210. Red Moon Pagoda (V)

For a moment, the Spirit looked like it wanted to say more. Then it got a good look at his face, and thought better of it.

𝔸𝕝𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 it said. …𝕀 𝕙𝕠𝕡𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣, 𝕜𝕚𝕕.

And it unleashed the Thunder Demon on him.

But this time Zane already felt stronger going in. And he was ready this time—he felt shocked awake, felt his heart pumping strong now, warmed up, tingling hot all over. A new vigor coursed through him. Rushed out in every ragged breath.

The Demon unhinged its maw. And out poured a blistering torrent.

Lighting crashed against Zane's Shield. Beams of flickering, arcing, spasming yellow ramming a defiant crescent moon.

But this time Zane clenched his teeth and dug in his feet. He held firm. Already he was putting up a better fight.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕍 -> 𝕍𝕀

His Moon Skill was three-quarters full now, and growing. It was so much stimulus—too much stimulus—and his shield responded in kind, growing to match it, rising to the challenge. He felt it slowly coming together, felt he could draw more and more from the Pagoda, the worse that lightning lashing got—wave after wave crashed down on him—

And then it began to overwhelm him again.

Nascent Soul was nothing to be messed with. It was like fighting an iron-age army with stone-age tools. His soul couldn't wield Skills the same way. He wasn't equipped to deal with this. He should never have been here. All he had to compensate was his size—and as his Shield began to shake, cracks rupturing all over it—as his whole body began to tremble with the effort—

It wouldn't be enough.

But Zane clung on. Even as his armor started falling apart before his eyes, splitting at the lines, rucking up chunk by chunk like shattering ice floes.

He let out a guttural roar. He willed his shield to hold. It flared brighter and brighter, a furious red—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕍𝕀 -> 𝕍𝕀𝕀

But still it wasn't enough.

He felt the moment it shattered. His soul had been grasping at that weakening connection, making a death grip. Then it all slipped from him at once, and he was left clawing at nothing. Falling away.

And lightning blitzed him. Dragged him under.

This time, though—even as it wrecked him—he tried his best to wrestle back control of his soul-body. Even as it locked out his arms and legs, even as it sent him jittering and spasming—he clenched his jaw, planted his feet. And took it. He hated going down. It rankled his pride, and he was finding, more and more, he had quite a bit of it.

It left him smoking. There was a raw burning feeling in the middle of his head, like it bored out a chunk of his soul. He was hurt, wobbly, seeing hazy doubles… but he was on his feet.

He was getting better. He could feel it.

"Again," breathed Zane.

He was starting to smile. Just a little.

𝕆𝕙 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕤, breathed the spirit. But Zane just gave it a look. And it scrambled to obey.

The next time the Thunder Demon came at him, it poured on bolt after bolt. Rained a monsoon's worth right over his head. Sent forks of cracks rippling down his shield, all the way through. But it held.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕍𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕍𝕀𝕀𝕀

He grinned even more. It was a feral kind of joy.

The more he Leveled, though, the more he felt an unusual resistance. It wasn't just that the levels got harder, which was normal. It almost felt like the universe didn't wanna give this to him—like he shouldn't have this power—it was too early.

He was running up against some kind of wall.

If he wanted this… he sensed he would have to seize it.

"One more time," he croaked.

This time he took the shot head-on, baring all his teeth, throwing out the full force of his shield—now magnificent, so big it was nearly full, making a beautiful bloody splotch right in the middle of the world—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕍𝕀𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕏

It swamped the thunderclouds. It swallowed the lightning. It crushed everything. Until it was the only thing left, hung bright in a dusky sky—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕀𝕏 -> 𝕏

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕!

𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 [ 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 — 𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔 -> 𝕊𝕜𝕪 — ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]

And behind Zane, shining full, complete—a perfect bloody disc.

Zane was pretty sure he had never seen a Sky-grade Skill before. At least in person.

The moment it evolved, that lightning lost all meaning. It was like tossing a stone down a well—and not even hearing it hit the bottom. It whited out. Instantly. The demon was left hacking—and then it, too, flickered out.

All that was left was Zane, and his Moon. Shining over the all.

𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕤 choked the Spirit. 𝕐𝕠𝕦—𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕓𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕖—

It was struggling to find words. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕚𝕥… 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕒 𝕊𝕜𝕪-𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝—𝕒𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕖! 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤?!

Zane blinked. Shook his head.

It gagged. …𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥.

Then it just stared at him. 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖—𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕤—𝕝𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟝𝟘𝟘. 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕕! 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥… 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕕.

It shook its head again. ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦.

Zane liked the look of his new Moon. He liked the feel of it too.

But it was not maxed out. His new Sky Skill was nice. But it was also Level one.

He turned back to the Spirit. "Do you have any more of those Trials I can do?"

At first, it was as though it didn't hear him right. Then it just goggled at him.

𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥— It spluttered. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤.

"I want more," said Zane. "I can take it."

He actually wasn't totally sure he could take it if he thought about it logically. He was pretty wobbly right now. But in his heart, he definitely felt like he could take it. He was feeling pretty pumped up.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪—𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣! It added hastily. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕤𝕜, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 ℕ𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥. 𝔾𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟛𝟘𝟘 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕪𝕠𝕦—!

It let out a tight breath, pinched the bridge of its nose. ...ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕤.

