Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Ethereal Trip

Ryun’s sense took in everyone around him, the full assault team, as they walked toward the portal leading into the Ethereal Realm. Everyone was fully geared, ready for a fight. He had read their screens, knew what they could do. He wasn’t really surprised by anything; he had expected powerful people. From his part of the team, only two lacked ideals, Zacharia and Nahamassa, from the Empire’s only their healer—Gentle Touch.

But such things didn’t always equate to power. Ryun’s own ideal was and could be powerful, but it wasn’t suited for every situation. He hoped that they would all be useful against their foe, but they knew so little. Already it was clear to Ryun that they had little information on the Dome Leader, almost nothing. The Empire’s people had managed to enter its lair only twice, and they didn’t return for fear of their way in being discovered. They knew so little, and yet… there wasn’t much that they could do to change that. There was no time for it.

Their mistake was clear to Ryun. The great failing of people, the arrogance, the greed, the stupidity. The inability to accept change, to adapt and take decisive action. In the core, it had manifested as a way for them all to try and get more, more power, more territory, more wealth, to take advantage of the chaos that the deaths at the tournament brought. From what the others told him, half of them didn’t even believe that the dome monsters were even a threat. The sad part was, that Ryun could understand that. If he hadn’t been there, hadn’t seen the monsters with his own eyes, he probably would’ve done the same.

It wasn’t even hard to see how it happened. If the majority believes in something, it was far harder to change their opinion. They would follow blindly simply because it was easier. Individuals might be smart, be able to see the danger and perhaps even decided to help, but the masses? The majority? They were not, the collective of people was stupid, and ignorant.

It was the sad reality, that most people were followers. They held their idols up and followed their lead, too afraid of thinking on their own. It was sad, and it was what separated the great from the average. Most all people in this world that Ryun had any respect for were those who made their own paths. Who chose to grab power and take more.

This mission was not different at all. Yes, it was to save the world, a lofty goal, but for Ryun it was more than that. Why should it not be? It was to save his people, to protect what mattered to him. But it was also about the opportunity to leap ahead again. To be the first again. This world had robbed him of that, there was nothing left to be discovered by him, no great first titles to be gained. This was a chance to accomplish a great feat, like the one that Zacharia had. That was what made them different than the others, even now, the old and the powerful looked down on them. He saw it in their eyes. Some might have respect for the power that they held, but few understood. It was not age and it wasn’t even their advancement that made them strong. Zach and Ryun had something that all of them lacked. The unbreakable will, forged in the death of a world. They didn’t advance fast because they were better at learning than others in this world, or so much more talented. They gained power because they did not allow the world to break them, to shape them into the drones that most have become.

He could see it in Zach too, even though he tried to ignore it, to pretend. It was clear to Ryun that Zach didn’t yet accept that there was nothing in this world that could break them. He ran and hid, trying to be a part of the world that he would never belong to. They were apart, and they would never thrive unless they carved out a piece of this infinite world for themselves. Zach feared that part of himself, the part that was capable of hunting a monster that he had no chance of defeating. The part that was willing to sacrifice lives of others for power, the part that was willing to stand at the back and watch his friends be broken before his eyes just for a chance at a single strike.

But Ryun knew that a time would come, when he would accept it. Perhaps then, they could be again what they were before.

The first few entered the portal, and the others following closely behind. Ryun was at the back of the line, behind Selia and Erdania. He watched as Eratemus and his undead crossed and then the rest until only he was left. He hesitated for a moment, he was never one to consider the odds, to pause in the face of overwhelming might. He knew the truth of this world, that no matter how much power one had, anyone could fall. With a sigh, he took a step after them.

The moment of transition made his head spin. One moment he was sensing a courtyard, a city filled with people, and in the other it was gone. The change was instant, but it took his sense a moment to recover, and then he could sense the world around him. It was… different. He opened his eyes and saw a scape that looked like the city he was just in, only… nothing felt real in his sense, not in the same way that it had a moment before. And he realized why. Everything was made out of the same… Essence. This world was fake, a mirror image of the real one. To his eyes, everything he looked at was the same color, it was hard to discern what things were, his sense had to fill in the difference. There were traces of other Essence, but too little to change anything. There was no air, no light, everything was a thick mist of the Ethereal Essence. He couldn’t see anything with clarity. For the first time in a long time, he felt blind. Without his sense, he would’ve been unable to even grasp the shapes around him.

And then, as he settled and adjusted, he felt something else. He froze in shock, and then relief.

“Ryun? What is it?” Selia spoke. He blinked and saw her walk back to him, sensing his emotions through the bond. Erdania looked back from a few steps behind her.

Ryun closed his eyes and reached for his perk, then frowned.

“It’s Ereclaw,” Ryun said. “He’s here.”

He had known that he was alive, even though he couldn’t quite explain how. He still had the perks that he gained from their contract, though one he couldn’t use even when he tried. Now… his Send Thought perk worked, but…

“I can’t reach him,” Ryun said.

Selia didn’t say anything, she just stood near him.

Ryun tried again, and again the same thing happened. He felt as if he sent the thought out, only… it didn’t reach Ereclaw. Before, it didn’t even want to trigger. He tried again, closing his eyes and focusing on the perk, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“Something is…” he narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the perk. “Blocking me?”

Selia tilted his head. “Contract perks like that… that would be hard to block.”

