“Much to discuss,” I say. “Does that, perhaps, include why these two are knocked out and…”
Possessed is the word that jumps to mind, but I let the sentence trail off.
“Corrupted, possessed, glassed,” Saph says, raising a finger with each word. “Common names for the affliction.”
“Demonic influence,” I say. “You did this?”
Her very presence exudes danger. I know that her level is vastly above mine, since Appraise doesn’t even work on anything but her name and race. I also know that she’s probably not a demon or anomaly, since the way Appraise fails on her is different from the complete failure on the jet-black humanoid spiders back at Site-17. It’s similar to the dragon babies we found in the fragment beneath the city—demon-touched, not demons themselves.
That does not, however, mean that she cannot use demonic influence. Even the thought of that sends shivers crawling up my spine, but Sapphire is a wild card. I can’t predict her at all, and even though I’ve never seen her in a fight, I know I can’t best her in one.
“I allowed this to happen,” the half-elf says. “It was convenient.”
I look down at the unconscious bodies. “I worked to make these allies, I’ll have you know.”
“No worry for your friends’ well-being?” Saph teases, smiling.
“My worry,” I tell her, “is that you’re going to allow my most powerful allies to die choking on their own blood.”
I can sense them bleeding from the inside of their throats with Shape Blood. Apparently, blood being in their throat counts as “not in their body” for the purposes of the skill, so I use the skill to remove the potential choking hazard.
“The boy is weaker than me, but he’s not useless,” I say. “The Blue Mage is genuinely strong. If you undo my progress, I’ll be a little irritated.”
“Fear not,” Saph says. “The demons crawling beneath this building are not the lethal kind. They will live, though the experience may be rather unpleasant.”
“Demons,” I reiterate. “I have something to do with those. I have a lot of questions.”
“I have many answers,” she replies, winking at me. “You will not receive them all.”
“I figured,” I sigh. “You created me, didn’t you?”
I hoped that would take her off guard, but I’m not at all surprised when her smile just grows wider. “It was not me, but I provided guidance to the group who did. I see you had your first evolution vision.”
“First?” There’ll be more? Everything I know about class evolutions tells me that that’s wrong.
“First,” she repeats. “In truth, I told you to come here in part to examine your progress.”
“And?”
“You have defied the expectations of some,” the half-elf tells me. “You have met mine.”
“Fantastic,” I say dryly. “Demons and anomalies. Are they the same thing?”
It’s a non-sequitur, but the distinction is vague in my mind. The soul amalgamation that I possess doesn’t give me an answer instinctually.
“Squares and rectangles,” Sapphire replies simply. She doesn’t sound like she’ll elaborate any further. “You’ve visited the fragments.”
She uses “fragment,” not “in-between.” It makes sense, given that my dream-vision placed her in a UCC building. I slot the information into my memory. Every little bit counts when it comes to her.
“I have,” I reply.
“Demons come from a fragment so vast that it’s a world of its own,” Sapphire says. “That’s all you need to know about that.”
Then anomalies come from fragments in general, I deduce. Good to know.
“You,” she says, “are the result of a soul amalgamation program. As you are alive to stand in front of me, I assume you know this already.”
I nod. “Demons were involved.”
Saph paces around me, lightly stepping over the bodies on the floor. As she does, she runs a hand over my shoulders, caressing my neck. “Indeed they were. Your soul, damaged as it is now, is the product of dozens of demons and hundreds of humans.”
That does surprise me. I suspected something similar, but those numbers are high.
She cups my cheek with one hand, staring into my soulless eyes. “You are the only survivor of the experiment. With each being you consume, your soul grows. Much faster than all around you. You must have noticed that you have more strength than those of the same level.”
I have, in fact, noticed that. I nod. It’s not a full explanation, and I’m not happy without knowing the full reason why, but I’m
“And despite that… wraithfire burns, does it not?”
“It does,” I say, utterly unsurprised that she can tell that my soul’s been damaged. More importantly, she’s revealed that I have options. “I can heal it by consuming others?”
“Did you think,” she whispers, her breath hot on my ear, “That the experiment was for nothing? That the potential of growth is a lie?”
“I did, in fact, kill and eat someone,” I say blandly. “My soul does not feel any more intact than before.”
