-----Group chat-----
Male Kiana: @Lancer, I wonder what can you do as a so called 'Emanator'
Lancer: *well shit... Bullshit GO!* Knowledge-based abilities, ones that help me view memories and have better comprehension of topics, though for some reason it doesn't increase my lacking intelligence.
Male Kiana: Wow so the god of knowledge seeking doesn't grant increased intelligence, how unfortunate.
Traveler: Hah! stupid even after the Erudition's blessing!
Lord Arbiter: ...That's amusing[1]
Traveler: Oh well, I'm one to speak, I've lost my powers recently after all
Lord Arbiter: Kinda the same for me, though I wouldn't know if I lost my power or not since I've lost most of my memories...
Male Kiana: Oh sorry to hear that, I hope you can recover them soon.
Lancer: Ah so that's when... doesn't matter, @Lord_Arbiter don't worry about it, just enjoy your time, as time waits for no one but you.
Lord Arbiter: ???
Male Kiana: ???
Traveler: @Lord_Arbiter do you have any idea what that means?
Lord Arbiter: No
Lancer: Anyway, what abilities do you people got?
Male Kiana: Well... I mostly am like Traveler swinging my sword but I also am able to infuse it with the Titans power.
Lord Arbiter: ... I ... my ability is focused on resonance... that is all I'm willing to say.
Lancer: That's fair, Arbiter but Phainon, what are these Titans?
Male Kiana: The Titans? They're the protectors of Amphoreus - twelve divine beings who each represent something fundamental. Time, fate, memory, wrath...
Male Kiana: I'm a Chrysos Heir, which means I've inherited a portion of one of the Titans power. It lets me fight to protect people.
Male Kiana: Most people just see us as weapons though. Tools to be used. It's nice having someone actually curious about it.
Lord Arbiter: You truly are carefree... if only... never mind
Lancer: Innocent like nothing else, not blind or ignorant, just innocent. Too bright to allow the darkness to swallow him @Lord_Arbiter
Lord Arbiter: Is that how you see it... that's a fair perspective based on the information Phainon has shared
Traveler: Damn, what's with the smart talk and being all philosophical?
Lancer: I'm probably gonna just stay quiet for a while now, even if you ping me don't expect a response any time soon
I, after this point stay silent watching them bicker and talk about the most random of things, be it food, liquor, games, system complaints(Arbiter) etc. Now I try to pay attention to my surroundings as I feel something no somethings watching.
I minimize the chat. B.B.'s gone quiet- unusual, but not unwelcome.
The feeling's still there. Watching. Multiple somethings.
The ruins around us are mostly collapsed buildings and ice. Lots of ice. Some of it's got that weird golden tint- corruption spreading through the snow like veins.
"Sane?" Stelle's watching me. "You've been tense."
Have I?
One of the guards ahead stops, fist raised. The others react immediately- weapons out, formation tight.
"Contact," the lead guard barks into his radio. "Fragmentum signatures. Flamespawn and Frostspawn confirmed."
Oh great. Fire and ice monsters. On a frozen planet. Because that's not overkill.
Dan Heng's spear appears. March summons her bow. Stelle's got her bat out.
"Civilians, stay behind-"
The ground explodes to our left. Fire and crystal erupt upward.
A Flamespawn tears free. Eight feet of molten rock and corruption, dripping liquid fire. The heat hits me like a wall.
Shit. My fire weakness.
B.B. materializes beside me- purple hair floating, eyes serious, actually worried - *Senpai. That thing will COOK you. Stay back.*
Wasn't planning on hugging it.
The ground explodes right side. Opposite reaction- absolute cold.
Frostspawn. All ice and murder, twice as bulky as the fire one. Moves slow but hits like a truck.
They're flanking us. Fire on one side, ice on the other.
Smart monsters. Fantastic.
B.B. - * You're strong and fast but your judgment's off. Avoid the fire one. Fight the ice if you must.*
The Flamespawn charges first. Guards open fire- bullets melt or bounce off.
March's arrows hit ice vs fire- steam everywhere. Dan Heng engages the Frostspawn, spear finding gaps. Stelle charges the fire one like a maniac.
I circle wide. Every instinct screaming to stay away from that heat. Even twenty feet away it's like standing next to a bonfire.
The Frostspawn swings at Dan Heng. He parries but gets knocked back, ice spreading up his weapon.
B.B. - *Opening. Left flank.*
I spot it instantly. I move faster- faster than I realize, I dash practically flying at my opponent.
Fist meets the frozen shell like substance.
A crack resounds, then a sound akin to broken glass as my fist.
Without a scratch from the seemingly extremely sharp fragments, goes straight through the Frostspawn.
Now unfortunately for me, the Flamespawn attacks.
Attempting crash into me while engulfed in flame, the damned thing manages to hit my right arm as I tried to turn away.
"FUCK THAT BURNS"
My arm, which under normal circumstances would have been relatively fine, was not quite literally melting. I already see my bones.