It was obvious now that the perk only worked in the same realm, but… he was certain that Ereclaw was here. And he was certain that something was blocking his perk from reaching him. He turned his head, looking, searching, but it was hard to tell direction for some reason. It was as if this entire realm was constantly shifting, moving like a wild ocean.

“Everyone hurry, we don’t have much time,” Anashi yelled, motioning for everyone to gather.

A part of Ryun wanted to go out and search for Ereclaw, but he knew that there wasn’t time. Just knowing that he was here was going to have to be enough. He followed after the others as Anashi led them out of the city and into the desert landscape outside of the walls.

“We won’t have much time,” she said as they walked. “The Ethereal moves constantly, it changes shape and form, areas move and new ones are created constantly. I can stabilize that, and push the world around us instead of us having to traverse it, but our biggest issue is time.”

She glanced back, looking at everyone else. “The trip will last an hour at most, for us. On the outside though, we can step out a minute after we stepped in, or it can be days, months even. I should be able to limit the difference, but… in the end there are no guarantees in the Ethereal.”

They continued walking in silence for another few minutes until they reached the top of the largest sand dune around. Ryun looked back and sensed the city still there, or its reflection. The outside wasn’t the same, of course, there were no farms here as there were in the real realm, only the city was firm, everything else felt as if it was… less real. To his eyes the landscape was just a painting in the same tone.

“Everyone gather near me,” Anashi said. “You need to be close.”

Everyone shuffled around her, getting close enough to touch. Eratemus took to the sky and had his griffin hover above them, near enough that Ryun could almost feel its wings brush over them. His undead closed the circle around them, almost pushing them in.

Anashi raised her staff and then used a power.

The world around them shifted and Ryun lost his balance. His sense was sending him so much conflicting information, changing too fast for him to gather. It made him… if he still had a real body, he would call the sensation, nausea, but it was not. The effect was similar.

He slumped and felt two sets of arms catch him, hold him still. “Ryun, what is it?” Erdania’s voice came from his right.

“What is happening? My sense is… going haywire,” Ryun whispered.

“We are moving,” Selia answered. “Or the world is moving around us.”

He had no way of knowing if that was true, not that he didn’t believe her. It did feel like the world was spinning around him. He grimaced in discomfort, it was… a weakness, one that he hadn’t known about. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he had discovered this in battle. Now… he would need to think of a way to remedy this, somehow.

So, he stood there, held up by Selia and Erdania, and suffered while the Ethereal expert moved them toward their goal. He couldn’t even feel the others standing around him, he was truly blind. After what felt like days to him, they stopped, and the world around them settled. Slowly, the image of the world around him came back to him. They were standing on top of rocks, jutting out of the ground, or at least Essence shaped in that manner.

“We are here,” Anashi spoke. “Once we cross here, we will be in the city of the Dome leader. Somewhere on the outskirts, the exact location changes, but not too far at least. The city hasn’t existed in the real realm for long enough to make an imprint here, but the location is fixed. I’ve been here only once before,” she continued. “The city is made in a circular manner, and at its core is a large open square with a massive throne in the center. We will find the Dome Leader there.”

“The city should be mostly empty,” Erik added. “Most of the enemy forces are at our Wall. They had taken over the fort that we had guarding the Dome, some of the monsters that can breed others are there. The city has only a few patrols of lesser monsters, probably because the Dome Leader doesn’t realize that we can reach it like this.”

Ryun tilted his head, but it was Zach that asked the question.

“Why not?” He said.

“The entire city is protected against teleportation powers. No one should be able to enter the city without getting past the fort and the monsters there,” Erik responded.

“How are we getting in then?” Zach asked.

Erik just glanced at Anashi.

“I am the only one that can,” she said and Ryun understood. Her ideal, it was meant for this. No wonder they didn’t have a lot of information about the city, they could only do this so often, and each time would risk detection and letting the enemy know that they could do this.

“Good,” Eratemus said as his griffin landed near them. “This is our last chance before heading into danger, make sure that you are all ready. We find the Dome Leader and we attack, no holding back, no waiting, no talking with it. Just unleash everything that you have at it.”

“Agreed,” Erik said.

Ryun nodded. Fights to the death did not last long in this world, and Ryun had learned that holding back could mean the end. Often, the one who used a powerful move first was the one who won, unless the other had something that could counter it.

Now, they were about to go against a foe that they knew precious little about.

“Ryun, Selia, Vryull,” Eratemus spoke. “If the battle drags on, and the monsters arrive, we are going to need you to keep them occupied, prevent them from overwhelming us.”

They nodded, they had already known that that was their role in the fight. Though, if they caught the Dome Leader alone… they would strike at it first.

Everyone made last minute checks, and once all were ready Eratemus looked them over. “Drink your potions.”

Ryun started pulling potions out of his storage like everyone else. Ones that increased his stats, his regeneration, others that made his skin harder and heightened his senses. It took them several minutes to drink them all, and by the end of it Ryun felt himself filled with more power than he had held ever before.

“Do it,” Eratemus said once they were all done.

Anashi narrowed her eyes and pointed her staff in front of her, and then she used her ideal.

—Clear Pathway—

The world in front of them twisted, a gash appeared and then widened, changed into a round rift. Essence spilled in from the real world, and they all charged through without any hesitation. Into the city of the Dome Leader, a city of monsters.