The moon shone brightly in the sky as Sim continued to pursue Della who raced along the streets. He had a few of the townspeople stop and watch him run after Della, as he attempted to grab her. Della ran until she arrived at a large gate which guarded the entrance to a secret underground tunnel. She pushed the heavy metal gates open before stopping.
[Call to Nature: Cycle 003]
[Name: Sim Owens]
[Rank: F]
[Strength: D]
[Agility: C]
[Stamina: C]
[Intelligence: C]
[Mana: D]
[Luck: C]
[Charm F]
[Profession: Earth User]
"Rise!" Sim shouted.
[-200 MP]
[MP remaining 800/1000]
Sim stepped forward confidently as he approached Della at the entrance of the secret underground tunnel. With determination in his eyes, he watched as the earth beneath his feet responded to his command. The ground rumbled and shifted, forming a sturdy barrier between him and Della. The walls of the tunnel seemed to rise up, blocking her escape.
He grinned triumphantly, realizing the extent of his earth manipulation abilities. He could feel the power surging through him, a newfound strength that he had never experienced before. With a swift motion of his hand, he caused a section of the tunnel floor to rise, creating a small platform for him to stand on.
As Sim stood on the elevated ground, he locked eyes with Della, who was trapped on the other side. His voice echoed through the tunnel, filled with determination and resolve.
"You can't run from me anymore, Della." He laughed.
Della's eyes widened with fear, realizing that her escape route had been cut off. She knew she had no choice, but to confront Sim. With a deep breath, she steeled herself and prepared to defend her actions.
"Over here, Caleb!" Jewel shouted.
They noticed the path was caved as they heard Della shout all while Caspar had just caught Caleb exhausted and out of breath.There was no time to react. Caleb fell backwards onto the path in pain. The vines had already encircled his body and they began to pull him down the path the vines wrapped around his arms as his legs and torso were lifted into the air by the roots.
"What the hell is even going on?" Caspar yelled.
"We need to bust the wall and get to Sim! It is literally his time of the month!" Caleb noted.
"Hmm…Unified Control!" Caspar cried.
[Caspar 20000/20000.]
[MP -300.]
[MP remaining 29700/30000.]
Smashing his large metallic spheres at the cement blocking their way . They created large craters that stretched on for miles, crushing any monster and plant it met with. Their combined attacks were stronger than they looked.
"Tsunami Lance!" Caleb shouted.
[Caleb 50000/50000.]
[MP -400.]
[MP remaining 39600/40000.]
He manifested jets of water that burst into the air around him in a giant wave. The waves collided with the debris that lay in the cement blockade making a huge explosion causing the ceiling to crumble in pieces.
"We have to find a way through the wall." Caleb announced.
A shrill scream scared the small team as vines crawled through the cracks exploding everywhere like living tentacles. They lashed themselves at the team, forcing them to scatter to different points in order to avoid attack.
"Where is she?" Caleb exclaimed.
Her voice echoed through the tunnels, growing louder as she made her way down the rocky pathway. Sim stood as his eyes darted to Caleb and Caspar with a grin as they noticed his veins seemed to jump out of his skin in anger. A low hissing noise escaped him as the vines curled around his waist and neck and started curling around him.
"Sim, where is Della?" Caspar asked.
It was almost like he didn't understand them. He couldn't hear them.
Sim smiled at them wickedly "You're too late. I've got her." Sim said with a chuckle.
His grin grew even wider as he saw their shocked expressions. With the vines still wrapped around him as Caspar prepared to attack. As Caspar prepared to attack, the controlled vines sensing the imminent danger tightened their grip on Sim, constricting him further, but Caspar wasn't deterred. Determination burned in his eyes as he focused on freeing Della from Sim's clutches.
"Unify Shooting Star!" Caspar howled.
[MP -1000.]
[MP remaining 28700/30000.]
