The assassin moved with a fluidity that was terrifying. He didn't run, he flowed across the stone floor like spilled ink. There was no sound of boots, no rustle of fabric. The only thing that signaled his arrival was the cold gleam of his blade.
Link did not have the luxury of fear. He had spent dozens of loops perfecting his reflexes in the yard, but this was not a spar. This was a murder.
[Status: Combat Mode Active]
[Observation: Enemy is a professional. Lethality High.]
His thin blade whistled through the air, aimed directly at Link's throat. Link threw himself backward, the tip of the assassin's steel grazing his leather collar. He felt the cold sting of the wind it left behind.
"Who sent you?" Link hissed, resetting his stance.
The man didn't answer. He lunged again, a series of rapid, blinding thrusts. Link parried the first two, the vibration of the impact rattling his teeth. The third strike caught Link in the shoulder, biting through the boiled leather and drawing blood.
Link grunted and kicked out, catching the assassin in the chest and forcing him back a step.
Load, Link thought.
The world blurred.
He was back at the door of Bran's room, three seconds before the assassin lunged. This time, Link didn't wait. As the shadow appeared in the moonlight, Link stepped forward and swung his heavy ironwood reinforced blade in a horizontal arc.
The assassin was forced to drop into a roll to avoid being decapitated. He came up in a crouch, his eyes hidden behind a dark cowl widening in surprise. He hadn't expected the guard to strike first.
"You are fast," the man whispered. His voice sounded like dry leaves scraping on a grave. "But the Queen wants the boy. You are just a stray dog in the way."
"The dog bites," Link replied.
The assassin threw a small glass vial onto the floor. It shattered, releasing a thick, pungent smoke that burned Link's eyes. Link felt a sudden panic. He couldn't see. He heard the whisper of steel to his left.
CRACK.
The blade buried itself in Link's side. He felt the heat of his own blood soaking his shirt.
Load.
Back at the door. Link took a deep breath.
Attempt three. He knew about the smoke now.
As the assassin reached for the vial, Link closed the distance with a desperate burst of speed. He slammed his shoulder into the man's chest, pinning him against the cold stone wall. Link's sword arm was pinned, so he used his forehead, slamming it into the assassin's face with a sickening crunch of bone.
The man staggered, the vial falling from his fingers and rolling away without breaking. Link didn't give him a second to recover. He drove his sword forward, aiming for the gap in the man's armor.
The assassin was a master of his craft. He twisted his body mid-air, allowing Link's blade to slide past his ribs, and countered with a dagger he had hidden in his sleeve. This dagger found a gap in Link's armor, piercing his thigh.
Link fell to one knee, his leg giving out. The assassin stood over him, raising his long blade for the killing blow.
"Die in silence, guard," the man said.
Load.
Attempt four. Link was beginning to feel the mental weight of the resets. His head throbbed, and his vision was starting to swim at the edges.
I cannot keep doing this, Link thought. Every load makes me slower. I have to finish it now.
He didn't wait for the moonlight. He didn't wait for the talk. As the shadow appeared, Link reached into his belt and threw a heavy sharpening stone he had kept in his pocket. It caught the assassin in the throat, staggering him.
Link followed up with a brutal, overhead strike. The assassin raised his thin blade to parry, but Link's sword was heavier and backed by the weight of his entire body. The assassin's blade snapped like a twig.
Link's sword bit deep into the man's shoulder, dropping him to the ground. Link didn't hesitate. He stepped on the man's wrist, pinning the dagger, and held his sword point at the assassin's throat.
"Tell me who paid you, and I might let the Old Gods judge you instead of me," Link growled.
The man looked up at him, a bloody grin splitting his face. "The Lion... always pays... his debts."
Before Link could ask another question, the man's eyes rolled back in his head. A dark, foul-smelling foam began to leak from his lips.
Suicide. A poison tooth.
Link stood up, his legs shaking. He looked at the dead body in the hallway. He looked at the closed door to Bran's room.
He had won, but the victory felt hollow. He had a body to explain, a Queen who would know her mission failed, and a King who would wake up to find a murder in his friend's house.
[Status: Exhausted]
[New Crisis: The Body in the Hallway]
Link looked toward the end of the corridor. He heard footsteps. Heavy, armored footsteps. The guard rotation was changing.
He had ten seconds to decide: hide the body, or call for help?
.…..
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!