Running was torture, fear drove his every step and pain pulsed through every muscle. Spears thudded into the trees around his head and each breath set his lungs on fire. Bile began to rise in his esophagus and burn him from the inside even further. Every part of his body punished him for every step he took, but he had to keep going.
“Boyyyyyyyyyyyy.” Cheeroonear’s voice echoed through the shadows. Looking back, Leto ducked quickly under another spear. Cheeroonear’s jaw bag swung low under a wicked grin.
Tears rolled down Leto’s cheeks, salty streaks of heat carving lines across his face. Cheeroonear’s horrible face brought memories rushing to the surface, Tim’s dead body stretched across a rocky beach, spears pinning him to the earth. His abdomen cut open his chest to his-.
Wait, was he cut open?
Hesitation cost him, the brief pause in his thoughts sending him spilling to the floor. Leto activated Swiftstep, pushing what little mana he had toward the skill. He rolled back to his feet and dashed around a corner. Swiftstep kept him steady now, draining his mana but keeping him upright and moving. Memories continued to flash through his mind, dog’s tearing apart Tim’s body, Leto crushing each of them with a rock and eating their brains-
What was happening?
A spear cut a line through the top of his ear and blood joined the sweat and tears on his face. Everything hurts. Why did everything hurt? Oh right, the fight with Tim.
The fight with Tim? But Tim was dead. Cheeroonear killed him.
Images appeared again, Leto throwing a spear into Tim, dancing with his pack as they began to feast on his body.
That’s not real. This time, the images felt wrong, like someone had stretched a screen across his eyes and forced him to watch a movie that his twin had starred in. Who was doing this to him?
The images came faster and more violent, but mana began to move. The little deposits he had left in his body, his soul, crept from their corners and converged at the base of his skull. With each new drop the images were shredded, leaving blurred colors and indistinct emotions. Leto could feel the skill trying to come forth, but he gently tugged the mana away from it and pushed it back into Swiftstep. He had his faculties now, and needed to stay on his feet more than anything else. Beyond that, he remembered how difficult it was to repair a skill that aborted due to lack o The real memories of his fight with Cheeroonear reemerged, Leto could remember the feeling of the vertebrae separating as he slid the knife into the dog-man’s neck. Memories of Tim’s imposter came back, sliding through cracks in some mental wall. Memories of a dream, a long table with a head decorating it every few feet. His with antlers, Tim’s with a spear sprouting from an eye socket, Cheeroonear’s with his baggy jaw gathered around it like a Christmas tree skirt, and the final head….
Rounding the next corner, Leto stopped and crouched, tensing his body. The club he had won was gripped in both hands as he pushed mana into Wild Strike. This hunter was an imposter too, and Leto was not going to run forever.
Only a few seconds passed, but each one felt like an hour as his muscles burned with mana. Footsteps stomped just around the corner and a voice rang out.
“Liiiiitttle Leeeetoooo, I’m huuuungryyyyy-” the fake Cheeroonear’s voice cut off, a studded wooden club striking directly in his solar plexus. The imposter’s momentum and Leto’s strike canceled each other out, and he crumpled straight to the ground.
“You are going to let me out of this damn maze,” Leto started, “Or I am going to-” Leto stopped as the imposter lifted its face and smiled.
“Oh am I?” It asked, standing in front of him with its hand around his throat. The shift had only taken a single blink, from a weak and shivering Cheeroonear to straight backed spider-person. Leto rained blows down on its body, loud thwacks rang out joined by the creature’s sudden raucous laughter.
“I really thought it would be me, you know?” The spider thing said. “I could feel you doubting yourself for just a moment. I don’t know how you got out of it, but it’s not my turn anymore.” One of its six arms came crashing down on his skull, and he was dropped to the floor. Leto couldn’t move any part of his body, and his eyelids flickered. In the shadows, he saw it walk away, a pair of arms crossed behind its head.
“Time to rest I guess. Sleep well loverboy.”
“I can’t sleep,” Leto said to himself, his conscious mind thinning with each breath. “Both times I slept, they got to me, so I just have to…just have to….”
↞↠
Four teams of five flanked the waterfall den from each cardinal direction. Elijah walked beside one of the other leading hunters, Lyra. She was in her late twenties, light brown skin and a long braid of ebony hair running down her back. Her green eyes and the determined look about her reminded Elijah of Leto. They had talked a few times, and gone on a hunt together a few days before. They were similarly inclined to solo hunts, but she was born to it, growing up hunting with her father. A cobbled together bow and quiver of arrows were her weapon of choice, and damn was she proficient with them. They were leading a team of three, scouting a few dozen meters ahead of them.
