Sachihiro

"You ready?"

"Yea,"

[BZz], it zaps into me like a burning current. Flowing through my whole body quenching everything until I feel as light and as dextrous as a feather.Yet I also feel strong, very strong, in fact brimming with energy.

I clench my fist feeling the power within my body. I stomp my foot heavily on the ground, the vibrations going deep into my knee testament to the power behind the action.

This is great, I stretch quickly and easily. Going through a whole slew of movement forms one after the other smoothly, quicker than I ever have in my life. How is this even possible?

"Careful, you can overexert yourself pretty badly without even realising it."

"I feel great," I speak easily twisting from form to form to form flying through. Has movement ever been this easy, ever felt this good?

"Sure, but you’ll feel it after the buff wears off. You’re pretty sleek yourself with those moves, you a sword dancer?"

"Yes."

"I can tell."

I don’t stop moving. Form after form, my legs going from stance to stance, arms windmilling, flipping easily front, back, side-on sweeping and spinning through the air to land lightly already twisting into another form.

"This is great," I’m not even winded as I speak mixing every body discipline I know, dancing about the place easily. ''Thank you for this.''

"It’s mostly all you," he grumbles.

"What do you mean?"

I don’t stop moving, I can’t. This is amazing, this is better than sex, this is complete mastery over every movement. This is ecstasy in motion.

"I’ve buffed a lot of people, it’s mostly just unlocking what’s already there beyound your grasp. Bringing you to your peak so to speak."

There has to be a cost beyond manna to that. "But I could never see in the dark before,"

"Actually your eyes would have eventually adjusted, had you spent several more years down here it would have eventually happened naturally."

That's an amazing ability, unlocking the potential of a person years in advance. "Why you telling me that, you seem to be playing your contribution down a bit." Why are you telling me how your ability works, 'since now I'll figure out how to beat it.

I stop to consider him, jumping lightly on my toes abounding with energy. I look on the ledge he's crouching on, I can make the jump now I’m sure.

He shrugs, "you’re honest about your power I’m being honest about mine."

"Why?"

I don’t trust too helpful information, I’m a stranger to him still. Why would he care about anything I say or do or think about him? Why would he tell me the limits of his ability? He didn't though, hmm... this one doesn't figth with his body by the looks of him but that's an intentional deception. The muscles on him are corded tight, and the ease with which he moves about.. dangerous physically not just with his ability to 'buff' someone a negative trait.

"Consider it an investment," he says flipping a coin through the air and catching it quickly. Where did that come from?

"Alright," I still don’t trust him but I’ll take it for now. It’s not that important a consideration anyways, not right now.

I run a ways back, still surprising myself with the speed and ease of movement. I could never move like this before, I never would have thought I’d ever move like this.

Without stopping I circle about, increasing speed I run headlong towards the gapping divide with increasing glee. There is a air current against my face, clothes bellowing lightly like I’m soaring through the air.

I jump.

*

Aeonian Black

"Found anything of interest?"

"I found lots of interest brother."

"Find anything of use."

"That too," I say waving his interest away.

"Report then," Castro billows in annoyance as I lounge on his favourite spot.

"You’re no fun when you sulk."

"Do I need to remind you again what’s at stake here?" the words are a threat dilivered in a lower frequency.

"Your pride and bragging rights?" His eyes squint low dangerously, I almost shiver in pleasure at the manic aimed at me.

"When will you learn to stop playing your games Sleeker?"

"You need to lighten up a little, doesn’t he girls?" the girls ignore me as I expected them to. I lounge enticing brother’s cherry grapes into my mouth.

"Life is not a game."

"Life is the greatest game."

He snorts but ignores me, signalling for Mandrake to enter the tent.

He will be useless when he starts dealing with reports.

"I’m still mad at you for chasing away the specimen I brought."

"The sorcerer? You can’t bring unknowns into our camp whilst we’re this close to the Library, especially with everything going to shit out there. Do you have no sense of responsibility at all?" he practically shouts, talk about wound tight.

"Well, it’s fortunate for you that I found him again and promised to travel with him for a bit to our mutual benefit."

