"Why hadn't I woken up yet?"
Veritas stood up and paced around the room, carefully contemplating his predicament.
He can move quite well in the dream and think properly now. It could be considered a lucid dream, wherein everything works for the individual's favor.
However, Veritas felt a deep sense of malice that was harbored in the air.
He wondered why the Faceless had not reached the room yet, was there a mishap in the dream? or was the dream merely a fragment of reality.
A dream within a dream.
Veritas considered the possibility and such a thing is very peculiar, especially due to the fact that it made no sense.
How could a dream be a reality and a dream to exist within that reality itself?
He contradicted himself, Veritas head spun trying to figure out the complex nature of the dream.
'It's definitely an attack by an external cause. Is this the same attack that Brother Alune suffered?'
..It was probable but highly unlikely.
As Veritas paced around circles, he came to a sudden realization.
He stared at the analog clock and understood the time that it showed.
'12:04 AM'
The flow of time seemed to have worked once more. So was Veritas back in reality? There was no way to find out, really..
Thus, he decided to search for answers outside the door. Although peculiar, the late arrival of the Faceless were something to take into consideration.
If something compelled them to make their way towards Veritas, then all the more reason to doubt what was happening.
First of all, a highly enhanced and speed Pathbearer would most certainly reach and cover a small distance within seconds. Furthermore, the Faceless looked to be a better version of a Knight, donning an Impure Soul which is considered to be above the realm of humanity and closer to divinity.
With his actions against that hivemind, it seemed only natural for them to target Veritas.
Yet none of them came..
Veritas was hesitant to open his door and traverse outside. Perhaps he was truly safe in the room.. and yet, he was stuck in the dream with no way to get out of waking up!
He contemplated for a while before deciding to take action.
Within a few seconds, Veritas decided to leave and face the travesty that awaited.
'Fear is such a feeble weakness that clouds one's mind to falter. Yet it is also a strength that aims to improve our survivability..'
With that, Veritas twisted the handle and stepped outside the room.
Alas, he did not expect such a sight to be met upon him.
As he walked through the halls, Veritas saw a peculiarity that made his eyes widen. His body trembled at the sheer sight of such a gory entity.
Mountains upon mountains of Faceless were formed, they stood on top of one another and didn't care for the individual pain that was caused.
"It truly is a hivemind!"
What he saw was a collective movement between the thousands of Faceless, pacing outside like a single entity that was composed of a thousand or so parts..
What's worse is the gallons of blood dripping from every movement that it made. It basked the entire dormitory in blocks, painting the soft grass red!
Veritas walked through the hall and experienced the loud thud that it made with each movement.
The sound was like a large footstep but mixed in with the sound writhing flesh and blood.
'How the hell do I beat that thing?!'
Veritas was bewildered.
The thing before him had to be a Pure level abomination, even if it's only a collective amount of Impure Souls.
As Veritas reached the end of the hall, he began to descend down the floors.
Down at the lounge where a multitude of benches were once occupied by the residents of the dormitory, a pool of blood spread all over the room and outside... it was as if the entire world itself suffered from a rain of blood.
And the smell! It was putrid enough to make a person gag.
Luckily enough, the Faceless abomination had not noticed Veritas yet. Was it deliberately waiting for him to go outside? or was it too oblivious of his presence?
Whatever it was, it gave Veritas the opportunity to steel his resolve.
To think that the courtyard was once a beautiful landscape of lush greenery, Veritas was awe-stricken..
He was not amazed by the sea of blood but rather... he felt disgusted!
He slowly paced towards the courtyard and finally faced the abomination.
'Quite the peculiar dream that I have..'
Accepting that fact, Veritas conjured a Wind Blade and held it diligently in his right arm.
'My Soul has replenished a little bit, it wouldn't be enough though.'
His black cloak fluttered and his crimson eyes glowed brightly in the red landscape.
Veritas aimed his Wind Blade towards the abomination, who suddenly stopped to acknowledge his presence.
He heard voices that screamed in pain as their blood poured down to the ground. This made Veritas feel a tick of a switch deep inside of him, filling him up with rage and contempt.
So, Veritas moved forward and slashed the air in front of him in a crescent-shaped attack!
A high-pitch sound echoed in the horizon, followed by the sound of cutting flesh and bones!
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul..]
The notification sent by the runes only confirmed Veritas suspicions. The abomination itself was only as strong as a Pure Soul, but it does not specifically mean that it became a Pure abomination.
Its still something that needed to be killed though.
Veritas formed a crescent shaped slash once more, cutting several segments of the abominations parts.
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul]
[You have felled an Impure Soul..]
Veritas decided to ignore the runes, and focus on the battle ahead of him.
Though it had no definite shape, the mountain of bodies moved towards Veritas and swallowed everything in its Path. From its base, individual Facelesses broke free and ran towards Veritas.