“You have got to figure out how to make that thing more stealthy Callahan.” Lyra was pointedly looking at the golden bar of liquid-like metal in his hands. Elijah blushed slightly, letting it fade into the air.
“I just wanted to be prepared. You heard the description of Amir’s beastie.” They both shivered.
“Let me be prepared. Pull the beacon out when the nasty bastard shows his face.” She chuckled for a moment and they continued to scout ahead.
The waterfall poured into the small pond and glade from the north, from the top of a cliff ridge. The pond itself was not very large, and a long ramp led from the edge of the pond to a large cave next to the waterfall. From a line of brush in the south, Lyra and Elijah watched as the shadowy figures of the hunting team moved into place. West and East, a line of archers to the North up on the ridge. Lyra let out a low whistle and the three others on their crept up behind them.
“Boys and girls, it's go time. Morey and Smith move West, I will hold point, and Callahan will move with you…number three sorry I don’t remember your name.” The group laughed, and Number 3 scowled sharply. “Don’t get mad Number 3, just move.”
A three-tone whistle came from the West, one of the signals the group had set up beforehand, a skill allowed the signaller to spread their voice or any noise they made over the circumference of the glade.
Elijah’s attention went immediately to the cave entrance. Three tones meant that it was awake and on the move. Like it was emerging from the shadows themselves, Amir’s attacker stepped into the midmorning light. Its fur was gray and patchwork with sections of calcified flesh like plates of armor. Amir had called it a bear, and it was definitely that size, but it was far too long. It had the dimensions of a big cat, with a long snout like an anteater. A scraggly mane ran down its spine like a hyena, and wicked sharp claws scratched against the earth.
“I thought it would be bigger.” Said Number 3. “Amir’s description said it was like eight feet tall.” Elijah studied the beast. 3 was right, at the thing’s shoulder it was only about four feet tall. The way Amir had framed it, it had been a lumbering giant.
“Pain and adrenaline lie to the brain often.” Elijah shot back “It may have looked that way to Amir. We should still be careful.”
“Should we inform the other teams?”
“No, if we noticed, they did as well. I'm betting it’s just a transformation skill or Amir was just wrong. Whistle a six-note.” Number 3 let out a six-tone whistle, warbling like a bird. That signal was for caution, but not a stop to the mission. Elijah made eye contact with Lyra who nodded and mouthed ‘Good move.’
A minute or two passed as the Ark Beast shook itself from sleep and sharpened its claws, all the while staying in the entrance of the cave. Elijah could feel 3 getting antsy, and he held up a hand to her to signal patience. Moments later, it wandered to the pond’s edge to drink. When its mouth touched the water, a long whistle rang out, one second, three seconds, and when it cut off the edges of the glade erupted in movement.
Archers stood and released arrows, a rain of needles piercing the Ark Beast. The melee members moved in from each side, Elijah moving with 3 behind him. Lyra was letting an arrow off every second, each one finding purchase in fur between the flesh plates. Morey and Smith were shield users, one with a mace and the other with a pike. Number three held two long blades, sharpened from fangs of other Ark Beasts. The shield members of all three parties moved in, surrounding the beast and keeping it corralled. Those with longer reach weapons hit it from behind the shields.
The beast was surrounded, turning in circles to swipe at the shields. As it turned, the shields opened and let one or two shorter range fighters in to score blows at its back and flank. Elijah stood still in the back, watching and waiting for a moment. Spearcall sat in his hand, a soft glow and warm heat emanating from it. It gave him strength in that moment, stabilizing his breath. When the beast turned too quickly on one of the rotations, he knew it was his moment.
‘Aegisurge’ Elijah thought and the skill activated in an instant. Mana flooded his body and reinforced him. His throwing arm stronger now, he chucked the spear at the beast. It reached out to swipe at the now undefended fighters within the circle and was shunted to the side as Spearcall pierced the gap in between plates at its shoulder. It gave the fighters in the circle just enough time to get back behind the shields.
“Nice throw kid!” Grant’s voice rang out over the circle. Elijah raised a hand in acknowledgement, and the group got back into action. From then on, it was a foregone conclusion. The spear hampered its movement too much, and the formation was too effective. It took minutes for the hunting team to put it down. When it finally slumped to the ground and breathed its last, a cheer went up around the pond. Grant stepped into the crowd, axe bloody and grin wide.
