29 - Better to Feel Nothing (Patreon)

When Uriel saw Tanner arrive back in the camp without Phoenix, he hoped that Dazien would follow through with Rayna’s prediction. He took a step forward towards the kneeling runeforged but a second later the brief rise in anger was completely smothered. He felt absolutely nothing and his mind knew the effects of his earrings had triggered.

He wanted to get upset about that but he couldn’t. He knew that he should be feeling outraged at the man who claimed to be a leader proving to be nothing but a coward instead. Silvie had deserved better than Tanner for a Bonded. Yet, he couldn’t find the fire within him to feed that anger.

Instead, he watched. He listened and waited. Away from everyone so as not to hurt them should a monster come upon them while they were focused on the apparent drama happening when Saiya hugged the poor excuse for a leader and Dazien took his frustration out on the land, kicking up snow.

The Mage wanted to comfort his king but right now he knew that he wouldn’t be of any help with the numbing sensation of the earrings having been kicked into overdrive. It was disconcerting to know that the only reason he currently felt so little was because he would be feeling too much otherwise.

His attention was grabbed by the appearance of the portal and he thought it was good that Phoenix stepped through it but he couldn’t feel happy about it. The jewelry wouldn’t let him right now, not until they sensed him truly calming down again. He knew it was a good thing they were already active, however, when Phoenix fell to the ground another moment later with a large metallic cat mauling her from behind.

Oh, it’s a Flame Machetah, he thought to himself. They were more common spawns in the southern continent of Vaara, the most dangerous of the four sections that divided the globe, but they had been known to appear within the Reality Rift of Tulisuda from time to time.

Oh, Rayna hit that really hard. Note to self: don’t anger her until after reaching Sapphire, the Mage noted and knew he should feel worried when the bard was struck from behind by another mechanical monster but the thought that came was, It’s an Acid Macheta too. Those are even rarer and definitely only known to spawn in Vaara.

Then he felt the tug of an ability on his being and he recognized Saiya’s request, easily accepting it. The next moment, he found himself in the beautiful and calming garden of her [Restful Retreat] and he glanced up to see the clear sky above them. 

He liked the odd effect of always being able to see the stars when inside this dimensional space and felt a flutter of content to see that the stormy clouds, which had been sprinkling snow on them all a moment ago, were nowhere to be seen. Just the twilight sky with a light spattering of the brightest evening stars.

That flutter of serenity was the indication he had been waiting for to know the earrings were starting to retract their magic. His focus landed on Phoenix who was groaning and talking, which luckily meant she was alive, and he just caught her saying, “–those particular cats act like I personally offended them somehow.”

“Maybe the Soul Reapers have some kind of grudge against Wayfarers,” he suggested. His concern for her returned to a more normal level as the tranquil aura that did a better job of balancing out emotions replaced what his earrings were attempting.

As he was starting to feel more like himself again, he followed along while they discussed their plan of action against the two Machetahs outside of the giant lotus they were currently hiding inside of. Once the plans were made, he focused on breathing deeply, not wanting to trigger the earrings again right now, and got ready to do his part in keeping his friend safe by slowing the beasts down.

As the white petal walls of the area seemed to fall away from them like a blooming flower, they all began to move. His first act was to release the clasp of the Silencer around his neck. The Chaos Summoners were beginning their incantations while he began his own, “A touch of frost and your death follows.”

Uriel breathed a slight sigh of relief when he sensed the spell’s Banes latch onto the red Sapphire Caste creature that had an increased chance of resisting him. It wasn’t a lot but it slowed marginally from the stack of [Chilled] it received and he cast [Frost Touched] again, trying to put more stacks on both of the large mecha-felines.

He stayed close to the other ranged Casters but still kept his distance and kept his aura held as tightly to him as possible, afraid of hurting the others at all. It made him less impactful but at least he didn’t distract the others or cause even more harm to those he cared about.

Then something changed and projectiles were screaming through the air in every direction. The [Starlight Companion] over his shoulder that Phoenix provided was quick to shunt away a pointed metal cylinder that had almost struck him as he moved to dodge the burning green gas which the other machina that had charged the group was spewing around them. 

He stumbled slightly from the repercussions of the projectiles exploding as they collided with the ground and his [Sun Shell] –also courtesy of Phoenix– shattered as it took the worst of it. What did cause him to fall to the ground, however, was the terrifying roar that echoed through the campsite that was immediately followed by a mini-earthquake as a very large bestial chimera, that was more of an equal fusion than her normal kitten, slammed into the sickly green Macheta that had been making its way directly towards him.

Uriel watched in transfixed horror for a moment as a flashback threatened to consume him and the earrings’ magic flared back to life to keep his terror at bay. He had seen Bliss’ monstrous form before and those were not pleasant memories. Right now, the only thing that kept him from shuddering in fear at those echoes from his past were the earrings he both despised and relied on.

