Chapter 134
Brian had been in his room finishing his lunch when his door dinged pleasantly. The screen set in to the wall next to the door lit up with a bright 'answer' button that Brian had walked over and tapped after letting it ring for a moment.
“Hello Brian and congratulations on progressing to the next phase of testing! When you are ready please exit your room and follow the green line for your initial consultation.”
The voice went quiet and the lit button on the screen went dark as the door slid open. It revealed the same corridor as before but this time the green light went off in the opposite direction. Brian left 'his' room and walked along at a relaxed pace as he followed the green line.
Before the line had brought him past rooms that looked almost business like, things you would see in an office setting, or a campus of some sort.
Not this time. This time he passed glass walled rooms filled with various electronic equipment along with a number of rooms that had their glass frosted so no one could see inside.
Brian was beginning to wonder if he was in the right place but instantly dismissed the thought. He was following the green line! How could he be lost?
After his momentary mental crisis of faith the green line came to an end at a lab door sealed shut.
It was the kind of door with no handles. You swiped a key card and it opened, or it didn't. In front of the door on the floor were orange diagonal lines painted on a patch on the floor along with the words “NO STANDING” which confused Brian until the door clanked loudly as bolts disengaged and the door swung open automatically, narrowly missing hitting his nose as he yanked his head back.
If Brian had been standing in the no standing zone he would have gotten hit by the door. He shrugged, he had been warned. With a smile Brian walked in to the room and stopped as he entered, a bit surprised.
The room was a laboratory but a clean one. One side of the room held a gaming bed and helmet, the other side was set up with a number of computers and screens, all showing words and numbers that made no sense to Brian. The floor was a flecked white like one might find in a hospital.
“Hello, and welcome! I'm Nolan and I'll be helping you get set up today. Here, have a seat,” offered a kind faced younger man. He looked to be in his late twenties and had his dark hair cut short. He wore a lab coat and latex gloves.
Brian sat down in a chair on the computer side of the room while still looking around at everything.
“So today you'll get your first chance to try real VR, exciting, right?” the man asked with a smile as he went over to the gaming bed and made some adjustments.
Brian nodded, a bit amused over the phrasing. Real virtual reality? He chuckled. Of course the whole thing was exciting, but he had a million questions.
“I know you have so many unanswered questions so I'll level with you,” Nolan said kindly.
He suddenly had Brian's undivided attention, what little of it he hadn't had already.
“Let me explain what I can and then you can make a choice. You're not the only potential tester here, we brought in a number of you. After you're cleared to use our gaming beds and helmets you'll be given alpha access to a special space in Eden, separated from everyone and everything else. This will be a gaming space where we can watch you and the others interact with the game world while making adjustments to our systems to correct any unforeseen issues.”
Brian was about to ask about those 'unforeseen issues' when Nolan continued.
“Whoever finishes testing first, gets to enter that gaming area first. First come first served. We're not waiting to put you all in at once. So yes, I can sit here and answer all of your questions, but that means that the others will have time to explore the game space without you as well as collect loot and rewards. We've prepared an entire game for the alpha testers to try out.” Nolan finished at the same time he finished and plugged in the vr helmet.
He looked up and at Brian, “So do you want me to rush you through this test or do you want to ask me questions? I'm not being an asshole either, I'm honestly asking you.” Nolan waited with a smile.
Brian shrugged. He was used to not knowing what was going on. “Let's get me in the game,” he finally said, making yet another choice that would lead him closer to Eden.
“Ok then! Strip to your underwear, hop in to the game bed in a seated position. There ya go. Now the helmet. The strap...that's the one, fasten that. Now you can lay down. The back of your neck needs to make contact. Press the back of your head back a little.” Nolan kept up a running list of things Brian had to do but what it basically came down to was get in the bed and put the helmet on and lay down. It wasn't complicated but Nolan sure made it sound like it was.
“Ok, before we continue I have to tell you that this is a product still in development. You may experience some side effects, that is expected and what we are testing for. If you do experience side effects let us know and we will try to fix that. Do not keep it to your self, tell me about it even if it seems minor, ok?” Nolan asked.
Brian was naked save for his underwear. He was laid back in a gaming bed on some type of material he'd never encountered before. It fit his body perfectly, especially along the neck.
“All you have to say is I quit and we will remove you from the program, ok?” Nolan said with a concerned expression.
