[Chapter 38 part 2] Soul – The Outbreak

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Soul spent the day cultivating, recalling and parsing his nightly experiences. Ethan had employed his prowess unconsciously so it was onerous. He was still deeply engrossed when Rose messaged him. It’s lucky our matches were at the same time.

The Stone Coliseum turned out to be a one-sided affair not worth mentioning. While not unskilled, his opponent had ice affinity, and Soul sparred with Dawn regularly. With fame kicking in, I’m solidly in A rank.

He went north to watch Rose face a comrade of Razor Hue, another dragonformer. What a poor match-up. Soon a grouchy Rose walked out after a draw, “I dislike fire-proof opponents.”

Soul consoled her on their way to the skybox. The others must be in the city by now. Since Free, Light, Wise, and Hope had earlier time slots, they’d gone ahead, with Emelia and Simon, to an afternoon movie. Rose and Soul would join them once Dawn was done.

“It’s nice Free was able to participate.” Rose commented. Their sister had emerged this morning looking gaunt. Declaring that ‘injuries are one thing, but sickness is unpleasant’, she’d proceeded to gorge herself. A sign of full recovery.

Soul sat to observed the battling below. In a few minutes, they’ll switch to evening fights. Partitions would be removed, and the entire arena would be used. Dawn would take part in the opening act.

“The odds are high another outbreak occurs tonight…” Rose said quietly.

“What?” Soul snapped.

“I spoke with Argent.” Rose explained. “The ISF keeps track of which immortals are on the Isle. The only ones left right now are Sars, Radin, and Simon.”

“It’s abnormal. Fifty immortals are residents, and a dozen are here regularly. While a few leaving may be coincidence, like Kara, the rest are not. They’ve been lured off-Isle by invitations and other happenstance. The last left four hours ago.”

“I see.” Soul said. The Northern Emperor pulled a lot of strings. He suspected Radin and Sars wouldn’t be quick to act, and Simon had to protect Hope. “So Argent believes there’ll be an incident exploiting Lily and Astra’s absence?”

“And it’ll be a major one.” Roses nodded. “That’s what the ‘deference for saints’ indicates.”

Soul frowned, unfamiliar with the expression. Rose noticed, “Unless a threat is beyond a certain severity, immortals don’t get involved. Solving small crises is considered pointless XP stealing, and those engaging in it are ostracized, often by their own governments. ‘Deference for saints’ is official policy most places. Nations with overly active immortals deprive their saints of much needed opportunities, hurting their strength in the long run.”

Soul listened coolly. Not very virtuous. “Doesn’t this practice cause unnecessary tragedies?”

Rose laughed wryly, “I asked the same. Argent gave a competent reply: ‘The hunger for immortality saves more than it kills’. Basically, there’d be far less ‘heroes’ rushing to disasters without the Wall’s promise. This more than cancels out the lengthy response time of immortals.”

“Back to the warning.” Rose continued. “The only reason to tempt immortals away is if you’re planning something that’d merit their attention.”

“How large an outbreak are we talking about?” Soul asked.

“Several hundreds,” Rose replied grimly.

“Would the Laughing Man really strike so soon?” Wasn’t he injured yesterday?

Rose shrugged, “It might not be his doing. Or Argent could be wrong.”

“How’s the ISF preparing?” Soul asked.

“They’re working on evacuation plans and strategies for sectioning off the Isle. Thanks to a recent cash infusion, they’ve retained the services of A rank adventurers experienced with werewolves. Saints have also been notified to anticipating trouble.”

“Finally, Argent drafted us.” Rose added sheepishly. “That’s the reason he gave me the heads up.”

Not that surprising, we’ve dealt with them before. “Did you say yes?”

“I did. If something happens, we’ll receive deployment orders.”

So she volunteered us into the ISF. It’s the right call, but we should’ve been consulted. Not that it’d change anything. Kain’s arm was on the Isle because of them. They couldn’t ignore this.

“Argent might be right, but let’s try to forget this and enjoy the evening,” Soul said. “It’s Hope first trip out in nearly ten days.”

Gathering the victorious Dawn, they descended the Shaft to level 3 and jumped off. He and Dawn used wings while Rose broke her fall with jets of fire. Once they’d reached the exit, fifteen feet up, they observed the festival of lights and motion.

