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Blake 'Deathguard' Nightingale

Through the dense fog, my team and I press forward, surrounded by the ominous silhouettes of bandits, outlaws, and guards. Visibility is nearly nonexistent, but my senses are heightened, my movements guided by an unnatural strength pulsing through my veins. The Heirloom Johnny gifted me before I left is not just felt. It is coursing through my veins.

Bonebeak, Edmund's old Heirloom that he gained in an old war with his father, dives into a person's bone marrow and strengthens their very blood, increasing their Vigor and physical strength. It is positively perfect for someone like me, and with each step, I navigate the swirling mist at the forefront, my sword drawn and poised for combat.

Tomas darted away from the rest of our group of Elizabeth, Primrose, Dakota, and me when the explosion happened. So, in his absence, I have to take charge. I don't hate it. I only miss Johnny's reassuring Colt.

A bandit lunges from the shadows, wielding a crude Claymore, at most a 1st Flamme. My instincts kick in, and with swift precision, I deflect the strike, my blade cutting through the fog like a phantom with the ghastly trail of the ghost embedded into it. As the bandit reels from the impact, I seize the opportunity.

Lunging forward, my grasp tightens around his neck while I slide the blade in my hands between his ribs, and a surge of vitality courses through me as I siphon his life force, replenishing my own strength. Since becoming a 6th Sigil, my ability to steal Vigor has only improved further. Lifesteal it now is as I've improved it further with Willful Strand. Before the man can comprehend the draining sensation, my deathly grip tightens on my blade, extinguishing the last breath from his lips as I rip the steel out. He didn't have much Vigor to steal, but it was enough to make me energized.

The man falls to the ground with a thump as Primrose catches up to me, staying close to Elizabeth and the fox. She glances down at the body before nodding to me.

I inhale a deep breath as I feel the echoes of exhaustion leave my body. Sure, Ether saturation still remains, but when I can trade physical injury or exhaustion for using Ether, a little goes a while.

But the mist shrouding the battlefield holds more challenges. As I stride forward again, still heading toward the center of the fog, a sudden dagger appears from the mist, aimed at my neck. In a quick, evasive dive, I twist away, and from the depths of my chest emerges an Undead.

My blooming Power, Death Defiance, screeches to life with the newfound techniques I've developed. Instead of simply pulling from below, I can store the Undead in my body, but only if their souls are mostly shredded. Limited intelligence, but an instant ally. I keep these figures 'alive' far longer than even Death can.

Its skeletal form, with hanging flesh that hardly covers all its innards, intercepts the dagger with a bone-chilling clash, sparing me from the lethal strike. With a sideward retreat around my Undead guard, I assess the situation, my sword already on the move.

As I move away, a ghostly apparition materializes. I call upon one of my stored ghosts, a Haired Skull, its ethereal hairlike hand reaching out to trip the wielder of the dagger. The attacker stumbles to the side, and seizing the moment, I thrust my sword forward, piercing his neck. The man coughs out blood with a shocked face before I rip the Claymore out of his throat. Red stains the ground as I notice Primrose had her own ambush to deal with. She killed the attacker just as I did. The fog amplifies the haunting silence of the battleground as their bodies crumple to the ground.

"Come on! We need to find the others!"

I shout for the two behind us to catch up, and they do, sticking close to Primrose and me. Primrose slides beside me, the fog hardly visible enough to see five feet away or more.

"Based on how far we've walked... we should be close to the Estate by now. Should we turn back? If we run into an Angel... Neither of us, nor us together, can take one. I don't think I'm far from Angelhood, but I'm not crazy."

We meet our eyes quickly before I continue forward. The concern is in my mind as well, but I cannot let it stop us. I promised Johnny that I would survive, yet I also made a promise to myself a long, long time ago.

I'd see to the end of the Estates. Some things are more important than one's life. This is one of them.

"We continue. This is too important. If we find one, I'll buy time. I'll pay the price."

Primrose's gaze stays on me for several moments as I can practically feel her thoughts. She is one of the most selfish people I know, so she probably has issues understanding what I'm saying. Nevertheless, she nods, lining up beside me as we continue through the fog.

"Very well. I need to drag Earl out of this fog, anyhow."

I select not to comment on her words, finding them to be curious as well. Elizabeth is relatively quiet behind us, not providing much information since we entered the fog. She knows she can't do much here. Her only weapon is a long-distance gun.

Still, through the thick fog, I press on, the weight of my Claymore and ghosts a comforting presence against the uncertainty of the shadows. More threats come, but this time, they are coordinated by a set of guards. The ambush is relentless, with attackers emerging from all sides.

With minor panic at the thought of Elizabeth getting struck, I wield my ghosts as ethereal restraints, binding several assailants in chaotic and disorderly assaults. I know they won't last, though, as my ghosts cannot fight on their own. So, I also command the Undead under my command to rush forward. I can't spare the Ether right now to pull any more from below, but this single one is a relentless force, confronting another guard of Primary while I face down two adversaries at once.

