“I’m going in, cover me!”
“It’s a Gold-tier abomination, Alex!”
Alex flashed a fierce smile as he picked up speed, embracing the element of Wind more gracefully than ever before, now truly flying as he plummeted down toward the massive maw of serrated death waiting for him, before twisting to the side so fast that the snapping of teeth vibrated through his bones.
“The size of a building, and that fucker’s gotten faster!” Alex cursed under his breath, Ya Ling clearly sensing his alarm. It was only because of its vast, monstrous size that Alex had had any shot at all. Had it been the size of a man, it would have struck and killed as fast as he could blink.
But now it was him racing at speeds he would never have dared before, Wind Ward effortlessly keeping the air out of his face and generating a perfect slip stream as he glared intently at the thick carapace of pearlescent darkness he passed, Find Weakness sensing the vulnerability behind its near indestructibility as he looped around the fearsome beast.
He didn’t strike yet, didn’t dare to. Not until the madly whirling blade of Wind, liquid Darkness, and Steel shrapnel was just as stable as it had been while gazing down at his enemy from near the top of the anomaly containing this rift, an increasingly anxious Ya Ling even now keeping an eye on him, summoning swirling maelstroms of sandy grit that barely served to distract the titanic monstrosity, yet distract it did.
At least long enough for it to spring forth with horrific momentum, bursting completely free of the sand.
The ground shook. An explosion of gritty sand erupted as a near-skyscraper’s worth of essence-infused flesh warded against most-any wujen’s spells burst free of the sand, snapping at a suddenly panicked Ya Ling, screaming in the wind.
“Ya Ling!” Alex felt a frisson of terror so great at his friend’s peril that he delayed no longer, trusting that even if his desperate manipulation of his gifts, stretching his arts in ways never intended, blew up in his face, it would at least buy Ya Ling time.
Yet not even he was ready for what would happen when he summoned Doom Blade once more while racing at hundreds of miles an hour, spiraling around the massive, momentarily airborne carapace as he steadied his weapon, twelve additional feet of Dark Qi-infused steel spiraling about his target, skittering across the thick carapace, near blinding him with scattered shrapnel that was just a heartbeat from spelling disaster.
You have taken one Light Wound from Metal Shrapnel not even you defenses can fully protect you from!
Alex choked back a cry, knowing it was hopeless… yet he had sensed how tightly the massive chittin plate vibrated… sensing how close it was to bursting as his flying form tore through the air, weaving around the massive sentinel radiating Gold-tier killing intent that only enduring the hatred of both Jade tyrants and spite-filled gods allowed him to so readily endure.
His laughter was tinged with madness. Instead of breaking off and darting desperately away, humbly accepting his Bronze-tier limitations, knowing his place, and retreating with his friend from this rift and city, knowing that everyone was doomed, he instead redoubled his efforts, replacing one stream of steely shrapnel with two, crying out when he received multiple Wound notifications as the shrapnel tore into his flesh before he could absorb his own essence.
Then abruptly punching through.
You have successfully used Doom Blade against Gold-tier opponent in combat!
Doom blade has been successfully quantized!
Doom Blade is now Rank 2
Doom Blade is now Rank 3!
Wind Piercer strike is now Rank 3!
Wind Piercer strike has Synergized with Doom Blade! Effortlessly rupture positive Qi wards and rip through brittle chitin or steel with every strike!
You have saved versus Crushing Blow!
Alex wanted to howl with fierce vindication and triumph as he dragged his dao across the impossibly thick chitinous scales of his foe, Soul Sight and Find Weakness both allowing him to understand it’s incredible resilience and its vulnerability both. For all that they would shrug off any elemental attack, and the scales cushion the incredibly thick flesh beneath against the pounding force of any spear or mace, or turn the blade of any axe, sword, or fangtian ji, they were also brittle, like diamonds.
Yet no defense below Jade was perfect. And perfectly resistant chitin had its own flaws. Massive plates under such titanic pressures, vulnerable to the discordant vibrations unleashed by multiple streams of Dark Qi-covered steel shrapnel pounding against the carapace until finally a crack became a tear and the howling winds were filled with massive streams of steaming viscera squirting from the massive gaping wounds spraying the air at unthinkable pressures as Alex’s endless draw cut ripped open the titanic beast like a bandsaw zipping around his prey in a massive spiral of of death.
The creature’s deadly maws were just a heartbeat from snapping Ya Ling in half.
