Sam was lying on the floor of her soul room in a pool of purple and black blood. Three figurines lay broken and distorted in the ever-expanding puddle of viscous liquid leaking from Sam's soul. She lay like this for a day…a year…there was no way to tell. Time functioned differently here in the Void between realities.
A tall, slim figure stared at Sam from her bed. Normally, no creature should be able to access another's soul, but this wasn't a soul. It was only a mere fractured splinter of a soul. The creature sighed, taking in the scene with pure white eyes set into a formless midnight black face, "Oh, my sister, what have you done here?"
The figure stood from the bed, causing the springs to creak and groan from its weight, and adjusted the white feather in its stylish black hat. A single step of its long, sinewy legs brought it to Sam's side. Kneeling, it rested its hand on her chest above her core, the long white claws extending from its fingers poised to tear open her chest and remove her soul core.
It was customary for Voidlings to perform the final rights like this for their fallen siblings. It ensured none of their souls would ever remain trapped, unable to return to the collective whole of their kind.
"Lif, what are you doing?" The voice came from the Void. The power of the voice was so great a faint whisper could cause entire verses to wink out of existence.
Lif, however, was unfazed by the voice and looked up curiously, "I am relegating her soul to the Void. She is one of us, after all."
"She was dealt with unfairly by a system that was not aware of her place in the collective," The voice rumbled emotionless as always. Your sister Ica made a grave error in not informing us of her intent and hiding the void splinter. "I will remedy this."
“Shall I repair her then?” Lif asked.
"No," The Void responded, "she will repair herself or she will not it is her choice. Although the System dealt with her unfairly, she did this to herself. Place her notebook beside her and go. Her final spark is waiting for you to leave so it can wake her."
Lif did as instructed. It walked to the desk and retrieved the small notebook that appeared there. As Lif took the notebook, it also noticed the outline of a figure on the desk hidden in the dark obscuration against the wall. Seeing through the obscuration, Lif said, "Oh, impressive. I would like to see this someday in the distant future," before stepping back and laying the book in the blood at Sam's side.
Its work done, Lif was about to portal back to its own reality when the Void spoke one last time, "Tell Ica her daughter is well, but do not send an image to her. She should not have made this little Voidling without my permission. Her rash actions have led to this situation." The Void paused momentarily and added, "As well as her own."
Lif nodded, and, pulling out its notebook from storage, it used the feather from its hat to jot something down on a page before closing the book. With one last look at its sister Lif, the level 9579 Void Slime tipped its hat to the final figure on the desk and said, "Goodbye, sister. May we meet again." Then, a portal opened behind it, revealing a violent hellscape of a planet. Looking to the portal, Lif smiled to itself, its face nearly splitting in two with the wide grin exposing razor-sharp white teeth. Lif's home was always so pleasant this time of year. The Void Slime stepped through the portal, vanishing from Sam's soul.
The instant Lif's portal closed, the lone figurine ran to the edge of the desk and jumped onto Sam's chest. Still shrouded in fog, the figure reached into its chest and pulled out a fragment of its core. The fragment's colors fluctuated across the entire spectrum, never staying on a single color for more than a millisecond. Without stopping to admire the beautiful power in its hand, the figurine plunged the fragment into Sam's chest, then leaped back to the desk, returning to its place to wait for the day it would be released. A hint of annoyance furrowed the figurine's brow under the fog. It was annoyed the others had not hidden from Sam and, in their own way, coerced her into assimilating with them far too early. But then again, she had watched Sam forcibly ram them into her core…so there was that…the figure snickered then resumed its position on its pedestal, which read: Samantha Alecto Moura [S.A.M.]
***
Ignoring the chains binding her, the Void Dragon strained to stare at her artifact; the small artifact was something they all shared, for it could be everywhere simultaneously across time and space. The small, seemingly mundane notebook could be used by trillions upon trillions of the Voidlings at once, and they would all know of the changes, assuming their levels were sufficient to handle the information. The children of the Void were first and foremost explorers, hungry for knowledge and new experiences to share with the collective, constantly yearning for existence outside the endless Void. And what better way to gain knowledge than to share an omnipresent notebook with trillions of your brothers, sisters, undefined entities, monsters, and those that defied definition?
