Seren approached the gates of Bone Bastion. He saw the guards on the watchtowers, a few skeletal creatures, turn to cast their bony gaze on him. A pair of hulking husks, their grey flesh barely managing to remain attached to flesh and bone, blocked his path.
He expected them to speak, perhaps attack, but they waited. No less than a minute later, a tall wraith made of darkness approached him. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, but its legs blended at the waist to form a clump of darkness. The tall mass of darkness leaned over and stared Seren in the eyes, seemingly gazing at his soul.
'It must be checking to see if I'm a creature born of corruption, because I appear human.'
He heard the ghostly whisper of the spell whisper into his ear.
[You have attained a new Attribute: Corrupted]
The wraith spoke as it raised its head, its voice causing Seren to shiver.
"You are one of us... A Corrupted... But you look human... How curious. Have you come to seek shelter and safety with the Forgotten Lord?"
'I can understand it. Before, Nightmare Creatures spoke gibberish. Must be my new Attribute.'
"Yes, I have come to seek shelter here."
"Please... Come in..."
It beckoned inside the walls, and the two hulks moved aside.
Seren followed the wraith through the bastion. Many buildings and housing made of wood, bone, and hides were built wherever there was open space. Firepits were common, and many undead creatures were gathered around them. There seemed to be no organisation to the buildings, and no segregation between types of undead. After the main wall, which was reinforced with bone and hide, which Seren now realised was actually skin, there was a second wall about thirty feet away, and a third wall above that, before a fourth wall surrounded the keep at the peak of the hill. Gatehouses were stationed at every passageway between sections, and there seemed to be no limits on where a creature could go. The wraith led him up to the topmost section before the keep, where the portcullis to the walls between the keep had to be opened for him.
After the portcullis was lifted, the wraith passed through, and Seren followed. The keep was no more than a large, two-story stone house, but with a tower on each four corners. Inside, the rooms were barely lit, and at the end of the large foyer, a throne stood, with a skeleton sitting on it.
The skeleton was dressed in worn black noble clothing, with a silver crown resting on his skull. To his left, an emaciated, almost insectoid humanoid stood, with long, shadowy strings draping from its fingers. To his right, a towering skeletal knight, black smoke leaking from its joints. A long obsidian sword rested beside it.
The wraith spoke.
"A visitor, Forgotten Lord. He may look human, but he is an Awakened Monster. He is seeking safety in your humble bastion."
A deep rumbling voice emanated from the Forgotten Lord.
"Thank you, Umbre. You may leave."
The wraith, Umbre, as he was called, disappeared into the darkness.
Seren stood, marvelling at how intelligent Nightmare Creatures truly were. He had heard that Demons and higher beings possessed intelligence, but he had thought that society was out of the question. He was proven wrong, as the Forgotten Lord had proved.
He realised that the Forgotten Lord was staring at him and quickly dropped into a bow.
"Greetings, your lordship. I have come to seek refuge in your magnificent domain."
"You speak, and appear to have intelligence, as only a Monster? How curious..."
"Yes, I speak. I also speak the human language."
The Lord stroked his bony chin. Having a human-like Corrupted working for him would be beneficial, as it could blend in with the humans.
"What is it that you are called, Monster?"
Seren hesitated, then hastily thought of a name.
"Neres, your lordship."
'What is that. Thats not a name. That's my fucking name backwards.'
"Well, Neres, you are officially welcome here. Report to Frail for an occupationally living space, Nex for employment opportunities, and Tan to get officially registered to be here and pay the monthly 'residents fee.' Oh, and get evaluated. Check with Skelly for that one. Find a tour guide, too. Tell Slum that he can do that. You are dismissed. Next payment is in a month."
With that, the Lord waved his hand, and Seren felt his arms getting tugged, and then was unceremoniously chucked out of the building.
***
Marlowe watched as the trees erupted with hordes of undead. He counted at least sixty Beasts, forty Monsters, twenty Demons, and five Devils. There were only forty Awakened here, with a few Masters. However, Marlowe was unfazed. After all, they had Princess Seishan and Saint Bloodbourne with them. Victory was inevitable.
