Chapter 22

I brushed off the alerts and decided to look further into each orb, starting with the special orbs.

Special orbs: 2

Orb Hunter upgrade - Tier E [Uncommon]

???????? ?? ????? [???]

I was familiar with the hunter orb, though I had no idea how it had gone up to tier E. The second orb was a mystery, however. I tried to investigate further, but all I got was the following message.

Alert! Access restricted. Current authority level is insufficient to access information.

What the hell? How was I supposed to obtain more authority? It was my own head, for god’s sakes. What was even more disturbing was that this mystery orb was apparently already equipped by default. I tried to unequip it but I received the same alert about my access being restricted. What the hell was going on? How could the system force an upgrade upon me?

Scowling, I tried to equip the Orb Hunter upgrade when I was met by another warning.

Alert! You may only equip 1 system upgrade at your current level. Your next system upgrade slot will be unlocked at level 5.

I ground my teeth in frustration, then decided to bite the bullet and spent 90 mana orbs to upgrade to level 5.

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 5.

Maximum mana orb capacity increased to 200.

Skill orb slots increased to 6.

Enhancement orb slots increased to 6.

System upgrade orb slots increased to 2.

Alert! System has been upgraded. User’s vital data is now available.

Another secondary system upgrade? Great, I’d definitely have to check it out. Satisfied, I equipped the hunter orb and moved on to my enhancement orbs.

Enhancement orbs: 6

Minor Agility [Double Rune] [Uncommon]

Minor Darkness Attunement - [Simple Rune] [Rare]

Minor Luck [Double Rune] [Rare]

Minor Magic Resistance [Simple Rune] [Rare]

Minor Resilience [Triple Rune] [Uncommon]

Minor Strength [Double Rune] [Uncommon]

I furrowed my brow as I directed an inward scowl toward the unfamiliar words. Double runes? Darkness attunement? Thankfully, at least the menu provided decent answers this time.

[Enhancement Runes]

The effect of enhancement orbs can be increased by adding new runes to an existing orb. Such runes are created by combining the essence of similarly attributed orbs. This allows for powerful enhancements to orbs that may match or exceed the performance of higher tier runes without any further requirements.

Simple Rune - 20% increase over the orb’s base value.

Double Rune - 40% increase over the orb’s base value.

Triple Rune - 60% increase over the orb’s base value.

Tetra Rune - 80% increase over the orb’s base value.

Penta Rune - 100% increase over the orb’s base value.

This meant that my strength, agility, and luck orbs provided me with a 40% increase over a regular, unupgraded enhancement orb. Even better, my resilience orb, which increased my stamina, resistance to harm, and rate of healing, was boosted an incredible 60% over a normal enhancement orb. How had I obtained such a rich bounty? And what was this luck rune? How do you even quantify something as ephemeral as luck? What about the darkness attribute and the magic resistance orbs? These three runes were the first orbs with a rating of “Rare” I’d seen, which further piqued my curiosity.

Minor Luck [Double Rune] [Rare]

Base Value: 15%

Double Rune Bonus: 40%

Final Value: +21%

Grants the user a bonus toward favorable outcomes whenever chance is involved.

The description was succinct to the point where it bordered on obfuscation, but then again, I had expected as much from a silly stat like luck. It honestly seemed like a wasted orb slot to me.

Minor Darkness Attunement [Simple Rune] [Rare]

Base Value: 15%

Simple Rune Bonus: 20%

Final Value: +18%

Aligns the user’s mana toward the darkness element, boosting the effects of skills and spells of that element. It also increases the user’s innate affinity to darkness and resistance to attacks from that element.

What was the darkness element? Did this mean that some skills possessed an innate element? Thinking back on it, Dash had been a physical skill. Was there such a thing as a darkness skill? The lack of additional information was really getting annoying. I have to admit, however, that even these minor annoyances were being swiftly banished by the excitement growing within me as I reviewed the information on the magic resistance orb. It was like Christmas morning came early for me.

Minor Magic Resistance [Simple Rune] [Rare]

Base Value: 15%

Simple Rune Bonus: 20%

Final Value: +18%

Slightly increases the user’s innate resistance to any kind of magic attack, status condition, and adverse effect.

