My head was still ringing when I pulled myself onto a narrow, rocky beach. My stamina was full, though my mana was still less than half. Perhaps losing all that mana at once was the cause of the pain, or some injuries just weren’t serious enough for the system to register. I laughed at the thought. If I had felt like this before the world had gone to hell I probably would have taken the day off. The most strenuous activity I would have engaged in was heating up Cup Noodles and streaming cartoons — now I was preparing myself to face an army of eldritch abominations.

It wasn’t far now. I was already at the edge of the vortex of energy. I could feel it in the air as it passed over my skin. Anything involving eldritch energy always felt off; it was tinted with dark emotions and the feeling of truth hidden just beyond perception. The energy of the vortex had something else to it. It was somehow … less clean.

It stank of grime and felt like oil on my skin. It seemed to coat everything it touched in a layer of filth. It felt like death and decay, if the concepts were expressed as emotion. It was as if the idea of death, the feelings we associate with the concept, had somehow manifested in reality.

The force of the vortex pulled at me like a raging river as it threatened to catch me in its current. This was made worse by the reaction it had on the eldritch energy I stored within myself. It was like half the molecules in my body were all being pulled in the same direction, and if I didn’t move with them, I would be torn apart.

I was able to create a thin shell of black and red energy around myself, allowing the pull of the vortex to pass over me. The feeling of discomfort lessened but didn’t disappear entirely.

The barrier was almost completely translucent, but everything I saw was tinted slightly red. I had never considered myself an optimist, but I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle when it occurred to me that I was looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.

What is wrong with me? It was as if every little thing — every random observation, or internal comment was hilariously funny. The world looked as if it were burning and smothered in ash. I just laughed.

Far to the east, a pillar of light ignited the sky beneath a dark and growing cloud. Together they drowned out the sun, creating a perpetual day beneath a firmament of rolling black. It was like a gleaming pillar was holding up a canopy to shade a dying world.

If that was what the heavens had become, perhaps Hell was the better option.

The only ones with the strength and knowledge to set things right were fighting for their lives and the lives of everyone I knew. Even New Charleston would be engulfed if the vortex continued to grow.

It was absurd that I was here charging forward like some mythical Calvary to save the day. There was no three-foot alien or bearded sage to hand me a magic sword or give me advice that would only make sense in the final moments. No one had chosen me for some grand quest or had even expressed confidence in my abilities, to be honest.

Hell, even the annoying parasite that lived in my mind was missing.

I was just one man. Perhaps I couldn’t make a difference. I would still charge forward. I was determined to see this through. If I was going out, I wanted it to be without regrets. That meant finding answers. It meant saving my team, my own little corner of the world — even if I had to let the rest of it burn.

I looked up to where the top of the disturbance was, the point where the energy was gathering. I could sense the energy, but my mundane vision was blocked by a tall ledge crowned with gnarled bushes and sparse yellowed grass. Whatever was on the other side of that ledge was gathering enough energy to flatten everything around it. It might even be capable of undoing some of the crazier changes to the local geography.

As my irrational laughter and amusement subsided it was replaced by a sense of unease and nausea. My entire body shook, and my legs felt weak.

I knew I had to climb that ridge, I wanted to. My legs wouldn’t move.

I considered myself fairly used to combat at this point, no expert, but experienced enough to know I wouldn’t freak out. This time I couldn’t set aside the feeling that I was completely outclassed by whatever I was about to go up against.

I didn’t need to win, though, did I? I wasn’t here to slay the bad guy. My plan had only ever been to get in and get out. A little chaos sowed over the battlefield was as likely to help as it was to hurt.

I kicked up a plume of sand and rock as I ran towards the cliff. The beach was little more than a long, thin strip of grassy sand and I quickly reached the base of the cliff and leaped upwards.

The height of the cliff was about twice the length of a football field. It was made of yellow-orange rock lined with swirling strata. Multiple outcroppings held withered trees and yellow, lifeless grass. The rock of the cliff itself was brittle and easily broke off in my hands, making climbing difficult.

Numerous handholds crumbled into dust under my touch before I began creating spikes of energy and slamming them into the cliff wall. I was able to anchor them deep enough that the soft rock could support my weight. Once I had two alternating rows of spikes created, scaling the rock face was as easy as climbing a ladder.

From there, it was a matter of seconds before I was swinging my legs over the top of the cliff and looking down on the other side. It was like I had climbed into another world, a world of conflicting extremes.

