Chapter 53 - Reset 3 (Patreon)

“What the fuck do they mean God will be speaking soon?” I said, looking away from the blue screen to Remi. “We’ve been training for a full year now. Is that about to become a bullshit waste of time?!”

“No, I don’t think so,” said Remi. Her hand covered her mouth as she stared at the message before both faded away before our eyes. “I bet they’re trying to unify all the systems for fairness purposes.”

“Did they do this last time for you?” I wondered.

“Hm?”

“When this Field and the one with the animal powers merged over,” I explained.

Before Remi could answer, my codex screen dropped and fell to the ground. It rose, and in its place was a digitized woman. She had white hair and golden eyes, wearing what could barely be called clothes. They were more like loose strips of cloth draped over key parts of her body. She had extravagant jewelry intertwined in her extremely long hair and all across her body in the gaps where there was no clothing.

Remi barked with laughter. “The bitch finally shows her face.” She gestured at the figure. “That’s God. Giant ass hand that kept trying to crush us? Her.”

I stared at the digital figure, absorbing that new information.

“Hellloooooo!” The girl spun in a circle, posed, and pointed. “To everyone in my realm, thank you for joining me on this very lovely day!”

Remi deadpanned. “This is happening to everyone in every Field at the exact same time.”

“It’s what?”

“Every person in this world is seeing this right now, and so is every person in every other world we’ll be competing against.”

I crinkled my nose and stared at the childish, scandalously clothed being. “Then why is she acting like this?”

“Because she’s a narcissistic fucking moron.”

“There is officially one person chosen by me to represent the masses in every single domain under my rule. But we don’t want mass slaughter. Everyone should have a fighting chance. And with rules stripped bare from a certain world, the ones that hindered me for so long, we’re all on an equal playing field, so to speak.” The God looked right at me somehow, causing me to flinch. She began to pace in a circle, taking exaggerated, hop-like steps. “Each realm handles spiritual power differently. Some of you call it mana. Some call it Ki. Wildheart. Whatever! It comes from the same source.” She tapped her chest. “The heart. Your power comes from the heart. It regulates energy, converting it and channeling it through every part of your body to create something. Speed. Strength. Fire. Imagination is key, as is training. The will of the one fighting. So many factors. You all must experiment for yourselves or doom yourselves to weakness.”

“And there goes our advantage,” muttered Remi. “Most people will be using mana again within the year.”

“You all use it differently, but the inherent power is the same,” said the God. “It’s a mix of your own abilities, your personal growth, your knowledge, your connection to nature, and luck. Luck is always important in everything. Nothing is fair. Nothing will ever be fair.”

The God whipped out her arms as if she were waiting for a cheer, but none came. Not from me, at least, nor from Remi.

“There were 70 fields under my control. But for what I have in mind, we only need 68 of them to exist, so I randomly deleted two from the board. If you’re hearing my voice, congratulations! There’s that luck I was talking about.” The God smiled. “For the rest of you, one field will invade another. We’ll go from 68 to 34. Then 17. At that point, I’ll randomly delete one of you again until there are 16. Then down to 8, 4, and the final two will gain the right to fight for the ultimate prize!”

The God paused for dramatic effect.

“You will become Heaven! And your Chosen will replace me!”

“Ignore her. That’s not what we’re aiming for,” Remi said when my eyes widened.

“What are we aiming for?”

“Killing her. She’ll never hand over power. It’s just a game for her. She’s bored. It’s literally a tournament to amuse her and turn all the spirits in each field back into energy to fuel her and restart the cycle.”

I stared into the side of Remi’s head. “How do you know all this?”

“I wasn’t just watching you in that little purgatory space. I was studying and learning.” Remi tapped her temple. “How do you think I was able to take over Proxy and kill the 17 Chosen? That’s not something you learn in these lands.” She frowned. “But we will need to advance pretty far in this bullshit to get where we need to be, so you’ll have to destroy a few realms along the way.”

“I’ll have to fucking what?” I babbled.

Remi placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “Hey, killing the 17 Chosen has already killed millions of people. Did you even feel it? No. They were just gone, and it really didn’t affect you.” She patted my shoulder. “It’ll feel just like that. Don’t be weak. Not when we’re this close.”

“I—”

The God kept talking. “For the next year, each of you will experience the horrors of the upcoming realm you’ll fight as rifts tear across your world.” She made a slashing motion with her hands. “In-between dimensions will get carved from the world and placed before you. Monsters and historical figures from your opposing Field will stream through, ravaging your lands. It’ll weaken you if you don’t adapt, so get stronger. And that is it for me! See you all again in a year. I hope you survive.” She waved. “Bye-bye!”

