The wind blew across the plain, ruffling the flags still fluttering on the spires of the Western Tower. One would think no one was there with the state of the bricks and the rot slowly devouring the castle from the inside out. An erroneous thought. Not only was there a sea of nether beasts forming a fleshy fortress on the wide, overgrown grounds, the walls were also a problem. High up to almost be level on the opposite side of the gorge we're in. Running between us was the angriest river I've ever witnessed, its currents foaming and roaring against sharp-cut rocks.
A frontal assault would be suicide. We didn't have a lot of long-range adventurers and the thick swarms of kurkurye hovering beyond the carpet of white clouds weren't going to let us be. I doubt they didn't notice the flock of armed people gathering on the distant cliff. They were merely choosing not to engage, sizing us up. Or maybe wondering which one of us would be the most filling for their gut made of air and bones.
It didn't take long for the Central Empire to issue a call to arms when news of an infestation in the Western Tower broke out. Arzo has made his move. He must be preparing for his summoning ritual—one that would resurrect Laela Betradis from the afterlife.
I glanced at Hye-jin. She gazed out past the gorge like the rest of us, her lips set in a thin line. A frown pulled at the edges of her mouth. Thinking. Just like how she used to do during the mock tournaments we did in the programming club as freshmen. Back then, our only goal was to squeeze free lunch from our seniors—simple things—and she would stay up all night trying to hone her technique and familiarize herself with the game. Now, with more than our lives on the line, her thoughts might as well join the river in raging..
Was she still worried about getting captured by Arzo and being used as a vessel for Laela? I'd be kidding no one when I say I wasn't worried. Or scared. That's why I developed that skill when she wasn't looking.
Last night, while everyone was busy preparing for the gathering happening today, Hye-jin clambered up to my room and held the Book of Darkness in my face. "It's time, isn't it?" she said with a grin so wide I would have never pegged her as stressed out of her wits. After knowing her for more than a decade, I obliged. She's looking for something to do to distract her from her thoughts.
So, she transferred the ownership to me and I used it to unlock the rest of my skills. Then, I held out the Key of Goran and we spent the rest of the night performing skill alchemy. When I got to that one skill, Hye-jin frowned. "What was that for?" she had asked.
I considered lying or dodging the question back then, but I've known for a fact it would not do us any good. We've had to go through a lifetime of pain and heartbreak to prove that. "Life Switch?" I tapped the last item in the Book's most recent page. "It's the ace up my sleeve in my first trial. I accidentally discovered it when I combined these skills."
I circled my finger around some of the earlier, unlocked skills. Hye-jin chewed on her lip, tucking her hair behind her ear. As usual, she hadn't tied it back and it kept getting into her face. "Yeah, but what does it do?" she insisted.
So, I told her the first time I used it in one of the dungeons I took during the first trial. "It basically switches the life forces of two people, and um..." I scratched the back of my neck, looking everywhere but at her. "I never told you how I ended the first trial, right?"
Hye-jin nodded, her furrowed brows indicating she was having an idea where I was going. Because all she knew was that I restarted the game because I was "sick of the character design".
"I was too ashamed to admit I killed my own character that time," I flashed a sheepish grin at her. "But, yeah. I used Life Switch and I didn't know I was supposed to stab the other way around to kill the enemy. So, when I went for them..."
"You stabbed yourself?" Hye-jin finished for me. Then, she breathed through her mouth. "That's pretty stupid."
I remembered feeling cheated when that happened, and that's the best feeling I could muster as a fifteen-year-old. "But you're not using that now," Hye-jin continued, her tone clipped enough to make all amusement fizz out of my system. "Not when we could actually die this time."
Last night, when all of this wasn't as real, I just shrugged and inclined my head at her. "I'll keep it as a trump. Don't worry," I said, keeping it light and tamping my fear of kicking the bucket while being stuck in Solarlume.
"Please, Rin," she insisted. Her tone couldn't have been more serious. From my periphery, I saw her clench her fists over her lap. "Promise me you'd never use it, not while we're stuck here as ourselves."
