Circle of Inevitability

Indeed, no matter where I fall asleep, I'll wake up here. Lumian tumbled out of bed and glimpsed at the Fate Appropriator Dirk beside him. No, Fallen Mercury. He paced to the window in the faint gray fog.

He planted his hands on the desk and cast his gaze at the blood-colored "peak."

At the summit of the mountain, the fog was dense and stratified, utterly masking the three-headed, six-armed colossus.

I nearly lost control with just a glance the last time. I really have no idea what to do if I have to face it in the future... Lumian sighed in frustration.

He didn't sink into such emotions for long and quickly broke free because he still had numerous things to do.

Lumian contorted himself into a deranged dance within his bedroom, emitting a distorted spiritual pulse. Combined with the stirred forces of nature, he 'broadcasted' himself in an unspecific direction.

Before long, he sensed approaching entities and saw the translucent forms of the mouth-orifice monster, the shotgun monster, and the skinless monster reflected in his glass window.

Lumian was in no hurry. Following his dance, he withdrew a ritual silver dagger and stabbed the back of his left hand.

A droplet of crimson swiftly surfaced and congealed into a bead atop his skin, guided by his spirituality and the forces of nature.

The trio of creatures shifted but did not dare enter Lumian's abode or attach themselves to him.

Lumian spun around, elevated his left hand and bellowed, "I!"

Shouting in the ancient tongue of Hermes, it caused the room to rock faintly.

Employing his ritual dagger, Lumian collected the droplet of blood and aimed it at the mouth-orifice beast. "I command you! Onto me!"

Again in ancient Hermes. An imperceptible gust blew.

The translucent form of the mouth-orifice monster trembled visibly, as if seized and vigorously shaken by an invisible entity.

Just as Lumian completed his dance, believing it would have no effect, the mouth-orifice monster hurtled into the house and landed upon the ritual silver dagger, devouring the droplet of crimson.

It then convulsed violently as it tunneled into Lumian's body through the silver dagger.

Lumian could not help but gasp, his mind flooded with thoughts of 'So hungry, so hungry, starving, starving.'

He hastily turned and stared at the full-length mirror on his wardrobe. He saw his visage was pallid and tinged cerulean. His maw gaped wildly, resembling a cadaver more than a living being.

Success... Lumian exulted gazing at his reflection as if regarding a stranger.

It felt somewhat alien.

He resisted his intense hunger and attempted to sense the mouth-orifice monster possessing him.

It was like acquiring an additional brain. Much of it brimmed with hunger, bloodlust, madness and more. Instinctively, he had a proclivity to harness its characteristics.

Lumian could utilize his will and spirituality to magnify one of those instincts. It equated to employing the mouth-orifice monster's traits or abilities.

Without a second thought, Lumian chose invisibility.

In the blink of an eye, his reflection vanished from the full-length mirror.

Everything from his body to his clothes to the ritual silver dagger had disappeared.

Lumian took a few steps forward and back, but he couldn't spot any traces of himself in the mirror or glass.

Of course, his footprints and scent remained.

Lumian stuffed the silver dagger Aurore had given him, raised his arms, and punched the air a few times.

With each whooshing punch, the full-body mirror stayed empty until Lumian swung a fist at its surface.

The moment his knuckles connected with the mirror, his outline materialized. His face was pale with a tinge of blue, and his eyes glinted dangerously.

Unbelievable... No matter what I do, the invisibility stays on, but I can't mute it. However, as long as I attack the mirror, I lose invisibility... I thought it was optical invisibility like Aurore said, but it seems to be a result of mysticism... Attacking something forms a bond with it, rendering me invisible to its 'gaze?' Lumian hovered his right fist over the mirror.

After verifying the effects and limits of invisibility, ravenous hunger overwhelmed him. He stomped downstairs into the cellar and found two steaks.

If not for his rationality, he would've sunk his teeth into the dark meat.

Lumian abandoned the ingredients and grabbed the cheese he had stockpiled, realizing he had to fry the steak medium rare with no fire set up.

He didn't care if it was clean or delectable. Like a ghost starved to death, he shoved food into his mouth.

After eating a few cheese slices, Lumian finally satiated his intense hunger.

