We are forced to make a quick escape, its fine because we got everything we came for. When back on the ship we watch it sink. I would have loved to take a closer look at how everything was made. Sadly it appears I can not, maybe I could do so at fallen grace. I dump out the soul shards and sunny takes out the tablets.
"Trying to figure out how it works. It's weird... the enchantment doesn't seem to respond to everything. It points to you, Nephis, Effie, and Kai... but not Jet or that person, Mordret. Or Fallen Grace, for that matter. It does respond to Wind Flower, though."
I think for a minute before I look back.
"Do we know if jet has a true name"
They look at eachother then they all shrug
"Its likely it can only point to people with true names"
Neph speaks up from crushing soul shards
"But mordret is a divine aspect user, its likely he got in his first nightmare"
I nod
"But do we know it"
They all go silent. We dont know his true name
"Now that I think about it there's probably a reason."
We learn about wind flower. Not anything that helpful other then some winds and I can counter those well enough. Later I notice sunny looking up at the tree.
"What?"
He nods to the upper part of the tree
"The fruits.... do... do you think...?"
I shrug
"The tree is here to supply essence to the ship. They probably give essence when eaten..."
Me and sunny look at each other
"That seems useful for jet"
"Oh hell it would be nice for me"
I elbow him
"Oh come on you have that crown leave some for those who need it"
As I train with neph sunny makes a connection and we go to the deck. I look out at the wall of fog. It is me and nephs job to stop it, with snow storm and the true name of wind. Neph goes to sunny and I go to cassie.
"This won't be easy"
She nods
"I don't doubt that, if it was easy to escape from Jet and Effie would have escaped a while ago."
I nod
"Both of them are too clever to be trapped easily"
I sigh
"Once again am i going into a wall of white. This time it isn't a snow storm but mist. Let's hope nothing quite as destructive happens like in falcon scott"
Cassie nods
"i have to agree.... whatever we find there you'll be careful?"
I shrug
"Probably"
Soon jyst for a second I see a beautiful island floating over a vortex so massive I cant help but be in awe. The chain breaker flies and flies using neph's essence to cut the sky then
"oh shi-"
It smashes into the island.
I stay down for a few seconds before sit up rubbing my head
"Ow...."
I stand up looking at sunny, cassie and neph. Neph looks so tired.
"I'm fine"
Gods I want to stay down but I won't. I get up then I help cassie up.
"I can still fight"
I sigh shaking my head
"Don't go fighting alone"
She frowns then nods
"What is it?"
I look over at cassie and sunny
"I'm... not sure. I just have a very ominous feeling. This place, Wind Flower... every part of me is screaming that we are in danger."
I sigh of course this will be another kind of hell.
"Aren't we always in danger?"
I shake my head with a frown
"Doesn't mean this won't be worse then normal"
I look out into the fog with a feeling things wont go quite as well as I would hope
"Do it"
We walk together
"What is it?"
I look at a set of foot prints. A adult most likely judging from the size.
"Those were left by a human."
Sunny looks at them then back at us
"Wait here"
And he disappears.
"We should make sure to be extra careful"
I let out a probably nervous chuckle
"You know, you always say to be careful when around me, am I that impulsive?"
Cassie thinks for a while
"Not quite. Its more so that I cant mark you, and I don't get many visions of you."
I nod that makes a good amount of sense. Neph tilts her head
"You cant mark ■■■■?"
Thats when sunny arrives back
"The footprints lead to the edge of the island. I didn't find anything else, so... let's trace them in the other direction."
I follow sunny going as fast as I can. I make no attempt to stay with neph and cassie. I get to a clearing when I hear a scream that only for a second paralyzes me. A wrath made of mist going right through sunny and him falling limp. Jet with her arm torn off.
"Sunny....?"
The wrath disappears into the mist. It appears again to attempt to finish jet off when I scream, its a word or maybe a few, and I run forward. Snow and wind push the mist back. Its undying slaughter right? Then I'll show her the way to death then. I duck under a wide swipe and I lash out with my halberd. Undying slaughter doesn't dodge, only turning into mist.
Unfortunately for her, it doesn't help what so ever. I cut into the mist, hitting the soul. With a screech it ducks away. I step forwards snow forming all around me all glowing a pale blue. I rush after her. I duck under a swipe here, side step a swipe there, even jump into the air. Not that any of it matters as I fall to the ground screaming in pain desperately clutching my chest.
