Chapter 71: Hello And Goodbye
Ryker
Repositioning Ruby’s pack, I looked off in the distance, trying to find my comrades. Feeling more and more apprehensive, I began to run. The shifting metallic shards in the pack made the pace awkward to maintain, but the fear of the unknown urged me forward.
On and on I ran, observing the trail of death and destruction I had inflicted on the beastmen. Eventually, I found myself back on the battlefield, standing in the middle of a sea of corpses. Signs of struggle and conflict were evident all around me. Great gouges of earth could be found throughout the beastmen corpses, a testament to the power humanity had obtained since their awakening.
The further I traveled, the darker my heart grew. At first, the majority of the bodies consisted of beast men and women, frozen in a horrific rictus of pain and fury. Unfortunately, the further I traveled, the more human remains littered the blood-soaked dirt beneath my feet. Until all that remained was a field of human corpses.
The battlefield now lay far behind me, with no signs of struggle or resistance. The awakened lines must have buckled under the weight of the hordes' numbers, and here lay all of the unawakened masses that could not withstand the bestial might of the foes set against them.
Eventually, I found myself miles deep into the ocean of death and stood atop a hill overlooking carnage like nothing I had ever dreamed to be possible. Millions upon millions of human lives were gone. I fell to my knees, my legs unable to bear the weight of my shame. “This is all my fault, this didn't have to happen, they didn't have to be here.”
Unable to break my gaze away from the result of my arrogance, I made myself memorize as many faces as I could. A woman with blonde hair in her mid-twenties, an older man in his fifties, a teenage boy. I carried on this way for hours, until the deafening silence that had dominated my senses for so long was abruptly interrupted by the thunderous sound of footsteps a ways off to my left.
Snapping my gaze in that direction, I prayed more beastmen had come. To my disbelief, I found no beastmen, but instead the blood-soaked form of a young girl, shaking violently as she walked over the bodies of the fallen. Her eyes were hollow and unblinking as she picked her way across the field.
Standing to my feet, the girl's eyes widened in fear at the sight of motion, and a black flame erupted around her as a sight out of my nightmares manifested. A dozen corpses around her were engulfed in the dark blaze and began to move. The eyes of the girl grew black as coal, and she crouched down like a caged animal with her teeth bared in fear and anger. After the flames fully settled into the bodies, they jerkily rose to their feet, and began to advance on me.
This girl, no older than 16, had survived where no other human could. A dark light shining bright in this hellscape of my own making. Hoping that others like her could beat the odds and rise from such tragedy, I walked.
The moment I took my first step in her direction, her undead vanguard sped up their advance and were on me in seconds. My eyes never left the girl's as I ignored her undead's attempts to swarm me. Finding more resistance than what would be possible from a regular human, I observed the girl's ability had given the reanimated bodies more strength, but I was far beyond these constructs. With a casual sweep of my hand, three of the undead collapsed as I removed their heads from their shoulders and continued my trek towards the girl.
As I approached, her eyes grew large and wild. Her undead redoubled their attempts, climbing my unwavering form. They interlocked their arms and made an attempt to halt my movement, but I leaned forward, and without any noticeable effort, continued, tearing arms and legs from their sockets in the process. When I got within 20 feet of the girl, she closed her eyes, and the flames around her deepened before she lifted one open hand and closed it violently. I looked on in fascination as the flames concentrated on her fist and shot out toward me. Her eyes rolled up into her skull, and she collapsed.
Concerned for the girl's well-being, I was preparing to sprint to her, but at that moment, the dark ball of fire arrived, and the nine bodies that hung off me absorbed the attack and began to glow brightly. A moment later, in a blinding flash of light, they exploded.
The last thing I remembered was the feeling of being lifted into the air at the same time as I felt myself being forced down towards the ground. Blinking, I found myself several feet from where I had stood, my body racked with pain. I pushed myself to my feet and looked down, seeing hundreds of pieces of white bone protruding out of my flesh. Glancing at my mana, I determined that I had more than enough to handle this amount of damage and thought to Ruby, "Do you have enough of a swarm to remove the shards?"
"Yes, it will take some time, but I can handle this. What do you intend to do about the girl?"
Pulling one of the corpses' jaws out of my side, I said, "The only thing I can do. She needs help, and as long as I draw breath, she will have it." Turning, I saw the downed girl and walked to her side, kneeling over her. Looking at her resting form, I found no injury and rested my palm on her forehead, saying, "What's wrong with her?"
