Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ruwen was the last person to enter the third floor and he found chaos. Rung Four stood in a tight group near the entrance, and Sift stood still in front of them. The other three rungs were here as well and they fought each other in a massive brawl.

Unlike the previous two levels this floor stretched at least a hundred feet into the air. A six foot wide pathway wound around the outside of the room like a corkscrew climbing to the top. Small birds or maybe gliders soared high in the air near the ceiling, and unmoving bodies littered the pathway, most of them near the top. Ruwen could still detect heartbeats so they must be paralyzed in some fashion.

Madda and Padda sat meditating on the far side of the room in front of a golden gate. A large lock made it evident you needed a key to pass. Through the bars Ruwen could see a stairway, that he presumed led to the next floor. A waist high fence surrounded the Grandmasters and stretched twenty foot from the door, creating a half circle as it stretched from one side of the door to the other.

Looking closer, Ruwen noticed a pedestal holding two hourglasses. The sand in the smaller one had already drained into the bottom and the larger hourglass had almost done the same.

“Thirty seconds,” Echo shouted.

Ruwen focused on Rung One. The seven of them stood close together near Madda and Padda but far enough apart from each other to fight effectively. Echo gripped what looked like a golden key with wings. He glanced back up at the ceiling and realized what he thought might be birds were flying keys.

The members of Rung Two and Three surged toward Rung One. All the teams held at least one golden key which created smaller conflicts as they defended their keys from theft. Ruwen studied Rung One and while they had better Step skills than anyone in Rung Four, they didn’t differ that much from Rung Two. That held true except for Echo, who clearly had better training than everyone here but Ruwen and Sift.

Echo glanced at the large hourglass and then shouted. “Ten seconds.”

Rung One formed an arc against the fence across from Madda and Padda and frantically fought off the other teams. Echo jumped from fight to fight, helping her team defend their position.

Madda stood and strode to the hourglasses. As the last of the sand fell through the large hourglass, Madda flipped it back around and opened a gate in the fence, creating a small opening.

Madda returned to stand in front of the gate where Padda now stood as well. Echo and Rung One fell through the gap in the fence and cries of disappointment from Rungs Two and Three rang loudly off the granite walls.

The last member of Rung One closed the gate as he entered the twenty-foot inner area.

Padda spoke, his quiet voice loud in the space. “Rung One present your Champion, your key, and your intention.”

The fighting everywhere stopped as the other groups watched Rung One.

Echo stepped forward.

“Start the timer,” Madda said.

Echo stepped to the pedestal and flipped the smaller hourglass. Not wasting any time, she strode toward Madda and Padda. She slid the key into the top of her pants at the small of her back. She immediately attacked Madda, using a Viper Combination Dripping Star.

Echo moved like a Master, her Steps sure and correct. Ruwen noticed a handful of minor issues and many smaller ones, but on the whole, her technique was excellent. The pressure waves from their exchange reached him, but the air explosions from their movements ripping the air apart sounded muted. The fence must have some type of noise dampening.

Madda effortlessly countered Echo, moving like a mirror, matching Echo’s speed, force, and even the mistakes in her Steps. Ruwen marveled at the skill to mimic someone so completely. It took incredible control of your body to do things improperly when you’d spent centuries perfecting the correct method.

Echo moved to Padda, and while the difference between the Bamboo Grandmaster and Madda were slight, it remained significant. Padda didn’t even appear to be fighting, his movements so natural and fluid it looked like his counters to Echo’s attacks were accidents. Just like Madda, Padda didn’t counterattack with any Viper Steps even when Echo left herself terribly vulnerable.

Echo growled in frustration and jumped, trying to leap over the two Grandmasters she couldn’t beat. Padda caught her foot, his hand their almost before Echo left the ground. He used Echo’s momentum to flip her backward and she backflipped, landing near the pedestal.

The last grains of sand disappeared from the top of the small hourglass.

“Time,” Madda said. “Forfeit your key.”

Echo screamed in frustration and threw the key at Madda. Madda casually pulled the key from the air and dropped it onto a pile of other keys near the door. A pile that contained dozens and dozens of keys.

Madda moved toward the fence, the members of Rung One separating to let her pass. Ruwen admired Madda’s movement, the Viper Grandmaster oozed danger with every stride. Ruwen guessed only Echo even considered attacking her now.

Madda opened the gate in the fence and Rung One exited, and the chaos began again as Rung One attacked the other teams that had already obtained golden keys.

