Chapter 18 (Patreon)

We're back, baby!

I won't waste time jabbering. Just enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 18 - Carousel

Pax - Outer Layer

Eliza

Eliza had questions.  Lots of questions.

Of course, there was the low hanging fruit. Like how had she gotten caught breaking into Cerillion? Was Alex really involved? That seemed like the logical answer—but if so, why had he sold them out? Was this some elaborate scheme to piss of his dad?  Or, had it been unintentional? A mistake?  Had he been forced?

However, those questions were quickly replaced with newer, shinier ones. Like why had Jason decided that a live-stream suicide pact was the way to go?  Why had he taken Alex with him? Why hadn’t he said anything beforehand?  Maybe even let the rest of them in on his plan?

Although, she had a tentative answer for that last one…

After all, he’d left Finn and Eliza to build that damn Carousel.

Four days later, she’d learned to accept it. It helped that it was almost complete…

The final construction was no mere prototype. The colossal structure was fused into the towering wall between the outer and middle layers of Pax.  Forged of hyperdense dark metal and its surface etched with a dizzying array of runes, it stood as a testament to Finn’s determination and ingenuity. Even more complicated gears and mechanical mechanisms lingered just behind that heavily warded shell and allowed the inner compartment to rotate.

The Carousel promised to revolutionize travel within the city, allowing players to teleport seamlessly between different layers – a feature anxiously awaited by the other travelers. The layers had been in place for days and those that had missed the initial contract were able to sign up at one of the many kiosks that Cady’s satyrs had built throughout the city—her “proxies.”

However, without a way to travel between layers, the travelers had grown impatient – many cut off from their friends, family, and guildmates. Now that they were nearly finished and were about to bring the Carousel online, those layers had been temporarily collapsed back down to one.

Which explained the sea of impatient idiots pressed up against the fortifications ringing the Carousel—like that would somehow speed things along. The satyr guards were forced to raise thick stone pylons, edging spells in ruins into their surface which formed Gravity Wells. Those sparkling green walls barely contained the travelers as the fauns near Eliza poured their mana into the wards. The anticipation in the air was palpable, a thrumming energy that mirrored the excitement and impatience of the gathered travelers.

A powder keg just waiting to explode.

That was probably why Brian hovered protectively beside Eliza.  He hadn’t left her side since Jason had practically forced her into Finn’s lair. Even now, his branches formed a protective shell around her and his glowing blue eyes glared at the horde of travelers nearby.

“I think we’re finally ready to bring it online,” Finn announced as he emerged from the interior of the Carousel, his arms slicked with sweat and smeared with dark grease. Dark circles hung under his eyes – a testament to how little sleep he’d gotten lately.

“How are things holding out here?” Finn asked, eyeing the crowd.

“Barely,” Eliza murmured distractedly, more than a dozen screens floating around her.  “Coordinating this project is a nightmare. We have residents – Khamsin, fauns, and a few merfolk – as well as members of <Original Sin> – spread out across a dozen layers, ready to receive the other travelers.  However, that means we have limited manpower to deal with the crowd.”

She glanced at the horde of travelers – an ocean held back by just a handful of rocks.

If anything, she’d understated the situation to Finn.

Eliza let out a sigh, rubbing at her eyes, her glasses riding up the bridge of her nose.  “The Few satyrs stationed here have barely been able to maintain the walls and Gravity Wells holding back the travelers.  They’re burning a lot of mana, especially with most of the city’s resources devoted to bringing the Carousel online.”

Even now, half-empty stacks and crates of potions stood beside Eliza. The fauns had been chugging them every time their mana dropped.  She’d only burned through a few hundred potions already and wasn’t sure when she was going to find the time to replace them…

“I see that,” Finn grunted.  That’s it.  That’s all she got.

No wonder his daughter was nowhere to be seen—empathy wasn’t Finn’s forte.

“Not that Cady’s replacement has been much help,” she continued, loosely covering the air mana powered device nestled in her right ear.

“Really?  How bad could she—” Finn began as he equipped his own.

He suddenly froze, sharing a look with Eliza. Ever since the time mage had used her relic to execute a contract with the travelers, she’d been locked out of the game. However, she’d assured them that she’d still be able to help using her so-called “Disciples.” Disciples who were also somehow able to use her time magic, control the layers, and command her proxies.

