Beryl led them through the dimly lit corridor behind the stage and got them into position for their emergence. They could hear the crowd cheering as the replays reached their crescendo and finally the last two standing were announced.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Creatures, Elemental, Beings, and Entities, prepare yourself for seeing our champions in person. I present to you our runner-up, Kreen of the Galactic Hives. Kreen entered the finals in the 98th position and, through cleverness and positioning, emerged as the runner-up. Everyone celebrate this achievement as this is the highest placement for an insectoid in the entire history of the Contests.”
Beryl nudged Kreen, “That’s your cue. Walk slowly and confidently. Give them a show!”
Kreen acknowledged her with a nod and walked out on stage, taking its time enjoying the cheers of the crowd. It headed for its marker and stopped precisely on it. It looked up at the crowd that surrounded it and expanded its shoulders with pride. It had survived the most catastrophic results of the Contest in recent memory and now stood ready to receive its prize.
The host, another Syndicate officer bedecked in the flashiest golden outfit that was actually enchanted to glow with golden light that highlighted his Syndicate crest, strode up to Kreen, “Congratulations on your impressive showing. No one from the Hives has ever made it this far. How do you feel right now?”
Kreen looked at the host briefly before speaking, “I bring satisfaction back to the hive. The True Queens will be pleased with my offering. My line will be allowed to continue.”
The host took back over, “Looks like Kreen will be getting some when it gets back home if you know what I mean!”
The crowd reacted as expected, laughing along with the host. Duke cringed. It seemed with an entire Cosmos of different races and forms of creatures, simple inuendo jokes still carried the crowd. It was yet another disappointment that settled into his bones. He had expected specific challenges, a bracketed tournament with one-on-one fights, or even team contests. Instead, it had turned out to be a disorganized mess and a reflection of the worst of the world out there.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. So many contestants had been preyed upon by those running this farce. And his old friends, the Syndicate were deeply involved.
How could the Syndicate be running this thing? It should be the Entities that put this together, right? Or are they all here just for the show and could care less about who’s running it? The more I think about it, that is what makes more sense – they don’t care about the details, they are just using this as a proxy to settle scores they can’t otherwise. Does that mean that the Overmind is just the same? Using me to settle a score?
Duke’s mind reeled with the possibilities. Could he have been manipulated to that level? He questioned every action leading up to this point.
It was the Twin Entities that brought me to Teldin in the first place. I never understood their motivation but they were trying to get me to be their sponsored Contestant. Then the Overmind came into the picture. Did he ever lie to me? Not directly. He didn’t tell me much about this Contest beforehand, but was there much I really needed to know? Just needed to kill a bunch of things. Kind of what I do all the time. But the whole hunting down and killing dungeons thing rings true. It is what happened on Teldin. It was what was happening on ‘plant in the middle of fucking nowhere.’ Like it or not, I’m linked to dungeons. Who am I kidding? Dungeons are fucking awesome. So, screw it. I’m in. Oh, shit. What did the host say?
“For your outstanding performance, you have been awarded six dreadnaught-class ships to be built to your specifications by the Syndicate and one which is delivered to you here. Congratulations Kreen, you are the proud new owner of the Dreadnaught, Unyielding Vow. The ship comes fully equipped and crewed by a fully qualified Syndicate crew that is contracted to you for a full year. Any additional support vessels you would like can be purchased separately of course.”
Kreen just stared at the host, dumbfounded. The host continued, not missing a beat, “And here comes one of the Unyielding Vow’s own shuttles now. As everyone can see, this is our latest model, the Atmospheric Runner Seven. It come fully equipped with state-of-the-art safety and security systems and the height of luxury. Even the passenger compartment has a twice-enchanted seating structure to adjust to any lifeform configuration.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Duke couldn’t believe his ears. It’s a fucking commercial! It’s all a fucking commercial! Duke’s ire shifted from simmering to boiling. So many young talents had been plucked from the Cosmos to be tossed into this meat grinder to sell more products? The outrage burning in Duke sank deeper into his consciousness, clawing at the bulwark of his subconscious. He felt his control starting to slip but he poured Mana into his MENTAL FORTITUDE to keep it at bay for now.