Madda and Padda hadn’t looked at Sift once.

“What in the True God’s Pits is going on here?” Sift asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ruwen said. He faced Rung Four. “This is a great opportunity to practice your improved Steps against others. Go have some fun.”

“Should we try and gain a key?” Prythus asked.

Ruwen shrugged. “If you want. It might increase the difficulty of who you fight. But don’t make it your focus. I’m going to go check out the ceiling.”

Rung Four strode toward the chaos, and Ruwen looked at Sift. “You coming?”

Sift shook his head. “I don’t want any part of this. Did you see how my parents mirrored Echo perfectly? Her speed and everything.”

Ruwen nodded. “Even the errors.”

“That’s odd. It takes way more effort to do that.”

“I agree. It must mean something. I’m heading up to the top to take a look at those flying keys.”

“Have fun,” Sift said. “I’m staying right here.”

“Okay. I’ll be back shortly.”

Ruwen strode forward into the fighting. Four Adepts lay paralyzed on the route upward, and twenty-seven Adepts fought on the ground floor. None of them had raced upward to get a key, instead they battled each other for the three keys already retrieved.

Ruwen moved calmly through the fights, his mind and experience automatically choosing the path with the least obstructions. He ducked and twisted and leaned, never allowing anyone to touch him.

In just a few moments Ruwen had navigated through the combat and reached the bottom of the ramp that spiraled upward along the wall. After ten steps he calculated it would take him fifteen minutes walking at this pace to reach the top. Glancing down at the large hourglass confirmed the next interaction with the Addas would occur in less than fifteen minutes.

Ruwen considered running up the ramp, but running in circles didn’t appeal to him. Instead he angled toward the edge of the ramp and glanced upward at the ramp. It extended from the wall eight feet above him, and he decided to take a shortcut.

The distance was so small, Ruwen didn’t bother swinging his arms. With a slight bend of his knees he leaped upward and caught the edge of the ramp above, quickly pulling himself to the ramp surface. Without looking down, he repeated the process, rapidly advancing up the room.

The first attack occurred just past half way, at around seventy feet from the floor below. Ruwen had just pulled himself onto the ramp when a soft hiss caught his attention followed by the pressure wave of a small projectile.

Ruwen tilted his head to the side and triggered Last Breath to catch a glimpse of what kind of trap he’d sprung. As Last Breath sped his thoughts, the world around him slowed, and the projectile crawled through the air five feet away. It had the shape of an oval cylinder and it gleamed wetly. Probably some type of contact poison that would paralyze him for fifteen minutes.

With a Poison Resistance of one hundred eighteen percent, and a Diamond Fortify body, he doubted the poison would affect him at all. But he didn’t want to risk it, and he let the projectile pass him.

At the last second Ruwen realized the poison cylinder would drop into the crowd below, possibly striking someone from Rung Four. Not wanting to risk it, he swiped his left arm upward, opening his Void Band slightly with a thought, and snatching the projectile from the air. It happened so fast, only someone with Diamond senses would have seen it.

By the time Ruwen reached the top of the ramp, he’d captured twenty-three of the projectiles. He glanced at the notification.

You have found…

Name: Slug of Forced Meditation

Damage:1-3

Quality: Uncommon

Durability:1 of 1

Weight:0.375 lbs.

Effect (Contact):Lower Poison Resistance by 25%.

Effect (Contact):Paralyze extremities for 1 to 15 minutes.

Description: Grey-blue oval cylinder with dimpled surface. Contact with the projectile causes disintegration, generating a cloud of poison around the target. Stop and think about what you’ve done.

This seemed like something Fractal would like so Ruwen decided to keep them instead of dropping them all on the ramp.

Ruwen judged he stood one hundred thirty feet above the floor. He watched the combat and smiled to see Rung Four holding their own. He turned his attention to the flying keys around him.

They looked like a cross between a glider and an air-sled, as they generated their own magical wind which kept them airborne. Why have these at the top of this level? Ruwen studied the ramp and thought about how much effort it took to climb all this way.

Once Ruwen had a key, he could return to the bottom, where he’d started. The same lesson repeated once again. You end where you begin. By why the addition of Madda and Padda. The Grandmasters never attacked. They just mirrored their opponent exactly, as if they only wanted a stalemate.

The word “stalemate” set off an avalanche of thoughts. A stalemate was another way a person could end up where they started. That meant Madda and Padda were yet another example of the first pattern found in the Steps: you end where you begin.

