In my previous life, I never gave much thought to giant, terrifying sand worms with bad morning breath. No, my nightmares on Earth had been far more grounded. Getting raided by SWAT or being locked in a basement with no way out were among the greatest hits. Now, if I survived, I was certain I'd not only see, but smell this bastard Sandswallow Worm in my dreams.

  The monster had abandoned its cobra stance and continued ripping down the arena in a straight line, tearing up the aged limestone floor in its wake. I snatched a two-handed greatsword from the weapon rack beside me and stood my ground, waiting as it closed in.

  The creature ejected its tongue. I leapt aside and like a guided missile it traced after me. Meanwhile, it hooked the fatty back half of its length in front of me, trying to block me off. I whirled around and swung down the greatsword, clashing with its tongue. Steaming breath blasted my face as it unleashed a guttural roar. I pressed into the hilt, sinking the blade into its fleshy appendage until the iron got caught–wedged against the root of one of its spikes.

  The worm retracted its tongue, taking my weapon with it while its gaping tomb of a mouth continued charging over the ground, intending on swallowing me whole.

  Invisibility.

  I dashed back toward the line of weapon racks, but the creature turned, tracking me with pinpoint accuracy. Feeling another round of stinking breath and steaming spittle wetting the back of my neck, I activated Agility Burst and booked it. I snatched another great sword, pivoted on my feet again and launched the hefty weapon like a lawn dart.

  Not waiting to see if it landed, I moved in a blur, chucking greatsword after greatsword. Despite emptying the weapon rack into the worm's eyeball covered top half, the monster shrugged it off.

  I had run out of ideas. Not that I had been keeping an internal dossier on the best approaches to slaying giant worm beasts in the first place. No obvious weak point presented itself, nor did the Sandswallow Worm show any sign of exhaustion. It plowed ahead, erasing the gap I had put between us.

  The assassin's statuses appeared in the corner of my eye. They ran toward the worm's backside, nearing the arena's center. Khaled tossed what looked like a softball with a lit fuse at the worm's ass. At the same time, Whitcomb detonated another round of smoke bombs.

  I used my boosted agility to its fullest effect, jetting alongside the row of weapon racks, heading for the edge of the arena. An explosion sounded from the center of the arena, reverberating all the way through the worm's top half.

  Nearing the edge of the platform, I grounded my heels, screeching to a stop. I turned and faced the worm. While the explosion slowed its charge, the behemoth's tail retreated, automatically coiling up and lifting its eyeball covered head into the air.

  Shadow Weave.

  I sliced through the anchored bolts keeping the massive iron weapon rack affixed to the floor. The beast hovered in the air, sweeping its tongue in an arc toward me. With my right hand I grabbed onto the rack's hefty pole, and with my left I manifested a rope from the monster's shadow, looped it around my wrist, and reeled myself upward.

  Swords, shields, and spears fell from the rack as it shifted off the ground, putting immense pressure on my wrists. My joints creaked and I started wondering if I was about to tear myself apart, watching helplessly as its unfurled tongue swung at me like a pendulum. Teeth clenched, sweat stinging my eyes, I focused on the tingling connecting between myself and the darkness, strengthening the bond until I found myself flying upward, dragging the one ton weapon rack behind me.

  Its tongue missed me as I swung upward, using the momentum from the shadow to slingshot me higher. The creature dipped down underneath me, mouth wide open for an interception. Summoning every ounce of strength and agility, I heaved the weapon rack underneath me and released Shadow Weave.

  The rack's thick iron girders and connected cross-beams chipped jagged teeth as it bounced down the beast's cavernous orifice, landing in its gullet. Thankfully, as I fell, the worm gave-up on making me a snack, diverting its tongue in a desperate effort to clear its throat.

  I smashed into a squishy wet pad of eyeballs, trying and failing to slow my descent as my fingers slipped over the slick surface. The worm bucked its body and the wall of eyes slapped me away, sending me on a six story drop to the ground.

  I hit the limestone flooring hard, chipping tiles as I rolled across the floor. Vision spinning, and muscles on fire, I lay back watching the Sandswallow Worm violently raising itself into the air, tipping its head over, forming a giant S-shape in the air. The worm hunched itself over, bile pouring from its mouth.

  I forced myself to my feet, pain reverberating through my bones as I ran toward the center of the platform, avoiding the downpour of puke. Once out of the line of fire, I turned and watched the worm's hundreds of eyes turn bloodshot, pupils whirring in panic.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Soul Viper's trio stood a few dozen yards across from me, staring up at the choking creature. As the Sandswallow Worm collapsed, its gargantuan frame cast a shadow over us. Wasting no time, I seized the darkness, sending a razor sharp whip after the assassins.

  "Run," Nyx shouted as they lunged for the light.

  +2125 XP

  -715 Karma

  LEVEL UP

  +1 Agility

  +1 Strength

  +2 Mastery Points

  Khaled shoved her into the light, and took the attack meant for her. The strip of shadow split him at his waist.

  Fool.

  But before his devastated body collapsed, reality snapped itself closed, and all that remained was bold white text superimposed across infinite darkness.

  Challenge Scenario - Cold and Hot Complete

  +2500 XP

  Additional awards rewards will be granted upon opening your status window.

