His entire body hurt. But it wasn't just the places he had been injured recently that the pain focused on, rather older ones.
Looking down at his right hand, he pulled off the black glove.
In the center of his palm, the black stones had begun to spread from the initial wound.
That mad curse was already festering…
"Are you all right, Artemis?" Ruffliette looked at him a bit worriedly. She felt… obligated to. Otherwise, what was the point of all his kindnesses, if she didn't repay them readily? "Here, eat more."
She burdened him with a handful of berries and nuts that had been collected on their journey back through the flora-blanketed cavern. He graciously accepted them, eating them slowly and carefully.
The nuts were hard, rough-shelled, but edible in full. They were salty, and tasted of soil, not in the fact that they were dirty, but their flavour was drawn from the deep earth below. Paired with the berries, which were overly sweet and juicy, he could not eat them all at once. He had to steady himself, otherwise he would vomit them up just as quickly as he had eaten them…
Not to mention they could have been poisonous. He wanted to test them, bit by bit, if only to determine so. That was partly why he had eaten first, not just because he had been starving, but because he wanted to make sure that Ruffliette didn't consume anything that would directly harm her.
"There's also a rat gnawing at your boot..." Ruffliette mentioned casually.
Artemis glanced downwards, grimacing, his expression pale as he drew the silver talwar. He pierced downwards into the skull of a rat bigger than his leg, a shriek emanating through the air as life disappeared from its glassy eyes.
He didn't much like rats. Of course, this was a common trait for almost anyone… he couldn't understand the sort of people that found them cute. Although, seeing the dejection in Ruffliette's expression, he could gage which of those sides she was on…
The rat had left visible bite marks in his boot. If it weren't for the impeccable craftsmanship of the Lords, he might have been seriously injured.
What an annoyance…
…if a smaller creature like a rat was able to exist here, is it the case that predators are few and far between in the cavern? Still, it might not be the case, we should still act with caution…
"We need to be alert, Ruffliette. If it really was the case that there was a war between the Lords and these monsters, then we're walking through their home territory."
She nodded her head simply, looking around in an alert manner.
Staring at the rat, something suddenly clicked in Artemis's head.
This was a key opportunity!
[Dearest Host, I don't really wish to eat that… thing…]
Artemis chuckled wryly underneath his breath.
That's right, Lark. You've correctly guessed what time it is.
It's dinner time. I hope you hate it.
He hadn't yet tested out the 'copy' ability that had been imbued into the fearsome mask by Lark because he would have to effectuate the contract, which meant eating something that was living or had once been alive. Now that he had the corpse of the rat before him, he should 'copy' his blade, just in case anything were to happen to it in the future.
But such a thing would have been easier were he alone. Now, he was traveling alongside Ruffliette.
"Ah…" His face visibly paled. What would she think if she saw him become so inhuman, devouring the large beast almost entirely whole? More than that, He covered his face in embarrassment, turning away. "Ruffliette, can you look away for a moment, please?"
She didn't question why he was asking such a thing, turning away from him immediately, smiling. "Alright, Artemis. Just tell me when I can look. And if anything attacks, I hope you'll raise your sword for me again…"
"Of course, of course. You won't need to lift a finger, I'll fight this time around."
He quickly unhinged his jaw, swallowing the rat in one big bite. Chewing was the worst part. He couldn't particularly taste it. Lark's strange ability blocked that sense out. But he could still feel, feel every single texture that came with eating horrific creatures.
The rat was stringy, chewy, and tough all at once. The bones crunched underneath his bite, and the blood was warm and sticky.
It was the organs he despised most. He would feel those sacs of liquid pop when he bit into them. Luckily, it seemed this time, Lark was intent to eat the rat mostly whole.
And in a few seconds, the creature had disappeared entirely.
In return, he became acutely aware of the ability's effects on the silver talwar.
And that was because it had completely disappeared from its sheath. At his side, the sheath was now empty. He removed it from his belt, throwing it to the ground as he nervously pondered.
If this worked, I can summon it whenever… but if it hasn't, then have I just rid myself of my only weapon? This certainly sounds like a trick that Lark would pull…
Artemis reached out his hand, trying to focus his mind around the key concept of the copy ability. It was an acute visualisation, it was the same for all Spirit abilities. One had to imagine what they were directly trying to achieve. Without a clear idea of what he had copied, how could he summon it? But this was something that he had bet his life upon, whether or not this weapon would be able to cut through his enemies. What was better known to a man than his one link to his own life?
