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Chapter 48-To Fracture

Error due to presence of a unique resource and the manual forging of your tier 1 core you must provide the necessary resources:

Wrath provided: 0/73000

“How am I supposed to give it that much wrath?!” Kal was dumbfounded, this was ridiculous. He glanced at his status and his frown deepened.

Health:

132/1820

Stamina:

17/2680

Wrath:

680

There was no way he could get that much wrath in his current state. But why did he even need to do it? When he created his first core there had been no mention of providing it power. Did the first kind of core not require this kind of investment?

“Damn it,” Yes, of course, it needed power, and the way he got it the first time was by just turning up in this place, and getting assaulted by the very power source that let him ascend, the abyssal mana. But that wouldn’t work now, or at least it wasn’t feasible. He could try and siphon it all but he didn’t have time for that, it was far too slow, and he doubted his will could withstand the additional pain on top of his already deteriorating body. So what were his options? He would either run out of time and die while siphoning, either by his body finally giving out, or the damned garghounds catching up. Both were obviously bad choices, but what else was there? He didn’t have the stamina to fight even if his pain-wracked body would allow it.

Kal growled as his birthright threatened to overwhelm him once more, its rhythm calling for him to give in and let it free. He couldn’t hold out much longer and desperately scraped his brain for an answer. He wasn’t going to die here, there had to be a way. He would have to activate Wrathful Regeneration any second if he didn’t find a way out of this. He had no resources or skills that could help him here, he needed every scrap of wrath he could get just to stay alive for a bit longer… “Wait, what resource did my birthright use to heal me?”

When Kal had lost control before his ascension his attributes must have been enhanced somehow but he didn’t have wrath to spend on it back then. During his rampages after ascension, it definitely used it since he was able to regain control after he was sufficiently injured enough and was forced to reduce his wrath with Wrathful Regeneration. But before his ascension, he had displayed both of those abilities without it. Did that mean his birthright didn’t need a resource to empower him? He felt unstoppable while using Wrath Incarnate. How would it feel if it had no limits? Kal felt his birthright’s rhythm change, almost like it was mocking him. He sighed, maybe there was a way for him to get enough wrath. If he could generate with his birthright free, perhaps it could keep him alive long enough to make it through.

Would he ever be able to regain control? Unleashing his birthright would mean he would be destroying his core again, and he didn’t know if he could recover from doing that now that he had ascended.

The nearly finished core construct floated next to his current crumbling core, still attached to his cloud form by a long core thread. Would it automatically finish the forging once he had reached enough wrath? Kal doubted it. The system seemed to be unable to manipulate his wrath at all, forcing Kal to do nearly everything involved with the resource. So if he was going to do this he needed to have a way to force his new core to be completed. To finish the core he only needed to fill the sphere with his wrath in a similar way to how he created his improved Wrath Incarnate skill, but this time it required a whole lot more. After that he needed to fuse the top threads together, sealing the sphere. But how could he do that without being conscious? Fusing them together wasn’t even difficult, it really only required him to will the threads together, especially now that he had the Soul Forge in its uncorrupted form. Could he prepare the threads to be fused in advance somehow? Kal quickly constructed another sphere, this one much smaller than even the one he created to cleanse himself, and filled it with wrath but before he had completely filled it he concentrated on the unfused threads, willing them to fuse the moment he finished filling the sphere. Kal felt Soul Forge activate the sensation was different this time, hoping it would work Kal filled the rest of the sphere. As he had hoped the sphere's final threads fused together, sealing the wrath within for a few moments before disintegrating and releasing the wrath back to his old core.

“Well, it looks like it should work,” Kal had expected it to collapse after a few moments, he hadn't intended for the sphere to be permanent so hadn’t been thorough during its construction. What was important was that he was able to seal it automatically.

Kal frowned as his health continued to fall as he looked at his crumbling core. Everything was in place but he dreaded destroying his core again. What would happen to all the progress he had made? Would he lose all the levels he had gained and be forced to do it all again? Something told him that wasn’t the case but he couldn’t help but worry over it. Allowing his birthright to rage also felt incredibly stupid, he just hoped it wouldn’t take too long to finish his new core so he could seal it away again. Kal looked over his core construct one last time ensuring there were no obvious issues with it. He assumed his skills would somehow transfer to the new core since he had already woven their threads through the new core's frame but again it was another risk on top of the rest for what he was about to do.

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Moving over to the edge of his fractured core, Kal placed his cloudlike hand onto its crimson edge and willed it to be unmade.

Do you wish to dismantle your Tier 0 core? Yes/No

Warning: Dismantling of one's core has a likelihood of death.

