Chương 52: Lament Catacombs

She groaned in agony as all the air left her body. She tilted to her side to try to breathe, but it barely seemed to help. Pain spread throughout her back where she'd fallen and left her nearly insensate. She knew she was at the bottom of the stairwell, the sounds of screeching were all around her, but the echoes in the hallway made it hard to tell from where." [Healing Gloom]," she whispered. The familiar feeling of warmth spread throughout her back and head, along with filling the inside of her chest.

As the seconds swam by, her muddied thoughts became clearer, and she found it easier to breathe." Grim! You need to run!" Natalie shouted at her from a doorway. The bottom of the stairwell was medium-sized. It narrowed as it led to a small tunnel with a heavy-looking maintenance door on it. Inside and behind Natalie, she couldn't see everyone, but Solomon was behind her, aiming his pistol. He fired, and a Petal that had run down the stairs died.

The sudden impact jolted Grim, and she tried to push herself up, only to feel her hand sink deep into the chest cavity of a petal. The mushy feeling of its flesh, wrapped itself around her fingers and splayed out between the cracks. The only thing saving her from throwing up was the fact she was wearing a glove. She tried to reposition but she couldn't, there were corpses everywhere and she'd been rolling around on top of them." Ahh fuck!" She yelled as one corpse stood itself up at the waist.

Its body was nearly shorn in two, starting at its shoulder and ending near its lungs. Wait. That was Orion." [Dead Men Don't Rest]," Orion said mechanically, before he started screaming in agony. There was no emotion on his face yet the screams erupting from his throat told otherwise. He raised his hand and fired an arrow-sized bolt into the nearest petal, killing it instantly and pinning it to another one." This way, quickly!" Natalie shouted again."

I can help him," Grim tried to shout, but it came out in little more than a whisper, her lungs still recovering. Solomon and Orion kept firing into the horde that was running down the stairs. They came in staggered groups, likely due to the stairs themselves killing them off before they could climb down. Grim pushed herself over the bodies, not quite able to stand yet. The blood smeared and covered her armour as she dragged herself closer to him.

A petal fell from above, shrieking the entire way until it hit the corpse pile and bounced its head off the ground, silencing it." [Healing Gloom]," Grim said once more as the familiar black gloom curled itself around her hand. She felt some of the warmth leave her body, and she fought against the urge to take it all back. He needed it more than she did. She pressed her hand into his wound and willed the gloom to mend him, but the shadow would not adhere to his skin."

There is nothing to fix," Orion's dead gaze said to her, before it began screaming again. Grim pulled her gloom back, her body betraying her at how much relief she felt at that. She understood why she couldn't use the gloom. The boon that had brought him back made whatever state his body was in, how it was supposed to be. At least to the system. Her gloom made things a shadow of what they once were, and with nothing to go off of, it wouldn't work. Still, although she couldn't heal him.

She wouldn't leave him like this, with something moving his corpse around. Was this not the same as the Petals? She wasn't sure, but the same part of her brain that rebelled against the Boon that impacted her memories hated this." [CEDE]." She was back in the terminal room, only this one was different. There were no walls surrounding her, it was only a black void. The floor beneath her feet was much the same way with only a patchwork path that led to the terminal.

There, it was smaller than she'd ever seen, with a fuzzy mass sitting in a chair, watching the blank screen. Grim walked up, careful to watch her step and ready to hurl herself out of here in a moment.

"Hello?" She asked. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The reality around the moss glitched, and when it stopped, it was now facing her. She almost jumped out but stopped herself, she hadn't finished what she came here to do yet. The mass only perceived her as she made her way to him. Coming up as close as she did, she could now see the screen wasn't blank but only displayed three words. A warning hovered above it, counting down.

[DISCONNECT IN 00: 04: 39: 02] [FINGER SHOT] [METAL WALKER] [DEAD MEN DON'T REST] She had already been sure, but the last name on there confirmed it, those were his three Boons. Normally she wouldn't have been able to see them, not without reaching in and grabbing it. The fact that she didn't have to left her confused. Was he… cut off? And disconnect from what? The system? She turned back to the mass, and she was surprised by how much it reminded her of what Hazel looked like when she wasn't in her human form.