I expected the digital figure to fade, but instead, it looked directly at me.

“I see you and the leech are alive.” The God’s eyes darted to Remi briefly and snorted. “Enjoying life attached to another?”

Remi sneered. “Enjoying the life you stole?”

“Nothing was stolen.” The God walked over to Remi, her arms crossed over her chest. She grinned and tapped Remi’s forehead. She didn’t physically touch her, but it sure looked like it. “It was a mutual mistake, one you were very eager to make.”

Remi swiped at her. It did nothing, just dispersed some particles. That made the God laugh.

“Ahhh, this’ll be fun.” She twirled and looked at me, dramatically pointing in my face. “Your Field is by far the weakest of all of them. You’re the youngest Chosen, your world is socially crippled, there are no homogeneous armies. Rebellions go on across the world. People are terrified. Only very recently have some pockets of safety developed. But your monsters roam and kill, expanding territory. Bandits blossom where starving mouths are the norm.”

She thrust her arm right into my chest. I felt her fingers grip my heart. It was a pain I couldn’t describe with words if I tried.

“So I’ll give you a boon,” she said.

Her fingers squeezed.

I tried to fall, but she held me up by my chest.

“I like this realm. It’s very simple. A clear-cut fantasy with magic and warriors. It was never supposed to get distorted by those Chosen. I thank you for returning it to its original form. I would have myself, but rules are rules. Without them, we are nothing.”

I could barely hear her through the sounds of my own screaming. I couldn’t even bite my own tongue.

Remi just watched me. Her fingers dug into her arm. She wanted to do something, but it was clear she was holding back for some reason.

“In each Field, there are legends of a dragon. Normally, this is a reward you’d get much later in the tournament, but you’ve earned it, and this world needs it.”

Her fingers tightened, as if she were squishing my heart like a fruit.

Then she released me.

The pain was immediately replaced with power.

“I grant you a Dragon Heart. Use it well.” The God patted my head while I kneeled on the ground vomiting. “Hopefully it’s enough for you to entertain me a little while longer. It won’t stop the guns. But it’ll help with the first round.”

She disappeared without another word.

Remi crouched next to me and began rubbing my back. “Are you okay?”

“What did she do to me?!”

“She gave you a Dragon Heart, it sounds like.”

“The hell is that?!”

“I know a little bit, but we can talk about it later. You’re probably going to black out in a few seconds.”

“I’m not going to—”

I blacked out.

•

“Wake up!”

Cold water splashed over my face. I sat up gasping.

“So dramatic, damn.” Remi stood over me with an empty bucket. “It’s been two days. Get your ass up!”

I rolled over and coughed. Her words hit me. I jerked my head in her direction. “Two days?!”

“Yeah.” Remi paused. “You black out a lot. Like, every time something significant happens to you, you black out. Have you noticed that?”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I sat up and put my head between my knees. My head was pulsing like blades were swirling through it. My skin felt like it was on fire. And my heart felt like it was being struck over and over again with a spiked hammer.

“Nope. Can’t be nice to you right now.” She grabbed my leg and started dragging me across the ground.

It was dark, with light coming from a nearby torch and the exit. I recognized the scenery immediately. We were in the artificial cave at our campsite. She pulled me outside, and sunlight battered my eyes. I flinched and turned away, groaning, but Remi kept dragging me against my will, no matter how hard I tried to twist myself out of her grip.

“Stop already!” I shouted. “Let me breathe!”

Instead, Remi tossed me forward with superhuman strength. I flew a few feet, hit the ground, rolled, and found myself on the edge of a cliff, barely stopping myself from falling off.

Remi was beside me in a heartbeat. She lifted up my head, focusing my gaze in the direction of Water’s Bastion.

“Look,” she ordered.

My eyes widened.

In the middle of Water’s Bastion, a large gash cut through the middle of the sky inside the city. It pulsed with swirling, mystical powers. It was about the size of a castle in height and was large enough for four wagons side by side to enter. In terms of scale, it was only a little bigger than the biggest buildings in Water’s Bastion. But it brimmed with so much power that it stood out regardless.

“Right after you passed out, that thing opened up. Monsters poured out.” Remi released my head. Her voice had calmed. “Large creatures with single eyes. Snakes that have female torsos and heads. Large, humanoid monsters with red eyes and horns. Skeletons with bows. Thin corpses that crawl on all fours and eat people.” She rattled them off without pausing. It was clear she’d seen them herself. “They killed a third of the city before the guards could evacuate. Probably more. There are still people trapped in there. Guards from the castle set up a blockade, but the monsters are pushing them back. It’s a massacre.”

