[Ermbarce the Ashen Paint]
The runes worryingly called out to Leo as the runic shield protecting him spun at impossible speeds. It was spinning so fast that not even air could penetrate the area, but the wolf continued its relentless attacks anyway.
Slicing and dicing at the spinning disks covering the area around. Getting angry, it picked up pace with its free arm, hacking away desperately at the shield. But nothing happened.
It charged up the wolfs head in the fleeting moment, again holding it close to its prey and channeling some powerful magic through it, one that caused the tables about to break into pieces of stone and the food to blend into a mush of of dust.
Eyes bulging, Leo held curled his fingers inwards, holding on for dear life. His screams echoed across the room, even scaring the deaf leech that threatened his existence:
"A-Aughhhh, my arms, my legs!"
Tears went down his cheeks, and no visible injury or rips could be seen through his body, only the sight of Leo rolling on the ground, begging for it to stop.
His squirming just wouldn't stop. The pain became unbearable as it travelled from his abdomen all the way up to his brain in a torturous manner, slashing at every single piece of him as it went further up. The hidden chainmail may have prevented him from external damage, but internally, he was paying the price.
It was evident that no message would get to Leo, and so, the runes had to get creative here. A way to move him where it was needed.
Perhaps out of desperation, they released the shield instantly, and in the next moment wrappe themselves around his whole body; just like they'd done against the eagle, only this time it wasn't limited to his dial arm.
Leo's body jumped up involuntarily, stepping up onto the table before the grand painting – staring down the beast of darkness waiting to rampage in front.
Twisting around each of his joints, the runes lifted Leo's arm up, placing his fingertips at the bottom of the painted wood. A faint ashen gloss developed on his fingers immediately after.
The wolf had sensed something was wrong, seeing as now it was more enraged than ever, and its usual taunting was now no longer there.
It hopped off the ground, extending its gruesome claws out only to meet with the tip of a masters blade.
Clash!
The runes swung his joints into action, flipping the situation into one favourable for Leo. The tip of the blade expertly meets the jagged tip of its claw and holds it in place, stopping the whole thing dead in its tracks as the ashen glitter spread through Leo's body.
The wolf took another swing, but it was no use as the runes once again swung his wrists into position.
From Leo's perspective, perhaps from the pain, his body was going into a state of darkness. His eyelids grew heavy, and his pain numbed his fingers by the second as the only thing he could see or think was the warm glow of Lunas memory.
Leo tried stretching his arm out as if reaching for something, but the runes wouldn't allow it, only focusing on keeping disaster at bay.
Even in the darkness... through the pain... through the tire, one name hung back:
'L-Luna...'
Leo's brain went into disarray as it shut itself off, giving up autonomy to the cryptic runes and entrusting Leo's life to the ancient essence.
In the final moments, his remaining senses started to dull:
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Crash, Clash, Sl~
...
^^^
A bitter wind lashed against some trees, splitting off what little emerald pride they still clung to. Snow was in abundance, never ending no matter what way you looked, up the peaks, down the gulch, no place was spared from the danger of the snow.
In the distance, jagged mountains and morbid plateaus enriched the land with their presence as a delicate blanket settled in every crevice of the rocks that made them up. Some mountains clean and smooth, while others protruded through the layers, revealing themselves as the peaks across the land.
Even further away, perhaps too far away, behind the fog, there stood a giant castle dominating the skyline – unmoving in the face of danger.
No animals could be sighted or heard. It was a total wasteland. Not even humans could be seen. Only an essence of chaos stood out among the barren land.
Then there was one place that stood out amongst all others, even more so than the castle or plateaus. In the side of an overarching grand stump, a gracious wound engraved itself. Inside, an army of icicles formed, so large and cold, if one were to fall, it would destroy the valley of mountains cowering beneath in an instant.
This mountain was larger and scarier than any other, its edges lined with ruined rock and its sides punctured with some weird humongous bars, steel bars to be precise – ones melted into a surreal design, making any onlooker wonder what could possibly have forged such a thing.
In the middle of it all laid a motionless body, a fairly young lad, with platinum hair, dark and tattered garmets made of poor man's leather. In his hands, he held nothing, His emerald eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the chilly environment it was in, his eyelashes covered in the compounds of snow.
It was none other than Leo. His body prickling all other as if he'd just been sleeping upside down for a year straight, every muscle ached, his ribs, his legs, and most of all his jaw was exploding with pain as he tried to clench it down.
'What happened now...'
Leo lay on his stomach for a little while, with his palms spread out on the icy rock, too tired to get up.
'Am I dreaming?'
He would've been dreaming had he not felt a familiar presence surging through his body.
'Never mind.'
He looked up in anticipation, cryptic writings weaving in between the hail of snow.
[There is no time]
[Ascend The Peak, Leo]
The runes embedded in his back, forming a small ring of gold across his arms.
'Ascend the peak? How much more do you want me to suffer... seriously.'
Leo's body lightened, so much so that when he went to push himself up off the ground, he nearly threw himself into the roof of the overhang he rested upon.
"Ugh–"
His stomach turned when his feet stabilised on the floor, his eyes spinning, and his tounge lathered in the acidic flavour of the air. The biting winds weren't as harsh inside here as they were outside. He was thankful for that, at the very least.
If the runes hadn't appeared, he would've sworn he died, even worse than dreaming. After throwing out an obvious question:
'What the hell happened? I was just fighting the worm... what is this place?
Hello! Is anyone around?'
He thought to look to his sides, noticing that his hands were empty and his hips unusually lighter than what they used to be. Even the markings on his body were gone.
There was nothing, literally. The toolbelt he wore was gone, the ring on his finger disappeared, even the sword and chainmail he carried around all went out the window!
He tapped his sides and looked around for his equipment, but nothing came up. All he did was stare at the gigantic icicles and carved out path in the side of the mountain, leading somewhere in the distant fog up a great snowy peak.
Leo took one hand and rubbed it across the ice wall he rose up next to, his reflection crystalline in the time broken water. He could feel a faint trace of magic coming from within, but the whole thing was transparent up to the rock formation, and nothing was in between.
'No... am I still in the forest, or am I really just dreaming?'
Leo tried playing it off as another adage of the forest, but that wouldn't work this time. He clearly saw his eyes fading before him. His soul almost certainly flew away in the heat of battle.
'The last thing I remember... is touching that painting while my ribs were killing me from the inside.'
An ashen feeling burned coldly on his skin, occasionally as he breathed a spark charred the air. And at all times, cold prickling sensations rummaged his body at seemingly random intervals.
'I think... I passed out, but that doesn't explain anything.'
Leo wiped his eyes with his plam as he turned to look at the road ahead.
Finally, after inspecting his surrounding, aside from not being able to see outside the little overhang due to the icicles, Leo finally acknowledged the runes and their message.
Their constitution stronger and more stable than all other times. Their writings were now less cryptic and more... normal. Not that Leo knew how to read or write, but he managed nonetheless, thanks to his brilliant sisters' teachings.
[Ascend The Peak]