by Rick Scott
“Dad! It’s me!” I shout again. “It’s Reece! Your son!”
But again there’s no reaction.
I stifle back my emotions as the reality becomes clear. No…this isn’t my father, just some shadow or copy of him. I then seethe inwardly as I fix my gaze on Xuba. A copy being controlled by him.
“Where is my father, you monster?” I scream. “What have you done with him?”
Mike…he’s talking about Mike!
“You stay away from my family!” Blood rushes hot in my veins as I lunge for Xuba again.
The Ozoku reacts quickly, throwing the puppet of my father into my path.
The Dark Spirit swings at me with a wide arc and I take the hit, losing another huge chunk of health, bringing me down to 25%. Seeing my massive HP bar so far in the red, pulls me out of my blood rage. Damn it, I was triggered by that fiend. I won’t let it happen again. As powerful as I am, if this Spirit holds the same potential as my father, another Kono-Zemsu like I am, then we’re on equal ground.
I gain distance with a Retreat and attempt to debuff with a Shadow Mist.
You cast Shadow Mist!
Dark Spirit is Paralyzed!
Dark Spirit resists the Poison!
Dark Spirit resists the Slow!
I use the few seconds I’ve bought to rebuff with Shadow Haste, but something else occurs to me as well. I’m Level 99 now. Rembrandt said the main purpose of levels was not stats, but abilities. I quickly access my ability list and my eyes go wide with what I see. There are ninja abilities I don’t even understand waiting for me to use, but one jumps out at me immediately and I cast it without hesitation.
You cast Shadow Copy II!
You gain the effect of Shadow Copy II!
A buff appears on my HUD with a small number two at the bottom. Heck yeah! The Dark Spirit is using pure AOE attacks, just like I recall Amanda doing with her greatsword when she fought that werewolf guy in the ring. The memory sparks nostalgia but I have scarce time to relive it now.
I charge in, taking another hit as the Dark Spirit breaks free from my Paralyze.
Dark Spirit uses Wheeling Blade!
Dark Spirit is no longer Paralyzed!
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
I slash back with my Murakumo and we trade blows as the Dark Spirit follows up with an overhead strike.
You hit the Dark Spirit for 49999(99999) damage!
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
I sense a moment of panic from Xuba as the Dark Spirit draws the greatsword across its body horizontally to take my follow-up hit.
Dark Spirit Blocks your attack!
Dark Spirit takes 9999(99999) damage!
I attack again and again, animation-cancelling so quickly I can’t even see my blade anymore.
Dark Spirit Blocks your attack!
Dark Spirit takes 9999(99999) damage!
Dark Spirit Blocks your attack!
Dark Spirit takes 9999(99999) damage!
Its HP bar edges towards zero, but then it flashes, surging upwards with a blue glow.
Dark Spirit uses Boundless Rejuvenation!
Regeneration increases by 500% for 30 seconds!
The Dark Spirit’s HP bar fills in the space of two hits and then it starts attacking again.
Dark Spirit hits you for 49999(99999) damage!
Crap!
I cast normal Shadow Copy, absorbing the next hit. I fight back and we enter a game of attrition as Shadow Copy II comes off of cooldown and I cast it again, gaining two more shadows in the process. My feeling of invincibility emboldens as I realize what I’ve just done. In this state, the cooldowns for both abilities is under 6 seconds.
I can literally keep this up forever!
“You’re already dead, Xuba!” I grimace at the fiend. “You just don’t know it yet.”
I fit attacks in between my Shadow Copy Spells, tanking every AOE slash with a laugh. Eventually the Dark Spirit’s 24-hour ability wears off and I begin taking down its health in huge chunks again. Xuba tries the blocking tactic, but I chisel through its defenses and finally take it down to zero HP in 4 or 5 hits.
Dark Spirit Blocks your attack!
Dark Spirit takes 9999(99999) damage!
Dark Spirit is defeated!
The image of my father vaporizes into red mist as my Murakumo lands the final blow.
In that brief instant up close, I can see his true face staring back at me. He truly does look like a mixture of me and my brother. And so young still, not quite my mother’s age. The face makes no expressions as it vanishes and I know for sure that the Dark Spirit was him in form only.
Hang in there, Dad… I’m coming to save you.
Wherever you are.
I turn to the puppet master and feel my ire ignite.
“You may have had access to the power of a Kono-Zemsu…but you know nothing about how to use it.” I point my blade at him. “I’m going to show you now.”
Fear permeates the room like a stench and it only fuels my loathing as I lunge in at Xuba with a Charge Strike.
“Die!”
You use Charge Strike!
Xuba uses Shift!
Xuba dodges the attack!
His mammoth body flashes to the side, leaving me striking the ground where he stood. I seek his new position and slash upwards, catching him in the throat with the tip of my blade.
You hit Xuba for 99999 damage!
You have defeated Xuba!
