Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

his silence as an answer in itself since every answer regarding anything regarding the Burgon Beast the Fire Oppa was asked presented the same silent response.

With a shrug, Jacob had the Fire Oppa take him back to Journey’s End.

Camilla was there waiting for him.

Jacob had meant to offer the Fire Oppa one final pet, but the furry - and incredibly fast - creature zipped up his arm and onto Jacob’s armored chest.

He gave the tiny thing a soft squeeze and could feel the Fire Oppa’s warmth radiate into his armor and within. That connection, the answering heat of his own soul felt empowered.

“Good luck,” Fenris said, slinking back to the flames.

Switching to his [Vile Mace], Jacob stood and glanced at Camilla, then the gate. “Are you ready?” he asked her.

“Probably not,” she answered truthfully with a shrug of her shoulders. The gold-edged robes shifted with the motion.

Taking a deep breath, Jacob removed the [Black Ember] from his inventory and dropped it into the Pyre. The Pyre immediately turned black, just as Alec said it would.

“Let’s kill us a beast,” Jacob said with more resolve than he felt.

The flames flared and climbed higher, higher, until they were fifty feet tall. As tall as the door in front of them. The prison of the Burgon Beast. Black flames crackled and sparked with purple arcs of magic as the curling fire thinned.

As it did, it stretched out toward the door, inexorably slow. Once it touched the base of the door, sigils and markings carved into it began to glow with red-orange heat.

Hidden to the naked eye until that point, Jacob recognized a few of the symbols as extremely powerful wardings and protections. The fire climbed up the gate, lighting symbols along the way and somehow darkening the world around them.

Stormclouds gathered overhead, rumbling with thunder. Angry forks of stabbing lightning rent the air. The hair on the back of Jacob’s neck stood on end just as the black door swung open, split down the middle by the black flame.

The gust of fetid wind that rushed toward them nearly guttered the Pyre. The Fire Oppa gave a squeal of pain and Jacob had to dig in his heels to prevent being blown back. The sound of the Fire Oppa in pain redoubled Jacob’s resolve and stoked his anger.

Camilla slapped a hand to the top of her hat, holding the flopping brim to her head. “I’m not so sure about this anymore!” Camilla cried over the roar of the wind.

Swapping his [Vile Mace] in place of his [Longsword], Jacob turned to her and said, “Me neither.”

32

As the foul wind abated, Jacob slipped on the burning [Ring of Boundless Fury]. He already knew he was going to die. What was important was to take as much of the Burgon Beast’s Health off with each revival.

If they were wrong about their theory of the Burgon Beast, then humanity stood no chance. There was no way anybody was strong enough to stand against the Burgon Beast when it could destroy the Pyre you used to rest at.

That had been Alec’s fatal mistake. One he made clear to Jacob. It was why Jacob had bound himself to the Razor Pass Pyre. From there, he could move to the next Pyre in line and strike again at the Burgon Beast.

If he was correct.

Health burning away, Jacob took a step forward ahead of Camilla. The roar that echoed off the canyon walls did not come from the black depths beyond the gates ahead.

It came from behind.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Jacob groaned.

As he turned around, Camilla put a hand on his shoulder. “I have seen how you fare with this creature. I had hoped to help you in your struggle against the Burgon Beast… allow me to lend my aid by making sure your fight stays uninterrupted.”

With that, she strode off toward the pits of bodies where the Gnawing Hunger was gaining ground toward them.

A dark furry form, a wolf more than twice Jacob’s height and several times that in length strode out of the gates. Its black fur sucked what little light there was from the Pyre and darkened the space around it as it padded forward.

It made no sound. No growl. No roar of challenge.

As the Burgon Beast’s yellow gaze met Jacob’s, it almost seemed… sad to see him. It looked about, recognizing where it was, and then looked forlornly at a set of armor between Jacob and it.

It must have been beautiful and gleaming once, but now it was rusted through with tarnished silver and corroded gold accents. The shield was broken into several pieces, the helm split, but a many-notched and partially rusted sword was stabbed into the dirt beside it.

Despite the damage to the blade, the hilt was free of the ravages of time. A red jewel gleamed in the pommel, shimmering like a droplet of blood in the light from the Pyre.

The resemblance to the Gnawing Horror was there but… twisted. This creature did not have vines of black like Alec said or a multitude of eyes. Nor did it have the unbridled hatred he remembered hearing about so often.

Jacob walked out to meet it, keeping his shield ready, and a tight grip on his mace as he watched for any hint of an attack.

The Burgon Beast stopped and deep breath. It lifted its head to the stormy heavens, howling. The sound carried strangely within the tight confines of the canyon, doubling and reverberating until it sounded like a pack of wolves all howling out of sync.

It was a mournful sound, filled with sadness and regret.

As the sound hit him, Jacob staggered as if hit by a physical blow. He felt something deep within himself give way and tear. Fear rose from like bile in the back of his throat, and before Jacob’s eyes, the Burgon Beast changed.

The [Burgon Beast] has afflicted you with Soulworn.

Untethered and withered, your soul is incapable of binding to another Pyre.

It seemed to do a lot more