The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 260 252: Luna - A Deadly Beauty

Luna's eyes were wide, the soft baby-blue glow from above reflecting in her hazel irises. The carpet was moving as if from an unseen wind. Almost without thought she reached up and ran her hand along it - it just looked so soft, even in this hard space. Her fingers brushed something plump and wriggling and she heard a suckered pop as a piece of the carpet disconnected from the ceiling and dropped onto her arm.

Luna's curiosity turned to horror as the fat blue worm began to burrow into her flesh. She screamed in pain and grabbed its tail, ripping it from her skin in a spurt of blood. She hurled it to the floor and stomped it flat, the worm's glowing innards wafting a bitter scent upwards. The scent of the worm was quickly followed by another pop. Then another. Then a rainstorm of them.

Luna ran.

Each frantic step sent shocks of pain through her body as the glowing worms burrowed deeper beneath her skin. She tore healing pills from her dimensional storage, crushing them between her teeth, and swallowed desperately as she sprinted. The pills worked - at first. Flesh knitted, blood dried, wounds sealed shut - but it was a losing battle. Each healed injury trapped the worms deeper inside, forcing them to twist and writhe, carving fresh agony as they found themselves gleefully ensconced in a world of food.

The cavern seemed endless, its eerie blue glow twisting reality into nightmare shapes. Her breath came in ragged gasps, eyes blurred from pain and panic. Luna reached for another healing pill and found only empty nothingness.

"No, no!" Her voice echoed pitifully, the last shreds of composure snapping.

She activated the first healing vial in her Cogslinger Gauntlet. A rush of relief surged through her, stronger and more complete than the pills. It felt like being submerged in cool water after days in a blistering desert. But relief twisted swiftly into horror as the worms, still alive, continued to squirm, tunneling anew through the freshly healed flesh.

Her scream was raw and angry now, more frustration and rage than fear. She activated the second vial, eyes swimming with tears that weren't just from pain. "Please... please work," she gasped through clenched teeth.

Again, her body surged with healing magic, deeper, purer - but again, the worms survived. They were tenacious parasites, thriving in the chaos of her desperate healing. Luna nearly stumbled as she felt one worm twist near her ribs, sending spikes of agony radiating outwards.

Ahead, the cavern opened suddenly into a larger space. Her pounding footsteps faltered at the sight: a wide, shallow pool glowing softly green. Her mind recoiled instinctively, the vibrant color too reminiscent of the worms crawling beneath her skin.

"No choice," she whispered, desperation overriding any sense of caution. She broke into a run again and leaped forward, plunging into the luminous green pool.

Cold flooded over her, biting yet strangely comforting, rushing into every wound, every pore, every nerve. Luna squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the worms to panic, waiting for the pain. Instead, a sudden stillness enveloped her. The twisting ceased, the frantic burrowing halted as the green water seemed to seep into her very essence, purging the parasites like poison from a wound.

Suspended underwater, Luna felt peace for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Her heartbeat slowed, her mind cleared, and she drifted gently to the bottom of the pool. Moments stretched longer and longer, her chest tightening gradually as her breath ran short. Reluctantly, she pushed off the smooth stones at the bottom and swam upwards, breaking the water's surface with a gasp.

She dragged herself from the pool, collapsing onto the cold stone at its edge, gulping air like she'd forgotten how to breathe. Luna lay there for what felt like moments before the familiar, hateful sound of hooves scraping on stone jolted her upright.

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Her eyes snapped open, breath catching in her throat.

"Oh no," she whispered bitterly, pushing herself to her feet.

The minotaur stepped from the shadows - its muscular, massive form silhouetted by the dim bioluminescence of the cavern, an enormous double-bladed axe gripped easily in one hand. Luna raised her gauntlet reflexively, fingers flexing as she fired a burst of glowing gears, the cogs streaking forward, slicing the air with a mechanical scream. The gears shattered against the minotaur's heavy armor, leaving little more than glowing sparks behind.

Again and again she fired, the shots losing power with each burst until, finally, her gauntlet had no more power to give. The minotaur advanced relentlessly, its hulking figure undeterred by her waning attacks.

Desperation drove her hand to her belt, pulling free the sword Madison had given her. Not the luck-boosting one - the trial had had too much risk for that and Madison refused to budge on the issue - but the rapier-thin, razor-edged blade that could cut nearly anything. Nearly. Luna lunged forward, desperation lending grace to her movements as she slashed at the minotaur's weapon, blocking its devastating strikes but unable to pierce the axe's enchanted metal.

She danced backwards, her strikes accurate but ultimately futile, scoring shallow cuts across the minotaur's exposed flesh that did little more than anger it. Sweat burned her eyes, muscles trembling as the relentless beast began to anticipate her moves, its superior agility and strength gradually overwhelming her defenses. Each swing of its massive axe drove Luna closer to the pool's edge, forcing her movements to become increasingly frantic and unbalanced.

"No… no, I can't - " she gasped as realization sank bitterly into her chest: she was losing. Fast.

With a burst of clarity and panic, Luna reached deep into herself, grasping desperately for the threads of fate, activating her Paths of Fate skill. Reality splintered before her eyes, branching into dozens of ghostly echoes of potential futures.

She saw herself dodge left, only for the minotaur's axe to slice cleanly through her side. Another image showed her parry upward, just to watch helplessly as the creature's fist crushed her skull. She saw herself charging forward, saw herself retreating, saw herself sidestepping - and each vision ended the same: her lifeless body sprawled on the cavern floor.

Tears streamed down Luna's cheeks as understanding struck hard. Her mother's warnings echoed like a grim prophecy in her mind:

"Sometimes luck isn't enough, Luna. Sometimes there are no good futures left if you aren't strong enough, fast enough, or smart enough to forge one."

She stood paralyzed, blade shaking, visions fading into nothingness. She was outmatched and outclassed. The minotaur raised its axe slowly, eyes burning with satisfaction, prepared to strike the final blow.

Luna closed her eyes.

Please… she thought desperately, blindly reaching into her Well one last time. Please, there has to be another way…

She expected to be greeted with silence, her Luck felt like it had long-since left her. Instead, her dad came to her mind - as he always did when she needed him the most. She could almost hear him speak.

"Why are you trying to fight it, mija? Fight the battles you can win - avoid the ones you can't. Listen to the wise words of Zavier Lee; 'The best battle to fight is the one you don't have to.'"

She realized she'd been looking at the situation all wrong. She'd been so sure of herself - SO confident that she could rely on her luck to beat anything that she never even considered running. She didn't have time to dive into her Well and look for the threads, but Paths of Fate had only been showing her what she'd asked for - a fight. She activated it again and reality splintered again. She watched as the minotaur came at her in slow motion, eyes desperately scanning the different versions of herself.

Backpedal - axe hits your chest.

Roll to the right - it slices your arm off at the shoulder.

Fall into the pool - you keep healing over and over as it hacks you into small pieces.

Wait! There!

Reality snapped back into place and the minotaur rushed her, axe coming in from above for the killing blow. She threw her sword at its face - it wasn't helping her right now anyway. It flinched and, in the split second it took to stumble, Luna leaped into a roll between its legs. She rolled smoothly to her feet and took off the way it had come, not even looking behind her as it roared in fury.