She was no longer in control. There were no strings.
“This ends now!” I exclaimed.
It had been twenty minutes of back and forth. Each shot took the dragons health down bit by bit. It was a grind waiting for my mana and stamina to recharge again and again. The dragon was scary and powerful but it was predictable. It fought with the ferocity of a feral animal backed into a corner. I leveled up again to 6 and felt a surge of energy as my mana and stamina jumped to 100%. I unlocked a new skill. A spear appeared in my hands and I threw it instinctively. It hit the dragon in the chest freezing a part of its crystal hide. It fell to the ground and I slung my rifle back around and fired again. Its health had dropped below 100.
I was determined not to let it escape as I had the Nanook. I walked towards it firing shards of blue energy until finally the beast dissipated into the air. I found an audio log where it lay. I picked it up with shaking hands.
I wasn’t ready to listen to it yet. I walked towards the girl. She was scared as I bent down and held her in my arms. She was dying. The rot and decay on her body had turned to black flesh. What was once a white dress was now merely a dirt stained piece of fabric, hanging down from one of her shoulders like a discarded old towel. It was filled with tiny holes leaving much of her skin exposed to the elements. Her pants were in terrible shape as well. Dirt stains, holes, tears scattered all over. She had nothing to protect her feet which looked like they were swollen. She was no longer crying black tears but regular ones as if whatever had taken hold of her had let go.
Bendi appeared from behind.
“The Luyten, she is young?” Bendi said.
Bendi moved towards us putting one of its claws inside its satchel. I was prepared to defend the girl with a gust of ice or ice blast if Bendi tried anything. He pulled out a health potion. A small red vile like the one he had given me before. He opened the lid and poured it into her mouth. She coughed again. It didn’t work. As I held her in my arms I could see different cybernetics had been grafted into her skin. Not that it made her any less human. “Someone did this to you, who?” I demanded. She didn’t answer. I didn’t say anything else. I knew she wasn’t going to answer. I looked into her brown eyes. I could see the pain she had felt for so long. I knew the end had come. The two of us sat there in silence sharing that moment. I wish it could have gone on forever. She fell asleep in my arm her hand clinging to my shirt and her head tucked deep into my chest.
I held her as long as possible until she faded into the wind.
5000 XP
1000 XP Bonus
10 Health
10 Stamina
10 Mana
Leveled up.
Level 7.
Chapter 8
Bendi gave me some of the Auricoma we collected and grinder it into a medicinal powder. Even though I had leveled up and my health had jumped back to 100 it was steadily dropping as I bled out. With the powder I managed to stop most of the bleeding before night finally fell.
We didn’t speak a word until we reached the edge of Wildwood. Bendi used an old rusted flashlight to light our way. It was close to midnight and I was still tired but determined to go as far as I could. I saw in the trees a small starship. On the side of it I saw the words SSF Javelin. It was old, maybe 100-200 years. Smaller than the colony ships it looked like it had once been a cargo freighter or large dropship. In Darkness Beyond, near the hub there was a large colony ship half buried. The hub had been built around its massive hull. The hub was everything here. Guilds, merchants, bounties, government and forum. This small ship could have easily fit inside the hangar along with ten others. I held my rifle up in a ready position across my icy nub as we moved closer towards the entrance. Bendi lit the way for me. We opened the door together and several amphibian like creatures scurried out. I used my sixth sense to learn more about them…
‘This clever and incredibly rare creature is a type of amphibian called a Dust-eater. It's about the size of an earthworm, has no legs or arms, like a snake and a short, thick tail. They have a thin, rough skin covered lightly in mucous, which is usually either light pink, light brown or pink or a combination of these colors. They live in hot areas and are common. They're herbivores and their relatively small mouths, their teeth and rough tongue are ideal for eating mushrooms. They're nocturnal and rely on their sense of smell and taste buds to get around. They do have gorgeous eyes, but their sight is relatively poor. They have tiny noses and short, pointy ears. Their heads are long and narrow in comparison to their bodies.’
Danger: low
When we knew the area was clear we crept inside and found a small room to sleep.
Day 4.
5 hours of sleep. Not the best nights rest I ever had but it wasn’t the worst. Morning came and we began to search the ship. We found a few small stashes of medical supplies and I was able to repair the satchel I had by crafting a new one near a work bench. The ship also had a small armory. I never picked up Requiem, the ghoul slayer after I lost it inside the fire shrine so the only weapon I had been carrying with me had been Bendi’s rifle. At the work bench I was able to use some of the small gears and parts I had collected from the plasma cutter to upgrade the rifle to 30 damage. +1 for engineering.
“Scavengers,” Bendi said. Scavengers were NPCs that wandered various parts of the world looting different places here and there.
“They must have been been infected by Luyten’s wish,” I said aloud.
Whatever they had been up to they had abandoned this place.
‘Hope is lost, abandon Eda,’ and ‘should have stayed on Earth’ written across the walls and other runes I couldn’t decipher scattered throughout the hull. Some of it was old while other words looked like they had been painted on not long before I arrived. The inside of the SSF Javelin was easy to navigate given its size. After I upgraded Bendi’s rifle I got to work scavenging what was left behind. I scanned the armory. The scavengers had been using it to store armor AND weapons.
