Chapter 11: Splinterbound

  Arovis let the images fade as he turned to face Raiden.

  “Raiden, present the key, and I will show you the power that they left behind.”

  “Will it harm me?” said Raiden.

  Arovis considered his question seriously. After staring at him for a long moment, he said, “No, Raiden, your soul should be compatible. If you complete the process, it will not harm you. However, should you refuse the splinter after the process is underway, I must warn you that the results could be catastrophic. Are you ready to proceed?”

  Raiden hesitated as if unsure that this was what he really wanted to do. Arovis looked at him.

  “You haven’t committed to anything just yet, Raiden. Trust me.”

  Raiden took the key off his neck, and it drifted toward Arovis. It floated up in front of him. As Arovis stared at it, a flash of light burst from his eyes and passed over the amulet. He then looked at Raiden, and another flash of light shot out.

  “The key is valid. Your soul signature aligns itself with a family lineage authorized to use it.”

  The key floated up into the air and into the center of the dome, almost reaching the ceiling. Arovis gestured for Raiden to stand at the center of the room, and he complied. There was a whirring sound. Above Raiden, in place of the amulet, a blue crystal shard began to materialize. The amulet disappeared, and in its place, the blue crystal became more and more dense, starting as ethereal and then becoming more solid as each moment passed. The crystal began to glow brightly. Its light intensified until it became brighter than the sun. The light, however, didn’t hurt Raiden’s eyes, and he stared at it, wondering what it was.

  The blue crystal descended and levitated in front of Raiden. Arovis spoke.

  “This is the God Splinter. Before you lies the power of an ancient god. It is a splinter of power from the god’s very soul, a fragment of their might. By grafting it into your soul, you will become Splinterbound. You will gain power untold and begin walking the path beyond that of a mere mortal.”

  “What kind of power?” said Raiden.

  Arovis answered, “I do not know. I have no memory of the god that created this splinter nor of what power it contains. That information was kept from even me. Raiden, as far as I know, no one was ever given the knowledge that this soul fragment even existed. It seems that fate has brought you here. Step forward to claim the God Splinter, Raiden, but know this: to accept this power is to accept an oath. This splinter is special in that regard. Only one who holds its ideals can bind with it. What the oath is, I do not know. Touch the splinter, Raiden, and the soul fragment will reveal its power to you and what is required to wield it.”

  Raiden looked at the God Splinter, knowing that this was a pivotal moment in his life. It would change the course that he would take forever. Here was an unknown power from an unknown god. Even Arovis did not know what secrets it contained. Raiden slowly reached out his hand and touched the blue fragment. It was still shining brightly. When his hand made contact, he found himself pulled inside the mental world of his soul space.

  He saw his rundown home. He walked to the front door and stepped inside. The fireplace was the same as he had left it last. A simple short sword hung above the mantle. His pistol was next to it, and to his surprise, he also saw his new mana rifle resting against the wall as well. The blue flames still burned in the fireplace. As he cast his gaze about, he noticed that there was a bright glow coming from inside his room. He walked out of the main living area and into a short hallway, walking past his little sister’s room to stand in front of his own door. The glowing intensified. He opened the door.

  His room was simple and held only a bed, a chair, a desk, and a wooden chest where he stored his belongings. From the chest, a blue light shot out from the seams in the wood. He opened the chest to find the blue crystal. With an outstretched hand, he touched it. The crystal began to break apart as a blue flame burst out of it. The flame grew until it was the size of his torso. It burned with great intensity. He could feel himself being affected by the force, as if he could unravel at any moment. He hesitated and pulled his hand back. The flame grew brighter, almost as if it were unhappy with his hesitation.

  Raiden set aside his fears and stretched forth his hand once again to touch the flame. In an instant, he felt his own soul connect with the new power. It felt as if he was shaking hands with someone. The soul fragment wasn’t yet integrating with his soul. It was as if it were waiting for something. He sensed that the God Splinter wanted to show him something. He let his consciousness drift as the soul fragment created a vision in his mental world for him to see. The scene shifted, and he found himself standing in a cemetery. There were three gravestones: one for his father, who had long since passed away, and two more gravestones stood next to it. One for his mother, Kate, and the other for his little sister Amberly.

