I lift my daggers staring at a wall of nightmare creatures. There has to be 100s of them. Fuck it man, this is our only chance.
We need to fight and fight like hell but I don't really need to think about that. The people around me are shaking clearly completely terrified most would be.
I'm weirdly calm, it's not normal I should be scared but... this was a long time coming. It's always been raid the spire or die here in the forgotten shore. How many will survive?
Can I even save one of these poor fools, or are any of us fools, or just poor unfortunate souls? I look over at Effie's voice
"Stand your ground wretches if anyone runs I'll kill you myself!"
I sigh looking at divine flame, will it survive this.... will I survive this? Oh to hell with it no going back now. I bang my shield with my halberd like I've seen the stone saint do.
It's really cool after all. But soon the sound of the rushing nightmare creatures drowned it all out.
"First mark!"
Goodness Effie can be quite loud when she feels like it. I vaguely hear Kai yell something and the siege engines fire into the horde. I have to say the artisans did amazingly with making those things.
"Second mark!"
And a rain of projectiles falls onto the hoard killing many but not enough. The hoard doesn't slow, just how much of a grip does that terror have on them?
Soon more projectiles fall on them and not long after the the pit traps come into play but once they get full enough the nightmare creatures just walk on their fallen companions
"brace!"
Then the hoard smashes into the first line. I use ice to brace myself, I spear the mantis that rammed into me on ice. Another beast takes its place as I ignore the spell.
I cut it in half with my halberd. I spin my shield blocking an attack meant for a person standing next to me. Instead, I took a hit on my lower arm, which hurt a fucking lot. I spear the attacker. I spin the shield once again smashing one's head right in. Ice spears another attacker from behind.
I reach out grabbing a person saving them from being killed. I let go making a set of ice claws that I use to rip a nightmare creature's heart out. I take another hit to the arm, like the first I cover it with an ice bandage.
I notice divine flame rampaging in the hoard. Biting and ripping beasts and monsters apart. Although it's not well-suited for a fight like this, even more so after losing its flames, it's still a fallen demon, none of these damned creatures can damage it.
Although many die many also survive slowing down the horde. Soon the survivors of the first line find their champions, Effie, the hunter leader, Caster, me, and Divine Flame.
I rip at more and more nightmare creatures. My halberd and shield had quickly broken so I'm back to my daggers jumping on one after another. I manipulate ice from Divine Flame making a shield to save another dreamer.
I'm not very focused on killing, I'm a lot more focused on saving anyone I can. I'm not sure why, I just feel like doing it. Soon I'm unable to stop a nightmare creature and it rips into my side, before I attack it another sleeper cuts its head off.
I block an attack coming for the sleeper who saved me. I throw my ice daggers killing 2 abominations. Then I rain ice daggers on the nightmare creatures. I summoned the two daggers back stabbing another in the eye just as it was going to kill someone.
My lungs burn, I'm so cold. I've always hated the cold now I'm always so cold. If Sunny were here he'd claim something crazy again and I could retort. I could take my mind off of this hell. I need to take my mind off of this. Where is Effie? Where is Caster?
Their alive, I'm not sure of it but those two wouldn't easily die. I jump forward saving another sleeper not before he gets his arm torn off
"Go!"
I slash and stab and throw and rip. This really is the worst I'm already tired, I don't get anything but power from killing. I block another attack for someone still injured yet still able to run away. It hurts it all hurts, I just have to keep going. I hear Kai say something, I look up.
There 100s of flying abominations flying down, one of them is killed landing on the iron wires. I block another attack and I slash killing the attacker. I keep attacking and blocking. At this point there's about 32 people around me using me as a bastion of safety. Could I save even one of them?
I look at their faces, some panicked some scared some determined all looking for saving, and by me no less. I won't let their hopes go to waste. That's when a fog in my mind seems to clear up, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to save them, because that's my will. I'll save as many as possible.
I rush forward slashing a nightmare creature in half saving a sleeper. The look they give me, it's proof to me that what I'm doing is right, it's hope it's thankfulness it's.... it's what I'm going to save.
I grab someone pulling them towards me saving them from being melted. I let go then I grab the nightmare creature freezing it to death. Another one of them hits me in the head breaking my helmet, I couldn't care less, I only get a cut from my forehead to above my lip, I'll live.
I spear the damn thing. I keep moving I keep attacking, I keep blocking. I'm bloody but it doesn't matter not one bit because I've made up my mind. I will save them, I'll save them all because that is my will.
I hear the spell say something this time I hear the ending of it because it mentioned something about my aspect legacy. It doesn't matter I have a goal now.
Slowly the world gets darker and darker, and I start using heat sense more and more. More and more dead bodies pile up on the iron wire. I see a fast-moving thing fly into the air going head-on with 5 spire messengers.
My fighting style had changed deeply going from careful to not get hurt and far more reactive to almost reckless yet now I'm getting hit less and less. I rush forward cutting an iron spider's head in half.
[Your soul core is full, a new soul core is being born]
It hurts, it hurts like hell, it's like my soul is being torn apart, it's cold. So much colder than normal, I fall to my knees, I get attacked I think but someone blocks it. I hear their voice but I don't know what they're saying. I watch as a nightmare creature lashes out about to kill them.
No I will not let that happen I won't let it happen. I refuse. There's ringing in my ears so loud it blocks out what the spell is saying but I can see its effect... I watch as a person blocks the sleeper from being killed with a shield and another lashes out with a halberd.... is that, no it can't be I'm seeing things out of pain.... I can't be seeing this right.