Life 27 Day 59
Today is a momentous day. After what might amount to years of work, me and the team have finally managed to create an altar to the local deity. With it, and soul coins, the trevenant colony within the magical forest will finally be able to rest easy. Only those that I allow within will be allowed passage, and then they will be judged by the trevenant themselves before being let within the forest proper.
We already have multiple pokemons flocking to us as the word gets spread around. Many bear injuries and scars from scuffles with so-called hunters.
With this little self-imposed quest fulfilled, I have garnered many soul coins. This has allowed me to strengthen Hound and Princess like never before. My little hyena even grew in the most surprising way. From a pup-like creature to a full-grown attack dog looking one. He is overjoyed and has been experimenting with his new body. Princess also got a nice boost and claims she has mastered new moves. She also explained that Hound has gone through something called evolution, and that she knows she has another stage left herself. She said her mother was at the stage she alludes to.
Her speaking of her family makes me nostalgic of my own. I still remember my mother's name and face, but not her voice.
I had to return to the entry about my memory to remember my brother. My memory continues to degrade.
Life 27 Day 68
We have been travelling east for the last five days since the previous raid. We have found a village and learned the name of the plains we have been travelling through. They are called the Fanged plains. An apt name considering the environment.
A new companion seems to be joining us as well. Princess has explained they are called a kirlia, and even though they look rather girlish to me, they are male. They look like a ballerina dancer, with long green hair arranged in ponytails. They are small too, barely reaching Hound's muzzle.
Apart from this, I still feel lost. What is the point of this world? Why are we here? Why do we live through this hell again and again? What should I do?
Option one: Return to the Sanctuary, hope that with more raids, we can strengthen it enough to have be able to defend ourselves against any future raids.
and then what? live until I die? will that free me?
Option two: Explore more, find what we are here for, maybe find a way home?
Option three: give up Okay nah, from the upset face that Princess gave me, I am not considering that option.
Life 27 Day 71
Savior has once more been killed. We are making haste back to where he shall return, but it will take time.
Our new companion is confused at our lack of grief and only when he sees our savior returned and amnesiac will he understand.
Thanks to Hound new size, we will reach him in time. Please let it be so.
I close Aster's journal.
We have been travelling for a week and a half.
We reached the village Aster mentioned and stayed there for a day.
The difference with Hound's village was surprising at first. Whereas Hound's village was bustling with activity, this one was far smaller. A dozen houses with maybe twice as many inhabitants, two fields by the side of the village, one of wheat, and another a mix potato and beetroots. The villagers were quite wary when we went to inspect it. One of the farmer almost tried to threaten us away, but was to afraid to actually try. There was also a small forge, at which we received the same treatment as in the fields. The blacksmith eyed us warily as we passed.
That made us curious, and so we asked them if we should leave. They explained abductees like us were known to ransack villages for every valuable tools, equipment and crops they may have, and since the act did not directly arm the villagers, the golem they had protecting them would not react.
This revelation made us quite uncomfortable. We reassured them we would only be staying for the night, and even ended bartering with some of them. This earned us an achievement and a decent pile of emerald, as well as beetroots seeds, which somehow was not part of the seeds Princess possessed.
We also asked them what they though of the magical forest and Princess, but we only got half-answers about it being a dangerous place and that bad things happened to those who wandered in.
We left the next day, as it would be raid day. We distanced ourselves quickly from the village, almost reaching the end of the Fanged plain when the raid started.
The third week raid. We were prepared for so much. Another airship? A fleet? A new monster?
Nope, none of those, instead, we were confronted by what should have been our second day raid: a single crimson cultist. For some reason Eziakophael has decided dial down on the difficulty. Why? No idea at the time, but we would soon learn the reason. We were so surprised by that fact that we let the crazed man try to attack us. We waited almost two hours, out of reach of the most nonthreatening foe we have had to deal with since we arrived upon the Ezian plane. Once we realized it would only be him, Mewtwo tried to restrain and read the cultist mind, but the only thing he managed to get out of it was a massive headache and an achievement.
After that, Mewtwo broke the cultist neck, and that cleared the third week raid, to the bewilderment of the Trio and our own.
