172. Brand New Day

[TIDEWATCH: You now have 30 seconds to rebind your Breachspawn.]

Two antlered shadows—one big, one small—formed a diamond shape with VOIDLING and its beleaguered Oathkeeper on opposite ends. And as the deer-like figures lowered themselves onto the ground, Serac was forced to reframe her understanding of what they were.

Both now stood on four legs, apparent despite the shadows that covered over their features. Could the Mrigas transform into 'wilder' versions of themselves? (If so, Bea the Seersmith never mentioned it!) If not, what Serac had assumed to be a pair of deer-people were indeed just deer.

In any case, the maybe-just-deer were far less interested in Serac than she them. They had their priorities straight, focusing instead on the berserking Oathborn. The battle resumed in short order as VOIDLING and the deer duo broke off into their own triangle of violence.

[Breachspawn Technique: EXCEED THY GRASP]

Here, VOIDLING's polemace showed its limits as a shapeshifter, namely that its head could only stretch toward one target. It chose Big Stag, knocking him back with a hefty hit to the brisket. Which left an opening for Little Doe to dash in for a spinning, hind-legged kick.

[249!]

Nice chunk of damage, enough to take VOIDLING below half-Health. Now they were getting somewhere! But Serac Edin's Oathborn/Breachspawn wouldn't take such humiliation lying down, as it moved straight into:

[Breachspawn Technique: BE THOU AS WATER]

Already stretched to its full length, the polemace now bent and whipped about in a wide, flat circle. Where [Grasp] had been decidedly single-target, [Water] could threaten anything within its arc. It forced Little Doe into a dainty evasive hop, before swinging all the way around at her partner-in-smite.

But Big Stag was ready—nay, waiting—for it. For just as the polemace was about to make contact, the stag dug his impressive antlers low, then snapped them back in an upward thrust.

Claaanng!

A parry. Antler versus polemace. The most forceful, most perfectly timed of its kind Serac had ever witnessed. Indeed, the knockback from it temporarily stunned VOIDLING into stasis, just long enough for Little Doe to land another kick.

[249!]

The deer's teamwork were a thing of beauty—the perfect tank-and-DPS partnership. Serac and her teammates could learn a thing or two! Still, VOIDLING was down but not out. Having rotated through [Grasp] and [Water], it now raised its polemace overhead.

[Breachspawn Technique: NO STONE UNTURNED]

Even with the seconds ticking away on her existence, Serac couldn't turn away the opportunity for a 'tutorial'. Intuitively, she understood her Breachspawn's techniques to be three parts of a whole—an orderly ramp-up sequence into [Stone]'s beefed-up finisher.

Said finisher swung toward the slower Stag, daring him to try and parry again. Big Stag met the challenge, but not before his entire shadowy aura exploded in a burst of energy. Something or someone had imbued him with fresh magic, now converted into:

[Oathborn Technique: DOMINANT CHARGE]

Imbued antler versus augmented polemace. Shadows jumped and flew like sparks between clashing steel. This wasn't so much a parry as a contest of strength and will. And neither VOIDLING nor Big Stag gave an inch to the other.

So Big Stag is also an Oathborn? More information overload, but Serac had to keep her hazy eyes on the prize. While antler and polemace ground against each other, a gunslinger had the chance to make her mark. She raised her REVOLVER to aim, lock and—

Check her shot, lest she commit friendly fire. For that was when Little Doe jumped back into the picture, rearing back on her hind-legs to unleash a flurry with the fore.

[Oathborn Technique: STEADFAST MARCH]

[Breachspawn Technique: THE AXE FORGETS]

VOIDLING no doubt decided that defense was the top priority. A torrent of fast and furious polemace swings canceled out Little Doe's (another Oathborn!) attack before it could land. It also served to interrupt the 'duel' against Big Stag, once more knocking the antlered brute out of melee range. And then—

[Breachspawn Technique: ASH TO ASH]

A fifth and final splash of ink. Two bold, widening strokes were flanked on either side by flaring dots, like a raging fire shooting off embers. Of the five different 'characters' that had heralded each of VOIDLING's techniques, this was the one to which Serac felt an immediate and visceral connection.

The technique in question, however, was something of a mystery, distorted as it was by Frenzy. As far as Serac could tell, VOIDLING bent forward and breathed a gust of its own aura into the air. It of course came out looking like more shadows, but its effect on the two deer caught in its blast was instant and dramatic.

Both Big Stag and Little Doe reeled as the shadows jumped through, over, and around them. There were no damage notifications, nor did either of their Health bars move. But they were clearly held back by some powerful crowd-control effect.

No good! Serac could barely see what was going on, let alone understand it, yet battle-tested instincts told her this was the turning point. VOIDLING had wrested back the advantage, and it was ready to go on the attack, full force and unimpeded.

I need to help them.

A stark reversal of Serac's earlier predicament. It was imperative she stop her berserking Breachspawn before it could ramp back up to its finisher. But she'd lost her line of sight, obscured as VOIDLING was by a shadow-storm of its own creation. Serac could ill afford to waste her next shot, yet she had nothing to aim for!

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But… that's not true, is it?

Come hell or high water, Serac treated every step of her journey as a rolling tutorial. Even now, seconds away from permanent Frenzy, she recalled something she'd learned during her own duel against VOIDLING. There was something to aim for… and she turned REVOLVER's barrel to do just that.

