Chapter 22

 

Hel watched with breath held as the human boy emperor approached Loki with the sword.  Like Baldur, she had taken the time to Examine the weapon the moment Allistor had drawn it, and her vast powers of perception had told her what the enchantments would do.  She took a perverse pleasure in that.  Obviously, Loki had not bothered to study the weapon, or he would have had more of a reaction to it.  So the enchantment’s effects were going to come as a painful, and at least briefly horrifying, surprise to him.  Hel took pleasure in that, as well.

The boy made his short speech, then wasted no time carrying out the execution.  He stabbed Loki through the chest, causing exactly the pain and horror she’d hoped for.  Then with a second swift motion Allistor took the head of his tormentor.  Well, one of your tormentors, you little fool.  I’m at least as responsible for your troubles as my father is.  Was.  He’s actually gone. I finally got the best of him once and for all.   She projected the thought at the holo display. 

It was the last thought she would experience on the mortal plane. 

For at that same moment, Loki’s heart ceased to beat.  The device he’d implanted sent a signal that triggered the hidden explosives in Hel’s lab to detonate.  Her body disappeared in a white-hot flash that was the first in a chain of detonations that utterly destroyed the entire moon where she’d hidden her base.  Loki had no way to be sure exactly where she’d be standing at the moment of his death.  His assumption was that she’d be in her lab, her favorite spot and communications hub.  But he was nothing if not thorough, so he’d literally gone nuclear.  A dozen devices planted deep within the mantle of the moon detonated within milliseconds of each other.  The planetoid burst apart, killing every living thing on or near it.

Across the entire galaxy the very fabric of the Collective was altered.  Two of the most devious and active members of their ancient race died within seconds of each other.  Eons of sworn oaths and contracts were nullified.  Debts were eliminated, and incurred.  Thousands who had sworn to protect either of the two beings with their lives perished for failing their oaths.   Millions of possessions in the form of object, property, and living beings, were suddenly up for grabs.  Within the hour, wars would begin among those looking to take advantage.

And the System took note of all of it.

*****

 

In a mostly intact building near the north end of what had once been Central Park, the Lich was standing with arms held high, chanting in a low tone.  The words that spilled from his mouth would have made any living being’s skin crawl, causing them terror beyond tolerating.  He was calling on the power of the dead, gathering it to himself in order to transfer a small measure of it to each of the adept candidates standing before him.  Their undead forms writhed in pain, floating several feet off the floor as the dark magic imbued itself within their rotted and desiccated bodies.

Partway through his spell, the Lich’s voice ceased with a death rattle.  The light of magic went out of his eyes as if a switch had been flipped.  His arms dropped, followed quickly by the rest of his body hitting the floor.  Around him, the floating candidates screamed briefly before dropping to the floor, once again fully dead.  The detonation in Hel’s lab had brought about the utter destruction of the phylactery holding the lich’s soul.  

The previously established adepts trembled, some of them falling to their knees, others leaning against a post or wall as they felt their master’s shared power leave them.   The loss of that power did not destroy them, only diminish them greatly.  They were once again on a level with the common zombies outside.  Gone was the ability to raise more of the dead.  As was the ability to control their fellow undead. 

Several simply forfeited the mockery of life that animated them, having no desire to continue without their master’s power and will to motivate them.  Others slowly wandered away, uncaring of their direction, seeking only to feed. 

One adept, the first and most powerful, stood looking down at her master’s corpse.  A faint glow still smoldered within her eyes, flickering briefly before nearly extinguishing.  With a nod and a raspy exhale, she bent down to loot her former master.  When she was through, she walked away, his ebony staff thumping on the floor with every other step.

*****

 

Allistor awoke to pain in the back of his head.  Opening his eyes, he blinked several times as the twin suns shone directly into them.  His vision was filled with notifications that disappeared with a hazy thought.  Reaching up with his left hand to block the light, he saw the blood of his sworn enemy splattered on the pristine armor, as well as his skin.

