William scowls in pain. Something hard hit him in a way he has never experienced before. It isn't like hits that Roman made him endure, nor it isn't even the pain that his Emblem makes him feel. This one feels raw. As if someone slams him to the ground with a slap of one hand, but so much so, it is encompassing his whole body and pushing his mind to its limits.
It works wonders. Tiberon pushes more of his power onto him and no longer feels weakened by his Annihilation. A little bit more of his Gravity and power will do the trick.
William winces on the ground, hoping to get up and try his hardest with his Emblem. That one endures it the best, while his mind and muscles feel the weight of this station the worst. His Velvet Eyes still works, and Inner Enchantment too, yet both of these Skills have some limits that are currently showing.
The Inner Enchantment hasn't done its tricks, and William can't help but see its limits. Tiberon is just that nice. He doesn't want to go gentle on the newbies, especially since William is such a fine case of a Walker, and this Trial has its due tricks.
He is more savage than usual, and William doesn't even know it.
How else could one find the specific limits and talents of these newcomers, than by force? It is for them. Newbies who don't know any better, and Tiberon is looking good at their limits. It may be overbearing but this situation isn't training they have done in the last 10 days. This is an evaluation of their mind, Emblem, and how they could endure the harsh reality.
Without a chance to catch his breath, William manages to get up. He looks forth once more. He planned to not once take his eyes off ofTiberon's hands in hopes to covet those strange Vectors, but he is failing again and again. He stabilizes his body by holding his Annihilation Claw down, shoulder smothering with Annihilation Vectors, and many layers and waves of them travel around his chest and shoulder.
It seems like armor, while Inner Enchantment adds some layer to it too. It gives some defense against the overreaching Gravity as Tiberon through. That is true, but when it comes to the Emblem and Vectors, Rank 8 is like heaven and William is a tiny little snake beside it.
William doesn't seem to work that well with his endurance. At least in his line of vision and his feelings, he feels like shit.
He sees Tiberon's face, a finger pointing at him while the tide of Gravity Domain jolts up once more.
Another flicker of his Vectors goes by, and half a second later, an attack is right before him. He couldn't see it. No... Perhaps even if he could, he wouldn't be able to react in time. The only thing that makes it easy is those flickers of his fingers, and one can hear them and act, yet it isn't as easy.
Another push of force carries its might toward his chest, and it seems to be weaker this time around, or because he puts his Claw forward, it isn't as strong? It protects him for sure, while Annihilation Vectors surge around his body. It makes up some dull shield for sure, and Tiberon forces some milder attacks this time around.
William's forearm takes this hit the most, and he feels as if his right arm is dislocated, while Vectors winces around their cycling speeds and flow. He sees how his own Vectors couldn't do much, but his body takes this hit better. Somewhat... Why? He doesn't know and it pushes him a couple of feet away before he stops himself.
This time, he isn't the loser to fall to the ground.
Panting hard for any easy breath, and trying to get his right hand back on track, he actually forms a fist to remain standing. William is helpless to admit it. He doesn't know how to go against this sort of situation, and he feels constant flow within his right arm weakening as if it lacks its form, or something eats it up.
Another flick of a finger goes by, but this time, William changes his stance by not running away or doing anything. He clutches his muscles and readies his mind to change the Gear to the largest he could manage. Gear 1. It is the largest, so it puts the defense up a notch. That is at least what he thinks, so why not try it?
He has nothing to lose.
Annihilation surges out of his Emblem, changing his Claw to a large explosive mass of deep crimson vectors. They are strong, wild, and swirling with irregular patterned cycling. It all works well, and Tiberon watches it all with keen interest and hopes to uncover the limits of his Vectors. It is all working well so far. His strategy, that is.
It is all good, and it envelopes William in the right fashion, fitting with his limits.
No... Perhaps it is beyond that? This Annihilation definitely feels different from the one Tiberon saw in rare cases.
It is enveloping William's whole upper body, and his right arm ends up in a thick mass of deep Annihilation Vectors of quite a thickness, flow, and mass. Tiberon's attacks continue regardless of it, right towards this Claw, where it still makes quite a hit, even though he delayed it a little so William would manage to ready this Gear.
He does so in order to see its effects, and it isn't out of spite.
Gear 1 trembles, and quivers in its inner structure. Many parts of it also smothered up, moving within as if something heavy and sharp hit the Vectors.
Though, William only takes a couple of steps back, and his body doesn't take it that badly. Neither of these Gravity Domain hits, moves toward his actual body. Everything goes towards his Gear 1 alone, per Tiberon's hope and curiosity. As it should be.
Tiberon doesn't flick his hand again afterward and even eases up his Gravity Domain. He seems to want to talk.
“I see your try... This form of all choices? It looks less dense, but a mass of it is impressive. It definitely works well against the encompassing and deep effects of gravity. That is a good job, even though you probably don't know it yourself. It still hits you, yet the thickness of your Vectors and your mass makes the damage negligible.”
