Unbound

"Laur! Shields!" Vess cried.

"Already forming!"

She hurled herself from the ship's deck. The windward resisted her for only a moment before she passed it, then Vess shot into the driving torrent of the Tempest.

"On the Wing!"

Spectral wings formed across her back and flapped, pushing her aloft and scattering air Mana into a whirling shell around herself. It wasn't a warding, but it cleared the downpour from her eyes. Vess zipped forward, glaive thrust outward toward the shadowy horde.

"Galebound Glory!”

Twenty Spears manifested around her, each a copy of her arcanite weapon and all of them releasing a keening note as they sliced through the air.

"Hah!"

Vess sent her weapons hurtling through the sky at the horde. Prismatic trails followed them like ribbons of captured lightning, and each Spear generated a ghostly duplicate that spiraled at its side.

Howling horde met keening Spear…and erupted.

Air and metal mana became miniature cyclones of shrapnel, splattering the leading monstrosities into paste.

Galebound Glory is level 99!

Vess pulled to a stop, watching in frustration as the gap she’d made was consumed by monstrous limbs and snapping crimson lightning.

The tide of flesh could not be stopped so easily.

"Legion!" Vess cried. "Fire at will!"

The soldiers unleashed their Skills, sending their power into the teeming mass of shadows. The spawn flowed around them, getting blasted back by fire, lightning, ice, and many more besides. The horde's flesh was almost liquid, splashing with each hit only to reform and fly onward, toward the shields they foundered again. Sparks flew as claw and crimson lightning spat against the combined might of the Manaship’s defenses.

Vess hissed through her teeth, her Spears reforming around her in a halo of violence. The soldiers' Skills weren't strong enough to eradicate the monsters entirely, only hamper them.

Yin! We need to buy the ships more time!

In response, her Drake Companion shot into the sky, roaring all the while.

"Prismatic Cyclone!"

A swirling vortex stole from the storm around them, leeching wind and light into a massive, twisting funnel. Easily two hundred strides across, it descended from above and slammed into the horde's leading edge. Close to a hundred of the creatures were pulled into the cyclone, their red lightning bursting from open wounds as they were brutalized by its fury.

Your Companion Yintarion Has Killed A Twilit Splinter (x82)!

XP Earned!

Your Companion Yintarion Has Gained A Level!

Yintarion Is Level 91!

Strength flowed into her friend, and his roar momentarily drowned out the Tempest around them. The cyclone shifted, pulling in more.

Farther down, Evie snagged a beast with her chain and hurled herself out into the fray, the creature bursting into liquid ichor as she shot above the horde. Each lash of her dual chains grasped another, pulling her deeper into the battle. She slashed the blades on her chains, lacerating before she shifted the weight with her Born Trait and dropped, using the momentum to hurl the captured monsters into one another like a gruesome flail, only to propel herself onward in the same motion, catching another foe in her chains.

Vess knew she had a Skill called Grim Fervor that both decreased the Will of her enemies while increasing her own Strength for every enemy she fought alone. It was a small boost, but Vess had seen her friend use it to great effect before, and now she was a whirling dervish beside Yin's Prismatic Cyclone.

The horde diminished, but they couldn't stop them all. The monstrosities breached the shields, and the ships tipped, all nine knocked back by the sheer force of their arrival.

"Tu fala esta! Kyria! Kyria!" Battlelord Ari bellowed, and waves of ice weapons struck the monsters that made it to the ships, blasting many back and freezing parts of them solid.

A’zek danced among them, his long body agile and strong as it pounced atop the deformed abominations, splattering their limbs and crushing skulls beneath his claws while his barbed tail lashed out with impunity.

The Legion fought hard as well. Sword, fist, club, and magic burned side-by-side with the Dawnguard, wielding their own long spears with a deadly grace. Behind them all, the Chanters cried out, their voices rhythmic and imbued with a power that crashed against the shadowy Splinters.

More flowed across the sky, bursting from the enormous beast that Pit fought against. Vess couldn’t simply watch.