Several faces loomed above him as he groaned, trying to sit up.  He was dizzy, and nearly fell back to a prone position before several helping hands grabbed hold and lifted him to his feet.  Directly in front of him, Helen stood next to Meg, each of them helping to steady him by holding one of his elbows and hands. 

“What the hell happened?” He managed to speak easily enough before taking several deep breaths, trying to shake the dizziness.

“You passed out, fell down, and hit your thick head.” Meg stated bluntly, squeezing his hand to offset the gruff tone.

“That explains the elephant romping around in there wearing cleats.” He nodded his head and immediately regretted it. 

Melise, who had apparently been standing ninja-close behind him, leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone.  “They’re worried about you.  You must let them know you are well.”

“What?” A confused Allistor looked at the elfess, then followed her gaze down the stairway to his gathered citizens.  The crowd was hushed, looks of fear or expectation on their faces. 

Allistor gritted his teeth and let go of Meg’s hand, raising his own to wave at the crowd.  There was a roar of relieved cheers, and a renewal of the chant.  “ Invictus!  Invictus !”   He took a few more breaths, moving his hand to rub the back of his head.  He felt a sore spot where his melon had clearly impacted the ground. 

Helen moved so that her face was directly in front of his.  “You hit the ground pretty hard.  I think your fat head actually bounced.  We healed you right away, so there shouldn’t be any more pain…” She looked worried.

Allistor blinked at her, remembering the notifications.  “I don’t think my head hurts from the bump.  This feels more like when Daigath taught me a new school of magic.  Maybe it’s from leveling up too much?  But I don’t under…” He broke off as the question caused his UI to pop up and show his character sheet.

“Holy shit.   I’m level ninety seven!  How the hell did that happen?”  He blinked several times at his UI, not trusting what his aching brain was showing him.  “I don’t understand.”

Allistor had prepared for the experience rush from killing Loki.  He had set things up so that he would personally receive just the five percent of the xp awarded by the System.  The rest should have redirected into the empire pool.  A quick check of that tab showed him an xp number that boggled the mind.  He wasn’t even sure what that many digits represented.  Trillions?  He found he didn’t have the focus to count them and figure it out.  It was too much.

“M-master Daigath?  Harmon?” he looked around for his two most senior and knowledgeable advisors.  Both stepped forward, but before Allistor could ask a question, Harmon placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Let us retire someplace private.  I believe there is much to discuss.” The giant orcanin urged Allistor toward the door of the building behind them. 

“Hang on a second.”  Allistor turned back toward the crowd.  “Nigel, loudspeaker please.”  He waited a moment then continued.  “It’s okay, everyone.  I mean, I’m okay.  I’m not sure what happened, but I leveled up a lot .  I just need a few minutes to shake it off.  Thank you all for coming.”  He waved again, then turned and allowed Harmon to guide him inside.

Allistor, Harmon, Daigath, Helen, Meg, and Sam all stepped into the elevator that quickly delivered them to the suite Amanda had created for them in the capitol building.  Meg tried to make Allistor lay down on a sofa, but settled for him sitting with an extra cushion behind his head.  As he was getting situated, both Harmon and Daigath were speaking quietly into their communicators and listening intently to the replies.  At one point, eyes wide, Harmon triggered a holo display from his wrist device, and both he and Daigath stared at it. 

“Somebody want to fill us in?” Allistor asked his advisors. 

Harmon cleared his throat.  “Well, information is still coming in.  But the current theory is that by killing Loki, you somehow triggered a failsafe that also killed Hel.  As well as a great number of their servants and those in their employ.  An entire moon owned by Hel was destroyed, with her on it.  The death toll has surpassed one million and is still growing as reports come in.”

Daigath nodded, taking his eyes from the display.   “Beings of such power and influence leave behind quite a void.  And the consequences of their passing ripple outward into the Collective.” He paused, giving Allistor a look of sympathy.  “Though I did not anticipate it would reach such a scale, I did warn you there would be consequences.”

