"Get us to shore. We have a Kingdom to save."
Cian wrestled with the pirate-ship steering wheel, his knuckles white. "I'm trying! The rudder is bent! We're drifting left!"
The Rusty Bucket groaned, steam hissing from every seam as it plowed through the harbor debris. We weren't so much sailing as we were crashing with style.
"Brace for impact!" Kaelen shouted, grabbing Lysandra and pulling her away from the sharp edges of the brass piping.
CRUNCH.
The sub slammed into the rotting wood of Dock 4. The force of the impact threw Tybalt into a pile of wet rope, and Ria banged her elbow against the periscope. The engine gave one final, pathetic cough and died.
"Well," Ria groaned, rubbing her arm. "That's one way to park. Remind me never to let you drive my getaway car, Cian."
"It's not my fault!" Cian protested, checking the gauges. "The warp destabilized the propeller shaft. We're lucky we didn't explode."
I popped the hatch.
The smell hit us instantly. It wasn't the salty tang of the ocean anymore. It was the acrid, choking scent of burning wood and alchemical fire.
I climbed out onto the dock. The sky above the Capital was a bruised purple, lit from below by the orange glow of fires raging in the High District. The massive magical dome that usually protected the inner city was flickering like a dying lightbulb, strobing on and off.
"Oh gods," Lysandra whispered, climbing up beside me.
She stared at the skyline. Her home. The white towers of the High District were smeared with soot. Smoke columns rose like black fingers clawing at the sky.
"The barrier is down," she said, her voice trembling. "The Royal Mages... they must have fallen."
"Not necessarily," I said, activating [Observer Vision].
The world turned into wireframes. I scanned the dome.
[Object: Capital Defense Barrier]
[Status: Critical Failure]
[Cause: External Siphon]
"It's not fallen," I said. "It's being drained. Valen is using the Soul-Leech tech on a massive scale. He's sucking the mana out of the defense grid."
"We have to stop it," Kaelen said, climbing out with his massive black sword strapped to his back. "If the barrier fails completely, the Covenant airships can bomb the city to dust."
"We will," I said. "But first, we need to get off this dock. We're sitting ducks."
As if on cue, a scream echoed from the main pier.
A group of civilians—dockworkers and fishermen—were running toward us, panic in their eyes. Behind them marched a squad of soldiers in dull grey armor.
Not Royal Guards. Iron Covenant.
"Magic users!" the lead soldier shouted, pointing a null-iron spear at a fleeing woman. "Surrender for processing!"
"They're rounding people up," Tybalt whispered, peeking out of the hatch. "Like cattle."
"They're purging," Ria said, her face hardening. "Anyone with a drop of mana is being arrested. Or worse."
The soldiers cornered the civilians against a stack of crates near our dock. The woman cried out, shielding a child behind her.
Lysandra didn't hesitate. She didn't ask for a plan. She didn't wait for my signal.
She vaulted off the submarine, her boots slamming onto the wooden planks.
"Hey!" she shouted.
The soldiers turned. They saw a girl in a traveler's cloak, dripping wet.
"Identify yourself!" the lead soldier barked.
Lysandra reached up and unclasped her cloak. It fell to the ground, revealing her silver plate armor—blackened by soot, dented from the arena, but unmistakably the armor of a Royal Paladin.
She drew her rapier. It glowed with pure, defiant light.
"I am Lysandra of House Lightbringer," she declared, her voice cutting through the smoke. "And you are trespassing in my city."
The soldiers hesitated. The name meant something, even to fanatics.
"Get her!" the leader screamed. "She's a high-value target!"
"Squad 7," I sighed, climbing off the sub. "Looks like we're doing this the loud way."
"Finally," Kaelen grunted.
He leaped past me. He didn't use the sword. He just shoulder-checked the lead soldier.
CRACK.
The soldier flew backward, smashing through three wooden crates before landing in the water.
"Mages, clear the civilians!" I ordered. "Ria, disable their weapons! Tybalt, keep them off our backs!"
"On it!" Ria blurred into motion.
She darted between the confused soldiers. Her Phase Blades flashed. She didn't kill them; she sliced the leather straps of their armor, causing breastplates and greaves to fall off.
"Wardrobe malfunction!" Ria chirped, kicking a pants-less soldier in the knee.
Cian stood on the roof of the sub. He unrolled his Infinite Scroll.
"Wind Blast!"
A gust of compressed air shot from the scroll, knocking the remaining soldiers off their feet and sliding them down the slippery dock.
"Go!" Lysandra yelled to the civilians. "Run to the sewers! The Drowned Rat tavern has a hidden exit!"
The civilians didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled past us, disappearing into the alleyways.
We finished the fight in thirty seconds. The Covenant soldiers were groaning on the ground, disarmed and confused.
"That felt good," Tybalt admitted, lowering his staff. "I hit one with a fish."
"Focus," I said. "This was just a patrol. The real army is uptown."
I looked at the map in my head. We were in the Low District. To get to the Palace, we had to cross the bridge into the High District.
