Arc 3: Chapter 46

  The Depths - Drowning in the Rot

  Anna stood frozen. Her eyes locked on the staircase.

  *Ash... no no no.*

  *Not again... I did this...*

  *Brother...*

  *My wish, my...*

  * I brought him here...*

  *Dad. Mum.*

  *I'm sorry...*

  Blue mana erupted from Anna's heart in a violent storm. The energy exploded into blinding light that seared the air and erased the edges of the world. A streak of gold shot forward, ripping a straight line through the dirt toward the creature's shadow. Anna's boots gouged the earth as she closed the distance, her body blazing in molten gold and growing brighter with every step.

  Anna's boots slammed onto the stairs. Every flagstone collapsed into a continuous gold ribbon as she drove downward. A black blot pulsed to her right, sinking through the glare. She pivoted, eyes snapping to the target.

  Her hand flashed to her waist. She drew the rapier in one swift motion, and a golden curve ripped through the air. A sudden violet flame tore from the black blot in wild lashes, crackling and burning against the ocean of gold. Anna's focus narrowed, every sense locked on her target.

  *Ash!*

  Jagged clicks and snaps rose from the black blot. Porcelain jaws split open and clamped shut in rapid spasms, the clacking breaking into stuttering bursts.

  *Now.*

  Anna leaned in, driving forward. Her boots hammered against the golden path, the light beneath her heels flaring with every stride, bursting into sparks that chased her along the ribbon. The black blot loomed larger, its bulk growing until the tangle of twitching limbs pressed against the edges of her sight. She veered right, lining herself up with the violet light. The blaze surged higher, streaking violet across the dark limbs in rapid flashes.

  *Jump.*

  She vaulted from the golden ribbon, shattering the world of light. A reek of spoiled meat and wet rot flooded her senses. She dropped through the dark until the monster's body surged up to meet her blade. Her muscles strained at the impact as the rapier punched through black hide. Golden mana exploded outward in a searing burst, revealing layers of pale writhing tendrils and rotten flesh illuminated for a split second.

  Her head twisted left. Ash was pinned in the shadow of the hand-cluster. Dozens of pale arms reached from the mouth and clamped around his shoulders and waist, holding him against the beast's face.

  Ash's right fist clenched the dagger hilt. Violet light poured from the blade lodged in the creature's skull.

  Fire chewed through the gray flesh, throwing jagged shadows across the arms wrapped around him. Heat pulsed through the air, and the scorched reek of rot burned in his nose.

  Ash locked eyes with Anna. A fraction of a second stretched between them. A soft smile touched Anna's lips. Ash answered with a smile of his own.

  "Ready?" he said.

  Anna nodded once.

  Ash tensed against the pale arms pinning him. Violet light rippled through his veins and bled beneath his skin until it covered his body in a shimmering aura. He twisted the dagger. Energy burst from the blade and tore across the beast's surface in a blazing line, dissolving dark scales as it raced toward the distant flank where Anna stood ready.

  Anna locked her heels into the creature's back. Her eyes ignited into burning gold. Light flooded her hair, turning every strand into a molten ribbon. She slammed her palm against the flank. Golden radiance erupted from her skin, a searing tide that tore across the monster's hide. It raced toward the center of the serpent’s length, a golden spear cutting through the dark to meet the incoming violet energy.

  The violet flame from the head and the golden tide from the flank ripped across the dark hide. They crushed into the serpent's spine with a grinding roar. Violet and gold screamed against each other, twisting tighter and tighter at the point of impact.

  Light and dark detonated, birthing a black star that swallowed the world in shadow.

  The black star spun, warping the space around it.

  Dark scales peeled upward, drawn toward its crushing pull. The star dropped and smashed into the serpent's spine, sending the massive body reeling through the void.

  The lurch tore Anna's grip from the beast. Ash watched her blaze of gold get flung into the dark, a shrinking ember against the endless void.

  Ash drove both hands through the pale limbs wrapped around him. Violet fire erupted and melted the rotten flesh. The arms convulsed, fingers tearing open as they burned away. Then he tore free and plunged into the sea of dark, a shadow chasing a distant gold light.

  Wind screamed past his ears. Ash tucked his arms tight against his ribs, turning his fall into a dive. The golden ember swelled until Anna's form emerged, spiraling through the dark.

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  Slabs of dark hide and rotted flesh rained around him. Ash drove a pulse of kinetic force from his boots. The force shoved against the empty air and shot him downward, closing the distance between them.

  Anna's golden hair whipped across his vision. Ash slammed into her, his left arm wrapping tight around her waist. The collision drove the air from his chest. They locked together, a knot of dark and gold tumbling through the darkness.

  He snapped his head around, searching the rushing gloom. A glint of rusted metal flashed in the light of her aura. A colossal iron chain hung vertically in the void, passing inches from their plummeting path.

  Ash twisted his body, hauling both of them toward the chain. He thrust his right hand out. His fingers clamped over a thick iron link. The brutal stop ripped through his shoulder. The chain shrieked and swung wide into the void as it took their weight.

  The black star collapsed into a single, vibrating point. For a heartbeat, the void paused, every sound sucked away as it shrank to a trembling core.

