I opened my eyes to a canopy of leaves and to Alistar’s shouting. “-sist, Loke! Please! We are going to make it! You have to make it! Do you hear me!?”
“Don’t sleep! Please, don’t sleep!” Shouted somebody else, probably momma Jane.
I could not move anything but my eyes, and anywhere I looked was the sky, clear sky, but mostly covered by the forests’ beautiful collection of trees, and leaves, and the candid cry of Flowborn birds; so innocent and pure…
I moved, no, I seemed to be almost floating on top of something, yet in Alistar’s embrace.
I remember smiling at him before the world turned black again.
***
I opened my eyes to what looked like the ceiling of a house.
Was I back in Murkstall? Was that the sight of my straw reinforced ceiling I was seeing?
Nova! There was Nova somewhere, I could hear her voice… No, no, I didn’t. I heard someone shouting her name, shouting at her.
“-to bring him there! You can’t keep doing this!?” Somebody said, “You’ll just kill yourself!”
I did not know what was going on, but I didn’t like that someone was shouting at my sister; however, it was more than welcome if it was from stopping her from killing herself.
My eyes blinked, and there was Nova in front of me; her eyes were tired, shallow; I believed that one of them had a white iris to it.
I wanted to ask her what was going on, but nothing came out of my throat. I saw her caress my face as she failed to give me a smile, something a little crooked and a lot tired came out instead, but it was sincere.
I fell asleep before any of my questions were answered.
***
When I next opened my eyes, I was met with pain, unspeakable pain.
The only other time I felt so much pain was when the engineer was attaching my arm implant.
I had woken up because of it, that gut-wrenching pain, and I could see and feel somebody holding me on the bed, putting something in my mouth. Maybe a sedative of sorts.
It was soon effective, and the pain became just a tempest of colors in front of my eyes, red, blue, violet, black. Intense colors, and then smells, I could smell my pain; it felt like blood and metal; of course, it would.
By the time I calmed down, the one that was holding me down was now caressing my head, whispering that everything was going to be alright. That I could make it, telling me that I was doing good and that I was going to be fine.
It felt soothing. Just what I needed.
However, the voices in the background didn’t feel safe.
“He is not going to make it like this… there are too many implants for his body to accept… Dad, what do we do!?”
I couldn’t hear what Dad said in response because slumber caught up to me.
***
When I opened my eyes this time, there was no world in front of me, only darkness.
Then there were the whispers.
It was the light in the middle of the darkness whispering directly at me.
“Time’s up, Loke. You have to choose your Class now.“
“Why?” I found myself asking. I did, indeed, have the ability to speak.
“You have to choose your Class now… I shouldn’t be saying this, but if you don’t make the right choice, you are going to die, Loke.“
Of course, I was in this weird world. Could I still speak back on Vrael, in my world?
But, more importantly, what was the voice saying?
“Why would I die? I don’t get it.”
“You won’t ever get it if you don’t make the right choice. Now, hurry.“
“How long has it been?”
“Too long for the Choosing to wait. Now, stop asking questions and prepare yourself.“
I started hearing the whispers then. And I did not receive an answer to my question.
You’ve earned 149856 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Hunter level: 29000/29000
Class Hunter has leveled up to 30. You have gained 1 Attribute point. Where will you invest it?
Why ask? Constitution.
You have gained a Skill Perk.
What’s next?
You have reached Class level 30. Choose your Advanced Class.
Ranger:
Your bond with your pet will be further strengthened. Your understanding of the world around you will expand, and you will gain a Skill that will bind you to nature, bolstering your abilities while in a natural environment.
Bonuses: Agi + 2, Foc + 2, Per + 2, Will + 3
So I’d learn a Willpower Skill, this is very interesting, my Willpower is really high, I thought.
It would give me an edge, a big edge; however, confining my maximum abilities while in a natural environment… that was not ideal. I was not an Elf.
