Ace of Capes [Superhero LitRPG] [Isekai] [Card Crafting]

The Fae male did not die easily.

Even as his pale pink Fae blood gushed out of the line at his throat, his eyes wide in shock, he held out his hand, ordering the golem to crush Lexie's head between two of its rock appendages.

Lexie threw up <All Around Protection>, but it wasn't enough. There were too many rock limbs sprouting to stop them all. The shield stopped three of them, but at least four large stony fists headed for Lexie's face, about to smash it into a messy explosion of flesh, blood, and bone.

Lexie tipped her chin defiantly in the face of death.

Luckily, the V'Sala came to the rescue.

It leapt on the Fae male's face in his final moments, boring into his mind, sucking out his willpower.

With a final, fearful scream, the male's hand fell, and he slumped over.

The golem disintegrated with its fists an inch from Lexie's face.

Lexie was dropped to the ground, and she landed hard on her knees, drawing a groan out of her.

She immediately stumbled up and took stock of her body, noting the new scrapes and bloodstains. New damages had been created. No matter. They would heal eventually, and the pain that she breathed through had become a constant part of her anyway.

She also took notice of the rest of the environment, the dead Fae on the ground, with the opportunistic V'Sala on top of him, smiling like he'd done something to be proud of.

Lexie next switched her attention to the other Fae female and the Fae child. The female was holding the child, and Lexie cocked her head to the side.

The child was certainly too weak to give Lexie any satisfaction, but the female looked like she was strong enough. She'd certainly been fast when she jumped out of VOID FLAME's way, and she'd managed to avoid all of Lexie's attacks so far without a single scratch.

She may look slighter than the male, but that did not make her any weaker.

Unfortunately, she did not seem antagonistic towards Lexie.

Lexie wasn't the best at reading Fae expressions, with their tight, glassy skin and lack of distinct eyebrows. But she could somewhat read the pheromones. The woman wasn't oozing aggression. She wasn't attacking Lexie despite Lexie having killed her companion, which was confusing. Did she want the male dead? Or did she simply not care that he was dead? Why had she screamed then?

No matter. It would still be fun to kill her.

Lexie was prepared to attack.

She was about to when suddenly, she felt a burning pressure in her chest. She growled as the pressure intensified until she couldn't stand. Her legs shook, and she dropped to her knees again. Then she fell flat onto the ground as though a heavy weight sat on her back, pressing her into the earth.

She turned her face to the side to keep from swallowing dirt.

She called on <Back To Sender>, but the attack wasn't reversing. Something was wrong.

"Lexie Sparrowfoot." The Fae female said, walking slowly to her, her white robes swishing on the red ground. "That is your name, right?"

"No," Lexie did not know that name. It sounded familiar, but right now, she was just Lexie.

"Well, it's the name your soul recognizes," she said. "I am Ryn-Byul-Fo. Daughter of Jin-Kan-Fo, who's the daughter of Riz-Gula-Ni, who is the daughter of …" It took a while to list her lineage, and Lexie tuned it out. She knew from body language that this was just the woman introducing herself, trying to give Lexie a good sense of who she was. The Fae tended to be verbose with intros, and this one hadn't learned to be as concise in her speech as her companion.

Lexie occupied herself with trying to solve her predicament, trying to get up, to ravage, to destroy.

As she fought against the invisible weight, her anger grew, and it seemed like as her anger grew, so did the weight.

Lexie tuned back in when the Fae female started to say… "My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was an Elf. I learned some naming magic from her, and I also have curse magic."

"Curse magic?"

"Yes. For example, all I need to know is your name to place a curse on you. And the curse is as follows: standing before you, your master be, no thought of yours shall ever harm she, your life for now is on her lease, her death shall cause existence to cease."

Lexie sighed and thought about how nice it would be to kill this woman right now for spouting yet another riddle for her to solve.

At the thought, the weight on her back grew heavier. Lexie wheezed. It felt like it was crushing her bones, slowly collapsing her lungs.

"What does that mean?" she gasped.

"I thought it was pretty clear. I'm not sure how much more obvious I can make it."

"Try…" Lexie choked, her mouth full of dirt.

"You. Are. Not. To. Harm. Me," the woman said awkwardly, clunkily, like she was speaking in an unfamiliar language. "If you even consider harming me, the Curse I have placed on you will begin to suffocate you. You will have to overcome your murderous thoughts in order to live."

Lexie frowned. "That won't work. I only think murderous thoughts."

