Bloodstained Eyes

He couldn’t hear anything, but his eyes still worked just fine and he very much didn’t like what they showed. The Shrieklik was writhing in pain, clawing at the burning muck on its face while screaming loud enough that cracks were opening in the tunnel around it and leaking dust that vibrated in the air as it fell. He could feel his organs vibrating in time with the agonized shrieks, sending pulses of pain through him.

He didn't have time or the ability to check his status, his tome safely tucked away back at the temple, but he didn't need to see his Hp to know he was fucked. He could tell his right leg was fractured just above the ankle, his intact shoulder was badly bruised, the bone covered in thousands of tiny micro-fractures, and three of his ribs were broken off and embedded in the muscle around his chest cavity. It wouldn't be long before they made their way into his lungs, especially if he kept getting tossed around like this.

He grimaced, digging his fingers into the stone beneath him and melting it with the flames still clinging to them. He scooped out the (mildly demonically tainted) molten stone, layering it over his broken leg as a makeshift cast. There wasn't much he could do about his ribs or shoulder, but a muttered prayer to Lord Silxazar to drink his pain had the agony fade away, replaced by a cold sinking feeling that settled over his body. He knew he would pay for that later, but at least he'd have a later to worry about at that point.

His wounds weren’t healed, he just couldn’t feel the pain anymore; he would still need to be careful about his ribs and leg, but at least now he could move without agony shooting up his spine. He was tempted to try just burying himself and seeing if he could hide, but he had seen those claws go straight through stone like it was gelatine; rendering himself immobile in exchange for dubious concealment and zero additional protection struck him as a remarkably bad idea.

He sat up as quickly as he could without further dislodging his ribs, from his place on the ground he could clearly see the Shrieklik’s face as its razor claws cut into its tough exoskeleton, shearing away the section of its mouth coated in the infernal magma. It had no eyes, no real method of expressing whatever alien emotions it may have had, but nonetheless he could have sworn it radiated apocalyptic rage as it slowly turned to face him. It tossed the burnt remnants of flesh it had shorn from its face in his general direction with a contemptuous click of its teeth, stepping towards him with deliberate slowness; he couldn’t tell if it was being cautious, or simply taking its time out of spite.

Either way, the results were the same; he had a few extra seconds to plan and act. Ideas raced through his head, each one evaluated just like his master taught him before being dismissed, until eventually he settled on one that might actually work. He licked his teeth, tasting blood on them as he raised his hand; to one who didn’t know him, it would appear as if he were making the most feeble and base of warding gestures, silently begging the monstrosity to stay back. Anyone able to sense mana, however, would take note of how much power was being concentrated into the palm of his hand.

He didn't like drawing upon his Solar affinity, he couldn't control it very well and he always wound up hurting himself when he tried; even when he was initially training to cultivate flame, he had never burned himself as badly as the first time he tapped into his natural affinity. Even so, it was the only trick he had that might just be strong enough to get him out of this alive. He carefully kept from grinding his teeth as he felt the heat building in the palm of his hand rising beyond his resistance to it; with the blessing of the Lord Of Agony settled over him he wouldn’t be able to tell he was damaging his jaw until it was too late, nor could he feel as his flesh began to cook. The intense heat wasn’t able to pierce the veil of sinking cold pulsing through him and bring pain, but seeing his flesh blister and blacken was decidedly unpleasant nonetheless.

He couldn’t help but smirk when the advancing creature failed to react to the light dancing over its skin; it couldn’t see the light nor could it feel the heat, though its head did begin to twist and sway curiously when the growing ball of intense heat building in his hand began to suck in air at an notable pace. Evidently, the Ravermaw didn’t like what it was hearing, at least if the way it spread its arms wide, crouched down, and leapt straight at him with an enraged cry.

He didn’t panic, even as death tore through the air on wings of screaming hate, he simply aimed into the beast’s path, closed his eyes, and released his hold over the tiny sliver of a star held in his hand. A beam of burning light thrice the thickness of his palm lanced out, evaporating any moisture in the air on contact in a small steam explosion as it speared clean through the Shrieklik’s torso and carved a trench into the wall behind it. The beam barely existed for a fraction of a second, but even then it left him blinking back stars even from behind his scalded eyelids.

The Shrieklik landed on its feet far short of its target, stumbling forward a few steps even with a burning hole where the majority of its torso once was. A small, confused noise escaped its maw in a puff of smoke, its hairs thrashing about erractivaly all over its remaining carapace. Its jerky, stumbling gait took it three steps forward even as smoke poured between its teeth and out the gaping hole where its organs used to be before it collapsed to the molten floor in a splash of blood and magma. The mighty creature gave one last twitch, sending droplets of magma scattering about the tunnel before its limbs curled up and it went still.

Zildan panted heavily, his hand shaking violently as sweat and blood dripped through the cracks in his armour. He took slow, deep breaths, flushing his body with oxygen to try and calm the tremors wracking his limbs; he may not feel the pain, but his nerves were still on fire and his body still absolutely flooded with adrenaline and endorphins.

He very nearly laid down on the scorched earth and slept where he fell before a tremor racing through the ground drew he gaze behind him, his eyes narrowing at the sight of cracks spreading through the stone barricade keeping the horde of demented monsters out. He could not hear their maddened screams and bloodthirsty howls, but the feverish intensity and absolute lack of self preservation burning out from those rabid eyes that shone through the cracks painted a grimly familiar tale to his experienced eyes.

