A piercing pain sliced through my body, I looked down upon my body, bright cyan gas was rushing out my body, quickly dissipating into steam. It felt as though I was falling asleep despite my situation, however my body moved on its own, crawling back to its feet with no input from me, like I was possessed.
I was hunched over now. It was difficult to see through the bright cyan light and steam, but a cumulation of viscous matter oozing from my body was collecting at my feet. I looked up at the Orthus that was now still, scanning me with a bright sweeping beam.
I was barely conscious, the pain had now faded and my mind was clouded, my vision felt like I was remembering a fading memory. Looking up the figures back were lighted by the red emergency light and it suddenly dashed back. Out of the corners of my eyes, large growing columns of black ooze tipped in an arrowhead shape sharpened by a black glassy blade darted out, seemingly from my body, which had now become a large blob of black ooze.
A sudden shock of realisation awakened me to a thinking state once again and my senses became rushin in, the smell of burning, the sound of ringing bells and alarms, but mostly the indescribable feeling of my body dematerialising, my form as a fluid.
Paying attention once again, the appendages had been sliced off and were glowing a burning red at the cuts. The Orthus was crouched down slightly with its indents charging. In a desperate attempt to protect myself from its next actions, I lifted my arm to cover my face.
However, I was met with a panicked confusion as my arm came off while I was swinging it up to my face. I felt no pain, stunned, I watched as my arm flew out in front of me, still covered in that viscous steamy black liquid. After travelling a couple metres, my arm exploded with a loud hiss, the liquid spewed out and completely covered the corridor, quickly crystallising into a black glass.
I heard a loud slam on the other side of the door, a small slither of familiar white blade sticking through the recently formed wall. Panic set in as the situation became clear, I struggled and attempted to break free from the dark gelatinous prison, I was met with a piercing pain, as though every cell in my being was being ripped away from each other, although only momentarily. The mass solidified into a brittle porous black crust that was easily broken.
Forcing one of my arms out, I managed to slowly break free, breaking open the rock surrounding my body. To my surprise however, my arm was still there, but I quickly ignored the nonsensical situation in favour of getting away as fast as I could. A foul burning smell lingered over my body, my clothes had many tears in them, through which you could see my untouched skin, still lightly smoking cyan.
I sprinted far away from the repeated slamming through winding corridors with no direction, but my lack of physical training caught up with me, I quickly began breathing heavily, aching set in throughout my body.
I calmed slightly now that the slamming was gone, I had run through random identical corridors, in a clearly highly dangerous warzone. I couldn't run any longer, so I decided I was better off hiding out in one of the side rooms next to me. When I looked up to check my surroundings, a light at the end of the tunnel shone, an hexagonally patterned energy barrier at the end of the corridor had been erected. I dragged my feet towards it until a military personnel behind the barrier noticed me.
A female military guard rushed to disable the barrier to let me through, lifting my arm around her shoulder to help walk me through the barrier. Inside was a fighter hangar, holding two small ships about the size of a fighter jet. A large gun mount pointed at the energy barrier consisted of a large barrel and various rotating faintly glowing discs around it. Military personnel were scattered around the hangar maintaining weapons, Large boxes of supplies were stacked and scattered everywhere. I was brought halfway across the hangar to a higher ranked grizzly looking man, who, when queried on what to do with me, took one look at me and said.
"He's fine, get him a drink of water.", before returning to his conversation between the two others.
I felt slightly annoyed, however realised that I was only short of breath and tired, I had suffered no actual injuries. She handed me a flask, as she did I looked at her badge, 'Pvt. Weissman'.
Unfortunately, A loud explosion and a kickup of smoke crashed from behind, Weissman quickly dragged me behind a cover of large stacked crates and hastily drew her pistol. Lots of shouting echoed throughout the hangar. Then a harrowing silence, had the Orthus reached my location that quickly? Peeking around the crates, most of the men were aiming their rifles over crates at the doorway clouded in dissipating smoke.
Scanning the room, a man had situated himself on the large gun mount pointing towards the doorway, which was now emitting a quiet robotic humming, the discs were now glowing brightly and spinning around the barrel. Abruptly tearing through the silence, A extremely fast ripping of gunfire followed by a bright light from the gun mount, rapid volleys of light tore through the smoke. From the smoke, a expulsion of barely visible blue flame exploded in the direction of the mount, searing the ground and blasting back the heavy mount which fell silent.
