>

>

Chilly stared at the two notifications in bemusement. The needs of his body were growing more pressing with every passing hour. At this rate he would have to actively retreat to the Undead Parish in order to get some food and water. For now, however, he would continue.

Chilly gestured to the penguins to continue leading the way down deeper into the Abyss. They happily obliged, running forwards and eagerly scouting the impenetrable darkness. Chilly calmly followed them, walking slowly with both shields raised and ready for anything. Before too long the penguins paused and formed a cordon before him. He stopped as they pointed out another Voidling’s existence up ahead. Well, presumably. All Chilly saw was the faint bubble of light from his two skills.

“Will Incinerate reach?” Chilly asked quietly. Several penguins nodded while the rest shook their heads. That prompted the first group to glare at the other and get into a silent argument, with many raised flippers and gnashing of beaks.

Chilly tacitly ignored the drama. He took a deep breath then rushed down the way towards the enemy. After three steps he planted his feet and channeled Incinerate into the murk.

Fire spat out of his open hand and banished the oppressive darkness, revealing more flat stone floor until the flames washed over a tentacled object and fanned out.

The Voidling hissed. The inky darkness composing its form sizzled and popped under the heat. Several black tendrils whipped towards Chilly, and wrapped around his shields and legs. Starfire Aegis awoke, flaring brightly and wrapping around him to burn the offending appendages. His life flickered, but wasn’t appreciably moved by the feeble assault.

>

Chilly ignored the tentacles wrapping around him, focusing on aiming Incinerate and maintaining his footing. He kept one eye on his life, but smiled victoriously when it refused to budge even after the rest of the Voidling’s tentacles lashed out.

>

The Voidling screeched. It howled in rage at the unexpected intruder as all along the lengths of its tentacles lava blades erupted. Chilly winced, despite expecting the assault, then narrowed his eyes as the constriction turned into a meat grinder. Sharp thorns of living magma cut grooves into Chilly’s arms and back. They screeched harshly over his iron shields, and lashed painfully over his scalp. The Voidling flexed its limbs ruthlessly, further tightening its hold.

>

Despite the deeply unpleasant sensation, Chilly’s life barely dipped. It dealt noticeably more damage then the level 8 Voidling he had faced before but not much more. The lava blades faded into the background as Chilly focused on damaging the monster. He needn’t have bothered. As with all the Voidlings, it attacked so fast that Starfire Aegis erupted in a conflagration of plasma streamers. A cascading wave of self propagating plasma boiled out of the cape and hungrily tore at the shadow beast’s inky flesh, so aggressively that it had a physical effect; pushing back and ripping instead of simply burning.

The main body shriveled as tentacles vaporized and lost cohesion. Lava spikes fell to the floor with wet splats causing them to deform and leave round divots in the otherwise smooth floors.

All too soon, the Voidling disintegrated in a puff of black smoke. A blue system notification popped up in the center of Chilly's vision confirming the kill.

You have slain a level 9 Voidling!

You have received 1 experience!

Chilly kicked at the dissipating liquid shadow that melted into the environment, as he appraised the notification. It retreated fearfully from his boot as if scared that the fires would continue to burn it. In a matter of moments Chilly lost sight of the Voidling’s remains, as it fused with the oppressive gloom. No essence dropped. A shame, however, he did gain a point of experience which was a far more satisfying reward.

“Well, one down,” Chilly said to the penguins. “Lead on my feathered friends.”

“Do not fear the void, it welcomes all.” said the penguin. Chilly frowned at the odd name. He was beginning to suspect that the penguins could show themselves as any name they wanted to.

“You know, when you say things like that, I start to worry that you guys have an alternative agenda.” Chilly replied. He followed some quieter penguins who seemed more trustworthy, only for his progress to halt as a penguin floating at head height appeared in his way.

“Be the vessel.” the penguin spookily intoned.

“Ahuh,” Chilly replied, skirting the floating penguin and continuing on.

