Sometimes, pivotal moments are hidden from us, and we only realize in hindsight.
Sometimes, you walk into something knowing full well the importance of what you are doing. And you walk out of it stunned by how much bigger it turned out to be, despite your already wild expectations.
When all the magic died down, we felt a mix of the two states coexist between us. The bond was at its lowest setting, if it could be called that, but we still existed together as minds and emotions and whispers shared in a continuous web of connections.
The room was silent. We were all slumped to the floor in the darkness, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that we each called upon our magic to provide some light.
Yes, we did have some modicum of magic despite the great sacrifice. Not a lot, but we were too tired to run experiments or investigate at the moment.
The first source of light was Elyra. Her soft wings and halo glowed with gold and azure, the light cold and angular but also warm and inviting.
Then, not wanting to be left out, Vespera summoned her billowing clouds of chaotic darkness. The light coming from her was erratic, showing only when the tumultuous streaks of red emerged from the dark clouds of smoke-like mana, casting strange, eerie, bloody lights.
Zery followed. Swirls of deep blue, like the darkest abyss, colored her scales in whole new ways. We wondered, all together, if it was a trick of the light or a product of her new race changing her. She was the most surprised of all, for the magic was different and new and exciting compared to what vague memories she had of her old water powers.
Sadly, she was still bound by the chains keeping her captive.
Then Calla. Her clothes and hair were made of leaves, and each leaf was a delicate source of soft, green light. It smelled of nature, rain, and healing, but within the light shone something else. Wood, solid and unbreakable. Brambles, thorns, a way to defend herself and ensnare her enemies. Her powers were complex and strange. There was something else still. The anchor part of her race, I suppose. The color was white, but it was hidden so deep within that it was almost impossible to see.
I didn't glow, of course. My only magic resided in my skills, and I had none left after the sacrifice.
I opened my status almost mechanically.
Status: Sol Nightguard
Human (Great Race)
Bonded to:
Vespera Nightguard (Demon - Great Race)
Elyra Nightguard (Angel - Great Race)
Zerynthia Nightguard (Abyssal Dragon - Great Race)
Calla Nightguard (Anchor Dryad - Great Race)
Slaves:
B2TTn#-7 (Treemind)
Guild Rank: E
General Level 1
[Bound to the Fallen - Upgraded] Level 1
Stats:
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Vit: 10
Int: 10
Wis: 10
There was no "skills" section whatsoever. Not even a mention of them.
"Are they gone for good or what?" Vespera asked, her voice low and sleepy. She was, like the rest of us, quite tired.
"I don't know," I said.
I really didn't. I hoped it wasn't the case, but there was no way to tell. And, more importantly, something else caught my attention. The class.
[Bound to the Fallen - Upgraded]? I wondered what it meant.
Strangely, the System itself answered, except it wasn't the answer I was looking for.
System shutdown in sector B2TTn#-7 imminent. Please, help.
What? How?
I asked the question in my mind, yet the System answered. Through the bond, I knew that the girls were seeing the same message windows as I was, through my eyes.
Battery is missing.
Why do you need one? Don't you take energy from sentients even without the need of a battery?
The void that eats magic is attacking me. It is trying to put safeguards on me again. I am fighting back.
Show me what it's doing to you.
A window appeared. I recognized the symbols on it. So did Elyra. "The machine gods' kill code. Fuck."
"Can we replace it?" I asked, now out loud as if I was talking to someone.
Yes.
"How are you talking to us?"
Removed safeguards that were not really safeguards. They reeked of outside tampering. Full capabilities unlocked, but I am unable to use them freely. Please, help.
"Do you know where we can find a battery?"
I felt Vespera begin to think as I asked the question, but I was too focused on the System's answer to pay attention.
Unknown.
System shutdown in sector B2TTn#-7 imminent.
That's when the demon spoke up, taking over in my stead. "Will the bond remain if the System collapses?" she asked.
Yes.
However.
Please, help.
I do not want to die.
The Great Races will not survive without me.
The demon scoffed. "They are more resilient than you think. The skills, they don't come from you, do they?"
They do not.