We proceeded to leave the Fanged plains behind. We are now travelling through a savanna, and finally seeing pokemons again. The sightings are sparse, but compared to their surprising non-existence in the Fanged plains, it is a reassuring sight.
Maybe most go to the magical forest, to avoid the hunters.
Anyway, we are resting after two days of non-stop travel. We have found a small cave and built a campfire in it. Mewtwo is resting, as he still needs to sleep some times, and I am reading Aster's journal, trying to learn more of the Ezian planes.
From the information we got from Princess, The savanna should be a month of travel at human speed, followed by a lake large enough to be considered an inland sea. She warned us about the lake, as it harbors some of the strongest wild pokemons in this region. Then would come the Ice Cap mountain chain, the tallest natural barrier discovered on the continent so far.
But for now, we still need to traverse the savanna.
Aside from a few slightly aggressive local pokemons, we have had little to fear for the past days. The nights are rather peaceful, if you discount the continuous stream of monsters converging on me. And we seem alone most of the time. Mewtwo sometimes swears he feels the presence of other humans somewhat close to us, but this far, they have not revealed themselves to me.
Not that I do not trust Mewtwo. I do, I am certain he is feeling those humans, just as he is able to feel every pokemons in almost a two kilometer radius sphere. He tells me it can feel overwhelming at times. But he continue to persevere. After all, the more he trains himself, the easier using his skills becomes.
A growl breaks me out of my musing. Night has fallen, time to get rid of the monsters.
This is something I am doing every night Mewtwo needs to rest. I get a few meters away from where he rests, to mitigate the sound, and then go on a monster hunt. As they always target me over Mewtwo, I know my friend will be safe as long as I stay far enough.
Tonight is no different, Zombies come, skeletons come, spiders come, even the occasional creeper. I eliminate them all.
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Time blurs as I continue my slaughter, and soon, the sun is peaking from the distance. The night is over. Already, most of the remaining monsters are scurrying for any shade. The zombies and skeletons start to catch on fire, while the man-sized spiders become passive under the sunlight. Only creepers remain hostile. But I easily-
The blast sends me flying forward. I can feel my back being peeled open and shrapnel of armor fly past me and dig into my back. I was careless. I land flat on the ground, and another creeper approaches me. The blow must have touched something inside of me, because I am paralyzed. Shit that's not good. I wriggle away, to find any ways to make some distance from the approaching walking bomb. But my efforts are in vain. I can feel my body knitting itself together, but the repairs will not make it in time.
The creeper looms above me, its green flesh starts pulsing with inner light, quicker and quicker. It's about to explode. I close my eyes, hoping for anything. And my prayers are answered.
A ball of blue energy slams into the monster's head, completely vaporizing it. The pulsing light stops, and the headless monster falls to the side, dead.
With a yawn Mewtwo floats next to me. You really need to watch your back more often. My friend says.
I make my eyes go up and down in agreement, the only part of me still able to move. How long will it take?
If I could I would shrug, but instead, I make the fact I do not know be at the forefront of my thoughts. He nods, and I soon start to float. Toward the rising sun?
I think yes, and Mewtwo takes off. Another day of travel begins.
I become able to move less than a couple minutes after Mewtwo starts traveling, and soon, I am running alongside him.
The day goes without notable events, as does the night that follows. With Mewtwo rested, we continue travelling.
At the eve of our fourth week raid, Mewtwo rests, and I guard, being more careful this time. This nights passes without an itch, and we resume our travels. Far in the distance, we can start to discern the tallest peak of the Ice Cap chain. And yet I know we have at least another week left before we even reach Raging Lake. A testament of the height of the mountain.
The bells ring, and I freeze. Mewtwo notices and stops as well. What will it be this time.
The answer comes soon. The horizon is replaced by the purple and crimson portal, opening once more to the reddish sky of the dimension from which the crimson cult comes. The portal is large enough to block almost all of the horizon. It remains open for a solid minute before winking out. At first, we are confused, nothing happened. The portal opened, then closed.
However, a sudden flock of spearows taking flight in the distance tells us something is coming. Small tremors soon confirms that what is coming is big.
Mewtwo takes to the sky, trying to get a view of what is coming for us, and before I can ask him what is coming, I am yanked to his side by his psychic powers.
