For the first time in a long time, Nero completely lost his composure. As the illusory image of Virtuous Moonlight became solid, and the sense of being observed by a superior being faded, Nero became aware of the fact that something historic had just happened to him.
He had felt the aura of Sages before, but even they could not be as overwhelmingly as what he had felt. Sages, no matter how unbelievably powerful they were, still felt like they were human. They were just very strong humans, standing at the peak of their species. But whatever had looked down on him… if Nero believed in religion, he might have thought that a deity had looked down on him.
Since he didn't, the most logical answer his brain could come up with was that a very, incredibly powerful Eldrim had peered over at Nero.
He did not know how he was judged, or what the criteria was, but Nero knew that what he had received was far from a simple boon. He had never heard of anyone having two innate abilities, even the great emperor. He was certain that this boost that he had received was greater than anything he could possibly find within the Vault.
Completely out of breath and covered in cold sweats, Nero almost forgot that he was on the verge of being hunted down and killed. Almost.
Nero focused his attention once more, taking in the details of his new innate ability.
Name: Virtuous Moonlight.
Image: A sleek black silhouette stood out, like a ribbon or some elongated object, its form abstract yet deliberate. Near the base of this figure, there was a small circle, almost like an eye or a focal point.
Type: Luminari
Star rank: X
Ability: [The light of the virtuous Aeon graces the world with its brilliance, a flicker of purifying mercy.]
Flavour text: "When the banners of Grierge fell, when the armies of the the Wardens retreated, when the mysts of Hjorflow spread, all that remained was the memory of a better time," - Karv La Heim
Nero felt chills. His body, which was nearly immune to the changes of temperature, felt chills across his whole body as he read the words on that card. He did not understand much of it. Heck, he didn't even understand what the innate ability even did, nor did he understand what the Luminari type meant, or what the flavour text was talking about.
But he felt chills nonetheless. It was as if he had become privy to some secret that had been forgotten for a long time. Even though he did not understand what those secrets meant, nor how they were relevant to the world today, it was as if there was some physical or mystical power in just knowing the secrets - as if they had once again entered the living world.
Nero did not know what was happening, but he knew at least that the sensation he was feeling was far from normal. Something external was causing him to feel like this.
At the same time, Nero knew that no one must ever know about what had happened here. He almost felt an urge to kill Bael. Silas was still fine, for he was knocked out as soon as he finished the card, so Nero could make up a story, but Bael would know that he went inside.
This secret was so great that he felt no compunction, yet Nero also knew he wouldn't be able to get away with it - especially since he was already under scrutiny for murder.
Nero was still trying to understand what had happened, and what he should do, when he was woken from his reverie from a subtle sound of cracking from the distance.
The fog obscured sound, so the fact that he heard it meant it should have been very loud. With no options left, Nero rushed back outside, hoping with all his heart that this light, that this purifying mercy or whatever it was, would resolve their situation. Or at the very least, give him some hope. Even if there was the slightest possibility of surviving, Nero would grasp it tightly.
But first, he needed to see that glimpse of hope.
He ran out to find that Bael had picked up Silas and had retreated as much as he could without being pushed back by the invisible forcefield that blocked their path. In front of him, a shallow pool of blood was creeping ever forward. A large crack in the wall of ice caused even more blood to flow out.
Nero held out his hand and used his newest innate ability, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time he used it.
The first thing he noticed was that a soft beam of silver light emerged from his hand, and that summoning it caused a massive drain on his aether - much more than the flames.
The next thing he noticed was that the light did not extend infinitely. It spread forward exactly one metre (3 feet) and stopped. The range was extremely limited, and hadn't even reached the blood pool, but Nero hadn't lost hope yet.
He stepped forward, coming closer to the blood pool, and shone the light on it. Nothing happened.
There was no smoke, no sizzling, no bubbling or anything of the sort. The blood did not react to the light at all. But instead of despair, Nero's eyes were filled with delight!
The blood did not react, but it didn't proceed forward either. In fact, only the blood that wasn't exposed to the light crept forward. As Nero took another step forward, the blood was pushed back, as if it was completely incapable of existing within that silver light.
"Get over here!" Nero exclaimed, startling the dumbfounded Bael and causing him to quickly step right next to Nero. In fact, he was pressed up against Nero, since the range of the silver light was incredibly small.
Nero didn't care. Instead, he created a dome of light all around him, extending it to its limit, before taking a small step forward. The blood moved out of the way again, even though it stopped moving forward. Instead, it circled around the silver light, as if it knew that its target was within.
Nero did not understand why it couldn't enter, and right now he didn't care. At his current rate, he could only support the light for a few minutes. Hoping that the liquid aether he previously drank was still in his system was not something he planned on doing, so he had to escape as quickly as possible.
"Stay very close to me," Nero said. "I'm going to run. This light around me won't last for long."
"I will," responded the muscular teenager. "But take the artisan. It will be easier if you hold him."
Nero took Silas from Bael, holding him over his shoulder, and then took a confident step forward and watched as the blood receded.
Nero smashed his dagger against the ice wall and watched as an entire wall of blood came crashing down into the hall, yet it never touched Nero. In fact, the ground he walked on was not even wet as there were no signs of the blood within the silver light at all.
Then Nero began to walk through the fog and tide of blood, before slowly breaking into a jog and then a run. He felt no resistance whatsoever as the blood parted to make way for him regardless of how fast he moved. The blood also never slowed down in moving out of the way either. It was as if it simply couldn't exist in the silver light, so if it did not move out of the way, it disintegrated.
Soon Nero saw the marks he left on the wall, and began making his way back to the previous chambers, when a loud siren suddenly blared through the building.
"Shit!" Nero exclaimed, and began running as fast as he could manage while carrying Silas and having a beefy teenager sticking close to his body. Bael had grabbed onto Nero's shirt so that he would never move too far from Nero. He did not want to risk even a single finger of his exiting the protection of the silver light and touching the pool of blood. He did not think he'd be able to survive.
"What is it?" Bael yelled as they ran.
"The siren! It means there are ten minutes till the fog returns!"
That meant that within ten minutes they had to exit the chambers, go back through the long tunnel and then exit the library, which was not a short distance to cover.
But as soon as Nero spoke, something else happened as well. As if it had understood Nero's words, the blood pool began to rumble and sway as the pool also made its way out of the chambers. Was the blood pool also trying to escape the incoming fog?
Unable to answer that question, Nero kept running, though he couldn't help but let a thought creep into his mind. If he pushed Bael out of the light right now… who would know what happened?