The skeletons were diverse.
Some were of humans, others of monsters, but many of them seemed to have unrecognizable bone structures, almost each of them distinct from each other.
Somnu couldn’t begin to guess at what they were before they decomposed, but one thing was for certain.
They had all fallen to the same trap he had.
They all had walked into the crypt, somehow survived both the Hopping Turtle and the Slowing Bunny, chose not to use the portals or found their way back to the wide empty room with the two torches, only to fall all the way to their deaths.
And now, Somnu was right on track to follow them on that path, just simply one last stage to complete.
Screw that! I’m not dying here… Not until I…
Without a moment's delay, he flapped all his limbs as fast as he could, the rippling water surface above him shining like heaven’s gates. He hoped that if his mother’s method was ever going to work to teach him how to swim, that it would kick in now.
However, no such luck.
His breath held like his last lifeline, he continued to sink deeper and deeper into the subterranean lake.
“!”
Seeing no results, he finally looked down and noticed why his fall had suddenly picked up speed, and why he kept sinking despite his constant attempts at swimming up.
His feet had turned to stone, solid and unmoving, while some kind of petrifying disease seemed to be crawling up his legs.
Crow-shit! There are more Nightmare Creatures around!
He finally realized his initial panic wasn’t just a natural reaction, but more enhanced active fears being stacked on top of each other.
“!”
After all…
It seemed that beside the flying creatures that had blinded him, there were other hidden monsters currently petrifying him. Not to mention the multiple new shapes beginning to move at the edges of his vision, beneath the dim green-ish lighting from above.
Whatever they were, they were silent, larger than anything he’d expect to be in a lake. Their movements were unnaturally smooth, as if these waters bent to their will. He couldn’t recognize them at a distance, their forms still blurry and undefined.
A chill gripped his spine as they began to close in slowly with every circlement around him.
[Hollow Gaze!] [Straw Strike!]
Despite his situation and the lack of confidence in his skillset at the moment, Somnu still activated the two skills he believed could help him out.
First, his eyes shimmered with a purple glow, making his circling enemies momentarily doubt if their prey was the very same one exuding all that salivating fear they hunger for.
Then, he stretched his arms up, shooting his straws to the surface where his trusty crow companion was still fighting off the winged creatures from earlier.
Go, Grudgekeeper! I have to count on you two again!
Although he couldn’t speak, his Dream Catcher seemed to react on its own, liquifying its very form and riding the straws up to the surface to help Fala instead.
Naturally, Somnu was worried about Fala, but she had gotten much bigger and stronger now. He couldn’t simply cancel the summoning every time she got in danger. As her master, he needed to trust that she could handle her own fights, he needed to be able to rely on her when the need arises.
That is why Somnu kept [Crow’s Call] and [Crow’s Clones] active.
Fala was the only hope he had to get out of the lake.
However, until she and Grudgekeeper could take care of the countless flying creatures, he needed to somehow survive underwater.
And yet, there he was, slowly turning to stone from an unseen enemy. And considering the distance at which its ability had activated, it had to be at a high level. The air in his lungs was running out, his figure still sinking deeper into the lake’s void. To make matters worse, he was yet again completely naked, surrounded by countless skeletons and circling monsters.
“...”
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[You have equipped the Memento {Eclipsed Requiem}]
Nevertheless, he summoned his sickles, leaving the straw lifeline wrapped around his waist.
It’s just one thing after the other… I have too many things to do to just die here… Let’s just get this over with!
FWWWOOOSSHH!
Without much delay, he swung his weapons around him, sending violet slashes rippling through the waters, but even that attempt was quickly avoided.
Dammit!
He was losing precious time, his breath was quickly reaching its limits. He had easily been in the water for over a minute now, and he was definitely not experienced enough to hold his breath for much longer.
And so, he panicked.
Feed all remaining Ego Particles to Eclipsed Requiem!
[Processing…]
[Eclipsed Requiem has consumed 87 Ego Particles.]
[Your Memento has leveled up!]
[Your Memento has leveled up!]