[Chamber Two: APPETIZER]

[112!]

[37!]

Zealous imbuement for maximum output, aimed at her own remaining horn for an extra Poise check.

The horn shattered, rendering Serac hornless for the first time since her Penitent days. At the same time, the bullet also shattered the last of her Poise, causing her to topple over and fall on her face.

[24!]

[8!]

Faceplant damage for good measure! And hilariously enough, it was this additional (and minuscule) bit of impact that finally drained VOIDLING's Poise.

The veil of [Ash to Ash] dissipated in an instant. The polemace slipped out of a shadowy hand and hit the ground with palpable heft. The shadows that covered VOIDLING's figure now 'settled' and lowered themselves en masse—a bizarre yet unmistakable sign of Poise-break.

[TIDEWATCH: You now have 15 seconds to rebind your Breachspawn.]

Serac craned her neck as best she could from a prone position and watched. Surely, the deer duo would know how to finish the job. Or, even if they didn't, their Oathkeeper must…

[CROZIER Spell: SHEPHERD'S CALL]

There it was. A spell notification, signaling the arrival of a second Wayfarer onto the scene. Serac knew nothing about this new Instrument nor its powers, but she hoped to the heavens they weren't directed at her.

To her relief, a beam of shadows flew above and past her head, missing her by a wide margin. It split midair into two separate streams, whereupon they turned sharply and shot straight for the deer duo!

Neither Big Stag nor Little Doe made any move to avoid the beams. In fact, they welcomed the fresh injection of magic, producing two more 'flares' of shadowy auras. The deer then responded in unison and from two different directions. Each of them stamped the ground once, before charging antler-first at the Poise-broken shadow in the middle.

[Oathborn Technique: GORING CROSS]

[1,283!]

That did it! The combined force of two sets of antlers, doubled and then some by the critical multiplier, erased what remained of VOIDLING's HP.

Serac, mending her own Poise, managed to push herself up and take in the gory sight. A mass of shadows writhed and lurched as if in pain. At their center, the deer duo's antlers twisted and merged into each other. A bloody, skeletal web of lethal intent.

Seeing this, Serac couldn't help but feel a stab of regret. It was the oddest feeling. By rights, she should've been nothing but relieved, having smited her Breachspawn before time ran out. But that Breachspawn was also her Oathborn! And aiding its defeat felt like the height of betrayal. For even as she was getting her ass kicked by VOIDLING, a part of her had exulted in its power and skill.

[GREATER ABERRANT SMITED]

[40,096 क]

Serac was surprised again to learn that smiting a Breachspawn came with its own Karmic reward. It only further muddied her already mixed feelings, but what had she expected? These Breachspawns were likely the major source of Tidereign's Aberrant population, and Wayfarers had to earn their Karma somehow!

[TIDEWATCH: You have rebound your Breachspawn. Your Oathborn has been restored.]

[WARNING: Frenzy Imminent]

[TIDEWATCH: You now have 88 hours to affirm your OATH.]

So, even with the successful 'rebinding', Serac wasn't out of the woods. The persistent red haze told her she was still in imminent Frenzy. Except the definition of 'imminent' had stretched dramatically, from 60 seconds to a whopping 88 hours! Boy, Bea wasn't kidding about the Days being three or four days long!

Despite the huge buffer, Serac had no intention to stay miserable for three-and-a-half days. To that end, she needed a thrill or spill to say 'hell yes' to, and she needed it now. Hey, where did that other Wayfarer go? Maybe they could help give me—

"And what do we have here?"

A guttural, distorted voice. Everyone sounded the same in the world of Frenzy, but in this case, there could only be one speaker. Serac pushed herself to her knees and turned to the newcomer.

The CROZIER-wielder was tall and masculine in frame. Sure enough, a crown of antlers, just as impressive as Big Stag's, marked him out as a Mriga. His face was covered in jumping shadows, but they couldn't fully mask his surprise as he leaned in for a better look.

"What happened to your ant—no, those are horns, or what's left of them. And your skin… you… you're an outrealmer! Was that your Breachspawn I just smited? But how is that even poss—?"

"Ask me to do something."

The Mriga man froze. His shadows lurched about in apparent confusion.

"What—?"

"A request. An invitation. Anything. Is there, I dunno, a party you're going to later? Or a job you've been putting off and could use some help with?"

"Why would I—?"

"It's my damn [Oath]! You know how it is. Please, just ask me to do something, preferably in a yes-or-no format, so I can make this [Tidewatch] thing shut up for one second!"

The man was silent for a moment. It was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking, but the gears turned as much as the shadows lurched.

"As a matter of fact, I am in the middle of a mission that's proven more troublesome than I'd hoped. Would you—?"

"Yes! Hell yes! I'll do it—anything you say!"

[TIDEWATCH: Your OATH has been affirmed.]

Just like that, the red haze faded, throwing Serac Edin back into the world of Day in all its scorching sepia glory.

The light was too much for her to handle at once. She slammed shut her watering eyes, then slowly reopened them, to be met by the stern yet mildly bemused visage of:

[Designation: TRAVERTINE aft'NANKERVIS]

[Wayfarer Race: MRIGA]

[Karmic Level: 95]

[Liminal Karma: 58,145 क]

[PRIMAL Instrument: CROZIER]

[Oathborn: DLEE and ORD]

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