Oblivion's Peril

by M. H. Johnson

  Stray blasterfire has hit you for 15 damage and a flesh wound! Striking a vulnerable gap through your dwarven armor at your heel. Just like Achilles! Save you’re not crippled. Lucky you. Zero penalty with adrenaline modifier! Save the delicious terror of knowing that shots are getting through even at this range. With Haunting Luminescence in full effect, imagine how toasty you’ll be when they close!

  Julia’s look was filled with despair. The flood of soldiers chasing after them, firing wildly with their blasters, only grew as more and more disorganized, dispirited soldiers seemed to light up with fanatic hate the moment Val sprang into their view. “We’re dead, aren’t we, Val? That bastard cursed our very souls with his death! That must be why there were all those shriveled corpses. He was using them to fuel his curse!"

  “Bullshit!” Val roared, racing forward, inhuman vitality keeping his arms steady as rocks for all that he tried to hold her so snug to his body even as the shield behind him was lit up with a constant stream of blasterfire, each second he sprinted a desperate eternity struggling for survival. Every second restoring that much more mana to his exhausted lover. “After all you’ve been through, after all we’ve endured, don’t you dare give up on me now!”

  Julia shuddered. “Put me down, Val.” Her voice, no more than a whisper.

  “No, Julia. No way in hell! We’re going to make it!”

  “Just put me down!” she cried.

  Furious denial was replaced by desperate hope as they crested a slight incline. “One second!” Val cried, forcing his jog into a sprint, diving behind the smoking ruins of a fallen battle-mech, neither knowing nor caring if it was his or his enemy’s.

  Intent eyes gazed into his own. “Good. They’re all clustering behind to catch up. Distract them, Val.”

  Val jerked a nod before pivoting around even as he drew another flask from storage, enduring the flash and roar of dozens of lasers roaring into his shield as he sent his deadly present lobbing overhead before darting back around a heartbeat later.

  Light Blasterfire successfully countered! Stabilization skill check: Success! You have managed to keep your flask from blowing up due to stray blaster fire! If you hadn’t trained it up to Rank 4, Val, you’d probably be toast right now...

  “There they are, kill them!” A cry echoed a dozen times over before a massive boom staggered them in their tracks. “Now!” Val said, the pair popping around in concert.

  Scores of men shredded so badly only pieces remained. Others screaming as they struggled to find limbs torn free of their bodies, hopeless eyes gazing at stumps spurting the last of their life force away. And behind them hundreds more, gazing wide-eyed at the devastation, blasters lowered.

  Perfectly positioned for what was to come.

  "Titan's Blast!" Julia screamed, Val having bought her the seconds she needed to summon forth one of the deadliest spells known to Jordian mages. The real reason why wizards had been treated with such leniency in the Southern Continent.

  That ancient might was suddenly on visceral display, as their enemies were obliterated in a shrieking storm of armor-piercing tungsten shards and superheated plasma, perforating and flash frying hundreds of men.

  And Val blinked, wasting a single precious second glancing at his force-shield, in perfect working order, and Val had sensed no massive arcane surge that would have blown out almost anyone else’s equipment.

  Then Val girded himself before darting back out of cover, shield fully expanded once more. Only a handful of surviving soldiers fired his way. Most were either screaming in pain or shredded to paste.

  Explosives were great for maiming and destroying large swaths of men, throwing chaos into organized units. But when it came to finishing the job, making sure no foe was left standing, then it was up to the individual soldier, as always.

  And Val did what he had to do, holding nothing back.

  Congratulations! You and your lover have killed 476 enemy soldiers. Experience earned!

  Val felt the rush and roar of so many souls flooding his frame, feeling that dreadful blue bar overflow once more.

  Congratulations, you have leveled up!

  Knowing he dared not rest now.

  Gazing down at the pleading gaze of the man staring up at him. The lone red for fifty yards, according to his Dominion Matrix.

  But it was only a matter of time before a new flood of reds arrived.

  A panicked scream was cut short with the flash of Val’s crackling Psiblade before he raced back to the broken mech, heart lightening to see an exhausted Julia looking better than she had just moments ago. Val felt a tingle of awe, wondering just how potent were the quick-acting reds he had made in his most desperate hour. Come to think of it, his ribs were feeling better as well.

