"Cia... did you... kill all of these monsters?"
She looked at him with a calm, unwavering expression, and then shrugged.
"I told you... I know how to use a knife..."
She pivoted, holding up the small blade in the palm of her hand.
"You killed all of these beasts... with that knife?"
[Leon]: "Your woman is... the sort of person I might learn to like..."
[Artemis]: "Quiet!"
Artemis hissed through the Cognitive Tether.
"For a man who thinks... you seem shortsighted. Did you first assume me completely helpless because you saw how frail I am? Is that why you brought me with you, fed me, saved me from the watch of that armoured Knight? I may not be strong, I may be as weak as people come. But... I do not need to be strong if I am quick enough, and my blade is sharp enough..."
Even though she was acting tough, her hand shook, threatening to drop the silver knife, and her face which was now covered in crimson was unusually pale.
His lips curled up into a faint smile. "You're right. It was my mistake to doubt you. You did well."
She turned her gaze away, frowning. "Well, I did have a bit of help. There's another man here... he wears a bright-red cloak. At first, I thought he was another one of those monsters, his face was missing... well... a face. It was just a skull full of maggots. But when he took a bite out of one of the creatures, humanity suddenly sprouted from his depths, and covered the bone... he was the one who defeated these monsters..."
[Leon]: "Bastard Prince..."
Artemis grimaced, glancing around the plain of ash.
[Artemis]: "Yeah, that doesn't sound good..."
"Is he close by?" Artemis stared down at her.
She shook at her head. "I'm not sure where he went. But he's gone now."
Liquid splashed high behind them. Whipping his head around, he spotted several shadows now moving through the sea of blood. They had already crossed the mountain of corpses.
"We're going to escape, Cia. Can you run? Or do I need to carry you?" He wasn't teasing her this time. He was asking seriously. While before he had thought it would simply be faster to carry her, now it seemed like they had no choice. She was shaking far too much...
"Alright..." she whispered underneath her breath.
Artemis knelt down in front of her, bowing his neck down.
[Leon]: "Not a dog anymore. But a horse... how cute."
Ignoring the serpent's teasing, Artemis stood up with a groan and started trudging forward, stepping as carefully but as quickly as he could.
The silhouettes of the monsters in the fog had already begun their pursuit. A dog-like skeletal beast lunged at his legs, so he lifted his foot and stomped down on its head as it passed him by, shattering the thin skull under his boot.
He heard a murmur echo in his ear. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cia's lips flutter. But... he couldn't hear her.
"You're speaking too quietly." He spoke in a cold tone of voice.
So she repeated herself, albeit still quietly, but now understandable.
"You... came for me. Why? Why do you do so many strange things?"
His gaze looked back forward, his hurried trudging now entering a brisk jog. "I could have ignored you in the Palace, let you be swallowed by that abyss as I ran away. But I didn't. And I don't want to make a deliberate choice and not see it through. I was trapped in this Shadow in an attempt to save you. I want to make sure you remain alive... otherwise, what was the point?"
She seems... far too normal.
If [Eyes of Discernment] was able to describe a figure one step from becoming a Deity, how was it that an ordinary girl like Cia was an Unknown?
Is it really possible that there's something more to her that I simply can't understand?
The tip of his blade lashed out and struck a lanky pale creature through its eyelid. He bodied into its twin with his shoulder, causing Cia to yelp as she came face-to-face with a gaping maw of a thousand-razors.
On the farthest side of the ashen labyrinth, there was a small gap in one of the walls, the one overshadowed by the grand Ivory Tree in the distance. And past it, the Cradle opened back up, a place where the fog did not travel.
If only they could make it there!
He gathered all of the strength he had in his legs, crouching down as he sheathed his sword and grasped hold of Cia with his arm.
"Hold tight." He nearly bit his tongue with how hard and fast he clenched his teeth.
All of the energy he had gathered was expelled as he performed a massive leap, soaring over the gathering tide of silhouettes in front of them. His feet glided against the ground as he landed harshly, smoothly adopting a stance as he placed his hand on the ground, feeling Cia's grip tighten around his chest and shoulder.
There was a dark abyss hidden in the depths of that fog, like a mist so dark that it seemed as if it would swallow the night.
