Chapter 19: Departure
“I didn’t even kill any of the prey that time, so technically wasn’t the result of the trial a tie?” I asked sarcastically.
Cal rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep a smile off his face. I grinned back at him, stress finally melting away.
Curious, I glanced over the three portals to find that the leftmost had vanished. Two left then.
“Go check the soul tether, I believe you have another memory to experience.”
Excited, I made my way over to the tether, and brought up the menu.
Legacy: Abyssius
State: Active
Bond level: 2
Available Insights:
1: Visions of Blood Or Dreams of Horror
Mastered Insights:
1: Memories of shadow
“Hey Cal, I have two options this time. Is there a way to tell what ability I'll receive from an insight?” I asked.
“I’m afraid not, though the name often hints at what you’re in for.
Visions of blood sounded like I'd receive some kind of blood ability, maybe a way to apply a bleed DoT effect, or a spell to stop wounds from healing. In my experience, emotion based abilities usually relied on debuffing or applying crowd control, so perhaps a fear.
After going over the abilities I already had access too, I was definitely in the market for a direct way to deal damage. Fade and Wraith's Spellshield were utility and defensive abilities respectively, while Silent rhythm was a debuff. Shadow Needle didn’t deal a whole of damage on contact, though my follow up strike was usually enhanced by Dread.
After brainstorming potential blood or horror themed abilities, I decided to stop speculating and just get it over with.
Going with my gut, I selected Visions of blood.
The behemoth stood before me, impenetrable interlocking stone scales forming a natural suit of plate. I could swap to a more advantageous evolution, and the fight would be trivial. But many watched. By defeating my challenger while at a disadvantage, I would cement my position. I just needed an opening. The creature bellowed, and charged. A fist half the size of my body pulverized a tree as I deftly leapt aside and returned a counter. My claws could not find purchase on my opponent's tough exterior, and so I retreated. We danced for a time, the oaf's clumsy strikes could not touch me, but I was unable to pierce his defenses. I maneuvered the edge of the clearing, searching for any way to create an opening. My frantic searching nearly cost me my chance. The oaf, accustomed to smashing any obstacle in its way to powder, underestimated the impact something as small as a pebble could possess.
Halfway through its lumbering swing, its foot caught on a stone. The creature stumbled for only a moment, but to me, that instant lasted for what seemed like forever. With both claws I raked the insides of my own wrists as I leaped towards my opening. The blood flowed up my forelegs, wreathing my paws in a convulsing dark mass. My claws tore into the titans exposed knee, finding a space between the shin and the calves' interlocking plates. To such a massive foe, my blow was only a scratch. But one scratch was all I needed. As I leapt from the recovering giant, the wound I’d left began to fester. The fight was over. The behemoth's attacks incrementally became slower and slower, once agile movement now sluggish and predictable. As my technique traversed the creature's bloodstream it replaced untainted blood with poison. Tissue rotted, bones cracked, and muscle atrophied. Less than a minute later, my rival let out a deathrattle and crashed to the ground.
Left a little unsettled by the nature of the Insight, I didn’t immediately scope out my new ability. After filling Cal in on the events, he nodded as if he’d heard similar tales thousands of times. Which I guess, he probably had. Finally allowing myself to open the flashing notification in the corner of my vision, my eyes rose at the ability that I’d received.
Congratulations, you have absorbed the Insight; Visions of blood!
Reward: Twisting Blood(Stalk)
{Twisting Blood}(Active)(Stalk)
Description: Sacrifice a portion of your own health in order to coat your weapons in a virulent plague. Your next successful attack will inflict Twisted Blood on your opponent for 10 seconds. Consecutive casts of Twisting Blood without allowing Twisted Blood to expire on all current targets increase the cost of the spell by an additional 4% maximum health.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Type: Spell
Scaling: Spellpower
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Cast time: 1 Second
Cost: 8% Maximum health
Upon inspecting the Twisted Blood debuff, I learned that in addition to dealing damage over time, it also included a ramping effect. After 10 seconds of being applied to a target without expiring, the opponent would be slowed for 35%. After 20 seconds, all damage the infected takes would be increased by 10%, including Twisted Bloods Damage over time effect. Every 10 seconds after that would increase the damage dealt by the DoT by 20%.
The ramping health cost seemed a little extreme, but the ability seemed like it would be extremely effective in a dungeon or raid where I’d face opponents with massive health pools.
Content with my ability, I turned to face Cal.
“So Cal, are you ready to begin our grand escape?”
He sighed, and a dark look clouded his features.
“If you die, it may be a very long time before we are able to be reunited.” He said.
“I know that this place is overrun with the abyssal creatures, but I'm sure the town that I came from has already learned of the leak and is doing something about it. It shouldn’t be more than a day or two before I can retrieve you.” I said.
“I wish it were that simple. Do you remember how you found me?”
“Sure, I heard your voice while running from the horde, and once I made my way into the room, you saved me from the hound.” I replied.
“Past that, do you remember mine and Abyssius’s tethers?”
“Yea..” I said, unsure of where this was going.
“How do you imagine two powerful artifacts made their way to the same spot?” He asked.
From how I understood things Abyssius was Cals Soulsworn, or something equivalent. Perhaps the person who had previously been bonded with Cal died in the ruins, and so Cals tether, and that of his Soulsworn both dropped? But Cal had many Soulsworn, so where…
“Indeed.” Cal said upon seeing understanding bloom across my face.
“My tether appears above each of my Soulsworn while I myself am unbound.”
“Abyssius’s wielder died here?” I asked.
He nodded.
“When you came into these ruins and swore an oath with me, that broke a streak of several decades.”
“No one has tried to pact with you.. for decades? I asked, not understanding.
He laughed, and continued.
“Many have tried. Before our oath, I turned down requests on a weekly basis.”
Before I could ask the obvious question, he held up his hand.
“Soulsworn are not especially rare, but the ability to pact with one spirit and gain access to many is unique to me. At Least it is as far as I know.”
I knew he was going somewhere with this, so I tried to hold back the river of questions that threatened to break the proverbial dam.
“So. Who do you imagine has possession of the vast majority of my tethers?” He asked.
“Rich peo-”
“INDEED! Nobles. So many nobles. A never ending flood of nobles. Countless nobles.” He said, sounding more than a little unhinged.
“In fact, I've denied more oath requests from snobby royalty than people you’ve ever met. More spoiled brats than people you’ve ever seen.”
I just stared at him. It was obviously a sore spot, so I decided I'd allow him to let it out.
“And so, blessedly, when I discovered that a misshapen adventurer- you- had made his way to one of my few remaining free tethers, I was ecstatic.”
I rolled my eyes.
“So that's why you saved me?” I asked.
For a moment, he actually looked embarrassed, though I had no idea why.
“Something like that…”
His expression clouded over again, and he sighed. Again.
“Everyone knows that I've pacted, the floating Crown is gone from their beloved family heirlooms. By now, I’m sure, every noble family possessing a tether has contacted each other, and so they all know that an outsider has stolen what they see as rightfully theirs.
“If you die, they will have servants sit in Svarem until they find where Locke '' he air quoted, and I rolled my eyes, “was last seen. From there, Abyssius’s tether is as good as found.”
“Can I not just find the aberrants tether before a noble family can locate me, and enter Svarem to pact with you again?” I asked.
“You cannot. While I remain Soulswornless, only one mortal may reside in Svarem at a time.”
“Why?” I asked, it seemed a little contrived to me.
He shrugged.
Well, that’s that I suppose..
“So basically, the TLDR is; don’t die.” I said after a few moments of silence.
“So it would seem.”