by Ryan DeBruyn
They all chugged Health and Ether Draughts simultaneously and took the rest of the thirty-second break to catch their breath. As the floating horde in the center continued to circle the grenades.
Toxic Blood x1
● You have high PH levels in your blood due to the high use of Alchemy Potions
-10% Effectiveness of Future Potions
Lasts 24 hours, will renew and increase every time a potion is used.
As Smith saw the gravity effects weaken, he cast ten spread out Spirit Blasts into the couple thousand strong horde. Smith simultaneously fell to a single knee after the casting and began breathing heavily. A few moments later, as the Zombies stumbled to their, feet some exploded, and the falling group of hovering Zombies was reduced back to a few hundred.
As the remaining Zombies climbed back to their feet and charged, Sela released her vines from the group, and they all took a single step back. Behind the charging boss summons, Abominations began taking shape from the unburnt corpses. Smith, who’d barely been able to keep his feet under him, groaned, “We are losing this war of attrition.”
“Any new ideas?” Rocky screamed to everyone and saw shaking heads all around.
"I've got one," Zippo shouted and then put both arms up above his head. "Firestorm!" Rocky was pretty sure the words weren't needed as he didn't have to yell out a skill name when he used one. However, the building smoke that circled above the center of the cavern certainly was a testament to the power that was about to be unleashed.
Sela punched Zippo in the arm, which interrupted his spell, "Do you remember that if it gets any hotter in here, we will all spontaneously combust!" Then she looked at Zippo's surprised and not sweaty face. "Maybe not you…"
Smith cleared his throat. "I can now raise five spirits. So, if we kill three of those Abominations, I should be able to raise them." That would definitely be helpful, and Rocky considered the best way to make that happen before lobbing three plasma grenades into the forming group. Hopefully, that would kill a good portion of the clumped-up Zombies and the forming Abominations.
A few seconds later, three miniature suns bloomed, and fresh carnage was liberally painted on to the chamber. Three spirit Abominations began forming instantly, but so did hundreds of more corporeal Abominations from the flesh and blood that copiously littered the cavern. As he watched, a hundred plus more Zombies formed out of thin air, taking on a blue outline and then just seeming to pop into existence.
Smith’s three new spirits wobbled back and formed into the line with the two very wounded and nearly wispy smoke Einherjar. Instead of joining the front line to meet the charge, Rocky placed himself behind a spirit and saw the others do the same. Just as the leading edge of the horde struck the spirit summons, he leaned into the corporeal spirit with all of his considerable strength. It had mixed results; the creature took a great deal more damage, but they only slid back on the slippery floor about five feet instead of the ten plus that had become more commonplace.
Once the first charge was ‘withstood’, the group took attacks of opportunity reaching around and through the spirit summons, while Sela and Amber ensured that their set edge wasn't overtaken. Sela used her vines on one, which was very useful, while Amber supported the other. The fight was considerably more manageable with the extra summons until the wobbling tail of the Abominations crashed into and through the Zombies to engage the group.
One moment, the prospect of a slow victory was looking possible, and then the next, Zombie bodies were being somehow launched into the air in the back of the lines. Within a few heartbeats, the front line was filled with massive Journeyman Abominations that brought down massive bone scythes on to the summoned spirits. The two Einherjar immediately dissipated, leaving a gap in the center of the formation, which was a significant oversight on Smith's part.
Rocky struck out desperately at the two standing with bone scythes now buried in the rock floor. The remaining three of Smith's summoned spirits began looking like leaky smoke balloons after the first strike by the Abominations, and Rocky felt the weight of the fight fall back on to his shoulders. Without Zippo burning the dead, this fight was going to be over very shortly.
He saw his Shadow Clone pop out of Stealth and sever the spine of one of the massive Abominations, which did seem to turn it into a twitching mound of flesh on the ground. However, after the blink of an eye, his clone was overwhelmed by the others and puffing into black smoke as it too died.
Smith raised two of the dead Abominations back as spirits, and the group stepped back as they continued to fight against the hundred other Apep Abominations and the horde of Zombies that filled in the gaps. They would have already been overwhelmed if the massive Abominations didn't kill the Zombies as well with their awkward, jerky attacks.
Slowly, the group retreated step by step, trying to stay alive and conserve precious Ether. That proved impossible when Smith yelled, "I am stacked to sixty percent of Toxic Blood!" Rocky, who hadn't time to look behind him, couldn't figure out how that happened so quickly but then looked at his debuff bar and saw he was at seventy percent.
Making it to three hours seems impossible. He hasn’t even cast his Master class Aboms skill or a spell.
Blinking, he began trying to figure out how long they’d been fighting. It couldn't have been that long, could it? They’d regrouped and set their line how many times? Maybe eight, or was it ten?
Sela growled out a command, "Gravity grenades!" Rocky reached into his bag for three grenades, but a moment later, he found he only held two of the devices. He tossed the two into the center of the chamber and continued his slow retreat as he searched through his bag. Five seconds later, they were being held by vines, and Rocky finally got a chance to look backward. They were about five feet from the entrance to the room, and the bubbling water behind him made him shiver despite the heat.
