MM - Chapter 243 - TALONS OF THE PHOENIX

KakaruNeko

- Central Silvergate Highlands, ZionLine -

KakaruNeko’s Spark Blast slammed into Alaric’s unmoving form, fizzling against his dark armor with a pathetic crackle. A damage number floated into the air, an insult to the power she had channeled. [-81] The other nine elites fared no better. Daggers of solidified shadow, bolts of kinetic force, and blades of sharpened wind struck true, only to splash harmlessly against their vulnerable target. Their combined volley barely scraped away four hundred health.

One of her allies gasped. “How is this possible? Is the array even working?”

KakaruNeko’s eyes narrowed, scanning the faint shimmers of energy that clung to Alaric’s armor. “Look closely. He has multiple layers of defensive buffs running. Casters, counter them! Max debuffs, now!”

“We’re trying! It’s not working! It keeps saying resisted!”

The flames gushing from Alaric roused her urgency, which carried through her snapped commands. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t last long. Keep attacking!” With ten of them working in unison, the damage piled on rapidly.

Not the type to take chances, she looked over her shoulder toward the raging battle between summons and mercenaries. Her gaze then settled on the one-armed, trembling form of Torune. Her voice was a venomous whisper. “If your people cannot hold the mercs off for the next five minutes, do not expect to survive the week.”

“H-how am I supposed to do that?!” Torune squeaked, clutching the stub of his arm and glaring daggers at the healers all ignoring his suffering. Yet, there was nothing he could do. If the Phoenix Clan wanted him dead in reality, not even Grandmaster Pladius could stop them. “You saw what they did to our mercenaries! How am I supposed to do anything to them?”

“Is this little army of yours for show?” KakaruNeko’s patience snapped. “Last warning. Get it done, or I will personally ensure that your last breath will be drawn today!”

The blood drained from Torune’s face. With a terrified glance back at Alaric’s burning form, he turned and ran, “Charge! Charge, you lousy bottom feeders! Earn your damn pay or don’t even think about ever learning a martial technique for the rest of your miserable lives!” Torune’s shouted orders carried the desperation of a condemned man.

Since none of the Halnugen had chosen to go the route of true caster classes, they were stuck with multiple-second cooldowns on each of their elemental attacks. They unleashed another wave, then another, their faces grim masks of concentration as they slowly chipped away at Alaric’s health.

“What the crap, we’ve only dealt fourteen percent?”

All of their brains had undergone enough temperings to be able to compute the math in an instant. They did not need to hear BallZack’s shocked declaration. “He has over thirty thousand total health?!”

The DyingNight healers darted in and out of the inferno, their own health bars flickering dangerously as they struggled to counteract the searing agony of the demonic flames while keeping the Halnugen alive.

After what felt like hours, but was really less than a single minute, Alaric’s health dipped below the halfway mark. A collective sigh of relief was cut short when, just as victory seemed imminent, a surge of vibrant energy pulsed from his body. His health bar instantly jumped back to the fifty-percent threshold.

“What was that?!” A woman shrieked, her composure cracking.

“Why won’t he die?!” Another roared, slamming a fist into his thigh angrily.

KakaruNeko’s own frustration simmered beneath her cold exterior. She stared at the unmoving man, her voice a low growl of pure hatred. “Just. Fucking. Die!”

Raine KongRu

- The Outer Realm -

The instant Raine’s blood-fist cracked the barrier of his inner world, a heaving suction grabbed his thoughts in a vice. He was ripped outside and his reality inverted. The dome that had contained his entire mental existence shrank in the blink of an eye, becoming less than a tiny marble at his feet. His avatar—the body of blood he so painstakingly forged—swelled to colossal proportions. 

He was a giant now, with all the ganglyness that implied. Other than the ground beneath his feet, which felt solid enough, he was in a chaotic, formless expanse of swirling nothingness. It stretched as far as the eye could see, even from his incredible vantage. Disorientation struck as he tried to command a body of such impossible size. 

