Nightmare Realm Summoner

Around Alex was only darkness. It was so thick that he could practically feel it as he swept his hand through the empty space around him. His body floated suspended in what felt like the depths of the ocean, but he could breathe perfectly fine.

”Hello?” Alex called.

There was no echo. His voice was muted and tinny, and it vanished into the emptiness nearly as fast as it reached his ears.

It was impossible to orient himself. He couldn’t tell right form left; up from down. There was no frame of reference here. He wasn’t even sure where here was — or how he could see himself when there was no light to go by.

”Is anyone there?” Alex called again. There wasn’t even so much as another message from the System to help him. All he had to go by was some vague trial about getting the highest completion rate before he died.

Which implies that my death is guaranteed rather than possible. What the hell kind of trial is this?

The only thing that kept panic from rising in his chest was Alex’s conviction that the System was fair. It could be a massive asshole and it allowed for what most people would have considered egregious amounts of cheating, but the scales always balanced in the end.

There was no way trying to use a Town Token would just straight up kill him out of the blue. He would have a chance to fight for what was his. All he had to do was wait.

Something rippled in the darkness before him. At least, he was pretty sure it was in front of him. Scale was surprisingly difficult to read when there was nothing to use as a reference.

Alex squinted as a strand of gray twisted into a ball. What appeared to be bandages wrapped around themselves. They moved slowly at first, laying over each other as they spawned from nothingness, but rapidly accelerated.

Flashes of gray snaked through the darkness and bound around each other like a miniature universe spawning into being. The ball ballooned at a near-exponential rate as it filled out into the form of a man.

Strands of bandages twisted from his limbs and torso like chains, running far into the darkness before vanishing out of sight.

For the briefest moment, there was silence.

Then a loud, crackling tear sound like a dozen sheets of paper being ripped at once through the void that surrounded Alex. One of the bandage chains connected to the figure’s right arm snapped and withered away.

A second chain tore, then a third. A hand twitched.

Fingers clenched into a fist.

Cracks stretched across the bandages covering the figure’s torso. They traveled up to the face and down to its legs. What seemed like black rot raced across their body, stretching to completely cover the bandages. Huge sheets of them blackened and peeled back, revealing pallid white skin.

It was the body of a human, but one who hadn’t had a meal in months. Ribs pressed up against gaunt skin and Alex could practically see the outline of organs beneath.

A heartbeat thumped, passing by his head like a wave of force. The last of the bandages tore away and fluttered into the darkness. They disintegrated into the void, leaving him floating across from something that could be considered neither man nor monster.

It had ears and a mouth, but where two eyes should have been was only one, in the very top center of its face. The being possessed only two slits for nostrils and wore ragged brown scraps that hung around its waist like a torn dress.

Alex’s spine prickled. He’d seen a number of fucked up monsters. His own summons were hardly an exception from them — but there was something deeply unsettling about the figure in front of him.

It looked…

Pathetic.

A ragged, gasping wheeze split the gaunt thing’s lips as it drew in a long breath. It’s one eye snapped open, revealing nothing but an empty silver sclera. There was no pupil within it. The man-monster’s eye was as glassy and flat as a still lake.

There was a moment of stillness.

Then the creature screamed. It was not a cry of fury, but one of deep, burning agony. The figure clawed at its chest with fingers that lacked nails, thrashing and writhing as it cried out. It was the wail of a father watching their son die; the pain of death taking a brother.

Alex clapped his hands over his ears as the sound pierced through the darkness like a blade.

And then it was gone.

The figure’s hands dropped to its sides. Even though it was impossible to tell where its empty eye stared, Alex knew for a fact that it was looking straight at him.

What the fuck is going on? Am I supposed to kill this thing? That almost feels like it would be granting it a mercy.

”So this is the fruits of my efforts.” The words spilling from its lips like unwept tears. It lifted a hand and stared at its uncannily smooth flesh. ”Relegated to a wretch.”

It can speak?

”Who are you?” Alex asked. ”What’s going on?”

The thing — or was it a person? He wasn’t sure — raised a hand in the universal command to halt. A shudder wracked its body and it drew in a deep breath before letting it out in a rattling sigh.

”I would command you to be silent were it within my capabilities, but it seems that even that has been taken from me.”

