Intermission #2 Annalina

Ann was shaking in the arms of the strongest person she had ever met as she was carried along the streets of Halos. Another wave of pain rolled through her body as she tried to not throw up on Adir. “Stop…” she begged quietly as Adir raced through the streets at a speed she could never manage herself. When the Refuge of Trina didn’t save her, he had stopped listening. “Adir…” she whispered, but Adir simply ignored her as his eyes locked on to something only he could see. Ahead she saw the street ended, but Adir was undeterred. He crashed through a wall, ran through a home, and out the other wall.

She closed her eyes against the noise and debris, but could still see the system timer informing her of impending loss.

You have been afflicted with Bonding Sickness x427. Time until next phase: 1 hours, 12 minutes, 14 seconds

She had already endured her first phase and processed the initial stack. Surviving was a close call, made possible only with the clinic staff's assistance. Their combined efforts were crucial in maintaining her physical integrity during the first decision phase. It was then that she had to choose which of her first skills to sacrifice to the sickness afflicting her.

Ann could still feel keenly the loss of her Aspect of Life. A part of herself had been torn open and she felt something oozing from her being. While there were no outward signs of wounds on her body, the pain was unbearable. All the while, The Aspect of Light warned her exactly of what was happening to her. Her vibrance had been badly damaged and each sacrifice healed her only slightly. So she tried once again. “Adir. Listen,” she croaked.

Adir slammed through another wall and stopped. He looked around, his eyes wild, and she saw what he had been searching for. He had found a mixture shop. Adir gently placed her on the floor and began raiding the shelves of all the mixtures he could find, shoving them into a massive backpack he had also stolen.

“We need to leave Halos,” Ann managed to get out despite the cramping in her muscles. Breathing was also more difficult now.

“I know!” Adir roared at her, his voice filled with desperation. His arms moved in a flash as he grabbed flask after flask. “How much time?”

“One.” Ann managed to get out finally after a delay.

“One hour…” Adir muttered as his eyes surveyed the potions that remained on the shelves. “Twelve hours, four hundred stacks. Seventy five stacks for health, three hundred stacks toward skills.” He shook his head and punched the wall, his fist cleanly broke through. “Not enough!”

Ann watched him look around desperately for more bottles. “Get me outside,” she begged.

Adir slung the backpack over his shoulder and moved toward her when a feminine voice spoke near the door of the store. “Titan Adir? You are making quite a commotion in my city, but my goodness Trina has blessed this evening for us. It is good to see you once again. And this far away from the lands of The Watch.”

Ann swung her head to the side and saw an older woman standing just within the doorframe. Dressed in the city of Halos' customary attire, the woman's garment was embroidered with the common colors of green and gold. Black hair, tied up in a bun over her head, framed her strikingly bright eyes, which caught Ann's attention with their unnaturally vertical and compressed pupils. A thrusting sword, still sheathed, hung at the woman's side.

She could see Adir eying her warily. “Swordmaster... What name can I use to honor you this evening?”

The woman offered Adir a pained expression. “Our paths have crossed in many guises, for which I must express my apologies. The complexity of our encounters, I fear, is often my doing. For this evening's purpose, please, refer to me as Sylena Imala, though in truth, she is currently in Carda's company. It seems fitting, however, given your familiarity with that persona. When next you honor her with your presence, I would be indebted if you could convey my apologies to her.”

Adir nodded his agreement. “Swordmaster Sylena, I do hope you won’t take offense, but this woman and I will be leaving. Immediately.” Adir said stiffly, but respectfully. Ann noted the concern that marked his features, wondering about the identity of this woman who was clearly recognized by Adir.

Sylena shook her head, her expression tinged with a hint of sorrow. "Offense is far from my thoughts, yet I must express my inability to grant your request for departure. You see, I have reason to believe this 'woman' here is none other than Annalina Esca, sister to Lady Vina Esca," she remarked, her gaze shifting gently to Ann. "Your petition for an audience with Lady Vina did not escape my notice. The sincerity and particularities of your words left me with little doubt of your familial connection. Regrettably, your request was met with silence, a response that is most unfortunate."

