…Itri had turned back to normal, his horse half turning into a cloud of sparks, revealing his human bottom half underneath. He wore all brown, which only made his sea blue eyes pop out more; A wooden chestplate which was intricately carved with swirling patterns, leather wrapped with vines acting as his vambraces and pants. The only part of him which wasn't a shade of brown were his steel boots which hugged the shape of his feet.
The five of us gathered around the fire.
Ford knelt on one leg, the other supporting the [Lunging Harpoon]. Skewered on the blue-green harpoon like a barbecue stick, chunks of frog meat hung over the crackling fire. Periodically, Ford adjusted his grip, rotating the harpoon to ensure each side of the meat was evenly cooked by the dancing flames.
We all didn't expect much when we each took a piece of the meat. Ford wasn't an expert cook; The meat was unevenly roasted, burnt on one side and somewhat raw on the other. We didn't really care much and we were already impatient.
Lorelei took the first bite, closing her eyes as she chewed. We all stared at her intently, looking for any reaction. Though considering her previous behavior, trying to find any sign of emotion on the stoic girl's was impossible. That was what I thought until I saw a small corner of her mouth turn upward. Seeing that the generally unfeeling Lorelei looked satisfied--joyous even--we all bit into the meat.
It wasn't the best food that I've ever eaten, but it was edible. That's what mattered. Humans could survive for three weeks without food as long as they had water. However, it meant that we would become skeletons if we didn't consume any nutrients during that timespan. Originally, our group planned to eat the frog raw if we ever reached the point where we became skin and bones, but Itri's fire memory saved us.
Every now and then, when the fire got weaker, Itri would stick a black charred branch covered in glowing embers into the crackling fire, promptly increasing the fire's intensity. The glowing branch was a memory which could both start and maintain small fires, Itri said. It went without saying that it was a highly useful memory in the dream realm, where finding a natural light source at night was difficult.
Overhead, the sky was turning into a gradient of all the colors in the rainbow before being slowly swallowed by indigo, purple, and scattered starlight. The semi-circle of pure light on the western horizon dimmed in strength, and I could already feel the cold settling in. It would only be a few more minutes before night would come--When the Moonlight Surge would be awake, prowling the Great Plateau for unfortunate human souls to consume. I prayed it wouldn't be us.
Though praying was useless in the dream realm, after all, the gods were dead. Even when they were alive, Klaus, a warrior sworn to the War God, wasn't saved no matter how strong his attachment to the divine being.
After a few minutes, Eternity got up, and silently walked away from the group. We all turned our backs on her, giving her privacy.
Facing the retreating sun, which was now barely a sliver of light, Itri summoned another memory. Sparks resembling miniature stars drew out the shape of a small cylinder. The vial in Itri's hand looked similar to the [Essence of Dirt], but the contents were different. The [Essence of Dirt] was filled with brown dirt and golden sand, while this vial contained something similar to chili flakes. Itri brought the vial up to the flames, letting the others see it in its entirety.
"It is like tea powder you can use to heal yourself." Itri said, popping open the cap and sprinkling fine bits of powder into his palm. "Ford?" Itri said, signaling towards the ground.
Ford sat still for a second and then drew his hand up, calling forth a steady stream of water into the air like a small fountain. Itri placed his palm containing the red powder near the stream of water and slowly a pool of crimson liquid formed in his hand. He brought his hand carefully over to Ford, me, and Lorelei—pouring the liquid into our hands in that order.
I stared at the liquid, my heartbeat went up another notch as I studied the stray particles of the powder in the liquid, flying about like comets in a red sky.
Was this really safe to drink?
Ford and Lorelei seemed to share the sentiment, both hesitant to drink the strange tea, even if it was given to us by a friend.
Most of that doubt was quickly lifted when Itri smacked his palm over his open mouth, drinking it entirely in one go. He licked his lips in a comical way, smiling at us with teeth painted red by the liquid he drank.
Ford chuckled, then did the same. He blinked a couple of times while smacking his lips. He looked over his hands, as if to see whether something about his dark skin had changed.
"The effect isn't instant, it just helps you rest faster." Itri cut into Ford's thoughts.
"Hmmmm…yeah, I can sort of feel it. You guys can drink it too." Ford said, looking over at me and Lorelei. His onyx eyes sparkled in the firelight, like an ever changing starry night sky.
