Chapter 209: Sinking (Patreon)

Pure luck had Coop returning to Corozal right before a suspicious figure ripped across the bay toward the outpost. If he had been an hour later, he would have arrived to find the town annihilated by a tidal wave.

Coop had taken responsibility for the four freed prisoners of the Voice of Kukulkan, and he was leading them through the Maya Lowlands toward the safety of the Corozal Outpost. Coop was perfectly happy to travel at their considerably slower pace because of the prominence of Ruin Nebulas in the region, and not necessarily because he wanted to protect the weakened survivors. Coop’s attention was split between the group and Presence of Mind’s constant stream of information on the surrounding environment.

A thin mist, like those that might briefly appear after an unusually cool night, had been drifting through the land along with the group. It was hardly noticeable outside of a few wisps that swirled within invisible breezes of air flowing along the contours of the jungle’s tree branches. The occasional burst of mist would rain down from the canopy in the distance as a phantasm leapt into existence and slashed through another of the Primal Construct, but Coop was always the only witness. The victims of the Priest were unaware of the battles that unfolded ahead of their path.

The spontaneous escort mission was doubling as a satisfying grind session for Coop. The four former prisoners explained a little of their experience after being captured, but Coop had already pieced together a better picture of the goals of the High Priests than they could. As far as they knew, they were simply being tortured until they gave in and joined the Cult, and as a result they intended to join the Jaguar Sun. Instead of letting them linger on their experience, he ended up telling them about some of his adventures throughout the Yucatan, mostly concerning the Primal Constructs rather than the Priests.

His progress as they walked and talked was such that he might have received another Slayer title before the group reached the protection of the outpost. The phantasms summoned by his Legacy of the Mists skill were making quick work of the regular monsters. He had already accumulated 336 out of the 11,111 necessary to complete the fifth and final stage of the quest chain before the grind was prematurely interrupted. The progress wasn’t quite halfway through the total requirement of kills, but it was close enough to leave him feeling satisfied.

About 50 miles down the peninsula, Amanda was leading Mikey B and the trio of formerly cursed Chosen, Cap, Grizz, and Dan, away from Corozal to confirm Coop’s mission and update him on the developments that had occurred in the town while he was away. Amanda’s Outrider class synergized with Dan’s mana guidance abilities and made them an extraordinarily potent search party. They hadn’t wavered from Coop’s trail, even across more than a hundred miles of tropical wilderness, and it wasn’t like he was leaving footsteps when he mistjumped across the region. They easily found him and his domain of drifting fog.

It hadn’t even been two whole days since Coop left, but in the interim Juliana had received a message from Tzultacaj that kicked off their war campaign and had them leaving Corozal with all of the fighters that had gathered in time. Things were escalating in Central America, and Coop’s companions deemed it necessary to let him know as soon as possible rather than wait for him to return. Coop’s role would be unchanged, as the Jaguar Sun aimed to let him roam as he pleased, and they expected their movement to stir up the Priests that had become so difficult to find. They would be stirring the nest, so to speak.

Coop left the survivors of the High Priest in the capable hands of Ghost Reef’s expanding scouting party once Amanda shared the news. He headed back on his own in order to touch base with Juliana before the war host got too far for him to catch.

The Jaguar Sun wasn’t beholden to an outsider like him in any way, but he found himself wishing they had consulted him before they made their move. When he left, the presumption was that they would be waiting several more days for Tzultacaj to physically return, at a minimum, leaving Coop with plenty of time to clean up the outermost Priests before the real war began. Apparently, that was no longer the case. The settlement event had prompted the stoic leader to kick things off without much delay.

He understood that they were essentially on a deadline with another settlement event approaching, and he had wanted them to pick up speed, but the fact that the High Priests weren’t even aware of the Jaguar Sun’s active presence seemed like an advantage that they could make use of. Coop was concerned that they might regret throwing away the element of surprise with a premature start. Coop wanted to inform Juliana ahead of time, and maybe she could spread word to Tzultucaj and the other leaders of the Jaguar Sun before it was too late to grasp the opportunity to strike where they weren’t expected.

