Chapter 106: Day 25 - Oops, Unfettered Trauma

Argh, my head is fucking KILLING me?!

 Rolling out of bed, what felt like the world's worst hangover pressed on my brain, like a balloon was fully inflated in my skull. It's nice, finally being back in my own bed. Not so nice when yesterday's hunt leaves me so mentally exhausted but, beggars can't be choosers. Especially in Elysium. Rubbing my eyes and trying desperately to ignore the persistent pounding in my head, my eyes darted around the room for my twinblades. Wondering if I'd somehow left them somewhere in the sparring area yesterday after having a late night training session with Cassi, I shrugged and grabbed my boots by the door. 

 The morning light beamed down on my eyes like a solar flair as I exited my humble abode, the severe lack of heavy metal clanking next door indicating Lonni was busy elsewhere. I rubbed my eyes and pulled my cowl a little further over my head trying to protect my sensitive eyes from the fiery star's harmful rays. A squad of Water Druids leading a few green-looking recruits sprinted past me, their footsteps jolting me to attention. 

Huh, wonder if they're late for training. Cassi's not gonna like that. 

 Smiling, I proceeded after the hasty squad while taking in Elysium's scenery. It'd felt like so long since I just gave it a good gander, especially considering how large the majority of our settlement's architecture had gotten. Most of the trade district had sprouted into shops that rivaled most mansions before the integration, the living district following suit in its rapid development as well. Countless citizens bustling with busywork, happily playing their roles in something bigger than all of us. There's something beautiful to it, really. I don't know what, considering how loud everyone's being, but I know I like it. 

*BAM*

"MONSTERS AT THE WALL!" 

"TO THE GATE!"

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" 

 A hollow metallic crash echoed across the settlement, as our soldiers swarmed from all around me toward the front of Elysium. 

Shit, I'm late!

 The air tunneled throughout my cowl as I sprinted for the front gate, passing countless soldiers and Jaia giants stationed here alike. It was a pleasant surprise spotting a few Tytos giants rushing to join the battle, wielding thick, leatherback grimoires while adorning shiny heavy armor. No doubt Lonni was commissioned to craft their oversized gear, considering there was no giant gear available in our Pylon's internal marketplace. All the same, they were painfully slow, even more so than their warrior Jaia cousins. 

"-errick, take Lonni and Hayden to hold the line and reanimate those beasts. Phoebe, take Becky and Steve along the eastern shoreline, and dwindle their numbers from their backline. Cassi, you're with me and the druids, our artillery will shadow my commands. Let's move!" Korbin barked rushedly to our squad, his voice reverberating off Elysium's towering architecture. 

"Hey guys!" I yelled as I finally caught up, only to watch as they beelined through our fiery entrance to Elysium. Our mana infused artillery immediately began its bombardment as Korbin exited our settlement, the doors not even fully opened by the time I crossed the threshold myself. 

 In the distance, an endless sea of dark hair scurried in unison from the treeline. Hairless tails and a putrid stench filled the air, as arguably the most abominable species to walk the face of earth seemingly united from across the globe; Fucking. Filthy. Rats. 

 Thousands of the disgusting rodents trampled across the sands, their size ranging from that of normal rats to full on Randy, medium sized dog scale. There was no end in sight to their army, pouring out from the forest treeline and stretching over 200 feet. Our cannons fired a cacophonous symphony of destruction as the endless horde of rats drew within firing range, some smaller and deathly skinny ones moving considerably faster than the rest as they bolted toward Elysium. 

Of course I misplace my FUCKING twinblades today. 

 With regret thick and sour in my pallet, I began sprinting after Korbin and Cass, who sprinted down the center line of our cannon and infernal missile fire. None of which ever landed close enough to do them harm, instead leaving the two a bottleneck to tear through the disgusting vermin threatening our beautiful settlement's integrity via proximity at this point. Seeing as though I'd have an incredibly difficult time tracking down Steve or providing ranged support having no fucking weapon right now, I decided to commit in chasing after Korbin and Cassi. Even though in truth, it didn't appear like they really needed me right now. 

