Unbound

Fire washed over the grass, setting all of it alight instantly. Vess danced backward, just ahead of the flames and spun all seven of her conjured Spears in unison. Air Mana surged, flooding the fire Mana of the attack—consuming the vegetation utterly but extinguishing the flames.

Dragoon's Footwork is level 74!

They had been fighting for a half glass, and this was their second wave of Temple Knights that had come for them. Now it was only the Matron facing her and Evie. Vess couldn't understand why more Knights weren't coming, let alone more Masters.

"Is that all you have?" she said. All eight of her spears, including the one in her hand, leveled at the woman in golden robes before her. "I would have expected more from a Matron. Or is this all a simple Urge-slave can manage?"

The woman, veiled in golden lace, smirked. "You cannot see through your prejudice, warrior." The Matron raised a hand and a collection of swirling orange-yellow orbs the size of her head manifested above her and began to spin. "I will force your eyes open."

Chains of purple-white frost shot from the earth, stabbing up and into the Matron's chest. The priestess cried out and several orbs flickered as a blade of ice jabbed into her neck.

"Lotta talkin' when you should be fightin'," Evie said, before yelping. "Hey!"

The Ice Spike in her hand had burst into steam as one of those orbs dropped onto Evie from above. She dodged back, arm clearly burnt.

"I'll show you all the power of Ahkestria!" the Matron hissed.

Power thundered from the woman, her High Adept Spirit fully unleashed. Vess and Evie both winced at the pressure, but neither of them were weak...and Evie had a Low Adept's Body. When the orbs came for her, the chain warrior was able to hurl herself aside. The Matron shattered the chains around her body, and twisted after Evie.

Leaving her open to three Spears in her back.

"Seven Tribulations," Vess commanded. The Spears ripped themselves apart in three pronged storm of metal and air Mana. The Matron screamed as blood burst from her back, shredding her fine robes, and redirected her attention to Vess.

"You think that is enough to extinguish a Chosen of That Which Burns?" The Matron gathered herself and lifted a span off the ground, buoyed by a wavering haze of power. "We are the fuel by which She is strengthened, and in turn She strengthens us!"

Her limbs transformed into whips of incandescent fire, just as Evie's chain cut through the air. It caught and tangled the girl's strike, heating the metal to a brilliant cherry red. Evie cursed and hauled back, but her chain was trapped.

"Physical weapons against the might of the Spirit...it is a surprise you have survived so long." The veiled Matron lifted her nose at them. Across the lawn, Zara fought on her own against two others, her water countering the fire of her opponents. "Your Master will die soon, and you shall join the others upon the Pyre. There is nothing you can do to stop it.

"Perhaps," Vess allowed. Sweat poured down her face even forty strides away—the strain on her Spirit from the Matron's pressure was great, and her movements had to be exact. "Or perhaps you have not considered all the possibilities."

"Oh?" The Matron laughed, still floating above the ground and holding Evie's chain tight. The metal had turned white in spots, and Evie was cursing up a storm. More brilliant orbs manifested and aimed at Vess. "What have I not considered, child?"

"My Skill can be delayed," she said.

Understanding dawned on the Matron just as the remaining four Spears slammed into the denuded earth around her. Before she could mobilize her fire spells, they exploded.

The Matron's screams of denial turned into a gurgling wail as she fell to the scorched ground

You Have Killed A Matron Of That Which Burns!

XP Earned!

Congratulations You Have Earned A New Title!

Urge Hunter II (Rare)!

You have proven effective at finding and dispatching those that worship Urges. Destroying more of their violent kind will see increased rewards! +10 END, STR, VIT

Spear of Tribulations is level 75!

Congratulations You Have Reached Adept Tier With Spear of Tribulations (E)!

You Gain:

+10 AGL

+10 WIL

+...

She fumbled at her waist, and brought a blue-stone flask to her lips. Mana in the air swirled around her like a storm, her Elemental Eye picking out air and fire and earth as it surged toward the flask and its contents. She drank it fast.

Legendary Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Draught of Atlantes (Air/Metal)]

Vess let the world around her fade and focused.

Choose A Feature:

Howl

Hammer

Harken

It was unlike the curated Essence Draughts she had always been given, but it was also absolutely singing with potency. The near-universal draught felt so in sync with her Skill that the choices were like glowing monoliths of metal and swirling winds. They spoke to her, but one spoke louder than all the others.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Hammer]!