  Raiden looked around. The cemetery was empty. In the distance, the city of Galaran burned. The husked out shells of buildings littered the landscape, and a sea of bones lay scattered upon the ground.

  The scene shifted again, and he found himself sitting in the royal palace on a throne made of bones. The air was stifling, and the scent of death permeated all around him, making him feel sick. Demons and other vile creatures walked into the throne room. The creatures cackled and jeered in a twisted and sadistic manner. They continued to pour in until the room was full to the brim. They howled and shrieked as the sound rose to a crescendo. They knelt before him to chant his name in unison, but it was different.

  “Raiden Darkshroud, may you forever shroud the land in darkness. All hail the dark.”

  Raiden was horrified; he stood up and tried to get away, but there was nowhere for him to go. The demons laughed at his attempt. One of them called out to him. The horns and red skin of the humanoid demon glistened in the firelight. It pointed a gnarled finger at him.

  “You will become like us!”

  Another cried.

  “You will succumb to the darkness!”

  The scene changed, and he floated in the air far above the kingdom. He saw out over the continent at the utter destruction that had taken hold of it. The cities and forests were burned. Countless innocents had been robbed of their last life, never to respawn again.

  Raiden was mortified at the scene, unable to comprehend what the soul fragment was showing him. The scene shifted again, and he found himself back in his room staring at the blue flame. Relief washed over him. He then felt an impression from the fragment. The fragment hadn’t yet spoken to him directly, but he understood what it wanted. He felt the intent of the fragment—or at least part of its intent. It didn’t want him to become part of the Abyss, to use the power of the God Splinter for ill. It had shown him a possible future, a real future. He knew what would happen should he take the dark path and use the power the God Splinter gave him for evil.

  Next, he felt the power of the soul fragment stirring again, and Raiden was taken to another scene. He stood on a battlefield in a valley. There was an army of undead creatures before him, but they lay on the ground unmoving, shattered and destroyed. The number of the enemy was truly staggering. The might of the God Splinter was coursing through him. All around him were fellow knights and soldiers. They looked out upon their shattered enemy in the valley below. As one, they raised their arms to the sky and cheered in their victory. Raiden could feel the jubilation as if it were palpable, and he couldn’t help but smile.

  The scene shifted again, and he found himself hovering over the land. All around him, he could see the remnants of the Abyssal Realms destroyed. The tears in reality that had been bringing them to the world were disappearing. He next found himself floating over the cities, hearing cheers of victory and laughter.

  The scene faded, and Raiden found himself in his room, touching the blue flame once again. He felt another impression from the soul fragment. He understood that it was showing him the possibilities of what he could become should he accept the fragment’s power and use it for its true purpose.

  Raiden spoke aloud.

  “I will fight the Abyss.”

  The soul fragment then paused, giving him one last chance to turn back. He knew that he didn’t have long, as he could already feel his soul fraying. The power of the God Splinter was so great that just being around it this long was eroding the very fabric of his existence. A sharp pain rose within him. If the God Splinter was doing this to him before the merging of the fragment even happened. Then the pain of binding it would be unimaginable. He could feel that accepting the God Splinter would come with a price. He increased his resolve and held on to his connection with the God Splinter.

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  An explosion of energy came out of the soul fragment as it began to graft itself into his soul. His vision went white with pain. His soul was torn apart countless times. The God Splinter endlessly rebuilt it. The very fabric of the splinter wove itself through his soul like threads of fabric being sewn together. Fire; all he could feel was burning like fire, so excruciating that it blotted out everything else. He trembled; he tried to scream, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t able to move or do anything. He wasn’t even sure if he existed anymore. He didn’t know if he could take the agony any longer, but he held on. He finally forgot who he was. Time stood still for him, and the pain continued, rising to ever greater heights.

  He drifted in the pain, his ability to think also fading away. Why was there so much pain? He could just give up and let the pain claim him. Make it stop. That would be good, right? He didn’t need the pain. He was holding on to something that was causing the agony. He could just let it go, and the ordeal would end. He was about to let go of his connection with the God Splinter, but before he did, a stirring deep inside of him awakened, and a single thought rose to the surface.

  God Splinter. Hold on.

