Out of place. An unwelcome mana surging--interweaving with Lucaen's. An unfamiliar yet cozy rhythm. The terrains, the capital, blurred as they both dissipate through the flow of rhythm they've set. The blur slowly enveloped their senses. Any sensations muted.
It was a brief synchronization before the fracture introduced itself. The farther they get from the planet's core, the weaker the core rhythm they tuned to gets. It felt as if, something was breaking itself apart.
Little by little, Lucaen felt his strength draining from him. His own rhythm tried to stabilize itself. A futile attempt.
The wavelength started to slow down, the scenery taking hold, it was heavy. The warmth itself disappeared.
"Break it." Aurelius sliced through the endless hypnosis.
Lucaen mustered his rhythm, gathering them before putting them to a sudden halt.
A desynchronization.
The reality snapped, the scenery, the terrains dissolved into the reality in front of him. A cold, chilling wind brushed Lucaen's EXA. A cold contrast to the winds of Elysium. Lucaen's suit slowly formed as if he was pushed away. His clawed feet gripped the sand on the sandstone, securing his footing. Yet, the rhythm fails real time to stabilize.
The haziness gradually turned to clarity, revealing the architecture of a deserted civilization. Pillars of structured limestones stretched far, with sand as the blanket of the surface.
[REPOT: You H4ve Arrived t^ eCHol0n ]
His port stings, as if Caius had grazed his venomous tail on his right arm. Lucaen spared a second to check its sensitivity. A second too long. Drowned in his own thoughts, and it was not a good memory. His arm flinched back the moment his fingers absently caressed it.
Good.
It started to get misty around him. A declaration of his heating exo. His eyes scanned the environment around him. This very land rejects him, his rhythm. A constant exhausting stabilization.
The ground shook, the ceiling rained debris on Lucaen. The sudden hostile environment reminded him of something: his partner.
"Aurelius!"
Lucaen darted his vision, scanning his proximity. The cold was limiting his skill flow, his body felt heavier, rigid.
Nothing.
With every input he received from his HUD. Only serves to make him feel something he dreads.
"Aurelius!"
Echolon was a bad place, it made his own voice greet his questions.
The chilling cold- Aurelius, where are you.
[STABILIZING]
[SYNCHRONIZATION DISRUPTION INBOUND]
[STABILIZING]
Lucaen raised his right arm to the air, his vision tunneled.
"Jackals."
The wind whirled beside his clawed feet. Two dark figures slowly took shape per the commands made. Their sleek, elongated limbs stretched. The two of them are the embodiment of their masters, it never misses, what Lucaen wills.
And right now?
"Aurelius. Bring him to me."
The jackals he summoned were pristine, one with a scar and a heightened sense of smell, yet smaller in stature, guiding the compacted, blinded jackal. Lucaen feels them. The way they jumped across the obstacles. Both of them, ceased from his sight.
As suddenly as it came, the ground ceased from its frantic tremble. Transitioning to a quiet echo of his thoughts. Was the place find him amusing? A toy to be played with?
If so, the toy will not tolerate losing his other half.
His tail whipped the dust on the sandstone. A weak duplicate of the haze of the dawn. A bark echoed through the deserted court. A signal.
They have found Aurelius.
He felt his own rhythm slow. The jackals' rhythm stabilized, mirroring their master. But, the blinded stayed restless. He sensed something, subtle. Lucaen noted the location. It was not far. It was close.
It was above.
Lucaen ran. Sprinted through the hallways, through the column of pillars. He ran straight to the end of the court. It was quiet, sparing the sounds of his clawed feet metal grinding the sandstones. His body sliced through the chilling air.
His eyes settled on the open space as he arrived at the light at the end of the tunnel, the bright sun stinging his focus. His own jackals dissolved near Aurelius. They have served their purpose.
Lucaen jumped, his feet digging into the nearest aged limestone, leaping to the roof right where he was in.
In front of him, stood a familiar figure.
Aurelius.
He looks okay. He is fine. As usual.
Lucaen adjusted his limbs. Loosening them from the accidental tightness between his joints. Was he operating at his full scale? Unknowingly? Why?
I was worried for nothing.
"Took you long enough, Luc." Aurelius's body was facing him. His hand waved in a gentle manner.
I was getting bored appreciating the view alone."
The rays of the sun gleamed on Aurelius' tungsten. His wings were seen stretched in an awkward manner. It twitched slightly, a compressed twitch. Not the usual tuck he always had or his usual flaunt of stretching it wide for the light to reflect.
The distance slowly disappears as Lucaen closes their gap.
