*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*
Orric slumped against the cold stone wall, breath rattling. His fur was matted dark with blood, the jagged punctures in his side still weeping through Aris's failed healing attempts. Worse, the black veins of disease crept outward like cracks in glass, crawling toward his chest. His yellow eyes, normally sharp and untamed, dulled with each shuddering inhale.
"Stay with me," Aris whispered, pressing trembling hands against the wound. His palms burned from repeated casting. Healing Touch closed skin but couldn't stop the corruption. Cure Disease sputtered half-formed, leaving the infection untouched. The magics fought each other, like oil and water refusing to blend.
"Think. Think!"
Aris's mind whirled. For a month he had tried to combine these two spells in practice, failing every time. But now, kneeling in a web-stinking cavern with Orric's life draining away, failure wasn't an option.
He gritted his teeth. "No more splitting focus. One current, one intent."
He closed his eyes, forcing his will to settle. He summoned the warmth of Healing Touch, that green light meant to mend flesh. But instead of releasing it, he wove in the silver thread of Cure Disease, that cleansing pulse that sought corruption. They bucked against each other at first, clashing violently in his veins, making his chest feel like it might burst. His body screamed at him to let go.
But he didn't. He bound them tighter, forcing them together, imagining not two currents but one: a river that mended as it purified, that healed without leaving sickness behind.
His body arched, light spilling from his fingertips.
And then something clicked.
A surge, clean and powerful, coursed through him. Words not his own etched into his mind, a whisper of recognition from the system that had shackled this world: [Bzzt!]
Aris gasped, eyes snapping open. His hands glowed brighter than ever, light so intense it filled the cavern. He pressed them to Orric's side.
The black veins recoiled instantly, dissolving under the radiance. The wound closed with a hiss, flesh knitting smooth. The corruption fled, burning away until only clean, unbroken skin remained.
Orric's breath steadied. The wolfkin blinked, eyes sharpening, life flooding back into them. He touched his side, incredulous.
Aris sagged back, exhausted but grinning. "I... I did it. I combined them. I saved you."
Orric stared for a heartbeat, then let out a bark of laughter. "I was sure I was dead."
Aris chuckled weakly. "No. You said I could do it."
Orric smirked. "I did. But I was dying. Didn't know what I was saying."
They both laughed then, the sound ragged but real, echoing strangely in the cavern. For a moment the dungeon's stench and darkness didn't matter.
Orric rose gingerly, testing his weight. His side held firm. "What a creature," he muttered, stepping toward the massive spider's corpse. Its body still twitched faintly, ichor pooling thick and foul around it. "Worth the scars, maybe."
Aris followed, still catching his breath. His gaze lingered on the dead beast. "I wish I could get that XP," he thought bitterly. The fight had nearly killed them both and shouldn't that count for something?
As if answering his thought, warmth pulsed in his pocket.
Aris froze. He reached in, pulling out the Witness Stone. Its surface shimmered faintly, no longer inert. As he stared, a thin green glow rose from the spider's carcass. It gathered into a stream, coalescing into the stone. The gem drank the light hungrily, glowing brighter with each pulse.
Aris's mouth fell open. "No way..."
Orric spun, ears twitching. "What is that? What just happened?"
Aris swallowed. His instinct was to hide it, but Orric had just bled for him. He owed him at least part of the truth.
"I... found this. In the first dungeon," Aris said slowly, holding up the Witness Stone. Its glow pulsed like a heartbeat. "It unlocks... strength I don't normally have. For a day, maybe two."
Orric's eyes narrowed. "So that's how you beat Sliver Stone. And those fae who cornered you."
Aris nodded. "Yeah. After that, I tried for weeks to recharge it. Nothing worked. This," he gestured to the spider's corpse, still leaking faint green mist, "this is the first time I've seen it react to something."
He left out the other truth: that the stone could drink his own excess XP, tallying hidden levels. That secret was too dangerous to share. Not yet.
Still, the realization thrilled him. "It can absorb from kills. Not just from me. From them. This changes everything."
Orric stepped closer, eyes on the gem. "Even if it only lasts a day, that's an excellent relic, Aris. A gift. Congrats."
Aris nodded, hiding his racing thoughts. "More than a relic. This could be the edge I need."
They pressed forward, the tunnels winding deeper. The air grew colder, the spores thinning into a brittle dryness. Finally, the path opened into a broad stone chamber.
At its center stood two figures.
They were human-shaped but wrong, their skin gray as stone, eyes glazed and lifeless. They stood motionless, like statues waiting for breath.
Aris's stomach knotted. He remembered the first dungeon, the "sleeping locals," the puppet-like creations Realmforge left as obstacles. "Replicated slaves," he muttered. "Again."
Orric stepped forward cautiously. "Maybe they'll let us pass."
"Don't count on it," Aris said, but he stayed back.
The figures didn't respond at first. They simply stood, silent, guarding the far clearing.
But the instant Orric crossed an invisible line, both lifted their arms. A pulse of force erupted from their hands, one shot invisible but brutal, the other shot an elemental red wave. It slammed into Orric, knocking him off his feet and sending him skidding across the stone floor.
He groaned, coughing. "Guess... this is where we should use shields."
Aris froze. His heart hammered. He had no shield. No barrier. All month he'd failed to learn it, failed to open the spell slot he needed.
But...
His gaze fell on his hands. He had forged Healing Cure. He had created a spell. That meant...
His mind raced. "If I combined two magics, if I forced a new current into existence, maybe that opened the slot I couldn't reach before. Maybe I can do it now."
He turned to Orric, who was pushing himself shakily up. "Show me. Show me the shield."
Orric blinked at him, blood at the corner of his mouth. "Now?"
"Yes." Aris's voice was iron. His heart thundered, but his eyes blazed. "Now. I'm going to learn it. Right here."
The stone guardians stirred, their lifeless eyes glowing faintly. The air charged with the hum of another blast building.
Aris squared his stance, hands trembling but ready.
"Show me," he repeated.