Heart of the Void: Sosaku Online - Book 2 Read online

  Heart of the Void

  Sosaku Online - Book 2

  J. Arthur Klein

  Copyright © 2021 John Klein

  All rights reserved.

  This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, game systems, monsters, religions, grammar, mythologies, nightmares, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  To my wonderful wife, whose everlasting support and patience continue to astound me. You are my bedrock and my guiding light.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  Appendix–Kheph Sa’tep Character

  Author’s Notes

  About The Author

  The LitRPG Guild

  LitRPG

  More LitRPG Groups

  LitRPG Marketplace

  1

  Being crushed to death by a blood magic fueled tsunami was definitely not something I ever expected to experience when I first logged in to Sosaku Online. But there I was, once again a first-class passenger on the dead bus. Next stop: The Land of the Dead.

  As the crimson sands of the Saa afterlife took form around me, it was as if some notification dam had broken and released a flood of text across my vision.

  *** THE WORLD EVENT (FROM THE DEEP) IS COMPLETE! ***

  *** The world has changed. Simultaneous attacks on the coastal cities of both Kor and Orva by the unknown foe have resulted in massive casualties and destruction. Who are these invaders? What do they want? And who will stand against them? ***

  *** WELCOME TO SOSAKU ONLINE—DEEP TIDES ***

  *** Many updates have been made to the server in preparation for this launch and are now active server wide: ***

  *** 1) The xp rewards for various monsters have been normalized across the continents. Creatures of similar ability should now have the same base xp rewards assigned to them, regardless of geographical location. ***

  *** 2) The scaling algorithms for monster xp have been updated to include a static scale based on the difference between character level and monster level. Monsters more than 5 levels below the character’s level will no longer grant xp, and bonus experience for defeating an opponent of higher level has been capped at five times the base experience of the monster. A party’s average level will be used when calculating the experience received by the group. ***

  ***3) Due to numerous complaints about notifications interfering with the enjoyment of the game, all experience and skill gains will now take place at the end of each encounter. In addition to this, multiple instances of the same experience message will be consolidated into a single entry. ***

  ***4) The calculations used to determine the minimum respawn time for players have been updated to be more logical. All characters under level ten will have a base respawn time of ten minutes. After level ten, the respawn time will change to one minute per character level. ***

  ***5) The “Weakened Spirit” condition (Death Debuff) will follow the same formula as respawn time. This debuff is applied upon respawn in the mortal realm. ***

  ***6) New content dungeon bosses will now include an encounter reset feature. Upon the death of all party members, or no party members being within the encounter zone for five minutes, the entire encounter will reset. ***

  ***7) Skills that scale along with the level of the player will now have notifications associated with them when the player reaches a new tier in power. ***

  **8) Restrictions on live streaming have been removed. However, this is an immersive game and as such, behavior that would break immersion will result in revocation of this privilege on a case-by-case basis. In addition, some restrictions on recording in alternate realms have been reduced. ***

  ***9) Some restrictions on private messages have been lifted to allow players to communicate when outside of combat regardless of geographical location. ***

  *** End of Updates ***

  *** Achievement Awarded: Defender of the Wall! You stood firm and answered the call to defend the Saa Empire against unknown foes! ***

  *** You have gained reputation with all Saa factions! ***

  *** Quest Completed: Defend the City! ***

  *** Your party has gained 5000xp! ***

  *** You have gained 20 Divine Favor! ***

  *** You have gained reputation with all Saa factions! ***

  *** Congratulations you have reached Level 11! ***

  *** You have gained 2 Combat Skill Points. ***

  *** You have gained 2 Divine Skill Points. ***

  *** You have gained 2 General Skill Points. ***

  *** You have gained 16 maximum Hit Points. ***

  *** You have gained 20 maximum Mana. ***

  *** You have gained 8 maximum Stamina. ***

  As I finished reading through the wall of notifications and celebrating gaining a new level, I caught a glimpse of a mangled human face at the edge of my vision.

  Cursing, I jumped away, instinctively using my Child of the Underworld class skill that let me travel freely within the Saa afterlife to get some distance.

  I turned back to the road and raised my spear, but there was nothing there. A few seconds later a new spirit appeared along the road, dressed in the livery of the Sehkem city guard. A very pissed off expression crossed his face as he stepped forward and disappeared.

  Spirit after spirit appeared on the path, representing the full gamut of Saa players. Dressed in heavy armor, robes, or sometimes nothing at all, they appeared for maybe a second before continuing on their way.

