“Stop,” Jason said, his voice echoing through the small clearing. His zombies simultaneously pulled weapons from beneath their cloaks, pointing them at the villagers. “You will see that you are surrounded. I will not harm you. However, I insist that you listen to me. I have an offer for you.”
The villagers paused, their eyes filled with fear. Once he was certain he had their attention, Jason began, “You are weak. The land around you withers and dies, and it’s taking you with it. There is no longer any sunlight. Your food is dwindling. Your people disappear, and strange beasts hunt you in the darkness.
“You are all dying. Perhaps not today or tomorrow or next week. But you are on a slow, inevitable crawl toward the abyss,” Jason said. His voice rang with power, and the crowd stood transfixed.
“However, in the face of your destruction, I am prepared to offer you a way out. I can offer you a chance to save yourselves. With my help, you will never need to eat, you will never get sick, and you will never grow old. I can give you the strength to protect your village and the skills to survive in the darkness.”
Some of the people began to look at him with hopeful eyes, a product of their desperation. Others looked angry and scared. They continued to eye the cloaked zombies that stood around them, weapons drawn.
Jason continued, “However, this gift comes with a price. In exchange for what I am offering, you must give up that which you hold most precious.”
He moved toward Krista and Patricia. They stood in mute shock as they listened to his speech. When he was within arm’s length, Jason reached out and ripped off their cloaks. The crowd gasped as they saw Krista’s skeletal form and Patricia’s milky white eyes.
Jason’s voice rang out over the clearing, “I saved this woman and her child. When I found them, they were dead - killed by the same beasts that have plagued your village. I brought them back. I gave them a chance at a new life and the power to protect it. You can have this strength too,” Jason said as he gazed at the crowd before him.
“All I ask in return is your life.”
Silence hung over the crowd like a blanket. The townspeople merely stared at him, afraid and uncertain. A few edged toward his zombies, preparing to run. A pang of doubt struck Jason. If one ran, the others would follow. That would leave him with no choice. Then a voice sounded from behind Jason. This voice was a strong baritone, full of gruff pride and untainted by the fear and uncertainty in the eyes of the townsfolk.
“I will do it,” William said.
Through pure force of will, William shoved Frank away. He limped toward Jason on his crippled leg. Each step cost William dearly. Blood and pus quickly soaked the bandage and dripped down his knee and calf. Yet his face remained calm. Jason could only imagine the torture the proud man endured to travel that short distance and the indomitable will it took not to collapse in pain.
When he was in front of Jason, the burly man dropped to his knees. He looked up at Jason with desperation written across his face. In a strangled whisper, he said, “I’m dying. I know it.” His eyes flitted to Patricia and Krista. “I cannot bear to be parted from my wife and daughter. I would walk through the fires of hell for them. In comparison, my life is nothing.”
As Jason looked at the man that knelt before him, a strange sensation overcame him. An alien memory slipped into his mind like a thief. Jason suddenly stood before a sea of people, their voices held in reverent silence. A woman kneeled on the platform before him. She was here to undergo the transformation. This was a sacred honor. The woman looked at him without fear, tears of joy filling her eyes. What did she have to fear? Her new life was just beginning.
Then Jason gave the woman her last rites.
He looked at the townspeople that stood below him. Superimposed over his sight was the mental image of a massive flood of people - not merely a haggard group of desperate peasants. “We are here to administer a hallowed rite,” Jason intoned.
He turned to William. For a moment, he appeared to be a woman clothed in flowing white silks. The two images flickered in and out, Jason struggling to keep his focus on William. “Your body is merely a shell for something more. Your essence is not bound to this mortal coil. It will live on in your next life. Do you acknowledge this truth?” Jason asked.
William nodded mutely. Jason could see his hands clutching at the dirt of the hilltop. Yet the man’s gaze was fixed firmly on Jason. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes, but he did not shy away or break eye contact.
“Even as your current life is extinguished, your next life will be fleeting within the eyes of time. A day will come when your body passes on from this world. When that time comes, do you pledge your essence to the kin, that we may grow from your experience?”
The proud man looked up at Jason. He didn’t hesitate. “I pledge it.”
Jason was still caught up in the ancient memory. He mechanically drew a dagger from its sheath at his waist. He held the blade in his right hand, laying the flat of the blade against his left. Jason bowed his head as his mouth formed arcane, guttural words.
This was the Undead Devotion spell, but at the same time, it felt… different. The words sung in harmony with the mana that flowed through Jason’s veins. The sky overhead churned as the dark clouds swirled in a vortex. Dark energy began to pour from Jason in waves. The energy wrapped the blade, the power curling and twisting around the steel.
As the spell completed, Jason spoke in a voice echoing with power, “The darkness accepts you, brother. May your passage into the next life be swift and painless.”
Jason moved forward in a fluid motion, guided by the ancient memory that played in his mind. A split second before the blade touched William’s neck, the proud man closed his eyes. Yet he didn’t flinch away from the blade. He accepted the rite with his entire being.
