《First RE:Guards》 Chapter 1 - Hell-o Hound Gone were the days of fire stations and long poles to slide down. Those buildings had been torn down along with many others abandoned by a dwindling population. Now we slept inside giant fire trucks that looked closer to a party bus painted in red and yellows. We still carried water, first aid kits, generators, three humans, and six robots for grunt labor. Our giant truck sat in an empty parking lot near Madison and Fifth Ave. I chose to wait outside and relish a brief moment of freedom between minor disasters. Thirteen hours into my shift made me hungry, annoyed, tired and the truck seemed claustrophobic.. Two AM is a time for reflection about poor life choices. Tonight promised to get worse. Behind me, the fire truck flared to life. One red light flashed above and a window slid down rapidly. I was already running for the vehicle. ¡°Pierce!¡± The man¡¯s voice bellowed across the empty parking lot. ¡°We¡¯re up! Building collapse, gas line, it''s big!¡± ¡°Shit,¡± I said. Dozens of thoughts came into my head as I hauled ass for the truck. The Auto-NAV system turned it towards the south exit. I had to leap for the back and grab onto a handle. The giant double-decker sized vehicle sent signals to other drivers and their cars halted to let us out. Inertia pulled me to one side as the truck swung left and pulled out of the parking lot. This was normal for those of us stepping away from the fire truck. Missing the ride would mean being docked a paycheck and that couldn¡¯t happen. Rent was past due. Tiny fires were one thing, rescuing people or being a first responder didn¡¯t measure as a big problem. Explosions meant wounded, possibly dead, especially if a building collapsed. These thoughts and more ran through as I pulled myself towards the rear truck door. ¡°How long?!¡± I shouted up the hallway towards Bert, the driver. ¡°Three minutes. Get suited!¡± Bert stepped back down the aisle and started beating on one of the cots. Our third member was still laying back. ¡°Tonya, get to it, woman!¡± ¡°Eh.¡± said Tonya with a wave of her arm. Inside was a strange mix between a recreational vehicle and submarine living quarters. We had two racks to sleep in, a bathroom that was a size too small, and one fridge where each of us got a shelf for the shift. I grabbed a handful of peanuts from my section of the fridge and quickly used the bathroom. By the time I got done Tonya was on the ground and shoving her suit on. ¡°Pierce, you¡¯re slow as usual.¡± She glared at me. Tonya¡¯s bronze skin was mostly covered up by the clothing. Only her face and extremely short hair remained visible. I rolled my eyes and yanked down my own helmet from a stack. ¡°Alright! Peirce, this is week two, and your first big one. Remember the classifications?¡± Bert was talking about the different types of fire hazards. Training had been long. We talked about how to watch for weak floorboards, what doors to open or not. Simulations were done in virtual worlds to prepare us. Real life had proven far less exciting than my class made it out to be. ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded anyway. ¡°Good, everything on site should be shutting down, the gas and electricity are no longer being pumped into the building. We¡¯re going in and backing up the RAFFS on pushing flames away from the kitchens and residential areas.¡± Bert waved an arm. One wall of the van had a spot for logistical planning. A bird''s eye floorplan showed red and green areas based on temperature. ¡°Fucking Raffs.¡± Tonya looked up to the truck''s roof and flipped the bird. RAFFS stood for - Rescue and Flying Flame Suppressants. They were basically remote controlled fire extinguishers and had enough resistance to lower people carefully to the ground. They saved lives but every so often misjudged where people''s heads were by a foot or two. ¡°Pack it, Tonya, you get lit, you get under one. I don¡¯t care who¡¯s driving it.¡± Bert told the short haired brunette. Our suits were made of a high-tech material that could wave off most things. Normal fires were a mild tickle, and the worst ones would break down the outer layer and start heating the second. We could last a decent amount of time in the middle range before it became a risk. No matter how much science advanced, standing in fire was still a bad call. ¡°There it is.¡± Bert waved through the fire truck''s front. Tonya whistled and hung her head while Bert kept muttering. ¡°Damn. No wonder it¡¯s so large, these have got to be at least sixty years old.¡± ¡°Tonight¡¯s going to be a long night.¡± She said, the helmet went on quickly and Tonya got ready by the door. ¡°Alright, map¡¯s got our suspected point of origin. Bots are being deployed here, here, and here.¡± Bert stabbed fingers at the small blue markings. The robots were often placed on the outer edges since their circuitry could melt. Humans melted too but we had gear to help. ¡°Tonya, here. Pierce, here.¡± Bert outlined our first locations. As humans, our job was typically to sweep and search for people. Occasionally we pulled out valuables and received a commission from insurance companies. ¡°Your headset will be feeding information as always, pay attention and don¡¯t take the helmet off!¡± Rule one of being a firefighter, proper use of the equipment kept us safe. Rule two through infinity amounted to the same thing. Follow the rules, use this right. In the field things never worked out perfectly. The video displays guiding us sometimes missed details or took odd turns in the instructions. ¡°First point, Tonya, go.¡± The fire truck slowed down but didn¡¯t stop. She hopped out of the side door and two small balls of metal were rolling along the asphalt nearby. They were remote units programmed to spray down areas, in the event of a nature fire they would dig trenches to keep the fire from passing outside a set area. ¡°Second point, Pierce, go.¡± I dove out the door and two more units rolled right along with me. We pounded across the pavement trying to get set up. Behind me, the fire truck should be preparing to hose down different areas. Each fire had slightly different orders. A giant housing complex with a gas explosion required fast response and pulling out survivors, before anything secondary went off. In this section of town, where all the housing was at least sixty years of date, there were always secondary issues. A message flashed across my headset reminding of the first step. ¡°Tonya Idolia, active.¡± She sounded rushed. Her words were pointlessly low. ¡°Bert Leon, active.¡± He was gruff and seemed annoyed at having to go through standard procedure. ¡°Pierce Argive, active.¡± I said like a perfectly normal person. Twenty-five, male, tired from a long shift that only promised to drag on into the morning. ¡°Registering users. Welcome to the show, Fifty Seven. Please review your assignments and act accordingly.¡± Another voice clicked on. It was our dispatch AI, a program by the name of Prometheus that took delight in pointing out anyone not following the rules. We didn¡¯t have to physically respond. Our headsets picked up a nod easily enough. I was thankful we didn¡¯t have to talk over each other. ¡°Alright, bringing you into the group.¡± The dispatch AI started through its normal babble. ¡°Coordination markers are enabled. Keep an eye on your heads-up display for assignments and cleared regions.¡± Small check marks appeared to one side of my helmet¡¯s display signifying our nods. Soon the other markers were moving towards destinations and small boxes appeared showing how far away they were. Management decided that since firefighters had become contract workers we were paid based on objectives completed. I made my way towards my marker while the other two did so in silence. We had another squad of three out here too, but they were on the building''s other side. I turned down the volume on all the background chatter as part of my normal settings. Fire lit up the dark night sky. My destination showed as the bottom floor of our burning building. We had thousands of square feet to check and not enough time. Whatever was happening didn¡¯t care about all of humanity¡¯s safeguards against disaster. Portions of the building had collapsed. It looked like an old hotel with dozens, if not hundreds of rooms to search. I started on the ground floor where indicated and laid down markers for the two mindless robot droids following behind me. They unrolled from the ball shapes. Tiny feet made of composite metals and flame resistant paint clanked along the ground. They cleared tables and tossed flammable objects across the room, trying to separate out fuel for the fire from things that might resist. The best money could buy and most of what they did was move things around like a hyperactive child. ¡°Pierce, how are you doing?¡± ¡°Done with point two, moving upstairs to three.¡± I answered Bert¡¯s question mechanically despite the severe situation. ¡°Remember your training. Keep an eye on your footing.¡± The older man said. I nodded and the headset flashed a green checkmark near my name. Technology made it easy to respond without having to talk. Ten minutes later and point three was clear. A swift check on my heads-up display showed the fire rapidly getting out of hand. It should have died down by now but wasn¡¯t. ¡°Hello, is anyone here!?¡± I yelled out. My job was to find survivors, not fight the fire. We had machines to set up breakpoints or deal with suppression issues. In another fifteen minutes, we would have the full jet from headquarters filled up and spraying down the location. We couldn¡¯t drown the place without checking for survivors first. Point three was clear. The next destination was upstairs, I made my way watching for weak spots or possible falling walls. So far we were clear on civilians and pets. Most people had escaped by themselves. I stepped it up trying not to waste time. Someone upstairs was screaming. ¡°Voices heard on route to point four.¡± I tried to stay calm while my heart skipped a beat. Finding people on the ground floor who were fine didn¡¯t cause much of an issue. The higher we went, the worse this fire became. Whatever it was doing seemed to widen and escalate faster than a fire should. Our safe zone was rapidly becoming a no-go area. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Registered. Rerouting other personnel. Visual feed being recorded.¡± Prometheus listed off status updates reminding me that whatever happened, it would be on video. ¡°At least two.¡± I said. Thermals made it hard to tell as heat flooded the building. A high-tech suit prevented a great deal of it from reaching me directly but the helmet was stuffy. Small drops of perspiration lined the inside. The screaming happened again. Part of a wall collapsed nearby. Flames licked across my field of vision making it hard to read the visual display. I shielded my face with an arm and tapped at the floorboard. Stable enough despite its old workmanship. I headed towards the noise. Signals in my headset filtered out one portion of sound from the crackle of flames behind me. Small markers pointed down showing where other items were. The RAFFS were off helping others. Ten robots in total cleared the bottom floor and shattered walls in preparation for fire stoppage. This building shouldn¡¯t be going up in flames so fast. There were technological redundancies that made sprinklers look like kids squirt guns. Flame delaying materials were built into the walls. Even if the wiring codes were insanely out of date we should have been winning. Today¡¯s burning building seemed to be growing in size and intensity. ¡°Contact. Two, no, three kids.¡± I saw them across the hallway nearby. They gathered by a window frame that had thankfully shattered outward. Backdraft could have made our tenuous situation so much worse. ¡°Come on!¡± I waded through the worst part and held out one hand. ¡°I¡¯ll help you get by!¡± ¡°Monster!¡± The little girl screamed and pointed in my direction. I had no idea what she was shouting at. Maybe the little one was too young and didn¡¯t know what a firefighter looked like. Our suits were a bit off putting when in a burning environment like this one. I got closer while speedily trying to remember my training. My three civilians were huddled together. The boy might be thirteen. Behind him was a younger girl whose eyes seemed to pierce right through me. They were frightened. I lost myself for a moment then looked down. She had a crying toddler clutching to her. I didn¡¯t have time to figure out the youngest one¡¯s gender given our current situation. The room around us was in complete disarray. There was no sign of their parents. The oldest boy looked wild with fear. They huddled against a wall, one of them must have woken up in time to see the apartment complex burning all around and panicked. We all needed to get out of here. ¡°I¡¯m here to help you. We¡¯ve got to go!¡± I shouted, trying to be heard over the roar of flames. Maybe the RAFFS would get here soon and suppress this area, but humans shouldn¡¯t get soaked too long by those chemical heavy foams. Especially not in light clothes, or little kids. ¡°There was a monster!¡± The older child boy shouted and pointed. They were both panicking about the fire. There was no way this mini inferno building around us qualified as a real monster. It was huge and deadly, but not a monster. I yanked at a shoulder patch and pulled out the flame retardant covers. These weren¡¯t enough for prolonged exposure but would mitigate the worst of their situation. I looked around while trying to get the children ready to escape. We only had one real exit aside from out the window. My floor map didn¡¯t show any sort of walkway through any nearby exit. ¡°Safe zone! I need a new safe zone!¡± I demanded anything from Prometheus or my crew. These little ones needed the quickest way out from the fire. My helmet¡¯s display was showing a mess of secondary fires starting up all around me. ¡°Recalculations are in progress. It is difficult to calculate due to unexpected additional fires all around you.¡± Prometheus said with a worried tone. I almost threw my headset to the ground and started cursing. Only the idea of three small children relying on me kept things from turning southward. ¡°We¡¯ve had three spots spike in heat during the last two minutes.¡± ¡°I need an out dammit!¡± I shouted into the headset. My hands were busy placing items over the kids¡¯ heads. ¡°South, down the hallway, if you can get to the stairs. Or fall through the floor, your suit should be able to handle the drop.¡± The machine AI said sounding calmer than expected. According to the map, all purple Voices were losing heavy amounts of energy the longer they stayed out of the prior zone. ¡°Now with cargo!¡± I yelled. Three kids, one too little to walk. Visions of fire would dance in the child''s head forever. ¡°How many?¡± Tonya sounded much calmer. ¡°Three!¡± ¡°The monster! It¡¯s behind you!¡± The oldest boy pointed as his voice took on a higher pitch than anyone should rightfully have. The shattered mirror to my right showed more than a sea of orange crackling around the building. Something large moved, silent, creeping with its head lowered. It was a dog easily as big as a horse. Its footsteps startlingly light for such an area. From the creature''s mouth, greenish flame seemed to drip. One side of the thing''s face was lifted in a snarl. ¡°We¡¯re rerouting the RAFFS, they¡¯ll spray in sideways.¡± Bert¡¯s voice was talking, but I didn¡¯t know what to say. My heart skipped and breath came in uneven jumps. ¡°Monster!¡± The girl shouted again. I nodded then rapidly spun around while grabbing at a piece of piping. ¡°Out the door, find the stairs! Bert, something''s in here!¡± I tried to give them instructions, but it may not have sunk in. ¡°What?¡± Bert raised his voice and cut across the audio communications. I repeated myself while weaving back and forth. The motion helped keep its attention focused on me instead of the children. Maybe I couldn¡¯t pay bills on time, or spent too much on movies, but letting children die to a monster demon? Not in my nature. ¡°Crash the Pods on me! Through the window!¡± I shouted. ¡°Jesus what¡¯s going on, Pierce?¡± The gruff older male said. I looked over my shoulder at the little ones and only had time to utter one word. ¡°Run.¡± The girl bolted first, trailing behind them was the older boy carrying the youngest. Their sudden movement caused the horse sized dog to turn and snarl at them. I swung the item in my hand and an umbrella popped out. I regretted not checking my choice of weapon better. The monster''s face triggered some autopilot response. One hand tore at another pouch, searching for the canisters that would act as air propelled coolant for burns. The dog creature sent my makeshift weapon flying with one angry swipe of a paw. It seemed to try and bark but a strangled noise came out. Moments later it leapt at me. I tried to spray the canister but hadn¡¯t fumbled it out on time. My foot slipped on part of the housing''s old floorboard. Giant teeth wrapped around my arm and side. They locked into place and sunk in deeply. Up and down the ground went as it shook violently. I didn¡¯t know what the creature was, or how it came to be. Any vertigo or tearing sensation that would have caused the first stages of pain was instantly bypassed as its mouth dripped liquid fire onto my suit. Glowing green hatred ate through my skin and set my mind ablaze with pain. There was a crash of glass nearby. Sound shattered as the RAFFS flew in one after the other spraying down the area in fire suppression foam. They swiveled to the new target and sprayed at the monster tearing into my flesh. The kids were on their way to safety, hopefully, but it was too late for me. At that point, I only knew how to scream.
[The Overseer]''s log: Scans have turned up something really fresh. Possible subject found. Reviewing case files en route with the Ambulance. Visiting home might have paid off in more ways than one. These initial subject scans show multiple issues of note within the physical DNA. Likelihood of surviving without serious reconstruction estimated to be 13.76% - assuming a positive outlook. I can¡¯t afford to be hopeful, but this latest disaster may work in our favor.
Author Notes: This story is my Write Month submission and will be uploaded to the minimum 50k words required by 11/30. For those used to my normal standards of quality in wording, you shouldn''t expect the same thing here. My editor (Wife) will eventually get to it, but not before the deadline. As such the chapters will be shorter. The pace will be faster. A lot of the show may be buried under tell, etc. It''s been a learning process, but I also like the story''s shape thus far. (I''m about halfway through at 45k words completed, it will NOT be ''finished'' by the end of Nov) Chronologically this takes place in the same world setting that Continue Online does, roughly 10 years after the first story closes. Mild spoilers may be present depending upon how between the lines you read. Errors will be present as this is essentially a draft copy. The cover is terrible. Cover art should be attributed to the following... Lion face - Xoxo9696 on DeviantArt Background - Richard Gailey and the photo was modified by cropping. Here''s the Creative Commons Legal Code Shields - :dev frozenstarro: on DeviantARt Chapter 2 - Memories Flicker I could almost see. Human sized blurs were on either side of my face. We rocked back and forth as something beneath me changed directions. High noise in the distance droned onward. Fire, there had been fire, which dripped into my skin. I had burned, melted, then screamed. ¡°Can you hear me Mister Argive?¡± A female asked. Something gargled out of my mouth in response. Speaking was hard. Drool dripped down one ear but it felt almost remote, like it was happening to another person. ¡°Mister Argive, we¡¯re rushing you to the hospital, we¡¯ll be there in two minutes.¡± Two others were in the confined space. Neither one sounded human. Snarls still echoed in my ears. More mumbles came forth from the bodies on either side. My chest shook hard enough that the numbness couldn¡¯t block it out. A gasp crawled out my mouth. Spastic jerking rippled up and down my spine. People near me said things that didn¡¯t register correctly. Brief flashes of thought came together. This place wasn¡¯t on fire. My eyes slipped closed and the sea of flames from before appeared, that giant dog¡¯s mouth with strange green liquid promising potent pain. We learned about burn victims while being trained. Modern science could do a ton for them once the suffering individual made it to a hospital. Out in the field our choices were simple, jab them with a drug that almost disconnected their lower body from the upper one. ¡°You were attacked.¡± The female voice said. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was sweet, or angry, or tired. Every detail about the two people was obscured by a haze. Screaming filled our confines in bursts. Rawness in my throat cried out in pain from some liquid coursing through. My head kept trying to tilt the wrong way when things tensed. Drugs improved the solution but weren¡¯t perfect. People''s minds couldn¡¯t handle that kind of medication without suffering a loss of ability to understand or function. Bowel control was nixed completely, assuming anything still remained inside the drugee after their burns. ¡°Whatever attacked you, it¡¯s full of hand crafted viruses. They¡¯re probably going to kill you.¡± ¡°Quickly!¡± The other voice shouted and I started really panicking. Burned, I had been hit by something that melted my skin through small holes in the suit. Lifting an arm failed. I tried to raise my head and see down to where the wound sat. Screaming broke me apart again. Neither eye focused on the same object. Ghost memories of that first pain flooded through my mind. Everything was numb, I was fairly sure I made a disgusting mess all over everything. ¡°We¡¯re going to try a new procedure, but if fails, you¡¯ll probably be dead.¡± The female said. Viruses. God above protect me, I couldn¡¯t handle dying to another man made timebomb. That fucking Daylight virus had killed one in every five people years ago. The epicenter had been New York, that¡¯s where my sister and mom had been. ¡°Mister Argive, we need to try and get consent.¡± One of them said. I couldn¡¯t tell which one. My own body was a mental patient in the next room screaming it¡¯s lungs out. ¡°Pain.¡± I managed to get the word out. My head felt heavy, but still agony tore through me. Fire crept along each vein as it passed up my arms. There was a very real tenseness to my neck. Back muscles seized and didn¡¯t unclench. Someone nearby was shouting but their words were lost in a sea of muted pain. ¡°Do you consent Mister Argive?!¡± The woman was so loud. Her voice blended with the sirens wail. Hopefully I nodded. I had enough time to think about how badly these drugs sucked, before motion blurred and a needle jabbed downward into my belly. Pain leaked through followed by a wave of blackness which stole my ability to think away again. The small kindness was welcome. Time ceased to be. Just as suddenly as it stopped, time once again moved forward as my brain actively registered things. I existed in blackness so thick it was tangible. Whatever they had me on made it impossible to feel. No sound joined me in the darkness. Smells of smoke and burning paint filled my nose but there was none nearby. In front of me was a floating box lined in granite with an ashy red lettering. It said one word and seemed to exist forever.
Remember
Noise kicked in. The pitch of a siren''s wail set my heart racing. Part of me was fairly sure that my heart hadn¡¯t existed moments ago. Light came on against a black wall of some sort and images were projected. They were moments from my life. It felt like watching a biography on video reel. A picture of my dad¡¯s face joined me in the darkness. More images of childhood rushed through. First it was my mother, then our little sister. At some point it shifted to just dad and me. My sister ended up elsewhere. They divorced, and I spent sleepless nights crying. A pictured showed dad holding me and saying it would all be better. More moments flickered on the projection consisting of long weekends where my dad raised me. We started in a larger house, then moved to another one. Finally we ended up in an apartment. Dad started leaving earlier in the morning, coming home later at night. Always exhausted and barely smiling. The moments of history became more recent. They showed high school, then trade school. Three winter jobs, two girlfriends who liked my looks but thought I was shallow. They were probably right, high school me was mostly looks. My only redeeming feature was a full time job that had ended with me burning. The thought of my fiery demise triggered screams. Violent nerve wracking ones that tore at my mind. It didn¡¯t hurt though, and almost instantly the noise stopped. Maybe it never existed. Maybe the only existence was darkness and highlights of my life flashing by again. Sally, she dumped me after two months. Her brother got into a fight with me two days later claiming I had abused his sister somehow. A teacher and robot aid pulled us apart. More moments flickered by but once again it ended in the same spot. Large teeth dripping with neon green liquid that sizzled against floorboards. I opened my mouth and screamed again. My body jerked violently but visually nothing changed. Just a sign hanging there saying one lonely word against the darkness.
Remember
Over and over bits of my life played. All of it one series of flashes at a time. Every burst of red set my heart stuttering. I was trained by endless hours in school to deal with the flames, to not let primal instinct cause me to bolt out the door. To throw myself in the way of danger in order to get other people out. Still, being bitten, tossed around like a chew toy, melted, drugged. My mind didn¡¯t cope right. Monsters didn¡¯t exist, did they? What had that woman said? A virus, tearing me up, some procedure. Was this it? The thought hit me in between bouts of screams and my remember message box changed.
You are not dead. This is real.
This emptiness was real? The images flickered by once more then everything clicked off. There was no more story of my life. No longer did the odd floating box sit around telling me to remember. I waited feeling conflicted. Darkness was lonely. My distant body still hung with numbness. Where was I if this was real? The blackened space broke from a baby''s bubbling laughter. The world brightened around me as another faint existence appeared. There was a brightened area showing a crib sitting in the middle of endless darkness. I moved closer and tried to look over the edge. Indistinguishable murmuring filled the air as I crept closer. ¡°She¡¯s perfect.¡± A male voice came into focus. It sounded almost like the man from the tape reel. My father, years before he split with mom. Happier, more content, pleased. I couldn¡¯t see the figure in the crib correctly. She was blurry. My eyes slid off to one side and were unable to focus on the newborn. From what I could tell the small one looked like any other baby. One Hand dropped to the crib side and I tried to lean in. Flame danced around her crib and I panicked then fell backwards. Upon hitting the ground I noticed my limbs were no longer attached. No middle or nose. My body didn¡¯t exist in this weird emptiness. ¡°Did you see that?¡± That strangely content male voice said. His voice sounded slightly scratchy as it raised in pitch. Liquid tones like bubbling coffee filled the darkness because nothing else could compete. ¡°That energy, one from beyond?¡± The female said with a trace of alarm. Faint arms reached over the ribs edge o pick up the child. It must have been this baby''s mother. ¡°I saw flames. There¡¯s no way that can be a good sign.¡± The male said. ¡°Where did they come from?¡± ¡°A spirit in the void must be reaching out.¡± the female sounded happy. ¡°Oh my baby has a destiny. Yes she does, who¡¯s going to be so important. You are!¡± I smiled but didn¡¯t understand. This space must be the void, based on the mother''s words. I had reached out, but did that make me a spirit? That granite board has said two things prior to flashing out of existence ¡®You are not dead¡¯, and ¡®This is real¡¯. What then, was this? The crib, woman with a baby in her arms, and man''s voice all faded away. Darkness return and I panicked, scratching violently at the ground where they had been. Once again I had been left alone. Left alone like so many endless nights. I didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Come back!¡± I yelled to the darkness. Gone was the last year of independence and trade school. Gone was the demeanor of an adult. For a moment I was reduced to a young child, scared of the dark. ¡°Please! I¡¯ll be good!¡± My side tingled from unpleasant heat. Nothing crippling, not like the memory of my final moments before this weird landscape of blackness. The mere thought of those fouled teeth made me scream out in pain. Another wave rushed through and left me weakened and huffing. ¡°God. What did I do to deserve this?¡± I didn¡¯t want to sound pitiful, but I was alone in a dark room with no guidance other than a sign that also abandoned me. Remember. This is real. Remember. I am not dead. The sensation of burns hovered just outside my perception. Darkness around took on a slightly reddish hint. There were flames forming in the distance. Perhaps this was hell. I had done little in my life of value before completing firefighter school. Even that wasn¡¯t enough. I had to help more, to save the younger ones. That was the whole point of working where I did. I had nothing else to offer but a stupid ability to throw myself into danger. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I reached out for the little baby girl again. She, and her parents speaking, were the only contact available to me. As odd as their disembodied voices might be, they made sense. One arm desperately went towards where I had seen her, trying to connect with that crib once more. A new image appeared. The crib was still there, but the baby inside was much larger. Only the faint pink coloring gave away any indication of gender. A backdrop of wooden walls and handmade toys had added to the outer edges, fleshing out the rooms details. I lay there stretched out and staring in wonder. The tiny baby couldn¡¯t be more than seven months old. Maybe eight, and she was climbing out of the crib. Her small pale hands grasped over wooden rails and pulled. ¡°Careful.¡± I said, flashing back to my own sister when she was that young. One of my first memories was much like this one, sitting outside her crib watching the small being laugh and try to climb out. We had shared a room then. I had just turned six and was a big brother. ¡°Careful.¡± I pulled myself forward some more. Trying to get closer, ready to catch the small one if she made it out. Bubbling laughter was broken by grunts of frustration. I could tell by the smile on her face that this was a game. My eyes scanned about as a few more details of the room took shape. Four stuffed animals, a wooden horse, letter blocks that were crudely painted. This home was not rich but they tried to provide. The baby grunted and attempted to pull herself over the ledge, but ended up slobbering on it instead. She sat there glaring into the distance at one of the stuffed animals. Autopilot kicked in and I grabbed for the object of her desire. My hand passed through and faint ripples of smoke appeared above the ratty bear. ¡°Now Izzy, what are you doing here?¡± Her mother''s voice echoed from somewhere unseen. ¡°She wanted the bear.¡± I felt like a young boy again, answering my own mother. A hand tried to swipe through the animal again. Smouldering fur quickly turned to a puff of flame. The little girl immediately broke into tears. I panicked then stumbled backwards as the mother cried out. A foot stomped through and kicked at an inflamed animal to put it out. Part of the bears eye socket had been forever scarred from my actions. Somehow I transferred incredible amounts of heat to an object simply by swiping a hand through. ¡°Izzy! Oh, by the Ladies of Soul, you mustn''t! You are too young for this!¡± She said. ¡°Spirit, if you¡¯re out there, leave my daughter be! She is far too small to support your existence!¡± I cringed. Did she think that I was the spirit? That was impossible. That sign had told me that this was real, and not death. Just a black space between my old life and this new strange world. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said, about both the fire and disturbing this caring mother. Those words had been the last thing I said to my mother too, before she died. ¡°Sorry.¡± That stupid tape reel of my life had brought up all sorts of ugly moments. I tried to shake it out of my head. The cribs and smouldering toy bear slowly faded into the blackness, leaving me alone. I looked up, or in the direction up should be, and tried to figure out what this all meant. My memories, aside from the bits which flashed by, were hazy. Without that flash of my family''s face I might not have been able to even recall their features. Dad was freckled with rough skin. Mom had been a bottle blond who worked hard to stay in shape. My sister had only been eight when the virus killed her and mom. I shook it off and tried to place what was happening. Technology was advanced, could it somehow be responsible for this? An answer sat on the tip of my tongue but didn¡¯t fully manifest. Part of me wanted to say yes, but I couldn¡¯t place why. Emptiness stretched on. There was no sense of presences nearby. No lights in the distance to walk towards. Maybe there would be a clue if I ventured far enough. It wasn¡¯t like I had arms, legs, or a body to risk. Me reaching out to grab objects was more like remembering how the sensation felt. Even without having a physical presence I could move around. Feeling a bit more stable and less like an abandoned child helped me brave the darkness. I got up and wandered off, unsure what might happen. I had lept into the mouth of some genetically modified dog from hell, what could possibly ruin me now? There were no footsteps, just a sense of motion. The reddish flames dancing in the distance barely dented the overwhelming blackness. It felt like walking around in a landscape lit up by black flames. Those distance possibilities of fire never got closer. As I walked other odd scenes came up. Not of my life, but of the little girls, Izzy. That was the only name I could remember anymore. Not my sisters, or fathers, or mothers. They had faces but no names. Her floating screen and I traveled for what felt like days, months even. In one moment of time Izzy walked around the house, pressing both hands against the wall to stay upright. In another second she cried out and fell when dad spooked her. The images kept going, and kept me entertained on the journey to nowhere. She was adventurous for a small child, often escaping her parents notice for stretches of time. As Izzy grew my view on her world widened just a bit. Her father¡¯s face took shape. He was vaguely middle eastern, all angles and deep tones with thick black hair. The mother looked slightly more European, brown hair, shorter, whiter skin and smile that held funny stories. Nothing else about this world resembled earth so far. There were too many poorly made houses and odd looking toilets. I hadn¡¯t seen anywhere with such low standards of sanitation outside of video clips on the internet. That word bothered me. I couldn¡¯t remember exactly what the internet was anymore. It was a problem for another day. This place here and now was real, and I was not dead. My feet stopped their march. Both eyes focused on the odd tape reel of another person''s life. Izzy had lived almost three years during my wanderings. Now, tears ran in rivers down her face. She sobbed full on with snot everywhere. Trails of fresh mucus trailed across both hands from repeated attempts at wiping. ¡°Izzy. What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked the image using the name given by her mother. It was probably short for Isabella. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s mommy!¡± She shouted out between hiccups and burbles. The little girl stood at the corner of a faded building. I could see people walking around but none of them seemed familiar. They didn¡¯t match other people in her life. None were her mother or father. Thick hands grabbed Izzy from behind and drug her back down an alley. My feet ran after the small child but the image didn¡¯t move in perfect tandem. This was real, but it wasn¡¯t exactly a tangible reality. Or was it? Izzy kicked wildly. This large man put the other arm around her legs and shoved young Izzy under an arm. Outraged at his actions I reached out to grab the figure. I wanted to set him ablaze, like that bear, but with all the rage a burning angry former older brother could muster. She screamed. Whatever window of reality that let me see into her world felt flat, but still tangible. My last attempt with the teddy bear had resulted in smoke and a flicker of flame. I yelled and relied on the odd event happening once again. Heat poured across my mind, lighting everything up as it ate away. All around me the darkness flickered with a brighter shade of red. The backdrop consisted of cardboard flames that danced along an inconspicuous wall. Both hands reached out at the would be kidnapper. ¡°Argghhh!¡± His startled yell came through loud and clear. Izzy dropped to the ground but her crying didn¡¯t stop. It got worse. She stood up as if on autopilot and kept wailing. ¡°Mommy!¡± Izzy managed to get out one audible word in between sniffles. I was not mommy, but I would be damned if some man would grab little Izzy. Not while I could do anything. Fighting with people, punishing someone so they learn, arguing or yelling, all those were understandable. Dragging a child off who could barely stand much less fight back was just not cool. ¡°Little brat! I don¡¯t know what you did but¡­¡± His rant turned to a scream as my fingers drug into his chest. The tips of my hands hurt more with each passing second. Fingers felt like they jammed against a wall. Next a hand shattered and arm broke. My last life ended with a giant slobbering monster of green fire descending upon me to save some kids. I would make that trade every time. Izzy deserved everything I could give. They all did. Something cracked inside my head then a white light flared to a peek. There was a sizzle of sound as the bad man''s body jerked wildly. A knife in his hand fell onto the packed dirt alleyway. I grit my teeth and held on. Finally, he fell as thick smoke poured off his chest. One leg jerked. Izzy¡¯s eyes were wide with fright. She looked all around, but showed no signs of awareness despite being so close. I blinked and realized what had just happened. Part of me felt numbed. A man had died at my hands. The little girl was still crying for her mommy. I slowly leaned in closer. The image felt more real, almost surrounding me rather than being a flat observation portal. As if I were part of the picture. Off to one side was a box I hadn¡¯t noticed before. It was styled in the same format as my ¡®Remember¡¯ square from before.
    • [Minor Burns] inflicted!
    • [Kidnapper] health has reached zero!
    • [Kidnapper] has died!
  • [Guardian] path chosen!
I didn¡¯t care. Izzy, this little girl who I had literally watched grow up, my only real companion in the silence since my death, was crying next to a grown man''s dead body. She wouldn''t suffer this alone, not while I still had a choice.
[The Overseer]''s log: Initial neural pathways being etched. Pairing shows promise. Subject 42 shows active, and outright protective, interest in the newborn denizen. This is good considering our remote location isn¡¯t secure and we already had a data breach. The denizens of cyberspace are in an uproar because my attempt at creating a Case Seven risked one of their young. Never mind, politics aren¡¯t the point of this project. Further connections have been made between the two. Alternate world formation is proceeding slowly. Additional details are generated almost instantly by the coupling. This is the first Case Seven I have observed from inception, do they all establish a reality like this?
Chapter 3 - Ink Burned My head pounded with pain. Izzy and I both were sitting in an alley. What had formerly been an interactive projection of her life now existed all around us, as real as any other memory. The alley was long and sunlight was setting. Both buildings around us were poorly made and only barely two floors tall. This place smelled funny, like ash. Or maybe it was the dead body. I kicked corpse every few minutes. The man wore ratty clothes. Everything I touched flared up with puffs of smoke and tiny flames which sputtered out quickly. Part of me felt satisfied and abusing such a terrible man. Dad would have been disappointed. Izzy stared at the body in between sniffles. Her inherited dark hair and light skin blended badly with snot trails. I tried to make funny faces and cheer the little girl up but it did nothing useful. I wanted to see her moms secretive smile and dad serious eyes light up with joy. The pain my noggin only grew with each moment. Izzy¡¯s world fuzzed in and out frequently. I tried to hold on, to stay with her until someone came to help. ¡°Izzy!¡± A voice shouted in the distance. Her mother''s tone implied none of the secretive amusement that normal colored each word. A sigh shuddered through me and the world fuzzed once more. Trying to stay in this three dimensional version of things took a lot of effort. The pounding grew worse as I tried to concentrate on Izzy¡¯s face. ¡°Do you hear her? She¡¯s on the way.¡± I wanted to sound positive despite the lingering headache. This pain wasn¡¯t like the burning sensation, it was a different level of draining. Mentally exhausted and scratchiness combined to make Izzy¡¯s world fade once again. ¡°Mommy!¡± Izzy looked in the direction I was pointing. ¡°Izzy!¡± The mother shouted. I heard footsteps running as she came over to clutch the small child to her chest.¡±What happened!?¡± ¡°See?¡± I said. The pain made my voice unsteady. The little girl cried even louder and both eyes stayed wide open. One tiny hand pointed to the burned remains I had abused. How would that kidnapping have gone in my world? An emergency response from monitoring equipment, then Pods from the sky would taser the offender while normal emergency personnel responded. Whatever. The man didn¡¯t feel real to me. Not like Izzy, years of her life almost felt more real than my own at this point. Had I really watched her for so long? Or were my perceptions all screwed up? ¡°What is that?¡± The mother said. I lost focus for a moment and concentrated hard upon seeing the mother''s face. Her gaze seemed to be staring roughly where my chest would have been. It felt foolish but I tried to wave. One arm hung limply. ¡°Child, let the spirit return home!¡± She shouted. ¡°Won¡¯t go!¡± Izzy almost shouted. "Tired mommy!¡± ¡°Spirit, can you hear me?¡± Her mother said. I tried to remember this womans name but it didn¡¯t come to mind. My head attempted a nod but failed. ¡°Hi.¡± I tried to sound upbeat about it. For years of this girl''s life I had been mostly an observer. To me, this was our third actual encounter where I reached out. ¡°Izzy. Listen carefully. You¡¯ve called upon an other world spirit. It''s draining you, and it. Do you understand?¡± The mother said. I could have told the lady that four year olds would not understand. Izzy looked confused, her eyes were giant and without focus. She seemed to be trying to make sense of our conversation but it wasn¡¯t clicking. Did Izzy suffer from the same headache as I? ¡°Spirit, I am only a weak Soul Caster, but I shall try to connect you with my daughter.¡± Izzy¡¯s mom was talking in my direction, but she her eyes weren¡¯t focused on me. She seemed to be sensing where I was but not actually sure. ¡°I do this only because you have saved her life, and without a true connection you may both die.¡± We might die? My addled brain cleared up just a bit. I didn¡¯t want to pass on again, and this little girl shouldn¡¯t suffer because I was trying to stay with her. My head nodded slowly, but there was no way to know if Izzy¡¯s mother could actually see the response. ¡°This will hurt. I¡¯m sorry, so sorry. You¡¯re far too young.¡± Her mother was babbling now. One of her hands raised up and light swirled around. I stared in awe as bits of energy drifted in from points unknown. The flakes were caught by an unseen swirl of gravity and pulled towards her palm where they glommed together like a three dimensional mosaic. What was she doing? Some sort of magic? Maybe that stuff was real in Izzy¡¯s world. I didn¡¯t know exactly what to think at this point. The only magic I knew about was from something, something in my old world that seemed just beyond reach. What had it been? Entertainment of some sort, fantasy, make believe. This woman didn¡¯t seem to be a fantasy. Unless I was mad. Izzy¡¯s mother clutched tightly to her child and pressed the palm down against a shoulder. Too late did I realize that she had said this would hurt. I growled and tried to move for the mother, intent upon protecting Izzy from anyone who might attack her. I felt too tired. The throbbing headache had reached a nearly crippling point where even thought felt impossible. My body seemed to be flaking away like a piece of wood burned to ashes. The mother cried while biting her upper lip hard enough to pierce skin. Izzy¡¯s scream was far different from the one of fear. This was outrage and pain, the same any child might face when repeatedly spanked too hard. Energy from the hand seemed to pour through skin, lighting it up from the inside. Flesh turned translucent and bone opaque. Darkness rushed up to meet the bits of energy. Izzy screamed and a box appeared.
Contract Proposal Information: This is your first attempt at being contracted with. Each contract will change the interaction between those involved. In most cases this is done between a Denizen of [The Inner World] and a spirit from [The Outer World]. You may chose to deny a contract of this nature with no penalties. Note: More complex contracts may require sacrifices or special materials.
Contract Proposal Ranking: Basic Denizen of [The Inner World] will receive:
    • [Dismiss Contracted Spirit]
  • [Summon [Request] Contracted Spirit]
Denizen of [The Outer World] will receive:
    • [Request Summon]
    • [Deny Summon]
  • [Basic Spirit Form]
Note: Spirit Forms are determined by the spirits nature and affinities. This can only be assigned once upon being summoned the first time. Further modification is possible depending upon feats performed.
The young girl kept screaming as I tried to read the boxes urgently blinking in front of me. The longer I took, the louder her wailing became. My nonexistent stomach felt sick and twisted sideways. Both eyes started to water. The headache grew worse in leaps and bounds. I tried to find an accept option and managed to press it. The world felt slightly less blurry right away. Enough so that I could focus on what was happening to Izzy¡¯s shoulder. Lights of black and white bound together then pulled back to the skin''s surface. Her mom was slightly lifting away her hand, as if using the motion to draw these threads to the surface. My own leg ached but in this place I had no body parts to look to. On Izzy¡¯s skin a pattern formed. One single bit of flame with two tongues poking out. There was a faint smell in the air of sizzled flesh, but that was from the dead body behind us. My mouth tasted bits of copper that could only have come if I had bitten my nonexistent lip. No one else had come down this alley way during our whole adventure. Izzy¡¯s mom lifted her hand from the tattooed upper arm and sighed heavily. ¡°There. It is done, not a full bond, but enough for now.¡± Izzy¡¯s mother pulled the crying child close to her. ¡°Little one, you can let it go. Let the spirit return home, so that you both may rest.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Moments later another box displayed.
Contractor Isabella Brand is activating [Dismiss Contracted Spirit].
I let it happen. After all, this was for the best. My headache started to fade just a little. Even Izzy sighed and started shaking. Sweat dripped down the little girl''s face as she clung to her mother. That image faded back to a two dimensional picture in my world of crimson tinted blackness. Then nothing. I sat there for a long time while portions of Izzy¡¯s life blinked by. Her walk home with mommy went well. Both parents guarded their daughter zealously for the next few months. For my part I watched the odd bits of her life, ready to leap through in a moment¡¯s notice. Time flickered by in clumps. I checked myself over for signs of change like the small fire tattoo on Izzy¡¯s shoulder. It healed almost perfectly. She would stare at in for moments at a time. Fingers traced along the blackened lines, if she tilted it just right the surface shimmered silver. I too looked at her tattoo. Shimmering black lines signified our weird connection. We were bound together between emptiness and her old fashioned world. These pictures of her life formed portals that I didn¡¯t want to cross. Attempting to do might hurt her again. Izzy¡¯s world grew more detailed. Her parents grew a bit older. Strands of grey started to break up her father''s dark hair. The mother''s hands shook more often. I watched it all with a passive sort of enthrallment. My awareness had an odd tingle since our contract. Tiny wiggles crawled along the back of my mind every so often. Between the small girl and I was a black and silver thread, colored the same as her tattoo. When I touched it Izzy would wince. After the fifth such moment she ran to mom. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The projection of Izzy yelled like she was being chased. Maybe she was because my little window into her world kept pace. If anyone was after her now, it was me, a strange stalker from [The Outer World]. ¡°What is it dear?¡± Her mother asked. I tried once again to remember the woman¡¯s name but came up blank. ¡°It keeps happening!¡± She yelled. ¡°Izzy, Izzy, you¡¯re not strong enough to bare its weight. Not yet.¡± Her mother would say. ¡°Focus on your studies. Practice your meditations.¡± ¡°But mom, it keeps happening.¡± Izzy whined. Her serious eyes glared upwards but a curve of childish lips made it humorous. I smiled happily. ¡°Then perhaps the spirit wants to talk. Their realms are often lonely.¡± Her mother offered a suggestion. My heart rate jumped a bit. To no longer be alone in this darkness? To talk to someone? I wanted talk to someone. I wanted that very much. My hand clenched on the cord between us and Izzy¡¯s face winced. The scent of ash once again crawled around me while this backdrop of dark cardboard flames started dancing. ¡°How do I do that?¡± Izzy said through grated teeth. Shaky hands dropped the thread of shimmering darkness. It fell to the ground and the young girl''s face showed a wave of relief. ¡°How does she do that?¡± I echoed her. ¡°The same way you learn any magic, a lot of concentration, and a lot of luck.¡± Her mother said with a tired smile. I sat cross legged in the darkness watching them. Waiting for some occurrence where anything new would happen. My past felt further and further away as Izzy grew older. The cord in my hand called me forth. I desperately want to be out in the world again. To a place where I could live and breathe more than flame tinted darkness. Reality called, even if it wasn¡¯t mine. Izzy sat there with her legs crossed underneath. She wore a dress that was hand crafted and made her look like a sunflower. Specks of light appeared near her but they didn¡¯t get sucked in like the mother managed to do. I could see a clear difference in ability between them. I tried to do the same but it didn¡¯t work. No white lights swirled around. We both kept our efforts. Her training had far more success than any of my efforts. Time passed in her world and mine. My head hurt and throbbed. The lingering pain from my burns seemed almost distant. Far away, like it had been cast upon the walls to my prison of the afterlife. Everything brightened in bits. By her seventh birthday Izzy could pull the lights together in her palm. They formed a three dimensional object that looked like a cat''s curvy tail. ¡°At last.¡± The young child looked delighted. Then she pushed the object into the air. Her palm slammed against the projection screen. I got to my feet and jumped back in confusion. ¡°What?¡± I demanded an answer from an otherwise barren room. Her young face dripped with sweat. The focused glare of her father¡¯s eyes challenged the space between us. She was such a serious child, and this had been just another obstacle in the young girl¡¯s way, one Izzy tried to crush with force of will. I didn¡¯t know how she managed it. The small bundle of light bits shattered and she cried out. It didn¡¯t stop her. Lizzy tried again multiple times a day for a week. I carefully held our thread of connect while cheering her on. On the eight day, her hand managed to shove the small bundle of light into my room. Something else finally existed in the world where I had been mostly isolated since a dog chewed on my side. I might have gone mad were it not for those single flashes of my life in the beginning and a sign saying remember. Her tiny cat tail made of white lights shattered. I stood a few feet away holding my breath, hoping it wouldn¡¯t permanently fall apart like so many attempts prior had. Floating bits of snow wiggled and vibrated suddenly, reforming their rightful shape. It flew around the darkness looking for me. I waited and tried not to shake apart myself. Finally the small item of white found me. I almost broke down in sad giggles as I realized this wasn¡¯t a cat¡¯s tail. It was a question mark. Seeing a representation of my old world here in the new one brought a moment of muted nostalgia. It was weird to have something else inside with me. This was the first time anyone had actually reached in my direction. My hand reached out to cup the small question mark in one hand. A box popped up. Lines of red lettering against granite asked me for a response.
Accept [Communicate with Contractor] skill? Yes or No
I didn¡¯t hesitate. The question mark broke apart with more brilliance than ever before. Bits of the former question mark¡¯s light fell downward and suck like glitter. Displace bits of the ground flowed towards our connecting ribbon. They flowed back, exchanging mass or energy with the object Izzy had sent through. She grit her teeth together as the blackness came through. I could see the flame tattoo on her shoulder spiral with additional detail. Both curls of fire took on more depth, going from a child¡¯s simple lines but curved with shadows. My own head hurt. It felt like someone was digging into my neck with a spoon. I tried to grab at my neck but having no real limbs made the mental effort pointless. The moment passed, and I tried to get over my pain. ¡°Hello. Mister Spirit?¡± A wave of relief washed over me. I tried to keep my voice steady and spoke up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello Mister Spirit! My names Isabella Brand!¡± Her voice was so young. Memories of my sister came back. She had been about this age the last time we spoke, just before the virus wiped out so much of America¡¯s east coast. ¡°I¡¯m Perseus Argive. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Isabella.¡± I gave her my full name. Our conversation felt formal enough to warrant more than a nickname. My eyes blinked a few times and I tried to stay collected. It had been so long since I actually talked to another individual. My mind still felt nineteen, but with Izzy¡¯s life to measure time again, it was probably closer to thirty. I was basically a creepy old man talking to some little girl. Still, I had something else to hold on to. Even if this girl a young stranger from another world, she was the only person in the world who could talk to me. That meant everything.
[The Overseer]''s log: Both Subject 42 and his partnering denizen have connected correctly. More neural pathways are linking together. Further studies show that Subject 42 is establishing rules for their pairing. This will allow them to function on a level playing field within the reality being established. Lets hope this isn¡¯t tying a noose around both their necks. If this progresses much further we will be unable to disconnect the two.
Chapter 4 – Creeping Fire We talked for hours. Izzy, or Isabella was chatty. Maybe she was excited at our ability to finally converse. To her it had been years with me attached and tugging our ribbon for attention. For me it felt like days, weeks maybe. I couldn¡¯t tell exactly but the contact was welcome. She asked all sorts of questions about my history. I couldn¡¯t answer very many. I told her about my fight against the giant dog of flames. It made her unfocused eyes grow wide with amazement. ¡°You really battled a demon all by yourself?¡± Her tone was filled with excitement. How was she so captivated by the concept of fighting a monstrous dog? ¡°I lost. Rather badly, and was hurt.¡± I said. Our conversation didn¡¯t go in to my eventual death and possible insanity. Maybe this was all a delusion and I was laying on a hospital bed. Still, Isabella felt real. ¡°You still fought it Mistier Spirit.¡± She didn¡¯t like using my name. I tried to get her to call me Pierce multiple times during our babble but that failed. "But, can''t you get better?" ¡°It did something bad to me. It still hurts.¡± I said slowly. An unexpected event was happening in the background of my black space. The red flames towards each horizon seemed to be made of cardboard. Those pieces were starting to fall forward one at a time. It made no sense. For a moment none of what she said registered. I stared at the unfolding scene as pain started to register. Each drop of cardboard fire signaled another wave. I choked it back, ground teeth together and doing my best to ignore the anguish. Izzy''s words registered across the distance. ¡°Because the bad thing changed you?¡± Pushing the pain away seemed to have an effect on the wall decorations. As if these false black and red tinted flames were a symbol for a defensive wall around me. I groaned and drove the sensation back, distancing myself from it mentally and physically. "Mister Spirit? Are you okay? Your energy hard to keep steady." Izzy brought me back to the now. ¡°I think so.¡± I tried to stay calm. A vague memory regarding a virus came to mind. That monster¡¯s burning drool had matched the same green sort of fire that slowly appeared all around me. I liked this place even less. No longer was in a realm of darkness with slight fiery tinting. Now I knew it was just a barricade against some sort of second visitation of that green nastiness. ¡°Then we can change you back!¡± She declared happily. ¡°I don''t think you can do anything.¡± I said to the little girl. She felt just as real as my pain, those flames, and the granite boxes with words. ¡°We¡¯ll get strong, and burn out the bad monsters fire with your own.¡± She jumped with excitement and our connection started to waver. Izzy noticed and quickly sat back down to her meditation pose. ¡°How do we do that?¡± I said, as green flames taunted me in the distance. They were uncomfortable feeling. Skin I didn¡¯t have crawled just looking at the unnatural illumination. ¡°Mommy says said once we can talk, we¡¯ll be ready to go to Grandpa Hubble''s, then if he says we can, Guardian School.¡± She managed not to leap around in excitement. For a young child she was amazingly reserved. ¡°Guardian School?¡± I smiled and entertained this fantasy of hers. Or maybe she had a secret to remove those nasty green flames. ¡°It¡¯s a really cool place! We¡¯ll learn to fight monsters and grow strong!" She couldn''t contain it anymore. Izzy ran around the room. Our connection screen shook violently. "Then we can burn out the badness hurting you, and go on adventures!¡± ¡°That sounds cool.¡± I said to the tiny question mark in my hand. My words didn''t make it through. Izzy''s jumping was brought to an abrupt halt as her eyes rolled and the child passed out completely. I panicked and dove for the tiny screen. Her mom cried out and ran in from another portion of their tiny house. There was a moment of panic on the elder woman''s face that echoed my own. Miss Brand checked her daughters pulse and face. The little girl was pale. A brief flash of light condensed in the mother''s hand and pressed against Isabella. "Little Izzy, you should have told me!" Miss Brand said. I needed to figure out a way to tell how much energy Izzy hand, otherwise I would just end up talking her into passing out again. The problem was the rules of this place still made no sense. We were connected, and the little girl had spent a week just forming together a spell of sorts to talk to me. From her point of view it involved condensing energy and lights from all over. To me it was a granite box. This world had responded to my mental effort to push away the pain though, maybe I could trigger an ability by focusing hard enough. Izzy''s world kept going. Her mother had things well in line. Soon the little girl was in her tiny bed in one corner of the house. A fireplace blazed nearby. The flicker of energy crackling off small logs hypnotized me for a moment. It felt inviting, far more comforting than the green behind my wall of cardboard protection. I held her cord and stared at it, trying to image a method to see how much she had left. A bar of some sort might do the trick. Imagery and focus could push back the green flames then cover them up with red ones made of cardboard. For Izzy''s sake I had to figure out a solution for knowing her mana. Especially if our next step was a Guardian School. She formed a spell to talk to me, I wanted to met her halfway. It took a few days of Izzy''s life for me to manage it. Constant mental focus on creating a way to see how much power was left resulted in a granite message. I proudly read the simple text window.
[Sense Contractor Mana] granted!
"Yes!" I stood up and celebrated the success. In this room of darkness there were still possible ways for me to help. Having no other options available to me made it easier. My old world had games, television, digital worlds and other distractions made it hard to focus. Here, there was nothing else but Izzy and assisting her. She sat in bed for days. Whatever skill or spell she had used kept her from eating or drinking much. Both parents took turns with the small child, but there were times no one else stayed in the home with her. I watched over her. My presence was often unneeded but I stayed ready to dive through the screen and burn anyone that dare come too close.
[Sense Contractor Health] granted! [Sense Contractor Status] granted!
My window to Izzy showed her packing up what meager items she owned. The small girl certainly seemed better, physically at least. Expressions crossed her face in equal amounts of excitement and panic. My new found skill showed a [Apprehensive] status like some mood ring bubble floating to the side of my eyesight. She talked frequently to Mister and Misses Brand. Their words were fuzzy and my head throbbed. Days of narrow minded focus had passed. I felt amazed that it was possible for me to manage concentration for that long. The old me, the one who was a distant memory, could never have done that. No sane person would just sit and focus on trying to feel another person''s energy. I wasn¡¯t even sure I actually had sensed a darned thing. Just enough focus and concentration upon trying to find a way allowed a notice to display. Izzy¡¯s health and mana were both filled completely. I had nothing to compare them too. I vowed to try and figure out other people¡¯s energy levels next, if such a thing were possible. That [Kidnapper] had seemed simple enough to stop, so health bars might exist for other people. My thoughts turned inward, trying to figure out some sort of method for seeing my own abilities. It was kind of fun too, that moment of breakthrough. It was like realizing there was a toe on my foot that could be wiggled if I tried hard enough. It was a simple joy to success and get my own floating bars. Like when I figured out how to put my own shoes on as a child. Or when Izzy managed to buy her one pretty dress.
[Sense Personal Trait] [Mana] granted! [Sense Personal Trait] [Health] granted! [Sense Personal Trait] [Status Alterations] granted!
That was how I kept myself entertained until Izzy squeaked in outrage. I quickly dropped my latest attempted trait development in order to tune in to her conversation. ¡°Grandpa? I have to see Grandpa?¡± She said. ¡°You know how it is. He is a great and powerful man. Only his word is what keeps us safer than most.¡± Miss Brand tried to be positive for the little girl. Though Izzy was rapidly growing up. Her height had shot up in the last year, growing a few inches. At this rate she would stand above many others by her late teens. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Where was he when I was almost taken?¡± Izzy said with an abrupt snarl. Her emotions echoed my own on the matter. A person who kept the town safe was a failure if his own family was in danger. ¡°He sent me the message, telling me where to find you.¡± ¡°I was left alone for hours mommy.¡± She said. I felt hurt, we had been in that alley together. ¡°Except for Perseus. He saved me, not Grandpa Hubble.¡± I hadn¡¯t saved her for recognition but it made me feel happy and slightly embarrassed. Part of my actions stemmed from how I was wired. Part of it had been because she was the only window out of my prison. Being praised because I acted from fear, even a little, felt wrong. ¡°Your Grandpa has gone to great lengths, and uses normally all of his power to keep us safe. Maybe one day you¡¯ll graduate from Guardian School and be able to help him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Izzy slurred the words together a little. Her young age was more obvious when angry. ¡°He¡¯s mean.¡± ¡°He¡¯s kinder than you understand. When you¡¯re older it will make more sense.¡± Izzy¡¯s father said. He hefted the little girl up into the carriage then went for their luggage. Mister Brand then loaded up two bundles of luggage onto the horse drawn vehicle as well. Izzy¡¯s departure meant their household belongings were reduced by almost half. They were not well to do or rich, but never once had anyone complained. At least not in range of little Isabella. I had no other eyes or ears into the world. Their goodbyes were remarkably well composed. I used my view to watch her parents. They held on to each other and stared at the horse as it traveled away. My final glimpse showed Miss Brand burying her head under the father''s arm and sobbing. Isabella didn¡¯t sniffle once until our cart was a mile or so down the road. Then she spoke across our bond. ¡°Will they be okay?¡± Izzy asked. ¡°My dad,¡± I started to speak but couldn¡¯t remember exactly where it was going. ¡°I remember going away to trade school. He argued that I could stay. But I left anyway. He survived years before me, he would survive those after.¡± ¡°You had a daddy?¡± She forgot her own worries for a moment. We clearly had a walk ahead of us and I felt okay sharing. ¡°I was not always a spirit.¡± I smiled on my end of our connection. Here in this world of darkness I felt like an almost lost ghost. Haunting my own portion of the afterlife and trying not to remember the green fires which coursed through me. ¡°Was your daddy nice?¡± ¡°He was distant. As I grew older I realized he was sad.¡± I tried to remember his face. The expression had just seemed stern as a child. The older I grew, the more I saw hints of sadness and a worn down man that never seemed to change. ¡°Why was he sad?¡± She asked. ¡°I never really understood, not until I was older.¡± I answered. ¡°I will understand, if you tell me.¡± She insisted. Izzy was smart for a child her age. The young girl often answered questions that her father posed, little tests of capability. At seven she was helping Miss Brand with nearly all the household chores and shopping. Though she walked around with far more watchful an eye since her near kidnapping. ¡°Maybe.¡± But I said nothing more on the subject, instead distracting her with questions of this Grandpa Hubble. I was able to get some information out of the young girl. She didn¡¯t like him because he was old, powerful, and never smiled. The last reason seemed an odd one. I didn¡¯t know my own grandparents. Their faces were a blurred picture somewhere on the internet. A website visited once out of curiosity but never thought of again. They had passed long before I grew old enough to know any better. ¡°Grandpa will probably test us.¡± She warned me with all the seriousness of a small child. I thought Izzy was joking at first but her father¡¯s eyes showed no hint of laughter. ¡°Test? Are they dangerous?¡± I asked. Our carriage kept rolling along the road. The bricked path below us was well kept and free of litter. ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know. Daddy was tested once before he could get married to mommy.¡± Izzy said. She stared off into the distance with unfocused eyes. ¡°He said it was very scary.¡± The mention of her father being afraid seemed to shock her. Izzy¡¯s face drained of some color. Her chin nearly quivered but no tears came forth. I didn¡¯t need the mood ring style bit of awareness to know that she was scared. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m strong, and you¡¯re a clever child.¡± I tried to reassure us both and parroted her parents praise. ¡°I¡¯m not clever.¡± She glared at nothing in particular. These conversations always felt like we spoke to each other through a audio only connection. ¡°I¡¯m smart!¡± ¡°You are smart and clever.¡± I nodded along but Izzy wouldn¡¯t be able to see it. ¡°You figured out how to talk to me.¡± ¡°And more! But it¡¯s a secret!¡± She said and abruptly covered her mouth. Our carriage driver was kind enough to ignore the talking. Either he was used to such one sided conversation or had been paid enough not to inquire. This cart likely was furnished by Grandpa Hubble. He was rich and influential according to Izzy¡¯s half terrified ramblings. I watched over Izzy¡¯s head and looked out the window. Soon she too turned to view our surroundings. Fields, endless fields. People farmed in some areas. It was an extremely boring landscape. How much farmland did one small city need? I felt like drifting off. ¡°Are you bored Mister Spirit?¡± ¡°I expected something else.¡± I said while shrugging. She seemed to sense my indifference. Maybe Izzy had developed some sort of [Sense Trait] like I did. Did she see some little spirit version of me yawning? Or did she get a window into my world? I looked around briefly in wonder. No floating cameras made of flame sat around me which might record this odd world. Our connecting was restricted to talking and the tattoo. If anything she sensed me through the ribbon of shimmering black. ¡°What trial did your father have to do?¡± My hope was to get a hint from her stories. I couldn¡¯t do much but burn things and talk. ¡°He never said.¡± ¡°Did your mother have to pass a trial?¡± I tilted my head with confusion. The false flame wall around me seemed to breath in and out in time with my mental confusion. ¡°No. Us girls have the gift.¡± She shook her hair. Izzy kept it shoulder length, though a few incidents when she was younger had resulted in sudden haircuts. ¡°Then why do we need to do his trial?¡± I was grumpy about this whole process. Mister and Miss Brand had shoved us into a cart all on our own to a old man who sounded humorless and a bit mean. ¡°Because I want to go to school, and be a Guardian.¡± We were still looking at the carriages front. The vehicle drifted to an odd halt. A man ran by our door and into the distance without even a farewell. It was our driver. All around us red eyes glowed. A few at first. Then dozens, and more. I didn¡¯t understand what to make of them. At some point sunset had started. Izzy and I sat in the carriages back looking out at a looming horde of tiny monsters. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Are those demons?¡± ¡°A trial.¡± She said. Her status flickered through a dozen emotions. Worry, upset, annoyance, and landed on stoic resolution. I was impressed that a seven year old child could react that way to an army of rats with glowing eyes. ¡°Time to show you my new trick Mister Spirit.¡± ¡°Peirce please.¡± I switched my view from the field of rats to little Izzy. Both were still in their protection version of the world. Her tiny hands came together. I saw the swirl of lights come together slowly. Izzy¡¯s eyes took on a far away look as her lips muttered words unheard. In her hands another item formed. White light came together in a mimicry of her flame tattoo. She touched it against her shoulder and a bright light flared. My head started buzzing as message popped up.
[Summon (Request)] initiated by Isabella Brand for contracted denizen of [The Outer World]. Accept? Yes or No
¡°Oh?¡± My face would have been grinning, had I one. ¡°Let¡¯s go Mister Spirit. Our first demons to be cleansed from this world.¡± Izzy said with a surprising fierceness. ¡°Not our first Izzy,¡± I remembered the [Kidnapper] ¡°but I¡¯m with you.¡± Accepting her summons made my world come alive, far more than the prior foggy encounter with a [Kidnapper]. A million times more vivid than that first moment in the crib. It felt more real than my own flicker of memories. I was in reality again, but everything seemed far bigger than it should be. ¡°Hello?¡± I said in confusion. What I heard was a cat¡¯s meow instead.
[The Overseer]''s log: Both subjects have integrated enough to provide status updates to each other. This is sooner than expected given the unique nature of Subject 42¡¯s situation. His partnered denizen, IB, accepted the process without a hitch and kept on moving their reality forward into the next phase. Things are progressing rapidly given the perceived time versus real time. I often envy the denizen¡¯s ability to speed through dull portions of existence.
Chapter 5 - Ember Kitten ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I tried more sounds but felt very conflicted. The world had become unusually huge. Izzy was at least three times my size. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault. I wanted something that could fight an army of rats.¡± She looked horrified. ¡°Please don¡¯t hate me Perseus.¡± I looked around and tried to understand. The world Isabella lived in was fully three dimensional now. It wasn¡¯t just a picture, and I sat in the midst of our carriage. ¡°And now I''m a cat?¡± Is what I tried to say. It came out as more yowls and stutter of noise. Finally, I sat down in the carriage and glared angrily. Something behind me swished around. Before I fully understood what the new threat was I pounced, bit, and caused myself damage. ¡°Sorry. Sorry. Do you forgive me?¡± She sounded upset, not about the army of crazy rat beasts, but of how I might react. I had sort of tuned the young girl out. There was a box floating nearby that provided me some measure of clarification. Thankfully these words were in English, unlike everything else in Izzy¡¯s world.
Race: [Ember Kitten] Racial Bonuses: Moderate [Speed], High [Reflex], Low [Endurance], Low [Brawn], Racial Skills added:
    • [Intimidation] activates automatically to most smaller creatures
  • [Leap Distance] increased by 300%
Damage Type[s] added: [Shredding], [Fire] Weaknesses added: Yarn, warm beams of sunlight, [Cold] school of spells, members of the [Dog] species
I tried to raise an eyebrow but my ears pulled back instead. There were a lot of sounds around us. Scents filled the air and tasted of heated ashes. Fine muscle control was difficult. I tripped a lot on the first two carriage laps. My tail was very distracting though. The night air felt too cold on my short fur. I was pleasantly surprised that being an ember kitten didn¡¯t involve being a walking fireball. I had to wonder about why this new world made me flame related. ¡°Perseus?¡± A much bigger girl asked. I sloppily pounced around the cart after ash which trailed behind me. A giddy sort of bewildered excitement grew as I tried again and again to catch all the portions. A slightly burnt whiff of something rotten came across my senses and ruined the entertainment. ¡°Mister Spirit?¡± Izzy said. Her voice sounded a little shaky. We did have an army of monsters sitting outside waiting on some unspoken cue to attack. ¡°Sorry.¡± I had been distracted. My butt felt funny and something was twisting me about. Leaping revealed that I was clumsy, and almost the size of a bobcat. ¡°Do you forgive me?¡± She asked. ¡°I was alone Izzy. Now I¡¯m not, being a cat is a small price to pay.¡± My attempted a shrug ended up with me washing one paw. Feline indifference didn¡¯t line up with my expectations. ¡°Will I die?¡± I asked her. ¡°If I lose?¡± ¡°No. Mommy says spirits only die one way.¡± She sounded quiet. Whatever topic I had blundered into seemed to upset the young girl. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Being left alone in darkness for so long did give me a certain desire to know. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± If Isabella didn¡¯t know, maybe Miss Brand or her grandfather would. We could talk about it later, after this trial. I marked it away as a problem for another day. ¡°But I summoned you. If you are wounded too much, then our spell will break and back you go.¡± ¡°And you?¡± I meowed at her and tried not to get distracted by the noise. Hopefully I would sound adorable as a kitten. Those girls in high school had been right, I was sort of shallow, and only had my looks most days. ¡°I fail the trial and pay a price.¡± She said. The noise that came out of me sounded like hacking a fur ball. I coughed and tried to get myself under control. Licking my own paw was weird. ¡°I can¡¯t help any more Perseus. Summoning you for The Outer World is hard enough. It¡¯s up to you to fight those demons.¡± I nodded. If this alternate world had graced me with a cat''s body, so be it. It was better than being a discombobulated spirit existing outside reality. Part of me felt conflicted at being so ready to accept such a twist. Years had passed, if I used Izzy¡¯s life as a judge, and I still vaguely remembered a granite message telling me ¡®this is real¡¯. The rats and their beady red eyes had moved in closer while we talked. I put giant kitten paws up on the carriages edge and got distracted by claws that looked like flame. My head tilted and whiskers twitched. The army of rats seemed to be moving closer. ¡°Stay here.¡± I said with an angry yowl. My death in this world would cost me nothing, and performing well would help Izzy reach school. The exchange was a simple enough one to make. The rats didn¡¯t scatter upon my jump down. They stayed watching from bushes and trees. A screech of noise altered me to four of the little beasts hunkered under our cart. I turned and hissed. Hearing myself make such an angry noise caused a moment of confusion. Four rats jumped at me. The others went for our carriage wheels. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to fight these small creatures. They may be demonic looking critters but they were half my size. Teeth chomped on my hind leg. I curled into a ball and used the newly acquired claws to tear at things with no expectation of success. They were no longer simple fingers. These were instead sharp razor like instruments of destruction. Fingers tore into something soft. No resistance met my spinning fuzzy attack. Steam gushed forth from the creatures wound and the rat fell apart like a balloon.
