Creation Online

HILDELITH'S POV

First was thrown to the side, his body smashing into the wall of the hallway. Following him closely were Thirteen and Twenty-four both crashing and rolling to a stop on the ground.

The Cerberus was besieged from all sides. Its feet stomped and its tail wagged behind it. A solid deterrent to those who attacked from the rear. The sharp and solid spikes of the wagging tail effectively slashed at most of the Unborns.

Their magma-like skin either sparked or sliced open from the assault on them.

Through all this though Anos never took his eye off me. Deus and Treus lay waste to the attacking Unborn from all sides while Anos made sure to keep an eye on me.

Fortunately for me and unfortunately for it, my initial shock and fright at the humongous dog was gone. With the sight of my Unborns being thrashed about my attention settled on Anos and both our eyes locked. A smile slid up my left cheek as an idea sprung into my head. There was no stopping what came next.

Second who had stuck closer to defend me like First had surged forward hesitantly on command. Not that he was scared of attacking, just unsure of leaving me unprotected even with Third and the others around.

The first ten of the Unborn seemed to have a stronger sort of connection with me than the rest. Not that they all didn't have a bond but the first ten acted even more defensively over me than the rest.

Like a pack of wild older brothers. it made me think of Dester. It was like they were more interested in my safety than in my orders. At least when safety was affected by the order.

Second, a macabre glare affixed unto his face, one directed at the infuriating hound, disappeared beneath its huge body, his sword cutting a gash between the hound's legs and opening a large split on the chest.

Two heads howled in agony while the third snapped down instinctively.

"My chance". My words were soft and almost a whisper that went unheard. My eyes lit up in an ethereal green as I willed the earth around the hound into movement.

Using the insight now unlike before was amazing, it felt like little unseen hands tugging and pulling various spots you wanted. The more mental strength and will one had the easier it would be to pull, push, or control the materials. Assuming they were within your used insight.

Using skills and abilities against foes was something I always found myself skipping at. Luckily Akasha was now in my head.

The earth shifted and rolled like a ring around the Cerberus. It was quick to notice this phenomenon though. The ring rose fast like a circular wall until it reached the beast's chest.

"Come on" I hissed.

The three-headed hound at first remained cautious watching the rising earth and the subtle glow of green around it. Seemingly realizing that tbe Earth meant to imprison it Anos reacted first barking. The other two followed as their body lurched forward.

"Got you " In glee, I added the use of my palms both to make it smoother and ensure success.

The ring of the wall collapsed faster than it had formed. Rolling apart into various debris and stones that then rose and spiraled into a green storm of rocks that assaulted the hound from all sides. The three heads whined and yelped as several sharp and large rocks struck and cut into them while spinning in the mini-earth tornado.

It made several attempts to defend or strike the rocks away. Once it even spread its maws to make fire hoping to melt the assaulting rocks. Deus received several stones into its mouth effectively shutting it up

Tricking the dogs had been easy. Universal knowledge was untrained dogs hated cages. Even trained ones too. Show a form of prison and it wanted out. Anos falling for the trick of an earth-made prison wall had tried to destroy it before it got completed which had brought it straight into an attack.

Trying to do what I wanted at first would have been harder since the dogs might have evaded and then gotten cautious. But this way they were in a trap that looked more like an attack with no idea of the real problem hidden within the storm.

'Use water now'. Akasha added in my head.

'What water? I only have Primordial Ice'.

'You keep forgetting Magic don't you?'. She quipped back.

'Oh. Sorry'. The knowledge was strangely just there. In my head. It felt weird. 'Did you put it there?'.

'Yes. You did learn it but you didn't know the how of using it'. The explanation made sense. It was like buying a book and not yet reading it. You owned it but you didn't know the knowledge it held.

Akasha showed me just how I could use this. I took a deep breath. Holding up the storm of stone projectiles while switching to magic would have been hard if not for one fact. I had Akasha to help.

She was like a second mind to boot. The fingers of my right hand emitted a blueish-gray mist as they traced the air. It was like I had entered a dance. From my right hip, I drew a circle over my head and down to my right. The moment it connected to my left I drew my palm back in front of me and made a scooping motion.

Golden drops of water dripped and flowed off my fingers.

'Magic'.