Seeing nothing on the pages, Ica sighed. She had lost the tentative connection she had with her daughter hours ago. She continued to stare at the blank pages with resignation creeping into her heart, "She has failed," she said, causing the cavern she was in to vibrate. And with another sigh, she added, "I am sorry, little one. I will ask my siblings to take care of you in the collective. Maybe someday you and I will—"
Ica's eyes opened wide, and she shifted in her chains to eagerly read the script that appeared on the page. It read: Your daughter lives! The Void has remedied your mistake. Inform the Void next time; perhaps something like this will not happen. - Lif
P.S. She is just as impetuous and insane as you. I like her! Although I doubt she will survive long, I'm sure she will be entertaining to watch. You must tell us how you made her once you are free of the chains. Also, I have left your daughter's artifact with her, but it will be up to her to learn how to use it. I also left her two personal gifts that will help her on her journey. Goodbye for now, sister. Rest well, knowing the collective has accepted your daughter even though you tried to hide her from us. – Lif
Ica closed her eyes and smiled, completely ignoring the hundreds of terrified humans scrambling around the underground facility she was trapped in. Some were screaming while others were shouting orders. Massive blast shields were being checked and rechecked by frantic figures. Enormous cannons were primed and aimed at her, prepared to fire should she decide to attack. Ica did not concern herself with the frightened mortals. Their cannons would not even leave a scuff on one of her scales. Not even the nuclear bomb they buried under her chamber would do anything but annoy her. No, they were of no consequence. For the first time in over a billion years, she had hope.
***
“I don’t like this. We should just run away. There might be somewhere they cannot find us.” Alina hissed to her father. She looked around the dimly lit tavern anxiously.
"Quit your squirming, or you'll draw attention, girl," Arron snapped in a low voice. "We don't want to scare him off."
Alina knew he was right. Struggling to get her composure, she returned to her drink and took a large gulp to help calm her nerves. They were waiting for one of Arron's contacts, the same clerk who had approved their contract for the wolf culling job. He was going to give them information on Sam and Nara's whereabouts. Alina thought back to why they were doing this.
The Church of the Light priest had given them two options after they had recounted the events leading to their death and the subsequent release of a Moonblight. The first option was to join the church ranks and serve for one hundred cycles in whatever capacity the church required of them to pay for their resurrection. After their service, they would be compensated with a few hundred gold and their freedom.
The second option was to assist in the hunt for the Moonblight and the person that had saved them from the wolves, whom the church assumed was also the one who blocked the locator beacon when the blood contract was dissolved. If they provided information on what led to the capture or death of the Moonblight, the church would provide compensation determined by their contribution level and their freedom. The only caveat was that they would be given less than a cycle to find them. Failure would result in them being forced to join the church, as stated in the first option.
Of course, they could have refused both options. Arron and Alina knew what that would result in…the swift undoing of their recent resurrection.
They had chosen to hunt for their former traveling companions. Once they made their decision, they were given clothes, basic weapons, and ten gold each to outfit themselves. Then, they were directed to a safe house in the city, where they found information regarding how to reach a contact in the church with any information they uncovered.
“Which is why we’re here in this dingy tavern,” Alina thought, swirling the beer in her mug absently. She asked her father again, "Why can't the church do this themselves?"
Arron looked at her in annoyance, "Like I already told you. They don't have a strong presence here in the borderlands, and since the church suspects the girls joined the guild, they have to tread very carefully. It's easier to hire people who aren't affiliated with the church to do their diggin' for them so as not to arouse suspicion." He looked at her seriously, "Now don't ask me again, and get your head in the game, Alina! Do you want to spend a hundred years as slaves to those wackos?"
Alina ground her teeth in frustration. “Resurrected only to do someone else’s dirty work…figures.” Her dour thoughts were interrupted when their man slid into the booth beside her.
"Hello, Thomas," Arron said. He was still annoyed with the man for sending them on the job that led to their deaths but wasn't letting it show. He knew it wasn't the man's fault, but he needed to direct his anger at someone, and Thomas was the closest person.
"Did you get what I asked?" Thomas looked around nervously as he spoke, just as Alina had been doing only moments before.
"Yeah, yeah, relax, man," Arron placated the nervous Thomas. "I still don't know why you couldn't buy it yourself, but here it is, a berth on the next trading caravan to the beast lands." He held up a small bronze token.
