Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  “You have that look again,” a voice spoke up from Finn’s shoulder. He turned to find Daniel floating there, his body pulsing softly. “That one where you do something incredibly dangerous, but it kind of works out okay…”

  “Thanks for the rousing support,” Finn muttered.

  “Any time,” the elemental chirped.

  Finn turned back to his teammates. “I think I have an idea. Since this section is cut off from the main facility, if I drain the reserve power in here, that should disable the locking mechanism on the door. Then I can slide the deadbolts out of place with Imbue Fire, and Julia can try to shove it open.”

  The attendant rumbled, the rocks that made up its body grinding together. “It may not be quite that simple. Each section of the facility is designed to repair the primary conduits automatically. Even in lockdown, the system will prioritize restoring power. Now that you have brought the backup mana core online, repairs on the main conduits connecting this reception area to the other sections have already begun. I estimate that it will take another five minutes until the connection to the air mana section has been restored,” it explained, gesturing at the righthand blast door.

  Finn frowned and glanced at the console, his gaze shifting downward toward the room’s floor. Indeed, he could see a large fire mana core embedded in the ground below them – a hazy ball of orange and red. The circuits embedded in the walls and floor spiraled away from that core in dizzying patterns. Finn traced a single connection, following it until it reached the blast door leading to the air mana section.

  He could immediately see that the elemental was right. The energy pulsed and shifted through the wall, the crystal quite literally stretching out of the stone and formed a complicated, glowing orange lattice within the crater. Those crystalline threads had encircled the metallic debris obstructing the wall, gradually pulling it away. Even now, a few threads had made it under the slag and had re-established a tentative connection with the air mana section. Already, he could see a trickle of rainbow-colored energy flowing into the reception area from the adjoining section.

  His brow furrowed. How the hell was that even possible? And perhaps more importantly… what the hell was this crystal lacing the walls? It almost looked alive.

  Although, he didn’t have time to ponder on any of that. If his plan was going to work, they needed to move quickly.

  “Damn it, he’s right,” Finn grunted. His eyes shot to the blast door leading to the fire mana section. “Okay. Then we need to get our asses moving. I can drain the backup power and then shift the deadbolts out of place.”

  Kyyle and Julia both stared at him and then glanced at each other. “Sure, but there could also be security on the other side, right?” the earth mage asked.

  Finn offered a shrug. “Maybe. In which case, you need to be prepared to buy us some time. You just need to hold off whatever might be on the other side long enough for Julia and me to back you up.”

  He took a deep breath. “Either way, it seems worth the risk. I don’t see that we have much choice if we’re going to access that central chamber.”

  He glanced between Kyyle and Julia. “What do you say?”

  His daughter just shrugged. “We’ve come this far already. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “Homicidal robots, dismemberment, incineration, asphyxiation, poisonous gas…” Daniel chirped, his voice eerily upbeat despite the gruesome causes of death he was listing.

  “It’s also possible that you may only temporarily disable power to the reception area by attempting to drain the backup mana core,” the earth elemental rumbled, interrupting Daniel’s swiftly growing list. “Even the backup crystals store considerable mana, far more than a single mage can typically absorb. In that case, you may only have a short window to get inside the blast door before it seals and locks behind you.”

  “Okay, never mind. I take it back. A lot of bad stuff can happen,” Julia replied, raising her hands defensively. Then she glanced at Finn. “But it’s still our best bet if we’re going to recover something we can use to fight Bilel. The tech in here seems way beyond anything else we’ve come across.” A brief pause, his daughter grimacing distastefully. “I hate to admit it, but Kalisha might have been right.”

  “I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Kyyle offered with a grin, earning him a mock glare from Julia.

  “What do you think, Kyyle?” Finn asked, ignoring their banter. They didn’t have time to waste deliberating and cracking jokes. Already, he could see that the crystalline threads had almost dislodged the slag that was melted into the crater beside the door that led to the air mana section. It wouldn’t be long before that main conduit had been fully repaired.

  The earth mage just shook his head. “I don’t think we have much choice. Like Julia said, we’ve already come all this way, and we’re going to need any edge we can get. We didn’t exactly do too well against Bilel last time.”

  “Okay, then it’s unanimous, and we don’t have any time to waste,” Finn said, approaching the reception console. He eyed his teammates. “You two ready?”

  They both nodded, Julia moving into place near the door and Kyyle clutching his staff tightly, tendrils of emerald energy winding around the wooden instrument as he prepared for whatever they might encounter on the other side of that door.

  That was all the answer Finn needed.

  His gaze turned back to the terminal that stood in the center of the room. Fire mana flowed through the crystalline-laced console, powered by the glowing ball of energy embedded in the floor below him. Tapping into the backup mana core directly was out of the question. However, he could see that the energy flowed from the mana core directly through the reception console before streaming out into the walls and floor. Unfortunately, unlike the attendant, his limbs didn’t magically transform to fit the console’s access port.

  He glanced down at his left arm, a dark blade jutting from his elbow.

  It looked like he was going to have to improvise.

  Taking a deep breath, Finn drew his left arm back…

  And then plunged the dark metal blade into the center of the console.

