The final victory should have enlivened Ray. It should have left him with a feeling of triumph, a satisfaction that he had not only done what was right, but also that he had proven everything he had set out to do.
But what it felt like in truth was just another hurdle he had crossed. Killing the Floor Lord and defeating the evil Everstead had never been one of his goals. That wasn’t an Objective he had to accomplish. It felt as though he spent an inordinate amount of energy accomplishing something he had already achieved before.
After all, he had killed the Lord of the First Floor too. He had defeated the evil faction of the Wild Tides there as well.
It was… a little repetitive, if he really thought about it holistically.
Maybe that was why his Objectives were so different. It made sense why Ray still didn’t feel the euphoria that should have accompanied his victory. He still had some of his Objectives left to complete. How could he feel satisfied until that was done?
Although, he supposed he could rest now that he had overcome such a huge obstacle in the shape of the Floor Lord and all her allies. That was why he was lying on the grass far from the palace. Or what remained of it. The gigantic Spirespine, though now dead, hadn’t simply disappeared. Oh no. Things weren’t that easy.
But Ray was spared the hard task of digging through the dead flesh and extricating the people within. He had already done his part. It was his turn to take a break.
That said, he did entertain himself by watching what was going on through the flying Scouring Eyeball he had sent forth. His observation was complemented by keeping an eye on the chat too. Gritty had showed him how to barge in on other chats between people he already had chats with, so long as they weren’t set to private.
Kredevel: We have rescued the king, finally. He is, unfortunately, not dead.
It had taken them the better part of a day to get to that stage. Ray had taken a long sleep, then gone about healing some more of the Infected. The soldiers he had used his Fleshcrafter Tower Nodes on hadn’t re-contracted the Flesh Plague, so that was a nice positive.
Although, they were staying very far away from the rest of their ill brethren.
At least they were helping with the dead Spirespine. Which was all that really mattered.
Ray: What about the others?
Kredevel: We are still searching. I will hope they have not suffered the same as my comrades…
Ray: I hope so too. Sorry again about Ferron and the others.
Kredevel: There is nothing to regret. We all went into this battle, came to this Floor, knowing that our lives might be forfeit.
As soon as the Spirespine had fallen dead, they had gotten busy trying to retrieve the ones who had been trapped within it just like them. Their endeavours hadn’t been successful. It was hard work cutting through the thick flesh, even with all the skills they possessed.
Ray was trying to conserve the strength of his Tower Nodes for the Infected and there was only so much Gritty could do.
No surprise, then, that they ended up finding that several of those within had passed away. That included some of Kredevel’s Sylvan companions. Not all of them had been able to push their way out like Kredevel himself had.
At least, Kredevel had been able to rescue Serian. The younger Sylvan had been on death’s door, but Joaquin had magically fixed him back up in a jiffy.
Ray didn’t bother getting up. Interesting as it was that the king was alive, he could already see the Everstead gathering around him. They would deal with their traitorous monarch in short order.
After some more hours, when the others still hadn’t found Ram, Bam, Lam or Mary Felds, Ray got moving. No point idling about his day.
He had already taken a little trip around on Cliff One, finding and killing monsters to grant himself some more Essence. Having reached level 45, he had earned another new spell, which was pretty interesting.
[Information Request—Spells]
Soulblood Domain [Utility] [Tier 5]
A primal spirit spell that creates a field of heightened spell power around the caster, depending on the abilities used by enemies within the range of this spell’s area of effect. At Tier 5, this spell creates a heightening field of up to 15 meters, raising the potency of each of the caster’s spells by 10% every time an opponent uses a Mana-based ability, and costs 250 True Mana.
Need less to say, Ray was quite intrigued to try something like that out. It wouldn’t be that useful against regular monsters. But in extended fights, like against the Floor Lord, how could he not make use of it? A ten percent increase meant he’d get a free upgrade to the next Tier within ten uses of any ability. Brilliant.
Ray had received a ton of Essence through the battle. But since he still hadn’t attained another class evolution, he was going to keep going. Especially since it looked like he was going to remain on the Second Floor a while longer.
“No sign of them yet?” Ray asked when he returned. He had pushed himself to level 45. A class evolution had to be soon, right?
Gritty shook her head. She was sitting on a hillside, looking a little exhausted. Ray couldn’t recall if he had ever seen her appear that beat down.
“You alright?” he asked. He considered giving her like a snack or something, but since he didn’t have a Mana fruit on him, he thought about offering a True Mana shard. But no, that wasn’t going to work. Gritty didn’t specialize in True Mana.
She took a deep breath before answering. “I’m fine. It’s just… I feel like I need to be moving on. But at the same time, things went by so fast on this Floor, I feel like I haven’t hit my stride here either.”
