-Rhovan POV-
Sword drawn in front of me to partially shield the blast.
I managed to not fall over. Good because I can already see puppets.
The Rigger. The maniac I wished to never meet again. Among others I wished to never meet again.
I steady my blade. Drawing in a slow and deep breath.
My blind eye always stings when I'm in situations like this. A reminder of why I lost it.
Gather the energy.
Thread: Resonance.
My eyes snap open. My tether to Eidryn sharpening.
Every flicker of fire, each tremor in the air. I see it all. Before it even moves.
Lines of intent traced through the air. Ghost-like afterimages of the future.
Behind me.
Twitching. The arm of a puppet.
Forward and turn, swinging my blade.
I see the explosion before my blade connects. Enough time to move perfectly out of range.
The sounds drowned out slightly. The energy in my body focuses on my eyesight.
Dodge. Strike. Death.
Again and again.
My eye is pulsating. The veins around and behind it crawled with unease.
Too much time active. My only drawback. The price of power.
Thyra: "Rhovan!"
Thyra is alive. Good.
Seemingly just beyond this wall.
I deactivate my thread. Rubbing my temple. The headache after using my power is the worst part.
Rhovan: "Thyra! I'm here."
She sighs lightly. Likely from relief
Thyra: "You good?"
Rhovan: "Just had to fend off some of those maniacs puppets but I'm fine."
Thyra: "Alive is enough for now."
Some posts dropped. The remains of the building were falling apart as we stood here chatting.
Thyra: "He's still here. So are Kareth and Aric. We need to save them."
Rhovan: "We can't reach each other. So stay close enough to hear me ok?"
Thyra: "Got it."
*BOOM*
It sounds like Kareth or Aric is fighting some of the puppets as well.
I trust both of them to handle themselves for now.
It sounds like Thyra is fighting as we speak. I can see a few of the puppets through gaps in the flames on my end.
How many people did The Rigger get?
Thread: Resonance.
I dash through the puppets. Using debris to kill them without having to get close. Dodging fire and falling posts with ease because of my thread.
Thyra: "Rhovan you still good? I can break down the wall."
I grunt back.
*CRASH*
The wall came tumbling down. Beyond it is Thyra, whose spear clearly swung right through the wall.
Thyra drives her spear into the ground.
She's about to launch stuff at the puppets using Stormcurrent.
A power less convenient than mine. But definitely stronger.
Rhovan: "Thanks Thyra."
Thyra nods as I deactivate my thread once again. The headache is returning to plague me.
She pushes forward through the fire. Killing hoards of puppets from range with her power or spear.
We're going towards where the explosions came from earlier.
*BOOM*
Movement? Is it Aric or Kareth?
Oh shit, Aric is about to be hit point blank.
Rhovan: "Thyra over there!"
I point towards the explosion.
There's no way I can get there fast enough.
Thyra dashes out. Extending her arm to the boy she's hopeless to reach.
*BOOM*
Thyra freezes up.
From what she knows she just watched the pupil she cared so much about die.
But he didn't. I can still see him.
Somehow out of the explosion?
A thread? No way. After only a week of training?
Thyra jumps the beam blocking us.
Thyra: "Aric!"
There's no denying what I saw. A flicker of light followed by Aric seemingly teleporting away.
But it wasn't teleporting. He just moved so fast it looked near instant.
Like light.
Rhovan: "A thread… You've unlocked it."
Aric looks shocked.
Aric: "I have?"
I chuckle slightly at the remark.
He really didn't know?
Rhovan: "Let's talk about it later. For now. Where's Kareth."
Aric: "He went through the burning hallway. That way. To go fight the guy who did all of this."
I turn down the hallway. Another explosion shooting down at us as I look.
Thyra cursed, turning to the hallway as well.
Thyra: "... We need to go save him."
She's clearly not focused on Kareth right now.
Likely still in a state of shock after nearly watching Aric die.
She definitely likes Aric more than just a star pupil. Though I doubt Aric noticed.
Aric: "Wait wait. First of all, who is that psycho? He was talking to you two like you knew him."
Realisation dawns on me. Aric and Kareth have no idea who he is.
I need to mostly deflect for now. We don't have time.
Rhovan: "That's also a story for later. However, for now I'll tell you his name and power."
Thyra idly starts spinning her spear. Seems like she's charging up for the fight we're about to throw ourselves into.
Thyra: "I'm… charging up again. Just listen to Rhovan."
I turn back to Aric
Rhovan: "His codename was 'The Rigger'. We never learnt his real name. He attacked the branch me and Thyra were in back during our military days. That's all you need for now."
This is likely the first Aric has heard of any of this.
Aric: "And what's his power? I bet Kareth has already figured it out."
I would say the same. Kareth seemed to know my power the first time we had a duel. It was like he could nearly out-predict my future sight.
Rhovan: "He can turn any living thing into a mind controlled puppet. And can make them explode at any time. However they also explode after being hit at all."
Aric once again looks shocked. I wonder if it's a normal face for him.
Rhovan: "Like you said Kareth probably figured it out. But we still don't know the conditions for activating it and how strong he really is. Kareth could be in big trouble."
Another explosion shot down the hall. But by the time the rumble had stopped Thyra had already taken off down the hallway.
I wave Aric to follow before running down myself.
He stares at his sword for a second before following.