I gasped as I awoke.

  It took minutes for my sight to return to me, and even after a quarter of an hour or so, my vision was still blurry. I could tell that I was in a room, lying in a bed, and that the bright light of the midday winter sun was pouring in through the large windows. There was a small fire crackling in the corner of the room, dwindling but enough to keep me warm, at least. And there was a chair at my bedside that had a large, dark green scarf draped over its back. I reached my hand out slowly, expecting more pain than I ended up suffering, and let my fingertips drift over the fabric. It was Val’s. She’d been sitting at my bedside. The thought brought me comfort.

  When I touched the wound in my side, it was still incredibly sensitive, but it was at least closed. That meant that some time had passed since our fight, but perhaps not too much—a day or two. I had the sense that I’d never died, that I’d remained on the cusp between life and death. At least, I couldn’t remember the artifact’s messages. I couldn’t remember selecting anything. There would have been no benefit to dying; I had no upgrades to the artifact’s abilities that I could accept. I’d only have been down a charge. Maybe that was why Val had kept me alive.

  My gut wrenched when I realised that Val being here meant that she wasn’t out there, pursuing Arit’s caravan of malae. If it was just the other four who went after the malae, then that meant they had less chance of success. They needed to have thrown everything at destroying those malae.

  I pulled myself upright, sliding my back up against the wall until I was sitting. On my bedside table was a small wooden cup filled with water. I reached out to grab it—I was parched—but the pain of movement caused me to spill it. The liquid covered my pillow and the cup clattered on the floorboards.

  Murmuring that I hadn’t quite been conscious off came to an abrupt halt downstairs, and soon I heard footsteps approaching. It could only have been Val. I felt weak. I didn’t like feeling weak in front of my wife, particularly while she was pregnant. I felt an innate responsibility to be the strong one, though even then I recognised that this mentality was probably flawed. Either way, that didn’t stop me from forcing my face to a less pained expression, and from touching at the artifact that dangled from my neck.

  My heart dropped when my hand touched only my own flesh.

  Val’s face appeared in the doorway.

  ‘The artifact,’ I said, not even sparing a moment to greet her. ‘Where is it? Where have you put it?’

  Val gulped. ‘Styk, calm down,’ she said, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  ‘You should’ve let me use it. I could have healed faster. We could both be with the others, chasing down the malae.’

  My wife’s eye twitched. She grabbed me more firmly this time, by both shoulders. I resisted the urge to cringe from the pain. ‘Styk. Calm down. This isn’t doing you any good.’

  ‘Does telling someone to calm down ever actually work? Where’s the artifact, Val? I need it. I can’t be without it. What if something—’

  ‘She took it.’

  ‘What?’ I replied. ‘Arzak? Why—’

  ‘Why would Arzak take it? No. Your mother. Your mother took the artifact from you.’

  Suddenly the pain seemed overwhelming. ‘No… No, she wouldn’t. She wants me alive. She wants—’

  ‘Maybe she does,’ Val said, ‘or maybe she just can’t bring herself to kill you. Maybe this is her making it easier for someone else to do her dirty work. Styk, love, I don’t know why she took it. I only know that she did. But in return, she left the rest of us alive.’ She held my gaze with those damn beautiful brown eyes, then set about healing my wound some more.

  ‘We’ll get it back,’ I said, intending confidence but finding it lacking. ‘Won’t we?’

  In answer, Val smiled at me. ‘There’s… one other thing you won’t like.’

  My heart dropped once more. This was maybe the third time that’d happened since I’d regained consciousness, and I’d hardly been awake for that long. I gulped. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘The others are downstairs.’

  ‘Val…’

  ‘I know what—’

  ‘We’d killed Arit!’ I shouted. ‘The army was without leadership. That was the time to strike, then! We could have put all this to rest, ended their ritual before it ever began. And yet you—’

  ‘We wouldn’t have survived!’ Val shouted over me, managing a much louder volume. ‘We needed your portals, Styk. You saw what just one of those corruptions did to Arzak; she’s lucky to still be alive. She barely is; you’ve surely noticed that light go out behind our eyes.’

