Chapter 231: The Deep One
Coop doubled over, face contorted in a silent agonized cry. No sound escaped from his throat because his breath was trapped in his lungs while all of his muscles seized. The possession caused by Inheritance of the Mists was not gentle. It felt as though his brain was being kneaded like dough and he wanted nothing more than to tear through his scalp with his fingers to remove the defilement.
He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately fighting the sudden harrowing pain that made death seem like a desirable escape. It was useless. He was completely overwhelmed. Presence of Mind was extinguished like a snuffed out candle and his aura was consumed, twisted, reformed, expanded, and hijacked.
Everything happened in an instant, but Coop went through the entire gamut of emotions. His curiosity quickly transformed into terror before he was filled with regret. A lifetime of torture took place all at once. His perception of time folded in on itself. He wavered, losing what remained of his confidence as his body spasmed and his spirit tore. The only feeling that lingered was the disappointment with how his adventure was ending. A simple misstep was all it took to drop his responsibilities at the feet of his companions. He hoped he had done enough to give them a chance at success.
From the depths of his despair, as his spirit weakened, a rumbling whisper arose, generated from throughout his reformed essence. It communicated without words, hinting at untold power just waiting for him to grasp. It teased authority beyond comprehension from an entity that could shatter the Lich just as easily as it could shatter its vessel. He just needed to reach out, and he unconsciously did so, stretching his fingers as he raised his hand, unwilling to give up even when he fiercely wished for sweet release.
[The Apparition of the Deep Dweller Hungers]
Coop recoiled. He was horrified by what had touched his mind. In the moment, he didn’t fear death any longer. Instead, he feared madness. He spoke in an effort to ward it away, ready to plead for it to spare him, but his lips formed forbidden words that his mind didn’t understand. The utterances he vocalized were syllables of nonsense, ironically inhuman when he had originally sought to explore the limits of humanity itself. The bubbling, guttural phrases reassured him for some reason, even while the Lich’s expression grew perplexed. Coop hung on, clinging to the scraps of his sanity while his brain buzzed with turmoil.
He remembered his purpose above all else, thinking of Ghost Reef, of the Lighthouse, and his mind finally settled, passing through the insanity like a ship through a storm. He opened his eyes, lifting his face up and stared forward, taking his first breath since casting the spell a mere fraction of a second before. His immediate task was to kill the Lich.
[The Apparition of the Deep Dweller Approves]
[The Apparition of the Deep Dweller Grants You The Touch of the Abyss]
[You have acquired a new title!]
With his silent grimace transforming into a barely suppressed guttural roar, Coop invoked something terrible. The world trembled around him, sending a shockwave that repelled the smoke and the rain, forming a ring in the overcast clouds that revealed the dusky evening sky high above Central America.
The pain expanded from his brain throughout his body as a tendril of blackness erupted from the remnants of his aura, wrapping his skin before sinking into his chest without creating wounds. Coop felt an icy chill course through his veins as the process repeated countless times. Inky tendrils sprouted from his form, then sank into his body like a mass of squirming horrors had entered the world using his mana as a gateway.