Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  But did it really have to be one or the other? Love or ambition?

  Could he not have both?

  “Is there a compromise?” Finn asked finally. “Is there a technology that you could teach us quickly that would offer us a way to defend ourselves against Bilel – however incomplete – while still allowing you to initiate the facility self-destruct sequence?”

  Nar Aljahim stared at him for several precious seconds, Finn instinctively holding his breath and silence lingering throughout the chamber.

  “There is one possibility,” Nar Aljahim began slowly. “However, that power may pose an equally great risk to this world.”

  The elemental leaned forward, his flaming eyes now looming in Finn’s vision. “Are you – the so-called Prophet of the Flame – worthy of wielding such power?”

  “How did you—?” Finn began.

  With a wave of Nar Aljahim’s hand, the tattoo on Finn’s right wrist flared with a brilliant orange light. “The goddess’ mark is clear to those who know to look. And the fire that blazes in your soul is… unique. Your passion burns brightly in my eyes.”

  The elemental leaned even closer, the wards flaring and sparking. A wave of heat struck Finn, and fire consumed his entire field of view. Yet he forced himself to stay standing still. “Yet I wonder…

  “Are you truly any different than your opponent? Bilel – this demon – let his ambition outpace his prudence. He let the flames consume his soul. Can you resist the same impulse? How am I to trust that you will not eventually succumb to the same weakness? Let your passion and ambition blind you? How do I know that you will protect the knowledge I would grant you and not use it to harm others or solely benefit yourself?”

  Nar Aljahim settled back, eyeing Finn, who was trying his best to remain standing as he sucked in fresh, cool air. “You shall need to make a demonstration of your conviction. I will give you the knowledge you seek, but only if you are willing to make a sacrifice – something dear to you. Something you treasure greatly.”

  Finn stared back, his gaze even and unfaltering. “Since entering this world, I have battled to the death hundreds of times, fallen to the depths of the Abyss, burnt out my own eyes, and sacrificed my arm to save those I care about,” he said, raising his ruined limb. Flames surged to life within the metal embedded in his eyes, and his voice was unwavering. “There is no price you could ask of me that I would not pay.”

  “I would not rush to answer so hastily,” Nar Aljahim replied, those flaming orbs watching him – weighing and measuring.

  “For the price I ask is the life of one of your companions.”

  Chapter 28 - Forged

  Finn’s eyes widened in alarm as he stared back at Nar Aljahim, his resolve wavering. “What…what do you mean?”

  “Just as I said. If you wish for me to impart my knowledge, you must trade one of your companions. Whoever you choose will be bound here – to this place – constrained to this facility as I have been.”

  “The same facility you intend to blow sky high to stop the corruption?” Finn demanded, frustration now simmering in his veins. Because, of course, there was a catch.

  “This central chamber and its wards are nearly impregnable,” the fire elemental answered calmly. “My fires will wash this facility clean and destroy most of the remaining sections, but this room was built to withstand such energy. So, you must choose. Or you can pass from this place empty-handed. That is your decision.”

  Finn glanced to the side to see both Julia and Kyyle staring back at him in alarm. His daughter shook her head, grinding her teeth. He knew this wasn’t real, that his daughter and Kyyle wouldn’t truly die. But even so, the thought of losing one of his companions stung. If what Nar Aljahim said were true, they would likely be trapped here in this facility – the only true death for a traveler. They would lose everything they had built so far. All of their time spent in this world. Their skills and equipment.

  And he would lose an ally. And for what? The vague promise of knowledge? He didn’t even know what he would be buying with this so-called sacrifice.

  “Uh, can I volunteer?” Daniel offered in a stage whisper.

  Finn just gave him an incredulous look.

  “What? Have you seen that guy? He’s HUGE. And if I gain enough power, I could turn into a planet? Sign me up!” Daniel said before pivoting and drifting toward the fire elemental. “Notice me, senpai—”

  The AI cut off abruptly, freezing in place as Nar Aljahim turned those glowing orange eyes toward him. “I’m sorry, young one, but Finn must choose one of the two travelers. Your sacrifice will not be sufficient.”

