Everything felt distant, like I'd been dropped into a dream I couldn't wake from. My head was heavy, thoughts sluggish and scattered. I blinked slowly, the world bleeding back into focus through a haze. Above me, light filtered down through swaying leaves, soft and shifting, pulling me toward awareness.
Only then did I realize I was propped against a tree, the rough bark biting into my back. Shifting to ease the discomfort, I caught a faint flicker at the edge of my vision. Notifications started buzzing to life the moment I acknowledged them, reminders of everything that had happened. Sighing, I pushed them aside. Right now, I have to focus on the present.
That focus wavered the moment I looked down to see that my arm was truly gone. The only thing left was the bandages wrapped tightly around the stump where my left arm should have been. Staring in disbelief, I finally started to recall the events of the battle. The reality of it only now truly setting in, as a dull ache throbbed through my body, but the sharpest pain radiated from my missing arm, each pulse a cruel reminder of the helplessness…
I drew in a slow breath and braced myself against the tree, forcing my body to move. Agony flared like wildfire, every muscle screaming as I tried to rise. I clenched my teeth, willing myself upright. My legs trembled beneath me, unsure whether to hold my weight or buckle, but somehow I stayed standing, heavily favoring my good side.
Ella's voice snapped from the side, cutting through the haze like a whip. "What do you think you're doing, Atlas? You can't just be wandering around in your condition!"
I turned toward her, gritting my teeth. "I'm fine. I can handle a few steps." Even as I said it, my legs wobbled beneath me, the throbbing in my side burning hotter with every breath. Damn it… Why can't my body just listen?
Ella crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Yeah, sure. You look real steady right now."
"I just need… to move around a little," I muttered, though the protest sounded weak even to my own ears.
Her expression softened, the sharp edge of her scolding giving way to worry. "Atlas, pushing yourself won't fix anything. You'll just tear yourself apart."
I opened my mouth to argue again, but the pain spiked again, and the words died in my throat. With a frustrated sigh, I eased myself back down beside her, a groan escaping as I settled into the dirt.
Ella knelt beside me, her eyes searching mine. "You need to take it easy. We can't afford to have you making your injuries worse."
With a sigh, I conceded, "Alright, alright. I get it. I'll take it easy."
I turned to Ella, my concern etched across my face. "How's everyone holding up? Henry, Amelia, Benjamin... are they okay?"
Ella met my gaze with a wearied expression, the aftermath of the intense struggle evident in her eyes. "Henry's stable, luckily. The blow missed his vital organs, but he's in rough shape. Amelia, though, pushed herself too hard with her powers and passed out. She's resting now, trying to regain her strength."
My mind raced with worry for my friends, and I pressed for more details. "And Benjamin? How's he doing?"
Ella's gaze turned somber as she shared the grim reality. "Benjamin didn't fare well. The cut is deep, and Emily thinks it hit his spine."
The weight of the injuries hit me all at once. I let out a slow breath, my thoughts unraveling into exhaustion.
Then a faint buzz.
It tugged at the edge of my awareness, pulling my gaze toward the dense thicket of trees. For a moment, something was there, half-hidden behind the trunk of an ancient oak, a living shadow.
The same one that had guided us this far.
But before I could pull it into focus, it slipped away, dissolving into the dimness as if it had never been there at all.
"Hey, are you even listening?" Ella's voice broke through my reverie, her hand waving in front of my face.
"Sorry, just got lost in thought," I replied, shaking off the distraction.
"Were you checking your stat screen?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"No, just zoned out for a moment," I admitted, refocusing on the present.
"Well, I'm going to go check on everyone else," Ella whispered sombely, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "We'll make it through this, Atlas. We always do. We've come this far, and we're not giving up now."
I nodded, appreciating her support. As Ella walked away, I took a deep breath, taking in all that had happened.
I glanced back at the tree line, but there was no sign of the elusive shadow. It's always like that, never in the same place twice. I should remember the direction it disappeared in, I noted, before shifting my focus away from the forest.
Opening my stat screen, I was taken aback by the flood of notifications. Twelve level-ups and numerous skill advancements greeted me. What really caught my attention, though, were the titles I'd gained.
The first title that caught my eye was "Apocalypse Slayer Rank 1," earned for defeating an apocalypse-class creature during its incubation stage. A 5% boost to all my stats is nothing to sneeze at. But wait, incubation stage? I mean, seriously? A creature that powerful was just getting started? I shuddered at the thought of facing it fully grown. It's a good thing we caught it early.
Brushing aside those unsettling musings, I moved on to the next title, eager to see what else I had unlocked.
"Level Defier Rank 1" recognized my achievement in slaying a creature that was ten levels above my group's highest level individual with fewer than five people. This title granted a bonus of pulse five stat points.
