Of Prices Paid in Blood

There was something oddly serene about the surety of ****. Somewhere, a thousand years ago, in a game, John had heard something along those lines. Perhaps “chilling” would have been a better word, but he’d long since lost where one stopped and the other started. Regardless, it was strangely calming to have accepted it.

His ears rang as he took another deep breath.

Though his body was worn, barely standing in front of Ela and Moira, The Gamer’s mind was racing. The fog within had cleared, fresh clarity brought forth by his conviction. With laser eyes, he stared across the store as the Firebard’s boots crunched over broken glass in a march towards them. Behind him, he dragged his tortured phoenix.

John grimaced as the man stopped on the far side of the store. 'He's got the range advantage on me, even if he doesn't know it exactly…

Unfortunately, in his previous stupor, The Gamer had dropped his staff, and the [Lesser Air Burst] gem within it, back at Ashcroft. While [Lesser Earth Spike] was still good, its range was even shorter, something he was painfully aware of now.

'His attacks were enough to push Moira, so I probably just die if I get hit at all. Odds of me closing the gap are low. Even if I could create a new attack with enough range, I need to make sure that he can’t get to Ela and Moira. They’re defenseless right now, so my stand is here. I have to protect them…'

As the first scraps of a plan began to form in his mind, John’s conversation with Ela the previous day rang in his mind. ’...My powers offer me flexibility. I can make skills and upgrade them completely on the fly… What do I-’

The Firebard twitched suddenly, reaching for something behind his back, drawing The Gamer's attention.

BANG

John didn’t flinch, his limbs bristling with ice as he called upon his [Lesser Frost Wall] just in time to catch the bullet. He stared through a clear patch on the snow-dotted sheet of ice which slowly cracked and popped from the **** of the shot. His vision was locked absolutely on the man who’d fired at him, the man who’d put Ela in this condition, who’d led this attack on them.

The Firebard scowled at the wall before shoving his gun back in its holster and pulling up his guitar. The instrument screeched as he **** its tuning into check, pouring his own mana into it to amplify the sound in lieu of his destroyed equipment. As the fire mage prepared his song, The Gamer raised his hand in front of him, allowing his refinement orb to float ever-so-slightly above his palm.

He’d formed a simple enough plan. The orb allowed him to upgrade a skill to the highest tier of gem refinement he’d seen. He had no spell he’d trust alone at this point, but he was also allowed to combine up to two additional gems into it, augmenting the newly evolved ability. His mind now raced back through every skill and talent he’d acquired in his short time as a mage, trying to find the best combination.

John flicked through his menus as quickly as he could, ideas coming together, piling atop each other. ’I need to protect all of us… start with the base of a shell. [Jagged Earth Dome] will be the central skill to refine…

’[Lesser Frost Wall] had an anti-fire upgrade,’ he thought, juggling his skill gems around. ’It’s not even really resistance, just removing a weakness, but maybe it will weight it some way… I dunno…’

’It has three slots for fusing, I should use them all…’ Without hesitation, he added his [Ice Surge] to the orb, hoping that he might get more raw strength out of it, since that was his most powerful offensive ability. ’Whoever you are that gave me these powers, whichever goddess, please let this work…’

With his selections completed, the orb began to swirl with energy, ancient mana leaking from within it. It drifted away from him, floating on its own strength. All the strange, esoteric shapes that traced themselves across the impossibly smooth orb lit in unison, a single, brilliant teal color. The bands of metal that surrounded it lined up, placing all his skill gems in a row before they turned to dust and dissolved into the center. The orb itself warped and expanded, revealing its brilliant core.

The frost wall in front of him melted away into slush as its gem disappeared.

An aurora of light lit the store around him as John reached forward to grasp a gem that emerged from within, gently floating towards him. Knowledge washed over him as the new skill etched itself into his being. In spite of himself, a dozen emotions ran through his body - fear, elation, pure joy - all refilling his body with life again. He sported an almost mad grin as his refinement orb slammed dead to the ground, cracking the tile where it landed.

Success was a rare feeling this morning.

The Gamer rolled his new gem over in his palm. It was perhaps the prettiest gemstone he’d ever seen before - stark white, pristine and unblemished, but also glowing a faint light blue from within. The stone was immaculately carved into a perfect sphere, wrapped in a cloak of metal. Intricate cascades of ice, not unlike his now lost [Ice Surge], had been formed from a radiant silver-colored alloy. They seemed to move as he looked at them, a never-ending wave of ice spiraling around the orb at the center.

