Path of the Berserker

I stumbled down the stairs half-dressed and half-drunk out of my mind.

I wondered if maybe there was little more than just alcohol in that hooch to have me still under its effects hours later. I cycled my Frenzy to purify my system, slowly ridding myself of the toxins.

I bumped into Blue Rose and Tu’lok on the way down.

They returned my half-drunk stare with bleary-eyed stares of their own.

By the time we assembled I was still wobbling on my feet but feeling a bit more in control as my cycling continued to clear my head. Chief Yora was at the front of what had to be the entire contingent of Black Robes. A platoon some hundred strong.

“For all the newcomers who are here,” Yora said as she addressed us all. “This is a special night. A full moon. It will last for a week. Under these conditions the potency of Demonic Qi that radiates from the Bloodmoon will more than double. These are close to the conditions that you will face on the Hell Worlds at night. The Demonic Qi at this strength is disruptive to one’s core. You will need to increase your spiritual fortitude to withstand it and the only means of doing so, is to experience it firsthand.”

A few murmurs wafted through the crowd at hearing that.

“For those of you who have already experienced a full moon or indeed attended classes, you will already understand the dynamics the Bloodmoon and the Cursed Stars have on any form of life and how their power is able to corrupt and mutate one’s core. For those of you who have not been educated prior, you will gain firsthand this experience tonight.”

My pulse sped.

If the full Bloodmoon here was enough to affect even normal cultivators, I could only imagine what it would do to me.

I needed to sober up right quick.

“This will be a formidable part of your growth and cultivation at the Black Robe rank,” Yora continued. “Not all are able to achieve this. Only those who develop the mental and spiritual prowess to withstand the effects of the Full Bloodmoon will be selected to become legionnaires. You will understand why this is important later on. For now, you will get your first taste of its effects. Any questions?”

More murmurs.

“How do we defend our cores from the Demonic Qi?” someone asked and when I looked, I saw it was the new guy, Wing Pho. He looked surprisingly calm for what we were about to face, but whether it was from confidence or ignorance I couldn’t tell.

“Cycle your Qi through your Dantian as quickly as possible,” she said. “The pressure it will exert will push against the Demonic Qi and stop it from invading your system. Stop cycling, even for a moment and it will poison you. If you begin to feel ill, run immediately into the barrier. The more you train the longer you will be able to withstand the effects.”

That sounded a lot simpler than what it took for me to develop my [Soul Shield] technique, but perhaps they didn’t need anything as fancy as I did as Qi cultivators.

“One final thing,” Yora said. “The demons and spirit beasts will surge on nights such as this, driven wild by the effect of the full Bloodmoon. They will be attracted to your cores. For tonight we will simply retreat when the hordes come. But to pass successfully and become legionnaires, you must withstand a full night’s assault. To do so, the mastery of one’s Qi and mind are paramount.”

A full night? I thought. Shit…

Could I even do such a thing without Venja to cleanse me?

Yora then nodded, looking us over a final time.

“That’s it for the briefing,” she shouted. “To the edge of the barrier now! Go!”

* * *

The closer we got to the barrier’s edge the more I felt like a damn werewolf about to lose his shit in the full moon.

If I started to go Demon mode in front of everyone, it’d all be over.

As we approached the flaming beacons, Yora began separating us up into groups.

Veterans were at the front, followed by the initiated, followed but us the newcomers and then behind us came the phalanx crew.

I supposed that made sense.

The inner strength of the Phalanx Tributes was objectively weaker than anyone who was on the legionnaire path.

Having them closest to the barrier would allow them to bow out more quickly.

Which meant I at least had to outlast them.

As Yora began marching us through the beacons I cycled my Frenzy but held off on engaging [Soul Shield] right away.

For one I wanted to experience what the full moon effects would feel like compared to the Bloodmoon back home and two, if this was close to what was experience on the Hell Worlds, it would let me know just how prepared I would be to meet my final goal.

As the braziers that signified the edge of the barrier loomed overhead, I took a deep breath and stepped through.

Immediately I felt the crushing pressure of Dark Frenzy attack my Flame.

It was strong.

Strong as when I was down on the surface of the moon.

I cycled my Frenzy to mimic what the Qi cultivators were doing, trying to press against the force impacting me. Sweat beaded on my brow and as I glanced to my side, I could see Blue Rose reacting much the same.

It was a good sign, I guessed.

My raw core density and spiritual fortitude was enough to keep up with the Qi cultivators, at least. I couldn’t see up ahead, but I imagined our upper classmen were dealing with it much more easily.

Chief Yora on the other hand looked completely unfazed.

She walked up and down the ranks, inspecting us casually.

“Drop into lotus position if you need to,” she said. “But do not. And I stress this. Do not attempt to cultivate. If you allow Demonic Qi into your system, you would be speeding the inevitable.”

Moans of agony began to come from the Phalanx crew behind me.

I myself could relate as my vision subtlety began tunneling, the edges becoming the blackness of the spiritual realm.

Someone suddenly screamed.

I looked behind to see the woman who reminded me of Threja suddenly standing and running for the barrier. Two more from the phalanx crew quickly followed after her.

