Chapter 53: In Stormveil's Shadow (Patreon)

Torrent galloped across a windy field of grass, the Gatefront Ruins a distant dot that his speed would soon bring them to. Melina handled the reins, Onyx behind her, right arm loosely in place around her waist. Each time Torrent’s hooves sunk into and displaced dirt, pain flared across his many injuries, but he ignored all of it, far too curious to let something like that distract him.

Burns marked his left palm. An odd web of burns that glowed at times when in the dark. The exact same burns that marred Melina’s skin.

His mana gathered at it but failed to do anything about it, unable to heal the skin or even numb the hot pain that sometimes came from it. Quite an intriguing injury. He’d encountered flames known to sear the very soul, all capable of leaving such fatal injuries. The few healing techniques under his belt had never been good enough to fully combat them and their effects.

Usually, he’d just sever whatever part of his body came into contact with such forces before their effects could move beyond just the body. Still a viable solution for him, even without the full force of his mana.

Not so much for Melina. That flame, dormant but clearly powerful, was an integral part of her.

Onyx flexed the burned hand close, his mana flowing through the entirety of the limb without issue. The burn wasn’t bad enough to have affected his soul or mana pathways. He’d have to contend with constant pain at all hours of the day, but he’d hold off on any severing for now.

Maybe this world would finally be where he learned to properly deal with such injuries.

“Conflict hath and shall always be the most efficient path to strength, that I have learned, but I find myself curious.” Marika said, her voice echoing through his mind. “Thou suffered fatal wounds and courted death whilst fending off that dragon. How did thee undergo such rapid growth amidst the battle?”

“Not growth. It’s more of a return to form for me. You’ve already seen my power for yourself.” He answered, lowering the hand. She was right about it being rapid though. There were many things he could do with mana but, ironically enough, there was no reliable method to speedrun an body’s acclimation to mana other than constant and intensive use which demanded straddling the line of a high.

Battle meditation was the only method he made use of to speed things along.

Traditional meditation engaged mind and soul. In such processes the body was treated as nothing more than another piece of the environment. A distraction best tossed to the wayside or used as a focal point to help center the other two.

Battle meditation was nothing like that.

Soul, mind, and body. All three were pushed to their limit, the perfect balance of focus and stress forcing them to work at maximum efficiency. The mind did away with all distraction, the battle all that existed. The soul produced a constant and potent stream of mana. The body accommodated both without the need for any conscious thought or effort, moving in tandem with the mind while mana was allowed to flow freely without limit.

In that state, the longer a battle went on, the stronger not only he, but his opponent would become, the incomprehensible synchronicity between the three aspects elevating them to a realm beyond their limits. Usually temporary but as he was, it allowed his body to readily adapt to power he already had stored within him at an accelerated pace.

But that was just the thing. It required both involved to be very specific types of people.

Anger, hate, desperation. Even the need for survival. Such things were distractions that disrupted the intense focus on combat battle meditation required. If either one of the participants fell victim to those distractions, the meditation would be disrupted for both.

Encountering such people that could engage in meditation like that was rare in the countless worlds at large.

“I hope that dragon returns.”

“Do not be swayed by her gift.” Marika said. “Their kind art a fickle bunch, friend and foe alike victim to their savagery.” Annoyed resignation filled the space of their connection before he could get out a word. “Though I suppose thee is likely to revel in such foolishness.”

Whether it was due to time or just their deepened connection, Marika was more willing to accept what she knew of him as fact rather than some elaborate cover up to hide ulterior motives. Ironic considering she got to experience and witness all that made up his essence from the very beginning.

It was always those at the top that tended to harbor the most paranoia.

They’d drawn close to the Gatefront Ruins. Close enough that knights overlooking the gates from their reinforced tower prepped crossbows, already taking aim. They fired as the gates opened. Torrent shifted slightly, forward charged maintained while Melina pulled out her dagger, deflecting any bolts that came close to them. At the same time, those axe wielding mercenaries emerged from the ruins, galloping forward on their own mounts.

Was this instant aggression reserved for him alone or something all not allied with Godrick’s men were now faced with?

That aside, they weren’t here for a battle.

As two of the mounted axe-men drew close, weapons raised and winding back, Torrent’s front lowered.

The axes swung forward.

