by Scar, Rick
Am I just too tired?
Before his mind, still affected by what he’d recently done, could come up with an answer, a message arrived:
Congrats! Your sensitivity level has allowed you to start a unique challenge granting a hidden specialization: A Demon-Releasing Shadow.
To receive this specialization, complete all three challenges in the chain at 90% or higher.
If you reduce your sensitivity level, you will fail the unique challenge.
***
Raven stood in front of the door.
Welcome!
Pure Mind — 95/100%
“Daltaro?”
“Yes, my friend?”
“Is anything wrong with me? Or am I just imagining things?” Will tilted his head, getting used to all the strange new sensations. Something seemed to have changed with his body, but he could not fathom what it was.
“Um… I’m not sure how to put it.” Daltaro, just like the girl by his side, stared at Will in astonishment.
He stood before them all covered in blood, and his eyes had vertical pupils, with an occasional golden gleam inside them.
Chapter 112. Pure Soul
“I think you’d better go wash your face. Then you’ll see what is wrong,” the archer said. He decided to let Raven discover the changes himself rather than tell him. This change could be temporary, anyway; a short-lasting effect of his challenge. “What are you going to do?”
“The heavens are calling me.” Deciding his strange sensations were nothing more than an aftereffect of the cruel challenge, Will stopped thinking about them. “I’ll be back soon.”
***
Again, Raven stood in front of the door. For the first time since he’d registered in this game, he felt hesitation. Removing all his items, weapons, and gold from his inventory just in case, he still could not bring himself to take a step into that dark room.
What awaited him in there? Another mutilated memory? Or perhaps his sins that he’d been escaping from for a long while, hiding them from everyone? Or maybe some long forgotten thing, sitting even deeper than the subconscious?
He had to confess this irrational fear to himself. The fear of his own hidden demons that could be woken by the challenge. He felt like a high diver who had jumped from the platform once, twice, ten times… but then stopped on the edge, unable to take the next step. Although you know what follows, you have gone through it all more than once before, something is still holding you back.
There must be a psychological explanation to this, but Will did not know it. The longer he stood there, facing the unknown, the more fear he had. Finally, he closed his eyes and pumped himself up to take a step into the dark.
***
Raven opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a small, gleaming dagger, its tear-shaped blade shining brightly. Reflectively, he applied Identification.
Holy Tear
Rank: Epic
Class requirements: Grand Inquisitor
Characteristics:
Divine power attack
Damage: 3 100-4 000
+100% Critical damage to creatures that have demon blood
+21% Chance the enemy will be affected by holy purifying fire (damage: -500 health per second, duration: 30 sec)
Anathema: Momentary expulsion of the selected target that is a summoned creature. Affects any summoned creatures.
Cooldown: 5 days
Interdict: You can impose one of the next three prohibitions on three selected targets:
1) The target will not be able to use any health-restoring means over 3 minutes;
2) The target will not be able to cast any buffs to itself or its allies over 3 minutes;
3) The target will not be able to leave the battlefield with any means over 3 minutes.
Cooldown: 10 days
Huh?!
Taking his eyes off the weapon, Raven saw a bunch of… of monsters and demons kneeling before him: all blooded, bashed up, some with missing eyes or severed limbs.
Name: Echidna
Level: 167
Health: 132/157000
Name: Alp
Level: 182
Health: 93/181500
Name: Demon of Abyss
Level: 176
Health: 58/145700
Then… another six creatures, one of them a leech with blazing green eyes.
Standing around the prisoners were men in full armor, with swords and shields. Just like the monsters, they had their names, levels, and health visible to Will—even though he had not applied Identification.
Name: Son of God – Son of Inquisition
Level: 254
Health: 270 500
Will shouldn’t actually have been able to see that. His Identification skill revealed the target’s level and health unless the target was 40+ levels stronger than himself. But the names of monsters and NPCs… they were often concealed as part of the game scenario.
“Your Holiness,” one of the four men addressed Will. “The hunt was really good. Who could ever think this city had so many dark creatures. Your insight is matchless as ever.” He bowed low. “I think we can search the houses once again, just in case we’ve missed anything.”
“Would you have them killed on spot or burned for all local people to see as we did in the other cities?” asked another man, this one with an angel painted on his shield.
Attention. You’re offered the task: Offenders of Faith.
As the Grand Inquisitor, find the lurking enemies of your order and destroy them in any way.
Rewards:
+5 000 Gold;
Unique specialization of the Grand Dark Inquisitor;
The hidden quest chain of the Holy Tear available.
You get 3 levels up for each enemy killed. The more dreadful death you deliver, the more levels you get.
Warning: Any ties you have with the Shadow Order will be broken. Since the task completion and till the very end, your relationship with this order will never get higher than Neutral.
Accept: Yes/No?