“Alright people! We did well, probably too well but we can never be too prepared for a fight. This won’t be the last big bad we fight, and I want those fights to go just as well! Get stronger, work together, have each other’s backs. Now, let's grab this guy and have a little feast back home.” Another cheer broke out and Grant chuckled. A group of people moved toward the body to begin harvesting and Grant moved toward Elijah, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Hey kid. That was a good throw.”
“Thanks. I’ve been practicing.” Elijah summoned Spearcall again, fading from the beast’s corpse to arrive in his hand “It helps to have a spear that comes back on its own.” Grant laughed and slapped him on the back.
“Kid after my own heart. Alright, since you didn’t get much action, take one person from your team and give us a check of the area. Don’t want anybody else moving into the cave huh?” He slapped him on the shoulder again and turned back to the harvesting group.
Elijah found his team and jogged up behind them as they chatted. “Hey guys.” All four turned to him, each throwing a hello and a congrats at him. “Grant wants me to do a quick survey of the area, and he wants me to take someone. Any volunteers?” He opened his arms and gave a sarcastic smile. Morey put his arm around Smith and shook his head. “We are going back, his mom needs someone to look after her in the evening and if I didn’t lead him back to Zone he would get so lost.” Smith nudged him, a fake scowl on his face. “Jerk. Sorry Elijah, next time.”
“Alright well it's your loss boys. Lyra?” He turned to his co-captain.
“Hell no. I'm off to eat my fill of weird turtle-cat-bear. Take 3.” Lyra turned on her heel and walked away. He couldn’t decide if he was happy about that or not. It was nice to spend time with her because it reminded him of spending time with Leto, but spending time with her only reminded him of Leto. She couldn’t replace him. He shrugged those thoughts off and turned to number 3. “Guess you’re with me.”
“Do I get a say?” she asked
“Nope!” Elijah said, forcing cheer into his tone. “Let's split up and meet at the top of the ridge.”
The woods were silent, but not eerily so. Small animals ran in the brush and insects flew about in the air. Elijah settled next to the waterfall and waited for 3 to finish her sweep.
“My name is Aaliyah by the way.” Elijah jumped at the noise, as number 3, Aaliyah, appeared behind him.
“You are quiet, Aaliyah.” Elijah patted the ground next to him. She sat. “I’m sorry about the Number 3 thing. Lyra isn’t great with people and it was kind of funny. No one was disparaging your hunting abilities or your qualifications to be there. If Grant asked you, you’ve got skills.”
“He didn’t actually ask.” She said “I snuck into the meeting. I think when he realized I was there, he was impressed enough with my abilities to let me join.”
“Bold. But Grant is pretty lax with people that impress him so it doesn’t surprise me.” He turned to her, bringing a knee up and settled his chin on it. “So tell me about yourself. I haven’t really seen you around camp.”
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Aaliyah shuffled a little, crossing and uncrossing her legs. “Not much to tell. Grew up in Washington, kinda ran around on the streets as a kid. Lived in a group home until I was 18, and worked at a gas station.”
“That had to be rough.”
“It's fine. I made it where I am today, and I am okay.”
Elijah put a hand on her shoulder
“I know we are glad to have you.” She pulled back for a second, but eventually leaned into his hand. She looked over at him and smiled for just a second before her eyes drifted up. Her smile morphed into a horrified look and she started to say something before the world spun. He could see the ground down below, then the waterfall, then a larger version of the beast they had killed earlier standing above Aaliyah. This one was definitely the one Amir had seen, even all fours it towered above her. Then it was the forest, then the ground which was much closer now. Oh, he was falling. Could he survive this?
“Aegisurge” Elijah coughed out, and mana filled his body just a moment before he hit the ground. He could still feel his bones crack, the air left his body. His brain rattled around in his skull, blurring his focus even further.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aaliyah dodging swipes from the Ark Beast. She kept looking down at his body, and it almost cost her her life. The next swipe scratched her above her eye, pushing her down and blood began to flood her face. Faintly, her voice reached him on the ground.
“I’m sorry Elijah!” and her form shimmered and disappeared. The larger beast roared, swiping through the space her body had been moments before. Each missed blow made it madder, and its crazed eyes eventually went to Elijah’s prone body. One more loud roar filled the space and it jumped down to the ramp, then the base of the glade.
