When Myles and company reached halfway to the rally point, they were intercepted by a familiar face with a shield just as memorable.

“Hey! Wait!”

“Is that...”

“Mitchel,” Ashra confirmed a moment later.

Mitchel the [Armored Wall] was panting by the time he reached them, stopping only to hold up a hand, take a few breaths and ask a simple, pointed question.

“Is that offer to join still open?”

Kendra looked at him, raising a brow as her body language shifted. “Oh, so now we’re good enough?”

Myles felt a moment of uncertainty as his team took in the words, fearing the worst for the Runner leader. If she’d died…

No, the fire was still there as he focused on the goal hundreds of feet ahead in the darkness. He was sure of it. Something else must have happened.

Myles paused for only a moment before he sent the man an invite. It was only the second time he’d invited someone to the party, but the first time he’d had the Empathic Link Leader Skill active. He hadn’t known what, if anything, to expect as the invite only lingered a moment. As Mitchel accepted it, Myles felt his awareness change, and a new set of emotions mingled with his own just where the others had as the status updated.

Party Name: Rising Stars

Leader: Myles Chase

Members: Ashra Snowpelt, Kendra Kessa, Lyna Hugea, Will Riggs, Tail, Mitchel Hedgelore

Party Buff: Empathic Link (Leader), Iron Will (Mitchel Hedgelore - Party)

Party Hex: None

Loot Preference: Need before Greed [Toggle?]

Loot Holding: None [Toggle?]

Friendly Fire: Disabled [Locked]

The new emotions came on like a wave as they were added to his own suddenly, not the gradual blooming and acceptance as the others had. Mitchel’s mind felt alien after being with his group for so long, but five emotions bubbled above the others. They hurt to have his mind touch. Raw as they were, they were intense emotions he was quite familiar with.

Anger.

Remorse.

Frustration.

Dedication.

Sorrow.

As he sorted through Mitchel’s emotions and compartmentalized them like he had the others, Myles had more questions than he had time for as they looked on at their opponent lumbering through buildings in the distance.

“What happened? Is your team okay? Are we too late?”

Mitchel spit off to the side with no small amount of blood evident, and Myles felt his heart drop before the defensive warrior answered. “No, they’re just fine.”

Odd.

“Then you’re here to give us directions?”

He looked somberly back towards the blue flame and shook his head. “No.”

“Then what is going on?”

Mitchel wiped his brow, took a swig of something from his canteen, and seemed to be pulling each word from his chest as his thoughts came to light. “The truth is that we should have won half an hour ago, and now the plan’s gone to the Mists. Not sure if you noticed yet, but Shardking has some new tricks.”

The beam swept across the field again in a smaller, more controlled attack as the golem observed the destruction it had birthed.

“We noticed.”

Mitchel continued.

“Sindra wants to keep fighting but the groups aren’t organizing fast enough and are holding back. I wanted us to go in ourselves, set an example, you know? But the party decided otherwise. We need to rally, to regroup… They’re getting wiped out, Myles. Not even their gear is left when that attack hits them.”

Myles wanted to forget the smell in the air but only managed to keep himself from retching. “So, you split from the team?”

“I did.” There was no happiness or pride in those words, simply a sense of duty.

“What were you going to do?”

“Just what I said. I’d regroup and find whoever would take me. Convince as many as I could to follow me, and, if I could find you, go break Shardking’s stony ass myself.”

Myles was surprised. Did Mitchel really think that highly of them? Wasn’t he the one that said he had no idea how they functioned, let alone survived as long as they had? “How’d you ever find us?”

For the first time since he’d found them, Mitchel smiled awkwardly and brushed the back of his head. “I didn’t exactly, but I knew where your group would be coming from and knew you’d be my best bet at making a difference.” Noticing Ashra for the first time, he nodded to the combat rabbit. “Nice to see you in fighting shape.”

Ashra nodded to him but said nothing as Mitchel continued.

“Look, seeing you in action, I don’t know how you do it, but you do. You aren’t balanced well, but you function like a clock when you’re together. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that you’ve already got some plan cooked up already, and I want in. My Skill will help quite a bit, but it won’t help us survive a direct hit. He’s only getting stronger the longer we linger.”

