Lara J. Nance’s Rhythm Sword Warriors plunges readers into a breathtaking mix of science fiction, suspense, and soul—where rhythm is power, and love may be humanity’s last defense.
Nance’s narrative pulses with intensity, weaving themes of redemption, leadership, and the healing force of music through a world on the brink of annihilation.
by Lara J Nance
October 3, 2025
She trained to forget, now she fights for Earth.
For twenty years, Calena has lived underground, haunted by the memory of her mother's death at the hands of invading aliens. Her only escape was Rhythm Sword, a virtual reality game where glowing sabers slice through endless waves of cubes and bombs.
Now, she must accept love to rise from the shadowy depths of her depression and lead a ragtag army of gamers-turned-soldiers to face the monsters that threaten humanity's very existence The final battle has begun, and every beat could be her last.
“We
have a very unique situation that we want to speak to you about. I’ll
just jump right in. Dr. Harding has discovered an element that will
destroy a Metavalent.” The general gestured to Blake.
Calena sucked in a breath of surprise. “The hell? I thought that was impossible.”
Blake nodded. “We’ve been researching options ever since the invasion, and this is the first breakthrough we’ve had. Given the structure of the aliens and the way they are able to move, finding a way to attack them has been very difficult.”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Kelvin asked, an edge to his tone. This was his domain, and he appeared increasingly angry with the interruption from outsiders.
A few gamers emerged from rooms and glanced at the newcomers uncertainly, as if unsure whether they meant trouble. They edged to the periphery of the room, staring while hugging backpacks to their chests.
Carla noticed them and held up a hand. “We’re looking for your help, guys. Okay? We’re not here to cause trouble.”
Kelvin’s shoulders relaxed a notch, but his expression remained wary. “So, like I said, what’s this got to do with us and the game?”
“If we’re right,” Blake said. “The game may be the secret to defeating the Metavalents. That’s why we’re here.”
Calena exchanged a shocked glance with Katsu, while Kelvin and the Jammers shifted uncomfortably and frowned in confusion.
“We’ve seen three of them around here in the past two weeks, and a person from one of our collectives was killed,” Calena said. “We think they’re looking to expand into this area, and that would destroy us. Can you help with that?”
Pablo held up a hand. “Dudes, this is bigger than just this area. Listen up.”
The cute guy, Blake, started talking about some shit called muon particles and how they could slice through almost anything like butter, but were really fragile in a lot of other ways, so not easy to use in a bomb or anything like that. Then the general explained how they think they can manufacture a handheld device that would generate the muon thingies and project them within some sort of shield, and that would be like a sword that would slice through the Globs…you guessed it…like butter.
Her head was spinning with this information all while she tried to figure out how that related to the game. However, as they went on and on, the vision of something like a sword slicing through Globs created a dull, itchy sense of impending doom within her. Before they had time to finish talking about needed response times, the aliens’ abilities, and actually came to a conclusion, she had it.
The gamers. The game. It all fit. They needed the gamers to fight the Globs. The gamers had years of training in the exact skills needed to use the muon swords with response times that rivaled the Glob ability to pop in and out of existence or attack with their expandable extensions. It all made sense, and fury erupted inside her.
“I get it,” she interrupted before the general finished. He slowly closed his lips without continuing.
“What?” Blake asked, brow furrowed.
Damn, he was actually really handsome. It was distracting.
“You need gamers to kill the Globs.” She planted her hands on her hips, trying not to look at Blake. “You want to use us.”
Blake and Carla shared surprised looks.
Pablo grinned. “That’s right. You in?”
“What are you talking about?” Katsu punched her shoulder.
“They need us to fight the Globs because we already know how to use the sword weapons better than anyone else.” She turned to Blake finally. “Right?”
He slowly nodded.
“That’s exactly right.” The general raised his chin. “We have a crisis, and we don’t have time to train people to the level to which you guys have already developed. And the, uh, Jammers can help by programming simulations just like the game but with MVs instead of cubes to hone your skills.”
“Ohhhh.” Katsu rocked back on his heels, mouth open, finally making the connection. “I get it. That’s…that’s…um, completely cool. I think…”
“See,” Pablo said, eyes gleaming and fists clenched. “We can save the world. We can fight back and get rid of these bastards once and for all. We’ll be heroes.”
