Ability: Cataclysmic Unmaking
An attack that deals massive damage, bypasses armor, and knocks the target back. On a critical hit, damage from this attack and any fall damage is doubled.
Nando reacted with his own attack, raising two flaming fists above his head.
Ability: Untimely End
Deals 2x base damage, staggers the opponent and deals burning damage per second equal to your base damage. On a critical hit, this ability deals 3x base damage.
Nando’s fists came down on Playa’s head at the same time as Playa’s war-axe rose up into Nando’s stomach. Cataclysmic Unmaking hit far harder, bypassing Nando’s armor. He crumpled inward at the blow and his health dropped to zero as he flew up into the ceiling
Party member killed!
PlayaSlaya staggered backwards, his health down to single digits.
“Damn you, Nando,” he said, looking down at the corpse. “We could…”
Magma from Untimely End was seeping down from his shoulder and over his chest. It sizzled and hissed, eating through his armor and boiling his health away.
“We could have had it all, man. We could’ve…”
The damage-over-time effect of the magma did its job. PlayaSlaya’s eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Cybernetic Knight PlayaSlaya assisted kill - 8,000 EXP gained!
Level 53 achieved!
Max health and stamina increased
+3 stat points
Ability Unlocked!
Dual Wielding
More text followed, explaining the ability. Kaiden snapped a screenshot of it on instinct but he really wasn’t focused on it because it didn’t matter. Relief was flooding through his body. They’d won, and this time, for good. The battle was done, and with – he checked the timer – thirty-five minutes to spare.
“Guys,” he said, looking at them across the chaos of the room. Five dead players, a host of busted floor tiles, a cracked ceiling, and a rapidly cooling pool of magma. It was chaos, but they’d won.
“We did it,” Kaiden said, letting a smile stretch across his face. Werner had set the trap but it hadn’t mattered. PlayaSlaya had misjudged his followers. Nando had stayed true, and together they’d turned the tide. Reversed the trap on those who’d set it.
“We did it,” Kaiden said again.
“No.” Thorne was frowning sharply. There was no humor in her eyes. As Kaiden watched, he saw Zelda had the same expression.
“What?” he asked, looking between them both and swallowing the dread rising inside him.
“PlayaSlaya betrayed us. He worked with the Warden Corps to set this trap, to lure us in.”
“Yeah, and we just kicked their ass for it,” Titus said.
“No,” Thorne said again. “Werner isn’t smart enough to act alone. He doesn’t think for himself; he just obeys. It wasn’t his idea to set this trap.” She turned her eyes toward the door that led to the tunnel, and beyond, the broadcast control room.
“There’s one last person standing between us and victory.” She grimaced as she spoke, and suddenly, Kaiden understood why.
The name echoed in his thoughts and sent a shiver of fear down his spine. Their plan had hinged on not fighting him. On surprising the Warden Corps and the Party with their attack here. But PlayaSlaya had sold them out, and that meant the Party had been ready for them. Meant the one person they had intended to avoid at all costs had been ready for them.
“Moran,” Kaiden said, then swallowed hard. “Shit.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
“You really think he’s here?” Titus asked, leaning forward and peering down the tunnel ahead. It was long, dark, and revealed nothing of what awaited them.
“He’s here,” Thorne said. “This whole thing has his handiwork all over it.”
Kaiden couldn’t help but agree.
“He’s down there,” he said. “Waiting right next to the broadcast control console, I don’t doubt. It’s the best way for him to make sure no one uploads the database.”
There was some comfort in that knowledge. A chilling, frightening sort of comfort. It was the undeniability of the fact that everything had led up to this. One final confrontation, and for all the marbles. Lose, and Killswitch would take down Nova. Win, and – well, win and maybe they’d change the world.
There were no more ifs or ands or buts. Just the certainty of what needed to be done.
“We’re gonna kick this guy’s ass, broadcast the database, and bring down the Party,” Kaiden said, and he knew it was true. Memories of everything they’d been through flashed through his mind, all starting with the day he’d found Bernstein murdered and been blamed for it. From prison to the resistance. The attack on their base to being harbored by King Street. Eventually kicked out of there, then living out of a damn van, then... Thorne. And from there, everything had changed.
We’ve come too far to fail now. People have died to help us get here. Lives have been ruined. But no more. This ends today. Now.
“No part of this is going to be easy,” Zelda said. “We need to be realistic about that. Moran is the Warden Hierarch. He’s stronger than any one player has a right to be.”
“Should we go back for reinforcements?” Titus asked, half turning to look back at the exit.
“There’s no time,” Zelda said. And she was right. The timer was still ticking down. Thirty-two minutes to go. That was it.
Kaiden’s quick check of the command module revealed the battle up top was drawing to a close, both sides depleted from the fighting, but it still wasn’t clear who the victor would be. He didn’t have time to wait around to find out.
It didn’t matter anyway. The army had done its job by getting him and Zelda and Titus and Thorne here. They couldn’t expect any more help. All they had now was each other, and that was going to have to be enough. Was going to be enough.
“We’re each at full health,” Kaiden said, looking them all over even though he knew what he’d find. Nando taking down PlayaSlaya had been a gift in two parts. One, it removed PlayaSlaya from the equation, but two, the experience from it had leveled them all up. Full health, then,
