Shivering I don’t lose consciousness, not really, I am aware of myself but the lights are out.

*Breath in.

*Breath out.

A rope coils in my insides twisting roughly as my intestines viscerally protest the lack of usable mana in my body. I fold into a foetal position, acid rushing up my throat as my stomach wrings itself brutally causing my eyes to bulge open, heavy saliva filling my mouth.

[Ourgh] I gag, regurgitating foul smelling stomach contents that burn in my chest as they come out of me.

There is a [tipa-ti-tap] in my leg as one particular twitch hurts noticeably more than the rest of the spasming mess I’ve become.

Internally allowing that part of me that’s an imaginary stopper-valve open, like heat in my veins spiritual energy warms its way through me. In the same breath I’m letting go of my aura allowing it to manifest out of me. Spirit-Aura fuming out of me in a wave, it does nothing to ease my discomfort but letting vulnerable hurt out as aura somehow takes the psychic sting out of it.

I remain miserable on the floor for a good five minutes before mana starts replenishing relieving me of the nauseating sickness of mana exhaustion as my body recovers; a shudder of relief goes through me as I taste my foul mouth.

That was bloody uncomfortable.

I drink a bit of water.

I really hate mana exhaustion, [ehu-ehu], a cough kicks out of me protesting a water-drop in the wrong pipe.

I spit getting my breath back.

*Sigh.

I’m still tingling but I feel much better and much sooner than I expected to, *[sigh]. Sometimes I forget that only recently I Awakened to Lord and am still discovering pleasant surprises about myself at this tier of things.

The shikai...

A grin plays itself across my face thinking about the next level of wielding a soul weapon. An axe form, I’m glad it’s an axe form, the sharpness of Honour in Death, the added resilience, the resonance with my Rage.

My magic...

Mana moves slightly slower through me but everything is amplified compared to before my second Awakening, I can feel this in my casting .

I need to find someone to teach me more spells that could work with my water affinity. Water shield, water bolt, and water lance I learnt from Vevina but it’s definitely time I added from elsewhere to my magical repertoire.

*Sigh.

If I survive to see Vevina again I have to tell her about Hannah’s death .

There is a synergy to my Awakenings that deepened me further into some of the paths I had started walking down as I keep discovering my new limits with the challenges down here. I would be lying to say I wasn’t enjoy myself a bit but the snake is just too recent a memory for me not to try a different strategy first.

I drag the two carcases openly, trailing their blue tinged blood and juices on the rocks so that the snake smells me coming. My steps scrunch among the pebbles as if on snow in the echoing space littered with minuscule pentagrams of frost floating in the air like many sharp blades.

I’m glad I didn’t fight this creature in its own lair .

Before my close brush with being popped like a ripe cherry I would have been dismissive of the frost crystals maybe. Each pentagonal crystalline construct a razor blade floating through the air attaching to me in their hundreds, attaching to everything accumulating in what has become a seeping coldness as I walk through the cold trap of mist. Fuck, I’d have been sliced walking through here carelessly, and I probably will be still but at least now I’m holding my mana coalesced within me if these blades try to cut deep.

I’m ready to burst with a mana shield conjure, like a spark it can be cast in an instant. I’m fairly confident if I can just get the blades off I’ll be okay from most of the damage. Unless it can control the frost blades movements getting them to attack from all around, then I’m really fucked.

To think that Paulos guy healed the snakes wound and let it keep my weapons, definitely wish I didn’t have to be here right now.

[Sshhaa…!]

I stop mid-step freezing; the blades vibrating into my clothes and skin hugging me deeper opening micro-cuts with their cold sharp edges elicitinga chill down my spine.

The thing floats close by, I can feel its cold aura echoing across my own through the darkness harshly, scaly chains tightening around me twisting into loops constricting me in.

[Hhhhh...]

My breath mists as I exhale the image from my mind, Spirit-Aura keeping my mind from being held down by the snake’s deadly aura . Another shiver goes through me cutting appreciation of the seriousness of my current situation into my body.

[Slurp].

The two fish-eel-pony things splatter and crunch somewhere in the darkness out of my range. As much as I can feel its aura I’m yet to perceive it, and I know its out of my range for a reason . Best let it not feel threatened in its own lair, this is a peace offering after all.

I take a step back making myself small crunching into lotus position with frost falling off me as I lose control of my pre-loaded shield. {Exhale}, my entire body tingles as I lose the grip on my mana. The micro-frost-blades fall away from my skin in a puff of falling frost from the unexpected release of mana, I take a breath that doesn’t cut cold into me for the first time since I got here.