The Awakened in the backline unleashed a barrage of Aspect Abilities and ranged attacks. Marlowe aimed his [Piercing Bolt] at the horde and shot his other bolt memory, [Fire Bomb], at a group of Monsters. He heard the Spell's ominous voice ring in his ear.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Wandering Husk.]
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Possessed Corpse.]
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Husk.]
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Corpse.]
[You have slain an...]
Marlowe quickly reloaded another bolt into his crossbow and continued to fire, using his Dormant Ability to observe the entire battlefield and his Awakened Ability to mark weakpoints and share their location with Priest, who could deal heavy damage using his Awakened Ability.
His crossbow, an Awakened memory of the third tier, allowed him to deal damage to all of the undead, but the Demons and Devils were not easy to take out. The Demons were skeletal warriors in jagged shadow-armour, weapon fused to hand. The armour was proving difficult to punch through, even with his Awakened Ability helping him. The Devils simply were wraith-like creatures, and they turned incorporeal to avoid damage. However, a Master could easily destroy the vile shadows.
Suddenly, through one of his watching eyes, he saw a weak spot emerge on a particularly elusive Devil, who was weaving through blows and wounding Awakened. He highlighted the position, which was near the Devil's arm, and shot a crossbow bolt at it. The bolt slammed into the tall wraith and shattered an onyx gem that was hidden in its arm. The moment it shattered, the Spell spoke.
[You have slain an Awakened Devil, Umbral Wraith.]
[You have received a Memory: Bound Onyx.]
Marlowe smiled with glee. He had managed to kill an Awakened Devil! With a crossbow that was weaker than it.
He hoped Willow had seen that.
As he turned to aim at another undead, Mirko appeared behind him, with a long slash on his arm. He turned to Marlowe as Paris began to heal him, a smile on his face.
"I saw you kill that Devil. Nice shot! Good to know that their is hidden gemstones in them, I fought one, and had no idea how kill it. That's when one of the Demons, they're called Nightbounre Remnants by the way, caught me in the arm with his sword and left this dreadful mark, right through my armour by the way."
"Okay... Did I mention that I got a memory for killing that thing?"
"No way! Thats so cool!"
"Who told you guys that you could gossip? Not that it matters, since Saint Bloodbourne finished killing most of them."
"Sorry, Willow."
Marlowe and Mirko both apologised at the same time.
"Now, since the battle is over... What were you talking about?"
Marlowe summoned the [Bound Onyx] to his hand. It manifested in his hand as a many-faced, slightly jagged piece of onyx that glimmered faintly.
"I got a memory."
Marlowe's face turned smug. This was the first time a member of their cohort had killed a Devil and got a memory, so he was gloating.
"Nice, what's it do?"
Priest leaned in excitedly.
Marlowe summoned his runes to check.
Name: Marlowe
True Name: —
Rank: Awakened
Soul Core: Awakened
Soul Shards: [156/200]
Memories: [Piercing Bolt] [Fire Bomb] [Light of Ruin] [Sever], [Case of Rain], [Guardsmen Gear], [Bound Onyx]
Echos: [Empirical]
Attributes: [Knowledge]
Aspect: [All Seer]
Aspect Rank: Transcedent
Dormant Ability: [Watching Eye]
Dormant Ability Description: [Your eyes are ever watching.]
Awakened Ability: [Omni-Sight]
Awakened Ability Description: [Nothing can hide from you.]
Flaw: [Overbearing]
Flaw Description: [Knowledge is Power, but it comes at a price.]
Name: Bound Onyx
Rank: Awakened
Type: Tool
Description: [Oh, how the spirits struggled to escape the binding of the Bound. The onyx held fast, but their efforts bore fruit.]
Marlowe blinked.
"It's a Tool called the Bound Onyx. Its description is funky too. 'Oh, how the spirits struggled to escape the binding of the Bound. The onyx held fast, but their efforts bore fruit.'"
"Interesting. You'll have to ask a memory expert what it does. Or just trial and error. Anyway, I'll be going to collect my share of soul shards."
Priest turned around and began to walk towards the bodies of the undead, where the Awakened were harvesting them. Paris, Mirko and Willow followed.
Marlowe studied the onyx for a bit longer before heading over as well. As he was about to dismiss the onyx, he heard a whisper, emerging from the stone.
"Onyx... Remembers... Lost..."