Slowly, with his heart in his mouth, Nar guided Jul back towards the stairwell.

Damn. Why did we walk so far?

An injured, hurting Climber. The cannibals had tricked them good.

The seconds trickled by, and the stairs were still not in sight.

Jul pulled him back.

“They’re there! In front of us! Blocking the stairs!” she whispered.

Nar’s sword shook.

“How many?”

“Three! And more coming down!”

He forced his arm to stop shaking. He wasn’t going to let them have Jul.

“Okay. We don’t have a choice then,” his voice sounded flat. Emotionless even. “I’m going in and surprise them. You come after me.”

She squeezed his hand and then let go.

“Okay! Be careful!”

“Remember. I promised!”

And with that, he willed his body to be filled with his attributes. [Speed], [Agility], [Reflex], and all the others. Energy flooded him.

In a flash, he was there.

He opened the first woman’s stomach before she even realized he was there.

The second woman went for his throat and he slashed at her. No finesse.

Blood sprayed his face and mouth, hot and metallic, from her two new stumps and chest. She fell screaming at his feet, waving her ruined arms, and he kicked her out of his way.

He spun to attack the last one, a guy, a big altei, but he was too late. The guy’s massive, hot hands fell on his shoulders, and blocked his sword. Through his enhanced senses, he could hear Jul running towards him.

The guy’s rotten breath hit him like a physical blow and he went for Nar’s throat.

Nar got him by the neck and pushed him back before the cannibal could bite down. The altei spit and snarled at him, and Nar struggled to hold him back. He couldn’t get his sword up, in between them, they were too close.

“They’re coming!” Jul shouted.

Nar did the only thing he could think of. He let the cannibal push him backwards, back out onto the walkways.

Surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, the cannibal tumbled heavily after him. Nar quickly side stepped him, breaking free from his grip, and pushed him.

He screamed and ran the guy over the railing.

The cannibal tried to hold on, but the momentum was on Nar’s side.

Nar watched the outlines of his body be swallowed by the impenetrable darkness. The guy’s screaming slowly faded, but Nar never heard an impact.

He stared into the darkness below, panting. His mind reeled from the violence of what he had just done.

Jul ran into him and shook him.

“Come on! They’re coming!”

Nar could hear them coming down the stairs, closer now, and he was sure that the others would be chasing them from behind too.

He grabbed her hand again and dashed to the stairs.

They ran down, fueled by their fear and the nearing steps echoing from above them. The cannibals knew that their trick was up, and they weren’t being quiet anymore.

They howled and laughed, and shouted abuse at them from above. Nar pulled on Jul even harder, trying to get more [Speed] out of her.

When they got to the last step, Jul pulled him back.

“Nar… I can’t… Breathe!”

Nar got down and pulled her up onto his back without a word. He ran down the corridor with all the [Speed] and [Strength] he could muster.

“Nar! The others… UI!”

Nar triggered his party view, and saw that Kur’s and Gad’s portraits were flashing repeatedly.

“Shit! Hang on!”

They ran, the warm air blowing in their faces. Jul hung to him with all her might, probably so Nar could use his arms to fight.

“Nar! Ahead!”

The real test was here.

“Hold on tighter!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

She did, and he didn’t hear her breathing anymore from how hard she struggled to help him. Her efforts were not in vain though. The weight lifted off his left arm and he gained more mobility in his right, sword bearing arm.

Cannibals ran at them from ahead. And from the back, he heard them coming too. He couldn’t let them surround him. He couldn’t let them hold him either. If they managed to drag him down, it would all be over.

He had to be fast.

He had to be brutal.

He dropped the first cannibal, dead and eyeless. The second one he stabbed through the neck.

He held the sword in both hands and cut and hacked. He didn’t let them crowd him. He didn’t let himself hesitate. He didn’t kill all of them in a single strike, but he made sure to at least maim with every hit.

A void filled his mind. He was briefly aware of it. It was the same empty feeling that had made him lose it on the bridge. But then, he was through, covered in blood and gore and leaving behind a trail of dead and dying sentients.

People. Cannibals. But people.

“Where to?” he growled.

“To the left! Be careful, there’s more!”

Nar stepped onto the corridor without a ceiling and nearly died.

He ducked under the massive two-handed hammer and dashed under the swing. He flicked his sword out and let it slice into the woman’s stomach and out through her back.

The dodge and attack cost him though. Another woman was right behind the first, and she had a dagger in her hands. It was small, and it was fast, and cut at his side.

Nar cried out and sped past the duo.

“Are you okay?” Jul cried.

“I’m fine! Just keep holding on!”

More cannibals came at them, and more chased from behind.

I need to get to the party. I need to get to the party.

His own blood drained from his side, and he glimpsed the [Bleeding] status effect under his status. He just hoped it didn’t make the others panic.

“Nar, you’re [Bleeding]! Oh, my Crystal! Put me down! I’ll fight!”

“With what? Your hands? Just hang on!”

“No! But I…”

He went through another group of cannibals, downing them with hatred. It was not enough that they had failed at their own Climb, they had to try and stop theirs too?

Ah! Let them try!

