(II) Terrify
Chapter 384 of "Path of the Deathless" begins with: 177 (II)TerrifyHe adjusted the spatial fabric of his cape and moved the Forest of Alloy... See the full story!
177 (II)Terrify
He adjusted the spatial fabric of his cape and moved the Forest of Alloy in place. If Bonk or Five wanted to step out, they could do so with ease now. But the Deathless didnât intend to wait. He poured his Biomancy down into the cape to figure out why the two were so quiet. He got his answer almost immediately. Bonk was mostly fine. His body was mapped by Shivâs crimson mana, and aside from a few new cuts along his arm, he was hale and robust. He was, however, absolutely still, and something was pressing against his neck. Bonk was also holding Five up in the air by his head. His fingers were clenched rather tightly around the wolf-manâs skull, and a few cracks lined the organic parts of Fiveâs skeletal structure.
âBroken Moon! Guys, what the hells are you doing inside there? Bonk, couldnât you keep your itch in check for oneââ
âYou heard the Ascendant, Insul! Heâs a spy! We donât leave spies alive. Especially not rats from Aviary! We canât just let him go. Heâll do rat things and rat on us to the other rats. Why, heâs probably not even an actual lupine. He probably has some kind of Blessing meant to make him resemble a wolf-man so he can infiltrate their society and bring them down from the inside.â
âMy task was to solely observe,â Five said, sounding as displeased as Shiv could recall. âI was not meant to serve as a direct action asset. It was a vacation detail. One that would have stayed as that if my damnable greed didnât get the better of me.â The wolf-man sighed. âDeathless. I understand if this makes things a bit between us, but understand that I didnât lie to you. I was trapped here for a very long time, and I did end up getting trapped here because I was performing a heist in your Republic. A heist meant to take back something they stole first from my adopted people.â
Shivâs right eye twitched.
Psycho-Cartography:
But as Shiv thought about things a bit longer, he realized murdering Five wasnât the best play.
âSomething wrong?â Rebis gasped.
âGive me a second,â Shiv said, ignoring the spasming cyborg for now. âAlright. Five, if thatâs your real name. Donât use your Social Skills on me again. If you do, things get unpleasant. Bonk. Watch him, but donât kill him yet.â
âWhy not?â the orc complained. âHeâs right here. I have him in my hand. All I need to do is squeeze.â
âAnd all I need to do is push, and your throat will have a new hole in it,â Five replied without any hint of worry. The wolf-man was cool as a cucumber, and Shiv suspected he probably had a few more tricks up his sleeâeh, fur.
âJust watch him first,â Shiv said. âHe probably wants to get out as much as we do. He still might be useful andâŚâ The Deathless stared at Rebis. âHey, Rebis. How likely are you to try and tear me and my orc apart if we end up killing Five?â
Rebis began shaking violently as he gritted his teeth. âDonâtânoânonoNO!â
âYeah, thatâs what I thought,â Shiv muttered. He held up a hand as Rebisâs twitching got worse. âDonât worry, weâre not going to murder him. Just wanted to know where you stood. You know heâs an Aviary agent, right?â
Rebis looked down at the ground. He went non-verbal after that. Five answered on his behalf. âHe doesnât. I didnât tell him. And he likely wonât be able to fully understand either. The information is there, but he has a hard time processing complicated things. If you havenât noticed so far, heâs very much impulse and emotion-driven. The mechanical processing portion of his brain hasnât been fully refined yet.âwork hidden within the existing spells. We just need to find the right interface. After that, well, itâs more a matter of hoping they respond.â
âWhat do you mean?â Shiv asked.
âSomeone needs to be operating this hidden set of Dimensionality spells, of course. Our little wonât just trigger for anyone that uses them. Or trigger at all, should there be no active Raven on standby.â Five gave Shiv a shrug. âI just want you to know that nothing is certain here. This might not pan out, and we'll be back to doing things the hard way.â
âThat, or youâre covering your ass,â Shiv said flatly. Five offered him a sheepish grin. Shiv grunted. âFine. Letâs get the hells out of here and find one of these anchors before someoneââ
A booming voice nearly made Shiv jump out of his own skin. The Deathless narrowed his eyes at the huge Vulteg approaching him alongside a small army of other prisoners. Once more, Shiv felt his body resonate as the notification marking him as the target of the Hidden World Quest activated. âYou stopped Urri earlier! And the System has put a big prize on your head.â
âOh, dear,â Five said.
Bonk stepped forward and planted himself right beside Shiv. Rebis began babbling nonsense, but limped a few steps past Shiv as he flapped his bladed wings at the approaching horde. âBack! B-back! Away!â
Shiv counted approximately sixteen Pathbearers. They came in all kinds of weird shapes and sizes. Urri stood at the front of the group and was one of the few that were still mostly human-looking, which said a lot, considering he was a tentacle-haired, one-eyed Vulteg. Behind him was a large crystal-creature that resembled a column of mithril orbited by smaller chunks of turquoise stone. There was a near-transparent figure trailing just behind Urri. As light struck their body, Shiv watched as an outline of their contours came aglow. He thought he was looking at an elf for a moment, but realized their bodily dimensions were entirely alien. Their ears were longer and curved backward, their body was impossibly thin, with little space for organs, and their eyes took up a fourth of their face.