Another beam turned the area’s night into day, and Myles had to rub at his eyes for a moment. There were so many moving pieces, but he had to get them in order. Then there was Mitchel’s Skill. Focusing on the party information, Myles willed Mitchel’s Trait into more detail to see just what they were dealing with.

Iron Will (Evolved from Determination; Evolved from Strong-Willed)

Skill Type: Passive (Group) - Armored Wall

Cost: None

Success Determination: None

Description: Fill the hearts of your party with an iron will to complete what needs to be done.

Effect 1: Increase passive resistances and defensive values by 20%.

Effect 2: Defensive Skills reset 10% faster.

Effect 3: Attacks and spells resulting in instant death will not instantly kill your party and instead leave them gravely injured. This cannot trigger a second time on a party member until their health is restored and cannot more often than once every five minutes.

That skill was one of the single most useful things Myles had ever heard of, but he didn’t have a chance to share it as Mitchel continued to pour his heart out to the group.

“We need to save as many people as we can, but Micha was right about one thing. We have to move in and deal with him, not sit back and let others do it for us. If we try to evacuate everyone, we have nowhere to go.” Mitchel’s passion bleed through every word, tugging at Myles mentally and emotionally as he continued. “They wanted to lead from behind, and that doesn’t work. It gets people killed. Against Gregor, We were in the thick of it, but it made sense for her to stay back with the [Bard]s, but Micha, Rinas, and I… we’re useless back there. They didn’t want to listen…” he paused for a moment, considering his words. “They didn’t want to fight, so, I left.”

“And here you are,” Myles finished.

“And here I am.”

The words were as genuine as they always felt from Mitchel, he didn’t need the emotional link for that. Just… the venom Myles felt from Mitchel’s sense of betrayal was almost as physical as the shield he carried on at his side.

What else had happened?

Myles felt the question heavy on his mind, but it wasn’t for him to ask yet. Even with that in mind, he had to know one thing.

“Will you follow where I lead us?” Myles asked.

Mitchel smiled. “If you’re organizing the chaos, I’ll trust your judgment.”

“Then, welcome to the chaos, Mitchel, but if you think we can do something better, tell me.”

Lyna smiled darkly, and Myles could feel the jab as if it were a weapon rather than words. Thankfully, he didn’t need to stop her as Kendra chimed in.

“So, we’re going right in then?”

Myles shook his head. “Sort of, we’re going to try Tail’s plan.”

“The best one so far,” Will pointed out, smirking.

“Hey! Smashing is a good plan,” Kendra argued. “Better than sneaking in to get cooked alive.”

Myles ignored the ‘friendly’ jab as he walked back through the plan for Mitchel’s sake. “Tail’s going to cast an illusion on us and we’re going to climb the body. When we get to chest level, we’re going to work our way over and smash the core.”

Mitchel was quiet for a moment, looking at the group, then smiling. “You realize how crazy it sounds, right?”

“I’ve just sort of accepted that it’s what we do.”

“For what it’s worth,” Mitchel said, offering Myles a hand. “You wouldn’t be the man you are if you joined the Seekers, but they would have been better for having you.”

Myles pondered that for a moment, smiled, and clasped Mitchel’s wrist firmly.

“Wouldn’t trade this team for the world.”

“I do have a few ideas though.”

“Of course, you do,” Myles joked.

***

“Sindra,” Micha said, interrupting her thoughts once more. “Are you sure you don’t need healing?”

Sindra ignored the [Paladin] as her hand touched her cheek again. The pain had long since fled. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel that it was still red, still as hot as her anger was at that moment.

She pushed it aside with her hand, equally sore just minutes ago.

All the anger, the frustration, the rage, the surprise… all of it was something to be dealt with later. She needed to let it go.

There was work to be done.

Her head was still as level as it could be given the situation, but her focus was split. She knew what they had to do, but had Mitchel been right? Could there have been a better way?

“Sindra!” Micha interrupted again.

She’d never know.

Sindra looked at the [Paladin], fury stoked behind emerald eyes as her hair practically burned in the unnatural firelight of the night. Shadows flickered across her features as she gripped the rapier at her side and glared at Micha.

