It had become annoying to be this close to death, and as I returned to consciousness, it was with a wolfs leg down my throat, the clearing right around me bloodied.
It was weird to see my friends stand at a distance like this.
“So that’s what happens when someone who chose the corporeal path almost dies. It was quite horrifyig to see you lunge at me and your feline, though you were lucky you didn’t attack that Pig companion of yours. He dragged you here and made us drive animals in here while he made sure you wouldn’t leave this circle.”
I looked down upon my blood stained form, a blade like crystal of pure black in my left hand,and a lot of different skeletons strewn around me.
As I realized what just happened, I was quick to go and hug nemo, carefully stroking her fur as she relaxed and smashed her paw in my face, the hit something I accepted as I knew I deserved it.
“I’m sorry, at least we know what to d the next time I almost die due to my own stupidity. If you would allow me to meditate, I feel quite unwell with all of that necros and death whirling inside me.”
After a quick nod of theirs, I sat cross legged and simply felt the power flush through me.
You have gained the affinity for aqua Arcana.
You have become a force of death and decay, your very existence feasting on everything around you. Necros resonates with you.
You rejected your restraints and risked your life for a bit of freedom. Spatium resonates with you.
You have created an arcane focus of the fifth tier, congratulations.
After those messages, I blacked out.
When I awoke, it was with a mouth much stronger than before.
My body was torn to pieces, and yet I simply bit into his cranium and pushed my tongue inside, his brain liquefying as some kind of enzyme filled it and the juice was pulled through my tongue, only taking me a minute to suck him dry of blood.
The brain itself would have been enough to regenerate me, but with their blood consumed as well, I grew beyond my previous size, exploding into a twisted mass of muscle as I dashed away, leaving the corpse behind as I disappeared into the night, turning to my normal state after about five minutes.
With a scream, I awoke again, this time not my mouth, but my hands and feet had changed.
I easily scaled atop a building and jumped my prey from it, my claws dripping with a weird enzyme as I tore into him. Taking a step back was almost too easy as I once again disappeared into the shadows, waiting about thirty seconds as the persons movement became more and more sluggish, until it was completely immobilized and fell to the ground.
Quick cuts through their body and bones revealed bone marrow, which I found myself sucking out as my victim tried to scream for help.
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It was disturbing to watch myself eat someone alive, and when I was presented both of these changes, I took the first, rejecting bone cutting claws and wiry muscles in exchange for a fucked up tongue and anticoagulating enzymes that somehow turn brains into goo..
Waking up felt horrible, my tongue hiding a bit down my throat and pretty much directly connecting to my esophagus, the area meant for food now a little smaller, though I knew my tongue would probably take over most of the eating process at some point.
I smiled at my companions, who quickly become focused on my teeth.
“Nice upgrade, hope it doesn’t mean you are more annoying to hold off the next time you become hungry.”
Then we proceeded downstream, killing every slime we managed to see until we almost reached the village, where we went to bathe.
It was nice to enjoy actual water to clean off the tons of blood and grime that had been sticking to our bodies, even Nemo cleaning herself once given the opportunity.
We still smelled of death many meters against the wind, but that was fine, driving off all nearby predators from our immediate vicinity as we approached the village, a quick cast of purify and clean ensuring we smelled and looked our best, as we returned to the village, where everyone got excited the moment we returned.
First, we told the elders about our mission, the three men giving me the what I had asked for and smiling broadly as they showed me their new field of these things.
“Sadly, our enemy did not have any remains, which means I will have to hunt down that damned flying bastard.”
I announced, already annoyed by the sudden realization.
The remaining parts of the day were spend celebrating, everyone drinking some probably alcoholic substance as I enjoyed purified river water.
The stew was delicious, even as I drank most of it wih my tongue.
Felling something rush through this new orifice was incredible, tastes magnified to the point of rocking my world and drowning out anything else.
While I wasn't enjoying the taste of food or the beautiful sight of many different scale colorations in the slowly dwindling daylight, Pale and I fell into a recounting of our adventure, the fights even more exaggerated than they originally were, with my blade as evidence.
I had to hide a grin as they wanted to touch it, shivering as it immediately drew upon their vitality, making it feel like ice as every bit of warmth was consumed where my focus passed.
To prove my new power, I cast Disco flare through it, shocking everyone at the table as all color was stolen from the village, only for my spell to explode once it reached the height of its travel, exploding in a radiance that made even the monstrosity which ruled these skies call out in fear, the world returning to look beautiful as the pigments returned to their place of origin.
“We are honored to have the two of you among us, noble banisters of the slime menace. We will forever be grateful.”
They announced, and everyone else cheered in agreement.
“From today onward, we will consider the two of you our saviors, please take these amulets as a sign of your position.”
Thus, they gave each of us a necklace that held what was probably a vipers tooth, the amulet joining the aging enhancer and SOS signal around my neck.
“It was pulled from our guardian when it last came by. With the slime menace killed, our waters will be visited by the ancient one soon, and we will tell it of your glory.”
They explained.
A few hours later, I thanked everyone and went to Pale to hug her goodbye.
I would return to kill that cocky bird, but this tooth radiated enough power for me to to know it was enough.
Our goodbye was one of happy tears, as we exchanged a bit of our cursed blood, the connection between us deepening quite a bit as I took my oath.
“I promise to return and slaughter the flying beast.” I announced, Pale joining in.
“And I swear to accompany you when you do so.” it was probably the weakest ritual anyone could know, but it was the first I managed to piece together, and it was exactly what I needed in this situation.
We could not forget our oath until it was completed, even upon death we could not rest until it was completed, our common mutation enhancing the oath as it took hold of us.
“Then we will see each other again, pale one.”
She smiled at that.
“Maybe we can exchange names at some point, hungry one.” Her words made me smile.
“I am looking forward to it.”
Falling asleep was easy after a day this eventful, my dreams of a future in which both pale and I fought at each others side, and it was a future I liked.
Upon waking up I quickly made my way to the forest entrance, channeling my spatium inside the amulet as I traveled towards the direction I had come from.
Once I left the forest, my mentor was there to pick me up.
“I had to act like I was conducting a ritual to find you, I am so happy you only took two days to complete your quest, I even prepared everything for your great ritual, I hope you are prepared for the last night you spend fearing the gods, because come tomorrow, you will be impossible to touch by them. May I take a look at your focus?”
She asked, and I obeyed.
I did not feel happy knowing what would come for me, the restraints of civilization once more upon me, making it impossible to run free and turned mice into my only possible prey.