Frantic combat had narrowed her entire world to just this face off this struggle Her wrist cracked dangerously as the Nether Warrior flopped sideways in search of leverage
At the last moment the Nether Warrior seemed to realize that its end had been determined Its eyes widened Its struggles became less last ditch attempts to wound her and more the frantic convulsions of a being seeking escape Its pupils dilated and its mouth began to froth Its arms and legs flailed With the last of her strength Devick slammed her body against her foe to keep it down The hilt of her scimitar cracked against her collarbone
To prevent it from creating enough distance to inflict a final wound on her before it succumbed
And then it slumped forward finally blood loss and organ failure dragging it to stillness Trying not to touch the body overly much feeling an odd reverence toward this foe With a curse she just released her grip on her weapon and allowed the dead Nether Warrior to pin the weapon the ground
Just another day like all the others A day I might have died A day I was too weak Devick scowled down at her trembling hands As a small distraction one of the now familiar notifications she began receiving when Nether King Hungry Eye had opened some sort of connection between them popped up in front of your eyes
Congratulations Your Skill Close Call has grown to Level 347
Congratulations You have grown to Level 96 You have 11 free Stat points to distribute
She flicked the message away feeling queasier than she wanted to admit Gradually her awareness expanded as oxygen flowed through her system A glance over her shoulder showed that the rest of the encounter was being settled also in favor of the Aether forces The Squad Leader observed all seven of the soldiers under her command cool and calculating The LeaderÆs Aide stood nearby gesturing at the action and talking quietly
Vendla the ace of the squad crouched over the dead bodies of two Nether Warriors and used a dagger to draw shaky stick figures across their skin locked in combat with each other Der and Fer the two feathered owlish Choulan siblings cooed and examined each other for wounds DevickÆs stomach did flip flops looking around it was obvious she was the only one who had been close to losing
Only two days removed from her arrival to the region and she had already been put back into patrol duty A patrol of an entirely different caliber with the new Nether Forces constantly marching forward so that rather than leading the squad she was its weakest most fragile member Devick bit her lip until it bled Because her wrist could have snapped in any of those last grappling moments She could have been a hair retreating from its blows earlier
I could die like this Devick whispered to herself The owl siblings glanced at her for a moment causing her to flush but no one else seemed to notice Her tongue moved slowly silently repeating the words
I could have died like this
Maybe I should write a letter to him just in case I
Her hand jumped to her throat the choker being the lifeline that kept her dangling above the abyss kept Devick just barely in control of the hurtling careening tumbling passage of her life with the Stats and Skill it imparted to her From the hand of Nether King Hungry Eye to her own unworthy near corpse
Why would he want a letter from her What could she offer him
Fucking Devick whispered to herself her shoulder still heaving with the brush with death Her fingers scrabbled at the smooth edges of the choker wishing she didnÆt need to rely on Hungry EyeÆs generosity wishing she possessed strength enough on her own to overcome this trial Yet she knew she didnÆt and hated herself a little bit for it
Because she also wouldnÆt throw away the choker Both for sentimental reasons and practical ones
The Nether Warrior in front of her looked sightlessly upward forever severed forever numb to the passage of time across his skin All worries were alleviated in exchange for no longer having access to joy Devick brought her fingers away from the choker I should not resent him All that negativity I need to channel it into myself I should be stronger than this I shouldnÆt need to constantly rely on him I have a goal IÆve been shown the methods to grow stronger
Vandla nodded this had been the answer he was looking for I have a suggestion chi Are you aware of the method of creating a Fate The trick of Lord Cerulean cheh
Devick nodded but pressed her lips together Yes However the truth is IÆm not Level 100 So I havenÆt attempted it as of yet
Cheh cheh yes it is known chi However there is a lesser known method Our Squad Leader was chosen to pioneer CeruleanÆs next method A Grand Fate chi Not limited by the same Level 100 as a Class but infinite Vandla glanced at Devick again his eyes glittering with alien emotions Squad Leader has already reached Level 100 in their Fate their growth in the war was rapid cheh So he is attempting the Grand Fate Yet Lord Cerulean is curious what would happen if one who hadnÆt yet finished their Fate attempted a Grand Fate A risky foundation You might be warped by the growth But there is no doubt chi you would become strong quickly So quickly it would defy belief
Devick simply looked forward for several seconds her heart pounding Her movements become mechanical as she considered the offer until she began to lag back Gritting her teeth she forced energy into her legs and caught back up You want me to utilize this method
There may be costs chi But if you proceed knowingly you will bring a great deal of benefits to the future generation cheh An experiment We pioneer the unknown VandlaÆs face remained completely neutral
I want power Devick whispered finally understanding the question The hare in her chest chittered with glee flashing its hollow teeth
Vandla smiled without guile You accept the risk Your courage will serve you well in this war chi
Fatia Cerulean and Faelmac Westrisser sat across from each other at the small camp table in CeruleanÆs command tent Westrisser frowned down at the bare wooden surface his expression unreadable After a few seconds of his jaw working silently he spoke Is this truly necessary The only individual who satisfies these conditions would be
Your daughter yes Cerulean clacked his teeth together He knew his sour mood from Hungry Eye stealing away his trophy made him unnecessarily cruel but now that his viciousness had been awakened it was impossible to cause that raw intensity to hibernate His eyes gleamed as he considered Westrisser a close ally while also being weaker than him
If anything I should be thanking Hungry Eye Fatia had to suppress a chuckle He reminded me relationships possess only two roles predator or prey To have the power to take what you want or to wait helplessly while others dictate the terms I thought finding these Fate methods would change things but life is not so simple
We need more power than this
Turning time into a weapon will come at a steep cost Cerulean whispered And while the theory remains sound we cannot be sure it will work as predicted Or whether such a weapon can be transported
Despite the protests Fatia knew he had him even knowing the danger it would pose to his daughter the man across from him wanted to know the limits of his research His DungeonsÆ were an interesting application but they were a side pursuit What Westrisser really wanted to discover was a way to falsify a Nether Weight equivalent by condensing time to the extreme
Then after storing the pressurized energy in a special container it could be released to erodeÆ all nearby history through a raw surge of temporal energy
Outside the tent the night crawled past CeruleanÆs guards in their sapphire armor marched in tight formations preparing a defensive Engraving for when Deganawidah made good on his promise Yet the raptor construct wanted another card to play in the confrontation
Cerulean spread his bony talons wide blue aura energy flickering across the whole of him Are we not surrounded by deadly foes The only reliable ally we possess is Nether King Hungry Eye and we both understand his allegiance isnÆt a sure thing If we can assure a bit of safety for the Aetherlands we need to take that opportunity It is why IÆve made the knowledge of my Fates public We have no choice but to choose paths we would prefer not to take to survive That is the world we live in