Hemdal raised the vial once more and Kal’s world flickered away behind the wall of agony but as the man turned away he looked over his shoulder.
“You have amused me, Freak. For that, I will answer your question. Jayne Lesta cries in her cell at this very moment awaiting her next beating,” He snickered, “Perhaps I will visit her myself though her blood holds no properties worth my time. It may be interesting to see if her pathetic shell is as malleable as your own.”
Kal wanted to throw himself at the man but he could barely move through the searing torment of skill affecting him. He couldn’t even curse the man as streams of blood flew from his bleeding body to orbit the man as he left. Only after the door slammed closed and we were thrown back into the darkness of his cell did the pain slowly recede.
“Damn it. He has Jayne!”
Hemdal had no reason to lie about it. Jayne was in this prison somewhere. Somewhere within The Third Tower. Kal started grinding his teeth again as he thought about what he was going to do to that Uton-worshipping fuck. His broken tooth along with the rest of his body ached as he had just been beaten to the edge of his life again.
Health:
472/4870
Stamina:
7440/7440
Wrath:
0
Kal growled at the damage he had taken from Hemdal’s skill. The entire day of healing he had undergone had been wasted by a single visit from the man. His anger overwhelmed him for a time and hung there in silent rage as he glared through the door of his cell, his eyes flickering between his multiple affinities and his killing sight. He could sense corpses everywhere. Fuel for his recovery. Fuel for his wrath.
He wasn’t sure how long had passed since he succumbed to his own killing intent but eventually, his mind refocused on the now, and the anger was replaced by frustration. Kal restarted his efforts at regeneration but this time he had to be more careful. He should have realized they would question his sudden regeneration. It was likely they intended to keep him weak to ensure the arrays around him had their intended effect.
Class:
Slayer of Fate [Epic] [Anomalous]
Level:
77
Race:
Human?
Health:
472/4870
Stamina:
7440/7440
Wrath:
0
Attributes
Strength:
543[-380] Scarring Containment
Agility:
275[-185] Containment
Endurance:
574[-170] Containment
Vitality:
292[-195] Containment
Intellect:
242[-400] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Perception:
127[-380] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Will:
955[-410] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Wisdom:
224[-390] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Available:
0
Kal needed to heal his scarring, the effects of the backlash, and mana burn without making it too obvious to outside eyes. Wrathful Regeneration was potent for that reason. By default, it focused its energy on his most grievous wounds and attribute damage first. It could also be directed to a degree if he focused on it hard enough. His current regeneration cycle was less guided than that however and healed his wounds equally as the body naturally did.
The edges of his vision began to writhe again and his vision reddened. Every moment had become a constant battle with his own mind and soul. Not for the first time Kal had the urge to activate Slayer’s Apathy again just to silence the turmoil in his head but of course, he couldn’t. And he shouldn’t.
Even if he could, Kal didn’t want to think about what he would do if he found Jayne like that.
Kal did what he could to focus on the task before him and made some alterations to his regeneration cycle in between rage-induced lapses in concentration. In an attempt to focus the healing on specific parts of his body rather than everything at once, he took some inspiration from Wrathful Regeneration.
His idea was to create a partial copy of Wrathful Regeneration’s guide construct. Recreating the whole thing would take too long and with his concentration difficulties he would no doubt fumble it somewhere deadly and stop his heart. No, instead Kal concentrated on the less complicated knots within the construct. For a start, he chose several sections of muscles that had received the majority of the mana burn. Annoyingly that included several muscle groups and tendons around his eyes but compared to his brain they were much easier to copy.
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Before he was done he fell into another round of seething anger as the flesh walls reached for him again but with nothing to vent his killing intent on the anger faded to manageable levels. The breach in his core affected his mind and body at all times but its severity changed constantly. Kal spat with irritation as another episode faded but gritted his teeth and took the opportunity to attempt his new regeneration cycle.
Kal was well aware this round would hurt more than the last but he didn’t hesitate. His blood exploded into motion propelled by his dramatically accelerated heart and almost vitality-infused blood. He felt its journey through his body until it reached the muscles and tendons of his eyes and it was as if his eyes boiled under the heat of yet another Felflame Annihilation but only this time his vision didn’t fade.
His body bent in response to the pain and a groan echoed from his cell but when it passed the room brightened noticeably. Wearily Kal glanced at his status as he felt another episode begin to rise up inside him.
Kalum Lesta
Status
Class:
Slayer of Fate [Epic] [Anomalous]
Level:
77
Race:
Human?