I can actually hear his teeth-gnashing, I wink at Mandrake who has yet to give his report. Not much to report really, but brother likes details too much so reports can take a while.

"Sleeker, either report what you found or get out of my tent."

Ahh, he can tell I have something of interest but he doesn’t wanna play twenty questions for it today. How boring.

"Fine, the specimen I brought, Steel. He can lead me to the Library."

That gets his attention as he abruptly stands.

"How?"

"I don’t know but that’s where he’s going."

"He told you this?"

"No, he has no idea where he’s going."

Brother gazes at me intently, he’s smart enough not to question my insight but he’s going to want details as usual.

"Tell me everything," he says indicating for Mandrake to sit as he comes over to join me on the lounging chair.

Where to begin?

*

Sachihiro

Spelunking, my passage through the underground has become a spelunking obstacle course of dreams.

I’ve been running for over an hour, jumping high ducking low climbing easily to get over obstacles. I see far, setting my route long before I get to choke points or dead ends. I’m untiring, my body a golem of speed precision and power, my breath steady.

I pump my legs, pumping my arms running full tilt trying to test the limits of my stamina. So far I have found none, even at full sprint, I have no limit to stamina. The burn in my muscles a pleasant sensation of warm active muscles, not the strength-sapping burn hyperactivity is supposed to be.

This is cheating, this is great, I feel great, this is great.

[Urhgg], the unintelligible sound of suffering escapes between my lips.

[Ughgg], surely I’m dying. Surely this is some cosmic punishment for subverting the rules of nature.

I can’t move, everything hurts so badly. There is no comfort to be had anywhere, {pain}.

{Pain}.

{Pain}.

All there is is pain.

I crawl on the rocks positioning myself until I’m rolled like a foetus in the womb, it doesn’t help.

[Hhhhh], [hhhhh], I dry heave painfully.

Ribs constricting, tongue heavy sticking out, suffocating as my diaphragm forgets it’s job.

My head pounds heavily, rolling to the side too heavy for me to keep in any semblance of decency. I’m rung out, every muscle is in spasmodic distress. My tongue is twisted out my mouth from the knot my stomach is tied into, I can't breathe.

Surely this is punishment for my hubris, surely no one can maintain that level of activity and think they won’t suffer the consequences.

I’m going to die here, Aeonian I left far behind. Hours away, if he even comes this way, I didn’t think, I just kept moving. I need help and I have no one, I have nothing, my suffering is solitary. As always my suffering is solitary, I have nothing.

{Pain}.

What’s this?

With an effort of titanic will I pull the mana marble Aeonian gave me from my robe, I hope it doesn’t kill me. I try to put it in my mouth but that’s not as easy as I’d like.

It’s another ten minutes of effort before I can coerce the thing between trembling fingers and get it on my quivering lip. I have no idea what it does but it’s all I have on me right now.

I manage to swallow it whole, [zap]!

A full body spasm goes through me as my body explodes with mana. Raw, unadulterated mana that kicks like a Persian stallion knocking my teeth out.

I’m on my feet with pin pricks for eyes full of energy while still struggling in pain.

My mind is abuzz with chaotic thought.

What the fuck? Comes out the clearest.

The energy is gone a moment later, a drop of water in hot desert sands gone as soon as it appeared. I tumble back on the ground in exhausted misery chasing oblivion as soon as I feel my consciousness wavering.

Sweet oblivion takes me.

*

Aeonian

"Wake up," I kick him awake, he stirs but doesn’t really stir.

Brother gives me an unimpressed look but doesn’t say anything.

Shit, I kick him harder eliciting a groan of misery. Sticky saliva leaking from his gapping mouth.

"This shouldn’t be a problem," I say to brother, bending down sticking a stimulant in Steel's mouth.

It takes a moment before clarity comes to his eye, he gazes up at me with betrayal written all over him. I shrug, how was I to know he’d go overboard to the extent he has.

"You’re embarrassing me," I kick him again.

Brother is enjoying this but pretending very hard not to be, Mandrake and the two scouts return from securing the area. More people to witness me being wrong about something, how embarrassing if I am.

"I talked you up to brother so you better get up and be of use or I leave you feeling worse."

