The mass of flesh before me exiting from the Amikuk mouth like vomit has the same feel of degeneration and desire as the Bloody Palm. It makes your fingers clench, and toes curl just at the sensation.
Still paralyzed, I try to move my head away from the flood of blood, viscera, flesh, and many other organic substances that leave the Amikuk's mouth and stream toward mine.
The paralysis doesn't allow me to dodge the disgusting compound, and I hear the Amikuk roar once more, but this time in pure pain and suffering as its body begins to shake and convulse. While trembling, the innards and entrails that exit the Amikuk flow straight into my face, covering my whole head.
Unwilling to let it seep into me, I close my eyes and mouth and hold my breath, but it's not enough. The blood seeps into my ears, the flesh slithers in my nose, and the entrails force open my mouth. I can feel slimy, iron-tanged pieces of dissolved organs enter my mouth and then sink into my body through the flesh inside my mouth.
With the blood that goes into my ears, I can feel a weird tingling and itching sensation until the inside of my skull feels wet, my brain likely being covered in the blood. And the flesh that enters my nose goes down into my lung and makes me unable to breathe without sputtering and coughing, allowing even more of this gore to enter me.
The world around me is muffled in sound from the blood in my ears, so I only just barely hear the dying throes of the Amikuk as I am let down from the shadow tendrils and dropped to the floor. Whatever the Bloody Palm did, it took some time, but damn, was it effective and disgusting.
Now I just have to hope it isn't similar to taking me over. The streams of the innards continue for a dozen seconds or so until I feel full and like I'm about to burst, not from being pulled apart by the things that entered me but more like eating way too much food. Ultimately, it seems as though all the Bloody Palm craved was to satiate its hunger.
Even if it does so in the most disgusting and traumatizing ways.
Slowly, the innards that seep into me fade and drop onto my body instead. It is an incredibly odd feeling in every way, from the blood that entered my ears to even just the viscera that remains covering my frame. I just want to immediately get up and clean my body off; the feeling makes me feel sick.
When the viscera ends its conquest over my paralyzed body, I open my eyes and see Virgil and Vernon standing over me. Virgil sweating profusely and covered in many wounds that seep blood. Vernon has much fewer wounds on him, only a few cuts here or there, but he is also sweating just as severely as Virgil, showing that the younger brother put his work in too.
I look down at my body, curious as to what the effects of the Bloody Palm had with its bloody spear made of my own life essence, and what I see is just as surprising to me as it is to the two brothers looking at me.
My once thin and wiry body built solely for speed that frequently loses weight, mass, and nutrition from the Bloody Palm has changed entirely. Muscle, more prominent than I have ever had before, which, to be honest, is not saying all that much, now covers my body. It is easy to see through the torn and ripped clothes and the massive hole in my shirt from being impaled.
Eyes go wide all around at the effects of the Bloody Palm; Virgil and Vernon immediately ask what the hell happened. Sadly, even I don't know fully.
"Damn, what happened, Wyatt? I thought you were dead after you saved me. Was that your Artificed artifact? How did you control it like that?"
"Can you do that again? Your artifact must be incredible to hold power such as that."
I wave them off for a second as I sit up and push the viscera off me. Once Vernon notices all the blood, organs, and other parts of the lizard that covers me, he turns away and walks around the Amikuk, searching for any items or lost gear that we might have missed earlier.
A small chuckle comes from both Virgil and me at the sight of Vernon being squeamish. Once I get most of the disgusting stuff off of me, I realize I feel better than ever physically. My frame isn't sore or hurting. Instead, it feels full of power even though it is still restrained by my Daydream more than usual.
The only thing that isn't good is my mind and state of Ether. I feel as though I am constantly on the brink of insanity and loss of my own body to a hungering artifact full of incomprehensible desire. I push past this and answer Virgil, focusing on the human-to-human interaction.
"I'm not entirely sure what happened. I took the hit because I figured I could heal fast enough with the artifact attached to me, and while I was right, the Bloody Palm decided it was an excellent time to assault my mind again. I had to use one of my skills to enhance the artifact enough to heal me fast enough so that I wouldn't die, and it took advantage of that."
I pause for a second before simply admitting it and cursing the lizard.
"For a few moments, for just a few steps toward you guys, the Bloody Palm was in control of my body. It rapidly healed me and then created a spear of my own blood, siphoning flesh and blood from me so that it tried to throw it at Vernon, but I could regain control fast enough that it instead went into the Amikuk. Then, I guess the spear took some time within the Amikuk to deal enough damage to bring it down. That fucking lizard was insane! What were all those shadowy tendrils and infectious roars about?"
