Last Time On The First and Last Emperor

  Solis and the other survivors decide to explore the jungle, only to be met with a horrifying sight. It appears that while their group was safe, other pockets of survivors were not so lucky, and several human corpses were being carried off somewhere unknown. Not only that, but there also appeared to be an [Elite] level 15 monster roaming the central area of the jungle with snaking arms at least 15 feet long. While the [Elite] appeared antagonistic towards the Crickets, it was clearly still a monster.

  To find other pockets of survivors, the group decides to ditch the slow construction and safety of the domes and follow the cave wall directly, but they are ambushed by a new variant of cricket that can shoot spikes from a distance and by those that burrow underground and lie in wait for prey. Solis is hit by the first volley, losing control of his [Circulation] skill and taking on a massive amount of corruption. Still, somehow, Solis manages to cut off the group of survivors from the swarm and deal with his own monsters, barely surviving. Solis pushes the group onward still, coming up with a travel method that balances safety and speed by injecting as much mana into the environment as possible to help with mana regeneration time.

  While traveling, Dimitri talks to Solis, understanding that Solis has killed before or, at the very least, is an experienced fighter based on previous battles. Dimitri confides in Solis about his first kills in the military, and Solis opens up about his past. Solis, through a flashback, reveals that he and his sister are from a cult called "The Celestial Heir". Solis's father is a madman obsessed with fulfilling his own fake prophecy and ended up getting more than 100 women pregnant in hopes that one would give birth under a solar eclipse. Solis is the successful result of his father's madness, and as such was named "Solis" after Solar Eclipse. Solis and his sister escaped when they were 12 and 8, respectively, with Solis acting as a surrogate father while he tried to give them a normal life. When Solis turned sixteen, he attempted to emancipate himself, which put him in the legal system, and the cult immediately found him. Cult members were sent to kidnap Solis and his sister to bring them back, and in a fit of desperation, Solis kills them and is forced to sever all contact with his past life, with the sole exception of his sister.

  Chapter 21 - New Home

  "I've already been tasked to do what trillions of souls could not. In comparison, what is a request such as this? Difficult? Unlikely? Impossible? Mere words. Now watch, and bear witness."

  - The First and Last Emperor

  In a sweeping overhead arc, the glowing steel head of a sledgehammer crashed against the rock wall with the force of a small explosion. Layers of exposed stone disintegrated into shrapnel, and the rock beneath cracked, came loose, and tumbled down to block the crawl path that led into their cavern. Johan cursed as he stared at his [Energy] and [Mana] levels. Despite only activating [Body] and siphoning [Energy] into his attacks at the start of his swings, his pools were dangerously low.

  130/638 [Energy]. What a joke. He could barely stand or keep his eyes open, so how in the world could he still have a sixth of his energy left? If the System had a Willpower stat instead, he'd be better off.

  "Rocks," he called out, the noise painful. He must have gotten stone in his throat; no other explanation for how scratchy it felt. Three days. Two nights. He had been fighting that entire time. The crickets had been held at bay all that time by collapsing the pathway bit by bit, but every time the monsters took the losses, they licked their wounds and started excavating. Each collapse widened the pathway a little more, letting more and more monsters try to push through.

  A pile of rocks was shoved into the gap. A young boy, not older than twelve, breathing heavily, turned and sprinted back to the cavern, making way for the convoy of others to place more stones down.

  If only he had fighters instead of women and children, he could hold the line longer, or at least get some sleep.

  The rock wall bulged, and Johan shouted a warning for the others to get back. The collapsed tunnel buckled in a rockslide, and Johan was forced to pull a woman back and shield her from the impacts.

  "Go," he rasped. "Upper tunnels. You." He pointed at one of the older boys nearby, around fourteen, and held out his hammer. "Protect 'em once you're up there, kill a cricket or two for me."

  The survivors didn't need any more prompting. The woman, likely the kid's mother, grabbed her boy, and they began running back to the cavern and, hopefully, to the upper tunnels beyond.

  Rising from his kneeling position, Johan turned and stared at the set of mandibles flailing through the gap it had just made. Stepping up the precarious, loose collection of stones, Johan grabbed onto the inside of the mandibles on either side and began to strain. He was stronger than the monster, and he pressed them further apart until they wouldn't stretch any further. Then he pushed [Energy] into his muscles, and he heard a crack and the sweet shrieking of the cricket.

  He held the two broken mandibles in either hand, giving one of them a twirl.

  "Not much of a weapon, but it'll have to do."

  Silence settled over the space after Johan had bludgeoned the monster to death with its own body part.

  Long and uncomfortable was the lack of noise. The wave should have come by now. They should've broken through, swarmed him, and torn him limb from limb, but they hadn't. His eyes flickered, and next he knew he found himself leaning against the cave wall.

