Prototype's Gate

"Oh please, oh golly, me-oh-my, you must release me, or I'll die!" The pixie inside the lantern pleaded with a sweet voice. "This lantern only lights the way when I am hurting night and day!"

Alex's eyes shifted, dimming the light from the lamp to better see the figure inside. The pixie looked like a tiny woman, wearing a purple dress. Her arms and legs were tied with tiny barbed wire, bleeding slightly.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"My name? My name is Dolly Thrice; now won't you free me from this vice?"

Before Alex could release the pixie, he turned and looked at the drider, who was staring at him.

Lump, Halsin, and the tieflings fell to their knees, clutching their heads. A strong psionic force was exerting over the group. Thankfully, Alex's resistance to psionic attacks was like a bulwark.

"So you are the Absolute," Alex said in a calm voice.

"You resist my control. Your mind is strong. I can't wait to feast on it," the drider said.

"Same," Alex replied.

The psionic force intensified even more as everyone fell to the floor, screaming in pain.

Blood started to flow from the drider's eyes, nose, and ears. Alex phased next to the drider and grabbed it. His arm bulged, shifting in muscle mass. The drider was still covered by the red aura that protected it from any form of attack, so instead, he lifted the abomination over his head and threw it as far as he could, its form disappearing into the mist.

"We must move. This place could be swarmed by cultists any moment from now," Alex said to everyone as they stood up, recovering their scrambled brains.

"I need protection from this curse. If I release you, will you help me travel through the shadow?" Alex asked the pixie.

"It would be my pleasure—truly! Once I'm freed, I'll help you duly."

"Don't trust her words. Pixies are known for their mischievous nature," Halsin said from the side.

Alex inspected the lantern, spotting a mechanism at the base of it.

"What's this mechanism at the base of the lantern?"

"I dare not name it, newfound friend. The faintest touch could spell my end."

Alex's hand reached for a small door on the side of the lamp and opened it. The door was open, but the pixie was still trapped inside, held by the barbed wire.

"Don't move," Alex said as a small tendril of flesh slithered inside the lamp, breaking the wire holdings.

"FINALLY!" the pixie shouted, flying out of the lamp and stopping before Alex. Her tone was different from the sweet pitch, now much deeper.

"Been trapped in that coffin with no one but a mad drider and my own farts for company. Did me a good turn there, didn't you. What do I owe you?"

"Help us against this shadow curse," Alex responded.

"Sure I can. But will I?" Dolly said with a smirk on her face. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" A small bell appeared in her hands. "Here. Give this bell a shake, speak the magic words, and you'll get what you've earned. Protection from the shadow curse—what more could a dingus want?"

Alex gently took the bell and looked at it. He could feel a faint trace of magic coming from it.

"You are welcome," the pixie said as she threw a silvery powder—pixie dust, as it was organic—over them and flew away.

"Let's go," Alex said, taking the lead.

They stopped in the middle of a crossroad. A big, ruined house loomed a few meters ahead of them. He could senses a cluster of minds inside the building.

"Stay here," Alex instructed, walking ahead.

He barely took a few steps before he caught an arrow heading for his head.

"Come out!" Alex shouted. Nothing happened. He stood there, unmoving, until someone emerged from the house. A man wearing leather armor with a green cloth covering his chest stepped forward. Attached to the cloth was a silver pin with the symbol of a harp. His greatsword hung by his side.

The drow woman Alex had consumed at the Grymforge knew him. His name was Branthos.

"Who are you?" Branthos demanded, inspecting Alex and the group behind him. One of his hands was inside the pouch at his side. "And what do you want?"

"My name is Zeus. We are from the Emerald Grove located near the River Chionthar in the Western Heartlands. We left after the githyanki invaded the area. I wish to speak with your leader, Jaheira."

Branthos locked eyes with Alex for a moment.

"Follow us. Don't make any sudden moves if you want to remain in one piece," Branthos said.

More Harpers revealed themselves from the shadows, some walking to the front while others walked to the back, their weapons trained on Alex's group. "They were waiting here for an ambush to attack the Absolute's envoy," Alex deduced.

"Let's go," Branthos said as the group started to walk.

"Did you by chance see others heading this way?" Branthos asked a few steps ahead of Alex.

"If you mean cultists, yes," Alex responded. "They're dead."

Branthos glanced at Alex before turning his gaze back ahead. "I suppose you did. Nice reflexes there. To catch an arrow shot by our ranger is no easy feat."

As they walked the twisted and corrupted road, they passed by a place where a battle had ensued. Dried pools of blood dotted the ground.

"What's with those pools of blood?" Alex asked.

"A group of tieflings was attacked and captured by a group of cultists. Some of them are at our camp," Branthos replied.

Alex turned his head and looked at Zevlor, who was disturbed by Branthos' words.

They stopped before a bridge. On the other side of the stone bridge was a small island protected by a dome of silvery light. The dark mist clawed at the dome, trying to destroy it. But the dense Selunite magic that formed it pushed back the curse's relentless corruption. An inn was built to the left side of the island.

A signpost stood to the left of the bridge.

"For a warm bed and a full stomach, look no further. Welcome to the Last Light Inn," the signpost read.

Cracks appeared all over the dome as five figures flew out of it. A pair of wings grew from Alex's back, and he took flight, startling the people around him.

