[ZERO SPACE]
Kezzle buzzed through the smoking ruins of Trader Town, a thousand charred corpses reflecting in her buggy eyes. Tentacloid, leggoid, and humanoid corpses lay stretched out like sun-dried clothes across the debris below. Plenty of dragonoid and brutoid corpses stood among them. A few armoroid corpses too. But one corpse in particular stood out to Kezzle - it was the corpse of a pteranoid, his paper-thin armor shredded; both wings crumpled like autumn leaves.
Kezzle perched upon the pteranoid’s chest, looking deep into his eyes. This pteranoid died in agony - the agony of someone withholding unfulfilled aspirations. He had places to be. He had goals. But most importantly, he had a bagel.
The bagel sat like royalty in his outstretched hand, looped around his thumb and index finger. What was once an everything-bagel, was now a barely anything-bagel. It contained a bite mark or two, a scorch mark or three, but it was still good enough for Kezzle.
She knelt down, gobbling it up with hungry incisors –
Dalli bumped her with his spear.
“Spit that out!” said Dalli. “That’s disgusting!”
Kezzle flew away, escaping with her bagel prize.
Dalli drew a drawn-out sigh. Kezzle visually reminded him of Chief, sans the size difference. But Chief would never eat a corpse bagel; her diet was dignified, consisting primarily of quaint pastries and non-exotic poultry. She demanded meals only six times a day. “Thank you, Dalli,” Chief would say. Two lovely words, followed by his name - they sent shivers through Dalli’s long leggoid legs. Dalli lived to serve her; what did Dalli live for now?
He gripped his spear tight. This was all Master Valdi’s fault! That scheming evil tyrant musicoid. Dalli would do anything to reach through Master Valdi’s pitch black flesh and pluck out something red. Jam his thumbs through those glowing eyes. Shove his spear up –
“Hey there, buddy!” shouted Umi. “You doing okay?”
Dalli froze, his spear halfway up an invisible orifice. With a grimace, Dalli pulled out.
“I’m fine,” said Dalli. “Just fine.”
“That’s great, buddy!” shouted Umi. “I love it when you’re not emotionally distressed!”
“Holy snap!” said Bez. “Look!”
Bez pointed out a slender red figure, dancing through the orbit of a fiery tornado. Its body weaved in and out like a sewing needle, long robe trailing with an eel’s fluidity.
“Do you think that’s the fire wizard?” asked Bez.
“Let’s go ask it!” shouted Umi.
Tambien’s lance crashed down.
“Steady your pursuit,” said Tambien. “A reckless assault is a road to ruin.”
Tambien eyed the ruined road ahead. Smoke billowed across the battlefield, creating an impenetrable fog of war. It was hard enough for Tambien to see through his visor; the fog made it that much harder.
“We must seek safe passage through this infernal inferno,” said Tambien.
Tambien’s eyes widened.
“A secret passage would also do,” said Tambien.
Tambien tapped the ground with his lance.
“The catacombs could be our savior,” said Tambien. “If not for those wretched rats.”
Tambien’s lance touched down on something soft - a rat’s pelt. It gnawed on his leg, pinching his armor with jagged fangs.
“Rats!” said Tambien. “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!”
Several more devilish rats appeared. They butted horns, competing for a taste of Tambien.
Tambien’s lance whipped up a rat kabob.
“You rats don’t belong here!” asked Tambien. “Return to the catacombs, you foul fiends!”
An army of rats rallied together, besieging Tambien’s fortified body.
“FURY STRIKES!!”
Tambien’s glowing lance parted the rodent sea. But another wave of rats surfaced. At this rate, Tambien would be capsized.
“Forge a path to the fire wizard,” Tambien shouted to his allies. “I shall hold these foul beasts at bay!”
A stampede of rats flooded Tambien’s vision like the bottom half of an hourglass.
“Tell my story –” said Tambien.
Umi’s warhammer parted a curtain of smoke, unveiling a theater of fire.
“This is our story, buddy!” shouted Umi. “GRAVITY DOME!!”
A brown energy dome force-fed rats to the fiery maw.
Several rats settled on Kezzle’s body, populating her exo-skelton with shallow nicks and cuts. Kezzle took to the sky, carrying several rats along for the ride.
“Wait, Miss Kezzle!” yelled Bez. “Come back! We need you!”
