World-Tree Online

by EA Hooper

  But why do they still defy my rule? I’ve protected the people of these worlds—brought order that they so desperately needed. My laws might be harsh, but that harshness was necessary to secure order. Just look at this marvelous parade in my honor and those strange bubbles of culture that have thrived under my rule. Can those lawless mid-tier worlds outside of my control say the same thing? I doubt it. But we’ve already captured two, and soon we’ll march on the others. They’ll hate me at first, but one day, they’ll worship me like these people.

  The parade continued for another hour, and the lord felt himself growing bored. He drank a few glasses of wine brought to him by his various mistresses. Each one vied for his attention, but lately he had become bored of them.

  I just want to go see my collection. They’re the only people that interest me anymore.

  He moved away from the balcony, and his mistresses gazed at him in confusion. “You all keep watching. I’m going to the dungeon.” He ignored their stares as he walked toward the staircase.

  Killer Sam stood by the steps and nodded as Lucas approached. “You’ve spent a lot of time in your dungeon lately, boss.”

  “Everything else bores me,” Lucas commented, walking down the staircase.

  Killer Sam followed with a relaxed pace, his hands in his coat pockets. “You’ve been delaying the attack on Firepeak for a while now. Our forces are ready anytime you are.”

  “The problem is, it’ll be such a long trip,” Lucas replied. “It’s been years since I’ve left my collection for that long.”

  “They’re only prisoners. You can always have Erik look after them.”

  “They’re more than prisoners—they’re trophies. They’re the challenges that I’ve faced in this game. People that stood against me. The only real people in this game, it feels like. Other than you, Erik, and a few others, of course. The rest of my followers feel like NPCs. I don’t even care that they worship me.”

  Sam tilted his head with a curious look. “Maybe you’ve spent too much time in the dungeon. It would be good for you to take a vacation. See the World-Tree beside little one-day trips. There’s hundreds of millions of people out there, all different in their own ways if you take the time to know them.”

  “I’ve tried. They either fear or worship me. Or they’re soulless like those whores on the balcony.”

  “Boss, you chose those women. You can send them away at any point and pick from thousands more that would love to live here.”

  “The next set will be the same. Women are all the same, except for the ones in my collection. Like Harper. She was always different.”

  Sam paused for a moment. “Have you talked to her?”

  “I’ve tried, but she won’t respond. Valery has been very talkative lately, so I talk to her a lot, since Harper is in the same cell. I like to imagine Harper’s part of the conversation.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Lucas smirked. “I know it sounds weird, Sam.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You were thinking it, but that’s fine. It shows why you’re different from those mindless followers. Harper second-guessed me too. Only, she had to go and make things difficult. If she hadn’t been so spiteful, she wouldn’t be in my collection right now.”

  >Erik: My lord, are you watching the parade?

  >Lucas: No, I’m heading to my collection.

  >Erik: May I meet with you in the great hall first? The men from the Eramar expedition have respawned, and I’d like you to hear what one man has to say.

  >Lucas: Fine, I’ll meet you there.

  >Erik: Thank you, my lord.

  Lucas stepped into the great hall and walked toward the massive throne that overlooked the room.

  “I thought you were going to your collection?” Sam asked.

  Lucas sat and motioned for a nearby servant to bring him wine. “Erik wants to meet with me first. The scouts to Eramar respawned. You really called it when you said they’d wipe the moment they got there. I should’ve sent you with them, but then again, I don’t want to waste your time searching a Dead-World for signs of unregistered travelers.”

  “It would’ve been more interesting than sitting around here. Besides, I think it was a good idea to at least check. If Firepeak was gathering resources to prepare for the invasion, then that’s a good place to find rare materials.”

  “In the end it won’t matter. We only need to break their city-barrier and wall. Once we’re inside, they’ll forfeit like the others. They don’t want to get banned.”

  Sam scratched the stubble on his chin. “There’s always someone willing to take that risk. Like the ones that killed you all those years ago.”

  Lucas’s blood felt cold at the memory. “Stop bringing that up. They merely caught me off guard. Those four probably ran for higher worlds and never looked back. I’m sure they don’t want to risk confronting me again.”

