Chapter: 107 Day 25 - Today, Again
That was…a terrible fucking dream.
The faint nibbling of tiny teeth on bones echoed though my mind as I shot up from my bed. The unending waves of those disgusting, vile fucking rats overrunning Elysium was by FAR the worst of these post-integration fever dreams. Rubbing my eyes and drawing a few deep breaths, I swung my legs around and reached for my twin blades at the end of th-
…fuck. I really did lose those.
Sufficiently starting my morning off about as shitty as it gets, I pushed off the bed and snatched up my boots. As I crept out the door however, a blinding ray of sunlight beamed through the cracks, directly into my fucking eyes. The light was damn-disorienting, feeling my balance teeter and clutching the door to stay up.
Cassi needs to chill out with that damn bo staff at training. I think she's actually starting to do some lasting damage to my brain.
Rubbing my eyes, I started strolling through Elysium, blinking the uncontrollable tears rapidly leaking from my overtly sensitive eyes. It's like I spent the last 4 days staring at a computer screen with its gamma cranked, unblinkingly, and without any breaks. Meanwhile, our beautiful bustling settlement shook the ground below my feet. The citizens, or the blurry outlines of them, all appeared to be in a rush. A few traders even closed their shops up already, with many others visibly scrambling to finish their sales.
*THUNK*
The impact against my shoulder nearly earned the hasty soldier running past a knee-jerk heel kick to the skull.
"Hey?!" I yelled, the soldier not even acknowledging he'd just shoulder checked me dashing toward the front gate.
Haha, guess he's late for training, Cassi's going to be pi-…
I stopped, looking up at our Pylon Building having turned into Korbin's personal skyscraper, before building three more offices that is. I've hardly spent any time in Elysium, and yet I can't help but feel like that building was shorter. Like, way shorter. And with far more gold, rather than its solid obsidian tint that looked more like a spiraling, Romanesque void than a structure. Still, I wouldn't put it past Korbin to switch up his paint job for sake of 'spicing' things up a bit.
*BAM*
As I glared at Korbin's favorite skyscraper, the ground itself rumbled as if a meteor had just struck the beach outside our settlement. Knowing nothing good could've caused such a ruckus, I turned hips and beelined toward the front of the settlement.
"MONSTERS, AT THE WALL!"
"TO THE GATE!"
"MOVE IT, SOLDIER!"
The frantic cries of our soldiers filled the air, giving me a chilling sense of Deja vu approaching the pylon entrance. There, Korbin was rather passionately barking at the rest of the crew, who stood in a half circle around him.
"-and Cassi, you're with me. We'll push up the middle while our artillery burns a path. Let's GO, MOVE!" Korbin bellowed, immediately sprinting toward the gate as it autonomously began opening.
Wait, there IS a pylon defense today!
A burst of excitement shot through my veins, realizing I might get a real fight out of this judging by Korbin's urgency. Strange, how much that dream…whatever. Not my first go around with deja vu. Besides, it's pretty obvious where the dream got less than lucid.
"KORBIN! WAIT UP!" I called out, sprinting through the crowd of intersecting soldiers scrambling for their gear or finding a ladder to the artillery along the wall. Of course, he continued forward, no doubt annoyed I nearly slept through this defense. As I stepped through the gates threshold, I narrowed my gaze trying to find the forest treeline. Normally, those natural bark-giants were crystal clear from here. Instead, a wall of shadow covered it, with a short wall of darkness leaking from the bottom. Slowly, the fog rolled closer, and as did its own shadow.
Korbin and Cassi were already halfway across the damned beach by the time I relocated the pair, pushing MUCH further than our best artillery could reach.
"CASSI! KORBIN, WHAT THE HELL ARE Y-"
Then, the shadow darted across the beach, flying over 300 feet in less than 4 seconds as it halted overhead. Everything within 20 feet was completely concealed in darkness. Cassi and Korbin both were immediately consumed in darkness, meanwhile Steve and the rest of our team had never been located to begin with. It was like everyone but Cassi and Korbin just…vanished. I charged toward the direction I thought they were headed, calling out to them the entire way.
"CASSI! TURN BACK!! KORBIN!"
*crunch*
I froze. A sickening cacophony of cracks echoed under my boot, sending an unnervingly familiar vibration up my leg. I looked down, slowly raising my boot to find a crushed, dried up twig with far too many branches.
Okay…get ahold yourself Tom.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
A bone curdling bellow echoed across the beach, sounding as if it had both been from directly in front and behind me. That voice, albeit never that strained, was unmistakably Korbin's.
