Unbound

Primeval Drift is level 82!

Archie walked free of another jar, carrying two more wheezing bodies atop his shoulders. He stumbled to a stop as his ears started working again and whipped his head to the side. He blinked. A firehose the size of a waterslide was being blasted off from a…glowing guy?

What the hell happened? I was gone for like two seconds!

Zennick shone like a cracked glowstick, and Archie could see the guy's skull beneath his skin. It was as intimidating as it was gross. Harn was trapped, held up by the deluge of the Overlord’s power, and the wall was starting to crack.

Jesus. What should I do?

The people over his shoulders slipped, and Archie tightened his grip on them. They were slick with whatever mixture was inside the refinement jars and smelled awful—but they were alive. Archie swallowed. I gotta keep moving. Harn’ll survive, but these people won't.

He took a step, ready to reactivate his Primeval Drift, when the Kobolds caught his eye.

Kevin was running across the chamber, his sickle swinging at the end of its chain.

You idiot!

"Shadow!" Kevin cried out, and from above, his brother started moving, too, hopping between stone supports.

What are they doing?

Shadow leaped from on high, and, mid-leap, his body was consumed in a brilliant, searing glow. Still spinning his chain, Kevin reached out, a green-gold light unfurling from his chest. Archie winced, and his Affinity roared in his ears. The air around the twins hummed, screaming with a crescendo of wild, inchoate music.

The Overlord lifted a fist and lazily brought it down at them both.

Shadow fell.

Kevin rose.

An explosion shook the tower, shattering the earth and hurling Archie and his unconscious cargo back into the air. Stone dropped from above, five-foot-wide chunks knocked free from creaking walls. Archie twisted, pulling his passengers close before flaring Primeval Drift.

Primeval Drift is level 83!

They slid harmlessly through the walls, propelled outside the tower and into the bare courtyard. Archie turned, pushing his boot against the earth and skidding to a stop. Legionnaires crowded close. “Take them.”

“Aye, sir.”

He dove back in.

Archie arrived just as the dust cleared away with a single, powerful swipe of the Overlord’s glowing hands. The armored tendrils had pulled close, but the man was bleeding. It was only a minor burn across his neck and face, but he grinned to see it.

The Overlord flared a brighter blue, and the wound healed. Shit.

"Wait." Zennic spun as he took in the area all around him. “My work!”

Archie swallowed, heart hammering. The refinement jars he'd been stealing from were shattered, one and all. Their contents had sloshed outward, vile and putrescent, and people gasped and coughed for breath atop the muck.

Some are still alive!

"What have you done?" the Overlord demanded, and his armored tendrils flexed, shattering what remained of the jars.

"You fucked with the wrong community, Overbite!" The voice shook through the room, both high and low, as if two people were speaking at once.

Archie blinked. What the hell am I looking at?

Liquid light unfurled in the center of the chamber like the petals of a brilliant flower. Within it, a figure emerged. Equal in height with the Overlord, they rippled with scale-covered muscles. A furry crest ran down a broad back, terminating on a long, whip-like tail. Four lean arms spread wide from the sides of a muscular torso, holding a pair of sickles and chains. Its dragon-like head had four eyes and a wide mouth filled with sharp fangs that it bared at the Overlord.

"What monstrosity has defiled my presence?"

The creature leaned forward into a low stance, and purple-green Mana pooled from every one of its clawed hands.

"We're the Dragomir, jerkwad." The two Kobolds, impossibly combined, blurred forward.

A massive flower rose up from beneath the Overlord, closing around him with petals larger than the man. The Overlord swung his tendrils outward, smashing against the blossom, but it tightened like a steel trap before imploding in a spray of caustic pollen.

“Gah!” Zennic stumbled free, blasting the pollen away with a flare of force Mana, only to withstand a barrage of projectiles the size of swords that spat from massive, spiked mushrooms on either side of him. He grunted, blocking most of them with his armored tendrils, but a few struck true, sinking deep into his flesh.

“That is enough!” Zennic sheared them from his body with a wave of force before he blurred towards the Dragomir.

A massive, leathery leaf unfurled from the earth, intercepting Zennic’s first and second strike. Still, the frond burned, sizzling away beneath his might, and it did not last long enough to withstand the strikes of the armored tendrils. Those smashed into the combined Kobolds, knocking them to their knees.

Zennic did not relent. He swung, landing a one-two shot to their ribs and chin. The Dragomir went flying straight up into the air before the Overlord grabbed him by the ankles and body-slammed them to the earth—only to have them impact a cushioned mushroom cap.

It crushed beneath the Kobolds and released a spray of noxious spores. Zennic fell back, hands over his face, while the kids scrambled off, hiding in the cloud.

Archie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He burned to fight, to help the kids against whatever this Overlord had become.

Except…

Around the area where the jars had shattered, the prisoners were trying to stand on shaking legs. The Dragomir kept the Overlord’s attention, but they were gonna get in the way of their fight. One wrong strike, and they’d all get obliterated.

Those kids had better be able to handle this. He swallowed. Keep moving, Archie. You got people to save.

Harn had no more air.