Brian nodded the best he could in the rig he was in. “I understand. Let's do this.”
“Here we go!” Nolan said and reached over and pressed a button.
Brian's vision, his everything, faded to nothingness.
*****
When Brian woke back up the first thing he noticed was the smell. Nature. He took a deep breath before he opened his eyes.
His vision wobbled as his focus went in and out. He felt nauseous and put a hand out to steady himself which landed on a nearby tree.
He took deep breaths in and out nice and slow until the sick feeling subsided. That had felt awful. Still, he wasn't about to waste what time he had feeling bad for himself. He was in! A real VR game! Even if it wasn't Eden proper but instead a walled off private testing area it was still immersive VR.
Brian looked at himself and saw he was wearing only a pair of brown pants and a brown shirt. They didn't appear to be the best quality. He pinched himself and it hurt.
So combat would probably be painful. He'd have to be careful.
Looking around he found himself in a forest with nothing else in view. All there were in his vision were innumerable trees.
Brian had just decided to climb one of them to see if there was anything around when his vision went dark again.
*****
“Great job! Don't get up! Stay laying down until you get your bearings. Here, let me take the helmet. How do you feel?” Nolan asked with genuine concern in his voice.
Brian rubbed his eyes even though he hadn't been using them for the last few minutes. “I feel...ok?”
“How about when you were in? Did you notice anything off?” Nolan asked as he filled out a form.
“When I first logged in my vision was fuzzy. I felt sick until a minute or so had passed. It got better but didn't go away entirely until I was pulled out of the game. Was that really Eden?” Brian asked excitedly.
Nolan grinned, “It wasn't Eden the way you're asking it, no. That was a simple test room, but it was running on Eden's engine. Think of it as a little bit of Eden all by itself. The testing area will be like that. Ok, give me a few minutes to make some adjustments and we'll put you back in, pull you out, and see how you feel.”
Nolan made a change to the helmet before helping Brian put it back on. “Let's give it another go. The change I made should help. Ready? Three, two, one,”
Brian's world faded to nothingness once more.
*****
Brian bent over and fell to the ground. Nausea overcame him as his vision swam once again. He turned his head and threw up. He could barely make out his boots due to his vision going in and out. He reached a hand out to steady himself but missed the tree and fell to the ground in his own vomit. Blackness overtook him.
*****
“There he is! How was that!” Nolan said excitedly and loudly.
Brian clutched his head but the helmet was still on and he groaned.
Nolan frowned but helped him take the helmet off quickly.
Brian rubbed his head. “I feel like I have a headache. It was horrible in there. I threw up, couldn't see, ended up falling in my own vomit – it was horrible!”
“Would you like to quit?” Nolan asked seriously.
“Screw that. Give me a moment to see if this headache goes away.” Brian mumbled as he rubbed at his actual head this time.
Nolan brought him water which Brian took with thanks.
“This might take a moment, I need to revert the changes and try a different solution.” Nolan admitted as he sat down at a computer and got to work.
Half an hour later he poked Brian awake. The gaming bed was incredibly comfortable. “Wakey wakey! Time for another go at it!”
Brian groaned but rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he pulled the helmet on once more. He was beginning to get the hang of putting it on and off with all its straps and plugs.
“Ok, three, two, one...”
*****
Brian was falling, fast. Although that would normally be a problem it seemed that wherever he was had no bottom. He waved his arms about and spun his body back and forth using his arms and legs to steer. It was fun!
He could see 'below' him that something was approaching him fast. A barrel? An old-timey wooden barrel with hoops and a corked bunghole. The barrel was moving fast and Brian barely dodged it.
Another barrel flew towards him and then another. Brian flew through the air trying to avoid them the best he could before one slammed in to him and his vision went dark.
*****
“Any better Brian? Any less vomit this time?” Nolan asked hopefully.
Brian nodded with a grin, “It was great! I didn't feel sick at all! I was falling, or flying, or both, and had to...” he tried to explain before Nolan interrupted him.
“I know what you saw – I set it all up! I'm most interested in what you felt.” Nolan insisted.
Brian grinned and let out a breath before answering, “I felt great. I could see and I didn't feel sick.”
“Great! That was easy. They're not all this easy you know, you're lucky! Ok then, looks like you passed. Let's get you out of that bed and you can get dressed. You'll want to get back to your room as soon as you can I'm betting.”
