It was dark.
"Where am I?"
His voice echoed infinitely throughout the endless blackness, its cold embrace shrouding him with ominous unease.
"Is anyone here?"
He reached out for something… anything, yet only grasped the void. Blind movements confused his numbed senses, and he suddenly became aware of his lack of footing.
He fell. Down and down, he plunged into a bottomless abyss of unknowing dullness.
He tried to yell as his thoughts blurred, but no noise came out of his mouth.
Two crimson spheres appeared under him, glistening with shades as pure as fresh blood.
They grew bigger and bigger, their mesmerizing lustre granting the young man a hint of peace in this realm of despair.
However, it was too late when he truly understood - those were no scarlet moons. No…
Those were eyes.
__
Aeden woke up with a start, his gaze immediately flickering around. He could make out a damp, cavernous room with roughly sculpted stone pillars through his enchanted cloth. It was large enough to fit a small army though mostly empty.
What attracted his attention was an egg-shaped cocoon nearly reaching the rocky ceiling.
Its pitch-black colour made the numerous cracks covering it hard to see, oozing a foul and oddly inky fluid. The strange object pulsated at regular intervals, like a beating heart, as its dark tendrils slowly yet visibly expanded across most of the cave.
He instinctively wanted to flee that place but found out that he could barely move his limbs. Iron shackles tightly chained his hands to stalactites and his legs to stalagmites, leaving him somewhat suspended in mid-air.
That level of restrictive measures wasn't much for a spellcaster, but he guessed that they didn't expect him to wake up so soon. He still felt the cold, metallic touch of both his side weapons, meaning they didn't even bother searching him.
Were they that confident in that sleep-inducing spell?
Whatever it was, its potency couldn't be under-estimated. He had barely realized that something was wrong before it swooped him up. Judging from the medium used for its activation, that woman was most likely an Artist, a particularly tricky category of spellcasters.
His trunk was left back at their house, so he lacked most of his arsenal. That was a bad situation.
Aeden scanned the underground chamber again, this time making out some movement behind that particularly menacing nest.
It was Curo, the settlement's chief. Complete terror replaced his usually stern expression, and he was clumsily trying to tie something to an altar in front of the cocoon.
After a moment, he could recognize the small figure of a little girl with light brown hair, tanned skin, and… a sigil carved on her face.
The young man's mind went blank the instant he realized who it was, channelling Mana towards his hands and feet.
"Ul… Ignis."
The clang and groan of chains echoed throughout the cavern as dazzling white flames sparked from Aeden's limbs, immediately melting his shackles.
Curo raised his head in surprise, almost yelping. However, he could only see a red blur amidst the sudden pale inferno.
The first blow came from nowhere, shattering his jaw before the second one could crush his shoulder. The strength behind the last hit smashed him against the altar, but its speed didn't even let the pain register.
Scorching residues from the earlier spell charred his skin, making the older man painfully cry in agony.
The smell of burning flesh enhanced Aeden's usual trance, and his bloodlust was stronger than ever. It throbbed inside him, begging for slaughter. He raised his hand, ready to crush his foe's skull for the final strike.
"Heavens. I would've never imagined you to be this bloodthirsty. Numidean creations really reflect their barbaric nature."
A woman's voice came from elsewhere, oddly familiar. It recalled the young man's senses, stirring up memories of his first day in Cochlinia.
"Spare the old fool. Pathetic as he is, he served his purpose well."
"Of course. It makes sense." he mused, feeling like an idiot for not realizing it earlier. "The last remaining spellcaster in Cochlinia, and the only one who could orchestrate this... Junia."
Aeden's tone was cold. He casually twisted Curo's arm before sending him crashing against a nearby wall. Then, he retrieved Vita's unconscious body from the fissured stone slab.
"Such unusual thoughtfulness for a girl you just met. A cruel contrast with your murderous thoughts. Your Mana flow betrays your intentions, young one."
Junia slowly emerged from one of the tunnels, wearing her usual plain white robe. Her trinkets repeatedly tinkled and clinked, following the rhythm of her steps.
"What do you exactly know about me, vile hag? Now that you've revealed yourself, keeping my promise will be far easier." his sharp retort came quickly. He took the time to delicately place Vita against a corner of the cavern, as far away as possible from the black cocoon.
"Trying to save her is a vain venture. That girl, as a future spellcaster, has a very high nutritional value. She'll be tonight's meal for my child."
"Your child?" Aeden said while cracking his knuckles.
He slowly approached the centre of the cave while Junia aptly positioned herself so that the egg-shaped nest would be between them.
"Already hiding? I'd have expected you to show a little more bravery after that entrance."
"Heheh." she cackled. "These old bones can barely fight anymore, I shall leave these matters between youngsters."
"Hm… ?"
The cocoon suddenly stopped pulsating, its fissures rapidly widening as its blackened ooze flooded the room. A humanoid figure emerged from it, closely resembling the Artist that had previously knocked him out.
Apart from her striking silver hair, she had Vita's characteristics: petite features and dark green eyes. Aeden only noticed it now due to the distance, but it still felt odd.
