Tunde felt profound a profound sense of fear as the creature crashed into him, sharp serrated claws attempting to rip the flesh from his skin as he slapped them away with force, his gauntlets sparking on contact with the creature. It spat at him, Tunde dodging away before bending as he knelt, avoiding being skewered by the bone protrusions from its forelimbs, resonance crashing into the knee of the creature, it stumbled backward in rage, black veins pulsing beneath its very muscular skin, the creature was back on him in an instant.
Giving him no time to gather his spheres of even razor discs, he dodged a very dangerous swipe of his stalagmite weapon, Ethra sight warning him at the last second as even its advanced sight struggled to work with the sheer speed and ferocity being thrown at him by the creature. Aura coating his body, Tunde struck at the rib cage of the berserker Sandstalker, his blow hitting in a flash even as something broke, he had felt it. He was hammered into the ground in a dizzying blow, Shadowfang in hand as he rolled away, deflecting the thunderous blow of the stalagmite.
Getting to his feet, he watched the creature rapidly heal, a gleam of feral excitement in its eyes. It was enjoying the fight, Tunde on the other hand begged to defer, spitting blood as he took a stance again, this time his Ethra coating his hands, the midnight starry color flowing around his fists as he moved, resembling the brush of a painter on a canvas. The alpha assessed his hands warily, cautious of even the aura he emanated, and when Tunde moved, blasting towards the creature, it dodged, its stalagmite crashing down on him as his fists crashed into it.
Agony lanced through him as his Ethra didn’t even dent it, throwing him backwards even as his body rapidly began to heal.
[mutated lethal Sandstalker venom has entered your body!]
Tunde felt his arm begin to burn, confusion marring his face as he created distance between himself and the alpha, glancing at the gauntlets. There were no scars on it, no cracks, and Tunde doubted a piece of heavy crystal could damage a relic like this from the way it had been spoken about, so how had the venom entered his body?. The rent on his cloth drew his attention to his shoulder where three large but rapidly healing scars lay, Tunde realizing his source of poisoning.
The creature gave him no more time, feeling the venom being rapidly broken down by the same relic, he saw the claws of the creature dripping the same venom, berating himself for not noticing as he brought Shadowfang about in a swing, aware of the fact that he was currently using both weapons in the fight. The axe crashed into the stalagmite with jarring force, the exchange pushing him backward as Tunde dodged a swipe of both claws and bone protrusions that stabbed at him, swatting it away with speed and accuracy before turning to slam his feet into its side, making the alpha lose its footing.
As his body rapidly burnt away the venom within him, he couldn’t help but imagine what would have happened had the alpha caught someone else who didn’t have his immunity, like the elder for example. While one part of him considered it hubris to think the elder couldn’t avoid something that he could, he knew the elder wouldn’t have a second chance at life should he get poisoned, not unless he had something to negate it with.
The alpha breathed heavily, his tier 4 aura pressing down on Tunde even as he weathered it, his aura eating rapidly at it. He could sense that while the creature exulted in its powers, it was new to it and didn’t have the experience of fighting someone like him. It was also all the more reason for him to kill it here and now, for should it learn from the experience and strike again, then Tunde couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of the enlightened alpha at his walls. As if the very planet was listening, reality cracked and a rift opened up right in front of them, nearly splitting the alpha in two as it rolled away, growling under its breath.
Tunde watched in horror as blood-red bipedal lizards holding crude blades and blasting the aura of tier 3 and 4 beasts poured out of the rift in their hundreds, the cannons atop the walls pounding away, barely making a dent in the new force that assailed them. The Cinderhides were the first to feel the wrath of these new beasts that somehow used blood itself in projectile forms and blades, tearing into them with a ferocity Tunde hadn’t seen before.
[a tier 4 rift has opened in proximity to you!] his Ark wrote.
Tunde said nothing carving one in two with a swing of Shadowfang before strapping the blade to his back and tearing into them with the claws of his relic gauntlet, the relic itself sucking the vitality of the creatures as he killed them. His eyes quietly searching for the alpha, he saw the creature retreating with what was left of its forces, keen eyes on him assessing him as Tunde cursed. It was going to lick its wounds and Tunde needed to put it down here and now, but the shouts coming from the walls above him drew his attention to the blood fangs as the Ark called them that were scaling his walls easily, battling with the rankers atop them.
