That itching feeling is gone...
He quickly looked inward towards his Mind Core. It shone a brilliant golden light, as it always had.
I'm acting a fool for no reason...
Cia suddenly shifted her weight on his back, causing her to sway. He gritted his teeth as his leg suddenly shot out, leaning hard to his right side to keep her steady. His grasp wrapped tighter around her leg, leaning forward to keep her propped up against him.
He could feel her breaths on his back, and suddenly felt panic rise up in him.
What did those beasts do to her!?
Looking back, he saw the swirling black fog slowly growing smaller and smaller as they walked. From time to time, high-pitched furious screams would echo out of its depths, the shadows of fantastical beasts portrayed in silhouettes at its edge. He was so very glad that they had been able to escape... even if it had been with the help of this odd figure.
And although they were still cloaked in the minor grey fog, their biggest problem was still yet to be confronted.
They were still trapped in that faceless man's labyrinth!
"It's coming quick, but we can still manage for a while." Gardner suddenly spoke.
He whipped out his blade and struck down into the ash below. Carving into the mound in a single strike, he pivoted his entire body, spinning in a tumultuous spiral as he pierced deeper into its surface. His blade seemed to be coated in something now. Artemis's eyes were directed to his upper arm, which had become coated in a writhing surface of crimson. It dripped down ceaselessly onto the surface of his sword, which was flung against the walls of the carefully-carved cavern of ash, solidifying in an instant.
Artemis's eye twitched as he glanced at the makeshift encampment.
"You... can't be serious, Gardner Song."
"When was the last time you rested, my friend? Take this opportunity, get your strength back. The next time you'll have another moment will be after we defeat Fog Lord Maccharia."
Grimacing, Artemis lightly stepped into the interior of ash, stifling a gag as he sat back against the smoothly-solidified ruby surface. It was soon intensified in its misery when Gardner took to cramming his titanic form inside the same cavern. There was barely enough space for him to fit, he had to hunch over with his head to his knees just to fit.
Artemis thought the neck pain would have killed him, but as he was mentally expressing this concern, Gardner's neck cracked loudly in several places, and he swear he could have seen imprints underneath his skin shift towards the front of his neck.
Another Aspect ability?
He quickly cleared the thought away from his mind. He was already filled with the terrible urge to throw up what little of himself remained in his stomach.
So he took the time to raise a concern. After all, Gardner seemed to know a lot about that strange black fog. "When I was in the black fog, I saw a figure surrounded by many faceless men. He wore a mask made of many different human faces..."
Gardner's eyes widened. "Ah, that's the bastard! The Fog King! I really hate that guy! Why didn't you say anything when we were in there!?"
He suddenly perked up, stumbling in the small space, unsheathing his sword before grinning madly. He pushed himself out of the enclosure, bones cracking back into place as he stood up, Artemis following close behind him.
"What are you doing?" Artemis asked weakly, scowling.
"Well, I'm going to kill him, of course! That guy took my head off more than once. Now I'm going to take his."
Artemis's eyebrow twitched.
Took his head off? More than once? Is this a figure of speech?
"Sit down." Artemis commanded in a dry, unamused tone.
Gardner let out an audible 'tsk', crossing his arms like a child. Slowly, getting over his annoyance, he glanced over towards Artemis, who had begun to look over the wound on his missing arm, which skin had already begun to grow over, influenced by the faster recovery of the Daemonic Trait. If Leon had been present to help circulate the Daemonic Essence, it would have gone a lot faster...
Where had Leon even disappeared to, anyway?
After Cia had been taken by one of the beasts, and he had entered the black fog, it was like Leon was suddenly cast away, deep into the depths of his very being. And although the Cognitive Tether that remained connected to his Daemonic Core and her, there seemed to be no visible signal from her, no attempt to communicate in any way by influencing the reddish-black core.
Had the black fog done something to Leon? Was there something about it that made a near-Deific being unable to cope with it? That loss of control had been devastating for him. Perhaps a being like her was used to focusing on many things at once. Maybe being able to focus on only one thing threw her system out of balance...
At least, that was Artemis's hope. Because other alternative answers to his worries were dire.