Adding to the difficulty were the inky, shadowy tendrils that he’d observed clinging to the shrunken dome of his inner realm. When he grew, they had latched to his arms and legs like thick, viscous webbing, weighing him down. He took a clumsy step forward, and the world distorted again. His gargantuan form instantly halved in size, the ground rushing up to meet him. The dome was now as large as a thimble.

Raine wobbled, arms flailing for balance. He quickly adapted, planting his feet. When he deliberately stepped back to his original position, his brows shot up as he doubled in size once more.

What the hell? I shrink when I move away from the dome? What are these shadows? They’re so heavy, but they aren’t hurting—

His thoughts ceased upon catching the first signs of something ‘other’ in the swirling distance: movement. Squinting through the fog revealed the outline of a colossal hovering beast. It became clearer the longer he stared, revealing vast wings of orange and sapphire that beat against the air with a steady, powerful rhythm. The tip of each feather blazed with a scarlet glow, bathing the gray void in a hellish light. There was no mistaking the creature. It was a phoenix.

Raine saw it then. A single, thick shadow stretched from the base of the great bird, spanning the impossible distance to connect directly to him and the dome at his feet. Without a second thought, he lifted a titanic knee and slammed his foot down upon the dark pathway. The ground exploded from the tremendous force, and the shadow shattered like brittle glass. A quarter of the sticky webs clinging to his body disintegrated.

A burst of raw fury and confusion flooded his awareness as his emotions, suppressed by the void, came roaring back. He looked down and saw that beneath the first layer of shadowy webs, another was revealed. Without wasting a moment, he stomped again, shattering a second shadow that stretched back to an even more distant phoenix. His sense of vision and hearing returned in a snap. Raine’s eyes opened to find a very real battlefield clogged with CronGate regulars all around him. 

However, he could also still see the outer realm from his mind’s eye. It was dizzyingly overlaid across his perception like a holographic display covering every centimeter of the real world. Arrayed in a loose circle around him were the Phoenix elites, and behind each was a translucent hovering bird with wings of fire.

The pieces clicked into place. This colossal form he had taken was a representation of his domain. The phoenixes in the distance were the representations of the Phoenix Clan elites’ domains. He’d known the fundamental nature of a domain must be different from a mental ability; he never could have guessed it would turn out like this.

The CronGate healers formed a wider, terrified circle behind the elites. Their faces were contorted in agony and determination. Just beyond them, a translucent golden dome composed of shimmering, arcane symbols pulsed with power. Raine knew it instantly—an Array of the Caged Beast. He had used them often enough, and died inside more than one.

The dual perception of seeing through his physical eyes and the eyes of his colossal avatar would have been impossibly disorienting if not for the years spent commanding countless summons. Another realization struck: ZionLine had been training people to use a domain long before they created one of their own. Summoning scrolls were not merely a strategic asset, they were a gift of practice for what was to come as one ascended the martial path.

“Impossible!” One of the Phoenix Elites roared, a shaky finger pointed in Raine’s direction.

His physical body, still lying in the mud, twitched. He tried to rise, but the lack of feedback from his nerves made it a monumental effort. With a grunt, he commanded his avatar to crush another shadow stretching across the outer realm.

“No!” A shrill scream sounded from one of the female elites as his sense of touch returned.

Raine barely heard her. His lungs were on fire, not from the flames gushing out of his armor, but from the desperate need for air. He gasped, a ragged, shuddering intake of breath, and the full extent of the damage to his body flooded his senses. Healing Burst activated on pure instinct, restoring a considerable chunk of his health pool, which had been boosted 200% by the Fraction of Purity’s Soul of Reformation. The elites, who had fought so hard to whittle him down, screamed in pure rage as so many of their efforts were undone.

In the outer realm, the giant birds flapped their massive wings, and fresh shadows shot across the land, attempting to ensnare him once more. Raine would not allow it. His avatar danced, kicking and stomping in rapid succession. A literal mountain of dirt rose into the air of the outer realm as he shattered shadow after shadow. He noted that each time he moved more than a step from the dome beneath him, his form shrank. A second consecutive step halved his size again, reducing him to a quarter of his maximum.