“I’m fine,” Sindra said resolutely as she let the weapon go. “Save it for those that need it when this is over.”

Micha seemed to waver, but only for a moment. “Yes. Okay. What now then?”

All around them new Runners were filing in. The third circle had arrived nearly in full, minus a team or three. There were a few notable absences, but she had the distinct feeling they weren’t dead, not from what some stray monsters or roaming guardians could provide. More likely, they could have been held up.

Either way, she couldn’t wait anymore.

There was work to be done.

“Third team, left knee! Second team, right knee. Bring it down then aim for the core inside its chest! Avoid the energy beam at all costs!”

The Runners moved to her call like pieces on a chessboard, and her nerves relaxed back to normal combat readiness. Everything was in motion again, and her assembled forces were pushing towards the groups already engaged with the Broken King before Sindra made another call.

“Plan: Strikeforce!”

For just a moment, the aether in the air thinned, only to return a moment later in a wash of destruction.

***

“I know I said I’d join you for this,” Mitchel reiterated as they covered the distance between them and the nearest intact buildings around Shardking, “But you’re all mad,”

“Hey, you joined us. Besides, it’s a sound plan. The dough can take some beating before ripping, and magic only makes it stronger.”

“Sound is arbitrary.”

Myles grinned despite the madness.

Too late now. You weren’t complaining when we came up with it.

“A bridge of dough connected to Shardking from a ruined building under an illusion while the other Runners are pounding it with attacks is your kind of plan,” Mitchel admitted, still managing a smile despite the suicidal nature of it all. “Doesn’t change the fact you’re all mad, and saying it out loud makes it sound all the stranger.”

The plan came more concrete with Mitchel’s involvement. His experience with Sindra’s team proved invaluable as his suggestions filled in some of their more nebulous parts. In fact, it had been his idea for Myles to craft a temporary bridge from as high as they could get. With careful use of his Glutenmancy or hardening enchantment, it could work, and it would save them time and energy climbing. The timing was key. If they were too slow, Shardking would destroy the building with them inside. Too fast and they might get killed by a stray attack hitting their opening. In reality, the window of opportunity was about as thin as a razor’s edge and as elusive as silver in a werewolf’s den.

So, it was pretty typical for their plans to date.

The closer they got to the looming shadow that was Shardking, the smell of blood bloomed like flowers in the springtime. The coppery stench of gore polluted the air like pollen in early Spring. Where it didn’t, the burning stench of fat, muscle, and soil made things nearly unbreathable, but they couldn’t stop. Stopping meant death. The group steeled themselves and continued to press further in.

The sounds of its movements were clear now, not as an echo across the world but as the booming din of noise that it was with each movement.

There was an added benefit to moving closer to the floor’s guardian Myles hadn’t anticipated when they started this chaos. The majority of the monsters in the ruins had long since retreated into the furthest reaches of the darkness. Little more than terrain and shadows came to challenge them this close to the battle.

Mitchel guided them through the chaos safely as they made it to what they assumed was the next area the golem would visit if its pattern held. Looking between four buildings, only one of them was intact enough to climb, and even in as good of shape as it was compared to the others, the large brick structure wasn’t their first choice. The building was tall enough to reach Shardking’s chest at its highest point, but it would also put them point-blank with whatever that weapon was it was using. It didn’t help that the best choice had taken the brunt of the stray attacks and looked as stable as a browned leaf before winter.

From what Mitchel explained and what they’d observed, that weapon was reserved for enemies, not buildings. Shardking left the stone intact if it needed the stone to repair itself, and at the rate that the Runners were breaking chunks off of it, it wouldn’t be long before it needed a new supply. Unlike the past Runs, Shardking had become a fight of endurance, and the Runners were on the wrong end of it.

The inside of the building was little better than the outside. Large holes in the side showed its age and lack of integrity. Scorch marks and pitted walls were thrown into view across from the holes where the walls their attacks had broken through once were. The ceilings were mostly intact still, and a few simple doors held the other rooms in check giving the team a chance to look around for their goal.

