The four of them stood in the dark cell, soft light coming from SarthDarah’s eyes illuminated each of their faces. SarthDarah and Kuru stood about the same height, with Durelin a few inches taller than both. Jorn towered over them all.
The swaying of the ship forced Jorn and Duerlin to constantly shift their weight. SarthDarah let the motion roll up her body and didn’t let it sway her, her focus was on the eyes of the guild administrator. Kuru’s azure eyes beamed back, holding the stare. The flame red and the ice blue sparks of light danced between them.
“Who are you? And don’t say guild representative or whatever it was, I wanna know who you truly are.” SarthDarah asked sharply, cutting the tension of silence that had grown between them all.
“I, am Kuru.” She bowed her head slightly. “I am also the one in charge of overseeing this planet's peaceful transition to Federation control.”
She allowed them all a moment to soak in that information before continuing.
“This world is one of many that I have helped gain a place in the collective of worlds and people for the Federation. Mistress Nyx invites all planets with living mortals to join her, and she offers power and technology in return for the ability to construct and govern on those worlds.
Many worlds jump at the opportunity. Many worlds have populations that resist, and some that outright refuse. In cases such as this one here on Tios, the planet is filled with hostile entities that I have been tasked with removing. One of my partners offered me a certain number of top secret experimental vessels to use for the cleansing of the monsters and aggressors here.”
“You’re using us for a cleansing?” SarthDarah interrupted. “Like mercenaries to kill off anyone that doesn’t agree with you?”
“Not exactly, but you do have the right to know. That is why I am telling you all of this now. So please, do not interrupt me again. I do not enjoy being interrupted.” Kuru’s eyes flashed brightly for a moment, her anger clear.
Jorn and Duerlin remained quiet, focused on the two females and the discussion taking place. The creaking of the ship and gentle pounding of the waves were the only other noises in the dark cell.
“You three are among only a few dozen remaining vessels here on Tios. My partner’s experiment is seeming to have an extremely high cost. If I wish to create any good from it, I will need the remaining vessels to be much more effective at carrying out the tasks we have set for them.
SarthDarah, you are worried I will order you to kill when you do not wish to, I can promise that will never happen. We are not here to kill those who disagree with us. We are here to settle the matter of rampant monsters on the planet. You already have succeeded in one, there are only a few others remaining.
The mortal population that resists joining the Federation are not your concern. Neither are they mine, setting aside the current situation. Those who wish to deny the gifts of the Federation only deny themselves the future. The main population centers here already agreed to join Mistress Nyx. The rest will be left to do as they please elsewhere on the planet.
However, that does not mean we can let those self ruled people freely attack us or our protected interests. You understand having proper defensive measures and capabilities, that is the second half of your tasks here.”
Kuru finished speaking, letting the other three digest her words. SarthDarah finally softened her expression a little, offering a glimpse of how her mind was reacting. Jorn looked down at the floor, then around at his companions before walking away.
The big man sat softly and leaned back against the bars by the cage door. His sigh was of exasperation, but Sarah could tell he was also tired. She was nearly at her limit with how far she could play in a single sitting. Maybe it was time to log off and let the world take her avatar for a little bit while she rested in the real world.
SarthDarah looked at the other two players, then back at Kuru. The NPC was so lifelike, and definitely was a higher tiered character in this game than anyone else she had come across. Kuru had to be an A.I. account meant to follow along on story lines and help characters along.
The story about collecting worlds for a Federation was a good way to keep them involved in a story that would keep unfolding. It just seemed to be too far from something a game needed. Was this going to become a huge multi-world game map?
“So, this game, how extensive is it going to get? You probably don’t understand, but as a gamer I’m curious to know how much of the story and map I can explore. And if you’re taking over the entire planet, is it just this one and we pick a side to be on? Or are there going to be more and more worlds for us to try and conquer ourselves later on?”
“You wish to conquer worlds, SarthDarah?” Kuru’s voice was soft as silk and as dangerous as poison. “You have the power already to destroy them, you need only focus on it. If you want to rule, I can show you how.”
SarthDarah gazed into Kuru’s eyes, feeling the pull on her soul. The power called out to her, begging to be wielded.
“I wish to know if I’m your slave.”
Kuru’s smile went a bit manic for a second. Her eyes flared and a soft chuckle sounded. Kuru’s hands both disappeared into shadow. The unnatural darkness that was suddenly floating around Kuru gave off an alarming aura of its own.
