Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3), John Gold [free e books to read online .TXT] 📗

Femida; you’re the one who released the beast. All of this is because of you.”

Nate showed up behind Kirk with a suppression group.

“Don’t listen to him—he’s trying to manipulate you. Don’t listen to him!”

Sagie just smiled.

“Kirk, those innocent people you mentioned, do you mean the ones killed by the meteor?”

“Yes! I saw the body of my girl. Do you know what it’s like to bury the person you love the most? What it’s like to see their blood on your hands? You’re a murderer!”

“No, I don’t know what burying loved ones is like—even that was taken from me. Hey, what do you know about the house that was here at the very edge of the castle’s force field? Why was I allowed in when the undead weren’t? After all, everyone says I was on the side of the dark gods.”

Any player who knew anything about Sagie knew that story.

“You were one of the saboteurs inside the city. Before the siege began, your accomplices grabbed control of the control room for the stronghold’s shields, and they let you two in. The undead accomplices they’d already caught had been put in that house on Leon’s orders to ensure that they were killed. What, you murderer, you killed your own friends?”

Something changed in Sagie’s face. No longer did he seem as calm.

“Here are some facts for you, simpleton. I was the first player in the world who was able to wound a god. Half a year before the battle here, I fought Talamei during the trial for the Hunters in the dwarf foothills. I never joined a clan, never joined a faction, never participated in the wars or the undead invasion. The only reason I was here that day was because Leon kidnapped what I held most dear in the world: my entire family. As far as that last thing you said goes, the only friends I have are my family, Kirk. And what would you do for your family?”

Two powerful spells slammed home right behind Sagie. Sit and Radidz were both reduced to sacks of flesh with the bones sticking out of one side.

“Like I’m going to believe you! Why would Leon be afraid of some random player? Why would he try to kill him? Kidnap his parents? What kind of monster would you have to be to pull your parents and family into your excuses? Do you even have a conscience?”

Femida, who hadn’t said anything the whole time, took two long leaps that landed her on the wall. Ten seconds later, the people watching realized that her target was the ballista aimed at Sagie. The mage himself stretched out an arm in the direction of another section of wall, leaving it to melt. The entire wall! Across eighty meters of fortifications, not a single player was left alive. The paladins switched on a bubble to protect Kirk from the unbearable heat.

“I’m the legacy of the distant past, the very first days after Project Chrysalis was launched, when Leon was still just a player. A ritual was performed that elevated him to godhood and sent me to Hell. When it turned out that I survived, didn’t delete my character, and, most importantly, had decided to let the whole thing go, your little god decided to kidnap my family and lure me into coming here the day of the battle. I survived where others gave up. I fought for my life. But for some reason, people like me were branded as criminals and banished. Then, thanks to Leon, I had to watch my family die. And as you know, I was robbed even of the chance to bury them. They don’t have graves.” Sagie sighed, and a sword started to slide out of his hand. A shield flew out from under his shirt. “I spent years hoping I would wake up, the world would have changed, and everything would be different. But after the undead were annihilated, you all started looking for any mention of me, and I was found. I was found by the person I least expected to see. Then, I woke up and met you. I’m truly grateful to you for helping me find Femida, my last dear friend.”

“You really think I’m going to buy that? Do you know how much pain I went through that day? How my life changed after just that one battle? And you expect me to believe that a god would be afraid of just some player?”

“You’re the same worthless nitwit you always were. Stop shifting the blame to everyone else—nobody needs your whining. If you don’t believe me, go visit Orany, a village near Imir. I lived there for almost a month, and lots of the people there still remember me. Rachel’s father lives there, actually. Yes, that Rachel! Leon didn’t have the guts to exterminate an entire village to hide the truth. I joined Project Chrysalis two years earlier than what everyone says, and I spent that time in Hell.”

That just couldn’t be. Nobody had heard anything like it.

“And you showed up here just to tell me all that?”

Sagie only smiled and shrugged. He was clearly waiting for something.

“You flatter yourself. They sent you to the gate to keep me from getting into the heart of the castle, but I got what I came for.” Players poured out on every side, on the roofs, and in the streets. Magic negators and stationary weapons were rolled out of nearby buildings. The fighters all stood at the ready.

Sagie just smiled once again. Happy to see the crowd, he addressed the players gathered there.

“You think your world is in danger? Enjoy your last moments of peace and quiet. Your commanders have committed a crime I can’t forgive them for, and you are all at risk.”

“So, what did you come for?”

“Revenge.”

“Oh, screw you!”

Sagie covered himself in a magic shield, and the