Taking a deep breath, Sylas stepped forwards. His boots struck the stone with an echo that carried a measured rhythm of calm defiance. The bridge quivered under the weight of the terrors gaze, but he did not slow. Shoulders squared, his grip around a new weapon securing, he advanced as though the monstrous being ahead , was but merely another obstacle to be that could be toppled.
Sylas knew from the beginning that they stood no chance at escaping without a fight. From the moment they walked in here, it was either that they would kill the ocean dweller, or it would kill them instead. He had withheld that info to himself however, knowing that Gracia would object without a doubt.
The intelligence of a Nightmare creature was based on its class, with terrors being almost at the tip of the scale. It didn't matter how powerful something was, if it lacked the intelligence to back it, even weak sleepers could trick corrupted beasts if they were cunning enough.
It was the reason why the wraith had possessed the second soul in his body, rather than Sylas himself who was the main operator. The other was more unstable, and more susceptible to its influence. A creature with the same power but less intelligence, would not have known this. If Sylas was possessed, he would've been able to resist its influence somewhat, but the distraction would've made him lose in the duel against his doppelganger, keeping the wraith from getting access to his body.
In the scenario with the Ocean Dweller, it understood that it wasn't dealing with any easy prey, it was dealing with a group that knew how to exploit its own weakness. So It figured that if it was going to fight blind, then it might as well do it on its own terms, hence it coming out of the lake.
But it was precisely because it had surfaced, that they now had a chance in slaying it for good. If it had remained underwater, then there was nothing that any of them could've done, but things were different now.
Sylas had hoped to use the doppelgangers soul to try to slay the creature, since it was more suited to scaling its ever growing body with its unparalleled speed, but now that it was unwilling to help, he had one last thing to rely on.
The memory that he had earned in his first nightmare. More specifically, the single enchantment that it possessed.
In his hands he held a gold dagger with a sharp, double-edged, triangular blade that tapered smoothly into a fine point. It was metallic and reflective, attached to a short, ridged shaft with a strange butt end. Three curved claw-like prongs extend outward, resembling talons gripping the air.
'I just need to lodge it into its body. Any one of its tentacles will do... but that would be letting it off too easy.'
It needed to pay severely.
Taking in a deep, relaxed breath, he sprinted forwards. Activating his dormant ability, a swath of information flooded his mind as his eyes locked onto the Ocean Dweller.
There were several applications that he could think of for his Aspect, and using them to identify weak spots was just but one. Another use though, was seeing past the skin, and gazing upon the very muscles, blood vessels, and even nerves of his opponent.
This ability to see the slightest contraction and flickers of movement, allowed him to see but just a few moments into his opponents actions.
Against the awakened terror who was acting recklessly, it wasn't that helpful as its movements were chaotic, and its foreign, aquatic constitution only made it worse. But just those few precious milliseconds of foresight, were the very difference between life and death.
Sylas ducked as a tentacle reached out towards him and skimmed just above his head, brushing right against his hair. It crashed into the bridges exit, causing rubble to fall and seal it for good.
Now there was truly no going back.
Sprinting forwards, he predicted that another tentacle would attempt to sweep him off the bridge, while the one that missed him earlier would return and attack from above. Simply put, dodging any of them was impossible.
On the bridge at least.
Shouting Gracias name, he extended out the palm of his free hand as he threw himself off, hovering above the lake for a brief moment. The impact of the tentacles boomed behind him, as a rush wind blew his body even further away.
Just before he could plummet, Sylas felt the handle of a sword fall into his palm, which he gripped onto immediately. His weight seemed to bring it down slightly, before it quickly adjusted and started pulling him into the air.
"Holy, you're heavy."
Ignoring her words, Sylas swung himself forwards and back, building up enough momentum until he let go. He flew through the air, before landing right on top of the Ocean Dwellers tentacle.
Right away it began to lift into the sky, carrying Sylas with it, as his footing became more and more vertical. It was only once he was above even the ocean dweller its self, did he finally allow himself to slide down.
The wind pressed against his face like a living thing. Cool, insistent, and alive with motion. His eyes narrowed against the rush, but still, they were glued onto its target, and soon enough, it was within reach.
At the last moment, he jumped. All he could feel was air and motion as his body plummeted down, and even then, he did not feel a hint of fear nor hesitation. Raising his hands, he gripped onto the dagger tightly,
Before plunging it straight into the Ocean Dwellers eye.
Right away he was jerked off as it writhed in pain, leaving the dagger impaled in its eye socket. Tumbling down the giants body, he stretched out his hand as he quickly grabbed onto Gracia once again. Pulling him in the air, Sylas let go once he was finally able to jump to safer ground.
'The enchantment will take effect in a second, we need to get out of here, stat. This whole place is about to go to hell.'
Galahad was wrapped tightly by one of its tentacles, being repeatedly lifted up into the air and smacked against the caverns walls. He had been hit there so many times now, that he had long since passed out.
It wouldn't matter if they left him behind anyway, that was just a clone. Its creator was still hiding away at the entrance.
Epsilon on the other hand..
'Where is he?'
**
A lone figure carry another flailed amid the pale blue water, his arms slicing at the air in desperate, uneven strokes. Each wave crashed over him with a dull, heavy force, dragging him under before he could gasp a full breath.
"Please!"
Despite the torture, he endured, patiently biding his time until the perfect opportunity presented itself.
And quickly enough it did, as the Ocean Dwellers tentacle swung above his head for the last time. Ducking under the water, he narrowly avoided having his head torn off from his body as the limb missed him entirely.
The light that radiated from underneath his skin, shifted as it flowed from his body, straight into his weapon. Then using his innate ability to burn 6 months of his life, the radiance subtly grew even brighter.
Thrusting forwards, the blade easily sunk into the rubbery flesh of the Ocean Dwellers tentacle, digging in until it got stuck at its handle.
With a violent surge, it lifted from the surface, dragging the two skyward. The world tilted, water sprayed and the winds whipped at their body's as the lake dropped away beneath them. He clung to the hilt even tighter, knuckles white, shoes slipping on the glistening hide. The steel groaned in the wound as the Ocean Dweller thrashed, and his arm screamed with the effort to hold on.
One heartbeat stretched into a lifetime, every instant dragging its weight through his body like molten glass. The pain didn't just surge, it lingered. Slow and merciless, unfurling through every nerve until even breathing felt like betrayal.
But soon enough, his efforts were rewarded, as he found himself meters in the air, hanging above the bridge from a decent distance. Instinctively he left go, desperate to make it back to solid ground, but the moment he began to fall did he realise, that he made a crucial mistake.
Although he had planned how to lift himself up, he had no clue how he was actually going to land without breaking his bones.
Thinking quickly, he absorbed the light that he left in his sword back into his body, as he consumed another 6 months worth of life to empower him. Then, shielding himself and Gracia, he braced for impact.
Rather than crashing into the cold hard stone surface though, he felt himself land on something a bit softer. It numbed the blow from the fall, as he tumbled down and rolled back onto the bridge.
"Land!"
A strange joy overcame him. Even though he hadn't been separated from it for too long, the sheer chaos from the experience had him thinking otherwise.
But then, the realization of what he'd done had hit him quickly.
"Where is Sylas?"
Turning his head behind him, he frowned upon seeing his unconscious body laying on the floor.