  Chapter 13 - Frantic

  The console flared harshly in Finn’s sight, and flames spewed from the breach carved in the stone. The fires rippled up the dark blade affixed to his arm before winding around Finn’s bicep and spreading across his shoulders. The mana spilled forth so quickly that he wasn’t ready to absorb it. The flames left burning welts as they licked at his skin and forced the air from his lungs in a pain-filled hiss.

  He quickly activated his Mana Absorption, letting the fires seep into his skin and channeling that burning energy to his Najima. Even so, there was a seemingly bottomless torrent of mana spewing from the console. It was all Finn could do to stay standing, leaning heavily on his bladed arm as he watched his health tick down rapidly in his peripheral vision. Yet he forced himself to keep going.

  There has to be a limit to the backup mana… There has to be…

  He saw the walls of the reception area flicker slightly.

  Keep going…

  The energy sputtered once more, and the orange glow along the walls dimmed.

  He just needed a small window – a few seconds at most – just enough time to disable the locks on the blast door and allow Julia to wrench it open.

  Then the mana coursing through the walls abruptly winked out, plunging the room into sudden darkness – the shadows only pushed back by the flames wrapping Finn’s arm and enveloping his body in a blaze of fire and light.

  And he was ready. While continuing to absorb the energy rippling up his left arm, Finn started casting Imbue Fire with his good hand. The incantation tumbled from his lips in a harsh whisper, his lungs burning with each breath. With his Mana Sight active, he centered his attention on each of the deadbolts holding the blast door closed – the facility’s mana no longer tying them down with ropes of fire mana. One-by-one, the pillars were engulfed in flame, and he yank
ed them free. The process was a struggle – splitting his focus between the Mana Absorption and repeatedly casting Imbue Fire.

  The process was only made worse by the burning fire that coursed along his body. He wasn’t able to absorb all of the flames, and his skin reddened and blistered with each passing second. His chest was a smoldering, fiery mass as he barked out each word of the incantation. The red bar in the corner of his vision was plunging now, his health dropping below 50%.

  Just a little longer…

  As he focused on Julia, his hand kept moving. Flames soon curled around her metal armor, and her skin shifted and warped as her natural absorption ability took hold – flesh and bone converted to flame in an instant. But Finn kept going, ratcheting up the heat to give her a little extra power. The blast door was massive, and Julia would need all the help she could get.

  Then he was ready.

  “Julia, go now!” Finn shouted as the flames coating her armor began to take on a blueish hue, crackling and snapping at the air.

  His daughter didn’t hesitate. Julia’s metal gauntlets pried at the stone, her arms surging as she began to heave it open. And the door reluctantly responded, inching forward with a screech of stone grinding against stone – a century of rust and debris causing friction. Julia shifted her position then, her shoulder smashing against the edge of the door, and her feet straining against the ground. With the combined force of Finn’s Imbued Fire and Julia’s impressive strength, the stone floor began to crack beneath her feet, and the door crept open another a few inches.

  It wasn’t enough.

  The door held firm, refusing to budge any further.

  “Damn it! It’s not working,” Kyyle shouted, the earth mage’s eyes wide and frantic.

  “Figure something out!” Julia grunted, unable to move from her position. “We don’t have much time.”

  That was an understatement. However, there was precious little Finn could do to help them right now. He was struggling to absorb the avalanche of energy pouring from the console, his vision growing spotty, and his head pounding as his health plummeted. He could barely feel his arm or body anymore. Not a good sign. That meant the flames had begun eating into the nerves.

  Kyyle’s attention shifted to the bulky earth elemental. “Can you help her? Please?” Kyyle demanded urgently, waving at Julia.

  “Of course, sir,” the attendant replied, floating over to Julia. It rested two massive rock hands against the surface of the door, and its core pulsed with green energy as it poured more mana into the gravity well that kept it afloat.

  The glowing sphere of energy in the elemental’s chest quickly waned, and the elemental paused. “I do not have sufficient mana for this task, my apologies.”

  “Then we’ll just have to give you more,” Kyyle grunted.

  The earth mage pointed his staff in the direction of the elemental. A wave of green energy rippled along the earth mage’s skin, twined around the wooden staff, and then shot forward in a rolling wave of raw earth mana. As the energy struck the elemental, it enveloped the rocks of its body, and the attendant’s mana core flared powerfully. The gravity well surged, causing the stone along the floor to buckle, forming a miniature crater below the attendant. Then the elemental shoved at the door with renewed strength.

  The massive portal shifted backward with a lurch, and Julia and the elemental kept going, giving it everything they had.

  “It’s almost open, but it may not stay that way for long!” Kyyle shouted only seconds later. “Finn, get ready to make a run for it on my signal!”

  Finn ground his teeth together. He hadn’t been able to see the door open. Flames now wholly covered his body and obscured his vision behind a cloud of orange energy. His head was pounding, and his lungs burned. All he knew was the fire – the energy raging through his body in a torrent. His health was nearly depleted.

  7%

  5%

  2%

  “Finn, now!” Kyyle shouted.

