Energy crackled across the air as a jagged, blue streak of Lightning erupted from the ends of my slapping blades, piercing through the dexterous mage tossing massive steaks of stone-cutting winds at me. The bolt ripped through his leather chest piece like butter, Ripple Stride carrying me just out of another slashing swordsman's reach as I sliced the mages throat before he could hit the soil. Shuffling at my backside was all the indication needed to twist back with a flurry of slashes, landing a thumping Flow Strike to the swordsman's shoulder killing his swing's momentum. A follow-up Lightning Strike slid under his helm, blasting a hole through the back of the fighter's neck as I side stepped a torrent of countless thick, sharpened stakes. The death echo pinged as subtly as ever, making a light blue and purple hue over my vision momentarily.
The new contender responsible for the stakes, a mage adorning ceremonial wraps decorated with elegantly penned symbols as robes extended their palm, began releasing another stream from their incredibly loose hanging sleeve. A burst of water mana ejected from my feet as Ripple Stride pulled me out of the second barrage's path, tightroping along the rocky cliffside overlooking one of Myzur's oceans. With a leap, I managed to evade another wave of tiny stakes and buy a second to release a Lightning Bolt their way. The mages' robes fluttered like a flag as their bare foot stomped onto the hard mountain soil, summoning the same color bark as the surrounding forests' blood-orange trees with deep sanguine leaves. Unfortunately for him, the bark didn't lift him out of harm's way quick enough, as a streak of lightning burned through the back of his knee causing the mage to buckle.
The surprisingly skillful mage did manage to twist and land awkwardly on one leg as he hunched to address the smoke wafting from the hole in his other knee. Landing into a tuck and roll and popping up to stay in a twisting Flow, the edge of my Twinblade cut cleanly through his neck, decapitating the mage with Flow Sever. A massive burst of Mana immediately surged back into my gut as the Death Echo pinged, nearly refilling my Mana Pool and marking my 31st victim in less than…
[ KILL & BE KILLED ] - Final Event (LIVE)
Remaining Participants: 3,685,451
Titan's Path: East (55,327.4m)
Eliminations: 118
Time Until Catastrophic Tectonic Shift: 0:11:17
…6 minutes. Scanning the cliffside however, you couldn't have guessed by the few charred trees and moist soil spots the sheer carnage that took place on this bluff. Clashing of steel faintly echoed through my ears, as did the subtle buzz that vibrated as my blade nicked armor and bones alike. There was a soft lull in violence already since I'd arrived at this cliffside though, where I'd taken a moment to meditate and try to shake off the terrible itchiness across my back. After what felt like a decent amount of time on my stormy internal beach side, I was overwhelmed with a very particular stench. It was as if someone managed to sour some steel, like Lonni had made a catastrophic mistake in his shop and it was wafting into my house at Elysium. When my eyes opened, the cacophonous screams and pings of combat surrounded me, as a wave of combatants washed in from the forest I too had rolled in from. After that, well, I let loose a little.
This time however, the crashing waves at my backside caught my attention. Not so much the sound, but where I saw the tides crash as I danced along the cliffside fighting that last wood-mage. I strolled over and took a knee, knowing the strong winds at this height were probably enough to catch me off guard and push me over. The towering bluff sloped hard, damn-near a perfect 90 degree angle the closer to the tide I looked, implying high-tide must rise exponentially higher at night. That is, if the same rules about the moon even apply anymore.
Damn, have we not had a single night-swim?
Shaking off the disappointment, my eyes trained onto the massive arching grotto embedded into the cliffside far below. The shadow it casted was entirely too deep to see into the cavern, though something told me by its sheer scale and the time it took the tide to wash back from entering its mouth, that it wouldn't be particularly shallow.
*rustle*
My head wrapped around just in time to spot the lithe figure sprinting in at my backside. Dropping to the ground, I stabbed forward hoping to pierce the flanker without falling off the cliff. Instead, my blade phased through a golden shadow that rippled, spiraled, and dissipated. Kipping up to my feet, I immediately shuffled away from the edge and entered my Fluidic Fighters Stance.
*rustle*
My head whipped around toward the sound, only for another dark, masked figure to bolt in from my periphery. Twisting and dropping my back foot, Lightning Strike quickened my stab that flew straight through the assassin's chin and skull like it were a cloud, dispersing the illusion.
Motherfucker, I'm wasting mana.
"…alright asshole, neat trick. Can we fight now, before more people show up?" I called out into the windy, red-orange forest. I didn't expect a verbal reply, instead another masked figure grasping twin sai. Unwilling to waste the mana further, I instead leaned on my technique in twisting and slashing across the figures throat. This time however, it ducked, spinning back and jabbing his sai through my shoulder. I braced for the pain and unleashed a Lightning Strike for his throat, only for the realization to hit after the assassin faded into thin air that I was never hurt.