Health:
322/4870
Stamina:
0/7440
Wrath:
0
Attributes
Strength:
543[-380] Scarring Containment
Agility:
275[-185] Containment
Endurance:
574[-170] Containment
Vitality:
292[-195] Containment
Intellect:
242[-400] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Perception:
127=>212[-294] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Will:
955=>1180[-185] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Wisdom:
224[-390] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Available:
0
Titles
Ascendant, Core Bane, Core Smith, Divine Deviant, 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, Exemplar of Defiance, Disciple of Destruction, Resonance of Wrath, Resonance of Freedom, Slaughter of Kin
Skills
Soul Forge [Rare], Wrathful Regeneration [Uncommon], Wrath Incarnate [Epic] [Wrath Forged], 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], Planar Linguist [Rare] [Soul Forged] [Partial Integration], Cloak of the Wrathful Spectre [Rare] [Soul Forged]
Race
Soul: Partial Breach
A savage grin flashed across his face at the sight. He let the rage take him once more. He would make it out of here faster than he had first thought.
----------------------------------------
“Preparation, 3”
The runes of light blinked away leaving Jayne alone in the dark, again. The screams all around her hadn’t ended but they had grown torn and strained. The desperate fear of the mad. The pale light of the opal lamp shined through the cell block as the door swung open with a crash, startling her and the rest of the prisoners.
This time the booted steps of their jailor were muted by the groans of terror not only from those within Jayne’s cell block. Jayne shivered as she heard other voices join the chorus of dread and she struggled to hold in her own fear. Jayne’s eyes remained locked on the bars of her cell door as the pale hue brightened. She didn’t have the strength to fight it today so as the light finally reached the door she didn’t bother standing.
“This is her cell, Lord Prophet. Do you need another sample?” Jayne heard Jenkins’ muted voice through the door.
“Lord Prophet?!” Jayne whispered, a new sense of dread mixing with the rest. What did a prophet want with her? And why did they want her blood?
Jayne shook harder as a roar from somewhere within the prison sent a chill down her spine and set off another chorus of terrified screams from the prisoners.
Another voice hissed, “Pathetic… Cull some of these commoners will you? They are useless now.”
“Yeh- yes, Lord Prophet I will request the presence of an aspirant”
Jayne heard Jenkins’ turn to leave the cell block but the other spoke again before he had taken more than a step, “No, Jailer. You have done your task admirably for some time now. You may cull them yourself, level sixty-five simply won’t do.”
“Thank you, Lord Prophet. I will see it done. What about the girl?” Another chill hit Jayne as she heard the smile in the man’s voice.
“Kill her…” The prophet’s voice trailed off for a moment, “On second thought I have another experiment I would like to conduct, her si-” a heightened scream made Jayne miss the prophet’s next sentence, “- Take this and wear it for each culling then report your findings to me.”
Suddenly there was a head at the grating of her cell door and the silhouette of a thin pale man stared straight at her through it, “A pathetic waste of power…” His eye flashed red for an instant and Jayne gasped and fell bonelessly from her crouch in the corner to the ground.
Pain. Pain worse than she had ever felt before shattered her mind and the last remaining shreds of will she had left.
----------------------------------------
Jayne awoke to the sound of metal on stone and she scrambled back away from her cell door in a panic, “No! Not yet,” she groaned but her fear-gripped chest didn’t let the words out.
Her cell door was still closed but the light of Jenkins’ opal lamp was as bright as it had ever been, shining just outside of her cell.
“Stay still!”, Jayne heard a hard thud and crunch before something fell to the ground, “Take him to the culling array! And make sure no one else touches him!”
There was the sound of several booted feet moving up and down the cell block and against Jayne’s better judgment she approached the grate. Outside Jenkins and four guards she hadn’t seen before wrestled with the dirt and grime-covered form of another prisoner.
[Illrick James | Error | Human]
Jayne’s eyes widened at the notification, “Error? What?!” She looked back at the man before he was dragged down the hall. His head was covered in shaggy gray nearly white hair but his face was that of a man no older than thirty. Blood trickled down from his scalp, likely from the mace one of the nearby men held in his right hand.
The half-conscious prisoner was mumbling something as the guards stopped and bound his arms and legs in chains before continuing down the hall. For the first time since she was imprisoned here, Jayne made out the words the prisoner was saying.
“It’s here… It’s finally here… Let him end it all…”
Jayne shivered and backed away from the grate, “Gods! What is happening in this place?!” As she moved away from the door Jayne accidentally kicked over her water bucket and outside her cell Jenkins turned and noticed her through the grate.
A wicked grin flashed across his face, “Your time will come girl!” Jenkins grasped something around his neck and his smile deepened, “I will enjoy the Lord Prophet’s charge,” Jenkins’ turned and left the cell block with the guards and the wounded man.
Jayne wanted to curse at the brute but again her voice failed her and she sagged against the rear wall of her cell and down onto the ground. Not for the first time, Jayne wondered why she had been taken, “Dad, Lilly, Kal-”
Jayne’s cell filled with silver light and she blinked away tears as the runes flashed to life. A flicker of hope rose up in her chest and she scrambled over to it and read the first rune.
“Problem, Delayed”