[Shhhaaaa…!]

The frost blows harshly into my skin again, I flinch my face away from the chill cut of the cold air .

‘’Peace,’’ I send opening my empty arms.

Unharnessing Honour I slide her, harness and all away to my left so its not immediately within reach.

‘’Peace,’’ I send again showing that I carry no weapon and I’m practically supine in this position.

...

Nothings but the darkness greets back but I’ll take silence as an improvement from whatever the fuck else could be happening . I don’t feel ready to go up against this thing again so soon but I want my weapons then I want to be the fuck out of here.

‘’Weapons,’’ I project the imagine of Kata and Razor out towards what I feel is a consciousness pressure up to my mind. Almost intuitively chakra starts dripping from my third eye and crown pools, divided mind meditation disrupts back into one as the alien consciousness takes all my focus to even guess at. A consciousness that’s an alien ball of screeching needles scrapping against my mind threatening to induce a nose bleed.

I recoil back from the creature’s consciousness stopping the reflex of reaching to my weapon. Paulos said this thing is intelligent and he somehow negotiated for my life with it according to his story.

Trying again before I talk myself out of it I connect to that mind connecting as I would a new connection to a mind with sending. Sheathed in spirit-energy as I try to interweave it into the sending a connection goes through and somehow it’s good.

I lean back surprised at the ease with which that went though quickly projecting peace, gift of food, my weapons in exchange.

The alien mind is baffling to me even though somehow I’m now sending intelligible thought to it, and that’s the thing with sending, I know it’s intelligible but no response is forthcoming.

...

[Clatter] [Clank].

I grab Honour, Razor, Kata and retreat quickly backward and am out of there fast .

Jumping quickly from rock to rock clad in aura increasing my speed through the frost marked dark chambers.

*

I’m back to exploring the darkness in peace, alone, and finding that I’m starting to appreciate the beauty of this dark place.

I’m learning to move quickly relying only on what I can perceive through my awareness as a side effect of not having eye sight to rely on. I’m much more confident now in my steps moving quickly through the darkness without the extended sense that eyes provide.

At points movement becomes a puzzle I have to solve or find myself with no way further forward, having to retrace my steps and reroute in order to keep moving efficiently. I’ve mostly gotten used to moving in darkness though and to best choose where next to go in order to maximize chances of good footing onward.

Stolen novel; please report.

Razor in a leather sheath on my left waist, Kata tucked in my belt loop closer to my right hand comfortably. Razor, a spirit bound o-katana forged specifically for me by the Hito smiths after qualifying as a samurai and Kata, a dwarven made one handed half-moon bladed throwing axe I claimed on the battlefield of what now is Paradisum.

[Grrrww].

Arms upheld across my face blocking the stinging flaps rushing around me, getting cut coalescing mana cast a quick shield with a mote of mana cutting with Honour as I am pushed backwards by the passing creatures.

I land lightly in a crouch,

[Zzwee], cladded I cut forward as I launch through the dark cloud of them.

I hear them squeak remiscent of bats fluttering around about around me.

In this darkness I’ve learnt its best to stand my ground when coming across anything native to this darkness as its spatial awareness will surely be better than my own so I can’t out manoeuvre it. But within my sphere of awareness I perceive I let nothing get in without getting cut or stabbed.

They fade away leaving a hollow silence, no follow up attack.

I change stances getting familiar with my footing circling around pushing the edges of my fighting ground outwards.

Nothing.

I’m surprised they gave up so quickly, I was sure I only got two or three of the things with how small they are and fast they attacked. But maybe they are mostly mundane bats and I spooked them with my passage.

I gauge myself for damage not noticing anything out of the ordinary except a few scrapes and bruises expected after wading through a flight of angry bats in the deep dark.

Nothing comes.

Releasing my held mana I sheath Honour and begin to move-

I dodge a projectile that flies right over my shoulder, turning I dive as a two others zoom past me through the silent darkness disappearing like smoke beyond my sense. They’re fast.

Honour is already in hand as I land and I don’t have long to wait for my assailant.

[Clank]!

My blade and the others weapon kiss each other I divert the impact to the side kicking at the figures back knee. It folds forward already dodging my follow up strike as I send Honour careening to the back of its neck, [zoo] I abandon injuring it to dodge another project that scraps past my ribs.

I spin away from my fast moving foe who disappears silently outside my range replaced by another figure appearing right behind me with a hook already swinging at my neck.

I dodge under it stabbing back with Honour but my assailant uses crossed forearms to catch the strike between vambraces. Twisting my wrists I break the hold slapping Honour into its hand creating an opening.