Silvar appeared, sitting cross-legged on the other side of her, and said, "The girl is strong. She used every drop of her mana to detonate her minions."
Having made up my mind, I carefully scooped up the thin girl and made my way back to the top of the hill. As I reached its apex, I asked, "Ruby, can you spot a place nearby I can take her to recover?"
Appearing, Ruby pointed towards the closest edge of the carnage and said, "Head in that direction. You should be able to find shelter in the rocky terrain there." Nodding, I trudged on, doing my best to block out the eye-watering stench that assaulted my senses. After a few feet of travel, I sensed the backpack begin to shift, and when I turned to investigate, I found several long metallic strands crawling across the dead and latching onto every metallic weapon they could find and securing it to me. "Ruby, what are you up to?"
"I have a project in mind that will require a lot more material to make work; you should have no issue dragging a few hundred more pounds. Don't worry yourself; I will take care of everything."
Staying focused on my goal of getting the girl to safety, I finally broke free of my nightmarish reality and took a deep, cleansing breath of fresh air. Not wasting any time, I quickly ate up the miles, toting the ridiculously overburdened pack, and found myself standing at the base of a large rock formation jutting out of the grassy plains. Carefully walking around the three-story-tall pile of stone, I found an opening where two of the colossal rocks came together. Laying the girl carefully down, I bent over and peered into the hole, noting that it indeed opened up to create a small area roughly 10x10 feet with an 8-foot-tall ceiling. I grimaced as one of the bone shards was pushed out of my left arm.
Taking off the backpack, I pulled out a twisted ax head and began digging at the dirt around the mouth of the cavern. After a few minutes, I was able to widen it enough to squeeze my bulk inside. After inspecting the space to ensure nothing else had made it its home, I pulled the still unconscious girl inside. After getting her settled, I took a few minutes to ferry Ruby's pack and its contents inside and sat with my back against the rear wall of the cave.
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The second I stopped moving, a wave of sorrow struck me head-on. Images of humans and beastmen alike dying by the droves flashed before my eyes, and I wept. The weight of responsibility settled on my shoulders and threatened to crush me. Down in that dark hole far from my home, I felt more alone than I had ever been before, then I felt something at the corner of my consciousness pull at me. In the blink of an eye, I found myself outside of Silvar's cave, sitting against the side of his mountain. Across from me was the familiar old man sitting atop his stone, smiling warmly.
Seeing his easy demeanor and warm features filled me with even more sorrow, knowing our time together was nearing its end. Still smiling, he reached over with his ancient walking stick and gently tapped me atop the head and said, “That's enough of that, boy. It warms my soul to see how far you have come, but now is not the time for tears, but to rejoice.”
Looking into his eyes, I found a being full of joy and acceptance. I felt the corners of my lips rising and said, “You will have to forgive me, but I am finding it very hard to find anything worth celebrating.”
“Bah! Nonsense, You blaming yourself for the lives lost today will not bring them back or help any of those left. If you had left them in the hands of Viltrix, they would have died in due time and in a much slower and less humane way. I know it's impossible for you to see it now, but you made the right choice.”
“It's too much to bear. I am not strong enough.”
Smiling, Silvar turned and held out his hand. Ruby materialized standing next to him, holding on tightly. She did her best to force a smile, but the tears trailing the lines of her face betrayed her true feelings. He gave her hand a firm squeeze, and a solitary tear could be seen falling from his cheek, and he said, “I know, son, but soon that will be a thing of the past. I want you to know how thankful I am. Without you, none of this would be possible.”
“Wait! Silvar, what are you doing!”
"Boy, I know your plan. You think holding onto these points will prolong my life, and that you can find a way to save me. Naive as it is, I am thankful, but I am afraid my time here is up."
"Please don't do this. I said"
Unfolding his legs, the grumpy old worm stood to his feet and slowly hobbled over to me. Holding out his hand, I took it, and he effortlessly pulled me to my feet and enveloped me in a crushing hug. I returned the embrace. Through my bond with Silvar, I felt the Vren's emotions, steady as a downhill stream, yet as powerful as a raging river. Feeling the depth of his conviction, I drew strength from it and smiled. Pulling back, I looked into his eyes and said, “I will never forget you, monk worm.”
"I know." Reaching up, he placed one hand over my heart and said, “For as long as you live, you will never be alone. I will always be with you.” Silvar closed his eyes, and a warm light carried my consciousness away.
