I take a hesitant step forward, then back. The shop's open. Now's my chance to sneak inside. If they see me, they'll kill me, but if I don't take a chance, I might be missing my only opportunity to get Noli the help she needs.
Fighting my indecision, I creep out of my hiding spot, approaching the dark void of the open door with a shiver. Quiet, indistinct voices waft from within. I cross the road, hugging the wall that leads into Cloud's Artifacts. Just a few feet from the entrance now. I take another step—
A light inside flickers on.
I freeze as cries of alarm ring from the building. Fear jolts through me. The last time I heard yelling like that was when the predator—
Saru and Tetara stumble out the front door, arms laden with jars and flasks.
"What is this?" a man's voice comes from inside. "Thieves!"
"We didn't think anyone was here," Saru says.
"We don't want trouble," Tetara adds.
"Trouble?" the man scoffs, stepping outside. "Says the people who break into my shop and home in the middle of the night?" He's brandishing a staff with a blue stone glowing at the tip. I give him a quick Check.
[Hemral Cloud, Conjurer Wizard, level 21.]
A wizard! But only half Trenevalt's level. Ten levels less than Zyneth. This is who I'm pinning my hopes on?
"We'll pay you back," Saru says, retreating a pace. "But we can't hand these back over. They have to be destroyed."
The light in Hemral's staff grows brighter, casting the alley in a wavering oceanic light. "I'm not going to let you destroy my merchandise and just walk away."
"Please," Saru says. "This is for everyone's safety." Her plea is desperate, yet strong.
Hemral scoffs. "As if that—"
"There's a rogue summoner," Tetara cuts in. "They killed our friends last week. In Peakshadow. Did you hear about that?"
It feels like my limbs have turned to ice. I'm frozen to the spot.
Hemral's eyes narrow with suspicion. "Ay, I heard about some trouble up in the hills. Sorry for your friends. What's all this got to do with my shop?"
Saru takes a step forward. "We saw it all first-hand. A shadow creature that killed anything that got in its path. That killed my team. Tetara managed to defeat it, but it vanished."
"A summoned monster with a glass foci," Tetara grunts. Unlike Saru, her eyes are burning with hate instead of regret. Wild, instead of stoic.
"And I imagine you got a good look at the summoner?" Hemral asks, weapon still raised.
Saru hesitates, then shakes her head. "We don't know who they were. But we know they could only have come this way, and if they try here what they did in Peakshadow, a lot more people will die."
Hemral sighs, his staff dipping. "You're just kids. It's not your job to fight this mysterious summoner on your own. Leave it to the city guard. Come on. Bring those back inside and we'll have a chat."
Saru looks to her companion. "Perhaps we can convince him."
But Tetara shakes her head, taking a step back. "We can't allow any summoning materials to fall into the wrong hands."
Finally, my ice cracks. Echo, I call. Check their supplies.
[Summoning candles, summoning crystals, null arcanum salt—] Yes! Finally. [—null arcanum-enriched chalk—] And the chalk!
But just as quickly as my hope soars, it comes crashing back down as I realize the direness of the situation. Tetara and Saru's crusade against summoning materials started before I even got to Harrowood, and if it's as thorough as it seems, these meager supplies might be the last batch of null materials in the whole city.
I eye the jar of salt in Tetara's arms warily, and the packet of chalk in Saru's hands. I just need to grab one. Just one.
"If we hand these back over," Tetara continues, "How will you guarantee none of this will be sold to any customers?"
Hemral scowls. "That's not your call, girl."
"See?" Tetara says to her friend. "I told you he couldn't be reasoned with."
I tense. No, please, you guys can talk this out.
Hemral raises his staff once more. "I'm warning you."
Saru hesitates, glancing between Hemral and Tetara. Can she talk her down? Dammit. I'm sick of being so helpless. If I had brought my cheat sheet with me—if I could just tell them all what happened—
Then, everyone moves at once.
Tetara steps forward.
Saru calls, "Wait!"
Hemral jerks his staff toward Tetara, a blue light flashing from the crystal. With a wave of heat, a fireball flies toward her.
Tetara doesn't even flinch. She takes the hit square in her chest, the jars in her arms exploding in the blast.