The blast parted the smoke and out of it the Orthus emerged identical to the one I previously encountered, although not unscathed as small craters peppered its armour with a small crack in its visor from the gun mount. The Orthus walked almost calmly, behind it, a second identical one presented itself. I watched optimistically as a second volley of blue projectiles launched from Weissman and various personnel around the hanagar. Unaffected, a faint spherical blue energy shield manifested around both of the Orthus, flawlessly blocking each projectile with a flare of steam.
Both of the Orthi's indents on their armour glowed briefly, then they vanished. The crate next to me where Weiss was behind was blasted back with immense force, Weiss was nowhere to be seen and in her place was one of the Orthus, hunched over slightly, its gaze fixated upon me paralyzed me.
In desperation I picked up one of the pistols that lay beside me from the scattered crates, pointing at the Orthus I squeezed the trigger, I was met with a flash of white and a severed arm, being unable to move, the orthus thrust its blade straight through my abdomen. A burning pain coursed through me. The Orthus paid no mind to me, yanking its blade out and dashing away. From the wound, a black liquid spread across my body, up to my neck followed by a billowing cyan steam. The liquid crystallised into obsidian glass like plates, randomly organised up to my neck. In the centre of my chest was the brassy relic I pocketed before, bright can veins crawled out from it in random directions.
The familiar cyan at the corner of my vision returned and my consciousness was overtaken, but unlike before, my mind felt crystal clear, fear had become but a distant memory, my being entirely focused on analysing the situation at hand.
I stood up observing the room once again, the Orthus closest to me reacted quickly, hurtling a spear of white from its wrist implement. The spear flew with a high pitched hum reaching me in an instant, I guarded my face with my arm and I collided with my forearm, exploding into a hiss and cracking the black plates on my forearm, blood trailed out but no pain could be felt.
The site at which my other arm was cut, viscous liquid remained, drooling to the floor. Three appendages of black shot out, tipped with a black glassy arrowhead, homing in on the Orthus. The Orthus retaliated quickly, slicing one, but getting caught by the other. The tentacles curled and slithered around tightening slowly. Out of sight, the other Orthus came, flying, its armour still charred and cratered from the gun mount earlier, it sliced through the appendages which retracted back as though they were never there. The charred Orthus began sprinting towards me with heavy thuds of its step.
Lancing its blade towards me, I stepped to the side, I punched with my remaining left arm. A loud crack could be heard as the charred Orthus flew back, large cracks formed in its chest, it slammed into the hull of one of the docked fighters leaving a large dent. At the same time, the black glass plates on my arm splintered, blood seeped out from the cracks but again, I felt no pain. My physical abilities had clearly been enhanced, that and the crystal clear state of my mind filled me with confidence.
The other Orthus had finished ripping the remaining tentacles wrapped around its body, I expected an attack, but instead, a sweeping scanning beam fixated upon the relic embedded in the centre of my chest, it then lifted its wrist implement, static of changing pitches and speeds emanate from it for a brief moment, then it raised its blade towards me, cautiously approaching me.
I subconsciously lifted my arms into a guard, a crude black glass forearm appeared in place of my previously severed arm, It crunched and cracked as I made a fist. The Orthus slowly approached me, keeping its blade pointed towards me, It suddenly held its other arm out, it's wrist implement flaring and fizzling, a familiar rush of blue flame roared towards me, at the same time, bright cyan energy flared out from between the plates of black on my body, dissipating into smoke. For a brief moment, the blue flame and cyan thrust clashed, stopping each other in their tracks. The plates on my body fractured and split from the cyan steam.
The Orthus leaped forwards through the smoke, swinging its blade widely, catching me off guard, the tip of the blade sliced through the plates upon my chest. The wound wasn't deep, but blood seeped through the cracks in black plates regardless, however, again I felt no pain, so unafflicted, I swung and grabbed the Orthi's outstretched arm, gripping down as hard as I could as though I was trying to crush It. Subsequently, a great burst of light shot forth from my palm burning off the pristine white plates and exposing the Orthi's now charred arm, hundreds of small circuit board wires with some points glowing white ran across its skin.
The Orthus dashed back. The Orthus that had been indented into a ship had fallen to the floor and righted itself, judging by its movement it seemed heavily wounded. With a flash of white both of them vanished. I fell to my knees, the many cracked plates fell to the floor, once again, my arm had luckily returned, the cyan light seeping out of the corners of my vision receded and extreme fatigue followed. I remembered the relic from before embedded into my chest. I scoured my pockets but It was nowhere to be found. I slumped to the floor, the fatigue took over and my vision went black.