Yet, something about them still reminded Shiv of an elf.
The rest of the horde were equally eccentric. There was a figure bathed in tendril-like shadows. There was a grinning woman with a pixie haircut and a longcoat made from the flayed faces of prison wardens. There was a man who had swords growing out from his body, as if his flesh was some kind of blade-garden.
Skill Evolutions changed a person in body, mind, and soul. With each subsequent step someone took, they gradually became closer to the conceptual ideal of their evolved skill rather than a purely biological organism. Comparatively, Shiv looked relatively normal, if one chose to ignore his absurd muscle mass even at baseline, how his skin flashed red-gold sometimes, the faint turbulent membrane that was his inertial sheathe, and also the Shapeless Tides circulating across his body.
He sized Urri up and frowned. He'd managed to stop the Vulteg earlier, so weirdly, Shiv might have the edge in a straight brawl despite being the smaller party. But he didnât know what other skills Urri had, and there was no chance he could beat almost two dozen Legendary or High Heroic-Tier prisoners. Not even with help from Rebis, Five, and Bonk.
The bodies on the ground were clad in adamantine, and their armor was absolutely deformed in ways that made them look like they were made from cheap tin.
âWay I see it, we got two choices here, and both of them are fun.â Bonk was grinning as he spoke. His eyes were locked on the large Vulteg, and he was probably itching to take a few swings if things went the wrong way. Or the way, considering he was an orc. âFirst, we can run. Theyâll chase us like dogs going after a juicy rat. I see it in their eyes. Theyâre still riding that battle high. Second, we can go right up to them and see if they want to be friends instead.â
âBoth,â Shiv said, walking forward. He left a temporal anchor in his stead as he approached the incoming horde. âIâll try two first. Then we do one if things go to shit.â
âWhen, Insul!â Bonk called out from behind. âItâs always a matter of when.â
Shiv hated the fact that the orc was probably right. Rebis tried to follow him. Shiv held up a hand. âNo. Stay. Donât do anything unless they attack me first. Trust me.â He turned to glare at the cyborg, and to his surprise, Rebis turned away from him. A faint cord of flesh and metal connected Shiv to Rebis, and he realized the amalgamated Pathbearer was in fear of him. Shiv wondered when, but then considered his new Feat.
Shiv waited until Urri was within ten meters before speaking. âThatâs close enough, Vulteg.â
âClose enough?â Urri replied. His single eye was bloodshot, and he was missing a few head-tentacles as well. âNo. Not yet. You stopped Urri earlier. Very strong of you. Very impressive. The System has noticed your power, and it seeks to test you.â
âThe System just wants us all to fight and kill each other,â Shiv replied. He shot the transparent elf-like entity beside Urri a look and watched how they just stared right back at him. The large crystal-creature rose up into the air, and it let out a trumpet-like noise. The rest of the prisoners spread out from behind Urri like an unfurling fan. Shiv stood his ground. âAlright. Letâs cut the shit. Yeah, Iâm the Deathless. And if you manage to kill me for good, youâll get ten Legendary Skills.â
Urri opened and closed his hands. Shiv studied the huge Vulteg some more. Aside from being five meters tall and made from dense slabs of muscle, Urri didnât have any other physical oddities. There was no magic radiating from him, and Shiv couldnât guess how tough he was at a glance. That just made the Vulteg more dangerous in Shivâs eyes. Unknown dangers were often much more treacherous.
the transparent elf-thing hissed at Shiv. âSomething is wrong with your . No separation between your life and legend. Both bleed together. Abomination. Nightmare.â It sniffed at the air. âThe taint of the world-ender is in you. Man-fleshed; Tarrasque-souled.â
âTarrasque-souled?â Urri breathed. He looked between the transparent elf-thing and Shiv. âScornâs Tongue. Thereâs such a thing?â
âYou can thank Udraal Thann for that,â Shiv said. âWasnât up to me.â
And at once, Shiv felt the fear in the air explode around him. One moment, there were no chains binding the Legendary Pathbearers to him. But when Udraalâs name was uttered, faint lines flashed into existence, threading each of their beings into Shiv. Slowly, the Deathless began growing in size. Urri took a step back and gritted his sharp, vertically aligned teeth. âUdraal⌠Fatebreaker. Realm-Thief. Soul-CrafterâŚâ
the transparent prisoner whimpered. âF-father-Maker! You are one of his as well?â
Shiv blinked. âAs well. Wait, he made you too?â
The transparent elf-thing didnât say anything. Instead, they for the first time, and Shivâs jaw dropped as his mind struggled to process what stood before him.