Sharpshooter:
You and your bow are one. Your amazing aiming will be further enhanced, and you will gain a Skill that enhances your projectiles’ power.
While in Shade-blessed environment, you will become the star that illuminates it.
Bonuses: Str + 3, Agi + 2, Foc + 2, Per + 2
That’s the strength Skill I was looking for… it might, it might… Why do I need enhanced projectiles? Mine are already enhanced, and further increasing my Strength would have the same effects.
I wasn’t sure I wanted a Strength Skill anymore.
TechnoHunter:
You are bound to and by tech. Your natural bond with metal will become the best weapon at your disposal, and you will gain a Skill that shall make you unkillable.
Bonuses: Agi + 1, Con +3, Str + 3, Foc + 1, Per + 1
My bond with metal… Why does this worry me? But more importantly, why do I feel this urge to choose this Class?
I sighed, then marveled at the fact that I could sigh even in here.
I had never heard of a TechnoHunter before. I guess I did now. And those bonuses, they were terrific.
When a Class was promoted, the previous bonuses were integrated into one’s own stats, and the new Bonuses would be applied. It worked differently from Skills, which would always feel like added Bonuses, I did not know why it happened like this, but it was better than having them disappear to make space for the new Bonuses.
There was no more doubt in my mind, especially because of the extra Con and Str I would receive. I felt that I would need them badly.
Congratulations, you are now a TechnoHunter.
You’ve earned 149856 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next TechnoHunter level: 125046/300000
I expected that raise in the Soul fractions needed to level up.
After all, Advanced Classes were not root Classes, no wonder they needed that huge amount of Soul fractions. I had never been told the numbers. But everyone who had one in the village said that leveling an Advanced Class was ten times harder. It did indeed show.
You’ve earned 811 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Tamer level: 2231/21000
Wait, eight hundred-eleven? If Tamer had gotten this much because of Return to Nature working together with Trace, Trace should have maxed the required Skill points.
How high was that Sunguard’s level?
You’ve earned 811 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Major Perk Promotion: 2000/2000
Trace Major Perk will be promoted. Choose one of the following Perks to be added to it:
See the whispers of the Soul;
Smell the whispers of the Soul;
Taste the whispers of the Soul.
Those are… some peculiar choices. I don’t ever want to know how the whispers of the Soul smell or taste, thank you.
You can now see the whispers of the Soul.
But, if I can see them, doesn’t that disqualify them as whispers?
I was sincerely amused by that.
You’ve earned 417 Skill points. Skill points for Trace Minor Perk Promotion: 1000/1000
Trace Minor Perk will be promoted. Choose one of the following Perks to be added to it:
Future sight:
Gauge the next possible movement of your Tracking’s target.
Multi-Tracking:
Track more than one target at a time.
Untraceable Tracking:
The target of your tracking doesn’t know when they are being tracked.
Those were some good choices.
Future sight seemed to be the ability that had made killing the Sunguard’s possible.
Multi-tracking seemed good, but it wasn’t like I could split my focus on more than one target at a time, or could I?
Untraceable tracking though… that’s really sweet, I thought.
It was not an easy choice.
But, I guess I’ll go with the one that boosts my survivability the most, I thought.
You can now gauge your target’s next possible movement.
It’s going to be really good, especially in a one versus one fight.
However, the voice interrupted my train of thought.
“Look at me,” it said.
And, taken by surprise, I did.
“You’ve made the correct choice; you will live, Loke. However, you still can’t see me now, can you?“
I didn’t know if I could; it shone too much for it.
“I can’t,” I answered, “the light is too strong?”
“Is it?” The voice asked.
The light seemed to sigh when it continued, “Then I guess it’s still too soon for you. But know this, Loke Nightfold. You and your sister are special. Your destiny is tied to mine, so try not to lose the way. Or this world will never change.“
“What? What are you talking about? Why are we special?” I asked, but I felt my connection to this world of darkness grow weaker.
“Why are we connected to you? What are you?”