Even as cracked claws leaking watery brown blood scrabbled at the crumbling stone, the plague doctor rose to his feet with a groan, thanking the Lord Of Misery for his blessing of numbness as he sprinted into the tunnel carved out by his erstwhile foe. A blast of crimson flame caved in the tunnel entrance in a wave of magma, sealing it behind him just as a wave of monsters finally burst free from the rubble and swarmed through the space he just stood.

He could hear them tearing apart his enemy’s corpse even as more of them began trying to burrow through his impromptu door. With practised aplomb, he ignored their hellish shrieks and kept walking. Battered as he was, his mission had not changed; he needed to destroy the aetherium deep within these tunnels before it irrevocably corrupted this land. The lesser monstrosities that plagued this lightless abyss could wait until his back up arrived.

The moment the blade slipped through his heart, the numb pain in my hand exploded to consume all other sensation. My mind went white from the agony, even as bright pink light blasted into my unfocused eyes and a howl like that of a billion wretched souls screaming in the most abject of agony and despair filled my ears.

Pain Resistance +10

Even with the notification, my thoughts only barely cleared enough for me to blearily take in what was going on around me. Pink light poured from my victim’s eyes, mouth, and the holes where his nose and ears once were, seemingly being sucked into the runes around us as they too began to glow. The lurid colour seemed to radiate pain as the same light poured out around my blade, slipping through the man’s severed face and curling around my hand to crawl into my wound. The light danced around me like some licentious smoke, bringing unthinkable pain with every burning caress against my skin.

Pain Resistance +3

I could feel a heavy presence settle over the room, ancient and unfathomably cruel. My knees bent as this malignant sapience directed its sadistic attentions upon me, but I refused to fall.

Will +1

A slithering voice wound its way through my mind like silken razor wire, “My my, aren’t you an interesting little thing, hmm? My dear Drelkingor will be very interested to hear that a creature like you exists.” The voice danced in my thoughts, drawing images of smoky rooms filled with figures writhing in pain, “You, my little friend, are something that old mossback Frotzenglu has been looking for for a very long time…” I could hear the positively lascivious grin in that voice, “Oooh, I’m certain my darling will be ever so happy to have found you before that grey-toothed warmonger; my, he might even punish me for putting my mark on you first~!” The sinuous voice gave a breathy moan, clearly excited at the thought.

The smoky, neon light wrapped around me, stroking my skin almost tenderly even as every touch brought electric surges of pain. “Now now, you needn’t worry little mouse, your fruit isn’t quite ready to pluck just yet… Oooooh, how furious would my beloved bringer of the blaze be if I were to hide you from him! Mmmmm, he might even burn me again! What a delightful thought~!” I could barely hear myself screaming over the voice in my head, but they didn’t relent, only growing even more vicious as my thoughts began to melt and twist. My bleeding mind thought I could almost hear people weeping and screaming within those lustful words, as if every sibilant sound was formed from the anguished cries of innumerable souls tormented for eternity. “Mmmmmlahahahahaa~ I think that’s just what I’ll do~! Oh how angry he’ll be~! Oooohaha, Especially if ol’ Frotzy boi finds you first~! Ooooouuuuuooooooh, I can already taste his sweet flame upon my skin!” I could hear them writhing at the thought, the increasingly solid tendrils of effervescent smoke and incandescent light wrapping tighter and tighter around me began to feel like groping hands made of congealed suffering, their rough touch bringing burning agony.

Just as the screams behind their sultry tones were beginning to sound recognizable, the presence over the room began to pull back. The scalding light began to dim as the pink haze surrounding me seemed to drift away as if in a breeze I could not feel. I sank to my knees as the smoky hands holding me up faded away before a spike of excruciating pain surged from the palm of my hand and laughter filled my ears, “Hmhmhmhmhmhahahahahahahahaaa~! Be seeing you mousey, don’t go dying on me before my dear Drelkie can find you~! Enjoy what time you have before he does and use my gift to spread misery far and wide, mmmkay~? Lahahahahahaa~!” Magenta light exploded between my fingers as my vision started going black at the edges and my thoughts turned wet and runny between my ears.

My every thought felt like it was traveling between oceans of boiling oil to reach my mind, coming in slow and ragged as spots began consuming my vision. I curled in on myself, rolling on the ground and clenching my pain wracked fingers around the silver blade so hard I could almost hear my bones creaking over the sounds of my own anguished screams. Eventually, the mind-grating pain began to trickle away, growing fainter with every pulse of my heart.

Will +3

Pain Resistance +6

Trait Gained: Silxazar Touched

I lay in a puddle of blood and tears, my shaking hands still clenched around a silver blade and a severed face as the pain finally dulled enough for me to think relatively clearly. The ground felt rougher below me, the air colder, and the texture of the skin and blade I held stood out far greater than before even as I slowly unclenched my fingers and let them fall. I was terrified and felt more than slightly violated, but above all, as the pain slowly faded away, I felt exhausted.

My eyelids felt like lead weights, constantly trying to slide shut as I tried to keep myself awake. I wasn’t safe here, I couldn’t just fall asleep on a demonic altar in the middle of a room full of murderous thugs! These thoughts did nothing to stop my eyes from sliding closed without my consent even after I jolted myself awake several times.

The last thing I saw before consciousness left me was a fading, watery pink light spilling out from the brand on my palm and Markus smiling from ear to ear.