by J M Hamm
“I don’t need him to tell me anything,” I said. “I already know where she is. I just want to talk to my friend. I need to know if anything of him is left. And … I want to ask him why.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said as she began to stand. “If you actually know where she is then we may have a deal. I can’t guarantee my superiors won’t decide to come down on you with everything they have, though. This may not end the way you are hoping.”
I laughed. It made no sense, but the idea of a plan actually working the way I wanted it to just struck me as some kind of grand irony. No, this would be a cluster fuck of chaos and betrayal with a nice topping of death, but I had to roll the dice and hope I came out the other side.
“There is hardly much precedent of that.” My mirth slowly faded, and my voice took on a more serious tone. “Catayla,” I said as she reached the door.
“Yes, Finn?”
“When this is all sorted, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I still consider you as a friend.”
She didn’t answer, instead giving me a passing glance as she slowly closed door. I could hear the echoes of her boots on the hard tile as they gradually faded into the distance.
“How was that?” I asked.
“Good, Finn,” said a bristly wheeze. “Well done, indeed.”
Chapter Forty: Eye of the Storm
The door to my cell slid open with the grinding clank of gears and the soft hiss of depressurizing pneumatics. I was startled, not by the opening door, but by the lack of energy that came with it. I had been accustomed to collecting small traces of eldritch energy whenever Catayla visited me and had even been able to cling to small traces when my food was delivered — and yet this time the air was fresh, pure, and bereft of the invigorating corruption.
“What is it this time?” I asked, my disappointment bleeding into my voice.
Sebbit stood in the doorway, his normally unreadable face contorted into a snarl. His eyes were narrowed, and his inner eyelids had even partial contracted, creating a ring around his slit pupils. His entire body seemed to be vibrating with barely contained animosity.
The alien captain held what looked like a tablet in his left hand; the other was by his side clenching a massive revolver with chambers that looked large enough to hold golf balls. Behind him stood two massively tall female peacekeepers in jet black armor. Each was carrying a rifle the size of a small tree.
“Take this,” Sebbit said while tossing me a small sphere.
The ball was matte black and seemed to be made from interlocking hexagons. As I caught it, the orb began to unfold into long filaments that clung and wrapped around my hand before beginning to spread down my arm and up around my shoulder.
“What the hell is …”
My words were cut off as the material spread over my head and wormed around both shoulders and down my back. Within seconds, I was completely encased in the substance and it quickly hardened until I was unable to move. It was like being encased in solid stone, and just as heavy.
“Give it a moment, Mr. Finn,” Sebbit said. He was no longer using a translator and his English was stilted and his voice deep and gruff.
I yelled profanities at the captain as the material covered my eyes turning everything to black. Soon, my panic ended, and I found myself crouched on all fours. The crushing weight had lessened, and my vision was beginning to clear as if a dark film was slowly dissolving from my eyes.
I lifted my hands up to my face, but they stopped several centimeters in front of my eyes. I moved my fingers upwards and found a hard barrier around my head. Despite being seamless and feeling identical to the rest of the black material, the portion in front of my eyes was practically invisible.
My hands and arms were covered by the same material — a dark graphene-like substance that was so black that it seemed to absorb any light that came in contact with it. It had covered my entire body like an armored skin.
“This …”
I began to stammer out a question, but before I could finish Sebbit turned on his heel and began to walk away — his two guards stepped to the side to create a hole. Just as he exited the door, he looked over his shoulder, “Come with me, Mr. Finn. I believe that I may require your assistance.”
“Just like that? You can’t just ...”
Sebbit didn’t wait, instead quickly charging down the narrow passageway with his guards in tow. I stood, staring at the open door not knowing what to do. I had been a prisoner for so long that the promise of freedom felt like a rug that could be pulled out from under me at any moment … or a mistake. Had the Fisher been right? Would they really let me go that easily?
If Sebbit needed my help, then the situation was probably already beyond fucked. I might as well follow and find exactly what form this particular dicking would take. I’d like it even less if I just waited for it to find me.
Never let it be said that Augustus Finn ran from trouble. Hell, at this point, running towards trouble was basically my MO.
The alien captain had already disappeared by the time I entered the hallway, but one of his massive bodyguards was standing next to a narrow metal staircase that led up to an open hatch. I took her presence as an invitation and quickly sprinted down the hall.
My limbs responded sluggishly as if I were trying to swim through molasses. I had done everything I could to stay in shape during my imprisonment, but no amount of training could replace the feeling of strength and exhilaration that came from system enhanced stats.
Despite my clumsiness, I leaped up the stairs two at a time. At the top, I found a narrow vestibule where the paths split. The stairs continued upwards after a short bend, but directly in front of me was an open hatch that led outside.
The sun … I had seen glimpses of it since re-establishing a partial link to the Fisher, but his sight lacked a certain clarity of color. The bird tended to see everything in drab tones of grey and bright, bloody reds. I closed my eyes as I stepped out of the hatch, waiting for the comfortable heat to touch my face.
