Chapter 7: Darkness
There was not a hint of hesitation or confusion in his action as Nero swung his knife towards the hand at full speed. In the darkness he could not see what had grabbed him, but he could judge that the grip seemed to come from a hand that felt like a human hand, but that was no reason to hold back.
The knife hit something hard and the blowback nearly caused the skin between his thumb to rip, but Nero held on. There was no collision sound due to the effects of Muted Self. The hand, as if alarmed by the swift attack, let go but Nero continued the attack.
Some cursed beings could, after killing their target, inhabit their bodies and control them, so even if the body that grabbed him was human, it was not necessary that it wasn't an enemy. Either way, Nero attacked again, this time putting even more strength in his swing, yet the knife seemed to miss the target, as if there was nothing there to begin with.
Nero instantly backed up and put his back against the wall. Such a position was slightly unfavourable as it would block some of his movements, but in the darkness at least it ensured that he did not need to worry about being attacked from behind.
He strained his eyes and ear, trying to see if he could detect any moving figures or hear the enemy approach, but the room was as still and silent as death.
Nero could feel his heart beating like a drum in his chest, though that was not a bad thing. A higher heartbeat rate would allow the adrenaline to spread, enabling him to react faster. The enemy was still there in the darkness somewhere, waiting.
Nero did not move an inch. What if the enemy had dynamic vision only? In his mind, he was also counting down till the effects of Muted Self elapsed, as he would have to recast it.
Nothing. Nothing happened for an unbearably long time, though Nero knew that was an illusion of the mind. In reality, barely a few seconds had gone by. If he had a weaker mind, he would have fallen prey to fear at such a time. He would have wondered why the enemy had not attacked yet, wondered what the enemy was, wondered how many enemies there were, and so many more of such thoughts.
But instead, Nero kept his mind empty. It was a game of patience, and it was yet to be determined who the monster in the dark was, Nero or the-
"I'm human," a hoarse voice whispered from Nero's left. He instantly took a step back, his knife still in his hand, but he did not attack.
Cursed beings could take over corpses, sometimes, but for them to be of a high enough level to speak after the possession, they would far surpass Nero in strength. But being human did not mean being an ally.
Nero suddenly recalled that his innate ability was a flame! Although he did not want to attract attention, he channelled his ability towards his right hand. He imagined the blade of his knife getting coated in the Cryoflame, but apparently his control was not yet adequate.
A blue flame appeared, encompassing his entire right hand and the knife it carried, dimly illuminating the darkness.
Nero finally saw the person who spoke. It was a Herald, who was now leaning against the wall, rubbing his right arm as if it was hurt. His vambrace had protected it from being cut due to Nero's attack. It was hard to see all the details in blue light, but he looked incredibly pale as if...
He noticed that the Herald's left leg had been cut off right below the knee. An impromptu bandage covered it, but it was still bleeding slowly.
"You're the new Neophyte?" he asked, still whispering. "Don't try to escape. This is not a cursed event. The AAB has been infiltrated by unknown assailants. They will be watching the exits. Instead, you should hide."
Nero did not entirely drop his guard, but he did lower his knife. He walked up to the Herald and, for a fraction of a second, touched his stump with his flaming hand.
"My innate ability has cryo features," Nero explained. "I'm not too familiar with it so I don't want to take any chances, but freezing the wounded area should constrict blood vessels and restrict blood flow. I'm sorry if I accidentally gave you frostbite, I have not tested it before."
His voice was absent of all emotion, and cold, much like his flame. But his actions and intentions were otherwise.
"If we cannot escape, hiding is the next best option, but this room will clearly not suffice. Do you know where we can hide? If not, the vents are our only option."
Various emotions flashed on the Herald's face, though Nero could not identify them. It was clear, however, that the Herald did not expect Nero to include him in his hiding plans.
"I can hide on my own, I don't need help. You can try the vents, I don't know how safe any of the other rooms are. But..."
The Herald was clearly hesitant about what he wanted to say, and looked like he was undergoing an internal debate.
"Say what you want. Don't waste time," said Nero, as he observed the rest of the room in the dim blue light. There was something odd about the wall on the opposite side of the room. It was covered in a veil of darkness the blue light from his flame couldn't pierce.
"Have you received some kind of training? Some special military branch?"
"Why does it matter?" Nero asked, not dropping his guard.
