8.3K words.
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/CRANK!/
Philip pried open the final hatch with a powerful pull, the last seal of the chamber where the fuel rods of the Magmatic Forge were stored before being melted and their energy extracted…
/BLAST!/
/SHAAAAAA!/
"URG?!"
Philip felt it on his skin, and everything underneath it, the power of this ancient piece of machinery… A violently shimmering torrent of orange-white gas rushing outward, incinerating everything in its path.
This time, nothing remained. Philip's hair instantly caught fire, and what remained of his clothes were immediately blasted away.
The fact that he could resist this heat in his state was already proof of his efforts, an achievement to be proud of, no doubt. His skin was akin to metal, one that remained unfazed even when thrown into lava.
But this heat was far from that, multiple times, perhaps. The heat was so intense that even his extracorporeal senses were disturbed…
His mental power ignited, sending a flaring feedback directly into the depths of his mind.
These types of reactions were beyond his current understanding. What would happen to his powers before such abnormal conditions?… was perhaps something only an old wizard might know.
As he felt the intensity of over four thousand degrees of pure brutal heat blasting onto his face and now unprotected shiny balls, he realized a single mistake could cost him everything!
As his eyes gazed down at the glowing heart of the forge, his body too continued its silent struggle:
[Your body has taken fatal damage!]
[Your Hyper Cells are greatly stimulated; They have begun to repair all damage to your body]
[Your Hyper Cells are greatly stimulated; They have begun to adapt…]
[Your body cannot withstand the heat; Your Hyper Cells have begun to collapse—]
[The Great Desire of ***** has awakened]
An alien feeling rose from the depths of his chest, a feeling most unwelcome at a time so dire…
—Hunger—
For a moment, rather than fear and anxiety, as he looked at the flames rising to his chest, Philip felt something akin to expectation, like a man digging for gold, witnessing a glint in the mud…
He unconsciously opened his jaw:
[The Great Desire of ***** seeks a solution… A path has been found]
[The Great Desire of ***** asks for confirmation]
Once the Philip of the future gazed down at his past, he would ask himself if he truly had a choice. After all, what is this desire, if not his own? Was a notification truly necessary to reflect his own thoughts?
The answer was already written: Why would a man seek confirmation from himself to walk forward?
'CONFIRM!'
[The Vessel transforms]
[Your desire is recognized — Grow, towards a new possibility!]
/DEVOUR!/
All the heat emanating from the forge began to converge inside Philip's mouth! A torrent of fire, like a river of red from the depths of Hell!
[Your Hyper Cells are massively stimulated; They have begun to repair all damage to your body]
[Your Hyper Cells are massively stimulated; They reorganize themselves into a more fitting arrangement…]
[Your body is undergoing a change — Under constant exposure to heat, the Skill, Fire Resistance Lv0 is created]
[Fire Resistance Lv0 -> Lv1]
[Fire Resistance Lv1 -> Lv2]
[Fire Resistance…]
The heat slowly seemed to dull, but was that truly right? Somehow, Philip felt as if…
… Something was wrong—
[>DING<]
A strange notification flashed for a moment, as if it were being clamped down by something else…
/CRACK!/
The shattering of glass echoed in his ears, sharp teeth clamping down into the immaterial. The notification shattered right before him:
[The Skill, Fire Resistance Lv5 has stopped reacting!]
[The Skill, Fire Resistance Lv5 is shaking!]
Philip had seen something like it before… yet this time, rather than desperation, it brought him comfort.
Amidst the raging fire, Philip felt his heart heat up—
/SHATTER!/
[Your body surpasses its limits]
[The Great Desire of ***** has devoured the Skill, Fire Resistance]
And so, the immense heat resumed.
…
It all happened too fast. In a moment, he was peeling the reactor's insulation, and in the next, he was absorbing the fire released from the core.
Tredis' eyes shook at the sight, an utterly inconceivable thing was occurring before him… but Philip spared him no thought, "WHAT DO I DO NOW?!" He asked Tredis inside the mental world loudly.
Even if the body and mind could be momentarily disjointed, Philip's expression did little to convey the insurmountable pain he was experiencing right now. It surpassed mere physical signals, making him feel as if his mind and Soul too were igniting to ash! Only that could explain it!
The Dwarf immediately woke up from his stupor. He raised his hands, pointing at several sections in rapid succession, "The rods! See those cylinders?! Just unplug the metal cap and it'll fall!"
"Just by everything sacred in this world, don't let it fall into the adjacent chamber!" He exclaimed as Philip's hands immediately dove
The inner chambers of the reactor were divided into two sections, like two crucibles atop the other.
The upper section contained a dozen hanging tubes made of an unidentifiable material, glowing strongly in the transient air.
While the bottom section was full to the brim in a strange bluish-red mixture of metals emanating extreme levels of thermal radiation, like the bottom of a heated volcano.
Rather than calling it a reactor, Philip felt it was more akin to a liquid furnace, where instead of coal, raw petroleum was pumped into its chambers to burn bright!
/BURN!/
/SIZZLE!/
The unstable crucible bubbled, spewing hot molten metal onto his skin, blazing through with little resistance, "Ugh!… I'M TRYING!" Philip exclaimed as he moved his hand.
"HUPP!"
He tried to inhale, but couldn't, for his lungs were already gone. Amidst the extreme pain, he pressed on!
/BLAST!/
Philip's body exploded in blue light, flames covering his skin and face. Armament had been brought forward once again! The inner power granted by his Soul and blood, hidden beneath his mortal flesh.
