Ambush

Without the ability to see and having dull senses, Veritas could not be prepared for any type of attack within the shadow. He could rely on his instinct but that alone is not enough! 

Yet Veritas still had to try! He gazed upon his soul and immediately activated Windsong once more. After his mouth had been filled with air, he let out his voice to whisper to the winds.

"O! Great Wi-"

He felt his throat block due to the blood, but Veritas still pushed through!

"O! Great Winds-"

He coughed once more because of the cold metal stabbed deep within him.

'Fuck!'

Veritas cursed inwardly at the situation, he had grim chances of surviving this! He assessed that all he could do was to run as fast as he could. But with the winds gone and his eyesight blocked, there was nothing he could do! 

He steeled his stomach and pushed his limits to use Windsong once more.

"O! Great Winds! Cover me with Gale!"

This time, it worked! He succeeded with the chant, Veritas saw an opportunity with this. What he conjured was an improved version of Wind Veil. The longer chant improved the overall durability of the winds. Due to the dire situation he was forced to improvise and not plan ahead! 

Although the air was slowly returning to the floor, it was quite slow! Veritas could only hold on for a couple more moments and use the wind to escape further up. 

Then! Veritas felt a strike to his side, despite having an improved version of Wind Veil, his left shoulder was still punctured!

"Agh!"

Enduring the pain, Veritas used the knife to very quickly slash toward the direction that he had been attacked. But it was to no avail! Nobody was there.

'Shit!'

The darkness loomed around all over him; he felt that it had been looking at him. It seemed almost like the abyss was staring directly towards him, yet it was not the darkness at all. What he felt was a foreboding sense of danger that lies within the blackness of the area. 

'My only option is to guess the direction that I came from and run!'

He assessed his memories, he had come from a stairwell and then a hallway, once reaching the end he encountered a large glowing red eye staring at him. He did not know how far the red eye was but Veritas moved closer to it in order to investigate. 

With this darkness and absence of the Winds, he could not determine where the hallway was. Almost everything on this floor was destroyed! 

Veritas found the situation ironic, he strategized for the gigantic octopus to bleed out and it seemed that the unknown attacked aimed for the same! 

With nothing else in his Arsenal, Veritas rushed in a random direction, hoping to find refuge amidst the destruction. However, losing something that attacked in the dark could not be easily tricked. Veritas had to outwit this unknown attacker!

Then! Veritas tripped from what seemed to be a golden tentacle. Feeling dread deep within his body, he immediately rolled to his side! Almost instantly, a thrust could be felt and heard prior to where his body was. 

'Close!' 

Veritas rolled once more, until he managed to stand on his feet once again. The unknown attacker seemed to retreat again deep within the shadows. Suddenly, Veritas pondered about the situation. 

'Why couldn't it just attack me simultaneously? It had the power to pierce through my veil yet why is it still stalling and waiting for me to bleed out?'

It was very peculiar but Veritas came to two conclusions. One, was that it only had the energy to strike one at a time. Two, it was because the woman was very wary of him! 

Veritas eliminated the first option, as the attacker seemed to attack very quickly and suddenly. So, the only option was due to the woman being wary of him. 

'Why was this woman wary of me?'

Veritas quickly thought of the question and racked his brain up for an answer. Once, he realized an answer then it would be easier to kill this woman!

'I see!' 

Therefore! Veritas stalled and determined to be attacked by the woman once more. 

Although it was risky, Veritas had to gamble in order to survive. Veritas once again gazed upon his soul and activated Windsong, he then brought out the pouch filled with golden coins. 

Feeling that his mouth was full of air, Veritas patiently waited for the woman to attack. 

Although the Winds were faint, Veritas focused on nothing but his sense of the Winds. Using his sixth sense he could determine if there was a slight shift in the air. 

A few moments of silence passed by and Veritas stood quietly at one spot. He was filled with wary and thought about being attacked at any point in time.

Then! It finally came, he felt a slight change of Winds at his front! 

However! Veritas did not move in the slightest! He stood still and patiently waited for the attacker to make contact with him.

Veritas whispered something at the Winds and the wind gathered in front of him. The attack of the mysterious woman had been blocked! 

Hoping to retreat, the woman jumped out and tried to hide in the shadows once more. But, Veritas hurriedly reached into the pouch and threw the coins in the air. 

"Winds! Gather around these coins and push them in all directions!"

