Chapter 504: The Stray

In moments like this, he was relying on Eden to guide him. Monsters were everywhere on the street. As more and more people transformed, he hid in the shadows, but whenever he needed to cross between them, he needed to be sure not to be caught, and he could only do that with Eden.

His vision couldn’t see where all the monsters were, and his hearing was already overloaded, so he could never use it. The constant screeching of monsters and screams of the Readers was already too much.

His nose was also overrun by blood and other bad smells, plus he wasn’t really used to having it be the thing guiding him, so that was a no-go. The only thing he could fully rely on was Eden, his ability to sense souls.

Sitting at the edge of a house, Aether closed his eyes for a second so he could concentrate, and so his vision wouldn’t steal his attention as he monitored all the monsters around him that could see him. There was just a problem: one was staring at the space he wanted to run through.

It would be impossible to reach the next shadow without a distraction.

Looking down, he picked out a rock he managed to see through some dirt with Eden, throwing it away from him, and using his skill to make it say something. A sound; it didn’t have to be a word.

Hearing it, many of the monsters turned their attention to it, including the one he needed. Dashing forward, he managed to get into the next shadow. Catching his breath, Aether walked through it carefully. Looking around to see if he could see Elise’s soul, but he couldn’t.

’Damn it, what if she’s already transformed? How am I supposed to know? I don’t know how much I can go on without making one mistake.’

And one mistake was all it took; if he was seen for even one second, he would get chased by who knows how many monsters. He was lucky, really lucky with his Affinity and every skill or relic he had that allowed him to hide in shadows better.

Maybe he didn’t actively show just how happy he was to have them, because really, everyone would prefer offensive abilities over utility like his, but in times like this.

He would trade everything offensive he had for an easier time to hide... just that he didn’t really have anything offensive outside his relics, so he didn’t have that much to give.

Reaching the end of the house, Aether looked at the next one, noticing that because of some lights, it lacked any shadows... he had to think of something else. ’Alright.’ He said, taking a deep breath. Looking around, he dashed towards the house, using Erosion to enter it without wasting time or making any sound.

Yet inside, what he didn’t expect was a just-recently transformed monster, biting the foot of another Seeker. Summoning Raven, he dashed forward, slicing through the scales before grabbing its mouth and forcing it shut so it wouldn’t scream.

Lifting his hand slightly, he summoned Voidpiercer, the blade coming out at great speed right into the monster’s mouth, going through its brain and killing it.

’It seems as if the newer awakened are weaker than the older ones, those that have fully transformed. If I had to guess, those that are recently bitten have the rank and class they had as Seekers. Not bad news.’

As Voidpiercer slipped back into his hand, Aether sensed the bitten human behind it transform and jump for his foot to bite him. From his foot, he quickly used his Abyssal Matter to chain it down, before turning and, with all his force, slashing its head off with Raven.

’A Bearer blade against a Seeker monster.’ He nodded, happy with the blade’s results. ’Approved. Reminds me of the times I used Voidpiercer, a Seeker blade against Reader monsters.’

Wiping the blade with his mantle, the windows suddenly broke as petals started to flow all around in the air, sharp, able to cut your skin like knives. Raising his hands up, he backed away, jumping out of the now-broken window.

But he had forgotten that there were no shadows.

Seeing him, many of the monsters started running toward him. ’Shit.’

There was no point in going slow anymore, so he just ran as fast as he could, trying to get away, yet as the monsters got closer, the petals blocked their path, weirdly enough. He had no idea whose powers this was, but it was amazing.

Summoning his bow, Aether shot one of the monsters that was coming from the way he was running towards, finishing it off with his blade as he passed it.

Breaking from house to house, Aether watched as the petals helped him... and almost guided him, so he followed them; after all, it was one of the only things he could do. After all, the only people who could control them were the ones on his side; it couldn’t be anything bad.

He ran, barely dodging some of the monsters and cutting some to get Raven’s mark on them, as many as he could. After all, while Eden was really nice, having the marks was much better; he could directly feel where they were, he didn’t have to look around with his soul sense, and keep track of each.

He knew their position as well as he knew his.

Following the petals, as they slowly dimmed, he finally reached the person controlling them. "Elise?!" Aether screamed as he ran towards her.

The girl turned towards him. "So you were the one my petals touched close to me? Why are you even back?"

Reaching her, he rested his arm on her shoulder as the monsters ran towards them. "Does it matter? Let’s get out of here fast." He said, grabbing her arm.

"No, we have to help them!" The girl said, taking her hand away.

Aether frowned. "Goddamn it, Elise, don’t you see? This battle is already long lost. We can’t win; we barely have any effect on this fight. You must have seen, you petals may block and help get around, but you can’t kill the more powerful ones. And plus, most have already turned.

You have better things to do than fight a losing battle!" He said, grabbing her hand again, as the monsters got closer.

Elise opened her mouth, hesitating to speak. Seeing this, Aether quickly turned his head towards the monsters, using a lot of his remaining essence to make a huge floor of Abyssal matter and turn it into spikes to block them and kill a few.

But holding this for long was far beyond possible.

He tugged at her hand, waiting for her to respond. He didn’t want to force her, but he really couldn’t wait long.

..."Fine, let’s go." He sighed in relief as he gripped her hand tighter, heading towards the exit at full speed. Using his marks, he tried his best to avoid those he already knew about, and used Eden to navigate the best route.

There was just one thing.

His mind was becoming heavily overwhelmed by everything; keeping track of everything was a lot... he felt himself start to see things... meaning his mental fortitude had dropped enough to make the Abyss affect him. ’At least that fucker hasn’t started talking yet.’

Elise was also of huge help, using the petals she had placed all over the town, and using all her remaining essence, she blocked some of the monsters’ paths. But each second that passed, there seemed to be more and more. ’Probably because more Readers are getting turned... and the bad part is that the stronger ones have also started turning.’

His feet were getting weaker under him, but finally seeing the ending made his eyes sparkle as he entered the tunnels... just that they weren’t the only ones; he could feel the walls tremble as more monsters flowed into them, digging in as they chased them.

Gripping Elise’s hand tighter, he dodged the monsters jumping to bite them as he ran through without any fear of the ground falling under them. If he stopped, he was dead either way.

Running faster than he ever had, he reached the end, bursting through a tunnel; ironically, he hadn’t even entered through here, but he was damn happy there was a normal exit.

...

Just that outside was his worst horror: the same giant that had been there when they entered Wonderland. Turning its head towards them, Aether felt his heart drop, but he couldn’t stop running...

And to his surprise, the monster was more interested in the sea of lizards following them than in him... and he was in no way going to let this go to waste.

While the giant destroyed the monsters, going into the ground to probably destroy the whole town. They ran far away.

Until their feet finally stopped.

Falling to the ground, Aether felt sweat fall from his forehead, as his breath was heavier than ever.

...

But at least they got away.