The one in charge – or, at least, the one with the microphone – was named “Carrie.”

Which sounded a lot like Cady, didn’t it?

“Why—why is she singing?” Finn whispered, covering his own earpiece now.

“No idea,” Eliza muttered. She hadn’t even bothered to add that one to her list.  If she had, she might have also wondered why she’d picked “Hits of the 90s” as her personal soundtrack. “It doesn’t help that she sounds almost exactly like Cady, except—”

“Happy?” Finn finished for her.

Honestly, it was disturbing.  Eliza didn’t know Cady well, but, during their few short encounters, she’d never seen the woman smile – much less sing.

It also didn’t help that neither of them had actually seen any Cady’s so-called “disciples,” all of whom were stationed in a new control room built… somewhere.  They’d been pretty vague about that.  To their credit, Jason had blown up the last one.  Yet the location was the last of her worries—not when there were much more interesting questions.

Like was Carrie a traveler?  A resident?  How could she use time magic?  Had Cady possibly delegated her powers using a contract? Like with the fauns? But… why?

Unfortunately, Eliza was forced to add this strange new development to her endlessly growing list. It had gotten so big, that she’d been forced to start write them down…

“Carrie… Carrie!” Finn snapped, trying to catch the woman’s attention.

“Ahh, is that Finn?” she piped up with a crackle of static, the singing mercifully ending.  “If you’re back, I assume that means you’re ready for me to charge the Carousel?”

Finn breathed through his nose, summoning patience.  They were both exhausted. Yet Carrie never seem to get tired… or log off.  Another mystery Eliza was just forced to accept.

She was discovering there might be a limit to her patience.

“Yes, we are,” Finn grunted.  “Go ahead and start the boot-up, but go slow—"

Carrie didn’t even wait for him to finish.

She just opened the floodgates wide.

The crystals hanging above Pax surged with mana, blazing so brightly that they formed a second sun.  That energy speared straight down in a beam of pure rainbow power that connected to a platform of Neurogem that Finn had built over the ruins of the former castle.  The mana then crackled along the conduits that he’d already installed throughout the city when he helped build the six elemental districts housed in the second layer.  The vast majority of that energy was now diverted to the Carousel and formed a seething rainbow river that wound through Pax.

As soon as that power reached the hulking machine, it immediately responded.  Air mana popped and sizzled along the surface of the Carousel, forks of electricity stabbing at the air as it began to come online.  The amber energy powered the wards etched into the structure’s surface until they glowed a bright amber, forming a protective cushion of air around the Carousel.

Flame followed, dancing along the joints between the dark plates that made up its shell – the only evidence of the inferno that blazed inside the structure and powered its hallmark spin.  The inner compartment began a slow, deliberate rotation, the heat from the fire mana giving it life and momentum as it gave off a shriek of grinding metal.

The sound soon diminished as the metal was ground down, but that only created a new problem. Finn had designed the Carousel by nesting a circular enclosure inside a larger shell - the outer layer serving to protect the intricate inner workings of the machine.  This inevitably created friction, which, when combined with the fire mana, began to heat up the gear system.  The high melting point of the dark metal helped, but it wasn’t enough.

Which is why Finn had installed a water cooling system. Water mana coursed through the interior plumbing and rapidly cooled the metal, creating thick plumes of steam that were vented through the shell and whisked away by the air mana shields.

As the Carousel began to spin up to speed and only just began to stabilize, earth mana thrummed through the structure, opening a portal inside that provided a seamless transition between layers of the city. In fact, it was much more complicated than that. As Eliza understood it, the earth mana folded the space inside, creating a sort of interdimensional crossroads.

There was only ever one entrance and one exit, but those weren’t fixed locations. They changed as the Carousel rotated – a helpful display highlighting the layer number.

As it came online, the low hum of the Carousel grew louder and more rhythmic, reverberating through the cavern and causing the ground to vibrate underfoot. The travelers watched in awe, the structure casting an ethereal glow – one that promised freedom. Even the satyrs weren’t immune to their own curiosity, peering back over their shoulders as they continued channeling mana into the wards holding back the travelers, the emerald barriers flickering.