It was much as I had come to expect, though I couldn’t help but wonder if this orb would help me when the day came to finally knock on Charon’s door with entirely dishonest intentions, bloody knife in hand. I shook my head with a rueful grin. There was still a long way to go, but at least I was making progress. Shrugging off darkly pleasant fantasies of the painful death I’d inflict upon Charon one day, I equipped all 6 orbs with an anticipatory sigh.

A familiar surge of power slammed into me so forcefully that it was all I could do to clench my teeth tightly and let out a hoarse moan of ecstasy that bordered on agony, it was so intense. I writhed on the ground, digging my fingers into the soil beneath and scoring it with deep furrows. I wasn’t sure how many seconds passed, lost as I was within the euphoria of awakening as a powerful new entity, but I was effectively born anew as a creature of superhuman strength, agility, and resilience. And that wasn’t all. Not even close.

My vision blurred for a moment before I found myself staring at the faded lines of the arcane script surrounding the coffin I’d emerged from. Blinking repeatedly, I scrubbed a hand across my eyes, only to confirm that there were still no sources of light but my vision could easily navigate the contours of the room around me. It wasn’t regular sight, as I knew that required light to be gathered into my cornea. Instead, it was almost as though I were drawing in the darkness around myself, perceiving the world through its subtle fluctuations. The darkness wasn’t just an inert void as I’d always feared. Instead, ink-black shadows around me swirled in waves as though I were traversing across a pond, leaving ripples that crashed against the edges of every object around me and bounced back.

It was an altogether captivating and terrifying experience all at once. This went far beyond a mere improvement of my sense of sight. The darkness roiled around me, enveloping me within its snug embrace and drawing a quiet sigh of pleasure at its icy, soothing touch.

That’s when I happened to look down and saw the crumbled stone and cracked floor beneath my feet, filled with maddened channels that wormed their way nearly two inches deep. Had I truly left such marks with nothing but my bare hands? But I hadn’t even felt the strain as hard objects had turned to powder within my grasp. While I stood staring with a blank look on my face, a thin line of drool suddenly dripped down my chin. There, a single drop wriggled free from my skin and fell toward the floor. Almost without thinking, one of my fingers swept up the errant drop and I knew for a certainty that I had sliced it neatly in two before it disintegrated from the wave of wind produced by my swing. I lifted my trembling hands before my face and stared at the elongated nails that grew from my fingertips and gulped past a constricted throat that had suddenly been parched dry. What was happening to me? Was the power of the orb turning me into a monster? Could I still be called human? I decided to do a quick overview of the information on the other enhancement runes.

Minor Agility [Double Rune] [Uncommon]

Base Value: +4

Double Rune Bonus: 40%

Final Value: +5.6

Minor Resilience [Triple Rune] [Uncommon]

Base Value: +4

Triple Rune Bonus: 60%

Final Value: +6.4

Minor Strength [Double Rune] [Uncommon]

Base Value: +4

Double Rune Bonus: 40%

Final Value: +5.6

Well, at least the values seemed uniform enough. Though what each point really meant, I really had no idea. Was a 5.6 agility orb good or just alright? I had no point of reference to know how much each point was worth. Shaking my head to myself, I decided that questions could wait for later and moved on to inspect the final set of orbs.

Skill orbs: 6

Backstab [Common] - level 2

Cloak of Shadows [Rare] - level 2

Critical Strike - Melee [Common] - level 2

Dash [Common] - level 2

Dimensional Pocket [Rare] - level 2

Feast or Famine - level 2 [Equipped] [Rare] [Locked]

Three of the skills were familiar, but Cloak of Shadows, Feast or Famine, and Pocket Dimension were new. They also happened to all be “Rare” tier orbs, and delighted expectation flared within my chest.

Cloak of Shadows [Rare] - level 2

Type: Magical

Element: Darkness

Allows the user to capture shadow spirits. The user may condense the essence of darkness within each captive shadow spirit to summon the Cloak of Shadows. As long as it is worn, the Cloak of Shadows provides the user with greatly enhanced stealth, higher defense, and higher affinity with the darkness element. Once all available essence of darkness has been depleted, the Cloak of Shadows will be automatically dispelled. Shadow spirits slowly replenish essence of darkness over time.

Duration: 1 minute per shadow spirit.

Shadow spirits: 2/2.