[...]
[Memento {Eclipsed Requiem} Level: Lvl 58.] {With 3 more particles to the next level up.}
Not having time to do anything else, he deactivated [Hollow Gaze] and allowed the circling monsters to finally charge at him head on from multiple sides.
Whether the skill alone had been strong enough on its own, or it had been boosted by both [Fated Terror] and [Naked Prince], it had nevertheless kept the creatures at bay.
However, now, as he sank faster and deeper to the bottom of the lake while his lower torso turned to stone, Somnu narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze on his enemies. The double-edge sickles were gripped tightly, held right above his shoulders like a cross.
“!”
FWOOOSHHH!!
Just as they were about to reach him, he swung his arms as wide as he could in a circular motion, creating a violet ring around him like a moon appearing directly in the lake.
Then, immediately, that ring expanded and rippled all around him, splitting all his enemies, along with the whispers of past victims, into two.
And with that action, his breath gave out, filling his lungs with water.
[You have slain a Nightmare Creature.]
[You have slain a Nightmare Creature.]
[You have slain a Nightmare Creature.]
[...]
[Rank of Nightmare Creature: Specter.]
[Specter Name: Cleansing Garra.]
[Cleansing Garra: An evolved Garra Rufa fish based on the fear of dry skin, Xerophobia, and the fear of falling into a large body of water, Thalassophobia. This Nightmare Creature typically circles its prey, causing its very skin to dry and die starting from the feet up. The deeper one falls, the faster the progress.]
[Specter Level: Lvl 17]
[Specter Level: Lvl 22]
[...]
[Calculating all rewards…]
For once, it had seemed although Somnu had somehow dodged the worst case scenario. Seeing as the ability from the Cleansing Garra, which very much looked like oversized Garra Rufa with small razor-like teeth, couldn’t affect him now. On the other hand, the reason for that was perhaps far worse.
Ignoring the rest of the pop-up messages and canceling his Memento, Somnu could feel his chest and arms lose their sense of touch, the petrification finally overwriting his skin.
As his stone-like body fell deeper into the subterranean lake, he looked up towards the surface following the long string of straws wrapped to his body. He had swallowed too much water, but none of that mattered anymore now that his lungs were made of stone.
His vision blurred, his mind beginning to feel an odd, drowsy sensation.
I wonder if Fala and Grudgekeeper are okay… He thought that as new pop-up messages appeared in front of him.
[You have slain a Nightmare Creature.]
[You have slain a Nightmare Creature.]
[...]
He had no time to read the rest, simply taking solace that the two were successfully fighting off the rest of the Nightmare Creatures.
He imagined four crows, all clad in leather-like armor made of Grudgekeeper, fighting toe to toe with a bunch of other flying monsters bigger than them.
Despite his situation, thinking of his companions fighting desperately on his behalf, the corners of Somnu’s lips curled up slightly, the feeling in his neck growing numb as stone.
He realized there was a set of good news and bad news.
The bad news being that despite Fala and Grudgekeeper teaming up to pull him out of the lake, now that his body had turned to stone almost completely, his weight had grown exponentially. They just couldn’t do it.
However, the good news was that normally, having his lungs filled with water, his breath giving out, those things would have caused him unimaginable pain had it not been for the petrification. Now, he could slowly fade into a black out, or death, without feeling much of a thing beside a heavy drowsiness.
Heh, is that how it feels just before someone falls asleep…? He wondered, not expecting to get any confirmation.
At the end, there was nothing he could do but wonder how a good night's sleep would have felt like.
That’s why he decided to use his other Memento, Veilbinder’s Diadem, before his mind drifted away completely.
It was already equipped, in fact, he couldn’t take it off. So, he simply commanded it to activate its ability, Eidolon’s Authority.
“...”
Once again, the image of his physical body laying in the hospital popped into his mind.
!
And then, he noticed something he would have never expected.
Why…?
A girl was standing next to his hospital bed, a girl he recognized.
It was none other than Mr. Emberlyn’s granddaughter.
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