Starrk's fists began to form black scales with each of his nails turning into claws.
"Alright well here goes nothing." Starrk suddenly started pummelling the ground with his fists. To Abraham and Solara's surprise, he was literally digging up the crystal floor. Each strike sent small crystalline shards flying. The sound of splintering gemstone echoed across the desert like brittle glass shattering.
"Uh—what exactly is the plan here, Starrk?" Abraham asked, trying not to sound panicked as he watched the shardstorm build up over the horizon.
"Shelter," Starrk grunted between punches, "before that storm hits us and flays us alive."
Solara's eyes widened. "Wait, you can just dig through crystal like that?"
"Yeah, I can when I channel pulse into my fists," Starrk replied, his hands glowing faintly.
'Huh. Guess that's a resonant for you.'
Within a few moments Starrk had carved them a surprisingly deep shelter that could fit all three of them. Didn't really look comfortable but it was better than dying.
Starrk motioned them in. "Move!"
Abraham dove in first, then followed by Solara and then by Starrk who had ripped a chunk of crystal off the ground to seal the entrance. By this point the storm was too close meaning Starrk had just barely pulled off this gamble of his.
Solara set her hand on fire.
"What… are you doing…" Abraham and Starrk both asked at the same time.
"Oh well it's almost night outside so it'll get dark in here."
Abraham looked at her with a face that can be described as "pure dread".
"Won't that fire, y'know, eat our oxygen in here?"
Solara smirked. "No no, I can burn fire without the need of burning oxygen. It's part of my attribute."
Abraham blinked hard. "So how come you couldn't use your fire underwater back when we fought the crab?"
"That's because water cools the flames as well as smothering it, idiot."
"Oh… that makes more sense." Abraham replied, turning his head away in slight embarrassment.
The soft glow of Solara's fire bounced off the crystal walls. The heat was just enough to take the chill of the underground air, though it made the confined space feel smaller.
Abraham exhaled. "I keep forgetting all of you have actual powers and I'm just a guy with swords and a weird but cool trait."
Starrk cleared his throat. "I uh—don't want to sound rude but you shouldn't have a trait right now… you're a dormant."
Solara nodded. "Yeah you shouldn't."
Abraham looked at Starrk. Then at Solara. Then at Starrk. Then at Solara.
"Uh… I do have a trait…" There was silence in the shelter.
"Abraham… can I maybe take your hand again…" Solara asked.
"This again? Sure, let's get this over with." With that Abraham handed over his hand.
Abraham's panel suddenly opened up.
[Name: Abraham]
[Rank: Dormant]
[Age: 20]
[Pulse: 80]
[Attribute: Combat]
[Trait: Oppressive]
[Titles: —]
[Equipment: Rusty Knife, Daylight, Venomous Infliction, Medallion of The Sun, Desert Prowler Set, Blades of The Sun]
Her eyes widened. "Holy shit… he wasn't lying."
Starrk suddenly gasped. "I won't believe it until I see it."
Solara suddenly grabbed his hand, which seemingly allowed him to see Abraham's panel.
"Young Abraham… how on earth do you have a trait as a dormant human?"
Abraham scratched the back of his head. "Oh I ate some apple back on the Killer-Whale."
Solara scoffed. "So you ate an apple on Baron's ship that gave you a trait? What kind of apple is that??"
Abraham looked at his hands. "The uh system gave it to me as a reward for hitting more than fifty pulses."
Starrk looked like he'd been slapped. "The system gave you that for hitting fifty?"
Abraham nodded slowly. "Yeah. It was called the Blood Apple."
Both Solara and Starrk looked stunned.
"You're telling me you thought it would be a good idea to just eat an apple called a 'Blood Apple'?"
Abraham shrugged. "The description mentioned the Maiden of War—Anouk. Apparently she just, like… bled on it?"
Solara looked speechless. Starrk on the other hand, looked like a completely different person. The air around them now felt oppressive on another level. It was as if there was a literal mountain on their shoulders.
"Young Abraham," Starrk said, his voice grave, "Your combat attribute is an inherited one." He suddenly looked at Abraham, his eyes turning into slits. "You—you inherit the Maiden of War's attribute…?"
The shardstorm suddenly hit the shelter. It didn't really affect the people inside but its timing seemed to frighten Abraham due to the intensity of the moment.
"I don't know anything that's going on right now…" Abraham suddenly said.
Starrk suddenly shed a small tear. "I'm helping… the literal successor of one of the worst malakhs in history right now…" He looked terrified yet angry at the same time. "If Solis heard about this… she'd surely get me killed."
He then suddenly went silent. The shardstorm outside howled louder.
Suddenly, the intense pressure in the air disappeared, allowing Solara and Abraham to breathe again. Starrk also seemed to return to normal. "You know… Young Abraham, I should kill you…" He paused.
Abraham's heart pounded. He knew a resonant could very easily take out a mere dormant like him.
"But… I won't. I physically can't kill… my friend. My pupil."
The shelter felt colder despite the fire still glowing in Solara's hand.
Abraham didn't speak. He didn't move. He just stared at Starrk.
"You're not serious," he managed, voice thin.
Starrk didn't answer right away. His voice, when it came, was quieter. "If you weren't you, I would've done it the second I saw the trait." He looked over at Abraham. "If only you knew what kind of a woman Anouk was. She's not just some ancient warrior queen in a history book."
Solara didn't add anything, after all Abraham knew about Ervina and how she killed Anouk.
"She made monsters of kings," Starrk added, "She turned entire continents into battlefields and made children laugh while doing it."
The shardstorm outside grew more intense and sounded like a scream that never ended.
"And yet," Starrk continued, staring at Abraham now with something akin to sorrow, "here I am now. Sitting in a cave with her heir. Teaching him how to swing a sword."
Abraham gritted his teeth. "It's not like I've done all of that."
"I know. Because if you were remotely like her, the world would never survive if you were allowed to live."
Solara cut in the tension. "I say we all just go to sleep and continue exploring this cool desert."
The two remained silent. Starrk finally gave a soft grunt, reclining back against the curved wall of the shelter.
"Sleep… yes. Let's sleep," he muttered, as if trying to convince himself that it wasn't really that simple.
Abraham didn't lie down. He sat, back against the opposite wall, arms loosely around his knees. The fire light caught on his eyes, giving them a strange red shimmer.
"I didn't ask for this, y'know," he said softly. "I didn't ask to be her heir. I didn't even know what that meant until a few minutes ago."
Starrk looked at him, then away again.
Solara sighed. "You two sound like you're prepping for a duel in your sleep. Just… shut up already."
A long pause followed.
"...Fine." Abraham finally leaned back., resting his head against his bag. "Wake me up if I start trying to take over the world."
Starrk huffed through his nose. It might've been a laugh.
Outside, the storm kept screaming.
But inside, the silence felt louder.
Abraham eventually, despite his paranoia and unease, managed to fall asleep.