The Sovereign Necromancer: System of the Dead

Race Against Time

The shadow gorilla jumped from the hotel dock, hitting the water with a dull splash. It did not sink. Its black mist wrapped around my waist, keeping me steady on its broad back as it surged across the dark lagoon toward the Mainland. Behind us, the bright lights of Victoria Island grew small.

I looked at my phone screen again. The timer was down to six minutes.

"Faster," I told the beast.

The gorilla moved with long, heavy strides, cutting through the water like a speed boat. In less than three minutes, we hit the muddy banks of the Mainland. The change was instant. There were no bright glass buildings here, only rusty metal roofs and dark streets without working lights.

[The system is tracking thirty energy signatures inside that hospital yard, Tobe,] Grim spoke directly inside my brain. His voice lost its usual playful tone. [Low-grade sand lizards. But they are hungry, and your sister is a very attractive meal right now.]

"What do you mean by an attractive meal?" I asked, gripping the shadow fur as we ran down the narrow alleyways, knocking over empty plastic bins.

[We will talk about that when she is not about to stop breathing,] Grim snapped. [Look up. You are there.]

The Mainland Public Hospital was a four-story concrete block with peeling green paint. The main iron gate was completely torn off its hinges, lying flat in the dirt. Three giant, scaly lizards, each the size of a car, were digging their claws into the main entrance doors. People in white medical coats were jumping out of first-floor windows, running into the dark streets.

"Clear the path," I ordered.

My shadow gorilla leaped into the air, landing directly on top of two sand lizards. The sound of cracking scales filled the yard. Black mist shot out from the gorilla’s fists, tearing the monsters apart in seconds.

[Two Targets Defeated.]

[Extracting Souls... Error: Mana insufficient to bind new servants.]

[Current Mana: 12/100]

"Forget the souls," I said, sliding off the gorilla's back. "Keep the entrance clear!"

I ran past the bleeding lizard bodies, taking the stairs three at a time. The indoor lights were flickering, humming like angry insects. The elevator was dead. On the third floor, a heavy smell of old medicine and blood filled the hallway. Two more lizards were tearing through a wooden door down the hall.

I reached my sister’s room, Ward 4.

The plywood door was already cracked down the middle. Inside, the red backup battery light on Amarachi’s breathing machine was blinking fast, giving a steady, annoying beep. Amarachi lay on the narrow iron bed, her thin face completely still, her skin looking like dry paper. A lizard was sticking its scaly head through the broken door frame, its long yellow tongue inches from her bed.

I did not have enough mana to call my servants into the room. I grabbed a metal IV stand from the corner of the hall, stepped up behind the beast, and drove the sharp steel rod directly into its open eye socket.

The lizard thrashed, kicking its heavy tail against my chest. The impact threw me back into the corridor wall. My breath left my body, and my ribs felt like they were ready to break. But I did not stop. I got back up, grabbed the rod again, and twisted it until the creature went loose, collapsing onto the floor.

I scrambled into the room, dropping to my knees beside Amarachi’s bed.

The machine gave one long, flat beep. The screen went completely black. The backup power was dead. Amarachi’s chest stopped moving.

"No, no, no," I said, slapping the side of the plastic box. "Stay with me, Amarachi. Awake!"

I looked at my hands. The black mist was gone because my mana pool was totally empty. I was completely useless without the system.

[Do not use the machine, Tobe,] Grim said, his voice sounding very close now. [Your sister does not need oxygen. Look at her chest with your system view. Do it now.]

I wiped the sweat from my eyes and focused on her still body.

A massive, bright red text box erupted in front of my face, glowing so bright it made my eyes water.

[Warning: Prime Target Scanned.]

[Entity: Amarachi Okafor]

[Status: Living Vessel of the Calamity Core.]

[Current Core Feeding Status: Seven Percent Complete.]

I stared at the red letters. My mind went blank. "Calamity Core? What is that?"

[It is the thing that creates the rifts, kid,] Grim whispered, and for the first time, he sounded almost old and tired. [The Vanguard Guild did not leave you to die by accident. They are opening gates in Neo-Lagos on purpose. They are feeding human souls to the thing inside your sister so they can turn her into a weapon. If she stops breathing, the core explodes, and the whole city goes away.]

Before I could even touch her hand, the heavy stone floor beneath the bed began to crack. A strange, oily black fluid started leaking from the floor tiles, moving upward toward Amarachi's fingers like tiny worms.

The door behind me slammed open.

Three men in gold-plated Vanguard armor stepped into the small room. They were not low-level porters. They carried heavy automatic rifles with glowing blue magic barrels, pointing them straight at my head.

"Step away from the asset, Mainland boy," the lead guard said, his voice cold behind his metal visor. "Chief Segun sent us to collect our property."