Damian sat there for a while, staring at the chain with an expression of confusion and shock, he had barely managed to pull himself out of one spiral and was only one step away from another. The metal chain was strangely light, its rusted chains rattled in the breeze, it was only a few feet in length, with dangerously sharp spikes on either end.
He could feel something emanating from it, a sensation best described like an emotion yet at the same time so distant and foreign that it was almost disturbing, it was hard to describe, as if he could sense its very nature as if it was a very part of his soul, the feeling emanating of it was subtle, like a faint echo of an idea long forgotten but still there in the background, the feeling felt profound yet strangely uncomfortable.
The chain seemed to be a longing connection? No that wasn't quite right, it wanted to connect things together, it felt like a binding agent, as if its only role was to connect those who had never known each other's grace. It was strange and more than a little ominous but Damian couldn't help but focus on that connection, he felt like he was staring at a part of him, a part he never even realised existed, or maybe never existed before, it was strange, but he found comfort in the idea that this chain, no matter its origin, represented him, and his undying commitment to those he was connected to.
Thinking about the chain in his hand the runes for its description appeared in his mind, hoping to find a glimmer of meaning he read them once again,
**
[Memory: Broken Chain]
[Memory Rank: Dormant]
[Memory Type: Tool]
Memory Description:
[Broken Chain: A piece of chain forged from The cage of Hope, as the seven chains fell to the sky below the legionnaires of war left their shattered home in search of salvation in the light of freedom, but only a fool would believe themselves to be free of their binds once the first link is broken.]
**
The first thing that stood out to him was the name, Broken Chain, despite its name he couldn't see any sign that the chain was ever damaged in the past, apart from the rust covering its once gleaming surface, the spikes either end were still in pristine condition and seemed almost alluring in a sense.
He suspected the name had more to do with the description than its purpose, it was once a part of something greater afterall, so naturally it would feel incomplete from its true self, it was once strong enough to cage Hope, now if Hope was just a metaphor or the name of a creature he didn't know, but considering he was apparently under the rule of a creature known as Truth, he wouldn't be too surprised.
The next focus was the rank, at first he didn't quite understand what it meant by dormant, but soon remembered the voice which spoke to him just before he received this memory,
[You have Slain a Dormant Human, War legionnaire],
Did the rank of the creature he killed determine the rank of the memory? That idea made the most sense, how many ranks were there? He had heard a soldier mention awakened before, was that another rank? If so, how much stronger were they compared to dormant creatures, the Desert Scourge he had killed before was also dormant but was deemed a monster, what was the difference in strength between a human and a monster, and could a creature be both awakened and a monster?
The questions left him with a headache, but there were a few pieces of information he could glean from what he had seen first hand, firstly that not every dormant or greater creature would grant him a memory, he must have killed close to 50 people and monsters alike the previous night, and after hearing all their names only one granted him a memory.
Secondly, even though he felt a deep connection to the chain, he knew that its source had been the legionnaire, and felt like it was a manifestation of his memories of a shattered home, and what had once held it together.
Finally it was feeling leaking through ito his soul from the chain itself, he could sense its nature and as such would it could do, if only vaguely, he knew it possessed some kind of mystical ability to do with connection but nothing more, and the fact his attention was being drawn to the spikes on either end gave him an idea.
Looking down at his arm he could see the cracks from where his arm had previously been pierced, it had mostly mended itself by now and only a thin sliver of bloodied flesh couldbe seen underneath, breathing in sharply he steeled himself for what could possibly be one of the stupidest things he had done in recent years, as he used all of his strength to stab one end of the chain into his exposed flesh.
The pain wasn't as bad as he had imagined but was still intense, looking down at the spike embedded in his arm a small smile played on his lips, the spike had penetrated his flesh sure but without even opening up the old would, passing through his flesh as if it wasn't even there, despite being able to feel it within his arm, it was a strange sensation to say the least, as if his very soul had been struck instead of his body.
He could feel the connection to the chain much more deeply now, as if it had truly become part of him in a way nothing else truly had, feeling its desire he knew what it needed, it needed the other end to be connected as well, he started by wrapping the chain length around his arm, making sure it was as tight as it could possibly be, before angling the tip towards his wrist.
He pushed the tip into the stone as it offered no resistance, the spike passed through the stone as if never existing at all, and once the entire length was wedged within a strange sensation rippled through his body, suddenly he felt it, as if he had been weak all this time and had finally recovered his strength, no as if he had become strength itself. The feeling was like a soothing venom lacing his mind, the strength felt sweet but the bitterness underneath was subtle and unassuming.
The stone armour he had worn before felt clunky and stiff before, restricting his movement and making him slower than he would like, but now it felt like a second layer of skin, he suddenly became aware of every crack, every cut, every ridge across its surface, as if it was his own body, feeling the sensation of the heat press against the stone, no longer felt oppressing, but was now bearable if not a little pleasant, he could feel the sensation to touch as if his hands were truly made from the stone.
He felt incredible, as if he was born anew, his body reforged from stone, but he knew that this was anything but good, his mind whilst filled with ecstasy was also filled with strange thoughts of negativity, it was great that he felt like a new man, but power always came with a price, he just need to find out if he was willing to pay it, looking down at his arm, now coiled in the unbroken chain he looked down at his exposed flesh and recoiled, as he saw dust slowly creeping into the wound, watching it for some time, it wasn't long before all that was left was a scar of marred stone where flesh once was.
The scene broke him out of his delusions and snapped him back to his current reality, as he understood what this meant, whilst his armour had become one with his body, as if an extension of himself the reverse was also true, his body gaining the properties of the armour, on the surface this seemed good but after a moment to think he realised how frightening this was, the differences between himself and the armour would become obsolete, making them one in the same, as if they always had been. He could feel the chain acting as the bridge between the two, connecting their souls in a way that he could never truly understand, he wanted to remove it, he didn't know what other effects it could be having on him, but before he could rip it out, the sound of a familiar horn bellowed in the air, signaling the start of the next cycle.
Knowing what he had to do, he reluctantly decided to keep the connection active as he picked up his spear and quickly headed out, with no time to grab a new shield, armed with only himself and his spear, he marched forward ready to unleash his assault.