Chapter Seventy Seven - 077

Little late on this one! Holidays and family kinda threw me for a loop.

Enjoy!

* * *

He was wrong.

It was way more than six.

They were impossible to count as they flew toward him deceptively fast; not only were they practically invisible, they didn't move like natural creatures at all. Their wings flapped rarely, but they sped up and slowed down abruptly, as if inertia didn't apply to them. But it certainly applied to Felix and Pit, as the two of them weren't able to outrun the Harrowings for more than a few seconds.

Talons flashed and Voidborn beasts shrieked while Felix and Pit unloaded their arsenal of Skills. Wrack and Ruin tore through two of them, boring sizzling holes through their wings, which unfortunately had zero effect on their ability to fly. Pit flared with green Poisonfire, blindingly bright in their black surroundings, and got up close and personal with Rake and Bite. For a few blessed seconds, the two of them fought the Harrowings back.

Then three others attacked. From below.

Flying just as if the ground were air, the Harrowings burst from below them and both Felix and Pit took raking talons to their backs and sides. The Reign of Vellus that Felix was holding stuttered and went out, the Mana flow somehow interrupted by the Voidborn's attack, and Felix's sharp eyes caught a trailing tendril of crackling azure light fading behind the beast.

His Mana was low, lower than it had been in a long while, and even though it regenerated at a ridiculous pace it wasn't quite enough. These monsters tore it from him faster than he could use it, dropping his Health by significant numbers as well. Ten seconds into the fight, Felix was torn and bloody, with Pit not far behind. The tenku, while not as magically potent as Felix himself, was a tasty morsel to creatures that fed on Mana.

And fed they did. The Harrowings grew bloated and fat on their meal, though they flew no less gracefully.

They're so fast! How? His "improved" Analyze no longer told him an enemy's highest stats, instead giving him more specific information that didn't help him at all right then. Their Agility has to be through the roof! 

The Maw floated off to the side, watching with rapt eyes as Felix and Pit were sliced and diced. Seeing it, Felix felt fury rise up inside of him, a real and physical hate for the creature that had messed with his life so thoroughly. It had denied bringing him into this world, but he couldn't trust anything it said. Felix channeled his rage into his fists, lashing out with standard unarmed strikes that didn't cost Mana. They were agile, but so was he, and damn it, he was strong.

He hit one of them with a straight jab and it's Health dipped fast, and before it died completely Felix grabbed it and tried something new.

Ravenous Tithe!

Ravenous Tithe (Epic), Level 1!
Consume completely an object or creature which you have claimed and can physically touch. Uses Mana to power conversion. Chance of gaining Skills and/or Memories from target if applicable.

His Mana sank, dropping nearly three hundred points, and the Harrowing was suddenly torn asunder. Its strange, rubbery body shred in strips that faded into motes of white light and were sucked immediately into Felix's mouth. It all happened in a millisecond, less than a blink, and Felix felt a burning heaviness settle in the pit of his stomach. No, his core.

Harrowing Consumed!

But not all of it: the creature had a bellyful of stolen Mana, and Felix screamed as much of it crawled out of his throat and exploded in a massive shockwave. A ripple tore through the Void, an expanding circle of Mana vapor that shot off into the black. The remaining Harrowings darted off after it, wheeling their unnatural bodies with reckless speed.

Felix's scream cut off abruptly, and he fell to his knees. His body blazed with energy, his core packed to bursting.

Ravenous Tithe is level 2!

His hands shook as he pushed back into a standing position. Felix was a mess of blood, and Pit was little better. Both of them were dangerously low on Health, Stamina, and Mana.

I'm...sure...that's gonna be fine, Felix huffed with all of the sarcasm in his bones as he nodded at the receding wave of power. He was a torch made of Mana out here. No wonder they were getting mobbed.

Pity. The Maw pouted, floating in lazy circles around him. You survived.

Felix snapped. You realize that...if I die, you'll die too, right?

The Maw waved a pale hand. Impossible. I am Unending. I believe I've said that already. It looked up, as if noting something in the distance. I also said running is the better option. I suggest you listen this time.

Felix ground his teeth, almost tempted to stay still out of sheer spite. Instead he ran.

While the act of running was not difficult, the lack of anything in the Void meant it felt a little like spinning in a hamster wheel. There was no wind against his skin, no objects moving in the distance, only the faint resistance of the "ground" beneath him giving any sense of motion. Pit had trouble as well, loping alongside him. Strangely, the tenku was keeping pace despite the disparity in their Agility scores. Felix frowned, then looked at the Maw; it was easily keeping pace, floating after them like the ghost it was.

Felix came to a stop, and Pit circled around to quirk his head at him. Felix took a deep, cleansing breath and thought.