[-]

The figure disappears from my awareness completely even as the bigger one comes flying at me with at speed that bellies its size.

[Clank!]

I catch the overhead strike with forearm straining on the flat on my blade against the power of the massive weight, parrying left as I move right. My left foot again folds the figures knee before he can recover but its large arm shoots out like a snake even as it folds forward now rolling with the motion.

[Crack]I pummel the hand away with Honour’s tsuka satisfied at the sound of bones breaking, dodging another projectile as the smaller figure appears booting me away from the big guy.

Three foes.

I clad unleashing my aura as I slash at my foe [clank] it catches the horizontal strike on hooked weapon and armoured forearms but is sent tumbling away by the force of the strike.

I jump to the side stepping on rocks dodging under more projectiles running through the darkness like I know where I’m going. I hear the pursuit, the first sounds I’ve caught of their movements outside my awareness since the attack started.

I unleash my spirit as I move, the burn of it spreading through and out of me welcome as it seeps easily into my aura. I still perceive nothing of my assailants though, there is nothing spiritual that stands out about them.

[Tlaa] I’m flung sideways by a strike to the abdomen. Landing awkwardly I coalesce mana taking a breath staunching the bleeding on both entry and exit wounds with water manipulation. Got me as I was in the air, a reminder of their home turf advantage.

What to do?

I squint my eyes at the darkness in a defensive posture pretending to be more hurt than I feel letting red tinged water instead of blood drip between my fingers covering the wound.

I hear them close in then I hear no more of their movements, my heart is pounding, in this darkness I always have to wait for my unseen foes to make the first move.

Projectiles come I lift a leg it misses my shin, I bend left it misses my shoulder by a breath, one goes through my arm leaving a whole as large as a Volt coin but missing the bone. Non-lethal attacks, why?

Wearily I shuffle backwards carefully choosing my footing on the uneven stone around me. I’m barely keeping up with those projectiles whatever they are, they are using them sparingly though so a limited supply maybe?

Another comes and I duck but it lodges into my shoulder-blade having come at an angle, I stumble a step forward at the surprise.

I can feel the projectiles coming into my awareness and dodge but I can’t tell what they are and not seeing my assailant I’m not always accurately predicting their heading. I whirl my zanpakutō easily through the fingers of my right hand, ready to exchange wounds.

They don’t come though, the silent darkness undisturbed except by my breathing and dripping ‘blood’. Why?

I move ever slowly back not understanding why they aren’t attacking, I pull more spirit from within me letting it burn through me accumulating within my body and awareness, Sphere of Spiritual Awareness.

[Puff] in a silent invisible cloud I let it spread out, permeating around as I set up a possible spiritual oppression. Twirling Honour around my hand I wait, moving slowly, carefully to see what’s at the very edges of my awareness instead of my immediate footing as it likely seems I am. They know I can’t see them though, so what are they waiting for?

The connection to the spirit energy around me fades as it remains unused and away from me. I take a breath closing myself from spirit to relieve my body.

[Grr]

I grunt in surprised pain falling on my knee my body betraying me out of nowhere. I feel cold, spirit aura washes through me stopping the spreading rot I now perceive.

Poison, they’re waiting for poison to take hold.

I fall on my other knee pretending to still be affected, then backwards in the dirt with hand still on the grip of my weapon.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to suffering horrible pain, dead or passed out but I take a gamble hoping they don’t fill me full of whole from a distance.

It isn’t long before I’m carefully approached. The big guy moves into my awareness silently on bare feet mana sparkling with every step I notice now that I have the leisure to. He removes a hood that was keeping his face in obscured shadow. The visage is intimidating, the skin tight against bone with eyes a nose but no mouth to finish the strange homology of the face.

I’ve killed something like this fairly recently, a family.

It pokes my supine form with the sharp edged blade bone-handled blade, I don’t move even as it draws blood cutting through my skin with ease.

Another smaller one comes into my awareness less carefully but also soundless with a face as hard as rock, the last one appearing behind my head from thin air, still hooded but it’s definitely female. If I move now I can only get a clean kill on one of them but either of the other two will have an open shot at me as well and I don’t like my chances after.

The first small one swaggers closer curiously, if I grab it and kill the big one the female teleporter will get a shot still but I doubt she’d be able to kill me in a single attack and the small idiot looks easy enough to deal with. But if I don’t kill the big guy I’m likely not gonna be able to get myself standing again.

Why did I think this was a good idea again?

