Nightmare Realm Summoner

May knew that her dad was dead.

She knew the sound of a gunshot. She knew the sound of life leaving a body. She knew the color old, well-loved wallpaper turned when it was splattered with blood.

That wasn't for a lack of trying. May didn't want to know. She wanted nothing more than to wipe the memories from her mind, and that desire filled her with shame that burned her throat and clawed at the back of her eyes like a caged beast.

She would never get another memory with her family again, and she wanted to wipe some of the few that remained away.

But that was impossible. Perhaps it was a mercy, or perhaps it was a curse. She didn't know which. It didn't matter.

Her dreams reminded her whenever she tried to forget.

That gunshot rang in her ears again and again, ripping her from her restless dreams and sending her bolting upright in the middle of the night; her aching heart pounding like it was trying to rip itself free from her chest. The world had ended with that gunshot, and every sense of peace and normalcy had gone with it.

May wanted to cry. She wanted to throw herself to the ground and scream and sob and tear at the dirt until her fingers bled. Until someone fixed the world — but she couldn't do any of that.

Aaron had tried so hard to keep her from finding everything out. He hadn't been particularly good at it, but he'd done everything in his power to protect her. It was all he could do. And all May could do was pretend that it was working.

Because if they couldn't have that, then they had nothing at all.

It was the only victory they could try to claim over the System. They weren't strong enough to fight back. They couldn't change the past and they couldn't control the future. All they could do was pretend.

And then the snake monster had attacked their camp.

May could still taste the ash on her tongue. She'd been scared beyond words. Every single fiber in her body trembled in terror — but the tears hadn't come.

She'd desperately clawed at the tiny amount of power she had.

She'd watched it do nothing.

The game was over.

And then Alex had arrived. His army of twisted, warped creatures had torn through the monsters trying to kill everyone. They'd ripped their attackers to shreds and left nothing but death in their wake.

It had been gruesome.

It had been beautiful.

It had been power, and May wanted it.

Alex wasn't scared of the apocalypse. He didn't have to wonder if every single day would be his last. Even the people like Abby, the ones that were supposed to know about what was happening, had been scared.

But not him. May could have sworn that he'd looked excited during parts of the fight.

And now that she stood in a field of brilliant blue grass and stared into the brilliant swirls of purple and red smoke meandering through the sky, she knew why.

The world was beautiful — but not for everyone. Only the strong got to witness that. Everyone else never got a chance. They just died running or hiding or begging for mercy that would never come.

May dragged her gaze down from the painted sky. Alex was saying something, but she could barely hear him. Her eyes affixed on a scattered forest stretching all around them. Lonesome, gray-barked trees stretched into the sky. Their branches were gangly and twisted like the fingers of an old witch, bearing no leaves upon them. Screaming faces locked in expressions of agony pressed up against the bark from within.

Bile welled in May's stomach. Fear ignited in her chest. Her heart pounded and she took a step back.

That's not what trees are supposed to look like.

A hand landed on her shoulder.

May glanced up, surprised to find Orchid looking down at her. The woman didn't say anything. She just glanced to her staff.

"Is that… from one of these trees?" May asked quietly.

Orchid nodded.

"Everything here can kill you," Orchid said. There wasn't any compassion in the woman's words. They were simply the truth. "Fear is not something to be ignored. Your instincts will protect you. But if you cannot control them, then they will control you."

"How?" May whispered.

"By becoming strong. We stand in a wretched place called the Mirrorlands. It is considered the vilest, most twisted place in every galaxy. It is a living nightmare. And when you look around with that knowledge, what do you feel?"

"Scared," May said, forcing the word from her lips and hating the way it tasted.

"Now look at him," Orchid said, turning her gaze to Alex. "What do you see?"

Alex was midway through a conversation with the others. He shifted from foot to foot, his fingers tapping against his thigh. His gaze scanned the sparse forest around them. Not in concern, but anticipation.

"He wants to do this."

"Because he has taken power for himself," Orchid said. "And when you control your own fate, you do not have to obey your instincts. They become yours."

"I know that. He's strong. But I'm not. How do I become strong?"

"By killing," Orchid said. "By pushing yourself to the limit and staring death in the eyes. If you want to defeat monsters, then you have to become one. You are young. Even for my family, we do not start true training this early. We normally wait until the fourteenth year for that."

May's hands clenched at her sides. Her teeth ground against each other and her jaw ached. "I'm going to train. You can't stop me. Monsters aren't going to leave me alone because I'm not as old as you are. I don't want to be weak anymore."

"What class do you possess? You can check the System by—"

"I know how to check it," May said. "It's called Snapcaster."

Orchid's head tilted to the side. She studied her for several long seconds. May met the strange woman's gaze. The urge to blink or swallow burned at her but May refused its call. That would have felt like she was giving in.

If I have to look away from someone staring at me, then how can I protect anything?

"I am aware of that class," Orchid said slowly. "It is not an easy one to master. Your magic is very fast, but it is not powerful. Most magic-based classes have immense destructive ability and can stay far away from the fight. You will not have that privilege. Snapcasters have to be close to the fight. You will need to be faster than your opponents. Why did you choose that class?"

May's ears reddened and she averted her gaze. "The other ones didn't have magic."

To her surprise, Orchid didn't laugh. May glanced back in time to see Orchid finishing a nod of understanding.

