[Pyschokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 250 (Patreon)

In total, Astrid had spent what felt like 2 years within the trials. Honestly, it was difficult to tell. Was it years? Was it months? Her mind had blurred over that line a while ago. All she did was travel, survive the cold thanks to her Primal Fire, and blasted monsters until the mana in her container burned. 

She had also learned to utilise the energy within her internal engine and make it thrum with power, regulating her body temperature. Now, it felt like she was back within the jungle of Eyamos.

During the time she had spent in this hell, she had annihilated the Maze of Forgotten Devil Gods – which was an utter pain in the ass. At first, she walked within the maze’s narrow paths, fighting monsters as they came. But that was taking too long. So she decided to fly over it, but powerful monsters, and a strange energy field forced her back down. Of course, she killed all the monsters that dared show themselves; taking their levels as her own.

After a while, and after gaining a few more levels from the beasts, she resorted to just blowing the stupid maze up. Once all the walls were gone, it was easy to find the Devil God. 

Astrid expected a fearsome fight, but just like the King of the Nightmares, its own body was weak. It purely relied upon the power of the ancient monsters that had accumulated within the maze for centuries. So without the walls to protect it, and the mighty monsters no longer blocking the way – Astrid once again pulled its eyes from their sockets, reaping its life.

Then there was the Hideout of the Pyroclastic Mad Man. Now that was a pain. It took her around 3 months to find his secret lair, that, lo-and behold, was hidden underneath an old volcano. She had initially skipped it as it was a bit too obvious. But after scouring it with Psych Domain, she noticed odd formations deep underground. 

Arriving, it was filled with explosive traps. She had triggered quite a few, but her class made it easy work to infiltrate the Mad Man’s hideout.

Fighting him was a lot tougher than the other monsters. With sentience, he was a crafty  asshole that used trickery and deceit to trigger his mines within his Domain. But in the end, he was no match for Astrid. She directly countered his traps with being able to see deep underground with her matter control. And then Astrid made it impossible for the senile old man to defend. Blasting the air, all around the room at once, she exhausted his defensive aura before she herself ran out of mana.

It was a gamble, but not really. She had another source of energy pulling her forwards at all times: her internal engine.

With the old man gone, she had gained quite a few levels, and a new title to go with it. It granted her extra explosive damage, but it still wasn’t better than the other Title she currently had equipped. Although she did obtain a nice piece of equipment. A pair of goggles. They were tinted black, and apart from that, looked like any other ordinary swimming goggles children used back on Rebirth.

Epic - Pyroclastic Goggles: These pair of goggles help when being near mass explosions are the only answer. 

| Added stats: Intelligence +75, Wisdom +50, Constitution +50.

| Fire imbued attacks are 50% stronger.
| Fire resistance is increased by 50%.
| Explosive resistance is increased by 25%

Obviously, Astrid wore them the moment she obtained them. She looked a little strange wearing a golden crown, a pair of black swimming goggles, and a wide toothy grin mask. But it was function over style. 

That wasn’t all. She had obtained the Mad Man’s eyes, which also granted her an awesome explosion bonus. She swapped out the golden eye for these ones. More damage. Awesome.

And finally, there was the so-called spooky Watcher of the Endless Eye. In fact, she was standing right in front of its corpse right now.

A huge fleshy eyeball was outside of its socket. The eye was purple in colour with deep black scratch marks scored within. That wasn’t her. At least she didn’t think it was. 

You have reached 3000 Intelligence.

| Milestone reached. Granting Milestone skill - :

You have earned a Title - Eyeball Pulling of the Ancients: Pulling out eyes seems to be an art form for you. Beasts, monsters, and now ancient eyes from the Watcher – an old god from the bygone eras. Although weakened, it’s still a hell of an achievement. Go Astrid!
| Added Stats: Intelligence +150, Wisdom +100
| Pulling out eyes now empowers you by 10 Intelligence for every eye pulled in a ten minute period. This stacks up to 100x. 

Oh, now that’s a good one! 

Astrid immediately replaced it with the Corruption Destroyer Title. 

Then, the Eye-Queen appeared once more. The world changed, people spawned around in a stadium by the thousands. They cheered so loud that it made Astrid’s shoulders shirk back. She surmised it had something to do with the Eye-Queen. No doubt she was making it louder than it should be.

“Well my other half, you have done it!” She explained, clapping. The air blasted towards her, almost threatening to blow her away. It would have, if she hadn’t braced herself. “With the 3rd trial complete, I can now unlock the seals placed upon your body!”

“Seals?” Astrid asked. “What bloody seals?” 

The moment her words rang out, the Eye-Queen reached forwards. She was the size of a planet, but the moment they had neared, it grew smaller, and smaller. It was a strange sight. Astrid had thoughts of avoiding it, but if the mysterious being high above wanted her dead – she’d be dead long ago.