What was I even worried for?
"Do you think this mission is a joke?" Lucaen shrugged his palm to Aurelius's shoulder.
A chuckle rumbled. As always.
But the sight in front of Lucaen, revealed from the recoil of his irritation behind Aurelius, shuts him up. Behind him was not, are the result of someone who is fine. They should not be fine if what he sees' not an illusion.
The flat surface of the roof had a large dent. The whole slab turned into pieces. As if something was thrown at a weighted speed. Besides it, claw marks. A sign of desperation, a struggle.
Lucaen's eyes darted to Aurelius's talons. Battered.
"Eyes up, Luc." Aurelius glanced at the monuments in front of him. He knows what Lucaen is thinking. He won't entertain that idea. Even if it is the truth.
"Helminth's here."
Lucaen noted it with a brief nod. A shared understatement. They needed to be as efficient as they could. The longer they stay here, the higher the chance of infections. The very nature of Echolon is draining their strength and sanity. One mistake could mean getting your system hijacked.
[Target On Sight]
[G. Aurelius Everhart//ASSIGNED//STATUS: IN PROGRESS// LIVE UPDATE>30% Completion]
[G. Lucaen Theron//ASSIGNED//STATUS: IN PROGRESS// LIVE UPDATE>30% Completion]
Their HUD flashed the progress. A silent reminder of their mission. Lucaen identified the odd anatomy of the exo below them. Neon armor covered its stretched limbs, duplicating in size as it registered the threats looking down on it.
[Lucaen Operational Prowess Dropped]
[REPORT: Helminth Inbound. Operational Prowess Optimal Use 10%]
"Most of my skills are useless here." Lucaen stated.
"As usual." Aurelius let out a low chuckle, his talons pushing Lucaen back a little. Giving him a little space between them.
"Bet on my win, Luc."
With that, Aurelius leaped down, his wings tucked for maximum aerodynamics. The shockwaves of his own tactics caused a shift in the foundation of the roof they were once on. The very air parted for his flight. He was swift, compact, and ethereal.
As if, he doesn't belong here.
The closer he gets to the ground, the wider he spreads his feathers, his shadow a replica of the falcon. Soared higher yet slower as he rode the wind. His own shadow enlarged into a predator, completely swallowing the helminth below him.
Aurelius dove, mirroring a predator. He had his talons stretched. A clear signal that he was targeting its head. Disarmingly, the helminth let out a low screech. It was not a calling screech. This helminth..
A crack was heard, mingling with the woes of the desert. It broke its own back. Recoiling to its front in pain as the sun announced the gleaming, distorted feathers it had on its back.
A mutating helminth.
Aurelius was not fazed. He was surprised, yet focused. But it changed nothing. Aurelius already won.
He brought his talons up, sizing the helminth in his sight.
Alone, non-threatening, brainless exo.
So why?
Why is it that the winds were harsh? Sharp even? Loud. His own wings were no longer strong enough to hang in the wind. It flapped like a caged bird against the beating winds. An attempt to slow down for the target.
His talons locked to the helminth. His eyes darted to the pillowing sands and back to the helminth. In a blink, Aurelius missed its head. It was right in front of him. It was a feint.
The helminth calculated the speed and turned to fly upwards erratically, its own talons raised. A mocking reflection of him.
What happened?
It was too late when he realized what had occurred. His own wings struggled to control his speed as he headed straight to the wall of a monument. His eyes furrowed, reining his body to the side to not collide headfirst.
It was a trick. He concluded as his body was slammed to the wall. Sand became the cushion of the supposed crashing sounds. The smoke enveloped his body. The impact buried Aurelius in seconds. Crumbling above him, leaving nothing to spare with its sharp materials.
This- hurts.
Pile upon pile crashed on Aurelius's. His legs, his wings, and his arms that covered his most vulnerable part. He was restricted in all ways.
[WARNINC: Immersed D4mage Detected]
[STabIlizing]
[InitIali9ing sElf Repairat0n Prot0col]
[Do Not Engage]
He tried to distance his talons from his eyes, it was threatening his own vision. One wrong move could crumble the rest of the building on him or permanently blind him.
Idiot.
[Do Not Engage]
"Luc's in the open." He lifted his arms, forcibly pushing his body up, creating some distance to maneuver. His right wing was stuck, he couldn't turn around to see. Everything was dark, suffocating even.
[Restoration Needed]
[Do Not Engage]
[Critic4l]
[Upper Body Critical]
[Body Extension Critical]
Shut up..
Aurelius demanded. His own HUD was flickering and fading.
Damn it.