“You devoured a human,” she tells me. “Your soul is not only comprised of that. Vary your diet, Evelyn.”
I suppose I wasn’t exactly in control of enough of my senses to determine if my soul felt more intact after I ate the demon-touched dragon babies.
“Then I’ll seek out the dragons,” I say. “I’ll kill every last bit of the Baron’s retribution. When the UCC comes, I’ll kill them too.”
“You will not be able to best Marie’s team,” Sapphire warns. “They, just like me, do not belong in the Crowned Islands. Soon enough, neither will you.”
“Soon enough,” I say, “is not the same as now.”
She inclines her head in a nod. “I will eagerly await you in the Whitestar Kingdom.”
Sapphire’s barely answered any of my questions, but she’s already stepping away, content with what she’s given me.
“Whitestar Kingdom,” I mutter. Sierra mentioned that, I think.
“Until next time,” she says, raising a single finger. As she does the darkness fades away from Sierra and Adrian both, leaving their eyes bloodshot but normal. The bleeding within them slows to a stop as well.
“That’s all?” I ask. “No other information for me?”
“The only other thing,” she says, “is something I have already told you.”
Neither of the two of them have woken up. Their chests are slowly moving up and down, so they’re alive, but their eyes remain glassy, staring up into nothing.
The darkness that leached out of their eyes hasn’t entirely disappeared. Instead, pure black streams out of their slightly-parted lips, coalescing in the air as a dark, fuzzy sphere the size of my head.
It starts shifting, limbs and strange, alien features popping out from its figure, and then a second one joins it.
“Adversity sculpts excellence,” Sapphire recites, and then she’s gone.
I blink, staring at the space where she was. No sound accompanies her disappearance, no magic that I can detect. She’s simply there one second and not there the next.
I can’t focus on that, though, because the spheres have formulated into full-on beings, impish little creatures about the size of my torso.
Appraise failed!
Appraise failed!
Ah. Sapphire appears to be building a habit of leaving me with beings that really want to kill me.
The two demons hover in the air, apparently not caring enough for the laws of physics to require walking.
I look at them carefully. After regenerating from wraithfire, I lost my knives, but we’re in the room with all our supplies now. I make as if to dash forward at them and then Bloodstep backwards, taking myself towards a cabinet that I remember holds a bevy of weapons.
They rush me just as I gather my knives, tiny wings and clawed limbs flapping desperately as they do.
I thank whatever deities the world has that Knifefighting works against these demons, giving me an idea of what their motions will be. As the first one rushes me, my Silver-tier Knifefighting whispers how it’ll commit everything into a forward dash, trying to force itself through any orifice it can to possess me like it did the others.
Sidestepping it is easy with my enhanced Body (Speed), and I draw on Knifefighting, plunging an overly ornate dagger into my enemy’s side—and it passes straight through it. The demon’s body washes over my arm as the unexpected lack of resistance sends my momentum careening through it. It feels like ash against my skin, coarse air brushing against me, and I barely keep myself from falling, dropping to one knee.
My attacker smashes into the cabinet, wood shattering under the force of its impact.
So it does have some material influence, then. If it can interact with the real world, then that means I can damage it.
The pair of demons adjust immediately, changing their paths midair, and they once again soar straight for me. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like they have any avenue of attack other than forcing themselves inside a body like they evidently did with Adrian and Sierra.
I stumble backwards, nearly tripping over Sierra’s prone body. As seamlessly as I can, I blend a kick into the motion, a sharp one aimed at her side. She doesn’t stir—she seems to be in a magically induced slumber, so I don’t even try it with Adrian. Sapphire must’ve caused this, because I doubt the demons did.
Fine then. This is going to be a bit messy, but I’m sure Sierra will be fine with a destroyed room if it means her life is intact.
Physical attacks clearly don’t work against it, so Paralyzing Bite isn’t worth trying. I cast Shape Blood, using the globs that I got from Adrian’s and Sierra’s throats, firing spears of blood at them.
Just like my blades, the blood passes straight through them. The ashy material that composes these half-material demons weakens my control over the blood, too, so I drop it immediately.