This must be what Susan had used back then in order to sneak up behind Allie. What an incredible skill! However, why hadn’t it protected Susan from Allie’s gunfire? Had it run out of shadow spirits or did she simply neglect to summon it in her overconfidence? Maybe I could use it to sneak away from the inevitable fight between the 6 men approaching and the monster they sought to capture.

That last thought jolted me out of my own head and brought me slamming down to planet Earth once more. I wasn’t alone down here! Just outside the door, the intruders were drawing closer. In fact, I took a deep breath and caught their scent so strongly that I knew they were a mere dozen steps away from the door that led to this room. Why were they headed in this direction? Was there really a terrifying monster lurking within the shadows of this room? Had I missed some hidden entrance to a tenebrous dungeon?

I steeled myself and chose to equip all of my skill orbs without reading the description for the last two. New knowledge swarmed into my brain, but I didn’t have any attention left to spare. As it was, I only belatedly realized that I was holding my breath while searching the pitch black confines of the room, imagining terrible creatures lurking within each shadow. I was sorely tempted to try using the Cloak of Shadows right here and now, though all my senses told me I was alone in here.

That’s when I heard faint clicking noises from the other side of the door and all hell broke loose.

“Collins, pull back! That door’s been warded!”

“Huh? What?”

“Shit, it’s too late. Get down!”

Without even stopping to think about it, I heeded the warning though I knew it hadn’t been meant for me. I had barely leapt away from the door in a headlong dive and curled up on the floor with my arms wrapped around my head when a thunderous explosion rattled the entire room. The shockwave blasted my ears until only a shrill ringing was left rattling around in my skull and that was even though I was standing on the other side of the room with a door of solid steel standing stolidly in the way.

I shook my head, trying in vain to reorient myself, feeling as though the earth was heaving under my feet. Slowly, hoarse cries of pain along with angry voices reached my ears as they burst out in a flurry of discussion just outside the door.

“What the fuck was that?”

“It was a damn magic ward, the kind them adepts use.”

“Why didn’t we detect it earlier? Where’s Collins?”

“Gone, sir. I’ve got the left half of his skull bubbling up next to my foot, in case you required a more specific answer.”

“Fuck this assignment. I didn’t sign up for this shit!”

“Shut the fuck up Martinez, before I crawl over there and shut it for you.”

“Both of you, quiet! Deploy the mana scanners and scan for movement on the other side of that door.”

“With all due respect sir, I ain't going anywhere near that door. That’s all Collins was doing when he set off that ward. If the thing inside that room hasn’t moved yet, it likely means it’s still dormant. Not that I give a damn, not anymore. Now that they’ve been activated, I recognize the warding glyphs on that door. I’ll never forget them as long as live. It’s her. It’s definitely her. We have to run - now.”

“What are you talking about Walker?”

“Sir, I was there for the Chinatown Massacre. I was part of the first response team to sweep the area due to the reports of mana fluctuations.”

“Damn, you went into that hellstorm and made it back alive? Shit, Walker. I never knew you were such a badass.”

“Quiet! Continue, Walker. Make it quick.”

“Sir, the Angel of Death had erected a demonic altar right in the middle of Chinatown, slaughtering every civilian within sight and spilling their blood to fuel her vile ritual. When the police finally arrived in force to respond to the threat, she cast a spell that leveled an entire city block. I was the only member of my team who made it back alive and that’s only because my team leader sent me to the sewer tunnels below to set up a deep scan rig.”

“Holy shit, the Chinatown Massacre was caused by a single spell from the Angel of Death? Is that what you’re telling us?”

“That was just the beginning. The true massacre hadn’t even started yet. The buildings were crushed under her spell like eggshells and the civilians boiled alive like overcooked yolk. In the aftermath, entire army battalions were deployed but her dread creature appeared out of nowhere and scythed them down before they even knew what was coming. It was like the Grim Reaper incarnate come to harvest their lives, drowning the streets with blood. I doubt any of them made it out of there alive.”

“Fuck me, and we’re supposed to capture that thing?”

“Fuck that shit, I’m out of here and I don’t care what they say. I’ve got a daughter waiting for me at home.”

“Stop! We can’t abandon the mission. No one disobeys orders from Control.”

