Present
S.K. let out a sigh, the sound more of a weary release than a simple breath. The dozen men charged at him, their forms blurring as they came. He had always known this day would come. He had been on the run for over a decade, a master artisan who had said no to an offer he couldn't refuse.
But he refused anyway.
Years ago a certain man, a charismatic fellow professor, had introduced him to a certain group and wanted him to join his organisatio as they needed someone with his expertise and who better than a living legend in the field of artifacts?
S.K. had seen the darkness in the man's heart, the rot in his soul, and the Anarchy they sought to bring forth. It was either that or his family and friends and the school he loved ao much that would be on the chopping block. Still, he had refused for the sake of those very people. He had disappeared with few ever seeing or hearing from him. The official story was that he was travelling around in search of relics from bygone Era's but in realty he had become an existence akin to that of a ghost, a phantom hunted by all sorts of characters, from assassins to mercenaries, and now, finally rogue knights from another nation.
He was tired.
Tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of living a life on the lam. But he was not defeated. He was prepared to face such individuals and years on the run had taught him how exactly they mostly operated.
The sack, which he had just thrown into the air, was filled with more than just a few tricks; it was filled with his legacy.
The sack burst open, and a collection of objects tumbled out, each one a testament to S.K.'s genius. With a surge of his Flow, he imbued each flying object with a portion of his soul, bringing them to life in mid-air.
The first was a handful of what looked like tiny, polished jade insects. These were the 'Dragonflies' Tears', a grade 5 Soulfire class artifact. They darted through the air, each one a tiny, buzzing conduit of his will. They flew towards the charging men, weaving a web of intricate, shimmering threads of Flow around them. It was a precise and subtle application of his Trait's second Resonant and a Containment Array. The men, who had been charging with single-minded purpose, suddenly found themselves tangled, their movements becoming jerky and uncoordinated as the net of spiritual threads bound them together.
But the bonds weren't strong enough on everyone. Three of the men simply powered through them, their Flow a raw, unyielding force that shattered the delicate web. S.K. wasn't surprised. He had expected this. The men who had broken free were Cosmic class, their abilities in direct opposition to his own Soulfire type.
This was within S.K's calculations. He had a contingency for all the four Trait Classes all he had to do is release a series of attacks and use an artifact of the opposing Class on those who resisted the previous wave ,sieving them until he had taken them all out.
Not wasting any more time, he imbued a small, grey stone, no bigger than his thumb, with his soul. This was the 'Shade Stone', a Cognitive class artefact. It was a simple, yet potent thing. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying towards the men, and as it flew, it began to ripple, to bend the light and the air around it, creating a shimmering, hallucinatory effect. The entangled men, who had just begun to break free, suddenly found themselves surrounded by an army of S.K.s, each one a shimmering, intangible phantom that moved with the same fluid grace. It was a simple diversion, but it was enough. The men, confused and disoriented as a feeling of nausea tore through thier bodies. He activated the second model of the Dragonfly Tears causing them to stung them men. The stings had an effect that sent ripples through thier souls.
He began to run, putingt his hand on the artifact hanging on the side of his belt. It was a hoop with a woven web of strings inside it. It's was decorated with feathers and beads and the arrays written into it glowed as it was infused with Flow.
This was the 'Dream Cage' ,an artifact made from a collection of beasts that had Cognitive, Existential and Soulfire Characteristics and was grade 4. It had three functions, 'Catch' was to store dreams, 'Free' unleashed the stored dream as nightmares while 'Devour' was to destroy them. These two functions affected the Reality and Soul pertaining to the target as well. It was his third best work beside the Laurel Wreath and the Miracle Maker.
All that time he was drinking from the gourd, he was subjecting himself to a sleepless dream. He was creating and storing them whil remaining fully conscious thanks to the potion he was drinking. He activated the 'Catch' function to get the hallucinations of these men then released them back as nightmares should they break free and pursue.
