Dark Matter Ascension

The crusted ground crunched under the heavy footfalls. The armored woman with the Nebula symbol on her hand glanced over at her Wayfinder; a mako shark floating through the air next to her, made of sparkling starlight. "Map," the Aspirant’s gravelly, partially mechanized voice rumbled out. Female, but she could be mistaken for an automaton given the level of distortion in the tones emanating from her helmet.

"Right," the shark growled out. Unmistakably male. There was a flash of starlight and then a three-dimensional planet appeared. "They are on the other side of the world. It will take 12 days to arrive at their last reported location."

The armored woman nodded and revved the engine on her General Logistics hypercycle. The powerful machine belched out toxic fumes from its exhaust and rocketed off across the landscape. The woman held a large hammer in her left hand, letting it dangle behind her as she traveled.

"Incoming predator animal," the mako shark stated. "Nine o’clock. On an intercept course."

The woman turned and saw the creature approaching. A chitin-covered shape like a wolf. Lifting the hammer, she willed her Skill to activate, and it crackled with shimmering ice spikes. The wolf kept charging at an intercept course, and she brought the hammer across its face, killing it with a single blow as the head was fully knocked off, and ice spread along the body. Within seconds the form shattered into pieces.

Her Wayfinder immediately converted the corpse to Stardust as the two sped off over the blasted land towards their prey. Someone who had taken a job from General Logistics and had the key to the future of cybernetic advancement and integration on Earth.

A courier with valuable cargo. Flicker. Jace Seren. Dead man walking. She grinned with sadistic delight under the helmet as the miles passed by.

Jace cautiously walked down the corridors. The boots softened his footfalls that would have otherwise been quite noisy due to the makeshift prosthetics. He held the sword slightly in front of him at an upward angle and had the flechette pistol at the ready. Ollie floated in front of him, acting as an advance scout and peering around corners.

He had to sheath the weapon and pocket the pistol several times as he went through partially flooded corridors, wending his way through the single tunnel. How far does this go on? I’ve been going for a good twenty minutes. "Ollie, pull up the map."

"Yup." Ollie paused and his paws sparkled with starlight as the map of the world appeared. He zoomed in and even though they could only see the location relative to the surface, Jace could tell from the topography that they had gone past the edge of the crater. Ollie pointed at one of the zoomed in sections, at the far end of the Vyrknadine ’kill ten’ Quest area that was marked off. "It looks like there was a building there at one point. I bet that these tunnels lead there."

"What do you think the purpose of the tunnel was?" Jace asked as he resumed his journey into the darkness.

Ollie assumed his lead position, "Well, the crater is where the weird magitech hive mind for the nanites was located. This might have been a way to feed it power?"

Jace scanned the walls, floor, and ground. "I don’t see any sign of those copper-like wires that we saw in that hidden post."

"Neither do I," Ollie muttered. He stopped in the air at a turn and held up his paw in a small, closed fist. "Stay quiet."

Jace crept forward and peered around the corner with meticulous caution. There was an open chamber - an enormous square room that was full of weird, arcane symbols and the same brass-colored wires. And arc reactors. All of them deactivated. Glancing down, Jace saw that there was some type of ’cut’ where the brass-colored lines that had led down the corridor to the crater once lay.

They were removed. "Someone took away the hive mind’s power source," Ollie commented. "Before making that crater. I bet that was the final effort after the magitech nanites found another way to power their control point."

Jace nodded and snuck into the room. Ollie ascended to his maximum tether height. The cavernous space slightly echoed with Jace’s footfalls. He could hear his faint breathing coming back to meet him. He passed the rest of the way through the area before entering another square tunnel that turned into a staircase ascending upward.

And he heard a soft growling noise. Far off above him, but it was rhythmic. Three distinct types of breath - different pitches, almost creating a small harmony with each other - sucking air in and out. Careful. Even quieter. Jace went as slow as he could, calling up all his ability to sneak around - just like he had done with gang territory dozens of times before.

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After an agonizingly long climb, with his heartbeat racing faster and faster as he grew closer to the noise, he came to a torn-off door. All that remained was a frame and torn-away metal. The frame was bent inward as well - as if something tried to push its way down the passage but could not fit.

Beyond the door he saw a sight that made him freeze in place. An enormous Vyrknadine - as large as a semi-truck - was inside this large space, shredded metal storage shelves were scattered around and used to make an uncomfortable bed in the corner of the room that it lay upon. Its tail was tipped with an enormous cluster of chitin that made it appear mace-like, and that was coiled around the three pairs of legs as it slumbered.

More shocking was that it had three heads. Just like a band logo Jace had seen before. He could not remember the name of it. Ollie spoke at a normal volume. "The Cosmogenic Merging glitching out…it merged three Vyrknadine together." He looked back to Jace with a slight smile, but there was a tone of worry that tinged the words. "Two Quests with one kill. This counts as three of them."

