Error 66b
James Stone
The first trial was not over. That much was as clear as freshly spit-shined glass. Though our aching, bruised, and weary bodies had some much needed time to recover. Geariic and Brad had split off earlier to scout around, neither being much on sitting around.
"We can't just sit here forever," Frost said after a few minutes.
"The gate's still sealed, and there are no enemies in sight." Shadow shrugged. An action he regretted by the wince of pain that came over his face. He rubbed his shoulder.
Jeremiah had been looking through the Book of Sin for some time. He read, "The champion waits… waits for eyes of darkness. For the eyes will judge those, mark those, and sing to those. They will decide if you are real."
Shadow chimed in. "Is it just me, or is this stuff starting to sound like we are going to get boned eventually? I really don't like the sound of the darkness and eyes and other weird shivf this book is talking about. Hell, the thing is called the Book of Sin. That shivf doesn't sound like a good thing."
Frost nodded in agreement.
"I hate to interrupt, but I must ask: How long has that been there?" I heard Valiic ask.
I sat up and looked at him and then in the direction he pointed. We all saw a bright fluctuating cube floating just at the top of the stairs, down the middle lane. Lime green in color, it illuminated the area around it and carried a subtle hum. Frost was already up to it.
"Frost, hang on there," I reached out my hand.
Frost stared for a second, squinting, then finally reached out his hand. As he touched it, the cube let out a single note chime. Frost grabbed his throat and fell to the ground! His hands fought over themselves, going from his throat to his head, and he gasped for air. He was choking and clawing at his head.
"Frost!" I shouted.
Everyone was up and coming to his aid.
Jeremiah and I tried to calm him down, while the others watched. But we might as well have been on another planet, because he was oblivious to us, clutching his head as if he couldn't hear us. We then saw his eyes. They were the same as when Geariic went blind. The cube must have cursed him!
Brad dashed over with his shotgun and shattered the cube with one shot. That was when we heard a chime go off, and then another, until five total rang.
Valiic picked up Frost and put him over his shoulder. He flailed around and screamed. Even still, he wasn't able to get out of Valiic's clutch. Hastily, Valiic took Frost to the lower level in the middle and placed him in the circle.
Frost recovered, coughing. "That… that hit me hard. I felt like…like something was screeching in my head. But, it was so hypnotizing."
"Why did it affect him much worse than Geariic?" I asked Jeremiah.
"Maybe it has different effects on different species."
Shadow tapped on my shoulder. "I hate to interrupt… actually, I don't, but uh--" He pointed at another cube. It was just past the edge of the left lane.
"There's more?" I asked.
Suddenly, the Book of Sin flipped open to a page. "Oracles blink awake, the weapons of The Gatekeeper… speakers of time and reality, they construct existences where those are no longer real. For then The Gatekeeper can erase those from existence. Beware, for he is near." Jeremiah stopped reading and gave me a haunted expression.
I knew immediately what had to be done. "Everyone spread out like wildfire! Destroy those green oracles before we're all six feet in the ground!"
It was do or die. Destroy the oracles before they kill us. That feeling had my nerves running races, and my reflexes benefited. I raised my rifle and fired at the one Shadow pointed at. My eyes and rifle then tore away from one location to another in search.
"I got one under the roof of the right lane," Valiic called.
"One'z down n' da back cave," Brad spoke.
That's four, I thought, one to go.
I cleared the way back up to the right lane's boulders and turned to return to the middle base by the conflux. Jeremiah and Shadow-Walker were already up there. I gazed over the arena and turned up to the area Shadow used to snipe from. Where the frak was the last oracle?
"Come to Big Daddy!" I saw Frost use some ice to climb to the base of the gate. From the top, he fired a few rounds from his pistol. "Kaboom! Got that boy!" he cheered.
There was a resounding horn-like sound that echoed off the walls, a deafening mechanical cry.
The book was active again. "He comes. The Gatekeeper comes," Jeremiah muffled the words.
"On your toes, everyone," I commanded over the cyberwatch.
From the bottom of the middle lane, the surface gave way, and a monster rose up on a platform. He smashed through the ice recently created by Frost, and I was able to get a long look at the monster.
A few heads taller, The Gatekeeper looked to be the steroid-addicted, bigger brother to those shjarr apostles from earlier. With meatier armor, darker in tint, this beast started to loosen up its joints. It carried an arm congealed with dozens of glass shards spread sharp like a porcupine.
Just then The Gatekeeper closed his fist and extended his neck forward to let out another reverberating, booming cry; a sound loud as a Gjallarhorn.
