Images. The basis for creating an astral body and finally stepping into the ranks of the higher echelons of the multiverse.
The process of stepping into the realm of spirit lords is one of the most important transitions in one's cultivation. It is also the last time the world spirit facilitates one's ascension into a higher tier, as the realm of spirit lords is when you begin to leave your mortal coil and ascend into something otherworldly.
The process of stepping into the realm of spirit lords involves delicately wielding massive amounts of energy with your mind while building an astral image, a very incorporeal one, but still an extremely hard feat.
Having an Astral body is an utmost requirement for stepping outside your mortal form and becoming something more, as the realm of monarchy is when your body starts to reach the limits of what amount of energy it can take. If you wanted to keep climbing higher in the realms of power, an astral body would need to be created.
That didn't mean immediately having a fully formed astral body was possible at the spirit lord realm, as creating one would require a monstrous amount of energy that would simply kill you if you tried to wield it all at once.
Creating a fully formed astral body was a step that took years, infusing it with more energy step by step for years.
Images are the foundational blocks for creating an astral body. A very incorporeal astral form built from scratch with nothing but your will and the energy from miles around you.
When one reaches the limit of monarchy, you're taken by the world spirit to an area set aside for your ascension, an area with a very dense and large amount of energy that would then be very carefully wielded to create an astral image, which could then be cultivated into a fully formed astral body, Your image then got more corporeal the more you advanced in power.
At early tier spirit lord, your spirit image serves as an energy booster, boosting your power exponentially, but the process of keeping it around drains your will extremely fast.
Manifesting an astral image was a strain on your will, as maintaining a manifested astral image strained your mind closer to its limits in exchange for boosted powers. The longer your astral image is manifested, the weaker you get mentally until you either release it or you lose consciousness from your mind shutting down and then getting killed by your opponent. That was why his two opponents didn't immediately start with it.
Summoning hundreds of feet tall behemoths. Elena and Igor rose higher and higher until they floated in front of the middle areas of their respective astral images.
Elena floated in front of a giant black snake, scales that seemed to drink in the light around it for miles adorned its body, while its slitted eyes shone a glowing silver, and it bared fangs that promised a very long and painful death.
The aura from the snake exuded that of a hunter that lurked in the dark, unseen while waiting until it was time for it to strike.
Igor's was a human-shaped being made out of shadow, With two deep voids where the eyes should have been. It wore a cloak of shadow that seemed to slowly smother the lights around it and shroud everything in shadow. Its aura promised a slow suffocating death.
Floating in front of their images, Both of them exuded powers that seemed to warp the world around them, turning the sky into darkness and drowning the desert sands in a sea of shadows.
Damien decided it was time to get more serious.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
*********
While coordinating the evacuation of a city's worth of people, chosen Ymal was beginning to wonder if they were all going to make it out of the city alive. Judging from the sounds of explosions coming from the battle, he didn't think it likely.
The soldiers he had placed to monitor the fight had reported Damien battling two combatants and was winning handily, that was a relief.
He had begun to have hope of them surviving this ordeal, when the day suddenly turned to night, and the world was drowned in shadow.
Turning back, what he saw almost made him collapse in terror. From the screaming and raw panic that began amongst the evacuating people, he assumed some people might have collapsed.
Two apocalyptic creatures towered over the city from the other side. A giant snake rising over hundreds of meters bared its silver fang and its silver slits shone, with scales so black they drowned out the lights of the day.
A monstrous human-shaped thing made out of shadow towered next to it, with eyes that seemed to shroud the world in Shadows. At its feet was a sea of shadows that seemed to rise like a tsunami.
Ymal almost died from the promise of death those creatures exuded, but they were overwhelmed by the new aura that rolled over them, tinting the world a touch of grey
An aura that foretold destruction.
***********
Floating in front of his now massively empowered opponents, Damien decided to get more serious
The first thing he did was summon his old trusty armour. Silver metal enshrouded his body from neck to toe, glowing a dull silver.
He'd had this armour for years now, crafted out of star metal that had crashed into the planet. He admired the dozens of cracks and dents in the armour, signifying the battles the armour had endured.
Next, he manifested a part of his astral image, cloaking himself in grey flames that flowed down his body, drifting around his body like liquid fire, he exuded an aura that surpassed both of them.
For a fight that wasn't up to the necessary threat levels, he didn't need a full manifestation.
Levitating, enshrouded by his armour and cloak made of grey flames while holding his war spear, Damien looked down on his opponents.
Having seen his obvious refusal to take them as a clear threat, Elora attacked in anger.
Summoning dozens of daggers, all of them were two meters long. She sent them coming at him with the speed that left behind blazes of darkness, Elora attacked.
With a sweep of his spear and release of his grey destructive energy, Damien wiped out half of them and dodged the remaining, moving closer to Elora. He stabbed through the black construct she tried to shield herself with, stabbing into the palm facing him. Once his spear had pierced her palm and came out of her shoulder, he channelled destructive energy through the spear and Elora's whole arm exploded, spraying her face and body with her smoking flesh.
The poison mistress screamed in pain, quickly teleporting away.
Igor came in with his hammer and tried to slam Damien from under his jaw. Damien scoffed, stopping the approaching hammerhead with his bare palm, the shockway from the collision collapsing the walls at his back and shattering a dozen houses more.
He replied by punching the man on the side of his head, slamming him into the sands dozens of meters below and creating a huge crater. His cloak swept over the wind as if with a mind of its own, destroying the two daggers that came for him at his back, trying to be sneaky.
Elora then decided to up the fight. Her image elongated higher, looking down onto the city from miles in the sky. It opened its huge mouth, releasing a sea of poison mists towards Damien, his cloak enshrouded him protectively, obliterating any poison that touched it. The city at his back wasn't so protected.
A huge swath of the city began melting. Stones and metals turned to black sludge that emitted poisonous smoke.
He looked towards the giant snake and Elora standing in front of it, smiling like he should suddenly drop dead in terror.
Smiling back in turn, he returned in kind. He pointed his spear tip at her image and released a sea of grey flames, there was a loud hiss as Elora's image burned, the flames eating up its body.
Elora's expression changed from happiness to horror as a part of her cultivation was destroyed. She crashed into the ground a moment later, her mental energy unable to actively protect herself and maintain levitation at the same time.
He should have kept a part of his mind on Igor, he paid for that when he didn't quickly react to the massive hammer, dozens of meters tall, that crashed into him, blasting him down the sands and into the already destroyed city, leaving a large trench from his passage and destroying more of the city.
Standing up, he dodged another approaching hammer blow from Igor, replying in kind with a punch to his chest plate. Igor was blasted back out of the city. He threw his spear after the man for good measure, piercing him and pinning him into his image.
Following, he passed the city's now destroyed gate and was almost upon the injured Igor when a pillar of darkness rose to encircle him, sealing him in.