Manifest War: The Weapons Within

Multiple miles from Raelina’s house, the trio got out of the shallow, muddy waters and onto a fairly dusty road. They were halfway to their destination to deliver Raelina’s book and Sarah decided to comment on something that had been on her mind.

“Man your Auntie is really young, Rivell. I’m surprised the Ocean Goddess seeks guidance from someone that much younger than her.” Sarah said with great surprise.

“Huh, what? My Aunt isn’t young, she turns 178 in a couple months.” Rivell responded with slight confusion and a light chuckle.

“What!??!” Sarah and Carmen exclaimed in unison, absolutely shocked by his response.

"Siestians don’t age like humans do, remember? We live significantly longer and age at a much slower rate.” He dutifully explained.

“But still, 178?? That’s nuts.” Sarah replied, still surprised by the information. They continued making their way down the fairly deserted road and saw something coming into view. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be a strange looking man or creature walking.

The man was incredibly pale in color with four muscular arms and a bald head. On his shoulders were two people, seemingly unconscious, dangling down. He had them slung over like sacks of potatoes as he carried them along.

“You guys seeing this?? What is that thing?” Carmen asked, feeling more and more uneasy.

“I’m not sure, but those people are definitely in trouble. We should help them!” Sarah quickly replied, summoning her Manifest.

“Huh? Wait!” Rivell exclaimed, not wanting Sarah to be so reckless. She ignored his plea and took aim with her bow, quickly firing off a sharp wind arrow at the strange man. The arrow connected, hitting his calf muscle but not doing much damage at all.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing with those people?! Drop ‘em or else!” Sarah yelled out with great fearlessness.

The man stopped as he slowly turned around, still holding onto the people slung over his shoulders. Everyone was taken aback by what they see once he fully showed his face. He didn’t look human, having big eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Under his eyes were intricate, black markings that went down to his jawline.

“Uhhh.. What the hell is that??” Sarah asked, feeling disgusted by his odd appearance.

“I don’t know, but keep your guard up.” Carmen replied as she stood next to Sarah, preparing for combat. He started to clear his throat before responding.

“Oh? Who might you all be?” He inquired with a high-pitched screech.

“Have you given up your lives willingly for our cause? So wonderful!” Carmen glared as he finished his statement, not understanding what he was talking about.

“The only one giving something up is you. Put those people down.” She said, staring at him with her fiery red eyes. He glanced at Carmen before cocking his head to the side, finding her to be interesting.

“Hmm, it seems you have strong Core Energy. Master will be pleased with Moku if I capture someone like you. So very pleased!” Moku’s grin was wide and toothy as he spoke.

He quickly sat the two bodies down onto the ground and began walking towards the group. Carmen pulled out her crafted rapier and dashed forward, recklessly assaulting the mysterious foe.

She hit him with a quick volley of sword stabs and piercing attacks, showcasing the improvements in her overall speed from all the training they endured. Moku, with his four large arms, blocked his face and body against the assault. With each hit, she forced him back further and further, not letting him get a moment to breathe.

Carmen did a quick backflip and once she landed on the ground, she immediately bolted forward again with intense speed. She had her rapier fully extended outward, hoping to stab through his defenses. Moku assumed a position to block her rapier again, but this time he flexed his muscles.

His arms became incredibly hard and almost iron-like, losing all forms of elasticity. Carmen’s attack connected and the blade of her crafted rapier completely shattered upon colliding with Moku’s muscles. She looked at her weapon with absolute shock as she saw the tiny blade fragments fly into the air.

Moku lowered his arms and smiled brightly at their difference in strength, finding her attempt very amusing. Carmen quickly flipped backward to create distance between them and assesses her current situation.

“Are you alright Carmen?” Rivell asked with concern, looking at the hilt of her broken sword.

“Yeah, I’m fine.. But, his body is incredibly hard. It felt like I was stabbing steel or something the whole time.” Carmen's reply was filled with great annoyance as Sarah stepped back a bit, aiming her bow at Moku.

“Let me get a crack at him. Buy me some time, Carmen.” Carmen nodded as she tossed the broken weapon away, deciding to just use her abilities.

“He’s really slow. He shouldn’t be able to keep up with my attacks if I keep my speed up.” She thought to herself, getting ready to go back in.

She sprinted forward while aiming her palm towards him, exerting her Core Energy outwards. Moku was forcefully pushed backwards by a heavy gravitational force, causing him to slightly stumble. Just as he moved, Carmen punched him in the stomach.