I took in the information and moved past stupid questions toward a solution. “How do we stop it?”

“Go in there and shut off its source.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t get in. Others could. The Baron sent in search parties. They haven’t returned yet.” She lifted me and turned my face to hers. “You need to join the one starting today. Now.”

“Why?”

“Because more people will die if you don’t.”

I knew there was another reason. I knew this was only a half-truth. Remi’s eyes betrayed as much.

“What will happen to you if I go in there? You said we’re connected, so—”

“Who gives a shit? I’ll be fine.” She lifted me to my feet. “Feeling better now?”

“No, I’m—” I paused. “Yes?”

All my pain was gone. The air felt easier to breathe. My skin felt tight. My muscles pulsed with power. And my heart thumped deep within my chest, sending bursts of energy with every pulse.

“Right, so you’re a dragon now,” Remi said. “All that means is your mana is denser, you recover faster, and your basic attacks will hit harder. And other stuff. You’ll figure it out with time.” She clasped my shoulders. “You’ll figure it out as you go. You’re stronger. That’s all that matters.” She paused. “And your pupils are slitted like a lizard’s.”

I frowned. “Is that all?”

“Sure.”

I looked around for a tail and felt my head for horns. There weren’t any. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Better?” Remi shot me a sarcastic smile. “Let’s go!”

•

I’d not set foot in Water’s Bastion before. Remi never let me, and I was usually too busy practicing to care.

Each major gate in Water’s Bastion was barricaded with guards armed to the teeth. Camps full of soldiers lined the shoreline.

Up in the wall, skeletons fired arrows laced with fire at the troops. They wore rusted, tattered armor. Strands of skin rotted along random parts of their bodies.

And they were deadly accurate.

Shunk!

An arrow pierced through a wooden barrier that a soldier was crouching behind. It stopped short of hitting him in the forehead.

Farther from shore, a small makeshift compound flew banners from Castle Grey. Remi led me in that direction, and I followed behind her.

The guards stared at us as we crossed over to the camp. They let us by without a word, whispering as we passed.

“It’s her,” one said.

In the camp, I got stares and whispers just like at the front. But Remi ignored them. I focused on her so I could ignore them, too.

There was a large tent in the middle of the compound. Remi strutted right up to it and burst inside. She grabbed my arm as she did and flung me forward.

“Here’s the Chosen. Just like I said,” Remi blurted to the room. “Take her with you, and that rift will close. Guaranteed.”

I was soon face-to-face with over a dozen people. Most notable was a large man with expensive robes sitting over his armor. I knew who it was based on what Remi had told me about the people and rulers of the area.

“Baron Ember.” I placed my hand on my chest and dipped my head briefly. “It’s an honor.”

“Hardly,” I heard Remi whisper behind me, but I ignored her.

“Can you close that rift?” asked the Baron immediately. His face was stern and powerful without a hint of hesitation. He saw the lives of thousands before him, and their fate rested with me—much to his apparent annoyance.

“I can,” I said quickly.

“Good.” He stood up straight and pointed at three people. “Remi, Nigel, Alexander. Assist her.” He looked at me. “All three of them can use mana. Your partner Scarlet taught them how to form it in their hearts, just like in God’s decree. They're the strongest in my army. Hopefully, it will be enough, or the city will be lost forever.”

Scarlet? I glanced at the one girl among the three people the Baron mentioned. She must have come up with a different name because of this girl.

But that wasn’t what bothered me the most.

My eyes landed on Nigel. New Nigel. He had the face of a hero, but a mute, cold expression. There was warmth in his eyes, but he clearly didn’t smile a lot. The complete opposite of the Nigel I knew.

Just hearing his name made my heart hurt.

Remi—er—Scarlet patted my back, sensing my discomfort. “I’ll help you all get into the city again. That’s the easy part.”

“We’ll move in ten,” said Nigel. He walked past me. “We should talk first. Go over our game plan.”

Alexander followed close behind. “Wow, no wonder women love you. So charismatic.”

Remi paused in front of me. She looked like she was going to say something, but didn’t. She just walked past me outside.

I followed, with Scarlet closely on my heel.

“Scarlet?” I asked her. “How’d you come up with that one?”

“Dunno. It came to me. Feel free to call me that from now on, since there are apparently other Remis in this world,” huffed Scarlet. “And I thought I was being creative.”

“Uh huh.”

Nigel, Alexander, and Remi stood in an open space just beside the tent, waiting for me.

Screams and clashing metal could be heard in the distance.

I hardened my heart and stepped forward.