A great wind howled. Once dormant; now riled and awake.
Spirits consumed: [32/100]
I believe it has been two, maybe three days since that thing begun its hunt. Fortunately, I've managed to consume more spirits while exploring the rest of the ruined facility. The corpses were all unscathed, somehow.
Slow, careful steps up a slope of concrete inside a deep crater with a mediocre fissure running down its middle. A sort of strange warmth permeated from the fissure.
The sky above darkened as a fleet of clouds moved across the sky.
That anomaly that defiled the sky and time itself seems to have passed. And a storm's brewing. I can smell it.
Moving to the lip of the fissured crater, he paused to examine his surroundings.
Desert, lots of it—at least, what used to be desert, once-bare dunes now an outstretching landscape of snow-covered hills and ice-crusted ravines. An everlasting snowfall careened down from the skies. It felt as if everything was consumed whole by an Ice Age.
Any regular human couldn't survive out here. Even I'm only persisting because of this body.
He stepped in one direction. North.
. . .
Fwwshhhh... fwssshhhhhhh...
The harsh howling of wind. Gusts of snow. An intense blizzard persisted.
It had been six hours since I'd departed from that ruined facility. Three since this blizzard had begun.
Snow clung to his garment, only to be once again brushed off with his hand. His gaze meticulously swept across his surroundings in search for something.
I could sense it. It was still following me, but at a distance.
It's cautious, but hungry.
Hhhhhhrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh...
He paused mid-step, glancing over his shoulder. Why? Because it, too, had stopped.
"Finally. You've decided to make your move, mutt."
Ffmp-ffmp-ffmp-ffmp!
Rapid footfalls approached through dense snow from his rear.
I'll make my move then, as well.
The ground quaked. Snow erupted in a swiveling, rising whirlwind beneath his feet as he twisted awry on his heel.
The wretched, vile beast lunged into the interposing wall of white snow. Its deformed, enormous claw ripping through the air, swiping at nothing but the falling snow that had obscured its vision, and hid its assumed prey.
Its hundred hundred eyes that plagued its absurdly twisted, vile form narrowed, sharply. A vague silhouette shot past, moving toward its flank. And it was quick to react in accordance to its prey, promptly swiveling on its hind legs to slam the whole of its enormous mass into its prey.
Shrrk!
But it found little of its mass to slam into such with, as a visceral tear of its vile flesh preceded the separation of its head from its torso, in a frightening display of sheer physical strength.
A soft thud resounded in the wake of his landing a few feet away from the decapitated monstrosity. He swiped his right arm aside, discarding its liquidly remnants from such, before casting an indifferent look down at the monstrosity.
"How unwise, blindly lunging at the unknown, out of hunger. But, I suppose I shouldn't expect more from a—"
Sllchhh...
The twisting of flesh.
"..Good. I was going to be disappointed if that was all you amounted to."
He watched as the twitching, headless monstrosity slowly rose from the ground. A guttural thrum sounded from its mass.
A wicked grin twisted his pale visage, only for him to suddenly push off his feet to strike the side of its mass with his balled fist. Though, it didn't hit his desired mark, as the headless monstrosity seemingly disappeared into thin-air, replaced with a fading, wispy darkness.
He was quick to act, twisting on his heel to throw his opposite leg upwards.
Swwooosh!
Predictable.
Just as he had anticipated, the monstrosity reappeared directly at his flank, already in the process of reeling one of its enormous claws overhead to rip them into his back, only to be suddenly struck with his feet, and sent careening several meters like a ragdoll.
An instinct-driven beast always attacked from behind.
He did not relent, swiftly slamming his foot down into the ground to send a devastating quake through the ground, further staggering the struggling monstrosity, which attempted to stand back upright, only to be met with a third attack by what it previously assumed was its prey.
Soundless, quick footfalls.
He bit deep into his right pointer finger as golden ichor gushed free and sprayed toward the rising monstrosity with a sharp flickering motion of his hand. The ichor streaked across its mass and then suddenly ignited, turning into a clinging blanket of flame that wrapped the monstrosity in burning light.
It would've been howling and crying in pain, that is if it still had its head.
It staggered from side to side, haphazardly swinging its enormous claws around in search for the predator, only to soon tumble hard onto the ground and fall still as the blanketing fire ate away at its twisting, visceral mass.
A new notification from the system read: "Congratulations! You have completed your Primary Directive: 'Survive the Hunt' and eliminated a Tier 2 Adolescent Wittikka."
That was an adolescent? How unsightly.
He approached the corpse as the last of the flames guttered out under the cold and falling snow. He lifted his right hand toward it to take hold of the spirit still clinging to the charred remains, and consume it as he had had with the previous spirits.
Another notification followed: "You have consumed the spirit of a Tier 2 Adolescent Wittikka, unlocking one of its abilities, 'Teleportation'."
He blinked and promptly opened the System in order to read the newfound ability.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
[SYSTEM INTERFACE LOADED]
Designation: [MV-1119]
Ranking: [T1 - Initiate]
//: >
Core Attributes
Vitality: [Intact]
Cognition: [Lucid]
Resilience: [Stable]
Dominion: [Undefined]
//: >
Thaumaturgic Abilities
[Defiance of Threads]
Immune to any form of precognition, prophecy, and deterministic control.
[Spiritualist]
[Progress: 62/100]
Due to the your origins, you have an affinity towards spirits. Occasionally, you may see and communicate with spirits, possibly influencing, or even going as so far to consume them.
