by Dante King
“Eric, jump!” Lyra cupped her hands around her mouth, her voice a panicked squeal. “The Beetles are attacking!”
The insects spit thick clumps of corrosive materials at the tower, which had fallen far enough for the bits of metal near the top to now be in range. Dodging them as best I could, I sprang for the bit of rooftop, praying I could reach it before the Rust Beetles covered me in filth.
The edge hit me in the stomach, sending Anna out of my hands. As the roof swayed beneath me, the scythe shimmered and reformed as Anna, laying across the narrow platform like an underwear model posing for a photoshoot. She took one look at me sliding over the edge and scooted over, grabbing at my hands.
“Hang on!” she hollered, tugging me onto the platform. “I’ve got you!”
Rust Beetles nipped at my heels as Anna pulled me up, helping me onto the center of the platform. “Shit, that was close,” I grunted, making it to my feet.
The fallen platform behind us already bulged with beetles. They crisscrossed every inch of empty space, vomiting their clumps of corrosion in every direction. Getting back to Bao and Lyra was going to be a major chore now.
Anna switched back to the scythe, and we crossed the last few platforms. None of these had taken as much damage as the first two, and the Rust Beetles couldn’t reach us no matter how they tried. As we fought our way to the crane, that horrible wave of hunger rolled over me once again, nearly tearing the scythe from my hands.
“Eat later,” Anna groaned, sounding like a barely legal beauty humping her pillow for the first time. “Kill now!”
I did. The scythe slashed again and again, cutting through the Rust Beetles foolish enough to get between me and the crane. The hunger didn’t matter; the weakness didn’t matter. We had to close that hole in order to save the town, and to keep our group safe. Nothing else mattered.
As I reached the crane, I heard a cheer from somewhere behind me. Lyra jumped up and down on her section of ridge, acting like my personal cheerleader as she watched Anna and I go.
The struts holding up the crane were heavily damaged—it was easy to cut through them with Anna’s cultivation-enhanced steel. The first beam I hit snapped like a twig, while the second only took two or three axe-like smacks before it buckled inward and broke. The crane twisted alarmingly, breaking free of its housing.
For a moment it hung in the air, defying the laws of gravity. Then the whole thing plummeted into the Central Shaft, kicking up a massive cloud of dust as the instrument disappeared beneath the surface. The walls of the shaft collapsed inward around it, sealing the breach as efficiently as a charge of dynamite.
As the dust cleared, I saw something that sent my heart into my throat: the space where the Central Shaft had once been was completely clear. The Rust Beetles that had escaped the explosion still meandered around the mine, but no new ones had come to replace those surrounding the mineshaft entrance.
The flood had stopped.
I hardly even noticed the phantasmagoric shimmer of color in the corner of my vision—I was too busy staring at that empty space, unable to believe it. Anna stood next to me, her jaw wide open and her hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage.
“Hot damn!” my girlfriend said, grinning from ear to ear. “We did it! “We did it! We closed the shaft!”
I looked up to see Lyra and Bao on the ridge, celebrating. Both of them looked happy as could be to see me victorious. Lyra threw her fists in the air like a marathon runner crossing the finish line, beaming at Anna and I from her position atop the ridge. The bright blue sun shined at their back, illuminating their shadows as they fell across the few Rust Beetles remaining.
A tremor passed through the earth.
Lyra’s look of victory turned to shock as a massive crack opened in the just closed Central Shaft. Anna and I tensed up, expecting another flood of Rust Beetles from deep beneath the ground—but what emerged was something far more dangerous, not to mention stranger.
For a few moments, my brain decided that the miners of Jinshu must have buried a statue in their mine. The thing that climbed out of the pit had the form of a man, though his skin was slate grey rather than a pale pink or the deeper browns common to this region. Thick cords of muscle stood out on his arms and legs, and as he climbed from the pit, he swung a long-handled halberd along with him.
“Who… what is that?” Anna asked. Her uncertainty about how to refer to the invader meant she was just as confused as I was. Had Anna and I disturbed some giant sleeping within the mineshaft, or was this some kind of monster?
