The Eldrim Cards Legacy

Chapter 198: Only good things

Nero, who was especially used to paying attention to his environment, was feeling uncomfortable despite the fact that he was still under the influence of the injection that should have prevented him from feeling negative or uncomfortable. It was a testament to the threat they were feeling from the fog.

It was the feeling of being in the sights of a powerful predator, getting ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Yet instead of a single predator, they were surrounded from all sides and angles from countless predators.

"How much control have you gained over your ability?" Nero asked as he stretched his limbs, getting ready for their prompt exit.

"Not nearly as much as I'd like," Gabriel said as he summoned red sand in his hand. Nero could vaguely tell that the sand was supposed to be in the shape of a sword, but wasn't coming together quite right.

"My innate ability gained a new trait without losing out any of the old ones. It's basically a lot more versatile and easier to use than before, but it's almost like I have to learn how to use it from the beginning. Past experience helps, but only so much."

"Mine just grew stronger," Nero said as he looked at the frost on the walls. "As a result, it actually lost a few traits, but the overall effect should still be stronger. We'll just have to find out by how much the old fashioned way."

Once Nero had limbered up, and Gabriel was also ready, they quickly left the room, ensuring they closed it properly and left no hints of its existence. They had ended up spending an additional hour in the fog, so chances were high that Arter and Maximilian had already made it out - if they had not been intercepted by enemies first.

They quickly made their way to the entrance of the Vault, all without facing any obstacles, which was a good sign. There also weren't any dark berserkers smashing themselves on the barrier at the entrance which was for the best.

Even so, as they exited, they had their weapons drawn and were completely ready to face any sudden attacks. Fortunately, none came.

"Follow me," Nero said as he began navigating the way through the fog. He had made sure to memorise the path on the way over, so he was certain that he would be able to backtrack their way through the research facility - until they reached the stairwell. Or, to be more specific, the entrance to the stairwell.

There was a massive, metal sheet that had been ripped out of somewhere that had been placed where the entrance was, blocking it. On the metal sheet Nero could spot signs of weapons trying to cut through, and suddenly imagined Arter and Maximilian trying to make their way out.

Yet they had clearly failed, since there was no opening to the other side, and they were absent as well.

"What the hell is going on?" Gabriel said as he touched the metal sheet to see if it was real. He even brushed it with his red sand to see if his sand could eat through the metal, only to be faced with failure.

"Only good things happen when you follow blood stains," Gabriel said out loud, though Nero could not tell if he was being sarcastic, or hoping for a positive manifestation.

They naturally followed the blood to an open door, though the entrance had been barricaded using various pieces of furniture.

"Arter! Maximilian!" Nero whispered through the door, channelling Fair Weather through the door so that the fog would disperse, allowing his voice to carry. "Are you guys in there?"

"Nero?" a familiar voice suddenly exclaimed from the other side. It was Maximilian.

"Shit! You guys need to hide quickly! Return to the Vault if you can! That thing isn't something Neophytes can fight! Arter's entered a coma due to aether exhaustion, and I'm practically out as well!"

Maximilian's voice was filled with genuine panic and fear, yet before they could ask anymore questions, Nero felt a tremor travel through the floor. His dagger already drawn, he turned around from the direction of the tremor, yet saw nothing. But a moment later, he felt another tremor, and another, as if something heavy was walking towards them.

Finally, through the fog itself, before he could see anything, Nero heard a faint 'thud'. He saw the outline of an enormous, misshapen creature a moment before it passed through the fog, into the clearing of Fair Weather.

It had the body of a large berserker, its silver skin stretched to the limit with packed muscle. Yet there were a couple of key differences. Instead of a right arm, the thing had dozens of tentacles emerging from his left shoulder, twisting and turning together into the shape of a right arm that was somehow bigger than its body itself.

Even more surprising, for some odd reason, was that in its left hand, it held a spear that Nero was all too familiar with.

"My spear," he couldn't help but whisper as he laid eyes on it.

Upon hearing Nero's words the creature stopped walking, and instead looked at him through the soulless eyes of the berserkers.

"My spear," the creature spoke, its voice like nails scratching on a chalkboard. There was a certain amount of glee in its voice as it spoke, and a level of intellect that made Nero extremely wary. This was a completely different level of enemy from the berserkers they faced before.

"My Vault."