[Your soul core has been destroyed]
That is how I died to undying slaughter, even if i had manged to mangle the plague horribly.
I stay down for a few seconds before sit up rubbing my head
"Ow...." i stand up looking at sunny, cassie and neph. Neph looks so tired.... wait. Sunny looks... haunted at best. I quickly walk over offering a hand to help him up. He gets up on his own walks over to nightmare adjusts a few things then gets on himself.
"Sunny?"
I tilt my head he seems to be freaking out more then a little
"Stay here for a while. Please. I'll… I'll be back soon."
I look at cassie and neph who both seem confused and more then a little on edge. I summon my halberd just in case. Soon Sunny reappears from the mist with jet.
He sets off yet again.
"A fucking time loop!"
I sit down heavily on a crate.
"I swear to god its one time based BS after another."
Jet laughs, I had healed her up, not fully as I'm not that strong but still.
"Oh really so where have you been"
I sigh
"In the eye of a time storm where time was stopped!"
Jet seems to be in disbelief, she looks at neph and cassie who both nod
"Well damn, seems you got yourself almost as trapped as we are."
I scoff
"Thats not even the freakiest part. On the raft there was a message from the plague version of me. 'I'll meet you there" how ominous is that!?"
Jet coughs with clear shock. I notice only for a second cassie getting uncomfortable
"Wow your other self sent you a polite message, and didnt straight up kill you. How nice"
I sigh leaning back
"I was stil-"
I get up summoning my weapons.
"Undying slaughter is approaching."
Even if i had been bantering, I had still put a lot of focus on feeling out the area for corruption. Now it seems its paying off.
Soon I fall to the deck clutching my chest with both arms. I try to get up, to keep fighting. Yet it doesnt help in any way shape or form and a almost defeated undying slaughter stands over me and finally makes the final shot
I stay down for a few seconds before sit up rubbing my head
"ow...."
I stand up looking at sunny, cassie and neph. Neph looks so tired. Cassie just... walks away?
"Are you alright?"
I look back at sunny who seems quite chipper.
"...I'm fine. I can still fight." Sunny smiles, what is up with him?
"That's what I wanted to hear. Before you ask where Cassie had gone, let me explain a few things."
Sunny quickly puts a hand on her shoulder and she stops moving completely clearly more then a little embarrassed. Gods won't these idiots just date or something.
"First of all, this is not the first time we are having this conversation. You just don't remember all the previous ones. The vortex surrounding this island, you see, is not a mundane vortex. It is a whirlpool of time, and so, time moves in a circle on this island. The same day repeats itself endlessly, and we have lived it dozens of times already."
I sigh heavily
"I guess that makes sense. Water not moving, time stop, water going in circles, time loop"
He nods and nephs brows lower more then a little confused
"How come you remember, and I don't, then?"
He points to the sword, doesn't it like talk or something?
"It's because of the Sin of Solace. It remembers, and so, I've come to remember as well. After a while, Cassie did, too. Which is both a blessing and a curse. Neph... believe it or not, we have severely underestimated how dreadful of a hell this island is. We've already died countless times, each death more terrible than the last. Cassie, you, ■■■■, me... each of us was killed over and over again."
Nephis gets a look of mostly indignation but a little fear
"However! That is in the past. This time, we have a plan - one that will allow us to break the loop, save Jet and Effie, and escape this hellish place once and for all. You just need to trust me... well, and fight like your life depends on it. Can you do that?"
Neph studies him then nods
"Sure. But... as you can tell, my essence is utterly exhausted. I'm not exactly in the best shape."
Sunny gives another all too bright smile
"That's alright. Don't worry... you still look beautiful."
She does the stopping in embarrassment thing once again. They probably kissed in a previous loop or whatever.
"Oh, right. By the way, did I mention that Effie is pregnant?"
Oh that is something. I mean out of all of us, she is the most likely to get pregnant. Neph however seems completely dumbfounded by the claim
"W-what?!"
We arrive at the shrine. I active commanders authority and the gem on my glove glows slightly. I grip my halberd tightly
"I gave your weapons a enhancement so and I believe they should be able to hit ghosts and things of the like."
The three nod.
"Corrupted tyrant at least"
Jet sighs
"Now this will be something else don't it"
I nod
"I don't doubt that."
I glance at their faces, calm, slightly nervous, and mostly sure. I sigh heavily, well it seems we are going into another horrible fight once again"
I sit on the ground. What... the fuck. A great monster? We killed a great monster? I summon my fancy new memory, a long ghostly vine. Its probably pretty good. Its a tool as well not that it matters as that battle was not in fact worth it.