  Once again time and space warped around me, disconnecting my soul from body, producing an oddly familiar sensation to Void Seer. After an indeterminable amount of time and mounting annoyance, I opened my eyes, finding myself sitting at a round table in a quaint dining room with a candle lit chandelier hanging overhead.

  I noticed the immediate absence of Karma's Gaze as I saw Nyx, Whitcomb, and Khaled sitting across the table without the ability producing a single status. Seeing Khaled whole, examining his stomach where he'd previously been torn to ribbons, rightfully pissed me off.

  Everyone's dying today, but no one's staying dead.

  I tried activating Shadow Weave just for the hell of it, confirming my suspicions--my abilities were null and void. Nor could I move my legs, like they were glued to the dining chair.

  The room looked like it had been ripped straight out of an 80s edition of Country Living. The spacious farmhouse table dominated the center of the room while dark walnut colored paneling lined the walls. Flames popped and crackled in a stone fireplace on the other side of the room. It was almost cozy if not for a creeping sense of artificiality--like the space had been thrown together out of props.

  "What's happening? Where are we?" Whitcomb asked. "I can't move my legs."

  Ceramic plates sat on top of a matching table cloth along with cutlery on the side. I fumed in silence, wishing the trio dead.

  "You saved me," Nyx said, astounded.

  Khaled shrugged it off, playing it cool. "Of course, it's my duty to protect my handler."

  There's nothing cool about getting sliced in half, asshole.

  As I contemplated reaching for a butter knife and launching it at his throat, a mahogany door beside the fireplace swung open.

  An average size man with a scaly, violet face and two black beady eyes entered. He carried in two bulky brown paper bags, set them down in the center of the table, then bowed and clapped his hands together.

  "Congratulations, humans of..." He looked down at the text scribbled on the back of his hand. "Gadika! Gadika? Gadika..."

  He shook his head, then cleared his throat. "Sorry–Congratulations, humans of Gadika on successfully completing a level one Astral Crucible, or Challenge Scenario depending where you're from..."

  The trio bowed their heads while I tilted mine. "Who are you? And what have you done with my powers and belongings?"

  "I'm Galdir's most faithful attendant, Nimrod." He smiled revealing a surprisingly normal set of teeth. "You must be the Earthling. The one Justice gave the Eye of Karma to. Fear not, Cyprus, your belongings and powers will be returned once you and your party are returned to your realm."

  I palmed my face.

  Unbelievable. This bastard just outed me.

  "Nimrod's your real name?" I asked.

  He nodded, grinning so wide it was unsettling. "Yes, nearly a thousand years ago, Galdir christened me with this name after I impressed him with my initiative."

  "You're a god? An ally of Galdir?" Whitcomb asked, forehead kissing the table. "Sweet lords, I apologize for every time I took his name in vain. I swear it was out of my own weakness."

  Nimrod waved his hand, dismissing the concern. "No–I'm a mere attendant. And I doubt Galdir heard you. He's been on vacation for sometime now."

  "Great Galdir, The World's Warden, draws us together in bonds of blood and trust," Nyx mumbled the prayer under her breath, keeping her head lowered.

  "Although..." Nimrod cleared his throat again, turning his beady gaze back on me. "You called Gruk'thar the Destroyer of Galaxies and Raper of Enemies a pussy, and repeatedly insulted him during the selection process. Not only was that uncalled for, Vespera, the Goddess of Dusk, lost her eyebrows blocking his attack, and sprained a shoulder holding him back from destroying you."

  Oh, fuck.

  "I've never seen a god try to violate the supreme laws so blatantly in front of the others before." Nimrod chuckled. "Speaking of supreme laws, the victorious party is awarded with a divine feast and a congratulatory appearance from Galdir. However, since Galdir is still on his vacation, hopefully my presence will suffice. Please, enjoy."

  The blue scaled humanoid casually took a seat between me and the assassins and reached across the table for one of the brown bags.

  "Worry not, Cyprus, for I, Nimrod, Galdir's most trusted attendant, helped diffuse the situation. Overall, the gods were impressed by you and your party’s showing."

  He tore the paper bag open, revealing a tower of Chinese takeout containers from New China, a local joint I had frequented when I lived in Chicago. The sweet and salty smell of hot braised chicken and Mongolian beef brought on a wave of uncomfortable nostalgia.

  "You keep saying Galdir, I thought Justice was Gadika's god? And where is she?"

  "A god? Heaven's no! She's but a foolish attendant who took it upon herself to step-up while Galdir's away. I'm sure she's busy tending to one of her countless failures among the other realms."

  "And how long has he been on vacation?"

  "Oh, a mere 2400 years."

  "He said he was going on vacation when he left?"

  "Well, no. 2,400 years, 187 days, five hours, sixteen minutes, and three seconds ago, he said, 'Fuck, this.' Then he left. But as he has always intended, you must read between the lines of his spoken wisdom. I tried going with him and the other attendants, but he insisted I stay behind. As his most trusted attendant, he left me to ensure things ran smoothly between the other gods until his return."

  Dumbfounded by the series of revelations, I stewed on his words, pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place. "How many attendants did he leave with?"

  "Four hundred and ninety eight."

  "And how many did he leave behind?"

  "Me and Justice."