Eni materialized at the pier of Captain Joe’s island—a place she had already come to loathe for its pretentious shabbiness. The little Archon appeared shortly after, loitering nearby and inspecting the mooring lines. He could have swatted the Cyclops like a fly if he wanted to, but instead, he just watched as Eni prepared to do the heavy lifting.
"Hey, Captain, I’m taking your scouting tub!" Eni tossed over her shoulder as she vaulted onto the deck of his small but sturdy vessel.
Joe merely grumbled something about "female curses" and "vandalism of state property," but he didn't move to stop her. Eni steered the craft out of the bay with practiced ease. The wind lashed against her face, and the magical stockings beneath her uniform pulsed in rhythm with the waves, generating that strange, constant tension that had become her inseparable companion. Reaching the mainland, she moored the ship against the jagged rocks and struck out toward the lair.
The Cyclops’s den greeted her with a heavy, cloying stench of rotting meat and ancient wool. The giant sat deep within the cavern, gnawing on the femur of some massive beast. Upon spotting Eni, he didn't recoil in fear—he brightened with hunger. To him, she was nothing more than canned rations in a shiny tin suit. Eni unsheathed her blade, its black steel vibrating with anticipation. She lunged, but underestimated the monster’s reach. A gargantuan hand, matted with coarse bristles, clamped around her waist.
Her steel corset groaned and buckled under the pressure, and the magical stockings bit into her thighs so violently that Eni nearly blacked out from the sheer sensory shock. The Cyclops hoisted her toward his jagged maw, intending to take her head in a single bite.
"EYE! STRIKE THE EYE! NOW!" the Voice bellowed in her mind, vibrating with a mix of primal terror and adrenaline-fueled glee.
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A surge of adrenaline flooded her brain. Eni, contorting her entire body within the giant’s crushing grip, drove the tip of her sword with everything she had into the creature’s singular, bloodshot pupil. A sickening, squelching sound echoed through the cave. The Cyclops let out a roar that shook loose stones from the ceiling. His fingers spasmed open, and Eni dropped to the stone floor like a sack of lead.
The battle dissolved into chaos. Blinded in one eye, the monster went into a manic frenzy, smashing everything in his path as he tried to feel for his prey. Eni danced between his strikes, utilizing her "double jump." Every time she kicked off the air, her insides twisted with that haunting, cloud-like vertigo, but it only sharpened her rage. She methodically hamstrung the giant, blow by agonizing blow.
Finally, seizing her moment, she drove Sword into his popliteal tendon. The Cyclops crashed to his knees with a bone-shaking thud. Eni, standing directly before his face, did not hesitate. She plunged the blade into the empty, ruined socket, carving a path straight to the brain. The monstrosity shuddered one last time and went still.
Eni heaved, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She was drenched in the thick, foul-smelling gore of the giant. Knowing the capabilities of her gear, she immediately tore her blood-soaked uniform to shreds. Within minutes, the artifacts' magic took hold; the fibers of the cloth began to weave themselves back together, the magic restoring a pristine violet garment and sparing Eni the labor of scrubbing away the evidence of the slaughter.
"Eni, you..." the Voice sounded uncharacteristically solemn, even inspired. "You’ve siphoned a massive amount of Taint. Killing the Krampus and now this Cyclops... it is enough. You’ve earned 5 Skill Points. Now that you’ve acclimated, you can distribute them yourself. Do it once you’re in safety."
Eni returned to her floating island at twilight. Her first stop was the kitchen. Mina, as if sensing her mistress's return, was already setting a steaming dish upon the table.
"Lunch... I mean, dinner, Eni," Mina said softly, pulling out a chair. "Omelet with smoked ribs. Please, eat."
Eni ate in hungry silence. The taste of meat and eggs felt divine after the stench of the cave. Having finished her meal and given Mina a curt word of thanks (which, predictably, made the woman flinch), Eni ascended to the second floor. She needed to recover her strength before allocating her points.
She lay back on the lounge daybed, listening to the sounds of the house. From the third floor, the muffled laughter of Emmy and Fel drifted down—the children, it seemed, were finally adjusting to their new home. Eni closed her eyes, drifting into a half-sleep. The sound of their play was lulling her into a slumber until, suddenly, a strange, utterly foreign voice cut through the air.
It wasn't the Voice in her head. It was a physical whisper emanating from directly behind the wall—feminine, tender, and carrying the distinct, heavy scent of old ink and a sharp, fox-like musk.