And we behold a tsunami of black chitin. Hundreds, thousands, hundred of thousands of spiders are covering the ground, and rushing for us. They appear bigger than the normal monster spiders that spawn naturally, and there appear to be some variants as well. I can spot splashes of green within the sea of chitin.
"Okay, not to be the defeatist here, but I don't think we can deal with that."
Mewtwo remains silent, and I start to think as well. The spider wave is about a kilometer from us, and at their speed, they will be on us in less than a minute. Which gives us little time to think of a solution. We need a way to stay safe, but also still be able to deal with them.
What if we changed dimension?
Yes, why not change- wait what? "What do you mean?"
We have enough material to create that portal to the nether, we could make it, get in and close it.
"Okay, and then what? We don't even know what sort of dimension the nether is. For all we know it could be that red place we keep seeing beyond the portal."
Do you think you can take on so many spiders? I can assure you, I cannot. Even if I tried all of my attacks, I would run out of stamina before we would even make a dent in them.
"Okay true, but going to the nether feels like a bad idea. Even Aster has no idea what the nether even is!"
Well, we are running out of time, and we need to do something quickly.
Think, think, think! We need more time... a safe place. I look up, at the island so far above us. So beyond our reach. And suddenly get an idea.
"Get me back down, I can give us more time to think!" I declare.
How? Mewtwo asks with skepticism. I simply point up. He looks confused at first, before realizing what I intend to do and let out a growl of agreement.
He let me fall back down, only stopping me a right before I hit the ground, and I get to work. I quickly stack cubes after cubes of cobblestone, until I reach back to Mewtwo, almost fifty meters above ground.
"Alright, get me back down, I need to destroy the tower. Spiders can climb!"
He quickly sends me back down, and I can see the first line of spider is almost on us. I can hear their screech and hiss.
I take out my pickaxe and start mining out the blocks. Once they become out of reach, Mewtwo grabs me once more and floats me to the next one. I destroy more and more, and when I look down, I wince. I do not have arachnophobia, nor did Aster, but seeing the writhing mass of legs and fangs makes me feel quite unsettled.
Destroying the rest of the tower becomes slightly harder as Mewtwo's grip slows my movements. But still, after a minute of work, I stand on a single one meter by one meter block of cobblestone fifty meters in the air. Thank you builder tool.
I quickly extend the singular block into a large platform, and only then do I feel relatively safe.
Only for Mewtwo to tell me something that shatters that feeling of safety. They are climbing on top of each others.
I rush to the edge of the platform and witness it. The spiders, like ants, are climbing on top of each others, making wobbling towers that are slowly but surely rising for us.
"Oh this is bad..." I mutter with a wince. "Okay, okay, we keep your plan as a last resort, just in case I am making the portal." I declare, immediately assembling a five tall by four wide frame of obsidian blocks. "We try to topple those towers, and if we get overwhelmed, we go through with the nether plan."
Mewtwo nods, already charging a green sphere of grass type energy. I take out my bow as well, and start firing at another tower. My arrows pierce the climbing spiders, wounding many, but only killing one or two for every dozens arrows. After killing twelve, the tower I was firing upon finally topple onto itself, only for two more to rise toward us.
Mewtwo has more luck with his moves, most send the spider towers tumbling in a rain of limbs and bodies. But he is also exerting himself faster than me. As much as I try to hope we can make it, I can see he was right. The spiders will wear us down sooner than we can defeat all of them.
I look back at the frame of obsidian, still undecided.
The battle carries on for an hour, then another, and another, and still it seems there is no end to the sea of spiders below us. The ground has become a writhing mass of spider bodies, making it look like boiling black soil. With more towers rushing for us like geysers.
I have been supplementing Mewtwo with leppa berries, but I will soon run out. My psychic friend is also at the end of his mental stamina. I can feel that as much as the training within the forest reinforced us, this is far beyond what we can deal with at our current level.
With a groan, I look at Mewtwo and reluctantly nod while pointing at the portal. The quest says to light the inside of the frame on fire. Mewtwo nods in return and sends a small cone of flame onto the frame. the moment the flame reaches the frame, it extinguishes instantly, and with a crack, the sight from within the frame of obsidian changes.