"I understand," she nodded, almost in sympathy. "I'm told it starts like that with new Eldritch, but with time, your sense of self-preservation might beat out your instinct."

"How much time?" Lexie wondered.

"I suppose we'll find out."

Lexie did not know how long she stayed there, only able to breathe tiny pints of air at a time, her vision going in and out of focus. It was a terrible feeling, suffocating. Lexie liked her death quick and glorious, not slow and agonizing.

She felt stuck in the process of perishing, forever suspended in the moment right before the finish line. And worse than that was the itch that was spreading all around her body, making her vibrate, and twitch, and wretch.

She wanted to kill the Fae.

She hated this suffering and hated the one who was doing this to her, but the hatred only made her asphyxiate even more.

The scenery never changed, so Lexie didn't know how much time had passed. The Fae female was there for some of it, but she would often leave with her younger charge.

They would return with things in their hands that they would chew as they sat and watched Lexie. They spoke in their Fae language while Lexie's murderous intent was slowly killing her, and she searched for ways to free herself from this hell.

None of her cards had a counter for curses. <Back to Sender> would have been her best bet, but since that didn't work, she was out of ideas.

It didn't help that she didn't know how the curse worked. She didn't know how curses worked in general.

But she could find out. If she found out how the curse worked, then she would make a counter for it.

Unfortunately for her, there was no one around her to ask. The V'Sala had disappeared at some point, while Lexie was trapped in her ceaseless torment. No other creature happened upon the clearing. Therefore, the only person who could tell her was the one who was standing, well, now sitting in front of her, eating… something.

They left again. They were gone for much longer than before, but Lexie still could not get up. Perhaps because her mind was still consumed with rage and bloodlust toward the one who had left her in this predicament. She kept picturing the woman in her mind, drawing satisfaction from the image of slitting her throat. Or activating one of her cards to kill her.

But even just thinking it made her breathlessness worse, and her lungs tightened to the point that she blacked out before she could even draw the card.

It happened far too many times until Lexie gave up that angle.

When she came back to the final time, she was able to move, her mind clear. But the second she remembered the one who had put her in that position, she got angry and venomous again, and she was once more cursed back into the soil.

It was a vicious cycle that she had to break out at some point.

Lexie took deep breaths to clear her mind. Dirt on her tongue traveled down her throat with every breath, but she had bigger problems to deal with.

How could she train herself not to want to kill the thing that wanted to kill her?

That was her guiding light, her purpose. How could she kill that light without destroying herself?

Was there anything else she could hang onto as her light that wasn't violence and murder?

Or perhaps she could think of someone else she wanted to murder more.

Naem. The thought popped into her head. She didn't remember much about him and only knew that he had betrayed her, and he was very powerful, which would make him very delightful to kill. But she couldn't kill Naem if she died here because of this witch, so she needed to survive.

And let that Fae witch live.

The tension eased from her, and she finally felt some of the pressure on her back release. She sat up fully and took a deep breath, glancing around her.

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She was about to get up when she saw them in the distance walking towards her.

A tendril of fear trickled through Lexie, and it angered her so much that she instantly wanted to kill her again.

Just like that, she was driven to the ground once more.

Lexie struggled to remind herself as she groaned and jerked.

To kill Naem is the ultimate goal. That was what she wanted to do.

But she wanted to kill the Fae witch too, damn it.

The pressure shoved her in again, and she gasped for breath. She fought against it, trying to activate VOID and FIRE and everything she could.

Nothing worked.

Fire ants bit at her body now, the itchiness out of control. A thirst for vengeance drove air through her nose as she panted like a bull.

Focus, Lexie, she told herself, in a voice that sounded familiar and distant at the same time. You can do this. You're good at figuring things out. I believe in you.

She didn't know where that came from. It didn't feel right.

Her instinct was to hurt and kill, but she could suppress that instinct somehow. She'd done it for the V'Sala. Even though the urge to kill him popped up here and there, she knew it would not bring her ultimate light like she wanted, and so she'd ignored it.

The problem was that she knew that killing the Fae female would bring her sublime light. It would be as delightful as killing the other Fae male had been.

She could not trick her mind into not knowing that. She could not deceive herself. She was Eldritch. They were creatures of honest desires.

She sighed, exasperated as the Fae female sat with the child and stared at Lexie. The problem was the itch. It grew worse when she didn't fulfil her light.

If she could make herself not think about it, then maybe the rage and violent thoughts would go away.

