A Magical Anomaly

Chapter 11

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You step through the portal between dimensions.

Its.. a weird experience.

One moment you're staring at a scintillating portal of lights.

The next you're falling.

You should probably be terrified.

Maybe screaming as the air rushes past you all of a sudden.

But you're not.

Main because a split instant later your face meets dirt.

[Babr-e Bayan] flares brightly and while you still smack into the ground, it's at a much slower speed then you'd expected.

You push yourself up slowly, muscles still sore from the time stop, but you do manage to get up.

It take a moment to wipe the dirt from your body. Your clothes still pristine even though you're wearing white…

More magic weirdness then.

The space… is weird.

Its… almost malleable? You can… feel it around you… in a way you couldn't before.

A thin veil just in front of and all around you that shifts and warps.

An endless fractal corridor thats just waiting for you to step forward.

It hurts your head to try and comprehend this.

So you don't bother.

It shifts.

Warps.

And you spot a castle in the distance.

You take a step.

And all of a sudden you're standing before the gates.

What?

'Hmm… interesting'

You turn to Elly and she continues talking as you look for a way in… The gate's currently closed which is annoying.

'Your void core… even though its… for lack of a better word, inert right now, its still interacting with space around you… very odd'

You wait for her to continue as you spot a… ditch? Moat? Is that what it called? The large pit around the castle.

It's empty, and there's a slope that leads down to it.

Space warps.

It fractures into a thousand pieces as you step, and then reforms all in an instant.

And you're standing in front of a moss covered archway cut into the wall of the moat.

'Your Cores are inert right now. That time stop drained them completely… and then some. I'm still trying to figure out where you pulled the required mana for that… you definitely don't have enough for it in your body… and your soul doesn't look any different either, so you weren't burning your very existence to fuel that…'

You spot what looks like a Mesmer as you traverse the weird corridors… the walls are made of large stone bricks… but each have thousands of intricate patterns carved into them. The patterns twist and turn, hundreds of different directions at once and yet all point the same way at the same time.

God… you think this place is going to make you sick.

The Mesmer isn't actually a Mesmer… Its smaller, not as armored… if normal Mesmer's would be wearing full plate armor, this one wears something akin to leather you'd say… maybe chainmail is more appropriate.

It still dies the same. A charge through the chest causes it to collapse to the ground.

And then it shatters into thousands of glass shards, they glitter in the air a moment, then get absorbed by [Grendel's Arm]. The red energy comes next, being breathed out of [Grendel's Arm] for lack of a better term. It turns purple, and then gets absorbed.

You don't feel as sore, ever so slightly better.

'Your Void core… is distorting space. Maybe because it's shattered? Hmm.. this may hurt a bit.'

Before you can ask what she means, cold blooms across your body. The heat from your Chrono core instantly replaced as you silently gasp out.

The veil around you shudders and cracks.

And then reforms as you grasp your chest. Pain blooming from your bones as you glare at Elly.

'Very interesting… inert, out of mana, yet still able to function… how do you work~'

Elly has… a scary look on her face… a pair of black glasses glinting in the faint torch light of the corridor you're now in.

You ask her to wait. And she obliges. Muttering something about humans being far too fragile as she rolls her eyes.

A pair of not-Mesmers, Elly informs you that they're called Squires, seem to almost appear into view.

Glass cracking off the walls as hundreds of eyes watch where the shards that formed the duo were.

You wince a little at the strangeness of whatever makes up this pocket dimension.

You don't think you like it here…

So you don't both fighting them fairly. Your pride doesn't seem to care about these weak interlopers.

[Gae Bolg] melts into your hands, and two shots core the two Squires before they do much more than screech at you.

The weapon almost growls in your head. And you have to agree.

Tier 1's are boringly weak.

Space cracks again.

You're in… the courtyard of the castle you think?

Large walls all around you. Open space dotted with what looks like rusted armor along the ground.

Weapons dot the floor. Some in suits of armor, others in the ground.

It reminds you of what you'd imagine a battlefield to look like.

Something shifts behind you. The veil of this weird space brushing against your back.

You spin and duck as a bolt of gold flies over where your shoulder would be.

A Scout shrills at you.