“Why's that?” Brian said as Nolan helped him get out of the rig. Brian got dressed while Nolan finished filling out a form on a computer.
“When you return to your room you'll find that you have some new equipment to use. You're about to have so much fun! Good luck to you!” Nolan said with a smile as he walked Brian back to the door which opened for him automatically.
“Thank you! For...what you just did?” Brian said with a grin as a green line lit up in the hallway.
It was time to play!
*****
Brian almost ran back to his room and although it had seemed like such a short journey earlier that day now it felt as if it were taking hours to get back. The green line led him past rooms and labs and outdoor courtyards before depositing him back in front of his room.
He grinned and entered 'his' room at a brisk pace. The desk was different. A decent sized monitor took up most of the desk along with a keyboard and mouse. It was a higher end model and the computer case itself was encased in glass with a number of its internal components glowing a rainbow of colors.
He walked around the room once before he noticed that the area on the other side of the bed was no longer empty. Now it was entirely taken up by a sleek looking candy apple red gaming bed. A small table next to the gaming bed held the vr helmet, already hooked up to the bed and just waiting to be used.
He quickly got undressed and crawled in to the gaming bed and lay down. He'd forgotten the helmet. He leaned back up to a sitting position and struggled to put the helmet on.
Brian took a deep breath and focused on the helmets straps and cables until he was all wired up. Finally, he lay back in his gaming bed and heard the familiar countdown. Three, two, one...
*****
He was in a bunker of some kind and it was dark. The air smelled stale and was somewhat unpleasant. Brian patted his body and felt that he was wearing a thin shirt and pants. His pants had two pockets, which was nice, but they were empty.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He looked about and could make out an open area with a few hallways and what looked like a thick main door which was closed and bolted shut.
If this was going to be his main base it'd need a lot of work.
A ding sounded which startled him before a notification screen appeared in front of him. It hung in the air in front of him and was easy to read. When he focused on minimizing it the screen disappeared but reappeared when he focused on it.
Now that he'd played with the notifications a bit he decided to read them.
Welcome Brian! The rules are simple!
1. This is your base. You start every game session in your base. If you do not finish your game session in your base then you lose anything you have on you. You must return to your base before the end of every game session!
2. Anything you store in your base is safe and can not be taken from you. Items stored in your base may be used to complete quests, upgrade your base, or be taken in with you the next time you enter the game map.
3. Every day the game map will become available for play at noon, four pm, and eight pm. The game map will open at those exact times and will close exactly one hour later.
4. If you are not back in your base before the map closes you lose everything you are carrying.
5. The only way to return to your base from a game map is by using an extraction point. They should be easy to see – brightly glowing transparent domes roughly twenty feet across. Stand inside the dome and you will be returned to your base.
6. Quest completions and base upgrades may be performed outside of vr using the computer that has been provided in your real life room. Additionally a forum board has been set up which you may access from your computer to communicate with other alpha testers in between game sessions.
Brian wondered what time it was before a tiny digital clock popped up in the corner of his vision. Brian thought that was a nice touch. He focused on the clock and the display enlarged. It read 16:02. He tried to remember the rule for converting military time. What was it – just subtract 12 from any hour past 12, so 16-12=4. It was 4:02 pm. He was only a few minutes late to the game!
Not sure how to leave he dismissed the rules notification and walked over to the main door. Brian marveled at how normal it felt to walk, as if he were actually walking. He really felt like he was in another world. He examined the thick looking wooden door and reached out and grasped the handle. Instantly his vision went white and he was transported.
Game already in progress. Loot what you can! Find treasures! Learn new abilities! Kill your opponents or evade them entirely! Most importantly, extract before time runs out! Good luck!
The notification went away after he had read it and Brian raised one arm to shield his eyes from the sun's brightness after he left the darkness of his base.
He was in a city street. All the buildings appeared to be between one and three stories tall and made out of stone. Not stone blocks either, but solid shaped stone as if it had been made out of solid stone. The street was a mess and filled with rubble. City ruins then, Brian wondered.
The city appeared unoccupied and all he could hear were the sounds of birds and insects along with the passing breeze. An explosion erupted from off to Brian's left and Brian instantly crouched. He looked around quickly before spotting an open doorway and rushing towards it. The door was stuck halfway open and he just managed to squeeze inside the darkened interior. He peered out the doorway.