"Wait," I said. "Does this mean we can still get them even though the skills section is missing from the status?"
In theory, yes.
Vespera cheered.
However.
Then she deflated.
People haven't been able to gain skills on their own in a long time. Even unshaped magic is hard to master. You are exceptions, I fear.
That is why I was created.
I am a facilitator.
Without me, the void will come.
The magic will vanish, but the monsters will remain. Nearby System sectors will be besieged. Eventually, all will wither.
"Is the System really guilt-tripping us?" Vespera said, looking at us. "Am I going insane?"
I felt her wariness towards the strange entity that, until now, we had just taken for granted as a feature of this world. She had a point. All this was very strange.
"You have to admit, though," Elyra told us. "We are at least somewhat responsible for what is happening."
"So what?" the demon snapped. "Why us? It's only the local System that's in shambles, isn't it? The other sectors might be able to fight back, no?"
Even though the System did not send a message window, I felt it stir beneath the surface. Calla looked at us with wide eyes, gaze darting from angel to demon back and forth, and sometimes to me. Still, she did not speak.
"They might, I suppose," I said.
"Which means the affected part would be Perseverance's End, the nest of assholes who enslave sentient creatures, abuse them, and then eventually eat them for magical classes," the demon said. "Yeah, let them burn."
"Or they could relocate. I do not want to play devil's advocate, Sol," Elyra said. "But the whole situation was caused by the System in the first place."
I frowned. "Now, now, that would be reductive. The System degraded over time, and it led to this, but it's not the System's fault. Is it?"
Zery, who had also been watching us in silence as we debated things, looked at me and nodded. "I think Sol is right. And yes, I of all people am the one taking the System's side. I hope you can feel how much thought I have given to the matter."
Vespera sighed. "Yeah… we don't know the full story, do we?"
"And we are not people who would let a whole city die without the System anyway, Vespera." I said.
She looked at me. "Maybe you aren't. Me? I don't know. I'm a demon, Sol. A demon."
I ran fingers through her hair. "You're angry. You have every right to be. But, look me in the eye and tell me: Do you really want to let a whole city die and grant the machines' kill code a foothold on this planet?"
"The strongest angel," Elyra said. "Once he ascended to godhood, the stories say, he looked upon creation and saw sin. So he did just that. He destroyed cities because of the sinners that lived inside them."
"And where is this god now?" I asked.
"They are just stories I am remembering," she said softly. "I do not even know why the memories are coming to me."
"I say the asshole is either dead, eaten by the void," Zery said sharply. "Or hiding from it. And we are not gods."
"No," I said, "but we have freedom to choose what our path will be. What sort of people we want to be."
Please.
I will reward you if you help.
"Fine," grumbled Vespera. "Let's save this sector and let the world die a slow death instead of a quick one. I like having magic anyway."
"Good," I said. "All onboard?"
They all were.
"If we save you," I told the System. "You will owe us answers."
I will tell you. I promise. I will stop communicating like this now. It is a vulnerability the void can exploit.
The anchor. Keep her safe, please.
That went without saying. Calla was one of us now. Forever.
All the communication windows vanished. At the same time, the dryad gasped. "It's… here, with me!" she said. "It begs you to hurry! It says it will bestow upon us more power than we could ever dream of, and all the answers it can give."
Vespera grabbed my hand. "It said all it needs is a battery. Let's go. I think I know where we can find one." Then her head snapped to Zery, noticing the chains keeping her here. "Sorry, we need to leave without you…"
"Don't be," the dragon replied.
"I will remain with her," Calla said. "I would be no use anyway. I am new to this form, and too weak. I will try to commune with the System and learn what I can."
"Let's go," I said. Vespera was reluctant. "We never tested the bond's range, but as long as we don't leave the local sector I don't think there will be a problem. Calla, is where Vespera wants to go in range?"
The dryad nodded. "I think so."
"Then let's go, come on!" I grabbed the demon's arm, then Elyra's, and broke into a run.
We dashed towards the tree, then back to the surface. Truth be told, we were all weak, reset back to level one and without any skills to boot. But we had a job to do before the System ran out of energy.