The wind whipped around Gwin as the dark city grew closer and closer. The streets and tall buildings grew larger with each second as he fell through the air. The wall shot past him, almost looking like the ground since Gwin was still looking towards the sky. None of this mattered to him though.
'I lost…damnit…F#%K!'
He flailed in the air angrily. His ribs flared up at this and his head spun forcing him to calm down. He addressed the situation below him calmly summoning his new cloak and the [Dark Wing]. His memory began humming behind him silently as his fall slowed to a crawl just before he connected with the roof of a building. He dismissed his wings and fell to the roof feeling oddly nostalgic.
'After all this, I'm back to square one. I'm at the edge of the city with countless abominations between me and any other people…wells besides changing star's group but they can rot in hell for all I care. If it wasn't for changing star they wouldn't have made it this far…just how strong is she to carry two other people this far?'
Just thinking about it pissed him off. He slammed his fist into the roof turning the large shingles into rubble and making the building groan in strain.
"AAARRRHHHG"
He growled.
The building he had landed on seemed safe so after calming himself slightly he dismissed the [Scorched Aegis] and summoned the [Kiss of Kesh]. He generously applied its contents to his body since its reservoir of healing cream was full. He was soon standing in a pile of shattered stone feeling much better. His head and ribs still ached but it wouldn't be long for them to get better. He just needed to avoid fighting for a while which would be easier than normal with his new cloak. He would wait to look at the runes later since he wasn't interested right now. He still had to address his echo as well so there were several things that needed his attention. Gwin walked to the edge of the roof and overlooked the streets and buildings beyond. His essence was only a quarter full but he still had all of his reserves left. He donned his black scale mail again before getting into a low squat and jumping to the building across the street in one giant leap. He landed deftly on the black stone shingles and continued.
He leapt from roof to roof much like he had with Lena however this time with much less caution. With hardly a sound at all he jumped over a group of nightmare creatures battling in the streets below. Their shrieks and howls did not help Gwin's headache at all. His presence remained unnoticed as he continued making sure to avoid any collapsed districts or districts where the nightmare creatures ventured on top of the buildings. Funnily enough he was quite close to the meeting hall and as such had an understanding of the surrounding buildings layout. It didn't take him long to find their path once again and continue along it. By then night had begun to fall casting deep shadows over the city. He continued while using his aspect to see in the dark. Under the cover of night he was even harder to spot making his progress swift and unimpeded. It was an ironic thing that he had crossed so much distance in so little time. He was still far from the castle so it may take a while but he would eventually get there. Why was he even going there though?
Was it because of Lena?
No it was something else, a feeling he couldn't place in his chest. If only he had learned to understand his emotions better he might be able to understand this festering emotion. He pushed through the night with a feral smile splitting his face. His progress carried over early into the morning where he was now perched overlooking a familiar street. The pale morning sun illuminated the street showing the various deep grooves from a giant clawed foot.
'Ugly bastard is nowhere to be seen…is it still in that crevice? I thought it climbed out after I fled into the sewers..'
He shifted atop the spire he was perched on like an animal. The street below was the very one he had lured the fallen demon along nearly a week ago! That thing had been the reason he had to spend an entire week trapped in absolute darkness! If not for his aspect the lack of light might have driven him crazy! It was a good thing he was still completely, wholely, and utterly sane despite it all! Despite being tired of darkness he was too wary of this city to venture around without. He was going to wait for night to fall before venturing out where he would then hopefully finally make it to the base of the hill the castle was situated on. He spent the day resting instead of training since his ribs were hurting awfully from all the moving he had done recently. There were also the whelps his fight with changing had given him to consider as well.
Now that he had a moment to think…why exactly did he lose? Was it because he was weaker than her? No, his physical strength was greater than hers albeit not by much. Then was it because he was injured?
'That would be a pathetic excuse…I'm the one who picked a fight after all. Then what then? Is she just more skilled than me? I couldn't get a hit in on her. She controlled our fight so easily…am I too predictable? There's no way! I literally have an entire arsenal of never seen before attacks! How could she have predicted freaking tentacles coming out of my arm?'
Gwin bobbed his head back and forth in thought while laying atop a rafter he had gotten to through a hole in one of the roofs. It wasn't as large as the ones in the meeting hall but it was more than enough to lay down on. The area around him was mostly quiet but he remained tense and vigilant despite trying to get some rest.
One had to be good at both if they wanted to survive in the dream realm.
'What if I had used the disciple of Kesh's attributes? No, that wouldn't have worked. Its body is to foreign for me to incorporate into my human physiology like I did the [Sun Seaker] and the "snake blades" wouldn't have helped much. What about Vlad though? If I could have used his sonic blast then maybe I could have won…my essence would probably have been emptied by that though…I don't want to use up all of my spirit essence if I can help it. And if I got too weak while fighting her then that pale kid might have finished me off.'
Gwin thought about changing star's two companions, notably the pretty girl with the strange dissonance in her eyes.
'No way…is she blind?! Why the hell would they take her with them?! She's basically dead meat out here! Wait a second…'
Gwin remembered how their entire group lacked a single wound. It was unnatural, even the most skilled of fighters would get wounded in a hellscape like this. That meant that…
'…she must be a healer! Why else would they take her with them? That explains why they had no wounds! Even I could survive out there if I had a personal healer helping me!'
Maybe changing star wasn't that great if she needed a healer to survive out there. Gwin and Lena had spent time in the crimson labyrinth as well and made it to the city without the help of a blind healer! That obviously put him above them did it not?! Gwin smiled, feeling smug. His earlier frustration mellowed out as he came to his logical conclusion. He wasn't that far behind changing star, she had just had a personal healer and quite a good one at that given how pristine all of them had looked, if not a little dirty. A feral smile spread across his face as he realized something.
'So really that pale kid is the only useless one'