I recognized the profound nausea associated with being ripped through space and time. A roller coaster through utter darkness, devoid of all senses besides the prickling de-materialization of my body swimming in soul soup.
It only lasted for minutes, months, or years. It was hard to tell.
Eventually the universe spat me out whole into the sky.
Frigid wind blasted me in the face, stinging my eyes as I somersaulted through the air in complete free fall, catching a glimpse of the cerulean portal overhead before it snapped closed.
A sprawling tundra stretched 1,300 feet beneath me. With less than 15 seconds before impact, I flipped onto my stomach and stretched out my arms like a sky diver. Except, instead of being equipped with a parachute, all I had was a silk black pair of underwear and the shackles still locked around my ankles and wrists.
I saw the statuses belonging to the three Soul Viper members moving across the ground in the distance.
The portal let them out on the ground level?!
Teeth chattering, the sweat on my skin turned to ice as I plummeted toward the ground, desperately searching for a place to land until I spotted a forest. I breast stroked with my arms and hands, pulling myself through the air, quickly approaching snow covered treetops.
Seconds later, my body smashed into an ice-crusted, snow-laden series of branches, knocking the air from my lungs and painfully dulling the dangerous momentum.
Shadow Weave.
I reached my hands out, grabbing hold of a shadow cast by the avalanche of snow chasing after me from the disturbed canopy. I swung forward, the thread unwinding between my fingers, quickly rappelling me down until the shadow snapped and I landed face first in a deep mound of snow.
So cold.
The condensation from my pained breathing rose like steam as I pushed myself to my feet and scanned the area, shivering uncontrollably. Slabs of packed snow cascaded down from the canopies above. I jogged through it, avoiding the avalanche, trekking out of the forest and into the sunlight, facing vast rolling hills of blinding white.
A frigid breeze sliced against my back. I straightened my spine, cursing under my breath as I cut through the shackles with Shadow Weave and rubbed my arms together.
I'm going to freeze to death.
Bold text appeared over the snowy hillsides, high in the sky.
[Challenge Scenarios Unlocked]
The Frostbound Expanse Selection
Survive the night.
Gain XP from combat.
"Go fuck yourself!" I roared.
Toes already numb, I turned around and rushed back into the forest with my head on a swivel, searching for any sign of Soul Viper.
"Survive the night? I'm not going to survive the next 15 minutes."
Out of instinct, I glanced at the timer, just now noticing it was gone. But failing the quest was the least of my worries.
Where have they gone?
My skin turned pale as I spun around, trying to reorient myself. I had seen them during my fall, walking outside of this small grove. But which way was it?
Shadow Weave.
I pulled a slender shadow down from the canopy, grabbed it and reeled myself upward. Flurries of loose flakes fixed to my skin as I released the ability and took hold of a branch, scaling the last few feet to the top. I peeked through the canopy, surveying in all directions.
The forest lay in the center of a valley surrounded by hilly terrain on all sides. Thankfully, Karma's Gaze lit up the three Soul Viper goons, although they were at least a mile out, hiking up a hill out through the other side of the forest.
I dropped off the branch, activated Shadow Weave again, and swung down to the forest's floor.
Agility Burst.
Wasting no time, I shot deeper into the forest, intent on catching up to Soul Viper. I didn't want to die like this. Now, I regretted playing it so slow, letting Nyx imbue the key with mana. All it took was one simple miscalculation to end up as a Popsicle, forever preserved, frozen in my undies as an eternal cosmic joke. If I had just lopped their damn heads off when I had the chance, I wouldn't be freezing my nuts off.
Focus or die.
Right, what's a little cool weather?
Although, speeding through the woodlands with exposed skin was a form of torture in its own right. I leaped over a snowy bank of shrubs and Karma's Gaze triggered, rapidly displaying five statuses. A little over 60 feet out, five massive figures trudged through the forest with their backs turned to me.
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Target: Spazmoor
Level: 8
Karma: -3275
Additional Data: Frost orc leader of the Glacier Operatives 2nd String Probationary Warband. Currently lives in ?Δ7x??∴Vn0...
The scrambled text threw me through a loop, and when I tried requesting additional data nothing happened. Orcs—no wonder all five of them were over eight feet tall and bulkier than an 80s action movie star on steroids.
The other four, Drekthul, Zhuul, Grathnash, and Vrotharn were also level eights with limited data, and the same corrupted data string.
Truthfully, I only cared about the hulking coats they wore—fabric stitched from layered animal hides lined with thick white and grey fur. I crept across the snow, hoping to close the gap before freezing to death.
Despite moving quietly, they halted their march. As they turned around I activated Invisibility and held my breath. Wool scarves, ear muffs, and hats obscured most of their faces, revealing only their powder white skin tone and murky red eyes through the gaps in their clothing.
"I smell human," Spazmoor snarled, staring in my direction.
"You told us their scent was leading us over the hills," Zhuul growled, his cucumber length nose flaring up. "Hmm... I smell human, too."
I remained still, holding my breath, and activated Shadow Weave.
"It's close." Spazmoor grunted and his squad fanned out forming a wall, readying their weapons.
"The heart is mine, the rest of you can fight over the liver. Don't poke it in its digestive tract and ruin it," Grathnash said, licking his ruby red lips.