He could feel it thrum with energy in his hand, like nothing he’d ever felt before.

He was given no time to check for any potential talent upgrades; a wave of heat shot across the store, washing away the vibrance of his skill enhancement. A powerful chord seemed to rattle the walls as the Firebard began to play, the injured phoenix walking forward from behind him, spreading its wings, flames dancing along its back. The purple gem impaled into its heart crackled with sinister black energy.

A second note shook the world as the mage’s song began.

John almost chuckled - he recognized the walking guitar notes at the start. This song had plagued him for years in Guitar Hero.

The Gamer quickly socketed his new gem into the amulet he’d found the previous day. He exhaled heavily, a disquieting weight resting on his shoulders as he prepared himself. Sparks began to drift past him, the faintest embers that had fallen from the Firebard’s enslaved beast as it took flight, its entire, brilliant coat of feathers exploding into a cape of flame. A single flap of its mighty wings sent gale’s of hot wind all around the building.

John mumbled the lyrics as he put a hand over the locket around his neck, outstretching his other arm. “...On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light…”

He held a fist out, palm up, then stretched out his middle and index fingers, curling them slightly. Though he didn’t know what the sign he was making was, he could feel in his soul a connection to the spell he was channeling. “...In the flames of ****’s eternal reign, we ride towards the fight…”

The flaming phoenix dove as the music began to crescendo. The tiles around John cracked and popped as they froze over. The air itself grew heavy with frost. Water condensed on the nearby aisles, steaming as the mystical creature’s attack approached. A small snowstorm began to form around The Gamer and his injured party members as he called forth his newest ability.

“CRYO ALCHEMY! SWIRLING MIRRORJADE BARRIER!”

The world almost seemed to halt as frosty winds turned to whirling ice in an instant. A single, clean sheet of ice formed the first layer of the dome around them before waves of slush and snow began to flow around it, freezing into great spikes and crags of ice, filling out a mighty barricade.

The phoenix, now a being of almost entirely fire, crashed into the flowing walls of John’s defense, sending out a hissing wave of steam and smoke as it tried to sear into the alchemical barrier. Tendrils of flame crept around the icy structure, searching for any weakness. The surrounding shelves were blown away by the clash, clearing a distinct impact zone around The Gamer’s defenses. When the phoenix found the wall unmoving, it moved to fly around the makeshift fortress. Around and around it spun, spewing flames in all directions.

John held fast, as frozen in his stance as his barrier was. He pushed his mana into the barrier as the Firebard tried to melt through it, repairing it just as fast as it could be damaged. Sweat began to run down his forehead as the concentration of his defense tested his mental fortitude. All he could think of was the people he needed to protect.

The music again began to crescendo, the flames of the phoenix growing wider and more wild. The fire it left in its wake trailed farther and farther until it began to meet itself in the swirl around the ice dome. Brilliant yellow flames darkened to deep orange and bloody red. Rising, the beast dragged the flame with it, stretching out a great tornado of fire that rose from floor to ceiling, wrapping around John’s ice barrier.

The floor outside the construct had begun to melt to paste, slowly turning to glass from the sheer heat of the gangster’s spell. The support beams around the building began to groan and pop and warp as the temperature continued to rise. Still, the bard played on, his **** only growing in strength and intensity. The flaming funnel now completely engulfed the barricade of ice.

The Gamer fell to his knees, but he still refused to break his sign, pouring the mana he had left into the barricade faster and faster. His head ached, shots of pain driving themselves into his skull as he tried to process incoming damage from all directions. He clenched his jaw, activating his [Unawakened Eye] ability. Shakily exhaling, John allowed the sudden clarity to flow over him.

He was awash in a sea of mana. So much of it surrounded him that it made him nauseous. Swallowing uncertainly, the anxious nerd allowed himself to sink into the feeling around him, then, he sought a point to focus on. The phoenix’s mana was a burning beacon in the ocean of life, so vibrant and easy to identify. As his focus narrowed, his headache began to pass, his concentration winning out as he **** himself back to his feet.

Closing his eyes, The Gamer honed in on the weakest parts of his barrier, refilling the thinning parts of the dome with concentrations of mana. The flow of snow and frost that surrounded his barrier reformed, fleshing itself back out again. A thin layer of frost crept along the inside of the barricade as its temperature dropped. Spires of ice drove away the flaming cyclone. With all the will he could muster, he pushed back again.

