My head, my shoulders, my arms, my legs... Hands gripped all over , slowly pulling back. I tried to struggle, but my body refused to listen to .
I was tired.
On my last breath.
....I could barely muster up the strength to fight back. I had expanded everything and had been running on adrenaline.
But even that had its limits.
"Ah, no...!"
I extended my hand, reaching for the entrance which seed closer than it had ever been before, and yet also seed so distant.
I was close, so close...
And yet...!
"Uekh!"
My face stretched as a hand reached out to grasp it, pulling it back.
I could offer no resistance, and gradually, I sank into the depths of the sea of hands that reached for .
Darkness started to cloud my vision, suffocating while my body felt as though it were being ripped apart. Every muscle scread in agony as my body starting to get pulled from all sides.
Despite everything, I continued to think of ways and ans to get out of the situation.
...I didn't want to give up.
Not like this.
But the more I tried to struggle, the more I realized how helpless the situation was. In those monts, I closed my eyes and silently cursed,
"When are you two going to do a thing?"
I was reffering to none other than Owl-Mighty and Pebble.
They were the reason I had yet to panic.
Because I knew that they wouldn't let die like this.
At least, not yet.
".... You look like you're struggling."
"He is struggling."
A pair of deep eyes appeared through the narrow gap before .
Squench. Squench.
A familiar traumatising sound echoed within my ears, and shortly after vines started to sprout from the ground. That wasn't all. Monts following the vines, the hands that were grasping beca heavier.
Pebble appeared right on top of .
Gently raising its paws, it tapped into the heads of the Wraiths around , sending them crashing against the ground.
Thud, thud-!
Several hands detached from , and I imdiately felt lighter.
Thud!
I felt a burst of energy in that mont as I twisted my shoulder and pried myself free from another hand, and I for once was able to take control of my body again.
"Go."
Pebble said in a low tone, its paw gently pressing against the heads of the Wraiths.
"....Our powers are limited."
"I know."
They didn't need to remind .
Their powers were limited to my mana reserve, and while they did have their own mana reserve, it was rather small.
I knew that I was still not out of the woods yet and through gritted teeth, I forced myself to move forward.
"Kh...!"
I was struggling.
Several hands were attached to my ankles, desperately holding back. I shook it several tis in order to free myself from their grasp, but as if they were attached to my legs, they refused to leave.
I continued to shake them.
"Let. Go. Damn. It!"
But no matter how fiercely I fought, they refused to let go, their grip tightening with every passing second. Just when I thought I might have to take drastic asures, sothing occurred.
Sqench. Sqench.
Dark, thorny vines began to sprout from the ground, twisting and tightening around the hands clutching my legs.
That's when the hands started to change color, and the grip over my leg loosened slightly.
I didn't need to look in Owl-Mighty's direction to know what I needed to do next.
Without hesitation, I used all the strength that I had and pulled away from the hands.
"Uekh...!"
A strained sound escaped my lips as I finally freed myself from the grasp and stumbled forward, falling on one knee.
Thump!
"Наа... Наа..."
I looked up and stared at the dark entrance that greeted .
My leg twitched as I tried to get up, and for a brief mont I almost failed to get up, but I still managed to force myself up and push myself forward.
'So close...!'
My heart was beating at my throat.
I could hardly breathe.
I didn't even look back to see how the situation was unfolding. I just needed to get to the
entrance.
I just...!
"Akh!"
Halfway through the entrance, sothing cold and firm grasped my ankle. I looked back, my breath hitching, to see a Wraith with half its body missing. Its empty sockets and gaping mouth stared at as it desperately clung to my leg.
"No!"
A certain anger overtook in that mont.
I was close, so close. I wasn't going to let myself be dragged back. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself into the entrance, the Wraith's grip still clamped around my ankle.
With a surge of strength, I pulled the creature alongside , its hollow eyes burning into my soul as I dragged it into the darkness which soon engulfed .
Bang!
I fell face flat against the ground the mont I made it to the entrance.
"Наа... Наа..."
As if sothing within snapped my mind grew blank and all thoughts stopped working. At
that mont, I was still able to perceive the Wraith that was on my leg.
Krr-!
Its hand reached for my thigh as it pulled itself closer to my face.
Krr, Krr-!
It inched further up. It was now up to my chest.
Krr!
And soon, it reached my face as it looked at with its empty sockets. As its mouth opened to display its sharp teeth, I felt a hot breath run over my face as I weakly turned my head to et
the repulsive scene.
"...."
I silently processed the scene before a cat appeared right above it.
With all four paws on its head, Pebble raised its foot and pressed down.
