When the dust settled, Gideon and the others were standing in a crater, fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep. The ground below was a knotted landscape of jagged rock and molten lava, webbing out from the Harrow Lord and making it difficult to move more than a few feet in any direction.
“Everyone okay?!” Gideon called out.
“I’m fine,” Mia replied.
“I survived the fall,” Bullseye confirmed.
Red grunted. “Yeah, I’m here too, but where is—”
Gideon saw the brawler nearby just as the Harrow Lord appeared, blades a flash of crimson and yellow as they cut into the meat of his right shoulder and Red tried desperately to defend himself. He struck out with the sharp end of his maul, but the enemy had turned to smoke and vanished.
Mia yelped as the figure appeared in front of her, one blade slicing through the air and cutting a gash out of her throat, sending her to the ground, blood spraying. She fell to the ground, golden light swelling around her hand as she pressed it to the wound.
The Harrow Lord then appeared in front of Gideon, slashing out in a flurry of strikes which he barely managed to defend against before vanishing again in a cloud of smoke and reappearing next to Red. This time the brawler was ready, shifting his stance and using the haft of his maul to block the first strike from the enemy, but failing to stop the second and third that cut the meat of his legs and send him crumpling to the ground.
“He’s too fast!” Red blurted as a stream of healing shot toward him from Mia on the opposite side of the crater.
That beam of healing was cut short before the job was done as the Harrow Lord appeared again in front of her, this time driving a blade through her gut before vanishing and appearing in front of Gideon. Keen to end this display, Gideon triggered Shadow Smite, slamming both talons together and sending out a stunning percussive blast that hit the enemy head on as he appeared.
That blast should have stunned the Harrow Lord and forced him to stay in place, compelled to attack Gideon. But instead, the figure drove a molten blade into Gideon’s shoulder, seeming to deliberately miss vital organs before vanishing again.
As Bullseye triggered his laser eye ability in an attempt to cut down the enemy, Gideon realized two things. First, his usual aggro generating abilities weren’t going to work against the Harrow Lord. Second, the enemy was playing with them.
At first he’d thought he was imagining things, but Gideon couldn’t mistake what he’d seen as the enemy drove its blade into his shoulder. A thin crimson line had crooked up at the ends, forming a smile on the Harrow Lord’s gruesome face.
Despite the apparent finality of his words, The Ashen Harrow was toying with them, zipping from foe to foe as though this was some kind of practice session. He delivered wounds that were severer enough to keep each member of the team down, but not enough to kill them outright.
Then it struck Gideon.
This wasn’t play he was witnessing but a deliberate method. The way that the ground had been broken up with lava and rock keeping each member of Gideon’s team separated. The regular wounds, causing blood to flow but without killing any of the team.
It was a ceremony, some kind of Harrow Collective rite that the Harrow Lord was performing.
Even as that idea solidified, Gideon noted the way the Harrow Lord struck Bullseye, picking the turtle up and hurtling it off to the right so that it was equidistant from Mia and Red. The cuts delivered to his companions were also designed to keep them incapacitated, to hold them in place.
Gideon had to move. He had to disrupt this ceremony before it was too late. But there was something else. A pattern he was beginning to recognize. Like he’d done with the first Phantom he’d encountered, Gideon could see a method to the apparently random movements of the enemy and, if he moved out of place, that pattern would likely change.
“What do we do?!” Mia cried out, healing yet another wound on her right arm. “I can’t keep this up much longer!”
“Ditto!” Red agreed, blocking a series of attacks before being hamstrung and crying out in pain as a result.
Gideon could see it now, as clear as day. He needed a ranged weapon and quickly sorted through his inventory to pull out the Viper bow, not even bothering to defend against the Harrow Lord’s attack as he drove a blade through Gideon’s side.
The pain was excruciating but Gideon bit down against the agony, raising the bow and aiming directly for Mia’s head. She was standing thirty feet away, but Gideon was confident he could make the shot, confident it would hit home and give him the advantage he would need.
“Gid?!” she called out in confusion. “What are you—”
He fired the bow, storing the weapon the moment the arrow left the string and triggering Phantom Step to reach Mia as the arrow struck. The timing was impossibly close, but before the arrowhead drove itself into Mia’s forehead the Harrow Lord appeared, facing away from the attack as it drove through the smoky fabric of his cloak and into the base of his skull.
The Harrow Lord grunted, staggering backwards just as Gideon appeared behind him, one talon pressed against the figure’s throat, the other driving into his side with all the force and ether Gideon could channel.
He wasn’t even sure which spell he triggered as he poured etheric power into the thrust, jamming his right talon deep into the Harrow Lords side and pushing it up to where he hoped the figure’s heart was. Gideon had no reason to believe that this creature had similar biology to humans. Just because it looked humanoid didn’t mean there were any similarities between species at the biological level, but he had nothing else to go on.
“There!” the Harrow Lord said, stumbling forward with Gideon at his back. “There you have it!”
He fell to his knees, smoke and molten blood leaking from the wound in his side as Gideon pressed his attack.
“So, you can command the Null after all?”