  Raiden grasped onto that thought as he held on with all he had. He pushed through the pain and fought with every ounce of his strength. The pain was so great that his thoughts began to drift again, and he forgot who he was once more. Still, he clung to that lifeline.

  Hold on… must hold on…

  In the next moment, it was finally over, and Raiden found himself back in his soul space. He was seated in a meditative stance in front of the fireplace in the living room. In the fireplace, a blue crystal sat floating in a blue flame.

  There before him was the God Splinter. Raiden intuitively knew that the crystal shard represented the God Splinter and that the blue flames surrounding it were his power as an arcane knight. He was now Splinterbound; a part of a god’s soul power had merged with his own soul. He felt incredible. A new strength was coursing through his veins, unlike anything he had ever imagined. He felt more substantial somehow, a little bit more real than he had been before, like he could interact with the world in new and profound ways. The pain that he had just endured was indescribable, but somehow he had held on. The price paid was worth it.

  As he stared at the blue crystal, a notification window popped up in his vision.

  Soul trait: God Splinter.

  God Splinter abilities:

  Devour darkness: Increase soul strength from defeating creatures tainted by the Abyss.

  Overcharge: Greatly increases your mana capacity and output for a short duration. Also restores a large portion of mana.

  He pondered over the first ability, Devour Darkness. The description was plain, if he was honest. It didn’t exactly explain how he was supposed to increase his soul strength from defeating creatures tainted by the Abyss or what his soul strength even was. But he put those musings aside, figuring that he would understand what to do when the time came. His second ability, Overcharge, was a lot more direct. Being able to increase his mana output and his total mana capacity for a short duration would give him an incredible boost in his combat ability. Maybe if he had it when he fought the giant millipede, things would have gone differently.

  He looked up to see something that surprised him. The amulet of the necklace was now resting on the mantle of the fireplace. It seemed that it had somehow integrated itself into his soul. As he examined it, a notification window popped up again in his vision.

  Item: Starshroud soul key.

  Description: This amulet, belonging to the Starshroud family line, has integrated itself into your soul. Some ruins will respond to this ancient key, giving you access to certain locations. Ruins may also power on and activate in your presence.

  Raiden thought about that for a moment. It had been odd that many sections of the dungeon that he had entered, and even a few buildings, seemed to turn on once he entered. Maybe that was the key, or maybe it wasn’t. He’d have to figure out a way to test that in the future.

  Above the spirit key rested his new mana rifle. He examined it.

  Item: Mana rifle.

  Rank: F+

  Description: Found in the ruins of an ancient dungeon. This item was retrieved from a fallen knight. Its simple yet robust design allows for rapid fire on targets. No cooldown between shots is required. Damage from this weapon is low.

  Raiden dismissed the window and next examined the sword.

  Item: Simple one handed short sword.

  Rank: F-

  Description: Old training sword of Jonathan Starshroud.

  The blade didn’t say anything else, and so he finally looked at the last item on the wall.

  Item: Old Mana Pistol of Jonathan Starshroud.

  Rank: F-

  Description: The pistol is charged by the user until it reaches its full capacity. The pistol can then be fired, dealing moderate damage.

  Raiden then stood up and walked around his soul space. As he did, though, he intuitively understood that it wasn’t necessary. There was nothing else in the soul space that required his attention, so he let his consciousness drift back to the real world. As his eyes flitted open, Arovis was standing over him.

  Arovis looked at him and smiled.

  “Well done, my boy, well done indeed.”

  Raiden stood to his feet, and Arovis gestured for him to talk.

  “Well, spit it out, my boy. What happened?”

  Raiden explained the experience and the new powers that he had gained from the God Splinter.

  Arovis nodded sagely and waited a long moment before responding.

  “Now that the God Splinter has been unlocked, I will analyze your soul to see what I can understand.”

  His eyes flashed. After a moment, he said, “Not one but two abilities. That is rare, very, very rare for a God Splinter to give more than one ability to start with. And Devour Darkness makes me think that the more enemies of the Abyss that you slay, the stronger your other soul abilities will become. I find it curious, very curious. I suspect that your God Splinter may be hiding more abilities that you have yet to unlock and discover.”

  Raiden was taken aback.

  “More abilities?”

