Chương 36: Stand aside

Infusing the bow with more energy didn't make the string any easier to pull. Eric nocked the serrated arrow and tried pulling. His arms strained against the resistance, but after several long seconds, he managed to reach full draw. He took a quick break and tried again, this time aiming at the sky. Let's do this. We're getting out of here! Kayle watched and didn't say a word while Eric released the arrow. The bow sent out a shockwave and knocked him flat on his back.

At the same moment, Ash released one of its wisps, sending it after the arrow.

"I'll lend a hand. Or a truckload of fire." Columns of flame burst from the ground, twisting wildly through the air. Kayle clasped her hands together, and the scattered flames bent toward the arrow's path. The fiery pillars merged into one, and the power of the flames propelled the projectile even faster toward the sky. The sky cracked. At first, the point of impact had a small dent. Another crack branched outward.

Within seconds, they spread across the entire ceiling until everything overhead resembled a shattered mirror. Eric stared in confusion and lowered his bow.

"Was that it? All that work just to turn the sky into a smashed phone screen?"

"Ash!" The small wisp collided with the fractured sky and triggered a chain reaction. Large pieces of glass fell, while smaller ones remained lodged. Massive shards tore free overhead.

"Watch out!" Eric shouted. He launched a Spectral Throw and knocked one of the falling shards away from Kayle. More broke free, and she answered with fireballs of her own. For several chaotic seconds, glass rained around them until the fragments dwindled to pieces small enough to dodge. I wonder if there's going to be some kind of… there it is. /———————————\ New area unlocked! \———————————/"That was unexpected," Kayle said while dusting off her robe.

Ash survived the onslaught from above by maneuvering and dodging the debris. It settled on Eric's shoulder and looked around. The newly exposed section of the third floor was packed with machinery. Cogs, gears, levers, and chains intertwined in an almost living system. They rotated and clicked in a steady motion. Metal clicked against metal in a steady rhythm, and Eric found himself staring at the constant motion. Clouds of black smoke descended and disintegrated halfway to the floor.

The system appeared old and fragile, like an old engine coming back to life. A shadowy figure appeared among the machinery. It leaped onto one of the rotating cogs and drove its sword into the metal, letting the turning mechanism carry it across the chamber. As it passed overhead, the figure twisted toward Eric and hissed. He caught only a brief glimpse of a white mask with silver streaks. Strands of dark hair whipped by a supernatural wind, and deep blue eyes stared through the openings.

Its mouth had thick stitches, sewing it shut. A moment later, the figure ripped its sword free, jumped from the cog, and disappeared deeper into the machinery. Eric's chest was burning right where the Medallion of Time embedded itself into him. The sensation spread through every part of his body in a strange rush, triggering both exhilaration and instinctive fear. Is this what Time warned me about?

"Any idea what that was?" Kayle kept watching the machinery above.

"I've seen nothing like it. We're missing something," she said.

"Yeah. I'm sure it will introduce itself, eventually." Eric paused.

"Wait. What's that sound?" Eric turned around to locate where the screeching and croaking sounds came from. He saw Ash was glowing bright and green fire pulsed from within its body. When it opened its beak, small fireballs flew out, and a continuous flame filled its eyes.

"What's going on?! Are you okay?" Eric ran over to his companion. Kayle followed right after him. She approached the raven, but burned her hands when she tried to touch it.

"Ouch! How did this…" Ash froze on the spot and opened its mouth. It tilted its head unnaturally, then its beak snapped open. Instead of a caw, an irritated stranger's voice came from somewhere far away.

"Why is this damned phone not working?" Something slammed against a hard surface on the other end. BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Stupid piece of…" BAM! BAM! BAM! If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Hellooo?! Can anybody hear me?" This can't be…" Um… Grim? Is that you?" Eric asked hesitantly. His heart skipped a beat with each slam of the phone on the other side.

"Eric! You soul-reaping machine! How's your adventure going?"

"Were you just hitting the phone?" Eric frowned. Grim laughed on the other end.

"Yeah. Reception's terrible. I'm at a hotel taking care of some business, but the phone is barely working. Anyway… something's not right. People are dying left and right, as usual, but this time, some of them are experiencing strange glitches. They relive the same few seconds, slip briefly into the past, then snap back as if nothing happened." Oh, no. Grim lowered his voice.

"Did you pull some wacky stunt? Come on, I won't tell anyone." A lump formed in Eric's throat. Kayle had stopped pretending not to listen. She raised one eyebrow at him, and Eric knew immediately that there was no getting out of this one.

"Maybe…" he muttered.

"Maybe? Listen, I'm hiding in a closet because everyone just found out the receptionist is headed straight to Purgatory. I don't have time for games right now," Grim whispered.

"I completed a quest about saving a little boy from the Shattered. His name is Time. I'm assigned as his guardian. Something is hunting both of us, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do." After several seconds, another sequence of telephone slams echoed. They became gradually more violent, and each one was stronger than the next. The awkward silence stretched until Grim desperately tried to calm himself.

"Inhale… exhale. Okay. Happy place. Flowers. Puppies…" Eric rubbed the back of his neck and looked away before continuing.

