Chapter 35

To those outside the mansion it seemed like reality itself had just shifted, changing and warping as their reality distorted.

Where once there had been a blizzard, now only dark skies remained.

Snow faded revealing the ground below, dying grass and dry dirt were all that greeted them.

Even the trees were withered and decayed, barely showing any signs of life.

This place had turned from a frozen wasteland to a barren one, trading one hell for another.

Yet at the moment it wasn't entirely bad, for it gave them a moment of reprieve, the Drifters of the area vanishing alongside the storm.

With the storm gone as well they could more easily see any approaching threats, though none were seen at this current time.

Feros sighed, slumping to the ground as he tried to process what had just occurred. One moment he'd been fighting for his life, searching for a cure to whatever the spell was, now he was somewhere else.

Cautiously he looked down at his left hand, he'd taken some kind of pendant from those creatures before they vanished, hoping it was the key to curing Oto.

He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it still resting there, the strange mixture of wood and metal creating a haunting beauty in his mind.

Though now was not the time to admire it, he had to make it back to Oto, to make sure this would work.

He'd been gone long enough after all.

Quickly he ran through the desolate wasteland, mentally cursing himself for not being faster, each step feeling like a thousand as time seemed to stretch to a crawl.

He had to be faster.

Had to make sure he survived.

He couldn't be the one to survive this.

His lungs felt like they were on fire as he finally made it back to the cave, emotions overflowing at this point as he moved to where Oto had been hidden.

He was still alive, though worse for wear as the spell had now spread over half of his body, his health down in the red now.

Feros' fear only rose now as he placed the pendant around Oto's neck, praying to any higher entity out there to let it work.

Feros' could only watch in a mixture of horror and anticipation as nothing happened, Oto's health still slowly vanishing over time.

Each passing second ticking down the remaining bar… until suddenly it stopped.

His hp depleting.

The spread of the runes.

Everything just came to a stop, staying still for a moment before a change occurred.

The pendant began to hum, letting out an eerie low pitched noise which the runes seemed to react to as they changed, each and every symbol morphing into a new one until it covered Oto's entire body.

Yet he didn't die, no, in fact it seemed like his health was slowly recovering now.

Each rune on his body slowly melding into him, becoming one with Oto.

Feros could only watch in confusion, amazement and horror as this happened, worried about what was taking place.

The runes were changing and healing Oto, though no one could know what effects it would have right away.

Whatever it was, it seemed like this pendant and the magic now… accepted him.

It saw Oto as one of its own.

Soon enough all the runes were gone and the pendant went quiet, Oto's health had returned to full and there were no signs of any status effects.

Then Oto coughed, waking up in that moment as he took in a sharp breath of air, his dreary eyes looking around confused.

To him it'd felt like he was asleep for years on end, as if death had taken him in his sleep.

However now he lied there, gazing up at Feros who was on the brink of crying.

"What happened?" Oto asked weakly, his voice hoarse as he sat up and looked around.

His eyes widened as he looked outside and saw the snow had vanished, confusion and concern racked his mind.

"You were… asleep for a bit." Feros replied, trying to downplay the situation. "Everything is fine now though… just get your energy back."

Oto shook his head a bit, trying to gather his senses as he looked around.

It was strange, the way he felt was beyond tired and yet his senses felt too sensitive for his own good.

He could see every detail of the cave, down to the tiniest speck of dirt, every last hairline crack in the stone.

The smells were almost infuriatingly strong, as if everything had just been caked on.

Then there was the wind… oh how sweet and relaxing it was.

For even in the most desolate of places and desperate situations its song never ceased, always being a comforting noise to him and making it easier to process these things.

Now more than ever as he heard it with clarity the likes of which he'd never heard before.

Then he paused, only having just noticed the pendant around his neck.

Carefully he reached down and grabbed it, lifting it up to his view, its beauty slowly entrancing him.

Something about the wood and metal just overloaded him with this feeling of nostalgia, as if he was gazing at something from his past, from his home.

It welcomed him in with open arms, peering right through him with ease, and he would never let it go.

It just felt right, keeping it with him, almost like a lucky charm of some kind.

Before he could process it further the sound of footsteps approaching made him quickly hide it, tucking it away under his leather armor for safe keeping.

"Feros." Oto quietly called out to his friend, already standing up and preparing a dagger to defend himself.

Feros' eyes widened at this, though if there was anyone he trusted here it was him.

Without hesitating he stood up, drawing his sword and moving to the mouth of the cave, waiting to ambush whoever or whatever was approaching.

Initially he didn't hear anything, though as a couple minutes went by he heard it, footsteps closing in on the cave, familiar sounding voices as well.

Cautiously he used his sword as a mirror, discreetly enough just to get a good view on who was approaching.

Only to relax upon seeing it was Aranea and Teach, though oddly enough Teach was carrying someone in his arms… was that Melia?

"It's alright, they're our allies." Feros says before putting his sword away, putting Oto at ease a bit, the two of them moving out of the cave to regroup with the Trio.

In that instant though both Oto and Feros froze as they exited the cave, a new figure coming into view, a dreadful shadow lurking behind Teach and Aranea.

The familiar attire of the Lord Hunter creating a looming dread in both of their stomachs, however neither refused to sit back and watch what would likely be a surprise attack.

Feros drew his blade and sprinted in alongside Oto, confusing Aranea and Teach who'd just noticed them.

Aranea quickly caught on though, readying her halberd and calling out. "Hold on!"

Though Feros and Oto didn't hear her, both of them too focused on the enemy in front of them, ready to exact revenge for those that had fallen to his blade.

Feros dashed by Aranea, swinging his sword in a violent arc, only to be surprised as Aranea moved just as fast and intercepted the attack, her halberd holding back the attack.

His mind was rushing, feeling nothing but betrayal at this.

Meanwhile no one had been able to stop Oto as he ran and jumped over them all, raising his leg high and bringing it down in an axe kick aimed right at Shade's head.

Shade did block it, but surprised by the weight behind the attack, it was enough to make him use two hands to resist and push back.

It felt as if he was pushing against a raging storm, the intent behind the attack clearly being to kill.

Oto landed on the ground after failing to connect, opting to quickly jump back, blood still boiling as he locked onto Shade.

"Aranea, what the hell is going on here?" Feros coldly but calmly asked, trying to restrain his feelings of betrayal.

"Both of you need to calm down and listen to me." she begins, not moving her halberd yet. "We're not in danger here."

Oto paused hearing that, rage and confusion filled his mind, and slowly he looked towards Teach.

The tall Ferosian Pirate quietly nodded in confirmation, causing Oto to look to Aranea now, a look of disbelief and clear hurt on his face.

He didn't want to believe it, but the next words out of her mouth confirmed his fears.

"He's on our side."