No!
Shards of glass and burning material spray through the street. Tetara shrugs it off like a sunburn, dumping the burning remnants of her supplies to the ground.
Hemral swears. "You two will pay for this. I'm part of the Merchant's Guild, you know!"
This apparently means as little to Tetara as it does to me, as she only snorts, stepping around the burning pile of supplies, planting herself between Hemral and the flickering blue flames. "Saru!"
Face filled with tired resignation, she steps up to the fire and throws her supplies—and my only hope—into the blaze as well.
I watch in horror as the box of chalk goes up in flames. No, she can't do this, not when I was finally so close! I raise my glass as if reaching out, desperately wishing I could reach into the fire and pull them free.
And a shadow rises from the cobblestones, stretching like fingers for the flames.
Fear bolts through me like lightning. The predator! No, how did it get here, my Void isn't at 100% yet. But the wavering intangible abyss before me can only be one thing, and it doesn't matter how it appeared because I have to run, run—
Tetara's eyes dart toward the shadow's movements, then she sucks in a startled breath, eyes widening at the void-hand clawing its way into existence. After a moment of frozen silence, she rips her ax from its holder, face contorting with fiery hate. "It's here!" she roars.
I stumble back—away from Tetara or the predator, I don't even know—and the clawed hand jerks in my direction. I'm lanced with panic as I scramble to get away, but the hand bobs after, as if pulled along…
…like a kite on a string.
My mind races. Something's different. The predator's mind isn't overwhelming me, and I don't feel that ache like I've been split open. In fact, it takes me until now to realize I haven't been; there's no crack in my glass. No ink leaking out. Just the hand-shaped void, which I can distantly sense. Almost like…
Hesitantly, I mentally prod the shadows. And they respond to my will, the darkness retreating a respectful distance.
"What?" I hear Saru call. "What is it?"
They don't matter. All I can focus on is the void, and the brimming horror as I finally understand. It's the fraction of the predator that I had Attuned. Those shadows are responding to me. They reached out for the burning supplies because I wanted to. But I don't want this. Not this way. Horror bleeds into revulsion as I try to throw the shadows away from me. It splatters across the street, but the spots of inky black creep back in my direction, as if drawn by a magnet.
I back away, tripping over myself in my panic. No, no, I don't want it! Get it away from me! Get it away—
[Replace item in inventory?] Echo asks.
I don't care. Just as long as it's gone, as long as it can't touch me—
The void evaporates, gone in an instant.
[Item returned to inventory.]
I stare at the empty spot of the street, numb with fear or relief, I'm not even sure. It's gone, at least. I don't even—
The cobblestones explode into shrapnel of rock. Three of my legs collapse as debris flies through them, shattering the limbs in a spike of pain. Another stone pings off of my vial with a sharp crack.
[12 points of Piercing damage sustained.]
Tetara roars. "Where is it? Coward! Show yourself!" She yanks her ax from the ground, casting a shower of dirt and pebbles over me. She wheels around, swiping her weapon at imaginary foes.
"What are you doing?" Hemral asks, his voice somewhere between irritation and concern. "You've gone mad."
"The summoner was here," she seethes, rounding once more on where the void had been. "Didn't you see? It was here!"
"I think you need to calm down." The way Hemral is now holding his staff appears more defensive. He eyes the large crevice she's carved out of the street.
Saru seems equally confused. "Are you sure? I didn't see it. Tet, you're getting worked up."
"I'm not getting worked up!" Tetara yells. "It was here!" There's a strange glint in her eyes. Even in the night, even in the glow of Hemral's blue flame, something red is burning brighter in her gaze. Her breathing is getting heavier. Ripples of orange flicker beneath her skin and wisp across her muscles.
What's happening? I ask Echo, attempting to drag myself back. Amidst the darkness and debris of the destroyed supplies and broken street, I've apparently gone unnoticed, but I can't count on luck to stop me from getting stepped on.
[The orc is becoming Enraged,] Echo says. [Enraged: An ability which grants the user heightened strength and resistance to all forms of damage, at the expense of the user's mental awareness.]