Kal took a breath and activated his Wrathful Regeneration, hopefully, to keep him alive for at least a bit longer for what comes next. When he was ready he sent the mental command and felt his birthright flare unlike it had ever done before as his core vanished like it had never existed. Then… Then he was… He who-

Warning: Birthright: Waking -> Birthright: %@!#$!@

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Drekax leaped over a pack of his lesser kin as he charged towards the circling sky hunters. Drekax had killed a few of the nobles on his way through, disgusted by their fear. It was pathetic, how could the great garghound hordes fear such a pathetic creature? He had seen the mortal flee when he entered this layer, leaving the plains of the Emperor’s Domain was a great dishonor and this mortal would pay for their transgression. Drekax could smell the mortal now, the exquisite smell of fear sweat strong on the wind. He licked his teeth at the thought of mortal flesh finally back within his reach. He would be the one to devour this weakling, Drekax wouldn’t allow a single scrap to fall into the jaws of the others of the royal guard.

Drekax came to a stop as he smelt the sweet scent of the mortal’s blood. It was close, hiding like the vermin it truly was. Several of the lesser kin entered the clearing with him but a savage growl was enough to dissuade them from his meal. Drekax followed the scent to a crack in the side of a large boulder. It was time to feast. It had been so long since Drekax had tasted the flesh of a mortal, perhaps this kill would be enough to bring him to the next evolution. Drekax growled with anticipation as he approached the crack, his superior perception revealing his prey.

The mortal was pathetic as expected, the only thing worthy of mention was that it even lived. Its body was barely holding together, much of the meat Drekax desired had already burned away. Of course, it did, no mortal could survive in the abyssal planes. Its soul must be potent to have survived in the layer and soon that potency would be his-

Drekax stopped, his forelimbs freezing mid-step. His hardening in response to the unknown emotion suddenly threatened to overwhelm him. The mortal hadn’t moved but something had changed, his lesser kin began to howl and visibly shudder as the feeling hit them as well. A few even turned and ran. Drekax turned his gaze back to the mortal, his teeth bared ready for an attack. But then the mortal opened its eyes, and then all Drekax knew was drowned in fear.

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Vorayx let the blood of the pathetic failures run from his raised arms and pool at his feet while the notifications came in.

[ Kuroxet Slaughterer | Abyss Spawn 36] No experience awarded.

[ Kuroxet Slaughterer | Abyss Spawn 33] No experience awarded.

[ Kuroxet Slaughterer | Abyss Spawn 39] No experience awarded.

[ Kuroxet Slaughterer | Abyss Spawn 35] No experience awarded.

They had once again failed to locate the mortal. It should not have been so difficult, if the mortal was even alive it should be somewhere writhing in pain just waiting to be devoured. Due to their continued failure, Vorayx was forced to make a few more examples. He had added a few decorations to his throne, mostly just a few dozen extra skulls added to the top for each day that they continued to fail.

“How is it that you miserable creatures cannot complete even the simplest of tasks? Hmm?” Vorayx sat back down on his throne, letting the blood soak into the bones of the armrests, “I will be sure to purge this entire plane if the mortal isn’t located before-”

A notification suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, shining purple-green. The colors are associated with the Great Lord. Vorayx could see the same notification appearing to all of the demons present, even the weakest of them the pathetic kuroxet reavers. But he ignored that for now, more excited about the oddity than the annoyance of the kuroxet sharing this experience.

A calamity has arisen…

Vorayx had barely begun to read the notification when he felt it, a power so malevolent that his infernal blood froze in his veins. He leaped to his feet, accidentally destroying his throne from the excessive force he used to stand.

“A dreadlord… how?..” No, that was impossible. If a dreadlord had manifested here Vorayx would already be dead. But what else could it be?

Quest Received: Devour the anomaly

An anomaly has manifested on this plane, seize it for the great lord and you shall be rewarded.

Reward: Abyssal evolution, 10 levels.

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Elder Traya screamed but Dalen could barely hear it as the images on the mirrors flashed by, faster than he could easily comprehend. His heart stopped and his head swam as what he saw burned into his very soul. Blood and fire, carnage, and insanity were reflected off of Dalen’s eyes as he couldn't help but take it all in. He tried to close his eyes but something wouldn’t let him. Intrusive thoughts rushed through his mind. He deserved to die, for what he had done. He should have done more to save Kal. Why hadn’t he made him stay home? He wanted to be punished, only that would make it right…

All the others in the room were in a similar state, their faces all in the twisted expressions of true horror, but their eyes never leaving the visions before them.

Dalen’s eyes began to bleed as Traya’s screams grew to new heights, but her screams were nothing compared to what Dalen could see. From the carnage a being walked wreathed in a cloak of crimson flame, its form covered in horrendous wounds for an instant before becoming whole again through the blood of countless enemies. The being's eyes burned like crimson suns, forever moving to the next kill. Its face was a savage sneer as it cut down all that stood before it. Dalen’s consciousness began to falter from the onslaught of seeing the being before him. But then it looked at him, its burning eyes somehow looking directly into his soul. For a moment excruciating pain wracked his body making him collapse to the ground as his body completely gave into the pain.