Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Three – 323

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty Three – 323

Felix seized his Bastion within the prongs of his Intent, an intangible limb that was exactly what it sounded like: a tool to enact his desires. He loosened his hold on the Skill, and it spasmed, a muscle contracted for too long and a thousand times as painful. Energy burst and flared from within, giving him glimpses of a citadel and landscape inundated in multi-colored light.

He received his notifications.

Invocation is level 43!

...

Invocation is level 58!

Journeyman Tier!

You Gain:

+7 INT

+7 WIL

+7 FEL

Caught up in the general press of his Bastion, Invocation had been held back from his recent advancements. It burned a bit as System energy fed into his core space, but nothing greater than usual. A Journeyman Skill was the least of his worries.

The bundle of blaring sound and skittering lightning, however, had his attention.

Aria of the Green Wilds is level 81!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+15 PER

+15 AFI

+15 FEL

Adamant Discord is level 79!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+15 AFI

+15 INE

+...

Cardinal Flame is level 76!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+15 INT

+15 PER

+...

Ravenous Tithe is level 82!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+10 STR

+10 END

+...

Bastion of Will is level 84!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+10 WIL

+10 ALA

+...

Theurgist of the Rise is level 72!

...

Theurgist of the Rise is level 79!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+50 INT

+50 INE

...

The Song of Absolution is level 82!

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+50 EVA

+50 FEL

+...

He'd already seen the last, but not the Adept Tier bonuses for the Song of Absolution, nor all the rest. Felix let the surge of System energy hit his cores again, consumed by the flames of his dual rings and expelled out once more as red-gold and blue-white light. The energy shook at him, but it wasn't enough to interrupt his concentration. His Will was laser-focused on the next step.

Multiple Essence Sources Detected During Formation!

Choose An Essence Mote!

From above, in his flashing cloud of Essence, brilliant lights dropped out like hailstones. One by one they dropped before him, stopping in his eyesight with claps of thunder, and he knew them.

[Essence of Iterated Annihilation]

[Essence of Corrosion's Touch]

[Essence of Glorious Bounty]

[Essence of the Sheltering Hand]

[Essence of Consonant Influence]

[Essence of Malediction]

[Essence of the Forbidden Elderscript]

[Essence of the Relinquished Heart]

Followed by a triumphant trilling, and a series of blue boxes.

Based On Your Experiences And Achievements, Ravenous Tithe is Evolving!

Calculating...

System energy poured from beyond his core space, flooding like waves at midnight, crashing into his cores and immediately redirecting toward his Ravenous Tithe. The humming increased in volume and pitch, accompanied by an agony that stabbed through Felix's throat and jaw. He screamed, or tried to, but no sound emerged only pained wheezing.

And then, without fanfare, it was over.

Ravenous Tithe (Epic) Has Become Chthonic Tribute (Legendary)!

Skill Has Retained Its Level!

Chthonic Tribute (Legendary), Level 82!

In the darkest depths, you shall find the brightest glories. Consume completely any object or creature you have claimed, gaining greater rewards from them. Uses Mana to power conversion. Greater chance of gaining Skills and/or Memories from target if applicable.

That's...fuck, that hurt. He looked over his new Skill, now twice the size of its last iteration. It doesn't even look like it changed? Wait. The bit about physically touching is gone. That's...good, I guess. Felix had skirted around that requirement anywayusing his Adamant Discord to count as contactand it had been working fine. What this meant, however, he was unsure. 'Greater rewards' sounds good though. That, paired with my new Path means I might be seeing a lot more Skills and Memories coming my way.

Felix couldn't let himself get bogged down on the details yet. There would be time enough for that later. He kept moving. Two more to go. Cardinal Flame.

Legendary Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Corrosion's Touch]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Adept Tier Bonus Added!

Calculating Effects...

Choose A Feature:

Dissolution - End It

Fragment - Break It

Consume - Take It

This Essence, at least, made sense to him. Cardinal Flame was still a bit of a mystery to Felix, having only recently evolved, but it had proven exceptionally useful. Moreover, it was clearly tied to his [Cardinal Beast Core] so Tempering it would likely gain him more benefits down the road. The Skill had dual uses: Mana control (both internal and external) and as an attack. As an offensive feature, Dissolution or Fragment seemed ideal, but for its controlling aspects it was concerning. The last thing he wanted was to have an array he was constructing break apart or end. Felix knew the definitions of these Essences weren't always so literal, but he'd done this enough to get a feel for their Intent.

