The hellscape that had been New Xinjia extended even out to the border of the city. Lines of wheeled vehicles and hover craft sat bumper to bumper in one long metallic rope of passenger conveyance. Most of the vehicles had blood on them in varying states of freshness. Some were several hours old, while some were less than half an hour old. None contained any living passengers anymore. The city’s occupants had fled, likely on orders by the government to make for the bunker in Ft. Washington. As Akamori and the squad slowly flew over the eerily quiet scene, it became obvious not all made it.
The installation itself was large, nestled against the base of a mountain range the colonists had taken to calling the Second Great Wall in homage of a wall built by mankind on the homeworld they’d fled so long ago. Where the city sported a fusion of asian and american design notes, the installation had a much more utilitarian feel. Simple architecture that placed function over form. The layout followed something someone with a focus on efficiency would have designed over someone going for an aesthetic vibe. No building exceeded five stories tall save the Hospital, and that was situated from the front gates.
Small columns of smoke billowed from various points across the installation. The only sign of life was a chemical reaction as various materials burned. The smashed check points showed signs of struggle and rioting. Likely when order collapsed and the undead wave reached the installation. There were likely scattered survivors on the surface, but the VIPs would all be isolated underground in a bunker.
Akamori clenched his fists, trying to keep the rage from boiling up and overtaking him again. It was useful for power when fighting, but giving into it blindly could cloud his focus and make him sloppy. For now, they needed to keep focused. He extended his senses ahead of them and halted, giving the hand sign for the others. Helios growled softly, awaiting more combat. There were enemies ahead. A siege on the fort, perhaps?
“Hostiles ahead. Several hundred meters. Unknown quantity. I’m not picking up many friendlies. We might be too late.”
“It’s possible they’ve hunkered down. The Brotherhood is pretty reliant on technology. I’m seeing lots of automated systems ahead. Active systems.” Yasiin said with an eye to his scope. Several golden enchantment circles spun in opposite directions of each other, serving as additional lenses to focus his vision.
“That seems likely. Let your toys engage while you sit inside safely. It’s what I’d do.” Akamori nodded.
“Let’s go introduce ourselves then.” Sirsir said. “I think I hear some jackasses from out-of-town makin’ trouble for the locals.” He racked a round on his spell cannon with a loud clack.
Akamori gestured for them to continue ahead. They proceeded onwards again, weapons at the ready. Caution over riding the need to charge in blindly. Assess. Act. Those were lessons Sirsir had taught him. A good mage always had a good plan. Instinct and intuition only took you so far.
The squad continued to cross the landscape silently from the air until they reached the perimeter fence of the installation. A bloody and gunshot riddled metal sign read “Welcome to Ft. Washington. Brotherhood Centcomm” except someone had painted over most of the sign and simply wrote “Hell” over Ft. Washington in what Akamori sincerely hoped was just red paint. Bodies lay strewn all about. Most unmoving but a few shuffled about aimlessly, oblivious to thier presence in the air for now.
Automated weapons’ fire clattered off in the near distance. They moved on more cautiously. A massive mob of undead were assaulting a specific building that had an unusually larger amount of weapons system active. It was protecting the mountainside curiously. Sirisir pointed out several rock golems lumbering towards the front from the rear. Akamori’s brow furrowed.
“Summons. I can see the summoning spell inscribed on their backs in soul magic.” Yasiin said just above a whisper.
“They’ll be a problem if they breach. I doubt the weapons the Brotherhood marines carry will do more than piss those things off.”
“Means we gotta put em down.”
“Let’s go say hi then.”
Helios flapped his wings and surged forward. Akamori let the squad go ahead for a moment, weapons fire thinning out the undead mob even as spirit and ghoul alike slowly turned their attention from breaching to attacking the squad. Akamori was looking for a different sort of target. If the undead were the puppets, he wanted the puppet masters. They wouldn’t be up front, they’d be somewhere in the rear where they could watch and command free of risk. He opened his hand, and Thanaton appeared if he’d teleported.
“One of these days, you’ll have to tell me how you do that.”
Indeed. Divine Teleportation is just one of many abilities you currently lack any skill in.
“You sure know how to make a guy feel great.”
He found a target and surged forward on air magic like the lightning rolling ahead of a clap of thunder. Fast, bright, and dangerous. He found a necromancer dwarf on the ground, hands moving as though operating magical controls. His eyes clouded with magic for a moment before he blinked them clear and turned to face Akamori.
“Well, aren’t you a peppy little spit fuck of a godling?”
“Release the thralls, or I’ll burn your vessel till even your soul is burned clear of the system.”
The dwarf grinned, soul magic swirling around him. “Cocky shit, aren’t ya? I’ve died before. It didn’t stick. But you’ll make a fun toy to add to my collection. Maybe I’ll make you gut them? Or better yet? Hold them down and let the other consume them. Maybe I’ll send the Revenants for them. That wee stunt ya pulled at the city’s edge cost me a hefty amount of em.”
Akamori twirled Thanaton wordlessly as he lifted a crystal above his head. He fed it some aether, and it glowed blue. “A recordin’ crystal? A brilliant idea lad! I was just thinkin’ we needed to spread word of the good work we were doin here. You can do it for me!”
“No. This is a teachable moment. Nothing more.”
