Chapter 317 - Awakening (Patreon)

Hellfire rained from the sky, bathing Zeke a wave of heat and flame. It didn’t hurt him – he barely even felt it – but it did one thing remarkably well in that it obstructed his vision to such an extent that he never saw the swooping fish-demon before it swept in, grabbed him with one of its numerable talons, and dragged him back into the sky. Instinctively, Zeke increased his weight, even as he struggled against the grasping claws digging into his body. But with a mighty beat of its fins, the creature surged into the sky, screeching in triumph.

Another member of the flock – or was it a school? – darted in, leading with its gaping maw filled with innumerable sharp teeth. Zeke swung his hammer, but his position robbed his attack of any leverage, so the strike lacked its normal power. The fish-demon took it on a particularly bulbous and bony head and kept on coming.

Zeke screamed as he felt the monster’s teeth tear into his flesh and rip a great chunk from his side. Blood rained down in the wake of the wave of fire, sizzling when it hit the ground.

Cut off from the ground, [Metallurgical Repair] lost its primary source of mana, meaning that when he tried to activate it, barely a trickle of healing came through. The demon-fish swarmed, darting in to take bites at him. Most were mere nibbles, but as his captor took him high into the sky, Zeke could feel each wound taking its toll.

He wouldn’t last much longer.

Not without a source of mana.

Even as the fish-demons ripped him apart, Zeke knew what he needed to do. There was a ready source of energy at his fingertips. All he had to do was take hold and make it his own. With the demonic mana coursing through him, he felt confident in his chances.

Higher and higher they went, and the corruption in the atmosphere grew ever stronger. The sea of flames blanketing the sky loomed ever closer, promising his salvation. Tantalizing him with the promise of survival. Of power. Of fury.

He embraced it, using his Will to guide the corrosive mana through his body and forcing it into [Metallurgical Repair]. Fire, dark and angry, erupted from Zeke’s body, enveloping him in furious flame. But that was nothing compared to what was going on inside of him. In his mana channels. His core. In the runes of his skill.

New glyphs were burned into being, and in the back of his mind, he compared it to adding scaffolding to an existing structure. His runecrafting skill was screaming at him to watch. To pay attention. To learn. But with that fire burning its way through his body, it was all Zeke could do to keep himself from descending into animalistic fury, much less take note of the complex patterns adding themselves to his skill.

And then everything became clear.

Time felt as if it had slowed down.

And power – thick and hot – gushed out of him, pushing the flames enveloping his body to new heights. And in the wake of that surge, his body was healed as if he’d never been injured.

A notification spread across his vision, but he dismissed it without thought. He didn’t have time to inspect it. Instead, he needed to focus on the fish-demons.

“They’re called juvenile leviathans,” Eveline said from where she was floating beside him. “An interesting creature. When the fires descend, they will go into a berserk fury, murdering each other until only one remains. That’s when it becomes an adult. Slightly more powerful, bigger fins, and those little claws – yes, the ones digging into your shoulders – will grow into actual arms and legs. It’s actually the most dangerous time for a young leviathan. Without the protection of its broodmates, it is vulnerable to other predators. However, if a young leviathan reaches the next stage of development – a rarity, but it happens – that’s when they become truly dangerous. And if you ever see an elder leviathan, it’s probably too late to even run.”

“Thanks,” Zeke growled, grabbing hold of one set of talons and trying to pry it free. With the surge of power that came with his fiery augmentation, it was remarkably easy. The only problem was that there were ten more claws digging into him.

That’s when a spear came out of nowhere and lanced into the creature, digging deep into its fleshy body to erupt from the other side in a shower of black blood. The weapon remained lodged in the monster, giving Zeke an opportunity to rip himself free from its weakening grip.

But he didn’t let go. Instead, he dug his fingers into its scales and grabbed ahold of a fin, hauling himself onto its back. That’s when he resummoned his hammer, hefted in a two-handed grip, and brought it down with every ounce of strength he could muster.

Which, given the influx of power he’d received from running demonic corruption through [Metallurgical Repair], was quite a lot.

The leviathan exploded into fine mist.

And predictably, Zeke plunged toward the ground. As he fell, he noticed one of his colossi staring up at him, holding only a shield. Clearly, it was the one who’d thrown the spear. Zeke only had a moment to focus on the scene before yet another leviathan ripped into him, its claws raking across his body with barely any resistance.

