Unbound

No!

Felix wrestled with the streaming essence, fighting to halt the corrosion of his Oath strings. But even his potent Willpower couldn't muscle past the Primordial's powerful grip. The Maw had too much leverage over Felix's Body. Somehow, the thing was utilizing his own strength against him.

Just stand down, Felix Nevarre. You cannot surpass me. You wasted your time among mortal society when you could have been training yourself to withstand me, fool. Now, my influence grows with each level, and soon you will be but a shadow in MY Mind.

Felix felt the Maw's certainty like a blow to the skull. He went reeling through his core. The crimson nebula above him flashed with iridescent Mana flows, the screaming pressure of its increasing bulk a constant burr in his Spirit. Dimly, he could still feel Pit shouting his emotions across their bond, panic and anger the greatest of them. He glanced about himself, hoping to see something he could use, but was only confronted by the shimmering vista of his Skills as they revolved around his core fire. Planets around a burning star. He needed a way to stop the Maw's control of the monster essence. A way to weaken it. Or...a distraction.

That's it. Felix grit his teeth and summoned his Status. He hoped he was making the right decision.

With a thought, he dumped all 40 bonus points into Willpower.

WIL: 469

A distant, rising song broke through the churning darkness around his core. A symphonic chorus that shouted out a glorious refrain, a cadence that folded upon itself as it flooded his core like light from the dawning sun.

You dimwitted boy! The Maw screeched across his core. Nothing more than a voice, Felix could still sense its attention was fixed upon the approaching light. You stupid, foolish child! You are rife with my power! This will not save you! It will kill you!

The light hit.

It blasted forth from the cloying darkness around his core, almost colorless despite its warmth. A radiance that moved like liquid light in a raging torrent. A majestic chord rose up within that song, bursting into a crescendo that nearly knocked Felix from his own core. He had to hang on, tooth and nail, he had to continue to see. To visualize what it was doing.

Fire Within is level 44!

Fire Within is level 45!

As always, the System power hit his core fire, then radiated outward like ripples in a pond. Once the colorless light hit that blaze it changed somehow. No longer colorless, it flashed blue and gold, familiar colors to Felix. The same colors he'd see when his abilities went...weird. The blue and gold washed back outward and Felix could feel his Mind and Spirit strengthen. Willpower, after all, was a piece of both Aspects.

Then the power hit the clouds of monster essence and the power of the Maw, and the world stuttered into buzzing static. The song collided with the Maw's dissonance with a thunderclap, loud enough to shake Felix's soul. Blue and red lightning lashed outward at their point of connection as the two sounds fought for supremacy within the Nym. Pain blazed across his Mind, Body, and Spirit as if he'd put his tongue on an exposed power line.

The Maw roared in rage, pitting its will against the influx of the System. The gold and blue light was a cresting wave, powerful but not endless. The Maw was going to win against it, that was clear. But for now, it no longer held the reins.

Dizzy from the dissonant battle within, Felix reached out to the nebula of monster essence and halted it. The advancing corruption of his binding Oaths stopped, but the pain of wrangling the Maw's corrosive power sent shivers of virulent hunger through him. Felix could feel his body weeping blood as capillaries burst and flesh tore. But he held it, and with an almighty heave, Felix started pulling the essence back from his Unique Skill and core.

It won't...work, the Maw panted, still opposing the harmonic System energy. Redirect it...however you wish, what's done is done. This city is doomed. You were...never meant to succeed against me. Fate is mine. You are mine.

Felix's Mind burned. He knew he had moments of strength left, slivers of time before the Maw finished with the System's power and turned it's will upon him. His will, stolen and repurposed against him. He was fighting himself, more than the Maw, and after weeks of being upon the Continent he had grown strong. Powerful. How could he defeat himself? How--

Shock burned through his chest, the faint echo of a tenku's determination and his own gasp of revelation.

I am eternal and unending. Confluence-born, I am the last of my kind for a reason! Not even the Ruin could stop me! The Maw preened, squashing the last of the System harmonics with a flare of its stolen Will. Of all my siblings, I am the last. The survivor, always the survivor.

Patterns of light shifted behind the Maw's presence, only now taking the form of a desiccated woman with hair that flowed in its own breeze. At first brown, then blonde, then black, it changed constantly and fluidly. The revolving lights of his Skills cast wild shadows on its features, draping it with shadows by turns.