  “Damn it,” Daniel muttered, drifting sullenly back to Finn’s shoulder. This earned him a surprised glance from Finn. When had the AI started cussing? And was Finn responsible for that? That did sound like something he’d say…

  “For the record, I’m not going to forget that you just tried to bail on us,” Finn told the AI. “And here I thought we were starting to become buddies.”

  “Technically, you just told me we were even,” Daniel chirped, flashing once in the fire elemental equivalent of a wink.

  “Rather mercenary little firefly you’ve got there,” Julia drawled.

  Her expression sobered as her eyes met Finn’s. “Seriously, though. You should do it. Sacrificing one of us is an acceptable price – especially with what’s at stake. This isn’t just some game. You have to do it. For Mom.”

  “I… I’m not sure I can,” Finn answered weakly.

  The choice seemed mad – almost impossible.

  “Yes, you can. And you should pick me,” Kyyle retorted.

  As they both glanced at the earth mage, he stared back, grim-faced. “What? It makes sense. At the end of the day, this really is just a game for me. But like Julia said, this is far more than that for both of you.”

  “I don’t—” Julia began, frowning at Kyyle.

  “Stop. Think about it for a second. What if you do manage to bring your mom back?” he demanded. “She’ll still be part of this world, and you’ll need to be here to see her – to talk to her. Which means your avatar needs to survive. Face it, I’m the logical choice.”

  Finn winced. Kyyle’s line of reasoning struck a bit too close to home after his conversation with the Seer. He was starting to suspect that this was actually the choice she had been alluding to…

  “I could always try to reroll and make my way back to Lahab,” Julia began weakly.

  Kyyle shook his head. “You know how difficult that would be. You’d have to wait for the timer on the character reroll. That’s a month. And then who knows where you would end up or how long it would take you to make it back here. Do you think it would be easy to hike across a continent as a level 1 with no gear?”

  Julia’s mouth was pinched shut, unable to come up with a response. “You’re just doing this to get on my good side,” she muttered finally, her eyes suddenly glossy.

  A smile stretched across the earth mage’s face. “Well, maybe. If it earns me a few brownie points, then that’s something, at least.”

  “How chivalrous of you. Sounds like you and Daniel are a match made in… well, a high-tech underground research lab housing an ancient fire elemental,” Finn said in a dry but tense voice. “Still… this is an incredible price to pay for just the possibility of something that will aid us in the fight against Bilel.”

  Kyyle reached out and placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder, a tentative smile drifting across his lips. “Well, like you said to Abbad once upon a time – you have to be willing to sacrifice anything, everything to accomplish your goal. You can’t hesitate. Even a longshot at victory is better than a certain defeat. Isn’t that what you said?”

  Finn hesitated at that, staring back at the determination reflected in the earth mage’s eyes and being forced to chew on his own words. Even without using his Mana Sight, he knew he’d see no doubt or hesitation coiling through the earth mage’s energy – he was resolved.

  Finn pulle
d away from Kyyle. “I guess you’re right,” he answered slowly. Julia’s lips were pressed into a grim line – his daughter clearly unhappy but unable to offer a reasonable rebuttal. The earth mage’s logic was ironclad.

  As Finn glanced back at the elemental, Nar Aljahim’s flaming eyes bore into him, the elemental towering above the group. “Have you made your decision?”

  “I…” Finn trailed off, hesitating, and squeezing his eyes shut against the fire elemental’s stare – and the expectant expressions of his teammates. They were all looking to him to decide.

  Am I making the right choice? he asked himself.

  The Seer’s words were still fresh in his mind, her seemingly cryptic question suddenly taking on a greater weight. Had she seen this moment? And how? A trick of code? A scripted set of events? Was the game world simply adapting to his actions and forcing him down yet another predetermined path no matter how much he struggled to carve his own way? And yet he knew all of that was just distraction, his mind tackling a problem it felt it could solve instead of the one that was staring him in the face.

