Down the distant hills, under the heavy grey clouds with flushes of yellow in its cracks from the setting sun, was a black armored personnel carrier with two stark white marks on both its sides. Even if it wasn't perfectly shaped into view yet from this distance, Hope knew they were shaped into two stars.
An Awakened cohort's vehicle.
Hope skidded slightly in the loose gravel stepping forward, debating if he should run or not. From a distance, it looked like a speck. Well, maybe not a tiny speck, but small enough that it was like an ant crawling up its mount.
Was he really in luck? Could he hitch a ride and get out of these cold hills once and for all?
Hope's body stiffened at the thought.
'Why do I feel like I jinxed myself...'
Krrrsssh....
"..."
That...didn't sound like it came from the vehicle.
But from below?
Krrrrrssssssh…
Hope looked down and saw the gravel sink in a small line.
Slowly at first, then rapidly all at once.
The whole ground crumpled beneath his feet as a long gray limb slowly rose out of the earth.
Krrrrrsssssh!
Hope immediately dove off to the side and turned around in time to see a whole Nightmare Creature emerging.
A monster nearly twice his size or more started to tower over him. It had ashen skin and long pointy arms with bone spikes up its limbs as it clawed out of the buried earth. It bent its shelled back and dragged behind a large purple abdomen and four broken hindlegs. It was similar to the distant silhouette monster he saw earlier this afternoon.
So, a landslide really did happen here...
How was it not dead?
Kreeeeeeeeh!
It turned towards him. A head resembling a lot like an insect had two wide alabaster eyes with a torn jaw hanging from its face.
It may have survived but it wasn't spared from any damage.
Reflexively, Hope's hands moved towards his rifle and brought it up to aim. Although a part of his rational mind was screaming 'no', his fingers pulled the trigger anyway.
Tink. Tink.
'It's out of fucking ammo-'
It wasn't that he forgot...He couldn't.
But impulse and knowledge were truly two separate things.
Krreeeeeeeh!
The monster shot its left arm out. Hope dove off again to avoid its attack.
But once he got back on his feet, the monster was already clawing the earth towards him at an incredible speed.
'Fast fast fast-'
Hope moved back, but the loose gravel sucked his feet in. The monster lengthened its arm for a wide sweep. Hope, at the last moment for any possible action, let himself fall.
Instead of impaling his side, its tip caught onto Hope's chest rig and swung him up the hill.
Hope breezed through the air like a pitched ball.
Kwaaang!
"Keuok!"
Somewhere off to the side, he heard his rifle rolling down a steep slope till it became an echo.
He collected where he was now.
'Ah...I'm next to the cliff.'
"Uggh..."
Pain spiked through his back, and the world faded into a blur as he grabbed his abdomen.
It took just one swing and already he was blown away.
But as Hope forced his gaze downhill on the monster, memory voices roared in his head.
Right. Hope had fought this type of monster before, albeit it was from a distance with his firearm, and it was the Awakened who took it head-on. But these Awakened Beasts were agile creatures that tore through their prey and bit off their heads in a single bite. Frighteningly agile for a mere soldier.
For an Awakened, probably not as much.
But what did that exactly mean for him as a Dreamer?
This monster, however, had four hindlegs broken so it wasn't as fast.
But still quite fast.
As his vision started to clear, a blurry blob swelled towards him.
'Jump...' An instinctive voice whispered.
Hope took a quick breath and jumped far away from the cliff.
Crash!
A loud explosion of rock shattered.
Hope rolled and scrambled for distance, slipping and stumbling on the tilted earth.
At that moment, his mind began to move more quickly than the fierce pumping of his heart.
How far was the Awakened's carrier? Should he make a run toward the cohort? It was worth trying, but a long-distance chase with this monster had a low success rate for him.
Short bursts of dodging its attacks and creating enough space between them were what he could do for now.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
The monster's jaw swayed as it let out a pitch cry.
The sky that was once flushed yellow grew dim, the sun disappearing more and more by the second.
