(II) Prison

166 (II)Prison

His stomach tightened with anxiety as he wondered just how far the Ascendants might have teleported him. He needed to get back. He needed to help Adam and the others. The Tarrasque was still alive. He was needed back at Blackedge, not here in some prison. The bastards couldn't even wait for him to help finish killing the Tarrasque before doing this. Those godsdamned—

Psycho-Cartography:

Once more, Shiv’s Psycho-Cartography stopped him from spiraling. He looked upward, but hesitated before he spiked his gravity field further. The wolf-man was still down there. Shiv didn't know anything about him, didn't know how he got to this prison, or what he had done to deserve it. What he did know was that the wolf-man had apparently been here for 80 years.

80 years in solitary. That was a special kind of torture. Shiv had been ostracized and shunned for most of his life, but he still lived in a society. People still acknowledged his existence, if only to express their disgust, or to show him their fear. Something inside should have felt wrong and ashamed about leaving the Wolfman here, but what was he supposed to do? He wasn't even sure if he could escape himself.

Lacking a better option, he relied on instinct. He left an imprint of his temporal echo where he was, and accelerated higher. There was no other direction to go, and if he found the opportunity later, he might just come back. He might just see about setting the wolf-man free once he figured out why he was here.

Shiv was starting to get a feeling that this was a Republic blacksite. A far larger one compared to the torture cell where the Inquisition had kept Heather and Tran in Gate Theborn.

He flung himself upward and used his Farsight at the same time. It seemed that this valley just kept going and going. There was at least a kilometer of distance to travel before he saw a faint sheen. Red-gold. Orichalcum. This entire place seemed to be made from Orichalcum. He had no idea how the Republic had such a large supply, or even how the material itself even really worked.

He just knew that he wasn't going to be breaking out of this place through raw force.

His temporal shell began to fracture, and Shiv knew he was running out of time. And just then there came a large cascading wave. It emanated from the wall to his right, and another followed from his left as well. Both were tinged in gold and also Dimensionality. Temporal and spatial wardings. Powerful ones too. Muscle memory took hold of Shiv as he prepared to parry the magic. He let out a growl of frustration as he remembered his Magebreaker was broken again.

Unwilling to lose his Chronomancy, he dismissed his temporal shell, and time resumed.

This proved to be a mistake, as a deluge of offensive spells crashed into him.

The magic patterns running down the walls flared, and Shiv felt waves of gravity impact him. It wasn't nearly as strong as the Tarrasque, but it was still greater than anything his gravitic wrestler could muster. He pushed back, quivering in the air momentarily, but a spike of force slammed down on his head, and the world spun.

Shiv felt himself get dragged downward until he impacted the Orichalcum floor in a resounding crash. He gritted his teeth and tried to push his way up, but with every passing second, the gravitational force building on him was only getting greater, and it was more than gravity, it was physical weight as well.

His mass was growing to become unbearable, his bones creaked, his flesh and skin screamed, and then came waves of subtle Biomancy that seeped into Shiv's nerves. Soon, he lost control over his motor functions and found himself twitching on the ground. He would have been able to push back using his own Biomancy if the Tarrasque hadn't shredded his field so thoroughly.

Just then, something hit him on the head. It was more annoying than painful, and after the third bash Shiv gritted his teeth and managed to move his eye. He saw the automaton he'd impacted earlier bringing a studded club down on him over and over again. They let out mechanical wails as they let rage take hold.

Shiv decided that he had been a little too nice to the automaton, and that this behavior it was exhibiting was unbefitting of a guard. A pulse of translucence washed over Shiv, and he felt a subtle influence seep into his mind. It was at that point that Shiv activated his contingency plan. He cast himself back in time and returned to where his echo was. He blinked across space and rematerialized a mere 50 meters away.

The automaton was still swinging its club when Shiv disappeared, and so it impacted the ground with a resounding crash. The club was wrenched free from the automaton's hands. As it bounced across the ground, the mechanical Pathbearer cursed—and then shrieked as Shiv launched himself at it. He tackled the automaton to the ground and immediately drove an elbow into its head. Its optical lens cracked and sparks sprayed out, but a low groan sounding from the machine signaled it was still alive.