Cardinal Beast, Cardinal Flame, all of it connected to the Primordials. To the Maw. Felix took a steadying breath. Consume it is.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Consume]!

Same as before, light and sound and threads of connection between his cores and the Skill. The red-gold flames latched on perhaps a touch brighter than the lightning, but it was all so smooth and seamless that Felix barely blinked and it was done. Tempered.

Trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Felix moved to his last. Adamant Discord.

Legendary Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of the Relinquished Heart]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Adept Tier Bonus Added!

Calculating Effects...

Choose A Feature:

Forswear - Repudiate Mercy

Pith - Vital Burden

Passion - Fervor Diverted

This is what my Skill resonates with? Felix could hardly believe it. At a glance, he knew who this Essence had come from, and he would have rather had the Urge of Spite's influence over the Archon's. But Felix couldn't deny that his Affinity identified the [Essence of the Relinquished Heart] as the best option. Why?

As far as features went, the first was immediately out. Forswearing or repudiating mercy were not things Felix was comfortable interring as part of his being. Passion was an option, but 'fervor diverted' felt proscriptive, as if it wasn't passion but its opposite the feature was extolling. Or maybe that was only a redirection of passions; either way, not a choice Felix felt happy about taking. The last was better, as 'pith' was the essence or core of something. That was a detail he could work with, though the addition of 'vital burden' was heavier than he liked.

However, as soon as he read the option, he knew it to be the right one. What was his Adamant Discord if not a burden he had to bear? All those connections he could feel, even now, weighed on him. And burden was both what he carried as well as his capacity. Felix was strong and his Skills were powerful, but that unease ate at him still. A threat loomed over him still, nameless and faceless, and Felix would be ready.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Pith]!

Light and sound inundated him. Blue-white lightning dominated lashing against his Adamant Discord and followed shortly after by red-gold flames. The Essence sank within his Skill, merging with it instantly as all the others, and Felix felt a concussive blast shake his entire core space.

3 of 3 Spirit Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

No matter the newfound changes to the sounds in his core space, pain lashed against him and Felix fought back screams. The pain was a distraction he had been expecting at this point, and it was one he couldn't afford to indulge. He focused instead on spinning his cores, and letting the System power wash through him. And it did, as a tsunami of colorless energy swelled out of the black from all directions. Skill after Skill were subsumed, until the wall of water hit his spinning cores with a hiss and scream that burst blood vessels all around Felix's Body. His Mind quaked, his senses whitened, but among all his Spirit felt as if it were being torn apart.

Torn apart and remade.

As ineffable as his Spirit Aspect was, the transcendent anguish he felt was very much not. It burned and froze him as pieces were reforged into...something. Something greater, he hoped in moments of lucidity.

Something

Some time later, Felix woke on the cold stone of his dusty room. He blinked gritty eyes up at the looming form of Karys.

"Good morning, Felix."

Everything hurt, from his toes to his hair, and Felix didn't bother getting up. "How long was I out?" His voice was hoarse, as if he'd torn it screaming. He likely had.

"It has been six hours since you began your Tempering. Remarkably quick, I must say."

"Quick? My other Temperings only took a few minutes, maybe an hour?" Felix worked his jaw. It felt like it had been shattered and put back together, and when he quested around his mouth Felix found two molars that he'd broken apart. He spat them out, new ones already regrowing in their place. They'd be good as new in a couple hours, he figured.

"That is for the lower Formations. It gets harder with each advancement, though it isn't a smooth progression. Master Tier is far, far harder than this." Karys reached down his dull iron arm and helped Felix to his feet. "But then, you are an exception to most rules, Unbound."

Felix grunted noncommittally. "I don't envy the others on their advancements then." Centering himself, the aches and pains faded from Felix's awareness as his Song of Absolution rose up. He sighed in relief, and focused on his notifications.

There was only one.

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Spirit!

You Have Formed: the Eldercrowned Spirit

+50 WIL

+100 INT

+50 RES

+40 INE

+40 ALA

"Hell. Yes." Felix took a sharp breath through his nose, feeling the System empower his stats once more. He grinned. "Now that's how you start a new day."

"Indeed. There are tasks I must accomplish before the other wake. If you will excuse me, Autarch?"

"Karys, no. Don't...the title is weird. It's just Felix."

The metal man hesitated before nodded. "Very well, if only in private."

Felix sighed as the former-Paragon left his room. Just a few more tasks, myself, he thought as he settled back onto the slab of a bed. Quests, Titles, there were somethings he'd had to put on the back burner while the chaos of battle had settled.

First up, my Champion of the Halcyon Title, and its bonuses....