Ghosts in the Grid
As the orc, bereft of both hands, let out a bloodcurdling scream, cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the dwarf in the vertical-striped suit watching the scene.
"What the hell is that guy? A magician? But that's an Aura Blade, isn't it?"
The dwarf's mind reeled in confusion. Modern magicians focused their abilities on cyber space dives, spell programs, and data hacking. There were those who trained in magic that manifested in the real world, but they were usually dismissed as relics from a bygone era.
And among those practitioners, someone with the level of telekinesis Roque had just demonstrated was exceedingly rare. No, the dwarf believed there were none at all. Even his own immensely powerful master relied on artifacts.
Then something snagged on the translucent barrier behind him. The dwarf assumed Kayla had seized the opening to fire her gun.
"I don't know what your deal is, but first, you're..."
The suited dwarf decided to deal with Kayla first and bolt. That Aura Master seemed far beyond his pay grade.
But that thought evaporated like a blank page at the sight of grenades tumbling to his feet, pattering down.
As Kayla hurled herself back into the pool with a splash, a thunderous boom erupted. Underwater, she looked up at the debris and smoke roiling the surface.
The dwarf's translucent barrier hadn't deflected the bullets. They'd simply lost their momentum midair, hovering before dropping harmlessly to the ground. Only one spell matched that in Kayla's memory—a tale skimmed from childhood textbooks. A incantation woven by dragons a century ago to defy gunfire: 'Protection from Projectiles'.
Yet even those dragons had fallen, unable to withstand fire and heat. People thought the spell vanished with them.
Now those textbooks would need rewriting. Somehow, these dragon cultists—or whatever they were—had revived it. Kayla hoped her grenade had packed enough punch.
"Gah!"
Moments later, she surfaced. The villa and garden lay in ruins, and the dwarf's ragdoll corpse sprawled far off.
"Feeling refreshed?"
Kayla whipped her head around at the sudden voice. Roque approached poolside, the now-armless orc slung over his shoulder. The orc was out cold.
"...You're taking that guy?"
"Police sirens in the distance. No time to search more."
"Already? Shit."
She clambered out, dripping. Roque eyed her a beat, then turned toward the villa fence—back to the Black Knight and Elizabeth.
"Hey, wait up!"
Kayla swept wet hair from her face and yelled after Roque's silent stride. He didn't stop; she hurried to catch up.
But they halted after a few steps. Her eyes caught a plump hand rolling in the dirt—severed by the grenade from the dwarf. She scooped it up, pried off the ring from its finger.
"...So this glowed and triggered the spell."
A long, embossed dragon coiled around the round band. Kayla stared at its gleam a moment, then bolted as Roque pulled ahead. The ring slipped into her pocket.
"Hey, Roque! I'm telling you, wait!"
The wrecked villa fell silent as they left, save for the swelling wail of distant sirens.
Then, from the settling smoke and dust inside, a figure slowly rose.
The Black Knight's chassis glided into the dim abandoned factory. It halted amid the empty expanse; the doors creaked open. Out stepped a man and woman, and a girl: Roque, Kayla, Elizabeth. They'd put distance from the villa, seeking quiet.
Kayla whistled low, scanning the crumbling walls, sagging ceiling, dust-caked concrete floor—a hollow shell.
"Pretty damn creepy."
As she wisecracked, Roque popped the trunk. The armless orc lay inside.
He froze mid-reach to haul it out.
"What?"
Ignoring Kayla's question as she sidled up, Roque probed the orc's neck with a finger. No pulse.
"Damn."
"What? What's wrong?"
Kayla checked the orc's eyelids, pupils unresponsive. Scratching her head in frustration, she grumbled.
"Ah, this bastard. Shut down all his circuits. How much of that brain is machine?"
Magicians who'd fused most of their brains with integrated circuits could induce comas. To fake death or hide info, they'd plunge into deep unconsciousness, halting bodily functions. The orc must've done it en route in the trunk.
"Forcing him awake now won't yield jack shit..."
The issue: Emerging from such a coma often left fractured memories and psyche. Many viewed it as a form of suicide.
Kayla eyed Roque.
"What now? Want me to dive?"
"You hack too?"
"Basic stuff. Mercs who just shoot don't last."
Roque glanced aside instead of answering. Elizabeth peered up from where she leaned on the Black Knight's hood, chin propped. Kayla frowned at the stare.
"...What? Elizabeth can handle this too? What are you, really?"
"Elizabeth is Elizabeth."
Robot Bini, waddling at her feet, beeped in agreement.
"Even Elizabeth can't fully pull someone who's sunk into their own darkness."
Roque stroked his chin at her words, feeling the rough stubble. No intel from this guy meant waiting for their next move—and countering. They'd come prepared for an Aura Master this time. Maybe even rope in Midland government, as the elf informant warned. That'd mean fighting the whole damn city: MLPD, mayor's guard, Midland Defense Force.
