Chapter 12:

50 Days After Winter’s Beginning

256 Days After The Ra’tok Attack Amia Village

The Valley of Ivory

The Siege of Tarna

The clang of metal being hit, along with chirping screeches of rage fill the air. The breeze of night blows a miasma of fresh blood and smoke through the air. Screams echo off the stone walls and the sounds of battle claw at the night.

My black clothed fist tightens around the shaft of my spear as I bring it up in front of me. I can feel the grain of the wood rubbing against my palm, I still marvel at being able to feel through the cloth. My eyes scan the street for enemies, but I see none.

Moving through a filth ridden alley, I can see the gate.

Warriors are fighting back a horrid wave of monsters, flashes of lightning from those on the Talri clan’s path.

How do I find the Controller?

I move back into the alley, contemplating how to get past the gates and into the monster horde.

First, I need to find where the Controller is.

I move across the street, intent on getting up the stairs for a better view on the wall.

As I get to the stairs near the gate, moving past the massive amount of soldiers holding the horde of monsters back, I find people making their way off the wall in a hurry.

It takes me a moment to realize what is happening. Their abandoning the walls.

A wrathful and bestial roar interposes itself over the screaming and chirps. I look up at the wall, taking an involuntary step back.

Flying from the wall, a soldier shrieks in terror. He lands with a meaty crunch a few feet away from me, his screams cutting off as his neck is broken.

Unholy-

Movement form something large up at the top of the wall pulls my attention away from the corpse. I can see a large monster, jagged, stone like spikes protruding from it’s back. A massive tail that cracks at the air, a protrusion of sharp stone at the end. It has the head of a bear, but covered in scales and long tusks jut out from it’s jaw. A set of four eyes, two on each side, glow a dim gray. It has two huge, muscled forearms that it walks on, with four fingered claws.

It lets out a roar, picking up a warrior and crushing him in it’s hand, blood spurting out of the man’s mouth as he dies. Arrows and bladed weapons ping off it’s thick, stoney hide.

I watch as a neon blue lightning bolt hits the nightmare beast in the back. Electricity curls up it’s back, sparking on the spikes, then diffusing and leaving the monster unscathed.

It’s designed to take lightning blasts.

The thought horrifies me. The creatures adapted to their circumstances, being created with a way to diffuse lightning without being hurt by it. When Luran, Taras and I had been fighting the monsters in the forest, the lightning could kill them near instantly.

My thoughts scramble for someway to survive this and win the battle.

The giant monster lets out a roar as a spear lands it in the eye. Chirp screaming, the beast swipes with it’s spiked arm, sending a group of warriors tumbling off the wall.

“Retreat!” A familiar voice shouts over the din of combat. I look to my left, where Colonel Clace is running past. He is covered in blood, and his arm hangs limply at his side.

If these monsters can do that to an Steel and above, what chance do I stand against them?

I shake my head of the thought, hardening my resolve. I am not a coward.

Gripping my spear tightly with two hands, I push my way through the retreating soldiers. That chimera monster has weak spots in it’s armor. It’s already lost one eye, so that proves it can be hurt.

As I reach the top of the stairs, the resistance of people slowly stops. There is a group of warriors with shield at the top of the stairs, stopping any monsters from getting past, but still let people past.

Shoving my way between two warriors, I push past them.

One of the warriors reaches out a hand, “Hey! Are you insane?!”

Insane? I think I might just be.

Clearing the line of soldiers, I rush into the thick of the battle. Smaller chimera have scaled the walls by now, and are fighting against pockets of warriors, stopping them from getting to the stairs.

The bigger beast roars and charges farther down the wall, barreling into a group of soldiers.

Looking to one of the closer pockets of soldier, I can see that they are struggling to push their way through to the stairs.

I can help them.

Raising my spear up, I charge. A scream rips it’s way from my throat as I impale a monster that is a mix between a grasshopper and rat.

Bringing my spear around, I bat it into the side of another chimera, sending both the monsters reeling.

Pushing onwards, I slash and tear my way through the back of the monsters, eventually reaching deep enough that I am near the soldiers.

