Chapter 34: Two world come together

  Meanwhile, on a planet far, far away…

  Arihim adjusted his tie for the twentieth time as he waited for answers. Things on Gaia were getting out of hand. Not only had the company lost positive control of the game, but the world itself was in danger of apocalyptic proportions. He even caught a snippet of someone suggesting the entire universe could be in peril if the worst came to happen.

  Fortunately, there was a glimmer of hope. Evander Cevast, Michael’s attendant, invited him to Origin. That in itself was peculiar because nobody had ever been invited there. Not to Arihim’s recollection, in any case. Origin was widely known as the forbidden planet.

  He jumped when a portal opened in front of him. It was different from other times he’d teleported. Normally, someone with the skill would hold on to him and drag him through the void. The process always made him sick to his stomach.

  Arihim stood in front of the portal for several long seconds before realizing nobody was going to come fetch him.

  He sighed, “I suppose they expect me to enter alone,” before taking a deep breath and stepping into the void.

  Melvin Murphy sat at the head of the table, surrounded by his newly minted advisors, Evander Cevast, and Marcelle Barlow. They were in the midst of a lively conversation about how best to compensate the many princesses of the tower while repatriating them to their home countries.

  He paying attention, though. His mind was focused on that of his betrothed, Kaliphae Murphy, who was away on another planet, reuniting with her sister, Shiveria.

  “I’m glad you’re back,” Shiv said, offering her a hug.

  Kalli embraced her sibling. “Me too. I thought I’d never see you again.”

  Shiv sobbed into her shoulder. “Now that you’re back, do you mind being queen? I tried, but it’s too hard. The whole planet is at war.”

  “But Shiv,” Kalli hedged. “We just inherited a huge responsibility. We’re going to be very busy for a little while getting everything set up. Don’t worry. I’ll help you with whatever you need.”

  Me too. Melvin shared through their connection, Mate Chat.

  Kalli ignored him, choosing to focus on her sister.

  Melvin was brought back to reality when Evander cleared his throat. “My Lord? The portal?”

  “Oh, right,” Melvin sighed, flipping through menu options to pull up the relevant planet. “Where is this planet Saotoris? Shouldn’t I just go there and fetch…”

  “Nonsense, My Lord,” Evander said. “A ruler never fetches.”

  Melvin didn’t care about things like formalities. He was eager to explore his vastly expanded empire. With his inheritance from the system, he’d gained the ability to travel to a thousand worlds, but there would be time for that later when he was alone. He held up a hand and a shimmering black portal appeared where he pointed. A bit later, a man in a fancy suit stepped out.

  Evander stood and cleared his throat. “My Lord, allow me to introduce Arihim Valois. He works for S.I.M.P. Co, and your father was one of his benefactors.”

  “Why is he here?” Melvin asked, while still playing with the portal menu.

  Evander continued. “Your father was one of the sponsors of their decennial game, and as such, had a role to play in the development of one of the players. Arihim sent a rather disturbing message that requires your immediate attention. Particularly considering the planet your fiance is on currently.”

  Arihim waited for Evander to pause before taking a deep breath and continuing the explanation. “An anomaly has risen on Gaia that is threatening the lives of all the players. It is my recommendation, as well as that of the other sponsors, that we relocate the game to another planet.”

  “The players?” Melvin asked. “What about the citizens? Aren’t they in danger too?”

  “That’s hardly our concern,” Arihim went on. “We have contracts with these players. We can be held liable if…”

  He went silent when Melvin raised a hand. “Tell me about this anomaly. What’s putting the people in danger?”

  Melvin knew Kalli was hanging on his every word. He felt the same way she did. They would allow no one to die on Gaia. Not if they could help it.

  Arihim composed himself before answering. “From what we can ascertain, there is a shadow monster at large who murdered the kings and queens of both Celestea and Dabia. It’s also been sighted…”

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  “I killed that monster,” Melvin said, cutting off the flustered Arihim once again. “If that’s all, there’s no immediate danger.”

  “You killed it?” Arihim asked in a bewildered voice. “How long ago? We had sightings of the shadow army just yesterday.”

  Melvin’s voice rose. “Now there’s an army? What are you doing about it?”

  “Sir?” Arihim asked. “I’m an executive, not a fighter.”

  Melvin’s attention was once again drawn inward as a guard rushed into the throne room on Gaia where Kalli was.

  “Your Highness,” the guard wheezed, winded from the run. “An airship approaches from the north.”

  “It is from Solitair?” Shiv jumped to her feet in excitement.

  “No, Your Highness,” the guard replied, trying to stand straight while huffing and puffing. “It bears the flag of Albion.”

  Without saying a word, Melvin stood and vanished on the spot, leaving the other three in the room to sigh in exasperation.

  “We’re almost there,” Lord Palamedes called from his spot at the helm.

  I was with Bori, leaning over the bow to get a better view of the castle looming in the distance. They were right. It was bigger than Camelot. Guards streamed to the landing pad as we approached.

  “Everyone, stay back,” I called out. “I’m not sure if they are going to be hostile. Remember, we heard their king and queen died.”

  Just as we touched down, a man in a blue robe appeared out of nowhere.

  He stood in front of the guards, looking rather unimposing in contrast. When he spoke, I realized he was a kid. “Whoever you are, if you’re here to fight, I guarantee it won’t end well.”

