Chapter 426: A second death

PS: Priam Character Sheet 
PSS: Discord to say hello and discuss the chappies!

*

Leaving the smoking half-corpse behind him, Priam used his kinetic skill to surge toward Log-a-rhythm. On the way, he took in the rest of the battlefield. The Aelbe delegation had taken aboard a large number of the clan’s Tier 3s, and the skeleton crew left behind was being ganged up on by the Gaeserts’. It was encouraging, but the young Champion knew the effect on the outcome would be minimal. What mattered was defeating the Tier 4s.

A glance told him of the tight duel between Mama Apo and Griffe. The two old shamans traded poisons, decoctions, vials, curses, songs, spells and runes at a frantic tempo. When a botched ritual destabilized and then detonated, taking half the manor with it, Priam felt his stomach knotted. Collateral damage alone could wound him badly. I’m out of my depth, right? 

Yet seeing Kazuki and Braato struggling with Léo, his involvement seemed inevitable. The two allies were in bad shape. Worse still, both low Tiers were circling the tree to evade the Transcendent. The sight might have looked ridiculous if it hadn’t been so dire.

Though in his Knightmare form, Kazuki was missing a large portion of his armor and his main spear. The leader of the Gaeserts, for his part, bore impressive bruises. One didn’t need to be a healer to diagnose that his growing collection of fractures and broken bones was expanding by the minute. Tanking blows from a Transcendent fighter had that effect.

As for the Tier 4, the bastard cut an imposing figure. A white leather kilt laced with metal and held by a sand-colored belt preserved his modesty. His top had been torn away, revealing a chest both muscular and scarred. Unfortunately, the scars were old, and no new wounds painted his skin red. He dominated utterly.

Priam joined the melee just as Léo caught up with Braato. A clawed strike threatened to rip open the Gaesert chief’s back, and the Champion rushed forward to absorb the kinetic energy of the blow.

His Domain fizzled and failed to activate, crushed by the Tier 4’s own. Since [Kinetic Sovereignty] required a medium to act, Priam summoned Promesse. It seemed safer than using his own body.

The spear interposed itself between Braato and Léo. On impact, the Juggernaut channeled his legendary kinetic skill, absorbing as much of the force as he could.

Lvl Up: [Adaptive Golden Meridians] lvl 36
META (Focus) +3
META (Endurance) +6

Fuck.

It was like trying to stop a speeding train. For an instant, Priam’s meridians glowed white-hot beneath the overwhelming influx of energy, and pain tore a cry from him.

Blunted though it was, the blow sliced through Promesse and finally lost momentum against Braato’s skin without breaking it. Flung backward for twenty meters, Priam came to a stop against Log-a-rhythm’s trunk.

Braato landed beside him a second later, clutching the bark to keep from falling. For all his tankiness, the huge warrior didn’t seem capable of flight.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Priam replied, pouting as he stowed away what remained of his spear. This latest version of Promesse had been forged from his own bones; its relative fragility didn’t bode well for the coming fight.

“Don’t sulk,” Kazuki said, hovering into position beside his rival. “Against this kind of foe, your spear skills are a joke.”

Priam grunted, for the truth stung.

“Your opponent?” the hoplite continued.

“Lasered. A shame, as he was a great guy—” Priam froze as his addon warned him of a behavioral anomaly. Since Ève and Sumstreh, the monitoring routine had been running nonstop. “Shit! A few more minutes and he would have brainwashed me for good!”

“These Tier 4s are dangerous. That one in particular.”

Facing the manor, the aforementioned Transcendent did not spare the three allies a glance. He was that confident.

“Felix, you were like a father to me,” Léo murmured before looking up. “In my arrogance I forgot that behind every Champion lies a civilization. We expected nukes; you unleashed the power of the sun.”

“I live to surprise,” Priam couldn’t help but taunt.

“A provocation?” A rictus on his lips, Léo studied his trembling hands. “You think yourself strong for poisoning me?”

“For taking down a Tier 4.”

“A scholar. A teacher. A non-combatant. Let me show you what a warrior can do, Prince,” spat Léo while extending a claw. A halo shimmered around his forearms before two pieces of armor materialized fully. As Priam beheld the vambraces ending in gauntlets with long, curved claws, his soul seemed to choke.