'Yep'. I could sense the smug undertones in the word. The drops became more and then turned into a stream. I drew my hand back and directed the drops forming to surround the storm of stone projectiles. The amount of water grew, more just pouring from my right hand till a veritable wall of water floated and churned in a circle around the storm.

The hardest part of the attack came now. My attacks were split between my mind and hands. Focusing a minority of my mind and using my hands to keep the storm rolling and then using the majority to roll out more earth while adding more water. Just like I had done when studying the earth before. I compressed, squeezed, and twisted the earth into my desired shape feeling a slight strain but nothing as bad as before.

'If I can use the elements with Akashic force. Can I learn or apply knowledge gained from one to the other? I mean from elemental magic to elemental insights?'.

'I don't see why not. At the core of things, I think the Earth Insight is almost, almost the same as elemental Earth magic. I theorized that it might possess a more grander usage than elemental magic though'.

'So come a time I'll be the one teaching Tora and not stealing from her knowledge? Sounds fun'. A chuckle went off in my head.

Back to the attacks, the atoms broke in my mind and moved to place themselves as I designed. The smaller pieces slowly but surely forged the construct I desired though it went a lot faster than before.

My rewards were coming in handy. But the hounds were fed up with the attacks. All three heads let out a growl and the next thing I knew they were soaring through the air and over my barriers of earth and water. Right at me.

'Ah, shit'.

I rolled backward, stopping on one knee, and snapped my fingers. The water wall broke and surged up smashing into the hounds and holding their body up there. I ignored the yips and snarls, whines and yelps as I kicked forward and sliced my left hand in a slant fashion. The earth storm lessened, slowly dying. Before it died completely the three unforged pieces of earth in three groups shot through the dying storm which parted for it and struck the hounds.

Three still unforged pieces of earth clasping unto their throats and in a deadly weaving locked and formed earthen collars.

The collars thick, dense, and durable tightened their inner atomic bonds as my fists directed. The water holding up the hound dragged it down, smashing it harshly against the floor. The dissipating storm settled with the rocks all flowing to hover right by my sides while the water gathered up and condensed to form a bland-looking spear.

I used Primordial Ice on it. It would be a waste of good water to just let it go.

"Heel" I ordered glaring at the Cerberus while knowing there was no way it would obey. But I needed to make it see that it had lost. To train a dog lessons were important.

Oblivious to the collars now situated around its necks the Cerberus barked savagely, its eyes blazing red since the beginning failing to convey its anger.

It pounced forward once more. The Unborns stiffened where they one, each one ready to move forward, ready to defend me in a second. Their bodies halted when a green glow lit up the hound's neck.

The Cerberus was pulled upwards choking as the collars tightened and made a firm grip around all three necks. It dangled midair like a pup scratching and kicking at nothing.

Then with a wave of my palm, I sent it flying into the wall behind it. Or was it a door?

The creak of wood told me instantly that it was indeed a door that lay there. The Cerberus though was angered as it finally noted the collars. Each head bit at the other one's earthen collar attempting to snap it off.

Yet its attempts were met with spikes digging into its neck. The thing snarled and whimpered at the pain before gazing upon me certain I was the culprit. My reply to its defiant and curious gaze was simple

"Heel".

The hound ignored my command once more so I made more spikes dig into its neck. It whined in pain but regardless kept on trying. I was getting annoyed and tired. I couldn't get too close to the hounds as even with the collars they could still attack.

Honestly, I wanted to purify it like the Unborn but it seemed to be even more angered and relentless with each spike I dug into its neck. The pain wasn't helping since like the Gursers it must have felt the burns of the fire.

Besides, I didn't want to be a torturer like whichever god had done this to them. So I just held the collar down keeping it from moving while the spike remained within its neck weakening it.

'You could use curse magic. Incapacitate them. Use aether to form thick binds. Use...'

'Not necessary anymore'.

It must have taken quite a while before it finally wheezed and then collapsed huffing and panting. Its eyes showed a defiant stare but it was tired, not stamina-wise but from the pain in its neck.

Something strange considering it should have been more pain resilient after all the burning I knew it went through.

I moved and the Unborns reacted, all covering me from every angle. Amused, I coughed and ordered them to make a way. The Unborns gave a glance at each other unsure and reluctant to let me approach the Cerberus. A little show from me was prompted as I had the ground beneath them move and slide carrying them away from my path and to the sides.