I grip another knife so that Knifefighting is active, enabling me to predict their next attacks based on their micro-movements, but I don’t attack with them. There’s no point apart from the predictive capabilities.
Just as I met Sapphire, I got a new skill. Now, as they ready themselves to dash at me once more, I examine it.
Soulknife (Rare)
Tier: Bronze
Level: 1
You form your soul into a blade, bypassing defenses when you attack others with it. You can manifest Soulknife for up to a minute at a time. Damage to your weapon manifests as damage to your soul.
Damage to a weapon will damage my soul?
I grin.
Another demonic attack’s already done that.
I activate Soulknife, and I feel the familiar chilly drain on my soul instantly. In my free hand, a simple dagger forms, six inches long and glowing a deep, dark red.
Perfect for me.
The demons actually pause for a second before they rush me again, but it’s me that goes on the offensive this time. I leap forward, Soulknife in hand, and my target runs, diving towards the unconscious Blue Mage.
It can redirect fast, but I can do that too. I turn on a dime, redirecting my momentum to launch myself at Sierra. I reach her before the demon can, colliding with her in my rush, and I slash out at the demon, Knifefighting guiding my hand.
This time, when it hits, I actually feel physical resistance. My dagger stabs deep into the demonic flesh, and ashy black blood drips out from it. It howls in pain, thrashing around the blade, and the cold sensation in my soul increases as the demon does its best to destroy my weapon.
I slam the blade into the ground, the demon still impaled on it, and the screeches stop.
It’s not very durable, is it?
Before I can confirm my kill, the other demon hits me from behind, the impact surprisingly forceful for a creature of the size. I fall, twisting as I do to try to attack the second one—and it throws itself at my face, trying to force its way down my throat and into my eyes.
Pain explodes from where it hits me. I suppose it expects that’ll be enough to stop me.
I stab the back of the demon with the Soulknife, using so much force that it penetrates all the way through and connects with my left eye.
Oops.
Oh well. I’ll regenerate it soon enough.
I take the Soulknife out and stab it once again, this time from the side. It screeches and falls off.
Soulknife advanced to level 2!
Now lasts for two minutes. Deals 20% more damage.
“Weakling,” I mutter, stabbing it again and again until it stops screaming. Then I do it thrice more just to be safe.
My weapon dissipates once both of them are well and truly dead, disjointed black blobs on the floor staining the wood with their blood.
And then, of course, I eat them.
Devour granted +33 XP!
Devour granted +41 XP!
I’m a little disappointed by how little XP they grant, but it makes sense. Sapphire left me to sink or swim, but at least she sent me into the shallower end of things.
No temporary skills from them either. Do demons not use skills? I wouldn’t be surprised, given that Appraise fails on them.
More important than the XP returns, though, I feel the slightest bit warmer to my core, energy coming back to my soul.
It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. At this point, I still think I would be in terrible shape without Soulless. As it is, my system is likely still damaged.
I’m going to need to kill a lot more demons.
That’ll have to wait, though. A single minute passes before Sierra finally wakes up. Adrian starts to move shortly after.
“What the hells…” Sierra starts, then her eyes refocus. “Demons. Oh, broken gods, demons.”
“Fuck,” Adrian says.
“I killed two of them,” I say, neglecting to mention Sapphire’s presence.
“They’re never alone,” Sierra says, ignoring the damage to her room. “Never.”
Outside, someone screams, and a building rumbles.
“Incursion?” Adrian asks, drawing his sword.
“Put the sword away, we’re inside,” Sierra replies. “Let me check it out.”
She runs out of the room, and I follow her, taking the steps four at a time.
The inn’s door has been blown wide open, revealing the outdoors.
It’s not pretty.
The center of the road has been torn apart, and the last dregs of daylight illuminate dark beings with anatomy as strange as the two that Sapphire summoned spill forth, clambering out. I can hear screaming and crashing off in the distance—this clearly isn’t isolated. Around us, buildings are barring their doors where they can and crumbling to invasion where they aren’t.
“Out of the way, ladies,” a gruff male voice says from behind us. “Need to bar the door. For your safety, you see.”
I start running, not looking to see if anyone follows. I’m outside before the innkeeper can even shout at me.
The night is dark and full of horrors.
Tonight, I plan on being one of them.