"Matriarch’s Lament!"

A terrible cry ripped from her throat as a spectral Dragon's head formed atop hers. The sound tore at her own heart, full of sorrow and longing so terrible that it made her want to curl onto the floor and weep. The horde flinched, their very Vitality sapped as the red lightning sputtered in their empty eyes.

The Moonspun Horde Is Ennervated!Duration: Five Heartbeats!

She dropped down, her spectral wings vanishing as she approached the horde again, glaive thrust forward.

“Draconic Stormfall!”

She hit, and lightning leapt from the clouds directly into her path, obliterating two dozen of the foes.

The battle had only just begun.

Maelstrom's Maw!

Talon of Tumult!

Pit’s first hit had split the monstrous ape's flesh, releasing those nasty creatures, and each subsequent attack had done the same. Abominations crawled out of the monster's skin, like gnarly pimples with claws and eyes full of crimson lightning. They fled, scattering from Pit’s strikes and joining the dark cloud that slammed against his friends.

Damn it!

Maelstrom's Maw sent lightning through his foes with every strike he made, causing more damage than the bite alone. That lightning was amplified by his Mantle of the Storm Lord, scattering it through the spawned monstrosities he could catch. As he passed in rapid flight, they popped into shadowy goo as his beak drove home, the lightning chaining between their fragile forms.

You Have Killed A Twilit Splinter (x13)!

XP Earned!

The talon slashes that hit the big ape, however, were far different. While lightning skittered across its hide and burst its flesh apart in places, his Talon of Tumult drove a dizzying potency into its Body.

Status Condition: Confusion - Decreases Targets Ability To Tell Friend From Foe.

A Twilit Ape Is Confused!

Duration: One Second

Each instance of Confusion didn’t last long. The creature's Will was too strong to be held down, but the instances stacked so long as Pit kept slashing at it, and he refused to relent.

"Stop!" the pale tenku cried as they flew past him again. They were well outside the reach of the ape's nightmarish limbs originally, but now they had drifted closer to Pit. "You're endangering everyone!"

"I'm not—" Pit dove under the swinging fist of the ape, spinning into a barrel roll to evade the giant spikes on the backs of its hands. He swooped back up, his mantle streaming from his pinions and trails of liquid light. "I'm gonna kill it!"

The pale tenku, more white than russet, was exasperated. "You can't! It's Moontouched. The gods-"

The ape bellowed, and a noxious spittle spattered into the torrential downpour. Foul magic assaulted Pit, sizzling against his Body and Mind before his Aspects fought it off.

Moonfear Resisted!

The pale tenku was not so lucky. They gave an indelicate squawk and shot off into the distance, just about disappearing into the storm. The Twilit Ape tried to follow, its huge, ungainly body moving through the sky like water.

"No, you don't!" Pit dove at it again, raking its broad back with his talons. Ichor shot up behind him like a black wake, and more of those Splinters formed in the aftermath.

Tempest Fugit!

Icy spears rained down behind him, enough to pierce through chest, skull, and limb of the Splinters that crawled from the Ape's form. They deflated like foul balloons, their insides smearing in the driving rain.

The Ape roared and swung backward, driving an elbow behind itself and clipping Pit's leg. He spun, banking hard to the left to avoid the full brunt of its attack. Another hand reached for him, but he wove through its splayed fingers, spinning now as his Mantle crackled from his shoulders, and dove for the Ape's back once more.

You Have Killed A Twilit Splinter (x22)!

XP Earned!

It was a battle of attrition, and despite his great Strength and Agility, Pit was forced to muster all of his power to keep it contained, let alone wound it substantially. It was all he could do to keep more Splinters from arising. He could do nothing against the horde attacking the fleet.

They can handle it. They have to.

Pit flew up, his four powerful wings more than a match for the Ape's lumbering strikes. Lightning burst around them, shooting from the clouds that towered above. His Mantle attracted it, drawing it onto his back before it split off his wings like a river around an obdurate boulder, sending white-capped streams down into the Ape. Deep wounds blazed across its hide, and Pit cried out in triumph.