“Yeah, I’d suggest against moving on until you’ve hit another class evolution.”
“See, I’d get bored of that. I need ten more levels to hit it, if what they said about needing to reach level 50 is correct.” Gritty looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. The spinal cord tattoos on the side of her neck seemed to writhe like they were alive. “You’re not tired of it?”
“Nope. I’m thankful I’m not, too.”
Gritty shook her head, though she looked a little sad for some reason. Ray waited patiently, letting her spill what was on her mind at her own pace.
“You understand, don’t you, wingman?” she said.
Ray decided to take a seat next Gritty. “Understand what?”
“Why I don’t feel like just levelling up and growing my power like you.”
“I—” Ray realized he did. He knew Gritty too well by now. It wasn’t had for him to figure her out. “I know, yeah. You’re not in it for the power, like I am. You’re not looking to be the most powerful so no one can control you. Not like me. Power, for you, is just a means to an end.”
“And the end is…” she prompted, with a strange mix of trepidation and ferocity.
“The end… is ki—is fighting.”
“No, you said it right the first time.”
Ray sighed. “Alright, fine. It’s killing. You like fighting because it lets you kill. And you like it because in this world, you can kill with impunity and no one’s going to stop you, especially when you can kill the wrong person.”
“Bingo!” She clapped mirthlessly, her smile as sharp as the edge of a knife. “I knew you got me like no one else gets me.”
Ray laughed. “Maya must have been so eager to kick you out of the First Floor before you started causing trouble.”
“I might be bloodthirsty, but I’m not evil, wingman. Unless you’re evil. In which case, I’m the evilest person you’re ever going to meet.”
“So that’s why you want to get out of the Second Floor now too. Because there’s nobody who’s actually evil left here.”
“Bingo again. There’s no real fun in killing more of these Everstead when they’re all already kind of dying.”
Ray decided to take that as a morbid joke. He stood back up, stretched a bit. “You weren’t there on the top of the palace, Gritty, when the Lord of the Third Floor and his posse came down. If you thought the Floor Lord I finally killed was bad, now that guy was a piece of work.”
“You’re saying I shouldn’t even think about going to the Third Floor until I’ve got my next class evolution in the bag. In a roundabout way, of course.”
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“Yes. Honestly, even another class evolution might not be enough. Pretty sure I saw that guy was in the seventies.”
“What a fucking geezer.”
“I meant in level.”
Gritty snorted. “I’ll be fine, wingman. You’ll be fine. You worry too much. Here.” She pulled off some grass and handed the tufts to Ray. “Chew on some grass. Cows do it all the time. I heard its really peaceful. You need some peace.”
When Ray protested that he wasn’t a cow, she thrust the grass into his mouth. He glared, then spat it out. Gritty laughed. She did have a point, he conceded. It wouldn’t do to worry needlessly.
“Have you reached all your Objectives to get to the Second Floor?” Ray asked.
“Yeah, most of them,” she said. “Just need to—” she grinned “—do some more killing, and I’m home free. The question left is who exactly is gonna approve the Denizens who are supposed to climb higher up the Tower.”
“Yeah…” Ray looked forward to where the dead Spirespine sat in place of the palace in the distance. “I’ve been wondering that too.”
The chat had helped soothe him a little, and Ray set off to heal some more of the Infected.
Joaquin and the others had arranged them in neat, orderly rows with the scant comfort they had been able to provide. Other Everstead from elsewhere on Cliff One, and some from Cliff Two, had brought in supplies and come to help them. That had hastened their operation and also burgeoned their hope.
Ray took some time, trying to see who was in most pain. One of the attendants, a Denizen with healing powers since the Everstead didn’t want to remain close to the Flesh Plague, showed Ray to a man who was on the verge of the death as far as they had been able to determine.
Thanking the Denizen, Ray got to work. He called up the Tower Nodes of the Fleshcrafter.
Four of them popped up. The latest had been a new addition from killing the Floor Lord. They revolved around him like his Spiritguard orbs. Ray focused on the newest one and concentrated on its ability to modify and manipulate flesh. He targeted its power on his selected patient.
And promptly disappeared from the world.
“Why’d you bring me here again?” Ray asked, crashing waves punctuating his words.
He was back on the damned shoreline. The spot where the first terrestrials were crawling out of the depths of the ocean, the cradle of life, onto land. Creatures of various shapes and sizes he couldn’t identify. A precipice of evolution.
The Fleshcrafter walked away from the shoreline and approached him, still looking like the fleshy manikin hung in doctor’s offices. “You appear rather distraught for someone who has overcome great adversity to assure his victory.” His mouth spread wide in an eerie grin. “When you have defeated me.”
