《Rise of the Protector》Chapter 3: Start the Soul Link
Advertisement
She turned in one fluid motion. "I didn't give you the signal yet." Calm and steady, what Ravok had come to expect of the woman.
"I know, but we never decided on one." Ravok shook his head as he spoke, approaching the other side of his bed. He was far from a medical expert, but even he could tell that with wounds like these, she would not be able to make it through the night. His bed was already covered in vibrant red blood, and little white was left on the sheets.
Blue shook her head. "I would have just called you…." Her voice started becoming quieter again, her eyes were watery, and it was clear that she had been doing everything she could to try to fix Red, but it made little difference. "She is doing much worse than before…."
Ravok finally noticed the large white dot on Red's forehead. The same mark was shared by Blue, who had some form of brightly colored cup next to her with what looked like milk inside of it. "Is that for the linking situation?" He asked as he pointed at both the cup and the dot on their heads.
Blue only nodded as she offered her thumb, which was covered by the same white liquid. "Before we start, I should tell you. It has never been tried, linking with more than two…." Her voice is doubtful, breaking the emotionless facade that she keeps putting up.
"So? What does that mean?" Ravok asks her with a worried look on his face. He didn't even know what linking meant, let alone the risks of doing it. Part of him wanted to ask, but yet another aspect wished to avoid it at all costs. What if the risks were significant enough that he would stop what he was doing?
Blue looked him directly in the eye and spoke clearly, "Either of us, or both of us may die in this process. Binding and aligning more than two souls is dangerous. It is rare for two souls to be aligned in such a manner, and conflicting people could burn each other out, resulting in the death of all participants." There was no hint of sadness behind her words, not an indication of fear. She was willing to die to save her friend. A piece of information he would have preferred not to know before going into this, if he were to die right here, Sarah and Cole would be left to take care of themselves, but he had no choice if he wanted to save the woman that saved his life.
"What do I need to do?" Ravok said after taking a moment to calm himself, to collect his determination. It was dangerous, yes, but so was jumping in front of a blade and protecting someone you didn't know. Taking this risk was the least he could do for his savior, even if he didn't like taking it.
"Take my hand, and focus… let your soul out of your body and connect with ours." Her words like she didn't just say something that made no sense, letting one's soul out? How would you even do that?
Ravok looked at her, confused. "Let your… soul out?" he asked in utter disbelief, only to be met by the same confused look he had. Blue was seemingly unsure as to whether he was joking or not.
Advertisement
"That is… not normal here?" She asks, full of confusion, but before they could put much more time into the thought, she switches her train of thought. "You put… everything you feel in a certain location and push it forth…."
Her words did not make sense, but Ravok decided to try what she told him. He let Blue rub the white paint on his forehead and closed his eyes. Emotions started bubbling up, fear, regret, anger. Many things could go wrong in this scenario, but he did not want to think about it.
"And thanks… for the risk…." Blue asked without really thinking. She realized that this person was a stranger so far. Her neutral act still had not wholly recovered as she looked at Ravok.
"It is Ravok… is this not way too fast to link souls?" Ravok asks.
Blue let out a laugh. "Red would ask if you weren't supposed to buy her dinner first." Her laughing subsides almost as quickly as it came. "But it is… we know nothing about compatibility, character alignments and have no trust in each other. We have only one benefit in this three-way link. Red and I are compatible… All that is left is to hope we can be compatible with you. And I am… Blue, nice to meet you."
Ravok swallows for a moment, keeping his eyes closed. "Alright… now is as good of a time as any to risk your life." He said as he took a deep breath and started trying to focus his emotion on the spot on his forehead. He focused on his reason, to protect Sarah and Cole. There was a being that targeted his house with an attack meant to destroy it and keeping these two that could at least to some extent fight him his friends would help his situation, even if it would only be a little bit.
