Tinuriel took the lead in steering the cart while Roy sat back. Melanie was huddled behind him, and Felix was sitting atop the statue, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of danger. No more ambushes for us.
Roy had told them his story. As a child, he was screened and found to be worthy of military or magical service. He was sent to Wilderstone, a part of Tier five where the Invictus Military Academy was set up. He quickly rose the ranks and was given early training in command classes, rising the ranks once more. They moved him to Ironhold Citadel when he was sixteen, where he met Roxanna. They were both dumb teens in the prime of their youth and physique, and they had a relationship that lasted for several years. When they were both finishing their programs and about to be given their final ranks, someone found out about them and reported it up the chain of command. They could both be kicked out, or one could continue their career if the other owned up to being the one who forced the situation. Roy stepped up because he loved Roxanna, and he was removed.
Everyone was silent as he told the story, and now as they trundled on towards Phalanx – a very small city compared to the two they had passed through – Felix couldn’t help but wonder what would drive someone to throw away their life for someone they loved.
You did something similar, did you not?
Hmm? Do you mean with Penny? Felix thought back.
Precisely. You were doing decently on your own. But then your parents abandoned you and you took on your sister’s care. I saw. You threw away your own concerns to take care of her. I also know what else you tried to do.
Felix felt his heart seize for a moment. You…you saw that?
I did, Lucifer said in his thoughts with a concerned tone. Free will means having the freedom to take your own life if you choose. And you gave it serious thought. You even took steps towards that action…but stepped back from the edge.
I…I was in a dark place. Felix stared off into the sunset. Lucifer was, of course, correct. Felix had contemplated trying to end it all a few times. Life back home seemed futile. He had once stood on the edge of a building, one foot over the side, thinking of just ending it all…but his life changed when his phone rang, and he stepped back.
Since taking Penny in he had been constantly behind on rent and bills. He loved her because she was his sister, and it wasn’t her fault that she was born how she was. But part of him hated her for ruining his life. He hated his parents, more, for just giving up and leaving. Most of all, he hated himself for hating his sister…at first.
She grew on him as he took care of her. I went on for her. Without me, she would’ve been a ward of the state. And I’ve seen those places they would’ve put her in.
You chose self-sacrifice – just like Roy did – and did something rather heroic.
There was a swelling of a sense of pride that Felix felt as Lucifer said those words in his mind. Yeah. You’re right. I should be damn proud of the sacrifices I made for her. The sacrifices I’m still making for her. Felix could just sit in his VBV, use some of the Functions and Rooms to make himself a paradise, and just live in eternal bliss. But instead, he was out here, risking life and limb to get strong enough to go back and fix his Universe, and save her.
We’ll get back there. You’ll have your chance to rescue her and bring her to your VBV. You can even save a Function to make it so that her disease doesn’t work while she’s in there. You can save her.
Felix nodded. He would get back. He would stop whatever the Basilisk AI was that he had unwittingly released. He would save Penny and bring her to live in luxury in the VBV. He would make this life count.
His vision shifted to Lucifer’s red dark vision as the sun finished its journey over the horizon. The far deep blue of the night skies in this Universe blended with his crimson sight to create a gorgeous display of purple that filled him with inspiration and wonder. Despite everything that had happened: being ripped out of his home Universe, almost killed several times, and having the looming threat above his head of returning to his home Universe to defeat this Basilisk...he was glad to be here.
----------------------------------------
The cart came to a stop as Felix opened the VBV. They went inside, rested for the evening, and then resumed their journey. Phalanx was not large, but it was well-appointed. Enormous sets of barracks, large training fields, classrooms that could house hundreds of pupils – all of whom were wearing armor and equipped with weaponry. Their group was stopped a few times, but the quest slip from Roy was enough to warrant their entry.
Then, the ground shook. Every person stopped, and Felix hopped down off the statue’s head to keep steady. “What was that?” He asked.
Tinuriel’s eyes narrowed, “An earthquake. That only happens-”
“If a collapse is coming,” Melanie said with terror filling her every syllable. She gripped her head, “Seven days…”
We have to stop a whole Tier from collapsing?
Looks like it. The System wouldn’t give us an impossible Crisis. It has to be fixable.
