PoV: Inu Brook-Chavez - Hound

  I fall through the floor as it all suddenly crumbles away underneath me. It’s scary, and I hate it, but some part of me is glad. When the darkness of the caves below replaces the light from that horrible pillar and the glowing mushrooms, I feel glad.

  Snow didn’t scream. Didn’t even make a noise. And yet. That kind of suffering… Fucking horrible.

  When my back slams against cool stones, for a while, I don’t want to get up. Then there’s a wet splat, and I don’t have to ask who made that particular noise. I wanna throw up. I’m scared, so scared. Sylves is on the floor next to me, sprawled out on the cool rock, and the ceiling closes above us.

  Bay activates her flashlight, and I crawl over to Snow. My friend is sprawled out on the floor, bleeding from a hundred lacerations of their skin. It looks cut and boiled all at once, entirely red and covered in welts. I wanna throw up. But I [Resist].

  Slowly, I brace myself for what’s to come. A shiver runs through me, then there’s a hand on my shoulder. Opal. “Give me some of it,” they say.

  “What?” The words taste foreign on my tongue.

  They smile at me, with that same, confident expression they always wear. “Snow’s pain,” they say, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Give me some of it.”

  I blink. “What?” I repeat. But, then, the look in their eyes tells me everything. I nod, slowly, gently, and activate [Empathy]. I designate Snow as a target. I feel around, and find it. The pain. It’s not hard to find; in fact, it’s harder to find anything else. That pure, unfiltered agony is at the very top of anything Snow’s experiencing.

  Slowly, I tap into that. The pain flows into my skill and demands a target. I designate Opal, then myself.

  Agony.

  Liquid fire crawls through my veins. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

  I [Resist] it. As best as I can, with everything I have, I [Resist]. My body is stronger than Snow’s. My skill is better at enduring punishment. And yet, it hurts so fucking bad.

  “Whooo!” Opal cheers. “Now that’s a fucking kick, alright. Hahahaha! Damn. Fuck!” They’re sprawled on the floor, too, sword clattering from their fingers as the agony sets in.

  Mom comes over, kneeling down next to Snow. Bay and Thatch are talking with the sumeen, thanking their earthshaper for saving us. My mother gently places a finger on Snow’s skin, and applies [Freeze].

  It’s calm, unfazed, and entirely unlike her. I’d always known her to panic under stress. She was the first one to suggest we just hide out the apocalypse… yet here she is. Kneeling next to my dying friend and using magic. To help. Without a noise of complaint.

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  “Cool, not cold,” I whisper to her.

  She looks at me, then nods, dialling down her usage of mana. The skill descends like a gentle blanket, and I can feel some of the endless agony drain out of me. I hiss, drawing air into my lungs by force, blinking the tears from my eyes.

  Fuck. It really was just that bad.

  I resolve myself. I know Snow would do the same for me. Without a complaint, without a single whimper, I know that stupid idiot would do it. So, I could do the same. I don’t voice my hurt, just set my teeth, biting down, and taking in some more pain.

  Halfway through, I have to [Resist] screaming my lungs out, too.

  But I don’t stop. Despite everything, I keep going. Because it’s what I’m supposed to do. I know my dad touches my shoulder, but the sensation is so distant, so minor compared to everything else, that it’s no more than background noise. I breathe, despite everything, I breathe.

  It’s just pain. It’s just pain. It’s just pain. I repeat the mantra, as if it would save me, as if it could help, but it doesn’t. There’s nothing other than agony. And I just cannot, anymore. It’s too much. Far, far too much.

  I’m not like Snow. I can’t just put on that deadpan expression and act. I can’t. It hurts, and tears stream down my face. I want it to stop, to put it somewhere else, and at even just the idea of that, I see Opal’s entire body draw tight.

  No. That’s unfair too.

  I wanna rage against the world, against how unfair it all is. But no one cares, no one listens. Except, someone does.

  [You have caught the Eye of the Master of Suffering.]

  My teeth grind against each other. Those. The spectators, from on high. I feel anger at them, and for a second, that anger wins out over the pain. Voyeurs, the lot of them. Watching us without permission, simply to suit their fancy.

  No. They don’t get to. Don’t get to see me suffer.

  I pour more of myself into my skills. They’re my sanity, my self. I have always been tough. I roll with the punches, I resist, I stay kind. That’s who I am, that’s who I’ve always been, that’s who I will be.

  [Resistance 5 > 8]

  The pain abates, but it’s not enough. Now, my anger burns hotter. I draw in more, into myself, into my vortex, and remain unshaken, as my class demands. This is mine. My burden to bear, my duty and my task. I pull it all in, drawing it into a maelstrom, a reservoir. A reservoir?

  Right. There is a vessel inside me now, right? Who said I can only store mana in it? Who says I need to keep to one vessel? Fuck that.

  I pull, and pull, and pull. Agony lances up my arms, but I refuse to let it show. Just like Snow, I simply take it, breathing, having my face remain calm. It hurts, I sweat, tears stream down my face, but I don’t scream. I don’t scream.

  And then, finally, it all pours into itself, into a little spot designated for it.

  [New Skill acquired!]

  [Reservoir 0 > 1]

  It pours into a spot designated for all the suffering in the world. For every bit of pain and misery that doesn’t deserve to see the light of day. Then, I just sit there, thinking.

  Reservoir. How much can I hold, before I break? How do I pour it out? Can I use it, productively? Perhaps let someone feel a touch of another’s struggles, to make them feel a bit of care?

  I take a deep breath. No matter. I can store the suffering. I don’t want to bottle it up, but… my eyes drift to Snow. Yes. We will find a use for it, surely.

  And if we don’t, and if I break… well, that’s fine, if it’s for a friend.

  is 40 Chapters ahead!!!

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