854. A Moon Awakens Into A Star
Cer returned from her introspection feeling like an entirely different person. Her body was certainly bigger from what she could tell. Her hands were slightly larger, and her fingers longer and more beautiful than she rembered.
She didn’t grow much, but it was certainly noticeable. However, she did not allow this to distract her from what she needed to do. Her eyes were fixed on the fleeting Raoul and his ensemble.
Her legs moved on their own. She ran towards them before she knew it. Along the way she also noticed various broken spears littering the path.
Soone must have helped … Was it Frost?
She could not help but believe this was the case.
The wind blew her hair back. They followed her like ribbons as she ran on all fours. But soon, she erected her posture and ran on two legs. She was sohow faster like this. Not only that, but she was moving even faster than compared to having [Galvanic Current] active.
Suddenly, a prompt and a familiar voice spoke to her as her speed rapidly ramped up.
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< Your Awakening Event Has Begun >
< “A pleasure to be the very first voice in your head. But fret not, my friend! This is but for a rrily reason!”
“Magus…” Cer spoke softly into the wind. She couldn’t believe it. An Archetype was speaking to her telepathically. “Am I… really Awakening?”
< “Rather than questioning what is and what isn’t, it will do you well to accept it as it is.” >
“Mm… Yeah. You’re right. No point in denying it. What does it an? To Awaken?”
< “When your inner Self denies the temptations of the Shadows and the desires of the Ego, and follows the heart with an unbreakable belief… That, my dear fuzzy friend, is an Awakening.” >
“I don’t feel different.”
Aside from her speed and body changes, there was nothing else to see. She could not view her stats to confirm what exactly had changed. But she didn’t care. All that mattered to her right now was to reach Raoul and surpass him as an incandescent light of her own.
“Speed… I need more of it. More…”
[OO] [Hypercharged Slipstream [OO]
< EFFECT: Absolution II version of Galvanic Current. Increases current total AGI by 100% >
AGI: 270
< “Follow your own star.” >
“MORE!” She cried.
Suddenly, the ground fractured with each step. Then, her legs ca to an abrupt stop. There was no reason to stop now, but she felt like it was the right thing to do. Her mind operated faster than even her instincts could react, which boggled her since it was usually the other way around.
Then, she saw it. A prompt that gave her what she needed the most.
< New Unique Category has been granted >
< All stats have trendously increased >
< New stat gained: Light >
Awakened Skills
< Of the Stars >
< “There is sothing you should know, Cer. Awakened Skills have up to 5 variations. Think of it like how Absolution works! Absolution amplifies a Skill depending on your level of Tempering. The higher it is, the more Light can form, and thus, the higher the strength of the augntation.” >
< (A) Warp Speed [O] >
< What was once solely for the Angels >
< EFFECT: Move at Warp-levels of speed until a Skill is used or movent has ceased >
< COST: 1 Light >
< This Cost is nil during the monts proceeding your Awakening Even >
< AGI: 600 >
“Warp Speed…? This is –!”
Cer was almost dazed by this. 600 AGI was so fast that it was indistinguishable from short-range teleportation.
But this was not the end.
< “No, Cer. Forgive my interruption but try not to forget that you are Tempered to the Second State.” >
< (A) Godspeed [OO] >
< Reserved for what were once considered deities >
< EFFECT: Move at ludicrous levels of speed until a Skill is used or movent has ceased >
< COST: 3 Light >
< AGI : 1,000 >
“!?!?!?!?!” Cer’s mind nearly short circuited, but against all odds, she transford that shock into conviction.
A toothy grin ford on her face as she assud the position a sprinter would take before running. The ground beneath her legs gave way like they were made of putty. Her claws dug into the ground, struggling to hold onto sothing. Her strength was so imnse that she could not grip onto anything.
< “Follow your own Polaris in your skies.” >
She set her sights onto Raoul again, and finally, Magus uttered one last thing to her.
< “Reach that star and beco one yourself.” >
Cer bared her fangs and chomped down as hard she could, creating and electric current that flowed as far as 50 ters from her. Blades of grass gloated as golden, electric arks flashed through the air. It extended to another 50 more ters, reaching 100 ters in total.
Parts of her hair carried a golden sheen as it passed by her eyes. The fur of her white-tipped ears and tail also possessed a similar golden color. It shed with the blue from her Corrupted Persona [Craving Electric Wolf].
“Raoul… You’re not getting away from ! I won’t let it end like this! A Moon like … no. forget the Moon! I’m more than that now! I AM CER – THE WOLF WHO COULD!”
Five kiloters of earth collapsed as Cer propelled herself at a speed rivalling Snap’s. But unlike Snap whose speed did not convert into kinetic energy, so of Cer’s did, resulting in the utter annihilation of the blue garden.
She moved with a trail of light as a golden, electrically charged aura surrounded her. The city of Primus Ramus beyond the boundaries of the Blue Dahlia folded into itself in her wake. Hundreds of ters worth of land was flattened. She did not need to run. Cer practically flew.
Fractured landmasses rose and sunk behind her, so tipping over and creating new hills or tiny mountains. It was an unprecedented amount of power, to the point where it rivaled the uncontested might of Infusion S.
Mountains parted before her. Eventually, she reached the coastline and passed overhead a fleet of Inflow Direct’s ships.
Cer rapidly encroached on the dark ensemble. Her speed was enough to warrant an imdiate swarm of dark spears; the sa kind that had debilitated her by re proximity. But those spears moved so slowly in Cer’s eyes that she almost couldn’t believe it.
She zipped across the skies, dodging the spears effortlessly. To an onlooker it appeared as though Cer was bouncing off the spears individually as she progressed her way forward uncontested.