“Great…” Kendra mused. “Looks like we have floors at least.”

“Do you want to tempt another giant spider?” Lyna asked. “Because that’s how you get more giant spiders.”

Her face was unreadable as she said nothing more.

Tail snickered just loud enough to be mistaken for the wind.

“Spread out,” Myles said. When the others looked at him, he shook his head. “In this hallway. Check the rooms through the windows and report back.”

With all of two minutes used, the report was fairly positive. The rooms were mostly empty, and the door at the far end of the hallway led to a stairwell. Their decision was clear and with Mitchel in the lead, the team opened the far door. Thankfully, nothing waited for them, and upon a fairly exhaustive inspection that involved Mitchel walking the first flight, the stairs seemed to be serviceable. The thick slabs of stone and metal holding them together had fared better than the building had.

Higher and higher the group climbed, reaching further and further into the all too quiet darkness as Shardking shook the world beyond. Fine particles of dust and ash dropped above them with each step of the massive creature, and each fine stream of dust made Myles’s heart race all the faster.

If I get killed by a collapsing building…

“I will not allow that to happen. You deserve a warrior’s death.”

I’d rather die in my bed of old age.

Topoff squeezed around his upper arm, confirming its feelings about protecting its master, and Myles tried to relax. If he wanted this to work, he had to relax. He’d need everything for the next part if they wanted to survive. Now and then, the group would reach a door they’d have to open, traverse a hall, and start up a new staircase. Before the third such door, the world quaked violently.

“Hold onto something!” Myles called, grabbing the railing and bracing himself against the other wall.

Ashra surprised him then, wrapping her arms around each member of the team with a quickness he’d only seen in their last battle and then around three rungs of the railing. The others still followed Myles’s lead though. No one wanted to risk falling. A moment later, the shaking stopped and the building was still standing.

“Everyone okay?”

“I’m Good,” Mitchel called.

“Fine,” Kendra answered.

“What in the Mists was that?” Lyna asked.

“Our timer,” Will surmised.

Ashra said nothing, but Myles could feel her tense at Will’s guess. He couldn’t be far off for how violent that shake had been.

“Come on. We need to move.”

Reaching the top of the stairwell, there was a new issue. The door was locked.

Myles considered picking the lock, but one look at the door told him that wasn’t the best use of his time. Besides, there was an easier way this time. Stepping aside, he turned to the resident force of nature.

“Lyna?”

“Yes, Myles?”

“Knock it down.”

No door was no match for a well-equipped Halfling.

“With pleasure.”

In a flash, Lyna equipped her war hammer and smiled. “Stand back!”

No one argued as she pulled back her arms and brought the hammer down, putting the iron to the anvil and smashing the wood with a soft crack and reducing it to kindling in a spray of rot and shrapnel into the hallway beyond.

“Nice.”

Lyna wiped her brow and grinned from behind her closed helmet. “I try. Thanks, Kendra.”

Beyond the carnage, the doorway opened into a hallway three people wide with the majority of the ceiling still intact except for patches here and there revealing the night sky. No one missed what was at the end of the hallway though and the problems it was going to cause.

It was a dead end.

Myles took a few steps in, trying to get a good view of what they’d miss. There were no other doors like the ones that marked the stairwells, and the rooms beyond weren’t stable enough to support any sort of movement if the cracks in the floor were any indication. There was only one option.

“We’re going to have to go breakthrough. Lyna, Kendra, Ashra, get ready to…”

Myles stopped as the world groaned and the wall in front of them began to move!

“Oh, sket.”

In a rush of air and dust, the fine dust of ground stone filled the corridor. As it rose away rather than fall to the ground below, the wall of the building shook as the force of the outside world came crashing inside. Outside, the sounds of magic and death crashed against the shore of their ears, and no one failed to realize what was standing at their gate, and Myles’s new toy only confirmed things as a single phrase lingered on the side of his vision.

The Broken King

Shardking was already here. It’d crashed into their building, and the Runners below were hitting it with everything they could.

The inhuman wail of stone and magic was nothing compared to being next to it. Myles could feel the growing worry of his team, their discomfort at the sudden change of events, and his own only made it that much more unbearable as their plan fell apart around them.