Cal shot him a glare. What did he know? He lived with his father in an ultra-secure and amenity-rich army facility because of the general’s position. He didn’t know about the hardships people like she and Katsu faced out in the real world, scavenging for food and dodging Globs for every single necessity of life.
The general patted his son on the back, beaming. “I hope you all can see how critical this is. We need help from as many gamers as possible. We need to set up training programs and start training as soon as our engineering teams can manufacture the hardware.”
“Hold on,” Calena said. “We have an immediate problem here in this town, with Globs appearing again, and you want us to take off and leave people who depend on us for some idea that might not even work?”
Blake frowned, lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.
“Look,” the general said, sternly. “This is important…”
“So is saving the people I live with. We already lost one to the Globs yesterday. This is typical government bullshit.” She jabbed a finger at him. “I have people to protect right here in this town, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“We can’t force you to help, but I have to tell you this is the best chance we have of stopping these invaders. Yes, this is experimental, but the science is solid, and I think we can make it work,” Blake said.
She crossed her arms over her chest and avoided his gaze. What the hell? She couldn’t leave Pavilion, Miss Mina, and the others. This was crazy.
Kelvin pulled off the headphones he’d hung around his neck. “We’ll help in any way we can, but we’d need a lot of supplies.”
Blake walked over and shook Kelvin’s hand. “Thank you. That’s amazing. Yes, of course, you’ll have anything you need. The president has made this a top priority.”
“The president?” one of the other Jammer’s named Bruce asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, the president,” Blake said. “This is about saving the country. Actually, it’s about saving the world. We also think the Metavalents may be expanding, and that’s why this is so critical.”
Calena studied him as he spoke. His blond hair hung past his collar, a little too long for him to be much older than thirty. However, he was some sort of PhD and apparently extremely smart to have come up with this solution. She had to admit he was pretty hot, too. Well, maybe a little geeky and pasty white, but it looked like he worked out, and he had nice eyes…soft brown and melty. She shook off that thought, and forced away her stare. She’d given up hope on relationships years ago. It didn’t matter, she had other things to worry about than hot guys. Like protecting Pavilion, not traipsing off on some quest with an unproven weapon.
“I’ll go,” Katsu said with an apologetic look in her direction.
“What? No…” She grabbed his shoulders. A thrill of fear rushed through her. She couldn’t lose him.
“We have to do something, Cal. Things are getting worse and just setting up patrols is not going to make the problem go away. I want to help.” He wore his stubborn expression she knew so well. When he dug his feet in there was no moving him.
“Thank you,” Blake said to him. “We need a lot more help, too.”
“The first thing is to get the word out to other gamers and find out how many of them would be willing to train for combat,” the general said.
Kelvin tapped his computer screen. “We were getting ready to send out invitations all over the world for a virtual tournament. We can send out this message instead.”
“You can send out international messages?” The general’s gray brows went up.
“Yes, we have a shortwave channel all the gamers use. It’s not consistent and takes a while to make the rounds, but eventually we can reach them. We have an antenna on the roof of this building. But how would they be able to travel here for training with the Globs roaming everywhere again?””
“We may be able to set up training in other countries as long as you can share the programming and we can send details on manufacturing the handheld units,” the general replied. “That way we can coordinate an attack from every corner of the globe when we’re ready.”
“All right. You write up what you want me to say, and I’ll send the message.”
“Do you think a few hundred people might be willing to take part?” Carla asked.
Nick let out a sharp laugh. “Hundreds? More like thousands. You have no idea how many gamers there are. Everyone will want a piece of this action if it rids us of Globs.”
Blake’s face lit up, and the general looked like a kid someone just handed the world’s biggest jar of candy.
She seized Katsu’s arm and pulled him away from the others. She had to talk some sense into him before he ran off on this cursed quest. “What are you doing? You can’t leave. This is dangerous. You could be killed.”
“I don’t care.” He pulled his arm from her grasp, his brows drawn together. “What do I have to live for? Huh? Tony doesn’t love me anymore, and chances are pretty damn good I won’t find anyone else. I don’t want to stay here just surviving with only the game for a life.”
“But people here need us,” she pleaded. She didn’t want to say she needed him, that was too cringy…but she did.
“If we can destroy the Globs, that will help everyone including our collectives. Come on, Cal, you’re the best at this game, you could make a real difference.”
She threw up her hands in frustration.
“Cal, please go with me. I need you there.”