"Hey! Long time no see!"
I look at Effie. So she really is pregnant. Jet tries to smile
"Ah. It's you, glutton... yeah, it's good to see you too."
I sigh slowly standing up
"Well...."
I look her over then I try to smile failing probably
"I mean you are definitely the most likely in the cohort to get pregnant"
Effie looks at us more then a little concerned
"Uh yeah.."
I sit with everyone else eating. God damn its too tough! Effie glances up at me
"You... you mentioned there was a ranking... you had on what members of the cohort would be the most likely to get pregnant?"
I nod
"yes. Such things are important to consider"
She gets a mischievous expression
"Oh really and pray tell what is that ranking?"
I blink a few times
"Oh do you want the one that includes the me-"
Cassie coughs
"Well either way, tomorrow will be important"
I sigh then I nod. God damn it this meat is too tough.
I alone rush forwards I face down undying slaughter. I must wonder, how well she'll like whatever afterlife is there for her. Or maybe she won't get one, being both already dead and corrupted. I jump over a wide strike as tries to turn into mist a chain stops her. With a tug shes stopped from turning to mist and thrown off. I slash at her arms, she tugs singer forwards and my halberd hits the chain.
A ghostly vine wraps around her arm, stealing essence away from her. With a scream she swipes at me yet again. I duck down dodge her attack. I may be doing well now but I wont be forever, I doubt I can win this fight alone, but god damn can I do a lot of damage.
Wind whips past me as jet rushes forward, and cuts into undying slaughter. Finally finishing the fight. Like a beast knowing its cornered undying slaughter tries to launch one last attacks
"You, go to hell."
Finally jet finishes the plague off for good. She stares at where the mist wrath finally fell turning back into the mist shes formed from
"So that's how it is…"
Mist flows around her, first turning into her normal weapon then a new one, a war scythe
"You… won't believe what the Spell just said. I guess all I had to do was kill myself… to receive my Aspect Legacy…"
I laugh
"I got mine from watching a man made titan fight a massive depth dweller back at the shores"
Soon the island shakes and starts to break.
"Off the bridge!"
We all quickly leave the bridge just in time for it to break.
"Chain breaker now! The whole place is falling apart!"
We finally get to the chain breaker as the island falls apart
"...So this is the famous chain breaker...."
I wave my hand
"Yes yes, I'll show you the real thing later for now we got to go!"
I help effie up as jet jumps on the deck. Soon the chain breaker starts to float
"Jet. Effie"
I then run to the steering oar. My soldiers come out of the ice around the ship and start preparing it as it starts to fly. Sunny runs to help cassie. I grip the oar and a ton of essence starts flowing out of my soul. I flinch heavily, neph doesn't have enough, and my fighting style doesn't take too much so I still have about 3 cores left. The tree starts to glow and I take my hand off the oar like it burned me.
I watch the water flowing around us. Its.... its oddly beautiful. Glad I'm not in it. I do so dislike the ocean. Its getting brighter. I don't doubt one thing. It is far too dangerous to stay. So I quickly go to my room. I flop on the mattress.... so does singer actually have the ability to speak?
And why would she hide that? Her voice is clearly something she can use, but how I'm not sure. She's right now at the supreme rank in terms of power, even if she's clearly massively holding back. With sun and war god she should be sacred. But somehow I doubt it. I think she will need heart god to become a lesser god. What I think at the moment is that maybe sun and war will put her right below sacred at the top of supreme. But how should I know.
I slam into a wall
"ow!"
Then the ship rolls and I fall on my head
"fuck"
I hear snickering as I look over to jet who had fallen but not on her head.
"Well fuck you too"
I finally get up to the deck and I flop down.
"Is… is everyone alive?"
"I'm fine"
"Alive is a strong word"
I raise my hands
"Can I kill whoever made this place..... wait its a deamon so its dead.... can i kill whoever made this place again!"
I hear even more snickering and I glance at jet
"Oh come on it really isn't that funny!"
I stare at the great river of time. Its like a infinity sign. My pencil scratches at the paper with speed I've only had one time before. This time it doesn't come with a aspect legacy.
"Stop this damn ship right now!"
Just as she yells it i drop my notebook and I throw up off the side of the ship. I collapse to the ground so many, there's too many great abominations. Maybe even a cursed one as their tyrant. I cough as I sit on my hands and knees. What in the good hell is on the walls?