The dwarf’s grin faded an octave, as something like dread slowly crept in and chill the diminutive necromancer’s bones the Soul Realm never could. Akamori represented a true end. Not just an end. He was the end.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The dwarf opened his mouth and a noxious green gas spilled out. Faces of souls trapped within it cried out in agony and moaned in pain as the cloud writhed its way towards Akamori. It looked like he’d burped out a bunch of souls. The baleful cloud billowed up like a cobra, fanning its hood and baring its fangs before lunging at him. Ice cold pain crashed into his body like death, trying to leach away his life. The radiant fire that coated his body and flickered and darkened when he realized it was feeding on the energy.
Normally, he’d make a joke. But there was no humor in him now. Just anger and power. He knew he’d be spending it here just to deal with this half sized problem, but it was necessary, he told himself. He cut the flow of light aether and instead summoned his void cloak. The icy sensation faded. All sensations faded. Except for the anger. The anger remained.
He didn’t bother extinguishing it. Letting it continue to smolder and stoke it. The cloud of souls now surrounded him, trying to wear him down.
System Info: You have been afflicted with Jealousy of the Dead. Health and Aether recovery speeds are reduced. This instance is stackable. More stacks further reduce recovery rates. Maybe not show off all that fancy light magic to the dead?
The keening wails of the dead surrounded Akamori within a pallid cloud of death. A normal mortal might have been able to fend off such an attack for a short time. Weaker zeros would have simply died as their meager life forces would have been extracted almost instantly. For Akamori it was like having a hang nail. Inconvenient and annoying at worst.
He tried to fuse his aura with void magic the same as the fire and light aether channeled, but it fizzled out before having any effect. He cursed under his breath and tried again. He found it strange that one use felt intuitive and came naturally, where the other was more difficult.
It’s because when you channeled fire and light aether, you were acting intuitively, running on instinct. However, now you’re thinking about it too hard because using void magic relies on raw intelligence, which you are not as strong with. Bahumet said.
“Thanks.” Akamori said through clenched teeth.
Don’t force it, just focus on your need, and let your will shape it into the reality you need. As a god now, magic responds to your willpower. What you desire will manifest. You’ve tapped into that intermittently already. Now it’s time to fully grasp what you’ve been doing.
“I don’t even need to weave runes, do I?”
No.
This divinity stuff really needed its own manual. He took a deep breath and focused on clearing his mind. He knew what he wanted. As he let go, he felt the supernatural chill of the void creep over his flesh and into his aura, then it infused with fire and his body wreathed itself in void flame. Flames of black, purple, and dark red coated him, burning away at the spirit cloud.
System Update: You have channeled Void Fire Aura. You gain Mark of the Everlasting Flame. Gain resistance to all effects requiring contact with your body. Inflict damage to any enemy, physical or non-corporeal. Any damage caused by Void Fire Aura inflicts Everlasting Burn. If an enemy fails a resolve check, they will take moderate damage each round. This effect cannot be dispelled normally. Void and Fire damage is enhanced significantly. Melee damage is enhanced significantly. Dodge score is reduced moderately.
Akamori flexed his hand, studying the new Void Flame Aura. He watched as faces in the soul cloud boiled away as though they never existed when he waved his arm through them experimentally. He knew that void magic affected souls differently. It prevented their return to the System. Removed from the System, reality would be lesser for their absence. He knew that on an instinctual level. Knowledge from Bahumet perhaps?
He stepped forward, evaporating the rest of the attack into nothingness. The dwarven necromancer hurled several more spell bolts at him. Normally, those posed a significant issue as they tracked their targets by homing in on their souls. The attacks fizzled out against the writhing void flame cloak. When Akamori’s eyes returned to lock onto the necromancer, true fear gripped the short enemy. It permeated his opponent’s aura.
Akamori strode forward now. A heavy weight pressing down on him, like carrying a black hole. This must be the reduced agility penalty of the void flame cloak. It was the exact antithesis of the radiant flame cloak. Heavy, oppressive, and extremely difficult to punch through. Thanaton appeared in his hand, wreathed in his void flame cloak now as well. The divine blade radiated satisfaction with him.
A pack of revenants emerged from the chaos and rushed him. Revenants usually tried to possess suitable targets and compel them to kill their allies. But the souls shrieked in agony as the immortal void flames covering Akamori’s body burned them. He didn’t look away as the various attacks crashed against him, all meeting the same end. He stopped just short of the dwarf.
The two stared each other down silently as the squad slowly picked apart the undead assault harassing the bunker’s entrance. Akamori’s eyes blazed like stars set in his eye sockets. Orbs of radiant divine power that stood defiant against the void flame cloak covering him. The blue of his coat ripple through occasionally as the flame writhed and twisted around his body.
“I’ll give you one chance. One shot at mercy. Dispell your forces and run. Flee far from here and I won’t pursue you.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“That’s a mighty fine offer ye be making, lad. Y’see there’s just one wee little hitch.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve got all the cards. Army of undead? Check. Army of Summons? Also check. Time? Check. Tactical Advantage? Check. While ye might cut an imposin’ figure, it ain’t enough ta convince me to pull the boys out. Fact, it makes me wanna just what exactly ya can do.”
Akamori sized the necromancer up silently. The faintest hint of a smile cracked his lips. “If you think that will be enough, you’re welcome to try.”
The dwarf sighed, a cold raspy sound. The surrounding air grew frigid as he channeled his soul magic through his aura.
“Very well.”
Akamori knew intuitively what was done. A command issued to all his thralls. Attack.