NBB2 - The Chaos Rifts - Chapter 22

Standing in the small alley outside of Borl's abode, Solus looked at the pudgy yellow zombie in front of him.

"Thank you for helping the boss…" Ettol said. "As promised, I'll show you the fastest way to Scathia."

Solus nodded and followed Ettol as he exited the small alley. As he passed through the dark and empty under-city, he wondered again why Borl had made all the other undead resemble him and why such a form.

The return trip to the city's surface was a lot faster than the initial trip, and Solus frowned. Had Ettol been slowing them down? As he stared at the back of the pudgy zombie, he determined he needed to take far greater care with these seemingly week undead. They were conniving.

After passing through a few small alleys, they arrived at a large road, the roof so high Solus couldn't reach it. At one side was a staircase that disappeared straight up, through the ceiling. Solus followed Ettol to the entrance and peered up. It was a steep shadowy path with intermittent Satri glowing along the way.

"This is the boss' personal way up. Besides us, nobody else knows about it," Ettol said proudly, his puffy cheeks shivering as he straightened his shoulders.

Solus didn't respond and just followed the other up. The staircase was long, and staring at the zombies wiggling behind all the time, Solus ended up nauseous and trying to keep his eyes on the steps.

Thousands of steps later, finally, a soft light glow from above signaled the end of his torment. They arrived in a small room with doors on all sides. Sunlight streamed in through small slits along the sides of the doors.

Ettol rushed to the closest door to the left and glanced out of the slit. He cursed and ran to another door, then another. When he backed up from the last one, he seemed scared.

Solus frowned. "What-" he began, but Ettol raised his hands, panicking and beckoning him to be quiet. Holding his breath, Solus frowned when a soft voice, barely a whisper, came from beside his ear.

"The Yellowplates, Scathia's guards, are everywhere, searching everything. The doors are hidden, so they won't be able to find this room, but if we exit…"

The name Yellowplates made Solus think of the undead he had fought outside the city, and he moved to a slit to check. The slit was high above the ground and looked out across a small square with many balconies and paths and stairs leading away. A group of green zombies with Yellowplates covering their arms and lower bodies stomped out of a house.

So that's what they are called, Solus thought as he recognized the undead. They were identical to the one he had buried outside of the city.

Two tall grey and black skeletons with extremely thick feet and leg bones stood beside the door, watching the Yellowplates leave.

Stepping back, Solus frowned at Ettol.

"How are we getting out of here?" he asked, projecting his voice in a whisper beside the other's head.

He didn't want to stay here too long, and his discussion with Borl just strengthened his wish to get the information from Scathia and find the others.

"We should just wait until they leave," Ettol replied, fear radiating from his every move.

Wondering why the other was so afraid, a loud thud against the wall caused them both to swirl around. A moment later, it came again, and cracks appeared in the bone. The third knock caused a piece of the wall to crack and fall inside as a thick green fist burst through before quickly withdrawing. Two hands gripped the edges ripping the hole larger.

Ettol scrambled to the staircase and down, but Solus just waited. Two Yellowplates stepped in after each other, staring at him.

"See? I told you I heard something!" The one on the left said, stepping towards Solus.

"Come with us. Hiding is forbidden, and you will have Scathia to answer to!"

Solus grinned, holding back his initial attack.

"Sure! Lead the way," he rumbled, walking past the two undead and out of the room.

"You'll soon lose your cheery demeanor," grinned one of the undead as he followed him outside. Grabbing Solus' arm, he tried to drag him away. Solus resisted for a second, grinning when the undead turned in surprise. Then he ripped his arm free and walked in the direction the zombie had tried to drag him.

"No need to touch me, just show me the way."

The undead cursed under his breath and rushed after him. "You will regret that," he said through gritted teeth before pointing towards another stair.

