by Rick Scott
Cold darkness and pain.
Multicolored lights stream towards me and I fall onto something hard like glass as my body materializes into a new plane of existence. Immediately I feel different: lighter, my senses more acute. I activate my HUD and the slightly garbled text triggers déjà vu.
Yes, I’ve definitely been here before.
The place is dark with a slightly red hue, but I can’t see past twenty feet ahead of me into the inky depths. But I know I’m not alone. An oppressive aura fills the place. Hatred and hunger—deep, deep hunger.
Your Awareness increases by 0.3.
Something moves behind me and I pop Active Dodge just as a set of black claws rip right through me. My body shifts and blurs through the attack, like I do back when I’m in the Shards. I wheel on my attacker and my blades finds purchase in the sinewy black thorax of an eight-foot-tall monster.
The Other reels back and squeals like a pig as smoky black blood sprays from the wound, but its massive HP bar barely moves. It looms over me with a mouth full of sharp teeth, dripping flaming saliva that pools like lava on the floor.
I target the monster to see which one of the Twins it is.
Name: Xulia
Sex: Other
Race: Other
Class: Runner
Level: 99
Guild: Other
Although its gender reads Other, there is something distinctly female about it, more slender with a slightly elongated head compared to the Others I’ve seen before—Zulia in her true form.
“You’re one to talk!” Adrenaline surges through me as I lay into the Ozoku with a series of attacks, weaving Shadow Mist in between. “Die!”
You hit Xulia for 347 damage.
You cast Shadow Mist!
You hit Xulia for 353 damage.
Xulia resists the paralyze!
Xulia is poisoned!
You hit Xulia for 346 damage.
Xulia is slowed!
Landed two out of three…. As a Runner class, maybe defeating her won’t be so hard after all. The beast rears back with a screech of pain and I can sense her infuriation at being wounded.
Then I sense something else.
Xenji uses Pulse Blast!
Your shadow absorbs the attack.
Damn it!
A huge burst of purple energy shoots through me, radiating outward in an AOE. I flip backwards with a Retreat, repositioning to keep both my attackers in view. Xenji fires another blast from about thirty feet away, keeping his distance as he strafes to the side.
I swiftly recast Shadow Copy, nullifying the attack at the last moment.
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
Two AOEs back to back? This won’t be good. I need an edge.
I’m just about to don the Witch Spider’s Ring when Xulia strikes again, this time thrusting both her palms toward me. A wave of blue energy releases from them and combines with the purple attack fired from Xenji.
Xulia uses Pulse Wave!
You take 874 particle damage!
Argh!
I grimace in pain as the two energies combine and then explode right at my feet.
Combo attack!
Pulse Shock Wave!
You take 567 particle damage!
You are defeated!
I cry out as I hit the ground, my HP diving into the negative. I lose a bunch of XP but I don’t lose consciousness. Instead the searing pain continues as my HP resets to just under 10%, but rapidly drains as the combo attack effect continues to burn my body in purple-blue flames.
Arggh!!
You are defeated!
You lose a Veteran Point!
The level-down effect sounds as the two Ozoku slowly creep towards me.
How was I defeated so easily? How did I even defeat them before?
The monster pounces on my prone body, hooking his claws into my chest.
He pins me to the ground and gnashes into my shoulder with his maw of needle-like teeth.
“Gah!” I scream, the pain exquisite. My lifeblood drains as I hit zero HP again and lose another chunk of XP. No…This has happened before. Fear fills me as I recall the same helplessness: a memory from deep within my psyche. But now it’s being torn straight to the forefront.
Savaged by this monster.
But Xulia shrinks back even further.
Her fear sparks defiance within me. I will not succumb to this. I defeated that monster before just like she said. I search my inventory for the only key as to how.
[1]
Yes. I must wield this again!
I try to equip the blade.
You are not high enough level to wield this weapon.
What? What the heck?
My hope evaporates as the monster returns to feeding upon my soul. No…why didn’t it work? I watch, beside myself as my Ranking falls, the pain so constant that I can barely feel it anymore. Did I actually die in here?
Did I not win?
