Chapter 34: Umbra

Excerpts from Brief History of Xoth:

Continents of Xoth

Erlonia

The second largest continent of Xoth. Erlonia is home to a large number of unique ecosystems such as the thick deciduous forests in the center regions, snowy mountains in the north, kilometers of coastal beaches, and rainforests in the south. The population of wildlife and monsters is just as diverse as the environments, making Erlonia the best continent to start out on as an adventurer.

There are no countries in Erlonia. Instead, the continent is divided into four regions. The northern region is controlled by the Duellia Kingdom, the south-eastern region is controlled by Eikoryu Empire, the south-western region is controlled by the Zokot Kingdom, and the center region is filled with independent city-states, towns and villages.

The Eikoryu Empire and Zokot Kingdom are known to have periodic conflicts in order to expand their territories. This conflict has only brought chaos and destruction to the many cities and towns in the center region due the constant cycle of subjugation by both factions.

There are some cities and towns that find themselves relatively unaffected by the conflict. These locations are usually protected by geological locations, large militaries, or are major trading hubs that benefit both the Empire and Kingdom too much to risk damaging their relationship to the population centre. Skysign, the largest city on the continent, is an example of a city that benefits from all three of these traits.

Skysign

Skysign is located in the north-eastern section of the center region near the south-eastern border of the Duellia Kingdom. It is surrounded by mountains, hills and forests making it difficult for an armed force to reach it without being bottlenecked and attacked by Skysign's military and city guard.

The city is managed by an elected official who is granted the title of Governor. This politician controls the city's military, laws and diplomatic ties. Traditionally, an election is held every five years and allows everyone above the age of sixteen to vote.

Skysign's size and population of five hundred thousand makes it the largest city on Xoth. The city is a major trading hub and is famous for being the birthplace of the Adventurers' Guild and the Portal Gate. Portal Gates act as gateways to other Portals which allow instant transportation.

Duellia Kingdom

The Duellia Kingdom is ruled by the Duellia family. This Elven kingdom keep to themselves and do not attempt expansionism like the Eikoryu Empire or the Zokot Kingdom. The ruling family of the Duellia Kingdom are content with their territory and ensuring the well-being of their people. While not a democracy, the people of the Duellia Kingdom enjoy a high-quality of living.

The cities and towns of the kingdom tend to do their best to blend in with the wilderness due to two reasons. First, their respect of nature influences their architecture, so it is common for trees to be grown around houses. Architects of the Kingdom are experts at growing trees around buildings to allow a fusion while preserving the building's integrity. This design has even influenced buildings of nobles. The main castle keep that the ruling family lives in actually exists inside of the largest known tree on Xoth, the Neazim Tree.

The second reason deals with the military of Duellia. Their military depends on stealth and hit-and-run tactics. By having civilians centres camouflagued, civilians can escape or hide from attacking forces while the military get into position for ambushes. These tactics have helped decrease the number of conflicts that Duellia gets involved in. Any war with them quickly become costly for the invaders.

Eikoryu Empire

The Eikoryu Empire is ruled by the Eikoryu family. This Naga family holds strength as the most important element of life and society. This ideology has formed a hierarchy in the society of Empire cities where the population is divided into different classes. Nobles and soldiers hold control over the upper levels of society. Manual labourers, traders, and others not in combative roles hold the lower levels of society where they are often overworked and looked down upon.

The Eikoryu family deem the weak as tools that should be used towards expanding their Empire. It is because of this ideology that slavery is common in the Empire's region. Criminals, prisoners of war, and anyone unable to pay their debts are the main individuals forced into becoming slaves. The purpose of these slaves can be anything that their owners demand since there are no laws in the Empire concerning their treatment.

Zokot Kingdom

The Zokot Kingdom's territory used to belong to the Eikoryu Empire, but one hundred years ago, during the third Demon war, Hastur's forces managed to annex the region. A puppet Kingdom was established to create a foothold on the Erlonia continent. The king of this region is decided by Hastur based on their accomplishments. It's quite common for a king to be replaced when an expansion attempt fails.