The tunnel wound its way deeper into the Abyss. Periodically he and the penguins encountered more Voidlings which were taken care of easily enough. They were all alone and didn’t seem to possess the ability to work together to bring him down. It was almost surprising how easily he achieved it. Despite his wonky gear and abilities, this part of the dungeon seemed to be made for Chilly’s build. He didn’t have an intrinsic method to spot the Voidlings, but the penguins filled that niche perfectly.

He managed to collect several more Essences from the slain shadow monsters. A couple of lower rank magic Essences as well as some Essences of Regret and a single Essence of Steel. Most of the Voidlings that he encountered were level eight and therefore did not provide any experience, however he did encounter three level 9 Voidlings, and two juicy level 10 Voidlings. All that brought his experience all the way up to 8 points out of 9.

It was exhilarating to gain experience so quickly and especially against such relaxing opponents. They attacked mostly silently, which Chilly only now realized grated against his nerves, and exclusively dealt many fast weak hits. It was a joy to watch Starfire Aegis flare during every fight, and the reassurance that he wouldn’t accidentally get hit by a killing blow did much to calm him. There was just something about large blows which always made his heart jump into his throat.

One by one the Voidlings fell, and the penguins guided Chilly into a large cavern. The only indication that it was a cavern was that the walls on either side - that had been present since the Tubes - curved away. The ceiling was just a black void, and Chilly was left standing in a small bubble of light that barely extended beyond his fingertips.

The penguins obliviously entered the cavern. Chilly followed after only a slight hesitation. Any change in architecture usually heralded a different sort of challenge. He prepared accordingly. After barely a half dozen steps there were no landmarks in sight; just smooth black stone as far as his light extended.

There was something utterly terrifying about taking a step forward in complete ignorance of what would appear. It was the type of place where he could wander for eternity and never find the exit. With each step the ground remained the same; as if he had not made any progress at all. The penguins though we're still there for him. They frolicked around, dodging in and out of the bubble of light, and playing with their swords as they guided him through the uniform landscape.

He struggled with the sensation of being lost, considering briefly the merits of channeling Incinerate up into the sky to try and light up the room, but eventually decided that it was too risky. Besides, from what he had seen up until now, it wouldn’t have lit up much at all.

The penguins paused as black tentacles lashed out of the gloom. Chilly grunted and stepped back as he absorbed the blows, and channeled Incinerate towards the offender on instinct. A quick glance at his life revealed that this was a low level Voidling; the damage was too low for a higher leveled one.

>

He slid over the ground as more tentacles wrapped around him and began cutting cauterized furrows into his flesh. The main body of the Voidling appeared-

-and he adjusted his aim. A second later, it dissipated and Starfire Aegis calmed.

The penguins barely spared the low leveled Voidling - and the lack of any essence drops - a glance before they urged Chilly onwards. Chilly followed but this time made sure to watch the penguins instead of the gloom. Responding to their reactions would be far faster than trying to pierce the murk.

He tensed as the penguins grew agitated as one. A particularly industrious penguin organized several to form a tower of penguins so that the top one could see into the distance. Chilly starred in bemusement at the tower as the rest of the penguins pushed and shoved to get a chance at the top.

Chilly stared into the darkness, as the penguin tower wobbled precariously. They hadn’t reacted this way to any of the normal voidlings. Not even the two level 10s that he had encountered. That meant that something special was up ahead. Likely the sub-boss.

He glanced at the pillar of penguins and shook his head; it was 12 penguins tall and only growing. He sighed and carefully stalked forwards.

Out of nowhere a tentacle whipped out and lashed itself around his raised shield. He grimaced and braced himself, as several more tentacles whipped out and latched on to him, dragging him forwards.

>

>

He mentally prepared Flame Dash as he unleashed Incinerate down the length of the tentacles. Lava blades erupted from the three tentacles wrapped around him. They tore into him, ripping out chunks that were quickly replaced by his high regeneration. Afraid that he was missing the monster, Chilly panned Incinerate in a wide arc in the hopes of revealing where the Voidling was.

