Eli stood in his old training field next to the abandoned junker cars. He idly ran his fingers across the scarred grooves and partially melted char marks from when he'd practiced with Teleportation, Telekinesis, and Photon Shot so long ago. He clenched his fists together, his right flesh-and-blood arm and his left one crafted from light and voidspace. Regret clawed at him like Camille's relentless fury at how he'd left the arm behind that Roman had made for him.
Rapid Recovery slowly regrew his dismembered arm back cell by cell while he tried to ignore the status messages and notifications that wouldn't leave him alone. Both kill messages hovered in stark reminder of how he had fought for his life. He couldn't believe it, but he would do it again.
He had no choice. He knew that with certainty. It wasn't just kill or be killed, but if he had left those fuckers alive or held back the slightest bit... he would be dead. And so would his family. Sharp vibrations rocked across his wrist as the tracker watch his parents had him wear buzzed again.
Eli glanced at Sandra and Daniels location on the horizon where a faint glow glimmered across the night sky in New Faram. He sensed his teleportation anchor even now. He had to strike. They were too threatening, too malicious to leave alive.
No. He had to kill them. No one else could do it.
Police were useless. How many minutes had it taken them to arrive? Ten? Fifteen? Not to mention how Jackson Daniels had slipped through their net to begin with. He wasn't trusting the government to handle this, not anymore.
Mom and Dad weren't capable of doing what needed to be done, either. They were weak relics of a lost age. Powers were accessories to them. They would hold back, try and capture them alive or talk it out. Eli would not sacrifice his parents so he could hide behind them.
What were two more murders to add to his slaughter list of four and counting?
Lana and Lyra had enough to deal with. Both of them had been traumatized in their own ways throughout this entire ordeal. Lyra had already seen their parents fight in the mall and turn on him when he'd done what he was going to do now.
Whatever he fucking had to.
He would not let her or Roman be afraid of these two fucking assholes, and they would be, and they would fear for him if he returned to his parents.
Lana could've been a big help. She was perfect for this new, rapidly developing world. Ruthless. Motivated by and for power. She had an unflinching resolve and he knew she would've been formidable at his side with any low level people threatening them. But she wasn't ready for this. Lana would've been a lamb before their slaughter.
Dave countered her with his shadows and Gloommetal. Daniels would ensure that she'd never even get close to any of them for real with their projections. Jack would've melted her in her own suit of Silverlight. Camille would've gutted and strung her up as easy as someone chopping fruit. And Sandra...
Eli shivered at the reminder of how she'd pinned him down. Ruptured his voidspace with contemptuous ease. Ordered his torture and murder like his death was a meal at a fast food restaurant.
Only he could have survived. Between Body of Light, his new upgrade of Lumencloud Invigoration, Rapid Recovery, and Voidspace Mastery, he had a maneuverability, recovery, stamina, and the complete suite to punch above his weight class. That and their powers felt... strong but brittle. Like glass knives honed to a fine edge.
Murdering for experience or for powers seemed like it gave exceptional boosts to powers in the short-term, but not in the long-term. Since the Initialization began, he'd been working on teleporting other people and now that he finally managed it, he knew he should have leveled. But he hadn't.
Eli sighed as he glanced toward the horizon again. Then his gaze flitted to the side where murder notifications waited at the edge of his vision still. It would not go away until he dealt with it and he needed to deal with them tonight. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life looking over his and his family's shoulders, whether or not the world got a fraction better.
Or if it continued to get worse.
With that in mind, Eli took a deep breath then checked his notifications.
