Nightmare Realm Summoner

The ground beneath Orchid cracked. Orange light cut out from cracks that formed around Orchid’s feet as lava bubbled beneath her. A rumble shook the earth.

Then the lava exploded up with a roar. Rivers of molten stone twisted together all around Orchid like hands reaching for the heavens. They wove themselves into braids and flowed to merge into the twisting, bubbling form of a huge molten hand.

Heat drove into Alex’s chest like a physical blow. His eyes dried instantly and he staggered back, raising his hands to protect his face as even the air in his lungs started to burn away. Parts of his clothing started to smoke even though he stood across the clearing from her. If the forest around him hadn’t already been burnt to a crisp, it would have probably caught fire from the mere proximity to her Soul Manifestation.

The hand rose to loom nearly two stories above Orchid. It would have cast a shadow over Alex if the light coming from it wasn’t so bright that it killed any darkness that might have dared to exist within its presence.

Alex’s heart slammed in his chest and drove into his ribcage like a rabid dog on a fraying leash. Orchid’s magic was incredible. Being able to call on power like this when she was still restrained to the level of an Initiate with a Partial Soul Manifestation was awesome. It was a power that Alex very much would have liked to have on his side… but he couldn’t deny that the chance to fight her excited him.

There was just one problem.

”Shit! Hold on a second!” Alex exclaimed, his hand darting down to his side and grabbing onto the silver deck box at his side. ”I haven’t figured out how to use my domain yet! I just got it. Give me like ten minutes to figure this thing out—”

Orchid’s twisted her staff. The massive hand lurched forward. It plummeted down toward Alex, the sheer heat rolling off it singing his eyebrows before it had even gotten close.

The ground at Alex’s feet bubbled. Strands of dark sludge exploded up from beneath him as Princess took form all around him, raising her hands above her head even as Alex’s shadow rippled behind him and the air to his side shattered with a ringing crash. …

Glint and Spark emerged on either side of Alex just as Orchid’s massive hand of lava slammed down on top of the Blacktongue Dredge. A hissing explosion ripped through the air. Princess was driven down to one knee from the sheer force of the strike.

Massive portions of her body splattered down all around Alex and thick smoke poured into the air all around her. The monster’s body trembled as she fought to keep the hand from bearing down on Alex with all the strength she could bring to muster.

Magic flowed from her in a steady stream. Princess was regenerating as fast as she could, but standing directly under the huge hand was burning her away faster than she could re-form. She stumbled as Orchid’s lava hand bore down on her harder. It was trying to flatten her — and Alex — like a pair of insignificant bugs.

But Alex wasn’t just going to sit around and wait for Orchid to squash and melt him. He and Spark darted to the left while Glint ran off to the other side, sprinting to circle around the arm and make for Orchid.

Strategies twisted through Alex’s mind like the smoke rising from the clearing as he ran. Orchid was incredibly powerful. She could do huge amounts of damage, but she couldn’t really take it.

That’s the biggest weakness she has, not to mention she can’t even fight without her staff. Even if I don’t know how to use my domain yet, I can still take her out. I’m practically the perfect counter for her class. I have three monsters that she’s got to keep track of. It doesn’t matter if she flattens one of them if either of the other two make it in time.

”You aren’t taking me seriously,” Orchid yelled, her eyes narrowing as she tracked Alex. ”Use your domain! Activate your Partial Soul Manifestation!”

”I already told you, I don’t know how! I’m working on it! If you’d given me a moment to figure the damn thing out, I’d be happy to!” Alex yelled back. ”Beggars can’t be choosers!”

Glint blurred at Orchid. The Glasmir was far too fast for her to get out of the way. Orchid had many talents, but her physical speed had never been anything to write home about. Glint outclassed her completely. He leapt into the air, the shards covering his body flashing with reflected orange light from the massive hand behind him —

A geyser of lava exploded from before Orchid.

It slammed into Glint’s chest, evaporating the monster in an instant. The Glasmir’s body melted away and transformed into a stream of energy that shot back to Alex in a streak. He nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise.

What the hell? I thought she was limited to just the hand! Her Partial Soul Manifestation lets her make even more lava? That’s completely unfair!

”It’s now or never,” Orchid said, pointing her staff at Alex. ”Use your domain. I know what you can do. I’ve watched you fight. You’re going to need more than that if you want to take me down. And do not mistake this for weakness. I will kill you if you give me the chance. And if Claire interferes — then you may as well consider me your enemy.”

”Don’t worry about me,” Claire said, leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing and crossing her arms in front of her chest. ”I’m having more than enough fun watching. Alex can handle himself. Look. He’s doing great.”

The molten hand flicked princess to the side like an annoying fly. She crashed through a tree, smoke twisting up from her bubbling body as the hand turned toward Alex. The massive appendage blurred toward him with far more speed than anything its side had any right to have.

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Alex sent a mental command to Spark. The Knight Wraith spun toward him. Spark blurred into motion, charging toward Alex and practically tackling him to the side, carrying him out of the hand’s path.

Heat singed the back of Alex’s shirt as he hit the ground. He rolled, but Spark didn’t let him stay down for long. A spiked gauntlet clamped down on his shoulder and yanked him up. Spark threw Alex over his shoulder and set off running as fast as he could.

Orchid’s magma hand rose, leaving a deep burn mark in the ground where it had just come down. It was fortunate that the clearing was fairly large. Maneuvering against a room-sized hand was already difficult enough. It would have been even harder if he had to dodge around trees.