The armored warrior that I can see directly slams his shield into a large turtle-beetle chimera, pushing it away. He slashes with his sword and shuffles towards me.

The other warriors follow him, capitalizing on the path I tore through the ranks of the monsters.

Two of the chimera’s bull rush me, and I forced to hop back. One reaches out a serrated claw, slashing through my padded pant leg. Pain cuts up my leg, but I ignore it.

Stabbing with my spear, I push the twisted creature away from me and back into the group that is attacking.

I follow the warriors as they charge through the monsters, pushing their way towards the line of warriors protecting the stairs.

A lightning blast discharges over one of the guarding warrior’s shoulders, blowing a hole in the small horde of chimeras behind us.

Then the warriors reach the stairs, pushing their way past the wall of shields. Most start running down the stairs, but a few stay to reinforce the guarding group.

I don’t follow the retreating warriors, but instead stay back to hit the monsters through the shield wall. My spear stabs into the monsters, coming back out and stabbing again. And again.

Breathing hard, I move back from the wall of warriors as the last of the chimera’s are dispatched.

Taking a gulp of air, I push my way past the wall, no one tries to stop me now.

I scan the wall.

A few of the groups of warriors have already been overwhelmed, chimera’s tearing their corpses to pieces.

One of the blood covered monsters lets out s chirping screech and charges me. It is a mix between what looks like a monkey and a bat.

Leaping into the air, the creature flares its wings and extends its claws. I Bring my spear up, letting the creature impale itself on the blade.

It’s momentum carries it into me and we both go bowling into the stone brick ground.

I am forced to drop my spear, bringing my forearms up. The chimera’s claws sink into my flesh, tearing and ripping. I scream, instinctively reacting by pushing Gray katra into my arm.

The silvery runes on the cloth start glowing as bone boils out of them, forming the bone gauntlet. The chimera’s sharp claws catch on the edge of one of the plates.

It’s bat-ape like face looks confused for a second. I capitalize on the moment.

Curling my fingers into a fist, I backhand the monkey with my gauntlet, empowering the strike with katra.

The creature goes reeling, I shove it off me and pounce on it. Pinning it to the ground, I unsheath my bloody dagger and quickly stab the monster.

My dagger hits the monster on it’s collar bone, bouncing off bone.

The chimera rakes it’s claws across my stomach, tearing into my gambeson, but not reaching my flesh.

I stab down again, this time landing my hit between the monster’s ribs. I twist my blade, gritting my teeth in pain. I try to pull it out, but it has caught on bone.

The chimera struggles, trying to push me off, but I press my weight even harder, keeping it on the ground.

Giving up on pulling my dagger out, I send an empowered punch into the creatures nose.

It lets out a chirping squeal and keeps on trying to get through my gambeson.

I curl my right hand into a claw, and bring it down. The bone claws on the tips of my fingers dig into the chimera’s skin and I rip downwards, tearing gashes in the creature’s face.

The monster tries to rip at my eyes, but I bat it’s claws away. Straightening my fingers, I pierce downwards.

My empowered hit smashes into the creature’s face, my claws digging into it’s left eye.

It is a sicking feeling, the resitance and my finger’s being inside it, but I dig them deeper, moving past it’s eyeball and deeper into it’s skull.

The chimera withers under me, hitting wildly, but I ignore it’s strikes.

I reach something thick, a resistance, but I push through it. With a wet pop, I feel my fingers slide into its brain.

The chimera convulses on the ground, no longer trying to kill me.

Looking at my hand, half in the creature’s skull I feel sick. Bile tries to force its way up my throat, but I gulp down the burning liquid.

The many wounds inflicted on the creature’s body ooze grey goo instead of blood, but it’s not much of an improvement.

I start to extract my fingers from the dead chimera’s skull, but it’s skin starts to bubble. Then the flesh turns a muted gray, liquefying. But instead of sloughing off, it curls up my arm.

I panic, trying to wrench my arm out of it’s corpse. It is to no avail though, the slime if holding my arm in place.