After the quick search of his bag, he realized that they were nearly out of every supply they brought. There were four more plasma grenades, and they’d run entirely through the gravity grenades, which had been their primary weapon to use when they needed a reset.
In desperation, he turned to Zippo. “Okay, Zippo! Use it!" Zippo smiled tiredly and shot his hands into the air again. Dark black, sooty smoke began to collect over the two spheres of Abomination and Zombie Flesh. Then it started swirling faster and faster before orange sparks began appearing within the dark black clouds.
Rocky looked at his Dark Cloak, which was the only thing darker than the storm. Soon, the wind in the basin was blowing erratically, and with the air moving the heat got warmer through convection. That was when tornadoes of orange fire shot out of the clouds towards the gravity grenades and began lighting the corpses aflame.
The heat continued to climb until Sela stopped Zippo again. The creatures were all ash now anyway, but each lungful of air was painful to Rocky. He and the rest of the group were kneeling and sucking in short, gasping breaths of air. Sela only stopped Zippo by grabbing his robe hem and tugging insistently. The kid looked down at the group with a crazy firelight reflected in his eyes but managed to reign himself in.
Shit, I am going to have to keep an eye on that!
The area in the center of the room was so hot that a portion of the group of Zombies that popped into existence immediately caught fire. The rest quickly moved away and began charging the kneeling group that hadn't managed to reset their position. Rocky forced himself to his feet but almost fell back over on shaky legs.
Extreme Dehydration
You are suffering severe dehydration, along with many other injuries. Drink lots of water and get out of the heat to begin remedying the situation.
Lasts until proper levels of hydration are reached.
Well, this wasn't good. Rocky glanced up through hazy eyes to see Apothis smiling wickedly. The horde was halfway to them when the demented boss raised a hand to stop them. Rocky fell on to his behind again and squinted, trying to understand what was happening. The group of Zombies bega
n melding into Hulking Abominations in front of his eyes, and he shook his head. It would seem that Apothis wasn't going to be taking any chances of letting them live.
A small click and whoosh sounded, and Rocky felt his cracked lips part in a groan.
I have a feeling the windbag wants to gloat.
“Have you finally witnessed the power of Apep?” Rocky shook his head as his suspicions were confirmed. “We both attacked each other on home turf, but you were always destined to lose! Apep can resurrect his minions as many times as needed, whereas you will remain beyond the vale.”
Rocky looked up to see that Apothis was standing in front of his throne with a massive, skeletal grin plastered on his inhuman face, which continued to have his flesh peeled off of it as he fed the two Goliath Abominations that were now forming from his health pool. Rocky felt his teeth clench in anger as he used Analyze to see his extremely low health.
Apothis
Level 75
Master Necromonger
Health Points 334/9,000
Boss
If only he could hit him once, but Apothis had chosen to only lower the glass sphere enough that his demented voice could be heard. Rocky tuned back in to what the Necromonger was saying, “… you can join us and live forever. Once we have Gaia, we will one day own the entire universe. It is inevitable. Nothing can hold out against us forever.”
That’s funny because it seems like a few billion years is a convincing statistic to the contrary.
There was no way in hell he was going to join Apep. The only question that seemed to remain was how the group was going to die. Without the ability to use Zippo’s firepower to prevent the rise of elite undead and even the two Champion level undead in front of them, the group stood absolutely no chance. Rocky’s head fell in defeat as he felt the soul-crushing weight of the defeat fall on to him. They should have found another way; with his group’s death, the only thing between the Territory and Apothis was Azoth and Bathilda.
His head chanced on the ring on his finger that Bathilda refilled with her most powerful skill, and he blinked. Having already accepted his death, the ring gave him an option. The room was already sure to increase in temperature even more if he used it, perhaps even enough that Zippo would feel it, but that wouldn’t be what killed him and the group. In this enclosed space and the sheer power of the Dragon breath skill in the ring, the group would be charbroiled in the backlash of the flames. The only question remaining was would it be enough to destroy the protection dome?
In the background, Apothis still gloated, and the Champion level Abominations finished forming. Rocky forced himself to stand and lamented, “I am sorry everyone.” The look of shock and anger on everyone’s faces made him squint. They must be thinking he intended to join Apothis, and the utter earnestness of their reactions gave him an opportunity.
He stepped forward to get closer to Apothis and farther away from his companions. “Apothis, you have truly beaten us, and I am not ready to die.” To Rocky’s ears, his words sounded so contrived, and he felt sick just uttering them, but he continued forward towards the Hulking Abominations that moved together to block his approach. “I have only just begun to grow and understand this new world of Ether, and Apep is probably the best teacher I could ask for–”
Behind Rocky, he heard angry ‘curses’ from his group and the heat of a Fireball forming from Zippo. In desperation, he placed his hand without the ring behind his back and crossed his fingers, praying that Zippo would understand what the childish gesture signified. As always, the reference was missed by Zippo or it went over his head. However, Smith understood and with sheer will, tackled Zippo before he released the ball of fire.
Apothis wasn’t stupid, though, and he saw the byplay for what it was. He screamed, “Kill him!” as the dome began to close.