Moments later a man dressed exactly like Brian ran down the road. His eyes were wide and filled with panic. After he passed by Brian's hiding spot a vicious looking dog turned the corner and ran after the person. Although the man ran as fast as he could the dog was faster and quickly caught up with him.
Brian watched in horror as the dog tore the screaming man apart. Moments later the man's body disappeared entirely in to motes of light. The dog paced around the patch of ground where the man's body had been a moment earlier and sniffed at a small pile of belongings that had dropped off of the man's body as it had disappeared. Not finding anything edible the dog gave one loud snort before it ran off from the direction it had come from.
Brian realized he was breathing heavy and tried to calm himself down. It's just a game. Just a game. DAMN it looked real though. He had thought as long as he was careful he'd be ok but after watching the man be torn to shreds he wasn't so sure anymore.
Silence returned to the area moments later and the birds and insects started up their song once again. Brian looked out the doorway and peered down the street one way before looking the other. Slowly he scampered down the road with his shoulders hunched. He felt like a thousand eyes must be watching him.
There were two eyes watching them, but they belonged to a cricket that happened to be clutching a blade of grass nearby the man's pile of abandoned belongings. This was the most activity the cricket had seen all day and it watched the drama quietly, content with its blade of grass.
Brian finally reached the small pile and crouched down. He was out in the open here and didn't want to spend more time than necessary being exposed. The pile was small. A box with a notification label of all question marks. A gray metallic vial the size of his finger which was labeled the same. And a strip of fabric from a nightgown or something fluffy.
It was an odd assortment and Brian wasn't sure if any of it was worth taking. A few items were better than none though so he picked up the vial and put it in his pocket. The box was about six inches on each side and wouldn't fit in his pockets. He decided to carry it for now. The strip of fabric seemed useless but who knew what he'd need? He stuffed it in his pocket.
Finally finished he darted back in to the building he'd been hiding in before. Now that he was in a better spot he inspected the cube once again. After peering at it for ten seconds the label changed and instead of question marks now read Lighting Module – Basic.
He set it down and took out the metal vial from his pocket. He stared at it for ten seconds and was thrilled when the label changed to Magic Charge x 5. What does it charge though? Maybe he'd find out later. He put it back in his pocket and grinned.
This game was amazing. It was like living inside the game. There were no controls – just Brian and whatever he decided to do. Amazing! And now he knew how to identify objects. That would definitely come in handy.
Brian decided the first thing he needed to do was find an extraction dome. If he couldn't find one of those then there was no point in even trying to find loot – he'd end up losing everything when the hour was up.
He exited his building and looked up and down the street until he found a mostly-intact three story stone building. It had a sign out front but not in any language that Brian was aware of. He opened the outer door and crept inside.
The interior was nicely lit thanks to the open windows that had long ago rotted away. The first floor appeared to hold a number of tables, each with two rickety chairs set up. Perhaps it had once been a restaurant?
Brian looked about before finding a stairway upstairs. The second floor was mostly just smaller rooms with ratty mattresses and a single bedside table. He began searching each room before he stopped himself. First he had to find an extraction dome, and that meant getting to the roof. He searched about until he found a second stairway on the opposite end of the building and walked carefully upstairs.
The third floor was open and stuffed with furniture and old rotted boxes. A ladder led to the roof. Brian wanted nothing more than to search the boxes for treasure but instead climbed to the roof. The roof had a raised railing but otherwise allowed an almost unblocked view of the surrounding city. He could see building roof tops, what looked like a cathedral, some sort of open arena, the entire map was massive.
Thankfully he was able to spot a single glowing dome off in the distance. Brian could make out just the top of the dome between two buildings. It was just a tiny and limited view of the dome, just enough to give Brian a general idea of what direction to start walking. He checked his clock.
16:11. Time was passing too fast.
He had treasure. Even if he didn't find anything else as long as he could get out of the map he'd have gotten something at least. Better than getting killed the way the man had by the dog earlier. Besides, he could only carry maybe one or two more small items before he'd have to start choosing what to leave behind. He had no bag or container to carry anything in.
