The ground shook as the asteroid hit, and even half a mile below ground, I could feel the impact. Pressure began to mount, and the air started getting higher. That impact hadn’t been the end of it, as the asteroid had only slowed down. Like an inexorable hunter, it wouldn’t stop until reached me.
“Hell-Dragon’s Armory,” I said.
The weight increased. It wasn’t a physical weight as such, but instead something that strained against my spirit as I pushed mana into the stone, condensing it and trying to strengthen it. The force I was fighting against increased its pressure like it was a sentient thing able to feel me trying to prevent it from completing its singular purpose.
Guinevere held me tight, and it was only her presence that kept me from going to my knees. My legs were locked and if I tried to move from where I was, I would collapse. She whispered something but I couldn’t hear it over the thundering of blood in my ears and the rumble of the earth shaking.
Sweat began to drip down my skin as the stone above us started glowing. The molten rock got harder and harder to hold up. Ice began to spread but it steamed and melted as Guinevere fought to help me by surrounding us with a frigid aura. I was using mana like water, but I was going to run dry, even with my massive mana pool, I couldn’t hold up the weight of the sky.
Use ether in the ability, Ares said.
You know the backlash that would cause, I said.
You aren’t going to suffer any backlash if you’re dead, Karnen said. Use it.
My body vibrated as a growl of frustration pushed itself out. I tapped into my ether and pushed it into the ability. It burned in my veins as I pushed it through mana channels and the stone began to turn a glossy black, cooling rapidly.
The relief was only temporary, but I had bought a few moments and every second counted. The power behind that falling star was not inexhaustible. If I could hold out long enough, it would come to a stop.
“Hold on,” Guinevere said.
I couldn’t respond, only feel her presence as I focused on keeping the ceiling from falling in on us. My mana dropped below the one-thousand mark. Even with using ether, it was still being spent like water through a firehose.
I’m about to be out of mana, I thought. If you guys got something, now would be the time to pull it out.
I’m working on something, Voidra responded.
A minute passed by as I flooded the stone above with ether and mana forming new creations over and over again as I pushed back against the asteroid pursuing me through the earth. I kept pushing until my mana bottomed out.
Got it! Voidra exclaimed.
New energy rushed through my ability and I almost collapsed and threw up at the sensation. I managed to keep from collapsing and keep the ability active.
What was that? I asked.
I managed to mess with the ability to get it to use your stamina instead of mana, Voidra explained. This is temporary and you're going to need to use even more ether when your stamina runs out.
I had nowhere near the stamina that I had mana, so that wouldn’t be too long. I my teeth cracked and regenerated again and again as I fueled the rage that kept me going. Images of my childhood flashed through my thoughts, my father, my mother, Sarah, and none of it mattered. No, those didn’t drive my rage anymore. My wife was here, and they were going to kill her with me; that’s what fueled my hatred.
I pushed harder, flooding my ability with the last of my ether as I held out defiantly. The comet stopped as something inside me, not my body but soul, tore and ripped.
Error! Ability mutation, Error! Hell-Dragon’s Armory has been damaged and undergone permanent alterations without System interference. Hell-Dragon’s Armory -> Void-Dragon’s Armory
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Hell-Dragon’s Armory: (Rank 20) (Max Rank); You can infuse earth, stone & metal with organic materials to create unique, more durable and heavier materials that can be shaped by your word. You can fuse a 524,288 square-foot section of earth, stone, metal, or organic materials. Your earth-organic alloys have a hardness rating of 15, your compressed common earth has a hardness rating of 12. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit & Perception attributes.
You can use common, uncommon, rare, magical, and enchanted, earth, stone, metal and organic materials. Your creations have different properties and effects based on the materials used.
Final Rank Bonus: The weapons and armor made with this skill are empowered with Hell and Draconic Energies dealing a Moderate amount of fire and/or curse damage or granting a Moderate amount of resistance to fire and/or curse damage when worn.
Cost: 2 mana per square foot.
->
Void-Dragon’s Armory: (Rank 20) (Max Rank); You can fuse any material together, merging them with energies arcane, physical, and spiritual to create substances beyond the nature of reality. The material is empowered from energy of the void making it dangerous for mortals to interact with. You can fuse a 600,000 square-foot section of material. Your creations have a hardness rating of 20. The detail you can sculpt with is based on your Mind, Spirit, and Perception attributes.
There exists nothing beyond the touch of this ability as even Artifacts have been sundered by it, and its power requires an iron will to wield it.
Final Rank Bonus: The weapons and armor made with this skill are empowered with Void and Soul Energies dealing a Major amount of Soul and Void damage or granting a Moderate amount of resistance to Soul and Void damage when worn.
Cost: 5 mana, 5 stamina, 5 ether per square foot.
The falling star stopped, but my troubles had just begun. A portal opened and Kelesa stepped out of it, a look of rage on her face.
“You were given orders to destroy the Void within you!” she snarled. “And now that taint has spread even farther.”
I heaved in a breath. “That taint… is the only thing that kept me alive.”
My breathing was labored, the backlash from using my ether and stamina with a non-compatible ability leaving me weak as a toddler.
“Destroy it now,” Kelesa ordered, her four arms drawing a sword from her back. “I will not ask a third time.”
You should do it, Voidra said. I could hear the fear and sorrow in her voice, but she wasn’t about to back down. You’ve let me see so much, but I’m not worth all of our lives.
Shut up you little psychopath, I told her. You just saved my life; I’m not going to turn my back on you.
Looks like this is where it’s all going down, Karnen said. I can use my guardian spirit ability. I don’t think I can stop a god, but I’ll still try.
Let’s take the bitch down, Ares agreed.
“No,” I said, calling Clarent to my hand even though I could barely stand. “I’m not your Pinocchio to jerk around on your strings. I win my way or I don’t win at all.”
Kelesa flashed forwards, her swords coming for my neck, hearts, and stomach. Guinevere stepped in the way and Kelesa froze as a resonate gong sounded in the air.
Subject Kelesa, goddess of War and Conquest has attempted to breach the accords by striking down a mortal! Further attempts will result in severe punishment.
“Move!” Kelesa snapped at Guinevere, a terrifying aura emanating off her that made even me want to turn and flee.
“No,” Guinevere said.
Kelesa raised her swords again, then lowered them. “Fine then, if you will not serve, than I have no more use for you as my champion. I take back my power from you.”
You have lost the Blessing of War
Your ability Dominion (Rank 50, Max Rank) has been revoked and sundered.
I finally collapsed to the ground as agony coursed not just through my body, but my soul.
You have suffered permanent soul damage from the sundering of your ability. Your soul will need to be filled with a new power or the ability restored to fix the damage to your soul.
“What did you do to him!” Guinevere screamed at Kelesa.
Kelesa smiled. “I removed him from the game, now to finish the job completely. I take back my gifts.”
My boots rotted and turned to dust leaving my feet bare.
“And I reject you from our world,” Kelesa said.
A portal opened beneath me, and I dropped through. Guinevere didn’t hesitate to jump after me. She wrapped her arms around me as we spun through a vortex of color, sound, and smells and then my vision and senses went dark.