220. Stronghold Siege (V)

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕!

𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 ℝ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕤 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

𝔹𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕒𝕚𝕕. 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕡𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. 𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥.

Zane felt it instantly even without moving. His body felt strangely light, hundreds of tons of steel going weightless at once. Each muscle fiber, each strand of tendon hummed, charged by some vast power. Everywhere he looked inside him. His strength, explosiveness, toughness… all that made the Titan Rhinoceros skyrocketed.

And the aura of a godbeast raged out of him.

He looked up. It was just six Wardens left all of a sudden. Staring at him.

Zane had everything he needed now—more than enough. It was time to finish things. Any way did it. He was brimming with so much power it poured off his body in waves of billowing gray. Rushing furious into the world…

He looked at his hands—they must've been broken six or seven times that fight. They were still broken. Mending. He heard Reina gasping behind him—she sputtering out too. She had been diligently throwing everything she had into healing him this whole time.

He frowned. He decided he would spare her some. He still didn't have Bloodline through his bones. He wasn't even sure how hard he hit in this state… he might blow up his arms if he used his fists.

He stood there, still exploding with aura. Deciding. And still no one on the battlefield dared move. It was nice, being able to choose how to finish things.

It was kind of weird too. He was not even doing anything. And he could feel how his new aura weighed on them. It swamped them in dense cascades—they felt they were being slowly crushed. It was what mortals felt standing in the presence of a deity. It made them feel like insects. Easily crushed, awaiting his judgment.

Zane made his choice.

A breath later, his hammers dropped mid-air—and started to rise. Slowly, twin suns arching through the sky, brightening as they did, blazing up with Stormfire. At the same time a steely gray sheen poured over them too, shimmering, two coronas crowning the same star.

Zane took a deep breath. And drew deep within him.

The stars went supernova.

The sound alone rocked the cavern, shook fissures into grounds. His hammers flickered gray-white-blue, shining so bright they all seemed to meld to one hue of purest stark white—

Heat-waves struck the world. So vicious they softened sheets of lesser steels.

His Chains began to tremble.

Still, the Wardens stood there, staring. The sight was not computing to them. They didn't even bother moving—almost like they had short-circuited. They were frozen at the sight of him. They felt the power blazing at them. It was too much for them to understand.

They were not built to take this kind of power.

Zane gave a final bellow. And dropped a world-ender right over their heads.

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝟚𝟛𝟟 -> 𝟚𝟜𝟘

***

ᴀᴢᴜʀᴇ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ ꜰᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

??? Qᴜᴀᴅʀᴀɴᴛ

Past the rings where the Outer Faction Planets made their slow long journeys, there was a smaller, more exclusive clutch of planets. Set close to the Azure Flame Faction's home star.

There, the most powerful folk the Azure Flame Faction had to offer made their homes. There lay the rings of the Inner Faction.

Most of the folk in these regions paid little attention to the Integrations. They'd lived through thousands of them—seen countless talents come and go. To these galactic powerhouses talent was cheap. They only paid attention when they saw geniuses rise to join their ranks. And even then—not much.

A certain Grand Elder was no different most of the time.

He made his domain in the most distant orbit of the Inner Faction. Very far from the others powerhouses. A small string of planets and asteroids and moons, all hidden in an exclusive belt. A long seam in spacetime. Some of the galaxy's most potent anti-detection wards lay scattered throughout, leading would-be visitors in strange circles in space, chasing mirages. Making the place near-impossible to find. He made his own little pocket dimension in space—where he and his closest disciples practiced in deep seclusion.

He so seldom left his home that his existence had become a myth in the Azure Flame Faction. Even the Patriarch had thought he'd died for a few millennia. Until the Faction came under dire threat at the hands of the Monster Emperor Raizen, and he was forced to emerge from his seclusion. There—in one brutal move—he struck down his foe. And reminded the galaxy that one of its most powerful forces still lived.