Silver particles quickly collected at the edge of his fingertips. They gradually formed into the gleaming silver talwar, his black-gloved fingers wrapping around its hilt. His eyebrows furrowed.
So it really does work as Lark described… but if I have to draw it quickly, the time it takes to summon it will put me in danger… it's best to keep it summoned, at least for now…
He picked the sheath back up, strapping it to his belt before putting away the silver talwar. He then turned towards Ruffliette, spinning her around as he smiled.
"All done."
She nodded her head, giving him a faint, gentle smile.
"Alright. Shall we continue, then?"
She didn't even bother to ask what it was he had been doing.
Was it that she didn't care, or was this some strange semblance of trust?
It made Artemis feel odd. Like he had betrayed her even more in his mistakes.
He quickly tried to throw away the thought as they continued through the cavern, starting up conversation.
"You said that the Sign was like 'pacification'. When I encountered it, it was more… horrifying. What did you mean by that?"
Ruffliette shook her head. "I can't acutely describe it. Because of its effects, any attempts to demean it will be rerouted or otherwise erased. If I were to say that it-" she suddenly pursed her lips, as if she had forgotten what she was going to say.
"I was going to say something bad about it," she continued, "but that simply isn't possible for anyone 'blessed' by it. It's pacifying effect has two main draws, its mode of control, and its regulation on the actions of those affected by it."
She put extreme emphasise on the word 'blessed', wanting to draw Artemis's attention to it. This wasn't to make sure she got the point of its grace across, she was intentionally speaking to its opposite effect. She was more likely speaking to it as a curse, only inhibited by its effects, and unable to say it outright.
Whatever she wanted to say, she would have to say the complete opposite.
Artemis nodded his head. "I understand. So, what does that Sign feel like to you? If you can't adequately describe it, then how about describing its effects? If you phrase it like praise, then it's not demeaning, is it?"
He winked playfully.
He knew all about loopholes. This was one of the many things taught to him by his older adoptive brother, August. Such a trickster knew many ways to skirt around rules and laws. Artemis had always been expected to look after that troublemaker. But even now… he oddly missed him.
He envied him, but he considered August a true brother.
He needed to return to the Blackbaast at all costs.
"It feels like a warmth throughout your body, like some strange assurance." Ruffliette continued. "I'm not saying that with any hidden meaning, this is generally what signals that He has acted, taking some action towards you or that otherwise involves you. He manipulates the situation so that your actions will succeed. But He can also manipulate the situation so that others fail. In this case… He made sure that we were able to flee, and that the creature died…"
She let out a harsh sigh, shaking her head.
"I don't have a choice in serving my Lord. If I don't, I'll act like his insane Priests… but if I do so willingly, I can preserve most of my sanity. It only slips sometimes… but I've been alone all this time, it's never brought any harm to anyone… I'm sorry, Artemis. For all I've done."
"Don't apologise. I've already told you that it doesn't matter, we're going to fight. Useless things don't matter."
Indeed, we're going to survive. She doesn't owe me anything, certainly not an apology. If anything, I need to make up for all that I've done. Mistrusting, demeaning, and even attacking her…
"How did you get sucked into this?" He had grown a bit impatient. Not with her, but with himself. He felt that as of yet, he had been unable to do anything for her. There was some sort of guilt that clung to him, something he wanted to tear away and break apart, but couldn't.
"Won't a girl with no home try to find one for herself at all costs…? For me, that was the Priests in Yellow…"
"You had no one? What about your parents?"
"Nope."
"Siblings then?"
She shook her head.
"Friends?"
Her smile was quite self-deprecating. She didn't even bother to respond.
"Goodness…" Artemis murmured.
"As a servant of the Fated King, I needed no one at all." She turned towards Artemis, grasping at his hand as she raised it up towards her cheek. He blushed slightly, frowning.
"Now, you're here, Artemis, so maybe that isn't quite true."
If what she had been said was paired with anything else, he might have had some kinder reaction. Smiled, laughed, perhaps even joked along with her.
But he was quickly thrust back into a cold, bitter reality.
That mysterious Lord had finally been named. Now, he wasn't some unknowing, innocent bystander. He was someone with key knowledge.
He thought that all Deities had died long ago. All denizens of the Blackbaast thought the same. The Witch-King, the sole leader of the continent, was the only one they worshiped in a similar light.
But his history was clearly wrong. Whatever he had been taught throughout his life had no traces of the Lords, no traces of Deities and monsters. Lars-Eleme was not a fact or fairy-tale, it wasn't present in any text.
Just who was this 'Fated King'?