Chapter 10: 1.09

Thera 1.09

It was the Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

Thera couldn’t explain how she knew what it was, but she did. A brilliant glow— a light that outshone even the sun— that came from a floor above? There was only one thing it could be.

Her [Soul Sense] detected it. Told her that it was what she was looking for. She felt… a feeling that wasn’t so familiar to her. It tugged at her heartstrings. Played with her feelings. She could feel a dizzying sensation; her mind whirling; like she was lost in a storm; almost cathartic.

Excitement: that was what she felt. A giddying alacrity drove Thera like a fawn prancing in a daisy field. She waddled up to Mors— the Luminant Lophis was still at the edge of the water, utterly puzzled by her sudden exuberance.

Thera squeaked and pointed towards the ceiling, but Mors just stared at her.

“What is it, Thera?” the fish asked.

“Hngnhhh!” she replied, unable to form her thoughts into words.

“Is it a Phlegling? A monster? Something else?”

“Thhhhh—” Thera tried. She really tried to speak. But her voice just wasn’t there.

Mors hesitated. It was clear to the fish that whatever this was was important.

The baby Mystic Turtle gestured to the ceiling and wheezed. “Treaa…”

But the Luminant Lophis raised a fin. It stopped her from overexerting herself and spoke in a soft voice. “Thera,” Mors said and met her gaze. “Whatever it is you need to do, just do it.”

Thera paused. She opened her beak-like mouth, but didn’t force herself this time. Mors trusted her, and that was enough for her. Nodding, she drew back from the water and clambered up the stairway.

Find the Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet, she told herself. That’s what we need to leave this place.

Mors watched her go. The Luminant Lophis waited at the edge of the water, its eyes glinting, the light from its soul shining, and the magic at its bulb waning.

“May the New Gods guide you with their light,” it whispered.

And Thera pressed on, alone. The baby Mystic Turtle drew from the well of power in her core, wreathing herself in a golden aura. She reached the part of the steps where the stairs collapsed and began digging. She shoveled through the dirt and debris— the wreckage of a once grand ship, now marooned at the bottom of the ocean.

Ahead of her was a deep, resounding darkness. It shied away, hiding from her luminescent aura as she dug her way through the rubble. The shadows used to terrify her, but now they ran at her sight. She had grown so much since arriving here, learning a lot from Mors. But now it was time to finally leave this Dungeon.

She poked her head out of the other side of the debris not long after. The dark veil pulled away and revealed a dank chamber. The rotting scent of death perfumed the room as decrepit bodies hugged the hardwood floor. Beyond the corpse, at the very center of the room, lay the source of the light.

The Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

A treasure chest. Ornate. Opulent. Decorated and dressed in jewelry. Akin to a gown befitting a princess for the most fanciful of balls. Except the princess was dead, and the ball would be held in perdition amongst fire and brimstone. Where the gown would be ruined and sullied and engulfed in the flames of the burning ashes that rained from the darkling heavens of torment, before being left to hang as a warning for those who’d also been invited to come.

Of course, that was an analogy, and Thera saw none of that. She saw the patterns— the carvings on its glistening surface— and found no distinction between the warnings etched here and the celebrations gilded onto the walls of the Grand Library of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

Her eyes were only focused on the magic irradiated by the box. Soul magic. Detected by her newest Skill. Then the glow sputtered like the haggard coughing of a wizened man at his time’s conclusion. Thera blinked, realizing that her [Soul Sense] was fading. She looked down, but couldn’t see Mors through the floor. When she looked back up again, the glow fluttered and flickered before dimming like the last ashes of a dying ember.

She shook her head. That didn’t matter now: she’d already found it. What she’d been looking for. A way out.

Thera pushed past a corpse as it crumbled to dust, making her way to the heart of the ship. The room itself was dark and covered in shadows, and while she was no longer afraid of the darkness, something about this place… instilled a tiny bit of fear into the baby Mystic Turtle.

Even though her body was glowing with the intensity of her [Indomitable Soul], the shadows were still overwhelming. They’d been emboldened, no longer shy and afraid, but instead creeping up on the fledgling sparks of light shining off Thera’s back.

The Fledgling Testudine reached the box as she shook away her fear. It was an instinctual feeling that held her back, but she’d already evolved past following her instincts. She could think for herself now so she raised a flipper. Her aura coalesced at the tip of her limb, becoming a blade to cut through the treasure chest.

She brought the aura blade forward— and hesitated. She felt a tingling sensation run down her spine. Like Draconian Ants were crawling all over her back, biting, tearing through her shell, and trying to stop her from reaching her goal. But it wasn’t just holding her back. It was screaming to her— telling her to run. To turn back. That there was danger up ahead.

And, for a moment, she wanted to flee. She wanted to heed all the warning signs and turn tail and leave. But she remembered the frustration of being back at the beach. Helpless. Unable to fight back. Her jaw clenched as she pressed on, fighting against her fear and the invisible Draconian Ants holding her back.

This is what I want. This will set me free. With her thoughts collected, she touched the treasure chest—

And an explosion of putrid gas blasted Thera back. She crashed into a nearby wall as the noxious air filled the room, and the treasure chest cracked open. Her head snapped up in a panic as she spread her aura thin to protect her body, but nothing lunged at her.

She waited with bated breath as the gas seemed to suck in the corpses littering the room. Then all at once, the smoke receded back to the treasure chest and coalesced into a large fog. Thera’s gaze pierced the veil, seeing something standing at the heart of the gas, being birthed by this nebula. It had two arms and two legs, shaped like the corpses. But it was… depraved.