Rage and horror replaces the fear as his body collapses to the ground, his throat spitting black smoke and fire.
Xuba uses Rebirth!
The Ozoku’s body freezes in place before cracking apart like a dead insect husk. Something slimy and gray writhers out, screeching and squealing like a pig. The sound causes my flesh to crawl and I recoil with revulsion as the giant insect larva-looking thing scurries through the portal behind it, vanishing from sight.
The world then shudders with a burst of static.
[System Error!]
[Core breach!]
[Data purge!]
[Warning: Unsaved memory will be lost!]
[Attempting Emergency backup: 3%.....4%....]
Crap!
I search my HUD for the Memory Core interface and initiate a forced save.
[Initialize save……………done.]
The static blares again and then nothing.
Darkness.
…
…
My senses return in a burst of light and sound. My kunai slashes through the glowing double orb and it turns a dull gray before shattering like glass. My mind reels as I struggle to right myself in midair. I bring myself under control and head to the ground using Wall Run, sliding down one of the crystal pillars.
I land next to Rembrandt and the ground shakes as a huge explosion rocks behind us. I steady myself as the contraptions begin to fall apart.
“The sphere’s collapsing!” Rembrandt says, taking off in a run. “Move!”
I dash after him down the access path, clambering over the gangway as the boundary walls of the sphere begin to shrink. Huge gears and pistons come undone from their foundations, crashing into one another as the space grows smaller and smaller.
“I guess you did it!” Rembrandt shouts above the din. “Do you remember anything?”
The same disorientation hits me as before as I struggle to retain what happened to me just a moment ago. But even more rapidly than before, there’s nothing even to grasp, except a faint feeling of hope.
“Something good!” I verify the Backup Core within my HUD, now sitting at 100%. “I think!”
Part of my brain keeps trying to remember what I just experienced within that orb,
but the other half is focused only on survival as I race towards the wall of the sphere. I punch through it like a bubble and arrive safely on the other side. Rembrandt emerges right after me and we both glance behind us as the sphere continues to implode.
It grows smaller and smaller until it finally dwindles into nothing and disappears with a faint spark. With the sphere now gone, we have a clear view of the giant purple crystal and the Labyrinth Spirit in the distance. As quickly as the sphere shrank, the crystal now grows, filling in the missing parts of itself—all save a sliver on the left-hand side. A huge wave of white energy then explodes out from it, radiating in a concentric ring.
It passes through the tiles and when it hits us, a wall of text spills onto my HUD.
[Intrusion annulled.]
[Initializing core functionality check.]
[0……………….100%]
[Core Functionality confirmed with 3 Error(s) unresolved]
[System restoration in process…….. Success!]
[Core Functionality(Fast_Travel) == (True)]
[System restoration in process…….. Success!]
[Core Functionality(Level_Cap_99) == (True)]
[System restoration in process……….Error!]
[System restoration completed with 1 Error(s) unresolved]
[Error list:]
[Core Functionality(Respawn) == (False)]
“Bloody hell! You did it, mate!” Rembrandt says, slapping me on the shoulder. “Two core functions restored!”
I smile, but it’s hard to feel the elation of my victory without even knowing what I’d done to achieve it. I check my character to see what being able to reach level 99 has given me now. When I bring it up, for some reason I almost expect to be level 99 already, but I’m still sitting at 85. My XP however has now shifted from my Veteran Points, to regular XP again.
You are 134552/1500000 Experience Points from your next Level.
Man, that’s a lot of XP!
I check my abilities next and see them listed next to the new levels.
Level 87Shuriken: Ranged Attack, Stuns Enemy
Level 90Cyclone Shadow: AEO Lunge – Pulls Enemies
Level 95Shadow Step: Self Teleport between Shadows
Level 97Shadow Drain: Self Buff – Absorb 20% of damage done as HP
Level 99Muteki no Shi: +50% to all stats, immune to CC for 30 seconds
It feels like something is missing as I have a sense of déjà vu, but the new abilities give me new hope of increasing in power. Then I remember I have access to spells as well and they wouldn’t be listed here. But where would I go to find them anyway? I look back at the Labyrinth Spirit and wonder if that wave of energy she sent out didn’t just change our characters but everything associated as well. Will the game world be more challenging now? New weapons, items, and higher-level enemies to fight?
I suppose I’ll have to wait till I get back to the surface world to see.
“Gilly should be getting her permissions to enter the archives about now,” Rembrandt says with a satisfied nod. “Well done, mate.”
Again the achievement feels a bit hollow without Gilly being here to confirm it. She’s the whole reason we even did this, after all—to grant her access to the archives and find a way back home. But I can only imagine what she might be going through right now, still grieving over Lexi. Worrying about Rembrandt and I, perhaps.
I’m not even sure how much time has passed for her—hours or even days. Would she even notice the change to the system? And would she still have the wherewithal to find the location after all that’s happened to her?
Stay strong, Gilly. I’m coming soon.