The Void...that's what Grimmar called it during our Duel of Wills. In that battle his Strength had meant little, the only thing that affected the Elemental Shard was the application of Willpower. Then that means...?

He trailed off as he focused on moving...without taking a step. No more than a thought later and Felix began to float forward.

Holy shit. He looked at Pit. We can fly.

It took some doing, but in minutes the both of them floated up, free from the imagined pull of gravity. Like everything else, gravity didn't exist here as far as he could tell, at least not in the usual form. In fact, it turned out Pit had been doing this a little bit with each stride and the tenku was soon soaring through the "skies" with abandon. The not-so-little chimera chirupped loudly, joyfully as he did somersaults in the air. Felix could feel his friend's glee echoing through him, resonating with his own mood as he lifted himself up by sheer Willpower.

Delighting in it, Felix zipped forward at speed, and somehow he knew he was surpassing his running speed. He had to slow down slightly, however, as Pit couldn't move as fast as he could. As Felix adjusted his speed, he caught a glance of the Maw who was flying slightly behind him. It looked...pensive.

What?

The Maw didn't answer, only frowned and looked away. As far as Felix was concerned though, that was nothing but a gift.

They sped through the Void for what felt like hours but was perhaps thirty minutes. Felix felt neither physically or mentally tired, though the movement was an odd sensation. Like falling, no matter the direction he turned. It wasn't entirely pleasant, mostly because he felt stuffed due to his Ravenous Tithe. He felt like he'd eaten a double helping of Thanksgiving dinner, and unfortunately he was not wearing stretchy pants.

After the first ten minutes, they came across a few rocks floating in the Void. No bigger than his torso, Felix almost missed it as they whizzed by the formation; though a strange quirk of perception meant it looked like the rocks were the ones moving. When they slowed and back tracked, Felix found the rocks to be hovering in place; just a touch was enough to send it moving away, though it was pulled back by some unseen tether. They were bare of anything but stone, yet Felix felt excitement course through him.

If there are rocks, that means the Void isn't completely empty. There are monsters, there are floaty rocks. There's gotta be a way out.

By the end of thirty minutes, Felix and Pit had crossed the path of numerous floating boulders, each larger than the last. Some were lone formations, while others were conglomerated into tiny floating islands. Felix knelt atop a particularly large formation, perhaps as large as a basketball court. He swept his Perception and Voracious Eye around the area.

What are you doing? asked the Maw.

Felix didn't bother to answer, merely grunting in annoyance. He sought some sign of life and hoped the larger islands would have something. But there was nothing growing on them, just rock and rock dust. Still, hope buoyed his heart. He knew they could find a way out. Why else would the System assign a quest?

You're a fool, Felix Nevarre.

Felix rolled his eyes. What is it this time?

There is no escaping this. The Void is...You cannot escape it. Your Grand Harmony lies to you.

I recall someone telling me I couldn't fight you off, and yet here we are. Felix spread his arms wide. The Maw only bared its flat, human teeth at him. Felix scoffed and dropped his arms to slap at his sides. If you--

A fog-horn like bugle rocked the Void, a description that was both apt and totally misleading. It was deep, sure, but strange and multitudinous undertones laced the bugle, the cry of a creature that was far larger than even the whale-thing he had seen earlier. Felix's vision blurred with the strength of the cry, the rock beneath him vibrating like an earthquake. Then suddenly and without warning, a massive creature flew above them.

It looked like one of those rocky whale beasts except far bigger and more gruesome. Whereas the former had skin of craggy stone, this...thing had reddened, blubbery flesh that visibly pulsed even from a distance of what had to be miles. Upon its body were rows and rows of serrated teeth, forming strange mouths all over it's long, bulky form that were surrounded by patches of rust colored scales. 

Name: Corrupted Narhallow
Type: Voidborn*
Level: 73
HP: 3944/3944
SP: 2489/4375
MP: 862145769/0
Lore: Normal Narhollow siphon Mana from the Void with their specialized mouth filters, releasing excess through their tails to move their impossible bulk. This Narhollow has been corrupted by foreign power, it's very nature altered by its ingestion.
Strength: Unknown
Weakness: Unknown

As they watched, it tore into a flock of Harrowings that Felix hadn't spotted, eating a huge mouthful of them. Silhouetted against the Narhollow, Felix could see that there were hundreds of the things after them now. The Corrupted Narhallow snapped up several more with one of its side mouths, the teeth working like a horrific venus fly trap. Just looking at it, Felix could sense a dire sort of connection to the creature. A visceral reverberation shot through his guts, before coiling and leaping back out, toward the creature.

Oh Ruin, whispered the Maw.