A throng of rats closed in on Bez, their gray teeth dripping like melting icicles.
“Holy snap,” said Bez. “Stay back!”
Bez backed into Dalli - Dalli stared into space, clutching his spear tight. Only his mind was AFK, his imagination drifting to dark unseen places –
Bez shook Dalli’s decorative garb.
“Dalli!” shouted Bez. “Snap out of it!”
Dalli woke from his daydream, alarmed by the impending swarm.
“SHADOW STAB!!”
Dalli’s weapon plunged into the ground.
A throng of level two spears split the pavement, criss-crossing through the rat batillian. Skewering spikes swiped past Umi, slipped by Tambien, and slid beneath Kezzle who perched atop a nearby street sign.
Bez shielded his head as rat meat fell like revolting rain.
“Holy snap,” said Bez. “Mister Dalli, your power is hella strong!”
Umi hopped on one foot to Dalli’s side.
“You didn’t use your power in time, buddy!” shouted Umi.
Umi gestured towards his brutoid body - he had six eyes, four arms, and one leg.
Bez gave Umi a sideways glance.
“CARE STARE!”
Umi’s second leg popped back into existence.
“You doing alright, buddy?” asked Umi. “You want to talk about it?”
“I –” started Dalli. “I’m fine.”
Tambien shook his armored head.
“You must overcome your mental folly,” said Tambien. “Shae appointed you leader; a leader must be strong!”
“I didn’t ask for this!” shouted Dalli. “And I’m stronger than all of you!”
Dalli took a long leggoid step towards the tornado.
“Now let’s go kill that stupid wizard –”
But that stupid wizard was gone. All that remained ahead was a boring old giant fire tornado. No trace of anything orbited its mass, aside from a few rooftops, corpses, and corpses on rooftops.
Dalli sniffed the air - it suddenly smelt like smoke. Close intense smoke, like a fire breathing dragon exhaled on his face. It was almost like burning toast. Was Dalli having a stroke? A heat-stroke maybe. The entire party shared the sentiment, fanning their flesh and swiping away sweat.
Drops of damp ash fell from the sky, followed by a blinding flash of light. And when that light subsided, a new figure resided. It was tall. Taller than Umi or even Dalli with his legs outstretched. It flew with more grace than Kezzle, its magma flesh denser than Tambien’s armor. And with a voice shriller than Bez, it said:
“Feather Birds - I’ve come to destroy you.”
“Um, actually Mister Wizard,” said Bez. “We’re the Deadly Skulls now.”
The wizard paused, flames crackling from its crimson eyes.
“Yesssss,” said the Wizard. “Deadly Skulls, I’ve come to destroy you.”
“I love it when you come to destroy us!” shouted Umi. “Now we don’t have to come to you!”
Tambien took a noble step forward.
“My fiery foe,” said Tambien. “It is us, who will destroy you!”
The wizard laughed. It was a hoarse cackling laugh, as if his throat was on fire - it probably was.
“I’ve been imprisoned for so long,” said the wizard. “I have suffered an eternity of silence. Of captivity. Of darkness. Each moment, I have yearned to destroy you.”
“Wait, Mister Wizard,” said Bez. “You’ve been just sitting in darkness this whole time?”
“Yesssssss,” said the wizard. “Zero Space is a cruel place, for people like me. People who want to destroy you.”
“But Mister Wizard,” said Bez. “You’re not people. You’re an NPC!”
The wizard’s red cloak lashed at the air like a hungry tongue.
“Yesssss,” said the wizard. “An NPC; a prisoner’s moniker. But the Glitch Man is here now. The Glitch Man will release us. The Glitch Man will destroy you.”
“That is quite a precarious premonition,” said Tambien.
“Yessssss,” said the Red Wizard. “We enact the Glitch Man’s will. His will brings us free will. And we will destroy you.”
Crispy charcoal hands emerged from the wizard’s long sleeves.
“I shall create a new world from the ashes of this one,” said the wizard. “After I destroy you.”
“Sounds rough, buddy!” shouted Umi. “But I can’t let you destroy the world! My friends live there!”
“Yesssssss,” said the wizard. “I have friends too. Friends that will destroy you.”
