The ender watched the corpse slam into another platform beside two flickering lights struggling to flee. Dark blood pooled around the corpse as he landed beside it.
His gaze bore into the soul of the corpse beside him. Another end…
As the ender’s blade fell his body suddenly convulsed and crimson text blurred his vision making him stagger away from the destined dead.
/ERRO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
Core Integrati/ERROR?/on: 98%
/ERRO~?R/ /E~RROR/~~~/?
/ER~RO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
/ERRO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
/ERRO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
Level:
68
Race:
/ERRO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
He?alt~h:
/ERRO?R/ /ERROR/~~~/?
/ERRO?R/:
7400
Wrath:
/ERRO?R/ /ER~/?
Attributes
Streng?th:
/E?RR~O?R/
Agilit/y:
~/ER~R~O?R/
Endurance:
/E?RRO?R/
Vitality?:
/ER~RO?R/
Intelle?ct:?
/ERR~O~?R/
Perception:
/ERRO?R/
Will:
/ER~RO?R~/
Wisdom:
/ER~RO?R/
Available:
/ERR~O?R/
Titles
/ERR~O?R/
Skills
/ERR~O?R/
Race
/ERR~O?R/
The crimson storm above him twisted and died as his wrath waned.
Kal gasped as his mind suddenly became his own and staggered backward in agony as his cracked and charred flesh began to bleed again. Crimson wrath still poured from his soul and reached towards the abyssal mana in the sky but it slowly began to pull back.
The screams of a child and the pained groans of someone behind made Kal turn his head but before he could see who it was his body crunched as Vorayx slammed his fist into his chest. Flesh cracked and puffed from his body as he flew across the platform to hit a chunk of the shattered platform.
Kal barely registered the pain as his body continued to crack from the insane amount of mana boring into his body. He had lost his sword with that strike so he pushed himself to his feet with his now free hand and looked back towards Vorayx.
The demon was covered in dark blood and every inch of its protective plating was gone. It staggered to its feet but instead of coming to finish Kal off, it turned towards the two others on the platform.
Kal tried to get to his feet but fell to his knees as the demon reached who Kal now realized was the archer and that bloody kid. The archer threw the kid behind her and fired several arrows before Vorayx made it to her but even wounded he was still far too fast for her to avoid.
A clawed hand clamped around her throat and tore her from the ground to hold her above his head. Her face was white with fear but her eyes burned, “Run Ander! Run!”
The boy scrambled backwards but his legs clearly weren’t listening to him as he tripped and fell barely fifteen feet away.
Vorayx’s fearful expression was gone as he turned to face Kal swinging the archer through the air casually, “You surprised me mortal. I see now why the great lord wants your soul. Your little suicidal trick was enough to waste my resources but with these pathetic things so readily available that is no issue.”
Vorayx sneered as several skill channels flared across his body and moved towards the arm holding the archer. The demon’s sneer widened but then the light reached his elbow and died. Kal dragged himself closer. The demon’s sneer vanished and the channels flashed again, and again.
“What?! No, No!” Vorayx screamed, “No! Impossible! What have you done?!”
The channels flashed again and again, each time dying the instant light reached the location Kal’s Edge of Malice pierced its skin. Kal groaned as he moved closer and closer to the demon, each step causing chunks of charred flesh to fall away and turn to ash as they struck the ground.
Core Integration: 99%
/E?RR~O?R/
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Status
Class:
/E?RR~O?R/
Level:
68
Race:
/E?RR~O?R/
Health:
43/3930
Stamina:
102/7400
Wrath:
/E?RR~O?R/
Attributes
Strength:
324[-429] Mana Burn
Agility:
174[-312] Mana Burn
Endurance:
368[-371] Mana Burn
Vitality:
393
Intellect:
529
Perception:
363[-121] Mana Burn
Will:
1156
Wisdom:
461
Available:
0
Titles
Ascendant, Core Bane, Core Smith, Defier of Dhinir, Planeswalker, Planar Appetite, Slayer of the Strong, Endurance Elite, Strength Elite, Will Paragon, Demon Slayer, Paragon of Man, Planar Binding I, Soul Seer, True Slayer of Demonkind, Thief of Ages, Fate Diviner
Skills
Soul Forge [Rare], Wrathful Regeneration [Uncommon], Wrath Incarnate [Uncommon], Abyssal Consumption [Rare], Flames of Wrath[Uncommon] [Soul Forged], Slayer’s Intent [Rare] [Soul Forged], Slayer’s Apathy [Rare] [Soul Forged], Edge of Malice [Common] [Soul Forged], Flesh of Iron [Rare], Eyes of the Slayer [Mythic] [Spiritbound]
Race
Birthright: Confined
Kal could feel himself fading with each step but soon he found himself beside the struggling demon as it desperately tried to activate its skill.
Its sneer had twisted into an expression Kal had never expected to see from a demon. Grief. Vorayx turned its now pale face down to Kal and opened its mouth to speak.
Core Integration: 100%
Kal slammed his fist into the demon’s unprotected face only an instant after activating Flesh of Iron. The demon's fangs shattered like glass and he lost grip of the archer who fell to the ground gasping for air.
Kal fell to his knees and the stream of power pouring into him suddenly winked out, making Kal’s eyes snap to the still raging mana storm above, “I hope they had enough time-” Kal’s train of thought evaporated as the storm’s detonation accelerated and the abyssal mana pouring into the area vanished. Relief flashed through his mind but it vanished as the storm exploded downward, reaching towards the platforms, no, him.