More impressively, I had also earned "Level Defier Rank 2" for taking down a creature twenty levels above my group's highest level individual with fewer than five people. This title came with an even greater reward of ten stat points.
With these titles and the additional stat points from leveling up, I reviewed my stat screen after distributing all my points.
Atlas Mercer
Race:Human
Level:15
Stats:
Strength: 14 + 2Vitality: 16 + 2Agility: 20 + 3Endurance: 13 + 1Intelligence: 15 + 1Dexterity: 12 + 1
Skills:
Lightning Enhancement: Rank 2
Lightning Control: Rank 2
Lightning Resistance: Rank 1
Identify: Rank 1
Unique Skills:
Void Creation: Rank 2
Multilingual: Rank 1
Astraheim's Inheritance:
??????????????????
Titles:
Primordial Inheritance:
+10% to all stats
???
???
???
Apocalypse Slayer: Rank 1
+5% boost to all stats
Level Defier: Rank 1
+5 Stats
Level Defier: Rank 2
+10 Stats
With these new powers, I couldn't stop wondering what they could do, what they meant for me.
But the weight of our situation pressed down harder. My arm was gone, and I wasn't sure if I would ever get it back. And the others, Henry and Benjamin, are both barely hanging on. The core will help Henry, sure, but Benjamin… if we don't find him one soon… I cut the thought short before it hollowed me out.
Better to focus on the only thing I could control.
Leaning back against the tree, I exhaled slowly, the motion pulling a jolt of pain from my side. I grimaced, adjusting my posture until the sting dulled to a throb. Then, with my remaining hand, I summoned a thread of darkness, watching it coil and flicker in my palm.
Void Creation had become second nature now, at least in its simpler forms. I conjured a spear, then dissolved it, just to make another. And then a second, third, and so on. By the time I hit eight, I let them hover for a moment, watching them flicker in and out like dancing shadows before snuffing them all out at once.
Eight. That was new.
Not long ago, five was my limit before the strain started to show. This progress should've made me feel accomplished. But instead… I felt restless.
Armor didn't work. I'd tried. The structure collapsed before it even formed properly. Maybe it was too complex? Or too big? I couldn't tell.
Tossing those thoughts aside, I let my gaze wander lazily across the clearing until I caught sight of movement in the underbrush, a strange creature slipping through the shadows. A slender, snake-like body slithered out of sight before I could get a good look. Still, something about the way it moved stuck with me.
Could I make that?
I didn't focus. Not really. It was more of a passing thought, but the Void stirred anyway.
A shape began to form.
A head formed first. Then, a neck and further down as the snake began to take shape. Then its form started to move without my command, as it twisted in on itself, forming a ball-like shape that writhed like it was starting to wake. And impossibly, scales began to form, shimmering faintly in the dark mass, like somehow reflecting the light, or was it emitting it? Wait, that didn't make sense… how would it do either one? It had always just consumed all light–
The energy suddenly surged, pulling hard.
My hand began to vibrate, trembling violently as if something were trying to rip its way out through my skin. A sickening pressure swelled in my arm, and then my bones began to strain, like something was trying to bend and twist it in ways that it couldent move. It felt like everything in my arm was being pulled apart from the inside.
I tried to let the image fade, but for some reason it wouldn't go away. Panic overtook my logical thought, and I lurched back, slamming against the tree, causing pain to radiate throughout my body in sharp, pulsing waves.
And then the forming creature shattered into a flicker of black mist, dispersing like smoke in the wind. The weight vanished, the pain receded. Turning my hand over, I expected to see some type of damage, but there was nothing, no burns, no bruises, just that faint echo of a pain that pulsed deep in my veins.
"…What the hell…"
Even that fragment, just part of something alive, had nearly torn me apart.
I stared at the space where the snake had begun to form, for a good moment just letting the image settle in my thoughts. But no matter what, I couldent stop my heart from pounding.
I hadn't meant to do that.
I didn't even think I could.
And yet… I almost did.
The thought lingered, heavy and unsettling. It wasn't just the power; it was what it meant. The Void responded to imagination, intent... desire. What would've happened if I had finished creating it? What would it have been?
Shaking off the questions, I shoved them to the back of my mind, and as I shifted my focus, I turned to something hopefully simpler.
My breathing steadied, and after a few moments, I raised my hand again, this time calling on something else.
Electricity sparked between my fingers, crackling and eager.
Lightning.
Now this was straightforward.
Exploring my Lightning Control skill yielded promising results. I found that I could charge my lightning abilities, storing more energy for a more potent release. This newfound control allowed me to adjust the size and intensity of my lightning blasts. The demonstration unintentionally startled Ella and Emily, who rightfully chastised me for recklessly using my abilities, given our current condition.