Solus just smiled and followed the other's direction. A half dozen guards that had been waiting in an alley rushed after them. Surrounding Solus, they led him along increasingly wider staircases and across spacious roads until they reached a large square. An immense staircase led up the mountain, and Solus nodded.

So that's where she is. If they had just told me she was on the mountain, I could have found her myself…

Increasing his pace, he stomped up the staircase, not holding anything back. Every step caused cracks to appear as parts of bone cracked off and shot around.

"Hey! Stop that!" one of the guards roared, rushing forward.

Without looking, Solus slapped him back down the staircase.

"I'll get up myself. You can go back to whatever you were doing," he said before jumping up four steps and causing a small boom that was followed by screams and dull thudding.

Looking behind, he saw that the Yellowplates had been blasted back. They lay in a groaning heap on the foot of the staircase. Grinning, he increased his speed, destroying most of the staircase as he moved up.

It took him only moments to rush to the top. Ignoring the undead that stood gathered in front of the entrance, he stomped forward, shoving them out of the way.

"Who's that?" someone mumbled, followed by undead rushing out of his path.

"Doesn't he know he has to wait?"

"He is going to get punished!"

Solus passed below a tall gate and stepped into a spacious chamber. He took a quick look at the six statues that stood three at each side before turning to the large throne. A few undead guards stepped forward, blocking his path.

What is up with those thrones, he thought before stopping dead in his steps. A fleshy undead with pale skin and sunken cheeks stared at him with her piercing red eyes. Looking back to the statues, Solus saw the resemblance.

This must be Scathia, he thought.

"Do you like it?" a soft, melodious voice asked, silencing the hushed murmurs. It vaguely resembled the one he had heard in Skulltown, strengthening him in his guess.

Thinking for a moment, Solus nodded. He did like them, although more the idea of statues than what they depicted.

Scathia laughed, getting up. Her pale wyrm leather robe hung loosely around her body, seeming a few sizes too large. As she walked down with a lit pace, she crossed more distance than her small size suggested she should. Looking at her feet, Solus saw that they never actually touched the ground.

Great, she can fly. Why can everybody but me fly?

Stopping a few steps away from him, at the top of the deep staircase, she grinned down at him.

"As we haven't been properly introduced, and as you had me at a disadvantage the previous time, let me introduce myself."

Scathia bent her head an inch, a scanty grin drawing her already tout face even closer around her skull.

"I am Scathia the Lich, soon to be a real Lich… with your help."

Solus sniffed and looked around. The other undead stood between the statues, staring at them with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces.

"Solus," he replied.

This whole fake act was getting under his skin. Although he wasn't feeling any odd emotional outbursts, he was starting to get annoyed. Turning his attention back to Scathia, he frowned.

"I came here because you couldn't tell me how to close the rifts before. If you could tell me now, I'll leave and let you go back to being a Lich.

Scathia laughed softly, her red eyes glowing brightly.

"You don't seem to understand, but that is fine. Let me explain."

She glided backward to her throne, this time not even bothering to fake walking. Sitting down with a stiff back and risen chin, she snapped with her fingers.

"To stop the rifts is something only I can do. But only after I get a certain object."

Solus frowned as he felt his emotions roil up and down suddenly. Something was wrong. Gritting his teeth, he took a step back. Although she seemed weaker than he had anticipated, something about Scathia had him on edge.

"What object?" he said, hearing dozens of feet from all around him.

"Oh, not anything grand. At first I had thought I would need to dig and dig and dig for it, but now it seems there is no more need for that!"

Solus sensed something pushing against his mind, a sensation similar to when the World Elemental spoke with him. As if she could read his mind, Scathia continued.

"All I need is a mana-core, and your World Elemental's one will do nicely."

The last part of her sentence was hissed, and a humming, singing sound came from her.

Solus knew he was in trouble. He tried to jump forward and grab Scathia, but he couldn't. His body was unresponsive, and his mind grew fuzzy. At the same time, he felt something clamped around his mind. All he could do was move his eyes from left to right. Grunting, he reached for the stone of the mountain, but at the moment he touched it, something severed his connection.