"The hunger for magic is a desire known to all. I am no stranger to it. If you can survive long enough to earn a class advancement, then you will have an opportunity to change your path. But that means you must fight harder than many others in your place. It will not be easy."

"I can do it."

Orchid's lips twitched in amusement. "A childish answer. One from someone that does not understand what they commit to. But you will."

"Orchid," Alex said, approaching her. "Did you hear what the plan for the groups—"

"I will take the girl," Orchid said. "She is a mage. I am suited to train her. Two Outworlders may accompany me."

"Sure. That works," Alex said with a shrug. "Aaron, Abby, you'll be with Claire. Claire will take everyone else. We aren't going to be going far. Just back in the direction of the camp."

"The camp isn't in this world, is it?" Abby asked with a frown as she glanced over her shoulder.

"It might be," Alex replied. "There should be something. This place is kind of a reflection of the real world. Not to say it isn't real, mind you. It's just… weird. You'll see soon enough. Either way — we've split into groups, but don't wander off. Mirrorlands monsters are more dangerous than the ones on earth, so let Claire, Orchid and I handle anything that's too strong to even try fighting. Everything else will be all you."

Jake, a blonde twenty-year old guy from the campsite with a short sword at his side, frowned. "You're not going to help?"

"That would reduce the challenge," Alex said. "I'll interfere if the fight is impossible, but you can't expect us to step in every time or your rewards will be a lot less and you won't advance anywhere near as fast as you need to. We're up against a monster even more powerful than the Field Boss. If you take things easy here, you'll be dead when the Region Boss rolls around."

Everyone exchanged grim looks.

"On we go," Claire said cheerfully. "The monsters aren't going to kill themselves and we don't have all day. There's a lot of practice to be done."

***

"That," Orchid said, pointing at a wicked looking, black-feathered bird perched in the branches of one of the twisted trees, "is your target."

May stared up at it, unease welling in her stomach. The monster had talons the length of bananas and bloody red eyes like a demon. It was easily four feet tall and its beak curved, ending in a razor-sharp point.

Blackfeather Reaper (Novice 6)

"That?" May asked in horror, her voice little more than a hushed whisper. "I'm Novice 2!"

"It's the weakest monster we've seen so far," Orchid said. "And you invested some energy into your body, yes?"

"It made the bowl in my Mind Palace less crappy," May muttered.

"Then you are already faster than you believe. Go. Remember not to let up. Your magic is weak, but you are not using it correctly. Attack quickly and relentlessly. Do not get hit. For now, focus on using the lightning magic I saw you use earlier. Do not split your attention to the new abilities you earned in meditation."

She makes it sound so easy.

May swallowed heavily. Her heart pounded desperately in her chest. It joined her brain in screaming at her to turn away. May ignored their panicked warnings and stepped forward.

She lifted her hands and took aim at the bird. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she yanked on the churning energy inside her chest. Electricity crackled at her fingertips and a thin bolt of lightning zipped out, striking the bird in the chest, scorching its feathers.

The monster let out a furious screech. Terror exploded through May as it leapt from the branch it was perched on, eyes affixing on her in an instant. Its enormous wings snapped out, more than doubling its size as it dove.

May froze in place. She couldn't tear her eyes away from those of the monster. Fear slammed into her skull like a pounding hammer. Her legs wouldn't move. Panic exploded through her mind.

No!

She yanked herself to the side at the last second, staggering and stumbling over her own feet. The bird streaked through the air where she'd been a moment before, its claws raking through nothing.

A flicker of surprise broke through May's terror. She'd dodged the attack — but there was no time to celebrate. The bird spun back toward her.

She sent another blast of lightning streaking into the monster.

It screeched and leapt for her in a black blur. May threw herself to the side, hitting the ground with a pained grunt. This time, she wasn't fast enough to avoid the monster completely. A talon caught her shoulder and raked across it, sending agony exploding through her body.

May cried out and furiously thrust her hand in the bird's direction. She sent a blast of lightning zipping free. It missed its target entirely. Her second and third shots didn't. The bird's wings flapped as it shook itself off, only to catch another blast straight between the eyes.

Screeching in anger, the monster leapt at May.

She thrust her hands forward, thrusting all the power she had into the biggest blast of lightning she could muster.

It zipped through the air and collided with the bird's chest. Feathers curled and burned away, but the monster's charge didn't stop. Her magic wasn't strong enough.

Victory flashed in the bird's eyes as its claws slashed down, aiming for May's face. She didn't have time to dodge again. May's stomach dropped and she desperately tried to scramble back, but it was too late. There was no time to —

The bird jerked to the side. It slammed into the ground an instant later, leaving a puff of feathers fluttering through the air behind it. A shard of ice impaled its skull and pinned it to the ground.

A wave of energy rushed into May's stomach. Her back stiffened and she drew in a sharp breath of surprise.

"I told you to keep moving," Orchid said. "You stopped."

"I thought I could—"

"You are a Snapcaster," Orchid snapped, rapping May on the top of the head with her staff. "Your magic is not strong. It is fast. You are not strong. You must be fast. That was greedy, and you have died because of it."

May sniffled. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Orchid said. "Get up. Next time, dodge."

May wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. She pushed herself up, the throbbing pain in her shoulder biting into her thoughts — and yet, at the same time, it seemed to focus them. Her jaw set.

"I will."

"Good," Orchid said. She glanced to the side, where the other people in their group were squaring up against monsters of their own, then nodded and returned her attention to May. "Then we will find your next opponent."