The Elder was thin. With a wispy white beard and cold eyes, and several fingers were missing on each of his hands, taped over. Blackened with burn-marks.

He sat there meditating as he had for thousands of years. Buried deep in the core of his private star—a star wreathed in stark blue flames.

It had to be placed a great distance away from even the other celestial bodies in its territory. Just being in its presence would melt other stars. These flames had a way of jumping great distances, too—like lightning in storms…

This Elder was as far from worldly affairs as one could be.

Only this year news had reached him from the Outer Faction. From the scant few planets belonging to the Path of Stormfire, where he was the patron Sage.

A pre-Integration native had seen the sermon he had given millions of years ago. And pursued the path he had made. The path of Pseudo-Stormfire.

Not only that—this native had walked the path all the way to true Stormfire and even to Chain Combustion. Alone, with the base resources of pre-Integration planet…

That was how Sage Noughtfire came to know the name 'Zane Walker.'

***

ꜱᴛᴇᴇʟʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴀᴠᴇ ᴏʙꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛᴏʀʏ

They watched as Zane struck his finishing blows.

A silence.

Then—

"That's what I'm talking about!" cackled the Barbarian Sage. He slammed his fist on the steel table. The sound of it cracking echoed through the Observatory, making a few of the Scouts cringe.

"Very impressive," said the Head Scout.

"So," said the Sage. "How much've we set aside for him?"

"10,000 peak Sky stones, honored Elder," said the Scout.

"10,000?!" The Barbarian Sage's face turned stony then. Stony enough to unsettle everyone there. Which was saying something in the Steelheart Conclave, a Faction which had no lack of stony severe faces.

A pause.

"So," said the Sage. "You mean to insult me."

The head Scout hesitated. "Err—"

"How dare you allocate such a—a piddling sum—to my fated successor!" he roared.

Everyone in the room did a double-take at that. They blinked at one another, like they were thinking, your what now?

But the Barbarian Sage was not done. "You go back to Treasury Elder," he rambled. "And tell that old turtle, if he insists on showing me no face I will be forced to pay him a visit! Ten thousand—pah! I've never been more insulted—never in all my years!"

Everyone's face went quite pale at that. The Barbarian Sage might be ages out of practice but he was still a legend in the sect. His name was still ranked among the highest on the Monster kill leaderboards across all the Inner Faction. They all knew that it was he who had famously slaughtered the 'Three Great Calamities'—the True Dragons Ryujin, Drakorath, and Seraphon, each a Level 500+ powerhouse. All in the space of one legendary battle.

The head Scout tried to choose his words very carefully then.

"Master Sage," he tried. "Even the Patriarch, when he was being recruited, only received ten thousand stones—it's a very high purse, Master—truly a reasonable one—"

At that, the Barbarian Sage let out a loud humph. "Do I seem like a reasonable man to you?!"

They were all well and truly speechless at that.

"Go! When you come back, I expect to see more zeros on that big board. Many more!" he bellowed.

The head Scout could only wince and scramble off.

"Hmph!" said the Sage, crossing his arms. Though inside he was chuckling as he settled back.

Of course he did not actually expect many more zeros. But by threatening to kick up a fuss he could at least squeeze out a few thousand extra stones. Which could put them over the top. The Barbarian Sage was happy to be a little unreasonable. It was, in his experience, one of the best ways to get things done.

He also simply got a kick out of screwing with the young ones. Everyone here was hardly a millennium—how nervous they got when he threw tantrums tickled him. They got more nervous back when he was at his peak—he frowned down at his lean old muscles, sighed. Still, this would do nicely.

He looked back at the projection and grunted.

He was convinced now it would be an absolute travesty if they lost Zane Walker to the Azure Flame Faction.

Not on his watch!

***

After the fight, Zane's brain hurt.

He wondered if it was because he was not used to using it so much.