"Ooh, just got a whole level from that bitch," Evie said in bright tones. "Almost worth her nearly melting my sweet baby."

Vess took several deep breaths and pushed away the thrill of a new Title and Temper, but her Spirit was literally thrumming.

"You alright, Vess?" Evie asked. "We've got more to kill yet."

"S'fine," she managed through clenched teeth. "Just...I Tempered part of my Spirit."

"Perfect. Now we can—"

Waves of blue-green water washed over the both of them, so fast Vess could do nothing more than yelp in alarm. It swept them up and back, over the tall walls of the Rotunda grounds...and away from the seventy-span wide fireball that was falling atop them all.

Zara stood under it, both arms upraised against the other Matron and red-haired Master.

"Zara!" Vess shouted, before she fell beyond the wall and lost sight of the Naiad completely.

All at once the light dimmed. The sky, only seconds ago a brilliant orange, as if a second sun had descended upon the world, returned to an unassuming blue. The Mana around them both vanished, dropping them to the hard cobbles, but it was replaced by a shimmering barrier only inches from Vess' face. She stared at it, but it allowed her hand to reach through it easily, and was only visible near the surface of the road.

What in Siva's name...?

Vess surged back to her feet and raced for the servant's gate, Evie right behind her. There they found two surprising things: the first were dozens of Knights with their eyes burned out and their faces gruesome masks of terror. One figure in dark robes had their head completely blown off, and the wounds were filled with strange, fungal growths. The second was the small squad of the Legion standing near the gate, just outside the shimmering line in the road. They were peering into the interior with confused glares, but a familiar Henaari met their eyes.

"Osyk, what is going on? Why are you still here?" She looked at the bodies. "Who did this?"

"Your Grace. The rest of the Claw has fled to safety with the freed civilians, leaving a few volunteers to wait for you all to exit the Rotunda grounds." He nodded to his squad, and for some reason the Half-Orc mage blushed. She frowned.

"And the last? Who did this?" she asked.

"The Lady Isla did it. Ended all of the Knights, even a Master that came later," said Pava, following with a belated curtsy. "Your Grace."

Vess and Evie traded a glance, then peered into the half-open servant's gate. They saw...nothing.

It's an illusion. An obfuscation, she realized in wonder. Far larger than Thangle could ever manage.

Vess stepped through the shimmering golden curtain, and instantly the chaos and heat of battle enveloped her. She gasped, air driven from her lungs as she beheld a nightmare field of war.

"S—Siva's Grace," she cursed. "Such power..."

In the midst of the Rotunda grounds, Zara was standing over the struggling form of the red-haired Master. The other Matron had already fallen, though Vess could only see a lump of golden cloth where her body laid half-charred upon the earth. A woman stood beside Zara, dressed in royal purple and a silver coronet atop immaculate platinum blonde curls. Together they raised their hands and Vess' eyes widened.

Elemental Eye is level 69!

She stumbled backward, eyes stinging, into Evie's arms.

"What happened? What's going on in there?" Her friend asked, worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I—I am fine. But they are finished." Vess blinked rapidly, still seeing brilliant afterimages. "We have to flee. Now. Where did everyone else go?"

"I will lead, Your Grace," Osyk said.

"This is the plan?" Beef asked, doubt clear in his voice. Thick, transparent blood dripped off his surviving shoulder armor and the matted fur of his bestial chest. He wrinkled his snout and wretched. Again. "It's so gross."

"Don't throw up. You'll get it all over the lizard blood," Felix said, before pausing. "Actually, that might help. Go ahead."

Beef obliged, vomiting onto the sand and himself. His head couldn't move well with all the carcasses strapped to him. They had gone around and killed more of the Glass Whiptails cut up their corpses with Felix's enchanted butcher's knife. That kept the corpses from disintegrating into black smoke, which was the whole point. After that he'd bled the lot of them all over the Minotaur before strapping large hunks of their bodies to his back and shoulders. The point was to create as much stink that every Dustwight for miles would gather close.

Felix grimaced. The smell really was awful, all things considered, but it was his best bet for getting the undeads' attention. And it might have another benefit, which had convinced Beef in the first place.

"Urp, uh," Beef gasped. He tried to wipe his mouth but recoiled from the sick and blood on his hands. "You're—urp—you're sure I'll get a Taunt Skill from this?"