Thera could barely make it out at first: it was an empurpled figure, scabbed and slumping with an invidious visage. Both large and thin— its shape twisted with each minute movement it made. Its fulsome flesh shifted from limb to limb, with chunks of skin drooling off its oleaginous body, almost sheening.

The baby Mystic Turtle stared at this iniquitous creature. Her previous ebullience was gone, replaced with a taut terror. She shifted back, and the depraved thing’s head snapped her way.

“Hngh—” she squeaked, raising her flippers. Stay away! she failed to say.

But in an instant, it crossed the room and slammed a bulging arm into the Fledgling Testudine. She raised her flipper-blades, blocking the attack. But the impact still forced her back. There was a pulse that came with the hit. Like a ripple in water that made her recoil.

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Thera caught herself and swung back for the depraved thing. Take this—

And it easily caught the swing. Her eyes grew wide in shock as her aura blade didn’t cut even a layer of flesh. She pulled back as its body grew thin.

“Stay… away…” the depraved thing hissed.

No, I said it first! Thera snapped back in her mind. She edged back to the wall, trying to circle around her opponent. But she realized one thing: she wasn’t in the water.

While she had an advantage over most aquatic creatures while on land, most land creatures would have an advantage over her on land. After all, she was a turtle. If this was in the water, she’d be able to outmaneuver the depraved thing easily. As it was right now…

Its body jerked back as its right shoulder inflated into a morbidly grotesque bulb. Stepping forward, it swung wildly for Thera as she quickly receded back into her shell. She focused all her aura into protection as she was smacked across the room. Thera ricocheted off a wall and came spinning to a stop away from the walls. When she poked her head back out, she realized she was lying next to the broken treasure chest. And there, floating in the air, glinting and fixed in place, was a golden scroll.

The real Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

Not a treasure chest. Not a box to hold it. But the actual treasure itself. The scroll glimmered as it enticed Thera to take it. Even from here, she could sense the power it was exuding.

She stared at it, then at the depraved thing. Fortunately for her, the depraved thing was twitching in place as it muttered in a warbled voice.

“...a great… people…” it said before repeating itself faster. “A great people.”

Thera scrambled for the scroll as the depraved thing jerked up. She raised her flippers, about to grab the scroll, only for the depraved thing to slam its leg into her underbelly. It knocked her into a wall as she drew more mana from her core to shield herself, bracing for the next attack.

But, this time, it just grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. Thera flailed at it, slashing for its head. But her attacks bounced off its flesh as it brought its head closer to hers. Thera reeled back as globules of purple spit splashed off her face.

“—iN YoUr aGe!” it screeched.

The depraved thing brought its free hand up and struck Thera’s underbelly, again and again. Her aura shimmered, protecting her as she flailed back. Then its body shifted again as it brought its hand together, tearing into her aura.

“As iT WaS In OurS!”

Thera squeaked in pain as her aura flickered. But it didn’t just fail. Not from the repeated hits. Rather, the color began to change. The once golden light fluttered back into place distorted. Discolored. It rippled around her as Thera stared at the fading blade on her right flipper. It reappeared a moment later, but it glowed darkly this time.

What is this…? Her eyes were wide. The mana in her core was losing its rigidity, becoming murky and difficult to draw from. Not only that, but the bright yellow was shifting into a deep purple. And it was slowly spreading throughout her body. Her entire aura was changing. An infection was taking over it. Like corruption; a plague; a single drop of blood murking a clear lake.

The depraved thing’s face was right next to Thera as her aura flickered again— her magic no longer in her control. She trembled. She struggled. She wished she listened to her instincts. That she had fled instead of pursuing the Treasure of Brunnholl’s Fleet.

Thera’s mind went blank. All her desires. Her thoughts. Her wants. It all vanished as this depraved thing touched her. It shouted at her with a wisping voice of nightmares.

“Kill—”

And Thera resorted to the only thing she had left: her instincts. She bit. Not with her aura. Not with her magic. It was just her beak-like mouth, closing in on the depraved thing’s face. She thought it wouldn’t work. That it would bounce off the creature like her aura blades had.

But, instead, she cleanly bit through it. Her [Power Bite] ripped off its head in a single bite. It was like tearing through water. Soft. Like it wasn’t even there. It felt like it wouldn’t have done anything, yet the depraved thing reeled.

It stumbled back as it spoke in a clipped voice, its head gone from its body, and the physical form it held rapidly melting back into gas.

“C-c-c-core…”

The depraved thing fell to its knees, wheezing as Thera landed on the hard ground. She looked up at it as it spoke, headless and dissipating.

“—danger… unleashed…”

The purple smoke filled the room, circling around the depraved thing as it was brought up into the air. It floated there, looking down at Thera with a look of disdain. With sorrow.

“Warning.”

And with that final word, it vanished. The depraved thing was gone.

Thera stared at where it had been, her mind processing the events. It was too much for the baby Mystic Turtle to comprehend. She lay there, looking up, mind blank. She wouldn’t have moved a single inch out of both fear and confusion if she hadn’t been snapped out of her stupor by a single thing.

By the Voice of the World.

 

You have leveled up!

[Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 9] -> [Fledgling Testudine (Mystic Turtle) - Level 10]!

For reaching Level 10, you may now undergo your evolution! Do you want to evolve now?