The host continued his commercial as he showed Kreen around the shuttle and explained all the wonderous and amazing features of his luxury shuttle. He pointed out the exotic creatures cultivated for the specific seat coverings based on their “uncanny malleability under enchantment.” Eventually the tour commercial ended to the cheers of the now entirely Syndicate crowd. Duke had seen others leaving in disgust. Even several Entities had departed but none of that slowed the Syndicate shill down as he explained the new and improved triple-phase magitech engine configuration that allowed for more power while providing a smoother ride.
Mercifully, the commercial ended when the shuttle left easy visual range on its way up to the dreadnaught. The host then turned his sickening enthusiasm towards Duke.
“And now that brings us to the highlight of the evening. It is time to crown our champion. Put your appendages together for Duke!” He paused for the crowd to whip itself up into a proper frenzy before he gave some silent signal to Beryl who nudged Duke towards the stage.
As Duke strode towards the stage, he took his time scanning the crowd for anyone familiar. He did not recognize a single being out in the crowd no matter how hard he looked. What he did see was additional Syndicate flunkies filling up the now empty spots in the crowd. He was nearly at his mark when he received an urgent notification.
*** You have received an urgent message from the Eye of Infinity.
Duke, I told you to save it for the end. This is the end. This is where you must stop this madness. ***
Why the fuck is this my responsibility? Oh, right. Some “rules” that prevent them from doing it themselves.
The host continued, “Welcome to the stage, Duke. You surprised everyone with your victory, especially with your late arrival. Tell us how did you manage to get into the top 100 so quickly?”
Duke stared the host down for long enough to make the silence uncomfortable before responding, “I killed everyone who came after me. They thought themselves predators. They thought they could do whatever they wanted. They thought they could take whatever they wanted. I showed them that they couldn’t.”
“That’s quite the interesting strategy statement there, Duke. You showed a number of talents over the course of this Contest including the ability to teleport people out of the city. This allowed an unprecedented number of low-ranked Contestants to survive. What was your strategy around that move?”
“Strategy? Why did it have to be a strategy? I simply did what was decent. I had the power to help, so I did. I asked for a small payment for my help, but all were willing to pay it because it gave them a chance to better themselves. Why would I suppress them?”
“What are you saying, Duke?”
*** Urgent message from the Overmind
Do it now, Duke! Before they have a chance to erect any defenses. I have cleared all the innocents out! Unleash it all! ***
Duke smiled at the host with another pause for effect, “I have something to say. It’s better to burn out than fade away!” With that statement, Duke released the hold on his subconscious. He poured 350 million mana into his UMBRAL REAPER Ability.
The surface of the stage cracked as a mountain of darkness poured out of Duke’s mind and into reality, filling the stadium in a flash of shadow. From that shadow crawled forth each and every horror that Duke had held in abeyance for so long. The memories that the Eye of Infinity had filled his subconscious with burst forth from the cloud of shadow.
Ebony claws of hate and anger tore their way out of the shadows and through bodies. It was impossible to differentiate the tortured screams coming from the shadows from the horrified screams of the crowd as the Ability tore through them. Duke had never OVERCHANNELED this Ability to any great extent before now. The results were devastating.
The host still stood before Duke, clawing at his face as shadowy insects crawled out of his mouth, dragging bits of ripped and torn flesh with them. Seconds later, he collapsed in a bloody pile of stripped bones and a splatter of blood.
Swarms of dark monsters filled the stadium, flowing through the seats and tearing every spectator they could find apart. Some had tried to run but could not outpace the shadows. A few personal barriers had been activated. It didn’t matter whether they were magical or technological, the monsters of the Psyche passed through them effortlessly.
It took no more than five minutes for the entire crowd to be slain and then the spirits turned back to Duke, slamming into him, and flowing back to their home in his subconscious. Despite the ranks of the spirits swelling with new horrors, the pressure did not mount as it had before. It was as if the spirits were sated.
Duke was exhausted, his own spirit spent but he refused to collapse. He looked out on the destroyed stadium in wonder. His Ability had never caused anything like the amount of physical damage in the past. He did not know if it was the rank up to Master that had changed it or if it was something else like the massive OVERCHANNELING of the Ability. He sat down on the edge of the stage and waited for the Entities to come.