by David Walker
After using his laptop for a while, he completed his action items for work. As governor of Orion, oftentimes he felt as if his work never ended. He used an anonymous proxy to connect to the dark web and checked on his other, secret job. Splitshadow had recently refunded the advance that Zoltav had given him for overseeing Operation Titan. Zoltav was relieved that he did not have to hunt the mercenary down for his failure. Money was not important to Zoltav, but he could not allow his guild to appear weak.
Zoltav's Operation Titan had failed to deploy, yet Obfuscation had managed to make a powerful impression on the United Kings of Ghemeza. The kings' terrifying experience helped to advance Zoltav's underlying goal: to undermine and replace Ghemezian Prime Minister Saleem. Even so, it was crucial that Operation Saturn's Edge be completed as planned. Zoltav knew that he would have to oversee the final stages of the operation himself, in order to guarantee its success. He gazed at the fire in his bronze hearthside as if mesmerized and was drawn into a celestial realm. He peered into the past, viewing his nineteen-year-old self.
Zoltav was at a festival, celebrating the Prophet of Heaven's holy day with his friends Samir and Talib. He met Samir and Talib when he had been forced to live in an orphanage after his parent had died. They were the only ones who stood by his side during the harsh treatment that he had endured there. A group of off-duty Unified Republic soldiers were near them, profaning the prophet's holy day with their drunkenness. Samir, who was devout in his faith, was offended by the soldiers' belligerence. He glared at them with disgust.
When the festival ended, the soldiers stalked Zoltav and his friends, looking for an opportunity to avoid witnesses. The soldiers struck Samir with the blunt end of their firearms. When Zoltav and Talib rushed to Samir's aid, the soldiers battered them as well. Zoltav, who had harbored years of pent-up rage, went berserk. He formed a dynamic fusion and fused his spirit body with the shadow fire realm. Intense flames shot out from his palms, burning the soldiers alive. This was the night that Obfuscation was born.
“Ah, the night when you finally unleashed your powers,” a shadowy figure said, approaching Zoltav from behind.
“Master,” Zoltav said, bowing in deference to the true Lord of Obfuscation.
“Look at how far you have come, son. You have truly become a master,” the Lord of Obfuscation complimented.
“All because of your guidance, my Lord.”
“I may have given you the tools that you needed to ascend, but you have made yourself powerful. Never forget that all of the power that you will ever need lies within you.”
“Thank you for your kind words, master.”
“And yet, something is troubling you. What is it?” the Lord of Obfuscation asked. Zoltav paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.
“I'd consulted the bones, as you had taught me, and made concrete plans accordingly, and yet each of my operations have failed,” Zoltav explained, referring to the art of divination that he had frequently used.
“The bones only show possible outcomes. They can reveal the threads of fate, but they're unable to determine which threads will stand.”
“Why didn't they show me the threads of the luminous soul?”
“I don't know. His threads have been hidden until recently. But it's good that he's showed up.”
“Good?” Zoltav asked incredulously.
“If you are to fulfill your destiny, and restore the glory of Orion, your resolve must be tested. You haven't met anyone yet who's been able to truly challenge you.”
“Of course, master. I will see to the final stages myself,” Zoltav said with conviction.
Zoltav exited the celestial realm and worked on the final preparations for Operation Saturn's Edge. Obfuscation's previous operations were children's games compared to it. The North had had their way with his land for many years, destabilizing entire regions. Zoltav planned to use that against them.
The chaos in Ghemeza drastically increased the number of refugees who sought asylum in Triberia. Zoltav took advantage of the refugee crisis by sending his operatives alongside some of the legitimate refugees. Obfuscation had, since the time of infiltration, successfully planted a network of explosive seals inside of Triberia. Once the seals are completed, connected, and activated, Triberia will be hit with the biggest terrorist explosion in history. Zoltav was expecting that the aftermath of this catastrophe will force the United Kings of Ghemeza to appoint a new Prime Minister.
