Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex made sure that the only thoughts passing through his mind were ones of speed. All that mattered was the thump of his feet against the ground, the burn of the muscles in his legs. He was pretty sure there was no way they'd make it to the portal before Invictus attacked, but there was no way he wouldn't try.

Water didn't sound too scary until there was a literal ocean of it gathering in the air above them. Getting hit by that would be like getting flattened with a mountain. Not even the System enhancements his body had been improved by would let him survive that.

"How close?" Claire yelled.

"Not close enough!" Alex yelled back. "Thirty seconds at least!"

"We're going to get flattened before then!"

"I don't want to get flattened!" Mite yelled, joining in. "Why are they so mad at you? What did you do? This is definitely an overreaction, isn't it? Why would someone use an attack like this on two random people?"

"You'd have to pick from an ever-growing list," Claire said as she threw another glance over her shoulder. "I don't even know how they're pulling that much power. After what we just did to their Disruptor, the System should be suppressing the town at the bare minimum."

"I think it might have some kind of battery. They might not know the full extent of what happened," Alex said between breaths.

A shadow passed over all of them. Rippling shadows spun across the ground like writhing worms. The water wasn't quite upon them yet, but it had passed between them and the sun.

I could try to use Funhouse to block the brunt of the blow, but that's just rolling a dice and hoping it works. Some of the water will definitely still hit us. From that height, with the full force of Invictus' magic and the weight it has behind it…

We're probably still dead. Shit.

Alex's mind whirred at a mile a minute as he fought to come up with a way out. Even if they made it to the portal before Invictus' magic reached them, wasn't going to be enough time to open a portal to the Mirrorlands and escape through it.

Princess would probably be able to absorb a fair amount of damage from the water. If she died, he'd have a chance of surviving the attack himself. The same couldn't be said for Claire and Mite. They'd definitely get squashed.

Still, it wasn't like he could just do nothing and hope it would work out. At the very least, between Princess and Funhouse, he could divert some water and hope that what made it past wouldn't be enough to kill them with the first strike.

"I can try something for the water!" Alex yelled. "But keep running in this direction. We need to get to the portal!"

In response, Claire grabbed Alex mid-step. Black arced through her veins as she pumped her body full of energy and strengthened herself to avoid falling behind from the extra weight.

Mite's puppet hoisted him into the air as well, cradling him like a baby. He stared up at the sky with a mixture of awe and terror.

"What are you guys? Terrorists?"

"Why do you immediately jump there? We could be revolutionaries!" Alex exclaimed, sending his mind inward and calling on all the magic he could muster. This was going to need every drop of it — and Qi — that he could muster.

The sky above them had already been filled with a churning sea. More rivers swirled to join it, but the water could drop at any instant. There was no time to waste. Alex ripped magic from within himself as he summoned Princess to his side, pumping her full of Riftwarped Qi.

Sludge exploded from the ground at Claire's feet. They quickly left it behind as she continued her dead sprint, but out of the corner of Alex's eye, he saw Princess explode from within the bubbling darkness.

Pointed legs swam through the air as a sludgy centipede rose up. Shimmering crackles of Riftwarped Energy arced across her carapace beneath the sludge and her stark white mask shimmered like a light in the darkness upon her dark body.

"Holy shit!" Mite screamed as Princess swam through the air in pursuit of them. Terror made his voice crack. "There's a demon on our asses! Run faster! What the hell did you do to that guy? Boink his daughter?"

Alex didn't waste time on a reply. He was busy gathering his magic once more, pouring it and what Qi he had left into what would be the largest application of Funhouse he'd ever attempted. If this was going to keep them from getting crushed, it would have to displace as much of the water as possible.

Power burned in his arms and sizzled at his fingertips. Arcs of angry, buzzing Qi flashed across his palms and down his arms to scorch his clothes. Alex gritted his teeth and forced his gaze up, fighting to keep his focus as he bounced with every step that Claire took. Her shoulder repeatedly drove into his stomach and tried to knock the breath from his lungs.

It wasn't exactly the best situation to concentrate in, but it was the best they were going to get.

I've got to time this perfectly. If I cast it too early, we'll have to stop running to stay under Funhouse's area. That'll cost us precious seconds and give Invictus time to get another attack in.

The crash of waves was roaring above them now. Alex could feel pressure bearing down on him from the sheer amount of magic infusing the ocean in the sky. A small part of his mind couldn't help but be impressed.

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Towns were incredible. The amount of power they could command was just ridiculous. He had no doubt that Invictus himself was very strong, but this was on an entirely different level. And, deep within Alex, past the determination and focus, a spark of excitement burned in his chest.

If we keep growing, my town will get as strong as Valley Ford. Stronger. How much will it be able to do then? For that reason alone, we can't die here. I need to see it with my own eyes.

In the distance, standing on the walls of Valley Ford and looking down at them, a flicker of motion caught the corner of Alex's eyes.

Invictus swept his hand down.

The sky fell.

Alex waited for an instant longer to make absolutely sure they would all be beneath Funhouse's area of effect. Wind buffeted his face as it was pushed out of the way by the enormous amount of crashing water.

Then he released all the magic he'd been gathering with a roar of defiance. The air above him shattered. White cracks ripped through it as reality warped and cracked. Then the water slammed into his magic.