  Julia flashed a bittersweet smile, as if reading his mind. “I think your red was acting like a purple. Maybe because you love me?” She chuckled softly. “I won’t even ask what you just did.”

  Val gazed pointedly at her. “Keeping the people I love safe,” he said.

  Julia flushed, but couldn’t completely hide her smile. “Good. What’s the plan now, hero?”

  Val’s gaze turned thoughtful. “Your spell. If anything, it’s grown even more powerful than at the demonstration. I get the feeling I missed a lot while I was away.”

  Julia smirked. “You better believe you did, Valor.” She gazed ruefully at her shaking palm. “It depletes me after only a few uses, but my mana recovery has improved. And since it’s the deadliest spell in my arsenal, the deadliest spell anyone's ever heard of on Readit, or in Mother's database, it's basically end-game powerful. You're damn right I'm going to put everything I have into it, even if I can only use it a handful of times before being useless in a fight.”

  Val nodded. “Color me impressed. You are one girl I will never want to mess with.”

  “That’s right,” Julia grinned, before sagging to the ground, instantly in Val’s powerful arms once more. “I mastered it thrice over,” she whispered as Val held her close, knowing how exhausted she must be. “I can now cast it in 5 seconds. And best of all, with Greater Mastery status and PRM Rank 1 already under my belt, I was able to purchase the Perfect Serenity perk for it. What that means is that I leak no electromana radiation when casting. The spell is now 20% more powerful and costs me 20% less to cast!”

  Her brilliant smile turned to a shudder, face crumpling in tears. “And I just butchered all those soldiers, hundreds of people!” She sobbed. “I’m a fucking monster, and I’m still pretending this is just a game!”

  Val blinked at her words. “Julia. I want to make sure I understand. You’re saying you leak nothing when you cast that spell?”

  “Yes, but that’s not the point! What I did...”

  “What you did was keep us alive. We’re at war, Julia. Don’t you understand, that? We’re not in Chicago worrying about crime or our grades. We’re on Jordia fighting in a war of succession. Fighting for the very world we left behind. Earth, Julia. It all comes back to our home. If we don’t fight this, if we don’t win this, then Earth will be little more than a slave colony.” Fierce eyes gazed into Julia’s trembling, beautiful features. “I took an oath to defend my country against all threats, Julia. Foreign, domestic, or goddamned interdimensional slavers!”

  Julia swallowed. Jerking a nod. “I know, Val. I know. It’s just...”

  He took her in his arms, kissing her brow as she sobbed against him. "It's god-awful, I know. And I'm sorry, Julia. More sorry that you’re trapped here in this war of succession with me than words can say. But our home isn’t even our home anymore. We’ve been invaded, Julia. And thanks to bribery, corruption, and Highlords pulling the strings of world leaders like puppets, we gave up without a fight.”

  “But what good will taking Jordia do?”

  Val flashed a bitter smile, quickly looking all around them once more, relieved to sense no enemy soldiers in the immediate vicinity.

  But that could end at any second.

  �
�If nothing else, we can spit in those bastards’ faces, and the entire Dominion has to swallow the fact that one of their prize planets will be ruled by the very Terrans they hold in such contempt. And believe me, that’s just the first step.”

  Julia flashed an exhausted smile. “Just like Elerium, isn’t it, Val? You never quit, you never surrender. You’re always finding some crazy way to pull victory from the jaws of defeat.” Julia blinked. “Val?”

  But Val was gazing intently at the savaged mass of titanium and steel alloy they hid behind, hit with sudden inspiration.

  “Cover me,” he said, scrunching down as low as he could go. “It seems if I’m out of their sight, I’m safe. Otherwise...”

  Julia nodded. "I wasn't supposed to use this but..." She chugged down a shimmering blue potion that made her shudder. "Ugh… I’m glad it won’t interfere with healing limits, but that is terrible!”

  Val’s eyes widened.

