Huff huff
What the hell was that thing? Slouching against a bloody wall and gasping for air, Shin had finally managed to escape his terrifying pursuer. Despite the warning from Tsuki, he was not willing to take any chances with the unknown.
When the entity appeared from the darkness, it had dragged a metal scythe behind it. The faint sparks that lit against the concrete floor made it clear that it was heavy and dangerous.
Apart from its deadly weapons, its appearance was even more horrifying.
It wore what seemed to be a tattered hospital gown, covering its towering body that almost reached the ceiling. Its face was covered in seams that stitched together multiple different skin color patches. With a single eye on its left side.
Despite firing several shots into it, the creature seemed unperturbed, slowly making its way towards Shin. In that moment of unpreparedness, all he could do was run away.
"I hope Tsuki has better luck." He softly exclaimed his worries.
…
Making her way down a similar dark hallway with a light orb in hand, Tsuki had been studying her silver pocket watch. She had noticed that the hands were frozen, causing her worries to elevate.
This meant that she had no idea what was happening in the outside world. Because once the Waking Hour starts, it means that the spiritual energies of everything becomes amplified. And that would make the task of escaping the array that much harder.
Why don't you just use my powers, little one? A soft feminine voice spoke out in her head.
"Shut up." Tsuki responded, her voice containing genuine anger. A stark contrast to her usual stoic self.
Come now, it's just us two. We can leave that boy behind and return to being the darling of the team. The soft voice further agitated Tsuki; despite its gentle tone, it spewed nothing but dark thoughts.
"I do not need you, monster." Her voice returned to some normalcy.
But you did not hesitate to use my powers to save that boy. The voice then cackled in her head before it silently disappeared again.
Closing the lid of the pocket watch and tightly grasping it, she returned her attention to the long hallway. The darkness that had crept away from the orb of light in her hand had abruptly started to encroach on the lit area, returning it to darkness.
Stepping out of the darkness was a foot, followed by a leg and then revealing a torso. Slowly a tall figure covered in a tattered hospital gown emerged from the shadows. It had one right eye on its stitched face.
…
Walking out of the fog-covered courtyard and past the scattered chains into a reception area. Gin removed his tinted sunglasses to reveal his pupil-less gray eyes.
Quickly scanning the area had immediately revealed an anomalous space. In his eyes all that was seen was a 'bubble' in the tapestry of reality.
He leisurely took a few steps forward and arrived at the first step of the stairway. With no hesitation, he ascended the first step, the 4th, and all the way to the 10th step.
Once his foot touched the 13th step, his figure immediately disappeared.
…
Having finally recomposed himself, Shin decided that he will be laying an ambush for the tattered-clothed monster. Even though his options were limited, he was going to make the best of the hand dealt to him.
Earlier was just a moment of weakness, where I was caught off guard. But this time… Holding the 'Bind' charm in hand, the cogs in his head spun in formation of a plan.
Once the creature reappears, he would bind it. And while it's immobilized, he will use the lightning charm to deal the brunt of the damage. Then hopefully a few pistol shots can end it.
As if sensing his intentions, the sound of scraping metal screeched, signaling the arrival of the monster. Shin then quickly got into position, the 'Bind' charm in one hand and the silver pistol in the other.
Walking with an unsteady limp towards Shin, the tattered-clothed abomination's single left eye locked on to him. It then slowly lifted its metal scythe from the ground, with its monstrous strength barely able to.
Holding out the charm before him, he then recited, "Bind!"
The flashing lights of chains shot forward, clearing all darkness in the hallway. It illuminated all the bloody handprints and drag marks on the floor as it snaked towards the monster's tall figure.
Within a few moments the chains reached the monster's position and started binding it; several chains bound its legs, and others wrapped around the creature's arms, preventing it from lifting the scythe any further.
And finally the ends of the chains bore in all around the hallway. Some were anchored to the ceiling, to the wall, and then to the floor.
Breathing a sigh of relief that the binding charm worked, Shin then pulled out the 'Lightning' charm with his empty hand, and without any delay he immediately chanted while pointing to the bound creature, "Lightning!"
Boom!
A flash of lightning immediately struck; the burst of light had even temporarily overpowered the light of the binding chains. But the charm had struck true; the monster's figure was gone, and the chains of light fell to the ground.
Being slightly elated at the outcome, Shin found that he had drained the bulk of his spirituality when he used the 'Lightning' charm and was now nearly depleted.
In the Codex he had discovered this: even though the use of charms may be a substitute for Evoker abilities. One still had to use the corresponding spirituality to activate the charm, even if the cost was significantly less.
Feeling the burdens of a diminished pool of spirituality, Shin promptly recalled that Valerie had given him a Monster Essence Pearl. He would quickly absorb it and refill his spirituality before going on his way.
Screeecchhhh!
The sound of metal scraped, and with a swift swing, a blur flew upwards merely a few inches away from his face. His eyes slowly moved up, and above him a scythe loomed. His eyes then trailed along the shaft of the scythe and found a hand holding it.
Turning his head, Shin saw the tattered-clothed monster staring at him, its singular left eye reflecting his bewildered expression.
The monster then balled its empty hand and swung at Shin. The fist connected straight to his gut and blew out all the air in him as well as his entire body. He was sent flying through the darkness before landing with a loud thump and rolling a few more meters.
Gasping for air, Shin struggled immensely to find his bearings; in the darkness, his vision became even more blurry with tears filling his eyes in pain.
With ragged breaths, he managed to mutter one word.
"Wan…ugh…wanderer."
And just like that, Shin disappeared completely.