Objective: Restore your soul
Consume demons until your soul is whole.
Targets devoured: [2/???]
Objective: Find Sapphire
Escape the Crowned Islands and enter the desolate Whitestar Kingdom.
Distance: 417 miles
Current stats:
Name: Evelyn Carnelian
Age: 0
Race: ???
Class: Relentless Demon
Level: 9
XP: 600/900
Kill Count: 21
Available Stat Points: 0
Traits:
Demonic Heritage
Enhanced Blood Affinity
Kinslayer II
Killer
Free Bird
Relentless
Soulless
Magic Affinities:
General - 1
Blood - 2
Skills:
Appraise (Bronze) - lvl 2
Devour (Gold) - lvl 1
Shape Self (Bronze) - lvl 3
Shape Blood (Bronze) - lvl 10
Knifefighting (Silver) - lvl 1
Stealth (Bronze) - lvl 9
Enhance Bleed (Bronze) - lvl 4
Acting (Bronze) - lvl 9
Woundshape (Bronze) - lvl 3
Bloodstep (Bronze) - lvl 8
Blood Surge (Bronze) - lvl 4
Disguise Self (Bronze) - lvl 2
Siphon (Gold) - lvl 1
Misty Blade (Bronze) - lvl 3
Firearms (Bronze) - lvl 1
Phantom Shape (Bronze) - lvl 4
Paralyzing Bite (Bronze) - lvl 7
Blood Echo (Silver) - lvl 2
Locate Person (Bronze) - lvl 6
Soulknife (Bronze) - lvl 2
Resistances:
Pain Resistance (Silver) - lvl 19
Poison Resistance (Bronze) - lvl 3
Blade Resistance (Bronze) - lvl 1
Demonic Resistance (Silver) - lvl 1
Fire Resistance (Silver) - lvl 1
Wraithfire Resistance (Gold) - lvl 1
Attributes:
Magic (Power) - 9
Magic (Regen) - 12
Magic (Meta) - 4
Body (Speed) - 18
Body (Strength) - 10
Body (Durability) - 8
Mind (Speed) - 12
Mind (Resistance) - 8
“Much to discuss,” I say. “Does that, perhaps, include why these two are knocked out and…”
Possessed is the word that jumps to mind, but I let the sentence trail off.
“Corrupted, possessed, glassed,” Saph says, raising a finger with each word. “Common names for the affliction.”
“Demonic influence,” I say. “You did this?”
Her very presence exudes danger. I know that her level is vastly above mine, since Appraise doesn’t even work on anything but her name and race. I also know that she’s probably not a demon or anomaly, since the way Appraise fails on her is different from the complete failure on the jet-black humanoid spiders back at Site-17. It’s similar to the dragon babies we found in the fragment beneath the city—demon-touched, not demons themselves.
That does not, however, mean that she cannot use demonic influence. Even the thought of that sends shivers crawling up my spine, but Sapphire is a wild card. I can’t predict her at all, and even though I’ve never seen her in a fight, I know I can’t best her in one.
“I allowed this to happen,” the half-elf says. “It was convenient.”
I look down at the unconscious bodies. “I worked to make these allies, I’ll have you know.”
“No worry for your friends’ well-being?” Saph teases, smiling.
“My worry,” I tell her, “is that you’re going to allow my most powerful allies to die choking on their own blood.”
I can sense them bleeding from the inside of their throats with Shape Blood. Apparently, blood being in their throat counts as “not in their body” for the purposes of the skill, so I use the skill to remove the potential choking hazard.
“The boy is weaker than me, but he’s not useless,” I say. “The Blue Mage is genuinely strong. If you undo my progress, I’ll be a little irritated.”
“Fear not,” Saph says. “The demons crawling beneath this building are not the lethal kind. They will live, though the experience may be rather unpleasant.”
“Demons,” I reiterate. “I have something to do with those. I have a lot of questions.”
“I have many answers,” she replies, winking at me. “You will not receive them all.”
“I figured,” I sigh. “You created me, didn’t you?”
I hoped that would take her off guard, but I’m not at all surprised when her smile just grows wider. “It was not me, but I provided guidance to the group who did. I see you had your first evolution vision.”