"I don't think so!" A rough voice said, and Solus felt hands grab him, trying to drag him away. Although he could feel the pressure, they still lacked strength, and after a second, he heard a curse.

"Everybody, get here and carry this heavy pile of bile away! If the spell ends before he is incarcerated, we will be in trouble!" the rough voice roared, and many footsteps sounded. Solus felt hands touching him everywhere, a sensation he knew right away he loathed. Pushing as hard as he could against the mental bonds, he felt not even the slightest give.

Someone shoved him, and he fell forward. In a flash saw the square bone board lying on the ground in front of him. He slammed into it and heard it crack and tear.

His head to the side, he could only see in one direction, and there was a skeleton kneeling beside the plate. Its eyes were blazing green as it touched the plate, and a moment later, the plate hovered up in the air.

"He is too heavy. I need help." An emotionless voice spoke, and another skeleton stepped beside him, and then another. The wobbling plate stabilized, and Solus saw the world turn.

"Hurry! Carry him up!"

Solus saw everything move and slide around as they pushed him somewhere, up a staircase and through a door. He was shoved through a tunnel and up a long winding staircase that seemed to go on forever. Finally, they moved him into a room, and when he crossed the threshold, he felt a tingling in his fingers. Groaning, he tried to wiggle them and felt them respond slightly. Then his whole body began tingling.

"Hurry, he is breaking free!" A panicked voice screamed.

Feeling his whole body slowly return under his control, Solus tried to push himself up. Half raised, he struggled as the skeletons rushed him into another room and put him on the ground. Angrier than he had been in a long time, Solus pushed himself up, ready to rip the undead apart. He saw he was in an enormous oval room. Below him on the ground was an elaborate pattern, a few times his body length in all directions. Feeling the ability to stand return, he scrambled up.

In front of the large pattern stood a large group of heavily breathing Yellowplates and a half dozen skeletons.

Gritting his teeth, Solus stomped forward, and the group backed up. But when he reached the edge of the pattern, it was as if he hit a solid wall. Bouncing back, he shook his head to clear it. Stretching out his hand, he felt a smooth surface. He struck it as hard as he could, but besides a loud solid thud, nothing happened. Looking at the pattern, he knew it had to have something to do with it. Raising his foot, he slammed it down, hoping to crack it. But like his blow, his foot just caused a thud.

"Don't bother! That's a holding pattern of the ancients. It was made to hold Dreadknights and Skullroars. A feeble demi world elemental like you won't even be able to dent it," Scathia said as she moved into the room, leaning heavily on a Yellowplate. Her face was paler than before, and she stumbled a few times.

"How do you know what I am," Solus growled, putting his hands against the invisible barrier and pushing.

"Leave us and send the Immaterial," Scathia said, waving the others away. The Yellowplates rushed off, dragging the skeletons with them. They closed the door, shutting any outside noises out and leaving Solus and Scathia alone.

"Because I can see the status window of every entity that dares come to close!" Scathia said, lowering herself on a bone chair.

Solus felt his hairs rise, something he had never experienced before.

"What do you want?" he asked. He knew she had said she needed his mana-core, but he didn't even know what those were.

Scathia was quiet for a while, examining his strained face as he continued increasing his pressure against the barrier.

"I need your core. With it, I can evolve into a Lich."

Solus stopped pushing, realizing he was just wasting his strength. Kicking the barrier a final time, he sat down, glaring at her.

"Why do you need an orb for that? Just get the pattern."

Scathia glared back. "Fool! If it was that easy don't you think I'd have done it already?"

The female undead closed her eyes, laying her head back for a while as she took deep breaths. Then she looked back at him, a tired look in her eyes.