“In time, you will learn, but as it seems, now it’s still too soon for you… So go, Loke. A world of pain is waiting for you. Good Fortune, because you’ll need it.“
The light, looking like the Sun now, shone even stronger until it enveloped me wholly.
That was when I woke up, and I felt the dampness of my bedsheets.
They were not mine, though. The bedsheets were far too silky, too comfy to be mine. Too smooth to be them.
Where was I?
The answer soon showed itself in front of me.
Harlow was there; she held my hand, my bandaged hand, as she rested on the side of the bed. I bet this was her bed, not the guest’s bed.
Yes, this was her room. The metal parts, oil traces on the floor, the window looking out over the Fallen Kingdom, and the many devices that surely did not belong in a regular girl’s bedroom lying on her work desk gave away the fact that I was resting in her very room.
Screwdrivers, bolts, blueprints, magnifiers, and other equipment I had no knowledge of lay around the place, sometimes forming heaps on the floor.
I tried getting up, but it felt… hard.
However, I was grateful; my legs moved, which was better than nothing.
I could feel bandages binding my head, my naked thorax, and abdomen. But the wrap was especially heavy on my left shoulder.
I could feel something there, just as I could not see my left arm, even what was left of it.
The Sunguard had cut it cleanly off.
So, that pain I remembered? Was that the new implant?
The clock-engineer had saved me again, I thought, shedding a single tear from my unbandaged eye.
I wanted to try and say something, but my throat was sore and shoal as the Drylands.
So while mustering as much saliva as I could to wet my throat, I looked at Harlow.
She was… beautiful.
Her disheveled red hair was partially covering my right leg and covering her funny sleeping face.
She had only a white shirt on to cover her chest, and both her metal arms showed entirely.
I wondered if they could really feel my touch. Maybe hers could. My old one surely didn’t. I had only proprioception of it, but not the feeling of touch. Maybe advanced clock systems would allow for it; who knew.
She did not have her glasses on. Actually, they were nowhere to be found, or at least nowhere my sight could reach from here. But maybe she had leveled her Perception enough to fix her problem, I chuckled. That was unlikely, she had always been a slug at fighting.
But, anyway, the real question was, how much time had gone by?
I lost myself in trying to ascertain the passage of time for a while, but when the rain started calling for my attention with its rhythmic ticks on the window, I was drawn back to the present.
Also, Harlow was waking up too.
I waited for her, readying my dry hello, and hoping my breath would not smell too much.
However, when she opened her eyes and stretched her back, her sleepy eyes fell on me; it took her a few seconds to recognize that I was smiling at her with my eye open.
“Hello there,” I croaked.
She threw herself at me, crushing me into a big hug.
“Ow, ow, ow!” I pleaded.
“Loke…” she said, detaching herself but ignoring my plea.
“How are you! Can you move your legs? How’s your hand?”
“I think I’m fine,” I said, “I feel weak though; I think I’m rather hungry too.”
“Of course!” she said, bolting up.
Harlow came back a couple of minutes later with a bowl and bread.
“Don’t overdo it; I have to feed you slowly,” she stated.
I knew I might grow a little redder if she did that, so I tried to fight it, “You don’t have to, Harlow. My hand works, see?” I said, lifting my hand and moving it about.
But bandaged as it was, there was no way I could lift a spoon with it.
“Don’t be a fool, here, let me help you get up a little.”
“Harlow, before that, how are the others?”
“Who?” She asked.
“Momma Jane, Alistar, Roana, those two drugged up slaves we freed… did they get hurt?”
“What? No! No, they are all fine. Alistar and Jane have come to see you the past few weeks, but the slaves, I think they have been brought back to their villages.”
“Weeks!? How long did I sleep?”
“You’ve been getting in and out of a coma for the past five weeks, Loke…”
“Five weeks!?”
For the love of the Sun! How was I even alive?
Nova!
“Nova!” I almost shouted, my voice breaking at that. “Where is she? What has she done?”