As he focused, he felt the world giving away, fading into darkness and sounds becoming muffled and dimmed. His sense of touch became tingly all over his body as it started becoming numb until he could see a massive beam of light rush towards him, filled with every color of the rainbow. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Strings all swirled together to surround him until they formed a large tube. Through this tube, he could notice three colors represented more so than the others: Red, Blue, and a thick line of purple. Each step would ripple the colors through the tunnel, like every one of his steps set off a different rainbow pattern. Outside the tunnel, he could see his room. He could see Red lying on his bed, still bleeding. He could see himself sitting down with his eyes closed, concentrating, and he could see Blue in a similar position.
Finally, Ravok managed to reach the end of the tunnel, and as he stepped out into a world of pure white light, he heard voices collide, familiar voices like those of Red and Blue, Sarah and Cole, and many, many others. He couldn't recognize flashes of images, men and women in armored mechanized suits wielding blades and blasters, fighting him with all their might. He was only narrowly able to escape as he worked with Red to fight them off, a Memory of a man and woman in blue sitting in front of him, forcing him to fight with every weapon imaginable. It felt like years went by in this world. Every weapon was pushed in his hand, axes, swords, bows, crossbows, and more than a long period of a white void filled the room. He felt like there should be something there, there should be images, but all he could see was completely white.
Advertisement
His vision shifted again, and the tingly feeling he got before started returning to him as he noticed Red and Blue's faces right in front of him. Blue her eyes were open, looking around like him, while Red her eyes were closed. Then suddenly, it felt like their faces were pushed into each other as a searing pain started pulling through his mind as three separate thought streams began trying to merge and align themselves in his head. He could not help but yell out, "AAAAARGH" More images started flashing through his mind. When he was younger, a small dark orb started floating at his elementary school, where he stood with his mom, waiting for the building to open with many other kids his age. Everyone stared at it with wonder and confusion until the next moment. It expanded at a rapid pace, faster than anyone could react. Within moments, it filled enough space to cover a freight boat bursting only moments after, exploding and releasing this dark black energy. The following image he could see was himself sitting in the middle of heaps of rubble, some covered in a dark red liquid, arms sticking out, and right there was his mother, her body bruised and broken, her eyes wide open, yet something was wrong. There was no light to be found inside, and no reflection could be seen, just the emptiness of a broken gaze. Ravok slowly started crawling towards his mother, tears in his eyes, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and as he looked up, he noticed the neutral expression of the woman he had only met recently. Her face was trying to portray compassion, but the expression was so strange on her face that it just looked silly.
"We are almost done." She spoke. Her voice was surprisingly comforting, a steady tone in this chaotic place. As Ravok looked back at himself, he noticed that he was again back in his adult self and the scene around him faded into complete white. Floating in the middle was Red. There was no wound as if she had never been hurt, and she was there as if she was sleeping peacefully, safe in her bed.
"Aren't we supposed to see things? Reds memories?" Ravok asked Blue. At this point, he figured out that he had been experiencing some of his own and Blue their memories. But so far, it had always been from the perspective of either himself or Blue but never from the perspective of Red.
"We both…. lost most of our memories… We can't remember much more than one month in the past… we were chased when we first came here and have been ever since." Blue said calmly as she pointed at Red, "I managed to recover little by little every day, but Red… never got anything back."
Ravok searched his memory almost instinctively and could feel the frustration, the anger, the fear. All feelings that weren't his but hers. He could remember the people in suits that looked far too advanced fighting Red and Blue as if he was there himself as he looked back at Blue. "So that was why it was all white?"
Blue nodded as she approached Red, floating in white space. Based on memory, her face saddened for a moment, a side that she rarely let out with Red. "Perhaps that is why so far we have been successful… someone that is this little herself… and someone that can adjust to anyone… maybe this will work," She said, a small smile breaking through her sadness as she held out a hand to Ravok and grabbed Red's hand. "She is going to be extremely mad at us, you know…we did something terrible without asking her…."
Ravok thought for a moment. He wasn't sure what she meant by that at first. They were saving her life, the only way that Blue knew how. However, after a moment, he realized what he had just done. Even if there wasn't much to show, he intruded upon her memories, thoughts, and feelings. He and Blue had to actively go to Red as she had no choice in what they did. As he thought, he stepped up next to two. Whatever the result is, they have made a choice already.