The Northern half of this layer was an amusement center called Arcadia, packed with all manner of entertainment. These attractions, such the karaoke center across, were surrounded by refreshments stands, eating areas, souvenir shops, and others conveniences. Kate originally suggested visiting. Too bad she isn’t here.

Directly below were a dozen ‘summoning arenas’. In these miniature rings, ‘players’ chose avatars from a predetermined selection and then battled each other and arena controlled enemies. Third person fighting games. Further away, Miniship Races were taking place. A dozen players were sitting at booths while tiny airships zoomed around before a cheering crowd. Most games here offer an even playing field. Even an immortal might compete with an ordinary person. So everyone can have fun.

In the distance, Soul saw two big names, ‘Dreamland’ and ‘Sukemon’. Even he recognized these entertainment giants. Both found success by striking deals with the HEAVENLY DAO.

With the deity’s aid, Dreamland had carved out an entire virtual reality in the Ether. Sharing its name, this realm could be reached by visiting a store location and taking a nap in a sleeping pod. There’s a home version too. Customers would then wake as ‘travelers’ in a fantastical land. Since the place operated under completely different rules, anyone could be a hero there. It offered a wonderful escape to the masses who’d forsaken immortality.

Sukemon, meanwhile, had engineered a summoning system for their own unique creatures. These company-designed mascots were cute and had ‘-mon’ at the end of their names. They were tied to store-bought cards and could be ‘trained’ to evolve into more advanced forms. Customers could visit sponsored training centers to battle their Sukemon in summoning arenas. Those wealthy enough could even purchase artifacts to materialize them anywhere. Some adventurers use them in dungeons. Legendary Sukemon possess the strength of immortals.

“Shall we get going?” Rose asked. They dropped down and navigated the crowd East. Soul noted a shooting game where guns were used against a swarm of zombies. Hope would adore that.

“What’re those?” Dawn was pointing to a far wall.

“They’re pinball machines. You’d know if you’d studied a bit.” Rose reproached. “Check your wrystals. There’s a map explaining everything.”

They did as instructed, and a layout appeared, surrounded by a mountain of text. Soul saw the floor was divided into themed subareas, such as ‘adventure land’ with its escape rooms and dungeon run simulators. Wise would ace the ‘Trials of Fate’. A mention of oracles caught Soul’s attention. Fortune telling was a remote school of magecraft that provided powerful, if cryptic, prophecies. What would a divination for us look like?

In the ‘Rides’, Soul read the first entry: ‘Take a ‘Holographic Safari’ through Enera’s wondrous forbidden regions. Experience the Blue Abyss’s Rainbow Reef, the Green Hell’s Haven, and the Demon World’s flaming swamps.’ There’s no way we’re getting to everything…

“Acrophobia?” Dawn raged. “That’s a ride?”

Soul quickly checked further down. There it is. ‘Become an airship racer and live all the most hair raising tracks. Guaranteed to rattle even the fearless’. Sounds horrifying. Between projectors, gravity manipulation, other magics, it was possible to perfectly replicate the sensation of plunging to your doom. The only aspect missing would be foresight’s sense of impending demise.

“I can’t believe people pay for this.” Dawn shook her head as if witnessing madness. I’m somewhat enticed, but I’ll kept quiet.

“There’s the cinema complex.” Rose pointed to a box office surrounded by brightly lit posters. It’s a rather niche form of entertainment. Even with the best projections, movies can’t compete with reality.

“Good timing.” Rose said watching people flood out. “The show is over.”

“What’d they see?” Dawn asked.

“‘Bullet Time’” Rose answered. “It’s set in a cinematic universe where magic doesn’t exist. Martial arts don’t make you stronger and no one lives forever. It’s very creative, with the world-building drawing heavily from the Gala Plateau. Lots of guns and explosions. Here they are.”

“What’d you think?” Rose approached Hope eagerly.

“Stop treating me like an unfortunate soul in dire need of uplifting.” Hope protested. “But, yes, it was fun. There are so many firearms I have yet to master…” If she’s happy, that’s fine.

“We could’ve used movies at Earth’s End.” Light was admiring a placard featuring ninjas dueling under the moonlight. They’re quite popular, aren’t they? There’d been several on the Isle even before their arrival.

(continued in part 3)