"Mother f..." Vanessa cursed as her body moved instinctually. The balance had been broken, a change finally occurred, and it was not in their favour.
The glaring light of the midday light had never been darker, the pull of gravity had never been stronger. It was like the weight of the sky had fallen upon Vanessa’s shoulders, pressing her down into the ground. The weight of another death coiled around her chest like an anaconda, squeezing the life out of her, making it so that taking a single breath was nigh impossible.
The corpse hit the ground with a clap of thunder that shook the very heavens. It was as if the corpse was roaring against the unfairness of fate, beating against the doors of heaven and hell alike. It was not a superior foe that had snatched life from him, not a curse or a daunting enemy. A lifetime of training, of fighting, of dreaming had been snatched from him not by an honourable death, but by the blow of a coward!
Vanessa could hear Nero’s words echoing in her ears. There was no Kolari that feared death, for their death was written on the battlefield. But not like this, not like this...
Vanessa’s vision had blurred, her mind overwhelmed by the suddenness of what had just happened, but when a sudden jolt traveled through her dagger up her arm, she snapped back into the moment.
She moved with ungodly swiftness and appeared beside another soldier, just in time to block another arrow that had been targeting him. She had not seen it coming, or maybe she hadn’t even realised that she had seen it. Vanessa had just acted on pure instinct and held off the rancid jaws of death from claiming another life.
There was no time to waste thinking, no time to appreciate her deed, or to dwell on the fact that Dave was probably back. Her body flickered through the battlefield like the shadow cast by a candle lit in the dark, her daggers drawing blood and pain as if it was their birthright.
From seven they had gone back to six, and the pressure against them had increased for the beasts attacked with even greater savagery, the thick scent of blood tickling their beastial instincts. Yet they held still.
Against all logic, against common sense, against all expectations, they held.
Vanessa had entered some kind of trance, with no time to think. She did not feel the weakness in her body, though it was still there. She did not feel the killer headache, though it had never left. In a way, it could even be said that the reason Vanessa’s consciousness had somewhat given way to her instincts was because of the influence of the poison.
She did not notice that her use of her ability had improved tremendously, allowing her to flit through shadows like a swallow gliding through the air. Instead, in her mind, she could see that gym back in Mount Aiden. The one where she had peeked through the door to see Nero training.
Back then, she had only seen him waving his spear around. Now, as the scene visualised in her mind again, she could see the invisible enemies he was fighting off. She could see that the reason he never moved, fighting in that one position, was because there was someone behind his back that he must protect.
She saw his spear clash against the claws of a feline beast, cutting through its tough skin, not realising that she herself was the one doing that. Vanessa saw him bat an arrow out of the air, failing to notice that it had been her own, trembling, bleeding hands that had done it.
Slowly, the vision began to fade. The memory was becoming darker, the background of the gym fading into the darkness. There seemed only a spotlight hanging directly above Nero in her mind, still fighting against the enriching darkness, unwilling even now to give in.
Through it all, she never realised that all the traits she admired in him, she was beginning to adopt in herself.
But even pure will had limits. Even tenacity could run out. Her body, already weakened by the poison, and then the subsequent battle, was quickly running out of energy. But it seemed while the energy did not run out completely, she would still stand.
Unfortunately, that also meant she was slower, and an arrow passed through her defenses. Another soldier, undefeated against Perilith, fell to the hands of their former comrade. When the arrow hit, it sprayed blood in the air, landing on Vanessa’s gear.
Why was it getting harder to breathe? Vanessa didn’t know. What was that desperate feeling in her chest? She... she didn’t know. Why was it getting harder to see Nero fighting? Had someone turned off the lights?
Vanessa fell forward, all strength lost in her limbs, her eyes staring out into the distance. A moment later, another corpse fell right in front of her, its hazel eyes looking into Vanessa’s own.
Time seemed to have frozen after that. Or maybe, it hadn’t. She just had no more strength to think, or do anything else, except stare in those hazel eyes, unaware of what was happening around her.
Maybe that was a blessing, for at least she couldn’t feel pain anymore.
Dave, from behind the thicket, sneered at the fallen girl. He had to admit, she had surprised him in the end there. But all she had done was hold off the inevitable for another minute or two.
The defense collapsed almost instantly, with only Lina and another soldier left standing - purely because their innate abilities allowed them to survive a little longer than the rest. But how many more seconds could they even last?
Dave stopped attacking and prepared to retreat as soon as he saw their deaths. He had revealed his position during his attacks, and though the beasts weren’t targeting him yet, he had no doubt they’d at least investigate his location once they were done with the last two soldiers.
Ironically, throughout this entire time, Bael and Noman, who had been the most thoroughly poisoned, remained the most unharmed. The beasts hadn’t even bothered to attack them yet - probably since there were no signs of them waking up at all.
Dave let out a deep breath, finally feeling the weight of this stupid mission lift off his shoulders. Sure, he would still need to explain himself when he returned from Perilith, but from the moment he prepared to reach the Initiate level within Perilith, he had already taken precautions for what would come after his return.
One of the last two soldiers was knocked over, not dead yet but mere moments away from it. That meant Lina would soon fall too. He saw as the three of the beasts surrounded her and got ready to pounce. He saw her prepare her purple tendrils. Dave got up, ready to depart.
But the final attack never came.
The beasts, all of them, suddenly yelled like wounded animals and jumped back. They hissed and arched their backs, trying to appear larger and more intimidating, but instead of frightening, they only looked more frightened.
The heat of midday suddenly plummeted as an icy chill spread across the entire battlefield, as if death’s incarnation itself had decided to descend upon the earth.
Dave, too, felt a frigid chill tingling up his spine as his danger sense went off the charts, as if he had been caught in the midst of a calamity. Fear gripped his heart as his mind instantly went to the Primal Exarch. Had that monstrosity somehow returned?
Yet when he looked over to the source of the danger, what he saw was somehow much more frightening.
At the mouth of the cave stood Nero, a furious, cerulean flame blazing all across his body.
A sheen of ice cracked into existence beneath his feet, spreading with a silent fury as cold mist coiled and writhed around him - an echo of the storm simmering behind his eyes. His eyes which were looking directly at Dave, through the distance, through the thicket, through all pretense.
No, it can’t be! Dave tried to tell himself. He was an Initiate now, and Nero was merely a Neophyte. He was the superior one, he was the stronger one, he was...
His innate ability suddenly started to scream at him. It was already too late to run, so he better...
Faster than he could think, faster than his instincts could warn him, faster than Dave could react, a flaming fist, colder than the glaciers on the Aether mountain range, smashed into his face.
This can’t be happening...
Dave crashed into a tree, and the shock finally woke him from his stupor. He tried to react, but another fist found its way to his face.