 Regardless, Ripple Stride slingshotted my momentum after my friends as they slashed, bashed, burned, and washed through dozens of undoubtedly disease-ridden creatures. As I got within 10 paces however, an ear-shattering explosion filled my vision with orange light and a twisting sky before crashing on top of countless stampeding rats. 

 Immediately, I felt their little bodies squish under my weight, only for countless more to file over the top of my body. A few had the wherewithal to bite down immediately, gnawing through my robes as I surged as much lightning mana through my body as possible. The constant stabbing bites from these little monsters make it incredibly hard to concentrate however, only managing a light amount of lightning mana discharge. Still, it was enough to find my footing, to which I immediately started stomping, punching, and kicking the filthy creatures. Their bony bodies made for a sickening crunches that made me shudder through the rising sense of anxiety, yet not enough to halt my frantic extermination-dance. 

*BOOM* 

Another thunderous blast nearby sent a puff of red mist and rat chucks dancing through the air. Their blood rained down over me as I continued stomping them out, painting the backs of the passing vermin red. Some of which managed to slip into my eye, the burning sensation only manageable until I heard my skull sizzling. 

FUCK, FUCKING SHIT!

 The world became a slideshow of shuttering images as I struggled to blink out the rat blood from my eye, only clearing up after feeling my eye slightly deform and deflate in my head. The eye is fucked, I can't see anything but blurry, red shapes out of. Meanwhile, a rat the size of a cocker spaniel leapt up from the sea of smaller rodents, gnashing its front teeth toward my neck. Instinctively, I front kicked the rat as it hurtled toward me, though my foot brushed off the side of its head having misread its approach. 

 The larger, red eyed rat spun out, its backside smashing me in the temple and nearly off my feet. In the small time it took to regain my balance, several smaller rats immediately seized the day and began ascending up my legs, gnawing on me the entire way. 

"Get OFF!!" I yelled, channeling my panic-induced rage and Ripple Stepping through the unending sea of rodents. Many tiny bodies flew through the air around me, the water mana dispersed at my feet from Ripple Stride knocking them so far off course from lunging their bites, that the sheer force sent them airborne. A large shadow flew by covering the sun for a brief second before a jet of water streamed beside me, crushing numerous rats as I desperately sought a gap in their numbers. Yet, there was no space to be used, the few open areas created behind the wake of our cannons filled with even more rat bodies flooding in from behind almost instantly. 

"RETREAT!" Korbin's voice hung in the air, carrying between cannon blasts. Before I could turn to locate the settlement, a wave of rats leapt onto my chest in unison, relentless chomping at my face, neck, and nose. Instead of allowing myself to fall however, Ripple Stride activated sending the majority of them flinging off my face, a few taking entire chunks of skin with them. A heavy THUMP caused the ground to shake, as I felt Steve's familiar tail wrap around my hips. 

"Retreat means RUN, Tom!" Steve yelled to me mentally, even his internal voice sounding as panicked as I. His tail flicked me up in the air, tossing me onto his back as countless rats climbed onto his wings. 

"GO! COME ON!? I yelled as Steve began whipping his tail and head around frantically. 

"I…I can't get an-" Steve's message was cut off as he started wildly hissing and flailing his wings around. By now, the rats had made it to his back and had already all but covered his head in dark fur and black sludge. My fists couldn't fly faster, Lightning Strike ripping through one little beast while 5 more replaced it. Steve meanwhile desperately blasted his water breath through the air, raining down on us and the rats alike.

"Slither! We got to go!!" I mentally pleaded to Steve while accidentally punching myself trying to kill the rats swarming up my hips. 

"S-sorry…I…" Steve's thrashing began to slow, his muscles slowly relaxing as the swarm fully engulfed his body as I sat atop his back. 

"STEVE!? STEVE GET UP!" Just as I finished my desperate cries for my favorite snake to keep moving, his spine arched down sending me gliding toward his tail. I felt as placed his tail under my foot, twisting his body around to build momentum and flow. 