You have chained me up for the final time, Felix Nevarre, it snarled. Now you shall feel the pain of bondage. Now you shall be my Vessel in truth. I--

A pattern of light stopped near her, a flickering symbol that sparked like faulty wiring. The Maw glanced down at it, confused.

What is this? NO-!

With a salvo of Will, Felix gripped the Skill and broke it down the middle.

EEEUUUUAAAAGH!

The Maw went into convulsions, pain blasting through it as the Skill was sundered. The light within the pattern dimmed, guttering but not extinguishing. Not yet. Felix marshalled his Willpower and Alacrity, holding the Skill on the cusp of true sundering.

Lightning Resistance, for the base. Felix grunted as he drew the others to him. Acid, Cold, Heat, Fire, Poison and Pain Resistance each followed, snatched from their orbits to press against the bucking remnants of Lightning Resistance. And...

Still in control of the nebula, Felix poured a torrent of corrupted essence into the broken Skill. Like parched earth, it soaked up everything.

SYNERGY DETECTED!

The Skills Acid, Cold, Heat, Fire, Poison, and Pain Resistance Have Synergy With Lightning Resistance!

Do You Wish To Evolve Them?

Warning! Evolution May Result In Death And Cannot Be Stopped Once Begun.

All Choices Have Consequences.

Continue?

Y/N

YES!

Evolution In Process...

The Revenants scattered around Pit as he ran, as heedless of them as they were of him. Evie and Vess were right behind the chimera, their weapons gripped tight in case the monsters tried anything. None dide. They fled the smoking corpse of their master, even now dissolving into nothing.

Eaten.

Only distant traces of smoke remained, and they snaked their way across the destroyed courtyard and into the figure that hovered far above them all. A corona of crimson light played around Felix's features as the smoke was pulled into his mouth, his body arced almost in half.

"Blind gods," Vess murmured. "What is happening?"

"I don't know," Evie said. Felix had never mentioned anything like...this before. She looked to Pit, who hadn't stopped. He was several spans ahead, leaping over rubble with several flaps of his impressive wings. The chimera let out a keening noise, a sad sorta chirp that hurt her heart to hear. "Whatever it is, it ain't good."

"That's an understatement."

Evie swiveled, chain unhooked before she realized it was Harn. He'd come after them, little Iron Rank Guilders in tow. "Harn. What can we do? Do you know what's happening?"

The armored warrior shook his head, the plates of his gorget and helm scraping noisily together. The man had taken more damage than Evie had thought. "Never seen its like. But I know ominous when I see it and that," he pointed at Felix's hovering form, smoke swirling around him and illuminated by flashes of red lightning. "Yyero's hairy backside, that's bad."

"You know what 'ominous' means?" Lilian said nastily from behind him. Alister shushed her, loudly.

Harn didn't even give them a glance. "We need ta get him down, quick. Vess, you can--"

"SCREEEEAAAAAA!"

Pit let loose a loud, shrieking cry. It was so sharp it hurt Evie's ears, but was underlaid by a basso thrum that made her teeth vibrate. Above them, Felix started to thrash in place, and the red lightning was joined by jagged blue. The chimera reared back, forepaws clawing at the air as his wings beat impotently. It broke her heart.

"C'mon," she said, grabbing their attention again. "We've gotta save him."

Still holding onto the sundered Skill, keeping it from falling apart completely, Felix listened for the pattern. He'd spent hours leveling the Skill, familiarizing himself with its sound, its signature. He needed to make sure that...

There!

Exactly where he'd heard it before. The joining point. The bridge.

Essence pouring into it, turning the pattern of the Skill malleable, Felix maneuvered Heat Resistance until it overlapped the Skill. The two joined easily, as if they were meant to be together. Their pattern sang like a chorus, a sudden harmony that cut through the mind-numbing pain.

Y-you can't do this! You are mine! The Maw, crawling like a wounded animal, let out a bellowing roar that was squeezed into a pained gasp. You--!

The nebula writhed in Felix's grip, and despite his Will, streamers of it began to peel off. The essence twisted, forming itself into spikes, shards of discordant fury and barbed coils that launched at Felix's Spirit and Mind. The agony bloomed bright, sending terrible ripples through his concentration.

