_ _ _ _Lucius Pov_ _ _ _
I sat in an endless expanse of space; all around me there was complete carnage to say the least. Massive swarms of vessels of different sizes hovered through the vacuum, firing their weapons above the surface of a glistening world as tiny fighters and support craft battled around them. Far below, on the world that shimmered with vast oceans separated by a single great continent, a similar scene of destruction could be witnessed.
This game, whose name I could not pronounce, was similar to chess or checkers in a way, only on a much grander scale. Hovering across from me was a completely featureless figure with the word "Anonymous" floating in front of their face; I probably looked identical from their perspective to be honest.
They were my opponent in the game, and from the slight relaxation in the silhouette's body language it was obvious they thought they were winning. Unfortunately, that was exactly what I wanted them to think, they were already doomed but simply did not know it.
Of course anyone would beg to differ, mostly because it appeared I was losing rather badly. In fact, most of the destroyed ships in orbit were mine while my forces on the ground were being pushed back at every turn. Fortunately, this was all going exactly the way I wanted it to, and that was about to be proven.
As I moved my reserves to bolster certain points, I received a notification I had been waiting for. I did not hesitate; my opponent was already in the position I wanted them in. With a wave of my hand I sent the order that would set everything into motion.
It started with the sound of continents cracking, a world swelling like a balloon on the verge of bursting, and then, it erupted. The planet exploded in a flash of monumental destruction; every being on its surface was vaporized in an instant.
For a moment there was silence as I watched the fleet in orbit be torn apart by the explosion and by shards of the planet that had been hurled into space at blinding speed. A second later, the perspective around me and my stunned opponent shifted to a far-off place where a single ship hovered, one of mine. It was then that the game-over screen appeared, announcing my victory.
"Well, that's that I suppose," I yawned. I was slightly disappointed with how easily they had fallen into the trap I had layed out.
"B-but... how?!" My opponent suddenly yelled from across from me.
Glancing up at them, they continued, "There's no way you could have gotten your units to go along with such a plan."
(He would have been right about that under normal circumstances,) I thought, shaking my head.
You see, in this game every individual unit had a form of artificial intelligence; they would even disobey your orders if you told them to do something really stupid or suicidal. Unfortunately for them, he had forgotten one thing: the lore behind each of the factions you could pick also played a part.
"I selected the Keshin as my species, remember?" I mused, bringing up a holographic screen that displayed the relevant information for him to see. "If you had read the descriptions, you would have known they are a race that believe victory is worth any cost. Basically, they are suicidal maniacs who will happily destroy everything around them if it means taking their enemy down with them."
"Now admittedly, my units wouldn't have followed such extreme orders without a good reason," I continued with a shrug, "however, since you so graciously pushed them into a corner, they were very willing to follow my commands."
"That... that's such bullshit!" he spat.
I didn't bother staying to hear their complaints. I disconnected from the game, my consciousness returning to my body a second later. Opening my eyes, I pulled myself out of the machine I had been lying in, my four pointed legs moving rhythmically as I stepped away from the game station and towards where my friends were waiting.
"Done already?" Iris asked as I walked over.
"Yep. Honestly, though, it was pretty dull all things considered," I answered with a shrug.
"What? Were they not a challenge for the great cheating king himself?" She said, causing my mentor to laugh, a large grin spreading across his face.
"You know, being called a cheater is awfully hurtful," I said, putting a hand over my chest in mock pain.
(I couldn't let them know my race has certain abilities that greatly increased our affinity and proficiency when it comes to games,) I thought with an internal chuckle.
"But yeah, they weren't much of a challenge at all."
"You make me proud to be your mentor, my little student." Basil said, which made me rub the back of my head.
"Thanks, man," I responded a little sheepishly.
I'm not really used to people complimenting me, I thought.
Just as we were about to continue our conversation, I noticed two familiar faces heading our way. "So, how are things going over here?" Yennora asked.
"Good, all things considered," I replied.
Decker, who had also come over, glanced around before asking, "By the way, where is the brat?"
"Carmen? She's not with us," I answered, somewhat confused.
"Is she not with you?" Yennora asked, worried, and our expressions made the answer rather obvious.
"Did she wander off?" Iris asked, but no one had an answer for her.
"The brat is probably fine, she's probably wit-" Decker began, however he was suddenly cut off when a flashing screen appeared in front of him. His face immediately went grim.