Enraged at the damage I summon Rhongomyniad and blast the damn thing with a beam of light at about 5% power, still more than enough to vaporize and even cause cracks in the stone cliffs surrounding us.
Both down.
Pause. Heavy breathing.
My arm is gone now, I had managed to use my ice attribute to freeze the flames before they made my bones into ash.
Weirdly enough, after summoning Rhongomyniad my veins had started to form within the ice, and temporarily it seemed like the ice would function as my original arm. I could already tell that the lance's light was repairing my arm slowly using the ice as a placeholder and template.
I
Then the air *ripples*. Reality bends.
I don't get the chance to breathe before an Imaginary Weaver phases in.
It's wrong. Body shifts between solid and not. Too many limbs. Moves by warping space around it.
Two shadows melt from the ruins- Everwinter Shadewalkers. Tall, lean, wrapped in frozen darkness. Silent predators.
B.B. - *Imaginary element! Shadewalkers, these guys are popping up like mushrooms after rain!*
The Weaver raises a limb. Reality tears. One guard screams, arm caught in the rift.
Dan Heng forces it back.
The Shadewalkers blur forward. One goes for March. Other targets the injured guard.
I intercept. My frozen fist hits frozen smoke. It hisses, dissipates, reforms ten feet away.
*They phase!* B.B. warns.
Great. Ghosts. Why not.
With them unbothered by physical attacks I have to get creative. What can I use? Think damnit think!
Right my lance, Rhongomyniad, I charge, the lance responding to my subconscious will, lights a blaze in brilliant golden light. Before the damn thing phases again I pierce the lance through what I can only classify as its head.
It, while phasing, is engulfed within the golden glow it almost seems as if the light is eating away at it.
Jumping to the side, I sensed danger, looking back i realize my instinct was right, a rift had just torn open where I was moments ago.
Turning my attention to the more immediate threat I see March who had dealt with the other Shadewalker charging a shot straight at the Weaver who turns its attention March.
Taking the opportunity I send a blast of golden radiance, upon contact, the Weaver starts disintegrating and is gone within seconds.
Five down.
Then a sound. Like wind chimes mixed with bells. Wrong. Discordant.
Temperature drops hard. Instant.
Above us, something descends.
Ice Out of Space.
Geometric shapes that hurt to look at. Ice that's too perfect, colors that shouldn't exist. Tendrils of frozen energy everywhere. It doesn't fly- it hovers, space bending around it.
Four more Shadewalkers with it. Bigger. More solid.
B.B. appears, hair standing up, eyes wide, actually scared - *ELITE-CLASS! EVERYONE FOCUS FIRE!*
The thing hums. My bones vibrate. A tendril hits the ground- fractal ice spreads instantly.
The Shadewalkers split up. One per target.
Guards firing- bullets freeze mid-air, fall uselessly.
Stelle plants herself between us and the boss. "Alright crystalline bastard!"
B.B. - *All-out. No holding back. Survive first.*
Yeah. Figured.
Judging that there wasn't much danger due to a lack of anybody who can do fire type danger within enemy ranks, I disengage Rhongomyniad. Instead taking the advantage of my speed and strength I spear head through a Shadewalker which shatter before being able to disappear.
Head straight at the Ice of Space Charging up my fist with frost, and despite technically being disadvantaged I crack the thing open like the first geode of the day.
Split apart the show doesn't end its two halves land on the stone covered by snow embedding half a meter deep.
Turning around I check on my comrades, I see Stelle, who has just bashed in the torso of a Shadewalker and Dan heng who had already finished and was looking around just like me.
Then at the same time we both spot March who is now struggling against 3 Shadewalkers, two who seemingly appeared after the battle started.
Without further ado, worried for March's safety me and Dan Heng Dash towards the four, and although Dan Heng was closer I was faster, arriving just in time to catch the axe blade slashing at March. My Frozen hand holding the axe without a hassle, I rip it out of the Shadewalkers hand.
Pissed off at myself by almost allowing a comrade to be hurt I cleave through the 3 Shadewalkers instantly by channeling my strength into the requisitioned weapon.
Last Shadewalker dissipates.
Silent fragments dissolve before hitting ground.
Last Shadewalker dissipates.
Silent. Fragments dissolve before hitting ground.
Nothing left.
Ten creatures. Ten corpses- or vanished.
For a moment, everyone just stands there. Processing.
Then all eyes turn to me.
Guards with rifles lowered, staring. Not at my face- at my right arm. The arm made of ice with veins slowly forming through it.
March's bow disappears. Her eyes go wide. "Sane, your arm- what-"
"It's fine," I cut her off.
"FINE?!" Stelle's voice cracks slightly. She's suddenly right beside me, bat dismissed, reaching toward the ice arm but stopping short of touching it. "That's not- you don't have an ARM!"
"I have an arm. See?" I flex the fingers. They move. "Temporary. It'll heal."
"Temporary?!" March is on my other side now, voice rising. "You- the Flamespawn- I saw it hit you and you just- how are you so CALM about this?!"
"Because freaking out won't help?" I try to sound reasonable. It doesn't work.
