The fog wasn't surrounding him.
It was deciding what to do with him.
Ophieus realized this, after it had already covered most of his body. He could feel its grip over his limbs like they were chains. The only thing that remained above the fog was his neck and face.
He tested to see how it would react by trying to move his arm. But as expected, the fog gripped his arm harder than before.
'It learns,' he noted.
Whatever this was had borrowed the appearance of a fog and was using it as a disguise. Regardless, Ophieus appreciated the massage it was giving him as it tried to swallow him whole. He didn't try to do anything else and simply stayed put for the moment, knowing any new action will have it reacting.
That only seems to annoy the fog, leading it to lashing out by crushing him harder. But the pain was irrelevant to him, no different than an old friend to a Deathless Warrior.
And another reminder that he could still move.
Still, his attention shifted to something else.
The weight of his body felt strange even though the black armor with gold streak was the same one he always wore. But the body inside it moved and shifted like it belonged to someone slightly different.
It wasn't important right now, as he looked to see the fog starting to move again. He watched it move up from his chest and towards his neck. Then it grabbed his neck like it had two hands and began trying to force out a reaction from him.
But it would never get one.
Ophieus stared into the fog, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as he began thinking about a new plan to break out.
But then a voice rang out. "Do you wish to leave?"
He didn't look for the source.
"Yes." Ophieus paused. "Show me the way out."
The fog tightened around his chest like a fist closing.
"Are you sure? Your legion is marching toward the burning capital walls now." The voice softly said while he felt the fog closing around his neck and applying pressure. "If you stay here, they will have a far quicker and better death. That is certain, but if you leave and go to them…"
For a moment, something flashed inside in his mind.
Flames swallowed the capital walls as his legion covered in cloaks advanced without him. They wouldn't retreat. They would hold formation. And they would die believing he was still leading them forward.
"The future where my legions die." Ophieus narrowed his eyes. "That outcome doesn't exist."
Silence fell.
But for a quick second that one could mistake as an illusion. He wondered what would happen to his legion if he was late. But he suppressed it, Deathless Warriors never allowed doubt to cloud their path.
Not when others walked behind and waited for him to lead them through hell.
A long sigh echoed through the fog.
"Very well, Ophieus." She said softly. "Then I will watch over your journey in Luminous once more."
In the next moment, the gray fog above was ripped apart.
A lance of silver light rushed down before crashing into his chest and then the sound of a key being put into a keyhole rang out.
Then a faint chime echoed out but it was too quiet to be heard.
For two seconds, silver light spread from his chest in the shape of a keyhole. One that Ophieus didn't know existed as he never looked down in time before it vanished.
The lance exploded outward!
Silver light blew the fog away trapping Ophieus and he pulled himself up. He stretched his limbs before looking around and then noticing the fog in front was beginning to open up. He stepped forward instead of back as the fog finally revealed what it hid.
And there he saw countless weapons, books, and strange objects. Some looked new while others were old and battered. All frozen still as if waiting to be told what to do, and at the center of everything.
A sphere of silver light.
The image inside the sphere changed constantly, displaying various places that he recognized were from Luminous. But one frame stayed a few seconds longer than the rest. A land covered in mist with a black spiral at its center, and around that center were shadowy figures that looked like people.
They were moving toward it with weapons in hand as if they were being called there.
'Now that feels familiar,' Ophieus thought.
The figures moving toward the tower with weapons in hand. While fog rose at the center was something he felt like he saw before but couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"You could have become one of them." The voice echoed out.
Ophieus didn't look away from the sphere. "A collection?"
"Yes… It has been waiting a long time for something like you."
Something like you. He found those words far more interesting than he should have.
"Do you know what the others did?" She asked softly as the fog trembled once. "They begged but you didn't."
"Is that why it's not trying to trap me again?"
"Indeed, because now you are fully defying it and it wishes to erase you."
The grey fog shook before it started to spin like a whirlpool. Then the spinning fog hit in seconds. Ophieus didn't flinch at the wind nor at the objects breaking from the fog and flying towards him.
"It needs to get in line."
