The wind howled through the supply yard, carrying a sharp, biting chill. Joel, Darren, and Craig stood inside the small supply portable, their torches casting flickering, wavering lights across the shadowy expanse. Their eyes darted, scanning the night, breaths tense in their chests.
Just as Darren gripped his torch tighter, he saw it—a flicker of movement. Fast, low to the ground, it darted around the edge of the portable building. Another flash of fur and sparks of blue light followed.
“What the hell is that?” Craig whispered, inching closer to the others.
The creature leaped out from the shadows, landing with a low snarl, and that’s when they saw it fully: a sleek, muscular otter-like body, but shimmering with a faint electric glow. Its eyes gleamed with a feral intelligence, a twisted grin on its snout. As it moved closer, the blue sparks along its fur intensified, crackling with latent energy. A second one joined it, circling the group like hunters closing in on prey.
Darren’s hand clenched, his instinct kicking in. "Guess now’s as good a time as any!" He raised his hand, focusing, his own heart card activating with a static hum, sparking with a built-up charge.
“Darren, wait!” Joel tried to shout, but it was too late. Darren let loose a bolt of lightning, aimed directly at one of the creatures.
The bolt hit the otter square in the chest, and for a split second, Darren allowed himself to feel a glimmer of relief. But the creature didn’t fall. Instead, its body absorbed the shock, its blue fur now glowing with an even brighter, dangerous light. The pair of otters hissed in unison, their sleek forms crackling as their movements grew faster, more fluid.
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System Notification:
Warning: Using electric-based abilities has strengthened [Lightning Otters]. Find alternate attack methods to neutralize.
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Darren’s eyes widened as he stared at the notification, then back at the otters, their eyes blazing with an intensity that sent a chill down his spine. “Oh, that’s just great,” he muttered. “Now they’re supercharged!”
“Then leave it to me!” Craig shouted, stepping forward, his jaw set with a determined grit. He tapped into his own heart card for the first time, and a faint warmth seemed to pulse outward. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.
“Craig… your card…” Joel murmured, eyes widening as he watched.
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System Notification: Skill activated.
Heart Card: Anchorman’s Will
* Rarity: Rare
* Theme: Chains, anchoring, resilience
Front Artwork: A 3D effect, almost a hologram look to the card, rugged dock, weather-beaten and solid, with thick, rusted chains extending outward, holding the dock firm against stormy waves crashing around it. The colors are deep browns and grays, with streaks of sea salt giving it a gritty, worn appearance.
Back Artwork: The sea theme with moving cools of blues and greens, showing a vast expanse of ocean under a stormy sky. Flecks of sea foam and hints of dark depths below are illustrated in the background, evoking the mysterious and powerful pull of the ocean.
Abilities:
* Anchoring Chains: Craig can summon spectral chains that latch onto his surroundings or creatures, anchoring him or allies in place to prevent forced movement or knockbacks. Stronger chains can even restrict an enemy's movement, briefly halting their approach.
* Weighted Resolve: When in contact with the ground or another stable surface, Craig’s physical strength and stability increase by 20%, allowing him to withstand heavy impacts, brace against powerful forces, or support teammates with ease.
* Endurance of the Tide: By channeling his heart card's power, Craig can temporarily gain an energy shield, symbolized by a faint shimmer of sea-blue energy. This shield absorbs damage for a short duration and has a cooldown time, granting him protection in critical moments.
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The air seemed to thrum as Craig’s heart card activated. A spectral glow formed around him, outlining the faint image of rusted chains, heavy and unbreakable. They spiraled around his arms, draping him like armor.
“Wow!” Craig shouted, stepping forward, jaw clenched. Bending forward towards the otters and in an instant, the chains launched outward from his body. The spectral weapons wrapping around one of the lightning-charged otters. The creature shrieked, twisting and biting, its electric charge sparking along the chains. Craig gritted his teeth, feeling the current hum through the links, but the heart card’s power kept him steady, grounding the force rather than letting it harm him.
“Now that’s something,” Joel muttered, watching Craig wrestle the creature.
The otter thrashed, snapping its jaws, but Craig held fast, the chains tightening with each movement. His heart card amplified his strength, each link like a piece of iron willpower, unyielding. “You’re not getting out of this!” he grunted, bracing himself against the creature’s renewed struggle.
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But just as he gained ground, the second otter lunged, teeth bared, aiming for his exposed side.
“Craig, look out!” Darren shouted, hurling his torch toward the charging creature in desperation.
Craig glanced up, his chains reacting almost instinctively. They shot out, intercepting the otter mid-air, wrapping tightly around its body before it could reach him. The second otter snarled, sparking dangerously within the confines of the chain, but Craig’s heart card held firm, anchoring it in place.
Joel’s eyes widened. “Whatever those chains are, Craig, they’re holding these things, just like an anchor.”
Craig’s jaw tightened, focusing the last reserves of his strength. “Then let’s end this,” he said, his voice a low growl, and with a final surge, he slammed both otters to the ground, the chains binding them tightly, keeping their lethal sparks in check.
