Ultimate Level 1

He is coming.

Max’s eyes opened as he stood, the sensation of the room changing slightly.

Power flowed within the crystal lines on the floor, and a pulsing purple light flashed half a dozen times.

Then it stopped, and a purple portal formed from floor to ceiling.

From the other side, Phaius strode through, his eyes locked on Max the moment he could see him.

“I wondered… the summon seemed out of place, and yet I hoped. Well done, Max, well done.”

His outfit was the same flowing robes, and Phaius’s muscles rippled everywhere cloth didn’t cover them. Yet his eyes were purple, almost matching the portal he had walked through and had just vanished through.

“I didn’t want to cause problems like last time, and I figured they had a way to summon or contact you. Thankfully, I was right.”

The tiniest smile showed for a moment before the god moved to where Max was and held out a hand.

It took a moment, but Max shook it, and then a chair appeared behind Phaius as he sat down, plopping onto a crystal seat.

“Sit, please. I need to talk, and I’m certain you also have questions.”

Max took a deep breath and took his own seat and nodded.

“Did you know the elven god was killing humans and harvesting their skills?”

Both eyes flashed black as they went wide, a burst of light almost cascading across the dark surface before they returned to the purple state they had been a moment ago.

“What?! Why would you…”

Phaius paused his outburst, his jaw having been rock hard in a moment, and then he blinked rapidly a few times.

“You’re serious. Do you have proof?”

Max could sense the concern in the god’s tone. It had changed three times already from the first moment he had come into the room.

“There is a place I could show you on a map. All that remains is a large crater from where the shard that was being used exploded. The ground is like glass and the—”

A hand rose and stopped him.

“I don’t need to go now. What you described is not something you could know of unless such a thing had indeed happened,” Phaius growled.

Max could hear teeth grinding and watched as the god before him frowned.

“How? How did you find this?”

“The unskilled… those in our race who are labeled this. Do you really believe they have no skills?”

Max’s question made his frown deepen as both lips drew inward.

“Long ago, after I was punished for the actions of my people, there were a few examples of people without skills brought to me. Glitches, abnormalities, curses, so many other names they go by on different worlds.”

Cracking his neck, the god finally looked upward and grunted before closing his eyes.

“Every world is different… this one… it was one of the better ones… a bargain for me… Ockrim is not hard to work with… Thuyja… she is not so easy anymore.”

“Doesn’t saying her name possibly draw her attention?”

Returning his head to its normal position, Phaius shook it and shrugged.

“I’m not a follower of her. The only one who might have to worry about that would be the elves in your party, but even then, unless she were specifically listening, hoping to hear it from a certain elf, it would be a pain to grant that much time, effort, and power to do so.

“Every time one of her children here said her name, she would be notified, requiring her to sort through each time. Some of those elves must say her name at least ten times a day or more. I doubt she has the patience for that.”

Seems we were a little overcautious after all.

Ignoring Bob, Max nodded.

“Well, I returned home and protected my sister when the adventurer attendants tried to capture her as they had me on her Choosing Day.”

A groan escaped Phaius’s lips, but he motioned with his hand for Max to continue.

“I used some hard methods to learn an approximate location and called in a lot of favors. Apparently, they bind those who were a part of this group to obedience and silence. I doubt most even know what happened to those they captured.”

Scratching his chiseled chin, he nodded.

“No… it would make sense for a lot of reasons to make someone do that. And the further down the chain of command, the less one would need to know. Tell me, Max, what did you find?”

“A queen from another world using a shard and draining the… I don’t know… skill? Power? Essence of the person. She was making elixirs of red skills.”

Phaius’s face went slack, and his jaw started to slowly lower.

“Red elixirs? You’re certain? Do you have any?”

Watching the god he knew could kill him in a moment, Max leaned back slightly as the god leaned forward.

“No… I had to take the queen to the world I was captured in and defeat her there. Had I stayed, I’m certain my friends would have died in that fight.”

“And they didn’t get any?”

“No, they destroyed them.”

“What a waste,” Phaius muttered. “Those are dangerous but also powerful. It is no wonder she was making them, as the value of those to a god is quite a bit.”

“For the skills?”

Shaking his head, the god squeezed the bridge of his nose for a moment.

“No… well yes but not for them. It is a way to help one of your followers quickly. Still those are dangerous and often lead to problems down the road.”

“Like the two queens?”

“Yes… like those two.”

Max heard Phaius mutter morons after he had spoken, though he was certain he wasn’t supposed to have.

“Well, she is dead. I couldn’t get her gear off because none of my unbinding stones worked.”

“They wouldn’t if she’s from another world. Do you still have the corpse? I can—”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“It’s gone. She has been disposed of.”

Phaius’s head cocked sideways at Max’s last words and tone.

“Do I… no… well, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll let Ockrim know. We’ll figure out what needs to be done. Now then, anything else I need to know about?”

He seems very… unaffected by the news we just gave… like it’s not that big of a deal.

To him, it most likely isn’t. I’m certain the problems he deals with from world to world, as well as the conflict between other gods, make this a minor problem.

“No… I’m headed to Nalgrun soon to help my dwarven friends get married.”

Bobbing his head, Phaius sat up a little straighter on his crystal chair.

“That should be good. Now, then, we need to talk, and while I can stay here longer than usual, I’m burning power in doing so. Recent… problems have cost me more than I want to admit, but we need to hurry for now. Let me hit you with the big points. and then I’ll need to go.”

A rolled piece of paper appeared in Phaius’s hand, and it was held out toward Max.

Power radiated from it, far more than he could recall a single item ever having before.

“Take it. Again, not a lot of time.”

Wrapping his fingers around it sent waves of energy into them, and his eyes felt like they were going to explode for a moment.