The tier 4 blood fangs were coming for him, rusted weapons dripping with blood that lashed at him. Ethra sight allowed him to dance through their attacks, the creatures rushing him in what looked like a blood frenzy. The first died in a shower of blood as his rift discs tore through them, Ethra spheres punching through their sturdy forms before exploding. Still, they came, attempting to submerge him in their numbers when the skies above became covered with shadows, black arrows falling within their midst before techniques of different elemental and esoteric types blew through them, scything down the tier 3’s among them with ease, the tier 4’s weathering the attacks.
Their weaknesses could only be attributed to them being horde rift creatures, taking down enemies due to their numbers, and with Harun as his side whose whip blades created a circle of gore and bloodshed around him, the cannons still firing at the rift itself, trying to stem the hordes that kept pouring out of it. Miria took to his other side, her disciple-ranked aura whipping around her in shadowy tentacular forms, lashing at the creatures, grabbing them before dragging them into proximity for her blades to cut into them.
Tunde was about to call for a retreat to the safety of the walls itself when the hordes stopped pouring out and a large form came through the rift itself. A hulking figure of muscle and wrath, blood red skin with black intricate tattoos drawn all over its form, its yellow eyes blazing with rage as it roared its presence, its terrifying aura dragging Tunde to his knees even as his body shuddered.
[peak tier 4 blood fang rift guardian: Blood Reaver]
Tunde shielded Miria and Harun from the worst of it, turning to them with wide eyes as he spoke.
“Run!” he said harshly.
The two crawled their way to the walls before Miria enveloped the both of them in her shadows, the both of them vanishing from sight. Tunde felt the gaze of the creature settle on him as a splitting headache slammed into him, his Ark screen misbehaving for the third time in a row.
[external interference attempting to cut off Ark from local spire]
[Warning!, external interference consuming personal Ark system!]
The blood reaver spoke in a guttural tone, its voice like a blunt knife being scraped across a surface.
[realm walker!] Tunde gripped his head as he froze, not sure just what he was staring at on his Ark screen that fizzled in and out of existence.
The reaver held two massive blades in each hand, rusted and chipped but burning with a malevolent power all the same. With its aura all focused on him, Tunde could hardly breathe, could hardly even stand on his feet, yet he changed his relic into its blade form, clashing with the blades of the creature that drove him to his knees, muscles screaming in agony.
Again, for the second time that day, the relic refused to cut through another weapon, Tunde wasn’t fazed by it as he parried consecutive attacks, the day held enough surprises already. The one thought on his mind that he crushed was the presence of the elder to help reduce the pressure on him, but with the blood fangs now within black rock itself he knew the elder was their only way to survive. The reaver tried to grab him, Tunde shutting off Ethra sight as he rolled away from it, the burning Ethra and aura around it nearly driving him mad.
[open the paths!] his Ark wrote again as the reaver spoke in its harsh nonsensical tone.
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Tunde realized with a jarring probability that the Ark could be translating what it was saying, that somehow, it was able to make sense of what the rift guardian was saying. He felt the relic quiver in his grip, feeling it begin to burn with power, leaking his Ethra and aura that was wrapped tightly around its black blades, a power Tunde had absolutely no idea where it was coming from. His body drank it in, feeling his entire being sing with pure unrivaled power as the reaver screamed to the skies above in rage before swinging its weapons at him.
Ethra sight activated of its own volition, Tunde watching the attack of sharpened aura and blood tear towards his position before he swung his relic as well, an attack of aura and Ethra tearing through the air between them, both attacks clashing as they warped before vanishing in an explosion of lights.
***************************
The alpha still felt the stings of the black creature’s weapons, the being that walked on two legs as well, their powers so deadly that it had been completely caught off guard with its attacks. Wincing slightly at the loud booming weapons that sat on the walls of the domain of the creatures, it found itself growing with envy and rage, half its forces had been decimated by those things, whatever they were, and while it had called on its reserve forces, their lumbering presences drawing ever closer in its mind, the alpha held back from blindly charging in again.