Thud!
Blood spurted all over my face as a cold sensation washed over my face.
I looked at Pebble in silence before turning my head away. I didn't have it within to
complain.
Closing my eyes, I managed a soft mumble,
"I-s this area safe?"
"For now."
"Hoo...kay."
I weakly nodded before sinking my consciousness into my ring. A familiar sight greeted
shortly after as I appeared in front of the white temple.
Unlike before my mind was clear, and so was my body.
Suddenly going from being on the verge of death to fully healed felt weird and I stopped for a
mont.
"....This is new."
The flow of ti within the ring and outside the ring was the sa. Nonetheless, this new discovery ca as a pleasant surprise as I headed toward the deeper
ends of the temple where a familiar room appeared.
Creaak-!
Upon entering the room, two familiar figures appeared.
"Thanks for the help."
"....Get stronger, human." Pebble said from the corner of the room as its body curled comfortably on top of a red pillow.
The answer I received was a little different than I expected.
Owl-Mighty went on to explain,
"The stronger you beco, the more abilities we can use. If you beco strong enough, you
will be able to grant us the ability to use all of our abilities. In our current state, we can only
do this much."
"Right."
That made sense.
But it wasn't as though I wasn't trying.
"You almost died. No, you're dying."
Owl-Mighty said calmly as it looked at . I couldn't sense any trace of emotion in its eyes as
it looked at , and I pursed my lips before turning toward the corner where a small bag
appeared.
'Good thing I ca sowhat prepared.'
I hadn't had the ti before due to the suddenness of the situation, but now that I had a little
bit of ti, I didn't spare a seco I and headed for the bag
a small box appeared.
Clank!
Within the box were several small blue and green pills.
"Ten, good."
I grabbed three, one blue and two red for good asure before putting the box away and
grabbing a small vial. After that, I grabbed several bandages and a few other things that I had placed in the bag.
Owl-Mighty looked at and then the items in my hands before saying,
"Hurry up human."
"I know."
I didn't need to be told twice about the current state of my body. Once I was sure that I had
grabbed everything, I slipped my consciousness out of the ring and opened my eyes again.
".....
It was silent and dark.
The only sound I could hear was the sound of my own breath.
It was weak.
"Kh...!"
Silently enduring the pain that was invading every part of my body, I swallowed the pills that
appeared in my hand, a cool sensation washing over my body within monts of the pills
entering my body.
I felt an imdiate sense of relief the mont I popped the blue pill in my mouth as my mind
cleared up.
So of the injuries that I sustained started to heal, and the pain disappeared shortly after.
"Uekh."
Sitting myself up, I leaned against the wall behind .
My injuries were far from healed. The pill I had used was sothing akin to a painkiller. It
only helped to heal the most superficial wounds that I had. But it was still extrely helpful.
Shortly after that, I popped two red pills.
"|"
Unlike the blue pill, I didn't feel relief upon popping those pills.
In fact, it felt as though I had swallowed magma as I held onto my throat and clenched my
teeth tightly. My eyes started to water briefly and my legs flayed.
Cra Crack-!
Faint cracking sounds echoed shortly as my hand, shoulder, and back started to readjust.
The pain that followed was hard to describe, but I suffered in silence.
Despite the blue pill effect, I was still able to feel the pain from the red pill which acted as a
bone agent, healing most bone-related issues.
The effects were rather quick and I was soon able to freely move my body again.
Riiip!
For the last step, I ripped my shirt open and applied so ointnt over certain areas.
Though I couldn't see clearly in the dark, I knew the sight that greeted would make
want to puke. The sensation was revolting, especially when my hand traced the exposed bone in several areas where I had applied the ointnt.
"Haa...!"
Once I was done applying everything, I leaned my head back and let out a long breath.
I was exhausted and didn't want to get up, but unfortunately, the poison was still in effect. I
had no choice but to get up.
"Ukh."
And so I did.
Leaning against the wall beside , I headed deeper into the temple.
Tak, tak-
In the silence, the only sound I could hear was the sound of my steps.
It was dark, and I could hardly hear a thing.
Nonetheless, I carried forward.
I knew where I needed to go.
Soon, a faint light appeared. I stopped for a brief mont before carrying forward.
I knew that I was close to reaching my destination.
The distance was short.
In a few minutes, I was able to reach the end of it, and just when I was about to move past the
tunnel, I noticed a faint purple glow coming from the left side.
|| ||
The mont I looked my heart skipped a bit.
Especially when I noticed that the words were written in a language I was very familiar with.
English.
I began to read the engravings.
"Here lies the grave of Oracleus." "--The seer."
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