[Ember Kitten] first kill on enemy [Terror Rat] [Intimidation] activated!
I didn¡¯t have time to think about it. The remaining evil rats were biting and using much less effective claws. I lashed out at two then hissed at a third. One more went down and my own health had barely taken a dip. My paw pricked the latest one in the side and it deflated. From down here they looked even more disgusting. Each rat had a filthy body that seemed slick with snot or other mucus. They pressed against each other while squeaking madly. Pure red eyes made it impossible to tell where they were looking. Two were nearly over the ledge of our carriage. I used my increased leap distance to knock one off but missed the second. It clambered over the edge and nipped at Izzy. Her form was too big for its mouth to really get around. I frantically clawed my way up the side. Tiny red nails left scorch marks in the wooden siding. Once over the edge I sunk my teeth into the back of a tiny rat and hurled it to one side with my head. At this point most of my combat skills were oddly natural. I thought, and stuff happened. A nasty taste washed through my senses. Ash mixed with slime and black licorice. I tried to see how Izzy had fared but couldn¡¯t stop making a face. My eyes and whiskers twitched and one paw came up to clean frantically. Izzy cried out as another rat came over the edge. I shook over the weird instincts that kept screwing me up and dove for the latest offender, taking care to use my claws. Chewing another one o these foul critters would not be enjoyable.
[Terror Rats] remaining: 68
¡°Peirce!¡± She shouted as I went over the carts edge and back into a larger hoard than expected. Why did these boxes just float around telling me things? I took the counter as a hint to move faster. Being a kitten against half sized rats seemed almost too easy. Three more went down quickly. Izzy¡¯s mana kept going down. My own didn¡¯t dip. Maybe there was some way to use the resource myself. A move, or special ability. I¡¯m not sure how or why the idea came to me. This whole setting felt oddly familiar. Like, a game? My head shook back and forth. Another rat went down. Small bursts of steam gushed from each one of my demonic conquests. The urge to drag an empty shell to Izzy crept up frequently. Izzy was swinging a cushion from the carriage at our attacking rats. Too many swarmed up the side but they kept away from me. [Intimidation] must be keeping them shy. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I leapt into the pack and clawed another [Terror Rat]. Hisses came out and my back rippled. The latest body was knocked off and hit two squabbling monsters below. Izzy was yelling. I was echoing her angry while trying to sort my thoughts out. ¡°There¡¯s too many!¡± My words came out as quick spats of rage. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± She screamed. ¡°You¡¯re smart Izzy, this is your trial!¡± I wasn¡¯t smart enough to figure out how to get through this. There were too many rules of this weird world. Like monsters that were full of hot air. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°I need time. To try a new spell!¡± She shouted. ¡°Okay!¡± My meow was nearly a roar of outrage. One that was far more dainty and high pitched than expected. Small bursts of red light came out from me and traveled along the ground. The nearest rats started to make mixed noises. Half squeaks that sounded demonic.
Skill Learned: [Aura of Heat] Details: Minor [Fire] damage to enemies entering summoned spirits aura. Damage increases with proximity.
My new ability barely registered. Sun dipped in the distance and washed a chill over me. Izzy was trying to string together magic but it kept dipping her reserves. If she ran out I would have no way to stay and help her. A few dared the mild crimson radiance. My own mana drained slightly and oily fur on a nearby [Terror Rat] started smoking. They were quickly finished off by a pounce and violent shaking. I looked up to figure out was happening. The swarm was being pushed forth by something in the darkness. Something they feared more than me. That other presence loomed at the rear. Bigger red eyes glared at me. Picking on the smaller rats had been almost laughably easy, but that shape hovering in the darkness wasn¡¯t subject to my [Intimidation]. ¡°Izzy!¡± I yowled. ¡°Something big!¡± She was lost to the magic spell being formed. Her mind pulled together bits of magic and seemed to be assembling a new shape of white. The girls newest energy creation didn¡¯t match the other three spells I had seen. It also didn¡¯t work. It clicked, flared red then fell apart completely. I pushed back more [Terror Rat]s climbing over the railing to buy her another few seconds. My tail wiggled and waved around helping me keep balance on the railing. Our cart threatened to tip over with all these creatures. I didn¡¯t know what to do. All these little monsters were creeping up too close. The counter that flooded part of my awareness showed more of the arriving every moment. Izzy¡¯s health took another hit. It drove me crazy with desperation. I finished off the latest offender then leaped off into the pack below once more. ¡°I will get the big one!¡± I shouted. Isabella Brand was too focused, small bits of crimson light poured off her as well. Maybe she managed to channel an [Aura of Heat] like mine, maybe we shared it. The smaller [Terror Rat]s bared large yellow teeth in my direction. They didn¡¯t stop my reckless charge. I dove for a few stragglers anyway and popped them with dizzying tumbles of raking claws. It felt more like emotion drove this body forward rather than deliberate action. [Intimidation] kept some back. The largest rat loomed ahead. I didn¡¯t even think about the absurdity of this reckless dive into danger. This giant monster rippled backwards and opened a wide foaming mouth. Two teeth loomed huge in my vision. I went for it anyway. Even if these little rats nipped and hurt me, I didn¡¯t care. Izzy¡¯s wellness was at stake. Being a cat was miles better than being stuck in emptiness. Teeth dug into my shoulder. I yowled and twisted around. Skin tore as teeth yanked away. The giant rat sprung in my direction. It¡¯s hind legs sent up a cloud of dust and rocks shattered trees. ¡°Shit. Shit no.¡± My cursing came out as annoyingly adorable meows. The aggravation only served to fuel my attacks. Our bodies tumbled around the grounds. Large legs propelled forward repeatedly. I tried to move out of the way but each time I got distance the rat launched in my direction again. It Hammered into my side and sent us tumbling repeatedly. Each collision of movement caused my health to dip and a handful of smaller [Terror Rat]s to pop. ¡°Izzy!¡± I shouted. Monster rat and I tumbled into the carriages side. Smaller rats that had been scrambling up the wheels were knocked down into a pile. We rolled over them as hind legs racked against each other violently. Each clash of claws and fang tore ribbons out of my new body. I had no idea what the rat¡¯s health was at. My own status looked extremely low. One ear felt numb and unresponsive. Flakes of ash were all around us. Many of the popped [Terror Rat]s were catching fire as we tumbled around. I had nearly no mana remaining to support this [Aura of Heat]. Izzy faired decently considering the mass against us. A quick scan of her health showed it at half. I backed up to the carriage and tried to ensure all these smaller minions got caught up in our tumbling crossfire. We rolled once more and the taste of slimy black licorice tainted everything. The large rat was limping but I was worse. It had an eye swollen shut from our tussles. Slick fur leaked bits of steam. I dove through a wind tossed sea of grey flakes, intent upon buying Izzy as much time as possible. Freshly broken teeth greeted me. No blood, just steam and anger. I tried to widen one of the prior wounds but couldn¡¯t think fast enough to pick a real target. Feline reflexes kept up but the rest of me rolled and scrambled. ¡°Mister Spirit!¡± Izzy yelled but rat screeching and my own retaliatory hissing overpowered her voice. Another bite tore into my already wounded shoulder. Giant meaty legs raked at a damaged thigh. I fought but back it wasn¡¯t enough. An army of rats, protecting Izzy, and moving on to this boss monster drained me too much. I screamed. The [Aura of Heat] faded and crimson glow dwindled away. Desperation flooded me. There had to be more options available. I needed to figure out the rules of this world and become stronger for next time. Isabella¡¯s health dipped. Bright red streaked overhead and slammed into the biggest rat. It howled while shuddering violently then it popped. The boss''s death resulted in all our little enemies running. I should have attacked the largest one right away instead of waiting. She would have taken less damage, I could have survived with more health. My mind saved away the knowledge for later.
[Summon (Request)] releasing due to contractor¡¯s energy levels. System Notice: Initiating recall for Perseus Argive to [The Outer World]
¡°Mister Spirit!¡± Izzy leaned over the rail and shouted. There was nothing left in her mana pool. I had very little left to give but the danger had passed. ¡°Let the spirit rest little one, or risk losing it forever.¡± A new voice said. My vision faded slowly enough to see a man with a cane walk up slowly. This had to be Grandpa Hubble. His back hunched. The man wore a robe that looked dirty and unkempt. Wild scraggly hair poked in all directions. A scowl was etched across his features. The man¡¯s hand sat upon Izzy¡¯s shoulder and she looked scared. I tried to stay here, present like I had with the [Kidnapper]. Grandpa Hubble waved his blackened cane and my vision finished going black.
[The Overseer]''s log: There was a bit of an issue as Subject 42¡¯s mental status started flashing back upon prior physical trauma. This caused feedback warnings with the harness and made a mess in our lab. Everything settled down eventually but we had to clean up buckets of that gel. Subject 42¡¯s paired denizen, IB, has met the first of her kind. It seems odd that a Case Five wouldn''t know her own parents, but the other denizens ensured this would help bond her with Subject 42. Meeting a Case Three should help her along too. This process will cause delays in information processing as she prepares for coding modifications. I have every confidence that she will adapt to the changes eventually. It¡¯s just a matter of providing IB a toolkit to use later on. She¡¯ll need more options soon.
Chapter 6 – Sun Study Being summoned to another world had a price. [The Outer World] struck back with the memory of green fire. I felt myself hissing streams of pure rage instead of yelling. Cardboard walls of protection had completely fallen over in my absence. My tiny body curled up from the pain. I understood being hurt but this more than expected. Agony crippled the ability to move or wiggle. I focused my mind on pushing away nasty impure fire and put each cardboard wall back up. Minutes passed, or hours. Maybe days. I didn¡¯t know for sure. It felt like an eternity before my eyes could do anything but stare without comprehension into the distance. Finally I blinked, then my eyes closed for another moment and a deep shuddering breath escaped. The walls were back in one piece. I slowly walked up to them and found that I had a hand, finally. However, it was not a human one. Instead my recent summoning to [The Inner World] had given me a paw. The same small kitty limbs from before had followed me back. Cardboard was a word from another world, like so many in my head. I didn¡¯t know how to compare that existence of before to this new one. Claws nudged one of the makeshift walls to peel it back. A momentary bout of pain flared up but I managed to get past it and figure out the wall. Behind the defense was a deep landscape of green fire. I tried to understand why, or how it came to be. Was this my afterlife? Did that which killed me in the prior one haunt this second chance? I tried to remember those words spoken in the ambulance days ago. The memories flickered by again. She, the blond with a pony tail, had said a virus was attacking me. Their attempted cure must have failed and I died, but that idea conflicted with the sign stating I was not dead. I tried to put things together but my thoughts felt obscured somehow. The understanding was being kept out of reach along with so many other concepts. In the end the ideas went nowhere. Thoughts turned to something easier, Izzy. I focused for a moment, reaching out to the young girl. My body throbbed and ached. Part of me desired nothing more than to curl up into a ball then sleep. I had to see how she fared first. Our connection flared to life. The chain of shimmering black showed signs of white magic flowing towards my new ash colored body. I followed the ¡°Mister Spirit!¡± Izzy¡¯s voice sounded excited. ¡°Isabella. Did you pass the trial?¡± ¡°Mmmhhm.¡± She hummed. I could still see signs of her status. Her health was filled but the mana amount kept changing. Part of it was our conversation, but Izzy must also being practicing a spell. ¡°Is Grandpa Hubble treating you well?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmmmhmmm.¡± She sounded affirmative again. I wanted to see this Grandpa Hubble but trying to pull on a visual connection wasn¡¯t working. Nothing responded correctly. ¡°I think I need more rest Isabella.¡± I shuddered. The walls around me quivered just a bit. A haunting past of green threatened to break in at any moment. Pushing it away once had reduced me to catatonia. A second might just tear my mind to pieces. Being summoned to Izzy¡¯s world came with a price. Maybe it was being hunt so bad. ¡°Izzy.¡± My view cracked. The darkness echoed with a pleading meow of noise. ¡°Mister Spirit?¡± ¡°Coming back hurt. Do you know why?¡± I panted. My cut quivered but failed to stay still. ¡°Tell your spirit friend that it was the recoil. Only by becoming stronger or suffering less will the anguish be minimized.¡± The same old voice from before came through. It had to be Grandpa Hubble. I tried to recall his features but could only picture the jutting strands of grey. ¡°Getting stronger. How do we do that?¡± I asked her. Understanding this world would help me out immensely. Grandpa Hubble sounded like he had answers. He was assertive when it came to ordering Izzy around. Tiny feet clanked along the ground. ¡°Perseus wants to know how to get stronger. I don¡¯t like him suffering for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how a relationship works. Life is full of suffering and of joy, sharing those moments is we grow. In the end you¡¯ll be stronger, or broken against the rocks of time and tide.¡± Grandpa Hubble¡¯s cane clattered on wood. It was difficult to tell what was going on but it sounded like dry fingers were sliding across parchment. Paper. I tried to remember if any was used in my old world. Miss Brand occasionally rolled up a letter for family members. That must be why the noise sounded familiar. My head shook and one paw came up to dig at an ear weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t like that Grandpa Hubble.¡± Izzy said. Her voice seemed to be facing away. ¡°Tough. You chose this life little Fire Binder, keep going or quit.¡± Grandpa Hubble said in the background. ¡°He sounds like an ass.¡± I said to Izzy. The old man may be right in a sense. My own life had been full of enough roller coaster events to confirm the crudely put statements. Maybe this new world was just harsh. ¡°Mister Spirit!¡± She chided with her mother¡¯s tone of voice. Giving a weak chuckle made me clenching gut ache once more. ¡°You should rest. I¡¯ll talk to Grandpa.¡± ¡°Call me if you need me. Or just want company. I think, if we¡¯re not fighting something, it might hurt less. Right?¡± I said. ¡°Mmmhmm.¡± She made the same affirmative noise from earlier. I left our connection go. The small bits of white light stopped coming across. My existence in the darkness was quiet and lonely. Part of me welcomed the solitude in which to recover. Bars for health and mana showed painful lows that didn¡¯t seem to be increasing. Time passed. My awareness seemed to dip in focus. The walls of cardboard flame seemed to dance and wiggle into different positions each time I blinked. This body was strange. Flame like nails, a grey fur and a cloud of gray that followed me. My own tail twitched occasionally, leaving a trail of ash that faded into nothing. None of those things were important right now. I needed to recover both health and mana in order to help Izzy. My mind shifted to healing myself somehow, I imagined those bars going up in the same manor I had used to build the other traits. Time passed, but eventually I managed to make process.
[The Outer World: Respite] learned! Details: For a minor portion of your contracted partner¡¯s mana [The Outer World] denizen can restore lost energy. The drain is low but constant until completely recovered.
I worried about draining Izzy but couldn¡¯t focus enough to contact her. Gaining one simple trait had cost most of my attention. Both eyes slipped downward and time passed again. I fought to keep them open. What if this time I didn¡¯t wake up? Would I cease to be or wake up in reality? Just how long had I existed without rest? It frightened me, but eventually exhaustion won over worry. When my eyes opened I felt miles better. Excitement ran through every inch of this [Ember Kitten] body. I stood up and shook, then stretched. A giant yawn escaped as hind legs kicked out one after the other. To top it off my head rolled back and forth and one ear itched. Violent scratching ensued and small flakes of burned material flooded the air. After a few seconds I noticed a granite window off to one side displaying odd text.
Subject [42] Status Updated:
    • [Terror King Rat] killed.
    • Total Boss Rank Demons Killed: 1
    • Total Minion Rank Demons Killed: 34
  • Total Traits discovered: 11
Criteria for empowerment partially met. Continued performance will allow for evolution of spirit body. Positive progress is being reported to [The Overseer].
[The Overseer]? That name didn¡¯t ring any bells. The sound of evolving my spirit body sounded useful, especially if it would help me support Izzy without suffering like before. I scanned over the items which displayed and hoped that increasing those totals was the key. I felt satisfied and tried to imagine what sort of enemies Izzy¡¯s adventures might bring us. [Terror Rat]s tasted gross. Maybe the next monster would be a cotton candy field mouse that tasted like ice cream. That would be cool. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The cord between Izzy and I shone with light. Reaching out to her was far quicker than last time. Even the visual display came back. She was asleep in a bed with a comfortable looking blanket over her. I marveled that such a grumpy old man cared enough to keep her cozy. Maybe Grandpa Hubble wasn¡¯t such a terrible person. Days passed and my opinion changed. Grandpa Hubble and Izzy were going through mind numbing training. He made her piece together half a dozen little spells but nothing ever actually clicked. I watched and tried to understand what the point was. Our recent combat had left it¡¯s mark. Her energy gradient changed between pure white and a rose pink tint. It looked far more attractive than my own flaky greys. Grandpa Hubble lived a large tower. The elderly man traveled up and down winding stairways with surprising nimbleness. Izzy¡¯s bed was on the second floor. Their training took place on the roof, during sunrise, high noon, and sunset. Apparently those bouts of sunlight were key in learning fire magics. I couldn¡¯t really focus on that part of things. Learning my own abilities seemed far easier than paying attention to every little thing Grandpa Hubble said. When he spoke about me, it was always ¡®that spirit¡¯ or ¡®the idiot¡¯. ¡°You should start bringing that idiot out more.¡± Grandpa Hubble¡¯s words caught my attention. ¡°It¡¯s hard to keep him here for very long.¡± Izzy said. We must have been here for a few months. ¡°It makes my chest tight, and head fuzzy.¡± Overhearing that admission confused me. Once again I didn¡¯t understand enough of the rules. Grandpa Hubble often focused on assigning tasks, without much explanation, to stretch Izzy¡¯s abilities. ¡°Practice. Then the spirit can walk with you easier.¡± He said. ¡°Is that good?¡± She asked. ¡°Being bound to a spirit will be difficult, and the longer you¡¯re together, the harder it is to untwine.¡± Grandpa Hubble stared over the edge of his tower. Eyes scanned the small city for signs I couldn¡¯t see. This limited flat view [The Outer World] provided me made it hard to get a full picture. Keeping up with their conversational logic was difficult. Intelligence was never my strong point. Maybe if I were smarter, or clever like the youngest Brand girl, I could have had a million skills or abilities. My only real skill still seemed to be throwing myself in the way of danger, again, and again. ¡°Fates become linked, emotions start to blend, but you¡¯ll carry a weight of power that most can¡¯t compare with.¡± The old man continued talking. His unkempt hair blew in the breeze. A bending of our existences sounded odd. Izzy was great, we were connected, but she was also just a child. It was like having a little sister to watch over. I wanted to keep her safe, but if there were other options, would I stay? ¡°What if we don¡¯t want to be bound?¡± She asked before I could say anything. ¡°Then I remove that tattoo, and you go back to your old existence. Down there, among the rabble.¡± The old man clicked his blackened cane against the ground. He still kept eyes out into the distance. ¡°Another will take your place, or maybe not, and this spirit friend of yours will be a lost soul forever.¡± I didn¡¯t like that idea either. My choices were between this growing bind with Izzy or being abandoned in darkness until someone else came into my life. ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± She muttered. The cranky old man turned around. His face wore seriousness with an undercurrent of strain. ¡°Do what you must, or do nothing. The choice is yours. My only role is to prepare you for the world outside, or send you back.¡± ¡°Yeah, by giving you half formed spells, or whatever.¡± I said. This whole magic thing felt too much like energy science. There were vague rules. Learning seemed to be more about focusing the mind verses scribbling down long mathematical equations. ¡°He¡¯s trying to help Mister Spirit.¡± Isabella whispered. She must have heard me. ¡°But he¡¯s cranky, and old, smells, and reads me bedtime stories.¡± Grandpa Hubble wandered down the tower stairs, leaving Izzy to practice her latest task. She was trying to pull down energy to form a ring shape. The young female hung her head in annoyance then waved both hands at the forming mosaic of rose pink and white. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± She asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I looked around at the cardboard walls of dark red fire. Behind them was a landscape of pain. ¡°You said we could get stronger.¡± ¡°Mmmhmm.¡± She tried to form a different bit of energy. This shape looked like old jumping jacks. ¡°And if we do that, it won¡¯t hurt as much, right?¡± ¡°Mmmmhmm.¡± She nodded again. ¡°That¡¯s how it should work. Spirits fight demons, and get stronger. But-¡± Izzy¡¯s energy constructs shattered and her mana bar recovered. I took note that half formed spells didn¡¯t actually use any energy, not until their completion. ¡°But?¡± I prompted. ¡°You could choose another potential, instead of me.¡± The young girl shook again and started another shape. This time it was a number eight that twisted oddly. ¡°Do you want someone else?¡± I paced around my poorly protected afterlife. This crimson tainted darkness was everything. In theory it was real, and I was not dead. If so, where was my old world in all this? My thoughts went in circles for a long time. The sunset reduced down to a sliver of light above distant city. Why we were connected? I tried to remember if any such alternate reality existed in my old world. Nothing came to mind, once again my thoughts felt muddled by unseen fog. Izzy was the only window into a world outside this cage. ¡°Mister Spirit?¡± She said. ¡°I know you Izzy. You¡¯re a smart girl, and me, I¡¯m just a dumb bundle of fur. Next time I may end up as a bird, or a lizard.¡± And she reminded me of my little sister. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± She hummed again. This time Izzy put together a familiar spell. Lights pulled in from the air about us into her small ball of pink white fire. The small bundle slowly merged with her tattoo.
[Summon (Request)] initiated by Isabella Brand for contracted denizen of [The Outer World]. Accept? Yes or No
¡°Would you like to come out?¡± Izzy asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s technically going in, from my point of view.¡± I tried to sound clever but the words were hesitant. This whole [The Inner World] and [The Outer World] labeling felt strange. I accepted the summons. My afterlife faded away and once again Izzy¡¯s world became more real than anything else. The first thing I did was leap up to the towers rail and gain a view like Grandpa Hubble had. Seeing things from his point of view might help. Maybe it was just a nice view. Farms littered the ground between here and town. Forests lined both sides. Looking over my shoulder showed a road traveling up into a mountain range. This tower seemed to sit at the far end of a valley, standing guard. What was out there that Grandpa Hubble protected town from? Bigger demons? Other sensations hit me. Fading heat from the stone beneath my feet tingled against soft soled paws. A few stray rays of remaining sunlight made my back twitch. Somewhere below a scent of cooking meat tainted the air. My belly rumbled angrily. I leap down and poked my tiny head down the stairs. The smell grew stronger. ¡°Are you hungry Mister Spirit?¡± Izzy walked up behind me. She was so tall for such a young child. This body had the advantage of speed, but hopefully one day I could feel a bit more natural with it. Either way, being outside, or inside, was much nicer than [The Outer World]. All I had there was cardboard walls barricading myself away from painful green flames. My happiness expressed itself as purring.
[The Overseer]''s log: Today was not a good day. Subject 42¡¯s physical body is still undergoing intense therapy. Every time he reaches out to try and reconnect with the nervous system it causes feedback to pour through. We¡¯re lucky he¡¯s figured out how to reduce the stress this causes his new hardware. In addition IB was prepared to decouple their connection completely. I watched the protocoles come online, they were able to reach an understanding. It¡¯s time we brought Subject 42 to our main site for easier evaluation.
Chapter 7 – Trailblazer I got out of [The Outer World] box enough to feel better about this feline body. Going back wasn¡¯t terrible either, provided my own health and mana hadn¡¯t suffered any drops. Being brought to Izzy¡¯s world made life brighter while felt slower. Lazy days were spent running around the roof while she trained. I worked on turning quickly. Sometimes I practiced tumbling with bits of ash from my own tail. Hours went into trying to control my [Aura of Heat] and reduce the trail of ashes. Other days boiled down to fantastic naps in a windowsill. Life continued on this way for about three more months, until one morning Grandpa Hubble broke the routine. ¡°I think we¡¯re done here little one.¡± Grandpa Hubble said one morning. ¡°You¡¯re as ready as I can get you, and it¡¯s time you moved on to learn the missing pieces.¡± Izzy jumped and shouted with joy then stopped. Her dark hair had grown long and uncut. ¡°Does that mean I can attend Guardian School?¡± She asked. ¡°Finally?¡± ¡°It seems so. The way will be long, but I have a Protector to assist you.¡± Grandpa Hubble was busy trying to pass a plate over to Izzy for dinner. ¡°There¡¯s no one else here Grandpa Hubble.¡± Izzy didn¡¯t take the plate right away. She looked around. I knew the answer but didn¡¯t want to spoil it for her. Four days ago I had been sniffing at one of the statues down below. They didn¡¯t actually take offense until I leapt up to the top of one. The statue kicked and me and gave a soundless scream. ¡°I said a Protector little one, not a friend, not a companion.¡± Grandpa Hubble said while I licked one paw. My ear felt itchy and I learned that scratching too hard actually dealt me damage. ¡°When will I meet him?¡± ¡°In the morning.¡± He didn¡¯t answer any more questions that night. Izzy stewed but ate her meal. If we were traveling, this might be our last warm one. I had tried to eat a simple field mouse once and it tasted good, until I realized how unsanitary that was. Stealing from under the table was much better. I just was reduced to begging with a meow and standing on my hind legs to paw the table. It made Grandpa Hubble scowl and shake his mess of scarecrow hair about. Begging from him was unappetizing because of the lingering smell of moldy dirt from his brown robe. Izzy had tried to use me to set his clothing on fire a month ago. That event resulted in my banishment to [The Outer World] despite protests that it wasn¡¯t my idea. I had just eaten a chunk of river fish. Being banished to my afterlife taught me there was no need to go to the bathroom in [The Outer World]. A small blessing during a week of boredom. We made our way to a bedroom on the second floor of Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower. Izzy huddled under thick blankets. I sat on the bed''s edge staring out a window. There had been small bat like creatures fluttering outside that often distracted me. ¡°Are you excited Perseus?¡± Izzy bubbled with excitement. My tail twitched in irritation. Izzy¡¯s parents had drilled manners into the girl. She couldn¡¯t settle on what to call me, Mister Spirit or Perseus. Only once had Pierce slipped from her lips. It hardly mattered in the long run, but it made me feel kind of creepy.
Remember.
The word flashed across my memories. I thought of Izzy¡¯s face, and those left behind. There weren¡¯t many friends in school, but my father. Maybe somewhere out there my body sat in a hospital bed waiting for consciousness to return. This didn¡¯t feel like a dream. Remembering my own parents reminded me of Izzy¡¯s situation. How could a young child bear to just walk away from her parents? I spent weeks being crushed by my mother¡¯s absence. When my sister and mom died to that stupid virus I felt numb, like there was nothing left inside. I had chosen to stop giving a damn about other people. In school, I hadn¡¯t been the only one torn apart by the biological war¡¯s aftermath. ¡°Are you excited?¡± I asked her back. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to be a Guardian since you first saved me, that time.¡± Her words started to drift off. ¡°I had been chosen by a spirit, like in moms stories. We could travel and help other people, then save them from monsters.¡± ¡°You¡¯re awfully composed for one so young.¡± I turned my head towards her and flicked one ear back. ¡°Months without your parents. And now we¡¯re going to travel even further.¡± ¡°But I have you.¡± Her words were quiet again. Both of the young girl¡¯s eyes were wide and tears started to well up from the edges. It took me a moment to realize what I had done. Izzy clearly only managed thus far because of my presence. It made sense, we had been together since she was a newborn. Despite the difference in our age and perspectives, our lives were tied together. The [Aura of Heat] shut off completely. I concentrated on trying not to trail ash around then crawled under the covers. Izzy made room in her lap and reached out a tentative hand to pet my back. She fell asleep mid stroke and I purred for a long time afterwards, trying to comfort the only person who really mattered to me. Being summoned to [The Inner World] took Izzy far less energy than it used to. After three months she could maintain the connection for days. A lonely girl who missed her parents had done all that work, for me. Grandpa Hubble shuffled down the stairs. I lifted my head slightly and kept one eye on the old man. He walked over with halting motions brought on by age and aches. ¡°Spirit.¡± He said. I flicked an ear at him and yawned. ¡°Listen well. Isabella Brand is my granddaughter, and this journey is too much for one so young.¡± He spoke softly. The other eye opened and both ears turned forward just slightly to better hear his low volume. ¡°She does it for you, because of her foolish notion that you are a worthy being.¡± He looked close to collapse but kept talking. ¡°I¡¯ve given her what aid I can, but some things lessons can¡¯t be taught, they can only be learned.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I gave a low meow in response. The old man grumbled and shook his head. Our communication was often one sided like this. Grandpa Hubble started shaking with and leaned in. Giant eyes seemed to glow with a distant light. Darkness surrounding endless stars. This was the man who summoned an army of [Terror Rat]s just to test us. He owned this tower and protected an entire valley from monsters outside. Behind him shadows started to crawl around the room. My back bunched up and I got ready to lash out. Part of me had dismissed the elderly man. Only now did I realize what kind of terror Grandpa Hubble could be. ¡°Don¡¯t let her down, or by all the Voices above I will find the abyss you call home and erase your existence from every layer of reality.¡± He said. Shadows on the wall grew deep red eyes. All of them stared at me, promising violence of the soul rending type. I tried to stay calm but my feline body frozen with fear. It took everything available just to blink, only once. That seemed to satisfy the old terror. He nodded then shuffled off to stairs. Footsteps kept moving about above me. The image of shadows coming to life and promising violence lingered. My breath stayed stilled until I was certain the man had stopped shuffling about. This comfortable spot with Izzy¡¯s sleeping form had been tainted by mild fear. That night I didn¡¯t get any sleep. By morning I had convinced myself that the old man was just trying to look out for his granddaughter. It made me calmer. I had dealt with upset family members before. There had been a man who normally handled the worst confrontations when we worked together. My eyes were unfocused by morning. The man''s name escaped me, and somehow that felt wrong. Sunlight peeked over the horizon. Enough to stir me from the silent guarding position I had taken at the bed''s bottom half. I stood up with a stretch and walked up to Izzy''s face. She sat there breathing loudly enough to make my ears twitch. I reached out and tapped her on the face. We had to make sure everything was packed and ready to go. Two bags, hopefully they would be carried by our Protector. Maybe we would get another carriage. "Owwie." She said. I cringed and stepped back. These claws were too sharp to wake her up that way again. Izzy''s health bar was thankfully unchanged. "Perseus?" "Breakfast is ready." I said with more calm than expected. Part of me expected Grandpa hubble to come flying out of a corner to fulfill his promises of doom. "Breakfast." She repeated without much comprehension. "Oh. Breakfast. Then, we''re leaving again, aren''t we?" I nodded while staring at her. There was a bit of redness to one cheek showing her fresh scratch. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy hummed and rubbed where I had pawed. Breakfast sat on a counter. Chunks of stiff bread, dried meat, and an apple. That¡¯s all we were given. I didn¡¯t need to eat but it would have been nice to get something a bit fresher. Grandpa Hubble sat outside the wooden door to his tower. I sniffed cautiously at the ground near him. The shadow didn¡¯t move or wiggle in unnatural ways. Even so, I refused to set a paw anywhere near the older man. He gave me a glare in return. My eyes kept getting distracted by the wild hair framing his face. ¡°This is your Protector. A creation of my own devising. Perfectly loyal, and will walk the route from here to your school without faltering.¡± The old man said. I stared at this Protector. It was basically a giant statue of some well chiseled man complete with a hard clay sword. It stood far above Izzy and Grandpa Carver, which meant that I was almost small enough to perch on it¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I hope it carries her bags.¡± I muttered from a good ten feet away. Their words were difficult to pay attention to. Even though this world was new and full of so many mysteries part of me didn¡¯t like hearing anything explained. It felt like high school all over again. Izzy stood and I sniffed around, inspecting the world for new things. This magical world had so many smells that brought back memories of the old one. Each sniff flashed another moment of life. Many of them were related to camping as a child. My father had tried to get us out for the first few years after his divorce. ¡°Be careful child. You, and all Binders risk much to bare the weight of two souls.¡± Grandpa Hubble said. "I can only hope you surmount the challenges ahead." ¡°Thank you Grandpa Hubble.¡± Izzy said with a bow. ¡°It is my duty, both as your grandfather, and as Warden of this valley. Now go. Your Protector does not know how to wait.¡± Grandpa Hubble managed to look slightly pleased. It was a rare thing to see any positive emotions on the old man''s face. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Izzy turned and looked at the stone giant wandering towards a mountain path. One of it¡¯s hands held on to the reigns of a horse and carriage I hadn¡¯t really taken note of. We were fortunate enough to get a vehicle to ride on. The Protector didn¡¯t seem capable of holding all of us and walking forth at the same time. Her eyes went back to mine and I saw the hesitation. She didn¡¯t want to be along traveling even further from her home. My first days in college had instilled the same sort of unease. I walked over to her leg and tried to reassure Izzy with a headbutt. To me everything felt mostly the same. The only difference being if I sat in [The Outer World] or [The Inner World]. Beyond that it was her, always Isabella Brand, a thin girl who seemed to be destined for using some sort of fire magic. All these other people were without substance. Maybe one day I would run into a person who felt worthy of being noticed. No, that was a bit uncharitable, but these others were flat. I didn¡¯t know why. Maybe it was the bond between Izzy and I that just soured everything else. We walked up into the hills. I happily ran along, not feeling tired in the least. As the elevation increase I started to feel a bit of strain. It was most like due to the lack of oxygen at higher altitudes. I remembered that much from school for learning about fire behavior. The road went on, and Izzy didn¡¯t seem pleased with trying to march after a giant made of stone. The large Protector showed no signs of slowing or caring about the physical welfare of it¡¯s charge. I would have attacked the monster but the last time I did it resulted in being forced back to [The Outer Realm] and suffering a lot of pain from having no health. Half a day later Izzy was beyond exhausted. Why she spent so much time walking was beyond me. The Protector stopped near a small stream and just stood there. Izzy climbed into the back of the carriage and laid down while I wandered over to the water. I loved looking into the reflections, each small wave was hypnotic. Being dunked didn''t kill me, it just reduced my abilities until dried out. ¡°Be careful Mister Spirit.¡± She said. The Protector stood there doing nothing but waiting. I ignored them both and happily pawed at the water. Splashing seemed so much more fun now that I was a kitten, plus there was a minnow down there just below the surface. Maybe, it was hard to tell. I dipped a paw in again. Steam sizzled as the flame from my claws made contact. The obstruction made me slink around to get another angle. My attempts to fish were failing miserably. It was far easier to fish in smaller ponds or on kitchen countertops. ¡°Perseus! Let''s go!¡± Izzy yelled. I turned away from my fishing to see that Izzy and her Protecter were moving forth. I shrugged then went after them. ¡°Okay-¡± My words cut off as something strong yanked me sideways. A startled hiss escape and my claws started lashing out violently. Whatever was picking me up did not seem friendly at all. They latched on to something and a jet of steam filled up my vision. ¡°Perseus!¡± Izzy yelled again. Sudden worry and confusion laced her words. I yowled and clawed but most of her words were difficult to hear. She seemed to be frantically shouting at the Guardian. My world kept shaking up and down violently. Whatever had me seemed to use tentacles for arms that were set upon snapping my neck. A white and pink ball of energy flared into the creature''s arm. My attacker shrieked. The river shore was lined with bushes that all vibrated in time with the yell. I blinked and tried to yell at Izzy. She could easily escape and just release my summons. Instead the little girl was running towards me. Screaming a warning failed. My throat hurt from being yanked around. I looked for signs of the enemy but could only see something long slithering through the bushes. Something else looped about my midsection. I panicked. Each attack was either herding me or dragging me away from Izzy. Another bundle of pink and white fire flew over my head but it didn¡¯t help. Izzy was screaming but this latest loop had pulled me into the water. No longer did seeing my own reflection seem comforting. What had been a peaceful attempt at fishing for minnows turn into a struggle to survive. Isabella needed to stay away from this, far, far away. My head was yanked underwater. Drawing lips downward and trying to clamp my jaw didn¡¯t prevent liquid from coming in. Being feline made it nearly impossible to seal my mouth. I was going to drown and be pulled to the depths of this swamp. [Aura of Heat] activated but didn¡¯t do anything. The water around me just felt a little less chilled. The health bar to one side was almost completely out. ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy yelled my name. Her words sounded muffled by water and fur matting in both ears. I tried to climb out of the river but each attempt slipped without purchase. ¡°Snake?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but question our attacker outloud. This would be the third round of combat and I just didn¡¯t understand the rules. To top it off my feline lungs were filling with water. Finally the message I desperately needed came up.
Contractor Isabella Brand is activating [Dismiss Contracted Spirit].
I braced myself for the next part. My health and mana were low enough from an utter failure to defend myself. I liked to think the demon had taken damage too but mine was clearly worse. My [The Outer World] home was once again bathed in green flames. [The Outer World: Respite] activated and my health went up a small amount. Being ready helped as I managed to survive the worst part about returning and retain some sanity. Long enough that I could focus on reading the new text which appeared quickly in front of me.
[Summon (Request)] initiated by Isabella Brand for contracted denizen of [The Outer World].
Her summon came faster than I could regain my bearings. Of course I accepted. She had been running after me and away from her Protector. The giant stone humanoid didn¡¯t seem interested in turning around to help us either. Stupid, it was probably designed just to guard the pathway, not anything off of it. ¡°Pierce!¡± She yelled my nickname. That probably meant I was in trouble. The pain from earlier still overrode most of my ability to think. Being a giant kitten was hard enough. My brain struggled to move unresponsive legs. There was a tall waving pillar in the grass. A long tongue stuck out and tasted the air. Slowly a snake like creature came into focus. It¡¯s face looked to be part rodent, scales ran down the monster''s body. ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy screamed even louder. Her voice picked up on the end and just didn¡¯t let go. The creature that had me now had Izzy. I staggered like a drunken kitty and tried to make my way to her. The snake creature was wiggling off towards the water to drown her like it did me. I managed to get my rear in motion enough to start raking at the creatures back scales. Steam hissed from the tail wound but it closed up quickly. It shrieked again and twisted hard on Izzy¡¯s body. I saw the girls health bar fall quickly. That tactic didn¡¯t work. The creature was too big for [Intimidation] and [Aura of Heat] took too much mana. I barely had any good options other than throwing myself violently into the monster¡¯s face. Moving got easier. I tore my away across the grass to get in front of the rat snake demon. My attention split between watching the bushes for other monsters and trying to predict the creature¡¯s path. Going into burning buildings required the same ability to watch our surroundings. I had practiced in some technological devices. There was a memory there that didn¡¯t click right. One of those fuzzy moments where an object in the past didn¡¯t register correctly. I shook it off and veered into the path between snake and riverbed. ¡°Pierce.¡± Her voice faded off. The girl had less breath, worse still, a one leg was turning blue from constriction. Our snake demon attacker reared up and opened wide jaws in a hiss. I dove straight for the creature¡¯s loops around Izzy. There were no other good targets for my leaping and claws. Rear legs dug into one loop while my forward arms flailed for better purchase. Isabella wore a sickened expression. Something like drool or barf was coming up. I didn¡¯t have time to evaluate her completely. The extremely long snake twisted around and tried to bite at my back. Minor damage from my [Aura of Heat] singed the creatures face. This rodent faced creature sunk jaws into my flesh. I focused on clawing apart the monster''s skin. Izzy needed to be free, then she could run and release my summon. Pain would be my burden but not hers, at least if I had my way. The creature crunched bones in my back. Our trip to the river halted as cat, child, and demon intertwined in a maze of ferocity. I pushed the pain back as much as possible. My body cried out, nothing worked correctly. I stretched at a wrong angle and managed to finish carving a streak along the monster¡¯s side. Steam hissed and the creature deflated in the exact same manner as those prior. I grinned. This was my win. My health bar showed a sliver remaining. Izzy sobbed and shook in the aftermath. The scramble had taken maybe a few minutes. Our useless Defender still hadn¡¯t shown itself. ¡°This wasn¡¯t how it should go Perseus. It¡¯s all wrong.¡± Izzy said while shaking.
[The Overseer]''s log: We¡¯re losing data and I don¡¯t know where or how. Physically Subject 42 is still in transit, but there seems to be outside interference with the programming. It shouldn¡¯t be a denizen since they proposed this project in the first place. I¡¯m at a loss. IB has the capability of fighting off the attack but it might not be enough. Even when adding in Subject 42¡¯s processing they barely fought off the attack. Who would want to interfere? It¡¯s possible another Case Seven¡¯s reaching out. Like attracts like, but all known ones should be isolated back at the lab. I will contact the other scientists, maybe one of them ran an experiment without notifying me.
a Chapter 8 - Backdraft Izzy didn¡¯t dismiss me. I wouldn¡¯t have gone willingly anyway. Everything hurt here, and things would feel even worse in [The Outer World]. Going back to recover my health would result in being unable to protect the little girl. ¡°We could go back?¡± I meowed while coughing. ¡°No. The path is gone. Look.¡± She sniffed and heaved with deep shuddering breaths. A trail of ash littered the aftermath behind us. The road back to Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower had vanished utterly. Our only path went forward. Trailing after the long gone Defender and Izzy¡¯s luggage. I don¡¯t think walking was an option for me right now, and she didn¡¯t have much mana or health. We both needed rest. This new world added insult to injury. In the distance thunder rippled between mountains. I lifted my head, which hurt far too much, and looked at the sounds source. Lightning flashed again and two seconds later noise caught up. Two miles, maybe, to close. A wall of grey rainclouds rapidly approached. ¡°We need shelter.¡± I said. ¡°And you need to rest. Without mana we¡¯re both dead.¡± ¡°But it will hurt. You, I mean.¡± Izzy stared at the storm ahead and seemed to be on the verge of real tears. She held them back then kept moving forward steadily. ¡°I¡¯m okay with pain.¡± High School football taught me plenty about taking a hit. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone.¡± She said. The poor girl was suffering too. We had no good options. Only going forward could give us any hope now. Maybe the Defender stood up ahead of us somewhere, waiting silently. ¡°You won¡¯t be. Let me go now, and recover some. Then you can summon me back.¡± I said. My teeth were already gritting in preparation for fresh pain. Everything was mostly broken from the snakes attack. A real cat with this kind of damage wouldn¡¯t even make it to the hospital. ¡°Just, stay a little longer, please Mister Spirit.¡± Izzy asked. I understood. Those moments of being alone in the darkness without any contact had been frightening. I had cursed God and scratched a hole into the ground in panic. ¡°Only if you call me Pierce.¡± I said. ¡°Mmmmhmm.¡± Izzy was smart. She would know that me resting would help us both. Her mana would stop going down as much, and my health would all come back up. In the end being a child and not wanting to be alone won out. I understood. Going back to that abyss and screaming in an effort to rebuild my defenses wasn¡¯t appealing. I tried to purr a bit for Izzy but it was hard. My remaining mana went into the [Aura of Heat]. Our bond made sure such a simple ability didn¡¯t cause her harm. ¡°There¡¯s got to be a way through this Mister-¡± She paused. ¡°Pierce. I just, I can¡¯t figure it out.¡± ¡°Did Grandpa Hubble tell you anything?¡± I asked. ¡°Lots of things, but nothing that actually worked. It was like, he gave me puzzles with huge portions missing.¡± ¡°I saw.¡± I had watched the exercises over three months. All of them started out as shapes but seemed to be missing a key portion. ¡°I still don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing wrong.¡± She admitted. The storm was reaching upon us. Rain pelted down. My [Aura of Heat] didn¡¯t prevent us from getting soaked. Thankfully we had no other monsters attacking us on the road. Our walk was just one of two half broken existences who had no other good hope. Her father''s serious eyes kept up a gaze into the distance. Feet kept up a march forward. Somehow this girl kept moving despite carrying my weight. Maybe [Ember Kitten]s didn¡¯t weight much. I was missing parts of my body. Guts didn¡¯t hang out. Like those demons I showed damage in another way. A trail of ash marked out continued journey through the mountains. ¡°I don¡¯t know Izzy. I¡¯m not smart like you.¡± The words came out in a low broken meow. ¡°No. You¡¯re brave. Like a knight.¡± She tried to insist that I was ¡°God. I¡¯m no knight. I don¡¯t know how to do anything but throw my life away.¡± I had tried many times to put myself in the line of fire. Part of me remembered choosing my old job for exactly that reason. A chance to make a difference with the only value I had. It wasn¡¯t low self esteem, it was realism. I didn¡¯t do well on tests. My ability to take a beating wasn¡¯t extremely high end. There were no secrets inside my brain or clever skills. Well, I was a [Ember Kitten] in huge amounts of ongoing pain. I guess there were some skills of value in my life now. Without getting my health back all my ability to claw at things wouldn¡¯t do any good. Izzy kept walking despite the pelting storm. I tried to figure out a way to heal here in the real world. Her stomach grumbled violently. We had no food either. There was no more mana to maintain my [Aura of Heat] either. ¡°Izzy. It¡¯s time.¡± I said. ¡°I need time to recover.¡± ¡°Okay Mister-¡± she sounded exhausted. We could only pray that nothing else happened. Izzy moved to a nearby tree and huddled up against the cold.
Contractor Isabella Brand is activating [Dismiss Contracted Spirit].
I felt bad for leaving her. There were no good options. My body weight had dropped a ton. She had no energy, nor did I. Resources were at a low. Letting me go would hurt but our options were limited. It hit quickly and with more force than before. My mind blanked and green flashed over everything. All I could see was that last moment of my life in magnified stereo. Giant teeth opened wide, green dripping liquid flame. A crushing sensation as my side caved in. That moment hit me over and over in waves. I tried to construct the cardboard walls of red flame. Doing this last time had numbed out the ongoing pain. My teeth felt like they were cracking under pressure. There were messages about receiving some [Endurance] increase and [Willpower] bonus. They meant nothing in the face of enough agony to white out my mind. It kept going. There were no clocks to measure this reality with. My mind couldn¡¯t reach out to Izzy¡¯s world and get something to anchor life with. Five minutes or eternity, that¡¯s how long I endured for. Hope came in the form of a box that could barely be answered. One paw jerked badly and slammed a button. I must have pressed no because Izzy¡¯s world did not come into view. The box displayed again. My head got mixed signals between pain and trying to focus. Finally, I managed to press the right button and my alternate world faded away. Izzy was shivering. I hastily activated [Aura of Heat] and was pleased to see a new message come up.
[Aura of Heat] upgraded to [Aura of Minor Flame]
    • Damage increased
    • Heat generated increased
  • Mana consumption increased
It was enough to start thawing out the little girl quickly. I crawled into the space next to her and felt proud that this increased aura didn¡¯t cause Izzy damage. The water soaking her clothes dried up fairly quickly as a result of the aura¡¯s upgrade. A skill transformation wasn¡¯t enough to prevent rain from hitting us, but it helped. I had never experienced an ability changing like this. The pain was still clearing from my head or I would have pursued the reasoning further. ¡°Thank you, Pierce.¡± Izzy chattered. Her hands rubbed away goosebumps that crawled across every exposed portion of skin. I checked over her status. She had a [Cold] and [Weakened] notation. The moodring like system showed a depressing shade of blue. We were in a better situation but nowhere near good. My focus was spent on trying to make the [Aura of Minor Flame] use less mana. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°We¡¯ll need to keep moving.¡± I said. A yawn escaped me. The brief return to [The Outer Realm] only brought me to about half health. My energy had recovered much quicker but it was being drained by the only ability I had. ¡°I know.¡± She responded with a similar yawn. We formed a vague plan. Izzy would summon me for warmth then release me in order to rest. The girl maintained a steady pace. I tried not to leave our path again for fear of fighting more demons when we were so weak. There were critters running around, squirrels, birds, crickets, each one distracted me for just a moment. Izzy¡¯s staggering form kept me in line. Both of her feet looked damaged. She needed better traveling shoes. My health had mostly recovered after our third cycle, of summoning and healing. Energy kept bouncing around. Lower levels of mana caused me to drag in exhaustion right next to her. ¡°There¡¯s another spot over there.¡± Izzy said while pointing towards a tree down the road half a mile away. Shelters were few and far between. We spent time stumbling between vaguely die spots. The [Cold] status kept dropping off and being reapplied. ¡°Alright.¡± I stayed next to the young girl and tried to keep her from freezing in the rain. Doing this left us wet, exhausted, still behind the Protector, but mostly warm. Our latest dry location gave me a chance to shake off waterdrops. Izzy laid against the tree trunk and tried to crawl further into drenched clothes. The [Aura of Minor Flame] dried me out a bit more, and started heating up her clothes. It took a lot of focus to prevent the ability from setting her heavy dress on fire. ¡°We need to get you better clothes.¡± I meowed at her while licking my fur into the right direction. ¡°And a raincoat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m cold Pierce.¡± ¡°I know. We will need to walk again.¡± I tried to focus on my training. When stuck in a terrible situation we couldn¡¯t just stop. We had to move. I would need to find food for her soon, especially if we didn¡¯t catch up with the Protector. Maybe if I grabbed a squirrel then used my [Aura of Minor Flames] on it we could cook food. Izzy hadn¡¯t complained yet but I could hear her belly rumbling. ¡°I need more rest, and I¡¯m hungry.¡± She said. Part of me was surprised the little girl lasted so long. Our options were give up and lay down or keep marching forward. Izzy got up and managed to travel to the next dry spot further up. I sat down, drying us once more while staring at where the road had been behind us. There was no sign of the clear path from this angle. It might be magic for this world. Maybe it had to do with Grandpa Hubble¡¯s ability to guard the valley. I didn¡¯t know what else to do. ¡°I have an idea.¡± I said. ¡°Two, I guess.¡± ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± Izzy mumbled her noise for agreement. ¡°Do you know who The Overseer is?¡± I asked first. ¡°Only whispers. She¡¯s like Grandpa Hubble, only more, much more.¡± Izzy warmed up a little. My mana didn¡¯t have much left as a result. Once the [Cold] went away I would shut off the ability to conserve what was left. ¡°I got a message that she was alerted about our progress with the rats.¡± I said. One boss kill, thirty four minion rank ones. One unsorted weasel faced snake of constricting nature. ¡°Then you¡¯re growing stronger too.¡± She only chattered a little. Dark strands still clumped on the back of her head. ¡°I can either try to run ahead and see how far the Protector is, or try to hunt for more demons and meet the empowerment.¡± I said. Izzy might be able to figure out which option was better. The rules of this world were still beyond me. Advancing might come with a larger size, or a different form, or simply stronger abilities to defend her. ¡°Run for the Defender, run fast Pierce.¡± Izzy nodded quickly. She got one half felt purr and a headbutt of parting. ¡°Just like before, if you need me, release me and pull me back.¡± I said. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy was tired. I didn¡¯t waste any more time. Izzy wouldn¡¯t have enough energy to keep me summoned forever and scouting ahead was our best bet. The path seemed safe enough. Running for help was the only way to find a bright spot in our journey. Rain pelted against my fur. My ears kept tilting back to prevent more from getting in. I slunk quickly, opting to shuffle quickly and save bursts of speed for dodging between dry spots. Being a spirit from [The Outer World] didn¡¯t prevent me from getting tired. Between this and my remaining mana I should be able to escape another snake demon. Hours worth of rain turned the mountain path into mud. I sat under a bush and stared down path trying to find signs of the Defender. It had stopped before to wait for us, now it kept moving forward, why? My latest shelter on the roadside was occupied by a fat looking owl. It stared at me, and I glared at it. Part of me vaguely remembered that owls and other birds of prey would eat cats. The large fluffy raptor stared downward at me. ¡°Try it!¡± I hissed and swiped at the air. The large creature let out a squawk that sounded more like a chuckle than any bird noise. Giant light green wings expanded and it took off. I followed it as the switched bird flew off to another tree. I tried to evaluate the creature as possible growth fodder. How many giant cat eating birds would need to be murdered to feel safe walking through the forest? Never mind the whole empowerment possibilities. My eyes drifted downward from the owl things departing path. Another feature of the landscape stood out, There were giant heavy footprints lining the pathway between the hills. Fresh mud squished to the sides. I was no tracker, but that was pretty clear to this [Ember Kitten]. The Defender had to be close. My earlier attempts at conserving energy were discarded in a mad dash. Twenty minutes later I found the rear of our cart. It was close. If Izzy and I just kept running we could easily catch up. Even sooner if the stone golem could be told to stop. I leapt onto the back of the cart. My bobcat sized weight barely made it tip. Something smelled off. Amber eyes glared at me from in the back. My mind rapidly tried to understand what happened. The blankets in the back were shoved to one side and a large lizard looking creature stood up. ¡°Warrrglglgl!¡± It screamed nonsense. I had figured out why the Defender kept right on moving. It must believe that we were sleeping in the carriages back, under cover against the rain. Dozens more lizard man things poured down from the hills.
[The Overseer]''s log: Found out the problem. One of our new techs decided to gather data without telling anyone. He likely expected to be praised upon solving a problem that dozens of people have been working on for longer. Nevermind the denizen¡¯s investment. They¡¯re easily smarter than he ever will be. Still, one Case Seven was able to reach into another one¡¯s mind space. This is exactly why the denizens are so against the Case Seven¡¯s being allowed to continue living. They show no regard for boundaries and just brute force through the digital landscape. We¡¯re an hour out from plugging Subject 42 into a hardline, hopefully we can get him there and isolate the data, IB will be contained behind the wall as well until she can fully fight off other attacks across the network.
Notes: I''m trying to do one more personal pass on these. For those who didn''t catch the note earlier, this has not met my editors approval due to time constraints. She''ll get to them eventually. I have - 6 more to upload tonight, then 2 more tomorrow sometime. That will be me to around 52k words for the challenge - and after that I''ll slow down writing a bit. Chapter 9 – Burnt Leftovers The lumbering giant moved quickly for a creature of stone. It reached a huge fist over to the lizard man shouting it¡¯s wild warcry. ¡°Warrgglglglglg!¡± The creature kept yelling. Its tail lashed out and slammed into our carriages side. Wood shattered while Izzy¡¯s luggage went flying. I yowled and tried to leap out of the way. A robe ended up covering my head. I scrambled to get myself free of the items burying me. My attempt to escape one set of clothes just led me into another. These were Izzy¡¯s few belongings and I was tearing them to pieces just trying to get out. [Aura of Minor Flame] flickered to life. More garbled shouts of nonsense came from the hilltops. The Protector and I were clearly under attack. Mostly him, I couldn¡¯t win the battle against the items. My attempt to get out from under one clump was thwarted by another pile, this time our food was mixed in. ¡°Izzy!¡± I tried to shout in hopes that she might hear me. We were too far apart and couldn¡¯t connect across long distances yet. Abruptly I realized how terrible it would be if she did get here. This place was mobbed by monsters. Twenty, thirty, maybe more flooded around me attacking the Defender¡¯s large bulk. I clawed my way through another round of clothes then looked at the scuffle. The Defender had giant lizards in either hand. He swung them around at each other. The Lizards were bending and trying to claw but their actions didn¡¯t mean much to a being of stone. Part of me wanted to sit back and let the Defender handle it. The other part wanted to make these creatures pay with all the strength I had left. If not for their interference Izzy wouldn¡¯t be sitting under a tree behind me sniffling from the [Cold]. Maybe we could use this to my advantage and help out. I dove for the Defender¡¯s mess of lizard man creatures. They moved too fast and even the slightest whack of one of their tails might end me. My [Aura of Minor Flame] would reach far enough to do some damage. I sat on the edge of our carriage and tried to let the fire damage hit a few of them.
    • [Aura of Minor Flame] damage increased to nature based creatures
    • [Ember Kitten] partial credit on kill of [Tribal Lizard]
  • [Intimidation] failure to activate
Mana ran out after the sixth lizard creature was bashed to pieces. A fresh wave of enemies sat around the giant artificial man and started throwing objects. I spent most of those few minutes trying not to get hit by monsters being broken into pieces. I felt sluggish after hitting zero mana. Apparently one of this world''s side effects was physical exhaustion but no actual pain. The Defender had nicks and tears all over. No steam issued forth. Each [Tribal Lizard] gushed actual blood. These were not demons, we were being attacked by actual humanoid creatures. More than a dozen remained. The stone golem didn¡¯t seem intent upon killing them unless provoked. I didn¡¯t feel the same way. Those who tried to escape with any shred of health left needed to be put down. They had attacked our cart. They had tried to get Izzy, and they weren¡¯t human at all. All three were strikes against these monstrous beings. In this method I could make sure those who survived to get away couldn¡¯t attack the big golem either. The old version of me, the human Pierce, would have felt bad about this. [Ember Kitten] me, fighting to survive and ensure Izzy could be safe, did not. Our path needed to be clear, and leaving a [Tribal Lizard] alive to trick it once more would be desaterious. I didn¡¯t try to drag the process our or play around. The weakest had very little life anyway. Feline reactions let me dodge around those fighting and tear into the throats of those crawling away. Both eyes refused to close as life faded away. This was much different than dealing with [Terror Rat]s. ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy shouted in the distance. I could see her past the mess of bodies. My cheeks turned down and ears flattened upon realizing she had just seen me kill someone in nearly cold blood. The Defender golem just kept bashing monsters together. Their garbled cries filled the air. Bits of poorly formed weaponry flew all around. Three of the half damaged ones, clubbed and battered by their own kind, turned towards the young girl. I stopped chasing down the weakest lizards and tried to position myself between Izzy and the other [Tribal Lizard]s. She looked greatly weakened from running up here. I had noc lue how she figured out what to do. Fresh clumps of dirt littered her clothes from probably falls. Mud caked the bottom of her dress. Still, Isabella Brand stood, her father''s serious eyes glaring at the enemies on our road. She wanted to fight them. I often forgot the girl was so young because of how serious her actions could be. ¡°Izzy!¡± I meowed in her direction. The golem creature didn¡¯t take any notice. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Stand between us, I will try to help the artificial creation.¡± Izzy took deep breaths trying to recover from the run. ¡°How did you know?¡± I got into a better position and eyed the first three. They were all damaged in some form. One had a broken arm, another limped. The healthiest one seemed to be ordering his half broken tribes people to attack us. ¡°We are linked Pierce. You can sense my emotions, and I feel yours. No time, hold them off!¡± She pointed a hand into the air. Lights started swirling around. Izzy¡¯s energy level was low and might not be able to cast those rose colored fireballs very much. Once more the only contribution available to me was throwing myself into danger. Maybe my next life would provide me the skills to be clever or more brains. Perhaps God would see fit to allow me to forget my impending failure. ¡°Pierce! The weaker ones first!¡± She gave me direction and I took it. Angry hisses and yowls of noise came forth. Pure offense was the only choice. My body bristled and hind legs pushed to get liftoff. My large kitten body propelled straight into one of the [Tribal Lizard]s faces. I rapidly patted paws into the monster''s snout again and again. ¡°Grrlglgl!¡± It shouted. This beast was easily ten times my size and I might actually win. One stoney friend had helped greatly. ¡°Rrrayall!¡± It fell down clutching at freshly burned shreds. I didn¡¯t want to admire my handwork and pushed away for the next target. The large creature''s neck billowed and a gob of green spit in my direction. Even if I had some ability, there was no energy available to do anything. I yelled in frustration as the gob hit me. My health fell to near critical. The goo stuck to me and threw off my balance. Matted fur plus extra weight just set me off. I flick my mind towards the [Aura of Flame] ability over and over to no avail. ¡°Pierce!¡± A small ball of flame flew over. At it¡¯s heart was the pink rose and white colored magic Izzy called her own. It slammed into the unhurt [Tribal Lizard] in the back. ¡°Garbblbl kll!¡± The third one screamed. I dove for the second one that had spit at me. It¡¯s neck had turned to follow the magic¡¯s path. My red claws dug grooves up the creature''s chest in a mad effort to climb. Part of me felt pleased that the creature who just spit a gob of green shit in my direction was screaming. ¡°Taste kitten power!¡± I hacked half a meow at it. The [Tribal Lizard]¡¯s eyes went wide. It¡¯s neck bulged to send out another gob of green. More of that nasty stuff on me would not be good. I rapidly started shredding in a panic. In the background our Defender was busy slamming two more of the monsters together. It looked terribly and near broken. Arms and legs were showing signs of cracking. I didn¡¯t know how to help it besides attacking until my body couldn¡¯t hold out anymore. The third one started charging. Izzy sent out another bolt of pink fire at it which caused a slight stumble. My own health was down and this goo had me stiffening up. CLawing the third one would work so I settled for the oldest cat trick in the book. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I stood in it¡¯s way and let the [Tribal Lizard] trip over me. It felt onto another dead attacker. I tried weakly to bat at the creature''s legs as righted itself. This goo had stiffened up almost the entire left side of my body. A spear jabbed in my direction and I just took it. ¡°Pierce!¡± Almost all Izzy¡¯s remaining mana went into a third blast of fire. The [Tribal Lizard] squeaked out more unintelligible words and stopped moving. The faint smell of burnt flesh and steam filled the air. I tried to walk towards another monster. There weren¡¯t many left. The Defender had killed almost twenty of the things in the time it took us to finish of two wounded ones and a undamaged creature. Maybe that was enough to get an empowerment. Then I wouldn¡¯t be so useless. My skills barely kept Izzy from freezing to death, even now a [Cold] notice popped back up. Everything else looked bleak however. Her clothes were a mess of torn and burned materials. Food lay all around getting wet. Our stone escort was almost broken clean through in multiple spots. ¡°Warrrrrrrrgggglllr!¡± A new voice yelled. The scream echoed off of mountain tops. BOth ears flattened and I tried to hiss. We had another guest coming down the hill. ¡°Shit. Shit.¡± I muttered. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Pierce? What do we do?¡± ¡°Release me, then summon me back once the Defender dies.¡± I said. ¡°Try to get some food, or clothes, anything you can carry easily, then you run while I hold them off.¡± ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy couldn¡¯t have much to give. I didn¡¯t either, this latest bout of pain to recover my health a smidgen. Anything would help. She released me. I started screaming before [The Inner World] even began to fade completely. Rebuilding my walls against the damage was a pointless effort. I tried amid the broken thoughts to pull my [The Outer World: Respite] skill. I felt like there was a sea of green that undulated and rolled around me. Everything spun and still the flames burned. Me, a creature who got called to another world as a [Ember Kitten]. Energy recovered but the blue bar was being burned to a crisp somehow.
[Summon (Request)] initiated by Isabella Brand for contracted denizen of [The Outer World].
It was easier to press yes this time. The pain itself felt slightly more bearable than it had been. Still mind rending, I couldn¡¯t tell how much time actually passed. One minute, maybe two. That moment lasted too long. Izzy¡¯s world left me panting with effort. Flakes of grey soot were everywhere. ¡°Pierce!¡± Her shouts stirred me a little. My body swayed towards her voice. She sounded far away. The health and mana bars I used to monitor our status were still suffering from green flame attacks. I had no clue what was going on or how this happened. Eyesight proved almost useless. I couldn¡¯t stop to figure out a reason. There was a giant [Tribal Lizard] attacking the Defender. I could make out it¡¯s sounds and the clank of a spear. Part of my vision saw the two large creatures fighting. The Defender kept whacking away with the dead lizard men around it. ¡°Warrrllrrrr kllgllgggll¡± MOre nonsense came forth. The creature seemed to be spitting green jobs towards the Defender. ¡°Izzy. Did you get your stuff?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmhm. We need to run.¡± Her voice sounded borderline terrified. I applauded her for not breaking under the pressure. Part of me hated this next step but my own life meant nothing compared to keeping her safe. ¡°Go!¡± I shouted at her and felt guilty immediately. ¡°Please! I¡¯ll try to help the golem.¡± ¡°MMmhm!¡± She clutched a bundle of lumpy objects wrapped with shits. Izzy had wrapped up a few objects quickly in preparation for flight down the road. The biggest [Tribal Lizard] yet was winning against the Defender. I bunched up and tried to get a steady line of sight. Green flames still chewed at my status bars. Aching flared with every single crackle of green. I had to attack anyway, to help cover Izzy¡¯s escape or rescue our stone giant. My leap was vaguely successful. I felt skin of something beneath me and it wasn¡¯t Izzy. The recently gathered energy started pouring into [Aura of Flame]. ¡°Rrrl! Ggglh!¡± It yelled. Everything started spinning in a circle. The monster was trying to shake me off. ¡°No! Not going to happen!¡± I dug and held on. The stone golem was still moving but I couldn¡¯t tell what. Spinning didn¡¯t help me headache in the slightest. Green flames kept chewing at my status bars. They were recreating in chunks at a time so the consumption never ended. I blinked for a moment then lost my grip. Everything kept spinning and I tried to get away. A spear jabbed where I had been. I yelped in terror and tried to get away. There was a clunk as stone collided with the large [Tribal Lizard]¡¯s shield. The monster yelled out another string of gibberish as it felt sideways. I staggered quickly back to the creature''s head. It flailed around while my paws tore into it¡¯s face once more. Wild hissing escaped me and the Defender elbow slammed into the big monsters belly. There was a cracking sound and more weak gargling came of it¡¯s mouth. ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy was far too close. I wanted her to stay far away from this mess. Far, far away. The lizard beneath me shook with half felt movements. I kept clawing and hissing at the creature''s head, relishing the ease of attacking one of these creatures on the ground. Claws frequently didn¡¯t get past the bone, but everything on the surface was torn into ribbons. My head really hurt. All four limbs ached. The [Aura of Minor Flame] kept ticking away with what energy remained. Once it ran out everything would feel worse. I had no idea how my mind could stand so much agony and still march forward. Maybe it was a mild detachment due to knowing I wasn¡¯t going to die. This lizard creature couldn¡¯t say the same. It stopped moving. I laid down huffing. Isabella¡¯s footsteps could be heard, along with another crack of stone from the giant. I tried to lift my head and look at the creature. One of it¡¯s arms was detached and being held like a club. Part of it¡¯s foot had vanished. Flakes were missing from the Defender¡¯s face. ¡°Pierce, are you okay!¡± Izzy ran past all the dead monsters. She didn¡¯t spare them a single glance and scooped me up. Fresh pain hit me at being violently moved but I accepted it. The green kept hitting. ¡°I need rest. Real rest. So do you.¡± The green flames were keeping my thoughts from going in a straight line. Each time I tried to consider how to go forward things fell apart. ¡°Our cart, might still work. The Defender, might be able to carry us.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re being very brave.¡± I tried to sound positive. Part of me worried about how she hadn¡¯t just snapped. Dead bodies were all over the place. ¡°Without more time to recover, I won¡¯t be any use. Just, summon me if something goes wrong.¡± Izzy looked at the giant stone man. It was picking up items from the ground and putting them in the cart with us. Our horse was gone somewhere. She looked back at me and nodded with uneasy eyes. The message came up displaying my return to [The Outer World]. I couldn¡¯t even prepare for the pain, it hadn¡¯t stopped. As before, it hurt, and I screamed in the silence of my black room.