  “If you could do it again, would you choose love or ambition?”

  That question kept pulling at the edges of his mind. He had made that choice before. Many, many times. Each time, he had always chosen ambition.

  And he had paid dearly.

  With Rachael’s life. With his relationship with his children. With his career.

  Even inside AO – his progress had cost him. The relentless training, the grueling duels, his eyes and arm. Pain and hardship. He had paid that price over and over again in order to… He hesitated to finish that thought. What exactly had he been fighting for?

  It was true that he had sacrificed much to make it to this point, but it had never been about ambition – at least not after the first few weeks. No, he had struggled and sacrificed for Rachael. He had given up his eyes to save Julia. He had cut off his own hand to save his teammates. Each and every time he was confronted with that decision, he had indeed made a choice. And he’d chosen love.

  Finn could feel a sudden resolve overcome him.

  “No,” he murmured.

  Then, more loudly, “No!”

  His eyes snapped open, meeting the fire elemental’s gaze. “I will not pay your price. If the choice is between love and ambition – between my companions and some unknown piece of technology – then I choose my teammates. We will find another way.”

  Nar Aljahim stared back, unmoving and the flames coiling and snapping through his body. Then those flames flared brightly, crackling in a renewed surge of laughter. “Ahh. You truly are remarkable – a credit to the Seer’s gift of prophecy. You give me hope despite the cruelty and harshness of this world.”

  “I… I don’t understand,” Finn replied, his brow furrowed in confusion.

  The fire elemental leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. “You chose correctly. You have shown that you can put aside your ambition for the sake of others – for something greater than yourself. That was not something that Bilel could ever hope to do. And so you have earned the right to receive the wisdom of the Forge.”

  The fire elemental’s eyes burned as he watched Finn. “There is a process that has long since been lost to time. In days past, your predecessors – the acolytes of the flame – once practiced this art. It allows the user to embody their own passion or the passion of others in a non-organic object, storing a part of their energy in that object and thereby insulating themselves from spells that target their body’s natural mana. Our former Director was the last practitioner of this art, and he used this gift wisely…” The elemental trailed off, his eyes going distant as though reliving an ancient memory. Or perhaps he was contemplating the fact that the Director of this facility had long ago passed from this world.

  Then Nar Aljahim’s body suddenly blazed brightly, a wave of heat washing through the chamber. “That is why I chose to remain here, even after my mate left these halls. It was his passion… and his compassion, that won me over. And now I shall grant you the same gift.”

  The fire elemental’s gaze shifted to the map that still floated in the air nearby. The red dots that marked the corrupted were swarming, clustering around the main conduits leading to the other sections. “Although, we will need to hurry. We do not have much time left. I will need to pass the incantation directly to your mind.”

  As he finished speaking, Nar Aljahim reached out a flaming arm toward Finn, sparks of energy forming as the limb hesitated at the barrier of the wards, then passed through that ring. The air heated in an instant, growing uncomfortably warm even from that small part of the elemental’s body.

  Finn swallowed hard. He had been reluctant to accept these memories before for fear that the game would tamper with his mind. Yet, he didn’t see another option. And the last time he had been presented with this choice, the stakes had been far smaller. Perhaps it was time to make a concession.

  “Okay,” he said, stepping forward. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, his skin coated in a sheen of sweat, and his fists clenched.

  “Are you ready?” Nar Aljahim asked.

  “Yes. Do it,” Finn grunted, as the elemental’s flaming hand drifted closer. The heat was intense now, causing his skin to redden and blister after only a few seconds of exposure. He couldn’t imagine what being touched by the elemental would feel like… or how badly this was going to hurt. Luckily for him, he was accustomed to pain.

