Chapter 44: Hold Your Breath |
Seeyela jogged over to the seating where the rest of the party waited – not really having the solar energy to Bamf – while they waited out the cooldown for the next trial to come up.
“Good job, Sis,” Seena said as the other woman arrived. “Had me on the edge of my seat for the first few minutes there.”
“Then you just embarrassed the poor Infested,” Gran said with her customary cackle. “Almost feel a little sorry for her.”
“How was it?” Yanily asked. “How strong?”
“Strong,” Seeyela said. “Despite how it may have looked. Took everything I had – including the Combat Suite – to keep up with her. Don’t think I would’ve been able to without that PIM Upgrade. Really showed its value there. And the next movement of the Chord of course, though it couldn’t do much directly against the Infested.”
“At least not until it let its guard down,” Hiral said.
“Yeah, as soon as it thought it had me, the Chord snuck in,” Seeyela said.
“What about that ability it used the most? Those black crescents,” Hiral said.
Seeyela actually laughed. “Some kind of venom. Snake venom, I’d guess, from the motif. If it had been anything else, it would’ve been a whole lot tougher to deal with. It’s dangerous, though. Something about decrepification.”
“According to the notification window I got, it is,” Seeyela said. “Or maybe just one the PIMP made up for the ability. Either way, it has something to do with making whatever it hits older. Like, a lot older.”
“Like Gran?” Romin asked, and suddenly everybody went very quiet. The Bonder’s eyes widened in realization at what he’d just said, and even Wallop took a step away from him.
Snuff.
Hiral didn’t need a translation to know what the Runeocerous had said – Been nice knowing you.
“Uh… Gran… I didn’t mean anything bad by…” Romin said, turning to look at the vampire who was floating very close to him. “Aaaaah!” he shouted in surprise and jumped back, though she kept exactly the same distance between them with her flickering movement ability.
“Boy,” she said evenly. “Let me only say this once, so you don’t miss it. You listening?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. There ain’t no way some ability could make anybody near as old as me,” she said. Then the cackling started, and she floated away with a dramatic twirl, her laughter bouncing off the stone seating.
Romin blinked slowly like he was trying to understand what had just happened. “I get to live?” he asked Hiral.
With a look at Seena and Seeyela, Hiral stepped closer to the Bonder. “As long as you don’t ever make an age comment about any of the ladies in the party ever again.”
“Understood,” the man said, even going so far as to take his notebook out to jot down a reminder.
Seena just rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked at her sister. “Anything else we should know?”
“Seems like unlimited solar energy wasn’t an exaggeration,” Seeyela said. “All of her abilities felt like they were getting stronger and stronger every time she used them. And, jokes aside, do not get hit by her venom attack. When I talk about it aging you, it doesn’t feel like it’s by a few minutes. I’m talking straight to cane and mushy-food old.”
“Noted,” Seena said, turning to look at where the Infested still stood and glared at Seeyela. “Doesn’t look like she’s going to go after anybody other than you, given a choice. She’s mad.”
“Good,” Seeyela said. “If it does come to a fight, I’ll deal with her.”
“Can you?” Yanily asked. “Not doubting you here at all, to be clear. Just, you’re the only one of us who’s really gone straight up against one of these Infested.”
“Honestly?” Seeyela asked. “I’m not sure. We both knew we couldn’t do any real damage to each other, so we held back. I’d bet every pastry in the Shared Storage she still has some dangerous tricks up her sleeve. I’ll find a way though.”
“There’s a good chance at least one of these trial floors will be a fight,” Hiral said. “Maybe the second half?”
Then, before any of the others could comment, Seena held up her hand. “Fifth floor notification,” she said, sharing the window with the rest of the party.
Tower of Dynamic Trials – Fifth Floor
Challenge – Hold Your Breath!
Arr, matey, there be treasure beneath them gentle waves. Can you find it before something finds you?
Choose one party member (and their companion, if appropriate) to compete in this challenge.
Note: Chosen member will not be able to compete in any other single challenges until all other party members have competed at least once.
You have 1 minute to choose – 00:59
“Uh…” Yanily started. “That sounds like a water level. Nobody likes water levels. Can anybody here even swim?”
“We can call swim, Yan,” Seena said. “Even you. The bigger question is, does anybody want to?”
“Choices are you or Romin,” Hiral pointed out. “The rest of us have already competed.”
Every head turned to Romin.
“Fire powers and being underwater don’t work so well,” Seena said to the Bonder with an apologetic shrug.
“There is another option,” Left said. Then he pointed at himself and Right. “We may be able to take part in the trials.”
“Think that would work?” Seena asked, looking first at Left and then to Hiral.
