As Blackstar and his umbra titan squared off against the rogue celestial, Wrath felt a sort of out of body sensation, a premonition. At that instance, he turned his gaze away from the battle and peered towards the skies where a lone airship fled the fallen city.
Some would consider such a thing mere fool’s luck, but Wrath knew it was something else... he felt it in his bones. One of the dark gods had granted him this vision, had given him this opportunity to prove himself, to hunt down Varyon and the other escapees and show his worth to their cause. So, without question, without word to his illustrious lord Blackstar, Wrath fled the city and went on the hunt.
The shadowy wings of Wrath’s spirit summon fluttered in the cold northern air as it carried him through a patch of clouds, its beak splitting the thickets of moisture as it cut through the sky like a blade. The shadow Phoenix, Wrath’s newly acquired spirit summon was proving to be quite efficient in trailing the airship, though it provided little protection from the elements as it soared.
Grimacing, Wrath surrounded his body in a shadowy aura cloak as the chill northern wind battered his flesh. He’d have to stop soon, to ease the drain on his aura and warm his bones. As much as he detested it, he would need to rest.
“You’re not slowing down, are you shadow boy?”
Wrath shifted his gaze to the left where Jeska of the shadow tigers guild soared beside him, her legs straddled atop her summoned manticore mount. Despite her attitude, Jeska possessed a sort of fatal attraction to Wrath. During veil training regiments, she would often seek out the man for skirmishes... among other things. It seemed that everything she did to the man walked a thin line of violence and lust. It was both infuriating and intoxicating, so much so that he often considered dismissing the woman for good. However, when he realized she had followed him out of Shadowreach, he couldn’t help but allow himself a bit of company...
After all, even dark adepts got lonely.
“I’m not slowing, I’m merely trying to keep pace with one of the fastest airships on Eon,” Wrath replied, refusing to show the woman a shred of weakness.
Jeska raised a brow. “Are you still intent on killing the traitor and bringing his head back to your oh so mighty lord?”
Wrath scoffed. “I’m going to kill him... but it’s going to be for me.”
Jeska let out a cackle. “I love it when you talk violent to me! Now, just where is this fool headed?”
Wrath shook his head. “Other than to his death? I’m not certain...” In truth, Wrath would follow them to the edge of Eon if he had to. He had no other choice if this is what the gods truly intended.
Jeska sighed, gripping the mane of her manticore tightly as it barreled beneath a thick patch of clouds. “Well, I hope they slow down soon. I’m dying to wet my blades.”
“Who said I’d allow you to partake?” Wrath interjected, drawing a look of feigned surprise on the woman’s face. “Varyon is mine.”
Slowly, her expression once again morphed into a grin as her long braids of pitch-black hair danced in the wind. “Now what kind of woman would I be if I stole your kill?”
Wrath rolled his eyes. “The kind with a vile heart.”
Rather than protest, Jeska merely let out another cackle, knowing all too well the things she’d done to deserve such a remark. Wrath smirked as well, unable to do little but revel in the wind adept’s sadistic joy. For as crazy as she was, he was the one traveling across Eon on a whim... fueled by revenge, by a lust for power... and guided by the premonition of an unseen god.
Chapter 18
The Void Claw
The base of the Heaven’s Gate mountain, the realm of Eon
Beads of sweat dropped from Roy’s brow as he channeled his mighty void aura, focusing a highly concentrated amount of spirit energy into his palms. Around him, the thin white lines of his spiritcrafting circle illuminated, trapping the excess aura that floated around his form.
The group had been traveling for more days then he had cared to count, and the most recent leg of their journey had offered an array of challenges. First, they had to cross the dread lakes, a grouping of large bodies of water inhabited by flesh-eating spirit beasts. Afterward, they had to traverse the savage shores, a shoreline along the edge of a seemingly endless river that was home to a group of feral adepts eager for blood... honestly, most of the threats they encountered desired their flesh in one way or another. And yet, they found a way to conquer them all.
Now they sat at the base of the Heaven’s gate mountain, closer to the pinnacle then they had ever been before. All they had to do was climb the impossibly tall peak and they’d reach the place that Remley had requested they meet. They only hoped to find him waiting there, a familiar grin on his face...
But before all that, they needed to prepare.
Roy grimaced as thick lines of void energy left his fingertips, swirling in his palm until they took the form of a black-violet spirit stone. With a sigh, he set the stone in the snow in front of him, adding it to the cache he’d been building over the last few weeks.
Unsure of what might lie in the mountains, the group elected to use their morning to get their affairs in order, refining the soul essence they’d acquired and taking inventory of their dwindling supplies. However, Roy’s plans differed just a bit. Over the course of their travels, the void adept had spent his spare moments producing spirit stones. And now that he finally had enough, it was time to put them to use.
