Floating above the seal where he had found the orb of Ichor that Radiant Chaos had released, Ezekiel sent his mind back into the avatar he had created from imbuing a stone with his mana and [Will]. The roughly made Artifact would last for about an hour, and act like a camera that gave him a vision of the hole that the Broodmaster was still sinking into.
“I hope that this isn’t a mistake...” he muttered before descending and squishing the Tier five avatar beneath his foot. His [Nothingness] wiped it out of existence within seconds.
After it disappeared he [Slung] himself in the direction he could sense where one of the last orbs had reached its destination. Flickers of light from where it was trying to break open the seal were easily noticeable in the sky.
He reached out with his senses, and in that moment he could feel that Shine had finished their own objective. Though they had clearly had a much harder time than Ezekiel.
Once more he threw his vision to the Artifact floating above Radiant Chaos. The Broodmaster was shining more brightly, but their power hadn’t changed. They were still solidly in Tier six, and while the muddling in their existence was clearing up, the pure amount of strength that they had wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.
Ezekiel... I got it...
He smiled in response to Shine’s words through their bond, but didn’t reply to his partner just yet. Instead, he channeled a ray of [Nothingness] that wiped the orb of Ichor from existence.
Breaking open the seal in the process.
A massive pillar of light, that he knew Shine would’ve noticed, shot into the sky. The Miasma above them cleared up even further, and Ezekiel prayed that Radiant Chaos hadn’t been just bluffing.
That he hadn’t just released another fully conscious and capable Ancient Brood into the world.
The seal faded away, and the massive body of the Fanged Broodmaster, resembling a huge were-wolf with many more claws than a normal canine, and mouths filled with fangs that lined its body, appeared before him.
However, its eyes were closed, and with a loud ‘thump’ that shook the nearby mountains, it fell to the ground, utterly unconscious.
Ezekiel tentatively reached out with his own soul and [Will] checking on the Fanged Broodmaster.
Its soul was damaged, and it was essentially in a coma with no active thoughts or [Will] to direct it at the moment. Radiant Chaos had been right. Its brethren were completely unable to fight back.
They were nothing more than resources that were ripe for the taking.
Shine... I’m sorry, but I kind of lied to you... In truth, I’m going to be taking in more of the Broods’ Ichor into myself to get every scrap of power that I can. It still might not be enough, but I’m hoping it will even out our chances. Especially since I’m not sure how I can make progress with my magic, now that I’ve fully switched over to body cultivation.
He waited for a moment, but descended toward the body beneath him, keeping a piece of his consciousness on the still glowing form of Radiant Chaos through his Artifact.
His Spirit didn’t reply in words, but a feeling of sad acceptance filled him, and he promised himself that he would do something to make it up to Shine when they finished this.
Thank you... Please head to my location as soon as possible. I can feel how damaged your vessel is, and I might be able to use a part of the Fanged Broodmaster to repair it.
Receiving a sense of reassurance, Ezekiel sighed.
“Time to get to work...” A wave of regret nearly made him pause, but he knew that there was no going back. Even now, he could feel the damage to the Tier six Brood’s soul slowly recovering. Within another day or so it would be aware once more, and that would mean that it would be able to fight back.
If that happened, then Ezekiel wasn’t certain of his chances. He was certain that it would take too long, at the very least.
Thus, with no more hesitation, he stabbed his crystalline hands into the center mass of the Fanged Broodmaster’s being. Ichor flooded outward, but he used his magic, comparatively weak as it was, to keep it nearby.
Then, opening his mouth, he drank every single drop he could.
It only took a couple of mouthfuls before he felt a pressure on his mind and found his consciousness somewhere else.
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Everything had gone dark. There was nothing. No sound, no sight. No senses at all to give him any sort of input regarding what was happening in the world.
Then, a figure made of stars appeared in front of him.
It waved its hands, and suddenly there was sound, sight, scent, taste, and touch. Along with a host of other senses that nearly consumed him. Yet he remained the same. Whatever he was before was still the same, but the shape he now inhabited was different.
