NOVEL NEXT 1.14. Shattered Sanctuary
Returning to the factories, James slowed his pace. Rubble was strewn over the streets and buildings slightly melted from the blobs. He couldn't hear any sizzling as he walked over to the nearest building and stepped inside.
Massive machines and belts had iron plates resting on them. Rust had nearly disintegrated the items, making it hard to tell what the ancients were making. A few more advanced products showed what James knew as cars in different states of assembly.
The building was massive from a simple glance. Hundreds of people must have worked there in the past, but now most of the equipment showed pitted acid damage and partially eaten metals.
Sniffing the air, James spread out his senses and frowned. Something was hiding in the buildings. Many somethings. They smelled of death and rot, while remaining still.
Walking slowly, he scanned the space with his sword summoned. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flicker of white flames and turned. In the shadows of a machine a small humanoid monster was perfectly blended with the darkness. The flames showed long claws instead of fingers and a head that was far too big for its body. Only standing two feet tall at most, he watched it sniff the air.
There's many more. Their flames aren't that big, but will I be able to defeat a horde?
Frowning, he started to retreat when the small Forsaken snapped its attention to him. A growl filled the air as the head spilt in half, revealing a maw of serrated teeth. Screeching, it charged and the sound of slapping feet filled the air from all over the factory.
"Shit!" he growled.
Throwing out his hand, he siphoned the creature before dozens more climbed out of everywhere. Grabbing his limit of two dozen, he pulled on their flames, making them thrash on the ground while gurgling cries of pain.
Jumping back, he sliced his sword through the air, only to have his blade caught by claws and pushed aside. Nearly four dozen more gremlins charged past their fallen allies. James could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he kept moving.
Jumping over conveyor belts and equipment, he kept siphoning and felt many of the lives snuff out as his soul grew stronger. Latching onto more, he sent as many Soul Strikes as he could and listened to the small bodies explode. The scent of blood and gore was rich in the air as thick absorption of souls filled his body.
Preparing to leap over another belt, he felt claws tearing through his calf, breaking the bone while throwing him to the side. Screaming in pain, he spun and balanced on his good foot while slashing. His Soul Siphon pulled on as many monsters as he could while his leg healed rapidly.
A dozen gremlins circled around him, dancing in close to slash at him as he tried to keep them away. His sword was expertly guided away from their bodies as the small monsters carved into his back and legs.
Blood flowed from his body in a steady stream as he ripped souls out of his foes. For every one he killed, another took their spot. In the rafters overhead, he listened to even more gremlins drop down, adding to the number.
His body healed nearly as quickly as he was being damaged while he used Soul Strike to explode bodies. The coursing souls blew back many of the gremlins before flowing into him. Bones turned to shrapnel that tore apart monsters as his sword found flesh in lucky strikes.
Seconds turned to minutes as he danced around his small area, deflecting attacks and kicking gremlins out of the way. Jumping onto belts and machines, he limited their reach while feeling his soul energy power Regeneration. His reserves were draining and he still had dozens of monsters to kill.
Siphoning nearly all of them, he wasn't ready for a gale to blow through the factory. The gremlins screamed as their bodies were ripped apart as a certain wolf ran in with one of his bone spears. Her accuracy was beyond his as she stabbed hearts and threw bodies into others.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Jumping back into the fight, he started cutting the gremlins down as they turned to Luna. Caught between both of them, the remaining monsters didn't last long and he sunk to his knees.
"Holy fuck, James!" Luna panted. "If I didn't come…"
James sword fell apart as hunger made him dizzy. He could feel his stomach eating away at him as the notification appeared.
Sustenance needed. Suitable food source all around. Suitable water alternative all around. Powerful source of food and water present. Soul energy of target exceeds needs for replenishment.
His stomach growled as he turned his attention to Luna. The scent of death all around him made him feel parched and starved as he started crawling forward.
"James?" Luna questioned. She was filled with fear as James had a distant look to his eyes. His stomach growled endlessly as he licked his lips. Saliva dripped from his teeth as he started to stand.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He didn't appear to be listening to her as he started walking forward. He raised his hand and suddenly she felt like her body was on fire as she screamed. Something inside her was being ripped from her very being.
Tears streamed from her eyes as saliva continued to drip from his lips. "James…" she wheezed.
Clarity seemed to come back to him as he shook his head. The shredding feeling in her body tapered off just as a huge vulture slammed into him. Its talons dug into his chest, shoving him down into the pile of dead bodies.
Using its foot, it shoved his mouth into one of the bodies where James started tearing it apart. The slurping of blood and tearing meat reached her as she recovered. Her body felt strained and something was missing from her that she didn't know existed.
Minutes passed as he ate body after body and drank more blood than she thought possible. Finally, the vulture let him go and flew away. The human's eyes cleared, and he rolled over, looking up at her with tears in his eyes.
"What the fuck was that?" she asked as she stood several feet away.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "No one has ever been around when the hunger struck before. I'm sorry…"
"Hunger? You ripped something from my body!" she shouted.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I don't…"
"Were you going to eat me?" she asked softly.
He nodded.
Stepping back, she felt her legs bump against one of the machines. "What are you, James? What are you going through?"
"I don't know," he whispered. "I honestly don't know what my mother did to me."
His mother?
Before she could ponder his words, he stood up and took a step, making her scoot along the machine until her back was free.
Reaching out with an empty hand, his eyes were heavy with tears as she kept backing away. Keeping him at a distance, she didn't know what to say. She thought the fear was getting better. But…
"You should leave," he said softly. "I'll find somewhere else to stay."
Nodding, she turned and ran. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she raced away. She didn't know what he was going through, but he was dangerous. Far more dangerous than anything she had ever ran into before.
James watched Luna blur away as she used the air Qi to propel her movements. Tears streamed down his face as he felt like his heart stopped. He had finally met another soul and he had tried to eat her. He was dangerous. Unstable.
Leaving the factory, he read over his latest notifications.
Body resources full. Time until reserves are full: Three hours and fifty-nine minutes.
Souls Absorbed: Soul Strength: 6.03
New Soul Skill: Soul Vault
New Skill: Slashing Resistance: Level 1/10
Rot Resistance: Level 7/10
The changes settled over his body and he understood what his new soul skill did. He had a storage space in his soul that was surprisingly big. He would no longer have to carry hides and food in his arms or attached to him.
Looking out towards his shelter, he felt pain in his soul. His only companion was gone. He was back to being alone in the vast city that he was harvesting for souls.
Rubbing his eyes, he started walking down the street. He didn't have to go far before he ran into another blob. Siphoning it, he watched its soul drain at a rapid pace. Reaching the next level of his Soul Strength amplified him in ways he wasn't expecting.
The blob tried to attack, but with a single Soul Strike, he exploded it into a dozen small blobs which were sucked of their souls in seconds. His soul barely grew in size and he started picking up the food left behind.
Adding it to his storage was odd. His flames leapt out of his body to wrap around the item before pulling it in. Despite absorbing a dozen of them, he barely felt it in his soul.
With another sigh, he started hunting down more Forsaken. The blobs were the easiest and best for food. He would have to drop off what he could for Luna before leaving again. He knew she would at least let him do that much.