Imbue Ev. 0 You may now select from one of the following options per power: Evolve Power Obtain New Power N/A N/A> Rapid Recovery Ev. 1 You may now select from one of the following options per power: Evolve Power Slot Power into Stat N/A N/A> Primal Savagery Ev. 3/Lv. 12 Predator's Consumption Ev. 3/Lv. 7 Huntress's Might Ev. 3/Lv. 10 You may now select from one of the following options: Siphon Power Experience Gain a Power Perk Obtain Power from the Conquered > Aspect of Lightning Ev. 3/Lv. 6 Stats: Body of Lightning (Galvanic Beacon) You may now select from one of the following options: Siphon Power Experience Gain a Power Perk Obtain Power from the Conquered> Eli took a deep, stabilizing breath as nausea spiked through his chest while he read through each of the options. He'd start with Imbue. His evolution option was fairly simple. It would evolve into Enchant at evo-1 and would allow him to program more commands and do far more with the powers he put into items. It was a pretty linear evolution. He tried to press the Obtain New Power option and grimaced at the text that flashed in front of his eyes. "Fuck!" Eli hissed. A smoldering cloud billowed out of his clenched fists to tear the grass out of the ground as it drilled into the dirt. Grass fluttered in the dying breeze as he regained control of his breathing. Alright. He was okay. First, he tried to select Obtain Power from the Conquered to see if he could do anything with Jack's Body of Lightning, but he didn't see it on the list at all. Eli frowned at that while he re-read through the notification again. Nope. It wasn't there at all. Well, maybe he could take their powers that way. Or he could choose from the perk options and rebuild a new evo-0 power entirely. Then he wouldn't have to deal with any penalties either. He selected 'Gain a Power Perk' on both screens and bit his lip while he read through and tried to decide. He groaned as each of Camille's powers populated its own screen, but the perks from Predator's Consumption intrigued him. With this and Jack's Aspect of Lightning, he could maybe slot them both into Lumencloud Invigoration or even Rapid Recovery and wait for when they'd merge. Or create a new power and merge it with Lumencloud Invigoration when they both maxed out. Absorb Consume From Prey Process Into Strength Stockpile Strength BACK> Transform Into Element Lightning Augment Element BACK> Absorb and Transform Into Element or even Absorb and Augment Element would make a tremendous difference to Lumencloud Invigoration. Or he could even use Lightning and add another aspect to Lumencloud. He'd match his father's Storm Cloud then, but almost better. He almost confirmed both perk choices before he hesitated. Would it be better to wait until after he dealt with Sandra and Daniels? He'd get two powers from them too. He'd make sure of it. But could he afford to wait and come at them with anything less than his full strength? Eli paced. He'd have to be patient regardless since he had to max out Lumencloud Invigoration before evolving it, then max it out again to merge with Rapid Recovery before evolving whatever that became. Even then, he still had to max all of that out again to slot it into his Mind stat. But he was exhausted. While every breath enhanced his body as air and water turned into raw power and the constant cycling of Rapid Recovery... he felt broken down. Aches pulsed through his muscles. He was only conscious and still moving because there was work to do. Those two perks equipped on either of his powers could make a vast difference. Or he could even turn them into a power now and hope it'd help. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Eli sat down on the hood of the car. He didn't even notice the chill of the metal that would've once been prevalent. Now... Either he was too numb from what had happened or Lumencloud Invigoration and Body of Light had elevated him beyond concerns as petty as frigid metal. He didn't want to, but he felt like he had to decide now and stick with it. The longer that time passed, the more likely it became that they would leave Dave's body behind. Hell, they could be long gone already or on their way to the beach where his parents were. So. With Rapid Recovery maxed out now, he could afford to swap it out with whatever he got. The question was, did he want Transform Into Element or Augment Element from Aspect of Lightning? Transform would synergize masterfully with Body of Light. Plus, as a quick power combined with Absorb, he got the sense it would let him choose and absorb an element then become that element depending on how much he absorbed. Once he merged it with Lumencloud Invigoration it would make a huge difference too. But without taking Body of Light into account, it was weak. Even with Lumencloud Invigoration, unless it meant that he could