บท 311: Lickety Split
Agony still drills into my brain like a searing spear burning its way through me, but the exhaustion of using too much Ether is gone—entirely gone. Other than the pain I feel in my mind and shoulder, I'm energetic and spry. Standing up slowly, allowing Painsforge to hold the burning mass in my head for me, I find Creil as he lands a flaming hawk onto one of the prisoners, sending them spiraling away. Wafts of white mist cloak my form, and I wave my hands to remove the fog. It refuses to leave me, however, and I pause for a split second as I feel... at home.
The fog feels like Ma's cooking, her tender touch, and a night of sleep in my bed all at once. It's so peaceful. A sensation I didn't even know I felt has left me. The... gaze that has been staring at me since I got my first Absolution. I didn't know it was there until it left. I think I know who it is, though. However, I would rather not call attention to her.
Freedom. This is a taste of it. It is quite... addictive. Will my 7th Sigil be that powerful? Will it be that comforting? I hope so. Johnny's 7th Sigil made every act of Ether even more focused and powerful than before based on his stress. Tomas' strengthened his organs to the point a bullet won't even faze him unless it comes from a cannon. Will mine be that amazing?
The mist swerves past my sight as I see one of the prisoners hit the ground from Creil's fire. So, I hop to motion and pounce toward the toppled prisoner with Arbalest, the one with the paralyzing words. The scythe blade on my right arm swings outward as the prisoner slides away from me, dodging the edge only because my reactions are slowed by the pain. He stands swiftly and glares at me as I recover from the overextention.
But I don't wait a moment before striking as the man dives to my side, shouting at me.
"Stab yourself."
The words dig deep into my skull, fighting against the pain that already exists, and I quickly lose. The scythe in my hand falls, stabbing into my left leg. It doesn't go deep, likely because of my rough skin from Painsforge, my second Absolution, and my newest Sigil, but it slices through enough to slow me and draw flowing blood.
My leg loses some strength as the man darts in, grabbing for something on my belt. He's fast, fast enough to slide a dagger out of my sheathe but not fast enough to not get caught. My right hand wraps around his wrist before he can wholly escape my reach, and I see his eyes widen, likely remembering what I did to the others.
Rearing the Bloody Palm back, the motion slow due to the massive wound in my shoulder, I prepare a Hone on the edge of my fingers. The Ether vibrates sharply, but before I can strike, the man shouts again.
"Let go!"
My hand releases him, allowing the back to retreat sharply as he quickly rubs his throat. After his shout, though, I find myself recovering far faster than the last time and dash after him. I reach for him as he shouts at me again.
"Stop!"
Again, I'm forced to pause, but this time it lasts even less time. This must be the price of his Sigil and why he didn't just rapidly use it against Creil. The effect of his skill is so fast and swift, too, that Rapturous hardly does anything to it. It just comes and goes like a whirlwind within my system, exiting before my innards even really notice.
As I pause, he darts in with the dagger he stole from my hip, reaching it toward my neck to end our fight. The instant before he places the blade into my flesh, I recover enough to back up. I stumble back as a heated bang resounds from behind me.
Not having time to turn around, though, I raise the Lily again, only to find that as the wrong answer against this man.
"Stop!"
He's panicked by my actions but has a countermeasure, forcing me to pause and not pull the trigger as he slides in close. His dagger digs toward my neck. Right as the tip of the blade enters my flesh, having some issue entering my flesh due to my many enhancements, a ball of fire slams into the prisoner's side again, burning him once more as he's sent tumbling.
Once I recover a moment later, I find Creil hobbling toward me and already throwing another bird of fire at the man with a third forming in his hand.
Before I even turn back, I find the prisoner with the commanding words burning alive with his flesh lit ablaze. The man screams in pain before a gunshot resounds, and then he falls entirely silent. Creil hobbles over, one of his feet severely damaged and nearly hanging off as he releases five more shots into the still-burning man.
"Bitch! I knew you bastards were planning something, but this was a bit much. I even had more guards in today in case it was building-wide."
I simply watch Creil while the pain in my head only continues to bulge, and the man quickly fades from his anger. The Warden then waves at the guards at the edge of the room who didn't join the battle. I can see from here that they are only 1st Sigils and would likely only get in the way. The guards are primarily for feeding the prisoners, as the Carmine Square used to hold those imprisoned with little effort.
Until now, that is.
Creill turns to me and holds out his hand, offering it to me. A smile hangs on the edge of his lips as the guards near and start cleaning things up and making sure each of the prisoners is dead. Bullets intrude on his words as he speaks constantly.
"Thank you, kid. I appreciate the help. Yur' quite the fighter if I may say so. Without you, I reckon these disgraces for flesh might have gotten me. Not as strong as I once was, y'know? May not look it, but I am pretty old."