As he came closer, he could finally see who the figures were. One was a man with raven wings wearing Flaming Fist armor, carrying a woman with silver hair. The other four were winged horrors. They looked like ghouls with wings but were smaller and thinner.

Alex didn't waste a moment as he accelerated with the help of the flight organs inside his body. The man and the winged horrors saw him approaching and started to change their formation. The winged horrors turned to attack Alex trying to stop him , but he didn't slow down, instead accelerating even more. Fire appeared in his hands, which he angled to give him a boost. His armored frame rammed through the group of horrors, turning them into minced meat. Their obliterated body parts plunged to the ground. As soon as he was close enough to the winged man, Alex slowed down. The winged man turned his head to Alex, his eyes widening as Alex's whip fist cut off one of his wings. The man and the woman he was holding started to fall to the ground, and Alex moved to catch them. A pair of tentacles emerged from his lower back. One coiled around the man's neck, trying to strangle him, while the other restrained him. With his free arms, he grabbed the woman.

"Fuck off," the man said through gritted teeth, struggling against the tentacles' strength.

Alex flew down to the bridge where he had taken off. The Harpers made space for him and surrounded him, weapons unsheathed. He slowly put the woman down and let go of the man, who flopped to the floor unconscious after being deprived of oxygen. His gaze moved to the dome, which was riddled with cracks and holes. It wouldn't be long until it collapsed, and when it did, who knows what would attack them from the shadows. Alex phased through and appeared right in the middle of the island. The fiery red light between the plates of his armor shifted, becoming silvery white.

"Now or never," Alex said as he raised his hands. A ray of silvery light shot out from him, hitting the dome.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the dome repaired itself.

After such a feat, the light between the plates of Alex's armor disappeared, switching back to fiery red.

"This should hold until your priest wakes up," Alex said as he turned to the Harpers who were staring at him.

His gaze moved up to the sky, where a silvery moon hung. Despite it being the middle of the day, the moon bathed the dome in moonlight. He could already feel the depleted Selune magic inside him charging back up.

From the inn emerged an older elf woman. She was clutching her arm, which hung limply by her side. Her determined gaze met his, and she started to head towards him. A pair of wings grew from Alex's back, and he took off.

He landed not far away, next to a small hut on the edge of the road. Over a small stone fence, down below, dark waters of a river gently flowed. Over the other side, he could see the remnants of a stone mansion. Five poles arranged in a circular formation lit the area around the hut. Their flames burned ever bright despite the cursed encircling the area. A woman's eviscerated body lay in the middle of the formation.

Alex crouched to the ground as a dark claw passed through where his head would have been. He grabbed the claw, but it puffed into nothingness. Something started to laugh, its distorted laughter clawing at his ears. The sound came from all around Alex.

Emerging from the mist, at least a dozen shadows took shape, all resembling hounds. Their green eyes locked onto him, baring their black fangs. Alex raised his hand, forming a shield of light just in time to stop a shadow claw from touching him. The claw burned as it hit the shield infused with holy energy. He could hear a deep growl as the rest of the creature that attacked him revealed itself. It looked like a ghast but was bigger and formed from shadows, its claws glowing with a sickly green aura.

It pointed its claw at Alex, and all the shadow hounds leaped at him. Alex emitted a pulse of light, pushing the shadows away and killing the weakest ones.

Seeing its pets die must have angered the shadow ghast as it rushed Alex. Before it could strike, Alex raised his shield made of golden light and blocked the vicious attacks. The ghoul was enveloped by a golden fire . It didn't back way despite the fire eating away at its shadowy form , as it was lost in anger. Alex bashed the ghast away, the creature falling to the floor weakened by the divine flames. He raised his right hand, and a golden mace appeared in it. He brought the mace down with the wrath of the sun, destroying the ghast and creating a crater.

Alex raised his gaze and looked around. The hounds were no more. The death of their master made them flee. Alex walked to the woman and inspected her body. She was wearing a medallion with the emblem of the Absolute. After making sure she was not corrupted, he consumed her body.

She had been a wizard, favored by General Thorm, chosen of the Absolute.

"Finally," Alex sighed as the arcane knowledge settled into his mind.

...

Alex walked around the river's edge. He was heading to a nearby bridge that led to the remnants of Reithwin Town. Once a prosperous city under the leadership of Ketheric Thorm, it was now corrupted by the shadow curse. He chose to walk on foot instead of flying because the curse covering the city was the strongest, eating away at any source of light. Even with the holy magic and pixie blessing, he wasn't sure he could pass through the curse safely. He stepped inside a ruined stone building filled with vases. Quickly, he rolled to the side as a creature looking like an ape sick with leprosy tried to grab him, its clawed hand holding a garrote. "Those are Meazels," Alex thought, eyeing the angry creature. He could hear more howls around the small building as more ape monsters appeared from the shadows. Some even grabbed the vases lying around and started to throw them at Alex. Alex's arm shifted into a pair of claws, and he pounced on the closest Meazel, but before he could kill it, it disappeared, teleporting away.

"This is starting to piss me off."

Alex used his psionic power to link to the minds of all the creatures around him and then started to leech off their minds, strengthening himself. The creatures started to howl in pain, grabbing their heads. Alex phase-shifted around the room, killing every one of the Meazels.

"This place is a shithole," Alex said as he swung his claws, cleaning them of blood.