When her hands came back out of the darkness, she held long and thick chains. They dangled to the floor and clanked loudly as they met solid ground. The manacles on either end of them were open, inviting anyone foolish enough to set their wrists in.
The maniacal face Kuru was making twisted her beauty into a horror. The frightening aura she was suddenly giving off was starting to make the hair on SarthDarah’s skin rise.
She froze, Sarah knew that this was a game. It couldn’t be the hair on her skin she felt rising, maybe it was just a feature of the game. Something to give her the sense of fear. It was too realistic, SarthDarah was frozen and lost her breath.
The sense of dread set into her bones. It was like being locked in a box, then tossed into a freezing lake. Her mind was screaming at her to rush back to the surface. In the darkness there was no surface, Sarah was stuck here.
All too late did she try to gasp for air, the chains were flying at her as Sarah tried to scream. SarthDarah never made a noise.
Duerlin watched the two girls, they had suddenly gone silent. He thought maybe asking if they were slaves was a bit much, but for Kuru to go so silent and to not answer made him worry. The silence continued on though.
Jorn waved his hand between the girls, neither reacted.
“That’s odd. What happened?”
“I don’t know, did they lag out?”
“I don’t think so, but I can’t be certain.”
“What do you think Sarth meant by asking about being a slave? That seems like an odd question.” Duerlin was sure the other two had just lapsed into some sort of personal section of the game.
“I think she was trying to test and see if Kuru is a human or A.I. She already questioned whether the Captain was or not.”
“The little girl? I barely got a look at her before they drug me down here.”
“Yea, she was crazy fast. Fixed the mast that Sarth smashed on our way onboard with a wave of her hand. Then some crazy shit happened with some crocs that came out of nowhere.”
Jorn held up a long tooth. It was broken at the root, and went down to an extremely sharp point. Duerlin’s eyes went wide looking at it. The two looked back at the girls.
“So, is she?”
“Is she what?”
“Is Kuru a player, or something else? She is clearly more than an A.I., unless there's new tech that no one has ever heard of. That is way too lifelike to be anything that was created in a game.”
Jorn didn’t answer for a few minutes. The silence broken only by the creaking ship and crashing waves. The girl’s were spaced out and hadn’t moved since Sarth had asked Kuru that stinging question.
“She’s real, or at least she’s as real as someone can be inside of a game. I saw her command similar power to what we use in the game, but she seems to be able to do things we can’t. And she is a high ranking official in the guild system. Something tells me that she’s been here a lot longer than the rest of us though. If only a few dozen of us are left, and she has knowledge of that without being given the message. Which means she intrinsically knows the state of every player. Maybe a dev?”
“Maybe…” Duerlin trailed off, waiting for any response from SarthDarah or Kuru.
Sarah fell, deep into a black void. The chains that had grabbed her pulled her under. Kuru’s voice echoed all around, over and over with different phrases. Sarah couldn’t make out any of what she was saying. Her heart was beating hard enough she worried it might break out of her chest.
With no sense of direction, only falling, Sarah reached out for anything to stop herself. The darkness seemed to rush by, though she couldn’t actually see anything.
“Fire, burning out the rot and dead of the thickest forests, is the best way to wash the filth and leave behind fertile grounds for the next growth.” Words were starting to become clearer.
“You can only finish this journey when you start the real one.”
“For you, a gift of power, a cost of life.”
“In the darkness you can not hide, but if you burn bright, the world shall flock to you.”
Kuru was streaming on and on about nonsense, almost in a prophetic like trance. Sarah was starting to feel nauseous, her brain was trying to sort out what the lines meant. What journey was she supposed to start? Was her fire supposed to end something, and bring about the next generation somehow?
“What do you want from me?” Sarah screamed, her voice echoing back in an eerie way all around her.
“Your soul, it is rather unique. I desire to have you serve me, willingly.” This time Kuru’s voice came from near her, with less of the ethereal echoing.
“You want my soul?”
“Not exactly, I can see your soul. I want your talent and skill. I want you to be a driving force behind the wheels of change that my associate and I are designing.”
Sarah didn’t know how to respond. Her soul was visible to this woman? How? She had spoken of her soul driving a new vessel, in this game. This was still just a game right? The realism of how things felt left Sarah considering abandoning the entire thing.