“Curse the stars!” one of them cried. “What the hells was that thing?”

I could only imagine what he’d perhaps seen.

Some apparitions of I’xol’ukz perhaps.

I sensed the fear spike within everyone then.

The primal fear of the unknown taken hold in their minds.

I counted the time.

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It’d been a little over ten minutes now and my vision was beginning to ebb further.

Writhing tentacles whipped past the dark corners of my vision and I sensed the cosmic god’s hunger. A Tribute from the cohorts of newcomers jumped up from lotus position and ran for the barrier.

I checked on Blue Rose.

Her eyes were closed, her face locked in an intense scowl of pain.

I grunted as my vision shrank further and the horrid shrieks of demonic forces began to invade my mind.

15 minutes.

More new recruits began to bail, including Blue Rose.

I was alone then. The last new recruit standing.

I felt my body start to transform, signifying the limit of my resistance against the demonic forces.

And then something new entered my mind.

~There thou art husk~

Shit…I’xol’ukz…it had found me.

It knew I was here.

I was just about to engage my [Soul Shield] technique when I sensed something else present.

Something pure.

Familiar.

The faintest twinkling of a Frenzied Flame shone in the darkness.

But I couldn’t risk staying any longer to find out what it truly was.

Engaging my [Soul Shield] technique, my vision snapped back to full focus as my Flame was instantly protected. The burning of Frenzy to maintain it was rapid, but I had a crap ton more density now than I did when I first visited the surface of the moon.

Back then I had only minutes, but now, judging by how quickly it was training, I felt as if I could last quite comfortably for hours. The realization was a shock even to myself. The cultivating on this heavy world had advanced me even more than I thought.

As I saw more and more people start to bow out from the ranks ahead of me, I contemplated faking the same myself. I didn’t want to have to explain how I was able to withstand more than the more seasoned Black Robes.

I gave it another minute and then ran to join Blue Rose and the others.

A few people were throwing up.

The one guy who had screamed was still muttering about the stars and I wondered if his mind had been permanently broken already.

“You okay?” I asked Blue Rose, who still hadn’t spoken as yet.

“That was intense,” she said. “I’m glad I was half drunk. I don’t think I could have stomached all that pain without it.”

That made me wonder if the drinking did have any effect.

I certainly lasted a lot longer than I thought I would have.

“Take a fifteen-minute break and then head back in,” Yora said. “Repeat for as long as you can manage. You will not be able to last as long the second time. Or the third. Stay until you can’t stand for less than a minute. That’s when you will know that you are making progress.”

Grumbles and groans came in response.

The guy who was screaming about the stars began crying into his hands. “I can’t do it! I won’t do it! I won’t!”

“See to him,” Yora said to one of the veterans, and he gave her a quick bow before leaving the field and to collect the screaming Tribute and drag him back toward the prison.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Yora said. “Everyone reacts differently. Especially their first time.”

I was just happy I had tons of practice at this already. It was challenging and a bit risky without Venja as a backup, but I was managing.

I relaxed my core, preparing myself to go another round.

The whole process was faintly reminiscent of all the time I’d spent with Kelsey, doing the same back home out in the wild, only there we’d pushed it much further, actually dipping our Flames into the tar black goo that was Dark Frenzy to enhance our knowledge and awareness of the unseen world.

And then it hit me.

Strange that I barely remembered it until now.

That faint Flame I had sensed.

What was it?

Was someone else here kindled?

But no, it didn’t seem as strong as that, and surely, I would have been able to sense their Frenzy already, if so. I tried to recall what I had sensed.

It was faint.

An after image almost.

But familiar.

Could it be? I wondered.

But no, that didn’t make sense.

But I couldn’t deny what I’d felt.

A Flame I knew all too well.

Kelsey?

* * *

Kelsey grimaced as the hordes of demons thrashed against her body.

She fought back instinctively, savagely—her vision tunneling as she reached the edge of her limits. The Struggler was desperately trying to keep her window of vision open to maintain control.

Hurry up guys.

Move the sword!

She desperately needed the healing safety of Venja’s barrier now.

But had she told them to wait too long this time?

Faintly she felt it approaching.

Distant.

Like the frenzy of another Flame.

But why was it so far away?

Hurry up dammit!

Blackness took her and she awoke screaming again.

Kelsey shuddered as she quickly regained her senses, the influence of the Bloodmoon subdued.

She truly had pushed it this time.

As she stood, Kelsey saw the evidence of the havoc she had wreaked. Hundreds of demon corpses lay slain by her hand. Or the axe in her hand to be more accurate. She limped back to camp and as usual the soldiers gave her a wide birth as quickly took hold of Venja. The harmonic Frenzy cleansed her soul and she exhaled a thick stream of black smoke from her lungs, purifying her Flame.

“You okay, Kelsey?” Harris asked.

She nodded. “Yep. Thanks as always, guys. You saved my bacon as usual.”

He nodded and the three soldiers who had helped push the cart containing Venja with him, took off for the night. Kelsey stayed and dove into her mind’s eye to have a chat with Venja in the flesh.

As she dove into the waiting blue body of the Struggler, Venja materialized next to her.