There was no way they could make it work now, not like this.

They had to retreat…

“No, we cannot run now!” Ashra pressed. “We can do this!”

Ashra.

“We did not come this far to fail! We must press forward. We will die for nothing if we retreat now. We can do this, Myles! Let us try!”

Her confidence washed over him, and for a moment, he considered another option.

I…

That moment was all it took for the fires of innovation to take hold. They were behind it, and one wrong move would crush them and their building. Priorities had to be taken first, then…

I have an idea, Ashra.

“We only get one shot at this!” Myles ordered at nearly the same moment. “Mitchel, take second sport and keep your shield up. Lyna, clear the path out for the rest of you in case anything collapsed along the way. Will, keep everyone running. Kendra, You’re with Ashra and me. Tail, we need an illusion then go with the rest.”

“Plan?” Will asked.

“Same as it was. We’re just going to take a more direct route.”

“As in…”

Myles looked from Ashra to Kendra and then back to Will. “We’re going to go destroy the core, and Ashra’s going to get us there.”

He felt Kendra’s confusion melded into something like battle lust and mingle with Ashra’s excitement. There was no question that they were on board. Will’s face furrowed as questions seemed to race across his every feature, but nothing ever came as Tail interjected.

“Illusion?” Tail asked.

Myles looked to Will who simply nodded, and the [Monster Tamer] continued. “We need to not be targeted, can you make it so that the Runners can see us, but Shardking sees something else?”

Tail gave a slight grunt as the mists began to flow, but Myles didn’t have time to wait before Mitchel asked an obvious question.

“When we get to the bottom?” Mitchel asked.

“Tell the Runners what we’re doing. If we die, we die doing something good,” Myles explained as the cool mist pressed in around him. “Ashra, anything to add?”

Only four words. “It will be easy.”

Myles nodded as the world began to shake again. “Kendra, hold on. When we get in there, smash the core. Nothing else matters. Ashra will pull us out before the final ability triggers.”

“Right.”

Myles took a breath.

“Alright…”

This would work.

“Let’s do this.”

It had to.

***

Fire rained from the sky like stars of hatred against the Broken King, melting the leg joint of the golem into a molten mess for a second time as the [Hyrdomancer]s added their element to the mix. It was dangerous but, a moment later, proved worth the risk. The joint exploded in huge chunks as the superheated stone rapidity cooled as the [Geomancer]s guided the shrapnel away from the assembled mass of Runners.

Sindra began to smile.

Finally, something worked like it was supposed to!

Shardking stumbled as the top of its knee gave way again. Sindra prepared to have the same combination strike again, but she stopped. The Broken King hadn’t fallen into the building again.

Instead, the golem stood deathly still, and the core glowed brightly, dwarfing the seeking eye of the monster as the stone of the leg fused into a single column and snapped, creating a new joint to rubble where the old one had been.

Sket. Sket. Sket!

It was adapting.

They’d been holding the beast off, but it was rapidly becoming obvious they had to get someone up to the core to break it. That was a problem in itself. No one could fly, no one could climb without getting swiped off, how would…

The glint of a star erupting from a side building was enough to grab Sindra’s attention and more than one of the Runners on the ground. Most quickly assumed it was an attack and resumed the strikes as Sindra ordered, but those with Keen Eye saw something else.

A rabbit-shaped shooting star was carrying two human-shaped bundles of light.

It only took Sindra a moment to realize what had happened and began to fume all the harder as they landed on Shardking’s shoulder, gleaming like the crown jewels of a collection.

Damnit, Myles!

“Change of plans!” Sindra called out as the gears of her mind whirred. They had to capitalize whether she wanted to or not. “Keep it distracted. If it uses the energy attack, scatter and return fire. Do not lose its focus! We have Runners on the shoulder!”

The plan rang out through the ranks, and soon, word reached back to her of the half-cocked plan the Rising Star team had enacted. Whether she liked it or not, they had a real shot if they could keep the Broken King distracted.

Sindra intended to do just that.

She could deal with them after they survived this.

