Awaken Online: Retribution (Side Quest)

by Bagwell, Travis

  At Lily’s words, Riley’s thoughts turned back to her battle with the fire guild Prefect. Suddenly, the way her bow had responded during the fight began to make sense. She recalled how her health had dipped and powered her last attack. Lily had been watching her even back then.

  The girl took a step closer, raising a ghostly hand and resting it on Riley’s cheek. “You asked me before why I’m here,” she continued. “I have been permitted by The Dark One himself to offer you a place among us. I have been given permission to make you a Fury.”

  Riley stared at the girl before her, seeing the thinly-concealed rage behind her gaze and feeling the intense power rippling through the ephemeral hand that rested against her cheek. Her dark mana responded automatically, flooding her veins with its chill power and washing away her uncertainty and hesitation. She opened her mouth to answer the ghostly girl – to accept her offer.

  “No,” Lily said, pressing her hand to Riley’s forehead. In an instant, her dark mana vanished. “You must make this decision with a clear mind. The path we walk is harsh and riddled with pain. Marie was not wrong to deter me from this life. You can witness for yourself the effects of my arrogance, and how my rage clouded my judgment.” The girl gestured at her translucent body. “But you must make this decision now with sound mind and body.”

  Riley stared at her, uncertainty clouding her thoughts. Lily was offering her exactly what she wanted. Something in the depths of her soul screamed for her to accept, yet she felt that this offer might come with a hidden catch. She couldn’t shake the image of the intense guilt she had seen on Marie’s face or her story in the sewers. What had she done before becoming a matron of that orphanage? Were her sins limited to Lily?

  Then Riley heard a shout behind her, and she turned. She watched again as her friends were slain and the abomination’s tentacles pierced Marie’s body. She saw the pain and fear on their faces. In her mind’s eye, she also saw the faces of Alex and Carrie, taunting her weakness and laughing at her pain. The message was clear. If she was going to get stronger and if she was going to protect the people she cared about, she had to take a risk – regardless of the consequences.

  “I… I accept,” Riley whispered.

  “I didn’t hear you,” Lily said in a teasing tone, cocking her head.

  “I accept,” Riley said more clearly, raising her eyes to meet the gaze of the ghost girl.

  “I want to become a Fury.”

  “Now that’s more like it!” Lily replied, clapping her hands.

  At the sound, the ground began to crack and crumble around Riley. Thin emerald vines sprouted through the ruptures in the stone, swiftly growing and thickening. Before she could react, the tendrils had wound around Riley’s legs and coiled up her body, lifting her several feet into the air. Her body tilted so that she was lying flat as jagged thorns began to grow along the vines, digging into her armor and skin but not quite drawing blood. Within less than a minute, Riley was fully suspended by the thorny plants.

  “This is the initiation of a sister,” Lily intoned, her voice echoing through the courtyard. Riley strained to look at the girl but found she couldn’t move, her gaze fixed on the darkness that loomed above the disk.

  “A new initiate,” other ghostly voices whispered around her.

  “Born of death…” the voices continued in hushed tones. It sounded as though Riley were surrounded by dozens of women, but she still couldn’t see anyone.

  Lily’s voice hushed the others. “This new soul has accepted the rite, and as one we bind her to service – to the pursuit of vengeance. From this day forth she shall never waver and never balk.

  “Do you accept, Riley? Do you agree to join our sisterhood?”

  “I do,” Riley declared loudly.

  “Then you are now a Fury!”

  At this final word, the thorns around Riley suddenly stabbed into her skin simultaneously. Her blood ran freely down the vines, staining the green tendrils crimson. At the same time, raw power flooded her veins and raged through her body in a torrent so strong that Riley struggled not to scream. It felt like her entire body was on fire, and her blood was boiling. The feeling swiftly began to overwhelm her senses, her vision blurring as she gasped for breath and fought to stay conscious.