I nod and take his hand, being as honest as I can.
"No problem, Creil. I can't just let one of Edward's friends die before my eyes. Plus, I wanted my Sigil, too."
Creil bursts into laughter, his lungs arching back before the man stumbles back, the wounded ankle under his legs giving out. A nearby guard catches him, however, before the man can fall to the floor.
"Careful Warden."
The Warden laughs a bit more, this time more subdued. Then, the older man shambles with the help of the guard to a nearby bench on the edge of the cells meant for the guards. Once he sits, the man opens up a bit more to me.
"In truth, I knew they would do something soon. That's why Edward isn't here. He's calming the other floors. Any minute now, and he should be here. It's also why I brought you here alone. Didn't want to risk a newbie."
My eyebrows rise as my confusion follows, even as I recognize the fact he was willing to risk me.
"What? What do you mean? I thought Edward was dealing with the Carmine Square?"
Creil nods shortly but explains a bit further.
"Kind of. I knew that one of these bastards had been watching me, so I wrote a letter to Edward so that he'd come and help. The letter he mentioned not receiving was a part of the instructions, so they would be less suspicious."
The man laughs a bit harder as I glance at him sideways. He really just risked his life for this?
"You almost died? Where are your powerful guards? Your Hunters from your old group? Where is every one that could help in this battle?"
Creil's smile breaks as I ask him these questions, and he looks downward. He pauses for a moment before taking a bandage from a guard and wrapping it around his foot. The blood still seeps through the dressing, but at least it's some staunching.
"All my mighty guards are gone. I've sent them to aid Edward in Blackstone. We need to prepare as much as possible for when the Nahullo, Pygmies, and demons come. Only the 1st and a few 2nd Sigileds have stayed. That's why I knew they would pull something. They would have the confidence to kill me alone, and I was prepared to die as long as Edward managed to quell the uprising. Yet... Edward brought you."
Creil smiles even more exhaustively, some bits of blood seeping through his teeth. I gaze at him more carefully and see many instances of wounds that dig deep. Are those from that man with shields? The one with the phantasmal daggers? Or from Chris?
It was probably from all of them at once.
Sighing, the pain starts to ramp up now that adrenaline isn't flowing through me, and I grab onto my head, cradling it. Creil pats me on the shoulder as he comments on it.
"Alexis had quite the mind, eh? She nearly knocked me out, too. If not for the artifact I keep in my pocket for things like that, I'd be long gone. We old men have to keep as many tricks, trinkets, and baubles as possible to stay in the game. My, I remember Phineas having almost a dozen artifacts between him and Judas before they fully retired. Ah, times like these make me wish I joined them. Even the Furious Mountain retired, but not me. I'm really getting too old for this shit. You should be fine, though. As far as I know, however, the damage isn't permanent to the mind. Give it a night's rest, and with your toughness... You should be fine."
I nod to his advice and his ramblings, but by the end of his words, his eyes change from caring to inquisitive. Creil's focus falls upon me as if the man puts two and two together after watching me fight. His eyes shift over to my shoulder and linger there for several moments before he speaks again. I stay silent as I worry he realizes who I am.
"Did Edmund teach you that one? Distract one type of pain with another? Did he teach you Painsforge as well?"
An unreleased sigh of relief stays within me as I shake my head in negative.
"No. That was... on the fly. And Marshall taught me the latter."
Again, Creil laughs, rearing his head back as a pair of mighty footsteps ring out throughout the prison. I twist my head around, barely holding on to my wakeful mind as Edward steps into view. Blood covers every inch of him as the man tosses a sanguine cube inscribed with curious symbols onto the ground before the two of us.
I notice Creil's gaze harden as he looks at it, almost as if he is remorseful.
"I handled the lower levels, Creil. You're free to leave now. Retire, or whatever you want to do. That thing, though..."
"Chris ruined it. I don't know how, but he did."
Creil cuts into Edward's words, but the Bloodied Beast shakes his head as if knowing the answer. He points at the cube with his index finger, but he wipes away some blood first.
"I do. Somehow, somewhere, a Motherbound infiltrated your grounds, Creil. They must have gotten to Chris and recruited him or something. Bits of Darklight lie within the depths of the artifact, tampering and slowing it. At this point, I reckon it is best just to toss it. It was useful for a very long time, but it's just a tool."
The Mother Below again? She's truly becoming more and more common. And The Cabin's atmosphere was quite odd. The time is coming quickly. And I'm not even close to being prepared. Edward's stance on the artifact, however, rubs me wrong. I can't help but look at my left hand and lightly rub it with my right.
"You're not a tool."
My whisper only draws a slight look from Edward. I don't like that look. Creil reaches over and grabs the Carmine Square, holding it aloft as Edward rubs his own shoulder as if he was hit. A jolt of determination flows through me as I stand beside him, forcing my way past the pain and meeting Edward's eyes. The words do come out with a bit of difficulty, though.