“Maybe,” Hiral said. “Only one way to find out. But, thinking about it, none of us are a good match up for this. Sending one of them could be a smart play.”
“Who is left on the other side?” Seeyela asked.
“The Infested in the plain robe and ice-guy,” Hiral said.
“Ice in a water trial could be… interesting,” Seena said. “And dangerous.”
“I’ll go,” Right said. “If it’ll let me. Less risk if it’s something like what Gran had to deal with. We don’t have time to discuss it.”
“If not him,” Romin said. “Send me and Wallop. It’s not a great match up for us, but better than you.”
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Thanks, Romin,” Seena said. “Let’s see what we can… it’ll let Right take it. You’re up!”
Right smacked one fist into the palm of his other hand with a flash of purple and red flames. “You can count on me.”
The next second, the air around Hiral filled with the sparkles of whatever teleportation magic the tower used, and Hiral found himself in yet another set of stadium seating. This time, the area in front of him was a massive… pool? No, that didn’t do it justice. Lake was a better description. A very, very large lake. Hiral could barely see the far side. It had to be miles wide.
Of course, the inside of the tower is spatially expanded, like everything else in the Cradle…
A shake of his head, and Hiral turned his attention to the two small isles on the surface of the calm lake. Little more than fifteen-foot circles of land – with a leaning tree with sparse, large leaves, and some kind of hairy fruit or large nut hanging from them – Right and his opponent each stood atop one.
For the double’s part, he knocked gently on the tree – the hanging fruit wobbling at the top of the tree, but not falling – before looking across the still surface of the lake. More than a thousand feet away, his opponent stared back. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the ice-themed Infested.
No, it was the Infested in the plain robe – arms crossed and hidden in his sleeves in front of him – that glared at Right across the distance.
“Maybe being in the water wasn’t a good match up for the ice guy either,” Seena said.
“Maybe not,” Hiral agreed. “We should be getting…” he trailed off as the expected notification window popped up.
Tower of Dynamic Trials – Fifth Floor
Challenge – Hold Your Breath!
The depths have long been a mystery to most, hiding fortune and danger both. Which will you find as you delve the waters of the Lost Lake?
Numerous treasures – both natural and those lost by people – now lay somewhere within this watery grave. Retrieving those treasures will accrue points, with more valuable finds equating to a higher point value. The side with the most points at the end of the trial is the victor.
Note: Attacks will not be limited or restricted within the trial, neither against the denizens of the lake nor the opposing faction.
Note (2): Treasures can be taken – along with their points – from the opposing faction. Protect your treasure as surely as your own life!
Note (3): There will only be one round, lasting up to thirty minutes.
Note (4): ‘Death’ within the trial is only temporary, depositing the ‘deceased’ back on their starting island after a short recovery & respawn cooldown.
Note (5): All self-buffs are allowed.
Preparation time – 1 minute, beginning now.
“Anybody want to put money on the Infested going after Right more than the treasure?” Yanily asked.
“Don’t think anybody here would bet against that,” Hiral said. “He might be in for a surprise if he tries that…”
“He doesn’t look worried about it,” Gran said.
“No, no he doesn’t,” Hiral agreed. “We’ll see how it goes, though. This isn’t a great trial for Right, but I don’t think anybody else would’ve done much better.”
“My attunement is higher,” Left said. “But the water would limit my tattoos far more than his raw strength.”
“Right will figure out a way to make it work,” Yanily said. “If all else fails, I’m sure he’ll just punch the lake.”
“It does sound like something he’d do,” Hiral said with a chuckle, though that cut off as he turned again to the Infested on the far island. Thanks to his own high Atn, he didn’t need the now-familiar display window hanging above the trial area to spot the water around that small island stirring. It wasn’t so much there were waves, but the surface rippled outward from the small shore.
A look at Right’s island – nothing but the calm surface – then back to the Infested. It could be something just below the surface, circling in anticipation of the Infested diving in, but Hiral didn’t really believe that. More likely than anything, it was the Infested using some kind of power.
Almost in answer to Hiral’s thoughts, the Infested strode forward to the edge of the small island just as the timer clicked down to zero, then continued walking into the water. Less than ten steps, and the man vanished below the surface, the neutral look on his face not even changing in the slightest as he submerged.
“What do you think his trick is…?” Yanily began, then trailed off as something titanic rose from the center of the lake. Starting kind of like a geyser hundreds of feet wide shooting into the air, it quickly widened and smoothed out, changing from rushing water to a solid form.
An arm.
A single arm.
What followed was no less intimidating, with the arm pushing down on the surface of the lake like it was solid ground to lift a gigantic body from beneath the water. Another arm – on the opposite side – followed quickly, and together, they lifted the head and torso above the water to tower over the entire trial.
