Divine Apostasy Book 9 - Chapter 11 (OLD)

[Author's Note: I have significantly altered the storyline and this chapter is no longer valid. Please see more recent releases which will contain the information I plan on using. Thanks]

Chapter 11

Ruwen used a combination of Dig and Melt to create a short tunnel to the rift which he backfilled as he went, using Glow to see. Where the rift had appeared, a twenty foot radius had vaporized, like half of a sphere, leaving glassy smooth walls.

The rift looked more like a heat mirage as it wavered in the center of the carved-out room. The wall behind the rift remained visible and Ruwen guessed spotting these would take some luck or great Perception.

Rami had returned to her bookwyrm form and nestled behind Ruwen’s ear.

Ruwen turned to Chip and Stump. “Should we make a plan before heading in there?”

Rami said, “yes” in Ruwen’s mind at the same moment both Chip and Stump replied “no.” The pair had reluctantly put away their mugs of liquor, and since they didn’t carry dimensional bags, the cups likely ended up in their soul vaults.

“How about this,” Ruwen said. “We’ll step through in a tight group. I’ll assess what lies directly in front of us, Rami will do the same for our rear, and you two each take a side. That should allow us to quickly gauge the situation, and retreat if necessary. Oh, one second, I almost forgot.”

Using Spirit, Ruwen cast the Fighter’s Commander Ability Ringleader and increased its maximum group size to ten players. Then he cast Chat so they could speak mentally. That done, he spent two minutes casting every buff he knew on all of them. By the end, it felt like he’d buffed every possible part of his body.

Ruwen held up a hand. “One more thing. I know this is weird, but I haven’t Condensed my Core in a long time. I just need a moment.”

“I was just thinking we needed a drink break,” Chip said.

Chip and Stump sat and took out their jars again.

“That last push down the tunnel was really punishing,” Stump agreed.

Ruwen shook his head at the two, who had literally only walked down a thirty-foot sloping passageway. As he sat cross-legged, he recalled the instructions he’d read from The Worker’s Guide to Harvesting almost two years ago.

Condensing: The most fundamental breath. Inhale until your lungs are at capacity. Pull in sharply with the diaphragm as if you were coughing and focus this pressure inward, exerting the force on your center as you Harvest. Breathe out sharply and take three regular breaths before repeating.

The breathing pattern had become second nature to Ruwen, and he fell into the odd rhythm even though he planned to use Harden to vastly speed up the Condensing process. He closed his eyes and focused on his Core, and his breath caught, forcing him to restart the breathing pattern.

Ruwen’s Core covered the entire area, filling the space like a glowing fog. Channeling Harden, he pushed the Spirit into a ball, over and over again, until the mass of Spirit no longer spanned thirty plus feet, but fit within his chest, if barely. He knew the Core could Condense further, but now wasn’t the time to get everything perfect.

Did that help my power rating? Ruwen asked Rami.

Yes, your Core Density went from three percent to sixty-three, which increased your physical power from eighty-four to seven hundred fifty-six.

That’s better, but it’s still out of twelve million.

Take the wins when they come.

Right, it is a significant improvement.

Ruwen opened his eyes to find Chip and Stump talking softly with different colored mugs in their hands. Checking the time, he found six minutes had passed.

Something had occurred to Ruwen while he Condensed, and he asked Rami. I’m surprised your mom didn’t investigate this on her own.

She tried, but her clone couldn’t pass. Which only upset her even more.

Ruwen considered that revelation, as it had a massive impact on Miranda. She remained trapped in Pen’s Divine Realm along with all the Universe’s Spirit. Until Ruwen returned the Spirit to the Universe, she couldn’t offer any assistance once they’d passed through the rift.

I wonder if the Minions can pass. Overlord said.

Ruwen stood, summoned a normal Minion and sent it through the door, but it bounced off the rift as if hitting a wall. Next, he summoned a Scarecrow Clone and tried again, with the same result.

I guess that answers that, Ruwen responded.

Chip and Stump had stood, their cups gone, and Ruwen nodded at them. “You ready?”

The pair nodded and Rami squirmed, her excitement evidently too great to hide. Her eagerness to explore matched Ruwen’s own, and he didn’t delay any longer. He cast the Spirit version of an Ice Mage shield called Frostburn, surrounding himself, Chip, and Stump in spheres of frigid air. Frostburn would protect each of them for ten thousand damage and slow any enemies within three feet by thirty percent.

