The rain poured relentlessly, accompanied by the rumbling of thunder across the sky, as if the heavens themselves were protesting over the presence of this monstrous whale. Yet the creature paid no mind, chewing on its fresh prey with indifference. If not for the thunder, one would have been able to hear the chewing sound as its teeth pierced through the bodies of the soldiers and mangled them, making them unrecognizable. Blood spilled from its mouth, raining down upon the earth below, blending with the storm.
A soldier on the ground, eyes fixated on the dark silhouette of the creature that was swimming through the clouds, felt something warm splatter on him. The icy rain had chilled him to the bone, so it was not becoming emotional for him and gave him the much needed warmth. This warmth was different. Wiping his face, he realized in horror that it wasn't the rain.
"Bl…ood," he muttered, his voice barely audible as it trailed off. Soon, the red color drenched everyone around him as well, like the sky itself was weeping tears of blood for the ones that lost their lives on their nameless ground. The atmosphere turned gloomy as the thunder boomed while the ground was dyed in crimson, painting the picture of a nightmare.
Fear gripped the soldiers, their nerves stretched to the breaking point. The atmosphere thickened with uncertainty, each man wondering what fate awaited them. Each gulp and breath became audible, exerting extra pressure on their already bent shoulders.
Suddenly, a colonel from the alliance—an advanced realm expert Colonel Arden, draped in full body armor—snapped them out of their daze with a single, commanding word: "Retreat." This word pierced through the gloomy world, becoming a ray of hope. The soldiers, as if their souls had returned to their bodies, turned and fled, desperate to escape the nightmare.
From Iron'Heits, soldiers atop the walls watched the retreat with cheers of relief, hugging each other as if they themselves had driven the enemy away. But their joy was short-lived when Collum silenced them with words as cold as ice: "Do you want to call that thing into the city?"
His words brought a chill to the air, causing everyone to shrink back, glancing nervously between the sky and the ground, terrified to even glimpse the creature again. What if it sensed them and came for them? But the whale in the sky remained indifferent, unconcerned with anyone below. It was enjoying what it had.
As the whale finished consuming its prey, its form changed once more—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it shed its deformities, becoming even more monstrous and terrifying.
A texture resembling both scales and bark covered its dark, almost black body. The myriad eyes that had once inhabited his giant eyes were replaced by two giant eyes glowing with an eerie, milky-white light. The creature's fins and tail had regenerated, and the spikes along its back were now more orderly, though still irregular, adding to its nightmarish appearance.
Just as everyone felt they were a little safe, they heard it..
Huuunnnnn*
The noise echoed through the air, turning every face that recognized it pale. The soldiers of the Alliance, who had thought themselves safe, were gripped with terror. Many turned, shivering, but were relieved when they saw the whale wasn't coming after them. Instead, the creature dispersed into a thick red mist and turned back toward the blood lake it had come out from.
As the mist reached the lake, the blood pool began shrinking, collapsing back into the small, innocuous puddle it had been before. But there was something unnatural about it—a depth that defied perception. Anyone foolish enough to step into it would be swallowed whole.
Rumble.*
Crackle.*
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbling in the sky slowed, but the rain continued to wash over the rotted ground the creature had left behind, trying to cleanse the earth. Other than the sound of rain, there was silence. Everyone held their breath, wondering where that red mist would emerge next. The creature was more dangerous in its mist and liquid form than its solid state.
Time slowly passed—seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours—but there was no sign of the monster. Many speculated that it had left, but no one was a daredevil amongst them, so they continued waiting.
Colonel Arden received orders from the council and began fortifying their defenses. They had to make proper preparations, not leaving anything to chance. The creature had just taken them by chance otherwise, they wouldn't have lost a hundred plus of their soldiers to it. The total loss was over 160.
While the Alliance soldiers were busy with their tasks, the Iron'Heits' soldiers didn't let go of this chance. They opened the city gate for the first time in almost three weeks and began building trenches, laying traps, and setting up anything that could hinder the enemy and increase their chances of survival.
They remained vigilant. In fact, many were appointed just to keep watch looking at the sky, which had stopped raining but remained covered in dark clouds, as if the world itself refused to let the sun witness its blunder. The scorched and rotted bodies the creature left behind were definitely a blunder, but was not because of it. The one who was behind it was still oblivious to this all.
Time passed, and the defenses of Iron'Heits grew stronger, but so did a new anxiety—the whale had disappeared. Where did it go? Such a giant creature can not just vanish like a puff, but no one wanted to even go near the forest now. The surveillance magic also could not find the creature anywhere.
The council made necessary preparations, providing new scrolls and items to the colonel, who distributed them among the army captains, including Captain Gremal. After ensuring everything was accounted for, the council sat back, some members even leaving to experiment on the infected they had captured. They still hadn't been able to control this headache.
Captain Gremal sat in his tent, shaking his head as bouts of dizziness came and went, leaving him lightheaded. Each episode brought intense, full-body pain, almost paralyzing him.
He hid his condition from everyone, knowing what had happened to him. If caught, the council leader would surely turn him into another specimen for their experiments. He tried using his mana to filter his blood, but it wasn't very effective, sure it could purify the blood but it wasn't able to get rid of the virus. The only solution he could think of was a complete blood replacement.
"Please, come out before I lose control," he muttered, almost begging.
He needed an experienced doctor who could help with the procedure, but there was none on the battlefield capable of such a task. Now, he could only hope he holds out long enough. His mana provided temporary relief, but Gremal's body clock was ticking.