"At least she gets to be mad at us, right?" Ravok said with an awkward and hesitant smile on his face as he grabbed Blue her hand
Blue only nodded in response. She was already back to normal in both facial expression and body language, ready to take the risk.
Ravok then grabbed Red's hand. A burst of red, blue, and purple started swirling before his eyes. He could no longer see Red and Blue. All he could see was pure color mixing and mixing until a deeper, darker purple filled his entire vision. It was as if he was right in front of a giant eye looking right through him until even that faded into black.
When he reawakened, Ravok was staring at his ceiling. His vision was normal or at least not dominated by any color like before. As he slowly sat up and looked around, he noticed that Red and Blue were gone. There was no blood or anything that would prove that someone was in the room with him not too long ago. Was it all a dream? It couldn't be. He remembers everything that happened so vividly. His eyes scanned around, and he noticed the two slices of cake on the table. His mind was racing. Where are they? They must be somewhere. A cacophony of voices rang in his head, memories surging through his thoughts as he attempted to stand up, slowly making his way to the bathroom to try and get some water, anything to stop this pounding headache.
Ravok slowly opened the door, stumbling in as he turned on the facet. Water streamed out as he filled his glass, which he kept just in case. Chugging it down as he had a look in the mirror. There was a moment of shock as he stared at himself.
Advertisement
- In Serial40 Chapters
I Can Bind The Legendary Archmage To Train For Me!
“Carl crossed over to a world of magic where strength meant everything. However, he was very frustrated as he did not have any talent for cultivating spells.
8 393 - In Serial206 Chapters
The Infinite Labyrinth
(Story complete - Book 1 "Shanghaied", 2 "Shortcuts", 3 "Secrets" and 4 "Sanctions") It is the 19th century, and war smoulders between England and France. Any hope for a quick end to Napoleon's rampage across Europe ended when the Great Gates opened in 1800. For a fortunate few, the strange world of the Infinite Labyrinth offers opportunities, strange descriptors popping in their minds, informing them of growth, and status beyond that of a mere mortal. The materials and power crystal they bring back foster a new age, both military and civilian. Aether-powered Skyships prowl the skies, as all the great nations blessed by the Gates try to turn the blessings of the Labyrinth into immediate advantages. But for Jonas, an apprentice leatherworker, his friend Ira, and so many Londoners, the fabled ones that walk the Labyrinth are distant heroes, seen from afar. They fell short when their Potential was measured, and they fill their mundane lives with distant dreams. One man wants to break the stalemate. The Tyrant of the Dominion of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, has a plan. Eighteen years after the world changed, he will force it to change again. And when civilians are caught in the fallout, the unthinkable happens. Six people, unqualified, forbidden to ever enter the Labyrinth, find themselves stranded in a distant zone, forcefully turned into Professionals. They know little of what that means, but they have to figure out the rules that are now their lot, for they have little hope to escape their predicament otherwise. They need to understand what the descriptors in their minds mean, what each of the strange piece of gear waiting in treasure chests behind terrible guardians can bring them. They have to become Professionals on their own and rejoin the Empire. They will figure out their new lives one way or another. But will there be an Empire waiting for them when the Gates re-open? Caught in a clash of empires and high tiers, they will do what little they can. They will step up and do their best. One way or another. The Infinite Labyrinth is a slice-of-life litRPG adventure set in a real historical setting. It's a hard, crunchy litrpg. Expect blue boxes everywhere, and the system itself is very mathy. It started life as a serial. I prepared some proper worldbuilding, with enough details and background for lots of different potential story arcs, but as I wrote, I realized the main story needs to have a definitive end. So, there are four books in total, for a bit under 1500 pages, plus additional side stories, and even maybe a sequel one day. The Gore tag was added as a precaution because there are a few scenes with some light gore.
8 211 - In Serial96 Chapters
The Demon Child - Awakening
My name is Dyne, I'm too much of a commoner to have the last name, but that all changed, as my adventures take me places you only see in dreams. An ancient power long has forgotten and the death of someone close made me what I am. To defeat a demon, you have to become one, and for me, I'm halfway there.