Perhaps it shouldn't even be called that anymore. Fused to his bloodline and powers from beyond the cosmos, it was the mark of this new birthing species…
[DING]
[The Title, Artificial Chrysalidate stirs…]
"T-This is…!!"
But as soon as it appeared, the metallic-like flames of Armament twisted. Unlike before, taking the shape of armor, it instead clung to his body like scales, forming unique patterns throughout it.
/SHAA!!/
A pair of ethereal wings sprung from his back as a small, but sturdy pair of curved horns manifested above his head, not connected to his forehead, yet somehow following his head movements.
Just like before when his true aspect was brought forward by the unknown Dragon, he now called it.
But unlike then, much had changed. If before he was only half-complete, this time, he had embraced that side of his existence. Somewhere along the way, Philip had stepped beyond the realm of mankind.
Amidst this was a single Dwarf, observing this entire phenomenon with extreme confusion!
"What did you do? The fire is going out of control!"
Was he to blame though? Considering everything that was at stake... seeing change wasn't exactly welcomed, not when it took away from what he should've been doing instead.
The scales continued to spread as he clenched his transformed palms, "Shut up… Just let me do my thing." Philip said slowly, not from within the mental world, but on the outside through his real body.
Philip's tone was rough, raspy; his throat was dry, and his eyes were scalding… While Philip, within the mental world, remained silent and unresponsive, unwilling to respond and waste his precious focus.
Truth be told, calling those words wouldn't be right either, but for the sake of simplicity, it was what Tredis chose to accept as reality… He opted to remain silent, for his role here was now over.
Stepping on the toes of his saviour was not the solution… but Philip did not blame him for his desperation, they both had a lot at stake right now.
/BURN!/
Amidst these trying times, they both focused beyond measure.
...
/Extend…/
Assuming his true form, which he had suppressed for the past few days, Philip could finally gaze down without burning his eyes, locking sight with his target through his vertical pupils.
'I can finally breathe again somewhat… my lungs have been restored.'
The scalding air brushed past him, '… But this heat is still eating away at my body.' He thought as he looked at his shoulders, 'I've held back from turning into… this… because of what it could do to others…'
'Yet somehow, I'm still the one in danger.'
[Be careful…]
He smiled awkwardly, 'I don't think that's the right word for this situation…'
As Philip's hand reached towards the fuel rods, he looked below at the flowing metal, just a few meters away from his hand…
/Sizzle…/
His mental power acting as a barrier, his magic trying its best to cool him down, and his evolved body unleashed through Armament, combined with the power of a Dragon Shout.
Everything was acting together, a cacophony of incredible abilities, yet his body still stood on the edge of perdition… Only God knew how it would feel were he to fall...
/GRAB!/
/TSSS!/
"URG!"
His hand grasped the metal rod, which bent and twisted around his grip, almost cracking it, much to Tredis' horrified expression… and immediately, he felt excruciating pain.
[Your Hyper Cells are massively stimulated; They have begun to repair all damage to your body]
[Your Hyper Cells are massively stimulated; They have begun to adapt…]
If that wasn't enough, his skin, flesh, and nerves were constantly regenerating, making the pain constant, if not amplified. But he gritted his teeth through, and pulled the rod out following Tredis' orders.
And immediately after he was done…
/Fwoosh…/
"… Huh?! Where did you put it?!"
The rod vanished!
Philip's mental projection was quick to answer, "I stored it in my subspace."
"That's dangerous; its high heat could…"
"Forget about the technicalities! Just focus on making this process faster." He said as he waved him off, "Taking these off is just part of the process, we'll still have to cool the reactor down!"
The Dwarf pulled at his beard, "... This shitty situation!... FINE! If you want to go faster, I have a way!"
"Tell me then!"
Philip could feel the temperature increasing. With each passing moment, the reactor moved closer to igniting into a horrendous fireball… with him right above it.
Tredis pointed forward, "All the rods are connected to a mechanism up above. If you disconnect its support joints, everything will fall down at the same time!"
He looked around, "Supports?... Crap!" Philip said as he noticed a crucial problem
"Exactly… If you go with that… you might have to fully enter the reactor." Tredis said as he looked away
Philip grimaced. To get to the base of the mechanism, he would have to reach the inner ceiling of the Upper Chamber, and his arms weren't long enough.
Just like the Dwarf said… "Getting inside…"
'There's too little space for me to move in, and even if I got inside… I would roast in a matter of a minute.'
'The inner walls of this shit must be... If I touch my elbow there it'll instantly cook. I can bear to burn my palms, but if everything cooks around me… Don't you have a solution?!'
[If I had, I would've shared it long ago. In this extreme environment, there's not much I can do aside from watching!] Mita said in a heavy tone full of reluctance
Her words grew dark, [The most I can do… is protect you if it does…]
'Forget it then.'
"… Staring won't change anything." Philip claimed as his eyes narrowed
"That's right, we don't have much time. Soon enough the coolant will make its way here if nothing goes wrong… It's been a little over half a second if the timing's right." Tredis spoke as he crossed his arms.
[Skill, Eyes of Premonition Lv??? locks onto a destiny of collapse…]
"… Haha… fuck me and my luck…"
'You don't have to tell me.' He thought as his eyes flashed golden
No matter how fast Philip focused and slowed down time around him with his thoughts, his body was still burning. So with a resolute step… as he stared down at the entrance to hell…
[The Title, Artificial Chrysalidate stirs…]
/Swoosh!/
Philip plunged into the reactor, stopping just shy of plunging into the lower chamber!