Veritas formed another crescent slash to damage the abomination, but his efforts seemed to only chip the surface of the mountain.
He ran to the direction of the forest, so as to not get overwhelmed by the mountain's speed!
Seeing as the reserves of his Soul to be scarce, Veritas decided to run without the help of his skills and Attunement.
That said, he fended off some of the Faceless that broke off from the mountain, most of them have a broken and tattered body while some were just as healthy as him.
Once a Faceless caught up, Veritas used the unique nature of his swordplay to easily defeat them.
He kicked one straight in the abdomen, spun, and then cleanly shaved its head off.
Another Faceless came from his right side and Veritas weaved its predictable strike and stabbed it on the chest. He then ripped apart its torso by slashing it to the left and back to the right, ultimately cutting it in half.
These were merely henchmen and the mountain was the main problem.
Veritas had no definitive attacks to instantly defeat it all in one go! Even with the utilization of Storm Cut, he was not sure of whether it would work or not.
He could conjure a tornado of slashes and cuts, but Veritas wondered if he could even conjure a tornado that could topple a mountain of bodies. Also, his reserves were running low, so he needed to consider all the factors that would come from doing so.
'If I were to conjure a great attack with Windsong and Will of the Winds, I'd have to make it a large-scale attack that could wipe them out in an instant! But would my Soul be enough to conjure such an attack?'
It was too risky!
But.. he liked the odds even better!
Veritas grinned widely, but was hidden due to his mask. Then, he gazed upon his Soul and activated all of his skill at once!
He felt a mental repercussion due to the lack of Soul, but he managed to push through for a while.
'Shit! I need time!'
Conjuring something large-scale would have to consume a lot of Soul and to be carefully thought off. It wasn't just going to create itself out of a whim, rather.. Veritas needed to visualize its form and aspects.
'A tornado..'
By now.. Veritas was already far off in the fields, the grass were overgrown and he traversed through them blindly.
Suddenly, he felt a shift in the Winds. With a slash, blades of grass were sent in the air and were cleaved in a straightforward pattern.
A Faceless was decapitated when Veritas suddenly attacked, he then continued to run through the fields in order to escape the mountain of bodies.
Veritas contemplated while escaping, he thought of the nature of a tornado and was making steady progress with its creation.
'That.. and that, slashing, it's impossible to make it that size!'
His Visionshaper Mask hid his facial expressions very well. If it hadn't existed, then Veritas' troubled expression would be shown right now.
The dire need for urgency and the constant physical strain that his body was going through made Veritas want to stop and puke.
But.. he continued as he visualized the creation of the tornadoes better!
'Warmer air on the ground and cooler air aloft!'
His crimson eye glowed even brighter!
'That's it!'
Veritas stopped in his tracks, surrounded by Faceless hiding in the tall outgrown grass. Veritas sensed all of them catching up near him but he was not worried at all.
He stared at the great mountain of corpses in the distance, carefully calculating how far it was from him.
Then, his mouth suddenly filled up with air, his words seemed all too powerful to let out!
"Fearsome cyclones in the wild! Relentlessly forceful, the storm's child! Change the tide, O, Mighty Winds! Summon the wrath of the Whisperer!"
The winds grew silent, and the surface went dim. Veritas felt his sixth sense vanish as the ground trembled in force.
Suddenly, he saw the overgrown grass, swaying and occasionally switching directions.
Veritas saw a miniature cyclone a distance in front of him. It spun and moved around, carrying the remnants of the cut grass with it.
'Did I.. fail?'
Veritas felt dejected seeing the baby tornado right in front of him. He had the right visualization and imagination, but was it not enough for him to conjure a large-scale tornado? Was his Soul not abundant enough to conjure a devastating cyclone?!
So.. did he risk it all for nothing?
Veritas smiled widely and laughed.
"No! I didn't risk it all to become nothing!"
He continued:
"Rise up, mighty wind! And conquer everything in your path!"
Immediately, the miniature cyclone grew massively in size!
It scaled up to be taller than the mountain right in front of him, it pulled everything that was near it.. including Veritas!
Two more large-scale vortexes rose up in the distance and swallowed everything with it.
Veritas the essence of his Soul immediately ran out. He stabbed the Wind Blade on the ground and kneeled, steeling his body so as to not get consumed by his own Tornadoes.
The three massive tornadoes went straight in the direction of the mountain. Veritas saw grasses, and Facelesses got swallowed by the Winds, he felt relieved but his exhaustion weighed down his body.
Yet instead of being in pain, Veritas dismissed his mask, revealing a face of detest, resentment, and.. fury.
Suddenly, a new line of text engraved itself on Veritas' runes.
[4. Wrath of the Whisperer
- Using this skill will immediately summon 3 tornadoes that will consume everything in its path. In exchange, you will be faced with an insurmountable amount of wrath. ]