"I assume this is the monster you've been feeding everyone to. Still, this is in poor taste. Sacrificing the living, sullying their memories, for what?"
"You do not need to know this, as you'll soon join them."
The woman unexpectedly collapsed into black ichor, whirling and dancing like waves in an ocean. Then, it gradually sculpted itself into a new body, human in figure yet unnaturally featureless, with no eyes, mouth, or sex.
Mana pulsated from its Anima, visible under its naked, greyish skin as transparent stripes. Its presumed fighting form resembled an ink picture on paper parchment, seemingly solid yet threatening to spill into another shape.
"Kill."
There was no apparent movement nor wasted stance. The entity emitted a harsh, creaking noise while it flew towards its prey, its arm morphing into a darkened blade.
Aeden barely ducked out of the way as the creature nearly beheaded him in a single hit, losing a few strands of red hair in the process. The monster tried to follow, but the young man's palm had already pushed its weapon away, glimmering with scarlet Mana.
Its other hand sprouted a second, black sword, rushing towards its target. Yet, he barely flinched, gracefully weaving around its trajectory while pressing on. His ensuing punch struck the entity on its shoulder, shattering it. Cruelly lacking in consistency, it exploded into black liquid, but none of it mattered to the Sorcerer.
Attack and Overwhelm were the East Numidean martial arts precepts, and they adapted perfectly to the young man's brutality. The thrill of combat consumed him, and once again, he abandoned himself to pure bloodthirsty.
'It feels weak.' He thought as his fist sank into the creature's chest, followed by a faint whisper. "An Potentia."
Explosive strength coursed along his arm, ripping a hole through his enemy. Immediately after, he caught the disoriented monster's head, smiling like a madman. "Die!"
It was crushed in an instant, though his relentlessness never diminished. Drunk from the delight of battle, he stepped over the entity's remains, sprinting right towards Junia.
"Now I see. It's no surprise that Livia's spell didn't properly work on you. You're no pure Homunculus." Calm as ever, the old woman spat her analysis in a nonchalant tone.
A heavy strike swept his sides when Aeden was about to reach her and sent him flying towards a cavern wall. The same creaking sound escaped the creature's residues, quickly regaining its original form as if it had never sustained any injury.
Its arms immediately elongated while morphing into claws, ready to stab its target the moment it crashed against the rocks.
The Sorcerer didn't give it a chance, pointing towards its attack in mid-air:
"Ul Augue!"
He conjured a fireball directly against its limbs, burning them to a crisp before he somewhat regained his footing on the wall. It only took Aeden one second to jump, escaping two other unleashed blades. This time, it grazed his skin, cutting through his armour like paper.
The creature was gaining speed.
It was already on him the moment he landed, choosing to attack with untransformed fists. The young man skillfully deflected each blow, his palms hardened with a layer of Mana. Immediately after, he went for a jab to its forehead - though the entity was already moving into a defensive stance.
"An Fragor!" yelled Aeden as pure Mana was released from his elbow, propelling his arm with increased speed through its darkened skull before it could even protect itself.
The impact sent its oozing ichor everywhere, but it sprouted another head almost instantly. Its swift regeneration took him by surprise, and he barely reacted to a thrust from its new blade.
"An Caecitas." the inky sword shattered against his temple, momentarily hardened by a massive concentration of Mana. The Sorcerer tried to answer by sweeping its entire body with a kick, though the creature slithered around it like a snake, its body changing shapes endlessly.
The monster was learning how to dodge.
It manifested a greyish spike from its palm, attempting to stab the young man's leg as it skirted around his previous strike. He immediately thrust his hand forward, conjuring a localized detonation right on its body. "Al Excidio!"
The shockwave sent them both flying, though Aeden managed to stop his ejection by firmly planting his feet on the ground. His arm made a fluid semicircular motion as it poured scarlet Mana on the shaking ground. "Ul Petra."
Rocky spikes tore themselves out from the cave's floor, rushing in a murderous wave towards Junia.
Uncaring, she remained immobile in front of his assault.
"I'm afraid this is useless."
She spoke again as the creature emerged from behind her, absorbing the spikes in its black, viscous body.
"Damn this thing. Even a Destruction spell had no effect on it?"
"I'd suggest giving up, boy." a mocking smile decorated her lips. "I already see plenty of ways to defeat you."
Junia pointed to the sleeping Vita, purple Mana glistening on her finger. "Il Vanus."
A single blade of violet light was conjured, propelling itself towards the little girl.
"No!" cried Aeden, immediately rushing to block the projectile.
The entity naturally intercepted him, thrusting a darkened skewer forward. Instead of dodging it, the Sorcerer let himself get perforated on the forearm, grunting from the pain. However, he used the link to his advantage; Aeden moved his pierced hand to the left, forcing the creature out of the way.
Then, his right hand snuck something from under his garments - an unsheathed shortsword with a skull serving as its handguard.
"Mucro Caedes!"
Gorging his Praes with Mana, he cut the air while targeting Junia's blade of light, neatly slashing it in two despite the distance. Thanks to that, it dissipated before hitting Vita.
