Back in the main hallway, Keristis continued his admiration of the facility's appearance. As they walked they continued to get nearer and nearer to an opening that led to the outside, to the Blight Zone.
Aurelius gave an insight, "If you're wondering, the Blight Zone is just the name we give to anywhere outside of Skyhost's walls that isn't another city. Mainly because that's where Summoning Blight, the corruption affliction, is most concentrated."
He couldn't really concern himself over this, after all, the voice did say that he was immune to the corruption - a result of the Blight. Keristis wondered if Summoners could be influenced by the corruption, but quickly ruled it out as Aurelius stood there without a care in the world.
Up ahead, there was a commotion. A small crowd formed around the exit to the outside.
"Something's happening, let's go see."
The crowd immediately split in half as Aurelius and a towering Keristis walked near, revealing a hunched over figure in flowing robes who made a low growling sound. Before anybody could react, the robed figure jumped up and launched itself at the onlookers. Its growling turned to screaming, void of reason yet somehow pained.
RAAAGH!
In the blink of an eye, it turned around and dashed at the crowd.
The unlucky few who happened to be nearest to the front were caught by the being, grabbed then flung halfway down the hallway. Madness ensued as people began shouting and screaming, running away and unintentionally luring the uncontrollable figure elsewhere. Scattered around were some fallen Summons, respects were to be paid as they died while protecting the others.
Aurelius' eyes widened, "Corruption, that thing has the Blight. I don't think we can save them."
Keristis turned to look at his Summoner who blankly stared into nothing. Another alarming noise was heard as another being darted straight at them. Fulfilment of Keristis' role was in motion.
Pushing Aurelius aside, Keristis swung around to face the other individual coming at him. Its face was undeterminable as a mask covered its identity, but through the gaps a copious amount of a blue solution leaked out and cascaded along the floor - a telltale sign of the affliction.
"There's an infection instance, if you can hold it off I'll go and get help." a composed Aurelius spoke.
Keristis nodded and Aurelius ran back the way they previously came.
The Deviant's Path seemed to move on its own as it came to block a swing given by the masked creature. It fell back at the unexpected deflection and Keristis used this opportunity to attack. He took a step forward, coming within arm's length of the Blighted, and swiped the edge of the polearm's blade along the creature's torso.
Even more of the blue liquid spurted out from its wound, coating Keristis' weapon and his arm in azure gore. The area around them was doused with it too while it quickly trickled down the walls like a vicious rainstorm against a defenceless shelter. Usually, anything that came into contact with someone or something with the Blight would rapidly succumb to its effects or experience some of its symptoms but for Keristis, absolutely nothing happened. To him, the fluid was nothing more than spillt water that had managed to find its way onto him.
Without giving the afflicted a second to retaliate, Keristis impaled it and launched it behind him. It bounded off of decor, walls and the floor due to the force that was behind Keristis' throw. A large pierced hole was visible, the solution came out of it as if it were a tap yet the thing gave no attention to its injuries at all. It only knew how to kill.
It quickly got back up, seemingly unaffected by Keristis’ defence. With rapid, successive lunges it tried to hit him but each blow was offset by Keristis’ innate proficiency with the spear he held.
The doors that surrounded the two engaged in a duel slammed shut, the section of Skyhost they were in became subject to being locked down, a remarkable protocol although it had forsaken those still within its zones.
Without a need to be told, Keristis understood that infected were definitely tougher than what they were before being turned, probably because they lacked the self-awareness of pain and damage to themselves whereas a regular Summon would stop fighting, not wanting to perish in a fight.
The eyes of the opponent's mask began to shine with a blinding white light, if Keristis had a tangible being he would've surely been disoriented by its brightness. This was the being's last stand. It flung itself at him, disregarding all of the obstacles in its way and grabbed his shoulder-plating. Keristis retaliated with a fierce kick, but his move only drove it back a little - they ran faster, much faster, and began trying to pry open his armour.
A single piece of unknown metal hit the ground and the Blighted began to screech.
Thunderous noise reverberated in the hallway as an ever-burning amethyst flame erupted from the exposed area beneath the armour, causing the masked Blighted to cower.
< T-this is..! > The Deviant's Path knew something was going on.
The voice only Keristis could hear chuckled.
Keristis wondered if the inhabitant of his weapon was going to tell him anything, or at least finish what they were going to say.
< I... can't, not yet at least. > It read his mind.
Keristis was going to destroy the Blighted, not that he wanted to but he knew he had to. If it were to go any further, who knew how many other Summons it would infect? Suddenly, he remembered the robed one from before that ran away while chasing the onlookers. A bad feeling crept its way into the atmosphere.
The masked Blighted was still cowering in reasonless fear as Keristis proceeded towards them. He raised up his spear... and stabbed it in the head. The mask flew right off its face revealing there was nothing behind it, much like what Aurelius said about Keristis' appearance.
A spirit, or soul, exited the deceased and diseased Summon. It silently thanked its killer as it floated to nowhere, the Blighted was dead and its true form was released. Keristis wished he had more time to comprehend what he had just seen but he had to find the other Blighted that had gotten away, he picked up the piece of his armour that had been torn off and ran.
A few doors hesitantly opened, revealing a room soaked in green liquid. The colour of the Blight fluid had correlated to the host's spirit colour or Summoner's magic hue - if it were to be Keristis who was infected it would most likely be a shade of purple or an alluring golden tinge.
In the corner of the room, there was an individual hovering. They released a near-sacred elegance that only a Deity could possess. Humanoid in form, the person was clearly another Summon and wore a flowing cloak over a regal dress. The cloak had strange markings, runes from a long-lost language that glowed in unison. Keristis looked up to see... her face, skin that was ghostly pale and almost transparent. He could only think about her unrivalled beauty, an allure had embraced her entire presence with fairly long, hazel hair that flowed like leaves in the summer wind. She turned to look at the alarmingly splattered armour in the doorway that was half on fire.
"Oh my- are you... alright?" She hurriedly questioned.
< He's alright, that's not his blood. Don't know about the flames though. >
"Your weapon speaks, but you do not?Interesting."
< Speaking is not an option for him, I have taken it upon myself to be his voice. Who are you? >
Keristis couldn't object to his spear being his interpreter for his non-existent utterance, and thankfully had no complaints. They seemed to have his communicative preferences at the forefront of their interactions.
"I ask the same of you. But if I have to introduce myself, I am Elira."
Keristis put the pieces together, she was the one he wanted to see: Serulia's Protector.
< The one wielding me is Keristis, my name is not important at this moment. >
"Then what shall I refer to you as?"
< Oh... I haven't thought of that yet. I guess you can call me the Deviant... after what the spear itself is called. Hey, where's your Summoner? >
"She's in the other room with the others. Have you two dealt with that blue one?"
Keristis nodded.
"Good," Elira smiled, "I shall lead you to everyone, and maybe try to fix you slightly."
| My, oh my. What a show! For the reference, you're not broken at all, that vulgar thing just helped you with the next stage of your development. |
The unseen voice acted as an advisor of sorts, quite vague in their informing, but still an advisor nonetheless.