Gideon strained, his muscles tense as he held the Harrow Lord in check, forcing him down to his knees, the talon at the enemy’s neck now pressing into The Ashen Harrow’s throat. He puzzled over the figure’s words, confused but determined to end the foe as quickly as possible.
“Perhaps our seers speak truth,” the Harrow Lord gurgled. “Perhaps you will signal an end to the Collective after all, Soulless.”
Gideon saw it then, as he gripped the enemy and felt the strength slowly drain from the figure’s body. He was leaning over the Harrow Lord, staring down at his chest and the molten blood pouring down from the wound in his neck.
The talon, Gideon’s talon wasn’t just black as midnight, it had shifted to something else, something impossible. It wasn’t just dark, it wasn’t just a solid object covered in dark coloring, it was…an absence. The blade wasn’t there, and yet it clearly was.
It cut into the Harrow Lord’s ashen flesh pressing past the figure’s natural defenses and cutting with an impossible edge, a Null edge. Gideon couldn’t explain what he was seeing. The blade was there and not there at the same time. It was like the absence of a blade. Not simply an invisible weapon, but a non-weapon, the impossible negation of reality that cut through the real.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
He remembered, at that moment, his strike against the first Strider’s Psionic Cortex. His borrowed Stalker talons had done the same thing back then as well. This was the Null power the Harrow Lord had spoken about.
Pain cascaded up his arms, burning the flesh as smoke rose from the wounds at the Harrow Lord’s chest and side. It should have been excruciating but Gideon was too transfixed by the mesmerizing view of his left talon, an impossible blade that should not exist.
He slumped to the ground as the enemy figure fell to his knees, seeming to diminish as molten blood flowed out onto the broken rock.
“What was this thing?” Gideon asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why wound us like this without killing us?”
Blood bubbled put of the Harrow Lord’s mouth as he spoke, his voice still rich and clear despite his grievous injuries.
“It is a blessing, a sign to pave the way for conquest. It is always thus. The first great victory is offered up in tribute.”
“Well, it looks like your tribute is royally screwed.”
A deep rumble of laughter spilled from the Harrow Lord’s mouth as he slumped lower his body starting to become insubstantial to the point where Gideon was having trouble keeping hold of the figure.
“A sacrifice is all that is required, once the forms have been observed. It matters not whose blood is spilled provided that blood is potent.”
He coughed, his body now little more than a wilted torso in the ragged remains of the dark cloak. Even the Harrow Lord’s eyes had begun to dim, shifting to a dull ruby glow.
“I had thought to offer your own blood, the blood of the first Soulless to make contact with our kind. But my own blood will suffice.”
Gideon shook his head.
“I wasn’t the first to make contact. You’d already killed dozens of us by the time I turned up. Hundreds!”
“Cattle for the slaughter. Lesser incarnations of your species, not those with ether forged bodies.”
“Echoes?” Gideon breathed. “I was the first person in an echo.”
The pain in Gideon’s arms began to quickly subside as a golden light shone around him. He looked up to see Mia standing beside him along with Red holding Bullseye.
Gideon slid back his talons and moved back, letting the Harrow Lord’s remains fall against the ground. There was very little left of the creature other than a small mound of hardened larva and a few scraps of cloth, the remnants of his robe.
A swell of crimson light filled the crater, accompanied by the emergence of a series of alien looking symbols that floated in the air above the rock.
“What the shit is this now?” Red asked as they backed away.
The crimson symbols rose higher, enlarging and twisting slowly as they ascended to the lip of the crater. Once there, they burst apart, exploding like fireworks while Gideon and his crew watched from below.
A blood red pattern emerged from the stone all around them, bleeding up from beneath the moon’s surface to form a strange collection of symbols. Gideon imagined what those symbols might look like from a bird’s eye view but struggled to make sense of them.
“Guess The Ashen Harrow got what he was after in the end,” Gideon mused.
“What’s that?” Mia asked.
“Some kind of ceremony or offering. Sounds like it’s something they do whenever they start a war.”
She nodded. “Well, better him than us I guess.”
Still holding Bullseye, Red stepped forward and kicked the Harrow Lord’s remains so hard the ashen pile disintegrated. He stood over the dead lord for a moment before thrusting both arms in the air triumphantly, Bullseye still held in one hand.
“Nut punch!”
Gideon snorted with laughter. “In what possible way is that a nut punch? There’s nothing left of him.”
“Still counts!” Red insisted.
“Put me down you brute!” Bullseye barked.
Red obliged, lowering the little turtle and handing him to Gideon.
“So, we did it?!” Mia said half questioning.
“Guess so,” Gideon replied.
“We did indeed!” Bullseye said triumphantly. “A tremendous accomplishment and one that we should truly celebrate.”
MISSION COMPLETED: Kill The Ashen Harrow
You have successfully killed the Harrow Lord and protected the Lunar Station and every soul within it from certain annihilation. In doing so, you have also defended a vital strategic asset from the Collective invasion force and given humanity a fighting chance of survival.