Something was wrong.

Pain shot through John’s body as he tried to keep casting, his eyes beginning to burn. Agony. He nearly toppled over as he tried again. Will alone was not enough.

He realized with a growing sense of dread that he was out of mana.

Shaky confidence evaporated as he was reminded of the cruel reality of the world. He was weak, he was low level, and he was spent. No more did the ocean flow. The great wellspring within him was dry. The seabed was empty, and there was nothing else to be found.

His enhanced vision faded. The phoenix was melting through. All he’d done wasn’t enough.

’Not yet…’ he thought, staring at his outstretched hand in horror ’This isn’t it…This can’t be it…’

A single drop of water fell from the top of his barrier, landing on his arm.

John’s eyes widened. ’I need more…

He thought of Ela and Moira and his mother and his father and all the future he wanted to have with them. Dark thoughts threatened to seep in again. He swallowed hard, biting his lip. This time, he was ready to ignore them. The Gamer needed to think of something useful, to figure out if he had anything left still to give to try and hold the line.

Something dawned on him.

The very thought sent a chill down his spine, but he had nothing else left. ’...I can turn mana into health. Why not reverse it?’

Concentrating, he turned his mind inward again. This time, it was not to find his mana, but something else. He focused on the sensations of his [Mend the Flesh] skill, remembering the feeling of using his mana that way, of allowing the natural **** of life to find its way home, and then he pulled it back.

Doubling over in pain, he coughed into his elbow. Warmth. Blood.

John kept going. Deeper and deeper he went, until he found what he was looking for. He reached into his soul and scooped out the strength he needed. Immediately, he went light-headed. He almost collapsed from the pain. He let go of the amulet he’d clutched in one hand, covering his mouth as another, far more intense bout of coughing ensued.

He was spewing blood freely at this point, the bitter taste of copper nauseating, but he didn’t care - he could feel the metal of a skill gem in his hand among the pooling fluid. Clutching it, he allowed the skill to flow into him, etching itself and its black purpose into his being. He didn’t bother reading the skill - he knew what it had to do.

Wretching, the blood overflowed from his hand, running down his face and onto his shirt. Wiping his crimson mouth on his wrist, John whispered, as if he feared the words themselves, “...Somatic Alchemy: Blood Transmutation…”

He lacked the understanding of language to describe how badly it hurt. He cried again, but he could feel the power now. The ocean within was no longer empty, it was on fire. Where once the cool of fresh mana had flowed, now burned the flames of his own life ****. The Gamer shed a single tear of blood as he **** his [Unawakened Eye] to activate again.

Agony was his power now. He cut nearly half of his already waning health bar off right away, fueling a full repair of the [Swirling Mirrorjade Barrier] that was keeping him and his friends alive. The ice of his dome bristled and crackled with life. The snow swirled once more, the storm growing darker. Even the drops of water that had started to form inside had frozen over again.

John’s whole body shook as the **** continued. He swore a chunk of the roof collapsed nearby from the waves of heat the cyclone was giving off. ****, he coughed up fresh blood as he again traded his health away, the flaming tornado pressing close once more. The pain seemed to grow even further, the chilling cold of his own spell biting away at his flesh.

The flames within him dwindled, the last cinders trying desperately to cling to light.

A phoenix’s pained cry roused John from his inward focus. The fiery **** wavered for the first time in minutes. Taking in the music around him, The Gamer realized something. ’...He’s rushing!’

He could feel it now, as the beat found its way to his heart. The Firebard was beginning to make mistakes in his play! Not many, but he heard him miss a note. As the seconds passed, he played faster and faster, the rhythm slowly collapsing. John didn’t dare to wonder if desperation had gripped his opponent as it had him, but he did find a renewed confidence. The pain seemed shallower with a light at the end of the tunnel.

A hand on his back got his attention.

Turning, he found Moira once more on her feet. The Shield Warden was unsteady, but the color had returned to her skin, the radiance of holy magic once again adorning her. John’s struggle had bought her enough time to recharge, if only a little. The gunshot wounds in her side were patched over now. For a moment, he stopped to be impressed, as it seemed a much cleaner mend than she’d been able to perform earlier.

Then, he noticed something.

His heart caught in his throat as he looked behind her. Ela Grzmot stood shakily behind the Warden, the blonde’s own hand glowing with vibrant green mana as she wove shut the gash in her ribs. The Bookworm Knight and The Gamer locked eyes for a moment. She offered a soft smile to him that took away all the pain he felt. John returned a sloppy, messy, happy smile as relief washed over him.

