Tier 3+ - Accidental Champion (Book 6) - Chapter 24 - Bold and Dangerous

Xavier stared at the weapon in his hands.

He was standing on the smooth stairs of the stairwell between the Thirty-First and Thirty-Second Descents of the Hell Moon Thazamar, and a voice he’d never heard had just sounded in his mind—in the same way that spirits he summoned spoke to him.

Xavier didn’t look away from his soul bound weapon. He knew where that voice had come from. He had just repaired the Lost Bone of a Dead God by giving it a part of his soul. Standing there, holding the weapon in the form of a sword, Xavier didn’t feel the emptiness deep within him that he knew still existed when he wasn’t holding this thing.

But he wasn’t about to let it go and feel that emptiness again.

“Hello?” Xavier whispered. He wasn’t sure why he whispered—he was completely alone on the stairwell.

In that moment, he couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward. For a while now, he had been fighting with this weapon. For a while, he had felt as though it was a part of him. But though he’d read plenty of fantasy novels where weapons had had a mind of their own and spoke to their wielders, he’d never imagined having one that did that himself.

What, exactly, did you say to a weapon?

I put a part of my soul into this weapon… But it’s not me talking back. It’s whatever soul has already been inhabiting the Lost Bone of a Dead God.

I have lain dormant for…

The voice drifted off. It almost sounded as though it were tired.

I don’t know how long. Many, many years. Tell me, where are we? And who are you?

Xavier raised an eyebrow. You don’t remember? he replied, testing to see if the weapon would hear his telepathic communication.

The soul bound weapon responded with a rumble that Xavier instantly knew meant no.

My memories are clouded. Distorted. There has been little awareness, though I have felt some creeping in. Have I truly become a soul bound weapon?

Xavier’s eyebrow rose even higher. Yes. You have.

Hmm.

We are on the Hell Moon Thazamar. My name is Xavier Collins. Xavier paused. The weapon—you—broke. I repaired you with a part of my soul.

Aahhhh. A bit of interest was sparked in the weapon. Xavier could feel it through the bond they shared. Interesting. Such a move is bold, dangerous. But it has allowed me to awaken. Thank you, Xavier Collins. I hope you will not regret your decision.

Xavier swallowed. The sword yammering on in his head wasn’t exactly what he’d bargained for. He knew imparting part of his soul into the weapon would strengthen its personality—perhaps he should have expected something like this.

He too hoped he wouldn’t end up regretting this decision. The decision, however, had already been made. Xavier knew it had been an impulsive one, but impulsive decisions were his bread and butter. He always found it better to go with his gut.

Doing it that way had gotten him this far.

Do not worry. I value quiet. I will not always whisper into your mind.

Xavier blinked. Did you just read my thoughts?

I did not have to. I… Feel as though I know you, on a fundamental level. And I feel… Different. Now I know why that is. The part of your soul that is now a part of me. It has changed me in ways I could not have imagined.

Who were you… Before?

There was a long pause as the weapon did not speak. Xavier had often wondered where the soul bound weapon had come from. The name of it, Lost Bone of a Dead God, gave a little of that away, but how could a single bone possess a soul?

And what, exactly, was a god? His thoughts were turning to that more and more after what he’d seen the Demon of the Depths do. That sacrificial spell to a deity—it had almost gotten him killed.

If it wasn’t for the soul bound weapon in his hands, it would have killed him.

It only seemed fair that he give up a part of himself to make it whole once again—and, perhaps, even more whole than it had been before. He wouldn’t be alive without it.

My memories… I do not know who I was. I do not remember, the weapon finally replied.

Xavier frowned at the weapon’s words. The words weren’t particularly strong. Something about them rang hollow, and he wondered if the soul bound weapon was lying to him.

But why would it have cause to lie?

What should I call you? Lost Bone of a Dead God sounds like quite a mouthful.

What do you wish to call me? My name is yours to choose. You are the one who wields me, after all.

Xavier inclined his head, deep in thought. A writer he was, but naming things… He’d never been all that good at that part.

I’ll have to come up with something. But for now, we must fight.

Xavier rose to his feet and turned, looking at the landing of the Thirty-First Descent. The weapon was whole again now. The effects of the trap had long worn off. His health had returned to 100 percent.

It was time to face the Thirty-First Descent once more—time to face the Demon of the Depths once more.

He stepped over the threshold. The moment he did, mist began to form. His gaze moved left to right but there was no way to make it through the descent without touching the mist, just as he’d suspected.

Xavier walked straight into it.

Once again, he was teleported to that snowy plain at the foot of the frozen mountain, the peaks stretching high above, the tower looming.

This time, he would do things differently.

Xavier cast Time Alteration. He leapt into the air, extended his wings, and took flight, heading straight for the first group of Amalgamons. The time dilation field was locked around him as he flew. He barely had to concentrate on moving it anymore. Doing so had become second nature to him.