“Are you ready? Please say yes,” Jakki asked, displaying his felyne grin as he sat opposite Roy in a cross-legged position. Though he hadn’t spoken of it much, the tiny creature was actually of the artificer specialization and possessed rather useful skills when it came to crafting... skills that Roy planned on putting to good use.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” the void adept replied, shooting the felyne a quick grin. Before them lied the components needed for Roy’s proposed spiritcrafting... several void spirit stones, a bundle of blade root that he’d acquired from his very first dungeon dive, the sharpened spine of a serpentine spirit beast that he’d acquired in the dread lakes, an untarnished set of darkbeast claws that he’d collected during his nights in the veil, and his trusty void blade, which functioned more like a bat than an actual blade at all.
“So... where’s that blueprint you were talking about?” Jakki asked, an eagerness in his tone.
Roy nodded, activating the visual component of his spirit scan so the small felyne could bear witness.
//////////
Weapons manual: The Dragonclaw Odachi
//////////
Jakki marveled as the translucent screen of information appeared before him, laying out the instructions needed to craft such a weapon. His whiskers twitched as he scrolled through the intangible pages, soaking up the information at an impressive speed. “Yes, I see. Mhmmm, yes. Ah, there we are. Indeed, yes...”
“What is it?” Roy asked, growing tired of the cat’s monologue.”
“Ah yes, well you see I’m afraid you’ve done a terrible job of gathering components.”
Roy frowned. “What d’ya mean?”
Jakki flipped through the translucent pages of the manual, squinting as he mulled over the information. “You see here? The blueprint calls for claws of a draconic nature, much rarer than these beast claws you got here. And the spirit stones you created... well, don’t take this the wrong way but the quality of these is not going to do at all.”
“What the Hell is wrong with em?” Roy growled, quickly taking offense.
Jakki shrugged. “You need more power in them if you want to create a dragon-style item. You need to really pump those numbers up.”
Roy scowled at the felyne, then scowled at the items laid out before him, then shot another scowl at the cat for good measure. “So what? This is all a waste?”
Jakki raised a paw into the air. “Now, I didn’t say that. If you’re still interested in a weapon like this, I could modify the blueprint to make something a bit more... to scale.”<
br />
Roy raised a brow. “Will it be good?”
Jakki merely grinned. “Are you asking me if I’d miss the opportunity to create a weapon that has the potential to cause widespread bloodshed and chaos? Is that what you’re asking me?”
Roy shook his head. “Damned cat...”
Moments later the spiritcrafting circle illuminated once more as the pair went to work. Jakki put his artificer skills to use, guiding Roy as he carefully fused his components with the raw spirit energy coursing through his palms. First, the original void blade was tempered with Roy’s vast collection of spirit stones. It began to glow a bright violet as more and more spirit stones were added, morphing the item into a component that could be manipulated at will. Next, the spirit beast spine was attached, lengthening the blade and giving it a defining curve. The near-perfect set of darkbeast claws followed, providing the blade’s inner edge with an extremely sharp set of teeth. Finally, the blade root was added, forced into the weapon by Roy’s spiritual pressure, solidifying the components and creating a clean, crisp weapon.
Roy marveled as their work came to an end and his weapon settled in the snow in front of him. After watching the Bonaduce perform such amazing feats with their blades in Shadowreach, he knew he needed a weapon comparable to theirs. And now, lying mere feet away from him, he was certain he’d achieved such a thing.
The sword was far longer than his previous, sporting a curved blade not so dissimilar to Rem’s. Its outer edge was impossibly sharp, though the inner edge of the blade possessed a tiny row of teeth used for shredding his opponents. The hilt, once a repurposed police baton was elegant and sleek, and the blade itself reflected a violet hue that shimmered in the light of the worldstar. Upon picking the weapon up, Roy felt a power behind the blade that he hadn’t quite felt with his weapons before.
//////////
Item Acquired: The Void Claw
//////////
“Wow...” Jakki cooed, marveling at the weapon as if it were a gift directly from the gods. “I cannot wait to watch you put that thing work.”
“Me neither,” Roy replied as he rose back to his feet. “And... thank you.” Slowly, the void adept lifted the weapon into the air and began a makeshift kata, dancing through the snow as he performed a series of powerful strikes. And each time he swung the blade, its violet hue seemed to brighten, leaving a faint after-image of the weapon in the air where it once was held.
Satisfied, Roy paused and held the weapon in front of him once more, gazing at its newly forged perfection.
“By the gods, I almost feel like Remley,” he muttered, his voice trailing off.
Jakki recognized the look in Roy’s eyes and made his way up to the man’s shoulder before giving him a soft pat on the head. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be up there... waiting for you at the top of the mountain.”
Roy turned his head and gave the felyne an appreciative stare, surprised by the creature’s sudden show of empathy. Perhaps Kimoura was wearing off on the cat after all.
After fastening his blade to a strap across his back, the void adept returned his attention to his spirit scan. According to the information in front of him, he was at the precipice of achieving rank four. He didn’t really need his scan to tell him that though... he could feel it in his soul, as if his body was brimming with power, ready to burst past his own barriers and ascend to the next level.
Beyond that, Roy took quick stock of his available techniques. He had his aura bullet and aura cannon for range, his dark spyral and void boxing for close combat, his void grenade for unique situations, and finally his divine power if things got dire. And even if all of those failed him, he and Kimoura could activate kindred mode and temporarily combine their spiritual strength. Honestly, despite everything they’d been through in the past month, Roy was feeling more confident than ever. Whatever awaited them up on that mountain, he was damned sure he was ready for it.