  ‘There’ll be more we have to pay if we’re going to stop the—’

  ‘Is that what you’ve become? Someone who would sacrifice a friend if it meant saving the world?’

  ‘Guess what happens if the world ends, Val? They die too. We all do!’

  My wife grimaced. ‘Would you sacrifice me, too? Would you sacrifice our child?’

  ‘I…’ I croaked. ‘No. Of course not.’

  ‘So why are they any different? Cos they’re family too. Maybe not by blood. But they’re family. You know what the others have been saying behind your back? They’re worried they see too much of your mother in you. Too much Player in you. It’s out of concern, not malice, don’t get me wrong, but they’re saying it. And right now, you’re proving them right.’

  I could say nothing to disprove this; I’d have to speak with my actions. ‘What did she say, my mother? Before she left?’

  ‘She wanted you to join her in the new world. You and me, actually.’

  ‘You know I’d never do that.’

  Val looked up at me, hesitating for just a moment. So there were still remnants of that old doubt in her mind. There were still some worries about my Player heritage. But then she smiled, and squeezed my arm once again. ‘I do know that. I have to remind myself sometimes, but I do.’ She pulled away from my wound.

  ‘How’s it looking down there?’

  ‘How’s it feel?’

  ‘Bad.’

  Val raised her eyebrows. ‘Yeah, I figured; it’s deep. It’ll get there. I still need a few more days to work on it, but you’ll be fighting fit in no time. Or, as close to “fighting fit” as you ever are.’ She rose from the side of the bed. ‘I’m going to tell the others you’re awake. We should get moving soon.’ Before she left, she planted a juicy kiss on me. ‘I’m glad you’re back.’

  ‘I’m glad you’re here,’ I called after her.

  Moments later, I was alone once more. I looked at the windows, and found them fogged up, obscuring my view of the snow-laden lands. Downstairs, my friends began to talk once more, and I could swear the tone of the muffled voices got joyful. Lore’s booming voice got more excited, at least, though I couldn’t work out what he was saying. I touched my chest, forgetting again that the Sisyphus Artifact was gone. For now, at least. What could my mother have wanted with it? Was it just as Val had suggested? Was it just to make me vulnerable? Or was there something deeper to it? Had she been ordered to take it?

  It was small comfort that I did, at least, have a new Worldbending ability to select, from my contribution to the deaths of Arit and the soldiers. Though, unless these options were game-changingly strong, they wouldn’t make up for the loss of the artifact.

  Ability selection unlocked

  Select an ability from the list below:

  …

  ‘Huh,’ I said, skimming the list. Maybe these weren’t totally game-changing, but these were all strong enough to make a difference. At level 85—higher than I’d ever got a skill before, in this life or in previous ones—the options were consistently powerful. I settled in to bed to read these properly.

  Option 1: Portal Manipulation (Worldbending) — Passive. You may now slowly move and rotate portals without closing them. Costs mana.

  I could think of many applications of this ability, even off the top of my head. I could shift portals into the path of enemies who might otherwise avoid them. I could nudge enemies through. I could aim portals at a moving target, for Corminar or Zoi to launch projectiles through. And I was sure that with more time—and maybe some input from my friends—I could think of more applications still. At any other time, during any other ability selection, this would have been a must-have.

  But not today. Today, it would be a tough decision.

  Option 2: Distant Portals (Worldbending) [Requires: ‘Peerless Portals’ ability] — Create a portal to any location in which you have stood previously, with perfect aim. Uses significant mana to open portals.

