Rifts
A massive rift had literally opened up into the sky several blocks away and hundreds of meters above the city.
It literally looked as though some massive, giant claw, had torn through the fabric of reality and ripped a hole in the very sky; and it was massive. Absolutely and unbelievably huge. The size of the rift must have been at least the size of a football stadium, which made it abundantly clear as to why the crowds had literally looked starstruck.
And even as I was thinking, I could clearly see that the rift was, even now, continuing to expand, and not even that. It appeared as though dozens of other, smaller rifts were opening up in proximity to the much larger fissure in the sky. It took all of my will not to just cry out in terror at the implications of the rifts.
That’s because they were familiar, and looking towards Kevin, it was clear that he remembered too. The opening of the “Rifts” as we had called them, signified the opening bouts of an invasion, and not just any average or normal invasion, but a rift of that size implied the coming of a [Demon Lord]. It was striking to see the complete and utter similarities to what was happening in reality, and what we had experienced within Holy Arc Online.
As Kevin decided now to turn back to look at me, I could now see that the previous excitement in his eyes had been replaced by something else altogether; fear. “We need to run”, Kevin trembled out.
I had never seen him that terrified before, and it frankly scared the hell out of me. As it should though because I too knew that his fear was entirely justified.
“Five minutes, and we are out of this apartment, now!” I yelled out.
Kevin immediately understood and ran out of my bedroom towards the Kitchen, and as I heard him shoving items into a bag, Rachel turned a worrying glance towards me, “What do you mean Thomas? What’s going on?” Rachel frantically asked me.
I quickly responded to her, “Rachel. Listen, and you’re going to have to trust both Kevin and I on this. Everything that is happening right now is somehow tied to the game that Kevin and I had been playing for the past several years, and that!” I said as I quickly pointed towards the massive tears opening in the sky, “Is something that is very bad news, and if we don’t get out of this apartment and running away right now, we won’t be making it out of the area alive.” I finished.
Rachel’s only response was one of confusion, and then, after a moment of hesitation, she nodded. “Okay, I will trust you on this one..” she responded.
I forced a smile, “Good, now, grab your things and see if you can help Kevin in the kitchen. We’re going to need to grab what we can and get out of here. We won’t be coming back anytime soon.” Nodding her head once again, Rachel grabbed her laptop, and began throwing everything in her bag, and joined Kevin in the kitchen until it was just me left in my room.
My hands drifted to my forehead as I rested them there. “Okay…” I mumbled to myself, “Think… What else needs to be done..” It was at that point that my vision glanced over to my wall and rested upon what was hanging there. “This is so stupid I told myself, it’ll never hold.” I breathed out in exasperation, but also in acceptance that my dumb idea might be the best thing I have left.
I walked over to my wall and reached my hand out, grabbing a metal sword and peeling it off of its wooden pedestal that had been nailed to the surface. I knew the thing likely wouldn’t hold. Why? Because that very sword I had just grabbed was some lame antique I had gotten for $100 at a Bass Pro Shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut a few summers back. The result of a date that had stood me up, and a brother’s encouragement had led me to divvy out $100 for what was likely to be a useless piece of scrap. It looked fancy though, and maybe, just maybe, with a bit of work I could make it at least into something functional. It was going to have to be though, because that’s literally all I had, besides a few larger knives in the kitchen that I would be sure to grab on the way out.
With the basics covered for at least our immediate supply of weapons, I then ran over to my closet, grabbing out a three-foot-tall black case. It looked as though it could’ve held a musical instrument of some sort, but no. I had used it to store a bow, and a small quiver holding a dozen arrows. The amount was paltry at best, but it was only ever meant for recreational use, and I had always enjoyed dabbling in archery during my free time. It concluded my only feasible array of weapons, however, and it was apparent that it would not be enough. However, I justified in my mind, it’s better than nothing. After grabbing the case, I then turned and grab my backpack under my bed, and, while opening the zipper, turned it upside down and dumped all of my schoolwork, papers, and notebooks out of the bag. I kept the laptop and charger in there though, it could be useful in the future, and I certainly didn’t want to just abandon any sense of technology in the wake of a demon invasion. No matter how… Sensible it may have seemed.
After stuffing several different pairs of clothing in my bag, making sure to choose jeans instead of thinner garments, as well as grabbing my pair of hiking boots, I ran out into the kitchen. Both Rachel and Kevin had just about cleared out the area of any non-perishable foods. It was at that moment that I appreciated my preference for canned corns and beans, as though would undeniably be useful if we were unable to procure food elsewhere.