become the cloud entirely and cut out one of its biggest weaknesses so far. He wouldn't need to siphon out any of his body's power to control a badass cloud if he was the cloud in the first place. But then there was Augment Element with Absorb. It'd categorically strengthen his light, period. Not to mention how it would boost the air, water, and light inside of Lumencloud Invigoration, which would also strengthen him, again. That'd give him far more power now rather than later and would be just as strong long-term. He wanted to wait for after he dealt with Sandra and Daniels, but it made more sense to do it now. He needed any edge he could get. Plus, he'd be able to merge it with Lumencloud Invigoration sooner. Absorb Augment Element> Would you like to equip it? Y/N> Eli swapped it out with Rapid Recovery and swooned as unconsciousness almost claimed him. He flared Lumencloud Invigoration as he boosted his body as much as he could with it until it felt like a storm whooshed through his veins. He reached out with Augmentative Elemental Absorption and blinked his bleary eyes as the power paused. As if it were asking him a question. He thought about air and grinned while it slowly gathered the air above his outstretched hand as power thrummed through it. Then it slid into his body as the power gorged itself on the air. It stopped, unsure what to do with it, but then Lumencloud Invigoration took over. Strength cracked through his body with a flash as he shivered from the sheer potency. Now... what were the limits of an element? Eli thought about oxygen as he reached out with the power and watched as it condensed ambient oxygen, empowered it, then trembled as it snapped into his body with another pulse of energy. Huh, good to know that Lumencloud considered 'oxygen' air. He glanced down at the half rusted metal of the car hood he sat on before placing his right hand down. Metal. Ants of iron crept under his fingers towards the center of his palm where the motes of metal warmed and purified. He felt Augmentative Elemental Absorption reach capacity when it felt like he had a small bead of me— "Holy shit!" Eli yelped as the bead stapled itself straight into the meat of his palm before it stopped. Unsure what to do. It warmed further as the blood squelched and sizzled as his new power enhanced it further. He stopped Augmentative Elemental Absorption in its tracks and teleported the bead that had grown fractionally larger from the iron in his blood. He'd stick with classical elements and not periodic from now on. Vibrations buzzed across his wrist again. Eli shoved it into a spatial bubble in his voidspace as he focused on using Augmentative Elemental Absorption and Lumencloud Invigoration together. Since air or water would become Lumencloud and create itself, he focused on using Augmentative Elemental Absorption on the Lumencloud itself. Radiant clouds writhed as they gusted throughout his body while Augmentative Elemental Absorption purified and enhanced it moment by moment. Each time it reached a new peak, Augmentative Elemental Absorption would absorb it and re-condense his next breath to add to the collection. Rips and tears split bone, muscle fiber, sinew, and his skin as the power burst out of him before it got swept back by both of his powers. No aches or pains troubled him. Eli only felt the numb tantalizing thrill as both of his powers came together more and more efficiently. Wind caressed around him in a never-ending dance as he went to stand up, but his foot never touched the ground. He stood on a prismatic shimmering cloud instead. Wisps of cloud trailed behind Eli as he strode forward on his own personal cloud. Wind zipped and brushed across the strands of his hair while he turned to lift his hands, one of flesh and the other crafted from violet voidspace. Eli shifted Lumencloud Invigoration from himself out into a pressurized bolt of cloud before he shot it out. That wasn't what happened. A shotgun blast of lumenclouds howled, then thundered as they rammed into, through, and around the junked car as the hardened radiant clouds pierced, lifted, and threw it in a tumble of screeching metal. Rust and car parts exploded out over the field as the cloud expanded and billowed out. He blinked at the devastation of the flattened car and the gouged out trenches in the ground. Little to no weakness or dizziness from transitioning Lumencloud Invigoration from his body to a controllable cloud. After testing the power out a bit more, he had a better idea of how it worked. He could either draw from the air and water to create lumencloud that would invigorate *him* or he siphon power from him into it. There was a fine line where he wouldn't lose much from himself if he used it, but it was fairly slim. That was good though. It was only an evo-0 power and after this merge? He'd be