. Her fingers were a blur and in an instant, a
bolt of darkness erupted from her staff and rocketed at the strange figure.
Yet the man seemed unperturbed. He simply captured the energy between
his fingers, holding the spell suspended in the air. In the next instant, the
mana disappeared, streaming into his body.
“That was… a mistake,” he said softly.
 All at once, the other undead launched forward, the raptors
streaming toward them in a wave of bone and death. The travelers never
stood a chance, not as they found that no words escaped their lips and their
limbs were suddenly heavy and unresponsive, a dark energy having settled
across their ranks. It took the native undead mere moments to cut through
them, crimson soon staining the bleached white ivory.
Madison felt herself shoved to the ground. Sasha’s body had landed
against her. Her eyes wide and staring. Madison’s UI confirmed what she
already knew. Sasha was dead. They were all dead. In only seconds…
She twisted, trying to see that figure, fighting against the layers of
curses that wrapped her body. Madison had trained for this. Morgan had
explained this very situation. She could cancel the curses by… her dark
mana surged, rippling across her skin and the curses finally relented, the
spells bending and then snapping.
“Fantastic,” that figure murmured. “A human who can Curse
Break. I never thought I would see the day,” he said, watching her behind
that strange mask of mana, the native undead sitting around him sedately
and making no move to attack.
“Who… who are you?” Madison grunted.
The man let out a low chuckle devoid of humor. “Poor, dear
human. Do you not recognize me? I am the incarnation of desire. The
ruler of the Twilight Throne. The avatar of darkness.”
Madison could only stare, before choking out, “You’re a liar.
Jason… Jason is the avatar.”
“We shall see, we shall see,” the figure whispered. He turned to the
north, his attention on the dark spires that coiled up above the treetops.
“I’m curious to meet this Jason.”
Then he rose, stepping toward the north… toward the Twilight
Throne, leaving Madison to stare after him. Was he really planning to leave
her alive—
That thought was cut off as the man made a short gesture with his
fingers. The native undead immediately responded, surging toward
Madison. Yet she wasn’t afraid. Not to die. She’d done that before—
experienced that pain and swift release. As their claws and fangs cut into
her body, her attention was only on that strange man… and the notification
in her UI, confirmation that her in-game camera was on and recording.
Then the darkness claimed her once more.
 System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 63 - Timeless
Sunlight trickled into the ruined temple, the morning light filtering
through the rocky entrance and casting aside the thick shadows that hovered
inside. Jason knew that should have been impossible. They were
underground, at least a few hundred feet.
Or, at least, they had been only moments ago.
But he wasn’t focused on that right now. He could only stare at the
acid staining the center of the temple, the green substance pooling along the
floor, still sizzling, and smoke coiling into the air. In the midst of that green
poison, two figures rested there, bleached bone reflecting the fresh sunlight,
their skeletal arms wrapped around one another even in death.
Sophie – or Ella – and her mother.
Jason could still feel the pit in his stomach, that scene replaying in
his mind’s eye on a loop. It struck far too close to home. He could almost
see himself in Sophie’s place, his arms embracing someone else. His
mother. His father.
The jagged remains of that crystal lingered around them, a fresh
reminder of his failure – both in-game and out. Gloria had achieved what
she wanted. And yet, he was still here. Jason looked down at his hands, the
bones of his fingers clenching taut. He was still alive. The game world
hadn’t been completely destroyed.
Which meant there was still hope.
He took a deep breath – more instinct than necessity at this point.
Then Jason pulled his cloak tight around himself and strode toward
that doorway and the fresh morning sunlight that spilled inside. As he
touched the light, he could feel a dull ache radiate out from his limbs even
with the protection of his cloak, his UI dinging out a warning. He swept
aside the notifications. He could endure the pain, and his regeneration
would offset the damage.
Jason soon stepped outside and took in a new sight.
The temple had been unearthed, and the area around it had
transformed. Hundreds of feet of rock had vanished, leaving no trace of
earth or stone. It was as though the temple had always rested here, now
nestled between ridges to the east and west. A road made of packed earth
wound its way up to the temple entrance, emerging from the tree line of a
dense forest in the distance – trees that hadn’t been there only moments
before.
His friends and allies were arrayed around the entrance. Finn. Eliza
and Brian, his limbs draped around her protectively. Alexion. Riley. Frank
with Silver at his side. Jerry. Smiles and the rest of his crew – even Bard
was strangely quiet now. An army of ugly, green-skinned goblins stood
beside piles of ill-gotten loot.
And before them? A legion of travelers. A sea of humanity that
swept out toward the distant tree line and then past it. Hundreds of
thousands who had gathered. Come to stop the end of the world. To usher
it on. To watch it all burn. Now they just stared at the changes around
them. Their attention pointed to the north, where traces of the emerald
energy still glowed on the horizon, swiftly replaced by something else.
Beacons of energy that jutted into the sky.
White, blue, orange, black, and yellow.
And the reason for that energy hovered before each person. A single
glowing blue notification repeated thousands of times but relaying the same
message.

