Mind Over Matter

"So I'm a boss battle… great."

Zesrael has come to find his mother's whimsical antics quite disturbing. Chewing on some grass, laying down on his back, hands behind his head, only one question was on his mind: why? A question he asked and the answer,

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—Why not?—

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~Sigh~

Zesrael sat up, cross legged.

(ノ ゜Д゜)ノ ︵ ┻━┻ 'Screw it, let's double down on power.'

Though, he did have a thought,

"Hey mom, is this a scripted fight?"

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—Of course not!—

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(￣ヘ￣) 'I find that hard to believe.'

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—I find your lack of faith disturbing—

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(＃`Д´)

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— ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌ —

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An uncommon sight, the wildlife have been blessed with seeing a child scream onto the open air. 

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It's been a couple months now since Zesrael threw that temper tantrum. He's been fortifying his base steadily and expanding his reaches. His Squad and vehicle caps have all been increased due to the expansion, and the quality of his units have increased as well. He's now able to create new and improved units and reinforce currently deployed units with better equipment. The Mars Pattern Command and Thermo Plasma Generators were the recent additions to the base. 

He's now able to field baneblades and non-standard mechs like the Quad Rail Nixs that supports four railguns that came from the Epsilon Blast Railgun. Another example would be Titan's Bane, a baneblade mashed together with the E651 Titan M3 to create a massive platform with a fuckton of guns. Baneblades may be eleven barrels of hell, the Titan's Bane is 26 barrels of fucking oblivion, two of them essentially mini nukes named Requiem cannons. They have thicker armor and better engines as well but they're still susceptible to anti-armor weapons. Sadly, Titan's Bane takes a whole week to field, costs a lot to build, and takes up 15 points of vehicle cap. Someday, everyone will know the wrath of the Titan's Bane.

Those are just some of the future units he can muster up at a later date. For now he's rocking fully reinforced squads of guardsmen. All of them have a mixture as well as upgraded versions of already implemented guns. Their lasguns aren't so humble anymore as they have a higher damage output due to the spartan lasers, they also now have a mixture of 40k and covenant weaponry as specialized weapons. Take the 40k plasma gun, implement some covenant features into it, it's now safe to overcharge the darn thing. Meaning the user has a lesser chance of losing a hand… lesser chance, they can still explode but– moving on! Same deal with the squads of kasrkin, they got better gears too. The ogryn squads and Zesrael's command squad is where things get a bit funky. 

Christmas came early for the ogryns as they are now equipped with chain gravity hammers. These were larger than normal to accommodate the size of the ogryns, but an added chain ax at the back side of the hammer offers the user a more 'safe' melee attack as to not hurt those around them… but considering they're ogryns, the battlefield will not only see bodies fly but happy bonk and ogryn noises as well. 

The command squad is a bit more overgeared than usual. Zesrael opted a more balanced approach when it came to them, reinforcing the squad with a commissar, a pysker, and two priests. Melee focused to be sure, and that's well supported as they gained some new wargears. The commissar replaced his power sword with an energy one, red in color to go with the army's color scheme. The newly made zeal swords which combine the functionality of the power swords with the functionality of the energy swords made them a lot more dangerous in skilled hands. 

The general too has them equipped within his power gauntlets. Wherever fists aren't enough, energy blades in the form of claws come out above the wrist. Not to mention his attached plasma gun on either side of the power gauntlets, making him adept at delivering death himself. 

The priests are the simplest ones as they gained a more normal sized chain gravity hammers like the ogryns have. But, instead of one chain ax behind the hammer, the priests have two to give twice the amount of faith to the non-believers.

The psykers however were a mixed bag. For one, this is the first time Zesrael has ever seen a psyker. Sure he's heard stories, but seeing one and hearing one are two different perspectives being formed. On one hand, hearing about them was a bit sad and awesome at the same time. Seeing them was just weird, especially when Zesrael as the telepath skill due to [Cerebrum Pilot Breaker]. Let's just say the thoughts of a psyker– at least this one– were degenerative at best.

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—Degenerates like you, belong on the cross!—

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(•ิ_•ิ)? 'What mom?'

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—Nothing!—

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(¯ ¯٥) '...'

The psyker's psychic spike wasn't fiddled with as the techpriest engineers didn't know how to implement psychic energy with new technology. So the psyker just had a new gun, a handgun version of the plasma launcher. It's weaker in output, meaning instead of four being shot out it's down to two. The power of the explosions, however, the techpriest managed to keep them the same. 

