Damien had no time to think.
The Void Servant had to be at least twenty meters away.
He didn't even want to look back, thinking that it would be right behind him.
The worst part was that it probably was.
Come on, I'm so close!
Damien didn't even know why he felt so hopeful, as if whatever was waiting for him in the main chamber was going to save him from all of his troubles.
Now that he thought about it, the entire reason why he was in this predicament was because of that damned "Luneborne Sigil".
Of course, it was partly one of his cohort's fault, too...
Stop thinking about that, just focus!
The main chamber was almost within reach.
Yes, this is it! Come on!
Damien allowed himself to take a quick glance behind him just to assess his current position compared to the Void Servant's position.
You've got to be joking...
The second he turned around, the first thing he noticed was a seemingly endless pit of darkness, the second being the pair of obsidian-like claws that was heading right for his face.
S-Shit!
With a startled yelp, Damien tried blocking the attack with nothing but his arms, as he had nothing but his arms to defend himself with.
He knew the pain he would feel in the next few moments would be on a completely different level than anything he had experienced so far.
He was correct.
Damien flew back a couple of meters and hit the stone pedestal that supposedly held the divine artifact.
He coughed out some blood.
If he were ever asked how it felt to put your hand in a blender, now he would have the answer.
It was truly a strange sensation, after the initial moments of the attacks, his entire left arm, which took most of the damage, felt numb.
Too numb.
And a few seconds later, he knew why.
Damien probably subconsciously knew what really happened; he just didn't want to come to terms with reality.
He didn't even bother looking at his left arm.
His suspicions were confirmed either way when he looked back at the Void Servant, who was now pinching at the ends of a bloody severed arm.
The creature brought the arm up to its gaping mouth, which seemed to house the void itself, and devoured it.
Ah, so that's why I don't see the corpses of any of my comrades.
Wonderful.
Damien looked up, seemingly just noticing that he was right in front of the pedestal that held the supposedly divine artifact.
Oh well, I'm going to die anyway.
Might as well die with a divine artifact in my hands.
Using the rest of the strength he could muster, he tried getting up, but almost immediately fell down again.
He directed his fall towards the pedestal and started leaning on it using his abdomen.
That's when he could finally get a proper look at the artifact...
A piece of paper?! Not some holy sword of doom?
How the hell is this supposed to help me?!
The scroll held a series of intricate circular patterned runes that strangely resembled a snake eating its own tail, The only problem was that, unlike the ones used to display his aspect and attribute information, he couldn't understand these.
He looked back at the Void Servant, who now seemed to be moving faster than ever, looking almost worried that Damien might use the artifact.
Damien reached out for the scroll, and the second his index finger made contact with the fragile paper, the scroll dissipated into embers.
"[You have received a Memory]"
"[Would you like to wear the Luneborne Sigil?]"
Damien didn't pay attention to what the spell said.
"Yes, accept, confirm. How am I—uh, supposed to do this again?"
The Void Servant was getting ready to lunge at him.
All of a sudden, his body started convulsing violently.
Damien honestly didn't know what to do or think, he felt like he was burning alive.
He was done for.
The Void Servant finally made contact with his body, its claws shredding apart his abdomen.
Damien blacked out, probably from the pure amount of pain he was in.
Wow, I'm really dying, aren't I?
I wonder how my family is doing right now. Would they even care?
Conor probably would.
Damn this all...