The body of the wolf shrinks, its fur gradually transforming into pale, human skin. The once-black fur turns white, and the menacing claws morph into slender fingers. The beast's belly tightens and shifts, becoming a human chest.
As I land on the ground, my knees tremble, threatening to give way at any moment. Before me, lying on the cold dungeon floor is a boy—his short, white hair clinging to his sweat-soaked forehead, and his ghostly pale skin. He clutches his bleeding belly, his groans filled with pain.
"He was a boy?" The girl rushes forward, her breathing ragged as she halts, panting over the boy curled into a ball.
_________
[System]
Name: Avidia
Ring Rank: —
Ability: Emptiness
Title to Achieve: Void Sovereign
Attributes: Curse of The Hollow Oath
Aspect: —
_________
_________
[System]
Name: None Given
Ring Rank: —
Creature Rank: demihuman
Ability: Nethril Frost
Title to Achieve: The Glacian Reaver
Attribute: Frost Slumber
_________
"What are those attributes?"
_________
[System]
Hollow Oath (Curse): The bearer of this curse is bound by an unyielding vow that siphons their emotions, memories, and identity with every use of their void abilities.
Frost Slumber: The wielder of this attribute falls into a deep, timeless slumber lasting years, even eons. During this time, they neither age nor die.
_________
That means this boy has been asleep for years without realizing it, and this girl is doomed to become an empty shell if she continues using her powers. A tragic fate awaits them both, all because of the gods we once hailed.
A heavy question looms over me—who does she seek to destroy?
She bends down, reaching out for the boy, but the dungeon trembles violently. The walls begin to collapse, and debris rains down upon us. "It's going to fall!" I shout.
I move swiftly to the boy, throwing him over my shoulder as he groans in agony. "I'll show you the way!" she calls out, turning to lead us through the labyrinthine halls.
Despite the searing pain in my calves with every step and the throbbing ache in my chest, I push forward, never looking back. This was just the beginning of the hell I'd have to endure.
As we round a corner, the path is littered with goblin corpses, crushed beneath the falling rubble. The exit is close, but the massive stone doors are slowly closing.
"Come on! We can make it!" I scream, urging my legs to move faster. The gap narrows with every second, threatening to seal us inside.
We reach the door just in time, wedging ourselves through and collapsing onto the corroded black grass that rumbles upon our back hitting upon it. Everything smells like rot and blood.
The scent made my stomach twist, For the first time in a while I have felt so disgusted by what I was smelling, and if that was bad the sight was even worse. The floors are corroded by black life grass, bodies all over ever, and pools of black blood scattered all around us.
"Where are we?" I question, looking at her.
"We are in the" Avidia goes to answer but is cut off.
"Fallen lands, the land of the last war in the Genesis era. End's valley." someone else finishes it for her.
The sound of footsteps slapping against the moist floor comes to us and turning to the noise someone cloaked in a blood-red cloak approaches, stopping a few feet away. Immediately the sense of dread comes over me and trying to manage holding my blade and the boy I struggle to even point my dagger towards them.
"I see only three of you survived." Their calm tone indicates they weren't scared of me. "A beast that transcends time itself, a girl who's a hybrid of a god and a human- A demi god, and lastly, the embodiment of the last grand god." She gets it; I presume all of it is on point.
But her words, 'Hybrid of God' catch me off guard. "How-"
"I know everything." She slowly removes her hood, revealing her long waistline, fiery red hair, smooth white skin, and scar stretching across her face with her eyes fully white.
She's blind.
"I spotted you all entering and didn't dare say anything about the reckoning that would soon follow."
"What do you mean!" Avidia steps forward, confusion etched on her face.
I wonder.
_________
[System]
Name:???
Ability:???
Title: All seer (achieved)
_________
"It's not good peeping into others abilities." She turns to me with a small smirk tugging at her lips.
Flinching I question loudly, "You've already achieved your title!"
"What do you mean?" Avidia turns to me in a hurry.
"Shh, you're going to awaken the fallen." She puts her finger over her lips.
"That woman is no human... she has to be a god!"
"You're far from the truth." She stepped closer, and even though my muscles screamed, I was ready for another to fight. I was ready to take her down, even though I had no chance of winning. "I am a person hiding from the gods." She breaks into a smile.
"What do you mean?" I still kept my guard up.
"I am one of the people who Vitalis fears, so I'm hiding." She spins around. "Follow me; we must leave before those things awaken, I'll tell you all you need to know.."
Exchanging glances with Avidia, we both pondered whether to stay or follow this person before us. Then the corpse on the floor began to twitch, and we followed, with the boy still on my back.