Time stopped for the rogue, his face an impenetrable mask. He was totally stunned by what he’d just read. Kneeling before them right now were 27 levels up! 5,000 gold! A strange but powerfully sounding specialization. Plus an epic dagger quest.
All of that at virtually no cost. The Shadow Order’s attitude restricted to neutral? What of it? He could now get another unique specialization. A lost opportunity to learn some class-appropriate skills with the Order, maybe. But the game world was vast, with many floors yet to be explored.
What is this challenge even about? His unblinking eyes stared at the monsters in front of him.
According to the table by the door, it was the Pure Soul challenge. Why is it so difficult to grasp what the challenge is, every time? He went over and over the system message in front of him.
How do I know what leads to failure and what to victory? If I complete the offered task, will the challenge be completed or failed? This question was no easier to answer than the chicken and the egg. And there were no hints from the system, just like the last time.
Pondering over it, he remembered Umbra’s words: “Pure soul. We are those who admit our faults. We are ready to help those whose faults will never be forgiven by others”.
Admit our faults? But what is MY fault?
“Your Holiness. Are you all right?” another son of inquisition called to him in a concerned voice. “We’re waiting for your command, Grand Inquisitor.”
My fault? My fault?
Admit and help…
Click.
Monsters. Demons.
Click.
They will never be forgiven.
I HATE IT ALL! Sighing, Raven shook his head.
There was no dilemma facing him. Just one correct answer. But the reward for failing the task and winning the challenge was unknown…
…and refusing the known one pained Will badly. He could only hope the reward he’d get at the end of the challenges was worth it.
The reward at his hand was really, really difficult to turn down. He wanted to scream That’s unfair! at the top of his voice.
Clenching his teeth at the reward list still luring him, he asked back: “You. What are your skills in this group?”
“Your Holiness?” The other man gaped in bewilderment.
“Do you dare not to answer me?” Will growled in a deep voice, remembering all he knew about historical inquisitors and hoping the game characters were close to their real-world prototypes.
Extremely dangerous men obsessed with executions and torture. That was Will’s opinion of them.
“Please forgive me, Your Holiness.” The warrior bowed, shivering all over. “My responsibility is your health during battle.”
“Now you.” Will turned to the son who’d addressed him first.
“I’m responsible for retreating and calling reinforcements if the need arises.”
None of the warriors dared to disobey the Grand Inquisitor. They answered his question despite failing to fathom his reason for asking it.
“You?”
“I was taught to cast boosters and blessings.”
“Well. Just as expected,” Will whispered to himself. Watching his stats, he realized he could do that alone, albeit with effort. But he also hoped he’d be able to solve this problem in his preferred way.
Name: Ladamir
Level: 300
Health: 345 000
Class: Grand Inquisitor
Specialization: Summoned by God
He had lots of unfamiliar skills, incredible stats, and fantastic gear.
Playing in this virtual reality for a long while, everyone accommodated to their character and class, in a way much more profound than in those old games where every pro could quickly get used to playing a different character. As an established rogue, Will could make little of the unfamiliar inquisitor class.
But still it looks too simple. There must be a catch, Raven thought as he neared the key step of his hastily knocked-up plan. A plan with lots of glaring holes and a beyond-reasonable reliance on luck.
Will raised his hand with the dagger. “Tell me, sons of God. Who deserves forgiveness?”
“Forgiveness is a blessing of God,” one warrior replied. “One can only deserve it by death. It is deserved by everyone who is ready to die to repent for his sins.”
“So your sins can only be redeemed by your death?” Will’s voice pressed on the other man along with the aura of his Level 300 character.
“Yes. That’s the only way, Your Holiness.” The warrior bowed.
“Then tell me: should I kill all of you if I decide that you have sinned?”
The men’s faces froze. Many of their order brothers had come from nothing, becoming what they now were through sweat and blood. None of them ever rejected the idea of every man being sinful, but this issue was never discussed openly.
Every Son of God believed he had received his redemption when joining the order. Whatever he did next was done for the sake of God.
Violence against enemies? That’s the will of God. Plundering and burning down a village with all its dwellers? That village was full of heretics. God wanted them dead. Killing a child who lent a hand to a demon? This child was cursed. I did it to clean his soul. And that woman… I raped her to exorcise the demon that possessed her.
I helped them.
I saved them.
I cleaned them.
The power obtained by these men made them scarier than any monster.
“TELL ME!” Will growled. “I’m summoned by God. Do I have the right to forgive you by taking your lives? Or would you rather have a chance to redeem your sins?”
The warriors were silent.
“I have a dagger forged by the founder of our order. Getting your redemption by it is great honor. But you will die. Your lives will turn to nothing.”
“I…” the healer started but stopped, lacking the courage to continue. Admitting you wanted to live was admitting that you were sinful. That the order fighting for purity of souls had dirty spots itself.
