A/N: This chapter has been broken into two parts. I have been spending quite a bit of time editing earlier chapters and will update them soon. None of the editing in the previous chapters changes the story, so there is no reason for readers who have already read them to go back. The changes focus on weeding out potentially misleading information and for providing better clarity, as well as improving language. The next part will be up within a week or two since it only requires editing. Real life stuff and all that right? Haha.
As always, reviews and critiques are appreciated. Feel free to PM with any inquiries or for discussion.
"I am so damn tired of being another cog in man's flesh machine." -Kurt Braxton
Chapter 20- Guardians I
A sea of darkness. It was the best way to describe it. A lukewarm feeling that followed after being plunged in a deceptive freeze from a wind that traced the surface. It was a polluted sea, stifling and muggy.
Then when she opened her eyes there was red. Crimson veins now pulsed along her vision as she took in her surroundings. Her head turned to the right, then the left against her bidding. Some of the vein-like tendrils burst and splattered on the edge of her vision, only to reinstate themselves so the process of encroachment could continue upon her being. Her pupils dilated and felt like they were oscillating back and forth despite her focus being seized by the three individuals that stood on the opposite side of the chamber.
The parasitic crimson sensed the emotional turmoil building up in her as she recognized one of them.
"L-Leilan?" Her head pounded as the name formed on her lips.
The red trembled as the streaks of cracks enveloping her vision trailed off out of sight. Then her arm was moving against her will. Her legs bent and a hand reached for the shield at her feet.
No. She groaned as the red filled her with its displeasure in the form of what felt like needles stabbing into her brain.
No...
The Virtual World
Pirugan Continent, Prosell (Special Dungeon-Mythical)
In-Game Timer: Day 28
6:30 PM
Leilan, Verche, and Ray readied themselves as the two ghost-like, mechanical horses branched off to both sides of the chamber. The two enemies were kept in their peripheral vision, but the monster in the center still seized their attention for the most part.
Verche was the first to regain his composure as he accepted what he saw before him. "She was part of the diversion to bring Metatron and Pandora to safety. But still, for her to be defeated..."
Ray took in a deep breath to compose himself. He made sure it was audible for the female monster beside him. Ray gave her a sideways glance. It was like she was in a trance, her steely gaze focused on the blade of her halberd. Leilan made no sign that she heard him.
This was it. If they defeated Athena then she would drop as an egg just as Verche had. But judging by the other two monsters' reactions, Ray felt that this was going to be a different fight entirely, and it wasn't just because of the two extra enemies that continued to flank them amongst the metal pillars.
Leilan suddenly woke from her reverie and was about to step forward when Verche moved to block her path. He took a few even strides towards Athena to make his intent clear before turning to Ray and Leilan.
"I understand her pain all too well," Verche said. "I will reach her."
Leilan gave him a confounded look at this statement.
"There is still a semblance of our former selves that remains even under the dungeon's control. Athena is fighting against this force with us," Verche explained.
Ray nodded. "Alright then. We'll hold the grunts back while you fight Athena."
Verche returned the nod with his own and continued his approach to the center of the chamber. The two mechanical horses hesitated a moment as if to shift direction to intercept him but were soon distracted by Leilan and Ray who took up the rear.
Ray felt a lump of anxiety build in his throat when Athena began to match Verche's strides. He could practically feel the malevolent force exuding from her armor.
He spared another glance over at Leilan and his teeth clenched when he observed the look of apparent horror on her face. It was entirely out of character for her. The calm and collected Leilan had succumbed to emotions that Ray had thought she might be incapable of. This wasn't the disbelief he had seen in her eyes when they had first entered the chamber. This was fear and despair. It was not a mix of emotions associated with the fierce fight that would be waged, but with who it involved.
Ray refueled his resolve that had almost been quelled by his own apprehension.
I think, I understand you, Leilan, Ray thought.
Her one vulnerability: the pain of her comrades. Her friends.
Ray broke the uneasy silence. "Looks like our roles have been reversed."
Leilan frowned at this statement with uncertainty. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I never did thank you," Ray said ignoring the question. "When we were fighting Verche, you said I did well in the Departure Tower."