I had hit the jackpot. Loot, loot, and more loot.
Most of it was the same but there were a few uncommon items.
The MK1 scavenger had a hood with half a face guard shaped like the eyes of a tiger that reached just below the eyes. Attached to the forehead area were layers of spiked leather, creating the appearance of horns. The shoulders were pointy, wide and huge decorated with three small horns on each side, curved towards the sides. The upper arms were protected by rounded, half covering braces which sat well under the shoulder plates. The lower arms were covered by vambraces which have a layer of chain mail covering the outer sides. The breastplate was made from many v-shaped layers of leather and fur. It covered the entire front and back side, but the attachment straps left the sides under the arms exposed. The upper legs were covered by a skirt of horizontal layers of leather and fur reaching below the groin. The lower legs were protected by leather shin guards which have a masterfully crafted dragon's upper jaw attached on the outer top sides.
MKII. This set of armor has a pointed helm with a rounded, t-shaped opening leaving the eyes, nose and mouth exposed. Attached to the forehead area two small crossed swords as an ornament piece. The shoulders are fairly squared, short and large in size. They're decorated it with intricate gilded design patterns, possibly in the shape of a sigil. There were more runes like the ones I saw inside the ship stitched throughout. The upper arms were protected by rounded, layered metal braces which sit nicely under the shoulder plates. The lower arms are covered by vambraces which have layers of rounded leather on the outer sides.The breastplate was made from many v-shaped layers of leather and fur just like the MK1. It covered almost everything from the neck down, it narrows near the groin and I too left part of the sides exposed. The upper legs are covered by a skirt of circular layers of leather and fur reaching below the groin. The front was open. I hated that. The lower legs were protected by leather boots which have a masterfully crafted bird's upper beak attached on each outer top side. The bird�
��s beak looked like an eagle. Thick cloth pants are worn beneath this all.
The third set, the MK3 had a rounded helm with the face guard of a laughing face on one half and a crying face on the other. It was called ‘the Joker’. Attached to the top was a thick layer of animal fur covering every piece of the armors surface. The upper arms were metal and made in a similar fashion to the others. Underneath the fur was a metal breastplate made to resemble dragon scales.
I took the thick cloth pants that belonged to the MKII armor and the other parts from the MK3 leaving the face guard behind. The MK1 was too raider like for my taste and I never liked face guards anyway. The armor was hard to get on with just one hand but I made due. It fit comfortably like it had been made to fit my body. I threw the pieces I didn’t need along with my tattered clothes on the ground. I couldn’t part with my shirt just yet. It looked like white tattered rag with a red skull. I felt a sentimental attachment to it. It was similar to a shirt I owned in the real world and I wasn’t ready to give it up. I put everything on over it. The armor weighed very little and gave me 100 resistance, basically an extra 100 HP. My defense now stood at 210.
I smirked and Bendi shook his head.
“Look like scavenger now, not like unchained,” it said.
“I’m not sure looking like an unchained is something I want right now,” I said.
“Unchained rare, rare to see, people will notice unchained. People not like scavengers, like rats, you not rat, you hero,” Bendi said.
“Hero, I’m not a hero,” I said almost laughing.
“You are champion, unchained, you came from the stars, you killed dragon, broken curse, you are hero,” Bendi said. In a way I guess I was. If we made it to Arcadia and news spread of what I did that would increase my reputation. I smiled at Bendi and said thank you.
There were several weapons inside the armory to look at as well. The first was a very short and wide barbed blade made of steel with a grip wrapped in white snake leather called ’Seethe’. Another larger blade, a two handed great sword called ‘Haran’ stood up against the wall. It was large with a straight cross-guard. I’m sure if I had both hands I would have picked it up. The third blade I found was a carbon blade in the armory called the ‘Vesta Anoron’. I picked it up. It was a bit longer than the small sword had been with a damage of 30 and weight of 10. There wasn’t much lore on it other than it was elven and had been cast from carbon. Something about it called out to me. I felt fore sure that had Ellie been playing it would have been her weapon of choice and something about that made me want to hold onto it.
While still at the SSF Javelin I scavenged some food. Bendi found some creatures called Dwarfthorn. They were a type of invertebrate about the size of a wasp with two clawed arms, two legs and a short, thin tail.
They had a thin, delicate skin which is usually either dark grey or dark red or a combination of these colors. Dwarfthorn lived in forested areas and were fairly common. They're herbivores and their fairly small mouths and rough tongues ideal for eating fruits. They were a bland taste but a good source of nutrition.
I listened to the audio log as I let my stomach settle and what I heard left me uneasy…
‘Subject 06, Julie Luyten, age 10. Kidnapped and abused. She was found in critical condition when police killed the three men that had been keeping her held against her will. At first she was a perfect subject but the longer she stayed inside the game the more we lost her. Outside the game she was a wreck. Nightmares, seizures. She wouldn’t eat real food. The game world was the only place she spoke to anyone. I thought for sure we would be able to bring her back… grant her wish, help her resolve her trauma. Maybe Instead I think we made it worst… the real world became just too much for her and her ghost was starting to develop on its own. She was creating new code. I wish I could show her… its ok… she has nothing to be scared of anymore. Maybe I’ll go in myself. Maybe I can reason with her.’ The audio log ended. Was she a player? The audio log made it sound like she was. That would mean she would respawn. Maybe she was whole again at the hub or back at the ship. If she was I had to find her. Could something like that happen to me if I didn’t watch myself. Curses, glitches, new code? What was this place.