  He wanted to sleep. He had gone enough, hadn't he?

  If he had another fighter, or if any of the other survivors could adapt better and pick up a weapon to help him.

  If only if only.

  The pile of rocks shook, then stopped.

  Here they come.

  Johan righted himself and raised his makeshift weapons. He was ready, but instead of monsters he heard... voices?

  "How many rocks did they need? Oh, this one's dead!" a young voice, smooth as honey, chimed.

  Johan frowned, unsure if the exhaustion had just taken him over into the realm of illusions, or worse, if the monsters had some way to mimic human speech.

  "Who's there!" he called out.

  "Hello!" the voice said again, the slight surprise not hidden at all. "My name is Solis. We- well, I was doing a little scouting in the jungle. We saw monsters filing inside this crack in the wall and figured we'd investigate."

  Johan paled, and he rushed forward, grabbing fistfuls of rock and tossing them to the side. "Get in here. There are hundreds of them out there and—"

  The man threw a chunk of rock away, enough to peek in, and was almost blinded by the LEDs of a lantern. Looking past the light, he saw six wary faces staring back at him. Not fearful, just wary. They looked more like they were walking through a dangerous park rather than being hounded by monsters.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Oh, that?" a young man with a full head of shining golden hair beamed at him. "Don't worry about it. Good idea to block them off with rocks, but solid stone works better. They shouldn't be able to break through. They're kind of dumb. Care to step back a little bit? Wouldn't do to accidentally bury you in all of this as we widen the gap."

  Johan just felt dazed and, with a frown, stumbled back down the hills of rock and back further.

  A moment later, dust filled the narrow passageway as the barrier completely broke down. Then, immediately stepping through the opaque cloud was the young man with golden hair. He wore a strange hat that looked like a cross between a cowboy hat and a sombrero. "Nice! It's good to meet you. Like I said, my name is Solis. What's your name, friend?"

  "Uhh, Johan," the man said, more than a little dumbstruck at the sudden change of events and the young man's friendly demeanor.

  "Well, Johan, it's nice to meet you. With me, I have the lovely couple Ira and Dimitri, the two young ones are Ana and Hans, and last but not least, we have Samir. He's a doctor! Between you and me, though, I hope his specialty is unneeded," the young man beamed, finally letting go of a handshake Johan hadn't realized he was in until that very moment. "We have some food and water, more than enough to share."

  "Water?" Johan latched onto the word right away. He was parched, painfully so. His rising excitement fell instantly as a plastic water bottle was produced with only a few droplets at the bottom. Then his eyes widened as the few droplets multiplied rapidly, filling up the container.

  "As much as you can drink!" Solis said, a gentle pat on the back re-orienting him towards the tunnel where the rest of the survivors were no doubt panicking. "Walk with me," Solis continued.

  Supported by Solis, Johan stumbled down the path, and as expected, the survivors were in a frenzy, yet somehow moving impossibly slow. Most were in the process of making the steep climb up to the higher levels. Still, the ones that weren't either were grabbing everything they could or lying on the ground -- either having given up or not having the strength to move.

  "Samir?" Solis said. "Do you have experience with crowds like this?"

  "Yes," Samir nodded. "Johan, you are known to these people, yes? When I say so, you just need to give them the all clear."

  Samir raised his hands, making them fully and clearly visible. "EVERYONE," the doctor's voice boomed in a deep, yet somehow soft tone. "Johan is safe, and now so are you! We need your attention. If we have your attention, please get the attention of those around you!"

  Johan felt a soft nudge on his shoulder and took that for his cue: "All clear!" He bellowed, then after a moment. "We have supplies now!"

  Some combination of those actions got everyone's attention. The fleeing people stopped, and the panicking people -- while still fidgeting -- weren't actively running.

  "I am a doctor working with Doctors Without Borders. With me, I have some helpers. We have water and some food to pass out. More than enough for everyone, but first, we need to ensure that everyone who needs medical help can get it. We'll have two lines. Injured who can move in one, if there's an injured person who can't move, send someone in their place. The person sent will also recieve water, they'll tell us where you are, and we'll come get you. The second line is for everyone else, you also get water. Food will come a bit later as we need time to prepare it. We'll line up on this right side of the cave."

  Many looked to Johan, and the man felt another nudge on his shoulder. "They do have water, and we should be safe." He confirmed.

  "Solis," Samir began, "you have enough mana correct?"

  "Yep!" Solis said, "might have to make a few trips back and forth, but it should be enough for everyone to get a quart."

  The doctor nodded, and Johan grew interested in the byplay between all of them.

  "Translate... Ira and Dimitri be near me and help with conflict de-escalation where possible. Hans and Ana stay with Solis, help him with [The Endless Spring Droplet] when you can."