'I asked for bodyguards not a bunch of overprotective brothers'. mentally grumbling my feet halted my body right before the Cerberus.

One move, one snap from it, and I would be in two pieces or probably just crushed into meat paste. But it couldn't, I knew that just as much as it did. Simply because of the heavy force the collars applied to each head keeping it firmly in place.

I stabbed the Spear of Primordial Ice into the ground and squatted in front of it and brought my palms forward. It made a last attempt to get me but luckily I didn't need the stone. With a knock on the central head, a slap to the left head, and a punch for the right head it stilled.

This was the tricky path. Using two insights at once. It was easier to use an insight and magic, or even easier to use two or three skills and abilities. But two insights or an insight and skill or ability was harder. My brain tinged as the intent to purify rose. Whether the hound realized it or not the strength and hold over it with the collar lessened until nothing was pressing it down.

The collar was still there just my will was gone as shown by the lack of green glow on it.

Yet before the heads even realized they were free to snack on me its body was flooded with a thick current of golden purifying energy. Unlike the Unborn this one was of three streams one for each head.

I added the insights I had learned earlier. I let the energy roll through its body. I felt things within it that shouldn't be and washed them out. Ash, smoke, fire, and impurities. All were swept out of it as the hound lay there.

I noticed something. Unlike the Gursers its body was less burned. Less tortured. It made sense. Whatever it was before, most probably a hound, it must not have resisted the burns of the flames for too long. Which was why it most certainly was stronger and had more flame and less pain resistance. It made me wonder if that explained why my Unborns didn't feel any pain from my Spark.

Did rejecting divine energy create the torture they went through as Gursers? More questions. Shaking my head mentally I continued my work.

On the journey through its system, I found something within it. An orb of sorts. Three to be precise, held together by a sphere of fire. My energy was quick to attack the flame, slamming into it harshly and fracturing its walls. The Cerberus unknown to me yelped at this internal altercation.

My mind was fully within its body smashing relentlessly into the sphere unaware of whimpering and whining in reality.

Finally, one more hit and the sphere shattered.

The orbs at first hovered there after that. Then almost like each sensed the energy that was present shot forward. The stands of divinity that had shattered the fire got grabbed and devoured.

Outside, my body flinched catching the eye of tbe Unborns. Each gripped their blades harder ready to dispatch the hound.

Within I found myself pouring more and more energy into the orbs as they greedily lapped everything up. The three orbs shone each with a radiant light of gold that seemed to have come from my energy.

Outside the Unborns watched as a strange scene took place. The Cerberus no more aflame melted, like ice. The liquid flowed and the collar dropped to the ground. The liquid then separated forming three blobs that quickly began regrowing.

The Unborns unsure of what to do stepped closer ready to protect. Their white eyes locked on the weaving skins of the liquid. The three strands of gold energy connected to each liquid made them wait.

Finally, my eyes flew open the golden glow dulling as the strands of energy halted and the last bits of each flowed into the three forms before me.

'Three'

Three canines were lying right before me. Standing upright, I found them just to my head. Their tongues were outside their mouths and their eyes closed. Their bodies shook as they panted like dogs.

The system messages alerted me to whatever had happened.

[Cerberus - Flame Invoker has been purified]

[Divinty of Flames has been cleared]

[You have received a Shard of Greater divine fire]

[+30 ORP]

[Activation element replaced]

[Divinity of the Spark Granted]

[?????? - Spark Bearer]

[?????? - Mender]

[?????? - Terrene]

The notifications made one thing clear. The hounds had stolen my divinity during purification.

'It seems only a specific amount of spark was given out but the first took it all. Which left the others to grasp something else. The second had taken my purifying divinity itself. That makes little sense to me. Then there's the third. It took, my Earthen Grace?'.

I was truly lost now.

Flames of Divinity were the divinity of some god wasn't it? But I had purified it from the three and the Unborns. But now I was seeing these hounds having not just my spark but my insight as their activation element.

'Does insight become divinity or what?' it was a truly maddening concept. Not just maddening it meant a lot of things. A lot of exciting things would be possible if this was true.

"This is gonna be huge when others find out." I paused. "Why do I keep assuming that the others have not yet figured something out." Shaking my head I sighed.

I had to stop thinking I was the only smart one around in this game and act like everyone already knew and be fast in getting my hands on the proper tomes for myself now.

'It all got even more interesting.'