Maybe I did give her an empty promise back then. Maybe I kept my ground and assured her I wouldn't be using it unless I have to. Looking at her now, if Arzo went to touch a hair on her head, there's no saying I would have enough control to not use it.
"Ready?" Cavya stepped to my other side and surveyed the plain like we were doing. The wind made his whisker quiver and ruffled the fur on his head and his neck. "We'll be using a transport spire to get us directly into the heart of the fortress. Make sure you hold tight to your breakfast."
If a glass of water and bite off a sweet, buttery pastry was considered breakfast, then sure. I've had enough experience in transport spires. "Who's manning it? Transfering a load of people can kill them," I looked behind me but nothing leaped out to me as a mage with enough attributes to power one, much less usher us safely to where we needed to go.
Cavya's face didn't twitch when he said, "Karmi."
I arched an eyebrow. The Raventhorne Guildmaster? Wouldn't she be more useful in the front lines? She and Cavya had the same sword. From the skills I borrowed from Cavya, I could only assume Karmi's were just as impressive. Maybe more.
"She'd be joining in last," Cavya added, as if he had read my question on my face. "That woman will never run out of magic. Trust me on that."
Before I could ask what he meant by that, a horn blasted through the noise of nature around us. One of the Guildmasters of Dragnasand, whom I only knew as Droi the Iron Hammer, yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying out across the entire gorge. "Today, the darkness will not reign! Divine Blessings."
"Be unto us!" Screams of defiance rose around me, just like in the war epics. Still, I didn't feel cool nor unstoppable. I felt like a stuffed turkey about to be roasted in an open-pit fire.
Instead, I closed my eyes and tuned out all of the hype around me. Stick to a goal. Try not to die. Protect those who need it. When the void in my vision cleared, giving me a view of the swirling mass of enemies beyond, I summoned my sword into my hands and gripped it. Tight.
Pierce the center. Find the Monarch and her puppeteer. End them both.
The world exploded into a shower of bright, pink glow, washing my vision with gentle yet foreign magic. Karmi's skill in progress. Probably. When it cleared, we're inside the walls and a thousand growls and hisses painted the air. Swords whizzed from sheathes. Armor clinked as its owner lowered themselves into a stance. Boots pounded against the thick blades of grass as they charged.
I burst forward, Hye-jin not far behind. My sword slashed at wayward beasts, but for the most part, we're not targets. According to the plan. Heather laughed in glee as she dove and speared through the horde, her chopped locks whizzing wildly around her head. Revery stood in the middle of a summoning circle, churning out one creature after the other. She's going all out. Aboard a lion crossed with an elephant, Nazran bore one of Ahrian's guns, aiming and firing at the enemy while his summon did everything it could to trample anyone who survived the bullets.
Valren swept in and out of the fray, his golden scales matching the morning sunlight streaming from the thick clouds. Trink followed in the dragonkin's wake, swinging his sword and decapitating the nearest jjangkai aiming to skewer him. The oldest veteran seemed to have latched onto the langkoor and insisted on training Trink when he could. Not that an actual battlefield was a proper venue for training, but I'd digress.
We came up to the center where the thickest horde awaited us. I leveled my sword but the nearest beasts, which looked like whales on land complete with padded feet, jerked sideways. Purple blood spewed in the air as whatever hit them swirled into a vortex before imploding in a shower of orange sparks. I traced the trajectory and caught a glimpse of Ahrian's ultra-silent muzzle sticking out from one of the crenelations lining the wall.
I gave her a brief nod, knowing she would probably see it when her far-vision was primed for battle and aerial support. A shadow fell over me. Hye-jin screamed my in-game name. I turned too late. An ivory tusk zipped towards me.
Not this again.
A heavy thud. A loud squelch. Two nimble feet landed softly on the grass. Cavya fixed his cuffs with a click of his tongue. "We'll manage here," he trudged to the fallen danburki and yanked his sword free. He turned to us after he stabbed it in the middle of his forehead, forever silencing it. "Go and find the traitor."