Princess leapt over them, her body coiling to absorb as much of the attack as it could, and there was nothing left to do but brace.

A roar tore through the air, the earth quaked, and what little light that still remained vanished. Claire was thrown to the ground as the ground bucked beneath her from the sheer weight of the crashing water. They hit the ground in a tumble of limbs.

Alex's hearing vanished in the thunderous boom of the furious ocean. He drew in the biggest breath he could and squeezed his eyes shut—

Water drove into him like a train. It smashed into his chest and drove the breath he'd gathered from his lungs.

Liquid forced its way into his nose, his ears, his throat. The world spun and bubbled around him and his consciousness sputtered like a candle threatening to go out.

He instinctively drew in another breath. Water raced down his lungs by the gallon with enough force to bruise his insides.

Alex was dimly aware of a rush of energy driving into his body as Princess died, but that was the last coherent thought he managed before his body was picked up and tossed like a ragdoll.

It was all he could do to keep his grip on Claire's arm. The two of them spun through the roaring water.

And then, as quickly as it had arrived, the water receded. Alex suddenly felt himself falling. He wasn't even sure from where or how — he was so disoriented that he couldn't even tell which direction was up. The water must have lifted him into the air at some point.

The ground abruptly slammed into him. He let out a sputtering cough, spewing water from his lungs as pain tore through his body. His skull pounded violently as he hacked and wheezed, shoving himself upright with trembling arms.

Claire staggered up beside him. Her hair was matted to the sides of her face and her clothes were completely soaked through, much as Alex's were. Mite rose a few dozen feet away from them, equally soaked and miserable-looking — but alive.

They'd managed to weather one of the town's enormous attacks, but it wasn't a card that they could play again. Princess was dead and Alex had spent nearly all his magic and Qi just barely letting them pull through the attack.

"Come on!" Alex staggered back into motion toward the Mirrorlands portal. Every step felt like agony. He was pretty sure the water had given him a number of micro-fractures in his bones, but there was no time to nurse his injuries. Princess' power was already starting to heal them. He'd be fine if they made it into the Mirrorlands — and if they didn't, it wouldn't matter. "We can't take another attack like that!"

"You're going to owe me hazard pay for this!" Mite said through a wet cough as they pushed themselves as fast as their bodies could still move. "A lot of it!"

Alex didn't have the energy for a response. The water had pushed them away from the location of the Mirrorlands rift, but they weren't far away from it now. They all raced forward with him at the lead.

He drew on his magic, calling power to his hands before they even reached the portal. Alex had no clue why Invictus hadn't tried to attack them again. He doubted the town could only use its ocean for a single attack — but he wasn't about to count his blessings.

As soon as he arrived at the thin rift, he thrust his hands forward and into it. Energy crackled and hissed as he grit his teeth, pulling as hard as he could. A portal begun to yawn open. It fought against him, but Alex's grip was relentless. This was far from the first time he'd opened a Mirrorlands portal… and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it wouldn't be his last.

Seconds ground by. The confusion in the back of his mind only grew. Invictus definitely should have been able to attack at least once more. If the town's ability really only functioned a single time, it wouldn't be much of an ability. There was no way it was that limited.

"Bleed me," Claire whispered in awed horror. "What is that?"

Alex risked a glance over his shoulder. The surprise in her voice was too much to ignore.

Rivers of water hung suspended in the air as if frozen in time around them — but they weren't moving. Invictus stood at the wall of the town, both of his arms extended. Even though Alex couldn't make the man's expression out from where he stood, he could just barely see that the man was moving.
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Riftsense let out a buzzing warning in the back of his mind, but it needn't have bothered. He didn't need it. There was another portal in the area. One that hadn't been there before— and the path leading to it went straight up into the air, to a massive purple line buzzing in the sky above Valley Ford, easily as long as the city itself.

Riftwarped Energy danced around the edges of the portal as it slowly stretched open. The line sliced through the clouds, pulling them into itself as it grew ever wider. A deep, thrumming base rolled out from within it like the distant roar of thunder.

The hair on Alex's arms stood on end.

Within the portal was a hand as black as night — one that was easily the size of a City-Eater Centipede if not larger.

Void Goliath (???)

Invictus made a sharp motion and all the water surrounding Alex's group leapt into the air to fly back toward the city. Gongs echoed across the plains as alarms went off within Valley Ford.

"I think I figured out what happens if Offworlders lose their Disruptor. It wasn't just letting them access more strength. It was hiding them… and I think they didn't draw any attention until they used the Town ability," Claire whispered, staring slack-jawed at the enormous hand as it emerged from within the portal and reached down for the city below.

"An impact from a hand like that might cause tremors large enough to split the ground," Mite said nervously, his eyes as wide as saucers. He swallowed. For a moment, all of them were silent as they watched the hand move, its approach silent in the face of the thunderous alarms going off within Valley Ford. Then Mite's eyes flicked to Alex. "We need to get out of here. Before that thing gets out of the portal."

The portal at Alex's hands finally snapped open fully as he gave it a final push, ripping himself from the trance.

"Come on," Alex said, grabbing Claire by one arm and Mite by the other. Mite snagged the arm of his puppet a moment before they all raced into the portal and it snapped shut behind them, leaving Valley Ford to its fate.