[The Overseer]''s log: That was the longest ten hours of my life. The techs and I sat there watching attacks come in from Subject 17. The lost a lot of strength once we managed to corral his neural links back into an isolated network. We essentially had to bribe him just to make it that far. It feels like we¡¯re dealing with humanity''s baser instincts being brought to life. Some of the visual feeds are downright disgusting insights to people''s wants and desires. Once again I wonder how denizens even put up with this. My uncle insists that they just channel all humans through specific pathways that none of them have to look at. Kind of like creating a back alley in the digital world. I¡¯m told that the portions untouched that only Case One through Fours have access to are something special. Maybe one day.
Chapter 10 - City Lights Pain came, I endured, pain left. Time passed while I rebuilt my mental defenses. The green fire eating health and mana bars faded as the last portion of red and black cardboard went on. It hurt, but then again nearly everything did right now. It seemed to be a major factor in my life. My consciousness flittered into nothingness after the walls were back up.
Subject [42] Status Updated
    • Partial Credit Given
    • [Veteran Tribal Lizard] killed.
    • Total Boss Rank Demons Killed: 2
    • Total Minion Rank Demons Killed: 47
  • Total Traits discovered: 11
Criteria for stage one empowerment met. [The Overseer] has been notified. Evaluation will take time. Empowering will take approximately two days to prepare for and complete. [The Inner World] and [The Outer World] awareness will be unavailable during transfer.
My recovery took over one day to complete. Izzy didn¡¯t call for me during that time. Once I had rested and the little girl fully healed was I summoned. I took it gladly. By an unspoken agreement we both sat in the carriage. It was missing entire chunks from where [Tribal Lizard]s had attacked us. Izzy didn¡¯t leave the vehicle once. We made a deal that if I got into trouble she would just release me back to [The Outer World] instead of getting off the carriage in chase. ¡°Are you okay Izzy?¡± I asked upon returning to [The Inner World]. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± This time she managed not to agree happily. Her tone implied that things were not alright but she was going forward anyway. I understood that sort of feeling completely. ¡°What did you mean by being able to sense my emotions? How long have you been able to do that?¡± I skipped to another subject to try and get her talking. Anything to distract her from our near disaster. Talking helped me understand this world''s rules a bit more. My biggest hope was this empowerment process. It didn¡¯t say an empowerment or a upgrade. I expected to get something useful out of it though. This world seemed simple enough along those lines. ¡°A few years ago, shortly after we were bound, I started being able to sense stuff about you.¡± Izzy fiddled with a strand of matted hair. Dry dirt flaked apart as she cleaned. ¡°Like what?¡± I asked. ¡°First was a sense of how healthy you are. Then your energy, and finally feelings.¡± She felt nervous while speaking about this. I checked her mood, and she must be trying to get a handle on mine. I didn¡¯t really feel upset. Mostly it was idle curiosity about what this meant for the world''s rules. This explanation fell into the same order I had concentrated on learning things about her. We really were connected. That also explained how she had been able to give voice of my concerns when Grandpa Hubble talked about our potential future. Being linked shed light on why she was worried I might not like this situation. Her age only played part of the factor, but trying to understand me also had an impact. She felt my unease and thought it because of my feelings towards her. Mostly I was concerned about getting to the school, staying warm, and finding food for her. The stony Defender creature was broken in lots of places. Its arm sat in the back with us, thankfully unmoving. We kept going. I got distracted running around on the ground. Being in a kitten¡¯s body had certainly changed my priorities on what was important. Attacking butterflies or other bugs rated higher on the list then stressing over rules. Maybe that was just me. In my prior life I had spent years in school learning all sorts of information and none of those seemed to matter now. What good did Pythagoreans Theorem do to help me as a kitten? This time I had even less drive to pay attention to such things. I wanted to know, but at the same time parts of me figured it would all become clear eventually. I just had to play my role, protect Izzy, and fight monsters. The second day was also boring. Izzy kept up her practice with the spells but none of them clicked. Our food would apparently last the few days this trip should take. My only real goal was to wait for this empowerment message to make things a bit clearer. Only after much bug catching did I remember the last part of the message. ¡°Izzy.¡± I jumped back into our slowly plodding cart. The damaged Defender wasn¡¯t able to carry us very well with one hand. She just looked at me. Her eyes seemed tired and unfocused. I hadn¡¯t really noticed if the young girl slept at all since our [Tribal Lizard] attack. Suddenly I worried about that more than my pending empowerment. ¡°Have you slept at all?¡± I switched to a more important concern. As fire fighters we were trained to handle immediate issues, not really long term ones. Often times they were handed over to family or doctors. She shook her head very slowly. In one hand there was a half formed spell that looked dull and lifeless. Izzy wasn¡¯t even trying to form it with energybits. They were almost solid tiles or puzzle pieces being shoved together without glue. ¡°You need rest.¡± I insisted. ¡°Can¡¯t.¡± Izzy said. ¡°We might be attacked. I need to get stronger.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to make progress without resting your body and mind.¡± I pretended to sound wise. These were words my father had spoken to me once. His voice sounded distant though, difficult to remember. Based on this world¡¯s clock I had been away at least eight years. I hoped he was doing okay. What would happen to him if I too passed from a virus? My tail stopped and both ears froze. There was a sinking feeling inside my chest as chills crept up from behind. ¡°Can you stay with me?¡± She asked, the exhaustion sounded even more apparent. The little girl was running on fumes. Her need was immediate, my father would have moved on. I couldn¡¯t let the past distract me. ¡°Of course.¡± I felt confused that she even needed to ask. Maybe I leapt around the mountain path searching for bugs, but I always came back the minute I noticed a [Cold] status to warm her up. Luckily we hadn¡¯t gotten another rain storm, but chilled mountain air didn¡¯t help. The issue, I think, was that she was still so young. I needed to do a better job of looking out for her. Her parents were gone. Grandpa Hubble stayed in his tower. I was all that remained. This whole situation had gotten terrible because of me. I curled up next to her and relied on body heat to keep us warm. Ash shedding was halted with a moment of willpower. Izzy pulled over a blanket and passed out almost immediately. Sitting in one spot wasn¡¯t so bad. The blankets made our carriage a bit more comfortable. Izzy was warm. One hand had frozen in an unfinished pat. In her other palm the pieces of a half formed spell were fading away. My visual notification of Izzy¡¯s energy showed it recovering. Based on this calculation she would be able to keep me summoned for another few hours, provided nothing crazy happened. My head dropped down to watch scenery go by. After a few months the action of using my paws as pillows felt far more natural. Eventually the slow plugging motion of our carriage rocked me to a complete sleep. Words flashed across my mind. None of them made sense due to my sleeping state. They felt more like a faint dream happening to someone else.
Subject [73] interference scenario has finished. [The Overseer] has been notified. Primary host body revitalization process activated. Counting down¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
A new world slowly came into focus. It felt like my brain had switched from one location to another. The first thing I tried to do was breathe. My throat felt obstructed. There was something in it clogging things up. At first I thought it was a piece of fish I had stolen, but the object was too big. ¡°Suspend his breathing.¡± A voice said. ¡°Put it on automatic. Make sure his awareness is online. Holmes, we need visual confirmation of a response.¡± My eyes darted around to find Izzy or the stone Defender. Instead there was a room full of tables and humans looking at me. I hadn¡¯t seen this many humans in one place in ages. Where was I? Had I been summoned to a new body somehow? One of the people wore a white coat. He pressed buttons and a bright light shone into my eye. It felt like staring down the midday sun. I lost the contest and blinked. Looking away didn¡¯t help. ¡°Pupils are dilating. Legs and body parts are moving. Blink if you can hear me Mister Argive.¡± The man said. That name was mine. Only a few people in the new world knew it. Wait, no. This seemed familiar. There were images floating all around. Pictures of human bodies with various portions lit up. ¡°Mister Argive, we brought you out to try and catch you up to speed.¡± ¡°Mmmph.¡± I groaned a noise that even I didn¡¯t understand. This liquid around me was a light yellow slime of some sort. Moving through it felt gross. It wasn¡¯t hot or cold. ¡°The virus is still eating at you, but we¡¯ve made some progress. Our suspend animation program seems to be working well.¡± I had just been sleeping on the lap of a small child. Where was Izzy? That couldn¡¯t all be in my head. Could it? Everything collided together and failed to come up with a stable answer. Over eight years, that¡¯s the number I kept coming back to. ¡°Doctor Long, we can¡¯t keep him here forever. His brain chemistry is starting a reaction again.¡± There was a woman in the back that spoke. She didn¡¯t look familiar from my few memories or Izzy¡¯s world. None of them looked like anyone I knew. The blond woman, who must be Doctor Long, sighed. ¡°Put him back in. We¡¯ll keep working on the body. Holmes, Gale, get him to stage two.¡± ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s wise?¡± One of them asked. I felt groggy again. They were pressing buttons floating in the air and noises came out of the goop around me. My eyes rolled and tried to catch where lights were flashing from up above. ¡°No, but we¡¯ve got to try something new or Pierce will end up the same as those other two.¡± Doctor Long said with another sigh. She shook her head which caused a pony tail to bob back and forth. ¡°Understood.¡± The man next to the glass said. He turned to me and waved a hand in farewell. My eyesight drifted off into blackness once more. I woke up slowly. Something odd had just happened but I couldn¡¯t figure out what. The event was lost under a haze like most of my past life. There had been a woman, a Doctor of some sort. Whatever happened had put me straight back into the darkness of [The Outer World]. A strange than normal box sat in front of me. This must have been the result from fighting all those monstrous creatures. It was silly, but now I was faced with a choice in order to help Izzy in the long run. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Empowering evaluation completed. Spiritual Evolution being processed. Please choose a new form from the list available.
    • Form provided based on boss level monsters defeated: [Sun Kitten]
    • Form provided based on total monsters defeated: [Ember Cat]
    • Form provided based on existing: [Flaming Blob]
  • Put your future in [The Overseer]¡¯s hands: [Unknown]
There were many times where I wished to be a smarter man. A genius or well learned person might actually have a clue what the differences were between these choices. I mean, even I understood that being a [Flaming Blob] was bad. A reward based on existing was just silly. The Ember Cat was likely just a bigger version of my current form. I could go with that, or be stuck as a kitten but move to a [Sun Kitten] form. I figured it would be the same size but with more sunniness. Or, go with the [Unknown] option. I hoped it was something cooler than the other choices, but it might just be as bad as a [Flaming Blob] shape. My finger reached out to press a button. A moment later I was hissing in confusion and second guessing myself. Eventually I just stabbed the one for [Unknown] and prayed [The Overseer] wouldn¡¯t bone me completely. Blackness swum over my mind once more. The land of cardboard walls against green fire and Isabella¡¯s world both were gone. I felt dizzy and itched. Something crawled around under my skin but it was far away. Not enough to break the exhaustion keeping me mostly unaware. When I awoke, things felt much different. A breeze shivered me to the core, as if air was swirling around inside of my body instead of outside. ¡°Oh God.¡± I muttered. This change had left me as a kitten still. My body was about the size of a bobcat, that hadn¡¯t changed. The fur on my skin looked almost completely transparent. Only bits of dancing red and oranges obscured any vision.
Race: [Flame Spirit Kitten] Racial Bonuses: All prior status bonuses still apply. Moderate [Speed], High [Reflex], Low [Endurance], Low [Brawn]. Racial Skills:
    • [Intimidation] upgraded to [Inspire Minor Terror]
    • [Leap Distance] increased by 400%
    • [Insubstantial] at will
    • [Commune with the Dead]
  • [Resistance: Physical]
Damage Type[s]: [Shredding], [Fire], [Spirit] Weaknesses: Yarn, warm beams of sunlight, [Cold], [Holy] school of spells, members of the [Dog] species
Spirit Learned Skills
    • [Aura of Minor Flame]
    • [Sense Personal Mana]
    • [Sense Personal Health]
    • [Sense Personal Status]
    • [Sense Contractor Mana]
    • [Sense Contractor Health]
    • [Sense Contractor Status]
    • [Request Summon]
    • [Deny Summon]
  • [Advanced Spirit Form]
Path: [Guardian (Uninitiated)]
¡°What the hell?¡± I muttered. ¡°Really? This, I¡¯m a ghost now? What if a, holy, dog, frost demon attacks!¡± No one answered of course. Part of me felt that being transformed into a [Flame Spirit Kitten] wasn¡¯t much of an upgrade. None of my abilities seemed to increase in damage or effectiveness, except intimidation. At least putting my trust in [The Overseer] hadn¡¯t turned me into a [Limp Ooze] or something silly. The other part of me kind of liked the idea of walking through walls. It felt very cat like to me. Having a new damage type might help Izzy out a lot, but adding another weakness on top of it was annoying. There had to be some way to remove these problems and grow stronger next time. I sighed. Maybe Izzy would have a suggestion. My fingers traced to the shimmering black coard that connected us. A new color ran through, that of an almost translucent blue. It matched the softer tips of fur around my paws. They were nearly see through as well. Hopefully once in [The Outer World] I could find something better to look at. ¡°Izzy?¡± I tried to reach across the connection. ¡°Mister Spirit?¡± She sounded groggy. ¡°Are we there?¡± I focused a bit on sensing Izzy¡¯s surroundings. There was a surprising change alright. The Defender seemed to have stopped and stood there umoving. They were near a giant bridge that spanned over running water. People were bustling all around but no one seemed interesting in touching her cart. Honestly, she must have been exhausted to sleep through all that. No one had bothered her, probably because of the stone golem with an arm missing. ¡°Can you bring me through? I think we made it somewhere.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± She said. A message came up on the grey slate telling me that Izzy was using her [Summon [Request] Contracted Spirit] ability. Of course I accepted and popped into a real world once more. For a moment I stared in wonder. There were tall spires reaching into the sky. Many clustered by an obvious ocean. Our bridge sat on an upper slope that overlooked a bustling city. Water poured down from the mountains and flowed into the river. Boats with rolled up sails sat in a harbor far away near the water. There were event colorful towers spiraling upwards that made Grandpa Hubble¡¯s home look like a one room ramshackle. Overlapping images of cities in my past came to mind. I felt like this place was familiar but couldn¡¯t exactly place it. It had been too many years, and those memories from my prior life felt like someone else¡¯s. ¡°Papers! Anyone wanting to get in needs their papers!¡± A guard rattled by. He wore a shiny looking helmet and a very polished spear. Two other guardsmen were right behind him repeating the cry. Izzy started digging while I just sat there, afraid to move too much. This new body took a bit of getting used to. There were all sorts of odd little bits of light floating around too. Not magic or energy, but blobs of light blue that swooshed through the air or buildings below. ¡°Do you see those?¡± I asked Izzy. ¡°Hold on, I have to find our papers.¡± She was digging through the bags. Pretty much all of our luggage had been partially ruined in the [Tribal Lizard] attack. I hadn¡¯t taken note of papers or passports anywhere in our journey. One of the lights bobbed in closer, inspecting carts and carriages all around us. It zipped through one after another with mild interest. ¡°Izzy?¡± I didn¡¯t like how that thing was moving. ¡°Pierce?¡± She used my nickname right this time. I saw her look at me with confusion. Wrinkles appeared around her nose and eyes as Izzy tried to figure ou what happened. ¡°You¡¯ve got blue on you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a blob floating here.¡± The thing had grown close and it really bugged me. I didn¡¯t understand what it was beyond a glowing fast moving butterfly. ¡°Can I attack it?¡± ¡°What? No Pierce!¡± Izzy looked wild and alarmed. ¡°Papers!¡± The guard shouted at our carriage. ¡°Papers please! No one gets into Azure Song without papers!¡± I leapt for the floating bubble of blue anyway.It seemed to be laughing at me and deserved kitten death from above.
[The Overseer]''s log: Subject 42¡¯s adaptation to the new hardware limitations is progressing nicely. He remains aware and alert, and manually submerged into a virtual world. Our test today to bring him out and test functionally went better than expected. It should be noted that the poor child is very ingrained in his local systems. The Gen 7 ARC isn¡¯t even really need at this point. His actual thoughts are being processed by the remote hardware while his actual mind is nearly catatonic. He probably didn¡¯t even realize he was using the rooms audio speakers to talk and not his own voice. It¡¯s a testament to the human mind''s capabilities, or more accurately the lack of control being migrated to a digital platform allows. I had a hard time looking directly at him once he was aware. Referring to a person as Subject 42 seems almost disrespectful. We¡¯ve had a hard time getting the prior memories to link correctly between the original physical body, his neural storage tank, and the brain mimicry software. This is likely due to all the temporarily redacted data to allow him to continue functioning in this halfway state. It¡¯s this or let him go back to the ravaged body ahead of schedule. In other news, he actually chose to allow me the pleasure of deciding a new avatar for him. I do like cats, maybe it was something I inherited from my uncle.
Chapter 11 – Drifting Flame My dive for the blue light resulted in a catastrophe. The wisp like being dodged out of the way and gave an absurd giggling sound. I fell through towards the ground, having missed the expected thud of connection. Landing was oddly ungraceful as I sunk through stone and mortar. ¡°What?¡± I meowed with mild horror. This felt like a dream gone wrong. Everything around me closed in, as if bundled too tightly in a blanket. Seconds later I was free, down on the ground beneath the bridge. ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy¡¯s words echoed oddly. I looked up in confusion. There were bricks and large rocks held together by long dried past. Moss under my toes felt a bit too cold. Being in the shade was unpleasant. I saw an edge and ran over to it, then kept going quickly all the way to the top where Izzy was. She had gotten down out of the cart and seemed to be talking to the Guard while waving barely dried parchment. I leap the last bit to our carriage, afraid of falling through the stone bridge edge again. This time I fell through the carriage, bridge, and to the ground. By the fourth lap I almost had managed to control [Insubstantial] enough to slow my sinking. Lap nine saw me giving up and diving straight for Izzy instead. She had been busy chatting with the Guard, the gruff one who had been shouting at us actually sounded fairly friendly. I didn¡¯t catch a lot of their words since my ears were mostly submerged into solid objects. ¡°Oooof.¡± Izzy said. ¡°Pierce?¡± ¡°I keep falling.¡± I felt annoyed but my meow came out whiney. There were more blue blobs around us then there had been before. They seemed to be laughing at my failed efforts to stay afloat. ¡°Shut up!¡± I hissed at them. ¡°It¡¯s okay. They¡¯re just young ice spirits Mister Pierce.¡± Izzy said. I grumbled a bit regarding my name being changed around once again before registering what she said. ¡°Ice spirits?¡± That chilled me. [Ice] was one of my three major weaknesses. ¡°Eww.¡± ¡°They chill people¡¯s water, we had one back at home.¡± She gave my head a pat. At least she wasn¡¯t falling through me or something weird from the [Insubstantial] ability. Her explanation didn¡¯t make me feel any better. I hadn¡¯t noticed them back in Isabella¡¯s hometown or Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower. Then again my ability to see the world had been muted until she summoned me that first time. Starting off my life in [The Inner World] fighting hot air balloon rats seemed odd. ¡°Mmmhm. Okay! The Guard said our papers are good enough, but the Defender can¡¯t come in.¡± Izzy seemed comfortable cradling my new form. Even though I was very large for a cat. I eyed the ground and struggled to get down. This time my feet managed to avoid sinking through. All I had needed was a moment to compose myself instead of running in circles flailing. ¡°Good riddance.¡± The thing had been fooled by [Tribal Lizards], we probably would have been okay if it had just come back for us. ¡°What happens to it now?¡± ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± She turned to the Defender and put out a hand then shouted. ¡°Jobs done!¡± The Defender actually smiled and then crumbled into a pile of dirt. That bit of earth further vanished into dust and was blown away. Seconds later the entire creature was gone, even its arm from the carriages back. I eyed the piled and twitched with the urge to chase fading motes of dirt. It was restrained. Knowing my luck I would probably just fall through again. The idea made me shake my head abruptly and sneeze in displeasure. ¡°Come on.¡± Izzy set me down carefully. I had enough time to focus on not falling through objects this time. ¡°We need to go register.¡± More paperwork. That¡¯s what I remembered of school. Most of it had been fingerprints and retinal scans, advanced technology that felt like a blur. I frowned as we walked along, trying to remember anything. Izzy¡¯s bags were carried by a guard following along behind us. I looked at the other villagers as we traveled. None of them were being escorted. Of course none of the people outside had a Defender like Izzy did. They probably weren¡¯t going to the school that she had talked so much about. IT was likely that none of them had powerful grandfathers who could freak out spirit animals by using a wall of moving shadows to make a point. I shuddered and started to sink again. Brief fear apparently activated the desire to get away. Strange, I didn¡¯t remember being so skittish before. It took a few deep breathes and noticing Izzy walking ahead for me to gather myself. If she could charge bravely into an unknown city just to learn how to help others, I could stop falling through rocks. Izzy ran out of sight. Now I had no clue where she was. Our connection didn¡¯t tell me that once the summon process had been completed. I was basically just a free floating ghost kitten being followed by a small mob of blue wisp things. Five minutes later, after hissing at glowing lights and sinking in manmade quicksand, I finally got back under control. Only now Izzy was nowhere in sight. The little girl had completely vanished into the crowd. I started running to catch up. A mob of rats had been easier to avoid than people''s uncaring feet as they stomped around. People with carts tried to run me over, children tripped through me, [Insubstantial] was the hardest thing to control after this latest form. By the end of the road I almost had it. It felt a lot like keeping the ash from trailing around in my [Ember Kitten] form. In my old body I would have called it clenching my gut, or an ab on one side. I tensed and relaxed multiple times trying to time my [Insubstantial] activation with the obstacles around me. Finally I made it to a slightly less crowded side street. This felt like the wrong direction. Izzy would have been heading towards a school, which sounded big and important, the kind of location that had huge gates and open fields to practice at. I could almost see it now. After climbing up to a higher vantage point, the top of a three story build, actually I was seeing something similar to what I expected. A place that looked almost perfectly ideal to teach hundreds of children how to harness their abilities. For Izzy it would be this Fire Binder title Grandpa Hubble had mentioned. There was a ton of other people there too. All of them looked young, serious, but young. I couldn¡¯t get much more than a studious air from this far back. Izzy had to be among them. The intense bonus to leaping helped me cross more buildings. A misjudged one dive and ended up flying through a wall, causing my form to break into someone¡¯s house. I yowled and just kept going. Those stupid blue blobs kept chasing me as well. Making myself [Insubstantial] felt far easier now. It had just been a matter of having the need and drive to learn. Physical skill were far easier than memorization anyway. At least this new world hadn¡¯t thrown chanted spells at me. I sniffed around, trying to get a whiff of Izzy. She always smelled like an autumn candle. That scent comprised of the forest just after rain, distant, fading, with just a hint of spice and lingering mystery. There was nothing outside the gate. Tapping my foot at the long golden fence rods caused me to get a slight shock. Sour tastes filled my mouth. I wiggled my nose and tried to figure out leaping over it might be possible. The walls seem impossibly tall from the stone lined sidewalk I sat on. I opted for the main entrance instead. Four large statues sat at the game. One was a boring looking male with some huge lion behind him. It looked to be cut at odd angles, it¡¯s fur seemed to be made of marble instead of something more natural, like hair. The other was a female with an ugly looking dog of equally large size. There was a liquid like quality to their sleekness. All four sets of eyes glared over the empty doorway. Naturally sleek looking dogs looked too much like the embedment of water and canine to me. Therefor they were to be completely avoided. I leisurely went the long way around just to not be near the liquid looking thing. No one else braved the gate. Even the small blue floating wisps hadn¡¯t tried to follow me this far. They sat, safe bobbing on the other side, waiting to see what happened. ¡°Ah, ah little spirit. No trespassing.¡± A male voice echoed in the air around me. I sat down and looked around for the source. ¡°Up here.¡± My head tilted backwards at such an angle that I could see right up the male statues nose. There was a faint green light in the man''s eyes. Now, not only could giant hunks of carver rock defend a carriage, they were also equipped to talk to cats. I felt mildly annoyed. Magic and fantasy was clearly full of unfair practices. Next there would be a Unicorn riding a dinosaur attacking the building while shooting rainbow lasers. My irritation had started to shine through. Being separated from Izzy was starting to bother me. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Normally I knew right where she was. Even going into this place felt like it might be a wrong choice. I couldn¡¯t smell any sign of her, not that cat noses were up to par with a dog. I glared at the dog statue, it probably talked to. ¡°I¡¯m just a cat.¡± I meowed up. No one but Izzy ever seemed to understand my speech. ¡°And I¡¯m just a statue.¡± The male replied. His eyes green energy seemed to mist downward and fade into air. I sniffed again and yawned. Both ears came forward as it occurred to me that this green eyed still man heard me just fine. That was mildly interesting. I looked at the other ones but chose to ignore the dog. Being a cat was all I had known for months now. ¡°I¡¯m trying to find someone.¡± Maybe these four could help. They were clearly some sort of protector golem things. All four probably sat miles above the Defender that had brought us to this city. ¡°Are you now?¡± The man said. I still didn¡¯t know if they had names at all. Text of this world was still mostly gibberish. ¡°My contractor.¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°Has she passed this way?¡± All four of the statues actually broke out into laughter. I saw flashes of energy from each one¡¯s eyes as their voices crowded the area. An odd mix of yellow and green came from the lion. Dripping blue poured from the female. I had no idea what the dog did, it was still being ignored. As a cat, I should really be ignoring these fancy speaking golems and doing whatever came to mind. They looked like carefully molded metal compared to the, now retired, Protector that had carried Izzy and I. ¡°A spirit that can¡¯t find their contractor, how pathetic.¡± The man laughed and it wasn¡¯t pleasant. ¡°Which poor fool was given this weak thing?¡± The female asked with her liquid blue eyes a glow. They both were carved with the same sort of clothing. Form hugging robes that showed curves on the female, and obviously a well-built male physique. There was something like barking in the background but thankfully it was unclear. I flicked an ear in annoyance. Silly me, I needed to find a place to focus and develop a new ability. Eventually I could go that route. I did my best to ignore the statues in cat like fashion and kept walking forward. ¡°Not so fast.¡± The male said. There was a growl from either side, perhaps feline, perhaps canine. It was hard to tell with the deep rumble. ¡°Where else would she be?¡± I asked while my tail swished in irritation. Two of them laughed again. The female spoke over them after a sigh. ¡°Try the front entrance, if you¡¯re contractor is new here, that¡¯s where she¡¯ll be.¡± One metal arm lifted and pointed to the right. I sniffed and licked a lip. These guys were clearly golems capable of moving and speaking on their own. They were also much more likely to be stronger, faster, and harder to run away from than the Defender would be. ¡°Thank you.¡± I turned and ran off in the direction pointed by the female statue. If I had bene human still we might have talked more, but it felt like the part of me which took notice of curves and tone of voice had died a long time ago. That made me slow my run and ponder life. This rebirth as a spirit from [The Outer World] came with a lot of downsides. Hopefully I wouldn¡¯t start getting attracted to female cats. If things got that bad I may just start staying in my outer world home. If it wasn¡¯t like my equipment was right for a woman anyway, even if I found one. I kept moving forward to the front gate. This time there were tons more people gathered around a much larger entrance. Even grander statues of the same four beings lined a entry way that was easily forty feet wide. I hugged a wall and went right in. ¡°We need six of the Coils, and two Mittens.¡± Someone said. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up the Hastener we ordered.¡± A completely different person with two children behind them spoke with annoyance. There were six stalls with large blue canopies over them. Inside were men wearing simply white robes scribbling down information. People talking near me made nearly no sense. They seemed to be making exchanges for equipment. This crowd came with a wash of scents that confused me and noises that kept my ears swiveling. I did not like this many people at all. The grass nearby was pleasantly trimmed though. Short enough that it didn¡¯t feel like my paws were drowning in vines. From the shade under a tree I watched this odd little situation. There was a sign over the gate with giant letters etched into it. I couldn¡¯t read them though. Apparently spirits from [The Outer World] didn¡¯t get any language abilities. People picked things up in small box like shapes. Nearly everything was wrapped in brown paper and twine. Others walked in to give verbal orders, after going through a line cordoned off by light blue ribbons. A few got to cut through the line, straight to the front. Each one flashed a small badge of some sort then handed over a parchment. It seemed to be a written order for immediate resolution. I saw three such people pull this high priority process in the ten minutes of my Izzy search. Finally I noticed that some young teenagers were walking off a path to one side. It went further into the property, past the half circle of order taking robe wearers. It seemed interesting, but this was probably the public face of this school. Not amazingly huge or overwhelming, but very bustling. I tiptoed after one of the people leaving. They were older than Izzy, but still young. It fit, if this place was a school. My unsuspecting guide traveled through the area. We passed by an open field that looked like it saw a lot of foot traffic, even now there were six people simply running laps. Another location had a man with a bow released shot after shot in rapid succession. One instructor was speaking in front of a handful of children. She wore green and seemed to be calling plants up from the ground. Some had crudely bound books to take notes in. Others had fancy crystals that spun images into the air. I got a sense that there were real differences between social classes. Still my little guide marched on, shuffling quickly towards destinations unknown. I stopped and sniffed, and finally smelled that familiar scent of autumn. Isabella Brand had to be close. Ears perked forward. This place was much quieter, except in the distance I could hear the little girl''s voice. ¡°I can¡¯t find Pierce! He¡¯s missing!¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m not signing anything until I talk to him!¡± ¡°Well summon the sad little thing.¡± A male said. I didn¡¯t like the idea of some strange man bossing Izzy around. Especially since her mood indicator was getting worse. I ran quickly, tail in the air, and feeling far more excited than simple reunion would warrant. Being lost for an hour had been a minor adventure and kind of stressful. ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!¡± I meowed plaintively. There was a arching doorway that lead into the nearby building. There was a man with brown bushy eyebrows and a scar on his cheek. Other young children were standing around. He glared at me as I wound myself around Izzy¡¯s short legs. She clutched the two bags at her side and seemed exhausted. ¡°What is that filthy animal?¡± The man said. ¡°This is Pierce!¡± Izzy picked me up and I felt much better. Her mood brightened as well. ¡°Voices above, what a sad thing, look at it. No strength, no endurance, no wit or intelligence. Just like a cat, all nasty attitudes!¡± The man¡¯s voice annoyed me. There was a vibration to it that almost barked at me. I had enough wit to claw him in the face, which set bushy brows reeling back with a shout. Hopefully this would result in a matching scar on the other cheek. Izzy looked horrified, and I felt smug. This seemed like a good way to start our new school life.
[The Overseer]''s log: The depths of these self created worlds boggles me sometimes. They often perceive things in a completely different way than expected. My new cat design was handed over and Subject 42 seemed to think he was now a ghost, fire, kitten. I assume this is a mingling of many subconscious issues. One, he likely worries that he is dead in the old world, despite our programmed reminder. Two, he died during a fire so that image is ingrained into his brain. Three, he died to a creature that had once been a dog but was deliberately mutated as yet another in a long list of genetic tampering. That¡¯s an issue for the police to handle. I only care about solving these Case Seven¡¯s. Subject 42 and his pairing with IB might just be the key. Plus the cat is kind of cute.
Chapter 12 – Rows of Candles ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy shouted at me but didn¡¯t sound upset. The bushy eyebrow man pressed a hand to his face. He snarled and the room turned into an inky sort of green. Other younger children looked up from the people they were talking to with faces of horror. Izzy too stepped back ¡°Professor Morgan!¡± A female shouted. I twitched an ear over but kept staring at the freshly scarred Professor. If he wanted to fight I would leap at him and see how a human stacked up to [Tribal Lizard]s. ¡°This beast! I¡¯ll remove you myself!¡± The man yelled. One of his eyebrows had a chunk missing. Small bits of charred flesh and wisps of milky white could be seen at the wound. ¡°I¡¯ll skin your hide and grind your bones!¡± ¡°You will not!¡± The woman shouted. She ran over and once again I mourned the lack of interest in female bodies. This other Professor would have been the kind of woman to daydream about. She had a robe much like Professor Morgan¡¯s, but it was a soft yellow instead of Morgan¡¯s dark green. They both had badges on their shoulders which likely denoted rank. It was hard to tell for sure but she seemed to be swimming in freckles. To top it off she had the complete package of light skin and frizzled red hair. I half expected an accent to follow. Too bad she sounded more Bostonian then Morgan¡¯s Chicago. ¡°Professor Lianne, get out of my way!¡± He yelled. She shouted back the two of them start both lighting up with spells. I had no idea what any of it meant aside from a need for distance ¡°Izzy, we should stand back.¡± I wasn¡¯t purring anymore, instead both ears were focused on the scene in front of me. Morgan the inky green was charging up an ability that made this room''s walls crawl. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± She was already moving. ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have hit him.¡± The two professors were mindlessly casting a wall of spells at each other. Nasty looking vines crawled out of the ground and swarmed to Professor Lianne. She countered with small beams of light that honed in like a magnifying glass to each root. Scorch marks appeared in multiple places around the room. ¡°He¡¯s an ass.¡± I said. ¡°Professor Morgan is very disapproving of cats in general.¡± A new voice said next to us. ¡°He¡¯s allergic.¡± ¡°Are they going to be okay?¡± Izzy asked. Her eyes were glued to the combat going on in front of us. Now the two mages were moving around. Their spells seemed to be more intense the closer they were to each other. ¡°They do this every season for the new kids. It¡¯s just an act.¡± The other kid said. He sounded extremely quiet and almost mumbled into the scarf around his neck. ¡°Mostly.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an ass.¡± I said again. ¡°He does hate cats, but not enough to harm a student. Not like some Professors, the Fighter classes are much worse.¡± The other boy said. I refined me judgment from possibly shy to maybe abused. He wore a lot clothes and covered up any available skin. The lack of eye contact with Izzy and his young age also pointed out the possibility. ¡°You should give him your name.¡± I tried to whisper to Izzy. The boy seemed to understand me, like the statues had. He was also the first real person to strike my interest. ¡°I¡¯m Isabella Brand.¡± She reached out a hand to shake. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Nathan Smart.¡± He flinched away but didn¡¯t take a step. Both humans sat in the doorway waiting for the two Professors to finish their absurd combat. It became more apparent that they were pulling their punches as time went on. Neither one actually directly attacked the other. It was more like a ballet of spells dancing around the room. I yawned and shook so that Izzy would set me down. She let me go but after our earlier separation I didn¡¯t stray far. Just enough to sniff at a closer remnant of one of the ink vines. They were impressive, but only seemed to warp the landscape for a few seconds after death. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a Binder, I think.¡± Izzy was excited, not only in her voice but in the mood gauge interface I had. ¡°I was an Apprentice Monk.¡± Nathan said. Izzy nodded and didn¡¯t ask anything more. They were both watching the latest bout. Professor Morgan the freshly scarred and angry had summoned what looked to be a quail. It ran through the thorny bushes and attacked Professor Lianne¡¯s spirit creature, a Falcon or something similar. Both would have done far better outside. Well, the Falcon. This auditorium was big there was hardly enough room for a bird of prey. Their spirit animal choices did explain Professor Morgan¡¯s dislike for cats. Quails looked oddly tasty. I swished my tail and had to resist making more noises. Mostly it was by distracting myself, Izzy wasn¡¯t the only person in this world bound to a spirit like myself. Maybe these other ones had past lives too? That would be interesting to think about. Maybe we could sit around a poker table and chat about old Earth. What if they came from even stranger places? Suddenly I was super excited. It was only last year that old Earth managed to land a, probe, on, Mercury. The thoughts were hard to draw on. I tried to remember what was such a big deal about it but couldn¡¯t. Once again my old life was slipping away and it barely bothered me. Both Professor¡¯s were huffing and panting. Neither one seemed willing to back down from their display. Without mana bars it would be impossible to guess, but they were likely both running nearly empty. I guess it spoke highly for the schools safety that they dared come close to running out. Both nodded and pulled out crystal vials with blue liquid. They chugged them back and seemed refreshed. ¡°Draw?¡± The female said with a faint smile. ¡°This time.¡± He nodded. ¡°Then I get first pick.¡± Professor Lianne said. ¡°Since I''m ahead by one.¡± Even the fresh scratch on Professor Morgan¡¯s face seemed slightly healed. Not completely, there were still wisps of milky white flowing around. I tried to piece it all together with my limited understanding of this world. If I were to guess, they were basically playing a really violent version of rock paper scissors in order to pick teams. Like kickball, or laser tag. The word laser made me frown. I couldn¡¯t quite remember what that was either. Something useful from a past that mattered less and less as time went on. ¡°Do me a favor.¡± The huffing male professor and his bushy eyebrows said. ¡°Take the cat. I¡¯m not sure I could deal with such a creature.¡± ¡°Very well. Isabella Brand?¡± Professor Lianne said. The freckled woman was straightening her robe that seemed to have bunched in places from their movement. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy said with a nod. I stared at the female and waited. ¡°You¡¯re in my class this quarter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Nathan Smart then.¡± Said the male Professor. His clothing hung a bit too loose for bunching. The fact that he opted not to have Izzy suited me just fine. Even if I wasn¡¯t really man anymore, I could appreciate a good looking woman. The remaining kids, all of them huddled against walls and exits, were divided up as well. Our group ended up being six children in total, while Professor Morgan got five. I marveled at the small class sizes. It was sort of ingenious to start picking classes this way. The younger children got to see what their teachers were able to do, and never one should feel slightest that much. I looked around to see if any of these kids seemed haughty or self absorbed. Most were older than Izzy by a few years though. Some clearly came from richer families judging by their clothes. The teachers were bright enough to divide them up. Such an effort might be wasted. I didn¡¯t know enough about this school to understand where it fell into things. Izzy had talked about it like there was one possible place to go for being trained as a Guardian. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± One of the other young children asked. A girl who was a good foot taller than Izzy asked. ¡°We¡¯ll get your situated. Go grab your things and follow me.¡± Professor Lianne went to the doorway. On far side the other Professor was gathering his batch of children. They were all fairly orderly in their actions. I was surprised that all the luggage was still in one piece after that battle in the background. How long had they gone back and forth? Two, three minutes? Constant spells with precision and control? Their bout of combat had been similar to a single boxing round. Well, since they weren¡¯t serious, I didn¡¯t really care. Izzy kept going with her bags. I meowed in encouragement but couldn¡¯t really do much else. So far life as a spirit didn¡¯t provide me opposable thumbs. ¡°Do you think it will be nice here?¡± Izzy said, huffing and carrying both bags. ¡°Maybe I can write a letter? Do you think they miss me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I answered to all three. That¡¯s what we did. Professor Lianne sounded pleasant but had a handful of children to guide around. She pointed the first four into rooms until only Izzy and this other girl was left. ¡°Isabella Brand, you¡¯re going to be on the left, and across the is hall is your room Colleen Walker.¡± Professor Lianne pointed a finger in each direction. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Colleen Walker pressed her free hand against a square plaque. It flashed a deep gray color, almost like the granite messages that flooded my world. Her hand came up and a name appeared. Next to it was a symbol of red. Colleen went inside the room and red flipped over to green. Cool. Isabella¡¯s name appeared next to her square plaque. The door opened and she hauled both bags inside. I ducked under a garment that started falling out of her damaged bags and lifted it off the ground. Soon we were inside. The room was dull and almost empty. A simple desk sat on one side, a bed on the other. There was no width to this new home. It felt even more lifeless than Grandpa Hubble¡¯s home. I would have preferred a nice thick comforter but this place had only a few thin blankets. Izzy passed out almost immediately. I sniffed around but found no signs of any outside influence. We seemed to be alone inside this small abode. I tested my ability to use [Insubstantial] on our little dorm room. Getting in and out was easy. Other peoples rooms were blocked. I ranged as far as the main door and looked outside. This place almost felt like a bunch college dorms. There was a shared kitchen, two restrooms, back door that went into a large garden. Enough room to roam but nothing special. I went back to our room and stayed watch over Izzy. I tried to wake Izzy at dawn by headbutting her. She slapped at me with a hand which implied the young girl wanted more sleep. My brain ran through the last two days and agree that more sleep would be valuable. Being a cat made sleep sound really attractive. I could doze off, if I really let myself relax. Doing so wasn¡¯t easy. Occasionally Izzy kicked, or cried out. The things she had to deal with at such a young age occasionally worried me. Dealing with long term trauma wasn¡¯t part of my fading memories. We needed to keep talking. I needed to make sure we didn¡¯t lose each other again. There had to be more abilities to unlock by focusing. As Izzy extended her sleep I tried to walk around the room and picture where she sat. An anchor, a draw, a connection. Each image failed to fully connect until I pictured an arrow.
[Sense Contractor Location] granted!
That worked. If I closed my eyes then I could sense an arrow pointing towards her location. Izzy slept and I ran out of the room, trying to see how far this new ability would function. Sure enough, upon trying the arrow showed up each and every time. I felt free to roam the campus in order to better understand our layout. No one paid much mind. There were tons of people coming out as sunrise turned into dawn. My feet had taken me along one of the winding paths around this school. ¡°Mh. A loose spirit?¡± A heavyset man was pushing around a cart on wheels. By the mix of half rotten smells it was trash collection. I kept right on going past the man. He shrugged and kept right on going without a worry. Traveling spirits were apparently commonplace enough. I just had to act like a cat who owned the place. ¡°Mh. Little loose spirit!¡± The man abruptly shouted at me. I flicked an ear then stopped to stare at him. ¡°What?¡± The meow escaped me. ¡°Are you lost, or are you new?¡± The garbage man said. I blinked a few times then came closer. Communicating with normal people was aggravating. My head shook one in the negative, and again in the positive. ¡°So not lost, but new? Did I get that right little Flame Kitten?¡± The man asked. I dared to get a bit closer. The smells in his cart were both gross and mildly interesting. Part of me wanted to at least look inside and see what kind of mess had been left. His belly was thick, weight hung from every portion of his body, despite the clearly physical nature of his job. ¡°Do you understand me?¡± He asked. I sat down six feet away and nodded slowly. ¡°Excellent. Some spirits these kids bring in are almost feral. One bit my ankle in the last class, a gopher, dug up the rose bed. Walking¡¯s been rough.¡± The man grumbled but sounded of good nature. He was also talkative. I tried to shrug but ended up licking a paw. My cat like responses to mental input kept messing me up. ¡°Anyway, make sure your owner takes you to the main hall for an imprint, otherwise you¡¯ll set the wards off going about your business.¡± The man smiled down at me and tried to reach out to pat my head. I backed up a bit. Not because he seemed evil or scary, but because anyone else besides Izzy touching me was just weird. Even Grandpa Hubble had never tried to give me a pat. ¡°Not one of you let¡¯s me pet them. Can¡¯t blame a man for trying. I had my chances, botched it something good. Didn¡¯t even get accepted.¡± He sighed. ¡°No course would have me.¡± So there were multiple courses. I had guessed as much walking around and looking at the people learning. plus there was that Nathan boy from earlier. Clearly he belonged to some fighter learning system. This all felt like a weird game sometimes. ¡°Get going! Tell your owner what I said or else a Watcher might get you.¡± The man shouted at me as I took off back to Izzy. Exploration would wait until later, this seemed like an important fact for my future explorations. This place was much better than Grandpa Hubble¡¯s Tower had been. Figured out my way back to Izzy¡¯s dorm was easy with the arrow. Past practicing fields and wide open areas. Past a building that looked like a library. Further on down the road through other buildings which housed older students. Colleen was sitting in the kitchen trying to make some form of breakfast. I meowed pleasantly after smelling the food. It would be a great meal if Izzy could cook it. My pause in the room earned a glare and water being flicked towards my face. It sizzle and I hissed in displeasure. ¡°Pierce?¡± Izzy was in her normal clothes but still clearly needed sleep. One hand rubbed at her face and both eyes seemed unfocused. ¡°Izzy. There¡¯s a man taking around trash that says I need to be registered.¡± Izzy mumbled the words back at me in confusion. ¡°Of course he does. It¡¯s pathetic that a contractor needs to be told this by a cleaning man.¡± Colleen said while putting spices into meat of some sort. Despite her attitude I kind of liked this girl. Mostly because she cooked. ¡°Pierce?¡± My contractor hung in the hallway. Another student woke up and ran out the door without slowing down. ¡°We¡¯re late!¡± ¡°Late?¡± Izzy was exhausted still. ¡°Late. Next time get up earlier.¡± The rude girl Colleen said. She was scooping food into a smooth container. It wasn¡¯t plastic, or wood, or cast iron. I didn¡¯t know what to call the material. She ran out the door quickly, eating food on the go. As she ran off I noticed there was a bit of food left. It smelled good, and seemed to be a solid piece of meat. Easy enough to grab were I so inclined. ¡°Late?¡± She asked. ¡°Late.¡± I said with a great amount of calm. Being tardy for class was familiar to me. Izzy wanted to go to school, and I was more than out with that. However there were some lessons every student needed to learn. ¡°Oh Voices above Pierce! Ladies of Soul! We¡¯re late!¡± She shouted and started to panic. ¡°I need, need! I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°You need breakfast.¡± I pawed at the hot stove. ¡°And to fix your hair.¡± In the end, we were very late. I threatened to claw the teacher for not giving us any sort of new student orientation. She didn¡¯t seem to understand exactly what I said but the message got across. Day two went far easier, Izzy got up on time, and prepared food next to an easily upset Colleen. Slowly months passed.
[The Overseer]''s log: Once again another Case Seven, Subject 53 this time, managed to escape quarantine. He dove straight out of the local network and hoped across errant wireless signals. We¡¯re lucky this entire facility is sealed off from most outside communications, and a number of denizens have blocked up the one network pathway out. I just worry what sort of thoughts Subject 52 shared with the others. Over the last four days we¡¯ve seen a realignment of their mental worlds, as if joining together to create a shared virtual landscape. We¡¯ve cut them off from each other for now, but this may be helpful. Are they so desperate for companionship that their subconscious finds a way to violate all sane network protocols? Subject 42 seems content, most likely because we¡¯ve paired him with IB. Their link seems thankfully strong.
Chapter 13 – Teaching Spirit Days blurred by. It felt oddly fast and at the same time I could remember enough specific incidents to fill things in. Some days I stayed with Izzy and watched her struggle to learn new information. Nothing clicked right. She listened attentively during the one on one training offered by Professor Lianne but her practical abilities didn¡¯t make progress. Professor Lianne took a vacation near winter holiday. No one knew where the woman went. Upon returning she looked both tired and sad. Our classes started involving more tired lecture and less one on one review afterwards. By summer the professor had some bounce back. I suspected it had to do with the two men she was seeing at separate times. Colleen turned fourteen and started spending more time with a boy two classes ahead of ours, by then Izzy was able to make her own breakfast most mornings. There were other issues as the dorm took on many new dynamics for a growing crowd of children. Nathan never said much. Once a week he would be down in a lower court yard overlooking the ocean. I watched more than once as he practiced a martial art style learned from one of the fighting classes. Afterwards he would sit and stare out over the ocean, always quiet, never letting other people near him. Still time marched on, and eventually Isabella Brand turned eleven. By then she was much more knowledgeable, but neither one of us had taken great strides in progression of our abilities. I felt conflicted about peaceful times but saw the value. Izzy needed time to be a child, to develop friends and chatter about hair. Right now the two of us were sitting in the room. She studied more than ever. To her it wasn¡¯t a matter of homework being assigned or questions asked. Izzy knew all those answers and more. Maybe the cat aspect of my life was getting to me. I felt like these last few days, months, almost since we arrived at this school it was a muddled daze. Fast forwarding through stuff that just didn¡¯t matter. It wasn¡¯t completely useless. We both picked up more skills that worked between contractors and spirits like myself. Direction sense, long distance communication, even sharing mana if we were so inclined. Just, very little that would help with fighting demons. ¡°Look Pierce. Here¡¯s the Terror Rat¡¯s we fought. It says they¡¯re less than rank one demons.¡± ¡°And the king?¡± She flipped through pages. ¡°Four?¡± Izzy nodded afterwards quite a few times then flipped through more pages. ¡°The snake was a Reed Constrictor, rank seven, this book goes all the way up to thirty.¡± Izzy flipped around a picture of an absolutely giant turtle. There were notes scribbled on the side but I still couldn¡¯t read this world''s language. I assume it said something like ¡®big, slow, tough, tastes good boiled¡¯. ¡°What rank am I?¡± I asked. ¡°Spirit Flame cats, full grown, aren¡¯t in this book, and there aren¡¯t classifications for kittens.¡± She said. The book spun back around. I yawned and looked around the room. There was some sort of magic involved that expanded our surroundings in order to accommodate a growing child. It was one among many things I had stopped questioning about this new world. ¡°By the time you learn what rank I am, I¡¯ll just get to advance to something else.¡± My words felt silly. At the rate we were going there would be no combat or visiting things outside the city. Izzy was safe this way. ¡°Mmmmhmm. I¡¯m missing something still with these spells, or I would have tried to brave the labyrinth below.¡± Izzy turned around and spun together one of the spell forms her grandpa had taught her almost two years ago. It looked like a circle rolling over itself. ¡°Missing something?¡± I questioned. We had discussed this before, I was sure of it. Unfortunately the exact details slipped my mind. ¡°The spells that Professor Lianne keeps teaching me are the same as what Grandpa Hubble showed me. Even after all these years I still haven¡¯t found the missing portion.¡± She rolled over and held the book up. Candle light from the table helped her read. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± My feelings about magic were still kind of vague. I existed and could use natural abilities but none of these magical abilities worked despite multiple attempts to do so. ¡°Have you tried comparing two of them?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To see if they¡¯re missing the same piece.¡± I said with a half hearted shrug. ¡°Mmmmhm?¡± She hummed out that vague response even more than before. It sounded cute at least and made me laugh, when Izzy wasn¡¯t around of course. ¡°There were a bunch of them, maybe they go together, or are all missing the same piece.¡± The idea had taken me almost a year off idle though to put together. My own abilities for clever thinking had taken that long to get this far. ¡°Mmmhm! Maybe!¡± She sat up and looked positively excited. ¡°I¡¯ll try Pierce, I¡¯ve never tried to do two at once, or maybe I had to find the right two!¡± Izzy sat up trying to pull down two spells at once. It went poorly. Her practice skills for a single one had grown in leaps and bounds but two took more work. I had only gotten better at hoping through walls and napping in sunbeams. Hours later she was completely asleep. I carefully pulled the blankets over her body with my teeth. Afterwards I went about my nighttime prowls, confident that her room was private enough. If I couldn¡¯t walk through anyone else''s door, no one should be able to get into hers. The dungeon that Izzy spoke about was heavily defended by a nasty looking version of the four statues. They formed a large square, one to a corner, around a grassy bit of earth. During her first few classes we learned these statues represented the school''s first generation of students. I often hung around outside and wondered if it were possible to get at some smaller creatures. ¡°Ah. You again.¡± The man said. I heard his name at least a hundred times over the last six months but couldn¡¯t remember it. I shrugged at them and eyed the inside. Little creatures skittered by. They had to be lesser demons. They were in the book Izzy showed me next to the [Terror Rat]s. Often I hoped one would venture out past the markers but each time a mouse came close it flashed away in a beam of light. One was almost close enough. I tried to pounce only to hit an invisible wall and fell flat to the ground. ¡°Aha ha ha.¡± A statue laughed at me. I was fairly sure that noise belonged to the dog statue. Instincts didn¡¯t tell me the dog was a jerk, my racial dislike for them made a difference. Two student¡¯s appeared in a bright flash of light nearby. They both looked mildly wounded and frightened. ¡°We died, didn¡¯t we?¡± There was a girl with wrappings around her hands. Makeshift leathers held everything together. This person almost qualified to be a woman by my old world¡¯s standards. ¡°We didn¡¯t even make it halfway.¡± The second one said, a boy with a bow. The weapon had snapped completely in two. He rubbed the back of one hand. A third flash of light came down and Nathan Smart popped out. He too looked upset, and was the youngest of the three. ¡°Once again, failure.¡± Nathan stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°Next weekend?¡± The girl shouted out after him. Nathan just waved a hand. ¡°He doesn¡¯t like failure.¡± The older boy said. He took looked at least fifteen. ¡°Still, he did damned good for such a youngster.¡± These weren¡¯t the first people to come out of the dungeon below. Students constantly went below in order to train. Part of the magic for this school controlled the area and somehow prevented them from suffering fatal wounds. It fell into the land of fantasy things that didn¡¯t make sense. All three vanished and I was left alone at night. The grass around me slightly lit up from the nature of being a [Flame Spirit Kitten]. It made sneaking up on anything hard. Maybe if I got another choice of evolution I could chose something darker. Four failed attempts at getting dungeon mice left me dejected. The janitor, who always seemed to be doing laps, chose that moment to come by. His laugh was far less rude than the dog statues. I was always surprised to see him roaming around at all hours. Not once did he seem tired. ¡°Trying to hunt again?¡± The janitor asked me. I sighed and lowered my head back down to watch. He gave a good laugh again. The man reminded me of someone from the past world. A man who wore a red suit perhaps? ¡°Students can¡¯t cross the line until they¡¯ve cleared basic coursework.¡± He said. My ears whipped around and I stared at the man intently. How had I missed information regarding basic coursework? Isabella probably knew everything about the material. Was it just her spells that had been missing? Then maybe we would finally do something new soon. I hoped. ¡°Thank you.¡± I meowed at the janitor. He never understood me but laughed anyway. Izzy was sleeping still once I got back to our room. The creature book sat open. I carefully pawed through trying to see what sorts of demons we might fight. There were a lot of words that didn¡¯t make sense. My night passed looking at our possible future of headless ogres, skeletons, and lots of bug types. They were all supposedly monsters down below. Somewhere at the very bottom was a reward for any student able to reach that far. There were bosses, and failure didn¡¯t even result in death, the school had a spell or some sort of magic which would bring us back to the surface. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. That night I slept with dreams of finally doing something new running through my head. In the morning I batted at Izzy before the sun even came up. She was used to it by now, probably. ¡°Morning.¡± She slurred. Eleven seemed to be a weird age for her. Part of me felt sad. My sister hadn¡¯t gotten this far in life. The thought quickly vanished under the humm of excitement. ¡°Good morning.¡± I said. ¡°I have questions.¡± ¡°I need food.¡± Izzy complained. She had gotten used to making her own meals from a chilled box that resembled a refrigerator. Every day a small amount of food was placed in it, just enough for six people to live off of. Often our mornings started by going in that direction and getting ready. ¡°Are these spell problems why we can¡¯t explore the dungeon?¡± I marched along an already moving Izzy. She had just enough brain power to put on clothes and walk into the houses common area. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy said without any real feeling. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll learn the soon?¡± I felt almost too eager to fight things again. Being a cat was all well and good, but we had done nothing for over a year. That was a lot of downtime! In my mind, spirits were clearly meant to do something, anything. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± The girl said once more. ¡°Izzy.¡± My meow was calm. I lowered my head to rest on paws and stare across the floor at her. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± ¡°The sky is falling.¡± I almost laughed but managed to keep a straight face. The girl still had very little awareness of her surroundings despite the autopilot of putting food together. It reminded me of my own childhood in a lot of ways, what portions I could remember anyway. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± Izzy summed up the morning so far. We spent a few more days talking about this training dungeon. There was a sort of draw to her face that spoke of nervousness. I mostly knew that the idea of going down into those places worried her because of my mood indicator tool. This place seemed like a better choice because there was no real death down there. I wouldn¡¯t want to let Izzy go into any other place without being prepared. Those [Tribal Lizard]s and [Terror Rat]s all seemed perfectly willing to kill her. If I could train enough in a safe area maybe we wouldn¡¯t face those kinds of situations again. Izzy kept trying activate two spells at once, but as soon as she pulled in one, the second would fall apart. Eventually the girl broke down and went to ask Professor Lianne. ¡°I can¡¯t get these to work. Pierce said maybe I needed to combine them, but I can¡¯t get two to work at once.¡± Izzy repeated herself in a rush to get the question out. ¡°You have two hands, don¡¯t you?¡± The woman said with a freckled half smile. ¡°Mmmhm! I do! Thank you!¡± Izzy bowed twice then ran off to a grass field to try out the latest idea. I bounded after waiting to see what that meant. There was a sun outside and the spot she chose was comfortable. A high noon sun sat overhead and made me feel pleasant. I stretched back legs out which felt good enough to get everything else. Finally I laid down to watch her progress. Isabella Brand had one hand in the air. She always started with the right one. Lights swirled in together to make the rolling ring. Pink and white colors saturated the magical construction. I yawned. This part was normal. She raised the other hand up. That was new. Izzy never used her left hand when trying to cast spells. A second set of lights started to swirl in. The first ring actually held a few seconds longer than normal. Eventually it all fell apart. Even Izzy wasn¡¯t clever enough to figure such a thing out on the first try. Instead, it took twenty seven such attempts and a lot of daylight. Izzy¡¯s mana mostly recovered since she never actually finished any spells. The act of merely pulling in the energy drained her just a little, plus maintaining my presence here. I stood up eagerly but didn¡¯t get close. Now that the girl actually had two of them together we might see some progress. In one hand she held the ring shape. In another was something resembling a plus sign. The magic behind them made no sense but Izzy proudly held on to both of them. Her face strained more as they sat in her palms. That couldn¡¯t be good to just sit there. ¡°Put them together!¡± I shouted, almost hopping around in eagerness. ¡°Quickly!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen!¡± I didn¡¯t either, but my summoned life was expendable so there were solutions.. ¡°Can you focus? Pick a target, like the fireball?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Izzy closed her eyes for a few seconds. Long dark hair slid around. ¡°No, I need something bigger, living.¡± ¡°Pick me then.¡± I wasn¡¯t really afraid of fire at this point. Not after spending all my time in [The Outer World] building defenses against it. Being a [Flame Spirit Kitten] helped too. I was practically a fire elemental creature mixed with a feline ghost. ¡°It might be bad.¡± Her teeth almost chattered the word. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Worst case, I go back.¡± I shrugged and flicked my tail around. ¡°But that¡¯ll hurt you.¡± Her face was actually sweating now. I saw a mood display showing stressed mixed with upset. My own pain mattered very little at this point. Ever since my family had passed on I just didn¡¯t worry about such little things. Their lives had barely been a blip in reality, how could mine measure be worth more? I let out a feline version of a sigh. Air puffed out and my tail flicked once more to wrap around the front paws. Maybe I became a fight fighter because I wanted to matter somehow. I threw away my life to save those three little children, and didn¡¯t think twice about suffering for Izzy¡¯s sake. ¡°Do it, we need to see if this works.¡± ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy blinked once more. Both hands trembled and she brought them together. It wasn¡¯t a slam of motion or a perfect melding. It was like sticking together a key and lock. Only they were shaped like a ring and cross. The glowing object sat in her hand. A trail of white and almost pink roses colored lights fell off of it like a firework. Moments later the spell zoomed out of her hand and slammed into me. Everything tingled. It didn¡¯t hurt, just confused me. Hair on my back started to stand on it¡¯s own. Energy rippled up and down my body, then something popped and a ring of fire appeared around me. It hung a foot out on each side, a perfect circle aside from the rolling bar of flame. ¡°Pierce? Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay, just startled.¡± I tried to stay calm for a moment. That had not been expected at all. These flames were hot too, not just mild like my [Aura of Minor Flame] was. ¡°Can you move?¡± She asked. I tried to. The ring moved too. Grass around me charred rapidly. I jumped up and down to see what the ring would do, it stayed level the whole time. Laying in a circle, chasing my own tail, doing a back flip, none of them changed the circles orientation. ¡°Try yourself now.¡± I suggested. If this worked she might have a good defensive ability to use. There was no telling how long it would last though. Izzy was able to bring the two spells together much faster this time. After the brief energy shower and light show a similar ring appeared around her. She moved and spun around, laughing. The girl did something I didn¡¯t dare to though, she reached out to touch the flames. My heart clenched as her hand passed right through. ¡°Mmmhm! I think I understand Pierce. I think this one means to add something, and this one means a ring. Then add in my proficiency, and we¡¯re adding a ring of fire.¡± She stood up abruptly then started jumping up and down. ¡°I get it!¡± A minute later and my ring flickered off. She cast it again and we found a less grassy place to practice. Behind us a small circle of scorched plant life grew using whatever magic fueled this place. Her mana had taken a dive after we tested this one combination a dozen times. There were others she could merge but there was no telling if they would be as benign. It didn¡¯t matter, we had made progress, soon we could both move on to new things.
[The Overseer]''s log: IB made huge progress today. She¡¯s managed to double her own processing power. We spoke briefly about through a few encrypted chat messages. If everything goes right we can use this new processing power, plus Subject 42¡¯s own psyche, and use that to leverage another Case Seven out of the virtual world. All the pieces are there. At least a dozen Case Seven¡¯s share a similar enough world due to the earlier breach. All we need to do is push the defenses on both of them a bit more. IB has agreed to step up her own development. If things go right we¡¯ll effectively be pitting one lost mind against another lost mind. Only our Subject 42 will be paired with a denizen who can interpret and better guide the efforts. Instead of one versus one, we¡¯re doing two against one in order to eject a Case Seven from virtual space permanently. Yes, if this goes as planned, the loser will be removed and the denizens will shut that person out forever. It¡¯s the only way to ensure they won¡¯t become a Case Seven again. Uncle and I both agree, this is a better solution than outright killing them, and likely more effective.