Didn’t you just basically do that, in a really roundabout way?

”I’d be more than happy to oblige if I had the faintest idea of what was happening,” Alex said. ”And it seems like you might have an idea. Are you part of the Trial?”

”Part of the Trial.” The figure let out a raspy, pained laugh. ”Part of the Trial. No. Yes.”

”Ah, lovely. That clears things right up. Glad we could make sure we were on the same page.”

To Alex’s surprise, a bark of laughter tore from the thing’s flat lips. It blinked heavily and tilted its head to the side, studying him intently with its flat eye. ”You hold fire in your soul, even in face of the System. It will take you far. Probably not far enough, but far.”

”Does the System force you to be intentionally cryptic? Or do you just take joy in that?”

”The former and the latter, though not in equal parts. I am Rhy—”

Before the thing could finish its sentence, it drew in a sharp breath and grasped at its chest as its entire body went stiff. An instant later, its limbs went slack and it slumped forward. It would have fallen flat on its face if it hadn’t been suspended in the darkness.

Instead, it just floated there for a moment before straightening once more.

”You may refer to me as Keeper,” the thing finished in a strained tone.

Alex tilted his head to the side. That definitely hadn’t been what it was trying to say.

Rhy— something. Sounds like a name? Did the System stop it from sharing its name with me? Why?

”Right. Keeper, then. I’m Alex. I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me what the fuck is going on and who you are?”

”The latter question is not something I am permitted to answer, and you already know the answer to the first.”

”You said you both were and weren’t here for the Trial. Not a very useful answer. I don’t mind the challenge, but I’m really not the best at riddles. I don’t suppose we could trade that one out for one where I have to smack something?”

Keeper let out another laugh. ”I am here to oversee your trial, but that is not my only purpose. I was formed when you broke that Town Token. It was a rather agonizing experience, and not one I suspect is standard. I should not have retained so many mem— no. No matter. I am here because you formed a Town.”

”You’re the Town?” Alex asked, blinking in surprise.

”No. I am Keeper. The method in which you will interface with your town upon occasions such as this one, among a few other scenarios. I will explain after you have completed your Trial.”

I can’t tell if Keeper is letting things slip on accident or if it actually wants me know more than what the System is letting it say. It definitely didn’t seem like it was here voluntarily, but I shouldn’t push too hard until I figure out what the hell is going on.

”I see,” Alex said with a nod. ”So… what is my Trial?”

”What do you think?” Keeper asked, a note of bitter amusement in its tone. ”You will fight. The Town Token you shattered is immensely powerful. You could not expect that the System would allow anyone to harness such strength without sufficient challenge.”

”Do you have the slightest idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to get the damn Town Token?” Alex asked, arching an eyebrow. ”You’re telling me that wasn’t enough?”

”Is it ever?” Keeper didn’t wait for Alex to give it a response before continuing. ”You will fight against waves of monsters. For each monster you defeat, you will gather a small portion the latent energy stored within the Town Token. The more monsters you strike down before falling, the more of the town’s power and growth potential will be unlocked. This is the only attempt you will have at this. Do you understand?”

Golden letters shimmered into the darkness above Alex as Keeper finished speaking.

Town Potential: —/100%

”Hold on a second,” Alex said, raising a hand. ”Before falling? Can’t I win?”

”The System will bring monsters so long as you can fight. This Trial ends with your death.” There was definitely bitter amusement in Keeper’s tone — along with something else. Perhaps it was pity, or perhaps it was just pain. Alex couldn’t quite tell.

”That doesn’t seem very fair,” Alex said, his heart starting to beat faster. ”Surely there’s a way to win.”

”Perhaps. It is something you will have to determine yourself. I am not at liberty to answer.”

Alex stared at the gaunt man-monster for several long seconds. He could hear his blood thumping in his ears as adrenaline drove it through his body. His hands tightened at his sides.

I don’t give a shit what Keeper or the trial says. There’s a way to win this. There always is. I’m not going to roll over and take defeat just because they tell me I’m guaranteed to lose.

And I can’t help but notice one little thing.

”One last question,” Alex said. His lips pulled back in a mixture between a snarl and a grin. ”Has anyone ever managed to get over 100% of a town’s potential?”