I was disappointed, it may have been daytime, but it was impossible to be sure. Thick clouds of purple and red covered the sky, plunging the world into perpetual night. Only a few stray beams of sunshine broke through the cover, like needles poking through a sheet. These filtered strands of light only served to draw a contrast against the dark and violent heavens.
There were sounds all around me, orders being shouted and boots marching across pavement, but I ignored it all. My eyes were locked on the turbulent sky. It felt a bit like staring into Hell. Was this finally it?
As I finally snapped back to reality, I found that I was standing on a wide, concrete platform. Lines of Peacekeepers marched passed me in perfect lines and lockstep. Directly in front of me were Sebbit and a group of subordinates, standing beneath what looked like a perfectly preserved WWII fighter plane.
This is the Yorktown, I realized.
I’d loved coming here as a child, even dreaming of one day becoming a Naval pilot like my grandfather, but the massive ship had long ago lost its power to awe me — simply a familiar fixture on the horizon. Now, I was horrified but what it meant that an invading force had commandeered a piece of American history.
“What the hell is going on,” I yelled over the roar of competing voices.
A few faces turned to look at me, but quickly leaned back into their conversations — all but ignoring me. I’d just have to get their attention.
“Sebbit …”
The captain looked up as I began charging toward him, and one of his subordinates stepped forward to block my path. I stopped short, however, as a realization hit me. I hadn’t felt a drop of eldritch energy since I’d exited my cell. Even now, as I stood beneath a sky covered in the corrupting energy, I couldn’t detect even the smallest trace of it.
I could faintly make out the familiar feel of the eldritch in the distance. The clouds themselves seemed to be made from a concentrated form of the energy, but it was too dense and far away for me to
control.
I brushed aside an armored hand that grabbed for me, as I spun around to take in my surroundings. What I had thought were clouds, were in fact a spinning vortex of pure eldritch energy, though a slow moving one. The Yorktown was in the middle of a vertical tunnel that was empty of the energy, like the eye of a storm.
All around us, the vortex spun, slowly obliterating everything in its path — and it was slowly contracting. Within hours, it would pass over us and leave nothing but wreckage behind. The same hands I had brushed aside earlier grabbed me and dragged me forward, but I ignored it as I continued to stare at the heavens.
“You see it, don’t you?” Sebbit asked. “Good, if you hadn’t, I would have lost what slim faith I have that you can help us.”
“… I.”
I couldn’t speak. I simply looked up at the moving hurricane of eldritch energy. What could create such a thing? Was this a normal weather pattern now? Or worse, was there something powerful enough to direct it?
“I see it,” I whispered, “but I can’t do anything against … this. That much energy is thousands of times larger than anything I’ve ever dealt with. If I could survive long enough to go mad in the attempt, I would consider that a major victory.”
Sebbit smiled. The grin was full of razor-sharp teeth and was objectively terrifying, but it was a smile nonetheless.
“If you could stop this, Mr. Finn, I believe our relationship would be reversed and It would be me at your mercy. No, I don’t want you to fight this or even try to slow it down.”
“Then what do you want? I’m not much good in a fight these days, and I have no idea what is going on.”
“You cannot control this energy, but you have a connection to it that allows you to see it and, more importantly, track it. None of the equipment or personnel under my command are your match in this area, Mr. Finn. It would be fair to say you are … a valuable asset at my disposal.”
The way he emphasized the word “disposal” set me on edge, but my shock hadn’t worn off enough to feel fear or anger. I stood there for several seconds, my mouth acting as a fly trap rather than a method of communication.
I might have taken longer to react, but a dark presence in the back of my mind urged me to focus. Our lives were in danger, and this might be our only shot at salvation.
“Fine,” I said. “You tell me what to look for and I’ll find it, but I’m going to need my stats and class restored. Without them I have much less control over the energy, and I can only see it physically when it is concentrated like it is now. I need —”
“Very good.”
The captain waved his hand and a tall Peacekeeper female with brown skin and long red hair walked forward. She was one of only a few of her species I had seen with long hair, and she hardly seemed to fit in with the Spartan military vibe most of the alien soldiers gave off.
Rather than armor or the form-fitting jumpsuit that most Peacekeepers wore, she was wrapped in a long flowing robe covered in symbols stitched from silver thread and she had heavy chains wrapped around her waist and forearms.
“This,” said Sebbit.
“I remember,” I said. “Archmage Telvius. It’s good to see you again. The chain you gave me saved my life several times.”
“My pleasure as well, young errant. Perhaps you would be better off had you not so casually tossed aside my gift?”
“Yeah … well.” I shrugged.
“Enough,” barked Sebbit. “As I was saying, this is Archmage Telvius Armeria, she is one of only seven Class Two citizens on this continent, and most likely the most powerful mage on this entire backwater world. She will give you your task. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a battle to coordinate. I wish you good luck, may you bring honor to her majesty, the Resplendent Wave.”
Abruptly leaving conversations was becoming a pattern for Sebbit, and he didn’t disappoint this time. I promised myself that as soon as I had a chance I’d learn how to perform that sharp looking heel turn he always used.
