I hadn’t recovered all my magicka from the last time I’d opened a rift and because of it, I was thrown out of this one too soon. I bent my knees to absorb the impact as I landed on the spongy ground. In my crouch I spun around, my eyes sweeping the landscape around me and taking in the dangers.

The dog creatures were not far away, all of them stalking slowly in a solid line aside from the single one still sitting high in the tree I had abandoned. I knew exactly what they were doing. I’d once been just like them although I’d been riding a horse at the time. We were being herded like cattle toward the thing and unless I wanted to end up like Erica I had to fall in line.

I turned and started jogging toward the towering spire, keeping a close eye on my stamina. There would be time to escape the Goddess’s grasp later.

I grasped my sword hard as I ran, ready to strike at anything that came too close. I would have taken out my bow but I wasn’t as good with it as Gabby was. Hitting a target while I was bobbing around would be almost impossible.

I kept my Identify skill at the ready as I moved, using it to help spot hidden dangers that I didn’t have the time to find on my own. All around me, other players were running toward the spire. Screams and howls followed our rushed footsteps and the counter kept ticking down, another number vanishing every second like a backward clock.

I leaped over abandoned traps and skirted around the squat leafless trees and boulders that were scattered haphazardly across the landscape.

“Get out of my way,” a Nox Warrior bellowed as he barrelled down on me.

I ducked under the swing of his longsword and slammed my blade into his neck, cutting right through his spinal cord. I didn’t bother to see if he was dead, I just leaped over his crumpled body and continued toward the spire.

An arrow whizzed past my ear. My yelp was dulled by the pained roar of a monster behind me. My eyes flicked to the Daughter of Umbra running not too far ahead of me. She was busy reloading the crossbow she wore strapped to her forearm. Like every time I’d seen one of her kind the large folded wings on her back surprised me. Her feathers were as black as a crow's but her wings didn’t seem nearly as useful. I’d seen them flutter short distances but never high and never for more than a few seconds. They were closer to chickens than crows in that regard.

Still, it was a damn impressive fashion choice. At least, I assumed it was outfit related. Humans certainly didn’t have wings back in my hot dusty homeland.

I heard the beast on my heels before I felt the thing's hot breath on the back of my neck. The foul stench of rotting meat filled my nostrils, upsetting my stomach and fueling my speeding feet. There was more than one, I could sense it without turning my head to look. Maybe three or four were crowding me. I glanced at my magicka bar before I remembered this skill didn’t rely on it.

Skidding to a halt I summoned the dark soul wind as I held my sword out wide and spun in a quick circle. The monsters barrelling down on me cried out as the swirling vortex spread out around me in a violent wave, stunning them and knocking others from their feet.

I didn’t pause to look at the destruction my Void Vortex had created as I continued to run, fully regretting having moved so far away from the spire. I’d been charging toward the thing for who knows how long and still it looked just as far away.

“Help me!”

I clamped my jaw as I unsuccessfully blocked out the painful cries. I couldn’t help them. I wasn’t a tank. If I changed course I’d be just as dead. Still, the horrid crunching, the screams, and the splattering would haunt my dreams.

My magicka bar was refilling so slowly. I tried to open a rift but even with a relatively calm mind, I couldn’t feel the fabric. Again I cursed the fact that I didn’t have any regenerative potions in my inventory. I knew Theo had a ton of them but he hadn’t shared and we’d not found a shop to purchase them or found a way to craft them ourselves. The Crafters at Oliver’s Rest had kept that skill to themselves.

Dive!

I leaped to the right and rolled back to my feet as a devil hound lunged into the place I’d been mere moments before.

I reached into my bum bag and pulled out a cluster of premade traps, scattering them behind me as I ran. I could hear the things going off almost instantly, the solid snap reminiscent of common mousetraps.

Level 14!

A little thrill buzzed through me at the level increase but it didn’t last long. I missed my Shadow Rush skill. It used only a small portion of my magicka meaning I could use it over and over to travel a long way very quickly, the Rift skill used so much more magicka for a single jump forward. It felt like one of those upgrades that pretended to be better but was in fact not. Given overuse of the Shadow Rush skill had landed me here, however, maybe it was the worse option of the two.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

My Identify skill picked up a Daughter of Umbra hiding among the nightshade flowers up ahead. I moved to go around her but the monsters were closing in around me, trapping me in this singular path. I swallowed as I leaped over the player's head, shouting a pathetic apology as hounds descended on her. Her screams stabbed right at my soul, blackening it further. If this kept up I would be little more than a shell of the man I once was.

