There was calm in the days following. It seemed to be more of a calm before the storm really. It was uneasy and everyone seemed to be on edge.
By Friday we all were on edge in anticipation. The Dark Dome opened on Saturday mornings and in the 24 hours following carnage would ensue. Factions that looked noble could turn into blood thirsty savages. Points were everything to some people. So getting them was something that those people wouldn't bat an eye at. Killing a friend or a foe made no difference. The only things you couldn't kill were your faction members.
It was a dark day as well as a happy one. Happy for starters like myself and also dread for low levels like myself. Seeing as I'm a low level it means I should be fairly easy to pick off see. Means easy points for some greedy bastard who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.
But at the same time I'm a hard target to hit because I have higher level people around me. Lilies battle form is actually Rank B. Beth just reached Rank C along with Horacio and Henry. So that means I'm the only rank E here. But thankfully on the way here we stopped by a store to pick up some materials for me. The area was the floor above The Grapevine.
It was the same size as the living quarter floors but was still packed with people all the same. We made our way through to a strange man in a robed garb. He had shoes with wings and a staff with two snakes on it. "Mercury." I breathed out. Ok this would be interesting.
"Ahh! Henry! I haven't seen your sorry hide in some time! What can I help you with?" The man said as he patted a customer on the shoulder and told him he was scoring a bargain as he bought a pair of copper colored sandals.
"This one needs a couple parts. D Rank is all he can afford. Got any in stock?" Henry hummed out and inspected his finger tips as though it was a topic about his nails. "For you. Any day!" Mercury said as he led us into the back.
There were shelves of different colored cubes. Blue, Purple, Red, Green, but there was exceedingly few Gold cubes. I was only able to afford 2 D Rank Materials. Mercury extended his hand to give me a handshake. I shook it and an odd sensation went through me. Like a piece of me was leaving. Mercury smiled a little. "I know it's a bit odd the first time you pay points but you get used to it eventually." He said as he let go and handed me the cubes before ushering us out the door again.
They were small blue cubes twice the size of a sugar cube. "Rank D Materials really do have an interesting feel to them." I said as I inspected them. "But be careful where you put them. The part you put them into will feel boosted. So be careful which one you boost or it'll come back to bite you." Henry said loudly as we exited the building and crossed the hoard of people milling about the stands. I stuck to him like glue as we made our way through them all toward the end of the commerce area. Once we made our way to the elevators we went down.
We actually ended up exiting the building itself from the first floor. The Vineyard was still bustling with people. After we passed it I began to notice things. The first floor had almost nothing but benches and dents in the floor at even intervals with strange twisting plants growing out of them. There was a large set of double doors on the front of the building which we exited through not giving me much more time to see anything else. Once we were outside it felt like I had stepped into an alien world. The Sky was filled with dark clouds that raced with lightning. Rumbling filled the air in a near constant drone which after a while I think I can get used to it.
The area around the tower we lived in was barren and black like someone had taken a lazer to it all. As I looked around in horror I finally saw what I needed to see. The Dark Dome. It's glow was like an eclipsed sun at mid day. It was enormous. Larger than anything I had ever seen up close. Many stairways led to a platform that surrounded it. We ascended the stairs and I finally saw the hoards of hell. Literal demons and monsters of nightmares brought to life before me. Oozing slimes and Goblins dressed in bones. I saw thunder clouds with a roaring faces. The list goes on.
Henry finally managed to spot Persephone among the crowd which I was thankful for. I quickly changed into my battleform and Persephone pointed at the cubes in my hands. "Might want to put those in kid. I suggest something that will help keep you alive." She grunted.
I thought for a moment as I stared at them. After a few moments I pulled a bandage away from my body and placed the cubes on it. "um.... I just realized I've never done this before." I said sheepishly. Beth walked over and began to explain.
"You have to imagine absorbing them. Like how water soaks into the ground. Picture that and you'll be fine." The old crackling voice instructed.
I closed my eyes and imagined it. The cubes melding into the bandage like a drop of water. I soon felt an interesting sensation. Like taking a sip of an energy drink but only getting ever so slightly energized that it made no difference. I opened my eyes and looked down. He bandage was still there looking the same. But the cubes were gone.
"Interface. Did that improve my healing at all?"
The page popped up in answer to my summons.
"Current health is at 100. Current healing ability has been increased to 2 hp regeneration per minute." She perkily chimed in answer.