>

The meager light that Incinerate cast failed to show anything but more tentacles whipping out. Starfire Aegis flared brightly, damaging the relentless tendrils that latched onto his shield and legs. With each additional tentacle he felt the air thicken around him. His muscles struggled to move in what felt like molasses, then, as more tentacles joined, tar. A quick glance at the damage he was taking revealed that this Voidling was at least level 10. Probably higher.

>

Chilly made a snap judgment, before he could be completely restrained, and his life chipped away at. He relinquished himself to the tentacle’s incessant pull and leapt forward to close the distance with his foe. In the back of his mind he held onto the instant cast of Flame Dash in case he had to make a quick escape.

The tentacles happily obliged and pulled him closer to their source. Chilly half-ran, half-stumbled as the pull intensified. He stumbled and fell as one last tentacle wrapped around him and he acquired his tenth stack of Entangled.

>

Chilly groaned as his helmet slammed into the floor and he rolled forwards; entirely unable to restrain his fall. He blinked stars out of his eyes as Starfire Aegis grew even brighter and illuminated a massive black shape manifesting through the Murk. He quickly shot out an identify, and before even reading the message, he cast Flame Dash and vanished out of the constricting grasp of the creature.

His eyes passed over the message quickly as he rolled to his feet and began to cast Flame Dash. A second later he had placed another half-dozen meters between him and what was definitely the sub-boss that Sooty had spoken about.

Once again in a small oasis of light in a world of darkness, Chilly turned his attention to the couple of penguins who had managed to keep up for guidance. They watched the darkness eagerly. Their eyes tracking some obscured object.

A penguin gasped. Chilly leapt to the side as several powerful lava encrusted tentacles ripped into the ground where he had just been, leaving scars in the uniform floor. He rolled to his feet blasting the tentacles with Incinerate. Behind him his cape lashed out, converting his excess life regeneration into vengeful streamers of plasma. The tentacles recoiled, retreating out of sight with a shiver as smoldering embers ate away at the inky sentient liquid.

Chilly let out a deep shuddering breath as he once more watched the penguins. He carefully strafed to the side, circling the last known position of the sub-boss. His ears strained for the faint tap-tapping of Voidling tendrils repositioning. He was so focused, he barely noticed that not all the penguins were staring in the same direction. He froze, counting the directions. There were at least three ‘interesting’ objects around him. He would assume Voidlings for now.

“Which is closest,” Chilly asked the nearest penguin.

It immediately pointed directly behind him. Away from the last known location of the sub-boss.

“Voidling?”

The penguin nodded.

“Level eight?”

The penguin shook its head, pointing up.

“Nine?”

The penguin nodded.

Chilly narrowed his eyes. It had been more than four seconds since he had used Flame Dash so in a flicker of thought he cast Flame Dash directly towards the level 9 Voidling behind him.

He vanished in a flare of bright fire and materialized in the clutches of a small Level 9 Voidling. It shuddered in surprise, waves of black ooze undulating across its surface, as its tentacles twitched towards him instinctively. Chilly didn’t let the creature have time to adjust and immediately tackled it, and blasted iit with a concentrated dose of Incinerate.

He was immediately covered in layers of ripping, shredding, and constricting tentacles with teeth made of lava.

>

Instead of watching the Voidling, Chilly kept one eye on his life and the other on the penguins cheering him on. Some had their entire attention on him and the struggling Voidling, while others scanned the darkness. He focused on the latter. He waited for them to grow agitated which should herald the arrival of further danger.

>

The Penguins did not shift their attention dramatically by the time the level nine Voidling collapsed into a pool of dissipating ink.

You have slain a level 9 Voidling!

You have received 1 experience!

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

You are now Level 10

Will your status screen open to allocate your points.

You have reached a milestone!

Maximum number of augments increased by 1

The outwards facing penguins scattered, as the rapid tap-tapping of tentacles on stone reached a crescendo. Chilly dismissed the notifications and leapt to the side as black lava encrusted tentacles lashed out toward him. His position on the floor where he had wrestled the now dead Voidling, made the act difficult, causing him to flop a short distance to the side.