  There were going to be a lot of angry players with what just happened. Sehkem was royally hosed, and I was pretty sure that anyone who was still in the city when the wave hit was on their way to respawn as well. I had no clue what would happen to the NPCs, but I hoped the ladies at the Plucky Goose had made it somewhere safe.

  I turned away from the “new arrivals” area and let my eyes take in the view. The Land of the Dead was still one of the most beautiful landscapes I had ever seen. Rolling dunes of crimson sand stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, and up above was a perfectly clear, starlit sky.

  Taking a deep breath, I gathered my will and pictured the one structure I knew of in this zone: the place where I had encountered the Saa god of death and been chosen to be his Acolyte. The Temple of the Restless Dead.

  That image firm in my mind, I activated my skill once again and disappeared in a small whirlwind of sand.

&
nbsp; I arrived at the entrance to the temple and stepped back, eyes wide. When I had first found this place, the only part of the temple visible above the sand was the entryway. But now almost the entire face of the temple was uncovered.

  I wondered how long it would be until the temple was visible from the pathway that Saa players took between their spawn point and the Gates of Death on their way to respawn.

  The inside of the temple was in much better shape too, and even the small piles of sand that had been present when I was raised to Adept rank were gone. Some of the previously faded and worn stone hieroglyphs were regaining some of their coloration and form as well.

  All thoughts of the aesthetics went right out the window when I glanced at the altar and saw Anpu there, using its surface to support himself as he rubbed at his temples in obvious pain.

  Eyes still closed, he raised a hand and beckoned me forward. “Ah, Kheph. It is good that you are here. There is much to discuss, much to do, and little time to waste.”

  “My lord, you requested I bring you information on the invaders…” I said, but the god shook his head and I fell silent.

  “Your previous mission is no longer of import,” he said with a wave. “We are well aware of the nature of the invaders, although I am still confused as to how they managed to avoid our detection before launching their attack.”

  *** Quest Canceled: Gathering Information ***

  *** The source of this quest has determined that it is no longer of use. Partial experience will be rewarded. ***

  *** You have gained 200xp ***

  Anpu continued, “We must act quickly before they are able to capitalize on the chaos they have wrought.”

  He opened his eyes and gazed into mine, and for an instant I got a glimpse of somewhere else, a gigantic set of scales with a line of souls crowded before it, stretching into the darkness as far as the eye could see.

  “So many spirits,” the god said. “More in a single hour than we normally see in a year. It is almost too much to handle.”

  He shook his head and then looked me dead in the eye. “Listen closely, as the return of the Kchil is something that cannot be ignored.”

  The lord of the underworld continued, “In the early days of this world, before the birth of the mortal races, and even before we gods came into our full power, the physical world was ruled over by the Primordials. They ruled unopposed for millennia, creating and destroying as their whims demanded.”

  “Over time they grew tired of their constant war, and most went to sleep, their consciousnesses fading into oblivion. As the world settled, we gods grew in power and created the mortal races. Some created slaves to serve them, some created children to nurture, and some created beings just to see what they could do. The first cities were established, and with the worship of the mortals, we grew even stronger.”

  I nodded and listened intently as he spoke, “One of the Primordials, Kchil’ik the Devourer, sensed our growing might and roused itself from its slumber. Kchil’ik was driven to destroy, to devour all things and break them down into the primordial chaos from which it was born, and the sight of all of the order we had wrought during its slumber enraged it.”

  “It struck hard and fast, destroying city after city as it tore a path of devastation across the land. Entire pantheons of gods were devoured along with their people, leaving barren wastelands in place of once fertile ground. Watching our divine cousins slaughtered by the raging Primordial, the remaining pantheons put aside their differences and joined together to oppose the Devourer.”

  “Many were lost during the ensuing battle, but in the end we were victorious. We subdued the Primordial but found ourselves with another problem. The Primordials are a part of this reality. To destroy one would be to unravel existence, so we were forced to use… another solution.”

  “Much like the stories of your Pharaoh’s tales of the fate of Asah, we tore Kchil’ik into pieces and split them amongst the survivors. The pieces were spread throughout the world, the distance diminishing their power and ensuring the survival of our peoples.”

  I raised an eyebrow at that and began to respond, but was silenced with a pointed look. “Kchil’ik’s followers were all killed, or so we thought. But it seems that we were not as thorough in our purge as we had believed. Some remnants of the Devourer’s cult must have survived in hiding and have now returned. Arven’s Folly has been sacked, and with its loss the Devourer’s followers have gotten their hands on the torso of their previous master.”

  A chill passed through me at the thought of those fishmen with even more power.

