Nightmare Realm Summoner

Quite some distance from Bleak Night’s auction, Teddy woke up face-down on a marble table with a nasty crick in his back. The chair he was sitting in really didn’t have nearly as much back support as it should have. For some reason, the general concept of ergonomics hadn’t quite managed to permeate its way through the Empty Court — or any other part of the Infinium, for that matter.

Everyone seemed to be more than happy sitting in fancy stone chairs that provided absolutely no comfort whatsoever. Maybe it was because they all thought that their System-enhanced bodies didn’t need nice, cushy chairs. Perhaps they didn’t. But Teddy did.

He rubbed at his side as he sat up. He’d been lying around for too long. The auction had taken longer than he’d expected. Bleak Night had really gone all out. Most of the stuff they’d sold had been little more than garbage, but given the state of the world at the moment, he really couldn’t complain too much.

“You took your sweet time, Stargazer.” A rough voice echoed through the white marble room.

Teddy glanced in its direction. Sitting at the far end of the table, his chair kicked back precariously and legs propped up on the table, was a man with slender features and a slightly too-wide mouth. He almost resembled a snake. Thin lines traveled down his pale white skin, running all the way down to his fingernails.

“I was busy. You can’t rush these things. They require a gentle hand,” Teddy replied. He glanced down at his watch.“And I’m right on time, I’ll have you know. Actually have a few minutes to spare before your request goes unanswered for too long.”

“You said it would take between one and six hours. It took nearly six.”

“That is, in fact, within the time limit I set,” Teddy said. He adjusted his glasses and blew out a small breath. “But somehow, I suspect that argument is wasted on you, Rex.”

“It’s wasted,” the thin man said with a cold smile. “Don’t you ever worry that people are going to start thinking that you enjoy yanking them around if you keep this up.”

“No,” Teddy said. He pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, reaching behind his head in the same motion to pull his hair back into a ponytail. “There aren’t that many things in life I worry about anymore. Random people is certainly not one of them. But for the sake of both of our time — let’s get this over with. What do you want, Rex?”

“You know what I’m here for,” the thin man said as he let his chair fall back to its proper place with a loud thud. He rose to his feet. “To challenge you. You said you’d take me on today.”

“I did do that,” Teddy said. He pursed his lips. “But I’m on a schedule today. Things to do. People to see. Worlds to burn. You know how it is.”

Rex let out a dry laugh. “I can see why the Empty Court let you in. Arrogant little bastard. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re made of.”

“I highly doubt you’ll enjoy finding out,” Teddy replied. “Are you ready?”

Rex blinked — two sets of eyelids closing in from the sides, like those of a reptile. “What? Here?”

“I don’t recall seeing anything about size or location limits about challenges,” Teddy said. “And it’s a win-win. It saves me the time of going all the way to the arena for a fight that lasts a few seconds, and it saves you the embarrassment of the very same thing.”

Rex glared at Teddy. “You’re not going to make many friends like this, Stargazer. I won’t deny that you’ve got potential. The Empty Court never lets Nativeworlders join so quickly. But don’t you think you’re a bit too arrogant? A man is only as strong as those he surrounds himself with. And I don’t see anyone standing with you.”

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“But you are standing across from me. That is close enough,” Teddy replied with a shrug. “Now, I really wasn’t joking about the time limit. Are you going to insist we waste our time going to the arena? Or shall we do this here? Because we can save a lot of time and effort on both of our parts if we do the latter.”

“Just don’t forget the rules,” Rex said through a hiss. He reached behind his back, drawing free two curved daggers with sickly green runes shimmering along their length. “If you accidentally damage anything, it’s your ass.”

“I appreciate the concern,” Teddy said. He snuck a glance at his watch. “It will not be necessary.”

“Right, you little smartass,” Rex said. He lowered his stance. “Let’s do this. Time to finally see what it is you’re capable of. On your call.”

Teddy truly paused at that. It was the first thing that Rex had said during their entire conversation that had actually drawn more than passing interest from him. “My call? You sure about that?”

“Your call,” Rex repeated. He grinned, pressing a clenched fist to his chest. “I’m your senior. It wouldn’t be right for me to take the first move. I’m a lot of things, but a rat isn’t one of them.”

“How kind. I’ve never been one to interrupt someone when they’ve made a mistake,” Teddy said. He inclined his head slightly. “So I’ll thank you for the kindness. Are you prepared?”

Rex’s lips pulled back. “I’m ready. Are you?”

“Yes,” Teddy said. “Let’s begin.”

Then he flicked his hand.

The air around Rex shimmered in a faint haze.

The man’s lizardlike eyes widened. But, before he could react, he abruptly accelerated upward.

An astral blue portal snapped into being just below the ceiling. Rex shot straight into it, unable to utter so much as a word.

Then the portal snapped back shut.

“I believe that counts as a departure from the battlegrounds,” Teddy said to thin air. He glanced at his watch. He was still on schedule. That meant he could do things properly. He let several seconds pass. “I do believe that leaving the premises for more than a minute prior to the conclusion of a fight counts as a loss.”

Nobody answered him.

Teddy waited all the same. Seconds slipped by.

A minute passed.

Then he turned on his heel. Without another word, he strode over to the door and pulled it open, stepping out into a huge hallway carved from the same white marble as the room behind him. Elegant statues of ancient warriors rose, their immense forms seemingly holding the sky aloft.

A huge man leaned against the wall to Teddy’s side. He was well over 8 feet tall and — somehow — nearly equally as wide. It was a minor miracle that his tailored silken clothes actually managed to look somewhat loose and baggy on him. The man was completely bald and clean-shaven, having traded every scrap of his hair down to his eyebrows for a myriad of scars that covered every inch of his square features.

“Where’s Rex?” the massive man asked, pushing away from the wall and craning his head to look down at Teddy.

“Challenged me,” Teddy replied. “I sent him back to 274-50. Middle of a lake. It’ll take him a few days to get back.”

The massive man snorted, falling in alongside Teddy. The of them continued down the hall. “Asshole.”

“Don’t expect me to apologize, Liam,” Teddy said. “You don’t get mad at a snake for biting you. Nobody can change their true nature.”

“Never said nothing about apologizing,” Liam replied. “But you look like you’re in more of a hurry than normal. What’s got your pants twisted up?”

“I have something time-sensitive. Got it from an auction. A Class Shard,” Teddy replied. “I need to get it somewhere stable.”

“A Class Shard? Why would you, of all people, need that?”

“It’s not for me,” Teddy replied. “ But I can’t have it hatching too early.”

A frown creased Liam’s features. “Hatching? What kind of Class Shard hatches, Stargazer? What would you want with something like that?”

“A very messed up one,” Teddy replied. “And I want nothing with it. I’m just holding onto it for someone.”

That made Liam stop in his tracks. The huge man stared at Teddy’s retreating back for several seconds, then took two loping steps to catch back up.

“You’re doing something? For someone else?”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Teddy said.

“Is it a trap?” Liam asked. “A cursed Class Shard that you’re going to give someone you don’t like so they get torn apart from within?”

Teddy sent him a sidelong look.

“Is it me?” Liam asked.

“No,” Teddy said.

“Oh,” Liam said. “Good. I don’t want it.”

“Good,” Teddy said. “You can’t have it.”

The two of them walked in silence for a few moments.

“Stargazer?” Liam coughed into his fist.

“Yeah?”

“Now I kind of want it.”

Teddy sighed. “You still can’t have it.”

“Damn,” Liam said. “I knew you would say that. Selfish prick.”

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