  “I still have to wonder how you weren’t able to ban any of them.”

  “I’ve told you a hundred times that I missed my shot.”

  “Sorry, boss, I don’t mean to bring up your mistake. It’s just weird because I’ve never seen you miss a shot since then. Even way back when we fought each other, I remember you had amazing aim. If I hadn’t reacted in time, I wouldn’t be trapped in this game. Also, we never found the guy you banned when we entered Midrun. That’s always seemed odd to me.”

  Oh, I had forgotten about that guy. Someone probably dragged him away, so it’s not my fault if he’s still frozen.

  “Where is all this doubt in me coming from all the sudden?” Lucas questioned.

  “I don’t doubt you, boss. Curious things like that just stay on my mind for a long time.”

  “Is it because you’ve been talking to Valery a lot?”

  Sam’s relaxed posture shifted for a moment. “I wouldn’t say a lot.”

  “I’ve seen you on the rune monitor, and Erik has made mention of it. Sam, I don’t mind you talking to my collection—you’ve earned that privilege ten times over. However, don’t let Valery get inside your head. I’ve held her as prisoner for seventy years, and she’s never quit trying to convince me to free her. She’s a snake, Sam. She’s fun to talk to, but you need to remember she’s only playing friendly because she’s caged. If she ever escaped, she’d ban you in a second and wouldn’t even bother to put you in a cell. She’d leave you to suffocate for centuries.”

  “You think so?”

  “I have no doubt.”

  “Haven’t you let people suffocate for long periods of time?”

  “Only a few months at most, and they had to be punished for defying me.”

  Erik entered the great hall with a Justiciar following him. They approached Lucas’s throne and bowed to their lord. Erik raised his head first to speak. “My lord, the team that wiped on Eramar were attacked by darkness-cloaked figures of incredible strength and speed. They thought their assailants were monsters, but this man says otherwise.”

  Lucas’s heavy gaze fell on the other Justiciar. “Tell me.”

  “My lord,” the man said, keeping his eyes on the ground. “The four figures—they were players! Powerful ones, at that. They’d built houses on Eramar as if they’d lived there for years. One man said something about taking on the Justiciars. I Scanned him and discovered he was named Void-Foot Jim. I think he might be the same fugitive Crow-Foot Jim that we never found.”

  Lucas gaped at the Justiciar. “Void? He added void to his name? Did he—did he use attacks made of negative energy? Like black bolts?”

  “They did far worse than mere bolts.”

  The lord tightened his fists and slammed one onto his armrest. His eyes filled with panic and darted back and forth as his thoughts raced.

  They’ve been training. Preparing to face me again. But for thirty-seven years? And they wiped out that entire squad of Justiciars so easily that only one realized they were human. But where are they even respawning? Even if they were as strong as Zhang, they couldn’
t stay there forever. Unless—

  Lucas turned to Erik. “Do you recall, decades ago, when we inspected the city after its capture?”

  Erik seemed unnerved by Lucas’s change in demeanor, and it took him a few seconds to respond. “Uh—yes. What about it, my lord?”

  “Do you recall that strange notice about the tower?”

  “You mean when several citizens claimed the tip of the tower had broken off? Such a thing is not possible. You said yourself it must’ve always been that way.”

  That negative energy attack cut through my Mod Shield. Which means, it can cut daiglass. How did I not realize this back then? They broke a piece of the tower off to use as a portable spawn point. Those cheaters! How could ARKUS allow them to abuse its rules so blatantly? I can’t ban them, so I’ll just have to capture them somehow. Surely, they’re planning to attack me directly. It’s the only reason they’d be power-leveling for all these years. They’ll try to capture me and throw me into my own dungeon.

  Lucas gripped his armrest, and Erik grew nervous.

  “My lord,” Erik said. “What’s wrong? These four players can do nothing to you.”

  Sam stared off in thought and then muttered. “Did they chip the tower with negative energy? That’d explain how they killed you before you were able to ban them. Why wouldn’t you want us to know that, boss?”