Ann's lips parted, a single word emerging after a moment of effort, "Why?"

Sylena's response was measured, yet carried an undercurrent of urgency. “The Lords of Halos have ensnared her in their schemes, and consequently, your message never reached her. You must understand, Annalina, I am Vina’s mentor within these walls. Prior to her departure, it was under my guidance that she honed her skills with the thrusting sword. I am certain that Vina, in knowing your presence here, would seek your support. She will need you in the times to come.” Her gaze shifted back to Adir, resolute. “This is precisely why your departure is something I cannot permit. It is imperative for Vina to return, and for that, she must find you here.”

Adir's head shook subtly, his steps edging towards Ann. “Your allegiance has been brought into question. You do not possess the authority to detain one of the twelve.”

Sylena's sword was unsheathed with equal deliberation. “I implore you, Adir, let us not escalate this beyond necessity. I assure you, Ann's safety is my priority, even against the ailment that afflicts her. Our aims align, though our methods diverge. Surely, we can resolve this with civility.”

But Adir suddenly appeared to blur forward as he pulled Ann into a bear hug, lifting her from the floor. Her aspect of light told her of the wounds inflicted on his back by Sylena’s sword as he bolted out of the corner of the building, destroying more of the wall once again. An overwhelming sound of stones grinding on each other filled the air. Then she heard the booming sound of a building collapsing behind them as Adir raced out of the city.

She groaned with the pain of being handled so roughly even though she understood the necessity. There was a growing trust between them now. If Adir didn’t trust this Sylena woman, then Ann didn’t either. Moments later, Adir shifted the way he held her after he had scattered the town guard and broke through the city gates. He held her gently as he ran into the eastern forests of Halos while her timer counted down. Despite his wounds, he did not stop for a long time.

Slowly Ann’s pain began to lessen as her timer approached its inevitable end. The cycle was nearing completion. The renewal process was about to begin. Trina was merciful enough to give those suffering from this sickness a few minutes of rest to make a clear decision before being tossed back into suffering. She tried to savor the moments she would have before the prompt and timer would appear in her vision once more. “Adir… the timer…” she started to say.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Ann, the proper allocation is seventy five stacks to your health and the rest to your skills. Do not go below twenty-five percent health. It will be difficult for your body to recover before the next phase.” Adir panted as he continued to run in the forest, knocking down bushes, trees, and anything else that got in his way. “Do not give up your levels or your attributes for as long as you can.”

She placed a hand on his arm and tried again. Her voice had gained strength now without the pain clouding her senses. “Listen to me. The Scar of Kanterne, east of the great sea.”

Adir finally slowed down as he looked down at her. “What about it?”

“My aspect made it,” Ann said weakly. “Put me down. I need to do it again.”

Adir slowed down until he stopped. “Ann… No one knows how that was made. Trina…” Adir started to say, as he slowed to a stop.

“I know, Adir.” Ann insisted. “You need to run. Or I’ll catch you in it.”

When he didn’t move, Ann pressed gently against his arm. “Time is running out. You’ll need a head start. Come back for me after you see the light. I’ll be in the middle.”

Adir reluctantly set her down gently on the forest floor, densely packed with vegetation. “I can take it,” he said, crossing his arms.

“You can’t.” she sighed exhaustedly. “I can’t talk. Just go. Please. Trust,” she pleaded with him.

He uncrossed his arms and doubt crossed his eyes. “I’m coming back,” he promised.

She blinked her eyes slowly in acknowledgement, but Adir dropped the backpack full of mixtures. He opened it up, took two mixtures out, and removed two of the stoppers of the largest bottles. “I will be back,” he stressed. Then he ran, taking the rest of the backpack with him.

Ann lay on her side, watching Adir’s large frame disappear into the dark forest. Then she was alone. The timer sat overlaid in the blackness of her vision.