A time bomb, enough to raze half of the army to the ground. (A/N Only because the army contained around 90 percent mortal/non-practitioners, 8 percent novice practitioners and the other 2 percent had intermediate and advanced realm experts. There were some mages, but there were not war mages.)
---
While the outside world was hectic, the same couldn't be said for the Crucible of Endurance. Other than the occasional grunt, everything was blanketed in silence. Erik sat cross-legged on a block of ice, meditating. His eyes were closed, eyebrows relaxed as he focused on tempering his muscles with mana. But there was still no end to this bottomless endeavor.
Valcroy, meanwhile, had weights strapped to his forward extended arms. One leg was stretched out, the other bent, with a cup of water balanced on his kneecap. He maintained this position, sweating profusely.
He had held this position for nearly half an hour, but his arms were growing tired, and he was starting to lose balance. The uneven, scorching hot floor only made it more difficult.
After maintaining the posture for another five minutes, he finally gave in.
Thump.*
The weight hit the ground without raising specks of dust, as if it were feather-light. The liquid, however, splashed onto the floor. Valcroy ignored it as he sat down, eyes closed, while the Revitalizing Aura surrounded his entire being. He almost moaned with pleasure, but held it in.
The aura penetrated every part of his body, filling him with energy and relaxing the throbbing muscles. This went on for a while before it gradually dissipated.
When the aura finally disappeared, Valcroy opened his eyes, stood up, and walked to the dummy. At that moment, Erik also opened his eyes. The target Erik had set for Valcroy was reached a week ago, but Valcroy felt there was still room for improvement. Today's test meant he had finally reached his limit.
Erik appeared beside him as Valcroy assumed his punching stance once more and struck the dummy with a powerful blow.
Baam*
The dummy rocked back and forth, vibrating as it absorbed the energy and began glowing. It didn't take long for the results to appear.
[120 FI]
Valcroy looked at the number and nodded in satisfaction. He had almost doubled his previous score. A small sense of pride welled up within him, but Erik squashed it in an instant by flicking the dummy with just one finger, causing a new number to appear.
[126 FI]
Valcroy stared at the number in disbelief. Why wouldn't Erik let him enjoy his victory for even a minute? Erik, however, was lost in his own thoughts, and when he snapped out of it, he noticed Valcroy sulking.
"You can start using mana to temper your body now," Erik said.
His words brought a wave of happiness to Valcroy, who nodded vigorously and sat down, eager to begin. Erik didn't mind and stayed nearby, intending to guide him through his first steps.
Valcroy meditated for a while, managing to maintain his concentration for three minutes—an impressive achievement for someone who couldn't keep his thoughts focused for even five seconds before.
Erik kept a close eye on him, furrowing his brows when he saw Valcroy's expression tighten. Wondering what happened, he placed a hand on Valcroy's shoulder and injected his mana to monitor what was happening inside. What he saw nearly made his eyebrows shoot up.
"Stop!" Erik said out loud.
Valcroy snapped out of his meditation and immediately vomited blood, almost black. But that wasn't the worst of it. As soon as the blood hit the floor, it began to corrode the surface, leaving a small hole where it had splattered.
Valcroy and Erik looked at the scene with different reactions—Valcroy full of astonishment and curiosity, while Erik frowned, trying to make sense of what was happening.
When Erik used his mana to inspect Valcroy's inner body, he had seen the stream of black mist moving around, corroding everything it touched. That was why he had stopped him.
"You—" Erik began, but he paused, narrowing his eyes as he noticed the Revitalizing Aura covering Valcroy's body. Not wasting a moment, he placed his hand on Valcroy's back to check what was going on inside, and when he saw it, something clicked in his mind.
"Is this possible?" he thought.
He had discovered a new method of body tempering, more brutal than anything he had ever heard of or it seemed that way—and he had heard of many brutal methods. He looked at the black mist, which had now settled, and realized that this was just one of its potential uses.
"How did you make that black mist move?" Erik asked.
"Black mist?" Valcroy replied, raising an eyebrow before closing his eyes to sense what Erik was talking about. But he hadn't yet unlocked his inner vision and could only feel the energy flowing inside his body.
"Isn't that mana?" Valcroy asked, clearly confused.
Erik didn't respond. He realized he might have been misinterpreting the black mist all along. As Valcroy said, it could be mana—or something else entirely. But Erik couldn't rule out the possibility that it was mana, possibly from the other world Valcroy had mentioned.
"Can you move it to your right arm?" Erik asked.
Valcroy nodded, and in the next instant, his right arm turned black as the misty mana entered it. Valcroy jumped, startled, and quickly let the mana go. He was about to ask Erik what was happening when the Revitalizing Aura appeared, repairing the damage.
Valcroy watched the process, eyebrows raised, noting how quick and painless it was. He clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling stronger than before. To test it, he struck the dummy again.
Baam!
[129 FI]
The 4 FI increase astonished both Erik and Valcroy. They stared at the number, realizing they have found a treasure of immense value. But Erik had another question in mind.
"You felt no pain when the black mist did that?" he asked.
Valcroy shook his head. He hadn't felt anything, except the sight of his arm turning black under the mist's influence. But even that was swiftly undone by the Revitalizing Aura.
Erik decided to try it himself. Sitting cross-legged, he concentrated on the black mist within him. A thought crossed his mind: "How can I control this?"
He opened his eyes and asked Valcroy, whose response only deepened Erik's confusion. "Mana has to be controlled?"
Erik didn't know what to say. Deciding to experiment on his own, he closed his eyes and prepared to tackle the mystery called the black mana.