They shot into the air, spectral winds carrying them higher than ever. Any bolt that followed lost momentum, falling back into the lively camp below, knights preparing themselves for their landing. Of course they cleared the ruins entirely, landing on the other side where Torrent hit the old trail galloping.

Unlike the ruins, the large, gated fortification that separated the rest of Limgrave stood tall and fully intact despite the signs of time’s decay. Between the camp full of knights and this thing, any would’ve been hard pressed to head any further inland. With his and Torrent’s mobility, clearing it and the surrounding cliffs wouldn’t have been any trouble with a few jumps.

Though that wasn’t necessary.

Torrent shifted and curved around those charging them, the mounted reinforcements emerging from the open unable to keep up with him. There was a yell to close the gate but by the time the thing creaked and began to lower, Torrent cleared it.

Spiked barricades, mantlets, over a dozen knights taking aim at them.

They might not have the defensive advantage an entire walled camp offered but this side of the gate was no less guarded. The surrounding cliffs ensured that any who made it past the initial defenses would have no choice but to charge headfirst into another battle without a moment to catch their breath.

The giant figure that crouched on some old, fragmented structure above, likely something along the lines of a troll if he had to guess, would’ve struck despair into any already exhausted.

All irrelevant details to Torrent.

Bolts shut through the air. The giant humanoid took a step off the ruins above, the ground shaking as it landed, a dirt cloud kicked up. A shield line of spearmen were forming behind it all.

Torrent’s speedy and agile movements saw them past all of it, bolts flying harmlessly around them. The giant hadn’t even stood fully, only able to roar harmlessly as they passed it. A quick hop by Torrent’s standards saw them right over the ill prepared shieldline, all the knights and their defensive measures soon left behind as they headed up the incline.

Like Melina, Torrent was just as eager to carry out their task. This might’ve been the first time the lazy bastard wasn’t holding any of his ability back.

As the incline began to level out and they escaped the cliffs that formed the guarded valley, a strong gust blew against them, Melina’s hood falling away and strands of her rustling hair blocking his vision. More whipping winds followed, the gust not an anomaly but a constant.

The plains of grass, worn down trails, and sparse trees were no different than anything to the south of the gate, but the winds here was far stronger than anything on even the windiest days back there.

Shifting his head away Melina’s hair, Onyx looked up towards the sky, the looming walls of the distant Castle Stormveil blocking plenty up above.

The name made sense.

XOXO

A spirit.

Coloring a transparent cross between gray and silver, she took the shape of a sizable jellyfish, tentacles subtly shifting about as she hovered towards them. Quite a difference from all the usual spirits that ignored all else in favor of muted prayers or ignorantly carrying out lifelong routines.

A difference worth investigating.

Torrent agreed, slowing before her without any signal to stop from Melina.

The spirit hovered past Torrent and Melina, floating up to Onyx.

“…h…” An echo, like a distant whisper, brushed against his senses. One of her tentacles rose, the cold nothingness of its form wrapping around his elbow and attempting to pull. For a split second the appendage gained weight, failing to move him with her weak yank but piquing his interest.

Marika’s too. The flash of annoyance at their pause for such a thing faded the moment the spirit managed a partial transition into the plane of flesh.

“Help her.” The spirit’s soft muted voice begged, hers tentacles phasing through his arm as she began to float away from the trail. Torrent turned, following at a slow trot. She led them across a field of grass that eventually gave way to old pair of shacks.

Made of rickety wood and so ancient that parts of them had already rotted away, the endless gusts threatened to topple them at a moment’s notice.

The spirit floated into one.

Onyx slipped off of Torrent, a moment spent stretching before following. The old wood of the barely intact entrance way creaked beneath his foot as he stepped in.

The spirit had lowered herself, nuzzling her head to a lone woman seated within the shack.

One with a pair of striking green eyes.

XOXO

(A/N: Intended on Roderika being more of a footnote on the way up to Stormveil but she's demanded an entire chapter for herself. Can't deny the poor girl what she wants.

Roderika aside, me and my friends have all decided to pick up an online programming course to do all at the same time. Not going to lie, always wanted to low-key make my own game so that's kind of taking my attention right now, so we're reentering my free write era. Not going to keep to schedule but as usual I'll still be writing despite that.

Also gives me a chance to try some things out since I'm not sticking to a schedule but that's neither here nor there. Just know I'll still be updating.)