Jace mouthed the word ’how,’ and Ollie shrugged. "It has the same weak spots as a regular Vyrknadine. So, get in under it and stab up at the heart."

The creature stirred and Jace froze. He looked up at Ollie and put a finger to his lips. The thing is technically part of The Cosmic System…so it could hear Ollie talking. It’s an Aspirant, just a corrupt one.

The otter clapped his paws over his mouth and nodded.

Well, it’s asleep. I need to sneak in close and try to kill it before it wakes up. Looking it over, and taking in the size, Jace also knew that if he got behind it - he could use his grapnel to latch onto its back should it wake up. That size, it can’t easily bend around and reach for something small holding on.

Jace could not help his trembling arms despite trying to command them to still. Fear was coursing through him. This creature was enormous. It could eat him in one bite. The tail could do some major damage as well, not to speak of the clawed feet. Is this too much? I can always go back. There’s no harm in that.

Ollie noticed his hesitation and flew down right in front of Jace. "You can do this. You have the power. Use it." The voice was a whisper, just loud enough for Jace and none other to hear.

Jace did not know if it was the words or some other, unknown effect of Ollie’s personality…but Jace felt his confidence buoy up. Yeah. You are right. I survived losing an arm and a foot. And an Aspirant hunting me down. I’ve only gotten stronger since. He went forward with agonizing slowness, making sure to not step on any bit of detritus that would make a noise and give away his position.

The sound of breathing continued to get louder and louder until he was next to the creature. It was almost deafening, and even the sound of his rapidly beating heart was drowned out by the rhythmic inhalation and exhalation. He got to the stomach and found a gap between the chitinous plates. Okay. This is it. His plan was simple enough - stab in, make a small gap, and fire the flechette pistol into the body cavity. If it were encased with bone like the skull, he could rely on ricochet to help finish the creature. But if this were not a lucky shot, he would have to fight this thing.

He knew these things could regenerate, but a solid hit to the heart or the brain should kill it, if it was anything like the ones on the surface. He placed the tip of the blade against the gap and softly took a breath in.

Now! He exhaled as he thrust deep inside. The creature woke and began to move, but before it could pull itself away from the sword, Jace shoved the pistol alongside the weapon and shot it into the small gap. Some of the projectiles made it into the wound, and as Jace pulled the blade out and leaped backward, he could see the aftereffect of the (Rank 3) Dark Matter Blade. A soft, purple glow surrounded the wound before spreading across the creature like a film. That should slow it down, he thought knowing that now it was afflicted with a small gravitational pull.

The creature yelped out in pain and stood up. The three heads whipped around, and one of them bit down on Jace. Seemingly driven by instinct - or more likely the Swordmage Stance - he flattened himself on the ground and the monstrous maw chomped onto empty air overhead. Rolling to the side, he dropped the pistol, aimed his prosthetic arm’s palm at the ceiling, and launched the tether. It attached, and he thumbed the rewind button.

He was pulled out of danger by the coiling line, and he tapped another button to release the spike as he vaulted through the air and landed on his feet. He felt slightly winded as the Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3) took the brunt of the fall damage. That spared his makeshift prosthetic attachments, thankfully.

The triple-headed Vyrknadine stood up to its full height and released a melodic howl that was almost haunting as the three tones overlapped each other. Jace looked on with dismay as the wound on the stomach sealed, and the slight drip of green ichor ceased. Damnit! I didn’t get the heart.

The creature began charging toward him. Ollie shouted, "Grapple the roof again and fling yourself away!"

Jace did so and once more left the space where the creature’s mouths chomped down on empty air. As he went zipping by, he struck out with this blade. To his surprise, his arm turned by instinct and carved into a gap between the chitinous plates. Must be the Swordmage Stance kicking in, moving my body on its own. There was a spray of green ichor, and more of the purple film spread slowly over the creature.

"Just keep carving at it! Stack the slowing effect!" Ollie ordered as Jace once more landed and felt the slight dip in his energy.

"Right," Jace replied, filled with confidence at the exhortation of his newfound capabilities. The monstrosity turned once more - slightly slower - and charged again. Jace pointed the grapnel to the ceiling and triggered it to pull him along. As he passed over the head of the creature, he slashed downward.

And it bit upward. The center head craned back at what looked like an impossible angle, and it latched onto his prosthetic foot. "Damnit!" Jace shouted as he felt his arm pull against the creature’s maw. He could not keep letting this thing tug on him. The Dark Matter Shield kept him from suffering injury and kept the mouth from actually biting down on the prosthetic itself, but the more the teeth ground down and it pulled, the more tired Jace felt.

It’s either release the grapnel and fall down into it. Or… He took a deep breath. Deactivate Dark Matter Shield.