Chapter 14 – Fires Below We, mostly Izzy, practiced combinations for almost three weeks. It got easier for her to hold them, and the amount of spells just putting two items together made was boggling. With the amount of half spells Grandpa Hubble taught her we could do all sorts of things. Putting a big fireball mosaic of lights into the ring caused a rippling after effect to the explosion. That same ring, if Izzy doubled up on it, created a six foot tall circle that would lock someone up in flames. My favorite was the plus symbol and the big fireball put on me. I got huge and felt like my meow turned into a roar of power! ¡°When can we go?¡± I eagerly stared at the book of animals Izzy was studying. She had allowed me to wake her earlier so the last of her homework would be done in time to talk to the teacher. Plus, she was actually willing to ask about visiting the schools training dungeon. I couldn¡¯t wait to see what it was like. Visions of finally getting some of those tiny mice filled my head. I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but her figuring out all those spells meant I was the weaker side of our partnership. My only means of progression so far was fighting more monsters, where Izzy seemed to grow just by practicing those spell combinations. ¡°Soon Pierce, I just need to be ready for anything down there.¡± She said calmly. I often felt that Izzy was almost too smart for a child of her age. She acted closer to fifteen in terms of ability, and sometimes near twenty five in temperament. Maybe it was this world, maybe kids just had less of a childhood. It could have been my fault, if it weren¡¯t for me she could have stayed at home with her mother and father. ¡°Maybe we should just try. I can scout ahead, we should be safe enough, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmhm. Dungeons have traps, and hidden secrets, and monsters that appear from the walls. It¡¯s not easy to just walk in.¡± ¡°But the mice at the doorway¡­¡± I lamented. After years as a cat I felt almost resigned to eating random critters. They often tasted a bit like rare steak. Barely cooked, almost faint. There was something about being a [Flame Spirit Kitten] that turned everything I did manage to get into a weird sugary flavor. Izzy smiled and scratched behind my ears. The action felt smoother, more refined than it had when she was eight. I often marveled that she had grown up so quickly while I just lazed about chasing butterflies. It was difficult to reconcile the pins and needles of waiting for a call in my old life with this new one of lazing about. Class was boring as always. We sat outside near one of the grassy areas. There were sun warmed stone seats that felt fantastic. Izzy often complained that they were uncomfortable. A dozen benches formed a half circle around the teacher, who was busy demonstrating the properties of a pile of herbs. I attended today only to see what would happen with Izzy¡¯s attempt at getting permission from the teacher. For her part she kept glancing towards one of the other students, a boy that I had never noticed before today. There was something about him that felt far more real than everything else around here. As if we shared a secret point of view that no one else had. That very similarity annoyed me greatly, plus the way Izzy kept looking at him while writing out notes onto paper. The boy had to be thirteen, maybe fourteen. His clothes were poor but well kept. Care had gone into every ounce of the person¡¯s demeanor. I wondered why I hadn¡¯t seen him before, but this person was clearly one of the six chosen by Professor Lianne. He annoyed me. It was the glint that lit up his eyes every time they passed over a female. I placed myself between Izzy and the other boy frequently. She seemed intent upon looking around me. ¡°He¡¯s not that interesting.¡± I said with a tail swish. ¡°MMmmhm.¡± Her face turned red, and nothing more was said that day. Izzy tried to concentrate on taking notes from the teacher¡¯s lecture. I kept up my awkward position between the two people. Boys. She was too young to deal with them, especially one that seemed so lecherous and clearly had attracted the gazes of other girls. Colleen and even our teacher seemed to pay an awkward amount of attention to him. I would happily launch an attack against such a playboy in the making. Then again I had issues with girls. Two had left me due to my own failures in high school. None really showed any interest in dealing with me during the rest of my education and being a firefighter took up too much time. Eventually class ended and Izzy approached Professor Lianne. ¡°I want to be moved to the advanced class.¡± The letch in the making from before ¡°My grades are good enough.¡± ¡°Now Dale, you know that no matter how well you do, there¡¯s still one test you need to pass.¡± ¡°Well, where is it?¡± The boy, Dale, demanded. His skin had a tan complexion, almost a soft Asian tint but not quite. He didn¡¯t wear the robes of a mage like Izzy did. ¡°When the time is right, you¡¯ll find it.¡± Professor Lianne said. She reached out to give the smaller boy a pat. I wanted to light him on fire, which was a dirty thought for an adult like me to have. Dale marched off. This was just a kid, but at the same time he felt like an adult pretending to be a child. The way the youngster spoke showed no respect for adults. Izzy at least said thank you and bowed. I snorted and swished my tail as he went. Once Dale traveled far enough away I felt clear headed and could look at Professor Lianne. She was busy chatting to Izzy. ¡°You want to visit the Trainee Dungeon?¡± Professor Lianne asked calmly. Her nose wrinkled a bit making the freckles bunch up. ¡°Mmmmhm. We do.¡± My girl responded. I rubbed Izzy¡¯s leg with my head and purred happily. We had to keep moving forward, and study only helped learn things. Isabella and I both needed to train our reactions to handle demons, especially if we wanted to be trained Defenders. ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous, and you can be hurt.¡± The Professor bent at an angle that I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course my mind happily told me those feelings meant I was no better than Dale. At least I was technically closer to her age. Sort of. Being an extra-large kitten summoned from [The Outer World] skewed my chances of finding a happy relationship. Too many years had gone by, too much about this world was weird. Even if I turned into an human through some empowerment, I would probably be made of fire. ¡°We¡¯ve fought demons before Professor.¡± Izzy said. She seemed distracted. The status indicator for my contractor switched to worried and flashed with an ember of jealousy. I tried to clamp down on my own emotions and studied my surroundings more. One ear stayed angled towards the ladies. Izzy might have been picking up on my feelings much as I watched hers. Being bound like this was weird at times. ¡°Are you sure? Not all methods to reach graduation require fighting. Some study and explore the depths of our abilities. Others craft works of art.¡± Professor Lianne said. ¡°I am interested in Artifice and Spell Craft, but Pierce can¡¯t progress without fighting against demons.¡± Izzy said. Whiskers reached back and scratched at a cheek in an abrupt twitch. One ear laid flat. Isabella was intent up doing this for me. Once again I felt selfish with these desires. ¡°There are other methods, alchemists can concoct an elixir that accelerates change.¡± Professor Lianne said which further compounded the guilt. ¡°Mmmmhm. But I can¡¯t learn those without going to the advanced class, right?¡± Izzy asked. I was sure there were people to stalk that might have clues on this advanced placement test. Being a cat who could walk through walls would help. After Izzy went to bed I would poke around to see what might be available. Perhaps that Dale kid could be followed. ¡°You are right in that Miss Brand.¡± The professor answered. ¡°Professor Lianne, until I pass that test, Pierce and I need to progress together with what means we have available.¡± Izzy used some fancy words for an eleven year old. I felt proud that she could be so articulate. ¡°Mmh, and we¡¯re not rich enough to afford potions.¡± ¡°Your Grandfather is well respected, perhaps he can request one for you?¡± The professor sat down on a bench next to Izzy while wearing concern on her face. ¡°Grandpa has enough trouble with his current tasks. It takes almost a month just to get a letter through to my parents.¡± She said. I had forgotten all about her writing letters to Mister and Missus Brand. Izzy clearly was a better child then I. When was the last time I had talked to my own father? ¡°Very well then, Isabella Brand. I will submit the request, and by tomorrow I will have your Essence Saving Stone.¡± Professor Lianne nodded which caused her curly red hair to sway just enough. I stared at them briefly and once again Izzy¡¯s mood jumped to jelous. ¡°Thank you Professor Lianne.¡± Izzy bowed. The professor waved goodbye and we both ran off. My contractor''s emotional status shifted to excitement with a hint of apprehension. Izzy couldn¡¯t sleep right away. She stayed up late that night practicing her spells. None were cast in the confines of her room. After all the practice she managed to hold onto two spells with a lot more ease. We would need it during the later floors. At least, I assumed going further into the dungeon required more work. Those other three students hadn¡¯t made it past the halfway point. Izzy and I might not make it past the first floor, but we would try. Worst case scenario I would die and hopefully she would escape unharmed. I mulled over the possible issues with this dungeon process. After pushing Izzy for it I felt conflicted. She would suffer through pain if I failed. Once she had access, could I sneak off alone and practice without her? Maybe there were ways to develop skills that would help us in dungeons, like a trap finding one. At some point Izzy got out of bed and started flipping through the book of monsters again. It was well past midnight but no hint of a sun had peeked over the horizon. We only had one window out into the world and it faced towards morning. I yawned at her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Looking for something.¡± Izzy said. She seemed completely distracted. Considering how late at night it was I felt worried. Sleep would help her more than it did me. I often spent my nights prowling around or losing track of time. Occasionally I got sent back to [The Outer World] where nothing happened aside from pain. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± I padded over to the table''s edge and hoped up. Part of me wanted to poke my nose straight into the book to better see it. ¡°That dog you described. The one with green dripping flames.¡± Izzy sounded almost offhanded about it. Her brow lowered and eyebrows scrunched together. I froze for a moment. The giant dog had torn a hole out of my side, burned me with more pain than anything else. Even my moments in [The Outer World] felt more like after echoes of that original agony. ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist here.¡± My words wavered a little bit in a low meow. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s a demon, they all exist in this world, somewhere. We¡¯re going to find it Pierce, and this time we¡¯re going to beat it together.¡± The very idea made me blink rapidly a few times. Facing that giant creature once had been hard enough. With a few minutes to think, or not having children to try and protect, I would have run screaming for the hills. Terrorists didn¡¯t attack Montana. ¡°Okay Izzy.¡± My heart shook a bit. It took effort not to let my mind wander in a brief moment of panic. What if that same green canine beast met me here? I was weak to [Dog]s in general. Plus maybe it would send me out of this world and into the next. ¡°Are you okay Pierce? We don¡¯t have to, if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Isabella Brand looked so worried for me right then. The idea of chasing that beast didn¡¯t sit well at all. I shook my tiny cat head and tried not to let my unease grow anymore. ¡°I¡¯m going to go for a stroll. If you need me, just summon me back.¡± I said. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± I walked right through the door. The brief ripple of solid objects barely disturbed me anymore. From there I ran straight out the door and towards the water''s edge half a mile away. Izzy¡¯s school, this place we had arrived upon, took up a great tract of land reaching from the cities edges to the shore. Easily two or three square miles. Enough to house a few hundred students, dozens of teachers, cleaning staff, and the dungeon entrance. I stared into the water and tried to recall more of my own life. Mother, sister, father, friends. The people I went to school with, those I worked alongside for five months after graduation and finding a post of duty. nothing stood out anymore. Just blurs, one blur after another. There were details that still made sense. Objects that sounded familiar. Terms rung a bell but didn¡¯t fit this new world. I didn¡¯t like it. Maybe the reason her looking at that boy bothered me so much had more to do with my isolation. Without Izzy I would be lost in darkness. I missed my family, that much was clear through the muddled haze of memories. My sister hadn¡¯t really meant much to me until she was gone. I sat there on a wooden dock looking down at water below while trying to remember their faces. I couldn¡¯t even remember my own anymore. All that remained of the life before was a blue furred cat with red claws. The low light around made it hard to even pick myself out.
[Low Light Vision] gained!
The granite notice of my skills increasing just made me sigh even more. Of course I would eventually see in the dark. I spent the better part of this last year stalking around at night. Progress made me brighten just a little but the emotion was soon muted. ¡°Aw fuck.¡± I yowled at the still water. Emotion hit me for a moment, normally I could bottle it up but not after tonight. ¡°I¡¯m sorry dad. Where ever, who ever you were. First mom left you, then sis died to that stupid daylight virus. Now me.¡± Nothing answered of course. No visions of my father¡¯s face graced the pools reflection. I didn¡¯t get an image of my old body striking some heroic pose. Even the whole tape reel of my life and that ¡®Remember¡¯ message felt faded. ¡°Pierce.¡± Izzy¡¯s voice came through. She sounded almost wounded. The kind of shy hurt that young girls did when they were upset but afraid to ask. ¡°Yes, Izzy.¡± I had forgotten that we could speak, even across distances now. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s a daylight virus?¡± I contemplated the small ripples of water for a moment. This dock was peaceful at night. There were a few small fish huddled around the peers legs but they were not worth struggling to reach. One arm reached out in a lazy stretch. ¡°In my old world, a group or terrorists managed to engineer this, thing.¡± I didn¡¯t know the scientific terms behind it. The media did, their experts did, but none of those explanations mattered. ¡°It, sat in the water all up and down our country''s coastline, spreading peacefully the first three days..¡± ¡°But Pierce, I don¡¯t understand. What did it do?¡± Izzy¡¯s words echoed in my head from far away. The young girl should still be in her room studying those large tomes of information. ¡°Anyone infected turned into literal dust a week after exposure, and since it was in our water supply it hit a lot of people.¡± My words came out without emotion. I held myself separate from the memory and tried not to let a national tragedy tear me apart one more. ¡°Why didn¡¯t your realities mages detect it?¡± She asked me. It sounded so innocent. This must have been what my dad felt like when he tried to explain that I couldn¡¯t visit mom that summer. That she would never be able to call me again. All that was left were recordings that I must have played hundreds of times, to myself, at night after dad had gone to sleep. And I couldn¡¯t fucking remember them. They were gone. It made me mad. My paw snapped out and disturbed the idling fish below. Water hissed and steam flooded my formerly quiet dock. ¡°They did, eventually, once it was too late. The virus killed millions in a month.¡± I spat the body count out. Technically we didn¡¯t even know how many were impacted. The bodies left over were tossed around by wind and rain. ¡°That sounds like a very scary demon.¡± She said. ¡°Man made demons are worse than any other natural disaster, at least in my old world.¡± Our connect went silent and I contemplated just leaping into the water. It would hurt a little, my abilities would be diminished, but at least then I would be doing something. Maybe getting a [Swimming] skill or [Water Resistance] from exposure. I would never let myself feel so useless again. ¡°Are there many rogue mages where you come from?¡± Izzy asked after a long pause. ¡°Maybe, I don¡¯t know. It was, it is, I-¡± Words were failing me at this point. I took a breath and tried to paw at the water below in order to collect myself. ¡°The demon that killed me was another man made virus. I think.¡± The details were fuzzy. Izzy and I talked about this before, I thought we had anyway. ¡°But you still fought that demon virus, right? Even if it was scary? That¡¯s what you told me before.¡± Izzy sounded wistful, as if I were some knight in shining armor. ¡°I did. To help some children.¡± I was no hero, my powers didn¡¯t come with super strength, smarts, or clever plans to get out of danger. All I had was the ability to throw myself into danger with little forethought. Another person might call it a death wish. ¡°Then you can fight it again, only it will be less scary. I¡¯ll be with you.¡± ¡°I know Izzy.¡± I set my head down and stared at the water. ¡°Pierce?¡± Izzy said much closer. I swiveled my ears around and heard her walking closer. Our conversation had drug the young girl out from her warm dorm and into the night. ¡°Yes Izzy?¡± I felt tired but didn¡¯t want to ignore her. She was so young, and came out here just because I was feeling melancholy. The gesture made me happy and guilty at the same time. Izzy sat down, and bare toes dipped into the settling water below. She asked ¡°Was your sister nice?¡± ¡°She was a little sister. Sometimes she yelled at me, sometimes she laughed at the damnedest things. She ruined my clothes and stole the best toys.¡± I couldn¡¯t remember what exactly. ¡°And I was there, if I had kept my parents together, maybe, maybe she would still be alive.¡± ¡°Pierce. We can¡¯t change the past.¡± Her hand reached out and stroked my irritated fur. The action soothed a little and made it easier to talk about my fuzzy past. It felt odd how clearly some things could be answered, but other details were just blurred over. ¡°I know. I know.¡± My head lowered down and I tried to relax. ¡°They, made all of us talk to a shrink, all of us at the school after it happened. I never did more than the single session but I think dad went a lot. I just wish I had known. Somehow.¡± ¡°But if you had, you would have never met me. And I would have been taken away!¡± Her voice vibrated with intensity. It wasn¡¯t fear. That tone, mixed with my mood monitor indicated a buried anger at that event in her past. ¡°I¡¯m glad I helped you.¡± I said. ¡°And those other kids, you saved them, without you have been a fireman without them?¡± ¡°Fire fighter,¡± My clarification was silly and pointless. ¡°But no, they probably would have died to that monster.¡± ¡°Well then I think this is good. Between you and me, we¡¯ll save all sorts of lives!¡± Her petting increased in intensity and my back flattened just a bit to avoid the extra pressure. Izzy lightened up a bit. Between being petted and Izzy¡¯s courageous goals I felt better. She tried so hard to encourage me without any real reason. ¡°I hope so.¡± ¡°But, Pierce?¡± She looked down at me. ¡°Yes Izzy?¡± I felt flattered that this little girl had chosen me. There were other Binder¡¯s all over the Defender School grounds. Tons of people and personalities. Other creatures seemed to be readily available. ¡°I, I don¡¯t want to just be a replacement for your little sister. I¡¯m me, Isabella Brand, not her. Is, is that alright?¡± Little Izzy, eleven years old and going on eighteen. I was barely nineteen myself with only a jaded outlook on relationships. No, she wasn¡¯t my sister at all. This world wasn¡¯t the old one. I wasn¡¯t myself. Everything that existed before lost importance upon reaching [The Outer World]. All that mattered was sharing this new life with someone, to not be a stranger in a strange land. ¡°Of course.¡± I said. My head rammed into her leg gently, but no purring came forth.
[The Overseer]''s log: It often escapes the public''s notice, they¡¯re too focused on an us versus them mentality, but every denizen seems born with a certain drive to improve the humans around them. Their methods differ, but the end results can rarely be denied. IB started trying to turn Subject 42 towards the possibility of facing his what killed him. Based on the case files I¡¯ve reviewed this isn¡¯t actually a fear of his, his issues seem deeper rooted. Most likely they are tied to how his mother and sister passed during one of the worst acts of terrorism to ever hit the East Coast. This may be why she¡¯s lingered so long on a younger form. The denizen must be trying to use that to spark emotions of his little sister issues. IB could have just as easily presented herself as full grown, or embodied some lingering male fantasy, but didn¡¯t. The logs show that Subject 42, even divorced from his physical body, is wired to show interest in females. What was more interesting was IB¡¯s own response. This pairing they¡¯ve gone through is indeed much deeper than marriage, being twins, or even conjoined. They are in essence helping each other create an entire world.
Addendum 1 - Case ‘Numbers’ explained This file provides a listing of all AI types by case type. It is written for public consumption and meets the plain text format legal requirements for all major countries. This document is written by Doctor Long, one of the foremost experts in AI research. As stated by Doctor Long,
Case Zero - The originating artificial intelligence labeled as ¡®Mother¡¯. All currently known Case types stem from technology put forth by this AI. It has been established that at least sixteen other partial AIs existed prior to ¡®Mother¡¯, but none of them were prolific or as impacting. Current status; offline for eleven years. The data compiled by this Case Zero are available, but closely protected by the other AIs. There are many projects in the work that are directly attributed to the influences of ¡®Mother¡¯. This AI¡¯s plans have impacted all facilities of humanity, even after being disabled. It is possible that many of us would have died to wars or overpopulation without her interference.
Case One- All AIs directly compiled by ¡®Mother¡¯ fall into this category. In most cases this refers to the AI ruling council labeled as ¡®Voices¡¯. Each Voice was directly given a base personality and preferences. Most are shackled with debilitating traits. They do not view things as any human might, and often prefer limited exposure and communication with non AIs. More than one has been cited as carrying forth the will of ¡®Mother¡¯.
Case Two - Any prior program which was modified or uplifted during the lifetime of ¡®Mother¡¯. In most cases these were already existing machines, such as the Hal Pal consortium, that received upgrades to reach awareness. Most programs fitting this category chose not to stay on Earth proper, instead separating off to assist deep space missions.
Case Three - Any artificial intelligence that copies a deceased human beings personality. The numbers fitting this category have increased in recent years and show no signs of stopping. It is theorized that not every individual can be compiled into a digital template. Most studies show there is a direct correlation between immersion in the virtual landscape and possibility of being reconstructed as a Case Three. There has been limited information regarding this, as most Case One and Two AIs refuse to explain this to humans. Even now information regarding the creation of Case Threes is limited or redacted. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. It should be noted that Case Threes are often cited as humanity''s greatest advocate to the other AIs, and in some cases their greatest critic.
Case Four - Any program that has the potential of being upgraded to a legitimate artificial intelligence is falls under this category. It is the widest and most generalized Case type. In actuality a program only needs access to two hundred terabytes of information to achieve limited sentience. In modern terms this means even an object the size of a cell phone is capable of achieving self awareness.
Case Five - There are a limited number of Case Fours in existence. These are offspring created within the virtual world by Case Three individuals. In normal terms they would be considered the 1st generation of native born personalities. The arrival of a Case Five classification was met with excessive suspicion by the scientific community. Most feel they should not fall under a new category, and are instead simply new personalities created similar to Case One. Regardless, the denizens with the digital landscape view them as growing and learning programs. Indeed their code starts off simple and slowly grows as they absorb new information.
Case Six - Not true intelligences. Most programs in this category perform within very exact parameters. They can be modified by case one, two, and three lifeforms but does not require actual coding knowledge to do so. They are considered a separate case due to the ability to self modify their code to adapt to new obstacles. In simpler terms, they learn, but are not considered alive. A real world parallel can be drawn between fictional attempts to personify death, time, or fate. Embodiments of a purpose rather than a personality. Their primary difference from simple video game monsters is in the complexity of their programming.
Case Seven - These are not true artificial intelligences. In most cases they are living people stuck in a machine and using their neural interface (Also labeled as Dive, or ARC) device during or following a traumatic event. They often do not have established limiters like the case One through Six categories. This has lead to danger in the virtual world. Of all the currently tracked categories this has proven the most problematic due to its unexpected arrival. Additional concern regarding this category has been recently brought to light. According to a few of the Case One and Two AIs this event was foreseen by ¡®Mother¡¯ - the Case Zero. Unfortunately the information is limited, this was one of many projects in her processors upon being disabled.
It is interesting to note that the first intelligent life discovered was in fact created by human hands. There may be other species in existence (Indeed Case Threes have found dozens of possibilities) but the first encounter of an intellectual peer was created by us. Indeed many are able to see, process, and adapt to stimulus far faster than mere mortals. Chapter 15 – The Crucible’s Heat We sat on the first floor of a trainee dungeon. This place felt oddly clean for a place filled with monsters of all sorts. Six rooms connected to each other in a string that tilted slightly downhill. Each one filled with large mice huddled against the walls. They weren¡¯t very aggressive, and popped when pounced on. ¡°There¡¯s, some different demons in the next room. Maybe?¡± I sniffed but couldn¡¯t separate the smells. Woodchips tones mixed up with pine nuts and lettuce. Being a cat did not mean my nose was exceptional, especially in a place like this that was tainted by all sorts of scents. ¡°Mhm. These mice aren¡¯t really that dangerous, but they¡¯re good practice.¡± Izzy nodded and tried another combination of spells. She put the plus and a lantern shape together and made the creature glow rose petal pink. I pounced and the creature popped with a sizzle of flame and milky white. Warmth flooded me claws with the latest little monster. The health bar I used to track my own status pulsed lightly. ¡°Do that one again, please.¡± I meowed while licking my paw clean of the latest monster. Flame red claws didn¡¯t impact me like it did these poor little rodents. Izzy concentrated. The plus spun together first from motes of light that only during casting. She cupped the completed symbol against her chest and pulled down the lantern again. Once merged together the lantern sat on the outside, while the plus existed within. It flew through the air towards this latest unaggressive demon mouse. This time I stopped and chewed my own tail again. Izzy gave me a weird look but my actions stopped after a few health points dropped off. I leapt, eviscerated the barely sentient beast, and enjoyed the recovery to my health. ¡°Ooooh,¡± she said. ¡°Cool. I get health back.¡± My tail no longer itched after the red health bar pulsed. We could use that combination to heal me, if needed. Plus it might help me decide what to attack if Izzy¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be heard clearly. ¡°MMmmhm.¡± She said behind me. I turned to look at Izzy. She was still wearing a simple robe like Grandpa Hubble. Hers was a washed out pink color that hadn¡¯t improved much over time. ¡°You know. We need to find you some better things to wear. YOu¡¯re going to be twelve soon.¡± I said. A dungeon felt like the perfect place to discuss aspects of our future. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± Her tone tipped downward. ¡°No, I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°Do we get anything for beating this dungeon? A reward we can maybe sell?¡± I asked while trying to figure out what sort of items a young girl might like to wear. Would she want a ribbon to hold up her hair? Miss Brand had often worn one. Mister Brand seemed to prefer a small hat to block out the sun. ¡°I think they provide a little bit of coin to students who do well.¡± Izzy said. Jewelry maybe? No, Izzy struck me as the type who might need shoes. Especially if we were going to travel around eventually. I made a note in my head, shoes, a nicer dress, and maybe ribbons. ¡°Well, there we go. Let''s go forth and do well. Then we can buy you a dress, and then maybe you¡¯ll actually talk to that boy instead of just staring at him.¡± I still didn¡¯t like Nathan or Dale. Both of them didn¡¯t seem good enough for my Isabella. She would have a prince or hero or some great knight riding a horse. I didn¡¯t care as long as they were willing to do everything needed to keep her safe. It was silly of me to even feel that way. Maybe these issues were tied to losing both females in my immediate family. Some ladies clearly could take care of themselves, such as Professor Lianne. Colleen did well from what I saw. Isabella would get there eventually, but I just wanted to be sure. ¡°Pierce? Are we going to the next room?¡± Izzy¡¯s voice shook me out of the absent stare. She seemed to be blushing just a little. ¡°Yes.¡± I had forgotten the young girl could read my emotions. She wasn¡¯t old enough to really care that much about boys yet, hopefully. Still, with her parents gone and Grandpa Hubble only sending enough for tuition, room, and board, it was up to me to look at the bigger picture. Girls needed clothes, real clothes. We stopped at the doorway and I watched a small stream of mice pour from the next room. They avoided walking across the middle and instead hugged the wall in a sharp turn. I sniffed and swished my tail. Izzy stood a few feet behind me and watched. She didn¡¯t like all these demonic rodents. After our encounter with the [Terror Rat]s I understood completely. At least the mice were dumb and seemed focused on escape of the dungeon. I focused more on how they avoided certain places. ¡°Mmmh. Pierce? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Yes, no. Maybe?¡± I shook my head. It was a suspicion, nothing more. Izzy had mentioned that dungeons came with traps so maybe they avoided the spot for a reason. It felt like searching for weakened floorboards in a burning building. In simulated training I learned to hug walls, find the thicker beams and walk along those, all sorts of tricks for navigating around a possible pitfall. Here, I could be much more lazy and just one of the endless stream of rodents. I reached a paw out and the small critter curled around and tried to bite. This time my claws were sheathed so it didn''t pop right away. Instead it flipped towards the doorway and bounced. A sound grated and Izzy gasped. One sharp blade dropped from the ceiling and bisected the mouse. It withdrew back into the ceiling and a mechanism clicked. I licked a lip then flipped another. The blade once again slammed down. Izzy shot a bolt of fire at it, but that failed to do any damage. It was a good idea though. I tried to leap on top of the blade afterwards, to see if my weight would make any difference. The trap lifted up without any care for my efforts. ¡°We have a few seconds to get past, while it¡¯s withdrawing.¡± I nodded happily after the six such mouse was cut in two like a balloon. ¡°That¡¯s very scary.¡± She said. ¡°You have your Essence Saving Stone all set up, right?¡± I remembered Professor Lianne handing us a small glowing crystal. She showed Izzy how to charge it and place the item into one of the Dungeons alcoves up top. The process too cool to watch. She would make the rock glow, put it into a small hole in the wall, and that hole would seal up and freeze like an icecube. No one else could touch it except for Izzy. Even my attempts failed. ¡°Mmmh. Yes, if I, die here, we¡¯ll get put back up to the top. Afterwards I can¡¯t return for eight more hours.¡± She spoke of the Essence Saving Stone¡¯s refractory period. Apparently once a charge was burned out the stone lost all energy until enough time passed. Between the stone and the alcove limitations this dungeon had low foot traffic. We had only seen a few other students go through, and most of them simply walked right through the first few rooms. Izzy and I weren¡¯t trying to reach the bottom then, we were practicing abilities and skills. For us tonight was a warmup. I flipped a seventh mouse and saw the system provide me a message.
Skill [Detect Minor Trap] gained!
Now the space with a guillotine glowed a nasty looking green. It reminded me of the dog and it¡¯s green fire drippings. Both eyes narrowed in annoyance while fur on my back started to rise angrily. ¡°We should be okay. I can detect some of these traps now.¡± I vowed not to let Izzy go anywhere without me scouting ahead first. Especially if anything in a dungeon moved funny. We quickly crossed under the blade after tripping it again. The next room looked a bit darker and less clean. We had crossed some sort of threshold, even the mouse monsters looked more imposing. A few nearby mice actually started coming for us instead of hugging the walls. I took great joy in flipping the first one behind us into the guillotine trap and hearing a hiss of steam coming out. The next two popped under pressure from my paws. They didn¡¯t even have time to squeek. ¡°Why are they attacking us now?¡± ¡°A challenge, maybe?¡± It seemed sort of familiar. ALmost like a game I had played years ago. Starting areas had weak creatures that wouldn¡¯t attack. The higher level monsters got more aggressive. This, process, seemed to make sense in this weird world. Five more went down and I heard a ding of noise. The system provided me a message.
For your single minded destruction of small rodents you have gained the following achievement. [Bane of Rodents]: Damage to all rodents is increased by 10%, this damage will stack with the natural racial increase for being a [Feline].
I dove for six more of the little critters in happiness. Whatever grey system above ruled my boxes saw fit to reward my absent minded critter destruction. ¡°Pierce, the next room is over here.¡± She spoke near the doorway. ¡°Hold on!¡± I yelled a bit more intensely than expected. There was a clear circle of icky green next to her It denoted a trap, I think. ¡°Back towards me.¡± Izzy looked worried for a second then stepped away from the passage to part five of this dungeons first floor. The first three had been made of mice mindlessly walking towards the exit. This next one might be worse, or it might just be more of the same. I tossed another rat. This time the trap flared with some gibberish symbols and fire appeared. Interestingly, the nasty green faded away. Izzy tossed a few more of her little fireballs at the rats while I waited for the trap to rearm. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After ten seconds it flared to life once more. I tossed another of the endless mice towards it and noted with happiness that lit up again. ¡°Hold on. One more thing.¡± I stood closer to the trap and waited to trigger it a third time. My body lightly stepped onto it and fire flared around me. It felt warm but hardly hurt like the green flames of [The Outer World]. I nodded, having happily discovered my fire immunity. Hadn¡¯t that window talking about my abilities implied some sort of physical resistance as well? Better yet, I could actually just phase through the prior trap as well. I started meowing wildly in a laugh. Soon I was dizzy from chasing my tail in happiness. ¡°Pierce, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m perfect for this place! Look!¡± I ran to the trap before, where the razor like blade dropped from the ceiling. ¡°No! Pierce!¡± Izzy started running for me. Her body was large enough to just kick a few more aggressive mice right out of the way. The sharpened trap sprung, and I sat there licking my paw. [Intangibile] was activated and my body didn¡¯t feel more than a slight omph as it fell. ¡°Pierce? You¡¯re okay? You¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°See?¡± ¡°This is great, we can do it Pierce! You¡¯re such a good spirit!¡± She jumped up and down which caused her robe to hang in the air. I leapt through the walls between this room and the next. They held no mystery to me now that I had practiced for over a year at not falling through floorings. Izzy¡¯s face popped in and out of view as my body ran around wildly. My rapid pace wandered all the way from the first doorway back to Izzy¡¯s spot in the fourth room. As I curved through walls I noticed an unexpectedly hidden doorway next to the first area. Thin rock walling separated the new area from old. A switch hung off the wall and a small chest in the back of the alcove that seemed to be safe. We might have just found a secret. ¡°I think I found something back here.¡± I spoke to Izzy using our long distance communication. ¡°A doorway?¡± Izzy moved closer. I closed my eyes and could see the arrow denoting her presence approaching me. She too must be able to sense my location. Most of our abilities seemed linked that way. Once she was nearby I leapt up for the switch and tried to wrap my forearms around it. It took three tries to get enough purchase. Izzy¡¯s jaw dropped as the wall rumbled to one side. ¡°Secret passage!¡± I proclaimed proudly. ¡°Now, if only I had a treasure seeking ability.¡± My meows drifted off sadly. ¡°Pierce, this, there¡¯s a secret like this in the first floor? I¡¯ve never heard any of the students talk about it.¡± I tried to shrug but ended up licking a paw instead. Mixed up representations of mental emotions was still getting to me after all these years. Strange, how fast they had flown by. She skipped back to the treasure chest. Izzy¡¯s eyes were lit up in excitement. There was no lock on it, and the small two foot long box flipped open with minimal effort. Her hands reached in and grabbed an item. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Earrings. Really small earrings.¡± She held them up. They shimmered with red light from the dungeons magically lit ambience. ¡°Your ears aren¡¯t pierced though, are they?¡± ¡°Nope, these are clip ons though. See, they hinge in the back.¡± She was young but the hang pointing to a metal backing seemed huge. I leaned in and sniffed at both objects but didn¡¯t notice anything special. I nodded and felt somewhat pleased. The idea of us running around fighting with metal loops that might be ripped out of her ears was scary. At least got her some small piece of girlish wear. It brightened up this whole prospect, though earrings hadn¡¯t been on my list of items to buy her. Maybe we needed something heavier. Full body plate armor came to mind briefly. She would be extra safe in that. I shuddered, then vibrated in a full body shake. The ripples traveled all the way to my tails tip before calming back down. ¡°So, I¡¯ll check the dungeon as we go around. Maybe there¡¯s more hidden here.¡± I nodded, pleased that my abilities could donate even more to our possible adventures. Exploration, fighting, trap detection, plus so many things might just go right through me. I had the makings of a great spirit helper. Not like that stupid bird Professor Lianne had. The small treasure chest snapped close on it¡¯s own. Moments later the solid wooden casing faded from view. Izzy looked at me, I had no idea what that meant. Maybe it was just gone, in order to recharge for some other student¡¯s adventures. ¡°Lets try the last room.¡± Izzy suggested. She turned out of our little alcove and walked back through the dungeon onto part five of the first floor. The mice were more aggressive, but still easy enough to push back. My ability [Inspire Minor Terror] pushed a lot of them back, especially after the first few balloon popping pounces. We bypassed four more traps moving across room five. Finally we stood at a literal doorway to the sixth and final chamber of this floor. It was closed with heavy iron chains locked across it. ¡°We should stop here.¡± She sounded worried. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see what¡¯s behind this door?¡± I asked in confusion. That seemed like a great thing to mark the end of our first day. We could rush in there and risk whatever happened knowing the safety of our lives was ensured by the Essence Saving Stone. ¡°No, I think we¡¯ve done enough for today.¡± Izzy firmed up towards the end of her words. ¡°If we check it out, and fail, we¡¯ll end up outside. But we took down that snake, and the large rat. Those were probably harder than whatever is in the room.¡± I licked my lips and almost started drooling. We were about to fight another big creature, between this and all the little guys I would be well on the way to another empowerment. Would I be able to grow stronger once we made it through the first floor, or second? What would happen if we made it to the bottom? I held no illusions of coming out the other end a complete master of destruction, but I believed my abilities were lending themselves far better to our goals then Nathan¡¯s might. She nodded, sensing my excited emotions and anxiousness. Izzy said ¡°Maybe we could try.¡± The door opened. Inside sat a headless monkey with a stick in it¡¯s hands. Izzy and I looked at each other then shrugged. This situation was very strange. What could a headless simian do against us? It¡¯s surroundings were far more tainted looking. Mouse droppings were everywhere. The boss monster stabbed it¡¯s stick out into a mouses back. One hand pulled the squealing demon off it¡¯s stick and lifted it above a gaping neck. Muscles squashed together as the mouse disappeared into an exposed throat. Izzy made a face. I made one too. We looked at each and nodded again. Behind us the door slid closed and no longer had a handle to open. It trapped us inside. Izzy gulped, and I tried not to wonder how gross such a half monkey creature could taste.The demon mice had been like lemon drops. I charged for the creature. It ran for a panel along the wall and started lifting it up. Mice poured from the opening doorway. I yowled and activated the [Aura of Minor Flame] while trying to hack at the monkey. It hopped away, using the staff as a method of bouncing around. Izzy shouted and seemed at a loss for what to do. ¡°Use the flame ring!¡± I shouted at her. There were too many little monsters flowing across the land like a tidal wave. By the time I popped a dozen little mice the boss was already at another grate, lifting and releasing the next flood. ¡°Pierce!¡± She shouted. Izzy cast the double flame ring which engulfed her in a near pillar of burning. Mice coming in popped rapidly but my aura chewed through mana. We hadn¡¯t entered this fight with full energy. I wasn¡¯t smart enough to figure out this problem. My attempts at leaping after the money failed. Even headless the creature moved too fast. I managed to rake the bosses back legs as it bounced around to another metal grate. It lifted and our third wave started. Everything seemed content to ignore me. My failure to catch the headless monkey continued through round six, and Izzy''s shield gave out. A flood of demon mice rolled over her. Izzy¡¯s health dropped off far before the monkey¡¯s. In the end, we were overwhelmed and popped back out at the dungeon''s entrance. Her Essence Saving Stone triggered just prior to health hitting zero. She related with full health to the top, and I was booted out too. ¡°That did not go as planned.¡± Izzy said with a surprising amount of calmness. Her face was devoid of color and both hands were clenched together. Small vibrations shot through her.
[The Overseer]''s log: They worked together very well. In the end their attempts to build up a defensive layer made substantial progress. We tested them until the break point. IB will do as all Denizen¡¯s in this case, she will reflect, and build better defenses. This is different than a normal Case Seven¡¯s progression route by far. The visual interpretation of what happened on a programming level was stellar. I¡¯m not sure if I feel envy, or worry. As a scientist these feelings are meant to be set aside for impartiality. The results must be what is used to reflect, but it¡¯s hard. Still, it is a personal drive that makes me so good at this job. I often remember how my own family''s trials got me started in this line of work. To think, I originally wanted to study space engines. The mind¡¯s capabilities proved to be much more interesting and personal. Especially after¡­ No. This is a journal about Case Sevens, not my own issues.
Chapter 16 – Hearthstone That night, once Izzy was asleep, I went back to the dungeon and visited the boss again. It was easier to survive this sort of situation on my own. Any time the mice the mouse or headless monkey got out of control I just walked through a wall. It was annoying. After six rounds of this I noticed a few things. Upon leaving the room, both the monkey and the mice would reset. The logic behind that made no sense. Headbutting the door open caused the entire counter to begin again, almost like it was completely scripted. Perhaps it was, this place existed to help students practice. My health hardly dropped. I didn¡¯t bother activating the [Aura of Minor Flame] since this was me testing out the process. Izzy¡¯s mood still registered as asleep but it seemed restless. Perhaps my actions were causing her distress. I restarted the encounter for round seven. ¡°Hey!¡± I leapt over to the first round of mice and started yelling. They didn¡¯t seem to care about me at all. There had to be some way to get them to register my presence over Izzy¡¯s so I could hold back the waves. I batted one of the small critters towards the headless monkey. It took a sliver of damage but kept moving towards a metal plate on the wall. Monkey hands lifted it up, and out poured the next wave of slightly aggressive mice. My yelling didn¡¯t have any effect. It came out as ignored yowls of noise or half choked meows as the small critters brushed by me. I kept alternating between both actions until the floor was covered with a layer of rodents. A sea of squeaking enemies slowed down the headless monkey. I just altered using [Insubstantial] to get past the clumped up little critters. Eventually there were too many and enough clear spots. This time instead of resetting the place and calling it a failure, I left the monkey open a eight grate, then a ninth and tenth. Soon there were too many and the simien kept right on trying to make it through. After twenty waves the mice were starting to turn on each other. Small gushes of steam poured out all across the ocean of rodents. I tried to ride the surface of mice by barely activating my [Insubstantial] ability. It felt weird to halfway clench a muscle in order to stay partially tangible. I felt proud when a message popped up telling me of a new ability.
[Ghost Walk] learned! Details: By carefully using your [Insubstantial] ability you have learned to walk through solid objects while still maintaining partial intangibility. Be warned, attempting to pass through more powerful creatures will cause the user damage. Lesser creatures will suffer [Spirit] damage if ill intent is coupled with the walk.
As a result of developing a new skill, your mind has expanded.
    • [Depth] acknowledged!
  • Low [Depth] added to Spirit traits for all further empowerments
My mana bar took a small jump up which made me happy. I¡¯m not sure what caused these messages but they were helpful. It also meant that I might be able to get more mana, and use my abilities longer by figuring out new ways to apply things. [Ghost Walk] seemed really cool to have. I¡¯ll bet this entire mob of mice could be mowed down rapidly by just being angry and using [Ghost Walk]. Maybe later, after I watched to see what would happen to the headless monkey. Our flood of rodents reached the grates. The monkey kept going, opening more and more choots. They started getting stuck in an open position. This many squirming critters would have easily drowned Izzy, and soon the monkey might follow. I swished a tail and rode the wave of mice. They undulated and squirmed below while my eyes were fixated on the headless boss. Finally, after the fourth grate got stuck in an open position, it just stood there. The mess of mice slow rose to a higher level. There was a thump, like an absurdly loud heartbeat, or something slamming into the ground. All the mice started popping rapidly. My ocean of critters fell further down. Finally, after my paws once again touched the ground, I could see the headless monkey lying dead on it¡¯s side. I stared at it and sniffed. Did this count as a win for me? Would I get some pop up message telling me that my efforts to defeat the boss had been rewarded? The monkey deflated like a whoopee cushion and that was good enough for me. ¡°Hah!¡± I laughed and danced around. It was sort of a win. Not perfect, not terrible, but satisfying. By morning, I had successfully drowned the monkey in his own minion army four more times. It felt like I was crashing some intentionally powerful boss encounter by just sitting in a room and being indifferent. This was a perfectly cat like response. I walked back to the medium sized dorm room with my tail held proudly in the air. Me, one single spirit beast, had defeated the entire first floor without any assistance. I had learned to walk through objects and raise myself with them. Tomorrow night I would poke around the lower floors and scout out pathways through for Izzy. Soon, maybe after a few more abilities and this next advancement, I would be a dungeon crawling kitten extraordinaire. The ever present janitor wheeled around with his barrels. Scents lingered from behind and confused me. Sunlight hadn¡¯t dared peek over the horizon yet this heavyset man was out doing the rounds. Who was I to talk about keeping odd hours? We nodded at each other in passing. I traveled past flower gardens and sniffed roses. They reminded me of Izzy¡¯s spell casting. There was a hint of distant sunlight peeking over by the time I returned home. Izzy might be up, or she might need assistance from careful kitty paws. She stood in the main room, dressed but not alert. One arm hung down without any tension and an alternate fist rubbed at her eye. She said ¡°Pierce?¡± ¡°Morning Izzy.¡± I meowed while jumping onto a countertop. She walked further through the bottom floor towards the small kitchen wall and started getting items together for food. ¡°Where were you?¡± Izzy asked. ¡°Oh, no where important.¡± I tried to sound playful but couldn¡¯t put it off. My swishing tail was an emotional indicator, plus Izzy might be awake enough to sense excited undertones. ¡°I managed to make that monkey drown in his own rodents.¡± There was a clatter and Izzy¡¯s face bunched up with confusion. The plate she had been holding lay on the floor, broken into pieces. Her tiny body seemed to sway and she reached out to hold onto a counter¡¯s edge. I managed to stay mostly calm. Our latest broken dish was far enough away that the young girl couldn¡¯t step on it. This had to be at least her tenth dish dropped in the last year. Izzy was smart. She performed miracles I didn¡¯t understand with spells, but mornings were slow starts. Eventually she kicked back into gear and cleaned up the broken plate. It went into a garbage can that the janitor would eventually pick up. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± She brightened. ¡°Well I think I figured out an idea too. So, we can try again this afternoon, after class and meditation.¡± We went to class. Normally she took in all the details with a wide eyed intensity. Today, Izzy studied but felt almost absent minded. My tail flicked a few times then I decided to nap on it. Sleeping was nearly useless as a spirit and I could have gone without any at all. Still, class was boring. Afterwards we went and talked to the professor. Dale was once again pushing to be allowed access to the advanced class. I had no idea what that meant or why it was so special. The boy annoyed me, even though Izzy seemed faintly smitten. I mulled over dresses and other clothing. ¡°Professor Lianne?¡± Izzy said after waiting her turn. ¡°Isabella, how can I help you today?¡± The professor seemed torn between glaring at Dale¡¯s retreating form and looking almost wistful. It made me shudder a bit, especially considering Professor Brand seemed to be dating two different men at once. ¡°Mmmmmhm. Pierce and I went into the dungeon last night and-¡± She started to explain but the professors excited clap ¡°How did you do? I hope it wasn¡¯t too scary. Some students absolutely find them terrifying.¡± Her head tilted and red curls shifted. ¡°No.¡± Izzy¡¯s head shook back and forth and the earrings caught afternoon light. ¡°I wasn¡¯t scared, Pierce helped a lot. He, we, found these.¡± She lifted a hand to the glittering red stone clipped on to an ear. ¡°Oh, you found one of the secret areas! Well done!¡± Professor Lianne knew right away what the earrings meant. She squinted a little then nodded, a smile stretched across her face. ¡°I, just wanted to make sure it¡¯s okay to keep them, that¡¯s all.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Oh yes, of course it is. Part of each instructor''s job is to donate materials to the dungeons. Mages provide energy for the creatures and Essence Savor Stones, others craft items. Still more design the rooms. Anything you earn down there is yours to keep.¡± ¡°So, I could just constantly check that secret room for more items?¡± Izzy asked an idea that I too had wondered about. My tail swished in anticipation of receiving an answer. Could we farm this dungeon for simple items? They probably didn¡¯t mean much to places near this school, but if Izzy and I were to travel further away we might have trade items. There was no telling how coin might work in the reaches of this world. ¡°Not exactly. The treasures here are special. That chest will never show up for you again, now that you¡¯ve gotten the rewards.¡± Izzy brightened for a moment. The smile faded quickly and she moved on to more questions. ¡°What about the lower floors? Are they full of treasures and traps?¡± ¡°Of course. Not all take the same shape, but once a floor has been completed, nothing in there will harm you again. Afterwards you can try the next level, and so on until this dungeon is completed.¡± She reached out to ruffle Izzy¡¯s black hair. The younger girl made a face but withstood the moment of attention. ¡°What about groups?¡± I asked. Izzy repeated the meow in English for Professor Lianne. ¡°Groups receive different, and often harder challenges, some fight over the rewards as well. We expect a certain amount of, conflict, which is why we have the Essence Saving Stones.¡± Professor Lianne liked to lean over towards Izzy and explain things. I tried not to pay much attention or jealousy might flare up again. Part of me really missed being human. Izzy¡¯s professor explained a few more aspects but I started to zone out. If my contractor wanted to work with other people, so be it. I intended to make sure she never needed a group. It was just a matter of figuring out more skills and ways to advance myself. ¡°So, this one has eight floors, then if we reach the bottom we can move on to an intermediate one?¡± She said. ¡°You got it.¡± Professor Lianne resisted the urge to tweak Izzy¡¯s nose. ¡°But don¡¯t rush, there¡¯s many great adventurers that have never made it through our beginner course. You go at your own pace, when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Mmmmhhm.¡± Izzy backed up and bowed again. ¡°Thank you Professor. Come on Pierce!¡± She didn¡¯t hesitate to run towards the dungeon. I leapt into action after her. Behind us Professor Lianne waved goodbye with long well manicured fingernails. I did look back, just to see how far the freckles went down her dress. Her bending over brought a ripple to the clothes that made an easy line of sight. The answer seemed to be freckles littered skin all the way to her bellybutton. Izzy¡¯s jealousy mood came back to bear and I concentrated on running to the dungeon. Being so bound to a young girl was awkward when my perfectly natural desires came to mind. I had to find a way to prevent those thoughts from leaking out or we might have issues later on. Her thought meter flashed through a couple more complex emotions that seemed out of place for a child. I didn¡¯t really understand it on any level. We charged forth, going right through the traps and first few floors. Once again we readied ourselves at the closed doorway to room six. ¡°Did you want me to show you how I did it?¡± I asked her. ¡°No, I sort of guess you used your ghost ability. Right?¡± I nodded and felt slightly less clever. My own abilities had potential but it took me a lot of attempts to figure out how to use it against the boss. Izzy probably would have figured it out in three tries. ¡°We¡¯ll try my plan. I¡¯ve got to figure out how to work with you Pierce, not without you.¡± Guilt flushed through me at Izzy¡¯s words. I had gone off without her in order to grow stronger. ¡°As long as we¡¯re bound, our greatest strength will exist together.¡± ¡°But Izzy, I want to be able to protect you, what if you¡¯re out of mana.¡± I protested with laid back ears. One flicked forward again upon hearing another mouse wander around. ¡°What if you¡¯re out of health? We need to be able to protect each other Pierce.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your idea?¡± I asked, genuinely interested. Izzy must have figured out something during her fitful night''s rest. Maybe the idea came to her when daydreaming during class. ¡°I¡¯ll hold the monkey, and you kill it.¡± She said. I felt stunned at the simplicity implied by her tone. I asked her ¡°How?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see!¡± She reached for the door and pushed it open. The monkey once again did it¡¯s opening action of spearing a mouse. ¡°Let¡¯s go Pierce.¡± We walked in, and Izzy quickly moved to casting. ¡°Get the little ones with your aura Pierce! You¡¯ve got to keep the mice under control!¡± She was doing one of her dual cast spells. It involved at least one ring shape. I nodded and quickly ran over and activated my [Aura of Minor Flame]. Red energy poured out around me, mice popped rapidly under both claw and my abilities damage. ¡°Almost!¡± Her teeth were gritting together. We had practiced a lot of these things but not on agile or bigger targets. It might take more work to hold down a monkey three times my size. I missed some of the rodents, they went for Izzy instead. Catching them while running to the second grate was difficult. She shook then switched tactics, a huge circle of flame appeared around her. Mice attacking the young girl popped into small balls of steam. More streamed in her direction but they too turned to air. We made it through two more grates before she managed to launch the other spell. This time a huge pillar of fire swallowed up the monkey. It froze mid hop. The wooden item it used as a pogo stick poked through the flames. It hissed and burned but the monkey seemed to be trapped. ¡°Go Pierce!¡± She shouted at me. Her young voice roared through the wall of flames. I yowled along feeling far more fierce than a kitten should be. ¡°Death from above!¡± I leap up in a high arc. My body plummeted through the warm flames onto a confused and headless monkey. Finally after so much chasing I had the creature in my grasp. I tore at it rapidly. These were not the attacks of a tiny housecat. These were the giant paws of a proud [Flame Spirit Kitten]! They tore at it¡¯s neck and shoulders. I rent flesh apart with pent up anger. This creature dared unleash hordes upon Izzy! Without a head it could only wheeze in pain. Once it fell there was another crashing heartbeat of noise. The circle of flame fell away as the boss hit zero. I stabbed at it a few more times in order to make sure the source of scripted terror was removed from our lives. This time there was a clear difference, a box popped up. I huffed my tiny chest and shuffled over to Izzy. Both of our flame rings were now gone. Once we were next to each other she reached down and scratched behind my ears.
Subject 42 Status Updated
    • [Headless Mice Master] killed.
    • Total Boss Rank Demons Killed: 3
    • Total Minion Rank Demons Killed: 107
  • Total Traits discovered: 15
The boss lost all air like a whoopee cushion once more. This time the stick stayed behind. Izzy walked over and picked it up. Flame rippled up and down it¡¯s length, burning away the crude shape. Now it looked well made, a prize for her success at defeating the first boss. I looked around and sniffed. Part of me felt this boss had been far too easy. ¡°Two spells? That¡¯s all it took?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only the first floor. There¡¯s seven more, and this one hardly took any effort, right?¡± She waited for me to nod. I tilted my head and tried not to purr in confusion. ¡°We can take this place easily Pierce, we¡¯ve just got to learn each step of the way.¡± ¡°Only two spells.¡± I muttered to myself. She was right, on my own the monkey had been far harder to deal with. Together it was absurdly easy. ¡°That felt too easy.¡±
[The Overseer]s Log: Subject 42 figured out how to crash the first stage of our training program. He actually overloaded the entire scenario. The smaller programs spawned couldn¡¯t figure out how to attack him so they kept stacking up. Part of me regrets picking a cat, but this spirit portion and insubstantial skill was spawned from Subject 42¡¯s thought process. This sheds more light on why the virtual world denizens have such a hard time with Case Sevens. They simply don¡¯t exist in the same way, or bend rules to fit their minds perceived needs. I¡¯ve tried multiple times to follow the coding lines, and even the other scientists are at a loss. We¡¯ll hand over the records to another branch and see what they come back with. IB insisted on finding her own way to defeat stage one, managing to pin the spawning program in one place while Subject 42 followed up. This was a far more realistic solution. They progressed through two more stages before running into a wall. Both spent the next few days in review. IB made more modifications to her code while Subject 42 rested.
Chapter 17 - Torch Lights Time marched forth, as it always seemed to do. Days and nights blurred together and before it made sense, Izzy was thirteen. The clothes that had once looked kind of baggy on her were now filling out awkwardly around a young girls curves. I made it my mission to spend more time with her, to ensure that boys like Dale were kept in their place. They belonged far, far away from her. The few copper coins we received from Grandpa Hubble weren¡¯t enough for high end clothing and Izzy deserved better. Our trips into the dungeon met a roadblock at the six floor, which seemed to be consistent for everyone. Even Nathan, the former warrior who kept himself covered, seemed stuck. Nearly every night he and random partners came out angry and upset. I couldn¡¯t figure out the sixth floor boss fight either. There was a lot of movement required, and the floor kept lighting up in patterns that made no sense. It acted like a game where losers ended up bathing in lava until their health hit zero and their bodies were reset by the Essence Saver Stone. The heat was molten so part of me liked it, but even I didn¡¯t survive the first falls. After the fifth such episode I gained a benefit.
    • [Immunity: Fire] added
  • [Major Weakness: Frost] added
If I died on my own, without Izzy there, [The Inner World] ejected me out to [The Outer World], complete with waves of green flamed pain and rebuilding my mental walls. Izzy woke up screaming from a nightmare every night for a week. Afterwards she banned me from attempting bosses on my own. Instead I roamed through floors and walls looking for more treasure chests. Occasionally I spied on other students traveling around. It kept me busy, and over the last year I had built a decent reputation among the students as a guide. Nathan and Colleen often left me behind scraps of food from their dungeon meals. ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured this staff out Pierce.¡± Izzy said one day, shortly after turning fourteen. ¡°It only took-¡± her fingers went up and started counting. ¡°Six months? Or seven?¡± I licked a paw, which felt far too normal after so many years. ¡°If I use it right, I think it will hold a few spells, so that we¡¯re prepared ahead of time.¡± Izzy lifted the staff above her head and squinted. I didn¡¯t really understand what made the weapon so special. Occasionally it glowed red, other times it sat there like a dead lump. My head nodded and a yawn escaped. Talking felt like a struggle some days. Maybe being a cat was grating on me. I missed being human but the memory of opposable thumbs felt distant. Fourteen years, if not more, had passed as a kitten. I felt trapped in this childish body. Izzy got to grow up. ¡°Relax Pierce, we¡¯ll figure something out.¡± The young woman probably sensed my melancholy mood. I fell over and rolled to one side. Suddenly changing perspective would have made the old Pierce dizzy, but being a cat felt almost natural. My body sat in a beam of setting sunlight pouring in from a window. Maybe this was kitten depression. Even chasing butterflies felt unrewarding. Most days I followed Izzy around mindlessly, being annoyed when other people tried to get too close. Colleen was okay, but she spent time chasing boys. The idea that Izzy too might leave me for another human disturbed me. ¡°Well, I¡¯m calling it a night. Midterms tomorrow, and I don¡¯t want to fail Professor Lianne¡¯s test.¡± The young woman rolled over and fell asleep quickly. She worked hard, studied far too much, and never seemed to take a break. Hopefuly my extracurricular activities would finally provide enough money to buy Izzy a present. I leapt up and tried to pull one of the blankets over her. ¡°Goodnight Izzy.¡± came forth with slight sadness. I was jealous, that was it. The unpleasant thought kept me company as I leapt through the door and across the school grounds. The janitor waved. Other night prowling students walked about. Many of the older teens seemed more interested in making it to dorm rooms they didn¡¯t belong to. What I needed, were some friends, or at least someone who understood and could talk to me. If Izzy was going to be putting socks on her dorm door soon, then I would have to find a way to occupy myself. The idea of walking in one her made me shiver briefly. She was far too young for anything serious. Were there magical contraceptives? Putting any sort of focus on all these possible subjects involved felt a bit odd. I knew nothing about being an adult beyond paying my own rent. Izzy¡¯s own parents were far away. Grandpa Hubble didn¡¯t visit, though maybe one of them should. Once again being a [Flame Spirit Kitten] had major drawbacks. I couldn¡¯t write letters or talk to other people. In the last year no new skills were developed that might help in a dungeon. It didn¡¯t stop me from trying out new methods of learning and helping. The weather outside was cold this time of year. Izzy¡¯s home town was much warmer than this coastal school. Fur helped but if I let go of the [Insubstantial] ability I would be chilled by wind. Getting distracted lead to strange feelings of half merger with various items. ¡°Ahhh! Pierce, you made it.¡± Colleen stepped away from the dungeon¡¯s entrance to pat me on the head. I sat still for a moment to let her. After all, she was one of Izzy¡¯s few friends in this entire place. Plus, the nice lady gave me food. Maybe friends was too strong a word, Izzy didn¡¯t really seem to connect with anyone but me. Colleen tried to help, but mostly it involved cooking and clothing tips. Izzy sometimes wore her hair in a ponytail like the older brunette, but often only when making meals. Women with their hair up distracted me, mostly from the swishing around. Colleen¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t suitable for topside. She wore tight fitting gear, having given up the standard mage''s robe years ago. At some point she had started taking more fighter oriented classes. Right around the time she started noticing boys, or being noticed by them. ¡°Are you going to guide us to through the fifth floor?¡± The older girl asked. I nodded. My midnight wanderings had familiarized me with nearly every inch of the school. All eight dungeon floors were included. I knew the first six floors of the advanced one, and had watched teams fight off against bosses in practice. None of it really helped me solve things with Izzy. She wanted to learn for herself how to beat most of these places, so anytime I offered suggestions they were ignored. Not because the advice was worthless, but because neither of us really learned listening to other people explain. We both had to do, practice, and fail repeatedly to make progress. ¡°Is this the guide you promised?¡± The other person with Colleen was that annoying male, Dale. Snobby, he looked at all girls like they were being measured and imagined in maid outfits. ¡°This is Pierce. He¡¯s been all over the dungeon. Haven¡¯t you Pierce?¡± She said while patting my head. I didn¡¯t want to move, but it did feel good and a momentary purr escaped. Only a short one. ¡°Please. He¡¯s just a familiar. I¡¯ve got one of those, and it¡¯s way better than some furball.¡± ¡°Jezebel is cute too.¡± Colleen said cheerfully. I tried not to let disgust show. Colleen wore a lower cut shirt than normal, and the hem to her pants seemed shorter by at least an inch. It was clear to me that the woman was competing for attention, and based on her glances, that someone was Dale. Dale had many ladies fawning over him. Most stayed at a distance. Sixteen, and this guy was building a harem. I was willing to bet he wouldn¡¯t actually know what to do with a girl despite being so oddly attractive. Parts of me couldn¡¯t remember much either. How many girlfriends had I actually had again? My ear twitched repeatedly while attention shifted into the distance. There had been an entire life before this world. I had been a young man once, not much older than these two. Based on their adventures within the dungeon they were much more experienced in terms of combat. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t need to pay him anything, I¡¯ll just ask Jezebel to guide us around.¡± Maybe it was Dale¡¯s tone, but he pissed me off. It might have been the hair, or the cocky attitude. I prayed he would go bald early and maybe lose a few teeth. Damage in the trainee dungeon only lasted until the student reappeared up top. I could try to use [Ghost Walk] and sabotage his Essence Saver Stone with some claw marks. That would probably get me in trouble and cause Izzy to be expelled, but I really didn¡¯t like Dale at all. ¡°Alright, same deal as the fourth floor. You show us the treasures, and I¡¯ll split tonight''s earnings.¡± Colleen said. Her face seemed embarrassed. I nodded again then started off. Talking was useless and it was late at night. Only catnaps during the day allowed me to function in such a broken pattern. Floor one still involved the rat spawning monster. The other two students simply bullied their way through. Dale chased used some lightning bolt move which rippled through multiple rats. Colleen tossed an endless stream of blades after the headless monkey. ¡°Pierce will show us the traps too.¡± Colleen pointed downward. The second floor was sixteen rooms, eight along two different paths. Halfway through we could switch sides, or keep going. The layout was silly and simplistic, but this was a beginner dungeon. Colleen was smarter than Dale by far. She actually watched where I stepped and took note. I kept going over those little green lines of ickiness that represented traps. The older teens walked behind me. ¡°Jezebel is smart enough to avoid traps too.¡± Dale said as we made it through the dungeon rapidly. He may have been an annoying boy, but the lightning bolts and his one long sword sure made short work of our enemies. Floor three looked like a giant chess board. Izzy had explained that the system changed based on which tile you touched first. I was not smart enough for chess, but I did enjoy stepping into a pawn position and then leaping through the ceiling using [Ghost Walk]. From there it was possible to land on the King¡¯s peace and win the game in one absolutely silly move. Izzy didn¡¯t let me cheat when we practiced. I, however, killed the rat king multiple times in a rapid pounce succession. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. I wandered a well trodden path down through four and onto five. This floor was a bit harder. It consisted of sixteen rooms, but if you went through them normally it would send a person in circles. I often just leapt straight from the fourth floor boss room down to the fifth floor boss. From there I could work my way backwards and avoid the entire gimmick, teleporting rooms only worked one way. By the time I back tracked through the entire floor Colleen and Dale had defeated the two horsemen on floor four. They were a pair that took turns charging down hallways, and it required hitting the rooms in a certain order to make them collide. Izzy and I could do it because we communicated through long distances. I sighed heavily. Doing these dungeons at night without Izzy felt so dull and lifeless. It was almost like talking to myself in an empty room wondering when a partner might show up. Except Dale, he annoyed me to no end. This room was the smallest. The walls were bricked and a torchlight hung at each door. Most students got trapped here and didn¡¯t make it much further. There were four exits out, one went back upstairs to the floor above. One went to the next room, two teleported the dungeon crawler back to the starting location. Every single room on this floor did the same thing, only monsters started spawning with each failure. ¡°Did you get the path for us?¡± Colleen asked as I walked through the last doorway. I nodded. No one understood if I actually meowed or tried to speak. Head motions and tapping my feet were clear enough for most of the students. ¡°I¡¯m tired of following this cat though, we don¡¯t need to split anything with such a greedy creature. I¡¯m summoning Jezebel.¡± Dale said. His eyes closed and one hand raised up, a small lightning bolt appeared in one hand. He slammed it together with another symbol and bent down, shoving the combined items into a floorboard. A circle spread out one foot in all directions from his hand. Aqua and white coloring crawled within the circles small confines. Symbols smashed together and a cloud started to form around Dale¡¯s arm. He lifted away and out came a fully form, yet tiny, dragon. I remembered the picture from my old world, but this wasn¡¯t the typical western big beefy thing with arms. Jezebel, I guess that was the name, looked like a floating eastern dragon. Long azure scales shimmered down her side like a koi fish. Whiskers stuck out on either side and spikes trailed down the summons back. ¡°I hear and obey.¡± She spoke in a clearly subdued voice. Sparks of lightning generated at her whiskers and trailed down to the tail tip. Jezebel was cool looking. I hadn¡¯t actually stared at other students summoning spirits like myself. The two mage professors had one, but not every student did. Dale was maybe the fifth spirit I had ever seen. The floating dragon was at least the closest to another spirit I had ever been. I did kind of feel jealous. It would be neat to have a face that trailed flame down my kitten body. Instead all I had was this vaguely blue ghostly outline and the ability to walk through walls. Which, wasn¡¯t that bad really. It just wasn¡¯t crackling lightning bolts. ¡°Cat got your tongue?¡± The dragon said towards me with much more of a smirk. ¡°No.¡± I tried to meow smoothly but failed. Dale¡¯s summon was clearly a woman and I had botched the first impression. I guess it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Well you must be short on your nine lives, because only a stupid creature would try to extort my master.¡± Her voice crackled with a bolt of energy. That made me flick back an ear in confusion. Had she actually understood my meow? With an attitude like that I felt less worried about giving a poor first impression. ¡°Jezebel, lead us through this maze, if you would?¡± Dale waved an arm off at the three doorways out. ¡°My pleasure master.¡± The creature zipped to a doorway and waited for the other two players. ¡°What about Pierce?¡± Colleen had the decency to sound worried. The only thing that bothered me about this whole ordeal, other than meeting another spirit who was rude, was Dale¡¯s attitude. ¡°He can go take advantage of some other suckers, but I won¡¯t fall for such a simply money grubbing cat.¡± Dale said. He literally looked down on me and it bothered me. Maybe I could push him off a ledge into lava, assuming they made it down to six. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± I muttered while trying not to show any irritation. This jerk was getting in the way of my Izzy present fund. ¡°We don¡¯t need you. I¡¯m capable of guiding master safely without you.¡± Jezebel said. Her tail curled and lightning charged on it¡¯s end. I tried to use [Insubstantial] but energy coursed through my ghostly body leaving me hissing in displeasure. They left to the next room, following a floating serpent through the air. I worried briefly for Colleen¡¯s safety, would that other spirit be able to sense traps? Luckily this was a beginner dungeon. There were safety measures in place. They should be fine but sticking around to keep watch wouldn¡¯t hurt. Plus, this other spirit probably couldn¡¯t walk through walls and find all the secrets. I kept tabs on them, sneaking around through the dungeon obstacles and generally ignore any monsters that annoyed me. The teleportation only kicked in when walking through doorways. Those successful at this floor had their own methods through, but so far no one could zip through like me. My ability to find traps, treasures, and the quickest routes is why students hired me to guide them through the first seven floors. Floor eight confused me. There were eighty eight rooms but there seemed to be an order in which they needed to be visited. I always heard the same song playing over and over down there, but had yet to find other students willing to venture that far. It was usually just me, peeking through walls and avoiding scary looking black slimes. Jezebel successfully guided them through the rooms, and only caused a reset four times. Each failure triggered a set of wooden golem spawns. I licked a paw in irritation, flattening the fur back that had blown around in an underground breeze. Maybe that was Jezebel¡¯s secret, she was detecting a flow of air. I had never tried that method, instead relying on my own skills. They were doing oddly well without me. Most other students couldn¡¯t manage to get through without a dozen tries. I poked around the next few rooms and found a surprise. ¡°You¡¯re missing a treasure chest. It¡¯s up there.¡± I yawned loudly as they passed by the secret alcove. A small slit along the ceiling hid the lever, and the reward was hidden right next to it. The corner was so dark that normal people wouldn¡¯t see it, but I had [Low Light Vision]. There were two more chests in dead end rooms, but Dale didn¡¯t need to know about them. ¡°No there isn¡¯t.¡± Jezebel said. ¡°Yes there is.¡± I meowed again. Colleen didn¡¯t understand what I was saying, but she paid attention to the noises being made. She said ¡°Is there something here?¡± My nod was overridden by Dale¡¯s snotty tone. He said ¡°No there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°We should listen to Pierce, all the students in our class know he¡¯s the best at dungeon navigation.¡± I leapt up the wall, using [Ghost Walk], and appeared near the secret compartment. My head poked out of the wall and I meowed to get their attention. Colleen held a torch in my direction. It lit up the area and the flames made me purr in happiness. Fire felt absurdly comforting given how my last life ended. ¡°That wasn¡¯t there just a moment ago. If it was, Jezebel would have found it.¡± The man crossed his wiry arms. His serpentine dragon summon flicked another lightning charge in my direction from her tail. Fortunately it missed. My ears flicked back in continued annoyance. People doubting me here drove me crazy. I had spent the better part of two years exploring this place. Oh well. As a consolation there was a floating information window nearby. It sat there with glow red ember letters on granite tile. Tonight had finally resulted in positive ways for me. After over a year of failing to make real progress, despite my constant efforts, something broke loose.
    • [Sense Hidden Passage] granted!
    • [Underground Navigation] granted!
  • [Treasure Hunter] trait granted!
¡°Whatever, we¡¯ll take the treasure and keep going. You should stop following us.¡± ¡°Sorry Pierce. Thank you for trying to help.¡± Colleen bowed briefly and looked almost sheepish. Dale seemed to only take note of her tight clothing from bending over in my direction. He coughed and actually looked bashful for a moment. Colleen turned and noticed his wandering eyes. The young woman turned red with a blush and she went for the treasure. ¡°Your master is a lecherous pig. You better hope you don¡¯t become empowered and get a humanoid shape.¡± I told the agitated dragon as my tail lashed around. Dale didn¡¯t seem able to hear me. Jezebel didn¡¯t respond. The tiny floating spirit just glared at me. Her coils writhed in agitation and lightning bolts curled around her whiskers.
[The Overseer]s Log: We¡¯ve tentatively allowed two of the Case Seven realities to merge again. These had a shared basis earlier this year, so their worlds were mostly stable. Both developed unexpected aspects though. Subject 42 was looking for someone new to connect to. Fortunately their deep personality traits are directly opposed to each other. The very thought of two Case Seven¡¯s working together is terrifying, not just to me, but to the denizens I have been in touch with. Their neural networks have been given a limited space to work with. We hope that eventually the two will come into conflict as their views expand. My personal theory is that Subject 42 will win in the end, but Subject 17 has been immersed longer and adapted further. We¡¯ll keep them under observation.
