Chapter 50: Aetherstride

As the light of the Gloamkeeper's Beacon emanated, the content of the woodshed storage was illuminated.

The air was thick with the smell of timber mingling with an acrid stench of decay and foulness from the materials harvested from the remains of dead Calamity Objects.

Shadows dance erratically as the lantern's beams of light move forward, casting distorted silhouettes of grotesque items stored in haphazard piles.

Pieces of hardened, scaled hides from monstrous creatures hang from the rafters, their textures alien and unsettling to the touch. Strange bones, twisted and malformed, litter the floor, some still humming with faint traces of unnatural energy, making the entire space feel alive with a malign presence.

Even the walls seemed to groan under the weight of the dark things stored within, some pulsating faintly, emitting low, almost inaudible whispers that prick at the back of the mind.

The oppressive atmosphere weighs heavily, as though the very space itself harbored a malevolent intent, watching, waiting, eager to consume those who linger too long in its haunted, claustrophobic depths.

"Looks like you need to try casting your telekinetic spell on every piece in this storage." I snickered.

"Before that, allow me to cast some neutralizing agent." Despite her undaunted poker-face, I could tell that she was really annoyed by the stench. "Foul it might be, it beckons me that a mere couple air-purifying spell was not enough to destroy the smell." Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You talk as if we are about to enter an undead lair."

"It is an undead lair, without the 'un'."

For a couple of times, we went back and forth picking some of the unique materials inside our storage for psionic sensitivity testing.

Metallic, hardened chitin, and even the foul intestine of the bloodhounds—we experimented on them all.

Not to mention, in order to acquire the necessary data to gauge the psionic sensitivity of the material, Verina needed more than a simple nudge on her telekinetic power.

It cost quite the lifeline since Verina wasn't really the most studious spirit to master her telekinetic prowess.

This appraisal session alone probably increased her proficiency on her telekinesis spell more than what she was doing in the last couple of weeks—because I saw a noticeable increase of efficiency as we went through the checking one by one.

"This bone feels very receptive to my telekinesis," Verina informed.

"Let's separate that one before continuing then."

"We couldn't just use this material for our needs?"

"There are ten more things to go before deciding on the golden goose."

After a couple of materials left, we finally finished the appraisal process for their psionis sensitivity.

Throughout all of the stuff that was looted from the wrecked landscape, we decided to use one specific material.

It was the skeletal remains of a 4 meters tall dead remains of a unique Calamity Object that we haven't encountered before.

Not even Verina herself, who had survived more than 50 years in Carcosa, was familiar with the name or even appearance of this Calamity Object.

Thankfully, this entity died amidst the conflict between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman.

—

[The Veilworn Prophet]

[Description: An eerie blind seer draped in layers of tattered, ancient cloth. The Veilworn Prophet speaks in riddles and whispers, revealing hidden truths about the bastion's future. Wherever it walks, flowers wilt, but knowledge blooms. The Prophet's eyes are sealed with wax, giving it sight beyond sight]

[Hint: The Prophet provides cryptic warnings and predictions of future events, both good and bad. However, the bastioneers must interpret these riddles correctly—misreading the signs can lead to disaster. The more the bastion interacts with the Prophet, the more blurred the line between fate and free will becomes]

—

I didn't even notice the corpse of this entity if not for the highlighted guidance of the Gloamkeeper's Beacon.

This proved once again that binding myself with the Gloamkeeper's Beacon was the right choice.

"These bones are quite malleable. Should we fuse it with another material before we use it for whatever in the world you're planning?" Verina gave me a hard-firm stare.

"Obviously." I grinned. "We will be using these to make your prosthetic legs, after all."

"What."

For most of the time, Verina used her telekinetic spell to drive her own wheelchair as we roamed around the bastion.

I wanted to apply the same concept but with a proper, flexible, and applicable concept that should ease her way of movement instead of giving her a pair of legs that she controls with telekinesis.

Yes, to put it simply, I wanted to give her legs a pair of wheels.

"... You're planning to attach these pairs of wheels as my legs. Wheels that I can control using my telekinesis."

I simply gave Verina a thumbs up.

After we finished making the perfect monster alloy for the wheels, I began drawing my design to a wooden board.

Not before long, we finished crafting the prosthetic for Verina, alongside her own specialized Soulthread Aegis garb that was combined with her Reinforced Ohrtender Robe.

I won't be putting the description of the specialized Soulthread Aegis since it was pretty much the same with mine, except the fact that it further facilitates as a catalyst for ohrtending.

"So, how is it?" I asked with curiosity, after putting on the prosthetic to its rightful user.

[Aetherstride (Calamity 100%) - 4.0 kg: The Aetherstride is a pair of prosthetic legs crafted from the remains of an eldritch monstrosities, utilizing a fusion of dark materials and telekinetic-sensitive components. Forged by a genius blacksmith with unmatched skill, these prosthetics feature compact needle-sharp legs, composed of a durable and flexible material that resonates with psionic energy.

Each leg tapers to a slightly-curved fine point, allowing for swift, agile movements.

Attached to the heels of the prosthetics are Black Wheels—floating discs that hover and rotate with the user's telekinetic control. These wheels are imbued with remnants of eldritch material, enhancing their psionic sensitivity to the user's telekinetic abilities, allowing them to move at incredible speeds as if skating effortlessly over any surface.

The wheels can be attached or detached from the legs at will, enabling versatile combat and traversal options—ranging from lightning-fast gliding to nimble footwork. The eldritch influence within the wheels also generates a faint aura of black flame, giving the user a ghostly, ethereal presence as she moves]

"Oh, oh!!"