This is how I die?

I try to deny it, but I can’t. At least I saved some lives.

The Gray slime reaches the end of my bone gauntlet, and to my surprise, stops. I can feel a crushing pressure on my arm and scream.

I watch as the slime keeps moving, but not up my arm. It rushes into the bone gauntlet, a massive amount of energy spilling into my arm.

Then the runes on the black cloth start to glow, shining brightly. The gauntlet greedily consumes the energy, absorbing it and stopping it from ravaging my very being.

The pressure recedes as the slime is fully absorbed.

I am left gasping for air, trying to comprehend what just happened. But I can hear the chirping screech's from around me, so I grab my dagger and spear and stumble to my feet.

The chimeras have focused on me now, looking at me hungrily.

I bring my spear up, and my attention is caught by my hand. The bone gauntlet has become segmented, the plates thicker, allowing for better movement with maximum protection. I can see the glow from the silvery runes from under it, letting out streams of light between the cracks, along with a trickle of my blood.

One of the nightmare beasts lunges at me, and I bat it’s attack away with my spear.

I’m surrounded, no time to get distracted.

There is a roar, and from the smoke that obscured further down the wall, a huge shape lumbers out. It’s the grizzly chimera.

The monster’s scales are broken, and gray ooze cover’s its wounds. The entire left side of its face is charred, flaming oil dripping off it.

It quickly notices me. The twisted beast’s pupils constrict and it lets out another, rage filled and chirping roar, charging towards me.

Oh gods!

I start running, trying to get to the stairs, but I’m surrounded on all sides by chimera’s. They circle me with caution, the one’s near the giant chimera throwing themselves out of it’s way. The slow ones being trampled under the beast’s charge.

If I’m going to die here, then best to go out with style.

I pour what little katra I have left into my hands, following it up with the fire aspect Gray, pooling it in my hands. I push the katra in my left hand into my spear, igniting the blade. My right, armored hand bursts into flame, Gray Fire katra licking out from between the plates and mixing with the silvery light.

Brandishing my spear, I swipe, trying to clear my path to escape. But it is in vain, the creatures instead screech and charge me.

I hit and push as many as I can, trying to keep them off me, but they are too many. In seconds I’m swarmed, claws scratching, teeth gnawing, tails whipping and beedy gray eyes glaring. The chimera’s crawl onto me, tearing rips in my gambeson and clawing at my face.

I scream and a claw rips open my cheek, falling to the ground under their combined weight.

Then the big monster is on top of me. With prejudice, it barrels into me and the pile of monsters on top of me, scattering them and sending them flying, along with me.

All the bodies took the brunt of the charge, but I still go flying several feet, landing in a bloody heap.

My vision is spinning, and everything is blurry. Pain claws at my body, and I know that I am dying. Bleeding out quickly.

I try to look around, but I can’t focus. I hear something big approaching, the giant chimera.

My eyes settle on a shattered corpse of a monster. It’s fur and feathered hide bubbles, slowly sloughing away into a gray goo.

I’ll take as many as I can with me.

With a great heave, I roll onto my shredded stomach, my clawed gauntlet reaches out painfully slowly. I dig my fingers into the slowly dissolving corpse.

The slime vibrates as it touches my hand, and then starts sliding into my gauntlet, crawling between the cracks in the bone plate.

Darkness licks at the edges of my vision as I cough up bloody phlegm.

I can feel the crushing pressure now in my hand as the slime is quickly absorbed.

This time I don’t let the gauntlet take all of the Gray katra that made up the chimera, directing a small stream into my arm. It stings my channels, but I push it through and into my core.

The gray goo is completely absorbed, and the foreign Gray katra is curled with the few drops of my normal Gray katra, inside my core.

With a desperate gasp, I pull all the gray katra from my core and shoot it into my body, lighting up all the Gray crystals that cover my entire being.

It is a massive surge of power, and I feel immortal. With a burst of strength, I push myself off the stone bricks, stained with my blood.

I look at the looming figure of the giant chimera, as it looks down on me. It’s tusks are an inch from my face, bodding up and down with it’s labored breaths.