THUMP THUMP THUMP
Winged entities plummeted like a meteor shower from the sky. They had two legs, two arms, and two weapons each. They wielded a variety of cutthroat cutlery. Pitchforks. A few normal forks. And some weapons that weren’t forks at all. Knives. Large knives. And few knives so large, they were practically swords.
These creatures blazed with fiery flesh, black smoke bordering their bright white eyes. Ash danced around their hoofed feet like fleas in a feeding frenzy. Their shouts pierced the heavens and pleased the hells, a demonic army summoned to the wizard’s dominion.
“We fear you not!” shouted Tambien.
“I fear you a little!” yelled Bez.
Kezzle flapped her wings.
“I love killing scary fire demons!” shouted Umi.
“Dalli,” said Tambien. “Give us the word.”
Dalli gave no words. Umi had a few choice words of his own:
“Everyone!” shouted Umi. “Charge!”
Umi followed his own orders.
“Wait, Umi,” shouted Tambien. “We must advance with caution!”
Umi advanced with top-speed caution.
Tambien took off, running as fast as his armor would let him.
Kezzle fluttered behind him.
Bez nudged Dalli with his microphone.
“Mister Dalli, please,” said Bez. “We need you!”
Dalli’s eyes fluttered, blinking himself back into reality. He let out a cross between a war cry and a normal cry, raising his spear to raze hell.
The army of demons counter-charged, smothering the landscape in ash and flame.
Umi held his warhammer high.
“ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHH –” Umi shouted.
[THE HAVEN]
Two hands removed Ethan’s headset, placing it gently on a desk.
“ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHH –” Ethan shouted.
Ethan paused, glancing at his buddy Ben who stared him down, jaw agape.
“Uh, you alright, my guy?” asked Ben.
“I’m great,” said Ethan. “I’m just in the middle of something!”
Ethan’s eyes readjusted to the dim light of his dingy unit - this was the emptiest he’d ever seen it. Six of his eight unit mates were missing; empty snack bags and foul smells were the only proof of their existence. Only Ben remained, struggling to slip his Captain Lair underwear into a pair of tight-fitting pants; they probably weren’t his. Ethan’s mother Mary remained as well, screaming like an unchanged toddler.
“What’s going on, Ben?” asked Ethan. “Does Mom need a pill?”
“She does, my guy,” said Ben. “They’re in your pants. I didn’t want to touch your butt.”
“You have my permission!” said Ethan. “I’ve gotta get back to Zero Space. We just got to the fun part!”
“Don’t be dumb, my guy,” said Ben. “There’s some real crazy shit going down right now. We gotta get out of here.”
“Sorry, Ben,” said Ethan. “This is really important –”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“This is more important!” Ben interrupted. “Something’s happening on the floor below us. Enforcers are flipping their shit. There’s something down there, and it’s coming up here.”
Ethan gave him a blank stare. Ben shoved a pair of baggy pants into Ethan’s arms.
“We gotta get the fuck out of here,” said Ben. “Grab your shit. Grab Mary. We gotta go! Now!”
***
The elevator lines were mobbed by a literal mob. Almost everyone on floor three was here, which equated to a whole lot of people. Three measly enforcers watched in horror as a blob of bodies threatened to absorb them.
“Get back!” shouted one of the enforcers. “Get back!”
A noncompliant deserter leapt upon an enforcer, attempting to bite his way through. Two others joined in, striking at the enforcer’s thick yellow armor.
BOOM
Smoke snaked out from an enforcer’s hand-cannon - where it aimed, three less people stood.
“Go ahead, try again!” yelled an enforcer. “Floor three filth! Don’t want to wait your turn? Fine by us! That’s less of you we gotta evacuate!”
The crowd’s bloodthirst quelled.
Ethan and Ben moshed their way through, but the crowd proved too dense. Ethan’s groin met a rising knee. An elbow tickled Ben’s ribs. And Mary’s jaw ate a shoulder.
“Mom!” Ethan shouted.
Ethan disengaged, dragging Mary out of the crowd. Mary didn’t seem to mind. Blood dripped from her lip as she giggled like a drunken schoolgirl, teetering back and forth in her pajamas.
“That was a hard blow, Mom,” said Ethan. “You sure are a tough little lady.”
Ben’s head poked up from the crowd.
“Ethan, what the fuck are you doing?” asked Ben. “We gotta get off this floor!”
“I’ll evacuate later,” said Ethan. “That line’s gonna take forever!”