  “No time!” she snapped. “Do what you have to do. Mother just said enemy troops are still heading for the central lab en masse! So many of them that not even Blackenthorp’s soldiers can hold them all off, and once the trenches are overrun...” Julia paled. “They’re all crying out your name, Val. They’re screaming for your head.”

  Val winced, wondering how long he would survive this curse, grateful that at least Julia seemed immune. But what if any allies caught sight of him? Would they fall under its sway?

  Val shook his head, pushing aside all distractions, focusing only on the heap of twisted metal before him, looking deep inside himself, feeling a connection with the massive beast of titanium and steel that had once been so much more… then helping it to remember as well.

  Congratulations! Greater Dominion Catalyzation successfully cast! Cost: 250 mana! This former heap of twisted metal, scorched flesh, and shattered dreams is now as pristine and whole as the day it came off the assembly line! Too bad the same can’t be said for the corpse inside!

  Val opened his eyes and took a deep breath, only remembering who and what he was as he disconnected his spirit from the shell it had somehow healed, taking a quick look all around. He was relieved beyond words that no foe met his gaze, infected by instant madness with a need to kill him.

  He pivoted around, meeting Julia’s gaze. “When Tiberius first struck, your mom didn’t trust you in a battle-mech, did she?”

  Flushing, Julia shook her head. “I’m not that great a pilot, yet, and if I had panicked, if I had miscast while inside... to say nothing of the electromana radiation Mother was sure would cause the thing to explode, and me inside it!”

  Val smiled. “But you can’t miscast a mastered spell giving off zero electromana radiation.”

  Julia shook her head. “You and I know that, viscerally. For her it was just words, even when I invited her to sense my assurance. She, well, she loves me, but she doesn’t exactly respect me as an equal.”

  Val smirked. “I don’t think she really sees any of us as equals.”

  Julia shrugged. “She respects you and she humors Father, but her word is law when you’re not around, so daughter dearest was to be protected by a squad of arena-trained soldiers at all times, with scouts ready to pull me back the moment trouble looked our way. And you already knew Bethany’s intentions to protect me as best she could from a distance of at least 30 feet.” She flashed a rueful smile, patting the side of the pristine battle-mech. “Funny how things never go quite according to plan, once battle’s underway.”

  “Isn’t it?” Val said, giving her a boost to the cockpit, wincing at her scream. “Yeah, there’s sort of a dead body in there. Want me to get it?”

  Moments later Julia was properly seated in the cockpit, blood wiped away as best as could be managed, her eyes widening as Val finished explaining his plan. “That’s madness.”

  Val grinned. “Got a better idea?”

  A tight-lipped frown, followed by a curt shake. “Alright, lover. Please try not to get yourself killed.”

  “Cover me,” Val said as he scooted off the mech, racing towards the remains of his hover-blade which had definitely seen better days thanks to his unorthodox use of a Psiblade. He was relieved to see the boy they had saved had remained unmolested, for all that he knew it was madness to leave him out where enemy forces could rescue him, or perhaps just butcher him. Madness or no, he just couldn’t bring himself to kill a kid that could have been any of them. He had been under the influence of a curse so potent it even affected humans porting their souls from Earth, who were normally safe from mind magic.

  Because it is destiny itself that twists the minds of men against you. Knotted vines thrown in your path by another who once walked the Path of Kings.

  Val grimaced, having pulled up his Dominion Matrix, knowing exactly what he must do.

  It was a curse no mortal mage could lift.

  Only one who dared the greatest game of all, pitting his will against the destiny of an entire world would be able to shift the fate of this curse.

  Congratulations! You have successfully repaired your dwarven hover-blade. 100 mana spent!

  Val stepped back, feeling a surge of pride with his beautiful bike, as spotless now as the moment he had first caressed its handlebars, just two days ago. His magic regenerated so rapidly that after a handful of seconds he was already nearing full, and more than able to pay the price required to hop onto what he suspected was the fastest vehicle in the entire province.

  Hover-blade takes its due! 50 Mana reserved! You have elected to boost your bike! Additional 75 Mana reserved! 200 Psion reserved! Your dwarven hover-blade will travel 100% faster, your shields will be 200% stronger and regenerate twice as fast! (Design symmetry sensed! Increased efficiency: This bike was built for boosting!)