Leilan averted her gaze as she caught on to what he was saying.
"I knew you couldn't actually see me fighting in there. You only said that to boost my confidence. I needed to overcome that handicap to become what I needed to be to win. Athena is in pain right now. Pain we can't possibly comprehend. Pain that will continue if we lose."
Leilan's eyes widened as his words stung her.
Ray grinned to soften the blow. "So now it's your turn. No thinking. Right?"
The female monster's shoulders trembled and she turned her back to him. The grip on the pole of her weapon tightened. Ray thought for a moment that his words had enacted the opposite effect he had intended when he noticed her body almost instantly relax. She let out a small breath of air as she expelled all her negative tension.
"Don't get cocky human." Leilan gave Ray an appreciative smile that was contrary to her words.
She then turned away from him and said, "Thank you."
Ray felt his face heat up for a second. Two rare sights from Leilan in a single day. He thought about how nice it would be to see something like the latter every once in a while.
A resounding ring of metal brought him back to the situation at hand and he saw that Verche and Athena had engaged in combat at the center of the chamber.
The mechanical horses to either side of the remaining two warriors took this as their cue and they lifted themselves up on hind legs. Their heads reared back at an unnatural angle until they shifted slowly all the way to their backs. From their chests emerged an armored head with pulsing blue eyes. The horses had suddenly changed from beasts to humanoids standing on two legs. The hooves of their front legs retracted and twin blades emerged with a silent hiss of steam. They crouched down and bore their focus into Ray and Leilan.
Seattle, Washington
United States
May 26, 2020
Real World Time- 6:55 PM
Rick Moore caught himself biting his nails as he watched on one of his monitors the start of the battle taking place in the virtual world. There was too much riding on this. Even if Ray were to win, another gamble would take place soon after.
"If Ray Andylon wins this next crucial battle...then I will see him as an ally."
Emily Tanner's words kept flashing back into his head. He knew the meaning behind them. She would tell Ray everything: their origins, their knowledge, their stance, their whole plan. It was a dangerous risk. But he saw little reason to refute her. They needed allies in the virtual world. That was where the universal code resided, and Rick and his comrades had no way of entering the other world without being detected by the Lady Overlook, even with the dormant gateway he had inserted into the mainframe the day before.
Things looked grim.
Terrance Prest also hadn't reported in at his designated time the day before. He was supposed to have met with a contact by the name of Paul Burshall who had obtained some crucial info concerning some of the Players that had decided to call themselves Masked Ones; a nasty group of people supposedly employed by Thomas Malkin to join Depths Legion in the effort to recover the universal code. Up until that point, it had been speculation as to whether it was Malkin and Future Artificial Networking that was behind the attempts to retrieve the universal code. But now, with the two of them missing, the mystery remained unsolved.
An alert sounded on one of his monitors and he rolled himself in his office chair a few feet to reach it. Two more monitors sounded similar notifications from their internal speakers and the computers emitted a low hum as more intensive processes were carried out. Rick placed them on standby with a quick tap of his fingers on the keyboards.
Alright, let's see what we've got.
He placed his finger on the screen and slid a number of unnecessary windows out of the way to reveal a few dozen lines of coding that altered at incomprehensible speeds. Rick's trained eyes caught a few lines of coding that he wanted and he transferred them to another window he pulled up at an adjacent monitor.
On the other monitor a video appeared that was zoomed in on the city of Seattle from a birds-eye view. Rick clapped his hands together as his enthusiasm returned. He had thought that the enemy on the other side had locked him out of the satellite completely, but it looked like things were back in his control. For now at least.
When Terrance had failed to contact them, Emily had already assumed the worst and tasked Rick with finding out what had happened. So what did he do? First, he hacked into the street security cameras in the city and replayed footage from the day before. Analyzing all of those cameras to find a specific person in the crowded streets of Seattle was nigh impossible, so he let the cameras do it themselves.
Rick had input the facial recognition software template for Terrance Prest. The software could then analyze the spatial geometry of the face and then...done, the camera lets the user know when a match comes up on one of the cameras. Elementary technology in this day and age if one knew how to use it efficiently.