Thomas reached for the token, but Arron snatched it away, saying, "Information first."
Nodding, Thomas handed a small scroll to Alina under the table. She opened it in her lap and skimmed the contents. It was a map with the locations of all the jobs Sam and Nara had selected marked on it. Nodding to Arron, she pocketed the small scroll. Arron smiled and slid the token to Thomas, who snatched it up and slid out of the booth, practically running from the room.
Alina and Arron stayed to finish their drinks before casually exiting the tavern and returning to their temporary room after leaving a note for their contact detailing the locations marked on the map. Arron and Alina grabbed their kits and departed Helms Peak for the key to their freedom.
***
A lone figure watched Arron and Alina leave the safe house from his perch on a nearby rooftop. He sent a message to his party and jumped to the street a full three stories below. His knees barely even bent from the impact of the three-story fall as he landed without a sound. Checking the responses from his party, he started following the two out of the city and hopefully to the free Moonblight and the one who freed her.
***
Sam's mind was sluggish as she regained consciousness. "Am I dead?" She asked, staring at the ceiling. Sam realized where she was as the old wood planks of it slowly came into focus. "Is this hell? Do I have to spend eternity in my old room in the orphanage?"
Sam brought a hand up to rub her temple but stopped when she saw the purple and black goop on it, "what the—" She sat up, her hand landing on a small book lying in the pool of fluid surrounding her.
After taking a moment to give the room time to stop spinning, Sam examined her surroundings. She noted the three disfigured figurines on the floor and groaned. "It looks like I really fucked up this time…well, more than normal anyway," she thought, staring at the figures. They were barely recognizable from their original forms.
“I’ll fix them,” She thought, then told the figurines as much, "I promise to fix you, ladies. I need some—wait, why am I talking to statues?" Shaking her head, Sam sloshed over in the gooey puddle and gathered the three broken figurines and the small book. Setting them all on the desk, she picked up each figure one at a time, and, doing her best to wipe off the gunk, she placed each back on their respective pedestal. She was relieved when each figurine tried to resume its position on the pedestals. However, it was still a pathetic sight as they were all broken and distorted almost beyond recognition. It was so bad she nearly put the Lamia on the Dragon pedestal accidentally.
Finished with the figurines, Sam pulled out one of the drawers in her desk, relieved when the art supplies she remembered having were still there. “Okay, I think I can work with this.” She thought, checking the contents of the drawer.
Not wanting to start on the figurines right away, Sam wiped the thick goop off the small notebook and stared at it curiously. "I don't remember this notebook being here. Did I forget about having it?" She opened the book to the first page, but it was blank. Flipping through the book, she realized all the pages were blank. She was about to toss the book in her desk drawer and forget about it when she noticed the residue from the goop she hadn't been able to get off the back cover was gone. Turning the book over again, she saw writing on the front cover where there had been none before. It read "The Book of S.A.M." in violet lettering. "This is interesting," she mumbled, opening the book again. The pages were still blank, so she closed and pocketed the book, promising to look at it again later. “Like when I figure out if I’m still alive or if this really is life after death. Because I am pretty sure I should not have survived the stunt I pulled.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Sam continued exploring the room. She splashed over to the bed, noting with some worry her exit rune was no longer glowing under it. "Why was it under the bed anyway? Wouldn't it have been easier to have it on a wall or something? It is my soulscape, so I should probably know, but nothing comes to mind…" Her internal musings stopped when she noticed two items lying on the bed; each had a note attached to it with a little black ribbon.
Sam picked up the first item and read the note. “Dear sister, it is always nice to be with family. I would be there myself, but you are much too weak. – Lif.”