"Also… I think whatever's hunting Time is nearby. The medallion reacted when I saw something up there, right before you called."

"FLOWERS! PUPPIES! No, I'm not angry. I'M NOT ANGRY!" BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Do you have any idea what you did? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN TIME GLITCHES TO HUMANS? LUREON WILL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!"

"How was I supposed to know?! You dumped me here without explaining anything! Ash can't even talk properly!" The raven's head swiveled toward Eric. Grim let out a long and weary sigh. Someone started pounding on the closet door behind him. That didn't stop him from yelling into the phone.

"OH! So now it's MY fault! How could I leave you there? You poor thing! GET YOUR ASS TO THE UPPER PART OF THE THIRD FLOOR! WHEN WE MEET, I'M PUTTING YOU ON A PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN." BAM! … BAM! …

"I HATE THIS PHONE!" CRACK! A sharp click echoed from Ash's beak. Apparently, that was the magical equivalent of hanging up. Kayle couldn't help but chuckle at the entire exchange.

"Did he… snap the phone in half?" Eric asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Her grin widened.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't snap you in half the next time you meet." Haha. Hilarious. Ash stopped emitting flames all over the place and closed its beak. It didn't forget to peck Eric on the shins for his comment earlier. He tried swatting the raven away, but failed and received even more pecks.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry. What do you expect from me when you only say your name?" The raven jumped on his head and let out a barrage of bops and jabs. Eric finally lost his patience and grabbed Ash. He set the raven on the ground and pointed at it.

"Listen! You're not helping me right now. We either do this together or… I don't know! Just stop attacking me!"

"You two! Enough bickering!" Both Eric and Ash went dead silent and snapped their heads at Kayle. She folded her arms.

"That's how you do it. Now, get yourself together so we can figure this out." Fire suits her personality. Dusting his clothes and summoning his dagger, Eric walked over to Ash and extended his hand.

"I'm sorry. You really help me, and we make a pretty good team." The raven jumped onto his hand and climbed to its usual place on his shoulder. A small window of flame erupted from the cultist woman's hands. It had symbols that Eric didn't recognize, but he could catch Kayle's worried expression.

"We have a problem. There's a whole squad incoming. They felt that the library is no longer in their control and are coming back. Probably lots of them and probably angry. Get out of here," she said.

"What are you going to do? You can't take them by yourself." Kayle exhaled and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm undercover, remember? Did the raven turn your brain to mush?" Grim number two. I don't need another lecture or performance plan…" You can cut me some slack, you know. It's difficult to have the fate of the realms on your shoulders. Ash is even heavier!" Eric chuckled, and the raven only looked around, as if deciding not to hear the joke.

"We have to… damn it." An enormous squad flew through the air. Riders, conjurers, and a bigger figure that towered over them all led the offensive. Eric didn't need a system message to guess who was in charge. The commander had less armor than the other Shattered, but his body was as if made of steel. Piles of muscle shifted beneath his skin as he pulled the reins. His gear resembled that of a furious and rugged barbarian more than an armed warrior. A fur mantle snapped in the wind behind him.

The axe on his back was bigger than the Shattered riders following him. Is that a belt with… skulls? Bones and teeth hung between the trophies, with several small souls worked into the leather. He wore massive metal pauldrons shaped like open skulls, with a horn emerging from where the tongue would be. The commander grabbed a war horn that was hanging from his belt and let out a deep blast that thundered in the library. Now the whole damn army knows we're here… Kayle rose into the air.

She whispered before the fire gathered around her hands.

"I'm sorry." She hurled giant balls of flame. Eric barely had time to draw his dagger before the first reached him. His blade transformed into a larger one upon contact with the projectiles. He swept the blade from side to side, deflecting some of the incoming fireballs. The bigger ones he deemed too powerful; he dodged. Ash flew and tried to attack Kayle, but the raven couldn't get close enough because of the intense heat.

Some fireballs passed close enough to burn Eric's sleeve, but he caught the slight turn of Kayle's wrist. She missed on purpose.

"Commander! The intruder is here!" Kayle snapped a whip of fire toward Eric, making sure everyone above could see it. Eric blocked the attack. His shoulder plate deflected the hit and sent it flying. Seconds later, the pauldron discharged the stored force into a quick explosion that hurled Kayle backward. He rushed after her.

"I didn't want to…" A ring of fire expanded from the woman and sent Eric flying in the opposite direction. He drove his blade into the floor and dragged himself to a stop. Getting up, he cleared the blood from his forehead. I guess we're not playing anymore. Spectral blades flew forward with blazing speed. Teleporting and changing the angle at which Eric sent out the spell created a wave of continuous green, flying versions of his weapon. At his last teleport, he extended a spectral hand to pin Kayle to the ground.

The giant axe of the commander landed and severed the phantom hand at the wrist. Pain shot through Eric's actual hand. Thankfully, the spell didn't convert all the harm that was caused to the spectral copy. The commander's voice bellowed into the library.

"Stand aside, woman! You've done enough. This worm is mine!"