“First?” There’ll be more? Everything I know about class evolutions tells me that that’s wrong.
“First,” she repeats. “In truth, I told you to come here in part to examine your progress.”
“And?”
“You have defied the expectations of some,” the half-elf tells me. “You have met mine.”
“Fantastic,” I say dryly. “Demons and anomalies. Are they the same thing?”
It’s a non-sequitur, but the distinction is vague in my mind. The soul amalgamation that I possess doesn’t give me an answer instinctually.
“Squares and rectangles,” Sapphire replies simply. She doesn’t sound like she’ll elaborate any further. “You’ve visited the fragments.”
She uses “fragment,” not “in-between.” It makes sense, given that my dream-vision placed her in a UCC building. I slot the information into my memory. Every little bit counts when it comes to her.
“I have,” I reply.
“Demons come from a fragment so vast that it’s a world of its own,” Sapphire says. “That’s all you need to know about that.”
Then anomalies come from fragments in general, I deduce. Good to know.
“You,” she says, “are the result of a soul amalgamation program. As you are alive to stand in front of me, I assume you know this already.”
I nod. “Demons were involved.”
Saph paces around me, lightly stepping over the bodies on the floor. As she does, she runs a hand over my shoulders, caressing my neck. “Indeed they were. Your soul, damaged as it is now, is the product of dozens of demons and hundreds of humans.”
That does surprise me. I suspected something similar, but those numbers are high.
She cups my cheek with one hand, staring into my soulless eyes. “You are the only survivor of the experiment. With each being you consume, your soul grows. Much faster than all around you. You must have noticed that you have more strength than those of the same level.”
I have, in fact, noticed that. I nod. It’s not a full explanation, and I’m not happy without knowing the full reason why, but I’m
“And despite that… wraithfire burns, does it not?”
“It does,” I say, utterly unsurprised that she can tell that my soul’s been damaged. More importantly, she’s revealed that I have options. “I can heal it by consuming others?”
“Did you think,” she whispers, her breath hot on my ear, “That the experiment was for nothing? That the potential of growth is a lie?”
“I did, in fact, kill and eat someone,” I say blandly. “My soul does not feel any more intact than before.”
“You devoured a human,” she tells me. “Your soul is not only comprised of that. Vary your diet, Evelyn.”
I suppose I wasn’t exactly in control of enough of my senses to determine if my soul felt more intact after I ate the demon-touched dragon babies.
“Then I’ll seek out the dragons,” I say. “I’ll kill every last bit of the Baron’s retribution. When the UCC comes, I’ll kill them too.”
“You will not be able to best Marie’s team,” Sapphire warns. “They, just like me, do not belong in the Crowned Islands. Soon enough, neither will you.”
“Soon enough,” I say, “is not the same as now.”
She inclines her head in a nod. “I will eagerly await you in the Whitestar Kingdom.”
Sapphire’s barely answered any of my questions, but she’s already stepping away, content with what she’s given me.
“Whitestar Kingdom,” I mutter. Sierra mentioned that, I think.
“Until next time,” she says, raising a single finger. As she does the darkness fades away from Sierra and Adrian both, leaving their eyes bloodshot but normal. The bleeding within them slows to a stop as well.
“That’s all?” I ask. “No other information for me?”
“The only other thing,” she says, “is something I have already told you.”
Neither of the two of them have woken up. Their chests are slowly moving up and down, so they’re alive, but their eyes remain glassy, staring up into nothing.
The darkness that leached out of their eyes hasn’t entirely disappeared. Instead, pure black streams out of their slightly-parted lips, coalescing in the air as a dark, fuzzy sphere the size of my head.
It starts shifting, limbs and strange, alien features popping out from its figure, and then a second one joins it.
“Adversity sculpts excellence,” Sapphire recites, and then she’s gone.
I blink, staring at the space where she was. No sound accompanies her disappearance, no magic that I can detect. She’s simply there one second and not there the next.
I can’t focus on that, though, because the spheres have formulated into full-on beings, impish little creatures about the size of my torso.
Appraise failed!
Appraise failed!
Ah. Sapphire appears to be building a habit of leaving me with beings that really want to kill me.
The two demons hover in the air, apparently not caring enough for the laws of physics to require walking.