It was slowly descending towards them, threatening all who dwelled below, shadow or living.
[Artemis]: "What is that above us, Leon?"
[Leon]: "Nothing you want to interact with, I'm sure. You can make it in time."
The beasts he had jumped over were much faster than the ones he had first encountered when trying to locate Cia. They had already surged towards him en-mass, closing in on all sides. There was only a narrow path left, maybe one-hundred meters remaining between them and the labyrinth wall.
They could make it to the edge of the fog!
Artemis suddenly heard a shrill yelp call out from behind him. His head whipped around, watching as Cia tumbled to the ground, her arm grasped by a monster that had surged upwards from the shadows.
F-ck!
The dark fog suddenly touched upon the ground around them. It burst outwards in a terrifying sea of smog, flooding the Cradle. He couldn't see through it, he couldn't even spot the strangely-shaped silhouettes that had been gathering. Barely his feet, barely his hand! Everything had gone dark!
Leon's voice clamored in his head. This was the most agitated he had ever heard the serpent.
[Leon]: "Don't breathe it in! Artemis, don't-!"
Artemis's sword clattered against a stone on the ground as he dropped it.
A silhouette emerged from the shadows and barreled into his abdomen. He forcefully exhaled, the air knocked completely out of him as he tumbled several meters away.
It lunged onto him, battering him with its colossal fists. He felt the bones in his face crack first. Even with the traits of the Daemon bolstering his resilience, the pain was nearly unbearable.
He raised his arm, trying to block the strikes, but those bones broke just as easily. Pain surged up through his arm to his shoulder, and ultimately, his defense faltered.
Artemis kicked up at the beast, his vision flooded with the flow of crimson.
He quickly got up to his feet, throwing himself up with his momentum instead of propping himself up with his broken arm.
There was nothing where he had once seen Cia fall.
Where had Cia gone? Why had Leon stopped speaking?
"Leon! LEON! CIA!" Artemis cried out. But there was no answer. Only the slow drone of buzzing wings and groans of terrible creatures gradually approaching.
He had been left behind in the dark, it seemed.
He could sense it now. Just as he knew that there was the vile presence of Lark's Essence in his chest, he could feel the frosty, unfeeling chains around his heart.
Artemis's eyes widened. He suddenly couldn't remember what he had been looking for, who he had been looking for.
His lungs were heavy, and he found himself gasping. When was the last time he had breathed?
He took in another deep breath. The cold fog rolled over his tongue, down towards his lungs. He could feel its gristle brush against every part of him, sinking into him.
The monsters! He focused towards the monsters, raising his blade. Rather, he raised his two hands.
He had dropped his sword to the ground when the monster had attacked...
More beasts closed in on him, but as soon as he focused on picking up his sword, he forgot all about the danger closing in on him. Suddenly, there was no weight to the situation he was in. He even forgot why he needed to pick up his blade in the first place.
He sucked in a heavy breath again. He had forgotten to breathe. Why was his hand around his sword's hilt, now?
He blinked, gradually returning his focus to his gaze. There were rolling hills of ash surrounding him, a grand sea of fog.
Artemis's gaze shot over to his arm, which had become plastered in thick, wet crimson stains. There was something there-- a creature-- biting into his arm!
How had he not noticed it before?
He swung his sword towards the creature's head. His fist pummeled into its rotten, pus-ridden flesh. His face paled.
When had he let go of his sword?
Artemis glanced away from the creature. The moment it left his sight, he completely forgot about it. Instead, he shut his eyes completely, and focusing all he could, activated [Light-bound Shadow].
As soon as he had sunk into the shadow of one of the creatures almost instantaneously, the gutters of his mind immediately cleared up. He had already used [Eyes of Discernment], glancing immediately towards his Mind Core.
He watched as a vile wave of that deeply-blackened fog rolled out of the depths of his Mind Core, dissipating as it flooded over the rest of his body. The chill was intense, like all parts of him, inside and out, had been forced deep in the river's water during bare winter.
Artemis sucked in a large breath, his chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow. He clutched his chest, feeling the despair that surged up within him.
He had felt it once before when fighting against the shadow assassin.
This fog was messing with his focus!