The Twilit Ape flared with its own magic, however—its own lightning. Caustic crimson flashed from its spiked grip, blurring its limb that was finally fast enough to catch Pit. House-sized fist met bus-sized tenku, and something crunched. Crimson lightning blasted across his fur and wings, searing feathers despite his Mantle.

Status Condition: Bloodscorch

Duration: Two Minutes

Bloodscorch - Your Blood Burns, Inflicting Pain And Constant Health Drain.

It hurt. Pit couldn't deny that, nor his plummeting Health.

Pit! came a distant cry.

Just handling something, Felix! Pit growled. Gimme a minute!

He wasn't afraid. He was pissed.

Nimbus of the Moon!

A beam of light speared from the sky, clearing a circle through the tumultuous storm clouds and slamming into the beast.

Nimbus of the Moon is level 83!

…

Nimbus of the Moon is level 86!

Red lightning snuffed out, leaving darkness in its wake. Darkness that was illuminated by the milky white beam that streamed with impunity from the heavens. Shadow flesh bubbled and burned, revealing strands of purple-black muscle and dark bone beneath. Clawed hands reached from the Ape's back, more of the hordes spawning from its substance. But they were barely half-formed before they, too, were speared by moonlight. The smaller beams eradicated them entirely.

Status Condition: Moonlit Affliction - Impairs Agility And Limns Targets With Moonlight, Rendering Them Incapable Of Stealth.

A Twilit Ape Is Afflicted!

Duration: Five Minutes!

The Ape bellowed, exposing stained teeth and a burned, thrashing tongue. A presence bucked against the pale beam, and Pit squawked as a burning pain lanced through his Mind.

Moonlit Affliction Has Failed!

"Do you think you're too strong for me?" Pit demanded.

The Ape only howled, and its gnarled hand closed around the tenku's back. Pit shrieked in pain.

"You fool!" The other chimera flew in, having somehow mastered itself. Feathers whipped past, and bright talons flashed as a triple line of light sparked across the Ape's drooling face. It reared back, ichor spraying from the wound, and reached for the other tenku.

Loosening its grip on Pit.

Thank you, mystery friend!

Pit bit the hilt of a dagger from the sheath on his front leg and jerked it free. They could win this. He just needed to open up space.

Executioner's Stormblade!

Skyslaine's Riposte expanded as he swung, turning from a dagger into something resembling a bus-length meat cleaver. Lightning burst, striking its surface as wind curved from its leading edge, and magic howled into an incandescent burst as he hit.

Executioner’s Stormblade is level 49!

…

Executioner’s Stormblade is level 52!

Journeyman Tier!

You Gain:

+10 STR

+10 AGL

+10 DEX

The Ape lifted its horn-covered forearms and roared in defiance, but it could not contest Pit’s might. It was sent screaming into the distance.

Pit followed.

Ouranic Dominion is level 76!

With four wings pumping, Pit met the beast midair. The Ape tore into him like a man grappling with a ferocious wolverine, claws gouging out fur, feathers, and flesh in equal measure. It was blinded with rage and a madness of crimson. They blasted downward through the clouds as lightning burst into a net all around them. The lightning glanced off Pit's Mantle, and his talons dug deep. The Ape howled.

“Just! Shut! Up!”

Ouranic Dominion is level 77!

…

Ouranic Dominion is level 81!

Wings pumping, Pit forced his burning muscles against the Ape as it fought to regain altitude.

He refused to allow it.

"The sky is mine!" he declared as clouds boiled away from them. The sea loomed below, reaching up toward them with thrashing white-caps—as did the upthrust peak of clifftop.

The Ape roared, and Pit braced himself.

They hit the cliff with all the force of a meteor. The impact cratered its craggy face and sent an avalanche of splintered stone sloughing into the sea. Fissures split the upthrust rock, the force of their impact detonating ancient stone into shrapnel the size of houses. Waves burst high, swallowing broken terrain and spitting back out salty spray.