And she was about to go Hulk in the middle of a city. Because of me. Because of that damn void. If she hadn't seen it—if I hadn't Attuned it in the first place—if I had figured out what that Void stat meant sooner, if, if, if—
Saru grabs Tetara's arm, and the woman flinches. "It's not here," Saru says. "You have to calm down."
Tetara grinds her teeth, swinging her head from side to side as her gaze darts down the streets. If I move, she might see me. And honestly, I'm not even sure that I don't want her to find me.
Hemral fires a blast of blue into the sky. Saru and Tetara take a step back, their faces lit in cobalt light as the flare flickers out.
Tetara rounds on him. "What—"
"The guards will be here soon," Hemral says, mouth set grimly. "If you're around when they arrive, you'll be arrested for destruction of Guild property." He nods to Saru. "Get your friend some help. I'll spread word about this… summoner of yours."
Saru pulls on Tetara's arm. "Thank you."
Tetara keeps her glare locked on Hemral for a long moment. Then she sighs, passing a hand over her face, and the flickering light dies out beneath her skin. "I'm fine. Alright. Let's go."
The women turn away, shoulders hunched. I can only watch as they vanish down the street, oblivious to the doom they just sentenced me to. My legs are broken, so I can't walk. My cheat sheet is gone, so I can't ask for help. And now my last hope is left burning in the street.
This is it, isn't it? It's over. I lost. There's no way for me to get back to Noli in time, let alone with a way to save her. The scene flickers a silent, cold blue as I sit there, alone, watching the stars wink indifferently above as I wait for the end.
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The city guard shows up later, and Hemral explains what happened. I don't really listen, because I don't particularly care. I just watch as the blue fire burns itself away, leaving only a pile of charred black shapes in the street. It must have been a magical fire: Even the glass is reduced to melted blobs. I half-heartedly have Echo scan the smoldering pile, but she only comes up with [Unidentifiable burnt remains.] At some point the guards leave, Hemral shuts his broken door, and the night continues on.
I don't try to get anywhere safe. The alley is too far away, and I can't drag myself more than a few inches on these broken legs. I'm up against the wall of Cloud's Arcane Artifacts, out of the street, though I don't know that I would try to move even if I was in the middle of the road. I'm just… tired of all this. I'm tired of trying so hard, and fucking it up, over and over again. I'm done. I quit. Once the spell ends, at least the predator can't hurt anyone anymore.
Time numbly passes.
The sky goes from black to blue to purple. People walk by on the streets. Before dawn, Hemral reemerges to clean up the pile of ashes left in the middle of the road. He doesn't bother with the rest of the scattered debris, so he doesn't see me. I don't know if that's for better or worse.
I'm beginning to think that my plan to just wait for the spell to end might take too long. I've never been a patient person.
Crushed would probably be the best. A fast death. No one would even see me out in the middle of the street. I could probably drag myself that far, at least.
Perhaps I could be a little more proactive with Lightbeam. There's not enough light out now for it to work, but if I used it as a Spell instead of a Skill…
I shiver at the thought. No, even I'm not that desperate. The idea is to get myself killed so the predator doesn't have another chance to eat people. I can't risk giving it any more mana. Although, given I'd accidentally summoned the Attuned void from my inventory last night, I might have already inadvertently raised the stat anyway. I Check it out of habit.
[Void: 54%]
Strange. Isn't that the same as it was before? But I returned the Attuned void to my inventory. Shouldn't that have added a percent? I thought I had this system figured out.
Echo, why didn't my Void stat increase when I added the Attuned void back to my inventory? I ask.
[The void cannot derive energy from itself,] Echo says.
What the fuck does that mean?
I wasn't asking Echo, but she replies anyway. [The Void stat increases as energy is expended into the Between via mana or matter for the "Predator"—as designated by the user—to harness.]
Clear as mud. Why is it called a Void stat then? What do you mean by the void deriving energy from itself? What's that got to do with the predator?
[Between is the dimension from which null arcana arises,] Echo says. [Void is a physical element associated with null arcana, comparative to how stone is associated with earth arcana, or water with storm arcana. The predator was able to survive the Between by merging with the void it found there. The resulting entity is both being and magic.]