Veritas' words were full of vigor. Immediately, the coins spread around all directions. Then, a loud clang! was heard within the darkness. 

Wasting no such time, Veritas, whose voice was still enchanted by the Windsong, immediately shouted in the direction that he felt the clang!

'There you are, you little bitch!' 

"Cut!"

His words, followed by a high pitched noise very quickly vanished as the sound of flesh cutting could be heard! 

It was followed by a sound of metal striking one another, signifying the fall of the mysterious woman. 

To put it simply, his plan was to lure the mysterious attacker into attacking him, while the attacker was still close to him, he sent wind infused coins all around him to determine the location of the attacker. Then, Veritas immediately used his Wind Cut, not even taking a second. 

Due to the Winds being infused within the coins he could theoretically sense where all of them were. It had taken a toll within his mind and Soul though. 

'I can't believe that worked..' 

If his plan had failed then it would mean certain death! He had gambled in order to see a favorable outcome. 

Without even giving him time to breath, the runes suddenly appeared in front of him!

[You have felled an Impure Soul!]

The runes announced his victory right in front of him. 

With a long sigh, Veritas laid down at the golden floor. He was still bleeding of course.. but once the Winds have returned, he would have the means to restore them. The Winds could help stop the bleeding and the wound naturally regenerated on their own. 

Still, the woman's words back then were quite mysterious on its own. What did it mean by "You should not be here"? 

'I didn't choose to be here, idiot! I don't even know what brought me here!'

Veritas complained with his thoughts but was still confused by the woman's words. 

'It shouldn't take too long for the gigantic squid to die now..'

Remembering the bleeding golden squid, Veritas decided to investigate it later. For now, he would need to rest and stop his wounds from bleeding.

After touching his soul, Veritas realized that unless the damage came from the Soul itself, then the body would regenerate quickly. The speed of which it regenerated depended on the individual's Soul Rank. 

A soul had to match its vessel after all!

Although it was not shown in his runes yet.. Veritas knew that he was already an Impure yet his soul was still incomplete. Therefore, his regeneration would take quite a long while. 

Veritas used Windsong to whisper to the winds and use them as pressure for his bleeding wounds. 

"Ah.. That feels much better."

Veritas breathed out in relief of the risk of bleeding out and dying. Now, it was time for the body to regenerate passively. 

His ears were no longer ringing and all he could hear was his breathing and the occasional noise coming from the Octopus. The winds were also starting to return to the floor. 

Still, Veritas realized the danger that Storm Cut had possessed when used in enclosed spaces. So, he banned the skill from being used when trapped inside a dark area that had limited air in it. 

After spending a while laying down in his own pool of blood, he was reminded yet again of the vision he had. In it, he was also laying down a pool of his own blood. 

Yet, he had not thought much of it due to his situation, he was going to get answers once he left this place. 

Veritas, who could now manage to move, walked towards the Golden Octopus. Its eyes were not as radiant as before although it looked like it was staring directly at his soul once more. 

"When will you die you stupid Squid?"

Veritas stabbed the knife into the Octopus' eye and it groaned in pain. Then, it only took a couple more moments for it to finally be silent. 

Without the vibrations coming from the Golden Octopus, Veritas felt kind off weird as he was used to the frequent vibrations made by the Octopus from before.

'It's.. finally dead.'

Veritas still remained wary. The last time he tried to celebrate he was stabbed in his lower back. It was quite.. uncomfortable to say the least. 

With the Golden Octopus' death, runes once again showed up in front of Veritas.

[You have felled a Pure Soul!]

'Pure!'

The Golden Octopus had not fought back yet Veritas was still surprised due to it being a higher rank than him. Although, it was obvious that something of that scale had to have a soul that was not Impure!

By felling Souls, one could nurture and replenish their own Soul! This means that killing creatures with higher Souls than him would become a great benefit into ascending to a higher rank. 

This was a great step to having a Pure Soul!

Additionally, the Impure soul that he had felled also counted as a benefit for his own Soul.

While feeling proud of his achievements, Veritas noticed texts under the announcement of the runes. He had not noticed them before!

[A Lost Soul wishes to resonate with you!]

[Do you accept?]

Veritas was stunned by this as he did not expect to get a Lost Soul this early! It was explained by renowned scholars and his Father to be quite rare so he was surprised by this development.

Veritas didn't even need to think of an answer!

"Yes."

[A Lost Soul now resides inside your Soul Storage!]

Veritas laughed like a little gremlin.