Jonathan lived, if only just. The second his card’s effect had dissipated he collapsed to the ground unconscious, but luckily didn’t seem to still be transforming.

That was good, and had Daniel breathing out a sigh of relief. Jonathan wasn't safe just yet though, his forehead was still bleeding ominously as Daniel lifted his unconscious body over his shoulder and made his way down the tunnel. Not before quickly grabbing all the cards that the drifters dropped though. If there was one thing Daniel had learned about the culture of the city; it was to not expect cards left lying around to still be there when he came back.

Daniel switched Foundation of One to three parts strength, one part reaction speed and one part durability. The durability was mainly there to numb the pain in his hands, which were partly supporting the unconscious form of Jonathan. He’d have access to the upgraded form of the card semi-permanently from now on, with the mimics forming the geased room in Limbo following along as he made his way down the hall. Technically speaking, he never left the space as it continued to enhance him.

The bodies of the drifters that’d been killed by Vadim still hung in patches of vine that coated the wall, but hung there limply instead of existing in the uncanny state between living and dead that they’d been in. The vines themselves almost seemed to have wilted upon the death of the creatures, though still seemed sturdy enough as far as Daniel could tell.

Cards sprouted from their bodies, which alongside the ones that Jonathan had killed all but proved Daniel’s theory of drifters dropping their cards like humans. Which felt strange in a way. He’d have thought that creatures with a guaranteed chance to drop cards would’ve been hunted to extinction regardless of the danger they posed.

True, most of the cards that Daniel saw were simple commons or uncommons, and each body only had one card to its name despite Daniel being positive that many of the people who’d been turned into drifters had possessed more than a single card, but if he considered the abysmal drop rate that most monsters had for cards they’d have to have been a prime target for most hunters.

It didn’t matter, Daniel quickly realized. Not right now at least. The drifters may be dead, but if he was right about the city being under siege then he very well may end up fighting again tonight and he couldn't waste time thinking over something pointless like this.

After a few minutes spent walking down the corridor Daniel once again entered the main room where the drifters had originally ambushed the workers.

The place looked like a jungle, with plants completely covering the floor, walls and ceiling. They were a myriad of colors and Daniel wasn’t sure he’d have been able to identify a single one if he tried. Specks of red coated the plants, dripping and pooling, but no bodies could be seen. Instead Vadim was sitting on a tree that’d formed into a kind of bench, holding a stack of cards and reading through them leisurely.

“Ah, Jonathan, Daniel, I see that you both lived,” Vadim said, looking up from his cards. Several workers were gathered around him, all with varying injuries. One unfortunate man was even missing his right arm. Even then though, he was probably lucky to be alive.

“Jonathan here needs a healer,” Daniel said, setting the man's limp body carefully down on the ground.

“So he does,” Vadim said, waving his hand and sending a cascade of plants towards the unconscious man that wrapped around him protectively and slowly began to glow.

“Any idea how bad it is up on the surface?” Daniel asked, watching the process passively.

“I don’t have any specific details, but if the church isn’t sending backup to help deal with a drifter attack then we have problems. They’re probably up on the wall or out patrolling the streets. Protocol says to leave a skeleton crew defending the church itself in order to protect citizens who try to seek shelter here, but who can say if it actually worked out that way. Monsters being inside the wall changes things.”

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“Speaking of which,” Vadim said with a soft, practiced smile. “What are you planning to do? I take it you killed the other drifter and that somehow killed mine, because he was rather far from dead when he collapsed. The church would love to have you help us out in this trying time if you're willing. I know you made a deal with Pavel and his family, but they have rather close ties to the church and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you decided to follow a god. They can’t exactly stand in the way of your religion after all, now can they?”

“Just make sure Jonathan gets healed,” Daniel snapped. “I’m going to the Brighttree estate. It's what they hired me to do, and I'm not about to go back on my word just to stay in a such a shoddily defended building.”

Vadim simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders with his smile still on his face.

“Hey, can’t blame me for trying. I don’t know how you killed yours, but the drifter I was fighting was rather tough. I’m not even sure I’d have won in the end, and my decks been filled with synergistic cards picked out over two decades. You two being able to kill one on your own is impressive. I had to throw out an offer.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm leaving,” Daniel said before stepping into Limbo and making his way towards the exit, riding atop his roiling mass of mimics like a moving throne.

===

Alexander watched as a giant red serpent ripped itself free from the earth, sending stone and debri raining down throughout the city. Its body was gargantuan, stretching nearly a fifth of the city and thrashing about wildly.

Most of that could be overlooked in his current state. The Blood Moon was fogging his mind, Navarre wrapping her fingers around his head and compelling him to spend all of his time hunting her creatures.

But that snake, that monster, was cursed by the Blood Moon the same as himself. He could feel it clear as day, and that made it free game to hunt.

So Alexander shot through the streets of the city, jumping from house to house with practiced ease at an unparalleled speed. Roofs and bricks broke beneath his steps as he rapidly approached the monster. The serpent however, seemingly unaware of his existence, was periodically changing position throughout the city, teleporting short distances and crushing buildings and people in the process as it continued to writhe about.

Suddenly lightning lit up the sky. Which wasn’t unusual, lightning had become a constant throughout the city ever since the Blood Moon had started. It just meant that Anton was fighting.

This attack though was different. It fell upon the serpent in a great beam from the sky, momentarily blinding Alexander as the serpent howled in pain.

That was when he saw him, Anton flying above the city in a direct course towards the serpent and Alexander felt like his heart skipped a beat.

“He’s cursed,” Alexander found himself saying, staring up at the city's ruler. The thought didn’t make sense. He hadn’t seen Anton for a few decades, but he would have heard if the legendary wielder had died, especially during a Blood Moon.

‘That just doesn’t make sense,’ Alexander thought, his head foggy from the Blood Moon. He couldn't help but stare up towards Anton, his manner like a cat watching a bird and found that the city's leader was just ever so slightly cursed by the Blood Moon. What that meant he didn’t know. There wasn’t supposed to be a spectrum to this, you either were or weren’t cursed, but somehow Anton had done it. He'd screwed himself and this entire city over.

Alexander tried to pull his attention from Anton, but found it exceptionally difficult to do so. He was shaking ever so slightly, and as he looked up he couldn’t stop himself from grinning, a chuckle escaping his lips.

“Navarre, you absolute bitch,” Alexander muttered in between laughs. Normally he was free to choose which of the cursed to attack, so long as they were in the same general area, but he could feel her influence on his mind. It was more potent than usual, more overpowering, and she clearly wanted him to fight the city's leader.

“So that’s why you put me here,” Alexander spat.

He wanted to rebel against her in that moment, to say no, to tear her down from her throne and put a stop to all this madness.

But he couldn’t. He’d tried so many times, and he would continue to try, but he couldn’t do it. Not yet, and maybe just maybe, not ever.

So with a disturbing lack of reluctance Alexander changed direction and sprinted towards Anton, his laughter echoing across the city.