  Lucas glared at Sam. “Stop asking questions. All these questions! All that matters is that we stop them.”

  “Four people can’t capture Midrun by themselves,” Sam noted. “Even if their powers are impressive.”

  Erik gasped. “My lord! You might recall our spies discovered Firepeak had placed an outpost on Rytil. If that outpost is a caravan of representatives from dozens of teams, then they could team jump an entire army to Rytil at the same time. They’d only be weeks away from us.”

  “Then we need to attack that outpost at once!” Lucas shouted, rising to his feet. “Destroy it, so they won’t be able to organize an attack. Then those four will have to decide to attack us or not on their own.”

  “So you’ll lead the assault, my lord?” Erik asked.

  Lucas blinked, and his anger seemed to fade. He crumpled back into his throne and shook his head. “No—no, I can’t. I can’t leave my collection unattended. What if they try to free the prisoners while I’m away? We can’t risk it.”

  “Ban them, my lord,” Erik replied.

  Sam gaped at Erik. “Excuse me?”

  “Ban your collection and lead the assault,” Erik told Lucas.

  “Ban them?” Lucas said. “My beloved collection? I mean, they’ve all been banned before. I suppose they’re used to it.”

  “No, wait,” Sam said, raising his hand to get Lucas’s attention. “I’ll lead the assault. There’s no reason for you to waste your time, my lord. I’ll destroy the caravan. During this time, you can prepare for the real invasion of Firepeak.”

  “I suppose I could use that time to World Teleport my best men from various worlds,” Lucas replied.

  “And we can recall our nearest scouting parties,” Erik added. He paused and glanced at Sam. “Maybe I should go, too, my lord.”

  “Nah, I don’t need your help,” Sam replied. “Lucas will need you to organize things here. Especially if he’s World Teleporting all over the place.”

  “That’s true,” Lucas replied. “However, just to be safe, I’ll ban my collection regardless. At least until we’ve captured that pesky team.”

  “Boss!” Sam cried out. “Are you sure that’s necessary? It could be months before we capture them. Years, even. You really want to keep your prisoners frozen for so long?”

  Lucas sank into his throne, but his heart sank even further. If they break into my castle while I’m away, they might free my entire collection. Turn them against me. Valery alone could undo my entire empire. The others are just extra trouble. It’s the only way. At least until that team is imprisoned. I can’t let my entire empire unravel because of my own carelessness.

  “It must be done,” Lucas said, standing. “You were right earlier, Sam. I’ve been too preoccupied with my collection. I need to ban them all until this problem is solved.”

  Sam’s grizzled face flashed a look of horror. “Boss—”

  “Silence!” Lucas shouted. “Whatever you’re about to say, keep to yourself. Go collect the men you’d like to use to attack the caravan. Leave, before I change my mind and let Erik lead them.”

  “Y-yeah,” Sam replied. He slouched and left the great hall.

  “You’ve made a wise decision, my lord,” Erik said, bowing.

  “Shut up,” Lucas said, walking toward the enhanced-verasteel vault door behind the throne. He held his palm to the scanning rune, and the door opened.

  Lucas entered and walked with heavy steps down the long staircase. He passed two floors of cells, knowing that it would take him almost two hours to ban the prisoners of his collection. I’ll start with the most important ones. As hard as that will be.

  The Sheriff reached the bottom floor and waved his hand at another scanning rune. He used a special rune key to bypass a second gate, and then he entered the chamber. His eyes looked at the large cells on both sides of the room. Zhang first. Talking to him always cheers me up.

  He approached the cell on the right and stared at the screen to find Zhang reading a book. Lucas activated the communication rune and leaned forward. “Hello, Zhang.”

  Zhang looked up from his book. “Hello, Lucas.”

  “Do you remember our conversation the other week? The one where I asked you if you could ever forgive me?”

  “Yes. We’ve had that conversation several times, but I distinctly remember the one from last week. I told you that I would only forgive you if you released all your prisoners at once.”

  “That’s right. You also said that you thought there was something good deep inside me, and that it was the only reason you haven’t given up on the idea of freedom.”

