The smoke-like cage began to tighten and boxed his heart in. In a blink of an eye, his heart was finally covered in a ghastly fog. Immediately, a portion was cut off then coalesced into thin lines of smoke that burrowed into his heart. It bore straight through and merged into his bloodstream, traveling down the entire length of his body’s veins. It settled slowly and a sickly, muddy white color began to appear in the veins of his skin.

His heart beat once, but the flow of his blood was still stale as if bogged by a mire. The fog in his veins whirled in rage.

Discal’s heart pulsed again, and the smoke-like cage visibly turned dimmer and translucent as if it was dissipating into thin air. More lines of smoke bore into his heart like a furious storm.

His body shook once as the fog in his veins roused his blood into action, forcing the stream to flow once more. But no color returned to his eyes; he laid there, lifeless still. His blood stopped after revolving once, adamant it was in proclaiming the judgment passed upon by the Gods,

That Discal was dead.

Silence and stillness reigned in his person.

A moment passed, and it was unclear on how long it was.

The fog enclosing his heart quaked.

The blood in his body revolved another time, then it stopped. A hint of lively color returned in that brief interval, and slowly, his injuries began to clot up.

The fog quaked again, and his blood followed in its wake, moving a full circuit in his person. His wounds began to seal and bleeding at some parts stopped, but Discal was still losing heat and turning cold. No matter how much the fog repeated the process, he was still a corpse.

As if showing a semblance of sentience, the fog enclosing his heart stopped and turned motionless. It was as if his heart was covered in a white, translucent veil. Then, the fog moved slightly as if biding its time. It seemed solemn and peaceful. Once it circled his heart, it transformed into a raging white sea. It churned and crashed against the inner walls of his chest. It revolved around his heart like a beast lusting for prey.

The fog quaked intermittently, rattling his heart and enough to tear it apart from his chest. Soon, the smoke-like cage covering his heart dispersed and flooded his veins, whilst his pulse began to speed up. It beated in a pace that was beyond a human could handle; his heart was mere moments away from being ruined. In turn, the fog coursed freely through his person and awakened something from within.

His heart’s pace quickened, and the sound of each beat thundered in his chest. It was like the roar of a cornered beast. And after each roar, his eyes regained the luster it had lost before turning dull once more. As seconds went by, the roar of the thunder grew more powerful and the luster stayed longer each time.

When the drumming roar reached its peak and his heart beating mad, the fog in his veins began to seep into his very being. It merged with his flesh and bone, strengthening them as Discal was pulled away from the eternal dark.

Broken bones began to mend, and injuries began to heal. His muscles grew larger, and power slumbered in his person. It was a miracle of life, but at the same time, also a blasphemy against the Gods. The judgment passed upon Discal was annuled by the power of a mortal man.

The fog in his veins began to dry out. The last fog strand was already in the process of combining with his flesh and bone, and the sickly white color disappeared from his veins. It allowed him a new lease in life, but evidently not enough to truly bring him away from death’s door.

Broken bones had mend, but sever cracks remained. Minor gashes and scratches had healed, but poison still lingered in his veins. His left thigh had a glaring gash, traveling down as far as his knee. One of his shoulders had holes as large as a man’s fist. In the end, he was only been gifted meager time to live in this world.

Inside his chest, a sliver of fog, as thin as a needle circled his heart. It seemed weak, little more than a trifling wisp. Its color had dimmed, unlike the vivid white it had before.

As if preparing for a deep sleep, the fog abruptly stopped. His heart’s roar then slowed down and dropped to a despairing pace that could only be heard by the keenest of ear.

His lungs started.

Blood began to flow in his veins.

His muscles twitched, feasting on the renewed vitality

Color returned to his eyes.

His body moved ever so slightly.

He was alive.

But he was unconscious still, exhaustion and fatigue settled too deeply in his bones. Fiendish creatures drew near, preparing to take him away for a feast. Three such creatures were only a few meters away.

One fiend stepped forward and dropped down to a slant. It screeched, and the maw on its back opened up with a fleshly crack. It was ready to hurl its web.

But the other two insectoids were not aiming for the scholar. They dropped down and retracted their legs in. Their angular bodies trembled as power was being stored. Before they lunged through the air, a voice sounded forth.

“Discal!” she shouted, wearing sparse armor and now armed with her shield and sword. Behind her were the others busy fighting their own battles.

She slashed at her left, and the sensation of something hard then soft passed through her hand. A pained screech rang out, her gaze flying by the insectoid’s bisected half. She did not let her eyes tarry and immediately raised her shield high when a black bolt dropped down from above.

She kneeled to one leg, and her shield-arm creaked against the crushing weight. Her position shifted an inch from where she originally stood, and black limbs swiped at her from her shield.

Regaining her footing, she stood up with the increase in weight. She did not hesitate and ran towards a tree which was a meter away. In a single breath, she rammed the trunk with her shield and squashed the black figure into a messy heap. Green blood oozed slowly at the point of contact.