Damn his puppy dog eyes! He did need her. Who else would look after him? Maybe it was true, and they could do something that would help everyone. That would be worth it, right? It wouldn’t be like she was abandoning Pavilion if this worked.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered. “I’ll go. But you owe me.”
He let out a happy yelp of victory, and she shook her head. This was probably a big mistake.
Calena sucked in a breath of surprise. “The hell? I thought that was impossible.”
Blake nodded. “We’ve been researching options ever since the invasion, and this is the first breakthrough we’ve had. Given the structure of the aliens and the way they are able to move, finding a way to attack them has been very difficult.”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Kelvin asked, an edge to his tone. This was his domain, and he appeared increasingly angry with the interruption from outsiders.
A few gamers emerged from rooms and glanced at the newcomers uncertainly, as if unsure whether they meant trouble. They edged to the periphery of the room, staring while hugging backpacks to their chests.
Carla noticed them and held up a hand. “We’re looking for your help, guys. Okay? We’re not here to cause trouble.”
Kelvin’s shoulders relaxed a notch, but his expression remained wary. “So, like I said, what’s this got to do with us and the game?”
“If we’re right,” Blake said. “The game may be the secret to defeating the Metavalents. That’s why we’re here.”
Calena exchanged a shocked glance with Katsu, while Kelvin and the Jammers shifted uncomfortably and frowned in confusion.
“We’ve seen three of them around here in the past two weeks, and a person from one of our collectives was killed,” Calena said. “We think they’re looking to expand into this area, and that would destroy us. Can you help with that?”
Pablo held up a hand. “Dudes, this is bigger than just this area. Listen up.”
The cute guy, Blake, started talking about some shit called muon particles and how they could slice through almost anything like butter, but were really fragile in a lot of other ways, so not easy to use in a bomb or anything like that. Then the general explained how they think they can manufacture a handheld device that would generate the muon thingies and project them within some sort of shield, and that would be like a sword that would slice through the Globs…you guessed it…like butter.
Her head was spinning with this information all while she tried to figure out how that related to the game. However, as they went on and on, the vision of something like a sword slicing through Globs created a dull, itchy sense of impending doom within her. Before they had time to finish talking about needed response times, the aliens’ abilities, and actually came to a conclusion, she had it.
The gamers. The game. It all fit. They needed the gamers to fight the Globs. The gamers had years of training in the exact skills needed to use the muon swords with response times that rivaled the Glob ability to pop in and out of existence or attack with their expandable extensions. It all made sense, and fury erupted inside her.
“I get it,” she interrupted before the general finished. He slowly closed his lips without continuing.
“What?” Blake asked, brow furrowed.
Damn, he was actually really handsome. It was distracting.
“You need gamers to kill the Globs.” She planted her hands on her hips, trying not to look at Blake. “You want to use us.”
Blake and Carla shared surprised looks.
Pablo grinned. “That’s right. You in?”
“What are you talking about?” Katsu punched her shoulder.
“They need us to fight the Globs because we already know how to use the sword weapons better than anyone else.” She turned to Blake finally. “Right?”
He slowly nodded.
“That’s exactly right.” The general raised his chin. “We have a crisis, and we don’t have time to train people to the level to which you guys have already developed. And the, uh, Jammers can help by programming simulations just like the game but with MVs instead of cubes to hone your skills.”
“Ohhhh.” Katsu rocked back on his heels, mouth open, finally making the connection. “I get it. That’s…that’s…um, completely cool. I think…”
“See,” Pablo said, eyes gleaming and fists clenched. “We can save the world. We can fight back and get rid of these bastards once and for all. We’ll be heroes.”
Cal shot him a glare. What did he know? He lived with his father in an ultra-secure and amenity-rich army facility because of the general’s position. He didn’t know about the hardships people like she and Katsu faced out in the real world, scavenging for food and dodging Globs for every single necessity of life.
The general patted his son on the back, beaming. “I hope you all can see how critical this is. We need help from as many gamers as possible. We need to set up training programs and start training as soon as our engineering teams can manufacture the hardware.”
“Hold on,” Calena said. “We have an immediate problem here in this town, with Globs appearing again, and you want us to take off and leave people who depend on us for some idea that might not even work?”
Blake frowned, lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.