Virgil takes in my rant with a few nods until, in the end, he puts his hands on my shoulders and speaks to me while looking me in the eyes.
"You must be supremely careful, Wyatt. I know not a single person who has ever returned from the edge. You are the first. Once an artifact takes control and Puppets the person it is Artificed to, it is said that the body now belongs to that artifact and the Sigils within. Rest. Do whatever you can to regain your resolve. You've been pushing yourself too far. Rest. Vernon and I will take care of what's left here. Sleep. You need to recover as much Ether, mental and physical strength as possible."
Virgil stops as he steps back from me, finishing his warning with a question.
"And when you feel in tip-top shape, you need to take Law's Light and advance. That is the only way you survive this. How long have you had the Bloody Palm for at this point?"
I answer the man who ignored all the parts about the fight that almost killed him and just focused on my well-being as truthfully as possible.
"I think for close to a week. Is that bad?"
He nods to my own question in response to his.
"Yes. Terribly. Only one man I've ever heard of lasted a week while Artificed. His name was Jasper Shield, The Silent. He was known for his strong will for a very long time, able to shake off and continue even after those near him died and left him alone. He was a powerful 5th Sigil, but eventually, he was captured by demons and experimented on."
Virgil's eyes sink to the floor as he retells the story of such an anguished man.
"Jasper was a quiet man known for being able to endure any hardship without being phased, so instead of torturing him needlessly, the demon that caught him sought to make him join the demon. The demon attached a finger to him from a 6th Sigil, just one Sigil higher than him.
Jasper held on for one single week, and by the end of the week, the artifact had grown from its simple place as a single finger into a whole hand, slowly converting the man's body. The only way anyone knows what happened to him is because the demon who did it to him kept a log of everything.
A log that was left free for anyone to grab after the artifact drew Jasper mad because, after a week, both had grown so in tune with each other that their Ether complimented each other perfectly and was much more effective than just two people together. The Silent's increased capability allowed him to kill the demon, a 6th Sigil, and break his way out of the lair.
Then, in artificed madness or frenzied agony, no one's sure which, the artificed man went on a hell path through the wilds, killing anything he came across. His voice could paralyze someone, and the snap of his fingers could explode their heads. The man was feared for an entire year until a Pillar, Naomi, The Steel Talon, the former Pillar of Qune, put him down. I heard from someone that she cut off the entire arm, and it was still helping Jasper, or what was left of the man, fight."
He stops again, looking into my eyes.
"However, I've seen you in action, and I believe you can overcome this. This is the first time I've ever seen you struggle against its control. For others, it's the opposite, a constant unending battle of wills until the man or woman loses to the artifact. Your skill set and Sigil are uniquely suited to fending off artifacts, whether on purpose or not; it is excellent at keeping your mind unfettered.
If you are ready now, take the Sigil from the shadowy Amikuk. I planned on taking it the second I saw its abilities because it likely has a Nightowl Sigil or something similar. But knowing how close you just came to the edge, you should take it if you are ready."
My friend also adds a final piece of knowledge, a scrap that gives me some confidence.
"Now, while I know of no one who has resisted Artifiction, that does not mean it is impossible. It is said the Hollows, an old extinguished tribe from the Wilds, used to do it all the time. Some are even rumored to still be alive. Perhaps you can find one, and they can help show you the way."
Virgil offers me to take the Sigil he had planned to take, and I am forced to refuse. I have not yet found the answer to my Metaphor.
I attempt to recall what it was for the first time, and the image of the words lodged into the book burns itself once more into my mind's eye.
If dreams and hopes are not real, then what is to be done with them?
I'm no philosopher, and these words only make me incredibly lost. Hopes and dreams are why we fight for a better life, no? So how are they not real? Don't I effectively make my dreams real with Daydream? Just so confused.
I answer and try to tell the Metaphor to Virgil with a shake of the head while I ponder this.
"No, I have not yet answered my Metaphor, it's—"
The man cuts me off, unwilling to let me finish.
"Don't tell me what it is. I don't want to affect your answer to it. In my experience, it's better to come up with it through trials and tribulations. It's much better that way and more likely to keep the Sigil from going haywire. Rarely do they ever come through just thought or discussion. The only exceptions are the large families who all use the same Sigils and have found good enough answers that work for all."
Nodding to his response because it makes some sense to me, I ask another question to try and clarify as I see Vernon walk around the Amikuk, searching for anything interesting in the rest of the room that we had not finished exploring yet.