Eventually, that was when Rick watched the footage and saw Terrance enter what he assumed was a pub. Another man followed shortly thereafter. After a few minutes, the black SUVs showed up. Trouble.
Rick had transferred himself to the various feeds throughout the city as he followed the two men down a few back alleys. They entered their vehicle and the chase was on. It was then revealed what had befallen Terrance. It was clear he had been captured. He was picked up by two men under both arms and thrown into one of the black SUVs. There was no sign of Paul.
Rick thought things couldn't possibly be worse when he noticed one of the men open his wallet and flash what Rick assumed was some sort of badge that represented police authority. Or maybe it was FBI? Rick couldn't be sure from the angle, and no other cameras provided a suitable view.
Whoever the bastard was, he had his presence rooted with the fine boys in blue.
Rick had followed the car that held Terrance captive until it breached the outskirts of the city where he could no longer follow them with the cameras. This was where the satellite came in.
Rick had found the correct satellite in the appropriate line of orbit that coincided with when the black car had left the city. Now it was time to track them from space. It was a bold move. His presence within the system that monitored the satellite would be noted almost immediately. There just wasn't any way around it, even with his sophisticated station he had set up. Rick hoped the proxies he set up would hold the enemy's attention for a while so they would keep guessing as to his whereabouts.
Those on security had blocked him from the other side for a brief time. But now he was back in business.
Rick stared unblinking at the computer monitor until the SUV came to a stop outside of a sparse wooded area. The men exited the car with Terrance in tow and disappeared underneath the canopy of leaves. The footage stuttered with a lag in framerate due to a bad signal, but it was enough to discern what was going on.
He rolled his chair a few computers down and checked the map of Seattle he had up. The information and direction of their travel was already input and he overlaid it on the map. He traced his finger and followed the route.
So they went down Interstate 90. He then went south. Then down 18.
His overlaid path stopped somewhere mid-way route 18 and he highlighted the area. There might be about a two-mile area of correction needed, but that was about it. It would do.
He sent the info to the printer and swiped it out as soon as it was finished.
It was impossible to tell if Terrance was still in this location, but it was too great of a risk to stay with the satellite for too long. He had already given up the location of at least a couple dozen proxies. He hoped to have at least a few in reserve when the really bad stuff went down.
Now it was time to report to Tanner's people, and they would take care of the rest.
The Virtual World
Pirugan Continent, Prosell (Special Dungeon-Mythical)
In-Game Timer: Day 28
6:38 PM
"Can you hear me Athena?" Verche shouted as he brought his broadsword down.
Athena blocked the strike with the blade of her elaborate lance. The end of the pole weapon had been forged with fine hooks and curves specifically for intercepting and disarming weapons. Verche was aware of this, and so he retracted his blade as soon as it came in contact with Athena's by bringing his arm back and upwards to avoid the angled metal.
It was as if the Athena under the dungeon's control was aware of his own knowledge, for she edged forward with a quick shift of her feet to invade Verche's space of recovery. The broadsword was pointed over Athena's shoulder with no time for Verche to bring the sword back for an attack strong enough to do any damage.
Damn! Verche brought an armored wrist between him and Athena to intercept the blow.
The pole of the spear slid along the wrist guards of his right arm and he grabbed it with his free hand where the two metals of the weapon melded together. He then lifted his left leg to deal a swift kick at Athena's abdomen. But her reflexes already had one hand releasing her spear to absorb the blow of the kick. She slid back a few feet as she absorbed the attack and readied her spear once again for another bout.
The two warriors took this moment to size each other up as they prepared their fighting stances.
Verche wished he could see Athena's face beneath the closed helmet that she wore. Being able to see the eyes of the opponent was an advantage in itself. Even the muscles of the face could give away the next move. Verche knew the real Athena would not give these subtle hints away. But she was under the control of the dungeon. Perhaps the malicious force inhabiting her would betray some sort of hint.
Athena made the first move. With shield leading, she rushed forward and slid her hand halfway down the spear for better control in the close encounter. Verche sidestepped and swung his sword which glanced off the top rim of the shield. He made sure to angle the edge of the blade so that it didn't make direct contact. A strike on such a shield head-on would result in reverberations up his arm that would rend it useless for a few precious milliseconds.