Instead, Astrid stood without blinking as the boundless hand grasped her head. Throughout her body, all she could hear was a pop sound. Like someone was popping the crispiest of bubble-wrap over and over again. She could feel it too. And it felt incredible, it was as if the Eye-Queen was a godly chiropractor. 

All the knots she felt in her body were released one-by-one. And then, after the sharp pain had passed, all that remained was boundless power.

You have gained an Achievement – Completer of the Eye-Queen’s Trials: The remnants of the Eye-Queen has unlocked the hidden seals placed deep inside your body. You are now your true self.

Without even realising it, her hair rose floated upward – like she was experiencing a strong static electricity. She felt the mana in both her container behind her eye, and her Internal Engine practically thrum with power.

She felt at least twice as strong – which was an incredible amount to grow.

Above, the Eye-Queen had already returned back to her original position. But she was… shrinking? Before Astrid knew it, the ruler above descended right in front of her. She wasn’t much taller than Astrid was right now. However, all of her skin was black and twinkling like the vast universe. That ethereal grin she always had vanished. The lower half of her face was revealed, showing a… human smile? 

Like a tide receding, the universe-like flesh inched further back, showing more of her face. Ice blue eyes, golden hair that shimmered in the light…

Holy shit! 

Astrid stumbled back, falling to her rear. Looking at the Eye-Queen, no – herself – Astrid was taken aback.

“Please say you’re a shapeshifter,” Astrid muttered in shock.

The Eye-Queen spoke. “If my memories serve me well, which it usually doesn’t, but no, I’m not a shapeshifter.”

Wait, isn’t this a recording? And not a shapeshifter?

Astrid’s mind was abuzz. What the hell was going on? 

“And yes, this is a recording,” She replied. “My other half. Or should I say, the me from the past? You are me. I am you. Awesome, right?” 

“How,” Astrid stuttered, “How is this possible?” 

The Eye-Queen – the future her – crossed her arms. “Well, you see, in the future you awaken to some awesome time powers when you spend a good dozen or so years suspended in an ever recurring time loop. Matter control, and all that. It really doesn’t have any limitations if you think hard enough, you know?” 

“This can’t be happening,” Astrid mumbled, pacing back and forth. “All this time, she was me?”

Pupil, did you know of this? 

“Don’t look at me. I don’t have a clue!”

With no help from Pupil, Astrid circled the future her. Taking in the sights. It really was an exact replica. It was undoubtedly her, but it was just so hard to believe.

Why was she helping her? 

“If you’re asking why I would arrange all of this to help you grow?” The future she said, revealing a snarl. “It’s because there’s some nasty opponents in the far future. Gods, Elder Gods, Supremes. You name it, they’re hard work. Well, only Supremes could match me before my death. Sovereign of Sharpness. The bastard’s skills directly countered me.”

Wait. I die?!

She slammed her hand into her open palm, and continued, “All of this was to make you stronger, faster. The internal engine… you wouldn’t have obtained that for at least 100 more years. But refining it now will make you far stronger in the future.”

The Eye-Queen stretched out her arms, looking at her hands. They were fading. “Aw man, I don’t have a lot of time left. The Sovereign of Sharpness is cleaving through my barriers as we speak. So listen up, buttercup. After you’ve dealt with the Leviathan and those small fry, make sure to step through that portal that opens up. I didn’t because of family. Big mistake. Enter it, win, become strong–” She gnashed her teeth. “–And when you get here, kill this smelly bastard for me and ascend to a Supreme. Or don’t I don’t know, it’s your life–”

The future her vanished, and so did the world around Astrid. She opened her eyes. She was sitting cross-legged in her room. 

Okay. That was fucking strange. Future me? Sharpness Sovereign? My head hurts.

Astrid sat up and immediately felt her legs wobble. How long had she been sitting there for? Her legs were numb, so instead of using them, she floated an inch above her floor. 

Activating Psych Domain, everyone in the vicinity became clear as day. Red hearts wandered all over the place. One in particular was nearing. It was weak. They had the form of a petite young woman. 

The door creaked open and a young woman strode right in. She was carrying a pail of water and a sponge. Her vision wandered to Astrid who was currently hovering in the middle of the room.

Dropping the pail of water, splashing on the floor, she screamed. Then, she bolted out of the room in a panic.

“Lady Astrid has awakened!”

Astrid sighed, then hovered over to the window. The sky was grey and horrible. The earth rumbled every 10 seconds as a pillar of red light shone high above in the sky – as if it was piercing the heavens above.

The mana in the air was turbulent and weak. It was completely different from before she had left. The Order was busy working. They were still alive.

“Let’s kill them all,” Astrid muttered under her breath, feeling the unbridled power radiate from within.

It was time to end it.