“Claw Mastery III,” Kazuki breathed. Behind his helm his voice sounded mechanical.

“IV,” Braato corrected. “If you value your soul, don’t let him touch you with that; not even a second life tattoo will save you. I’ll tank.”

“You sure?”

“You know the saying: from mid-Tier on, Mastery terrifies Domain, Domain dominates Micro, and Micro ignores Mastery.”

“To be honest, I didn’t—”

Priam had no time to assume his ignorance, as Léo sliced the air. The image of giant claws flashed into being before rushing the sky. A massive cloud was shredded apart, revealing the hoplite war platform neatly carved into six pieces.

Priam’s high perception let him see clearly even at half a kilometre. As such, he did not miss Hyshana’s expression of surprise as her torso separated from her legs.

“HYSHANA!” roared Kazuki.

*

Detached from reality, Priam watched his friend sprint to save his wife. He saw him catch her upper body while the rest fell earthward. He heard him scream Osiris’s name, the cry echoing across a battlefield gone silent. He smelled the metallic scent of blood trailing behind Kazuki as he rushed to lay the inert form of the hoplite woman at the feet of the Duatian fleshcrafter. He perceived the teenager’s wide-eyed astonishment curdle into mortification as his magic failed.

When Kazuki finally brought the legs back, all he received were stammered apologies.

“She… her soul… it’s like it’s desynchronized from her physique.” Osiris swallowed. “The body knows its shape. When healing follows that direction, the soul comes with it. Here, it resists. Those legs aren’t—”

Rage simmered in Kazuki’s eyes as he grabbed the Duatian by the collar. “I don’t follow.”

“She—”

“And I don’t care. Put her back together!”

Assaulting a healer was as vile as it was counterproductive, but Priam made no move. He had to watch Léo, whose eyes burned with hatred.

Osiris grimaced before setting to work. One hand on Hyshana’s lower abdomen, he tried to reattach torso to legs, fighting the meta-endurance of his patient. Altering a body without the owner’s consent was hard, otherwise healers would have been the most feared people in the universe.

In the meantime, no one spoke, no one moved. Apart from ragged breaths, the battlefield was silent.

Suddenly, the flesh magic flared to life, working at full speed. The innate resistance had ceased.

When Osiris withdrew, Kazuki dismissed Knightmare and laid a trembling hand on his wife’s forehead. 

Priam grimaced. One didn’t need high perception to see she wasn’t breathing. No artery beat beneath her skin.

“Why isn’t she waking?”

“Her… her soul is gone. I’m sorry.”

Pain distorted Kazuki’s noble features. No longer a General, only the husband remained. “I don’t care about your apologies! Bring it back!”

Osiris stepped back, pale. “Necromancy isn’t my specialty. Even if I could, the odds of her becoming apocryphal—”

“Get her soul back!” the General bellowed. “Fix it, or I’ll—”

Priam placed a firm hand on his rival’s shoulder. When Kazuki turned, he met his gaze in silence. No condolences, no comforting words could breach the hoplite’s denial. In no language did a word exist to mend that kind of grief. So Priam simply stood there.

As a friend.

“She… we can resurrect her. One of the Colosseum’s rewards…”

The hope in the tall General’s voice broke Priam’s heart.

“...”

The universe was vast, and the Seven were almighty. But Priam knew a damaged soul was never returned. That was the promise of [There is no Heaven]. And if exceptions existed, like Seth’s, they rarely came without a terrible price. The young man refused to feed false hope to his friend.

A single tear slid down Kazuki’s cheek. Then, gently, he brushed aside Priam’s hand and turned toward Léo.

“I will kill you.”

“The fire of your anger will die long before you’re strong enough to bear your words. Only grief will remain… and if pain alone were enough to reach the Zenith, the world would know by now.” Léo gestured to the ruins around them. “You don’t hold a monopoly on suffering.”

With a guttural roar, the spearmaster conjured the image of a spear and fired. The weapon tore through the air faster than sound. It wasn’t enough.

Léo caught the projectile mid-flight and hurled it back; not toward the Champions, but at the roof of a ruined building. A kilometer away, Priam saw a crimson geyser erupt: Elaine, a hoplite sniper who had accompanied Hyshana in Elysium a few months ago, had just died. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Re-equipping Knightmare, Kazuki leapt, Braato hot on his heels. Priam took a moment to pat Osiris’s shoulder before following.

