Risking a look over my shoulder to see if I needed to grab Ayerelia, I saw the other players. The ghosts weren’t even looking at us; they were attacking the other players, those who had come to help.

  Atlas, the archer, didn’t even have time to draw her bow, not that it would have helped. One of the many ghosts got in behind her and simply drifted through her chest. Her face spread in a rictus of fear and a scream that I couldn’t see but I felt in my bones, and then she was gone. It wasn’t a slow collapse. I had never seen anyone fall like that. One second she was a figure of motion and intent; the next he was an inert pile of gear and flesh on the stone.

  Like that ghost had reached in and flipped the light switch on Atlas’s soul to the ‘off’ position.

  The rest of the group was in a panic. Ayerelia and I watched in frozen horror as Hashnel fell, followed by Tayleth, one of the mages and one of the Squad leaders. Her face was a rictus of fear as she fell. I was screaming at them to run this way. To head for the chapel. I knew they couldn’t hear me, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing I could do from here other than witness their deaths.

  They weren’t real deaths. Not like the NPCs. But I remembered how it felt to die in pain and fear to those spiders. This looked just as terrible. Shifting their focus. The silence was the worst part of it. Terrified people shouldn’t be deleted without a sound. They would wake up, they would play again, but looking on the faces of RusticDragon and Alizea as they ran, I don’t think they were thinking that in this moment. They just knew they were about to die.

  A ghost rushed ahead of the others and dove into RusticDragon’s back, and he too was switched off and crumpled to the ground. Alizea managed to reach the threshold, and Pal reached out and pulled her inside.

  The ghosts rushed up the side of the building like a wave crashing angrily against a stalwart shore. They broke and drew back. They spotted us standing stupidly watching the carnage. The group flowed across the stream as easily as they did across the land.

  Shit! We turned and ran.

  My lungs burned. My chest heaved as I gasped for breath, the one noise I could still feel but not hear. My spine crawled as I imagined a ghost bursting into my chest with every step I took. I kept waiting for my leg to give out. Running as close to the building as I could, I had to hope I stayed close enough.

  I pushed Ayerelia in front of me as we got closer. She was flagging as the heavy waterlogged clothes slowed her and got tangled in her legs.

  Pal caught Ayerelia as she tripped into the building. The silence in the chapel was suffocating. Dekka was staring at me from behind a pew, looking at me thoughtfully, with Rose standing beside her. Pal looked out the door at the bodies of our erstwhile helpers and then back at me.

  {Pallidaddy} - What happened out there?

  {System Error} - The water didn’t work! I don’t understand; it worked the first time.

  I looked down at the jar in my hands, the pendant dangling from my fingers. Why had it worked before? What was different?

  {Rositilda} - Maybe it needs time? Like it has to soak?

  {Ayerelia} - Maybe it’s supposed to have a prayer or incantation spoken over it.

  {System Error} - We can’t speak, remember?

  {Ayerelia} - I know, but that could be why it doesn’t work.

  {Pallidaddy} - Game logic. There has to be a way for it to work.

  I paced, trying to think. Dekka padded over and nudged my leg, then walked purposefully toward the altar. My dog, unconcerned by the frenzy of ghosts outside for the moment, she trotted past the altar and settled with a heavy, deliberate thump right behind it. She was lying down in the little smooth depression I’d noticed before.

  Walking over, I knelt beside her, looking at the circle more closely. Now that I was paying attention, I could see faint markings carved into the stone symbols and runes that ringed the depression.

  The jar. The pendant had been in a jar of water. Inside the chapel.

  My eyes darted between the circle, the jar in my hands, and the pendant.

  {System Error} - Guys, I have an idea.

  They gathered around as I carefully set the jar - no, wait. I grabbed the chalice Ayerelia had picked up instead. It was larger, and the shape just felt right somehow. I placed it in the exact center of the circular depression.

  Nothing happened.

  I held my breath and watched. Still nothing.

  {Ayerelia} - Well that was anticlimactic.

  But I wasn’t done. Slowly, I poured the stream water from the jar into the chalice, filling it almost to the brim. The moment the chalice was full, the carved runes around the circle began to glow with a soft golden light. The light pulsed, growing brighter with each beat like a heartbeat.

  {Rositilda} - It’s working!

  {Ayerelia} - This seems overly elaborate

  {Pallidaddy} - World Event. Difficult and overly elaborate is kinda the point.

  I held the pendant up, the jade stone catching the golden light from below. I dropped it into the chalice.

  The effect was immediate and bright. Very, very bright.

  Light erupted from the circle in a blinding flash, a shockwave of pure golden holy energy that knocked us all back a step. I threw my arm up to shield my eyes. The light shot upward in a column, then cascaded down like a fountain, the droplets of pure radiance splashing back into the chalice before fading.