Darren lunged forward, raising his torch high, intending to deliver a solid blow.
The torch slammed down onto the otter’s back, but it barely scorched the beast’s thick, crackling hide. Instead, the creature twisted around, snapping at him with bared teeth. Darren stumbled back, tripping over the emergency supply box Joel had found earlier. He fell hard, scrambling backward on his hands, eyes wide as the otter hissed and tried to advance.
The system pinged.
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System Notification:
[Anchorman’s Will: Successfully anchored two targets. Power boost to anchoring efficiency granted.]
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Craig’s chains whipped out like striking serpents, snaking around one of the lightning-infused otters. The beast thrashed, snapping its jagged, sparking jaws at the chain, but the more it fought, the tighter Craig’s heart-powered bindings constricted, trying to hold it at bay.
The second otter darted forward, faster than anyone could react. It launched toward Darren, snapping at his arm. Torchlight flickering across his face as he threw a punch to shove the creature back. The beast’s teeth grazed his sleeve, shredding the fabric and leaving singed, claw-like marks on his skin. Blood dripped down towards his wrist.
Joel’s armor reacted instinctively to the threat. He activated his heart card, feeling the pulsing energy of his Mechanical Core expand through him. With a thought, the armor solidified over his shoulders and forearms, forming segmented plates of sleek, dark metal, almost as if crafted from the shadows themselves. He leapt between Darren and the otter, his armored fist connecting with the creature’s side in a forceful blow, knocking it back with a burst of energy. The otter recovered, glaring up at him with sparkling eyes, fury rolling off it in waves.
Darren let out a terrified laugh as he pushed himself against the back wall, and yelled out, “I heard of sparkling vampires but not river otters.”
“Craig! Hold that first one!” Joel shouted, swinging back as the second otter circled, preparing for its next strike.
Craig nodded, his chains reinforcing their grip on the captured otter, but his hands trembled slightly as he held the creature in place. “It’s taking all I’ve got!” he yelled, sweat beading along his brow.
Joel pressed forward, his armored hand glowing faintly with energy as he activated another function of the armor—Absorption. The second otter charged at him, claws crackling, and he braced himself, feeling the impact reverberate up his arm but remaining steady.
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System Notification:
[Armor Absorbed Lightning Impact]
Effect Duration: 5 minutes
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The energy transferred through his armor, grounding in his gauntlet with a low hum. Joel flexed his fingers, sensing the charge build. Without hesitation, he redirected it, punching forward and releasing the energy directly into the creature’s chest. The beast howled, stumbling back, its movements briefly sluggish.
But it wasn’t down.
The creature rallied, sparking with a renewed burst of electricity. The otter’s legs coiled with explosive power, muscles rippling beneath its sleek form as it sprang into the air, a blur of electricity and menace. Claws glinted in the dim light, dripping with arcs of crackling energy, and its fangs sparked ominously, ready to unleash a devastating shock. Time seemed to slow as it launched toward Joel, its wild, electrifying presence sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through him.
Joel's body moved on instinct, honed from years on the oil fields, reacting with a speed he didn’t quite recognize as his own. Maybe it was the suit’s augmented reflexes, or the strange new mechanical core, but his hand shot up in time, fingers locking around the otter’s sparking neck. The creature thrashed and clawed against his armor, razor-sharp talons digging into the metal, sending up showers of sparks with every strike. Warnings flashed in Joel’s vision, his power levels dipping with each fresh gash the otter tore into his armor.
He grimaced, feeling the armor’s integrity buckling under the assault. He didn’t have time—there was no second wind here. With a sharp, decisive twist, he drove all his strength into his grip, and with a sickening crack, the creature went limp, its body spasming as the last of the electricity sputtered and faded.
As Joel dropped the lifeless otter, he turned just in time to see the second otter trained on Craig with a deadly focus. Craig stood his ground, sweat trickling down his face, but there was no fear in his eyes, only a fierce determination. He raised his hand, calling on his heart card’s power.
“Anchorman’s Will,” he muttered, voice laced with resolve. From his shadows, gleaming, spectral chains erupted, snaking outward like sentient beings, each link clinking with a low, haunting drone. They twisted and coiled around the otter's limbs, holding the creature in place as it struggled, snarling and snapping.
The otter thrashed, sending bursts of electricity surging down the chains, again, but Craig held firm, his face etched in concentration as he fought to keep the chains steady, absorbing the impacts like an anchor against a storm. Slowly, he commanded the chains to tighten, their pressure relentless as they wound tighter around the otter, its thrashing growing weaker.
“Keep going, Craig!” Joel shouted, watching the chains pull taut, every link shimmering with a hard, unyielding power. Craig gritted his teeth, pushing through the strain, and with one final, forceful pull, the chains crushed down on the creature with brutal force. There was a sickening crack, and then silence. The otter slumped to the ground, still and lifeless, the last of its electric charge flickering out into the cold night air.
Craig took a shaky step back, releasing the chains. They faded back into the darkness, leaving only the three battered survivors standing over the fallen creatures.