“Yeah? Watch me.” The words were followed by a set of footsteps rapidly moving away.

After a brief pause, the team leader’s trembling voice rang out. “Martinez, do you recall submitting form FS-21 for extended family support, health coverage, and life insurance?”

The footsteps outside abruptly ground to halt. “What are you saying, sir?”

“No one disobeys orders from Control. Or else. You don’t think they offered all those benefits to our families and extended relatives for no reason, do you? You know better than that.”

A round of shocked gasps and furious cursing ensued.

“Fucking hell, I knew it was too good to be true. Are you sure, sir?”

“It’s a secret privy only to the higher echelons of the organization, but it’s true. My old squad leader deserted after a mission went wrong and his entire family down to their twice-removed cousins and in-laws abruptly vanished off the face of the Earth.” The team leader’s reply came in a grim tone that instantly silenced any further protests.

“Then my Esperanza..”

“And last every person connected to you by blood, Martinez. We made a deal with the devil and now we’ve got to make good on it.”

“Goddamn it, can’t catch a fucking break. Esperanza.. Shit, at least she’s got that life insurance. Fuck it, if we’re gonna do this, then let’s get to it.”

“Fucking Collins, it’s all his goddamn fault. Fucking reports..”

“Martinez, deploy an anti-ward mine and get ready to breach the door. Jackson, set up a machine gun nest 40 feet down the corridor. Muller, collect all the explosive charges from the team and rig the entire corridor at 10 foot intervals.”

“Yes, sir,” came the decidedly unenthusiastic chorus of replies.

“Walker, you’re with me. We’re entering the room as soon as the door is breached. Non-lethal force only, so prepare your shock baton and electric stun blaster.”

“Sir, not that I’m complaining but machine gun emplacements and tunnels rigged full of explosives don’t quite seem like what Control had in mind when they said non-lethal,” came a man’s dry voice.

“I’m a soldier, not a saint. We’ll try to subdue it, but the moment things get out control, I’m bringing this entire goddamn place down on its head and to hell with the consequences.”

The man named Walker startled me with a rueful chuckle then. “You know, maybe you could use that silver tongue of yours to negotiate with it, sir.”

“What are you talking about?” came the irritated reply.

“Everyone thinks I’m nuts when I tell this part of the story, but I know what I heard. Half-buried as I was under a city block's worth of rubble and flaming debris, I still distinctly heard the Angel of Death actually conversing with her creature.”

“I call bullshit on that, Walker. Not even the Angel of Death is crazy enough to talk to a soul-less undead abomination.”

“I swear on my grandmother’s grave. After ravaging the earth and shattering the skies, she fluttered down from amidst the clouds like an angel descended from heaven with that ethereal beauty of hers creating a fucking halo all around her. She landed next to her creature and graced it with an almost human smile. If I didn’t know who she was, I might have fallen for her right there and then.”

“Fucking horseshit, that’s the Angel of Death you’re talking about, you ass!”

“Fuck off, Martinez. Why do you think they call her the Angel then? She’s the most spectacularly beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes upon, cross my heart and spit into the Devil’s eye if it ain’t true. I’m guessing it must be some sort of incredibly powerful illusion or compulsion. Hell, I’m no adept but I know it’s gotta be magic of some sort. The moment you lay your eyes upon her, she will draw out your soul with the bewitching fire of those frost-covered blue eyes.”

A moment of silence ensued while all motion ceased as the words slowly sank in their minds. I could feel my own heart fluttering wildly as a sick glimmer of suspicion began to blossom within my own head. No, it couldn’t be..

“Fuck me, I don’t want to die..”

“Shut up, Martinez. You’re gonna jinx us. If you’re gonna bitch and moan, do it in your own head where at least one person cares.”

“Get off my case Jackson. And you wonder why everyone calls you the Jackass.”

“Hell, if we’re gonna die playing bait for the Angel of Death’s creature, we might as well air it all out before we croak. Dead men tell no tales and all. Which reminds me.. Hey Walker, what did she say?”

“Huh?”

“To her creature. What did the Angel of Death say?”

“Well, I didn't actually hear all that much. She was standing too far away for me to make out most of it and I was half-buried under a metric ton of flaming rubble, remember?”

“That still sounds like you heard something, at least.”

“Well..”