Then, Tiberon frowns in hesitation, before continuing. “Though, it took you around 3 seconds to change it from the one before. That's rather long, but volume and mass must be considerable so it makes sense. You must work hard with your Mindless Eyes to guide the Vectors to do this, and it must be heavy for cycles, and your Emblem in your forearm. Are your muscles good? Any strains? What about the movement of the shoulders, or back? It must be quite hefty, heavy, and hard to move it all up with your young body.” Tiberon says, speaking freely and without any bother about how he sounds.
It is a voice of reason and a teacher. That is at least how William hears him, and he jolts his hand beside his hip, revealing his face that hides behind.
“It.... is heavy, but thank you,” William says. “It is a compliment and that is about it. I doubt I can do something better, considering your Gravity Domain, as you said... Is heavy. You and my hand as well.”
“It is no wonder. I am seeing it well, so how it goes? Is your Touch of Vectors something you must do every time when changing those forms, or is it a true Skill? 10 days for that is... surprising but not unexpected. It isn't as rare, but it sure seems to work for your single-clawed form. It is stranger.... truly.” Tiberon says, not knowing it all but he sure feels confident guessing his wonders out loud.
“It's a Skill. I call it Gears,” said William, hiding a little behind his claw. “3 versions. 1 small, 1 versatile in mass and weight, and the last heavy and massive. Each is good, but each is different, you see? You must know more than me, so am I doing this right? I wonder.”
“So it is a multilayered Skill? It must take some effort to maintain it, and also take those skills up a notch. It is understandable. Before, you had no Annihilation, which is also good. Turning an element off is a rare skill, especially for such elements as yours. It is quite intriguing and versatile. Those Gears of yours. I wonder how they will change in the following Rank-Ups, and improvements to your Vectors. What you see and feel is very basic. Your own Vectors are mild and wild, demanding on yourself, let me tell you that. Unless their vision is like a calm sea, it is nothing but a beginning. ”
“I hope to see more, sir.” William answers, finally feeling his breathing stabilize. “And see and figure it all out if I could.”
“But you have to work hard on that. This is just a small bump on the road, and progressing in your System and Emblem is all you can try to do it. I am slightly bigger and further in that road if I say so myself.” Tiberon tells, smiling, and almost laughing as he finishes this talk and changes his stance.
Placing his hand forward, he pulls his other around his hip and bends his knees. It resembles a striking stance in karate that even William recognizes from many of his experiences when he was young.
“Huh? Does he want to kill me with his fist? He only used fingers before, so...” William scowls inside, obvious that his incoming cycles will have to endure more time. Also, he isn't sure if this whole trial is about time or not. He no longer knows if it is the case because of Tiberon's talks and actions. It all seems time doesn't matter, and he does what he could. Both of them.
William guesses he has time for a couple of more enduring rushes and that is about it.
Although this Trial is long outside of the normal one, it's not like Tiberon minds it at all. He does plan to finish with great results, but the journey to that point may be a bit bumpy. It will always trouble others, however. Not him.
William notices his stance right around his eyes, which poke beside his Annihilation Claw. It takes just a moment, and Tiberon's aura shoots around his body, and his Gravity Domain changes. It focuses around him like a small flaming torch, and William finally notes those Vectors in a better way. They are so dense, it resembles a flame around his body. But they are still hard to see, with see-through mass, and strange patterns of light flickering around the edges. They have some physicality for sure, and light is scattered on their surface.
Then, TIberon points with his palm forward and pulls this flaring flame of his gravity forward. It arrives at William, who feels as if he suddenly stands in the eye of the tornado--not like he experienced something like that, but he is damn sure it should feel like this.
It is heavy, but not singular in power. It is enduring and endearing, forcing and bearing a large and heavy power all over his body and Vectors. It is everywhere, and no matter how he tries to step away, it follows. So he tries to lower his posture, hoping to go against this continuous push of force that makes his vision blurry and strange.
Soon enough, he feels a wall against his back, meaning he involuntarily traveled a dozen or so feet without him knowing.
“Damn!” William shouts, placing and doing his best with his Claw before his body. He hugs himself and tries to smother this push away, but his Gear 1 barely moves. It doesn't even do a thing to this force, and he ends up being helpless. His knee bends, and hits the ground, with the second to follow.
He reaches his limits, while the push of this Gravity makes it impossible to endure. It is like many of the previous attacks that continuously attack his body in waves every second. It goes right to his mind, beating his insides and causing him to feel dizzy.
This.. is bullying... What an asshole, he curses, figuring he will do the last thing he could do for the sake of his hidden cards.
