ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ᴀɢᴏ...
A full moon shone over a desolate mountain peak. A peak so high it loomed far above the restless churning clouds.
A man stood atop it—a broad-shouldered man with strong features and short white hair. His eyes were trained on the sky.
They glowed an unearthly bright blue.
He held a beautiful obsidian sword, a sword thrust skyward. From its tip flowed a stream of shifting shadows—shadows cast on thin air.
They flowed into a Monster.
The Earth Dragon Kyron — the dungeon's Level 100 Boss—floated before him. Its scales were the color of weathered stone. Its steel-silver eyes glowed just as his did.
For a moment, all was still. The man and the dragon stared at each other, locked in some unseen duel.
Then the dragon snorted; its whole body started quivering. Suddenly it seemed very agitated; its face curled up in a look of immense pain. It gave a strangled cry.
Its eyes rolled back. Blood leaked out the sockets, leaked out its mouth—and it plummeted. It broke through the clouds and was gone.
The man got a notification.
𝔹+ 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕕𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕠𝕟 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕!
For a moment, he stood there silent. Then he frowned. He patted his suit's breast pocket, pulled out a crystal, held it up to his ear.
We finished the interrogations. The account was corroborated by five witnesses at the Abyssal Crater. It was as you suspected, sir. It wasn't the Ice Princess. Someone else intervened.
The man stilled.
Zane Walker. The Savage Sage.
His expression spasmed. For a moment, rage flickered across his features.
"Thank you, Gabriel," he said.
Then in silence, he looked at the stars.
"We found your killer, Javi," he said softly. His voice began to tremble; it grew thick with feeling.
For now, he was still Level 99. He was not yet strong enough to sweep the West Coast…
But soon. His breakthrough was coming.
Soon—"Brother, I will avenge you!"
***
ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ ᴅᴀʏ
ꜱᴜɴꜱᴇᴛ
Zane stood at the border of Silicon Coven territory and waited in a field of sagging knee-tall yellow grass. They went on and on, stretching into the horizon, swaying softly in the breeze.
It wasn't long before he saw them.
They popped up on his mini-map first—a clump of seven white dots. Then he saw their auras—a glut of black essence sweeping toward him like a low, bleak fog.
Seven men. All in expensive-looking sleek black suits. Six in a row behind—the clear leader headed the pack. Soon he was close enough to identify.
𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘𝟞
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥
Mike saw him in turn—and froze. His eyes widened. A spasm ran over his face.
Then Zane felt an outpouring of fury. So much he was taken aback.
But Mike didn't let it show on his face. Instead he put on a strained smile. "Zane Walker," he said softly. "Perhaps this is fate."
What?
"My name is Mike Masters." He bowed deeply, to his waist. "I lead the Tomb Kings. And these are my Marquises."
He gestured to the men behind him—all dark-haired, well slicked; they were a well-groomed bunch. Each of them was in the high Level 90s.
And each of them also felt very angry at Zane.
"I've known each of these men for well over a decade. Some since we were children…we are like family. There used to be more of us. But a few have passed on as of late."
Uh…
"One in particular—Javier Mendez—I think of every day," said Mike. His eyes started misting a little. "Javi and I… it is difficult for me to tell you how close we were. He was like a little brother to me. Tell me. Why did you kill him?"
"Oh." Zane scratched his head. Well—this was kind of awkward. He wondered how the guy found out. "I saw him trying to kill someone. So he tried to kill me. So I killed him back."
It took a moment for that to sink in. Then Mike closed his eyes, breathed out heavily, nodded slowly. "That makes sense. It would not have done to leave witnesses." He sighed. "His hand was forced. And yours was forced in turn. You cannot be blamed for that."
What a surprisingly reasonable thing to say.
"I know this in my head," Mike continued. "But… I'm afraid my heart does not agree."
He held out his own hand, and a sword dropped into it, smoking shadows—a beautiful thing. He shook his head sadly. "Today we must duel to the death, Zane Walker."
This wasn't really how Zane thought things would go down. This Mike seemed like a chill guy—other than being a murderous mob boss and everything. Right now he was just a guy looking out for his friend—Zane could understand that. He was even polite about it. Now Zane felt kind of bad about the whole thing.
"Uh," he said, scratching his head. "You know. We don't have to fight, if you don't want to." Which were words he never thought he'd say. "We can all just go home and forget about it."
He felt he should give the poor guy a way out.
But at that Mike's anger spiked. His face spasmed—he had to close his eyes, take a deep breath or two.
"No. This will end only one way." His men nodded behind him. "You do not understand. Each of us—we are like brothers. Each of these men is like a part of my own heart! Gabriel, Hector, Liam, Jeremy, Paul, Antonio…" he started choking up a little. Zane could feel he really meant it. "How can you ask me to simply forget the killing of a brother?"
Yeah… Zane supposed that did make sense. He'd be pretty mad if someone tried to kill Evan or something too.