“You did your best. Go take cover,” he said, then jumped into the fray.

Fifty meters above the ruins of the manor, Kazuki met Léo. With the image of a spear in hand, he thrust. Léo blocked with his vambraces. The hoplite weapon exploded in a burst of sparks, while the Aelbe’s armor suffered only a scratch. And yet, Léo flinched.

“What an unfair talent.”

Then the Tier 4 counterattacked. His claws came down on Kazuki before the hoplite could summon another image, and only Braato saved his life, crossing his arms to take the blow. His tempered bones absorbed the impact.

Blinded by rage, Kazuki cast away all thought of defense and charged again.

Léo’s claws were buried in Braato’s body, too deep for him to pull free in time to defend himself. Forced to dodge, the Transcendent moved—but whatever method of flight he used, it was not fast enough. His shoulder took the spearhead full-on. Roaring, he tore himself free and dove toward the ground. There, his clawed feet found purchase, granting him the leverage to unleash his formidable agility.

Kazuki and Braato were already upon him, refusing to relent, and the melee began anew. The hoplite struck with all his fury; Braato tanked the worst of the counters; and Priam took aim. Hovering above the fight, he channeled the full power of Pyro into projectiles hot enough to vaporize iron. Pity none of them connected. Léo was so fast, so aware of his surroundings, that he dodged every shot, making the Juggernaut look like a stormtrooper.

At last, Priam ceased his bombardment. Quality over quantity. In his hand, he condensed a spear—almost a lance—that was meant to put an end to all this hatred in a single conflagration. Waiting for an opening, he watched his rival burn itself into brilliance.

On the ground, Kazuki danced to the rhythm of his fury, guided by the melody of his Talent. Chaining together legendary skills, he wove sublime combos without ever repeating them. He burned his aether, his armor’s fuel, and his very health at the altar of vengeance. Yet rage did not blind him—it sharpened him. Aware of his enemy’s impossible speed, Kazuki herded him against walls and obstacles to hamper his movements. When that wasn’t enough, he overclocked his muscles beyond reason, ready to destroy his strained body to pressure the enemy. Every attack that wasn’t dodged ended in the detonation of a spear-image, chipping away at the Transcendent’s vambraces. Judging by Léo’s twitching, it wasn’t in vain.

But the Aelbe was no sitting duck. The vast gap in physical attributes meant that for every strike Kazuki landed, the Tier 4 returned two. Half were intercepted by Braato, the rest were dodged, blocked, parried, or deflected. Given the immense power behind each blow, a single mistake would have meant death—but the spearmaster made none. His combat mastery was that sublime.

The first mistake came from Léo. Or rather, from his body. A fit of coughing shook him mid-slash, and Braato seized his right arm. Kazuki’s spear pierced through the left. For a quarter of a second, the Tier 4 was pinned.

His right palm charred for holding back his own flames for too long, Priam arched his back. The muscles in his shoulders groaned as he released what looked like a missile.

Lvl Up: [Spear Launcher] lvl 7
STR +3
AGI +4
META (Focus) +2

He saw the trail of plasma left by his Pyro spear before the explosion rocked the battlefield. Two forms were blasted from the flames. It took fifty meters for Braato to cancel his momentum. In his arms, in princess carry, he held the blackened shape of Knightmare.

Relieved, the Juggernaut focused on the growing fireball and frowned. Within the blaze, his Concept perceived the image of an enormous white tiger. Inside, Léo was still coughing—more bothered by the radiations of the polonium Jasmine had slipped him than by Priam’s attack.

Damn it. We’re barely containing him, and he’s still holding back at a single Supremacy. If he decides to pull out all the stops…

[Low probability. After analysis, target ‘Léo Aelbe’ is focusing the majority of his attention and energy on limiting his cellular destruction.]

Priam’s heart clenched. The enemy was fighting on two fronts. If he decided his chances of survival were slim… prolonging the battle could only end in tragedy.

Decision made, Priam opened a portal to his inner world—specifically, to the Tribulation Chamber, a ten-by-ten-by-ten-meter cube he had partially filled with his blood.

Through it, a crimson shower began to fall from the sky. Then a rain. Then a deluge.

