I stood at the gauntlet’s threshold, eyes fixed on the dozens of level six skeletal infantry poured out of the stone structures. I thought the colossus would descend in fury. Instead, it waited at the top of the ramp, guarding the pillar. Meanwhile, skeletal archers emerged from the treeline to the south, preparing to let the first round of projectiles fly.

  I breathed a quick sigh of relief, pleased every hostile was focused on me. The ancient scent of thousand year old musty socks swept through the ruins as the last of the skeletal infantry poured out of their tombs and joined the ranks of charging undead.

  "Dreadshade."

  The dreary overcast light sources above the fog flickered then popped. Darkness swallowed the ruins as bones rattled in iron armor and the skeleton's high-pitched shrieks echoed throughout the chamber.

  Shadow Weave.

  I lifted my arms, drawing strings of shadows to my fingertips like a veteran puppeteer. The skeletons didn't slow down one bit, unaffected by the drastic change in lighting, ignorant of my impending attack.

  I clasped my hands together and interlocked my fingers, pulling the shadow threads taut. The strings snapped across the lane, severing their bones from 10 different angles. Chipped ribs, femurs, and skulls ricocheted off ancient stone followed by the dry percussion of a mass collapse.

  Splintered remnants crunched beneath my boots as I waltzed through the wreckage toward the red-eyed statue, who was winding back its arm, giant spear gripped tight.

  "I don't think so."

  I swept my hand through the air and a wave of darkness sliced through the statue's legs. Stone crumbled as the colossus crashed off its platform. I raised my fist, summoning a series of cylindrical spikes, intercepting the statue before it hit the ground. I rotated my wrists and the spikes churned, grinding the Abyssal Colossus into a million pieces.

  Marimitheus watched from above the fog, unknowingly giving away their position thanks to their bright glowing status. Wasting no time, I seized the darkness from above, grabbing it as if it were a rope

  "What are you?" the invisible entity shouted as it realized I had their position clocked.

  My connection with the shadows reigned stronger than ever before, and my use of Shadow Weave became seamless as I reeled myself up through the air, giving chase across the ceiling.

  "Can we talk?" I asked.

  The void advisor shot toward the shaft in the ceiling, but I waved my hand and a sheet of darkness blocked it off. Still, the entity maintained full throttle, like it planned on zooming straight through it.

  Wham.

  Marimitheus's invisibility flickered as the undead woman smashed into the barrier and spiraled out of control, eventually crashing onto the dusty, bone littered ground.

  I rappelled down, pulling off a slick landing on one of the ruin's raised platforms, keeping a cautious distance from the level 12.

  "A human speaking the banished tongue and freely wielding the essence of the Void?"

  Her long black nails scraped across the stone as she pushed herself up, beady black eyes locking onto me.

  Are her legs shaking?

  "Your existence is in violation of the natural order."

  Despite the soulless eyes, tattered flesh, and exposed bones, her tone carried the menace of someone about to issue a parking ticket.

  "Hey, no fast movements, got it?"

  "An amalgamation of inconsistencies, draped in human scent and semblance. Yet, you're hollow at the core, an illusion of flesh whose aura sings hymns of the damned. So, I humbly ask again. What are you?"

  "OK, asshole," I crossed my arms. "My name is Cyprus. I'm a noble human adventurer and protector of the realm. A hero, whose aura—if it's playing any music—is playing a triumphant orchestral symphony."

  "Indeed, it is as you say. A harmonic symphony of coalesced suffering. It's achingly beautiful, yet overwhelmingly dreadful."

  "No, forget the orchestra—something more like Phil Collins." I looked down at my gloved hands. "I'm not evil..."

  "Oh, my... I was right. Please allow—"

  I looked up and Marimitheus's head had parted ways from her neck, booking a one way ticket to the floor. Wiry, bleached white hair covered her sunken cheeks as black blood gurgled from her severed neck. Admittedly, she looked about the same as she had been alive.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Could you stop fucking doing that?" I yelled as I spun on my heels trying to catch my shadow acting out of order. "I wasn't even through half of my questions."

  I scanned the darkness for my saboteur as if whatever terrible malady this was would manifest itself and confess to its interference.

  "I don't know what you are nor do I understand your purpose. But I can tell you're a part of me."

  Shadow Weave.

  I raised my arms lifting a wall of darkness inches from my face. I reached out and swept my hand through it, swirling the static electricity like sensation through my gloves and across my fingertips.

  "Yeah, you're somewhere in here. I'm just not sure if you're an ally or foe... Remember, I'm the one in the fucking driver's seat and you're merely a passenger," I shouted into the darkness, watching for a ripple of acknowledgement.

  There was no response.

  "That's fine. You don't have to say anything. Just know the next time you pull a stunt like this, I'll drop everything and dedicate every waking moment to uncovering and eradicating your existence."

