Netherlight Sanctuary.
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[(A) Against Overwhelming Odds: Charge used.]
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Felix was a fixed point in space. He felt immense pressure from all directions, as if his full body was being squeezed in a vice. Instinctively, he pushed his arms and legs out, pushing back against the invisible pressure, and he felt it relent…but his muscles began to quiver.
“We’re protected for now,” Lucifer said with a sigh of relief.
Felix wanted to respond but couldn’t. Maintaining the Netherlight Sanctuary took every ounce of concentration he could muster. He couldn’t even think about anything except the barrier that kept certain death at bay. The enormous sea serpent that had clamped down on them was chewing on the impenetrable sphere of grey light. Each time it moved, he had to redirect his focus to where the teeth next clamped down.
Tinuriel looked at the enormous teeth, “The only way to kill it is going to be from within. We have to get to a vital part.”
“You want to go inside it? You’re insane.”
Tinuriel laughed. Not a laugh of someone who had lost their mind, but the laugh of someone who knew their back was against a wall and they had no other options present. Then, she grew serious. “Felix, when my Magic effect goes off, drop yours…and we go inside of it. You’ll need to use that air thing to ensure we can survive if it tries to gulp down water to kill us.”
Did you get that?
Felix could only grunt in response, not even able to really listen to what was going on.
“He’s busy. I’ll handle it.”
Tinuriel nodded and raised Valiant Edge. “Three seconds is all we’ll have…Icy Grasp!”
image [https://i.postimg.cc/7wn9LsRp/Icy-Grasp.webp]
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Her sword shot out a lance of white-blue ice that, upon impacting the sea serpent, covered the whole form with a thin sheen of frost. The creature ceased moving.
Felix felt Lucifer force his Affinity effect to deactivate, and the duo plummeted into the open maw of the creature. Felix opened his wings and swooped alongside Tinuriel as the creature resumed control of its own form, twisting, and descending into the water. Felix’s dark vision could make out the pink, fleshy interior that they landed on – before the world seemingly turned upside-down and water rushed in from behind them – pushing them deeper into the creature’s body.
Serrated teeth that pointed inward like those of a lamprey coated the lining of the creature’s insides as they were pushed deeper – and they swam to keep in the middle of the thing’s body. “Detect Weakness.”
image [https://i.postimg.cc/qJcZzjTc/Detect-Weakness.webp] image [https://i.postimg.cc/YtfNScZy/57-3.webp]
The golden circle appeared in the fleshy wall above them. Felix pointed up, “There! Fallen Flight!”
image [https://i.postimg.cc/CSn6WjP4/Fallen-Flight-WEBP.webp]
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His spectral wings manifested, and he grabbed Tinuriel, pulling her up along with him to the top of the creature’s gullet. She slashed a deep gouge and Felix flew through the hole as water filled in the rest of the creature’s stomach behind them. The flesh she had cut away patched over and regenerated in a few moments. They were seemingly safe inside the creature’s body – in a foul-smelling, fleshy pocket within its form. They were forced to crouch, Tinuriel was practically prone due to the small space. It must be some type of swim bladder like a fish. One that probably runs along the whole body.
The golden circle was further above them through the flesh above. Felix gently probed the meat above him with his Wyrmtooth Knife – but even as he slowly applied pressure, the knife didn’t pierce. They couldn’t rely on Tinuriel to do a large slash because of the enclosed space. And something this big would take forever to kill with the poison from the Wyrmtooth Knife. He reached into his inventory and pulled out the two remaining Orange Acid orbs from the last level of the Dungeon. Breathing was becoming difficult. Air Bubble.
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The light-green bubble pushed out into the space surrounding them and both him and Tinuriel could breathe easier. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m thinking we slather this acid to weaken it, then I can try to saw through with my knife.” It’s going to hurt, he thought.
Tinuriel held out her hand, “Give me the acid. I’ll do it.”
Felix nodded. It made sense; she had far more Health than he did. And enough Vigor to Regenerate any injury. He handed the two orbs to her and she turned around so that she was facing up towards the weak spot. She closed her eyes for a moment. "Bastion," she whispered.
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image [https://i.postimg.cc/2r1PCp6h/Bastion-WEBP.webp] image [https://i.postimg.cc/q0h836WK/57-6.webp]
She pushed the acid orbs against the fleshy mass above and squeezed as the shell surrounding them cracked. The acid burned against the blue aura surrounding her, and she was able to spread the substance all across the fleshy mass above
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She scooted out of the way and Felix set to sawing away at the weakened mass with his Wyrmtooth Knife – hoping that the poison would somehow also weaken the meat. Then, the whole space around them contracted and Felix felt himself crushed between the flesh he was carving at, and the flesh behind him.
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He couldn’t move. Even though Air Bubble was creating air – his lungs couldn’t expand and take it in. Tinuriel was trying to push against the mass as well – to no avail. The creature’s muscles were too strong. She activated Deathless Juggernaut and Icy Shell.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/TRJstf7M/Deathless-Juggernaut-WEBP.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/X3rttBjB/Icy-Shell.webp]
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Tinuriel pushed her way up into a crouch – somehow able to push back against the powerful muscle crushing them – and alleviated the pressure. The tissue around them began to harden and slowly freeze, affixing it in place. She got over Felix and pushed the flesh up, repeating the feat as she looked down at him. Her eyes were completely ice-blue as the swirling torrent of snow and ice cascaded around her. “What’s the plan?”
