MILAINE'S POV - 2 HOURS BEFORE THE AWAKENING
I spat on the ground and burned the blood from my face with my flame. It was hard to see anything with red covering my eyes.
"With this one, that makes seven," I said, crushing the severed head of the one-and-a-half-meter spider, completely made of black stone, under my foot.
[Monster-slayer has absorbed the Anima from Fobea]
[You have reawakened the Innate Ability: Camouflage]
[You have reawakened the Innate Ability: Gossamer]
[You have reawakened the Innate Ability: Glorious Sewing]
[You have reawakened the Innate Ability: Cause of Fear]
[Thanks to past experiences new Innate Abilities have evolved and merged]
[You have obtained the Innate Ability: Dark Weaver]
[Your Flame has absorbed Dark Weaver and evolved]
[You now can use the Sub-Gift Flame Weaver]
I dropped my shoulders and sat on the ground: between the dismembered parts of stone spiders. Then looked into the distance, specifically at one of the legs that was crossing its owner's abdomen, while it sank little by little into the magma that protruded from a crater.
'I prefer the Sandworm'
After sighing, I looked up to the open ceiling. Fireballs were no longer visible traveling across the sky. But that did not ensure that the sky was calm.
There could still be Skullers and Wraps. Not counting the Scorched beetlesthat were surely hiding in the ground.
'It wasn't supposed to take me this long.'
What I initially took for a simple fight against a scout ended up being worse than I thought.
When I left Livia to check what triggered [Jeopardy] I saw the creature stuck to the wall, close to the open ceiling of the cave. Of course, I knew it was a Fobea, but still. I barely managed to see it thanks to the reflection of the light from the sky.
The problem with these creatures was their enormous ability to go unnoticed, especially in caves. They were almost invisible when standing completely still, and their colors changed depending on the habitats they occupied.
They were natural predators.
Not only because of the webs they wove, which were so thick and sharp as to cut a person in half, or because of the absurd sense of smell they had when it comes to blood, but because of the origin of its name.
Fobea or Phobia
'I have to say that Pathfinder boyreally nailed the name.'
The way a Fobea hunts was simple.
Wait, observe, recognize and attack. If not, regroup and repeat.
When a Fobea decided it was time to attack its prey, either because it fell into its web or because it was too careless, it released hormones that, upon contact with the nose, awakened a feeling.
The fear. It was a way of reactivating a trauma by trying to attack the amygdala.
The effect was temporary, a few seconds, and could be avoided if you were mentally strong enough. But when you don't expect it, and even if it's only for a few seconds, it's enough margin for them to devour you.
Killing the first one wasn't that difficult. I simply engulfed the improvised fang-sword in my flame and threw it with all my strength. The impact exploded and took a piece of wall with the bastard and its black web.
The problem was what came next. When the light from my flame illuminated its way I noticed the rest.
And they noticed me.
It wasn't just a scout; it was a whole reconnaissance team.
I sigh again at the memory.
Killing Phobias was not difficult. At least not for me. But it definitely wasn't pleasant.
The good thing is that it didn't affect me. Nothing was worse than [Immortal].
I looked down at my torn sneakers, which looked more like a weird leather mesh. When I started to take them off, part of the foot came off.
No surprise they cut me with their web from the ankle to my third toe.
'Haash... why the hell were there so many?''
As I put the leather mess aside, I brought my hands together to bring the metatarsal parts of my foot closer and began to regenerate my body with my flame.
When the bones came together, I released my hands and let the tendons reconnect with any missing pieces of muscle that were needed.
While that continued, I tore off what was left of my sweatpants and focused the flame to regenerate part of my left thigh. The hole was the size of my head, but it was slowly healing.
My t-shirt was completely broken and unusable, it looked more like a rag than a piece of clothing. I took it off and left it with the rest of my clothes.
I remained silent, looking at the sky, while my body finished regenerating.
[Willpower has activated]
When the pain finally subsided, I kept staring at the sky for a bit longer before I saw my body.
'At this point, I'm going to end up naked... Not that it matters much.'
Actually being naked was not a problem for me. Whether it is infections, viruses, parasites, or anything else that is an external agent, my flame will burn it.
My body will keep regenerating as long as I keep fueling my system with energy.
'But it would be better to get 'that' before I run out of energy.'
Another good and bad thing, from returning was to see my body rejuvenate. My abs were still there, I had no fat, my breasts were firm and of course I didn't have stretch marks.
Not that it bothers me, but after giving birth for some reason my body tended to become more 'smooth and round', even with my flame as a buff.
'I don't mind, if Leo likes it, but—right. I have to do something. It would be problematic if others see me naked.'
Taking advantage of the fact that my foot was mostly healed, I stood up. Not before taking the torn cloth that was previously my T-shirt.
I rested it in my left hand, squinted my eyes and brought my right hand closer, joining my fingers, imitating the grip of a needle. Then, I tried to visualize the image of the MK-2 torso design.
[Flame Weaver has activated]
Not even for a second. I couldn't even visualize for a second the image of the MK-2 Armor before my brain started to melt in pain. I instantly stopped and fell to my knees. I saw a huge amount of blood falling from my eyes, mouth and nose.
[Flame Weaver has failed to create something that shouldn't exist]
[Willpower is evolving]
I coughed and burn all the blood with my flame.
"It was worth the shot."
