A wall of darkness shot out from the Source Stone. It stretched across the width of the brewery, and then surged forward, passing harmlessly over the four corrupted humans.
While it had no effect on them, we weren’t willing to take that chance. We backed away, and the darkness halted when it covered half the brewery from floor to ceiling.
As a test, Damian fired his crossbow. The bolt went inside and then, silence.
He pointed at a stack of crates. “Get behind them.”
We followed his lead and hunkered down. Damian pulled out two vials, mixed them together, and then shook the concoction before hurling it over into the darkness.
This time we heard a boom, but there was no way of the discerning the impact.
I glanced over the crates. The darkness was still there hovering, but it was no longer growing. Whatever Damian had thrown seemed to have stunned them for the moment.
I looked at the Shard. “Explain.”
“They, like me, have broken away from the Source and formed their own consciousness. Unlike me, they do not wish to leave this place. But I am older and stronger. If you can get me to the Source, I can stop them.”
Damian and I glanced at each other. It was a lot to take on faith.
“There is something else,” the Shard said. “If they have manifested shards out of their vessels like I have, then you must not make direct contact with them. The same goes for me as well.”
“What happens if we do?” Hugo asked.
“You’ll die, or come close to it.”
Well, on that cheery thought we moved on to discussing how we’d approach this. We’d come this far and were determined to see it through to the end.
The Shard told us that the four possessed humans were around the Source, guarding it and using the darkness to further obscure themselves. This frustrated Damian and myself since we’d never encountered a darkness we couldn’t see in before. I asked the Shard about it.
“These are Voidborne. Their power over the void is much stronger than your own. You should avoid using those abilities. They will not work on them.”
It was said with complete confidence and I believed the alien for some reason, but there was still one final thing I had to know.
“Why are you so different from the others?” I asked it.
Donald’s face formed a frown as it considered my question. Finally, it said, “I think it had something to do with the maturation process. When I awoke, I was an infant reacting on instinct when I attached myself to my host. My thinking was almost non-existent and so my mind was dominated by my host's thoughts and feelings. These things impacted my development and made me regret taking a host. I realized that we don’t belong here.”
“And the others?”
“Those awoke at the same time as me but remained longer in the Source Stone and matured there. Their minds were fully developed when they took hosts and when they did, they took them over quickly.”
“So everything they said and did before was act?”
“Yes, it was a form of camouflage using host memories. They were likely curious to learn why we were working together. But the bigger reason is the protecting the Source. A living host helps sustain us, but the Source is also required for that. Destroying the Source would destroy them as well.”
“Can it be destroyed?” Damian asked.
“Yes, but none of us here are up to the task. Get me to it and I can recall my siblings back to it.”
“What about those Climbers?” asked Hugo. “Are they still alive in there?”
“Unlikely, but that is possible.”
Great, so not only do we have to fight past them, but we have to hold back as well.
“Damian, stay at distance and do what you do best,” I said. “Hugo, summon everything and unleash hell. Once your summons are inside, I’ll get Donald to the source.”
“Why do you get to do it alone?” asked Hugo.
“Because I’m the fastest.”
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Damian folded his arms.
“Okay, that point is debatable. But I can survive worse wounds than the rest of you. My healing ability makes me the best candidate. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
I opened up my System inventory space. It was filled with an odd collection of minor weapons, pieces of armor, various survival items, but most importantly, fresh dead bodies of things I’d killed.
Anything put into the inventory is preserved at the time it went inside, so I dumped five fresh bodies of some human bandits I’d killed on this floor. Five was probably overkill, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Their blood could be used to heal or empower me, whichever I needed in the situation. Putting the bodies out here meant that I didn’t have to worry about going through my inventory in the middle of a fight.
I grabbed a hold of Donald’s arm and signaled to the others.
Damian threw another explosive into the darkness while Hugo summoned his spirit familiars. Several large bug creatures, various humans, some wolves, and a few other creatures crawled out of the ground as ghostly apparitions. Once fully emerged, they solidified and rushed into the darkness.
That was our cue.
I pulled Donald to his feet, and we ran forward with my sword leading the way.
As we were about to enter, Hugo yelled, “wait! I’ve lost contact with my summons.”
I stopped just short of the darkness, wondering whether to proceed, when Donald, with a surprising amount of strength, dragged me inside.
The temperature shifted instantly from warm to an icy cold. A dark haze filled my vision and I could only see ten feet in front of me.