“C’mon man, out with it. We’re all dead men walking, might as well have some fun on our way to hell.”

“Fine, fine, just swear you're not going to laugh, alright?”

“On my mother’s grave.”

“Last I heard, your mother was still alive and kicking, healthy as a bull, Jackass.”

“Fuck you, Walker didn’t have to know that.”

“Shut up, I want to hear what he’s got to say.”

An uncomfortable cough rang out in the ensuing silence, before Walker continued in a low tone. “Well, the Dark Angel, she gazed at the creature with some unspeakable emotion and made a promise..”

“.. yes?”

“Damn, Walker, why have you gotta be such a tease? Out with it!”

The sounds of cursing could be heard before Walker continued. “Damn, alright. She said stretched out her hand to her creature, clasped its hand, then looked into its eyes as she said..”

That’s when suddenly time seemed to warp for me as an inexorable void opened up within my mind...

An endless visage of chaos and death spread before my eyes. Indifferent to it all, I felt a familiar tug upon my hand. Turning my head, I saw twin orbs of spun ice that glittered brightly with unshed tears.

“I will never give up on us,” Allie said, her voice frail like cracking ice yet at the same time shrouded in fiery resolve. “Don’t forget..”

The rest of her words scattered from the brittle pages of my ravaged memory like so much sand blown by the winds of fate...

I blinked repeatedly as I found myself back in my body, panting harshly while kneeling on the floor with both hands clasped to my head.

“..‘I will never give up on us.’” came Walker’s somber voice from the other side of the door.

A moment of stone cold silence stretched for one timeless second, then the entire corridor seemed to burst into raucous laughter.

“Damn, you can’t expect us to swallow that one, Walker.”

“Haha, almost had me though, he looked so serious when he said it.”

“Fucking Walker man, almost killed me right there before the creature even had to lift a finger.”

“Yeah, fuck you guys. I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“What, you’re being serious? You’re not shitting on us?”

“Fuck off,” came the irritated reply.

“Relax, Walker. I believe you. Not giving up? Hell, I guess if I were her pet creature, I'd think plenty about giving up as well. Figure that poor bastard's stuck like that for good tho.”

“Damn, what a trip.”

“Anything else Walker, or was that it?”

“She said his name.”

“Oh yeah? What was it? Worldrender? Blood-drinker? Soulslayer?”

“Nah, a lot simpler than that, actually. It was Clay.”

“What?”

“You heard me. She called it Clay.”

“Is that its name? Did she fashion that abomination from clay watered with the blood of infants or some sick shit like that?”

“No, it’s not Clay,” came the team leader’s deadpan voice.

“Sir?”

“It’s the name of her former lover, before she slew him and turned to necromancy. I’ve heard she uses the powerful compulsion of his undying love for her to fuel the dread magic that empowers that abomination.”

“Damn, makes sense then. I heard that thing’s fucking unstoppable. Hey Walker, didn’t you just say she was an angel?”

“You’re a moron, Martinez. She’s only half angel, all devil. After all, that’s why they call her the Angel of Death.”

“Damn, that’s still cold, doing your lover like that.”

“Former lover, but yeah, you’re right. Poor bastard, getting mind-fucked like that, over and over. Goes to show you can’t trust them women, especially the hot ones.”

“Smoking hot, though. Damn, I wouldn’t mind me a piece of that sweet ass..”

“You’re a retard, Martinez. Did you not hear the man describe what she did at Chinatown? He mentioned people popping like egg yolks.”

“Shit, might be worth it, just once..”

“Why do I even bother..”

An unbearable rumble began to echo within my chest. I clawed my fingers deep into the flesh there and found no comfort from the numbness spreading across my cold, clammy skin.

“So why did you say it wasn’t Clay, sir?”

No, no more. Stop. I will hear no more. That’s not my Allie. It can’t be.

“Because it’s not. The poor bastard used to be someone famous, not too long ago. Hell, you may even have heard his name before.”

“Oh? What is it, sir?”

Stop. It’s not me. Make it stop. It can’t be me. Stop!

“It’s Kaizer. Kaizer Lee.”

A roar of unmitigated anguish clawed its way up my throat and sent me reeling into the dark pits of a red-tinged abyss as I charged at the metal door and slammed into it with every last iota of power I could summon.