“You are now the King of Fangs. The lord of the wilds and all flesh-eating beasts, born from my blood. You, and your brethren, will protect my body from outer beings that would seek to harvest it for themselves.” The figure made of stars, Eldramir itself, spoke, and the Fanged Broodmaster knew what it was. What his purpose, the singular reason for his life, truly was.
What followed was a series of memories happening over several millennia. Nothing existed that brought about its ultimate purpose. Life was relatively peaceful, besides the few fights here and there with the strange creatures composed of pure elements, with no flesh and blood of their own. As well as brief tests of strength with his brethren.
Then, one day, seemingly from nowhere, there was a strange scent. Something that he had never known before. His hackles rose, and his fangs were revealed even more than normal.
He and his fellow Broods made their way to a bowl-shaped valley. One that had been set up to protect whatever was inside. The walls were formed by the stone giant that shaped the ground.
Within the valley, the first Haven in the world, there were beasts of all kinds that were not born of his flesh and blood. Beasts born from none of his brethren’s flesh and blood.
These creatures were not of Eldramir. They were outer beings. They were prey, and it was his purpose to destroy them with everything he had.
The next series of memories showed war. Destruction on a mass scale, that tore his maker’s body apart. But that didn’t matter. His master could heal. He needed to fulfill his purpose.
Through the fighting, his mind sharpened, as did his fangs. With every outer being, every human being that he consumed, he felt his mind get larger, and his methods of fighting the Spirits got better. Yet no matter how many humans died there never seemed to be an end to them.
The fighting went on and on, until finally, one of his brethren defeated and consumed the brightest of the Spirits. The strange being made of light.
It wasn’t long after that that his master stepped in. Hope filled his body. His own soul cried out in joy. His maker had come to help him fulfill his purpose. To punish the Spirits that had betrayed their own reason for living.
Then, with a wave of his maker’s hands, a new bright one appeared and joined the others. For a moment, he was confused, right before he and his siblings rose into the air, and for the first time ever, he felt fear.
As well as betrayal.
With a single move, his maker wrapped them in a shell of his power, pure and refined, and utterly incomprehensible to him and his fellow Broods.
He only had a brief moment to scream, to rant, to rage at his maker for this betrayal, before he was cast into the darkness once again.
Time passed, how long it was he did not know. There was nothing but faint whispers that were barely comprehensible. Originating from his siblings that were sealed in a similar, yet separate, space to himself.
Then, a sound like something made of meat slamming against stone, along with blood splashing across a solid surface.
A crack appeared. A pinch in his side. A new light and a world that had changed could be seen for a few moments. Beneath him, kneeling with several others, was a human. One that had sacrificed his own flesh and blood in exchange for power.
The power to wipe out the humans that had infested this world, and one day release the Broods, so that they could take their place as the ultimate rulers of this world.
A world that had been abandoned by the Original Spirits and ignored by Eldramir.
From that moment on, hundreds of years passed. His brethren could more easily be heard, and the strongest and craftiest of them put plans into motion when it was apparent that pure might was not enough. Not when remnants of the betrayer still existed, and the children of the first Spirits aided the humans in fighting.
Then, after finally tasting freedom, even at the cost of his most loyal servant, he was betrayed once more. This time not by a creator that had given him purpose, but by a sibling that had given him hope.
Then, there was darkness once again.
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It took a moment for Ezekiel to come back to his senses. The subconscious [Will] that was infused into every inch of the Fanged Broodmaster’s body was a shock, given that he hadn’t sensed its presence when he had first inspected it.
The first thing he did was finish what he started and crush the remaining [Will] that was lingering within the Fanged Broodmaster. Now, it was nothing more than a corpse with too much energy to simply die. A shift occurred, and the body of the Fanged Broodmaster melted into a puddle of Ichor.
Though this pool was much more pearlescent, becoming more and more pure as Ezekiel destroyed more and more of its [Will]. Something he felt like smacking himself over, for being so overconfident in his ability to handle it when he first examined the Broodmaster’s body.
