by Alex Mulder
The two of them ate, and then Luke headed upstairs to clean himself up and get some rest. Ben decided to take him up on his offer and stay for the night. It honestly made Luke feel a bit more secure, knowing that his friend was there to watch over the place.
Luke coughed as he finally collapsed down into bed. It was dark outside, though it made little difference to him. His circadian rhythm was on Yvvaros time, as far as he could tell.
I’ll get a couple of hours of sleep, and then get back in-game.
CHAPTER 24
Luke woke up the next morning, feeling sicker than he had the night before. He groggily sat up in bed, a coughing fit overtaking him as he rubbed his bleary eyes.
He heard footsteps in his hallway, and a moment later, Ben poked his head in through the door. He frowned when he saw Luke.
“You look really, really sick,” he said. Luke shrugged.
“It won’t matter once I’m in Yvvaros,” said Luke. He reached over to his desk for his headset and laptop, trying to grab both without having to completely leave his bed.
Ben grabbed them for him and set them on his lap.
“I think I’ll hang around for the next few days, if that’s alright with you,” he said. “I’m not interested in coming back to check on you and finding you dead of a fever and dehydration.”
“Thanks.” Luke nodded to him, and then pulled the headset on.
Back in Yvvaros, it was early morning. Luke stood next to the party’s tent. Tess and Kaoru were, apparently, still asleep. He walked over to the entrance flap and pushed his head and shine.
“Rise and… shine.” Luke trailed off as he saw the two of them, standing on opposite sides of the tent, in variable states of undress.
“Kato!” Kaoru yelled at him, and Luke quickly pulled his head back.
“Uh, sorry,” he said. “Just wanted to let the two of your know that I was here.”
“The polite thing to do is to knock before entering a girl’s dormitory, you know,” said Tess.
Luke smiled.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After waiting for them to dress, Luke began tearing down the camp. The sun rose slowly over the horizon, bringing the area ahead of them into focus.
It was different from the sections of Azanora Island they’d explored so far. It didn’t feel alive. The land was flat, unnaturally so. The grass was sparse across the plain, and small wisps of dust kicked up into the air as the wind blew without obstruction.
Luke could see the crevasse that Greku had mentioned off in the distance, a jagged black hole in the middle of the empty dirt. It was only a hundred feet or less across its widest side, but there was something about the darkness of the shadows within that made it much more imposing than its size should have allowed.
“How much do you want to bet that this is another trap?” asked Kaoru.
“I doubt it.” Luke dusted off his hands and stomped out the last of the fire. “Greku knows that we’re going to be cautious this time.”
Tess stepped up next to him and handed him some bread. Luke bit into it, his stamina bar increasing as he chewed.
“We’re really heading into that?” asked Tess. “Something about it just looks… like bad news.”
“We’ll be fine.” Luke watched as Kaoru finished packing up the tent. “Come on, let’s not waste any time. We’re close… I can feel it.”
The three of them started their way across the barren landscape. It was a longer walk than it had initially looked, the emptiness of the land distorting distance to Luke’s eyes. There were no enemies to fight, and as far as Luke could tell, no passive wildlife, either.
They came to a stop a few dozen feet away from the crevasse. Cold, musky air blew up from the opening. It sounded like someone moaning from within, a lost soul buried in the dark emptiness underground.
Luke looked at Tess and Kaoru, and read the expressions on their faces.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “Carrying my torch.”
ELEMENTAL INFUSION: FIRE
He walked up to the edge of the crack and slowly lowered himself over the side. A ledge jutted out, wide enough for him to stand on easily. Surprisingly, it looked like a set of steps had been carved into the side of the crevasse’s wall, spiraling down the oddly angled edges into the darkness.
Luke waited for Tess and Kaoru to join him on the ledge before starting down the steps. Strange noises came from the bottom of the crevasse. Even with the light of his sword, Luke couldn’t see the bottom.
“Stay close to me,” said Luke. “There’s no telling what could be down here.”
He took another step, knocking a small rock down into the abyss. The exit hole above them grew smaller, and smaller, until it was no more than a tiny coin in the sky.
“I hear something,” said Tess. Luke heard it to, a scraping noise coming from the floor of the crevasse.
A moment went by, and something winged and mostly unidentifiable in the darkness flew up at them. Luke swung his sword at it, missing completely. It screeched as it continued flying upward, and he turned away from it.
“Probably just a bat,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a bat that big before,” said Kaoru.
Luke shrugged and continued on. The staircase spiraled further down, running around the inside of the crevasse’s wall enough times to be dizzying. Finally, after what felt like close to an hour, they reached the bottom.
“Stick together,” said Luke. He was still holding his sword up like a torch, casting light off around them. The sun and sky were too far above them to offer any light, with the way the crevasse shifted and angled.
“What… is this?” whispered Tess. The floor of the crevasse was flat, unnaturally so. There was a jagged opening on the side across from the stairs leading off into more darkness.
“I don’t know what you were expecting,” said Kaoru. “But this is good. We can keep moving forward.”