"Why don't you just cooperate? Without that core, I can't evolve again! And that means I can't create a large enough pattern barrier to stop the chaos-rifts. Without a barrier, the rifts will continue to appear, spewing their mindless spawn until we are all destroyed."

Solus growled and shook his head. She wanted him to just lay down and surrender? Never!

"Fool! That dying world elemental is the last of its kind! As soon as it dies, the last defense this planet has will be gone."

Frowning, Solus shook his head, but in confusion this time. "Dying?"

"Yes, it's dying! The only reason this planet remained unmolested until this time is because that thing was here. God knows where it even came from..." Scathia gazed in the distance, seeming lost in thoughts.

God? Solus got a few confusing concepts from his memories that made no sense to him. Some mighty being that could do anything and was all-powerful?

"Give me your core… I promise I'll keep your silly Skulltown safe after! I will even let Drys keep command as one of my subordinates," Scathia said, looking at him as if she expected him to conceit.

"No. Why don't you just evolve another world elemental!"

Scathia shook her head, a sad look on her face.

"You don't understand. I don't need a world elemental! I need a mana-core! Besides, undead that can evolve into world elementals are rare, almost unique… the fact there is a single one here can be counted a miracle."

Thinking of his pattern, Solus frowned.

"Why? Can't we just give any random undead my pattern and be done with it?"

"Where are they…?" Scathia muttered as she ignored him and stared at the closed door. After a moment, she turned to Solus.

"Fine, we might as well talk some more until they get here. Perhaps it will give you some comfort before your destruction," Scathia said, following quiet as she seemed to collect her thoughts.

Looking around the room, Solus searched for any rock or metal. Although he couldn't sense far, his senses seemed able to penetrate the barrier a little.

"You've probably seen some of those red skeletons that throw flame?" Scathia asked.

Confused and wondering what those had to do with anything, Solus turned his attention back to scathia and nodded.

"Any being, undead included, can be created with an elemental attuned mana-field. If this happens, and which one is gained is random, and not even the ancients knew how to create them at will. Fire is the most common amongst all undead attunements while things like electricity, earth, and water are almost unheard of."

Solus immediately thought of Galg, the skeleton that had lightning running through his skeleton. In such a small area, there were already him and Galg. It couldn't be that rare, could it?

"If you give an undead a pattern that requires elemental attunement that it doesn't have, it will explode. Now, what I need isn't an elemental attuned undead per se. What I need is a mana-core, and those only exist in undead that have evolved four times or more times. Four consecutively stronger evolutions. Branching out or diversification doesn't count."

Solus was about to say something, and Scathia raised a hand to silence him. "Before you ask why I don't just evolve some random undead four times, I can't!"

Solus had wanted to ask something else but remained quiet for a moment. He could see the anger and helplessness on Scathia's face for a moment. Then they disappeared, as she stared at him.

"To evolve beyond the third time requires the absorption of a mana-core. Unless," and she pointed at Solus, "you happen to be an earth affinity undead! Those are the only ones who can evolve without the use of a core."

It was quiet in the room for a moment as Solus let everything sink in. Then Scathia stepped in front of the barrier.

"Do you understand now? Just give in! Or you will take all of us down with you!"

Solus stared at her and shook his head. Although he understood what she wanted, and even if he believed everything she had said, he wasn't willing to give up his existence just yet. There had to be a different way!

Hissing in annoyance, Scathia struck the barrier. "Enough of this, where are those Immaterial?" At the door, she stopped and looked at Solus.

"When I get back, I will get your core. Either you give it freely, or I will take it, and the second option will be painful," she snapped. Then she turned and left, slamming the door shut behind her.

Great, so now what? Solus thought, depressed. He couldn't find a single piece of sand, stone, or metal in the room, and the barrier had proven too much for him. He looked down at the pattern in anger. Perhaps he could wear it down?

Getting up, he began stomping on the ground and striking the barrier as hard as he could. Deep down, he doubted it would work, but he couldn't stay still.