Thunder rolled, but it was a distant thing.

Here, in the dust, there was quiet.

Pouring rain cleared the dust after several long seconds, and Pit stood on trembling legs. Beneath him was a broken creature, its neck twisted in an unnatural direction, and its stupid mouth finally silent.

You Have Killed A Twilit Ape (Moontouched)!

XP Earned!

You Have Gained A Level!

You Are Now Level 97!

+10 STR, +9 PER, +4 VIT, +11 END, +7 INT, +10 WIL, +20 AGL, +20 DEX!

+10 AFI, RES, and REI!

You Have 50 Unused Stat Points!

System energy surged through Pit, tingling across his neck, back, and haunches like liquid fire. Pit shook himself, and the Ape beneath him burst into vile smoke.

Wait a second. Pit sniffed. I know that smell.

It stank of Divinity. Two familiar ones.

Vellus and Noctis. This was their creature. Pit growled, and the smoke around him shivered from the sound, alone. Now it's mine.

Exalted Conjunction!

The connection between him and Felix flared brighter than normal, until it was a bar dozens of feet thick extending into the northwest. The distance was great, but it mattered little to this Skill. This Skill was the representation of their bond, and it had grown strong since they began their companionship over a year prior. It allowed for far more than simple communication, now.

"Pit? What do you need?" Felix asked. Ah, I see.

It was like Felix was there, standing beside him.

We knew they’d be here. The phantom impression shook his head. The Ape was dissolving faster now, its flesh and bones rendering into thickened smog as fast as a lit fuse, and stormwinds were sending it hurtling away across the sky. Go for it, bud.

Pit trilled in satisfaction and grasped what he wanted. The Skill vibrated within the pincers of his Intent, shaking hard enough that it nearly escaped him. Pit clamped down and flared his Affinity until it sang.

Empyrean Embrace!

Felix’s Skill flowed through Pit, igniting across the breadth of the Continent and across no distance at all. They were two, but they were also one.

And they were hungry.

The black smoke of the beast paused, as if frozen, before it was pulled back. Pit breathed in, his great lungs roaring like forge’s bellows as the Twilit Ape was torn apart…and consumed.

Blue-box notifications slammed into his view as it did so, and Pit nearly lost his grip.

You Have Killed A Twilit Splinter (x133)!

XP Earned!

His eyes widened. Streamers of dark power dropped from the storm-laden sky, weaving together into a pillar of dark miasma before pouring into Pit’s open beak.

Power surged in Pit’s chest, igniting the night sky within his core space, before funneling downward into the Woven Tree that rose up from his center. Mana, Essence, and significance poured through him, most sinking into the ground like rain after a drought, while the rest pooled around his [Six-Pointed Star Core].

The power tried to buck, but the Seeds of Divinity within him had sprouted, joining with his Woven Tree until branches of blood, shadow, and chaos were seamlessly grown among the rest. Thorns caught the pieces of consumed Ape and its spawn, holding them fast as his [Six-Pointed Star Core] began to slowly absorb its share.

Pit screeched, talons digging into the earth, before he opened his eyes.

“How did you do that?”

Pit started—he hadn’t heard the tenku land at all. Equally surprising was her high-pitched voice. The white tenku was a lady. He shifted his stance and cleared his throat. “Do what?”

Pale gray eyes stared at him from among white and russet feathers. “How did you defeat the Twlit Ape and its spawn? What was that Skill you used, at the end?”

Pit cleared his throat. “I ate it.”

“How?”

“Big bites.”

“Pit!” Vess shouted from far above. He looked up, and through the swirling clouds, he saw the bottom of several Manaships. “We require your healing!”

Golden eyes widening, he glanced back at the pale tenku. “I need to go there. Come with me?”

She shifted her feet. “I do not know you.”

“Then stay here. Just…don’t go?” Pit flexed his four wings. “Please?”

He didn’t wait for her response before launching himself into the sky.