Chapter 6 – Through the Shadows (I)
Taylor Hebert
I immediately knew something was wrong the moment I took a step out of the cafeteria. To be fair, who wouldn't, especially with such a drastic change in environment? Gone were the bright crystals that crept up on the walls and brightened the hallway, replaced by eerie darkness. The shadows felt threatening, but I felt like it was aiming for something else. Whatever was happening, it certainly didn't match Shadow Stalker's powerset.
She was a Breaker, nothing else. That was her only defining feature, but she strutted like she was the king of the jungle. Like she was some kind of predator. It was ironic, now that I think about it. Her power, the ability to turn intangible in her shadow state, was perfect for slippery prey.
In a dark environment, however, she'd practically be invisible. If this was the dungeon's way of supporting Hess' theme of edginess or a way of foreshadowing her new abilities, then it was hitting both marks.
"What's the hold up?" Ah, I've almost forgotten about her, the source of most, if not all, of my misery.
"This hallway isn't supposed to be this dark," I replied. There really wasn't anything else to say.
"What, you're afraid of the dark?" She scoffed behind me. I took a deep breath to calm the surge of anger in me, clenching and unclenching my right hand. Even though I beat the shit out of her earlier, she was still a fucking bitch. And I couldn't do jack shit against her if I wanted to get out of here and stay free. Not without a valid reason anyway.
"Then, if you're so brave," I turned my head to face her, "why don't you go first?" In her crystal armor, she'd definitely be the best portable cover I could ask for in this situation. Unless Shadow Stalker passes by her, or worse, through her. Was that possible? I guess we'll both find out when we reach Sophia.
She scowled at me but acquiesced. I took a side-step to let her scowl past me. I expected her to put up more of a fight, or at least a passing insult, but there wasn't anything. Maybe beating her ass did flip a switch in her head.
The atmosphere was tense as we walked through the shadows. My eyes tried to peer into the darkness, but it was a futile attempt. I could barely see Emma's form in front of me.
I don't think eyes are supposed to work like this. 'Status.'
It was still relieving to see [Gamer's Mind] back on the list. What wasn't, however, was [Shadowed Perception.]
[Shadowed Perception]
Severely impairs vision and perception enhancement abilities. The effects can be reduced by remaining close to a light source. (-10 P̷̢̨͈̦͉̜͆̃͌͗͝ę̴͈̬̗͈̂͆̋̓͆̿̓́͊̎̾̀̊͘̚͘r̴̟͖̥̠̹̮̿̑̎͋̾̃̉̚c̷̦̈́̔̃̀͆͂̆̏̈́̂̅̈́̿́̃̊̈́̕ẹ̴̡̢͇̠̞̦̣̜̀͐̋͗͐̊́̐̀̔̆̀̕͠͠p̶̡̪̃͐̌̆̿̈́͐̐̀́͂̌̌͊̀̋͘̚͠ṱ̵̛̰́̏̓̈̋̆̒͋̓̓̑̃́̃̚̕͘̚͠͝ͅǐ̸̢̛̛͍̣͍͕͔̭̖̬̗̪̠̫͔̫̺̦̜̀̈̈́̂̐̀̑͒̎̄͐̄̉̒̐̿̾͒͝o̸̠̮͉̗͌͛̍͊̃͆̎̕n̵̡̛̞͎̥̯͔̹̺̤͓͈̾̓̽͋̆̾̉̈́̃̍̉͝͝͠)
A pang of pain struck the back of my eyes as I tried to read the last word.
{Sorry about the corrupted text. That'll be cleaned up later.} QA said, tone surprisingly apologetic for a... now that I think about it, what is QA? Is she some kind of computer in my head? Is she even a she?
Even though I knew she can hear my thoughts, my assistant offered no reply.
"Do you have anything to light this place up?" Emma asked, reluctance very evident in her voice.
"What, you're afraid of the dark too?" I shot back at her, but my mind's already trying to think of something. Maybe I could modify the [Mana Bolt]? It's what I did to my [Mana Cannon] to get the [Mana Bolt] spell, after all.
[Skill Gained!]
[Minor Spell Modification]
This skill is a functional placeholder for the [?]. Allows minor spell modification, to be approved by the [Assistant System].
{There's supposed to be a skill check system here, but it's not active yet.}
'What's a skill check?' I asked. I was familiar with the tabletop game, but it's been years since we- since I last played it.
{It's a game mechanic that checks if you can do a specific action based on your statistics and skill levels. That is currently disabled, so I'll have to do it manually.}
Looks like getting skills will be more difficult in the future. I'm surprised [Mana Bolt] wasn't breaking anything; it felt a little too overpowered, but I'm not complaining.