  Ash locked his jaw, crushing Anna tighter against his chest.

  Then it exploded. A thunderous blast shook the world.

  Violet flames and molten gold erupted from the rupture, flooding the darkness. A roar of heat followed the energy, baking the air and turning the cold void into a furnace. A shockwave rushed toward Ash's body and slammed with the force of a physical hammer. Every link groaned, shrieking as the wall of pressure descended through the space.

  The serpent's body plummeted through the void, spinning out of control as gold and violet smoke streamed from its wounds.

  Ash's gaze swept the expanse. Massive blue lamps swayed from iron chains in the darkness, casting an azure glow over the structures suspended in the void. Inverted limestone towers hung beneath clouds of rot, reaching toward the depths.

  Gabled roofs and timbered houses drifted past the creature's descent. Heavy chains cut through the blue light, anchoring the floating cottages to the dark clouds overhead. The metal groaned as the rotting bulk dropped between the links.

  *Chronicles mentioned creatures like this. Abyss War. Corruption grafted from human remains.*

  Anna lifted her cheek from Ash's chest and met his gaze. The molten glow of her mana faded from her eyes, and the azure light settled in its place.

  Her golden hair spilled over his arm. She whispered, "I'm sorry."

  The vibration of the iron links traveled through their bodies. Ash's muscles strained against the rusted metal. He tightened his hold on her waist. "For what?" he asked.

  Their faces drew close. Anna's gaze softened as she held his eyes. "I froze," she breathed. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his coat. "I... I couldn't move. I let it take you."

  Cold air caught between their lips, their breath curling in the azure light. "We survived. Nothing else matters," he said.

  The scent of old cedar and dry hay filled the space, while pale light from the mana warmed the air around Ash.

  A massive shadow drifted across the void, casting a deep eclipse over the azure light of the lamps. Weathered wool and faded velvet covered its frame. Stitches as thick as hawsers held the heavy limbs to its torso. The beast banked toward the iron links, its long, satin-lined ears streaming with the turn as it rode the currents. A layer of pale mana clung to the wool, shimmering across the seams like a coating of moonlight.

  Two black button eyes, polished and vast, reflected the blue light of the lamps. A nose of knotted yarn sat at the center of its face as the entity drew close to the iron links holding Ash and Anna.

  Ash's eyes locked on the massive rabbit drifting in the void.

  "A domain construct," he murmured.

  Anna followed his gaze to the wool-clad giant.

  A small smile touched her lips as she looked back at him.

  "Ready?" she asked.

  Ash's smile widened. He nodded, and a soft laugh escaped him.

  The mountain of weathered wool banked toward them, its massive flank sliding through the azure glow until it came level with their position on the chain.

  Ash loosened his grip on Anna's waist. He caught her right hand, his fingers locking into her palm as he lowered her over the void. She hung suspended in the open air, her weight pulling hard at his shoulder as darkness yawned beneath her boots.

  A dual pulse of mana erupted from their hearts, washing violet and gold across the iron links. Violet radiance surged from Ash's heart and flooded over his shoulder, racing down his arm as his grip tightened on her hand. A gold tide answered from Anna's heart and rose over her shoulder, climbing up her arm as her grip squeezed on his hand.

  The energies slammed together at the knot of their hands. Violet and gold collapsed into a surging wave of black mana. It roared along their forearms, curling around skin and muscle as it climbed toward their shoulders.

  

  Ash and Anna braced as the wave reached their hearts, a heavy pulse thrumming through their chests.

  Darkness spilled from beneath their collars and raced along their shoulders. Shadows curled down their arms in intricate patterns, stretching toward their hands.

  The spirals wove together and bound their forearms in a living band of black light.

  Ash anchored his boots against the rusted iron links. He leaned back, his muscles coiling as the black patterns on his arms pulsed with light. He heaved his torso into a violent, sweeping arc, whipping Anna's body through the azure void. At the peak of the curve, he released his grip. A surge of kinetic force erupted from his palm, launching her into the open air.

  Anna soared across the gap. She tucked her chin and rotated in a tight, controlled spiral, her silhouette a blur of shadow and gold against the lamps.

  The black tether between their forearms stretched into a thin, vibrating thread as she cut through the dark. She struck the creature's back. Her boots buried into the weathered fleece, the wool buckling under the force of her arrival. Anna skidded across the broad surface, her hands digging into the fabric to anchor her weight as the giant construct tilted under the impact.

  Ash released his hold on the rusted iron. He plummeted into the void until the black tether between their arms snapped into a rigid line. Anna braced her weight against the creature's hide, her boots digging deep into the weathered wool as she hauled the connection tight.

  The shadow-link retracted with explosive force.

  She stepped forward, her arms opening to catch him. Ash surged through the azure glow toward her. Their bodies slammed together. Her arms locked around his waist, absorbing his momentum. The collision drove them both into the soft wool, skidding across the giant's back.

  Cedar-scented dust rose around them as they came to a halt together in the center of the weathered gray expanse.

  Ash stood and reached for her. Anna's fingers slid into his, her weight shifting as he drew her up. Together, they found their footing on the giant rabbit's back.