I kick him again and he stirs, looking at me with a promise of retribution. But besides shaking like a leaf and making inanimate sounds nothing else happens.

"Maybe you broke him Sleeker, still, he can be made of use I’m sure."

I glower inside but smile sharply at brother, he’ll negotiate his position himself soon enough.

I bend and whisper, "this is where you either become a partner or a tool. Decide."

He grabs my arm with a trembling hand, his whole body occassionally spasming violently but the look in his eye speaks of a raging inner fire.

"Hmghs ndjz,"

Yea, I didn’t get that.

I lean lower.

"Bfff- me."

"You want me to buff you? Before you’ve recovered?" I giggle, this should be interesting. "Okay."

The essence of my pure mana colesces on my palm and I place it on him. It invades his body, burning down his mana channels unlocking his body's potential doing nothing to repair the damage he’s already done to himself.

He convulses violently, then stills, panting heavily. His grip is much tighter on my arm, much tighter.

Cold violence gazes back at me from his staring eyes, I suppress a shiver at the dispassionate death threatened by those eyes. The eyes of a killer, I am erect with pleasure.

I pull him to his feet, he sways but stays upright. Turning his cold gaze at brother, then Mandrake, then the scouts then back at brother. He clenched his fist, breathing heavily like he’s venting every breath.

"What do you want?"

Not the words I expected from him but okay.

"For you to lead us to the Library of Alexandria," brother says without preamble.

"So it’s a library?" He grins a bloody grin, he’s gums red from whatever suffering his body has been going through.

"Why would I do that?" he asks, grip still tight on my arm.

"I’ll allow you have third claim of any treasure we find there and help you keep them until you’ve assimilated and better able to defend your own spoils."

He sniffs the air like an animal, I suppress a chuckle as his aura cuts sharply like cold gale of edged steel suppressing both scouts to their knees.

Sharp cold silence cuts the ambiance.

"Allow me?" the words are low, his grip squeezing vessels shut in my arm. ''Allow me claim?''

So strong? He’s more impressive than I thought, this is great!

"Do not think you can keep whatever you claim there without my help. As soon as the seals to the Library are broken everyone who is anyone will know of it and come, everyone covets the lost ways of the ancients to power. You think you are strong but you are nothing, only one man against ageless beings will find only death before any treasure could be enjoyed."

"The is honour in death."

Brother snorts, unimpressed. But we’ve been searching down here since before Damian and his Circle facilitated the opening of the world’s seals. Brother is desperate for that library, desperate to find the things locked away in there.

"There is no honour in dying with a treasure in your hands you’ve had no time to assimilate and use. That is just wasteful foolishness. I offer you third claim and the chance to live long enough to enjo-"

"Your resources at my disposal to travel to Pangaea and first claim to what I find within," he interupts with a chop of his arm.

First claim, brother will never allow some random person to potentially surpass him.

They eye each other intensly, the pressure rising as brother grins cooly signifying his emminent lethality.

"Fine, I'll give you second claim so long as you give my scribes access to whatever it is you claim."

Steel grins his bloody grin, "so long as you give me access to whatever you claim," he counters.

The silence is heavy as the men asses each other. Brother at the peak of 4th tier, Steel an unknown but wholly underpowered. Yet somehow managed to get himself here, our quickest way to what we’ve been looking for these 9 months.

"Who are you?"

The aura get’s more frigid, Mandrake unleashing his own fiery aura to counter.

"I am Sachihiro van Damage, who are you?"

Brother snorts, " I am Castro Black. You may have access to everything you like Sachihiro van Damage, but you get second claim, claim only one thing for yourself and we have ourselves a deal."

"Good, tomorrow we go. Today I rest."

"One more thing, you are a guide, you carry no weapons amongst my people."

Brother’s hand glows orange, Steel moves to attack but is suppressed by an invisible force blowing from brother.

The hand lands, burning over the teeth gritting Steel even as his aura becomes scathing in its edge. The process is finished a moment later, brother having asserted his dominance.

Steel doesn’t move even when able to, his eyes animalistic but cunning.

"Let’s return to camp." I break the moment of animals pisssing at each other with a grin. So much excitement!

"So you ambushed me with your brother?" the is anger, betrayal, resegnation and promised retribution in the flat statement.