Damn. Okay, get ready to use Vigor Conversion if I need more Anima. Felix held up his hand, “Detect Object,” as he focused on something that could stop the impending disaster that would happen in seven days.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Pqs2q8VF/Detect-Object.webp]image [https://i.postimg.cc/fWCXPg4b/19-0.webp]
Anima 0 / 90
Vigor 100 / 110
The golden line shot out from his palm and arced around the edge of the Tier. “That way,” he pointed as he leaned over Roy’s shoulder. “We can stop it.”
Roy looked back at him with a shocked expression, “You can stop a Tier collapse?”
Felix nodded, “Something can stop it. I can see the path to it. Just follow my directions.”
Roy swished the reins as the cart made its way through the panicking students and the more grim-faced soldiers who were trying to maintain order. They passed through Phalanx without much issue – no one stood in the way of a cart traveling at full tilt and carrying an enormous object. Continuing they saw an enormous wall – taller than the others surrounding the Tier. It had tilted slightly, some sections very slightly lower than others. They went through the gates – showing Roy’s quest slip as they passed – and saw the enormous capital of Hearthstone. An indicator appeared in Felix's vision. A floating, neon-green arrow - a System message - pointing him in the general direction of a Dungeon. In the capital, and down.
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The city itself was the pinnacle of a late-medieval society, filled with sweeping, Gothic architecture. Towering spires with ornate flying buttresses, pillars, and spires that extended into the skies above, and fancy, well-off people going about their business. In this case, the business was sheer panic, screaming, and a rush of people heading in their direction. A mass exodus as people fled the capital to make their way to The Great Lift – hoping to escape the impending doom. The people flowed around their cart like water around a rock in a river, and they got into the capital without much trouble.
A group of guards dressed in ornate military attire ran past them, and one split off from the group to approach them. “We are evacuating the city. You’re going the wrong way.”
Time to show off. Activating Fallen Flight. The spectral crimson and gold wings exploded outwards, and the display caught every person’s attention as the running and panic came to an abrupt halt. And, of course, Beacon of Free Will. Felix’s head became adorned with a spectral crown of crimson and gold – the same colors as the wings manifested. Go ahead. Tell them why you’re here.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/FHmZSJQf/Fallen-Flight-WEBP.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/4NcLVg70/Beacon-of-Free-Will-WEBP.webp]
I was hoping to keep this silent.
Where’s the fun in that? Be their savior. Be the hero. You’re a Versewalker. Solve the Crisis.
Felix floated above the crowd and cleared his throat, the volume surprising him as the Beacon of Free Will Skill seemingly increased it. “I am a Versewalker. There is a way to stop the collapse. Trust in whatever god you believe in, but I was sent here to fix this Crisis.” He flew down to the guard who stood enthralled, “Escort us. Now.” His voice came out as demanding, more demanding than he intended. As if the pride of the entity and the commanding authority of the one cast from Heaven suffused his being. He looked back at his allies, “Tinuriel, Roy – with me.” He turned back to the guards and pointed to Melanie and the statue, “She is nobility from Tier one. Protect her with your lives.”
The guard nodded and waved his squad over, shouting some commands. Melanie relaxed a bit as she was surrounded by armored men who escorted her and the cart down the main boulevard towards an enormous palace. Another group of guards approached and saluted, “Versewalker. You need an escort?”
Felix nodded and deactivated Fallen Flight, “Keep up with us.” He reached into his inventory and handed Tinuriel the enormous broad sword, Valiant Edge. “I got you another present.”
She took it and seemed surprised by its lightweight, taking a few practice swings as she grinned broadly, “You spoil me. I need to get you something now.”
Roy smirked, “What, nothing for me?”
Felix shook his head, “You got your fancy sword.” Roy chuckled in response as they moved, Felix leading the way as his detection Magic/Power guided him on a winding path through the neat and well-ordered streets and plazas. They wended their way to the back of the capital, behind the palace, and into what appeared to be an ornate series of crypts.
The golden line ended at a very simple, plain-looking crypt in the middle of a circular, stone plaza. The small building had an enormous slab worn down by eras, and there was a scepter-shaped slot in the front. The green arrow indicating the Dungeon pointed directly down.
Huh. Look at that. Quite a coincidence.