  Then, in an instant, the pain was gone. Riley was still laying on the bed of thorns, her chest heaving as her mind attempted to process what had happened. She tilted her head to the side and found herself staring at a rose in full bloom, its petals stirring in some unknown breeze. Yet it wasn’t alone. Dozens of roses had bloomed all around her, their petals a crimson, blood-red.

  “Welcome, sister,” Lily said, even as the vines shifted and lifted Riley to her feet. The girl came into view again, her expression triumphant. The ghostly afterimages of dozens of women stood behind and beside her – their faces indistinct and shifting. They whispered welcome to a new sister.

  Then Marie approached through the throng, resting a hand on Lily’s shoulder. The pair watched Riley with a steely gaze. “You are being given one more chance. A gift from the sisterhood. Use it well. May you succeed where we failed…” they declared simultaneously, their voices intertwining and cascading through the courtyard even as their bodies disappeared from view.

  And then Riley was standing alone. Before she had a chance to fully process what had happened, a series of notifications crashed into her vision.

  Hidden Class Change: Fury (Erinyes)

  You have been confronted by the ghost of Lily who has offered you the power that your soul craves. She has given you your first taste of the Path of Blood. You will become the ghost in the darkness, the symbol of vengeance for the powerless and the downtrodden, and your enemies will fear your coming. For you are a Fury.

  Previous class bonuses removed

  +50 Vitality

  +25 Strength

  +25 Dexterity

  Mana removed and added to health.

  Health gain from vitality increased by x1.25.

  All spells now cost health to cast.

  New Spell: Marked for Death

  This skill allows you to mark an enemy, causing them to take increased damage. The mark lasts until the target is slain. You cannot mark a new target until the previous target is defeated.

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 1

  Effect: Marked enemies take 5% additional damage from the Fury.

  Cost: 10 Health / Second.

  New Spell: Health Drain

  You may drain the health from a single target. This spell does not require contact with the target and can be cast at a distance. May only be applied to a single target at a time.

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 1

  Effect: Drains 5 Health / Second for 15 seconds.

  New Spell: Blood Transfer

  You may siphon your health to another creature. This spell does not require contact with the target and can be cast at a distance. May only be applied to a single target. This spell must be channeled.

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 1

  Effect: Heals target for 10 Health / Second.

  Cost: 50 Health / Second.

  Riley struggled to keep up with the barrage of notifications. Already, she could tell that she was no longer merely an archer. It appeared that she was now an entirely health-based character. She expected that she would need to continually use Health Drain and Blood Mist to keep casting her spells.

  Before she could fully consider the effects of her class change, Riley felt her skin begin to tingle. She whirled, noticing that the world around her was beginning to deteriorate – slowly fading to black.

  “What is this?” she muttered. She heard a roar and turned to find the abomination’s tentacles piercing her body and lifting her limp form into the air yet again. She witnessed the blood pouring from the gaping holes in her body and armor as her obsidian eyes glared at the creature. Riley watched the scene – rage boiling in her veins.

  “This is another chance,” Lily’s voice echoed in her mind. “A
chance to avenge a fallen sister and the first test of many along your new path. Do not squander it.” Then the world fully faded to black.

  Chapter 27- Avenged

  Riley drifted weightlessly in an endless black void, her eyes searching the darkness. She wasn’t certain what was happening or where she would end up next. Her mind still reeled in confusion from her encounter with Lily. Suddenly, a single blue notice appeared before her, glowing brightly in the enveloping darkness.

  System Notice

  A Fury came to your aid in her last moments and has fallen in battle. In recognition of this act, you have been granted “Hell Hath No Fury” – allowing you to channel the true incarnation of vengeance for a limited time. For two minutes after you respawn, you will be granted a 500% increase to damage, a 500% bonus to your base statistics, and a 500% increase to your total health pool.

  Use this wisely sister. I will be watching. – The Dark One

  The system notice abruptly disintegrated into a whirlwind of blue energy before slowly reforming into a glowing number “10.” It then began counting down toward zero. Riley struggled to understand everything that was happening. She expected that she was being sent back to the courtyard with a new class and additional power. That meant she would only have two minutes to defeat the creature in the courtyard.