Buffs and shield in place, Ruwen activated Harmony, stepped up to the rift, and then through it.

Ruwen immediately triggered Last Breath as he arrived in the new area and moved away from the rift to give Chip and Stump room to enter. Remembering how the Cultivators back home could detect the vibrations from his Stone Echo and Sixth Sense spells he refrained from using them yet. Instead, he spread Harmony in a three hundred foot sphere, and Survey displayed the items Harmony detected.

When Archie had stuck his eyeball through the rift he’d told Rami the other side had appeared mostly dark, with a few dim lights in the distance. That had changed as those dim lights had become very bright.

With Last Breath active Ruwen had the time to take in his surroundings. The black sky held no clouds and very little of the atmosphere remained. The lack of oxygen wouldn’t affect any of them as the need for breathing, eating, and sleeping mostly disappeared when reaching the Gem level. The blackness above reminded him of his time on Rainbow’s End and he wondered if this might be an asteroid.

A thousand feet in the distance stood a walled fortress the color of bronze. Survey calculated the walls climbed fifty feet and turrets stood every thirty feet. Harsh light, bordering on ultraviolet, came from pillars atop the buildings and from hundreds of floating structures, each only two feet long.

The ground’s surface, while hard, shifted slightly as Ruwen moved. It felt like packed sand, but the slow beat of the grains revealed something much denser, and he guessed they were flakes of metal the same bronze color as the fortress.

Uruziel expanded the Gravity Role, encasing everything within a fifty-foot sphere, and increased the downward pressure by a factor of ten. This wouldn’t affect Chip or Stump, but it might slow the fifty different entities Ruwen detected around the rift.

Still using Last Breath, Ruwen’s observations had only taken a fraction of a fraction of normal time, but to his surprise, the creatures around him had already begun to react. The flaring of their internal power generated somber chords, turning the calm white melodies surrounding them into a frantic red harmony of violence, the beat rapid and steady.

Ruwen had wanted to speak with whatever lived in this place before any fighting occurred, but that possibility had now disappeared. He knew some cultures only opened dialogue after gauging an enemy’s strength, so he didn’t give up hope that a discussion could still occur.

The melody of the fifty enemies turned discordant as Ruwen aggressively increased the pitch of the notes near them, encasing each of the attackers in an unstable bubble and disrupting their attacks. With a thought he created a new harmony, combining the jarring sounds in a sonata of destruction, and flicked them all to the ground thirty feet away.

Ruwen shifted Last Breath from its maximum to just ten percent, allowing the world to mostly return to normal. Fifty explosions occurred simultaneously, some larger than others, as Chip and Stump stepped through the rift. To their credit, neither one even glanced at the bright and noisy destruction, but immediately turned to evaluate their assigned direction.

Go ahead, Overlord, Ruwen said.

Ruwen felt the pressure on his Core as Overlord cast the Risen Queen Minion for Uruziel and the Fallen King for himself, and Ruwen added them both to the group.

The atmosphere remained thick enough for speech and Chip spoke out loud. “Clear.”

“Clear,” Stump echoed.

Only then did the pair of Gem level fighters’ glance at the destruction and newcomers.

“That is impressive stealth,” Stump said. “I never sensed either of you. Welcome.”

“Agreed,” Chip added. “I didn’t even smell you.”

Thankfully Overlord had summoned the armored versions of the Minions so Ruwen didn’t need to explain the physical appearance of what looked like his twin.

“Glad to be here,” Uruziel replied.

Overlord nodded at the pair of fighters before turning to Ruwen. “Have you decided?”

“You can’t control both?” Ruwen asked.

“Of course, I can, but this isn’t about me.”

Earlier, as soon as it became clear they would enter the rift, Overlord had lobbied to let Sivart out of Ruwen’s mind and into a Minion of his own. Sivart would control a contingent of warrior Minions and Overlord would direct the scouts.

“Sivart knows the dangers?” Ruwen asked, loath to accidently cause the Narrator’s death.

“We practiced for over twenty years. His outer-self control is superb.”

Ruwen rubbed his forehead. “If you think it’s safe—”

Ruwen never finished the sentence as Overlord cast not one, but two Minions Ruwen had never seen before, quickly followed by a small army.

“I need to stop drinking,” Chip whispered.

