A Report from the College of Zandeim

My observations of the 11th Wave are as followed: They are a diverse group of worlds that do not seem to share any unifying traits. A few are destined to become Dungeon Worlds, as I saw their defenses already crumbling. Others have moderate chances of reaching the point of stablization. Two worlds are important to note. The first, locally referred to as Timain, possesses beings of surprising power. I suggest we position a permanent agent to monitor their growth. The second, locally referred to as Earth, was impossible to observe. A convergance of strange energies blocked my scrying. I suggest we request the services of a scrying Master.

I feel the sudden presence of another person within my Field. Small and moving at an incredible speed, the person lunges forward with their knife. Most people would die to this attack, unable to react in time to stop the knife from plunging into their throat or back.

I am not most people.

I quickly activate Mana Infusion and Fleet Feet of Air, spinning to dodge the stab. A boy of no more than twelve years stares back at me in surprise, his eyes slowly widening under the time dilation of Effortless Presence.

I analytically take in his darker skin, his hooked beak nose, and a few acne scars on his cheeks, but none of them register as deeply as his dark brown eyes. They are filled with a fearful innocence that hurts me more than his stab could have. He’s probably never considered the risks and consequences of his path, being too young to worry about them. To be person that ends that youth … was never a position I had hoped to be in.

Conflicting emotions fight within me, threatening to shatter the calm collected mental state of Effortless Presence, but I manage to hold them down. Sleepless nights may be my punishment but I know what needs to be done.

Reaching out with my right hand, I grab his arm to stop him from escaping. He struggles in my grasp, trying to pull himself away. He looks at me as if I’m a monster, fear filling his eyes, and I know that this expression will haunt me for days to come.

Speaking softly to him, hoping that my regret is evident, I regretfully say, “I’m sorry about this. You’re far too slippery to let go. I hope that you’ll be okay.” And with that, I grasp even tighter and cast Electrical Discharge, opening up the floodgates of my Mana Well.

Tinys parks and flashes of light spiral down my arm and into the boy, his muscles tightening up beneath my hand. A thin wisp of smoke begins to rise from beneath my hand but I keep pushing forward, closing my heart to his short screams of pain. After what feels like hours of torture, but is probably no more than a second, the boy passes out and I let go.

A blackened handprint of charred flesh wraps around his wrist, a lasting mark of the pain that I was forced to inflict upon a child. Smoke and the scent of burned flesh fills the air around me causing my throat to fill up with bile. Bitter anger rises within me at the circumstances that brought me to this place but I know the truth. It wasn’t circumstances that brought this about: it was a man.

Turning away from the passed out boy, sending a prayer to any god above to let him still be alive, I swivel on one foot and begin running towards Peter.

In the corner of my eye, I see Hakim flare up the strength rune on his shoulder and punch the tree Kat’s taken refuge in. A crack resonates through the glade as it begins to fall over, although a movement in the shadows suggests that Kat managed to get to the ground safely. I want to stop and help Hakim but I have to believe that he is strong enough to handle his opponent.

As I continue running towards the Peter, I spot Alejandro and Carmen circle around Craig as he tries in vain to land a solid hit on them with his massive swings. The blows that get close to Alejandro slow down as they approach, resulting in nothing more than a tap, and the blows aimed at Carmen never even make contact as she uses her ability to dodge out of their way. I’m far less worried about these two, especially given Alejandro’s ability in combat. Carmen may be vulnerable but she’s in capable hands and I’m positive that she’ll be protected.

A thunderous roar gets my attention and I see Peter rise out of a small hole in the ground. Seeing him for the first time since we parted ways back when I first arrived, the change is drastic. All traces of laughter and happiness have left him and it looks as if his face has morphed into a permanent state of arrogance. Gone is the recognition and familiarity of our friendship. He looks at me as if I’m nothing more than an obstacle.

It pains me to see him like this and I feel deeply conflicted. One part of me wants to get rid of him, to kill him so that he will never pose a threat again. The other cries for mercy, dredging up all our shared memories. I’d put on a convincing face in front of my team but my internal conflict rages on unabated.

The split second I waste in indecision is enough for him to reach me.

“DIE!” He yells, swinging down his axe with all of his weight behind it. I watch as his shoulders tighten, his hips spin, the veins on his arms bulge but know without a shadow of a doubt that he cannot hit me. At a certain point, Skills can only do so much against raw Attributes.

I twist my foot and lean away from the strike, using the momentum to slide around him. I pass within striking distance of him but move too quickly for him to react, mana coursing through my body and infusing each motion with a speed that he can barely comprehend.

He spins and, with one hand grasping the handle, swings his axe in a horizontal strike at my torso, his body contorting to move it with massive force. The air around the axe head begins to crack and bend, likely the result of some Skill, and a whistling noise pierces the air. The force of the Skill leaves him off balance and I use that opening to close the distance between us.