  Her eyes pulsed with dark mana and her fists clenched as she watched the number shift. “2.” This was her last chance, and she was going to make that monster pay for hurting her friends – for killing Marie. The counter shifted once more. “1.” She could feel a stream of unfiltered power rage through her body and threaten to overwhelm her.

  “0.”

  Riley was back in the courtyard, her body suspended above the cobblestones by the creature’s tentacles as its manic laughter peeled through the air. She didn’t hesitate. Her daggers immediately appeared in her hands and tore through the tentacles embedded in her skin. Multi-hued blood sprayed in every direction, and she abruptly dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch.

  “What is this?” the Clarence-creature asked, eyeing her curiously. “You survived?”

  As Riley focused on the beast, her rage honed to a fine point. She was unaware of the red streaks that now dotted her black irises or of the droplets of blood that were collecting along her unbroken skin. A fine crimson vapor began to spin around her, eddies and swirls of energy drifting through the mist.

  Riley launched forward toward the creature, simultaneously casting both Marked for Death and Health Drain. In an instant, she was standing in front of the monster. She didn’t try to slice him with her blades. Instead, she grabbed arrow after arrow from her quiver, slamming the wooden shafts deep into the monster’s flesh as she continuously cast Blood Mist. She didn’t even try to avoid the tentacles that pierced her skin and body, blood pouring down her armor and staining the street as her health plummeted.

  Soon a veritable whirlwind of blood spun in the center of the courtyard. Riley and the creature stood in the eye of the storm facing each other. Clarence cackled at her, “Another Fury? What a surprise. Do you think this will stop me?” It gestured at the cloud of blood and the arrows in its skin with its claws. “These pretty tricks won’t help you. You will fail just as the other did.”

  Riley didn’t bother to respond. She stepped toward the creature slowly, her daggers reappearing in her hands, and the tips pointed at the ground. Bloody vapor collected along the cool metal, dripping slowly from the edge of each weapon. Clarence lashed forward, slicing through her shoulder with his claws and nearly severing her arm. Yet even as the beast struck her, the limb knitted itself back together almost instantly. Her health refilled at an alarming rate under the effects of her spells.

  “What is this?” Clarence cried, his voice becoming frantic. He began lashing at her with all of his tentacles, pounding her body and blood spraying from the impacts. Riley ignored the muted pain that ravaged her body as she continued her slow march forward. She knew that the beast would repair itself if she used normal attacks. Wailing on it wasn’t enough, but it had to have a weakness.

  How was the creature repairing itself? Her eyes focused on the crystals embedded in Clarence’s chest and shoulders. Cecil’s explanations echoed through her mind even as the image of the glowing syringe flashed in her mind’s eye. Crystals were used to store mana, weren’t they? Was it using mana to heal itself like the paper golems?

  Riley suddenly dashed forward without warning, throwing Clarence off balance. Her blade sank into one of the crystals embedded in the creature’s chest before he could react, shattering the material. Multicolored energy spun and danced through the air as Clarence wailed in pain. After a few seconds, Riley saw that the flesh around the crystal didn’t repair itself. A malevolent grin swept across her bloodied face.

  She knew his weak point now.

  With this new knowledge, she began her dance of death, spinning and twirling around the creature like he was one of the wooden practice dummies in Jerry’s training room. Her body moved at a breathtaking speed. Tendrils whipped past her head and missed her body by inches. She pivoted on her heel to avoid a triple strike and dashed forward, sinking her blades into yet another crystal. She struck again and again, her movements causing the blood mist to swirl around her.

  Then she stepped away. The creature that was once Clarence had sunk to its knees, its chest heaving. Fragmented crystals littered his body, and its technicolor blood stained the ground beneath it.

  “This isn’t possible,” the creature growled. “How can you do this?”