Pain surged through Zeke’s body, white hot and far more intense than anything he’d felt in years. Another surge of corrosive mana flooded into him, healing the wounds almost as soon as the claws pierced his flesh. Only a few drops of blood escaped, the lacerations were gone so quickly.

More, the pain felt almost like a fuel of its own, feeding the fires of his anger and sending them into the territory of unmatched fury. With a roar, Zeke grabbed hold of the passing demon-fish. As he did, he dropped his hammer – he didn’t care. His own claws were weapon enough.

“Hands. You don’t have claws,” remarked Eveline.

Zeke answered with a growl, digging his fingers into the fish. His every muscle flexed as he ripped and tore into the monster, his fingers dragging deep furrow into the leviathan’s suddenly vulnerable flesh. The scales, which should have provided some degree of protection, were no obstacle before Zeke’s fury, and he screamed an exultant shout as he grabbed the creature’s spine and yanked.

Black blood, purple flesh, and white bone came free.

And once again, Zeke was falling. He didn’t care. With his new weapon dangling in his fist, he leaped to the closest demon-fish, swinging its broodmate’s spine like a flail. The skull crashed down with thunderous force, sending the leviathan spinning through the air to plummet into the black sands below. Zeke went with it, landing with a spray of sand.

He rolled – as much by instinct as because of conscious thought – and when he reached his feet, he wheeled around, still clutching his trophy in hand. It was just in time, because another demon-fish swooped down, hoping to take him by surprise. However, Zeke turned the tables on it when he met its diving attack with a fist powered by his copious strength and augmented by the raging hellfire coursing through his body.

With a sickening crunch, the creature met the unstoppable force that was Zeke’s fist. Its body shattered under the stress of the sudden reversal of its momentum before it rocketed backwards, its suddenly limp body crashing into another sand dune.

Zeke threw his arms out, tilted his head back, and let out another roar of triumphant fury. It was an unmistakable challenge.

And one the flock of juvenile leviathans were unprepared to meet.

As one, the wheeled around and fled, disappearing over the horizon in only a few short seconds. But Zeke was unsatisfied. The anger continued to flow through him, pushing him to give chase. Or failing that, to find something else to kill. Something else to rip apart with unmatched fury.

“Release it!” shouted Eveline, both audibly and with a telepathic command that briefly cut through his anger and miraculously reached the part of his mind scrambling to regain control. The order gave the rational part of him fuel, and with a surge of willpower, he forced the corrosive energy from his body.

It dissipated slowly, and during that time, the wild, feral side of him clamored for control. But Zeke clamped down on it, forcing it to yield to his will. And over the next few minutes, the corruption was purged from his body. In its place came soothing, steady earthen energy, healing his mind as well as the wreckage the corrosion left behind.

And the damage was extensive.

His entire body was raw, like an exposed nerve. His flesh was intact – as were his organs and bones – but from a metaphysical standpoint, he was in ruins. The earthen energy flowed through him, filling in and bridging the gaps in his soul. Still, Zeke could see the scars, which sent a shudder of fear through his mind.

“They aren’t scars,” claimed Eveline. “It’s your soul changing. Adapting. The corrosion is carving new paths through your soul, creating a more appropriate vessel.”

“For what?” Zeke croaked. At some point, he’d sunk to his knees, and his breath continued to come in ragged gasps.

“For more. It’s a similar process to what demons endure before being reborn, though there are enough differences that I’m not certain what you would become,” she stated.

“So, I’m turning into a demon?”

“No. I don’t think so,” she said. “I think…”

“What?”

“I…I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “You’re different. Perhaps unique. I don’t know…I just don’t know what would happen if you continued down that path.”

Zeke shook his head. “Then I’ll just not use it,” he stated. “Simple.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” was her resigned response. “You…you will do it by instinct, like you did up there. Better to adapt and control it.”

“How do I do that?”

“Willpower. Start small. Let in a trickle at a time. Slowly, you can increase the flow until you can handle more and more. Eventually, your body will adapt.”

“I…I don’t know if I can do that,” he said. Indeed, the moment he’d opened himself to that corrosive energy, it had flooded into him like a tidal wave. Even thinking of trying to manage that flow sent a tremble up his spine.

And then there was the notification he’d received. He still hadn’t looked at it because he was afraid of what it might say. Of the implications inherent in anything that came in the wake of that corruptive power.