Attempts have been made by the Eikoryu Empire and many other kingdoms to conquer the region, but each of them have resulted in failure. The Zokot Kingdom has been armed with advanced barrier magic and magic technology that is made famous by the Demon race. Barriers surround the region to prevent long range attacks and act as alarms for any intruder. Magical cannons act as a secondary line of defense to bombard the location of the intruder.

Excerpts from Thunder's Recommendations Report

->Cities with high-rise structures should be evacuated sometime before the merger and not repopulated until after the merger.

Reason: The process to merge our worlds is two staged. The first stage occurs over a year's time and will finish on May 3rd, 2021. My theory for the time needed before the merger is that our worlds are trying to sync to one another's flow of time. The flow of time in Xoth's universe is slower than in Earth's universe. Our worlds' flow of time needs to reach an equilibrium before the merger. Once our worlds reach that equilibrium, we will enter the second stage of the merge process and our worlds will fuse.

It is currently unknown how volatile the actual fusion process will be. It is entirely possible that earthquakes will occur all over the world as our landmasses and ocean floors morph. For the sake of preserving lives, any city with high rise buildings should be evacuated to help avoid casualties from crumbling buildings.

->Population centres that are at risk of geological disasters, such as volcanos or flooding, should be evacuated sometime before the merger and not repopulated until after.

Reason: Similar to the reasoning for evacuating cities with high-rise buildings, the merger may be an extremely volatile event which may result in reactions from our environments. Any population centre near high-risk environments, such as volcanoes or coastlines, must be evacuated.

VVVVVV

Tom quietly exited his room late at night. He had recently finished an intimate engagement with Reia and she fell asleep shortly after. Tom was not tired enough to go to sleep so he left Reia to get a drink.

Tom didn't notice at first but he recently realized the effects of his Lover skill after ramping up its level into the Intermediates. The Lover skill was a skill born from the title "Selfless Lover" so this in turn made the skill reflect that title. It was both a blessing and a curse. Tom had the sexual stamina to ensure Reia was satisfied, but he was constantly left wanting despite his releases. This hasn't been going on long enough to really worry Tom, so he assumed he would eventually acclimatize to the skill.

The kitchen was quiet as everyone was asleep. Tom looked up at the clock and saw it was eleven. He heated up a cup of tea and sat down at the island counter. Tom glanced over to the side and saw the Xothican plant he has been raising for the past few weeks.

"Hope I'm not keeping you up, Amber," he said jokingly.

The plant has grown at a great rate since he had first planted it. After just a few weeks, the plant was almost as large as a tomato plant. It was a single stem plant with several leaves on its side and a flower bulb at its top. It won't be long before the plant will need to be transplanted into a new pot.

Tom took a sip of his tea and thought, 'Kara, you there?'

Hello, Thomas. That was very rude of you to cut me off earlier.

'You were trying to talk to me while I was standing in front of the UN General Assembly.'

Pff, excuses. Though, I am a merciful goddess, so I'll allow this transgression pass. You managed to unite your world against Hastur.

'More or less. Still many hurdles ahead. At least with everything public, I can work with the world governments and find and stop Phoenix and Mordiggian. So tell me, how are things in Xoth?'

More storms are forming around the world. Very similar to the unusual purple storm phenomenon in your world. It's only been about a week to them since the situation started. While the merger will take your world about a year, I believe for Xoth it will be less than two months.

'Speaking of which, did you warn anyone on Xoth about the merger?'

I'm afraid I can't. I mentioned before that, since the merger and test, my powers have been weakening?

'Yeah.'

You're the only one I can talk to now.

'I'm sorry to hear that.'

It's alright. I'm in good company. I get the feeling there was something on your mind. Trouble in paradise?

'What?! No! Are you going through my thoughts?'

You ask while thinking the question.

'It's only been a few days, I'll deal with it. That's not what I'm talking about.'

I'm only poking fun. I'll be serious. What is it that bothers you?

'I need to become stronger.'

Stronger? Even more so after I made some improvements to you. It's not easy to give someone a different attribute skill or make it easier for them to learn new skills you know.

