Ace of Capes [Superhero LitRPG] [Isekai] [Card Crafting]

A prickle at the back of the neck was her only warning.

Lexie activated <All Eyes on Me> so she could tell the direction of the attack. <True Windkiller> snatched away right in time as the phantom thing launched at her.

She flew into the path of another one.

This time, it came from above and to the left.

She dodged, targeted, and burned it. The invisible thing wasn't dead. She could still sense the eyes on her.

It was fireproof.

She activated VOID, and the thing shifted. It was fast, trying to hide its presence. <Lightfoot> made Lexie faster.

She caught up and vanquished it. Vanquished the one behind her, too. Vanquished three others that came at her.

Lexie was getting bored. There was no challenge. No creativity. All she did was point and VOID FLAME, point and VOID FLAME. So far, that combo was unbeatable.

The bodies of countless creatures surrounded her. They were the ones she'd left behind, the ones she hadn't sacrificed to the void. They were littered around her, in several states of disrepair. Heads detached. Bodies scorched. The cloying scent of death hung in the air.

Lexie was waiting for more, but nothing came.

"Is that all?" she called out from the dungeon, who was suspiciously silent. It wasn't dead. But the whispering had stopped. Perhaps it was too exhausted to talk. What a shame.

Without talking and fighting, there was nothing for Lexie to do. Her light was quickly dimming.

Her skin was starting to itch.

Boredom, she discovered, was her enemy.

"What do I do now?" She muttered to herself, glancing around. None of the creatures was coming back to life to attack her. Unfortunate.

The dungeon was probably charging up for another round. One thing Lexie had noticed was that the dungeon was learning of her powers and adjusting its attack based on that. It had sent creatures impervious to fire. It had sent the Basilisk at her that would petrify her on sight (that hadn't worked because she'd activated <Return To Sender> mid petrification). Most recently, it had sent the invisible phantoms.

The problem was that Lexie was better than all of them.

So far, the Dungeon couldn't counter all her cards, especially her void card. It was running itself ragged trying.

Lexie was excited to see what it would come up with next. Maybe it would eventually put up a better fight. Maybe it just needed time to come up with something good.

Of course, that might take a while, and for now, she was bored and getting even more bored by the second. She wondered if she should follow through on her threat and destroy the dungeon once and for all. Disable the core.

That would bring her pleasure.

But then what would happen to Lexie herself? She didn't know what happened to the creatures trapped in a dungeon when the dungeon was destroyed. Did they get denatured? Did they disappear into the void?

Lexie didn't want to disappear into a void. Above all, she wanted to live.

More than that, she had to live. It was her duty.

She was strong, and only the strong should survive.

It was how things were supposed to be.

Hmm.

What to do now?

Without light, the despair was setting in, and her body felt aggressively agitated.

She wanted to scratch her skin off to get rid of the maddening itch. Looking down at it, she noticed her skin had been reconstructed in some places. It didn't look like human skin. It was pale, with a purple tinge. She thought her hands looked a little like claws, too, and her talons were red, but maybe that was just because she'd used them to rip something's throat out earlier.

She wondered what her face looked like, but she couldn't tell. She didn't have a mirror.

Anyway, that wasn't the point. The point was that she had to do something now. She had to find more things to kill.

There was something she'd been thinking about that she hadn't done. What was it again? It felt like it was a thought from a lifetime ago, but the thought had lingered in her mind even until now…

The Other.

Oh yes, that's right. She had to go to the Other. The Other had more things for her to kill, stronger things. Eldritch things.

From her memory, she knew the Other was a warzone filled with other Eldritch creatures. There would be some Eldritch Lords there. They would be stronger than anything she'd faced so far, and it would be so satisfying to kill them. Especially that bastard Naem.

But she didn't know how to get there on her own.

"Hey," Lexie called out. "Dungeon. How do I get to the Other?"

The Dungeon ignored her.