"Don’t be a cry baby, I thought that went rather well," it could have been worse.

"For you and yours maybe, I get to keep only one thing of my own spoils. Worse after getting second claim, don't pretend you didn't know what state I'd be in after using that buff of yours. You ambushed me at my most vulnerable with your 4 times Awakened brother and his army of goons."

"You didn’t even know where you were going."

"So? I’ve suffered greatly for this."

"Yea I saw that, you’re pretty resilient I’ll say." That was stupid of him to do to himself, pushing himself like that. Can't blame me for your recklessness.

He must have pushed himself hard to make it as far as he did in that short amount of time.

Calculating eyes weigh me, I can see him tremble still, he's moving as little as possible.

"What happened with your buff anyways, why did my body stop responding after your buff wore off?"

His tone is accusatory.

"Well obviously you overextend yourself like I warned you against. The buff doesn’t give you anything you don’t already have, I told you it just unlocks what’s already there with a little time and mana. Its not my fault you didn’t understand what that means. I’m surprised your heart didn’t burst actually considering how much you exerted yourself."

He grunts noncomittally lying on the healing tent cot back where he started.

"At least you’re healing better now."

Always find a bright side, life is gloomy enough as is without help.

"I feel stronger, could I retain any of that buff effect at all?"

I shrug, "You’re probably getting used to your body after the suicide-stone ordeal."

I can’t give permanent buffs, that’s likely my next step in evolution. Permanent buffs and debuffs, wouldn’t that be nice!

"What did you tell your brother about me?"

"I didn’t tell him anything you told me in confidence or he didn’t already know, you said you liked your privacy."

"But you brought him with you when you went to find me, why?"

The way his naivity got betrayed makes me feel like a villan for some reason, the kicked dog feeling pouring out of him.

"Hey, you said you wanted to get home didn’t you?"

That seems to shut him up.

"I scouted ahead in the direction you were heading, it’s pretty heavily defended."

"By who?"

"Could be beings bound to defend the library, could be someone that got here first." I shrug non-commitally.

"But they aren’t moving much, we’re getting ready to attack now, we'll hit them in two days so rest up. Victoria is giving you the good stuff this time."

I give him a thumbs up. He'll be up and 100% in no time, I can’t wait to see him at full health.

*

Sachihiro

I charge down the rocks among a troop of Castro's warriors sprinting in professional silence.

With Aeonian’s buff I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life, literally I am unstoppable running through the underground vaulting over high rocks diving into narrow passages. I roll, coming up in a run without loosing stride dash forward to collide knee first with the were creature before me, smashing fist after fist into it’s face leaving it winded and dazed on the ground.

Another comes from my left swiping with heavy claws, I duck under the strike pulling it down biting into it’s shoulder as it crashes with me onto the ground knocking its breath out. We grapple, I lose a contest of strength but I’ve never been one to rely only on strength to win my fights. I get a good hold twisting myself behind it’s neck, [crack].

Its dead.

Fangs sink into my thigh but I get a hold of the offender’s trachea, clawing, pulling hard as i counter weigh.

Blood splatters as it’s throat opens like my thigh, my own blood seeping from the puncture where fangs as long as my small-finger found purchase. But it’s dead now, no time to rest.

I get up, limping then running, crashing into another in a dive that has us flying through the air.

We roll in a tumble my fists smashing the whole time, the impacts heavily thumping into the meat of the creature before it swipes me aside like a rag doll. I land in an awkward twist, dust obscuring my position enough to dodge another set of jaws that snaps where my head is not. I kick overhead snapping the offender’s head back, grabbing while twisting myself upright.

Claws rake my side opening me like a fish being gutted, I hang on, suffocating the struggling beast, crushing it’s throat before twisting to ensure it’s death.

I look about me and all I see is bloody struggle. The beasts are fast, running on all fours with claws like knives and fangs like spikes. They bite into armour punching holes easily into the smaller lighter armoured lizardmen as easy as they do into my skin. But the willy lizardmen are quick, slashing with thin blades inflicting deep wounds, moving amongst the rocks like egile fish in water to slice into the werewolves.