“Store it.”

It took a little effort, but the power faded quickly once it was gone, no longer in his grip.

“That has two uses. You can write something on it. One word, a thousand words. It doesn’t matter. Once you roll it back up, the message will be delivered to me. I then can only respond one time. After that, once you’ve read the message, it will vanish forever.”

“Wow… that’s—”

“Not a toy,” the god stated, frowning slightly. “Do not waste it. Trust me when I say it has been a long time since I gave one out, and it took me most of that time to acquire another.”

Bobbing his head, Max watched as Phaius’s expression became blank. His purple eyes seemed to stare at the wall behind where he sat.

“Your skill is growing, and word has reached me the other two black skills are also known now. That means no god will or should be foolish to outright kill you. Some might try to capture you and force your hand that way, but it’s risky… very risky.”

“So I’m safe from Thuyja?”

“No… not in the least. She will do whatever she can to control you. Anyone you love and care for are all items she will take and collect to force you to do what she wants. Not doing so will be bad for them.”

Max blinked a few times, wondering how a god could do that and hoping someone would just blindly obey.

“Wouldn’t she be nervous about what I could become? What might I do in retaliation?”

“No… other gods have taken that path before when the black skills were active. It is a common game… Hurt my enemy, I release a friend or loved one. The skill desires growth, so they gladly accept that offer. Sometimes, the hunger is so great that a god doesn’t even need to bargain; he simply provides a portal to another world and unleashes it upon it.

The… other skills… if they are like that…

Will be growing in power rather quickly.

“What else?”

“You need to finish the tower. I know you have things to do, but there will be a time at which you must finish that tower. Doing so will take you to the next stage of all this. Right now I believe you are ahead of the other two. It appears you were unleashed first and grew strong enough for them to be given out. Somewhere in the system, they are growing, and things are going to get ugly fast.”

“Doesn’t this bother you?” Max asked, seeing the apparent lack of concern on Phaius’s face.

“No… this isn’t my first or second time hearing about the skills being loose. Rules. Everything operates off of rules. All I know is you must stay alive and reach the next part. Doing so means death for so many.”

“Like if I die in the tower?”

Phaius shrugged.

“The system might try and kick you out again, this time into a stronger host. If that fails, then the real problem begins. None of what would take place you or I can affect. Right now all that matters is you don’t die.”

“Then tell me what happens in the last part of the tower.”

It looked as if someone punched Phaius in the face the way it bunched up.

“I cannot, nor will I risk the pain of breaking that rule. Just know…”

Max watched as the god almost groaned, mouth open and eyes closed.

“Don’t die… that is all I can say… the pain even for me is too great.”

“That must be one horrible rule.”

“You have no idea. Some rules are like that, able to kill some, cripple others, and almost impossible to break. Doing so will never be done because the cost of it isn’t worth it. Then, there are guides to follow. These are not hard, fast rules, but things everyone agrees on make life better for all. Some will break them outright, and that leads to war and pain. Others bend and manipulate, skirting the potential war but not always.

“That is a rule just like others I cannot discuss. Beat the tower. Then we can.”

“Fine, I’ll beat the tower,” Max replied. “It was always my plan. What next?”

“Leave your friends.”

“What?!”

“If you care about them… leave them. Before the end… trust me… the pain…”

Max’s shock and bewilderment started to fade as he watched Phaius’s body tremble and shake.

The system… it is punishing him… he is warning us.

“The tower… before I finish the tower…”

A howl of pure agony came from the god’s lips, and then his body shook one last time as he gave the slightest nod for a brief moment.

“I… I can’t say anything else…”

Max couldn’t say a word. He saw the pain that still lanced through Phaius’s being. An occasional tremor would hit, and the man twitched from it.

“Thank you. Anything else?”

A deep breath of air filled the god’s lungs, and then the shakes stopped.

“One last thing, Max… one last thing.”

Phaius held out his hand, and a black stone sat in his palm.

“An artifact piece,” Max whispered.

Groaning, the god nodded.

“I wondered if you had acquired one yet… I wish I could give you more, and no don’t tell me how many you have. Part of why I must go is because of this. I have traded so much to get it, Max. Many of my worlds will feel the pain of what I did. This is the only way I can show my apology to you for what I attempted to do and what my people did.”

He watched as the god leaned forward and put the black stone in his hand.

“If what I believe will happen does, you might just get enough of those to complete it. You’re going to need it. If not… you can sell them after you beat the tower and gain enough power to help jump-start the next part.”

“Next part?”

Phaius waved his now-empty hand and then rose, his chair vanishing as he stood.

“I can’t say more… rules. Just know this, Max Hoste. Some gods are cheering for you. On the flip side, some are not. Lines are being drawn, and you are a piece in the game. Many will try to have a say in the direction you go. Be smart in the tower.”

He wanted to ask a question, but Phaius was already moving toward the portal that had appeared.

“I’m sorry, Max… I need to go. Be safe and good luck.”

“But—”

Phaius didn’t wait, stepping through and the portal blinking out, leaving him alone with a piece he knew was extremely rare in his hand.

That has only caused more questions to arise… still… I believe he truly was sincere about that apology. What you are holding… I sense he is right.

Max glanced at the piece and then summoned the other two from storage, feeling them wanting to move closer together.

I… I think you’re right. But then the real question is, who has been pulling these strings all this time? Thuyja?

Bob was silent momentarily as they gazed upon the three objects before them.

What if it was her, and she hoped they would get your black skill and absorb it? But what if it is a totally different god? When will they reveal themselves? And why would they do this?

Either way… this means we’re in for a real test… someone wants us to be something we’re not, and that raises the question one more time… What will they do to try to make us that?

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