Athena slid to a halt, let her hand shift down the pole of the weapon once again, and thrust it forward at long-distance. Verche batted it aside with his small wrist shield and took advantage of his momentum. He whirled about and beat his wings to speed up his spin and brought down his broadsword with both hands gripping the handle. Once again, Athena's shield was there to provide defense, but Verche didn't let up the attack and forced his enemy into an engagement that relied on reflexes and balance. He didn't give an inch of breathing room. Each strike appeared futile on the surface of Athena's shield, but the arm that braced it underneath was starting to feel the fatigue build up.
The shield sagged for a split second and Verche saw his opening.
There. Verche convinced himself and his sword that the sliver of vulnerability had presented itself.
He redirected his sword into a horizontal swing above the rim of the shield and a satisfying clang of metal met his ears rather than the dull thump that had dominated most of the engagement. The edge of the sword collided with the side of Athena's helmet and cut through the thin chains of metal that connected the top and bottom of the helm. The pieces of the chain rang out with a brief moment of resistance before shattering and the bottom portion of the helm gave way.
Verche was already in the midst of his next attack, but it cut harmlessly through the air as Athena lowered herself into a backward roll to distance herself.
He took in a sharp breath of air as Athena grabbed the top portion of her helm that still remained intact. She tore it off and tossed it to the side.
Her eyes. They were bloodshot to the point of almost drowning them in pure red. They traveled out to the side where prominent veins crept to her temples. The only way to discern her pupils from the rest of the eye was their pure, glowing crimson. They were wild like the eyes of some rabid beast, and yet, her expression seemed to retain that of indifference.
"Athena..." As he uttered her name he noted the slight twitch of her hand in response.
I see. Verche thought. Yes. You are still in there. Just as I was.
"The four of us together Athena." He launched himself forward and brought his sword down upon her shield. She responded in kind with another jab from her spear which Verche caught under the crook of his arm. There they found themselves in a desperate deadlock dictated by strength.
Leilan drove the blade of her halberd into the ground as she forced back the mechanical horseman.
"Initiate active skill Southern Seven-Star Formation!" The seven glowing stars answered her call and burst forth from the stone floor to encircle her.
She glanced over at Ray who had activated his Player barrier to begin matching the orbs she had created for him. After only a few seconds she felt the power of the orbs engulf her body. He was getting better. Comparable power from previous battles was being distributed in a shorter amount of time.
Ray also seemed to be holding his own against the other horseman. If she finished off her opponent quickly, then they could double-team the other and join Verche's battle with Athena.
But it was an irritating enemy. It was mechanical, so the typical vital points she struck that would have taken down any normal creature were shrugged off as if they were nothing. It had no feeling.
The horseman struck out with one of the blades attached to its wrists and whirled about as Leilan blocked the attack with the pole of her halberd. It flicked a switch on its palm and the blade on the other wrist fired at Leilan's abdomen like a crossbow bolt. Leilan angled her halberd to deflect the projectile and was about to strike at the mechanical creature's head when it retracted backwards. It morphed into its horse form again and trotted in a circle around Leilan, seeking out some sort of opening in her defensive stance.
Leilan gritted her teeth in frustration as it crouched down and assumed its humanoid form once again. A new blade appeared to take the place of the one it had lost.
Fine then. Leilan eyed one of her stars that floated above her and directed it to flank behind the metal horseman. She engaged the enemy in close-quarters combat to ensure it didn't notice the star approaching its rear.
All it took was a few quick feints with her spear to get the mechanical creature to back up the extra few steps.
"Release!" Leilan shouted.
The floating star behind the humanoid horse exploded and released a force akin to a frag grenade. Leilan angled her halberd to intercept her opponent's body and the blade drove through its throat. It wriggled and slashed wildly with its blades, but the pole of Leilan's weapon kept her well out of reach. She twisted the handle of her weapon and a thick black liquid spurted forth. She then stepped back, brought her upper hand forward, and poured all the weight into her hips to slice the machine monster's head off.
The horse head that had retracted into the back of the monster attempted to lift itself forward but was soon locked in place when the blade of Leilan's halberd filled the empty space.