Lizardmen beatsmen agile amongst the rocks, the bigger variants slower more heavily armoured. Smashing with heavier weapons, they themselves of a size with the dark-weres easily standing their ground against the onslaught of the werebeasts strength.

The weres are no slouches either, each large and heavy with madness in their eyes crashing into everyone with explosive power rending exposed flesh easily with a savagery I have never before seen. Recovering from all but killing blows like revanents.

[Boom], the ground quakes from the struggle far below in the dark hole these creatures are coming from.

[Boom], it quakes again dust bellowing out of the crack in the ground before a bellowing torrent of fire geysers out in a burst that leaves me blinded.

[Crackle], I’m blown away by an impacting spell. Crashing into the ground I get back up quickly looking to see where that come from, there.

I run towards the offending figure. Obscured in the darkness under a shimmering hood even with the dark-vision buff it’s darkness seems harder to pierce than normal. It spots me, green beams of energy cackling towards me.

I dodge and duck and am sent tumbling backwards smashed by the power that leaves me burning from within. It’s gone a moment later, most of the pain too but I’m sure I fractured a rib there, that really smarts.

An opportunistic were dives for me, biting into my raised forearm smashing me back to the ground. I bash it’s head repeatedly, grabbing a rock the job is made that much easier.

I’m up again, in pain and bloody but I’m alive and I feel great with this buff still on me.

I rush at the hooded figures, four of them shooting off green energies against a pair of mages trading orange beams of power back with the enthusiasm of fanatics. I get closer than I did last time but am again spotted and those corrosive energies a hurled at me again with abandon.

I duck and dodge, finding cover that takes the impacting spell loudly with sparkling sizzles.

That would have been unpleasant.

I’m vaulting over and forward, pulling deep from my mana, coalescing it into my chest and arm. One of the figures turns towards me, I coalesce mana with a thought [splash], a water-bolt to the face snaps it’s head aside leaving it dazed.

[Splash], [splash], [splatter].

The last one stops my bolt with casual ease, splattering it ineffectively against an invisible barrier around it’s hissing form. The two allied mages are quick on the uptake though, dispatching the distracted enemies with bursts of shooting energy that has them screeching unholy sounds as they convulse under the orange energies.

I’m there a moment later smashing one with a rock as it’s about to get up, another manages to deflect the beams but a rock to the back of the head has it down once again to be quickly dispatched by another fighter.

The ground rumbles, [BAM], Castro Black comes flying out of the hole in the ground.

[Boom].

A horned serpentous head 5m across smashes the floor asunder rocks flying coming up in pursuit of him into the air. It slithers through empty air easily,its body long and sinuous following the head, body fat with muscle. Spells crackle immediately targeting it but the creature disregards them having eyes only for the Black sorcerer in the underground sky.

The air around him lights up with burning sigils, some immediately shooting torrents of fiery energy, others whipping out burning chains that constrict about the huge creature before failing in spectacular bursts of flying sparks. Other sigils exuding pressure, clearly charging up some powerful spells still.

The spiritual energies those sigils must consume. Where does he get it all?

A swarm of corrosive darkness shoots from the creatures mouth. I'm not under the direct onslaught but I find myself completely surpressed by it’s backlash, hardly able to move. Unable to breathe.

The ground shakes as it’s legs smash into the ground causing everyone to collapse. A thing of impossible proportions, sheathed in smoking darkness that billows around burning life from those within it’s power.

I scramble out of the thing’s vicinity, I know when I’m out matched and that thing is no sporting match for me. I’m tempted to grab a weapon from the many dead and dying as I run past but I can feel the curse of Castro Black on me still, constricting my will, my spirit with it’s bindings against carrying a weapon amongst his people.

The surviving werebeasts flee, dozens of them disappearing down tunnels, through cracks in the walls, leaping into gaps of darkness on the rock floor of the vast cavern like shadows.

The way forward opens further, the gease of Phosphorus a whip on my back driving me on, the spiritual thread within me blooming open like a flower with the rising sun.

I’m so close, I feel it, I’m so close.

I run headlong, I see no openings, I see nothing but cave rocks and dark shadows but I know, deep within me I know there is a passage here and I run directly towards it.