I look at them carefully. After regenerating from wraithfire, I lost my knives, but we’re in the room with all our supplies now. I make as if to dash forward at them and then Bloodstep backwards, taking myself towards a cabinet that I remember holds a bevy of weapons.
They rush me just as I gather my knives, tiny wings and clawed limbs flapping desperately as they do.
I thank whatever deities the world has that Knifefighting works against these demons, giving me an idea of what their motions will be. As the first one rushes me, my Silver-tier Knifefighting whispers how it’ll commit everything into a forward dash, trying to force itself through any orifice it can to possess me like it did the others.
Sidestepping it is easy with my enhanced Body (Speed), and I draw on Knifefighting, plunging an overly ornate dagger into my enemy’s side—and it passes straight through it. The demon’s body washes over my arm as the unexpected lack of resistance sends my momentum careening through it. It feels like ash against my skin, coarse air brushing against me, and I barely keep myself from falling, dropping to one knee.
My attacker smashes into the cabinet, wood shattering under the force of its impact.
So it does have some material influence, then. If it can interact with the real world, then that means I can damage it.
The pair of demons adjust immediately, changing their paths midair, and they once again soar straight for me. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like they have any avenue of attack other than forcing themselves inside a body like they evidently did with Adrian and Sierra.
I stumble backwards, nearly tripping over Sierra’s prone body. As seamlessly as I can, I blend a kick into the motion, a sharp one aimed at her side. She doesn’t stir—she seems to be in a magically induced slumber, so I don’t even try it with Adrian. Sapphire must’ve caused this, because I doubt the demons did.
Fine then. This is going to be a bit messy, but I’m sure Sierra will be fine with a destroyed room if it means her life is intact.
Physical attacks clearly don’t work against it, so Paralyzing Bite isn’t worth trying. I cast Shape Blood, using the globs that I got from Adrian’s and Sierra’s throats, firing spears of blood at them.
Just like my blades, the blood passes straight through them. The ashy material that composes these half-material demons weakens my control over the blood, too, so I drop it immediately.
I grip another knife so that Knifefighting is active, enabling me to predict their next attacks based on their micro-movements, but I don’t attack with them. There’s no point apart from the predictive capabilities.
Just as I met Sapphire, I got a new skill. Now, as they ready themselves to dash at me once more, I examine it.
Soulknife (Rare)
Tier: Bronze
Level: 1
You form your soul into a blade, bypassing defenses when you attack others with it. You can manifest Soulknife for up to a minute at a time. Damage to your weapon manifests as damage to your soul.
Damage to a weapon will damage my soul?
I grin.
Another demonic attack’s already done that.
I activate Soulknife, and I feel the familiar chilly drain on my soul instantly. In my free hand, a simple dagger forms, six inches long and glowing a deep, dark red.
Perfect for me.
The demons actually pause for a second before they rush me again, but it’s me that goes on the offensive this time. I leap forward, Soulknife in hand, and my target runs, diving towards the unconscious Blue Mage.
It can redirect fast, but I can do that too. I turn on a dime, redirecting my momentum to launch myself at Sierra. I reach her before the demon can, colliding with her in my rush, and I slash out at the demon, Knifefighting guiding my hand.
This time, when it hits, I actually feel physical resistance. My dagger stabs deep into the demonic flesh, and ashy black blood drips out from it. It howls in pain, thrashing around the blade, and the cold sensation in my soul increases as the demon does its best to destroy my weapon.
I slam the blade into the ground, the demon still impaled on it, and the screeches stop.
It’s not very durable, is it?
Before I can confirm my kill, the other demon hits me from behind, the impact surprisingly forceful for a creature of the size. I fall, twisting as I do to try to attack the second one—and it throws itself at my face, trying to force its way down my throat and into my eyes.
Pain explodes from where it hits me. I suppose it expects that’ll be enough to stop me.
I stab the back of the demon with the Soulknife, using so much force that it penetrates all the way through and connects with my left eye.
Oops.
Oh well. I’ll regenerate it soon enough.
I take the Soulknife out and stab it once again, this time from the side. It screeches and falls off.
Soulknife advanced to level 2!
Now lasts for two minutes. Deals 20% more damage.