Stelle grabs my shoulder- the left one, thankfully. "You're bleeding! Well, not bleeding exactly but there's- the ice is- oh Aeons-"
"I'm fine. Really. The lance is healing it, just takes time-"
"Takes TIME?!" March's voice hits a pitch that makes me wince. "What if it doesn't heal? What if-"
Dan Heng appears beside us. His expression is carefully neutral. Too neutral. "We should move. The guards are right- more Fragmentum will be attracted to the energy signatures."
His voice is calm. Professional.
But his eyes keep flicking to my arm. And his hand is gripping his spear way too tight.
"Dan Heng's right," I start, but March cuts me off.
"Don't 'Dan Heng's right' me! You nearly died!"
"Didn't though-"
"Your ARM MELTED!"
Stelle nods frantically. "She's right! That's- that's not okay! You can't just-"
B.B. materializes. Purple hair sharp and rigid, eyes blazing, expression absolutely livid.
Oh no.
*SENPAI.* - her voice is ice-cold, none of the usual playfulness - *What. The FUCK. Was that.*
Not now BB-
*YES NOW.* - she's practically vibrating with fury - *You have a 240% fire weakness. TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY PERCENT. And what do you do? GET CLOSE ENOUGH FOR IT TO HIT YOU.*
It was an accident-
*AN ACCIDENT?! You charged the Frostspawn without accounting for the Flamespawn's position! That's not an accident, that's RECKLESSNESS!*
I was focused on the immediate threat-
*And you almost DIED because your 'gimped judgment' made you forget about threat assessment!* - her voice cracks slightly - *Your arm was GONE, Senpai. GONE. If you didn't have ice attribute, if Rhongomyniad's healing wasn't active, if ANY of those variables were different-*
But they weren't.
*THAT'S NOT THE POINT!* - she's actually shaking - *You don't get to do that! You don't get to- to just throw yourself into danger and hope it works out!*
March is staring at me. "Who are you talking to?"
"...Nobody."
"You're doing the thing again. The face thing." Stelle's eyes are red-rimmed. "Are you okay? Like actually okay?"
Dan Heng's mask cracks slightly. "Your arm is made of ice. That is not 'okay' by any reasonable metric."
His voice is still even, but there's an edge to it. Genuine concern bleeding through the composure.
"We need to move," the lead guard calls out, though even he sounds shaken. "Medical team will check you at the gates-"
"I don't need-"
"You're getting checked." Dan Heng's tone leaves no room for argument. "Non-negotiable."
March nods firmly, wiping her eyes. "We're not letting you just- just walk this off!"
Stelle grabs my left hand. "You scared us. You know that, right?"
I... hadn't really thought about it. The INT debuff plus adrenaline plus focusing on survival-
B.B.'s voice softens, just slightly - *This is what I meant. You're not thinking clearly. And it almost cost you everything.*
...Yeah. Okay. Point taken.
"Sorry," I say quietly. "I didn't mean to worry you."
March's expression wobbles between anger and relief. "You better be sorry! Don't do that again!"
"I'll... try not to."
"Not good enough!" Stelle's grip tightens. "Promise! Promise you'll be more careful!"
Dan Heng is still watching me with that too-neutral expression. But his shoulders are tense. His breathing slightly uneven.
He's more worried than he's letting on.
"I promise," I say, more firmly. "I'll be more careful."
B.B., still visible only to me, crosses her arms - *You better keep that promise, Senpai. Because if you die on me, I'm going to find a way to resurrect you just so I can kill you myself.*
That's... weirdly touching?
*Shut up. I'm still mad at you.*
Fair.
"Can everyone move?" the guard repeats, eyeing the ruins nervously.
We start walking. March stays on my right side, keeping glancing at the ice arm. Stelle's on my left, still holding my hand like I might disappear. Dan Heng walks slightly ahead, but his posture is too rigid. Alert. Protective.
B.B. walks beside me, still scowling - *We're having a LONG talk about this later.*
Can't wait.
*I'm serious. You pull something like that again-*
I know. I'm sorry.
She's quiet for a moment. Then - *...I'm glad you're alive, you idiot.*
Me too.
As we move toward the massive walls ahead, I catch the outline of Belobog. Last bastion of humanity on this frozen world.
The guard's talking into his radio. "...boss-class neutralized. Civilian assistance was significant. One injured- arm status unknown. Requesting medical on standby..."
He glances back at me. Respect. Calculation. Wariness.
And yeah, I just showed them exactly how powerful- and how vulnerable- I can be.
B.B.'s final comment echoes in my head - *Welcome to Belobog, Senpai. Try not to lose any more limbs on day one~*
There's the BB I know.
*Someone has to maintain morale. And clearly YOU'RE not doing it.*
Fair point.
---
**Omnipresent POV:**
Someone up there just heard about the outsider who killed ten Fragmentum creatures and lost an arm doing it.
This is going to complicate things.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/WutheringWaves/comments/1cwv9wh/smile_d/#lightbox