"No no NO DON-" I felt as a massive gust of wind blew a few rats off my chest and arms as I sailed through the air. In front of me, Elysium's glowing fiery walls and cannons lining them nearly blinded my good eye. Contorting around, I was able to catch a glimpse of the snake-shaped mountain of rats as it fell still to the dirt. A sharp pain poured through my chest, as I felt him go. 

"GET BACK TO THE WALL, NOW!" Cassi's voice thundered across the battlefield from atop the wall, holding Phoebe in her hands bloodied and motionless. I heard her, but Steve's dead. These rats won't let me get another step closer when I land, and Steve's dead. Korbin is completely mia, as is Derrick and Lonni, and Steve is…

With every fiber of my being, I focused my mind and body on a single command as my feet stomped through the rats charging toward our walls; fight. 

 Immediately, I pooled my mana into activating Spirit Of The Storm, causing a wave of Lightning mana to immediately disperse from my body. Without a second through, Ripple Stride activated, sending entire wakes of water spraying from my heels as I dashed around the sea of filthy fucking monsters. My boots couldn't stomp hard enough on their bony bodies, as my hatred evolved to something more, like they needed to be quelled. Exterminated. 

ALL of them. 

 Countless explosions ripped the sands around me, a few fiery shards burning my hands having misjudged its trajectory. I didn't care, instead sprinting through the flames and front kicking a larger rat, lightning surging from my foot and burning through the rat's chest. It's body slid around my knee, dispersing a massive mana-fed lightning charge to fry its body off of me. A few more Ripple Strides turned over a dozen rats into bloody, furry mush as I stomped across their horde. 

These rats NEED to die. 

 While dashing through lines of rats, an eerie lack of earth shaking thumps drew my attention toward Elysium for a brief second. Enough to see thousands of rats, scaling the wall atop their burnt brethren's corpses. 

Shit, SHIT!

 A rush of dread filled my chest as I activated Tidal Flurry facing our settlement. The doors were closed, but as I rode the water mana's wave closer, muffled screams echoed behind the sealed doors. Pulling myself from Tidal Flurry's endless path at the doors, my fists pounded off the metal that was hot to the touch. 

"OPEN THE DOOR!! CASSI!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my vocal chords immediately going hoarse. Thousands of pittering little hands caused my head to snap back around, as hundreds of razor sharp teeth began ripping through my ankles and calves. 

"FUCKING DIE!!" I screamed, feeling as my entire mana supply funneled through my body, exploding outward like I'd become a rogue Tesla coil. The stench of burning vermin filled my pallet as I shook off their corpses and glared up at their numbers. The sea of rats stretched from no more than 30 feet from me to the treeline, like they'd only fucking multiplied this entire time. Taking a step forward toward them, my knees buckled as all air escaped my lungs. Spirit Of The Storm subsided, replaced by the gut piercing pain of mana exhaustion. My eyes immediately shot wide open, both at realizing I was completely fucked, a sitting duck for these rats to swarm. But…Elysium.

…it's silent. Not a scream, not the distant thunder of mana explosions. Not a word. Then, skittering and gnawing filled my ears and blocked out my vision. Ravenous chomps ripped and tore at my stomach, back, neck, my entire body, as I tried desperately to move. The sheer heat from their furry bodies only furthering my exhaustion and absolute panic. 

How?! 

 I felt my thumb get chomped clean off through the blood and saliva filled chaos ravaged on. 

Steve…I let Steve…Cassi…

Pain became united. My body screamed, as my spirit sunk. 

Pheobe…Korbin…

As I felt the rats wriggle their way into my gut and gnaw at my insides, all feeling subsided.

There was so many, it's not f-

…

 Argh, my head is fucking KILLING me?

——————————————————————

Come on Korbin, focus. This is YOUR body. 

 It'd felt like at least an hour had gone by since I'd completely been cut off from all my senses. The voice in my head decided today was the day to do some crazy shit, somehow apparently burying me in my own subconscious. The last I heard was screaming, and the screech of steel bending and popping all around me. Memories of the many battles I fought alongside Gydrian to secure this planet's unity. Warlords from the hells had invaded this land shortly after their tutorial began, having been summoned by a group of chosen all of which banded together by order of their power hungry Demon patrons. Their patrons ranked rather lowly amongst hell's most powerful, which explained why they were so quick to sink their teeth into this planet. 