It was at that moment that we began hearing sirens slowly blaring and coming closer. Likely either paramedics valiantly still doing their job, even under the pressure of the rift and the system, or even law enforcement officials heading towards the rift itself. A shame I thought, there’s no way that they would really even last. Even with the help of modern weaponry, I knew it would be a difficult endeavor to take on higher-level monsters. If everything turned out to be like Holy Arc Online, then higher-tiered monsters would inevitably have a whole host of physical resistances, most only being susceptible to higher-tiered magical attacks. At the very least they could take out some of the swarms of grunts about to envelop the entire city.
Which, as would become apparent, was woefully unprepared for any actual attack. The modern era had, of course, become acutely terrible when it came to city defense. Walls were non-existent, as modern warfare had rendered them useless. In this situation, however, they certainly would have helped stem the tide a bit.
As they were wrapping things up, I took one final moment to check the last information I had noticed on my status screen, my new skills. Understanding them could make an impressive difference in the difficulties we were inevitably about to be faced with.
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Basic Mana Manipulation (Passive) – Level 1: This skill, renowned for its importance as the first step towards magical mastery, grants the wielder finer control over their mana usage, allowing smoother casting of basic elemental spells, while also decreasing mana usage of Tier 1 spells (This increases per skill level). Racial Note: Basic Mana Manipulation is inherently possessed by all High-Humans. Effects: 5% reduction in mana cost of Tier 1 spells. Unlocks skill selection of Tier 1 basic elemental spells. |
Now… [Paragon’s Influence] was the mystery skill. If it was anything like my Paragon Title, I was sure it was bound to be overpowered as well.
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Paragon’s Influence (Passive & Active Effects) – Level 1: Ability to bestow the High-Human racial evolution on one Human individual who has met the requirements for race advancement. Experience acquisition is given based on the leveling of those under the effects of the Paragon’s influence. Active effects of Paragon’s influences include granting a short-range attribute buff [Paragon’s Charge] to all High-Humans & Humans in the vicinity of the Paragon activating the skill. Abilities increase proportionally to skill level. Grants: Passive Effects: [Paragon’s Tether] ties all High-Human individuals with the Paragon of their race. Their success becomes his success. Their power becomes his power. Active Effects: [Paragon’s Charge] upon activation, all High-Human and Human individuals within the vicinity will receive an attribute buff proportional to a 10% increase for a 60-second duration. 60 Minute Cooldown timer. [Paragon’s Bestowal] in direct tandem with the level of [Paragon’s Influence], the bestowal allows for the racial promotion of a Human to a High-Human. The Human must have displayed characteristics of unyielding loyalty to the Paragon to qualify for racial advancement. |
Aaaand, that was an impressive deluge of information. Just as I thought, [Paragon’s Influence] was a broken type of skill. While a skill possessing both passive and active effects wasn’t unheard of within Holy Arc Online, the skills themselves still tended to be quite mediocre compared to skills that specifically specialized in either a passive or active skillset bonus. [Paragon’s Tether] was extremely vague and would need to be explored. [Paragon’s Charge] was an incredibly powerful buffing skill. It didn’t give just a direct increase to an individual’s attributes, but a percentage increase. Percentage increasing attribute skills were incredibly rare, and a 10% increase could do wonders in changing the course of any battle. [Paragon’s Bestowal] on the other hand was a skill that did something I had never seen before in Holy Arc Online.
A skill that allowed an individual to go through a direct racial evolution? Unheard of. Nothing like that had ever even been discussed on the Holy Arc Online forums. Which, now that it came across my mind, will likely suddenly be the most important catalog of information in the world. Avid players such as myself and Kevin, while few, were still substantial, and it showed as they had come together on the Holy Arc forums. It could be useful information in the future if we end up making it out of this.
With skill information aside, the next step to consider was our game plan. Boston was no longer safe, and there was no question about that. I could only hope that the worse of what is to come was only affecting us here, and that elsewhere would be safer. Or at the very least if this was global… That the Demon Lord’s would only focus on the major populated cities and not so much the countryside.
My only immediate plan that I could think of was to reach my family. I felt bad for both Kevin and Rachel. Kevin, because his family was on the West Coast, but he might be fine because he had actually decided to come out here and live with me. Rachel on the other hand was worse. She was only supposed to be here for the week, and then would have flown back to Vegas to be with her family. Now, however, it was likely that would not be happening. The only other option left was to then meet up with my family. My brother and his wife lived out near Worcester, in Shrewsbury. My parents, having retired years ago, had moved out East and settled down in Shrewsbury, it was going to be immensely convenient that both my parents and my brother had homes located right next to each other, as it would make running much easier. Perhaps the best part of it though? Shrewsbury was only 36 miles away. Definitely a walkable distance. Without a doubt driving would be insane right now, and as such walking was going to be our only option.
