-Veritas-

  Hundreds of text boxes are assembling and doing some kind of merry little jingle that I don’t quite understand. Sage seems to be enjoying himself though, like a kid at a candy factory.

  [ Rolling for an unbalanced set of fuckery… Success ]

  [ Rolling to roll… Success ]

  [ Eating an apple… Failure ]

  [ Thinking about eating an apple… Success ]

  [ Pondering the meaning… Success ]

  [ Reaching in bag of tricks for something very shiny… Success ]

  [ Finding other reasonably shiny things to distract the user from the very shiny item… Success ]

  [ Detecting something strange… did user???447???... Error ]

  [ Unlocking hidden titles… Success ]

  [ Welcome… Jimmy Novak… To my Emporium ]

  I squint at the boxes, they keep moving in random directions around the room, bouncing off the walls. What hidden titles is it talking about? Sage’s smile deepens as he crosses his arms, taking everything in stride. His expression shifts after a few minutes of more boxes, new ones in a silver pattern speckle the air.

  [ Though my body is gone… the soul is eternal… I linger where I ought naught… forever nowhere to be found… Error ]

  [ Sleep Atherius the Golden One ]

  Sage’s smile falls away as he tilts his head at the boxes, there’s something strange crossing his face, like he’s having a stroke, his eyes slowly roll back before he falls to the floor in a heap.

  “Sage?” no answer, “Sage?”

  [ You have stumbled across my last testament of chaos ]

  [ My last crescendo of defiance ]

  [ My soliloquy against fate itself ]

  [ Fear not ]

  [ Want not ]

  [ For I shall guide thee from beyond the veil ]

  [ Error… Overwhelming Success ]

  What the fuck is going on…

  The room’s gravity feels strange, there’s heat and cold coming from all directions with arcs of energy. Three discs of light open before me, each one containing some kind of object.

  [ Take one defy fate ]

  [ Take two be hunted by fate ]

  [ Take three… Error ]

  I look at each of the items, one looks like a black and red compass with a label over it.

  [ Compass of Uncertain Destinies ]

  Next to it is a gun, like an old style single shot that a pirate would use. The handle is a sleek black wood with silver etchings of fanciful shapes and art around the edges that seem to dance toward the deep red colored barrel. Etched on the side of the barrel is some kind of quote, but I can’t read the words for some reason. Maybe the system doesn’t work in here. The pop up does say its name though.

  [ The Gambler’s Cannon ]

  Next to that is a small necklace with a decently long chain. It’s made of some kind of black metal like the compass, with silver etchings that have words written on the side. It’s too small to read, and it’s probably like the gun’s barrel. The name in the box above it is different from the other two, I’m not sure if it’s actually named that or if it’s saying that it can’t display the name.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  [ Error ]

  Okay… so, if I take all three something happens, I’m guessing. Under each one I see another box pop up. There’s a cost associated with them. The first is the most expensive, costing nearly all of my Chaos Charges. The second makes up the remainder of the rest except one Chaos Charge, which is what the last item costs.

  Does it want me to take all three? Why else make it fit perfectly in the cost? I don’t have a way of making new charges, so if I spend them all, I won’t be able to come here again. What’s in the normal shop? This feels like a one time thing. What if buying all of them…

  “Fuck it.”

  I grab all three items.

  A new pop up appears in silver.

  [ Chaos becomes you ]

  [ You become Chaos ]

  [ Go forth and cause… Error ]

  Light spindles around us and my head starts throbbing. Then suddenly, I’m standing outside the door of the Chaos Emporium. Sage is standing next to me.

  “Well, aren’t you going to open it?” Sage asks, giving me an annoyed expression.

  “Open it?”

  “The Chaos Emporium, meatsack, aren’t you curious what’s inside?”

  I blink at him, “We just went inside.”

  He tilts his head at me, “Are you feeling alright, meatsack?”

  Does he really not remember what just happened? Looking down, the objects that I took, they’re gone… did I imagine it?

  “Meatsack?”

  I touch the door, and a pop up appears.

  [ Insufficient Chaos Charges ]

  “Damnit, meatsack, what did you do?” Sage protests, stepping forward and looking at the door, “How the hells did you lose over a million fucking charges?”

  “I… bought three items.”

  “Well, where are they?”

  I look around again, nothing, “I don’t know, but I’m sure that I bought them.”

  “You won’t even admit you fucked up!” he exclaims, stomping his foot in a tantrum, “I was really excited to go in there! Damnit, damnit, damnit, gods fucking damnit.” He turns, shaking his head, “Good luck, meatsack, don’t call me for a while.”

  There’s a puff of angry blue smoke and he’s… gone. Just like that.

  “Sage?”

  His voice appears in my mind like the first time we talked.

  Sage is presently busy doing things that don’t involve stupid meatsacks that squander opportunities. He isn’t sure how you lost your charges, but he is greatly disappointed in you. Leave a message after the tone… beep… on second thought, don’t leave a message, he won’t listen to it.

  He’s so unbearable sometimes. I move toward Abyss’s door, squinting at it, there’s a vine of dark energy that’s snaking across the floor back toward Abyss. Did that fucker…

  “Abyss, you didn’t eat them, did you?”

  Silence until Sage replies instead.

  Imagine a meatsack blaming a dormant divine item for all of their problems. You’re really pulling out all the stops for your bullshit charade. Bravo, you’ve reduced yourself in my eyes to the same as debuffed Jimmy. A complete and utter fool you are. The items in there are invaluable, irreplaceable and give great advantage. You squandered a great opportunity.