Time until next phase: 6 minutes, 6 seconds

“Betrayed!” yelled a gravelly voice far away in the dark, but Ann didn’t have the energy to rise to search out its source. She gathered what remaining energy she had for what she needed to do.

“By a sister you barely know,” the voice grinded out, but nearer now. “Now you lay here nearly dead by her decision. You didn’t ask for any of this. A life of peace, caring for others was all you ever desired,” the voice stated and Ann couldn’t help but hear its approach now.

Her heart shuddered at its icy tone and its even colder life. She held a hand out weakly to stave off its approach, but she didn’t dare use her aspect yet. The time wasn’t yet up.

“You have your suspicions by now, don’t you? The promise of your aspect is a lie. What does it take to burn darkness away?” The voice asked, just a few feet away from her now.

“Life.” she answered reluctantly, feeling as if the word was pulled from her.

The creature rumbled with acknowledgement. “What will you do now to fill the hole Vina ripped open in you?” The voice whispered as a cold claw caressed her outstretched hand.

She jerked it back in fear, but this time she was too terrified to answer. She began to hyperventilate as tears formed in her eyes.

“You stand at a precipice; the second person in this world to make this decision. Will you sacrifice yourself to the void Vina created, or will this world forever suffer for the consequences of your preservation?” The voice whispered, nearly in her ear this time. The same claw softly dragged along her cheek, wiping away a fallen tear. “Show me.”

Two windows appeared in her vision with text above them.

Your Bonding Sickness now requires treatment. Please select how you will treat one stack of bonding sickness.

On the left Ann saw a bar signaling zero percent up to one hundred percent life and on the right she saw a table consisting of her character sheet and skills. Beside each of her attributes and skill levels she saw a numerical value representing how many points she would get for sacrificing it toward her sickness. The number of points she was required to sacrifice were equal to the number of stacks she had remaining. In the first phase, she sacrificed four hundred and twenty eight points, this time, she needed to give up four hundred and twenty-seven points. She knew choosing nothing meant the system would choose for her randomly.

She mentally increased the health bar up one percent, knowing it would give her just one point toward the hundreds she needed. She kept moving it upwards until she reached seventy-five percent of her health pool as Adir had suggested. Then more tears formed in her eyes as she pushed it further upwards.

“Lady Phare rises.” The Darkness hissed. “You’ve made your choice. Now you only have to see it through.”

She pushed the dial to one hundred percent of her health pool and selected the confirm button. She received a warning message.

Are you sure? You will die.

She confirmed again and watched her life start to deplete but at the same time something within herself began to fill. An infinitesimally small part of her essence was being knitted, and it felt amazing. She didn’t let herself get distracted because as part of herself was being repaired, her body was being deconstructed painfully. She activated her aspect and pushed every ounce of divinity she had into it.

Sores broke out on her skin before she managed to focus her aspect’s power on the foliage surrounding her. She targeted everything and stole their life for herself. She pumped it into her own body, repairing her wounds even as the system created more. A deadly balance was soon created as she lay there, hoping she had enough divinity and forest life to fuel four hundred and twenty-seven percent of her life. She grimaced as her body became a conduit of multiple struggling energies.

She wanted to close her eyes against the torrent, but she felt both invigorated and defeated by the experience of life being created within her and destroyed around her. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for witnessing the destruction she wrought on the world. If she really was creating another scar, she knew this place would never recover from her actions.

After several intense minutes of burning divinity and the dissolving of life around herself, she knew she would have enough to satisfy the requirement. She just hoped the system would interpret the way she intended. If not, in a few moments the system would continue to drain her until she died. “That’s okay.” she thought to herself. The guilt of what she had done was not a burden she was certain she wanted to live with.

Finally the torrent ended, the pain returned, albeit slightly reduced. She got a notification for her efforts.

Your bonding sickness has been reduced by 1.

In her vision the next phase appeared and the timer started again.

You have been afflicted with Bonding Sickness x426. Time until next phase: 12 hours, 00 minutes, 00 seconds

She wanted to sigh in relief, but she knew what she had done. Everything around her was dead.