The two of them stayed the day inside the abandoned house. It was only after all the curtains were drawn against the windows that Sen found it in himself to relax. Outside, through the thin fabric of the curtains, he watched the silhouettes of giant, lumbering beasts wander by the house.
They were far from the lithe, graceful forms that the vampires were. Instead, these creatures had silhouettes that resembled tentacled sharks and slug-like manta rays, all muscled and efficient, displaying nothing but the optimized brutality of an aquatic predator.
It was strange, how these mutated sea creatures now lived outside of the ocean. Through the gaps in the curtains, Sen watched them swim through the Flow-infused fog like water, drifting across the vapors as if they’d never left the sea. Around them, the Fogsea thrived as the ocean did. Tiny, black-shelled crustaceans scuttled across the roads in large swarms, scavenging for corpses to devour. Bioluminescent fish drifted across the fog like fireflies. Giant, crowned starfish dragged themselves up the sides of buildings, eating the writhing, alien kelp that burst out from the windows like flowers.
To Sen, it felt like being a stranger in his own home. That he was a spectator, watching the world move at a pace faster than he could keep up with.
Sen watched the creatures outside recede into the mist. Slowly, the orange moonlight that filled the world faded as the moon sunk into the horizon, casting the world outside in darkness. In the wake of the day’s escape, Sen saw the monsters drift back into their nests of coral-infested homes.
He pulled away from the window. And there, in front of him, Em slung the duffel bag full of supplies over her shoulder.
“Looks like it’s safe to start moving again,” she said.
Sen nodded, and together, the two of them stepped out into the mists.
As soon as they left the shelter of the house, the sharp chill of the Flow-infused mist nipped at Sen’s skin. It felt like a humid summer—one that had been submerged in ice-cold water. Moist, but somehow unwilling to freeze over, as if it could not decide what it wanted to be.
Em shuddered. “It feels like walking out of the shower and into an air-conditioned room without drying yourself first,” she said. “You ever do that? Just to see what it would feel like?”
“Why are you weird, Em?”
“Hmph. You’re no fun to talk to.”
She led the way in front of him, adjusting the straps over her shoulders as she carried the duffel bags onward. Sen followed after her, his face pensive.
“I still can’t believe you’ve overtaken my Body Attribute.”
Em glanced back at him. “It’s what I’m pumping all my essence into. My Ability scales directly off of it, and it’s the strongest thing I have right now. Aren’t you doing the same thing with Spirit and Mortal Commandment?”
“It’s more like I’m just terrified of being controlled myself. After all, who’s to say there isn’t a monster out there with an Ability like mine? I don’t want to be turned into a puppet. Plus… I have a theory.”
“What would that be?”
“You know how the Spirit Attribute raises your resistances to Abilities that aren’t your own? I was wondering if that applied to other things. Like curses.”
“…Curses like ours.”
“Yeah. We’re on a timer, after all. I want to hurry up and take my Spirit Attribute to Tier 2. See if it does anything to weaken this Curse of Kulv’arash.”
In front of him, Em paused. She looked at him, almost surprised, before her expression turned into one of embarrassment. “Wow,” she said. “I hadn’t thought of that. I was just thinking of it like a game—kill Kulv’arash, get rid of the curse. Like a boss fight.”
Sen smiled wryly. “Then I guess it helps that I’m not as deep into a video game mindset as you are. Didn’t you see that Tier 3 monster underground? Child of Kulv’arash, it said.”
At the mention of the huge, infant monstrosity, the two of them shuddered.
Em glanced in the direction of Dubai and winced. “I’m not looking forward to meeting whatever birthed that ugly fucking thing.”
“Well, I’m definitely not planning to. Ever.”
“Cheers to that.”
Finally in agreement, the two of them lapsed into silence. They stuck to it as they waded through the corals, the light of the embermoon faint underneath the thick mist. The way back to the café was quieter than the way out. By now, night had fallen, and all the predators that shied away from the orange moonlight had returned to their homes.
However, that wasn’t to say that all of them had vanished. Just as the old world had predators in the day, the new Earth had its ecosystem designed in a similar way.
He and Em stopped behind a clump of giant sponges, sticking close to it for cover.
Sen peered around the left side to find a beast blocking the way. It was an octopus-like creature, with nine arms and a bulbous, fleshy head. From afar, it looked like a mass of worms tangled into itself, with tentacles made out of smaller, writhing arms. Suction cups littered every inch of its body, with brutal talons hiding within each one.