"We need intel," I said. "We need to know where Valen is."
"I know a guy," a voice rasped from the shadows.
We spun around, weapons raised.
Stepping out from behind a pile of fishing nets was Silas, the Information Broker. He looked terrible. His glasses were cracked, his suit was torn, and he was bleeding from a cut on his forehead.
"Silas?" I lowered my hand. "You're alive."
"Barely," Silas spat, limping toward us. "My tavern is gone. Those tin-can soldiers blew it up ten minutes after you dropped through the floor. They don't like card games, apparently."
"Sorry about the floor," I said.
"Forget the floor. You owe me a boat." He looked at the smoking ruin of The Rusty Bucket. "And apparently, you owe me a new sub, too."
"Put it on the tab," Ria said. "What's the situation uptown?"
Silas wiped blood from his eye. "It's a mess. Valen's elite troops—the Sharks—have seized the Gatehouse. They've locked the High District down. No one goes in, no one comes out."
"And the King?" Lysandra asked, her voice tight.
" barricaded in the Throne Room," Silas said. "The Royal Guard is holding the line, but they're losing mana fast. The barrier drain is weakening them."
"We need to get to the Throne Room," Kaelen said.
"You can't," Silas shook his head. "The bridge is a kill zone. They have sniper nests and mana-dampeners. You'll be shot to pieces before you take ten steps."
"We don't need the bridge," I said.
I looked at the water. I looked at the flickering dome.
"I have the Space Fragment now," I said. "I can Warp us."
"Into the Palace?" Cian asked. "Ren, you haven't tested long-range teleportation. If you miss the coordinates, we could teleport inside a wall. Or two hundred feet in the air."
"I need a beacon," I said. "Something I can lock onto."
I looked at Lysandra.
"Do you have anything in the Palace? Something personal? Something you have a connection to?"
Lysandra thought for a moment. "My family crest. In the Great Hall. It hangs above the fireplace. I stared at it every day for ten years."
"That works," I said. "Visualize it. Project the memory to me."
"How?"
"Just think about it," I said. "I'll do the rest."
I activated the Mind Fragment (which I had integrated earlier).
[Skill: Mental Link]
[Target: Lysandra]
I touched her forehead.
Flash.
I saw it. A massive stone hall. A roaring fire. A shield hung on the wall—silver, bearing the crest of a sun rising over a mountain.
"Got it," I said, pulling back. "I have the coordinates."
I turned to Silas.
"You coming?"
Silas laughed bitterly. "To the Palace? With five wanted fugitives? No thanks. I'll stick to the shadows. I'm going to round up the thieves' guild. We'll harry their supply lines from the rear."
He tossed me a small crystal.
"Communication stone," he said. "If you live, call me. I'll prepare the bill."
"Deal," I said.
I gathered the squad.
"Everyone hold hands," I ordered. "And don't let go. If you let go, you might leave a leg behind."
Tybalt grabbed Cian's hand so hard his knuckles turned white. Kaelen took Lysandra's hand. Ria grabbed my shoulder.
"Ready?" I asked.
"No," Tybalt squeaked.
"Good enough."
I closed my eyes. I pictured the shield. I reached for the Space Fragment inside me.
[Skill: Warp Step (Long Range)]
[Destination: Palace Great Hall]
[Energy Cost: High]
"Warp."
The world twisted. The smell of smoke and fish vanished. My stomach did a backflip.
POP.
We slammed into a hard stone floor.
"Oof!" Tybalt landed on top of me.
"Get off," I groaned, shoving him aside.
I opened my eyes.
We were in a massive hall. High vaulted ceilings. Tapestries burning on the walls. Furniture overturned.
And directly above the fireplace, hanging crookedly, was the silver shield.
"We made it," Lysandra breathed, standing up and looking around. "The Great Hall."
But it wasn't empty.
Standing at the far end of the hall, blocking the massive double doors that led to the Throne Room, was a single figure.
He was huge. Seven feet tall, clad in armor made of dragon bone. He held a massive axe that dripped with green poison.
[Target: General Vargus]
[Rank: Iron Covenant Commander]
[Level: 55]
Vargus turned slowly. His face was a map of scars. He smiled, revealing sharpened teeth.
"Teleportation," Vargus grunted. His voice sounded like rocks grinding in a blender. "Lord Valen said rats might try to sneak in."
He hefted the axe.
"Welcome to the Palace," Vargus said. "Please die."
Kaelen drew his black sword. The dark mana flared, illuminating the gloomy hall.
"Ren," Kaelen said calmly. "Go to the Throne Room. Find the King. Find the Fragment."
"You can't take him alone," I warned. "He's Level 55."
"I'm not alone," Kaelen said.
Ria stepped up beside him, spinning her daggers. "Big guys are slow. I like slow."
Cian unrolled his scroll. "I'll provide support."
Tybalt... well, Tybalt hid behind a sofa, but he had his staff ready.
