Zero woke up covered in dull pain. It was not sharp like being cut, but rather a sore feeling like after exercising. Except a hundred times worse.
It was unpleasant, and he wished to go back to sleep, but something urgent was nagging on his aching mind.
'Ughhh… let… me… oh shoot! Drakes, Drakes!'
Zero shot up from where he was lying down and promptly hit his head against something hard. Without thinking, he made a fist and swung towards it, then pushed off his legs to gain distance.
His fist collided, and he felt like he was punching a rock… because he was.
Now awake, Zero realized the thing that hit him, was himself? Vaguely, as he flew back, he saw a figure lying down in the corner of the dwelling, and its orange robes were covered with blood.
'Caelum!'
Then he collided with something, sending them into a tumble.
The figure let out a yelp and followed it with an expletive.
"What are you doing, idiot. Get your shit together—they're already dead!"
Zero found himself sitting up, and then he quickly scanned his surroundings. It was dark, but he still managed to see. Rock surrounded both sides in front of him, and also above him. Like a cube was carved into the side of a mountain. The area was rather shallow, and not that suitable to spend a night.
Maybe if they were in a pinch, they would use it. Zero rested his eyes on Caelum, but was relieved to see he was just sleeping. Turning around, he found himself facing Alice.
Her long hair had long become disheveled, but now it was even worse. Her normally cheerful-esque face now contained two slanted eyebrows.
"Charging in like a madman only to get folded like a pancake? Good instincts, my ass! What was the thought process? Can you even think, you stupid…"
Alice stopped, then looked him up and down for a moment. Then she stuck out her hand with only her middle finger and thumb up. It was an odd gesture.
"What... what's that supposed to mean?"
"..."
"Is Caelum ok, and what happened with the drakes?"
"It's a gesture that means I'm glad you're okay… and yes, and they're dead."
The burst of adrenaline from waking up wore off, and Zero felt the full force of his injuries and plopped over to his side and groaned.
Alice said something, but Zero did not feel like listening. Eventually, she started waving her hand in front of his face. Then she materialized a Spirit Crystal and placed it in front of him.
Zero reached forward and touched, then he felt it enter into his Spirit Storage.
{Received Enlightened Spirit Crystal}
Zero weakly crushed it, then continued to lie still. He felt better again for a moment, but that passed.
"Hey, use the one you got from killing the first one, then go back to sleep."
Zero tried to summon another Enlightened Spirit Crystal, but nothing appeared. He sighed, or at least tried to, then opened his Nexus.
{
Name: 0
Tier: Seeker
Class: [Human]
Blessings: [Origin of Blood]
Curses: [???]
Boons: [Harvest Talisman]
Boons Equipped: [Harvest Talisman]
Skills:
[Optic Sight]
Spirit Level: 5/4
Spirit Crystals: 0
Remembrances: [Valiant Blade], [Nascent Drake Armor]
}
Zero glanced at the runes for his Spirit Crystal, but was surprised to see it read 0. Right below it, he saw why.
{
[Nascent Drake Armor] (Enlightened)
(Description)
(A baby drake is born without wings. Should it be separated from its mother, the wingless beast is unlikely to survive for long. But if it is to survive and grow wings, it will become a fearsome Wrath.)
(Attributes/Skills)
Drake Skin: The armor grants the wielder resistance to fire and keeps the wearer warm on the coldest of nights.
Soft Skin: The baby skin of a Nascent Drake makes it partially resistant to blunt forces.
Dragon's Breath: Send a stream of fire at foes.
}
A silly grin crossed Zero's face—he could breathe fire.
"Hey Alice, look"
Zero manifested the armor onto himself and soon felt a cool wrap envelop his body and head. The armor was mostly a dull black, but contained orange streaks from a couple of large spikes. It was rather tight-fitting and looked almost scaly. The helmet was more of the same, except its mouth had become more orange and perhaps a bit bigger.
Alice looked him over for a moment and nodded. Then she manifested something into her own hand.
"Looks nice, I just got a rock. Now go to sleep."
Alice showed off her Remembrance. It was a black string that led to a rock at the end. The rock looked fairly ordinary.
~~~
When Zero woke up again, Caelum was using wind to wake him up. His orange robes were fairly damaged now, but they still managed to cover what was important.
"Good morning Zero, can you walk?"
Zero felt his vision being slightly restricted, so he dismissed the dragon head from his new armor.
"Hmmm, I can try."
Zero rolled to the side and pushed off the ground. It was a bit difficult, but not as bad as he thought it would be. His whole body felt better. Not entirely, but walking was no problem. Perhaps he could even run for a bit, though that would be painful.
'Is this how old people feel?'
Zero shook the thought from his head then looked around. Alice was slumped up against the cave wall, fast asleep, so Zero asked Caelum what had happened, and he retold the story.
Zero was a bit surprised to hear Alice was the only one to kill a drake relatively unharmed. It's not that he thought she was a complete burden, but he had a feeling she would not pull the same amount of weight that he and especially Caelum pulled.
She had proved him wrong, though.
"So did I… make the right decision to challenge the Drakes?"
Caelum pondered for a moment: "Did they notice us first?"
"No… but I thought they might."
"Then it was probably not the best choice, Zero. But do not be hard on yourself for it. There was no time for us to discuss our options. So it was not a bad choice, just not the best. Ah, another thing, it is time for us to move. We angered a Transcended Wrath, the Nascent Drake's mother."