Executor Rising: A GameLit/LitRPG Adventure (Magnus Book 2)

by Vowron Prime

  “Can’t let them find us,” he said weakly.

  “I can see just fine in this darkness, but what about you? Do you need the magic orb, or do you like it dark?”

  MC pointed to the sleeping Eiga. “Rucksack,” MC said.

  Moments later, Nova set the orb down beside him, bathing their immediate surroundings in an ethereal glow.

  “Well, I’m sure glad I picked that up in Dervegen,” said MC. “Never really had a use for it until now.”

  “Are you usually so well-prepared?”

  He coughed. “Always.”

  Nova knelt next to him, curving her wings around them to help trap the heat. The soft glow from the orb and her own brilliant plumage somehow turned the frigid and inhospitable cavern into a friendlier place.

  “Magnus, please stop pushing yourself,” she implored. “Do you even realize how injured you are?”

  “Yeah. Between the throbbing pain, the agonizing pain, and the driving pain, I kinda got that impression. But we’d have died a dozen times by now if I hadn’t, and you know it.”

  “Yes, I know, but this time you really do have to rest. I am fully trained in human anatomy, so please believe me when I say that unless you lie still for the next several days, your condition will only worsen. Without access to medical facilities, you may very well die if you aggravate your condition any further.”

  She pressed on, seeing that he was about to argue back. “The skies were overcast today, so the Dyn satellites would not have been able to track us. We’ve flown a fair distance from the wreckage of the chariots without your Midar pings. It will be some time before we are found.”

  The angel pointed at the entrance. “Not to mention that with your handiwork, it will be an effort to pierce through, even if they do find us.”

  MC chuckled. “Okay, doc, you’ve made your case. We’ll lie low for now. And besides, I’m running on fumes and I bet you are, too. Where the heck are we, anyway?” He looked up at the giant cavern ceiling high above.

  “These are natural caverns, hollowed out from eons of water rushing through them,” she said, picking up a handful of frozen sand that covered the rock. “This all used to be underwater, many ages ago. These caverns form a labyrinthine network, interconnecting at hundreds of locations.”

  “In other words, the perfect hideout for a dragon, a human, and a Dyn traitor who doesn’t want to be found.”

  She nodded. “We will have to take care to not lose our way, and between my enhanced sight and your Midar, I doubt navigation will be a problem. I have an eidetic memory, so I can build a mental map of the caverns as we proceed. There are enough exits to these massive tunnels that we should be able to find another way out when we’re ready.”

  “Hold up. Eidetic memory? You’re only telling me this now?”

  “Well,” she flushed, “it did not come up, and we had more pressing issues to worry about.”

  “That’s an understatement,” MC chortled.

  A long moment passed in the dark.

  “Guess that just leaves food and water to deal with. Really just food, given all the ice around here. Don’t suppose there are any animals we could hunt, are there? Nova?”

  He gingerly turned his neck, but found that she’d already drifted off to sleep, her head resting against his armor’s shoulder plating.

  He couldn’t help but crack a smile at her sleeping figure. The dark circles under her eyes were a testament to how much she’d been through over this past week. They both had.

  Spending each night lying awake, wondering whether it would be their last. Whether they’d have to fight for their lives one more time. The Legatus had been relentless, sending both Ultimators and ship after merciless ship to pursue them.

  They’d only survived thanks to the combination of his abilities and Nova’s own knowledge of the inner workings of Dyn tech. MC had kept the dampener’s stealth field active almost constantly, which had caused its potency to soar by leaps and bounds, though it came at the cost of a perpetual headache.

  Sure, it had significantly decreased the attacks, but the Dyn’s satellite network meant they could only fly when the skies were gray, hunkering down at all other times within the mountainside recesses he’d hollowed, or in deep underground chambers large enough to hold the dragon.