/TSSSSSSSSSSSSS!/
Tredis put one hand over his mouth, "You're a real crazy son of a…"
/BLOOP!/
Barely had Tredis spoken, Philip already removed one of the protected screws in a feat of extreme speed, throwing the irregular-shaped bolt straight into the void as he reached out for another one.
/Crackle!/
Sparks ignited around the scales on his skin, like miniature fireworks…
[You've entered a state of exceeding limitations]
'More… if I'm not fast enough… it'll all be…' He thought as he reached for the other bolt
[You've entered a state of exceeding limitations]
[M-Master! I think that's… eno… ugh…]
Slowly, even Mita's words were drowned, coming to a halt as his palms left faint indentations in the scalding metal. Philip's eyes shook, his irises collapsing as blood rushed out of his vessels, 'Faster…'
The second bolt was pulled, and just in time for the flesh on his feet to turn into charcoal.
[You've entered a state of exceeding limitations]
[You've entered a state of exceeding limitations]
[Castle Town **** protects your mental body from collapsing]
[Your Incorruptible mind retains its shape]
[Your Unyielding spirit refuses to give up]
[Your Dragon Soul desires the conquest of impossible odds]
[Your spirit seeks higher enlightenment]
Under immense stress, his body collapsed under its own power… yet Philip continued to push on, for that was the responsibility imparted onto him from one who already had his future taken away.
And he wasn't about to let the same happen to his.
He reached up as his body lost its stability…
[You've entered a state of exceeding limitations]
[You've…]
[Your body cannot withstand the growing pressure; Your Hyper Cells—]
"WHO CARES!" He screamed inside his mental world as he pulled down the third bolt!
But there was no response… Desperate for survival, Philip had pushed his own mental condition so much that even Tredis… appeared frozen in time.
[The Great Desire of ***** responds to your will]
[The Great Desire of ***** seeks a solution…]
[Conditions have been met — The Great Desire of ***** reaches out to fulfill your dream]
[The Great Desire of ***** asks—]
Philip did not voice his approval…
[Under constant use, the Skill, Limitless Lv0 momentarily unshackles your *****]
[Pending experience is forcibly drawn out…]
[Status recalculation is in progress…]
[Skill, Limitless Lv0 -> LvMax]
[Conditions have not been met]
[Skill, Eyes of Premonition Lv??? witness the incongruent be rewritten]
[Skill, Eyes of Premonition Lv??? seeks…]
'The… future… is up to me… to mold…' He thought as his charred fingers sought the fourth bolt
[Skill, The Guiding Hand (???) molds your Vessel anew]
The scales around his body cracked, melting together and fusing into one greater whole…
[Your body is undergoing a change…]
[DING]
[The Title, Artificial Chrysalidate grows…]
…
Philip raised his right hand, transient energy flashing around his fingers, what remained of them… As he stood before the hanging rods that held the fate of an entire city.
A realization took shape at the back of his mind… Why go through all the trouble when it all could be resolved in a moment? What he lacked wasn't physical power, nor precision to weave through disaster.
He had already experienced how to do them, so why follow convention when he himself was irregular?
When the thought took shape, he hesitated no longer…
[DING]
[Pending experience is forcibly drawn out…]
[Pending experience is forcibly drawn out…]
[Pending experience…]
[Status recalculation is in progress…]
The memories of his experiences and training so far all came back to him. What he had pushed forward snapped back at him with full force, awakening him from his confusion!
/SLASH!/
His palm sliced through the metal holding the beams in place! The metal that he once struggled to bend was all sliced through by a single gesture, leaving behind a glowing spot whenever it passed!
And with it, a mild sense of liberation… Philip loved ingenuity, but deep down, when confronted with troublesome things… his true self became apparent.
[Amidst desperation, the truth reveals itself. The weight that shackled man falls, and the world beyond imprisonment dawns above… And before the crashing walls, the seeker… prevails]
[Skill, Draly-Apyer Secret Sword Arts LvMax has evolved into Draly-Apyer Royal Charge Lv0]
[Skill, Seven-Colored Wooden Boat Lv1 -> LvMax]
[Skill, Seven-Colored Wooden Boat LvMax has evolved into Reflections of the Eternal Kingdom Lv0]
[Skill, Falling Fist of the Beast LvMax has evolved into Hands of the Mountain Ruler Lv0]
[Skill, Ignition Strike LvMax has evolved into Heat Edge Lv0]
[Conditions have not been met]
[…]
[You have gained the Title, Enlightenment (Minor)]
/Crackle!/
Philip's arm glowed amidst echoing thunderbolts… his stretched-out irises slowly reconstituted as reason returned to his mind.
/FWOOP!/
A vortex drew beneath him, engulfing the metal rods, putting an end to this debacle.
/BURN!/
Or did it? As he looked down at the melting pot beneath him and wondered if everything would end with the fuel being taken out…
After all, with the empty canisters he had seen before, and Tredis ever-growing concern, more than enough fuel had been cast inside the furnace to lead it down the path of ruin.
He knew it wasn't enough, 'It's too hot for me to open a passage. If I could transport it elsewhere so it could blow up safely… or better yet, cool it down just enough to allow the coolant to resolve the rest...'
'It's a matter of time… If only I knew enough to make a more calculated judgment…'
But the time for regrets was already long gone…
"…"
/BADDUM!/
A moment of hesitation, followed by his heart beating once.
/JUMP!/
Philip let go, jumping straight into the boiling world beneath him! To devour all the heat, and prevent this ancient machinery's meltdown!
/SPLAT!/
The super-heated solution was almost like a viscous slushy. He did not plunge inside like water, but it felt almost like crashing into sand as chunks of molten fuel flew around him!