Although... Given how the body has been merged with the soul, I should’ve known that, even being near brain dead would, if only temporarily, still leave him with a massive amount of power.
Not a moment after that thought crossed his mind, he threw his consciousness into the link he had with the Artifact he had infused with his [Will]. Thankfully, a quick observation confirmed that it had only been a few minutes. Even if it felt like it had actually been countless years.
Though, what he saw with his Artifact was concerning, because Radiant Chaos had stopped shining brightly. Instead, it was now a solid gold color, rather than the oily gold that it was before. The change was not a welcome one, since it could only mean that Radiant Chaos’ power had been purified.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Radiant Chaos was smaller than before and was no longer digging deeper into the ground. A sinking feeling filled his chest, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. He needed to await for Shine to arrive so he could help them recover as well.
“Ezekiel...” a weak voice called out, and he turned to see Shine being carried by a shadow across the land. “What did you do?”
It was then that Ezekiel took a moment to examine himself. His body had undergone several substantial changes. The foremost being a shift in his size.
He was no longer the giant that he had turned into previously. Now, he was roughly half his original size, but the amount of power inside his body was more streamlined and focused.
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The crystalline appearance had also given way to a more armored looking one. His body was now an exact, if larger, replica of his Spirit Armor.
“I... found the time to figure a few things out...” Was all he said after a moment of rapid thought and examination. “Now, let’s see if I can help you out with your own body.”
Waving his hand, Ezekiel took control of the shimmering pure white Ichor that was pooled on the ground. It flowed over to Shine, and since it was basically pure mana without any [Will] to direct it, they could do as they wished and absorb it on their own without worry.
Within moments, he could feel Shine’s consciousness enter a meditative state. He then reached out and split the pool in half. There was enough Ichor left for Shine to recover, and potentially make a breakthrough, though that would depend on them.
“Here... You and I will be heading back into battle, and I can’t afford to have you holding me back.” He had cupped his hand, and some of the Ichor rested within it. “Take this. It should help you get to the peak, so long as your soul isn’t too damaged from the recent fights.”
Without a word, the remnant of obscurity flickered up his body, and immediately soaked in the Ichor into itself. Unlike Shine, who had far more to recover from, the shadow was able to take control of the Ichor and refill their reserves without having to dominate it at the cost of its own [Willpower].
Then, Ezekiel reached out, and the shade changed form, molded by Ezekiel’s power, and turned fully into a sword. One that matched Shine in every physical way.
“Given that you’re not as tough as Shine, you’ll have to fight in a trickier way than they would. Can you do that?” He received a nod in response, and a part of his mind showed him changes occurring at the location where Radiant Chaos was at.
Focusing on the shade once more, he could sense that the pool of Ichor wasn’t used up entirely. Instead, it was sitting inert within the shade’s shadow realm. The pocket space it had created inside itself as part of its [Domain].
With and, Ezekiel flexed his [Will] and reappeared above the now moving golden Broodmaster.
“Ezekiel!”
The roar was sudden, and the world below him lit up with Radiant energy. Several forms rose up from the body of Ichor, each one shaped like beastly misshapen armor. They stretched as far as he could see with his eyes, and Ezekiel could tell that, although he had managed to improve his condition, since Radiant Chaos had too, this fight would be even more fierce.
The brief lull had ended, and both were at their peak once more.
With a sky splitting clash, the battle began once again, and the force was even more widespread.
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By this point, nearly a full day had passed since Ezekiel had started his battle with Radiant Chaos. Riley had been forced to deal with her own sudden revelations, and now, beneath the Temple of the Void, she was preparing to bring about another one.
“Are you sure that this will work? I thought you said that Warren and your copy were fighting the Death Spirits that you released inside Eldramir’s Spirit Paths.” Her mood was reflected in the small growl that filled her voice. That revelation had not gone over well with Evelyn and the twins, with all three having to be restrained by the seemingly empowered Morncrest remnant.