“Well, hell…” Seena said, staring at a perfect image of the Infested, though one made entirely of water. The thing was even bigger than Nivian’s Aspect, but it had taken existing water from the lake to do that – with the overall surface now sitting several feet lower across the trial.
Even the display windows sitting above the trial were forced to move higher into the blue sky to avoid getting bumped by the head of the giant, while a third one appeared above even them. In this new addition, a list of names and point values scrolled down on one side of the window, racking up over four-hundred points for the Infested, just like that.
Apparently, picking up the water the treasures are in counts as ‘finding’ them…
That was the least of Right’s worries, though, as the giant cocked back its massive arm. Watery fingers the size of most roads clenched into a fist that blotted out the sun, and the neutral face of the Infested’s avatar finally changed into what Hiral could only describe as an evil grin.
It was going to enjoy smashing Right into paste.
Eyes wide in anticipatory fervor, the giant paused, like it was giving Right a chance to run. To beg. To simply give up. When the double did none of those things, the grin on the avatar’s face spread even further, and the fist came down.
The air warped as the titanic appendage descended, even the surface of the lake below kicking up waves at the change in pressure. Calm and silence were broken by the crashing surf, the fist so much larger than the small island, there simply wasn’t anywhere for Right to go. Sure, he could leap into the water and try to swim away, but it was clear he wouldn’t – couldn’t – get far enough to matter.
No, all he could do was stand there and wait for the inevitable. Which is exactly what he looked to be doing.
With the fist coming down and around like it was, it blocked the avatar’s view of the island, but what did it need to see? Nothing would be left after the punch arrived. No island. No opponent. The only real questions were how long it would take for the black and white clad man to reappear, and whether he could even do that without an island to reappear on.
Hiral could see Right, though. He could see his double shift his feet as the giant fist closed on him. Could see him turn his hips and cock his own right hand back. Could see the fingers clenching into a fist that made reality bend around it at the strength of his grip. Could see the corona of energy bursting forth from that closed fist. Could see the flare of purple and red flames that erupted from the Meridian Lines and scoured the air around him.
The Infested wanted to have a punching match with Right?
Hah, good luck!
As the huge fist fell on the island, Right snapped his hips forward and thrust out what appeared to be an almost simple, straight punch. Like the man was calmly practicing form with Loan, the punch was visually perfect. But it wasn’t just visually perfect. It was the culmination of everything Right was, honed through Hiral’s intensive practice, modified by fighting styles and the Combat Suite, sharpened by specific training with a master Shaper, and forged into the weapon the double had become.
Where the two fists met, all logic dictated the outcome. Practically demanded the fist the size of a small moon would outright crush the opposition barely a speck in comparison.
Too bad – for the Infested – logic didn’t hold much sway over Right.
The shockwave appeared first, exploding outward at a forty-five-degree angle where the fists met. The BOOOM followed in short order, as the waters of the lake were blasted to the side from the resulting impact. Then came the red and purple flames – Infernal and Entropic – spearing out of the shoulder of the giant, an instant before the whole arm erupted outward in a shower of flames and boiling water. Next, the giant staggered to the side, a hole clean through its torso where its arm and shoulder had been, while a roar like a waterfall followed the shockwave.
Left hand crashing down on the surface of the lake, the giant fought to hold its balance, eyes wide in surprise at the double standing straight on the island that shouldn’t even exist anymore. Red and purple flames danced along Right’s fists, while the streamers of energy from his Auroran Conquerors glowed like the sunrise behind his head.
Around him, the island hadn’t escaped the collision unscathed, cracks along the surface where the sandy surface leaked down below. The leaves – and strange fruit – of the tree were entirely missing, while the trunk had shattered, leaving the entire tree bent and broken, the top of it resting in the lapping waves on the shore.
But, as Right glared up at the giant straightening itself, the double visibly clenched his fists even tighter, the air around him shuddering. Solar energy oozed off the man, the sand and broken tree lifting into the air to swirl around him. Even broken shards of the island itself lifted on the thickness of the energy coming off Right, with the glowing Coat of Amin Thett snapping in the wind as his energy churned.
A-Rank had been very kind to the double.
“You want to try that again?” Right asked.
Even though the giant couldn’t understand Right’s words, it seemed to understand his sentiment, with water rushing up from the lake to reform the lost right arm. Before that was even solidified, though, the giant instead swept its left hand across the surface of the lake. Water gathered in front of the moving appendage, building until a tidal wave of epic proportions bared down on the island where Right stood.
He hardly seemed bothered by it, simply turning in place and cocking back his arm.
“Yup, he’s going to punch the lake…” Hiral said to Yanily.