"Ho-hoo, VERY fancy. I can't tell if you want to fight or fuck around. I've had my fill as it is, by all means take your time." I called out, wearing a false grin in hopes to maybe antagonize this guy. Clearly they're some kind of assassin/mage mix, unless this little trick doesn't cost a lot of mana.
*rustle*
Another figure emerged from behind a tree, sprinting straight for me. I stood still, scanning the area around me while keeping the possible mirage at the corner of my eye. Once it got within striking range, I feigned a slash and stabbed low. The figure ducked as I'd planned directly into my blade, once more disappearing into a cloud.
*sniff*
Without thinking my hips spun back, throwing my arms across my body and deflecting a floating sai from stabbing into my neck. Feeling resistance against my blade, I threw a quick stab toward where I'd imagine someone would be. Immediately, I was rewarded with the guttural bloody cough and manifestation of the masked figure, hunched over my blade and glaring into my eyes with a pair devoid of any color. Yet, the stench of static and ash permeated from him as he tried sneaking a sai up into my neck. Seeing the flow shift in his shoulder, I kicked off his chest, ripping my blade from his stomach. Blood sprayed from the figures gut as he released his sai, revealing a chain connected to its hilt as it flew out toward my neck. Weaving my head down and to the side, the blade whizzed by barely cutting the top of my ear.
Feeling a sudden rush of unbridled rage surge through my system, Lightning mana currents rippled around my arms like pistons as I released 3 consecutive Lightning Strikes through the assassins chest and neck. The man's body popped and bursted with blood after each added wound, until finally falling limp to the ground. Still unsatisfied, I knelt down and ripped the man's mask off, revealing a face I hadn't seen since the Placement Tournament.
"YOU." I growled, having burned the face of the man I brutalized for boasting about their torturing of a weaker opponent deep into my brain. He wore a smile, shaking as his tiny breaths began to slow.
"G-gon…gonna k-kill…" he murmured, sweat and blood beading across his incredibly pale face.
*squelch*
Piercing my blade deep into his throat, all signs of life escaped from my old…enemy? Could I even call him that after what I did to him? The animosity I contorted his limbs and ligaments out of place with, the actual joy I felt…makes me itchy. And since when did he lose all color in his eyes?
*click*
*THUMP*
Before my head could fully turn back to address the odd mechanical clicks behind me, a massive concussive force blasted into my back, throwing me fully over the cliff sending me hurtling head first down the steep bluff. Ignoring the shooting pain in my spine and the nefarious gruff chuckling echoing from above, I raised my arm up and fired my grappling hook up toward the cliff side. It barely arched over and snagged the edge when my chest scraped against the cliff side, yanking my momentum into a full swing.
*crack*
I winced feeling the cliffside rocks give out under my grapple hook, sending me hurtling through the air in a free fall.
Shit, shit!
I scrambled trying to summon back my grapple hook, watching as the ground kept getting closer and closer by the second. Realizing the cliff's rock face wall was still at my side, I charged a Lightning Strike for as long as I felt safe while falling easily a hundred meters down. Lightning crackled and roared like an electronic beast through my ear as I fired my blade out toward the wall, stabbing deep into the stone and blowing a hole in the wall. My blade stuck in then slipped loose from the blast, pausing my momentum enough to get my boots dragging against the stone walls jagged face. Dropping a hilt and letting it dangle by the chain, I stuck my hand into the hole hoping to use it as a grasp. Instead, I ripped a chunk of loose rock free, putting all my weight into it as I flew headfirst back into a free fall.
"Man-" was all I could disappointedly muster, smashing my shoulder against the wall and ricocheting off. My eyes reopened to find the ground on a fast approach, making my stomach sink upward.
*click*
Without hesitation, I fired my newly reeled grapple hook up, holding my breath and shutting my eyelids tight. A long sigh exhaled as I felt my momentum swinging up as I peaked, finding myself flying straight into the lightless mouth of the massive grotto.
Oh fuck.
The impact of landing sent a jolt through my system as I tucked down and rolled to minimize the impact.
*thud*
The bottom of my feet bounced off a rock, halting my roll dead. Chuckling in disbelief I'm still fucking breathing, I rolled over to my knees and popped up.
*THUD*
"Ah, what the f-" I said aloud, rubbing my head and pressing my other fist against the low stone roof above me.
Not what I expected.
As I began turning back toward the light outside, I heard the familiar sound of waves crashing from deep in the cave. Curiosity at how deep this little passage could go reamerged, especially with how sweet the water in this cave smelled. It was like a mixture of fresh honeysuckle and jasmine. Content with having well over a hundred eliminations already, my hunched form scooted around into a U-Turn and continued down the dark passage. The lightning mana circulating through my twin blades' chains served as good a torch as any, revealing the glistening streams running opposite to one another along the cave floor.
