“So it’s back online?” Eik asked the lead analyst who was looking over the shoulder of one of the other scientist monitoring a piece of equipment of some kind. “Getting rid of the miasma helped?”

  “It certainly appears so,” the man said with a satisfied nod. “It’s a relief that we’re able to collect information again now. It’s an early warning system.”

  “Yeah. It was pretty damned rewarding for me as well. Although I can’t really tell for sure whether it’s going to come back again on its own or what. Call me again if you get anything odd coming out of there, all right?”

  The lead analyst hummed his agreement absentmindedly, his eyes never leaving the equipment—a flat plate of some kind. Then he spoke up, as if just now realizing that he had something to add. “Speaking of something strange coming from that world, take a look at this for a second,” he said, beckoning Eik closer with a finger.

  With narrowed eyes, Eik studied the alien tech. For several long moments he was silent as his brain worked. “Hmm, yes, I see… I couldn’t agree more. There is definitely something wrong here.”

  “Right?” the scientist said. “What’s your opinion on it?”

  “Well, I think it should be painfully clear to anyone with even a sliver of common sense. This cheese board has absolutely no cheese on it at all!”

  “It’s not a damned cheese board, you X-ranked dumbass!” the lead analyst burst out in a display of uncharacteristically crude language. This guy's temperament seemed to be all over the place, especially considering who he was talking to.

  “Sorry, sorry, I know it’s not a cheese board, of course,” Eik laughed, the analyst arching in stinging pain as the X-ranker slapped him on the back goodnaturedly. “But to be clear, I have no clue what I’m looking at here, much less how to decipher anything from it. So what is it that is so strange?”

  “These readings here indicate a rapid decline of the integrity of the world,” he said, tracing a part of the board with a finger. “It is almost as if… as if that world is now being consumed or sundered by some great, cosmic force.”

  Eik pursed his lips sheepishly as he attempted to avoid the lead analyst’s gaze. “Huh…”

  The man frowned and moved his head to try and catch Eik’s eyes with his own.

  “Hold up. Wait a minute. Could it be that you know what’s going on here, Mr. Magnasen?”

  “I, uuh, I might have a slight idea about what could be the cause.”

  “Which is?”

  Eik gazed back firmly. “My snake. I have a huge snake.”

  “I beg your pardon?” the scientist said, holding back a shocked gasp.

  “My pet snake. His name is Spaghetti Jones. I left him back there to clean up a bit is all.”

  “Your pet is destroying the world?”

  “Well, I mean… You know, only a little bit…”

  “Please make it stop doing that.”

  “But the world is going to be swallowed up soon anyway, right? What’s the big deal if it gets destroyed just a little bit before then?”

  “Soon on a cosmic scale, yes, but the world you’re currently destroying is probably still a few hundred years away from being swallow up. It’s a question of ethics, Mr. Magnasen.”

  “Oh, shit, really?” Eik asked and twirled his finger around in the air. “I’ve called Spaghetti Jones home for now. I should let it get off cooldown so I can use it again.”

  “Sorry, what?” the analyst asked with puzzlement.

  “It’s a one-button level spammer. Pretty sweet, to be honest.”

  “I’ll be frank with you here, Mr. Magnasen, but I have no idea whatsoever what you are saying to me right now.”

  “None of us ever do,” Gul broke in. “Are you ready to go to the next one, Eik?”

  “Of course! As I just said, killing billions is really good for personal growth. Ah, no, wait a second. I forgot to check something,” he said and legged it to a corner of the large room where he pulled his sleeve back. The urge to hide his status remained even at X-rank, it seemed.

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

  Looking at his recent notifications, he found what he expected. Monarch’s Will had passed Level 350.

  [Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: Monarch’s Will]

  [Choose one]

  [Monarch’s Will — Admittance to the Realm]

  Eik tapped his arm impatiently with a finger.

  “You forgot the rest of the options.”

  No response.

  “Hey, I’m missing one or two here,” he hissed a little louder, ignoring the stares from the others.

  A tiny, azure tendril sprouted from his forearm, right in the middle of the glowing text. Likely meant to imitate a raised index finger, an even smaller tendril protruded from its bulbous end and wiggled from side to side in refusal.

  Eik sighed. “Fine. Give me Admittance to the Realm. I’ve been curious about it anyway,” he said and finalized the choice. “All right!” he shouted and walked back to the group. “Shall we get this party started?”

  “Right…” the lead analyst drawled, looking at the others askance. “Well, I think the next target should be the second world to black out. It should have the most advanced corruption.”

  The fracture specialist nodded and jumped into preparation to open the fracture.

  “You said you grow stronger as you devastate these worlds?” Andihar asked.