Stepping forward, Ela placed her hand alongside Moira’s, offering a resolute nod.

John turned to the front of his barrier. Everything had been worth it. He took a deep breath, and dialed himself in, allowing the music to flow around him. He’d played this song for months on end in his youth - it would end soon, and, hopefully, the Firebard’s spell with it. Behind him, the blonde channeled her healing spell into him, her mana slowly patching him back together, filling him with strength as he poured his own life into the barrier around them.

Moira reached upwards, pressing the face of her shield into the roof of John’s ice barrier. “The Lady’s light protects us… In her holy name, this barrier WILL NOT FALL!”

Golden light enveloped the barrier, bolstering the strength of the frozen dome. Snow and slush merged with radiant glory, all the cracks and imperfections filled with blessed power. The gilded aura extended over the trio within, easing their pain, uniting their strength. Together, they held the flames at bay.

Swirling ice stood fast against raging fire. The flames of the tornado swelled with the song’s climax in a final attempt to sear through the alchemical ice, to no avail. His barrier now was reforming faster than the phoenix could damage it. As the song hit its final refrain, the flames began to wane, their deep, crimson red fading.

Even that brief respite was cut short as the music began to warble and distort. In a last attempt to prolong the tornado and wear through the ice, the Firebard **** more and more of his mana into his guitar amplifying his sound to an ear-splitting, eye-watering level. He attempted to freestyle, extending the song as best he could. The flames along his strings grew, crackling, slowly leaking onto the rest of the instrument and his coat sleeves as the pressure grew.

Any sense of “music” was lost as wave after wave of sound battered The Gamer’s barrier, the phoenix’s pained cries joining the chorus as the tornado grew again, unstable waves of fire flying off in random directions, scorching blackened swathes across the devastated store. The ****-bringing wall of orange-red flames seemed to flicker and warp, flaring up as it struggled to maintain its shape.

John nearly buckled under the sudden increase in pressure, his legs shaking, his whole body trembling as chills ran down his spine. Dueling energies swirled within him as he struggled to balance the incoming healing from Ela and Moira with his [Blood Transmutation]. A distant part of his mind wondered if they knew what he was doing.

He never had to finish that thought.

Pops and cracks caused ripples across the barrier. The music stopped. The Firebard’s instrument had given out on him, the strings of his guitar snapping one by one in protest of his senseless attempt to exert his will upon them. His own fire climbed up his sleeves, out of control. The flaming tornado petered away. The wounded phoenix dropped from the sky, its energy spent, crashing down into a nearby shelf.

John's eyes widened as relief met anxiety.

“JOHN!” Moira called from behind him. “DROP THE BARRIER!”

He shuddered as he allowed himself to finally relax on the Warden’s call, breaking the sign he’d held for minutes on end. The snowstorm subsided. The swirling frost of his barricade melted away as he cut off its mana supply, allowing the alchemical strength to fade from it. Water dripped around him as his fortress of ice relented.

“Follow me! We can take him now!”

The redhead was already dashing past him, Ela immediately at her side. Crashing shield first through the weakened wall, the pair of women rushed forwards to blitz their assailant in his moment of weakness. John tried to follow, but his legs wouldn’t answer his call. John stumbled, every muscle in his body suddenly paralyzed. Light-headed, he fell to his knees, the exertion finally catching up to him.

The Firebard’s eyes widened in panic as the Warden and Bookworm Knight sprinted towards him, golden radiance bouncing between them as they gained speed. He threw down his ruined instrument, trying to draw his gun in time to stop them. He got off only a single round before the bearer of the Blessing was upon him and it bounced harmlessly off her unbreakable shield.

She slammed her whole body weight into his midsection, lifting him off his feet on her shield. He dropped his gun, which clattered loudly to the floor next to him. The gangster cried out in pain as the air was **** from his body, his ribs cracking under the pressure. Moira cleared the way for Ela, shoving him backwards into a half-melted metal display stand.

The blonde dashed to the side, grabbing the discarded guitar and gun off the ground before joining the fray. Jumping up, she brought the man’s instrument down on his head with her whole body weight, smashing the delicate wood into pieces over it. This time, it was his blood that splattered the ground. Ela whirled around, slapping the man sideways with the barrel of the pistol he’d dropped as the Warden moved in again.