That only made the pain more excruciating, for he could feel himself cook one side at a time. To prevent disaster, he focused all of himself into his mind.
"AAAAAARRRRGG!!"
Even in the slowed-down world, the heat transferred to him with supernatural speed, almost as if drawn to his body, worming its way inside his heart by this extraordinary force!
If anything, the slowed world only made the pain last longer.
[DING]
[DING]
[DING]
[…]
Philip felt his whole body burn beyond measure… Within the decaying world, as even his mind was cooked to cinders, one sense at a time vanished from his field of view as Philip's consciousness slowly faded, and the notifications flaring on his ears dimmed…
[The Great Desire of ***** responds to your will]
[The Great Desire of ***** strongly activates]
/Shaa…/
A faint outline seemed to embrace him… the figure enveloped his body, pulling him deeper into the molten tomb…
/Bubble…/
[DING]
[Your Hyper Cells cannot withstand—]
[Your Hyper Cells mutate]
[Your Hyper Cells cannot withstand—]
[Your Hyper Cells mutate]
[Your Hyper Cells cannot withstand—]
[Your Hyper Cells mutate]
[Your Hyper Cells cannot…]
[…]
How much time did it pass? An eternity within the blink of an eye? To him, who had already lost his sense of self, this peace was a breath of fresh air… if he could even understand that right now.
What was life like before one came to be? Existence before, and what will become of it after one is gone… perhaps right now, that was what Philip felt right now.
Was that death?
[Your Hyper Cells cannot withstand—]
[Your Hyper Cells mutate]
[Your Hyper Cells are massively stimulated; They have begun to repair all damage to your body]
[Your Hyper Cells mutate further… Conditions have been met]
[The boundaries of flesh are rewritten]
[The Extra Effect, Hyper Cells evolves to meet your demands]
[The Extra Effect, Vital Core takes place]
/Baddum…/
Inside the molten fuel, Philip curled his legs. Like a fetus in the womb, ready to sprout again… His fingers trembled, twitching in response to his own quiet heart.
His skin burned away, his muscles, erased, his bones… were all that remained… The boiling skeleton, however, continued to move.
/Shine…/
A spark ignited where his heart once was, followed by where his mind should've been. From a single point, flesh spread outward, inching to every corner of its shell, until all bones were covered once more.
Within nothingness, which was nothing but his own delusions, Philip had a single thought:
'… Curse… Fuck… Fuck you, Dae!'
And so, he opened his eyes.
[DING]
[A tale, forgotten, is reenacted. Once, a creature embraced a Star and perished beneath its flames… Yet, amidst cinders, it realized that death was not its end, but the start of something far greater]
[From ash and ruin, life transcends all. The story of conquest ignites the world once again!]
[Your Vessel reforms! Bathed in flames, it is reconstructed anew — The Title, Artificial Chrysalidate burns away. Within its remains, the Title, The Undying Ember, is imprinted]
/BURST!/
Philip jumped out of the molten crucible, bursting through its hatch as his burning wings sliced through the reactor's innards, and landing on the ground before it, his feet melting the ground where he stood…
A rain of molten fuel in his wake as the world sped up once more!
/SHUA!/
The pipes above him trembled. From the cracks and fissures, a thick blue liquid sizzled down like sprinklers, together with the heavy echoes of water crashing onto hot metal.
A thick collum of white smoke rose from within the reactor. Not long after, Tredis realized he had jumped out, and that the coolant had begun doing its job, "You… You did it?… You did it!!!"
He held onto Philip's mental figure, which was utterly unresponsive, and shook it, "You did it, kid!"
"… No… not yet." Philip finally said after a moment of deliberation
'My body feels so… light.'
In reality, Philip looked at his hands, opening and closing them, before looking away, "… Let's end this, once and for all."
"Yes… It's all over now… We saved the city, but the reactor… will probably have to be scrapped. Even the fuel rods too, the contamination is… URG! THAT DAMNED SLAG-BRAINED FUCKER!"
"MAY EVERY HAIR ON YOUR BODY ROT AND EVERYTHING YOU EAT AND DRINK GO STALE!"
"I CURSE YOU, JAMAI!!!"
Years of work down the drain, but at least they kept their lives.
/Fwoop!/
And while the Dwarf cursed his fate, Philip vanished.
…
/Later…/
/Thud!/
Philip dropped Jamai's body on the ground, his expression tense as he did so… because just like the man he met before, this researcher too had been brainwashed by the "entity".
Philip breathed deeply... 'I can see it now… this… game.'
'Deranged motherfucker, wait till I get my hands on you.' He thought as he clenched his fists tightly
For the first time since he came into this world, Philip felt absolute anger towards a particular person. He had felt many things so far, however, this was the first time he wanted to gut someone so much.
"… At least for now, its over." He said as he closed his eyes
…
With Tredis' mind already returned to his body, Philip stepped aside, fearing his mere presence would hurt others if he were to lose control for even a moment.
His scales and other bodily features already retracted, he looked no different from any other man, aside from the floating metal sheets covering his body.
His skin might look ordinary, but it still burned with immense heat, enough to give an ordinary person third-degree burns in an instant. So until he cooled down, there was nothing he could do besides waiting.
Staying like this, however, wasn't comfortable for him. Not only because he was naked, but because "hiding" those aspects of him… was uncomfortable.