  "Aye aye cap," Solis laughed and began walking to the front of an already hastily forming line with the two siblings.

  "Ira, help Johan walk? Johan, I will treat you first, but after that stay with me and offer words of assurance when appropriate."

  "No offense, but I'm about to pass out."

  Samir seemed to scan his body for a moment and then nodded with a stern neutral expression. "Understood, we will keep you nearby just in case, and may have to wake you if there's an emergency. Do you have a second or someone you trust?"

  Johan shook his head, "Didn't say more than a couple words to these people. One of the kids has my sledge hammer. Him being nearby might help. I don't know."

  Then he lost consciousness.

  "What the hell just happened?" Hans asked, unsure if his question was directed at Solis or his sister.

  "We call that de-escalation," the older boy shook his head.

  "Oh... why? There are no crickets here, and we're safe?"

  Solis thought for a moment, finding a good stone to use as a seat, "Dunno either, but we can ask Samir later. Okay?"

  "Yeah, sure," Hans answered noncommittally.

  The next few hours were a drag, mostly consisting of Solis following a script.

  "Hello, my name is Solis, nice to meet you, what's your name?"

  "Do you have a container you can store water in?"

  If so, Solis would take the container, pour a little of the [Endless Spring Droplet] into it, and then infuse it with mana to create more water.

  If not, Solis would then ask if a close family member or friend had one. If yes, that person would be brought up to the front of the line, and then the container would be filled with enough water for both people. If not, Solis would have them borrow a plastic water bottle, drink, and then return it, promising that they'd work something else out after everyone got a little liquid back in them.

  When Solis did run out of mana, he'd call Ira or Dimitri over. They'd stay with him and his sister while Solis went to refill his mana, and the line slowly grew impatient. After a little bit, Solis would come back to repeat the cycle.

  Over and over again.

  All the while, Hans and Ana did nothing but stand there.

  "I feel useless." Hans confided in his sister.

  Ana pursed her lips, staring at the seemingly never-ending line. Both of them had already decided that people who had already gotten water had gotten back in line, and weren't sure why Samir or Solis weren't saying anything.

  "Solis," Samir said, having stepped over. "Can I get a top off?"

  Solis nodded and clasped hands with Samir for ten seconds before breaking contact. "That work?" Solis asked.

  "Yes, thank you."

  Then Samir went back to his patients.

  "We should go train," Ana finally responded, looking back at the pathway they had come from.

  Hans agreed with his sister; they were halfway back towards the cave network when soft, yet solid hands landed on both of their shoulders. Both siblings froze as they recognized the light pressure as Ira's.

  "Translate... You two wandering now? Solis has been a bad influence, I think. There are kids your age here." Ira gestured to a particular corner, where a group of three was playing with what looked like marbles and whispering to each other. Even though they were playing a game, their features were downcast, their gaze almost shrunken, and their shoulders small.

  Ana blanched, looking between the kids and Ira, "Hell no. These people are depressing."

  It took around four hours for Solis to pass out water until everyone was satisfied. He had been slowly making a stone pipe that led from their corridors to the cavern every time he went to refill his mana. Eventually, he connected that pipe to a closed-off room with a sort of airlock that he or Samir could step into anytime they needed to top off their pool. Solis, of course, needed to rebuild the airlock every time since he still couldn't make moving mana constructs, but it beat having to walk back and forth all the time.

  After the final person got the water they wanted, Solis was tasked with one more job: filling a large pop-up with water and discreetly bringing in a couple of crickets for cricket soup. Ira and Dimitri were on cooking duty, and they made sure to be extra careful not to include any of the shell in the soup, and only the meat, and even still only in small chunks.

  When that task was done, Solis found himself with free time, which was an odd feeling after the hectic day they all had just had. At first, he just stood there lamely. There were some girls around his age, but he found he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

  Still, he forced himself to do so, walking from pocket to pocket of survivors, asking them questions, regaling them with watered-down tales of how he got onto the mountain and then how they found the cave at all. Through it all, he animatedly waved his hands and dropped his voice low at the appropriate spot in the story. He did such a good job that some of the younger kids began to gather and watch with rapt attention as he gave an age-appropriate account of the past week's events.

  When he was done, they clapped, and some looked awed, if only slightly. It was there, looking at everyone's gaunt, tired, emotionally exhausted faces, that it clicked for Solis.

  They had a lot of work to do.

  Making a show of looking around the cavern, Solis smiled, "Nice place you guys have here, but not much privacy." He motioned for a spot on the floor, then manifested flat, smooth stone, and, on top of it, a small showroom of an apartment. "I don't need any of you to be interior designers, Gods knowns I'm not, but how about making you all some homes?"