'Attribute skill?'

Skills you get for increasing your attributes. I wanted to give you every advantage I could give you, so I modified you. Changed one of the pathways of your development. Usually, when your Vitality reaches one hundred you get the Enhanced Regeneration skill. I made it so you got the Enhanced Body skill instead. Better health regeneration and added element resistance. Since you're the only survivor of the test, I was able to spend a little more power helping you out.

'I'm thankful for that help. Look, I fucked up in Russia. I fucked up bad. I nearly got Reia and me killed. In the end, it resulted in an entire Colorado town being wiped out by giant spiders and many US soldiers were killed.'

You can't blame yourself for-

'I have to take responsibility for my mistakes. Had I not failed in Russia, Phoenix would have been gone and many lives in Colorado would not have been lost. I can't bring those lives back, but I can do better. I can do more. The books you provided me had a lot of good knowledge, but it only gives the basics on Xoth wildlife. I need more information.'

Quite bold, making demands of a god.

'You always said you wanted to talk more.' Tom grinned. 'Tell me more about your world.'

VVVVVV

Three Gorges Dam, Hubei, China

The full moon hung high in the sky over the massive Three Gorges Dam. A low rumble echoed throughout the area from the rushing water that ran through it. While usually brightly lit at night, the dam was shrouded in darkness. Mutilated bodies littered the top walkway.

A shadow danced up and down the dam leaving behind behind a square-shaped device that was roughly one-foot-by-one-foot in size. The shadow placed three of these devices every fifty feet. At each distance, one bomb would be placed at one-hundred-fifty feet , one at two-hundred-fifty feet and one at four-hundred feet up the dam.

Two individuals stood on a high hill that overlooked the dam and watched the shadow move across the dam towards them.

"She's almost done," one of them said.

The shadow raced towards the two men. It grew out of the ground as a humanoid shadow that took on colour after taking form. Rika smiled as she turned around.

"Over twenty million live down the path from this dam," she declared. "With their deaths, we will leave behind our Humanity, and ascend to godhood."

Rika held up a detonator in her hand. The sound of two large soft objects falling to the ground stopped her from pressing the detonator's button. Rika spun around and saw her two subordinates cut in two on the ground. Their organs and blood poured out of their bodies into a thick pool on the ground. Rika saw the last moments of life in their eyes before they passed on. As the puddle of blood spread across the ground and reached her feet, fury filled Rika's being as she realized that there was only one person who could have done this.

"Thunder!" she screamed. Shadows started to move around her. "Bastard! You'll die here, Thunder! Come out!" Rika was met with silence.

Rika formed shadow tentacles that rose out of the ground. The tentacles flopped about as they stood up. Rika raised her right arm to her left and then swung it in an arc. The shadow tentacles followed the motion of her arm and cleared the area of trees in front of her. All the trees within thirty feet in front of her fell to the right to reveal nothing.

The sound of rustling leaves, twigs and grass came from her right. She glared in the direction of the sound. Something large and fast came at her. Rika couldn't see what it was before it slammed into her side and sent her into a nearby tree. She went through the tree and the one behind it. The force of the attack caused her to lose consciousness as she rolled across the ground and stop against a third tree.

A large shadowy figure emerged from the trees and approached Rika. It breathed heavily and in a raspy manner.

"Godhood?" Mordiggian repeated. "You have no right, you diseased ape."

Mordiggian picked up the detonator and crush it. He then wrapped his long skeletal fingers around her waist and lifted her off of the ground. Rika's body flopped like a ragdoll as he held her up. Mordiggian placed his other hand over her head readying to crush it.

"She still has some uses despite her overzealousness," a voice stated behind Mordiggian. The voice was deep and had a Welsh accent.

Mordiggian turned around to see an old Caucasian man in a black suit. The man had a thick goatee and bright blue eyes. He wore expensive brown leather shoes, black gloves and a dark gray tie. A thin gold chain was partially visible behind his suit jacket and hung out from his vest pocket and connected to the middle vest button.

"I am thankful that you destroyed the detonator. She still wouldn't have been able to use it with my jammer in use, but thank you nonetheless. I am surprised you didn't use it yourself."