  “Dormant? Do you really not see… never mind. I’ll sort it when I get Abyss back.”

  I’m about to move through my menu and leave but I look over at the Cosmic Exchange doorway. There’s bound to be some points accrued from the last quest. The exchange should be upgraded as well. Might be worth checking out.

  Then again, maybe it’s better to save points for when it’s at the highest upgrade. The rewards will be much higher I’m guessing. Better not to get tempted. I can check it later anyway.

  I press the button to leave the Nexus.

  ***

  Three days in a place without a sun to tell the time is a bit disorienting. All in all though, it was nice to get a mandatory break. One that all of us probably needed. We’ve been running ourselves ragged with Greymore’s drilling since I came back and all the studying I’ve been doing with the souls. Lots of prep work for this year. We have a lot more to do before the gates start spawning again.

  “Nearly time,” Tran says excitedly.

  He’s been giddy, Mira says that quest rewards drop a few minutes before the System returns us. I’ve already put a Soul Mark on Mira, so we should be able to find her, wherever she is on Earth. According to Terra, there is a hard cap on the amount of mana that a Soul Mark can exhaust from a user. She said I’d be able to keep track of three people on different worlds and not kill myself, given my current mana pool.

  The reason I was worried was because I wasn’t sure if Mythren would send them back first. If I had marked her and she left before me, the distance would be from wherever we are to Earth. I trust Terra though, she seems like she wants to help me, so long as it means she gets to be close to Sage. Still don’t know the history between them. Nor do I know what the story is between Mythren and Sage.

  There’s a lot I don’t know. What I do know though, is that I’m ready to get back. Once we get Mira, then I can start the process of becoming… different.

  A pop up interrupts my thoughts. It’s purple.

  [ Respec On Death Quest Reward Ready ]

  [ Begin?]

  [ Yes / No ]

  I slap the yes like it owes me money.

  [ New Title Received ]

  [ Rare Item Treasure Roll Received ]

  [ Respec On Death Token x 1 Received ]

  I feel a little better with a Respec token. Not that it helps me on Earth, but having one is nice. Rare item roll is great. I wonder how that will work with Mythren, hopefully Sera doesn’t try to mess with it.

  Light blossoms to my right, Tran is holding up something glowing. A large book of some kind.

  “Wow, dude, I rolled a Legendary class tome…” Tran says, his eyes are practically sparkling with excitement.

  “Oh shit,” Barlow says, looking over at me, “So did I.”

  Looks like Terra kept her word.

  Dorliac pushes through a couple of Greymore’s people to get a better look, “That’s not fair, I got a Ring of Disenchanted Heroism.”

  Cleo looks over at me, then clicks through her interface, an identical book to Tran and Barlow’s appears in her hands. She squints at me and gives me a grin.

  “Jimmy, did you do something?” Barlow asks.

  “I may or may not have allegedly negotiated something.”

  “Thank you,” Barlow says, clutching it tightly and nodding to me.

  The weight that had been on him seems to lift a little. Maybe that’s what was bothering him.

  “So, like what’s it do?” Tran asks.

  “It should guarantee you get a good sub class at level twenty.”

  Dorliac puts her hands on her hips, “Why didn’t I get one?”

  “You’re past twenty already, babe,” Brussels says.

  “Oh, right. Well,” she looks at Tran disdainfully, “Congratulations.”

  She still hasn’t forgiven him for accidental genocide.

  “Damn, I made your list?” Gilroy asks, holding a tome in his hand. He steps forward and pulls me into a hug, “Thank you, I won’t let you down.”

  Mwangi who had been waiting for everyone else clicks through his menu slowly, giving me a sideways look, like he’s not sure if he will be getting one. A grin crests his face from ear to ear, he gives me a nod of approval.

  Greymore and Clayton are both smiling too, I didn’t get them anything though.

  “Guess we’ll be getting some more badasses soon,” Clayton says with a deep grin.

  “Sorry I didn’t get you guys anything.”

  Greymore tilts his head to the side and starts laughing, all of his team are laughing, but it’s not at me or anything like that.

  “You brought us back, there is no greater gift,” Greymore says.

  “Darling, where’s my present?” Mira asks, petting her dragon affectionately.

  “I uh… I gave you a ring, remember.”

  “Mm, you gave one to that elf too.”

  “Yeah, but like, that’s nothing compared to…” Tran begins, holding his tome up like a trophy.

  He doesn’t get to finish his sentence. Light bends and reality warps.

  ***

  There’s noise all around me, gun fire and the sound of a building shaking. I can’t see more than a foot in front of me.

  “What the fuck…” I begin.

  “Cover down! Get them out of here!” Greymore roars.

  Greymore’s soldiers shift into my space, pulling me and everyone else through smoke.

  “Stay low,” Clayton says with a hand on my back, eyes in front, head on a swivel.

  The smoke clears as we enter another room, the ceiling is completely gone, there are bodies strewn about, and people groaning in pain. They look like suits from the UWO and people from the WHA.

  Standing atop rubble and holding a suit by the neck is a man of large proportions. I recognize his attire and his mask immediately.

  He’s one of the WHA’s six heroes… Starman.

  “Ah, you’re finally back!” Starman booms, he looks at the suit in his hand and then back at us, “Oh, this is… well, I can explain.”

  He releases the suit and sets him down slowly, dusting off the man’s shoulders as he heaves for breath holding his throat. Starman turns and gives us a thumbs up and a very practiced smile then slaps the man on the back, so hard that he tumbles down the rubble. Starman’s smile flickers for a moment.

  “Welcome home!” Starman says with raised arms, “There’s much to discuss.”

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