The small amount that had been inside his sealed armor was already used up, and now his lungs burned, and his chest felt ready to split open. The heavy pressure of the Overlord's deluge was enough to crumple weaker materials. He could already feel the wall caving in behind him, and his arcanite would only last so long. The stream had weakened slightly moments ago, but still, it held him fast while the seals of his armor immobilized him.

When he saw the light, he feared it was the end.

But then it resolved into a dual illumination, red-gold and blue-white. It hung before him, and Harn looked up, suddenly free of his armor and standing upon a wide plane of black water. Above, the night sky glittered with stars, and two of them shone brighter than all the others.

A voice drifted to him, across the still waters.

"You fought well, man, but it's not over yet."

Felix? It sounded like his friend, and yet it didn't.

"All power has a cost, but you've paid it. Time and again, you sacrifice yourself for your people. I think it's time that we reward that."

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A feeling of connection strengthened within him, as if his chest and the stars were bound together by rods stronger than orichalcum.

The Link.Had it alerted Felix? Or was it…was it me? What’d Zara call it? His brain was starting to fog over, and the edges of his vision darkened. My Intent. My Need. Is it drivin’ this?

The Stars Burn.

Stone Trembles.

Their Influence Is Yet To Be Determined.

A woman's voice? It resonated in Harn's Mind like an old friend he’d forgotten. It was like the System but…different.

Synergy Detected!

The Influence Of The Fiend Resonates Within You!

A Boon Of Bonds Is Extended.

Do You Accept?

Harn wanted to laugh, but he didn’t have the breath. Did he accept? He'd promised Palin he'd be back in one piece this time. Of course he accepted.

I trust you, kid. And I need all the help I can get. As if reaching with a limb he'd never used, but knew intimately all the same, Harn pulled on his Link with Felix.

The blue and red stars swelled, and suddenly the dark expanse became his Armory. The radiance surged through his core space, igniting the crystalline anvil at the center of his core space with a new opalescent form.

Linked Hands Beneath Burning Stars.

Worlds Within Worlds Bound By Choice.

Let Sing The Bonds Of Fellowship.

The Fiend Grants His Aid.

Power flooded through him, metal Mana and the heat of a burning forge sweeping out of him in a riotous burst. It soaked through his Armory, melting the weaponry that lined the rotating platforms—only to have them reforged anew, the metal now shining and opalescent. The windows above darkened, the vague sunlight replaced by the dark of night, and the illumination of dual stars.

Link Upgraded!

Link IV > Link VI!

The power blasted apart the tendrils holding him, and his Born Trait failed. Harn fell, freed from his poisonous prison to collapse at the base of the tower wall as a flurry of power tore through him. He ground his teeth, tasting blood, but he did not scream. He would not give anyone the satisfaction of his screams.

Congratulations!

Evolution Complete!

You Have Evolved Colossus of the Everflame (M) Into Blood of the Everflame (T)!

Level Has Been Retained!

Blood of the Everflame (Transcendent), Level 95!

Your rage has become incandescent, drawing on your Will and Intent to push you to limits beyond mortal men. Your very soul has taken on aspects of the silver flame, and it pours through your limbs like lifeblood, so that even your wounds harm your enemies.

You Have Evolved Wrath of the Twin Fangs (L) Into Starsteel's Descent (T)!

Level Has Been Retained!

Starsteel's Descent (Transcendent), Level 93!

Your strikes descend like falling stars, screaming with destructive might enough to bypass even the heaviest defenses. Your axes respond to your Intent, their accuracy greatly affected by the sharpened edge of your Will. They will return to your hand for a moderate cost in Mana.

You Have Evolved Forgesteel Skin (L) Into Flesh of the Wakened Earth (T)!

Level Has Been Retained!

Flesh of the Wakened Earth (Transcendent), Level 89!

Your skin and muscle and bone have become more than metal, drawing on the earth's power to withstand the blows of the Ages. Greatly decreases incoming damage. Greatly increases weight per level. Strength moderately increased per level. Endurance greatly increased per level.

The Grand Harmony soared through him, a rousing glissando of notes that drove his Spirit to heights Harn had never experienced. Yet among it all, a buzzing atonality brought him back, tempering his ascension as Skill after Skill burst alight within his center. They congealed into opalescent shapes, all touched by hammer and anvil.

A silver forge flame.

A pair of axes.

A suit of armor.

Sound and fury faded, and Harn looked up. In the near distance, among the shattered remnants of refinement jars, a creature was doing battle with the Overlord. The Divine bastard was on the back foot and bloodied, but he was still hitting his opponent with incredible force. The creature was strange, and for a moment, Harn was certain he was dying again because they spoke with familiar voices.

"Shadow, that's my arm! I use the sickle!"

"Then stop messing up my spells!"

Harn grunted and stood, forcing his legs to take his weight. “Damn Unbound.”

Zennic and the Kobolds moved around the room fast and fluid, their strikes constant and explosive. Each impact shook the air, even where he stood, and it drew dust down from the ceiling and walls above.

Harn looked up. Where he’d been trapped, the tower had begun to crack open. A few places in the ceiling even had gaping holes where stones had fallen free. He grunted.