Rocky sneered as he knelt down and held his hand with the ring above his head, pointing it through the massive Abominations at the protective dome encasing the Necromonger. The hooks of the Abominations were poised above their heads and had begun their descent. Rocky screamed, “Run!” and released the skill, hoping he may have given his group the head start it needed with his theatrics and the fifteen feet he walked forward.
He saw the initial blue burst of the skill, and then the sheer wattage of the light blinded him and forced him to close his eyes. The heat made him nearly pass out, and he bit his lip, drawing a great deal of blood to remain conscious. He brought his other arm up to support the first, hoping he hadn’t wavered from his target as the spell continued to pump out of the ring.
Talk about giving someone the finger!
Thanks to Rocky’s warning and shout, Sela, Zippo, Smith, and Amber barely managed to get around a wall in the maze before the backlashing blue fire rushed into the first room they’d just managed to vacate. Luckily, the walls mostly trapped the attack, but even so the heat and tumbling rocks that accompanied it were the last things the group heard as they passed out. Sela’s last thought was of how proud she was to have been selected to guide Rocky, who undoubtedly just sacrificed himself to save them and possibly the world. Too bad the fire sucked all remaining oxygen into its devouring depth, and they were all going to die regardless.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sela
Sela was looking at Algonquin Valley from high up in the blue skies, surrounded by white, floating clouds. She frowned for the thousandth time, trying to understand why she was trapped in some sort of alternate space devoid of time. She looked over at the rabbit-furred man who stood behind her with his arms crossed and rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time.
The man was attempting to intimidate her with his icy glare, but she wasn’t willing to play his games. It was clear that she was in this place thanks to him, and at first, she tried to talk with him, but he only looked at her angrily in response. She had attempted to walk away, only to find that she was in a circular space about thirty meters in diameter. Since that rather frustrating discovery, they had both remained silent. For how long this particular stalemate lasted, Sela wasn’t sure, but she was sure she was going to win.
It was Michabo who cracked first and startled a contemplative Selaphelia with an aggressive question, “Why exactly do you think you were chosen to be resurrected?”
Sela narrowed her eyes and returned the rude question with her own question, “Where exactly are we?”
“No, Pakak, you fail to grasp your current situation. I ask the questions here. The first time I’d no choice since Gaia requested I resurrect you, but this time, I saved you of my own accord. That means we can keep you here as long as we wish.” He paused for a moment, and his face darkened like a thundercloud as he sneered, “Perhaps you would prefer this?” The scene she had been observing blinked out and was replaced by utter darkness.
Her heart began hammering against her ribs as her body reacted to the loss of her vision. However, the fact that she could feel the desperate rhythmic staccato meant she had some of her senses. She clenched her jaw and glared in the direction that she thought the man might have resided in before. In answer, she received a deep, dark chuckle. “You think because you still have a body, it will be better. Think again!”
Her body was suddenly gone, and instead, she was only aware of the deep silence of the void around her. Without her heartbeat to ground her, she felt her brain begin to crack. Instantly, her mind—or was it her soul—was spinning in place, looking for any sign of a lifeline, any variance in her surroundings. She found nothing.
Selaphelia screamed in terror but found she could hear the noise of her panicked shouts and felt herself calm slightly. This wasn’t so bad; she still had her sense of hearing. She began to hum a song from her childhood, a song her grandfather used to sing to her as they trained—a soldier’s dirge to the fallen. She felt her racing thoughts come fully back under her control.
As if in answer to her refrains, a drumbeat began to sound, adding to her melody, somehow turning it more animalistic and tri
bal. She continued to hum as a haunted, deep voice sang a song in a language she didn’t understand. Despite not knowing the language of origin, she felt the artistry and beauty of the twining melody. She felt her soul weep for the tragedy it conveyed, for the loss it heralded and delivered with haunting notes of profound beauty.
When the song continued, it grew darker and more painful until finally, it ended in a beautiful crescendo of something that spoke of rebirth and a spark. A chance. Selaphelia felt her body return when she finished humming with the end of the beat. Then she saw the scene she had been observing come back into focus. Once again, she was high above Algonquin Valley, amongst the white clouds in a blue sky.
The man still looked at her with hostility, his rabbit ears twitching and his dark skin flushed, but this time, when he asked his question, he was calmer. “Do you know why you were chosen for the resurrection?”
After the loss and pain of the recent song, Selaphelia sighed and responded quietly, “I am assuming because I am Rockland’s guide?”
In response, the rabbit ears and head of the man shook back and forth. “This has very little to do with the child. It is impossible for him to know anything about the crimes of his oppressing ancestors.” He took a brief pause and spat to the side. “I want to know why Gaia would choose to resurrect you!” He pointed angrily at Sela and added, “You, who are one of them. One of the beings who deigned to call themselves gods! One of the very people who plotted against her!”
Selaphelia stepped back at the tirade from the man and looked around, thinking he must have meant someone else but knowing he had indicated her. She met his eyes and saw the anger and betrayal there. This powerful person believed every word he uttered, but Selaphelia was absolutely certain she hadn’t oppressed anyone in her life, and she definitely never called herself a god.