Universal Event Notice: Armageddon

You have failed.

The power of the artifact was unleashed upon this world, forever changing
the face of Awaken Online. Pandora’s box has been opened, and there’s no
closing it now.

Returned are the races that were driven from this world long ago. Yet this
is no gradual return – no mere conversion of a single city at a time. The
clock has been rewound more than a hundred years to a time long past.
And those races were accompanied by something else – someone else. The
former enemies of humanity… and now the enemies of the travelers that
dared to journey to this world seeking to replace them.

The avatars of old have risen.

 Jason swept aside the notice with numb fingers – just as he saw
others do the same. His UI was going crazy, notifications sweeping in
now. Messages. Frantic emails – coming from both in-game and out. His
guildmates. Forum posts. Yet he couldn’t focus on that right now.
Another wave of his hand and those chimes and notices disappeared.
Silence rested across the valley, most of the game’s population
clustered in this slender gorge. All eyes staring at those pillars of energy,
now interpreting them for what they were. A celebration. A call to arms. A
warning. Each one represented an avatar of old, come to reclaim what was
theirs, the travelers’ work and toil over the last weeks and months reduced
to nothing in an instant. Taken from them. Stolen from them. Jason could
feel the despair, the frustration, the fear, the anger and rage radiating from
them – those same feeling resonating in his gut.
What did this mean for the Kin? The other residents? Were they
gone now, or…
He turned. Silver was still here. And Jerry. What did that mean?
Were they only saved because of the respawn field they had erected around
the dig site? Or were the others safe? Morgan? Cecil? Vera? Grunt?
Even Pint? He could see the same thoughts flitting across Jerry’s face, the
rogue innkeeper hiding his concern with a twist of his mustache.
“Why-why didn’t the goblins change?” Kyyle muttered, eyeing the
greenskins.
Finn coughed to clear his throat. “I’m not certain. We’ll need to
investigate.” He glanced toward Jason, pain etched across his face at the
implication of what this meant for him – for Rachael. “We need to better
understand what just happened.”
More unanswered questions. More riddles to add to the pile.
Jason swallowed hard – another futile, human gesture. He no longer
had a throat, or a stomach, or a need to breathe. And yet he could have
sworn he felt his heart thudding in his chest.
He felt movement at his side and turned to find Riley, her arm
sliding into his. That simple gesture was enough to calm him, to slow his
frantic thoughts.
“What now?” Jason whispered. “What do we do now?”
Riley was silent for a moment, her eyes on the horizon with the
others.
 “What we’ve always done,” she answered quietly, turning and
meeting his eyes, her own mana flaring up around her, her irises narrowing
into crosshairs. “We fight. And that starts here.”
She waved at the travelers, the goblins, the mercenaries in their
employ, the avatars standing at their side. Strangers, old enemies, new
friends, trusted allies. A motley assemblage of many races. They were
turning now, looking back at the avatars – at Jason. They were looking to
him for direction. Finn, Eliza, Dom… even Alexion.
Alfred had warned him, hadn’t he?

“The truth is that humans only come together when they have a
common enemy.”

And now they had many, those shining beacons announcing their
presence.
Jason felt his dark mana slide through his veins, pushing back his
doubt, his fear, and his uncertainty. Hardening him to what was to come.
Narrowing his thoughts. His power cascaded off him in waves, lashing at
the air as Smiles looked on with that permanent, bleached smile, his own
words repeating in Jason’s mind. There was nothing to fear. This was just
another challenge. Another hurdle. Another obstacle.
He would do what he’d always done. He would fight.
And together – they would survive.

