Chapter 27: Silk and Shadows

The form beneath the blankets ahead of us shot upright; it was no body, but merely a mass of threads shaped like a human figure. The threads shot toward me, specifically the ones closest to the pile, and before I could react, they wrapped around my body. They painfully restricted my arms, legs, joints, neck, hands, and feet. The silk threads didn't seem like they would cut me into pieces, but instead, they emitted a faint red glow. Unfamiliar red magic coursed through the threads, taking control of my body like a puppet. I attempted to struggle against the threads, but that was a fruitless effort as they felt harder than iron. Laughter echoed around me, accompanied by a voice saying, "Don't struggle, my dear. Resistance is futile when your strings are in my grasp."

Quinn called out from behind me, "Lucius! Hang on; I will free you!" His blue eyes held a look of concern as his arm transformed into a sickle-like blade. He moved to strike my bindings, but before he could make contact, a sharp pain surged through my arm. I let out a cry of pain, and Quinn halted his blade just short of severing the threads that bound me. A woman's voice mocked us, saying, "Unless you want this boy to die, I suggest you think very carefully about attacking." Quinn clicked his tongue and responded, "Cheap tricks will only get you so far." The woman laughed again, clearly relishing our predicament as my body began moving on its own. I didn't believe she knew how to use my rune magic, fortunately, but I started charging at Quinn, attempting to punch him.

Quinn nimbly dodged, clearly irritated by his inability to mount any offensive. I called out, "Cripple me if you need to, please!" With the puppeteer's magic still manipulating me, my movements became erratic and unpredictable. Quinn, realizing the urgency of the situation, transformed his arm into a shield, protecting himself from my attacks. Lulith, seemingly having consumed an enhancement potion, kicked me in the stomach as hard as she could. I was sent flying into a nearby desk, my insides screaming in pain as my movement momentarily halted. Quinn shouted to Era, "Young one, please provide me a moment of protection; I should be able to detect where she is hiding through her thoughts."

Quinn appeared to be focusing on something, while Era readied Luna, positioning the doll in front of Quinn. My body snapped back upright, and I charged recklessly at Quinn once more, but this time Era used Luna's head to slam me backwards. I felt incredibly useless; I was only getting in the way of my friends, and I hated feeling so weak and helpless all the time. What could I do? I wasn't born with magic. The voice in the darkness rang out, cackling, "It's hopeless. Make your choice: let this boy die and save yourselves!" I leaped at Quinn again, but he deftly evaded me, and I collided with a nearby wall, which was painful but at least I had missed him. Lulith, growing frustrated, yelled, "To hell with this! Harpy, cover me; I'm going to free the kid from his bindings." She brought a yellow looking potion from her bag to her mouth as she gulped it down in one go.

Era yelled out, "No! You can't, Lulith! That will kill him!" Lulith shrugged her off, saying, "Maybe for someone weaker, but not for me." Lulith closed in, pulled out a dagger from her bag, and sprinted toward me at blinding speeds. Her eyes glowed yellow as she lunged at me with her dagger; her hands moved at speeds I had never thought possible. In a fraction of a second, every single thread that had been around my body ceased to exist. Lulith's reaction speed and movement had far surpassed anything I had thought possible. Freed from my bindings, I dropped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut and said, "Thanks. I owe you one, but how did you do that?" Lulith sighed, "Compound N46. I created this potion myself, but it puts a big strain on my body, unlike N34, the blue potion you saw, which I can use more regularly. N46, or as I call it, Viper Shot, enhances my speed and reactions. N34, or Black Window, is less straining for me, but it enhances my strength. Combining them provides a decent buff, but man, my muscles are already sore. Give me a moment here, kid." 

