“I TOLD YOU NOT TO BE A TEASE, LITTLE STELL!” the giant centicreep shouted as he lunged toward us. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO—ARRGH!”
An invisible wall interrupted his progress, briefly glowing with color as he impacted it.
The barrier vanished as soon as it appeared. But Cavus had slammed into it with so much force that the scales on his lizard head tore, so much force that his oversized mandibles broke off.
He tumbled into the very pit he had created, twisting and whipping his segmented body to desperately try and reach the safety of the cavern’s walls.
That was all the attention I could afford to pay him. Because Anahita somehow accelerated the tempo of our dance the very next moment, snapping her fingers as she passed her hand through the next flame.
That is the main challenge to the art, she explained to me through the mindlink, as she commanded me to step two more times and grab her by the waist. Dancing is made possible by rhythm, and rhythm is most often provided by music. You have given me music though, Challenger, she added, her soft, smooth, voice rich with joy. I can now practice my art whenever I want, anywhere I want, and with anyone I want.
As I lifted her by the waist and turned, Anahita pointed to the necklace she now wore on her neck, just under her scarf.
It was a dazzling necklace full of tiny yellow stones, with the exact same number of gems as there were silver flames that we had passed through.
Now carry on with me, lover and Challenger, and we will end this. We will complete the Dance of Freedom…
She landed, and I twirled her again, feeling another drain on my mana.
The walls shook all around us, and Cavus screamed in pain, from somewhere we didn’t bother to glance.
The Dance of Dreams…
She draped her arms around my shoulders and walked slowly around me, decreasing the tempo for a moment.
The walls shook again and shifted. Cavus screamed in pain again, and this time his cry was accompanied by squishing, crunching noises, as if he was being ground together.
The invisible ground beneath us became soft grass. The walls around us turned into blue sky, along with the ceiling.
The only exception was the wall containing Cavus, which continued to shift and grind and crunch into his body.
And finally, the Dance of Flame, to burn away all that would shame or suppress our glory.
Another, final pull on my mana, completely emptying it.
And with that, the one remaining wall burst into white and golden flame.
Cavus let out one final scream that choked off into nothingness, and the wall hiding his body disintegrated into a massive pile of ash.
Anahita had me twist around for two more steps, even as Breena continued to weave glowing trails all around us.
And then she had us stop, and swept out her hand to the new paradise we had created out of this nightmare realm.
CHAPTER 42: RIVAL’S ADVANCE
Chris’ Perspective
Oh, shit, I thought, as I crawled backwards, away from the second-most terrifying creature I had ever seen in my life. Oh shit… oh shit…calm down, you can die and come back…oh shit…oh shit…
But the gold-armored figure stepped toward me, casually kicking away the body of the Pit Knight that had attacked him.
They were a new batch, I remembered. Improved versions of the ones that Travis had led to kill Wes. I had been charged with guiding them to this world, partly to play therapist again, partly to test and confirm that they really were several times more powerful than the first batch of Pit Knights.
Some quick tests had confirmed that yes, they really were much stronger than Travis’ batch of warriors.
And in spite of that, they had broken apart like rag dolls when they tried to take down the golden figure who had dared claim our city for his own.
Naturally, after seeing their swords and daggers break across the golden demon-man’s armor without leaving so much as a scratch, I had done my best to be unobtrusive.
But it hadn’t worked, as the gold and steel-clad creature had still turned his gaze upon me in the end.
“Young man-thing,” the monster boomed, his voice sounding hollow from within his demonically-carved helmet, “do you speak for your Tyrant?”
“Yes,” I said as I beat my panicked brain back into gear, “if you let me live, I can provide a message to my Tyrant. I can convey your reason for attacking our forces, as well as any demands or declarations you wish me to provide.”
“Excellent,” the monster intoned in his hollow voice. “Pass word to your ruler that Steel-Armor Zereh has risen from slumber and seeks to govern that which he first possessed many long ages ago.”
The man-demon thingy raised his clawed boot and brought it down on the dead Pit-Knight’s scaled head, crushing and flattening it immediately.
“If your Tyrant is of the Breath, then I will gladly represent the Fell as I bring war to him. But if he has no such affiliations, then know that I am open to negotiations, as long as he does not insult me either by laying claim to my world or by bringing beings touched by the Breath anywhere near my presence. Now hurry and go, before I change my mind and decide to add you to my collection instead. Either way, the Pathways to this world shall now be sealed.”
Add me to his collection? The hell?
“Yes, sir,” I said quickly, raising to my feet and telling my brain to shut the hell up. “I’ll leave right now and pass along the message.
I reached the shimmering Pathway in a handful of strides, still not daring to believe I was out of danger until I entered it.
Sorry, Wes, I thought as the Golden Sands disappeared from behind me. You’re gonna have to be on your own for this one.