I was killing other people without a thought. I was a murderer and I didn’t care. If it meant I had a chance at life I was willing to sacrifice anyone. I was no hero, I was an opportunistic monster; a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I was a panting lump of sweat and shaking muscles when my feet finally landed on the spongy outskirts of the spire garden. Players were scattering like cockroaches, still trying to escape the flood of dog-like monsters as they continued their forward rush.

I took another step onto a patterned tile and the phantom voices whispered in my ear.

Safe.

I sighed and took one more step toward the spire before turning in place and watching the monsters charge toward me. The moment they reached the patterned tiles a loud thud sounded and they recoiled with a cacophony of yelps and snarls.

For whatever reason, they couldn’t enter this part of the Goddess’ realm.

I smirked and sheathed my blade so both my hands were free for a victory dance consisting of little more than hopping from foot to foot and rolling my hands with my middle fingers fully extended.

“Suck on that your fugly motherfuckers,” I said.

The dogs growled and stalked the invisible boundary line that kept them from tearing out my throat. I turned about and eyed the spire tentatively. Even from this far away the power of the place pressed down on me like someone had dropped a weighted blanket on my head.

She was in there. Waiting for the Chosen One to reveal themselves to save her from making a hard decision on her own.

I wondered as I slowly began to walk toward the ivory steps if every other player trapped in this hellish realm had overused the Shadow Rush skill. That seemed like a lot of people to ignore the warning in the skill description. A little judgemental coming from me who had done just that but come on, not everyone could be as painfully stupid as I was.

The survival of the human species was seriously in trouble if this many of us could so easily be corrupted.

Speaking of survival, I opened the quest menu and looked at the numbers.

Four months, thirteen days, and 37 minutes.

Disciples remaining: 391

So many people had been slaughtered by the monsters that had herded us here. And yet, there were still so many players left who would no doubt gladly brutally separate my head from the rest of my body without a second thought. The spire didn’t feel like a boss fight anymore. It was something else entirely. We were the dogs now and this place was the pit we would be fighting in. Where were the gambling spectators?

I paused with a single foot on the bottom step. Something felt off about heading straight into the place through the main entrance. Every other player I had seen cross the threshold had done just that. It should be fine. So why was I filled with a horrible sense of foreboding when I considered doing the exact same thing?

Muttering curses to myself because Nigel couldn’t do it for me, I retreated and began to slink around the spire, sticking to the deeper shadows and using my Identify skill to spot dangers or secrets.

Find the rearing horse.

I blinked. The voice was being an idiot. We weren’t anywhere near the horse statue. I shook off the confusion and continued, looking for a door or maybe even an open window. The shiny black walls of the spire were unmarred by such things though. I moved closer, pressing my hand against the smooth stone.

Indents in the stone had me looking a little closer. Under my hand was a carved depiction of a galloping horse.

Oh, now I get it, I thought to myself.

I kept my hand on the wall as I continued forward, hoping I hadn’t already missed the carving of the rearing horse. The Gods, or Goddess I suppose in this case, showed me mercy as I located the fourth carving. Yep, this horse was rearing.

I stepped back and eyed the stone, a little frustrated that I’d gone the wrong way around the spire. I was almost all the way back to the steps by now. It didn’t matter though. It's not like we didn’t still have months of this bullshit to keep us busy.

I dropped to my knees and pushed aside the bush my Identify skill told me was a baneberry bush. Before I moved on I picked every berry I could see, shoving them in my bum bag. This was a new plant. One that I might be able to combine with the nightshade flowers I’d already collected. Or maybe that concoction would blow up in my face just as quickly. There would be time enough for eyebrow roasting later.

Behind the berries was a small trap door held by a strong lock with seven bouncing balls. I clamped my jaw in irritation before diving into the minigame.

First try! No seriously, I did, I swear.

The lock let out a satisfying click as it dropped open and vanished allowing me to open the heavy wooden door. I climbed into the gloom, carefully shutting it behind me. I turned and scanned the dark room in front of me lit by a single purple candle.

The place looked like the laboratory of a mad scientist. Heavy wooden tables laden with cucurbits, alembics, and lutes crowded the tight space. Some of them were assembled into complex apparatuses that I didn’t really understand. On one wall was a cold hearth with wood stacked beside it. On another wall were three barrels filled with what looked like water but I wasn’t game to have a drink and find out.

On one of the heavy tables was a stack of papers covered in a sprawling scrawl and a collection of ink splatters. I picked them up and flinched as the golden words flashed up in front of my face.

New Recipe Received: Bleeding Poison

Description: On consumption the target's heart beats fast and blood runs thin, seeping from the smallest knicks and taking the target's life force with them.

Effect: 168 points poison damage.

A wicked smile turned up my lip as I opened the alchemy crafting window and looked at what I needed; nightshade flowers, baneberries, and water.

A wave of primal malice filled me as I got to work on my newest creation.