Jokes, curses, and laughter were the group’s response.
Lady Munstead Wood’s calm, judicious voice quieted the crowd. “Phoenix always keeps his promises.”
Though all twenty possessed frayed nerves from their ordeal, silence reigned in the room.
“Do you know Phoenix?” someone asked.
“Yes, and –”
She stopped mid-sentence when a portal opened in the center of the room. A tall man in a spacesuit emblazoned with the Ice Vigor clan emblem emerged from this raging vortex. A blizzard followed him into the room as if blown by a gale-force wind. A snow-white beast of monstrous size then appeared, as did several strange levitating spheres.
“What the hell is going on?” Evil Gunka whispered.
***
“Dudes!” Alex Phoenix cried out over the howling of the blizzard. “Don’t be afraid of my pet. He will free you from these capsules.” He waved his hand.
Evil Gunka uttered in a thin, raspy voice, “I’m about to take a dump.”
Flash, moving like lightning, shredded the high-tech capsules like cardboard. Before long, all twenty Earthlings were freed without so much as a scratch.
“Sophia!” Alex exclaimed, recognizing Lady Munstead Wood. Using his prana knife, he freed his fellow passenger from the Boeing 777-300ER with expert strokes. He couldn’t resist the temptation to hug and kiss the beauty.
Damn, he realized after his spontaneous act of passion, If Tataki finds about this, she’ll kill me.
Sophia, smiling, playfully ran her slender fingers through his hair. “Hello, Phoenix, head of the Ice Vigor clan.”
Time! Phoenix, we have no time for that, Mentor Jokeiro intervened.
“Dang.” Alex ruefully relaxed his grip. “Sorry, Sophia, I should have said this before, but we’re under a time crunch. We must hurry.”
Flash tore open the last capsule. The Earthlings, avoiding the giant ermine, helped the last prisoner to his feet.
“Attention, clan members!” Alex said, drawing everyone’s attention. “The ship’s self-destruction is imminent. Iss, display the scheme of the Reaper and outline the shortest route to the Dark Radiance.”
“Done.”
“Great! Open all the sluice-valves and mark the route with the emergency lighting.”
“Your order has been executed, player Phoenix,” the AI said a moment later.
Alex stepped to one side, grabbing the AI. “Iss, activate the Dark Radiance engines and prepare them for emergency takeoff. Don’t forget to contained the Reaper crew and inform me about any complications.”
“Yes, player Phoenix. You will need the visual coordinates of the repository of values.”
Alex nodded. “Well done. Broadcast.”
A clear, three-dimensional image lit up the space.
“I warn you, access to the main repository of the Reaper is open only to you and the mechoes as the race you’ve created.”
The people silently listened to Alex, exchanging puzzled glances.
Alex mentally addressed the AI. Iss, what’s the deal? Why only the mechoes and me?
I do not know. For many millennia, only the chairman of the Supreme Council of Admins has had the access to this repository. Now it’s only you, Ticktock and Chichik.
Phoenix glanced at the bewildered Sophia, pointing at Flash. “Run to the spaceship.”
The ermine roared and headed toward the exit.
The rescued, led by Flash and Iss, ran from of room. Phoenix, grabbing the mechoes, jumped a short portal according to the visual coordinates, ending up in a bunker.
The place was permeated with ultimate power and safety. Thick sloping steel walls closed at the ceiling with a small stele located in the center.
Phoenix shrugged and walked to the stele. Its middle part lit up, and a rough, crackling voice rumbled, “Press your hand to the surface.”
Alex obeyed.
“Come in.”
The thick door noiselessly rose two feet. Alex proceeded to slip underneath it, fighting off the fear that the slab would fall, crushing him.
When nothing happened, Alex exhaled. “Phew. Being flattened is no way to die.”
The huge storage room was impressive on first inspection, but Alex wanted to spend as little time there as possible. Goosebumps prickled his body.
“What’s that?” he said.
When he received no reply, he shook his head, trying to shake off the delusion. He crouched, scanning the room and sniffing the air, searching for any hidden danger. No odd smells, no bizarre colors, nothing White sterility reigned.
Then he took a closer look. “These shelves are made from translucent mineral.” Small droids scurried between the rows filled with familiar compactor cubes. He couldn’t imagine how many values there were.
“Thank you, Jokeiro, you are right as always, I knowingly strengthened my subspace storage.” With that, Alex rushed down the central aisle. He tried to mentally grab the entire seemingly endless warehouse, taking everything, even the droids.
Having reached the last racks, Alex froze. He had reached the real treasure, the pricelessness itself.
Mentor Jokeiro interrupted Alex’s mixed bag of confusion, horror, and self-interest. Attention, Phoenix. I urge you to expedite decision-making and action. The spaceship will detonate in six hundred and fifty seconds.
“Damn, I’m like Cinderella at the royal ball!” Alex rushed forward, counting the time out loud. “One, two, three…”
Chapter 3. Dark Radiance
“Eight, nine, ten…” Alex cursed. “Damn, I lost four seconds.” He sent several shelves with small disposable dispensers to his subspace storage. One dose of Intellectum was in every glass container, produced by a small-sized machine attached to the top of a tank made of brilliant metal with a scarlet tint.
It collects the vapor in the tank, Alex guessed.
The mecho on the other side of the tank unexpectedly blurted out, “Tick-tock!” Creator Phoenix! Come closer!
Alex obeyed. He realized he could no longer waste time walking or running, so he have to move using teleport jumping.
Ticktock is right... Why not give it a try?
Alex recalled the ancient Greek legends of Achilles and his mother, the sea nymph Thetis. She made her son almost invulnerable, having bathed him in the waters of Styx — the river leading to the kingdom of the dead. Despite the chill in his chest,