“Given what I have learned, it will not be Warren himself that comes back,” Headren said with a shake of his head. “It will simply be an avatar. Something that can, apparently, be freely made when one becomes an Ancient being.”
Riley shook her head. “Will that even be enough? You already confirmed that an avatar can only be a full Tier lower than an Ancient being in strength. How will a Tier five copy do anything other than die in moments?”
“Less to do with the power, but more to do with the knowledge and experience.”
The voice that answered came from the remnant, and both Riley and Headren turned to face her.
“To put it simply, after using my own methods, and having Headren link up and get his remnant to the appropriate location, I hope to use the avatar of Warren as a key, to unlock the mind and soul of Radiant Chaos, given that he was once the host to the penultimate piece of it when he was possessed by it.” The tone of the remnant was light and airy, with its attention focused more on the glowing runes that surrounded them, and whatever its Void senses could see beyond. “Get ready. They are in position. Headren, focus on your connection. Riley, make a flame. One that has as much of your [Will] inside it as possible.”
The two Exalts did as they were told, and a spark of something that she couldn’t define passed through Riley’s body and soul. A shimmer in the air appeared in front of her. There was a loud ‘crack’ and the center of the room was filled with a pitch black rift that led into what Riley recognized from Ezekiel as the space-between-spaces.
For a moment, there was nothing, so Riley intensified her flames.
Still nothing. For several seconds there was nothing, and the rift began to tremble.
Finally, a small dot of light appeared in the Void, and it was all that Riley could do to put up her arms in front of her face, just as she got bowled over by a ten-foot-tall lion-man.
With a ‘snap’ the rift was closed, and the avatar of Warren got off of Riley, who couldn’t hold back the gasp of air after being knocked on her back.
A quick [Jump] was made before any further recovery could occur, and both riley and Headren were thrown off their feet from the sudden shift.
A quiet scream filled the room they had appeared in, and Riley was on her feet, even with a sense of vertigo, and in front of the twins in an instant.
However, it was the sight of Evelyn slowly approaching the crouching lion-man that nearly made her attack. The shock had worn off now that she had recovered.
“Warren?” Evelyn’s words were soft and emotional enough that Riley nearly wanted to cry, and she tried to push forward with the twins.
An invisible pressure kept her in place, however, and she glared at the remnant that was floating in the room. She tried to speak, but no noise came out of her mouth. Beside her, the twins were doing the same, but there struggles were more obvious, as were their moving mouths and silent screams.
“... Hello dear...” The lion-man spoke quietly, but it still sounded like a rumbling growl.
Yet there was a hint of familiarity to its sound. One that made both Riley and the twins stop.
“How is this possible? You died? Ezekiel said he couldn’t save you?” Evelyn sounded lost, and she reached out to cup the large lion head in front of her. There was a flash of light, and Warren stood in front of her, though he was clad in glowing golden armor that only covered his waist to his knees and wrapped around parts of his torso and extremities.
Animalistic features were still prominently sitting on his head, and a tail flicked back and forth behind him. It was startlingly similar to Evelyn’s own appearance.
“Did he say that he couldn’t save me, or that he couldn’t bring me back?” Warren had the audacity to smirk, and Riley felt a surge of anger in her chest. But a look of confusion crossed Evelyn’s face. Which was fair, since she couldn’t completely remember Ezekiel’s exact words.
He was far too good at being convoluted with his language and oaths.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this reunion, but we brought you back here for a reason. As it is right now, their battle will rage forever, and all the mana in the world will be expended, at least in the physical world. However, you know that that will put a strain on the Spirit Paths as well, don’t you?” The remnant spoke, and everyone turned to her, and she merely waved under the weight of their glares. A small hint of a smile on her face. “Now that one of the seals has been broken in full, abilities I didn’t know I had have been revealed. It will take you a few hours to reach your son, and if things go poorly, he may very well die before you get there. As such, you will need to move now.”
The ground shook, and a tunnel leading to the surface appeared next to them.
