by Aaron Oster
Perfect Self - N/A
Soul Stealer - N/A
Suppression (inherited) - N/A
Extra:
Gravity Storm (7th category) - 167M/200M
Starbreaker (7th category) - 202M/240M
Collapsing Star (HyperNova) - 277M/280M
Shooting Star (Comet) - 144M/145M
Massive Meteor (2nd Category) - 110M/370M
Continental Crush - 1.1M/500M
Soulstream - 0/800M
Morgan winced when he saw how much his new Soulstream would cost to upgrade, but he did have what amounted to a free pass. So, the question was, should he use the core to increase his Soulstream to the next level, or should he do it the normal way? He thought about it for several moments as he flew, running over the numbers in his head. If he advanced to rank 69, he should get a small boost from moving past a breakthrough rank. On the other hand, Soulstream cost nearly twice as much, which made it the obvious choice.
However, he’d never used the skill before, and increasing his base abilities would make him more powerful across the board, instead of simply strengthening a single piece. Still, he was having a hard time deciding. That was, until he remembered that there were two more Wells in Faeland, ones that he had yet to visit. However painful his trip to the Soul Well had been, he’d made a massive amount of progress.
If he could get his hands on another two cores like this one, then he didn’t have to worry about wasting such a valuable core. And now that he looked closer, there was a skill he could upgrade right away, even without the free pass. His Shooting Star could get an upgrade, as he was only about a million away. The idea resonated with him, and Morgan dropped quickly to the ground, still clutching the core tightly.
He was still a good distance from the Ruined City, but when going through a breakthrough rank, it was always wise to land first. Taking a deep breath, he raised the core to eye-level, then pulled, streaming all of the energy toward a rank up. Morgan gasped as the energy flooded into him, feeling less like a controlled stream and more like a flood, pounding against him and trying to knock him off his feet.
More and more energy continued to flow out, flooding his core to bursting, and continuing to push. His muscles locked up, his jaw clenched, and his teeth ground together as he tried to remain conscious. Having this much power flood into him at once was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Never before had he felt such a rush, and never before had he felt so close to losing control.
The energy was wild, trying to slip his grasp and run rampant in his body, yet Morgan held firmly to his will and forced the energy to continue flowing into his core. Just as he felt ready to drop from the drunken feeling the massive influx of energy caused, the core shattered, crumbling to dust in his hands.
Morgan dropped then, falling to his hands and knees as his own core pulsed several times, the purple orb shining so brightly that he imagined he could see it through his skin. The energy flooded outward then, reiki sinking into his blood, veins and nerves. It completely ignored his muscles, bones and skin, sticking to his nervous and circulatory systems.
Nausea swept over him, and Morgan vomited, black ooze splattering to the ground before him, followed by crimson blood. His eyes widened as he stared, but his vision began to grow blurry, taking on an almost reddish haze. His hand moved, swiping at one of his eyes, and came away smeared with red.
He gasped, then vomited again, more blood splattering to the ground. He wondered if this was going to be how he died. In the middle of the desert, from massive blood loss, due to negligence on his part and not being smart enough to realize how his body might react to sucking in over four-hundred million's worth of energy in just half a minute.
The vomiting stopped for a moment, allowing him to take a ragged breath. Then his core pulsed again, and the vomiting continued. For nearly five minutes, the reiki ravaged his body, forcing him to dispel what seemed like gallons of blood. However, no matter how much he lost, he never became so much as light-headed. And, when the last of the blood leaked from his lips and he staggered to his feet, Morgan felt better than ever.
Reaching for his pack, he removed a canteen and began rinsing his mouth, wiping at his eyes and ears, trying to get rid of the coppery tang of blood. He was only partially successful, as the taste remained strong in his mouth. However, he found it easy to ignore, as he marveled at the new sensations flooding through him. Not only did he feel stronger, faster and better able to think, but when he flexed his arms, he could feel the blood flooding the limbs, coursing with power of its own.
He threw a punch, noting how sharp the move seemed to be. His nerves seemed almost to be on fire, yet they didn’t burn in the slightest. It was a sensation that he couldn’t really place a finger on. If he were to try to describe it, he would say that it was like he’d been bogged down by heavy and slow-moving blood all his life and the vessels had now somehow been cleared.
His nerves allowed him to react before even needing to make a conscious effort, and his body just felt stronger and tougher overall. He took a deep breath, feeling the difference in the levels of oxygen he pulled in, his blood reacting to the air and siphoning out everything else. He felt faster and more aware than he ever had before. He felt strong. Strong enough to actually make a difference this time.
Morgan’s muscles bunched, then he shot into the air, his muscles, now fueled by the blood which seemed to be ten times more efficient than what he’d previously had coursing through his veins, uncoiled with power the likes of which he could not have previously imagined. He then set his eyes westward and took off once more, rocketing through the air toward the Ruined City.
40
As Morgan flew, he assigned the energy he had remaining to his Shooting Star skill, upgrading it to the next tier. Before he looked over his newly upgraded status, Morgan went to see if he could learn anything new.