Weird. So void isn't just the predator, it's also a kind of magic. And the predator just happens to be… a special, horrifying flavor of void. Well I guess that sort of explains how it's harvesting my mana usage. But what has that got to do with my inventory?
[The user's inventory is a compressed, isolated pocket of Between. When matter passes through the barrier between dimensions, residual energy disperses into the void.]
A sickly feeling creeps through me. My inventory is part of the Between? I don't like that. Imagining the predator stuck in some other distant dimension was vaguely reassuring, but the idea that I've been accessing a portion of that dimension at-will feels far too intimate and close.
So if I've got this right, void is a type of null magic that floats around the Between. And the predator merged with some of that void. And now anytime I use a spell or put something in my inventory, it's able to harness that energy until it's built up enough to pull itself back into reality—though it doesn't seem to be able to survive here very long without more energy. Maybe that's why it's been trying to eat the souls of anyone it can get its claws on when it appears.
But when I Attuned it, I was able to strip a little piece of that magic away from the predator. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that. I mean, I guess it's great that I was able to co-opt a sliver of the predator's power. Yay. And it's also nice that putting the Attuned void back Between doesn't seem to have any effect on causing the predator to pull the rest of itself from Between. Double yay.
But I don't want anything to do with it. I don't want to touch it, I don't want to be able to control it. I want to leave it where it is and never see it again.
Which, I remind myself, should be easy, considering as soon as my spell expires, I'm going to die.
Oh, yeah. Right.
I don't know why I'm even bothering trying to puzzle out all this void stuff. It won't matter soon anyway. I shouldn't care. I shouldn't be so engaged.
I've given up, right? There's nothing more to do but sit around and wait for the inevitable.
Since it won't matter anyway, and I'm not planning to add it back in, I bring out Trenevalt's charmed beads from my inventory.
Only two beads are left glowing on the bracelet, and one of them is starting to dim.
Too short of a time to bring help to Noli. Too long of a time to wait for the seconds to just tick away. How can it feel like too fast and too slow all at once?
I'm sorry, Noli. I wish you'd never fallen into this mess with me. You deserved someone smarter or stronger or more creative to figure all this out. Instead, you got me. Someone who always seemed to be one step behind. Someone who gave up when things got too tough.
I always wanted to be the action hero: bullet proof, swooping in to save the day and get the cute blond. That's why I went into acting. To be the star. The irony doesn't escape me that now, the first time it's really counted, when I was given the chance to step up, I choked. I'm no champion or white knight.
Turns out I was just fragile all this time. And now I broke.
The murmur of life returns to the city as the sun rises, people filling the streets as their work days begin. I think about fixing my leg. I think about returning the beads to my inventory. I think about trying to drag myself back to the inn in the hopes that Zyneth returns and just magically solves everything. But I don't do any of that. I just sit and wait. Tired. Numb.
Some people comment on the broken stones and pieces of glass that remain scattered in the street. They crunch under foot each time someone goes by, and I idly think about someone stepping on me the same way. The thought makes me uneasy, which in turn makes me ashamed. I've already died once. What am I afraid of?
"What happened here?" another person wonders as they pass through the scarred street.
Nothing much, I think. Just a bunch of people failing at playing hero.
"It's like the other shops," they say. "This is the third one."
Something about their voice sounds faintly familiar. I don't understand why, though, because just about the only person in this world I've exchanged any significant words with is Zyneth, and this definitely isn't his quiet timbre. I spare an uninterested look at the speaker, and give a start because for a moment I think it is Zyneth: a cambion with rust-red skin, curling horns, a pointed tail—and bifocals. No, it's not him. But it is someone I've met before.
Attiru, the map maker.
What on earth are they doing here?
"What's that?" They're looking down at something cupped in their hand. "What are… Where?" They squint, their gaze sweeping over the ground. Looking for something.
Coincidentally, their eyes land on me.
"Oh yes, I think I see," Attiru says. "You sure?" They step over to the side of the road, in my direction, and for a moment I think they're about to step on me, or kick my glass as they pass over, and I tense up in anticipation.
Only, to my amazement, for them to crouch down in front of me. Still looking at me. Definitely looking at me. Not a coincidence at all.
They lower their hand to the pavement, and in their cupped palm is a copper toy octopus.
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