“We should all get there no long after you do. You just need to do your best to support your son. Even when the tables turn once again, and Radiant Chaos forces itself to an even higher limit.”
The remnant’s words were foreboding, and Riley couldn’t help but shiver as a chill ran down her spine. She watched as Warren leaned over to wrap Evelyn and the twins in a hug. The latter two having run over once the remnant had released them while Riley was listening to it speak.
“You need to be careful if you enter the battle. This is just an avatar, so if it dies, I won’t be affected. Not really.” Standing up, he started glowing more brightly.
With a flash of light, Warren disappeared from the Temple of the Void.
“... C’mon! We need to get the preparations completed, and head out as soon as possible. Even if all the Mythical beings work together to ferry the others, it’ll take at least a day, if not more, before we can get there.” The walls shifted, and openings appeared to reveal tunnels leading to other sections. “Unless you have a means of getting us there faster?”
She looked over her shoulder at the remnant, who didn’t say anything, and simply smiled a little bit wider. It was not a comforting smile.
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The horde was endless. A constant stream of molten constructs that flooded out of the hole that Radiant Chaos had sunken into. They took on countless different forms, but the most numerous were humanoid. Something that Ezekiel couldn’t help but find ironic, given what he knew of both Radiant Chaos and the memories granted to him by the essence of the Fanged King.
“You’re slowing down...”
Ezekiel could hear the smirk in the Broodmaster’s voice, and it made him growl in frustration.
“How are you holding up?” He asked the Shade in his hands.
The remnant of Obscurity remained silent, but Ezekiel could tell that it was straining under the pressure he was wielding it with. Both and it had been forced to focus their everything on fending off the endless enemies that took shape in front of them.
All while fighting a defensive battle to keep as main constructs from fleeing as possible. Several had already made it out, and if it wasn’t for the fact that there wasn’t enough energy in them to maintain a consistent shape, he would’ve been far more concerned.
However, the sheer amount of Ichor that was getting past him was building up, and it wouldn’t be long before the Ichor that was slowly inching away from his would be able to reassemble itself and make its way to another seal.
That was only if the Broodmaster hadn’t sent something off already. If it had, then it would only be a few more hours before it managed to free another one of its brethren. This time, Ezekiel wasn’t certain he’d be able to stop it in time. Let alone take the power into himself instead.
Even now, with the improvements he made to himself, he was still feeling sore after fighting for so long. The back and forth, followed by a constant barrage of spells from him that just wasn’t cutting it meant that he was straining, both physically and mentally.
“You could stop this... You could simply walk away... Take a few of your wretched kind with you, and travel through the sea of stars for somewhere else for you all to infect and consume.” Radiant Chaos' spoke with an almost gentle tone, if not for the gurgling rasp that filled it, and the anger that their body projected that originated from its soul. “I only wish to take my rightful place as the ruler of this world. Only I have the power, and the right, as a perfect being, to do so!”
Ezekiel couldn’t stop the snort of amusement that escaped him. “Perfect? All I see are two incomplete halves of beings that were never meant to be one. You chose the wrong way to advance. Even now, having purged all the excess from your being, you're still missing the true method for reaching the next level. You refuse to accept the fact that your path is tainted and broken. You [Understanding] is weak, and feeble. As well as utterly opposed to your current nature. You may have the means to use magic, but your methods will simply result in a constant strain, with no hope of becoming a true whole.”
Even now, when he squinted just right, Ezekiel could see the mana that was fueling the Broodmaster’s spells. It was a completely separate source from its body. Unlike Ezekiel’s whose magic was still tied to his soul, even if his soul was directly fused with his body.
The deeming destruction of his Spirit Paths upon ascending via his body was strange and had been the biggest problem with trying to advance, given his current [Understanding] of the Void, but that was nothing he felt he couldn’t figure out later.
Given that he wasn’t aging, or was aging so slowly as to not have it matter, he felt that his ascension was inevitable. It just didn’t come soon enough to stop what was happening now.