“Weakling,” I mutter, stabbing it again and again until it stops screaming. Then I do it thrice more just to be safe.
My weapon dissipates once both of them are well and truly dead, disjointed black blobs on the floor staining the wood with their blood.
And then, of course, I eat them.
Devour granted +33 XP!
Devour granted +41 XP!
I’m a little disappointed by how little XP they grant, but it makes sense. Sapphire left me to sink or swim, but at least she sent me into the shallower end of things.
No temporary skills from them either. Do demons not use skills? I wouldn’t be surprised, given that Appraise fails on them.
More important than the XP returns, though, I feel the slightest bit warmer to my core, energy coming back to my soul.
It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. At this point, I still think I would be in terrible shape without Soulless. As it is, my system is likely still damaged.
I’m going to need to kill a lot more demons.
That’ll have to wait, though. A single minute passes before Sierra finally wakes up. Adrian starts to move shortly after.
“What the hells…” Sierra starts, then her eyes refocus. “Demons. Oh, broken gods, demons.”
“Fuck,” Adrian says.
“I killed two of them,” I say, neglecting to mention Sapphire’s presence.
“They’re never alone,” Sierra says, ignoring the damage to her room. “Never.”
Outside, someone screams, and a building rumbles.
“Incursion?” Adrian asks, drawing his sword.
“Put the sword away, we’re inside,” Sierra replies. “Let me check it out.”
She runs out of the room, and I follow her, taking the steps four at a time.
The inn’s door has been blown wide open, revealing the outdoors.
It’s not pretty.
The center of the road has been torn apart, and the last dregs of daylight illuminate dark beings with anatomy as strange as the two that Sapphire summoned spill forth, clambering out. I can hear screaming and crashing off in the distance—this clearly isn’t isolated. Around us, buildings are barring their doors where they can and crumbling to invasion where they aren’t.
“Out of the way, ladies,” a gruff male voice says from behind us. “Need to bar the door. For your safety, you see.”
I start running, not looking to see if anyone follows. I’m outside before the innkeeper can even shout at me.
The night is dark and full of horrors.
Tonight, I plan on being one of them.
Objective: Restore your soul
Consume demons until your soul is whole.
Targets devoured: [2/???]
Objective: Find Sapphire
Escape the Crowned Islands and enter the desolate Whitestar Kingdom.
Distance: 417 miles
Current stats:
Name: Evelyn Carnelian
Age: 0
Race: ???
Class: Relentless Demon
Level: 9
XP: 600/900
Kill Count: 21
Available Stat Points: 0
Traits:
Demonic Heritage
Enhanced Blood Affinity
Kinslayer II
Killer
Free Bird
Relentless
Soulless
Magic Affinities:
General - 1
Blood - 2
Skills:
Appraise (Bronze) - lvl 2
Devour (Gold) - lvl 1
Shape Self (Bronze) - lvl 3
Shape Blood (Bronze) - lvl 10
Knifefighting (Silver) - lvl 1
Stealth (Bronze) - lvl 9
Enhance Bleed (Bronze) - lvl 4
Acting (Bronze) - lvl 9
Woundshape (Bronze) - lvl 3
Bloodstep (Bronze) - lvl 8
Blood Surge (Bronze) - lvl 4
Disguise Self (Bronze) - lvl 2
Siphon (Gold) - lvl 1
Misty Blade (Bronze) - lvl 3
Firearms (Bronze) - lvl 1
Phantom Shape (Bronze) - lvl 4
Paralyzing Bite (Bronze) - lvl 7
Blood Echo (Silver) - lvl 2
Locate Person (Bronze) - lvl 6
Soulknife (Bronze) - lvl 2
Resistances:
Pain Resistance (Silver) - lvl 19
Poison Resistance (Bronze) - lvl 3
Blade Resistance (Bronze) - lvl 1
Demonic Resistance (Silver) - lvl 1
Fire Resistance (Silver) - lvl 1
Wraithfire Resistance (Gold) - lvl 1
Attributes:
Magic (Power) - 9
Magic (Regen) - 12
Magic (Meta) - 4
Body (Speed) - 18
Body (Strength) - 10
Body (Durability) - 8
Mind (Speed) - 12
Mind (Resistance) - 8
