Pain… and darkness…
That was what I felt and saw for an unknown amount of time. Seconds… Minutes… Days? It was hard to tell. After what felt like an eternity, static danced across my vision before notifications began to come in.
[ SYSTEM DAMAGED: REBOOT IN PROGRESS
/// attempting to reconnect to Xi Long subnet…
/// Diagnostic in progress…]
Then that annoyance began…
“WE HAVE DETECTED THAT YOU ARE CRITICALLY INJURED—” The automated Trauma Team program ran, but I muted it.
No fucking shit I was critically injured. My own gonk brother tried to take my life, and now I was sitting in limbo. Well… Limbo would have been preferable to this. I had spoken to few people who believed in the supernatural. Heaven and Hell. Limbo. Nirvana. All those good stuff. For a little bit, I had been scared that it all was true… Yet my system was rebooting.
I was alive and I was critically injured…
[WARNING: Connect to Xi Long subnet failed. Secondary to normal net failed. No connection detected //]
[WARNING: REBOOT COMPLETE]
My vision returned to a sea of colors pouring through the cracked windshield of my emperor. Through pained breaths, I leaned over and opened the glove compartment. It dropped open to reveal a black Lexington with Xi Long etched into the handle. Next to it, two Max Doc MK.3s and an emergency beacon. I grabbed one of the max docs and
used it. The spray numbed my throat slightly as it worked its way through. Within the minute, it dulled the pain and I was able to relax as I took a moment to sort myself out. After two minutes, I opened my eyes again and began to take stock.
Looking through the windshield, I found I was… In some sort of shallow lake or pond. Bright lights akin to the northern lights at night arched over me along with stars. As if I was in some sort of dome, or enclosure. It wasn’t a location I recognized… And for a “structure” this big, I would’ve known about it. At least, in passing.
None of that mattered though. I was in critical condition. I needed immediate medical care and –
“You’re finally awake,” A large, booming female voice echoed around me, similar to a concert PA system. “Good… Good… Let’s handle your little… mortal issue first…”
My mid-section glowed with silver light for a moment before I felt like worms were borrowing into my wounds. They were not… I resisted the urge to claw at it in panic. I had no control over it. It was over in a moment and the bottom of my stomach was visible. The skin that was. My body was… healed.
The ballistic vest’s bottom had been destroyed by my brother’s sniper. None of the pouches had been it, but it did leave a large chunk of the bottom of the vest itself missing.
The voice continued. “Since you are now healed, Hero, I now ask for your services in return… Do so, and I shall return you to whence you came… Deny… I will throw your soul back into the nothingness…”
I chuckled at that… “Service? Or servitude?”
There was a difference - and I had also figured out where the voice was coming from, or at the least, noticed that the lights around me glowed brighter with each word they spoke.
“A little of both, little girl,” The voice mused as the colors swirled outside the vehicle.
With a sigh, I checked the saratoga. Ready. I reached over and grabbed the Lexington, keeping it firmly in hand before I answered. I was in an unknown situation. There was a possibility of bailing from my only cover if I was in an enclosure of some kind. I was then reminded of the wyverns that had been stored in the storage compartments, however, I’d need to power them up before connecting to each one.
I couldn’t rely on those right now.
“How about a little more information on what you want me to do?” I asked.
The voice hummed. “A smart one this time. Of course… I require champions to help me extend my influence throughout my realm. The battle between gods has been ongoing and I seek to strike the final blow. Yet, that final blow alludes me. Therefore, you and a few others will lay the groundwork to bring forth the moment I can end this battle.”
“So, you’re not that powerful?” I asked.
I didn’t put a lot of stock in religion or the supernatural. Enough has happened to put more stock in what I could prove. A deity that was in a “battle” and needed mortals to help them? That sounded like a scam if I ever heard of one.
“I’d be careful if I were you…” The voice lost its amusement. “I am powerful… Rather, it is that the ones I fight are on equal scales. Therefore, I require champions to do my bidding in the mortal realm - to strike at the heart of their power. Places of worship, relics, believers, and priests. We, gods, live and die by our worshipers. And worshipers are finicky - such is the way of mortals since the dawn of creation.”
She continued. “There was an accord between us all. Should either of us step personally into the realm of Mortals, so too will the others. We are bound to the accord by —”
“Mutual destruction,” I said as I connected the thoughts. The voice was too pompous and talked with a slow cadence. I needed it to talk faster. I had questions and this voice must have answers. “If the gods live and die by their worshipers, turning the mortal realm into a warzone would mutually harm everyone. Worshippers die, you die. I’d assume a battle between gods would level either world.”