"No need to drag this one back."
Roque turned at Elizabeth's interjection. A white ring glowed in her black pupils.
"He cast himself into darkness but couldn't sever his net link. He's still connected to cyber space."
"So..."
Kayla's face lit with realization beside him. Elizabeth nodded.
"His brain's like a terminal now. Gateway to a specific data server."
"Which one?"
"The biggest in this city's cyber space."
Kayla paled at the explanation.
"Roque... the biggest data server in Midland..."
"Midland government. Mayor's office, probably."
Kayla ruffled her hair in agony.
"Shit. So he's with the mayor's office? Already mobilizing? But I've never heard of them hiring quirky magicians like this... We got zilch on intel."
Roque fished something from his coat pocket: two similar rings. Dragon-winged emblems, pulsing with fierce light and energy—the cultists'. Elizabeth eyed them coldly as he held them out. Anger, maybe fear.
Her gaze lifted to meet his, the glowing ring still spinning in her eyes.
"Guess we crack the server ourselves."
Kayla snapped alert, clutching her head.
"You don't even have a net socket. How?"
Elizabeth whistled sharp. Bini at her feet beeped, folded its four legs, hunkered down. Its chassis split open, revealing socket cables, net gear.
She yanked a line, plugged into the orc's neck socket. Bini whirred to life.
Net gear in hand, she looked up at Roque.
"Straight in?"
He nodded. To baffled Kayla:
"Won't take long."
"...What're you doing?"
Roque stepped from the trunk, shed his coat, knelt on the concrete. Grinning at her sky-blue eyes:
"Hacking."
Net-gear-clad Elizabeth approached, hand to his forehead. His vision sucked into a central vanishing point; gridlines unfurled.
"Roque? Elizabeth?"
Kayla blinked at the pair gone still: Roque seated properly, Elizabeth's hand on his brow. Only Bini beeped steadily, linked from net gear to orc socket. A real cyber space dive.
"...Trusting me to watch your backs?"
She stiffened in bewilderment. Magicians always secured themselves before diving—vulnerable as they were. An Aura Master diving was weird enough; leaving himself exposed baffled her more.
Maybe he figured saving her life meant she'd guard them. Soft thinking like that didn't last in merc work. Rep mattered, but survival and paychecks more.
"..."
Hands on hips, she watched them, expression inscrutable.
Suddenly, her gaze flicked to the factory entrance. After staring into the distance, she fetched her shotgun from the Black Knight's passenger seat.
She racked the slide with a clack, slammed the door, eyed the pair. Huffing through her nose at their unresponsiveness:
"Fine, whatever. Shared fate's like this, right?"
She toggled her goggles black, strode to the entrance. Her boots echoed thud-thud through the ruins.
The familiar expansion of senses bloomed—a stretching between cells, weightless float free of gravity.
Roque opened his eyes. Gridlines stretched to infinity above and below, as before. A pre-dive space to chat with Elizabeth.
Roque turned at the voice behind. He startled: a massive walker tank filled his view—the one he'd scrapped last time.
The walker Bini beeped. Bulkier, but same sound. A firefly speck twinkled atop it.
The firefly Elizabeth flitted to Roque.
As instructed, Roque vaulted onto Bini's chassis. It retracted legs and Vulcan arms, engines whining.
Next instant, a thin beam lanced from its forward cannon, streaking to the cyber vanishing point.
Bini rocketed after the beam at blinding speed. Roque gripped tight on reflex.
Grids blurred save the frontal point; streaking lights like a meteor shower engulfed vision. Cosmic flight.
Suddenly, stretched sight snapped back. Bini perched on sleek surface.
Roque looked up: colossal gray rectangle data server dwarfed others to toys.
Bini slammed legs into surface, shook to dislodge him.
Roque hopped off amid the fuss. Bini beeped, aimed Vulcan at its belly: a glowing yellow hole amid smooth panels.
Bini bobbed yes, then whipped toward something. Roque followed: massive serpent Firewall racing across server skin. Composite form—spiked tail ball, elongated forehead horn.
Worse: a dozen slithering.
Bini's back cannon cracked; beam erased three serpents.
It raised Vulcan arms, beeped at Roque: I'll handle; go.
Forgiving toy missiles, Roque dove into light. Glancing back: Vulcans hosing light rounds, serpents fleeing bullet hell. Safe for now.
Vision flooded white. Cascades of 0s, 1s, mystic runes poured toward somewhere. He surrendered to the flow.
Feet touched ground. Light faded. Roque's eyes widened at the vista.
Sunny sky with wispy clouds. Neat garden below: trimmed grass, trees, modest flowers. Tiled-roof Eastern buildings.
Familiar. Impossible.
"...What the hell?"
Roque muttered, genuinely rattled. Footsteps behind.
"Roque?"
He spun. A woman gazed worriedly—familiar face, lost forever.