Die with honor, die a warrior, not a coward.

My spear is gone and I don’t know where it is. So in an act of unthought desperation and anger, I bring my right arm up. Then I clock the chimera right in its nose, the rush off power flowing from my arm and exploding outward.

There is the howl of the wind, as the Gray katra from within my body escapes from my fist, and blasting into the chimera.

The beast recoils, chirp screaming in pain and clawing at its snout.

All the energy in my body that made me feel invincible leaves in an instant. It leaves me weak kneed, and I fall forward. I don’t even have the strength to catch myself.

I hit the ground with a muted thump, coughing up blood.

Well… atleast I went out with a bang.

With great effort, I strain my muscles to move my head. My cheek scrapes against the rough ground, as I look at the giant chimera.

It is rubbing its nose, glaring murderously at me.

I think I made it angrier.

Opening it’s maw, the monster lets a roar rip from its throat. Then it lumbers forward, bringing a huge, scaled and clawed paw up above my head.

Then it bring it down.

There is a brilliant flash of blue light, and the crack of lightning. My ears ring from the blast.

When I blink the spots from my eyes, I can see the twisted bear lizard reeling. A armored figure stands before it, body crackling with lightning. Sparks fly of his metal armor, streams of lightning clawing at the ground.

With a mighty scream, the figure bursts forward.

They smashes their shield into the chimera’s sensitive nose, cutting deep into the beast’s giant shoulder. There is another crackle as lightning discharges into the creature’s body, but it doesn’t seem to do much. The flesh smokes, but I can see the spikes on the creature’s body absorbing the lightning.

I sputter out in confusion, bloody phlegm stuck to my lips, “Vi...car?”

He doesn’t hear me, stuck in a ferocious battle between the chimera. Every strike he hits, lightning crackles and there is the sharp scent of ozone in the air, mingling with burned flesh and blood.

Darkness claws at the edges of my vision, trying to drag me into unconsciousness. I fight it, I need to see.

There is another flash of light, as Vicar’s sword slices through the monster’s whip like tail. With the searing of flesh, the appendage flops off, leaving only 3 feet of tail left.

The chimera screech's and tries to claw Vicar’s back, but he ducks under the swing. The monster backhands him, but he is able to get his shield in between himself and the attack.

The Elder warrior goes flying back, but stays on his feet somehow. There is a large dent in his metal slab of a shield.

I try to reach out a hand to him, to tell him to run, but he doesn’t look at me. Completely focused on the monster. His voice rings out of his helmet, a metal echo from his face plate in his voice, “Stay down, Kardin.”

With a crackle and flash of lightning katra, he is swinging his sword at the monster. It brings up it’s spiked forearm, Vicar’s blade slicing through the stone spikes.

I’m dying. I won’t survive this. Even if he wins, I’ll have already bled out.

With a slow look around, trying to find some way to survive. There are the scattered, and melting corpses of the chimera’s all around me.

I dig my boney claws into the stone bricks and drag myself forward with a heave. Pain blossoms in my chest, but I ignore it.

After what feels like a eternity, I reach the nearest corpse. It’s nearly completely melted, the puddle of Gray slime already trying to escape.

With a pained breath, I impale the slime on my claws, trapping the slime. It twists up my arm, and I direct as much of the powerful, dense Gray katra into myself.

My body surges with strength, but I can feel myself with one foot in the grave already.

I push myself to my hands and knees, crawling to the next corpse. I plunge my clawed gauntlet into it, absorbing the slime and gritting my bloody teeth through the pressure.

There is another surge of power, the katra flowing through the shattered channels and into my body.

Stumbling to my feet, pain lances up my shredded legs, but I endure it. With a shaky step forward, my fuzzy and addled mind tries to think of what to do.

I can’t fight like this.

My clouded mind turn inwards, to my core. The jagged surface of it is still there, and when I peer inside my core, it is empty. Not a drop of katra remains.

I need more Gray katra.