even stronger. Then again once he evolved it and merged it with Rapid Recovery at evo-1. He sighed at the realization that he'd have to wait even longer to level up that power again to max it out. But it'd be worth it once his every breath revitalized him in every way on top of enhancing his mind too. Eli clenched his fists with his newfound strength as he glanced up to prepare his teleportation point. Wind fluttered past his nearly shredded swim shorts and the torn shirt he had on as he rose. He glanced down with a beaming smile answered by ribbons of prismatic light that rippled across the aura of lumencloud that lifted him up. Using Body of Light and Lumencloud Invigoration together, he grasped the light's color and lowered it to a blazing red, a crisp orange, a golden yellow, a viridian green, and then a dazzling blue. Eli's gaze fell to the crackling erratic dark violet light that sparked down his voidspace arm. His lumencloud aura shifted to match while he teleported some fresh clothes out of a spatial bubble in his voidspace. Voidspace armor formed around him in segments and bands. A flicker of intent above teleported him high above the clouds in a rush of magenta clouds. With the tug of the voidspace anchor orienting him toward New Faram, he headed toward Dave's body. Teleporting in blindly would be beyond dumb. No, he was going to scope the place out. See if they had any other prisoners around like last time, whether or not they were even there, or whatever else was going o— Scorching orange light lit up the heavens above the clouds like an early sunrise. A flash later and a magnificent fireball struck Eli's back with a howling boom. Clouds dispersed in the blast of the golden-red inferno. Waves of heat and fire seared through Eli's voidspace armor to singe his eyes, shrivel his skin in a wrinkling cycle of burnt then healed flesh. Lumencloud bloomed around him with a purple flash as he tumbled through his cushioned cloud until he came to a cradled stop. Voidspace resealed the cracked panes of his armor as he sat up. Over the constant flow and tide of Augmentative Elemental Absorption and Lumencloud Invigoration, he hadn't even felt the sting of his burns. "You know it's frowned upon to not report new powers, Mr. Newton." Daniels crowed as he floated above Eli's solidified lumencloud. Eli squinted, befuddled at the sight of Daniels standing on the floating back of a featureless person. "You motherfucker!" Eli snarled as he glared up at Daniels as if he had the power to kill on sight. "You've been helping them all this time?" "Does it matter?" Daniels asked as he lifted his palm where a miniature red fireball sparked to life glowed. Then it twisted as another flame flickered and wrapped around it as if it were an inverted echo. Another flame puffed around it and another until he cradled an golden-red sun that crackled like a bonfire. "You won't be able to whine like a beaten dog much longer." "I won't have to once you're dead." Eli growled as low as he could. His voice cracked and Daniels laughed. Eli fractured his lumencloud structure into shrapnel before he froze all the water vapor and brightened its light to a sharp glare. He launched all the lumencloud points in a roaring volley. Blood sprayed in a misting rain as bits and pieces of body parts fell in a shower all around where Eli floated. He sighed with relief... then frowned in alarm when the System didn't give him a kill message. Movement flickered behind him through his spatial field. Eli teleported to the side as he turned where Daniels glided on the back of a body with his golden-red fireball held in his hand while a spray of ruddy red sparks whistled in a giant wave. Voidspace bolts whizzed through the air as he prepared an inverted spatial bubble. Streams of lumencloud rolled out in beams and blasts that exploded whenever it collided with one of the red sparks. A stray spark drifted close to Eli on one of the mundane gusts. Flicker. Daniels swapped places with the spark—no longer standing on the featureless body—he rammed his golden-red fireball straight into Eli's side. Heat flared across his ribcage. His voidspace armor fragmented as a shockwave hammered into him. Orange flame sawed into his nerves. Consciousness wavered as Eli whipped through the air. Numb pressure melted into blinding agony as the fire spread. Patchwork farmland criss-crossed with gravel roads drew closer. Space shuddered around him as he tried to push past the overwhelming pain to teleport away. Every breath fueled his body with more strength from Lumencloud Invigoration, but the baneful inferno eviscerated his concentration as it gnawed a crater into his side. Should he equip Rapid Recovery— Bone and gravel crunched as he landed with a crash. Gouts of fire speared upward. Eli's face twisted in pain as he coughed up blood. Red