Looks like this is the downside of the mouth-orifice monster... he evaluated seriously. Luckily, I can still control my body and haven't lost my mind... That thing is obsessed with revenge but overpowered by even greater fear... If I utter 'leave' in ancient Hermes now, it'll bolt faster than anything...

By now, Lumian was sure the mouth-orifice monster's possession had acceptable side effects. Invisibility would become a potent weapon to explore and battle in the dream ruins.

Coupled with Fallen Mercury, he felt his combat ability had more than doubled.

Lumian returned to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, patiently awaiting the possession's end.

Soon, his spirituality nearly depleted.

He didn't strain himself. He stood up and performed some seemingly insane moves.

It was the same dance to attract monsters. Its purpose was to force the possessing creature out.

Without Lumian's command in ancient Hermes, the mouth-orifice monster's blurry and translucent figure flew out and vanished through the glass window on the first floor without glancing back.

Lumian couldn't help but make a self-deprecating remark. "Don't run so fast. You're acting like I have a cesspit on me."

He knew he could maintain possession for about three minutes given his spirituality. Once invisible, his consumption rate would double.

Of course, that was under normal circumstances. In danger, he could strain himself to last longer. But that risked losing control, best avoided if possible.

Though the mouth-orifice monster had left, Lumian still felt ravenous. He lit the stove and fried the steak medium well.

Then, he picked up his knife and fork and quickly cut, forked it, and put it into his mouth. He felt that the juice locked in the meat was delicious.

Lumian devoured two steaks in under ten minutes, sating his hunger.

Looking at the empty plate, he sighed, "Three minutes of possession needs at least two hours to recover..."

This didn't only mean eradicating hunger, but a recovery of spirituality too.

Lumian knew his current state wasn't fit for exploring. He found flour, sugar and other bits, using the oven at home to bake biscuits.

With cheese, this would be his main source of fuel in the ruins.

Had he more time, he'd have gotten jerky too--food shepherds often carried. As a Cordu resident, he knew how to make them.

Busy with this, Lumian pondered his dream ruin plans.

First, circle the city wall. Then hunt that flaming beast...

Only by amping up my strength can I better explore and unravel the secrets of the dream...

The flaming monster's strength was at least Sequence 7, and there was a high chance it was from the Hunter pathway. Its various abilities perfectly squashed Lumian. He hadn't planned on dealing with that dude anytime soon, hoping to first seek out prey that was weaker and on par with a Provoker. But now, scoring Fallen Mercury and Invisibility gave him a certain level of hope.

When his spirituality had mostly recovered, Lumian placed the baked biscuits and sliced cheese into a cloth pouch and slung it around his waist.

Then, he seriously wrapped his left hand in layers of white bandages and grabbed the evil dirk called Fallen Mercury.

Hauling his shotgun and axe, Lumian strode towards the door on the first floor with the other stuff he needed.

Suddenly, he had the feeling that he was a fully armed hunter preparing for a dangerous hunt.

Many thoughts surfaced in his mind.

My first move is to track the flaming monster's movements. Then I'll use Invisibility to sneak up on it and stab it with Fallen Mercury.

Before that, I'll hunt a weak monster and steal its bad fate. Then swap that fate with the flaming monster's.

I can't do the sacrificial dance while possessed and half-activate the black thorn symbol. Otherwise, the mouth-orifice monster will bolt from my body immediately. So, how do I get away from the flaming monster after hurting it and wait for the fate swap to finish? It'll easily lock onto me through my traces. Invisibility alone won't cut it...

Lumian hadn't figured out the last part yet. That depended on early intel.

As he opened the door and went into the wilderness, he had an odd feeling.

If I can successfully hunt the flaming monster, my Hunter potion will be fully digested.

...

In the area where he'd met the flaming monster before, Lumian held his pewter-black dirk in his left hand. He carefully searched for any traces, on high alert for sudden attacks.

After circling cautiously for nearly ten minutes, he finally found signs of the flaming monster.

In a collapsed house's corner, there were black scorch marks on a stone unlike any around it.

Where there's one, there's two. Lumian quickly tracked the flaming monster's location and slowly, cautiously followed its trail.

When the marks were fresh, he stopped and began to dance.

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