Chapter 14: Concealed Ways
The moon was just breaking beyond the jagged horizon, casting a pale, silvery blush over the rock subtending the Abyssal Sect's inner fortress. Echo crouched at the throat of a narrow crack in the cliff, dagger at the ready, every muscle drawn tight. The crack, barely wide enough for a single human body, was one of the secret pathways rumored to circumvent the outer defenses of the fortress.
"One step at a time. Observe first, then act."
Inside of it, movement was tight, the darkness was deep and dangerous. Stalactites hung like jagged teeth from the ceiling, and the floor was uneven; damp, and strewn with debris. A low hum chimed through the stone, a slight magical ward intended to detect intruders.
Echo froze, feeling the ward's pulse through his feet.
Focus, he guided himself, studying the source of the power.
On the wall, a faint glyph glowed; the runes shift and drifted as Echo watched.
One false move could trigger the warning… or worse, a magical trap.
"They rely on the magic to protect the pathway… but they don't understand a mind like mine."
He began moving, slowly, feeling every movement.
Stones and wreckage became stepping stones.
He squatted down and rolled under some sharp protrusions and the faintly glowing glyphs.
When he encountered a tricky rune, he stopped to observe it. The pulsing indicated it was motion-sensitive, but not touch-sensitive.
He executed a series of careful rolls, vaults, and flips to get past it without triggering the ward.
It was a clear demonstration of Overdrive-infused reflexes and control.
Eventually, the narrow passage widened, allowing the faint light of the moon to come through.
It was a natural trap-zone
Hidden pits beneath loose stones.
Razor-sharp spikes triggered by pressure plates.
Hanging stones swinging above with the potential to crush or impale someone reckless enough to pass beneath.
The Echo processed each danger in an instant:
A loose stone indicated an overhang, so he vaulted backward and rolled past it.
A spike trap loomed nearby, and a perfect somersault cleared it.
The hanging stones detected movement, so he performed dagger-supported vault to slip beneath it.
With each movement combining martial arts, acrobatics, and precision, honed over so many nights of training and Overdrive reality practice.
About halfway through, two scouts entered the zone who were patrolling the area. They did not know he was there. They were lightfooted, weapons at the ready, nearly sensing a faint ward energy.
His mind was calculating their steps and hesitating posts and minor shifts in their positioning. Timing is key.
When the first scout went under a low ceiling, Echo silently vaulted over him and landed behind the second, spinning in mid-air.
With a quick dagger strike to the back, he took out the scout.
He neutralized the first with joint locks and palm strikes, leaving him unconscious but unharmed.
Each and every movement was deliberate, silent, and precise.
The passage narrowed again, sloping steeply down an underground tunnel. Here, fade magical glyphs shifted on the walls as he moved, pulsing and vibrating to his presence.
He studied the glyphs as he paused. He carefully timed his steps, rolling, flipping, and vaulted through safely each time.
Overdrive heighted his reflexes, which allowed him to spice up the small nuances that meant an opportunity to react instantly in real-time.
"Observation and patience… they can feel everything except for a mind that knows how to anticipate them."
The air grew heavy, and it became pungent with the acrid scent of dark magic.
Echo knew he was on the brink of experiencing the inner sanctum.
Every sound was analyzed, from the drip of dripping water to the footsteps far away. He could observe small recesses and walkways along the wall for cover as he continued to watch without being seen.
He rolled through each pressure sensitive plate before, with conscious precision, taking small steps and using his dagger to swing along the walls for additional traverse.
Each move required the perfect coordination of mind and body.
Overdrive granted him enhanced speed and agility for instantaneous adjustments while the fatigue gained through training and previous battles, even now burdened him with thoughts of slowing down, unfocused.
He had to be halfway in when he encountered a partially collapsed room that was dimly lit from whatever ambient residual magical energy still sparked to life within.
Shadows shifted in erratic ways while just lingering wards were sigils about.
He also discovered the particular wards regarding reflective surfaces... light triggers, shadow triggers... to detect moments of intruders.
With exactness in acrobatics, he rolled from wall to wall, at moments changing his motion in the air, evading detection zones.
Every movement was a combination of intellect and hand-to-hand forms while shaping his surroundings into a weapon in his combat style.
As the way narrowed closer to the heart of the fortress, and the internal echoes of magic present from the past, also belonged to the magical markings that we about - but glimmered slowly as the light at times had faded over time, near the ever receding past.
The visual sigils portrayed the hierarchal social standing of the abyssal sect, the markings warned of higher security, and more advanced regular soldiers, expect jeers of threes and those marginal arms of security.
He made a mental note of them to remember, as they were important whenever the threat of danger like near could occur so quickly.
" They always say things become even stronger as you were finding your way…But I am ready."
At the end of the hidden way, where light shimmers in, flickering metal grids, showing the entrance to the primary fortress.
Thoughtful, Echo crouched in the shadows, searching for patrols, or uniques areas, for points for ward spots, and structural weak points.
His body tightened, Overdrive flickering into existence as determination and adrenaline merged.
Every action from this point on would determine not only his success but Soso's fate.
He initiated his first move:
A silent drop from the ledge, literally allowing the dagger to cushion his fall.
A roll to evade being detected by one of the elite patrolling guards.
A quick scan of exits and paths further into the fortress.
The evading path had got him this far, unharmed, prepared. However, the challenges had only begun.
Echo halted in the shadows, memorizing the patrol patterns and wards one last time.
His mind was racing through speed, timing, distance, and angles. The sound of the wards, the distant echo footsteps became a rhythmic sequence that he could synchronize and begin to evaluate.
Love, determination, and Overdrive combined to turn him into an ethereal shadow, readying for the silence to end.
"Soso... I am close. Just a little further. Hold on... I am coming for you."
Then, Echo stepped into the inner fortification. He left the hidden path behind him in darkness and began to move with precision and purpose. One heartbeat drove him forward, rescue Soso and confront the shadows of the Abyssal Sect.