"Good! Let the mana streams converge with your own!" Phanthu's guiding words echoed as I sat cross legged, focusing intently on the mess of mana types hovering through the air. Cassi was busy fighting some fucked up, spell slinging floating torso, though she'd already killed him once. After seeing him burst back out of the wooden hut on the projection playing on the window wall however, I quickly deduced she'd have to deal with this guy for a while. And, I had little doubt she could keep throwing that bag of bones around until she snagged that pendant. Besides, I had a new lackluster skill set I needed to meditate on, which had proven an incredible boon to the future god that showed it to me during our last Planetary Objective; mana manipulation.
Well, before I killed him anyway. No biggy.
Regardless, there was no question I needed help to do so, considering he had dead-to-rights from mana exhaustion. Something that's gotten me caught out on multiple occasions, yet I've failed to put any true effort in amending this massive weakness. Of course, one could argue I've been entirely too busy waging war on every settlement unwilling to hand over the rights to their Pylon to us to do any true reflection. In less than a month's time, I'd assisted in capturing numerous pylons and somehow joining in a war between giants along the way. That one of course would be me, the impulsive, excuse loving side that is.
Focus.
Recollecting my scrambling thoughts, I focused on the mana recycling through and around my swaying body. Flow Meditation made feeling out energies decently familiar, though the discrepancy between Flow and passing Water Mana was practically night and day. Flow was strictly within me, generated by me and exclusively for my own use. I could feel exactly where my movements differed from its natural path, diminishing its intensity significantly. Problem is, I can't keep it. Much like time, there was only harnessing Flow while it was present, not containing its energy for later.
Mana, however, was fucking everywhere. It was incredibly difficult to make out exactly what types inhabited our waiting area, besides water, air, and surprisingly even lightning mana. Of course, I'd been explicitly taught how to manipulate water mana by a rather reputable source in Phanthu. To even approach affecting the little Lightning energy tucked under a mess of other indiscernible mana's sounded far too daunting. Air was only recognizable due to the extended time Steve and I have spent flying, I have zero concept on how to harness it for skills let alone outright.
Fucking FOCUS, Tom.
Drawing a long breath, I exhaled all my cluttered thoughts, leaving room for the water mana listing through the air and my own mana string exclusively. The single, feeble extension from my palm was far less stable here than it was in Phanthu's little water sanctuary, an accessory I'm absolutely going to demand be built somewhere in Elysium. The mana string floated freely through the air, like a cobweb clutching to a wall in a windstorm. Feeling a subtle stomach ache developing, I was about to retract my string when a clump of water mana brushed across it. Keeping my breathing steady, I focused on letting the mana fall along the path of my extension before reeling it in.
Just as the energy latched around my mana string, a rush of excitement jolted through my body. The mana strung me collapsed, as a small droplet splashed onto the cold metal floor.
FUCK!
A burst of rage surged through my veins seeing the mana string rip in half. My eyes open, feeling a rush of static energy culminate around my mana string before a small, subtle spark flashed in front of my palm. All at once, the vibrations in the air subsided.
"Hey, Tom." Korbin quietly said, now standing directly beside me. I looked up, seeing him glancing at the group then down at me.
"Yeah, what's up?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Get up, I don't know how much time we have but, I got to talk to you." Korbin said, in a hushed voice.
"Uh, okay? Why what's up?" I asked while rising to my feet. Korbin waved his hand away further into the room, away from the rest of our squad. After walking a few steps, he leaned in speaking even quieter than he had when we were actually within earshot.
"Hey, what the hell took you and Derrick so long?"
…shit.
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A tide of murky water chased behind as I stumbled toward the exit. The wall covered in purple streaks of energy was long gone, now replaced by one with walls covered in magma hovering above a sea of lava.
Alright Cass, one more pole vault. Just like college, right?
Summoning my bo staff into my palm from my storage space, I jabbed furthest end into the ground, leaping feet first toward the flaming walkway above. My feet barely eclipsed over the edge, slamming the back of my head onto the burning hot dark metal ledge. Scooting forward, a powerful shift in momentum lifted me into the air, nearly slamming into the roof covered in billowing flames before crashing back onto the ground.
*CLICK*
Looking back, the fiery walkway I vaulted onto was now covered by a wall of magma, leaving three paths all surrounded in billowing flames and molten rock. The air around me heated my metal armor, turning my suit into a hotbox. Not wanting to stay stationary in this fiery maze, I sprinted down the nearest smoldering hallway. I struggled to peer down the countless turns and paths on either side of me with every stride. Finally, I stopped and turned down one of the paths having seen a silver glimmer out the corner of my vision.