"… Alright…" Nothing to be done for it, Zane supposed… they just really wanted to kill him.
What a weird situation.
Mike leveled his sword at him. Zane didn't need Sage Mind to tell his feelings. His posture exuded confidence.
"Have you made peace, Savage Sage?" He called. His aura began to rise. "Are you ready?"
They were starting?
"Not yet," Zane said. He turned up Sage Mind's in-depth Identify.
𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘𝟞
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟
𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤:
𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤
𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:
ℕ𝕠𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝]
𝕀𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝟙𝟝% 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝟛𝟘% 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝.
𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜 ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝]
𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕕𝕦𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖'𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖'𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣. 𝔸 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙-𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜, 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙-𝕣𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝. 𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕥.
𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪]
𝔸𝕟 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕕𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝕔𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖.
𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪]
𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕖-𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤.
A few things stood out to Zane. That slash Skill sounded like it could be a doozy. And he didn't even know what that soul Skill meant, but it seemed unpleasant. And if Mike got extra powerful at night... the sun was most of the way down the horizon. Then there was that teleporting skill too. That… could be some trouble.
He half-expected the guy to jump him while he was inspecting. But Mike just waited there politely. What a nice guy. It really was kind of a pity Mike wanted to kill him so badly. Then—"Alright. I'm good."
Mike nodded. "Then let us begin." He turned his head skyward. "For Javi," he whispered. "For brotherhood!"
"For brotherhood!" roared the Marquises.
Mike's aura exploded. So did those of the Marquises—but Mike's overshadowed them all.
Damn! That night Skill was stronger than he'd thought. He could instantly tell Mike was the strongest being he'd ever met—he felt a lot stronger than even that Gale Dragon. Zane had to get serious.
He brought out his own best weapon. Mike was readying a Slash; his sword was a smoldering pyre of darkness. A dark so dark it made the night seem pale by contrast—a smothering, domineering, absolute darkness, a gaping void of an element.
Zane's meteors burst into being, blazing high above. Stormfire brought their brightness to another level; it was like the sun had come out, washing away the night.
Mike stared at it—Zane felt a spike of shock. He got the sense the man hadn't expected Zane to pull out enough essence to match his own, much less exceed it.
Then Zane brought the hammer down. Apocalypse Smash!
The sun fell out of the sky.
Mike's eyes widened; he gritted his teeth, let out a roar—and unleashed an arc of smoking inky darkness.
An arc of black met a line of white.
The eruption was spectacular; a wave of blinding essence torched the world. And to Zane's surprise, his smash was knocked off-course—just how much essence was in that thing? It cratered to a halt a dozen odd feet away.
When Zane blinked the light out of his eyes, fires spread everywhere. Every strand of grass in a hundred foot radius had been reduced to ash; the rocky ground was charred black.
Mike was breathing heavy. There were a few black, sizzling spots on his face where he'd been scorched pretty good—and his suit looked a lot shabbier for wear. But he'd come out of it mostly fine.
It really said more about how strong Mike was than about his new Stormfire Skill—he could tell it was monstrous just by that splash damage. Pretty much everything without an Elemental Law protecting it had gone to dust.
Then he frowned. Wait. Where'd all the Marquises gone?
Then he noticed the six piles of ash smoldering behind Mike. … Ah. Oops.
He hadn't even meant to do that. The blast really was stronger than he'd thought…
Then Mike saw where he was looking—and turned. He saw the first pile of ash, and gasped. "No..." He whispered. "NO!"
For a second he just stood there in shock. Then he sank slowly to his knees.
He reached out a trembling hand, grasped a handful of dust—it slipped between his fingers. "Gabriel!" He croaked. He turned—and saw the next ash pile. He choked. "Hector!" Then the next, and the next—"Liam! Jeremy! Paul! ANTONIO!"
Well. This… this was very awkward. Zane stood there shuffling his feet.
He knew they'd been trying to kill him, but he still felt kind of bad about it.
Mike buried his face in his hands. He started to sob. Zane just stood there, scratching his head. He wasn't really sure what to do now.
Zane supposed they were doing a little break now—he tried to be respectful. He waited patiently for the guy to finish up.
Man—Mike was still tearing up. He must've really liked those guys…
…Could he actually tell those piles of ashes apart, or was he just guessing? They looked the same to Zane…
After a while, Mike finished up. He looked up again, sniffling, eyes red.
Slowly, Mike turned. His face twisted. If he'd been angry before, well…." ZANE WALKER!"
"Uh," said Zane.
"YOU TOOK ALL MY BROTHERS FROM ME!"
"Yeah…" He felt kind of helpless. He did get why the guy was angry. But they did also insist on trying to kill him—they didn't give him much of a choice here, he felt like—
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Mike screeched, spittle flying, veins bulging purple on his forehead. And his aura exploded to new heights.
Oh dear.