I'd rather tear us both apart than let you cage me again!

The corrupted, shaped essence surged for him again, and Felix wasn't sure he'd be able to keep hold of his sundered Skill when they hit. But he was overextended, unable to counter. He braced himself for the pain.

CONVERGENCE!

White light flashed through his core, tracing through the darkness like veins of illumination. Felix's chest swelled at the feeling of his friend returning to him again.

Felix!

Pit! Focus on the Maw! I have to--

Yes! Fight the Enemy!

Good boy. With Pit here, he knew he could do what he must. His Companion would watch his back.

As their joined Harmonic Stats shot upward, Pit reveled in his newfound power. Converged, he was Felix to an extent, but still possessed his own Mind, his own desires. And now, those desired turned toward the Enemy. They were wracked with pain, convulsing before the splitting Skills Felix was attending. Pit had no sympathy for the creature; it was the Enemy, one that had been hunting his Companion for far too long.

It was time to end it.

Reaching for Felix's Mana pool, Pit stumbled when he found his senses...expanded. Their combined Harmonic Stats afforded them significant strength, but what caught his attention was their Affinity. It was a stat rarely used by either of them, and Pit knew of it almost instinctively. It was their connection to the world around them.

Blooming before their eyes, threads of every hue imaginable extended outward. Silver, blue, green-gold, a spectrum of colors for which neither Pit nor Felix had names. They thrummed with vibrations, strange and sublime. One thread, brilliant and strong looped through their chest as if it began and ended with themselves.

Bond, Pit knew. Our bond.

Just left of that brilliant thread though, were a tangle of darkened lines. They were sunk deep within their chest, buried in the gristle of their flesh and bones and more. Pit touched those threads, dark as pitch with the slightest sheen of crimson, and to Pit's surprise the Enemy quaked. They trembled with weakness and fear beyond what Felix had done to them. It was a fear that quickly turned to rage.

Watch yourself, creature! The Enemy's will was enough to knock the threads from Pit's grasp, where they dissolved back into their chest as if they had never been. You step too far!

Even hurt and twitching from Felix's efforts, the creature was strong enough to hurl the ethereal edges of monstrous essence at them. Its power bore down upon them, looking to break them under the deluge.

Come! Pit cried in challenge. Fight!

Felix dropped his attention back to his efforts, and thankfully the other Skills sounded out in short order. Fire melded with Heat Resistance and Lightning, a Venn diagram of both, while Acid and Cold touched upon only portions of Heat's pattern. Poison was harder, and Felix felt his Body bleed and sweat as the Maw engaged Pit in a fight. The tenku was draining his somewhat recovered Mana fast, something he didn't even know could happen with their bond. But Felix couldn't focus on their conflict. He had to trust his Companion to protect him.

He dove deeper, tracing the rhythms and chords of each complex Skill. Then he found it. Poison Resistance, along with Pain Resistance, were background noise to his Body, a rhythm that was less pronounced and more...fundamental to who he was. Who he had become.

They meshed. All of them. Finally.

A song erupted from the joined Skills. It was...joyous. An exultation of defiance. A hymn of struggle, of battle, of...haha yes!...of resistance.

Power flooded the Skill, essence draining from his nebula faster and faster. The song of it rose higher, a resounding drum beat upon the surface of his inner cosmos. The new, brilliant pattern flared with impossible light, rainbow hues that shifted within that brightness like oil. Felix felt as if his heart would burst.

He felt remade.

Evolution Complete!

You Have Formed A New Skill!

Average Level Has Been Retained!

The Song of Absolution (Legendary), Level 31!

A song dwells within you, a melody impervious to the elements or the discomforts of the flesh. Sing on, Chanter, sing on.

Felix gasped, his Spirit and Body quaking beneath the onslaught of energies. He felt strength drain from him as his combined Skills lost their Tier bonuses, even as a new strength replaced it.

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier with The Song of Absolution!

You Gain:

+5% WIL

+5% VIT

+5% END

Watch out!

With a trill of birdsong, Felix was shoved aside as a wave of corrosive essence struck him in the shoulder. Vertigo sent him reeling, the spinning Skill before him flaring sun-bright for a moment before the song faded. His consciousness dipped into darkness.

