LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 1706 Fracture
--- Hunter --- (???)
They'd reached the centre, or what was likely to be the centre anyway. The air here was closer to jelly in texture then a gas. Every step felt like pushing against syrup and breathing in was starting to become a challenge even for Hunter. It had been one for quite some time in Strdl's case.
To help, at least with the breathing issue Hunter had handed over an enchanted helmet that provided a steady supply of oxygen to help the user breathe underwater. This wasn't quite the intended use case but it was helping. Strdl still felt constrained. Her lungs felt like they were pushing against boulders resting on her chest because of how thick the air had become.
Worse, was whenever Strdl looked down at her hands. Sometimes when blinking they'd flash grey for a moment, and every time it happened Strdl felt like more and more or her arms were being covered. Hunter didn't seem to notice but Strdl felt like her arms were slowly turning to stone.
Ronldo hadn't said anything in what felt like hours. He'd greyed over completely and no longer moved. Little bounces and jolts that occurred because of the terrain didn't seem to shift him at all. Of course the terrain was a whole separate issue now. Instead of the smooth if odd curves it was mostly sharp edges now and at one point Strdl and Hunter had to deal with a thirty metre drop that certainly wasn't in the original plans.
Now though, they were entering into a room that was almost spherical. Almost because Hunter's eyes could see a near infinite number of edges. Wherever she looked there was always dozens of corners all bunched together to give the room a dome like appearance. Strdl, with worse eyesight was experiencing the same effect and the question of how many things were overlapping here was a hard one to answer.
The vault door they'd needed to open to get inside had been massively distorted, looking more like a cloth that had been pinched in the centre and twisted around, frozen in place and then shattered. With bits and pieces of the metal just floating in the air despite the fact it was blocking the way forward and all managed to move as one when Hunter hauled the thing out of the way. Ronldo was left outside, just in case. Strdl had built a small crystal box for him to remain in. Partially for his own safety and partially to prevent escapes.
Entering the room had been a slow process, until suddenly it wasn't. It's orb like shape had been obvious and the room had seemed empty until some invisible threshold had been passed and suddenly a hulking figure was visible in the centre of the room.
The face was clearly Trvis' and looked completely normal. The rest of him did not. Everything below his chin was a mess of twisting flesh and sinew. Visible bones and muscles poked out between pillars of crystal that made up his lower body. Arms and legs didn't exist and the whole thing pulsed rhythmically as if it was one giant heart where even the crystals would flash in time with the beat.
The figure was looking away from them, so Hunter ready her rifle to fire… only for Trvis' voice to ring out. "I wouldn't bother with that if I were you,"
Hunter paused as even without blinking the figure in front of her twitched for fractions of a fraction of a second and was suddenly facing her head on. The one change made to Trvis's face was his eyes that now gazed back out as crystal orbs with lightning running through them. "Oh? Why do you say that?" asked Hunter.
"I have seen things. I am… the man once known as Trvis. I have seen the past, the present, and countless futures. You are incapable of winning in any contest of violence as I have foreseen the outcomes. Your victory was never certain, and knowing the ways in which I would have lost allows me to avoid that fate coming into reality," stated the thing.
"So what ARE you? If you claim to no longer be Trvis?" asked Hunter as she study the thing. Looking for weaknesses and strengths. Assessing her foe and lightly pushing her aura out to try and hide Strdl. Trvis didn't seem to be looking at the other girl for the moment and it was worth seeing if that could be the key to victory.
"It is a question I do not know myself. I can accept the name Trvis, I do not fear or loath it… but it encapsulates such a small part of my being. Though the one thing I have retained from that man is my desire to live. To remain strong. Even after the years of experiences compressed into hours has aged me it has not broken me and I will not simply lay down and die," stated Trvis?
"Odd way of phrasing it," commented Hunter. "Can't help but feel you're leaving something out,"
"You may not be the one to kill me bit it is true I am dying all the same. Your presence in this moment of truth grounds me. Allows me to focus on what I know to be present instead of what might be. Yet from those visions of the future I know I am already doomed. My perception of time, stretched and warped as it was… allows me to retain more of my sanity. More of myself…
"But I have been touched by corruption. That power over time I sought was tainted by the demonic energy you wield so easily. I do not yet know of a way to save myself, and yet with my current prowess over time surely I can look into a future in which I do succeed? I have not found it yet, and I may never find it. But I MUST keep looking. Even if I am but a shell for this corruptive power, I still would not welcome oblivion. A small part of me would continue and I would loath it, but accept it all the same.
"Do you have the answer? Perhaps this conversation will give you enough sympathy to answer. You ignore all of my questions in the worlds were you manage to attack first, or I attempt to ambush you. This seemed to be my best chance to get answers… and yet your responses are always blurry. I cannot simply hear the words you speak in my visions of the future. Oh, and yes I am aware of your crystalline compatriot. Though if it makes you feel comfortable you can continue covering her in your aura. I shall not forget. I promise you," said Trvis.
Hunter didn't know how to answer. The solution he was searching for had been one the demon race had never cracked. It was an infection that reached the soul and while they'd tried to find ways of undoing it. Spending countless millions of years of collective demon-hours on the problem they had never found the way to revert the change. Even still… what would happen if she just admitted that?
*There's no obvious biological signs of weakness. The constant pulsing implies the existence of a heart… but if anything it seems like the entire body is now a heart. I could risk some shots but I only have a few bullets powerful enough to do any permanent damage and if I use them incorrectly Trvis here might be able to wind back the clock. I think stalling until 23HX502 gets here is the best call. So do I tell him about our lack of success or not?*
Trvis was just 'standing' there. The low constant pulse of his body the only movement, as if he had all the time in the world. Something he'd just admitted to not having. A few moments of thought later and Hunter had decided to be honest. "I'm afraid we don't know how to fix it,"
"Oh? I was under the impression that you might care for the weaker races such as the person I once was," questioned Trvis.
"As a species we do. While living in proximity to the other races doesn't cause problems immediately we do know it's demonic energy that does this to people. The search for a solution is long and ongoing. It's one of the few projects that are shared between hubs. Where the results and tests are shared and repeated between our barely connected dimensions. If we had a way I would tell you," stated Hunter.
"A shame," said Trvis. "I had hoped that for such a powerful species this was bit a minor issues we 'mortals' are allowed to suffer," Hunter glanced at Trvis. What did he consider himself as? His words were contradictory in places and she wasn't sure how coherent he actually was. "Hmm… I suppose that means I'll need to keep looking for solutions myself. Perhaps I will have the time perhaps not…"