She was still more defined, but it had the same feeling. Inside the mass she could still see features resembling Orion's, although they got hazier the more time passed." Orion?" she asked. The mass turned to her and spoke, although no words came out. He seemed to realize it too and stopped, resigning himself to the chair." I'm taking [DEAD MEN DON'T REST] from you. Do I have your permission?" She asked. Orion shook his head and dove for her, but his hands passed through her body.

His shadow scrabbled up from the ground and kneeled begging her wordlessly." Fuck, I'll try," Grim said.

"Just give me a second." She hadn't expected there to be anything of him left, but he was still alive here. He hadn't fully died yet and if she could just hold onto him, maybe she could stop him from dying. Something inside her, urged her to try and if there was anyone who could do it, it was her. I AM THE ONE WHO— She fell to her knees, splattering blood all over the floor as she coughed. No, she couldn't. Orion just watched her, his mouth gaped in horror.

Maybe if she cared more about him she could've, or if she was stronger, but she still hadn't recovered yet from last time." I'm so sorry." Grim pushed herself up.

"I can't do it." He nodded, resigned and glanced towards the terminal." You want…" Grim asked. Another nod. She got up and walked to the terminal, Orion followed steps behind her, watching her every move.

"Are you ready?" He shook his head, then nodded. Right. Who would be? Her left hand pierced the terminal and [DEAD MEN DON'T REST] seemed to flow into her hand. With her right, she grabbed onto Orion's. This time, he didn't phase through, and he squeezed her hand, impossibly tight. That arm only existed in this dimension, it made sense it could interact with things in it. She could feel that he didn't forgive her, although that wasn't her fault. He just didn't want to die.

The Boon came out easy, ending his afterlife in one smooth motion. In the real world, his corpse had stopped screaming and slumped over. She accepted the boon she'd taken into herself and filled up her last slot. Solomon's pistol exploded with another shot, a Petals head exploding only feet away from her. Grim scrambled up and hauled herself to her feet.

She fell multiple times trying to walk across the bodies to the door, but after several trips, she got close enough for Natalie to grab her and drag her the rest of the way. Alyn slammed the door shut after that and barred it closed with a metal latch. A petal slammed into the door but it was sturdy and barely moved." Are you okay?" Natalie asked, her face bright in front of Grim." I'm okay, just a little out of breath. I'll be fine in a few minutes." Solomon pushed Natalie away.

"Did you kill him?" His pistol wasn't raised, but neither was it holstered. Behind him, the rest of the group stared at her, also waiting for her answer." He was already dead when I got to him. I only ended his suffering," Grim explained. Solomon exhaled slowly as he tried to get himself under control. Either grief or anger seemed to be affecting him.

"You couldn't heal him? He was moving, we all saw him." Grim shook her head, "My boon wouldn't work. There was no shadow left of him healthy." His face scrunched up tight as he holstered his pistol, it took him a moment to get his composure but Grim didn't rush him." Thank you for trying. We were friends," Solomon turned away as Alyn came to his side and rested her head on his shoulder. He leaned into her touch.

"I want to know what you did to him, but it can wait. We should move while we have the chance."" Sure," Grim said, with no intention of doing so.

"How's everyone else?" Solomon turned and started walking, while Grim was close behind.

"Mostly they're okay, a couple scrapes and bruises, but we got them out fine. Alyn's hand is paralyzed but we're not concerned." Up ahead, SongJae was helping Carrion walk while Maya and Sam were currently talking, both seemingly unconcerned about the situation. Natalie was behind them, and while she seemed one strong gust from losing it, that wasn't anything new. Solomon looked to be in the roughest shape, he was sporting a growing bruise over his cheek and eye.

He might've cracked something too because he held his side in his hand. She was only one rank above him, but the difference it made was definitely noticeable. She didn't want to imagine the shape she'd be in if she had fallen like that while still being an E. As it was, she was probably only walking because of her healing." You want me to heal that?" Grim asked while making it clear she was looking at the ribs he was holding gingerly. Solomon shook his head.

"No, I heard you talking to Maya about it being fragile. I'd rather get used to it now than be surprised in a fight, and Alyn can heal herself once she gets a chance to cut her stitches."" What happens when she cuts them?"" Oh," Solomon smiled.

"You'll see."