CHAPTER 165: Back to Jackson

  “[SOUL SHATTER]!” bellowed Adam. The words seemed to echo around the room they were in, reverberating off the smooth walls.

  Before he had even finished announcing the skill, or activating it, Cruxannith was shrieking. Her ear-piercing pitch increased in volume as Adam felt the energy rush out of him. In her memories of the tower, he had learned a lot about how the soul worked, so he wasn’t just guessing about this.

  [Soul Shatter] was a skill that had appeared on older Adam’s status sheet while he had been in her memories. It was a Tier 5 skill of very rare classes. The skill wasn’t like [Soul Bolt] or [Soul Spear], which damaged a soul where you aimed for. [Soul Shatter] was much gentler. It allowed the caster, depending on his strength compared to the recipient, to select a part of the soul to destroy, melting it away into nothing. Resistance skills were able to reduce the potential success of the shatter, but with their souls bonded together, Adam was able to bypass all of that. It was an open invitation.

  Adam’s soul energy flowed along the net he had cast around her memories. He felt it surge, barely large enough to cover the whole region of her soul. With the bond, Adam wondered if he could pull energy from her soul as well and was pleasantly surprised that he could. It didn’t control as well as his own, but he was able to further empower the pseudo-skill he was using.

  The energy filled the net, coating the area he designated. It enclosed and squeezed. The memory space fizzled. The size was enormous, but Adam had the time. He watched and felt as her memories compressed, squeezing together as the energy net burned out everything it touched. One by one her memories evaporated and crumbled under his onslaught.

  In the physical world her screaming continued. She twitched and convulsed, only stopping the horrible sound when her body needed to breathe. The screaming went on as Adam controlled the energy inside.

  Adam watched as the horror faded from her face, followed by the knowledge of why she was screaming, then her recognition of Adam and the base, until finally she lost who she was. Only at that point did the screaming stop.

  Cruxannith’cz’Jurzax sat there blankly. Or rather, a body that used to be Cruxannith, the Red Clan speaker for the Scyrric invasion. She had become empty, just a living doll with no memories or knowledge. She breathed and that was all. There was no curiosity, no trying to understand, and no interaction with her surroundings. She just sat there.

  Falling to the ground, Adam lay there breathing. He watched her for a time.

  Unlike with killing, there was no notification to announce her loss. A slight fear edged into him that maybe she was faking it. Maybe this was just another ploy by her to trick him. Yet, no matter how many times he checked his soul map or traveled into her soul to check for evidence of deceit, there was no inkling of how she could be tricking him. After a while he had to accept that things were as they appeared.

  He had done it. He defeated the mind witch, who had caused him trouble since the [System] arrived! Relief washed over him along with satisfaction at the victory.

  It had been a long struggle, and she wouldn’t be the last of his frustrating opponents, but Adam needed to take this moment to bask in it. So many human deaths could be laid at her feet, so much suffering, but now she would threaten no one. Soon he would need to prepare to face that Scyrric berserker, but without Cruxannith there to freeze his soul, Adam was less worried.

  Adam’s eyes closed and he let his mind drift in the freedom he had earned.

  ***

  Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift is no longer able to perform their duty…

  …no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.

  Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?

  [ Yes / No ]

  Adam selected Yes.

  Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended.

  Adam ignored the message about the Invasion Conqueror title and his soul corruption. He declined to merge it with the planetary reality, leaving his new rift as an inaccessible black orb sitting in the middle of a Memphis intersection.

  This Rift was also left out of his network. He didn’t know what was happening back in Jackson, and there was no way he wanted anyone else to have access to the equipment here…or to his captive. She needed to be kept safe, since she had been both an authority figure in the invasion and had become a weakness for Adam. Should anything happen to her, the soul bond that remained would be used against him.

  The control crystal and pillar had been in what was obviously Cruxannith’s office. Her decorating sense was only a small step below Tom’s, with Rift displays positioned all over showing Adam’s fights. He would redecorate once he had more time.

  There was a need to return regularly, because inside one of those cages that the Red Clan speaker had mentioned was the Red Clan speaker herself. She said nothing, sitting completely still in whatever position Adam set her down in. The cages were bathroom-sized prison cells, with enough space for her to move in should she choose to. Adam couldn’t even feel bad for her after the things she had done.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  His soul felt shredded where she had used those attacks on him, and probably would for a long time, but Adam needed to get back to Jackson.

  He was able to find his motorcycle, which had been taken apart, probably by the researcher. There were a few packs on it that had been placed to the side. They contained very welcome MREs and non-perishable foods and water, which Adam shoveled into himself. It felt like he hadn’t eaten in days, which he suspected was the case. The blood packs he carried were gone, most likely feasted on by those two Red Clan vampires.

  He took some time to inspect the base, first through the Rift Menu, then in person. He found the researcher’s quarters, with the alien magic machines, and Cruxannith’s office and bed chambers, though those were more extravagant than practical.

  The Scyrric that had taken him out didn’t seem to have sleeping quarters here, but there was an armory for him with better equipment than the previous Scyrric base they had taken. Unfortunately, it was all shaped for a large lizard man, not a human.

  The blades all had curved, convex hilts and handles that didn’t fit in a human hand. The blades were poorly balanced for an upright walking bipedal. They were designed for the slant that Scyrric walked with, their tails compensating for their balance.