[Made Divine]
"Gods are not born. They are made—through faith, through fear... or through theft."
After absorbing the remnants of the goddess's divinity, your very whole has been forcibly reshaped. You possess three derivative abilities:
Deific Healing: Mortal wounds regenerate unnaturally fast; however, the healing isn't exactly perfect, often leaving faint gold scars. Death by conventional means becomes unlikely, but damage from sacred or anti-divine sources is amplified.
Goddess's Curse: The mind is constantly compromised by fragmented memories, emotions, and impulses that once belonged to the goddess. Occasionally, her unforgiving voice seeps through. Seemingly whispering promises, threats, or information that better be left untold.
Corpus Sanctum:The body is unnaturally strengthened. Muscle fibers now possesses traces of divinity. Your strength reaches beyond natural limits—bones won't snap, even under extreme pressure, and your strikes hit with the force of a siege weapon.
[Teleportation]
One of many abilities of a Wittikka, allowing oneself the capability of teleportation within the range of 70 meters. Activation requires intent and a clear destination, leaving a faint distortion in the air where you vanish and reappear.
//: >
______________________________________________________________________________________________
With a wicked smile, he closed the System.
On top of a useful ability, that thing's spirit was worth thirty. Not too bad.
He promptly twisted away on his heel and continued in the same direction: North.
The blizzard that engulfed the unholy plane waned, as it sometimes did. He peered into the distance and studied the shapes ahead, buildings tall and small rising from the haze. A city, buried beneath a dense blanket of eternal frost.
I've come across many torn and desolate structures during my time in these strange lands, along with many lingering spirits and the vessels they left behind.
It won't be long before I've consumed a hundred in total.
Spirits consumed: [89/100]
Strangely enough, I hadn't felt any need to eat or sleep, even though I knew I still could.
He continued to study the distant city.
While there was likely many spirits to consume there, it certainly wouldn't be without any monstrosities. I'd rather not encounter something I had no chance in defeating.
Thus, he opted to move counter-clockwise around the city's perimeter, and continue North.
. . .
Cold. Wind. Snow.
Spirits consumed: [93/100]
The blizzard raged on, yet again.
And so did I.
Snow whipped about his face and down his coat, but he didn't flinch from the coat.
Fwwshhhh...
Whup-whup… whup-whup…
A distant sound rode the howling wind into his sensitive ears. He lifted his head and narrowed his eyes, trying to catch whatever moved beyond the white veil that was the harsh blizzard.
Whup-whup… whup-whup… whup-whup...
Something was approaching. No. Two. Both cutting through the sky, fast.
He concentrated intently.
One was veering away.
***
Roughly two hours earlier, deep within an undisclosed facility in the southern Nevada desert, approximately 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The lead researcher cleared his throat and spoke first, tablet in hand. "Everyone, listen. Seventy six hours ago, we detected irregular thaumaturgic spikes from inside the Arizona black zone." He tapped the screen, showing a more clearer satellite feed of the frozen blotch, with several different thaumaturgic signatures displayed across. "These spikes, while miniscule, were completely unnatural, and did not share any similarities to what should have been recorded. And the source seemed to be moving."
The second researcher took his place beside him. "The movement is measured at a steady pace. It is not weather. It is not residual energy. We believe it to be an anomaly."
One of the operatives raised a hand. "Is this related to A-1314-3?" The first researcher glanced down, then shook his head. "It was believed to be an entirely separate anomaly, which was previously contained at the site. MV-1119."
The operatives shifted slightly, some in unease. The lead researcher continued, "MV-1119 was one of three living anomalies housed at Arbis. It was kept under stabilization by A-1314-3, and its status was listed as neutralized following the Emergence for nearly a decade after the presumption that it was destroyed."
The second researcher folded his arms and added, "Satellite data shows the movement began roughly three days ago, heading North from the site."
An operative in the back frowned. "If it wasn't destroyed, and instead dormant, what exactly woke it?" The first researcher exhaled. "We do not know. A-1314-3's collapse may have disrupted the cradle that kept MV-1119 inert. Or…" He paused, eyes drifting toward the satellite feed. "Or it woke on its own." The room grew quiet.
Another operative stepped forward. "What are its capabilities?" The second researcher gestured to his tablet. "Unfortunately, we have very little on record regarding it or what it could do, likely because the project was highly classified and personally overseen by one of the late Administrators. All that we know is that they were trying to awaken it. Him."
"So we were going in blind," the same operative stated. The lead researcher shook his head and said, "Not exactly. This mission is not to terminate him, but safely extract him. He is considered a high-priority asset, believed to be highly intelligent, and hopefully not a threat."
The lead researcher stepped forward again. "Your objective is simple. Locate MV-1119. Confirm stability. Extract if possible. Avoid engagement unless forced. If he is aware, cooperate. If he is not, do not provoke him."
A brief pause, soon followed by the tall, bulky man standing beside the researchers stepping forward. "And remember, we might not be alone. There are several groups of interest that have been monitoring the black zone since the Emergence Incident. Some are quite opportunistic. If they locate MV-1119 before you did, we will lose any chance of controlling this situation."
The lead researcher added, "If you encounter another party, avoid contact unless it is unavoidable. Do not trust their intentions. Your only objective is MV-1119. Lethal force is authorized only if it is necessary, is that understood?"
The operatives nodded in unison and shouted, "Yes, sir!" The lead researcher closed his tablet and stepped back.
The tall, bulky man then stated, "Prepare for immediate departure. Lift off in twenty."
***