I sighed a little. Went up by one point huh? Well it's better than nothing. I turned to the others and nodded that I was ready before we took our places in front of a large door. I looked around a little nervously. There was a time above the door counting down. It seemed that we only had 10 minutes till those doors opened and hell broke loose.
I noticed Bell off to the side on my left. I waved and she happily waved back. Geb and Leroy were on my right. I could see their heads even though they were standing next to some impeccably huge gods and monsters. They didn't see me wave. But I tried all the same. I then heard a gong sound as the time came down to a minute.
I could cut the tension in the air with a knife it was so thick. I readied myself and pumped my feet a bit. Suddenly Achlys hopped on my back startling me. I instinctually threw my hands back to piggy back her. "I'm not fast so you'll have to carry me. Nobody else is strong enough and I can't keep up." She grunted out. I nodded as I got ready once more. I was used to carrying my litter sister so this was nothing new.
The timer reached 10 seconds and began to chime a deep ringing like a church bell being struck. At 0 the doors slowly opened revealing a white portal the size of a cathedral. It was enormous. Persephone grabbed a bandage from my shoulder and charged forward I ran as fast as my legs could carry me without tripping as I was dragged by the beautiful woman in front of me.
Henry and Horacio kept perfect pace in the thundering race we were in. Thanatos glided on his wings as The Grim Reaper flowed fast along the ground like a running shadow. We made it to the portal and I was hauled through faster than I could even attempt to resist. One second I was running. The next I was falling with Achlys clutching onto my back with all her might.
I quickly looked around and realized we were falling from the sky. Persephone was busy holding her dress down comically wrapping it around her legs while Thanatos was flying and diving to match our speed. Meanwhile the Grim Reaper was falling just like we were. Beneath us was a vast plain with little to no cover to be found except for the occasional tree. "Aim for a tree!" Achlys shouted over the rushing wind. I opened my arms wide trying to slow us like in the movies while shifting myself slightly to let the wind push us toward the closest tree I saw. It took a couple minutes to fall but the impact came all the same. We hit the tree in full force as I swung Achlys into a protective embrace. I twisted so my body took the brunt of the fall on instinct. Even if she was higher level some part of me felt the I need to protect her.
I felt us hit the branches and them breaking under us. My health bar decreased exponentially. At least 50 points gone from that impact alone. And then came the second impact. Of course pain wasn't a thing here but I knew a few things broke in the landing. I could have sworn I was dying on the ground with Achlys on my chest till I looked at my health bar. 11 points of health left was what it read. My bar had gone from red to bright yellow seemingly attempting to catch my attention.
"Ow...." I groaned out. Not because of pain but because of my health. I looked down and saw my right arm at an odd angle. "Damn!" I cringed at the sight of it. It was bent backwards with the bottom half spun around like a demented demon had possessed it. As I sat there though I felt a sudden warmth cascade through me. I looked around and saw a deep green grass growing around me. A red cross appeared underneath me and I saw my health bar rise.
"You couldn't have made it a little sooner?" I grunted as Achlys moved off my chest. My arm cracked back into place and spun around to sit the right way. My health bar continued to rise till it was at 50 points then the buff dissipated. My ribs cracked into place then I felt my right hip pop back into place. Not the pain. Just the pressure of it happening. "If I didn't know better Lily I would say you were trying to heal me instead of kill me." I huffed out.
Lily looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Rookies always get nervous about entering the portal the first time. I had to make sure you made it through. This is one of many ways the Dome thins the herd before we even catch sight of a virus. And personally you earned a heal after taking one for Beth. Otherwise I wouldn't have saved your ass." She said coldly.
I shivered. "Damn. That's cold." I said under my breath. My health bar continued to increase. It took 25 minutes till it was back to full again. Everybody was fairly impressed with that. "So you can heal yourself! That's pretty nice!" Achlys said.
"Healing 2 points a minute is more like being under the knife. I can't live for long if I take a serious hit. But not being affected by poison, bleeding, and hallucinogenic debuffs really is a big help." I said. Everyone turned on me when I said that. "What?" I asked.
"You are telling us poison and bleed dont work on you" Persephone said. "Yeah." I answered. "We have to test this." She said and began to run toward a pillar of smoke in the distance. I groaned in the back of my mind. " I should not have said that!" I shouted as I hauled Achlys onto my back and jogged after the group.