The blade was a blur in front of him, drawing wide arcs of blood of many colors. He downed enemies from races he had never even seen before, and the fact that this was his introduction to them, only fueled his rage and hatred for them even more.

The corridors in front of him shrunk and elongated. Stretching endlessly in a cacophony of screaming, shouting and [Instinct].

Jul guided him right and left, up and down. The cannibals had done well. Their plan had been perfect. How had Nar allowed them to get so far from the party? He had been distracted, focused and obsessed with saving whoever the cannibals had been torturing. It had been the perfect trick for his bleeding heart. He didn’t even know if there had actually been someone in need of saving or not.

“Almost there!” Jul shouted.

Almost.

His stamina had drained at a rate he had never seen before. Had he used his skills? He couldn’t tell. He could barely see in the dark anymore. The outlines were blurred and incomplete. He was getting tired and slower, and the cannibals were scoring hits. His body burned from the dozen bruises and cuts they had managed to inflict upon him, and Jul was getting heavier too. But he would never let go of her.

Come on. Come on!

He snarled at their enemies and bashed and hit them. Only enough to run through, to escape the sharp nails that drew blood from his neck and shoulders, and that pulled at his clothes, in attempts to bring him down, where they could swarm him.

Jul suddenly screamed and he felt her grip loosen.

He shouted and adjusted his mad dash to account for the weight change, but her arm quickly returned to his neck, wet, and she was steady once more.

“Are you hurt! Are you bleeding?” he panted.

“It’s not mine! Keep going! We’re almost there!”

And they were. Thank the Crystal they were!

He could just see the yellow light just up ahead.

However, he didn’t hear any sounds of fighting and the others had stopped flashing them.

“Nar, something’s not right! Wait!”

He had a feeling she was right, but they had no other choice. The cannibals behind them were almost on top of them. They had nowhere else to go but forward.

He burst into the light and saw several things all at once.

Rel had her bow notched and ready, and aimed at Tuk. She was crying.

Tas held Cen by the throat, and held a bone dagger to her neck. He was bleeding from his nose and Mul was passed out behind him, under the weight of two cannibals.

Kur was down and bleeding from his side, and Gad stood over him, defiant, but not moving. Viy sat next to Kur. She pressed down on his wound with an expression of pure shock.

Nar let go of Jul just as his [Instinct] warned him.

He blocked the spear and was flung backwards.

Hands reached at him from behind and he spun and cut with abandon, snarling as fresh blood splattered across his face.

He squeezed every last bit of everything he had within him, and threw himself at the cannibals that blocked the rear of the party.

They recoiled from his violence and rage. Cowering. Opening a path.

“Jul, go!” he roared.

He turned back and stopped the spear thrust that would have killed him.

Wik glared past him.

“After her, you fucking idiots! Don’t just stare!” he shouted.

The spear blurred in his hands, and Nar’s sword did the same, as he blocked the blow once more.

“Gotta give it to you!” Wik said. “I didn’t think you would make it back. And with her, no less. I always knew you were the worst of the bunch!”

He jumped back and grinned savagely at him.

“Too bad though,” he said, pointing the spear at Cen. “Drop it!”

Nar looked at Cen.

“Don’t do it, Nar! Just kill him!” she begged, angry, through her tears. “Please! Don’t do it!”

“So brave!” Wik said. “Let’s see if you can keep it up later on. The nights are always rough on the meats!”

Nar stepped forward and Wik pushed the tip of the spear into Cen’s chest.

The caster screamed in pain.

“Wait! Wait!”

Nar dropped his sword.

It clanged loudly in the sudden silence, which was punctuated only by Cen’s sobs and Nar’s heavy breathing.

Wik tutted at him.

“Pity. I thought I’d finally found a challenge, but you’re just as pathetic as the rest of them.”

He turned his back on him, and waved his hand. The cannibals jumped onto Nar, bringing him down.

“Why?” Nar asked, fighting against their hold. “Why?”

“Why?”

Wik turned back around. A mad smile split his face, saliva drooling down his chin. The spearman stared at him with dark purple eyes.

“Because we’ve gotta eat, silly.”

He lifted the butt of his spear high above his head, and grinned at Nar, as though he was sharing an extremely funny joke with him.

Nar looked up beyond Wik’s face and strange eyes, to the end of the spear about to come down on him.

Anyone… Anything… Crystal! Please! Something… There has to be something!

Wik heaved, tensed and prepared to bring the weapon down on him.

My Climb… My dad… My magic…

Magic?

[Aura]!

He had [Aura]! He had loads of it. 48 points of it! More than Cen. More than Tuk. More than any of them.

He reached down. Down into the place he had shut off months ago. Into the place of pain, misery and disgust he had run from. If it did anything for Cen, maybe it would do for him now!

He reached down, down, to that place where it came from. Where his hateful [Aura] had to be. His loathsome, disgusting, torturing [Aura]...

It was now his only chance. His last hope!

He grasped nothing.

It did not come.

“Anything?” Wik asked. “For a second, it looked like you had a plan there. But I guess not? Meh! Boring!”

Wik brought the weapon down on his face, and Nar watched it fall.

I screwed up again.

That was his last thought before the darkness.