It tore those talons into the corpses of several dead vampires, tearing flesh apart and pulling it into the center of its mass. Its many, milky eyes blinked and shuddered in pleasure as it devoured the creatures one by one.
[Elite] Inverted Mouther – Tier 1
He pulled back to face Em. She jerked a thumb southwards, where they could circle around it. She raised an eyebrow his way. “Do we..?”
He shook her head.
“No,” he said. “It’s about time we started hunting things proactively. Especially now that I want to bring my Spirit up to Tier 2.”
“Right. We can’t stay weak forever. You circle left.”
“So long as you go right.”
With a nod, the two of them split. Em clambered up a nearby coral, disappearing into the forest of growths overhead. Sen barely heard a rustle in the flora as she vanished into the mist. As she did, he circled closer to the monster, keeping behind cover as they drew near. When he was close enough, Sen glanced overhead to find Em transformed into her Ability’s persona, peering down from a web of kelp.
She signaled towards him and Sen placed a hand on his own chest.
“Quickness.”
Mortal Commandment flared. His perception of time slowed.
And then Sen moved.
He burst out from behind cover like a streak of white as Bone Armor exploded out his skin. In seconds, he was an armored juggernaut, his clawed shields morphing around his forearms like giant, plated gauntlets. Reacting too late, the Inverted Mouther whipped three of its arms towards him, but Sen was already too close.
“[Blinding Stare!]”
Flow flooded out from Sen’s gaze. The creature’s pale eyes turned dark. Ink-black tears leaked from the corners of its eyes, and the Mouther screeched as its tentacles went wide. Sen leapt into the fray, bashing and clawing, inflicting damage on whatever he could get his shields on.
A wild tentacle swiped for his temple. He deflected it. A second went for his leg and Sen dodged. A third—
His eyes widened as Mortal Commandment’s speed boost ended.
Suddenly the hits he could easily dodge before were lightning-fast, blurring towards him in a flurry of motion. One raked across his back, grazing his armor. Sen barely dodged another, aiming for his head. He met a sweep of its limbs with a [Shield Bash] and the creature’s limbs stiffened for an instant as Sen’s Flow rampaged through its muscles.
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In that short pause, Sen leapt back, increasing the distance between him and the monster.
Just in time for Em to join the fight.
She streaked down from the ceiling in a blur of black and red, her scythe blade trailing behind her like a crescent mirror. “[Power Strike!]”
The newest addition to her arsenal flashed to life, the edge of her scythe suddenly flaring with burning, red energy. She swung her weapon once. Limbs fell. Blood splattered. And then she was upon the Mouther, her scythe blade whirling, shredding flesh like wet paper. All the while, Sen covered her. He circled around the beast, bashing and blocking, his interference allowing Em to steadily tear their foe apart.
But then the monster shifted, and its tentacles shot out not to strike, but to grab. Three arms latched around Sen’s limbs, constricting, as suddenly the creature pulled him in. It was gathering itself up into a ball—a sphere of flesh and talon, twisting into itself. Ready to shred him apart.
Sen opened his mouth to cry out as—
“I’ve got you!”
He heard a shout. Metal slashed down and Em’s hand was on him, pulling him close as her scythe whirled away, cutting the limbs that had been dragging him closer. The two of them retreated with Em weaponless, her scythe clattering a short distance away.
Sen flexed his hands, panting. “Thanks,” he said.
Em nodded as the two of them watched the creature warily.
It balled into itself, its bloody, shredded flesh making disgusting wet sounds as it twisted—wringing itself like a sponge. Thee creature’s entire biology inverted itself. Muscle turned over to reveal a thick, bony carapace underneath, morphing the monster into a floating sphere of impenetrable armor.
In the center of its mass, the only gap in its defense was a gaping mouth, filled with hooked talons. Teeth.
Suddenly, the name Inverted Mouther made a lot more sense.
“Of course there’s a bloody phase two,” Em muttered, and Sen reached an arm towards her scythe. With a quick tug of [Psionic Force], it came whirling back and Sen caught it. He handed it to Em just as the monster finished transforming.
As it did, the shadowy energy obscuring its vision faded away. Unblinded, the creature watched them with its disgusting, pale gaze. A chittering growl rumbled from deep inside its body, hoping to threaten them, but it seemed to have the opposite result. Sen stepped forward.