If she could just get some time logged off, maybe some fresh air and some real food. This whole world domination path really took her by the hand and ran at full sprint. Kuru was probably going to extend the same offer to Jorn and Duerlin if SarthDarah left. Sarah was ready to call it, but then she remembered the first moments of her time in this game.
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The freedom of flying down the mountainside, the realistic way her emotions played out across her face, even the sense of pain that made her realize it was no simple thing to take damage. Her brain had enjoyed it all, the physical sense of adrenaline had made her feel more alive than anything in the real world had.
“What happens if I agree?”
She had to know. What would being an underling of this woman be like? Is this selling her soul to the devil? Or is it more like giving herself to a cause she could believe in.
“If you agree, I will show you how to demolish any enemy. I will teach you how truly expansive the universe we live in is. You will become responsible for carrying out tasks that I give you. You become independent of mortality and anyone who would hold you back from satisfying our goals.”
So, ultimate power and knowledge of the stars for being her task monkey. That wasn’t so bad, depending on the tasks. Independent of mortality? That sounded like Kuru was offering her a chance to transcend death.
This was still a game right? Could she mean a free life? Maybe a skill that keeps Sarah’s HP from bottoming out in certain cases.
“Is this really a game?”
“No.”
“What is this?”
“An expansion of my power. I dropped your soul and consciousness into this pocket of Nether. You are essentially in another dimension that only I can open and control. I’ll let you out, but we needed some time for me to make my point to you. The other two are not as understanding as you. The quickness you show in being on top of things and not falling prey to the stress of the situations makes you the clear candidate for a taste of my power. Your understanding is what opens your mind to the possibilities that I can offer you.”
Sarah took this in for a moment. Jorn would have just tried to smash the problem. Duerlin spent so much time running and denying his responsibility that he ended up in a jail cell. Sarah had found herself in that same cell, but she had completed her task before setting out to try and accomplish this one.
Maybe she had already started becoming Kuru’s underling and just hadn’t realized it. If her tasks would keep her slaying monsters and saving towns, then Sarah would gladly go along with it. It was if it turned into eradicating populations and worlds that she would have a problem with it.
“You pulled my soul where?”
“Let me show you.”
Kuru appeared, the chains that had dragged Sarah into the darkness vanished. The sensation of falling suddenly stopped and a floor appeared. The white marble floor was dimly lit, the long stretch of doorways on either side seemed to go on forever. The wooden doors were all painted beige, standing out starkly against the polished floor.
Each of the doors had a small slot, one made to allow someone to peak in on the occupant. Kuru walked up to the first one on the left, waved for Sarah to join her, then opened the slot. Sarah leaned in to see what was going on inside. The twisted reality inside shocked her into taking a few steps back.
A man was being chased by crows, the blood was running freely from the dozens of open wounds on his arms and legs. His short sleeve shirt was in tatters and only bare scrapes of fabric were left of his pants. His screams were dull and muffled, but still shrill and easily identifiable as ones of terror.
Kuru stepped down the hall, passing a few doors before stopping at one on the right. Behind this slot, Sarah saw a woman sitting in a flower field. This almost seemed in complete contrast with the first. Sarah couldn’t see anything nightmarish about this one.
“She has allergies so bad that it renders her body catatonic to be around so much pollen. I found her drowning three newborns behind the orphanage she used to run.”
As Sarah watched, the woman in the field seized for a moment, her whole body spasming before releasing a huge sneeze. The flowers nearest her all blew back from the force of it, then the wetness of the woman’s face became evident. She was sitting in a spot of mud that her body had created over the period of her sitting there.
“That’s torture…”
“It’s what she deserves. I can not allow her soul to be reborn on another world. That would amount to letting the darkness and taint of her to grow and cultivate itself into a more refined version of evil.”
So Kuru hunted evil souls. Then maybe aligning herself with her would be alright. Sarah wanted to do good in the world. She also wanted to experience conquering a world. Kuru seemed to be offering a way to do both.
“What happens if I say yes?”
“You become mine.” Kuru gazed intensely into Sarah’s eye’s.
“This isn’t a game is it?”
“Not in the way you think it should be. This is a game spanning the known universe, and the collection of the worlds that hold life is how we come closer to winning it. There are several worlds that have shards of the life crystal that my Grandmother scattered. The worlds that interest her have been conquered or controlled in one way or another in order to serve her greater purpose. That’s the only game that I am playing.”
