Div and En ran from hill to hill inside the corridor formed by the faceless horde. The monsters were behind them, on their left and their right.
(They’re pushing us in that direction, on purpose.)
[They’re not being subtle about it too. I don’t know why, though.]
(Right, that’s weird. If they wanted to kill us, they could simply close their encirclement.)
[There’s certainly enough of them to prevent us from breaking their lines again.]
Not knowing what they were rushing toward was an additional weight on Diven’s two minds that they both would have preferred not to carry. Yet, there was no other option but to allow themselves to be herded.
They couldn’t fight the horde head-on.
What they could do was harass the few creatures closer to them. As they realized they were being driven somewhere, they wagered that their pursuers wouldn’t try too hard to kill them.
If they really had other plans, it was worth hitting them with a few spear strikes here and there.
Thus Div and En veered toward the column on their left and, without stopping, unleashed a flurry of strikes upon their enemies. The weak faceless fell in droves, unable to withstand their growing power.
(As expected, they’re not even trying.)
[Good, let’s kill as many as we can.]
(I don’t like it.)
[They don’t have our wellbeing in mind, En. Whatever they are taking us to, it won't be good for us. They deserve it.]
(I know. But we need to conserve our energy.)
Having reached a consensus, Div and En went from left to right to harm the faceless. While they navigated between their battlefields, they slowed their run to recover.
It went on for a while before the largest group of faceless, the one following behind them, accelerated their pace.
(Seems like they had enough.)
[It’s alright. We killed a few dozen.]
Unable to continue, they resumed running at the maximum pace they could sustain. One person running alone was faster than an entire army. Even though the faceless didn’t care about their own safety, Diven was able to put some distance between him and the main faceless cohort.
The chase resumed in an almost orderly fashion. Not that the rampaging horde could ever be considered orderly. but they kept their distance from Diven and both he and his pursuers ran at a steady pace.
(I don’t like it. It’s like we’re playing right into their hands.)
[Any idea?]
(Not really. I’m just saying.)
Seeing that they had some wiggle room, Div and En resumed their fight. It didn’t seem to make a dent in the faceless' numbers. The tide was endless.
However, aside from their anxiety at what they would discover at the end of the road, Div and En were feeling good. Maybe it was those orange fruits they had eaten, but they were full of energy.
[It’s a real shame we couldn’t take the rest with us.]
(Let it go, Div. There’s no point mulling over it.)
Hill after hill, they advanced inside the rift. They were not going in the right direction to reach the exit. If Bird was to be believed…
The snow blanket that they had been accustomed to had disappeared, leaving rolling green hills stretching in the distance. There still weren’t any trees or bushes or other vegetation. Only grass as far as the eye could see.
The pale, naked, ghostly faceless were easy to spot in all this green. Not that they could miss them, their number was such that they would notice them with their eyes closed. The sound of the horde thundering after them was rumbling in their ears.
For all their strikes on the enemy lines and the growing amount of corpses they left behind, there was no solution in sight. Were those attacks even worth it?
Div and En were starting to lean toward the negative. Especially after a few faceless stumbled over each other to reach their thigh and left a deep gash embedded into it.
Wincing in pain, Diven pulled out of the engagement.
[Just run, I’ll channel Echoes of the Rot Heart. A handicapped leg is too big a problem in our situation.]
En acquiesced and kept running, pushing past the pain. But healing a wound on a limb they were actively putting weight on was easier said than done.
With each step, the tear in their muscle moved, undoing Div’s efforts. Noticing this, En was forced to slow down, which allowed for the vanguard of the faceless horde to catch up with them.
As much as they didn’t actively try to kill Diven, the horde wasn’t going to let him take a break. Furthermore, it was debatable if the seemingly mindless beasts could restrain themselves in close quarters. Whatever they were trying to do, En wouldn’t trust their feral nature not to act up.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The monsters threw themselves at him, pushing En to respond with well-placed spear strikes.
Div’s efforts were starting to pay off as yellowish pus leaked out of their injured thigh.
But En couldn’t stop to let the wound close. Not even for a moment.
In his skill-induced rotting trance, Div could see that it was taking longer than expected. Despite the nausea he was feeling, he pushed himself harder.
He needed to close that wound. He needed to support En.
If he couldn’t do it fast, they wouldn’t make it.
But what more could he do? He was already channeling Echoes of the Rot Heart. The skill didn’t let him control how it healed injuries. It just did it. Maybe it would be different if Div and En had mastered rot magic. It was evident the skill was using some form of rot magic to function.
If they studied the workings of the magic, maybe they could modify the skill. But it was too late for that.
There had to be another solution.
He looked through his options.