* * *
“Okay, please don't think I'm a creeper,” Shade said nervously. “But you'll need to stick very close to me when we first enter the rift. That way, I can cloak your presence.”
“Well, you are kind of creepy. I don't think I'm comfortable with that, Mr. Richardson,” Crescent teased with her arms crossed. Shade laughed. He was glad that she had agreed to come with him.
“Once we've scouted the stronghold, we can come up with a plan and go from there. You ready?”
“Let's go,” Crescent said, readying her Flame Arc relic weapon.
Shade created a rift using the coordinates that he obtained from the demon he had recently interrogated. He masked his spirit spectrum and Crescent moved within inches of his rear. He moved slowly into the rift, making sure that she was able to follow him closely. They arrived near a fortress that looked similar to the one that he had conquered before. Loaded ballistae were mounted on the towers, manned by tall, slender elves. Shade took a moment to study the fortress.
“You can charge up the energy that's inside of your relic weapon, right?” Shade whispered.
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and charge it up. Once it's fully charged, throw it at the gates and burn them down. When you're ready to throw, I'll take out the tower guards so that you'll be free to attack. Once the gates are down, you can rush inside and I'll cover you. Sound good?” Crescent nodded in agreement and started charging her Flame Arc sword.
Shade unholstered his pistol and spun it around on his fingers. At the end of its spin, the pistol transformed into a broad, six-chambered revolver. He loaded his revolver with high-impact, fire elemental rounds. Since unlocking one of his Holy Armor seals, he had poured much of his spirit energy into charging high-impact elemental rounds. They each stored much more potential elemental energy than his standard rounds.
Shade eyeballed Crescent's Flame Arc as it glowed with amber heat. He could sense the difference in the energy signatures of his fiery weapons compared to hers. Her weapon lacked the bright, smokeless qualities of purified flame. It was clear that her weapon drew its power from the shadow fire realm. Shade hoped that the gates would not be immune to it. He was prepared to protect her and breach the gates himself if that were the case.
“My Flame Arc is fully charged,” Crescent whispered.
In an instant, Shade rode a gust of wind toward the eastern tower. He fired a single round at the ballista that was mounted on top of it. The high-impact shot traveled with the velocity and trajectory of a round fired from a grenade launcher. The elf at the tower screamed when the shot ignited an intense explosion on impact, consuming him and his post. Shade glided along the fortress walls, firing booming shots at each ballista.
Crescent hurled her Flame Arc at the fortress gates, triggering another explosion, blowing a gaping hole into them. Shade dashed to the breach, spinning his revolver around his fingers. The revolver transformed into a rectangular, submachine gun. He clutched onto a charred slab of wood at the top of the breach with one hand and sprayed rapid-fire shots at the elves inside of the fortress with his other hand.
Crescent ran towards the gates and retrieved her Flame Arc. She swung wildly at the elves that were inside the fortress while being supported by Shade's suppressive fire. After emptying his ammunition clip, Shade holstered his weapon and swooped down inside of the fortress. He darted next to Crescent and swung his sword rapidly in a figure-eight motion, generating winds that intensified her flaming slashes. They fought side-by-side, easily banishing the remaining demons in a de
vastating firestorm.
“Whoops. Looks like I forgot to keep one of them around for questioning,” Shade said.
“Yeah, I got caught up in the moment. That was a rush,” Crescent gushed, taking in a few deep breaths.
“That was awesome teamwork. You did great,” he complimented, imagining how powerful they would have been if she had also been illuminated. “Let's look around and see if we can find anything.”
They searched through the various arms of the fortress, looking for anything related to Obfuscation. The fortress interior was dingy and dank. The rivets on the ceiling cross beams were cankered with rust. The halls were lined with weapon racks packed with crude swords, axes, and spears. There were cauldrons bubbling with a green, acidic liquid. They found an archive piled with dusty books near the back of the fortress.
