Sofia was growing terribly impatient, restless. She phased through the second door and started running through the facility she found herself in. The many robot monsters on the way succumbed to a merciless rain of electric scepter slams and Pareth punches.
It was strange to see the environment so damaged but the monsters roaming it be untouched. They really reappear then. Observing how the walls and floors of the facility were in places where monsters roamed, it seemed that what killed them were mostly fire-based attacks. In some places, there were also deep lacerations, like clean cuts made by a sword, tearing straight through the walls.
Some kind of bladed weapon. Is she not using spears anymore?
Delving deeper and deeper into the strange undersea factory, the monsters eventually stopped appearing.
This is it. This must mean she lured the monsters from here to the boss room.
So close.
Now…
Sofia retraced her steps a few hundred meters back and sat behind some large brass vats in a dark corner.
“What should I do…”
Uncertainty. Should she give Saria the fight of her life to help her grow, but potentially have to wait two more months in anguish until the fake world decayed if she lost. Or, forego that entirely, and finally get what she had been after for so long, right then and now.
“What would she do…”
Sofia knew full well what Saria would do, or what young her would have done, at least. She was not one to let go of any opportunity she could find. She would have wanted to have that fight for sure. But was she even the same person now, almost fifteen years later? Sofia felt that she herself had changed a lot. Would Saria even recognize her? Believe that she was who she claims to be?
Pareth stood still as he observed Sofia getting lost in the endless doubts she couldn’t get rid of. His eternal silence was nothing special, he rarely communicated in any way.
Today he broke the status quo on his own accord.
Reaching down, he grabbed Sofia from under her arms, like one would grab a young kid. He forced her up.
W- What’s gotten into you?
Pareth locked eyes with Sofia, he unhanded her, taking a step back. He answered her doubts in his own way. His halo appeared over his head. His armor of light slowly formed around his bones. Spreading his arms, he summoned not one but two weapons of light. A sword and a shield.
Two?!
I’m not the only one making improvements, I see.
You want to fight, then?
You’re right, we should. This is what Saria would want too… Let us do this well, then, my knight.
Nothing short of the best she could give. Sofia wanted to go all out. Three runes, refilling the mana with Bookie’s summons and [Heat Death], waiting for his fog to regenerate as well, making extra sure she had a large stock of stored bones. Everything needed to be perfect.
When she finally felt about ready, she didn’t yet go.
“Now for the last step. Let’s become someone else.”
Sofia activated her bone armor. She waited for it to be well in place, then she started to work. [Bone dominus] let her reshape her armor however she wanted, so far it had mostly been used to remove the helmet, but today, she would become a necromancer of legends.
More skulls. Visible ribs… I can fit animalistic skulls on the pauldrons too.
Thicker build. Square torso. Let’s become a man, for once, because of the armor, as long as I do not speak, she won’t be able to tell. The soles could be a bit thicker too, I need to look tall and imposing. The helmet can be a bit scarier still, I can change the slits for holes. The mana senses and Pareth give all the visibility I need.
Let’s alter the wings to look more like Erredis’.
After a few minutes of work, Sofia admired her piece of art from Pareth’s eyes. If there was one thing she knew how to reproduce with her bones, it was actual bones.
Oh, man… No one would ever think it’s a woman inside. This reminds me a bit of the magisterium. He was pretty scary, in his own way.
I wonder if there are too many skulls? Hmm… I’ll test the mobility and if it’s alright, this will be it. The bone armor alternative design 1: Saint of Death.
Sofia made her way through the corridors that were free of monsters. She wasn’t sure where the boss room would be exactly, but every so often she would find stairs leading down, and that felt like a safe bet. The underwater facility looked more and more dilapidated the deeper she delved, and still there were no monsters. Until finally, at the edge of her mana senses, she felt it.
Someone.
Come back out, Pareth. Lights off, be ready to activate [Sanctified grounds] but it’s best if you look like a regular undead until the last second. She fought against Victory too, and that was a while before us. We can assume Saria to be on our actual level, she also has two specializations. This will be tough.
Sofia closed her eyes, she took a final moment to calm her heart. The soft jingle of Ormoncleth’s bell on her staff helped to soothe her mind in the silent atmosphere of this old deep-sea dungeon.
It is time.
The person Sofia was looking for was in a very large room, slightly elevated, at the end of a long and wide unlit corridor.
With a heavy and deliberate gait, Sofia walked to the boss room, the rusty metal sheets of the floor creaking under her every step.
About midway through the corridor, the mass of mana in the center of the room beyond moved up a bit. Saria had been sitting down on something, she stood up.