So that's why they keep their domains close. It's not because they have to, but because they grow weak so quickly.

The last shadow was undone with a final, definitive stomp. Raine’s senses were thoroughly restored. He was himself again. He surged to his feet, and with a flex of will, the Soul Flame of Amanesh reasserted dominance. He choked the demonic fires of his armor back, reducing their intensity just enough that the surrounding elites were no longer actively being burned to death. He had questions, and they were the only ones with answers.

Are they only using those shadows because moving closer would weaken them? How can I do the same?

“Don’t lose focus! It’s not a real domain!” The old woman who targeted him in the mountains spoke clearly, her voice cutting through the stunned silence.

At her words, the tense expressions on the elites’ faces melted away, replaced by mocking laughter and cruel mirth. The one Raine had burned from the inside sneered. “Foolish boy! So much for your vaunted mental strength! You’ve destroyed your future all on your own.” He threw his head back and laughed, a wild, maniacal sound. “Tell you what. How about we spend some time together in Carter City on my next day off? You, me, and that pretty pink thing of yours. I’ll be sure to thoroughly explain how badly you just fucked up before I rip out your heart!”

Despite knowing that listening to your enemies' taunts was the worst mistake one could make on the battlefield, a genuine pang of fear struck Raine. He truly had no idea what he was doing. Which of his actions had been so catastrophic? He had a sinking feeling the answer would come to him soon, and that its revelation would be less than pleasant.

His suppressed flames flared with his anger, and the elites took a wary step back as far more fierce, golden fire dug away at their health with damage that could no longer be healed. Raine’s voice was dangerously quiet, yet none missed a single word. “Why don’t you explain it now. Maybe if you do, I’ll let you live this time.”

“Hah! You’re so disoriented you haven’t even grasped the situation,” the man scoffed. “Your attributes are cut by twenty percent, and you’re completely surrounded. You don’t stand a chance without your mercenaries, and they won’t make it here in time to save you!”

I certainly would be disoriented if controlling my avatar wasn’t precisely like controlling a summon.

Raine shook his head slowly, eyes downcast. “You know, you’re right. You really could beat me… if you dropped my attributes by fifty percent.” His piercing gaze snapped up, the intent to kill washing outward in a physical wave. Overlaid by the avatar, his bloodlust flared like never before. It writhed and danced through the air as it sought to strangle the life from anyone who drew too close. 

His loose sleeves whipped in the unnatural wind of his mental strength made manifest, and the dirt beneath his feet quivered. Supple leather gloves shimmered into being over his hands, tiny spikes adorning each knuckle. He dropped into a low, ready stance, more than prepared to take a life or two to loosen their tongues.

“Fifty?! What kind of joke—” The man’s words were cut short. 

Raine dash-stepped, his form blurring to appear before the taunter, a fist wreathed in golden flames pulled back to strike. In that same split second, the outer realm warped. His avatar of blood crossed hundreds of kilometers in an instant, appearing directly before one of the distant phoenixes. They were equals in size and ferocity. Man and beast locked gazes. Time swelled as his fist approached.

True to his training as a peak master, the elite was already ducking. But the man was never the target. With a flicker of thought, Phantom Disengage activated, its charges built while chasing Torune. Raine teleported, vanishing to reappear behind another man on the opposite side of the golden cage.

His punch, already near full extension, was impossible to dodge in time. His intent triggered, and perfectly-manipulated fine-muscle-control activated Flurry of One. Raine’s fist became a phantom cascade of not one, but a dozen strikes, each crashing into the back of his enemy’s skull with spectacular force. [-24,948]

The man exploded into a fine crimson mist, taking his phoenix with him. Three glowing, golden pieces of equipment hung in the air where he had stood. Before they could begin to fall, Raine’s hands blurred, touching each orb and sucking them into his inventory. The looks of amusement on his enemies’ faces vanished, replaced by shock and fury.

