Three days later...
Dust glanced at the sweet bottle of Divine nectar before him with a pained expression.
In the end, he had only been able to endure for three days before he was finally forced into using up his precious stash of Divine Elixirs.
Fortunately for him, a new day had come, which meant an opportunity to acquire more.
***
Name: Dust.
True Name: Heretic.
Seal Rank: F
Seal(s): Seal of Divinity (locked).
Relics: Rippling Blade, Wandering Spirit's Journal.
Skills: Heretic Eye.
Curses: Arms of Destruction (Stage 1/7).
Description: Town Guard.
Sins: Heretic, Witness.
Marks of Sin: 15/1000.
Divinity: 0/10.
***
He has also come to understand a few more 'loopholes' relative to the Voice of God's nature.
Everyday, he received the opportunity to ask for revelations, prophesies, or even a simple Inquest. However, once that day was over, he lost the chance completely.
No make sure that didn't happen, Dust made sure to always make use of his three chances, either by using them for what was intended, or asking for Divine Elixirs.
However, he did the first much less frequently than he had expected.
And that was because he had come to realize just how incredibly of a boon the Divine Elixirs were.
Over the past three days, he had fought against ten more Abominations, each one as terrible as the last.
Every single battle had been a near death experience in the case of the Mirehound and the Blackspine Lizard, their weaknesses has been rather glaring compared to the monstrosities he had to face after.
Twice during those fights, the Curse had acted entirely on its own. Once, mid-dodge, he'd unconsciously created an arm of black mist, and an Abomination's claw had cut clean through it.
He hadn't lost anything. There was nothing there to lose, not really. But the pain that tore through him was unbearable all the same, despite not really losing anything at all.
He still had no idea how to call on it deliberately. It came and went as it pleased, a passenger riding along in his own body rather than a weapon he could reach for.
Eventually, he was going to need to learn how to manage this curse of his if he wanted to survive these treacherous lands for long.
In the end, he had been slightly mistaken. The creatures that visited the cave weren't all injured or exhausted.
Some of them were simply looking for a new home, or a spot to hatch their younglings.
If there was any constant amongst them, it would have to have been their overwhelming desire to tear him to shreds.
In the end, he had managed to survive until now. But almost every other fight had left him severely injured and in need of the Divine Elixir.
He has thought he could manage a few injuries here and there, but as it turned out, fighting with them proved to be much more 'expensive'.
With that in mind, Dust twisted the top of the vial and downed its contents. With a satisfied sigh, he let out a belch that bounced off the walls of the cave.
He looked around.
The cave wasn't the best place in the world. But it also wasn't terrible.
The early mornings were freezing cold so the warmth in the cave's depths were much appreciated.
He had also begun to expand the radius he explored around the cave every day.
He had come to make a few rather interesting discoveries that way...
The first one of course, pertained to the nature of the terrain around him. Although the map gave him an idea because of how incredibly detailed it was, seeing it with his own eyes was much better than relying on a map.
The river he had swam in cut right through the woodland forest. The cave was located right at the outskirts of the forest.
The river itself unlike the marsh, was fetid and polluted with a dark miasma; something he couldn't quite wrap his head around. He has thought it was poison, or some of toxic substance. However, he had seen countless Abominations drink from it without dying.
Regardless, he still didn't want to take his chances by drinking from such foul waters.
During these walks he had taken around the cave, he had also come to discover certain things about his own body as well.
The first one, was the incredible improvement of his physical abilities, particularly his physical strength, speed, and of course, his eyesight.
'My strength and speed have both increased by at least ten percent. This is incredible.'
Of course, he knew why this was so.
The Marks of Sin.
Each one he absorbed fundamentally changed and improved his body as it strengthened his own Seal.
His eyesight in the other hand, seemed to be improving regardless of the number of Marks of Sin he gathered.
At the beginning, he had just been able to see very well in the dark.
He had originally believed it to be another boon from the Marks of Sin. However, he soon discovered what it was that granted him such incredible sight.
With a thought, he willed the runes into existence. The golden flame lined symbols etched themselves into existence before his eyes;
***
Heretic Eye: Eyes that do not believe see all and nothing. Blessed, cursed eyes. They see truth, but are forever clouded. They see knowledge, but are forever prone to madness.
***
Although the Voice of God had a tendency to be rather cryptic at times, it was rather easy to understand what it meant here.
Simply put, it was an ability that enhanced his sight amongst other things, one of them being the the surprising, yet welcome ability to easily spot weak points in almost anything.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, a series of mysterious, golden runes appeared in their depths, giving them a rather enigmatic glow.
He glanced at the wall.
With his eyes this way, there was little difference in the world he saw without it.
The greatest difference was in the amount of detail he could perceive. He also seemed to experience the world just a fraction of a beat slower, allowing him to respond half a beat faster to anything he saw.
With them, he was able to notice things he wouldn't have been able to see normally.
Dust huffed.
Besides the Rippling Blade, this skill was the most powerful weapon he possessed. Although it didn't seem like much, he could tell it was what had saved his life on numerous occasions during his many battles.
Dust closed his eyes.
This time, he didn't open them immediately.
Instead, his mind sank into his subconsciousness again.
Coming face to face with the ever illustrious Voice of God, he cleared his throat and asked immediately,
"Voice of God. Besides the Divine Elixirs, what else can I trade my three requests for?"
{The items and boons the Heretic can request vary from day to day. They also vary in terms of the number of requests that can be used for their acquisition. The Heretic will be provided with a list shortly}.