["Calypso: Jester of The Scarlet Star" | HP: 1,800,000/3,000,000]
"Save your gratitude later. Keep moving–that's the best advice I can give you. This is where the real fight begins," Zero advised.
That much served to be true as the erratic figure of silver skin spun its torso around; the spine of the raid boss cracked like a mechanical toy being turned as his joints reconfigured, leading to his arms swinging in sharp, impossible directions.
"This is my domain! My territory that I rule! It is by the Divine Star that I rule this castle! My right alone–I will not tolerate the ignorance of mongrels!" Calypso's voice boomed like explosions of fire as his rampage continued.
Scarlet liquid oozed from the cracks in the steel-skinned giant's body, taking the form of razor-sharp sickles that flew out in every direction.
The warrior used his quick reflexes to aid him, bobbing and weaving as he evaded the touch of the blood sickles before–
"Look out!" Zero warned.
Vangrave reacted, glancing at his comrade, "--Huh?"
It came from the sharp-toothed man's blindspot; a sickle of blood slashed at his back, exploding into a bright-red burst.
"Argh–!" Vangrave winced, nearly losing his balance from the unseen attack, "I'm gonna di–"
Zero watched his comrade's health nearly fall to zero in an instant, before rising up to its full state just as quickly as it had diminished.
"I'm alive! Ha-ha! This stuff is great, Boss! I'm really invincible!" Vangrave reacted, instantly flipping from accepting death to reveling in his temporary power.
An annoyed look was present on Zero's face as he readied his sword, "Yeah, don't expect anymore of it."
Like a wild bull pumping the soil in its path, the enraged raid boss stomped across the swirling, marble flooring while spinning around, unleashing dozens of blood blades.
"I will exterminate your tainted bloodline!" Calypso howled.
["Calypso: Jester of The Scarlet Star" | HP: 1,950,000/3,000,000]
Zero arrived in front of his companion, holding his hand up as he summoned an invocation, "Black Meta Barrier."
A shadow-forged shield surrounded both of the players just before the storm of razor-sharp blood rampaged through the chamber.
"I would've been fine without this barrier, just sayin'. Wait—," Vangrave squinted, looking at the thrashing giant, "Is it just me, or did his health recover? When did he do that?!"
Zero calmly answered, "That's why I'm shielding you. I don't care if you get hit, but I do care about what it does for our friend there: Calypso recovers health from every bit of damage he deals."
"Talk about overpowered…for a Raid Boss, that makes it damn near impossible to beat him!" Vangrave huffed, ruffling his own hair.
While they spoke, the swirling blades of scarlet weren't bounced off of the shadow-built sphere, but instead sank into it, disappearing one-by-one.
"Calypso still has three more phases—four of you count an extremely rare circumstance," Zero told him, keeping the shield up with his extended hand.
"Seriously? This nectar stuff is about to wear off…Tell me ya got a plan, Boss?" Vangrave asked with a nervous grin.
Zero responded with a small smile, "I do actually. We're going to bypass those phases altogether—this fight will be over in just a second."
"Wait, what? How?" Vangrave asked.
There wasn't a response just yet as the rampaging torrent of blood continued with the maddened proclamations of Calypso echoing through the chamber.
"I've been through this fight more times than I can count. It might have changed a bit, but so have I," Zero informed his comrade without turning away from the blistering scarlet, "This is one of my Primordial Skills."
"Primordial Skills–wait, plural?! Ya have multiple?! But those are the hardest skills to acquire–" Vangrave reacted.
Just as the rampant strikes of blood came to an end, the blackened barrier faded away, leaving Zero to lower his hand before summoning a swirling mass of energy to it. A fusion of silver and black light, infused with nefarious electricity of a violet glimmer; it was honed and condensed, overlapped many times over.
"Heaven-Hell Redux: Reversal of Glory and Sin," Zero invoked, causing a shock wave to push through the chamber that stunned both his comrade and the enraged giant.
Calypso stumbled back as his uneven steps sent rumbles through the scarlet chamber, "What–?!"
The black-haired player raised his hand, allowing the endgame ability to manifest itself through a sphere of differing planes; from boundless darkness to sublime radiance.
It rose up in pillars of snow-white light, streaming upward like a blessing of heaven, along with towers of darkness, dense with ominous transgressions; all culminating into a colossal seal of black-and-white, stretching outward with complex symbols that spun like gears into place.
"Return," Zero calmly uttered the word of activation.
A hum began that violently shook the entirety of the dungeon as the nebulous seal spun rapidly like a top, causing flashes of bright light and overwhelming darkness, back and forth.
Calypso attempted to counter, summoning a lance of blood into his right hand and lunging before–
"Ghh–?!" Calypso reacted, looking up just as countless particles of light and darkness surrounded him, shooting against his body from every direction with mystical force.
["Heaven-Hell Redux: Reversal of Glory and Sin": one of the [Primordial Skills], the rarest and ultimate abilities within the world of Abyss, obtained by only the most dedicated and skillful players. A tide-changing ability that damages the target with all of the total damage they have accumulated recently, including that which they had previously recovered from. In addition, it is an ability guaranteed to hit.]
The strands of light curved around the surrounding pillars, all targeting the steel-skinned figure, who was helpless to the rapid-fire assault.
In mere moments of the grandiose show of flashing lights and hissing shadows, the maddened master of blood dropped to his knees, deprived of breath.
"Argh…" Calypso grimaced.
["Calypso: Jester of The Scarlet Star" | HP: 78,000/3,000,000]
Vangrave reacted with a smile as his own buffs vanished, "Ya should've told me ya had somethin' like this planned. I was worried for a sec there!"
"Where's the fun in that?" Zero responded before walking forward, "Now, it's time to get what we came here for."
Approaching the nearly dead raid boss, he extended his hand in front of Calypso, invoking his unique skill:
["Unholy Piety"]
Malevolent chains sprouted from the nebulous mysticism, encircling the weakened raid boss before wrapping around his body.
"—What is this?! Heugh—!" Calypso furrowed in anger, being bound by the chains.
The mystical links began to hum, forging a star-linked seal on the ground that Calypso was knelt. In its entirety, the chamber shook as particles of sublime darkness swirled around the captured entity, enchaining him with the force of malice.
"Capture," Zero ordered.
At once, the blackened chains tightened their hold, infusing into the very skin of the titan as they vanished into the pores of the being. As the physical form of the chains vanished, Vangrave held his halberd up, ready to face the seemingly unbound boss again, though Zero remained unmoved.
"Didja do it?" Vangrave asked, keeping his eyes on the knelt figure.
The Blood Titan did not lash out at the players, remaining on one knee as he placed his fist down against the ground with his head bowed to Zero.
[Calypso Blood Titan: Piety Acquired Successfully]
"We got him," Zero confirmed with a small smile.
It was one thing to know the information about an ability from reading its text, but another entirely to see it actually bear fruit. Witnessing the raid boss come under his control, he knew that the power he wielded was truly transcendent from the norm.