  As with the first option, there was a huge amount of potential in this ability. Having perfect aim fixed one of the problems of creating portals at a distance with my Peerless Portals ability. And I could jump around Alterra at will. I go travel to my home, the Gentle Tundras, in the blink of an eye. I could face down the golden army that had invaded the Dawnwood. I could talk to the orc of the Northern Reaches or visit the desert city of Coldharbour. And I could do all of this in a matter of minutes, if my mana reserves were up to it—that was the only real restriction here, besides having to have been to that place before.

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  But what were the applications in combat? That, I struggled with. And my near-future—perhaps all of my future, depending on how all this ended—was combat. I moved on to the third and final option.

  Hidden condition met! Alternative ability choice unlocked.

  Option 3: Portal Traps (Worldbending) [Requires: Stealth level 30; ‘Peerless Portals’ ability] — Create a potential portal at any location within visual range. When a creature enters this location, the portal activates. Inherits ‘Peerless Portal’ restrictions. Costs mana on activation.

  Now there was an ability option suitable for combat situations, and it fit nicely into my build, too. I could more effectively set an ambush; we wouldn’t just be catching enemies unaware—with damage boons to help us take them down quickly—but would also be able to drop some through portals. Surprise.

  I could either drop enemies high into the air, or I could portal them into the paths of my friends’ attacks. Unfortunately it sounded like I couldn’t use Saved Portals in conjunction with this ability, but that was hardly an issue.

  ‘Can you stand?’

  I hadn’t heard Val enter the room, and I blinked as I minimised the ability selection notifications for the time being; I’d need to stew on them anyway. ‘I got hit in my shoulder, not my legs.’

  Val rolled her eyes. ‘I was just being polite. Get up, then. We’ve gotta go; Arzak’s spies bring some worrying news.’

  I hopped to my feet. ‘We’ve got to get the artifact back first. We—’

  ‘There’s no time. They’re nearly there. They’re nearly ready to begin.’

  I didn’t need to ask who “they” was.

  * * *

  We rode for two days, barely stopping. Arzak had sent word ahead through her network, and through their messenger pigeons: we needed fresh horses on our route, as we were riding them into the ground. Some of our steeds were happier jumping through portals than others, but all of them did so with the right motivation.

  We stopped only to eat, for hour-long naps here and there, and for Arzak to get the latest on the malae convoy’s position. We were closing on them fast, but deep down I knew that it wasn’t fast enough. By the time we reached them, we would be well within Aurician territory; the enemies would be surrounded. I considered taking the ‘Distant Portals’ ability, but we’d never ridden this road before, having instead sailed south from the Beached Armada, to the west. I could get us into the city, but what then? From what Arzak’s informants were saying, we’d struggle to get out, even with my portal abilities up our sleeves. No, our best bet was to keep riding.

  Arzak slowed our party down as we rode through a small village not a stone’s throw from the Goldmarch capital.

  ‘No,’ I told her, ‘we’re not stopping.’

  ‘But—’ Lore started.

  I didn’t let him finish. He’d want food, or sleep. The gods knew I wanted both desperately, but we simply didn’t have that luxury. ‘There’s no time.’

  My orcish friend nodded to the symbol-marked informant who rushed out to update her. ‘Get horse. Ride with.’

  The local woman rushed to comply, taking a horse from the nearest hitching post—one that I suspected didn’t belong to her. We galloped north once more, Val and I leading our party, Corminar and Lore behind, and Arzak and Zoi at the rear, being updated by the informant. At this speed, and in the chaos of the portals, I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I didn’t care. I had only one priority—catching the malae before they fell under Tana’s protection. I ignored the pain in my shoulder, my heavy eyelids, my grumbling stomach. None of that mattered. Nothing else mattered.

  I touched the spot on my chest where the artifact should have been hanging.

  As we rode over the crest of a gentle hillside, Val suddenly wrenched on the reins, bringing us to an abrupt halt.

  ‘What is—’ I started, but I was answered by the sight before us.