He bashed his two shields together and grinned. “My turn, snaggleteeth,” he said. “I’m gonna make you regret putting those tentacles away.”
It chittered at him once, tense—
And then it shot forward.
An explosion of Flow propelled it forward from behind, bursting out in a sudden blast of energy. Sen’s eyes constricted as he and Em leapt to the side, dodging the charge. The creature passed them like a bullet train, smashing the corals behind them into rubble. Sen rushed it, but it was faster. It turned. Another blast propelled it forward.
Unable to dodge, Sen grit his teeth and took the blow with his shields.
Crack!
The reinforced bone shields splintered as the bones in his arm throbbed with pain. The force of the charge blasted Sen back, his heel digging into the ground as he skidded to a stop a few meters away.
He looked down at this broken shields and frowned, offended.
“That isn’t happening a second time.”
The Inverted Mouther responded with another tackle. Sen cursed and leapt away, barely dodging the attack as more coral shattered away, raining down around them. Without pause, the creature continued its assault, jerking back and around, zipping along in straight lines like a rampaging bull.
“Em!” Sen cried as he dodged another attack, Em rolling away behind him. “Buy me an opening!”
With a nod, she gripped her scythe and dashed towards him, her hand held out.
“Buff me!”
Sen slapped his palm against hers as his Flow surged forward. Mortal Commandment’s daily active flooded into her. At the same time, the creature turned towards them and charged again. Straight for Em.
Tier 1 Effect: Up to three commandments may be applied to one target at once, or vice versa. This effect may be used only once every day.
“Quickness; Strength; Heaviness!”
Sen called out the effects, three voices echoing out from his throat all at once. Simultaneously, all three buffs activated, and Em’s dash erupted into a full-blown charge. She and the Mouther blurred towards each other, ready to crash, when Em suddenly fell into a slide.
She passed underneath the monster. Her scythe flashed upward in an arc and hooked onto the creature’s lower jaw.
Em heaved.
Boom!
The Mouther’s momentum suddenly shifted downward as Em jerked it back. With a deafening crash, it pummeled itself into the dirt, screeching as it rolled to the side.
Sen didn’t waste his chance.
He sprinted in, his arm pulled back. He infused his voice with Flow.
“Strength!”
Mortal Commandment flooded him with power. Sen met the rolling Mouther with a backhand [Shield Bash], its armor cracking at the force of his strike. The invasive Flow staggered it. Sen capitalized.
“[Phantom Strike!]”
His [Claw Fighting] Augment manifested two spectral claws behind his forearm. Sen punched forward with all the strength he had and—bang! The impact rattled up his arm, his clawed shield digging into the crack. Alongside his strike, the two ghostly claws phased straight through the Mouther’s armor, savaging it from the inside.
But one strike wasn’t enough. For the entire duration of his buff, Sen battered it with dozens of attacks, infusing them with [Phantom Strikes] whenever he could, until finally, the creature’s shell burst open on one side.
With a pained screech, the creature unfolded, its armor falling away. Nine, tentacled arms lashed out towards Sen.
“Now!”
Em didn’t waste a second. Her scythe cut the already injured arms apart, whittling them down even as the wriggling mounds of flesh tried to piece itself back together. The creature fell into a panic as all its options turned useless. When it armored itself, Sen shattered its defenses. When it poised itself to attack with its arms, Em was there to tear its bare flesh apart.
There was no escape.
Soon, its weakening struggles stopped entirely. The creature dropped dead, twitching in a bloodied pile of fleshy bits and ruptured bone. Sen fell back on his ass and sighed, wiping the blood away from his face.
“Is it too late to turn myself into a wizard?” he asked.
“You’re what we call a muscle wizard. Your muscles are your magic.”
"I don't suppose there's a way to make my magic muscles a long-ranged attack?”
Em offered him a hand and smiled wryly. “Nope! You okay to keep heading back?”
“Yeah,” Sen said, standing up as he took her hand. “Let’s hurry back to Tasha and the others before they leave without us. If we take any longer, Bali might start thinking that we’ve gone off and died first.”
“And what about the hot café guy? Do you think he’ll come with us?”
“I wouldn’t say no, if he wanted to. Amir’s dog is adorable.”
“She hates you, though.”
Grinning, Sen turned and led the way back.