  After trying out most of the weapons, from knives to swords to hammers and clubs, he settled on a long, double edged battle axe. The head was as large as Adam’s torso. One side had a concave edge that curved into a long spear-like point at the end. The other side had a more traditional crescent blade, though it jutted out further in the middle than a human axe would, as though someone stretched the blade in the center.

  The handle was about six and a half feet long with a three-inch diameter. It had a slant compared to the position of the head, and curves and lumps along the shaft that made it unwieldy and poorly balanced. Adam found that if he held it closer to the head then he could use it without balancing issues, though the size compared to him made it difficult to carry, but he needed a weapon.

  Unfortunately, the armor was also designed for that larger lizard form. Adam had found his feral behemoth gloves and pants, but his chest piece and leg armor had been ruined. The leather pieces were in bad shape too. He couldn’t go out unprotected though, so he found an oversized chest piece. The bulge of the front came up to his chin and severely restricted his arms in front and back since the openings were shifted forward from where a human’s arms sat. The armors back ended just above his shoulder blades. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but he was confident it could take stronger hits than anything he previously had.

  Then he found a few panels of armor for pauldrons and arm guards and strapped those to his legs, hips, and arms.

  Checking himself in a Rift display, he looked ridiculous. He almost laughed at himself with how stupid this armor looked on him. That didn’t matter though. Getting back to Jackson was the priority now.

  Since this Rift hadn’t been added to his network, he needed to find another to use a portal. The Bobomon’s former Rift should be close to this one, so that was where he headed.

  Adam dashed through the streets, wishing he had his motorcycle. Without a good familiarity with Memphis’s layout, several times he needed to climb buildings to figure out the direction to another of his Rifts. Idly he thought it would be better to capture a Rift closer to the Red Clan one, but then he mentally facepalmed. Of course he planned to take every enemy base in the city, state, country, and then world. There was no avoiding it.

  Eventually, taking more time than he would be willing to admit to his friends, he reached the Rift. Stepping through the black barrier, he ended up in a small earthen room. Inside the entrance was one of the Leputi operators that monitored the surroundings. This Leputi quivered in fear, never expecting someone to come through the front door.

  After seeing it was Adam, the Leputi scout sighed in relief, his tense shoulders and arms dropping. Then he mimicked the salute he had seen some of the Sentinel Army do. It was a terrible parody of a salute learned from people who also hadn’t learned to do it properly, then performed by a disproportional bunny humanoid. Adam almost burst out laughing but held himself back.

  “Your excellency!” exclaimed the scout, standing at attention while staring at Adam in disbelief. “You escaped from the Red Clan yourself?!”

  “I have,” responded Adam briefly.

  “Truly your might is beyond compare,” marveled the Leputi. “To escape their grasp should have been impossible.”

  “I get that a lot,” nodded Adam.

  “It is good that you have returned at this time, Excellency. I hesitate to say this…”

  “Just tell me,” sighed Adam, annoyed by how long things took when the Leputi were being overly deferential and meek. “I promise I won’t be angry.”

  “Yes…as you say. Your primary base hub is under attack.”

  “By who?” growled Adam, knowing he would be able to guess if he tried.

  “A Scyrric Metallic Berserker has led a whole army full of Tier 3s against your base. The walls have been breached.”

  “That BASTARD!!!” yelled Adam in a fit of rage.

  The Leputi scout shrank back, eyes darting around for a hiding spot. Adam once more sighed at that.

  “Sorry, sorry. I got angry, but not at you. You did well for telling me,” reassured Adam. He felt a bit of pain from the soul damage as one of his pseudo-skills activated on its own. Probably the [Soothe] skill inherited from older Adam. The Leputi visibly calmed and stood back up nodding. “Guess I’d better get there fast.”

  Adam opened the Rift Menu. He navigated to the area that opened portals between Rifts in the network. For some reason it was in a more obscure location than just transporting inanimate objects. The words on the menu that used to be obscure were now readable to him. Out of curiosity he pulled up his status menu and split it into the three different ones. Sure enough, older Adam’s skill list had [System Standard] unlocked on it. Probably from all the reading in Cruxannith’s memory. That will be useful, but for now there was work to be done.

  The option to open a portal was selected from the menu, and then the location was set to Jackson.

  Rift under siege. Location unreachable.

  “What?!” exclaimed Adam, causing the Leputi to jump in surprise, almost hitting the ceiling.

  Once more he selected the portal and location.

  Rift under siege. Location unreachable.

  “Damnit,” he growled. “Guess I’ll have to take the longer route.”

  Just to make sure, he also tried the teleport option to summon a motorcycle from Jackson’s vehicle warehouse.

  Rift under siege. Relocating objects is unavailable.

  With his third sigh since entering this Rift, Adam selected the portal option, and this time chose the Brownsville Rift as the location. A portal successfully opened. When he stepped through, there was once more a surprised Leputi scout there.

  “Your excellency!” exclaimed the Leputi, staring at Adam in disbelief. “You escaped from the Red Clan yourself?!”

  Adam put his hand on his forehead and wiped down his face. Still holding the oversized axe, he didn’t bother responding, instead he left the Rift he was in. He looked along the road. It was 27 miles to his Jackson Rift.

  This was going to be a long run.