She began to take a moment to regain her breathe, her muscles seemingly twitching that doesn't look like it could be good for her body. I nodded and said, "I can't imagine the dedication it takes to create these. Your talent in alchemy is truly something special." Era blushed a little and replied, "Whatever, just beat her ass for me." Suddenly, Quinn called out, "Lucius, I got her. She's in the room down the hall on the right!" Without hesitation, we began running as a group into the room that Quinn had pointed out. Inside, we saw a girl lying on the ground, seemingly relaxed, as dozens of threads flowed freely around her. The woman wore a short black dress with red stockings to match her red threads and eyes. Her short silver hair flowed past her ears, and her dress accentuated her slender figure, enhancing her natural grace and allure. She was beautiful, but her eyes seemed to tell a different story. They were as red as the blood moon but also held a hint of madness.

The woman smiled and began to clap when she saw us, "Bravo! That performance was one for the century. The drama, the heroics, truly a thing of beauty. You should be proud!" I wondered, "How could you even see that?" She smiled and replied, "I have eyes everywhere, boy, which you will soon learn." She began sitting up, but as she did, Era struck forward with Luna, sharp blades attempting to strike at the enigmatic girl. Threads of silk created a valley of red in front of Luna as the blow was blocked effortlessly. The woman cheered, "Let me show you what it really means to step on the grand stage." Threads with red energy began shooting out toward us again, and Quinn stepped in front, his skin morphing into a shield as the threads shot out. They pushed Quinn back into the wall behind us, and he hit Lulith as he shot out of the door.

I thought quickly and popped in a premade fire rune. I yelled out, "Cosmodine!" Fire shot out toward the woman, burning some of her threads in the process. She nimbly dodged using the threads as a means of travel. Era attempted to strike again with Luna, her blades dancing in the air as her claws tried to dig into the woman. The woman danced around with her threads, swinging from one to the other, and using them to block and waltz around the blades effortlessly. She mocked, "Oh, this is fun! What is this dance called? Perhaps the blade waltz could be fitting?" An idea flashed in my mind from earlier today; I hadn't tried one thing yet. Altaria had given me advice that I could combine runes to create powerful spells. Perhaps now was the time to try it out.

As Era attempted to strike down the woman, I readied two runes in my gauntlet. It seemed that Elora had allowed for up to two slots to be used at a time. I loaded one of the runes I hadn't used yet, as I had deemed it useless until now. I yelled to Era, "Get back!" Once she heard me, she darted back with Luna following. The woman, momentarily caught off guard, readied herself to intercept my attack with her threads. I chanted, "Nautrium! Festora!" The gauntlet began to glow, and finally, I yelled out, "Tempest Torrent!" A jet stream of water shot out at a blinding speed toward the woman, cutting through her threads like butter. The torrent of water shot right through the side of her body and even tore through the wall behind her.

She let out a yell as blood dripped down the side of her body. She held it with her hand as she momentarily dropped her guard. Having just regained her footing, Lulith took that as a chance to strike. She was ready to pounce. The woman pulled out a black book, ignoring us, and began reading, "No, that isn't possible. My threads are harder than steel. Dammit, there must be something I can use here." Before she had time to react, Lulith was already rocketing toward her at blinding speeds. Lulith kicked her against the wall behind her, and she hit the back of the wall hard, a loud thud echoing through the place. Her frown had subsided as she merely writhed in pain. Lulith stood in front of her, ready to strike again. Her black book had launched away from her as she glared at it, frustrated. It seems that, for now, she was powerless.

The woman merely smiled and said, "You little brats, I underestimated you." She put a hand up to her head, her eyes filled with hate. "For now, a tactical withdrawal is necessary, but keep Avaris Malakai in your memory. I'm the woman destined to initiate a transformative era for mankind, one that will eclipse the age of mages. Till our next performance, brats!" Lulith quickly tried to kick her, but her body dispersed into threads. Red threads fell all around the room, leaving no trace of the woman who had almost killed us. It cast a shadow of doubt on whether she had been there at all. With a sense of both relief and lingering uncertainty, the room was left in silence, echoing the enigmatic presence that had so suddenly and inexplicably entered their lives.