The big stops the small one front getting closer with a meaty hand; [clank] then slaps Honour out of my hand with its large blade hard. My wrist bends but instinctively my zanpakutō stays anchored to my hand. All three go hyper alert as the big one fails to disarm a supposedly unconscious man.

Fuck, now or never!

I swing my arms out, one releasing a Water Bolt that spatters the teleporters face simultaneously de-footing the large one with Honour with my other, cladded, I push upright amidst their stunned auras.

[Splash] another bolt slaps the teleporters head back revealing the horror of a mouthless face previously hidden under the hood. Instinctively the big one brings its arms up as I swing at it with a full body empowered strike. [Slash], there are no vambraces on this one’s forearms though.

[Tsu] [Tsu] two wholes appear on me after two black spots appeared on the small one’s finger –tips as it quickly retreats.

So that’s a mana ability used to poke holes in me?

The big one’s arms fall on the floor blood spraying from its stumps. I jump kicking it away, using its chest as a spring-board to chase the teleporter before it gets its bearing and disappears again.

[Clank] it deflects most of my stride on blade and arms still dazed from the two bolts to the face, I land and turn. [Wham] delivering a kick to the leg that has it fold even Honour slashes down from above.

[Tsu][Tsu] I grunt painfully as two more holes going from my back through my front splatter out with blood. The wound I inflict shallow on it’s chest [-] creature disappears in a burst of dark mana.

Kata is in hand and in the air a moment later, [ding], somehow getting deflected by the fleeing creature.

Fuck, I only got the one!

I look down at my downed foe, its face unreadable with hard contours no cheeks and no mouth to speak off, but its aura tells me of its turmoil as it flays about with a single wholesome limb remaining. Should I kill it now or try to lure the others, or maybe I could slow them down by forcing them to care for this one?

I look around the complete darkness as I walk over to my downed foe. The creature is humanoid, large but lean with sinuously coiled muscles pushing itself away from me on its single foot and elbows, stopped by a boulder.

You want to live bug guy? Lets see what we can arrange.

Opening my crown and 3rd eye chakra’s I try to establish a connecting using mana as the fuel, establishing a connection to the closes mind lacing everything in spirit energy as I send to the downed creature.

‘’I could kill you right now,’’ I say squatting on my haunches with honour naked between us in implied threat.

The thing seems surprised but its hard to tell as it gazes at me emptily.

‘’You expect me to beg for my continued existence human?’’ comes the response after a moment of silence.

It knows what I am, so humans aren’t unheard off here, good. ‘’I expect you to give me a good enough reason not to.’’

More silence between us. I can perceive its eyeballs but not being able to see means I can’t really tell anything not revealed through body language. Which isn’t much besides discomfort, I tap the stump of its leg with the flat of my blade eliciting a flinch of pain.

‘’Curse you human!’’ The screech comes as the thing tries folding itself smaller.

With a flourish Honour swings, cuts, and is back near my knee, the remaining foot disconnects from the leg silently. We both watch it fascinated, a strong shiver goes through the thing’s entire body as the new stump starts bleeding profusely.

‘’What do you want human?’’ it says through the established mental connection.

‘’I want safe passage for one,’’ I send standing up again. I’m surprised the other two haven’t tried an ambush but I’m ready for them whatever else happens.

More silence.

Then I hear footsteps walking towards me steadily, another mind blooms to my perception grazing gently against my consciousness. Could be a trap, still I let myself perceive and immediately I know it’s the teleporting female.

‘’I will provide escort so your passage is safe through daarkarn territories,’’ it says limping into my awareness with an ugly but staunched wound on its chest and half its face a disfigured bruise showing some bone beneath the thin skin.

So I’m in daarkarn territories huh? ‘’What assurances do I have that you’ll deliver on this?’’ Am I really still bargaining with unknown creatures?

If I manage to kill two of them at least I could maybe escape from a third but multiple factors make me hesitant to try. First of all these things can be completely silent and track me from anywhere outside my range, I don’t really know where I am going so I might even stumble onto their settlement which would be a big no no. A guide is tempting, but I’m also not stupid enough to trust these things.

I tap Honour lightly on the stone floor close to the downed ones bleeding legs, ‘’tell the other one to show itself as well.’’ The threat is there, also I want to push and see just how much bargaining power I have with this one’s life in my hands. They both tense up, I can see the teleporter is charging its mana but all I’ve witnessed it do is teleport so I’m not worried. The third one moves into my sphere of awareness now carrying a long slender rod in one hand.

‘’I will swear a mana oath,’’ the teleporter says after a moment’s hesitation. Why didn’t I think of that first?

I nod, ‘’you will all swear oaths’’.