She shook her head. "Not a chance."
Leilan applied all of her weight to the end of the halberd and pressed down like it was a pallet jack. Metal parts and coiled tubing screamed as the halberd forced them from the main body. The second head now hung to the side at a sickening angle as butchered steel erupted with sparks and fluid.
Leilan didn't even take the time to admire her work as she made her way to the other side of the chamber to assist Ray.
She had made it nearly halfway when she heard a shout from Verche. "Leilan! Protect Ray! By gods, protect Ray!"
Leilan looked to her right as she continued her sprint and noticed the thick fog of crimson that enveloped Athena's body. Two sides of the fog crept outwards and morphed into what appeared to be a pair of clawed hands.
A sudden, unseen weight pressed on Leilan's body and her legs gave way mid-stride. She pushed herself through the strange shifts in gravity.
The metal pillars that supported the chamber buckled inward like they were nothing more than plastic wrap. They twisted in on themselves and tiny pieces of metal arched towards the ceiling as they broke free.
"Ray!"
Ray was already aware that something was wrong, but he still looked to her after he dodged another strike from his attacker.
Leilan shifted her gaze first to the deep fog that surrounded Athena and then back to Ray. "Activate your Player barrier! Now!"
Ray rolled to the side as he avoided another attack. "I-I can't! It isn't ready!"
The hands of the fog clasped together and a deeper red built up that illuminated Verche who was retreating back.
We might survive it, but... Leilan looked back to Ray who was now rushing in her direction. They would never reach each other in time.
The power surrounding Athena continued to build up. Leilan knew what it was planning: One powerful attack. That was all it needed now that Ray's barrier was down. If the Player was defeated then it was all over. This power was nothing like when she and Ray had fought Verche. Where did it come from all of a sudden?
How didn't matter. It was there. That much was clear.
I have to believe, Leilan thought. Her hands shook as she stared at the remaining stars from her active skill that hovered around here.
She stared at the Player she had come to trust after what seemed like knowing him for such a short time.
Please. Leilan extended her hand towards Ray. She poured all of the energy he had given her into the stars.
The power that filled the room was insane. It was an obvious distortion of air like heat rising from a blacktop on a summer day. It swirled and smashed itself before being drawn into the strange fog that had filled the entire other half of the room. Ray couldn't even see Athena's figure any longer. It was replaced by the pair of hands that trembled as if struggling to contain the energy built up.
How was it even possible? Was this the true power that resided in this strange entity?
Ray pressed a finger to his database in the hopes that the board of orbs might open so he could establish his Player barrier. No such luck.
He then saw Leilan lift a hand towards him and the stars that surrounded her arched through the air towards him. He stared at them as he ran until they followed alongside him. They shifted positions and coordinated to create a pentagon. Lines of light connected them together and that was when Ray understood.
Ray screamed at Leilan, "No! Don't you dare! No!"
Verche had now reached Leilan and pulled her behind one of the crushed metal pillars. He raised his small shield in a feeble attempt to block some of the imminent, overwhelming energy.
A second followed. In that second, Leilan and Verche vanished in a blast of deep crimson.
The red that enveloped the room seemed to last forever. It was an eternity of staring in that spot where Verche and Leilan once stood. The shield born from the star formation and his matched orbs had cracked and peeled at the edges. Some of the intense energy from the dungeon's attack had managed to tear off large chunks of light before finally dissipating.
A pained silence followed.
Ray lowered his arms that had instinctively moved to protect his face. Only a few of the metal pillars remained, one of them being where Verche and Leilan had taken cover. The two god monsters were no longer there.
Ray's eyes followed the deep gashes in the stone floor until they settled against the wall where two figures lay motionless.
Ray choked as his eyes took in his two battered monster partners.
Chunks of Verche's armor were missing. His right arm was exposed to reveal his pale white skin underneath lined with streaks of blood. His breastplate was caved inward and bits of metal were missing from his cracked, gold helmet. The wings on his back were caked in blood and hung as limp as his head, chin tucked into one of the many dents in his armor.