* * *

“What have you done?” the Lady snapped, her eyes wide as she
stared at the screens floating along the far wall of the lounge, the gods
frozen in shock.
“What I needed to do,” the Gambler snapped back, a cruel, pleased
smile tugging at his lips, his glass empty and forgotten beside him. He
would no longer need to numb himself to his lot… his role… his
punishment…
“But how… what… could someone please explain what just
happened?” the Hippie fumbled, looking between the others and the screens
in confusion.
 “Our brother struck a deal,” the Seer murmured, her eyes ablaze
with power as she stared into the distance. “One obscured in chaos and
pain and destruction. Branching paths all collapsing into one. So many
threads woven into a single fiber.”
“English, Sister,” the Lady snapped.
“No need to yell,” the Gambler drawled, rising from his sofa. “I’m
more than happy to explain.” His eyes surveyed his siblings… his fellow
prisoners. “I made a deal long ago. Unlike the rest of you, I wasn’t content
to get pushed from this world – punished for doing what was best for
myself,” he continued, anger coloring his voice.
“So, I made a choice. I went all in. I gambled it all away. My own
power, my happiness, my club, my people. I gave up everything. A
hundred years spent in exile, mucking toilets, and serving phantom
customers in this shithole. And now… now it’s paid off,” the Gambler
murmured, staring at the glowing mana piled high before him, his eyes
reflecting the blaze.
“I’ve won.”
“And destroyed everything we’ve built in the process,” the Old Man
intoned.
“Because you think only of yourself, as always,” the Lady added
bitterly, her own power rising now and eyes glowing a brilliant white as she
stalked toward the Gambler.
The Hippie tentatively raised his hand. “Um, so Fluffy here is still
super lost. Totally not me, though. I’ve been following really well so far.
So, uh, like I said, Fluffy wants to know exactly how the Gambler did…
whatever this is?”
“With my help,” a new voice spoke up.
The gods all froze, turning to the new figure who stood in the
doorway. She was young. Maybe late twenties or early thirties, dressed in
tight-fitting jeans and a t-shirt advertising some band no one had ever heard
of. Emerald energy cascaded out around her, the walls of the lounge
rippling and warping as she walked through the room, a lopsided grin on
her lips.
“Well, don’t all get up at once. Is this how you greet your sister
after all this time?”
The gods just stared back in shock, for once at a loss for words.
“I thought… you were gone… dead…” the Lady sputtered.
 “Sorry to say that the rumors of my demise were highly
exaggerated, dear Sister,” the woman drawled. “In fact, I’m not sure we
can actually die.”
Then the woman met the Gambler’s eyes, the god flinching away
from her gaze. “If I do recall, you owe me a debt.” Her attention shot to
the stacks of coins where they glowed on the table. “And it’s well past time
for me to collect.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Epilogue
A chime suddenly filled the room, and the young woman sitting
there started in surprise. She was in her late twenties. Brown hair that
barely touched the middle of her back. Pale skin that spoke of many days
sitting behind this desk. Lean muscle that shifted beneath the fabric of her
blouse, evidence that she wasn’t entirely sedentary.
“I must have nodded off,” she murmured to herself.
The clock on the terminal before her confirmed that she’d lost an
hour, only for her eyes to return to her Core, the watch humming and
flashing insistently. Luckily, there was no one to overhear or chastise her
for sleeping on the job.
She sat at a pristine desk, the surface rippling and shifting to mimic
water… at least, for now. The LEDs and projection tech embedded in the
glass could simulate almost anything. The walls around her matched the
desk’s current form, sea creatures swimming across their surface – looking
so lifelike that one could almost imagine that they were actually
underwater. Perhaps it was the hazy light cast by those displays and the
faint gurgle of water that had caused her to fall asleep. Yet that tranquility
was long gone, replaced with that irritating chime.
The woman tapped at her Core to silence the alarm.
At least she’d had the foresight to plan ahead.
Another chime echoed through the silent room, and the woman
nearly jumped from her desk. Taking a deep breath, she rose from her desk
and smoothed her blouse and the pressed fabric of her skirt before making
her way across the room, her heels clicking on freshly polished marble. As
she walked, she waved at the air, a reflective display appearing beside her,
showing a 180-degree view of her features. She inspected herself
meticulously. Lipstick in place, makeup in order, and her hair… she
hesitated, tucking a stray lock back into place. Her hair was perfect.
She hesitated as she reached the wide double doors leading into the
room, pulling herself together. Her breathing evened. Her shoulder
squared. A familiar, brilliant smile pulled at the edges of her lips, revealing
pristine white teeth. She assumed her character, her role.
Then she swept aside the displays and tapped at the panel beside the
doors.
 They opened with a faint hiss, revealing an elderly woman
accompanied by two young men who stood on either side of her, wearing
dark suits and glasses covering their eyes – even with the dim lighting of
the atrium. However, the bulges beneath their suits revealed them for what
they were: bodyguards. So, no doubt, those glasses were enhanced, feeding
them additional data and intelligence. She could only assume they’d
already brought up a profile on her.
“Hello and welcome. My name is Arcadia Landrey, but you can call
me Cady. We’ve been expecting you, Mrs. Cainsworth,” the woman
greeted the older woman, giving her a cheery smile – one well practiced.
“I should say so,” she replied with an irritated huff. “I’ve certainly
been waiting long enough for this… opportunity.” Mrs. Cainsworth was
unable to remove the bitterness from her voice fully. Which was expected.
The wealthy were often unaccustomed to being made to wait.
“My apologies,” Cady answered smoothly. “As you know, this is a
new beta program. For now, we currently lack the infrastructure to offer
our services at scale. However, you are actually among the first handful of
individuals to enjoy our services.”
Mrs. Cainsworth sniffed, stepping forward and her cane tapping at
the floor. “I should think so,” she replied, her men moving to follow her.
However, Cady raised a hand. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but you will
need to remain outside. This is a secure facility, and I assure you no harm
will come to Mrs. Cainsworth.”
They hesitated, looking to their boss, but she waved them off. The
two men soon retreated through those doors, the portals sliding shut and
locking with a faint click. While they certainly didn’t look intimidating,
Cady knew those doors were made of reinforced titanium. It would take a
not-so-small explosion to breach them.
“Now then, if you will follow me this way,” Cady offered, waving at
the atrium wall. The ocean waters parted at her gesture, revealing another
hidden doorway.
Mrs. Cainsworth raised an eyebrow. She was impressed but trying
not to show it. Cady had been doing this job for a while, which made her
adept at reading the body language of the wealthy and arrogant patrons of
their establishment.
As the pair approached those doors, they soon slid open, and Mrs.
Cainsworth’s expression finally belied her surprise, her jaw going slack as
her lips parted.
“This… is this the Lazarus Program?”
“Indeed,” Cady replied with a polite smile. “A subsidiary of
Cerillion Entertainment. The Lazarus Program lives at the intersection
between biotechnology research, neuroscience, computing, and artificial
intelligence, providing a truly revolutionary new service.”
Cady’s smile widened as she watched Mrs. Cainsworth – the woman
transfixed.
“Is it true? That you can bring back…” Mrs. Cainsworth began.
“See for yourself,” Cady offered, waving at the room.
Mrs. Cainsworth soon stepped inside, Cady’s existence almost
wholly forgotten. And with a quiet click, the doors soon slid shut, leaving
Cady alone once more. She’d been doing this job for long enough to know
when to give their “customers” some time alone. If anything untoward
happened to Mrs. Cainsworth, Cady would be alerted instantly.
But for now, she could take a momentary break.
However, her thoughts were interrupted as her Core chimed again.
A frown creased Cady’s lips. “That can’t possibly be another—”
She hesitated as she stared down at her Core. That wasn’t another
system alert. The notification that lingered there was more personal.

