Starbreak (Rise to Omniscience Book 2)

by Aaron Oster

  He extracted himself from under the coat, shivering as his bare chest was exposed to the freezing air outside. He quickly pulled one of the old canvas uniform shits from the bag and tugged it over his head. He tightened the straps at his sides, then pulled out the new enchanted uniform shirt and tugged that over his head as well.

  It shrank and conformed to his body, and he was glad to feel that his mobility had been only slightly hampered by the extra layer he was wearing. He examined his still mangled hand. It had swollen to more than twice its original size and was an ugly mix of yellows and blues. He quickly tucked it into a pocket, wincing slightly in discomfort, then set about getting a fire going.

  He glanced back to Sarah’s sleeping form, wondering at her odd behavior. She’d kissed him again when they’d come through the portal and he’d gotten that same weird feeling again, though it was quickly tempered by their situation. She’d also acted really strange last night when he’d told her to get undressed so they could stay warm through the night.

  He held his hands out to the fire, feeling warmth flooding back into him after he’d been exposed to the cold. He had to wonder once again if there was a secret luck attribute that no one knew about. After all, what were the chances that he would pick up a random piece of flint or that they would come through into this freezing wasteland with enough firewood to last a month?

  Morgan snorted to himself, then turned his attention back to the problem at hand. It was cold inside but would be much worse once he went out. He would need to do so soon though, as they were completely out of food. They’d thought they would be in a town by now and hadn’t bothered to conserve their rations the previous few days. He looked at Sarah’s sleeping form once more, debating whether to wake her up or not, but ultimately decided against it.

  She would need all the rest she could get. He was used to living hard, though he may have gone a bit soft since entering the academy. He rose from his crouched position near the fire, then removed two uniform shirts for Sarah and laid them near the fire to warm.

  Then he floated up to the ceiling of their makeshift shelter and flew out into the open air. The wind hit him like a punch to the face, instantly dashing any lingering sleep from his mind and making him feel more alive than he had in weeks. He floated up higher, wind buffeting him from all sides as he took in their surrounding landscape.

  It was white as far as the eye could see with only the looming shadow of the mountain to break it up. The sun sparkled off the snow, making it extremely bright and difficult to see. He floated up there for a few seconds more, then dove out of the air, corkscrewing as he did so. He pulled out of his dive when he was just feet away from the ground, letting out a loud whoop as he gained altitude once more.

  A flicker of movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned in the air, spotting an ice-clawed wolverine eyeing him hungrily.

  It looked like he’d just found breakfast.

  ***

  Six years ago…

  “We can’t leave!” Sarah yelled, trying to free herself from Morgan’s grip. “Hint was near the wall when it collapsed. He needs our help!”

  “He’s dead,” Morgan replied, still dragging her to the grate. “There’s nothing we can do to help him. If you don’t leave him, then he’ll have died for nothing.”

  He heard a loud sob when he said this, but Sarah stopped resisting, allowing him to drag her to the grate.

  “Oh Lady Saaarahhh!” Morgan heard the man call out in a sing-song voice. “Where did you go? We just want to talk to you. No need to be afraid!”

  Sarah shuddered when she heard that voice and quickly squatted down near Morgan to help him remove the grate. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, but she pulled with all the meager strength her body had to offer.

  Finally, they managed to get the grate off and Morgan quickly peeked over his shoulder. He could see shadows looming through the dust and gave Sarah a shove, forcing her into the hole. She let out an indignant shriek as she fell through, landing in two feet of stinking garbage below.

  She glared up as Morgan’s face appeared above and despite her tears, she felt a small surge of hope.

  Maybe Morgan would be able to get her home. Then the guards would come to kill these bad men and save Hint.

  Her heart seized in her throat as a big, meaty hand appeared, latching onto Morgan and dragging him away from the sewer entrance. She quickly pressed herself up against a wall, glad that her colorful dress was now so stained with the muck that she blended in with her surroundings.

  A face peered over the edge a moment later. It was painted with bright colors, but the man’s face beneath the colorful mask was anything but friendly. Sarah quivered in terror, doing her best to stifle her sobs as the man looked around.

  Thankfully, the dimness of the sewer, along with Sarah’s muck-smeared clothes, created an effective camouflage and the man removed his head a moment later.

  “I don’t see ‘er!” She heard a rough sounding voice call out.

  “Well, go down and have a look, you dumb shit!” Another voice called.

  Sarah had to stifle a gasp at the foul-mouthed men and resisted the urge to cover her ears as they continued arguing.

  “I’m not going down into that mess! It smells like your mother’s ass!”

  “Oy don’t go pokin’ fun of my mother!” A third voice called out.

  “I’ll do as I please!” The second voice answered.

  “Shut up, both of you!”

  Sarah shivered as she recognized the voice of the colorfully dressed man who had approached them.

  “We don’t know where the girl is, but we’ve got this little street rat right here. He’ll tell us where she ran off to. All we have to do is beat it out of him.”