Bliss impacted the Machetah at such an insane speed that she was practically a furred and feathered replica of Phoenix’s meteor with the crater that formed from her initial strike. Luckily, the other Casters had already been scrambling out of the way while trying to get clear of the acidic gas the creature had let out, and the trajectory Bliss had entered from caused them to skid away from them and in the direction of the road. Uriel felt the effects of her aura boosting his Strength and Agility but knew it wouldn’t do him much good at the moment.

A flurry of talons tore at the mecha-cat and flapping wings of gray feathers that blended into the landscape beat powerfully to lift both of them out of the crater for a brief moment before slamming back down into the road itself and causing a longer gouge rather than a deep crater, tossing debris into the air as they tore up the landscape.

The enemy monster had seemed to recover from its initial surprise by this point and was fighting back with its own claws, attempting to free itself from the powerful grapple of the Sapphire Caster. 

When they stopped their forward momentum, the Machetah tried to take a bite of one of the taloned front legs and Bliss responded by pulling it back in avoidance, hopping away slightly as the higher-leveled beast regained its footing.

The only thing that dragged Uriel’s attention away from the brutal fight taking place before him was a bright flash of light as Acolyte Barrett had apparently opted to use his emergency teleport scroll to return to the camp and offer support. 

That also happened to be the moment he noticed the other fight taking place further behind the new arrival as Rayna and Dazien attacked the red Macheta at the same time and the force of their Executes caused the machina to burst into an explosion of flames that sent three of his friends flying back, taking a massive amount of damage from the fire and the chunks of shrapnel shredding them to pieces.

Not even the earrings could completely drown his worry that time –despite their attempt– and he stumbled towards his partner. The tingling numbness in the back of his mind felt like it was trailing down his spine as he fell to his knees beside the gemite. He yanked one of the magically reinforced potion bottles from the warrior’s belt and flipped off the lid to pour the healing liquid down the man’s throat.

Uriel glanced over towards Phoenix and felt his worry finally get smothered completely as he noted the Acolyte already in the process of healing her, with Simmon arriving by the runeforged’s side to assist. 

The younger cinderen boy had been turning out to be the most competent of the party, in his opinion, as the summoner began drawing out a ritual diagram with little seed constructs that would sprout thin vines to create the needed lines and runes.

Then Uriel looked to Rayna and saw Saiya taking care of her and knew that everyone would at least live for now. Returning his attention to his liege, he noted the burns and cuts quickly mending themselves from the potion but not completely. He carefully adjusted the smaller man so that he could reach under and carry him over to their Healer to complete the mending.

Despite feeling nothing at the moment, he still knew what he needed to do as he asked Saiya, “Will you be able to heal Daze, too?”

The silky voxen nodded up at him, “Yes, my mana is not that depleted yet. Now that Acolyte Barrett is here, I also don’t need to worry about conserving it as much.”

He nodded as he knelt beside her, clutching the gemite closer to him in the hope of shielding the man from the snow that was beginning to fall in earnest now. As he waited for Saiya, his attention turned back to the remaining fight between Bliss and the stronger enemy.

It was a mess of claws and talons, sharp fangs and severing beaks, screeching metal, and guttural roars. The Acid Machetah had poured more of the corrosive gas from its maw but it didn’t seem to have much effect on the chimera that he knew was resistant to that Elemental type.

Bliss’ feathers seemed to shift at that point, becoming sharper with a metallic glint, and she held the enemy using her long tail that looked like the head end of an anaconda with a deadly-looking beak that –of course– included large teeth within. With it held firm, she sliced a wing through the air in an attempt to decapitate the enemy but it managed to struggle free enough to only get the metal plating of its back gouged.

The chimera took the opening to strike at the back of its neck, her strong feline jaw clamping down to pivot and maneuver herself on top of the mechanical beast and use her hind claws to shred its backside.

It snarled and lunged to the side in an attempt to dislodge the chimera, sending the pair rolling across the road and leaving a path of blood, fur, oily ichor, and metal scraps as they tore into one another in a frenzy. Even the mechanical beast, which Uriel was fairly certain didn’t have blood, was oozing health as Bliss’ abilities took effect.

“Uriel!” Saiya’s voice snapped him out of his focused observations as she ordered him, “I need you to set Dazien down. I have to restore him.”

Logically, he knew that was a bad thing, and the fact that the magical numbness in his mind increased likely meant he would be completely freaking out right now but he simply nodded and carefully set the Defender down on the ground and took a few steps back as he recalled the ability information for this spell that Phoenix had showed them all before.

Class Ability: Restored Foundation

Type: Spell (cleanse, zone, magical, life)

Cost: Severe mana.

Cooldown: 6 hours.