  Riley backed away and pulled her bow from her back, the crimson crystals along the grip glowing fiercely and pulsing in time with her heartbeat. She nocked an arrow and drew back on the string, pointing the weapon at the creature. A notice appeared in the side of her vision, informing her that the weapon’s primary ability had been unlocked. A grim smile curled her lips.

  “This is possible because I follow a true god,” she said softly, her voice echoing with the power that still surged through her veins. “The Dark One sends his regards.”

  And then Riley began pouring energy into her bow. She gave it all of her hate, her anger, and her rage. She fed it Marie’s death. Alex’s torment. The pain and embarrassment she had felt at Carrie’s hand. She gave it her despair and her yearning and tasked it with a single purpose.

  Revenge.

  The bow sucked up the blood mist around Riley. The vapor spiraled in on the arrow tip and formed an enormous ball of glowing red and black energy. At the same time, the power seemed to drain her life force, and her health plummeted faster than her regeneration could handle. The power collected and condensed until the arrow dipped and swayed under the force, all the energy pointed dead center on Clarence. It collected until the ground around Riley began to deteriorate under the pressure and her health redlined.

  Then, with a strangled scream of relief and rage, Riley let it all go.

  Time seemed to slow for a moment, whether a product of her skills or some effect of the buff she wasn’t certain. She saw the creature’s eyes gradually widen as the massive orb edged forward, and the energy ripped a furrow in the cobblestone courtyard, throwing fragments of stone and dust into the air. The monster roared its defiance. She watched as the bolt finally crashed into Clarence. His body was torn apart. His skin, flesh, muscle, and bone disintegrated in layers as his screams echoed through the courtyard. The sound seemed muted and surreal.

  Then the ball of mana exploded in a massive blast, throwing Riley backward. The explosion tore a crater in the ground, sending out a shockwave that rocked the nearby buildings around the library and caused more than one column to come crumbling down. Dust and debris drifted through the courtyard, as the rain slowly washed away the blood that stained the ground.

  Riley struggled to pull herself to her feet. She stood alone in the courtyard and watched as the last second lapsed on her buff. As soon as the effect faded, she was immediately overcome by intense exhaustion, dropping to he
r knees as red notifications flashed in her vision. Her gaze, however, was fixed on the library. She was unable to look away even as she heard the pounding of feet. The cries of the mages approaching behind her were matched by the angry noises of the brown-robed men and women piling out of the library’s entrance.

  A moment later, she heard the footsteps behind her slow, and the librarians turned in confusion to look at the front of the library, following her gaze. She could see red-robed men and women standing beside her in her peripheral vision. Everyone’s attention was fixed on one of the columns of the Great Library. The symbol for dark mana that had once been scorched and scarred now glowed with an unholy light.

  Thunder pealed through the roiling mass of black clouds that hovered above the city. Even as the group watched, words written in blood appeared in the air above the massive building as though traced by an invisible hand. The words were visible to everyone on the disc.

  Have you so quickly forgotten me? I am the darkness that binds this world. The whisper from the depths of your soul that you all seek to ignore and suppress. I am Desire incarnate. Bear witness to my power. – The Dark One.

  Chapter 28- Judged

  Riley and her teammates stood in an antechamber in front of a broad set of wooden double doors. They had been told that the crystal-studded cuffs restraining their hands would explode if they tried to break free. Nearly twenty fire mages surrounded them, clutching at their staves and wands as they watched their prisoners warily.

  Her gaze moved to her teammates. She estimated that at least half a day had passed since their encounter with Clarence – if that was even his real name. Yet their clothes were still ripped and torn, with blood staining mail, cloth, and leather. At least most of them were still alive. Ethan had managed to survive his encounter with the enhanced Clarence – his Stone Skin barely shielding him from the attack. Lucas and Emma had respawned nearly thirty minutes after Riley defeated the creature. The fire mages had found Cecil and Melissa under piles of rubble, both bruised and bleeding but still breathing.