“You guys all set to depart?” Kimoura asked, drawing Roy’s attention away from his spirit scan. The woman stood off to his right, her tone body covered in a long, gray coat that Zyr had crafted during their travels. She also had on a pair of boots that had been gifted to her by Avery, a departure from her usual foot wraps.
“Let’s do this,” Roy replied, pulling his violet and black jacket a bit tighter across his chest. He’d received the garment from Seline and the bronze horns after they graciously gifted him new adept’s attire, but he’d never had the need to wear it. However, the winds rolling off the mountainside carried a chill like the one he felt in his first dungeon dive, far too cold for just his aura to keep him warm.
Zyr, the final member of their group scoffed as he peered upward, following the mountain with his gaze until its peak vanished into the swirling atmosphere. “I can’t believe I’m following you lot in search of an old adept’s tale.”
Roy scoffed. “Nobody made you come with us.”
Zyr responded with a glare, though his expression quickly morphed into a grin. “And leave you to die after roaming around the sewers? Now what kind of monster would I be if I did that?”
Roy couldn’t help but return the chimera adept’s grin. Though his outer appearance was a bit monstrous and his attitude was often-times gruff, Zyr had proven himself to be not only a valuable ally but a friend and mentor as well.
“Let’s go!” Jakki interrupted, literally bouncing atop one of Roy’s shoulders. “This place is so cold that there must be frozen bodies up there. Maybe we’ll even get to see bones! Hey, maybe they’re even cursed bones that’ll reanimate so you can fight them!”
Roy shook his head. “Let’s just get moving.”
****
The climb up the heaven’s gate mountains started just as Roy had expected, a grueling trek through rock and snow that left him gritting his teeth with every step. Zyr had proven himself to be the most efficient climber, and as such, he took the lead. Roy and Kimoura followed shortly behind, with Jakki clung tightly to the void adept’s shoulders.
To prevent an untimely fall, each member of the group tied a thick strand of Zyr’s spider silk around their waist, then anchored it to the mountainside with a sturdy, steel dagger. The only one of them roaming free was Roy’s cryofox, who’s small and nimble frame seemed perfectly suited for this sort of environment.
The group made excellent progress for the first leg of their climb, sticking to paths carved into the mountain’s sloping sides while avoiding the many pitfalls lying just beneath the thick blankets of snow. However, their ascension up the endless cliff side quickly ground to a halt as they reached a rather... precarious stretch of mountain.
“Well, shit,” Roy muttered, placing his hands on his hips as his gaze flickered northward. In front of them lied a massive sheet of solid stone, it’s surface absent of grooves or footholds and the way around all but unnavigable.
“Not even a spider can stick to that surface,” Zyr said, running his fingers across the cold stone. “Perhaps we can turn back and find another path...”
“No,” Roy was quick to reply. “That’ll take us the whole day.”
Kimoura shrugged. “Maybe I can punch us some handholds in the rock. “My knuckles should heal by the time we-“
“Wait,” Roy interrupted, leaning into the sheet of stone until it was mere inches from his face. “I’m going to try something.”
The others fell silent as Roy lifted his right hand into the air, placing his open palm on the stone surface. A breath later, the icy markings on his flesh began to glow as divine aura coursed through his channels.
Kimoura watched in awe as Roy channeled his aura into the rock wall, manipulating the thin layer of ice on its surface. Seconds later a massive icy hand formed on the stone’s surface, scooping Roy up and hoisting him upwards.
“I got this!” he shouted, unable to hide the pride in his voice. As he ascended, Roy motioned for the others to untie their rope and toss it in his direction. “I can’t pull everyone, but once I get to the top, I’ll hoist
you guys up and over.”
Zyr and Kimoura quickly complied, and in seconds Roy was making his way towards the top of the massive stone. As soon as he reached the rocky ledge, the void adept dismissed the icy hand and steadied himself atop the stone. From the looks of it, Roy had reached a sort of natural platform on the cliffside, its surface littered with jagged rocks and chunks of ice... and something else.
Emerging from the snowy slopes above were what appeared to be large, ape-like creatures, their bodies covered in snowy white fur and their faces red like embers. Fangs jutted out of their open maws as they let loose ferocious battle howls, setting their sights on Roy.
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Raving Oko
Spirit beast
Ecology: Mountaintops and snowy regions
Nature: Territorial
Vulnerabilities: Their flesh is durable but can be pierced by most bladed weapons
Notes: The oko are extremely protective of their territory and will hunt down and dismember any creature that dares to enter their domain. They hunt in packs and are relentless in pursuit of their prey, often hunting creatures down entire mountainsides.
//////////
Roy watched with growing annoyance as a trio of the hairy beasts launched themselves in his direction, cutting off any chance he had at retrieving his companions on the ridge below.
With a sigh, Roy dropped the rope at his side and reached for his newly minted void claw, allowing his spirit aura to flare.
“Of course, this place has goddamn yetis.”
Chapter 19
Mountainside Chase
The Adept Archives: Volumes 1-3 Page 55