A loud crack tore through the air as Princess, her body reformed, tore a tree up from the earth with a single tug. She took a lumbering step forward and swung it like a massive baseball bat. The trunk slammed deep into the side of the magma arm, sending huge splatters of lava arcing through the air to hiss against the ground.

Fire swallowed the wood an instant later, racing down it with a roar. Princess ripped the tree free. It snapped at the middle, letting its top half crash to the ground, completely melted through. Princess threw the remains of the trunk to the side.

She grabbed another tree and ripped it up from the ground. Then she stepped forward — not toward the arm, but toward Orchid. The mage’s eyes narrowed.

Alex didn’t bother wasting his effort watching any longer. The world was already bouncing all around him due to his position on Sparks’ shoulder. He didn’t waste energy on the idea of running right at Orchid as things were now.

If she could summon lava up at will, then sprinting right at her would just end with him getting deep-fried. The fact she hadn’t done that already meant she was holding back to give him a chance to summon his Partial Soul Manifestation.

And I would be more than happy to do that if I had the slightest idea how.

He tried to reach for the gate within his soul, but it was fruitless. Nothing happened. The gate was part of his Mind Palace. It wasn’t the same as the magic within his soul or Riftwarped Qi in his core. The only way he knew how to access it was physically taking a stroll into his soul through meditation — and he didn’t think Orchid was going to give him a chance to do that.

Alex gritted his teeth. He tried to force the fight unfolding around him. All he could do was trust that his monsters would keep him protected for as long as possible. Spark had orders to keep him away from Orchid and her hand, and Princess had orders to distract her. They wouldn’t be able to buy him time forever. He had to use every moment he could get.

He delved deeper still, but it changed nothing. The gate was somewhere in him. But that somewhere was not here. Frustration built in his chest.

How the hell do I open this damn thing?

Alex knew the sensation of opening the gate to the Soul Manifestation. He’d seen multiple people do it through the Memory Crystals that he’d bought from Finley. It was practically seared into his mind.

Unfortunately, knowing what something should have felt like was nothing like actually doing it. There was something missing. The only way to interact with the door seemed to be by physically entering his Mind Palace, but that clearly hadn’t been how everyone in the visions had opened the gate.

Damn it! Come on. What am I missing?

A wave of energy drove into Alex and tore him from his thoughts. His attention snapped back to the present just as the last flickers of Princess’ magic slithered into his body. Orchid had killed her.

”Goddamn it,” Alex said.

”Time’s up,” Orchid said. Her lips thinned. ”That was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have said that. Things never go right when someone starts bragging.”

”Very true,” Alex agreed. ”We should call this thing off for about ten minutes. Then we can start again.”

”No,” Orchid said. She pointed her staff at Alex. ”I don’t think so. For what it’s worth, I didn’t want to do this. I would have preferred to have been wrong… but I will not risk my family.”

”Oh, don’t worry. No hard feelings at all. I like it when women try to kill me,” Alex said.

Orchid paused. Then she blinked. ”I — what? Seriously? What is your problem? I’m going all out against you and you’re flirting?”

”Sorry. I meant when anyone tries to kill me,” Alex backpedaled. ”I’m not interested in flirting with you. You aren’t my type. Uh, no offense.”

”I’m going to regret killing you slightly less now,” Orchid said.

The molten arm crashed down toward him.

Spark hurled Alex as hard as he could. The world blurred past Alex as his body was transformed into a projectile streaking through the clearing. A resounding crash echoed through the forest. He slammed to a halt an instant later as Spark reappeared to catch him, having swapped spots with a shadow that he must have placed earlier in the fight.

Alex grunted as the air was knocked from his lungs. Unfortunately, Orchid wasn’t done. The hand ripped itself up and twisted toward him again. It crashed down for his head. Alex and Spark pushed off each other, sending Alex launching to the side for a second time.

The arm thundered down an instant later. A new stream of energy drove into Alex as he hit the ground in a roll, putting some much-needed distance between him and the molten arm. He shoved himself back to his feet, stumbling and cursing. All three of his monsters were dead.

Shit! What the hell am I missing? Why can’t I access my Partial Soul Manifestation? What am I —

Wait.

”Hey! How’d you get the name for your Partial Soul Manifestation?” Alex yelled.

He didn’t actually care about her answer. Alex just needed a few more moments. He was thinking as furiously as he could. This was a very important decision. One he couldn’t afford to rush. Alex readied his magic to cast Encore. A few extra seconds of having all his monsters would go a long way, but he had to time it right.

”I’m trying to kill you!” Orchid snapped. Her lava arm rose once more to loom over Alex. She pointed her staff at him. ”Why are you asking me questions?”

”Come on. You know you want to say,” Alex said, but his thoughts weren’t with his words.

They were coming up with names.

”Oh, for — forget it. I got it from my Visualization, but many people just make theirs up,” Orchid snapped.

Alex grinned. That was exactly what he’d been hoping to hear.

But, more importantly, he was done.

He’d come up with a name.

If this doesn’t work, I’m going to feel really stupid for about half a second before Orchid flattens me.

”Partial Soul Manifestation,” Alex said. His hands seemed to move on their own as he copied a movement that he’d once seen Berith do, pressing his palms against each other so his hands pointed in opposite directions, then pulling them back and curling his fingers so they interlaced. Power sparked in his chest with a crackle. The Riftwarped Qi within him seemed to ignite with excitement, but Alex didn’t pay it any mind. His entire being was completely focused on the next words that came out of his mouth. ”Edict of the Shattered King.”

And, deep within Alex’s Mind Palace, a gate slammed open.