"…"

This was a bit of a depressing thought for him. He figured—probably not. It just took a lot out of him, in soul and will, to focus in that state. He didn't really think everything through often—that was not him. Instead he felt the right thing to do in each moment. Changing up the battlefield for him had been an instinct. It came to him—it was an old sixth sense, something ingrained deep in him.

Only... he did find he needed to keep a bit of a cool head to focus on it, to act on it. When all those intense feelings started rushing at him, it took some effort not to get overwhelmed by any one.

Then he could get the job done.

Afterward it was like his personal cheerleading squad came pattering up to him. It was Avery and Evan, rushing over. Evan was happy for him all the time. Avery was happy because she didn't have to get hit since he got hit for her. She just had to hit things and run behind Zane. Which was her favorite kind of battle.

Reina was quite relieved. Which she showed by throwing herself at him and kissing him.

They all sat back and surveyed the ruined battlefield. The hill had mostly been flattened. They could see the path beyond. It wound on and on between seas of lava until it faded into the far distance. It got foggy there, misty, murky—the lava started shoring up. Gave way to what seemed to be giant lakes of turgid water, shrouded in the mists. Zane wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he swore he saw shadows big as mountains lurking in the fog, shifting slowly...

There was a clear division between them. A new section, a new chunk of the realm.

They would get there eventually. But first—

ℝ𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕!

𝟙𝟘 𝔻𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 ℝ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕠 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 [𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 (ℂ)]

𝟙𝟘 𝔻𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℕ𝕪𝕞𝕡𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 [𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 (ℂ)]

𝟙𝟘 𝔻𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕒𝕚𝕛𝕦𝕦 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 [𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 (ℂ)]

𝟙𝟘 𝔻𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕩 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 [𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 (ℂ)]

Four bottles topped in silk floated before them, twinkling. And inside lay wells of shining blood.

This came as a doozy. They all gasped. That amount of Bloodline… They almost couldn't believe it. Then again—the system did promise C-rank Earth treasures…

For Reina and Avery and Evan it would help them unlock entirely new tiers of Bloodline Skills—it would quadruple how much Bloodline they had. So far they had really just scratched the surface of what they could do. Reina's new Bloodline had boosted her body and healing powers a good deal, and Avery could make fancier simulations, and Evan could snipe better—but they all had so much farther to go. None of them had even gotten their manifestations yet.

They were all excited to see what they could do after this.

For Zane, meanwhile, it would more than double his Bloodline in an instant. He would finally snag that Bone upgrade. Maybe even go beyond that.

He was eager to get started.

First, though—Reina took a look at their little nub of a hill, hands on hips. She decided it wouldn't do. She closed her eyes, raised her hands. And a soft green glow settled over her.

Grass sprouted at her feet. Right in the midst of the ash, lush and bright, cropping up all over, making a blanket. A crisp spring breeze wafted over, ushering away the smoke. Saplings sprouted around the edges, trunks quickly thickening… a cool aura sprouted with it. An aura of healing, and growth, and renewal. A sense of spring.

𝔸 𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕

𝕋𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕊𝕒𝕗𝕖 ℤ𝕠𝕟𝕖

𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕔𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕

Zane didn't even know she could do that. She had a way of making everywhere she went nicer.

Then she set down a picnic blanket. She felt they should have a break to absorb things after all that fighting. So first they had a nice lunch. Reina brought sliced-up ghost fruit, and marshmallows for Avery, and golden apple juice for Evan, and Zane got two giant legs of mutton he happily chomped on. It replenished them in essence and soul.

After that—they settled down with their tomes in their little corners of the grove. Bellies full, rested. Ready.

Zane brought out the Vial, felt the reassuring weight of it against his fingertips, the pressure of it wafting against his soul in the Astral Plane… ten silvery drops. So dense they looked like molten steel. So thick when you tilted the glass, it took a good ten seconds for it to hit the other side. That was the good stuff.

He uncorked it. And began to drink.