"It wouldn't have served me any real purpose than destruction. I avoid needless destruction, especially if I cannot recover the bodies. Who are you?" Mordiggian asked the man. He was confused by the man's calm demeanor.

"I am Artorius," the man replied. "And you are Mordiggian. You are fairly difficult to find."

"You were looking for me?" Mordiggian released his grip on Rika and allowed her to fall to the ground. "How did you even find me?"

Artorius glanced towards Rika.

"We keep track of her," he replied. "Like any product of ours."

"Product?"

Artorius casually walked over to Rika and crouched down to check her pulse. "Our world was on the verge of complete world peace. While a nice sounding concept, it would only have led to disaster for Humanity. Our race was breed to be constantly tested. Without adversity, Humanity would have grown complacent. Lazy. Without any major conflict between nations, we had to create a threat for the world. Rika was a proper candidate. When she was young, she watched what happened when figures of authority were not paid their protection money. Her village was razed to the ground and the villagers were slaughtered. The things that were done to her by those police officers were... unimaginable. Unforgivable. She was the perfect candidate to turn into a threat to the world. She had the intelligence and charisma. We simply provided her with the resources she needed. Anonymously. With those donations, we kept tabs on her and her group's members to ensure she didn't go beyond her bounds. Your interference, however, threw those plans into disarray. You were following your master's orders, so it can be forgiven."

"Who are you people?"

Artorius picked up Rika's body and lugged her over his shoulder. He then approached Mordiggian. "I am the leader of the organization that truly rules this world. We are Umbra."

"Umbra?"

"Imperium ex Umbra. Rule from the shadows. Our organization formed long ago for the sole purpose of protecting Humanity and controlling its development. That is why I sought you out. We know what Hastur is, what he is capable of and what he has done. We know that any war against him will only lead to Humanity's doom. I come here offering an alliance. We can ensure Humanity's cooperation with Hastur once our worlds merge."

"How do you know anything of my Lord beyond the announcement?"

A small smirk came to Artorius' face. "The barrier between our worlds was always thin. All your master did was tear it down."

Mordiggian thought on the man's proposal before he asked, "How am I supposed to trust you? These Humans here were willing to go behind my back."

"There is much we can offer you. We can help you put an end to Thunder and his companions. We already know who they are."

Those words caught Mordiggian's attention. "Where is he?" he growled in Artorius' face. The man didn't flinch.

"I can tell you plan to kill him. I wouldn't advise it. Not yet anyway."

"Why? Do you even know what his companions are?"

"Your idea of sabotage would work on any race on Xoth, but not Humans. While we are very tribal in nature, nothing brings us together more than a common enemy. Phoenix's attacks, before you gave them access to the SYSTEM, were considered threats but not enough to really terrify Humanity. Making them superhuman alongside the monster attacks has pushed Humanity to take measures. For all intents and purposes, these attacks has only made Humanity stronger with Thunder and his companions acting as symbols for cooperation and hope. If you kill them now, you will only turn them into martyrs and that will only cause more problems for you in the future."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Symbols can be tarnished. Turn Humanity against them, then kill them."

"You can do this?"

"Human opinion can be easily swayed. It will be no trouble. This isn't the only thing we can help you with. We know why you were sent to our world. What you are looking for. We know where he is."

"Tell me!" Mordiggian demanded.

"Will you accept our alliance?"

Mordiggian was reluctant to work with another Human after Rika's betrayal. This Human, however, gave him a lead that he desperately needed. "Very well. On behalf of Lord Hastur, I will accept your proposal for alliance."

"Then absorb those bodies and then place your hand on my shoulder."

Mordiggian did as Artorius asked. He picked up the bodies of the two men he split in two and shoved them into the void in his chest. Artorius stood there and watched.

Mordiggian moved over to Artorius and place his hand on his shoulder. Artorius pulled out a round device that fit comfortably in his hand. The device displayed a GPS coordinate on a lit screen and had a button below the screen. Artorius pressed the button with his thumb and the three vanished from the Chinese forest.