***

The air cut through clothing and armor like a glacial knife. Myles felt the bite of the cold air as keenly as he felt Ashra’s chilled metal skin around him. His eyes watered as the air rushed past, and his hand tightened around the Twisted Breadstick.

Kendra squealed with a hearty mix of joy and terror.

A moment later, it was over. They’d landed, and a new horror began as the ground continued move underfoot, as Shardking itself fought the Runners below.

Ashra’s feet molded to the rock, giving her a sure footing as she held onto the two of them, and the look of pure, unadulterated joy at the prospect of combat was one he couldn’t begin to describe. There, the three of them stood as tall as they could on the greatest threat to the first floor.

Below, the world was a battle of attrition that was quickly becoming one-sided.

Above, the stars glimmered on forever as viewers, the gods, and the outsiders watched.

“This is it,” Kendra said simply, taking the words from his mouth and looking over the edge of where they stood down to the glowing cave that was its chest.

“Not yet,” Myles said, giving her a soft smile. “Let’s live and tell the story.”

She nodded, and Myles felt Ashra tighten her grip on them. It was time.

All he had to do was give the order, and they’d be repelling off the side of the monster and into its heart.

Neither of them wanted to think of Shardking’s final ability, but both were aware of what would happen when the beast died.

They just had to be faster.

For the last time, Myles looked down to the Runners below, then back to Kendra and Ashra. “For Kess?”

Ashra scoffed in time with Kendra, though the human was the one who voiced their annoyance. “For us.”

He gave her the warmest, most reassuring smile he could for the two. “For us.”

The three moved closer, and Ashra’s feet stayed planted as the rest of her fell over the side of the cliff face with her two allies in tow. They moved slowly, carefully down the face of the monster. Thankfully, word must have gotten to Sindra as the attacks moved away from the chest of the monster. Even with Ashra holding them, there was a chance of falling, and if Ashra was spread too thin… well, Myles imagined thin monster metal was as weak as thin normal metal, and that would be the end of it anyway.

“This really is insane, Bright Eyes. You know that?”

“Says the [Berserker] that nearly got everyone killed.”

“One time, and it turned out alright, didn’t it?”

“I think this is a good plan, Myles.”

“Thank you, Ashra.”

Each step brought them closer to the end, and soon the harsh slope of Shardking’s pitted chest gave way to the final free fall. Ten feel below them, blue light pulsed with energy, a heartbeat of mana that refused to quit.

Until the light began to grow bright, each pulse closer to the next as the heat began to build.

Oh, no.

“Hold tight, Ashra!”

***

The beam surged to life before the tell-tale blast of force cut a swath of destruction through the ranks. The beam didn’t melt the stone with this attack, nor did it evaporate the bodies it touched, but it left many on the brink of death as the signal came to unleash the Mists once more on their foe as Shardking slowed.

“Don’t let up!” Sindra called from the rear of her forces, enacting another of her Skills for the occasion. Her Command Word: Don’t Let Up added an unquestionable authority to those within range, reducing the cooldown and increasing the power of their most recently used Skills. With nearly every Runner at her call, the return would be worth the exhaustion as gold-tinged fire and glowing ice began to hammer Shardking’s joints.

This time, the damage took.

Shardking stumbled forward, catching itself on its broken hands, and revealing the glimmering crystal core within and a string of glowing starlight hanging from its shoulder ready to fall from the sky.

A few hesitated a moment, having heard what the rope of starlight was, but the decision was soon made for them.

The angle was perfect as the Broken King presented itself.

They could finish it now.

Sorry, Myles.

“Attack the core!”

***

“Brace yourself!” Kendra called as the volley came again.

Ashra wrapped around them tighter as Shardking moved, straining herself all the more with her effort to the point Myles could feel it across their connection as they moved like a pendulum across Shardking’s chest.

“Ashra!”

Fire burned nearby stone, and Myles felt the phantom pain as they moved across it a moment later.

“I…”

Water crashed and chilled them to the bone as it spilled down from the beast’s back, dripping down Ashra’s metallic body like she was a stalactite and snapping the stone they’d just crossed. Pain shot through her body as her heated metal cracked as quickly as it healed, tightening her grip further as her body retracted in time.