If they presented a stalemate, how did an Adept overcome that? Ruwen felt confident he could best Madda and Padda, and Sift could probably as well. But every other Adept that had ever taken this trial and probably every one in the future, would not be able to best the Addas. It seemed like an impossible task, which meant beating the Addas was not the point.

What then? Madda had asked the Adepts to present their Champion, their key, and their intent. The Champion implied a fight, the key was obviously for the gate, and the intent confused Ruwen. Why ask about intent? Wasn’t the intent to open the door?

Ruwen groaned and shook his head at the obvious solution. It even explained why Madda and Padda mirrored the Champion’s movements. That in itself provided a clue to the solution.

“Fifteen seconds,” Echo yelled, her voice floating up to Ruwen.

Looking at the gliding keys, Ruwen considered grabbing one, but decided he would rather use one from below.

“Ten seconds,” Echo yelled again as her team fought off the other teams. Ruwen smiled to see some of those causing the most problems for Rung One came from Rung Four.

Madda left her post and walked toward the gate.

Five seconds remained until Madda opened the gate.

Ruwen concentrated on a spot on the floor below, and jumped off the ledge.

As Ruwen fell, Madda flipped the large hourglass around, starting the timer once again. She moved to the gate, opened it, and stepped backward, creating a small gap.

Ruwen landed in the gap, not even bothering to bend his knees from such a small fall. Echo stepped backward, expecting the entry to be empty. Instead, he plucked the key she’d placed in the small of her back.

Echo twisted around with a hiss. Ruwen’s right wrist had itched the entire time in this level, but now it almost burned.

Ruwen held up the key. “Is this yours?”

Echo growled and snatched the key back. Or tried to. Ruwen moved it just out of reach each time. The fifth time he let her have the key and she immediately aimed a blow at his neck, hoping to knock him out.

Ruwen took the key from Echo’s hand before she could react. Then he stopped every one of her attacks before she could begin. Pinning her arm to her side, her foot to the ground, and slapping her had before she could form a fist.

Ruwen handed Echo the key back, and she yanked it from his hand. She feigned a punch and then tried to kick him in the groin. He grabbed her leg and spun her around so she faced all the Adepts again. Then he removed the key from her grasp before she could react and pushed her forward. She tumbled into the rest of Group One.

Stepping backward, Ruwen slowly closed the gate. Echo turned and screamed at him. He smiled at her and stepped away from the fence.

Sift remained at the entrance but he had stood, and when Ruwen glanced at him he gestured in Shade Speak. Now. Understand.

Just to make sure, Ruwen signaled back. Item. Location.

Sift nodded.

Ruwen flashed a short request. Take. Four. Now.

Sift nodded again and Ruwen faced the Addas.

Padda spoke, his quiet voice booming in the now silent room. “Rung Four present your Champion, your key, and your intention.”

Ruwen bowed to the Grandmasters and held up the key he’d taken from Echo.

“Start the timer,” Madda said.

Ruwen stepped to the pedestal and flipped the smaller hourglass. Turning he strode to the Addas and stood three feet in front of them. They remained like that for five seconds, all three of them unnaturally still, immense violence barely contained.

Ruwen slowly held out the key, and Madda mirrored Ruwen’s movement until their hands met, and key rested half in her hand.

“My intent is to reach the next floor,” Ruwen said.

Madda took the key from Ruwen and handed it to Padda, who strode to the golden gate and opened it, leaving the key in the lock.

The silence lasted another two seconds before Echo screamed. “Are you joking?”

Padda returned to stand next to Madda.

“Rung Four Champion you may choose seven to accompany you to the final level,” Madda said.

Ruwen bowed to the Grandmasters and faced the group of Adepts. All the members of Rung Four grinned and some of them hopped in excitement. He glanced at Sift to verify he stood at the back of the group now.

Ruwen strode to the gate and opened it. “The person most deserving of this final level is the owner of the key that made it possible. I choose Echo and her team.”

The smiles on Group Four faltered as confusion and then disappointment hit them all like a tidal wave. Their shoulders slumped and they hunched forward like Ruwen had punched them all in the stomach.

Echo yelled in excitement and dashed past Ruwen, not even pausing long enough to say thank you. The other six members of her team followed and they quickly disappeared through the gate and up the stairs.

Ruwen turned and followed Echo. The disappointed silence behind him like a knife to the heart.