“I wish our meeting were under better circumstances, young Finn.” The archmage smiled with a tight, closed-lipped mouth while giving a short bow. “I’m afraid the time for pleasantries is short. But first, call me Telvy, and this is Ren, Shora, and Melar. With you, that is our entire team.”
My instincts as a southerner kicked in at her politeness, immediately putting me at ease. She seemed collected and elegant, and the three brutes in black armor that towered behind her gave her a sense of … gravitas.
“Uh… right, Telvy. Call me Finn.” I reached out with my hand, but when she didn’t take it I returned her bow. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is simple: search and destroy. I’ll be doing most of the destroying.”
Her smile was no longer closed mouth as she revealed two rows of teeth that twisted into a wide grin. She began to twirl a loose strand of red hair, and the chains wrapped around her began to hum.
If I had to compare her body language to anything it would be a giddy teenage girl waiting for her prom date. It was downright terrifying.
“Ah, right,” I stuttered. “Sebbit mentioned you would be able to restore my stats? And my class.”
“Of course, darling. Just give me your hand, this won’t take but a moment.”
Chapter Forty-one: Chains that Bind
Cold shivers ran down my limbs and my skin prickled, even as I felt like I was being boiled from within. I think I screamed, but the shrieks were consumed by a deep hum that reverberated through my skull and drowned out everything else. All awareness of anything but the pain fled as my vision descended into a fog of white and red.
As the pain went on it didn’t lessen, but I slowly began to regain clarity as a feeling of strength filled me. Energy poured through me with the intensity of a pump forcing hot water through cold veins, reinvigorating, and giving life to what I hadn’t recognized as dead.
“What …?” I blinked my eyes open, unable to comprehend the shapes around me. “Where am I?”
“Quiet,” said Telvy. “You’re ruining my concentration. Do you think mana surgery is easy? You wouldn’t want me to mess it up my first time, would you?” She tisked and mumbled to herself, but I could only make out pieces of it … “Could ruin my confidence for years.”
“First ti…”
I gasped in pain, unable to finish the sentence. Instead, I found myself retching as I clutched at my stomach.
“Shhh,” she said, “The pain will pass faster if you don’t fight it. Here, drink this.”
She rolled me over onto my back and I felt something bitter and acrid poured down my throat. It tasted vile, but I immediately began to feel better. The sky and the scaly face looking down at me were the first things to come into focus.
When had I collapsed?
My muscles felt twitchy and restless like they needed to be used or else they might burst. I needed to run, to let my muscles stretch, and yet I couldn’t even figure out how to stand. My mind was still trying to determine where it was, let alone minor details like how to walk.
“What did you give me?”
My lips felt numb and the words were hard to form. In fact, everything was becoming harder to focus on. Telvy’s face seemed to glow as faint traces of color danced along the scales that lined her jawline.
“Just a concoction to speed things up,” she said. “Give in, your body will know what to do.”
“My … what?”
I tried to push myself up with my arms when a spasm ran through my entire body. I hardly made it a few inches off the deck before the pain drove me back. My head was spinning and focusing on what was happening became impossible as if each thought was drowned out by uncountable memories and ideas greedily competing with and consuming each other. The last thing I remember was a faint, pulsing aura. And then I saw black.
***
Calibrating…. System Initializing. Basic Stats… Adjusting….
Lines of text scrolled past my eyes. The words came fast, and I barely had t
ime to pick out a few of them as they disappeared beneath my field of vision. I noticed the first signs that my skills were returning when the blue glow of mana became visible as swirling lines coiling around my fingertips.
I could feel and see the mana around and within me. The blueish energy stood in sharp contrast to the deep black tinged with flickering red that represented the skeletal lines of eldritch energy that I had built like scaffolding within me.
The air was almost empty of both types of energy, but Telvy was a beacon. The Peacekeeper mage was a raging inferno of blue and green flames that spun around her like a wild storm. It was a beautiful sight, but humbling. Every spell I had ever cast would not equal a tenth of the energy the woman held within her.
More notifications began to appear, but I set them aside for a moment to open my status screen. As the translucent screen appeared before me, I let out a breath.
It was back. I was back.
Augustus Finn
Class: Hierophant
Level: 3/11
Stamina (r/ per second): 36/36 (0.30)
Mana (r/ per minute): 94/94 (3.133)
Might: 14
Agility: 9
Reaction: 12
Intellect: 38
Perception: 27
Focus: 22
Phys. Resist: 7
Mag. Resist: 6
Men. Resist: 5
My stats were exactly as I remembered them, and I could feel the vitality and strength running through my limbs.
If anything, I felt stronger than before. Perhaps living without the system had done me some good. I was starting to think that in many ways the system was a crutch I needed to learn to walk without. It was certainly true that having it kicked out from under me had left me helpless.
My body, my real muscles and flesh, hadn’t gotten stronger as I fought and struggled in the weeks since Eldritch Night. It hadn’t had to; something else was doing the work. The only thing that had grown stronger had been the benefits of the system. Only by being completely cut off from that crutch had I been able to grow. Despite that, any ‘human’ gains were capped and would come much more slowly than the stats granted by the system.
