Nero woke to the sound of his own breathing.
He remained still for quite some time. Mostly because he was unable to move.
The chamber was quiet now. The Soul Amalgam's remains had long since dissolved into bloodstains on the stone floor, leaving behind only the rather terrible memory of hundreds of familiar faces gnawing at his flesh.
Nero didn't have to look to know he was a mess. He could feel it very vividly. His body was completely torn up, covered with wounds of varying degrees; from shallow but long cuts, to deep grooves carved into his flesh.
That was exactly why he could move. He was not only in pain, but also he physically couldn't move.
It was a miracle he was even alive. He had barely been in the Cursed Badlands for a few hours and he was already in the verge of death.
The stump of his mangled left shoulder throbbed with dull pain, but the bleeding had stopped. Besides that, he didn't feel anything from the shoulder down even though his arm was still connected, albeit barely.
A hot feeling began welling up in his eyes as he realized he possibly would never make use of his arm again and would have to amputate it to make sure the wound doesn't get any more infected than it already was.
The Silver Blade rested beside him, its surface unmarked despite being bathed in the creature's acidic blood. Nero reached for it with his other hand, testing his grip. The weapon still felt balanced, but fighting one-handed would take adjustment.
In the cold, dark cave, he let out a sigh.
He sat up slowly, his back aching from lying on the hard stone for who knew how long.
Around him, the cave had returned to its previous state. The bioluminescent veins pulsed with gentle light. However, the violent winds at the mouth of the cave seemed to have stopped, so the whistles had died down.
Nero examined his surroundings more carefully in the dim light. The chamber was larger than he had initially thought, stretching back into shadows. There were other chambers deeper within.
Along the walls, he could see various nests, with a few scratches and gouges that seemed to have no rhythm or reason to them.
Perhaps these things had been here for decades, more likely. Perhaps even centuries.
A thought appeared in his mind.
The creature had most likely used this cave as a trap. A seemingly empty, dark cave would attract wounded or exhausted creatures seeking shelter from all the chaos and death outside. The soft whistling at the cave mouth would put them to ease and lull them to sleep.
Then the Soul Amalgam would emerge and devour them.
A truly brilliant hunting strategy. He had fallen for it as well.
Struggling to sit up, he eventually settled back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Although he had just awoken, he still felt rather exhausted, especially after losing so much blood.
But he also didn't mind going back to sleep.
Because he wanted to have a little chat...
It was time to talk to the Oracle.
***
The familiar sensation of drifting washed over him as his consciousness descended into the void space within his mind. The Divine Oracle waited for him there, its circular rings rotating slowly in the endless nothing.
Nero looked down at his body.
He didn't feel any pain here, so the relief was rather welcome.
Then he looked up at the Divine Will's Oracle;
"Oracle," Nero said. "I have questions."
{The Heretic is permitted three questions today}.
Nero sucked in a deep breath,
"What is the difference between the questions I ask in here and the questions I ask you while I am awake? Surely, there has to be a difference."
Nero had noticed that even though the Oracle had told him he was limited to just three questions a day, when he was awake, it answered all his questions just fine.
{The three questions that are granted to the Heretic by the grace of the Divine Will can be classified as; Revelation, Prophesy, and Inquest. On the other hand, the Heretic can always perform general inquiries when he is not within this space. However, the Divine Will will treat all inquiries as questions within this space}.
"I see..."
'So that means I need to be very strategic with my questions from now on. Combining this with what I learned before...'
His brows furrowed.
'Plus, I can ask for Revelations and Prophesies? Isn't that too unbelievable?'
Indeed it was.
'But... I guess I am dealing with Divine Providence. There really aren't any stop gaps for what is believable and what is not.'
He huffed.
Suddenly, the voice of the Divine Oracle reverberated through his mind.
{Rejoice, Heretic. The Divine Will has arbitrarily decided to grant you a boon}.
Nero took a panicked step back as his subconscious space began to tremble.
The Oracle's rings stopped rotating for a moment as the reality within the nothingness churned and boiled viciously. A moment later, it stopped, and something materialized in the void between them.
A small vial filled with a crystal clear liquid that seemed to contain drops of starlight.
The runes burned into realization before him.
{Divine Elixir: This elixer heals all physical injuries afflicted over the last twenty four hours upon consumption}.
Nero's eyes widened.
'This... Can such a thing truly exist?'
He looked up.
The circular rings that made up the 'eye' of the Divine Oracle had continued their revolving motion.
Nero gulped then reached out to take the vial. The glass was warm to the touch, and the liquid within swirled with patterns that were indiscernible.
Or maybe there were no patterns and he was simply seeing things.
'That's more likely. More importantly, to think I'll be granted something like this so soon. Especially when I need it the most. Will things be like this all the time?' Nero thought to himself.
He shook his head. Of course it won't.
Although it was surprisingly generous for the Divine Will, he expected that was where his good luck ended.
He sucked in a deep breath.
He had two more questions left and he was keen on making the most out of them.
Now, he finally had a good grasp of how best to take advantage of the questions he could ask;
The Revelations and Prophesies...