Several tentacles slithered tightly around his ankles and thigh, eliciting a shocked yelp as they approached his unmentionables. They immediately tightened, grinding away at his armor and life. Deep grooves cut into his legs and cauterized under the heat; his healing unable to completely fix the damage before new cuts formed.

>

Spoiler :

Chilly grunted as he was slammed face first into the floor, but didn’t bother trying to fight the pull. These tentacles obviously belonged to the sub boss. No other Voidling could so easily overcome his regeneration. He cast Flame Dash, and after a second of being brutalized, blipped out of the monster’s grasp.

The moment he landed he rolled to his feet and immediately started sprinting only to redirect himself when he came across a precariously balanced pile of penguins forming a large arrow pointing right. He skidded across the smooth floor and switched directions along the path the penguins specified. Just as he passed, the pile of penguins was dispersed by dozens of small flailing tentacles.

He grinned maniacally as he continued to create distance.

“Good one guys!” Chilly shouted. “Keep it up!”

Before the penguins could properly respond, a tentacle lashed around his waist and another wrapped his ankle. He tripped, slamming face first into the hard stone as he was dragged backwards.

>

Chilly grunted as a half-dozen other tentacles joined their brethren and smothered him in writhing lava blades. He vaguely felt himself - inside of a cocoon of tentacles - get dragged away.

>

Chilly snarled, officially done with getting tripped and pushed around. Completely immobilized he could do nothing but breathe shallowly and channel Incinerate at the offending tentacles. So that’s what he did. With his free hand he unleashed a stream of fire that pierced the fire blender he was in, and caused the underlying inky surface to shiver in silent pain.

>

The liquid darkness of the tentacles smoldered, pieces vaporizing under the intense heat that Incinerate and Starfire Aegis’s reflection effect put out. Chilly almost puked up his non-existent lunch at the smell of his burning skin.

The black tentacles began losing integrity, revealing holes in the living enclosure and allowing Chilly to glimpse the large main mass of the Void’s Last Embrace. The intense and constant melee attacks caused Starfire Aegis to light up like a miniature sun, illuminating the underside of the sub-boss in blinding light.

>

Chilly focused in on the main body of the sub-boss, switching Incinerate from his right hand to his left. The fire washed over the round orb, vaporizing the outer surface and causing undulating waves over its surface.

Chilly gasped as a particularly nasty lava blade dug into his crotch. He canceled Incinerate, and immediately cast Flame Dash. The resurgence of pain was just another signal that his life was dipping alarmingly low. With a burst of bright fire he escaped the prohibitive meat grinder, and fell limply to the floor, clutching his shredded jewels.

A penguin looked down at him curiously.

“Young immortal of Fire!” it declared.

“You and me both, brother,” Chilly squeaked, several octaves higher than normal.

Free of the constant damage, Chilly’s life rocketed upwards, regenerating all the wounds that he had taken in seconds. The restrictive slow vanished from around him and he struggled to his feet, a hand clutching his crotch protectively as he limped away warily.

Spoiler :

The boss’s tentacle enclosure collapsed in a fiery implosion of thrashing limbs. Lava spikes impaling tender charred shadow flesh to the delightful sound of sizzling. Smoldering embers shot high into the air, as the tentacles displaced the fiery inferno raging in the center of the enclosure. The transient light illuminated the sorry state of it’s main body. Sickly spots marred the once pristine surface, breaking the illusion of otherworldly depth.

The sub-boss quickly untangled it’s tentacles, but instead of turning to Chilly’s position and resuming the attack, it launched its tendrils backwards. Chilly stared dumbly, as the tentacles vanished into the gloom. A moment later, the main body got yanked out of Chilly’s small light radius.

The tell tale sound of tentacles clicking into the stone floor pulled Chilly out of his funk. He had no idea what to do. He hadn’t really planned on the boss running away from him.

The penguins however were not so indecisive. They urged Chilly to give chase to the sub-boss, with frantic jumps, gestures, and pantomimes.

