Requiem for an Aberrant Chapter 14: Chapter 14- Umbrahedron

Read chapter 14 of Requiem for an Aberrant by TheJestersGambit on NovelPedia.

“My name is Filoa.” He nodded once. “Cole.” Silence had momentarily returned, until his stomach growled loud enough to disrupt it. The last couple of days of canned beans had taken its toll. “You’re hungry.” “You said there were edible monsters? Further down the Gorge?” Cole started gathering his things. “Don’t be silly,” Filoa murmured. “I’ll take you there.” He glanced over his shoulder, one brow raised. “What about your mother?” Filoa shook her head, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “She can handle herself.” She stepped past him, grabbing a battered satchel by the door. “There’s an Umbrahedron that wanders near the edge some nights. If we’re careful not to attract more, we can easily bring it down.” She buckled a belt around her coat. "Before we go, what’s your Pathway?” “My Pathway?” she echoed, struggling to sling the satchel across her body. “Yeah.” Cole stepped forward to help. “I was born with Essentia and Voidcraft. I’m still Ashen, so I can’t exactly use Voidcraft in combat yet, but I’m close to breaking through. As for Essentia, I can materialise spears. I haven’t ventured much further than that for now.” He flexed his free hand, channeling the Essentia pathways within his body. Pale-yellow spears flickered to life above his fingers, humming like angry wasps before dissolving harmlessly into the air. [Essentia Control Increased: 34 > 35] He moved back after helping her. Filoa finished adjusting the strap across her chest, then leaned against the stone wall, folding her arms. “Valour,” she uttered. “That’s my pathway.” He tilted his head inviting her to go on. Valour revolved around abilities. He would prefer to understand what central ability was binded to her if they were going to work together. She sighed, glancing at the bedroom door for a moment before meeting his eyes again. “My ability’s called The Devourer’s Bloom ,” she said. “It’s… not exactly pretty.” [Valour Pathway Detected] [Ability Name: The Devourer’s Bloom] [Warning: High Self-Corrosion Risk] She tapped her palm. “When I use it, I can feed ruin into anything I touch. Metal rusts. Stone cracks. But the Bloom doesn’t just destroy and revisualise. It grows something new out of the rot. Vines, branches, bones or whatever. If I’m hurt, it eats the wound and replaces it with… something alive enough to keep me standing.” She let out a tired breath. “But it’s hungry. It always wants more to break down. The more I feed it, the more it grows. The more I use it, the more it tries to grow inside me.” Cole didn’t fully grasp the inner workings of Valour, but he understood enough to appreciate having one of its wielders beside him. Unlike Voidcraft, which demanded steady progression, Valour drew its strength from a single defining moment in a user’s life, typically stemming from early childhood via manipulation or natural occurrence. That core gave its users more strength early on, a kind of power born from one’s conviction. He didn’t press her about the Price of her ability. She’d already given him enough of a hint, and for Valour users, it was often wiser not to share that price with anyone. She pushed herself off the wall to the staircase. “Follow me.” “I didn’t ask earlier, but what is an Umbrahedron?” Filoa descended the stairs first, her snickers bouncing off the stone walls. “You’ll see.” And sure enough, Cole did see. The Umbrahedron stood before them. It had three conjoined heads grotesquely fused together by a fleshy umbilical cord, wrapped over their twisted necks. Each head jerked in disjointed spasms, moving separately yet trapped in one tortured existence. When the central head opened its mouth, a disgusting shriek escaped, revealing rows of needle-like teeth embedded into swollen, bleeding gums. A putrid stench hit Cole’s nostrils. Its elongated body trembled as though struggling to hold itself upright, the creature's clawed arms hanging disturbingly close to the ground, twitching as if already reaching for prey. ‘I’m sorry for ever insu