Moments or minutes later, Felix became dimly aware he was moving. His arms turned and twisted, shifting in complex patterns as Mana discharged from his fists. Then something hit him, a burning, sizzling sensation across his ribs. Awareness returned all at once: he was still within his own core, and Pit...Pit was fighting the Maw, with his body.

Sort of body, anyway. He was a mental projection, as far as he knew. But with their Etheric Concordance, Pit was one with him in any form.

Etheric Concordance is level 37!

Etheric Concordance is level 38!

Their body dropped, nearly plunging into his core fire, as a spike of bubbling crimson essence ripped through their previous position. Pit!

Awake?

Yeah I'm awake, what-- They dove to the side, and a wave of corrosive power swept nearby. What is happening?

You slept after evolution, Pit voice in this place was a rush of birdsong that revealed words within it. The song sounded pained. I have fought.

You're diction's getting better...but you're hurt.

Only little. Enemy strong, but weak.

Let me drive, then. Felix exerted his Will and found his projected body back under his own control. Another ripple of barbed essence was coming at him, and with a grunt he flared his inner fire. Below them, his core fire burst upward hissing as it ate away at the monstrous essence.

But not all of it.

Felix was gut punched by the bulk of the essence, still whole after his offensive. Immediately the essence latched onto him, gripping his arms and legs with bands stronger than iron and filling his ears with the sound of a thousand droning insects. A short distance away, the Maw manifested as a ghostly visage more skeleton than flesh; a bare sketch of what was once the Nymean named Lhel. Despite her near-translucency, her words practically dripped from her mouth, heavy with venom and vitriol.

You've wronged me for the last time, Felix Nevarre. You will submit to me, fully and completely. No more surprises, no more tricks.

"And why would I do that?" Felix asked, testing his bonds. They were immovable, completely resistant to any force he could bring to bear. "I've fought you this long, why wouldn't I fight a little bit longer? I've already proved I'd rather die than let you live."

Because, the Maw drawled as she drifted toward him. Behind her came the undulating force of what remained of the Larval Ravager's essence, an amount that surprised Felix. There had to be at least four or five standard monsters worth of essence, based on the Claude-scale he'd cobbled together. Because if you do, I will not infect your pitiful friends.

She leaned in, close enough for Felix to see her innumerable teeth. A never ending field of fangs. And if you don't, I'll tear your little Pit out of your chest right here, right now.

Felix felt Pit's terror, an echo of his own that drove it even higher. Their bond was a bonfire in his chest, feeding them both emotions and thoughts, sensations and...and, he couldn't afford to lose that. Felix could feel the Maw, feel it in a way that he never had before. His Affinity, heightened as it was, could sense the discordant tattoo of the Primordial's inner rhythms that it was not lying. The vicious creature would do it.

Lies. Pit sang at him. Weak.

Pit, I--I can't lose you.

Look, Pit insisted.

Pit, no. I can't--

LOOK!

Their bond flared, becoming almost physical to his sense of Affinity...along with dozens of others. Cables thick and thin extended outward from Felix's body, real or not, in a vast network that seemed to extend into eternity. Among them were the silver strings of his Oaths, and those sworn to him, but also a bevy of others. Hundreds, thousands perhaps.

My...connections?

The Maw's jagged smile twitched and twisted. Why do you hesitate, little Nym?I told you that your tricks will not be tolerated. You are under my control, utterly and without recourse. Save for submission to my Will.

Speak, it snapped when he didn't respond. The barbed essence crawled over the skin of his neck, the razor edge of it burrowing into his skin. Though it wasn't his true body, Felix felt it just the same. He gasped in sudden pain, a burning flame eating through his muscles and tendons. But his eyes could not leave his new vista, for he saw more than his own.

The Maw had connections too. They were fewer and the threads less vibrant, but they were there, woven around and through the Maw's decrepit form. And--

Speak or I'll burn that beast out of your Spirit like the parasite it is!

He saw it.

The black threads, soaked in dark, rusted red.

The link.

"Maw," Felix croaked. His not-mouth was dry, for some reason. "You've given me no choice. And I..."

SPEAK! The Maw's skeletal visage twisted, mouth open, fangs dripping.

"I'm not sorry."

What?

Gripping them in his mind, Felix tore the black threads free of his chest.

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