You felt my arrival, Sister. I wonder, how much can you see?
Are you ready to receive me?
Sofia did not stop. The heavy steel doors of the boss room loomed closer, Saria no longer moved.
I need to properly announce my arrival.
[Skull Choir]
Six flying human skulls appeared in a circle above Sofia’s head, slowly rotating. There is my own halo. Now, skulls, Victory’s orchestra.
The uncanny voices of the skulls rose, their song spreading far and wide in this metallic facility, their endless echoes filled the air.
Sing louder!
[Graveyard of the righteous]
The skulls above her head were chanting the music Victory’s ghosts played atop the ranking tower. Sofia followed their rhythm, and, grabbed by dozens of skeletal hands, smoothly walked through the heavy steel door as if it weren’t there to begin with, Pareth entering right behind her.
Through the holes in her visor, she could see her.
Saria.
Standing alone, straight like a pillar, on top of a burned and mangled giant mechanical spider, she was waiting. Saria, wearing a mask representing the head of a dragon, looked at the two newcomers from above.
Sofia raised a hand; the skulls stopped chanting. They spoke one by one, each saying their one word in a different voice that echoed through the vast dome-shaped room.
“We finally found you, rank two.”
Saria jumped down from the remains of the mechanical boss, landing gracefully on the ground. She took a few steps forward, her voice was clear and firm from behind the mask, “And you are?”
“The one to dethrone you. I am Vakariazrehafin, Apostle of Sorrow. Ranked first in the spire. Dragon mask, I have come to challenge you. I shall be your demise!” the skulls proclaimed in unison. Sofia tapped the floor with her scepter and started channeling a bolt as she spread her skeletal wings.
A discharge of mana erupted from the dragon mask. Blue flames covered Saria’s body for an instant, leaving behind a giant blue polearm and heavy armor as they faded. Sofia instantly understood that it was an ability similar to Pareth’s armaments of light. Her hair livened behind her back, like rustled by invisible currents, she was suddenly enveloped by an aura of blue light, and even more surprisingly, a large red circle appeared around her feet out of nowhere.
Saria then simply put her guard up, pointing the tip of her fauchard forward. Facing Sofia and Pareth, she beckoned them, “Then come.”
Sofia was growing terribly impatient, restless. She phased through the second door and started running through the facility she found herself in. The many robot monsters on the way succumbed to a merciless rain of electric scepter slams and Pareth punches.
It was strange to see the environment so damaged but the monsters roaming it be untouched. They really reappear then. Observing how the walls and floors of the facility were in places where monsters roamed, it seemed that what killed them were mostly fire-based attacks. In some places, there were also deep lacerations, like clean cuts made by a sword, tearing straight through the walls.
Some kind of bladed weapon. Is she not using spears anymore?
Delving deeper and deeper into the strange undersea factory, the monsters eventually stopped appearing.
This is it. This must mean she lured the monsters from here to the boss room.
So close.
Now…
Sofia retraced her steps a few hundred meters back and sat behind some large brass vats in a dark corner.
“What should I do…”
Uncertainty. Should she give Saria the fight of her life to help her grow, but potentially have to wait two more months in anguish until the fake world decayed if she lost. Or, forego that entirely, and finally get what she had been after for so long, right then and now.
“What would she do…”
Sofia knew full well what Saria would do, or what young her would have done, at least. She was not one to let go of any opportunity she could find. She would have wanted to have that fight for sure. But was she even the same person now, almost fifteen years later? Sofia felt that she herself had changed a lot. Would Saria even recognize her? Believe that she was who she claims to be?
Pareth stood still as he observed Sofia getting lost in the endless doubts she couldn’t get rid of. His eternal silence was nothing special, he rarely communicated in any way.
Today he broke the status quo on his own accord.
Reaching down, he grabbed Sofia from under her arms, like one would grab a young kid. He forced her up.
W- What’s gotten into you?
Pareth locked eyes with Sofia, he unhanded her, taking a step back. He answered her doubts in his own way. His halo appeared over his head. His armor of light slowly formed around his bones. Spreading his arms, he summoned not one but two weapons of light. A sword and a shield.
Two?!
I’m not the only one making improvements, I see.
You want to fight, then?
You’re right, we should. This is what Saria would want too… Let us do this well, then, my knight.
Nothing short of the best she could give. Sofia wanted to go all out. Three runes, refilling the mana with Bookie’s summons and [Heat Death], waiting for his fog to regenerate as well, making extra sure she had a large stock of stored bones. Everything needed to be perfect.