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Ruby
Clutching my chest where my fictitious heart resided, I watched Ryker and Silvar say their goodbyes. After Silvar finished, Ryker was placed in a deep sleep. Meeting Silvar's eyes, I could see how badly he wished he could stay, but there was no reasoning with him. He was dead set on pushing the boy to the top of the Pyramid no matter what.
Appearing before him, I said, “Are you ready for this?”
“Of course I am. Are you?”
“No, not really. I have come up with several thousand alternatives, but I doubt you would consider any of them at this point.”
“Ha, you are right about that. The boy has come a long way in a short time. He will need you after I am gone, more than ever.”
“I will do my best, but you know I am just as ignorant as he is about managing emotions.”
Smirking, he said, “That you are, lass, that you are, but don't count yourself out just yet. I have seen much growth in you as well.” Walking to the mouth of his cave, he looked back at me and said, “It's been a hell of a ride, Ruby. I am ready.”
I watched as he disappeared into the darkness, and the two giant glowing eyes reappeared, and I opened Ryker's status screen and allocated all of his available points into mana.
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*STATUS*
NAME: Ryker
RACE: Human
LEVEL: 30
VITAL ENERGY TO NEXT LEVEL: 1917507/2876261
STATS
HEALTH: 2070/2070
STAMINA: 1380/1380
MANA: 180/180
STRENGTH: 129
AGILITY: 91
CONSTITUTION: 197
ENDURANCE: 130
VITALITY: 270
PERCEPTION: 5
INTELLIGENCE: 2
MANA: 18
+12 UNALLOCATED STAT POINTS
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The eyes slowly began to droop, drowsily closing, and I felt myself being forced out of Silvar's mindscape. A moment later, I watched as the point allocation took effect, and Ryker's heart began to pulse with power. Then, all at once, the small, dark form of Silvar sank into the flesh of Ryker's heart, and a thrum of power resonated through him. I watched on helplessly as a change began to ripple through him.
In a panic, I scanned Ryker's whole body and found no danger. As the energy continued to rampage through him, I realized what was going on and froze in horror and amazement. Ryker was evolving! Somehow, Silvar's absorption had triggered some kind of evolution. As great of news as that was, it creates a unique problem that will take a unique solution to resolve. The problem with evolution is that it takes time, and until it is over, Ryker will be defenseless.
As I watched the cells of Ryker's body subtly change, I brainstormed solutions and finally settled on a course of action that would take care of our current issue and help us down the road.
I gathered all of the nanobots from Ryker's remaining suit and backpack and had them manifest into tentacles. Sending them to the scrap pile, I began slowly barricading the entrance while breaking down the metals as quickly as I could. Hours turned to days as I maintained my vigil over the two unconscious humans, tirelessly I worked until the end of the third day approached, and I finished my greatest work yet.
Taking up a majority of the space was a 9-foot-long metallic tiger that was 4 feet tall at the shoulders. The red glow escaping its joints and its menacing long teeth gave it a ferocious appearance, but the most intimidating characteristic was the intelligence I imparted to it visible in its eyes. Unable to create a fully sapient mind in my current state, I settled on a cerebral template that was loyal, violent, and able to grow its intelligence over time.
Projecting myself before my metallic masterpiece, I said, “My name is Ruby, and I am your creator. From this day forward, your purpose is to protect this man.” Pointing down at Ryker, I waited until the tiger gave a nod of understanding and yowled in affirmation. Smiling down at our new companion, I said, “I’m glad to see you so eager, my pet. In the coming days, we will need your help, but for now, we wait. Ryker still needs time to recover from his…changes.”
After listening to Ruby’s words, the tiger lazily stretched out its bulk, similarly to that of a common house cat, and curled into a ball against Ryker's side, patiently waiting for its rider to awaken.
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*Notification*
Vrenetian Evolution Underway
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*Notification*
Nanobiotic Tigrine Armor Activated
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*STATUS*
NAME: Ryker
RACE: ???
LEVEL: 30
VITAL ENERGY TO NEXT LEVEL: 1917507/2876261
STATS
HEALTH: ???/???
STAMINA: ???/???
MANA: ???/???
STRENGTH: ???
AGILITY: ???
CONSTITUTION: ???
ENDURANCE: ???
VITALITY: ???
PERCEPTION: ???
INTELLIGENCE: ???
MANA: ???
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End of book one.