They advance toward me, and not wanting to waste time as I hear Primrose and Dakota join the battle, I sprint toward them. The longsword in my hands extends beyond a mere swipe, gleaming with a ghostly aura as it strikes true.

The first guard barely manages to block the ghost that emerges from my blade, stumbling back. As he does so, I pounce on the other while my ghost returns to me, shifting haphazardly through the air. I reach forward, letting the man crash his axe into my side in exchange.

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Bones crunch, and crimson spills, but my hand touches the man's flesh. His eyes widen as he feels it. The pull of death. Lifesteal refills my tank of Vigor as I send it to both reinforce my frame and regenerate my flesh.

The man trembles, standing only with the help of his axe before I stab my hand into his skull, the ghostly glint on my hand allowing my fingers to act as steel. He falls to the ground, and I take his partner down in only a few moves. Then, I look around, finding the battle almost over already in the other places.

Dakota is mauling a guard while Primrose stands over the bodies of a guard I distracted and another that she killed herself. Most surprisingly, is that my Undead from Death Defiance managed to kill one of them himself. Only one remains, but he runs into the fog, abandoning the fight.

Then, a sudden explosion echoes through the mist, a jarring disruption to the eerie silence post-battle. The rumble nearly causes me to stumble and lose my balance. But in return, a surge of urgency courses through me as I recognize the sound, knowing it could only be the work of either Earl or Eli Weiss. No one else uses explosives that I know of.

I wave to Primrose as she, too, realizes the sound and follows me, not wasting a second. We sprint with haste toward the sound, just fast enough for Elizabeth and Dakota to keep up. Another explosion resounds, louder this time, and I know we're close.

As I burst onto the scene with the fog receding, I witness a skinny man, with a gun far too long for him, darting away from a falling hammer, only to pivot and raise his rifle towards the armored threat.

The heavily armored foe raises the grand hammer once more, seeking to end the man. I dart ahead to help, but I don't need to. Earl reacts swiftly, and I hear the sizzling charge of hidden power, a prelude to the impending response as he whips the barrel toward the man. In a blinding flash, the world turns momentarily white, and when the color returns, the threat is obliterated. A basin-sized hole now resides in the man's chest, evidence of Earl's powerful Storm. What a weapon, indeed.

I forge ahead, falling to a knee to check on Earl whom is lying on his back as I notice there are several dead bodies around. Multiple are missing legs, chunks of flesh destroyed by explosions. Some have holes in their neck, suspiciously similar to the holes the Jumpers put into buildings. But only two in total have the giant wounds that are telltale of the Storm.

"Are you alright, Earl? Any injuries?"

The bespectacled man, missing his glasses from the chaos, shakes his head, still gathering his bearings. I stand and offer him a hand as Primrose, Elizabeth, and Dakota all end around him.

"I'm... fine. Just disoriented. Thanks."

Earl takes my hand and joins us, trembling only slightly from the battle. I watch the orbs in his sockets glaze over the dead. He seems... traumatized. Is this his first time killing a human? No. But I know it is likely the first time he's blatantly pulled the trigger on one. He'll get over it. He's too rational not to. Still, I should ease his mind.

"It's fine. They were—"

Earl nods, cutting me off with a swipe of his hand before striding forward past the bodies. His tone is cold, but it's obvious his voice is forced and not at all like that of Lennon Hull. That monster shelves lives like a librarian does books.

"I know—me or them. Let's go. I got separated from Wyatt during the explosion."

I acknowledge his words and follow, relaying what has happened to us.

"Tomas left us at the same time, running forward to help. Have you—"

My words are cut off again as we utterly leave the fog, finding a familiar frame only a foot from us before a bottomless pit. A muscled yet lithe woman crouches with wide legs, her eyes covered with a cloth and the most dangerous Claymore in the world at her hips.

"Kwakiteh."

The Comanche woman doesn't turn her face to greet us. She doesn't need eyes to see. Instead, she holds a rock aloft in her right hand, rubbing it consciously against her fingertips.

"I came here for revenge. Lennon came for spite and because he merely wants to. Maddox came for power. The Slumbering came for authority. Why are you all here?"

Elizabeth takes the lead, answering the perilous woman. Kwakiteh, or Kate, is not ostensibly cruel or evil, but she is risky to be around. She is driven by revenge. I know what it's like. I sought Dragoon's killer for years. I never did find him. Still, it consumed me for multiple years before I finally gave up, not seeing a way I could continue living in the swamp utterly alone. I see that same sting on Kate.

She has gone all-in for this.

"We came here to remove Eli Weiss from power. More accurately, though, we are here to stop a more awful figure from taking his place. Eli Weiss is bound to die today with everyone after his head, but we don't want whoever remains to be worse."

Kate smiles, her head finally turning ever so slightly enough that I can see the corner of her raised lip. Still, the woman laughs, tossing the rock into the abyss with a flick.

"I can only assume you brought more with you than this. Is Caldwell here? Marshall's son? What about the Graves?"

I shake my head to the first but nod to the other two as I answer her.

