Chapter 10
Erasure of Hope
It began with a sonorous roar of thunder.
Asher, without a thought in his mind, used Spear Dash toward his left, away from the crater. Less than a second later, a bolt struck from the sky, clear and breathtaking, kicking up a storm of dust. In his place now stood Rawen, daggers in hand, bolts of lightning entwined with his figure. He didn’t stay still for long, immediately dashing forward, coated in the lingering sensation of thunder.
Bending backward and aiming the spear at the incoming figure, Asher began to sweat--the first boss battle... won't be easy. Luckily, Rawen was just barely faster than him, which was the point where Asher finally picked up on the 'lesson'. If he hadn't maintained the bonus movement speed from the artifact boots, this battle would have likely been impossible. Nonetheless, it wasn't as though it would be a walk in the park, anyway.
Rawen appeared to his right and stabbed forward, just barely missing him as he scurried away hurriedly, thrusting the spear forward once again. It was the second thrust, but the thief similarly bent sideways and dodged it, crouching until his feet were coated in the sheen of lightning and burning forth like a bullet.
Unable to dodge, Asher stabbed forward into a direct confrontation; a breath later, he saw his HP dip from 24 to 17 while he inflicted 58 damage himself. It was quite a bit higher than his calculations, but seeing as it was bolded in red, it was likely a lucky crit.
Watching Rawen’s health bar, he saw that the single hit shaved some 10% off of the boss’ health. Just above 500, then?
Rawen landed nearly forty yards behind him with the flutter of thunder before spinning around and running forward once again. He splayed his arms open and slashed forward with both daggers at the same time. Currents of lightning erupted into a torrent that swirled toward him. Asher’s speed cracked 2, however, and he managed to just barely get out of the effect.
Getting within reach, he thrust once again; just before Rawen dodged as before, Asher yelled at the top of his lungs, flexed his muscles, and forcibly dragged the spear in the direction of the dodge in the midst of the thrust. He felt his bones creak and his muscles stretch but managed to alter the attack's trajectory just enough to land a hit. Damage wasn't as high as before, totaling around 5% of the boss' health.
At the same time, a crackling of thunder landed on him, dealing 3 damage and getting him down to 14. It hurt--everywhere. His legs hurt as he constantly switched directions trying to dodge; his arms hurt because he forcibly altered the spear’s direction; and now his body hurt because there was a current pulsating through it. Ignoring the sensation, he bit his tongue to bring himself back before thrusting once again, landing another hit.
The storm of dust between the two never settled and the dance commenced--Rawen stabbed forth and Asher jumped to the side, barely dodging while at the same time stabbing back. The thief erupted into a ball of lightning and dodged. The ball of lightning swirled upward and honed toward Asher, the same attack that the thief used at the very start of the battle. Without any other consideration, Asher activated Spear Dash and dodged. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did know if he got hit by that, it would all be over.
Rawen landed with a booming sound of explosion, debris flying outward like mad. Asher didn’t retreat, however; he dipped back in immediately and landed another hit. Bolt of thunder flew out and he weaved beneath it, striking again.
The dance continued, the sounds of thunder ripping out like a song in a perfect rhythm. The cacophony of noises broke the silence, and the attacks continued to upheaval the terrain. Soon enough, Asher's speed was reaching 2.5--by now, he was in a constant, full sprint, repeatedly stabbing back, rolling, and twirling to alter the spear's trajectory.
He felt it, suddenly--the crack in his shoulder.
Pain caused him to nearly collapse but he endured it forcibly--he’d dislocated his shoulder, no doubt about it. Rawen didn’t miss the opportunity, closing the distance between the two and managing to stab him directly in the upper thigh. Massive -12 appeared above Asher's head, causing him to wince in pain and horror. He only had 5 Health remaining, and, furthermore, his speed went down from 2.5. all the way to 1.7 due to where he was stabbed.
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Ignoring the pain assailing his senses from every direction, he roared until his throat burned and stabbed. Rawen blurred into the cradle of lightning and heaved to the sky, blasting down like a meteor. A Spear Dash later, Asher just barely dodged before rushing back in, stabbing once again and managing to land a hit. The boss, however, still had 40% Health remaining. And he... if he got hit just one more time, he would likely die.