Allistor’s gut clenched and he could hear his own pulse ringing in his ears.  He had to fight not to vomit on his boots.  “I’m… did I just commit genocide?  Am I a mass murderer?”

“There will be some who consider you to be so.” Harmon’s face was hard to read.  “Your intentions, while not exactly pure, were directed solely at obtaining justice as you see it.  And you were not aware that taking Loki’s head would result in the deaths of others.  Even those of us who expected some collateral loss of life had no idea it would happen to this extent.”

Daigath nodded as the orcanin spoke.  “I expect you have received a large number of faction notifications, as well as experience notifications.  It will take some time to analyze all of them.  I suggest you summon your analysts and have them begin immediately.”

Allistor nodded, numbly asking Nigel to do so.  The speed at which Droban, Selby, Longbeard, and L’olwyn appeared suggested they had anticipated his need and were hovering close by.   Allistor quickly pushed all of the several sets of notifications to all four of them. 

When he heard the gasps of surprise and astonishment, he raised his eyes.   “Yeah, tell me about it.”

After just a moment, Longbeard thumped the coffee table in front of him.  The least flustered of the four advisors, he had cut straight to the experience and level notifications.  “I see what happened.  Ye told the system ta give ye five percent o’ the experience fer Loki’s death, which it did.  But when his death triggered a bunch o’ others, it gived ye experience fer those deaths as well.  Not a full measure fer each one, as it would if ye killed them directly yerself, but enough that it raised ye more’n thirty levels at once.  Ye got the five percent o’ the total ye set up fer yerself as personal experience, and…” He gazed at the number for a moment.  “several trillion experience points went into yer Emperor’s pool.”

“You’ve made an unfathomable number of enemies, Allistor.”  L’olwyn was actually weeping as he read through the faction reputation notifications.”

“And a similar number of new friends or reputation increases.” Selby gave him a weak smile, her body trembling.   Allistor couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement.  “It will take us weeks to go through and analyze all of this.”

“We shall prioritize trying to identify any immediate threats.” Droban added. 

Harmon chuckled.  “You really stepped in it, my friend.  I’ve already ordered a small army of my own analysts to begin gathering and processing as much information as possible.  Also, and this might be good news for you, several factions and empires are leaping at the opportunities opening up at the deaths of Loki and Hel.  Multiple planets, in a few cases whole solar systems, are now up for grabs.  Not to mention power grabs within corporate entities previously under their control.  All that excitement might distract new enemies from focusing on you for a while.”  He winked at Allistor.  “The Orcanin Empire is already seizing some useful assets for itself.”

“Glad I could help.” Allistor deadpanned. 

Longbeard cleared his throat.  “There be a set of notifications here awarding ye some o’ Loki’s holdings as well.   Most be from last week when Baldur awarded ye Loki’s property here on this planet.  But a few o’ these are from today.”  He snorted, then chuckled to himself.  “Ye now own two more planets, three more space stations, and…” 

Allistor held up a hand and cut him off.  “Please, not now.  I’ve had enough for one day.  I just killed a million or more people, whether I meant to or not.  I really don’t want to hear what rewards that brought me.   Can… can you guys handle it?  Or assign some of our people to handle it?  Like, check on those worlds and make sure they’re not in immediate danger?  I just need a little time to process all this.”

Longbeard nodded.  “We’ll be hiring ye some more analysts like ourselves ta help carry this new burden.  Don’t ye worry, we’ll hold things together till ye be prepared to take the reins.”

“Thank you, all of you.”  Allistor looked at Daigath and Harmon.  “Is there anything else I need to know right now?”

Harmon looked to Daigath, who shook his head and replied, “Nothing that can’t wait a few hours.  Get some rest, boy.” He produced a vial of softly glowing pink liquid.  “Drink this.  It will allow you to sleep for several hours.  When you awaken, though, you’ll need to be prepared to address the most urgent of your new responsibilities.”