I glanced at Hye-jin whose relief couldn't have bled out of her face like the sweat painting its sides. Her eyes flitted to somewhere behind me. "Duck!" she shouted, whirling with her inky blade. I dashed forward, tearing through the hailstorm of purple blood. Hye-jin pulled her sword with a flair. Within seconds, she almost caught up to me.
As we ran, the rest of the adventurers stuck to the plan and cleared a path past the landscaped grounds, towards the sets of stairs leading up to more tiers of gardens and fountains. Birds made of bones and matted feathers dived for us, two people isolated from the rest of the fight. They exploded with a hearty crunch as both Heather's brute attacks and Ahrian's bullets. Ash and powder from crushed bones rained on us as we stepped foot into the castle's courtyard.
Pillars lined the wide courtyard, supporting braziers on their heads. The fire had long ago been snuffed out and some of them had crumbled or toppled over. It's still a long way towards the palace's entrance, and judging from the three story rectangular building peppered with windows and balconies, it's going to take forever to search through it. Not to mention at least five spires stuck atop the initial building and at least five more stories of halls between them.
Hye-jin and I reached the front doors. The ornate wood had long fallen off its hinges, affording us a quicker way of entry. Our footsteps echoed in the empty and dark hall resembling an old church. Dust mixed in the air, kicking up with a hiss with every stray breeze blowing through the broken glass panes. If she had a castle this big, why was her last stand in the Temple of Anhui?
Our soles crunched against a mixture of shards, rocky debris, and splinters of wood. Everywhere I turned my head, nothing but destruction greeted me. How much of the dark splatters coloring the stone walls had been algal growth and how much had been blood?
None of the beasts followed us inside. It seemed all their attention was fixated on the battle happening outside. Not because of the soft crunching and rustling happening in the large hall.
"Is that you, Hye-jin?" I asked.
Something pressed against my shoulder as she sidled up to me, her silver head brushing my periphery. "Hardly," she breathed. It came out shaky. She's looking somewhere beyond us.
When I followed her gaze, my heart hitched and dropped to my feet. Unholy groans blanketed the thick air, making it harder to breathe. Uneven footsteps shuffled towards us, coming from all directions—the left, right, front. Down the stairs. Emerging from the shadows beyond our present hall.
The first beams of sunlight hit the front line. Emaciated faces crawled forward, their faces frozen in twisted screams. Rot ate at their skin, exposing brittle bones and falling teeth. Tattered clothes hung in their wiry frame, bony hands reaching out for us.
Ghouls. Scratch that.
Zombies.
A feminine voice blew across the hall, bouncing against the dusty halls. Making it larger than it really was. "I will not be struck down," she hissed. "Not again."
It wouldn't take a genius to realize this was the Monarch. In the rotten flesh. Did Arzo use all these bodies to house Laela's soul? It's too late to debate the practicality of this decision in my head, so I lowered my sword and snuck a glance at Hye-jin who did the same.
"I'll take it from here," I said. "Find Arzo."
Hye-jin bobbed her head. If the caster maintaining the spell to keep Laela in this world was removed, all of this would be over. Maybe. "I'll just clear a path through," she pointed her sword forward. "Aftershock!"
Her magic coalesced into a ball before spearing towards the center of the barricade of staggering zombies. She dashed forward, her long, silver strands flashing in the air just as the horde's rotting mouths opened and let out a piercing howl. Then, like something turned on their inner switch, their movements refined into a smooth flow.
Then, they charged—all coming for my head.
I lowered myself into a stance. Never in my life did I imagine I'd be taking on an army of zombies controlled by a homicidal ghost with nothing but a sword and what's left of my sanity and courage. But here we were.
Might as well live through it.
"Come at me, you rotten meatbags," I said.
After that, my world was lost in a blur of flesh. Would the dead still bleed? I was about to find out.