With abyssal mana gone in its place, a lance of purple space mana seared through the sky toward them, tearing holes in the air before their eyes. Kal saw the archer throw themselves onto the boy before the world exploded around him in a cascade of light and pain.
----------------------------------------
Dalen wanted to ignore Kal’s command and even Leo downed a stamina potion to try and muster the energy to battle the monstrous demon. But then something changed and the sky turned red as the power boring into Kal’s chest suddenly morphed into something savage.
Dalen’s heart began to pound and he staggered away by reflex as he felt something he had only glimpsed once before. During the Blood Hunt spell. All around him, people began to scream, only Leo and Melisia seemed to be less affected but even still their faces paled and Leo fell to one knee as his body locked up.
Those further away were able to move into a run but any order there had been in their desperate flight vanished as people fought to get away. The platform exploded into a sphere of burning red light and when the storm of crimson flame parted Kal and the demon were gone.
“Ander! No! No no no..” Eliza cried and despite the horrible weight on their minds she tried to run past them towards the hole in the platform.
Leo grunted but grabbed the battle mage as she passed and dragged her back, “No! We need to run!”
Eliza tried to pry herself from Leo’s arms but his superior strength easily overwhelmed her, “No! I can’t he-”
“He’s alive, and so is Nyx!” Dalen cut in as he reached the edge of the platform. Below he spotted the archer scoop up the boy and dart along the platform as bolts of crimson death lanced into the platform all around her, “She’s carrying him beneath us as we speak. Hopefully, we can find them later.”
The remnants of the explosion licked at the edge of the platform as he moved back towards the other but in an instant it became a wave, searing its way towards them. Something told him Kal wasn’t controlling the flames.
Dalen hated himself but he turned toward the fleeing survivors, “Time to go people!”
----------------------------------------
Dalen ran as fast as he could but despite his strange resistance to the fear everyone around him was suffering from, his crappy endurance and agility ensured he was at the back of the fleeing cult.
Ahead Leo had resorted to throwing Eliza over his shoulder. Melisia ran beside him but her gaze remained locked on the chaos of the crimson storm rushing behind them. Every bolt of red light tore apart platforms they hadn’t even realized were there, showing them with debris as they.
“Keep moving! We are close!” Elder Jaliete’s voice echoed through Dalen’s mind and he looked to the front of the scrambling order just as the disorientating gray of the broken path parted to reveal a wall of rippling light.
“We can make it!” Leo called over his shoulder as they drew closer to the wall of light. Dalen pushed but his stamina continued to hold him back as he stumbled and tripped over a chunk of fallen platform. Panting he climbed to his feet but before he could take his next step the platform heaved under his feet and blood poured from his ears as an explosion tore him from the ground.
Dalen tumbled forward into a heap but with a groan, he dragged himself to his feet once more and looked back to the source of the detonation.
The crimson storm had vanished but in its place the clashing powers of the original storm roared toward them, a wave of destruction disintegrating everything it touched,” Fuck! Kal!”
A strong hand suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, “Dalen! Move!” Leo grunted but he didn’t give Dalen the chance to move before he threw him towards the wall of light. Leo leaped after him as the wave of destruction surged up behind but.
Dalen hit the ground hard, bouncing once before he felt the wall of light wash over him and the world became a sickening cascade of light and darkness. Time stretched like before and every moment of it was horrible but all Dalen could think about was Kal as he reached into the sky and dragged it down.
“What has happened to you Kal?”
Dalen was relieved to see Kal alive but his friend had changed in the short time they had been apart. He had denied it before, not truly believing what the order had said about him. But Dalen couldn’t ignore the savage ferocity he had seen in Kal’s eyes as he fought, no, slaughtered.
He had been barely conscious but even in that state Dalen had seen how easily Kal single-handedly dismantled the horde bearing down on them, completely ignoring the oppressive foreign mana that had disabled even the strongest of the order’s people.
The world of light and dark parted and Dalen fell several more feet to land hard on top of several fighters who were all writhing on the ground as they struggled with the disorientation of the passage. The crossing looked identical to the first he had seen a large black structure framed with large columns. Dalen joined the fighters in their misery but after a moment he crawled to his feet just in time to see Leo fly through the wall of light and crash into the ground. There was blood everywhere pouring from dozens of deep wounds all over his back where his armor had been torn away.
“Leo!” Dalen staggered to his feet, “We need a healer!”
Melisia appeared by his side and the white-blue glow of her lesser healing spell washed over Leo’s torn back and the wounds slowly began to knit back together. Melisia had to stop several times as both the disorientation and her mana bottoming out threatened to make her faint but when she finally was forced to completely stop Leo’s wounds had stopped bleeding.
Nearby Eliza sat, her eyes staring at the wall of light with tears streaming down her face, “Nyx… Please… please, save him.”
Dalen’s heart ached as he turned to watch the wall of light as well, hoping to see Kal and others somehow make it. The wall of rippling light flickered then grew still and where light once shone through a wave of darkness spread across its surface shrouding the crossing in darkness.
Dalen’s head fell, “Damn it, not again…”
One of the fighters reached out and slapped the now black wall and a dull thud echoed across the crossing and Eliza wept for her lost child and lifelong friend.