Our questions were answered a few moments later. The creature rose to its full height, well over seven feet tall and made of muscle. It slammed a fist into the earth, and a wave of black energy rippled across the surface in all directions.
Dimly, I could hear Lyra screaming. “Eric! Get out of there!”
Bao knew even more than the redhead did. “It’s a Bronze Shade!” the cultivator cried, his eyebrows raised in alarm. “The cultivators were said to have wiped them all out!”
“There must have been one left!” I shot back, watching a cloud of dust rise from the Shade’s attack. It seemed pleased at this test of its power. A grim smile stretched its stony mouth. The thing even looked like a statue—the cruel, expressionless kind adorning the museums of conquerors and emperors. The kind where you knew the man it had been modelled after didn’t have an ounce of pity in his body.
This thing could be trouble.
“Take me,” Anna whispered. I turned to tell her I’d gladly do that once we had a moment to ourselves, but she’d already transformed into her scythe form. I gripped her hilt as a snarl unfurled in my head, the sound of Anan sizing the creature up and not liking what she saw.
“How bad is this thing?” I yelled, opening my senses to the world around me. “It doesn’t seem to want to attack. Any chance it might be friendly?”
Bao stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. “It’s probably been asleep down there for years!” the cultivator shouted back, his voice gone uncharacteristically shrill. “Get back here before it fully activates—”
Too late.
The Shade’s head moved on a swivel, taking in Bao and Lyra on the ledge and Anna and I next to the crane in a fraction of a moment. Its eyes narrowed, a glowing red aura like burning coals lighting up in those merciless orbs.
Shit. We weren’t getting out of this without a fight.
I brandished Anna, executing a tournament-perfect flourish as I passed the scythe from one hand to the other. “Bring it,” I growled, trying to sense the Bronze Shade as best as I could. It appeared to be made of metal, like the Rust Beetles, which meant it probably had the same elemental aspects as the creatures we’d been killing all day. Anna’s cultivation wouldn’t be ineffective against the monster, exactly—but things would be a lot easier for me if I were holding Lyra rather than Anna.
I shrugged the thought off and prepared to fling myself into battle. One on one, I could take this Bronze Shade down. I’d fought worse creatures before, right?
But the Shade had no intention of making this a fair fight.
With another of those unnerving grins, the Shade slammed its fist into the dirt. This time a much larger wave of that strange black magic rippled across the mining complex. It distorted the air around it like watching the world through an open grill, shimmering with heat.
The wave hit the closed section of the Central Shaft and kept right on going, rolling across the mining complex. I braced myself as darkness rolled over me, the world going black as the Bronze Shade’s assault tried to rip away my senses and weaken me for a follow-up attack.
Good Lord! This wasn’t metal at all. I had no doubt the Shade had a wide array of metal-aspected spells, but this wasn’t one of them. A lurching sense of disorientation infiltrated me as I took a step backward, the ground beneath me no longer so solid or reassuring. Only the bond between Anna and me kept me sane — without her presence in my mind to anchor my thoughts, my consci
ousness might have been swept away by the strange wall of darkness.
As the sensation passed, the world snapped back into focus. A sentence flashed in the air before my eyes, informing me of what I already felt inside:
Darkness Comprehension Increased!
Initiating Memorize Stage (Dark Wave: Level 1)
Memorize Stage reached 10% (Dark Wave: Level 1)
“The element of Darkness,” I murmured, shocked to my core. I’d never encountered it before—and at that moment, at least, I’d have been glad to never run across it again. That had felt awful!
Anna was no less disoriented than I was. “Hoo boy,” her voice groaned, rippling through my skull. “I gained some comprehension in Darkness, too. That really sucked!”
“Agreed,” I growled. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t get another one of those off!”
Together, Anna and I charged into the fray. The Bronze Shade stood watching us impassively, as if amused we’d survived its wave of darkness. It wasn’t until I was nearly within arm’s reach of the monster and ready to strike that I realized the second effect its wave attack had just caused.
