Unbound

Relentless Resolution!

Felix was atop the Wraiths before they had dropped the first Yttin, yet their claws met Felix's own talons in a shower of brilliant sparks. His greaves vanished, retracting to thickened metal anklets and revealing clawed and scaled feet that swung in a horizontal arc into another Wraith's gut. That, at least, did some damage. The monster flew back and hit the far wall with a solid, echoless crack.

"Kill..."

Felix stumbled, surprised by the Dustborn Wraith's sudden words. Which meant the third Wraith caught him in a tackle from his blind side. They both went down in a tangle of limbs, claws flashing and clashing against bone plate and midnight scales. The latter held, but the former cracks and splintered beneath Felix's Strength. The Wraith screamed, high and shrill, and then went silent.

Dark sand spilled over bone and stone.

One Wraith down, another with a twisted leg, and the third coming at him. Felix scowled. "You spoke."

"Kill...him...need...him...."

Need. Felix's scowl deepened. Just like the Whalemaw. Fucking Primordials!

Cardinal Flame!

His body blazed with Cardinal Flame. The Skill morphed around his form, no sigaldry or paralysis-inducing spell. Just a fever-bright flame from the center of his [Cardinal Beast Core], wreathing his fist as he drove it up into the jaw of his enemy.

It's head burst like a grape in a microwave. The other died soon after, rent asunder claw and fire.

You Have Killed A Dustborn Wraith (x3)!

XP Earned!

Behind us! Pit warned from within his Spirit. More come!

Felix's head whipped up as a tall figure barreled into the corridor further up. It was Darius, his armor busted and bloody, and following him were five more Wraiths, their speed only countered by the tight confines and their sheer size.

"Fiend! They've entered the Warren! Soldiers are down!" Darius screamed at him. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and his skin had blackened along his jaw. Veins of corruption pulsed there, traveling up his thick neck from a bloody gouge in his breastplate. The Hand had abandoned his massive greatsword at some point, and now wielded a shorter, thinner weapon made entirely of air Mana. It keened as it swung, shearing through Wraith flesh like water yet only barely keeping them at bay. "Help us!"

More screams echoed from up above, but Felix couldn't focus on them. His core burned, and the red-gold flames atop his flesh was joined by the crackling charge of his second core. Thunderflame raged.

Felix flared his Agility and Dexterity, Perception and Intelligence and Strength, pressing every stat to the limit of his ability as he took off. Sand erupted behind him, the stone cracked, and Felix plunged down the corridor toward the Wraiths. He flashed by Darius, the man moving as if underwater, and knocked aside the claws of two Wraiths that would have ended the man's whole career in an instant. Their arms bent and snapped, buckling under the sheet power of his blow and catching on fire from his burning form. Simultaneously, Felix swung a wide slash into the chest and neck of the next two monstrosities. Withered flesh and rusted armor parted, the whisper and scream of both sounded weirdly echoed to his ears, and dark sand sprayed into the air. Still he did not stop, not until he speared straight through the last Wraith, pinning it into the stone wall behind them.

Time caught up, accelerating with a howl as he stopped running. Metallic claws slashed at Felix's back and shoulders and a mouth of dark iron teeth tried to sink into his neck.

He headbutted the damn thing.

Stone detonated behind it, driven by the force of his attack, and its boney carapace shattered into a mushy, granular mess. With a flex of his shoulders, Felix tore the undead freak in half.

You Have Killed A Dustborn Wraith (x3)!

XP Earned!

"What the—!" Darius exclaimed, before screaming again, this time in pain. Still aflame, the two Wraiths recovered rapidly from the broken arms and pounced. Darius went down.

Cardinal Flame!

A Dustborn Wraith (x2) Is Enthralled for 0.08 Seconds!

What?

Felix barely had time to process that notification when a force slammed against his own Will, shattering his hold over the Wraiths and extinguishing not just the red-gold flames on them...but on Felix's body too. He stumbled back, his Mind ringing with sudden agony, as a clawed hand shoved him hard into the earth.

FELIX!

Pit's power raged within him, but the tenku might as well fought a tsunami with only his beak. They were both swept aside by that vast and alien Will. The world shimmered before Felix's eyes, the cramped, bone-constructed corridor wavering with a deep and desolate emptiness. Threads hung across his vision like the cobwebs of death, stretching off into infinity and ending here, above his friend. The Wraiths slashed and clawed, deflecting off Darius' wind blade even as it flickered and failed.