“Am…”

Her grip slipped for a moment, nearly dropping the pair as new stone slammed into the Broken King’s chest, shaking the entire body of the golem at this range.

“…Fine!”

Despite the Runners’ attacks, it was all in vain.

Battered, beaten, but as a single power, Shardking rose slowly but surely, shaking Runners from its arms as it lumbered back to its full height before turning back towards the buildings as the three allies returned to the cliff face. A large hand raised, and the three could hear the stone shift and see spikes grow from its palm in preparation to rip the building to pieces. No one missed the darkness from the monster’s chest, now a candle wisp compared to the roaring bonfire.

It was their chance.

“Now or never!” Myles called loudly, pressing past the noise for Kendra’s benefit. “Swing us in!”

Ashra hesitated.

Ashra! Now’s our only chance! Swing us in and wait for our signal to get us if you can!

She hesitated only a moment more.

“Do not die, Myles.”

The next moment, the pair felt the power of gravity exert itself as Ashra forced her body to comply and swing down. Then, she released them into the air, hurtling down and towards the opening like a rock from a sling. Myles’s thoughts were going a mile a minute as they fell with an undeniable lack of grace towards the opening of the chest. The landing would be rough, but the angle…

Then, Shardking jerked back as a new barrage hit.

Myles felt his heart drop as the air opened under them.

***

Sindra cursed again. It just kept coming. Climbers were already positioned on the sides now after calculating the most likely targets for Shardking’s recovery Skill. Myles had the right idea, but if only he’d…

She saw it a moment before the thought could complete itself.

Myles and his allies were free-falling through the air.

Sket!

Could she do something? She felt at her hand again, flexing her fist as she watched the stars fall from the sky. They were the closest to the core… almost perfectly lined up…

Could she…

Well, it was now or never, wasn’t it?

One way or another, it was time to put another idea to the test. How long did an attack count as an attack against another Runner?

“[Geomancers]! Barrage to the chest!”

At her word, the ground shook again in defiance of the golem, and the world rebelled.

***

The rocks came within moments.

Boulders the size of people and smaller hurtled towards them, towards Shardking, and Myles did what he did best.

Please let this work!

“Hold on!”

Reaching out, he pulled Kendra as close as he could before holding his other hand in front of him. The Twisted Breadstick flashed as he held the staff high, and the world became fluffy and tan.

Dough: 0/100

Over a hundred pounds of dough exploded to life, spreading out in every direction, catching the flying rocks and collecting them in the soft cushion of yeast as the mess collided with Myles and Kendra, softening the impact and sending them back on their original trajectory. Myles felt his mana well empty as his power did what it could to control the mass he’d created.

That didn’t change the fact that the rocks had more mass and strength than the dough could contain. Chunks ripped free as smaller, sharper pieces found their way through as if the mass was little more than paper, but the wider masses held as the dough caught and the surface tension held. With the last of his and Topoff’s strength, he directed the velocity and jerked the bottom of the dough up as more rocks piled behind the first wave.

Pain bubbled across his body as the pressure behind him increased with their velocity. His bones began bending under the force as they continue to rise and the two refused to allow the other to move an inch away.

Then the entire world blurred as his dough gave way, and his back slammed into a wall with a sickening crack to his left. He barely had time to register anything as he crumpled onto the floor.

“Myles!”

But it did.

The arm that had held Kendra was limp at his side now as the woman scrambled next to him in the small chamber filled with the colors of the ocean and sky. For a moment, everything was blue. Then, the dough and rocks fell away, revealing the world beyond. For just an instant, Myles didn’t believe the world around him.

They’d made it.

They were in Shardking!

We’re okay, Ashra.

Mostly okay.

He tried to move his arm, but it refused to obey, a sickly purplish-black growing from where he imagined Kendra stopped against it. The pain only grew, and stars began to fill his vision. The pain was almost more than he could take as his mind rallied.

Pain later. Find the core. Break it. Escape with Ashra and Kendra.

“Kendra!” Myles called as his eyes landed on their target embedded and entombed by a pair of rough stone pillars.

