Rise of the Blood Weaver - Chapter 68 (Patreon)

Half the night passed with Arlo attempting to merge two tendrils into one. Just like his time within the tower, it was a lot more difficult than he thought.

With his Trait: Predator’s Appendage, he would assume he’d be able to morph it to his desire without much trouble. Oh how wrong he was. 

However, six hours in, he arrived at a sudden revelation. He gazed in shocked amazement as the once two thick appendages were now far thinner than before. Now they were like spiders legs, tipped with a savage point. They swayed around him like thin red bones.

He pierced one of them forwards, and stabbed through the tile on the floor. They were fast. Faster than when they were thicker.

After apologising to the others who he had woken up, he couldn’t help himself from dancing internally. He had done it! Well, it wasn’t his original objective of turning two into one, but this was just as good!

Although the added points on his tendrils could deal a lot of damage, he felt the lack of physical prowess that the thicker ones had.

Okay. Thinning them down has made them more agile, faster, and deadly with a point; as if they are spears. However, If I form it into that of a scorpion's tail, shouldn’t it become even stronger? If I can do that, I’ll also have a good way at killing the monsters, Arlo thought.

He was about to continue, but realised that after trying so hard, he was exhausted. And with the sun coming up, he wouldn’t be able to get much rest. 

“Congratulations,” Justin said from the wall.

Arlo nodded. Smiling, he said, “Yeah. Morphing them into one is still a bit difficult. So I had the idea to just shave the size down by controlling the blood inside. That way, I can make them into spears, or lances, or whatever.”

“Now you have a weapon,” Justin said. “Now get some sleep. You need it. You look like shit.”

“Right back at you,” Arlo replied. But he was right. He was so, so tired. He yawned. 

Arlo’s gaze fell to [Void Sanctum]. If it wasn’t for the strange coffin, he’d have never been able to wrestle the Monstrous scorpion. I need it. Taking a readied breath, he crept up to it. He placed his hand on the lid, then slid it off.

Within was an eternal darkness. He recalled the rune it had: [Refresh]. He could essentially use it as a bed to recover all of his strength, faster. His wounds would recover swiftly as well. But… Arlo frowned.

Something didn’t sit well with him. Maybe it was the fact he would be suspended within darkness? How would it even work? 

Ah, I wish it came with an instruction manual.

Well, it was his Remembrance. And it was a powerful one. If he didn’t make use of it despite the potential dangers, he was a fool. He couldn’t afford to shirk away at potential danger.

Here goes nothing, Arlo thought as he stepped into the coffin, and… His foot hit something solid. He looked down in panic, half feared that he’d be standing on a skeleton, but that wasn’t the case. His foot rested in mid-air.

Strange. Then he stepped in with his other foot. Then he sat down. Thum, thump, thump. His heart struck against his chest. Was he going to fall down into the vast space below just like that skeleton did? He sure hoped not.

Then he laid down. Wow, He thought. It was surprisingly comfortable. No, that wasn't correct. It was incredibly comfortable. Stretching his arms out all the way, he found that the edges of the coffin now extended, well, infinitely, it seemed.

Just peered over the edge, “Decided to trust your Remembrance?”

“Why not?” Arlo said. “It just has strange whisperings of even stranger beings, an infinite space of endless darkness, and eerie scratch marks on the underside of the lid. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Yep, exactly my thoughts,” Justin said, smiling. “Room for two?” 

“Hell no,” Arlo said, chuckling. “Get your own coffin.”

“A sentence I never thought I’d hear.”

“It has the Resting Rune?”

“Nope. Refresh.

Justin's brows raised. “Oh shit, that’s a rare one,” 

“What makes a Rune rare or not?” 

“Well,” Justin said, tapping the metal lining of the coffin. “By how much the Rune does, or how strong the Rune is. Some Runes are worded in a way that it could be two or even three Runes in one. Those are amazing.”

“Hm, interesting,” Arlo said. “Is there a way to change them? I didn’t get a chance to study them very much. You know, with having to subject myself to endless survival theory and leg training.”

“You can,” Justin said. “Let me rephrase that. You can’t, but others can. We call them Rune Forgers. They’re able to enter your Soul Sea, and reshape your Remembrance. Whether it’s removing an unwanted Rune, or moving one to another. But it’s incredibly dangerous. One wrong move and they can not only destroy your Remembrance, erase all the runes on it, or in worse cases, leave you with a crippled Soul Sea.”

“So, only psychos resort to such methods?”

“If you gamble on an unknown Rune Forger, sure. But when people are searching for them, they go after those who are held in high regard. Any Rune Forger worth their salt does a preliminary test to see if you are suitable. Only after they are 100% certain of accomplishing the Forging will they go ahead and accept. But if you’re just a regular Waker, forget about it. Sometimes it’s not even about money. After all, when you’re so strong to move mountains, why do you need gold?”

Arlo nodded along. “How does one become a Rune Forger?”

“It heavily depends on what Trait they’ve been given,” Jason said. “For example, the Rune Master Davis, can shape Essence with his fingers. Rune Master Anita can alter runes through smoke control.”

“Smoke control?” Arlo asked. “How the hell does that work?”

Justin shrugged. “Beats me. Don’t know the details. All I know is that she sends smoke through your nose, and into your Soul Sea. From there, she can change Runes.” 

“Sounds creepy.”

“You’re right.” Justin stood up straight, and stretched his back. “It’s time you get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us. A maze? Who would have thought?”

“Right?” Arlo chuckled. “You too. Wake me up when it’s my turn, I’ll take over for you.”

“No need,” Justin said. “I don’t need to sleep.”

“Everyone needs to sleep, Justin.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You do that,” Arlo said. “See you in the morning.” 

With a thought, the lid of the coffin closed shut, and once again, Arlo became enshrouded by a never ending darkness.

Not creepy at all, Arlo thought, closing his eyes for some much needed rest. It was then that he saw something flit against his eye-lids.

His eyes shot open, and saw something he’d never forget. It was scratched into the lid of the coffin…

Arlo gazed at the markings scratched into the coffin’s lid. Before they just looked like crazed markings; as if something was trying to dig their way out with their own bones. But now that he was within the sanctum, they looked different. They were glowing with a faint red hue. 

Arlo reached forwards, glancing over the scars with his fingers. They were rough to the touch. Splinters lined the wood. Was it the god scratching at the wood with its own fingernails? 

That was a horrifying thought.

As he traced the scratchings in the wood, a splinter prodded his flesh, seeping blood. Then, the jumbled scars in the lid changed and transformed before his very eyes. From a disorderly mess, they appeared whole. Symbols, etching, pictures were displayed.

What the? Arlo gazed at them in confusion. But he wasn’t confused for long. A whisper followed. It was robotic and unfeeling. It was male. Old. 

“You are too weak. Grow stronger. Only then will you learn.”

The red hue disappeared. 

Learn what? Arlo wondered. What were the red glowing glyphs and symbols trying to teach him?