Stumbling over to a corpse that has completely liquefied, I throw myself onto the slime, stabbing my gauntlet into it. The Gray goop spirals up my arm and into my gauntlet.

I blink my blurry eyes, swiping blood out of them with my left hand. My entire arm and shoulder is now engulfed by the gauntlet. The bone has seeped through the tatters of what was my gambeson, and hardened. Creating thick, segmented plates. The only openings are those for joints.

I am so enamored with the transformation my arm went through, that I barely notice when the Gray slime is completely absorbed.

Every single labored breath is excruciatingly painful.

My body is bursting with power, but I can barely move it. Just about every inch of my skin is sliced or bruised. I think several of my ribs are broken, and that those things hanging out of my stomach are my intestines.

How am I still standing?

I take the strands of the dense, Gray katra from my core and push them towards my gut. If the Controller can patch together different animals with it, what’s stopping me from stitching myself back together with it?

The Gray katra reaches where my gut is slowly falling out of me. I push the katra out of my body.

Little, ribbon like strands slowly form from around the wound. With all my concentration, I move them like I would the cloth tentacles of my arm. I make them wrap around the bits of intestine hang out of me, slowly, and exructationgly painfuly, pulling them back into my body.

I curl up into a ball on my side, gritting my teeth through the pain.

There is a loud explosion somewhere behind me, but I ignore it.

The ribbons finish pulling the remnants of what was my small intestine back into my body. I command them to put it back into what I think is the right shape. But I’m not a healer, so I don’t know if I did it right.

Once my organs are settled in place, I start forming ribbons around were they are severed, slowly stitching the parts back in place. The entire process burns, the pain so much that I can barely feel it, my brain blocking it out.

The strands wrap around themselves, pulling the strands of my small intestine back together. Once they are finished, I melt them down, forming something like a glue that holds them in place.

That used a lot of it.

WIth a groan, I start crawling to the next corpse that is near me.

I nearly get trampled by the giant chimera, but it ignores me, locked in battle with Vicar. From the brief glimpse I get of him, I can see that he is missing parts of his armor, and is bleed. But he doesn’t look hindered in the least, calmly leading the twisted beast away from me.

I plunge my clawed gauntlet into the melted corpse, grasping the onto the slime. I pull it to my chest, as it is greedily sucked up by my gauntlet. With the river of dense Gray katra that I pull away from the flood that is pouring into my hand, I direct it to my stomach.

With it all pooled there, I push it out of me, creating more ribbons of dark, Gray katra. I start stitching together the remnants of my abdominal muscles and skin, filling in the parts that are missing with the katra.

Once I am finished, I am left gasping for air. Not done yet.

With what's left of the Gray, I send it to my chest and ribs. I command it to materialize, and there is a tingling, and fuzzy feeling inside my chest.

Closing my eyes, I move my mind’s eye down to my chest. I can’t exactly see, but I can feel what's wrong. Everything, and I mean everything, is bleeding. Three of my ribs are broken, and one of them is scraping up against my right lung.

Grimacing at what I’m about to do, I make the ribbons of Gray curl around the rib near my lung. Then I jerk it back into place.

I gasp in pain, my own voice failing me. But I keep going, jerking the last two back into place, each time screaming soundlessly.

Once that is done, I direct the ribbons to start sealing up the many holes tears in my muscles and organs in my chest. I can’t do anything about the blood that as already escaped, but I do staunch the flow enough to make it less threatening.

There is a angry roar and I open my eyes, straining to find Vicar. I eventually spot him further down the wall.

Where’d all the smaller chimera’s go?

Then I look at the other side of the wall.

The town is on fire, smoke spiraling into the air. It reminds me eerily of my own village burning.

I crawl to my legs, standing shakily.

My entire frame is wracked by pain, but I suppress it, pushing it to the back of my mind.

I slowly make my way towards where Vicar is locked in battle with the giant chimera.

The chimera is looking worse for wear. Many of the spikes it uses to conduct and diffuse the lighting are broken. It’s scales have scorch marks in them, along with many deep cuts. But for all that…

Its regenerating.