Xavier could have shifted the Lost Bone of a Dead God into a bow and taken out the Amalgamons from on high—as he’d done the first time he’d cleared this descent.

But he wished to take out this new version of his soul bound weapon for a test fight.

He landed on the ground amidst the group of Amalgamons, taking one of them into his bubble at a time and completely eviscerating them.

He didn’t even give them a chance to cast their spells.

Xavier felt more alive. The soul bound weapon in his hands responded to him almost faster than his own limbs. He could barely believe the experience he was having. It felt a million times better than when he’d been wielding the weapon before.

His skills hadn’t ranked up. His attributes hadn’t changed—not much, at least, as he’d only gained those two initial titles for this floor.

And yet, he moved like the wind.

The Lost Bone of a Dead God shifted into different weapons so fast he knew it was doing it on its own. Not only did the weapon know what he wanted to do, it now had a piece of his soul embedded into it—it seemed to know what he wanted before he did, and it was never once wrong.

Slowly, Xavier made his way through the different groups of enemies. He cast Portal, wielding six roughly the size of the Floating Shields he’d had at his disposal when he’d summoned the Spirit of Protection.

He could feel how much better he’d gotten at holding the portals open already. He’d gained several ranks as he’d been doing that on his first clear of the Thirty-First Descent.

It was paramount that he learn how to do this—it would make him so much more powerful than he already was when time was stopped.

And he had a plan for when he would fight the Demon of the Depths, but he needed to ensure that plan would actually work.

Xavier hadn’t waited for Soul Strike to reach the end of its countdown. He could have—probably should have—harvested thousands of souls on one of the earlier descents. It wouldn’t have even taken him all that long. He could have harvested enough souls to refill his reserve before the spell had reached the end of its cooldown.

But he didn’t want to use that spell as a crutch.

He would be clearing this floor another 999 times. Using Soul Strike every time, with how many souls he would need for it… It would take much longer for him to do each clear.

This way, he was forcing himself to do it differently.

There was, of course, a part of him that wondered if he was taking challenging himself a little too far. Handicapping himself when he could simply change his mind and use a spell was one thing, not even having a spell as an option was another thing entirely.

Bold. Dangerous.

Those were words the Lost Bone of a Dead God had used to describe him, and Xavier had to say the soul bound weapon was right.

His decisions were dangerous—but they would help him push forward.

When he reached the peak of the mountain, and stared out at that frozen river once more, with the tower in the middle, and over two hundred Amalgamons huddled in groups, he wondered what a normal party might make of this floor.

He once again cleared the Amalgamons using a bow and a time dilation field. Every single one of them fell in an instant as he expanded that field.

Would a normal party step onto the ice and activate the trap with hundreds of Amalgamons still alive? Would the Amalgamons fall through the ice when the Demon of the Depths broke through it? Or would the trap simply not activate until all the Amalgamons were dead?

He didn’t know, but that wasn’t something he was willing to test—not until he was much, much more powerful.

Xavier looked down at the ice. At the glow. At the shadow beneath it. He cancelled Time Alteration and patiently waited for it to reach the end of its cooldown. This time through, he’d managed to hold onto two of the portals he’d opened at the start of the descent, versus only one last time.

Portals were incredibly powerful against the Demon of the Depths, but the demon also had the ability to destroy them somehow.

That was something he’d need to watch out for—he didn’t plan to give the demon a chance to do that again.

Not this time.

The beast that lies beneath that ice, the Lost Bone of a Dead God said in his mind, speaking for the first time since Xavier had stepped onto this descent. It is what broke me, isn’t it?

Xavier nodded. It is. I had to use you to block its most powerful attack. If I hadn’t, I would be dead now.

And now I am more alive than I have been in a long time. I will provide you with silence for the fight, unless one of us deems my words being of service.

Thank you. The silence will be appreciated. I have this fight in hand.

Xavier released a long breath as Time Alteration and Portal reached the ends of their respective cooldowns. He looked at the two portals he still had active, tilted his head to the side, and thought, That’s not enough.

The trap wouldn’t activate until he moved forward—there was no harm in casting one more spell and waiting for it to cooldown before that happened. So, Xavier cast Portal, making another five, which meant he had seven portals in play, hovering about him, moving wherever he commanded.

He could create Soul Puppets out of the dead Amalgamons, but something told him they wouldn’t be a threat to the Demon of the Depths, and waiting for the cooldown that many times… It would extend the time on the descent even longer.

That wasn’t something he wished for.

Then he waited. Once Portal reached the end of its cooldown for a second time, he was ready.

The moment he activated the trap, any spell he had active would be dispelled. He would lose contact with his cores for five seconds. And his cooldowns would be blocked for five minutes.

It was time for him to activate the trap.

Xavier took flight, leaping into the air. His black wings flapped as he passed over the threshold.

You have activated a Trap!

All your currently active spells have been dispelled.

Your cores are blocked for five seconds.

Your cooldowns are blocked for five minutes.

Five seconds. Timer starts now.