Luke nodded, and moved to the front of the group. The air tasted stale as he walked toward the opening. It was around ten feet high, with rough angles that felt out of place when contrasted with the neat, flat ground.
He walked through it, wishing that his weapon gave off more light. Luke felt conspicuous holding it. Any enemies living this deep underground would be fine without light. All his torch sword did was give them a warning of his approach.
Kaoru had both of her whips out, and Tess carried her staff in hand. The three of them slowed to a stop at the first intersection, with separate paths leading off to the left and right.
“We should split up,” said Kaoru. “Cover more ground.”
“You are out of your fucking mind,” said Luke, shaking his head. “We’re sticking together.”
He led the group down the left path. The cavern was quiet. Luke felt as though it was long overdue for them to be attacked, or at least surprised. The cavern felt empty, and dead.
It makes sense. The land around it above was the same way. But why is it so hard to accept?
Luke wasn’t regularly a claustrophobic person, but the air had a strange, dirty smell to it that made the back of his neck sweat. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, but it only aggravated the feeling.
“Hold on!” Kaoru grabbed his arm tight, digging nails Luke hadn’t realized she’d had into him. “What’s that?”
She pointed in front of them. Luke leaned forward, angling his sword to better illuminate what she was talking about.
Something was waiting for them ahead. He could make out a dark silhouette against the shadows. Something with a weapon.
CONJURE SWORD 4
Luke ran forward, preparing himself for an encounter. He skidded to a stop as he got a look at his foe. Stone statues in the shape of warriors littered the sides of the part of the cavern ahead of them, weapons still in hand, many of them frozen in midswing.
“These are… very realistic,” whispered Tess.
There were around thirty of them, a mixture of human
s and Tymians, with at least a couple lying dead on the ground. Luke found it hard to believe that a stone mason would have taken the time to craft a dead body for effect, or the realistic facial expressions on the humans.
I keep forgetting that this is Yvvaros. A developer created this scene.
“Let’s keep moving,” said Luke. He started walking through the stony battle. Tess followed after him, but Kaoru lingered behind.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. She shook her head and frowned.
“Nothing.”
The passage went on for another few hundred feet without much change. Luke led them through another intersection. The path he didn’t pick angled back the way they’d came, and he assumed it was the other path from the first intersection finally meeting up.
As they moved forward, he started to notice something unusual. The walls of the passage were becoming smoother, less naturally angular. It looked less like a natural formation, and more like something that had been chiseled into existence.
Luke saw something up ahead. As it came into view, he slowed to a stop out of necessity. The cavern was blocked off by a large wall, with a single bronze door set into the center of it. The walls and roof were perfectly flat and set into ninety degree angles with each other.
“This is probably going to be it,” said Luke. “Whatever we’re looking for is waiting for us on the other side of this door.”
Tess began chanting, and cast a buff spell on the group.
“We just need to stay focused, and keep our guard up,” said Kaoru. “This is what we came here for! We can do this!”
Luke nodded to her, and then walked forward to the door. Tess moved up next to him and took his hand.
“I trust you, Luke,” she whispered. “And I love you.”
He gave her a quick kiss, and then took hold of the door handle.
“Ready?”
Tess and Kaoru nodded. Luke threw the door open, and a blinding white light spilled forth. He stepped forward, shielding his eyes as he made his way through.
CHAPTER 25
“He’s waking up,” said a female voice. “We can take the headset off now without worrying about his reaction. He should be stable.”
Luke groaned. His stomach flared with pain, and his mind felt foggy. Oddly, the one emotion that was clearly perceptible through the confusion was a powerful feeling of déjà vu.
What… the hell?
“Where am I?” he managed to ask. Each word sent a stabbing pain through into his gut. The room around him was white, clean, and lit by bright fluorescent lights.
“Shhhh… It’s okay.” Sam’s voice was a whisper too, laden with concern and emotion. “Luke… You’re okay now, here in the hospital. You weren’t yourself before.”
How can this be?
Luke searched his thoughts, trying to come to a reasonable conclusion about what was happening. He couldn’t remember what he’d been doing, or why. Sam set a hand on his shoulder and he blinked and tried to sit up.
“Please, Mr. Smith,” said the nurse. “Just stay in bed for now. If you try to move around too much you’ll tear your stitches.”
“…Stitches?”
“You had an accident,” said the nurse. “According to your friend, you were in a delusional state when it happened, and tried to hurt yourself.”
Hurt myself? That… I think I remember that.
Luke tried to lift his hand up and felt it catch against something on the bed. He tried to lift his other hand, realizing that they were secured by leather straps.
“What…” He shook his head. “What is this?”
“We have to make sure that you don’t try to hurt yourself again, Mr. Smith,” said the nurse. “Just relax and get some sleep.”
“Listen to her, Luke,” said Sam. “I’m really worried about you.”
“I…” Luke strained against the straps. “I can’t be here!”
“Mr. Smith, please calm down!” The nurse hurried over to his side and fiddled with the bags attached to the IV in his arm. “Here, I’m going to give you something that will calm you down.”