I can see it happening. Lick with what I did, but instead of ribbons, it is a more messy gry blood that is doing it. It is slowly sealing and repairing the monster, though it looks like it can’t do much for it’s missing tail.

It smashes a punch into Vicar’s dented and scratched shield, eliciting a grunt from him. But he cuts along the thing’s arm, sending another jolt of electricity into it.

If I don’t help him, he’s going to lose.

I could tell, while right now Vicar only seemed a little out of breath, his endurance wouldn’t be able to outpace the chimera’s healing abilities. This was a fight of attrition, and the chimera is winning.

Scanning the ground, I find the shredded remnants of what used to be a soldier. I bend over with a wince and pick up his bloody spear.

I nearly puke at the sight of his severed hand still gripping tightly to the wooden shaft. With shaky hands, I pry the fingers from the spear and drop it on the ground.

My muscles are spasming from pain, but I push through it. Taking a step forward, I take another one, and before I know it, I am running.

A scream rip’s itself from my throat as I plunge my spear into the chimera’s back.

I don't stop thought, instead I let go of the spear and run into the creature’s back. I grab onto one of the shattered spike’s, pulling myself up onto it’s scaly hide.

The beast thrashes, roaring in rage. It reaches its giant, clawed hand around, trying to dislodge me. But Vicar captilizes on it’s mistake, slashing at it’s neck.

I heave myself up the monster’s back, bringing my armored arm back. Then I plunge my hand into the back of the monster’s neck, digging them deep,

Vicar’s sword open’s a large gash in the chimera’s throat. He hop’s back, avoiding a swing.

Wiggling my fingers deep into the creature’s thick, scaly hide, I feel the tips of my fingers scratch it’s spine. I curl them around it, and with the last vestiges of my empowered strength, wrench it towards me.

There is a spray of gray blood as the monster’s spine is pulled out of alignment.

It lets out a deep, bellowing, chirping roar as it collapses onto the bloody stone bricks.

I pull my bone clawed fingers out ot the creature with a meaty and wet squelch, tumbling off it’s back.

Looking at Vicar, I watch as he approaches the monster.

It takes me a second to realize why he isn’t paying attention to me. Gods! The thing’s still alive!

It can’t move, and even with the massive gash in its throat, the creature is breathing heavily. It’s dim glowing eyes glare at me.

Vicar raises his sword above the chimera’s head, holding it in two hands. Then he swipes downward.

It is a clean cut, severing the scaled grizzly head from the monster’s body. The only sound is that of flesh ripping.

The head plops onto the ground, quickly starting to liquify.

Forcing myself to stand, I plunge my clawed arm into the corpse, absorbing it as it liquifies. I can no longer feel the pressure on my arm anymore, either from my mind blocking out pain or something else.

My eyes wander to my arm. It is now fully encased in bone plate, perfectly fitting to my arm. It almost feels like my own skin.

It takes my brain a second to realize that the bone has spread. It now fully encases my chest, covering it. My stomach now too, is armored by what looks like some kind of flexible bone, small plates fitted into it. And it's still growing.

I watch as the bone plate seeps in between the shredded fibers of my pants, forming a hard carapace of bone over them. It already have way down my thighs.

I am drawn from my fascination by Vicar. He walks over to me with a slight limp. His metal armor is dented, many pieces missing. Looking at me, I can see his neon blue glowing eyes, “We have to get out of here. You can explain later.”

I follow his gaze to he now half absorbed corpse of the giant chimera. The Gray slime spirals up my arm, flowing between the cracks in my armor and deep into my black clothed hand.

My thoughts feel slow, and fragmented. Did I get another concussion?

I try to pull my arm out, but the slime holds me fast, not letting me go till it is all absorbed.

“I-I can’t. It has to finish,” I say, looking at Vicar and trying to make out his expresion from under his full face plate.

He only nods and turns to look over the wall and into Tarna.

A number of buildings are on fire, and I can see soldiers fighting the hordes of monsters in the streets below. From what I can see, they are only slowing the advance of the chimeras.

I glance at Vicar, letting my question slip from my clouded mind and onto my tongue. “Why? Why did you come back?”