Her holy fist smashed the man back the other way, snapping his jaw shut. The Firebard tried to raise his arms to protect himself, but Moira brought the top of her shield into his stomach again, doubling him over as he fell backwards into the display, coughing up blood.

The Bookworm Knight charged into the dazed mage, picking him up bodily and slamming him backwards. Metal screeched as she poured mana into her muscles, forcing the whole thing backwards as she jammed the pistol into his gut. Shot after shot rang out as she emptied the clip into him, the heat-softened metal slowly bending as she pressed him into it. She let go of him only for the Warden to bash the face of her shield into him again, sending him and the distorted display tumbling over.

He lay there, among the broken junk, unmoving.

As the women pummeled the bard, John tried to get moving. He took a deep breath, searching for any of the energy that had carried him through the clash, mustering just enough to get uncertainly to his feet. The Gamer shook his head, trying to dispel the haze. Looking over, he found Moira and Ela already standing over the Firebard’s body.

He closed his eyes for a second, allowing himself to believe that they were almost free.

A weak cry caught his attention. Blinking his eyes open, he looked over, finding the fallen Phoenix not far away. It writhed in pain, the crackling crystal in its heart constantly shocking it, trying to **** it to get up and defend its master. The creature was simply too injured to move. A wave of sadness and melancholy washed over him.

“...Too much **** today…” he muttered, stumbling over towards the fallen creature.

Even in its dying state, the mystical beast was beautiful, brilliant reds and yellows forming a wondrous, sun-like gradient across its feathers. If only it hadn’t been subjected to such horrors. Kneeling in front of it, John tried to reach out, but the beast snapped at him, crying out in pain. Determination overrode what little pain the phoenix could still inflict.

With all the care he could bring, The Gamer drew his damaged knife from his inventory, ignoring the scratches he received from the bird as he cut through the razor wire cutting into it. Line after line he severed, slowly unwinding the torturous metal from the creature’s chest. When finally that task was complete, he set his knife aside, reaching for the crystal embedded in its heart.

It shocked him, a cruel jolt of lightning trying to stop him, but he didn’t care. With the strength he still had, he pulled the gemstone free. Casting it aside, he looked back at the creature. Blood began to seep from its wound, but it no longer writhed in agony. It looked up at him, the same calmness that he’d felt earlier in its eyes.

The phoenix weakly dragged itself forward, resting its head on John’s bloodstained hand. He cried as he brushed its tarnished feathers. As he did so, the phoenix began to heat up, vibrant light peeking through cracks in its body. Its flesh smoldered, but did not burn The Gamer as it burst into flame. Weak yellow-gold flames engulfed the creature as it turned to ash.

In John’s hand was left a single feather.

He closed his fist, shedding a few final tears for the creature.

Then, his UI erupted with color. Moira’s health bar glowed a vibrant rose red as it refilled, the decorative flower that rested upon it opening ever slightly more. Ela’s overflowed with verdant greens, lines of energy crawling up and down her bar as it returned to full. The purple experience bar at the bottom of John’s vision shot across, filling multiple times as it celebrated. Unfortunately, his health bar did not receive the same boon as his companions’.

Level Up!

Moira looked down at herself in wonder as her wounds vanished without a trace. “Incredible…”

The heavy thunk of boots slapping tile brought the attention of the three companions to the front of the store where a fat gangster ran in a panic inwards. “Boss! We gotta go! He’s here! Th-”

The man stopped in shock as he saw the Firebard’s corpse. Ela and Moira lowered themselves into combat stances, prepared to fight again, but the man turned to run, fleeing away towards an emergency exit on the side of the building. The trio watched almost in disbelief as he ran out the door, screaming all the while.

John’s mind could barely even process the confusion at this point.

Any questions he had were answered as the sharp footfalls of armor on tile echoed from the entryway, a dozen Order knights pouring into the building. At their head was none other than Lord Brighton himself. He seemed towering compared to yesterday, his presence alone casting its shadow over the entirety of the barrier around him. John shivered as his focus passed over him on the way to Moira.

The Lord-Protector moved faster than John could see, standing atop the Warden in an instant, his arms wrapped around her for just a moment before he returned to his serious stance. Moira, however, did not restrain herself, pulling tight around her father again.

The Gamer smiled. It was over. He **** himself back to his feet, quickly storing away the feather, intending to walk over to the knights that had come to save them, then immediately regretted it. Relief had robbed him of his adrenaline. All the energy, all the conviction, all the strength he’d found, gone in an instant.

That was the last thing he remembered as he passed out.