“Wow!  It’s so beautiful,” Carrie chirped happily in their ears.

“I told you to bring it online slowly!” Finn snapped. “We haven’t tested every—”

He was drowned out by the collective cheer of the crowd, a roar of excitement and relief. The Carousel was more than just a technological and magical marvel; it was a symbol of hope and progress. The travelers surged forward, eager to rejoin their friends and guildmates. Tens of thousands of bodies crushed up against those stone walls and glowing green walls of force.

“Shit.  They can’t go inside.  We don’t know if it’s safe!” Finn shouted over the roar.

“Uh, then they’re volunteering to test it – like right now!” Eliza shot back.

The Gravity Wells flared powerfully as the satyrs poured more and more mana into them. However, they lacked mass and weight, only the pressure of gravity keeping the travelers away from the plain stone walls that those spells were anchored to. The wards were buckling against the throng’s enthusiasm, the crowd in the back pushing the others forward despite the Gravity Wells. As the first line of travelers reached the pylons, they were crushed up against the wall. The smarter ones among them began to chip away at the runes etched into the stone.

The rock wasn’t meant to whether a direct attack and was quickly eroding, the gravity fields fluctuating as the magical circuit shorted.  Which left only a few dozen satyrs, Finn, and Eliza between a few hundred thousand travelers and their goal: the Carousel.

“The pylons won’t hold much longer! We need to retreat!” Eliza shouted. Already, the first of the travelers were beginning to break through, blasting holes in the walls with a spray of rubble.

Finn apparently agreed. His hands were an orange blur as the metal spheres that orbited him quickly heated up, merged, and flattened down into a thick platform. 

“Everyone get on!” Finn shouted over the roar of the crowd.

The satyrs struggled to back up onto those platforms while channeling their spells, the only thing keeping back the wave of travelers as they began charging those gaps in the pylons.  Meanwhile, Brian grabbed Eliza and hauled her onto the platform with Finn.

It wasn’t a moment too soon.

First one ward failed, then another…

Leaving nothing between those travelers and the Carousel but a flimsy line of stone.  The wall didn’t last long and soon blew apart and of flurry of flame and ice. The crowd followed. The travelers surged forward in a massive tide of humanity. Running, pushing, shoving, stabbing, and roaring their enthusiasm as they charged the Carousel in a bloody, destructive frenzy.

“Oh wow!  Look how excited they are!” Carrie chirped unhelpfully in their ears.  “This is amazing!  Do you think they’ll give the Carousel a five-star rating?  All remaining satyrs should focus on handing out the feedback forms that were provided to you ahead of time—”

Eliza shook her head.  What the hell was Carrie talking about? Was she insane?

Two more fantastic questions to add to her list.

In that moment, Eliza looked at Finn. Even without being able to hear him she knew what he was thinking. The Carousel was designed to withstand an attack – but nothing on this scale. Finn also had his hands full.  One was just a blur as it kept the platform suspended, while the other was melting down additional orbs and flattening them into panels that he used to block three missiles of magic and metal cast by the crowd.

Which just left Eliza… who watched numbly as a few satyrs pulled pamphlets from their bags.  No doubt, the “feedback forms” Carrie had mentioned.

Apparently, there was a limit to her patience – her acceptance.  And that was it.

Those stupid, fucking pamphlets.

An icy torrent of energy suddenly enveloped Eliza, motes of mold already drifting away from her hands and arms. However, she didn’t lose control this time – didn’t allow her Mold Form to overtake her sense of self. She had another goal—

“Don’t fucking move!” she ordered the satyrs, her right arm dissolving into a few dozen spears of mold, each one at a faun’s throat.  “If you throw those pamphlets, you die.”

Apparently, that was persuasive, because they froze.

“Ignore Carrie’s instructions!” she ordered, her mana surging through her veins and blunting her normal hesitation.  She ripped off her earpiece and chucked it into the crowd below and the satyrs followed her lead.  “Form new Gravity Wells on either side of the crowd – we need to funnel them and reduce the number entering the Carousel!”