"What do you mean about the Sigil going haywire?"
Virgil glances back at his brother real quick before turning back to me.
"Do you not know?"
Confused by what he means, I shake my head.
"No, what are you talking about?"
Virgil gives me a worried look but continues talking.
"Every Sigil you take has a small chance of turning on you while in The Cabin. No one knows why, how, or even exactly when, but we know that the Sigil sometimes fractures or changes during the evolution or mutation, allowing for other forces to bleed into the mind. This fracture can cause many psychological issues that lead to insanity, but it can cause instant death. The common train of thought and accepted idea is that those with good or amazing answers to their Metaphors who perform perfect Proofs are less likely to meet this instant death. Not just that, but it keeps them from becoming monsters worse than demons."
He finishes his piece of knowledge that no one has ever told me before; I guess it was something so obvious that none have ever even spoken about it. There is only one thing I say in response to the fact I've potentially committed suicide twice.
"Oh."
Virgil nods sagely as he turns and walks toward the Amikuk with me.
"Every single step upwards is upon a rickety bridge with no bottom in sight. Every new Sigiil comes with a host of new problems and unending agony in some cases.
If one doesn't attune to their Sigil for long enough and increase their saturation limit, then the new Sigil's influx of Ether will simply melt them alive.
If one doesn't dare to face what lies within themselves, the Metaphors and their subsequent Proofs will lead to an early demise internally.
If one doesn't act carefully around just about anything else with a Sigil, they will likely get murdered for another to advance.
And even if someone dodges all of these, there is still a chance that once they enter The Cabin, the person who comes out is no longer them."
Damn, that's insane. Even if you do everything right, sometimes the world will just end you. Why didn't Edmund tell me about this? Indeed that's a warning that I should know before taking a Sigil. Or does it not happen on the first Sigil?
I ask this question along with another one I've always been curious about but likely know deep down.
"So, can even people who gain their 1st Sigil get this instant death or madness phenomenon? And if there are so many risks, why do people still go for Sigils? Why do people reach for their power?"
Virgil laughs a bit at my question, which makes me feel silly for asking it, as he kneels down to the Amikuk and searches through its scales for something he spotted.
"It's exceedingly rare for a new 1st Sigil to meet the Unknown Horror, what it's called when something unknown happens within the transfer to The Cabin. It's also rare for them to become Motherbound, taken by the Mother Below for advancing without preparation. I'm of the thought that whatever does it isn't interested in newly advanced humans; their threat, interest, or level of life is simply too dull or low."
Virgil pauses, rolling scales across his palms in foraging.
"The part about power, however, you should know. We all have our reasons for grasping strength. It is what gives you the will to go on. To fight against unstoppable odds. Mine is to protect my family. I'm sure you have one, even if you don't know it yet. We all do."
The former Hunter rips out some bullets, moving them out of the way as he digs deeper, searching for the Sigil in the massive creature. The man even finds a nugget of gold he shows me before slipping it into his pocket.
"Animals die for food, people for money, and the powerful die for even more power. It's just the way the world works. The rest of us do whatever we can to scrounge up enough to defend us and ours."
Then, shaking his head, he prepares me for the future to come.
"Enough of all this, though; I really need to spend some time to figure out what you know and what you don't because for a 2nd Sigil, to be honest, you know, jack-shit. And it's gonna get you killed. Now let me find this Sigil and advance. I've been waiting for years and prepared for a long time."
He also reflects on the battle before taking his Sigil, helping me grow for what's next.
"Also, I didn't tell you to use Law's Light because I figured that the Amikuk could create walls or some kind of watery or crystalline structure based on how most Amikuk progress, but once you noticed that it couldn't make anything to stop the light or redirect it, you should have pulled out Law's Light. Hindsight's 20/20, though, and I didn't think of it at the time either, only before the fight. So, just remember it the next time you are fighting something. The artifact is quite powerful, after all."
I nod at what he says and agree. Many have told me that my ignorance will be the end of me. I then watch the experienced Hunter, fighter, and explorer scavenge the corpse of the Amikuk for the Sigil. Eventually, he finds it lodged in the Amikuk's back right leg.
The locations of Sigils are always really odd. Like why is mine in the back of my skull? So far, I think that is the only one I've seen or heard of that's in the head. Quite odd, to be honest. Even Vernon, who was a Scholar at first, a mentally oriented Sigil, had his core within his spine.
Right before Virgil takes the Sigil, he looks at Vernon and me, then he closes his eyes and takes it, assumably being whisked away to The Cabin.