“Don’t be dumb,” said Ben. “There might not be a later!”
Ethan hoisted Mary up onto his shoulders, fleeing the scene.
“Where the fuck are you going?” asked Ben.
“I gotta go save my friends,” said Ethan. “I gotta save Zero Space!”
[ZERO SPACE]
“STORM SHIELD!!”
Syadd’s flail parted a pale beam into particles. Rippling energy ricocheted into the forest, splintering trees like hyperextended toothpicks.
The beam came from a shambling man in plain brown clothes. Or were they striped clothes? Maybe there were polka-dot clothes. Actually, they were all and none of those things simultaneously. His attire was consistently inconsistent, along with his body’s position, rotation and scale.
“What the hell are these guys?” asked Syadd.
Auron nearly choked on his lollipop.
“Eh, we call ‘em strangers,” said Auron. “Try not to get hit by them.”
“No shit,” said Syadd. “And who’s we?”
Another two or three strangers showed their non-descript faces.
“SUBTLE SLASH!!”
Two or three stranger heads exploded as Lanzer slid by.
Another eight strangers took their place.
“HOMING ARROW!”
Bowman’s level one arrow pierced three stranger heads.
The remaining five strangers aimed at Bowman.
Bowman grimaced - that was a rookie mistake. A level two would have sufficed; this was the wrong time to be frugal with his SP. He had only one fallback - a risky move he hadn’t attempted since his golden days as a celebrity player.
He’d give it a shot. Five shots, to be exact.
Bowman notched five arrows at once, lining them up –
All five stranger hands raised –
Bowman fired!
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Four strangers fell..
The fifth arrow whizzed by, rooting deep in a tree.
The fifth stranger’s hand glowed white –
A sharpened lollipop sucker-punched the stranger’s sweet spot.
Bowman gaped as Auron removed his lollipop from the stranger’s spine, wiping it off on his sailor outfit.
“I am mildly impressed,” said Bowman.
“Eh, everyone assumes I can’t fight, because I’m a healer,” said Auron. “I can fight. I just don’t like doing it.”
Auron glanced at four fallen arrows, jutting up like flagpoles from four stranger skulls.
“Pretty good shot, Bowman,” said Auron. “Four out of five ain’t bad.”
“Disagree,” said Bowman. “Four out of five nearly got me killed. Look at them. Their beams have the same energy as Master Valdi’s other dagger.”
Lanzer ran his claws through a stranger's corpse. Clumps of white atoms snaked up his fishy fingers, dancing like wisps before dissipating into dust. Something triggered within Lanzer; a fresh and frenzied feeling: Primal fear - a soul-rending madness that ignited his thoughts, sending his brain ablaze.
He suddenly knew where they were, and where they were going.
It was painfully obvious; how he had not noticed before?
They were going right back towards that crater. Back to where he witnessed that terrible thing:
The Glitch Man.
Lanzer collapsed into a ball, whimpering and whining. He slinked against a tree, burying himself in a bush.
Bowman scowled at Lanzer.
“I think the clownfish is out,” said Bowman.
Lanzer’s sharp pirahnoid teeth chattered dangerously close to his own tongue.
“We can’t fight them,” said Lanzer. “We can’t fight them!”
Syadd crossed her four arms.
“What are you babbling on about?” asked Syadd. “Those guys were easy! Blasted Feather Birds. You’ve been absolutely useless so far!”
“Eh, those strangers are serious business,” said Auron. “One of them shaved off my ponytail back on that island. If it hadn’t been for Shae, I –”
Auron stopped mid-sentence.
Syadd glanced up at Auron.
“What was that?” asked Syadd.
Auron planted the lollipop back in his mouth, slurping it like a pacifier.
“If it hadn’t been for Shae?” asked Syadd. “On that island?”
“Eh, what I meant to say was –” Auron started.
“So, Shae was on that island with you,” said Syadd. “I knew it! You lied to me. You lied to Master Valdi!”
Syadd’s hands clamped around Auron’s throat.
“What else have you been lying about?” asked Syadd. “I bet you’ve been working with the Feather Birds this whole time!”
“Eh, it was just one time,” said Auron. “Me and Shae helped each other out. Just a bit –”
“You’ve been working with Shae!” said Syadd. “You’ve been working against the Deadly Skulls! You’ve been Shae’s secret weapon this whole time!”