But he had to accept it, that was who he was now, '… The very reason I opted to remain like this was because the flames of Armament were too powerful to be released… they still are…'
'I don't know exactly the extent of the changes to my body, but I can say with certainty that Armament has fused with me, becoming second nature… I already assumed that to be the case, but if I were to compare before and now…'
He thought for a long time, but failed to come up with the right terms to describe himself… perhaps that was for the best, 'I could even go so far as to say it has become an extension of my organs.'
'Before, it was something extracorporeal that existed within me… I could push it inside, akin to closing my eyes, but it made me feel awful. That feeling has only grown since then.'
He looked at his hands, exhaling at the thought… From that day on, he couldn't even be himself around others anymore. Much less people, even stone would burn if he sat on it in that state.
/Alarm… Alarm… Alarm…/
Alarms rang everywhere, and with the situation at hand, Philip's gaze moved elsewhere.
"… Have you found him?"
[Yes. It wasn't too difficult… he isn't even aware we tailed him]
When Philip first rescued Tredis' wife, Laplabe came face to face with the man, reporting his existence to Philip. Since then, he kept a distant, but consistent gaze on the Elven agent.
Never did he think the time of their meeting would come so soon. Much less in such… circumstances… nor that he'd be the person responsible for this event.
'No, if anything, I'm to blame for this. I should've been more thorough with my investigation and handling of the situation… May that be a lesson for the future.'
[Activating Skill, Liminal Planetarium (???)]
/Vortex…/
The door to the world beyond opened…
"This time I'll handle things correctly… Let's go meet that son of a bitch."
And he stepped through it.
…
Above, the boy could still be seen arguing with the two Elven ladies, his expression darkening by the second…
'Maybe I should just leave them be. These two idiots can't stop complaining about these meager things… Then again, by sheer luck, he might be able to complete the game I set up for him.'
He almost spat out, 'But with how he handled things, I'm afraid he'd just burst through all of my preparations…'
/Open…/
Besides him, a silent black wolf rested with its legs crossed. But as the boy looked around, seeking a way out of his hurdle, it awakened, its eyes sticking out from the darkness of its fur, gazing straight at him.
[Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv??? smells a change in the tides of destiny]
[Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv??? witness the end of your Fate]
"Huh? What are you on about?"
"As I was saying, you dickhead…"
"No… not you… Can you stop complaining for a second, I…"
[Skill, Ancient Dragon Lord ??? Lv??? has awakened from its slumber]
/SLAM!/
""?!?!""
A massive black claw split the ground between them, freezing all who witnessed it.
From a foggy world, a single eye stared back as the claw retreated into it, {Step back from her!} Xor demanded as an invisible force pushed the boy away, crashing him against an old shelf.
/CRACK!/
As books fell over his head, the boy raised his head, eyes full of complaint, "Oi! Damn half-orc, pull the reins on your damn lizard!"
The purple gem on Lalta's forehead shone intensely, perhaps the strongest it had ever shone. So bright was its light, that its heat radiated outward, "W-What is going on?! I… I didn't…"
Xor did not give her any room for doubt, {Step back! Before you too are dragged into it…}
/Pull…/
"E-Even you?" Latry said as the faint figure of a woman pulled at her shoulders. Rare were the moments it manifested, all special in their own way, and today wasn't one such day… it didn't look like it at least
Seeing them step back, the boy too felt something was off, "What's going on?"
"You tell us! What have you done this time?!" Lalta said as she pointed at him
But he scoffed, "None of your business, I…"
/Shuaa…/
""?!""
Before they knew, the ground had already been overtaken by white fog. It wasn't cold, but as it passed through their legs, it made their hairs stand on it as their stomachs froze.
"T-This doesn't look like something we can brush off…" Lalta claimed as she instinctively reached out for Latry, who also stepped closer to her
Their breaths condensed from the cold, as if suddenly they had been pulled into the depths of the frigid mountains… {Close your eyes. Else you shall lose your sense of self} Xor claimed as the massive claw dug onto the ground before her, blocking her sight from the other half of the room.
"What?!"
/Tap…/
The woman behind Latry blocked her eyes as well, and without complaining, Lalta too closed her eyes, hugging the one beside her as they hid their gaze from whatever was about to arrive.
He finally had enough, "Crap… the hell's all of this?!" The boy said as he tried to leave. But as he activated his Skills, he realized that none of them seemed to work!
Looking around frantically, he exclaimed, "What is going on?!"
{Spawn of spirits, you have gone too far} Xor said as his massive eye stared at him from beyond the mist behind Lalta, {It seems you have provoked something you shouldn't, and it has come for you}
"Then do something about it! Dammit! Do you know what'll happen if…"
The eye gazed away, {I'm not obliged to interfere with anything that does not directly affect my Priest, much less something that would put her in dire harm… This does not conform with the pact I made}
{You're on your own}
He gritted his teeth, "Teleport us back to the forest! You can do that, can't you?!"
{Foolish child, we're already under its dominion, this space has already been severed from your reality… There is nowhere to go, for nothing exists beyond this room. You have brought doom upon yourself}
He was taken aback, "W-What? A space-severing Skill? But how did it bypass our…"
{Perhaps that is better asked to the one who drew us here… And while you're at it, I'd recommend putting thy ambitions aside and pray… that this entity grows bored with your torment}
{Pray it ends on you} He added, almost threateningly
The eye retreated into the mist, "Oi! OII!!… Shit… SHIT!"
The boy looked around, arms spread wide open, "So? COME ON! Where are you?! Coward! If you have something to say to me, then come say it!"
