~~~Stanley~~~
MOVE
Stanley flew backward into the lair he'd just left. He flew right ahead of the expanding shockwave that disintegrated the street and then the front half of the lair he was in. It was too fast for his eyes to follow, even with his faster thoughts. He only knew what was happening because it happened to reach inside his domain.
His domain had grown minutely since acquiring the skill, but it was just large enough to fit his team within the effect. That was the only way he carried them out with him.
Cut
He carved through the far wall of the lair, then he was outside again and hauling ass up the street. All the while cursing himself for not ranking up when he had the chance.
Now he was screwed. This new monster didn't even need to come back to life like the others had. It just straight up resisted his attack...
The only chance left was to get back to Nate. It was time to find out if Zeke was really their savior.
Of course, that would never happen.
Stanley felt the magic coming. It had a familiar flavor that he remembered all too well... soul magic.
This time, it didn't rip and tear at his soul. A circle of glowing power, lined with weird symbols, appeared on the ground beneath them.
Debuff Resisted: [Soul Cage]
All forward progress ground to a halt, and voices screamed around him as Stanley pushed back against the magic. He could feel it wrapped around him, clawing at him. He could feel it trying to dig into... something.
Only it couldn't touch him; it couldn't hold him.
But it had caught the others. It had locked them all down inside the circle. Trapped them with chains of magic latched onto their souls...
His mind burned while time crawled slowly forward, and Stanley looked at the screaming people with a terrible realization. He had to leave them behind. He had to abandon them if he wanted to escape. They were too weak to help him...
All this time, all the talk of having help, and none of it mattered. Because they were all too fucking weak!
"Stanley!" James met his gaze, his expression bleak and pained. Then he closed his eyes, turned to face the oncoming undead, and shouted, "Run!"
Stanley saw the others hearing what he'd said and saw them realize what it meant...
Serenity closed her eyes. Olivia turned away, blinding light blooming in her hands. Silas screamed while a cloud of his crystals appeared, and Edward only grinned while hefting his wrench.
MOVE
Stanley screamed in rage as he demanded they keep moving. As he demanded that their reality conform to his own. Demanded that they were free of the magic and still moving!
Debuff: [Cerebral Fatigue]
They moved.
"Leave us!" James screamed as the buildings blurred past. "Get to Nate!"
Stanley felt another spell coming... and he threw them down a side street while flying the other way. The magic followed him.
Debuff Resisted: [Soul Cage]
Caffeine squirmed and whined, but Stanley held onto him as they shot away down the street. You can't save everyone, Caff. Besides, this might be the only chance they had to survive... because Stanley had a feeling that this monster didn't care about them.
It wanted him.
He'd been warned about greater... static...
Debuff Resisted: [Soul Cage]
Stanley changed direction ninety degrees and shot down another street. Then again and again, as he weaved around the skyscrapers.
Debuff Partially Resisted: [Soul Cage]
He wouldn't make it anywhere close to Nate.
Undead still littered the streets, but here they still roamed randomly, not like the presumably controlled ones before. Which did nothing to explain the battle going on ahead.
A mob of the things were charging toward a particular building. One with a lot of explosions out front...
Premonition warned him, and Stanley dodged aside from...
Debuff Resisted: [Decay]
Debuff Resisted: [Corruption]
Skill Level Up: Psionic Barrier
What looked like a black laser clipped his elbow... and hit him like a sledgehammer. It blew off his lower arm, swatted him out of the air, and into the ground...
Debuff Gained: [Heavy Bleeding]
Debuff Gained: [Concussed]
Skill Level Up: Psionic Barrier
Skill Level Up: Psionic Barrier
Stanley saw a horde of red eyes charging toward him... He blinked, and they were gone. A giant pug was in their place.
Debuff Removed: [Concussed]
Debuff Partially Resisted: [Soul Cage]
He felt the spell digging magic claws into his soul, scratching and pricking him, but not gaining a hold. Not yet.