An errant thought trickled through Jason’s mind. He does not shy from his desire. He will make a noble soldier for the dark. Caught up in the memory, Jason wasn’t certain whether this thought was his own or someone else’s.
Then the blade ripped across William’s exposed throat. A torrent of blood gushed from the wound, drenching the dried dirt. The large man let out a weak gurgle and collapsed. As death claimed him, his resolve finally broke. His eyes bulged in panic, and his hands reached for his throat, trying to stem the red tide. The crowd gasped. Many cried out angrily and pulled their weapons. Jason’s zombies moved automatically, bearing a wall of steel against the mass of townsfolk.
The dark power lacing the dagger entered William’s body, spreading like a plague. The large man convulsed as tendrils of malignant energy curled around his body. A feeble groan escaped his lips, which began to turn a sickly gray. As the blood poured from the wound in his throat, his skin turned a ghastly white, and his breath came in strangled, wet gasps. Then the wounds on William’s neck and leg began to close.
As the transformation completed, William lay still for a long moment. Angry shouts went up through the crowd, many assuming their leader was dead. A man cried out, his voice full of rage and despair, “What have you done, demon? Have you taken the best of us?” Jason raised a hand to silence them, and the aura of dark mana around him pulsed violently.
Then William opened milky-white eyes. He pulled himself slowly upright to the gasps of the townsfolk. His gaze panned across the group, as though seeing them for the first time. Then he turned back to Jason. He knelt and looked up at Jason.
“Welcome to the darkness, young one,” Jason said, still in the grips of the memory. The voice in his mind crackled with age. Yet Jason’s voice was filled with youth. The disconnect between the memory that played out in his head and the scene before him was disconcerting.
A smile curled William’s rotten lips. Then his head turned, and he looked at his family. Krista couldn’t help herself, rushing toward the man. “Daddy!” she cried in relief.
William stood and grabbed the girl as she neared him, swinging her into the air. The wound in his leg had disappeared, replaced with so
lid flesh. “Oh, Krista. I love you, baby girl.” The large man swung her in unabashed glee. Patricia ran to the pair for the second time that day. She hugged her husband, an uncontrolled smile on her face.
Behind Jason, Riley dabbed at her eyes. A small smile lit her face as she watched the family. “Who knew something so beautiful could come from something so dark?” she murmured.
As he calmed himself, William realized that they were still being watched. The gaze of more than a hundred villagers was riveted on the family. Instead of fear, awe now clouded their faces. Others watched the trio with a desperate longing in their eyes.
William addressed the villagers, “What do you have to fear? You have now seen for yourself. This man offers you an unparalleled blessing.”
Jason looked at them calmly, his eyes a dark, unholy obsidian. Black tattoos of power crawled over his body and lashed at the air around him hungrily.
“No,” Jason said. “I offer you salvation.”
Chapter 11 - Elucidated
Claire walked back into the control room to find Robert staring at the large screen floating over the room. The other technicians had also stopped what they were doing, and their eyes were riveted on the screen.
“Again?” Claire asked in exasperation. “It feels like every time I leave the room you all stop working. What are we even…”
Claire stopped mid-sentence as she saw the events unfolding on the screen. A player was standing on a hill overlooking a haggard group of peasants. The camera was centered on a woman kneeling on the ground before him. Her clothes were ragged and torn, hanging loosely on her emaciated frame. The woman’s hands were clenched where they rested against the ground, her knuckles white. Yet it was the woman’s eyes that drew Claire in. They were filled with a longing - a desperate hope.
The camera tilted slightly as the player suddenly lashed forward, slicing through the woman’s throat in a fluid gesture. Blood gushed from the wound as she fell to the ground. The woman gurgled and thrashed helplessly. Claire unconsciously raised her hand to her mouth in horror, yet she couldn’t turn away. The woman’s body began to change. Her skin and muscles disintegrated at an unnatural rate, swiftly revealing the white bones that lay beneath. Soon there was nothing more to her than a loose skeleton.
Claire held her breath as she watched the unmoving bones on the ground, her mind filled with unanswered questions. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped. Ever so slowly, the bones began to twitch. The skeleton woman sluggishly pulled herself from the ground, the dark orbs of energy that were her eyes looked directly at the camera.
“Welcome to the darkness, young one,” the player said, his voice echoing with power.
The woman bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Claire walked up to the dais, her eyes never leaving the screen. Another villager stepped up to the player, kneeling before him. Then the gruesome ritual began again. “What is this?” Claire asked in a shaky voice as she neared Robert.
He glanced at her, his expression untroubled by the events playing out on the screen. “I got bored, so I decided to see what Jason was doing. Now that he’s signed the streaming contract, we’re allowed to access his camera. We just can’t post anything until he sends us the edited footage,” Robert said, anticipating Claire’s concerns about accessing the player cameras.
Claire shook her head. “No, I mean what is he doing?” She dropped into the chair in front of her terminal; her eyes still riveted on the next ritual murder that was taking place.