"Shit!"
_ _ _ _Carmen Pov_ _ _ _
I remember my death with vivid clarity: the way it felt, how hopeless it all was. I remember the way blood filled my lungs, making it impossible to scream or breathe. I remember the way the world around me seemed to fade away as my consciousness dimmed by the second.
I never wanted to feel that helpless again, and I hadn't experienced anything similar since my resurrection, until now that is. In hindsight I had been incredibly stupid and careless; I had thought that just because I wasn't on an expedition that I was safe and could let my guard down. I was dead wrong.
I had followed that trail of green fluid purely out of curiosity, and what I found wasn't what I expected at all. When I had first saw them I felt rather concerned for them; they were just sitting there, mumbling to themselves and twitching in pain, sadly that concern soon turned to alarm. I should have known better, I had watched enough horror movies to know how stupid a decision that was, and yet I did it anyway.
(Can't... I can't... can't breathe...) I thought as I gasped, it felt like my consciousness was being ripped from my body.
"Burns... it burns... must... must feed... must consume..." Their words were broken and distorted, a twisted mess filled with agony, madness and... self-loathing?
"Hungry... so... so hungry... so much pain..."
Pinning me down was something I could only describe as a human mixed with a leech. To put it as simply as possible, they didn't have a face in the traditional sense. Instead they had a dozen circular mouths filled with teeth. They seemed to be absorbing something from me, possibly my Essence of Change, I honestly didn't know.
They continued to babble and screech constantly, though I could barely make sense of what they were saying. Green fluid poured from their mouths in an endless stream, their limbs twisting and cracking as they continued their insane ramblings.
I wanted to resist, and I would have if I could; however, it felt like I was suffering from sleep paralysis. I could still think and process what was happening, however I couldn't move at all. It was the most helpless I'd felt since my death, and it terrified me to no end.
Fortunately, just as the world began to go dark, the weight on my body was lifted when a dark-armoured hand grabbed hold of them and yanked them off me. It took a second for me to come to my senses, and when I did I saw Malice standing over me. Even though I couldn't see her face thanks to the somewhat darth vader like suit she was wearing, I could tell she was concerned.
"Don't move," she said with surprising gentleness as I tried to sit up. "Just breathe. Breathe and focus on anchoring yourself."
"Malice?" I asked, squinting at the familiar silhouette; my vision was still blurry.
"Shh. Now, let me handle this." She hummed and turned her attention back to my attacker, who had by this point picked themselves up and was mumbling to themselves.
"Hurt... hurts... e-everything... e-everything hurts..."
"I know," Malice said with an unexpected softness for someone named as such.
"Don't... look... don't look..." The creature screech as they covered their face with their hands. "Hate... hate it... when they look... hate it...!"
Malice sighed, then spoke calmly. "Sleep now. Let your pain finally be silenced."
With a click, the armored segments and plates that made up her suit opened ever so slightly. From the gap a bluish-white glow began to emanate, and instantly the area around us shifted. The temperature spiked as if I had been transported into a burning inferno, honestly the heat was nearly unbearable. Some nearby objects began to catch fire or simply melt from the sheer intensity radiating out from her form.
The attacker seemed not to notice, or maybe they simply did not care, even as its clothes burst into flames. They charged forward like a rabid animal stripped of all reason except the instinct to kill what stood before them.
Malice merely sighed once more and raised an arm; violent energy rippled outward from her. She flicked her wrist and everything went white. My senses blurred as if the whole world had been filled with static.
When my awareness finally returned, everything in front of her was gone, reduced to ashes and dust. The creature that had attacked me was gone, the wall behind it was gone, everything for miles in that direction was gone.
(What the hell?) I thought, completely shocked.
"Are you all right?" Malice's voice pulled me out of my daze.
"Don't... don't you think that was a bit... a bit overkill?" I asked, still visibly shaking.
For a moment she looked at me as her armour clicked back into place before she coughed awkwardly. "I did try to hold back as much as I could..."
(That was her holding back!) I thought, completely stunned as I glanced at the absolute carnage before me.
There were a lot of questions I wanted answered, however after taking a second to calm down slightly I asked the most important one. "What... what the hell was that thing anyway?"
"An Alternative, a broken one to be exact," she said, shaking her head solemnly. "That is what happens when you deny what you've become, when you push away what you truly are."
"That, little one, was a Feral."