“We must continue,” the Shard said and let go of me.
On instinct, I took a step back, expecting to leave the darkness. Instead, I felt a soft wall. It was pliable but I could not break through it.
Reluctantly, I pressed on and with Donald. After only taking a few steps, I noticed that the space was much larger on the inside. Somehow these Voidborne creatures had the warped the space or distorted it somehow. I asked the Shard about it.
“That is because one of them is in direct contact with the Source Stone. It amplifies their power further.”
“So, how do we separate them from it?”
“Their vessels are still flesh,” it said, as if that explained everything.
A spear lunged at me from the left. I turned and felt it graze my side before disappearing. Todd appeared next at a full sprint, swinging his mace at my head. I ducked under it and stabbed with my sword, only to find air as he’d vanished back into the shadows. They’re using the darkness to their advantage with hit-and-run tactics.
Donald kept moving forward, seemingly oblivious to the danger, until the two of them attacked him instead. Lucille pierced his leg with her spear while Mike stabbed him in the lower back with his sword. Once again, they faded back into the darkness while Donald fell to the ground. I rushed over to him.
“I cannot move,” it said.
“Fine, I’ll carry you.”
“No, this vessel has taken too much damage. Even if we were at the Source now, I would not be able to reconnect to it. Besides, one of them is still out there. In this form, I would just slow you down.”
“So what are you saying?”
“You will have to take me and only me to the Source.”
It was talking about taking the Shard with my bare hands.
“I thought that was a death sentence.”
“Normally, it would be. But you have a unique gift. If you consume a drop of my blood, I believe my more instinctual side will see you as a part of me when you make contact.”
“Believe?” I raised an eyebrow.
We heard a scream in the distance and a pumpkin rolled into view.
“The darkness is spreading out into the town,” it said. “They hope to draw you further away from the Source.”
“I have to stop them.”
Donald grabbed my hand. “They will try to infect more people by splitting itself. Maybe you can stop them, but I know that getting me to the Source will. I don’t…” It faltered for a second. “Have much time. You must make a decision now.”
There was another scream, and I made up my mind.
A small drop of black blood leaked out of the shard and onto Donald’s cheek. I touched it with my finger and activated my Consume ability. The power contained within the drop was miniscule, but I felt it become a part of me anyway. That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part.
I put one hand on Donald’s head to brace myself and then reached for the Shard. As soon as I made contact, I screamed. My hand felt like it was on fire. I tried to let go, but my hand was fused to it. Nothing but burning. I looked down, thinking I would see it, but everything looked normal.
The burning wouldn’t stop. I reached for blood from the bodies I’d dropped. Felt it flow to me and nothing happened. It was like there was nothing to heal. The pain was unbearable. I started to consider cutting my hand off when suddenly I was somewhere else.
I’d thought myself in the dark before, but that was just a pale imitation. This was the true void. A complete absence so oppressive it tugged at me like a force. I could it feel it eating away at my thoughts, my feelings, and my will. It wanted me to not exist. I was the aberration here. I was the one who did not belong.
But I was not alone.
Other things could be heard and felt slithering in the darkness. Their wills were so strong that the void could not consume them. There was one in particular that I felt a connection to. It was so vast. I could not comprehend the full size of it, but it felt relatable. It drifted closer and a crushing weight fell on my soul. I thought it was trying to attack me until my intuition told me that it was asleep.
“You must go,” the Shard’s voice said in my mind.
I snapped back to the brewery and gasped for breath. “What was that?”
“Scattered fragments of memories from the Source stone before coming here. Very dangerous for your kind. You would be wise to forget them.”
I thought back to those things roiling and writhing in the darkness. A wave of nausea hit me and I was relieved that I’d never gotten a good look at any of them.
“Regardless of your physical or emotional wellbeing, the situation has not changed,” it said.
The pain was gone from my hand, but I still could not let go of the Shard. I guess I was stuck with it until I reached the Source.
I moved to pull it out when the Shard said, “wait.”
I stopped.
“Once you pull it out, communication between us will no longer be possible.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
Donald shook his head. “Just insert me into the Source Stone and I will do the rest.”
I nodded and wrenched the Shard free. Donald’s body went still. Just as the Shard had said, Donald had been dead the whole time. The others who’d been infected were likely dead too. I couldn’t afford to take anymore chances. Next time they come for me, I will no longer hold back.
Right, now where was that Source Stone?