The Rust Beetles behind the Shade no longer meandered about without a purpose. They turned as one at my approach, beady red eyes glittering in their broad, disgusting heads.
More of them had already begun to change. As the wave of darkness rolled through the mine complex, it covered the Rust Beetles—who transformed beneath the Bronze Shade’s power. The beetles grew larger, more aggressive, no longer interested in corroding metal or eating roof shingles. These things were vicious.
“Demonic Rust Beetles,” Anna groaned in my head. “That asshole just powered them up! They’re not just using the element of Metal anymore—they’ve been infused with Darkness, too!”
I could swear the Bronze Shade smirked at me. Whatever intelligence animated that monster, it knew exactly what it had just done.
An idea occurred to me. “He must have given them a bit of his power,” I realized, the words making more sense as I worked through them. “That’s what that wave does—it tries to convert living things to Darkness.”
Anna shuddered in my mind. “We almost gave in,” she purred, sounding terrified. “At least I did…”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’ve got you. I won’t let this monster claim your soul, Anna!”
I felt her snicker. “You know you own it already, baby,” she said, grinning mentally. “Let’s kill this asshole and hope whatever he did to those Rust Beetles gets undone when he dies!”
That was our only hope. Fighting our way back up to the ridge had just become impossible.
A wall of Beetles separated us from Bao and Lyra. I could tell the cultivator wanted to jump down and fight, but Lyra was holding him back. Good, I thought. He’d be dead within seconds.
I locked eyes with the Bronze Shade, hoping like hell it had enough intelligence to be offended by what I was about to say.
“Coward,” I snarled, pointing the edge of Anna’s scythe at his broad chest. “You need an army to kill one cultivator? Why don’t you fight me one-on-one, like a fucking man!?”
When the Bronze Shade didn’t respond, I figured my effort was wasted. But then, the Shade picked up his long halberd and traced a wide circle in the dirt with the edge, gouging a track with the sharp edge of his weapon. The Demonic Rust Beetles surrounded the ring, chittering at its fringe, but they didn’t enter and tear Anna and I to pieces.
As the Shade finished, it nodded, a cruel smirk on its face. I understood the implication immediately: a duel. With the circle as the edge of our arena.
“Fine,” I said, switching Anna to a two-handed grip. “Just you and me. To the death!”
The Bronze Shade nodded once.
Before I could even think of attacking, the monster was in the air.
It took a flying leap into the clear blue sky, defying the laws of gravity and common sense. The sun made it hard to see—I couldn’t tell where the thing planned to land until it was halfway down from its jump.
Shit!
I twisted backward, parrying with the scythe. The Shade landed a foot in front of me, swinging in a horizontal arc with the tip of its halberd. It was a killing blow — or it would have been, if Anna didn’t jump in my hands like she had a mind of her own. The edge of her steel met the strange metal wielded by the Bronze Shade, and sparks flew across the mining complex.
From somewhere far off, I heard Lyra scream. The Shade’s marking off of the arena kept the Demonic Rust Beetles off our back—but they did nothing for the redhead or Bao. The creatures were busy climbing up the slope, scrambling on top of each other to form a makeshift hill to my group’s safe spot. If I didn’t make this fast, both of them would be overwhelmed. Even if we beat the Bronze Shade after that, it wouldn’t matter. I’d lose Lyra and Bao.
Roaring with bestial anger, I threw myself into the attack. The scythe flashed again and again in my hands, striking high at the Shade’s muscular neck, then low at its ankles. The flurry of blows forced the creature back a step, then another. Its eyes widened in surprise as it adjusted, realizing the foe in front of it was no easy meat.
On the third step, it shifted to the side, moving as smoothly as flowing water. The downward strike I’d aimed with my scythe hit only empty air. The tip of my weapon pierced the earth, sinking deep into the rock and getting stuck.
Oh shit, I thought, ducking beneath the blow I knew had to be coming. I could almost see the Bronze Shade twirling its halberd, aiming the killing strike at my neck. My knees hit the dirt, the muscles of my shoulders tensing as I anticipated the movement of the blow.