  A red-haired girl walked up behind him with flames billowing around her. She placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head almost imperceptively.

  When he spoke again, he was more subdued. “Ahem, if you come in peace…welcome.”

  Still weary of an impending attack, I lowered the gangplank and walked down to greet him. He paused when he saw Excalibur and pulled a duplicate out of nowhere.

  Excalibur Replica

  Item Rank: D

  Attack: 1

  Special: Inscription

  “That’s a lousy replica,” I said, drawing the real one. It let off a satisfying shing, as though it, too, wished to prove its authenticity.

  “I know,” the boy replied. “But if you look closely, it still says I get to be King of Albion.”

  “Maybe Lego Albion,” I shot back.

  “Oh!” the boy gasped. “You’re from Earth.”

  “I was,” I said. “Not anymore, though. This is my new home. My name is Alexander Krup, King of Albion. Some call me Alexander the Great.”

  The boy laughed. “I think you got your legends mixed up. I’m pretty sure Alexander the Great was Greek, not to mention from a totally different time period than King Arthur. Oh, right? My name is Melvin Murphy, son of Merlin. I think that means I outrank you. Also, I’m in charge of all the planets in this…uh…universe.”

  I wondered why he hesitated. Even more so, was he serious? How could a kid be in charge of the entire universe?

  “How old are you?” I asked, not quite able to compute how the scrawny kid could be the son of the legendary wizard.

  “Eighteen…” he hesitated again when the redhead shot him a glare. “Well, almost.”

  The girl chose that moment to speak. “Hello, my name is Kaliphae Murphy. You look familiar. Do I know you?”

  I squinted at her. She did look familiar, but I couldn’t place where I knew her from.

  Then she gasped. “I know! You were the fat man that used to give us food when I was little.”

  “Fat man? Food?” I hemmed as my mind rewound to when I first arrived on Gaia. “Oh! You’re that girl from Hellquist! I always wondered what happened to you.”

  “This doofus summoned me to Earth!” she exclaimed with a giggle. “Don’t worry, though. It all worked out in the end.”

  “Summoned?” I asked, utterly confused.

  “It’s a long story,” Melvin groaned. “But it was the best thing I ever did for sure.”

  “Wait a second!” I gasped. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead? Alariel told me…”

  “You know Alariel?” Melvin asked, his tone raised in excitement. “What about my sister, Kiki?”

  “She’s missing,” I replied. “Alariel is headed to Solitair right now to find her. She thinks her grandma is going to use her for some ritual.”

  “That old witch!” Melvin cursed. “I’m going to find her right now.”

  He stiffened and turned to Kalli, who was staring at him with her hands on her hips. They had a silent conversation, and he deflated. “Fine, what’s the plan? Why did you come here?”

  “Are the two of you in a group?” Primith asked, speaking for the first time since our arrival. “You can join ours if that makes things easier.”

  Kalli blushed while Melvin beamed. “Our group chat is super advanced. It’s called Mate Chat.”

  “Is that so?” I asked. “How is it better than group?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Melvin smirked, then winced as Kalli elbowed him in the ribs. “Er, I mean, I’ll never tell!”

  “Let’s get back on track,” Primith said after clearing her throat. “Some very bad people are after a relic in Solitair. If they get their hands on it, they might be able to plunge the universe into eternal darkness.”

  Everyone was silent while Melvin and Kalli looked at each other for a long moment. Then they seemed to come to an agreement.

  “Okay, we’re headed to Solitair,” Kalli said matter-of-factly. “Who from your group wants to come?”

  “Carlito,” Primith said. “Show yourself. It’s going to be me, Alex, his daughter Bori, and Carlito.”

  “You have a daughter?” Melvin asked in surprise.

  “Where is she?” Kalli asked.

  Bori, as if on cue, materialized in front of me. “Hi, I’m Bori.”

  “Well, aren’t you just adorable?” Kalli swooned, kneeling in front of the kid. “My name is Kalli. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “How did she do that?” Melvin asked, his eyes widening at her appearance.

  “She’s part dungeon,” Primith explained.

  “What?” Melvin asked, looking partly confused, partly curious. “How?”

  “We can talk about the birds and the bees later,” I replied, eager to get the show on the road. “Shall we take the airship?”

  “No,” Melvin’s grin was slightly offputting. “I have a faster way. Everyone hold hands and gather together.”

  Melvin debated dragging the airship into the void but decided against it. It would probably be safer to leave it in Celestea and come back for it later, especially if they had to make a quick exit. Alex and the rest of his friends froze the moment they entered the void. Melvin had expected that much. That gave him and Kalli a chance to discuss things. Since they were alone in the void, they spoke out loud.

  “Do you think Kiki is in Solitair?” Kalli asked.

  Melvin pulled up the swirling green ball that was Gaia and zoomed in on the volcanic island of Solitair. While there was some movement in the model sized buildings that lined the volcano’s brim, he couldn’t make out who anyone was.

  “I don’t know,” Melvin finally admitted. “What I really need to know is whether this is as serious as they say it is. We know Rasputin died, and I’m fairly confident we can deal with Alariel’s grandmother. It might not hurt to bring some ancients along.”

  “Like Iolathar?” Kalli suggested.

  “Yeah,” Melvin replied. “It couldn’t hurt to make a pit stop. Maybe he can put a stop to this vendetta Alariel’s family seems to be bent on.”