‘Im gonna die here.’ Elijah thought to himself. ‘I’m gonna be fucking eaten.’ The beast padded toward him, its long snout pulling open to reveal teeth that looked like a crocodile’s. Elijah pulled himself away, clawing the ground to move even a little. Talons grabbed him, flipping him to his back. The Ark Beast was inches from his face, hot breath suffocating him, drool pooling onto his face.
Aegisurge couldn’t help him. There was no way it would reinforce him enough to stop his throat from being ripped out. First Step needed him to be on his feet. Spearcall, he couldn’t get through the plates on its hide.
The beast lunged at his throat, and he moved just enough for it to latch onto his shoulder instead.
“AAAAAAGGGHHH!” Elijah screamed “AEGISURGE!” Mana flooded him again, giving him the strength to push the beast back, though it was still latched onto his shoulder. It pulled him with it, and the two of them rolled together. After the apex of the roll, Elijah planted his foot onto the beast and pushed off, the Ark Beast letting go and getting to its feet. Elijah stumbled back, facing off against this apex predator. The confusion from his concussion when he hit the ground was fading, but new pain ran down his back. He touched it, and hissed as he felt large wounds across his shoulders. They must have been the initial blow from the bear-cat-thing.
Pain and fear pushed his thoughts up again, none of his skills would work. He might be able to get away, but continuous use of First Step was extremely draining. Maybe…
The beast charged him and Elijah activated First Step. Toward the beast. He vanished, reappearing in front of it. He thought he saw surprise in its eyes, but this was his only chance. Elijah shoved his arm into its throat “SPEARCALL!” and actively pushed his mana toward the skill. He had never manually felt his mana before, but in this moment it felt like the right thing to do. From a golden flash of light, muted by the flesh of the beast, his spear formed. Muffled cracks reached his ears, as a spear tip pushed its way through the top of its skull. It tried to bite down on his arm, only further pushing the spear through its own head, but snagged his flesh anyways. Death throes shook the Ark Beast, ripping meat from his arm with every spasm. Collapsing to the ground, it pulled Elijah down with him.
He felt weak, so weak. ‘Blood loss Elijah’ his mother’s voice said to him in his mind, repeating a lecture she had given him when he told her about hunting ‘Be careful of blood loss. You might win a fight, or even get away from one, but blood loss might still get you. Make sure you-’ his thoughts were drowned out by a pinging noise, and a golden screen appeared before him.
Congratulations Pioneer! You have reached Level 6! Your stat increase looks like..
Strength + [1]
Dexterity + [1]
Constitution + [4]
Wisdom + [1]
“Shut up.” he said weakly, swiping the screen away with his good arm. He stared into the sky, the sun high above the trees. It was a beautiful day. Leto loved the sun, and laying in the grass on a good day.
“Leto…” Elijah managed weakly “I’ll find you…”
↞↠
“Hey Leto.” A soft voice reached him through the dregs of sleep. “Wake up bub.”
Daylight assaulted his eyes, blinding him as his eyelids peeled back. A form leaned over him, blocking out most of the light. Blonde hair and blue eyes emerged from the general blur, as Elijah’s face came into view above him. His trademark white smile warmed Leto, and Leto tried to lift his head.
“Hey hey, don’t move much. You’re hurt. I’ve got you.” Leto now felt that he was resting on Elijah’s lap, supporting his neck. His throat was sore and the back of his neck felt awful. “One of those damn squirrels got to you. You were lucky I caught up in time. You could use some of my healing.” A hand rested on his head, a soft pulsing of mana filled his body.
“How did you find me?” Leto rasped out, his voice rough like he had lost his voice.
“This maze, I think, was trying to protect us. It sent me right to you. I shouldn’t have let you distract that elk so I could get away.”
“You know I have the skill for it, I had to do something.” memories settled in Leto’s mind, burying Tim and supporting Elijah while he grieved, helping each other through the hike up the crater wall, splitting up at the mutated elk.
“Are we safe?” Leto asked. Elijah nodded, “Yeah I think so. Look around.” Leto pushed himself up slightly, and saw the beautiful clearing that circled them. Flowers bloomed every few feet, and little bugs danced in the morning light. A strong wall of trees cut off every entrance, and Leto felt assured.
Elijah pushed a few locks of hair out of Leto’s face. They talked for a few minutes, falling into a comfortable rhythm. They laughed and bantered and smiled. Finally, when a moment came, Leto brought it up,
“About the night before the storm…” He tried
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want Leto.” Elijah stopped him.
“I do.” Leto swallowed. “I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t grow up conservative or anything, but my family still isn’t super comfortable with those sorts of things. So when you told me, I think I was letting my family think for me.”
