Time Until Next Wave: 0 hours, 29 minutes, 7 seconds

Time was short so Kal started working his way through the first part of forging his skill. He began by forming a sphere similar to the one Wrath Incarnate had since he was basically filling it full of wrath in a similar if less complex way than that skill did. Making it was relatively fast compared to the time he had done it. He left it incomplete so he could start working on the constructs inside it, this was where Kal would have to try and implant the desired effect on his will strands and or constructs. What he basically understood from Wrath Incarnate was that he had to link the skill to his core by using a specific kind of will construct, which would allow the skill to draw wrath from his core. In a way Wrath Incarnate always drew wrath from his core, acting almost like a second storage location for it but at the same time it was a kind of pressure release. He wondered if that was still the case now that he had upgraded his core. Getting back on task, Kal started to think about how he could make this custom skill actually behave how he wanted. First, it needed to draw wrath from his core, next it needed to move the collected wrath to the point he wanted it to manifest externally, finally, he wanted it to stay there until he dismissed it or at least last for a decent amount of time. It all basically came down to will and wrath.

Kal first thought that he could simply implant what he wanted into a spherical construct of will and set it up in a similar way to his core auto-completion trick, but he quickly realized it wouldn’t work. Once he activated the skill the sphere would probably work fine but the moment the skill ended that sphere would be gone, basically making the skill useless. That at least is what he suspected would happen just like with his core. Once the seal was in place, it was like it never existed, it just became part of the whole. So what was his other option? He thought about how Wrath Incarnate used strands that reached outside of core space and into his body to amplify his attributes. Would something like that work here? He was pretty sure he couldn’t just use a single strand of will to transport the wrath through his body, but what about a more complicated thread or a construct? Two ideas came to mind. First, he could try a thread combining both will and wrath, or he could make a more complicated construct to make a kind of pipeline connecting the skill to one of his hands. Both ideas seemed valid, but seeing all his higher rarity skills and core he suspected the construct route would be best. But the question was, did he have time?

Weaving together a construct like that could take longer than the little time he had. He was already pushing it, attempting this at all was a gamble but he felt like it was the best path. He needed every advantage he could get so was there really a choice here?

Kal felt the assistance of Soul Forge drastically increase his speed as he began the most complicated weaving he had done up to this point. His core seemed simple now, it was simply the combination of all of his attributes, resources, and skills after all. What he was doing now was much more subtle. Every strand of will he weaved into the tube-like construct he willed his desire for it to transport wrath to its end point. Every time he did so he felt feedback from Soul Forge almost like it was listening to his desires. The feedback gave him the confidence to continue the construct's weaving as the grace period’s timer ticked.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 16 minutes, 7 seconds

It’s going to be bloody close… he thought to himself as he weaved as quickly as he could safely allow. Extending the construct outside of his core space was actually easier than he expected, the moment he thought about it he suddenly saw the construct in both his core space and his body. The sensation was strange but helpful, it allowed him to judge how close he was to completion. Kal had decided to end the construct or channel the palm of his left hand, that way he could use both his sword and hopefully his new skill at the same time. Keeping the endpoint to only one location would also make it possible for him to finish in time, hopefully.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 9 minutes, 43 seconds

He was getting close now but weaving the channel down his arm was significantly harder than it was through his chest. He was just past the elbow now and every inch he progressed the longer it took to weave. Kal suspected he was nearing some kind of complexity cap for his attributes, or his Soul Forge skill but it could also just as easily be that he hadn’t practiced enough. He had probably bitten off more than he could chew, aiming for a skill like this but he was too close to give up now.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 4 minutes, 37 seconds

Kal sighed with relief as he felt a sudden resistance as the channel reached the threshold between his body and the outside world. He could immediately tell that he couldn’t weave any further beyond that point. He had a channel for his wrath to flow through now, the next step was to tell it how to behave once it got there. Kal’s plan for that was pretty simple, well at least compared to throwing balls of fire it was pretty simple. One he wanted to be able to manifest his wrath as a flame, like it normally appeared but he wanted to be able to control how much was channeled, and two, he wanted it to spread to whatever he touched with it. The first part was easy enough he figured, that part was already mostly in place. The hard part was getting it to spread, or at least stick to something he wanted it to stick to. He guessed that will would be the main component but obviously, he wanted it to burn the things it touched as well so it couldn’t be too strictly controlled by it, making him think it would need to be even parts will and wrath. It bothered him a bit that he hadn’t used any other mental attributes in the skill so far, and he was sure that they would probably have beneficial effects if he did so but right now he didn’t know where to start with them. Perhaps if he managed to survive this trial he would be able to work on it again.