“No… I…” Luke trailed off as he felt a warm sensation flooding over him. It became even harder to think. He started to grin foolishly as pharmaceutically induced pleasure took over his body.
There was a knock at the door. Luke looked up in time to see his father, Chris Smith, walking in. The nurse smiled at him and Sam stood up quickly.
“I need a moment alone with my son.”
The nurse and Sam both nodded and left the room. Luke’s dad closed the door and slowly walked over to stand at the head of his son’s bed.
“I’m glad that you’re okay, Luke.”
Luke stared at the man. Even the effects of the drug weren’t enough to keep his innate reaction from bubbling up. He could still remember his father, the years of abuse, the poorly disguised loathing over his mother’s death that the man had for him.
“Why…” whispered Luke. “Why am I here?”
“You’re confused, and delirious,” said his dad. “You had a psychotic break. You were ranting about how you wanted to go into the game, and live inside of it.”
This… has this happened before?
“I… I was trying to go all in,” said Luke. “I was trying to save them.”
“They don’t need saving.” Chris Smith walked over to the room’s wall and stared at it as though it was a window. “Nobody in Yvvaros needs saving. It’s just a game, Luke.”
“No…” Luke shook his head. “No, that’s not…”
He trailed off. It was hard for him to focus on his speech. He did feel delirious, and confused, and it seemed to lend credence to what his father was saying.
No! Focus! This… doesn’t feel right!
“I’m going to get you some help, Luke,” said his father.
“I don’t need help,” he said. Panic suddenly surged through him. Something was wrong, and every second that went by without him confronting it only intensified the sensation. Luke tried again to pull his arms free from the restraints, straining against them.
“Luke!” shouted Chris. “Stop this! You need to face the truth. You’re sick.”
“I’m not sick!” shouted Luke. “This… this isn’t-”
“Nurse!” Chris walked open to the door. “He’s trying to escape.”
The nurse hurried into the room. Luke struggled and tried to roll himself out of the bed.
“No!” he yelled. “Don’t!”
She walked over to the bags next to the IV and injected something into the line. Luke felt his vision fade to black.
…Where am I?
He woke up slowly and tried to move his arms. They were stuck in place, even more restricted than they’d been in the hospital. He was on a pad, soft and white. He rolled over on it, looking up at the ceiling and the walls. The walls were padded, too.
“No…” he said. “This can’t be happening.”
He had to lean back and fall over his shoulder to get to his knees, and then he struggled from there to his feet. The room was perfectly square, maybe ten feet by ten feet. And the door looked solid, much more solid than anything he could get through with a straight jacket on.
“Hey! Let me out of here!” Luke slammed his shoulder against the door anyway. His stitches had healed up.
Wait… how is that possible?
Luke searched his thoughts, trying to find a clue as to what was going on. He could hear footsteps approaching from outside the door. His mind was clearer than it had been before, but only by a little.
I was… in Yvvaros. We were chasing something, searching for something. And Tess...
The door opened. Something clicked inside Luke’s head. He had to get out of there. None of it was real.
“You’re having a rough day, Mr. Smith.” A muscular man in hospital scrubs walked into the room, carrying a syringe. “This will help you get some-”
Luke lunged forward, throwing himself into a double legged drop kick. Hi
s feet struck the man’s chest, forcing out a surprised gasp. Luke immediately rolled backward to his feet, focusing to keep his balance.
“Help!” cried the man, coughing. “He’s-“
Luke kicked him across the face with his socked foot, hard. The man went limp, and he immediately ran out into the hallway and began sprinting down it. He could hear people approaching from the other direction, but every step he took forward made the walls around him pulse, and the detail and texture of them drop by a notch.
At the end of the hallway was a bright, blinding light. Luke didn’t hesitate before throwing himself through it.
CHAPTER 26
Luke fell, landing spread eagle on the cold, chiseled stone ground. It was dark, but a nearby torch set into a holder on the wall illuminated the room around him, shadows flickering across the places where they could find purchase.
He pulled himself to his feet. Memories washed over him as he remembered where and who he was. It felt like he was waking up after sleeping for days.
I’m back in Yvvaros. We were looking for the Universal Truth.
Behind him, he could see the bronze door and the empty cavern hallway. Tess and Kaoru were nowhere to be seen. His sword was sheathed, and he pulled it loose, gripping it tightly as he explored the nearby area.
“Tess!” He yelled. “Kaoru!
There was no response. Another bronze door stood closed in front of him, directly opposite the one he’d been through with his friends. Luke stared at it, remembering how easily he’d fallen into the trap of the last one.
“Tess!” He wanted to find them, and the safest way to do that didn’t involve taking risks. Unfortunately, Luke was out of options. He walked forward and clasped the door handle, pulling it open. The light was the same.
He walked in.
The transition was different from how it had been the first time. Luke couldn’t see anything at first, as though he’d stared into a spotlight. Sensation faded away from his body, and as far as he could tell, he was floating.
He, or rather, his awareness, was in a relatively small room. A set of bunkbeds was pushed into the back right corner, and a long desk was against the wall on the other side. There were several people, and Luke almost did a double take when he saw the one sitting on the bottom bed.