Now, Zesrael wasn't just fielding and upgrading infantry too. The chimera's hull guns were replaced with miniature powerdynes, three at each side of which the guardsmen can man. Each one able to puncture medium armor due to the powerdynes coming from a Nix Saber. The upgraded multilaser has a slower firing rate at the cost of more power, able to puncture light to borderline medium armor.

The leman russ– or the leman black for my army– the main battle tank of the Imperial Guards– the leman black is now the main battle tank of my nameless army. It had a minor change due to a research upgrade.

"It has six guns writer, all chambered with malicious intent!" Anastasia shouts from across the void.

Some changes were made due to some favorable research purposes Zesrael decided to focus on. This military's main battle tank now supports six guns as mentioned by Anastasia. The battle cannon is now replaced with a turret holding twin 140mm long-range howitzers, effectively making it look like a grimdark version of the mammoth tanks from the GDIs in Command & Congquer. Though the battle cannons were effective, the 140mm howitzers in EDF dealt 12,800 damage with a blast radius of 15m. Apparently that firepower translates quite well from stats to real life, making an effective tank killer as it can deal a decent amount of damage towards Imperial knights per se; Anastasia's words. By the way, the Requiem cannon from the Titan's Bane does 34,500 damage per shot… the 140mm's does about a quarter of that; let that perspective in damage sink in. 

The two sponson heavy bolters were replaced with twin-machine guns from the Nix Assualt. Combining the functions of twin boltguns, the twin-machine guns effectively deal 300 damage 2x with a fire rate of 30 per second. Though machine guns normally don't have that much fire power, in EDF they do as each shot is about the size of a monitor… probably longer. The hull heavy bolter was replaced with a rapid fire powerdyne. Normally powerdynes could penetrate the likes of a normal baneblade, these were shrunken to the size of a heavy bolter. Reducing their power exponentially; although, they can still easily penetrate heavy armored infantry. As another big FU to whomever is facing this thing, the right side of the turret is equipped with a railgun from the Epsilon series. The main frame was tweaked too as it now has a slightly slicker yet wider frame to accommodate the changes. Using the blackers engine, the mobility was exponentially increased.

Zesrael has been beefing up his army to extreme measures as the details mentioned were only the tip of the icebergs. His expansion dwarfed that of the British Empire. The waves mixed of halo, edf, 40k, and the habitants of his staging ground, have become exuberant. No longer boring to fight against as he and his military relished in the fights of the warring tides. His units gained veterancy and he gained levels, both growing stronger than ever before. Zesrael has fused numerous amounts of skills to the point that it's become tedious to keep track even for him. 

Now, after months of preparations, he places his hands on familiar stone doors… and pushes them open with new founded resolve. The resolve to beat the script his mother orchestrated.

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The mind is a powerful tool to wield in any situation. It processes emotions, thoughts, calculations, predictions, dread. It's a double edge sword in multiple ways. Ways so simple, yet so convoluted. Words like crazy can't even describe the mind and its functions. A single stimulation is all it takes to send someone over.

Now imagine multiple stimulations– all at once affecting and manipulating the mind, over stimulating so to say. From simple whispers to haunting visages, an uncontrolled mind is a gun held at your head by your own hands. 

Zesrael has seen violence, gore, even participated in the sport. He relished in combat, in the twisted honor it brings. But the horrid lands he stands on brings the definition of psychotic outside of the podium. The lands demented in existence. Eerie screams hollering in the distance. Sickening puss and flood like landscapes are a far cry from the usual greenery he's used to. Hollowed darkness, a putrid existence.

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[The Chosen has entered the Trial of sanity]

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 A trial indeed as Zesrael writhes in a battle of self control. Images of self loathing… no– these weren't images but real experiences from different individuals from worlds all around. As of now, he's trapped underneath a staircase. The abode was run down and creaky and its residents were just as rotten too. Every smack, Zesrael felt its sting. Every time 'he' fixed 'his' glasses, Zesreal felt every trembling moment. Every emotion the body felt, zesrael took it as his own. It was at that moment he learned the meaning of abusive families– if you can even call it a family. 

Next, the scenery changes. The view was bloody, but he could tell he was in an open space. The floor was checkered, black and white in color. A dome made of black materials, a criss cross line of red almost like a web following the structure of the dome. A hulk of a man raging thirst in his eyes towers over whomever Zesrael was seeing through, holding a clamp of some sort. But that thirst was nowhere near as potent as an ocean of savage, concentrated violence. One would be confused as to why, but Zesrael knew. For ten days this body was tortured. Every pain, every number counted was etched into the virgin mind of Zesrael Loren. It was at that moment he learned the meaning of torture, of hopelessness.