The voice didn’t speak for a few moments. “Yes… The battle could result in the destruction of the world itself. In turn, the destruction of us all…”
“This sounds like a poor deal for me,” I said.
“Not entirely,” The voice said, the colors swirling above as I noticed the water around me no longer reflecting the light. “I am a gracious god. I will grant you a power befitting of your usefulness to me. You already brought me a fine morsel. A fragment of Creation. Thus - I shall give you the power to summon weapons from your old world. So long as you serve me.”
The water around me was thick as ink now. I wasn’t sure if the voice was doing it, or had noticed it. I kept it to myself regardless to see how this played out. I.. made sure the safety was off the pistol, however.
“And this power would work… how?” I asked.
“In my world, magic exists,” It said. “Each soul of light can access the System and see their levels, their titles, and other basic information… I will adjust yours to allow a sort of automated shop. As you go about and spread my will, we can discuss how to evolve or devolve your powers to suit my needs.”
“And what do I get in return?” I asked.
“Power.” It answered as tendrils of light began to reach from the sky all around me. “Fame. Glory. Honor. In my name, you will want for not and need for not. Serve will, and I will grant you immortality…”
A soft white glow rose from the package again… Where the light had disappeared from, I could see a small orb in the opening now.
“And should I agree, how do I know you won’t turn on your word?” I asked.
“Hand the orb over.” It said in a thick sweet tone, like a mother soothing their baby. “And I shall handle the rest. Your soul will be bound. To me - forever, and in turn, I will treat you well… Just hand the orb—”
I felt something cold slowly crawl up my leg as the colored tendrils touched down around me. Colored tendrils touched down into the water around me. They sizzled audibly for a second.
“AHHHHHH—-” The voice screamed.
The colors in the sky vibrated and it seemed as if reality itself began to crack as the sky began to crack. I tried to move my leg, but the black inky water outside had seeped in through the holes punched by the sniper. I hadn’t noticed!
I punched down panic. Fighting back, I pulled and pulled. It was as if I had stepped in a sort of glue-like slime. It held onto me, stretching and pulling me back down. I aimed the pistol, firing into the substance. The round sunk into the substance with a small ripple before it reacted. A black tendril struck out with lightning-fast movement.
I couldn’t react as it latched onto the pistol
It molded around the firearm and my hand. It felt like I was encased in jelly but I couldn’t move my hand anymore.
“Oh~” A new voice joined the fry. “I wondered who thought they could intercept the fragment. Tsk, tsk, tsk~”
A sweet, melodious laugh rang out as more black tendrils shot out from the sea. They arched upwards and latched onto the colored tendrils.
“You!” The first voice screamed.
“Loviatar~” The second voice hummed the name. “Did you really think I’d let you touch something of mine? Just because I’d been too busy dealing with cosmic horrors and universe-shattering anomalies, doesn’t mean I hadn’t been paying attention. Such a shame~”
Loviatar raged. “You filthy excuse for a prime god! Give me the fragment! You turned your back on the realm, you don’t deserve to be the creator, Avery!”
“Deserve?” Avery laughed. “You act as if you had any say in the matter. Now… Little girl, did you want to take this whiny little deity’s offer, or would you like freedom?”
“Freedom,” I answered immediately.
The inky substance was now swallowing most of the light. Loviatar’s voice had grown more distant by the second. I could hear her, but I could no longer make out the words. With little information, I would always choose freedom. Freedom was what I always wanted to begin with...
A tendril shot forward toward my face. I thought it was going to strike me, but it turned suddenly down into the hole in the package. White light burst forth from it and like before, it filled the surroundings as Avery laughed.
“She really tried to take advantage of a fissure and take souls from a different dimension for this small thing?” Avery laughed. “Well… I guess we’re going to redirect you~”
I feel like I was floating now…
----------------------------------------
“And may the creator’s mercy touch us…” A chorus of voices spoke softly as a few babies wailed nearby.
An old man in tattered robes held a polished twisted stick. His sunken eyes looked over the procession of people as they forced-marched onward up the hill in the night. Toches illuminated them and their despair. He had led a few in pray - not to the new gods, but the Old One. The forgotten one.