"Go," Lysandra said, drawing her rapier. "We will hold the line. You have to find the Soul Fragment before Valen does."
I hesitated. Leaving the party to fight the mini-boss while I did the objective? It was classic MMO strategy. But it felt wrong.
"Don't die," I said.
"We won't," Kaelen promised.
I turned and sprinted for the side door—the servants' passage that Lysandra had highlighted in her memory.
As I burst through the door, I heard the crash of Kaelen's sword meeting the dragon-bone axe.
CLANG.
I ran.
The hallways of the Palace were a maze. Servants were cowering in alcoves. Royal Guards lay wounded in the corridors.
I needed to find the King. But more importantly, I needed to figure out what the Soul Fragment was.
Arthur's hint: Where everyone looks, but no one sees.
I ran past portraits of past kings. Past statues of heroes.
I reached the antechamber of the Throne Room. The doors were barricaded from the inside.
"Open up!" I shouted, pounding on the wood. "Squad 7! Reinforcements!"
"Password?" a muffled voice asked.
"There is no password!" I yelled. "But I have a Paladin, a Dark User, and a pissed-off Baker holding off a General in the hallway! Open the damn door!"
The barricade scraped aside. The door opened a crack.
A terrified guard peered out. He saw my grey coat.
"You're the Observer," he whispered. "The one from the reports."
He pulled me inside and slammed the door.
The Throne Room was vast. And crowded.
Dozens of nobles, courtiers, and high-ranking mages were huddled along the walls. The Royal Guard formed a protective circle around the dais.
And sitting on the throne was King Aethelred.
He looked... frail. His crown looked too heavy for his head. He was coughing into a handkerchief that came away spotted with blood.
"Your Majesty," I said, approaching the circle. "We need to evacuate."
The King looked up. His eyes were cloudy.
"Evacuate?" he wheezed. "To where, boy? The city is burning. The sky is bleeding."
He pointed a shaking finger at the massive stained-glass window behind the throne.
Through the glass, I could see Valen's airship. It was docked onto the palace roof.
And standing on the balcony outside the window was Valen himself.
He wasn't attacking. He was waiting.
He saw me. He smiled.
He tapped on the glass.
Tink. Tink.
The sound echoed through the silent room like a gunshot.
"He's waiting for me," I realized.
I looked at the King. Then I looked at the massive golden statue of the First King standing behind the throne. Everyone looked at the King. Everyone looked at the Statue.
Where everyone looks, but no one sees.
I activated [Observer Vision].
I looked at the King. Nothing.
I looked at the Statue. Nothing.
Then, I looked at the Throne itself.
It wasn't just a chair. It was a complex weave of ancient magic. And embedded in the headrest, disguised as a simple decorative gem, was a pulsing white light.
[Source Code Fragment (5/5)]
[Attribute: Soul]
"It's the chair," I whispered. "The King isn't the ruler. The Chair is the ruler."
"Ren!" Valen's voice boomed from outside, vibrating the glass. "Come out and play! Or I shatter the fishbowl!"
He raised his hand. Dark energy gathered.
I looked at the Fragment. I looked at Valen.
I couldn't integrate it here. It would take too long. And if Valen saw me take it, he'd blast the room.
I had to draw him away.
I walked to the window.
"Don't!" the Captain of the Guard shouted.
I ignored him. I unlatched the balcony door.
The wind howled, smelling of smoke.
Valen stood ten feet away, hovering in the air.
"You found it," Valen said, looking past me at the throne. "The Soul of the Kingdom. Literally."
"Yeah," I said, stepping onto the balcony. "I found it."
"Give it to me," Valen said, extending his hand. "And I'll let your friends live. I'll even let you keep your save file."
"Tempting," I said. "But I have a better offer."
"Oh?"
I reached into my Inventory.
I didn't pull out a weapon.
I pulled out the Pause button I had stolen from the arena (now just a chunk of metal with a rune on it).
"I'm going to crash the server," I bluffed. "Right now. If I break the Time Fragment while holding the Space Fragment, it creates a paradox. No one wins. The game corrupts."
Valen's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare. You'd delete yourself."
"Try me," I said, my voice steady. "I'm an NPC, Valen. I don't care about self-preservation. I just care about the plot."
Valen hesitated. For the first time, the Level 99 Admin looked unsure.
"Five minutes," I said. "Give me five minutes to get the civilians out. Then we fight. You and me. Winner takes the Code."
Valen studied me. He glanced at the throne room full of cowering nobles.
"Five minutes," Valen agreed. "I do love a dramatic finale."
He floated back to his ship.
I turned back to the room.
"You heard him!" I shouted at the guards. "Get the King to the secret tunnels! Move!"
As the room erupted into chaos, I ran to the throne.
I pulled out a dagger (borrowed from Ria).
I jammed it into the headrest and pried the white gem loose.
[Source Code Fragment (5/5): Acquired]
I held it. It was warm. It felt like a heartbeat.
I had all five.
Now I just had to survive long enough to use them.