Kono-Zemsu…
The mere mention of the words sparks something deep inside me. What the heck does this thing know what I am or not? I look across at my bloody hand, splayed upon the ground and slowly I curl it into a fist. No, Kono-Zemsu is not just a word or a name…it has meaning. I think back to my encounter with Karlis and her words come back to me clearly.
Without limit. Limitless.
That’s right. Losing levels, death. None of those rules matter.
Not to me…
“You’re wrong, Xenji…” I say to the monster as I finally feel the strength of my inner resolve take hold. He must sense it too, because he cringes away from me and I can feel fear pouring from him.
“I am Kono-Zemsu!!”
The world flashes with a brilliant white light as my meters peg to full. My level jumps to 99 and my stats max through the roof. I wield the Murakumo and the giant katana materializes in my hand.
“Get off of me!” I scream and lash out at Xenji with my ten-foot-long blade.
A shriek of terror screeches from him as my weapon cuts across his abdomen, chopping his massive HP pool by over half.
You hit Xenji for 99999 damage!
Xulia uses Particle Wave!
You take 875 damage.
The attack barely takes off 10% health but just as quickly as the damage hits, it’s healed again by my massive regeneration ability.
This power…I’ve felt it before… so this is what it truly means to be Kono-Zemsu…
Notification messages scroll onto my garbled HUD, but I can make them out just fine now.
[Awakened powers unlocked!]
[Congratulations! Your mental fortitude has unlocked a hidden ability tree!]
Congratulations! You have gained a new non-class ability: Zenkai
Zenkai
Assume Kono-Zemsu form for 1:00 minutes
Special Conditions: Must be near death or dying.
Cooldown: 100 hours
My weapon then changes in my hand, the blade turning to a fiery cobalt-blue.
Weapon Upgrade unlocked. Your weapon is now Awakened!
I check it a
gain.
[1]
Special Effect: Reduce the cooldown of Zenkai by 25%
Special Effect: Extend the duration of Kono-Zemsu Form by 100%
I stare at the weapon in near disbelief. I then note the timer on the edge of my HUD.
Kono-Zemsu Form ∞
Holy crap!
The ability description listed a time constraint, but next to my timer is an Infinity symbol. A new sense of power fills me as the implications take hold in my mind. I truly am Kono-Zemsu…I have no limit!
I fix on Xenji, who is now down to less than half health, and give him a wicked grin. “Die, you worm!”
I charge forward with a slash that cuts him in two, black blood spraying.
The Ozoku falls into two halves, his groaning death cry echoing within my mind as he dissolves into the ground.
I wheel on her next, expecting the sibling to attack, but instead she falls to her knees.
I stride towards her as if in slow motion. How pathetic.
This monster will get no quarter from me. Just like with Axel, there is no fury or rage within my heart. Not even pity. Only disgust for what it is and what it represents.
“What?” I hesitate. Is this some kind of trick?
Is it possible? Can this thing really bring Lexi back? Or is it playing with me? Stalling for time? Despite the talk I just had with Rembrandt, the possibility sparks hope within me. And not just for myself, but for Gilly’s sake too. Perhaps even more so.
“How?” I say. “Prove it to me!”
Xulia cups her long spindly fingers together and a small window-like portal opens up within them. When I peer inside, the sight steals my breath.
It looks like an aerial view of Planet Hell, teeming with towering demons, lumbering and screaming with their throats of fire. Within the center of them stands a towering structure that has to be literally miles high. It’s as wide as several city blocks and layered in floor after floor of black volcanic rock. Between each slab are pillars of crystals like the ones just outside the sphere.
And within each of them floats a human figure…millions of them.
Cores? I think of the Soul Stone I just found. Could this be for real? Could through that portal be the souls of every person who has ever died on the surface? Thinking of how the mechanics work within the labyrinth, it may make sense. When Becky was killed in the labyrinth she appeared within that pillar outside. So when I saw Amanda being eaten alive, did she reappear in one of those pillars down there the same way? Could Lexi even be there too?
Then I see something else. At the top of the massive spire is another mercury-like sphere like the one we entered. Only it’s much, much larger. If these spheres are what’s inhibiting or blocking the core game mechanics, then perhaps this one holds the key to Respawn—the reason why people no longer respawn on the surface, but instead end up on Planet Hell.