Her attack did no damage at all and despite the power she put behind her fist, it felt as though she had just punched a steel wall. Carmen endured the pain on her hand and quickly went in for a second volley of jabs, speeding up with each punch. She tapped him around his large body, trying to locate an opening.

Carmen eventually found a brief moment and landed a kick onto his face. However, in that same moment, Moku grabbed her leg tightly before tossing her backwards with great strength. Carmen careened towards the group and collided with Rivell, knocking him to the ground.

Moku smiled again as he started to walk towards them, not fearing this weak group of Vestas in the slightest. Sarah finished her charging prep and was finally ready to unleash her Manifest’s special ability. With a heavy breath, she let go of the string and the arrow exploded from her bow.

The wind was cut and the ground crumbled as it flew towards Moku with tremendous power. It connected and a massive explosion occurred, shaking the ground violently and ripping up nearby trees. The group looked on at the impact, hoping Sarah’s attack worked.

“Did that get him?” Carmen questioned as she got to her feet, hoping this ordeal would be over.

“I’m not sure.. I put all my energy into that though, I might need some time to recharge.” Sarah was struggling to catch her breath as she dropped to a single knee.

“Rivell, can’t you heal her?” Carmen asked, helping him to his feet.

“No... I can only heal injuries it seems like. I can’t restore people’s Core Energy reserves, only physical ailments. Learned that pretty quick during our training with Jorah.” Rivell replied with a nervous laugh.

The smoke dissipated and they saw Moku standing there with his four arms held upwards, blocking his face and body. Shockingly, the arms were bruised and cracking apart, as though they were made of some kind of shell-like armor.

“Well damn…” Sarah remarked with disappointment, not even surprised that he survived the attack.

“Splendid display!! Moku wants your Core Energy even more!! My turn, my turn!!” His vocal excitement was filled with a dangerously playful tone.

Moku raised his arms to the sky and started to glow a deep black. With a sharp and rapid burst of energy, black plated armor materialized around his body. The armor shined in the sunlight, briefly revealing an assortment of small runic symbols throughout. Besides his face, every inch of his body was well covered by this sleek armor.

Moku’s Manifest had been summoned and the power emanating from it was quite terrifying.The trio grew more worried as he completed his transformation, slowly backing away from the fiend.

He lowered his arms and slowly crouched down a bit, tucking his knees slightly towards his chest. Suddenly, with great force he leapt into the air, crushing the ground beneath him. Carmen was highly confused by the theatrics, wondering why he suddenly left the area.

She then looked up and squinted, noticing a silhouette covering the sun. Her eyes went wide as she proceeded to yell at the group.

“RUN!!!!!” Sarah and Rivell looked up as well and noticed Moku barreling down towards the ground with incredible velocity. They sprinted and leapt out of the way just before he landed. The impact completely crushed the ground and devastated everything in the area, leaving a massive crater in its wake.

“Hmmm? Why did you move away from Moku?” He asked as he stood at the center of the destruction, looking puzzled. Having just barely dodged the powerful divebomb thanks to Rivell’s shield, the trio look down at the crater with fear in their eyes.

“Ummm, we might be a little out of our depth here guys. We should leave now!!” Rivell remarked with a terrified expression, gripping his Manifest tightly. Sarah quickly agreed, not knowing what they should do. Carmen instead put on a determined expression and started to stand.

“I think I’ll use my Manifest..” She said, looking down at her palm.

“Huh, are you crazy!? I don’t think that would be smart to do, Carmen. You literally just got your Strands balanced. If something goes wrong you’ll be screwed. It’s too dangerous!” Sarah quickly replied, trying to get her to realize how stupid this decision was.

Carmen held out her hand and summoned forth her Manifest, completely ignoring Sarah’s remarks. The all black rapier oozed a sinister energy while it glowed in the light, as though it was eager to get in on the action.

“I know, but I don’t think he would just let us leave that easily. I’ve gotta do something…. You guys should get back.” With a quick leap, Carmen bolted down into the crater towards Moku.

“Wait!!” Rivell yelled, hoping that she would stop her approach, but his pleas went completely unheard. As Carmen got closer, Moku assumed his crouched position and forcefully leapt into the air again, ready to divebomb the area once more. Carmen glanced up at her foe as he careened downwards from the sky.

“Please work this time.” She softly muttered to her Manifest.

Carmen closed her eyes as she slowly breathed out, gathering her Core Energy together and preparing herself. Just as Moku reached her, Carmen’s eyes shot open and she aimed her rapier at him, forcing out a massive amount of gravitational energy. Moku came to a complete stop in the air, frozen and hovering above her.