  “It would be easy to give up hope,” Zhang replied. “To settle in and accept that I’ll never escape. In a way, it would’ve made these last few decades easier. But some time early in my capture, I realized you had an emptiness in you. A kind of void that drives you to do these things. I hoped you would find an answer to that emptiness. I still hope for that.”

  “Void,” Lucas muttered. “Void. Why did you choose that word?”

  Zhang raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you’re saying, the auto-translator chose. I simply used the best word to describe that emptiness in you, Lucas. There’s a reason you’d rather come down here and talk to your prisoners instead of basking in the worship of your followers. You have a hole in your heart. The longer you ignore it, the more damaged you become. I’ve told you this before, but I think there’s a point of no return you’re approaching. There’s a line you’ll cross when you’ll have no chance to save yourself—when that hole gobbles up your heart for good. When that time comes, I won’t speak to you anymore. Even if I have to sit in here alone for centuries.”

  “You won’t speak to me? You say that like you have any power in here. You’re part of my collection. Even the ones that hate me most jump at the chance to talk to me, to stave off loneliness for even a minute.”

  “Except Harper.”

  “Yes, of course. She’s the exception. But I know she’ll forgive me, eventually. You, too, Zhang. You said there’s something good in me deep down, right? But everything I’ve done, I’ve done with good intentions. To protect my empire and the people trapped on this World-Tree. They’re happy being controlled. I just came back from a parade in my honor, you understand? So, you don’t have to look deep within to see the good in me. If you understood that, I could release you. If you could be my ally like Sam and Erik. I suppose I was only bringing up that conversation on the off chance that you’d changed your mind. That you’d seen that I was the good guy all along and that you’d ask for my forgiveness. Because then I wouldn’t have to do this, old friend.”

&nbs
p; Lucas opened a panel to the room and froze Zhang with Mod Gun. He sighed and pressed the communication button. “I’m sorry, Zhang. I really am. You’re one of my favorites, you know that? However, there’s a threat approaching. There are bad people that want to destroy my empire and take everything away from me, including my collection. So, until they’re captured, I must ban all of you. I’m sure you’ll forgive me one day. You’ll forgive me for everything I’ve done, and maybe you’ll even help me conquer the higher-tier worlds. Won’t that be great, buddy?”

  Lucas stepped away from Zhang’s cell and approached the one on the opposing wall. He looked at the screen of the cell divided by a barrier. Valery and Harper talked to one another from their two sections as they watched arena battles projected from another world. Lucas opened a panel and froze Valery before she could react.

  Harper glanced at her frozen cellmate. She sighed and lowered her eyes to the floor.

  “Listen to me,” Lucas said, pressing the communication button. “Harper, please speak to me for a moment.”

  Harper remained silent.

  “I’ve run into an unexpected problem,” he explained. “Because of that, I need to ban you. Possibly for a few months.”

  The woman he’d once loved raised frightened eyes to the screen. “Please, don’t,” she begged. “Not for months. I couldn’t take it. I’d rather die a hundred deaths.”

  “Oh, now you speak? It’s a little late to beg for forgiveness, Harper.”

  “There’s no reason to ban me. I understand why you’d ban Valery, but I can’t do anything to you. Don’t ban me again, Lucas. Just kill me. Have your Justiciars keep a death timer. Or better yet, I’ll blow out my own brains every time I respawn. I’ll kill myself over and over until this update ends. That’s no lie, Lucas. I’d rather die repeatedly than suffocate for months. I want out of this game. I want to escape you.”

  Lucas’s heart felt heavy in his chest. “You’ll forgive me one day, I pro—”

  “Stop saying that!” Harper screamed. “You’ve said it to us a thousand times. You keep trying to convince yourself that people will forgive you. That they’ll understand you. You’re a monster, Lucas. You’re worse than any creature in this game. You’re just a monster that’s lying to himself. You want to believe you’re good, but if you were good, you wouldn’t torture people by banning them and keeping us imprisoned for decades. You tortured me because I didn’t love you, but that’s why I don’t love you. That’s why I hate you. You’re a monster, Lucas.”