Everyone moved at once. Scrolls were unfurled, crackling with destructive energy. Two of the elites used unfamiliar martial techniques, their bodies blurring as they closed the distance even faster than his dash-step. As they neared, their avatars in the outer realm materialized before Raine’s own. The giant birds struck in perfect harmony.

One man wielded a staff with wickedly sharp blades on each end; the other carried a shortsword and shield. Their movements were sublime, carrying the weight of lifetimes of training in martial stances far superior to Raine’s. Despite being slower than him in raw speed, they read his stance like an open book, effortlessly predicting and countering his attempts to evade. 

Simultaneously, their phoenix avatars comboed a vicious rake of claws with a darting beak from the side. Overwhelmed on both fronts, Raine was struck repeatedly. The physical force and damage barely registered to his buffed Defenses. However, the mental force from the avatars crashed into his blood-avatar like a freight train. He was thrown back to bounce hard off the shimmering inner wall of the cage. [-212] [-449]

Alarm bells rang in his skull as the blows in the outer realm sheared off a significant portion of his avatar’s blood-mass. His form recovered, though it shrank to match. The liquid that had once belonged to him—the precious results of his tireless labors—sloshed to the gray ground, and the instant it separated from his form, his connection to it vanished forever.

Even as Raine’s heart seized with realization, the elites paid for the damage they’d done. The Soul Flame of Amanesh had obeyed his will, forming four whips of soulfire that curled around his attackers and lashed at their exposed flanks. Both men screamed, a raw, guttural sound as not only their flesh, but their very essence was flayed. [-781] [-711] 

The pain of a soul burn was an agony far beyond that of normal fire. The healers on the outskirts frantically cast their spells, but the damage remained. Sensing the danger, the two elites clamped down on their agony and redoubled their efforts, pressing in for another round of impossible-to-dodge attacks.

Raine tried again to fend them off, but it was no use. Their martial prowess wasn’t on another level; it was on another dimension. Again, their blows landed, sending him stumbling. [-307] [-617] Worse, they were learning, contorting their bodies in impressive maneuvers to avoid the lashing whips of his soul flame. 

But they were not the only ones learning.

Having realized that losing his avatar’s mass was far more dangerous than losing health, Raine swapped the majority of his focus to the intangible and translucent outer realm. His blood avatar took a step forward, directly into the cutting wing of one phoenix. His avatar shrunk at the perfect moment to duck beneath the attack. At the same time, he drove a powerful punch into its stomach, sending the massive bird stumbling directly into the raking claws of its compatriot.

Feathers flew, but unlike Raine’s blood, they did not disperse into nothing; they were sucked down to the ground, where the man’s inner realm must be located. He understood now. The steps he’d taken to get here were flawed. If he lost this battle, he would lose half of his mental strength forever. His entire past life had contributed to the lake he’d naively drained, and now, it was all at risk.

The elites at the far side of the cage finished charging their scrolls, ready to unleash incredible destruction in the constrained array. Yet, a vicious grin stretched Raine’s lips. This was it. Regardless of his mistakes, he had taken the next step on his path. His back was literally to the wall, and every millimeter of his body was a raging bonfire of purpose. 

He was alive in the only way that mattered. And now, it was time for his enemies to learn what thirty years of training in ZionLine did to a person.

[Razorwind Spike Dusters: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 35) (Attack Power +131) (Attack Speed +1.5) (PTC +25) (ACU +50) (PHY +30) (Durability 150/150)]

[Heart of Plutus (Accessory - Ring): (Heavenly Amethyst - Damaged) (All attributes +15%) Contains the last remnants of the fallen celestial Plutus. Through it, fractions of his power may be brought to bear. Only one fraction may be active at a time (Cooldown: 10 minutes)]

[Fraction of Purity: (Celestial Power +20%) (PHY +20%) Upon command channel the Soul of Reformation to restore health equal to maximum health and further boost maximum health by 200% for 5 minutes (Cost: 200 CP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Flurry of One: (Completion - 69% Expert) With any fist weapon, combine 14 strikes into 1, dealing 566% physical damage (Cost: 7 Discipline) (Cooldown: 4 seconds)]