He doesn’t answer fo a while, but then looks at me. “I saw something in you when we first met. I didn’t understand it at first, but now I do. I think that you might just be what this world needs. You have the potential for great good and worse evil.”

It takes a minute for me to process his words. “You’re saying you think I can save the Empire?”

Vicar doesn’t answer me, he doesn’t get a chance.

There is an literal earth shaking chirp-screech. It booms from over the wall, and I wince at the sound, wanting to cover my ears.

A massive shapes crawls over the edge of the wall.

It looks like some twist amalgamation of a dragon, formed from various parts of animals. It’s head is that of a horse, but scaled and feathered, with sharp, knife like teeth. A crown of twisted and jagged horns poke out from above its head. It’s back is covered in a forest of thin, black spikes. A spiked tail whips behind the creature, cutting a gash in the stone work of the wall. Huge, two clawed fingers tip it’s wing’s, which are folded up against its arms. The entire monster is covered in gray feathers and scales.

I know immediately what it is. The Controller.

I recognize it’s claws and tail from the first time I had the weird dream. Only now it is far larger.

The monster turns its long, serpentine head to look at me. It’s gray glowing eyes bore into me hungrily.

The gauntlet finishes absorbing the slime, and my arm drops limply to my side.

Vicar brings up his battered shield, stepping in front of me. “Run!”

He burst forward in a crackle of lightning, not even waiting for me to answer. He smashes into the dragon-like chimera, a blazing comet of lightning.

I squint my eyes, stumbling back.

How am I going to kill that?

Everything seems hopeless, I have nearly died twice, and by all right should be dead. I had to literally stitch and glue my organs back together, what chance do I have?

But then again, my chances against the assassins was low, and facing down the horde of chimeras was even slimmer.

I look down at my arm, the bone having nearly completely covered my body. My left arm and, and half my left leg are un-armored. I clench my fist, Vicar stood no chance if I didn’t absorb the monster after it dies, or else it could probably just reform.

Grabbing the spear I used before up from the ground, I turn to look at Vicar and the Controller chimera.

He is crawling on the monster’s back, stabbing it and slicing off the lightning conducting spikes.

The monster shrieks, and rears up. With a chirping roar, it flaps its wings and starts batting them.

I start running, my empowered legs launching me forward. I feel a dull pain in them, but I ignore it.

Reaching the Controller, I leap off the ground, stabbing my clawed fingers into its back leg. Then the monster is in the air.

Digging my fingers into its scaly hide, I am forced to drop my spear to get a better grip. My weapon plummets bellow me, landing with a clatter.

I start climbing up the monster’s leg, scaling it slowly. My hair flutters in the wind, as the chimera whirls in the air, trying to shake us off.

I slowly claw my way up the the creature’s back, digging tightly into it’s hard flesh. I can see Vicar crouched low on it’s back, cutting apart it’s flesh.

I crawl my way towards him, the wind tearing at me, trying to send me spiraling off the Controller’s back. I grab and handful of it’s feathers, pulling myself closer to Vicar.

He looks at me for a second, but turns back to his butchering of the monster, slowly cutting a hole in it.

“You can’t kill it without me!” I yell, but my words are ripped from my mouth, Vicar not able to hear me.

There is another ear shattering chirping roar, and the controller chimera straightens out.

Why did it stop?

I glance at Vicar, and my gaze is caught by the wound he has inflicted on the monster. A dark gray goop seeps up from the cuts, forming into tendrils. They snake across the beast’s back, trying to get to me and Vicar.

The Elder warrior slices the ones that grasp for him in half, while I ineffectively bat them away with my armored hand.

One manages to wrap around my hand, pulling me closer to the pool of goo. I twist my arm, grabbing the tendril in a backwards grip.

I dig my knees into the thick, plated scales of the chimera’s back and pull. There is resistance, but the thin tentacle snaps a moment later. It whips into my chest, plinking harmlessly off my bone chest piece.

The tendril starts to dissolve, but my gauntlet greedily absorbs it.