Sweat beaded off my forehead running down the flame infested hallway towards the two assumed competitors clashing sword and spear with one another. The spear wielding fighter was clearly much more talented, constantly jabs and shield bashes while keeping the heavily armored swordsman on his back foot. Luckily, the superior opponent had his back to me.
The spearman slammed his boot into the full plated armored fighter's chest, sending him crashing into the lava leaking magma sending molten fragments cascading all around him. I slowed to a jog, hoping the smoldering stone and liquid magma could conceal my steps. The spearman slipped a wild slash from the armored warrior, piercing the tip of his spear through the poor warrior's throat. I leapt into the air, drawing my Bo staff and swinging it straight for the spearman's skull.
The spearman ducked under my swiping staff as I stumbled forward, nearly crashing into the molten wall at the end of the corridor. Spinning back, my staff whipped across my body deflecting an incoming stab. The spearman twisted with the momentum, wildly throwing a spinning kick and forcing me to retreat. An intense heat crept down the back of my neck feeling the wall of molten rock behind me.
Deflecting another pair of the spearman's quick lunging stabs, I retreated down the next hallway catching a glimpse of a dark stone structure ahead. The spearman continued his barrage of stabbing strikes, proving little trouble to deflect. Seeing a pattern slowly developing, I parried another strike while advancing into his space. The spearman twisted his shoulders, no doubt to create distance with another spinning kick.
Noticing his kicks were far slower than Tom's, I slid closer clasping onto the back of his knee and kicked out his standing leg. Keeping hold of his leg, the spearman's hooded skull bounced off the stone floor. Dropping my staff, I wrapped my leg around the spearman's while falling to the floor leaving him facedown. With his ankles tucked under my armpit, I torqued back hard causing a loud popping sound from breaking his knee.
"AAAHHH f-fuck!" The spearman's guttural screams of pain filled the fiery hallway. I quickly clamored to my feet, flicking my staff with my foot into my hand. The spearmen crawled desperately away, falling limp after my staff cracked the back of his skull open.
*ding*
One false Pendant of Spectral Warding has been claimed! (3) remaining!
Shit.
Not wanting to waste any more valuable time, I beelined down the hallway towards the stone building peaking through the exit. The air burned my nostrils with every breath, though I felt certain this kind of heat would have done far more damage to my stamina before the integration. Emerging from the hallway, the walls dramatically opened up into a large, jagged, smoldering cavern. At the center sat a towering stone tower, standing at the edge of a destroyed castle ruin. A collapsed wall surrounded the ruins, though the thick metal gatehouse entrance remained standing between two stone pillars.
Leaping over the stone rubble, I took a second mentally to prepare for what lay behind the heavy wooden twin doors into the stone tower. Not having molten rocks surrounding me at every turn will certainly help if I'm faced with a better fighter, and I'll know to look for these landmarks and open regions if another pendant is here. That may also mean there's another floating zombie or some variant protecting it here. If that's the case, I'll have to pace myself to ensure I don't blow through my resource pools too quickly. I still have plenty of potions, but I'd rather save them for more combatives-focused events.
Bracing my shoulder, the heavy wooden doors proved far less sturdy than at first glance, splintering off its hinges and crashing to the stone floor. Candelabras and mounted torches covered the walls, with only a desk with a vanity to mirror at the corner of the first floor. A spiraling staircase sat in the middle of the room, facing the entrance. Before my boots hit the first step, a woman's screech reverberated from atop the tower. Narrowing my eyes, I jogged up the dimly lit stairs with my bo staff drawn.
*thump*
*thump*
*thump*
A faint pounding slowly began crescendoing from further up the spiraling stairs. I stopped, hearing its pattern quickly speeding up.
*thump*
*thump*
*THUMP*
I stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding the charred corpse tumbling down the stone stairs. Removing the robed woman's burned body from my mind, I continued up the rest of the way up the stairs. Approaching the door at the top, I stopped having heard muffled cursing and angry yelling on the other side. Slowly opening the door, the pungent odor of burning hair filled my pallet before even taking a step inside. 2 bodies lay in the center of what looked like castle chambers of some sort, albeit a large one. A wardrobe sat at the end of a small, neatly made bed at the corner of the room. A crude rag doll lay atop the desk beside the bed, which also had a vanity mirror.