“Speak.” Pointing the holy tear at him, the rogue waited for a response.
“Your… Your Holiness. Your word is law. But… but I want to live,” the healer blurted. Falling to his knees, he bowed low. “Please. Please. I’m begging you for a second chance. I… I have a f- family. No one to pr- provide for them but for me.” He stammered, keeping his head down.
Will squatted in front of the warrior and, raising his head, looked into his eyes. “Now tell me. Do they…” Will nodded at the kneeling monsters. “Do they deserve a second chance too?”
The other man’s eyes widened in terror. He realized he was left with two options, both leading to death. Saying they deserved a second chance, he would set himself against the order and get expelled—and probably killed as he had killed all those ordinary people who opposed the order. Saying that they were unworthy, he would speak himself as unworthy the same, signing his death warrant.
“I see you realize it. Now you!” Will stood, addressing the other three men. “Let me put it simpler. I will not kill you for your sins. If you deserve forgiveness, then they deserve it too. Unlike you, they have suffered for their sins. What are you ready to do to show me I was right to let you live?” He shifted his gaze across the men. The demons (those who still had their eyes and ears) were apparently confused by what was going on.
Everyone was silent.
“Come on. I’m waiting,” Will hurried them.
The warrior who’d been silent up to this moment stepped ahead. “I don’t know who you are, but our Grand Inquisitor would never have said anything like this. You must die. My brothers! Don’t be deceived by his words. It must be one of these hell’s fiends taking over his mind.” The man applied a skill, covering his sword in blue flames. “For the Order! Clean the Dark… Ah!”
A trickle of blood ran down from his mouth. He stopped, looking down at his chest. Coming out of his breastplate, piercing steel like butter, was the tip of the buffer’s sword. “Forgive me, brother. But we are here to serve the Grand Inquisitor. Rebellion is intolerable. And… and we want to live.”
Will smirked. Looked like he had found a key to their minds. “A wise choice. But still I’m waiting for your answer.” His voice touched their ears like cold steel.
“I’m ready to do anything you tell me to,” the man who’d killed the rebel kneeled next to the healer.
“I want to deserve my second chance too, Your Holiness.”
“Then listen to me. Put out one of your eyes. Wash your sins with blood. Your next sin will cost you another eye. That will continue until nothing remains of your body. That’s your new burden, from now on. I will change the rules of our order. Here the change begins.”
All warriors went pale at hearing these words. They looked at each other and, nodding slightly, put out their left eyes all at once.
“Good. I see your devotion. Now untie them.” Standing in front of the prisoners, Raven examined them once again. “Each of you has suffered. It no longer matters whether you deserved it or not. I’m giving you a second chance. All of you are welcome to join my order.”
His warriors were untying the prisoners. At these words they stumbled, barely avoiding a fall.
The monsters goggled at Will in shock. Then the Leech spoke: “Something has changed about you, Grand Inquisitor. But how can we know you won’t change again? How can we know you are telling the truth? How can we know you won’t be bathing the world in blood again?”
That’s just a challenge. My answer does not really matter.
“You are right. I have a reason to do this. Have you heard about the Messengers of Gods?”
“I have. What of them?”
“I’ve met one of them. His name was White Raven. He showed me the right way I once lost.”
Saying that, Will laughed mentally. Why not have some fun at the end?
“What exactly did he tell you?” The green blaze of the Le
ech’s eyes cast gleams to the Grand Inquisitor’s face.
“That the world will shudder and die in agony unless my order changes.”
The mummy-like Leech clicked his jaw. “So pompous.”
“Whatever. I swear to keep my word.” As the Inquisitor said that, he was enveloped in light visible to those around him. “Now will you accept my offer?”
The former prisoners squinted at him.
…and it began.
“I accept.”
-2 Endurance
Hey, what’s going on?
“I agree.”
-2 Agility
What the hell?! Along with the monsters’ agreements, Will was getting scary system messages.
“I’m in!”
-2 Strength
“And I.”
-2 Intelligence
“Thank you for saving my life, but I have to turn your offer down. I have an urgent business to complete,” a short man replied as he stood and straightened up.
-2 Agility
STOP, YOU!!! Will barely kept from screaming aloud.
-2 Agility
-2 Endurance
-2 Intelligence
-2 Strength
“What fucking crap is that?!” Will yelled at last, no longer able to contain himself. But no one heard him in the complete darkness around.
Congrats! You have completed the Pure Soul challenge!
Chapter 113. The Ravens
A short time before
The day when the Lost Time Labyrinth video was published
“W hat a bastard,” a short blonde girl said as she played the video again.
She was pretty, with her natural looks, and the character editor had made her into a Hollywood star. She loved the guys’ attention in reality, but got even more of it inside this virtual world. That was one of the reasons she preferred the company of male players.
