Silence - Chapter 25

2/3

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Felix was out the door in a flash, Pit right behind him. Bateo had climbed out onto the roof, likely out of his children's window, and was pointing toward the beast pens.

"Thrice damned Harrowings! Let go of my stock!"

With a piercing cry, Bateo launched from the roof and literally flew toward the smaller island. Felix could see at least a dozen black shapes flitting against the buildings there, though their forms were lost once they maneuvered in front of the Void. Felix focused, flaring his Voracious Eye and Manasight. He could sense their presence easily enough, but only when he chanced upon them. His Manasight, however, was ineffective. But it didn't matter. The things were tearing into Bateo's pens, trying to eat the tamed Tenebrils most likely.

Not if I can help it.

Felix burst into a run, Agility and Strength surging together with such easy grace it felt beyond natural. He leaped, and the power within sent him catapulting up off the central island and into the emptiness of the Void. He soared through the air like a gold medal gymnast, though his stats marked him as well beyond any human from Earth, and Felix landed in a crouch at the edge of the next island.

Wrack and Ruin!

With a grunt, Felix hurled a dark orb of concentrated acid at the nearest Harrowing, hitting it squarely in the back and melting through it's entire body.

You Have Killed A Harrowing!

XP Earned!

Three Harrowings broke off from the flock, turning and angling for Felix's head.

"Careful of their claws!" Bateo shouted. "They'll drain you of Mana in no time!"

"I know!" Felix shouted back, dodging the first two but receiving a jagged slash across his chest from the third. The blue bar that represented his Mana in his vision shortened, dropping by about ten percent. Felix hissed in pain and unfurled a tendril of shadow Mana. The Shadow Whip snapped out, wrapping around the Harrowing's angular beak and Felix hauled back. The voidbeast flew through the air, unable to resist his Strength, and smashed directly into the jagged stone island next to him.

You Have Killed A Harrowing!

XP Earned!

Brilliant Mana surged and shout out in all directions as its Manabladder ruptured, like liquid fireworks.

Gah!

The liquid Mana, dense at first, sublimated into a vibrant, rainbow vapor. Instinctively, Felix breathed it in.

Ravenous Tithe!

The power of the Harrowing pulled inward, through his Mana Gate at the base of his skull and into his core space. It collected there, roiling with energy above the crackling blue flame of his core.

Further Bloodlines Have Been Found. Processing 3%

"Damn it!" Felix growled. Every time he used that Skill his Bloodline progression increased. What would happen at one hundred percent?

Felix wasn't given time to worry about it, as the other two Harrowings came in for the kill.

Reign of Vellus!

A cone-shaped blast of lightning and force sent them both careening to either side of him, while visibly whetting the appetites of those nearby. He could almost feel their hunger, like a pain in his own gut, as the entire flock pivoted toward him.

"Shit."

Shadow Whip!

Shadow Whip!

Two more inky tendrils launched from either palm, slapping into the disoriented Harrowings and latching on. With a fierce tug, he yanked both of them toward himself. They flew true, and fast, giving Felix barely enough time to drop the Shadow Whips and conjure his Corrosive Strike.

Corrosive Strike!

Corrosive Strike!

His fists, propelled by his Strength and the voidbeasts' momentum, punched straight through their center mass. It was a clean hit, but still a chance claw raked against his thigh, draining more Mana. Luminous liquid splashed outward form their fatal wounds, vaporizing into the dark.

You Have Killed A Harrowing (x2)!

XP Earned!

More came for him, and Felix pinged six before he lost count in the flurry of jagged claws and sharpened beaks. Reign of Vellus smashed into them, disorienting them enough that they didn't see the orbs of concentrated acid that tore through their ranks. But the spell cost a lot, and despite the effects of his meal, Felix's Mana wasn't regenerating as fast as it usually did. The Harrowings advanced and Felix met them, fist against claw.