The cursing grew louder, coming from the opposite side of the room. Peering around the door, my eyes hot open watching this guy in purple robes pacing frantically in front of a stand holding another Pendant. If it weren't for the light stubble lining his chin, he'd easily be mistaken for a teenager based on his thin, short build and baby face. Making sure no one else was here, I stepped inside with my Bo staff in hand and started heading towards the pendant. The man's head whipped around, revealing wide bloodshot eyes.
"I'm not supposed to be here!" He exclaimed between his frantic pacing.
"You and I both know nobody comes here unwillingly. Sorry you can't handle it." I said, not breaking stride towards the stand.
"You NEED TO LEAVE!" He screamed, rushing towards me with his arms extended. I pointed the edge of my staff towards him, halting the manic man in his tracks.
"Just relax. If you really want to leave, I can eliminate you right now." I said, tightening the grip on my staff. In truth, I don't like acting so apathetic. The issue is, I'm running out of time to find the right pendant. Besides, it's not my fault this woman wasn't prepared for th-
"You're not supposed to be here." I jumped hearing a child's voice behind me. Turning around, a little boy with dark hair. He wore a black tunic with a thin leather belt at his waste, with dark trousers to match.
"That's rich coming from a 'child'." I said, raising my staff to whatever's pretending to be this kid. He froze, tilting his head to the side.
"You're smarter than the others. What gave me away?" He asked, his brown eyes quickly going bloodshot before turning completely blood-red.
"Kids can't even level, who in their right mind would ever think you'd be in the middle of an Epic rarity Objective?" I asked. The kid wordlessly pointed at the charred body laying beside him.
"I don't belong here, I don't belong here." The man frantically repeated while pacing behind the stand holding the pendant, pulling at his wavy brown hair. Not willing to employ the clearly troubled young man's help in his current mental state, I backed toward the pendent with my eyes on the 'child'.
"Why didn't you take him too?" I asked, hoping to keep whatever this thing in child form is occupied.
"Why would I? Look at him. He's weak, and would flee from this place if I allowed it. But, honestly I just find it funny watching him scurry about for an exit." The child said, his high pitched voice slowly deepening into a low, gravelly tone as he spoke. Looking toward the door I came in through, a wall of flames now blocked it off entirely. I turned my body to the side, pointing my staff at the demon child to conceal my hand extending toward the pendant.
"What about me? You think you'll find fighting me 'funny'?" I shot back.
"I'll find out soon enough." The 'child' grumbled back, his eyes igniting in a ball of flames that spread across his face and body, immediately burning his skin to a crisp. Lifting his hands, flames billowed and intensified in his palms before sprinting at me, letting out a guttural scream. I spun my staff, aiming to smash the demon child's skull when something heavy wrapped around my leg.
"No!! We don't belong here!" The hysterical man yelled, clamping onto my leg. The demonic child's fiery hands pressed into my chest plate before I could shake the woman free, my Fluidic Ripple barely sliding across my body in time to help mitigate its impact. A bright flash engulfed my vision, followed by a powerful impact on my back. As my vision cleared, I found myself laying face down at the other side of the chambers. Looking up, the demon child lay prone across the other side of the room. The woman, however, was nowhere to be found.
Pulling a health potion from my storage space, I swigged the tart watery substance down and clamored to my feet. Seeing the demon kid laying in a ball of wriggling fire, I quickly ran to the Pendant and threw it around my neck. Immediately, it faded from existence.
*ding*
One false Pendant of Spectral Warding has been claimed! (2) remaining!
I looked back toward the demon child, only to find nothing but dark stone. Not willing to get blasted across the chambers again, I ran out of the door and down the staircase. As I exited the tower however, a sharp cold sensation pierced the back of my neck. Realizing I couldn't breathe, I struggled to turn around finding the same girl who was clutching my leg upstairs. His face contorted in a look of absolute panic slowly faded, replaced by a devilish smile that crept across her face.
"I don't belong here." He said as my vision faded, feeling my cheek smack into the hot stone below. The ice spike he held in his hand shattered next to me, a cold fragment hitting my eye being the last sensation I'm afforded before passing out. After a brief pause my eyes shot open, finding myself standing on the same platform I started out on. As I stepped off to resume my search and hopefully get revenge, the dark hollow starting room was replaced by the viewing area where we arrived. It took a half second for me to notice Tom, sitting cross legged directly under my falling boot.
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