Even in broad daylight, darkness loomed underneath the canopy. It eked out beneath my feet like spilled ink seeping across a white canvas. Directing it with my fingertips, tethered snakes shot across the ground toward the frost orcs.
"The ancients weep..." Spazmoor said, voice full of dread as he witnessed the writhing mass of darkness. "Torchlight!"
Considering their humongous size, they moved with speed and precision. Three of the four orcs whipped out and ignited a torch, all within a second, dispersing the oncoming darkness.
But Vrotharn lagged slightly behind and I pounced using a shadow snake lurking on the edge of the light. The darkness coiled out of the ground, wrapped around his neck, and yanked him back. He screamed as I dragged him into the air, trying not to sever his head, focused on keeping the shadow threads malleable rather than sharp.
"Vrotharn!" Zhuul jumped after him, and I flung a shadow scythe out of the ground, slicing through his ankles, which fell out from under him.
"Stay out of the darkness," Spazmoor barked, throwing a torch onto the ground as he lit another one.
He rushed to Zhuul's aid, pulling him back as he convulsed in shock, blood spurting from the severed ends of his legs, painting the snow red. Meanwhile, I snatched my arm back and the shadow rope snapped backward, violently dragging Vrotharn toward my position.
The brunt of the orc's hefty weight strained the shadow rope, forcing me to breath as I put my back into it. Condensation revealed my position as an invisible entity only 25 yards out from the rest of them.
Spazmoor noticed, but refused to wade back into the darkness, watching as his subordinate was flung through the air, kicking and grunting. Vrotharn helplessly grabbed at the darkness wrapped around his neck.
Chopping his head off with Shadow Weave rather than opting for a resource intensive strangulation would've been easier, but I didn't want to wet his garments with gore.
"Warlock human!" Spazmoor shouted and launched a throwing axe in my direction.
I sidestepped it, inadvertently whipping the frost orc in my shadow noose into the side of a tree. His neck snapped and I dropped him into the snow. Taking advantage of my lingering agility boost, I dashed over to the orc's body and stripped him of his hefty coat.
"Thanks for keeping it warm," I said as I slipped it on and relished in the immediate relief from the unbearable coldness against bare skin.
Except the arctic ground was still burning the soles of my feet like a bed of piping hot coals. As I eyed the dead orc's massive boots, Spazmoor blew a handful of powder up into the air. Light danced through minuscule crystals. Suddenly, they bloomed, filling the forest with vibrant light that steadily emitted from the fine dust hovering in the air.
With the darkness eradicated, Spazmoor and Drekthul charged in at an alarming speed, leaving Grathnash crouched over Zhuul, cinching leather straps tight around his stumps.
Using the last few ticks of Agility Burst and Invisibility, I scooped a handful of snow into my palms, packed it into a ball and launched it. The snowball soared over their heads, casting a softly diffused shadow as it passed by. I plucked the thread of darkness like a harp's cord cleaving through Drekthul's throat.
The frost orc's pale white head flopped back, blood spewing at his squad leader's side before he collapsed. A deep war cry crackled like thunder, escaping past rows of jagged enamel, the gap between us nearly closed. The serrated edge of Spazmoor's mighty great sword ripped through the furry outer layer of my new coat.
"Die sorcerer," he belted, hot breath stinging my eyes.
I ducked a swift horizontal swing, dropped low and swept my foot into the back of his knee. He caught himself, using his over-sized sword as a crutch, and I hit him with a clean uppercut. The frost orc's teeth gnashed together, head whipping back.
Spazmoor leaned against his sword, using the heft to stay balanced. Flame-tinged eyes bore into me as he spat blood and chipped teeth across the tundra.
"Tough bastard, you're still alive?" I muttered, bouncing back as he swept his sword low for my feet.
"You speak the Mawtongue dialect?" Spazmoor said as he thrust his blade toward my chest.
"It seems I can," I said, backpedaling over crunchy snow, catching sight of his ally charging into the fight.
"Then know this human. You are food," Spazmoor lunged at me, the tip of his sword aimed at my heart.
Dagger Step.
I teleported into the air, right past Spazmoor, and above his ally, Grathnash. My shadow engulfed him as I fell. Instinctively, I flicked my fingertips and pulled like I was sealing a plastic sandwich bag. The shadow zipped sideways, slicing through the top of his right shoulder down to the left side of his abdomen.
His torso slid in half, and I landed with my frostbitten feet in a pool of orc intestines that I knew were warm, but my feet were too numb to feel. Steam rose off the exposed innards. I turned and smiled, proud of myself for pulling off such a slick maneuver without repeating Shadow Weave's incantation in my head.
Spazmoor, on the other hand, was not smiling. And making matters worse for him, his lighting crystals started flickering. I wouldn't classify his expression as fearful. No—it was the recognition of fighting a losing battle.
"You did well," I said. "Don't be too hard on yourself."
He chuckled. "When the Glacier Operatives First String Probationary Warband finds you, they'll tear your heart—"
The powdered crystals flickered, and I seized the opportunity to shut him up. I twitched my fingers upward, and a shadow spear shot out of the ground, piercing through the bottom of the frost orc's jaw, entering his brain.
He fell, and I turned toward Zhuul, the footless orc, knowing I'd be sharing his fate if I didn't act soon.
"I have so many questions, Zhuul."
+1350 XP
+525 Karma