Before anyone could react, a scarlet cascade crashed down upon the remnants of the explosion. Instead of smothering the flames, the liquid merged with them—like a catalyst.

Out of the corner of his eye, Priam saw Braato running, Kazuki slung over his shoulder. Farther away, Mama Apo and Griffe were fleeing. The few remaining Tier 3s had taken shelter behind Log-a-rhythm, whom Dishnu had prepared.

Priam hoped it would be enough.

“Blood is fire.”

The Juggernaut’s ichor roared.

*

For the first time since the Necromoon’s reign began, a sun rose over the Wandering Islands. The horizon flared red, orange, yellow, and white, banishing the long night. A phoenix’s dawn.

Then the sight transformed into a volcanic awakening. A pyroclastic column climbed to brush the clouds, painting magnificent hues across this white canvas.

Impressive as it was, the spear of light was only a side effect—not of an explosion, but an implosion. Obeying the will of the Pyro Sage, the phoenix’s ichor had drawn its heat and flames inward. There, Léo waited, one hand upon the massive pendant that hung from his chest—an artifact whose aura pacified the pyre’s inferno, holding the fire at bay.

Having learned of the Juggernaut’s pyrotechnic capabilities during the tournament, the Aelbes had prepared accordingly.

Their precautions, however, were not perfect. Priam saw the Tier 4 cough after inhaling smoke. The Juggernaut’s blood was toxic, and so were the fumes it birthed. It wouldn’t be enough to bring Léo to his knees, but every advantage counted. Perhaps it was even the one that tipped the scales.

Indeed, as the world trembled beneath the roar of the legendary fire bird, the white tiger finally bowed. Its image cracked before collapsing. The shards were absorbed by Léo, who began to grow. Before Priam’s eyes, the Aelbe’s feline traits deepened until they dominated. Burnt skin gave way to fur, melted teeth fell to make room for fangs, and a mane replaced charred hair. By the end of the transformation, the Tier 4 had embraced the Myth, transcending base reality.

For the first time, Priam understood the meaning of the Tier 4s’ title. And the gap between him and Léo.

Still, fate must not have wished the Champion to fall into despair, for a hairline crack appeared on the fireproof artifact. Léo saw it too. Thus, before the conflagration could test his new body, he leapt.

Priam saw a white shape pierce a hole through the flames to escape the blaze. Not a figure, but an afterimage, its owner too fast for his senses to track. Too stealthy to be found. Priam’s gaze darted in every direction, acutely aware of the mortal danger closing in.

The stench of burnt fur warned him before his Domain or his instinct could. Then the pain confirmed his fears.

“Arh.”

Spitting blood, the Champion looked down to see a paw bursting through his chest. Shreds of his hearts dangled from black claws, mingled with fragments of ribs. His vaunted constitution had failed him no less than the rest of his attributes.

A spiritual agony swept away his disappointments; the attack had wounded his soul far beyond anything his racial Talent should have conveyed.

“This is what a Transcendent warrior is capable of, Prince.”

“…”

Too broken to speak, Priam grabbed the furred forearm protruding from his torso. If he had no breath left, then he would answer with spite.

Léo might have been resistant to fire, but he wasn’t immune to physical harm. Seizing the entirety of his skeleton through kinetic mastery, the Juggernaut hurled all two hundred and six of his bones backward. At several times the speed of sound, they could be truly deadly projectiles.

Lvl Up: [Kinetic Sovereignty] lvl 5
PERC +9
META(Focus) +9
META (Perception) +9

New Title!

Take that, bitch, was Priam’s final thought before [He Who Eludes Death] activated.

*

Status: 

PHYSICAL:
Strength 1 263 (+4)
Constitution 2 321
Agility 1 665 (+6)
Vitality 2 246
Perception 998 (+10) 

MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 666
Dexterity 988
Memory 1 229
Willpower 1 310
Charisma 1 124 

META:
Meta-affinity (O) 1 474
Meta-focus 923 (+17)
Meta-endurance 1 706 (+9)
Meta-perception 945 (+16)
Meta-chance 1 621
Meta-authority 1054 

Potential: 42 462 (+10)
Tier 0

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 1 200 / 3 attributes > 1 800 / 1 attribute > 2 400

*

Léo - Transcendent