“What!? Family? I’m too weak? SISTER!? Just who the fuck left me this note!?” She looked at the item the note was attached to. It was a black coin with a familiar shape and weight. Turning it over in her hands, she knew exactly what it was. It was a summoning token. There was no image of a beast on the coin, though, only what looked like two slanted white eyes and a too-wide grin filled with white shark-like teeth etched into the flat black of the coin. A single word in white lettering was inscribed above the eyes. It read Nul. "Huh, not sure what that thing is, but I am definitely not going to summon Nu—" Sam closed her lips. "That would have been stupid. Summoning a…whatever that thing is into my soulscape. There's no telling what kind of a shitstorm that would create. And after that weird note…"
Sam checked the other item on her bed and pocketed the token with the notebook. It was a beautiful violet feather. Picking it up, she corrected herself. "It's a quill," she mumbled, reading the attached note. "Dear sister, please accept this as a welcome gift into the collective. I look forward to hearing from you when you are no longer incredibly weak. – Lif." Sam threw her hands up, staring at the ceiling, and shouted, "What the fuck is the collective, and who the fuck was in my soul!?" No answer came, so with a huff, Sam turned back to the center of the room.
She was just in time to see the pool of weird liquid start streaming off the floor like a reverse rain shower. Once the small streams reached about a meter off the floor, they zipped into Sam's chest, startling her. She tried to erect a shield to block the liquid, but her magic didn't activate. Within a few seconds, she was covered in the goopy stuff. Looking down at her naked chest, Sam realized the fluid was absorbing into her. She tried wiping it off but stopped when she suddenly felt much better. Her mental clarity was coming back, and she could form a small mana construct with a flick of her fingers. "Looks like I need this stuff," she said, watching the last of the fluid disappear into her body.
Feeling whole again for the first time since she had woken up, Sam looked around the room, gleefully noting the exit rune had lit up under her bed. Instead of immediately leaving, she walked over to the desk. She opened her art drawer, pulled out several items, and placed them in front of her on the desk. Sitting at her desk in the old wooden chair, she gently took Samantha from her pedestal and slowly and painstakingly began trying to repair her crushed and mutilated body. She started with her legs, which were smashed beyond recognition.
Sam switched tactics after failing to make any headway on the figurine's legs with her standard art supplies. Creating a tiny mana thread from her finger, she touched it to one of the damaged legs and mentally willed the leg to reform while injecting mana into it. It didn't work.
Frustrated, Sam grabbed one of her small sculpting knives and carefully cut the leg off at the hip, removing the damaged body part. A sharp pain in her own leg caused Sam to wince. She quickly looked down to check that she hadn't cut her own leg off somehow. "Hmm, phantom pains, I guess?" She mused, seeing her leg whole and unharmed. Putting down her knife, Sam picked up a micro pick she used for detail work and dipped the tip in a jar of putty she kept around for mockups.
With hands steadier than ever before, thanks to her increased stats, Sam dabbed a microscopic amount of putty on the severed stump. Then, with the micro pick still touching the putty, she channeled arcane and void energy down the pick into the putty. It worked! The instant the mana touched the putty, it turned white. Sam knew what this meant, and she began reforming the leg's bone. She activated her mana repair skill after a few moments. Although the skill didn't help with reconstructing the bone, it did tell her what she needed to do to make it perfect. The skill helped a good deal. It informed her she had forgotten to add the bone marrow, forcing her to start over.
Sam worked on the figurine's leg for over an hour and a half with only a scant three millimeters of progress on reforming the bone. The process took nearly three hundred mana per second, and even with meditation active, she had to rest frequently. During her rest times, Sam tried to check her notifications, but she could only pull up her basic interface. On a positive note, the blacked-out portions of her energy bars were no longer at forty percent and held steady at ten percent.
Sam stretched in her chair, exhausted. She placed Samantha back on her pedestal and stood up. She knew repairing the figurines wouldn't happen overnight and was anxious to return to Nara. It wasn't because she feared Nara was in danger; she knew she had killed the Whitling Matriarch. “At least I assume the damn thing wouldn’t be able to survive without a head…could it…nah.” The memory of tearing the E-Grade monster's head from its shoulders brought a predatory grin to Sam's face, and she looked at Alecto's mangled form. "I am going to get strong enough for you, girl. I want to feel that power again. You and me, we're going places."
On a whim Sam picked up the violet quill from where she had laid it on the desk. Pulling out her notebook and opening it to a random page, she channeled a small amount of energy into the quill and touched it to the page. A small black spot appeared on the paper at the quill's tip. Excited, Sam started sketching the figurines as they were before she destroyed them. She began with Samantha. “I only wish I could draw it in color.” The thought had no longer crossed her mind when the ink changed to the color she wished for on the page. "Well, now that's freaking awesome!" She thought and continued her sketch. Once the image of Samantha filled the page, Sam admired her work. It was as detailed as her artistic mind and high intelligence state could make it. “Now for the sides and back.” At that thought, the figure on the page began rotating slowly. Surprised but not wasting time, Sam quickly touched the quill back to the page and drew in a full 3D image of Samantha as her image slowly rotated.
