Sunscorch (Rise To Omniscience Book 8)

by Aaron Oster

  Morgan could already feel it taking effect, his perception speeding up to match the goddess’s insane movements. She swung at him, trying to knock him to the ground as he emerged through the other side of the wall, his body having been used as the weapon of choice to cause all this structural damage.

  His hand flashed up, knocking the blow aside, then he kicked her. This kick, powered up by five times his normal Strength and Agility, slammed into Sarah with the force of over 8,000 Strength and more than 10,000 Agility.

  Sarah was blasted back through the air, a section of the wall disappearing as she was knocked clean through. Morgan followed, ignoring the pain from his injuries and flashing through the hole, appearing behind her as she caught herself and turned. He caught her in a flying tackle, slamming both of them into the wall and putting the brunt of the force on her spine.

  Sarah screamed as a horrific crack rang through the night air, her spine breaking on impact as he drove her nearly fifteen feet into the stone before turning, kicking with both legs and driving himself back. Another section of the wall was blown out, leaving yet another hole in the thousand-foot construct that had stood for millennia.

  Morgan didn’t let up. He was on a timer. His Bestial Might would only last another twenty seconds, and when it was over, he would once again be at a disadvantage. However, as he came through the wall, Sarah was standing there, a sawblade of blood whirling around her body. She screamed, and the spinning blade, nearly a hundred feet across, flashed toward him.

  He flew upward, increasing his speed in an instant, and just managed to avoid the blade. It flew past, shearing straight through the wall as though it weren’t even there. The blade continued, cutting into the ground behind and leaving a trench nearly a mile long before finally stopping, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

  Sarah was on him again, her fists flashing in a stunning series of combinations, bloody blades extending from all over her body as she struck. Morgan fought back, using his own constructs and increased physical skills to counter and land blows. Several of Sarah’s attacks made it through, though they hurt far less than the previous ones.

  His Constitution was five times higher while his Bestial Might was active, and so long as he kept it going, he could fight on equal terms, even when she fought at this level.

  His fist struck out, snapping into her nose and blasting her to the ground below. Morgan was there in an instant, hammering a series of attacks into her upraised arms and driving her deeper into the ground. He had only seconds left, so he streaked upward, reaching for another superior skill, one that cost a significant amount of RP.

  A gigantic rift with edged violet around the borders opened in the sky above. It spread out over three hundred feet in all directions, darkening the already dark sky even more. People never seemed to realize just how large an area three hundred and fifty feet covered, but one look at the massive rift of boiling darkness would have given them a pretty good idea.

  The ground beneath him shattered, Sarah streaking up toward him, her bloody aura boiling in time with her scream. Flaming boulders began falling from the open rift when she was about halfway to him. Rocks that were well over ten feet across, all glowing with purple-edged red fire, streaked to the ground with far more force than ordinary gravity would normally pull.

  Dozens of flaming boulders streaked from the sky, slamming into the ground and sending up showers of dirt. Some of the boulders burst on impact, sending flaming shrapnel flying in all directions. Sarah managed to dodge a few, but one finally caught her, driving her back to the ground with a scream of rage.

  Morgan teleported back to the top of the wall, breathing hard as his Bestial Might ran out. His injuries had been healed a bit more, but at least six of his ribs were broken, and his spine still ached. Sarah’s attacks had done a serious number on him, but despite the pain, he began preparing his next attack.

  The screams still echoed through the night air as dozens of flaming boulders streaked down, burning the ground and tearing it to pieces. The devastation was incredible. It was on a level he could never have accomplished with any of his previous attacks. Well, except for the previous version of Continental Collapse.

  Still, he could only imagine what this attack could do to a city. The flaming boulders raining from the sky would destroy houses and buildings alike and would kill hundreds, or even thousands, of people. Of course, Sarah would survive this, just as she survived all his previous attacks, but it gave him a bit of time to breathe.

  He couldn’t be sure how long this skill would last, as his status hadn’t given him an exact duration, but he was confident he’d get at least half a minute of the raining boulders. He saw Sarah try and rise, one of the burning boulders shattering, only to have four more crush her beneath their weight.

  Turning his attention to his RP, Morgan watched as it quickly refilled. That last skill should have cost him 7,000, but with his title, it had only cost 5,250, which made a huge difference. Now, he only needed to choose a skill that would do enough damage to really hurt her. Then, he could strike a finishing blow.

  His eyes turned to the moon shining above. He wasn’t one hundred percent positive, but he thought he could begin to sense the return of the sunlight. This made him think of his ultimate skills. Eternity Beam sounded powerful, but it would render this area unlivable for who knew how long. Sunscorch, on the other hand, would turn him invulnerable for a full five minutes.

  Morgan wasn’t really sure what else the skill would do, but when Sarah broke free of that meteor storm, she would be furious, and he would no longer have the ability to keep up with her. To activate Sunscorch, Morgan would need a total of 11,250 RP when factoring in the reduced cost from his title.

  Right now, he had just under 8,000. His RP recovered at a total of 156 per second, which meant it would take roughly 23 seconds until he had the requisite RP.

