Immediately after hearing the Spell's greeting, Hermes found his feet on a smooth, solid surface. His body, unaccustomed to this strange transition, tried to correct itself and promptly sent him sprawling onto his butt.
Okay. He lay there for a moment, assessing and grateful. At least I didn't end up falling to my death or drowning like Sunny probably is right now.
Darkness pressed in from all sides. He could hear water—swishing, sloshing, the rhythmic pull of waves against... something. Like being at the beach. But this was no beach.
Ah, fuck.
He didn't need to wait for morning to know where he was. The goddamn Forgotten Shore. Fuck!
Calm down. He forced himself to breathe. You were prepared for this. You're on good terms with everyone. Whoever spawned near you will most likely help. The only thing you need to worry about is the severity of your Flaw.
It was easier said than done.
Still he moved his hands in order to write some runes. Soon he could see a small emerald green glow at the tip of his fingers. Then he started inscribing, the first would be the rune that corresponded to Clear Seeing, then Insight, then True Vision and finally the rune that corresponded to Clarify. It was a simple spell utilising four runes. As soon as Hermes finished writing the runes, the runes rushed toward his eyes, and the darkness peeled away.
He was sitting on the palm of a giant hand, raised and outstretched toward the sky as if reaching for something it had been reaching for a very long time.
Oh.
The statue of the Priestess. One of the Seven.
That means I'm close to the Dark City. Close to the castle.
Relief washed through him, so potent it almost made him dizzy. He just needed to make it to the city and he would be safe.
It was easier said than done.
Hermes's thoughts were interrupted by a claw bursting through the dark unreflective surface of the water and latched onto the wrist of the giant hand.
Fuck!
It's my first night!
Hermes scrambled to his feet, summoning his Memory mid-motion. He ran toward the edge of the palm, but the creature was already climbing onto the hand.
Fuck me.
He froze.
His legs shook. His breathing quickened. The monster came into full view.
Carapace Scavenger.
It was wrecked. Only one claw remained on the left side—the top half of the pincer had broken clean off, leaving just the bottom. The right side of its body had been viciously torn, as though something enormous had taken a bite and removed both claw and shell in one motion. Beneath the wound, soft throbbing flesh pulsed with each heartbeat, festering and bubbling like something had splashed it with acid and left it to finish the job slowly.
It only had three legs—one on the back right, two on the left. It stumbled for two heartbeats, then spotted Hermes and charged.
Hermes didn't move.
Move, dammit! Point and stab! Stab it in the right side of the head!
The beast was on him.
It swung its broken claw at Hermes.
He raised the spear handle like a staff, trying to block —
The claw slammed into Hermes and the impact sent him flying.
"UAAAAAAH!" The scream tore from his throat. He hit the ground and rolled, shoulders scraping raw with each turn, finally coming to a stop some distance away.
"Ugh!" Hermes whimpered as he tried to stand, but his balance betrayed him. His right forearm—he looked at it and felt his stomach drop. The bone had snapped cleanly in half. When he'd tried to push himself up, his hand simply... wasn't there to support the weight. It flopped at his side with a wrongness that his brain kept trying to reject.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Get up! You die if you don't move!
The monster was already charging again.
Hermes ran. Left hand gripping the spear, right arm swinging grotesquely with each stride. He hadn't let go of the spear. He was not going to let go of the spear. If he lost the spear he was dead.
Behind him, the creature tripped. Fell face-first rolling onto its back with the graceless momentum of something that had never needed to worry about falling before.
That's your chance, you idiot! Kill it!
He turned, but the monster was already rising, already charging again.
Hermes stopped running and turned to face the monster.
He planted his feet. Took a breath. Raised his left arm activating the Unerring Path enchantment, and threw.
The spear flew.
Straight into the creature's right eye. The tip pierced through and exited the back of its skull. The Carapace Scavenger dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, momentum carrying it forward in a long scraping slide that stopped mere steps from where he stood.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
"Hah... hah..." He sucked in air, lungs burning. His legs gave out.
Heal. I need to heal.
But his body had other plans. He was already falling backward.
The moment his torn back touched the stone, the ground opened beneath him and swallowed him whole.