For a moment, shock radiated through everyone.
They all watched as Ymer sank his teeth into the neck of his own ally.
The look of surprise on his teammates' faces only made the moment worse.
Movement slowed. The rush of battle seemed to pause, like even the world needed a second to understand what had just happened.
Aiden glanced at his System, startled by the sudden announcement.
Then something rushed out from Ymer's feet.
A reflective red circle spread across the ground, expanding outward until it surrounded them all. It flattened the world around them, stretching to the horizon like a polished crimson mirror.
Aiden looked down at his feet.
His reflection stared back.
The surface beneath him looked like thick liquid. When he lifted his foot, ripples spread out from the spot where he had been standing.
Then the smell hit him.
Iron.
Blood.
It rushed into his nose so strongly that he coughed in surprise. He was not the only one. Around him, the others coughed and gagged as the smell of blood became potent and inescapable.
"Ymer, this wasn't what we agreed to!" Aflmaril yelled, pointing one of her swords at him with her good arm.
"Well, excuse me if your incompetence forced me to change plans," Ymer said.
He tossed Straun's unconscious body to the ground like a discarded coat.
Near Ymer's feet, two spots in the blood-like floor began to bubble.
The surface shook.
Then two figures rose from it.
They looked like mirrors of Ymer's silhouette, even holding similar weapons. But they were entirely red, as if they had been constructed from the blood beneath them.
Jax took the initiative.
He did not wait for another speech.
He lunged straight for Ymer.
The blood copies jumped in the way.
Jax snapped his jaws open, grabbed one clone by the throat, and ripped its head clean from its body. He landed, spat the head onto the ground, and waited for the body to fall over.
It did not.
Instead, the clone's head simply regrew.
Worse still, from where the severed head landed, another blood clone rose from the floor.
"You like my soul skill?" Ymer asked, his voice taunting. "It is quite a potent one, especially once you get them riled up."
Party Leader Jax has landed a strike on Blood Clone.
Blood Clone has resisted the damage.
Blood Clone has split to form another Blood Clone.
Jax saw what happened and tried to retreat.
The blood clones were already moving.
Their actions were perfectly in sync.
One slashed at Jax's neck.
His Ki rose and blocked the strike.
Another thrust into his side.
His Ki rose again, but this time it seemed thinner. Cracks formed in the energy.
The last clone stabbed into Jax's back.
His Ki shattered.
The blade bit deep and pinned him to the blood-red floor.
Jax cried out, writhing beneath the weapon as the blood clones stared down at him with expressionless faces.
Blood Clone has used item Vermilion Rapier (D).
Party Leader Jax has used Lifeforce Control (E).
Party Leader Jax spent 21 Ki to take 0 damage.
Blood Clone has used item Vermilion Rapier (D).
Party Leader Jax has used Lifeforce Control (E).
Party Leader Jax spent 30 Ki to take 0 damage.
Blood Clone has used item Vermilion Rapier (D).
Party Leader Jax has used Lifeforce Control (E).
Party Leader Jax spent 16 Ki to take 13 damage.
Party Leader Jax has been affected by item Vermilion Rapier (D).
Party Leader Jax has begun to take bleed damage.
Less than a second.
A fight they had not only been winning, but practically steamrolling, had been turned around in less than a second.
Between his HP and Ki, Jax had almost ninety points of punishment he could take when he was fresh. But even glancing at the System window told Aiden that Jax was now barely holding on.
Selene could maybe take one attack like that.
Not two.
This was no longer a fight.
It was about to become a slaughter.
Worse still, they could not even run.
Jax was literally pinned through the body to the floor, and even if he was freed, the bloody field stretched practically to the horizon.
Aiden turned to his teammates, hoping someone had an idea.
Liora's expression had gone tense.
Kaelen's hands tightened around his staff.
Selene looked ready to charge but was clearly unsure where to start.
Even Aflmaril seemed panicked now. The thought that Ymer might not be as much on her side as she believed had clearly crossed her face.
When Aiden turned back, he expected Ymer to be watching the whole group.
Instead, Ymer's eyes were locked on him.
