"AGH!" Zenon's eyes snapped wide open.
Whatever the hell just happened has taken the first place for the weirdest things that have ever happened to him.
Clutching his head, tears subconsciously flowed out as his mind was growing accustomed to the pain. Endless questions without a single clue flowed through his head.
Who was Fallen? Who killed him? Why did Vrodhre betray us?
'Wait... us?! Who the fuck is us?!'
Taking deep breaths, Zenon tried getting up while using the chair as a support. His entire being felt dizzy, especially his Soul. Even though it was hard to explain, it was as if he had to remember how to exist.
Breathing felt weird, moving felt weird, and even thinking felt weird.
Slowly getting used to living outside a memory, Zenon took control of his emotions and let up a deep sigh before straightening up his body. He touched his forehead while thinking,
'That was a hell of an experience...'
Closing his eyes, he tried to understand what just happened.
First of all, he got sent inside a memory. A vision of someone that was clearly not him. The most unnerving part? There were people with dragon-like masks that were in flames. The same masks as the Fire Keepers.
Then, there are a bunch of names that required some research. There is someone named Fallen that these Fire Keepers want. There is that Vrodhre…
'But… who the hell are they?'
Suddenly, Leviathan came from his Soul and quickly checked on Zenon. After making sure that he was alive and breathing, he asked for some explanations about what happened.
Noticing his intentions, Zenon opened his mouth and said,
"I had a... well, I lived a vision?"
Interested, Leviathan approached Zenon as he started explaining what happened. He didn't forget a single detail about the events, making Leviathan confused but at the same time somewhat annoyed.
After finishing, Zenon said, "There was also a name. Fallen-"
*Bump!*
Zenon fell to his knees the second he mentioned the name Fallen. His entire body suddenly collapsed as if a two-ton weight was put on both of his shoulders.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to get up but the pressure was too intense.
Leviathan, however, was seen looking at the same spot without moving a single atom of his body. His teeth were moving violently and his pupil-less eyes were shaking.
Noticing this, Zenon tried to say, "Hey! Agh... t-turn that... off!"
Hearing that shout, Leviathan stopped putting that pressure and Zenon was able to take a deep breath, as it was so intense that his lungs were being deprived of that sweet oxygen.
Getting up again, he said, "What happened? Since when you can do that?!"
Leviathan looked at him and made an almost silent groan. Zenon blinked twice and said, "Fallen? What's wrong with it?"
Leviathan groaned again and Zenon could piece things together. Since the day they met, Leviathan didn't really know what was going on as he could only remember a vast void, just like any other Familiar. Some things were nostalgic though, such as the name Void and Fire.
However, the moment he heard the name Fallen, a hidden surge of rage and sadness washed all over him. He didn't know why, but there was something about that name that seemed extremely familiar to him.
After a while, he shook his head and apologized to Zenon for the sudden outburst.
"N-No worries… That really took me off-guard though. I wonder what those gloves were... perhaps Carapaces?"
Opening his Runes, Zenon was indeed incorrect in his intuition, as they didn't appear. He searched over and over but still could find nothing. This went on for some seconds before Leviathan hissed.
'You… what? Really?!'
Zenon discarded the Carapace option and instantly opened his Familiar Runes. Those gloves were indeed not Carapaces. Instead…
[Familiar Weapon: Void Gloves
Weapon Description: The weaving of these gloves is imbued with divine flames and everlasting coldness. Perhaps, a more subtle blaze should've been used.
Attributes: Linked || Artificer]
Zenon's eyes widened as he read the Carapaces Runes.
First of all, it didn't show which Class or Rank it belonged to. Something that was actually logical since Familiar's Weapons don't have a Tier. After all, the stronger the Familiar, the stronger its weapon will be.
'The description is something strange. Based on what it says, it means that the gloves contain some of Fire's flames as well? The weapon is clearly called Void Gloves… so I wonder how that is related.'
It was something curious, to say the least. A Familiar weapon is also related to one's Element.
If you had a Water Element, well, you could only get something related to Water. But there hasn't been a single record of a weapon carrying two Elements.
They are simply too unstable.
And based on the vision that Zenon had some minutes ago - and still makes his head ache sometimes - these gloves are actually from a civilization that existed way before the first Rift was opened.
Way before the Layers were introduced to humans.
'How can a civilization thrive in such a violent canyon? The Shifting would completely destroy all of their buildings.'
Having already analyzed the Runes, Zenon decided to summon them.
And Leviathan disappeared from his shoulder.
Appearing out of purple particles, two fingerless violet gloves materialized already on Zenon's hands.
They were made of extremely comfortable silk which perfectly adjusted to his fingers and knuckles, making him bend his fingers without making a mess.
Not only that but the Void near him was slowly getting dragged inside both gloves. They also had a trail of orange and yellow lines going from his palms to his fingers.
Confused, Zenon tried calling Void Sense, which quickly wrapped itself around his hands yet still got slowly sucked inside.
"Uhh, Leviathan? Are you there."
Zenon remained still for a moment while staring at his gloves. He asked again and waited, not receiving a response.
*Groan*
Out of nowhere, a usually hoarse voice sounded in his mind. It was so hoarse that felt taken out by someone with an extreme hangover. Zenon got somewhat startled before muttering,
"Are you Leviathan?"
*Screech!*
Zenon's eyes widened before chuckling and saying,
"You sound like shit, to be honest. Similar to a drunk man waking up after chugging down every bottle in the store. I guess that's what every Familiar can do."
Leviathan remained silent for a moment before hissing.
"Fuck you… I'll keep lo- Wait, the Attributes! How could I forget?! Damn, I skip the most important part...'
Quickly summoning the Runes once again, Zenon started reading the description of every Innate Attribute the Carapace had.
[Linked Description: A mysterious force has been wrapped and trapped inside the fabric of these gloves.]
'Huh? That doesn't seem like it does much.'
Zenon re-read the description once again but failed to comprehend it.
There was something wrapped and trapped inside of them? I bet it was spiritually because the volume of the gloves isn't exactly large.
[Artificer Description: The subtle and fragile veils of Void won't escape their owner. They will let themselves be manipulated by the carrier of these gloves.]
Zenon raised his eyebrow when he read this description. It was something hard to understand, to say the least. Well, the Carapace itself was hard to understand.
This description meant that the Void around him could be altered in some way to his advantage like a craftsman making some sort of object. The name itself, Artificer, says it anyways.
'Let's... try it out?'
Zenon got up and tried to grab between his thumb and index a veil of the void. Surprisingly, the void didn't try to run away from him when he did this.
The moment he touched the void it snapped in two and flew away, only to reconnect with another veil.
Dumbfounded, Zenon tried to get another one and was met with the same result.
He spent the next few minutes trying to grab at least one of them, but the moment he touched one of those with both fingers they would just snap in half.
Annoyed, he tried to take them with his palm and drag them toward him, which worked absolutely fine. But, the moment he tried grabbing it, it exploded into a million tiny pieces.
"I-I...! What's the point of grabbing them if they just break?!"
With a last attempt in mind, Zenon tried to be as careful as possible, not even making force.
He managed to grab one veil and drag it some centimeters before it broke in half again. Staring at his fingers for a moment, he sighed and thought,
"Agh, whatever, might as well get back to the cave."