And darkness in the wastelands was a heavy blanket to be under.
'Dammit.'
Hope shoved the last traces of pain aside as he prepared himself for another dodge.
Kreeeeh!
Its limbs scooped the earth, dragging itself frantically towards him as if he were its biggest archenemy. 'I assure you I'm not.'
It pivoted faster than anything that big should.
No Dreamer would fight a monster head-on fresh out of their Nightmare. He did spend years training as a soldier, but the progression from him becoming a Dreamer to fighting one-on-one with an Awakened monster was happening incredibly fast. No Awakened even taught him how to fight these monsters as they did-
!!!
Hope made a noise of surprise as a stream of memories blurred his vision.
He clutched his head and was about to curse when he realized something else about them...
'Wait-'
Woosh!
A gray limb descended upon Hope in one fierce motion. But Hope sidestepped, eyes following the swing as he let the monster's momentum carry itself through.
Before it passed, Hope grabbed a handful of gravel and sprayed it right into its eyes.
Kreeeeeh!?
Cries of alarm echoed off into the hills as the monster flinched from the splintering flakes. It struck blindly but found only air.
Hope had already dashed far behind it to buy time.
But as he did so, a faint film played in front of his eyes: Distant figures of the Awakened fighting it, coordinated together—their moves, the monster's countermoves, the patterns, the timing...
'Watch out for its left swing!'
'Keep an eye for its double attack-'
'Hey! It's going to jump!'
Kreeeeeh!
The monster finally caught sight of Hope.
It crouched low to the ground, and although its hindlegs were broken, Hope knew what its next move would be.
Forelegs dug into the rocky soil as it then pounced.
Hope counted the seconds before he reeled back, avoiding the aftershock on the ground.
He rolled back to stand and counted the seconds again between its next anticipated attack.
Of course. He could see it.
He could remember it.
He could remember it all.
***
Crash!
Hope dodged another strike from the monster's limb.
Kreeeeeh!
He slammed his shoulder into its abdomen. But it was like tackling a steel beam.
Wsh!
Under the now falling twilight and shrouded sky, its purple abdomen and alabaster eyes had begun to glow.
Hope had replayed the memories of the Awakened fighting this monster over and over again. A few times he accidentally submerged himself into the memory and almost met an untimely death. But other than that, he finally identified its rhythms, patterns, and attacks.
Maybe his curse wasn't so useless after all.
'Slice left.'
Hope instantly dropped and felt wind whistle overhead.
'Slice right.'
Hope placed both palms on the floor and rolled himself in the opposite direction.
'Strike down- Shit!'
Hope back rolled and barely dodged limbs raining down. The force exploded; hundreds of gravel particles arose and spewed in different directions from the impact, causing Hope to awkwardly bounce on the ground.
This had been going on for a couple of minutes.
The Awakened cohort didn't seem far off, but with the slopes and winding roads, it'd take some time before they reached. The thought of running away was tempting, but in the growing darkness, there was a high chance of misstepping and falling to his death.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
But there were a couple of things Hope had deduced from this monster.
One, it was obviously dangerously strong and fast, so likely its endurance was impalpable once it set eyes on its prey even if he made a run for it.
Two, it was a mindless beast.
Hope had the upper hand in reading its patterns and avoiding its attacks.
But because it was a mindless beast...
Kreeeeeeeeh!!
...it could let its mind go completely berserk, a point of blind frenzy with unpredictable attack patterns.
And it wasn't too thrilled with its lack of progress.
He supposed he had only one 'weapon' at his arsenal in replace of his lost rifle...But he wasn't too sure how he could use it against the monster. Would it be too big for him to carry? It wasn't a sword so it wasn't like he could swing it around either.
Hope clicked his tongue in annoyance as he leapt back.
As the monster leaned onto one side and raised its spiky limb, Hope finally summoned his Memory.
[Ashen Shield].
Bssscch!
Ethereal lights swirled around his left hand, emitting a pale blue glow as it took form.
Kreeeeeeh!
Hope didn't plan to dodge this time.