It didn’t take long for Coop to cross the region when he wasn’t pacing himself. Shortly after leaving his companions behind, he was mistjumping high in the sky in his rush to arrive in Corozal. Each toss covered at least a mile and only took a bit more than a minute when considering flight time of his spear and the travel time of the mists. If he waited to land, planting his feet for the next throw, he could send the spear ten times as fast, but the reckless speed would have him losing his way after a single jump. As it was, the world was dancing between the monochromatic mists and regular daylight as Coop took a direct route back, flying high above the canopy. He only paused when abnormal behavior in the Caribbean Sea caught his attention.

A series of foamy water pillars had grown far in the distance, visible only due to the clear day and his elevated position. The pillars climbed toward the sky like the columns for an incomplete and glassy Parthenon, large enough to make an impression even when they were many miles offshore. For a second, Coop thought he had accidentally discovered Atlantis, but the columns crashed back down into the sea at unpredictable angles, at first toppling over, but ultimately driving themselves into the ocean like they were violently swatting at an elusive fly. More were erected just to crash into the water again and again.

A cloudless rain pelted the sea behind the pillars, but rather than a simple deluge of raindrops, the projectiles shot through the otherwise smooth surface like knives. There were no clouds to be seen, but the rain was thick enough to paint the horizon in a shade of gray that contrasted the greenish hues of the tropical sea, with water rising from the surface as much as it fell. Coop didn’t need to be familiar with this particular ocean to recognize the weather was completely bizarre.

The cylindrical beams of solid water were establishing an obstacle course of tumbling barriers. They fell in patterns, one after the other, clearly in an effort to trap something that Coop couldn’t see from the distance. Whatever it was, it darted back and forth, desperately trying to put space between itself and the abnormal weather formation. The rain chased, but was even slower than the beams. Occasionally, one of the columns would explode as if struck by a rocket, creating small gaps between splashing crashes, and Coop was able to track the progress of the water’s prey by following bursts of air as they formed dents in the ocean.

As the chaos drew closer to land, the appearance of the pillars slowed. Whatever they intended to catch had managed to evade them by entering shallower waters.

But the sea wasn’t done with its pursuit. Instead of continuing the same tactics, the ocean swelled while the rain continued. The rain piled water from the edges into the middle defying gravity to build its own tide. Coop thought the sea might pop as it climbed upwards, building a twenty mile wide bubble, but instead of exploding with a dramatic splash, it rolled forward, swamping the barrier islands with a massive curling wave before skimming straight across the bay toward Corozal. Riding behind the wave was the first hint of the actual culprit.

Witnessing the unnatural phenomenon had Coop anticipating another clash with a Siege Boss level enemy. Of all the monsters Coop had encountered, only the Icons of Mana and the Prime Construct had the potential to influence such an enormous area, but the culprit appeared to be a regular human woman with extreme control over the ocean. Coop was momentarily impressed and quickly confirmed a hunch, checking the leaderboards as gravity dragged him back down toward the forest.

Day 99

1. Ak-Hau (Level 449)

2. Coop (Level 187)

3. Hai Yun (Level 126)

4. Charlie Seraphin (Level 126)

5. Camila Alvarez (Level 126)

6. Reina Kitawa (Level 125)

7. Akari Kitawa (Level 125)

8. Banshee (Level 120)

9. Sila Tupua (Level 119)

10. Toby Jackman (Level 119)

Coop landed with a thump that kicked up a cloud of dirt, still miles north of Corozal. He was already resummoning his spear into the ethereal equivalent of a ballistic missile as he reviewed the leaderboard. Ak-Hau had been on the leaderboards before, though she was never at the top. Even among her compatriots she had been overshadowed by Ix-Hau at her peak, but now she was highlighting the extent of her progress, taking over the top 10 with the largest accumulation of levels yet. Their presence at the first spot couldn’t be a coincidence when timed with the assault on Corozal. Coop couldn’t think of an excuse to hold back. Even if it was a case of mistaken identity, attacking his outpost would require payback.