You think? Felix thought back with sarcasm.
Welcome to your life now. The System guides you – whether you know it or not – to solving a Crisis.
I guess the System Administrator doesn’t hate us all that much, then.
Oh, he hates me. This is just how things work.
Felix retrieved the scepter from his inventory and slotted it into the front of the tomb. The stone illuminated and the ground shook for a moment as the stone circle illuminated with glowing, white runes emanating some sort of Magic. The scepter popped out and Felix caught it, storing it in his inventory with a swift motion. The ground shook – not like the earthquakes from before, a gentler shaking – as the entire plaza descended.
The descent continued until the platform came to a stop. The guards were freaking out, looking around for orders. Their commander was not able to wrangle them, and he looked at Felix with pleading eyes. Fine. Activating Beacon of Free Will again. Thankfully, the travel time across the capital had taken a good chunk of time, and his bars were back to full.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/4NcLVg70/Beacon-of-Free-Will-WEBP.webp]image [https://i.postimg.cc/dt0dcmvj/19-1.webp]
Vigor 80 / 110
The men immediately calmed and looked at Felix. He leaned over to Roy, “I’m going to ask them to follow your lead. You’ve led armies in your past life, right?” Roy nodded, drawing his sword. The silvery-white power exploded outwards and settled around him as an aura that drew the gaze of all around. His hair switched colors, and his eyes darkened to the pale grey. The armor shifted as well. Felix pointed at Roy, “Listen to him!”
Roy raised his sword and the silvery-white power surged into the blade, “Steel your hearts and focus your will. You are men of Invictus! You are fighting to save your homes, your families, everything you love! Protect the Versewalker. We will save Invictus from collapse.”
The men gave a rallying cheer, and their commander heaved a sigh of relief, once more able to organize them. Felix was finally able to take in where they ended up. The stone circle had descended into a pit, and an enormous, carved, worked-stone tunnel stretched out before them. There was more of that ancient, dead language carved into it and images. Images of a monstrous creature with scales and teeth, claws, and fangs. Some amalgamation of a Western-style dragon and a wolf. He had to admit, it looked badass.
He led the way forward, finding no traps. But the carvings on the wall continued, showing the foundation of Invictus, the exodus of the elves, the rise of the military, and the war against the Dark Lord of Dirge. Roy came up to Felix, his sword radiating a soothing, silvery light, “I remember this place.”
Felix glanced at him, “You’ve been here?”
“Past life me. This was where it all started. Where the Dark Lord – I – found my purpose.” He gulped, “I don’t remember what awaits us,” he clapped Felix on the back, “But I thank you for helping me find myself.”
"It's a Dungeon," Felix muttered. "Right ahead."
Tinuriel held her new blade as the cutting edge shone with a light-blue glow. The same blue as her eyes, “Let’s get on with it.” She led the way just a step in front of Felix as they descended further, the group of guards following behind. The tunnel continued until one of the guards commented that they had to be right under the main palace. And it was then that the tunnel ended. The room they emerged in was an enormous cavern shaped like a huge teardrop. A platform extended from the tunnel out to a raised cylinder. On either side, down a thirty-foot drop, was a pool of deep, black water. At the center of the top of the teardrop on the roof, there was a bright beacon that lit the chamber.
A large, furred creature with scales and wings was at the center of the chamber. It looked up at the sound of clattering armor, and it launched itself forward, impacting some type of magical barrier. As it hit the barrier, the floor shook. This thing is causing the collapse?
Purple line.
Felix saw it also; the purple line marking a Dungeon. He turned to Roy, “When did the Dark Lord leave this place?”
Roy frowned and his eyes narrowed, “Four-hundred years ago.”
Felix turned to Tinuriel, “And Dungeons grow the longer they remain undefeated?”
Tinuriel nodded, “They either sprawl more, or the inhabitants grow stronger.”
Well, we know what causes a Tier to collapse.
Updating the System now. Dungeons left for too long cause Tiers of Heficyre to collapse. The Admin should be happy with that little tidbit.
“There’s only one thing to do,” Felix muttered as he pulled out his new Hardlight Recurve bow. As he pulled his hand back, an arrow of hardened light appeared in the draw. Looking at his two allies he nodded, “Let’s kill it.”