After a solid weight replaced the flurry of lights, Hope swung the shield to the side of his face-
Chiiik!
-and narrowly deflected the monster's thrust.
His body grew rigid against the tremendous pressure. But he felt something else wrong. Something wrong when he held up his shield. No doubt there was weight to it; it had physical form wrapped around his hand.
But the shield felt light.
Too light.
The monster pushed back and suddenly brought both arms up for a smash. But Hope was too close to safely avoid the attack.
Kreeeeeeeh!
No time to think.
In an instinctive hurry, Hope threw himself forward, narrowly passing its belly.
The ground quaked as he rolled next to its glowing abdomen.
Then, in its dim purple light, Hope glanced down at his shield.
And it was...
'The fuck is this...?'
...a small round shield.
It was a shield just a few inches wider than a dinner plate. With it, a small raised sphere at its center. His hand gripped in a fist on the central handle, holding to what resembled a flattened helm.
It was metal. Durable. Solid.
But mostly importantly.
It was small.
Krrreeh kreh kreeh!
He had never seen anyone use this type of shield before. Most of the Awakened carried majestic steel swords and big shields that were formidable against monster's attacks or spitting fire. But this tiny thing? Was far from majestic.
Maybe it was mentioned in its description, not so much hinted at in the name.
Hope sighed.
'Ah fuck.'
No need to express regrets now. But he had neglected the idea of exploring his Memory because of not wanting to deal with his character stats anymore. Well, at least for a little while. Especially not after the interaction he had with the Spell in his Soul Sea, if he could call it that—
!!!
'Don't think about it—Don't think about it.'
But besides that… it was a shield. Typically, would've been a heavy broad material.
Kreeeeeeeeh!
The milky alabaster eyes glowed with an unmistakable frenzy, a spasm of pure corruption.
In any moment, it was going to go absolutely berserk.
Its patience, if it had any, was wearing thin.
Hope squinted his eyes as he looked around for a clearing. A stable ground. Anything.
Finally, through the twilight's darkness, he vaguely caught sight of a patch of solid rock near the cliff.
Hope blinked. A plan quickly formed in his mind.
'And here I thought I put close combat behind me.'
Bvvvvvvrrrrrr–
He could hear the cohort's engine rumbling closer.
Maybe they could deal a death blow in time on this creature. But at this rate, his [Tears of Sorrow] Attribute could only take him so far into the blinding night.
That meant—
Kreeeeh?!
He'd have to attack it himself.
Kreeeeeeeeeeeh!
As if sensing his resolve, the monster's hanging jaw swayed as it released a blood-curdling scream.
'Yeah yeah I'm coming.'
Hope dashed towards the cliff till his feet met the solid patch of rock.
Pain in his chest resurfaced as he began deep controlled breaths.
Kreeeeeeeeeeeh!
He could see white eyes in the darkness, floating towards him. Each impact thud-thud-thuds through his ribs.
'One. Two. Three...'
Hope crouched, his hand tightly gripping his shield.
'Four. Five. Six…'
At least he had a 'weapon' to use now.
If he had to fully attack, then it had to be done without mistakes. Without hesitation.
Inhale.
With a deep inhale, a chilling calm swept through him. He breathed carefully this time, letting the air flow gently into his lungs.
And at that moment, the world slowed to a crawl.
Krrreeeeeeehh-
His eyes locked onto the monster's flailing, its movements becoming distinct as it neared. His focus narrowing in on the monster had the voices hush to a murmur. It was as if this moment, this present, were too precious to speak over. The only clear sound came from the rhythm of his heart. Soft and steady in his ears.
Ba-bump. Ba-bump...Ba-bump...
Ah. What a familiar...
Exhale.
With that breath, his body hummed, his fingers and feet tingling. They itched to respond to the slightest command of thought.
Kreeeeeaaah!
'Now-'
Chiiik!
A strike aimed at his face was redirected. The weight pushing him back had stone echo at his heels, warning of a falling death.