Still somewhat conflicted, the Herald showed Nero a card case, similar to his own.
"One of the Heralds brought away the assailants, but he dropped his card case. He is the best of us, but without his cards..."
The Herald did not finish his sentence, but it was clear what he was asking. He wanted to ask if Nero would go deliver the card case to the aforementioned Herald towards where all the assailants had gone.
"How many enemies are there? What are their levels? What's their objective?" Nero asked as he analysed the situation.
"I don't know what happened outside. Arcanist Havaal told us to stay in the room as he left, and later two masked men broke in. The ones that attacked us were in the Initiate realm, but I don't know about the rest."
Initiate was the level after Neophyte, after which came Arcanist. All three of these realms were considered to be in the realm of 1 star card masters. While the difference between a Neophyte and Arcanist was significant, there was not too great of a difference between Neophyte and Initiate usually. Moreover, Neophytes received no boost in their physical capabilities at all, so they were basically just normal people who gained an innate ability and could use cards.
Theoretically, a normal person could defeat a Neophyte if the circumstances were correct, and a Neophyte could defeat an Initiate. Many things came into play, and Nero did not have forever for his considerations.
"Trade weapons?" Nero said, holding out his knife and pointing towards the wooden spear the Herald was gripping. Without the ability to stand, he would not be able to use a spear effectively anyway. A knife would be much better for him.
Without saying anything, the Herald accepted the deal, and held out the spear. Its immaculately carved, wooden body seemed to end with a metal spear that seemed to grow out of the wood rather than be attached to it somehow.
Nero gripped the spear tightly in his hand and felt its weight, getting accustomed to it.
"Hand me the case and tell me how to identify him."
"He has metallic grey hair, you can't miss him," the Herald said, a sense of relief flooding his body. Nero grabbed the case and opened it to check its contents. His pupils dilated the moment his hand touched a card.
"These are 1 star cards," Nero said, his eyes focusing on the Herald. Neophytes couldn't use 1 star cards. Not only were they more powerful, but they also required a more condensed form of aether than Neophytes could provide. One had to be at least an Initiate to use them.
"Like I said, he is the best of us," the Herald said, though explicitly he still did not confirm anything. The Herald leaned to the side awkwardly and reached into his chest plate before pulling something out and handing it to Nero.
"This is my innate card. It should help you hide."
It was difficult to tell the colours of the card under the blue light, but Nero had a feeling it would not have mattered anyway.
The picture on the card was a black fog, and its ability was stated in a single line. For some reason, the name of the card seemed to be obscured by a part of the fog that seemed to spread beyond the usual borders of the image area. He focused on the ability.
[You are the darkness.]
When Nero looked back at the Herald from the card, he had vanished from in front of his eyes.
"There's a hole in the wall on the opposite side, though I've covered it with my ability. You can exit through there, though I won't be able to help you with what follows," he said, his voice almost sounding weaker. He could not tell if he was imagining it.
"Don't die on me, Darkness," Nero said, his voice carrying the barest hint of taunting as he walked towards the other side of the room.
There were a few mangled corpses on the ground and, unfortunately, they seemed to belong to some of the Heralds. Nero had hoped they were cursed creatures. But he did not let their deaths affect him at all. His heart was free of ripples. A Kolari's death was written, and it was on the battlefield. These Heralds had reached their final battlefield.
When he reached the other side, under the blue light Nero could clearly see that an unusual black fog covered a portion of the wall. That was likely the hole.
"You don't die on me either," whispered a voice, this time noticeably weaker, he was sure.
Nero did not respond, or acknowledge the voice in any way. His mind was focused on the task ahead. He had no training in using cards, but he knew the theory. Using two cards should not be an issue, as long as they don't require him to continuously provide aether, or actually control the ability specifically.
Just to be sure, he waited till Muted Self expired before channelling his aether into the Heralds card, and felt an unusual pressure envelop him. He could feel as if the darkness in the room had become a physical entity, and had spread itself over him so that he could no longer be seen.
The moment he stopped channelling his aether, the feeling vanished, and he became visible again.
This time, he activated Muted Self, and then subsequently used the Herald's cards. Both abilities seemed to be active at the same time.
Nero walked through the darkness, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
Shortly after Nero left, the Herald who had disappeared, reappeared, lying on the floor, his eyes closed.