“No, I see them too,” Stump replied in the same whisper.

Sivart sat astride a small green dragon. The creature flapped its wings, causing the metal particles on the ground to swirl. The dragon’s wings spanned sixty feet and its body stretched twice that.

Sivart snapped the long spear he held up to his shoulder, the weapon’s tip pointing at the black empty sky. On the far side of Sivart, close to his knee, a deep quiver held another dozen spears, and on the side closest to Ruwen, a large crossbow hung, cocked and loaded.

Black dragon silk provided Sivart armor, and he inclined his head at Ruwen. “Warlord.” He turned to Overlord. “General.”

Then Sivart reached back, gripping the bunched-up silk at the top of his spine and pulled forward. The cloth unfolded as he brought it to his throat, covering his entire head, and only leaving a slit for his eyes. Then the dragon leaped into the air.

Four more dragons, each a different color, appeared with riders who immediately streaked into the sky to take formation behind Sivart. Five modified wagons materialized in front of Ruwen, and he recognized the long-armed catapults of Launch Minions.

Round Sentry Minions appeared at the end of each catapult arm and the Launch Minions instantly lurched forward, throwing the Sentry Minions upward so hard, they immediately disappeared from sight.

At the same time groups of Minions materialized to the sides and behind them, each cluster of ten a mix of different kinds of Warrior Minions holding a variety of weapons and shields and led by a larger Fallen Hero Minion. The ten groups of ten loosely merged into what appeared an organized formation. But seeing how it formed, Ruwen recognized the flexibility of the configuration and how it could split into varying sized units depending on the danger.

The Launch Minions finished hurling the Sentries and transformed into Siege Minions, the catapult arm becoming a massive bolt. The vehicles hovered a foot off the ground, and they silently circled to the group of Warrior Minions behind them, who made room for the sleds with practiced ease.

Finished with the Minions, Overlord used the newly upgraded Scarecrow Aspect Hood of Guarding to create forty Angelic Field Guardians, distributing them behind, to each side, and inside the fortress in the distance. Each clone would have twenty-five percent of Ruwen’s Armor Class and Attributes.

Ruwen’s map lit up with updates as Survey absorbed the flood of information from Overlord’s clones, Sivart’s Warrior Minions, and the airborne Sentries.

All of it had happened in less than eight seconds, and Ruwen slowly turned to face Overlord, who faked concentrating on the distant clones.

“What in all that’s holy, was that?” Ruwen asked.

“What?” Overlord asked, still avoiding Ruwen’s gaze.

Ruwen waved his hand at the sky, the distant fortress, and then turned in a circle pointing at the hundred plus Minions around them.

“Oh, that. It’s formation K-One.”

“It looks like you’ve practiced, formation K-One.”

Overlord shrugged. “Maybe once or twice.”

“A day,” Uruziel added with a small laugh.

Ruwen tried to hide his smile. “And how many formations are there?”

Overlord shifted between his feet, obviously uncomfortable. “We might have tested a few.”

“Hundred,” Uruziel said in a whisper.

Overlord turned to Uruziel, the two plated helms reminding Ruwen of battle golems.

“You’re not helping,” Overlord whispered back.

Uruziel laughed, placed a hand at the base of Overlord’s neck and pulled his head forward until their two helmets clanged together. “Can’t you see he’s impressed, not angry.”

Overlord’s helm turned toward Ruwen in a quick glance.

Ruwen couldn’t hide his smile any longer. “Impressive is an understatement. That blew me away.”

Overlord’s shoulders fell a little in relief. “I thought you’d be mad about all the Spirit we used, but we had so much extra.”

Ruwen stepped up to the pair and put a hand on Overlord’s plated shoulder. “You did amazing. I can’t believe that’s possible. Congratulations to you and Sivart.”

Overlord stood up straight, as the worry disappeared completely. “You should see triple Z.”

Uruziel stepped away from Overlord and shook a finger. “No triple Z. We’re here to explore this rift, not decimate a country.”

“Fine,” Overlord said, facing the fortress again. “Maybe later.”

“Yeah, that sounds interesting,” Ruwen said as Chip and Stump stepped up beside him.

The pair stared at Ruwen, and it was Ruwen’s turn to get uncomfortable. He quickly pointed at the mass of enemies he’d destroyed when he’d arrived. “We should examine those,” he said and ran forward.