With a burst of speed from Mana Infusion, I grasp the hilt of his axe and plant my right foot on his chest, pushing off with all the force I can muster. He’s forced to let go as the force behind my kick sends him flying nearly ten feet backwards

Holding the axe up in front of me, I flood my arms with Mana, pushing myself beyond the limits of Mana Infusion, and pull the ends down together. The tough wood resists for a split second, a testament to the weapon’s quality, before snapping and sending splinters and small shards of wood flying through the air. The pain from overinfusing myself with Mana lingers in my body but it feels … right. The pain is almost cathartic after what I did to that kid.

“You used a fucking kid to try and kill me? A kid?” I yell at him, throwing the two pieces of his axe at him. The action serves as a catalyst, the simple effort of throwing the axe shattering my mental state of Effortless Presence into a thousand pieces. The Skill helps me reach a meditative state where my emotions are dampened but nothing can dampen the cocktail of emotions that I’m feeling right now. Anger, sadness, guilt, rage, betrayal, disgust, and pity mix to run rampant within me, and I can barely hold myself straight.

The two pieces smack into him, pushing him back a foot, but he smirks and picks up the axe head, palming it in his hand as a makeshift weapon. “Of course I used Nico, we don’t have the luxury to pick our warriors! You really think any of us have a choice Cael? This world is fucking chaos, you either kill or you’re killed!”

His words remind me of something similar I had once said to myself. Maybe that’s why I’m taking this so personally. Not only is this a betrayal by my best friend, but he has also gone down a path that I almost walked. Peter is just me without that moral compass. Someone willing to do anything it takes to gain power.

I barrel towards him, throwing my hands up as I ask, “And what’s the point Peter? What’s the end game here?”

Instead of responding, he flips the remaining portion of the axe and throws it at me. Even without the time dilation, my Perception is high enough that I can predict its trajectory and I jerk my head to the side, letting it whizz past. Standing a few feet away from him and meeting his gaze, I growl, “You can’t beat me, Peter. Surrender before people have to die.”

He spits at me, lunging forward and throwing a sweeping kick with his right foot, trying to catch my own right foot and throw me off balance. I hop backwards to avoid the kick and then counterattack with a Mana Bullet, firing it right into his leg.

The force sends him tumbling onto the ground and blood begins to leak down from his leg. Despite the wound, however, he manages to stumble back up and viciously glare at me. Hobbling forward at half his previous speed, he pushes off his left leg and into the air, raising his fist to try and punch me.

I easily dodge it, slipping underneath his arm and shoving him back down. He falls to his ass and then spins as quickly as possible in an attempt to get back on his feet, only to receive a Mana Bullet in his other leg.

He screams as his good leg is mauled by my projectile but, despite that, he still refuses to give up, bloodshot eyes staring at me as he slowly manages to get back onto his feet. Wobbling and barely able to keep his balance, he shambles towards me and cracks his knuckles in a sad display of perseverance.

Pants soaked red with blood, his face is beginning to turn pale but his eyes remain clear. His camo gear, probably the same ones that he managed to scavenge so long ago, is shredded to pieces. He looks like a walking corpse but he continues to slowly progress towards me.

“Why Peter? Why keep fighting? Surrender and you’ll live!” I yell as he takes another shambling step.

He just smiles continues to move towards me.

Yelling in frustration, I step forward and trip him back onto the ground, conjuring a Mana Blade right above his head. The vibrating blue edges of the blade hang only a few inches away from his head

“Why won’t you just fucking give up!?” I furiously yell at him, my voice cracking.

Peter just morbidly laughs in response.

After a few seconds he stops and finally speaks. “You want to know why Cael? Because of you!”

His face morphs into condescension. “Even when you’ve got me at your mercy, you still can’t do it! You still can’t kill me! And you’re the only one that actually knows what’s waiting for us! You really think Humanity will survive with a weakling Primus? We need a figure of strength, not some sympathetic puppet.”

A fit of coughing interrupts him, causing him to curl up and gasp for breath before he manages to continue.

“You’re pathetic. You may be strong but you don’t have what it takes to rule. You don’t have the backbone to do what it takes to be powerful. But guess what; I won’t surrender and you won’t kill me Cael, so I guess there’s only one option here! You’re gonna have to let me go and surrender.” He says condescendingly as he once again falls into a coughing fit that’s interspersed by a few laughs.

And just like that, I know what I have to do.

Kneeling to look into his eyes, I say, “You know, you’re right. We do need someone strong as Primus. But you’re wrong about everything else.”

With a thought, I will the Mana Blade forward. The vibrating edges of the blade cut into his skull and into his brain. His body then collapses like a puppet with its strings cut. All I can focus on are his eyes, which stare up at the sky in surprised shock. The light within them has faded away but they remain open.

I dissipate the Mana Blade and fall down next to him, cradling his body against mine. Despite how much he’d changed since Genesis arrived, he’d still been my best friend. We’d shared a life together, we’d grown together. A few actions wouldn’t change that past.

I can’t stop myself from sobbing as I place his lifeless head on my lap. Tears fall down my face, leaving salty trails behind them, as I whisper, “I am strong enough Peter. But fuck ... I wish I wasn’t.”