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He went with equal parts will and wrath, leaving any more random tinkering for the future. He formed the two into a kind of film over the end of the channel, trying to implant what he wanted it to do as he went. He got the feedback from Soul Forge so he ultimately decided to just go with it and pray to some god who didn’t want him dead that it worked.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 2 minutes, 37 seconds

Time was nearly up and he still hadn’t even gotten to the part he was most worried about. The strange will construct that linked the skill with his core. He dove back down to the unfinished sphere that was his new skill and went to work, hurriedly copying the construct from Wrath Incarnate. It was irritatingly complex, and he wasn’t even sure how much of it was relevant since he had no way to tell the significance of each weird twist and turn the strange construct had. He willed his desire to link the skill to his core throughout the entire process as well hoping it would make a difference.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 37 seconds

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 23 seconds

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 9 seconds

He was so close but like the channel he created to his left palm, the linking construct was getting more and more difficult to weave as he got closer to the end.

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 3 seconds

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 2 seconds

Time Until Next Wave: hours, 0 minutes, 1 seconds

Kal continued to work as the timer ran out and he was bombarded with another round of notifications. He spared a second to glance at the first couple before continuing his skill. Once again the notification was bright gold and bright enough to hurt his eyes.

The Lords of this layer have become aware of your presence and have allied their forces with the Bestial Lord. Show them that a slayer cares not what enemy they face.

Suddenly the world around Kal shifted making him pause in his weaving to wearily look around. He was rising up towards the roof of the dome on a huge spire of stone. All around hundreds of similar spires were being raised as the rest of the terrain flattened out. It immediately reminded Kal of the strange fractured plateau that he had found Mira. The magma pillars began to twist through the air, slithering almost like snakes, weaving through the pillars defying all the natural laws that Kal knew. Things were changing fast but Kal dove back into his core to complete his skill anyway, he only needed a few more seconds.

Power like Kal had never witnessed before shook beneath him as the terrain was destroyed and made anew. Every moment Kal could feel a pulse of power so far beyond him it made him flinch just from the pressure. It wasn’t like what the gods had done to him at all. This was reality-breaking and becoming whole once more. There was no source that Kal could discern. There were no gods behind this display of power, it was simply the system enacting its will. Kal knew that ultimately this was nothing in the grand scheme of things. He had witnessed things much more powerful in the visions and dreams he had experienced since getting trapped in the abyss, but something about the feeling of power was different. It reminded him of something but he threw those thoughts aside as he completed the final complicated twists and turns of the linking construct. It was only when he finally fused the last threads together that he could feel the skill beginning to fully form.

Kal withdrew his will from the skill as he felt something change inside it. The linking construct burst to life as crimson flame and it began to draw wrath from his core. Kal quickly sealed off the sphere containing all the components he had weaved to prevent any of the wrath from leaking. The moment it was sealed the skill activated on its own, instantly filling with his wrath and sending it through the channel he had created like a torrent of crimson magma. Kal returned to his normal perception as the wrath reached his hand, which he now held out in front of him. He felt a sudden pressure build at the space where the channel met the threshold of his body and the outside but only the most minor effort of will was enough for it to break through.

The crimson flame of his wrath that he had seen in his brief moments of clarity under the influence of his birthright sprung to life in his hand. It quickly spread to completely envelope his hand. At the same time, the cascade of terrible power below him began to slow as the transformation of the terrain came to an end. Two more notifications appeared in front of Kal as he began to smile with the rush of his wrath burning in his hand.

Skill Forged: Flames of Wrath [Uncommon] [Soul Forged]

Wave 2 has begun.