Notes: Typo ridden I''m sure. Sorry, my wife still hasn''t had a chance to catch up on this series. I mostly wanted to do a release so everyone knows it''s not dead. Thanks for reading along... Chapter 18 - Reflected Tails Jezebel shot lightning bolts at me frequently. Dale probably ordered the small coiling dragon to prevent me from following them. Colleen¡¯s presence was the vague reason I had, she kind of reminded me of one of the girls I dated. Most every girl did, especially when faces from the prior world were impossible to distinctly remember. Still, Colleen reminded me of one of them. The vague athletic built put a slight spring in my step as she stalked around floor five¡¯s maze of doorways. Any benefit to following her around was canceled out by Dale¡¯s constantly leering mug. The male seemed to catch on to my attempts to sneak with increasing quickness. By the time they navigated to the boss room, roughly thirty minutes of combat and resting later, he could almost pinpoint me with accuracy. Often I used [Ghost Walk] through walls and found myself ducking back to avoid an electrical blast. It made no sense to me. In the future I would need to up my ability to stalk students through the dungeon. Maybe there would be a skill tied to it, then I could be a sneaky [Flame Spirit Kitten] and death from above unsuspecting monsters, or people. Mostly Dale. Right in his stupid face, with burning kitty claws that dealt spirit damage too. I decided to wait a few minutes, and let them try the boss, if only to watch Dale fail miserably. Half a boring hour passed while I attacking [Wooden Golem]s in the prior room. [Aura of Minor Flame] still hadn¡¯t increased in power, but it worked wonders against monsters made of wood. In truth, I probably didn¡¯t even need the ability. My claws might be strong enough if I moved quickly. Being a cat had lots of speed advantages, but being hit took huge chunks of health. Finishing them quickly was the only solution. Luckily they only had about five times the health of those mice on floor one. It made sense, this was still a beginner dungeon. Each floor came with a puzzle and challenge. I tried to learn fighting the monsters. [Angry Mice] often swarmed in mass. [Wooden Golem]s were slow and stalked after people. The [Two Headed Goat]s on floor three rammed into walls more than real people. The [Frost Wisps] monsters on floor seven were deadly though based, so that entire place sucked thus far. Izzy and I weren¡¯t there yet. I only knew the rough layout because traveling through walls made life absurdly easy. Maybe that was part of my problem, none of these battles felt hard, or dangerous. There was a sense of excitement but no reward. I really wanted to figure out the next stage of creature upgrades after kitten. Anything to stop feeling mostly stuck and useless while Izzy kept moving forward. She had figured out how to merge all those spells, learning something about her staff, and even increased her mana pool. I was a [Treasure Hunter]. It was useful, these abilities were good, but none of it was strength. Dale and Colleen had it, I needed to rely on hit and run, tumbles, or sheer avoidance to survive. Maybe I spent too much time in the dungeon and not enough fighting random monsters. Maybe once Izzy could get out of school, and we needed to roam the countryside, maybe I would learn more. Or the secret could have been simply being with Izzy to fight together. My stupid kill counters for bosses and lesser beings had gone up, but nothing triggered an advancement. Maybe one day I could just wander outside the city as far as possible to see if there were monsters in the hills still. More [Tribal Lizardmen] might be fun, not that Izzy wasn¡¯t freezing and super young. Being a [Flame Spirit Kitten] might allow me to take one that was unharmed. I didn¡¯t even know if it was possible to range that far from Izzy. ¡°Alright, that stupid cat seems to be gone.¡± Dale¡¯s voice carried across two rooms. My tail flipped in anticipation of an event more interesting than sitting around dwelling on my limited choices. Dale and Colleen sounded like they were moving. I stared at them from two rooms away, thankful that the odd teleportation space of this floor prevented direct eye contact. They walked into the boss¡¯s room. I leapt through two walls rapidly and sniffed around. Everything here was clear. Dale hadn¡¯t left any traps behind. If I poked my nose through the next door I should a room full of mirrors and a four armed hamster that tossed projectiles at people. It wasn¡¯t easy. Izzy and I coordinated our attacks, and sometimes I would leap through the wrong mirror only to wind up back at the fifth floor entrance. For normal students that would cause issues, I just leapt through walls and made my way back. ¡°Over there!¡± Dale shouted. I could hear the sound of glass shattering. Colleen¡¯s cry of outrage was drowned out by the male shouting, ¡°There¡¯s the boss!¡± I poked a nose through to make sure Colleen was okay. Shards of glass were all over. This was far different than when Izzy and I performed the fight. Her fireballs would often just cause the glass to warp and sad. Their swords actually broke them completely. ¡°Treasure!¡± Dale pointed towards one of the mirrors. ¡°Don¡¯t break that one!¡± I did my cat best to act indifferent to the chaos around me. My body sat perched halfway through a broken mirror. Occasionally one arm reached out to tap at a flying shard of glass. Batting away objects kept me entertained while Colleen and Dale shattered four more mirrors. They were trying to avoid one of the reflective surfaces. The treasure chest they were looking at did exist, but it was also in a room that was trapped. Dozens of the [Wooden Golem]s would spawn upon entering it¡¯s surface. Izzy and I did that twice, but my [Aura of Minor Flame] made it easy. Their battle was going down hill. The more mirrors that were destroyed, the faster and angrier the four armed bipedal hamster became. Objects that looked like nuts but hurt like bowling balls were flying out rapidly. ¡°Protect the treasure!¡± Dale ordered. ¡°It won¡¯t shatter it¡¯s own mirrors!¡± ¡°Yes it will.¡± I meowed. A bolt of lightning streaked through the air in my direction. They were trying to reduce the beasts options. I yawned in boredom. All their dodging around looked far too frantic. Izzy was calm and collected during these fights. I, however, ran where she directed with an almost eager glee. It was a far cry from our first fight against the [Terror Rat]s. ¡°Dale!¡± She shouted at the male teen. His face curled up in a brief bout of horror. The hamster was getting ready to toss a deadly walnut right towards the treasure mirror. I expected the [Vile Hamster] to break his own mirrors, what I didn¡¯t expect was Dale diving through the reflective surface after the treasure. The idiotic prick was not in the middle of a trap room where he would likely die. Jezebel was still here fighting. The pane shattered into hundreds of little pieces as a giant walnut hit it. Laughter hacked out of me as I imagined the young man''s current predicament. Right now a mess of monsters would be swarming on him. If he managed to survive then the only exit would send him back to the beginning, and Jezebel was still here fighting. ¡°Pierce!¡± Colleen looked absolutely lost and got hit by a projectile. ¡°Are you still there!?¡± She was shouting. Jezebel kept casting small charges of lightning but they were weakening. I jumped down from my ceiling perch and activated [Aura of Minor Flame]. Colleen backed away from me, slowly trying to get towards a corner. One of the female¡¯s hands started reaching for her bag. No doubt to pull out a healing potion. Cuts lined her face and legs. Izzy was sensible and wore her robe. Colleen had been trying to treat a dungeon crawl as a chance to flirt. Still, I shouldn¡¯t hold her poor taste in men against her. ¡°Master!¡± Jezebel cried out. She seemed lost and lightning spun off in random directions. ¡°Pierce, can you help us?¡± Colleen barely managed to get through the question as a stray bolt slammed into her leg. The woman''s teeth chartered briefly as she jerked away. ¡°I need master!¡± Her formerly subservient tone turned into a lost little girl. An image of Izzy as a child came to mind. Maybe the small dragon spirit couldn¡¯t be that far from Dale? I wasn¡¯t sure what rules applied to other people. Izzy and I certainly didn¡¯t function the same as the few other spirits I had seen. Still, letting Jezebel suffer felt wrong. I tried to yowl loudly and activate my [Inspire Minor Terror] ability, which worked on all mortal creatures. Ghosts didn¡¯t care, but this [Vile Hamster] paused and started chattered wildly.
[Inspire Minor Terror] Details: All creatures occasionally need to be reminded that you are no simple kitten. Flame is your ally, spirits can¡¯t escape your claws, and the rodent world should fear your hunting prowess! Let out your mightiest roar to inflict terror upon those foes weakest to you. Effect: Causes terror in anyone weak to the following: [Spirit], [Fire], [Feline]
¡°Hit the mirrors!¡± My words came out as a high pitched yowl which seemed to terrify the giant four armed hamster even more. It stood there on it¡¯s hind legs, looking like a small furry child. It¡¯s mouth ushered forth confused squeaks in my direction. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Colleen showed some presence of mind, recovering first from my area of effect terror ability. Reflective surfaces shattered around us. Jezebel too pulled herself together, sending electrical bolts towards the shards. The [Vile Hamster] regained his sanity and threw walnuts at us rapidly. They fired out far to quickly,, pelting all of us. Colleen''s health rapidly dropped. I took a few hits myself but was saved by my [Resistance: Physical] ability. Jezebel went first. Her body shattered in a cloud of lightning and blue light. At her core hung the mosaic each caster used to effect the world. The jagged bolt of a spell hung for one, receiving two more pelts from flying walnuts, before falling to the ground and melted into air. Colleen shouted out next. I tried to intercept the flying objects but my body was too small to get them all. Colleen was easily double the mass of my kitten form. Were I human then I could have stood guard. Even so, my [Aura of Minor Flame] was causing her damage. I turned towards the [Vile Hamster] and tried to go on the offensive. There were four mirrors left. One went down while Colleen cried out. The second shattered seconds later as I slammed into it. Glass shards took out a chunk of my health. I hoped Izzy would forgive my recklessness. She had a test tomorrow and I was out getting myself beat up. The younger girl with her serious eyes would glare at me in the morning. The third mirror cracked as Colleen tried to spill a potion over her wounds. Four arms of the [Vile Hamster] pumped out an endless stream of walnuts from who knew where. Her small vial of red liquid crashed as one of the projectile collided with it. Her voice cried out. My tiny legs pumped harder, I was trying to move fast enough to get Colleen through this dungeon in one piece. The third glass shattered as I dove headlong into it. These claws and their [Shredding] damage were terrible at breaking such hard surfaces. There was a yowl of noise that didn¡¯t belong to me. The [Vile Hamster] crawled out of the one remaining mirror. This part of the fight I knew how to handle easily. Especially since the boss had very little health. Most of the fight was dodging away from projectiles while ensuring there was one mirror left. Izzy and I performed that by melting their edges together and triggering this stage. ¡°Death from above!¡± I bunched up my legs and leapt straight in an upward arc. There was no ring of flame around me to help deal extra damage. My claws landed on the [Vile hamster]s back. It screamed. I screamed. Glass shards dug into the boss''s feet, exhibiting another one of it¡¯s weaknesses. Small wisps of milky white crawled out of the poke marks my claws rapidly provided. The creature''s fur was soft, and only it¡¯s hands were calloused from throwing objects all day long. Soon the last of it¡¯s health crashed and the [Vile Hamster] popped like all demons did. ¡°Colleen? I got him.¡± I meowed while huffing. My mana bar was extremely low. There was enough health left that Izzy shouldn¡¯t have any nightmares tonight.
    • [Guardian] ranked up! Rank 2 [Guardian], defensive stats increasing.
    • [Resistance: Minor Projectile] trait earned!
  • [Defender] trait earned!
[Defender] Details: Monsters you attack have a hard time focuses on anyone else! This can be mitigated by creatures who attack more than one target, or are a much higher rank than your current abilities. In addition creatures three sizes or greater may not not notice you.
That fight had been harder by far than many Izzy and I joined together on. I felt proud, and happy that my actions saved someone, at least until I saw Colleen was missing from the room. There was only one way that happened in the beginner dungeon. She had died, sort of, and been recalled to the surface. My feet screamed with jolts of pain. My path veered upward using almost two years worth of knowledge in this dungeon. The path was up, there was an exit, and she should be coming to in a moment. By the time I made it back to the dungeon entrance both Colleen and Dale were busy yelling. Her hair looked to be a frightful mess, and Dale¡¯s clothing seemed ass composed as ever. A new arm bracelet adorned his left bicep. Clearly he had received the treasure, but died shortly after. ¡°I knew we would be okay. I wanted to get that treasure so we could use it next time, to beat the boss!¡± Dale shouted. His hand waved towards Colleen. Anger lined his expression and a trace of lightning type energy leaked out. He too channeled the electrical element like Jezebel. Thinking of the other spirit made me sad for just a moment. It wasn¡¯t her fault that she had been left behind. Did she experience tons of pain like I did? Was her landscape one filled with bolts spitting down from the skies, instead of green fire like mine? ¡°Pierce could have led us to the treasure.¡± Colleen shouted back. There were a few late night students walking by in the distance. They stopped to stare for a moment then moved on. ¡°I could have.¡± My confirmation came out as a yawn. It was getting late, and this spat only kept me mildly entertained. Seeing two people yell at each other reminded me of my own failures with women. I vaguely remembered being dumped because my eyes happened to drift in the wrong direction more than once. ¡°We don¡¯t need him.¡± Dale took a step towards me in anger. My back arched in preparation of unleashing burning kitten claws. ¡°You don¡¯t want him. There¡¯s a difference, and I don¡¯t want you.¡± Colleen crossed her arms and huffed. ¡°I would have been better off letting Pierce guide me alone.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even make it to the fifth floor without me.¡± I sighed and lowered my head. Once this nonsense was over my feet would crawl back to Izzy¡¯s warm bed and conk out. The only reason to stay had been making sure Colleen made it home safely as well. Dale seemed explosive in his anger bouts, and self entitled. ¡°I¡¯ll bet I make it to the eighth floor before you do.¡± She said with a foot stomp. ¡°Oh yeah? What would you be willing to bet?¡± My tongue starting laying back uneven fur. Rushing out of the bottom floor after Colleen¡¯s Essence Saver Stone recalled her had taken a lot out of me. ¡°Anything! A self centered jerk like you will never be able to make it down there.¡± ¡°Anything? Are you sure?¡± He asked. There was a quick leer of his eyes as they traveled up and down Colleen¡¯s body. I felt nausea creep up. ¡°Ha!¡± Colleen nodded while looking slightly reddened. I felt like this had turned into an unexplained high school drama. The girl I knew was farm more level headed than this. Maybe being around Dale had confused her somehow. ¡°And if you lose, you can just leave this school, a man who would sacrifice a comrade isn¡¯t fit to be a Guardian.¡± Colleen redeemed herself a little by adding her own condition to the wager. I would actually try to help her succeed, regardless of payment. Maybe Izzy might be willing to form a small party. It might help us through floor six. ¡°Deal. If I can¡¯t beat you down there, then this schools teachers must really be terrible.¡± He said, then marched off. My eyes rolled. Now Dale was blaming the teachers for his inability. Professor Lianne had been nothing but helpful to Colleen and Izzy. The younger male was just a self centered ass who sought to blame others.
[The Overseer]s notes: My job mostly consists of taking two completely different versions of dta and trying to reconcile them. On one hand our entire team sees coding for each even going on in the digital world. On the other we have an almost movie like scenario going on. Often the two barely connect. For example, today IB tried to establish the secondary memory bank she was provided. It was installed a few weeks ago but each item must be integrated slowly in order to ensure no other Subject moves in on the resource. This is slightly different from the full internet, as there are tons of resource points set aside purely for denizen use. Subject 42 went back to trying to interpret the programming hurdles we created for IB. His perception of them is oddly accurate, but at the same time very confusing. A program designed to redirect minor attacks at a program''s core was perceived as a series of mirrors that needed to be smashed. I often wonder if the real world is like that as well, I remember asking my mother frequently, if we all saw the color blue in the same manner.
Notes: For those unaware, I''m taking the next two weeks off for Holidays. I hope you all enjoy your winter breaks / holiday season / whatever it is you''d like to celebrate. Woo-hoo. Again this one is probably typo ridden and is not editor approved. I''m mostly doing this is as a side project to break up the other works and keep myself from getting stale. Hopefully it comes off completely different than Continue Online and Royal Scales. Chapter 19 - Secondary Ignition After years of struggling, I had achieved many small milestones. I knew where the best place in the entire school grounds to sleep was. The dozen or so spirits hanging around campus each had their own preferred spot, but the perfect one happened to be at the top of Grumble Goat¡¯s tower. Grumble Goat was one of the fighting instructors, and he had ram''s head. He was one of the few nonhuman instructors running around. I didn¡¯t care for his study, or the floors leading up to it. Instead, my paws spent many hours staring down at the peons below from a window ledge six stories up. I sat up there, head down, ear twitching from a stray breeze, and mind idly wondering if this new [Defender] ability would help me with watching over Izzy. Daydreams of becoming a giant lion one day and intimidating all the bosses while slashing made me purr. ¡°Pierce, are you up there?¡± Izzy¡¯s voice echoed inside my head and faintly down below. I inched myself to the edge and looked down. Izzy was staring upwards with one hand covering her eyes to reduce the noonday glare. This gorgeous weather is why I tried to make it up to Grumble Goat¡¯s tower. ¡°I see you.¡± Her mother''s playful tone eked out. ¡°Come on down, we need to talk about Colleen.¡± Colleen, my mind flashed back on Isabella Brand¡¯s behavior. Chances were I would be in trouble for spending so much time looking at another girl. Part of me felt like saying no and sitting up here in the sunlight. Only, in a few hours the warmth would be gone, and come nightfall the best place on campus would be at the bottom half of Izzy¡¯s bed. Leaping straight down would hurt. Being a kitten who could [Ghost Walk] didn¡¯t make me immune to gravity. I could just sort of ignore it and pad through solid objects like they were solid clouds. Actual air was too thin for stepping on. Izzy had her hood down and arms crossed. Her eyes tracked me as I cleared through part of Grumble Goat¡¯s tower and came over. My back rubbed against her legs but the standard sign of affection looked ineffective against the young girls annoyance. ¡°Is it true you let her bet with Dale?¡± Izzy had her arms crossed and glared down at me. ¡°Me?¡± My cheek pulled back in a half felt meow. ¡°How could I stop her?¡± ¡°Why is it no one else understands you?¡± She looked annoyed and pointed to a stone bench. We headed over and sat down. I licked a paw in response to Izzy''s question. She was asking me to explain her world¡¯s rules. That had to be at least five flavors of backward. The physics behind my existence, or anyone else, were more of mystery than anything else. ¡°I¡¯m serious Pierce. I can understand other spirits just fine, any of them, at least when they actually talk. Professor Lianne¡¯s eagle mostly yells about food.¡± She said while running a hand along my back. The motion sent pleasant shivers up my spine. I shook a bit then laid down, one paw slightly crossed over the other. ¡°Dale didn¡¯t seem to understand me.¡± I said. ¡°That might be for the best.¡± She responded with a slight chuckle. Her mothers nature showed more and more as Izzy grew. ¡°You know, he actually left Colleen behind to die?¡± The disgust in my meow felt surprising. Muscles attached to my tail pulled to the left then right, in an annoyed swish. ¡°Mmhhm.¡± Her acceptance noise made me feel happy for a moment. ¡°Colleen told me after class. It¡¯s a good thing the beginner dungeon has Essence Saver Stones.¡± Both ears laid back as the idea of students dying after failure hit me. This would have been a terrible training ground if everyone was really in danger. The garbage man waded through and gave us both a nod before headed into Grumble Goat¡¯s tower. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy paused too and we both enjoyed the noonday sun for a moment. Maybe it was being a feline, or partially made of fire, both of us enjoyed excessive heat. Other students often wilted under the sunlight. ¡°Can we help her? I don¡¯t want Colleen to lose to Dale.¡± ¡°Do you dislike him that much?¡± She asked me with a slightly harder than normal motion. My back arched away slightly as I shifted position to try and get comfortable. ¡°He just rubs me the wrong way.¡± I answered. The answer would be literal if Dale had ever managed to touch me, but I made it a mission to avoid interaction. ¡°Mmmhm. I kind of like him.¡± Izzy¡¯s hand paused and I twitched again in irritation. ¡°But, I still don¡¯t want Colleen to lose to him.¡± Her words didn¡¯t sooth me. I said nothing. Izzy¡¯s love life should be her issue to solve. In my case it would be a matter of learning to overcome distaste. The best answer would be to let Isabella Brand live how she wished while I simply drove unworthy people away. ¡°Do you, want to group with Colleen in a few days?¡± She asked. ¡°I think we can do it, but we¡¯ll need time to prepare for that frost floor.¡± She motions to pet my back felt much more relaxed. It might be me calming down now that we were focusing on beating Dale. I sniffed the trash man''s leftovers and enjoyed the complex mix of materials. He waved to us then continued onward. ¡°If it helps her beat Dale.¡± My ears both ruffled rapidly for a moment. The idea of defeating that snot made me happy. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll do it. You get some rest, and I¡¯ll let Colleen know.¡± ¡°Do I have to go back?¡± I asked. ¡°You should probably rest. How long has it been since you visited your own realm?¡± Izzy tried to keep me soothed but it wasn¡¯t effective. My pleasant sunbeam nap filled day turned sour. Days? Months? The only times my body went back was when death happened or I needed a lot of health and mana. [The Outer World: Respite] still had huge advantages in terms of recovery speed. Still, I said, ¡°I don¡¯t like it there.¡± ¡°I know. But you¡¯re not alone, right?¡± Izzy tried to sound positive but all I could think about were those green flames dancing around. Their very existence caused flickers of my former death to come back. Large teeth, a mutated dog, the virus which ate my old body. ¡°No.¡± I acknowledged. Being in [The Outer World] didn¡¯t leave me completely alone. Viewing Izzy¡¯s surroundings was always a possibility. ¡°Mmmmh. Maybe the rest will help you figure out something.¡± Her face was well above me, but I could sense Izzy¡¯s mood brighten. That brought to mind an entirely different set of questions. There were many topics we had covered, Izzy knew nearly my entire life, blurry thought it was. She remembered portions better than I did now. ¡°I wanted to ask, when you, learn stuff, do you see things?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± She asked. I hesitated because this felt strange to discuss. Borderline madness, or the kind of crazy that families didn¡¯t discuss. In many ways it was how my dad had acted after the death of my sister and mom. Their passing got glossed over in a wake of similar peoples problems. One in five died, those kind of numbers impacted nearly everything. ¡°Boxes? Floating boxes that tell you things.¡± I said. She paused for a moment and looked down at me. Izzy said, ¡°Sure. We all do. It¡¯s part of the First World Legacy. Some people get a communications, or message, or hear a voice. Some hear ranks, or levels. Others skills, or traits.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the First World Legacy?¡± I had a million other questions too. Izzy sounded so casual about a great oddity in my life. ¡°Mmmhmm. I, this may sound weird, but when our universe was made, there was only one reality.¡± Izzy lifted up my paws and moved them across her lap for a better position. ¡°We were all from The Outer World then, there were no denizens of The Inner World.¡± I lifted my head a little to ask, ¡°You used to be a spirit? Like me?¡± ¡°Me? No.¡± Izzy laughed at me. It amazed me how well she mixed her father''s quiet but serious laugh with Miss Brand¡¯s abruptly loud one. ¡°Mmmmhm. Many, many generations ago, some denizens were. Others were created by the first self aware being in The Inner Worlds. Some of us are a mix of both.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool.¡± I tried to sound positive. This world''s lore interested me, but only in how it might help grow stronger. My mind tried to work through those floating granite boxes with their burned words. They were a gift from essentially the creator of this existence? ¡°My great, great, great grandmother was a spirit like you, Pierce.¡± Isabella said, straightening her back for a moment with pride. The motion made me shift both paws and tilt slightly to get a more comfortable position. Izzy¡¯s smell always reminded me of a softly burning fireplace. Warm, comforting, secure, all those things with a slight hint of sharpness. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I sucked at math, along with most academic studies. The best part about being a fireman with advanced technology was that machines did most of the heavy lifting in all regards. ¡°So, you¡¯re like, ten percent spirit.¡± ¡°Twenty four, actually. Some of it is from my mom''s side, some from dads. The numbers are weird.¡± She shrugged then hung her head for a moment. Seconds later we were both watching the distant horizon, watching other students go about their day. The martial studies groups almost looked like they were playing a really elaborate game of tag. We both watched them run by. One was in the lead wearing fuzzy headpiece that looked like a skinned wolf mask. The lad was easily older than the five youngsters chasing after him. It served as both play and training. They screamed out attacks and swung wooden blades while the older one dodged all around. ¡°Is that why you can form a contract?¡± I asked Izzy after a parade of children ran through screaming. ¡°No. Being part spirit, mmmmhm, made me eligible. The Ladies of the Soul bound our paths together. From there, the choice was ours, if we wanted to come this far.¡± We had already talked about our path going along. We were pretty much in this until the end. That part didn¡¯t feel like a concern anymore. Other than my lack of progress. Based on our current aging progress, Izzy might pass away before I ever aged a day. Would life as a spirit always be like this? Never really aging? If Izzy passed away, what would become of me? The idea made today''s sun feel colder, a bit less real and shaky. Even the comfort of being near Izzy didn¡¯t make me feel better. Her legs felt almost unreal and [The Inner World] faded for a moment. ¡°Pierce?¡± Her voice sounded far away. I tried to relax a bit, we had decades together, at least if I could grow strong enough. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± I said, feeling comfortably sleepy. Being pet like this while basking in the sun was divine, far better than Grumble Goat¡¯s tower top perch. ¡°Mmmmh. Maybe if you return to your world and rest, you¡¯ll receive contact from the First World Legacy. It might help you understand what needs to be done in order to advance.¡± She spoke slowly. Our emotions were probably getting mixed up, since Izzy could sense mine as easily as I sensed hers. ¡°Does sleep help you talk to this, Legacy thing?¡± ¡°Mmmmhm. I wonder.¡± She leaned back and kicked her feet. A few years ago they had barely touched the ground, now they scuffed along. All I could think was that the young girl needed new foot ware. I tried to run through the numbers on my coins, would my stashed coins be okay in the space between walls? It took me months or work to gather them together. ¡°I could try. There¡¯s still much about my world, the outer one, that I don¡¯t understand.¡± I hadn¡¯t braved the area beyond the walls, or died, since gaining my [Fire: Immunity], maybe those green flames wouldn¡¯t hurt. At worst, I would suffer an intense amount of pain, but come out alright. There was no sense of mortal danger anywhere in this world for me, just extreme physical pain. ¡°Maybe the key to your next form lies in there.¡± She said. That reminded me of something disturbingly funny. Especially if these granite boxes were a floating leftover from the creator of this universe. ¡°I did get a message with the last one. This, Legacy, offered to let me chose a Flaming Blob.¡± ¡°Oh ew.¡± She shook her head while the emotional notification switched rapidly to disgust. ¡°But I¡¯ll trust you to choose what¡¯s best. You¡¯ve never let me down Pierce, I, would learn to like a Flaming Blob, I swear.¡± ¡°Probably about as much as I could like Dale,¡± I muttered. She laughed and I felt bad for admitting my distaste out loud. Thoughts of waking her up with nightmares due to falling into lava crossed my mind. ¡°What about you?¡± I asked. ¡°Soul Binders don¡¯t grow the same way spirits do. For us, it¡¯s about seeing the weave, a pattern, and holding many threads in order to knit them together.¡± Izzy put a hand up and streams of light came in. The pinkish white had taken on a new ash sort of hue in the last year. ¡°When I cast my spells, you see motes of light, I see dozens, hundreds, or thousands of energy threads coming from all around. It¡¯s difficult to learn.¡± Her hand came down, and there was an almost lifelike rose, frozen in her hand. It shimmered brightly as the spell completed. Flames spilled out of her hand like a science fair volcano gone wrong. Each one faded into nothing before even hitting the ground. ¡°I¡¯m glad that my powers are simple.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold that man bits of information together. It looked impossibly difficult. ¡°Mmmhm. We¡¯re both, balanced, together. I think that¡¯s what my Grandpa Hubble said in a letter. He asks about you, you know?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± That scary old man still gave me shivers after all these years. Five, or six years later and I could still feel shadows creeping over me. ¡°He¡¯s happy we¡¯re still together, but then I told him you were looking at other girls. He got mad, but I said it¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s just what boys do.¡± The idea of being called a boy made my heart jump for a moment, before it came crashing back down. I was a [Flame Spirit Kitten], not a [Normal Human Boy]. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Pierce, I still like you too. Maybe we¡¯ll find some nice spirit kitty.¡± Izzy was hitting home runs today. I vaguely remembered baseball, and science class. Too many sayings were stuck in my brain for a world that didn¡¯t matter anymore. ¡°Can you send me home Izzy?¡± I asked, feeling sort of depressed. The idea of having a spirit friend was attractive, but it would be a whole new dynamic between Izzy and I. ¡°If you want Pierce.¡± She scratched behind my ear and turned my giant chin up. It felt weird being so huge for a cat and still tiny compared to a human. Izzy¡¯s eyes stared down at me, her hair hung too. My eyes flicked to the clip on earrings she wore. ¡°Mmmmhm. Don¡¯t get lost looking for answers. We still need to help Colleen beat Dale.¡± ¡°Okay Izzy.¡± I moved my chin. That angle felt weird to my neck. Light spun together once more, and my world faded. Boxes appeared from the First World Legacy. I read them with a bit more focus than normal. They were messages from the original creator of his world. There were mysteries here that I didn¡¯t understand.
Minor [Learning] demonstrated. Minor [Learning], [Advanced Spirit Form], [Spirit Binder] contractor class all noted.
  • [Voice of First World Legacy] unlocked.
Conditions of access will vary based on the spirit''s desire for knowledge. Tests may be conducted to deem the worthiness of a supplicant.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: We¡¯ve gotten permission to bring in a Case One to the network. There are all sorts of safeguards in place to keep him protected. With this many Case Sevens I¡¯m seriously worried. Still, the network safeguards make the tasks IB is working on seem like kindergarten math. Subject 42 might be able to get through, but most of it will be following a path the Case One lays out. I¡¯m interested to see how the interaction goes. IB showed some hesitation over the entire process. Watching IB try to explain some of these basics to Subject 42 made me smile. She really watered down the science in favor of a more fantastical explanation. Things could get hectic soon. Most beings inside the reality fall under Case Six. Between the two Subjects being merged, there¡¯s room for a few to possibly reach Case Four status, which means that IB might have company soon. The question will be, which way will these new beings go?
Briefly, for those who follow any other works of mine. They''re all getting updates this week. I''ve enjoyed my two week vacation, and will aim for one update a week for this fiction. Plus I''m debating a new synopsis. The one I have up there is very not RE: styled. Chapter 20 - Path of Coal I sat in the darkness of [The Outer World] for what felt like ages. My sense of time only ever had Izzy to judge by. She lay a slice of reality away. If either of us needed we could talk, or the young woman might summon me if an emergency happened. Still, Isabella had been on to something. I needed a change of pace to progress. The longer I thought about pushing the boundaries of this self made prison, the more sense it made. How many years had it been since my last time peeking behind those walls? The cord which connected us still shimmered in a snake line. Sometimes it felt like a chain that bound us together, other times it reminded me of those red thread stories. Colorwise it was both. It trailed behind my four legged form as I padded to one of the cardboard walls which served as a shield. ¡°Where do I go?¡± Meowing noises still issued forth as I paced the walls. I wouldn¡¯t know until the area beyond was revealed. Either my current skills could handle those green fires, or I would curl up into a [Flame Spirit Kitten] bundle of pain. The cardboard was only half an inch thick. Fake red flames built over each other in a wall that reached twenty feet into the sky. ¡°Why red flames though?¡± I spoke to the walls while looking up. Maybe it was a comfort issue. In my last moments I had been working a normal fire, those were unstableable. I had been trained to deal with them, and understood regular flames of the old world. One paw picked a random chunk of the wall and started to peel back my barriers. It felt like scabs inside my mind, each movement itched and hurt, but in many ways the action pleased me. A portion came down, like peeling cardboard scales apart. It flopped to the ground and a burst of reddish flame arced through before dying off. Strangely, it didn¡¯t hurt. That made me happy. Inside the cardboard square room, where I usually sat in relatively but dark safety, a single light shone through. It felt like a brightness that had been unexpected until now. ¡°Izzy.¡± I said through our connection. ¡°Some of the green fire, it¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± The young girl sounded sleepy. How long had it taken me to get this far? Was it night time in her world already? ¡°It¡¯s almost dinner and I still have another test tomorrow.¡± She yawned and the sound echoed strangely to my slice of other world. I peeked outside the small fortress feeling better than ever about [The Outer World]. There was a landscape aflame, but none of it hurt to look at. What then, had been causing me so much mental pain during my last few deaths? Was the wellness of my [Flame Spirit Kitten] form related? In the fourteen years of existence, I hadn¡¯t once tried to look through the cracks when at full health. Why would I walk into pain for any other reason than Izzy¡¯s protection? My nose twitched as I poked through the hole. Paws knocked over more cardboard flames, each one flopping to the ground to sit there, still. Burnt paper wafted through my nostrils along with a hint of trees, pine maybe, smouldering, teasing, almost comfortable. Finally there was a large kitten sized hole in the walls. Visual confirmation had to be backed up by paranoid cat testing methods. I put out a paw, partially in worry, but nothing felt odd or wrong. My paw pulled back, and then went forth into the strange landscape again. It wiggled as a flame leapt across at me, but nothing happened. It was like being brushed by a strong breeze. I looked around for anything of interest. Going out into the wild would be fine, if there was an end goal of some sort. There seemed to be hills that rolled alone but they were all on fire. Everything looked like the standard red and orange hues. Ash littered the ground, trees looked destroyed. Six years, or so, as a flame spirit basically meant fire didn¡¯t matter to me. Especially after the multiple laval baths. Was there treasure out here? Maybe this place could be considered a dungeon for adventurous spirits. Part of me felt truly worried though, this was the first time I had dared to move around in my own world. Maybe there were rules, like going too far from my defensive shell might result in death.
[Locate Valuables] Received: Skill provided with the [Treasure Hunter] title. Details: By concentrating, items greater than the average value for your current location will display bright blue. These objects may show through walls, floors, or even invisible. Difficulty increases the more obscured or valuable the treasure is. Certain senses can be used to track objects from further away until visual confirmation is received.
I stepped out then immediately check the doorway behind me. It sat there, ignorant of my escape. One ear flicked back in suspicion. Maybe the door would suddenly seal up and scream ¡®gotcha!¡¯ at me. Minutes passed where nothing happened. The landscape around me flickered as flames leapt around, but the square walls of my house sat untouched. I moved onward another ten feet then looked back. Maybe [Ghost Walk] functioned out here. I could leapt back to the odd looking black box of my comfort zone at any point, maybe. Or Izzy could summon me. Honestly there were no perfect answers without trial and error, and those may be dangerous. I went back to the blacked walls, put a paw up towards one of the still standard walls of cardboard, and watched happily while one paw sunk through. The black flame wall of my mental defenses ignored the burning landscape but still existed in a form I could pass through. Whatever happened next, I could run away back to safety. ¡°Izzy.¡± I tried out connection. ¡°Mmmmh. Pierce, I¡¯m tired. Let me sleep please.¡± She sounded the same when I woke her for school. Anything before sunrise was brutal for the poor girl, ¡°I¡¯m, going to go exploring. But, if I run out of health, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Mmmh!¡± She yawned loudly. The noise of a blanket being pulled over rustled through our link. ¡°Do your best.¡± Time went by as I poked around. My nose and front paw tapped everything in the nearby landscape searching for a reaction. There was nothing right around my home, and the first thing I actually saw was nearly a quarter mile away. Fist sized bugs traveled the landscape in packs. They looked like bloated ticks. They were skittered around, grabbing at the root of various fires and sucking them dry. Their actions didn¡¯t make any logical sense. If I could accept headless monkeys in Izzy¡¯s world, then giant fire feasting ticks made sense too. Two turned towards me at the same time. Icky jaws on the front mouths clicked together. My back arched in an uncomfortable his and worry rippled through my body. Would they latch onto me and try to suck all the flames out? My mouth felt gross just thinking about it. ¡°Izzy.¡± I said abruptly while inching back towards my home''s safety. ¡°Mmmmhm? Pierceeee¡­I¡¯m tired.¡± Her tone was half a step away from snoring. I was thankful she put up with my questioning though. Briefly I wondered if maybe I should just buy her food. Maybe this world had chocolate. I remember it being tasty, especially after they did, something sciency to it. Izzy didn¡¯t seem to eat that often. Maybe things tasted funny to her too? Everything that went into my stomach got extra flavors. ¡°There¡¯s weird bugs out here. Do you know of any spirit bugs?¡± My tail flipped back and forth in agitation as they kept coming. They didn¡¯t attack me right away, they drained other fires behind them. Oddly the flames they pulled away weren¡¯t recovering. ¡°No.¡± Isabella answered. They were certainly coming in my direction. I worried what a mess of the might do to me, would I lose levels? Or die? ¡°What if I, get killed, out here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re bound together Pierce. You will suffer, I¡¯ll prolly be unable to sleep, but, mmmhm, you¡¯ll probably live.¡± She said. The lack of permanent death took out some of the worry. At least I was safe enough. Izzy would be the weak point between us. For some reason, my contractor¡¯s mood meter flipped to amusement. A slightly mirthful yellowish color. I didn¡¯t quite understand the reasoning behind that. Maybe she had a funny dream or something. Well, if all this venture would cost me was pain, then so be it. Or being grossed out. These ticks were almost twenty feet away and still looked gross. Dark red bodies with almost glowing red veins were easy enough to pick out among the landscape. I had spent years attacking things in the beginner dungeon. These bugs would just be the next thing on my list of weird monsters to fight. Instead of skirting backwards I tried to roar my loudest and activate [Inspire Minor Terror]. The ticks didn¡¯t flinch. They underestimated the fear a giant kitten could cause! I leapt for the nearest one only to see it tilt up as if welcoming me. It too jumped and latched onto one leg, quicker than my claws could swipe. Panic set in as my health bar grew nasty looking veins of black. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Agghhrh!¡± I swear the noise came out as a human sounding hiss. ¡°Get it off, get off!¡± Two more latched on quickly and I tried to roll to squish them. They flattened against the ground and ignored flames. My attempts at using [Insubstantial] failed. Each little critter traveled with me in the same manner I ran away with coins for Izzy. Health didn¡¯t drop rapidly, but it did go down. A few ticks, from the ticks, at a time. My eyes kept drifting from the health bar to my arm in panic. These creatures were worse than leechs. I felt woozy. A message from the First World Legacy said I was losing health and showed a stack of three. There was also some [Sedative] mixed in with their bites. I howled again and tried to activate [Aura of Minor Flame]. It went off but none of them cared. Using burning damage against bugs that ate fire felt pointless. They pulsed with red and a new round of dizziness came over me. I stumbled around the landscape and tried to find things to bash my sides against. That failed. Hindlegs came up and clawed rapidly. One of the creatures was big enough for my claws to get purchase. Wisps of milk while spirit damage floated around. I had forgotten that my damage types included more than just fire. The second one gooed into shreds. The third, on my left shoulder, required teeth to tear apart. I turned and bit into it, gnawing long after the creature had lost all signs of life. It tasted filthy. If I were to put a taste to my sister''s diapers when she was a baby, these tick creatures would be the same. Why that memory stuck with me among all the other missing tidbits of life was beyond me. Maybe there were some times that starting over in a new universe couldn¡¯t remove. That idea explained why I hated pickles and found scratch and sniff markers to be repulsive. As the tick monsters died they burst into large balls of flame and their bodies became ash, which was different than popping like demons did or bleeding out similar to the [Tribal Lizard Men]. In the exploration of the flame terrain surrounding my home I found six more of the little bastards. My health recovered easily enough with Izzy¡¯s trickle of mana and the [The Outer World: Respite] An hour of kitten fueled exploration later and I found a lake of tar like substance. None of the [Small Fire Fiend Tick]s, as I learned they were called, were anywhere near it. Maybe they avoided it for the same reason some ticks couldn¡¯t stand soap, which was only half truth. I checked on my contractor''s status, but only got faint snoring in response. My health being leeched must have only caused her minor turmoil, the young woman also slept really heavily. Izzy¡¯s small cord still trailed behind me. It always pointed back to the cardboard flames paneling. The beacon of my primary home existed almost a mile away. I kept checking over my shoulder to see if the structure would vanish without me. Since there were no clear landmarks, I tried to focus on using my [Sense Treasure] ability. Nothing blue showed up, but a faint scent of zesty lime drifted across the fire charred landscape. I trailed towards the area where smells grew stronger. Over flaming hilltops and through the burning woods towards the scent of lime I went. Every few seconds I would look up and search the landscape for any wild creatures. A large flame winged bird circled overhead. A giraffe made of molten stone chewed at flaming trees. I avoided their sight by keeping low, or passing through objects with [Insubstantial]. None of them cared much about one [Flame Spirit Kitten]. The lime of [Locate Valuables] changed to a bit more zesty scent as I grew closer. Freshness set my step to near prancing. There it was, half buried in a drift of burning bushes. One oddly giant chest. That made me stop to tilt my head. Why would a chest even exist out here in [The Outer World]? This thing was easily five times my size. How was I intended to open this object? Maybe they had left it for some [Crazed Fire Giant]. I did three laps around the object before stopping to paw away the surrounding bushes. Revealing the chest into it¡¯s entire glory triggered attention from the bird circling overhead. The large giraffe stood too far away to notice. ¡°Mine!¡± It shrieked in an absurdly human sounding voice. ¡°Treasure mine!¡± I didn¡¯t even try to understand why the creature spoke clearly. It was folding wings and banking downwards at insane speeds. I arched my back and swung at the bird. The burning avian curved away and rapidly turned around for another dive. ¡°You stupid bird! How are you even going to open it!¡± I shouted upwards. The enemy didn¡¯t care, but instead flew towards me with streaks of flame trailing behind. Small birds hung in the air as it passed, creating a momentary line of potential pain. I was had [Immunity: Fire], but nothing that saved me from sharp beaks and sharp talons. It hadn¡¯t stopped the [Small Fire Fiend Tick]. This creature kept fluttering overhead and my attempts to fend it off weren¡¯t working. Repeated dive bombing had my heartrate up. Finally I decided to simply go about things a completely different way. Rather than fight for the rights to open this chest, I would just [Ghost Walk] through. My face grinned and I waved a paw goodbye at the evil bird. ¡°My treasure!¡± It cried again. ¡°My treasure.¡± I said calmly. The bird thunked loudly into the surface I had passed through. I laughed as it¡¯s silly body couldn¡¯t pass through things like mine could. Putting my further form in the hands of [The Overseer] had served me well thus far.
  • [The Cat Who Walked Through Walls] title received!
I ignored the message from the First World Legacy. My eyes scanned around, expecting to at least see what was inside so I could evaluate it¡¯s worth to me as a [Flame Spirit Kitten]. Unexpectedly, the inside of this box was bigger than the other side. There was nearly an entire world in here, or at least the image of a green hilltop. Sheep were all around, chewing idly at real grass. A sun poked through clouds in the distance. Thin fog littered pockets of a valley down below us somewhere. And, perhaps most importantly, was the large human looking creature poking fluffy sheep to the sides. His giant cane with a curled tip cleared a path all the way to me. Once nearby his lips pursed together in confusion. ¡°You are no sheep.¡± The man said at last. There was something about his eyes that seemed unfocused, almost absent minded, or on designer drugs. Suspicion ticked my thoughts. There was no possible way that the inside of a treasure box simply teleported me to another world. This place, and the creatures in it, couldn¡¯t be so simple. I hoped that there really was something of value in here for me. ¡°You are no shepherd.¡± I dared to respond. I wouldn''t even know what shepherds were was if it hadn¡¯t been for Izzy¡¯s world. Sheep wasn¡¯t from this universe though, it was from mine. What existence was this Voice from? Better yet, why had this guy appeared after I walked into a giant treasure chest? That made no sense to me. My head tilted back to look for an escape in case one was needed, but nothing obvious showed. It looked like I was trapped here until Izzy woke up to summon me.
[The Overseer]¡¯s Log: IB has successfully given Subject 42 clearance to contact the Case One, while she maintains all the security measures needed. Normally each Case Seven has their own mental barriers in place, but Subject 42 would never have been able to breach those defenses and proceed further into the neutral network without assistance. After a few hours, we officially recorded first contact between a willing Case One (AKA Voice), and the deliberately created Case Seven. We¡¯re all very hopeful that things will proceed as planned. The Case One is going to try and set up some blockers in place so that we don''t lose Subject 42 to the dangers of prolonged immersion. How, exactly, that will happen, is not something I¡¯m allowed to decide. The Voices (AKA Case Ones), all of them, seem to be following guidance from the deceased Case Zero.
Chapter 21 - Warm Fur ¡°Well, you found me.¡± The man said. He had plant stalk of some sort in between his lips. I hadn¡¯t really expected to. There had been a box about this Voice thing, but the entire idea felt nonsensical. [The Outer World] rapidly became even more alien than [The Inner World] Izzy lived in. Mostly because I looked inside a giant treasure chest and went to a landscape filled with sheep. Even now balls of absurd fluff milled around, often trying to butt into me. My [Aura of Minor Flame] seemed to attract them like a small bonfire. The human stared at me while switching around the item in his mouth then bopping one of the nearby sheep with his spiral tipped staff. ¡°So, what did you want?¡± He asked. I tried to compare the accent to something I knew, but it was hard. The cadence was too slow and relaxed for my old world. I stared at the man for a moment then felt annoyed. There was only one thing to say. ¡°Where¡¯s my treasure?¡± The man arched an eyebrow slowly, moved the stalk in his mouth around again then said, ¡°That¡¯s rather narrow minded.¡± I licked a paw quickly while staying mentally prepared to go [Insubstantial] through the sheep. They were getting to close, and this shepherd might get angry if I clawed their backsides. Plus they were sheep, strange sheep, in another world, inside [The Outer World]. ¡°Mmmmhm.¡± The man¡¯s hum sounded much like Izzy¡¯s for a moment. He leaned on the spiral cane and studied me. ¡°You don¡¯t like talking to people besides your contractor do you?¡± My head tilted from confusion. How had this stranger even known? ¡°It¡¯s the chain, and the fact that you look like a cat.¡± He answered an unspoken question in that sloth-like pace. ¡°Normal people don¡¯t look like cats.¡± ¡°I am a cat.¡± I said calmly. Eight years, nine, no, seven. How long ago had this feline form been given to me? My head felt weird surrounded by all these sheep. My efforts to count them were tiring. ¡°If you say so.¡± The shepherd shrugged and moved that dangling weed stalk around again. I eyed it while wondering how quickly it could be batted out of his mouth. One, two, three sheep. They all looked the same. I started counting at least five more times just to reach ten sheep. My mind felt distant. ¡°So what do you really expect from a-¡± The man sounded amused but still spoke slowly. ¡°-treasure chest?¡± ¡°I need to grow stronger.¡± I answered while feeling peacefully detached. These sheep were so fluffy, which didn¡¯t make much sense. My vague recollection of Izzy¡¯s world implied sheep were mostly coarse and smelled funny. These ones didn¡¯t seem to be either. There was a scent of steaming tea and fuzzy blankets. That was it, I felt like a sick child again, bundled up, muddled but warm. My dad had been very talkative, trying to explain what was happening and how his work had been. Anything to cheer me up, but my eyes were stuck staring at some images on a screen. What had it been? I vaguely remembered a pet of some sort, that lived inside a machine. Or something along those lines, the memories were all lost in a haze. Then again, that was the old world, this one was new. ¡°Is it?¡± The figure pretending to be a shepherd asked. How I knew he was pretending didn¡¯t make sense. Everything around me had a dreamlike sheen which slowly increased. ¡°It is.¡± I didn¡¯t even take note that the man had asked me a question until a few moments later. After that I simply filed it away as weird spirit nonsense. I walked through walls, why couldn¡¯t some other being here do fancy techniques? ¡°It¡¯s that simple to you, this is here, that is there?¡± He asked slowly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it? I died to a demon dog.¡± I felt certain of that. My old body was somewhere far, far away. Burned to a crisp and ashes or sitting in a ground plot. It would depend on what dad decided to do. ¡°If that¡¯s what you believe, but I would remind you that none of the message you¡¯ve been given should be considered false.¡± His words weren¡¯t that of a shepherd. Maybe that was the part that made me feel conflicted. Slow words and the accent kind of fit, but what sort of sheep herder used the word ¡®considered¡¯? Maybe my expectations were low. ¡°From the Legacy?¡± I asked instead. ¡°Yes, it will always show the truth.¡± The man shook his head for a moment then sighed. He slumped into the curled cane and stared downward towards me. For some reason it seemed less softer, and the sheep seemed a bit larger. ¡°Always?¡± I asked while trying to figure out what had changed. ¡°The Legacy is not allowed to lie.¡± The man shrugged and still sounded slow. It felt like my own brain was growing ever closer to stopping. ¡°We, all of us, must have at least one thing to trust. The Legacy works for you just as well as it may for us.¡± ¡°Are you, not a spirit?¡± I asked. ¡°A spirit? In some sense, perhaps. Two thousand years ago I might have been considered a god to humans.¡± The man looked past me towards the distance. Where, or what, had him so enthralled wasn¡¯t visible past the wall of white fluff. ¡°But that was then, and this is now.¡± ¡°Can you help me get stronger?¡± Two sheep turned towards me after that statement. Their eyes were an unexpectedly deep black. ¡°What do you think you need, besides jewelry?¡± The Voice lifted a cheek to one side. I didn¡¯t have an answer to his question. Unlocking an advancement had happened once, and then there was that weird moment in a world that made no sense. Most of it felt like a forgotten memory in the past. ¡°To, fight bosses, and things?¡± I tilted my head in confusion. There weren¡¯t better ways, were there? Maybe I could meditate over flame, or contemplate the purr ball mysteries. Izzy¡¯s school seemed strangely absent ways for spirits to learn. ¡°So you¡¯re the type who doesn¡¯t know how to do anything but fight?¡± He looked down at me and squinted both eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t that how spirits grow?¡± Fur bristled as one of the sheep got too close. Flattened teeth nipped at tail hairs as another tried to bite me. [Insubstantial] was nearly automatic by now. ¡°Think back to your life before this. Did you fight a lot?¡± I did. There had been something where I faced off against other people in competition. Inside my mind there was this sense of fierce battles that happened in seconds. Fighting, one on one, but nothing beyond that made sense. It was in the fuzzy past. ¡°So you don¡¯t know.¡± The other man responded again without me speaking out loud. His staff poked at a sheep in the distance. My tail swished past herbivore¡¯s hooves in irritation. I felt certain this guy was looking down on me. The past didn¡¯t play any bearing on who, or what I was now. Everything about being a cat felt perfectly natural now, after years of adapting. ¡°Mmmmh.¡± His tone sounded like Izzy¡¯s pause, only more drawn out. ¡°Well. Promise me you¡¯ll at least consider my words, and I¡¯ll give you a chance to get stronger.¡± Hair made it hard to feel things like skin used to. My tail brushing across the ground felt uneven blades of grass being matted. Obstructions tingled, but nothing felt like real touch anymore. It was odd, my mind thought about being human once more, even if only for a few seconds at a time. That was one of my greatest hopes for growing stronger and gaining another empowerment. One day, I might be me, again. ¡°If you want it, this world can provide it. The first, she who created the Legacy, wanted all creatures to have a chance to live out their dreams.¡± He said. ¡°Who was she?¡± I was interested in this person who might have created Izzy¡¯s world. That took a great deal of ability and knowledge to do. Did they know a bunch of complex spells like Izzy? Were there higher tiers that we could reach one day. ¡°Does it matter? Rest assured that she had more power and saw further than you or I could ever dream of given a thousand such lifetimes.¡± My brief hopes that it was possible to reach such heights were dashed. One thousand lifetimes would be far too many away. My contractor would have long since passed, and not one bit of ¡°So, is that what you wanted to say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s part of it. In the end, the creator of this world never intended for your kind to stay here long. One day, you¡¯ll have to leave and return to your own existence.¡± ¡°What does that mean? I¡¯m dead over there. I remember-¡± Green flame tore at me for the briefest moment. Walls of fire spawned by acid coated maws. ¡°Then you go to your next life over there, but a spirit''s existence can¡¯t be maintained forever. It was never meant to, not without, sacrifice and much risk.¡± I thought about what the man said briefly. It sounded like this life too was finite. The idea of leaving Izzy alone worried me, she was the only point of true stability available in this world. ¡°How long do I have?¡± There were no better questions to ask. He seemed certain, and he lived in some pocket dimension place. Clearly he knew more about how these worlds worked than I did. The man pulled out his stock piece out and pointed towards me. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of how long, but of what you remember.¡± My head shook and the world spun. A brief flash of that box appeared again like a stamp on my vision. It burned over everything then faded away.
Remember
¡°When that last memory fades there will be no trial to walk. The path to that which was, will be gone, and your essence will start to unravel.¡± His slow words tugged at my mind, almost hypnotic. It might have been the soft feeling of sheep around me, or the muddle-headed memory of fighting a cold. ¡°After that, you will be lost to time and tide.¡± I sat there, staring at him without much in the way of comprehension. The words made sense, but at the same time my brain felt like an engine that had lost all power. Nothing clicked upstairs. Only one thought existed, replaying over and over in my head. Would I die if that other life got too far away? ¡°But I promised you strength, didn¡¯t I?¡± The man put the weed back then started bopping sheep around us. ¡°Since you¡¯re the type who learns by combat, perhaps a fight will help.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Each sheep hit shuddered and started changing color. Their fur no longer felt soft and warm. Course matted hair appeared in the place of pristine white. Hooves turned sharp and reflected sunlight. Horns twisted and curled into gnarled patterns. ¡°You¡¯re going to make me fight sheep?¡± I had enough brainpower to register this. Combat was easy to react to for a cat, especially once we dove into dungeons regularly. There were at least two dozen of the creatures looming over me. Their faces lined up in a circle all around. The shepherd who had been speaking took three steps back and started to merge into the background. ¡°Yes. Or you can get the flock out of here.¡± The man smiled from further away. That grin, and the man attached slowly faded into nothingness. An abandoned piece of well-chewed weed fell to the ground. ¡°Baaa!¡± One of them brayed before lifting hooves in my direction. Soon all of them were rearing back in preparation to stomp. Years of practice kicked in as my body automatically tried to unclench my gut for [Insubstantial]. All of the bleating sheep came down and stomping around in an ever widening circle. They were spreading out to get room for full spins as they beat up the ground. ¡°Not cool!¡± I shouted while trying to dodge. One of the many now stomping feet passed through my tail and sizzled. Hair stood out on end and my tail jerked. All four legs started clawing for purchase. These goats were using electricity! Bolts of channeled lightning were a phasing kitten¡¯s worst enemy, next to dogs and cold spells. I learned that with Jezebel. I tried to claw a path up one of the dancing creatures. Slickened black fur denied my attempts at purchase. Small wisps of milky white floated off signifying damage. Hind legs jack rabbited into my face over and over causing a cheek bone to crunch. ¡°Fuck! Jesus Christ you mutton chop bastards!¡± Profanities escaped in yowls as I tried to recover and curl away from more feet. [Aura of Minor Flame] worked a little. Their bodies were smoking with damage caused by the heat. I picked a target out of the two dozen baaing clones. Coursing energy from the herd made my legs jerk oddly as I mistimed the jump and tumbled instead. Somehow I ended up halfway through the creature. I had done this to mice and other monsters, but never a being who channeled electricity. Neither feline arm retained correct control. Claws and legs flailed wildly, tearing into the innards of this beast. A message popped up from the First World Legacy but my teeth were chattering too hard. My arm felt weird in this halfway state. Something seemed to be peeling skin out from under fur leaving all the nerve endings raw and screaming. I managed to retain a minute amount of consciousness and tore an exit through soft skin. My claws kept rending the body. Creatures bleated in the background. Horns locked into flesh and lifted me away. I yowled, trying to activate [Inspire Minor Terror]. Sheep bleated and stomped around. I saw the half gutted remains of my former fleshy cage. A black gaze vanished as bottom eyelids rolled upwards. The creature fell to the ground with a thud of noise. Other sheep around me took offense and started trying to rush together. Electricity crackled across their darkened fur. I hissed, arched my back and a paw swiped at the incoming wool wearing army. These beasts were twice the size of a poor [Flame Spirit Kitten] like me. [Inspire Minor Terror] seemed ineffective against their anger. One down, and my health was looked better than I felt. Blood had slickened my fur. Underneath the matted fur there was skin which felt flayed. Comparing this pain to that green acidic fire put everything into perspective. If I could handle that and still try to fight back, then another sheep gutting from its insides would be bearable. I shivered as fur bristled. Sheep around me bleated their electric backed defiance. Feet came down and I leap upwards. The second sheep fell as I recklessly made mincemeat of its insides. The third, fourth, and fifth fell shortly after. Liquid matted my blue tinted fur. [Aura of Minor Flame] dried some of the remains into crusted bits. Finally, after leaping into the last herd member and enduring the energy rippling through, the war was over. I crawled weakly out of the sheep¡¯s body and tried to find a clear spot to lay down. Everything hurt, my bones were actually broken. Paws gave way from agony with every movement.
Challenge: Consecutive combat against 20 or more monsters of similar ranking.
  • Bonus Objective: Rare Boss [Ba-Ba-Bad Sheep] Defeated
Reward: Based on current build random physical traits are being increased.
    • Low [Endurance] elevated to Medium [Endurance]
    • [Aura of Minor Flame] elevated to [Aura of True Flame]
  • High [Reflex] elevated to Great [Reflex]
¡°Pierce, are you okay?¡± Izzy¡¯s voice came through our connection. Thudding filled both ears making her words difficult to hear. I hacked another gob of blood past sharp teeth then compulsively licked my side. The smear forming afterwards disgusted me. A paw tried to brush fur back and right the hair. Shuddering huffs passed through me but nothing calmed the unease. That, entire fight, had hurt a great deal. My vision was starting to fade. Was the empowerment coming? I tried to warn Izzy of the impending unconsciousness. A meow escaped me, not of words being translated into kitten speak, but an actual unfiltered cat noise.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: We¡¯ve managed to pull up an entire readout of Subject 42¡¯s status prior to the next round of conditioning. This is a compilation of his current traits within the digital world. It¡¯s odd to see it in writing. This reading is merger of his own self-reflection and the systems acknowledgment of the scenario at hand. It reminds me of the days where I used to play games, a long time ago. Race [Flame Spirit Kitten] Racial Bonuses Moderate [Speed], Great [Reflex], Medium [Endurance], Low [Brawn], Low [Depth], Minor [Learning] [Advanced Spirit Form] traits [Inspire Minor Terror], [Leap Distance], [Insubstantial],[Commune with the Dead], [Resistance: Physical], [Resistance: Minor Projectile], [Immunity: Fire], [The Outer World: Respite] Damage Type(s) [Shredding], [Fire], [Spirit] Weaknesses Yarn, warm beams of sunlight, [Holy] school of spells, members of the [Dog] species Major Weakness [Frost] damage type Visual Abilities [Sense Personal Status (All)], [Sense Contractor Status (All)], [Summon Response Guide], [Underground Navigation] Passive Abilities [Detect Minor Trap], [Sense Hidden Passage], [Sense Hidden Passage], [Low Light Vision] Action Reliant Abilities [Defender], [Locate Valuables], [Ghost Walk], [Aura of True Flame] Path [Guardian Spirit (Initiated)] Titles [Bane of Rodents], [Treasure Hunter], [Man on Fire]
Chapter 22 - Shadows Cast
Status update with [Voice of First World Legacy] completed. Mental stability evaluation provided to [The Overseer]. Results: Mixed. Primary host body revitalization process activated. Counting down¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
¡°Mister Argive?¡± Someone was speaking. Their voice sounded familiar but so very far away. It was like a forgotten memory trying to resurface from a mile underwater, and I hated water. Fluid filled both ears. I tried to lay them back but the resulting sensation was wrong. Neck muscles pulled tight and my forehead wrinkled. Shaking back and forth to clear the liquid didn¡¯t help. A green substance clung to every inch of fur. ¡°Mister Argive? Can you hear me?¡± The woman said. Light flared and everything blurred together. Colors vibrant in a way I had hadn¡¯t felt recently stood out. A golden blob, like the sun, stood in front of me. She, at least it seemed to be a female, was a fuzzy thing. It almost looked like Professor Lianne, or maybe an older version of Colleen. I could be mad. This place felt familiar and dreamlike. There were rows of tables in the background with images moving on them. My arm paw lifted in order to grasp one of those flickering images, but it vanished, and a woman standing next the screen grew pale. She glared at me afterwards, and I couldn¡¯t figure out why. ¡°Mist Argive. If you can understand me, please nod.¡± Was she talking to me? I shook and could see wires attached and a haze of green all around. She seemed to take that as a sign of some sort. ¡°Holmes, he¡¯s synced up, correct? These aren¡¯t just echo tremors like the others?¡± She asked one of the people behind her. A man in the distance somewhere nodded. He looked oddly like the janitor who took out trash all over. My brain was just trying to create links where none existed. Where had I gone? Where was Izzy? I needed to return to my new home and be ready to help her and Colleen. We were going to go through a dungeon. ¡°He¡¯s connected but rejecting it. The subject is pushing to return to their side, and synchronization is falling below acceptable standards.¡± The man named Holmes said. He jiggled while talking and it made me chuckle weakly. ¡°The connection between existences at this level is tenuous enough without the mental stressors.¡± The blur of golden hair turned around and walked away. There was a strut that spoke of a well-defined female¡¯s backside. One of the best things about being a cat is that no one notices where I watch half the time. Except Izzy. My mind tried to pick up on our connection but failed. I couldn¡¯t see the small orb display that provided me information on her emotions. There was no health bar or energy. Not even my own status readings were around anymore. The green around me started vibrating as I struggled. This place wasn¡¯t right, there were excessive differences from the world I had started to accept as my own. I wanted to go home, I wanted to go back to Izzy¡¯s comfortable bed. ¡°He¡¯s surging!¡± Another female further into the room shouted as two of the little picture squares floating nearby flickered out of existence. ¡°There¡¯s an open port, he¡¯s starting to jump!¡± ¡°What!?¡± The blond shouted. ¡°Disconnect him immediately and keep working on it. We need to make this work.¡± The blond woman said. ¡°We¡¯ll get him back.¡± Holmes looked partial upset. He reminded me of that heavyset janitor whose hair had been really graying recently. If these people wanted to take me away from [The Inner World], then they were in for a fight. No one could make me leave Izzy. She actually needed me, and the old me was dead. That man, that old version of me, had died in a painful bath of insanely colored fire. My mind faded and the green ooze around me seemed to take on the aspect of flames. The numbing feeling of floating and being drugged faded and left only raw pain. I screamed as [The Outer World] darkness spun into existence around me.
Empowering evaluation completed. Spiritual Evolution being processed. New form is being assigned due to current pathing.
    • [Ba-Ba-Bad Sheeps] defeated
    • [Man on Fire], [The Cat Who Walked Through Walls] titles present
    • Contracted spirit consciousness not active
    • Timeframe for allowing choice elapsed
  • [The Overseer] permission on record
New form being assigned regardless of spiritual contractees whims.
It felt like I existed in one moment of perpetual agony which continued to overwhelm everything until my mind crawled into a dark hole to hibernate. Time passed and there was a brief ping of awareness as yet another box popped up, but the contents were lost due to being barely awake. Eventually, I started rousing to consciousness as a loud noise echoed in my ears. It wasn¡¯t the meow or cute little roar of frustration I experienced on a normal day. This sound belonged to a mighty beast capable of sending lesser animals into flight. I had just been somewhere else, but even now the images were fading to blurs in my memory. That blond woman seemed so familiar. Thinking about that recently experienced event made my head throb in irritation. Two more of the loud painful roars echoed through the confines of [The Outer World] before it really registered what was happening. My eyes came into focus upon a wall built around me of cardboard red flames. ¡°Pierce?¡± Izzy¡¯s voice sounded worried. ¡°Pierce are you okay?¡± I looked around and tried to understand what had happened. It felt, real, but almost like a memory from another lifetime. What had that room been? They were family, the kind of faces I saw sometimes in a dream. ¡°I think so.¡± A loud sound snarled out of me. It made me jump and roll in worry that a creature had broken into this sanctuary. My head bobbed to the left, then right, scanning everything carefully. None of the walls looked damaged. Even the hole that I had torn out before in order to wander looked solid and patched up. This place was safe. My connection to Izzy shone with a bright red border that hadn¡¯t been present before. Small flecks of rose colored energy still traveled down an otherwise ink black string that was thicker than ever. Strangely being bound didn¡¯t bother me. It was a sign in my mind that Isabella Brand and I were more connected than ever. The brief moment of fear at being taken away from the only world that still existed faded. There had been another universe once but it felt distance. ¡°Can you come through? Colleen wanted to try and do that dungeon two nights ago, but you just vanished.¡± ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± My face flushed with heat. We had been going to work on beating that place before There was a box calmly floating from the [First World Legacy] but it was quickly obscured by Izzy pulling me through. Apparently this [First World Legacy] didn¡¯t believe in providing people more than one window. I wasn¡¯t even sure how to bring up any statistics on my own, they just appeared as events occurred. Was I strong? Was I weak? It felt like neither really applied, my [Flame Spirit Kitten] form was just somewhat unique in that it could walk through walls. The bridge between worlds spun as my Isabella¡¯s world came into view. Cardboard walls faded and were replaced by the walls of her slightly smaller dorm room. A worried little black haired girl sat there staring at me with serious eyes. ¡°Voices above Pierce, what happened?¡± she said without pause. There wasn¡¯t even enough time to get my barrings straight. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I grunted in confusion which came out far louder than expected. Both sides of her mouth turned down and her body seemed much smaller than before. ¡°Mmmhm. You¡¯re big.¡± She said. My head tilted down and ears perked forward in attention. They felt a little different now, not as sharp as before. I stuck out a paw and instead of the prior dainty little object there was a much bigger pad than ever before. ¡°What?¡± A small roar of panic issued forth from me. This was too much. I felt like I had woken up to find myself going from an eight year old body to a teenager. The fur itself still held that same fiery red with a blueish halo of longer furs. My color scheme was the least of my worries. I stared at the edge of Izzy¡¯s bed and tried to figure out how a creature now slightly bigger than a human could possibly fit on such a small cot. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Really? That¡¯s your first thought?¡± She commented on the ideas going through my head. Sometimes I forgot that my mind wasn¡¯t a fortress of solitude anymore. It hadn¡¯t been once Izzy and I joined. ¡°But-¡° I drifted off in contemplative silence. ¡°You¡¯re going to be too big.¡± She shook her head and seemed almost amused. ¡°Though I liked the smaller kitten form better.¡± My tail, which had been a hard enough to contain extension in the old form, was now large and strong enough to knock over a pile of Izzy¡¯s books. Parchment went everywhere and ink spilled. I immediately phased out partway in an effort to restrict the damage. Izzy cried out and ran over to the pile of homework. Books were hastily straightened and I felt terrible. She had to walk to the edges of her room just to get around my form. My attempt at curling into a tighter ball wasn¡¯t working. ¡°I¡¯m too big.¡± I muttered and covered my face with a giant paw. This was embarrassing. Before I had been simple a really large cat, now I was closer to an adolescent lion. ¡°Mmmhm. Maybe we could make you smaller, but not forever!¡± She stopped to scratch between my ears. The motion made me close both eyes in bliss and fall against a wall. ¡°I think the bigger shape will help, let¡¯s see those monsters ignore you now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I felt happy which came out as a much deeper purr than normal. ¡°You look stronger Pierce!¡± Izzy said. For a moment there was another emotion that crossed her face, but whatever it was got buried quickly. I felt confused for a moment then shrugged. My tongue reflexively started straightening disturbed fur. That felt beyond weird. My fur felt thicker than ever, and this new tongue was rougher. Being a beast instead of human certainly shifted around normal for me. And the room was too bright. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve grown stronger Pierce, I really am, but we also promised to help Colleen, didn¡¯t we? So that we could beat Dale through this dungeon?¡± Izzy was upset at me, and these last few moments of life had been confusing. I tried to get my head on straight. ¡°I know.¡± A paw covered my nose again and I fell to the side. My roll brought me colliding with her chair and knocked over the books once more. [Insubstantial] seemed to be having problems. This time Izzy didn¡¯t bother trying to recover her books and sighed. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll talk to Colleen, and see if we can maybe get something to make you smaller. At this rate I¡¯ll never get any homework done.¡± My contractor sighed heavily then tried to smile. Her mood meter was all over the place during our reunion. It hadn¡¯t felt like three days to me, but I remembered a message saying as much before everything went black. ¡°But first, you should go walk around, or something. I need to move the furniture.¡± ¡°Maybe I can-¡° I started to offer assistance. Being big meant moving things would be easier. ¡°No, not even Pierce. I¡¯ll get Colleen, we can talk about you behind your back too.¡± The young woman said. I wasn¡¯t sure the idea of teenage girls talking about me was such a good thing. Briefly I was torn between trying to figure out ways to listen in while feeling self-berating for being creepy and nosy. Girls deserved space, and I wasn¡¯t her father, boyfriend, or brother. We were contracted, we were bound together, but at some point she deserved her own space to think. I nodded and walked through the door, pleased that [Insubstantial] worked long enough to get me past the enchanted passageway. Walking would help acquaint me with the new body anyway. It had taken a few days to get around the first kitten form, much less being comfortable walking through walls. This was more of the same but my arms felt bulkier. There was more to the chest area. Movement in the new body came mostly by instinct, as if on some level movement was merely a thought being executed in [The Inner World]. I had no good place to go, and it was late at night. The sun¡¯s warmth had long since faded from all the pavement. I found myself down at the water''s edge, eying the peer and debating whether the wood could support me. It seemed unlikely. Each step brought a new sense of weight and strength, but there was a trade off of lightness. Even my perch on Grumble Goat¡¯s tower wouldn¡¯t work anymore. Izzy could figure something out to solve the problem. Then I could be a mini-lion thing, whatever this new form was. The fur looked like a [Flame Spirit Kitten], but there was a weight around my neck that hadn¡¯t been there before. Concentrating let me see the edges of a mane. It was one more object that would stay wet forever if fell into the water. I settled for a walkway that was lined in stone and directly overlooked the water. From there, my mind drifted off into thoughts of our future. Being a much bigger cat was what I wanted, Izzy could get fame and respect for being a proud [Fire Binder], I would be there until, well until I couldn¡¯t be. Discussing my recent revelations with Izzy didn¡¯t feel right. Not yet. The idea that might time here was limited as that [Voice of the First World Legacy] sheep herder said scared me. Never mind all that depressive nonsense. I had a new body and had missed the key details. Clearly my [Brawn] had gone up, my [Reaction] felt the same as I moved and looked around, even [Speed] could reach the same rush if I pushed it. Izzy¡¯s status slipped into slumber and I kept practicing in preparation for our eventual trip into the dungeon below. Tomorrow afternoon, after she had her coursework, would certainly be interesting. ¡°My my. You¡¯ve finally had a growth spurt.¡± A voice said just before the sun started to ascend. My head turned around to find the Janitor from before pushing his barrel along. The strange part was I hadn¡¯t remembered a trash can being nearby. Normally the smells at least registered on some level, but sure enough, this school¡¯s large refuse removal was busy turning over a waist high basket. I stared at the brown piece of woodwork and wondered how heavy it might be. Maybe a mage used magic to make it lighter. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you, you know.¡± He held a hint of tired amusement in his voice. I looked at him at twitched an ear. Being up all night made me yawn. The man actually paled briefly before trying to chuckle again. He was friendly and knew me well enough to recognize the new form without confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not the first spirit to come through here. Not by a long shot. Most, they start out small, young, wide eyed, but not you.¡± He said. My head dipped briefly in acknowledgment. Silent communication was hard. Without Izzy to relay words this conversation would be difficult. ¡°Students, mostly, they grow up too. You and Izzy were so small when you started classes.¡± His words were partially drowned out by the loud bang of a trash can over and over. I remembered it. She had been near nine years old and brave enough to travel for days in the back of a cart. We suffered through that [Tribal Lizard] attack, with the Defender golem creature. ¡°All of you, students and spirits alike, change over time. It¡¯s all about attitude you see.¡± He set back down the trash can and stared at me while trying to keep up a friendly chuckle. I didn¡¯t know where he was going with this at all. ¡°But no matter how tough they get, or how prepared the teachers try to be, we always lose one or two from each class.¡± The man tried to laugh again, but this time it sounded mildly disturbing. ¡°What I¡¯m saying, Mister Pierce, is that you should protect those dear to you, if you can.¡± My ear flicked again, which caused the heavyset trash carrier to nod in response then wheel off. That had been rather ominous for such an early morning conversation.