"Hmm," said Zane. He was a little disappointed.

Then again. Maybe this was one of those chances to be smart. He could choose his battles. He would conquer this in time.

The Spirit muttered something under its breath. It kept shaking its head.

Then it noticed Zane still standing there, looking at it. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥? 𝔾𝕠 𝕠𝕟—𝕘𝕠! 𝕎𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖. ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕥 ℕ𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕖'𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖!

That was how his little foray into the Red Moon Pagoda ended.

Zane knew it would not be nearly that long before he returned, though.

This soul stuff turned out to be pretty interesting. The stuff about 'killing enemies from a distance' was not super interesting to him. He preferred to wreck things head-on, face-to-face. He liked feeling his fists sink through flesh, crack bone, that kind of thing. He was old-fashioned that way. But making an impenetrable suit of soul-armor around himself, so he could wrecking-ball everything in his way even better... that did appeal to him.

There was a hidden sub-category of bird, Zane was realizing. Those tricksters who struck at you in weird ways, at the soul. Coming from a distance. They would do anything to avoid fighting him head-on. He had seen a fair few in those montages.

Usually they were sickly and spindly, with poor weak bodies. Old gnarly wizards and witches. Or weird spirits and ghosts. It would be very embarrassing for Zane if he ever got bested by one of those, he thought. Now they had nothing for him. Them, and anyone who wanted to come at him in the astral plane—his greatest strength now had a shield to match.

He shuffled off back home satisfied.

***

It turned out what felt like a few hours inside there was a solid week outside.

That Pagoda was the last big thing he had to check off his list of upgrades. His soul was pretty exhausted—it would take another few weeks to recover. Just in time for the Superdungeon.

Time flew by. Soon there was only one week until the deadline.

He and Reina spent a lot of that last week relaxing. Their lands stretched all over North America now. They went down to the transformed version of Yosemite, which Reina designed a protected 'national park' of sorts—the creatures there were special. They'd reverted to their ancient states, as dinosaurs. But with special powers. He and Reina found steel-Element Pterodactyls and wood-element Brontosauruses. They took some long walks—she would geek out over them and tell him all kinds of interesting facts—their histories and habits, make observations of how the Change changed them, and he would amble along quietly listening. Sometimes he would just watch her face light up as she spoke about how to tell apart Stegosaurus eggs from boulders or something, and feel a simple contentment. A warmth in his chest. He could never get enough of how her mind worked.

Evan and Avery, meanwhile, both had good handles on their new Inheritances. But they, like Zane, had kind of run out of things to Level—they needed better treasures to get further. They got bored and started doing other things too.

That Superbara they got from South America was still around somehow, to Zane's consternation. He still was not sure what it did. Avery was trying to get it to do tricks—roll over, desperately waving a carrot in front of it. It was paying her zero attention—it was kind of just there. At first, she tried to harness it so she could ride it into battle, but then she realized it moved about one mile an hour.

Also, when she tried sitting on it, it dumped her squealing on her head. She declared it an enemy of the state.

Evan, though, had a much better relationship with it—he was constantly hugging it and baking it treats. He was also building a big doghouse—bara-house?—for it out of straw and scavenged leaves. Zane was pretty sure it had moved three feet that whole week, and two of those was to dump Avery off its back.

Anyway, it kept them busy.

***

Zane did have one last idea for something to upgrade. His Stormfire could still use another Concept. But he still wasn't fully recovered… and even if he wanted to push it, the Stormfire Tome said the next Concept was harder, and more complex, and would need more worldly resources—it called the Concepts he'd gotten so far, 'Plasma' and 'Chain Combustion', the 'Foundation Concepts.'

He could get away with using the pittance of Stormfire on Earth for that. But the little bit atop Searing Sky Peak in Italy wouldn't be nearly enough to get much further. It was hardly enough for Chain Combustion. He and Reina both felt it would be smarter to save it for the Superdungeon.

***

Meanwhile, around the world, the other eight Gates were opening. One by one. All of them transformed A or A+-ranked dungeons. There was at least one for every major continent. Two were directly on the North and South Poles.

That made nine chances in total for Earth. As long as just one party made it through, their planet would be integrated.

If not, it would be overrun by Monsters.

Each of the parties—the one led by Vanessa, or by Eze, or by Yuki—were all preparing very seriously. Each of them had the eyes of the world on them. But they all knew who this would all come down to.

There were crowds of reporters at the Luminous Faction now, though Reina made sure they were kept a fair ways away so they wouldn't disturb him. He would see them yammering and speculating as he made his way between the dojo and his mansion with Reina.

It was a relaxing time, but it was also a tense time. For everyone. Once more the fate of their world hung in the balance. If they failed here, Reina thought they would become just another one of those lost realms in that Graveyard, the superdungeon.

Zane would not let that happen.

He knew what he was up against. It wasn't just people on Earth watching him. He felt the eyes of the broader Universe on him—the Minotaur had made that clear. Some powerful creatures wanted him dead. The moment he stepped foot in that dungeon, he would be going down a hard path.

But he had strengthened his body—his skin, his muscles, his tendons. Strengthened his soul to be practically unbreakable. Strengthened his Law, too, with Chain Combustion. And boosted his Level lots.

He was as ready as he could be.