  “Yep. Quantity over quality in this case, I suppose.”

  “Did you gain any insight into the purpose of this miasma?” Mn’Toakh asked.

  “Honestly, no,” Eik sighed. “It’s just as unclear to me as it was before. The only confirmed use of it is still only the absorption by that one monster. Although I did notice that all of the vegetation there, both the grass and the trees, was completely dry and brittle, and gray like ash. Does that sound like a natural phenomenon of the place or the effects of the miasma?”

  Concern deepened a near constant frown on the scientist’s brow as he grabbed some notes and conferred with his colleagues. His jaw tightened as he added a few lines to the notes. “That is definitely not supposed to be the case. No, that makes no sense. You said it had all degenerated into this sickly, ash-like state?”

  “Everywhere I checked, yeah. It crumbled between my fingers like charred paper.”

  “That is… concerning.”

  “We agree on that point.”

  “Do you have any theories?” Mn’Toakh asked the man, but her eyes also flickered to Andihar, Gul, and P?lse for thoughts.

  “Well, I-I— I suppose it could be a result of the miasma. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a skill that can cause deterioration or decay in such a manner—”

  “I have a skill that emits gas which can do something that sounds similar,” Gul added.

  The lead analyst nodded at that. “And since we know that, it’s plausible that the miasma causes it in this instance as well. I’m anxious to hear if you find the same conditions on the next world. If you did, I believe we could conclude with moderate certainty that there is a connection between the two phenomena.”

  “If that is the case, do you think it’s likely that the reason the Lord of the Moon is filling up world after world with that dark stuff is to break them down for some reason?” Mn’Toakh wondered.

  Eik glanced at Andihar and Gul. “I mean, that is what the Oracle said, isn’t it? That what had originally been mistakenly prophesized as a salvation was, in fact, a rebirth? A rebirth by destruction.”

  “Indeed,” Andihar replied somberly. “I have been considering those same words of hers myself. The apparently true prophecy that she witnessed as the first unfortunately fits rather well with the scenario we’re seeing right now.”

  One of the analysts pushed Andihar to elaborate.

  “Well, in essence, the current—or rather, I suppose she is now the former—Oracle of the cult Moon Shall Swallow was the first of her kind to see a radically different prophecy than her predecessors. She was the first to see the Lord of the Moon as a destroyer rather than a savior. This knowledge that was so very antithetical to the mission that the cult had been pursuing for generations was what led her to betray them and seek our help.”

  “So she really had been helping us?” the analyst asked.

  Andihar nodded. “She has, although it has been with mixed success. Even now, I honestly can’t say for sure whether she has motives that she has refrained from divulging.”

  Everybody was silent as the thoughts swirled around in their heads. Finally one of the other scientist piped up.

  “But surely it can’t be bad to get rid of the miasma in any case, right?”

  “I think that’s the safer option as well. Especially if it empowers our X-ranker,” Andihar agreed to nods all around.

  “I’ll get going then,” Eik said. “Are we about ready to open up?”

  The fracture specialist nodded.

  “It sounded like you handled it pretty easily on that darkened world,” Andihar wondered out loud, glancing at Eik.

  “Yeah, there were no issues. It was crawling with ugly bastards but there were nothing there that could really put up a fight.”

  “Then… how about I go along with you this time?” the muscle elf suggested, clearing his throat awkwardly.

  “And I suppose I could be convinced to come as well, if you really want me to,” Gul chimed in, just as awkwardly.

  Eik snorted a laugh. “You two geezers really want to see what it’s like over there, huh?”

  “N-No! Not at all!” Gul insisted.

  “I mean, you’re welcome to come along now that I kind of know what we’re going in to, I suppose,” Eik acquiesced. “But do you remember the Death Star?”

  “Death Star?” Andihar asked.

  “My new skill that nearly killed us all a little while back.”

  A slight shiver ran through Gul. “I… remember…”

  “All right, cool. A fully powered version of that wipes out an area five times larger than what you saw back then, just so you know. One explosion clears everything from horizon to horizon. Basically, what I’m saying is that it’s really, really big.”

  Andihar swallowed, some of the blood draining from his face. “I-I… see.”

  The X-ranker smirked, showing teeth. “And you still want to come?”

  The two S-rankers exchanged nervous glances. “Uuh… Y-Yes?”

  “That is simply perfect!” Eik exclaimed, flashing them a huge smirk. Both Andihar and Gul looked ready to cry as they waiting for him to elaborate. “I literally just got this new thing I want to test out, and the two of you just happen to be the perfect subjects!”

  Check out my Patreon if you'd like to read even more than what is currently posted on RoyalRoad

  cat videos