[Arc 1—No Light Left For Us]
…..
[Slumbering in nightmares, the heathen tribe search for the Moon and its idyllic dreams]
[Rejoice]
[Rejoice Severants for you have blessed]
Sprawls of panels emerged across the field of gargantuan trees.
At the horizon, a storm was brewing, and it was getting closer.
'Not good. Not good at all,' Raven internally murmured amidst the cold wind pressing against his skin.
Suddenly, a monstrous arm shot out from a tree, tearing the tree barks wide apart.
Zoe nervously pointed. "Oh my god, what is that?"
The monster's visage shone under the beaming moonlight of the Moon. It was an abomination, standing at 8ft tall, shaped into a humanoid form. It had pale and rough skin, no eyes and other orifice, and gnarly bones spiking out of its body.
There was a single elongated mouth across its faceless head, a sort of twisted mouth curved into an eerily impossible smile.
Raven clenched his fist softly. He gazed at the echoing panel of the moon.
[Wretched Damned]
The monster twisted its head in a 360 degree angle. Its attention, at first, fixed on the looming storm. But then, its twisted head returned to them.
Its smile widened, revealing a rotten set of teeth.
"Watch out!" Raven shouted the moment he sensed something.
The monster lunged, breaking out at a terrifying speed. Its movement quickly shifted into a horrid blur as it aimed at the group with its claw stretched out!
Raven was the first to react. His muscles tightened instinctively. Rapid thoughts raced across his mind as the blur got closer and closer to him.
The monster's attack reflected in his eyes. There was no discourse about this— if the monster was successful in its attack, Raven would find himself in an extremely precarious situation.
'I can't let that happen!'
For what seemed like eternity, the world seemed to slow down for Raven. A wild energy crept into his body at the behest of his desperation, fueling his physique with unimaginable strength and hyperawareness.
He gave into the sensation and allowed his body to simply just move!
In a fluid manner, the young boy ducked under the swift claw. Beading sweat dropped from his head rapidly.
'What is this feeling? This energy? It feels so good.' Raven looked at his hands.
There was a colorless energy surrounding his skin, empowering his body beyond his control. The way his senses connected to this energy was nothing short of addictive. And it left him wanting for more.
"Ahhh!"
Zoe scream's shattered his reverie.
Before the group could react, the monster had her pinned to the ground, its claws plunging into her chest. Blood spread from the impact point and Zoe yelled in sheer terror and agony.
Suddenly, the Damned squealed in annoyance as an invisible barrier held it from digging deeper into her body.
"Guys, do something. I can't hold it for long. It's too strong," Hayden shouted.
His innate skill [Pressure Manipulation] gave him some sort of telekinesis variation. But that came with a huge caveat; manifesting an esoteric force into the physical world left a toll on the physical body.
He had used it back at the camp to repel the balliches, but even then, just repelling one monster had left him devoid of any strength. The things he could affect were mostly objects belonging to his weight class. Everything else was a tumultuous struggle.
The monster's bones were slowly adapting to the pressure. Each second, its claw plunged deeper into Zoe's chest by a fraction of an inch.
Hayden raised his hand as he fell to his knees, struggling to hold the monstrous might for even one more second. Blood rushed to his brain as his muscles creaked, cracking under the sheer might of the Damned. It felt less like holding a falling, heavy fridge, and more like getting hit by a truck.
He gritted his teeth, channeling the mysterious energy produced by the sigil. "You have to do something! Zoe is going to die!"'
The pressure barrier shattered instantly and the monster roared in delight. It raised another claws, cracking the air as it took a swipe at Zoe's neck
Before it could relish in its monstrous acts, Raven appeared beside it. The young boy caught its fleeting arm, holding it for only a brief second. But in the next moment, his expression widened and he was pummeled into a far distance, slamming into pregnant tree.
Taking advantage of the situation, Hayden kicked the monster in its chest as hard as he could.
It was utterly futile.
The monster grabbed Hayden's head with its monstrous arm as though it was nothing but a common coconut. It brought Hayden close its gnarly mouth. When it hissed, it revealed a crooked tongue that was only befitting of a monster.
Hayden went into abrupt fear.
Suddenly, the winds whistled as Raven came lunging at the monster, tackling it to the ground.
The bone spikes pierced Raven's skin as a consequence, but his eyes flickered with a distant glow. Utterly and completely unfeeling. The boy moved amidst his injuries, pinning down one of the Damned's arms. On the other side, Hayden locked onto the right arm with his innate skill.
The two boys gave no regard to death.
No, the face of death was beyond their respect. What was happening at this very moment was a dance—a daring dance with the devil. And at the top of this dance was Mist.
The bright girl had donned an emotionless facade. A deep cut appeared on her arm, with vivid red blood flowing not just outwards, but upwards, defying every notion of gravity.
Mist raised her hand in the air. Her bloodstained fingers pointed at the sky, where a globe of blood turned into a wicked spear.
Her eyes glowed with predatory excitement, and she uttered, "[Innate Skill: Blood Manipulation]"
The blood spear vanished at a rapid speed. It tore through the air, seeking its target with a hunger only present in monsters.
In less than a second, the spear pierced the head of the Damned, and its struggle ceased.
[Splendrous carnage, Severants]
[Wicked Moon harkens]
Raven collapsed to the ground, wheezing and coughing in sweat and blood, some from him and some from the monster. The monster's hide had done a lot of damage to him.
He had acted in the heat of the moment not considering everything that wouldn't kill him.
He turned his head to Hayden and said, "Now, we are even."
But Hayden had already rushed to Zoe, helping her through her injuries.
"Girls before boys, I guess." Raven shook his head.
He smiled at the approaching Mist. "So, that's your sigil. A bit bloody, don't you think?"
"Shut it!" Mist threatened.
She gazed at the corpse of the monster. "We killed that? Damn…"
A panel emerged from the chest of the monster.
[Wretched Damned
Race: Blighted Vermins
Phase: Spawn(I)
Sequence: Blight
Tale: Slumbering in nightmare, the heathen tribe seek the blighted lands for Wicked Moon and its idyllic dreams.]
Yet again, the panel provided little to no information on what the hell was going on. But at least, this time, they got a name.
Raven murmured, "... Wretched Damned."
Mist let out a sigh. "That's one hell of a name—"
A beastly roar reverberated the forest.
Suddenly, Raven jumped to his feet, blocking out Mist's voice. He looked to the distance and his face paled, frozen in fear.
"Oh shit, we have to go! We have to go now!"
He had been so lost in the triumph that he had forgotten.
All across the forest, the pregnant trees tore apart and more damned clawed out from their slumber. Hordes of Damned slowly appeared at a distance.
Yet, that wasn't the worst part.
The storm was here. And it came with its complete fury.