Felix wracked his brain. He was inside the creature. If the flesh of the creature was frozen, maybe he could chip away at it and make a gap. All he needed was small hole. If its bloodstream is close, all I need to do is get access. He knew enough from being around the hospital and his sister’s nurses that he had heard horror stories – mostly exaggerated – about people suffering air embolisms when an air bubble got caught in the blood vessels. It can cause heart attacks. He stood up and grabbed Tinuriel’s sword from her back sheath. Putting the hilt down on the surface below, he turned to her as he held it upright. “I need you to stop freezing it. We’ll let its own weight make the hole I need.”
She nodded and the icy flurry vanished, her eyes returning to normal – but the icy film surrounding her body remained. It was then that Felix also noticed a deep, almost imperceptible aura of blue-black emanating from her – the Deathless Juggernaut effect. She crouched down and held the blade in place with him.
And the flesh above thawed. The compression resumed, and the creature impaled itself onto the enormous sword. Now! Felix shoved his hand alongside the blade and into the groove. A gush of blue colored ichor splashed over him. Yes! A vein! Lucifer, pump all of my Vigor and keep feeding me Anima Elixirs to maintain the blast. Wind Beam.
Vigor Conversion. And I’m saving one Anima Elixir in reserve.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/X49kfx1t/Vigor-Conversion-WEBP.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/vGpkkSH4/Wind-Beam.png]
Felix watched as his Anima bar drained, then, the Vigor bar emptied. Lucifer began popping Elixirs which were drained as well. He could feel the torrent of air pulsing out of his palm and into the bloodstream of the creature. But, given its size, he would have to pour an immense amount to have a chance of pulling this off.
Tinuriel used an Anima Elixir as well and pushed her hand next to Felix’s. She didn’t use an Affinity effect. But, rather, just let her Affinity run unchecked and bleed out of her as he did when he showed off to those bird children a few days prior. Felix felt his hand grow numb from the cool air.
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Both were thrown backward and slammed to the ground as the creature writhed and flailed about. Tinuriel somehow had the wherewithal to pull the sword out of the creature as the last of her free-running Anima froze the hole over. Must have been enough to induce cardiac arrest. Now we just need to survive. Netherlight Sanctuary.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/7H4K8025/Netherlight-Sanctuary.webp]
[(A) Against Overwhelming Odds: Charge used.]
Popping an Anima Elixir. This is the last one.
The white-silver light enveloped him and Tinuriel, and created a sphere around the two, pushing against the flesh on either side. Felix focused his whole concentration on keeping it tense against the pressure of the creature’s writhing and shifting musculature. He had to use the final charge of Against Overwhelming Odds as a minute passed. Not able to concentrate on anything else, he could only feel the urgency and anxiety build and build within his chest. He knew that he could use Health Conversion if necessary to keep it going…but he was loathe to harm himself unless absolutely necessary.
The pressure let up and there was an odd deflation of the tension around them. “Dungeon cleared!” The two were suddenly transported away from the inside of the creature.
----------------------------------------
They were standing in a dark cave. In front of them, a large chest appeared – much larger and more ornate than any they had seen before. And next to it, a deep, cerulean-blue shard that looked like the Primal Shard that Felix assumed must be water themed. He held out his hand – taking care not to touch it after hearing the history of what would happen from that Lich.
[Crisis: Zephelam – Determine the cause of the Great Flood – Solved!]
[You have earned a Multiversal Charge]
[Experience Awarded = 100]
He looked to the chest, then back to Tinuriel. “You mind if we wait a little?” She nodded, sat down, set the sword to the side, and took a deep breath before sighing. She pulled off some of her armor pieces and laid down. Felix walked over and lay next to her.
“How’d you figure out how to kill it?” She asked.
“I spent time around sick people. You pick up on some things by just being present and around people.”
She turned to her side and looked at him. Her piercing, icy-blue eyes a welcome comfort after their ordeal. “Were people distracted a lot in your ‘Verse?”
Felix nodded and pulled his smart phone from his inventory. “These things consum-”
“Why would you keep that?!” Vicky’s voice echoed around them.
Felix glanced around, “You’re keeping tabs on us?”
“After the whole hacking the Dungeon thing, I’ve been told to keep a closer eye on you. That thing is dangerous. It was present when you activated the Basilisk AI. It could have infected it and used it to hack the System. Since, you know, you are part of it. And your inventory is part of it, too.”
Felix looked down at the device. He gripped it and snapped it in half with ease before crushing it between his palms and grinding it to dust. “Done.”
Vicky sighed with relief, “Good. I’ll run a full diagnostic on your Versewalker Core and your VBV just to make sure that nothing is wrong. That no traces of it are present on you. It still is in the same file in the System as you are – so the chance of it hacking its way out of the time lock for a moment is still a possibility…just a unique danger you’ll have to expect.”
Felix nodded and sighed, “Of course. More danger. More risk of death. Etcetera.”
“Diagnostic finished. No trace of the Basilisk AI in your VBV or System file. Except for it being related to you in the same file path – but that’s expected.”
“Thanks, Lucifer,” Vicky stated. “Keep up the good work Felix. You’re making great progress as a newer Versewalker. I’ll be keeping an eye on you more closely but won’t butt into your business.”
“Take care, Vicky,” Felix replied as the cavern went silent once more.
Tinuriel sat up, “Feeling up to looting?”
Felix looked at his bars, “A little longer.”