  Val smiled at that, squeezing his throttle, feeling a fierce surge of adrenaline as the bike roared and raced across the fields.

  “Bethany! Status!”

  “Still hot, Val! These bastards have self-destruct sequences built into their mecha! That madness is outlawed! I’ve already lost 5 of my mechs, and 3 of my pilots are dead! Angelica’s squad ran into the same trap! Over half her mechs are down! Right now, we’re both just using hit and run tactics on these bastards, keeping a steady stream of fire as we pull back, knowing they’ll try to tackle us and self-destruct if they see a chance. Shit, gotta go, Val!”

  Julia gasped, her mic turned on as well. “Val, this is bad. Chris and Yin, the other players—this is really bad!”

  Val frowned “I know. I gave Gregor all the healing potions I could before I left. Send a surge to your mother. I know it’s a slim bloody chance, but if we survive this, if we can find them, we’ll have people with reds and purples on hand.”

  “I’m already on it."

  Val cursed. “It’s only because Tiberius knew his men would fanatically die for him that he can even trust his slaves will use it. And to think, the bastard’s dead and they’re still killing themselves for him.”

  “Val, the Highlords we fought til now were powerful. Scary powerful. But this is the first one who, well...”

  “Walked the Path of Kings like me? His soul tuning in to ancient powers capable of doing god knows what?”

  Julia barked a laugh. “When you consider all that you’ve managed to accomplish in just a handful of days? Yes, Val. What you’re capable of is scary. I shudder to think of what a Highlord might be capable of if he chose a crueler path than you have.”

  Val grimaced as the manor raced into view. “Just one more reason why I’m not letting any of these monsters grab the crown except me. Okay, I’m about to get hot, Julia. You know what to do!”

  46

  Val squeezed the throttle and the blinding speed he raced at only increased as he came into sight of the compound and the massive mob of enemy combatants attempting to take down the final emergency ward surrounding Christine’s reinforced chateau with the help of countless blasters firing in concert. A second division was busy protecting their flanks, holding off Blacken
thorp’s own mass of troops.

  Since the invaders weren't charging for the portal anymore and Lucius was far too prudent to sacrifice his men losing cover in a charge, the two sides were content to snipe at each other, neither side advancing.

  Which left the growing horde of fanatics outside Christine’s manor utterly unopposed.

  House shields at 50%, Val! What will you do now?

  Val grimaced, hating the risk he was taking.

  Stealth check successful!

  But for the moment his enemies were too focused on their objectives to pay any attention to the silhouette in the twilight, even if his ability to enter Shadowmind had been somehow ripped away. And if he was going to roll the dice, he would do it all the way.

  Willing himself ever higher on his now silent hover-blade. Feeling the bike lose momentum as he rose beyond six feet, keeping it at that sweet spot as best he could.

  Pulling out the first of Blackenthorp’s deadly gifts, everything he could have hoped for.

  Racing for his enemies’ rear, a few chance stares turning to fanatic screams of hatred, blaster fire going wide.

  A few turning to dozens turning to hundreds of twisting necks and frantic screams, but not before Val had dropped one, two, three of his gifts behind.

  Bike shields are down 50%! Bike shields are down 75%! Bike shields are down!

  And Val felt a flood of relief as he was already streaking away, quickly gaining dozens, then hundreds of yards distance before he abruptly cried out, and it was everything he could do not to flinch and risk instant death at that speed.

  Left shoulder hit by stray blaster fire at armor seam! 15 damage taken. You have suffered a Light Wound. Save versus utter catastrophe made! For dodging death yet again while embracing a daredevil’s dream, your Blade Riding skill is now Rank 5! You’re a natural at this! Too bad the same can’t be said for your academic skills. Congratulations! You are now Adept at Blade Riding. You have better odds than ever of surviving mad stunts that should leave you dead!

  Val flashed a smile even as his mind shrieked with sudden strain, relaxing at last even as he squeezed his throttle once more, praying Julia had warned Blackenthorp’s troops in time.