288 Dominion
Nero had been dwelling in the great enhancement of his physical strength, but now, before this monstrosity, it felt all too inadequate. They were both Neophytes, yet the disparity between them was a wide chasm not so simply overcome. Even suppressed by Perilith, the grandeur of this creature could not be denied.
But Nero took this feeling of insufficiency, and marinated in it. His father had told him his greatest reliance should be his cards, for they were more powerful and diverse. Even his own innate ability could be modified if he mastered card crafting.
Compared to the true power of a Card Master, relishing physical strength seemed like utter foolishness. Despite having this advice, Nero previously felt proud of his strength because he had not yet reached the level of crafting incredible cards. His main reliance was still his innate ability and his strength.
One more reason for that was besides innate cards, all 0 star cards were pretty simple, straightforward and weak. Only by breaking through to the Initiate level could he truly touch upon the true wonders of the Eldrim cards.
Though, even in the Neophyte realm, he had already tasted some of the wonders of the cards.
Finally establishing a bit of a tempo, Nero did not hesitate to use Virtuous Moonlight.
Enjoying a fight was a good thing, but he had absolutely no hope of fighting this thing that could literally eat through a Spartan-II spear.
But he hoped to see if the creature could be subdued using his second innate ability. It could only extend 1 metre (3 feet) away from him, which was much too close for comfort. Yet in dodging the monster's attacks, Nero inevitably came close enough, so that he flashed the light onto the creature.
Something unusual happened. No black smoke emerged from the monster's body when the light touched it, though the monster did stop its attacks, and looked solemnly at Nero.
All of a sudden, the fight stopped, and Nero finally discovered that his body was covered in sweat. Or, more likely, blood had leaked from where his skin had been ripped, and now covered his whole body. He would need to take off his gear to find out.
"How unworthy a vessel for the Virtuous Aeons' grace," the creature grumbled, his voice heavy in the air, causing both the ground and the air to shake. He looked at Nero with disdain, though his demeanour had become more restrained at the very least. He did not look like he wanted to fight Nero anymore, but he also didn't look like he wanted to kneel in front of Nero.
Nero wanted to speak, to ask the creature questions, about itself and the Aeon. But, to his great and genuine surprise, he discovered that he was unable to move. Unknowingly, the creature had succeeded in attacking Nero spiritually, leaving him a prisoner within his own body, unable to move.
If the creature had done this before, their fight…
"Be gone mortal. Do not trespass down into my lands again. This is the dominion of the Primal Aeon."
The creature reached forward and grabbed Nero by the chest, and then flung him back in the direction of the wooden tavern.
Nero had lost all control over his body, unable to resist at all. He was only grateful that his grip remained tight, so as he flew through the air, facing away from where he had been flung, he saw that both his dagger and his card case were in his hands.
Then he hit something, and he felt the bones within his body breaking.
With perfect aim, the monstrosity had thrown him towards the others, so he crashed into Bael, who was then flung forward into the others.
Like pins to a bowling ball, they were all suddenly laid flat.
During their escape, fighting for their life, such an act was akin to death. Yet oddly, the countless creatures and even curses that were attacking them suddenly stopped. It was as if they sensed from the group a much more terrifying aura, inadvertently achieving the deterrent effect Nero had wanted to create.
Nero tried to get up, but a blinding pain shooting through his spine convinced him that doing so would be a bad idea.
"Is Daisy awake?" he asked, unable to see anyone since he was facing the sky. "I need some healing."
In response, all he got was a painful groan as the others tried to get their bearings.
Dave was the first to get up, and quickly approached Nero to help him, yet Bael beat him to it.
"What the hell happened to you?" he asked in horror. Nero could not see his own condition, but Bael could. All of Nero's limbs were bent unnaturally, a clear indication of just how brutally they had been broken.
"That monster could talk," Nero said. "It told us to…"
Before Nero could complete his sentence, he was hit by a wave of fatigue so intense he could not hold on. The world darkened around him, and the last thing Nero recalled seeing was Bael and Dave's expressions.
Yet like the comforting darkness of slumber, this did not feel quick and timeless. Instead, it was like he was hanging in the void, his brain slowly working as time passed by, a few random thoughts flashing through his mind.
The creature had called him a vessel for the Virtuous Aeons grace. That sounded so familiar, but he could not recall why. Then it had said that it was in the domain of the Primal Aeon.
That sounded both foreign, and familiar.
But Nero's thoughts could not focus on why. His thoughts felt heavy, as if even thinking was a burden. But he was much too used to constantly thinking.
When he was young, his mother told him he was an overthinker, which was a curse and a gift. Uncontrolled, his overthinking could ruin him. But if he controlled the direction of his thoughts, made them productive, and turned his mind into a tool, it would be a tremendous gift.
A gift. Gifts were nice. He liked nice things.
Nero thoughts began slipping, going from coherent into a babbling mess, slowly becoming simpler and infrequent, as if he was finally being welcomed by the embrace of deep sleep.
At last, he thought.
But, quite rudely, a sharp, cold sensation shot through the darkness, jolting his lethargic mind awake. Nero became cognizant of pain, and with pain came awareness.
For a brief moment he opened his eyes, alleviating the darkness, and saw unfamiliar, panicked faces.
They were yelling and screaming something as they worked on his body, but he did know what they were saying.
The sight gave him a headache, so he closed his eyes and fell back into a slumber. This time, his sleep took complete hold of his mind, quieting his thoughts.
Nero had a dream, and within that dream, he was back in his childhood room, looking at his childhood self, playing with a toy spear.
"You lost," the young Nero said, turning to look at him.
"I've lost before as well. It's not like I always win," Nero said with a shrug.
The younger version of him shook his head.
"This time was different. This time, you almost died. You need to do better, Nero. You still need to avenge your brother."
With a start, Nero woke up. The unfamiliar surroundings put him in a state of fight or flight, and Nero was obviously a fighter.
He prepared to surround his body in fire… except he came to a dire realisation! He had forgotten to switch back to Cyroflame.
He did not know if his hair or his eyes had turned white, for he did not know how long he had been unconscious.
He finally calmed down as he remembered everything that happened, and assessed his surroundings. He was in a hospital room, it looked like. The couple of nurses who were watching him from a distance meant that they had expected him to react violently as he did.
He looked down and saw that he was in a patient's robe, though as he flexed his fingers he felt nothing wrong with them.
He stretched, yet there was no sharp pain in his spine. He moved his toes, and everything seemed to be in working order.
Feeling relieved, he turned to look at the nurses and gave them an awkward smile.
"Sorry about that," he said in a jovial tone. "I was a little alarmed because I didn't recognise the place. Can you tell me what happened?"
"You're in the field hospital at the Perilith entrance site," a male nurse said, walking up to him and beginning to check his vitals.
"You were brought out of the dimension two days ago by your partners in terrible condition. You were on the verge of bleeding out, and your numerous internal injuries made the situation even worse. More than once, the doctors thought you weren't going to make it. Fortunately, you have a very sturdy body. Though, there are a few anomalous readings we're concerned about."
Nero smiled brighter, though he hid his concern deep within. A couple of days. More than enough time for his hair and eyes to change colour. Crap.
December release schedule