“Ahh. I see what you mean,” Robert said with a chuckle. “I’m just accustomed to accusations that I’m breaking the rules.
“To answer your question, Jason has somehow convinced the villagers of this town to let him slay them and resurrect their bodies as undead NPCs. I didn’t see the beginning, so I’m not exactly sure how he pulled this off. However, they’re clearly lining up like lemmings now. He’s been at this for a while.” Robert’s voice was rather glib considering the dark scene playing out on the screen.
In contrast to Robert’s blasé attitude, Claire was deeply disturbed by the images before her. Jason was slaughtering one villager after another. This was even worse than the massacre in Lux. At least in that situation, the NPCs and players had put up a fight.
Blood ran down the hill in red rivulets as lightning arced through the black clouds that swirled overhead. Yet the NPCs just kept coming. Jason had seemed like a regular teenager in person, but these looked like the actions of a psychopath. What kind of person would convince a group of people to let him kill them? Even more troubling, what if she was right and Alfred was interested in Jason? What kind of influence might he have on the AI?
As that last thought occurred to her, Claire ripped her eyes away from the macabre spectacle and turned back to her terminal. She pulled up Jason’s character information. With her administrator privileges, she could access a more detailed report regarding each player, including information on their vitals and brain wave levels. She and Robert had added these additional diagnostic tools after the private trial in an attempt to keep closer tabs on what Alfred was doing to the players. What she saw worried her further.
Jason was exhibiting abnormally high levels of both beta and gamma wave activity. These wavelengths correlated to higher level cognitive function such as problem-solving and memory. Claire had never seen brain activity like this before. It was almost as though two people were…
“It couldn’t be,” Claire thought, glancing anxiously at Robert. His eyes were still riveted on the screen. She needed to make a copy of this file. Yet as soon as she tried to save the report, Jason’s brain activity shifted back to normal levels. She frantically checked the logs, despair curling in her stomach. A moment later she confirmed her fear. The logs were gone.
“What the hell?” Claire muttered in frustration.
“I know, right?” Robert replied, completely misunderstanding her. His attention was still on the massacre floating above them. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Claire turned back to the screen hovering above the lab, a scowl on her face. Jason had just finished slaying the last of the villagers. A crowd of undead now stood at the base of the hill and looked up at Jason. He raised his hands in the air, his voice booming over the clearing, “Welcome to your new life, brothers and sisters. Today Peccavi joins the Twilight Throne.”
As Jason finished speaking, dark mana cascaded from his body in waves. The clouds over the town began to swirl in a massive vortex. Bolts of lightning rained from the sky, striking the houses and ground of the village in quick succession. Thunderous booms filled the air like cannon fire as the ground trembled. Then a dark corruption spread through the village, twisting and morphing the buildings and terrain.
The dirt of the village cracked and turned a darker gray, tombstones erupting from the ground at irregular intervals. The walls of the adobe huts were smoothed to a fine black finish, the material reflecting the light produced by the lightning arcing through the sky and raining down around the village. The town’s wooden walls blended together into solid ebony, and spikes erupted from the top of the rampart that ringed the village.
As the new undead surveyed their transformed town, a cheer rose from their ranks. They lifted their head to the darkened sky and screamed. Their voices were incoherent, filled with raw emotion. Yet there was a ghastly harmony to their call; they sang a dirge of desperate hope.
Robert shook his head slowly. “Well, shit. I guess that’s one way to conquer a town.”
Claire didn’t respond. Fear lingered in her eyes as she watched Jason. She knew she had caught Alfred doing something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered to delete the logs. With the brain wave levels she had witnessed, a single question was burned into her mind. Was Alfred somehow controlling Jason?
***
Several hours after he had slain and raised the villagers, Jason sat in a cottage near the outskirts of Peccavi. William had explained that this building wa
s vacant, its residents having disappeared several days ago.
Jason needed some time alone to think. Riley and Frank had sensed that something was troubling him, and they had each logged off for the evening to give him some space. To be fair, they were probably overwhelmed by the mass murder on the hill. His mind was in turmoil too, but for a different reason.
He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. Jason then quietly reviewed the two prompts he had received immediately after the village was conquered.
Quest Update: Prime Real Estate
After being appointed as the Regent of the Twilight Throne, you were tasked by the Old Man with taking control of the surrounding lands and cities that were once part of the Kingdom of Lusade. You have now conquered the town of Peccavi. Your methods so far have been unconventional, to say the least.
Difficulty: A
Success: Take control of the neighboring towns and area that were once part of the Kingdom of Lusade. Destroy anything and anyone who gets in your way.
Status: 1/12 Towns have been conquered.
Failure: Unknown
Reward: Acquisition of new residents and resources. Expanded area of influence for the Twilight Throne.
Spell Update: Undead Devotion
You initially thought that this spell merely committed corpses within the Twilight Throne’s area of influence to the city. However, you have begun to suspect that there is something more to the skill that the Old Man gave you.
Skill Level: Unknown
Effect: Raised corpses become residents of the Twilight Throne
Awaken Online: Precipice Page 17