"Please," the automaton droned. Shiv could hear the naked fear leaking from its voice. A chain of fear flowed from the automaton to Shiv, and he felt his magic and strength surge. The automaton was a damned fool, but Shiv still didn’t have the taste for finishing it off. He wasn’t facing a warrior.

Just then, a loud, telepathic broadcast hammered against Shiv's mind as the speaker from earlier returned.

This didn’t surprise Shiv. Considering the price the System had placed on his head, it was going to be hard for most greedy Pathbearers to resist the opportunity he presented. 10 Legendary Skills were enough to make anyone a monster in battle. Frankly, the only part that left Shiv astonished was the fact that the Ascendants wanted him alive.

Maybe they were deliberating on who got to kill him.

Once more, a crushing swell of Dynamancy blasted out from the nearby walls, but Shiv went out of context. The coldness flowed through him. That was fine. He wouldn't stay in this state for long. Instead, he intended to cause a bit more chaos. He was out of ingenious plans, but he did know one thing: The spell patterns flowing down along the valley walls like waterfalls needed to be disrupted. Shiv couldn't break Orichalcum, but he didn't need to do so to destabilize the magic. He just needed to drain a bit of vitality and let a mana storm do his job for him.

As soon as the Dynamancy faded, he returned to the world, surfacing in a burst of red and white as he extended his vitae. His vitae strand splashed on both walls, and Shiv drew in life force from the world. The left wall flashed, and a tide of Biomancy crashed against Shiv. However, his field had recovered just enough that he managed to last a second. A second and no more before his field was torn asunder again.

Aegis of Assimilation 111 > 112

But that second mattered. That second mattered because by the time Shiv felt his nervous system get usurped he managed to open up a rupture, which promptly unleashed a fountain of water.

But it wasn't ordinary water; it moved less like a fluid as it crept across the world, and more like an infection.

And Shiv noticed the faint notes of red within the water. Literal notes. They resembled melodies. Symbols from a musical sheet. And inside the fluid, pulsing tissues emerged and faded. The unnatural flood crashed against the wall and the spellwork cascading down the walls, and it broke apart as conflicting mana swept across its surface.

A groan of laughter came from Shiv as he was released from the crushing magic keeping him pinned. His nerves didn't feel like they were on fire anymore, and the Dynamancy was lessened as well. It took a moment for him to regain control over his body, but by the time he was standing, two groups of Pathbearers teleported in ahead and behind him.

There were six Pathbearers in both teams. Each was led by a Vanguard bearing colossal halberds and mighty shields. One carried a tower shield, while the other had a round shield that covered half their body. Behind them were lancers, Pathbearers bearing spears or lances, and behind them were mages. One Jump Mage at least for each group. And finally there was an Archer of some kind at the back of each team—holding a large, barreled weapon Shiv couldn’t identify.

More teams teleported in. They appeared to his left and right as well, and Shiv found himself boxed in. The mana storm seeping out from the rupture was promptly sealed by a bubble of Dimensionality, and the strange Biomancy-Hydromancy fusion magic was cut off.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Shiv licked his lips as he eyed his new adversaries. Once more, the System made him pulse, and a notification appeared before his vision. It reminded people who he was every single time, deliberately provoking them.

The tower shield-wielding Pathbearers pointed their halberds at Shiv. "Down on the ground. Hands out at your sid—”

And Shiv didn't hear the rest because he promptly discharged his inertial sheath. A blast of force expanded out from him. Two bolts cut through the air. Shiv was long gone. He started pumping out his Creeping Void right after. Everything around him faded into all-consuming blackness.

Two more shots cut past his head, slamming together. Both arrows detonated in midair as they impacted. The Pathbearers who fired those bolts were accurate, dead-on, and equal to each other. That's how their shots met in the air. That's how Shiv realized that they were unleashing payloads of concussive force. They were serious about taking him alive. Tragically, he didn't think they had enough force in those arrows to even tickle him.

The Creeping Void 114 > 116

However, Shiv didn't want to be bogged down fighting these Pathbearers. He needed out. He paused. He observed his adversaries for a moment and realized he didn't even know where was. No, what he needed were a hostage and a guide.

That way he would be able to navigate this prison. And finally, something caught his attention. From the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow zipping down along the walls. Shiv spiked his field to the left and barely avoided a descending kick. The blow fell like a plunging axe, and as soon as it struck the ground, the Orichalcum surface resonated like a bell.