I got a Felix-type idea.

“ZENNIC!” Harn rushed forward, legs blurring. The Overlord whipped toward him, his eyes and mouth gleaming with bright blue light. An armored tendril swung for him, but Harn dropped to his knees. He slid beneath it, scooping up his discarded axes and swinging in the same motion. From behind, the Kobolds sliced with a dark sickle.

“Shortsighted churls!” Blades met orichalcum bracers as Zennic parried the both of them at once. Arcanite blades and dark sickle struck sparks, but they did nothing against the Overlord.

Blood of the Everflame is level 96!

Both of Harn’s axes ignited.

Zennic's eyes widened in panicked pain as silver flame splashed across his forearm, eating away at his skin and muscle. “Ouranic Restoration!”

Metallic blue power poured through him, healing his flesh faster than the flame could destroy it. He laughed. "I am filled with the light of Ouranic Law! I will not be ended here!"

With a great bellow, he threw both of them back and summoned his armored tendrils. The Overlord unleashed his Venom’s Fingers, tearing through their armor and flesh, even as the Kobolds and Harn brought their Skills to bear. Spitting flowers and clouds of pollen swirled, clinging to Zennic even as Harn’s axes swung for his vitals.

Dark crimson blood splattered the floor, and not all of it was theirs.

Zennic was only human, and Harn had killed plenty of humans before.

Thorny vines and bright flowers of affliction seized their foe, slowing him for a handful of moments so that Harn could bring his fury to bear. Axes fell, splitting glowing armor beneath their keen edges, burning away his light with silver.

Blood of the Everflame is level 97!

"Vex me no longer!" Zennic cried, pulling his poisoned tendrils close. He sheltered behind his Divine protection, a writhing mass of defense that batted away Harn's axes with ease but left him with no offense. "You will no longer defy the will of the Twins!"

"You're right," Harn said, leaping back. Just outside the man's reach, he hefted his axes and hurled them with every ounce of Strength he had. They flew wide, passing over Zennic's shoulders, much to the man's confusion.

"You missed, you fool."

"I didn't," Harn growled, "but I think we're done here."

The Overlord spun, following Harn's gaze to his axes, where they had crashed into the stone, widening the cracks that ran up the tower wall.

"Blood of the Everflame!"

Blood of the Everflame is level 98!

Silver flame erupted from his axes and seared up the wall as if it were made of kindling, splitting the stone apart as incredible heat forced the break to expand. The tower groaned and shook.

"Invasive Growth!"

Power flew from the Kobold's four hands, and massive vines broke the surface of the ground beneath the Overlord's feet, wrapping around his body as five-foot thorns hooked into his armor and bound him to the earth. Zennic raged, and the floor broke, but more vines rose up.

A great, shearing crack sounded from above…and the first pieces fell.

Harn kicked back, evading the plummeting chunks, but an armored hand seized his leg. He fell back, crashing to the floor, and looked into the visored eyes of the maddened Overlord.

"I am eternal, but you shall die here, warrior!"

A stentorian tearing sounded above them as a massive section of roof collapsed atop of them—and Zennic caught it with a single, gauntleted hand. His armor swelled, the light within him rising to new heights, and he grew. The Overlord’s armor pressed outward by rapidly expanding flesh, filled with a Divine radiance that was blinding to behold. Harn could see nothing but the twenty-stride chunk of masonry, held easily in a giant’s grip…and he feared he’d made a mistake.

Another piece of the ceiling fell, crashing onto the first, and the Overlord’s glow faltered. His grip loosened.

Harn scrambled back.

"I am bestowed with an immutable Fate," Zennic cried. “This will not stop me!”

He pressed up, pushing the rubble higher, even as more fell atop of him. His armor broke open, and the shadow of his bones was lost in the radiance of his flesh. Zennic shone brighter, beyond blinding now, a veritable sun set down upon the earth.

Dual figures rose up within that light, hands on Zennic’s shoulders, both of them stretched and metallic and possessed of an unearthly regard.

"I will not fall," Zennic cried. "I cannot!"

He faltered, and the light within him swelled, freezing Harn beneath its sudden weight.

Failure.

Pathetic.

The Twins pulled their hands back.

Zennic howled.

"We gotta run!" The Dragomir tackled Harn, hurling them both back out of the tower—just as the Overlord exploded.

Thunder raged, and a vast force hammered at them mid-leap. Harn was struck down, the Dragomir falling with him, bashed into the uneven rock beyond the tower's circumference. They hit the ground in a confusing tangle of limbs, rolling so hard that Harn lost all sense of direction.

They fetched up, finally, against the rocky edge of the island. Harn blinked back flickering afterimages, his simple regeneration clearing it up just enough to see the Poison Fields bubbling only twenty strides below. Behind them, the tower gave a final roar as it collapsed entirely.

You Have Killed Overlord Zennic!

XP Earned!

New Title!

Spit In Their Eyes (Legendary)!

You have directly flouted the Will of the gods and survived. How brave. How foolish.

+100 WIL

+75 STR

+50 END

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