“I get it.” Elijah responded, stroking Leto’s hair. “Though I would like a response.” Leto chuckled
“I know. I think,” Leto sighed heavily, “It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. But we have been pretty close all year and I had no idea you felt that way about me.”
“I was nervous, dork.” Elijah laughed “Your friends always talked about your exes and, well, they were always women. How was I supposed to tell the guy I was bonding with that I was attracted to him? New school, I didn’t want to alienate the only interesting person that would talk to me.”
The two of them looked into each other's eyes for a long while. Leto breathed in to say something, and stopped.
“What is it?” Elijah asked.
The pressure in the base of his skull throbbed. A wall stood in his mind. A skill swirled, pulling mana from his soul, and it burned. Details stood out to Leto. Elijah had none of his moles on his neck. The two tan lines on his nose where he used to wear glasses weren’t there. His necklace that Leto had bought him for his birthday was gone. The skill spun, growing denser and hotter. The wall in his mind trembled.
“It was a squirrel that got me?” Leto asked
“Yeeees?” Elijah responded, eyebrow raised in confusion “What’s wrong Leto?”
Leto pushed away from ‘Elijah’ rolling onto his back and then his hands, rising to his feet.
“Leto calm down.” Elijah said, pushing off his knees to stand in front of him. The wall in Leto’s mind crumbled, an image of Elijah disappearing into golden light filling his mind. The panic he had felt, the immediate loss that had coursed through him in that moment. The skill burned, and solidified. The wall disappeared, and all his memories from the last two weeks came back to him in a rush. Each dream, the evil woman in the veil with the mandible mouth trying to get him to eat meat from the heads in front of him. The spider-people. They had pushed him to his edge, and pounced when he reached his limit. They gave him a friend, a thing to fear, and then….
“Leto, come on.” Elijah spread his arms, “Stay here with me. We can be happy here. You don’t ever have to doubt his feelings for you. Stay with me Leto, stay here.” Elijah reached toward him, and Leto took his hand lightly.
“I wish I could. I really do.” He pushed mana into his skill and the area shattered. The light disappeared, the clearing, Elijah.
Leto stood in a nest. That was the only thing he could call it. Thick walls of spider webs lined the trees around him. They curled around and cut off the sky from shining in. In one hand, he could feel his club. In the other, he clutched the taloned hand of one of the spider people. It was larger than the other two, a larger abdomen and it stood on four legs instead of two. Its upper body was more human like, her carapace pale like skin, her facial structure almost Asian. A large bun was tied up on her head, and she wore a deep black kimono with gold spider web designs on it.
“I assume you are Mother.” Leto said, activating WIld Strike to strengthen his arms, squeezing her hand in his. The exoskeleton crunched in his hand, and she flinched.
“You developed a skill I assume?” she asked, “Damn boys. They pushed you too hard.”
“I did. I'm not quite sure what it does, but your illusions don’t work on me any more.”
“Illusions?” She asked. “Too weak a word. We impose our will on the world, and mold dreams to our liking. We cannot feast until your mind is broken.”
“That seems inefficient.”
“Oh it is,” the spider-woman replied, “We pushed your body until it could move no further and then invaded your mind. I gave my boys, Osore and Yujin a chance to try their own paths. A friend, a fear. But I find that love always works best. I almost had you.” She chuckled.
“So what now?” Leto asked “I know I can’t beat you and your boys, they were stronger than I was. You can’t eat me until I’m broken…” Pieces slid into place for him reminding him of one of his projects on Japanese folklore back in school. “Oh I know what you are.”
“Oh do you?”
“The Jorogumo, the spider yokai. How are you here, doesn't your kind exist only in dreams or the spirit world or something?” The yokai tensed for a moment, her eyes darting to the side.
“We…found a way. You know too much. But, if we can’t eat you, we might as well just kill you. ” Two mandibles jutted from the sides of her mouth and she lunged. Leto stuck his club forward, lodging its tip between the appendages. She wrenched her head to the side, trying to pull the club from his grasp. Leto loosened his grip and spun his hand around the bottom of the haft, grabbing it from the other side. Wild Strike pushed down his arm and he popped it out of her clutch. He whipped it around and bashed her on the back of the head.
“You think you can play with my mind?!” he swung again, leading her back toward him. She lashed out, her arms swinging to grab him, but he activated Swiftstep and dodged her. Another strike caught her on the side of her face.