  Still no response.

  "If you really don't think I'm vindictive enough to find an active volcano to toss myself into, then you haven't been paying attention." I threw my head back and laughed. "I'd rather die than be a vessel for evil or host a washed up demonic boy band, the Corrupted Choir or—"

  My heart skipped a beat and I doubled over, gripping my stomach like it had suddenly been filled with hot coals. The shadow wall fell as the edge of my vision blurred and my ears rang. Then, the immense pain subsided as fast as it had arrived.

  I stumbled over splintered bones and steadied myself on the limestone ledge.

  What was that?

  "Is that your response?" I choked out. "You want a war with me?"

  Again, nothing happened, leaving me even more confused.

  "The Corrupted Choir."

  As the words left my mouth I heard a resonant chord echoed from an out-of-tune harp, and the pain returned tenfold. I fell to the ground as it felt like someone was pulling barbed wire through my intestinal tract. The low beat of hollow drums pounded in my head like a jackhammer. Blood slipped out of the corners of my eyes and mouth.

  Consciousness slipping, I noticed shadows swirling out from underneath me before they folded out and upward, sealing me in a small box. The horrendous music stopped and the unbearable pain vanished.

  Three crudely drawn words appeared imposed on the shadow box.

  I Am Friend

  The box faded and I pushed myself off the ground, unable to make heads or tails of what had just occurred. For a second, I thought my body was going to implode.

  Then, it raised the shadows around me sealing off the pain, like a gesture of protection. From what, I didn't understand. And despite its clearly written message, I hardly trusted it nor could I shake the all-consuming sense of unease.

  Thankfully a barrage of arrows stopped me from spiraling. I danced through the rain of projectiles, remembering the skeleton archers on the hill to the south still needed to be cleaned up.

  +3225 XP

  +895 Karma

  ***

  "Cyprus? Is that you? Everyone, ready your arms," Lexington said as he squared his hips, raising his shield and sword.

  Nate followed suit, while Viessa didn't even bother reaching for her short sword, which I was certain hadn't left its sheath since she had gotten it back in Ingcaster.

  "There's no need, it's over."

  "Never jest when the stakes are of life and death. Tell me, what awaits us?"

  I waved them out of the northernmost corner of the dungeon. Lexington and Nate moved with warranted trepidation. They loosened up when I safely guided them out of the woods and they saw the ruins shrouded in darkness from where Dreadshade had killed the lights.

  "You cleared all the hostiles?" Lexington asked. "Why's it so dark?"

  "The lights went out when I triggered the trap. And yes, all threats have been neutralized. See for yourself."

  Lexington lit a torch and took the lead down the hills and onto the ruins.

  Loose weapons were scattered among broken bones across the limestone tiled floor. We walked up a ramp onto the main level and turned down the center lane, wading through the wreckage.

  "Where'd the statue go?" Lexington asked, still in the process of picking his jaw off the floor.

  I pointed at a pile of misshapen stones covered in a pile of fine dust that lay across the ramp before the pillar.

  "Honestly, for a gauntlet with a giant killer statue, I'm severely disappointed."

  "When I saw you come back so soon, I was certain you had been infected by demon's blood," Lexington admitted. "I'm relieved you're alive, but what kind of technique can cause this devastation?"

  "The technique is not what's important, it's the effort behind it that's the key."

  It was another lie, but if a dime bag of hokey wisdom was enough to quash questions, then I'd spew cookie-cutter philosophical one liners that belonged on motivational posters till he forever held his tongue.

  "Cyprus, I think—"

  But a shrill shriek interrupted him. The high-pitched noise sounded from the stone structure coming up on our left.

  "Prepare for combat," Lexington growled.

  "There's no need for concern. I've prepared a training exercise for my apprentice. Please wait for us by the pillar at the top of the ramp. We won't be long."

  I motioned for Lexington to continue on. Instead, he dragged the three of us over to the structure's entrance. Torchlight illuminated the tomb's bare interior and the six partially dismantled skeletons lay on the floor, only their torso's and heads remained intact.

  "For your information, they were screaming long before I removed their arms and legs," I said with the hopes of clearing up any possible misunderstanding.

  "What kind of training exercise is this?"

  "Sorry, it's proprietary information. However, I am thinking about packaging it and selling it as a course. Until then, I'm afraid I must ask you to wait over there with Nate." I cleared my throat. "Now, if you'll excuse us."

  Go the fuck away.

  Lexington grunted and turned his back on the room, bewilderment evident, most likely questioning why none of Valor and Glory's training sessions consisted of thoughtfully deconstructed abyssal skeletons.

  Nate scurried after him, and Viessa tried following suit, but I placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

  Once they were out of earshot, I smiled and said, "You finally get to use that sword."