Sam finished her drawing and admired the detail of her work as the image continued to rotate on the page. Looking to the ceiling, she said, "Thanks for the gifts, Lif!" Then, she jumped when the notebook vibrated in her hand and jerked up to hover open in front of her face. Several pages turned on their own, and the words "You are welcome, sister." Appeared on a blank page for just an instant before fading away. Sam was about to grab the book and try to write a response down when it slammed shut and flew into her pocket. “Okay, that was obviously a sign. This Lif person apparently doesn’t want a response from a weak sister.”
Deciding she was done with her soul space, Sam tapped her foot on the edge of the rune under her bed and vanished.
***
Nara and Lupie had waited two days in the cave, hoping Sam would wake up. They knew Sam was still alive because she was still active in their party menu, although Nara was now the party leader and Sam's status menu was locked.
On the morning of the third day, they decided to move from the cave to the forest as more and more cave monsters were finding their campsite. It was more of a nuisance than a problem, thanks to how many levels they acquired from defeating the Matriarch. But Nara could see it becoming a problem if she and Lupie had to keep protecting Sam.
It was now the night of the third day. They had traveled all day with Sam held securely in front of Nara by blood tentacles as she rode Lupie. The Bloodmorph enjoyed having Nara as a rider, thanks to the frequent ear scratches and neck rubs she received from the Tenarian. They made camp about a kilometer from the cave entrance in a densely wooded forest area, and Nara had just received a safe zone notification.
Nara sighed and relaxed a little at the familiar chime and message. The cave had too many high-level stealth predators for them to make a safe zone, so getting the notification was a welcome relief. She handed Lupie twenty kilograms of wolf steaks, thankful she still had access to Sam's inventory. After Lupie's tummy was taken care of, Nara assumed her new customary position, leaning against the giant Bloodmorph's side with Sam's unconscious body beside her. Listening to the deep, soothing sounds of the giant wolf beast's breathing, Nara munched on her own steak staring at their small campfire. Not having anything else to do, Nara checked her status while she ate.
Nara Evander; [Naris Blight]
Race: Tenarian; Mortal; [Level 30]; Soul Bound Blight [Level ??]
Class: Sorceress [Level 16]; Mana Reaper [Level 28]
Title(s): A Grade Above; Mass Destruction
Health: 1245
Stamina: 828
Mana: 206849; [??????]
Attributes:
STR – 29 [??]
VIT – 74 [??]
END – 38 [??]
AGL – 102 [??]
INT – 82 [??]
Free Attribute Points 0.
Abilities: 2/4
Mana Sense [Level 11]
[Mana Siphon; Level 49]
Class Skills: 1/7
Replicate [Level 8]
Racial/General Skills: 3/7
Archery; Expert; [Level 3]
Identify [Level 7]
Mana Drain [Level 29]
Class Spells: 2/5
Magic Bolt [Level 13]
Cleanse [Level 4]
Racial/General Spells: 1/5
Charm [Level 3]
Resistance(s):
Pain [Level 15]
Poison [Level 4]
Magic [Level 31]
She had gained ten levels in her race and twelve in her class. The levels and titles almost made the fight worth it…almost. She rechecked the title descriptions.
Title: A Grade Above
You have defeated a foe a grade above your own. A feat rarely achieved in the multiverse. For this achievement, you have been granted the title A Grade Above. Plus 15% to all base stats. Additional positive effects may occur when fighting enemies 50 levels or greater above your own.
Title: Mass Destruction
By using your knowledge of the flora in your immediate surroundings, you caused a sequence of events that resulted in the death of over 1,000 of your foes in less than 60 seconds. For this achievement of ingenuity, you have been granted the title of Mass Destruction. Plus 5% to your intelligence stat. Additional rare information may become available when identifying flora.