“Nova’s fine, Loke. You don’t have to worry about her. She has helped you. But she’s received help too. Don’t worry, she really is fine. Also, you’ll see her in a few hours. I’ve sent a couple of metal sparrows to inform Murkstall of your recovery. I bet there are a lot of things you two will have to talk about,” she added, smiling.
Although she seemed really… serious when she talked about Nova, she seemed to be in good faith. If Harlow said Nova was right, I would trust her.
Time slowly passed as I was fed by Harlow; it seemed normal for her as if it was something she had done already.
Wait, I thought, realizing it then. Who’s fed me, cleansed me, and made me… do my business if I had slept for five weeks?
Did Harlow… oh for the love of the Sun… she did, didn’t she?
I grew tomato-red then, shrinking myself in my shoulders, I could feel the pull of the fresh shoulder implant pulling on my skin.
When we were done, she took the bowl, the spoon, and what little was left of the bread away, then she took a chair and sat by me. Smiling with pure, unadulterated happiness.
Damn, she was pretty.
“We need to talk, Loke. There are things you should know about yourself.”
I gave her a defeated smile.
“How many implants?” I asked, but there was something that told me I already knew the number.
“One on the shoulder, three in the chest to implant three ribs, one for a piece of your skull, two in the spine to fix two broken backbone rings, one for your left femur, one for your entire left knee, and two for your pinky and ring fingers. It’s eleven in total.”
I was left agape for a few long seconds.
“I… how was I even alive before you implanted all that?”
“I sincerely don’t know how you survived what you’ve gone through, Loke. I mean, the road from Little Bush to Murkstal should have killed you, but it didn’t. Lady Jane hypothesized that your strong connection with the Shade kept you alive,” she paused, then started recounting what she had heard from momma Jane. “Just like I don’t know how somehow you started accepting each implant. Your body was rejecting them at first, then everything changed and you started recovering, you even stopped thrashing, spasming about.”
I know how that last thing happened, but I had no idea how I could ever survive such damage and the hours it took to travel through the forest, even on Flow-cart.
“When the Stone grenade exploded, you took a lot of damage; the ice spikes perforated you and froze your tissue. Jane says that was what made you live through the trip back to the village, back to Nova.”
“But… they should have melted, the ice should have melted! We must have passed through the forest in the middle of the day. How did it resist?”
“I don’t know how it did; that’s why Jane talked about your connection with Shade, helping you maintain that freezing state.”
“Alright, but even if that was true, Nova could not heal such wounds; what did she do?” Realizing that she might have had to sacrifice something to keep me alive, I sat up, and dizziness struck me back down.
“I said it before, didn’t I? Nova is alright; she did indeed help you survive until you were stable enough to be brought here and she classed up while doing so. That’s probably what made you survive long enough. But she paid the price. Exactly like you did for surviving something that defied logic.”
So she had indeed paid the price…
“F****** Abyss! Moon’ c***! Son of a moon-walking mother!” I shouted. “I hope that bastard Sunguard is freezing his f****** ass in the Abyss for the rest of his disgusting nonlife!”
I couldn’t help but let out tears of rage and sadness for what I had Nova go through, for… what I had to go through as well.
Then, slowly, my tears became wails, and Harlow took me in a sweet embrace; we stayed like that for a long time, then I fell asleep.
***
When next I woke up, I found myself staring at the unceasing rain, beyond the window. But then I heard the sounds of steps, wet steps running on the stairs that lead to Harlow’s room.
Those steps were too soft for Harlow or Logan, there was only one person I knew whose steps made that sound. I had learned them at heart.
Then Nova was there, by the door’s frame.
“Loke…” she said smiling. Her hair and clothes were soaked, but my gaze ignored that.
Although I could not speak, my eyes looked for whatever she would have to sacrifice for my well being.
When my sight fell on her white left iris, I knew the price she had paid.
My heart broke again, and I hoped with all that I was that her eye’s sight was the only thing that she had surrendered.