"KORBIN!!" I dashed ahead, rage and panic filling my belly at the thought of my friends being silently assaulted by a coward, who hides in their shadows like Zeldrich did.
"WHERE ARE YOU!?" I yelled into the abyss, my feet sinking into the sand with every step. Until finally, the soft grass supporting my pace brought me to a halt. I've ran across the entire fucking beach, and I didn't see anyo-
"TOM, HELP!!" Cassi screamed from the cloud of void behind me, immediately digging my heels and turning back toward the source. It was too fucking loud to be too far, she has t-
Suddenly, thousands of microscopic rocks smacked my forehead as I fell face first. My foot dug under something heavy, and metallic, completely taking my legs out from under me. Scrambling up, I quickly slid over to see if a weapon or some shield had been discarded. Instead, I found a familiar full set of heavy armor. And in it, lay Cassi's colorless face and eyes, massive holes and shredded skin dangling off her mangled face.
"Ca-…Cassi?" My hands trembled, feeling my knees begin to buckle.
She's gone, she's…she can't be.
Reeling back, my hands covered my face as I spun around and sprinted away. I can't, I won't just mourn Cassi. I'll avenge her, and I guarantee whatever did this is looking for Korbin. As I sprinted across the dark mist, occasionally changing direction in hopes to blindly zig-zag the beach, the first blast of artillery fire rang out. The dark mist immediately illuminated, surrounding me in a haze of orange light.
*BOOM*
For a moment, I could see Elysium's walls. They were…extinguished. Our defenses are all but completely disabled, with only the automated cannons blasting every so often.
Why? What the hell happened t-
*BOOM*
The world ignited in another flash of orange, only the sand itself turned completely black, and looked as though it was…crawling. Wet pittering slapped the floor around me, slowly crescendoing as I quickened my pace into a cacophony of slaps.
What the fuck is this?!
"KORBIN!! KORBIN, THEY GOT CA-"
*crunch*
My eyes dropped for a moment at the same sickening cracking sensation.
*BOOM*
The mist ignited, revealing a dark, bloody clump under my foot before the abyss returned.
No. No, no no no fucking WAY.
"KORBIN!? KORBIIIIIIN!!!!" I screamed into the mist, feeling the full range of my unending hatred for those rodents erupting in my very soul. No matter how much I ran, cut across the sands in diagonal lines, he was nowhere to be found. I slid across the sand to a halt, the squelching pittering surrounding nearly too loud to hear myself think. Then, something ran over top of my boot.
"K-KORBIN!!" I yelled, activating Lightning Strike as I furiously stomped the sands. Nothing popped, or cracked, instead dispersed ionized sand that illuminated the fog around me, acting like a bright blue flashbang momentarily blinding me.
"Ahh, FUCK!" I yelled, kicking the sand in frustration. Only a heavy, squishy sensation flew from my leg, the chittering of teeth fading into the abyss.
*BOOM*
Orange light filled the air, revealing an empty beach.
*BOOM*
The mist ignited, the pittering spiking as a sea of rats rushed passed my legs.
*BOOM*
Nothing. Sand, and more dark sand.
"KORBIN!…please. Where ARE YOU!?"
*BOOM*
A figure appeared, down on a knee with a battle axe dug into the dirt.
"KORBIN!" I yelled, running towards the figure, knowing full in well what his weapon looked like by now.
*BOOM*
I was getting closer, he was nearly in arms reach as the wet pittering continued slapping all around me.
*BOOM*
"Korbin!" I yelled, reaching out for his shoulder. As the light faded, my hand fell forward finding purchase on nothing, grasping at air.
"Korbin? Korbin, come on we g-" a hand clasped my shoulder, spinning me around.
*BOOM*
Before me was Korbin, only with the face of a giant, red eyed rat that latched onto my neck. Blood spurted from my throat as I fell to the dirt, cascading onto my face as thousands of tiny sharp claws and gnashing teeth swarmed my body. Feeling myself slipping, a single burst of lightning mana exploded from my skin. Still, my vision was engulfed in glowing dark fur, before even that faded from view. My thoughts…slowed…
*Squalch*
…
Argh, my head is fucking KILLING me?
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"It really was nothing really, poor Ghentris never had a chance against me. The ancient human art of 'taekwondo' is underutilized." Ehtani rambled, as we walked toward the Council's chambers. I was hardly listening, rather reevaluating how my last 'run' went.
It doesn't make sense, every time I figured it out before..