But there was nothing there… The only being that was still there was the wolf, who looked at him in silence:
[Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv??? witness the end of your Fate]
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He exclaimed as he kicked the wolf, only for his feet to go right through it, crashing against the wall, and collapsing it with his mighty strength
The wolf slowly dissipated, vanishing too like the being in the mist.
"Dammit… everyone here is so damn useless." He said as Latry added, "I can feel it… around us…"
She almost seemed to cry as she shoved her face over Lalta's shoulder, "Drunio… what have you done this time? For once, couldn't you have sat down with us and discussed your own thoughts?"
Drunio showed little regret for his actions, but as he turned around to face her, an open door appeared before him, a voice echoing from within:
"—So be it."
/PULL!/
"?!"
A hundred pale arms burst from the void, grasping at every corner of his being, clasping his mouth shut, pulling his eyes open, stretching every limb, before dragging him into the void.
/Tremble…/
And as Drunio was dragged within, Lalta and Latry shook instinctively as his muffled screams and the shaking air were all that remained of him.
…
Lalta slowly peeked around her, "… Is it over?"
"Ugh… its cold." Latry responded as her body trembled all over
The two girls slowly looked around warily. Aside from Drunio's disappearance, nothing had changed.
Lalta scanned the walls, 'I was certain I heard him crash against the shelves, but everything looks fine…'
{If we do nothing, that boy might never return}
""!!""
The usually silent being spoke to them in its deep draconian voice, shattering the silence.
"… For all I hate that brat, if he doesn't return with us, our heads will end up on a platter all the same." Lalta said as she put a hand over her face, "How is he always causing trouble?!"
"If only he weren't here, we would've enjoyed this little recess of ours!"
Latry exhaled, "Then… what do we do now?"
{The best we can do is wait for an opportunity…}
"Didn't you say that if we don't do anything—"
{Yes, that's why we must go after him} Xor said as the gem on her forehead brightened, {We are not without leads. From this short interaction, I was able to lock into the perpetrator's presence}
{Luckily, it's someone we already know}
""Hm?""
…
/Meanwhile…/
Drunio opened his eyes amidst the darkness.
"Huff… where is this place?" He questioned as his voice echoed into the void, almost as if it were replying to him
He dropped his head, but he couldn't see anything, not even his arms. As he tried to generate light, it was engulfed by the shadows, vanishing right before him, 'My body feels heavy.'
/Clack…/
Footsteps echoed behind him, prompting him to turn around in a hurry. As he did so, the approaching figure of a man became evident, one he knew very well.
Drunio's expression twisted slightly, a broken smile before his lips, "I knew it, you were the one behind this…"
Philip stood still, one hand in his pocket as he adjusted his suit with the other, silently measuring his opponent as the latter did the same.
Drunio did not have the patience to wait, "So? Come on! End what you started if you have the courage!"
"… Say's the one running away from the mess he made." Philip replied without a single shred of emotion on his face, "You're going to answer a few questions of mine for the time being—"
/CUT!/
[Activating Skill, A Song of Blades Lv???]
[Activating Skill, Nocturnal Fiesta Lv8]
The Elven boy vanished, reappearing from nothingness, he was wrapped in a cloak of his own energy as his daggers plunged into Philip's skull!
/CLANG!/
"?!"
Yet, as they crashed against Philip's nape, metal seemed to ring as they were repelled outward by the sheer hardness of his foe's skin. If anything, the impact made his head tilt slightly, though mostly from surprise than anything substantial.
Drunio dashed backward as Philip slowly exhaled, almost surprised as well, "… It's been so long since I've faced someone of lesser skill than me that I've forgotten how far I've come."
His worries carried little arrogance, if any. It was as if he were stating a fact of nature, that it was only natural for salmon to be eaten by a bear… there was no shame in order being upheld…
But to the boy, they couldn't be more conceited.
/Clang!/
He bashed his daggers together:
[Activating Skill, Extreme Acceleration Lv4]
/FWOOSH!/
The boy dashed within the darkness, reappearing before Philip as he drew his blades towards his chest!
""…""
Only for Philip to grab both of his wrists with little trouble… /THROW!/
Drunio was thrown aside as Philip put one arm behind his back, "I know these movements quite well. It seems you were trained in Elven swordsmanship to some degree… though there are some aspects I don't recognize."
He only knew the little passed down to him through Princess Larin, but was that all there was to learn?
Philip looked a way, as if facing another, "… There's no need to ask them at all… but I can't help it. I prefer to hear them myself than otherwise." He replied, completely ignoring Drunio.
"Why? Why go through the trouble of putting an entire city in danger?" He asked as he turned to face the boy, "This is a multicultural city, Humans aren't even the overwhelming majority in here."
But Drunio did not answer. Instead, he raised his blades, his expression growing euphoric by the second… Seeing this, Philip couldn't help but recoil a little.
[He is very much like you to a degree] Mita declared aloud, [Aren't you also someone who would stop at little to get what you wanted?]
'Comparing me to him is almost insulting. My morals wouldn't allow me to murder an entire city in cold blood… not for entertainment.' He replied with some disgust as he felt Drunio's emotions
Inside his own Skill, with every passing moment, Drunio's thoughts and actions became clearer by the second. A conversation inside this world, to him, was nothing but a means to delay his resistance.
Philip needed to do nothing but wait for his very Soul to be replicated inside this realm. But unlike the average person who had little to hide, an Elven Hero like Drunio had much to teach him.
Fabrin's daughter, who held little talent aside from her own nurtured abilities, was fully simulated within moments of being registered, while Princess Larin took longer due to her secretive heritage…
But then and now are completely different circumstances… yet it wasn't time yet.