“Cut the crap. The way you’re grinning, you know you haven’t lost anything. Not yet. Not really.” Ray crossed his arms, both relieved that he could do so, and annoyed that he was so physically present that he could cross his arms. “So why am I here, Fleshcrafter?”
The Paragon took his sweet time considering. “Perhaps you could tell me, couldn’t you? You are intelligent enough.”
“I could make guesses. I might have beaten your best warrior on the Second Floor, but there’s still the Third Floor left. But the truth is, it’s your fucking plague. I still haven’t ended it. You’re here just to gloat about that, aren’t you?”
“You think far too highly of yourself. What need does a Paragon like me have to gloat in the face of a little mortal Denizen such as yourself, hmm?”
“Then would you mind not wasting anybody’s time and just telling me why I’m here?”
“Fine, then.” He allowed some time for the wave crashing in to finish. “You are correct. The Flesh Plague still writhes through the Everstead. And it will continue to do so, regardless of your efforts.”
“Liar. I’ve already healed several of them. I can make sure the entire kingdom is free from your plague.”
The Fleshcrafter tutted. “No. You are mistaken. The plague yet remains. All you have done is soothe its symptoms for the time being. In time, it will return, once more debilitating all those it has landed upon, until it is their time to pass on. For they cannot bear such a burden.”
“Why? What’s the point in causing a plague that will only end up killing them? Didn’t you say you needed living followers?”
“Temporary reluctant followers will still do. But you are right in one sense, Denizen. I have been beaten on the Second Floor. A regrettable loss, and I must certainly reconsider the direction of my efforts, considering it has been thwarted not once, but twice now. Try a new tack, if you understand my meaning.”
“So why keep bothering the Everstead with this senseless plague, even when it isn’t going to help you?”
The Fleshcrafter’s fleshy shoulders rose up and down in a far too humanlike shrug. Then again, the form of the manikin he had taken was entirely humanoid too, so that really shouldn’t have been surprising. “Because I can. So I will. That is all there is to it.”
Ray’s whole body turned cold at those words. “Is that all you came here to tell me?”
“My, my. What audacity to think I came anywhere to tell you anything. But I will forgive your lapse in judgment. The true matter is thus—you do have the power to end the Flesh Plague, once and for all. And that power is contacting me.”
Ray got what the Fleshcrafter was ultimately referring to. The Paragon before him could remove the Flesh Plague, which Ray supposedly had no power to fully deal with.
But it would no doubt be conditional.
“In return for what?” Ray asked.
Again, that eerie grin. A predator’s grin. “In return for a Tower Node.”
Ray’s spine shivered before going stiff. “No way.”
“It is up to you, Denizen Raymond. Do you value the lives of these Everstead enough to comply with my wishes and free them from their accursed plague, or… will you too suffer the same curse?”
“Now that’s a lie. You can’t affect actual Denizens. The System won’t let you. That’s why your stupid, fucking plague has never actually harmed a Denizen. It’s why you needed your pawn of a Floor Lord to create an entire race of fake Denizens to push your plague onto. I know what you can and can’t do, Fleshcrafter, and harming me isn’t one of them.”
The Fleshcrafter laughed. “Ah, the audacity. It is almost refreshing. No wonder he likes you.” Ray was about to interrupt, but the Paragon went on before he could do so. “You are correct once again about everything you said. However, you left a lot unsaid, indicating your ignorance.”
“About what?”
“Now that you are here, tell me, have you ever wondered if you could go back on your own?”
Ray froze. All he had to fall back on were his past meetings with other Paragons. With the Marauder, the Mentor, and even the Fleshcrafter himself. In not a single one of those cases had Ray ever been in enough control of the situation to simply exit… wherever he was brought to.
The same went for this specific case too. He wasn’t in control of it, didn’t have the faintest clue how he was supposed to get out of here if he wanted to.
Closing his eyes, he tried to concentrate. He tried to think of where he had been and how he could make his way back there, but nothing happened. No matter how hard he thought, no matter how much he believed he could simply reappear in the real world he belonged to, it didn’t work. When Ray opened his eyes, he was still before the grinning Fleshcrafter.
“You cannot leave,” the Paragon repeated. “Not without my say so.”
“So what?” Ray asked, trying to damp down the rising panic. “You’re just going to keep me trapped here?”
“Yes. Why not? Because I can, after all.”
“You fucking piece of—”
“Unless you cooperate with my demands.”
“Ha. I’ll just wait. That’s all I have to do, right? You can trap me, but you can’t do anything to me.”
“Again, correct. I can cause you no physical harm. I cannot hinder your progress up the Tower directly via any means. In fact, if you recall, time back in your world is frozen for as long as you are with a Paragon. In other words, I cannot even distract you at a critical moment.”