  “Yes, and I don’t say that lightly. You must use the splinter to its fullest extent and uncover its secrets, Raiden. You will need all the power you can get. The Abyss is coming.”

  Raiden nodded.

  “Okay. Well, what can you tell me about my other ability? Overcharge.”

  “Yes, Overcharge. A powerful ability. One that will allow you to effectively increase your fighting rank in battle. Not physically, of course, but magically. Yes. Being able to increase your total mana capacity and outflow will allow you to metaphorically punch above your weight class. And being able to restore a portion of your mana instantly in battle is truly and incredibly powerful. Still, I’m not sure which god this soul splinter came from, even with the two abilities that you’re manifesting. But this much I do know: whatever god created this splinter was a powerful god indeed. Don’t take the power of the God Splinter lightly, Raiden. If you aren’t careful, it could consume you.”

  Raiden thought about that for a moment and answered.

  “Yeah. I’ll be careful.”

  “Good, my boy. Good,” said Arovis.

  As Arovis was about to say something else, the projection of his hologram flickered.

  “What was that all about?” asked Raiden.

  “I was afraid this would happen. I was designed to watch over and guard the God Splinter. And now that it has been claimed, my system is fading. I don’t have long, I suspect. I won’t be able to answer any more of your questions. For that, I apologize. I’m sure that you have many more questions that you would like answered. I do still have access to a few of my subsystems, and I can detect the presence of the Abyss close by.”

  Raiden, alarmed at the statement, asked, “Abyss?”

  “Yes, Raiden. I sense in my scans a number of insectile creatures. They’re dark, and they scuttle about on a number of legs. And there’s one much bigger creature that seems to be leading them.”

  “Well, that isn’t good,” said Raiden.

  “They followed me.”

  Arovis flickered in and out of existence for a few seconds until he came back. He raised an eyebrow quizzically at Raiden.

  “Did you fight these before?”

  Raiden nodded.

  “Yeah. I encountered quite a few of the things through my journey in the dungeon, and that giant millipede, at least I think it’s a millipede, really has it out for me. It wanted the amulet.”

  Arovis flickered out once again.

  “Raiden, I don’t have much time. But know that if the Abyss is here, that bodes very ill for your world. The Abyss was cast out of the universe long, long ago, when the universe was shattered. The Abyss must be stopped, Raiden, at all costs. How they returned is something that you must discover. But my time is also up. So I leave you with this:

  “We are deep, deep underground, and you will need a way to return to the surface. When you leave the temple, follow the road straight ahead until you reach the wall of the cavern. There, hidden in the wall, is a device that will take you up to the surface. When you approach, it will unlock for you.”

  Raiden wanted to say more, but the old man finished before he could get any words in.

  “It was good knowing you, my boy. Remember your oath to the splinter. You are now Splinterbound. Do not let this world fall to the Abyss, and be wary of its corrupting influence. The forces of the Abyss will tempt you to serve them, especially when you are at your weakest. Good luck, Raiden.”

  Arovis smiled, and his image faded away, leaving the room in silence.

  Raiden waited for a while until his mana was recovered to full, then turned back the way he had come as he shouldered his mana rifle. The walk back to the round pedestal was quick. He stepped on it, which raised him back up to the temple above.

  He looked around for any signs of the enemy, but the millipedes were nowhere in sight. He took one last look up at the murals on the walls of the temple. The scenes of the powerful beings fighting creatures now made much more sense in his mind. His eyes caught on the image of a group of gods facing off against a dark, unknown creature shadowed in the center of a sea of black mist.

  That was when he noticed the lights beginning to dim in the temple. The beam of light that had been directed down to the pedestal before was gone, and it was getting darker by the moment. He turned on the light on his shoulder and began walking out of the temple. He let the broken statues and the other details of the temple fade away from his focus. As he approached the opening that led outside of the dome, he scanned around in all directions, including up above him. The millipedes were nowhere in sight.

  The light continued to fade, and he was glad that he had turned on his mana light a few moments earlier. As the pyramid shaped cavern descended into darkness, Raiden heard the skittering of many legs all around him, which instantly set him on edge. He raised his rifle. There were many buildings surrounding the temple grounds, which answered Raiden’s question of where the enemy lay in hiding. Taking a deep breath, he remembered his oath.

  I will fight the Abyss.