It didn’t come.
Instead, the Bronze Shade aimed a swift kick at my scythe. The tip shot out of the ground with a soft ping, flipping end over end as it flew through the sky. The weapon that was my girlfriend Anna landed far outside the circle, and was almost immediately covered by Demonic Rust Beetles. A shimmer of color rolled over the scythe, then retreated just as quickly — as if whoever initiated the transformation had just had second thoughts.
Anna can’t transform back into a human! I thought, panic flaring in my veins. If she did, the Beetles would be on her in a second. In scythe form they could vomit all over her as much as they wanted, but they wouldn’t seriously hurt her. Laying there and taking it was gross, to be sure, but as long as I beat the Bronze Shade, Anna would be fine.
The trouble was, now I had to beat the Bronze Shade. With no weapon.
The Shade sized me up now that I had no scythe. Instead of charging forward like a bull, the statuesque figure hung back, tracing a lazy circle near the fringe of the arena. Was he waiting to see if I pulled another weapon out of thin air? He’d be disappointed if that was the case.
Finally the monster seemed satisfied I’d run out of tricks up my sleeve. He took his time moving across the arena, bringing the long halberd down in a series of slow overhand strikes designed to look as flashy as possible. I sidestepped each of them, the blade flashing down into the dirt, yet every move took a little more energy out of me. That awful sensation of hunger roared like a hungry lion in my gut, letting me know my cultivation was dangerously tapped out.
I had one more card to play. One last surprise. If I had enough energy to pull it off, that is.
The Bronze Shade knew I no longer carried a weapon—and that made the monster bold to the point of overconfidence. Had the mine’s champion been a more brainless creature, like the Marsh Croc I’d faced down in the forests or the Nippers Anna and I had once underestimated, I would have been finished. It would have simply charged forward and slaughtered me.
Instead, the monster moved with practiced slowness, moving its halberd through a series of almost lazy movements. Stab, thrust, stab—always missing me by inches, though closing the gap a little bit more each time. The Bronze Shade didn’t just want to beat me, I realized—it wanted me to be afraid. To fear the strike that would kill me long before the blade cut my flesh, for me to be
dead inside before it did the job of finishing me off.
Hell no! I wouldn’t be afraid. Not of it, or of any monster.
I opened my senses as wide as I could, embracing the world around me. As the Bronze Shade advanced, its stony face impassive, I felt as if I understood it better than I ever had before. I felt the stale air of the closed-off mine, heard the chattering of thousands of tiny feet down below where Rust Beetles remained trapped in closed off tunnels. I felt the fear in Lyra’s body, and the desire in Anna to be back in my hands and slashing the Shade to ribbons.
With that deep an understanding of the world came a time-slowing effect. The already lazy strikes of the Bronze Shade turned almost playful in slow motion, as if it were merely teasing me rather than trying to kill me. I was too smart to be fooled, though — this was the moment to strike. To turn the momentum back to my side.
Stab, thrust, stab. Stab, thrust, stab—always a little bit closer. Until you could barely fit a playing card between me and the halberd. Until it was close enough to touch…
On the last stab, I opened my heart and channeled.
Eric Casts Mana Shield!
The familiar protective domes snapped into place over my knuckles. I saw the Bronze Shade’s eyes widen mid stab, but it was far too late for the creature to alter its attack. The halberd whizzed toward my side, close enough to touch my robe—and as it did, sparks flew through the air.
The shield deflected the blow, sending the halberd skyward.
With my other hand, I hit the Bronze Shade as hard in the face as I possibly could.
Holy hell! A shock of pain traveled all the way down to my shoulder. Hitting the Shade was like punching a boulder! I’d seen that in a video game once, but I’d never expected to try and do it in real life.
The Shade rocked back on its heels, nearly falling onto its ass. I really, really needed the fucker to fall over—but he stubbornly refused, his feet digging into the ground for leverage. Shards of his cheeks snapped off, sprinkling to the ground like a cracked piece of pottery as the Mana Shield ripped right through the creature’s nose.