Blue light coalesced on my free hand, growing brighter as I poured more mana. Then, when it was finally luminous enough to actually light up at least 3 feet around me, I stopped. I was immensely careful to just make the mana flow stop instead of shooting it forwards like my [Mana Cannon.] I didn't want to accidentally shoot Emma in the back. I wasn't a psychopath like them.
I heard a ding and then another urgent-sounding ping from [Danger Sense] a split-second before the walls around us screeched. The shadows that hid the walls and the entirety of the hall peeled, only to show creatures that I'd say were horrors of the void. They were humanoid, inky blobs that were fused to the walls that they were pulling themselves from.
Emma shouted in surprise and alarm, activating her power and bashing the first shadow creature that came close. What the hell are these things?
I dropped my sword and activated [Double Cast], maintaining the light orb in my right hand as my left began casting [Mana Bolts] at the blobs of darkness crawling around us.
'QA! Invest all of my points into INT and WIS! NOW!' I shouted in my head as I kept on shooting at the shadow creatures in our immediate vicinity. The bad news was that there were a lot of them around us. The good was that it only took one cast of [Mana Bolt] to put them down.
"Taylor! There's more coming in front of us! I'll deal with anything that comes close!" Emma- no, Krystalia, shouted at me as she slammed a shadow monster into the ground.
It took her a couple of punches to kill a shadow, but some of her attacks seemed to just obliterate them. I tsked and switched targets. There was only a handful left in close range; while I didn't trust Emma, I had trust in her abilities.
Huh. The shadows have red glowing eyes. There were so many pairs of glowing red eyes in the dark stretch of the hallway. Should I switch to [Mana Cannon]?The area of effect damage should at least clear out a large chunk of the creatures.
I glanced at my status bars as I continued my blind-firing into the shadow horde. It was difficult to miss in a target-rich environment, but it was also straining to maintain the barrage.
{I've begun adjustments on stat calculations. Your mana pool should be deeper now.}
Oh wow. From a measly 152 MP to a whopping 300. I could fire [Mana Bolt] thirty times before running out, assuming my WIS stat didn't change calculations.
Sadly, it wasn't enough. With the steady number of creatures pouring out of the shadows, our position would be overwhelmed in a few minutes at best. I glanced at the upper left of my vision and grimaced at Krystalia's critically low stamina bar. I couldn't see an end to the tide of creatures pouring through the shadows.
"Krystalia! Can you make a wall!?" I shouted through the din of battle. The incessant screeching of the shadows as they rushed towards us felt more like background noise to me. I switched targets again, shooting the creatures immediately in front of the crystal-covered girl to give her space.
"I can! Give me a second!" Krystalia shouted back as she backpedaled towards me, shifting one of her arms into a crystal shooter. I maintained the barrage to cover her retreat, shutting down the creatures she couldn't put down.
Krystalia's right arm morphed back into a hand that she then slammed into the ground. Crystals crawled triangularly from the point of impact until it covered the entire width of the hallway. Then a crystal wall emerged with terrifying speed. I think that one unlucky shadow blob got squished against the ceiling.
Immediately after came the frantic banging noise coming from the opposite side of the crystal wall.
"What's the plan? Do we go back to the cafeteria?" Krystalia asked me as she panted. I knew she wanted to ask something else, but the severity of the situation stopped her. Who knew she could be professional?
I shook my head as I deactivated [Double Cast] and let the blue glow of [Mana Bolt] die from my left hand. I quickly opened my inventory and pulled the ration bars I just looted earlier and multiple water bottles. At least Krystalia's skills were SP reliant instead of MP- we would have had a water crisis if she were.
Ah. Did I just use my inventory in front of Krystalia? That's something they'll ask me when we get out of here. Maybe I can still pretend it didn't happen? I can always just say I'm an Eidolon-lite... I'll think about it when I get out of here. Maybe Emma won't snitch to the PRT or the Protectorate.
Yeah, as if.
I handed the energy bars to her, along with a bottle of water. She deactivated her crystal armor to eat while I drank and read the pings from earlier.
[Skills Leveled Up!]
[Mana Bolt] LVL 5 (Active - 15MP)
Fires two bolts at a single target. The first bolt deals 6 * INT Magic Damage while the second deals half.
[Mana Affinity] LVL 5 (Passive)
+15% INT and WIS.
[Skill Gained!]
[Light Orb] LVL 1 (Active - 5 MP)
A portable light source. Illuminates a 5 feet radius around the orb.
It didn't have a maintenance cost, but the added mana cost of using [Double Cast] to use other spellsmore than made up for it. I wonder if I can do another [Skill Modification] on it? Maybe make it to hover around me instead?