Alex, at that terrible pristine moment, was so flooded with breakthrough revelations that he could see and feel through her ears and eyes just as well as he could master Oblivion’s own currents to tear through the carapace before him.
Understanding Wind’s desperate secrets as the hot spicy breath of spiraling rows of shredding teeth surrounded her… before surrendering to that which terrified her so deeply.
Yet there was no fear greater than oblivion itself, they realized, as a single fatal mistake promised just that… before she embraced the gentlest of exits, no more real than a gust of wind as hot spicy breath carried her aloft, Alex’s screams echoing against the titan worm’s thrumming roar, and for one glorious, terrible moment, Alex was the currents all around. The hot desert winds, the icy gusts from the rift the worm had been so desperate to rip through, invading their world, and the spicy breath that promised oblivion.
Ya Ling was all those things and more.
Alex snapped back into himself with a cry, redoubling his efforts as he tore through the air, the worm now only focused on him as it crashed to the ground, attempting to crush him.
Alex blinked back desperate tears in the wind as the horizon became the blackness of a titan seeking to crush him, yet failing to do anything more than crash upon the bone-white sands, the monstrosity now completely filleted as Alex ripped around the back. Doom Blade tore through the spiraling incision he had made all along its length like a crimson candy cane as he raced back up the way he had come, now zipping up the spine and feeling a fierce, terrible vindication as the titanic beast shuddered and collapsed, as countless tons of viscera and gore burst from flaps of flesh and shattered chitin opening right up like the flaps of a perfectly dressed kill.
“This is for you, Ya Ling!” He screamed in furious vindication and desperate denial as the air filled with the foul stench of snake viscera, worm innards, and cinnamon, Alex’s eyes wild with furious hate as his keening blade tore a final fifteen-foot deep incision up to the creatures tri-fold mouth, snapping at his form one last time and kissing nothing but air as Alex streaked at speeds that would have been impossible, had he not already been on the cusp of ascending yet again.
Only then did he dare turn around and gaze down at the monstrous sight below.
Shuddering in awe, wonder, and dismay at just how close he had come to being both crushed and devoured by the titanic monstrosity below. Hundreds of yards of flayed flesh that he had managed to fillet with countless spiraling cuts before unzipping the entirety when it had devoured (no, don’t say it, don’t think it! She escaped!) Ya Ling.
“Ya Ling!”
It was a desperate cry.
Alex raced down to the travesty below, as gory and gruesome as a whaling boat, the sands covered in the visceral of the fallen titan. A desperate part of him prayed he got there in time to rescue her from what were effectively the bowels of hell, praying his own Doom Blade hadn’t sliced her open, so massive the rents had been, finally forcing himself to remove all doubt as to her fate, opening his mental interface to track her down… where her remains would be down as the grit-filled wind stung his eyes with bitter tears…
But not before filling the party bond between them with just as much essence as he could.
Just a tiniest fraction of the howling storm of potency that he feared was a heartbeat away from destroying him utterly.
Slave Node: Ya Ling-01: REVERT TO SAVE STATE!
It was an order. An inescapable command that she had no choice to obey as reality screamed and twisted in response, entropy’s edicts defied by the Disciple of Chaos and Change as countless scattered wind currents abruptly formed into a comatose girl hovering half a dozen feet above the desert sands…
Quickness Check made!
Only to collapse in Alex’s arms.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Ya Ling!”
And that was when he was struck by a surge that he feared would be his end.
Congratulations! You have successfully defeated Emperor Sand Worm!
Experience Earned!
You have successfully claimed Emperor Sand Worm potency!
Doom Blade is now Rank 4!
Doom Blade is now Rank 5!
Adept Tier perk chosen: Shattering Blow. - Doom Blade will now shred flesh, shatter bone, and rupture most physical wards with greater ease than ever! - Note: enhanced effect when used in conjunction with Piercing Strike!
Enhanced Wind Pierce Strike is now Rank 5! Enhanced Utility! - Enhanced Wind Piercer Strike may now pierce rigid metal and stone as effectively as Qi Wards or shrapnel barriers! You have successfully evolved your ability to emulate a Lost Skill without rupturing the Divine-tier veil protecting you!
Enhanced Wind Piercing Strike has effectively evolved into Piercing Strike!
Piercing Strike (Spell Cleave) is now Rank 10! using this ability with Storm Strike will give an additional bonus of +3 + Storm Strike Rank to rupture wards and deflect all incoming spells!
