“Fuck.” I cursed, watching the remaining Spawns charge. The Fiend was yet another issue because it, too, sprinted in the sa direction. But whether the Fiend was coming at or the Spawns…did that really matter right now?
Reaching out for my core’s reserves, I quickly realized they were empty. The weave was empty as well, the circulation system completely sucked dry.
I even had to terminate my Soulfusion with Volix since its duration was used up. Extending the regular duration was possible, but damaging the bond was the last thing I wanted.
Not that I can avoid it. The bond would be damaged one way or another.
The fiery armor disappeared alongside the phoenix wings, and I landed on the ground just as the first Spawn reached . Siphoning ether from my first Gate, I triggered Blink and teleported to the side. Nullblade and Predator activated next as my blade descended, severing one of the Spawn’s legs.
Being a quadruplet, the Spawn faltered and smashed headfirst into the ground. I tried to attack once more, but the other Spawns were already upon .
I shifted on my legs, which fortunately worked like they were supposed to again. A rectangular shield materialized before , attached to my left arm. Not even a mont later, the next Spawn smashed into it. One of its heads lit up, and a ripple of ether rocketed through the point of impact. The next mont, I was hurled through the air and crashed straight into a young tree several ters behind .
The tree snapped and didn’t even slow as I slamd into the ground.
They noticed your soul. The Sacrifice should have affected you. It would have – if not for your World…or for , though I do not believe the Devourer’s Spawns are intelligent enough to understand that.
Volix spoke as I got up with a groan.
The third Spawn charged at but never reached its target because the Fiend intercepted it first. The humanoid beast snarled at the quadruplet Spawn, its massive claws coated in a dark, eerie hue as it tore into it.
The Spawn shrieked in pain, yet it continued its attempt to reach . Or would have, if not for the Fiend attacking it relentlessly.
Sacrifice? I asked my Soulkin while scrambling to my feet.
Even though it was foolish to siphon more ether than necessary from my Gates, I did it anyway. A sense of loss washed over as the Gates’ ether surged into the weave and my World’s core, fueling them just enough to keep fighting. Yet as I regained the energy needed to activate my traits, my physical strength dropped sharply. That was the price I paid for draining my Gates.
Refilling them wouldn’t be pleasant either, but it was better than dying. That much was obvious.
The Spawn killed itself. It shattered its Source and released all the power it accumulated over its lifeti at once. It attacked your soul and your World, but you didn’t even realize it, did you? That only confirms what I always suspected. I chose well in binding to you.
Volix continued, the excitent in his bond confusing and horribly ill-tid.
Know this. It killed itself to harm you. And since that failed, the Spawn’s Sacrifice has inford all of its kind in the region of what you might be. It is fortunate they are attacking you rather than fleeing. You can still kill them before they inform the Devourer.
Great…yeah, sure.
The knowledge that I could have died just like that stirred sothing deep within . Fear surged through my chest, but it also hardened my resolve. I had to kill the Spawns. Now.
Two quadruplet Spawns charged at . The first was the one I had injured earlier, but it shifted, replacing its severed leg with a griffon’s. Black-feathered wings burst from its back, yet sothing about them felt wrong. Faces erged from the wing bones, their resemblance disturbingly familiar.
Hawk heads; beaks wide open, electricity gathering within them.
Predator scread a warning, and I dove aside. A mont later, dozens of lightning bolts ripped through the air, each powerful enough to burn through flesh and bone. None of them struck .
Instead, the second Spawn did.
I hadn’t even noticed it behind until its claws raked across my back. Pain exploded through my spine, followed by sothing far worse. The claws dug deeper.
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Was it trying to rip out my spine? It could have been anything. Either way, it was bad.
I tried to trigger Blink, but the trait failed . Instead, I caught a whiff of Daniel and the others rushing in.
They arrived just in ti.
A massive axe cleaved down beside , missing by a hair’s breadth but not missing the Spawn. The pressure on my back didn’t vanish, but it lessened significantly. Lea burst past , her expression deadly serious. Sothing behind exploded a mont later, followed by a pained scream. The Spawn’s.
Scott and the divination beast stood off to the side, their eyes twinkling in similar yet distinctly different ways.
