No Emotions to Feel

Ch 11 : I know you

That pebble. That tiny piece of broken stone was all the vessel needed to hear.

It leapt off of the edge it was sitting on, heading straight for the source of the disturbance. The vessel had checked each wall thoroughly, there was no way a piece was loose unless something new happened.

It stared at the vines covering the portion of the wall, they weren't as bright. It pushed against the stone, feeling it move so little that any other bug would think it solid. Void however, caught onto those tiny details.

The vessel whipped its nail out and lunged for the small crack the pebble fell from, piercing it perfectly.

The wall shook a bit, the crack had spread wider.

Another precise blow, the cracks spread across the whole surface.

It hit it once more, but realized using its nail would take too long.

Checking its Soul reserves, it prepared a special attack.

Sticking its hand into the crevice, it released a thin stream of Soul that filled the cracks. Then shot a burst of power through the lines.

The wall half crumbled, half exploded.

Ahead was a rocky tunnel, harsh wind flowing through the exit. The vessel quickly pulled out its charms and put 3 on, it knew wind could be dangerous for a being as small as itself. One charm made it steady, the next made it physically stronger, and the last allowed it to create a spike to hold onto a surface.

It then rushed down the tunnel, it had been absent from the palace for too long.

The wind grew harsher as the vessel reached the exit, and finally rounded the corner to see outside.

It was in the upper part of a sheer cliff side, dust/sand-filled winds thrashing against the giant stones. The vessel looked up, there was still a long way to go to the top.

It glanced back at the boulders, it couldn't get up them.

It would long run out of Soul if it tried to make spikes to climb, and the wind was far too harsh to jump safely.

But the vessel couldn't care about its safety.

So it tightened its satchel and crouched slightly.

It flickered onto the boulders one after the other and when it landed on one a little above the entrance, when it heard a yelp of surprise.

There was a bug climbing right next to where the vessel appeared and they lost their grip.

The vessel quickly grabbed them and pulled them onto the platform, staring at them. They were panting slightly, no doubt out of breath.

"A-ah, you startled me pretty bad" His voice was worn out, "but thank you for catching me, it'd be a shame to fall after getting so far up..."

He stared at the vessel, a look of shock and confusion plastered on his face. The vessel sensed another Soul ache. Neither could look away from the other.

The bug was taller than the vessel. He had a blue-ish grey hood wrapped around his face, and a mask with four eye holes resting on top.

The vessel knew him.

The vessel knew that mask.

But from where?

This bug was someone important.

Who?

The bug was having similar thoughts. He stared at the small figure that saved him, his mind was so fuzzy he could hardly concentrate.

Just like the bug that attacked him earlier, this creature (why was he hesitant to call it a bug?) was familiar. His head pounded, forcing him to lean against the wall.

"sorry," the being looked up at him with a slightly tilted head, they were asking for clarification... how could he know that? "I need to take a break. I'd like to make it to the top of this cliff, and me slipping is enough to tell me to catch my breath."

The being then looked down the cliff side, then back up to him and pointed. "what's the matter?" he respected that they may not want to (or couldn't) talk.

The figure mimicked sitting on a bench, than pointed at a spot on the cliffside, "there's a resting place?"

The figure nodded then jumped down one rock, looking back for him to follow.

"I'm not going all the way down" not after getting so high up the cliffside, but the figure shook its head and pointed again. It didn't seem too far.

"Alright, I'll trust you" keeping his relaxed grip on his nail steady, he followed the vessel down a couple more boulders. They finally found and entered a small opening he didn't notice on his way up.

He followed cautiously. The being saved his life, so it seemed trustworthy. But there were many creatures of false trust in the world. However the odd familiarity pushed him forward, he somehow knew they wouldn't hurt him. Somehow...

They entered a room he had never seen anything like before. It looked to be a hot spring surrounded by bright blue flowers. Light blue butterflies fluttered through the air as they walked in, he was in awe.

"This is a beautiful hot spring" he couldn't help himself, this was a sight he never knew he needed, "I wonder what the blue source is? It seems to be coming from the vines or flowers... perhaps this is lifeblood?"

The being sat at the opposite edge of the pond, and looked up at him expectantly.

Seeing as he needed a break, and the hot springs would ease a lot of tension, he placed his nail on the flowers and stepped into the spring.

He sighed in content, finally relaxing his joints. He glanced back over to the figure, they had seemingly relaxed too. Slightly slumped over, they almost looked asleep.

He watched in amusement as 4 butterflies landed on the figure's head, the being making no attempt to remove them.

He let out a chuckle, the figure looking to him again with a slightly tilted head.

"sorry, I just couldn't help it by seeing those butterflies resting on you"

He paused, thinking. He would be going into a new land, having a friend or ally could be nice.

He stared at the figure a bit more. This being was also important to him. He didn't know how, but something in his mind told him that they were. A word that suddenly echoed in his thoughts... he dismissed it to get back on track.

"Since we're both heading into Hallownest, we might as well get acquainted" he smiled at them, "my name is Quirrel"

(Hirune-17 and Ramen_hair1 thank you for voting!)