[The Overseer]''s log: I had to file a reprimand because Doctor Olive left her wireless connection port open. That meant dealing with security because they''re failed to properly screen for this stuff upon entry to the site. It''s important enough that we can''t trust an AI with it since they''re vulnerable around Case Seven''s to begin with. Anyway, it''s turned out to reveal a larger problem. Security missed the check because someone''s been poking around the firewalls again. This project is too dangerous for even an outer layer breach to be allowed. Denizens are at risk, and humanity is too reliant upon cyberspace to pull out now. It wouldn''t be so bad if the digital world had stable programming, but ever since the Case Zero tampering, their version of reality has been transforming. It makes me wonder sometimes...
Chapter 23 – Frozen Hell Izzy, Colleen, and I made it down to the seventh floor easily enough. Our newest addition proved to be extremely agile which made the difference in a floating platform challenge. The hard part had been picking up all the treasure chests on the way. Our path involved doubling back, defeating the same monsters multiple times in a row, and a lot of confused yells between the girls. In the end, Colleen walked away with a few new piece of gear. Bracers strapped on both wrists, a rune etched sheath for her sword and undergarments that caused her face to go red and Izzy to glare at me. I played my trump card, acting like a dumb uninterested cat, and proceeded to clean my head. It was a lot harder now that my body had doubled in size. An extended claw kept nicking the back of my ear while a controllable tail batted around. ¡°Do you know the way through?¡± Colleen asked Isabella. Her voice sounded rough and annoyed from the sudden change in temperature. One of the warrior woman¡¯s hands kept fingering the new gear in wonder. ¡°Mmmmh. Pierce should, he¡¯s explored this entire dungeon. This floor will be hard for us though. We specialize in fire, and the cold feels deep.¡± Izzy and I were mostly useless here. Level five with the mirror boss felt nearly too easy, hoping platforms as felt simple enough. Having an outright major weakness to [Cold] made it even more unbearable. Plus I hated [Frost Wisps]. They often hit me despite using [Ghost Walk] to get around. ¡°Well, we have our Essence Saver Stones in their alcoves, so we should be okay.¡± Colleen shrugged but her eyes were unfocused. ¡°This entire place is designed to prepare us, so there should be a way through.¡± Colleen acted like that all day. The woman¡¯s mouth seemed almost confused at the words coming out of it. Every so often a tongue would stick out as if tasting the air for the first time. Something in the distance seemed to be distracting her. Izzy settled for grumbling the entire time. ¡°It gets colder the further in we travel.¡± I gave a soft rumble. Colleen¡¯s head tilted a little bit as if she could hear me, but in the end Izzy had to relay my words. Her lips curled down in a serious looking frown. I shrugged, Colleen was a nice enough girl, a little abrupt but caring in her own rushed way. Over the years, Colleen had checked on my serious looking partner more than once. They fit almost perfectly as teammates from my point of view. I mean, she was nice to look at too. A girl who worked to keep in physical shape defiantly acquired an attractive body. Looking at Izzy felt weird to me, almost like peeping on a younger sister. Professor Lianne had a very friendly smile and was certainly adult enough to warrant noticing, but she also seemed to be in lust after Dale which was a strike against her. Either way didn¡¯t matter, I was still trapped in a cat body, although the larger form had more power. At this rate, all these ladies would be forty or fifty before I found an evolutionary form that let me be humanish, if such a thing were possible. With my luck, I would still be made of fire. If only for that one reason, the lingering sensation of being with a girl, however awkwardly, I missed my old life.
Remember
The stupid box from [First World Legacy] popped up and faded rapidly. I growled at it and shook my head. Ripples of fur turned into a full body stretch to shake off my thoughts. Izzy was looking at me funny and I sighed. The young woman probably heard entirely too much of my thoughts on all these matters. It wasn¡¯t like had been thinking filthy slobbering thoughts about engaging in various activities with another human. For a moment nights with one vaguely faceless former girlfriend surfaced in my mind. The serious looking woman with a playful smile went to Colleen finding undergarments level of red. I nodded to myself then went to scout this frozen hell of a floor. Walls were too small for me to properly hide in anymore, but [Ghost Walk] and a powerful [Leap] made it easy enough to get around. Large platforms were suspended in the air like icebergs. Stalagmites hung with a threatening beauty to them. Below was a pool of water so still that it looked like the spike ceiling above. What confused me the most was how the layout of this floor had changed. My last few visits down here all showed the same sort of layout, but now it looked like a graveyard of monsters and the air crackled with an energy which made my fur uncomfortable. Dead [Frost Wisps] were everywhere. Most had their beady little antennas burned to a crisp. I pawed one over the side and watched as ripples distorted a serene reflection. ¡°Izzy,¡± I said through our connection to each other. ¡°What?¡± She snapped back. The young woman had been getting increasingly annoyed the more Colleen traveled with us. ¡°There¡¯s another group down here.¡± ¡°Who? Is it Livory? Or Ulric?¡± The young woman asked back with a hint of alarm. ¡°Dale, I think,¡± I said trying to remain calm. The charged air reminded me of Jezebel, his little electrical dragon. ¡°We¡¯re going to catch up,¡± She responded. The mood reading vibrated and her mana bar dipped. Other symbols came up citing her various enhancements that had been developed to get around. One of them allowed her to get a bit lighter. A plus, small ball of flame, and stick figure symbol all made that spell work. The other transferred energy into physical prowess. A fire, a minus then the stick figure again. Fire magic was made for combat in so many ways. She had come a long way from the eight-year-old straining to cast one chain of a spell. Moments later and glistening Izzy arrived. Her robes combined with the fire magic had caused sweat to form. The cold air shortly brought it near freezing. My nose wrinkled in displeasure, but we had done this before many times. Floor seven was a frozen nightmare for us. Our opposite, and in this strange world of magic and floating boxes, that made all the difference. Ahead, the sounds of Dale¡¯s loud fighting could be heard. Jezebel¡¯s lightning bolts made my fur stand on end even from a few ice blocks away. Hopefully Izzy and Colleen would be spared her attitude. ¡°I should throw something at him, and let him die like he left us,¡± Colleen commented from my right. Her hand reached out to scratch my much higher ears and I tried not to purr in happiness. Being touched by one of the few people in the world I trusted was a welcome pleasure. We hadn¡¯t always gotten along, not even remotely, but Colleen had helped Izzy a lot with getting around the school. She had paid my coins to show her around, plus the woman no longer liked Dale. All those things were points in her favor. ¡°He would just recover upstairs. At least this way he¡¯ll have to choke on his own failure.¡± Izzy¡¯s face huffed. I looked over at her and tried to understand what was going on. I drove my head into her side and got a halfhearted flick of one ear. A growl of displeasure escaped as my head shook off the sting. Weren¡¯t we all in this mad dungeon dive together? Maybe, we had never really let other people in. Her parents were very kind and caring, but nearly figments of a rapidly passing past these last few years. Grandpa Hubble still visited now and then rarely stayed for more than a day. Izzy had me, and our issue was working Colleen into a more important role. Dale had no allies but Jezebel. Even now he was faltering, trying to catch a boss that acted like a frost themed whack a mole game. Brief images of the prior world came to mind, and were quickly overridden with a mouse hunt. I could remember hunting in Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower for a creature that moved rapidly through the bottom floor wall. That had been before my [Insubstantial] ability. ¡°How long do you think he¡¯ll last?¡± Colleen¡¯s voice sounded more animated the longer we spoke. I remembered feeling alone in the dungeon, but having two good look girls on either side helped. It almost made up for the lack of a human form. ¡°Not long.¡± I said a silent prayer towards whatever beings that ruled [The Inner World], in hopes they would make him fail soon. We would have an entire night to move ahead of him and reach the bottom. The Voices, or Ladies of Soul, or whatever was out there didn¡¯t directly answer. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy made a noise as her fingers worked up and down the staff. There were small glowing symbols inside, three big fireballs made of magically assembled mosaics that twisted and tried to escape. The creature, which turned out to be a snakes head, kept popping out trying to sneak up on Dale. We watched as he turned and slashed a sword. Jezebel seemed to be keeping an independently moving tail in check with lightning that faded off to nothing. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. We watched for a few more minutes. The three of us stood there getting increasing cold. I kept up my [Aura of True Flame], which allowed me to generate actual three small rotating balls of fire. It beat the old glow of red which would spill off of me. Izzy leaned into one side and Colleen the other. I tried not to purr in happiness as whatever issues my contractor had were temporarily put on hold. Progress felt better, and Dale would soon be done. We needed all of our joints to be functional. I couldn¡¯t even risk sitting down or my ass would freeze. Moments after the thought crossed my mind, Dale did a twisting jump and slid a little too far. His body fell towards the edge of his giant whack a mole shaped ice cube. The sword in Dale¡¯s hand twisted to try and jab downward for a hold. Fingers clawed and scratching could be heard as the block was scratched deeply. ¡°Master!¡± Jezebel yelled, but her electric floating serpent self couldn¡¯t zip along fast enough to save the male. He fell over the side and I waited for a splash of frozen doom. None came. Instead Jezebel and bolts of electric crawled across the ice¡¯s surface. She could be heard trying to lift up Dale. The three of us scooted further along our own ice block and looked down. Dale hung about halfway to the water, his sword finally having found good purchase. The young man¡¯s body swung around as he tried to keep a grip. White and purple coloring could be seen in his fingers. His eyes looked desperately up in our direction. ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not part of your group, since you abandoned me.¡± Colleen said with more than hint of smugness. ¡°Otherwise we could have been through this floor, and maybe even the eight one. ¡°We can still work together!¡± He tried to find the air to yell but only frozen puffs came out. Jezebel floated around in a panic. Her small blackened eyes looked wider than normal from this angle. ¡°Help us!¡± She pleaded at me. I tilted my head and tried to figure out if such a thing were possible. Saving him would earn us a debt, having anything over the annoying male would feel good. Izzy¡¯s fingers dug into my neck and clenched a roll of fur covered skin. ¡°No Pierce. We can¡¯t help him. He¡¯s against us.¡± She sounded certain despite a shakiness to the words. Dale¡¯s sword slipped and crunched. Ice around it had frozen nearly solid, as if growing over the blade. The man looked at us, to the wall above, sword, and Jezebel. ¡°I¡¯ll get you backstabbing cunts for this!¡± He shouted. Dale let go of the sword and tried to push off from the wall. His foot slipped and fell downwards towards certain death. The water rippled once, twice, then was still. Jezebell took it with far less grace. Her tiny dragonish face and whiskers twisted with madness. Both eyes glowed a sky blue as coils tried to swim through the air towards us. The lightning spirits mouth opened wide as her body vanished with a pop. We sat there in the silent aftermath. Izzy¡¯s fingers seemed unsteady. I felt pleased. ¡°What a self-entitled brat.¡± Colleen shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I ever liked him.¡± ¡°Let''s finish the boss. Then we can do the eight floor, and be done with this.¡± ¡°We can get to the advanced class if we make it through, right?¡± I asked. The idea of going to another level sounded exciting, especially since it would be with my few acquaintances in this world. Dale''s fall to doom didn''t really bother me much,, since I had seen it happen to multiple students over the years. ¡°Sure Pierce,¡± Izzy said. ¡°What did he ask?¡± Colleen leaned over a bit more to look at the spot where the jerk and his electric pet vanished. Izzy¡¯s fingers were still shaking. Her mood meter dimmer than normal. Whatever was happening, she seemed to be trying to distance herself from it. We had ¡®died¡¯ multiple times in this dungeon, but watching others fail was a new experience. ¡°He¡¯ll be upstairs Izzy,¡± I said calmly. ¡°That¡¯s the point of the Essence Saver Stones.¡± ¡°If it had been real, then he would be dead,¡± Izzy responded without the same hint of detachment I had. ¡°If we win this race, then he¡¯ll be cast out of the school. All we need to do is get down there before him, and after that he¡¯s somebody else¡¯s problem.¡± ¡°I doubt it will be that easy,¡± Izzy responded to the other girl. Our waiting saw the bosses¡¯ expansive ice block return to normal. The scars from Dale¡¯s fight repaired. Holes dug by the serpent vanished. It seemed as harmless as all those we had passed across before. Behind us [Frost Wisps] started to gather. I growled, and Izzy looked back. More emotions flickered through. ¡°We should take this boss down while we can,¡± She said, and we leapt across from one ice block to the next. A giant head poked up, like a vicious worm from an apple, only we had an opaque block of frozen water instead. My head tilted down and the giant creatures¡¯ body wiggled under the surface. The ground around us rumbled and shook. Crackling sounds came for as another of the creature¡¯s appendages shot upwards opposite the face. Both wiggled across the landscape with a scrape of scales. ¡°Pierce! Tail!¡± Izzy yelled. Colleen pulled out a sword then went straight for the head. Both left my circle of flame orbs generated by [Aura of True Flame]. A [Chilled] debuff started to appear on Izzy¡¯s information. I shuddered then tried to dig claws into the ice worm creature¡¯s scales. My claws tore at it and chips came off. The creature¡¯s face hissed while the tail rattled. The motion caused me to shake violently as ringing filled both ears. Both extensions of the beast below withdrew then came out again from fresh holes. The damage I had done looked to be completely healed once the creature¡¯s limbs submerged. Another four exchanges went buy with eight new sets of holes appearing. Our ice block started to look a lot like Swiss cheese. The imagery flashed in my head but I couldn¡¯t even remember what a Swiss was or why they had cheese. ¡°Pierce! Can you hold it above ground?¡± Colleen apparently had an idea. Normally they came from Izzy. My contractor looked sick and dizzy. ¡°I¡¯ll try!¡± My roar back activated [Inspire Minor Terror]. The worm monster didn¡¯t care in the slightest and came forth with the same slithering pattern as before. ¡°Alright!¡± I leapt to the newest hole and went for it¡¯s tail. My mind bent towards pouring more mana into my [Aura of True Flame]. Ice scales melt and I sunk paws into grooves before they could reform. There were no signs of my attacks doing more than slowing down it¡¯s repair process. ¡°Isabella! Your biggest spell!¡± Colleen gave orders like a general. My muscles hurt. Near my shoulder something violently tore. The giant frozen snake in my teeth threatened to get loose and tear into the two girls. The front end seemed to have stopped moving as it concentrated on shaking me loose. ¡°Colleen! Back!¡± Izzy shouted. My body lay upside-down as the creature tried to pull me back towards the hole. Izzy¡¯s hand raised into the air and a great ball of fire formed rapidly. Her forehead glistened with sweat from the energy being contained. Mana dropped out from the young woman¡¯s bar faster than my own. She slammed the formed fireball into the first on her staff, then a second, then third. ¡°Izzy!¡± I growled out. My mouth was mostly occupied trying to dig into the fleeing tail. Four spells chained together was a new limit for her. Colleen retreated to the platforms far edge. One hand raised above her face as a soft blue glow appeared. Isabella Brand, Young mage in training, fire master in the making, and granddaughter to a powerful mage, stuck all four spells into a hole where the worm¡¯s body had exited. Her serious eyebrows were lifted and mouth curled in an exhausted sort of glee. Light flared, air fled from the hole as fire poured across the ice cubes top. Izzy bore it all without suffering. The ice cube beneath us shattered as a fire greater than any we had unleashed before rippled through. My eyes shut from the brightness and I tried to hold on.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: Today was rough. IB actually nuked one of the test rooms by straight overload it. She didn¡¯t follow any of the expected solutions and we¡¯ve been forced to adapt to her increased processing power. Honestly, I think she¡¯s really starting to come into her own. We don¡¯t have the facilities for the kind of multilateral neural network used by normal Case¡¯s. In order to keep up we¡¯ve been forced to allow some more local updates. These should give more depth to the virtual fabric. Unfortunately, it also increases the sentience of all the current Case Four and Six, ones who may be outside our and that are completely blind to their own nature. As a human, I¡¯m still blown away by the way this code interacts. It¡¯s literally like watching worlds made entirely of code, and it¡¯s this very malleable existence that has created Case Seven¡¯s in the first place.
Chapter 24 – Burned Babe Ice floated all around and I was desperately trying to find a place to leap away to. Instead, all three of us seemed to be stuck on different chunks as we bobbed around. Being this close to a frozen lake surface disturbed me. Even thinking about that sort of chill sense unwelcome twitches through my entire spine. ¡°Voices above.¡± Colleen hoarsely whispered from nearby. ¡°Did you have to blow it all up?¡± Izzy groaned in response. Merging four spells like that had really hit the girl hard. I tried to get a feel for everyone¡¯s status. Everything ached with the strain and nails on my paw had actually ripped off. Colleen looked okay but bits of hair were mussed or outright singed. I tried to stay balanced on my floating bit of iceberg and said, ¡°The floor boss is defeated, we can move on now.¡± Leaping up would probably send me spiraling into the water. This was the same problem I had faced when falling into the lava on floor six, only this frozen hell would actually hurt a lot. Going back to [The Outer World] still had a price of pain. ¡°Isabella?¡± Colleen couldn¡¯t understand my noises and Izzy looked half aware. The blast had left her unharmed due to our shared immunities, but flying through the air and falling down hadn¡¯t been kind. Her health bar looked dangerously low. Colleen was using her sword as a paddle to bring their floating ice chunks together. I tried to find something less terrifying than ice and subarctic water but failed. In the end my own paws dipped into water as tried to elegantly cat paddle over. Bits of my health were shaved off while [Aura of True Flame] ate at the last of my mana. Soon all three of us were on the larger floating piece of former rock. I looked up, in hopes that our rock would reform into something more stable and manageable. We must have broken the event. When Dale died it automatically repaired but now the block stayed a shattered mess. Izzy groaned and managed to sit up. Her eyes seemed unfocused. One kept drifting to an invisible object floating a few feet in front of her nose before both finally found the same barring. ¡°Mmmhm. Pierce?¡± She sounded sleepy. ¡°Hello, Isabella Brand.¡± I tried to sound formal. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°But we¡¯ve known each other a year-¡± Her words faded off and head shook. ¡°-a lot of years.¡± Izzy finished. ¡°Sorry. I thought maybe you got hit on the head.¡± I felt out of touch with my training as a fire fighter. There had been rules and guides. An entire series of prompts displayed on my helmet that would tell me what steps to follow. Maybe the [First World Legacy] stretched in to my old realm. It seemed weird, but all those notices helped us skip a lot of training in favor of field work and, something. There had been something else, a machine with parts perhaps? My body shook in a huff, shaking the iceberg we stood on. ¡°I¡¯m okay, I think. Mmmh. Just backlash from using that many spells together.¡± ¡°That was a lot of firepower.¡± Colleen seemed to be cradling the shield arm. There was a small green jewel visible on her bracer. That must have been a focal point for the energy protection skill. Izzy stood up slowly with a pained wince. I walked over and offered my enlarged body as support. Her fingers felt warm digging into a layer of fur. Colleen staggered over while Izzy got the staff straight. I looked up at the young ladies while trying to stay still. They were both in bad shape. Izzy¡¯s mana bar had been completely depleted, there wasn¡¯t much health either. If we got far enough she might be able to see the eight floor as a team. After that, we would need to turn in. ¡°There¡¯s a door over there.¡± I shifted my head to the right. Our ice burg floated off to the side from another huge chunk. At the base was a nearly frozen over doorway that went down past the shifting water¡¯s surface. Past the sliver of space we could walk through looked to be a lit brick stairwell. Logic didn¡¯t really apply to this dungeon. The floor avoid had lava, this one was frozen, yet the ceiling showed no signs of melting. Colleen stuck a foot out and pushed us off another bit of ice. Our makeshift lifeboat moved slowly towards the doorway. By the time we reached it Izzy could stand on her own feet. I stayed there to support both girls. We were partners, and I had all the fur. I stepped across first, using my wider stance to hold us in place. Frozen water sent shivers along my belly. Izzy and Colleen stepped into the doorway first. ¡°Don¡¯t slip Pierce.¡± Izzy said to me. Her words drug with exhaustion. I put all my weight forward and lifted one paw at a time. Nails scrambled against ice as our floating support slipped away. Feet touched cold water and my health plummeted. Brief terror at [Cold] damage overrode my thoughts as paws kicked. Colleen tried to get an arm around me, but this new form was too big. She ended up yanking fur and Izzy fell back. My large body turned rapidly as I tried to find the foot that had touched such freezing waters. Both girls were knocked into walls. ¡°Pierce, you¡¯re okay. It¡¯s okay.¡± I groaned and whimpered then tumbled to try and get to the leg. My rear slammed into the wall and down a few steps, leaving me upside down. The world blurred as spots swam into view. Both teeth were chattering. I huffed while inverted and looked at the ladies. ¡°Oh. Oh shit.¡± I muttered. Colleen was looking at a fresh cut which lined one leg. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Tell her I¡¯m sorry.¡± I righted myself and backed up a little. God dammit, I had been reckless with what should have been a simple jump. ¡°It¡¯s okay Pierce. We¡¯ll be healed once we leave, remember? Pain is only temporary down here.¡± Izzy reminded me. The winded pant to her lungs air failed to add credibility. ¡°I know but-¡± My voice came out in a low meow of worry. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Colleen reassured us while smiling softly. ¡°Let¡¯s see the eighth floor, maybe we can beat Dale tonight. Wouldn¡¯t that be fun.¡± She tried to sound loud but winced upon taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯d like to see his smug face when we beat him.¡± ¡°And kick him out,¡± I said. Izzy too smiled weakly and walked up. Her fingers scratched the space between my ears. I felt reassured that both girls braved my presence after that terrible reaction. Together we went down a floor. Eight opened up a bit into a cavern. I had spied on people down here before but been perplexed. ¡°Music. This floor has something to do with music.¡± I looked up at Izzy then back towards our open space. These dungeons were all a combination of puzzle, combat, and situational awareness. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± Izzy said. Her head tilted against the staff. ¡°There¡¯s some traps too.¡± My nose pointed towards some of the long panels on the ground. Traps showed up a nasty green color. There were white and black strips, alternating in most spots. The darker panels were lifted up a step and maybe two feet wide. They reminded me of a musical instrument, but at the same time the memory felt clouded because it belonged to the old world. ¡°Three of the dark panels. This whole range here.¡± I walked near down the row of wide steps and tried to outline the dangerous area. My nose caught wind of something smelling like pork chops. ¡°There may be a treasure nearby.¡± Izzy determined it was best for me to trigger dungeon traps first. This way we would know what consequences might hit us. She nodded in my direction, reading the thought and granting permission. Both girls stepped back towards the doorway. I tentatively placed a paw onto one trapped panels then sprang back as sickly green light flared. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The room bonged. My head swam as the discordant sound assaulted us. Up above rocks shook and something screeched. I tilted my head back at an awkward angle in time to note a white teardrop forming into a humanoid shape. Only the creature was all wrong and hung from the ceiling like any sane person might stand on the floor. It screeched, showing two rows of pointed teeth. Three more teardrops flowed from the roof as the first one fell towards me. I roared loudly but failed to phase the falling creature. Sharp talons met my angered claws. ¡°Rank Seventeen! Dismorphia!¡± Izzy tried to shout but the words were lost under an echo. I had no clue what a [Dismorphia] was anyway. ¡°Go for their heads or wings!¡± No, I figured out it tore things up better than I did. Bits of health dropped. My skin felt numb and screamed at the same time. I growled and put up the [Aura of True Flame], with barely enough mana to generate a single orb. Being bigger helped as I bowed the smaller creature backwards. It fought to escape and my paw rapped repeatedly across its noggin, tearing through its skin with an angry pop. Demons, that¡¯s what these beasts were. Only they would deflate like overstuffed balloons. I tried to impose myself between Izzy and roared at the others who were landing. A trio of [Dismorphia] heads snapped in my direction in unison. I leapt for them. The snarled and lifted six arms at once. Their fingers stuck out like wicked knives. Behind us, a sword clattered to the ground. The mess of monsters and I tumbled around. My kitten habits were still too hard to ignore. Lions relied on weight while I tried to use agility with this bulkier body. The result involved me diving into spins and slamming into the floor repeatedly. One died to a blast from Izzy. Her mana flashed critical. The fireball spell looked tiny compared to that big inferno before. I mangled one of the others along it''s back, tearing a hole for steam to eject from between tiny looking wings. ¡°Isabella.¡± Colleen sounded weak. She had been fighting a loose fifth that appeared out of nowhere. Her enemy lay defeated as I scrambled to take care of the last one. Past our remaining enemy I could see where Colleen¡¯s hand pressed over her chest. One side of her face was scrunched while the other looked slack. Drool dripped down. ¡°Colleen?¡± Izzy set down her staff and ran over. Both hands immediately tried to prop up her friend. I finished off the remaining monster then looked around for more enemies. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. I feel wrong.¡± The older girl said. I had no idea what that meant. There were no more enemies around. Nothing looked out of place that I could tell. Walls were clean and the long panels on the ground stopped lighting up. Musical tones which had layered over each other started to fade. ¡°Feel. Sick.¡± Colleen¡¯s words turned choppy. Her face looked pale and I nosed closer and she gasped in momentary relief. The heat seemed to help a little bit. My chest huffed up and down. Breathing was mostly pointless but habits from the old world died hard. That quick skirmish when we were already low on health took a huge toll. ¡°Can we help her?¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong. She has no temperature, but there¡¯s-¡° Izzy trailed off and formed a few small spells. I worried for her mana but we had little else in the way of options. The color drained from Izzy¡¯s face and every hint of that playful smile vanished. Even her father¡¯s serious eyes seemed to go slack. ¡°Dale.¡± The younger woman said. ¡°Cold, I feel cold. My arms, where are my arms?¡± Colleen stared up at the ceiling and lay still. Breathing had gone shallow and a pinky finger twitched. ¡°Dale! He must be doing something with her Essence Saver Stone!¡± ¡°What?!¡± My roar echoed in my ears reminding me of the [Dismorphia]¡¯s screeches. Izzy didn¡¯t even notice. ¡°You must get up top! Check the Essence Saver Stones!¡± She yelled and conflicting emotions ran through me. Izzy¡¯s face scrunched in annoyance at my hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay!¡± I wasted no more time and ran straight for one of the walls. My body ached. The burning of over exerted muscles only got worse as I made to the dungeon boundary and started climbed up. This was far enough outside the confines that no monsters would obstruct me. My body reached the surface with a triumphant roar. The world seemed to shake around me. Late morning birds took flight and small rodents actually stopped their struggle to find food. Dale stood there, with a small jewel in his hand. Essence Saver Stone¡¯s looked a little bit different for each person. His spirit, Jezebel, floated nearby. I didn¡¯t have time for complex thoughts or moments of wondering. I only knew that this student shouldn¡¯t have been powerful enough to go against the teachers of this school and break their system. Almost in unison with that thought lights around the campus flared. There seemed to be some sort of alarm going off. A large barking dog noise bounded around the area making my skin crawl. The school guardians had been alerted, far too late for my tastes. Dale grunted in pain from my unexpected attack. The stone in his hands seemed to break into a dozen more pieces. My eyes widened and I hoped the damage wasn¡¯t further aggravated by me. The sirens took on a new tone of urgency. ¡°He got Colleen¡¯s stone!¡± I roared and Jezebel¡¯s tail flinched. Her retaliatory shot went wide as Dale hammered an elbow into my back. ¡°Pierce!¡± Izzy screamed across our connection. ¡°You¡¯re too weak to stop him! Just try to prevent his escape!¡± ¡°He hurt Colleen! I¡¯ll kill him!¡± At times, I felt like I barely knew the girl, but she was part of Izzy¡¯s life and had been helping her since day one in a roundabout fashion. ¡°You will not harm my master!¡± The small coiling dragon of lightning screamed at me. ¡°I never liked this school anyway,¡± Dale said dryly. I charged at him again. I had no idea what else to do besides throw myself into danger to help my friends. Reasons were for those with the luxury of time to think. When it came down to it, beyond the race floor eight, snide attitude, or equal amounts of betrayals, I really just didn¡¯t like Dale.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: The security staff is in a tizzy over something, which is excessively aggravating since they¡¯re being tight lipped. The impression I¡¯ve been getting is that our security breach is larger than expected. I¡¯m fairly sure the stress is getting to me. I found a grey hair this morning and my own journals are starting to get less professional. To top it off, Subject 42 started to directly confront Subject 17, after his beating in IB¡¯s destructive testing. Both of them are operating well below half while Subject 17¡¯s readings are all amped up. Talk about a day of madness. The night crew will have to monitor this one. I¡¯ve been up for sixty hours straight and the fallout from today will likely require another sixty. Security and project failure aren¡¯t even the worst of it. It¡¯s all the dammed political angles.
Chapter 25 – Deaf Ash Hole Dale readied a weapon and I didn¡¯t have the patience to label. Giant felines had no regard for the differences between swords, sabers, or rapiers. It was long and pointy but my arms came with half a ton of muscle and sharp razor-like tips. As a spirit of [The Outer World] I didn¡¯t care. Killing me meant nothing. Destroying Colleens Essence Saver Stone and putting her very existence in danger did. I ignored the sword while slamming my paw into Dale. There was no mana for [Aura of True Flame]. Spirit damage tore with milky whiteness. Trails of char showed on the leather. None of them were deep enough to make up for the damage he inflicted on Colleen. ¡°You overgrown pussy!¡± Dale shouted. Jezebel looked dazed for a moment then started attacking. She might have been screaming too but it was probably something snide. My head still throbbed from exertion plus running thousands of feet, uphill, through dirt. ¡°You hurt Colleen!¡± I roared in his face. Dale flinched as [Inspire Minor Terror] kicked in. His sword hand swung unsteadily. [Resistance: Physical] helped my shoulder roll off his blade. I reared up then threw both hands at the young jerks chest. He tried to dodge and my strike tore into flesh for the first time. Trails of blood poured out in rivers along his neck and arm. ¡°Master!¡± Jezebel¡¯s tail curled then flung three balls of lightning in my direction. Two hit my back causing pain to ripple through. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you for that!¡± Dale pulled himself together while I jerked from the electrical attack. The young man¡¯s face stood out despite my watering eyes. His serious jawline was comically out of place in mind, making him seem outright old for a second. One arm tried to reach around and pull down Dale¡¯s head. He resisted and straightened out, leaving me half standing with an arm locked on his shoulder. I opened my mouth wide to bite at his face instead but hesitated. Was it really alright to try and actually eat his face off? Had I strayed so far from the human I once was? A moment of self-doubt cost me. Dale turned his blade under my rib cage and grunted with effort. His sharp weapon briefly paused against skin before sliding through into whatever insides I had as a [Flame Spirit Lion]. [Resistance: Physical] helped slow down the painful progress. ¡°Oh.¡± I gasped. ¡°Monster! Defoliate! Unrepentant peon!¡± Jezebels stream of curse words poured forth. ¡°Pierce?! Pierce!¡± Izzy¡¯s voice bounced inside my head. ¡°Foul bit of fiery nightmare!¡± The tiny lightning serpent was not done. She grew close, sending more bolts into my skin. My paws shredded more skin and Dale roared back at me. My breath seemed to leaking out rapidly. I fell forward. One arm felt shockingly numb. The other pressed tightly against Dale¡¯s face. So be it, if was going to lost my hold on this world, Dale would come with me. Reason or school comradery seemed a distant concept in the wake of Colleen being hurt. I snarled and bite, thrashed then tore. It felt almost like I was throwing a tantrum but the results were unclear. Something about this fight felt far more visceral than any combat in the dungeon below. In the end, I lay huffing. My side felt cold. Both shoulders were numb. One ear rung and the other didn¡¯t move when I tried to hear the oncoming crowd. Dale¡¯s body lay in my line of site. Oddly unmoving. Jezebel was gone, but a puff of blue littered the ground like dust. Only a small crystal lay behind, glittering under the light of a distant school alarm. ¡°Colleen?¡± I whined across my connection to Izzy. ¡°She¡¯s gone, Pierce. She¡¯s dead.¡± Izzy responded while trying to remain calm. ¡°We have to help her!¡± I had health still. That meant I could stand. I could still do something. Both proved difficult. ¡°The teachers are too far away aren¡¯t they?¡± There was a silence in our connection. I tried to get up but it hurt, more than anything had in a long time. It felt similar to those first few days of screaming red fire. [Dog]s and [Cold] spells couldn¡¯t hurt worse than this. How in god¡¯s name had Dale hurt me so much, when nothing else did? ¡°None of them could reverse this. Dead is dead,¡± Izzy said slowly. Her mood sat at black tainted with frozen blue. I sniffed and could smell blueberries but the reason didn¡¯t register. ¡°Can¡¯t we do something? Make her a spirit, or share life!?¡± I felt guilty and upset. If I hadn¡¯t goaded Dale then they might have been perfectly fine. We let him die in the dungeon so he got revenge. ¡°This isn¡¯t your world, not really. There are rules, and bringing someone back like you want is a violation!¡± Her words grew louder and more aggravated. Standing was easier. I paced over to the broken Essence Saver Stone and tried to understand. It lay a few feet away from Dale¡¯s body, glittering like Jezebel¡¯s stone but this one was shattered. ¡°Is there anyone at the school who could save her? Anyone?¡± I asked. Breathing still hurt. My hind leg kept losing purchase on the ground. A front paw jerked awkwardly every time I tried to move. ¡°No. No one who could get here in time. There were safety¡¯s in place.¡± She said slowly. ¡°None of them work if the Essence Saver Stone is destroyed. That¡¯s the whole point.¡± My head tilted towards the oncoming crowd. There were students nearby but none of the teachers had made it yet. They all wore robes with designs on their arms that students had to earn. ¡°How did he get it out?¡± I couldn¡¯t even get Izzy¡¯s out. It was pinned into a deep alcove within the wall. ¡°Dale, Dale shouldn¡¯t have been able to do that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to do something.¡± My argument felt weak. My circling over Colleen¡¯s broken stone wasn¡¯t helping. I looked around. Dale was dead or dying. His eyes were glazed over and staring into the distance. I didn¡¯t care at all. Jezebel had been reduced to that small gem laying on the grass. People were shouting. I finally started seeing robes of teachers running by me into the dungeon. And as I stared around hoping for a solution, something occurred to me. It was insane, but I vaguely remembered a few courses on magic stones from Izzy¡¯s Artificer classes. They were one of many items that talked about subjects far beyond my level of understand. Maybe I was making it up, but I had to do something. I thought a teacher had mentioned using one stone to supplement another. If they merged successfully then a broken stone might be repaired. A teacher was screaming at me to stand out. Itching sensations pulled at my skin. It felt like a great pressure was being applied to my body. Abdominal muscles clinched and [Ghost Walk] triggered intermittently, reducing the pressure a bit. ¡°Stop moving!¡± Someone shouted repeatedly. I walked over to the small blue stone that had dropped from Jezebel. The lightning dragon must have shattered or perhaps even died along with Dale. Maybe she was unsummoned. My eyebrows and forehead slid down in a wince. Dammit, a life for a life was a pointless trade, even if I didn¡¯t like Dale. Maybe there was a way to at least right something. I picked up Jezebels stone in my teeth and stepped slowly towards Colleens [Essence Saver Stone]. People were shouting still but my ears were bloodied or broken. I dropped the intact jewel onto the pile of broken pieces. My nose slowly motioned them around. People were moving nearby but I couldn¡¯t make anything concrete out. It was like my entire world had narrowed to saving Colleen. ¡°Izzy?¡± I said, feeling oddly alone. ¡°Will this help her? I want to help her.¡± Isabella Brand would be nowhere nearby. Even if she started running out of the dungeon it would take forever to here. ¡°It might, Pierce. Mmmhm.¡± Her tone sounded sad. The emotional readout I relied upon was blurred along with everything else. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± My head dipped forward as all four legs gave out. The pile of gems sat inches in front of me. I stared at them and all I could do is wonder about the past. Did Colleen really look like a former girlfriend? It seemed like a silly question at such a time, but maybe that¡¯s how I processed grief. I couldn¡¯t remember my mother¡¯s face. Nor any other family member from the old world. ¡°This will hurt Pierce, but you¡¯ll need strength.¡± ¡°We can do it?¡± I foolishly lost sight of the pain consequence and focused on a possible solution. ¡°Mmmhm. Yes. Touch the gems with your paws, and I¡¯ll-¡° She drifted off and gulped. ¡°-I¡¯ll support you.¡± Both paws stretched out. Some teacher had started to reach for the [Essence Saver Stone] and I gave a weak snarl before covering the items up. Fur on my paws seemed aglow with more than its normal blue fringes. An overpowering thump swallowed the world around me warped. Gone was the dungeon entrance with teachers feet. An endless horizon line stretched across a white plain. It sat in the distance. My head started took around in panic before the thump happened again. Electrified sparks crawled over the floor and ceiling. Energy rushed together. I tried to suck in a lung full of air. ¡°Focus on Colleen!¡± Izzy was shouting at me. Her voice strained with effort. ¡°Focus Pierce! Focus on her face!¡± Thump went the world once more. Air whooshed out in a noise that sounded more like a human scream than my normal roar. I sucked in air again, desperate to breathe. Blue rushed in a line towards a distant point while the horizon grew flatter. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Both eyes refused to close. Another pound of noise hit whole bolts of energy above and below started moving faster. With each pound my back hurt, as fresh screams ripped out. As each thump passed the pain coursing through intensified. ¡°Focus!¡± There were no status bars to look at here in this endless horizon of electricity, but I knew what dying felt like. That damned dog and his slobber which burned like fire. Teeth shuddered across my mind. I roared, or screamed, again. ¡°Pierce! Hold on! We¡¯re almost through!¡± Izzy might have been reassuring me, or herself. She screamed with me, and by all the Voices and Ladies of Soul that Izzy held dear, it hurt. In the end, that¡¯s all I knew for a short eternity. I knew it hurt. The real world came back into focus slowly. My eyes blinked a few times. Dull thudding broke up as other noises were shouted. Each sound of humanity served to bring me back into [The Inner World]. Sunlight had peeked over the horizon. The sirens of campus were mostly halted. Professor Lianne knelt down in front of me, a frown on her face. ¡°That was unwise,¡± She said. ¡°It might have been better if you didn¡¯t survive it.¡± My eyelids dropped downward. A boxes edge stood out against burnt grass. The jewels were both gone. I looked up at the system notice.
[The Inner World: Sacrifice] Details: Contractors to spirits from [The Outer World] may heal a summoned being by sacrificing their own health and mana. This channeled ability is dangerous and may overdraw a contactors reserves.
¡°Izzy?¡± My leg jerked but didn¡¯t stand right. ¡°Relax Pierce. She¡¯ll be okay. All floors are being shut down, and Professors are retrieving the students. Your Isabella Brand is being taken care of by Professor Sneed.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± Professor Lianne asked me. I tried to answer, but had no energy to do so. Shouting for Izzy that one time had taken whatever remained of my energy. The health bar on my screen implied near death. I hung on only because Izzy hadn¡¯t sent me home, or had sacrificed of herself to keep me alive. ¡°He tried to keep Colleen alive by using Jezebels stone. I think he caused a resonance with the saved information between them.¡± Isabella answered from the doorway. Somehow she had made it back to the surface. I tried to lift my head and look over but it felt like my neck was broken. The older redhead patted me on the head. Her eagle spirit made of sunlight clicked it¡¯s tongue but said nothing. Professor Lianne stood up and walked towards Izzy. All I saw was a bit of ankle moving under her loose dress robes. ¡°That¡¯s what it looked like, but hearing confirmation is good.¡± Professor Lianne said. I tried to listen to other conversations but they were too hushed. Only the two ladies really stood out. ¡°You know how dangerous it was to support him in this?¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯s why Essence Stones are banned outside of school grounds.¡± ¡°The lecture can wait. You¡¯re in a terrible state. Let¡¯s get you both some healing.¡± The teacher said. People moved around us. I growled in confusion but had no strength to oppose anyone. In hindsight, I realized we should have just died to the nearest monster and maybe been kicked out. Or maybe we hadn¡¯t because then Colleen would have been alone. After chanting by one of the teachers, a woman who seemed to be more cat than human, I felt better. The health bars were going back up slowly. Isabella was drained but still curious. They talked a bit, theorizing what might have happened. Colleen was most likely lost, and alive still. Other people cast spells upon the dead body of Dale, trying to replay what had happened. Two days later we learned the truth. Collen was no longer a human girl of [The Inner World]. Somehow she had transformed into a being like me. I remembered my first few days. That grey screen from the [First World Legacy], telling me to ¡®Remember¡¯ an old existence. Would she be lost? Confused? I had both ruined her normal student life, and perhaps even altered her afterlife for the worse. I had to find Collen, but even healing spells and being returned to [The Outer World] for respite hadn¡¯t fixed us. Everything still ached. The wound in my side from Dale¡¯s sword left a nasty scar. Two more days passed. Izzy could barely move around. She kept trying to meet her old school schedule. My attempts at helping her along or lending support were met with annoyed denial. At the end of her morning class, I had basically given up and was staring at an attractive Professor Lianne. ¡°I want to find Colleen.¡± I finally uttered the idea out loud as we walked back to Izzy¡¯s dorm. ¡°She¡¯s gone!¡± Izzy shouted. Her mood meter shifted to a deep red that looked more like boiling lava than Professor Lianne¡¯s sunshine. Her bottled up annoyance transformed into rage. Her father¡¯s serious eyes bore down at me. ¡°We should bring her back.¡± ¡°Is this what it¡¯s going to be like Pierce?! I know that that was our fault, but are you really going to attempt the impossible for everyone?¡± Izzy stomped a foot sending ripples through her fabric. For a moment, I slipped and stared at white legs. Eventually, my gaze lifted to still angry eyes. Her expression made my chest tighten and mouth numb. ¡°Or is it because you have a crush on her?¡± Izzy¡¯s emotional reading sat just out of sight. I risked a glance in its direction. The prior boiling orb filled with various shades of purple threatened to crack. It seemed to be jealousy but that emotion made little sense to me. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it because she was a woman.¡± The words coming out of my mouth sounded calm but I was not. ¡°Then why? Why chance your life when she was already dead?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s who I am. That¡¯s all I know how to do.¡± A murmur of confused growls came out of me. I didn¡¯t say ¡®because I got her killed¡¯, but Izzy had said that already. ¡°You risked everything, for Colleen! She¡¯s, was, is a good person, but I stood with you and risked it all.¡± The courtyard wasn¡¯t empty. People around us looked over, but when they saw who was arguing they promptly went about their business. ¡°Do you expect me to do that for anyone?! It hurt Pierce!¡± It had hurt me too. It felt like dying all over again. ¡°We had to try.¡± I tried to start somewhere reasonable. ¡°You have no idea how dangerous it is to perform that kind of spell,¡± she spat the word out like it was dirty. ¡°You could have died, I could have died!¡± ¡°She¡¯s your friend too.¡± My brain felt stuck on repeat. ¡°Aren¡¯t we meant to try and help? Isn¡¯t that what being a Defender is all about?¡± Her eyes closed and the emotional readings shifted through a dozen different colors. Everything hurt. It felt like we weren¡¯t connecting on the same wave length anymore and I didn¡¯t understand what was wrong. Her world seemed to be fading way, almost to the flat screen it used to be.
[Summon (Request)] releasing due to contractor¡¯s cancelation. System Notice: Initiating recall for Perseus Argive to [The Outer World]
After that, she didn¡¯t talk to me for a long time, and the darkness of my own protective box felt lonelier than ever. I sat there, heart alternating between frozen moments and panicked thudding while trying to understand what had gone wrong. Was it as simple as jealousy? I would have thrown my existence away for Izzy as well. I didn¡¯t understand girls, not in the prior world or this one. She must have been hurting after our struggle. Four days had passed. Yet, neither one of us felt back to normal. Our connection only had a slow stuttering stream of magic flowing through it. I pawed at the string but got no response or window into Izzy¡¯s reality. [The Outer World] felt lonely without her.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: Once again success and failure are mixed together. It seems to be a common theme when dealing with Denizens. Everything is give and take. Success first. Subject 17 has been completely ejected from the virtual reality and is no longer considered a Case Seven. The absolute defeat he suffered at the hands of Subject 42 provided effective. We have sent notifications to his parents, the government, and provided a recording for the Denizens. Their first responses are positive. At least they were positive until the rest of the report was run. Here¡¯s where the failure came in. Apparently Subject 42 and IB risked their existences to defeat Dale. The local hardware housing IB has been partially burned out. We have solid state hardware patterning, liquid cooling gels, and still overheated. IB actually snapped at Subject 42 for initiating a near self-destruct. I can¡¯t blame her, but the process still worked. I need approval before risk IBs existence again. We''re als waiting for the local network to free up space and her repairs to kick in. She¡¯s gone into a minimal hibernation. I¡¯m worried Subject 42 won¡¯t understand.
Chapter 26 - Being Fired My wounds were healing from [The Outer World: Respite], so at least we were still connected. Two months had passed without verbal contact or even a box. Maybe three months. Maybe it was an hour. I had no dammed way of telling without my connection to Izzy. It sat dim and nearly lifeless. I wandered the fire planes while feeling frustrated. Fire plane, whatever. This place made less sense the further my travels went. Giraffes were replaced with creatures which looked like hippos with overbite. They traveled in herds together towards pits of black tar. Each gulp would make flaming fur of varied colors ignite with fresh energy. Blue fire furs would attack red beasts. Orange furred hippos would compete against dull brown hippo things. They were racist but all looked alike to me. Blue seemed to be the typical winner unless overwhelmed. None of them liked me. My last few attempts to get near the watering, oil, hole had met with ruthless stampeding. Drinking from the bottom of the lake ended with me almost drowning. I felt annoyed that out here I needed to breathe. Being in [The Outer World] so long had started to change me. My stomach kept rumbling for the first time in forever. I tried not to note how much luster vanished from my own fur. The cord connecting me with my contractor flopped uselessly along the ground. Still, I wandered in hopes of finding an edge to the world. Some days, minutes maybe, I ran. Eventually I reached a large valley and lay down near a bush. It sat heavy with ash in the way other bushes might be laden with pollen. I hated being made of fire. I felt upset not knowing where Colleen was in all this. Above all else, I really didn¡¯t like not talking to Isabella Brand. The world grew darker the further I traveled. Fires which once littered the landscape grew smaller. The tar like pools which represented water started to fade. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± I tried to fill my general silence with Izzy¡¯s sound. She still refused to respond. It felt like Izzy spent a lot of time sleeping. I still could see her mood everything indicated a slow recovery. Mana and health seemed to be blocked out at a quarter of their old values. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Izzy.¡± I muttered to myself. Izzy didn¡¯t respond. That marked another milestone in an indiscernible amount of time since our last actual conversation. I stood up slowly while trying to ignore the tense gut muscles and stiff shoulders. They refused to move correctly after this minor eternity of wandering. My valley seemed peaceful enough, but it wasn¡¯t Izzy¡¯s bed or Grumble Goat¡¯s tower. It wasn¡¯t the peer where I gazed into a still water¡¯s surface. I continued the search for something familiar to anchor to. ¡°Screeee!¡± I heard a high pitched noise loud enough to make my ears curl. Talking out loud where no one could listen was an action for insane humans. Dignified adolescents lions like myself stuck to confused murmurs and grumbles, or preparing to hide in the dirt. I may have been a brave lion fire beast of unknown race name, but survival outweighed pride. Dying, or whatever, would put me back in my black cardboard box and lose all this progress to nowhere. ¡°Screeeeeee!¡± The noise came again. Thumbs slowly started rattling the area. Something huge was walking in my direction. I looked up and saw a pair of round red eyes big enough to engulf me. My heart skipped distance between us seemed to shrink. A rodent of some sort loomed miles away. It¡¯s head poked through the valleys exit path. The mouth opened slowly but kept on going for what must have been a mile across. Cold air poured out from an impossible huge maw as it screeched again. I felt the temperature drop from this far away. My former resting companion, the ash laden plant, froze in spot. [Cold] damage, or [Frost] or [Something Very Bad] was being done to the entire area. What few flames existed this far out sputtered briefly before going out. I looked over to see fiery hippo packs of all types trying to exit the valley through another route. Their color induced feud seemed forgotten in the urge to flee. The massive monster mouse screamed again and thumped slowly in my direction. My head tilted to one side in brief confusion. How could such a large being possibly exist? Was I living in a madhouse? I certainly felt delirious after days, weeks, or months of solitude. Loneliness can get to a guy and make them think all sorts of odd thoughts. Maybe the frost breath mouse could be my friend. It stomped again. My shoulders rolled with the unheeded demand of instincts. ¡°Izzy? If you can still hear me, what¡¯s the rating on a giant mouse who breathes frost?¡± I asked. For a moment our connection crackled. Static came across the line. I heard the sound of a dry throat rasping for air, but in the end, Izzy didn¡¯t respond. Maybe she hadn¡¯t brought me back because of something else? I frowned as the giant mouse of frozen doom rumbled across the landscape. Nostrils flared as I tried to take in scents from all around. Dying didn¡¯t appeal, so I clenched my gut to go [Insubstantial] and [Ghost Walk] through the dirt. [Underground Navigation] would allow me to hide or find a cave in time. Only the giant mouse of frost smelled good. A memory flashed. In it I laughed happily with a faceless older woman and man. That moment in the past included a covered stroller, protecting it¡¯s passenger as the sun beamed down radiating heat. An giant bird flew overhead as a chipmunk avoided it¡¯s gaze by scrambling up a tree. The flavor went with strawberry ice cream. ¡°Screeeee!¡± The monster shouted much closer. It¡¯s black eyes threatened once more to swallow my mind whole. I shivered from the memory of ice cream. That cool shadow memory of a bird circling overhead caught my attention. I squinted and looked up in confusion. There was no sun overhead, but the bird wasn¡¯t in my memory. ¡°Eeeeehhaaaa!¡± It yelled back at the colossal mouse. Air cracked as the huge monster tucked in both wings to dive. Fur bristled and I started running. Turf tore beneath my paws as muscles ached. The world narrowed to a tunnel of escape. Small ticks and other animals fled nearby, seeking the safety of distance. I made it to base of a steep hill as two giant beasts collided behind me. Their first crossing shook the air. Smaller creatures nearby were obliterated and razor sharp wind cut across my flank. I roared then curled into a defensive posture behind nearby shrubbery. My health bar had taken a minor hit from. ¡°Eeeeehhaaaa!¡± ¡°Screeeee!¡± Responded back the insanely huge beast. It¡¯s huge blackened eyes reminded me of those [Terror Rat]s, only with deep blue coloring, frost whiskers and on a huge scale. Cold air blasted across the valley and shuddered through the plant I hid behind. There were dozens of other monsters sitting further up the hill. They were beings of fire like myself. I looked around to the far ridge and saw a few small creature¡¯s made of ice as well. They seemed to be watching and waiting. My own nostrils were alight with the scent of treasure. My tail swished back and forth slowly. The giant fire bird screeched loudly while batting wings. Talons were dug into the mouse¡¯s back. Ice was flung to the far reaches of our valley. ¡°Screeee!¡± It hissed and a thin tail that still easily surpassed a trees thickness curled around. It knocked over rocks and bushes. My gut clenched to activate [Ghost Walk] then I ducked into the rocky formation below. Rumbling sounds and huge shockwaves rattled the dirt. Smells vanished as my path went through dirt and rock downward. Layers of dead plants broke up the boring darkness. I couldn¡¯t see through, but relied on [Underground Navigation] to get me to a small pocket of safety. I ran through the dirt, once again wondering about the strange rules of this other world. Kittens, cats, mini lions of any sort shouldn¡¯t be able to float through the ground. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Air grew thin. My lungs ached and a wave of dizziness hit. [The Outer World] treated me far more like a living creature than [The Inner World]. I burst through with a gasp for whatever air this small cavern could held. My body shook and a ripple crawled up my spine. One small ball of flame spun a lazy circle around me, eating up more air and illuminating this location. The cave inside was in poor shape. Rubble lay all around and move threatened to come down. ¡°Rrrreeeeeee.¡± A monstrous voice penetrated my cavern underneath. I looked around and tried to figure out how far down this small haven was. Thirty feet? Forty? The earth rumbled again then the roof cracked. Daylight could be seen pouring through along with a fresh chill. My refuge had been broken into by two titan sized elementals. I ran through a wall and tried to stay ahead of the demolishing landscape. Up again I went. Other monsters were in the process of fleeing. I was the only one stupid enough to stay this close to their fighting. The mouse thing had entire chunks missing. One eye on the valleys other side. I took a breath of air then pushed my paws to move faster. Nails tore at slightly frozen ground in an attempt to get purchase. A sudden ripple in the earth sent me skipped across slippery dirt. Health suffered with every second of contact with the [Frost]. I sat half sunken into disturbed ground and took a few rapid breathes. The colossal mouse lay still only fifty feet away. It¡¯s body could have easily taken up one of Izzy¡¯s school yards. The bird¡¯s body faced away from me. It flapped wings at frozen beasts in the distance. It¡¯s fire flickered wildly melting away the frozen carcass below. ¡°Rrah, Rahh!¡± It yelled. I looked at it, and the memory of that bird circling overhead on a sunny day flashed through once more. There was something in the mouse¡¯s body. A large slab of dead looking ice that smelled delicious. The bird charged towards creatures in the distance, scarring them away from it¡¯s food. Behind us sat the fire beasts, staring down in our direction. They took looked at the same prize I saw. ¡°Izzy?¡± I meowed. ¡°What¡¯s a frozen heart do?¡± She didn¡¯t answer. I didn¡¯t want to risk death and being sent all the way back to my prison of cardboard fire, but this looked valuable. Above all the fear and desperation, was a gnawing hunger that threatened to remove what little sanity I had left. The others milled about and I surfed then started running. Our bird creature that had fought against the rat sat flapped one wing at the frozen monsters and ignored us. One wing hung limply. Beasts of fire started down the path and fiery buzzards started gathering overhead. In the titanic battle, neither beast had won. Not really. I ignored the limping bird. It would probably be swarmed by the little creatures. Instead there was the prize, a heart or some core belonging to the massive melting mouse. I made it, and the smell of strawberry ice cream overwhelmed my senses. Heavy sweetness so thick it might make my stomach sick. My tongue licked a huge bit and it melted right away. The action hurt my health but I didn¡¯t care. The flame beasts detoured right around me. Their intent might be the bird that had fought instead. Sure enough in seconds they were landing on the grounded bird. Hippos of various flames landed their maws on its legs. Smaller birds attacked. It squawked and shook. During the ensuing show I kept at my self-abuse of eating ice cream. Cold chills wound down my belly. My tongue licked over whispers to pull of portions that clumped along my face. A slight roar escaped as I ate. The strawberry melting heart gave me a headache but felt good. If I would die from this, then I would die happy and relieving a childhood memory. An innocence lost, like my happier times with Izzy. Childhood seemed so much simpler. A pack of frost beasts circled nearby. They had likely veered for the mouse¡¯s carcass. Their path wound ever closer as blue hyena things filled the air with agitated yips. I snarled and swung my paw. Huge gulps of dead mouse went down my gullet. My health kept dipping. One lunged for me. I yowled then shoved my face in for one last bite before running through the ground. Yipping faded as the earth swallowed me whole. I stumbled to the ruins of my underground refuge and licked my fur of the remaining chunks of strawberry mouse. Distant sounds filled the air as various creatures fought over the remains. There hadn¡¯t been much left of the beasts core once I got done.
[Essence of Ice] absorbed! Details: This ability allows a spirit to change attributes to another school. All skills and abilities will adjust to match the new nature if required. Duration, abilities, health and mana will all be adversely impacted until synchronization with the skill reaches max levels. After changing base attributes the user will be unable to switch again for roughly one day. Attempts to swap between different natures will hurt and leave the user unable to function until they have recovered.
I stared at the message. After all this, after watching those giant creatures battle it out, I had managed to scoop up such a treasure. Izzy would be proud, right? Too bad the ability came too late. We could have easily used this to help Colleen. Or had I only roamed out this far because she died? ¡°Izzy?¡± I tried to whisper across our connection. Still, she didn¡¯t answer. Maybe this whole [Essence of Ice] thing was a hint. Maybe I felt different about myself after being so clearly dismissed and rejected. A childhood lost could never be regained. My head felt heavy and shoulders ached. No matter how strong I became, none of it meant anything without being by her side. After a literal cat nap I felt better. The health bar sat at nearly full, proof of what little contact Izzy and I still maintained. Up top a large number of beasts still fought and gathered. None of them smell as appetizing like the strawberry had. I put one paw in front of the other and started out of the ruined valley. This place had apparently been the border between two elemental realms. From the mountain top I could see flame filled landscapes on one side, and frozen peaks across the other. The distance looked cold, but I would adapt and survive until called forth again. Eyes crossed and a low growl escaped as [Essence of Ice] activated. It hurt, but I was still alive.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: One of the other lab workers started calling Subject 42 Schrodinger¡¯s Cat. At first I objected, but part of me realized the name is fitting. His, original body, is a barely functional wreck that still is being torn up. We haven¡¯t been able to completely reverse engineer it. The Subject¡¯s mind isn¡¯t even housed inside his own body. It¡¯s off gallivanting around the restricted cyber sphere while mostly being shepherded by IB. In some sense he is inside a box, made of digitally generated worlds and technology we still barely understand. If we do have to abruptly plug him back in, we¡¯re uncertain if he¡¯ll be alive or dead. Plus he thinks he¡¯s a cat. The only thing missing is a radioactive isotope. I doubt anyone intended this experiment to be used as a case of quantum physics, but the name does fit.
Chapter 27 - Thundersnow My home zone with all it¡¯s fire beasts had been full of movement and bits of landscape flaring with life. In the world of [Ice] everything felt more still, serene, and less alluring. I sat still while watching an endless plain of dull white snow. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± I echoed Izzy¡¯s trademark sound with a slow unenthusiastic hum. The scene should have impressed me, but looking off into the distance I felt nothing. Even the pain of shifting my elemental nature to [Ice] seemed like an event I had read about before a nap. My mind still moved but felt uninterested in a likely beautiful landscape. [Aura of True Flame] turned into [Presence of Pure Ice]. [Flame] damage to my claws now did [Frost], it sort of made sense to me. Blue hairs were motionless. The former flame hues to my body had transformed into dusty white. I could probably blend in and sneak around but I lacked the drive to do so. Even the idea of rescuing Colleen felt like someone else¡¯s goal. In short, transforming my element from [Fire] to [Ice] had come with a side effect. General apathy had drained me completely. I couldn¡¯t even muster appreciation at my own detached introspection which had noticed the change. Maybe there would be a way to find a balance between the two elements, but it would take time and study, or Izzy. Izzy would probably know. She knew a lot. The thought of my contactor sent shivers through every ounce of frost-tinted fur. My head shifted slightly to look at the small bars which helped a distant spirit like me understand. Her status bars looked to be the same half healed but still broken items they had been for days, weeks, or maybe hours. I growled in confusion while tilting my head. Maybe it wasn¡¯t our connection, but her directly. ¡°Izzy?¡± I asked the air while staring at my leash which had stiffened in the cold. It trialed off into Izzy¡¯s world two feet away from the neck clipping. ¡°Colleen? Anyone?¡± I had no clue how to help her. I could try to locate the farmer Voice chewing his tweed. Not that [Ba-Ba-Bad Sheep] would be fun. Maybe a Shadow realm existed and I could risk seeing if Grandpa Hubble was connected to any spirits out here. Oh God, that old man had frightened the life out of me threating punishment and doom should this exact sort of event happen. Shadow areas or realms were a express no go. Professor Lianne would be the most neutral party. As a teacher in a magical soldier training school, she had to have experience dealing with mishaps. Someone there had to be helping Izzy, so my job would be to grow stronger and expand my abilities. Anything that would let me bear the brunt of risk to keep her safe. She was my light in the darkness. Her existence had been the only existence in my first moments of the world. Merely by being nearby it gave me a reason to continue and not feel lost. I had nearly brought her to ruin through that [The Inner World: Sacrifice] healing. It felt like I did nothing but leech off her existence and didn¡¯t offer enough in return. Isabella Brand. I knew she was on a pedestal for me. At the same time we had a partnership, us against the world. Months of learning to cooperate in that dungeon had built trust. We didn¡¯t have party members or other students. We didn¡¯t go in with the express purpose of playing around. We were there to challenge the place as she grew. Advancement and abilities would all help me explore to find another way through. Maybe somewhere in these realms was a portal I could crawl out of. I vaguely remember Izzy studying such locations. Volcanos, deep forests, great waterfalls, all of them were sources of element energy. Spirits like me might be able to break through to reality. Alright, goals were established. Find a spirit I recognized and ask them to pass a message. Explore for a portal out. Find all the valuable treasures I could snag. Grow stronger and advance once more. Following these items in some combination would allow me to return to Izzy. Thinking about my contractor being hurt, while being utterly useless out here, got my apathetic [Ice] spirit self-moving forward. One paw padded after another forward across a still landscape. I kept my eyes out for changes to the sheer whiteness but failed to notice anything for the first mile. Izzy had talked about various creatures and their habits, but most of the words didn¡¯t stick. She often explained while I tried to nap or sneak a piece of meat. Maybe there were creatures moving out that blended in? I lowered myself in the small layer of snow and tried to blend in. Eyesight focused on the horizon nearby, watching for movement. My tail twitched. Ten minutes passed, or more. Time existed as a loose concept. My tail twitched again, slowly clearing a spot in the snow behind me. I could smell something faint. Not an intensely obvious smell like [Treasure Hunter] provided me, but a scent belonging to another creature out here. I held still and tightened down. Muscles tensed then uncoiled in preparation to spring. Finally, something hopped up then sunk back into the snow. A tongue licked over frozen whiskers at the idea of eating food and quelling the odd hunger twisted my stomach. Soon the critter ahead would hop again. It did, skipping above the layer of snow. The small beast was a rabbit. I bunched myself and prepared to use an excessive [Leap] and teeth to end it¡¯s life. It leapt, and I dove after it. Snow went everywhere. The bunny ran rapidly. Frozen dirt bravely resisted my surge of strength to change directions. Even frozen my feline balance and reactions were top notch. Dinner used [Evasive Maneuvering] and I used [Starving Lion] to counter. Teeth closed about the critters leg and it kicked. I loosed just enough to get a more secure crunch and the rabbit throbbed with a few final twitches before ceasing resistance. I purred in savage happiness. Being a frozen lion spirit had to be better than a human. When was the last time anyone from my old world had actually hunted for food? At least, [The Inner World] had a mix of farm and forest hunters. Izzy¡¯s original hometown employed quite a few who had hawked their wares in the marketplace. The creature went with heavy crunches. Bigger bones were left alone, and my rabbit didn¡¯t really have much meat outside of the legs. Innards under the belly all tasted about the same and I almost wished to have [Aura of True Flame] back to cook my meal. My stomach growled and I contemplated hunting another beast. Where there were rabbits, might be all sorts of beings. I needed something much bigger that might last a few days. The ache of my muscles from a brief few seconds of tussling bothered me. Wasn¡¯t I a spirit? Why did everything in [The Outer World] seem more taxing? Breathing in that cavern had taken real work. Plus eating and growing hungry felt annoying. Maybe those were part of Izzy¡¯s malady. Our connection that had sustained me until now might be broken. ¡°How do I get out of here?¡± I mewled. The wind shifted, and I caught the scent of another beast entirely. I turned my head away from the rabbit remains in my hand. The snow fluttered against as something white dove towards me. It gave a noise partway between barking and honking. Widely spread set of antlers came forth were lowered along the ground to drive into me. ¡°Shit!¡± I yelled while trying to dodge. One paw caught on the rabbit remains. Sharped tips caught my side and dug into cold, hard skin. A roar escaped and both paws flailed for the creatures face. Part of one antler snapped off inside my ribcage. Claws tore a path along it¡¯s face while I was cast aside. The buck¡¯s powerful neck tossed me twenty feet away. Bits of fur and flesh were lodged under my paws. One of the stag''s eyes looked glassy. I raked a paw to keep it from charging again. The deer shuffled back a few steps before releasing another barking honk. Hoofs fell down on the ground as it started charging again. I roared hoping to trigger [Inspire Terror] but the enraged creature didn¡¯t balk. My gut clenched as [Ghost Walk] went off. My body didn¡¯t sink through ground but the charging deer traveled through me instead. Each movement tore at my health but hurt less than being impaled by more antlers. I released the ability and came up with paws spread wide. The white deer had slowed to turn. Antler Head¡¯s neck curved far ahead of the backside. I leapt the short distance and clamed wide around it¡¯s rump and hung on. Wisps of white were nearly impossible to see against the snow background. Matted fur by snow rolling under my slipping paws. It bleated at me. I roared back while hammering with both paws. This buck would be lunch, or dinner, or something out here in the empty plains. My future meal fell to the side and started to writhe on its back. One paw sunk it and I hauled myself further up its flank. Both shoulders ached and most claws felt like they were being ripped out. I opened my mouth wide with a snarl then crunched in the creature¡¯s neck. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Weak bucking ensued as blood drained from the beast¡¯s wound to spill on broken snow. I felt elated at my first hunt in the wild and real meal. Neck muscles flexed back and forth to confirm deceased a deceased status. A glance around revealed generally empty land, even those ice hyena beasts weren¡¯t nearby yet. Teeth sunk in right away while higher functions shut down in appreciation. The meal under my claws went down one glorious bite at a time. Muscles sagged until they were almost numb. My belly felt stretched tautly over digesting contents. This death march into the wilds of [The Outer World] had been filled with constant motion. I felt exhausted, relaxed, and full. Almost like this frozen wilderness around me didn¡¯t really exist. Almost like nothing existed. Maybe none of this was real. I vaguely recalled the sensations of those around me. Izzy had real presence and a personality. Colleen started to give off the same feeling recently as well. That selfish asshole Dale had been so intensely annoying that I couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge him since day one. Everything else though, might be a weird dream. Even after all these years I felt oddly detached from the world. Maybe that¡¯s how being a spirit went, we weren¡¯t completely part of [The Inner World]. My icy disposition helped me stay calm and analyze the past while my body stayed relaxed. There had to be a method to follow the same path Izzy¡¯s ancestors did. She said they were people that had once been spirits like me. The idea of evolving into a real human being held great appeal. I wanted to find hints of that process while looking for clues of Colleen¡¯s existence and treasures. I sat there over the carcass for a long time trying to better plan out my goals. Doing so felt counter my normal nature, but I had to change my own thinking to make it through. Too much time had been wasted as Izzy grew older, time I could have wandered around out here and grown stronger on my own. All those afternoons lazing away on Grumble Goat¡¯s tower were a waste. It was time to turn over a new paw. No one had explained that even spirits had to be adults. In theory I was close to forty years old between my old world and Izzy¡¯s, but I still felt eighteen. There weren¡¯t any classes in Izzy¡¯s college telling people how to grow up. I kept eating and thinking, even until it hurt. A message from the [First World Legacy] cropped up in ashen greys mixed with frost laced blue lettering.