When she finally felt about ready, she didn’t yet go.
“Now for the last step. Let’s become someone else.”
Sofia activated her bone armor. She waited for it to be well in place, then she started to work. [Bone dominus] let her reshape her armor however she wanted, so far it had mostly been used to remove the helmet, but today, she would become a necromancer of legends.
More skulls. Visible ribs… I can fit animalistic skulls on the pauldrons too.
Thicker build. Square torso. Let’s become a man, for once, because of the armor, as long as I do not speak, she won’t be able to tell. The soles could be a bit thicker too, I need to look tall and imposing. The helmet can be a bit scarier still, I can change the slits for holes. The mana senses and Pareth give all the visibility I need.
Let’s alter the wings to look more like Erredis’.
After a few minutes of work, Sofia admired her piece of art from Pareth’s eyes. If there was one thing she knew how to reproduce with her bones, it was actual bones.
Oh, man… No one would ever think it’s a woman inside. This reminds me a bit of the magisterium. He was pretty scary, in his own way.
I wonder if there are too many skulls? Hmm… I’ll test the mobility and if it’s alright, this will be it. The bone armor alternative design 1: Saint of Death.
Sofia made her way through the corridors that were free of monsters. She wasn’t sure where the boss room would be exactly, but every so often she would find stairs leading down, and that felt like a safe bet. The underwater facility looked more and more dilapidated the deeper she delved, and still there were no monsters. Until finally, at the edge of her mana senses, she felt it.
Someone.
Come back out, Pareth. Lights off, be ready to activate [Sanctified grounds] but it’s best if you look like a regular undead until the last second. She fought against Victory too, and that was a while before us. We can assume Saria to be on our actual level, she also has two specializations. This will be tough.
Sofia closed her eyes, she took a final moment to calm her heart. The soft jingle of Ormoncleth’s bell on her staff helped to soothe her mind in the silent atmosphere of this old deep-sea dungeon.
It is time.
The person Sofia was looking for was in a very large room, slightly elevated, at the end of a long and wide unlit corridor.
With a heavy and deliberate gait, Sofia walked to the boss room, the rusty metal sheets of the floor creaking under her every step.
About midway through the corridor, the mass of mana in the center of the room beyond moved up a bit. Saria had been sitting down on something, she stood up.
You felt my arrival, Sister. I wonder, how much can you see?
Are you ready to receive me?
Sofia did not stop. The heavy steel doors of the boss room loomed closer, Saria no longer moved.
I need to properly announce my arrival.
[Skull Choir]
Six flying human skulls appeared in a circle above Sofia’s head, slowly rotating. There is my own halo. Now, skulls, Victory’s orchestra.
The uncanny voices of the skulls rose, their song spreading far and wide in this metallic facility, their endless echoes filled the air.
Sing louder!
[Graveyard of the righteous]
The skulls above her head were chanting the music Victory’s ghosts played atop the ranking tower. Sofia followed their rhythm, and, grabbed by dozens of skeletal hands, smoothly walked through the heavy steel door as if it weren’t there to begin with, Pareth entering right behind her.
Through the holes in her visor, she could see her.
Saria.
Standing alone, straight like a pillar, on top of a burned and mangled giant mechanical spider, she was waiting. Saria, wearing a mask representing the head of a dragon, looked at the two newcomers from above.
Sofia raised a hand; the skulls stopped chanting. They spoke one by one, each saying their one word in a different voice that echoed through the vast dome-shaped room.
“We finally found you, rank two.”
Saria jumped down from the remains of the mechanical boss, landing gracefully on the ground. She took a few steps forward, her voice was clear and firm from behind the mask, “And you are?”
“The one to dethrone you. I am Vakariazrehafin, Apostle of Sorrow. Ranked first in the spire. Dragon mask, I have come to challenge you. I shall be your demise!” the skulls proclaimed in unison. Sofia tapped the floor with her scepter and started channeling a bolt as she spread her skeletal wings.
A discharge of mana erupted from the dragon mask. Blue flames covered Saria’s body for an instant, leaving behind a giant blue polearm and heavy armor as they faded. Sofia instantly understood that it was an ability similar to Pareth’s armaments of light. Her hair livened behind her back, like rustled by invisible currents, she was suddenly enveloped by an aura of blue light, and even more surprisingly, a large red circle appeared around her feet out of nowhere.
Saria then simply put her guard up, pointing the tip of her fauchard forward. Facing Sofia and Pareth, she beckoned them, “Then come.”