With his claw against his body, he turns it forward so the fingers face Tiberon's palm. This ends up catching more volume of this attack, but it is like stopping the tide of water. More goes around the side, and it even folds behind the claw to hit him anyway. It doesn't help. So, William uses this change to do the one thing that Roman reminded him of before.
Using the might and effects of his Feel of Annihilation will do the trick in the last move he could do. It is to make a single, continuous push with his Annihilation to create an attack.
It is just an instance.
Only a moment is all he needs, and Gear 1 is best at this, because its mass is the highest, and not that dense to create problems in his cycles and pressure.
This means a simple thing. By making the % of Annihilation much higher, and using it for a split second but without losing control in return. That is the hardest part. A single move is all he could manage right now.
Roman made sure to get him some confidence because of it, so he settles to use it right now when he can.
Making use of this distinct line is one of the most problematic things that an Annihilation Walker has to go through. Using the advantage of its wild and often, heavy properties, it is not easy. There should be a sweet stop according to Roman's explanations, but they could vastly differ from Walker to a Walker. They can even change midway through some Ranks, improvements, or new Skills or molds. It is that sort of thing.
This is no different from the time when he figured out the Annihilation Claw in itself and even his Gears. In a sense, it is not that different from the way his Gears work. He guides the mass of his annihilation toward his claw, which in return, can change in density and mass. Through, if using everything, it is more complicated when in the heat of battle. That is if this current situation can even be called that. A battle.
William is doubtful it is fitting since the one to bear this move before him is not Roman. Tiberon isn't trying to teach him in an easy way, nor he knows his limits or ways of his Annihilation. He is bearing his fangs at him so he could see and feel his limits. That's what Tiberon hopes and does.
William is thinking about this strike, but since he has done that twice, each isn't a time he likes to repeat. It strains his mind and arm a lot, yet, if he wants to make a final effort to shut down this man, who doesn't know the words " holding back", he should try his best.
“Screw this shit!” he says, gritting his teeth, and focuses on his Claw that faces forward. He supports his right elbow with his left hand and channels his focus on the Feel of Annihilation.
“Like Roman told the last time William,” he mutters to assure himself. “Just like the last time.”
The first time was a mistake. He remembers it, and also his collapse.
Flickering Vectors changes the order of mass, appearing wilder, and harder to control than ever. Tiberon keeps the pressure and also wonders. He notes William decided on something, and he will give him a place to try that something.
The sweet spot that William uses for all 3 of his Gear is changing, enabling him to wield much higher power of his Annihilation, but it's hard to contain, and control.
It is how % works.
Using just a nudge of his potential is easier than the majority of it. He could use half if he could, and even mold it up to make it finer and denser. Less Annihilation means less trouble, but also less power. Though, everything about going all out is heavy and straining to his cycles and mind. It all hurts, and his arm ends up screaming at him as if someone broke it apart.
He feels it within his body. The power rushes through his veins in his right arm, and Vectors around his Emblem or within his forearm turn with frenzy. It's getting wilder. Every thread of Vectors flows with some distinct patterns of madness and craziness.
William already knows what's up with that, and in order to use this sort of power, he needs some conduit to release it, otherwise, he ends up collapsing.
So he has to take control over his Element in some way, and that something can be a move or a simple motion. That is what Roman explained to him, but actually succeeding in that is nowhere near easy. It is a hard task for the whole journey of figuring his Skills at Rank 1.
At least from Roman's wording, if he can come to terms with unleashing this once, it is insane, and something that can move past limits.
“Point... Right. Making the channels for this madness. Fingers. Right. Those are fine.” William mumbles one word at a time, figuring out his actions while understanding them at the same time.
Meantime, Tiberon is watching from away, enjoying and awaiting whatever this boy has to offer as the last dish. His whole appearance the body are long-standing still. The power and the vortex of continuous pressure are going forth from him as a whole, but it doesn't seem to do much at all.
He feels it. The tides of the wild Annihilation that eats up this Gravity Domain special move-- Rank 8 power. Focus. He uses just 3% for now, so it isn't as mild, but for a young boy like William, it is like a mountain.
Yet mounting bites back. Tiberon can feel how his power flickers away from William's wild Annihilation and no longer obscures him. He even guesses that William doesn't realize he is no longer under much stress, since much more stress is going around his body. It is his Annihilation that is endangering him more than him. That is a bit surprising, but fitting.
“Come one. I don't like those waiting games. Go wild if you may. This is no chess for amateurs.” He says, biting his lips in impatience.
It doesn't take that long for him to notice a dancing colorful scheme, coming in a way of a much more crimson color at the front.
William's Claw starts to glow and reaches its limits. It is time, and wild power comes more from his 5 claws. He pushes his willpower as hardest as he could muster while enduring a wild storm traveling around his veins and body. He realized this feels worse than any Tiberon pushes.
Yet, he doesn't hesitate, since this power needs an outlet. He forces his Claw above his head, and by using every fiber of his being, he swings it before him to the ground.
