Chapter 75: Blind
Before Asher could so much as move, his vision vanished, swallowed whole, as though the very world of Crymora had chosen to erase all color from existence. His body froze, muscles coiling in instinctive tension the instant darkness claimed his sight.
’This has to be another ability... one of the assassins,’ he thought, his mind racing to keep pace with the sudden shift in reality.
An ability that induced blindness would be dismissed by most as trivial, useless, even. But in Crymora, there was an old saying: "There are no useless abilities, only useless wielders."
And now, in this moment, that saying rang true.
To strip a combatant of their sight at the height of battle was no mere trick, it was a death sentence cloaked in simplicity. Even seasoned warriors, honed by countless battles, could be reduced to prey with a single, well-timed use.
No matter their experience, no matter their instinct, blindness, when wielded with efficiency, turned veterans into helpless fish laid bare upon the butcher’s board.
’It’s not a mind-based ability, if it were, the system would have nullified it,’ Asher reasoned, his thoughts sharp despite the sudden loss of sight.
The assassins didn’t hesitate, they knew each other’s abilities as they all came from the same organisation, they all pushed forward with immense speed, weapons raised with lethal intent
But Asher was no ordinary opponent.
Under Elowen’s relentless guidance, he had refined his Omni Perception through six months of rigorous motion and balance training. He had fought blindfolded, disoriented, even with his perception sealed, forced to survive with nothing but instinct and muscle memory.
Though deprived of sight, Asher could still see.