Seeing Leilan's face made the scene all the more horrific. Her eyes were closed and lines of red traced her cheeks. The beautiful Chinese dress she wore was in tatters. Only a few bits of the fabric remained. The orange of the rest of the fabric that was once there was now replaced by the red of her blood. Ray could see a black under armour that was once concealed by her Chinese dress that had managed to protect her chest and abdomen.
The strength left Ray's legs and he began to crawl towards them. He felt as if he weren't getting any closer to them. They were so far away. Eventually, unbeknownst even to himself, he was on his feet. He couldn't tear his eyes away from them. His friends looked so lifeless.
"Leilan? Verche?" For a moment he was unaware that he had even said the names.
The scrape of metal froze him in place for a moment, and he thought that perhaps it was from Verche. But the knight hadn't moved, and the sound was much too far away.
Ray forced his gaze away. Approaching was Athena. The fog around her body was gone. Even the malevolent aura seemed to have receded. Everything from the dungeon had been poured into that one attack. The two main opponents were gone. All that was left was to deal with the Player, the weakling of the group.
Ray looked away from Athena and let out a short gasp as he noticed the steady rise and fall of Leilan's chest. He also saw a brief, sputtering glow that traced the contours of Verche and Leilan's bodies.
She had a star left! I-I can heal them, Ray thought.
Athena had quickened the pace of her stride and was now trotting towards him with her shield leading once again. The dungeon knew about his Player barrier. And Ray assumed it new about the heal orbs that he could possibly match to bring Leilan and Verche back into the fight.
But Leilan and Verche appeared to be on the verge of death. How many heal orbs would he need?
His database whirred to life and the board of orbs unlocked once again. He didn't even wait to activate his Player barrier.
It was a terrible board of orbs. Only two heal orbs. He could try to get as many matches as possible, pair the two heal orbs together, and then hope for a skyfall where another heal orb could complete the trio. He could match every other remaining orb on the board to increase his chances of getting a heal orb match, but it would all remain strictly to luck.
Ray stared at Athena who was now waiting patiently with her shield and spear held easily at her sides. Ray watched in horror as she strode around his barrier to stand over Verche and Leilan. There was nothing he could do.
Athena aimed the point of her spear at Leilan's chest and thrust it forward. The blade glanced off of Leilan harmlessly and drilled into the stone floor next to her. Athena stared at the area where the spear dug for a few moments before extracting it. She settled the tip of the spear directly against Leilan's skin and focused all of her weight only to have the same result.
Ray examined his database and noted that Leilan and Verche's health were both at the single digit of 1. That's right. There were rules to this world. The Player was the heart of the team. The death of the Player was what brought defeat. Did this mean that his monster partners weren't just god-types, but actual gods? Or was it just the rules that Lo upheld that kept them alive?
Whatever it was, Ray still thanked Lo and whatever other higher entity was at work.
He then looked at his health bar which hadn't changed all that much in amount. However, it was now flashing along its edges as if warning him.
"Curse you Lo."
Ray stared at Athena bewildered. The female monster's look of disdain had changed into an unsightly scowl that did not befit her pretty face. Two voices overlayed each other: one female and sweet like honey, the other jagged and dark.
She gave Ray a sideways glance. "You Players. You don't belong here. You disrupt the meaning of individuality. They are mine."
Her words dug into Ray's skin. The dungeon was speaking to him? The words with genuine vehemence and vexation made him focus back to the board of orbs. Anything was better than looking at the innocent face twisted by the impossibly hateful expressions. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
Okay.
He went to work with the orbs. He set up the two heart orbs together and made a few more matches that were available on the board with other orbs that were currently useless. One match. Two. Three. Four. Five. Then the orbs fell from above to make a match of useless dark orbs. Six. Three heart orbs fell in a skyfall, but none of them matched together. A light orb matched with two other lights orbs that were below the two heart orbs paired together. Seven. From above appeared two wood orbs and a heart orb.
...But the heart orb fell just to the left of the ones he had prepared.
No match.
The board went gray and the red 'X' locked the board and mocked him.
Ray slowly raised his eyes away from the board. It felt like bile was building up in his throat. He thought he was going to throw up.
Athena raised her spear parallel to the ground and angled it on a path that would lead to Ray's heart.
The Player barrier vanished.
Ray was alone.