A tremor travels forth, as cracks travel around the ground of this bunker. A streak of 5 crimson blades flies forward, cleaving past Tiberon's Gravity Domain as if cutting through bread. They destroy the concrete the same, while Tiberon nods, sneers, and clicks his tongue. He is impressed for sure.
They almost reach him, but he watches everything unfold before his surprised eyes. Though he doesn't push his power too far, which amounts to nothing, but ceasing these 5 strikes to a halt is like catching a toddler's fists. He folds more of his Focus around his hand and slaps each clawed blade aside. He turns them into countless strands of swirling Vectors that swirl around him like tiny worms.
“Alright. That's fine with me.” Tiberon says, nodding to himself, and ceasing everything to complete utter silence. In a moment, or even less than that, the whole pressure is gone, and calmness is back in this bunker.
This leaves William over the moon, but he isn't able to move properly, nor feels his right hand at all. With his knee still on the ground, he watches forth, and with a simple glance at his right claw, deep within the concrete, he knows he succeeded.
His whole right-hand aches in pain, and he could tell his Vectors are going through the withdrawal of his control. “Back!” He shouts, pushing his claw from the ground. He succeeds since the ground is beyond repair. At least 5 feet deep hole is before him, and it is wider than 10 feet. He is within the hole, almost stumbled but still kneeling.
Summoning his remaining willpower over remaining Vectors proves to be difficult, but his mind is still in his control. He returns his claw back to normal by shouting. “Begone...”
That action triggers the distressing return, and William feels how his arm undergoes tides of forceful recycles. Vectors flicker around him like a mindless mass of whips, striking him and hitting him. William isn't surprised by this. They are heavy and hard to tame when his limits are closing, and his Vectors are so stressed, he couldn't control them any longer.
Letting them back into his Emblem is all he could muster, and that includes the Vectors from the 5 blades from before. Those tiny strands of Vectors travel back to his claw on their own, like fish seeking the water.
Meanwhile, as William does his best with a wall behind his back, Tiberon walks towards him, uncaring about the flowing crimson Vectors on the ground, or around him.
He watches William do his things, while he does his own things. That means glaring, and thinking of something beyond William's understanding.
In about a minute, William succeeds in regaining control of his Annihilation Claw, but it took him a lot of effort.
“That is a rather long time indeed. Is it some sort of last-effort attack or what? I am not a fan of these at all. It makes fighting harder afterward.” Tiberon says, scratching his chin.
“You talk as if you aren't Rank 8 that don't understand how I feel. It's Annihilation... A thing you are surely well aware of. Academy must know what it is like since it's placed with the most powerful Walkers on the planet.” William argues, forcing himself to stand up. He succeeds, while he takes a good glance at standing Tiberon, who is like a giant before him. Though, he doesn't mind it, since he is young, and can still grow. Right? At least hopefully.
“That... Makes sense!” Tiberon says.“Obviously I know what you are talking about!” he says, making things uncertain if he is aware of the truth or not.
“Is it over then? I take it as I succeed, is that right?” William asks, reading himself to leave this man alone. He can't wait to be gone from this devil, feeling every inch of his body screaming at him with pain. He looks like that. His upper body looks strained, while his right arm can't even move. He holds it before his belly with the other hand, watching the Emblem that has mild dancing Vectors around it. A lot of blue and crimson veins are still visible around it, forming a rather unpleasant picture on his skin.
“Righ. Right. I stand by my words. You performed best out of everyone, but it may as well be because I overdone that. and you did it as well. Buhahahhah. Isn't it funny?” he burst out laughing, and leaving William speechless.
So, without a chance to entertain him much longer, he takes a stance of leaving, but couldn't. There is something on the way to the door. A glowing wall of... light? Space? He isn't sure.
“Hey? Is it over or not?” Wiliam asks again and is fed up with being here for so long. He is already looking forward to eating something, and some drinks should be great too. He doesn't forget about his clothes through. He finds his shirt, and by folding it over his shoulder, he leaves his chest exposed since he is all dirty.
“Right. Right. Hey, Stefanus. Let the kid through but before that... boy,” Tiberon says, appearing serious for once. “Out of 100, I will give you 92. Isn't it generous?”
William glares at him, noticing a butler opening up the path out of the bunker. He leaves before giving Tiberon any more attention. It goes great, although it leaves Tiberon slightly disappointed that his generosity is ignored. Although his 2 promises still stand, William seems unbothered about them.
Outside of the bunker, his appearance reveals quite a surprise in most of the remaining first-timers. Apart from a few, who don't show much emotion in the first place.
William looks as if he went to war, or to hell and back. His whole appearance is haggard, terrible, and tired. There is some residual blood around his forehead and temples, but at least he has his shirt this time around and his Emblem isn't like a swirling mass of mess.