“You think you can use my friend against me?” She charged at him, and he slipped past, smashing the club against one of her legs. It collapsed under her weight and she skittered around, facing him again. Mana pushed up to his eyes, activating his skill.
“You think you can hunt me, as the thing that killed him?” Unsteadily, she dashed back in. This time, all four arms and the front leg still left whole swiped across his body. Twilight Eyes allowed him to see each one as they came, but he could only react so fast. His club deflected one, he dodged two, but the third and fourth scraped across his chest and thigh. He raised his foot and kicked her in the chest, channeling as much mana into Wild Strike as his leg could handle. She was thrust back, a crumpled crater stood out in the porcelain carapace.
“You think you can make me give up, offer me a fake life with the man I like?” Infernal Vitality activated and, for the first time, he felt the effect rage had on the skill. He had been hot when using it before, but now he BURNED. Fire licked out from his wounds, sealing them closed and charring his clothes slightly. Steam escaped his head, and tears in his eyes burned like acid.
“You think you can chase me, and break me, break my will?” When he said will, he felt a chord strike within him. It resonated with his skill, and he focused on that. He felt the skill, and for the first time he did not have to communicate at all with his skill to know exactly what it was and what it did.
“I am stronger than you. You bend dreams, you play games of fear and lust and friendship. You don’t impose your will on the world, you just play. No, the only will that matters is MINE.” Leto pushed mana into his new skill, Ruler’s Will. A gold wave emanated from him, a ripple of space as he imposed himself on the space around him. He felt fear from the yokai, but a small kinship within her. Her skills were similar to his, but they felt disgusting. They were weak, and used for cowardly things, for trickery. As his will spread, he felt a similar tremble within one of the walls of webs. Turning to it, he cut open his palm. Flames licked out of the wound and he used them to burn through the webs. In them, a large mirror, like he would see over his mother’s vanity, was hung against a tree. The frame was a deep, void black, absorbing the ambient light. The glass shimmered, not reflecting anything until he got up close. In it he saw himself, but it was not someone he recognized. It was a primitive hunter, no clothes on but a club in one hand, flames in the other. His eyes glowed a vibrant emerald, far from the milky green he had always thought they were. On his head, a golden circlet stood out in gold light. Leto understood that this was not what he actually looked like, but it was a reflection of his power. Turning back to the yokai, he spoke only one word.
Kneel
She crumpled, an invisible weight pushing her to her knees. He could feel that she was strong, but maintaining the maze weakened her. The mirror was her link to the other side, and the maze was more than just a hunting ground, but a safe for her prize.
In doing so, she linked the maze to the mirror, linked it to the power of her skills. It strengthened their illusions, amplified will based skills, allowing Leto’s new skill to function better than it would have anywhere else.
Two steps brought him to her kneeling form. “Your will is…weak.” he brought the club down one last time and shattered her skull. A rush of energy flowed from her body, and he felt it this time. What had happened after he had killed Cheeroonear, he absorbed some of her mana, her lifeforce. It rippled along his soul, stretching his inner lake almost twice its old size. She was much stronger than him by most metrics, but was caught in a bad situation.
Leto strode back to the mirror, and readied his club. Smashed, it would cut off their connection to this world and the sons would fade. When he began to swing, a small string of will came from the mirror. It showed him the power he could have with it, rule absolutely in his own little domain. None would oppose his will, amplified as it was by the mirror. For a moment, just a moment, he considered it. But he didn’t want to rule some little corner of the forest, and he definitely didn’t want to rule because of this strange artifact. Not giving it another chance to try and sway him, he broke the mirror into a thousand shards. He felt the rush again, smaller this time. Apparently, the little sentience the mirror had still gave him some power. Amid the shards, which were quickly turning to a shiny dust, he saw a small orb, like a pearl. He could feel no mind from it in the range of his skill, but it did resonate with the skill itself.
‘That could be useful.’ He thought, and turned away from the mirror and the corpse. Sitting on a rock off to the side, Leto watched as the trees around him began to flicker and vanish, dissolving into ash and evaporating into the wind. When it was all finished, he sat in a small clearing, about half a kilometer across. Wooden tree walls lined each edge, with a small exit door on the other side from where he stood.
“This is what I’ve been trapped in for two weeks? Jesus, that’s kind of embarrassing.” He swung his pack onto his back, slid his shield onto his arm, and gripped his club. “I’ve got an elk to whack.”
↞↠
Report
“Series One Hunters have landed on the planet. Detecting 30,000 anomalies. Directive?”
Eliminate