She turned and placed her gaze once more at the scholar, who was now covered in silk. Her face scrunched up at the sight. But once she took a step forward to help him, the two insectoids by Discal’s side finally unleashed the power stored in their legs.

They flashed through the air in a blur, and smashed against Kaele’s shield. Her shield-arm faltered immediately and the force pushed her off her feet. She flew back, slamming her against a tree. Her face winced in pain.

Her feet touched the ground and swept her shield, forcing the two fiends away. She tried to bring her sword up before dropping down to one knee, and coughed some blood.

She forced her consciousness to stay afloat and momentarily stood up, now surrounded by the two insectoids. She glanced around. She then took a step back, and guarded her back with the tree. She raised her shield and sword, and stood in wait.

One of the insectoids paced around her, while the other had dropped down to a slant, opening a maw on its back. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two. She then bent low, and huddled her shield close. Sweat flowed from her temples down to her chin. She had to be ready to move.

The slanted insectoid screeched and a web of silk filled her sight. She broke her stance and stepped away, narrowly avoiding being strapped to the tree.

A thud sounded out then the whistle of breaking wind.

She turned to her far right, and braced her shield up without confirming her sight. Something smashed at her as soon as she raised her shield. She gritted her teeth as she keenly felt she could not hold on. She had to redirect the direction of the force before it would be too late.

She angled her shield slightly away from her and the black bolt flew by. But her footing was not perfect, and she still fell on her side, though it was better than being flung off her feet. She rolled two times, negating the inertia passing through her. She then stopped, and used her sword as support.

Her breathing was labored and heavy. She breathed a few times and stood up. She then took her shield and sword up for another bout. She glanced around her.

Her situation was perilous. She was pincered by the two fiends, with nothing to put her back on.

She turned to her back, and cautiously spy the pacing insectoid. She turned again and spotted the other one, apparently ready to wrap her in layers of silk. She grimly smiled, realizing she had made a mistake. Thoughts of regret swelled in her heart, but she shook them away before it took hold.

“It’s only proper to help,” she said to herself.

She paced her steps, relying on all her senses to prepare for an attack. She could just not rely on sight alone but even then, she was not as skilled as Miria in that field. At most, she could do with sounds and only if they were nearby. She did not even had her armor on.

“Astorrah, please show mercy,” she whispered to no one, and braced herself, hoping her actions were not in vain.

The insectoid a few meters from her screeched and launched another bundle of silk. Behind her, she could hear the whistling sound of something piercing through the air. Her keen sense gathered that she could only avoid one.

She bent her body low and stood her ground. She did not care if all hope was lost; this was her life at stake. She had to fight until her last breath.

Her senses concluding the black bolt would hit her first, she quickly spun on her heel and braced her shield for impact.

A force passed by her right hand.

Her shield-arm creaked in agony, and her vision went white briefly, almost making her faint. She immediately angled her shield, and redirected the black bolt away. It flew past her and landed between two distant trees.

She then steeled herself again as the danger had not ended yet. She began to turn to block the incoming web, though she knew it would be too late. Midstride, her eyes widened in surprise as a familiar feeling had suffused in the air around her.

Something was being gathered out of her view.

When she turned her head slightly, a hectic mage was trying to gather mana in the air. Beside him were the other party members, fending off foes from reaching him. A dozen motes of mucky green light then appeared around the mage. Before more was materialized, he swung the staff at her as one would sweep with a broom.

The motes trembled once and began to disappear, as if the connection was cut off. Lucius squared his jaw and two floating circles of light appeared on his forehead. He raised his free arm and willed the motes to move. The motes of green light brightened and speared for the end of his swinging staff.

The green motes meshed together and formed a swirling ball of wind. It floated calmly on top of the staff, as if unbothered by the drastic movement.

At the end of his sweep with the deformed ball trailing by, he shouted the name of the spell to warn the others.

“Gale Spear!”

The ball of wind exploded into a screaming gale shaped into a vertical arc. It was a meter tall and less than half in size. And where it passed, muck and dead leaves were thrown into the air. They then would rushed inward to refill the vacuum in place.

The branches of the trees shook minutely from the passing winds.

In a mere second or even less, the crescent gale had arrived. Kaele nimbly jumped to the side to avoid the spellforce. The gale flew by her, and the passing draft almost dragged her along. A speeding rock squarely hit her thigh. She lost her footing and fell to the ground with a thump.

The insectoid and the web aiming for Kaele was consumed by the winds and dragged into its depths. The gale continued on, showing no signs of stopping, while in the vortex resided its prey.

Soon, the gale was nowhere to be seen.

A momentary peace... before the vacuum it left behind was replaced with rushing wind. The air trembled and swishing sounds sang out, similar to a melodic and grating tone. After the time it took to heave a breath, the chaos had settled.

What was left behind was a gash on the ground, like a sword had cleaved the earth apart. Its length stretched far as it led into the darkness of the trees. Branches snapped and leaves swished in the air. A loud crash, not far from the camp, rang out.

It came from the direction the gale disappeared.