Solo Apocalypse

My eyes glided across an otherworldly scene of modern man in the close spaces of a ruin framed by a forest tinged blue. A space removed and alien, washed with moonlight.

Sixth’s [Twilight Saber] glinted in the twilight, sleek with scarlet blood. A stark contrast against the blue-green backdrop of the [Sleepywood]. My clones had wordlessly taken to the front without any complaint. They were, after all, expendable.

It was a good thing that they did. The monsters here were thicker in number. A degree more dangerous.

The ‘trap’ we had found was a rather conspicuous ruin, with tall walls in a state of disrepair with a single broken stone gate. In fairness, it was so obvious a trap as to instead be a challenge. Like we had been prompted by the [Sleepywood] itself to dare try it.

I saw them as shadows first, more fluid, deeper than any others. A minute difference in their shade of black against the shadows of the ruins. They clung to the walls of what might’ve been a small fort or keep, now covered in blue moss and rubble.

“Ifrits,” Rickson called out before me. It was his [Search] that had initially brought us here. A vague confirmation of something of immense interest, according to him. Apparently, his particular Skill had a reliance on PER, WIS, and INT. “In the shadows.”

His PER attribute was as high, if not higher than my own after these days leveling.

“Get ready,” Parker said, just as a shadow shot forward from the walls. The edge of the light from his [Glow Pendant] dissuaded the ifrits incorporeal form. Instead, he blocked another one of the creatures slipping out from a shadow nearby.

Sixth stabbed the squirming shadow, a violent hiss escaping the pierced ground. Smoke rose up from the edge of the [Twilight Saber], like the barest edge of a ray of sun. Burning. The ifrit crawled out of the shadow, face twisted in anger.

“[Firebolt],” Rose voiced beside me. And the bolt of flame was brighter than I remembered. It exploded on another shadow snaking towards one of my other clones.

Everyone had at least one offensive or defensive Item now, if minor. Parker turned around as a clone warned him of an ifrit, striking the creature in the chest with a pair of chitinous gauntlets that had come from defeating a gloaming scythe. My clone moved in tandem, using an ill-fashioned wooden spear to stab forward between his strikes. It was enough to draw blood and eventually its death.

Rickson had two clones supporting him, taking on another ifrit. It emerged from a shadow nearby but Rickson and my clones were ready for it, stabbing it with makeshift spears. I would’ve been happy with Ralph’s bows but this would do in the meantime. Without real weapons Rickson’s idea of spears was ideal.

An ifrit appeared behind Rose, clawing its way from her shadow. My eyes went wide as [Solo’s Instinct] prompted me. “Rose behind—”

She whirled around. A black claw fell, accompanied by smiling teeth—and rebounded off a barrier of shadow. The ifrit recoiled as Rose’s [Coolshade Bracelet] twinkled. It was enough of a distraction for me to plant my own spear into its neck, driving it to the ground. It struggled, unholy screams filling the quiet woods.

Its eyes shot to me, a spark of malicious intelligence—

I twisted the weapon, killing it immediately. Black blood dribbled down and I took a breath, looking around. Three ifrit corpses and no rewards forthcoming. And this was just the outside.

So far everything had been handled as best as we could’ve. No injuries, no freezing up, no costly mistakes. Just enough to learn. These days, we were working well as a team. My clones acted as a kind of multifunctional glue, filling every role unmanned, or covering every mistake they could.

“These weren’t here when we scouted the place earlier.” Parker frowned, kicking an ifrit corpse. One which had been pummeled to the ground after being stabbed down.

“We never got this close before,” Rickson said, studying the ruins. He didn’t wear his glasses anymore, they’d broken a while ago and he claimed he could actually see better without them now. “They might’ve seen us and went into hiding.”

“It’s dangerous.” Parker sighed. The cautious demeanor clashed with the black blood splatter across his face. He looked like a mess but his eyes were constant, unyielding.

“It’s always dangerous.” Rose smiled. She perhaps had the same dose of reality as I did. The apocalypse weighed on her, drained the light from her eyes, but propped up her back. Steeled the nerves.

Rickson shuffled, oddly more confident without the glasses. “It’s something incredibly valuable.” He said plainly. “That’s all I’ll add.” But I could see the eagerness in his posture.

“It’s alright, I’ll lead,” I said, gesturing to my clones.

And we entered the ruins, stepping through a gateway that was missing its arch. Buildings stood the test of time, some reduced to empty space, others standing tall, the majority between either state. There were fading symbols on every inch of stone, any pattern or meaning lost to the rubble.

A bright flash of something was our only warning against our enemy. Ahead of us, Seventh was missing an arm, blinking at the limb that had been instantly cauterized. He screamed and I powered through the pain to stare at something I could only describe as a ghost.

If it were made of sunlight.

They stepped between rays of twilight in some kind of inverted version of the ifrits movement. And they had weapons, albeit made of the same sunlight. A sword and shield, a spear. Bladed weaponry made from the sun, bright enough to blind our adjusted eyes.

“Run!” I yelled, immediately recognizing a new foe.

“Watch out Rose!” Parker grabbed Rose as her [Coolshade Bracelet] flickered again, rebounding a sword strike made of sunlight.

Rickson ran after them, calling out ahead. “There!” He yelled. “That building!” It was one of the only ones still intact.

I was right behind him. One of them swooped down with a scream like a banshee and I yanked Rickson out of the way, into the shadow of the building, staring at the creature.

Human features, twisted by something. Ephemeral, as if made from light itself. It hesitated as we tensed, running, but it didn’t move. And I slowed looking at it, then at the border of the building’s shadow. Then it screamed and flew off.

I lingered but followed Rickson into the building.

“What are they?” Parker asked, looking through a stone window. He was grimacing, treating a burn across his arm. “Their sword burned me.”

Rickson was out of breath. “The [Sleepywood] is a haven for creatures of night and dawn.” He said, repeating the description of the Dungeon. “I’m betting those are the creatures of the dawn. But damn.” He finished, slumping.

“They looked like ghosts,” Rose said, glancing out the window. Everyone was in slight shock, but for better or worse, they were used to these situations now.

“Evahn, you okay?” Parker asked me. “I saw they took an arm.”

“I’ll be fine,” I replied wincing, idly rubbing the phantom pain of a missing arm. “We have a bigger problem.”

Eighth blinked as his spear went through the creature. It rushed down, moving freely in the twilight dimness, and swung for him again. He dodged, their movements widely projected.

It flew right into Ninth’s fist—and phased through it.