"Johnny is staying in Gravecross for now, but Wyatt is here. He's an Angel as well, Bonfire, too. Tomas is also here, but we don't know where. As for Wyatt and Bonfire... I can only assume they already jumped."

Kate nods slowly before her partner's words enter our minds. Mie speaks calmly and slowly, but underneath, I know she simmers with the same hatred as Kate. This one has, ironically, always been more kind than her counterpart.

"Sounds about right. I can sense that their minds were here earlier. And I feel two more rapidly approaching, only one that is familiar. Can't tell who it is yet because of the fog. Prepare yourselves. And... don't tell Kate that I told you this, but be careful around her. All she wants is revenge right now. I don't want her to hurt any of you, so watch out."

I give Mie a mental nod as I turn my attention outward, searching for the incoming two. I raise my blade and cover one side of the group while Primrose protects the other. Kate simply remains crouched.

My attention is drawn to a sudden commotion on the other side of the hole as a bear is sent hurtling out of the dissipating mist. It tumbles along the edge of a massive abyssal hole in the ground, desperately regaining its balance with its claws before succumbing to gravity and plummeting into the abyss.

In an explosion of Ether, the bear undergoes a swift transformation, morphing into a bird that soars to the side just in time. A new creature emerges from the fog in pursuit, a hairy, muscled being reminiscent of a Rougarou, hurtling into the ground where the bear-turned-bird would have been. The impact shatters rocks, creating a tumultuous cascade that sends the creature spiraling into the abyss.

However, the hairy creature exhibits a resilience beyond expectation. With a mighty kick off a rock, it propels itself back to the surface with astonishing force. It lands with a deafening roar, barely managing to block a swipe from the returning bird, now transformed once again into its bear form.

Tomas, transfigured by his Power, endures the hit from... I don't know who or what that is. Tomas strikes back, ripping open a lasting laceration upon the bear's form. The battle between the two only grows more heated as we can do nothing but watch.

A battle between Angels can only be joined by other Angels or absolutely exceptional Forerunners. Or... a fellow with a potent weapon.

Beside me, Elizabeth and Earl both line up their rifles, aiming at the bear. The instant the former fires, however, the bear turns into an eagle, forcing the bullet to miss entirely. Then, it reshapes into a cougar to dodge a slash from Tomas.

Earl shoots as well, only to miss. This must be someone with loads of experience. There's no way it's a Skinwalker, even if the traits are similar. Is it...

No way. Is Johannus Doyle still alive? I thought the Shapeless Figure died forty years ago.

I don't have much time to think as another figure emerges from the clouds in a burst of shadowy daggers. Lines of steel embed themselves into the bear. It yelps in a grand spur of pain before shifting into an old woman covered in blood. She stumbles forward before transforming into an ant, barely dodging a dagger so blue that it crackles with electricity along its edge.

The obvious Claymore or artifact sinks into the earth as lines of arcing lightning shoot for Johannus, the figure recognizable for a moment from old posters. Tomas retreats, confused by Clarence Love's actions, as the Silent Scorpion goes in for the kill.

However, he doesn't quite grasp it as Johannus tosses out what appears to be a leg bone. It suddenly expands in size to that of a house, preventing Clarence from finishing off the Angel—instead, Eli's right hand resets, landing on the balls of his feet while addressing Tomas. Meanwhile, Johannus falls to the abyss. I can hardly move as I'm frozen in shock by the events. We went almost an hour without finding a single Angel from us entering Onyx Gate to finding four in a minute.

"He is down there, Tomas. Kate. Take the leap if you wish to fulfill your goals. Wyatt and Virgil are already down there. Lennon and Maddox, too. Even the other races have taken the plunge. I'll be waiting."

Kate stands, finally, beside the two of us. Clarence's eyes glance at her for a moment before he steps to the edge of the hole. Kwakiteh rushes forward, a hand on Demonsbane, but the Silent Scorpion waves and takes a single step, entering the darkness below.

The wielder of the greatest Lumen screams to the sky in rage, but she doesn't jump quite yet. She turns to us.

"You coming, Tomas?"

The man altered by his Power gradually returns to form, and I step toward them. Tomas's many cuts and bleeding wounds heal quickly, but not fast enough. Still, he nods to Kate.

"Of course. These five, however, will stay up. Only Angels should come down here."

I bite my lip, wishing there was something more I could do, but there simply isn't. So, I wish the two good luck before they also jump into the abyss. Tomas, even during his jump, salutes us during his fall.

"Group up with Richard and Denise!"

Then, they are gone.

Sighing, I look to Earl as I feel just so useless, and the man has an idea to help us all. I know we all feel the same.

"Surely an Angel or two has died here. We can find their body and guarantee their Arca. They might even have weapons for us to use so that we can join the strife."

We all nod and leave the edge of the abyss back into the fog as soon as possible. None of us are built for that crazy shit.

But as we walk away, I can swear I see something in the fog. Squinting, I see just the slightest bit of a man's shadow before it vanishes.

Shrugging, I walk away, but I freeze still as I hear the shifting of rock behind us. I gradually turn around as the last in the group, but I find nothing changed with the hole.

Not good.