Due to breaking through to the next tier, you have the option to combine two skills into a single, more powerful skill.
Gravity Breaker (10th Category) - Summon a massive storm of tearing winds, lightning, intense gravity and spheres of superheated gas in a targeted area. The earth will erupt, the oxygen in the air will detonate and the very atoms will rupture.
Cost - 5,000 RP
AOE - 150 Ft
Cooldown - 8 hours
Combine?
Yes/No
Morgan had to admit that he was a bit disappointed at not having a new skill immediately available, but he wasn’t going to lie and say that he wasn’t excited about the combination. His Gravity Storm and Starbreaker were his oldest skills, and now that he had the option to combine them into something even more powerful, he was definitely going to take it. He mentally selected yes and felt the change take hold.
Once that was done, he looked over his new status.
Name: Morgan
Advanced Supermage: Rank - 69
Energy to Next Rank - 0/200,000,000
Ability Advancement - 15,000,000/15,000,000 (Max.)
Ability - Natural Disaster
RP - 8,400/8,400 (Regen - 84.5 per second)
Strength - 720
Agility - 1,075
Constitution - 850
Intelligence - 840
Wisdom - 845
Skills - Hypersonic Flight, Maximum Increase, Maximum Stormforge, Earthen Shift, Nature’s Wrath, Compression, Gravity Tear, Sunblast
Traits - Dense Body Max., Recovery Max., Aura Sense (inherited), Aura Flare (inherited), Perfect Self, Soul Stealer, Suppression (inherited)
Extra - Gravity Breaker (10th category), Collapsing Star (HyperNova), Shooting Star (Inferno), Massive Meteor (2nd category), Continental Crush, Soulstream
Just as he’d guessed, Morgan saw a notable increase across all his attributes, bringing him closer to cracking the thousand-point mark on three more attributes and closing the gap on the fourth. Though he was extremely strong, his Strength was the lowest of all his stats. His style was more suited to fighting with speed
and accuracy than anything else. He had a skill to bridge the gap, and he was more than happy to use it to its fullest.
He pulled up his newly upgraded Shooting Star skill next to see how it had changed.
Shooting Star (Inferno) - Cloak your body in fire hot enough to melt diamond and the power of a shooting star. Your body burns so brightly that it will blind any who look upon you. When you strike, your target will be engulfed in a roaring inferno.
Cost - 4,800 RP
Duration - 45 seconds
Cooldown - 100 hours
Closing his status, Morgan took a deep breath, trying to center himself for the battle ahead. He could feel the Pinnacle King’s power growing, roiling and twisting in the air. Even from all the way out here, miles and miles from the Ruined City, he could see the dark clouds hanging in the distance. The wind began to pick up as he drew closer, and soon, fine grains of sand drifted through the air beside him.
Now that he was no longer distracted by skills, rank ups or thoughts about growth, his mind once again focused on the Pinnacle Kings and what they’d taken from him. He could see it once again, clear as the day it had happened. It was as though Sarah was in front of him, impaled on Octagon’s claws. He could see the way she’d looked at him in that moment, the pain and rage he’d felt at seeing her fall. He felt the crushing certainty and cold truth of her demise, and what he now had to do to assure her return.
By this point, he had no idea who he was supposed to blame for all of this. He couldn’t blame Edmund, Katherine’s father, for starting the war, as he was already dead. Samuel was also dead, though if anyone deserved the blame, it was him, for creating these monsters in the first place. But, as with anything, all the blame lay at the top, with the one who’d created it all, who made reality bend to his wishes.
The Author.
Morgan felt the Beast stirring within, straining against its bonds as his anger rose. He forced himself to remain as he was, in control and focused. The Ruined City was almost within sight, and once he reached its borders and got Sarah’s body to safety, he was going to raze it to the ground.
***
Deep in the heart of the Ruined City, lying beneath the ground and still partially tethered to her stone slab, Pentagon felt his approach. She’d already known that her initial plans had failed, as her first commander, Taj, had been wiped out, along with all her other minions. Her second and third commanders, Brandon and Damian, had likewise been killed, the humans ruthlessly hunting them down and butchering every last one of them.
She had no idea how they’d known she was coming, nor how they’d so efficiently killed all of her minions, but once she was free, she would go find out herself. Or at least, that was what she’d been planning on doing before he had shown up. She could sense his massive power, even from all the way down here. Though she knew she should be expecting a visit, the pure bloodlust that was leaking off of him told her that he wasn’t coming for a family reunion.
Perhaps he was the reason that Octagon was so far away and clearly dormant once more, which meant that unless she was able to put up more of a fight than her brother, their father would lock her away too. Either that, or he’d try and kill her outright. Though she could sense his power, she had no way of knowing who was stronger. Right now, she was at rank 51 and at the Pinnacle of power.
For some reason, he wasn’t at the Pinnacle. He was a full stage below, at Advanced. Then again, judging by the intensity of his core and how much reiki was leaking off him, he was quite a few ranks higher. She couldn’t tell how much higher, but she knew one thing for certain. If she wasn’t free of these chains by the time they fought, she would stand no chance.