8 87 - In Serial28 Chapters
Moon Rabbit: Threaded Fate
Alternatively known as 'Mr. Moon Rabbit, I'm Not Yours' ( Romance in Urban Cultivation Background ) Taking in a legendary spirit is no small matter as they attract a lot of attention... Her name is Chan Lee. A young university student living a rather quiet life-if not a lonesome one. Until he arrives. He's the peculiar man who ends up on her roof one fateful night. The so-called Moon Bunny, who mistakes her for Chang'e. It may seem like all fun and games, but hiding from cultivators, secret societies and other interested individuals is harder than you may think. This is their story. Warning: Sample Book Fifty-nine chapters will be available on RoyalRoad to read entirely for free but the rest are exclusive on Webnovel. It starts out with a relatively slow pace first and will be quite a slow burn romance.
8 186 - In Serial315 Chapters
Dauntless: Origins
Snow white hair, blue eyes, pale. Devil, monster, mutt, failure.This story follows one Tyr Faeron, crown prince, heir primus and mass murderer. A wrathful, angry, and lost young man that has made it his goal to hunt down the men that killed his mother - and he is on the cusp of finishing the promise he'd made before her cairn stones so many years ago. On the surface he is duplicitous, whimsical, and base of cunning - but within the depths beyond the many masks he wears, something is waiting. Waiting for an end, the end he'd come to long for, whether it be to himself or any possible threats in his vicinity. After that long labor of vengeance is completed... Nobody knows, not even him - an arrogant and otherwise solitary individual with nothing in the way of friends - only the brothers of the blackguard who follow him through life as he pursues this mission. He was born a prince, but he'd be called a disappointment - failing to manifest the great power that he was born to before being summarily discarded by his father, a 250 year old 'primus'. That word again... Men who can shatter mountains and level cities, that's what he was supposed to be. Some call them demi-gods, all Tyr sees is a poor excuse for a parent. Time had made him bitter, cruel, and arguably psychotic - seeing only enemies wherever he looks. They'd come for him, too, one day - to wipe the slate clean and make room for another - and it's his conviction to ensure that he dies while taking as many of those rats with him. This is a story about finding acceptance, growth, and understanding - from the point of view of a cold and brutal individual who wears many masks. Of someone who was born to be the greatest emperor the eastern continent has ever seen - but he failed in that. Strong, yes, but only in the context of a man - Tyr's magic is weak. His convictions are weak. He has been made a beast of instinct by loss and a constant confronting of his own impotency in the face of his father. A mythos that stretches across planes, of magic, a pantheon of cruel gods. Of someone who's dedicated his entire mind to the art of killing a man, and none to living a normal childhood or coming to understand friendship, empathy, or compassion. The first five years of his life a mystery, a hole none have ever been willing to fill, leaving him warped and twisted. His formative years gone and what must've been most of his humanity along with it. Now 17, he is on the cusp of leaving the city he'd never been permitted to leave for what might be the first time in his life. Always searching, though he won't know what for, for some time. An episodic that follows experience and symbolism rather than a never ending series of battles - where the conflict lay in constantly searching for wholeness in lieu of great villains or heroes. This is where it all started, the origin, the tale told a million times - and yet it hadn't been, 'reality' is tricky like that. The greatest lie ever told by the tongue that speaks is that any of this was real at all.
8 269 - In Serial13 Chapters
New World Paradise
A portal suddenly appears in Central Park, New York City. As part of a team of Duke ranked Knights from the Peace Knights, Jason is sent along with some of the best that the Global Alliance Corporation could gather to investigate what is beyond this anomaly. A fantastical world of medieval knights, magic, angels, demons and death greeted him. In a battlefield filled with the shouts of war and the sounds of people falling, he strives to survive and dare even try to win. However, he finds himself overwhelmed and at death’s door, with unfulfilled wishes lingering in his heart. Will anyone be able to survive in this world? Who will take up the responsibility of protecting the world and its peace from the dangers beyond this portal? The Imperators are called upon and convinced to answer those questions. The most powerful Knights created by the Corporation are unveiled and given the best technology they have to explore the world beyond the portal.
8 79