I glower at the Ozoku.
“Where is that place?” I shove my blade against her throat. “How do I get to it?”
“I don’t want just her.” I press my blade further. “I want everyone!”
Xulia shakes her head in a fervor.
A flash of red lightning blinds me as a swirling red portal opens up behind Xulia, cutting through the darkness. Another Ozoku then appears, crawling through the gap. It’s much larger that Xulia, but it’s also different in another way as well, having two sets of eyes instead of one and from its throat a blue fire burns.
I sense a familiarity with it immediately. “You…”
Xulia cringes away from both it and me.
The thing called Xuba looks to Xulia and I sense disdain.
It’s here. The same one that’s been stalking me—I know it for sure. And if this place has any kind of a boss, then Xuba has to be it. And if so, then he’s the one I need to threaten.
I point the Murakumo at him. “Give me back my people, you fiend, or you’ll die like the others I’ve killed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I don’t have time for this. “I want all those people down there. Xulia said they can be reborn. Do it! Do it now or you both die!”
What is this thing talking about? Harvesting us? Marooned?
“I don’t care what the hell you want!” I shout at him. “I’m not letting you take any more of my people!”
Xuba flexes his spindly arms and a series of arcane symbols floats above his head.
Xuba casts Summon Spirit
Dark Spirit has been summoned.
I sense an unnatural presence behind me and glance over my shoulder to see a translucent figure shaded in red. It slowly emerges from the ground, slowly rising to stand upright. It’s the size of a human and while the details are hard to make out due to the transparency, it’s definitely a man. A man with a huge greatsword strapped to his back.
I check it, but barely anything appears on my HUD.
Dark Spirit
The figure screams with a deep voice and lunges at me with the greatsword. Its speed is unreal and even with my maxed stats and abilities I fail to dodge the attack. The sword hits me with a massive upward swing and I go flying into the air.
Gah!
Dark Spirit uses Skyward Blade!
You take 49999(99999) damage!
The figure winds up for another hit as I fall back to earth, preparing to wallop me like a slugger with baseball bat. I use Retreat at the last second, avoiding the hit, but the figure follows through with the momentum of its swing and lunges forward again with a massive overhead strike.
You cast Shadow Copy!
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
The sword flashes through me and hits the ground, rock and dark shale exploding in fiery hail of lava. Xulia scurries away from the violence, disappearing into the glowing red portal that Xuba entered through. Xuba himself however, continues to wave his hands, moving back and forth and the Dark Spirit seems to mirrors him. The sight instantly reminds me of the way Lord Xavier controlled Lady Diana just before we entered the wild.
“A puppet?”
Xuba thrusts his arms forward and the Dark Spirit begins to charge.
Screw that!
“And screw you, you monster!” I say aloud. “I’m Kono-Zemsu!”
I ignore the Dark Spirit and charge at Xuba instead, lashing out with my Murakumo blade, but the Spirit cuts across my path, blocking me with its greatsword.
Dark Spirit uses Cover!
Dark Spirit Covers Xuba!
Dark Spirit Parries your attack!
A flash of lightning blinds me as our two swords collide and I’m blown back across the room by a thunderous bang.
My HP pool dents as I hit an unseen wall about thirty feet away.
Ugh!
You take 989(1796) knockback damage.
The figure stalks towards me, controlled by Xuba. As I study it, I begin to see something familiar. It’s walking just like my brother. I look to its face and while I can’t make out any features exactly, it does resemble him somewhat.
Or me even.
My heart begins to race as I recall the conversation with my brother right before the Shadow Lord fight and stare at the crimson figure with new eyes.
“Dad?”
Chapter 50: My Blood
My father.
I’ve never really known him, but here he is right in front of me!
“Dad!” I shout. “Dad, it’s me, Reece!”
The figure continues towards me undaunted, no reaction whatsoever. I’m not sure if he would even recognize me though—I was so young when he left. I only vaguely recognize him myself, the translucent image bringing back memories of old videos and pictures—my father playing with me as a child. A void of longing opens within me as I try to reach out to him again.