She could start by trying to meditate.

Lexie had a memory, a flash of a thought of her meditating. She had done that before, a few times. In another lifetime.

She closed her eyes, letting muscle memory guide her. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing until she did it. She took as deep a breath as she could, focusing on slowly blocking out the sensations, only focusing on the mana running through her body, pulsing and exploding in parts. There was so much of it. It shoved itself against her skin, wanting to break free, to unleash havoc. Pure chaos needed to be released.

She breathed.

Inhaled. Exhaled.

Perhaps she could slow it down.

But she didn't want to slow it down.

It went against her very nature.

Your nature is also to live, and this was the only way to live.

A different flavor of magic pushed forth, melding with the Eldritch, holding it back. It was strange, but not strong enough to hold it back entirely. Lexie managed to slow her breathing, going deeper into her psyche, searching for another light, another way to maybe ease the torment.

She had no idea how long she sat there, breathing.

In. Out. In. Out.

The Fae female must live for now.

The Fae female must live for now.

I will discover how to kill her later.

That last thought almost undid her hard work as the chaotic Eldritch particles once again screamed for release, but she fought to regain control, reframing her thoughts.

The Fae female must live for now.

I must find out how to undo the curse. Then….

Then.

Maybe there was no then.

Maybe the search was the point.

The search was her light.

A dog with several heads incessantly digging for something.

That was in her, too.

Something happened inside Lexie's soul, something small shifting, adjusting to allow for another light source. The new source was not as pleasant or comfortable as the old light. It did not drive her as well. It was less satiating and did not completely ease the itching and the madness.

But the urgency to relieve those tics slowed. Lexie directed her thoughts to the second source of light. The search for answers. That could be her driving light.

She could kill other things to soothe her bloodlust, too, when she found them.

But for now, she could not kill anyone around her. She would rely on her thirst for knowledge. Especially forbidden knowledge. Or Fae-Elven knowledge that she could get from the female.

Lexie finally felt the pressure easing from her body. Before she celebrated, she opened her eyes and stared at the Fae woman staring blankly at her. For a second, Lexie was afraid that the urge to kill her would surge once again, but it did not.

Lexie had successfully shoved it into a box in her mind.

I must find out about the curse and break it. That is all for now.

She sat up and stared back at the female.

"That did not take as long as I thought," The Fae female said. She then went on a long tangent describing how the stars were arranged in her hometown and how many Eldritch she had cursed before she said, "You are quite aware and self-governed for a young Eldritch."

"Why did you not kill me?" Lexie asked, keeping her mind busy with curiosity so she would not think about the fact that she wanted to kill the female.

"Because," she said. "You have killed my partner. I wasn't overly fond of him. He was frequently rude and impatient with me and had poor communication skills. He often shouted and cursed when polite language would have served a similar purpose. But I suppose being from the angry faction of the Dark Fae has its downsides. I shall tell you about his lineage." She rattled it all out, down to his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. "I am Dark Fae too, but that is because of my Elven ancestry. It is also why I'm so much better at communication with you than he was."

Lexie wouldn't agree with that assertion. "You have not answered my question."

"I was getting there. You are just as impatient as he was. As I was saying, you have killed my partner. I was not overly fond of him, but he was certainly useful in fighting the creatures we faced. Upon my partner's death, I now find myself in need of a new companion to traverse this desolate place with until I can leave."

"You want to go to the Other?"

"No," she frowned. "Only a completely lunatic would want to enter that place."

Lexie blinked.

"No, I'm searching for the exit. The doorway. It has refused to show itself to us."

"Ah. Did you hold hands with two other beings and chant the magic words?"

"Yes. That did not work. The doorway apparently does not work here until you solve the mysteries of this place."

"And you have not done that yet?"

"I would not be here if I had." Her expression did not change, but she reeked of indignation. "To my knowledge, no one has been able to solve it yet."

"I can solve it. I am a genius." Lexie was not sure if that was true, but the words felt familiar.

"You are?"

"I think I was." She looked down at her gnarled fingers. "I am not sure how smart I am now."

The female cocked her head. "You are very odd for an Eldritch."

"In what way?"

"Well, you seem to have far more awareness than other Edlritch. And you have very good control in places that you should not have control, and you lack control in places you should have it. Also, you do not look or sound like any Eldritch I have ever met. I have never heard of the Eldritch Lex-EE."

Lexie hesitated, then said to her. "I think I was human once."