sparks cascaded all over him before each of them ignited with a fresh explosion. "You really thought you could beat me?" Daniels landed beside him with a scoff. His boot stomped down onto Eli's leg with a fresh snap. "You couldn't even win a game of dodgeball when you can control space. No wonder they bullied you. Lethal rating? What a joke." With each word, he twisted his boot into the ravaged splinters of Eli's leg. He lashed out a kick straight into the crater on his side. His body rocked from the blow. Breath hissed and wheezed around the pooling blood in Eli's mouth, filled with shattered bits of teeth. "You could be a fucking god with your powers, boy. But you cling to your weakness like a security blanket. You killed Dave with ease. Must have killed Jack and Camille or you would be dead. And still. Still you crumble. You and the rest of our fallen nation. When will you all understand that the world has changed?" His boot twisted up into Eli's ribs. A breath of lumencloud exploded from his mouth. He tried to twist and spike it around to attack Daniels, but it fizzed out into motes of glowing wind. Daniels laughed. Baneful red light flickered above before there was a brilliant flash of heat that lasered into his back. Right where he had blasted through one of the terrorist prisoners at the mall. "You know, one of my projections almost killed your mother? I had her lying at my feet like you are now. Paralyzed. But your sister burned me alive with her illusions. It hurt, Mr. Newton. Just. Like. This." Flames spilled across Eli's body as tendrils and tongues of flame darted and scraped against his bruised flesh or into the gashes or the protrusions where bone jutted out. Suffering wracked Eli's body as he screamed silently. He yanked and pushed at everything he had. Space cracked and shattered around them in a sprawling cage of fractals that sucked in everything it touched before spitting it back out. Daniels laughed. Rays of light charged along his body before firing in a blasting salvo that pulverized the surrounding ground. Radiance dimmed from his broken, battered body, still under the throes of Daniel's inferno. Daniels just roared with laughter. Lumencloud churned in blasting waves that scythed through the ground with violet twisters that raged. Jets and blades of lumencloud curved and sliced around him, but a flash of fire and Daniels saved himself again and again. Eli wasn't thinking. He couldn't think. He was a cornered animal tortured for a monster's enjoyment. He. Fucking. laughed. Meaningless words flashed across Eli's face as he howled and wished for the pain to stop. Something changed. Sensation returned and picked up where it left off as his nerves repaired themselves. Swathes of flesh that closer resembled swiss-cheese then human anatomy sealed together. His mangled bones realigned with a series of grating clicks as they healed stronger than ever. Pulped puddles of organs that were a mess of lacerations closed up with a squelch as they healed. Teeth shattered like porcelain as they popped out of his gums one by one before new ones grew at the same time his jaw cracked back into place. "Well. This was fun and all, but Sandra is waiting for me at this nice beachfront cabin. You'd love it." His laughter quieted to a snickering sigh as he appeared in a spark of flame in front of Eli's head. "You seem like you're done, so let's wrap this up." Awareness flooded into Eli again as his brain stopped resembling swollen pudding. A ghost of a smile curved his lips as he read his status. Blades of inverted voidspace appeared as they whipped across Daniels's ankles. A yank downward then up teleported his sheared off feet onto his kneecaps. Blood, bone, and gore splattered with a crack. Eli teleported in place as he stood over the prone, bleeding form of Jackson Daniels. He thought about gloating or saying something. He shook his head as another inverted spatial bubble appeared and submerged Daniels in his field, then teleported him far underground. Eli felt Daniels's body overlap with the matter below as they pulverized each other. Without another glance, he popped out a spatial anchor and continued his teleportation drive toward the anchor in Dave's body. He would go to the beach after, but he wouldn't blindly trust Daniels's word without cause. Rapid growth began from the stump of his left arm. Woeful Sunfire Ev. 3/Lv. 4 Auto-Ethereal Projection Ev. 3/Lv. 9 Stats: Mind of Carnage (Hunter's Massacre) You may now select from one of the following options: Siphon Power Experience Gain a Power Perk Obtain Power from the Conquered > [Equipped Power List: Slot One -- Voidspace Mastery Ev. 1/Lv. 5 Slot Two -- Lumencloud Invigoration Ev. 0/Lv. 3 Slot Three -- Restoration Ev. 2/Lv. 0 ] [Unequipped Powers: Imbue Ev. 0/Lv.5 (Maxed) Augmentative Elemental Absorption Ev. 0/Lv. 4 ]