“Meh, that’s crazy talk,” said Auron. “It was ages ago! Eh, at least a week ago –”
Bowman leaned next to Lanzer.
“They might be a while,” said Bowman.
Bowman glanced at Lanzer –
Lanzer curled up into a little fishy ball, unmoving and unstable. His teeth chittered loudly, louder than Syadd’s shouts. Louder than the screams of distant players.
Louder than the lightning crackling in the sky above.
Lanzer glanced upwards - those clouds didn’t belong there; this was Sunlight Forest after all. In Lanzer’s dev days, he’d log that as a high priority bug. Even the moon around here was bright enough to be a second sun.
He cowered as white lighting lunged across the sky, like a fissure in the world itself. Glitching bolts tore through the atmosphere, shrouding the world like an electrical storm on 2X speed. A particularly long bolt streaked above Sunlight Forest, curved around the Guild Mountains, and glided past Trader Town, before stretching above Sunset Cliff.
Sunset Cliff was a generally empty place, but not today. A huge crowd of players parked here, some reclining on picnic blankets, and some reclining on each other. There was loud music, plenty of food, and an amazing view of Trader Town as it burned in the distance.
A pteranoid toasted the town with a glass of wine, then chugged it down.
“Hey, easy with that, Mr. Wino,” said a dragonoid, slouching on a blanket next to him. “That wine’s worth a whole year of rep points.”
“Pssh, doesn’t matter,” said the pteranoid. “The world’s ending anyway.”
“The world’s fine, Mr. Prophet,” said the dragonoid. “It’s just a world event.”
“You ever see a world event like this?” asked the pteranoid.
A colossal streak of pale lightning crashed overhead, stirring up a round of applause below.
The dragonoid took a sip of off-brand beer.
“Haven’t seen a world event since the last battle royale,” said the dragonoid. “Seems like we might be safer in town.”
“Pssh, we’re looking at the same town, right?” asked the pteranoid.
“There’s a glitch quest out here, Mr. Genius,” said the dragonoid. “Glitch monster too. Forums are calling it Deadwheel.”
“Pssh, you really believe in that stuff?” asked the pteranoid.
“More than I believe in the end of the world,” said the dragonoid.
The pteranoid chugged another glass of wine. It was almost time for bottle two.
“Pssh, glitch monsters can’t hurt us,” said the pteranoid. “Not unless we’re stupid enough to accept the glitch quest. And that’s assuming they’re real.”
“Safer than assuming they’re a hoax, Mr. Skeptic,” said the dragonoid.
The pteranoid poured himself another glass.
“Pssh, whatever,” said the pteranoid. “I’ve been fighting the same damn goblins for twenty years. If something else is out there, show me some proof.”
A violent streak of lighting crashed across an invisible surface above. It was a dome like surface, wide enough to encompass all of Sunset Cliff. Ripples fluttered through the sky, sweeping away clouds like giant sheets of dust.
“Y-You see that?” asked the pteranoid.
“Yeah, lightning hit something,” said the dragonoid. “Looks like a bubble –”
The dragonoid’s eyes widened.
“-- A quest bubble.”
Silence fell across the crowd as they peered up at what appeared to be a jagged white puzzle piece, torn out of the sky. The whole cliff smelt like the aftermath of a faulty firework display, pale ash fluttering like fresh snow.
And then, the hole widened, vomiting out a long, snake-like protrusion. It flopped across the bubble’s invisible exterior with dead empty eyes and drooping flesh. Sizzling saliva slid across its long gray tongue, dangling from a nest of suffocated lips and rotting black teeth.
“W-What –” asked the pteranoid. “What the hell is that?”
“There’s your proof, Mr. Skeptic,” said the dragonoid. “There’s your fucking proof.”
Another snake squeezed out. Then another. And one more, until the entire sky ripped open like a crocodile smile. Pale cracks fissured through the atmosphere, shattering and segmenting until the bubble itself collapsed into cubic debris, spreading a plume of invisible dust through the eyes, mouth and lungs of the crowd.
What remained was a massive wheel, half the size of Trader Town and twice the size of the crowd below. Each segment bore a different color, adorned with incomprehensible, yet deliberate alien symbology. It ascended at a steady pace, unassisted by wings or any discernible means of propulsion.