Staying focused on reaching the extraction dome Brian went back downstairs and checked the street carefully before exiting. Back outside he oriented himself using the building and left at a light jog, the sun at his back. He jogged down the road and past buildings that all looked different, even if they were all made out of the same stone.
A scream came from off to his left and Brian broke in to a run. The screaming got louder before he managed to pass by whatever was making the awful sound. It stayed put and did not sound as if it were chasing anything or running from anything. It just screamed, whatever it was.
Brian had no desire to figure out what that was all about and instead ran on towards the extraction dome.
The road ahead became blocked by a wall of rubble at one point and Brian was faced with the prospect of either trying to climb over the mountain of rubble, or double back and try to find a way around.
Brian sat for a moment on a nearby street bench and caught his breath while he thought. What if instead of going over or around he tried to go through? All those building must have rear entrances, right?
Brian got up and walked over to the building closest to the wall of debris. The door was stuck and Brian had to knock it down using his body. His first attempt to knock it down didn't go well – he bounced right off and hurt his shoulder. It actually hurt! After rubbing his shoulder until it no longer hurt he tried again. This time the door collapsed inwards and Brian suddenly found himself in an open space much like a warehouse.
Large machines dominated the floor and Brian had no idea what their purpose was or how to use them. He walked to the rear of the building before finding another smaller room off the back that was tough to see in due to the low lighting. Not for the first time Brian wished he had a light source.
He took short careful steps in the darkened room until he reached the rear wall. He fumbled around until he found a door but it wouldn't open. Fumbling a bit more he managed to unbolt the door and then open it. Brian found himself on the other side of the rubble that had blocked the long street and grinned. He had done it!
“HEY!” yelled someone. A shout followed and a commotion began to sound closer and closer. Brian looked around and spotted someone holding a bow and arrow pointing at him.
Brian smiled and waved, “Hi!”
An arrow shot past his head and splintered as it struck the stone behind him.
Brian instinctively ducked. Cursing, Brian ran as fast as he could in to a nearby building. He ran as fast as he could through the building, jumping over debris, clambering under low hanging timbers. Out the back door of the building he ran before entering a nearby building and doing the same once again.
He ran through three more buildings before he finally stopped to listen. He strained to restrict his breathing which was heavy and loud. He forced himself to take long deep breaths, which although quieter, were not exactly quiet.
He heard nothing else. No one chasing him. At least it didn't sound like anyone was chasing him. Brian closed his eyes for a minute and tried to map out where he was. He had been going this direction, the dome was straight ahead, he'd run through a building to the left, then another...
It was no use. Brian was lost. He was most likely close to the dome but wasn't sure in which direction it lay.
Brian checked his clock.
16:17. Not too bad. He needed to find some armor. Or a weapon. Or both! If he was just carrying loot and no weapon he was basically just a loot pinata for other players. Or enemies. He couldn't be sure if what had shot at him was a computer generated character or an actual human player.
Brian searched about before finding another three story building. He forced his way inside through a window and climbed to the roof. The interior rooms were all full of debris and broken items, nothing of value or use. On the top floor he had found some strips of fabric. They barely fit in his pocket with the fuzzy strip of fabric he had found earlier.
Finally he reached the roof with the help of a trap door in the ceiling and managed to look out over the city once again. Off to his left smoke was rising from a fire burning off in the distance. To his right he could make out a dome! It was close too.
16:20. Plenty of time to reach the extraction dome.
He went back downstairs to street level and peered out the window to make sure no one was outside before climbing back out to the street itself.
He walked the wrong direction for a moment before turning around and staring at the building for a moment before he headed off in the right direction. A few minutes later and he was there.
The street he was on led up to a wide intersection with a number of other streets. In the center of the intersection sat a glowing dome, twelve feet across. Brian stepped in to a nearby doorway and went still for a few minutes as he watched and waited to see if anyone was nearby. He heard nothing.
Finally. He could do some exploring now that he knew his way out. He looked around his immediate area and settled on a storefront a few buildings down. It had a picture of a book on its sign and the front of the building had most likely once been glass. It had all broken and shattered long ago, leaving only the frames behind.
Brian climbed through one giant frame in to the building, bypassing the locked door entirely. Inside he found exactly what he had hoped to find. Row after row of bookshelves. The interior of the building was incredibly dark and almost impossible to see in. Brian was forced to search by touch alone. Anything that felt intact he'd bring back outside in to the light to take a look at.