My assistant didn't answer, but the answer was probably yes. I focused hard on the orb resting on my right hand and willed it to hover. Shakily and slowly, it did. I lowered my hand as the orb of light rose before it decided to hover over my right shoulder.
[Skill Modified!]
[Light Orb] LVL 1 (Active - 10 MP + 2 MP/Min)
A portable light source. Illuminates a 5 feet radius around the orb. Floats around the user.
It was better than the drawback of paying twice for a single spell.
"I have a spell that can somewhat clear most of them, but I need you to hold them off." The creatures were still bashing at the glittery wall.
"Spell? What are you, a Myrddin rip-off?" Krystalia snarked, but she stepped forward nonetheless. I didn't respond to her remark; it was a pretty accurate observation after all.
Speaking of which... I'll remember to cast [Observe] on the creatures before we kill them all.
"When I say 'drop it,' drop the barrier." My mana wasn't completely filled yet, but it was steadily rising if albeit slowly. I didn't pick up my sword since I still needed both of my hands. The familiar blue glow of mana coalesced into my hand, pushing most of my reserves into the blue ball.
"Drop it!"
The crystal wall fell with the same speed it rose with, and I fired my [Mana Cannon] into the horde. It felt more like a laser beam cannon instead of a cannon firing a cannonball.
{You're definitely enjoying the [Skill Modification] system.} QA remarked, and I agreed. If I couldn't be Alexandria, then I can at least be Legend. Who knew blasting things with lasers could be so cathartic?
{You can probably be an Alexandria-lite if you invested points into Strength and Vitality, then grind your [Physical Resistance] up to max.}
That's a plan for when I get out of here. Maybe I can make a flight spell out of the magical spells I currently have? Legend flies using his lasers, right? Could I do the same with my [Mana Bolts]?
{Taylor! Watch out!} [Danger!]
My eyes widened as a bolt of inky darkness flew towards my head. I hastily cut the mana flow from my spell and [Quick Stepped] backward, causing me to fall on my rear. My eyes followed the- that's a crossbow bolt! My eyes widened in realization as it whizzed over me and pierced the double doors of the cafeteria.
"Krystalia! Shadow Stalker's here!" I warned Emma as I began to recover from my fall. I grasped the hilt of my sword and rose to my feet cautiously.
"What!?" Krystalia replied in surprise, but she was already looking for the threat. "Sophia! Stop, you're being Mastered!"
Huh. Talking was an option? Ah, right, I tried it, but Emma immediately tore into me with her insults.
I charged a [Mana Bolt] in my right hand and peered into the darkness. Looks like I managed to obliterate most of the creatures, but I can feel that there's more coming. My mana was less than 25% but, with my improved stats, it was rising faster than before. I'll check the specifics later when I actually get the chance to do it.
"Mastered?" I almost held on to hope when I heard the incredulous voice from the shadows. "Oh no, if anyone's Mastered, it's gotta be you, Emma." Nevermind. I can sense the scorn in there. The chances of Krystalia and I getting out of this situation without fighting a legitimate Ward was getting slimmer.
"What do you mean!?" Krystalia continued with the failed negotiations while I searched for Shadow Stalker in the shadows. We were on the backfoot here, and the reason we weren't in a worse place was the quick breather we had earlier and the fact that our foe was intent on gloating.
But Krystalia's SP was continuously dripping, and the more time we spend talking means less time she can spend in her [Crystal Armor]. The same goes if we spend more time looking for an enemy camouflaged in her own territory.
Luckily, we didn't have to do the latter. Shadow Stalker stepped into the minimum distance my [Light Orb] illuminated, and I finally got to see Shadow Stalker's costume. She always avoided cameras, and whatever footage I saw of her was dark and grainy. Sure, she was touted in PHO as one of their most promising Wards, but aside from that one photo taken during her introduction, there weren't many images of her. It was like she had a Stranger rating.
"Losing and then teaming up with this weakling? And here I was thinking you were different." She definitely hit all of the edge points in the edge bingo. Black cloak over black armor and a black hockey mask while wielding a black crossbow longer than my arms- Is it any wonder why I couldn't find her in the inky pool of darkness? Or the lack of photos online? Her costume was like her personality; it just sucked the light away.
"Taylor is not weak! Not anymore! We can stop now!" Krystalia tried again, and I got angrier with each word that came out of her mouth. 'We can stop now? Like all of this was some kind of fucking scheme? What the fuck is wrong with these people?'
"Getting powers doesn't equate to strength. You know this."