So it needs to be detached from the beast for my gauntlet to absorb it?

I nearly go tumbling off the back of the chimera, but am able to plunge my clawed fingers into its scales. The monster has turned itself, trying to shake us off again.

I watch as Vicar sends a discharge of lightning into the controller chimera’s back. His sword is in between the monster’s vertebrae, and I watch as it starts thrashing and spasming.

We start plummeting out of the air. The wind howls past, tearing at my hair and I start to feel sick from the fall. My gut burns with pain, but I resist the urge to throw up.

Vicar looks at me and motions for me to lay flat, him doing so.

I get as low as I can without losing my grip.

Then we hit the ground.

There is a colossal boom and I am nearly thrown off. I watch as trees crack under the chimera’s weight, slowing it’s crash. Splinter of wood tink off my skin, some sticking.

Then it is over, and my head is spinning.

I look to where Vicar is. He’s already standing and sprinting up the monster’s spine, going towards it’s head.

Pushing myself to my feet, I follow behind him. My entire body is screaming at me to stop, I can feel that I am near my limits of endurance, but I don’t care.

The massive chimera lurchs, and i’m thrown from it’s back at the unexpected movement.

I tumble onto the ground, landing painful on my side. Air is forced out of my lungs from the impact, and I am left coughing for oxygen.

Once I have caught my breath, I look at the Controller. It is just starting to get to its feet, it’s roar of rage mixed in with chirps.

The beast bring’s its back leg up and I roll out of the way before it smashes me. Scrambling to my feet, I run a good distance from it.

Turning around, I watch as the monster forms more tendrils on it’s back, trying to force Vicar off. But He stands his ground, blocks and cutting them.

Then the chimera’s arm twist’s grotesquely, reaching behind it’s back.

I watch in horror as Vicar tries to dodge it, but he can’t He is surrounded on all sides by the tendrils. Then the claw wraps around him, dragging him off the chimera’s back.

It brings him around to it’s head, looking at him with it’s slitted pupils.

Vicar struggles in its grasp, lightning bursts flashing off his battered body, but it has little effect on the chimera, as the spikes on the back of its arm absorb the electricity.

I am frozen, unable to move.

Vicar’s emotionless face plate turns to me. Then he simply nods.

NO!

I watch as blue lightning pours from his eye’s, crackling over the plate mail. It bursts from under his body, shining brightly.

Then the chimera throws him into its maw, swallowing him whole.

I run forward, reaching out a hand, my brain not accepting what just happened.

Then the Controller’s chest starts glowing neon blue.

This can’t happen! NOT AGAIN!

I trip, my legs giving out from exhaustion.

The chimera starts thrashing, clawing at it’s chest. The monster screeches, glaring at me in rage.

Then lightning burst out of it’s chest, expanding explosively. The neon lightning ravage the monster’s insides, crackling across it’s flesh and cooking it alive.

The Controller crashes into the ground, thrashing in its death throes.

After what feels like an eternity, the twisted monster stops moving, and lays still.

I am on my knees, looking at it uncomprehending.

He-he shattered his core.

A sacred Artist can shatter his core, purging the type of katra from his system. If one becomes powerful enough, and if they shatter their core, it can become explosive. It is not a guarantee that the sacred artist will survive, and more often than not, they don’t.

I watch dumbly as the chimera starts to melt.

Then I snap back to reality.

Stumbling to my shaky legs, I move forward. My entire body is screaming in pain, and I feel close to passing out.

As I approach the corpse, I ready my bone gauntlet, twisting my fingers into a claw.

With a vengeful scream, I plunge my hand into the slime. My gauntlet glows with a silvery light, the Gray slime curling up my arm. Then my hand starts greedily drinking it up.

The pressure is crushing, but I grit my teeth through it.

It’s happened all over again. I was too weak to save him.

My thoughts spiral faster and faster, sliding deep into the darkness of my pain, loss and rage. I feed my emotions to the roaring bonfire in my chest, not wanting to feel them.

I fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face.

Then a pained, grief stricken scream rips itself from my throat.