Falling Anecus angled the spear, the target a soft spot in the roof of the beast's mouth, right between the pincers.
The depraved abomination sensed something and thrashed upward unhinging its jaws to finally capture this elusive snack. Anecus watched as rows of teeth begin to close in and with an eerie level of calm moved past the pincers straight into its maw.
With the finesse of a dancer Anecus landed on what passed for a tongue and growled as he drove the obsidian up through the roof of its mouth.
SHLNK!
A splash of thick grey ichor burst onto Anecus as the creature flailed and trembled into a slump. Dust settled, quitting the landscape one would think both adversaries killed each other. Until something small crawled its way out of the serrated coffin.
Anecus panting and hands shaking looked at the beast "...still alive huh." Fighting the want to rest, Anecus dropped to his knees and stared at the leaking ichor. With a large exhale, letting the shaking settle he realized.
He had won, he had fought something far outside his strength and still won, using his intuition, his precision and a soul he had turned into a truly unique weapon.
But a question remains 'what other things thrived in this land, what worse things have yet to show their faces?'
No longer moving the beast looked dead, but Anecus knew it was alive so he decided to take what he could and leave. A broken obsidian spear still clenched in his hand he looked at its thick carapace and how it reflected the ambient sky like polished stone.
'It has a terrible beauty about it that I want to respect.' watching the soul of a living thing slowly dwindle was a somber event to witness, all the more when one can feel what that soul is feeling in it final moments. 'I'm still not use to this.'
Anecus for a moment mistook the fear and the feeling of dying as his own but quickly snuffed that out. Muttering to the dying thing "you tried to eat me, the least you could do is repay me." He worked carefully around the tough hide, but there were weaknesses near the joints and seams between the plating.
He managed to prune a long curved plate from its back, it would make the perfect crescent shield, layered with veins and tissue for extra padding.
Moving to the pincers he tugged at them not sure if he'd be able to get them free.
The beast twitched as a low hollow breath rattled his chest before it finally died. Staggering back slightly thinking it was awaking, Anecus sighed in relief. "Finally."
Suddenly a sound he hadn't heard since the beginning made his eyes widen.
*Ding!*
╔══════════════════════╗
║ ⚠ ADVISORY CLEARED ⚠ ║
║ [Burrowing Maw – VANQUISHED] ║
╚══════════════════════╝
Before Anecus could let the return of circuit sink in he was assaulted with text.
╔════════════════════════════════╗
║ ✦ SACRED TREASURE RECEIVED ✦ ║
║ [Obsidian Needle – Weapon Type: Blade] ║
║ RARITY: Myth ║
╠═══════════════════════════════╣
║ ➤ VIBRATING EDGE [Passive Ability] ║
║ – Blade can vibrate at the resonant frequency of struck targets, easing further cuts. ║
║ – Initial strike required to begin resonance. ║
The abrupt notification and treasure was overwhelming but welcome maybe even a little giddy for Anecus's secret love for treasure. but where he thought the message ended he saw more text.
║ ✹ ITEM ORIGIN: ║
[There was once a brother, youngest in time. Oldest in soul. Born from their flaws, raised by their rot. His siblings band together to ask for Change, but Will screamed for independence. In the end Change did not help, and Will abandoned. So, the brother, in an attempt to capture the Pale Ember, cast a curse from his Withering Maw.]
He stared at the text, finding the words pulling him in more than they should have. The phrasing made it easy to tell that these were names. "Pale Ember... Will, Change, Withering Maw?" his throat tightened, this wasn't just some bestiary blurb.
He wasn't sure what it was talking about but his gut told him it was something sacred, a myth beyond time twisted into an item's description.
Anecus gripped the hilt of a newly formed blade that was forged from the pincer, black as void and light as a grain of sand.
It hummed at his touch.
It knew what it was meant to do.
He looked towards the horizon thinking of the text and its implications. The land shimmered with gusts of wind filled with sparkling dust teasing him that out there were even more terribly powerful unknowns and among those unknowns, were answers.
"Or maybe just more teeth."
Cassia POV
[Echo Stream Cleared] Cassia was in the dark expanse between worlds awaiting her evaluation. Her beautifully somber face lit by the glowing text had shown a level of innocence lost never to be seen in the eyes again.
'Is Anecus back yet…'
*Ding!* She looks at her Divine Circuit. 'He has to be.'
[DIVINE CIRCUIT — REPORT]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
PERFORMANCE GRADE
Rating: ★ OUTSTANDING ★
[Soul Type Acquired: Dancer Of The Veils]
- Able to perceive and interact with the world of the spirits
- Attuned to liminal spaces, unseen paths and turning points in history
[Attribute Acquired: Keeper's Intuition]
- Able to sense approaching outcomes
- Can differentiate between beneficial and harmful events Insight into how an event may happen
Cassia was reading all this with an apathetic look, her desire to see her family again outweighed any boon granted by the Divine Circuit.
"We should have a sleep over when I get back, I'm sure Naia would like that…oh! We can try that new hot coco drink!"
already making plans in an attempt to push away the events of the echo stream was caught off guard by her flaw, finding it troubling.
[Flaw: Veiled Existence]
Presence is naturally obscured making actions go unnoticed or forgotten. Memory of the subject fades unless reinforced.
A deep frown was on Cassia's face. 'This flaw…could be useful in a way but to be forgotten.' she slaps her cheeks "Stop it! They won't forget me." taking a deep breath. The final notices appeared.
[Proceeding with transition.]
[We look forward to your progress.]
Cassia hit the floor of their home like a dropped star, her knees buckling. The light from the Divine circuit evaporates off her skin like a thin veil. Jane was there, catching her mid fall into a crushing hug that spoke more than any words could.
Cassia clung back, her breath shallow and broken. "Where's Anecus."
Jane tightened her embrace, she was dreading this scenario, Cassia coming back before Anecus. "He hasn't come back yet." She answered as a tear fell down her cheek onto Cassia's.
Her face crumbled, her hopes shattered, quickly and helplessly tears poured. Naia in the corner wrapped in one of his sweaters felt her eyes go glossy at the site of Cassia demanding him back. "Bring him back!…is he alive?"
Jane found Red's hand resting on her shoulder and squeezed until it ached. For them it's been six days since Anecus vanished. For Cassia fifteen…Unknown to them and Anecus himself, thirty four days have passed in that sand sickened world.
Cassia cried until her breaths came to slow and steady, she fell asleep in her mothers arms feeling safe. Red lifted her gently and laid her onto the coach. The house dimmed into night and the hearth popped and cracked. Naia curled up beside Cassia, one arm tethered to her since the beginning. Jane sitting at the dining tables knuckles white around Red's fingers.
Red placed a kiss on the top of her head as her eyes fell shut and silently blinked out of the room.