No!

Title: The Call of Defiance Activated!

+25% Willpower When Contested By A Foe Of Divine Formation Or Greater

The immeasurable Will shifted, not lightening or breaking, but becoming textured. Something with handholds. Felix seized it and heaved, all of him shaking like a leaf as he strained. His Mind and Spirit burned and crackled, his cores spinning a cacophony of noise, while his Body could barely stand. But barely was enough. He stood.

And the Will fled from him.

Felix staggered two steps, lurching forward with unimpeded momentum, and drove his clawed fists into the Wraiths' backs.

"Get off of him," he growled, and tore their spines out.

You Have Killed A Dustborn Wraith (x3)!

XP Earned!

"Fucking...Primordials..."

Harn jumped over the busted barricade, his Strength propelling him just high enough to clear it. He hit the sand and rolled, his armor cushioning the twenty foot fall, and kept running. His axes led the way through the press of undead flesh, reaping experience with every slash.

"There! Sweep out!" he commanded. From behind him a contingent of Henaari Dawnguard fanned out, their lithe bodies loping through the storm. Hooked spears were traded for shorter blades, far more effective in the press of undead flesh, and they tore a swath of destruction through the Dustwight numbers. Visibility was still garbage, but none of them were without observation Skills. "Focus on bringin' back survivors! I'll find Lady Dayne!"

The line had been holding well during the battle. Darius and himself were overseeing the regular changing of the front line as Stamina, Mana, and Health dipped to dangerous levels, and the Legion had actually been listening. There were a few jockeying for advantageous positioning, but on the whole the Legionnaires had proven a measure of their mettle. The undead were being eradicated, one by one.

Blighted Wraiths, Harn cursed. His axes sliced through another three lesser undead, the silver flame of his Raze spreading across their bodies like fire on oiled rags.

Raze is level 77!

The damnable Wraiths had punched through their defenses, too strong and too fast for them to stop. Harn and Darius had taken the brunt of their strikes, but their assault had proven effective. The defensive line buckled, and the undead flowed into the breach like a wave.

Another two withered monsters leaped out at him, and Harn kicked the first in the chest and broke open its torso. Its ribs cracked like kindling and it went down, clearing the way for his axe to cleave the second from crotch to skull. A negligent backhand finished off the wounded Dustwight.

Heavy Armor Mastery is level 74!

Harn felt a rush of excitement stir his veins. After years—years—of training and fighting, he was close to advancing. Even his core was ready to enter the Weaving Stage, held at bay for months now until his Formation could catch up. Ruthlessly he pressed the feeling down. He'd have reason to cheer later.

Now he had to find the girl.

"Vess!" he boomed into the Cursewinds. The sound was swallowed up. "Blighted night!"

A sparking flash lit up the red-orange haze, and Harn focused on it through the slit in his helm. Another, and another. He could feel the clash of metal attuned Skills, just ahead. That's her!

He rushed forward, his Brawler's Physique flared as he ran up the incline of a fallen wall. He paused at the top, taking in the scene in two heartbeats. Dustwights swarmed, facing off against a squad of Legion, Dawnguard, and a Risi Warrior of all things. The squad was pushing them back, but in the thickest of the fray was a lithe woman in white-enameled armor and a spear that shimmered blue through the storm. Vess was fighting two Wraiths, alone.

Descent of the Barbarian!

Harn leaped off the rock, twin axes descending onto the backs of the undead. His axes moved in a blur, his Agility and Strength fueling the frenetic power of his evolved Skill. It had once been his Axe Mastery Skill, but it had enjoyed a rebirth during their confrontation with DuFont. Now he was a blur of silver death, too fast for the Dustwights to avoid in close combat and his axes too heavy to resist. They burst apart in showers of dark sand, and suddenly the Risi Warrior was free of foes.

"Go! Help the others!" Harn grated at the Frost Giant. He nodded and ran toward a Half-Orc struggling with a crackling shortsword.

