Daniel felt like he was on top of the world, physically speaking at least. Mentally he was still pretty drained. From where the drifter stood, he probably looked like he was floating, or more aptly standing on nothing. But beneath his feet ground that wasn’t quite there roiled in aggression against the monster that was hunting Daniel. It directed its aggression towards it, occasionally lasing out with teeth and tendrils that passed through it harmlessly.

The mimics that he’d made and left in Limbo had come through the portal on their own, lining the floor wall and ceiling of their own volition. They’d likely been following him all this time and it was only now that A Sane Man’s Burden had become A Madman’s Freedom that he was able to see them.

Back on the other side of the portal he’d ordered them to make their way back to the city the long way around, but once he'd been struck by that knife and the drifters had blocked most of the functionality from Mimics of Stone the creature’s had likely defaulted to taking the fastest route to their master.

It was an interesting card interaction that just so happened to work in his favor, and he was grateful for it, more so for the benefits they were bringing him. They carried the effects of his geas card. It didn’t matter that they were in Limbo. He'd always had a foot there anyways. Only now he could feel it, see it like it was a tangible force. A real thing right there in the room with him.

A Madman’s Freedom had mentioned that he’d be minorly afflicted with madness, but it felt so different than when Foundation of One had messed with his head. He still felt normal, he just noticed things that he hadn’t been able to before.

‘I guess that’s the difference between a rare and a legendary card,’ Daniel thought. ‘Especially when the rare wasn’t meant to do something like protect or alter my mind.’

He’d stretched the very meaning of the card when he had it mess with his head. This card though, was simply made for this.

The drifter stood still in the doorway, blood dripping slowly down its arms and chest and onto the floor below. The real one floor, not the mimics. It’d stopped dancing, looking towards Daniel with body language that he couldn’t quite understand.

It twisted upon itself, arms bending in off angles as it gripped onto the doorway, nails digging into the stone and smearing it with blood.

‘I need a little more time to sort the new cards out,’ Daniel thought, watching the drifter carefully as it shook slightly in the doorway. The information for the cards changed by Dreamer’s Durability was already in his head, but it was more an instinctual thing than actual knowledge. If he wanted to use it effectively then he needed to go over it, if only for a moment.

“Buy me some time,” Daniel said as the drifted shot forward, bloody footprints left in its wake.

Its body turned to metal and then coated itself in lightning as it moved, only to find itself somewhere entirely different. The room, its surroundings had changed. Stone of a quality that hadn’t been there moments before now surrounded it, eyes marring the bricks that glared towards it with an intense hatred. Jagged teeth jutted out from the stone as it arched downwards like the maw of a single entity. Before the drifter made it halfway to Daniel it snapped on him as Daniel read the changes to his physique cards.

Breath of None

Rare (Temporary)

Physique

The wielder of this card does not need to breathe and can deny another creature of their choice from breathing after they have been physically touched by them.

If the creature wouldn’t naturally need to breathe, this card gives them that requirement.

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Foundation of One

Legendary (Temporary)

Physique

The wielder of this card can increase the effectiveness of up to five traits pertaining to their body by a significant amount.

These chosen traits may be swapped with other traits of the welder's choice at any moment. The same trait can be chosen multiple times for increased effectiveness.

There was also a timer for Change of Pace that was counting down from the five-minute mark, but an addendum specified that he could switch it back and forth between A Sane Man’s Burden and A Madman’s Freedom as much as he wanted in that duration.

The drifter had begun to break the individual bricks making up the mimics, though they had managed to give it hundreds of small cuts and several teeth imbedded in its arms.

With a thought Daniel sent the mimics back into Limbo, its whole form encompassed the room after all and he was still standing on it. he couldn't risk it getting too broken, he still needed it for the geas's affect. Not to mention that only a small portion of the mimics seemed to have made it through the portal before it was cut off on their side. Still though, some of the mimics had made it through before then and Daniel was grateful for it.

With a confident step forward the drifter met Danie’s gaze as he mentally activated one of his enhanced cards.

Foundation of One

Two parts were applied to strength, two parts went to reaction speed and one part to durability. The difference was immediately noticeable. The small movements the creature had been making since it’d arrived suddenly stood out. And though lightning flashed over its skin Daniel found he could still follow its movements as it sprinted towards him.

Ducking low beneath a wide swing of the creature’s knife Daniel drove his fist into the creature’s gut, and despite it being made from metal, it gave before his fist did.

Hairline cracks spread from the dent imbedded in the drifter’s stomach before it was thrown into the roof with a loud crash. Sending bits of stone cascading down to the floor.

Despite this the drifter still laughed, and while it was doing so Daniel targeted it with another of his cards.

Breath of None

The drifter’s laughter halted immediately, thought not from lack of tryin. The creature didn’t seem all too concerned that it could no longer breathe, likely an effect of the madness caused by A Madman’s Freedom.

Either way it worked out, but as Daniel once more moved to attack the drifter it dropped down from the ceiling, the bells attached to its head jingling all the while.

It shot forward the second it touched the ground, knives in either hand as it came in to strike at him. Its first swing went wide, leaving an opening for Daniel to once more strike the creature when he heard an unsettling card effect activate.

“Reversal of Fate.”

Daniel was midway through the punch when alarm bells rang out in his head. The effect of the card itself was unknown, but names matter. Things could be gleamed from them, and the thing he was gleaming was to not hit the monster in front of him.

It was too late for that though, there was simply too much momentum in the punch and the only reason he was able to process this was thanks the enhanced reaction speed.

Luckily he had a failsafe.

Foundation of One

Daniel moved five parts towards enhancing his durability. The second the change came time seemed to almost jolt forward as his ability to follow the drifter withered on the spot. His punch though, still landed square in the creature’s stomach. The sheer momentum from his previous strength pulling him forwards.

The creature however didn’t seem to react as it slashed its knife across Daniel’s chest before backing away.

The cut was shallow, very shallow. It barely drew any blood, which was good because he didn’t think the attack was card enhanced. Honestly, he didn’t even know what the drifter’s card had done. Though he still felt he’d thrown a wrench at it by lowering the power of his own attack.

The short moment before he’d switched entirely to defense, he’d thought the drifter’s attack was going to miss, not because he’d dodged it, but because it wasn’t even aiming for him.

It also didn’t seem to be that inhibited by its inability to breathe. Either it had a monstrous amount of stamina, or it had a card somehow lowering the negative effects of Foundation of One. Likely a mixture of two if Daniel could judge it by anything he'd seen thus far.

With a flourish Daniel pulled out his father's knife as the drifter brandished both of his. It mimed laughter as it stared him down with its disfigured face.

"Looks like the madness is making you want a fair fight," Daniel said, shifting Foundation of One to three parts reaction speed. "Sadly for you that's now that I want," Daniel said, shifting into Limbo.