A knife rushed over but he evaded with a tilt of his head before side-stepping a spear. Then he swiftly flipped over two spinning blades and landed on a shield below. Then he continued forward to see a black sword sticking up in the fog.
The moment his hand closed around the hilt something shifted. Not in the blade but in him as the rotation of the fog slowed down as if his perception had increased.
The voice came through the wind. "Destroy the orb, it's your way out."
"And that's it?"
"Yes. It will return you back but I hope you won't regret it."
"Don't worry about that." Ophieus replied after finding the gaps in the rotation.
He needed to return to his legion and help them with the burning capital. He would never say it out loud but he did miss them. Even if the feeling came a bit too easily, when it shouldn't since Deathless Warriors emotions were sealed.
The fact he was feeling it now made him wonder what was going on.
But he ignored it for now as he found the gaps in the rotation and rushed through the first gap cleanly. Then the second gap closed faster than expected and he quickly realized the fog was adjusting in real time.
He corrected without stopping and quickly shifted to a longer route around. But this took two seconds, which was time he couldn't afford because something terrible might appear near his legion or they will be surrounded.
The fog responded swiftly.
It started spinning faster and forcing other objects to rush out. But Ophieus continued past them easily, already clearing seven of them when the black ball changed direction mid-air from behind him.
It was redirected by the spinning fog.
The black ball blasted backwards and crashed into his left side. His expression didn't change but the force forced his body to stumble and make him land on his knee for a moment.
'So it can even redirect attacks mid-flight.' He stood quickly before rushing on ahead. When he saw the objects rushing forward he evaded them and slid to dodge ones coming from the back.
He was only a few feet from the sphere after a couple of seconds.
But as if sensing he was close, the fog shook even more. Then it began parting with a faint chime like bells echoing out.
And he saw them, eyes opening up through the fog.
There were thousands of them appearing at once. Their golden black gaze peered down on him and he felt it immediately. Cracks began forming over his black armor and then pain rushed through his body.
Finally the screams came soon after, crashing into his mind and making his vision blur. But Ophieus didn't push through the pain and screams as his gaze never once left the shining sphere.
Between the howls after he closed in on the orb. A faint but familiar voice rang out close to him.
"…Captain?" The rough voice echoed out. "We're still holding but something is wrong–"
Ophieus paused in realization that his legions really needed him. He increased his speed over the fog as his sword became a blur as he slashed through the last few knives and sword in the way.
The glowing sphere was right in front and he began moving his hands towards it. But then the fog around him began shaking.
And then silver chains burst from the mist!
The silver chains wrapped around his body to keep him from moving. Ophieus instantly hurled the black sword towards the orb without hesitation. But it was all useless as multiple chains rushed up from below and wrapped the sword up only a few inches away from the orb.
The fog believed it had won.
"…No."
Somewhere in the screaming voices Ophieus could still hear the one that mattered.
We're still holding but something is wrong–
'Still.' Their situation was worse than what the voice was implying. He knew there was no time as he glanced at the chain and then his sword.
A plan was formed.
"You should have never tried to keep me here." Ophieus pulled his head back before driving it forward.
His head slammed into the back of the sword.
And forced the blade through.
The sounds of glass breaking rang out before the orb shattered into pieces. Then a ripple of white light swept out and collided with the chains wrapped around his body.
All of the chains shattered into pieces!
Then even more light began flooding the area from the orb like a tidal wave. Ophieus didn't run away but instead stepped right into the light without resisting. His body broke apart but there was no pain, all he felt was a feeling of freedom.
"Good luck, Ophieus."
He noted the sorrow in her voice like someone watching a bad decision be made.
'Something to understand later.'
Another chime rang before words began appearing in the white.
[Initiated]
[Synchronization: 0.01%]
[Estimated Threshold for First Origin: 5%]
[Reward Pending...]
[Error!]
A second set of text forced itself over the first.
[External Access Detected]
[Host Recognition… Failed!]
[Reattempting fusion with host]
[External Interference Detected]
[Authority Signature: Unknown]
[Override Attempt Detected]
And then he was gone from the fog prison.