“She’ll be eating out of my hand soon. You’ll see.”
----------------------------------------
Misha chomped down on Sen’s hand with a sharp crack!
“Damn,” he muttered, lifting his arm and standing back up. Growling, Misha stayed latched onto to his hand, hanging off the ground as she gnashed on his armored wrist. Sen shook her. She growled.
Amir raised a hand.
“Down, Misha,” he said, and the German Shepherd obeyed. Misha sat on her hind legs and panted at her owner.
“Can’t you command her to not bite me?” Sen asked, crossing his arms. He narrowed his eyes at the dog in front of him. “She doesn’t act like this in front of anyone else. Em pets her just fine. So does Tasha. Why not me?”
Amir shrugged. “Your skin is made of bone. You tell me.”
“So I can pet her if I turn off Bone Armor?”
“Maybe. But are you brave enough to try?”
Sen glanced at the massive dog’s fangs, jutting up from both sides of her hanging tongue. Each was the size of his index finger. Misha looked up at him with her adorable, beady eyes, and Sen looked away.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think I am.”
“Well, you’re going to need some bravery soon. Your girlfriend’s been glaring at you for the past ten minutes.”
“Oh, her? Em’s my bodyguard. She’s just playing up the punk girl stereotype.”
He and Amir turned their eyes to Em, who had her eyes narrowed at him. She jerked her thumb towards Tasha, who was playing board games with Bali, and then towards the café’s kitchen.
“See? She’s just hungry.”
Em gave him the look.
Sen sighed. He turned away from Misha and Amir, then towards the kitchen, where Em was waiting. She slipped into the kitchen and Sen followed her inside, where they could be alone. “So?” he asked, closing the door behind him. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Tasha. We need to tell Bali about her.”
Sen grimaced. “No,” he said, after a moment. “I don’t think we do.”
“You know it’s stupid to keep it secret that she unlocked an Ability.”
“It’s even dumber to tell Bali about it. Haven’t you heard what he said to Tasha? He thinks the system is Satan’s recruitment pamphlet.”
Em sighed. She leaned back against one of the counters, shaking her head. “That’s true, but it’s not our place to hide it from him. He’s her dad. Not you. Having him find out otherwise would be worse for all of us. What are you going to do if that happens?”
“I take it you’re not going to be very happy if I say that I plan to cross that bridge when we get there.”
“No, not at all. So say something else.”
“Then I’ll just shoot a question back at you. If—if we tell them and Bali goes ballistic, what do we do? Just let them leave?”
She shrugged. “Sure,” she said. “If it comes to that.”
“You know they won’t survive out there by themselves, Em.”
Em gave him a long, searching look. And then she sighed. She walked up to him and jabbed a finger at his chest. “They will, you bloody idiot,” she said. “They have been. For two weeks before they met us, they were surviving just fine. You can’t just start making decisions for a kid that isn’t yours. The only responsibility you have right now is yourself.”
“But…”
Sen trailed off. He couldn’t think of what came after, because she was right. And he knew she was right, and admitting that to himself was… surprisingly difficult. He sighed. Of all the things he had to inherit from his dad, it apparently wasn’t the killer moustache, but the ego. The pride.
In the end, he was making Tasha a sidekick, whether it was intentional or not. But he wasn’t Gandalf or Dumbledore. He was just Sen.
And at that, Sen sighed.
“Okay,” he said. “So I may have a hero complex.”
“Or you’re just a meddler by nature.”
“That doesn’t make me sound as cool.”
“A narcissist, then.”
He snorted, moving past her to get to the sink. He turned on the tap—watched it sputter—and pursed his lips as no water came out. “You know,” he said, taking a bottle of water out of his bag. “I don’t think I like being called out on my own bullshit.”
Em crossed her arms and smirked. “Me neither. That’s why I’m the one who does the callouts.”
Sen gave her a withering look. “So how do we tell him about Tasha, then?”
“Let’s just be honest about it. Call him over, then—”
The doorknob behind Em turned. Clicked. Then, slowly, the door swung open, and Bali stepped inside. The door closed behind him and there Sen stood, staring at him. Frozen. In his mind, he knew he had no reason to be afraid. Bali could never hurt him. Not with his powers.
But regardless of that, there was a distinct terror one felt when looking at the face of an unhappy parent. The door clicked, locked, and Bali crossed his arms.
“That won’t be necessary, my friends.”