"Ugh I thought I killed them all." Leo said as he picked up his staff.
"Aether isn't recovering, if I had known I would have been more conservative although my reserves are still much.
If it continues like this I won't be able to heal much." Leo sighed whilst he looked at his weapon that was blood stained along with his arms.
"I can't believe that just happened, blood and violence again ." Leo held his stomach.
"Does this count as revenge, from he stories I've read it's supposed to feel fulfilling, but here it just feels... bland.
Just like this white place, I feel nothing from it..." Leo frowned as he stared at the carcasses of the spawns, some were still alive.
He had some struggle in carrying himself around, his wounds stung, his leg had to be the most limiting at that period in time.
He finished off the surviving spawns, he finally reached the last one.
"The dark energy flowing into me from their corpses hardly does anything, what else am I to do." He was finally looking down at the last spawn.
[Stab] He pierced through it.
[Ripple]
?!
[Huff huff] The sounds of breathing filled the room.
Everyone else appeared at the same time, they manifested in the location they were before they were separated.
They were worn out with injuries as well, from their halos all of them had advanced by a thorn again.
With most being at their third except Cera who was at the second, and Laura who was at her fourth.
–
At the back of everyone else – where the door used to be – sat Paul, he hugged his staff the same way he had earlier.
Blood was smeared all over his trembling body with a pained look on his sweaty face.
"I chose to live…I cho..se to…" He thought as his pupils shook.
–
It took a while for everyone to calm down from the not so thrilling experience they had just gone through.
Leo Caesar and Rud shared their experience and once again it was similar.
"...the time with the doors and even now I think there is something we are overlooking.
I'm sure others here are thinking the same as well, do you guys know what I'm talking about?" Leo looked up to Rud, then he looked at Caesar.
They had no idea.
"Pretty sure we're overlooking a lot of things, I can't tell when you don't bring up any point." Caesar said.
"Yep, I have no idea as well, you are not giving us anything to work with here." Rud added.
"What I meant to say was time, I think this place is messing with it.
We couldn't have opened the doors at the same time but we all arrived at the same time, and we couldn't have killed the beasts as the same time as well.
It's off, really off when you think about it…" Leo was unsettled whilst speaking about the matter.
Caesar raised one brow, truly it was something he had overlooked now that he started thinking about it he couldn't stop.
Leo's thought that he shared was like a soft cold blow to them as it kept them thinking as well.
"I'll be right back, let me gather as much info as possible..." Rud said to them as he walked away.
–
"Leo!" Caesar's voice reverberated through Leo's ears as he tapped on Leo's shoulder.
"Ayayaya!" Leo fell to the wet ground holding his shoulders.
"Wet…" Caesar looked at his palm, the substance on it was wet and mushy; it was Leo's blood.
"Ah, so sorry.
How did you even get so battered up with so many injuries." He bent to the ground beside Leo.
"And how did you end up with so few, All I see are deep scratches on your amour and top but no injury.
There has to be something I'm missing here, did you fight only one?!" Leo said in frustration.
He cleaned up the blood off his armour and washed the sweat off his face.
"I just got lucky, plus with a sword like mine it isn't hard to cut down three with a swing.
And with the overwhelming speed difference it was fun maneuvering through them.
With how nimble you are I'm shocked you didn't have an easier ti-" Caesar washed the blood off his face.
"I couldn't use aether on my legs…the water quenched it." Leo's face has disappointment plastered all over it.
"So even regular water quenches flame aether, then that also means…" Caesar searched around.
"Karius looks battered, same with Laura, Dan seems to have taken the shortest end of the stick.
But none of them come close to your level of injuries." He commented on the other flame path weilders.
"They hardly use aether, just its aura.
Unlike like me they aren't over reliant on aether, It just means I'm not skilled enough." Leo kept these thoughts to himself.
"...and how did Dan even fare without a proper weapon…" Leo and Caesar muttered at the same time.
They looked at each other suspiciously.
"Copying my words to this level of precision, you might just be an illusion." Caesar muttered.
"How can you even joke right now." Leo scoffed a bit.
"Give me a moment"Caesar said as he stood up.
"Where are you going?" Leo's head tracked Caesar's motion as he questioned.
"To ask Dan how he did it of course, just stay put and don't move too much.
As long as nothing changes again you'll need all the rest you can get." Caesar waved away as his voice began mixing with the conversations of others.
Leo shifted his focus to Paul, Laura had left him alone it seemed like she had no luck in getting him to talk.
The sight of the usually bright Paul looking gloomy was something new to him as he averted his eyes.
"What could have happened to make him like that–
Could it truly be that Saul die- no that makes no sense, until now there has been nothing harmful.
Maybe the voice? But I'm the only one that can hear it so it wouldn't be that would it, what else…" Leo shook his head then washed his face.
–
Some time had passed, it was still rather uneventful to their merit, the time that had passed was unknown to them.
But it was long enough that some had become lax.
("It wasn't easy at all, i had to use the knives as daggers" A voice said.
"That's pretty unconventional, you made that work?" Another replied.
"Yeah, I borrowed the idea from Clarence who previously told me to get daggers for close quarter combat." The first voice said.
"Oh, that's pretty smart, you said that?" said the third voice.
"...Yes I did…this is a bit embarrassing" A third voice said.
"Of course she's smart she's even a writer" The first voice bragged…)
The conversation was muted in the ears of Fiona of whom sat on the water.
She looked at her left hand that had a laceration from claws, footsteps inched closer to her.
"The least it could do is hurt, it doesn't even do that." Fiona sighed as she cleansed it.
The footsteps ceased.
"Oh my, your injuries must hurt, I didn't know you had it in you to get injured." Herra said to Fiona with conceit.
She had no injuries on her just scratches on her armour.
"I was careless and got bitten, everyone makes mistakes don't we…" Fiona kept on with what she was doing.
"Didn't think you would call yourself human with how unfazed you always are.
I used to fear you, but looking at your state now I guess I was scared for nothing.
Yeah you're right, what was I even thinking
Rud was calling everyone over and I just wanted to let you know since you're a little far from the group.
I think they've found out something." Herra said.
–
"You got injured?" Karius stretched his hand to Leo.
Leo laid flat on the water with his front facing up, as Karius's shadow casted over him.
"Why are you here?" Leo asked.
"You did me a favour earlier with the supreme, consider this as a repayment of stone kind.
Rud is asking for a gathering, you don't look like you can get up by yourself.
I'm helping for the same reason you helped me earlier" Karius replied.
Leo held his staff with his left arm and took hold of Karius's arm with his right.
"Haaa...
I just want to get this off my chest.
Why do you make a lot of stupid decisions like that?
If I hadn't helped you you would be dead, and right after that you did something stupid again." Leo said to him.
Karius dragged him up and supported Leo in walking as they headed to the group.
"Don't talk like you would understand what I'm going through, let's just take it as even." Karius said.
"You helped me up for me saving your life, sounds like a perfect exchange if you ask me.
Sure, it's even." Leo said as they went on.