  And even with the energy dampener, he had to allow his Midar pings through to fly Eiga. Low-power and highly directional as they were, it still wasn’t nearly as bad as flying without the dampener active, but the Dyn’s detection capabilities were head and shoulders above that of humanity’s.

  They could pick up his tiny signals from distances much farther than what he’d thought possible, resulting in their fair share of close calls and near-death experiences.

  There was no doubt about it—the goings had been tough. Really tough, and he didn’t know how much more of this they could take. Nova had a heart of gold, but he could see the writing on the walls.

  She was starting to crack under the stress, and if he was being honest, so was he. Over a month of dealing with this bullshit-train had left him constantly short of breath, under the force of an overwhelming pressure that would never relent. He was weary, haggard, and spent.

  And all of that was a footnote next to the bombshell of learning that this planet was real. That the hundreds—the thousands—of Zevan he’d killed were real. Thinking, feeling, loving beings that he’d brutally robbed of life. Sure, he’d killed before, but he’d always killed scum that deserved death. Some deserved even worse. But these poor souls’ only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could he still look himself in the mirror and be proud of the person he was? Could he continue living, drowning in guilt?

  Emotions roiled in his chest. He felt like throwing up.

  No. What was done was done. Even if the parasite in his brain had encouraged him, even if he’d thought it was all fake, those were his choices. One day he’d face the Zevan of this planet. He’d take responsibility for his actions, even if they called for his death. Because that was who he was. But not before killing the scum who’d tortured Nova. Not before ridding this planet of the atrocity that was Dyn governance.

  It would be his apology to Kelruhn. Spoken not with words, but through action. Until then, he would bury his feelings deep. For Nova’s sake, if for no one else’s. Because they had to survive. Failure was not an option. Not when he had an alien civilization to overthrow.

  Silently imagining the Legatus’s demise, MC found himself unable to keep his eyes open.

  For the first time in a very long time, he drifted off to the hallowed shores of slumber, where the souls of those he’d brutalized awaited.

  Four

  The next few days passed in anxious silence, as Nova tended to MC with the tools she had at her disposal—which was to say, not much at all. After having hefted him onto Eiga, the pair had flown a mile into the cavern network, taking several branching passages along the way.

  Their new surroundings afforded even fewer comforts. In fact, every inch of exposed rock seemed to be coated in a layer of ice, though MC had hollowed out a small room just off of the massive tunnel, separated by a few feet of rock.

  As with the one he’d created at Kyron, this room boasted two basic beds, along with a table and bench in the corner, yet at Nova’s request, he made it even smaller than his previous design. Not only would the trapped heat aid in recovery, but it also made her feel far more comfortable, since her reduced mass afforded less thermal protection.

  Still, their situation was growing dire, and now that she’d fully diagnosed his condition, she had uncovered entirely new concerns.

  “Magnus, we need to talk.”

  “I’m not going to like this, am I?” MC replied from atop his hard bed of rock. The Zevan magic orb sat on the nearby table, casting its soft glow across the chamber.

  “It is regarding the water you have been drinking…”

  “Nova, this isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. To be ho
nest, that water’s the only reason I’m even alive. You think I’d drink that stuff if I had a choice?”

  “No, I do not believe you understand. The trees within the mutagenic ponds are chemical stabilizers as well as atomic factories. They repair and restore the nanites contained within the water, machines that are programmed to mutate DNA, altering any living organism they come into contact with. Though they contain a basic intelligence, the process is random by design. It is very likely that they have already caused irreparable damage to your body. If left untreated, I fear it may lead to some serious complications.”

  “What about all the mutated creatures I’ve seen? They all seem to be doing just fine.”

  “Magnus, I would not use those poor creatures as a reference. This entire world is used for experimentation. You really should consider everything to be a test subject unless you know otherwise.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, it’s not like we can do jack shit about that for now. I’ll try to minimize my consumption, but if the choice is mutated or dead, I choose mutated any day. Unless you have a better solution?”