Seated on the bare ground a few hundred meters from the walls, watching the rift creatures that poured out assault the walls, close to overwhelming them, the alpha closed its eyes and began to imitate just how the aura of the creature it had fought moved in, feeling his power swell as something within its body began to take shape, a pressure unlike any other descending on it, attempting to crush it to the ground.
Its eyes snapped open in shock as it snarled, the creatures around it pounded to a paste by the unseen force, it strained its neck in an attempt to get up, muscles bulged in rage as its body shook. A primal fury welled up within its body, a defiance against whatever force was attempting to squash it, could it be the creature from the rift or the deadlier one he had faced earlier before the interruption of the rift creatures?. More thoughts floated through its mind as it fought on, oblivious to time passing by, but soon enough the pressure broke, and something clicked within its body.
Ethra flowed into its body like a faucet, pouring into its already powerful form as its mind seemed to expand again, this time with pain-wrenching force as it spat blood. Griping its stalagmite weapon hard while getting to its feet, the creatures that had maintained a wide distance gave it an even wider berth, it inhaled and then roared as something flashed to life within its gaze, a blue glowing box that wrote a single word.
[alpha]
It turned its gaze to the walls, watching the humanoid it considered its greatest foe do battle against the rift creature as it snarled. No, it won’t be drawn into their battle, in fact, this was an opportunity for it to take advantage of its distraction and see just what was behind those tall black walls that the humanoid defended so. The first of the Cinderhides arrived close to it along with another hundred or so Sandstalkers at its side, two tier 3 Sandshards with their heads poked out of the ground, silently staring into the distance.
It pointed its stalagmite at the walls, its aura flaring out as it growled, the Cinderhide and stalkers charging at it along with one Sandshard, they would be the distraction it had in mind. Climbing atop the other Sandshard, it held tightly to one of its scales as it burrowed back down into the ground, its destination the large crystal building behind the walls itself.
**********************************
Thorne felt and heard the explosions coming from above as he sat up with a jolt, feeling a power tear through the defenses of the prison he was in, slamming into him with mind-crushing strength. Coughing as his body twisted, he weathered it, finding the power reinvigorating him he got to his feet, tearing through the chains that held him taut in the cell he was in. To the other side stood Thalas, the adept noticing his cell had been drained of power as well, releasing him. Thorne said nothing, grabbing the iron bars and tearing them off the walls, all too aware of the power he was feeling from above.
They were here, the revenants, somehow, they were at the heart of clan Verdan, and a full-scale war had broken out. Grabbing one of the metal bars, he swung it in practice, nodding to himself, it would have to do.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Thalas’s voice said as Thorne paused, turning to him.
“I have no business with you, candidly, I’d advise you get out of the city while you can” Thorne replied, turning away.
“You brought them here,” Thalas said as Thorne felt the familiar build-up of power coming from him.
Sighing, he turned to the kid.
“You don’t- “was all he could say before a projected jade gauntlet slammed into him, crushing him into his cell back.
Rib cage broken, Thorne coughed up black blood, groaning to himself as he got to his feet, he had grown lax. Watching as the Thalas’s form was wreathed in a green glowing aura, something that reminded him oddly enough of the revenants, except theirs was a whole lot tainted and bile-inducing, sort of like his aura now. A chuckle escaped his throat as Thalas grabbed him by the neck.
“Something funny?” he asked.
“Yes,” Thorne replied.
“you”
Then he spat in Thalas’s eyes, the adept recoiling before he smashed a blow into his body, Thalas flying backward and slamming into the wall. Groaning as he got to his feet, bones popping with sighs of relief, Thorne grabbed the pole again, imbuing it with his aura that revulsed him, watching as green and black Ethra crawled up the metal, softening it before hardening it back into a blade.
"Your head will pacify the patriarch,” Thalas said, already on his feet.
“you’re a bit too young for that” Thorne replied.
Nodding, impressed as the kid forged a blade out of his aura, the two clashed, Thorne slapping away every hit of the kid with ease and precision, watching, waiting to see if the kid would pull out some sort of technique to amuse him. With a jolt he slammed a kick into him, Thalas flying through the air before landing on the ground, on his feet again, but this time clutching his ribs.