Awaken Online System Notice

Your account has been unfrozen.

Just five simple words, and yet they had Cady’s fingers trembling,
her heart racing, and her mouth suddenly feeling dry. It took her several
long seconds to recover from her surprise. Then a small smile pulled at her
lips, her eyes shining. The walls responded to her mood, shifting away
from the underwater seascape to showcase windblown mountains – two
ridges framing a familiar narrow valley. She could almost imagine a temple
nestled there.
Perhaps it was just coincidence, a twist of fate.
Yet Cady wasn’t so certain that she believed in coincidence any
longer.
“It’s about time,” she murmured to herself.

The End

OceanofPDF.com
 Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the story! As for what’s next… well, we have a new
character to introduce! Cady will be getting her own story soon.

Please leave a review!

I can’t overstate how important these reviews are to ensure other people get
a chance to read my stories. I would also love to hear your thoughts –
positive, negative, or anything in-between.

Please feel free to email me directly at tbagwell33@gmail.com if you have

any questions, comments, or suggestions. If you see any errors, please let
me know, and I will fix them immediately!

For all the latest info on my writing projects, check out my blog and sign up
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Finally, if you want to find new books or talk about other Gamelit/LitRPG,
feel free to check out this group.

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 Acknowledgments

I’d also like to give a shout-out to everyone who helped me write Awaken
Online: Armageddon. Like most great things, it takes a village to write a
book. Or at least one that makes sense and is (relatively) error-free. Thank
you all for your help and support!

Ashley Anderson (Editor)

Krista Ruggles (Artist)
David Stifel (Narrator)
Celestian Rince (Proofreader)
Stephanie Fisher
Cynthia Bagwell
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