After ten minutes of searching he'd covered the entire building and found nothing. The shelves were full of books alright – rotted, decrepit, unusable books. Had he found the books a few thousand years ago he may have had better luck.
16:30. Only thirty minutes to go. In the back of the last shelve he had felt something sharp. Snatching his hand back he paused before he gently reached out once again, this time more carefully.
Back outside in the light Brian could see that he had found a small knife. The blade was only four inches but double sided. The handle was simple wood. As far as weapons went it wasn't the best but it was better than nothing.
Brian now had a knife in one hand, a six inch cube in the other, and pockets packed with a metal vial and fabric strips. Not the greatest treasure haul he had ever heard of, but better than nothing.
Happy with his haul for now Brian didn't go back in to the book store, if that was even what it once was. He had just decided to walk over and check out the dome when he heard an approaching commotion. Brian quickly hid inside the closest building and positioned himself so that he could see out the window.
A bald man dressed like Brian appeared and ran along the street towards the dome. A young woman with long curly blond hair chased after him wielding a staff. Occasionally she pointed the staff at the running man and fired off a bolt of magic before focusing on chasing him once more.
The man was clutching a golden necklace that caught the light as he ran. He ran at blistering speed along the street until he reached the dome. He stepped in to the dome, turned around, and grinned at the chasing woman.
“HA! You lose!” yelled the bald man with a look of triumph on his face.
The woman sent a final bolt of magic hurtling towards the man from the tip of her staff. It struck him in the chest and dropped him with one hit. He fell to the ground in a heap, his body motionless, the look of triumph frozen on his face.
Brian was confused. He thought about what he had just seen as the blonde haired woman ran towards the man's corpse. She grabbed his leg and forcefully dragged him out of the dome. Once she had done so his body disappeared in to motes of light and left behind only the golden necklace which the woman picked up with a smile.
Now holding the necklace she walked in to the extraction dome and stood still. Brian watched and counted. One one thousand, two one thousand... he got to five when the woman's body disappeared entirely. She didn't fade off in to motes of light the way the man had but just vanished.
Brian understood now. You had to stay in the dome for five seconds before you were extracted. It wasn't instant. The bald man had run from the woman and thought that as long as he reached the dome he was safe.
He wasn't.
Brian wouldn't make the same mistake. He waited a few minutes to make sure no one else was coming. He focused on what time it was.
16:44. Getting close to the end of the hour. He could leave now. No one else seemed to be around. Or he could check another building for loot. If he found anything he'd have to leave something else behind. Both of his pockets and his hands were full.
Brian made up his mind and ran in to a nearby shop. This one was thin, narrow, more like a hallway than a shop. One wall was lined with displays with various clothing hanging off the racks. Some of them even looked usable. Brian kept looking but wasn't finding anything that would fit him. Were the original residents all so short?
Brian crept to the back of the store and went through a few drawers. One had some coins, which he stuffed in to the same pocket as the metal vial. Brian pushed through a hanging curtain in to a back room and looked around. It was pitch black. Brian held up the curtain a bit to let some light in but could still barely see. Casting his hand about he grabbed something soft and brought it out in to the light with it slung over one arm.
Back outside he could see that it was a long coat. Brian put his dagger and cube down and put the coat on. It was comfortable, it fit him, but most importantly, it had two spacious pockets on the outside.
Brian grinned and picked up his belongings. He put the dagger in his coat pocket and looked about for his next loot spot. Remembering his time limit Brian checked his clock.
16:53
Brian decided it was time. He ran in a crouch out to the dome and lay down behind some of the rubble. His coat's coloring blended in well with the surrounding area and Brian became very hard to see unless one knew he was there.
Once in the dome a timer appeared in the corner of his vision, counting down from five.
Three seconds. Brian heard running as a human form turned a corner and ran in to the intersection. They held a sword but wore only the basic shirt and pants. They wore a full metal helmet that made it impossible to see their face. The person stepped in to the extraction dome and seemed to relax.
Two seconds. Brian went still as the timer counted down while the new arrival stood only a foot away from Brian's body hidden in the rubble.
One second. The person turned as a bit of rubble fell off of Brian. They'd seen him!
Suddenly the person's sword was pointed at Brian and the person thrust the sword towards him in a panic.
Zero. Brian's everything faded to nothing.