The man with the low cut however had an Existential Trait which allowed him to perceive reality in a way that defied the illusion. He saw the single, frail man moving away from the clearing. With a snarl of fury, he raised his hand, and the barbed chain flew through the air, but this time, it was different. S.K. felt a sudden, sickening pull on his body, as the chain dug into his skin and pulled him in an arc,slaming him into a tree.
"You're not getting away, old man!" He snarled as he spun the chain around is body and threw it towards S.K again who ducked then threw a pot that exploded like s flash bang. Disoriented, the man caught s glimpse of his men. They were still battling the Dragonflies or trying to break free of the net. He turned to look for S.K. but his vision was too blurry to see anything beyond a meter away from him. Flow Perception wasn't helping either as that explosion of light had affected is ability to sense f
Flow. So,the man spun the chain around his body and threw it around his body in an arc that spanned several meters slicing through the trees. Some of his comrades were cut down but he didn't care as long as he cought the old man.
S.K,who had fallen to the floor to protect himself stil sustained injuries as the chsin sliced his back. He rolled out of the way of falling trees and got to his feet in an attempt to run. He stepped on a twig, snapping it. The man followed the sound and threw his chain towards S.K.
It wraped around his chest, and with a grunt of pain, he was pulled forward into the man's waiting fist. The blow was devastating, a thunderclap of pure force that sent a sickening jolt of pain through his body as he flew through the air. The man then pulled the chain and slammed S.K to the ground before spinning and throwing him into a tree aoe distance away. S.K. felt a sharp, cracking sound from his ribs, and the world swam before his eyes as the impact toppled the tree over.
Still, his mind was a whirlwind of calculations, a flurry of last-ditch efforts. He looked up at the approaching man who was rubbing his eyes. His Dragonflies attacked but with a twril of his chain they were all destroyed. By this time, the other men had managed to free themaelves and werw approaching as well.
In a last ditch effort, S.K used his first Resonant to peer into the man's soul, to see if he could inject it with a fragmen of his own via his Trait. The man's soul was a clear calm river which surprised S.K with its purity. It meant that either the man truly believed he was just in his actions or was being manipulated into doing this.
That wasn't what caught S.K.'s eye though. A thin, shimmering thread of Flow that extended from the man's soul, and disappeared into the distance, back towards the city.
A gasp escaped his lips, not of pain, but of recognition. He knew that cord. He knew that Flow signature. It was a spiritual bond, and it belonged to Roric, his former pupil.
He tried to rise but that blow to his back had damaged his spine. He couldn't feel his legs. He could see a smirk of satisfaction on the man with the chains face as he observed S.K's reaction.
" I told you old man," he said as he knelt down and grabbed S.K by the hair.
" Either in peace or in pieces."
With his last ounce of strength, he reached into his pocket, his hand closing around the one artefact he had left, the 'Starfall Shard', a blue crystalline ball.
"Huh?" The man muttered in surprise as S.K crushed it, causing a massive cloud of blue fog to shoot into the air, a thick, suffocating wall that enveloped the forest. The men were thrown off their feet, their bodies battered by the fmof the fogs release. The man who had been kneeling over S.K., was sent flying, a pained grunt escaping his lips as he slammed into a tree.
In that fleeting moment, as the dust cloud obscured everything, S.K. reached out with his last ounce of strength, not to another artefact, but to the spiritual bond he had just seen. He didn't try to break it. He didn't try to manipulate it. He just… pulled. A simple, firm tug, a silent message sent through the tether.
Miles away, in a ruined jewellery shop, Roric, who had just managed to restrain his opponents, suddenly froze. He felt a sharp, familiar jolt on his soul, a strange, echoing pulse that spoke of immense pain.
He recognised it instantly; it was S.K.'s Flow.
Without a second thought, he turned and ran, leaving the men he had restrained behind him moving with impossible speed. With what appeared to be three steps he was already outside the city gate then before leaping towards the direction of his professor.