Golem Core (Legendary)

Fragile

10P 88G 86S 27C

Myles felt her fear before he saw her, the break must have been worse than he thought from the sense of it, but she didn’t say anything. “I see it.”

“Can you get there?”

She considered it for a moment. “I don’t have a good movement Skill for it, but I will. If you can get me up there faster, I can smash it.”

Myles moved and immediately felt worse, but his mind sharpened under the stress and called back Medic from Kendra. As the little slime wobbled and Topoff slithered down his arm to be replaced, Myles forced his mind to work.

What did he have?

There was probably enough dough scattered around that he might be able to try to lift her, but he didn’t have the time or the strength to try, and he couldn’t risk her being hurt in the aftermath without Medic.

So, he took out the boots and handed them off. “Focus mana through them.”

She looked at him, and her face fell. “I don’t have mana!”

Myles winced, then looked at the slime at his feet. “Take off your boots.”

“What?”

Medic took Topoff’s place, and soon the pain began to dim as he argued. “We don’t have time, take them off and any socks too.”

Kendra followed the orders and a moment later, Topoff split and wrapped around her feet like a pair of knee-high slime socks. She shivered and winced as the new feeling processed.

It wasn’t a symbiosis because Topoff couldn’t give her mana safely yet. The slime was simply molded to her feet at its master’s order.

“This is disgusting!”

He ignored the revulsion rolling off the woman as he addressed his monster. “Topoff, keep feeding mana into the shoes until Kendra tells you to stop.” Topoff gurgled an agreement, and he turned back to her. “Put them on.”

“I hate this plan,” Kendra groaned as she opened her inventory, put the boots in, and equipped them in a flash of light. Her face shifted into true disgust as Topoff’s slime climbed her legs, reaching just below her knees as it was squished tight inside the shoes.

“Just focus on walking up the pillar. It looks like you can get a good base to swing with these.”

The glow was starting to get brighter, and Kendra began to move. The boots lived up to their name, only letting her feet act like they were on a spider’s web. She wobbled, stumbling as her weight shifted and leaned into the rocky, pitted spire.

The glow was growing brighter by the moment as more attacks peppered the chest inside and out.

Time was running out.

“Climb!”

“I’m trying!”

Myles winced even with the medical abilities of Medic around his arm. Blood colored its slimy interior. Had it been bleeding before? He ignored it as he focused on Kendra and the final task they had to complete. His monocle’s information populated his vision, but only one thing on it mattered as the gentle glow began to increase its intensity.

Golem Core (Legendary)

Fragile

10P 88G 86S 27C

Power: 30 of 100 Charged

Kendra’s entire body worked as Topoff feed its power to the shoes. Five mana a step wasn’t much, but at the small steps Kendra took, it would be cutting it close.

Not that they’d survive if the charge reached full, but that was a bridge Myles was hoping to burn long before it happened. A few moments later, Kendra was halfway up the pillar.

Only one thing had been updated.

Power: 45 of 100 Charged

Myles felt helpless as he looked up and did his best not to move his arm. Kendra was in arms reach of the golem core now, but they had to climb higher still to get in position. It wasn’t going to get any easier than this, but Shardking wasn’t defenseless even here.

The pulsing blue energy was already beginning to turn outward. Pulses of glowing energy began arcing between the walls and the core, climbing to the top before treating back into the core and using anything it could to complete its circuit.

Power: 65 of 100 Charged

Energy flowed freely now as it arced through Kendra’s hair and out towards the walls as she pulled herself up and spread her legs for balance.

The core was below her now, and despite the climb, she didn’t feel exhausted to Myles.

She felt angry.

Red flowed from her eyes as she got into position, the crimson as real as the blood in her veins as energy continued to arc from her as she pulled out the weapon. The hammer sparked in her grip, veins of power shooting off the top of the warhammer and out into the walls like an empowered spider web.

Myles watched as those veins touched her, burning skin before they left again. Her arms were scarred with them. Her face was no better as she wound up for the attack. The blue heart of the sun glared in defiance, growing stronger as Kendra let loose a primal scream that shook the very heart of the golem.

Power: 70 of 100 Charged

Her rage built.

The star burned.

Myles watched as the warhammer came down.