"Tell me, or I'll destroy you," she sang casually. Truthfully, she wasn't going to destroy the dungeon because she didn't think she could destroy it without destroying herself. But the dungeon didn't have to know that. "I'm serious. I'm Eldritch, so you know I can't lie."

The dungeon still didn't respond. Perhaps it knew she wasn't pure Eldritch, and so she in fact could lie. Darn it.

Lexie sighed. What to do now? The itching intensified and she scratched and scratched but couldn't reach where it itched. Scratching her skin off didn't help. It was coming from somewhere deeper within, somewhere that wasn't physical.

It would drive her mad.

She needed to kill something.

Boredom was the enemy. Stillness, nothingness, was the enemy. Chaos was the point.

Lexie called her cards and saw the Void card that was now linked permanently to her soul. There was another link in that card, too–to the V'Sala. Maybe the creature might know how to get to the Other, even though it was just a frail, weak thing.

Lexie first used her magic to change a few pathways in the card, triggering part of the card that would call its actual being into the dungeon rather than just invoking a clone of its essence.

Once she activated, V was standing before her, looking disoriented and disheveled. It had been in the middle of eating something or someone and was stooped over staring at her.

"You," it said to Lexie.

"Me."

"You are…different."

"You are the same." Lexie wondered why they were pointing out the obvious.

"Are you in pain?"

Lexie thought about it. Apart from the itching that was quickly becoming agonizing, there was also a burning sensation in her chest and in her arms. Maybe it was her pathways permanently on fire now. It didn't compare to the itch, though. Nothing did.

"Yes," she answered.

"Good." It clapped and chortled with glee. "May I feed from it? May I inflict more pain?"

"Not right now. Right now, you must tell me how to get into the Other."

It cocked its head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to." It grinned wickedly.

Lexie watched and wondered what to do with this creature. She'd drawn it here to help her find more things to kill, but if it couldn't do that, then maybe she should just kill it. That would satisfy her hunger for some time. It would be better if it were stronger or if it were trying to kill her first, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Besides, the creature was weak, and she'd already decided that only the strong get to survive.

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"Should I kill you?" Lexie wondered aloud.

"What?" Its expression turned stricken.

"You are weaker than I," she explained. "Only the stronger can survive."

The V'Sala sputtered at that, its head shaking vigorously. "You cannot kill me."

"I think I can," she said, "Your essence is attached to my card. If I drew your entire being here through the card, you would not be able to return. I could denature you right here." Lexie didn't know how she knew most of this. It was partially by instinct and partially a guessing game. But it was either correct or a good enough explanation to convince the V'Sala.

It looked horrified.

Lexie nodded. "It's decided then. I'll kill you."

"No!" the V'Sala exclaimed and fell to its knees. "No, Please! I can help you." It sidled next to her, its clammy body ice cold on her skin. "I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"But you're weak," Lexie pointed out. "Only the strong can survive."

"I'm also useful. Only the strong and useful can survive."

Lexie thought about it. The strong and useful can survive.

She decided that made sense. She could adjust her mantra to that.

She would work with the V'Sala until it stopped being useful. Then she would kill it.

"Tell me how to get into the Other," she said, shrugging the creature off. It shifted away from her, but still cowed and shook.

"You need to have an Eldritch Lord."

"Well, I don't have one," Lexie said. "So what do I do now?"

"You can find the door yourself. But if you go without an Eldritch Lord, they will slay you upon entrance."

'Who will slay me?"

The Doorkeepers."

"There are Doorkeepers?"

It nodded.

"Are they Eldritch?"

"Yes," it said. "Powerful pure Eldritch formed by the Chaos mother. Only Eldritch Lords and their guests are allowed in the Other."

"Well, I am an Eldritch Lord technically," Lexie said, remembering.

"No," the V'Sala denied, and Lexie frowned.

"Are you questioning my legitimacy?"