I stepped onto the mana lift, Ehtani smashing down the button without breaking stride in his ramblings about the 'Academy'. As if I didn't train 80% of his superiors that lived through the war.
"Something's troubling you. Are you not pleased with your little paradise? Or have you realized the fragility of this farce?" The voice nagged as the lift hummed to life and pulled us high into the sky.
"Are you not bothered by this? I know you were around for the other two." I thought, aiming for his royal pompousness in my head.
"Other two? Did I doze off and miss two more egocentric crusades? How disappointing." Yeh voice sarcastically shot back.
"Okay im being dead serious serious, but also 'egocentric' is wild coming from you. Now shut up and help me get out of this." I replied, in no mood for his antics right now.
"You misconstrue my wisdom for ego? Hm, 'projecting', what a mortal construct. What, you're suddenly in no mood for politics? I thought you enjoyed the mental chess match?" The voice said, his curiosity sounding oddly genuine for someone who's been along for the ride.
"You…you're joking right?"
"Korbin, I don't joke."
"Sir? Sir Korbin?" Ehtani said nervously, standing beside the council's chamber entrance.
"Hm? Oh, yeah thanks Ehtani. Proud of you, keep it up." I said, throwing him a thumbs up and strutting past him toward the council.
"Last chance, either stop playing dumb or check out from here." I warned the voice, approaching the council.
"Oh? Is that a threat I hear? I suppose the realization you've created a farce dressed like a Utopia would make my blood boil too. It'd be a shame really, if it were to meet its inevitable fate." The voice replied, sounding like they spoke through a grin. I stopped, catching the eye of Gydrian but fully ignoring his gaze. Because that confidence, that excitement in this voice's tone…it was genuine.
…oh. He really doesn't remember.
"Korbin! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Gydrian said, enthusiastically.
"Uh, right I, I came here with an urgent request." I replied, still deciding whether or not to pull the plug on this early.
"Oh? An 'urgent request', because that was certainly in our agreement." Shilev sneered. Gydrian postured to rebut, but I was faster.
"I don't recall a vote being cast for your position? Oh, that's right, it was your fathers, which you inherited after he died fighting for this paradise Apouti enjoys. How strange, the way things change." I said, glaring deep into Shilev's buggy eyes. She didn't back down, but the twitch in her eyelids gave all the evidence I needed that she wasn't going to interfere.
"Cold, even for you. I'm almost impressed."
"Uh…yes well, please do share what this request is, sir Erickson." Gydian requested nervously.
"We need artillery. Brigid's closing in. Thousands could die. You owe me. Do we have a deal?" I asked, trying to speed things along the best I can.
"…right. I suppose I see no reason not to, however this council does operate on a majority vote. Those in favor of supplying Elysium with support?" Gydian asked, glancing amongst his nervous fellow council members. None of them dared look me in the eyes, none except Shilev.
"Here-here."
"Here-here."
"Here-here."
"Alright, then it is settled. I'll send for our finest delivery to be delivered to E-"
"-lysium as soon as possible. Got it, thanks, later." I said, flashing a peace sign, spinning on my toes and pacing for the exit.
"Well, you're in a rush. I was hoping to prod their feeble little ambitions some more, you know." The voice said, sounding thoroughly dissatisfied.
"I don't really give a shit what you wanted, we're leaving." I quickly shot back mentally.
"Hold on! Why do we bend over for such disrespect? He played a role, he didn't fight our war for us? And now you throw our finest artillery away because he demanded it of you? My fellow councilmen, am I the only one who sees such a weakness as a threat to our world's future?" Shilev angrily proclaimed, earning many affirming murmurs from the other council members.
Their murmurs quickly became chatter, which evolved to an all out argument. Finally, Shilev's high pitched voice rose above the rest.
"ENOUGH! All in favor of the immediate removal of Gydian from the council, speak now!"
"Here-here!"
"Here-here!"
"…here-here." Gydian added, voting himself from the council.
Wow, that was incredibly quick.
"Oh, this is just the precipice. Their audacity is endless, they'll lead this world to generations of suffering. No, I will not allow such insultingly amateur leadership to inspire more suffering." The voice hissed, my feet growing colder by the second as fluid rose up my legs.
"No, no don't. Let it go, we need to le-" the cold fluid rocketed into my neck, closing my throat shut.
"No, your tongue and lack of forethought led to this. I will clean your mess, and you will thank me after. You'll see." The voice snickered, as I fell deep within myself. My vision fading away, as the sound of screams and bending metal slowly muffled into silence.
…this is going to fucking. Blow.
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