I stood above a sweeping valley with high cliffs on two sides. A meandering river ran through the valley, dividing vibrant forest from rolling hills of grassland. The trees were large and had curling trunks from which grew twisting, pointed branches that exploded into tiny green leaves. Amid the sea of leaves were large blooms of white petals that gently swayed to a chill breeze that flowed over everything.

Roughly fifty meters above the valley floated a sphere of dense energy that was so black it looked like a hole drilled into the sky. It absorbed not only light, but the life of everything around it. The eldritch energy was wild and turbulent and spun through the valley like a twister before it was slowly drawn upwards into the sphere.

Nothing could be seen through the surface of the orb, even my sight couldn’t pierce the thick shell of energy. Despite that, I could sense life, or some twisted perversion of it. Something was growing inside.

I looked away and rubbed at my eyes as spots swam through my vision. Looking at the sphere was painful, as if I were staring directly into the sun.

Below the orb was a small area of dead trees that had drooped and split open to reveal swarms of beetles that crawled through black pus that flowed from dead wood onto cracked and barren earth. The ring of death was still small and surrounded by vegetation that still clung to life.

The trees at the edge of that divide had leaves that were slowly turning brown, some crumbling into black ash that drifted up and filled the sky above the valley. Bark was slowly sloughing off to reveal blackened trunks riddled with gnawing insects.

On the northeast side of the valley, a ring of metal barricades had been constructed around the remains of an overgrown building. Dirt and vegetation had filled the building and burst out from swollen walls. Soon it would be nothing more than an oddly shaped hill, completely hiding the architecture that was its skeleton.

Muzzle flashes followed by rapid barks of gunfire drew my eye. The peacekeepers had retreated behind large metal barriers that stood in front of a rounded courtyard. A blue haze surrounded their location like a thin, permeable wall. It was too far for me to see individuals, but I guessed there were at least fifty of them.

A horde of creatures surrounded the building on all sides. There were thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. Even more amazing than the number and variety of the monsters was the way they were segregated. The creatures ranged from humanoid to giant quadrupeds and even included winged serpents and floating tentacle abominations — yet they all grouped together like tribes unwilling to intermix.

Each of the larger tribes contained a leader, and these creatures were the only exception to the segregation. There were thirteen of them, and each was massive and vaguely humanoid. Their features and limbs were hooded and hidden under flowing red robes. Smaller, human-sized figures clothed in brown or green robes surrounded these monstrosities.

They had yet to attack but were instead standing behind their armies as if unconcerned by the growing body count. They stood gazing outwards, their smaller attendants defending them and occasionally attacking barriers with bolts of green lightning.

A line of death surrounded the overgrown building, but monsters were beginning to pour over the metal barricades as peacekeeper troops fell back into the courtyard. Telvy had beaten me there, and I could see her covering the retreat of a group of a dozen black-armored Peacekeepers.

I guess she didn’t go back to the Yorktown, after all.

Her long red hair flowed behind her like a rallying banner. Chains hummed as they sliced flesh like razor-sharp whips. Some of the larger creatures would hold out for a moment but would wail in pain as her chains wrapped around their limbs and slowly sank into thick hides before slicing through bone and sinew.

It was a masterful, and terrifying dance.

A group of robed figures bombarded her with streams of green fire. She easily deflected or danced through the attacks, but she was slowly being driven back into the courtyard. Once the soldiers she was covering had passed through, the archmage joined them behind the shimmering blue wall of force.

A black, buzzing fog filled the air above the sheltering Peacekeepers. The cloud circled the perimeter of their defenses, and the shifting haze made it difficult to make out any details on the other side. The cloud had a strange way of moving, shifting from one direction to another rapidly. Occasionally, it would take short pauses where it had almost no movement at all.

The swarm seemed unable to pass through the blue forcefield and fizzled into smoke and ash upon contact. Larger beasts would charge the wall of energy as well but would be quickly cut down by spells and bullets before they could make contact.

It seemed a solid defense, but the Peacekeepers had been driven back and were now forced to be completely reactive. Without a counterattack, I feared they would lose a battle of attrition.

Once their barrier was gone, they would be quickly overrun. I had no way of knowing how long they could hold the forcefield, but it if it was powered by mana, they would run out of resources eventually. If I reached them, I could reinforce the shell with a nearly limitless amount of eldritch energy, but my own focus and concentration would eventually waver as my mental fatigue increased. No, defense wasn’t the answer.

The only thing I could do was cut a line through the horde of beasts and then retreat with whomever I could convince to go with me. Even if they could win a protracted battle, there was still the growing sphere of deathly energy.

I didn’t want to be around when that thing finally hatched.