It had taken quite a while but eventually night fell on the dark city casting everything into impenetrable darkness once again. Gwin had laid on his rafter the entire day relishing in the rare moment of relative peacefulness. He relaxed while listening to the ambient sounds of the city. Well except he never truly relaxed and the ambient sounds were namely the screeching of abomination and the distant rumbling of collapsing city blocks as their battles flattened the city. It was a miracle this place hadn't been razed to the ground yet by their frenzied bouts over territory. A few abominations had passed by on the street but none noticed him hidden in the shadows of the ruined building. His new cloak was really something.
Gwin crawled out of the hole in the roof he had entered from and took in a deep inhale before getting low on all fours. Night had fallen and it was time for him to move. His hands clenched the shingles causing them to crack. He pounced towards the next building crushing the shingles underfoot. He soared over the gap between them with the poise of a wild beast. Just like that he fell into the familiar rhythm of jumping, checking out his next jump, and jumping again. He went slower this time since he wasn't in any rush. After all, all he had waiting for him was a legacy with an awful temper and a tyrannical overlord that would kill him in an instant if he deemed him a threat.
And a threat he was.
Gwin had no intention of living under someone and bowing to their every beck and call. He'd rather live in the city on his own despite how harrowing it was. He understood where people like Umo were coming from. Perhaps though he'd have to swallow his pride if he wished to live. After all, Lena was supposedly in the castle looking for someone named Seishan. Gwin felt that inexplicable feeling in his chest again. It was different from the one he got when meeting changing star. It was…bitter? Or was it? He really wasn't good at understanding these things.
Gwin paused as a lumbering abomination that resembled a mound of roiling brown millipedes passed by below. He waited in silence for it to pass by. He didn't blink even once until it was out of sight and then he continued on. He stayed low to the ground on all fours since that was the most effective way to stay low and hidden. He drew ever closer to the hill and the castle atop it. He could see the base of the hill at this point and the winding road that led around it. He thought he saw the figures of people occupying several watchposts on the hill.
'Watchtowers? I better be careful…'
Just a few lines of houses stood between him and the start of the road that led to the barbican. As he completed the next leaps his nose caught the scent of something ahead of him. He landed on the final building and looked down. Below him a giant abominable bristle worm writhed blindly in the street. Hidden within its bristles were dangerous barbs dripping with venom. Despite its fearsome appearance and size though…
'It's only an awakened monster..'
A feral smile split his face revealing his sharp teeth.
They seemed sharper than usual.
His features shifted under his armor. He dispelled it in several areas to make room for his new body. His arms grew longer and his metacarpals and phalanges grew several feet long. A leathery membrane connected them to his sides forming large bat wings. His thumbs turned into hooked wingtalons and his mouth became a muzzle as two large and pointed ears sprouted from his head. His wings shifted under his cloak as his pitch black eyes gazed at the giant worm below. His legs became digitigrade and gained long talons as he flew high into the air with one silent flap of his wings. It was his first time flying like that but he didn't need to worry about flying long. He divebombed towards the worm talons first and connected with its leathery body with a loud thwack.
His talons tore into its flesh as it writhed and contorted its body to pierce him with its barbs. Before it could however Gwin opened his mouth and an invisible wave of force erupted from his mouth. The worm's movements slowed as its brain rattled inside its head. Just like he always did he used that brief moment of vulnerability to launch a fatal attack. With a twist of his body he spun himself midair while slicing through its neck with his wing talons. He decapitated it cleanly and landed on the street next to it. A familiar voice whispered in his ears.
[You have slain and Awakened Monster: Long Body]
[You have taken your claim of blood]
'What a weird name…anyways let's get those soul shards.'
Gwin dismissed his partial transformation into the sanguine gardener and took on the features of the perforated hunter to carve out the shards like he usually did. He cut into it carefully to avoid breaking its venom glands and causing them to spew out into him. His stomach rumbled as its bright red blood seeped from its severed head.
Gwin had a messy time examining its various barbs and insides. He partially lost himself to dissecting it before remembering that he was not in a particularly safe place for this. Feeling a little disappointed and hungry he shifted his mouth and bit into its pale flesh. Normally the thought of eating something like a worm would be revolting but this wasn't really a normal situation and plus he was hungry, what was he supposed to do? Light a fire and tell everything in this awful city he was here? This was the logical decision!
'Woah! Not bad! Kinda tastes like one of those synthetic fruit gummies!'
He was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and after eating and drinking his fill of its blood he cast his gaze towards the start of the winding road and the looming castle while forgetting to clean himself in the process. Now that he was close to it he could truly appreciate how massive it was. Sure there were some buildings larger than it in the waking world but very few since most were situated underground. It was cast from white marble with dozens of towering spires connected to the main palace with aerial bridges. It was like a mountain of marble carved by human hands. It stood as if in direct opposition to the cyclopean tower in the distance.
He stepped forward in the darkness towards the location he had spent so long trying to reach, but now he would finally step inside. Gwin moved quickly towards the gateway that the street started from. It was a single white arc carved from the same marble as the castle with the gate having fallen off some time in the few centuries or millennia it had been standing. He felt a growing sense of thrill and anticipation as he prowled up the street. He expected there to not be any abominations on this street and he was proven right. It seemed the denizens of the castle did a good job of warding away the nightmare creatures of the city which meant that this was one of the safest places to be in the city apart from atop its massive black stone walls. Gwin ran his bloody hands through his long and messy hair while taking in the distant smell of humans.
'This road is way too long. What were the people building this place thinking?'
He looked to his right at the steep hill and got an idea. He didn't need to walk all the way around when he could simply climb up. It might have been difficult for a regular person since the hill was quite steep but that was no problem for Gwin. He took on the perforated hunter's features and smiled wryly.
'Great…more climbing..'
And with that he jumped forward digging his claws into the hill and began scaling it like a wild beast.