It was as though he became weightless and the laws of physics ceased in that exact moment. Graviton’s Eclipse had significantly amplified her gravity manipulation and for the first time since obtaining this weapon, Carmen caught a glimpse of what it was truly capable of.

Her Manifest glowed an eerie purple along the blade and as Moku was suspended in the air, multiple sharp, black needles surrounded him. With great speed and precision, they attacked him from all directions, exploding on contact.

He screeched out in pain as he felt himself take damage for the first time in this battle. Moku collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud as Carmen’s gravity manipulation ended. He looked up at Carmen with a face of pain and curiosity as he recognized the energy she had been conjuring up.

“How does this girl have a Dark affinity? Is she also one of us?” He wondered to himself, surprised to see a human with an affinity that was synonymous with the Boundless. He slowly stood as his armor started to heal itself, sealing up the cracks and chips.

“Question. Why do you have a Dark affinity? You are like Moku, yet you willingly attack me. Are we not both Boundless brethren?” He asked with an almost kind expression. Carmen glared back at him with her vivid red eyes, confused by his questions.

“Worry about yourself, creep. I’m nothing like you people.” She coldly retorted.

“Hmm, I see. Well, Moku has a proposition! How about you join us? We need more strong warriors within our ranks. Pledge your loyalty and Lord Briddle could overlook the fact that you are a lesser life form.” He responded playfully, thinking he was offering her the deal of a lifetime.

“I said no!” Carmen yelled out while activating her Manifest’s special ability. She aimed her rapier forward and then with great elegance, Carmen traced a runic symbol in the air.

The sky turned dark purple, and an eclipse started to overtake the sun. An enormous amount of Core Energy emerged from Carmen as the entire area got completely flattened by tons worth of gravitational force.

Gravtion’s Eclipse had the ability to create a gravitational field of varying sizes. Within the field, the user can either significantly increase or decrease the amount of gravity affecting their opponents. Carmen could move freely and fight without any limits while everyone else was encumbered, giving her a massive advantage during combat. The eclipse effect in the sky was reminiscent of an approaching moon applying varying levels of gravitational force.

Moku crumbled to his knees as he stared into Carmen’s cold, bloodlust filled red eyes. She aimed her palm at him and hundreds of black needles rapidly swarmed around Moku. Carmen closed her hand to make a fist and all the needles rained down onto him, causing massive explosions that shook the ground violently.

After the fairly lengthy onslaught ended, Carmen could be seen panting and growing increasingly tired. She wasn’t used to fighting with her new Manifest and in the process, failed to conserve her Core Energy.

The dust cleared and Moku slowly got to his feet, fighting against the immense gravitational weight on his body. His armor was severely damaged and pieces of it were falling off towards the ground. His expression was that of great annoyance as he had grown tired of this game.

“You have a lot of power little girl, but Moku is done playing around with you!” He stretched out his arms, causing his entire body to glow a dark gray color. Carmen could sense his Dark affinity and a rapid increase in Core Energy, causing her to slowly back away.

In this same moment, the gravitational field dissipated and faded away. Carmen had expended too much energy and could no longer maintain her Manifest’s ability. As her Manifest’s skill ended, she noticed that her arms were beginning to feel numb and shaky, as though her muscles were losing their functions.

“W-what’s happening? I can’t feel my hand.” She thought to herself, unsure of her next move as she stumbled slightly from exhaustion. However, she didn’t have time to dwell on this thought as her foe continued to gather an immense amount of power. Moku glowed and pulsed intensely, pushing out copious amounts of Core Energy all over.

“It’s time for Moku to go KABOOM!!” He yelled out with screechy laughter. Now realizing what he was doing, Carmen quickly sprinted out of the crater towards Sarah and Rivell. She looked at them with wide eyes before screaming out.

“The pendants!!! Quick!!” Sarah and Rivell wondered what had Carmen so worried, but they didn't question her demands. They quickly gripped their pendants tightly and started glowing dark purple. Just as Moku exploded in extravagant fashion, wiping out the entire area, the group teleported back to Castle de Belouis in the knick of time.

As the smoke cleared, Moku stood at the center of the smoldering devastation. Everything within a half mile radius was completely wiped off the map, barren and smoking from his powerful explosion. He looked around with slight disappointment, taking note of his new surroundings.

“Hmm, Moku might’ve done too much. Moku doesn’t sense them anymore. Where’d they go?” He scratched his bald head in a confused manner.

“Must report this to Lord Briddle. He will be pleased to hear that there is another Dark Affinity Vesta in this world.” He walked away with a slight shrug, continuing in his original direction before being stopped by Carmen’s group.