He did well, all things considered. Talons raked against him, stealing his Mana, but he gave them crushed wings and shorn claws in retribution. Felix was tempted to pull the cutlass at his waist, but the memory of his broken Skill and the pain that followed was enough to rely on his fists alone. In fact, he had to be careful even when dodging attacks not to engage in anything the System viewed as acrobatics. He felt the burn of that broken Skill several times as he'd evaded the lethal talons of his enemies.

But there were far more than just a dozen Harrowings. More and more kept coming from the dark, invisible until they attacked, lost among the crowd once they swirled about him. His Health started dropping almost as fast as his Mana.

The Maw was screaming. Run from them, you fool! This farm is not worth my life!

"Shut up!"

A rallying cry shook through Felix's Spirit, closely followed by the snap of outspread wings. Spears of ice whistled passed, so close he could feel their chill, and Pit swooped after them.

Pit used Cry!

Harrowing (x3) Are Stunned For 4 Seconds!

"Yes!" Felix eyed his Mana. He had enough for this at least.

Influence of the Wisp!

You Have Enthralled A Harrowing (x6)!

Four seconds was an eternity in a battle, though it was only nine of many. Regardless, Felix joined his friend and got to work. Frost Spears and Wingblades ripped gaps in the Harrowings' formation, and Felix flowed into them, fists flying with all the power he could muster. Magic and claws and strength of arm met the bestial might of the Void and did not falter. Less than a minute later, bodies scored with wounds and drenched in ruptured Manabladders, Felix and Pit stood victorious.

You Have Killed A Harrowing!

XP Earned!

Felix idly accepted his notifications, noting that he'd neither earned a level or increased his Skills at all. The energy from the System felt thinner than ever. Yet the roiling cloud of stolen power above his core space was lively and thick with sizzling energy.

"Felix! Are you alright?" Bateo flapped down from the second level of the enclosure barn. His clothes were a bit torn and the crooked knife he carried was dark with blood, but the Korvaa looked perfectly Healthy. A quick Voracious Eye confirmed it.

"I'm fine," he said. The pain of his wounds was already dulling into nothing, though his Health regen wasn't anything like his Mana regen.

"Still, come into the house. Estrid'll get you patched up."

Felix insisted they check on the farmer's cattle, so with some prodding they turned to inspect the barn and enclosures. There weren't many points of damage, just near the front gates where the stench of the Tenebril was strongest. It was what called out to the Harrowings in the first place.

Wait, Felix paused. Looked back at the front gate. Smell?

Voidbeasts didn't have a smell. Aside from the heavily seasoned cooking he'd experienced, little else did either. Even the funk of his sweat-stained and grimy shirt was heavily muted by the deadened nature of the Void. He sniffed again. For some reason, Felix was smelling the Mana the creatures exuded.

His gut rumbled again, and Felix clenched his jaws. He had a feeling it wasn't because he needed more food.

"Goddamn Maw," he whispered.

"Everything alright, Felix?" Bateo asked and Felix waved the question off. He stood from his inspection of a door joint and massaged his lower back, right below his wings. "Unf. Those beasts get worse every time I see them."

"I thought the warding kept them away?"

"Usually does." Bateo frowned. "It shouldn't have failed yet, not so soon. I'll need to contact the Rim Hunters. They are the ones meant to hunt these beasts down before they get so far." He looked at Felix's wounds, still oozing blood. "Come. Let's see Estrid."


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Estrid wasn't happy to see Felix hurt, though she was clearly happier that Bateo hadn't suffered any injuries. She patched him up—and his clothes—with exceptional skill and speed, though her needles weren't able to pierce his Armored Skin and high Vitality. They made do with simple salves and bandages made from the same rough material as all their clothing; a cloth woven from the above-ground stalks of the tuber-like cnop.

Fully bandaged and more or less decent, Felix stood as Bateo made to leave. "Are you heading to the Rim Hunters now?"

"Yes. They need to know."

