Chapter 20: The History of Lies (Part 2)
Location: The Main Courtyard (The Kill Box).
Time: 6:00 PM.
Status: Total War.
The courtyard was a green hell.
The rift in the sky had widened. The massive hand of Leviathan (Envy) was pushing through, grasping for the Pillar. Its fingers were made of translucent green jelly, dripping slime that turned whatever it touched into glass.
Ren ran.
He wasn't using stealth. He was sprinting down the central avenue, flanked by Bastion and Kaelith.
"Incoming!" Kaelith shouted.
A swarm of Envy Harpies dove from the sky. They screamed, a sound that made Ren's teeth ache.
Bastion leaped. He didn't punch; he clapped.
BOOM.
The shockwave of his stone hands pulverized the lead Harpy.
"Move!" Bastion roared, shielding Ren from the falling debris. "I will hold the line!"
Bastion stopped, turning his back to the Pillar to face the swarm. He became a living wall.
Ren and Kaelith pushed forward.
They reached the inner circle.
Standing there, surrounded by a barrier of golden light, was Cardinal Malthus.
Malthus wasn't fighting. He was chanting. He was feeding mana into the Pillar, widening the rift.
"You are late, Null," Malthus said, his voice amplified by magic. "The Eye has seen you. It wants your emptiness."
Malthus flicked a finger.
[ Spell: Hammer of Dawn. ]
A massive pillar of light slammed down from the sky.
Ren dove.
CRACK.
The cobblestones where he had been standing vaporized. The heat singed his cloak.
"He's too strong!" Kaelith yelled, firing arrows that disintegrated against Malthus's barrier. "We can't get close!"
"We don't need to beat him!" Ren shouted. "We just need to distract him!"
Suddenly, a blast of fire hit Malthus's barrier. Then a bolt of ice. Then a blade of wind.
Malthus frowned. He looked to the right.
Running from the Solaris Dorms was an army.
It was a ragtag group. Nobles in silk pajamas, students in half-armor, even Draven Thorne (bandaged and limping). Leading them was Caelum Arken.
"Fire!" Caelum commanded.
Fifty students unleashed a chaotic volley of spells.
They weren't coordinated. They weren't powerful compared to a Cardinal. But there were many.
The sheer volume of fire forced Malthus to reinforce his shield.
"Insolent brats!" Malthus snarled. "I am the Church! I am your Shepherd!"
"You're a traitor!" Draven shouted, throwing a fireball. "You tried to feed us to a God!"
The distraction worked. Malthus turned his attention to the students, raising his staff to cast a mass-paralysis spell.
"Now!" Ren sprinted.
He closed the distance. Fifty yards. Thirty yards.
Malthus saw him.
"Persistent rat."
Malthus pointed his staff at Ren.
[ Spell: Holy Bind. ]
Chains of light erupted from the ground, wrapping around Ren's legs.
Ren fell hard. The Lens of Clarity skittered out of his hand, sliding across the stone.
"No!" Ren reached for it.
Malthus walked over. He kicked the Lens away.
"Did you think a piece of glass could stop a God?" Malthus laughed. He raised his foot to crush the artifact.
"It's not glass," Ren whispered.
Ren activated [The Index]. [ Skill: Magnetic Pull ].
He didn't pull the Lens. He pulled the Shiv in his boot.
The black iron dagger flew into his hand.
Ren slashed the chains of light. The Shiv of Gluttony drank the mana, shattering the bind.
Ren rolled. He grabbed the Lens.
He didn't stand up. He threw himself at the Pillar of Scales.
Malthus realized too late. "STOP HIM!"
Malthus fired a [Ray of Judgment].
Ren slid on his knees. He jammed the Lens of Clarity into the main data port of the Pillar.
CLICK.
Ren twisted it.
"System," Ren roared. "INVERT!"
Time: 6:05 PM.
Event: The Equalization.
A pulsewave expanded from the Pillar.
It wasn't loud. It was silent. It was a wave of pure, white neutrality.
It passed through Ren.
It passed through Malthus.
It passed through the students, the monsters, and the Academy.
[ System Alert: Artifact Activated. ]
[ Protocol: Equality. ]
[ Suppressing High-Density Mana... ]
[ Suppressing Class Skills... ]
[ Suppressing Rank Advantages... ]
Ren watched the UI in his vision flicker.
[ Level: 22 ] -> [ Level: 1 ]
[ Mana: 300 ] -> [ Mana: 0 ]
[ Gauntlet Life Steal: Offline. ]
The glowing text boxes vanished. The magical light in the courtyard died. The floating candles fell to the ground.
Above them, the rift in the sky screamed. The Giant Eye looked down. It saw... nothing.
No bright souls. No dark souls. No hierarchy. Just a sea of identical grey sparks.
Confused, the Eye began to close. The giant green hand dissolved into mist.
On the ground, silence reigned.
Malthus stood frozen. His golden barrier flickered and vanished. His levitation spell failed. He dropped six inches to the ground.
He looked at his hands. He tried to summon a Holy Smite. Nothing happened.
"My... my power," Malthus gasped. "What have you done?"
Ren stood up.
He felt heavy. His enhanced strength was gone. His Flash Step was gone. He was just a twelve-year-old boy again.