  Nova frowned. “I do not. If we can gain access to a Dyn facility, I may be able to reprogram our medical nanites to undo the damage, though I have no idea how we would come by such an opportunity.”

  An awkward silence stretched on for several moments before MC spoke up in an attempt to shift the conversation. “So I’ve been wondering, what’s the deal with that symbol I see everywhere? The one with the three circles on it?”

  “The emblem of the Dyn? The Dyn was founded by three original races, represented by each of the three circles. Ubiquity Prime, the overlord in charge of this sector of the galaxy, is from one of those races: the Nyrmalen. The triangle is supposed to represent their unity, though in reality, each Prime has become a faction unto itself.”

  “I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about that. What kind of an organization are we really up against?”

  “Dyn social hierarchy is surprisingly flat, given our society’s size. The position of Legatus is the lowest rung that has any real autonomy. Their domain generally spans a small part of a harvested world, though in our case, this planet is more of a research outpost. Given that the overall Dyn population here numbers only in the tens of thousands, my people felt that a single Legatus would be sufficient.”

  “And this is the same Legatus who tortured you and tried to auction you off, right? The one that’s been trying to murder us?”

  “Yes… Magnus, I know how much you want to kill him, but we need to keep ourselves safe for now.”

  “Actually, I’m more surprised that you’re so calm after what he did to you.”

  “I am not calm!” she snapped. “Apologies, that was uncalled for. But please do not mistake my statement for capitulation. I long for the day that the Legatus answers to us and to the people of this planet for his crimes. However, I have thought long and hard about what you said earlier.”

  “Which was what, exactly?”

  “About prioritizing our own survival. As much as I want to help my family and the Zevan, as two people, our ability to enact meaningful change is severely limited. We have to secure our situation before anything can truly begin.”

  “Agreed, though I gotta admit I didn’t think you’d see things that way. Make no mistake, we will get him, and when we do, you have my word that he is going to die the most painful death imaginable.”

  “Thank you, Magnus,” she replied with a wry smile. “As I was saying before, Legatus is the lowest position with any autonomy. Their orders are carried out without question, but they report to the Consili above them. The Consili are usually responsible for managing several inhabited worlds. They sit directly beneath the Forum.”

  “The head honchos? The big, bad guys at the top?”

  She smiled. “You could say that. They are the supreme monarchs of the Dyn. There are only nine at any given time, and they are the only ones among the Dyn to have names instead of alphanumeric designators. Some are fair and just; others prioritize expansion and subjugation above all else.”

  “And let me guess, our glorious Ubiquity Prime is the latter,” MC said, gingerly shifting his body in search of a more comfortable position.

  “Indeed. Ubiquity is the most aggressive of all of the Primes, often making unilateral decisions that interfere with the others’ plans. He has been a continuous thorn in their side. There has yet to be a war amongst the Forum, but if there were, it would surely be instigated by Ubiquity Prime.”

  Her musings were interrupted by the soft sound of MC’s breathing.

  “Magnus, are you listening?”

  Getting no response, she glanced over to discover that he had drifted off to sleep. He had been resting for most of the past few days, leaving her with long stretches with nothing to do.

  Nova deactivated the light crystal, plunging the cavern into darkness, then retrieved one of the knives that Magnus had given her. Not his fancy nanomachine blade, but rather one of the several he’d pilfered from the Zevan. It was better this way—she’d rather keep his knife safe in case they needed it for any more surgeries. The winged Dyn then made her way to the room’s door, a simple affair she’d asked Magnus to craft after she’d nearly gone mad, staying cooped up in the small room.

  Firming her resolve, she opened the door and left.

  It was time to act.

  Both their food and water stores had dwindled, and it was up to her to procure more. Luckily, water would not be a problem; the snowmelt guaranteed an abundance of small streams. Water trickled down the porous rock walls.