"No, princess." It bowed, shoulders trembling. "Never. You are undoubtedly connected to the Chaos Mother. It is why you have survived and regenerated as you do."

Lexie frowned. "I thought all Eldritch could regenerate. Or at the very least you couldn't die."

"Yes, but we can be denatured if we do not regenerate fast enough and with that, our souls are returned to the mother, or bound and given another form. Lords who are connected to the Chaos Mother regenerate faster than all other Eldritch. They are difficult to denature. I am the last in my line, so I do not regenerate fast."

"Oh."

"Yes. I do not argue your legitimacy, princess. You have what it takes to be an Eldritch Lord. It is simply that you have not passed the test to be a Lord, and you do not have a disciple in your soul line."

"You be my disciple then."

"I cannot. I am already a disciple of Lord Naem."

Lexie sighed in annoyance, scratching at her hand some more. The itching was getting worse. She didn't know how this minor annoyance was even more aggravating and sinister than the bodily pain she'd endured. It was worse than just about anything she could think of. It was a soul-deep, growing misery.

She should kill the V'Sala.

As though sensing his immediate doom, the V'Sala was quick to speak up again, saying, "Perhaps you can find one in the heart of the dungeon.:"

"Find what?"

"A disciple," It said. "There may be creatures there that have been caught by the dungeon and not metabolized. They hide in the heart. One of them can become yours."

That made sense. "And what about the other tests I have to pass?"

The V'Sala deflated. "I cannot help you with that."

Hmm. Did that mean he was useless now? Should Lexie kill him?

She thought about it. She also thought about the heart of the dungeon.

Someone long ago told her about the heart. She didn't know who. It didn't matter. They'd even called it something else, but now she knew what it was.

Dungeons were created from the dreams and nightmares of young Eldritch. No, not just that. It was the essence, the purest form of denatured chaos.

The heart of the dungeon contained the dungeon's deepest desires, where the greatest treasures lay. It was also often a puzzle, a story one had to complete to find that deepest desire.

Lexie knew what the dungeon wanted. It wanted her out. But she couldn't get out unless she got into the Other.

Maybe she had to solve the dungeon's deepest desire first? Maybe that was the clue to getting into the Other.

And if this dungeon heart had creatures that she could turn into her disciples, that meant it also had creatures she could kill.

Maybe she could even wish for the dungeon heart to give her more creatures to slay. They should be large and mean and vicious, preferably. She didn't like killing the weak-and-frail ones like the V'Sala. It wouldn't give her enough of the satisfaction she craved.

Either way, it seemed like her answer was in the dungeon heart.

To make it into the dungeon heart, she needed to find inscriptions on the walls. Clues that would lead to an access point.

Look for something out of place. Someone had once told her something like that. She searched around her. The bodies were out of place, certainly, but that was all her doing. Hmmm.

She slid her hands over the walls. The Fae sometimes inscribed things on them. Those things were riddles used to find the secret level.

Lexie could solve riddles.

But it was written in a lost Fae-Eldritch language. Lexie couldn't read Eldritch.

She asked the V'Sala, "Do you read Eldritch?"

It nodded frantically.

"Find all the Eldritch writing in this dungeon and tell me what it means," Lexie ordered. "Chop chop. Or you die."

***

Aiden made Tate breakfast that morning before he explained further what he meant.

It was the simplest meal he'd ever made–toast, jam, and cereal–but it was still one of the tastiest things Tate had ever eaten. It was definitely better than Emma's casserole, which he'd had for two days straight now.

Ugh.

He appreciated the woman, but it was to the point that looking at a casserole dish now made him feel slightly nauseous.

So yeah, he was happy about Aiden's return for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Aiden had said that he had a way to give Tate power.

Tate didn't want to hope. He was trying his hardest not to hope.

But cells of his skin were vibrating anyway.

"They said they were going to put out an APB on you," Tate warned Aiden as he chewed.

"They wouldn't dare," Aiden said. "It would cause too much public outcry, and it would be bad for Vacek, too."