Nara was happy to see her Archery skill had reached expert level, allowing her to coat standard arrows with magic, making them slightly more powerful. Also, her magic bolt at level thirteen required much less mana to cast, which was good because she wanted to wait to take any mana from Lupie. She knew it shouldn't happen but didn't want to take the chance that Lupie's mana would change her class to something else while they were still in the forest. Thinking of Lupie, Nara remembered she had given her permission to level up and assign her free points as she saw fit. She checked the Bloodmorph's stat sheet in their party interface to see what she had done with her points.
The Defeated [Summon of S.A.M.]
Race: Lupine Bloodmorph; Elite; Unique [Level 15]
Class: Bloodmorph [Level 17]
Blessing(s): Void Touched [Epic]
Title(s): A Grade Above; Death Runner
Health: 6678
Stamina: 4299
Mana: 2818
Attributes:
STR – 83
VIT – 326
END – 186
AGL – 121
INT – 67
WIS – 145
Abilities: 2/10
Blood Manipulation
Void Compatibility
Class Skills: 2/7
Blood Recovery [Level 17]
Void Coating [Level 3]
Racial/General Skills: 3/7
Final Push [Level 11]
Identify [Level 2]
Stealth [Level 6]
Class Spells: 3/5
Blood Harvest [Level 5]
Blood Spike [Level 7]
Void Spike [Level 6]
Racial/General Spells:
Howl [Level 5]
Resistance(s):
Void Magic [Level 27]
Blood Magic [Level 56]
Nara whistled and the calming sounds of Lupie’s slow breathing halted for a moment before resuming when Nara made no other sounds for a while. “Damn, she’s strong.” Nara was glad she was on their side. She had heard stories about summons killing their summoners, but Lupie had been helpful. Nara had noted her status went from friendly to adoring when she had dumped out the pile of Whitling bodies for her to drain before they fought the Matriarch. The status had remained, and they were in a safe zone together, which showed Nara that Lupie was not a threat.
Reaching to her side, Nara scratched the Bloodmorph's fur just where she liked it, thinking, "With her blood armor retracted, she’s not much different than a normal wolf. Well, except she would probably beat out a Great Timberwolf in the size category…and could probably take down anything below level seventy-five in this forest."
Just then, Sam groaned, and Lupie and Nara jerked in surprise! Nara quickly grabbed her friend's hand, and Lupie brought her head around, sniffing at the Pathfinder expectantly.
***
Sam was moving through the now familiar tunnel between her soul and reality, but there was no exit when she entered her core at the end. There is no hole in her core for her mind to access. “Please tell me I don’t have to blow another hole in my core to get out of here! It looks like it is all better now!” She whined to herself, floating in the mixture of Arcane and Void mana swirling around her. Then, a brilliant thought struck her, and she called out as loud as she could, "Naris! Cut open my soul core!" She hoped her real body would say the words or she was close enough to reality for her party chat to function. “Assuming I’m still in their party…”
Sam waited for something to happen; she didn't know what she hoped for but figured she would know when it happened. After a few minutes with no change, she started yelling again, even going as far as pounding on the inside of her core with her fists. She was reluctant to use her own mana to cut her core open. Her logic was that in her one and only experience with a damaged core, the wounds inflicted by Naris healed, but the wound from her own magic had not. Hours went by, but no help came. Sam finally formed a blade construct from her void magic and was about to stab it into the side of her core when the notebook vibrated in her pocket.
Dismissing the blade, Sam quickly pulled the book out, and again, it shot from her hand to hover in front of her, opening to a blank page. Words started appearing on the page, and Sam fist-pumped in elation, "Yes! Thank you, whoever you are—" She stared at the page in surprise, "Well fuck you too then!" Snatching the book in front of her, she slammed it shut and stuffed it in her pocket, grumbling.
The message read, "Thank you for the entertainment, sister. It is hard to believe we were all as dumb and weak as you once. We suggest you try pulling on one of your mind core tendrils above you and returning to yourself via that channel. Of course, as always, your path is your own, so you may disregard our suggestion and cut your way out of your soul if you so choose. In fact, it would be much more entertaining to watch, so do that instead. – The Collective"
Still grumbling, Sam grabbed one of the hundreds of mana channels protruding slightly into the top of her core. Instantly, she felt the connection to her mind, and she disappeared from her soul core with a thought.