“I can't make any of this out,” Crescent said, thumbing through the pages of one of the books.
“It's strange. I can't make out the individual characters either, but for some reason, I can read the words as a whole.”
“I can't read any of it. It all looks like a bunch of gibberish to me.”
“Hmm...” Shade mused as he scanned through one of the books. I can probably read this because of my illuminated senses.
If he had been able, Shade would have read through all of the books in the archive. He had an insatiable hunger for spiritual knowledge. A treasure trove of enemy intelligence was in front of him. Knowing that he only had a limited amount of spirit energy, Shade searched for a single book to focus on. A heavy, leather-bound book engraved with silver filigree, caught his attention. When he opened the book, the pages lit up with an eerie, faint-blue glow.
According to the tome, hell was led by the Order of the Six Devils, a ruling council of the six Overlords of hell. All demons were under the command of Overlord Beelzebul, Lord of Shadow House Saturn. Every demon was ranked according to their power, with five being the highest rank. Many of the enemies that Shade had previously fought were classified as demons: trolls, goblins, ogres, nymphs, gargoyles, and griffons.
Shade found an interesting section in the book about the Vices of hell. Vices were the Overlord's highest officers; every Overlord had two Vices that served under them. Shade was shocked to find out that the infamous Akzar was actually the Vice of the shadow soul realm of cruelty, under Overlord Beelzebul. Nothing could prepare Shade for what he saw next. Deceptus was the Vice of the shadow soul realm of deceit, under Overlord Pythius. Deceptus bore the same seal as the Ordered Chaoz guild emblem. Shade saw Victor's face on the page.
Chapter 11
Shade furiously punched one of the combat dummies in the training area of his crystal castle. The strikes that he usually aimed at target dummies were focused and executed precisely. Now, he was striking with reckless abandon, aggressively venting his anger on the immobile target. He felt betrayed. Victor was his first mentor in the spirit realm. How could I have been so easily deceived?
Not only did Shade feel betrayed, but he also felt isolated. Crescent was unable to see Victor in the demonic tome that Shade had recently read. If Crescent was unable to see Victor's true identity, would anyone in the guild believe him? Aftershock was already upset about his allegiance to heaven. If he launched an accusation at Victor, how damaging would that be to their relationship? Was their relationship doomed to fail, anyway?
Should he confront Victor in front of the guild? Was he strong enough to take on a Vice by himself? What if Trance rushed to Deceptus's aid? Thoughts of anger, doubt, and frustration swirled around in Shade's mind. Despite this, the vibrant blue section of his spirit spectrum shined brightly. When he used his fire elemental fighting style on the dummy, his attacks were trailed by blue flame, in contrast to their typical white flame.
Shade unsheathed the dagger that he had recently formed with the Holy Armor seal that he unlocked from reading the demonic tome. His dagger's blade was straight and jagged, running the full length of his forearm. He rapidly swung it around with a ribbon of purified light, which served as a rope. Curiously, his light ribbon was also colored blue. After striking a few distant combat dummies, he tugged at the light ribbon to yank the dagger back into his hands. He sheathed it behind his back, next to the sword that was sheathed on the left side of his hip.
“Looks like you've unlocked a color,” Nathanael said, as he and Isaac entered the training room.
“What do you mean?” Shade asked.
“When you mature in your service for the kingdom, you'll unlock the potential energy of your spirit spectrum's vibrant colors. When you've unlocked a color, you can use it to augment the elemental energy that you channel. The extent to which you can do this will increase with your rank,” Nathanael explained.
“You've unlocked vibrant blue, which typically indicates that you've been released from a level of deception,” Isaac added.
“I guess you can say that,” Shade sighed.
“Want to talk about it?” Isaac asked.
“No thanks,” Shade answered, too embarrassed to discuss his experience with the Vice Deceptus. He preferred to tackle his personal issues on his own, anyway. “How do I augment my elemental abilities?”