Stanley ripped away the car that had wrapped around him after he plowed into it and Moved it at the skeleton looming closer. Then he snatched Caffeine away from the zombies and dragged both of them into the lair the zombies had been attacking.
You have entered a Lair: [Hungering Mana]
It was full of bats, and they ranged from pug-sized to car-sized.
Only the smaller bats actually flew around, while the larger ones stood on the ground like a defensive bulwark against the zombies. All of them had glowing blue mouths.
They were also already at war with the undead.
The little flyers zipped around, harassing the zombies, while the big ones waited in their group around the double doors of the skyscraper. They would pounce quickly and abruptly any time a zombie got too close. Stanley couldn't see what they did to the zombies, but it definitely involved that blue light in their mouths.
Inside the skyscraper, it was chaos.
Stanley would have plowed through hundreds of the bats without his domain, which gave just enough extra notice to push them aside. He didn't stop at that, though. Stanley threw every bat he could reach right back the way he'd come. Let the skeleton deal with them.
This was the first monster he'd seen actively fighting with the undead. Not inside, either. They were actually going out into the miasma to fight... So he helped more of them along to do exactly that. By moving them. Gently.
It took a similar focus to how he moved himself around quickly. Stanley wasn't throwing them like he would a spear... He instead moved them from here to there and then let go. The tactic cleared out most of the surrounding bats and put them right in the skeleton's path. Which he fully expected to be right behind him.
In the couple of seconds it took to relocate a few hundred bats, Stanley saw the blocked off stairwell and the wide open elevator shaft, from which more bats were still emerging.
Then he felt it coming and turned.
Stanley saw the magic pass through the lair wall. That alone told him it was likely soul magic, but his Soul Sight confirmed it. Seeing it clip a bat's flapping wing and send the creature spiraling gave him a new idea.
Move
Rather than move himself, Stanley moved the bats. He stuck a whole mass of them between himself and the magic; he literally threw them at the oncoming spell.
It worked! The magic did something likely unpleasant to the bats, based on how their souls looked and how they screamed... but it fizzled out after going through a dozen of them.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
He headed for the elevator shaft right before the high pitched squeaking kicked off from not just the wounded bats but every bat in earshot of the first.
That deafening noise heralded a flood of fresh bats pouring down from the higher floors, and Stanley changed course away from the elevator.
There was one other option he hoped would work. The air ducts.
Like all lairs, this one was shifting away from what it had started life as. The metal grate over the duct entrance was no longer a separate piece, but that was no obstacle.
Cut
You have attacked a lair structure. All lair residents notified.
He thought the fighting so far had riled up the bats, but they really went nuts after he attacked their lair.
A glance upward showed him what had to be thousands of souls, all funneling into the elevator shaft like water swirling down a drain. Perfect.
Stanley held the duct cover in place after he flew inside, then threw every bat that came his way toward the door and the absolute shitshow that was happening there. Something with lots of explosions...
He had an actual view of the front entrance from his narrow cubby, and he still couldn't figure out what was happening. Zombies were charging inside through the open door now, where they got instantly swarmed by little bats.
It didn't look like they accomplished anything while chewing on the zombies with their little glowing maws. At least, not until a zombie crumbled into dust beneath the swarming bats.
Also, the bats were exploding...
Stanley saw a red eye rip a bat from its shoulder, crushing it into a pulp with one hand... before an explosion of blue light swallowed them both.
When the light cleared, the zombie was missing a hand and part of its head. Then more bats immediately swarmed it and its fellow zombies. The ensuing explosions blotted out any sight of the doors.
Meanwhile, bats that weren't actively flying in to attack covered every surface of the large room. Floor, ceiling, and walls. Just a carpet of dark fur and glowing blue mouths. Because each of them was either sitting on the floor, clinging to the walls, or hanging from the ceiling, and all of them had their mouths wide open with a brilliant blue light swirling within.