  He shoved away from the console, ripping his blade free with a shower of sparks. The flames poured out of the breach and crashed against the reception room ceiling, the energy quickly charring the stone black. Finn stumbled backward, off-balanced and listing to the side, his body weak and his vision obscured by the dense cloud of mana. He forced his burning limbs to move toward the sound of Kyyle’s voice – where he remembered Julia and the earth elemental were standing – pushing himself forward with shambling steps.

  He felt rough hands grab him… pulling at him.

  Finn stumbled and fell, his shoulder hitting something hard, and then he was being lifted and rushed through the reception area – the rush of wind feeling like daggers against his skin. Although, that was a good sign. That meant his health regeneration had already kicked in.

  Only a moment later, he was gently placed on the ground, and he could just barely make out the glowing green outline of the earth elemental’s bulky body. His breath came in ragged, painful gasps. His throat felt raw, and his left arm and shoulder ached, tendrils of smoke still wafting away from it and curling into the air.

  But he was alive… even if death might have been a welcome relief at the moment.

  His vision began to clear gradually, and he could soon make out the walls of a hallway. He felt a moment of panic and peered down the corridor, but he didn’t see any enemies approaching. The walls were dark, no mana coursing through their surface, and everything was covered in a fine coating of dust.

  Finn shoved himself upright, wincing as his bladed left arm ground against the stone floor, and settled back against the wall behind him. Another red notification flashed in the corner of his UI, and he swiped at it wearily. He couldn’t afford to ignore these.

  System Notice: Infection Status

  Continued spellcasting has caused the magical infection that afflicts your body to spread.

  Current Contamination: 26%

  Intact Najima: 5/6

  Stat Loss: -10%

  Damn it, Finn thought to himself. They had made it inside the fire mana section, but the intensity of that round of spellcasting had cost him dearly. A glance with his Mana Sight confirmed that those angry red lines of energy now stretched up and into his chest.

  But it seemed they were safe. For now.

  “Everyone okay?” Finn croaked as he waited for his natural health regeneration to continue repairing his ruined flesh and his vision to clear completely.

  “I think so,” Kyyle panted, from somewhere behind Finn.

  “I’ve been better,” Julia grumbled, collapsing across from him. “Although, at least it looks like there weren’t any security mechs waiting for us on this end. Yay—” she began halfheartedly.

  She was interrupted as the group heard a dull thump behind them. The blast door settled back into place, causing a cloud of dust to gust through the hallway. His vision finally cleared, and Finn could see that fire mana was once more coursing through the surface of the blast door. He could only assume the strange crystalline material had managed to repair the breach in the console – signaling that the backup power had come back online. Ropes of fire latched onto the metal deadbolts, and they soon slid back into place in a series of solid thunks that vibrated the wall at Finn’s back.

  “It appears the reception area’s power has come back online,” the attendant reported calmly, floating nearby and watching the doorway with its glowing green eyes.

  “No shit,” Julia muttered. She was slumped against the wall across from Finn, the edges of her armor still glowing a dull red. Switching briefly to Short-Sighted, he could see welts between the cracks in her platemail, the skin quickly repairing the damage caused by her own absorption ability. It seemed she was alright.

  “What is this?” Kyyle murmured, pushing himself away from the wall and approaching the other side of the hallway.

  Finn’s eyes widened as he observed the hole that had been carved in the wall. This wasn’t a jagged, irregular crater. It was a precise square that had been cut into the
surface of the stone, stretching nearly three feet deep if his Mana Sight was accurate. Yet the center of the hole glowed a much darker green. His brow furrowed. Metal, perhaps?

  “Someone cut a hole in the wall and then filled it with slag,” the earth mage said, half talking to himself and confusion lingering in his voice.

  The realization struck Finn only a few seconds later. “This is why the main conduit linking this fire mana section and the reception area is offline.” Kyyle and Julia glanced at him in surprise. He waved at the hole. “Look at it. The lines are too clean for this to have been an accident, and the metal fused into the hole must be meant to stop the crystal in the walls from repairing the blockage.”

  “That is a reasonable conclusion,” the earth elemental rumbled, drifting closer to the hole. “Once the primary conduit between the reception area and the air mana section is restored, the facility may try to initiate repairs. However, it is unclear whether this obstruction can be easily removed.” Its glowing green eyes turned to the dark walls of the fire mana section. “Meanwhile, this section appears to be completely offline.”

  “No kidding,” Daniel replied in a dry voice from where he floated beside Finn. “How long did it take you to figure that one out, Captain Obvious?” The earth elemental simply stared back impassively, and Daniel let out a frustrated sigh.

  Ignoring Daniel, Julia shot a glance at Finn, worry pulling her lips taut. “You know what this means, right?”

  Finn nodded, a sick feeling coiling in his gut. “Someone did this on purpose – cut the main conduit to the reception area. Suddenly, it’s looking a lot more likely that the fire pylon was intentionally taken offline.”

  “The only question is why,” Kyyle added.

  Finn wasn’t certain how to answer that. But he didn’t plan to mess with the conduit – not yet, anyway. If someone had gone to this much trouble to take the power offline, then they must have had a damn good reason.