Sarah blinked, the connection she was feeling with Kuru was starting to freak her out a little. The way Kuru told it, she was somehow the Granddaughter of some time transcending deity that she is also claiming to have seeded life across the universe. For some greater purpose…
“How is any of this possible?” Her mind was starting to break as Sarah tried to make sense of things.
“A bit of the power my Grandmother, a vessel crafted by a Master Smith out of an ore that resonates with an individual's unique aura signature. It’s essentially a tether for your soul to use to transmit consciousness through the body you are now in.”
The body she was now in? Had Sarah, herself, transferred her conscious mind to a new host? Was that what the headset was doing? How was she here on another world?
Aliens were real…
Holy shit, tangents began sprouting all over in her mind from the implications. Sarah was on the verge of a breakdown, this truly wasn’t a game. She was doing this all for real.
“That’s why players who were killed didn’t re-spawn…”
The thought struck her, and the chaotic thought train running in her mind hit a wall. Duerlin’s brother had died right in front of her and she hadn’t felt a thing, until now. Kuru, to her surprise, looked sad.
With so much information suddenly dumped on her, Sarah wasn’t sure what to do anymore. This was a new life, already started. Her old life was, what? What exactly did she miss about her real life?
The stale air, or maybe the overpriced and tasteless food. The job that she gave every waking hour to most days, but never got ahead in. Or maybe it was the non existent love life that Sarah might miss.
None of these things sparked any reaction in her, even trying to say she had to go back to see her family roused no emotions from her. This new life had been so exhilarating and seemed to call to her. The fast paced action and knowing that her body was suddenly capable of doing fantastic feats made her smile.
That reaction more than anything sold her on where she truly wanted to be. This game, or rather, this new world was her new home. If Kuru had pulled her soul here, then Sarah would call it destiny. Because she felt more alive here, even sitting in the void of Nether, than she ever did back home. If Kuru wanted her to be a freedom fighter for some cause, then SarthDarah was ready to kick ass.
“What do you need me to do?” Sarah asked quietly, testing how it felt to give in.
“I need SarthDarah to be your complete self, Sarah has to be let go of.”
Sarah’s heart stopped for a few beats, for a moment she thought this was going to be simple. How could she let go of who she was?
“It won’t take but a moment. I simply pull the cord on your connection to Sarah’s body, and leave you tethered to SarthDarah. Your mind will still remember who you are, but Sarah will cease to exist. Only SarthDarah will remain, as you are in the vessel I met you in.”
“So, my body has to die?”
“Yes.”
Sarah thought once more about the things she would lose, then about the things she would gain. The world she was seeing, and the many more that might be possible to see. Her fist clenched, no flames were produced.
Looking at herself closely for the first time since being brought into the Nether, Sarah noticed that she looked like her real self. Her own pale skin, the wiry fingers and stringy arms. This was a huge let down after being in the body of a highly muscled and tanned monk.
Would giving up her old self really be that bad? And if she had already made the decision to stay here, what was letting an old body that had no use for her die going to hurt?
“You’ll grant me power to conquer worlds with you? For the good of the people that need it?”
“Of course. You already have enough power to level a small city, but I can offer you one more thing on top of the focus pistol I just gave you.” Kuru’s smile was turning slightly manic again.
Sarah hesitated for a moment, remembering the weapon that Kuru had shoved into her hands just after their imprisonment. It had fired black balls of energy when Kuru used it. SarthDarah suddenly had the urge to rush to the top deck and see what it would do for her.
“I want to know that I’m not being used for evil.”
“You think I’m evil?”
“I think you’re all powerful, and most people I have heard of with that much power usually tend to stray from the path of good intentions at some point.”
“You’ve seen too many movies, fairy tales, and legends. Those with power simply do what they desire, mostly in order to preserve or grow their power. The morality of right and wrong don’t necessarily apply to them any more. Though I can see what you’re asking isn’t based on judgments already passed. You want to know if I would ask you to murder innocents?”
“And?”