“Right.  No problem.  Thank you.” Allistor’s sarcasm was impolite, but at that moment he was beyond caring.  He accepted the potion and drank it down quickly, then allowed Meg to mother him into stretching out on the sofa.  She pulled off his blood-spattered boots and propped his feet up on a cushion.  When he shivered and she reached for a blanket, he waved her off.  The cold he was feeling inside had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. The potion did its work, and he quickly drifted off to sleep despite the desperate vortex of thoughts whirling through his mind. 

*****

Allistor dreamt he was standing in a large, empty space.  Dimly lit except for a beam of sunlight that shone down from above directly onto him, and a similar spotlight that illuminated a giant of a man atop a massive golden throne.   He felt puny next to this being who, even sitting down, was several times Allistor’s own height.  He imagined that if the man stood, he’d be fifty feet tall. 

“Greetings, Emperor Allistor.  I am Odin, the Allfather.” The giant’s voice boomed out, causing Allistor to wince slightly.   He took a step back from his imposing enemy and put one hand where the hilt of his sword should have been.  When he didn’t feel it, he cursed quietly to himself.

“Fear not, young one.  You are in no danger here.  Your physical body is quite safe where you left it.  I am merely speaking to your mind as you sleep.  And while I could certainly erase you with a thought, I have no such intention.”

Not sure he believed Odin’s statement of intentions at all, Allistor also knew there was nothing he could do about it either way.   So he simply straightened his back and stared up at the godlike being.  “Why am I here?”

“You are here, impertinent child, because I wished to speak privately with you.  I wish to share some knowledge, a little wisdom, I hope, and a warning.”

“Let me guess.” Allistor nearly spit on the floor at the base of the throne.  “You want to tell me to be satisfied with the deaths of Loki and Hel, and let go of any plans for further vengeance?”

Odin chuckled.  “Well, ultimately yes, I would appreciate that.  But it will be many years before you could even locate me, let alone grow powerful enough to come against me.  My warning has to do with your much more immediate future.”  Odin motioned with one hand, and a chair appeared underneath Allistor, forcing him to sit.  “But before the warning, let us discuss the day’s events.”

Curious despite himself, Allistor waited patiently for Odin to continue. 

“Your ancestors named me a god, one who is all-seeing and nearly omnipotent.  The truth is, though I do possess power beyond your understanding, I am neither all-seeing nor all-powerful.  My own race has its limits, just like any other.  That is why I must admit that I failed you today.”  He looked irritated for a moment, shaking his head.  “Not just you individually.  By not anticipating the depth of Loki’s pride, insanity, and hatred, I failed the entire Collective.  You were merely the trigger that brought that failure to light.”

Odin began to shrink physically, stepping off his throne as he did so.  Within seconds he was roughly the same size as Baldur had appeared to be on Earth earlier in the day.  A table and another chair appeared in front of Allistor, and Odin took a seat across from him.

“Unfortunately for you, being the trigger has propelled you much further along, much deeper into the game than you are prepared for.  You and yours will face opposition you haven’t truly earned, and consequences that can not yet be fully foreseen.” 

Odin sighed.  “Let us begin at the beginning.  I have always favored the human race.  Since you were little more than upright apes living in trees and caves, my race have fostered your development.  We visited your world many times throughout your evolution.  And even before that.  There was another dominant race on your earth that predates your own.  They were wiped out by a natural disaster long before… Ah, but that doesn’t matter now.   You need only know that we assisted in your growth, providing small nudges here and there to motivate and enlighten your ancestors.  All so that you might someday become viable and valued members of the Collective.”