  Sarah then heard Morgan’s wild laugh and a whole lot of cursing. Finally, there was a meaty thwack and the cursing subsided.

  “Little shit damn near took my ear off,” one of the men said.

  “I’m kinda sorry he didn’t. It would have improved that ugly mug!”

  There was a chorus of laughter following that remark, followed by more cursing and meaty thwacks.

  “Enough already!” the voice of the brightly dressed man called out. “You can kill him when we’re done questioning the little brat. Until then, I don’t want to hear any more whining.”

  There was a chorus of mumbled yesses and the voices began to fade.

  Sarah kept herself pressed up against the wall until she could no longer hear the voices, then she cautiously approached a small ladder near the grate and clambered up the slippery rungs. Peeking over the edge, she could no longer spot the men, so she climbed out and hurriedly made her way over to where the large pile of rubble still blocked the exit.

  What was she going to do? Morgan had been captured by the men who were after her and according to him, Hint was probably dead.

  She felt the tears start running down her face again as she approached the pile of rubble and didn’t spot any movement.

  Was Hint down there, trapped under all that stone?

  Sarah shuddered and was about to break down crying again, when she heard a shout come from one of the rooftops.

  “Hey you, girl!” Sarah looked up, startled by the sudden noise, but was relieved to see two men in guard uniforms.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Sarah called out, looking up with new hope in her eyes.

  The guards would help her. They would dig Hint out of the rubble and help her save Morgan.

  She watched as the guards clambered from the roof onto the rubble and made their way down to street level.

  “What happened here, girl?” One of them asked, looking down at her with a mixture of disgust and pity.

  “A bunch of men tried to kidnap me!” Sarah exclaimed, feeling her tears coming once more. “They buried Hint under all that rubble and took Morgan! You have to help me!”

  The guard snorted at her and turned to his partner.

  “You hear that,
Hicks? We’d better report this right away,” he said.

  For some reason that Sarah couldn’t figure out, the man was speaking in a very odd tone of voice that didn’t match the seriousness of the situation at all.

  “You’re right. We should definitely report this,” the man, who Sarah assumed to be Hicks, said.

  “Good! I want you to gather up some guards and clear all this rubble away, too. Hint is trapped under there and we need to get him out!”

  “Oh, right away, my lady!” Hicks replied, giving the other guard a wink. “I’ll just go do that right now,” he said, turning his back on her and walking away.

  “I think I better help him,” the other guard replied, then turned to leave as well.

  “Wait!” Sarah called after him. “You can’t leave. I need you to track down Morgan for me!”

  The guard turned around, his amusement now turning to annoyance.

  “Listen, girl, it was funny before, but don’t go thinking that you can order around city guards. Now, why don’t you scamper off before we decide to lock you up for the night?”

  Sarah was incensed.

  Didn’t these guards know who she was?!

  “I order you to stop!” she yelled, feeling her anger overcome her grief, if only for a moment. “I am Lady Sarah, daughter of Lord Simon, and you will obey my orders!”

  The guard froze, his foot already propped up on a stone block. The other guard had already made it to the top, and called down to the man.

  “You coming, Leroy?”

  “No, you go on ahead. This girl might have some answers after all,” he called back, waving the other guard on.

  “If you say so,” he called back, then he disappeared from view.

  Sarah glared as the other guard turned back to her.

  “Why did you dismiss him? I needed him to get more guards!”

  “We were worried that we’d lost you, Lady Sarah,” the guard said, reaching out and grabbing her by the arm. “Kook will be so happy to hear that I’ve found you.”

  Sarah winced in pain as the guard’s grip on her arm tightened and he began dragging her across the open square.

  “Ow! Let go of me! What do you think you’re doing?” Sarah yelled, struggling against the much stronger guard.

  A ringing slap caught her across the face, and she cried out as she felt her vision fuzz over for a second.

  “Shut up, you little bitch, or you’ll get another!” the guard said, dragging her more forcefully to what looked like a blank wall.

  Sarah staggered after him, tears streaming from her eyes, as she realized that this man was clearly working with the others from before. He was likely taking her to them now, and who knew what they would do once they had her?

  The guard approached the wall and pushed against it in a few places, then, amazingly, the wall swung inward, revealing a long downward sloping tunnel. Sarah swallowed hard as she was dragged inside, her last glimpse of daylight vanishing as the door swung shut behind her.

  ***

  Sarah was just waking up as Morgan drifted down through the opening in the roof with a dead wolverine slung over his shoulder.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, placing the beast down near the fire and fishing her combat knife from the pack.

  “Yes, actually,” she said, sitting up and shrugging off the coat.

  She began shivering as soon as she did, and quickly reached for the uniforms he’d laid out for her.

  He had to wonder why women seemed to have something against going bare-chested the way men did. He knew that they didn’t like it for some reason, though he couldn’t really fathom as to why.

  Sarah noticed him staring, and flushed, quickly turning her back to him and pulling the canvas shirt over her head. Morgan shrugged to himself, and set to skinning the wolverine. It was awkward at first, as he was forced to work with only one hand, but after a few minutes, he’d gotten the hang of it.