The satyrs leapt to follow her orders and emerald mana flashed through the crowd below, the new Gravity Wells pressing in on either side and narrowing the tide of humanity flowing toward the Carousel. Hundreds disappeared at once as they poured into the enormous structure, presumably traveling to another layer.  If they could just survive this initial rush, they should be fine.  At least, Eliza sure hoped so…

Yet the Gravity Wells weren’t enough – not nearly enough.  Not with how desperate the travelers were to make it to the Carousel.  What they needed was a way to thin out the pack.

An idea came to her then – a crazy, suicidal idea.

Jason would have been so proud.

Eliza turned to Brian, pulling two syringes from her bags, the contents of both glowing a resplendent blue.  Droplets of her Accelerated Growth condensed and were collected in one vial and the other containing her strongest mana potion. She plunged both into Brian’s arm, the contents swiftly working their way through the veins that riddled his body.

“Please keep me alive,” she whispered, touching her head to his. Already, vines were springing away from his body, attaching to the wall at their backs and plunging down toward the crowd below. Eating into the stone and creating a forest of vegetation riddled with sapphire streaks, and releasing a glowing blue vapor that began to suffuse the whole area.

Brian looked conflicted, but didn’t try to stop her.

Because, right now, in this moment, she wasn’t his Eliza – not anymore.

She was the Ice Witch.

She spared one last glance at Finn as her body began to break apart, their eyes meeting – burning flame meeting unrelenting frost.  She saw recognition there. Understanding.

Then she took a single step and plunged down into the crowd far below, her body dissolving and her mind succumbing to the ocean of power that welled inside of her.  The frustration and anger and rage she’d kept subdued for days – that desperate hunger for answers in the face of difficult questions.  And, this time, she didn’t plan to hold back…

                    *

Eliza blinked and suddenly found herself standing back atop the wall.

Her mana was nearly depleted, her head ached, and her memory was spotty.  She wasn’t certain what had happened or how much time had passed, only that the fight was over.

That massive sea of travelers below had been reduced to a more manageable trickle, the satyrs forming the remainder into orderly lines as they entered the Carousel.

However, the evidence of her… contributions were evident. Mounds of thick mold littered the ground below in huge, heaping gray mountains. No, those were mounds of corpses. The flesh and muscle and bone eaten away by her mold.  The remaining travelers eyed those piles warily and kept their distance. A macabre reminder of what it meant to defy a witch.

Just… just how many people had she killed?

However, that was one question she could answer.

M-M-Monster Kill!

New PVP Kill Streak

37,962 Slain

You are currently PVP flagged.

Jesus.

Eliza exhaled slowly and swiped the notification aside. Even without looking, she knew that telltale bull’s-eye floated over her head. It was obvious from the way the other residents along the wall kept their distance. However, no one was stupid enough to attack her.

With a sigh, Eliza collapsed against the rampart, covered in sweat and dust and blood. Exhausted after getting caught at Cerillion, after stewing for days, after being forced to confront Finn, after spending days working on that damned machine, and now… going on a murderous rampage, she supposed. Although, strangely, that last one left her feeling better.

She wasn’t sure with that said about her, though.

Soft footsteps approached and stopped in front of her.  “You okay?” Finn asked.

Eliza just grunted. “Tell me this was worth it,” she muttered, her eyes still squeezed shut.

“I guess we’ll see,” Finn answered distractedly, dropping down beside her.

Eliza’s eyes snapped open.  What was he talking about?

Ahh, of course.  He was staring at that damn hammer again – his relic.  He must’ve stored it in his bags.  And if he was glaring, then that meant—

“What does it take to unlock this fucking thing?” Finn snapped. He looked like he wanted to toss the hammer over the side of the wall, but he resisted – if only barely.

“I don’t know,” Eliza answered sourly.  She had very few fucks left to give – that field barren and dry and the earth salted with traveler tears.  “What does it take?”

Finn glanced at her, noticing her tired glare.  Then he looked at the others nearby – potential witnesses.  “I’m not sure I should say,” he muttered.  “Didn’t the Gambler caution you and the others not to reveal your unlock condition?”

Eliza wasn’t so sure she trusted the god of air… or anyone at this point.

“Because keeping secrets has worked out well so far, right?” she retorted.

The avatar of flame just let out a frustrated huff.