  It took Morgan surprisingly little time to come up with those numbers, which meant that once again, he was at the mercy of fate to determine the outcome. If his Meteoric Downfall lasted long enough, he had a pretty good chance of winning. If Sarah made it to him before he regenerated enough RP, his chances of success went way down.

  That was the thing about battles like this. They came down to seconds. The sky began lightening further, the moon beginning to fade, slowly being replaced by the sun. For some reason, this gave him an odd sense of hope and made him feel a bit stronger as well. He’d noticed that he fought better during the daytime, especially recently, and he wasn’t sure why, but he just got the feeling that his Sunscorch skill – much like his old Sunblast – would work better in the daytime.

  On the opposite side of that coin, his Eternity Beam felt like it would have done more during the night, just as his Light Star had felt a bit muted when he’d used it earlier.

  It seems as though a lot of my skills are divided, Morgan thought, standing with his back straight and eyes fixed on the falling storm of flaming stones.

  The sun was coming back in force, its light burning away the darkness and casting the world in odd, harsh shadows as both sun and moon mixed for a moment. His brows furrowed as the giant star in the sky turned a solid black, remaining that way for several long seconds. The rays of the sun grew stronger then, and it became painful to look at, forcing Morgan to avert his gaze as his pupils contracted to slits once again.

  It hadn’t lasted all that long, and just seconds later, the sun was blazing once again, banishing the darkness brought on by Breaker’s presence. At the same time, his Meteoric Downfall skill began to fade as well, leaving Morgan to watch grimly as Sarah dug herself from one of the many craters six seconds too early.

  79

  When she’d decided to come on her own and take care of this Morgan impostor, Sarah had been expecting a quick and easy fight. What she’d gotten was far more resistance than a mortal should have been able to put up. Her Bloodwarp, an ability designed to crush the innards of any mortal, had failed, and she’d been burned to a
crisp by a burning light.

  She’d been so angry when it had faded that she’d actually begun trying, tapping into the immense power her godly Essence afforded her and teaching this brat who the real god was. Except, he’d somehow managed to keep up, going so far as to outmaneuver her fastest attacks and do some serious damage to her constructed body.

  Seeing as it wasn’t technically made of flesh and bone, it didn’t really matter in the long run, but every time she was forced to heal herself, it sapped away a bit more of her strength. That was not to mention that she had two wounds that refused to close and would likely remain that way until Herald could seal them.

  She’d been so sure she was about to get him, but then, the asshole had pulled down an entire meteor shower on her head, driving her into the ground and managing to keep her there. It had been an extremely uncomfortable experience, being continually pummeled by flaming boulders showering down from above.

  Her skin had been severely burned, clothes ruined several times, and more bones were broken than she could count.

  When the falling meteors finally stopped, she rose quickly, eyes locking onto the brat standing high atop the wall, which was now so pockmarked and filled with holes that it was a wonder it was still standing.

  What she couldn’t understand was how the mortal had been able to hurt her without the use of the spear. Sure, the attacks would have pinned her, annoyed her, maybe even broken her body, but she shouldn’t have felt pain. Still, each and every one of those attacks, punches, kicks, skills, and impacts had hurt. It was impossible, but it had happened.

  She winced as she rose, feeling her bones knitting themselves back together, new skin forming over the parts of her body that had been burned away, and her hair regrowing as clothes formed around her. Her blood armor came next, flowing through her pores and forming into the hard, outer shell that would keep her protected from all but the worst attacks.

  Sarah noticed that it had taken a bit longer for the healing to happen this time, over four seconds in fact. She knew she should be attacking now, stepping up to that brat and flattening him where he stood, but she’d already tried that and failed.

  She had come, certain that it would be an easy fight, but she had gotten far more than she had bargained for. Perhaps it would be wise of her to retreat and return with the others. With their help, she was certain she could finish him for good this time. But then again…

  She growled to herself, annoyed with her indecision. The very idea of retreating before a mortal, an inferior being, was appalling! She was a god! Gods didn’t run! They forced others to run!

  So, instead of listening to her instincts, she flattened the bracers on her arms, extending them to short blades. Protected in her armor, she would be all but untouchable, and her attacks would come too quickly and powerfully for the injured human to keep up with. A light haze began to gather around Morgan’s body – likely the beginning of another skill, she thought.

  For just a moment more, she debated leaving, then set her shoulders and moved in for the attack.

  Had Sarah listened to her instincts right then and there, she might have avoided the outcome of this battle. But of course, when Gold had sent her in there, he’d already known her pride would prevent her from fleeing before a perceived weakling.

  This goddess was about to learn the hard way that sometimes even immortals had to fear for their lives!

  ***

  Morgan felt the power of the ultimate skill begin to suffuse him as soon as he activated it. Sunscorch had completely drained his RP upon activation, but the sense of power he felt as soon as he did, drove all thoughts of unease from his mind.

  Heat began radiating off his skin as his RP drained, causing steam to rise from the stone beneath. It began to glow a cherry red as the heat increased, the power of his skill suffusing his body with its might.

  He breathed out slowly, then focused his eyes on Sarah’s form, standing several hundred yards from the wall. She vanished just as a blazing red-orange aura burst up around him. Sarah’s fist, blackened and burned, slammed into his face an instant later, blasting him from the wall, but despite the power Morgan knew was behind it, he didn’t feel a thing.