Gritting his teeth and resisting the call of sleep, he did the unthinkable--stopped. Just as he did, the thief stormed past him, missing him entirely as he likely didn't expect Asher to stop. The latter's movement speed plummeted down to a miserable 0.4, but it was do-or-die. Turning toward the thief, Asher cradled the spear's handle and burned--his arm stretched out to its maximum and twisted. At the same time, winds began to hiss louder than the surrounding thunder, wrapping around him--his arm began to tremble until the skin suddenly peeled back, veins rupturing, and blood spraying out like rain.
His fingers, one by one, broke, and tears swelled in his eyes. Just as he thought he'd pass out, the winds stilled and the world came to a brief moment of respite. All was quiet and Asher's gaze landed on the thief that was just within the range of his spear--the pair of breathtaking, blue eyes gleamed past the mask. They were aflutter with emotion, the world of darkness entrenched within them.
The spear exploded.
The shards of wood flew everywhere.
But at the front, a boom blew forth like a missile and, within the blink of an eye, tore through the thief--the entire body broke down into innumerable pieces, erupting into a ghastly sight that caused Asher’s innards to rush up. He barely held them down as he watched a human body be eviscerated into countless little shards, blood spraying everywhere.
It finally hit him--he killed someone. A person. Again.
He fell to his knees, drenched in blood, sweat, and the weight of guilt that began tearing through him. His entire right arm was ruined--the shoulder was dislocated, its skin was peeled back, exposing flesh and viscera beneath, veins were open and bleeding, and all his fingers were broken. The stab wound on his thigh was still bleeding, and the exhaustion was like a barbed wire garotting him from the inside out.
And yet, what hurt the most was none of those things--but the whirlwind of pain ensconced within his heart.
“... goddammit,” he mumbled.
“There he is, ladies and gentlemen,” Qyne appeared suddenly, fluttering in front of him, hands slamming one into another in a round of ringing applause. “Asher Rune, the man who killed... and was never the same again.”
“...” his eyes veered from the gnarly corpse of the thief onto the fairy, the look in them darkening. Fury, loathing, rage encompassing the world... they all burned.
"Whoa. That's scary," she mocked with a peal of laughter. "But man, was that ever so slightly entertaining. I almost didn't yawn. I still did, but, well, almost not yawning is... quite an accomplishment."
“...”
“Man, I bet you wish you could just go back to your room now, curl up in the corner, and cry your demons away, huh?” Asher suddenly got a bad feeling. “Well, I mean... you could. But then, what about these poor things?” three ‘screens’ suddenly appeared in front of him, and it took him just a moment to recognize what was happening--Zane, Mira, and Richard were desperately fighting off three different monsters, likely bosses of their own stages, and were not doing well. Zane only had 1 Health left, Mira only 3, and Richard had 4, while the bosses each had 38%, 44%, and 59% HP respectively.
“What... what is this?” Asher asked, his voice dry and tired.
“This... this is the result of incompetence,” Qyne replied with a chuckle. “They drank and cracked each other just before the fight for their life. They thought it would be easy, a walk in the park. But life... life is never easy. It is dull and grating, and every morning is a new battle for tomorrow. Their tomorrow, however... might not come, no matter how hard they fight.”
“...”
“Look at them,” she landed on top of his nose, sitting down and crossing her legs. “So desperate, so terrified, so lonely. Sometimes, I forget just how fragile a human life is. A crack of a club, a slash of a sword, a stab of a dagger... all it takes is one proper wound to end you. Even with blessings here, your stats are barely a tenth of every other species. And yet, many of you dare fancy yourselves chosen.”
“...”
“You have a choice to make, you anencephalous thing,” Qyne said just as two windows appeared above the three screens. “Let us see just how much of the human romance of unity rests within you all. One for all, or one for one?”
Emergency Quest [Unique]
Make a Choice!
Choice 1: Refuse to interject in the fate of others. You struggled yourself and survived; if they could not do the same, then their fate is to die. Such is the nature of all the living.
Reward: Your rewards from clearing the Stage will be Doubled.
Choice 2: Just because fate designed them to die does not mean they deserve to perish! To live is to struggle, and part of that struggle is helping others. Such is the nature of being human. However, you are just one man and not a God--you may only interject to help one of the three and leave the fate of the other two in their hands...
If you choose to help, your Health will be restored to 50% (rounding up) of its max value, but your body’s current state will not change.
Reward: You will keep the rewards from clearing the Stage.
Secondary Reward: [Unknown]
"Choose," Qyne whispered, her tone and voice and words akin to the devil's. Asher's heart trembled--it was an impossible choice. "But choose wisely, little bayard, for it must be a choice you are willing to live with for all eternity to follow..."