"How?"

"I know too much. And he still wants to use me to find the Alchemist."

Tate nodded and kept chewing, sipping his glass of orange juice.

"Do you know the story of how we conquered the Guardians?" Aiden asked Tate as he watched him gobble down the last of his toast.

Tate nodded. "They were locked in the tower."

"And?"

"And their mana stolen and released into the atmosphere."

"How"

"Excuse me?"

"How do you think that happened?"'

Tate hesitated. He didn't know exactly. The game hadn't focused too much on that aspect of things, and neither had the extra information Ael had given him that had enabled him to do all the things he'd done so far.

And it wasn't just that. Tate had broken into libraries and offices and accessed forbidden texts on the Undernet. He'd searched like hell for information and pieced things together from everything he could find.

It was part of the reason he knew more than he should, more than any other Chosen probably.

But never had this come up.

"I don't know," he said.

"Me either," Aiden admitted. "I didn't even think about it until recently."

"What do you mean?"

"A lot of people are not even sure the Guardians existed. Some of them believe it's simple BS fed to us by the more religious, pro-human, and frankly racist faction. And to be honest, I think the system encourages that line of thinking. Until now, I didn't have strong feelings either way. That was before I spent the last few days lurking at the ISTS."

Tate's eyes widened. "What? You were in the ISTS?"

"Yes. They're experts at soul transfers after all. They transfer souls from other worlds. I thought maybe I could find out how to transfer Lexie's soul from the dungeon."

Tate raised an eyebrow. He hadn't even thought of that. That was...unhinged.

"It's not plan A," Aiden said. "But I thought that maybe if I couldn't save her body, then I want to at least save her soul." He spread his arms and gripped the edges of the table. "But while there, I found a lot of things about the ISTS and their link to the guardians, and how exactly all their power is generated. I also know how to find the location of the tower that the Guardians got locked in."

Tate shook his head slowly. "I'm confused. You want to go to the Dark Tower?"

Aiden sighed. "It's a complicated plan."

"Wouldn't it be easier to do what you did before, and try to find her through dungeons? Like how you tried to find your wife?"

Anger glowed in his face. "Maybe. But I would need someone else for that plan to work, and he has not been available." His jaw clenched nearly strongly enough to break his teeth. "I'm not sure why."

"Okay."

"So now to save Lexie, I'll need to go to the Tower," he said. "I'll also probably need to kill Dominic Vacek."

Tate blinked. This was...a lot. He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was nothing, but Tate knew what a monumental decision this was.

And also, Aiden seemed to now know a lot of things he wasn't supposed to. Why was the narrative not wiping him out? Why was he still alive?

And by joining him, would Tate be lengthening his life, or hastening his demise?

Before he could ask, Aiden said, "There's something else I want to do. May I examine your pathways?"

Tate stiffened. He knew where this was going. No way. If Aiden Sparrowfoot wanted to experiment on him like the Alchemist did, then the answer was no. Tate wasn't willing to go through that pain again for nothing.

"Relax," Aiden said gently as though noting Tate's apprehension. "I'm not going to do anything to you."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I've been practicing," he said. "And doing a lot of research on golem making. I thought I would need it for Lexie, but...I can use that for you, too."

"You want to create a golem of me?"

"Yes. It's going to be a golem that is more powerful than the body you have now. And you will be in complete control of it. I will link your mind to it, and you might be able to implant some of your consciousness into it as you control it while your human body is put into a restful state. This likely won't be good enough to save your life, and the golem will not live on after you're dead. But it will give you the power you've always wanted. You won't have to spend your last days stuck in a body that's deteriorating. Until the day your human body stops breathing, you will live the life of a high ranker."

A shallow intake of breath. His hand shook on his spoon. His heart raced. The buzz in his head got louder.

He didn't want to believe, didn't want to trust. But..."You can do that?"

He hesitated, then nodded firmly. "I think I can."