"Do you want me to fashion you a new limb, my Lord?"
Artemis snapped out of a daze, glancing towards Gardner. "What. No, no... what did you say?"
"A limb. I can make you a limb. Fashion it, craft it, manufacture it, produce it. I can make it for you. Here."
Gardner suddenly grasped one of the frayed edges of the crimson cloak he wore, opening it to reveal several mottled, greyed limbs hanging from hooks on the inside of his jacket.
Holy sh-t, he really is a monster.
Artemis stopped suddenly, his head feeling dizzy all of a sudden. He grasped at his head, grimacing.
There it was again! That gnawing feeling on his Mind!
When would he be able to get rid of this torment!?
He felt a cold rush wash over his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching as his facial muscles relaxed.
That itch was gone again.
Thank him. Praise him.
It was all thanks to his Grace.
Artemis instinctively drew the Sign of the three-pronged jagged triskelion on his chest, murmuring under his breath.
And while Gardner had watched this transpire, his gaze darkened significantly.
"My Lord..." Gardner's voice suddenly became grave as he approached from behind.
Artemis turned his head slightly, watching in confusion as a titanic blade covered in a thick layer of illusory-violet struck him in the side of the head, breaking through his skull and turning his world dark.
[+++]
He awoke in a chase. His footsteps stumbled in the onslaught of mud underneath him. He ran wildly towards the storm.
A billowing plume of smoke and ash burst upwards into the air, crackling with an incessant darkness that seemed as cold as frost.
There were two figures situated under this terror that Artemis found himself unwillingly stumbling towards.
One had a head of onyx hair which was tied up neatly behind her head, save for a few locks tucked in front of her ears. Her eyes were a piercing orange, with irises that were cracked like glass, reflecting an ambivalent and radiant hue that resembled the deepest, hottest flames.
While she had been too far away to hear him, Artemis still instinctively called out to her, shocked by her sudden appearance.
"Leon!"
She saw the woman burgeon suddenly. Scales of crimson flames and obsidian scales flew out from her limbs, crashing together in a formation of armour that surrounded her entirety, spiraling out in an elongated limb-like tail plumed with bright iridescent feathers. Horns jutted out from what was once her head, outfitted with ornate golden ornaments, chains drooping from its surface far down below.
It flew through the air like wind would. There was no hesitation in its movements, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And its roar was titanic, like thunder on the horizon. When it opened its mighty maw, its teeth dripping with foul, smoking saliva, he saw a core of blistering light form in the back of its throat. And then flame rained down in heavy sheets.
It was like two calamities, a tsunami of black fog and an apocalypse of crimson fire clashing against each other. Torrents of wind blew Artemis back each second, signaling that this fight between two near-Deific figures was impossible for him to even think of intervening in.
But... wasn't this just a dream?
His thoughts were hazy, still captivated by the sight of the battle. Hadn't he been knocked out by Gardner?
So why did it feel real?
More than that... he was feeling an intense sense of dread. Like he had a blade's point against his neck. Like he was seconds away from being submerged in boiling water. Like his death was only moments away.
A strange breeze fluttered past his neck. He quickly drew his blade, and in an instant, a menacing onyx scythe curtailed the distance between his throat, barely managing to squeeze his blade in between to shatter the attack sequence.
His eyes widened, taking a step back as he felt the memories of several wounds resurface, almost as if he was feeling the pain again.
The figure spun the onyx scythe in a circle, whipping it to the side as if wishing to spill blood that hadn't yet collected on its edge.
A black set of menacing armour... a cuirass stained crimson...
This was the Daemonic Knight he had vanquished in front of the wooden ruins!
At least... he thought it was. Why was it wielding a scythe now?
Artemis willed Daemonic Essence to move throughout his body, rushing towards his Mind Core, resonating through the Cognitive Tethers towards his eye.
"[Name: The Thing that Sleeps]
[Status: Returned]
[Lineage: N/A]
[Aspect: Terror (Stage 5: Nightgaunt)]
[Spirit Contract: N /A]
===
[General Description:]
The Nightmare of the King of the Fog, ????????
??????????????????
????????????????????Sonetto?????
???
...?
===