Another scream echoed through the darkness, and I ignored it. It was too late for me to help them, even if the cry for help was genuine. The screams were designed to distract me. To move me further away from the Source. Maybe once I would’ve fallen for such a tactic, but not anymore.

I stood up and left Donald’s body behind. With darkness in every direction, it was my only landmark, and the only way of knowing if I was going forwards or backwards. Fortunately, the Shard created a subtle magnetic pull. A gentle tug that was telling me which direction to go. The only question left was could I get to it without the possessed Climbers killing me first?

The Shard tugged again. I almost moved until I realized something. The void was obscuring my vision, but if I could hear screaming then it wasn’t affecting sound.

I heightened my sense of hearing. Rapid footsteps were circling just out of sight. I couldn’t tell how many it was. They were moving too fast, but it was at least two of them.

There was another insistent tug from the Shard. It had said that it needed a vessel to be here, so I’m guessing that without one, it was slowly dying. I had to get to the Source before that happened.

I summoned three Hemorrhage Gates and positioned them in the air around me.

Alright, let’s finish this.

I followed the Shard’s pull. Footsteps slowed behind me, readying to strike. I pretended to be oblivious and walked forward.

Lucille and Donald’s brother emerged from the darkness. Their footsteps barely audible to the average person as they ran. Without turning around, two gates rotated behind me and fired a volley of blood spikes the size of nails. Lucille came to a halt and brought up her weapon. Her spear blurred as she deflected them.

Donald’s brother, who had no weapon to defend himself with, blindly charged at me. Large shards were growing out of his body, but it wasn’t enough to offer protection. Five spikes thudded into his chest, causing him to stop and look down. I took advantage of his confusion by launching a blood spear. He looked up just before his head burst apart.

There was no congratulatory message for slaying my foe this time. It was like the System didn’t see them at all.

Lucille saw her ally gone and her face contorted with rage. She kept her spear up in a defensive posture as she reluctantly retreated back into the darkness. I listened for her steps, but she kept going until they had faded.

Moving on was tougher now. The effect that the void was having on me was becoming more pronounced. The idea of pausing to take a break seemed more appealing by the second. This place wanted me to stop, to succumb to it.

I thought about the people who’d been screaming. Thought about Damian and Hugo waiting for me. Thought about how this place was trying to control me. I clenched my fists tightly around the Shard and my sword. I’m not letting this place win. I will not let it take away my future.

I kept moving and the Shard’s tugs eventually led me to a curved wall of black metal. Every few seconds, there was a pulse and its surface rippled like water. It was made of the same stuff as the Shard, so I avoided touching it directly. The wall must be a defense set up to protect the Source.

On a hunch, I held up the Shard and let its point touch the wall. There was another pulse, and the wall melted away to reveal a large domed room with the Source stone in the center. I stepped inside and the wall reformed behind me.

There was no sign of the possessed Climbers. Not that I was fooled. They had to be close.

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Branching out from the Source were these thick cables that ran along the ground. They connected the Source to the walls. I thought about cutting one and then changed my mind. The human Climbers had been stupid and now those shards had their memories. That meant there was a chance that they were just as gullible and weren’t aware that I was here.

I stepped over the first cable and made my way to the Source. When I got there, I paused and looked around. Okay, still no crazy ambush.

Up close, the Source looked like a hunk of rock, but there was nowhere to insert the Shard. I put the Shard against it, hoping it would change like the wall had. The surface rippled like before, but a gut feeling told me something was wrong. I leapt back just as metal spikes extended from the Source. Had I been too slow, those things would’ve skewered me.

Parts of the Source shifted and broke away from each other. I watched in horror as the two pieces peeled themselves off of the now smaller Source stone and stood up. It was Mike and Todd. Most of their bodies were covered in the same rocky metal. Only their faces remained partially uncovered. Perhaps to still facilitate speech? They’d lost their weapons, but the jagged pieces of metal adorning their arms and hands were more than capable of slicing me apart.

There was also the risk of death or psychic attack just by making physical contact. I didn’t like my odds on that one, so I tried to see if there was any humanity left inside them.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said.

Mike grunted to Todd, who grunted back before they spread out. Looks like they haven’t figured out speech yet.

I activated Cardinal Arm. Blood rushed out of my gates to coat my hand and both arms in blood that then hardened into armor. With that, I could now take a lot more punishment and hit harder. My hand holding the Shard couldn’t be covered though. That was unfortunate, since I didn’t know whether the Shard was fragile or if it could be used as a weapon against them.

I kept my eyes on the two of them. They walked slowly, teasing the moment. Fortunately, my ears were elsewhere.

Two Hemorrhage Gates swiveled behind me and fired a barrage of blood spikes at Lucille. She parried them with her spear, knocking them aside, but she was unable to move her feet. I was firing them as fast as I could and it was taking all of her concentration to deflect them.

As soon as one blood spike was knocked aside, it fell to the ground and became liquid. A puddle of blood was forming around her feet. I would’ve loved to have taken advantage of it, but my focus was limited. I could only mentally control so much blood at any one time.

And then there was Todd and Mike, who were slowly closing in. Their caution felt odd to me. They should’ve rushed me as soon as I noticed Lucille. Were they worried about the Shard or something else?

I wasn’t going to wait for whatever they were planning. I sliced through one of the cables with my sword and then dashed toward the Source. The Climbers screeched and Mike pounced at me. I sidestepped and tried to cut him with my sword, but the rock covering his body was too thick, so my attack only pushed him back.

Todd was right behind him and swung his spiked forearm at my face. My sword came up and blocked it, but the blade locked into place between the spikes. He pushed me and I skidded back before locking my feet in place.

I was trapped. I tried companion chat for back up.

Lucas: Hey, any chance of some help?

Hugo: What?! We haven’t been able to get inside. What’s happening? Are you in trouble?

Lucas: It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.

I didn’t want to worry him. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I refused to die to a guy named Todd.

I tapped his side with the Shard, which caused him to howl in pain. I shoved him back and let go of my sword to run past him.

Mike gave chase, and I went into my inventory, dumping every body and large object I could find to let them pile up behind me. Mike stumbled over them. These possessed Climbers were strong and fast but not very agile. They lacked flexibility and struggled to overcome what I was now calling corpse mountain.

I stacked the bodies higher and higher until I could no longer see him or the others. What had started off as a distraction was now a wall that was over fifteen feet high.

I turned my attention back to the Source. As I approached, an opening appeared for the Shard. I slotted it inside and gasped as it stung my hand. Instinctively, I let go of it and the pain vanished. I looked at my hand, expecting it to be ruined. But instead there was just a faint scar on my palm of a circle with a diagonal line through the middle of it.

I drew on blood from the bodies to heal the scar, but no amount of blood would make it go away.

Todd, Luccille, and Mike climbed over corpse mountain at the same time, looking pissed off. I’d hoped that whatever effect the Shard had on the Source would be instant, but I guess not.

I used Cardinal Arm to cover my other fist and got ready to greet them with my blood gauntlets.