Fading Shadows

Liam sat down at the edge of his bed for a few minutes, just staring blankly into space.

Finally, he moved. He picked up his phone, opened the group chat and typed a message.

["See you on the other side guys."]

With that, he turned off his phone then lay down on the bed before putting on the VR Launcher, a mechanic voice unlike that of the Mothercore spoke to him.

[Preparing for brain transmission]

[Checking body condition: .... Optimal]

[Operation Launch: Initializing]

Suddenly he felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him and he made no effort to resist.

...

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a world of ruin. The sky was a mixture of ominous purple sky and oppressive dark clouds.

All around him, ruined infrastructures lay scattered, their jagged remains seeking the touch of the sky. A few buildings still stood but they looked like they would topple at any moment.

"It feels so real. How would the Nirad Realm feel then?"

Exhaling slightly, he scanned his surroundings, trying to make sense of his position.

He was on what looked like the collapsed roof of a dome. The building was as big as any random church. Beyond that, he couldn't make sense of anything else. Soon however, he realized he wasn't alone.

Taking a sharp controlled breath, he summoned his runes:

[Liam Bright]

[Aspect Ability - Ruler's Authority]

[Aspect Rank - Epic]

[Affinity - [Earth] [Wind] ]

[Realm - Dormant]

[Rank - 0]

[Relics - [Rouge Armor] [Mercenary Blade] ]

[Spirit Beasts - ]

[Flaw - Uncontrollable Care]

'Okay the school armed us. That's good.'

Relieved that everyone would be with a weapon, he summoned his.

A plain silver sword appeared in his hand while a sturdy leather armor appeared on his body, perfectly sizing him.

'It's coming.'

His body tensed as he got into a stance. His sword raised before him.

Out of the darkness, a beast shaped like a dog with spider legs protruding from its side emerged. It looked like an abominable failure of a chimera as yellow acid flowed from its mouth.

*Grrr*

Growling, it launched itself forward like a fast spider as Liam narrowly dodged its bite then slashed at its knee(?) joint.

Clang!

Metal met metal as sparks flew in the air.

'Durable. But not enough.' He assessed with a hint of relief.

'Let's finish this.'

He activated his Dormant Ability [Ruler's Authority] and a pulse erupted from him, freezing the abomination for a few seconds. And that was all he needed.

Slice!

His sword cut through the neck in an upward slash as blood sprayed. The beast dropped to the ground with a quiet whimper as its head rolled down the marble roof.

[You have slain a Gremlin Beast, Hellhound]

[Your art grows stronger]

Wiping the blood from his blade, he sheathed it then checked the corpse of the beast searching for any valuable weakness in case he fought another one.

*Grrr*

'Oh, here comes another.' He thought as he readied himself.

*Grrr*

*Grrr*

'Okay and another two'

What was the next and most rational decision?

He ran.

Jumping off the roof, he cushioned his fall with a roll and continued running, still hearing the clanging steps of his pursuers.

He weaved between the dilapidated buildings, trying as much as to make sure the beasts lose his trail.

But still, he was struggling.

The dim lighting of the region made things worse as he had sometimes almost crashed into walls.

'I can't seem to lose them. I guess all I can do is fight.'

Resigning to his fate, he chose a suitable spot and waited for them to come. The sound of their legs clattering on the ground grew louder until they appeared in his view.

Four.

'I thought it was three?!'

Stunned but not overwhelmed, he drew his sword and braced himself. Fortunately, he had chosen a narrow passage inside a collapsed building. And with this, those creatures had no other choice than to fight him one by one.

Or so he thought.

Two of the Hellhounds used their eight legs to climb up the walls and ceiling, giving them a chance to attack.

'Holy, how could I forget they aren't regular dogs!'

Chastising himself, he immediately activated his Dormant Ability, his sigil glowing faintly from the back of his neck.

A powerful pulse slammed into the charging Hellhounds, sending them tumbling back while one fell from the ceiling.

He dashed forward at a speed that made the air whine and swung his sword at the front legs of the first, successfully cutting one while injuring the other.

Howl!

The Hellhound howled furiously as it jumped backwards while its mates covered for it. Liam smiled at their intelligence then executed a series of slash, perfectly blocking a strike from behind and using the force to cut deep into the ribs of another.

Stomping on the ground, he launched himself up as a jaw snapped shut beneath his feet. Stepping on it, he pushed himself forward to attack the injured one.

Unfortunately, the one who had attacked him from behind blocked his way and spat acid at him. Reflexively, he jumped away as the liquid missed him by a hair's breath. 'At this rate, I'm going to burn through all my essence'

He needed to think fast and act fast.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him and twisted his body to the extreme to dodge the sneak attack. He rolled on the ground for a while before standing up as he hissed.

The injured Hellhound had somehow disappeared from his vision and attacked him from behind while his attention was focused on the other three. As a result of this, he had received a nasty cut to his back and it was bleeding profusely.

'I need to end this. Fast!'

Channeling over half of his remaining essence, he released a violent pulse that sent the Hellhounds crashing into each other, momentarily disoriented.

That was all he needed.

Slice! Stab! Slice! Slice!

Four simple attacks.

Four dead bodies.

Panting heavily, he rested on his sword with an exhausted expression while tightening his back muscles in an attempt of stopping the bleeding.

'The pain is too real'

He complained as he felt his method work. But he knew it was only temporary.

[You have slain a pack of Gremlin Beast, Hellhounds]

[Your art grows stronger]

'I hope the others are fine... they have to be right?'