  She appeared behind him, both hands clasped together, and drove him into the ground. The fall was well over a thousand feet, but the speed at which he fell was so incredible, that one second he was in the air, and the next, the ground was cratering beneath him, earth, trees, and rocks blasting out in all directions as his body burrowed over four hundred feet down.

  Sarah was there, pummeling him with a series of punches and kicks, her own body blackening and burning as she struck at him. Her armor seemed to shy away from his burning aura, refusing to reform, even as Sarah’s skin rapidly healed and blackened as it came into contact with his face.

  It was the oddest sensation Morgan had ever felt. He could feel the power behind those attacks and knew what they should be doing to him, but he felt no pain, just felt an odd pressure as she continued hammering away at him. She reached under one of his arms and heaved him into the air, and Morgan found himself soaring into the clouds, thousands of feet off the ground.

  He broke through the other side in a burst of steam, the cloud vapor blowing apart from the heat he was generating, and suddenly, Morgan found himself staring directly at the sun. Once again, he had an odd time describing the feeling – even to himself – as he stared into the sun. It radiated back through him, and strangely enough, Morgan felt as though he could talk to the star.

  It seemed to be urging him on, telling him to fight, to burn brighter, and to explode.

  Sarah appeared at his back, blades of blood extending from all over her body and shooting toward him. Morgan did as the sun suggested and exploded. That wasn’t to say he blew up and died, but rather, the energy within blew outward in an explosion of burning, red-orange light.

  The scream that tore itself from Sarah’s mouth was horrific, and even through the burning light, Morgan saw what happened. Her bloody blades, skin, and bones all blackened and burned away in an instant, leaving only a gleaming, golden sphere of light in their place. He reached out to grab it, but it vanished, appearing several hundred yards away, a body quickly reforming around the golden sphere.

  Wind whipped about them as they fell – they were thousands of feet up, and Morgan’s RP was still regenerating – but oddly enough, Sarah’s reforming body fell at the same speed.

  Getting another strange feeling from the star hovering over his head, Morgan kicked forward, and despite using no other skills, his body flashed through the air at astonishing speeds, leaving a trail of red-orange light in his wake. He pulled his fist back, cloaked in the burning light of the sun, and drove it into Sarah’s reforming abdomen.

  The goddess’ body was blown apart again, sending the golden orb hurtling through the air and sailing away faster than he could keep up with. Morgan was beginning to get a good understanding of this ultimate skill and extended both hands behind him, breathing out quickly and allowing another explosion of power to propel him forward.

  He flashed through the air, catching up with Sarah right as she reformed, and drove another punch into her abdomen. This time, she managed to twist out of the way. A gaping hole was blasted through her side, but the elbow she brought down on the back of his neck drove him into the ground before he could blink.

  The earth shattered upon impact, forming another crater and causing the massive wall – already heavily damaged by their battle – to tremble under the force. Sarah dropped from the sky like a meteor, a red streak of light slamming into his midriff and driving him deeper, but once again, Morgan felt no pain.

  He breathed out, his aura blazing brighter and causing Sarah to leap back with another scream of pain. He followed, snagging her arm and throwing her through the base of the wall. It trembled once again, another hole blown through it, and Morgan followed, the blazing heat melting the stone around him as he emerged through the other side.

  The t
rembling in the earth wasn’t going away now, and Morgan could tell that the wall wasn’t going to last much longer. That was hardly a surprise, given how much damage it had taken, but he had an idea. A place where the goddess should be when the wall collapsed.

  “I’ll kill you!” Sarah shrieked, springing to her feet.

  The air warped under the might of her fury, the world taking on a reddish tint. It seemed he’d finally pushed her to the extreme, as red behemoths of blood rose from the ground, gargantuan monsters rising hundreds of feet tall.

  Morgan continued on as though they didn’t exist. He was on a time limit, and he wasn’t about to let this ultimate skill burn out before doing more damage. He needed to hurt her, hurt her badly enough that his last push would be all but guaranteed to end in her death.

  He slammed into one of the bloody creatures as it tried to get in his way, and to his surprise, it actually managed to stop him.

  Morgan was tossed back as the creature threw him away, its hand, large enough to curl around a small palace, blasting him back through the unstable wall and tearing another chunk from the already failing structure.

  By then, Morgan had regenerated some RP and used his Rift to get back, passing by the first of the blood creatures and attacking Sarah directly. She screamed in both agony and rage as he curled burning fingers around her arm. She lashed out with a punch, striking him square in the face, but seeing as he was holding onto her – and his feet had melted into the ground – he was unmoved.

  “What the hell are you!?” she demanded again.

  “Haven’t I already told you?” Morgan replied, his aura blazing brighter. “I am Eternal!”

  He spun in place, a sphere of burning orange light forming around Sarah’s body, then threw her straight into the wall.

  This time, when she struck, the wall could no longer withstand the strain. As the orange sphere around Sarah burned her body to dust, the entire wall, hundreds of thousands of tons of stone, came tumbling down on top of her.