Whether because of the explosions or because of the zombies invading, the bats ignored Stanley rather quickly despite his attack on the lair. Maybe they blamed the zombies? Whatever it was, he welcomed the respite and used the breathing room to take stock.
He was lying on his back in a narrow metal tube, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and he still couldn't see the skeleton with Soul Sight. It was still out there. Because he could see its spells trying to snake through the mass of bats to reach him. Which meant the skeleton could probably see him...
Of course. Another monster using soul magic probably had soul sight, too. Probably at a higher level as well.
Stanley ran his remaining hand through Caffeine's fur while the pug lay on his chest. Caffeine was taking things well... with only the smallest huffs for the loud explosions echoing into the duct.
Outside, the chaos only increased when the skeleton finally made its entrance. The bats went absolutely... batshit and swarmed the skeleton so much that Stanley couldn't see anything other than nearly endless explosions.
It was while looking away from the epicenter of noise and light that he finally saw some bats going the other way, against the nonstop flow of fresh combatants. The big bats.
They still scrambled along rather than fly, but each of the retreating creatures glowed from within and brightly enough to rival the explosions at the entrance.
More bats took their place, doing nothing more than opening their mouths at the chaotic fighting, that same blue glow lighting up inside when they did so.
Premonition flared.
Stanley moved.
He shot through the duct just ahead of the magic that ripped through the entire room in a storm of lightning, and he passed to the second floor right before every bat on the first floor exploded at once.
Debuff Gained: [Deafened]
Skill Level Up: Psionic Barrier
Even actively blocking the narrow tunnel wasn't enough to escape unscathed, and Stanley tumbled out into the open air of the second floor when the explosion blasted the duct apart.
Debuff Removed: [Deafened]
There were a lot fewer bats up here, most of them having already gone down to join the fight. Stanley threw the few left behind into the elevator shaft to join the flood as he dove back into the air duct and flew higher into the lair.
The bats seemed undeterred by the deaths of their kin. If anything, they swarmed even thicker on their way to join the fight. He flew over halfway up before the numbers thickened enough that he thought they should block any incoming soul spells. Then he settled in and tried to decide what the fuck to do now.
His team was likely dead. But Edward should have had enough time to send the signal for Nate to know something was happening... If they weren't dead, then they could probably follow the sounds of explosions to find him here. Not that they would know he was in here... Not that they could do anything to help...
Stanley ramped up his Soul Sight, while remembering the warning in the skill about it opening his soul up to attack. He'd forgotten earlier but still resisted the spells. Maybe it had to hit him in the eyes? He'd resisted fewer spells this time before it turned into a partial resist, but that might be because the monster was too strong.
It had to be D-grade... assuming things followed the same progression they had so far.
His eyes were burning worse than ever before when he finally saw it. Just a flash. A blindingly bright soul that looked only vaguely similar to the zombies. It didn't smell like rot... it smelled like death. It tasted like death—like an ancient tomb—an ancient cursed tomb.
It was also right outside the building, only a couple dozen feet away from him.
He gagged, snapped his eyes closed, then blasted himself through the ceiling and hauled a shit ton of bats between him and the skeleton when his premonition flared.
You have attacked a lair structure. All lair residents notified.
Bats died from the spell and then exploded. Which drew in more bats.
Stanley dove into a central office just ahead of their arrival, waiting tensely for the next attack while gently steering any curious bats away from his hiding spot.
It never came, and his reaching mind felt nothing lurking outside the building. Not up here, at least. Assuming it couldn't hide from his mental touch, too... The whole building still rattled from explosions downstairs. Of course, the skeleton not being nearby meant nothing. The monster was faster than him. Faster than anything in this entire dungeon.
He'd probably be dead already if it wasn't another caster.
A fucking D-grade caster! His strongest attack to date had done jack shit.
It was total bullshit! Except... he remembered... something... Something about... unforeseen consequences, and... static.
Stanley growled and checked his notifications. Primarily the one he'd just gotten.