Coop wouldn’t need perfect accuracy to strike a wave that stretched so wide it blocked the entire eastern horizon. He didn’t need tens of thousands of practice throws to hit such a large target, but all the experience he had gathered over the months wouldn’t hurt. When he stepped into the throw, he tried to aim in the area of the presumed High Priestess. Whether his opponent was ready or not, the fight was on.

The ethereal spear shot from the forest, bending trees as it rose into a low arc across the sky. Coop’s spear wasn’t as heavy as his bunker busters. Instead, he had opted to keep it light enough to move fast after being propelled by his own Strength. He was aiming to make a big splash in a wall of water rather than penetrate a tempered material. A lower trajectory and higher speed felt right.

The ethereal spear maintained its velocity, screaming through the air, until it reached the target, shooting from the forest as if there was a hidden missile platform obscured deep within the trees. It smashed into the wave, sending white water back in the direction it came from. The spear successfully carved a wide gap in the wall and continued flying.

Coop sought to take advantage of the sudden chaos that he created, dropping his shield on the ground where he stood while he mistjumped to his spear. He would go for the kill right away, even if it meant leaping into a poor position, literally in the sea.

His spear had struck the wave right in front of the High Priestess and the resulting explosion of water had sent the cultist flailing backwards. The wave followed her lead, crashing in on itself. Corozal wouldn’t go unscathed, but it wouldn’t be a city ending tidal wave that breached the sea wall. Instead, they would be swamped by the rising tide of a storm surge.

Coop reappeared from the mists that formed around his spear while it skimmed the newly turbulent ocean and identified his target, already anticipating that he would find a level 449 Oathsworn Human.

[Oathsworn Human (Level 449)]

[Tidesinger (Intelligence)]

[Chosen of the Wen Dwellers]

[Rain, Water (Dynamo)]

Coop confirmed his suspicions. His feet were crashing into the water when he rethrew his spear directly at the bewildered High Priestess, engaging all of his upper body Strength with a clear intent to kill and the resulting bloodlust leaking into his aura.

“Agh!” The Priest shouted as Coop splashed into the water himself.

A column of water rose in the path of the spear, 20 feet in diameter, and when the projectile collided with the surface of the still rising beam, it smashed straight through. Coop noted that the column was in fact as solid as stone, despite flowing like liquid, but it was no match for the raw Strength he put behind his throws. An actual stone pillar would have been pulverized as well.

The pillar manifestation was similar to his mists, utilizing a different base that was associated with the caster’s mana affinity to imitate other materials. Coop thought they were easy enough to understand considering the similarities with his own summoned abilities.

When the spear smashed through the column, the High Priestess had no more time left to react. The tip of the spear shot into her right shoulder and she spun backwards with her exclamation of surprise transforming into a shriek of pain. She hadn’t expected her pillar to be completely overcome by the awkward falling throw that Coop had managed in the split second between appearing and falling into the water.

In contrast to Coop, who would be forced to swim, the Priestess was able to firmly stand on the ocean as if it was solid ground, but she stumbled backwards with the spear extending from her body until she lost her footing and splashed into the water herself.

The Priestess sank like a rock, quickly disappearing into the depths, and Coop mistjumped again, intending to finish the intruder off with a quickswap and a melee attack underwater. His spear was lodged in the woman’s shoulder, meaning Coop would be upon her in an instant. However, when he left the monochromatic world of mists, he reappeared with his grip on the spear, fully submerged, with the Priestess nowhere to be found. He was surrounded by nothing but empty blue water.