Lorelei followed, sipping the tea in her hand more courteously than the other two did. She didn't say anything, but continued drinking with closed eyes. Itri smiled at her and then looked over at me. "Well?" he said, flashing me with a white smile.
I peered at the small portion of red tea in my palm, quickly draining between my fingers drop by drop. Each droplet created a small ripple in the mud. As I held it closer to my mouth, a shiver went up my back, the chill spreading like an unwelcome shadow.
Itri stared at me, his plastered face unmoving, as if he was a statue not a person. "Well?" he said again, his voice slicing through the air like a knife. Why did it sound so forceful?
I ignored the chill creeping up my spine and held the liquid closer. My heartbeat was rising, pounding louder with each passing second. The outside felt more suffocating, like the air was crushing me.
Why was I feeling this way?
Itri didn't say anything more, his blue eyes locked onto me, glinting coldly under his sandy hair. Despite the vivid color, there was no life in them, only a chilling void that seemed to swallow the light.
My heartbeat was deafening now, a relentless drumbeat that filled my entire mind, drowning out rational thought. Each thump felt like a countdown, ticking away the moments until something inevitable and terrifying happened.
The red tea was close enough to me now that I could smell the aroma. The aroma--it felt oddly comforting, as if I was falling…slowly.
…
I blinked rapidly, breaking myself out of my trance. I glanced over at my sides, though I could barely make out the figures of Lorelei and Ford. They were just blurry shapes made up of shadows of the night and the light coming from the fire. They were wobbling in place, shaking from side to side like waves in the ocean.
"Vincent?" Itri called out my name, then our gaze met. For some odd reason, he had his right hand near the left side of his hip, the same place you would draw a sword from…
The thoughts in my head started to rapidly connect, giving me a dreadful conclusion signified by Ford spasming and then falling to the ground.
"SCREW YOU!" I shouted, swinging my arm in Itri's direction, throwing a splash of the vile red "tea" at him. Itri raised an arm covered in the wooden armor, preventing the vile liquid from reaching his face.
"Why don't you drink it, you bastard?!" I sneered at him, opening my palm to a constellation of sparks that started to form the pathetic silhouette of the [Moribund Sword]. The question I asked him was redundant, Itri had already drank the red liquid before giving it to us, but he didn't get knocked out unlike Ford.
Itri and I rose to our feet and kept a sizable distance between us. Itri summoned a dark steel long sword that was almost as tall as him. From my limited knowledge of swords, It looked impractical.
…Itri likely had an attribute that made him resistant to poison, but then why would he block it when I threw it at him? Was it a reflex? Did the memory allow him to choose when it became a refreshing tea or when it could be poison?
I gritted my teeth. There was no point thinking about it. Ford was already knocked out if not dead. Glancing over at where he was, I saw Lorelei visibly shaking with her arms around herself, her teeth bared like a rabid wolf. The cloudy whites of her eyes were drenched in red, displaying madness that I couldn't fathom. She was fighting.
"Damn it, damn it…" I whispered to myself. Lorelei looked to be awake and was rebelling against the effects of the red tea that Itri gave her, but it seemed to be a losing battle. I needed to kill Itri quickly.
Kill…was I going to kill an actual human being?
My mind stopped working for a short moment, but that small moment was enough for Itri to make a big move.
He clenched his teeth and then ribbons of brown flew out of his legs like lunging snakes. Each of the brown ribbons grew to the length of a school bus before coiling inwards, pulled towards Itri by an invisible force. The ribbons raised him into the air by the waist, then started to grow under him. In a matter of seconds, the body of a horse exuding extraordinary strength was formed underneath Itri's upper body.
The two forelegs were brought up into the air, bringing Itri to a height that dwarfed everyone for a second--I needed to use that second.
I dashed forward, the broken tip of the [Moribund Sword] pointing at the underbelly of the horse body. I didn't know whether the horse half had organs like a real horse did, after all, it was made from ribbons. However, it was the only plausible weak spot I could attack.
Memory: [Moribund Sword]
Memory description: [This sword was used against harrowing nightmare creatures. Though it is close to destruction, it will continue to honor its duty to those who wield it till its last swing. This sword deals extreme damage when it slashes an opponent's weak spot.]
Swings: [2/15]
Two chances.