She needed to buy herself some time, and luckily for her, this city was ripe with beasts. Ones that she could bend to her will, flood with her power and send them to distract the Beast King while she shattered her chains. After being dormant for as long as she had, Pentagon was not going to allow herself to be bested. Not when she still had so much to accomplish!
***
“That is quite the story,” Katherine said, crossing her arms and staring out over the open desert.
“But it is exactly what happened,” Grace said, having a hard time controlling the bitterness in her voice. “You can go over to the palace in the East if you want to meet her yourself.”
“While that will be necessary at some point, I don’t think now would be wise,” Katherine said.
“Why not?” Le’vine asked, already looking as though she wanted to do nothing but go and meet the elf queen. “She’s providing an end to the war before it’s even really begun. This is amazing news. Sure, Morgan might not be happy with it, but it’s only a temporary arrangement.”
“That fact is the only reason I’m so calm right now,” Katherine replied.
Judging by the barely suppressed rage in her voice, Grace very much doubted that she was as calm as she claimed to be. Still, Katherine was handling it better than she had.
“I also know that as far as strategy and duty go, Morgan made the right decision. Had I been in a similar situation, I’d have done the same. When one rules over others, they must put the good of the people before their personal feelings. As a queen, I have to commend him for making such a decision. As a woman, though, one who has loved him more than any of you can possibly imagine, the pain is nearly unbearable.”
Grace felt distinctly uncomfortable as Katherine turned away from the wall, shaking her head. More than once, she wished she’d had the same kind of courage as this woman, but she was still far too young, too inexperienced and constantly plagued by doubt to be on Katherine’s level. Besides, she hadn’t even been strong enough to be brought along on Morgan’s mission, something that both hurt and annoyed her at the same time.
“Come on,” Katherine said as she headed down the stairs. “We may as well set up somewhere and begin working out some sort of official document for our treaty with Faeland. I’ll contact Beatrice and see if I can get her to show up. If not that, then I’ll ask her to at least sign off on the document.”
“What about Herald?” Hu Kiln asked, moving to follow her.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Katherine said. “On the one hand, he was spying on us, but on the other, there’s sort of no point now. I think we’ll have to wait for Morgan’s return before we make any decisions.”
“And what if he doesn’t come back?” Le’vine asked.
It had been the question that had been on everyone’s mind, the one which they had avoided asking. The Queen of the East had taken it upon herself to ask. She was a practical woman and knew what would happen should Morgan lose. For one, the alliance would be over, though they could probably try and marry Hu Kiln off in Morgan’s place. But aside from that, there would be the Pinnacle King to contend with.
If this Pinnacle King beat him, there would be no one strong enough to take it down, unless all of the powerful supers and mages banded together, or if they poured all their resources into Grace. But she was still far too young and inexperienced for a fight like this.
“He will come back,” Katherine finally said.
She glared around, daring anyone to argue with her. When no one did, she turned and stalked off the wall.
“Will he be okay?” Grace asked the small drake lounging on her shoulder as she stared out over the vast and empty desert.
“Only time will tell,” Lumia replied. “But for now, trust that he knows what he’s doing and simply hope for the best.”
That was hardly a reassuring notion, and because of that, Grace decided to remain where she was, standing atop the wall as it slowly emptied of people, leaving her alone once more.
41
The towering walls of the Ruined City were barely visible through the whirling sand and fine grit that forced itself into every nook and cranny on Morgan’s body. Yet, the pillar of power that seemed to be rising from its center was visible to his Aura Sense. He had no idea how he’d missed such a powerful beast lying beneath the san
ds of the old city, as he had once been locked up down there. Regardless of how that had happened, Morgan was going to make sure that this beast did not live long enough to do the same kind of damage that the last one had.
He shot over the city walls, noting the gathering beasts near its center, but he angled his body in a different direction, vanishing and reappearing before the tall glass spire where Sarah’s body lay. Even through the whipping sand, he could see her. She was lying in the ground, her face pale and her eyes shut. She looked exactly as he remembered her, untouched by the ravages of time or the elements, her body perfectly preserved in the clear glass.
Morgan felt his throat tighten as he used his Earthen Shift, pulling a large chunk of the glass out and making sure that none of her body was exposed to the open air. He could feel the monsters coming for him, their cores fluctuating wildly in the way that was common to their kind. He lifted off the ground, then vanished once again, reappearing outside the city. He did this twice more, taking Sarah’s body a good distance away before stopping and gently lowering the thick glass block to the ground.
He stared at her for several long moments, ignoring the stinging sand. Though he wanted to do nothing more than stay and commiserate over her loss, which was fresh in his mind again, he knew he could not stay. The guilt over agreeing to marry someone else came back in full force as his gaze landed on her face. She was still so beautiful, even after all this time. He could still hear her laugh and see her smile. He could also picture the disapproving glare she would give every time he messed up, or the compassion and worry when he was hurt or uncertain about something.
She hadn’t just been a friend or the woman he loved. She had been his entire world, and living on without her had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. Even now, he had to fight back the tears, forcing his mind to focus on the real reason he’d come back.
