He passed his night in a tree hollow. It was one of the shelters he had scattered around the city. He spent his time looking for them. There was nothing more to do than to practice his Arcana art.
In the days Eldros had survived in the ruins, he'd learned what happened to the world he found himself.
Few weeks ago, the light of the Tower of Heaven rumbled to life and its beam fell down to the city, instantly turning it into ruins. That was what the Tower of Heaven does.
One day, thousands of years ago it appears in the sky and turned the whole world into chaos. And anytime a light shine from it, anywhere it touches would be instantly turned into ruins where Dungeons and such would sprouts.
It's appearance alone caused rifts to open in the world, caused the heavens to trembled and the ground to shake.
Sea drained and mountain overturned.
Literally.
New lands were formed and new life appeared all over the world. The unique energy of the Magus, the mana was corrupted.
But the curious and terrifying thing about it was that, from that day on, at the very top of the Tower, anytime a light shine from it, anywhere it touches would be instantly turned into ruins where Dungeons and such would sprouts.
It doesn't matter if it was a city or an empire, a mountain or sea. Forest or such. The result where all the same.
And when that happens, a shield would cover the whole place for some month or so, as if the Tower was observing the transformation within.
Eldros himself wasn't from this world, he was from a place called Earth and after he was killed during a gang fight, he woke up in the body of the boy without a name.
He gave himself a new name and studied the memories of his new body. Sadly, there wasn't much.
But when he woke up and escaped the Dungeon, everything was already in ruins. He couldn't say if the body he woke up in was already dead. And he didn't much care.
He glanced at the book in his hand.
After days of training, the Arcana art was etched into his mind. It had improved his stamina, confidence and granted him crucial knowledge.
Arcane dated back to before the Tower appeared in the sky and changed the world forever.
The old book that Eldros found explained why Arcane had grown so perilous dangerous and it was because of the Tower of Heaven's aura—now called Noxium—that tainted mana itself. It poisoned Magus from within.
As Noxium built up in the body, it caused terrifying transformations. Some ran mad and most died from the corruption.
Still, for those who lived in such words, there was no choice. Disease ran rampant, and monsters do as they want. Magus practice was the only path to survival.
But it was also a dangerous path and lots of people didn't have the talent or the resources for it.
No matter what, the corruption would eat from the inside. You can only try to help reduce it in the body with the use of potions and such.
Only if you reach great hight as a Magus could you truly be free from the corruption. In a way, it was what would safe or killed them.
Sadly, even normal humans get corrupted with Noxium as well.
Eldros practiced until morning and once the light shone on his concealed shelter, he got out and prepared himself.
Time to move.
Today, he was determined to get the fruit.
He moved quickly, leaping walls, slinking between ruins, a shadow in motion.
Eldros pressed onward, ignoring the small animals he saw and skirting the city lord's house. His focus was on one thing, the place where he'd seen that fruit.
Rather than approach directly, he circled around and climbed a hill overlooking the site.
From his vantage point, he could see them, the swarm, surrounding the silver fruit.
Dozens of twisted beasts prowled the crumbling square below. Their hides gleamed with patches of bone, their eyes glowed in unnatural hues, and their bodies twitched with the restless energy of things born from corruption.
The silver-glowing fruit sat in the center, seemly to be drawing them in.
Eldros's jaw tightened
Every instinct screamed at him to leave, but he had already decided, this was worth the risk. And he had a feeling that if he didn't do it now, he won't ever had the chance of doing it.
The shield that surrounded the city, caused by the Tower might be lifting soon, which would leave room for people to come in or go out.
He waited. Hours bled away as he studied their movement, counting the rhythm of their patrol, noting which creatures snapped at one another, which drifted too far from the fruit or too close by it.
Only when the shadows lengthened and the sky dimmed to the deep blue of late evening did he begin his descent.
Today...would be the last day. And he didn't have any strategy. He would do contrary to his own behavior. He needed to stop being cautious.
Step by careful step, he slipped into the ruins. He hugged walls, ducked beneath collapsed arches, and stilled whenever one of the larger beasts raised its head.
The stench of rot and iron thickened the air the closer he got.
Finally, he was within distance, so much so that he could feel the bloodlust from them brushing against his skin and raising his hairs.
The plan was simple, cause a distraction, snatch the fruit, vanish before they closed in.
It was the stupidest plan. But what else could he do when he wasn't powerful enough to take it?
He took a deep breath and then he put on the skin of a corrupted beast he killed, he warped it around himself.
He took a shard of brick and hurled it into a heap of rubble far to his left. The clatter was immediate, and several creatures turned toward the noise, snarling.
That was his moment. Eldros sprinted, boots silent on the cracked stone, leapt onto a low wall, and lunged. He blurred, faster than his usual self, his heart pounding hard in his chest.
All the memorizing he did paid off as he actually reached the centre!
His fingers closed around the fruit, smooth, warm, humming with energy.
The moment he tore it free, the swarm erupted.
A screech split the air as the nearest beast lunged, its claws raking across his shoulder. Pain flared hot, but he didn't stop. Eldros ducked, rolled beneath another, and bolted toward the side street he'd memorized.
Behind him, the swarm poured forward like a tide of teeth and claws.
Surprisingly, his speed increased as a soft shimmering light covered him but he didn't even notice!
He didn't make it out unscathed.
One smaller, faster monster caught up, its barbed tail lashing across his thigh. He stumbled, nearly dropping the fruit, but forced himself onward. The pain in his leg burned with the sickly fire of Noxium poisoning.
Only when he vaulted a final wall and collapsed into a narrow alley did he realize he had escaped.
Barely.
Blood soaked his side and leg. His breaths came shallow and ragged, his vision dimming.
But when he looked at the fruit in his hand, its silver light spilling across the grime of the alley, a faint, grim smile touched his lips.
It was...worth it. Must be.
He didn't have the strength to make it to his main shelter. Instead, he dragged himself to the nearest safe spot, another hollow in a rotting tree trunk he'd hidden supplies in days ago.
There, he bound his wounds as best he could and curled up in the darkness, clutching the fruit. The night passed in aching stillness, broken only by the steady beat of his heart and the distant, hungry cries of the swarm.
When dawn crept in, Eldros was still alive. Wounded. Fevered. But alive.
And the fruit was his.