Visage after visage after visage he learned… the darkest side of existence. From physical harm, to social homicide, to psychological murder, his body flounders and squirms, beggin for all of this to be over. Only Anastasia knows what panic attack he's on now as he pants ruggedly, clenching on his nanosuit for even a crumb of comfort. Even when he thinks of his mother, hoping for an embrace or something, he finds nothing but the horrors of those unlucky few. 

After a couple of hours of rotting empathy, Zesrael couldn't differ between himself and those he's had the displeasure of watching over. For the first time since his rebirth, this was a problem he couldn't solve with mere violence and brute force. All that preparation over the months, dumped into the drain of disappointment.

Then a familiar scenery of ashen lands desecrated, a lady sprawled dead in black mesh and cloth. But an anomaly stands quite literally as the lady supposedly dead sprang to life. As if vigor was her middle name, she didn't look a day expired. Skin as pale as can be, eyes black as midnight, hair an inky black yet shines like the midnight sun. She was enchanting, not in an enticing way, but as if looking at a statue from a distance. She was merely beautiful, comparable to that of his mother.

She leans over, both her hands caressing Zesrael's cheeks, "before creation, comes destruction."

A simple sentence, said under the ladies captivating breath. Yet the attractions yield a devastating realization. What soon came after was the visage of Anastasia. Her unsupported body dangles under the hands of the pale woman. Blood trickles down her arm as she holds not only Zesrael's mother, but her still beating heart. Zesrael attempts to move his arms only to be shackled by black vines of thorns. Zesrael felt those thorns like a vivid dream, but no pain can compare to what he's been through. He bled like a recently hunted and hung game. Yet he ignored it– no– engraved it into his mind.

A test of sanity, a test to see how long he could withstand before breaking. He knew at the back of his mind that what he sees isn't real. All the moments he's experienced up until now were just passing moments of events that already happened. None of this was set in stone.

But he craved the feeling of uneasiness. He craved that suffering others had endured. Within it, he found a curiosity. A lingering question– why? Why go through such agonizing affliction– why tolerate such depravity and hardships? But after seeing his mother lay lifeless under the unflinching gaze of the pale woman before him– he understood.

They all had something or found something to fight for.

Not the friendship bullshit he saw a couple of times in the realm of visages he saw. But the unbridled bulwark of unconquerable will some of the people had was astounding… aspiring. Yet they all had a reason to be, whether it's as simple as emotions of rage or an anchor keeping them sane and grounded within the realm of reality, he finally understood others as well as himself. His mother was his anchor– his reason to survive, his reason to fight.

To engage in combat is to fight, to fight is to represent those you protect, to protect is to make sure one survives for those they protect, and to survive is to engage in combat. At least that's what he's come to find as 'his' truth in this existence of suffering; and with his truth, he broke free. Free of the shackles, free of the pain they brought, free to explore and survive.

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[Trial passed]

[Difficulty: Daemonic]

[Reward(s): 6000 requisition | 4000 power | Gene Manipulation | Memory fragment]

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~sniffle~

~sniffle~

Zesrael awoke under the sound of crying. Tears dropped on his face as his eyelids quickly fluttered open. A lap pillow and a crying lady, never a good combination. He stood up and faced the lady in question. Anastasia was crying beautiful tears. Not to undermine the situation, but simply put, even in tears she was beautiful. But that's besides the point as Zesrael quickly hugged Anastasia. Both embraced in each other's arms, both understood the notion of their troubles– even if rudimentary.

Two individuals embraced in each other's comfort. A son consoling his mother. Both experiencing pain of different kinds. 

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| Name: Zesrael Loren | Age: 7 | Gender: Male | Race: ??? | Lvl: 103|

| Title(s): The Ever Chosen￤Chosen Warmaster of 40k￤Muscle Head |

| Skill(s): Inventory￤Fusion￤Login￤Omni Travel￤Personal Dimension￤Summoner￤Language of the Chosen￤Serene Mind￤Psionic Dread Pilot￤Death Toll | Gene Manipulation￤Masterwork Crafting&Smithing￤Hidden Gem |

| Item(s): Yharnam Hunter Set￤Chain Bolter (RWBY modification)￤Nano-Pilot suit |

| Stats: | Stat Points: 0|

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Strength: 105

Agility: 80

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 12

Energy: 153.5/153.5

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| Faction: Imperial Guard | 

| Army: Name not selected |

| Requisition: 2479/+522 |

| Power: 754/+340 |

| Squad Cap: 57/58 |

| Vehicle Cap: 26/29 |

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12x Guardsmen

7x Kasrkin

4x Ogryns

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6x Chimera

4x Leman Black

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