Ray swallowed. “But…?”
The Fleshcrafter’s grin grew wider. “But I can keep you here on and on and on. Right here, in this singular spot. Oh you will live. Nothing about you will be harmed or change. But you will be here, in stasis, forever. Do you understand the implication of such a state?”
Ray swallowed. He was already thinking about said implication. Locked to this location for an eternity, where he was held in one state for time immemorial…
He would go insane. There was no doubt about that. He couldn’t help but look around, seeing that there was basically nothing. The flat land and the gently-lapping ocean stretched out to infinite on either side., the shoreline going on into the horizon.
“Let me make it clear,” the Flreshcrafter said. “You would remain here, trapped forever in this singular location. You cannot die. You cannot age. Nothing about your body will progress, so you will never feel hunger or thirst. You cannot sleep. You cannot go anywhere. All this to say, the stimuli you experience in this domain will be the same. Forever.
“And believe me, your little mortal mind cannot even begin to comprehend the idea of an unchanging forever. I can keep you here for days, weeks, months, aeons. You will beg me to free you in mere days. You will try to kill yourself within a week. You will start attempting to tear the skin off your own flesh, gouge out your own eyes, choke on your own torn-off—”
“I get it.”
The Fleshcrafter’s smile was the softest it had ever been since Ray had come here again. “Why would I need to harm you, Denizen Raymond, when your own mind will do it for me?”
“But all this…”
“What? You think the System will protect you? Please. No time will pass here, remember? After an uncountable number of years, when you are nothing more than a gibbering, self-mutilated hunk of… flesh, I will return you to the very instant in your world you first came here, the System will think nothing is amiss. Do you not believe me?”
Ray’s breaths had turned shallow. He did. He believed the Fleshcrafter. He had no doubt a Paragon had more than enough power to do all that and worse.
Taking a deep breath, Ray closed his eyes. The Fleshcrafter was getting to him. That threat had sunk in deep, had settled like a spike of fear pinning his soul to his spine. But that was it. A threat. A roundabout demand for Ray to comply.
“All I need to do is hand over a Tower Node?” Ray asked.
“Yes.” The Fleshcrafter smiled. “I will be merciful and only demand the one. Relinquish it, and you can walk free. I will return you immediately to whence you came. I will recall my Flesh Plague and set the Everstead free. See? I can be reasonable. All you must do is comply.”
Ray took another deep breath. His immediate fearful instinct was to do just that. Comply. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? I could comply, and you might still end up doing everything you threatened. All because you can.”
The Fleshcrafter laughed. “You are correct. I could. But you have no power here. You can either comply, or not, and suffer the consequences of your choice. Which will it be, little mortal?”
“You’re a Paragon. Give me a sign that I’m not fooling myself. Something that proves you’re not just toying with me.”
“How bold of you to make demands. Maybe I really should just leave you here to rot.”
He actually began turning away, and Ray’s heart turned to jelly. Fear made him open his mouth, but he bit down on his lips, then spoke anyway.
“I relinquish,” Ray said. “I’ll give you the Tower Node you want. Just please… please, let me go back.”
“Ah, excellent.” The Fleshcrafter came back with a smile. “You came to your senses. Now, hand over the Tower Node of the Marauder.”
Ray’s breath caught in his chest. “But…”
“Now.”
Sighing, Ray closed his eyes and focused. He hadn’t even realized he could call up Tower Nodes in a place like this, but then, if he could use a spell like Primordial Gauge, then it wasn’t really surprising. A few moments later, the Tower Node appeared between him and the Fleshcrafter. “How do I simply give it up?”
“It is an act of will,” the Fleshcrafter said, eyes on the floating crystal. “Surrender, through your soul, then step back. Should you be successful, it will not follow you.”
Ray did so. He concentrated on the act of severing his will from the Tower Node, his heart offering a little pang of loss. When he stepped back, the Tower Node remained where he had cast it out.
The Fleshcrafter grinned. “Well done, Denizen Raymond. As a magnanimous Paragon, I will indeed return you to your world. Perhaps next time, we will meet in happier circumstances.”
Ray’s whole body shivered at those words. He blinked. Back. He really was back. Right in front of that plague-infected man he had been about to use the Tower Node’s power on. Right next to his Tower Nodes. Not four Tower Nodes, though.
Three.
He grinned. Relief flooded him. As did a slowly-building euphoria, and a ferocity that quickly smashed aside the fear that had taken root in the Paragon’s domain. He was back. Even better, he had done it.
Ray held up a middle finger at the three Tower Nodes of the Fleshcrafter. “Take that, you asshole.” With a little focus of will, the Tower Node of the Marauder appeared next to him. “I still have the Tower Node you want.”