  When I could see again, the water in the chalice glowed with a soft, steady golden light. The pendant sat at the bottom, perfectly visible through the luminescent water.

  {Pallidaddy} - Holy shit.

  {System Error} - Literally.

  I carefully lifted the chalice from the circle. The glow slowly diminished, but still hummed with energy.

  {Ayerelia} - Well? Are you going to test it or just admire it?

  I walked to the doorway where the ghost parade was flowing past the door like a wall of mist. I dipped my fingers in the glowing water and flicked droplets out the door.

  The ghost didn’t softly dissolve like before. It shattered. The ghost exploded into a thousand motes of light that scattered and faded like dying embers.

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  15XP!

  {System Error} - Oh yeah. This is going to work.

  {Rositilda} - We need to tell Copperbeard!

  {Pallidaddy} - Done.

  I looked down at Dekka, who was wagging her tail, clearly pleased with herself and feeling more confident.

  Patting her on her hellhound head, I mouthed ‘good girl’ at her. Her shadowy tail wagged faster.

  She deserved all the treats when we got out of here.

  Alizea was sitting on one of the pews, shaking from her flight from the Ghosts. As terrible as it had been to watch the other players fall, how must it have felt to happen around you, worrying if you were next? I patted her on the shoulder.

  {System Error} - I am going to flick as many as I can from the door.

  {Ayerelia} Don’t announce - just do.

  This time I rolled my eyes and flicked water.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  The ghosts didn’t seem to notice or care that their numbers were slowly being decimated by deadly drops of holy water.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  Damn my cup did not run’th over. I flicked the last of the water out at a passing ghost.

  15XP!

  I went back and poured the rest of the water from the jar into the chalice.

  A couple more flicks

  15XP!

  15XP!

  And only a few specters remained.

  {Pallidaddy} - We need to get back to the centre of the ground floor. The other teams have mostly gotten their ghosts cleared.

  {Ayerelia} - Wait, we didn’t get XP from them?

  {Pallidaddy} - Seems you only get XP for the floor you are on.

  {Ayerelia} - What? What a rip-off!

  This fucking game.

  {Pallidaddy} - Let’s fill the jar and the chalice. Freya has an idea.

  Shattered into shards, most of the ghosts blew away on a wind that none of us could feel, making it simple to get more water and bring it back.

  {System Error} - Ok let’s go. I’ll lead.

  I handed Ayerelia the jar. I was worried about Pal. He still looked drained, but I wasn’t sure how fast mana was supposed to recover.

  I private messaged Ayerelia

  {System Error} - Hey you ok to bring up the rear? I am worried about Pal.

  {Ayerelia} - What do you -

  Then she turned to look at Pal

  {Ayerelia} - Um, Yes I can do that.

  We set out, me in front with Dekka ranging close, Rose right behind me, then Alizea still looking pale, Pal who seemed weighed down by his shield and Ayerelia.

  Ayerelia and I flicked water at any ghost that came within range. And I leveled up.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  I was eager to check out my new barbarian skill tree. Now was not the time. The rest of the ghosts were drifting along parallel to us but staying out of range.

  {Rositilda} - Do you think we can just ignore them

  {System Error} - Probably not

  {Pallidaddy} - I agree with you. My guess is we need to clear the floor.

  {Ayerelia} - Shouldn’t take long. This stuff is very effective.

  She flung a finger and tossed a drop at a ghost that got too close.

  15XP!

  {System Error} - Should we take the others to safety and come back? Or?

  {Pallidaddy} - Let’s just get it done. Not waste any more time.

  {System Error} - You’re the boss.

  {Ayerelia} - Since when?

  I rolled my eyes at her. Who did she think was the boss? Certainly not her.

  The maze like topography became more of a problem the fewer ghosts there were.

  15XP!

  We ran after a ghost where it suddenly disappeared, taking a step and flipping from the floor to the ceiling below us. I flicked at the ghost and missed. Ayerelia leaned over the edge and got it.

  15XP!

  Trying to predict where the water drop was going to go was tricky, yet with a bit of creativity could be used to our advantage.

  I managed to sneak up on one that thought it was hiding on a staircase that was along the wall to where we were walking perpendicular to us. I dropped water over the edge, and it flew up to hit the ghost from below.

  15XP!

  I felt very clever with that one.

  We got one that tried to hover out of reach. Which was dumb, as while we couldn’t touch it, would could fling water at it.

  After that had to seriously hunt them down. Oh, how the tables had turned. The ghosts were actively avoiding us; they were scared. I grinned as I shattered their existence one flick at a time.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  Their looks of shock and terror as they flew to pieces was satisfying but only a small payback for what they had done to our teammates.

  Ayerelia and I took turns darting from the group and flicking water at the ghosts around corners and from insane angles.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  15XP!

  I was out of water, but the elf had at least half a jar left, and she got the last two with one flick as we had corned them up a staircase that ran straight into a wall.

