Chapter 4 - Divine Apostasy Book 3

Chapter 4

Ruwen hadn’t expected the combination, and he flinched as dust and small rocks struck him. His body, Fortified to Copper, resisted all the flying stones and they bounced off his skin. Lylan and Sift were not as fortunate, and Ruwen could see rocks lodged in their bodies.

“Fall back!” Ruwen yelled and then dashed toward the beaver.

The beaver had not only filled the spike with Spirit but its entire arm. Ruwen could no longer see the smaller Air Meridian now that it was surrounded by the brighter Spirit from the beaver’s center. Ruwen guessed this would strengthen the beaver’s arm, and he wouldn’t be able to tear it off like he had the beaver’s right arm.

The beaver jabbed at Ruwen with the spike, and he knocked it away with a circular block. He had practiced the same movement thousands of times with Sift. Instead of following the block with a punch to the face or chest, Ruwen angled his blow downward, striking the middle of the beaver’s right thigh.

Ruwen had wanted to either break the leg or disrupt the connection between the Stone Meridian and the beaver’s center. His fist sank an inch into the beaver’s flesh, but Ruwen’s Strength wasn’t high enough to penetrate any further. Too late, he realized he should have flattened his hand into a spear to lessen the surface area.

The beaver’s arm slammed into his head, and Ruwen worried for a moment his head had been sheared from his body. He stumbled to the side, but no debuffs appeared. It seemed that the rules here in the Spirit Realm were more straightforward.

He kept his feet and regained his balance quickly, another benefit of his Copper body. While not able to sever the Stone Meridian’s connection, Ruwen had still injured the beaver, and the swirling rock-storm stopped. The beaver glared at him while the foot-long tubes gyrated under its nose.

The Spirit in the beaver’s chest grew fainter, but after a moment, Ruwen realized it was actually just being pushed throughout the beaver’s body, and the lowered concentration had caused the dimming. Evidently, the beaver had decided to strengthen its entire body.

Ruwen observed the process, hoping to see a clue on how the beaver managed to manipulate the Spirit like that. Ruwen had to place his body into the appropriate Meridian pose to get Spirit to flow to an area belonging to a Meridian. Not practical in a fight.

Not only that, but the beaver had filled two of his Meridians with Spirit, in addition to the Spirit in its center. Was the Spirit in the Meridians different? How did you get Spirit inside a Meridian? And what was the purpose? Whatever filled those Meridians, it appeared the beaver used them when it cast spells.

Spirit leaked from the beaver’s shoulder where its arm had been ripped off. Ruwen quickly looked around for Sift and Lylan but didn’t see them. The two were experts in stealth, even without magic, and he wasn’t surprised he couldn’t find them. He hoped they were okay and that the rock-storm hadn’t knocked them unconscious. Since he didn’t know where they were, he just yelled.

“The glowing stuff makes it stronger. Make holes, so it leaks out,” Ruwen shouted.

The beaver took a step toward Ruwen, and it favored the leg Ruwen had injured. Ten feet separated them, but Ruwen didn’t want to attack first. He needed to learn some offensive Steps and branch out from the block and punch he’d learned so far. He’d ask Sift about it if they survived this.

The beaver, probably sensing Ruwen’s reluctance to engage, placed its tail against the ground and jumped. But instead of landing in front of Ruwen, the beaver sailed over Ruwen. He twisted around, expecting an attack, but the beaver had continued moving. A few moments later, Ruwen understood.

The beaver picked up the arm Ruwen had dropped and placed it against its shoulder. Spirit stopped leaking and trickled into the arm. After a second, the beaver let go of the arm and picked up the spike, which it replaced on the arm. It still didn’t have its hand, but as the arm and spike filled with Spirit, Ruwen realized the beaver had regained a weapon. Ruwen had made a mistake by leaving the pieces lying on the ground.

The beaver used its hand to squeeze the stump of the missing hand. Spirit pooled there but stopped leaking. The beaver rotated its newly replaced arm and then faced Ruwen. The mouth tubes reached out toward him, and he shivered in disgust.

The Spirit flowing into the arm must have sped the bonding process since the beaver’s arm looked usable now. House Captain Juva’s two halves certainly hadn’t meshed that quickly. 

If Sift and Lylan were nearby, and not injured, they were probably waiting for Ruwen to create a distraction so they could attack safely. Ruwen relaxed his muscles as best he could and stepped forward.

The beaver raised its arms, glowing spikes pointed at Ruwen. It spoke, but Ruwen couldn’t understand it. Not having access to his Hey You ability affected him more than he thought. Somehow it made the predicament they were in more real.

Ruwen took another step closer. The beaver bent its knees, lowering its center of gravity, and placed its legs inline with its shoulders. Ruwen paused, shocked. The beaver had just put itself into the first Step. Had the creature trained in Unarmed Combat? Or was it just a coincidence?

The beaver’s tail rested against the ground behind it like a third leg.

“That’s unfair,” Ruwen said, wishing he had something to strengthen his stance.

The beaver responded, but again, Ruwen couldn’t understand it.

A movement behind the beaver caught Ruwen’s eye, but he ignored it, not wanting to give away his friends. It felt like yesterday that Nak, who lay in two pieces behind Ruwen, had seen Ruwen’s expression at The Fainting Goat and been warned of Ky’s presence. The bar and Ruwen’s many mistakes felt like a lifetime ago.

Ruwen wanted to keep the beaver distracted. He took another step closer, the distance between them now mere feet, and also sank into the first Step.