The attack reminded Shiv of Bonk's Heroic-Tier Physicality, how every time he struck something it made them resonate, made them more vulnerable for the next hit. It also reminded Shiv of Bonk because it didn't inflict a lot of collateral damage. It simply made the ground rattle and nothing more.

Even though the attack was a blindingly fast kick, there was no shockwave, no combustion in the air. There was control and precision.

And something about this new enemy left Shiv feeling uneasy.

The enemy automaton looked at Shiv from a gleaming, vertical slit of violet light. Its head was the shape of a thin pyramid, and Divination mana spilled free from its face. That also explained why it could see him even in this nest of darkness. Shiv studied his new enemy. It had six arms, and its body was designed with the aesthetic of an extremely muscular human. In fact, its torso resembled some very stylized armor designs, those that had pecs and a six-pack. Its legs, meanwhile, were like jointed blades. This automaton was made for running. And something told Shiv to be wary of its speed.

But more than any of these details, what made his hairs stand on it was the ethereal presence hovering above the bot like an apparition.

It pointed its single, massive fist at Shiv in something of a salute.

The automaton Ascendant. He was facing an Avatar.

Shiv hovered in the air, but his new adversary simply stood on the ground. Another arrow ripped blindly through the darkness, impacting this adversary's shoulder. The bolt bounced off at an angle, and a pulse of kinetic energy sank into the automaton’s body.

Shiv noted.

Yet, instead of attacking Shiv immediately, this new hostile looked him up and down and held up a placating hand. "Surrender. Councilwoman Veronica Chandler demands that you be interred here. But she said nothing of harm or use of force. I ask you again. Surrender peacefully, and we will make sure you are accommodated properly."

Shiv didn't reply. Instead, he shot upward and froze time, trying to break contact. His odds of surviving in this prison long were poor. His chances of overcoming an Ascendant were practically non-existent.

As soon as he activated his temporal shell, the automaton's Chronomancy flared as well. However, its time magic didn't work like Shiv's. Instead, a golden pathway punched through Shiv's being as time accelerated. Pieces of his temporal shell shattered. Shiv lost four seconds from the impact. But as he cast himself back in time, he avoided the remainder of the beam and began climbing once more.

He whipped out a strand of Vitae and snatched one of the crossbow-wielding Pathbearers. As soon as he started reeling them up, another beam of gold came for him. Shiv cursed and reverted his position to where he was three seconds ago. His temporal armor was on the verge of breaking, and he dismissed his Chronomancy. Too late. A tide of gold struck him. The wardings impacted his body, and he was too distracted by everything to respond. His Chronomancy shattered.

Shiv let out a grunt of frustration, which turned into a choked cry as something hit him in the back. The blow thundered through his body, and he felt the air get driven out from his lungs. Before he could respond, a hand snaked around his neck and began tightening.

A hand that was promptly turned to crushed paste as Shiv seized it. He pressed inward with his gravitic field, and a scream came from behind him as he shredded the arm that dared touch him. Yet before he could do anything else, the six-armed automaton was upon him. Shiv flung the Pathbearer that just choked him at the automaton. Rather than swatting his ally aside, the automaton caught his companion and twirled in the air, draining his momentum.

Shiv spiked his field forward, and he prepared to detonate his sheath again and then move in another direction. Then, an unseen force pulled Shiv in. It felt like the world was collapsing—like left, right, up, down didn’t exist. But he had to move ahead. Shiv fought to keep his trajectory, spiking himself over and over. His inertial sheath exploded as he got within a meter of his foe.

The blast flung most of the other Pathbearers off their feet. Only the Vanguards remained standing. The Avatar, meanwhile, walked through Shiv’s attack like it was strolling through a rough gale. It somersaulted over Shiv in a blur. He spiked himself backward, driving his shoulder into the automaton.

But it was like water, and Shiv was a stone. It gave ground and sapped his might. With the sudden shift of their hip, Shiv found himself being launched off balance. He tried pulling his field back, but was forced to discharge his inertial sheath again when he realized he was going too fast. As soon as he discharged, the automaton struck. Three hard fists struck Shiv in the solar plexus, the throat, and the temple.