“No elixirs, no pills, and you somehow thought you could take me on?” Thorne said, swinging the weapon.
The doors to the cell opened up as disciples of clan Verdan poured in, imbued weapons glowing. They paused at the sight before them, shocked before the lead disciple shouted.
“Protect adept Thalas, kill him!” he said pointing at Thorne.
He wondered if their addled brain even realized he was no longer shackled by the cuffs that drained his Ethra, catching one and raising the disciple up as Thalas screamed at them to retreat in horror. He snapped the disciples’ neck with ease, cycling his Ethra as he drained the vitality from the body, flesh sloughing off before liquidating and seeping into his body. He hated every second of it, what he was being forced to do, but it was a necessity, if he was to face the forces of the revenants up above, then this was something he had to do.
The clan hadn’t been benevolent to him, not even when he had followed their wishes, treating him like some animal while no doubt waiting for the Heralds to arrive and execute him. He had no delusions about that anyway, they would execute him, he had gone too far down the path of undeath to receive the benevolence of the cult, and he was a risk they couldn’t keep alive, not with everything he knew about the cult.
Throwing the carcass of the disciple aside, watching as the rest quivered turning and attempting to run, Thorne covered the entire dungeon in his dominion, curious about what it looked like. The walls disappeared, turning into flesh that oozed the aura of undeath, trapping both Thalas and the disciples who gathered around him, weapons pointed at him.
“no longer proud to talk about how your clan sentenced Tunde to death, are you?” Thorne said quietly.
Thalas’s stance remained, eyes on Thorne as he pointed the projected blade at him, jade gauntlets forming in the air, his aura straining, fighting back against him.
“You all are vermin, and you deserve what will come for you” Thalas replied.
Thorne nodded, scratching his jaw.
“I thought as much, not like I could let you walk out of here even if I could,” he said.
“Doubt your patriarch would forgive you for that”
“We stand and die as cultivators of clan Verdan,” Thalas said resolutely.
Thorne snapped his fingers, fleshy spikes skewering the disciples in the blink of an eye before they could move, killing them instantly. Thalas moved faster, cutting through them before two gauntlets smashed into Thorne who met them with his imbued weapon, shattering them and pushing towards Thalas. He could see it in the adept’s eyes, Thalas knew he faced insurmountable odds, not with the raw strength of thorn, not with him drawing power from the remnants of the dead disciples around and his dominion still active, something bizarre for an adept.
Still, he fought, and Thorne commended him for it, batting away every hit before a well-placed punch had his fists tearing through the imbued and reinforced body of Thalas, his eyes wide open as he croaked.
“Lord,” he said.
“close” Thorne replied.
“And you’ll help me take my next step”
Had around Thalas’s heart, he tore it out, the body of the adept dropping to the ground, dead. He took a moment to look around him, to stare at what he had done, and didn’t feel a hint of remorse, unsure what he was becoming, he sat on the ground, his dominion fading away as he began cycling, drawing in power from the dead and powerful body of Thalas, feeling it reinvigorate his heart and more as he felt the heaven’s crucible begin to descend on him.
He was prepared for it, spending the entirety of his time within the cell, killing off the rodents that littered it, slowly building his reserves. The shackles prevented him from implementing his Ethra cycling conventionally, it hadn’t been made to stop the unorthodox cycling methods of the revenants, something he had discovered by himself within the cell. Power was everything on Adamath, revenge needed power, to simply exist needed power and Thorne was about to go against both sides.
Feeling the pressure on his entire being, he weathered it, feeling his core beginning to take shape within him, the world attempting to break him, the ground beneath him cracking as the pressure intensified. The moment his core was completed, the pressure vanished, Thorne’s body a mixture of wastes and impurities that stank, the entire room devoid of power, everything being absorbed into his body. He got to his feet, removed his clothes, and walked stark naked out of the cell, he would find clean clothes outside, after he washed himself that is, probably kill a few revenants along the way before finding whoever led the invasion and question them about the revenant lord.