Caspar used his ESP to slam a barrage of metal sphere's at Sim's face. The metal balls bounced off his face harmlessly as the vines constricted his arms and legs tighter and tighter. He glared angrily at Caspar and growled slowly.
Sim ran down angrily as he went to face Caleb who took note that Caspar's attack did nothing. He dropped his tools to the ground as he turned to Caleb.
"Phase two!" Caleb cried out.
"He is invoking mentally so were fucked till pulls out of the trance!" Caspar noted.
"You don't even need the mental trainers anymore!" He smiled.
Sim gawked, almost hypnotized, at the large moon above him. His eyes began to glow white as his muscles tensed under his tattered black cloak. A strange aura emanated from him, enveloping his body.
"Sim! What the fuck is wrong with you!" Caspar yelled.
Sim, caught in his trance, barely registered Caspar's words or the punch that came crashing towards him. As Caspar's fist connected with Sim's face, the impact sent Sim stumbling backward. The force of the blow snapped him out of his trance, and his eyes returned to their normal state.
Sim shook his head, trying to clear his mind. The vines around him loosened their grip slightly, allowing him to regain some mobility. He looked at Caspar, confusion and pain etched on his face.
"Caspar... I don't know what came over me," Sim said, his voice filled with regret.
"That was way too easy it seems," Caleb thought.
"Sim!" Roman shouted.
"Big brother! I am sorry we were away!" Lily yelled.
Roman pulled Della from the nature based prison using his abilities. Her head was bleeding slightly where he had sliced her scalp. She was breathing heavily as she tried to gather the energy to heal her injury.
"Della is okay…" Roman whispered.
"Thank goodness she is alright!" Jewel cried.
"Not so fast!" Lily spouted.
Argo and Jewel stood there as Roman held Della protectively against him.Argo held his hands to take Della back.
"From what I know you can fight so why didn't you touch Sim?" Roman asked.
"We're trying to not get in trouble with other guilds right now!" Jewel angrily shouted.
Sim held the palm of his hand grunting in pain . His skin slowly turned red and cracked, showing the blood that was slowly seeping out from the bandage.
"My rune carving has a heartbeat," He shouted in frustration.
"Maybe that's why you went mental?" Caleb thought.
"Let me see it!" Caspar asked.
Sim unwrapped the bandages covering his hand and placed it in Caspar's hands. His skin was beginning to turn blacker with each passing second as his skin turned darker and more charred. Caspar examined his hands and saw a dark green rune carved into his palm.
"Is there a reason you decided to carve it in your palm?" Caleb questioned.
He was quite reluctant to answer, but after some time, he finally answered.
"I wanted something tangible to remember this life by..." He replied hesitantly.
"You act like you're gonna die," Caleb laughed.
His whole body shook as he stared blankly ahead.
"Yeah, that's a good point…." he agreed.
Caspar's eyes narrowed at Sim's response. There was an odd aura surrounding Sim from his words and expression. It reminded Caspar of someone who had seen death many times.
"Some Earth Rune users go insane now I recall hearing," Argo explained.
"Go crazy?" Sim squeaked.
He feared he was becoming a plant deep inside. He shuddered violently as he realized how weak and vulnerable his human state was. He desperately tried to gain control of his body again.
"No. No. No. No…" he chanted softly under his breath, "This isn't me. This isn't my true nature." He insisted.
"Stop scaring him!" Roman shouted.
"Am I even human anymore since this world has devoured my small town of Luton?" He thought.
He noticed the verdant tone bleeding into his skin and hair. The color slowly faded away as his once soft and smooth brown hair changed to a dull gray as the soft green mixed as the color slowly drained out of his eyes. The light blue irises turned a dull yellow shade as the color slowly disappeared. As the light blue faded the darkness within them remained, only adding to the effect.
[Nature will continue to call you if you and if you continue to ignore it reaching out to you till you feed your need.]
"Will I become something not human if I continue?" Sim whispered.
[It is plausible that your DNA will change.]
"I see...there is no longer a normal for me," He muttered.