“Focus on the color blue along with a single element. Project that energy at me,” Nathanael instructed.
“At you?” Shade hesitated.
“There are some lessons that you cannot learn from a combat dummy,” Nathanael replied.
“Remember, we draw our energy from a pure source. As long as we're in sync with the king's spirit, we can't really hurt each other,” Isaac assured.
Shade used his open palms to project a beam of blue light directly at Nathanael. The blast pushed Nathanael backwards a few feet, but his spirit vitality remained untouched. His eyes were covered with a bright glare.
“Your augmented light beam applied a status effect, which is anything that changes the default state of a spirit body. Augmented light can apply a glare on the target, effectively blinding them,” Nathanael explained as he steadied himself.
“Augmented, elemental abilities can also cleanse negative status effects,” Isaac explained as he waved his hand, dousing Nathanael with violet-colored splash of water, removing the glare from his eyes.
“Augmented fire can apply a lingering damage effect on the target. Augmented ice can apply a lingering slow effect on the target. Augmented wind can apply a disorienting effect on the target. Augmented earth can apply an armor-rending effect on the target,” Nathanael explained.
“Wow,” Shade marveled, as he thought about some of the possible augmented, elemental combinations. He hoped that it would not take much longer before he advanced in rank. When they completed their training session, Nathanael left Shade's heart realm. Isaac, however, stayed behind.
“Look, Matthew. I can tell that you're a private person. I just want you to know that we're here for you. You're our brother now. I know that our service in the kingdom can be lonely, but understand that you are never alone,” Isaac assured. Shade almost teared up.
“You know, it's funny. I don't mind being alone. Most of the time, I prefer to be by myself. But right now, I feel so...isolated. I knew I was giving up my life to serve our king, but I didn't realize how much my life would change. I feel like...none of my friends understand me. I might as well be speaking another language to them,” Shade said, pouring out his heart.
“I understand. It's difficult to return back to our lives after we've been illuminated by the king. Try to be patient with your friends. Some of them may never understand you. Others may need you to be the beacon of light that leads them into the kingdom of life.”
“Thank you, Isaac. I really appreciate everything that you and Nathanael have taught me. I know he's strict, but I think he's probably a big teddy bear deep inside.”
“Oh, he most certainly is,” Isaac laughed. “We both consider it an honor to have taken part in your training. Just hold on. One day, all of the trials that you're facing will make sense. If you
are able to endure, all of this pain will be worth it in the end.”
Isaac's words brought Shade a measure of comfort and encouragement. Shade hoped that Isaac was sincere. After his discovery about Victor, he could not help but be hesitant about embracing another mentor. Shade decided that he was going to expose Victor, but he was not going to do it in the spirit realm. Matthew invited the Alverezes out for another karaoke night.
* * *
Matthew slumped in the back seat of the taxi cab that was driving him to Clove Street Cafe. The silence would have been awkward if Matthew's mind was not already flooded with anxious thoughts. He dreaded what he had to do. He had thought of a dozen different ways to approach the Alverezes about Victor, but he was still unprepared for the deed. After arriving at their destination, Matthew gave the taxi driver a generous tip and headed into the karaoke bar.
Matthew considered banishing the demons that were in the dynamic realm that was above him, but he did not have the heart to fight. As he suspected, he arrived before the Alverezes. He secured the same booth that they had used the first night he met them there. Matthew ordered alcoholic beverages, one right after the other, desperately attempting to calm his nerves. Excessive drinking darkened his spirit spectrum, but he was beyond the point of caring about it. He did not even bother to put in a song request.
After what seemed like an eternity, Matthew saw the Alverezes arrive. Domingo entered the bar with his dapper strut, flanked by his beautiful sisters. Leila strolled in with her usual charm; her hair was laced with red highlights. Carmen stepped into the bar with attire that was slightly more revealing than usual. Matthew flagged them down and greeted them with hugs.
“Where's Kylie and Garret?” Carmen asked.