"I…" Drunio was about to reply, but as he did so, a grim took over his lips, "… So what?"
"Sigh, your attempts at riling me up are futile." Philip responded as he checked his nails, "I'm quite aware of your little plan and your intentions, I just wanted to hear them from you."
He pointed his hand at him, "At least that way I'd spare you some leniency."
[Activating Skill, The Forgotten — Erased Lv???]
/BADDUM!/
Drunio felt the entire world freeze, if this darkness could even be discerned… His heartbeat froze mid-pump as his entire body stiffened, and something rose to the tip of his tongue.
Like a question long left unanswered, the words buried inside his mind resurfaced… yet the question remained incomprehensible.
These feelings… who did they belong to?
/GRAB!/
"?!"
Caught in this lapse of time, Drunio failed to realize Philip's hand reaching for his face. In that moment, he awakened from his trance and slashed upward at his arm as it remained exposed!
/CUT!/
Two streaks of blood rained down from Philip's lower forearm as the Elf slid on the ground and into the distance, but rather than showing pain, or any emotion, Philip merely lowered his arm as his wound healed before Drunio had even finished moving.
He only saw, for a brief moment, the blood draining from his wound flow back inside, shocking him.
"Tsk… are you even fucking Human?!" He exclaimed as sweat ran down his forehead
But Philip seemed to be elsewhere, "A Hero remains one regardless of circumstance." He claimed as a dry chuckle reached Drunio, "A child with a gun is still armed… The more I witness, the more I realize…"
Philip stopped speaking for a moment before continuing, "This isn't bad either… Then… how about this?"
He gestured with his arm, a streak of light flashing in the darkness.
/SLASH!/
"!!"
The air split open, reaching Drunio before he even had the chance to react! As he drew in a second breath, his arms fell down, together with his torso!
/SPLAT!/
And as they did so, they melted together, reforming in the distance as Drunio's rapid breaths echoed even stronger, 'T-This crazy bastard! This level of telekinesis is unheard of!'
'How can another summoned Hero have already reached this degree of mastery?! And I thought we were supposed to have been called months earlier!'
Realization settled. At first, Drunio approached Philip for a challenge of an entity of similar origins, adamant he too was a Hero… and from the looks of it, he was correct.
However, never could he have expected the man to have reached such a degree of physical and mental development… 'H-How were we supposed to deal with this? What was the goal of this darned mission?!'
The thought never crossed his head that he could've been wrong. After all, the mighty Heroes of the Elves… how could they fail any mission? Much less against the inferior beings known as Humans?
How could an Elven Hero fail before a Human Hero?!
He gritted his teeth, "You'll regret keeping me here."
[Activating Skill, Rending Blade Lv???]
His knives shone with pearlescent white light, like moonlight shining from above through a crack in a window.
/FWOOSH!/
He swung them down at Philip's back as he teleported from the darkness, plunging them into his back!
"DIE!" He claimed as the daggers pierced into his flesh all the way to the hilt!
/THUD!/
Philip crashed down as his Soul was severed from his body. Drunio's trump card, which could only be invoked once on a given target… to end their life by bypassing all conditions!
"Huff… haha… pfft!" He laughed as he spat on his body, "That's what you get! That's what you get for looking down on me, fucker! Do you think…" /KICK!/ "Do you think this was my first time…"
Drunio continued to curse Philip's corpse as he kicked him down, stopping only to massage his feet as they grew numb, "Arg… just how hard is this bastard's body? It's like kicking a damn boulder…"
He put his hands on his waist, "Now… how do I get out of here?…"
He looked left and right, and eventually, turned around… "… ?!"
/GRAB!/
"Looking for something?" Philip asked as he clenched Drunio's face between his fingers
/Crack…/
Feeling his bones cracking, Drunio screamed in pain, "S-STOP IT!!… AAAARRGG!"
"You surprised me back there. A Skill capable of separating the Soul from the body… one can never underestimate a Hero's potential." He said sarcastically as Drunio's fists kept crashing against his body
But nothing seemed to change, "Don't act like that, there's little to fear here. Death is… a state of being, if you will. You'll come to learn of that soon." He added with a smirk as his fingers clenched harder.
/Crack!/
"AAAAHHHHH!!"
Philip wiped the boy's spit off his face, "… Now, here's how we do things around here."
"This is your new home." He said with a smile, "Welcome… to your new paradise."
"… I'll rip you apart now."
/CRUSH!/
The boy's skull caved in.
…
"… HAAA!"
Drunio woke up in a field of grass, wind brushing past his face as he slowly calmed down… 'A… nightmare?…'
"Oh, that wasn't a dream alright."
"?!?!"
Before Drunio had the chance to react, Philip swooped in, grasping him by the throat, "I was planning on leaving you be for my little friend to manage, but something quite interesting happened in between."
"So… let us begin our first experimental session." He added as his lips curled into a smile that sent shivers down Drunio's spine
…
[The Great Desire of ***** has awakened]
[The Great Desire of ***** hungers for *****]
Despite being unable to tell what it wanted, Philip could more than easily tell what it wanted…
'I'm not feeding you my Skills and Titles again, fuck off. You ate enough last time—'
[The Great Desire of ***** responds to your will]
A faint attraction moved his gaze elsewhere, towards the collapsed body before him…
Seeing this, Philip's narrowed eyes slowly opened, "No… you're insane… I'm insane for thinking of this."
A memory replayed at the back of his mind. The day Petter took back everything that had been taken from him… and an idea formed… Could he not do the same?
[The Great Desire of ***** hungers for *****]
"… There was never anything about it having to be my Skills and Titles… right?"