"Bateo, I do not want you out in your skimmer in this," Estrid said. "Who knows if more Harrowings are out in the black, waiting for the first bit of Mana that pokes its head out."

"If I don't tell them, then we risk this happening to another of the farms," Bateo said. "Or worse, the school yards in town."

That caught Estrid up, and Felix took the chance. "I'll go. Pit and I can handle the Harrowings if we see any, and I," Felix threw a glance at Estrid. "I'm less needed here."

"That's false, Felix. You've proven to be a deft hand at farm work," Bateo said. He too looked at his wife, and sighed. "But I see what you mean. Very well. I don't like you risking yourself for me and mine, but I'll not fight the wind."

Bateo pulled a rolled up piece of leather off a rack next to the wall. Felix had noticed the rack previously but hadn't given it much thought. Now he realized the leather scraps were scrolls, and writing adorned the voidbeast skin.

"Here. This is the path to the Rim Hunter's lodge. The way is simple, but the Void is nothing if not treacherous...."


* * *


Felix and Pit departed shortly after that, taking the scrap of voidleather along with them at Bateo's insistence. Though Felix could have redrawn it himself from memory, he didn't argue. The old farmer and his wife cared, that much was certain, and he didn't want to shoot that down.

In his short time on the Continent, Felix had noticed a state of fear gripping its denizens. The few non-monsters he'd met was under unusual circumstances, but Felix got the impression the world he'd landed upon was not one of kindness and mercy. It was one where strength mattered above all else, and that...that made him sad.

Bateo and his family were different. He'd accepted Felix quickly, coming to his aid at the array marker and again at the Conference Hall. His family had welcomed him into the fold, even with Estrid's confessed fears. In a lot of ways, they reminded Felix of home. The Void was a far cry from Fort Lauderdale, and their bone-built farmhouse was not the colorful stucco of his childhood home, but the warmth of their household was undeniable. His mother looked at here kids the same way Estrid did, warm and a little fearful of what terrible new things they might get into.

It made Felix very homesick as he skimmed into the Void.

That collection of codependents is noxious, Felix Nevarre. You should leave this place.

Felix rolled his eyes. The little skimmer—the dinghy from before—fit Felix and Pit comfortably, but the Maw didn't need to ride with them. It opted to float menacingly at the corner of his eye, gnashing its stolen teeth in muted rage.

"The moment I take interpersonal advice from you is when I know I've made a wrong turn," he said.

The Maw scoffed. You trust them so much. What would happen if they found out you've a Quest to leave the Void?

"I'm sure many do," Felix said. "It can't be that uncommon of a Quest."

Quests are rare. You know this. None here have such a Quest, or any Quest. This is a place beyond the System, no matter what the farmer says. More importantly, a Quest suggests a solution, a true way out, hmm? The Primordial smiled, and as always it was worse than its grimaces. What would that Conference of birds do if they found out?

Felix didn't answer, but he didn't have to; they both knew how it would end. The Maw laughed. An ugly, cruel sound.

Echo's Reach would tear you apart.


* * *


The way to the Rim Hunter's lodge was fairly straightforward. Bateo had taught Felix how to read the navigation markings on his maps, which, like the other map in his possession, were all the dotted lines and odd notations. Because the Void was a 3D space, it didn't simple use cardinal directions, but more complex and arcane methods that measured pitch and something called "yaw." It didn't make a lot of sense to Felix, but he had the basics down.

The trip was silent, save for faint seething from the Maw. Felix considered telling her off, but didn't bother. It was a waste of energy. The Primordial wouldn't change, couldn't by all measure, and only wanted one thing: to be free.

That makes two of us, he thought with a snort.

Once they had passed a series of oblong-shaped islands, barren except for a small watchtower made of bone, Felix got the idea that something was definitely wrong. There was no one at the watchtower, despite Bateo's insistence that they never left it unmanned. Felix continued past it, unchallenged by Rim Hunter or beasts, and followed the map the rest of the way.

What he found was chaos.