And [Gae Bolg] roars louder as it cores that one too.

More annoyed growling. And this is getting a little repetitive…

The main doors in front of the courtyard open. And what looks like a pair of smaller Paladins walk out.

One with a shield. But no sword. The other is the opposite.

Elly tells you they're a Shielder and a Warrior.

They both stare at you. Unmoving as each holds a door open…

…uh… what?

'Rifts are known to have strange effects on the Interlopers. These ones may not be able to attack you for some reason.'

You watch them warily as you step forward. But they don't shift… they don't move in the slightest actually… like they're locked in place.

It's rather disconcerting…

You definitely don't like it here…

The halls… are somehow stranger than the corridors before. Large windows of stained glass look out towards a swirling sea of colour.

Some of that colour forms mountains. Others a lake.

Some forms trees.

But most forms a starry sky in all the colours of the universe.

The walls of the corridor are adorned by countless framed images.

All faceless figures in what looks like old fineary. Some look like men, some look like women.

Some look like children.

It's weird… They have no eyes. But something crawls in the back of your head as though they watch you whenever you turn away from them.

A picture of a girl shifts.

Where before she was sitting on a chair, shes now kneeling.

You blink… and her hand is reaching out to the frame.

And then the frame shatters on the next blink…

The girl doesn't appear… and the frame fixes itself in the next blink. The girls back in her chair.

A shiver runs down your spine. And you keep moving.

Space cracks.

It warps.

And you're in a throne room…

A large set of stairs lead up to a pair of empty thrones. Behind which a massive mechanical dragon's head sits.

The head is covered in holes and molten slag. Scars from battle adorn its entire form as it looms over you.

But it remains dead. Its four eyes a dull red from whatever lenses it once looked out of.

Something shifts behind you again. The veil of the space brushing teasingly over your shoulder.

You spin around and fire [Gae Bolg] with barely a thought.

Something clangs with the metal. And a spindly figure deflects the bolt into the floor, where it melts through.

What…?

Its… not exactly twice as tall as you… probably about as tall as Satsuki actually. With four spindly metal arms, each holding a standard looking longsword.

Its feet have no toes, also made of metal and stylized like metal greaves. More plates of armor covering its legs and thighs. Its chest in thin, metal ribs visible like a skeleton would have, a large glowing core of light sits right in the center. And its face has four eyes, eerily similar to how the dragon looked.

Huh… it even has a cape, hundreds of tiny scales interlocking and quickly clicking as the cape flutters in a nonexistent breeze…

The interloper looks at you. And then it bows. Four blades sweeping backward into a twirl as it stands back up and points them at you.

What is with today and weird enemies…

You give it a curtsey in return, ignoring the wince of your muscles as you finish. [Gae Bolg] remains in your arms. And you take a ready stance as you point it at the creature.

A moment of silence.

And then it lunges forward.

You…

[x] Shoot it with Gae Bolg, it may have deflected one bolt, but if you aim right, you should be able to nail it somewhere important. (40% Success Chance) (50% chance of Minor Injury x 1d4 (Minor Cuts)) (-1 Gae Bolg Charge) (On success, 25% Chance to dismember an arm)

[x] [Grendels's Arm] is your best tool against this guy probably… You've been better at deflecting and parrying with it, and you doubt this fight will stay ranged for long. Lock two charges, and punch it at the right moment (50% Success chance) (70% Minor Injury x 1d4 (Minor Cuts)) (50% Chance to dismember 1d2 arms on success)

[x] [Curtana] stunning usually works. And it's rushing closer, so even better. (40% Success Chance) (60% Minor Injury x 1d4 (Minor Cuts)) (25 % Chance to inflict Stun on it for one turn on success) (-10% Curtana Charge)

[x] [Curtana]'s Sword form might be better to deflect with… it worked wonders against Musashi, and he had a magic sword of all things. (Activates Graceful Deflection) (61% success chance (+1 from Merciful Rep)) (65% Minor Injury x 1d4 (Minor Cuts)) (+20% Critical Chance) (-25% Curtana Charge) (Inflicts Enhanced Stun for one Turn on success) (Takedown Opportunity granted on Critical)

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