“Bendi, where would I appear if I died now?” I asked.
“Dye not appear,” it said.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about do you, like when the Nanook killed me and I disappeared and came back,” I said trying to explain.
“Unchained, you start over, wake again another, not you, same memories but not you, body goes to the ground, body reborn,” Bendi answered. To him I was a different person than who I was when I died by the Nanook. His words bothered me though… when I thought about it it made me feel that every time I died I was transferring my consciousness to a new body. Had something happened to my body in the real world? Did they do something to my consciousness. Was I still me without my body? Was I a copy? Was I subject 07, 08, or 09. Why did they lock Julie here in this hell, a world between life and death and how could they let her become that if they were trying to save her. I made a promise to myself right there that I would find answers, I would return home, I would reunite with Ellie and save Julie if she was still alive.
Bendi and I sat out into the woods. Our destination Arcadia. Before I could keep my promise I had to speak to the witch.
Chapter 9
“I need to go back to this ship,” I said.
“We are at ship?” Bendi whispered stuffing his face with some kind of red mushroom.
“The starting point, I’m actually not sure what its called,” I said.
That was weird. I felt like I should have known that. The starting point of Darkness Beyond… that should have been something everyone knew but the name escaped me. It had always just been starting point.
“Sanctuary,” said Bendi, “you want to go back to Sanctuary!” He spoke like a child in the early morning of Christmas.
“Yes! That’s the place,” I exclaimed. I was feeling just as excited as he was hoping that I would find Julie in that place.
“We are so close though, Arcadia, not far, not far, we can walk day, maybe two, no, we can walk in day if we hurry,” Bendi said.
“It is not something I can do yet, I have to see if she is there.” Bendi nodded its head. I think it understood. It was a part of my moral code. I hated seeing kids hurt, it was the worst. I had seen some bad shit but holding her in my arms and watching her fade away was bat shit crazy, I knew I was going to have nightmares about it, I felt it like a seed planted in the back of my mind that maybe this place was some kind of hell… no one at that age deserved to feel the pain that she had been through and if I could help, if somehow there was a chance she had come back I had to take the risk.
“To Sanctuary,” I made a gesture with my hand pointing forward.
We had rested long enough. The SSF Javelin was set between Hunter’s Chase, Wildwood, and the Fire Shrine. It would only be a few hours before we reached starting point and Bendi knew a shortcut. The only thing we had to worry about was the Nanook if it was still around but I felt confidant now. I slayed a dragon. I leveled up. The Nanook was a boss but it was the first boss…
“Where did Sanctuary come from?” I asked as we started down our path in the woods. I was curious. I knew from my experience before in the alpha all the lore and both Ellie and I had been active in game forums and groups. We had other friends that played too and we were constantly reading the in-game lore but there here I was IN-PERSON with an NPC. What better way to discover than discover it myself. No books, no online media, no apps. It was real. This was my reality at the moment. It didn’t make sense this land of swords and sorcery fused with lasers and rocket ships but it was my world.
“You know, you should know, I don’t understand how you can’t,” it said. Bendi paused. He was looking into my mind again. “Stop that,” I shouted bearing a closed fist. I wasn’t actually angry, more annoyed. Bendi apologi
zed and began to explain, “Bendi not mean to cause harm, Bendi reads minds to understand, to help, to heal, to better Bendi’s self,” it paused, “two hundred years before Bendi, before first humans, seeds, Sanctuary, Javelin, Hub, and others fell from the sky. They come from a place called ERTH, witch’s homeworld, many others homeworld, your homeworld?” it said as if asking a question. Bendi was just as curious about me as I was of it and this world.
“Tell me more about Earth,” I said pronouncing it correctly.
“Earth, humans home, sick and dying, humans ran, new genesis, exodus, left in great seeds across the stars, several found the rift, came through, fell, here,” Bendi’s words were broken. Maybe it was the fact that its tongue hung somewhat out of its mouth as it spoke or that it just never had to speak so much.. But Bendi’s words made sense. The rift… that was how the developers made sense of all the sword and sorcery. Fantasy creatures that weren’t really fantasy creatures.
“Tell me about the rift,” I asked. That was something I hadn’t read about before. Something new that I wanted to hear fleshed out. I had always been a big gamer and the word rift usually meant portal of some kind. That made sense to me.
“Rift was, is, a scar, a fracture that bleeds our realm into others, ideas, histories, only seeds can pass through rifts, daemons, unchained,” Bendi said.
“You keep calling me unchained, what does it mean?”
“Witch’s words, not sure, that you are special, human, like her but special,” Bendi said trying his best to articulate and sound out the words just right.
Glimmer, A Throne of Souls (Convergence Book 1) Page 6