She almost got angry with him again – almost.  Yet despite her own fatigue and frustration, another idea was beginning to crystallize in her mind, Eliza still riding a mana high. After all, building the Carousel wasn’t her true goal, only a chore that Jason had left for them. No, her true mission was to figure out how she’d gotten caught breaking into Cerillion Entertainment.

And there was only one person who might have answers now that Jason had effectively kidnapped Alex.  However, it was going to be difficult to reach him on her own. She would need help – Finn’s help. As frustrating as that was to admit…

“I bet I can guess your unlock condition,” she offered suddenly.

She had his attention now. “I doubt it,” he replied skeptically.

Eliza’s eyes narrowed, refusing to retreat from his gaze.  “I’m dead serious.”

Finn examined her closely, the demure little water mage with hidden depths. One that had just brutally murdered an incredible number of people. He was weighing, measuring, and calculating his odds.  And then…

“What do you want if you win?”

“Nothing crazy,” Eliza replied easily. “Just your help with something – no questions asked.” She wasn’t sure she could handle any more at this point.

“And if you get it wrong?”

“How about I forgive you for using me?” she replied sourly. Finn flinched and looked away, but she was too tired to mince her words right now. 

“Fine,” he replied.  “It’s a bet.”

Eliza leaned her head back against the rampart, feeling the vibration ripple through the wall, courtesy of the Carousel far below.  She’d spent days with Finn while they were planning their break-in at Cerillion and constructing the Carousel, which had given her ample time to observe him and think about his relic – about all of their relics.

She had a hypothesis.  If the relics really were a type of development tool – instruments so dangerous that even the god of air had refused to use his own – then the unlock conditions must be a safety mechanism. A way to deter the avatars from using the relics carelessly.

Which meant the unlock conditions must be something they wouldn’t normally do; something at odds with each of their personalities.

Take Cady’s hourglass.  The time mage had indirectly revealed the requirements needed to unlock her own relic – how it had forced her to wait two weeks.  And then it had locked her out of the game by using it. What could be worse for a time mage than losing time?

In Finn’s case, he was the epitome of the flame – his passion burning bright.  He was also reclusive, obsessive, and tended to fixate on a problem to the exclusion of all else.

Which was odd, wasn’t it?  That he’d spent more than a week fortifying and rebuilding Pax before locking himself in his lab?  Hadn’t he had that hammer the whole time? So why hadn’t he just retreated into his lair?  Why waste time?  Unless…

“Your requirement is to help others.  Or something similar,” Eliza amended quickly.

She opened her eyes to find Finn staring at her in surprise.

“How-how did you know that?” he muttered.

“That’s the wrong question,” she retorted. “You should be asking why it didn’t work.”

Finn grimaced and slumped down beside her. “No… no, I’m pretty sure I know the reason why – likely the same way you figured out my unlock condition.  These relics are forcing us to confront ourselves. The worst parts of our own nature.”

Eliza just stayed quiet. He wasn’t wrong.

He heaved out a sigh. “I’ve tried to help others. Rebuilding Pax, fortifying the city, and even this Carousel.  But I was still just doing it for myself, wasn’t I?  In order to unlock the hammer and save Rachael.  Just like I used you…”

Finn trailed off, silence lingering between them.  What was left to say?

The older man was the first to shake it off, slapping his thighs. “Well, I can sit here and beat myself up, or I can try something new.”  Then he met her eyes.  “We’re done here and you won the bet fair and square.  Carrie, the residents, and <Original Sin> can manage Pax for now.

“So, what did you need help with?” he asked.

Eliza felt a glimmer of guilt as she saw the rare vulnerability in his gaze, her fingers tugging off her own beanie and massaging the wool between her fingers.  She felt no flush of pride at her victory – no sense of celebration. Because, despite all her accusations, deep down, she knew she wasn’t any better than Finn.  Because she was using him too.

“Like I said, nothing crazy,” she replied.  “We just need to make a trip to the Mile High Club.  There’s someone I need to talk to,” Eliza explained her eyes on that beanie.

The one with a notification flickering above it.

The one that finally promised answers…

Relic of Water

A normal-looking beanie.  Yet, you sense it has hidden depths…

Quality: S

Effects currently locked.

Unlock Condition Met!

Confront Finn – Complete

Enlist Finn’s help - Complete

New Unlock Condition

Confront Smiles - Incomplete