Over the next few days, the forest around us slowly came back to life, like it, too, was recovering from the chaos we had endured. The eerie silence that had once gripped the woods was now replaced by the soft rustle of leaves, the chirps of creatures hidden in the underbrush, and the distant sound of wildlife cautiously returning to its home. It was as if nature itself was healing alongside us.
On the morning of the third day, Amelia's discovery of her newfound powers came as a shock. She had been experimenting with her abilities, testing the limits of what she could now do. At first, it started small, rocks shifting under her command with more precision and strength than before. But then, as she concentrated further, something extraordinary happened. A pool of molten lava began to bubble up from beneath the earth, responding to her will.
"Volcanic Dominion… Rank 1," Amelia murmured, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and trepidation as the molten rock solidified into a hardened form. The lava obeyed her every command, swirling and shaping itself before cooling into an almost unbreakable substance.
The rest of us stood by, watching with wide eyes. Ella spoke first, her tone laced with disbelief. "You… you can control lava now?"
Amelia nodded, her hand still outstretched toward the cooled rock. "No kidding"
Henry just stared at the lava with a wide-mouth expression. "Well, remind me not to get on your bad side. Getting hit by rocks was bad enough, but lava? That's a whole new level of terrifying."
Despite the tension in the air, a small smile tugged at Amelia's lips. "Don't worry, Henry. I'll save the lava for the real threats."
As the reality of her new powers sank in, we gathered to discuss our experiences. We had all gained something from the battle: titles, new abilities, and more questions than answers. The most unsettling revelation was the title we all shared: "Apocalypse Slayer Rank 1."
"The creature we fought was still in its incubation stage," Henry mused aloud, the weight of the title settling heavily on his shoulders. "If it was that powerful already, what would it have been like fully grown?"
The silence that followed spoke volumes. None of us wanted to imagine what kind of horror we had barely managed to stop, let alone what might have happened if it had been allowed to fully mature.
Later that day, as the sun's began to slip beneath the horizon, Benjamin stirred for the first time since the battle. We'd been watching over him in shifts, holding our breath every time he twitched or murmured.
I sat beside him, the fire casting flickering light across the camp, when a strained groan slipped from his lips.
"Benjamin?" I leaned in, my voice tight. "Hey…can you hear me?"
His eyelids fluttered open, unfocused. He blinked up at the darkening sky, then at me, brows knitting together in a fog of confusion.
"Wha… what happened?" he rasped, his voice rough like sandpaper.
"You were hurt," I said softly. "During the fight. You've been out for a while."
He pushed himself up with a grunt, then froze.
A crease formed on his brow. "My legs feel… weird."
He glanced down. Then again, slower. His hands hovered uncertainly over the blanket before yanking it away.
There was a pause, as he just stared at his feet.
"I… I can't feel them." His voice cracked, rising in panic. "Why can't I feel them?"
"Wait, what?" I moved closer. "What do you mean?"
Benjamin's breath caught. His hands touched his legs, lightly at first, then pressed harder. Desperately. He patted, slapped, pushed, digging his thumbs into muscle that gave no response.
"I can't–" His voice cracked as panic bled into it. "I can't feel anything. Why can't I feel anything?!"
"Benjamin, hey, calm down," I said, reaching out.
He jerked away. "Don't tell me to calm down!" His voice rose like a snap of thunder. "Something's wrong…really wrong!"
Amelia was already at his side, dropping beside us. "You're awake. That's what matters right now," she said gently, though her eyes were wide. "We don't know how bad it is. Could be swelling, nerve shock, something temporary–"
"Temporary?!" Benjamin gasped. "I can't even twitch a toe, Amelia! My legs–they're just…what if I never walk again?"
His hands trembled violently now as he stared down at them, like he was trying to will the nerves back into his limbs by sheer force of desperation. He pressed his fingers to his thighs again and again, eyes locked in a frantic loop between his hands and his legs.
Come on. Move. Move.
His shoulders began to shake, like the very foundations of who he was were starting to crack.
"I can't…" His voice was barely more than a whisper. "I can't lose this. Not like this."
I swallowed hard, a lump caught in my throat. "Ben…" I tried to say something more, anything, but the words withered before they left my lips. I couldn't imagine the storm tearing through him in that moment.
He kept staring at his legs as if sheer willpower might force sensation back into them. But no matter how much we wanted it, nothing would change.
Amelia moved closer, laying a hand gently over his. "We'll figure it out," she said softly. "You're not done yet."
Benjamin's lip quivered for a long while, but he didn't say a word. Just sat in the firelight, fingers twitching over motionless legs, locked in a silent war with his own body.
And all we could do was sit there with him, helpless to fix it, but unwilling to leave.