"I mean, you haven't gotten one yet, right?" Felix began walking up the sloping outcropping they were sheltering behind. "Stress and need are great motivators for the System."

Beef rumbled a bit, but Felix didn't listen in. The guy would do it. With Endurance and a Body as tough as he had, he wouldn't be in too terrible danger...and Felix could always pull him free. One way or another.

He crested the outcropping and peered down the defile, flaring his Voracious Eye all the way. Below them, clustered near the edge of the gorge, were several hundred Dustwights just...milling around. According to Beef, somewhere in the canyons was the door to the tomb, but in order to get to it they had to clear out all of the undead. Hence the plan.

"Alright, whenever you're ready, get running," he said after carefully navigating back to the ground.

Beef took a deep breath, gagged, and nodded. He took off, slowly at first, but with increasing speed. Like an old timey locomotive, puffing away.

Now, Felix wasn't completely sure how the Dustwights sensed others. He was pretty certain they could see, since he'd never seen them randomly attack rocks or rustling bushes, but the most advanced of the undead had growths of bone over their faces. Just like their more powerful counterparts, the Wraiths, the bone plates would have completely eliminated their eyesight. So it was clear they used other senses too. Felix had decided to hedge their bets and make Beef seem as attractive as possible. Sight, smell...and sound.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Beef smashed two summoned hammers together. "Hey idiots! Over here! Betcha can't catch me and eat my braaaaains!"

Felix snorted, while Pit tilted his head in confusion.

They don't eat brains, his friend sent.

"I'll explain later." He climbed back up the outcropping, just in time to see the undead shift fast. Beef was at their head, running now atop a narrow ledge above the gorge, while below the horde took notice. More undead started packing in, all of them following Beef's progress. "He's reaching the halfway point. Hm. The guy's faster than I anticipated."

The ledge Felix had spotted and Beef was now racing across, was only about a thousand feet long before it tapered off into nothing. The plan was to have Beef run along the ledge, making a ruckus and getting all the attention he could, and then running back. To lure as many of the undead toward the front of the gorge as they could.

Whoa, that worked well.

A veritable tide of undead were racing after him, with several attempting to scale the sides of the gorge to reach Beef's ledge. Felix waved, and thankfully the Minotaur's Perception was good enough to spot the signal. Beef immediately turned around and raced back toward their position, undead hot on his heels on the canyon's floor.

Right into Felix's trap.

Mana had been pouring from his channels for the last minute, ever since Beef had taken off, and now it coalesced above the crumbling mouth of the canyon. A storm of virulent green power, flashing with barely restrained lights. Felix flared his Affinity, sounding the last piece of the Skill and shaping his Intent to boost it fully. Beef ran, churning his heavy hooves as fast as he could, but he undead were catching up. He jumped, cracking the rocky shelf and hurling himself up and out of the canyon's entry.

Rain of Cataclysm!

The clouds above unleashed a driving deluge onto the sloping canyon mouth, and the first of the Dustwights were caught full in the face with clinging, brutal acid. Their withered flesh was no match for it, and they died nearly instantly. Those that came behind were no better, nor those after. Row after row, charge after charge, the creatures ran blindly after the Minotaur that got away. Felix killed them all.

Rain of Cataclysm is level 68!

You Have Killed A Dustwight (x544)!

XP Earned!

Your Companion Pit Has Gained 4 Levels!

He Is Now Level 68!

+40 to STR! +28 to PER! +8 to VIT! +36 to END! +12 to INT! +24 to WIL! +64 to AGL! +68 to DEX!

+20 to AFI, RES, REI!

Pit let out a shudder, shimmering with a surge of blazing Mana as the System injected him with stats. Felix felt it too, an echo of maddening pressure in his chest and above his navel, where Harmony and Dissonance met. His Body convulsed along with Pit's, as if every minor scratch and ache were magnified a thousandfold and his skin wanted to just leap from his bones. Bones that felt as if they were being injected with hot lava. I didn't even level up...why does this hurt?

Beef collapsed on the ground. He gasped for breath, feet away and blessedly downwind. "Are we done?"

Felix clenched his jaw at the pain and shook his head. "We've barely started. The first waves are out of the way, so now we move forward. Slowly. Did you get a Taunt Skill?"

Beef raised a shaky thumbs up. "Yeah. Desperate Provocation. Uncommon rarity."

"Excellent. You'll need it soon. Let's go see this Tomb."

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