REWARD: 10 Enhancement Points
MISSION WITHDRAWN: Flee to Earth
ITEMS LOOTED
Harrow Lord Core +1
Royal Ether +200
Ether +4000
Endurance +3
Tactical Insight +5
Leadership +3
Diplomacy +1
Gideon stood for a moment, staring at the Harrow Lord core. Unlike the other Harrow Cores he’d collected from the Striders, this was roughly twice the size and there were bright crimson cracks on the surface of the metal disc as though there was molten larva inside trying to burst out. The disc also gave off a faint etheric energy that made his fingers tingle.
“What’s that?” Mia asked, leaning in close.
“It’s a core. No idea what it does. There was one inside each of the Striders too, but this one looks different. I guess because it belonged to The Ashen Harrow.”
“Just Ash now,” red quipped, clearly thrilled with his gag while the others frowned in response.
Mia turned to Bullseye. “Do you know what this thing is?”
The little turtle shook his head. “I’m still waiting for the System to finish its analysis. It may be a power source or perhaps the biomechanical equivalent of a heart, or some kind of genealogical marker. Give it time and the System will find the answer.”
Gideon nodded, slipping the core back into his inventory. He looked up at the edge of the crater. His body had completely healed from the encounter with the Harrow Lord but the truth was he was mentally exhausted, tired beyond words, and for some reason, starving hungry.
“Any ideas how we get out of here?” He asked.
“Can’t you just shadow jump us up there?” Red asked.
Gideon was about to answer in the negative when he realized that he didn’t actually know the answer to the question. He’d carried Bullseye from place to place during a jump but hadn’t tried moving anyone else. He’d never seen another hunter use a blink or charge ability to carry another individual, but then again he’d never heard of the Shadowguard class before either.
“Will that work?” he asked the turtle. “Seeing as this isn’t Artemis?”
“Perhaps. I’d suggest trying it with the brawler. Worst case scenario he won’t survive the trip, and you won’t have to put up with the brute’s snoring any longer.”
Red laughed, then turned to Bullseye. “Wait. What?”
Gideon moved too fast for Red to object, grabbing him by the arm and triggering Shadow Charge as he looked up at the lip of the crater. They moved through space, appearing a foot or so in front of the edge of the drop and Red promptly lurched forward and dry wretched.
“Guess it does work,” Gideon said with a grin.
Achievement Awarded: Taxi Cab!
Congratulations! You just transported an ally more than twenty feet using a blink ability! Just remember, blinking with impaired judgement is a bad idea, particularly when you’re carrying a passenger. Don’t blink and drive!
He turned back and used Phantom Step to blink down next to Mia, leaving Bullseye and Red up top as he appeared beside her.
“Okay,” she said with a smile, moving in close to him. “I’m ready.”
He smiled. “Gonna need a minute. Well, twenty seconds or so. Need to recharge.”
She nodded and he became aware that they were very close to each other, almost hugging.
“I can’t believe we won,” Gideon offered.
“You won,” she said, moving even closer and putting a hand around his arm. “The rest of us were just here.”
He moved to protest, but she continued speaking.
“I heard what he said to you, just before he died. All that stuff about you being the first of your species to communicate with the Collective. He meant the echoes didn’t he?”
“Yeah. I guess to the Collective we’re technically a different species. We’re based on humans but our bodies are integrated into the System, able to absorb and use ether and we can add new skills and abilities, all that stuff.”
She nodded, still holding his arm. “It’s crazy when you think about it like that, isn’t it. I mean, we’re a new species. Given that we’re at war as well, we may never go back to our old bodies. This is who we are now.”
He grinned. “Finger’s crossed.”
Mia looked up and he caught himself. Had he been looking at her chest. He hadn’t, had he? Shit!
His cheeks reddened as he checked the cooldown on his Shadow Charge ability. Still twelve seconds to burn and she’d just caught him staring at her chest like a greasy little teenage perv.
“Gideon?!”
The familiar voice that came into his head offered a merciful relief from his embarrassment.
“Book?”
“We’re showing that he’s dead, The Ashen Harrow. Is it true?”
Gideon smiled, nodding. “Yeah. He’s dead. We’re just heading back now.”
He overheard Book turn to relay his words to someone nearby and the resulting cheer proceeded Book’s response.
“Wow. I mean, well done Gideon. Well done to all of you. Commander Moynahan wants to see you when you get back, but you take your time.”
“Okay, got it.”
“And thank you, Gideon. From all of us here. We all owe you.”
He turned back to Mia, tapping a finger against his ear. “Just Book. He must have figured out a way to talk directly into my head.”
She nodded, smiling. “Yeah I figured.”
He looked down at her, struck one again by her perfect green eyes, the sharp edges of her eyebrows, the curve of her cheeks. She was still smiling, like she’d just heard the most delicious joke.
“What is it?” Gideon asked.
She leaned in close, whispering in his ear, her breath tickling.
“I saw you staring at my chest.”
He felt a flush of embarrassment run up his spine and began frantically searching for some excuse, some way to back pedal. But she held him close and kept speaking.
“I didn’t say I cared.”
She leaned back, slipping and arm around his and waiting patiently.
“Ready when you are,” she chirped with a wry smile.
Gideon’s cheeks were on fire. He blinked them both to the top of the crater studiously avoiding her eyes as Red made a kissy kissy gesture with his lips and they began walking back to the lunar station.