“It won’t get better just because you don’t look at it,” Eveline said. “I could just tell you what it said. I could even dress it up all pretty and –”

Zeke shook his head and revisited the notification:

Congratulations! The skill [Metallurgical Repair] has evolved into [Cambion’s Awakening].

“Oh, that sounds interesting,” remarked Eveline, twirling around him as she flew through the air. Zeke ignored her, moving on to the evolved skill’s changed description.

[Camibion’s Awakening] (D) – By harnessing the dual nature of your race, you have awakened your potential. For now, it is only a seed, but if you nurture it, it will grow into a mighty tree. Depending on which attunement used to power the skill, it will have one of three effects. With earth mana, it will steady and heal you. With demonic mana, it will forcefully augment and rapidly heal your body, but at a cost appropriate to the corrosive nature of the energy. With internal mana, it will soothe your body and soul.

Eveline mumbled, “That…I have never seen…I don’t understand…”

But Zeke did. In some ways, it reminded him of the dual ways he could activate [Weight of Two Worlds], though with far more polarizing results. To him, the differences seemed obvious. If he powered [Cambion’s Awakening] with earth mana, he would experience much the same effect as when he’d used [Metallurgical Repair]. It would be slow and steady healing that could see him through some very difficult circumstances.

By contrast, using the skill with demonic mana would result in increased physical strength and rapid healing, but at the cost of doing damage to his soul. In addition, it would be difficult to control himself under the influence of the corruptive energy.

Finally, using his internal mana would help to counteract some of those effects, almost like running a burn under a stream of cold water.

“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” said Eveline.

Zeke shook his head. “I know. It’s just…I just feel it in my bones,” he said. “It feels like a part of me. Like I just know. Does that make any sense?”

“Your attunements,” she said. “They’ve given you some insight, maybe. I don’t know. This is all new ground for me.”

“Me, too.”

“You’re taking it in stride,” she remarked.

He shrugged, saying, “I don’t know. This kind of stuff just happens to me. Ever since I was reborn, weird things have kept happening. At first, I thought it was just Oberon fiddling with things. But now? I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s fate or something.”

“Fate does not exist. You just keep throwing yourself into increasingly dangerous situations,” Eveline stated. “It makes sense that you would gain some unique advantages. I’m certain that others have been down this same path.”

“Yeah? And what happened to them?”

“If you keep throwing yourself into the fire, you will eventually get burned,” she said.

Zeke’s turned to look at her and said, “But I’m practically fireproof.”

“The practically part is what worries me,” she said. “Your path will eventually thrust you into conflict with something that can kill you as easily as breathing.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

With a sharp intake of breath, she clapped one tiny hand over her chest, saying, “You? I’m not worried about you. I’m concerned with my own fate. If you’ll recall, we’re in this together for now. If you die, I won’t be far behind. So, remember – it’s not just your own life at risk here.”

Zeke shook his head and gave her a tired grin. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Just admit it – I’m growing on you.”

“Like a barnacle.”

“Of the two of us, you’re closer to a barnacle than I am,” Zeke pointed out.

“It’s a bad metaphor.”

“Can’t argue with that,” she said. “Now, are you going to just sit there? Or are we going to free the second sliver of my soul. No rush. I’m just in agonizing pain over here.”

“Can you even feel pain?”

“Metaphysical pain. Having your soul shattered and the pieces quarantined is not a pleasant experience,” she stated.

Zeke didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet, activating [Cambion’s Awakening] for the first time. At first, he was worried about getting the hang of its different variants, but it only took a flick of his mind to connect the skill to his internal mana. Immediately, his mind, body, and soul felt the soothing touch of his personal brand of mana.

Then, he shifted his focus and started drawing mana from the ground. Yellow tendrils crept up his legs and into his body, fueling the skill. Suddenly, he felt more durable. Subtly stronger. And his soul felt heavier. More, he could feel the healing potential of the skill, which was mostly unchanged from when it had been [Metallurgical Repair].

“Nice.”

“Not going to check the third mode?”

Zeke shook his head and rolled his shoulders. “Not right now,” he said. “Maybe after we finish this Warden guy and free the second part of your soul. Let’s go.”

With that, Zeke stepped forward and climbed his way toward the ring of crystalline obelisks. Once he reached them, he would climb the winding staircase and confront the Warden.