"A human Eldritch?" Surprise radiated from her body, and a chittering sound that said a billion things that Lexie did not care to translate. "I do not think I've ever seen a human Eldritch before. How fascinating. Why humans were only discovered in the last dychta years, and a curious species they are..." Ryn went through a list of interesting human factoids before she landed back on her points. The gist of it was that she was questioning: "How long were you a human for? I'm told the limit is less than a few hundred years."

Lexie shrugged. "Not long, I think." Lexie found she preferred asking questions to answering. "Tell me more about this place. And about your curse magic."

"I don't believe humans know what curse magic is," she said. "It is one of the disciplines you are not taught, no? So it would certainly be hard to explain. Yes, certainly difficult indeed."

"I am good at understanding."

"Hm. It would be easier to show you than to teach you." She shook her head. "As for the way out of the dungeon, there are two ways. Through the Other, which only a lunatic would attempt. And by solving the tales of the dungeon. The problem is that there are endless tales in this dungeon with only a sliver of a connection between them. So far, no one has been able to solve them."

"What do you mean?"

"This dungeon, I believe, was created using a denatured spawn of Yasycht."

"Who is Yasycht? An Eldritch?"

"Yes. He's one of the Great Old Ones and was banished to the Beyond. His chaos breeds the magic we use to traverse different worlds."

"Through portals?"

"Through anything that offers a doorway. To different dimensions, planets, or even through time and space."

"Oh." Lexie thought about it.

"Yes. One has to be careful, though. Yasycht and his predecessors were all banished to the Beyond for a reason. Their magic is often difficult to stabilize, and it's dangerous for beings to attempt. Nevertheless, Yasycht tries to use every doorway they can find as a way out of the Beyond. So one must always be careful with such travel."

"I see." Something nagged at the back of Lexie's brain, but before she could say it, the Fae female kept talking.

"I'm not sure what the initial purpose of this dungeon was," she said. "I came in here to retrieve something, and was going to leave once I had. We thought it would be enough to resolve the first few puzzles. But then the first led to the second. Which led to the third, which led to the fourth. It was endless. Our longest chain was a hundred levels, each with an answer that leads to another question." She paused. "I think it's all connected somehow, and we have to figure out how. The dungeon is looking for something else before it lets us leave. Every success only leads to another test. Every failure leads us back to the starting point, which is here. And then we end up facing a different story as it advances."

"You are sure the stories are connected?" Lexie asked.

"They have to be. That is how the heart works. There are other creatures here, too. As you advance in levels, you meet more and more of them. Some are from different worlds. A few from different dimensions. They all have different starting points, different tests. But the answer is the same."

"Have you tried to work with these other creatures?"

"Most are Eldritch. Working together is not their strong suit. The rest are idiots or are trying to kill you."

The thought of something trying to kill Lexie excited her.

"I will do the tests," Lexie said.

"Good. You are now my companion."

"Why should I agree to that?"

"Why not?"

"I am Eldritch. Working together is not our strong suit."

The Fae female cocked her head. "Do you remember how you spawned?"

Lexie shook her head.

"Shame. It would have made things easier."

"Easier to do what?"

"I have bound you by curse, but it is limited to only our safety, assuring us that you can not knowingly end our lives. You have free will apart from that because I cannot properly complete the binding without my tools. I also have to gain more knowledge of who and what you are."

Lexie thought about it. "You want to control me?"

"Yes. So you would have no other choice but to follow my lead."

No. The rejection was visceral, from her very core.

Nothing and no one would control Lexie.

She would kill anyone or anything that even suggested it.

Just then, the air forced Lexie to the ground again, and Lexie yelled, incensed.

That one wasn't even fair! She'd been provoked.

"You are quite powerful for a young Eldritch," the Fae female said. "And quite useful, I think. You would make an excellent servant when we get out of this dungeon."

"I will not be your servant."

"You are Eldritch," she sniffed, and Lexie got the sense she was trying to sound more intimidating and powerful than she really was. "Your will is of no matter to me. I am the daughter of Jin-Kan-Fo. By law, if I want you, you will be mine."

Lexie spit at her as the rage burned in her heart.

Never, she told herself. Eldritch or not, she would be no one's slave. She was Lord Lexie.

Somehow, she would break this curse. And she would kill the Fae female.

Or perhaps not.

Another idea occurred to her.

Perhaps there was a way around the curse.

She did not need to kill the Fae.

Perhaps for an appropriate revenge, she could simply turn her into a disciple.