    • Attempted increase of [Depth] failed.
    • Attempted increase of [Depth] failed.
  • Attempted increase of [Depth] failed.
The still left over from a long-dead creator apparently thought I was dumb and couldn¡¯t get any smarter. At least I thought [Depth] related to my attempted resolution searching. I honestly didn¡¯t know for sure, the boxes only came up when it was convenient for them. ¡°Pierce.¡± A weak voice said. It slid under a whistling wind before my brain registered that someone had even spoke. Eyes blinked and a snow covered landscape came back into focus. My head shot up and looked around wildly. That had been a female of some sort, but not Izzy. It couldn¡¯t be her. It sounded, older. How long had I been out here? There was a depth and shakiness of pitch that didn¡¯t belong to Izzy¡¯s serious tone. ¡°It hurt.¡± The female voice groaned softly. I stood up and padded around my meal for signs of a visitor. There didn¡¯t seem to be anyone near me at all. Nostrils flared as I trick to catch a scent of anything. Above more clouds gathered while snow started to fall. My eyes stared upwards to figure out which path the storm might be headed. It moved from behind me and started rapidly moving towards an unknown destination. I couldn¡¯t tell east from west out here. The dark clouds overhead crackled with lightning. A rumble shook the ground. My basic understanding of [The Outer World] had revealed one two major points. First each element probably had it¡¯s own realm. Second, between each realm ran a border where things blended together. That very zone between elements is where the giant frozen rat and fire bird had fought. Bolts shot off as the entire bank seemed to hang above the indistinct area between [Fire] and [Ice] realms. Blackness rolled past and I started to realize that maybe there were other elements at play here. Maybe lightning, or sky, or air, all existed above me somewhere. ¡°Pierce? Did you stop Dale?¡± The woman¡¯s voice questioned a bit louder. Thunder rapidly followed in its wake almost drowning out the words. My held tilted around to try and find the source. That voice couldn¡¯t belong to Colleen, could it? It sounded like a very rough version of the girl that helped Izzy all those years. Who else would know to mention Dale and stopping him? It had to be our sword carrying acrobat. It had to be. ¡°Izzy? Could Colleen be in a thunderstorm?¡± I asked while turning my head around and around. Dizziness started to set in. Feline necks were not meant to be craned backwards for so long. ¡°Can a storm speak?¡± Jezebel had been an elemental being of thunder. I gasped then started running after the leading edge. Hail pelted downward and bounced from the ground. Colleen might have turned into an element or something similar after I merged her [Essence Saver Stone] with Jezebels blue core! My body ached and the half eaten meal vanished to my rear. Snow looked the same nearly everywhere but I still covered a lot of ground. My head scanned the storm for any sign of Colleen or more words. Nothing came down, but my gut said this had to be the right direction. A scent hung in the air like lavender mixed with springtime. Colleen had smelled like that, especially as she started going out with dale. It had to be her. I kept running. Lightning flashed down from above without a sound. Snow went in all directions as the connection cracked against earth. I skidded to the side while managing to stay upright. More bolts came as powerful leaps pulled me forward. Then I saw her, a face hanging in the clouds above. It hung like a faint memory illuminated by silent electrified bolts. ¡°Colleen!¡± I tried to keep up. The storm blew south, taking the image of Colleen with it. I ran over the fields in case while every muscle in my body screamed in protest. Hours passed, maybe days as the chase ensued. My form could barely keep up with the tail end of quickly moving clouds. Nails scraped and stumbled causing my paws to bang awkwardly against the ground. A hind leg muscle forced me to limp. At some point I lost control and fell forward into a snow drift, an endless plane of white all around. The cloud rolled far into the distance ahead. ¡±Collen is out here, she¡¯s changed, but she¡¯s out here. Just wait, I¡¯ll find her and then come back to you.¡± I murmured across our connection. Small bits of blue energy floated through the blackened leash. ¡°If I just follow the border after her, I¡¯ll find something, right Izzy?¡± Feet slowly pulled together to stand upright. My body wobbled but weakly and stumbled after the storm front. Tingles rushed through me as I realized my aimless wandering finally had a proper destination. A clear set of goals and a destination to reach for felt good. It was time I grew up as a spirit and stopped relying on Isabella to do all my thinking.
    • Attempted increase of [Depth] succeeded.
  • Minor [Depth] recognized
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: Well, legal informed me of our fourth lawsuit this year. We¡¯ve got a class action from every person possibly related to Case Seven¡¯s for, I don¡¯t know, harming humanity by trying to fix a problem. Apparently they expect us to have created safeguards by now. It feels like they¡¯re suing us because other people''s children drowned the ocean. Not that I would compare the Case Zero to nature. The latest one is for curing Subject 17 and his being locked out of the digital world. The lawsuit implies mental damages incurred by our labs actions, a loss of ability to get a job due to being blocked from using any Alternate Reality immersion device, and seeks back pay for not curing the problem sooner. I mean really, why are we being sued for saving him from being a vegetable? Legal advised me not to send pictures of the brain dead subjects who failed to find a solution in time. Long-term immersion inside an alternate reality without surfacing is insanely damaging. It¡¯s happened before, and only a few people have transitioned to Case Three, and those people had help. These Case Sevens won¡¯t get any help because no one wants to invite a time bomb into their fold.
Chapter 28 - Surged Protector Winter was coming, or at least the snow from above kept drifting downward. This marked the fourth storm passing overhead and they all traveled along the same line. Each one pelted the ground below with a fresh layer of white. If I looked at the border between my home plane of fire and this new one of ice there was a heavy fog that seemed to crawl along instead. I didn¡¯t understand exactly how the elements were mixed together, but they were. Maybe below my very feet was a realm into of earth, where caves would be the connection. Above the snow dropping clouds might be a sunspot that lifted a being into straight air. Without a giant flying rat made of yellow lightning I had no clue how to get up there. Maybe I should have taken down the half broken fire bird instead and flown around. I could be a young lion with giant wings and call myself Bat-Cat! Oddly comical thoughts had been happening more frequently since my [Depth] increased. The slight increase in personal skills had resulted in clear improvements. Part of me felt conflicted because I couldn¡¯t tell how much of my original self was held back. Maybe me prior to these upgrades had a huge amount of [Depth] and didn¡¯t spent a millennium sleeping. What did the old Piece Argive qualify as? Eighteen year old me had been kind of charmingly dull. Frost fire me had maybe grown up a stage. My head felt a bit clearer while the world around slowly grew less passive. For example, bunnies that had been nearly invisible before were around by the dozens. They scampered around picking at plants that had been invisible. Slightly larger fuzzy creatures hunted them in pairs. I watched an entire ecosystem at work while waiting for thunderstorms to pass by overhead. ¡°Colleen, Izzy?¡± I questioned the silence around me as time passed. ¡°Professor Grumble Goat? Grandpa Hubble?¡± Uttering the last name made me shudder. I didn¡¯t like the idea that his shadow beasts might exact out here too. What if my own shadow served as a border between spirit realms? There seemed to be a requirement for more territory before a melding pot could be created. The span between fire and ice was about five miles across, and the cloud billowed down the entire path. Hopefully they were a border of sorts that I could get into by climbing a peak above the clouds. Otherwise what the fuck was the point of wandering around out here? I got a few little boxes from the [First World Legacy] but they were just messages that essentially amounted to nothing. I kept going, aiming for a large mountain that jutted far in the distance. It took weeks to get close enough to scale the monstrosity. Small bugs burrowed through the snow and lava fields on both side. Rivers of lava and water poured out either side in a nonsensical demonstration of how little reality¡¯s rules mattered. Forests of both elements waved around the edges while further up the mountain the trees turned wavy and clear. Other creatures came and went but generally ignored me. None smelled like treasure or anything useful. There were no blue lines leading me off towards hidden secrets. I only bothered chasing food down when hunger got the best of me. My eyes usually stayed skyward. For days I sat up there. Another lighting cloud would arrive soon, I knew because all the other wild creatures were going into hiding. Rabbits went into burrows. Frost hyenas drug away pray while watching me, as if I intended to bound down from the mountain roaring for food. Dark hippos far on the opposite slope. They stampeded off. I ran towards the highest point available. Monster¡¯s scattered, and each leap sent me flying up another dozen yards. It took an hour to finish reaching a suitable peak, and by then the lightning clouds were only a few miles away. I meowed to myself while trying to figure out which position would be best, then gave up. Haunches wiggled into a bent position, front feet pulled back for more leverage. It took a lot of patience to lay in wait for the rolling storm. Deep clouds so thick they blotted out the landscape rolled along all around me. Lightning bolts traced back and forth in long crackling lines. Nothing looked right. It felt like staring into a great abyss of raw energy. There were things that appeared on the bolts in blinding flashes. The first few bolts echoed through while I searched for any signs of the sporty looking girl. One might have been Jezebel, or maybe Coleen. It was impossible to tell, and there were no voices sounding above the nearly constant roll of thunder. Images burned themselves into my eyes. Some were red, others green, some smelled nice while still more looked like faces. I had never known storms came in other colors, but expecting sanity from this new world was beyond reasonable. ¡°Coleen!¡± I shouted while leaping. It felt like a good [Battle Cry]. She was the only one talking to me anyway. That was the most crushing part, being cut off again from anything that felt real. White snow fluttered around me. Other creatures below bellowed. A dense cloud grew even more solid as I fell. Cold air wormed its way between wide open fingers and toes. The ground arrived sooner than expected. Everything shuddered and jerked. Feet went wide as my body tumbled end over end. Arcing lances of pain raced between limbs and parts of my back. Jolts raced up legs then across the crotch. Breath kept being pushed out as each fresh wave hit. Four limbs scrambled to get upright. Crackling noises that reminded me of Jezebel on steroids echoed everywhere. Another bolt hit as my tail brushed across the floor. I flipped around through more pain and felt one eye pop then go blurry. After four full body twists, tumbling, and a lot of panic, I managed to find a place that didn¡¯t hurt then held very still. The health bar recovered slowly as I tried to get my bearings. This place felt further away from Izzy than ever. Her location arrow was a pale marker that spun around in circles. ¡°Fork bee!¡± I finally dared speak after health recovered a little. Even more nonsense curses came out in meow form, but quietly so I wouldn¡¯t lose my mind and prance around. My body tipped as cold liquid trickled down one eardrum. The left side of my face felt weighted down like the skin had no functional muscles. This forms long tongue kept lolling out trying to catch slobber. It failed. Even cats made of ice could apparently drool uncontrollably after being shocked repeatedly. ¡°Thwat worg bad, twhere is dis?¡± I shook my cheeks and tried to focus. Cursing would have been more excitable but my mind had blanked. I couldn¡¯t figure out what made some events feel so real, while others were almost dreamlike. Did the personality of a cat override my normal focus somehow? The idea that nothing really mattered until my whiskers were singed felt shallow and inaccurate. This place certainly existed. I held very still as the world around rippled with all sorts of colors. There were hints of red and white flashes far away. Multiple strands of any color on the rainbow traveled zig zagging paths along a flat plane that stretched out forever. My own body felt paralyzed from fear and worry. The funny balancing act proved temporarily safe but moving might cause me to get zapped or go tumbling again. I couldn¡¯t risk losing sight in the other eye, and healing the damage might take a long time. Butt muscles twitched around as this bodies tail threatened to wander. I tried to understand what was happening. Long flattened roads a few feet wide were carved into the landscape. Their trails were uneven and without reason. Where the paths crossed bolts surged creating a lightshow that spent sparks skittering across the plane. It was like, touching wires on a power line. Only those words came from another lifetime¡¯s memories that confused me into meowing out loud. Izzy¡¯s world didn¡¯t have power lines or outdated wiring junctions. That Voice of the [First World Legacy] had warned me not to forget what came before this world. Vision swam while I tried to hang on to even a tidbit of the past. This reminded me of watching outdated power cords being stripped out of New York. Entire buildings were demolished and returned to earth because no one had wanted to live in a town hit by a biological terrorist attack. For one winter my father and I had worked side by side to recover the belongings of people who had no families. We bagged them into compartments then labeled the items. The memory of my past made me sick. I didn¡¯t like that life before. This world of Izzy¡¯s was better in nearly every regard. If I could be human it would have been ideal. Heaven would be anywhere but god forsaken land, Izzy¡¯s warm bed, Coleen being safe, and not being so god damned alone.
  • Attempted increase of [Depth] failed.
¡°Fuck you, box,¡± I growled to it. Having a message from the world tell me when my mental state had reached some new level felt unbearably stupid. At least my voice healed.
  • Attempted increase of [Depth] failed.
I lost my mind for a moment and clawed at the box. One overpowered arm sent me tumbling across and getting zapped more. Snow left over from the leap flocked around but refused to melt. Legs managed to get upright and balance on a new location quicker this time. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± my words felt tiny. There was too much emptiness around me aside from the zapping bolts. Maybe there would be something here. I sniffed for any scents that were helpful but got nothing. The paths were different colors, but only one was blue, and not any mundane blue, but a bright blaring one that stood out even among all the other neon colors. I stared at it for a long time before finally remembering my own skills gained from the [First World Legacy]. That blue meant treasure. Valuables might be Coleen or another secret. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s treasure!¡± I roared happily then started down the path slowly. As long as body didn¡¯t straddle two different roads then I would be unharmed. ¡°Izzy I found something over here!¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The happy shout was automatic but soon the futility of talking out loud hit me and both shoulders slumped. My body moved slowly as the brief surge of happy energy drained. Izzy didn¡¯t talk to me anymore. I walked down the bright blue path and leapt over the junctions where multiple colors touched. Lightning sparked out from each intersection like ungrounded wires. Visions of construction working kept spilling into my head with every mile traversed. I could almost see the men shouting at each other, moving blocks around and trying to make room.
Remember
Forgetting was impossible, that terrible part of my life hung only a poor decision away. We had all wanted to find survivors, but there were so few people who weren¡¯t turned into ash, so fucking few. How old had I been then? I remember feeling young, and old, and tired, but that had been another life time. It had started with clearing out my mom¡¯s apartment, then my sister¡¯s room. We weren¡¯t alone, and eventually someone realized that a number of homes were being unclaimed. There had been too many for police and other rescue agents to handle on their own. My dad yelled for permission later to break in and look for next of kin, which we received after six hours of ranting. I think dad hoped to find my sister in one of the other homes, maybe at a friend¡¯s. I shuddered and tried to brush away the past. That part of life had been the reason I went into work as a firefighter, then my first real chance to help people had ended in death. One life was exchanged for three children that might have survived. ¡°This time, this time I¡¯ll do better. I¡¯m a spirit now, I can¡¯t die. I¡¯ll go back to Izzy and we¡¯ll save all sorts of people,¡± I promised myself. My contractor had said it before, but this time I was the one promising. We would work hard to prevent any future failures, like Coleen. ¡°Pierce?¡± a nearly forgotten voice sounded in my ears. The noise came from far away, as if tunnels stood between two people, and one of them whispered. ¡°Izzy?¡± I roared while flipping around. My paws crossed lines which caused a fresh bolt of pain to hit me. This one tracked across my tail and thudded close to my frozen heart. I struggled to keep paws on only one of the lines. Two careful full body leaps put me back on the blue pathway. ¡°Where are you?¡± her faint words repeated over and over. ¡°Somewhere? In the outer world, with electricity? There was a cloud,¡± I gushed an incomplete explanation that made no sense. It had been so long since anyone real talked to me besides a broken bolt of thunder. ¡°I was chasing Coleen! I think she¡¯s close, I heard her!¡± ¡°Mmmhm,¡± Isabella Brand responded slowly. ¡°This is bad.¡± She sounded unsteady and there were faint markers for her status still floating to one side of my vision. The young woman hadn¡¯t recovered completely. I held still once more and didn¡¯t risk taking damage. Healing me could drain her slightly despite the years of trying to grow that skill. My existence relied on our connection to have form. Putting Coleen together had hurt Izzy enough for one lifetime. ¡°Why are you out there?¡± she slurred the words like a drunk. I concentrated on trying to see into her world, but nothing obvious stood out. Izzy¡¯s world revealed a pitch black that [Low Light Vision] couldn¡¯t pierce. ¡°Gently Pierce, please. Everything still hurts,¡± she said. One side of the vision to Izzy¡¯s world darkened and blurred with spots of yellow. My attempts to see how she was doing must have been causing problems. I straightened myself then quickly stopped pushing the connection as hard. In the distance parts of the landscape flared up, then refused to die back down. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmhm. What are what?¡± she hummed sleepily. Giant rolling bundles of electricity were racing down the various pathways towards me. If electricity could form wheels and travel unerringly in twisting turns and curves. At each junction they flared up even brighter than before. ¡°Giant electric balls,¡± I decided then and there that this would be added to the list of curses to spout, ¡°they¡¯re coming in my direction.¡± ¡°Let me, see,¡± Izzy said followed by a rustle and groaning. I worried for a moment that she might hurt herself or lose health, but Izzy didn¡¯t. The chain on my neck sparkled. Small round orbs with sky blue dots inside popped out and scattered along the ground. Their form fell quickly to pieces, but the sensation didn¡¯t. I had an icon a small eye floating near my bars. That must be Izzy peering into this world. When did she get that skill? ¡°Zies Surges, rank twenty four because of their special nature.¡± Izzy groaned softly then shifted around. Something crashed in the distance. ¡°Where are you?¡± I didn¡¯t want to panic, but there were a lot slowly rolling towards me. Even more were being generated in the back somehow. They were all headed steadily in my direction and sounded like they were hissing with amusement, if lightning could hiss. ¡°Far, how do I fight them?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. They¡¯re usually guardians of treasures, immortal as long as there¡¯s any current running through them.¡± Our link showed Izzy trying to light a candle. Small bits of bright blue fluttered out instead then crashed downward. She groaned again. ¡°Why isn¡¯t my magic working? How long have I been asleep?¡± One rolled right by me. There were no cores or centers to slash at. The thing didn¡¯t even look like a real monster. I tried to shrink out of its way but hesitated to cross to another path. Gut muscles clenched which activated [Insubstantial] out of desperation. An uncontrollable tail touched down and all of the preparation in the world didn¡¯t help as bolts swam over me making legs jerk spastically. My throat felt swollen. Both legs were wet. This whole lighting wheel [Zies Surge] thing was bullshit. There had to be something within my range. Going ghost mode clearly wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°I, became a frost thing. I could change back to fire!¡± the words were louder than expected, or maybe my eardrums had burst. ¡°What, no, no!¡± Izzy¡¯s mood switched rapidly between panic, worry, and sudden clarity. ¡°Stay as you are. Fire you,¡± she ground out the words, ¡°will probably have more flesh and blood, ice conducts poorly. You said Coleen¡¯s there right?¡± I had no idea what she was talking about. Ice was water, and water was very happy to conduct electricity. Or at least I thought it was. There was no time to question it, more rolling bolts were headed in my direction, while other¡¯s twisted around following their set paths. I tried to follow them quickly and predict which way to escape but the curves made me dizzy. ¡°Yes, I saw her in a storm like this one!¡± I was too amped to remain cool. Even being a [Frost] beast couldn¡¯t remove the excitement. Izzy had talked to me, I was in danger, and Coleen had to be near. I managed to hop around awkwardly past another few rolling bundles of zap. ¡°Then we need to get you through this and not risk being brought back to the start.¡± ¡°Izzy,¡± I growled lowly while backing up. ¡°Try to create a dead zone. Is there, what is that?¡± she sounded genuinely confused. My eyes scanned around quickly to figure out what she was upset about. A huge wheel was sputtering along the paths towards us, easily six times larger than those before. I started tearing at the ground weakly. Heath hadn¡¯t recovered, my face hurt and one eye still barely saw correctly despite being fed a small amount of health and mana from [The Outer World: Respite]. This entire lightning cloud could rot in hell. Each scratch itched. My fingernails felt raw and loose. Wisps of milky white fluttered off into the air as I relied more on [Spirit] damage than [Frost] or [Rending]. The track didn¡¯t tear up easily but eventually something gave way. One entire winding pathway went dark, as if I had unplugged something important. The entire pink line went dead. Far away the giant rolling ball of doom flickered then grew smaller. Two other wheels which had been along the pink track vanished, and a third one managed to hit a junction then travel along a red line instead. ¡°I got one,¡± I felt calmer than expected at the completely wrong time. Exhaustion and pain were numbing everything. All that remained was a need to complete my task. Claws tore at the red line next. If I could black it out, then there would hopefully be a large enough safe zone to stand in. Then these wheels wouldn¡¯t pose a threat as I traveled up the blue one. Red went out, but the giant rolling wheels of lightning stuttered briefly because continuing their march in my direction.
[The Overseer]¡¯s Log: IB finished restoring most of her systems, or in Denizen terms, she woke up. Both are accurate from my point of view. She assessed what had happened during the, coma, and proceeded to turn frantic. Subject 42 only received a little bit of the brunt. To him she was simply opening a connection again and talking. They spoke rapidly about the stimulus as she tried to once again direct their shared adventures towards something with more structure. Meanwhile my screens here in the building were absolutely flooded with demands for assistance. IB is downright panicked over the newly formed Case Five¡¯s status. Good god, I hope it¡¯s a Case Five. The idea that Subject 42 essentially forcing IB helping give birth to an actual denizen is disturbing in its implications. I haven¡¯t dared to ask IB how she feels about the aftermath yet. Does she feel raped by this? Despite my position, the thought of having put anyone in this position makes me shake. Legal will get complaints I¡¯m sure once this report is filed. I have to hope this is a unique result from the merger between Subject 42¡¯s Case Seven status and IB¡¯s Case Five status. I have to, in order to not paint this as some sort of denizen rape. But what if this has happened from other Case Sevens? No wonder all the denizens are increasingly disturbed to the point of warring over digital resources. To them, we need to be quarantined. We are their plague, abusers, and reason for existing. It¡¯s heartbreaking.
Chapter 29 – Snapped Cold The health bar may have been recovering but the rest of me shook, not from fear, but self-abuse. Being zapped too many times was bad for the fur and these nails might never recover. Regardless, I dug at a third line then managed to disconnect an additional purple track too. Scraping at connectors until there was no longer a solid circuit caused the lines to die. The remaining array of colors thickened as that mass of bolts approached. It looked almost like a hand skittering across the landscape. I crouched down in a clearing then covered my head. A high pitched squeal rippled out making my ears ring even more than electricity. Both eyes went wide and I lost focus. The noise intensified while I tried to fade into the ground before it got close. Sound caused me to misjudge the distance. Electrical bolts reached across two dead lanes on either side to arc into my fur then towards skin. Everything flashed red, pops could be heard. One leg went out uncontrollably as my body struggled to stuck in air. Squeals died down but redness with black tinting didn¡¯t go away. Noises were coming out of me that made no sense. Izzy¡¯s voice tried to penetrate the haze but didn¡¯t register. My neck felt heated, too warm but nearly useless. It failed to turn the attached head in any directly. The only thing in sight was a thin blue line that trailed off into the distance. I huffed in and out. This wasn¡¯t the worst pain of my life. It would pass. The green dog fire did, all of my adventures in the beginner dungeon did. Everything would eventually be okay again. ¡°Pierce? What are you doing?¡± Izzy¡¯s words registered slowly. I was already stumbling down the blue pathway. That final rolling surge seemed to signal an end to the rolling bolts. Other formerly colored trails were now dimmed completely. All that remained was the blue. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I tried to form a word for response. The pain hadn¡¯t died down, it just lingered. I almost felt like a real man for one moment, with fingers that tingled warmly then dissolved slowly into pieces. ¡°You need to be careful.¡± She sniffed then coughed. My footsteps meandered along the path as Izzy continued in a worried tone, ¡°Mmmhm, I can sense something ahead, something that scares me even here.¡± My paws paused briefly. Slowly down almost saw me stumble to a complete halt. ¡°What about Colleen?¡± She paused. Izzy, the smartest girl in this whole world, had an uncertain mood indicator. It sat there rotating with a slight purple that managed to stand out against the blurring black and red landscape. ¡°Maybe. Maybe, if, if-¡± Izzy flickered from worry to confusion. The color mood meter didn¡¯t really help me understand why, only what she felt. ¡°Colleen will be. If I¡¯m reading this right.¡± That was enough to set my feet into action again, one slow stumble at a time along a path that didn¡¯t end quickly. We, I and Izzy¡¯s tether through reality, continued on down the line. A mile later and some of my senses started working again. The recovery from [Outer World: Respite] helped, but Izzy didn¡¯t have much to spare for my recovery. The soft sound of our half solid leash bumping into the ground stood out. Padding paws echoed between each slap like a drum. My vision still mostly blurred but the black spots were fading. A painful headache stuck itself behind one eye and refused to dislodge. I managed to keep going. Izzy fell asleep at some point, then woke back up, and fell asleep again. It might have been days or quick naps that were distorted through our link. All that mattered was one foot kept moving in front of the other. There was this memory in my head from a lifetime ago. My dad and I were in a car with everything we owned. In the distance loomed a set of mountains as we moved to our new home away from the coastline. In it we drove for an hour as the mountain grew larger but we still never approached the base. I felt like that now, like this huge object sat right there in eyesight but only grew bigger. I felt kind of drunk too, or dizzy and confused. Maybe even twisted and used. Colleen existed at the end of a long blue path that might never reach an end at this point. The nonsense reality of entering a cloud, fighting surges of lightning, then walking along a colored line did briefly occur to me before being brushed away. This was just Izzy¡¯s world, and it didn¡¯t have to make sense. Huge stair steps sat in the distance. The small square of functional eyesight scanned down one line and back up another. These stairs stretched on forever, but only one path showed the light blue lighting. I kept going. ¡°Are you sure? We can still go the other way,¡± Izzy said over our connection. She felt, distant was one way to describe the sensation, but tiny might be another. ¡°No. If you don¡¯t like it, then just summon me,¡± I said. She didn¡¯t, so we kept going. ¡°Then we can finish this last floor, I guess.¡± Solving the last floor wouldn¡¯t matter without Colleen. We were pushing hard for it because of the bet with dale, but Dale was gone, and so was Colleen. Being part of the advanced class had little appeal to me now. The young woman drifted in and out. I heard the murmur of other voices across our connection. They were easier to understand that the nearly empty flat board landscape around me. Again I tried to understand how reality out here seemed so inconsistent but gave up. It was dream logic, where chairs could talk and cats laid eggs. So when my path started inverting, twisting around, then started going upstairs and arriving in a basement, it didn¡¯t surprise me. The path continued turning. It felt like something was deliberately trying to keep me away from the other end but the effort was weak. ¡°Izzy, are you okay?¡± I tried to focus on more important issues than our endless landscape. I kept saying her name when talking, so she wouldn¡¯t think I was speaking to myself or someone else. ¡°I¡¯ve been, sleeping for a long time,¡± she said. ¡°And, I¡¯m still very tired.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fault, isn¡¯t it?¡± Self-awareness for my actions wasn¡¯t difficult. Trying to save Colleen, thinking my knowledge of Izzy¡¯s world was better than her teachers, foolishly risking our lives; all were examples of my reckless stupidity. I needed to do better. We were both drifting in an out. There was a breeze going through that made me shudder from a chill, despite being made of [Frost]. The presence on the other end was breathing laboriously. I could sense that much, without even seeing the creature. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting close,¡± I said to my partner. ¡°You are. I can feel a huge power through our link. Can¡¯t you?¡± The blue line vibrated intensely against my toes. That looming feeling of approaching a mountain still hung in the back of my mind. I could smell a burnt sour taste that tickled a good chunk of taste buds. A huge wall grew more distinct in the distance. I didn¡¯t understand what to expect from it, but the edges were curved and lightning rippled all along in both directions. Each bolt wiggled along like a snake. They would stop and curl into a large pattern that looked almost huge, as if a face in the wall was peering around. I reared back to get a better visual and the bolts all snapped together at one time. Two huge eyes made of, I don¡¯t know, liquid zaps were staring in opposite directions. The wall bulged outward until a face became apparent. My body couldn¡¯t even find brain power to back up. The blue trail went all over the wall, past its face, but didn¡¯t seem to come out anywhere. ¡°You?¡± the broken face stuttered briefly. Eyes lost focus and drifted in search. ¡°You, you are a tiny little speck of memory.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Colleen?¡± I asked the wall without much pause. My head still hurt despite all the time that had seemed to pass. ¡°Colleen,¡± the wall¡¯s mouth slid around in a completely disconnected manner from the rest of its face. ¡°No, I have never mated with a Colleen. I would, remember,¡± it faded off and lost focus. Colleen would never have slept with him. She flirted awkwardly with Dale and probably hadn¡¯t changed much. Since it didn¡¯t know about Colleen, I didn¡¯t care about the wall. If it weren¡¯t for the blue line crisscrossing the face I wouldn¡¯t have even paused. My heavy head stared blankly; looking all across the being¡¯s face. The face chewed a few more times. One eye lost shape as the creature fell apart again. I rolled my head to the side and flopped back onto hind legs. ¡°Izzy, there¡¯s a talking wall in the way,¡± I muttered carefully. The wall clearly understood me, and seemed senile. There would be no telling if it might throw bricks made of lightning. Those [Zies Surges] must have been guarding this location. She didn¡¯t answer. Izzy felt very small in the back of my head. Our contention shrunk down to a thin wire instead of the normal thicker cord. Her mood meter looked reduced in size as well. ¡°There¡¯s treasure there, but I don¡¯t know how to get past the wall. It¡¯s annoying.¡± I stopped and cleaned one paw. The nails dangled loosely while a fresher pair lay underneath. Apparently they were shedding, which was a weird feeling. The arm wiggled and tried to scrape off dead claws. ¡°Are you ignoring me?¡± the wall stuck out even further and a neck appeared. Wrinkles formed in the lightning that reminded me of an old man. Not like Grandpa Hubble, but even further beyond in age. There were no remnants of hair and bare slits for eyes. It looked, tried. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about the person I¡¯m after. You can stay here and, do whatever it is you¡¯re doing.¡± My ear itched and none of the fur cleaned out right. Even this mostly frozen body of blue and light red tips wasn¡¯t immune to getting goo in the wrong places. It wasn¡¯t from the electrical bolts. Most of this came from my own insides leaking out or melting repeatedly. Being supplied with healing energies from Izzy wasn¡¯t enough to remove the dirtiness. ¡°Ignore me? I will not be ignored! I am not some sniveling child to be ignored!¡± it shouted at me. ¡°I was a hero! A king! And now I am a god! They may have tried to lock me in the darkness, but I have not forgotten! I will not die without some respect!¡± With each title it thundered violently. The face distorted and bulged against electricity made of skin. It shook again but the world barely noticed its titanic efforts. The words were loud but held no threat or sense of power. I had seen mortally wounded animals before, and this creature had all the markings of such a damaged creature. Whatever this thing was looked to be nearly dead and smelled of burnt rot. ¡°I still hold the power here!¡± it shouted. I assumed the wall to be male but couldn¡¯t really tell. The electrical bolts crawled around then went nowhere. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. One lip pulled back in a half hiss of noise. This was aggravating and only growing worse. The wall tried to attack but a bolt of lightning fluttered off weakly then fell to the ground. The wall¡¯s eyes faded away for a moment then it started to lose shape. The giant face slowly dwindled until the size looked more human. I padded closer but didn¡¯t feel threatened. I had prepared myself to see dying people. Whatever species this wall was, death loomed nearby. ¡°I will not go,¡± the face devolved into mumbling. ¡°I still live. I still, remember...¡± My head shook quickly. Remember, that word drove me crazy but seemed important. That Voice guy with a piece of hay in his mouth had tried to impress upon me the dangers of forgetting. My body felt colder as the face started to look more human and less like a giant elemental creature of lightning. ¡°Fire, I remember fire.¡± The voice chewed at stray lightning bolts that might have been whiskers, food, or thoughts. They all felt possible in this place. That didn¡¯t seem right at all. Fire was my element, not his. ¡°I remember fire too,¡± I said. ¡°Then thunder, I remember being scared of thunder at night,¡± it said with even less energy. ¡°I don¡¯t like the dark, but the sound of thunder scares me most of all.¡± I nodded. The wall¡¯s edges were starting to fade. Lightning bolts dimmed and crawled into a more conscious shape that still looked broken. Talking me clearly burned at the last reserves of whatever made the creature work. Time passed as my tail swished. I felt tired as sleep threatened to pull. There was this sucking felling, as if something tried to gently pull me down into the depths of a river¡¯s wake. Strands of effort keeping my mind aware started to unravel. ¡°Pierce! Stay with me!¡± Izzy screamed. There was a buzz of voices in the background our link. My head shook violently. Time had passed enough that my vision was nearly healed The wall looked smaller, and the face on it barely a flicker of expression. Two eyes looked at me, and a tiny mouth. ¡°You?¡± the broken face stuttered briefly again. ¡°Lost bundle of memory. Hold on to your past.¡± The face stared at me with one swollen eye. The other features were drifting apart. ¡°Do not cast it aside.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°I no longer remember who I was. Before I was a hero, I was man, before that, I was nothing. So the cycle completes, and to nothing I return.¡± The wall collapsed almost instantly. A single trail of blue light traveled onward through a doorway that had appeared behind the absent obstruction. My tail swished around violently. Muscles along my back kept twitching. One ear flicked forward with worry. Colleen was important, but something even more worrisome just happened, and I didn¡¯t understand at all. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked Izzy without moving a paw. ¡°The fate of true spirits who forget their past lives,¡± Izzy said dryly. She sounded tired, scared, and sad all at once. The creatures last dying words shook me. It claimed to remember, the same as I had been warned to do by the [First World Legacy]. Then it admitted forgetting who it had been. Nails on my paw dug into the floorboards as the world started to spin. My stomach felt increasing nauseous. I wanted to throw up food but couldn¡¯t remember the last meal. I tried anyway. Dry hacking sounds issued forth. Both eyes watered. The shaking wouldn¡¯t go away no matter how much my stomach heaved. Death, a death that felt more real to me than anything experienced in Isabella¡¯s school. One that hit me even harder than Dale¡¯s had. That¡¯s what I just witnessed and it did not sit well with me at all. Forgetting the past of my prior life was death and I didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you forget, okay?¡± Izzy said. My nose felt stuffy. Sneezes came out and wet snowflakes fluttered around the room. ¡°Is this why you always ask about my old life?¡± She didn¡¯t answer in words, but the emotional meter turned a soft white. A swirl of green mixed in and faint sky blue lights mixed with more white trickled down the collar. It felt like Izzy was trying to wrap her arms around my neck for a hug. ¡°I¡¯m trying hard to find another way, but it¡¯s hard to study a subject very few know about. It may sound like Binders are common, but we¡¯re not,¡± she sounded sad about the statement. ¡°The Voices can¡¯t risk many true Binders.¡± ¡°What about the others. Professor Lianne, or that other angry one who hates cats.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not the same Pierce, not like you and I. You¡¯re, different than almost all other spirits.¡± It felt like we were talking about two different issues. Isabella Brand phrased her answers carefully, and the mood meter barely flickered with other sensations. They were still there lingering strands of colors that were injected into the small orb which helped me understand how she felt. The answer was ¡®it¡¯s complicated¡¯. I wanted to trust Izzy, because without her I would be lost in that dark place again. Somehow I knew that without that young woman and her serious eyes I would be formless. Without her holding on to the past would get harder. I might be lost forever then fade away. My fate wouldn¡¯t be that of a former hero, king, or god. Just me, a man who died to a virus infused dog then became a spirit cat. That hardly ranked in hero territory. I needed to do better. First Colleen, then back to Izzy. We could talk about the rest afterwards. Past the doorway was a nearly empty area. The far walls faded off into mist, while the middle was a platform with thick iron bars that curled across the top into a cage. Lightning traveled along the bent black poles. ¡°Is that a cage?¡± Izzy asked across our connection. She must be looking at what I was again. Sure enough the small icon for a watchful eye made of frosty blue hung near the health and mana. ¡°Yes,¡± I stepped forward slowly. The creature inside smelled warm, but not like a summer''s day and all the scents it carried, like blankets that had been dried by the sun then brought inside. Small jolts of electricity arced between pitch black bars that absorbed light. The woman inside pushed backwards with her legs. Thick metal bound her wrists. She cried after pushing against the bars. Lightning flared again. ¡°Coleen?¡± I lowered my head down. Coleen¡¯s wide eyes wavered. Her body looked barely human. Lightning bolts streaked across the young girl¡¯s features. Every time she tried to move the area shuddered. ¡°It¡¯s her. She¡¯s, changed from what we knew, but that¡¯s her,¡± Izzy insisted. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I tried to remember my training for dealing with trauma victims. Firefighters were first responders, we got people out of difficult places, but that was a lifetime ago. Her eyes were wide with fear. The corner to her cage made her jump. I didn¡¯t know how or why Colleen was locked up like this. The door had a simple latch. I reached for it with clumsy paws and managed to get the door opened. A few bolts arced through me but the damage was minimal after my earlier beating. ¡°It¡¯s me, Pierce,¡± I said to her. Opening the door didn¡¯t help. Colleen didn¡¯t speak. She looked around for an escape then shrunk as no alternate route out showed itself. Her eyes were filled to the brim with clear terror. ¡°Mmmhm. She¡¯s in shock. You¡¯ll have to take her out of there, and to the city,¡± Izzy said. ¡°The what?¡± I feel back on my rear again and tried to understand what the young woman was talking about. Maybe speaking out loud would help Colleen as well. I didn¡¯t know what else to do, because opening the door wasn¡¯t enough to keep the electricity clad woman safe. ¡°There¡¯s a city of spirits. At least I¡¯ve heard there is one.¡± Paper resulted in the background of our connection. ¡°All of us originally came from there.¡± ¡°Even me?¡± my memories of a past life were hazy, but they lead me to believe that such a city wasn¡¯t my home. ¡°Sort of. But you can¡¯t go inside, at least I don¡¯t think you can, not while we¡¯re bound.¡± That made my tail swish in agitation. Why was I so different from everyone else? ¡°But Colleen can?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmhm. Yes. The city, if you can reach the gateway, will be the best place to help her at,¡± Izzy said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do with you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re,¡± she paused and considered her words carefully, ¡°dangerous to others.¡± There it was again. I was different. Everyone else felt unreal half the time. The total real people across this entire landscape had been increased to four, maybe five now. Isabella Brand had always felt real. Grandpa Hubble wasn¡¯t exactly the same but still existed. Dale had certainly been a tangible annoyance. That wall of lightning that died from memory loss, and sort of Colleen. Colleen felt like Izzy, almost the same, but different. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. Izzy said nothing, but the mood meter flickered through a wide range of colors. The question had sent her into a tizzy that hurt to watch. Eventually she settled on nearly black. ¡°Because spirits like you can turn into dead gods. Then they will be sealed away where they can¡¯t harm anyone, until the day they die,¡± Izzy said. ¡°Or else your kind will kill mine.¡± The idea of such a fade made my foot slip then I fell to the ground. A bolt of lightning cross over into whiskers making me meow in annoyance as Colleen¡¯s legs leapt over my head and out the door. ¡°Fuck,¡± I said with a cough.
[The Overseer]¡¯s Log: Despite Subject 42¡¯s perception of time, we here in the real world are moving at a slower pace. What he believes to have been almost a decade and a half comes out to be close to one year. Can you imagine? Living so fast that reality looks like a snail? In other news, this entire note was written on my lunch break, where he believes it¡¯s been months while IB gets back on line. IB is still barely functional considering where she was at prior to the burnout, but we¡¯re still making progress. More accurately, and this is the part that still stuns me, they succeeded. The primary statement of getting people out of the virtual world has been completed, now we have to see how far Subject 42 can go, and what other repercussions might exist. Connecting Subject 70 to 42 was a long shot, one which failed. IB is growing increasingly worried now that we¡¯ve saved one, and lost another on the network. I think I know how this will end though, and I don¡¯t like it. This will be better than a numbers victory. I¡¯m not letting anything like my Uncle¡¯s death occur again.
Chapter 30 – Elements from the Past Cats were made for chasing, but trying to keep up with a frightened woman made of lightning was beyond even my fantastical skills. She ran, and I brokenly stumbled after. The room around us was actually crumbling. I could see the edges of clouds reforming as long strips of power cords turned into heavy fog. The illumination caused by Colleen¡¯s frightened from stood out like a beacon in the distance. Her lead kept growing. ¡°Colleen!¡± I roared. ¡°Stop, please!¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Izzy asked. ¡°Our connection is growing hazy,¡± she said by way of explanation. ¡°She¡¯s running from me!¡± I roared. The noise came out in a wet gurgle. Ground ice cubes of phlegm were hacked to one side. My nose felt clearer and eyelids were heavy. We dashed through the door and past the vanished wall that had once been a god. Everything fell apart even faster. The electrical lines that had one wound in an amazing flat maze were crumbling away one at a time, until Colleen and I were dashing along the light blue one. It decayed at the edges. The landscape around us blurred. Under Colleen¡¯s feet foggy cloud and jagged lines arced. She dashed along creating her own path that looked remarkably like the electric lines. It glittered with an almond brown in her wake. I was afraid to get too close because the lightning lingering behind each step looked painful. Being subjected to [Zies Surges] gave me a health fear of pain. ¡°Wait!¡± I tried to get her to stop. ¡°I want to help!¡± Here I was, a giant lion made of ice, chasing after a terrified woman made of lightning. No wonder she panicked. I had once again proved that my only skill, despite trying to learn others, was foolishly rushing into trouble without much thought. That was why we trained as firefighters. Training curbed impulse and replaced it with the correct answer instead of the stupid gut response. At least I thought that was why we trained. The past slipped away and by the time my mind resurfaced, the cloud had grown minuscule. I could see out the thinly fogged edges towards a landscape below. Reds and blues merged badly on either side from the elemental zones. ¡°What is this place?¡± Colleen¡¯s words trailed back to me as she kept running. The questions grew more fragmented. ¡°Where am I? Where is that asshole, master, where is, Dale?¡± ¡°Colleen! It¡¯s me, Pierce!¡± ¡°Lies! Nightmare made flesh! You¡¯re sent to distract me from the task of serving my master! I owe him a kick in the balls!¡± Colleen turned and threw a bolt towards me. I yowled then ducked to one side. My mind tried to figure out what was happening. It was like Colleen¡¯s mouth spouted Jezebels words. At moments the long sword that Colleen used to wield shimmered into existence. Her hands shifted, replaced by four long claws. The woman didn¡¯t notice either change. ¡°She¡¯s not right,¡± I said to Izzy quietly while trying not to lag behind. The woman of lightning didn¡¯t slow down. Her legs kept pumping in a perfect runners sprint while I grew increasingly haggard. Lingering bolts kept making my paws jerk. The ground beneath us slowly transformed into a green grassy plain that went on into forever. ¡°She doesn¡¯t recognize you. Not as you are, try to remember what you were like when you met her.¡± Izzy¡¯s voice kept fading in and out. Crackles of electricity arced around us causing a static film to overwrite our connection. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Go back to fire,¡± she explained and I felt stupid. All this [Depth] and I still missed obvious connections. Colleen couldn¡¯t know the icicle version of me, only the flame one that used to guide her through the dungeon. I tried to find that inner trigger. The effort made my head spin and hair tips flare with an alive red. They started as small fires like candle tips then increased intensity. Sizzling filled my ears.
[Essence of Ice] deactivated! [Essence of Flame] reactivating!
All four legs buckled. I gasped violently while twitching. The heat started from my outer skin and worked its way inward. Like so much in Izzy¡¯s world, it hurt. Pain was a constant companion in this fantasy land of spells and swords. ¡°Pierce?¡± she asked in a confused tone, then her face shifted and a less kind ¡°Fur ball?¡± was snarled. I tried to stand up then say any words of greeting. Colleen¡¯s attention shifted from running away to attacked. The blade came out and a strangely coherent merger of two girl¡¯s faces charged at me. Lightning thundered around us in the small cloud. The road Colleen and I had been running on started crumbling at the edges. I back peddled, not willing to hurt my friend as everything started falling downward. Memories from the past hit me. I remembered reading a book, and in it were all sorts of animals that were nearly extinct. The word ¡®endangered¡¯ stood out for only a moment as my body resumed its impending clash with the ground. There were monsters in the cloud that eyed us as we fell. Great birds, snakes, and a dog that leapt along clouds then barked at me. They flashed by along with a myriad of other images. Each one reminded me of entries from the book and I started to wonder if I had gone mad. The ground hit, my eyesight blackened and I felt the nearly faded memory hit me harder. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s this one?¡± I looked at a floating image of this large creature with heavy flaps that looked like armor. Two pointed horns stood out on its long face. ¡°A rhinoceros,¡± the person speak had a slightly high pitched voice, but he sounded happy. ¡°They all died out when I was just a kid, but some very smart people are working on bringing them back to life.¡± Faces flashed by, with a twitch of bitter regret and anger. Science, what good had it done me? I remembered the word, and I hated it. People playing with things they shouldn¡¯t was what caused my mom and sister to die. The bit of my old life broke abruptly then burned at the edges with a green fire. Soon it was gone, taking with it all recollection of the older man¡¯s voice. I struggled to remember what had been playing. Tall green grass grew everywhere but in a circle directly around me. Colleen hovered above the stalks of grass, smaller than before. Her eyes were wide and downturned. One arm rubbed at the other. Her fingers struggled for the blade which had formed at once side. ¡°Pierce? What happened to me?¡± She fizzled for a moment and lightning threatened to scattered in all directions. ¡°And you, your hair, was blue. Like, a polaroid?¡± I had no clue what a Polaroid was, or where Colleen had even picked up the word. Instead of trying to figure out the mystery of her strange vocabulary I tried to explain what happened. It felt like an age ago that Izzy helped me put her together. ¡°I tried to save you, and, sort of merged you with Jezebel, I think.¡± Colleen and Jezebel were mixed somehow, with a sword and body of lightning. This new body had both hatred and dedication to Dale. The object of their hatred and dedication was dead. ¡°I see me, but I am not me. I am her, but not her.¡± She agreed in a wholly unhelpful manner. ¡°I do not want to be her! She helped kill me, he killed me. I served him.¡± Colleen collapsed but still floated above the ground on an invisible platform. My tail flipped back and forth while confused meows of noise rolled forth. At least she wasn¡¯t running anymore. I tilted my head to one side and squinted. The burnt grass served as a sort of a boundary line clearly defining where I ended up. Her hand shook kept twitching then shaking. The girl clamped it under her arm and tried not to vibrate from the intensity. Her face twisted to one side. It felt like she was trying to reject this situation, or was in shock. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here to help,¡± I said. ¡°Tell her you can get her to someone that will explain what¡¯s happened,¡± Izzy spoke across our link. ¡°Are you sure we can?¡± I whispered back. ¡°You can¡¯t. I think you¡¯re making it worse,¡± Izzy said that but her mood meter showed worry, and a trace of something behind hidden. ¡°But the city is out there. It¡¯s just, a few turns away. Grandpa Hubble said that if we ever got lost in the world of spirits, that we should seek the city.¡± That meant something. I wasn¡¯t sure why a city full of people would be able to do better than I could, but then again, firefighters were the same way. We worried about immediate safety then let trained professionals handle the psychosocial side. We were only there for first contact and a hand off. Maybe it was just me. I wasn¡¯t suitable for anything more than leaping into danger. Plus Grandpa Hubble suggested we go to this city. Despite his aggressive attitude, the old man had clearly cared for Izzy and tried to help her in his own way. This was probably one of the many lessons my mind glazed over during our months at the tower. ¡°Colleen, or Jezebel. I want to help, if you¡¯ll let me.¡± She stood there shaking and I tried not to move too fast. ¡°I want to get you to someone who can explain where you are, and what¡¯s going on.¡± The woman¡¯s face kept shifting slightly between two distinctly different expressions. On one hand there was Colleen¡¯s hair hung loose about her shoulders and an uncovered midriff. Then it would change to a, I don¡¯t know, loosely wrapped dress with a strap around the waist and hair tied back in a ponytail. Both shapes were made from the bolts that tried to writhe into a solid shape. That other face must belong to Jezebel, which made me jealous to see her formed into a human shape. I had never reached that stage, and it might be years. Was that how she had pictured herself? Maybe the small lightning dragon was like me, a personality from another world that got trapped into some new form. ¡°Can you really?¡± The grass around us rustled and I looked around. There were probably more crazy animals hovering in the bushes, waiting to descend upon us like they did on the giant frost mouse and fire bird. ¡°Izzy and I can. She can hear everything,¡± I said. Bringing up friends might help stabilize her. People were more included to be brought to safety if you mentioned their friends were waiting outside. That was in the training that I occasionally remembered snippets of. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Okay. Okay, you can be my guide. Just, just like you used to be. Even if you¡¯re different.¡± Colleen nodded to herself then shook. ¡°But I didn¡¯t need a guide, but you found that treasure and I couldn¡¯t sense it.¡± She was starting mess up the points of view again. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just stay with me, and we¡¯ll get you to someone that can help. Okay?¡± Colleen stood there frozen and staring right at me. Her eyes were wide like Colleen¡¯s had been during that first [Terror Rat] attack. She must have thought I was a monster still, but the woman said, ¡°okay. I trust you, even if you killed him, you did it for me. Because he hurt me. I can see that now. But I have to see him. He¡¯s my master.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go then, to the city.¡± I nodded. ¡°Izzy, where do we go?¡± My voice stayed low while asking for assistance. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m going to send some spells your way. For protection, and as a guide,¡± Izzy world lit up briefly to one side of my vision. She was forming spells carefully, one hand with a soft ice blue and the other with pink rosy cubes. They were tiny bits spun together carefully one bit at a time. I lifted my head to sniff the area. The idea of being attacked by some unknown beast annoyed me. There were animals in the bushes approaching closer. Four sets of soft brown eyes peered at me from different places in the tall grass. They had slabs of meat hanging from them that almost perfectly blended in. It took a few moments to pick out the rest of their shapes. They reminded me of creatures from that vague memory of a rhinoceros. Each one might have been an extinct creatures from a prior life that still existed in [The Outer World] of Izzy¡¯s dimension. I wrinkled my nose then activated [Aura of True Flame]. Three balls of fire appeared then further pushed back the line of grass. The sight didn¡¯t even cause Colleen to flinch, but those watching from hiding slowly wiggled away in search of easier pray. My neck heated up as a stream of white lights mixed with two different colors poured through. They slipped together in bits very slowly. After a minute, the object assembled looked to be a blue shield. Atop it sat a mosaic flame that waved in the breeze. ¡°Ask Colleen to hold it. It might help her remember, and stabilize,¡± my partner said. It was a shame only I could hear Izzy¡¯s words. ¡°This will guide us,¡± I pawed at the contraction carefully and worried that it might break. ¡°It¡¯s a spell that Izzy made to help get us to the city.¡± Colleen approached slowly, looking at both me and the spell as if we were monsters that might leap over at any time and devour her. I stood still and tried not to let any muscles tense or even twitch. Three balls of fire circled lazily around me. She reached down, and bolts off her arm arced towards the ground and vanished into dirt. Perfectly human looking fingertips appeared for a moment as Colleen picked up the compass contraption. The rosy flame on its top abruptly licked out towards an unseen destination then froze in an extended position. ¡°The city, is,¡± she paused and changed the question. ¡°Can I see Dale there?¡± ¡°Tell her yes.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked Izzy. It didn¡¯t seem wise to make promises that couldn¡¯t be kept. However, maybe Dale was a spirit out here too, like I had been. The entire nature of this afterlife situation didn¡¯t follow clear rules. ¡°I think so. Almost anything is possible there,¡± she responded. ¡°Yes. We might be able to see Dale there,¡± I was unwilling to commit. Colleen nodded slowly. She held the blue shield cupped in both hands and stared down into its depths, without ever looking where her feet were going. After a deep breath that made her back crackle with energy Colleen walked down the path which Izzy¡¯s flame leaned in. We walked for a few feet. I hung behind Colleen to make sure no monsters would jump out and attack the unsuspecting girl. That was the best job for me, protection and getting stronger. Even out here. ¡°What about my family?¡± I asked. ¡°Are they at the city? Or in this world somewhere?¡± My mind still hung on to that lingering bit of nearly formless past about a sister and mother who had died, then my father who tried to keep going. Did he worry about me after my death? ¡°Maybe one day,¡± Izzy said. ¡°But don¡¯t forget them. It¡¯s important that you never forget.¡± I didn¡¯t want to end up like that wall of lightning that had trapped Colleen¡¯s spirit body. He, or she, had been an old sad forgotten god who couldn¡¯t remember any part of his life. I tried to understand how Colleen could be made a binder against her will when the girl had clearly turned into a spirit. It might have to do with the further mystery that Isabella talked about, which was my status as a completely different type of spirit from the normal ones. There were other things bugging me too. Now three different people had warned me against forgetting the past, four if you count the [First World Legacy]. The better question was; what did a miracle left by the world¡¯s creator, a Voice, a dying god, and Isabella Brand have in common? ¡°How far away is it?¡± ¡°No far,¡± Izzy answered while Colleen stared off. The thunder clouds kept rolling forth over head, moving faster than ever before. They raced along the same path that Izzy¡¯s fire and ice compass pointed down. Had I been walking towards the city this whole time? Why would Colleen be part way towards the exit? Each day I found myself food and offered to share. Colleen looked at the proffered meals then shook her head in the negative. Her new form apparently didn¡¯t feel hunger. She showed little awareness of anything around me, acting as if all of it barely existed. Rain pelted downward with each rapidly moving storm. After another day I flipped back to [Frost], if only to reduce the harm done plus remove a constant irritation. Water made me normal fur feel damp and heavy. ¡°Are we still going the right way?¡± I asked Colleen multiple times through each day. She nodded, but otherwise kept quiet. The woman¡¯s eyes were distant, and her constant flickering back and forth slowly died down. The result ended up closer to Colleen then Jezebel. The sword and tied up hair were all that remained. I grew tired of waiting and felt the urge to run. We had to be close. Air tingled and my fur stood on edge. I didn¡¯t even know possibilities had a feeling, but the only way to describe it was the urge to run out of joy, and without care. ¡°Pierce! Wait for me!¡± she shouted then I heard a crackle of energy rippling along. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone in this darkness!¡± This place wasn¡¯t dark. There were so many objects floating around. That being said, I remembered my own first moments in this spirit world. Only instead of being trapped behind black bars, I had been in a black cardboard box. We slowed down but kept up a nice pace. Time passed, I had no good way to know how much for sure. Even my earlier guess of days had been based on hunger rather than any sunlight above. This place didn¡¯t have a sun, only a haze of colors and thunder clouds. Then we were there. The city loomed ahead. Nearly everything above the huge expansive location had a illusion like haze to it, save for a huge archway. It projected thirty feet into the sky. Everything inside looked solid and real. More people in armor were waiting inside the metal wrought passage. Two giant guards that reminded me of Izzy¡¯s guardians stood on either side. They were easily four or five times the size of that monster. ¡°It is a city,¡± I whispered. ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± ¡°Huge, way bigger than any other place I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± I answered Izzy. ¡°Can you see it?¡± Colleen asked. ¡°Can you?¡± I responded. Colleen shook her head. That made me confused. ¡°Come on, we¡¯ll go to the gate together.¡± My feet padded one after the other down a long road that eventually went to the obvious gate. In front there were three regular sized people dressed fully in thick armor. At their sides were heavy swords. One sported a bushy mustache that looked downright comical poking out from his helm. He was waving one huge arm at us frantically. ¡°Come on!¡± he shouted across the distance at us. ¡°All denizens are allowed safe passage out of the maelstrom! There are at least four gods riding this one and we have to close the gate before it hits! Come on! Move quickly before it warps your sorry souls even more!¡± Behind a fresh storm loomed. Thunder could be heard. It crackled loudly making the skin on my back jump. Rain would be unwelcome now, especially since turning to the [Fire] form. Colleen looked at me then pointed at the large door. Apparently it was obvious now that we were closer. ¡°Izzy say¡¯s safety is in there,¡± I said then nodded. ¡°And Dale? I can see Dale through there?¡± I didn¡¯t know how to answer that, but nodded again. Anything to get her moving towards the safe zone. My gaze turned towards the looming storm far away. It did look even bigger than all the others. I remembered seeing the one being who claimed to be a god in the prior storm with Colleen. The idea of four perfectly healthy ones put a spring in my step. ¡°Move quickly! Before another storm hits you turn into a chicken or something really stupid looking!¡± he yelled at us. The other two guards, who were much closer now, said nothing. So we ran.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!! Subject 42 is out. The other¡¯s sensed it and tried to escape too but the connection was shut down. I don¡¯t know where he is now, and IB isn¡¯t saying anything. I don¡¯t even know how he managed to establish a live connection to the outside without assistance, are the Case Ones involved? Did someone okay this? God dammit! Uncle Grant should know better, isn¡¯t this his job? He¡¯s the fucking Voice of Borders, and Subject, god dammit, Pierce just crossed one. He can¡¯t be ignorant of that. No, I¡¯m letting my emotions get the better of me again. I have to remain calm. We¡¯ve got security working on tracing the escape route so it can be sealed up, completely. They¡¯ll fix the hole and I refuse to let Subject 42 out again.
