Razed lands stretched as far in the distance as Kieran could see.
Because of the miasma's density, that distance was disturbingly small. It wasn't an exaggeration to say Kieran was almost blind out here. Walking beyond the iron gate was like trying to wade through muddied waters.
Cardinal Weiss noticed Kieran idling near the colossal iron gate and smiled at him mockingly.
"What's the matter, young Voiceless? You have been given the fresh air you requested. Are you scared of a little bit of grass?"
Kieran blinked while staring at the ground.
'Grass? What damned grass?'
A bit sour from the teasing, Kieran scowled with a gurgling grunt and made wild gestures at the ground as if he were saying:
"Have you gone mad? What grass do you see?"
Cardinal Weiss got down on hands and knees with an intent expression, bringing one widened and twitching eye to the razed lands. Kieran recoiled at this sight and hoped that an eruption of dreadful miasma would steal that fanatic's life.
Of course… wishes in this place were seldom answered. Cardinal Weiss was very much alive and still mocking Kieran's passivity.
"Right here. There is a speck of grass right here in this expanse of ruined land!"
Kieran groaned and decided to ignore that outrageous fellow. He stomped past the kneeling Cardinal Weiss, who stood up behind him with a ridiculing grin.
"Young Voiceless, tell me — do you know where you're going? Whether or not you're heading into mortal dangers?"
That question made Kieran pause and linger where he stood. Right, the Wild Lands in his era were teeming with dangerous beasts capable of rending him to shreds with a bite or swipe of their massive claws.
Did beasts of that caliber already roam these lands now?
Unsure, Kieran gripped his sword in preparation. It likely wouldn't do much against beasts of that caliber, but it was better than being unguarded.
'Why the hell didn't you remind me sooner? Damned fanatic.'
The Cardinal of War and Flame ambled through the dense miasma, his presence soon becoming obscured by the tenebrous film oppressing the land. At first, Kieran was worried he'd lose track of the old fanatic, but he soon realized those were gratuitous concerns.
First, the Cardinal of War and Flame would keep Kieran from purposely or accidentally wandering out of his sight. He was there to act as his watchkeeper and overseer. He was to interfere if Kieran found himself in peril or admonish the young Voiceless if he tried to flee.
Second, the Flame kept them connected by synchronizing the energy it supplied to each of them. Usually, the Flame's power was adjusted to fit every follower uniquely, which correspondingly created unique signatures, but for this adventurous jaunt, the Flame kept their signatures combined… somewhat.
There was still a slight difference in how gracious the Flame was with its power. What Cardinal Weiss wielded remained incomparable to what Kieran had access to.
Kieran caught up to Cardinal Weiss' sauntering pace and frowned. How could he feel so comfortable walking amidst this noxious miasma? The eerie thickness and lack of awareness unnerved him.
Walking through the range of razed lands, Kieran soon lost track of how far they had ventured or how long they had been moving. Something about the miasma was off-putting and disrupted cognition.
But he didn't have much time to consider those things because Cardinal Weiss spoke up with a complex expression. He looked excited about what was coming but unsure about its outcome.
"Get ready. A threat is coming."
Kieran entered a battle-ready state within seconds as the mystical apparatus kept him calm and balanced and in control of a clear mind.
Then, the dense miasma was severed by a massive body, roughly four meters tall and near that in width too. It was an animal resembling a mammoth but decrepit like a reanimated corpse.
Its tusk gleamed with a pale, ghastly flame dreadful enough to distract all attention from its rotting skin and flesh. Despite its condition, it still pounded the earth with formidable force.
"Have at it, boy, exercise. Slay that beast!"
Cardinal Weiss jumped to the side, effortlessly clearing several meters while also leaving the lone Voiceless to fend for himself.
Kieran sighed, drew his blade, and then drew upon the Flame. Sinister power flowed through him, making him feel heavier and more lethal, like the Flame was forging him from the inside out to become a Blade of Ruin.
In the last moments before the decaying mammoth corpse trampled him, Kieran rolled to the side, narrowly finding safety. After gaining the purchase needed, he lunged and shot for a decisive cut.
However, the mammoth's decaying hide was deceiving. It was as rigid as Kieran's sword was sharp. The blade slid against it like metal dragged against concrete.
Suddenly, a sense of danger assailed Kieran's mind. He retreated with haste as the mammoth lifted its two front legs. When they came down, Kieran's entire world shook, and then a deluge of pale flames spread out in a ring.
There was something terribly amiss with those pale flames rushing at him. They gave off the feeling of death, decay, and not smoldering heat and fiery destruction like normal flames.
'Uh… Flame? Hello? Do something?'
Kieran backpedaled as the pale flames surged toward him. It moved faster than he could outrun it.
"Boy, where is that bloodlust? Use it. Wield it. Give it to us. We know you can destroy, so do it."
Kieran frowned and nearly berated the evil Flame.
The apparatus inhibited his bloodlust from growing unbridled, and perhaps the Flame knew that which is why it urged Kieran to let loose some of his confined depravity.
It likely wanted to understand how that apparatus worked and how much devastation it could withstand before obliterating in the end.
However, Kieran would not sabotage what he had just done. Thus, it became a contest of who was more depraved and devoted to their goal.
With a hint of craziness flickering in his eyes, Kieran stabbed his longsword into the barren soil beneath his feet and withstood the pale flame's onslaught. It left decrepit burns on his naked forearms used to defend his face, and the flimsy rags he wore didn't far much better.
When the ring of pales flames passed, the young Voiceless's arms and sides were naked and filled with putrid pustules that popped and leaked disturbing fluids.
"Oh… you're a very naughty boy. Now, why would you go and do that? Such a rascal. No worries, I'll fix you up."
The Flame seemed a mix of disappointed and pleasantly surprised. That kind of impartial savagery and self-ruthlessness was the style of battle it loved.
Left without a choice, it began healing Kieran, which in turn gave Kieran greater access to the Flame's power without jeopardizing the balance of his sanity.
Fueled by the Flame's power, Kieran unleashed a flurry of slashes. The effects of his routine practice flourished remarkably well. He wasn't sure what kind of steel this was, but it withstood the torment Kieran burdened it with.
As Kieran ignored the occasional surge of pale flames, numerous shallow cuts formed on the mammoth's body. They could not contest something as mighty as the Flame.
Soon, the mammoth's hide was riddled with harrowing, overlapped wounds leaking a mix of blood and puss. If one strike didn't work, Kieran unleashed ten… and so forth.
It was tiring, but by the end of it, only one remained standing.
Kieran finished the barbarous battle with a sharp thrust through a rotten wound. It lanced the mammoth vitals, and it fell with a cataclysmic rumble.
A round of applause came from behind and approached quickly, followed by mirthful laughter.
"You are slowly learning the ways of the wild. That is how you fight wildly. Danger? What of it?"