Venturing further, both the aroma and the stream's intensity rapidly increased tenfold, sending my senses into an absolute frenzy. The water itself felt like it was embracing my every pore, removing every ache and pain and replacing it with a warm sensation. The smell permeating across the cave was intoxicating, so much so I forgot when I dropped down to all fours, or how long I was crawling through the rapids that'd risen up to my neck. Popping back up, I was relieved to see the lightning still surging through my twin blades as they emerged from the water. Though, curious, I dropped them back under the water, and was left puzzled to see no glow when they were submerged.
Woah.
The sound of a massive volume of water swishing pulled my attention forward as a wave rushed by me, pouring down the other rapid without bleeding into mine, the one heading upstream, at all. Relieved I'd chosen this one for no notable reason, I quickened my pace realizing this place was very clearly weird, and this wonderful aroma is fucking with me. Just as my appreciation for this place has devolved to a resentment for choosing to explore its passage, the narrow claustrophobic path opened up into a massive cavern. Massive blue crystals glistened with bolts of dark purple lightning across the ceiling for the edges of the cavern, creating a strobing natural light. A towering spiraling wave circled around a sanctuary of perfectly calm water, as if guarding the small wooden desk sat atop a platinum platform in the center that looked way out of place.
Nah, I'm SO telling Korbin about this thing.
Excitement welled at having my own protecting mini-tsunami at the docks for my meditation station I requested as I jogged into the water after the wave passed. Oddly, my feet walked across the surface instead of sinking straight down, allowing me to sprint straight onto the platform.
Nevermind, shitty defenses. Still cool though.
Plopping down onto the finely crafted, old-timey chair with spiraling designs etched all across, a pair of crystals sat across each other on the desk sparked to life. Two streaks of blue lightning jolted into my hands, causing my blades to glow an intensely bright blue light.
*ding*
[ SCANNING… ]
Streaks of lighting thinned and traced over the blades, rolling up my arms then up and down my entire upper body.
[ ManaPrint Identification match: 96% ]
"Welcome home, Galenthelos."
"Woah, hey no, this is a misund-" the crystals jumped up into the air, hovering across from each other generating a rectangular image out of the lighting mana they generated between them.
"Your file update request made; 24.8 trillion years, 261 days, 18 hours and 47 minutes ago has been successfully updated for: 17.8 trillion years, 98 days, 2 hours and 8 minutes ago." An oddly familiar male voice replied, though I couldn't quite finger as to where I might've heard it before. Plus, I suppose the report requests from a technically dead god coinhabiting my best friend's spirit would literally go to waste if nobody listens here, right? Besides, the odds I run into Korbin at all here are probably pretty slim until everyone's numbers dwindle.
"Yeah, fuck it. Lay it on me uh, bud?" I finally replied, leaning back and taking a quick glance around my temporary little Tom-cave. The screen expanded outward, bending around my head and encompassing my vision.
"After the turn of a single new integration, an anomaly matched the event you foresaw, titled: Usurper."
The screen portrayed a massive outward zoom from some galaxy, one that definitely didn't look like the Milky Way photos I'd seen online pre-integration. The screen scrolled through tasting clouds of flashing light before finally zooming in again, flying through red storms and passing thousands of planets and stars alike. Finally, the zoom halted over a planet glowing with a yellowish hue. Massive gold and purple explosions clashed and rippled across the surface before zooming through the foggy atmosphere. Finally, the scene settled as a winged man lay on his knees. In his lap sat the head of a towering figure, one more than triple the human's size with glistening golden skin that flickered with every thunderous quake of the ground.
"It appears my light has finally proven too dim to save this world's light." The golden skinned figure said feebly, their thunderous double-toned voice still carrying like a powerful symphony even in his weak state.
"Nonsense, my lord!? We've been tested like this before, and-" the winged human began, his words cut short by the corpse of another winged man, falling in a bloody mess with purple void mana eating through his leg. A bloodied golden hand rose up, resting on the mortified man's shoulder.
"It belongs to the void now. But our brothers and sisters cannot falter from the cause. Our light cannot die with me." The dying figure proclaimed, his hand pressing against the purple wound bubbling through their shining golden armor. Behind them, a pair of blooded, shimmering wings that looked coated in a metallic outer shell lay mangled in a crater.
"No…" the man whimpered, placing his forehead against the figure.
"We must not fail, but the task is now yours to oversee."
"…no, no I swore I'd never fail YOU, Lord Ignuus."
"Then carry on, Myrel. For The Light." The titan of a man muttered, grasping the man by the hand. A beam of golden light erected from their embrace as a wave of void magic closed in around them, burning a massive hole into the planet itself in a flash. I covered my eyes as the feed zoomed out, revealing the human hovering outside of the planet's atmosphere. Around him flew hundreds of other winged men and women, though none glimmered with the same powerful golden aura that exuded from the man.
