Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3) by John Gold (novel24 TXT) 📕

I had to jerry-rig something out of what I had, but I can take it off now.

“Fem… It’s been a long time since I called you that. What are you doing here?”

“Just a second. Isaac, let me go.”

Fem, this time looking the way I remember her, steps right out of the armor, only wearing light prisoner’s gear instead of her blood outfit. And her armor must be unique if you can stick somebody inside it like that.

“This is Isaac, and he has a unique class: living armor. He’s a distant relative who’s been helping me this whole time.”

The armor doesn’t even move.

“Not the most talkative.”

“He’s shy, though he’s a good guy. You get used to him.”

The armor doesn’t react to the situation, though its strength level drops precipitously.

“So, his strength depends on who’s inside him. I couldn’t figure out why I was sensing two people at the same time.”

Suddenly, a god shows up… Then a second…a third… Wow, eight gods! The attention is flattering, and it’s time to let Femida know what the plan is.

“I kind of made a little noise hoping you’d find me yourself. Basically, there are eight gods out there on the edge of the lake, and it’s time for us to go.”

“Idiot! What did you do? Is the exterior dome still intact?”

“Yes, of course. It’s segmented, so they turn off the lower segments and decrease the shield when the lava rises. I slipped onto the island unnoticed when that happened.”

“But there’s lava out there! The thermal damage is incredible.”

“I’m Sagie, and I couldn’t care less.”

“Really, what did you do?”

“I sent a video message to Leon, Rachel, and one other person. Basically, just a little something letting them know that they’re going to drown in their own blood.”

Thinking about Leon and the battle for Airis Castle fills me with rage. I want to kill, slake my desire for revenge. Kill everyone who’s hunted me all these years. I may not have been around for a while, though my thirst for blood is the same as it ever was. No, my memories are like fresh, bleeding wounds, like the scars on your face that remind you of a devastating defeat. I think back to Rosie’s body thrown through the air by the explosion, to father’s health dropping to zero…

The air buzzes—apparently, I lost myself for a second. Femida is shaking my shoulder and talking about something as she does. Lately, I’ve had to use seven streams of consciousness together, and attacks like that one knock me out of reality.

“Sagie, calm down, come back.”

“It’s okay, I’m here. It’s just that those little gods have something up their sleeve—see them flying up by the dome and working on some kind of spell?”

Eight tiny figures soar above the dome. They’re all using canopies of invisibility, but my perception just laughs. I can even sense the dark person, not to mention the god leaving the astral. That dark parasite is always following me. Using my magic vision, I realize that the gods are working on an eight-sided seal…

Damage received: 0 (ignored: 0)

Debuff: Mana incinerator

Effect: -100% mana restoration

Duration: For as long as you are within the radius of the mana incinerator

I’ve never heard of anything like that, but I make a mental note. The seal covers the entire prison island, meaning that the mages here are all helpless. Fem starts to get visibly nervous.

“What are we going to do now?”

“Leave. We don’t have a shot at winning this battle, so I’m not interested in fighting it.”

“But how?”

“If the gods weren’t here, we’d just go the normal way—the stationary portal or breaking the shield. Now, though, it’s going to be trickier.”

“A portal to the Inferno?”

“That’s a good idea, but we’d need divine energy for that.”

Femida pulls out her sword, preparing for defense.

“So, what’s next? What are we going to do?”

Just a little fun, sticking it to the gods real quick.

“I fear nothing with you next to me… Everyone who came after me is going to fall in shame and dishonor. Everyone who made war on me will die… I’m going to gain strength, set the highest of goals for myself, and emerge triumphant!”

Femida looks at me in horror—a psych ward patient got into prison, and now they’re not letting him out. And, to add insult to injury, he lost his head.

“Fem, relax. They’re not going to attack here. The island’s magic shields will keep the gods off us, and they’re not going to attack—they’re afraid I’ll hit back. No, they’re waiting for my mana to run out before they get to work. This whole prison was built as a trap for me, using you as the bait.”

“I’m here because I want to be here. Seeking spirits, search abilities, and other techniques don’t work under the dome, so nobody knew I was the real Femida.”

“And you let everyone think that girl was you. Smart. You could keep an eye on things, stay right in the middle of everything. How did you even get thrown in jail?”

Femida says nothing for a second, which tells me there’s something she’s hiding.

“Team.”

“Team.”

I pull up the team chat.

I have friends in management at Alcatraz, not to mention the money we got for destroying the altar. By the way, you owe me two million for saving you and for my pain and suffering these five years.

But sweetie, what about the alimony?

Oh, you’re so funny. Do you have any idea how much it cost to create a new identity? Or how hard the last few years have been?

Okay, you’ll get your two million, though I have to go through my medical exam and get a clean bill of health before that happens. As soon as I get access to the network, I’ll