“Baldur, myself, and a few others took a special liking to humans.  You have great potential, combined with deep flaws that make you unpredictable and interesting to watch.  You are rash, and quick-tempered, but also creative and loving.  You’re rarely satisfied with what you have or who you are, and seem driven to explore and understand.  We, most of us, have worked to encourage all of those aspects of the human race.  We have been like your gardeners, fertilizing and pruning rough weeds so that they might flower and bear fruit.”

“You can’t possibly take credit for everything we are.” Allistor snapped at him.  “We have free will, and the intelligence to learn and choose for ourselves.”

“I’m not here to argue the extent of our influence, Allistor.  I merely wished you to know that we meant you no harm, that we wished to help.  And would have continued to do so for many more centuries, at least.  Had Loki not interfered.”

Allistor fidgeted in his chair, anger warring with his sense of self-preservation.

“Loki’s actions were the beginning of my people’s debt to you.  He should not have been allowed to interfere by triggering your world’s Induction ahead of schedule.  And today’s events have, due to my own failure, increased our debt to you.   And to the Collective, which has now been unbalanced.  We will do what we can to restore that balance in small ways, but the Collective is very old, and very complex, and will largely balance itself out on its own in time.”

“What does that mean for my world?”

“You now own four worlds, Allistor.  But I get your meaning.”  Odin smiled gently at him.  “You are like a tiny mouse who, while poking his nose where it doesn’t belong in search of a tasty morsel, has shorted out a vital circuit and caused a power outage across a whole city.  You did not intend that result, nor would you have any way to have known that it was even possible.  Yet, as that tiny mouse would have been fried to a crisp, you will have to face dire consequences.  Loki, his pride unable to accept that he might be outmaneuvered, created a failsafe system to ensure that his daughter and main rival would follow him into death.  In his zeal, he caused her entire moon and everyone on it to be utterly destroyed.  The additional ripples of consequence from their simultaneous deaths will be unpredictable and significant.  In my sorrow after learning of so many misdeeds that burdened Loki’s soul, I failed to pull that final bit of information from him.  That is now my debt to shoulder, and part of that debt is owed to you, little mouse.”

“Stop calling me that.” Allistor thumped the table with his fist.  “I get it.  You’re super-smart and powerful, and I’m just a hairless monkey about a million levels of evolution below you.  Pointing it out repeatedly doesn’t help.”

Odin stared at him for a moment.  “Fair enough.  But be aware, your impertinence also does not help.”  His gaze held Allistor’s until the human nodded once in acceptance of that statement.

“I will not give you details now, as things are still very much in flux.  But know that Baldur and I will work to lessen the consequences that fall upon you and your people.  Still, you will need to proceed with caution, and speed.  Learn what enemies you’ve made this day, and allow your friends to help you prepare for them.  Continue on the path you’ve chosen, gather your people together and make them stronger.  So that even if you yourself do not survive the coming trials, they may continue on without you.”

“As you said, that was always my mission.  To make humans strong enough to reclaim Earth.”

“And to venture out among the stars with vengeance in your hearts.  Yes, I know.” Odin chuckled.  “Well you have your wish.  You have the resources now to venture far out into the universe.  One of the two planets you won today is much nearer the center of the Collective than your Earth.  I recommend you take special note of that fact as you plan your people’s future.” The giant winked at Allistor.  “In the meantime, gather your friends to you, and study your enemies.  You can learn much from both.  And though I may not contact you directly for some time, know that we will be looking out for you, doing what we can under the restrictions of our role within the System.    Rest well, Emperor Allistor.”

With a flick of his finger, the light in the room around them went dark, and Odin went with it.  Allistor found himself back on the sofa in Denver, Helen snoring in a nearby chair.  The sky outside was dark, and all was quiet as he sat upright.    His head no longer ached, which he suspected might be thanks to Daigath’s potion, or Odin’s interference in his mind. 

Not wanting to wake Helen, he simply sat there with his hands on his knees.  With a resigned sigh, he opened up his UI and began the hours-long process of reading all of his notifications. 

End Book Five