The world changed under his influence, and soon enough, Drunio had been reformed, as if nothing had happened…
"Oh, that wasn't a dream alright."
…
Holding Drunio by the neck, Philip wondered about what to do next, "… Let's start slow… we need him alive after all."
A guiding sensation, pulling his gaze towards the boy's chest… 'I'll pull only one thing…'
[The Great Desire of ***** responds to your will]
"!!!"
Something seemed to wrap itself around his hand as it plunged inside Drunio's chest, and at the same time, a new notification flashed before him, trembling as if about to fade away…
[Name: Drunio Daquo…
Race: Type-1 Forest Elf
Home World: Berteerierand (+) // Registered World: Eden (+)
Class: Blade of Aker-Fa (+) // Level 40
— Title —
The Dancer of Twilight
…
]
The Status Panel was quite similar to his, though whether that was due to his own preferences or not, now was not the time to ponder over it, 'The Status of an Elven Hero… how exciting.'
Philip's gaze first fell on his Class. Could he steal the Class of a foreign Hero? Maybe… but even if he succeeded, only problems would follow his achievement.
He had no use for it, and the rewards were few. The risk far outweighed the rewards… A live Hero was far more valuable than a dead one, after all…
With little thought, he moved down to his Titles.
'… Only a handful of them, and most aren't worth much… But these… the Titles connected to his Class are more than worthy of being taken. They are the representation of a fable of ancient times.'
'But if they end up devoured, then their worth isn't that great… I feel as if there's still much to learn about this… situation. Rather than doing something reckless, perhaps I should go with something simpler…'
His eyes soon fell on one of his many Skills, and his smile deepened, "I'll take this one."
/Clench…/
"?!"
Drunio felt an indescribable level of helplessness and—
/Pull!/
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
A guttural scream, a sound almost unbelievable, escaped his lips as Philip ripped open his vessel…
[The Great Desire of ***** —]
/Whimper!/
At that moment, the pitiful cries of a dog rang out behind him, breaking his concentration.
Philip turned around, grunting faintly, "Hm?…"
[Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv??? begs for mercy]
A large black wolf, its fur so dark it almost seemed to devour the surrounding light, like a patch of nothingness that moved… or rather, rolled in the grass.
Philip was momentarily taken aback, "This is… are you a Skill with an Ego? Just like Loan Shark."
'Interesting… my plans have changed a little.'
"I'll keep you, welcome to the party."
'What's one more living entity inside my head, anyway?…'
The large wolf seemed to understand his intent. It rolled back onto its paws and pushed its head against his legs as Philip reached out for it…
[You have acquired the Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv???]
[The Great Desire of ***** hungers for *****]
Philip didn't even need to read the notifications to understand what he lacked, "Yes… I'm feeling a bit empty too." He said as he patted the wolf's head as its gaze fell on the shell-shocked Drunio…
"Y-You… what have you…"
[Skill, Inevitable Hound Lv??? witness the end of your Fate]
That was the last notification he saw. As Drunio's gaze turned to the wolf, who now stood against him, their eyes met for a moment, before the creature walked away, leaving only Philip in his field of view.
"Ahhh…"
Philip's hand plunged onto his chest, his twisted expression burning with a strange energy, though it seemed even he wasn't aware of it, "What should I take next?…"
/PLUNGE!/
So began Drunio's nightmare.
…
[The Great Desire of *****
Description: There was once one who sought perfection beyond flesh, thought, and Soul, pursuing a state that could no longer be described through the ordinary boundaries of life.
***** altered ***** again and again, discarding weakness, *****, reshaping every failure, every achievement, every success, into another step toward *****.
At the end of *****, stood before *****
*****
One must hunger, else they stagnate, and are consequentially, forgotten.
To seek a path none have traveled before... To go beyond all others… This is what you aspire to reach... Do not forget what first compelled you to greatness.
...
- You have been unshackled... There is nothing that can bound your body. You are able to adapt to all phenomena, no matter how little, if enough time and energy are provided.
...
This Title can be linked with another Title allowing for two Titles to be equipped at once.
>Extra effect: Endless Mutation
...
> Extra effect: Golden Body
...
> Extra effect: Seek the Path ahead
...
> Extra effect: Extreme Apex
...
> Extra effect: Vital Core
The Hypercells have evolved beyond conventional biology, converging into networks centered around one, or multiple Vital Cores.
The Vital Cores continuously analyzes the body, surrounding threats, foreign substances, energies, adapting to stimuli at all times, determining which changes should be preserved, improved, suppressed, or discarded.
Vital Cores are able to directly handle energy to aid their operations. Severe injury, extreme stress, and powerful emotions enhances all of Vital Core's capabilities.
> Extra effect: Beast of the Battlefield
...
> Extra effect: Nest
...
> Extra effect: Shadow Lurker
...
> Extra effect: Veteran Hunter
...
> Extra effect: Nocturnal Predator
During the night, all of your Stats are massively enhanced. This effect partially activates while under natural or unnatural darkness, with diminishing effects from its intensity.
You can perfectly see in darkness.
/Evolver has absorbed 7 Titles, 2 Traits, and 1 Skill/
...
]
...
.
.
.
Notes
This is half of the original chapter. I had to cut the rest... apologies. I'll try to post the later half within this week still. With that aside... thank you all for reading!
Anyhow, Philip captured his first Hero, hurray! There is still a lot left to explore!
Slowly, but surely, I'll develop this new fragment of Philip's identity that wasn't as well explored in the original... To think he has come this far...
That's all from me, bye!