A toothy grin spread across his face.
He began walking toward Aiden, his three sanguine guards following behind him.
Aiden wanted to be brave.
He wanted to come up with a plan.
He wanted to be rational in a situation where rationality had apparently packed its bags and left days ago.
But his mind kept moving in circles.
I don't want to die.
How do I live?
I can't.
I don't want to die.
Over and over.
Ymer's footsteps struck the blood-like floor, each one sending ripples outward. Each step felt like a hammer crashing against a gong.
The System was not helping.
Your soul stirs.
Your soul stirs.
The world seemed to slow.
A weight pressed down on Aiden's back. His breathing turned heavy. His eyes kept darting around, searching for anything that could help.
Yet despite the panic, he could hear every step Ymer took.
Feel every ripple.
Count every movement.
Step.
Your soul stirs.
Step.
Your soul stirs.
Step.
Your soul stirs.
Eight steps.
It took Ymer eight steps to reach arm's length.
Aiden looked up at him.
Aiden was a respectable five foot nine, but Ymer had to be at least six foot two. He had to crane his neck slightly, and somehow that small detail made the terror worse.
Behind Ymer, Aiden could see Jax being dragged along the blood-soaked floor despite holding on for dear life.
Your soul stirs.
A skill has formed from broken fate.
Skill acquired: Silver Tongue (E).
Silver Tongue (E)
Passive
Your voice is one that can soothe or lie with ease. You are better at persuading people and can lie more convincingly.
What?
A skill?
How did—
What was—
Aiden's thoughts were racing so fast they could not even form properly.
Then Ymer grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look up.
"Let's make this a game, shall we?" Ymer asked. "How will your friends react to this?"
Enemy Ymer has used skill Vampiric Allure (E).
Your consciousness sinks into your mind as you no longer control your own body.
It felt like being ripped away from a window.
Aiden was surrounded by a dark void.
His vision still existed, but it hovered about fifteen feet away from him like a pane of glass showing the world through his own eyes.
He could not move.
He could not breathe.
He could not do anything.
Ymer's voice echoed from somewhere beyond the window.
"You all, members of his party, if you resist or try to fight back, I kill the mutt."
Aiden saw his own body turn toward the others.
Then Ymer said,
"You, Aiden. Kill your friends."
What is he—
Aiden's thought shattered as the window of his vision whipped around.
His hand had already grabbed the last bottle of fire starter from his bag.
The bottle flew.
Liora had to jump in its path, knocking it aside with a burst of wind before it could shatter against Kaelen.
In a normal fight, this would have been over in a second or two.
Aiden might get one strike in.
Maybe.
After that, he would be finished.
But this was not a normal fight.
His friends were not allowed to fight back.
All he could do was watch from inside his own mind as his body slowly, clumsily, and surely began delivering wounds.
Ymer cackled behind him.
The sound was guttural.
Infuriating.
Why?
Why did people like him exist?
People who used their natural-born talents to lie, steal, hurt, and take whatever they wanted from life.
Worse still, Aiden's System screen kept appearing in front of him and in front of his body, showing him every action he took.
Every item used.
Every point of damage done.
But the black space around him was worse.
It pulsed occasionally, like something vast and unseen was breathing in the dark.
Your soul stirs.
Your soul stirs.
Your soul stirs.
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" Aiden yelled desperately.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Ow, my ears. Why is there so much echo in here?"
A voice came from his right.
Aiden froze.
Then, bewildered, he turned.
Floating next to him was another him.
Another Aiden.
The other Aiden had his hands clamped over his ears, wincing as if the shout had physically hurt him.
They both stared at each other.
Neither moved.
Then, in perfect unison, they both asked,
"What the fu—"
Your soul stirs.
A skill has formed from broken fate.
Skill acquired: Fragmented Will (E).
Fragmented Will (E)
Passive
Your mind begins to split under pressure to protect itself. While under intense emotional or mental strain, you may subconsciously form a mental fragment, a sliver of your will that acts independently.
The fragment may whisper suggestions, make minor decisions in your place, or retain key memories if you are compromised.