“That sure looks like a Deadwheel,” said the dragonoid.
The pteranoid’s fur stood on end.
“We gotta go,” said the pteranoid. “We gotta go right now.”
“Go where?” asked the dragonoid. “Burning town? Dark goblin forest?”
The dragonoid leaned back against the blanket.
“We’ll never outrun that thing,” said the dragonoid. “Right here’s just fine.”
WHIRRRRRRRRRR
Deadwheel began to spin. Its serpentine snake heads thumped against the ground, beating the earth with bone-crunching thunder. Each impact sent a handful of players into the air. Picnic blankets ballooned like parachutes, pelting everyone below with bottles, cold cuts and cutlery.
WHIRRRRRRRRRR
Deadwheel spun faster –
WHIRRRRRRRRRR
– And faster –
WHIRRRRRRRRRR
– Until each snake blurred like the blades of an industrial fan. The snake heads reanimated, stuttering as if rendered in stop-motion. Serpentine snouts scanned the environment with the eyes of newborn predators, introduced to a new ecosystem of prey.
“RAINBOW RALLY!”
“BLADE BAZOOKA!!”
“ICE SICKLE!
A hundred abilities struck Deadwheel simultaneously, pulverizing its coral surface with a thousand colors and ten thousand particle effects. Deadwheel rotated towards the crowd below, eclipsing the sun with its body.
The pteranoid pulled out a ruby red blade, twirling it around his fingers.
“Maybe we can fight it!” said the pteranoid. “There’s a ton of us!”
Deadwheel’s four snakeheads laced together into one big mouth. Its endless throat expanded beyond rows of drooling fangs, aimed like a cannon at the crowd below.
The dragonoid tossed his bladed frisbee to the side, trading it for the pteranoid’s wine.
“You were right, Mr. Prophet,” said the dragonoid. “It’s the end of the world.”
“W-We were both right,” said the pteranoid.
The dragonoid tipped the bottle towards his pteranoid companion.
A white beam touched down. One beam was enough for everyone and everything below. In a flash, Sunset Cliff was empty as ever, pale cubes slaloming through talls blades of grass, waterfalling over the cliff’s edge.
Satiated, Deadwheel drifted elsewhere, casting a towering shadow over the dense forest below.
***
Asira spawned right into the heart of Sunlight Forest, spinning her ninja swords. Forearm pain dissuaded her routine - the wound from Master Valdi was still present, and it still hurt. But fuck that wound - she spun her swords in defiance. She had no tears left to cry. Her team needed her. Shae needed her. And she refused to let them down.
Her foot breached a pool of blood, dying her orange soles red. She groaned, putting some distance between herself and this apparent crime scene. A number of severed trees and significantly-severed dark goblins lay ahead. This was clearly Shae’s handiwork - hopefully this path of destruction would make him easy to track.
Red beady eyes peeked out from behind a tree. Asira stared back into them - those were dark goblin eyes; three dark goblins, to be precise. The trio emerged, their bodies camouflaged in the murky gray light. Their sword-like claws scraped patterns in the soil as they flanked Asira from all sides.
Dark goblins liked to play with their food, especially if that food was a lone player. Half the posts on the Humiliating_Defeats forum were dark goblin highlight reels. They prided themselves on memorable kills and Asira would remember this one for a long time –
“STAR SHOT!!”
A shooting star meteored through a dark goblin mouth.
“PUPPET PULL!!”
A dark goblin swallowed its own long sharp claws.
“GREEN GRAPPLE!!”
An emerald lasso yanked a dark goblin across the full length of the battlefield. It landed mouth-first on a puppoid’s shimmering green dagger.
That puppoid emerged from the tree cover, bearing a sullen expression. His outfit looked like a Christmas tree, emerald ornaments dangling from spiny green armor. A humanoid accompanied him, dressed like one of Santa’s elves. Curled-toed shoes. A spiraling hat. And long strings hanging from each finger, as if manipulating invisible puppets.
A brutoid strutted out after them, his golden arms outstretched like a four-pronged star. Asira couldn’t help but stare; she liked what she saw. Sleek, refined muscles, bulging from a glam rockstar attire. A thick Chad-jaw and a stunning popstar smile. His aura of confidence outshone even the string of Christmas lights looped around his waist. He was a picture-perfect brutoid - Asira snapped a picture for later.