CHAPTER 43: I WILL BE KING
“Did you get the same message I did?” Anahita whispered into my ear as she gripped my hand. Breena buzzed happily as she clasped my other hand, having risen to full human size.
“Which one?” I asked uncomfortably, having just read my mindscreen. “The message about the last of the Malus Men and their patron being destroyed or driven from this world, or the message about a new Tumult activating due to a Fiend and Planetary Tyrant successfully returning to power?”
“Both,” Anahita whispered excitedly, her optimism not diminishing in the least. “And it is okay that you do not have the same confidence that I have right now. Because I have the better opportunity.”
“What’s that?” I asked as both of the women tightened their hands around mine.
“The chance to help you succeed, as you helped us,” Breena piped up, gracing me with a cheerful, dazzling smile.
“The chance to help you uncover secrets and victories that you have long possessed, but never had time or opportunity to unearth,” Anahita added with her soft voice, still brimming with bold happiness. She lifted her other hand to run a finger across my chest. “The fact that you were able to unlock parts of your potential before now does not change anything. I know you. I know that I still have much might, and much good, to discover. And I will discover it. Even as I work to respect, nurture, and keep it safe until it has the same opportunity that I was just given.”
She placed her entire hand against my chest, smiling even wider, and I heard a voice whisper from behind her, similar to her own.
I will conceal. I will reveal. I will be queen.
My own heart stirred in response.
“You’re right,” I admitted as the Starsown we had rescued from Cavus began drifting their way over us. I had no idea how they would react to me, whether they would disapprove of me like Stell’s sisters and cousins had, or approve of me like her guardians had.
But either way, that didn’t matter.
I was brimming with strength.
And I was bursting with power I had already released.
Power I had sent through this world back when I had torn it out of Fragglerock’s construct.
I could feel that power circling every city in the south, where the Tyrant Fiend had declared his ru
le.
Invisible power that was somehow protecting the lives of every person who now found themselves under the boot of a new conqueror.
And I could feel that power marking something that Breaker recognized, that the Destroyer God’s blade urged me to go find, and find soon.
And I would, at the proper time.
I would be on this world a little longer, but that was all right. I had accomplished my original goal. Every Malus operative, up to and including Cavus, had been either driven off or slain.
And if I could do so once, I could do so again, no matter what title that armored idiot in the desert was throwing about.
Once he was defeated, I would head back to Avalon, access yet another part of my planetary authority, then turn around and rescue the next one of Stell’s worlds.
I will protect, my heart declared. I will prevail.
I will be king.
With that truth, I grappled again with the familiar fears and anxieties seeking to weigh me down, heaved…
And pushed.
END OF BOOK 6
Copyright Nathan Thompson, 12/2020
AFTERWORD
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed my book and I really appreciate you reading up to this point. I would love for you to leave feedback on a review on Amazon, especially if you liked it. Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors like me, helping our books get the exposure readers need to find them. If they can’t find our books, they can’t buy them, and then we authors starve and die, instead of continuing to write. Is my writing still good enough that I should keep going? Please leave a review and let me know what you think!
You can also join my facebook page, Armies of Avalon, for more information on dates for my work and also meet other people who read my stories. It will be my primary method of communication, so that no one gets lots of email spam—and it’s also where you can learn about my other series, Soulship, found here. Soulship is a cultivation series (like Gamelit, except people level up through magical martial arts instead of video game-like powers), and it takes place on a derelict starship, where the main character must grow strong enough to protect the ship’s damaged core—a mysterious alien woman—from all the monsters that have crawled on board seeking to devour her. Basically, it’s Challenger’s Call meets Will Wight’s Cradle series meets the video game Dead Space.
Also, you can also follow me on Amazon by clicking the button here. I can also be contacted at the email address [email protected]. I will be getting an email list going eventually, so feel free to send me emails if facebook is not your method of communication.
Special thanks also to my editors, Celestian Rince and Stephanie King, who have worked figurative and probably literal magic on this story. Finally, thank you Antti Hakosaari for your phenomenal cover art, and May Dawney Designs for your excellent typography.
LITRPG is a growing genre, and there are a number of places to find more books like mine. One of those is the facebook group, LITRPG Books. You can find both authors and fellow readers there, who can help you discover this genre. https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books/
Gamelit is also a growing genre in fantasy, mixing elements like video or tabletop gaming into literary form, albeit with slightly less mechanics than what LitRPG has. To learn more about Gamelit, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, you can join the Gamelit facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
If you’re looking to discover other Indie authors, Indie Fantasy Addicts is an excellent place to find fantasy books of all stripes—LITRPG, Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, you name it. Authors and fans both visit that group regularly, and host all kinds of events—including giveaways. Check it out!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/indiefantasyaddicts/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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