"I got my Sigil. We're good to go."
Edward nods at me before focusing on Creil, who stands with the help of a guard. The Warden gives Edward an answer to a previous proposition.
"Welp, I can't be retiring with all the chaos a-comin'. It would be best I joined you wholly, don't ya think, Edward? Give me two days, and I'll bring whoever else is willing from this dinky town of mine. Anyone else... I'll send them to Canyon Cift in Gravecross. I heard he's taking in refugees. As for the Carmine Square... It's been put through good use. For two decades, it helped new Hunters train against the inmates and prepare them for their Sigils."
So that's what else it did! It was for training! I knew there had to be a deeper meaning than just holding a bunch of living men and women as future Sigils. They were for practice and training. Apparently, the Carmine Square made it easy to do so, likely by suppressing the inmates.
Edward lifts his thumb toward Creil before slapping my shoulder softly. The older man pulls me in closer, and unable to resist due to my pounding brain, I let him.
"Sounds good to me, Creil. I'll always take in another Forerunner like yourself. If you can get in contact with your old team, too, that'd be amazing. The Redbirds would be a great addition. As for you, Wyatt, I can see that you're fucked up. Let's get you back and resting. Can't have you tired for our attack."
I go to nod to him, but my consciousness quickly slips. I nearly fall to the ground, but Edward catches me. Creil's voice rings out in the echoing darkness as I pass out.
"He got struck good by Alexis. Should be fine as he didn't just straight up die, but you should watch him."
*****************************************
My eyes open to a bright light, surprised that I didn't meet Lily while sleeping this time. Odd. Maybe it was the pain that kept us apart? Shaking my head to focus as much of the mind-bending agony is gone, I glance around.
The midday sun beats down upon me as I lie somewhere in the flat rockies of Blackreach. Quickly, I sit up to find Edward noisily maintaining a firearm of his. The Colt clicks and clanks the pieces as he reassembles them, watching me out of the corner of his eye.
"Good. You're up. Wanted you awake before we went into town. Can't let anyone think anything is different in case Eli is watching. We return to training tonight, and then, tomorrow evening, under the cover of night, we strike Eli's compound. I would like to wait for Creil, but something is eating at me. My instincts tell me we don't have time. And anytime I've gone against my gut it hasn't ended well."
As I stand, I motion my head in understanding, stretching my muscles and joints. The man must have carried me this far. I spin around, only to discover Blackstone in the far distance. The city is large, visible from a mile away, but it doesn't even hold a candle to the city that bears the same name as the Territory. I wonder if I'll ever get to see it.
A thought strikes me, though. Do I still need to train Shiver? Didn't I manage it in a fight? I bring this up to Edward, mentioning precisely what happened, and the man stops his work, gazing at me intently.
"You... interesting. Low-level skills have near zero difference between users, but the higher the difficulty and power of the skill, the more the difference between Ether and people shine. That's why I figured my limits may lie in only dodging with Shiver. There is a chance I can overcome it, but it will be difficult. Having your Shvier strike back instead of evade is unique but not unexpected."
Edward places a finger on his chin as he thinks, pointing a finger from his other hand at me.
"You're unafraid, correct? If that is the case, it explains why even your subconscious and soul don't care about dying. They simply wish to do as they please, which is to fight back. We were going about this all wrong. I was testing you to dodge, which you can do, but it is not in your nature. Your nature is to fight, not flee. To answer your question, we will train one last time still, but it will be a little different."
I nod to him as he rises and rapidly finishes assembling his Colt, waving it toward our destination before holstering it.
"Let's get moving, now. Tomorrow is the big day, and I must ensure all our preparations are complete. You and Virgil, now being 6th Sigileds, will be a massive comfort on top of Tomas and Johnny's help. As 5th Sigileds, you two were some of our best, from what I hear. Looking forward to what you two can do now. Though I'm unsure what Kwakiteh will do, but I wager Lennon will join simply to fight Eli."
The Bloodied Beast finishes his words before shooting off into the rocks, expecting me to follow at a similar pace. Tsking my tongue in annoyance as I woke up less than five minutes ago, I follow him with a quick Breakneck and Painsforge. Every step I take hurtles me forward, digging divots into the stone below.
Rapidly, we reach the outskirts of the city, and Edward breaks off, telling me to find my friends and meet him at the training ground tonight. I would have done that anyway.
Kicking forward, I speed through the streets of Blackstone, careful not to run into any Unsigiled or hurt them, before I find Elizabeth, Virgil, Blake, and Johnny watching Earl handle something in his hands behind the Steam Train and facing the wilderness outside of Blackreach's borders.
It looks like his Coil, only twice as long and three times as thick. Is that what I think it is?
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