She had never spoken to him once in his eighty years. Yet, he had walked from coast to coast. Battlefield to battlefield. And he lived. Stampedes. Plagues. Famine. War. He hadn’t ran like the cowardly mercenaries who take on the easy contracts, nor had he run into battle like a young fool. He simply followed his too old worn feet from place to place.
Much smarter men had done more than him. Much braver man had conquered more hearts than him. Yet, he who simply taught the nearly forgotten teachings of the Old One had outlived most of them. He had never killed a monster, yet he’d crossed their paths. He had been threatened at sword point, but never robbed or killed.
He, a man who spoke of the Old One, lived. And on this day, the Day of Breaking continued on his holy path to save his fellow man.
Several souls kneeled before him and followed in his prayer for them. They despaired as their neighbors, uprooted by the rift-break that spilled monsters into their back-water village. A few of the passing cast their judging glares upon him. Be believers of the new gods, or simply those who hated those who tried to save their souls in their time of despair - he judged them not.
He simply walked where his heart guided him, and he’d been on this road since before the breakage had happened. The priest was not the one who caused the rift to break, nor had he come here specifically to take advantage of these poor souls.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Thus - he himself was not guilty.
“You have lost your homes and loved ones,” The old man said. “Your hearts may ache now, and your bodies may cry in pain. But in time, I hope you may find peace.”
“Old man…” A child approached. “Me’ mum says your a quak and we should beat you. But I told me’ mum your not a duck… Are you a duck? You look like a human.”
“Deary, come back!” A woman up ahead hissed at the child. “Let them be! Before the bad things come for us.”
“Oh no, child.” The old man smiled as he stood in the light of the torches. “I am but an old man who speaks of the forgotten Creator.”
“So yur’ a priest?” She asked as her mother stomped up to her.
“Of a sorts, but best you stay with your mother,” The man gave a small chuckle. “While I pray for your safe passenge, know your mother will fight for your safety. The gods play and fight amongst each other, its up to the small people to do what they can until one of them can do something.”
“But mother says if we pray to Agni, we will be safe!” The child contested before her mother pulled her away.
“Be gone you charlatan!” The mother hissed
“Let the old fool be!” A man growled from the line ahead.
“Yes, husband.” The woman replied before she cast a death glare to the old man and stopped away with the child.
“Pray to whichever god protects you,” The old man said. “In the end, fate decides all.”
He turned to the opposite direction. Below in the valley, the fire and battle raged together. The young and brave stayed to hold back the wave of monsters while the rest of the village could escape. His heart hurt and for once, he felt a fire in his belly. Not to fire, but to pray for a savior. Some to fight against the growing wars and monster lands. Against the injustice that spread its tendrils throughout world.
A champion to take the world on his shoulders and strike forced down. So that the children of tomorrow will never see such things again.
He was pulled from the growing spirit within him as hoves sounded on the dirt behind him. It was the Baron of the burning town.
“You’re still here preacher,” The man called out from atop his horse.
“Baron Oxnard, we meet again,” The old man greeted him with a small respectful nod.
“I apologize for my people’s outburst. I know you mean not to prey upon them. Simply just a misfortune that fate dealt us this hand while you took up this spot.” The Baron sighed while in his knight armor... “I hope you will not hold it against us.”
“I would not,” He nodded. “The times are trying in every corner of the land. I simply seek to spread the word of the Creator, rather than the love of others.”
“I’ll take you at your word,” The Baron gave a solemn nod. The man nodded the soot that stuck to the noble’s suit. His medium-length hair was plastered to his head with sweat. “I hope you will pray for our safety.”
“One can do better,” The preacher dropped to his knees as he raised his hands to the starry sky. “Oh’ Great One, First one, Mother of all… Give us strength to steel ourselves against the storm, or give us a champion to be our protector. Whichever you see us fit for. We only pray for your mercy. May the storm be weak in its wind and our hearts stronger than the finest steel!”
Baron Oxnard’s eyebrows raised in surprise and looked to the stars as well. There, in the distant east, lights grew. Stars began to stream across the sky one after another, arching westward.
One such star touched down to the northwest, in the general direction the procession was heading.
“That’s…” The Baron was stumped clearly.
“An answer to our prayers.” The old man said as his heart burned fiercely. It was a sign. A clear sign.
“But that looked to land in the forbidden forest.” The Baron said and looked to him.
“I will make my way there. You may continue onward to your Lord,” He said. “I may be old, but I’m not senile. If I am wrong, I will perish on my own. If I am right, I shall bring you a champion.”
