Release Schedule: Once per week.
With no recollection of her past or even her own name, our heroine has merely been existing since waking in a place known as the Obsidian Terraces. Uncertain how to fend for herself or earn coin, she turned to protec...
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I laid on my back, staring up at the canopy of trees above me. Soft breathing and a few snores filled the air, but that wasn't the reason for my unrest. Monstrous sounds echoed in the distance, hinting at a battle between Blighted and divine. To add to the strange feeling of the night, there was static in the air and the light filtering through the trees was scarlet.
Yet, the patrols hadn't come to fetch us.
Quietly, I pulled myself out of my bed roll so I wouldn't wake anyone. I glanced down at Yahui while pinning my hair up, and considered waking him, but he looked to be at peace in his sleep. His expression was far softer than any face he made while awake—especially if compared to his cold, guarded demeanor with me. I let out a small sigh before slipping out of camp and heading in the direction that pulled me. To be safe, I left small orbs of light in my way so that I'd be able to find my way back. At first glance, they would look like dew on leaves to anyone else.
A while later, I left the trees behind and found myself on a cliff overlooking an expansive, lush valley. Much of it was forested, but in the open fields were hundreds of Blighted facing off against perhaps a dozen divine beasts. The large, golden creatures crushed dozens of their enemies in a single step, their footfalls causing the very air to vibrate.
Above, a full moon shone bright in a dark red sky. At first I thought it to be the product of dark arts, yet I sensed no such thing. When I managed to tear my gaze away from the moon, I scanned my surroundings for anyone—or anything—that could have been involved in the battle below. Alas, mine was the worst of the available vantage points. If there was anyone else observing the battle below, they were likely on the far side if the valley.
I breathed a small sigh and sat cross-legged on the cliff, resting my wrists on my knees. A myriad of powerful energies filled the air, compelling me to meditate upon the battle being waged below. Perhaps those energies could be harnessed to break my lock—or at least to grow.
An immeasurable amount of time later, I sensed pure rage speeding toward me. Before I could open my eyes, darkness pierced through my back and chest, knocking the wind from my lungs. The force of the attack lifted me off the ground and sent me tumbling. I managed to stop my fall, landing on my hands and knees, coughing, as I attempted to regain my breath. At the same time, the darkness permeated my mind and rushed through every open pathway. When it slammed full-force into the lock, an earsplitting gong rang through my head and the darkness retreated.
"Did you...have to..." I began coughing again, glaring at Yahui's feet as he stalked toward me. His tail snapped violently behind him, and an unsheathed longsword rested in his hand.
"Were you not attempting to flee?" Yahui brought the blade to the side of my neck.
"I was meditating," I snapped, clutching one hand over the left side of my chest. With my breath returned, I now felt the aching pain in my chest and the tendrils of darkness the dragon had woven around my heart. "And admiring the sky, admittedly. I couldn't sleep with that battle raging on—"
