The sun melted on the west mountains as Oliver sprinted between trees. The earth trembled beneath his feet with each thunderous step of the colossus behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see it tearing through the landscape, its eyes fixed intently on him and his comrades.
"We need to split up!" Hunter shouted, his voice strained as he pushed himself. “It can’t chase all three of us.” The wind whipped through his hair, and the weight of their earlier growth spurt made each movement more strenuous than before.
Oliver found it awkward to run with the swordstaff. “Why do people always want to split up? No, keep running.”
The sound of the rushing current preceded the river. Beyond a rocky slide to the banks, the water reflected the sunset.
"Oh no, the river," Zaisy said. "We’re blocked."
Oliver stepped onto the muddy bank. “We go in.”
Without hesitation, they waded into the current. The river's roar came from upstream, where the river frothed over a would-be dam of fallen trees.
Oliver plunged into the icy water, the shock stealing his breath for a moment before he resurfaced and tried to spot his friend. He felt a surge of hope when they appeared floating nearby. He felt the bottom of the staff drag on shallows.
The banks moved faster than they could run. The idea to jump in had been sound, but how long could they stand the cold?
The river swept around long bends where he couldn’t see the threat. When he did see it again, the colossus straddled the river, its massive form silhouetted against the sky. For a moment, it seemed confused, scanning the water for any sign of them. Relief washed over Oliver as he drifted, the distance increasing.
But the respite was brief. The giant began to follow the river's course, its strides outpacing the flow. "It's still after us!" Zaisy said through chattering teeth.
Hunter swam towards the west bank, grabbed a protruding rock, and pulled himself out of the water. “Hurry, it won’t find us if we find cover in the forest.”
Zaisy quickly extracted herself from the water. But with the swordstaff in hand, Oliver struggled to reach the bank. The whole time, the footfalls grew louder. He’d need some kind of strap for the damn weapon if that would even help.
Hunter's eyes focused on something close to him but unseen. A faint glow lit his face.
Oliver and Zaisy scrambled under the canopy beside him, confusion etched on their faces. "Is that what I think it is?" Oliver asked.
Hunter continued in silence for a moment. "I have a class like you. Isn’t that what you called it?”
“Yeah, like a game,” Oliver said.
“Not like any game I know. Well, it’s Shadow Rogue." He flexed his fingers, and wisps of dark purple coiled around them. "I have some sort of magic called Shadow Meld."
Zaisy fell flat on her back. "I’m starting to understand you guys, which worries me."
Oliver wiped the blade of his staff on his arm. He didn’t know much about caring for such a thing, but he wasn’t going to let it rust out. “I know this isn’t the time or place to tell you guys, but we’re NPCs. We’re here just to make things more interesting for player characters. That colossus back there is probably one of them.”
“I have no idea what you just said.” Hunter's eyes suddenly went wide.
A massive face peered down from the sky.
Zaisy scrambled to her feet. “Run.”
Hunter spoke between gasps as they barreled forward. My abilities will let me lead it away. It might be our only shot." Without waiting for a response, he veered away and called to the colossus after him.
“Idiot,” Oliver muttered. He couldn’t let the man die.
Hunter led it for a while and magically melded it into the shadows. His form appeared and disappeared, making it impossible to follow his path.
But the colossus wasn’t slowed. It stamped a foot ahead and almost crushed Hunter.
Oliver's heart pounded in his chest. "Hunter, we’ll find another way!" The ground shook violently, knocking him off balance.
Hunter reappeared momentarily from the top of a boulder, waving his arms. "Over here, you oversized oaf.” He had nearly died twice, and still, he played with the monster.
The giant's gaze snapped toward the sound, and it crushed the bounder.
Zaisy wilted. "He's died,"
Oliver clenched his fists, a swirl of emotions crashing over him. "This goddamn giant." The runes on his swordstaff began to glow as he gathered his magic. He felt the energy vortex rush through him, the unsettling sensation of power.
Oliver raised his weapon, positioning himself with a clear line of sight. "Astral Lance, " he said, focusing all his intent on the giant's Achilles tendon. A beam of concentrated starlight burst forth, slicing through the air.
The blast struck the giant right where he’d aimed, causing it to yelp and stumble. It teetered precariously before losing balance altogether. It fell like the world’s largest tree in a slow, inevitable descent. The ground quaked violently as it impacted, the back of its head colliding with a jagged rocky hill. A resounding crack echoed through the valley, and a cloud of dust billowed into the air.
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Hunter emerged from the shadows, breathing heavily and coughing in the dust. "You didn't have to do that."
Zaisy ran over and hugged him. “We thought you were dead.”
Oliver lowered his weapon, his hands trembling from the exertion. "I wasn't going to let you get all the glory."
Zaisy eyed the mountain of flesh. "Is it dead?"
They approached cautiously and walked to where its head lay. Blood seeped from the wound, pooling deep enough to swim in. Oliver exhaled slowly, tension easing from his muscles. "I think we did it."
But a low groan rumbled from the giant's chest like the sound of an avalanche. Its fingers twitched, and its eyes flickered open. it began to rise, pushing itself up with one massive hand.
"You got another spell?" Hunter asked.
Oliver backed away. “I got lucky with that one.”
The giant rose and rose and rose, albeit unsteadily. Dirt raining down in clumps.
Oliver's mind raced. They couldn’t run forever.
