His Chains dropped heavy to the ground. Bare. Stretching on and on behind him. His thick breaths fogged the air. His heart hammered hot in his chest.
It would have to be a sprint from start to finish. With how much he had left… he had just one go at this.
He burned the last of his Bloodline. The last of his essence. When he roared, a flickering gray Titan-Rhino roared with him. His body ran so hot he felt like it might melt at any moment—
He stomped. And dashed for all he was worth. Chains trailing behind him. Just kept slamming down footsteps, making a wide circle, looping the angry beast, bursting between blizzard streams—
It was inevitable that he would get caught. He knew it. He just gritted his teeth and took it, felt the cold tearing at him—it was like he'd stepped into a different less forgiving gravity. Freezing his muscles, his skin—it even gotten into the skull, cold fingers grasping at his thoughts, and he was falling—
A second stream was trained on him now too, dumping all over him—
He felt his Health dropping dangerously.
He bellowed. Choked on icy essence. Stomped, and stomped, and stomped like a stubborn bull—and at last barreled through. Feeling chilled all the way to the core of him.
His heart still pumped white-hot…
𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!
ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟘%
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕
𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%
𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%
𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%
He just kept going, making the beast turn, making it follow him. He didn't do anything different. Nothing that might arouse its suspicions. Just dropping his Chains behind, link after link, as he threw himself forward with a desperate energy.
One turn. Two. A wide lasso, lapping over itself now… Zane was not a nimble man. He knew this. But he made up for it in raw speed. Each step left a crater, showered sheets of ice and snow; he was going so fast, so forcefully, every time he got hit it had to be an accident. There was no aiming for him.
He made it three full turns before he crossed a blizzard stream again.
This time when he stumbled through the other side, he was soaked to the bone. Shivering involuntarily even as his heart did all it could, struggling to drive heat to the rest of his sluggish body… he was stumbling now.
But the trap had been set.
He let out a deep rattling breath.
And firmed fists around his Chains.
Time to finish things.
He wrenched them even as he ran, driving forward, roaring, calling every last drop of power inside him.
And his Chains exploded in Stormfire.
And he pulled out an old, trusty Skill. One of his very first. It had not failed him yet.
Prometheus Noose.
All those Chains began to constrict. Loop on loop on loop, closing in, crushing over the Hydra's long throats—making a vice grip…
A perfect conduit for Zane. At last he had somewhere to channel all his strength. And he did with a vengeance.
All four Hydra-heads looked down for a second, bewildered. Then began to hack as the Chains closed in. The beast tried thrashing it off, howling, and an enormous force hammered through. For a second Zane was wrenched off his feet.
When he crash-landed though he dug in. Gritted his teeth, and put all his trembling, shivering, exhausted body—every last muscle that still listened—into the life-and-death tug-of-war.
Zane tugged harder. Even badly wounded. Even broken. His muscles raged with a Godbeast's strength. They did not fail him.
And the Hydra began choking harder too. Choking on the raw force, on the brightening white circle searing deeper and deeper into its necks, cutting off its essence, its blood, life itself…
By now Zane was light-headed. So much essence was rushing out of him at once—he was sputtering, stumbling. Deeply sore wherever he could feel. Every muscle felt like it'd been wrung dry. He was fighting pressed up against his limits—and beyond…
He forced himself to pull even harder. Trying to bring his massive arms together, working his back to its maximum—
His mouth hung open in a silent scream. And his Promethean Noose closed in. Flaring so hot it melted that deep-frozen skin, so hot it seemed to melt the air itself, make a strange splintering reality over its surface—squeezing so tight it locked all those dragon heads together.
The realm's most intense fires pressing up against the realm's coldest ice, white-blue crushing against white-blue, a line of blindingly intense color—
Huge gallons of steam hissed out at the points of contact. Like the Blizzard Hydra itself might blow.
At first the Hydra felt angry. How dare this little creature challenge it? Then baffled—it, how he could contain so much strength. Baffled, that it was overwhelming it. And then… desperate. As it felt the life slowly squeezed out of it...
It started fighting for all it was worth. Thrashing wild. Screaming.
And Zane, beaten-down, ruined, had one last task. He had to contain the death throes of a Monster Knight.
It might have been the hardest thing he'd ever asked of his muscles—already stretched to their limits, no power to give. He was so very close to empty. Trembling. Bleeding. Teeth clenched, veins bulging down his neck, his arms… blood vessels started erupting down his heaving back.
And then a greater pain. Rippling down his body. And he felt huge chunks of him tearing. Down his back. Up his arms. Exhausted muscles giving out at last...
But Zane himself held strong. Bit down through the pain. Eyes narrowed.
He knew he had this Monster exactly where he wanted it.
The Hydra made its final attempt. It turned every head to Zane, eyes bulging, and summoned what essence it could get through.
Zane stared straight into the mouth of a blizzard. As it crushed into him.
𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!
ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟝%
He swore to himself then, even as the last sliver of feeling slipped away, that he was not dropping first. He stared down those hateful bulging eyes glaring down at him—so constricted he could see the blood vessels popping through the white. Cold engulfing hot, hot strangling cold…
In the end, the dragon-heads drooped first.
Eyes rolling back. The Blizzard Hydra toppled. Crashed heavy to the ground—and lay there listless.
Broken at last.
Zane sagged to his knees.
𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!
ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕!
𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%
𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%
𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%
The notification was meaningless to Zane.
He felt so exhausted he could hardly breathe. He just knelt there silent. Feeling a great emptiness inside him. Feeling like it was an immense effort just to open his eyes. His arms, legs, felt like they'd been filled with cement. A darkness hung over his head, slowly swallowing him...
He had nothing left.
He felt a flicker of satisfaction. Deep in his ruined chest. He had gotten the job done. He could hardly even think anymore. Every part of him was shutting down. Body to brain.
Then he heard the Shaman in the distance shouting.
And froze.
The battle was not done.
His friends were still in danger. Reina was still in danger. He made a choking sound.
He stood on rotted, poisoned limbs. On muscles so torn they hardly worked, he could barely even see anymore—it wasn't so much standing than limping and staggering. Like a zombie.
He shuffled toward the fight. He had to protect them. It was the only thought on his mind, animating his whole body, keeping him upright. He had to protect. When you stripped away every last bit of him, destroyed him in body and soul… that was all that was left.
Then he saw it.
The Shaman falling from the sky choking, clutching at his throat—shot through. And Reina, crying out in triumph…
They did it.
Zane blinked.
And keeled over.
***
It was not long before he woke up. In Reina's lap. He felt deeply peaceful. His head was swaddled in the warm softness of her.
He saw the notification first—
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟜𝟡 -> 𝟚𝟝𝟙
Then her worried face. Then her relieved face.
"It's over," she said. But before she could get more out—
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟝𝟘 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕
𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕!
Zane blinked.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤.
Huh.
Right—he almost forgot about that.
𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝—
Then it looked like one notification interrupted another.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖'𝕤 '𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘.'
𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟. ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤.
More boxes popped up.
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕙…
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 ℝ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕠 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖…
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕!
𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝔹𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 (𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔 [𝕄]) -> 𝕁𝕦𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕦𝕥 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 (𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔 [𝔼])
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝-𝕦𝕡 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥 𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕦𝕤: 𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: +𝟛, ℝ𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: +𝟛, 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙: +𝟚.𝟝, 𝔻𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪: +𝟙.𝟜, 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕: +𝟙.𝟚
***
Zane saw his Chains in his mind now. There were gemstones studded into their bases—two silver squares, it looked like, shimmering softly…
His Chains had gone the color of his Bloodline. A Titan-Rhino gray. Blue-white Stormfire streaks ran all throughout them, making up their cores, woven deep within…
They weren't there right now, physically. But he could feel them like a hidden limb—pulsing with his essence, his powers. Always.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣, 𝕚𝕟 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝. 𝕀𝕥 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕦𝕡𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕤. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕖𝕣-𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘.
Huh.
𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕥 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚
𝔸𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤' 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕜𝕪-𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝.
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕!
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪 (𝔼)]
𝔸𝕟𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕖𝕟𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕.
Oh neat.
Then—
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕!
𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕕𝕤 [𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖] [𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔 (𝔼)]
𝕆𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪 𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕪, 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕖 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖.
It was a lot all at once. His Chains had gotten a lot stronger, it looked like—Zane was curious how he could upgrade them… but the evolutions still weren't done just yet.
The System was serious when it said this would be the most significant of Zane's evolutions so far.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟…
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟 ℝ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕠 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖…
Zane did a double-take.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣.
…
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 -> 𝔸𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕒 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖] 𝕃𝕧. [𝕄𝔸𝕏]
𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕒 𝔹𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕫𝕪 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕡𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕠𝕠. 𝔸𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒 𝕥𝕨𝕠𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕒𝕨 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣, 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.
He had barely finished reading it when—
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟…
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝…
𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕 -> 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖] 𝕃𝕧. [𝕄𝔸𝕏]
𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕪𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖. 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕'𝕤 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤. 𝕋𝕠 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕕𝕖 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤.
***
Zane's head hurt a little.
In total then—it upgraded his weapons a lot. Gave him a new Chain Skill. Boosted his Title. Swapped out his Signature powers for better versions…
He sat there blinking. But it appeared to be done.
That was…
…Hmm.
There were a few upgrades in Zane's life that flipped everything upside-down. His Stormfire was one. His Titan Rhino Bloodline was another. He had a sneaking suspicion he had just stumbled upon his third.
***
Reina was flabbergasted at it all—just one of those upgrades would have been a huge pickup. It had to be his Signature Title's doing, she felt. It intervened somehow.
Evan wanted to see his new Chains, so Zane brought it out.
They were shaped much like his old ones—they just got new colors, new densities, and his Element was built deeply into it. He liked the look of it—powerful, but also pleasing to the eye. Evan thought it was very cool-looking too—he ooh'd and ah'd all over. When those white-blue streaks ran through it, pulsing gently, they circulated essence from his Core.
There were his other new powers too. Humming in the background.
Even just looking around, Zane could feel the essence flowing around their body is so much crisper. He felt like an essence bloodhound. He could sense everything, feel everything. It would make Emperor's Soul's job a lot easier.
He wondered how his new Anchor Skill worked—he missed grappling. He had let it fall to the wayside some. It would be a nice change of pace again.
Then there was this new Berserker thing. He would have to test it out. There was so much to test. Really this last evolution brought all of his old powers together.
First though. He stood.
Reina mentioned there was a huge yellow dot on the other side of the island. The Monster Knights had left something behind… after all those upgrades Zane was almost embarrassed to take more.
But he still would. Happily.