  “Why are you skinning that thing?” Sarah asked, laying her coat on the ground and sitting down next to him. “Don’t you just want the meat?”

  Morgan looked up at her, giving her an odd look.

  “We’re in an icy wasteland and you’re asking me why I’m skinning an animal that’s perfectly suited to this climate?”

  “No need to be snarky,” she said, swatting him on the shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Yes, actually,” he said, then quickly cut several thick slabs of meat from its ribs, legs, and hindquarters.

  “Cut the rump meat into strips and place them on that rock I put near the fire.”

  Sarah looked over to the flat stone he’d shoved in there, the action now making a lot more sense to her.

  Using her condense water skill, she soon had a sharp-edged knife made of ice. She then began to inexpertly attempt to cut the meat, making small sounds of frustration when they came out all mangled and ragged.

  Morgan finished skinning the beast, then looked over to where Sarah was destroying their breakfast.

  “You know what? How about I cut those up, and I’ll leave you to watch them while they cook.”

  Sarah gave him a grateful look as he bent down, and began expertly slicing the meat into thin, even strips.

  “Where did you learn to do this?” she asked.

  As far as she knew, he’d survived on the streets by scavenging. He’d never told her anything about hunting or how to cook. In fact, back at the academy, he’d specifically told her he didn’t know how.

  “I told you about the two years that I’m missing from my memory?” he asked, finishing to slice the meat and placing it on the hot stone.

  “Yes.”

  He’d told her the day after they’d emerged from their first trip into the beast zone with Gold. She’d found it very strange, but she hadn’t known him yet back then, so she couldn’t help him remember anything.

  “My memories have slowly been returning over the last few days,” he continued as he prodded at the meat, flipping it over on the hot stone and hearing the fat sizzle.

  “Just bits and pieces, nothing concrete. I honestly didn’t even know I could skin and butcher an animal until just now, but the moment I started, it just felt natural to me, as though I’d done it a thousand times before.”

  He turned to look at her, and Sarah could see something she’d never seen in his eyes before. Doubt. As long as she’d known him, he’d never once questioned who he was, or where he came from, but now, with the resurfacing of lost memories, he’d begun to have them.

  She placed her hand over his and gave him her brightest smile.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll regain your memories in time, but you are who you are, and none of your lost memories will change that. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

  She leaned in then and wrapped her arms around him, and for the first time ever, Morgan didn’t mind it at all.

  ***

  Morgan ducked as the ice-clawed wolverine alpha took a massive swipe at him, then jumped back as Sarah’s icicle barrage slammed into its side, turning it into a pincushion. The zone Matriarch dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap as blood pooled around it.

  “That fight was much easier than I thought it would be,” Sarah said, walking over to the beast and removing the core retrieval rod from her belt.

  “Yeah, it really was an easy fight,” Morgan mused, looking to the other side of the icy cave, where a tunnel led to the next stage.

  It had only taken them three hours to get here, and none of the beasts had really put up much of a fight. The stage was so easy, it was almost laughable.

  He couldn’t forget that the next one might be a whole lot more challenging. Best not to become too overconfident, lest it cost them their lives.

  Sarah straightened, clutching the core in her hand.

  “Do you wanna take a look at it?” she asked, extending her arm out to him.

  Morgan just shook his head.

  “Absorb it. You killed the beast, so i
t’s yours.”

  They’d decided not to divide the cores up, rather, whoever did the brunt of the fighting would get to keep it.

  Sarah shrugged, then the core disintegrated in her hand and fell to the floor.

  “You ready to go up to the next stage?” he asked.

  “Not yet. I want to check my status before we do.”

  Morgan nodded, deciding to check his own while she was at it.

  Name: Morgan

  Supermage: Rank - 11

  Energy to next rank - 6,771/22,000

  Ability - Divine Gravity & Air

  RP - 650/650 (Regen - 6.4 per second)

  Strength - 60

  Agility - 72

  Constitution - 63

  Intelligence - 65

  Wisdom - 64

  Skills - Enhanced flight, Heavy impact, Gale force, Condensed wind blade

  Traits - Gravity field, Recovery

  Extra - Gravity storm

  He closed his status with a sigh, and waited for Sarah to close hers as well. He’d decided against using the cores he had, rather using only those of the beasts he killed here, as it would be more beneficial to his growth.

  “Alright, I’m ready to head up,” Sarah said as she closed her status.

  Morgan nodded, and they headed into the icy tunnel.

  21

  They emerged from the opposite end of the tunnel about twenty minutes later, and Morgan took a few moments to examine their new surroundings. The area before them was wide open and had a definite upward slope to it. Large, icy rocks protruded in some areas, and he could see other places where the ground sloped sharply downward.

  “What rank do you think this stage is?” Sarah asked, her breath steaming in the frigid mountain air.

  “No idea. We’ll only know once we run into the first beasts,” he replied.

  “Any idea which way we should go?”