Shjarrs seemed to pour in by the dozens! And a series of chimes started. Brad, like a cat, jumped on a near stone pillar and leaped even higher to a thin perch with a bird's eye view. He pulled out a trigger and clicked the button.
A series of explosions in the back cleared almost all the shjarrs out in seconds. Is that what he was doing earlier while we sat on our lazy asses for a break?
"Kaboom, baby!" Frost cheered and saluted Brad.
I pounded my chest and smiled. "Hell, yeah." The opening gave my ass the opportunity to rejoin Jeremiah at the middle lane.
Brad aimed his LMG and began firing it with incredible handling of the weapon directly at The Gatekeeper. No effect. In fact, it seemed like the bullets were being stopped before they even hit him due to a hexagonal shield that only appeared when it took damage.
"Everyone! The oracles are back!" Valiic informed.
With all the crazy shivf going on, I hadn't even caught eye of the oracle glowing in the middle lane. Quickly, I destroyed it with gunfire.
My teammate's voices rang in, and it was evident we managed to take out the five oracles in time.
I started, "Here's the game plan--"
"I love a good game plan," Frost jumped in.
"--We hold this arena down by zones, making sure to stay in line of sight of the oracles and take them out as soon as they chime back in. Cover your areas from enemies, and focus fire on The Gatekeeper when you see an opening. His shield has to break at some point."
"No, it won't," said Jeremiah from behind.
I didn't turn. I was close enough to hear him over my weapon. "What do you mean?"
"The Gatekeeper bares a barrier unequaled, a barrier that exists in multiple realities. Destroy it in one, and The Gatekeeper replaces it anew. Forged in basks of darkness the Shield of Sin creates an isolated event to disrupt the barrier's manipulation of reality," Jeremiah finished reading. "And I think that's it in the circle."
Just as he said, lying down in the circle that uncurses you was a shield shrouded with black luminosity and color. It vibrated with power and dark energy that pulsed through the frame.
Only problem, and a dense problem at that: It was smack-dead in the middle, right at The Gatekeeper's feet. Figures.
I pointed my endothermic rifle at the metal monster and fired a whole clip. It didn't even get to him. The white holographic shield absorbed it.
The monster's eyes grew in anger. It raised its glassed arm, and the shards fired out - fired at me! I dipped out of the way and took cover, and the shards exploded into pieces as they collided into walls and boulders. The glass that was fired regrew back on its arm.
I gazed around my cover and saw Frost sneaking his way behind the beast. From behind it, he materialized as much ice as he could over its upper arms, shoulders, and torso. The kid had a pair, but the act only angered The Gatekeeper. It dematerialized itself and reappeared behind Frost, all the ice gone. He braced as the beast backhanded him in the chest, shattering layers of ice armor and knocking him towards me. Frost landed over the stairs, skidded, and collided into the wall in front of me. He couched, pulling himself up to a knee at a snail's pace.
Shadow-Walker and I unleashed our weapons on The Gatekeeper. In that very second, The Gatekeeper translocated right in front of me! On instinct alone, I activated my stasis shield just as it brought its sharp arm spinning around at my side. His power was that of a battling ram, which was sure as shivf more than I had anticipated, and I was knocked back towards the middle stairs. I landed on my feet and stopped myself. Mother's mercy let my shield take the full blow; however, the result was a nutt-pincher. One hit, and it flickered before the device sparked. Now complete trash, my stasis shield was fried and of no more use to me.
The Gatekeeper teleported in front of me again! Frost was behind it and tried to freeze it, but that hardly seemed to slow it down. Just then, Geariic came charging. With momentum on his side, he swung his warhammer straight into The Gatekeeper's body. The force, along with the explosion, knocked it backward a few meters. Even then, it still stood.
Geariic wasn't done. He closed the distance for another hit. The Gatekeeper used its arm to block the swing. Its free arm, the bladed arm, sliced at Geariic. It barely reached him, but the tip of the blade cut through his armor, exposing his stomach, back, and torso completely.
He let go of his warhammer and threw his shoulder into The Gatekeeper, attempting to bring it down. It was forced back, closing near the edge of the battlefield, but it held on from falling. Frost came around and started freezing the ground behind the machine, allowing Geariic to force it back further. It was nearing the edge.
The next moment was mine. With covering fire provided by Brad and Shadow-Walker, I dashed forward. I jumped over Geariic's back and slammed myself into The Gatekeeper. That last bit of force was enough to knock it off the edge.
"Oh, yeah! That's what you call a team freven effort!" Frost pounded Geariic on the back multiple times in celebration.