His vision darkened—but Shiv exploded forward in a second wind and tried to headbutt his enemy.

It caught him by the neck with one hand. The speed and force was ripped out of him. He went dead-still. Shiv hissed as he tried to pull back, but he was trapped in a force-drinking grip. And he ultimately found himself helpless. He strained with all his might, but the automaton casually drove its remaining palms into his body.

Gravitic Wrestler 187 > 190

A bomb went off inside Shiv. It was then that Shiv felt the true power of the automaton. It didn't deliver strikes to the body. It didn't even scratch his skin. No, the punch went straight to Shiv's mind. An entire section of his thoughts were rendered blank. Shiv reeled. Drool dripped from his lips as he lost track of where he was, who he was.

Three more punches hit him, followed by a kick.

When a semblance of coherence returned to Shiv, he was twirling through the air. His head bounced off the ground, but instead of feeling any pain, he was just utterly confused. Pure instinct spared him from a low kick that was scything through the air, coming straight for his head.

However, he was tackled back to the ground before he could fully get back to his feet. A blade was rammed into his ribs, and the blade broke against his ribs as Shiv triggered his Pillar of Orichalcum. He swung blindly, and his elbow connected with something. It was a sloppy hit, but he was strong enough now that the target let out a loud cry of pain. Shiv dragged his field and began to slide across the ground. Blood sprayed as Shiv dragged the Pathbearer trying to assassinate him along the floor like a whetstone.

When he got tired of her howls of pain, he flung her at another adversary and tried to rise—

Only for a crossbow bolt to punch through his chest. Shiv realized he'd underestimated those bolts, because it promptly detonated with more than kinetic force. A gravitic chain shot out from the bolt and connected him to the ground. Shiv stopped time—and the war dings immediately shattered his shell. The Avatar—which was suddenly right in front of him again—flicked its leg up. Shiv moved to back off—but its kick went from being a roundhouse to something more akin to a question mark. A blow meant for his body curved and struck his head instead.

Whiteness filled Shiv’s vision as the flat side of the bladed leg impacted him. When he returned to himself, he was gasping on the ground.

The automaton stood over him. Its fists were clenched, and it repeated its command. “Surrender. It is never too late.” Its voice was serene. Like the rustling of leaves. Like shaking grass.

Shiv was almost lured into a false sense of tranquility when his Psycho-Cartography Skill screamed at him.

More bolts struck his body. New gravity chains kept him pinned to the ground. He tried to struggle and break these chains, but they were too dense, and he was surrounded. His body was—

The automaton said something else—but its peaceful demeanor broke into a shout of alarm as Shiv disemboweled himself with a burst of gravity. “What are you doing!”

Shiv flung his viscera and intestines over the automaton’s body. It swatted his gore aside—but was too late to stop him from killing himself. The rest of Shiv’s body imploded into a wet mess of splattered red. His Vitae slipped free from his corpse, unchained from the crossbow bolts. At the same time, the Avatar was distracted by Shiv’s brutal death and didn’t see a slithering strand of Vitae gliding through the blood and burrowing into its foot.

Pyromancy 15 > 18

Hydromancy 12 > 15

Psychomancy 19 > 26

Aegis of Assimilation 112 > 114

Pillar of Orichalcum 225 > 229

Gravitic Wrestler 190 > 195

Outside Context Problem 82 > 87

Vitaemancy 89 > 93

Vitality drain 89 > 96

As soon as Shiv made contact with the automaton’s body, he drained its vitality. He used the very same technique that weakened the Tarrasque against his divinely powered foe. The Orichalcum valley was bathed in a vortex of lifeforce. For the first time, the Avatar cried out in agony. Shiv resurrected in a near instant as an ocean of vitality surged through him.

The Avatar crashed down to its knees, and Shiv felt its inner flame flicker. In another few seconds, it would be nothing more than just ash—

Its hand shot out and seized Shiv’s. Its body came aglow with divine incandescence. The Deathless’s eyes widened as Cripple infused itself into the lesser automaton. Five of the avatar’s arms shattered into shrapnel. One remained, and it absorbed the broken pieces that composed the other limbs to create a colossal slab of fractured alloy.

the Avatar said, Cripple’s voice echoing through it.