----------------------------------------
(Original Chapter)
Mercy’s eyes focused on her blood-splattered arms, or rather, her bloodied stubs. Some sort of rubber tubing had been applied in the absence of tourniquets. Her throat burned from her screaming and the cigarette smoke-filled air. She felt immeasurable pain, though that was subsiding from painkillers that were just injected into her along with something that quickly made her unable to scream.
They had videoed themselves hacking her arms off, and once they had gotten the footage, quickly shut her up and did minimal care to keep her from dying.
Several men with red machine eyes similar to spiders stood around. Each had half their heads missing with the cyberware sitting in its place. One of them was on a holo-call. “I fucking told you. But you fucking suits never listen. Send the eddies next time, and I’ll send your daughter back. Now, for your ‘compliance’ this time, I’m sending you back her arms. Next time, I’ll send her fucking legs.”
The man ended the call and cracked his neck before he turned to Mercy. A strange demented smile formed as he leaned on the table they used to take her arms and brought his head close to hers. “Let this be a lesson for the future, little girl. When we demand something, you will give it.”
He and the rest of the men laughed as if he’d told the greatest joke of all time.
Her mind began to cool. Not because of the drug, no, it was a deep hatred for this man. For… Whatever he was… She’d… She’d hide away for now. Try to at least.
The man stopped smiling as mercy became a blank doll, slowly forcing herself to retreat. Forced the world to no longer exist as she mentally hid within herself. With it, the darkness flooded in.
Within the darkness, a starry sky appeared.
Several shooting stars streaked across it, taking the myriad of emotions she just felt. Within mere moments, she no longer felt nothing but a comfortable cold. Mercy also became aware that she was physically present. She turned her head to the side where she found herself in a shallow pool of water that reflected the sky perfectly. That was until she had turned. The slight ripple disturbed the mirror surface and sent the stars dancing.
She became aware of her arms, which presented themselves as ghostly vestiges of what they could have been. No hardware.
It was… Bittersweet for her to see the figures. Fully articulative, it presented the future that could have been rather than what had been. She got to her feet to find the water less than three feet in depth.
Rising from the water, she found that the water existed within a vast circular pool. The water level was at the perfect height so that it poured silently over the unnaturally level stone rim. Each move sent more water over to splash over the floor below. It had to at least be fifteen feet in diameter at least. Without her cybernetic eyes, she wouldn’t have the exact measurements. Given the hardware that served as her arms were gone, it made sense that her eyes were gone as well. Most likely replaced without the ghostly vestiges of her original eyes.
Noting that her surroundings had also changed. The city and all its bustle were gone, and in its place, she found herself on a rocky island in the certain of a still ocean. Mercy could only tell by how a rainbow of glowing orbs washed ashore each second before melting into dark grey sand.
The last thing of note was the only thing that held any plant life.
It was the ruins of a gothic cathedral, similar to what she’d seen existed back in the more primitive eras of modern humanity. Lush trees, bits of grass, and wildflowers grew in and around windows and over the low remains of its walls.
Mercy exited the pool and stepped onto a marble paver. Upon doing so, blazers sunken into the floor illuminated a pathway toward the church with golden flames. Without any other visible options, she followed the path and up stone steps laden with patches of grass and flowers. At the foot of the entrance to the church, the path behind her dimmed slightly before the flames blew out.
The church was dark inside until Mercy placed her hand on the single wooden door that stood ajar in the doorway. Moonlight shined in, illuminating a small foyer that lead into a large room where three statues overlooked a sunken pit. In that, a bonfire lit itself slowly. She walked cautiously, too aware she was as bare as the day she was born, without her cyberware - and alone.
Of the three statues, one stone is on the left wall in the form of a bowing dragon. The one on the right was that of a bowing wolf. The last one was of a beautiful woman who stood with her arms out in a welcoming gesture. Her stone eyes pointed down into the pit. Mercy kept to the left and examined the dragon once she found no one within the room. That was when a woman’s voice appeared.
“The dragon’s name is Morgan,” It said softly. Mercy tensed up before slowly turning to find a woman with hair as white as hers. Her irises glowed a soft golden glow similar to how cybernetic eye implants glowed to show they were going through some function. “She protects the souls of the dead, guiding them to this island.”
The woman then looked at the wolf, walking over to it. “He is named Fenrir, the protector of the living. He serves as my ambassador to the living when I cannot or will not appear.”