"Now all we gotta do is clear out the--"
I was cut off by Jeremiah. "Behind you!"
My instincts lit on fire, and I sidestepped a lightning fast slash by The Gatekeeper. It was back!
I forgot this thing teleports!
It spun itself, and the same arm came at me again. Only I didn't fully dodge this time. It sliced and drew blood from my chest, cutting through my tank top and skin like air.
I didn't hesitate and slid between its legs. My gut took me running back up the stairs to the top of the platform in the middle. A round shot right over my head. I dove into cover as Shadow-Walker sent back shots with his scout rifle, slowing the approaching shjarrs. His gun was resting against his wounded shoulder, and I made out spots of blood through the bandages.
"You'll reopen your wound if you push yourself too hard," I said.
"Because dying in this cave is a much better option," Shadow shot back, with a sarcastic jest.
"He'll be fine," Jeremiah reassured.
"Oh, and feel free to help at any time, Pastor," I half-joked.
"I'm best suited to you by providing informational aid." Jeremiah smiled, his eyes glowed with positivity.
Right as he finished speaking, more shards of glass smashed to pieces off the cover and walls. The Gatekeeper had made its way into the middle again. Geariic and Frost worked as a team to make its life hell. Geariic went for the legs and returned upward. He slammed the beast back down with a suplex, all while Frost continued to slow it down with ice.
The giant machine started to screech from frustration. For a second, its core glowed a hot array of colors before unleashing a devastating barrage of glass. It cut through the ice, forcing the two to step back. Some of the shards managed to cut small slices through Geariic's skin, while Frost managed to avoid most of the destruction.
The chimes sang again, and it had us all on edge. The oracles had reappeared all around the battleground, each one glowing brighter than before. We were not ready for this. Most of us had returned to the middle to help with The Gatekeeper. There was no way we can make it to all the oracles before they erased us from existence.
I reached for my rifle and pointed it at the nearest oracle in the middle, but The Gatekeeper's body was in the way. Shivf!
I was aghast as four simultaneous explosions ruptured around the battleground, shaking the rock beneath our feet. The oracle in the middle was then swiftly taken down by Brad, who just appeared by the gate.
"That'z all of dem," Brad said over the comms. "But don't expect 'notha one, cuz I'm outta explosivez."
That's what the explosions were for, my heart cheered with joy.
That moment was cut short as half a dozen apostles warped into the battle from seemingly nowhere. I unloaded my rounds at one right in front of me.
Click.
I was empty and out of time. The apostle downward-slashed at me, and I blocked with my rifle. It worked, but that stupid move cost me my weapon.
"Gun now!" I shouted the words to anyone who would hear.
I turned back and caught one of our spare weapons, tossed by Jeremiah, and aimed. Weapon up, I finished off the apostle attacking me and then aimed at different targets, unleashing my speed with rapid trigger presses.
Shadow-Walker kept pace, and I was unaware of how many shots we fired, because it would have been impossible to count. We didn't halt firing until the area was cleared of the sudden reinforcements.
The Gatekeeper, the sole foe, absorbed the bullets of all who fired at it. It lurked behind its towering shield like a snake ready to strike. Its eye gave away its intention to release a major attack like before.
But my eyes lingered elsewhere. Down the middle lane, Jeremiah grabbed the Shield of Sin, and he stuck it on his arm.
"When in Sam-Hell did he get there?" I heard Geariic's voice. And I was thinking the same.
The Gatekeeper let out a vengeful mechanical roar and disappeared in an instant. It was on one of the platforms hovering on the outside of the arena, charging itself for a massive attack. To make the shivf smell worse, more shjarr units were swarming in on us.
Geariic and Frost looked up to me for a plan.
"I'll hold on to the shield so everyone can focus on the threat before us," said Jeremiah. He slipped into one of the small pathways near him.
"Brad, Valiic. Stay at the back of the battlefield. Keep enemies away from us if possible, but most importantly, make yourselves available to clear the oracles if they come back."
"Copy," I heard Valiic respond. I hadn't thought much of it until now, but it was especially soothing to hear from him since I hadn't seen him in an uncomfortably long amount of time.
My eyes jumped to Geariic and Frost, then to Shadow-Walker behind me. "Our task is killing us a gatekeeper."
We turned our attention back to The Gatekeeper, who was seconds from firing. Right as the storm of glass was freed, we jumped out of the way. Frost jumped to the top level on the right side, and Geariic to the left. Shadow and I stayed in our positions, where cover was the most generous.
