SHATTER!!
Layers of crystals and glass broke. Three figures plummeted from the massive hole in the ceiling, only to be immediately met with massive crystals that stopped their descent.
Albeit not in a very gentle manner.
"Argh!"
Blood splatted from Sine's back, the hundreds of crystals and mirrors cutting into every inch of his skin.
Sine held Ariet and Ash close as he took the brunt of the fall, shredding his skin in the process.
HIs screams echoed throughout The Myriads, alerting the countless horrors spanning the area.
THUD!!
"Ughhhh..." Sine rolled over, letting go of Ash and Ariet, and coughed.
Luckily, the ground of The Myriads was a black sand that slightly lessened the fall, though it still made him lose his breath. He opened his eyes, getting a good look at the stellar environment.
Black mirrors floated in the air, reflecting the purple glow of the crystal pillars that covered the terrain.
Unique structures spanned the sand, a pale wood and crystal lining detailing the basic constitution.
'Okay...'
Sine took a deep breath and grabbed Ash and Ariet. His muscles in his legs coiled, and he burst forward with a newfound speed.
The nearest structure was only a few kilometers away, the only thing that was in between him and the ruins was a long expanse of black sand...
and riddled with bones.
"Are some of those human bones..?"
It was like a graveyard, bones were scattered across the ground, human and monster skulls alike.
A shiver went down ran down his spine.
A growl emanated from a nearby crystal, and a hunched over obsidian beast stepped out from behind it.
Drool fell from its maw, two large teeth protruded from its lower jaw, and a savage glint was filled with murderous intent from its bulging eyes.
'A low-level Pestilent One... how can I be so unlucky?!'
Let's run through this real quick. A high-level tier is on (or should be) a similar level to the low-level of the next tier (for monsters). For humans, a low-level Pestilent One is years stronger than a high-level Blighted One.
But the only reason a high-level Blighted One is comparable to a low-level Pestilent One, is because it's abilities are usually more unique, and has more intelligence. The Pestilent monster itself has higher base stats than a high-level Blighted One.
And Sine, a Nightmare, was supposed to face the Pestilent.
'C-Crap!'
Sine dropped Ash and Ariet and summoned The Pole just in time, the monster was already upon him, its muscles rolling under the charred skin, a black mane wrapped around its strange head.
A white tongue slithered out of its mouth, licking its lips tauntingly.
"Tch"
Sine hit it, but it was no good, The Pole didn't do much damage, if any at all. So he had a plan.
'If one hit doesn't hurt it, then maybe two will.'
Sine had decided to target the things chest, right where a normal human's sternum was located.
A deadly battle, mainly for Sine, had started. The thing wasn't as fast as the abominable feather creature, but it certainly was fast. It wasn't as strong either.
'I could win!'
Sine grinned, his movements getting faster and more erratic. The thing roared, and its tongue wrapped around The Pole, pulling Sine to the ground.
'Oh no'
CRACK!
Splinters formed in Sine's ribcage as he was sent tumbling back, the creatures kick, luckily, not killing him instantly.
However, blood splattered from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back momentarily, before he regained control and found balance with his weapon.
'Whew-'
Sine's gaze trailed upwards from the dark sand, locking onto his target. His platinum-eyes tracking every movement it makes, possibly before it even makes it.
That's why Sine turned the tables.
A shrieking noise pierced the silence as the Pestilent creature who charged him thrusted its muscular arm forward with devastating force, but Sine simply used that to his advantage.
After all that time of observing Kale and his fighting style, though he may be dead now, it helped him extremely with forming the base of his legacy (battle art).
Sine used every bit of momentum that the creature put into its slash, and threw it back. A white crack formed in its chest and blood spilled out of it.
The creature didn't know what happened, for when it connected with The Pole, its arm suddenly lost all power, and every bit of movement it put into the slash was gone.
The bulging eyes that were filled with hunger and malice, were now filled with weariness.
'Okay then...'
Jumping up and down, Sine started to spin his Pole, the air beating like a hammer, yet this time, cleaner and more focused.
And much deadlier.
[You have formed a new Legacy.]
[Legacies: (Cadence)]
'What? A new section..?'
Sine shook his head, not allowing himself to get distracted.
"...Come at me fucker."
Oooooh he curseeed
The amalgamation of charred muscles blasted towards him in a frenzy, each swing lethal to Sine, yet he dodged and parried each and every strike. The creature kept tallying up injuries, cracks forming all around its obsidian skin.
It screamed and doubled its speed, massive appendages covering Sine's entire vision.
But he didn't lose focus.
His platinum-eyes saw through the nasty barrage of attacks, weaving and blocking each and every one of them. His bones were popping and his muscles were screaming in agony, but he pressed on.
A desperate blur of motion filled the Pestilent One's body, aiming to kill Sine.
But he was outmatched.
The creature gambled, taking a big swing to kill Sine in one hit, but that was its biggest mistake, since Sine had mastered the basics of his legacy.
He stamped his foot into the sand and shifted his weight, The Pole meeting the massive bulging arm at the peak of its swing.
The moment the two forces collided, Sine simply pulled all force that the creature applied to its arm out of it, and wrapped it around his body.
He rotated his torso, sending the energy he had absorbed with his body in constant motion as it traveled to the tip of The Pole.
BOOM!
With a final gasp, the creature exploded into shards of a mirror.
"Bleghh-"
Sine threw up blood everywhere, staining the black sand with a dark red. He smiled, wiping his mouth.
'I feel a lot stronger, but I don't feel like I've evolved... let me check.'
[Title: ???]
[Name: Sine Shyma]
[Rank: Nightmare]
[Resonators: The Pole]
[Abilities: (Dreamless)(Visionary)]
[Legacy: (Cadence)]
[Journey: Being written]
'My rank hasn't increased? But I thought if my achievements were significant enough that I would increase in class.'
Sine pondered for a moment, then sighed, focusing his attention onto the two unconscious bodies of Ariet and Ash.
'When are these guys gonna wake up!?'
With a groan, Sine walked over to them and picked them both up, walking over to the structure he was previously travelling to.
As he treaded in the black sand, the magnificent ruins started to become more and more detailed as he got closer, the pale wood, a stark contrast to the black background made it a beautiful scene.
'It's a hexagon...'
But Sine couldn't really admire its beauty, since everything he's done since falling into The Myriads was be loud, so he was definitely in trouble.
He dived in through an opening and hid inside the building, his platinum-eyes pierced the darkness to find no monster awaiting his arrival, but he did hear commotion outside.
'So they finally arrived huh..?'
Sine peeked from the cracked wood to see a multitude of monsters charging the area he fell, some of them ripping others to shreds, others simply retreating sensing the danger.
'I would have been in trouble if I had been even a few seconds late...'
He sighed and leaned his head against the wall, his muscles and ribcage aching from the terrible trials and battles he had just gone through.
'Ah, yeah I'm blacking out'
And with that, Sine became lightheaded. If he really wanted to, he could've fought against it, but there was no point.
Sine fell asleep.