But he was smiling.
"I leveled the playing field, Cardinal," Ren said.
Malthus looked at Ren. He looked at the angry mob of students encircling him.
But Malthus was a large man. He was six feet tall, heavy-set. Ren was a child.
Malthus drew a ceremonial dagger from his belt. It wasn't magical. It was just sharp steel.
"I don't need magic to kill a beggar," Malthus sneered. "I am a man of God. I have the strength of righteousness!"
He charged at Ren.
Ren watched him come.
Without magic, Malthus was clumsy. He telegraphed his swing. He overextended.
Ren didn't have his stats. But he had his Memory.
The [Index] was offline, but the knowledge he had absorbed—the martial arts, the anatomy, the street fighting tactics—was stored in his biological brain.
Ren stepped inside Malthus's guard.
He didn't use a fancy technique. He stomped on Malthus's instep.
Crunch.
"ARGH!" Malthus hopped.
Ren punched him in the throat.
Gack.
Malthus dropped the dagger, clutching his windpipe.
Ren grabbed Malthus's robes and pulled him down. He drove his knee into the Cardinal's nose.
SNAP.
Malthus fell backward, blood pouring down his face. He scrambled back, terrified.
"You... you fight like an animal!" Malthus wheezed.
"I fight like a human," Ren said, picking up the fallen dagger.
He walked over to Malthus. He placed a foot on the Cardinal's chest.
"You relied on the System," Ren whispered. "You thought levels made you a god. But take away the numbers... and you're just a fat man in a dress."
Ren raised the dagger.
"WAIT!" Malthus screamed. "Mercy! I surrender! I can give you anything! Gold! Titles!"
Ren paused.
The students were watching. Caelum was watching.
If Ren killed him, he was a murderer. If he spared him... Malthus would face the King's Justice.
"Mercy?" Ren asked.
He looked at the Pillar behind him. The Lens was glowing hot. It would burn out in seconds.
"The Lens only lasts ten minutes," Ren said. "When it fades, your magic comes back."
Malthus's eyes shifted. He was counting the seconds.
"So," Ren said. "I can't let you wake up."
Ren flipped the dagger. He hit Malthus in the temple with the heavy pommel.
THUD.
Malthus went limp. Unconscious.
Ren looked at Caelum.
"Tie him up," Ren ordered. "Use iron chains. Gag him. Blindfold him. When the magic returns, he must not be able to speak or see."
Caelum nodded. He signaled the Solaris students. They swarmed the fallen Cardinal, binding him with belts and torn cloaks.
Ren sat down on the steps of the Pillar.
He felt the connection to the Archive returning slowly.
[ System Rebooting... ]
[ Threat Level: Zero. ]
[ The Eye of Envy has retreated. ]
Ren closed his eyes.
He was exhausted. Every muscle ached.
"We won," Kaelith said, sitting next to him. She offered him a waterskin.
"For now," Ren drank. "But we just humiliated the Church. They won't forgive this."
"Let them come," Caelum said, walking over. He looked like a leader now. "We have the Cardinal. We have his confession. And we have the whole Academy as witnesses."
Ren looked at the sky. The purple bruise was gone. The stars were back.
"Saga Two is over," Ren whispered to himself.
He checked his Status.
[ Quest Complete: The Tower of Lies. ]
[ Reward: Reputation (Infamous). ]
[ Reward: The Key to the Third Floor of the Dungeon. ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You are now Level 25. ]
Ren stood up.
"Let's go home," Ren said. "I have a lot of books to return."
[ EPILOGUE: THE SHADOW OF SLOTH ]
Location: The Royal Palace, The Throne Room.
Time: One Week Later.
The King sat on his throne. He was old, frail.
Standing before him was Duke Valerius Arken, fresh from the Northern Expedition. He looked tired, his armor mud-stained.
"The Expedition failed, Your Majesty," Valerius reported. "The Continent of Sloth... it is impassable. The fog puts men to sleep instantly. We lost half the legion without swinging a sword."
The King coughed. "And the Academy? I hear there was... an incident."
"A rebellion," Valerius said, his eyes narrowing. "Led by my son. And his... Retainer."
"They captured a Cardinal," the King mused. "They claim the Church is corrupt."
"The Church is corrupt," Valerius spat. "But they are powerful. Cardinal Malthus is in the dungeon, screaming about a 'Boy with No Soul'."
Valerius looked at the map of the kingdom.
"This Retainer... Ren. He is dangerous."
"What do you propose, Duke?"
Valerius smiled. It was the smile of a predator recognizing another predator.
"The Royal Ball is next month. Invite them. Invite Caelum. And invite the Retainer."
Valerius gripped the hilt of his sword.
"I want to meet the boy who broke my House."
End of Saga 2
Saga 2 Stats:
Ren Level: 25.
Class: Weaver of Tales (Tier 2).
Key Items: Lens of Clarity (Broken), Key of Chronos, Shiv of Gluttony.
Allies: Caelum, Kaelith, Bastion, Vex, Vargo, Tom, Headmaster Solon.
Enemies: The Church (Hostile), Duke Valerius (Suspicious), The Sin of Envy (Dormant).