Worcester was a big city, however, and It worried me even more considering the fact that if my second theory had been correct, it most certainly would be a target of whatever Demon Lord decided to descend. Shrewsbury on the other hand, being on the outskirts of Worcester was smaller. It would be a better place to head towards right now.
As Kevin continued to pack the last of the food items and water bottles, Rachel stopped and looked towards me expectantly as I pulled out my phone and began to dial my brother. After several rings, the only thing I heard from the other line was “due to the high volume of calls we were unable to complete your call right now. Please try again later. Goodbye!”
“Gah!” I screamed out in frustration as I continued to dial his number again and again, only to be rewarded with the exact same message. After the fourth time though I finally managed to get through to him.
As the line connected, my brother Alex yelled through the phone, “Thomas! What the hell is going on!? Are you alright!?”
“I’m fine! Are you seeing things too Alex?” I quickly responded.
“You mean the massive portal things in the sky? Then yes!” He replied. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of everyone for the past few minutes, but nothing was going through, at least until your call connected!”
That worried me even more. Everyone was clearly not together with Alex. And if they were seeing things too… then… this was not isolated, and that is what scared me the most.
“Alex,” I said. “What do you mean everyone? Who isn’t with you right now?” I quickly questioned him.
“Just my wife and Dad. Mom was with me watching Ariel while I was working out back. That’s when that weird message popped in front of my eyes, and I noticed the black tears spreading through the sky. Do you know what’s going on Thomas?” He stammered out.
“I can make a pretty good guess, but that can wait. Alex, whatever you do, don’t go near those portals. Things are going to get ugly in twenty minutes or so when those things finish forming, and you don’t want to be anywhere near them when they do. I recommend you grab Mom and Ariel and keep them in the house and start boarding up the windows, turn off the lights, and get down into the basement. Try and get your wife and Dad down there too as quickly as possible. We don’t have much time.” I said, “Kevin, Rachel, and I are going to start making our way to Shrewsbury. It might take a few days though. So, until then, try not to get yourself killed.” I finished.
“Okay.. But what the hell do you mean get ourselves killed?” Alex yelled back through the phone. “What’s going to kill us!?”
I bit my tongue, I knew it was crazy and I was going to sound like a lunatic, but I said it anyway. “Think of War of the Worlds, Alex,” I replied curtly. “As of right now, there is going to be a war, and those rifts up there are going to be the catalyst of it. You have to just trust me on this and don’t ask me any questions right now. We don’t have the time. I will explain more when we meet up. Just tell mom and Ariel to start moving food, bedding, or whatever supplies you’re going to need into the basement. Even better, try and get some sort of radio, or tv down there so you can stay connected. When things get started, they’re going to go downhill fast. And please Alex, for the love of God. Get Dad and your wife down there. Do whatever it takes.” I finished.
Alex remained quiet on the other end of the line for a few moments before saying, “I’ve got it. Stay safe, and I better be seeing you guys in the next few days.”
“I love you man,” I said, as I quickly hung up the phone.
As I looked up, I saw that Kevin had already finished packing our supplies and was ready to move. Rachel, while still looking hesitant and downright terrified, also maintained her composure. She was going to have to hold it together until we were able to get to at least some modicum of safety.
“Alright everyone,” I announced, “It’s time to get out of here, and quickly. We probably only have…” I stopped as I glanced down at my watch. It’s bright screen slowly coming on, indicating that it was 2:48 pm in the afternoon. We first noticed the rifts about six minutes ago. “We’ve got about 20 minutes before those rifts start opening up. We need to be out of the immediate line of fire by then.” I said as I began walking towards the front door.
As I turned to open the door, I glanced towards my right. Normally I would have laughed and gone right back into the bathroom to redo my hair and wash off my face. My dark brown hair had already broken through its thick layer of gel, and my hair was curling upward all over the place. Some of the hairs were plastered against my forehead, a result of the coating of sweat smeared on my face. My bluish-green eyes peered back at me, showing a hint of confidence that I surely did not feel. My lips were taut in the determination to face the challenges that we were about to confront.
My lithe frame ladened with my overfilled backpack as well as the black case strapped to it. In my hand, I held the sword, that I knew would likely only break when I first use it. It felt cool though, so I was going to keep it for now. With a slight chuckle, I opened the door.
I knew without a doubt that a mere half hour ago, this situation would have struck me as insane. My ability to adapt to it as quickly as I have, I could only attribute to the presence of my best friend Kevin, and girlfriend Rachel. If we were to make it out of anything alive, and If I were to ever see my family again. I was going to need to transform myself from the gawky nerd I was, into some semblance of a leader.
This was going to be one hell of a ride.
