The exhaustion, the pain, the sheer weight of the past few days lessened.
It wasn’t as if he’d spent an hour or two in the baths, but his body and mind certainly had less to complain about.
In fact, Theo had a feeling that he could keep going for as long as he wanted.
Mana coursed through his system as he felt more awake and energised than he had since this all started, refreshed even.
This was what he wanted Rest to do to his body.
This was when Theo realised that he was currently using Rest. Not only Rest and Meditation, but also Endless Song and Tome of Memories.
He paused, taking in the complex eddies of magic that flowed through him.
The glimpse of inspiration he’d had in the back of his mind for months finally overflowed like a mug of too-frothy beer.
He breathed in deeply through his nose, and immediately regretted it as the stench of death and undeath filled his senses.
Theo laughed, not really bothered.
It all felt inconsequential. Not the situation, of course, but the smell felt like such a small thing to be affected by.
Sure, it was a foul stench, but he was alive, magic coursed through his body, and the promise of a tomorrow worth fighting for.
Things weren’t the best with Jenny right now, but that’s okay. Nothing lasts forever, and in one moment Theo became truly aware that one day he would die and what that meant, and accepted it.
He would be dust on the wind, a speck without consciousness in eternal rest. The thought of returning to be with nature was more comforting than confronting.
And if nothing else, it was a really good thing to keep in mind while facing those that had fought death and learned that victory could be hollow.
Speaking of his opponents, he dropped the ever-orbiting backfires that had been his main weapon of choice over the past few hours.
The corpses and skeletons rushed in as they had been doing before, as fearless as an entity incapable of feeling fear could possibly be.
He added Self Awareness to the repertoire of internal magic currently residing in his body, and felt time slow.
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Theo let them get in close, far closer than would be comfortable, and allowed an errant swipe glide past him, a hair away from his skin, dancing around a thousand strikes as he selectively sent off backfires, each explosion carving out a perfect sphere from a corpse.
Mana gathered on his skin, but no glowing trails or clouds gathered near him – every single mote of magic was quickly and efficiently pulled into his body.
He was flawless, fighting at the peak of his performance, taking risks that would not be considered calculated by anyone else in his position.
He was water, wearing away at the sides of the riverbank as he rushed past, centuries of erosion embodied in a second.
He was doing what he did best. He put on a show.
Theo weaved in and out and around the throng of bodies and body parts, stepping over a curled hand doing its best imitation of a spider.
He danced as if they weren’t there, all the while clearing them out constantly, vapouring their bodies and letting the wind pick up and scatter the remnants like bloody confetti.
He kicked at the piles of ash and flesh that had started piling up like snow, coating the undead with the dead dead.
It did nothing to distract or dissuade those incapable of flinching or independent movement, but that was alright.
That wasn’t the point.
Part of Theo wondered if it was a bad thing to feel so comfortable in a warzone, fighting on the front lines and risking his life.
The majority was simply enjoying the lack of stress and strain and exhaustion for the first time in far too long.
He waved to other warriors he waltzed past. None responded or reciprocated, not even Jenny, but he didn’t mind. Given the circumstances, that was more than understandable.
Theo distantly took in the looks of concentration on their faces, the anger and rage and hoped they would feel better soon.
But that wasn’t a problem for now, or him. Right now, there were still corpses to return to rest.
---
There were almost no bodies left intact. Those that remained were limbs that had escaped or buried themselves in the dirt and dust.
The dust itself was notable, a layer thick enough to wade through.
The moment the sun set, Theo let go of whatever new magic he had discovered, and puked.
Hours of emotions washed over him in a second, his body twitching as instinct upon instinct forced its way through him. His face seized in a rictus, rapidly cycling through every emotion possible while he was doubled over and still evacuating the contents of his stomach.
He collapsed to the ground, a small trail of bile leaking from his mouth as he tried not to choke.
The sheer horror and grotesqueness of their enemy came back to the fore, the exposed bone and half-melted faces, corpses in every stage of decay and destruction.
To his dismay, the smells also came back.
Long after his stomach had emptied itself and he had dry heaved for far too long, Sparrow approached with a waterskin and some bread. “Advanced internal magic can do that. Well, not that specifically, but there is a cost to it.”
Theo nodded, using Rest and Striding Wind to relax his muscles and get rid of the sudden cramps. He let out an audible sigh as his body began to obey him once more.
Stretching his neck out, he resigned himself to not using whatever it is he figured out unless absolutely necessary.
Sure, it felt wonderful in the moment, but the aftermath wasn’t pleasant, and he was still ex- hang on.
Blinking a few times, he found his eyelids weren’t as heavy as they used to be. And while his body was still recovering from the physical effects, he found himself to be less exhausted than he used to be.
“I think I can deal with that.” Theo smiled, then regretted it immediately as his face cramped up once more.