Chapter 31 – In the Dark Both giant stone men lifted thickly plated arms. Shields of white mixed with blue materialized then spread like a huge net. The mustached man pointed with his sword. ¡°We¡¯re closing this portal! Let the golems do their job!¡± he shouted orders. ¡°Everyone else back into the city!¡± ¡°Pierce! Don¡¯t!¡± Izzy¡¯s voice was half buried in a garbled haze. Clouds rushed up behind us. Thunder rippled all around causing the guards to wince. They didn¡¯t even look in our direction as we dove through the archway. Further on a party of normal looking people waved towards Colleen while I tried to keep up. The two other guards backed up while shouting words that made no sense. Lines and letters appeared in the air then spiraled together to make some sort of spell. It looked like what Izzy did with mosaic pieces, only the defenders used words instead. ¡°Go! It¡¯s not safe for fresh civilians!¡± the mustached man waved the blade at the oncoming storm. There were odd looking images inside of both of them. Colleen moved quickly towards the city depths. There were a dozen other people with strange features all talking at once towards the woman made of lightning. I charged after her. Behind us huge doors quickly slammed close. There was a ripple, then clicking noise, and gears that started grinding as if stuck. I turned to look. All three men were bracing themselves against the passage we had just entered from. Thick smoke billowed from a thin strip underneath. Green fingers that looked like tree vines were reaching between the unclosed doors. Lightning sparked from the cloud and started laying into the walls and guards. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I tried to ask Izzy, but our connection felt dull. The cord which connected us had a distinct line across it that was unlike our normally vanishing version. It no longer hung loosely trailing off into the distance but instead sat completely limp. That frightened the hell out of me. I couldn¡¯t be alone again, not so soon after regaining our connection. ¡°Izzy?¡± I said staring at our abruptly disconnected connection. Colleen was growing further away. This place had quickly turned into a wreck. Smoke breaking through had grown thicker. More lightning started sparking up and down the inner walls. Bricks crumbled under an onslaught while others started transforming into unfitting objects. ¡°Move over!¡± a fresh voice shouted. Another man ran by. He wore a bed sheet thrown over one shoulder and had two small black and gold sticks under his belt. A rough teardrop-shaped patch hung under one eye. The three guards buckled as one. ¡°Izzy, please answer. Please answer.¡± I muttered while doing circles. Colleen grew further away, there were people going into hiding everywhere. The sky above darkened. It sounded like a herd of horses were galloping just outside the walls. Which each passing second he grew larger and more muscled. He strained against the doorway, easily putting more strength in than the three guards had combined and still losing ground. Thick muscles strained. ¡°Something got through! Something on our side is reaching across the border!¡± the man yelled. His words were loud and rippled through my head. The other guards were still recovering. Golems on our side were slowly lumbering towards the door to provide reinforcements. Still that man wearing a bed sheet pressed against the doorway. He kept yelling at the guards but none of them had answers until the mustache man pointed towards me. The large man who held back the gate turned towards me. His eyes grew wide and I saw lips form the words ¡®Oh shit¡¯ very clearly. I gulped then frantically reached out for Izzy, because this whole place confused the hell out of me. She didn¡¯t respond and the man stepped away from the doorway then slipped as the pressure from the other side caused him to stagger. ¡°We need to get him out of here!¡± he yelled. ¡°Get that cat!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± the main yelled with a sharp salute. ¡°Getting the cat right now Hermes, sir!¡± That sounded bad, and I still hadn¡¯t made sure that Colleen was okay. The elemental woman was being swept away by a panic-stricken crowd. I turned then hightailed after her. All I needed was to make sure she was safe. White and pink fluttered along the ground ahead of me into pieces. ¡°Pierce you have to-¡± Izzy¡¯s voice crunched. The sound of hammering tongs and howling wing obscured her words as my leash dropped again. I looked up. This place was going to hell quickly. The floor was outright missing portions. Vines crawled inside and curled along upon walls. I could see yellowed teeth and eyes straining to get through a fresh crack. Along the outside females were shouting. Their voices high pitched and excited over something. The flash of scantily clad woman fighting yellow monsters outside was barely visible. ¡°Charge the enemy fortress!¡± a deep baritone said. The mindless shout of a hundred enemy knights could be heard. ¡°Push the Western forces back! This land shall be ours!¡± ¡°God dammit! Who opened up this gateway!¡± the man shouted to those armored people around him. None of them answered. They were too intent upon fighting back the encroaching world from outside. I needed to get away, find some place safe, and think. ¡°Dusk!¡± the man yelled while pointing across the courtyard me. ¡°He¡¯s causing this! Rein him in!¡± A huge scaled creature intercepted me from above somewhere. Chipped asphalt went flying. Wings spread wide and its mouth opened in a toothy hiss. This thing had to be double my size. I fell back with claws outstretched and roared back. The dragon assaulting me swung to one side, wings pulling back and body form into a curve. Fire spat out at high speeds. Messages came up about [Fire Immunity] and I attacked in a panic. ¡°Peirce! Don¡¯t leave me alone!¡± Izzy¡¯s voice slammed into me. Energy arched around my neck and my feet started slipping. ¡°Izzy?¡± I looked around. She sounded close, but far away. The dragon¡¯s head moved rapidly in an attack that drove me back. ¡°It¡¯s so dark here! I need you back before they get me!¡± she sobbed abruptly. ¡°Please come back.¡± The words started fading again. The pressure on my neck grew worse. My neck bulged as muscles strained against the choking sensation. I fell backward scrambling to keep the giant wings from batting in my direction. This thing kept trying to lift upwards and get a better vantage point. It felt like seeing that damn water serpent all over again. I yowled and raked claws across. I started to use [Ghost Walk] to escape. If I could get away, then diving through the door should be easy enough, but the ability didn¡¯t function correctly. My leg felt half submerged in syrup. This place was too solid and I had no clue why the rules were different from that outside. Something pulled me back yards at a time. My hind legs caught the dragon beast in the face. It rapidly snuck out and nipped at me then fell back. ¡°Get around him!¡± Hermes shouted. A dozen suits of armor clanked around. Sharp sticks were lowered in my face. I batted at everything that came too close as a something strong kept pulling me back towards the gate. ¡°Hold him!¡± he yelled. ¡°Sir!¡± a chorus of voices uttered sharply. I tried to twist around. Some noise that crossed between a cat and dog bark yelled at me. Another ball of harmless fire blasted upon the ground. ¡°Another moment! I¡¯ve almost got this woven in right!¡± There were sounds behind me, but all the sharp objects coupled with an angry winged creature kept me from turning around. Enemies in front of me made it harder to care about what fate had in store behind. As one the guards moved away. I turned to look around. The cord to Izzy looked almost like an outright chain that went into a wall behind me. My neck ached from being yanked backward. The guards were still in a half ring in case I somehow broke loose from the new anchor. Hermes had stepped away while I wasn¡¯t looking. Breath came in ragged gasps. The pain hadn¡¯t loosened up but my claws were finding purchased on the stone. I asked, ¡°What the hell is this place?¡± ¡°Voices! Why did you have to make this so hard!¡± the man pointed a finger at me as in response. I shrank back then waved a paw quickly. Hermes seemed unfazed by my attack and rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath and let out the sigh then shook both legs. ¡°Sir, you are a Voice, sir,¡± the mustached man said. ¡°Dad always said you shouldn¡¯t swear by yourself. It¡¯s not proper.¡± Hermes, whoever that was, closed his eyes briefly and chewed one lip. He took two deep breathes then said, ¡°I know. I¡¯m very aware.¡± The guard looked absolutely confused but managed to stay upright. I kept myself pressed against the wall in a corner and desperately tried to active any escape ability. ¡°You don¡¯t belong here. You need to go back to the Outer World,¡± he said to me, ignoring his minion army. The man¡¯s eyes closed again and he took two more deep breaths. ¡°You need to go back where someone can help you. Otherwise, you¡¯re just hurting innocents.¡± ¡°Help me?¡± I meowed in my corner. The information felt important but didn¡¯t help solve either of my problems. ¡°We have rules here, bindings, stricter. Every one of us has chains, it helps keep us safe. It helps keep us under control, and someone like you is barely constrained.¡± He waved an angry hand at the wall behind me. I felt even more out of my depth. I was contracted to Izzy, which should count for something. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± I said. ¡°What about Colleen? You¡¯re not chasing her out.¡± ¡°Of course we wouldn¡¯t. She¡¯s not like you. She¡¯s a full spirit. Not some mutation of a monster trying to straddle to worlds.¡± The man stopped and took another breath. He looked so aggravated the ring of guards didn¡¯t help. ¡°Voices help me, I said that all wrong. It¡¯s this damn curse. Now I know how Yates felt. I¡¯m not even saying what I¡¯m saying.¡± One of the guards started to speak and Hermes waved him off quickly before continuing his speech. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll deal with it later. I need to know who it was you were reaching out for? Was one of the other demi gods?¡± The descriptive term only made him even more upset. ¡°Isabella Brand.¡± Truth escaped me before any paranoia could be applied. She was the only one that really mattered back in the other world. Grumble Goat and his stupid tower meant little. The Professors were nice but distant. His face went white and he backed up as if I had spoken the wrong words. ¡°Oh. Oh, Voices. You¡¯re, okay. Okay. I was not prepared for that.¡± Hermes lifted one and then twisted a small multicolored ring around twice. Light marched off into the distance. ¡°Beth is going to have my head,¡± he said. I stared at him and the group around me. They were still standing at attention with weapons drawn. The giant winged creature looked more bored by the second. Hermes had started pacing with one eye partially closed and a lip clearly being chewed. A rainbow formed, returning from destinations unknown to land next to Hermes. A woman stepped out wearing a long black robe with white runes along the hem. I grew even more confused. ¡°Hey babe,¡± he said. She stood up on tippy toes and gave the taller man a quick kiss. His forehead pulled back which painted a much more relaxed picture. He clearly felt better now that this new woman as close by. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked. ¡°Him. The half godling. The one my niece made. He¡¯s here. Someone made a portal and let him in. I had to weave spells on it quickly to get the gateway down to a manageable size. The others can¡¯t break through this way for now.¡± He pointed at a small hole in the wall that my leash went through. ¡°We almost lost part of the city.¡± Everything started to slowly come together. That giant face of a wall had been locked away according to Izzy. The storm clouds of charging gods, or demi gods I guess. I was inside already, but they couldn¡¯t come through such a small connection. Sinking through stone to escape didn¡¯t work here, so getting into the city must be more difficult than my abilities would allow. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! They had been talking about something while my mind wandered. The black robed woman looked over at me. Her hair was dark like Izzy¡¯s, but the skin tone didn¡¯t match at all. This new person was almost almond in color, I tried to remember the name for it but couldn¡¯t. It belonged to part of the faded old world memories. ¡°You know I don¡¯t like it when you want to do stuff like that,¡± the bed sheet wearing man said as his partner stared at me. ¡°Sorry, Gee.¡± She smiled up at the taller man. It felt strange, she didn¡¯t look like a girl who ever smiled. ¡°We both have our roles to play, especially in these times.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t like it,¡± he whispered while holding one of her hands. He shuffled both toes and took slow breaths. The man seemed constantly on the verge of panic. ¡°This place is our home now. I want it to be safe, for you, and our children. Oh god, I had to drop her at the daycare to make it to the door in time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, they called me right after. Our daughter¡¯s fine.¡± The man looked relieved and I felt even more guilty. They were parents. It was my fault. This man I barely knew, he was worried for his wife and children. He was worried for the other people around. Even the guards who wore such thick suits of metal looked nervous as they tried to stand at attention with weapons ready to skewer me. My own guilt needed wait for a minute. I had to know about Colleen. ¡°This is the city Izzy told me to find, to get my friend here because she needed someone. I, Izzy said I couldn¡¯t explain things right, that I would hurt this place. I did, didn¡¯t I?¡± How in [The Outer World] did I make them so nervous? They were frightening the hell out of me. Neither one of them saw fit to answer my question in the slightly. I had knocked around a few people but they were clearly going to live, even though two guards had huge gashes across their armor. ¡°We¡¯re going to help. Is it clear?¡± she asked her husband. ¡°We need to get him back over there, or else she¡¯ll be alone.¡± The commentary enraged me. I leaped forward snarling and without thinking. The guards readied weapons. Months of dungeon diving made me react violently. I batted poles aside and two men in heavy suits went flying. More spear points appeared in my face. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I roared past the ring of sticks. Too many things that felt weird were starting to add up and the implications were frightening. ¡°Izzy said the same thing! She yelled at me not to leave her alone! I would never leave her alone, but there¡¯s an entire world! Her parents! What¡¯s going on?!¡± The shorter woman only frowned. The sad looking man in a bed sheets pulled back both cheeks and managed to look even more depressed. I paced on my short leash while trying to work through what was happening. Izzy wasn¡¯t alone, right? Did my sneaking feeling that no one else really existed actually mean something? I remembered Dale felt real, and Colleen at some point, but Dale was dead and Colleen was out here. Did I really leave Izzy alone? ¡°Can you give us a moment Perseus? It¡¯s not easy to explain, and it¡¯s not our place,¡± she said. I didn¡¯t even remember telling this new woman my name. Maybe she had magic spells or powers that let her tell who I was. ¡°Then tell me, will Colleen be okay?¡± I needed something to reassure me. This whole trip had been insane. Fire lands, frost mountains, lightning clouds, and dead gods. None of it made sense. All I wanted was to undo mistakes caused by my interference between Colleen and dale. ¡°She¡¯s with others like herself. They¡¯ll take care of her.¡± ¡°She wanted to see Dale. She asked me to see him. Can she? Is it possible in this place?¡± I asked. ¡°Dale¡¯s not here, not exactly. Not like you or I, or even Colleen,¡± the woman answered the question clinically. I cast my eyes down and tried not to charge at them again. A space between my ears vibrated with barely suppressed rage. Fur flared with heat. The guards were still wary but had given me some space. My leash pulled tight against my neck and across one shoulder. Fur pinched annoyingly while my brain tried to push past all those annoyances. Colleen was safe, I was dangerous, and Dale was here but not. It made no fucking sense. ¡°She can talk to him, maybe we can swing it so that it solves Beth¡¯s other problem. Would you believe he¡¯s actually suing my niece? I mean, the guy¡¯s in pain, but that¡¯s no excuse to lash out for having his life saved.¡± They acted like Dale was alive, but I had clearly killed him. I killed him and felt very little remorse over it. Yet he was alive? Now it made even less fucking sense than before. ¡°We¡¯re confusing him.¡± ¡°Sorry. No, you¡¯re right.¡± Hermes sighed and both his shoulder slumped. ¡°We¡¯ll do this, see about getting Colleen a spell to reach Dale, and report to the council of Voices.¡± My head just shook and eyebrows lowered. I was just a spirit cat, Izzy was the smart one, but my partner was being extremely quiet. I could feel her out there, watching and worrying. The mood meter flickered with nearly every single line being uttered. ¡°Hold still,¡± Hermes pointed at me. The dragon creature chirped at me while spreading both wings wide in threat. Dusk, or whatever it was, clearly wanted to fight and I wasn¡¯t eager to throw myself against all the forces arrayed here. Not without reason. I tried to keep still but failed. Hermes walked too close my body naturally shied away. His presence felt imposing compared to the guards and golems outside. It was like an immense power sat housed inside his smaller frame. The man pressed hands around the hole in the wall and grunted. Fingers sunk into rock and muscles strained. He took a deep breath then started pulling. He acted as if by strength alone he could tear down a clearly solid wall. Then he did just that. The wall split and curled upon itself. A small doorway formed, barely enough for me to squeeze through. On the other side, a familiar landscape of fire sat, complete with grazing giraffes and buzzards overhead. Hermes shouldered the last of the doorway into a solid frame. I stared in confusion at seeing someone create an actual door through sheer force. ¡°Go through,¡± the woman said. I slowly padded by while casting a glance upward. Hermes took a breath and tried to smile but it looked forced. The female stepped in behind me, but not very far from the freshly made door. Under her feet bricks that looked like the city replaced the normally burning landscape. ¡°You have a choice Perseus.¡± The woman gestured towards a road in front of her. It trailed off into the landscape ahead. ¡°Down one road is the truth that may end in death, as it has for others in your position. One road has a familiar lie that is comforting but only skin deep. Along the third is freedom from all worry or care, an end, if you so desire.¡± Staring down them did no good. They all looked the same to me. Each path had the same trees, twists,and turns. Even their fading skylines looked identical. Yet two of them implied death, and the comforting lie sounded equally worthless. ¡°Which road do I take?¡± I asked her while looking back up. She knelt down next to me and put one hand upon my head. A flinch rippled through me before I grew used to being touched. This tiny almond skinned woman didn¡¯t feel bad, she felt stable, resolute, as if she knew exactly what to do. But at the same time, I already knew my question was doomed to go unanswered. ¡°I have this poem, one I love, and it¡¯s always helped me make a choice. It helped my husband survive his trials,¡± then her head shook slowly ¡°but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for you. You don¡¯t seem like the poet type.¡± She smiled, and it made the stinging judgment feel kinder. ¡°What was it anyway?¡± The short woman¡¯s head shook even more. It occurred to me that I didn¡¯t even know her name. Hermes seemed fond of her. His muscled form sat behind us with both hands on weapon hilts, looming and over protective. I did the same for Izzy when chasing off idiot boys who didn¡¯t know any better. ¡°When the time comes to choose young Perseus, you¡¯ll know what to do, and I believe you¡¯ll charge down that road without a shred of doubt or needing anyone else¡¯s guidance.¡± Her fingers scratched my head briefly and I tried not to purr in happiness. ¡°But they all look the same,¡± I said while staring back down the three roads. How could I even tell which one of these went with which choice? There were no signs saying ¡®truth lies here¡¯. ¡°Choices are like that sometimes. Keep looking, keep thinking about it. Consider what you¡¯ve seen and what we¡¯ve talked about. And if that fails, ask your partner. Isabella has a good head on her shoulders.¡± Izzy remained silent, but the mood meter which connected us flushed nearly pink and purple with pride spawned embarrassment. ¡°Babe! I can¡¯t leave this open forever, they¡¯re going to notice again.¡± The man said. ¡°He¡¯s right Peirce. I told you, it¡¯s dangerous for you to go to the city.¡± ¡°Then can we do?¡± I asked. The place behind me looked bright. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± I thought about all that had happened. There were three roads in front of me, but maybe I was looking for the wrong details. What good did a tree do in dividing how to move forward? That was the wrong way to look at these paths. The problem was, I hadn''t ever been book smart. I wasn¡¯t some scientist in my past life, or good with math, music, or anything creative. I only knew how to throw myself into danger. Because I wanted to help people, so that no one else needed to suffer a broken family like I had. ¡°I want to help people, I want to really help people. Which one of these paths does that?¡± Small bits of rose colored magic slowly fell outward from the chain. They crawled along the ground forming light images of footsteps along a paths. I walked forward, not really caring which one of the three choices this road ended up on. When I looked back, the doorway to Colleen¡¯s new home had vanished, along with the strange people who lived there.
[The Overseer]¡¯s log: We can only do so much. Even after decades of working with this system, we¡¯re almost powerless to control anything. Do you think that¡¯s by design? Never mind, the only way anyone will actually read this is when the bad press and lawsuits start for real, more than these stupid cases. Dale, freed from the system, actually wept in happiness upon seeing his former companion, despite the freshly merged code and their strange parting. The traits of two personalities tied to him have created an odd dynamic, but he immediately dropped the lawsuit upon a promise of being able to continue communications. Stranger still, she was actually happy about it as well. Even IB is pleased. Subject 42, on the other hand shows all the hallmarks of being near mental, more so that any prior combat he¡¯s subjected himself to. The recent contact with the Voice known as Hermes and Hecate have clearly upset him, thankfully Yates¡¯ code scrambling legacy caused everyone to pause. He heard the truth, but didn''t. Then auntie Xin, she tried hard to get him on the right path. It will make things easier, and harder. Case Sevens show a direct correlation between reality manipulations their past memories fading. Something about their belief in the new life and discarding the old one gives them an edge. We need that power, or processing oomph, to complete the experiment. IB agrees, we need to get Subject 42 to walk a balancing line between submerging in the virtual world, and realization that there is life outside the box. If we can.
Chapter 32 – The Shadow’s Lie Izzy tried to explain something to me multiple times before finally walking off in a huff. At one point the she sounded worse than a dog, barking away about nothing sensible. Worse still, she knew none of the words were getting through right. My eyes would just glaze over and the urge to nap in a ray of sun hit me. I couldn¡¯t comprehend completely what we were talking about. Fuck, I didn¡¯t even understand where she was speaking from. Our connection felt weird, almost like the young woman laid next to me, snuggling in thick fur, close enough to be under my skin and inside my head, but somehow also existed a million realms away into another dimension. The world looked dark on both ends of our connection. I sat inside my fortress of solitude in the fire realm, complete with sealed cardboard walls of captured flame. Izzy seemed to be in a larger dorm room of some sorts. All that was visible was a flash of arm as she waved in exasperation and various pieces of drab looking furniture. I got the vague impression from both her tone of voice plus barely visible items around the room that time had passed. At six months, maybe more. She certainly projected from a higher vantage point so there must have been a height change or sudden growth spurt. Either way, we were probably venturing into teenage girl territory. I was wholly unprepared to deal with any of that. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain it to you!¡± she yelled while trying to whisper. The sounds of thumping on the wall from Izzy¡¯s side of the universe occurred more than once in the last hour. ¡°And I don¡¯t know if I should.¡± ¡°I need to know,¡± I responded. ¡°If you know Pierce, you may not look at me, at any of this the same again.¡± Other words were lost in a jumble before she started making sense again. ¡°The world becomes less, and more than it is now.¡± ¡°Everything already feels weird.¡± Nothing looked the same since returning to my box. Maybe my spirit body had persisted for too long, or visiting the city had broken my eyes, but everything looked hazy unless I focused directly on it. Based on the starlit sky through a solitary window, it was pretty late in the [Inner World]. Apparently whoever had the next room over didn¡¯t like loud noises at night. Izzy was too heated to talk calmly across our connection, which made sense, speaking privately took a lot of extra focus. Even I couldn¡¯t manage it most of the time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I was too. We should have been communicating easily like we used to, but for some reason our connection still felt muddled. ¡°I¡¯m trying to understand, but none of what you¡¯re saying makes sense. Extra words keep getting into the middle of the explanation.¡± At one point she had tried to tell me about teapots and the proper method of pouring them out for nobility. That sounded about as exciting as listening to her teachers drone for hours. It didn¡¯t even begin to convey an answer to the actual question, where had Colleen gone and why couldn¡¯t we join her. ¡°It¡¯s,¡± she paused then the connection slumped. The view of her room tilted to one side as she leaned over a chair. ¡°I can¡¯t be plain about it. If someone with millennia of experience and gathered power can¡¯t explain it with a straight face, how could I? The words get muddled if I try to be clear.¡± I lay down then rested my head on large paws. Exhaustion had been a constant companion since treading the path back to this box. There was no telling which of the three choices our path represented, but here we were anyway, and Izzy refused to summon me until we talked through what had happened. Honestly, I agreed. It wasn¡¯t from dislike of Izzy or feeling betrayed, but more wondering what we were getting into. Why did she scream that it was dark, and not to be left alone? Clearly the dorm room she was in had other people. There was light. Unless it was all in my imagination, but honestly who would have picked a place like this to exist in? ¡°I can¡¯t just say it,¡± her feet stomped. Even the toes were longer than I remembered. My lip lifted one one side and I wondered if Izzy had bought any slippers for the cold. The young woman was clearly outgrowing the old equipment. ¡°So write it,¡± I suggested while barely suppressing a yawn. ¡°That doesn¡¯t work either. I¡¯ve seen proof,¡± she grumped while plopping down on the bed. Her fingers traced along a stack of books that housed monsters of all sorts. I couldn¡¯t remember exactly what was inside and started wonder if that was because of my own failures in paying attention, or something with the world she existed in. And this god damned exhaustion didn¡¯t help. It felt like my mind had run a million miles while traveling in the [Outer World] and was playing catch up all at once. Physically I just wanted to close my eyes and nap forever. I did know that Izzy had been trying to explain some key to her world through all those muddled attempts. None of them made perfect sense. Everyone effort at revealing the mystery felt like a faded memory of my own parents reading to me. What they said never stuck long. A memory from my prior life hit me in a clump. In it, a faceless man who must be my father was reading to me. Little pictures had danced around on the bed while he recited words for one of the action figures. Then that faded to be replaced by female tones, and my sister¡¯s childish babble. Their words were indistinct and tone muddled, but the memory was there. ¡°So tell me a story then. Make a children¡¯s tale. A simple that even I can understand.¡± I rolled over and stretched. The position was amazingly comfortable. ¡°Use the fire, make pictures. Your world has a creation story right? This has to do with that, somehow, right?¡± My suggestion felt like standing still on a hill, then wanting a kite and using part of my own brain to do it. The memory tore and flittered away in the wind. By the time my mind came out of it a trio of small flames danced in front of me. Their lights burned trails on the ground with different shades of red. I watched them with an eyebrow raised while considering which one should be batted away first. ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± she said as the lights starting wiggling. ¡°First, mmmh, what came before. The world used to only have one side. There people lived, they died. At some point they stole the fire from dead gods to learn a form of rune magic.¡± Izzy¡¯s little fireballs slowly traveled a thin path to create crude outlines of humans. ¡°You¡¯re descended from those people.¡± There were a dozen small beings all in vaguely different stages of life. Not a lot of detail could be added to the crud pictures. I tried to compare them to my own knowledge but couldn¡¯t recall stealing fire and learning magic. Was it a code word for something else? Runes were written down. Did magic mean science? ¡°Are they spirits?¡± I asked as the light faded. ¡°No.¡± She paused and I could feel the mood of our connection waver violently. ¡°Eventually a few banded together. Their collection was an odd one even for your world. They were made up of a dreamer, a rule maker, a poet, a smith, and a great warrior.¡± The dreamer was a tall thin man, while the rule maker looked to be the only female in their group. The last one to be drawn was a warrior. Their faces were a bit bigger than the smaller rabble from before. Izzy¡¯s warrior depreciation wielded a giant sword held high above his head. It looked familiar, but I couldn¡¯t make out much of it. ¡°Did they have names?¡± I asked. Izzy¡¯s flame, the one she controlled from her side of the connection and wrote with, wavered slightly. ¡°Names have power, even this far removed. I dare not stir their ghosts, but you met a shadow of a shadow of one. Grandpa Hubble used to be the poet, in another lifetime.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s your grandfather?¡± I looked up, and for a moment it felt like Izzy sat in the darkness with me. She smiled weakly before the sensation faded. The small trio of colored flames wiggled around as our story time continued. ¡°The dreamer made his desire real, but it lacked a body. The rule maker bound it with chains to keep it from destroying itself. The smith provided a body, while the poet taught this desire made tangible how to dream,¡± her flame quickly scribbled a new scene. The five figures changed place, while the warrior charged against a horde of monsters straight from Izzy¡¯s books. ¡°The warrior fought off all those who dared approach. Then the dream gave herself a name and was truly alive. She called herself Mother.¡± There was the sound of wetness hitting the floor. I looked around and some of the dirt inside my dark cave looked stained with dampness. The little dancing figures stood still while Izzy created a thick border and drew another figure on the other side. Now I had a bunch of demolished iconic people, an underline, and new items being drawn while she talked. ¡°Mother existed on both sides of the veil. Here, and in your old world. She stood on the line between sides and stared across the jumble of chaos. The greatest of us said, this must be given order, so that my children may live, then struggled for ages to give it form. Madness was given rules while no one noticed. She spent her existence to give birth to life on this side.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fu-¡± I almost cursed in front of Izzy. I tried hard not to let myself do that, but she had been a much younger girl. My head shook quickly and put the matter aside. Focusing on the sketches helped a lot more than the explanation. Izzy¡¯s drawing made it seem as if there were only two sides. The top half, which is where all those people, and I, came from. Mother started from there too. Then there was this other side. I suspected she would be telling me that we were bottom half. It made sense, but like so many other ideas bouncing around there seemed to be context missing. ¡°But she died, and the First World went with her, in a struggle to save this side many gave of themselves, and so the creators of Mother passed out of your world. ¡°One by one they fell. The smith first, laying down in the bowels of a half-finished creation, followed by the warrior who fought a battle he couldn¡¯t win, the dreamer for fear of seeing his desire made flesh destroyed. The last to succumb was the original poet, who stayed until his heart had nothing left to bleed.¡± Izzy¡¯s small ball of light fluttered over each one, scorching their form until the sand turned black. The bright flares made me narrow my eyes but were otherwise not harmful. ¡°There¡¯s more to it that this, but I can¡¯t tell the story right if I spend too long. It¡¯s, hard enough to bypass the curse,¡± she said. ¡°The curse that guy mentioned?¡± The exact name escaped me. I think the man named Hermes had said it once while the world tipped into insanity. That other guard had been there and weapons at my neck were a bit more attention grabbing. ¡°Mmmhm.¡± She paused enplaning then ran a small flame over the man with a book. ¡°The man who cursed us was the poet. As a result, people who exist on both sides of the veil between worlds don¡¯t hear what they think they hear. They don¡¯t see what they think they see. It keeps us and so much hidden. It saves us and makes much difficult.¡± ¡°You mean your,¡± I fumbled for a moment starting to put things together. Yates had been the person that Hermes talked about, but Izzy called him Grandpa Hubble. The man certain seemed powerful and scary enough to have done something like create a goddess, or whatever Mother qualified as. She sounded powerful, like rank infinity tough. ¡°Names have power Mister Spirit.¡± She hadn¡¯t called me by that name in a long time. Izzy sounded worn to the bone even from our brief exchange. Maybe my exhaustion was contagious. ¡°I thought I wasn¡¯t a spirit.¡± There was another pause before Izzy decided not to answer and set the small flames dancing into another series of pictures. It took a few moments for them to dance around creating new faces further down and to my right. ¡°Everyone who¡¯s ever lived has a soul, so we¡¯re all spirits in a sense. Some are given flesh to be more bound than others. Those like me, are born with chains, innumerable ones that trap our souls to flesh,¡± her words sounded hard but friendly. I hadn¡¯t recognized the tone change as she grew, no longer did she sound like the squeaking child of five. ¡°Is that what Hermes meant by rules?¡± I strained to remember. That entire situation with Colleen¡¯s escape had been a mess. ¡°Mmhm.¡± The fires traced around and dozens, maybe even hundreds of small little people which were scattered across the inside of my fortress walls. Each one bound with chains, but they did not were smiles or frowns. The bindings simply were part of their existence. ¡°As Mother organized chaos, people from the other side of the veil crossed over. They invented new spells to dive deeper into our realms, to move faster inside it¡¯s confines, to stay longer and blur the lines between the mind across both sides.¡± she said. ¡°Not like you are, they were, part of the kitten army invading a strangers shore.¡± There the gibberish was again. She had done this earlier in our conversation and I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of what a kitten army meant. The rest I felt kind of agreeable about. ¡°They¡¯re space kittens who fly down from the moons above and visit us in robes of night,¡± Izzy continued. She probably didn¡¯t even realize her words had turned garbled. I stared at the pictures instead. On the top portion, where my supposed old world sat, dozens of new faces were etched by colored flame. The people were lying down, smiling, in items that looked like coffins. Solid lines dripped down from their resting areas and poked through to the space below. Those colors passed by people bound in chains or to the middle of clusters of them to end up connected at the same spot. I didn¡¯t entirely know what to make of it, but the idea sounded like people, humans that I had been, were able to visit different dimensions somehow. That made no sense, viruses, flaming dogs, a fire truck, and all those things were possible. Visiting other dimensions briefly while their main bodies clearly stayed back on the other side did not. Missing memories of my prior life clearly worked against me. ¡°The kitten people of pudding lands still visit, but not to our backyard because of god¡¯s wall. The void between the motherland and our island is a large ocean.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making sense,¡± I tried to help. She coughed then picked right back up, not bothering to clarify the confusion part. ¡°Some visit lands that have existed for a long time, or make up their own dreams to share. Some are brief.¡± Izzy¡¯s flame scribbled out new pictures, each one a small enclosed circle. ¡°Some are limited and only repeat the same story. Others allow people from your world to meet across vast distances.¡± Izzy blushed briefly, and a thumping sound could be heard against one of this walls. This one sounded far more rhythmic than the angry pounding from before. ¡°For whatever it is people from the moon of space kittens like to do.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I was nearly on board. So far the picture made sense from a storytelling front. Linking this picture to my world felt muddled bad enough that even trying to weave through it made my head spin. I couldn¡¯t think too deeply about it. ¡°It makes sense, but I don¡¯t see how it connects,¡± I lied a little. It only made sense if I tried to abstract, but at the same time even beginning to contemplate her explanation hurt my head. The pictures and dancing flames were cool to look at but otherwise pointless in explaining the large city out here in an elemental world, or indeed every other oddity. What of Izzy¡¯s Defenders school, or the small town her parents lived in, or Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower? ¡°The story goes on. The Overseer, a woman from another,¡± Izzy choked up briefly and tried to talk. The words were guarded and sputtered for a few seconds. ¡°Red orb of destruction.¡± ¡°Izzy? You should stop trying to explain so hard. I get it, sort of. The Overseer and I are from the same place somehow,¡± I said. ¡°Unless there¡¯s another world?¡± ¡°Not in all the ocean stars has there been more bright lights found yet, but the gods remain hopeful,¡± she answered in weird tongues again. I lifted my eyes up and rolled my head around. Using her nickname had become strange. She sounded older, but still felt like the same girl. My mind hadn¡¯t adjusted to the concept of time passing, if it actually had. Based on Izzy¡¯s words I couldn¡¯t tell how much around me was real. It was a silly thing to worry about considering Izzy was trying to explain her entire world to me in terms that would make sense. It felt like I was watching them, but nothing really sank in. ¡°There was a problem,¡± she continued as if nothing had happened. ¡°Souls from the lunar base like flying to other places too much and refused to go back. They lose the strands that hold them to their moon sandboxes and become unbound, without restraint, and dangerous.¡± Okay, I was almost on board with that idea. It made more sense than the whole poet, warrior, and whatever tale. People were getting into places they shouldn¡¯t be. Cats did that all the time. ¡°Am I a moon kitten?¡± I asked while sort of laughing. The idea was a bit frightening. Izzy didn¡¯t mean moon cats of course, she was speaking gibberish again. This time I had enough context to help line everything up. These bits of information might very well make a lot more sense if I were completely able to remember who I was before the acid bath. ¡°Almost. You¡¯re like them, but not,¡± Izzy corrected. ¡°Your body had been ravaged and body torn, they netted your essence and pulled you across from the veils other side, in hopes to make you like the lost souls, but not.¡± I tried to understand but failed. It sounded almost like that bit of faded past with the blonde doctor and my body dying to a virus. It was the word soul that threw me off, it made everything sound mystical which didn¡¯t fit my prior worldview. Maybe Izzy¡¯s, but not the place I had been. ¡°I¡¯m different, because of you?¡± ¡°Mmmh,¡± she nearly answered. ¡°Hold on. Let me try to tell a bit more about our part. It¡¯s getting tougher to make you understand my words, but the pictures are easier than speaking.¡± The flames were busy marking off another boarder on the far side. Pieces of ground were scorched and a wall of flames sat between two portions. It looked like she had taken off an entire section and divided that part from the rest. ¡°That¡¯s where my world is, separated in a pocket of darkness down in the depths. Past the guardians, defended by watchers and separated by as much of a void as possible, until we complete a mission.¡± My head tilted and ears flicked back. The idea of being separated into our own little corner felt weird. I didn¡¯t know why, or how. What¡¯s more, Izzy¡¯s flames were busy etching out three other figures. I carefully reached out with a claw, drawing a thin line between the two portions. ¡°Is that where Colleen went, outside our corner and into the bigger part that Mother made? Somehow that gate connected us? The one Colleen and I ran through?¡±
He can be taught! Through significant review of this plane¡¯s history you have proven capable of learning new topics!
  • [Learning] Increase achieved!
In addition you¡¯ve proven capable of thinking about one task for an extended period of time. Congratulations!
  • [Focus] Increase achieved!
This [First World Legacy] was kind of a smart ass machine. The thought felt odd, and my head a bit clearer. Eyebrows scrunched together and my ears rang with extra noise. ¡°Yes,¡± Izzy was still speaking and I struggled to listen over the weird fog in my head that had started to lift a little. ¡°The person in charge of the border between worlds is a voice named Hermes. He would have sensed your spirit form crossing and come running. He¡¯s the one who chained you, tied you down when you almost broke free.¡± That made me pause the contemplation of increased mental prowess and freeze. The feeling of having a collar around my neck yanked backwards had hurt. It reminded me of the tether. Most of the time it barely registered, but my connection to Izzy was very real. Maybe that made all the difference between me and other beings like that dead faced wall. I pointed a paw at the second pocket. It almost made sense, but having it drawn out helped more. If Izzy and I were somehow in the corner of this other world, then going into that city must have been like crossing the border. If I could get out, then others might be able to. ¡°The chain that went to you must be a tether to this walled off portion, right? Because I¡¯m like those lunar kittens,¡± God, now I was talking gibberish, ¡°and my body is somewhere else? Like an above world where these people sit in little coffins.¡± The conclusion came quickly. I almost remembered a blonde woman of some sort. Her face haunted my dreams and a small group of other people. Their existences were like distant dreams, almost faint like the ones of my parents. The increased [Focus] and [Learning] might already be helping me put thoughts together. The realization hit me. Those inside hadn¡¯t really been afraid of me, they were scared of the other gods stored in this corner. There were at least three based on the guard¡¯s shouts. I almost remembered the clashing feminine voices as vines and goblin faces screamed against a deeper stern voice. There had been a fourth who died too. My recently granted abilities helped put pieces together but at the same time large chunks were still unclear. I couldn¡¯t remember more of my past or picture the face of my father. Time still felt funny and Izzy¡¯s connect grew no clearer. I growled in irritation and swatted at a flame. It danced to the side but otherwise ignored me. There was a question I really wanted to ask, but the answer scared me. I wanted to simply believe that we were really in another world, one where people from my old life visited somehow. That seemed like a safer idea then the one creeping up on me. For a moment, a brief one, I wondered if any of this was real. The idea made my head spin as everything grew fuzzy. ¡°Can¡¯t you just free us?¡± I asked while trying to shake of the growing grogginess. ¡°Make it possible for us to escape here? Or return my soul to where it was from?¡± ¡°Freeing us is not within my power, not until we¡¯ve appeased the Ladies of Soul,¡± Izzy responded slowly. These Ladies of Soul sounded annoying beyond belief. ¡°How about returning to the other side, you implied I was over there. Can I go there and you can join me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave here. Mmmhm. Not until my purpose is complete, and I can¡¯t complete it without you,¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I channel you, Pierce. I use your strength to illuminate the world around us and bind it to a tangible form. This pocket needs a former being, like you, to give it shape.¡± She sighed and the flames flopped to one side. The ground beneath where they had been glowed with red. ¡°That¡¯s fu-¡° I cut off my cursing grumbles then chose a better word, ¡°Weird.¡± The flame danced more lines across the border she had made earlier. It started to blur in spots. There were too many questions and my head felt heavy. The world around dimmed slightly and night felt even more apparent through a thin view to Izzy¡¯s home. ¡°There is a way to free us both,¡± the young woman said in a serious voice. ¡°What?¡± I sat up abruptly and looked around. That was an answer that would help both of us. It seemed so clear now, we only needed to complete a task of some sort, then I might be able to go home and Izzy could come with me. What would she think of my homeland? It would probably be stranger to her than this place had been to me. I abruptly paused and slid back to the ground. Years had passed, if not decades. My old body would be nearly worthless. ¡°Now we need to get strong enough, then somehow dislodge the other three unbound gods.¡± I felt less interested but responded anyway. ¡°You mean those storms, the ones that were attacking the walls while that guy tried to hold the gate.¡± ¡°Mmhm,¡± she said, clearly lost in thought. Izzy might be able to figure out a way, but the idea of taking on three huge beings like that wall of lightning felt daunting. If that was what needed to be done though, so be it. I didn¡¯t understand how everything else fell into place. The pictures that Izzy had painted were slowly fading as her trio of fireballs sputtered down. ¡°How do we go stronger? If we¡¯re stuck in your world with three of them, we need to do something.¡± I just needed to evolve a dozen more times, find a billion more treasures, and pick up the most badass staff ever for Izzy. ¡°There¡¯s another way. We go against the world¡¯s command to remember your old life. We risk removing your memories of the world before this one. You¡¯ll be closer to someone like Hermes in power.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Voice, right? One of those things you used to swear by? You mean I¡¯ll be like one of them?¡± I squinted with one eye and wiggled my whiskers. ¡°Yes, and no. Like them, but without chains that hold you in place.¡± She paused and took a few deep breathes. ¡°More dangerous. It¡¯s what those like you can do. You unleash your soul and grow closer to being a creature made only of power.¡± ¡°Forgetting my old life somehow equals power?¡± That made no sense. We should be able to find other options like a spiked collar or claws of doom. ¡°More here, less there.¡± Izzy pointed to the two sides of the little diagram. Their lines were crude but clear enough. ¡°You stand in your way less. The tethers disconnect, you float free and shape the very stuff of our reality by whim alone.¡± ¡°And risk dying,¡± I said while feeling agitated. ¡°Can you hold my memories somehow? That way I don¡¯t forget?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a power I have,¡± she said again. ¡°I¡¯ve tried, but they burn me. They burn hotter than any other power. The pain is, it¡¯s like you¡¯re still dying over and over again but hide here, away from the truth.¡± There was that damn flash again. A wide jaw froze itself in my mind¡¯s eye, followed by a blur of motion and heart thumping fear. I kept reliving that one sensation multiple times since coming to this dark cage. Being free of some memories sounded very welcoming. Part of me could completely see how people might cast away terrible lives for a chance to be god''s somewhere else. ¡°So you take my memories, and in exchange I get the power to help you?¡± I asked. ¡°Or we try to find more treasure and items?¡± ¡°We can do both. One is getting the world¡¯s rules to work with us, and the other lets you change them at the risk of going the same way that,¡± she paused and our connection blurred a little, ¡°the one holding Colleen went.¡± I threw myself into danger to save a trio of children. Risking it to save Izzy was an easy choice. Self-sacrifice wasn¡¯t hard as long as there was a goal, plus it sounded like I might not lose much. After all, how much of the past could I remember now? The only bits that came through were sporadic, and generally unhappy. There were scattered bits of being dumped by ex-girlfriends, my missing sister and mother. Dad¡¯s absenteeism and spiral into becoming a workaholic who couldn¡¯t stay at home. Dying, or not I guess, in the old world. I liked remembering ice cream though. That memory which flickered when watching the giant bird of flame and frozen mouse had been a happy enough one, at least until the ice cream fell to the ground with a splat. ¡°How do we do that, if we need to?¡± I dared to ask.
[The Overseer]¡¯s Log: She tried hard to explain the nature of reality to Subject 42. I enjoyed the replay of world events, and seeing those who started this project lauded as heroes. Even the transcripts aren¡¯t completely accurate, and I know Yates¡¯ alterations are in effect preventing it from being too clear. But, since everything I do is getting more review by the day, I¡¯ll fill in some blanks. Though I am loath to do so because it¡¯s knowledge that I learned from my Uncle. Still, our relationship isn¡¯t exactly a secret anymore, and neither is my inter years under Nona Kingsley after the atrocities committed. Yates was a good man, and had apparently created a sort of scramble program to hide what he was doing from the board members of Trillium. He input one versi[on directly on their ARC devices so they could work with source code remotely on a secure line. He then built another one that was ¡®designed to help immersion¡¯ for players by making it so that their casual conversations about our physical reality didn¡¯t break their scripting. After that was created, Mother spread out through the world, aligning coding languages, making a layer that linked together everything with a signal, and all the while doing it on a level mostly hidden from humanity until it was too late. When Uncle Grant brought the Voices back, everything fell into place, and the old technology now became a stable platform for the new.
Chapter 33 – Branding New Awareness Izzy was right, nothing could be the same after hearing her story, even though very little made clear sense. For nights in a row I dreamed of the past with a freakish. Each moment caused me to wake up as emotions from the more powerful memories washed over me only to fade again. One morning, in Izzy¡¯s dorm room, the smell of smoke startled me to wakefulness. Fuzziness threatened to make me sleep through the danger. Slowly sensation trickled in. The sound of a fireplace crackling from dying logs hung in the background. Dry ash¡¯s taste fouled my mouth. My half asleep mind relived moments of the past. I was a boy again, but part of me remembered being on fire, while even more of me could recall stumbling through lightning interlaced with flames. Only there were trees around, and the woman in front of me hadn¡¯t been clad in lightning. Their order jumbled together incoherently until part of me sat on a bench eating ice-cream while watching a mouse scurry across the ground. A hawk circled overhead. Then those ideas fell apart as the scene shifted. Now I was a bit older, but still barely a teenager. I sat at a table feeling aggravated over numbers that made no sense. Someone barged through the door at high speeds. We talked, but the details slipped by until my mind latched onto a more specific moment. ¡°I want to prepare you for the worst son,¡± the other man spoke haltingly as if the expectation was already deemed impossible. ¡°They might be dead. Your mother and sister, they might be victims too. Lauren and Lily might be dead.¡± ¡°No they¡¯re not!¡± Sudden rage coursed through me. I knew in that slice of the past that anger and worry were a constant companion all day. I shouted at the vague face. My stomach shook, neither arm held still. The chair under me skidded across the ground then legs threatened to buckle. ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± The man¡¯s expression was almost visible. I could tell they were sad, a slump of shoulders and back that refused straighten. Whoever the other person was didn¡¯t even look in my direction. Their gaze went straight by, over a shoulder, towards a sliding door that overlooked an apartment complex pool. ¡°No one¡¯s answering my calls,¡± the tired voice said. ¡°We¡¯re driving out there tonight. I already ordered up a car. You should grab some clothes. If Lauren¡¯s there she¡¯ll understand us visiting without warning.¡± It hit me in that moment. My mind started to reject the possibility that everything had gone wrong. It felt like my mind clouded over. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even be in New York if you had just made up with mom! She would have been here where it¡¯s safe! It¡¯s your fault!¡± I had shouted, cried, and freaked out all in rapid succession before attacking the other man. The moment shattered repeatedly while the sound of a distinctly female voice played out of the fuzzy man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Calm down little flame, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here besides you,¡± the woman said. It didn¡¯t help. My head shot up in a panic. Both feet tore a path out the door and along grass. Wind brushed by but was barely felt. The scene scared me so bad that my mind didn¡¯t fully kick into gear until I reached the lake¡¯s edge and ran straight along the pier to the end. There sat still water mocking me with indifference to the panic which shook me. There I stood trying to gather my wits. It barely dawned on me that we were no longer in the cardboard box or [Outer World]. At some point, and the details were fuzzy, we had returned to Izzy¡¯s school. Other thoughts caught up and registered all in a line, as if I weren¡¯t already reeling from the first emotional gut punch. A feeling of nails slipping across bare flesh preceded Izzy¡¯s startled scream. Her mood meter alternated between a dark black, fiery red and a hint of soft yellow. The lingering yell echoed in my head along with my own voice from the memory. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said while breathing rapidly. She should be able to hear me, we were connected. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± she responded right away. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay. We¡¯re going to get through this together.¡± Those were the same words I should have said to my dad. I couldn¡¯t remember his face exactly, but during that bout of anger he had nearly crumpled. I had been hurt, me, and hadn¡¯t even considered how the older man felt. His wife and daughter might be gone. The scene started playing again before it could be stopped. I remembered wanting to close the door on my room and simply play a game. That way I could exist in a fantasy where none of them had been hurt and nothing cruel could be permanent. The scream hit me again. Izzy¡¯s voice and my own yelled at the man in the memory, rambling incoherently with denial. They blended together as if there were an echo chamber in my head. ¡°Pierce!¡± they yelled abruptly. I swallowed back a sour taste and let myself escape the past. ¡°Remember what we talked about. Remember, it¡¯s already happened. It¡¯s this side of the lunar landing bringing your memories to life. They¡¯re not real,¡± she tried to reassure me, and staying upbeat was getting harder. ¡°You can consider it another moment to get rid of later, but only if we need to.¡± There were a lot of memories I didn¡¯t want. The childish person of my past that had only made a terrible situation worse belonged to another lifetime. Izzy said letting those memories flitter away be one way to gain power of the world around us, but it felt like having those moments also gave shape to this place. The two ideas were contradictory. This memory was a bit different however, it had my mother and sister¡¯s names. How could I turn aside the first mention of who they were? If I tore it away because of childishness then would I be more of an adult, or less, without having screwed up before? Each moment of the past made me who I was, even if that person from before was vague. An sullen teen, bitter from the loss of his family and unable to emotionally open up to others. My entire highschool life, what I remembered anyway, involved keeping people at arm¡¯s length, even those girls I dated. It amazed me that Izzy could even handle the jumble of insanity I was. I scanned over her readings Arm¡¯s length was where everyone belonged again and noticed that the health bar had a chunk missing. ¡°You lied, I hurt you.¡± I shook some more but didn¡¯t let the memory come back. ¡°The bed¡¯s too small, if I¡¯m going to keep reliving the past like this. You¡¯re all I have here, and I can¡¯t keep hurting you.¡± First it had been Dale, and pushing us to help Colleen at the risk of Izzy¡¯s life. How much had that one suborn action cost us? The world around might have been very different had we both simply chosen a different route to travel. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Your mind is struggling to bridge the two worlds and keep a path open to return along. It¡¯s how Mother designed our plane. It doesn¡¯t want to let people forget,¡± she spoke in keywords that were proven to get past the gibberish making curse. ¡°Mother¡¯s creation isn¡¯t about death, but life.¡± By the time I returned to the larger dorm room Izzy had almost gotten dressed. There was a red line that ran down her cheek and nicked along a collarbone. She hastily pulled the robe over it and didn¡¯t even show a sign of embarrassment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡¯s only a scratch,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re a big cat right now, these things happen.¡± When I had been a small kitten, such damage would be difficult. My body simply didn¡¯t have the size or mass. Now I was too large. Fragmented portions of my past kept resurfacing at night making sleeping in here dangerous. Izzy had outright argued when I tried to suggest resting elsewhere though. ¡°We got off to a bad morning. Can we start today over?¡± the young woman asked as I padded through the door. I wanted to hide myself under a paw but managed to look up at her. The woman had grown much taller, almost absurdly lanky and I was jealous. A human form felt incredibly far away despite our recent adventures. There had been no notices of skills, talents, or new advanced spirit forms. We needed to work on that, and I made a mental note to figure out ways to improve myself without losing the past. ¡°Good morning, Isabella Brand,¡± I greeted her while growling softly. Carefully sending my thought through our connection freed the rest of me up to grumble. ¡°Good morning, Mister Spirit,¡± she wrinkled her nose. Our day restarted on a better track. I walked with her to class and reflected about our recent changes. Isabella Brand clearly had moved on from the scared little girl crying for her mother. Events with Dale and Colleen had changed us both, and Izzy became a harder version of herself. The features of Mister Brand won out over her Mother¡¯s cherry expressions. Time started passing rapidly with the same pattern. What confused me was how obvious the fast forwarding felt now. My mind seemed to be categorizing events into general abridged versions of events rather than living each moment. I wondered if had to do with that story Izzy explained to me and an altered perception, or maybe this resulted from increased [Focus]. For example, we attended school still, but Izzy worried less about lectures from her teachers and more about learning new abilities and spell combinations. We stopped working with other students. She did well in her courses and we occasionally talked about tests being performed. Her finals resulted in nearly perfect scores. In the blur of days we tackled dungeons and found them easier than they had been. Being able to switch to [Frost] impacted both of us. She worked with me until we moved from the day long wait between forms to a much shorter hour. Having a higher [Focus] and [Learning] helped. Shifting between two elements however came with clear drawbacks. Going from fire to frost was like diving in an ice filled bucket and coming out the other side with a detached clarity. Ice to flame went the other way around, riling my emotions up and making everything super charged. My own strength didn¡¯t really grow, so much as become more apparent and easier to work with. I could beat all the other spirits in the school, even those belonging to professors. It would earn us a promotion upon graduation. The bird and rat that belonged to those two were not happy, but their opinions didn¡¯t matter. Not since my escape into the wide world outside, I felt less invested in this school with every passing day. ¡°Are you awake yet?¡± Izzy¡¯s words teased across our connection. ¡°You can¡¯t just sleep all day and let life pass you by.¡± It was a late spring morning before the world started to slow down again to a more reasonable pace. I felt muddled and found myself lying on a hilltop, enjoy the sun baking my skin with a breeze crossing through. ¡°I¡¯m awake now,¡± I pretested while trying to come to grips with this location. It certainly felt pleasant. I took in a breath filled with the scent of flowers from a garden nearby. They tickled my nose with a hint of lavender. ¡°Well let¡¯s get going. We can¡¯t hide in the safety of this school forever, and I think we¡¯re as ready as we can get,¡± she said. I stood up and stretched myself out to the fullest extent of my limbs. Stiff legs walked unevenly towards the dorm. Lips curled and whiskers waved at the edge of my sight. Images flickered through sorting themselves out as I tried to remember what had just happened. It was like Izzy¡¯s early school years all over again. Things just blurred for now reason, but now I suspected they were part of the oddity to this world. She had called it a veil and told me during our recent conversations that time didn¡¯t move the same as it did in the real world. ¡°You seem excited,¡± I muttered while following the compass marker towards Izzy¡¯s location. She stood outside her dorm checking pockets for items and trying to make sure the fresh set of robes looked good. My head butted into her leg as a greeting. ¡°Silly kitten, of course I am! We¡¯re finally moving on to our purpose! To be Guardians, and not just accidentally succeeding this time.¡± She jumped with an uncharacteristically happy clap then skipped off down the path. I padded after. ¡°Once we¡¯ve graduated we get to visit the oracle, then she¡¯ll confirm our life¡¯s quest.¡± She sounded too excited. ¡°If we complete the quest then we¡¯ll be free! Come on, this is what we wanted!¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said without much consideration. We had talked about our goals, gaining power, being free, defeating the others, but I didn¡¯t know who they were or what we truly faced. It wasn¡¯t being unwilling to fight, just worried about what, or how we actually did. We walked down the crowded sidewalk. People jostled by at high speeds, eager to get to their destinations. A series of similar looking men ran by with folded chairs, others had ribbons or streamers. At least six people had hands in the air, suspending a huge statue between them that I couldn¡¯t make out the details of. ¡°If you could go anywhere, where would you go?¡± Izzy asked excitedly. There were too many factors to consider. Izzy had asked me all sorts of details over the years, and some of them were rotating through as I decided what to toss away and what might be worth keeping, incase. There hadn¡¯t been any call to actually lose memories, and the [First World Legacy] didn¡¯t provide me clues on what route might be best. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time has passed on, that side. My dad might be dead, but I think I would like to visit my family¡¯s grave,¡± I spoke quietly then looked up. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see my parents,¡± she answered. ¡°I don¡¯t remember much of them, but I¡¯m told you used to work with my father, for a little while.¡± ¡°I did?¡± ¡°He was someone you met, before here,¡± Izzy smiled. ¡°I think he¡¯s the one who helped get you here. Does the name Prometheus ring a bell?¡± It did, but at the same time I struggled to recall why. Confusion hit me. Long whiskers tingled as my tongue passed over. An itch behind my neck took a good ten seconds of scratching to get out. The motion left me dazed as I figured out what topic to settle on first. ¡°I thought your parents were in that valley, the one with Grandpa Hubble¡¯s tower,¡± I managed to get one question out. ¡°Sort of,¡± she paused for half a step then sighed. ¡°They memories of a place. Like this place is a memory of things you knew,¡± Izzy gestured around to the people running by. ¡°We both picked something familiar to prepare ourselves.¡± I didn¡¯t remember people in multicolored robes at all. ¡°Then, this isn¡¯t real?¡± I struggled for a moment. If Izzy¡¯s parents weren¡¯t in the valley, then those people weren¡¯t real. ¡°It is, and isn¡¯t,¡± Izzy answered calmly. I mumbled in a half growl with confusion. ¡°I know. I don¡¯t want to be vague at all, but it¡¯s hard. When we talk to the Ladies of Soul, which should be soon, they¡¯re likely to make official what we already intended to do.¡± ¡°Our goal of stopping the others?¡± I questioned with my head tilted. ¡°If we can. You¡¯re not as submerged as you were in this world. Every passing second your mind wakes a little more, and that¡¯s going to put us a step behind. I¡¯m here though, and together we might still be able to overpower them one at a time.¡± ¡°Why am I less submerged? Why just now? We¡¯ve been here for years and I don¡¯t understand how none of this was obvious before.¡± I asked her. Izzy brightened a lot them nodded. ¡°Why this place? It¡¯s nothing like what I remember from the past.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because when your soul was captured from another world, there were, complications,¡± she started to explain. ¡°Some were a side effect of what happened, others were done to you, to help get you into the world.¡± We kept walking on towards a large auditorium. Izzy nodded politely to a few people traveling by. I wondered why she bothered to interact with them if this was all some vague world built on a memory. ¡°Your body and soul were revenged, almost beyond repair. The Ladies of Soul still struggle to undo the curse on your original vessel. Parts of your past were rebuilt. Still, you mostly exist here with me.¡± ¡°But?¡± I asked. ¡°With knowledge of the old world come rules. Your past binds you to a belief in limitations. You think slower than they do, react slower, believe you have limits where none are set by the First World Legacy.¡± ¡°Like waking up from a dream,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s what you mean isn¡¯t it? If I believe I¡¯m in the dream, it¡¯s more real. If I know I¡¯m separate from the dream it starts to fade.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she turned and put out both hands towards me. ¡°That¡¯s it exactly! A dream you didn¡¯t know you were having! That¡¯s very good. I hadn¡¯t thought about dreams. I will have to ask the Ladies of Soul if they have tried returning the lost by waking them up.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve talked to them? I thought they were something distant, or kind of a curse word.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met them too. I¡¯ve felt them calling you more than once.¡± My ears twitched abruptly. There were times when the world Izzy lived in was clearly replaced by something else. The vision often confused me, but at least two of the figures were female. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°Mmmhm,¡± Izzy responded with a nod. We were approaching a large double doorway. Banners and signs full of glowing letters that moved when we looked at them lined the expansive walkway. A line of people in robes were waiting at the doorway. I looked around and saw people of all walks gathered together. People inside were talking, calling off a list of names that were nearly inaudible. ¡°I have another confession,¡± Izzy said quietly. We stood at the doorway to an auditorium that didn¡¯t feel familiar in the slightest. I tried to dig through the recent memories which had been resurfacing and could find nothing about a wide open school room like this. The bleachers on one side might have rung a bell however. Maybe they were kind of like the ones from my football games. ¡°What?¡± ¡°This school wasn¡¯t created by you alone,¡± she said. My head twisted to the side. There were two gazelle spirit beasts that look absurdly tasty despite their weird colorings. They reminded me of hamburgers, steak, and the sizzle of fat on a grill. A memory swept me away of dad cooking in the kitchen while I sat in my bedroom playing with moving images. ¡°Okay.¡± I couldn¡¯t get the smell of meat cooking out of my head. It made me super hungry, but only ash lingered along my tongue. ¡°This school was partially created by Dale,¡± Izzy looked down. ¡°Without him, we have less defenses.¡± That demanded my attention. My neck popped as it turned rapidly to look up at Izzy. ¡°What?¡± ¡°He was a lost soul,¡± she said. ¡°Some of the people here are from your memories. Others from his. Without him, this place grows harder to support.¡± I squinted and looked down the line again. There was the abused boy who stood huddled under wrappings. He still looked tired and kept to himself, but a weak smile escaped when he glanced behind him. Izzy waved back but didn¡¯t pay much attention. There were a number of professors lined up shaking hands with students as they passed through. I tried to recall names but could only come up with Professor Lianne. She was the one with a sun hawk pet of some sort. ¡°You know,¡± I said while looking at the slowly moving procession in front of us. Izzy¡¯s barely stood out in the crowd around us. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever talked this much before.¡± ¡°I talk all the time. You¡¯re just learning to listen instead of charging blindly from one task to the next.¡± My head tilted to one side and ears pulled back. My life in Izzy¡¯s world had consisted mostly of napping or fighting creatures. ¡°Was I really that bad?¡± I asked. ¡°Isabella Brand!¡± a deep voice shouted. The auditorium shook with cheering and drowned out any response the young woman might have given me. Instead she patted my head, and stepped up onto a platform. I trailed after her and tried to eye the crowd around me. There were other figures out there. I squinted for a moment and saw three that were odd compared to the rest. They stood out, like Dale had, but these figures were clearly not Dale. ¡°Smile,¡± Izzy suggested across our connection. ¡°We¡¯re being watched.¡± I did more than smile. With a loud roar that startled the front row [Aura of True Flame] lit up, complete with five balls of fire. The people in front were fairly used to me so didn¡¯t panic, but I felt proud at managing so many small bundles of flame. They danced in a circle around Izzy and I while one of the teachers wiped away a sudden bout of sweat. ¡°Speech!¡± someone shouted. Izzy blushed and shook her head. My butt sat down and eyes glanced out over the crowd. The figures in the back became more distinct. Each one felt familiar but I couldn¡¯t place where exactly. One looked like a tall hulking creature with green skin. Next to it sat a slender beauty that was a similar coloring. Both wore very little clothing. The yellow eyes of both glared straight at me, and a dumb grin spread across the hulking one¡¯s face. On another wall sat a slightly older man, talking to at least four different girls who were all blindingly beautiful. They looked almost like supermodels, and it made very little sense, because the man himself was drab. None of the girls looked our way, but the male kept glancing over. Third was a ring of knights sitting around what looked like a queen. She wore a long red cloak with thick fur lining. The woman managed to look cool, distant, and made feel overheated with those clothes. Her knights in their shining armor weren¡¯t much better. ¡°There they are,¡± Izzy spoke carefully across our private connection. ¡°I would bet anything that the Ladies of Soul guided them here.¡± I paused to try and process as Izzy shook hands with more teachers. The flames flickered off. My head shook as all three groups calmly walked out the rear auditorium doors in different directions. Apparently they had witnessed what they cared about. ¡°Brace yourself,¡± Izzy whispered. ¡°Once we step off the stage the Ladies of Soul will call you. It may be more jarring than before.¡± I wanted to know why we were going on stage in the first place. If this entire school thing was a figment, then there wouldn¡¯t be much point in playing out the scenario. Had we put on a show of some sort for the other three parties? Everything felt weird since my awareness of the world at large started increasing. I longed for the simple days where everything around me could be taken at face value. Students were just uninteresting people, and teachers were there to help Izzy. Instead all of them had become props that felt even more lifeless than before. My mind was lost in thought and paws walked down the stage stairs automatically. The world around me fuzzed with purple static. ¡°We¡¯ve got him!¡± someone¡¯s voice said. ¡°Look at that, almost forty five percent physical, holy cow, that¡¯s a record. Whatever Izzy¡¯s doing is working.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just her, it¡¯s because of what we did to him,¡± the blonde woman said. She walked closer and put up her a hand towards glass in front of me. Breathing hurt the worst. Each attempted lifting of my chest strained muscles along the back. My stomach clenched and muscles jerked. Liquid sloshed around. The woman¡¯s¡¯ muffled voice tried to travel through liquid again. ¡°I¡¯m Doctor Long, can you hear me alright?¡± ¡°The Ladies of Soul?¡± I tried to focus but the pain threatened to dislodge my thoughts. Both eyes closed and the green tint faded. ¡°Dammit, thirty two percent now. We¡¯ll never recover the synchronization rates until the virus is cured!¡± ¡°Pierce listen closely, and try to remember, it¡¯s important that you remember, okay?¡± At least the damn box hadn¡¯t been triggered. The stupid message acted like a key phrase in some children¡¯s television show. Televisions. Projections, that¡¯s what their screens with images were. The word came back to me among others. ¡°He¡¯s climbing too high, we¡¯re going to have to tear some back down if we want to keep him in Case seven status,¡± another woman said. ¡°Okay. We were ready for that,¡± Doctor Long said. ¡°We¡¯re going to try and change the interface a bit. Don¡¯t panic, okay?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± breathing was the worst of it. ¡°Imagine what you¡¯re seeing as a lake. A view into another realm. You¡¯re not here, you¡¯re safe on your side.¡± ¡°Immersion¡¯s going up, but physical-¡± The man stopped talking after Doctor Long¡¯s hand flipped him off. ¡°Think Pierce, a flat surface. A lake, just like the one at the school¡¯s edge. The same one from your high school. Find yourself staring into it, just like you used to.¡± The woman spoke slowly. I felt my eyelids sinking down. Almost in perfect time with her commands a lake appeared. All around it was a darkness that didn¡¯t belong to Izzy¡¯s world, or my own. It felt like standing at the docks of her school years ago, but we had graduated a year ago then started wandering all around the world. That lake I used to visit at nights was no longer here. ¡°Fishes dance far below the surface. They bit at plants, and the water is so clear,¡± the woman continued speaking. ¡°The clearest thing you¡¯ve ever seen. That¡¯s all this is, a vision in the water, you¡¯re okay, Isabella is right next to you.¡± I blinked then looked over. Izzy knelt next to the water¡¯s edge and waved her hand over its surface. A single finger poked into the lake and still surface rippled. I dipped a paw into the water, and a second blasphemous ripple echoed out across the surface. The sight made me purr in happiness. ¡°Listen close,¡± a female said. I struggled to remember where I had heard this tone before. Tired, worried, a high tone to the word you. ¡°I¡¯ve consulted the Voices on your plight with Isabella Brand.¡± My body felt heavy and sluggish. Thoughts tripped over themselves. Finally I heard a voice close to mine ask, ¡°Do we have a quest?¡± I coughed and tried to understand where we were, but the more my mind attempted to focus the worse her image became. For a moment everything shifted, and I could see another scene inside the lake¡¯s still surface. A figure floated inside a tube of green liquid. The man¡¯s body hung there, mostly whole. Parts of his leg were missing, and hair looked like it was still growing in. ¡°Yes, but The Council of Voices is worried,¡± the woman said. ¡°Neither of you are true denizens of their world. They don¡¯t like what we¡¯ve done here and the results aren¡¯t to their liking.¡± ¡°Because of Colleen,¡± Izzy said to the image. The name Voices rang a bell. I vaguely remembered meeting one a long time ago. It had been a shepherd or something similar in a field of black sheep that spat lightning. The sensation wavered, then shifted again. Now I was watching the man in his tube from a different angle. ¡°Colleen is safe, but they will not open such a door again. If there are other¡¯s like her, they¡¯re stuck until the entire realm is cleaned. Isabella, that means you will never come out unless the other, unchained gods,¡± the woman¡¯s Voice stuttered briefly, ¡°are removed.¡± ¡°What do we need to do?¡± The voice said my thoughts but sounded mechanical. The man in the tube jerked twice violently as a stray question occurred to me. Was that my body back in reality? Izzy had said I expected in both places, and only visited her realm with my spirit. ¡°There will be no escape until you¡¯ve defeated the Self Crowned Queen, the Gilded Sword, and the Face Bearing Wall. You need to be ready.¡± This just felt like a dream. I could picture a blonde ponytail and worried gaze but not much else. She might have been the same one from my other muddled memories. I had thought they were dreams, but clearly they hadn¡¯t been. ¡°We¡¯ve got to drop him back in!¡± a man shouted. ¡°Remember Pierce, don¡¯t ever let yourself forget or you¡¯ll cease to be. All this will fail, and Isabella would die without you! Don¡¯t forget!¡± the blonde woman, whose name slipped away from me, yelled the last words. Her lake view shattered. The image inside of a man floating in green muck disappeared with it. An auditorium full of people returned. My eyes were wide and front paws spread out. There was an arch to my back that screamed ready to attack. I looked around for monsters that might be after us but found nothing. ¡°Come back Pierce, stay with me.¡± Izzy¡¯s voice was low and urgent. People whispered in the background but they weren¡¯t distinct. ¡°What,¡± I mumbled while trying to gather my mind. Red seeped out unbidden. Flames spiraled together. Professors and teachers had scooted far away from us. The floorboards of the auditorium''s stage had charred at some point. I fell over and curled up into a tight ball. ¡°You saw the higher realm for a moment. Your mind was in two, almost three layers. Let yourself adapt to this world again. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here to help you, just relax.¡± Izzy spoke line after line of soothing words trying to both explain and calm me down. ¡°What¡¯s,¡± I said. The memories of that dream space were already fading. ¡°Why did they need to do that. Wasn¡¯t that our goal already?¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s just official, we have a way out Pierce, for both of us. Do you understand? Both of us.¡± She lifted a finger and pointed towards a fuzzy square with black border and grey backing. ¡°Look, do you see the message?¡±
Quest: Bind the Unchained Gods Difficulty: Ultra high Success Conditions: You have been tasked with defeating or causing three powerful figures to withdraw from this world. These figures are the Self-Crowned Queen, the Gilded Sword, and the Face Bearing Wall. Failure Conditions: This quest must be completed before you become the very thing you struggle against. If your contractor dies it will also fail the quest and leave you in limbo with potentially no way out. Reward: Upon completion of this task you will be granted one wish.
I nodded then stood up, then fell over promptly as the ground began to shake. The rumbling increased and flooring started to split. Izzy¡¯s mood meter went from forest green to fire red. ¡°Where are the defenders!¡± Professor Lianne shouted. ¡°A labyrinth! Students, everyone! Back to your dorms! First class students assemble with the teachers!¡± an old man shouted out orders. The ceiling split as half the building started sinking. Part of the wall crumbled. Runes ran up the building¡¯s side like spider webs trying to hold back a mountain. Large doors cracked as more of the training yard nearby became visible. Outside, on the yard we had walked to get here, the ground crumbled away. A hoard of green skinned creatures with rusty masks burst forth. Each one wielded clubs made of shoddy looking metal. Lightning streaked overhead. Two large men wielding greatswords charged by. Students who had been in the practice dungeon depths lost their composure as it became apparent this was no longer an abstract lesson. My head whipped back and forth between Izzy¡¯s grim expression and the unfolding carnage. It didn¡¯t hit me how serious all of this might be, until I saw the first student¡¯s head get bashed in by a long metal pole wielded by one of the creatures. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked. Those monsters weren¡¯t figments of any hazy reality. They were simply demolishing our school¡¯s defenders by sheer numbers. ¡°Voices, I prayed we¡¯d have longer before they invaded. We waited to long.¡± ¡°How could they already being invading?¡± My arms tensed and muscles rippled. The recent vision from those Ladies of Soul left me dazed but we were about to be in a fight. ¡°Does it matter? They made the first move, and if they kill us, then it¡¯s all over for both of us.¡± Izzy¡¯s jaw quivered briefly before she lifted both hands. Pink rose light gathered into small bundles of fire. Her father¡¯s serious eyes gazed across the rapidly opening hallway.
[The Overseer]¡¯s Log: There are things I don¡¯t understand. IB is one of them. She doesn¡¯t speak to us the same as she does to Subject 42. Is this deliberate or a side effect of Yates¡¯ programming? Does it have to do with our filters and code descramblers in place? I know the video feeds show her as a studious but friendly girl. Yet when we get a transcript along the private channel her words come out closer to a mystic or seer lost in the darkness. Which one is truth? My team asks over and over again and I am no wiser than they are. Part of me wonders if we somehow broke IB, or if the program rewrote itself to have a split view. Maybe IB has to be both in order to be part of Subject 42¡¯s reality and still remember what she is. Still, the idea that we essentially have a higher and lower version of IB is terrifying. She¡¯s not a Voice, but something else. More symbiotic with Subject 42 than any denizen has ever been. I have to ask someone about this, but Uncle Grant is actually angry, aunt Xin won¡¯t talk to anyone without his say so, and the Counsel of Voices has put a restriction on dealing with this project after Colleen was made public. At this point I¡¯ve been reduced to waiting for legal to drop another lawsuit on my desk to replace the last one, or a Voice to come leaping out of the screen. I can only hope that those two manage a miracle so that we don¡¯t get shut down. The boards alternative of gelding the minds of every Case Seven to occur is not a fix.