Raoul lifted his three-headed blade into the air and called upon a swarm of lightning storms to assail Cer. But nothing could touch her. She took note of where the first flashes of lightning appeared before weaving her way into a different direction. Since her mind flowed faster than she could react, Cer was able to form an elaborate ntal map of the storm ahead.
This allowed her to morize precisely where the lighting strikes would hit after the initial spark appeared.
“I hate how much it shocks you to see thrive. We’ve deluded ourselves to the point of no return. But only one of us was willing to return our delusions to the shelves. I see the façade. Of all the parts of you that refuse to shine… it’s your lies and contempt of that shines the brightest! Ain’t that telling of just what kind of monster you’ve beco!”
Cer knew Raoul could not hear her. But her emotions were overflowing. Raoul thrust his blade forward this ti. It grew to over hundreds of ters long, likely due to the power of the shadowy woman who accompanied him.
There was nowhere for them to go. The sea spanning between Grandis and Dwarhelven was vast. But she knew that their destination was the Derma Layer. It was a matter of when now, and she feared that it would be soon.
The dark swirls that surrounded them grew with every passing second.
Raoul thrust his weapon forward. This was an attack that she could not avoid. The reason for this was because of the Qliphoth Field that surrounded them. It was far too thick for her to penetrate.
However, Raoul’s blade extended beyond it.
She was able to see a gap into the Qliphoth Field, but to get through it, she needed to get through his blade.
“Cer… to still chase even now…” Raoul uttered, unable to believe his eyes. “How… is this possible?”
“I stopped feeling sorry for myself… and for you! I didn’t co here to chase you! I ca here to stop you!”
< (A) Brightpaw [O] >
< A shining reminder of a wolf’s secondary weapon >
< EFFECT: Physical attack. Harden your claws to near unbreakable levels. Deal 120,000 damage per swipe. Ignores all DEF stats >
< COST: 1 Light per minute >
Her right paw revealed golden-augnted claws that clashed against Raoul’s blade. Imdiately, cracks of golden light ford across the tip of the blade as Cer pushed as had as she could.
“Neither of us are going to break through this dented dream!” Raoul howled. “Father has seen you now! You will never be able to leave his shadow like I!”
“Let him try! Let them all co to ! Raoul… If I can’t be the best damned moon that ever was –!”
< (A) Ascended Claw [OO] >
< A reminder of a wolf’s dignity >
< EFFECT: Physical attack. Harden your claws to near unbreakable levels. Deal 350,000 damage per swipe. Ignores all DEF stats >
< COST: 2 Light per minute >
The blade cracked further. Various dark spears appeared in the skies again. They converged at Cer’s position at once, attempting to eliminate her once and for all.
“– THEN I’LL SURPASS THAT!”
Cer broke through Raoul’s blade as her speed increased beyond even that of Infusion S.
< You are Tempered to the Third State >
< Unique Ability Gained >
< ABILITY: Tempered (Third State) >
< Neshama >
< EFFECT: Emotional stability over the Third State. You are not immune from instability, however. Nex generated from the Third State and lower may be internalized into usable Light >
< (A) Deconstructing Swipe [OOO] >
< What was there will be no more >
< EFFECT: Physical attack. Harden your claws to an indestructible level. Deal 600,000 damage per swipe. Ignores all DEF stats. If target’s MP is at 0, then swipes will irreparably damage the Soul >
< COST: 4 Light per minute >
< (A) Lightspeed [OOO] >
< 0.0008% >
< EFFECT: Move at unprecedented levels of speed until a Skill is used or movent has ceased. One Skill may be used in tandem with this Skill. May only be used in short 10 second bursts >
< COST: 6 Light >
< AGI : 2,400 >
Cer spiraled down the length of his several hundred ter-long blade in what seed to be an instant. She had appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it –
“I’ll stop chasing that damned dream of mine to be like you! I’ll stop chasing you and beco my own star!”
– Cer’s claws punctured his chest. She dragged him out of the ensemble, her speed easily eclipsing theirs.
Their howls could not even reach her.
Seconds later, they dark swirls teleported them away, leaving her with only Raoul now.
“The false moon you called ! The little Cer who couldn’t do anything but hold your hand! The Cer who followed in your steps to beco like you! The Cer who did everything she could to bring you back to reality! The only Cer now is the one who broke through this cursed delusion of ours! I, Raoul – Have beco a Star that will shine higher than you or anyone had ever reached! It’s no longer my phase of the moon. It’s no longer a façade or a jester act! This is where I belong! This is my dignity as – WHO I AM!”
Raoul was speechless.
He gazed into Cer’s eyes, unable to do anything else whilst dragged by the sheer force of his tiny sister.
“Tiny… no… You’ve grown…” Raoul croaked.
The rims of Cer’s eyes glowed gold as she clenched her teeth. Her claws sunk deeper into his chest, shattering everything that dared to stop it until her fist was completely subrged in his body.
“Since when… have you shone so brightly…?”
Cer could no longer control the trajectory of her flight. They were seconds away from crashing into the sea.
“Ah… No… The Cer I saw that day… The Cer I rember… has always… always…”
Raoul drew his last breath.
Cer’s expression didn’t change. The face that he rembered weeping in his arms held so much contempt towards him.
“… have shone like a candle… that was on the verge of dying out… how incandescent… do you now shine…”
*Crash*
They skipped across the surface of the sea.
It was no different from landing on a field of concrete. They rolled for hundreds of ters before settling into the ocean.
< Cer. This is Nav speaking. Can you hear ? >
< Hello? Cer? >
< Cer…? >
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