I then look to Rembrandt.
“Thanks,” I say. “But I’m not even sure what I did.” I search my memories but draw a hard blank right away. “I can’t remember anything past hitting the orb. It’s even worse than the first time. I can’t recall anything.”
“Is it because your memories were saved?”
I gaze at the Backup Core activation hovering on my HUD. “Maybe.”
But I know something important happened in there. I can feel it. I just need to find out what.
“Go on, use it then,” Rembrandt says. “Remember what you did.”
I nod and am just about to hit the trigger, when I think again. This thing has a chance of wiping my whole brain. I don’t know if I can risk that right now.
I hesitate and Rembrandt stares at me with his mirror shades.
“What’s the matter?” he says. “Aren’t you going to use it?”
I pause again, considering it, but finally shake my head. “No…not yet.”
“Eh?”
“We’ve got too much left to do to risk trying this right now,” I say and close the application on my HUD. “It has a chance of wiping all my memories.”
“Bloody heck,” Rembrandt says. “I didn’t realize that. That’s one hell of a risk.”
“Yeah…” I say.
“What kind of chance?”
“I’m not sure,” I say. “But now’s definitely not the time to be rolling the dice.”
My brother’s life is hanging in the balance and I need to get Rembrandt to that tournament to save him. Not to mention I still need to figure out what to do about Rembrandt himself when it comes to all this. I can’t be putting all of that on the line by becoming a vegetable.
“We need to get back, Rem,” I say. “I can figure out what happened once all this is over. How much time do you think has passed on the outside?”
Rembrandt’s shades light up with the glow of his HUD. “We weren’t in very long compared to the last time, but the pulses seem much longer too. I think perhaps wherever this sphere led, it might have been a farther distance than before.”
“So what does that mean for us in terms of time?”
He shakes his head. “Honestly…I don’t know. Could be a day already. Maybe more.”
I nod. “We need to go.”
I hop onto my motorcycle and rev it to life as Rembrandt jumps on the back. I take off with a wheelie and peg the throttle as we begin the journey to the exit, racing through the shifting tiles. I push on with fervor, counting the seconds.
We’re coming, Mike…hang on.
We had less than a day’s grace before we left.
Which means now, we may already be out of time.
Chapter 51: Homecoming
I materialize back in New London and immediately slam on the brakes. Gilly’s Gift screeches to a halt as I slide the bike sideways, narrowly missing the edge of a cul-de-sac.
“Geez!” I say, stomping my foot down to keep the bike upright. I wasn’t expecting to come through the portal and head straight into a dead end. I check over my shoulder for Rembrandt. “You ok?”
“Fine, mate.” Rembrandt stands on the pegs as he looks around. “Where the bloody hell are we?”
The transition back to the surface was more rapid than I expected and even more so at 100 mph. In retrospect I probably should have slowed down, but I was in a rush and still am. “It must have dumped us out in a separate area just like with the Shadow King.”
Your Awareness increases by 0.1!
The sound of yelling catches my attention and as I focus on it, I see two figures jumping and waving in the distance at the end of an adjacent street. Rembrandt cranes his neck forward, peering through his mirror shades. “I think that’s Gilly and Becks.”
Just the mention of Gilly causes my stomach to boil with anxiety. I desperately want to see her again, but I’m nervous to see what kind of state she’s in as well. When I left she was in pieces, mourning both the loss of Lexi and traumatized by my executing Axel right in front of her. How does she feel now? Is she still distressed? Does she hate me?
Whatever the case, I won’t know until I get to her. “Let’s go!”
I hop on the gas and spin the bike in a circle, looking for a side street to connect to where Gilly and Becky are. We race through the adjacent block, which is somewhere c
lose to the Rally course, I realize. Within a couple of turns we arrive and find both Gilly and Becky, dressed in their mage gear standing at the side of the road.
I screech to a halt again and jump off my bike, rushing to her.
When I see Gilly up close I hesitate a second, not knowing what to expect. My apprehension is short-lived however, as Gilly gives me a huge smile and runs into my open arms.
“You guys made it!” she says. “Thank God!”
Becky gives Rembrandt a hug as well. “I guess we got the exit location a little off. My bad on that one.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, looking about. “Where’s everyone else?”
“At the arena,” Becky says.
“Already?” I say. “How much time has passed? How long do we have till the tournament starts?”
“None,” Gilly says with urgency in her voice. “It’s been two days!”
“What?”
“The Tournament’s already started,” Becky says. “Your brother’s fighting right now!”
* * *
My heartrate jumps with panic. How did we lose so much time?
“I’ll get Rem there ASAP!” I say and turn about to hop back on Gilly’s Gift.
“Don’t worry about that.” Gilly stops me and raises her Bow to cast a spell. “Just stow it.”
I wonder what she’s doing for a second but then comply once the spell she’s casting becomes clear.
Gilly casts Teleport!