But if the attack came to his right, then the next would be...
Hope dropped to one knee.
Woooosh!
The monster performed a wide sweep. But the moment its limb was to pass overhead, Hope twisted his body and raised his shield.
Metal collided against joint.
Slash!
A satisfying slice passed through flesh.
The monster reared back with a surprised shriek. Hope could see its shadowed silhouette drop to one side.
It was open. Vulnerable.
Hope didn't need a leading thought.
His body lunged itself forward.
He then pivoted from the monster's bite, craning left, watching the broken mandible bite nothing but air.
And with one motion.
KreeeeaaAH?!!
Hope rammed his shield into its armored chest.
The monster twisted for him again, but Hope had already swung onto its back as he wrapped it in a chokehold.
Leathery skin and spiky hairs were felt under his palm. He didn't have enough momentum to strike deep into its chest. But that wasn't of concern.
The instant Hope made contact with his hands, he could feel something, slightly, draining from his body.
At the same time, the monster began to sway.
Kreeeeeeeeeh!
Smash!
Hope was about to feel relieved for his Aspect's ability to work.
Until the monster started to thrash its head around...
Whatever it felt, it resisted such anomaly.
It writhed, whipped, reared in its last desperation. It even smashed itself on the ground to get rid of the annoying pest. Hope's head was starting to be sucked into a nauseous spiral.
How many seconds was it?
Only three.
No. Now five.
But how long will it take for his aspect to fully subdue this monster? For a start out Dreamer, probably not for a while.
Now seven seconds have passed.
Maybe it would be a minute. But that was too long.
Ah dammit. This bastard wouldn't give in.
Hope gritted his teeth as he shifted the angle of his shield into the front of the monster's neck. He pulled all his weight back.
Krraaaa—Reeeeeehhk!
The rim inched into its throat.
He could hear the skin...the flesh...the cartilage...the bone—
Slice!
Suddenly, all support disappeared from his grip.
He felt himself roll down its back and expected to hit ground as well.
But then the ground also disappeared...
'Not again-!'
Hope struck his shield blindly into a thick shadowed wall towering to his right. The sound of rock broke in his ears and his descent slowed some. Until the wall also vanished, and Hope fell for another several feet before crashing.
Supak!
Wind knocked out of him. His face became flushed.
Hope choked gulps of nothing into his lungs. And out of nowhere, the Spell breathed into his ear:
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Grieve Crawler]
'Shut...up...'
Hope thought as he rolled to his side.
CRASH!
But then the whole ground shook beneath him.
He quickly reached out for support, but instead, his hand met a strange texture: a leathery rubbery wall, a long-bent stick. No. An arm. With jutted thorns-
'Ah...'
It was the monster's body that fell after him.
"Tsk..." Hope kicked the monster. Although clumsily and with weak effort.
But he shouldn't rest now. If he did then his body-
"Arg!"
As expected, the pain slowly crept back onto him. It started like a spark on his back, then it clawed towards his arms and legs, twisting a knife in his chest.
Hope's limbs trembled when he fought to stand.
Another reason why he shouldn't rest now was...
'The cohort...'
He could hear them, their carrier rumbling somewhere high above. But as Hope suspected earlier, the result of the landslide would veer their direction.
And it did.
Their engine started to pull away from Hope's ears, the sound trailing far off into the night. The knowledge of there ever being a lost soldier nearby would never occur to them.
Instead of shouting, Hope gripped his chest and battled himself to breathe. How hard could breathing be? His mind was clear. Minus the faint voices that accompanied back once more in its normal volume. But his fingers were able to obey into a fist; his eyes scanned the darkness for any further danger; his nose registered the monster's odor and the clouds of dust from their fall.
But telling himself to breathe and his body obeying such an intuitive command were not aligning as easily as he thought.
'Breathe dammit...'
"Haaaaa- Kwouk! cough!"
His lungs and chest weren't impressed at his assumed speed recovery.
Hope then let himself lay there in the dark until he could finally breathe again. The chance of help out of his grasp once more.