Skill Level Up: Soul Sight
Soul Sight has reached the Level 25 Threshold. Evolution Available. Upgrade Available.
Upgrade:
Soul Sight (Rare)
The eye is the window to the soul.
Allows the user to detect and gaze upon the souls of others, but lets others gaze upon the user's soul through their eyes while skill is active.
User may overcharge the skill with extra soul energy to gain increased range and sensitivity but leaves the user more vulnerable to soul attack while active.
Skill Level Effects (Intermediate)
+2% Effective Soul
If the skeleton is using Soul Sight, can I retaliate against him? Stanley gave up on the idea when he realized he was clueless about how to even try. The upgrade only gives me what I can already do... next.
Evolution:
The eye is the window to the soul. You have used yours to inflict damage and intimidate your enemies. Now turn your gaze into a true weapon.
Soul Gaze (Epic)
Allows the user to gaze upon and into the souls of others, but lets others gaze upon the user's soul through their eyes while skill is active. If they dare.
Allows user to damage or intimidate another's soul. Eye contact will greatly increase this effect. User gains some protection against soul attacks but will still be more vulnerable against stronger souls while active.
Skill Level Effects (Intermediate)
+3% Effective Soul
That would probably work, Stanley thought. He hesitated, since he still didn't know how strong his own soul was. It was a viable option, but surprisingly, there was another evolution option to check.
Evolution:
You have the unique attribute: Twin-Soul. Learn more.
You have resisted multiple attacks against your soul. Keep doing that.
You are sensitive to soul energy. Delve deeper.
Soul Awareness (Epic)
Knowledge is power. Know yourself and know your enemies.
Still your own soul and focus inward to detect the incoming emanations of nearby souls.
Increases the difficulty for others to detect or gain information from the user's soul while allowing the user to passively detect and glean information from other nearby souls.
Allows users to strengthen and solidify their soul, increasing protection against soul attacks.
Skill Level Effects (Intermediate)
+3% Effective Soul
Stanley looked back and forth over his two evolution options. Both were better than the upgrade. An attacking ability or a defensive ability...
He liked the idea of fucking up that skeleton with Soul Gaze, but still didn't know what his actual soul stat really was. Would it even hurt the skeleton? Or just make him more vulnerable?
Then there was the other option. A way to strengthen his soul. Allegedly. He was only slightly nervous about that 'know yourself' bit. What if I'm super fucked up? What if I broke...
Caffeine sat up to lick his face, and Stanley hugged the dog until he lay back down. I know, Caff. You love me, and you're the best, so I must be awesome! Caffeine rolled over and sprawled on his back for belly rubs.
But even as he rubbed the pug’s belly, Stanley had a bad feeling about his soul. Between what happened at Nate's, where everyone said his soul was fucked up... and the source.
He still didn't remember what had happened that day in the mountains, but he knew they had paid a price. Something terrible...
The skill also said he'd be harder to detect. Would that help him hide from the skeleton? Would it let him get back to Nate?
On the other hand, soul magic was by far the worst magic he'd run into. If he could use it himself...
Stanley also knew that he was only barely scratching the surface of his Mind Over Matter skill. Could he attack souls with it? Were souls matter? Energy? Wasn't that the same thing? His soul should be strong, right? He'd kind of used it to attack Nate and the others... Did that mean his soul was stronger than theirs?
He was also almost certain that the source was inside his soul... which complicated things. He would like nothing more than to let it out and burn that shitstain to ashes. There was just the small matter of the glowing crack inside his soul...
As he struggled with the choice, a feeling grew steadily inside him. A feeling that told him in no uncertain terms that he only had one choice. A feeling of dread, which only grew stronger the longer he waited.
You do not hold Full Dominion over your Twin-Soul. All involved parties must agree.
All parties agreed.
Non-Class Skill Evolved: Soul Awareness (Epic) - Level 25 (Intermediate)
Error! Anomaly Detected! Analyzing.
Oh, come on! Now what?