What? Felix couldn't tear his eyes away from the corpulent monstrosity, but he felt the Maw float next to him, could feel the tension pouring from it. He turned and saw a flurry of emotions moving across the Maw's face, some far too fleeting to catch.

My power. My beautiful strength! It TOOK IT! The maw raised a pale hand in a snatching motion. GIVE IT BACK!

A dissonant note cracked across the silent expanse, a burr in the fabric of reality that shook from Felix's own core at the Maw's gesture. In the distance, Felix saw the Corrupted Narhallow's massive eye roll toward them with a distinct clarity. Another foghorn shook the Void.

And the creature began heading in their direction.

What've you done? Felix looked at the Maw only a moment before calling out for his friend. Pit! Run!

Felix took off like a shot, sending the floating island bobbing in place.

Zipping through the darkness, Felix could fully appreciate their speed now that they raced passed stone islands, and he had to adjust their course every few seconds. They wove through throng of floating islands, their size growing larger the farther they went. Perhaps only fifty feet separated most of the rock formations, and they extended above and below them in a vast collection. It was like a continent had been sundered and scattered among the darkness.

Silence greeted him, the lack of wind in his ears an eerie sensation as they dodged and dove over the rocky obstacles. The silence was misleading, however, as the gargantuan Corrupted Narhollow had simply not reached their cluster of floating stones. The sharp cries of Harrowings flared louder for only a moment before the Void was filled with the cacophonous sound of the Narhollow crashing through the formations. Felix risked a glance backward, and his eyes grew wide.

The Corrupted Narhollow simply obliterated the islands it came across, the massive bulk of the proving too much. Only a mile away and gaining, the monster fixed him with a beady eyed stare before manifesting several dozen other eyes along the front of its wide, blunt head. Each one spun a moment before fixing on Felix and Pit.

Holy fucking shit! There wasn't a chance in hell he wanted to be anywhere near that thing.

Felix caught Pit in his arms and held him close as he flared his Willpower to the limit. All 273 points of it. They shot off like a rocket, putting more distance between them and the Corrupted. The Maw stood stock still next to them, stone passing right through her like a ghost as Felix navigated through the treacherous terrain. Through strained teeth, he asked a question.

What do you mean, it took your power?

The Maw's glance at him was filled with such hatred that Felix felt his heart skip a beat. But then it answered. Because I gave it up.

The Anchor, Felix realized. It had soaked up the huge majority of the Maw's power, siphoning it off to who knows where. To here, he realized. So then that...thing has your power?

Obviously. It fed on it, grew stronger and it's flesh form couldn't handle the majesty. Now it's transforming from the inside out. The Maw floated backwards, contemplating the raging beast. It is surviving far longer than Grimmar did.

Tenebrils and Harrowings emerged from dark crevasses between islands as they passed, boiling from the underbellies like ants or cockroaches. Some of them managed a swipe or two at Felix before fleeing in terror from the immense monstrosity behind them, but each attack was enough to cut Felix's lead down to a half mile. The Corrupted Narhollow was gaining, and fast.

Suddenly Pit screeched in surprise. Felix turned in the direction he was looking and saw a much larger floating island high above them. From this angle it was hard to make out much, but it appeared to have structures built atop of it. No, it did have structures built on top, and Felix's heart gave a wild lurch.

Good eye, Pit!

Instantly pivoting, Felix shot upward, running along the length of a large, house-sized boulder before catapulting himself and Pit into the dark sky. Below him, Felix could hear the chaos of the Corrupted's advance grow louder and more frenetic. A foghorn bugle rumbled outward, shaking the stone formations all around them as Felix pushed himself harder and harder through.

You're not going to make it. That thing will devour you and that will be that. The Maw spoke calmly, but its eyes were fixed to Felix with a feverish intensity. At least some part of me will finish the job. I'll have my vengeance, Unbound, even if I have to die to obtain it!

SHUT UP! Felix flared his Bastion of Will, one of his Epic Skills, imaging the dark stone walls that guarded his innermost thoughts and slamming them down. To his surprise, the Maw flickered and vanished, like a cell phone with a bad connection, though it returned within seconds. The creature was visibly alarmed, staring at Felix with something he didn't recognize at first. But then he understood.

It was fear.

What was that?

Felix didn't answer, focusing instead on his flight. Perhaps later he...

The thought remained unfinished, because at that point the Nymean and his chimera Companion emerged into a wide open space around their destination. They rose to the top of the stone island, seeing a large collection of eclectic and ramshackle structures, all of which were combined into something approaching a castle. That impression was mostly based on the two dozen ballistae that were pointed in his direction, mounted atop crenelated walls. Two or three grimy, humanoid figures were manning each huge weapon, all of them staring at Felix with undisguised hostility.

FIRE!!!