Knowing Sift couldn’t respond, Ruwen smiled. He could distract the beaver and have some fun at the same time. “I’m warning you. I’ve been trained by the great monkey master Sift. While mostly he sits and smells his armpits, I have been taught my Sisen’s secret form. Perfected over his lifetime. Fear the…” Ruwen stepped forward and threw a punch with his right arm while screaming. “Poop Chucker!”

The beaver swept Ruwen’s arm away with a block and lunged forward with the spike on his right arm. Just like the wheel he’d practiced with Sift, Ruwen blocked the spike, pushing it to the side.

Using the momentum of Ruwen’s block, the beaver continued to turn, rotating its entire body. Too late, Ruwen understood what the creature meant to do.

The beaver’s tail slammed into Ruwen’s right side, throwing him to the ground. Pain radiated outward from the impact, but Ruwen’s breathing remained normal, and it meant he’d probably avoided breaking his ribs.

Using the techniques Sift had beat into him, Ruwen rolled as he struck the ground, and quickly regained his feet. He faced the beaver, his hands in front of him, ready to block any additional attacks.

But the beaver remained facing away from Ruwen. When it had turned to strike Ruwen with its tail, it had seen Sift and Lylan behind it, and now readied itself to fight them.

Ruwen cursed. He had been trying to keep the beaver distracted but had failed. Spirit seeped into the tail and Ruwen knew the extra appendage would be even more dangerous enhanced like that.

“Poop Chucker form?” Sift asked as he held Io out in front of him.

Ruwen squinted his eyes at the painful blue light. The beaver stared at the weapon, almost like it had been put in a trance. It ignored Lylan who crouched fifteen feet to Sift’s right. The beaver’s mouth tubes kept snapping forward toward Sift, jerking the beaver’s head each time.

“Seems like something you’d be good at,” Ruwen said. “I think it really likes Io, too.”

Sift held the dagger out to his side, and beaver’s gaze remained locked on it.

“Looks that way,” Sift said.

“That gives me an idea,” Ruwen said.

“Do you ever not have an idea?” Lylan asked.

Sift rotated Io in a circle, watching the beaver’s response. “Exactly. Do I say everything that comes into my head? No.” 

The beaver took a step toward Io.

“I’m not sure much happens in your head,” Ruwen said. “Plus, this is a good idea.”

“You always say that,” Sift said.

“Well, you better do it quickly,” Lylan said.

“Okay, close your eyes for three seconds,” Ruwen said.

Sift groaned and muttered, “Terrible ideas.”

The beaver’s reaction to Io made Ruwen think the Spirit denseness of the weapon was like showing a starving dog a sliver of meat. Rami had told him Io’s Spirit denseness ranked third in their group. Ruwen figured the beaver wouldn’t be able to control itself when it saw the steak. 

As soon as Sift and Lylan closed their eyes, Ruwen pulled up his shirt. The cavern lit up like the sun had appeared, and the shadows of his friends looked like giants on the far wall.

The beaver’s head jerked violently to the side as the tubes from its mouth twisted in a frenzy. Ruwen barely had time to pull his shirt down when the beaver struck him. If there had been any intelligence in the creature’s eyes, it had disappeared, replaced by fevered eyes of pure need.

The beaver reared back, drug its hook across Ruwen’s throat, and stabbed Ruwen in the chest with the spike from his handless arm. Ruwen didn’t feel any pain but that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken any damage. He wished his Health bar worked.

The suddenness of the attack surprised Ruwen, but he had wanted to get the creature’s attention. He didn’t feel it was that risky since the previous hook had been filled with Spirit, and it had barely penetrated his Copper body. The beaver had only diluted its Spirit by distributing it within its body. If anything, the attacks should be weaker.

Instead of a fist, Ruwen straightened his hand and jammed it like a dagger into the thigh of the beaver, in the same place he’d punched earlier. The Spirit infused leg of the beaver resisted for a moment but then separated from the pressure exerted by Ruwen’s Silver leveled fingers.

The beaver threw its head back, and Lylan appeared, dragging the beaver’s own hook across its exposed throat. Spirit spilled out of the gaping wound, covering Ruwen like blood. A heartbeat later, Io descended in an arc of blue-grey light, the movement of Sift’s strike so fast Ruwen saw the attack as a blur. The beaver’s left arm fell from its body, the two thin veins that ran from the Air Meridian to the beaver’s center shot Spirit into the air.

Ruwen hand struck something hard and round in the beaver's leg, and he realized they were the thin tubes that connected the Stone Meridian to the beaver’s center. Wrapping his fingers around them, Ruwen yanked his hand back.

The beaver thrashed, but remained silent, even though it looked to be in agony. Spirit filled the air around them like a glowing fog.

Power, Fractal said.

Does that help you? Ruwen asked the dungeon.

Yesss.

Lylan ran her hook along the beaver’s throat again and the head fell to the ground. The headless body fought on and jammed the spike from the handless right arm into Ruwen’s face.

The spike didn’t penetrate Ruwen’s skin, but it pushed the wraps up, exposing his face. The ceiling lit up, the headless shadow flailing like a mad puppet across its surface.

Io emerged from the beaver's chest, and in a blink, rose to the creature’s neck, shearing it in half. Spirit, no longer with a vessel to hold it, flowed like water around Ruwen and onto the dungeon floor. Vapors swirled in the air and drifted toward Sift, who stood with his arm over his eyes.

Ruwen quickly fixed the wraps on his face and the room darkened back to its original twilight.

As the Spirit left the beaver’s body, its movements grew slower and weaker. Sift held Io in his right hand and grabbed the beaver with his left, trying to pull the creature off of Ruwen. With a last surge, the beaver brought its tail up and into Sift’s armpit, slicing through Sift’s skin.

Sift’s arm dropped to the ground.