From the blue sky that could be seen through, it now shows what appears to be a massive cave, with its walls made out of blood red stone. The portal seems to lead to a platform upon witch creatures can be seen walking around, too far for us to truly discern. A wave of heat strikes us from the portal. Whatever this dimension is, it is hot. Beyond the edge of the platform, a yellow-red glow can be seen illuminating most of the cave.
"Alright, we continue to fight until we run out of leppa, then we get through." I propose
Mewtwo nods, and we turn around just in time to see one the tower rise above our little platform. Mewtwo attempts to blasts it, but the tower only looses its upper part, and soon rises back up to our level. Some spiders spew web at me, almost catching me in the process. Mewtwo sends out a cone of flames, and the spiders quickly catch on fire. The tower soon topples as the fire spreads from one spider to another. For some reason, it appears the spider are rather flammable. The fire spreads all the way to the base of the tower. The spiders on the ground recoil from the toppling flaming tower, and form a form an exclusion zone to stop the fire from spreading further through their ranks.
We continue fighting for a dozen minutes before Mewtwo finally runs out of stamina once more. I give him one of the last of our leppa, only keeping one in the bonsai pot chip to make more later. And we turn to the portal.
"Alright, we go in, and we break it."
Yes.
We jump through, instantly feeling the air around us turn scorching. I feel my cooling system activate even without me doing anything. I turn around, and start attempting to break part of the obsidian frame. Mewtwo joins me, attempting to cut out another side. We work for a minute, but do not make it in time. The tidal wave of spiders come through, and we are forced to abandon the portal. Mewtwo lift me and we float away, trying to get some distance from the chittering and skittering monster wave. They attempt once more to shoot web at me, but Mewtwo expertly moves me around, making none touch me.
We float beyond the edge of the platform we arrived upon and realize why the entire place is so hot. Below us, is a gigantic lava lake. It seems to cover the entirety of the floor of this place. We turn back around and Mewtwo reflexively recoils. The spiders are attempting to create a bridge toward us from the edge of the platform.
I look back and realize something. "Mewtwo, keep going back, we need to bait them further above the lake." I exclaim, while pointing at where the spiders are making their bridge.
Gravel, loose gravel that could fall at any point with a bit of help.
"Hit it whenever you feel like it's too far." I tell him, and he nods.
More and more spiders are flooding in. There seems to be not end of them, even after the thousands we killed. More and more the bridge of spiders grow, coming closer and closer to us.
We continue to move back, even as the spiders grow ever closer. Until I notice something at the portal. I can see the other side once more. The spider wave has turned into a trickle.
Most, if not all of the spiders have crossed the portal, but something feels off. There are too few spiders making up the bridge for it to be all of them.
Something falls next to me, almost touching me. I look at it, and realize it was a spider. I look up, and scream at Mewtwo. "Flamethrower! Up!"
My friend looks up, his eyes opening wide as a stalactite of spider is descending upon us. He executes my command without complain, and fire a cone of flames upward. The moment the flames touch the first spider, the entire stalactite catches fire in seconds. With screeches of pain, spiders start to rain around us. The spider bridge stops growing, waiting for the rain to stop, and I realize this is our best chance.
"Now! Make them fall!" I cry out.
Mewtwo gathers energy in the form of a blue ball, and sends it straight at the gravelly edge of the platform. The ball of aura zooms through the room, and soon impacts the cliff. With an explosion of dust, pebbles and spiders, the entire edge of the platform crumbles, taking with it the spider bridge. the majority of it lands into the lake of lava. They hiss and screech in pain as the molten liquid melt them. Only a couple dozens stragglers are left on the lower lake shore.
Now heavily breathing, Mewtwo takes us back to the platform, where a dozen spiders still mingle, now unsure as to what to do, but still following me with their beady eyes.
I take out my sword, and prepare myself.
The moment I touch down, they rush for me, and I join them in melee. I stab, slash, and punch, and soon enough, I stand caked in rapidly drying putrid ichor, and spider corpses. The fourth raid completion achievement pops up, and we sigh in relief.
That was close. Far too close.