I already knew I couldn't do it. I wouldn't be able to create a single piece of the MK models without more Divinity.
I dragged my body and leaned on a piece of Fobea that was large enough to serve as a support.
'Metals are heavy and make me slow. The leather barely protects for the cost. For that, I prefer to go without armor and keep the pain to a minimum."
This time I took the piece of my t-shirt and focused on something simple. A replacement, same design, same length, just a functional version.
I brought my fingers together, again imitating the grip of a needle. From the tips of them the flame emerged, much smaller and thinner. I shaped it into a needle, then with my other hand I repeated the process, only instead of a needle shape this time the flame was a little more flexible, like a thread.
I threaded the needle, and while imitating the way I patched Dami's torn skirts, I began to weave my t-shirt.
[Flame Weaver has activated]
Slowly I started to recreate my old sporty clothes. When I finished with the t-shirt, I continued with the sweatpants.
The hardest part was the pain. Not the one from my fingers, but the one coming from my brain.
Weaving was a lot.
When I finished the sweatpants I saw the improvised tampons fall from its pocket, the ones I made with my lost hoodie. I picked them up and watched them while I took the opportunity to rest a little.
'In theory, Livia will have her period in a couple of weeks. I made these to help that woman—Eleonora.'
One of the biggest variations in this timeline was that woman.
Obviously, the biggest change was the expulsion of the Goddess of Destiny, counting that, Eleonora was in second place.
Not once—of all the times I returned—we crossed paths. It's like she never existed.
I'm not saying it's impossible. Of all the times I've returned, it's not always the same Seven that manages to survive Vulkris.
Not even Livia is exempt from that rule. I know that. But even so, they are always minimal variations. Sometimes one or two people change, but the constants remain.
For example, Leo and me. Two constants.
'But this time, a constant is missing, and in its place there is a variable.'
A variable that surely triggered others, the change in obsession, the absence of Leo, and worst of all— a Witch.
'Those books, I swear I saw them somewhere.'
It was not uncommon for spellcasters to have spellbooks. Even Livia would create hers later. However, those couldn't be spell books.
After all she was transported to Vulkris with them. There was no way she had a Gift before they transported us.
'Shit'
I felt something. Like a punch in the heart. I knew something else was missing. And deep down, I think I knew the answer. Only that my mind was desperately trying to block it.
'I have a bad feeling.'
I clicked my tongue and stood up, picking up my things.
'Fuck it. As long as she doesn't betray us, that's enough for me. Anyway, I'll confirm it when I find Lysandra.'
After I got dressed I decided to go barefoot; I wasn't going to spend any more of my energy restoring stupid sneakers.
I kicked hard at some remains of Fobea before looking up at the red sky.
'Let's give a quick check and head back.'
Adjusting my grip on the fang-sword, I power my feet with my flame and jumped, landing outside the cave on the surface.
For a second the sulfur-tainted air hit my nostrils, but as quickly as it came it was gone.
[Decay Resistance has activated]
[Your flame is burning impurities]
I squatted down and looked at the panorama. There wasn't much, and at the same time there was too much.
Part of the sky was red, and another part was completely black—the area closest to the south, where the volcano was.
I looked back at the Volcano and narrowed my eyes.
[Hawkeye has activated]
The eruption had slowed down, although the lava continued to advance, everything seemed to be in order.
In the distance, along the way we came, you could see how the earth had split in two leaving an open path to the center of the planet.
'Artificial islands' were formed in these two huge sections by subsequent earthquakes.
There was movement. A lot.
First there were the 'black balls', which 'collided' against 'dots'.
Some Scorched emerged from the depths of the center, but the majority were those that came from the rain of fire.
The 'dots' or rather silhouettes—of people—that collided with the Scorched confirmed to me that at least the surface was still 'normal'
Scanning high above I could glimpse a few hundred people. There were more, many more, but I wasn't counting those who were lying on the floor and who were missing a lot or several pieces, those who fell through the fissures in the earth, or those who were being devoured.
Vulkris had one particular perk, which made it an 'interesting world' to observe. And that was 'polarity'.
The people who were transported here were chosen based on that concept.
'The most stupid and useless people among the stupid and useless. And the smartest and most capable among the smartest and most capable'
At this point, the only people left were the capable who had enough luck to receive a god that patronized them.
'But being capable didn't mean being smart.'
The first days it was impossible to survive if not underground.
Obviously it was a contradictory thought because everything indicated that the danger comes from the earth.
And that thought is not without reason, the Sandworms, and the Phobeas rule below.
However, sulfur and heat was the real deal.
Even if you have a good enough Gift that increases your durability, your strength, even your respiratory system, you would still need to eat.
The heat, the sulfur, the food, and the hygiene are the real problems.
'And as far as I know, there are only two people with Gifts capable of dealing with that'
I ignored the futile fights in the south, and checked the northeast behind me. It looked like a sandstorm was approaching, but that was our next destination.
'I'm sure that bitch will notice it too when everything starts shaking'
As I prepared to launch myself back into the cave, the sound of a notification interrupted me.
I searched with my head, but I didn't see any notifications.
'Huh? Wait, maybe...'
Instead of opening my blue tab, I decided to open the white window.
[The Goddess Who Enjoys Battles has invited you to a new private group chat room]
[The number of participants in the room is 3. If you do not want to join, you can reject it due to the difference in rank]
[Would you like to join Y/N?]
***