"Captain Myrel, our lord-"
"Lord Ignuus gave his life to save us from the plague you see consuming this dreaded planet." Myrel interrupted without turning to face his fellow soldier. A massive gasp rippled across the army of winged humanoids, many openly sobbing and embracing one another.
"Through his martyrdom, he's bestowed upon us his light, with the dying wish that we never stray from the light ourselves." Myrel proclaimed, turning to face his army of winged soldiers, all wearing battle-worn armor and helms.
"If any of you wish to abandon The Luminus and our creed, now is your final opportunity to do so before our crusade resumes." Myrel proposed with his chin high, his stoic expression tainted only by a single tear streak below his right eye. After a pause, not a single winged warrior flinched an inch. Instead, one flew over and bowed their head before him.
"Praise Lord Myrel, new Courier Of The Light!" The man shouted, as followed the rest of their army like loyal winged-dominos. The crystal's male voice cut in as the sounds of their cheers faded.
"It appears Ignuus Futras, a minor Holy God Of The Astral Pantheon, has fallen along his conquest to remove the void's influence from the multiverse. In doing so, he managed to transfer his records to his Chosen, a promising A-Grade by the name of Myrel Qhaotica." The crystal's explained, zooming back out until the entire glimmering galaxy was in a macro view. My mind was swirling seeing what had unfolded, particularly at how oddly compassionate this supposed god was toward their Chosen. Was this customary? Did Korbin and his God get all…tender about things too? I chuckled at the idea, knowing there was a fat-chance any deity was being overtly kind to either of us anytime soon. Especially Perunious, who hasn't contacted me in forever. And fair enough, quite frankly, why bother now? I almost spewed every question rattling my skull before realizing I had to play along with the whole 'Galenthelos' bit if I wanted to know more.
"Huh…what um, what else has he or-no, have I been researching?" I asked, biting my cheek for how terrible that attempt at acting like some old god was.
"Certainly, allow me to recall our previous dis-"
*ding*
*CRACK*
Some ground up stone fell onto my lap, bringing my vision up in time to watch as the entire ceiling ripped in opposite directions, causing a massive fissure that released the ocean apparently residing above.
"WARNING! Cataclysmic seismic activ-tivi-t-t-detectERRRRRRRR" the crystal's sat atop the desk stuttered as the image fizzled out, as did the constant buzzing of sheer euphoria wafting off the shattering cave walls. Throwing my arms over my head, I balled up and prepared for the impact of an ocean landing against my back. A warm rush suddenly pressed against my feet and back, propelling me up into the air. I felt the warm energies yet again circulating as I looked up, seeing the circling tsunami protecting the little desk below spiraling overhead, keeping the entire volume of water from dumping down on me in oscillating patterns.
The cave walls themselves continued to twist and contort however, ripping more holes for the water to feed in through. Seeing a beam of sunlight glimmering above, I took a deep breath and leapt off the water thrusting me up toward the ceiling. The swirling body of water felt as though it pulled me into its cold grasp, yanking me into a twisting tide that spiraled toward the surface. Everywhere around me the world rattled a constant resonant quake as the ocean floor visibly folded and twisted over itself. Luckily for me, I no longer have to breathe air more than once or twice a day anymore, making the swim up nothing more than a test of endurance which, for me, was just exercise. Especially after the cold ocean yanked me above the swirling sea floor shrapnel chaotically sputtering by.
As I finally emerged to the surface, I realized I'd been swimming up a massive current slowly pulling me skyward. I scrambled to stay afloat, fighting against an undertow trying desperately to pull me deep under its wrath. Even with the incredibly high Stamina Pool I sport, there's no way I'd be able to sustain my energy if I have to keep fighting to see the surface before I have to rest. My head peaked over the edge of the wave, spotting a massive land mass rapidly approaching before my ankle got snagged by the current pulling me under. I twisted and spun through the water trying to fight the current that felt like a literal hand around my ankle, until finally after several minutes I felt it begin to relax. Once more, I breathed the surface, right as the tsunami I rode on slammed down onto a crowd of unsuspecting fighters.
Shit, shit, SHIT!
*THUMP*
My boots smashed onto the side of a tree, absorbing most of the force before sliding around the bark. My legs wrapped around the tree, slamming me directly where I never wish to be against its jagged surface. I let out an audible squeal that was difficult for me to hear over the sound of rushing water. Painfully finding my wits, I wrapped my hands around the tree and held myself above the ocean of water rushing across the forest. There were no screams after the crash, only the roars of the water ripping plants and foliage from their roots. My tree even began to waver, causing me to slide even lower as it rattled from the aftershock.
Why the fuck did that j-
*ding*
[CATASTROPHIC TECTONIC EVENT: Complete ]
(Timer has been successfully reset.)
…oh.