We returned fire. The Gatekeeper fired off two more bursts of glass in quick succession, which Frost blocked one with a wall of ice. We evaded the second one. Shadow-Walker sniped a few rounds at The Gatekeeper's head, but its shield protected it. It teleported back to the middle and blasted at us again. Frost flared up his hand and created a small half-dome to protect himself. Geariic tucked himself out of the way for a moment.
While it was distracted, Jeremiah rolled out from his cover and stopped on one knee, with the shield pointed at The Gatekeeper. It spun towards him with a low metal grumble and readied another attack, but Jeremiah was quick and knew what he was doing.
The shield energized, and the black electricity flowed around it at incredible speed. The shield formed a swirling ball of goo. When it was nearly the size of the shield, the bolt of energy was unleashed. The shot made impact with the shield, and the shield shattered apart. Shadow-Walker and I were quick on our trigger fingers, and we unloaded our guns into The Gatekeeper. A grenade, courtesy of Brad's underbarrel attachment, exploded with direct impact on the machine. It tumbled back. Frost had frozen some icicles over The Gatekeeper and shot them down with his weapon. He then tossed a spear of ice right into it. The blade pierced its stomach.
It translocated away, attempting to hide. I heard Valiic's cannon start firing.
"Over here!" Valiic informed.
Shadow-Walker and I moved to position on the left lane. Valiic was at the back, using his shield to protect himself from a few enemy shjarrs and The Gatekeeper. We fired, and that's when I noticed its shield was once again intact.
Jeremiah ran up the stairs with the relic. "I'm going to hit him again. Be prepared."
The Gatekeeper was not able to go in peace. He aimed all he had at Jeremiah, who had started to create another energized ball. The glass came, but Jeremiah was nimble and able to keep concentration while dodging the glass.
Even then, he wasn't going to be able to dodge everything. That's when a few shards hit him on the shoulder and side. Then Geariic came to the rescue. His body blocked the rest, some of which even pierced his metallic skin.
Jeremiah was ready. He jumped past Geariic and fired the shield's bolt in the same manner as last time. The bolt splashed across The Gatekeeper's shield and shattered it to pieces. At the same time, everyone with a sightline on The Gatekeeper fired their guns, which tore into it as it let out an angry cry.
The chimes then came ringing in the caves.
Shivf! The oracles are back!
"The stupid things are getting faster!" Shadow yelled, with annoyance on his tongue.
"Everyone shoot down The Gatekeeper now!" I shouted.
"But the oracles--" Jeremiah started.
"It's a long odds chance, I know. Just do it."
I unloaded clip after clip into the machine. Shadow and Valiic fired as fast as they could pull the trigger. Frost let loose a few spears of ice, firing his pistol in between. Brad had out his LMG for maximum damage. Geariic, not having a ranged weapon, focused his efforts on the shjarrs.
"We are running dry on time!" I was sweating from fear and anxiety. The Gatekeeper needed to die and now.
My heart pounded to a high tempo just as my instincts alerted me of something behind me. I didn't have time to turn but saw a jet of light fly by me. Like a sharp arrow, the beam of light pierced into The Gatekeeper. And it seemed to feel the power of the attack, falling to a knee. The arrow then exploded into tiny particles that then exploded once more. The force shattered the metal casing of The Gatekeeper as its glowing eye went black. It went silent and crashed to the ground, sparking and exploded itself apart into heaps of metal.
The oracles then disappeared as fast as they came, and the remaining shjarrs deactivated. I looked over my arms and down myself, almost not believing we just survived. I spun around.
"That light?" I was lost for words, not knowing what more to ask.
"I don't know. It flew right by me, just as it did you," Jeremiah admitted.
"I can give two fat shivfs where it came from. It bloody saved our lives!" Shadow-Walker cheered.
Geariic and Frost had formed up around the broken body of The Gatekeeper that we had just beaten. Frost fiddled around with the parts until Geariic interrupted by kicking it, sending a few pieces flying away. Frost looked up at Geariic with an irritated expression, and Geariic grinned with teasing teeth.
I reloaded my weapons and checked on my reserves. I was light after all the fighting.
"Jeremiah, how's the reserves look?" I pointed to the backpack.
He shuffled through. "At least half our stocks are used up."
Brad and Valiic had the other two backpacks. I wondered how much ammo was left in those.
Right before we began to relax, we heard a rumbling and looked to the gate that was blocking our progress. The gate spun back and disappeared. Trial one was now complete on the death of The Gatekeeper. A new path was open to us, and with it a new trial surely awaited. Seeing as how we kicked this trial right up the ass with zero graves dug, I had a better feeling about the second one.