“Innocents do not make it to my list. I target only those who grow corrupt and need to be removed from the cycle of life. We are approaching an age where mortality will be defined in a much looser sense. My Grandmother, Mistress Nyx, and her Master Smith have developed these vessels to combat the decay of mighty warriors and brilliant scholars. My task is to weed out potential cancer, so to speak. Removing the souls of what you call evil individuals to make sure that they are not given an opportunity to latch on and infect the immortality of the vessels. Leaving those who would skew the designs of this universe to their own whims alone, would wreak havoc on the game. Chaos is navigable only if you give no mercy to those that would derail you.”
“So you’re the hedge trimmer, and I would be another tool keeping wild growth at bay. That almost seems like a perfect offer. I get all the power I want, you get a tool to ease the strain on yourself, and I get to fuck up bad guys. Finally this makes sense.”
Kuru did a little curtsy, then smiled in a way that made Sarah feel like she missed something. She had just given in and demanded nothing more than what she had been offered. Kuru was getting a steal of a deal with her.
“Let's get back to the ship, I have a feeling we will be called upon soon enough.”
“Ok, I’m gonna trust you for now. I don’t see how I have much choice though.”
“You could try and run. Or maybe you could try and fight the captain solo. You’re stuck in this situation because of your own actions. I’m simply trying to give you the best chance to survive this.”
“If I, SarthDarah I mean, die, is that it for Sarah too?”
“Yes.”
SarthDarah clenched her fists, her face showing the obvious displeasure at the new knowledge. This beta test was turning out to be a lot more hassle than Sarah had wanted. Kuru seemed to take her moment of silence as acquiescence, because she was already starting to pull the darkness around them back into herself.
SarthDarah stood frozen in the center of the swirling dark void with Kuru, their eyes locked and together they formed bright pinpricks of light in the infinite. Sarah had one last memory of home, of a love that burned out too fast. That summer had been the best of her life, but it was far behind her.
She felt the tear roll down her cheek, as the tug on her heart suddenly tore away. The wound suddenly open and bleeding.
“You’re not alone Sarth, we will do great things together. I would never leave you to chase someone else, though I do have my many work partners. Only you have a piece of me and my power in you. That weapon is the first instrument I crafted with my gifts. My father gave me most of my power to contain and control souls. The Nether control was a random quirk I was born with. That pistol is the first successful attempt I made at combining them. It doesn’t trap a soul, but it hits it directly using the bearer’s own soul force. Your power is far larger than you know, only now through the releasing and power expansion of this vessel can you realize it.”
SarthDarah pulled out the pistol, it hadn’t been on her while she was Sarah in this prison. Now as she looked down, the body of SarthDarah was there and the pistol was tucked neatly into her sash.
Tears fell, dampening the wooden floor where they stood. As she looked back up, Kuru was smiling at her. SarthDarah hadn’t even noticed a return to the ship. The darkness simply vanished and they were back, not a millimeter from where they had been before Kuru had pulled her in.
Jorn and Duerlin both were staring at her like she had sprouted three extra heads.
“What’s with…” SarthDarh started.
She was cut off by the door to the brig being slammed open. Three bouncing and extremely bright lights came through and bounced as they came closer. The oil lanterns were carried by guards, each with a shortsword and nearly as much muscle as Jorn. A fourth man, wiry and a bit shorter than SarthDarah came to the cell door.
“Captain wants a word with you.” He pointed a finger full of gaudy rings at Kuru.
“Then where is she? Talking seems to go better when both parties are face to face.”
“Waiting for you in her quarters. Watch that mouth, or I’ll cut the tongue from it.”
Kuru did a small curtsy, then flipped her middle finger out at the man. He snorted a laugh, then opened the door. The lock clicked loudly before the hinges squeaked. Kuru walked out to be instantly grabbed by two of the guards. One taking her left arm, the other the right.
“You three stay put.” The wiry man said as he locked the door again.
“And if I start running laps around the cell?” SarthDarah challenged, feeling a rush of adrenaline surge in her.
“Then you just be tired out when I toss you overboard.” The man ran his hand over the bars, letting his rings click against the metal.
The guards were already hauling Kuru out the door. The wiry man was watching the three remaining prisoners carefully as he backed out. Almost as if he expected an attack.
When the door shut and all was dark again. SarthDarah’s eyes lit up brightly, much brighter and clearer than before. The golden glow of flame no longer blocked out her eyes, but instead sharpened the detail of them.
“Guys, have I got some shit to tell you. You might wanna sit down for this.”