They scattered in different directions as the giant's foot came crashing down where they had stood. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, knocking them off their feet. Oliver scrambled to stand, but the giant was already preparing for another stomp.
"We can't outrun it this time," Zaisy cried out. “It was nice knowing you guys.”
An eerie stillness blanketed the valley as if time had frozen. The giant paused mid-step, its foot hovering over them.
Oliver felt a chill run down his spine, and he didn’t know why. "What's happening?" he said, looking to his companions.
“Who cares,” Hunter said, waving them into a patch of trees.
They huddled under an oak and tried to stay quiet while they searched the sky where the colossus gazed.
Far above the treetops, a figure emerged. It was a man, unassuming in stature, smaller than Oliver himself. He wore normal clothing. Yet, a sense of emptiness and dread radiated from him. His companions could feel it, too, by the look of their wide eyes.
Oliver's heart sank as he sensed the immense power emanating from the stranger.
"I am Coda," the man said in a voice that boomed unnaturally as if declaring it to the entire world. He raised a hand toward the colossus. Tendrils of darkness shot forth, intertwining and spiraling around the massive being. “I’m gathering a team for the Great Reset. But not you, Jaydeck.”
The giant roared in defiance, but tendrils restrained its movements. They pierced its skin, spreading like webs. In an instant, the giant imploded, fragments of flesh and bone collapsed. All that remained was gore save a severed hand and a few large bones.
Zaisy covered her mouth, eyes wide with horror. "I feel sick," she said.
Coda waved a hand, and Highside crumbled. Thousands must have died in that moment. A cold smile played on his lips. "Such power.”Another round of black tendrils exploded along the river, probably finding villages. The valley descended into chaos, with far-off cries filling the air.
"Stop," Oliver shouted, but his voice carried no further than to his companions.
Hunter gritted his teeth. "We can't let this happen.”
Oliver's eyes fell upon the giant's severed hand. "It’s time for a meal." He dashed toward it, the others following close behind. The hand was enormous, but the flesh seemed to emanate residual energy.
"It’s raw," Zaisy said, poking at it. "I can’t chew that."
Oliver cut a flap open with the swordstaff.
They ate despite the taste and texture. A familiar warmth surged as they consumed the giant's hand. Their bodies grew, muscles expanding, limbs elongating. In moments, they stood as colossi themselves, towering above the treetops.
Oliver flexed his hands, now strong enough to pulverize mountains. The ground felt different beneath his feet. The land sagged under his weight as if it were mud. Tree crunched like weeds underfoot. "It’s time to rampage this motherfucker," he said, and his voice came out slurred and booming.
All the other times they’d grown, their proportions remained the same, but perhaps to withstand gravity, they were stockier—and ugly.
Coda flew higher to remain above them, but his expression never changed. "We meet again," he stared at Oliver. "The system created you to balance the difficulty, but it gave you a flaw. Your mother disfigures you in every world, and it seems to hold you back. It’s too bad, I love a challenge. But this time, you’re more pathetic than ever. I’ve defeated you a thousand times, but this will be the easiest."
Oliver raised his swordstaff, the runes along its length flickering weakly. It had grown larger than it would be possible to find a tree to corve it will, and the blade would take an entire mine’s worth of metal. “I don’t know you.”
“This is why I hate NPCs.”
Oliver knew he’d been a warrior from the Memory Sphere. What else had he been? All he remembered was his previous life, a conscious life where he couldn’t even get laid, much less attain anything. He was pathetic. No, maybe he could prove himself here and now.
Coda watched with a detached curiosity. "Go on, then. Throw the first punch.”
With a roar, Oliver unleashed Starlight Beam. The plasma surged toward Coda, illuminating the valley in a blinding flash.
Everything distorted around Coda. The background moves in waves, rippling like a pond. The man vanishes in the attack. The beam split, mowing trees bare from the earth and then cutting through Zaisy. His attack left her without her upper body.
Oliver crashed to his knees and looked up to see where his enemy had been. To his dismay, Coda stood unchanged, a faint aura of darkness around him. "My turn."
Go ahead and do it. I don’t care.
It had all been for nothing. She died because of his damn spells.
Coda vanished from sight. A sharp pain pierced Oliver's chest as Coda reappeared, his hand plunged into Oliver's as if the flesh were clay. Agony exploded like fireworks.
Oliver flopped back and gasped. He couldn’t pull air into his lungs.
Coda hovered over him, his expression devoid of emotion. "If you have any dignity, you won’t be reborn again."
As darkness closed in, Oliver's thoughts scattered. Regret, fear, and a lingering question of purpose swirled within him.
Suddenly, he was enveloped in a blinding white light. The pain ceased, replaced by a numbness that was neither comforting nor alarming. When his vision cleared, he found himself lying on the familiar cold surface of the white reaper's table.
The sterile room had too much light. He squinted at the reaper. "I don’t want to come back.”
The reaper observed him silently, its presence neither welcoming nor hostile.
Zaisy would be waking up somewhere in this in-between world. “Where’s Zaisy?”
The reaper didn’t reply.
Oliver sat up after an hour, just laying there. “I have a question. I met a physicist. He said there’s no superposition. Is this all virtual reality? Tell me it’s all programming.”
"There’s no uncertainty because of the Observer, which sees all. Everything you experienced is quite real.” The reaper came to the bedside. “I have your companions’ memories right here.”