Harn hewed through the crowd, cutting through limbs and necks with every swing and his axes never stopped. Not until he made it to Vess' position...only to find the girl standing over two downed Wraiths, both of them pinned to the stone with several of her silver Spears. She whirled toward him as he emerged from the battle, but relaxed when she recognized his armor.

"Harn," she growled. Her face was bloody and her armor broken in several spots. "These things will not die."

She was right. He could see their wounds repairing, stitching themselves up by some unnatural power. His teeth grated against one another at the realization. "Damn. Damn!"

"What?" Vess stepped toward him, but nearly lost her balance. "Harn? What is it?"

"More of them got into the Warren," he said, barely restraining his anger. "Darius faced them. If they ain't dying...if they just regenerate..."

Vess' eyes widened. "A lot of people are going to die."

"Yeah."

Pain Resistance is level 74!

A spike of power shot through Harn's core, flaring across his channels and sending a wave of dizziness through him. He twisted, setting his feet so he didn't tip over and rode out the sensation.

"What else is wrong?" The girl put a hand on Harn's shoulder, helping him steady even as she quivered in obvious hurt.

"I'm gettin' real close to Temper. Energies makin' me unsteady," he grunted, then ran his eyes over her. "You look like your about to fall down, yourself." Harn handed her a Health Potion, noticing her's were all depleted. "Here."

She took it and drank it without a word, only grimacing at the sensation of wounds closing.

"That don't look like all of it. Another?" he asked.

She shook her head, the grimace turning darker. "Status Condition," Vess rasped. "Curse."

"Damn." Harn looked at the Wraiths. "Regenerating and curse bearing. Felix warned us of the curse, at least. He never mentioned them bein' so tough."

"Perhaps he never noticed," Vess said before summoning another Spear and jabbing it through the nearest Wraith's chest. The thing writhed, attempting to reach her with its gnashing, metallic teeth.

Harn only grunted. That sounded like Felix. Too strong for his own good.

Then things went silent. The screams and groans of the undead, the clash of magic and Skills, the damn storm itself. A hush descended...before every single creature turned and ran off.

"Is...is the storm leaving?" Harn asked.

On the ground the two Wraiths burst into a frenzy of motion, clawing at the conjured Spears and their own bone-plated flesh. Dark sand poured from them, more with every second. Vess and Harn shared a confused look, as the storm well and truly dispersed.

"They fled. Why?" Vess asked.

A thump shook the earth behind them, and showered Harn with sand. Harn spun to see Felix crouching there, at the center of a small crater in the dune. His clothes were shredded, barely covering his bits, though perhaps that wasn't an issue. The kid's skin was entirely covered in unsettling black scale, and his eyes burned a brilliant sapphire blue. He said nothing to either of them, though his eyes lingered on Vess for an outraged second. Then he stalked forward and slammed his talons into the skulls of both Wraiths. They shrieked, piercing whistles that made Harn flinch, before bursting apart into luminous smoke.

Felix stood, smoke pouring into his Body, before he clawed at the air itself.

"You're mine too," he said. The air shuddered, and so did everyone else, even Harn.

Every injured person he could see convulsed, wracked by an intense, burning pain. In his channels, Harn felt as something was torn loose and extracted from him, an arrowhead of vile corruption he hadn't noticed building within his Body. It seared his channels as it emerged, manifesting in a long moment of excruciating agony.

All of it—every ounce from the Legionaires and Harn and Vess—settled into Felix, who by then practically glowed with malevolent energy. Then it was gone too, pulled into his core as if it never were.

Vess stabbed her spear into the earth, supporting her suddenly weak limbs and Harn was right there with her. That wave of enervation nearly unmanned him, though it passed quickly enough. He straightened with a pained grunt and saw Felix grab her by the shoulders. The girl flinched.

Felix pulled back and his hand shed its monstrous coating, each scale and talon fading to vapor that blew away in the wind. He turned to Harn.

"Get everyone inside. I'm sealing off the Warren."

"Aye." He could do that. "What about inside? Darius...?"

"He's alive," was all the kid said.

Harn hadn't missed the momentary hurt in Felix's eyes at Vess' flinch. It was gone now, replaced by a steady authority. Harn had the distinct impression he wasn't looking at Felix, but at the Autarch.

Stupid thought. It's the same kid.

Felix nodded at them, before vanishing in a burst of sand and rising lightning. Up into the sky and the fading storm.

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