"Fascinating." her eyes widened. "Wasn't your Praes a silver spear, the same you used against Minerva?" inquired the old woman.
"So you were watching us fight outside Cochlinia."
"Indeed. You might be more interesting than I thought. It's an unquestionable truth that every calling is unique, thus individuals can only manifest a single Praes during their lifetime. You seem to be an exception, why?"
Since he was left wide-open, Aeden took another severe hit from the creature, dislocating his jaw and shattering his armour against the rocky walls.
His vision started blurring, and numbing pain shot up from his sides, left arm, and mandible. The taste of iron filled his mouth, yet he still stood up, all too familiar with the usual consequences of combat.
"An..- Sanatio." he managed to whisper with his damaged mouth.
Ethereal smoke exited his wounds as he over-stimulated his self-regeneration process with Mana, healing everything in a matter of seconds. This particular spell usually takes quite a toll on his energy reserves, but he couldn't afford to be conservative against that type of opponent.
"You don't need to know, as you'll die soon anyway."
"Misplaced confidence is only foolishness."
"We'll see who's the foolish one here."
Aeden swiftly launched himself towards the monster, his sword slashing the air itself as it elegantly danced from left to right.
"Mucro Caedes!"
The entity couldn't even follow the first strike before its arms got cut off. Two others sprouted from its body, but they were lacerated the next moment along with its legs. The Sorcerer gracefully spun around it, decapitating the creature while shrouding his free hand with scarlet Mana.
"Ul Incoendia." Fire roared from the young man's palm, preparing to launch itself in a monstrous ray towards Junia. Yet, the entity's severed head released an inky spike from its centre, piercing Aeden's limb and interrupting the spell.
He groaned from the pain and tried to kick it away, but the monster broke its own skewer while recreating its humanoid body, effectively blocking the hit with its elbow. It dropped on its prey with a punch, though he nimbly side-stepped it.
The Sorcerer then raised his Praes in a sharp movement, chopping off his enemy's arm again without even touching it. However, it grew back in the blink of an eye. The creature rose from the ground with another jab. However, Aeden replied with a strike of his own, channelling Mana through his fist. "An Potentia!"
Previously, that sudden burst of strength would've blown away half of its torso along with its limb, but when their attacks met this time, they matched.
…
A powerful shockwave shook the cavernous room, and to Aeden's surprise, their hits had the same force even with the help of an Enhancement spell.
"What..?" was all he managed to say before the entity unleashed its relentless assault.
It mimicked his rhythm and attack patterns, overwhelming him with quick yet potent strikes from every direction. Their exchange made the entire underground network tremble, and the young man felt more and more helpless.
Each time he hacked one of the entity's appendages, it regenerated stronger and sturdier. He had quickly lost the upper hand, only then realizing that his enemy was constantly evolving.
The rain of blows drove him back little by little until the fateful moment came; he forgot about the shapeless nature of his adversary and misjudged an opening. At that instant, he had tried to cut down Junia with his Praes right after having severed the monster's limb.
Instead, the entity's detached hand morphed into a darkened blade and hacked off Aeden's right arm. Vital fluid flowed in abundance from his wound, yet the black sword swung once more at his head.
The Sorcerer stifled a shout of pain - he instinctively blocked the slash with his left palm, hardening it with crimson Mana. The creature persisted with another heavy punch, shattering his ribcage and sending him crashing against the cave's walls.
Aeden's senses heightened as he forcefully spat blood from the impact, his body screaming at him from everywhere. His eyes flickered fearfully between the dead calm Junia and the horrifying entity she controlled. Precious red ichor was oozing from his shoulder, and each movement made him flinch in agony.
'Is this the extent of what I can do alone?' he thought, feeling the cold embrace of unconsciousness looming over him.
He saw the older woman approach his severed arm, still clutching at his second Praes. The young man tried to cry out, but a sudden throbbing in the chest robbed him of any sound. Extreme soreness spread along his torso, and he started struggling even to breathe.
'The broken ribs must've punctured my lungs,' he speculated. 'I need to focus the regeneration process on my chest, at least. Otherwise, I'll be dead in minutes. I can't afford to use An Sanatio again; I'd most likely pass out from the strain.'
"Why aren't you recalling your Praes, boy?" Junia carefully held the shortsword, raising an eyebrow when she made contact. "I understand. This Praes isn't yours, is it? Spellcasters sometimes leave their relics behind when they die in combat, but they simply revert into regular weapons, if not over-ornamented trinkets."
Purple Mana coated Mucro Caedes, and it slowly floated in the air.
"However, you're somehow able to draw upon a fraction of an artifact's power. It's normally impossible, but I guess you're special in that sense. A real Praes is indestructible as long as its owner lives, but this one…" she clenched her fist, and the violet Mana turned the shortsword into dust. "... is frailer than a leaf."
Aeden's eyes widened once again, and for the first time in his life, he felt it... slowly squeezing his thoughts into an incoherent mess, overwhelming his senses and stirring up flashes of ghastly visions.
The fear of death.