  He closed his eyes just before Nar Aljahim touched his head. As the elemental’s fingers touched his skin, the flames wrapped his forehead, the fire searing and hot. Then he felt that energy curl and coil into his mouth, nose, and ears. It filled his head and surged through his body in a scorching rush as the fires burned through him. He forced himself to stand still. He had endured worse – been through worse.

  He just kept repeating that in his head. Over and over.

  And just as quickly as it had begun, the effect faded, and the fires winked out.

  What they left in their wake felt strange. With a thought, Finn could summon the memory of an incantation he knew he’d never learned. And yet he could recall every word and gesture. They felt both intimately familiar and painfully new. He teased at the spell, feeling out the edges of the memory in his mind. The incantation was… unusual. This wasn’t Veridian. Or, at least, not quite. And the structure was absurdly complex.

  No wonder Nar Aljahim had to grant me the memory directly.

  Even as that thought crossed his mind, a prompt appeared before him.

  New Spell: The Forging

  Nar Aljahim has gifted you with a new spell capable of bonding a mage’s energy to another object or non-organic creature – a legacy of the fire mages of old. This spell can only be cast on a willing recipient and is permanent, forging a bond between the mage and the object at the cost of the mage’s total mana and mana regeneration. The bound object will be granted heightened stats and can level and develop naturally with the mage. Destruction of the bonded object will also kill the wielder.

  Skill Level: Unknown

  Cost: The mage’s total mana pool and regeneration are permanently reduced by 1/6.

  “You need to test the spell to ensure the transfer was completed properly. Hurry,” Nar Aljahim insisted, interrupting Finn. As his eyes snapped to the fire elemental, he could see the flames of its body coil and flicker erratically.

  “But how do I—”

  “You need to bond me to something,” Kyyle cut him off, stepping forward. “Julia has no mana, and you shouldn’t test this on yourself.” A pause and a grin. “At least let me do this since you decided to steal my heroic moment.”

  Finn matched that smile. Then he hesitated. “It’s going to cost you one of your Najima – which means you’re going to lose a sixth of your total mana pool and regeneration. We also need something to bind you to.”

  “That’s fine,” Kyyle murmured, a frown tugging at his lips as he searched the room for something to bond to. His eyes came t
o rest on Brock’s floating form. The earth elemental seemed to sense him watching, those glowing green eyes meeting Kyyle’s. “Would you be willing to forge a bond with me?” the earth mage asked Brock.

  The earth elemental stared back for a moment before replying, “I would be honored. It is an elemental’s greatest duty to serve a worthy mage, and I believe we will make a suitable pairing.”

  Kyyle snorted out a laugh. “Says the guy that’s saved my life at least twice now. I think I’m getting more out of the relationship than you.” The stones of Brock’s body ground together harshly, the crack and scratch of stone the elemental’s form of laughter.

  “Okay, well, stand together and place your left arm on Brock’s core,” Finn directed, following the directions that drifted through his mind.

  The pair did as he said. Brock floated toward Kyyle, the rocks of his torso sliding aside to reveal the glowing emerald mana core resting in the center of his body. As Kyyle’s hand reached out and gingerly touched that gem, sparks of earth mana flared and began to drift around his fingers.

  “Now hold still,” Finn instructed, his voice distant.

  He began casting, his hand darting through a dizzying series of gestures while unfamiliar arcane words tumbled from his lips – as though he had cast this spell dozens of times. The incantation, however, felt strange, an almost guttural language that seemed more primal than the refined lilt of Veridian. While Finn couldn’t understand the meaning of the words he spoke, he did feel their subtext, the weight of what he was doing.

  This was a joining. A binding.

  Flames began to encircle the pair, curling around Kyyle’s arm and Brock’s mana core in ribbons. However, there was a pattern to the fires. The flames created an intricate latticework that held the limb and mana core in place. With a thought, Finn switched to his Mana Sight. His eyes focused on the Najima in Kyyle’s arm, the cluster of energy shining brightly. He could see the flames seep into the earth mage’s skin and bind themselves to that point of light, just as they squeezed in on the elemental’s core.