“Look,” the general said, sternly. “This is important…”
“So is saving the people I live with. We already lost one to the Globs yesterday. This is typical government bullshit.” She jabbed a finger at him. “I have people to protect right here in this town, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“We can’t force you to help, but I have to tell you this is the best chance we have of stopping these invaders. Yes, this is experimental, but the science is solid, and I think we can make it work,” Blake said.
She crossed her arms over her chest and avoided his gaze. What the hell? She couldn’t leave Pavilion, Miss Mina, and the others. This was crazy.
Kelvin pulled off the headphones he’d hung around his neck. “We’ll help in any way we can, but we’d need a lot of supplies.”
Blake walked over and shook Kelvin’s hand. “Thank you. That’s amazing. Yes, of course, you’ll have anything you need. The president has made this a top priority.”
“The president?” one of the other Jammer’s named Bruce asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, the president,” Blake said. “This is about saving the country. Actually, it’s about saving the world. We also think the Metavalents may be expanding, and that’s why this is so critical.”
Calena studied him as he spoke. His blond hair hung past his collar, a little too long for him to be much older than thirty. However, he was some sort of PhD and apparently extremely smart to have come up with this solution. She had to admit he was pretty hot, too. Well, maybe a little geeky and pasty white, but it looked like he worked out, and he had nice eyes…soft brown and melty. She shook off that thought, and forced away her stare. She’d given up hope on relationships years ago. It didn’t matter, she had other things to worry about than hot guys. Like protecting Pavilion, not traipsing off on some quest with an unproven weapon.
“I’ll go,” Katsu said with an apologetic look in her direction.
“What? No…” She grabbed his shoulders. A thrill of fear rushed through her. She couldn’t lose him.
“We have to do something, Cal. Things are getting worse and just setting up patrols is not going to make the problem go away. I want to help.” He wore his stubborn expression she knew so well. When he dug his feet in there was no moving him.
“Thank you,” Blake said to him. “We need a lot more help, too.”
“The first thing is to get the word out to other gamers and find out how many of them would be willing to train for combat,” the general said.
Kelvin tapped his computer screen. “We were getting ready to send out invitations all over the world for a virtual tournament. We can send out this message instead.”
“You can send out international messages?” The general’s gray brows went up.
“Yes, we have a shortwave channel all the gamers use. It’s not consistent and takes a while to make the rounds, but eventually we can reach them. We have an antenna on the roof of this building. But how would they be able to travel here for training with the Globs roaming everywhere again?””
“We may be able to set up training in other countries as long as you can share the programming and we can send details on manufacturing the handheld units,” the general replied. “That way we can coordinate an attack from every corner of the globe when we’re ready.”
“All right. You write up what you want me to say, and I’ll send the message.”
“Do you think a few hundred people might be willing to take part?” Carla asked.
Nick let out a sharp laugh. “Hundreds? More like thousands. You have no idea how many gamers there are. Everyone will want a piece of this action if it rids us of Globs.”
Blake’s face lit up, and the general looked like a kid someone just handed the world’s biggest jar of candy.
She seized Katsu’s arm and pulled him away from the others. She had to talk some sense into him before he ran off on this cursed quest. “What are you doing? You can’t leave. This is dangerous. You could be killed.”
“I don’t care.” He pulled his arm from her grasp, his brows drawn together. “What do I have to live for? Huh? Tony doesn’t love me anymore, and chances are pretty damn good I won’t find anyone else. I don’t want to stay here just surviving with only the game for a life.”
“But people here need us,” she pleaded. She didn’t want to say she needed him, that was too cringy…but she did.
“If we can destroy the Globs, that will help everyone including our collectives. Come on, Cal, you’re the best at this game, you could make a real difference.”
She threw up her hands in frustration.
“Cal, please go with me. I need you there.”
Damn his puppy dog eyes! He did need her. Who else would look after him? Maybe it was true, and they could do something that would help everyone. That would be worth it, right? It wouldn’t be like she was abandoning Pavilion if this worked.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered. “I’ll go. But you owe me.”
He let out a happy yelp of victory, and she shook her head. This was probably a big mistake.
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Lara Nance is an award-winning author who spins unforgettable adventures in speculative fiction. A true wanderer at heart, she has lived aboard a sailboat and roamed the globe as a digital nomad, weaving her own daring experiences into the worlds she creates. Her stories invite readers to journey beyond the ordinary—where imagination meets adventure, and every page holds the promise of discovery.
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