Chilly got the message and hopped after the sub-boss. He kicked his leg out at the phantom pain around his crotch, as the unpleasant memory resurfaced in the no-no part of his mind.

He refocused. Whatever the boss was doing, it could not be good. Either it was low on health and was using the time to avoid certain demise, or it was retreating to gather reinforcements that would allow it to overwhelm Chilly’s defense through sheer numbers. Both options seemed likely and undesirable.

Chilly raced through the darkness, grateful that the floor was mostly smooth. The pitter patter of tentacles got farther away, so Chilly cast Flame Dash to gain some distance. He vanished, reappeared in a burst of fire and continued his mad chase through complete darkness. The penguins somehow managed to keep up despite their diminutive stature, seemingly getting more and more excited the closer he got.

He cast Flame Dash once more for additional distance, and reappeared within sight of the retreating boss. Dozens of tentacles slammed into the ground and the far-off ceiling, the creature using the two anchor points to slingshot away at an impressive clip. However, that was not all. Several sly tentacles reached out into the gloom and pulled back a struggling lower leveled Voidling. Chilly hesitated at this, wary of impromptu artillery, but his worry was unfounded. Instead of throwing the smaller Voidling at Chilly, the boss dragged the struggling monster towards its core. The moment the smaller Voidling touched the sub-bosses main body, it fused with it, and got absorbed into the mass. Wounds healed, as the smoldering embers vanished from the surface of its skin.

In a moment most of the damage Chilly had managed to accrue had vanished. Before the body of the Voidling was completely absorbed, another tendril returned, dragging an unwilling victim towards the hungry maw.

That wouldn't do at all.

Chilly cast Flame Dash and appeared directly on top of the captured level 8 Voidling. He slammed both shields around the singular tentacle, securing his grip, and channeled Incinerate as he held on tight. The tentacle thrashed and twisted but couldn't withstand the concentrated assault of Starfire Aegis and Incinerate. A second later, it snapped, dropping both him and the unwanted passenger to the ground.

Chilly barely managed to catch himself from face planting again when he was engulfed by the tentacles of the Voidling that he had just freed. It tore into his body without remorse, but despite its prodigious effort it was only level eight, and couldn’t manage to budge Chilly’s regeneration.

That didn’t mean it didn’t slow him down. Chilly froze in place with a sigh as he waited for Incinerate to clear the low leveled monster so that he could resume his chase.

A couple seconds later the Voidling collapsed and Chilly was back on his feet. He shot a glance at the penguins who were all pointing excitedly towards the direction that the boss had vanished too. Without another thought, he sprinted into the pitch black, aggressively suppressing the instinct to slow down in case a wall or other obstacle appeared. If there was such a barrier, he trusted the penguins to warn him of it. He cast Flame Dash on cooldown to gain ground on the retreating boss.

By the time he had gotten back into view of the large boss, it had consumed a half dozen smaller voidlings. Its wounds were gone; the flat, otherworldly, two dimensionality was back in full force. It towered over Chilly, easily twice if not three times as large, with additional tentacles that sported vicious lava barbs a tad larger than he was comfortable with.

Chilly flinched at the sight.

“Ahh, hell nah,” Chilly muttered.

He skidded to a stop, frozen at the unexpected sight. In the moment of indecision a half dozen far thicker tendrils lashed out at him, wrapping around his waist, shoulders, arms, and legs in a crushing embrace. They ground at his exposed skin, lava spikes sharpening to blades that left cauterized wounds which struggled to heal in their wake.

Chilly frantically cast Flame Dash, waiting the painful second for the spell to complete. He vanished in a burst of bright fire as he retreated. He stumbled, his limbs in tatters as his regeneration took hold, but managed to catch himself as he began to sprint away. He ran past several disappointed penguins, one of which was laughing openly, as he desperately tried to come up with some possible strategy to overwhelm the new, empowered version of this boss.

“Tsk you dun effed up,” The penguin grinned evilly from the side.

Behind him he heard the sharp staccato of heavy tentacles slamming into the ground as the massive monster accelerated after him.