 All the same, it created a perfect lane for me to step in and mediate. All I needed was some help from Tom, Cassi, and a few highly trained Water Druids to turn the tides in favor of the peace seekers. At the time, both armies were at their peak, having entered conflict only a few months before I'd arrived. From there, I helped train their architects, and even convinced one to build me a vacation house in the countryside. Of course, none of that would matter if I can't get my fucking body back. 

 Darkness was all I could see. That, a glimmer of light high above that looked more like a single star in a foggy night sky. 

Come on, this is your body, Korbin. You're really going to let this self absorbed, self inserting, narcissisti-

"I'm done." The familiar voice echoed through the empty abyss like a tourist yelp off the Grand Canyon. Then, I felt as my senses rushed back to me, the world focusing so rapidly I had to close my eyes to refrain from throwing up. As I fluttered them open however, rage filled my spirit at the scene. The very tower the council chambers resides in had completely crumbled, its carbon-treated Ferium roofing being the only identifiable part of the structure remaining. The city itself was completely aflame, a few unused glyphs of mine painted around me as I lay flat on the floor. Beside me, charred bodies of humans and Psuaveridian's alike lay sprawled in contorted poses across the destroyed city plaza. Not a single living being could be seen, even the greenery lay shattered and aflame. 

"Fuck…you did all this?" I asked the air, knowing the voice wasn't gone. How could it be, clearly it wasn't just me cracking under the pressure and making a shithead passenger to talk to. No, this was something more, someone. 

"I told you, it was fragile at best." The voice replied. 

"This felt like an incredibly unnecessary waste of life."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more." 

"Then why the fuck did yo-"

"Don't play dumb, Korbin. You challenged me, claiming I couldn't. What was I to do?" The voice said. 

"For someone who self professes their wisdom of peace and prosperity, you're incredibly egotistical. I can't imagine why you're not somewhere running a galaxy into a peace less 'tenuous'. Let me know though, so I can piss on its ashes when I'm done." I replied, snarling with rage. Because he's right, I did challenge him, claiming he had no chance at destroying this sanctuary for peace and accessible freedom. 

"You know not what you mock." 

"I give not but a single fuck. Do enlighten me, I'm infinitely curious at what offends the arrogant voice who just destroyed an entire civilization wearing my skin." I proclaimed sarcastically. All the while trying to formulate a way to fix this, with absolute zilch coming to mind. It's…it's fucked. 

"How about we expand this experiment, hm? Let's go home, see how strong Elysium's will truly is." The voice snapped, showing its first signs at a real human emotion. The thought of this asshole taking hold at home was more than thought provoking though, with only one unfortunate solution that made any sense

"I got a better idea." I said, walking toward the nearest crumbling skyscraper still partially standing. I stepped under the collapsed entrance and began scaling the wall, channeling my infernal mana into my arms and amplifying my strength. 

"What are you doing?" 

Silently, I continued scaling the teetering structure. 

"This feels like a waste of our time, there's no one left I assure you."

 Ignoring his nagging, I clambered onto the top of the tilted roof. Slowly, I made my way up to the very top overlooking the entire capital. Every inch of this place lay in rubble, or in flames. Not a single survivor in sight, just as he said. 

"Did you need proof? I suppose I could understand tha-wait, what are you..?" The voice said, as I took a step onto the ledge. 

"See before, you were just annoying. Arguably a piece of me, sadistically giving myself shit to stay balanced. But now after this, I can't really be bringing home a virus like you to the wife and kids now, can I?" I said, taking another step off the ledge. 

"No, stop KORBIN!" The voice begged, but we were already descending. 

"Hope being right was worth it!" I yelled, just before reaching the ground and falling into utter stillness. Darkness, absolute absence. As I faded away, the voice let his feelings known. 

"This? This is how…THIS?!" He screamed angrily. I felt my lips crease into a smile seeing a flash of Ana's smiling face, before losing all senses entirely…

…

"Korbin? The council is ready to see you."