  As for food, she could only count on Eiga. Approaching the great beast, she gazed up at his enormous eyeless snout. “Eiga, will you help me find food and water for Magnus?” she implored, miming bringing food to her mouth.

  Eiga gruffed and snapped his neck, sniffing the cold cavern air before gesturing with his neck for Nova to get on. She obliged, and in the next moment, the pair flew through the massive, pitch-black cave that, to Nova’s multispectral vision and Eiga’s senses, might as well have been bathed in daylight.

  At least a hundred feet high, the rocky ceiling provided ample room for Eiga to maneuver. Nova studied their surroundings as they flew, the sound of Eiga’s quad wings echoing within the vast tunnel. As she’d expected, fresh water was everywhere, while food was less so. It took another ten minutes of flight to find what they were looking for.

  A herd of mutated six-legged Zarshad bovines napped under a rocky overhang along one side of the tunnel. Spotting them, Eiga activated his magic cannon, bathing the entire area with a brilliant radiance for a fraction of a second. The poor animals died before they even comprehended what had hit them, as Eiga played the beam across the entire herd. A few lucky ones bolted off into the distance, howling in fright, but the majority had succumbed instantaneously.

  “Eiga! We needed food, not burned coals!”

  Eiga simply huffed and landed near the slaughtered animals. Most had been incinerated to a crisp, but there were a couple that had only been injured. With its legs seared, the six-legged bovine moaned in agony as Nova approached.

  She looked back at Eiga, who nudged her with his snout, as if he wanted her to make the kill.

  Nova hesitantly glanced at the dying animal, the crude knife quivering in her slender hands. Screwing up her face in determination, she made her resolution. As much as she told Magnus not to kill their kind, she was more than aware of her own weakness in this area. Perhaps, by killing this creature with her own hands, she could take her first step to overcoming that aversion.

  She crept up to the downed creature, which gazed at her with pleading eyes. She gripped the knife tightly with both hands, with such strength that her knuckles turned pale white. Yet as she raised the blade to inflict the killing blow, she found herself frozen, unable to move.

  I can’t do this! she thought.

  Tears began to flow. If she couldn’t kill this miserable animal, then what goo
d was she? She had only been a hindrance to Magnus thus far, constantly relying on him for protection. If she couldn’t even fend for herself, wasn’t she simply a liability?

  How does he kill so easily?

  Every shred of her rational mind told her to kill this animal, so she could serve it cooked to Magnus. Yet here she was, arms raised, frozen in place.

  The animal sensed her hesitation and surged its last bit of strength into its three functional legs to lunge right at her. Nova’s eyes went wide in fright, but Eiga’s massive snout descended from out of nowhere like a wraith from the darkness, enveloping her protectively under his great wings. The Zarshad’s head separated clean off, leaving a neck stump that belched blood in a soaring arc.

  Shocked, Nova blinked back tears. Panic turned to despair as she came to terms with her personal failure.

  With much difficulty, she dragged the body back to Eiga, who picked it up in his forelimbs, nuzzling her with his massive snout in consolation. She stroked his hard scales with a sad smile, then climbed on him once more.

  On the way back, they stopped at a small stream to stock up on water. With their hydration issues quenched, the winged pair flew back in silence. Yet as they approached their makeshift camp, Nova realized something was amiss. Eiga had as well, doubling his speed.

  Dozens of bipedal creatures—Zevan—were sprinting at unnatural speeds straight for the hideout, emitting high-pitched shrieks that shocked her down to the core. Eiga roared and opened fire with his magic beam, incinerating the vast majority of the assailants, but two managed to get away.

  A dragon’s bellow roused MC, prompting him to immediately teleport out into the cavern. Leaning against a makeshift crutch, he knew full well that he was in no condition for a melee fight, but with his abilities, he didn’t have to be.

  A Midar ping deployed. One of the attackers died, its head disappearing. But before he could eliminate the other one, a scream rang through the massive space—Nova’s voice, filled with dread.