Alex collapsed to his knees, shuddering with the power and potency roaring through his soul as his mind was flooded with images of battles fought a lifetime ago, superimposed upon his deadly struggle against the monstrous abomination he had actually managed to take down, new lessons synergizing perfectly with the old as he realized just how brittle his foe’s monstrous-seeming defenses had truly been, laughing with wonder and terror as a favorite skill pulled free of oblivion’s maw was his once more.
His heart swelled with joy as the beautiful girl in his arms opened her eyes in dazed wonder, seeing his rough features spattered with blood, gore, countless scratches healing so damned quickly, enchanted by sapphire blue irises before Alex’s eye widened all the more and he flinched… instantly pulling himself free of her mind once more.
Full autonomy has been restored restored to Slave node: Ya Ling-01
“Alex, what happened?”
Alex swallowed the awful, painful lump in his throat, choosing to answer in the only way that mattered as he strove to lift them off the now thrumming sands… Alex sensing countless smaller worms finally closing in… before near toppling over with dizziness as the howling scream in his psyche that he had put off enduring for too long picked up with renewed fury.
Her dreamy voice snapped into cold focus as she tore herself free of her daze. “Alex!”
He flashed an exhausted smile. “I think I’m definitely in Fool’s Folly territory right now… I need to rest. And… ascend. But we need to get out of here.”
“Alex, what...” Her voice died off in a gasp of wonder as she gazed, wide-eyed at the massive fallen behemoth now before them. Alex didn’t resist when she gently, effortlessly, lifted him up off the desert sands as first a handful, then hundreds of ebony black worms burst free of the sands and twisted and writhed about the corpse of what Alex suspected must have been their brood mother.
Ya Ling’s features paled, both horror and wonder flittering across her features.
Her steely grip, Bronze Rank 1 at the very least, tightened upon his exhausted form. “Alex, are you seriously going to tell me you managed to kill that monstrous mountain-sized fucker?”
Alex flashed a shit-eating grin before his gaze hardened with steely intensity, pushing away the all-consuming storm of potency screaming for release as he focused for a few final precious seconds. “Come, bring me down to its maw.”
Ya Ling gave him a curious look but didn’t hesitate to do just that.
Alex flinched at the awful stench, before shuddering at the sight of those monstrous serrated teeth, so very like a giant lamprey’s own.
Forget leaping down the throat like a mad-cap adventure against a giant spirit wolf. He would have been shredded and ground to a pulp within a second, had he dared that bit of foolishness… and that was with prismatic bones assuring the most agonizing of deaths as every inch of flesh was torn free of his bones.
But now that it was dead…
Alex glared down at his now inert dao before flashing Ya Ling an exhausted smile, pointing to the massive rent that one of Alex’s earlier slashes had managed to inflict upon its maw. “If you could stretch that just a bit, partner?”
Ya Ling gazed at Alex for long moments. “You’re about to collapse. You know that, right?”
Alex winced and nodded, all too aware of that truth as Ya Ling furrowed her pretty brows and sliced with a surgeon’s precision, the wind blast enough to widen the incision in the vulnerable flesh of their foe’s maw and then it was Alex making full use of monstrous Strength that was only increasing with every passing second for all that his Finesse was slipping away with exhaustion.
Ya Ling winced at how effortlessly bone and chittin cracked before Alex’s hands as he widened the rent and tore free the price that Qi Perception had pinged with exquisite accuracy free.
“Alex!”
He smiled into her eyes as tears streamed down her cheek, collapsing to her knees with awe matching what he knew he should feel… if exhaustion and dread weren’t so close to overwhelming him utterly.
“That’s... you did it! You… Alex?”
He choked back the bile in the back of his throat, feeling that awful tingling sensation equivalent to being just a second away from hurling from the worst stomach bug imaginable. He was on the cusp of ascension. Yet he was terrified that he’d soon be overwhelmed by a breakthrough like no other that he dare not endure here.
Desperate eyes met her own.
“Come on, we have to head to the gate and get me back home… or anywhere I can hole up and mediate. Please!”
Ya Ling nodded with heartfelt sympathy, not hesitating to gather him up in her arms and race for the gate.
It was all Alex could do to keep himself stable as his whirling Super Cable picked up ever more terrible momentum and then they were crashing through the gate and all was starry blackness. Kissing oblivion as they became one with a thousand million stars… before taking deep breaths of fresh desert air alive with the scents of wildflowers and distant fields of grain from the oasis below.
Ya Ling sobbed with relief, gazing down at Alex’s trembling form beneath the backdrop of a thousand sparkling stars. “Alex, we did it. We’re alive!”