  We’d arrived. I could see the towering palace where the Council dwelt, and the sprawling city of Auricia. I could see an army, the size of which I’d never before seen, camped outside the capital’s high walls, all under the Goldmarch banner—a golden sun on a red background. And I could see the convoy travelling through the military camp, already under the protection of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of soldiers.

  Yet, unbelievably, that wasn’t the worst of it.

  The worst of it, the one thing worse than the Council locking down control of dozens of malae, stood looming over even the palace. Placed evenly around the city were three towers, taller than anything built in this world, and their designs were familiar to us. We’d seen them a year ago, back in that witchfinder village. These were the devices that pierced through the void between worlds, yet these were a hundred times the size—a hundred times as powerful. We’d known, even back then, that there had been Player involvement in these experiments, but how could we have known it would lead to this?

  This was the basis of their ritual. This was how they created the new world. We knew from Elfric that they needed all types of magicks to complete their plan, but there had still been a missing piece, otherwise any group of magic-users could attempt the same ritual. They couldn’t just create a world—things weren’t that simple. First, they needed to make space for this world. They needed to make space in the void. They neede to pierce through the fabric of reality itself.

  And they had all the tools they needed. The only saving grace was that there was still scaffolding around two of the towers. They weren’t quite finished. They couldn’t quite begin, but they were very close. And what could we do in the meantime? There were six of us against maybe ten thousand soldiers. Perhaps there were more soldiers still in the city itself. It didn’t matter. Either way, we were outnumbered. Either way, the ritual would go ahead.

  I sunk in the saddle. Right then, for the very first time, I truly wanted to give up. I wanted to relent. We’d done all we could—we’d done more than anyone could reasonably expect of us—and yet the malae had slipped through our fingers, now under the protection of an army larger than Alterra had ever seen. We’d failed. It was…

  ‘It’s over,’ Lore breathed.

  ‘No,’ Arzak said.

  ‘Yes,’ Corminar disagreed, his voice weak.

  ‘No,’ the orc said again. ‘We Slayers. We not give up. We—’

  I remained quiet, my eyes on the towers, but Val turned around at my side, to face Arzak. ‘Look at it. It’s over. We’ve—’

  ‘No!’ Arzak said for a third and final time. She gestured the informant up. ‘Tell them what tell me,’ she instructed her.

  I turned, and met the stranger’s eyes. She held my gaze. ‘It’s about Governor Yua.’

  ‘Duchess Yua, I believe,’ the elf corrected her.

  But the woman shook her head. ‘No, governor. They ran elections a few months ago; Yua won in a landslide victory.’

  ‘Good for her,’ Val said, seemingly meaning it sincerely, but her heart wasn’t in it. ‘I don’t see how the wonders of democracy help us right now.’

  ‘It not…’ Arzak started, but then she turned back to the informant. ‘Tell them.’

  ‘Governor Yua has publicly denounced the Players,’ the woman said.

  We went silent.

  ‘OK?’ Val replied. ‘That’s nice, but it’s a bit late, considering…’ She gestured to the towers.

  But I met Arzak’s eyes, and I smiled. I understood. There was still hope, and this hope came in the form that Tokas had realised all along. It wasn’t enough for our team to take down Slayers; the world at large had to see them for what they were. The most important thing had not been to kill the enemy, but to expose them. Those seeds of doubt had taken hold all around Alterra. More and more, people knew the truth.

  And that might just be our salvation.

  It was then that I realised there was only one ability choice I could make. I brought up the notifications once more, and I locked in my choice.

  Ability unlocked — Distant Portals

  Distant Portals (Worldbending) — Create a portal to any location in which you have stood previously, with perfect aim. Uses significant mana to open portals.

  I raised a hand to my right, and I opened a portal, immediately making full use of this new ability.

  ‘Styk?’ Lore asked, eyes on the new portal. ‘What’s the plan? What are we doing?’

  I turned to him, and I smiled. ‘What do you think? We’re calling the world to war.’