Chapter 89: In the City of Hope
Endyr observed her new quest with dubious scrutiny. The fact that the System had only made itself apparent now, and that it was glitched, inspired a sense of fear she had not felt in eons. It was even worse than when she had been an embryo in her mother's womb, because at least back then the System was simply avoiding her. But now, it had been impaired by whatever circumstances Endyr found herself in. In the Main Universe, things capable of such an act belonged solely to the apex of existence, like Celestials and Denizens.
'And that warning about failure...I never intended to anyways, but I definitely can't slack off during this Quest.'
Endyr was willing to bet the answer lay at the temple in the centre of the city, or the citadel nestled in the mountain peak. The former was likely be heavily guarded, and sneaking there while avoiding all these people would be near impossible. On the other hand, the citadel had that Dragon rider and perhaps others of his level...
'The temple it is then. I'd rather face quantity than quality, and I don't fancy facing that man again.'
Of course, there was the possibility than she would simply end up on the mountain again if she perished, but Endyr wasn't willing to take the risk. Unlimited tries and resurrections with no consequences? Like hell such a thing existed. Whatever Endyr would end up owing once she left this place, she wanted to minimise it as much as possible.
Having made up her mind, Endyr tensed her leg muscles and jumped, her wings spreading out fully. Surprisingly light, Endyr managed to glide down to the base of the wall despite the lack of air currents. Once she hit the ground, she focused on her wings and managed to tuck them into her back. The feeling was...weird to say the least, but Endyr had experienced far stranger. Shaking off the tingling and adjusting her balance, she dropped to all fours and began skulking in the shadows, moving towards the temple. As she moved slowly but steadily, her ears stayed perked up as fragments of conversation wafted over.
She still could not understand what they were saying, and the System made no prompt to translate, so Endyr didn't pay too much attention. Everyone seemed excited and vibrant, radiating positivity. Like the woman from before, most of them were dressed simply but elegantly. Furthermore, the clothes were awfully uniform for an ancient city. All the woman wore white tunics and either azure blue or grass green skirts. The men were gold shirts and black pants, with both genders wearing sandals rather than shoes. This city seemed to be much more advanced and civil than Fellise and Sky Cross, further increasing her curiosity about her whereabouts.
For a short while, there was no issues. Endyr ran into nobody, and no one detected her either. It helped that she actively took the least populated paths, and that her new vessel was adept at climbing. She had been forced to take the rooftops several times to avoid detection, but her speed more or less remained constant. The city had also dimmed slightly since she arrived, and Endyr presumed night was approaching. However, from what she'd seen, "night" here was more like a long dusk. At no point during the day would the sun fully disappear, and darkness had no place in this land.
But unfortunately for Endyr, her luck was bound to run out. After hopping another roof and getting close enough to the temple to make out the artwork decorating the outside, she had dropped down to the ground. Right in front of a family on four.
Both parties froze: Endyr in a half-crouched position and the family where they stood. A man, a woman, a child and a teenager. All staring at her with wide eyes and open mouths, a scream frozen in their throats. As Endyr realised the situation she was in, so did the woman. Her mouth contorted as she made to scream, pushing the children behind her. Seeing her mouth move, Endyr leaned forward subconsciously, her claws extending.
'Kill her! Kill them all before they scream!'
Wild bloodthirst spilled into her head, clouding her thoughts in a red haze. Before she could even think about what she was doing, Endyr sprung forth. The woman had just sucked in a breath of air when Endyr's claws sank into her chest, smashing through her ribs and crushing her diaphragm. Her eyes widened in pain, regret and confusion as she fell to her knees, promptly keeling over and spasming. The man and children both let out shouts at the sight, though Endyr silenced the man with a clean but brutal slash across the throat that sent him tumbling to the ground, clutching the bloody smile and gargling.
The younger child tried to run, but Endyr lunged again and caught him in an instant. With a single savage move, she clutched him by the head and swung hand against the ground. With a resounding crack his skull splattered across the ground, like a burst tomato. His brain matter and skull fragments decorated the alley and the teenage girl, who fell to her knees in shock and began wailing.
Endyr silenced the girl by jamming her spiked tail through her left eye socket.
A silence fell in the alley, Endyr struggled to calm herself. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and the overpowering scent of blood only served to rile her own blood up more. She was forced to slap herself multiple times before finally getting a grip. But with soberness came realisation, and with realisation came guilt.
'By Infinity, what did I just do?' Endyr stared at the carnage she wrought silently. While she had committed countless atrocities, each a million times worse, across the Main Universe, this was her first in Orvonia. Her Human ego was deeply unsettled by the act she just carried out, and she reviewed herself introspectively. 'Losing myself to bloodthirst that easily in not normal. Even if I panicked, my mind would not just resort to a single action. I know I'm smarter than that. This vessel is more problematic than I previously thought. It seems to have the instincts of a predator ingrained in it, and a violent one at that.'
She looked over the scene in silence before retracting her claws and turning away. In the end, what's done is done. She was also worried that any Ascenders nearby would be able to smell the blood, or particularly sensitive ones would have heard the killings. By now, she was only a few minutes away from the temple at most, and the crowds were the thickest here. Easily tens of thousands of Humans, Elves and Beastkin had gathered for whatever occasion was about to begin. What had happened was likely to have drowned out by the mob, but Endyr didn't stick around to find out.
As she stepped deeper into the back alleys, she realised a problem: she was running out of space. The side roads all led back to the main street now, and the houses were beginning to clear away. Soon, she would be forced to advance in the open. At least dusk had arrived, affording some shade for Endyr to hide in, but that alone would not cover her.
Endyr pushed ahead as far as she could and covered more ground, but finally came to the end of the line. The area ahead opened up into a large square, where the stream of people formed orderly lines, sitting or standing. Sticking close to the wall, Endyr scanned for her next spot but found none. She moved back into the alley as she desperately racked her brain for ideas but only came up with blanks. No matter how she went about it, Endyr saw no way forward without being spotted. She momentarily considered just bolting for the temple, but dismissed that idea almost immediately. There would definitely be guards, and if they were as strong as the ones at the front gate then she was screwed. They would probably be even stronger, in fact.
Just as Endyr was about to admit defeat, she felt a fleeting string of information pass by her mind. Focusing inwards, she was shocked to see that a new "manual" had been added alongside the one for her wings. Deep within the recesses of her genetic code, Endyr found new information about the capabilities of her new vessel.
As she focused, black scales appeared and covered her entire body like a suit of armour. Then, they began to glow with a rich blackness before Endyr's figure faded away. She had turned invisible!
Well, her scales allowed for some sort of phycological camouflage. Using Mana to bend the ambient light and a slight hypnosis effect to make people pay less attention, Endyr had managed to vanish from the naked eye. Now confidant, she couldn't help but marvel at the powers of her new vessel. 'Indeed, this creature must be an apex predator. Flight, invisibility, strong defence and offence...it is a wonderful combination.'
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