'Right. The reason you walk around Winslow like you own it isn't because of your powers.'
Shadow Stalker raised her crossbow and aimed it at me. Oops. I must have said that out loud. I glared into her eyeholes nonetheless and aimed the arm holding the [Mana Bolt] at her face.
"Pests don't get to speak," she growled at me.
"For a pest, you seem extremely talkative." I shot back. Can we fight already?
{You should probably [Observe] now while you have the chance.} QA advised in my head. I grimaced. Why do I keep on forgetting about [Observe?]
[Shadow Clone] LVL 30
500 HP
750 MP
Shadow Stalker's [Shadow Clone]. Can turn [Intangible] at will.
Threat Rating: [System Disabled.]
Weakness/es: [System Disabled.]
[Shadow Crawler] LVL 25
300 HP
150 MP
Creatures of the [Shadow Realm]. Can turn [Intangible] at will.
Threat Rating: [System Disabled.]
Weakness/es: [System Disabled.]
A clone? She didn't even come here herself? I glared harder at the edgy Ward. She looks so confident, especially with the multitude of red eyes of growing in numbers behind her adding to the effect. If we stop here and posture, we'll have to fight an endless army. I don't have the supplies for that. We don't have the stamina and mana for that.
I need to take the initiative. So, I shot first. The [Shadow Crawlers] screeched in anger as the bright blue bolt flew towards them. The clone, surprisingly, failed to evade.
"Taylor! What are you doing!" Krystalia shouted at me, armor instantly covering her face.
"Your best friend won't listen to anything you say, Emma," I said as I prepared another [Mana Bolt.] "Mostly because she's not even here."
"You dare-"
I blasted her hockey mask again. "Tell your master to come here herself." The creatures behind the clone roared in fury as their leader dissipated into wisps of black smoke.
I grinned. Now, this was familiar territory. It's time to kill these monsters.
Emma Barnes
There was something wrong with Taylor. I noticed while we were fighting through the horde for god knows how long, and she's never stopped. Not even for a break, like the one we did before I tried to talk some sense in Sophia. Taylor's endurance was somewhat understandable; I've seen people survive through worse. I've seen Miss Militia and the other heroes fight without taking a break too.
But the fact that Taylor wasn't an experienced anything combined with an enemy worse than the Merchants, it didn't make sense.
These monsters... they were worse than the Merchants I've fought. At least most of those druggies couldn't phase out of existence. At least I knew something about those druggies. This type of enemy? I didn't know jack hasn't spoken much through it, except for some sharp commands that I had no choice but to follow. I was both literally and figuratively in the dark, guided by a powerful but nonetheless fresh trigger, stuck fighting these shadow things in a shitty copy of my school.
Probably an insane, recent trigger. I've been paying careful attention to Taylor's mental state since she just triggered, and there was something odd going on in her head. Sometimes her face was blank. Stoic and unreadable with an intense concentration in her eyes, then the next she's smiling like... like killing these monsters were the best thing that has ever happened to her.
Maybe it was, but it was wrong. Taylor reminded me of someone. Sophia was like this during her... "solo patrols," especially when she manages to catch and beat the shit out of some Empire thugs. The primal joy of hurting and being a predator.
'You say that like you didn't enjoy it as well. Seeing Taylor cry, seeing your… victims "accidentally" break a bone or two, waiting for the people you're supposed to save to show a backbone…' My mind whispered. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to banish the thought. I- I did those because… because-
'Because you hated weakness. Because every time you see a hint of it, you remember yourself.' I clenched my fist, hard enough to crack the crystal covering my palms.
I saw Taylor glance at me from the corner of her eyes, eyebrow quirked. I loosened my grip and took a deep breath. I didn't know why I did the things I did, and I didn't want to know. 'I suppose it doesn't matter. Taylor wouldn't forgive you, not after everything you did.'
I glanced at my former friend and shook the thought away. Sometimes, when I glance at Taylor, I can catch her staring at the air like she's seeing something I'm not. Maybe it's a side effect of her power? I let out a breath and observed my surroundings. The horde stopped a while ago, leaving a tense and slightly awkward silence behind. Taylor didn't speak, and I wasn't willing to initiate.
'Feeling guilty?' I ignored it. Why should I feel guilty? 'Why shouldn't you?'
Is Taylor's craziness infecting me too?
I tried to focus on observing the hallways we were treading. There weren't any red eyes scuttling in the darkness; neither were there crossbow bolts flying towards us, so that left me staring at nothing most of the time. It was just me and my thoughts. At least in combat, I didn't have to worry about things like feelings.
