When Celia told me she'd awakened a new trait ability called Eagle Gaze, I couldn't help but reflect on my own abilities. Had I fully awakened everything my mist was capable of? Had I even scratched the surface?
That's when I felt it again... an innate understanding, like a whisper at the edge of my consciousness. My mist wasn't just a shield or a weapon. It could burrow, intertwine, and infest. It could parasite.
Standing there, gazing at the statue already entangled in my mist, a thought emerged: This will be my first subject for parasitism.
The implications struck me as I observed the statue. My mist had completely taken control of it, manipulating its movements, its form. Like a marionette. The statue didn't feel like stone anymore; it felt alive, bound to my will, responding to my intent with full responsiveness.
The cool thing about this newfound trait ability was its potential... an extension of myself that allowed me to fight without directly engaging. But then came the downside.
Only one at a time.
That limitation weighed on me. I couldn't control an army of these things, at least not yet. I wasn't a puppeteer commanding legions; I was just one person struggling against forces far greater than myself. And here I was, testing theories in a place where a single lapse in focus could mean death.
Shaking off the idle thoughts, I began to move again. The statue, now fully parasitized, followed like a puppet on invisible strings, its steps heavy yet was obedient.
I approached the towering door once more. Inches away from its blackened surface, my hand reached for the carvings that pulsed faintly, as if alive. That's when I heard it again.
The sharp, rapid whistle of arrows.
I reacted instantly, dematerializing into mist just as the projectiles shot past where I had been standing.
"I just did something stupid," I muttered inwardly, frustration gnawing at me. Why didn't I destroy all the statues earlier when they didn't move?
The regret lingered, but there was no time to dwell on it.
Controlling the parasitized statue, I forced it to retaliate. Its stone bow creaked as it pulled back its string, and dark, sinuous arrows materialized in its grasp. The arrows shot through the thick gloom, striking the other statues.
I re-materialized a distance away, hidden behind another statue that had been targeting mine.
Clenching my fist, I gathered mist into it... a dense, swirling mass of misty energy. Without hesitation, I punched the stone figure in front of me.
The impact was thunderous.
A sound like a smoke bomb echoed across the hall as the mist tore through the statue, pulverizing it into fragments that clattered to the floor.
But there was no time to admire my work.
The remaining statues turned, their movements mechanical, as they aimed their bows at me. Arrows began to rain down, their sharp whistling cutting through the darkness.
I didn't wait to see if they'd hit.
The moment I'd destroyed the first statue, I'd already dissolved into mist, retreating into the nothing to regroup. My mist spread through the hall, shrouding the area in a dense, eerie fog.
I knew the mist wouldn't hinder the statues much; they weren't human. They didn't need eyes to see. But it gave me just enough cover to move unseen.
The statues shifted, their movements jerky as they scanned for me. The silence was broken only by the faint creak of their bows and the whisper of their feet on the stone floor.
And then...
Slash.
One of the statues collapsed, split cleanly in two. The cut was smooth, swift. None of the others seemed to react, their stony forms frozen as if still searching for their unseen target.
Another statue fell, this one impaled by a black arrow from the parasitized figure I controlled.
One by one, they were destroyed.
Every slash, every arrow, every movement was fast, calculated. It wasn't long before only one statue remained.
I had already withdrawn my mist from the statue I'd been controlling. There was no point in dragging it into the next stage; it had served its purpose.
I approached the final statue slowly, mist swirling faintly around my form as I re-materialized.
In my hand, I conjured a blade... The Mist Sword... a sword forged from the mist itself. Its edge glimmered faintly, almost translucent, but it felt solid, tangible in my grip.
The last statue stood motionless, its stone bow hanging loosely in its hand.
I didn't hesitate.
Raising my sword, I stepped closer, each movement with full intent of killing it, each step echoing faintly in the vast hall.
And then it happened.
The sound was sharp, piercing... an unmistakable hiss of metal slicing through air.
I froze, my mind reeling as a sudden, searing pain erupted in my side.
Someone had stabbed me.