Zalia had no idea how long passed in the course of her imprisonment. Had she been brought here a week ago? A month? Two?
Her days were filled with pain, almost as if they were trying to scour her soul from her body. She had tried many times to figure out what the demon actually wanted, but apparently, all it sought was the pleasure of bringing her pain. The urge to cut off her arms and let them regrow to take off the bracelets grew by the day. It couldn't be worse than what she was going through, yet somehow she couldn't push past that mental barrier of just doing it. It felt... wrong.
The only passage of time that she really had was the steady advancement of both Healing Presence and Survivalist. Each further level of both abilities brought them a little more strength. The healing within her body grew a tiny bit stronger and her resistance to both mental and physical attacks grew with it.
Congratulations! Healing Presence has gained seven levels reaching Bronze 15.
Congratulations! Survivalist has gained four levels reaching Bronze 8.
Congratulations! Preparation has gained three levels reaching Bronze 7.
Preparation also leveled due to the constant growth and pruning she did of the wooden ritual platform that was under construction.
It was almost done, almost ready for her attempt to break out. She had decided on the same healing ritual she had used to help grow the plants in Ostoss. It consisted of Frozen Heart for its healing properties, Dodge-vine for its protective properties and of course Adastem for its adaptive properties. She had tried the ritual individually and for a moment, the pressure constantly pounding down on her abilities waned. If she could get it to settle as a separate living ritual, she hoped it would be enough for her to have full or at least greater use of all her magic.
Once she had that, she hoped it would be enough for her to do enough damage to the wall to break out. That was with the assumption that she wasn’t underground, or the wall wasn’t metres thick. At the very least, the break out attempt would give her knowledge.
Even if all she managed to do was get out into the corridor before she was captured again, she would learn something.
She also felt like she would be able to kill one of those Astar in the right circumstances. The one she had sliced through with her sword had barely any defense against the attack. Maybe it was just that the Astar didn’t have Resilience or Constitution bonded, yet she thought it might be something else. Something related to why they had such strong auras for their rank.
The fact that they could wield that aura like a weapon or tool made her think that perhaps they weren’t entirely physical beings. Maybe, they were just a bit more in line with their own souls. She thought Aylie would probably be able to see that, if it were true.
It was a strong advantage, the way that they could pull her aura given by Healing Presence aside so that the demon could attack her directly.
She shook her head and continued working on the ritual pad. There were just few more herbs to plant and it was done. She wasn’t exactly sure what would happen when or if Healing Presence reached Silver, but if it had an impact on the pain the demon could inflict on her, she had a feeling it wouldn’t risk much past that. It was simultaneously a milestone she so desperately wanted to reach yet dreaded at the same time. Any major change to the situation like that could cause the demon to kill her.
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All she had to do was get out before that.
The ritual pad vanished in an instant as she heard the sliding sound of the hatch opening once more. Depthless eyes peered in and then the door opened.
As always, she tried to get a peek at what was outside yet she could only see the same few metres of featureless enchanted stone hallway beyond as always. Most of her sight of that was blocked by the demon.
She closed her eyes and prepared herself as she felt Healing Presence being pulled aside and the corrupting aura of the demon come crashing down.
⪼ ⪢ ℋ 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℋ ⪡ ⪻
She woke again, laying on the cold floor panting, covered in sweat. Used to it by now, she sat up and dismissed the notification of another Healing Presence rank up, then continued her work on the ritual pad.
With a final Frozen Heart planted in the correct place, she looked over her work to make sure that everything was as it should be. For a brief moment, she had considered bringing it out and trying to break free while the Astar and demon were in the room, yet quickly gave up the idea. Maybe she would be able to get her powers momentarily but there was no way she would have the strength to take on three Silver rankers even then.
Something flittered in the back of her mind, a fleeting image of herself stuck in the very cell she was now in. It was a memory, yet not one that was hers. She knew that the collectives memories were still stuck in her vault, almost undecipherable to her and this felt like one of those. They had known she would end up here, yet had chosen this path anyways?
There was a brief flash of hope in her mind as she prepared to cast the ritual and begin her breakout attempt. This might be the only chance she got. Assuming she even managed to get out of the cell and was caught, they might not take any more chances with her. She wasn’t sure she could even stand this much longer without her own mind breaking. Mental Resistance was having an effect on her ability to deal with the pain, but she knew that without the hope this ritual was bringing her, the constant pain would break her.
Her idea was simple. Activate the ritual, hope it blocked the dampening effects of the bracelets enough, cast Nature’s Wrath and destroy whatever she could however she could. The door, the walls, whatever.
She knew that the corridor outside went both left and right. The only hope she had for that was that she would see something in either direction that would lead her towards a decision. Otherwise it was just random choice.
A few herbs began to float about, summoned from her vault. They glowed brightly as she began the ritual.
She wasn’t sad, she wasn’t scared, she was fucking angry and ready to do something about it.
It took all her concentration to push back the bracelets long enough that the ritual took hold. Quickly, the plants took over the entire thing and began fueling it in a symbiotic relationship. Her concentration waned but the ritual quickly adapted to push against the bracelets on its own.
With the power of the ritual taking over, she felt free access to her abilities come back once more. Her bonds with both Ember and Boreal flared to life. With one thought, she started sending images and words to the both of them. With another, she activated Nature’s Wrath.
The wood of the ritual pad grew roots that pushed and scraped at the walls. Stone rippled slightly as it fought her intentions, its magic holding its shape while hers tried to tear it apart. Finally, the hinges of the door gave as the roots of her plant grew between them, pushing the entire thing apart. The door fell into the corridor with a loud bang.
She used preparation to cut the roots from the pad and then stored it, the entire living ritual disappearing in a heartbeat. The bracelets took hold once more, Nature’s Wrath ending. It didn’t matter though, because she was out. With quick movements, she sprinted out of the room and into the corridor beyond.