Coop let some bubbles escape his nose as he was surprised by the change in setting. It didn’t seem like something had gone wrong with his own ability. The spell didn’t fizzle and if it had failed, he would have expected to simply have the spear return to him. There had been a risk that his mistjump wouldn’t work when the destination was in the water, but that wasn’t how it failed. Instead, he was already extremely deep in the water - too deep considering he believed he was in Corozal Bay. The water pressed on him from all sides, and the pressure in his sinuses was only relieved when he quickly equalized his ears. He blinked in the salty water, orienting himself as he sought the cultist. He was alone and probably close to 200 meters deep.

It was like he was falling in slow motion, unanchored by gravity, but pulled by the whims of invisible, unstoppable currents. Above, the choppy waves scattered the rays of sunlight, but none of them reached down to his depth. A cloud of bubbles that had been trapped by Coop’s armor fled back to the surface, leaving him completely and utterly isolated. The world seemed too far away when sinking into the vast deep, and he unconsciously reached a single hand up toward the surface as if he might grasp the tiny marble of fading sunlight and fight the current.

A rapidly darkening blue was the only feature of the ocean around Coop. The temperature had dropped and the pressure was enough that it would have been catastrophic if Coop wasn’t reinforced by mana. There was no sign of the High Priestess except for the small cloud of blood drifting away from the speartip, colored black because of the depth. Below, a suffocating darkness almost seemed to expand up toward Coop as it prepared to inevitably swallow him.

Coop was unconcerned with being dragged down as the invisible currents pressed against him, sinking him into colder and colder waters. What concerned him was how easily the High Priestess evaded him. Coop thought he had the woman as good as dead.

Before he mistjumped back to the solid ground where he had abandoned his shield, enacting the escape plan that had given him the confidence to commit to his attack, movement caught his eye, coming from above. Coop hesitated, hoping it was the Priestess, but instead a small tropical bird shot through the fathomless deep as if propelled by a jet engine, trailing a stream of bubbles, before approaching him. The emerald green feathers were washed out as the light faded with the depth, making them seem more gray than anything. He inspected its aura, wondering if a confused Chosen animal had taken a dive.

[Human (Level 111)]

[Cloud Dancer (Agility)]

[Zephyr (Slayer)]

Coop let another burst of bubbles escape as he was confused by the strange aura the tiny bird revealed. They were too high level to be one of the crossroad warriors, so they must have been with the Jaguar Sun. At least he was pretty confident they weren’t another foe, but he didn’t understand what they were doing.

When the bird got close enough, it circled him once, then twice, before it wrapped them both in a pocket of swirling air, inundated with bubbles. The bird then dove into the vortex and exploded in a cloud of mana before transforming into a young woman that was gasping for breath with the effort of a long swim. They were both inside something that resembled a pocket of air, but continued to sink with the current that had been pulling Coop deeper.

“Uh, thanks?” Coop searched for an appropriate thing to say, bewildered by the unexpected company. “But who are you? And what are you doing here?”

She had bright red eyeshadow thickly painted around her eyes like warpaint that streaked from the corners toward her hairline. Green and red feathers were woven into her long, honey colored hair. The loose waves were much lighter than her tanned skin, and she looked beaten, with dozens of scrapes and bruises. The bubble was small enough that Coop was practically sitting in her lap.

“I am a fool, obviously.” She declared, not helping with Coop’s confusion. “It was stupid of you to challenge a High Priest so brazenly, and it was stupid of me to try and save you.” She scowled at him. “Why not face her along with the rest of the Jaguars? Did you think you would become the next hero?” She shook her head in disappointment. “And now we are both caught within the domain I tried so desperately to avoid.” She looked down and nodded for Coop to do the same.

Just as Coop looked, his foot hit a solid crystalline surface next to an abandoned fishing rod and piles of other debris. The air vortex dissipated, no longer protecting them from the depths. A wave of blue light expanded from his toes, revealing an underwater cathedral of compressed water.

“The High Priest’s Stronghold.” The girl proclaimed. “We are dead.”