“And not a moment too soon,” whispered the tense voice of none other than Nili, the once cheerful woman now radiating a tense anxiety and relief far more suited to a worried mother than a playful kitsune girl. And her gaze? Definitely that of someone well-versed in life’s bitter struggles… no matter how much she enjoyed playing the innocent around newfound acquaintances who were themselves little more than children in her eyes. All that Alex could sense… just as he could the recognition in her eyes when she caught his stare, before flashing a playful smile.
“And you, my dear boy, look on the cusp of ascension. Perfect timing.”
Alex forced a smile, realizing they were all alone, except for the three of them. Yet he could hear distant yelling, and could feel a tension in the air.
Fortunately, there were no screams or smells of ancient hardwood burning, so he could only pray they weren’t too late.
“Nili! Great, you’re here. Come on, we have to...”
She cut off his words with a gentle finger upon his brow. “Shush, Alex. The only thing you need to do is rest, before a fool’s folly becomes the final mistake you ever make.”
Alex froze at those words.
Ya Ling’s anxious gaze met the kitsune’s. “Nili, what’s happening?”
“Politics, girl.” The kitsune flashed a jaded smile. “The games of the powerful and those hungry for such power, as wise men, warriors, and fools dance the same dance that they have for countless generations. But since none of us are fools without at least a shred of wisdom, we’re taking shelter away from the storm.”
Ya Ling frowned, tightening her grip upon Alex who really could get up, he was sure, but the grass felt so comfortable, soothing him to desperately needed sleep.
“Nili...”
The kitsune glared, revealing the tiniest sliver of her well-concealed Silver aura. Ya Ling froze. “We have no time to butt heads or jockey for rank. This is about survival, child. Now come. Follow me. Please.” Her gaze turned oddly pitying. “For both your sakes.”
“But Aunt Nili,” Ya Ling said, using a familial honorific that earned a strained smile from the kitsune. “We have a house in town. We can just rest up there!”
The kitsune gave Ya Ling a solemn look. “You’re smarter than that, child.”
Ya Ling paled. “Oh no, please don’t tell me...”
“I’m not saying anything. Come with me, to shelter! After I know you children our safe, then we can make our next move, and we’d be fools to do anything if we’re not at our best. Enough talking. Follow me.”
The last words were a command, not a request. Ya Ling looked surprised to find herself nodding, and Alex really could look after himself, he thought, the thick brush along the face of the escarpment grabbing his wrists and ankles just fine no matter how dizzy he felt, Alex pointedly ignored Ya Ling’s anxious cry and Nili’s awed cursing when he scooted past both of them.
“Where do you think you’re going, silly boy! You almost fell, and you don’t even know where...”
Her words cut off with a look of comical surprise as they continued scaling the rather steep terrain, partially hidden by a rocky overhang that fortunately had plenty of roots from escarpment-loving olive trees and tough stubborn weeds that gripped his hand so well as Alex made his way to the near perfectly concealed tunnel entrance, giving his friends a triumphant smile as he spotted the whole gang. Sunlay and Quing Da were gazing at him with comical surprise as the pair of wujen looked his way with panicked alarm that soon turned to relieved smiles as he made his way inside, before stumbling on his face on the tiled floor, only to find Linnea’s anxious form huddling over him, Hanz And Lieberman just a few feet behind. “Alex, what happened?”
“You made it!” Sunlay declared with relief that genuinely touched Alex to hear as he closed his eyes, never mind Linnea’s panicked shaking. “Alex!”
“It’s alright, leave him be, child,” Nili gently scolded. “Somehow, the pair of them survived, and it’s clear that Alex, at least, is ready to ascend.”
“But how did they even manage to escape?” An awed Sunlay asked, at which point an excited Ya Ling shared their adventures in dramatic detail as Alex was gently placed on warm padded furs in the back of what might have been an ancient study or dormitory, perhaps once part of the school and long forgotten, or perhaps it was the sight of far less savory affairs, once upon a time. Regardless, Alex took great comfort in finding himself safe and warm in shelter that was thankfully free of creatures trying to kill him, and somehow wasn’t surprised at all that Nili, the head of a JiangHu sect of a foreign city, knew of its whereabouts.
Then all such concerns left him as he slipped free of all cogent thought and let himself slip into oblivion’s soothing waters at last... before waking up with a jolt, gasping for air as inconceivable pressure crushed him from all sides, and there was nothing but icy cold darkness in all directions, as if he were lost in the void.