The purple bubble around him vanished with a ’pop’, and he winced - not out of pain, thankfully - as the creature bit onto his prosthetic foot and the jerry-rigged part attaching it to his stump went slipping off.

Jace went sailing up towards the grapple point and thumbed the release. Twisting his body in the air, he took aim at the center of the creature’s spinal cord - and fired the now-coiled cord once more.

The hook shot out and planted firmly into the nape. It pulled Jace forward - the body whipping around trying to get at him. But, thanks to the Dark Matter Blade (Rank 3) gravitational pull effect, it moved slower than his grapnel line pulled him to it. Within a second, he was planted firmly on the base of its neck.

The creature began to thrash and buck, trying to kick him off. Jace clamped down his thighs - just like he had done with the first Vyrknadine he had encountered, his legs finding purchase on spikes of the chitin - and swung the sword repeatedly at the left-most head. The blade went up and the ichor would spray, and then it would come down and cut just a little bit deeper.

The monstrosity flailed and tried to roll to crush him, but Jace simply wrapped his prosthetic arm around the creature, swung his body onto the front-side of its neck, and then released the grapnel. It was belly down for a moment - and he was on top of it. He stabbed down into the center-head’s neck and carved a bloody, vertical slash.

The momentum of the creature’s roll sent him spinning off to the side of the chamber, and he felt shredded metal cutting at his armored clothing. Thankfully, none of it penetrated, and despite the bumpy throw he ended up only lightly bruised. "Hell yeah!" Ollie shouted. "You got it on the ropes now!"

The creature writhed on the floor as it tried to get up. I must have cut down deep enough that I got their singular windpipe, he thought as he could see the sputtering green fluid. But he also knew it would regenerate quickly. I need to end it now!

Once more, he aimed the grapnel, fired, and watched it sink into the once-more-upright creature that seemed stunned whilst it recovered. The hook slammed into the wound he had cut in the neck, and he retracted the line - pulling himself towards it at high speed. He pointed the blade straight forward with his left hand and stabbed as deep as he could - his arm going all the way up to the elbow.

The monstrous creature shuddered before collapsing. Jace cried out in pain as the sudden mass fell on him. "Ollie! Dust it!" he tried to shout, but the air was pushed out of his lungs, and he felt himself being slowly crushed to death under the weight. This is how I die? Really? I beat the thing! The world began to go dark.

A single, brief instant passed. And then the weight was lifted. Jace gasped and took a deep breath as he saw the cloud of shimmering starlight above him, swirling into his river otter companion. Ollie flew over him and hovered in place, "You okay?"

Jace groaned but nodded. "Alive," he croaked out as he coughed and rolled himself into the recovery position on his side.

Screens flashed up in his vision.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Stardust Acquired: 2000.]

<<<<<>>>>>

[Quest Completed: Slay 10 Vyrknadine.]

[Current Progress: 10/10.]

[Time Limit: N/A.]

[Reward: Legendary (Skill Evolution) Boon.]

[Sender: Dark Between Stars.]

<<<<<>>>>>

[Quest Completed: Clear the magitech nanite Complex.]

[Time Limit: 6 hours.]

[Reward: Legendary (Equipment) Boon.]

[Sender: The Cosmic System.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Ollie flew overhead and smiled, "Well, you have gotten a Legendary (Equipment) and (Skill Evolution) Boon. Plus, a bunch of Stardust to use."

Jace chuckled. "Just…let me rest for a few minutes." He glanced sideways and scanned the room for his scattershot pistol. He saw the crushed remains, slightly sparking, off to the side near this creature’s nest. Damnit. That was useful.

Just to confirm it was destroyed, he pulled up his status screen.

<<<<<>>>>>

Name: Jace Seren (Aspirant, Tier 1)

Power [Class Level.]: Dark Matter [Swordmage 7.]

Skills: Skill Name (Rank) [Evolutions.]: Universal Translation, Environmental Adaptation, Dark Matter Blade (Rank 3), Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3), Swordmage Stance (Rank 3)

Stardust: 2115

Equipment: Swordmage blade, Swordmage starting gear, Wirecannon Arm, Runner’s Replacement (1/2) (damaged), messenger bag, sliverscreen, survival knife, survival meals (x46), canteen (x2), medical kit, orange tarp (damaged), flint bar, flashlight

Boons: Legendary (Skill Evolution), Legendary (Equipment)

<<<<<>>>>>

Damnit. He looked down at his smooth stump where there once was a makeshift prosthetic. "At least we have that Boon to use. Can it get me a pair of feet?"

"Even better!" Ollie shouted. "A pair of legs."

Jace smirked. Guess I’m getting magitech legs then. He looked down at the still-holding on singular Runner’s Replacement foot, hanging on by straps and rails. And I suppose I can sell you.