Name: Diven
Bloodline: Rot Heart
Titles: Rotten Sun
Current Facet: Facets of the Self
Previous Facets: Facet of the Hoplite, Facet of the Survivor, Facet of the Exile
Skills:

Spear – Basic – Lv8
Shield – Basic – Lv4
Spearfishing – Basic – Lv4
Trap Detection – Basic – Lv5
The Fifth Direction – Basic – Lv4
Echoes of the Rot Heart - Basic - lv3
Sundered Mind - Basic - Lv7

Reading through his skills, he already knew he wouldn’t find anything useful. He was well aware of them.
What else could he use?
Rotten Sun? He still had no idea what the title was doing.
Then there was his bloodline. The source of his rot-attunement. The reason Echoes of the Rot Heart mutated. If he leaned into it…
No, he mustn't. He didn’t really believe in it, but En was convinced they could be accepted back in Kheiron if they hid their attunement as much as possible.
Even though their attunement had been invisible when their exile was pronounced, and the idea seemed improbable to him, he still enjoyed dreaming about it.
Using their Rot Heart now would crush that dream.
But if he didn’t, they would die. There was no going back home if they were dead. Maybe in a century, another exiled explorer would find their body and spread their tale.
No. No, they hadn't kept a journal like Cassandra. There would be nothing left of them.
They would be forgotten. If they weren't already.
Div couldn’t accept it.
En wouldn’t be happy, but Div felt that it was necessary. With a tug of will, he entered their inner garden and moved closer to the heart.
It was ugly, foul-smelling, and pulsating irregularly as if there was something crawling inside it.
Div had to force himself not to look away. Just this once — just to heal this damned wound in his thigh. Then he would never touch it again.
He extended his hand and placed it upon the Rot Heart.
As soon as it happened, En felt it. A deep unease welled up inside him, he had to stop Div.
But he couldn’t.
He was overwhelmed by waves upon waves of faceless creatures climbing over each other to reach him. If he took even a single instant to check their inner garden, they would surround him and it would be the end.
Div felt the sheer concentration of rot-attuned mana amassing in the Rot Heart. His face fell. It was too much, and he could tell it was constantly growing.
Yet this would have to wait.
Moments after his hand rested on the heart, a vast amount of attuned mana flooded into their body through the connection within Div’s mind.
He yanked his hand away with all his might, but it was too late. Rot-attuned mana poured into their inner world, reaching all the way to the area of the pond, bamboo, and brambles.
En felt the change while he was swinging his spear, trying to keep the closest cluster of faceless away from him. Something was wrong.
The tip of the spear sliced open the skin of a faceless.
When En readied another strike, he paused.
The wound on the faceless was already festering. Black-and-white fluff began growing on it. It started moving, pulsing, throbbing—until it fell to the floor.
Spear - Basic - Lv8 has transformed into Rotten Spear - Basic - Lv8.
Shield - Basic - Lv4 has transformed into Rotten Shield - Basic - Lv4.
Spearfishing - Basic - Lv4 has transformed into Rotten Spearfishing - Basic - Lv4.
“No…” En couldn’t contain himself. “Div, what did you do?”
Of course, Div couldn’t answer. He hadn’t even noticed the change. He was too busy taking the rot-attuned mana out of their garden and funneling it into Echoes of the Rot Heart.
For people with attunements, it was instinctive. Rot-attuned mana moved according to his will. It had overflowed because there was too much for him to control, but he managed to channel a steady stream into their healing skill.
As it did, the discomfort he was feeling for using the skill transformed into actual pain. In the vision, his own body was rotting away.
His hair fell down from his head as he stepped into a lukewarm pool of undefined liquid.
What was that?
Div had no desire to find out. A wave of putrid smell washed over him, carried by the northern wind.
He vomited.
His bile was green, yellow, orange, and full of colors he had never seen before.
One of his teeth fell out. Perhaps a few.
“Thish ish hine, hust an illushion…” He mumbled with his toothless mouth.
One by one, his fingers dropped into the goo below him. He couldn’t see his feet.
He couldn’t feel them.
Were they even still there?
He didn't want the answer.
He was numb, even the smell didn’t reach him anymore.
Oh… His nose was gone. That would explain it.
Skill leveled up: Echoes of the Rot Heart Lv3 -> Lv4
Skill leveled up: Echoes of the Rot Heart Lv4 -> Lv5
As En continued to fight, the wounds finally started closing. Moments later, the healing was complete, and Div returned to clarity.
[Did it work?]
(What do you mean did it work?! Can’t you see what you’ve done?)
[What? Why are you so angry?]
(Really?! Three of them! You’ve corrupted three of our skills with rot!)
Div was silent as he took in En’s anger and quickly looked at their inner world.
[I’m sorry. I thought… Sorry. I didn’t expect the skills…]
(It’s done. I know you didn’t mean to. At least our wounds are healed. Let’s move.)
Div and En broke free from the fight and sprinted toward the direction the faceless were driving them toward.