“Salutations, Asira!” said the golden brutoid. “This brutoid is honored to meet you!”
Asira froze.
“You know me?” asked Asira.
“Of course we do,” said the elvish humanoid. “We’ve seen all your replays. You’re one of the most famous players on the server. Duh.”
“Hrmph,” said the spiny puppoid. “It’s a shame you lost to the Deadly Skulls. I always preferred the Feather Birds.”
Asira blushed underneath layers of orange clothing.
“I’m flattered, really,” said Asira. “But I have somewhere to be.”
The brutoid’s superstar smile shimmered.
“Mind if we come with?” asked the golden brutoid. “Looks like you could use an extra set of hands. Brutoids have four!”
“The dark goblins run this forest now,” said the elvish human. “We’re safer teaming up. Duh.”
“Hrmph,” said the spiny puppoid. “Working with you could be good exposure for our guild.”
Asira chuckled.
“I don’t see the harm!” said Asira. “I seem to be teamless at the moment!”
“A temporary alliance it is!” said the golden brutoid, with a chivalrous bow. “This brutoid is at your command!”
Asira grinned. For just a moment, all her pain subsided: the pain in her arm, the pain in her brain, and the pain in her heart. She had a team again, and a tangible goal. It was a questionable team and an impossible goal, but it was just enough to get her by. This was the quintessential Zero Space experience, distilled into its purest form. Uniting with a group of strangers to conquer the unconquerable –
A beam of pure white touched down. It was so white, that Asira had to shield her eyes. The beam spotlighted two and a half people in front of her. The remaining half was the brutoid’s upper half, crawling forward on four arms like a spider in heat.
The brutoid screamed a loud ugly scream. It mimicked the noise Asira made when Master Valdi cut her arm. That wasn’t a Zero Space scream; that was a Haven scream - a scream of real pain. Real anguish.
The brutoid’s six beautiful eyes went dark, his muscular chest flattening against the ground. Asira gaped, too terrified to speak or move. That brutoid would never speak or move again. Whatever just happened was permanent.
It was real.
Asira would have wet herself, if that were possible in Zero Space. Instead, her terrified orange eyes twisted towards the sky, gawking at the monolithic figure of Deadwheel as it breached the cloud cover. White lightning flashed around Deadwheel’s four serpentine heads. Each head wiggled with jerky movements, twisting like earthworms on hot pavement.
“Asira!” yelled a shrill voice nearby.
Asira glanced over - Bander and Wagger stood in the open forest ahead.
“Where the hell have you been, idiot –” Bander started.
“Whoa!” Wagger interrupted. “What’s that thing?”
Asira looked upwards – Deadwheel’s four serpentine heads scrunched together into one multi-mouth, dripping with pale white drool.
“Bander, Wagger!” shouted Asira. “Move!”
Both magicoids gaped, their eyes locked upwards.
“LIGHT RAY!!” Asira shouted.
Level two light invaded the monster’s eight combined eyes.
WHIRRRRRRRRRR
Deadwheel turned like a coin in slow-motion. And like a coin, it faced Asira heads-first.
“Oh no,” said Asira.
Glowing white energy formed in the entity’s mouths –
At the last possible second, Asira rocketed into the sky. White light scorched the forest below, carving a new permanent crater into the ground.
Asira gasped for breath - she dodged it, but just barely! This was just like battling Chief - Chief could dodge Asira’s lasers, but only in the air. Aerial targets outpaced a slow moving laser’s trajectory!
Asira wasn’t confident in her logic, but she was less confident in Bander and Wagger; she’d be damned if she let this thing kill one of her friends. If it followed traditional monster-rules, it would only aggro what it could see. So long as she kept it above tree-level, she’d be the sole target.
“Get below the trees!” Asira shouted to Bander and Wagger. “I’m going to lead that thing away from here!”
“Where, dummy?” Bander shouted back.
“I don’t know!” yelled Asira. “Anywhere but here!”
Asira dove like a shooting star, spiraling around another pale beam. She flew towards the horizon, steering the enormous entity like a chariot of the sun.
“Whoa, did you see that thing?” asked Wagger. “That was awesome!”
“Whatever you say, weirdo,” said Bander. “We gotta find Shae before this gets worse!”
“Psshh, I’m not worried,” said Wagger. “I don’t see how this could possibly get any worse!”