Current Caste: Sapphire 1 (Locked)

Crystal Effect: Delineate a zone with small lotus flower constructs. Target ally within the zone restores a massive amount of health and is cleansed of all Magical Banes.

“How bad is it?” Rayna asked, having finished recovering already and moving to his side and he was reminded by the bard’s proximity to put his Silencer back on. 

Now that Bliss was handling the remaining higher Caste enemy, he no longer needed to fight and his agreement with the AOA had been very strict about when he was allowed to remove his Silencer. Only when preparing for or in direct confrontation, or when in a private training room away from civilians, was he allowed to remove the manacles around his wrists and neck.

Not adhering to those rules could result in his Adventuring license being revoked and the current chains he wore to be replaced with the type he used previously; the type that would set of the monster alarms within the city should they be removed. 

It had taken almost two years for him and Dazien to get the AOA to agree to this adjusted rule so he would be able to train and take the Trials to become an Adventurer. Two years that could be undone in an instant because someone decided he hadn’t been quick enough to put the Silencer back on.

“The shrapnel nicked an artery and punctured a lung but the burns cauterized a lot so he was bleeding internally. I think the force of the blast was what broke his spine though,” the Healer stated grimly, “The potion healed the burns and most of the lacerations but not all of it and not the structural damage. They can only do so much based on their Caste and quality, after all.”

Uriel knew all of that was terrible news and the emotional numbness hinted that he was right in that assumption. He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful for not being flooded with worry, fear, and panic at the moment. He remembered not liking those feelings and he was certain that’s what he would have been feeling right now… if he could.

Since he couldn’t fret and he couldn’t help, his attention wandered back to Bliss; the chimeric monster that had once haunted his nightmares only to eventually become a friend. 

Learning that the chimera was actually a Caster and not a murderous demon had been a revelation, to say the least. To know that she had been as much a victim as he had been, gave him an odd kind of connection to her that he had only recently begun exploring; with Priest Jacob as a mediator between them at first.

When she came to visit as an adorable kitten he was quick to think of her like the Familiar he had been denied. Getting to spoil her with treats and pets that seemed to make her happy and it felt like a rare chance to bring someone joy for a change. 

Now, however, he was reminded of the monster she had been turned into… the monster he had also been transfigured into.

The chimeric tail once more chomped down on a hind leg, almost severing it completely, as a magically reinforced wing cut deeper into a front limb. The Machetah hissed, almost sounding like the steam back in Tulimeir, and tried to reactively pull its damaged, and now malfunctioning, forelimb back. 

This awkward movement opened the monster up to Bliss releasing its neck in favor of the injured limb as she flexed, pulling her jaw and tail upwards while using the weight of her body to force the center of the mecha-cat towards the ground.

The discordant sound of metal being wrenched and pistons shrieking filled the area as Bliss literally pulled the enemy apart limb from limb. Blood and a black substance that Uriel didn’t recognize sprayed from the wounds created from the severing of limbs helped along by another slash of sharpened wings. The separated parts were quickly swallowed by the anaconda’s beaked mouth and had a noticeable healing effect on Bliss.

As the monster gave a weakened yowl that sounded like broken gears trying to turn, Uriel knew the battle was over. Bliss grappled its torso with her strong tail and it was only a few moments later that she decapitated it with those powerful jaws. She let out a triumphant roar as they all sensed the Sapphire aura of the monster vanish and proceeded to let her tail devour the rest of her prey.

When the enemy became no more, Uriel felt the magic of the earrings lessen slightly and it felt like he could breathe a bit easier. Despite the massive healing that had just been completed, Dazien didn’t wake up, and neither did Phoenix, having finished going through her own version of massive restoration from Acolyte Barrett nearby.

Saiya surprised him by taking his hand in hers as she said, “They both will likely remain asleep for a few days. Even with magic, massive healing like that takes time for the body and soul to adjust to, especially at lower Caste.”

“I know that,” he said indifferently, then asked because he was having difficulty understanding the Healer’s actions, “You don’t normally choose to take my hand. Is something wrong with me?”

The voxen’s ears drooped at his words and he knew that he had messed up somehow. It was never a good thing when voxen ears lowered or tails became tucked between legs. Her voice was soft as she said, “I honestly don’t know, Uriel. You hide too much for me to sense things clearly. I worry for you.”

“It shouldn’t be me you worry for,” he stated matter-of-factly, “It should be everyone near me that you should be concerned for.”

Her frown deepened at his words and he knew that he had said the wrong thing again but it was the truth. If she could sense him clearly right now that would mean his earrings weren’t working and, if they weren’t working, there was a good chance he would be the next enemy they faced.

“You are our companion. I worry for you just like the others,” the Healer stated, “It may be selfish of me but I wish you didn’t wear those. It’s not good to feel nothing the way you are right now.”

“Better to feel nothing than to murder my friends,” he stated bluntly.

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