“Nicely done,” she said. “You’re improving quickly, Kelsey.”

“I hope so,” she said. “That last one was close though. Maybe I’m pushing too fast.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told them to wait too long to move you,” Kelsey said. “I was nearly dead out there.”

“But you can survive nearly four minutes now. That’s quite the improvement from one.”

Kelsey sighed. “Yeah, but not enough.”

“And what is your goal again?”

Kelsey shrugged. “I dunno. Long enough to kill that giant monster that keeps following my ass around.”

For the last few weeks Kelsey had noticed a pattern with the surges from the demons. When she traveled to the wild, the demon surges in the city would stop and if she stayed long enough at the bunker they would appear there as well.

Venja chuckled. “Yes. I’ve always sensed it after you have left.”

“Well at least I’m making it waste time going back and forth between here and the city. Do you have any idea what it is exactly?”

Venja shook her head. “It’s unable to enter my domain fully, but it is a very powerful creature. One of the strongest I’ve sensed.”

That caused her insides to shift with anxiety and anticipation.

She’d already sworn to kill it, but she had no idea how strong it truly was.

Or even what it was.

Frustration filled her.

Four minutes.

That was it.

Although you could do a lot in four minutes.

“You say it usually shows up the day after I leave right?”

“Typically,” Venja said.

Kelsey had planned to leave early the next day as normal. But perhaps she could spare to stay an extra night more.

“I need more info on this thing,” she said. “I need to know what I’m facing and how strong I am compared to it.”

“What are you thinking?”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “You already know what I’m thinking, don’t you?”

Venja laughed deeply. “That I do. A quick peek, is it? And best you try it here and not when you’re in the city. At least I can be here to save you then, in case anything goes wrong. Assuming they move the wagon in time.”

Kelsey laughed. “Yeah, that too.”

She didn’t know if she was quite ready.

But hell…neither did Max half the time for all the crap he did.

She’d be Berserker bold just like him.

“Alright, let’s set it up,” she said. “Tomorrow night, I’m taking a first crack at this damn demon.”

* * *

I sat in lotus position, sweating like my blood was on fire.

The corners of my vision were closing in, but I was resisting the force of Dark Frenzy with new purpose now. I sensed beyond, deep into the spiritual darkness beyond my own soul.

Where are you damn it?

Were you even here?

Am I going crazy?

I embodied my Struggler self with [Spectral Body] but dared not venture too far off.

The tentacles were flying back and forth, flooding my mind with the cosmic horror of their star ridden eyes, but I held firm.

I had to know it what I’d sense was real or not.

“Kelsey!” I shouted into the spectral void. “Kelsey, are you here?”

Nothing.

Damn it. Maybe I was just trippin—

A sudden cry woke me out of my concentration and instantly I engaged my [Soul Shield] technique to bring myself fully to my senses.

“Look alive!” Yora was shouted “Horde inbound! Move! Move!”

In the darkness the familiar din of demonic cries filled the air. The entire platoon of Tributes moved back behind the barrier swiftly, but I stayed a half second to see if there was any difference to these demons here and those back home.

My mind nearly broke when I saw them.

There had to be several thousand.

But they looked nothing like what I was used to.

Instead of the humanoid creatures I had come to know, these were instead mutated versions of what could only assume was the animal life of the planet. Some vaguely resembled the insectoid Takrids but others were more aquatic looking. Slugs and squid looking creatures that flew through the air.

These were closer to the source, I realized.

Or more exposed to the true essence of Dark Frenzy.

Their bodies more closely resembling the horrors of the divine nature of I’xol’ukz.

My Flame surged at the realization.

A new hidden truth revealed.

“Don’t look at them!” Yora suddenly cried, and I could sense true fear exploding in her soul. “Look away! Look away!”

But for some it was too late. A few of the veteran Tributes screamed in horror at the horde of monstrosities stampeding towards us. Two of them fell to their knees, tearing their hair out as they continued to wail.

Yora pushed us back from the edge again screaming for us to not turn about.

“Run!” she shouted. “Run back to the academy!”

We started a mini stampede of our own as the horrified cries of the tributes we’d left behind were abruptly cut short and replaced by the thunderous roar of a thousand demon bodies slamming against the barrier. With my [Soul Shield] in placed, I dared to look again.

“I said turn around!” Yora shouted at me, snapping my head back forward.

A few others had done the same, however and were now screaming as if in pain.

I suddenly feared for one person in particular.

“Blue!”

I pushed through the crowd of fleeing tributes, looking for her.

“Blue!”

I finally found her along with Tu’lok, the giant of man shielding her in his arms.

Thankfully, both their backs were turned.

“You guys alright?” I asked.

Blue Rose looked up at me shaking her head.

“No,” she said. “I’m pretty far from alright.”

And that’s when I noticed the wild look in her eyes and the panic in her soul.

The same went for almost everyone else in the platoon.

Shit, I thought. We’d all just stared into the unknown.

“Keep moving!” Yora shouted from behind. “Everyone head to the infirmary! No exceptions.” And as she passed me, I heard her mutter, “And pray you all haven gone insane.”

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