  Anpu seemed to sense my thoughts and nodded. “We had thought it safely stored within the vaults under the Quetzl’s ancient temples, but my cousin Mictlantecuhtli now reports that some time in the past decade a Karillian tomb raider infiltrated its resting place and stole the object at the behest of one of the merchant syndicates.”

  The stone of the altar began to crack under the god’s grip. “Now we are in a race against destruction. The enemy’s initial strike has put us on the back foot. We must recover and secure the rest of Kchil’ik’s remains before its followers can do so.”

  Anpu stepped forward and tapped me on the forehead. New doors opened in my mind, revealing details of the Saa Empire’s true history that I was pretty certain had been purged from the written records of the current world.

  *** Congratulations! You have become more proficient with Lore (Saa Religion)! Rank 11 Achieved! ***

  Before the Saa Empire was unified under Pharaoh Ketem the First, Sehkem was the home of the temple of Aset, the queen of the Saa pantheon. Her temple was built over the tomb of her husband, Asah, who was murdered by the Devourer’s forces.

  When Ketem began his war of conquest, Sehkem was the first to fall. His claims to divine providence meant little while those who shared the blood of Asah and Aset still drew breath.

  Her temple and the connected tomb were swallowed up by the new temple that Ketem raised in honor of his own divine ancestor, Heru-et.

  I blinked, processing the new information as Anpu spoke, “Return to Sehkem, access the temple of Aset, and find the entrance to Asah’s tomb. Within the main sarcophagus is not the body of Asah as the Pharaohs would have you believe, but the Heart of Kchil’ik. Obtain the heart and bring it to me.”

  *** Quest Received: Heart of the Void***

  *** Anpu, Lord of the Underworld has charged you with retrieving the Heart of Kchil’ik from within the Tomb of Asah in Sehkem. The Tomb is forbidden to all but the Pharaonic line, so entry may be of issue. ***

  *** Criteria: ***

  *** Find a way to enter the Tomb of Asah [0/1] ***

  *** Obtain the Heart of Kchil’ik from the Tomb [0/1] ***

  *** Return the Heart of Kchil’ik to Anpu at the Temple of the Restless Dead [0/1] ***

  *** Rewards: xp, reputation with the Saa Pantheon ***

  I bowed my head. “As you command, my lord.”

  Anpu locked his eyes onto mine and I felt myself trapped in the star fields that were his eyes. “Make haste,” he said. “The Devourer’s followers may already be in the area, so be vigilant. These cultists that seek to restore Kchil’ik are in some ways worse that those who would enslave the soul, for at least those shackled by necromancy can be freed. If Kchil’ik returns, there will be nothing left.”

  *** Skill Update: All abilities that previously applied to Undead only will now also affect those touched by Kchil’ik as if they were Undead. Divine Favor will be rewarded appropriately for actions performed in opposition to Kchil’ik. ***

  Anpu waved his hand and I found myself standing before the Gates of Death, still reeling from the information he had just dumped on me. An ancient cult was trying to put evil humpty dumpty back together again, and it was up to me to stop it. No pressure.

  There was still some time remaining until my timer was up and I could respawn, and I had absolutely no idea where that would be.

  When the tsunami had crashed through Seh
kem it had destroyed my spawn point, and there was a message about the system assigning a random location. For all I knew, that could be anywhere in the world.

  I hoped the system wouldn’t spit me out too far from where I’d died. I really didn’t want to have to slog across the entire continent to get back to Sehkem. Not to mention the possibility of being separated from Kjara.

  Trying not to panic, I distracted myself by opening up my character sheet and reading through my stats.

  I’d just reached level eleven and had some points burning holes in my pocket, and it was becoming pretty evident to me that my hoarding strategy was sub-optimal.

  CHARACTER STATISTICS

  Name:Kheph Sa’tep

  Race:Human, Saa (Awakened)

  Class:Priest of Anpu

  Level:11Awakened Rank: 2

  Experience: 34930/38250

  Hit Points: 452/452

  Mana: 460/460

  Endurance: 311/311

  Divine Favor: 41

  Attributes (Modifier):

  --Strength (+1):14 (+3)

  --Agility (+1):11 (+1)

  --Constitution (+3):16 (+4)

  --Intelligence:12 (+2)

  --Wisdom:13 (+2)

  --Presence (+1):20 (+6)

  --Fortune:12 (+2)

  Racial Skills:

  --Child of the Sun

  --Martial Training

  --Son of the Sun

  --Aspect of War

  --Aspect of Light

  Class Skills:

  --Blessing of the Gods

  --Divine Blessing

  --Temple Training

  --Child of the Underworld

  Boons and Blessings:

  --Unknown Origins - Blood of the Gods (Awakened)