She then walked over to her own statue. “And my name is Avery. I have been given many names and titles. All-Mother. Mother of the Wild. The Old God… I am the creator and administrator of this dimension. Before you ask, there are many dimensions and realities. Each governed by one or many gods.”
Avery turned to Mercy. “And I’ve brought you here to offer you a job opportunity of sorts.”
Mercy thought it over this, wondering what she should say.
“Can I ask questions?” Mercy asked.
“Of course,” Avery nodded. “I do not wish to mislead you or cause misunderstandings. Contrary to what people think, honesty is still the best way to gain your full cooperation if you choose to work with me.”
“What happened to me?” Mercy had a guess, but she wanted to confirm it.
Avery nodded her head as she walked back to Mercy, producing the orb she held when she died. “Your brother killed you as you were escaping. The circumstances of your death lead to you inadvertently unlocking my orb in a way. An orb that was once held by your dimensions deity. A peace gift with them. I had not heard from them in a… Long time. I guess I can confer what happened by you having died with it.”
“You mean…?” Mercy asked, pausing at the end as the implications send a cold wave in her.
“That your dimension’s seat of power is empty? Yes.” She nodded. “However, I expect that to change within the next few hundred years now that my orb has been returned to me. Sudden shifts in divine power usually draw many eyes. Most good, some bad.”
Mercy nodded, not quite sure what to do with that extra information. “Onto this deal… First, what are you expecting me to do if I take it?”
Despite Mercy’s avoidance of business and most things revolving around the family’s work - she was not a lazy person. She had worked in a small capacity, namely, working on the parts those ambitious avoided. Handling small vendors and working on the edges of the city. Business negotiations with mom-and-pop shops or small operations. The ones that any suit would treat with disgust as it held no actual resume padding opportunities.
“My world is currently reaching the end of its cycle,” Avery said as she waved her hand over the fire. It, along with the wood and ashes, began to form a clean near-holographic quality planet. It was similar to earth in a way, but with one large landmass that looked to be in the process of separating into two. Four different land bridges connected the largest portions with large larges between them.
She continued. “Similar to your world, this one is reaching its own ice age. Though, I’d like to say that it’d be far more violent than the ones in your world. We can attribute that to mana existing.”
“Mana..? Like magic?” Mercy asked.
“Yes,” Avery nodded. “It allows the most subtle, but also the most extreme events to happen. On top of this, the inhabitants of this world are at war with each other. I’ve… Tried a few measures. Let’s say nothing has stopped the march of war. However, let’s move back to what your role would be.”
The planet changed to an orb, then duplicated itself into twenty others. They rose high above the women before they replicated shooting stars. They fell over a small holo-graphic map that came into existence over the pit where the flame had been. Each of the twenty fell over different regions on one-half of the mega-continent.
“Twenty heroes were recently brought in to help get the inhabitants by order of repelling the demons and monsters,” Avery said before looking up at Mercy. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, I’d like to state that demons are the manifestation of degeneracy and evil. To become a demon is… Quite difficult. Barring a lengthy explanation, just know it takes extreme circumstances.”
With a flick of her fingers, the map disappeared and the flames returned to the pit. “Anyways, the heroes have been given quests to push back on whatever issue is preventing the denizens from preparing for this pending ice age. Given that it’s hard to… Choose good heroes, your job is to handle any heroes that go rogue and deal with any pressing matters I assign you.”
“So, I’ll be your assistant?” Mercy asked, slightly perplexed by this.
“Well, I’d prefer the title ‘Righteous Hand of God’, but yes. You’ll in essence be my assistant regarding these matters.” Avery nodded. “Now, for the most part, you will still be mortal and you can still be hurt or killed. That being said, this world is a kill-or-be-killed world. You will also need to kill a rogue hero or two. Can you do it?”
Mercy looked at the goddess, contemplating it. She’d never taken a human life. She had only ever killed a few deer when her grandfather was alive. One of his many lessons, though it was by far nothing she had liked. Then again, the city she’d come from had also been kill-or-be-killed as well now that she thought about it.
“I… Can… I think…” Mery said.
Avery shrugged. “So, will you do it?”
“Yeah… I don’t really have a choice…” Mercy said.
Annoyance danced across the goddess’s face. “You have a choice. You died. You can either be reborn in your world or be transferred with your memories and an identical body. I’m not forcing you to do anything.”
“Ah… Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s… It’s just finally sinking in.” Mercy said as she began to digest everything.
“Yes or no, will you take it or leave it?” Avery asked.
“I’ll take the job.” Mercy said.