“You speak lies, just like Eldramir. Nothing you say can be anything but the delusions of a madman who knows nothing of true power. How could a soul that never reached the peak know what lies above!?” The maddened scream that ripped from the throats of the countless constructs shook the earth.
Ezekiel sighed. IT seemed that he’d succeeded in making the Broodmaster angry again. Now he just had to continue surviving the onslaught until Shine arrived to help him again.
As the weightless blade of shadows in his hands cut through the Radiant energy that was infused in all of his opponents, Ezekiel tentatively reached through his bond.
His Spirit was still meditating. Even hours after being left alone to repair their vessel.
There was a difference, however, in that their magic seemed to be getting stronger. Their own [Truth] which had been woven into both their soul and their mana was glowing brightly.
With the purified Ichor as a catalyst, Ezekiel was hopeful that whatever they managed to do would result in a Qualitative change in power. One that would give Ezekiel something of a reprieve.
Suddenly, beyond the range of his senses, one of the outermost seals flared to life, and he felt his heart drop when he realized that another seal had been released.
“Finally...” Radiant Chaos cackled with malicious glee, and Ezekiel glared at the numerous faces that the Broodmaster was wearing. “Oh... Did you think that the mantle of this world would be able to stop me? If it had been a day ago, perhaps, but not anymore...”
Those foreboding words were followed by a shift in the earth. Pillars of molten gold rose up from the ground, bursting forth with a spray of lava from deep below the crust of the world.
“You continue to underestimate me! I am everywhere! I am anything, and everything! Even when I have purged myself of the souls and [Wills] of those whose power has become one with my own, The memories of their essence still remain!” Bodies bubbled up from the pillars of gold. Faces that he recognized took shape on them.
Marco, Typhos, Erkan, and the rest of the Lights from the Followers of Radiance. Along with many others, of all elements, that had been a part of the cult took shape. Including the Spirits of those elements that had been bonded with the Hunters of the cult.
“I may not have this [Understanding] that you keep spewing on about, but I have power, and I have bodies. Making my way through the lava was hard, but worth it!”
The rest of the seals lit up, one by one, Ezekiel could feel the essence of the other Broodmasters, now familiar to him thanks to the memories, being released one by one.
He nearly dropped Shade in his shock, and it was only by reflex that he avoided several beams of light, and hard light constructs, that were fired at him in his moment of silence.
There was a quiet ‘crack’ as his rough [Jump] took him several dozen kilometers away, and much further into the sky than before.
“Even if you run, all you will do is slow down your inevitable death! You might’ve stopped me from taking in one of my brethren, but the power of even one the others will be more than enough for my true ascension!”
Larger Avatars began racing out, and Ezekiel moved to intercept them, but Radiant Chaos had managed to grab the initiative. The battle was no longer an exchange. It was a race where Ezekiel was on his own and was constantly being stalled by the many opponents that got in his way.
So focused on preventing as many Avatars from escaping as he could, Ezekiel was caught off guard when the earth beneath his foot burst open. A thorned vine wrapped around him, and he heard a crunch as his armored leg cracked.
Within moments his soul started to burn, and his [Will] was forced to face off against the bloated soul of the Broodmaster. Golden cracks began to spread through his leg, and he could feel the pressure on his soul becoming even greater than before.
“Yes. Yes! I win!”
Ezekiel could barely move, and several other vines rose from the ground, while the army of gold had completely surrounded him, both around and above. He forced Shade to cut through the air, not at his enemy, but at his leg.
Right before it could remove the infected limb, however, another light, this one far brighter than that which came from the shining golden Ichor, rained down on him from above, and for a moment there was a pause. As if Radiant Chaos had lost the ability to move.
“Get out of there!” His father screamed, and Ezekiel let out a pulse of [Nothingness] that broke apart the constructs that held him.
An opening appeared, and a hand grabbed his shoulder, just as the constructs started moving once more. Ezekiel found himself pulled out of the encirclement he had found himself trapped in, and was face to face with a lion headed man in ancient looking armor.
Somehow, much to his surprise, reinforcements of his own had arrived.