The divination beast neighed loudly and activated its trait once more, boosting my ether’s potency. It t my gaze, and I found myself wondering again just how intelligent it truly was.
My back erupted in fierce pain as I used Pond of Life to tend to my wounds. Yet sothing was wrong. Blood continued to pour from the injury, refusing to slow. I tried cauterizing it when the Pond of Life’s nectar failed to help, but that didn’t work either. Sothing was blocking the effect. Sothing was still lodged in my back.
Let !
Nox shouted as he materialized beside . His bloodlust flooded the area, saturating the space around us, and I was almost certain the Ferronox Mantis would leap at the Spawns in the next mont. Instead, he slashed across my back with Nullblade and removed the embedded claws clumsily, urgency overriding precision.
too~
Sapsie exclaid joyfully, trying and failing to erge from the World. I restrained her once more.
You can get your blood later. We have to survive first. I called out before rejoining the battle, Pond of Life’s nectar finally beginning to take effect.
Scott and the divination beast charged simultaneously at one of the Spawns. However, they faced the Spawn already engaged with the Fiend rather than the others. Daniel and Lea bombarded the second Spawn, while the third vanished into the shadows after its claws had been severed.
“Did it flee?” I muttered aloud, my heart skipping a beat. That would be bad. I still had no idea who the Devourer was or how strong he was, but if he was a threat to the Spirits, I would do best to avoid him. Stay off his radar.
Then I recalled Lifesight and activated the trait.
Life flooded my perception. It was everywhere, except in three places. One void lay before the Fiend, another was being pumled by the siblings, and the third was…right below .
I blinked away as far as I could. The move saved as a massive, worm-like creature adorned with hundreds of monster faces burst from the ground where I had stood a mont earlier.
Conjuring several fireballs and earthen spikes coated with Nullblade, I struck out. A barrier materialized out of nowhere and blocked the fireballs, while the earthen spikes pierced through it and into the heads they targeted. Yet the spikes barely dealt any damage. If anything, I lost the clash. The spikes consud several tis more ether the instant they made contact with the Spawn.
I let the spikes crumble as soon as I realized what was happening, but the damage was already done. As a result, both weave and core were empty once more, forcing to increase the amount of ether siphoned from my Gates…further weakening my physique.
I can’t go on like this for long.
A few more minutes and my Gates would be drained as well.
I think it’s ti.
Aureus called out, which only made grimace further.
Alas, I didn’t have much of a choice. An overwhelming amount of ether crashed down on , rooting in place as the massive Spawn descended.
Finally!
The Elental Phoenix called out as I gave in.
A mont later, my World turned into a dazzling sun. Golden particles of soul energy ignited and transford into a wildfire that spread across every corner of my World. My unoccupied soul energy–everything I had accumulated over the last few years–was sacrificed and fed to the Elental Phoenix. Only a ager safety reserve remained untouched. The rest surged forward, unsealing more of its power.
This better be worth it!
Even if it wasn’t, empowering Volix was the fastest way to gain strength. The Mind and Soul empowernt were instantaneous. My thoughts sharpened, clarity washing over . My movents felt more precise, as though I had unlocked a deeper layer of Predator. A layer capable of processing details that my mind had previously failed to grasp in ti.
The soul empowernt was…different.
Sothing had been bothering for a while. A sensation of being watched, even when no one was around. Now it intensified. I reached out toward it, and it slipped away.
The Elental Phoenix transford my World into a sun. His power surged through the lower levels of the Guardian Rank with ease and burst through the Mid levels just as effortlessly. I felt more attuned to the Major Fire Aspect, as though sothing new was on the verge of forming, yet it didn’t.
No new trait manifested, but I wasn’t sure that even mattered.
This should be enough to show you how it’s done.
Volix called out and manifested in the open world for the first ti.
The Elental Phoenix appeared before , his massive wings unfurling in the midst of the battlefield.
The undergrowth caught fire even though Volix never touched it. And when he did, plants didn’t burn. They crumbled, collapsing into ash instead.
A mighty screech tore through the valley. Then Volix shot forward even faster than a skytrain at top speed.
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