How many monsters did we already kill? It felt like there's been hundreds of them, but that's just impossible. This wasn't Ellisburg. Piggot would have an aneurysm if she found out there's a place that spews out nightmarish creatures without end.
"Stop," Taylor commanded. Because really, that was what she did. Taylor took control of the situation, especially when faced with a challenging puzzle. Maybe if she stayed like that even when her mother died, we could have remained friends.
No, that... that's a dumb line of thought. Maybe if I had been a decent friend, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Perhaps if I had been there for her instead of listening to Sophia, if I didn't do that stupid fucking prank-
I shook my head faintly and looked at her in askance, and she caught my gaze. "This is usually the location this... place throws something new against me." She explained.
"Well, I say usually, but it really has only happened once, so..." She shrugged.
I narrowed my eyes at her. Another thing about Taylor was that she was terrible at lying. So she stays silent instead. She didn't say how she knew the Sophia I was talking to wasn't the real one. She didn't explain how she got here in the first place, aside from the vague explanation in the cafeteria.
I know Taylor knows more about this place, things that she wasn't telling me, and it wasn't something that can be waved away by her "thinker powers."
But what can I do? I let out a small sigh and turned my attention towards our next destination. The thick darkness was still there, which honestly reminds me of that one Undersiders' power, making it hard for me to see but...
It looks like the intersection I usually walk through in Winslow. "Get ready; there's probably an ambush waiting for us," Taylor warned. Then, she did that floaty stare again and shoved a hand in her coat's pockets, pretending to root for something.
Is she... trying to hide her abilities? Did she honestly think she could fool me into thinking that bottles of water could somehow magically fit in her pockets? Or the multitude of sandwiches and granola bars she's given me while we were fighting through the horde?
"Here, just in case you need one later," Taylor said as she handed me another granola bar. I stared at her incredulously. Where the heck am I supposed to put this in? My costume didn't have pockets.
I felt my armor shift on my right thigh. What the hell- did my armor just make a fucking pocket? I took the offered energy bar and looked in amazement as it fits perfectly into the pocket my armor made.
I wonder what else I can do?
"Let's go," Taylor said, derailing my thoughts before I could even start it.
I took point and stepped cautiously into the dark crossroads. Then... there was nothing. There's nothing but the sounds of our breathing and the light that shone from Taylor's orb. Her orb, which now lights up an area... maybe ten feet around us? All that matters is that it's getting bigger, and if I'm right, it's also growing stronger. What the hell are this girl's powers?
"Huh. There's... nothing here," Taylor muttered under her breath, but it was still audible in the silence. "I guess we can continue then-"
The earth shook. Crystal walls as dark as the shadows emerged, somehow glowing yet not illuminating its surroundings, blocking the hallway we came from and the hallways going both left and right. Sophia stepped forward; crossbow held loosely.
Maybe she'd broken free of the Master? But why trap us here?
"No more hiding behind your girlfriend, Taylor." Oh.
Then, a terrifying roar resonated from the remaining hallway, shaking the world further. A creature so familiar but... utterly warped by the void stomped into the light: an impossibly tall crystal creature, akin to the hulking crystals that Taylor fought in the cafeteria, except its purple-pink crystals were like the corrupted crystalline walls that shut our escape routes. It was also twice as large as the brutish minions from the cafeteria, and I had a feeling it was only limited by the ceiling.
"I spoke too soon," Taylor growled.
Looks like my new pockets would be empty in a few minutes.
A/N: Hey there, sorry for the long delay and the slightly shorter chapter. Long story short, I underestimated college. The homework just didn't stop, and then come the final week of October and I have almost 20 tasks backlogged that were all due on Friday of that same week. So yeah, I managed to add in some words every now and then, but I really only managed to commit to the task last week, when I finally found some free time. Which I then spent trying to make heads or tails of the spreadsheet I made for this fic.
Next, Krystalia's concept definitely came from BeaconHill's Nemesis. I just didn't realize it at the time, so I forgot to give credit. To the bloodthirsty reviews, sadly, I don't think it would fit the plot if I just murdered Emma and Sophia in this thing. Next update... probably some time after next week? I think my schedule is starting to clear up, but no promises this time.
[Gamer's Mind] is temporarily nerfed in this fic, for reasons that I think are probably clued about throughout the chapters. If it isn't clear, I'm using the Conflict Engines and pitting it against a broken Gamer system. As for Krystalia's powers, the full extent of it would probably appear in later chapters.
And can anybody recommend me a decent statistics system? I don't think the ones I have in here are working properly, especially the stat calculations. Send em through the PMs or just drop it in the reviews.
Alright! Thank you and good luck to all of us! Stay safe! Read and review, but please be kind.