  15XP!

  15XP!

  Standing on that staircase that leaned out over nothing, I surveyed the eye watering view. It was far less chaotic when you were in the thick of it. We held our breath. Nothing moved below us.

  {Alizea} - Is that it? Did we get them all?

  {System Error} - I think so … I can’t see any.

  We stood for a long minute, each of us searching the abstract landscape for any sign of a ghost.

  {Rositilda} - There’s one.

  She pointed. Down by a rosebush, there was a statue. The statue’s edges were flowing suspiciously.

  Clever ghost. It was trying to hide by surrounding a marble statue. The thing stayed while we made our way down and toward it. The ghost panicked at the last moment, swirling away across a pond. Ayerelia darted quickly around one way, and I went the other. I had no water left, but it didn’t know that.

  {Pallidaddy} - Not to pressure anyone, but it seems there is a time limit. One of the other faces had their ghosts start respawning.

  It hovered in the middle of the pond. Ayerelia tried flicking it, but it was too far. I had no idea how deep this pond was, but even if it was only a few feet deep, the ghost would be able to easily outmaneuver her on the surface as she had to slog, weighed down by heavy fabric.

  But did it know she was the only one with the holy water? I really didn’t want to have to do this again.

  {System Error} - Guys, I have an idea. Let’s surround the pond. The way it is trying to watch all of us, I don’t think it knows only Ayerelia has the water. What if we spread out and act confident? Like we are trying to get closer to kill it.

  {System Error} - Think we could scare it closer to Ayerelia?

  {Alizea} - Good Idea! I think it would be even better if, Ayerelia, you could look a little scared. Maybe cower a bit.

  {Ayerelia} - I do not cower.

  {Rositilda} - Do you want to do this again?! I don’t. Just fucking look scared!

  I glanced over to Rose. For a necromancer, she really wasn’t happy about the dead. Maybe it was because they were moving around without undead magic. Looking over the water at Ayerelia, I saw her narrow her eyes, but she nodded to me.

  {System Error} - Let’s all start moving into the pond. Try not to go too deep. And look scary!

  {Rositilda} - Deep is relative. And I am not scary.

  The four of us started moving. Dekka stayed on shore, growling at the ghost. It watched us warily and backed up.

  It was working!

  The ghost kept retreating. I waded in the water up to my hips and swung my club at the feet of the ghost. I missed, but that was ok. My goal was not to hurt it, just distract and concern it. Pal was also up to his thighs in the pond, brandishing his sword. Rose and Alizea were having difficulties with the water. Rose, because what is thigh high to me is chest level for her. Alizea was slowed trying to keep her staff above the water.

  The ghost swooped back, leaning down and giving us a silent scream. Ayerelia took that moment to try to hit it with the holy water flung from her long sparkly fingers. The drops missed by the ghost spun and realised she was the threat. I could watch its face contort as it came to the conclusion we were not threats.

  The ghost dove directly at Rose! I screamed at the ghost and waved my club, but she was too far away. Dekka sprung forward, though there was no way she would get there in time. I wasn’t sure what my dog would do even if she could.

  Pal moved, the water surging up his chest as he plowed forward; he too was going to be too late. Rose was standing frozen in fear, eyes wide, watching the spirit close in.

  Not Rose!

  The ghost reached out, and Rose dropped and disappeared beneath the surface.

  Fuck no!

  My rage built, filling every corner of my being, and then broke and flowed out into the world. I was going to take that ghost and rip it to pieces myself, one handful at a time. I thrashed my way at the ghost. I was going to unravel that asshole, one spectral threat at a time.

  The ghost, which had been going for Alizea next, changed its mind and focused on me. Perfect. This was going to be fun! Taking the flat of my hand, and slapped water at the ghost. It staggered back, though the water went through it. I laughed, made you flinch.

  Then I wasn’t laughing as it was right on top of me. Bringing my club down with game enhanced swiftness, I disrupted its arm, and the hand that was about to touch me dissolved into wisps. The ghost pulled its arm back, and it reformed. What was I doing? If it touched me, I would be back on the plains.

  It opened its mouth unnaturally wide, and thinking was forgotten again. I brandished my club in front of me, hoping to keep it back. It dove at me, its mouth unhinged and its lower jaw sitting down upon its chest. I could see right down its gullet. For a white, slightly see through being, its innards were terrifyingly dark. I swung my club at its head, but a stone under the water turned under my foot and my club went wide. It dodged easily, and then it was too close for me to try again. I was going to be swallowed whole. I hoped it wouldn’t hurt, but the expressions on the other’s faces wouldn’t let me hold any real faith in that idea.

  I closed my eyes and waited for the feeling of hot, gritty stone under my cheek.

  Nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the last of the glimmering shards falling all around me.

  Ayerelia was still standing on the far side of the pond. How did they kill it?