Unbound

The storm intensified as they sped off through the Peaks. The arctic gales were relentless, driving deep through Felix’s Garment. For the first time in months, he felt the unrestrained bite of bone-deep cold. It was fitting, Felix supposed. The Crucible dragged at the world around him, making everything all the more real, and so it refused to allow Felix to reject even a piece so small as temperature. The nature of the Realms could not be denied—so long as he wore the Crucible, he was required to feel everything.

The Crucible Rewards!

+5 END

+2 VIT

His scaled hands were numb, his face wind-burned, and his Health and Stamina were in a constant cycle of wither and bloom as his regeneration fought to hold ground. Even Pit whimpered as the gales turned their most violent, flinging sharpened shards of ice at them in hurricane-force winds. They flew in shifts as minutes turned to hours, though Pit took the brunt of their travel on his four wings.

The Crucible Rewards You, Companion!

+20 END

+15 VIT

+15 AGL

With the Crucible transferring through their Exalted Conjunction, Pit’s Agility, Endurance, and Vitality all flagged behind his natural capabilities. This led to growth…and growing exhaustion. Relentless as he was, that did not stop Pit as he took longer and longer turns across the Sunsend Peaks. When his Stamina or Health dropped too low, he took inevitable refuge in Felix’s Spirit. It was then that Felix slung Adamant Discord across the sky, riding the lightning across curdling clouds, speeding unerringly toward the blip in his senses.

Toward the King.

Felix’s excursions were not frequent or long lasting. Pit always returned, energy restored and Body aching, ready to settle upon the winds once again.

“Are you sure?” Felix asked for the third time. “You nearly fell out of the sky before.”

Pit growled. “We share regenerations, remember? I’ve been back at full for a while now.”

“That doesn’t mean much. My regenerations are blunted just like everything else.” Felix released a Bond and lightning cut out as the winds overtook him again. He fell, coat rippling behind him, before he seized another ephemeral Bond into the storm itself. “You should rest. We’ll reach the King soon enough.”

Felix could barely see twenty feet ahead of himself, but his sense of the Mountain King did not fade in the slightest. His Title was coming in clutch for their navigation purposes.

Pit squawked. "No. I’ve had enough rest. I need to push myself, right? To make it worthwhile?"

"Fair enough.” Felix released the lightning. "Convergence."

Light bloomed amid the ice and Felix dropped directly into the wide saddle on Pit’s back. His tenku Companion loosed a strident crow. “Ouranic Dominion!”

Pit soared forward, pinions trailing white-green Mana into the icy air. He’d already grown so much in the past few hours, and he showed no sign of stopping. Felix grinned. He was proud of his friend.

In addition to the stat growth they’d both seen, the both of them had earned more levels in Skills.

Pit’s Ouranic Dominion is level 124!

Pit’s Nimbus of the Moon is level 135!

Pit’s Mantle of the Stormlord is level 115!

With the exception of Empyrean Embrace, Astrum Ascendence, Void Sanctuary, and Magus of the Grand Design, Felix’s own Tempered Skills were all on the cusp of Paragon. Pit, likewise, was pushing towards Grandmaster Tier. Despite the fact that Chimeras couldn't Temper, he still received significant bonuses each time his Skill crossed those milestones. The Crucible was more than just working---it was driving them toward where they needed to be. A hundred more fights like the Kings and then maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to handle what was coming.

A ping without sound shook through Felix but he only glanced up. His Title was yanking at his Perception as hard as it could, gleaming in his Spirit for him to look down. Felix hauled back on the reins, and though Pit was slow to respond, he still beat his wings backward, fighting the winds to hover in place.

"The last king," Felix muttered, "he's here."

A faint light shone in the distance. They were no more than half a league above the Sunsend Peaks, flying just below the clouds, but the light was so bright that it pierced even through the tempest. It rose from between two crags like a second sun.

Unseen Beholder.

Name: Mountain King Hova

Type: Elemental (Manawarped)

Level: 1002

Lore: The strongest of the Mountain Kings, Hova is also known as the merciful. It is known to kill its prey instantly, ending their suffering before it begins. Beware it’s might, stay clear of its mountains, and you may survive.

Strength: Touch of the Sundered Line

Weakness: Fragile Body

The creature was suspiciously small, and at a distance Felix thought it looked unnervingly like a Sprite, of all things. The closer it got, however, the more he could pick out the strange differences: where a Sprite was both smooth and angular by turns, this creature was built like a chunk of solid crystal, hewn into the roughest approximation of a four-legged animal. The thing surged with life and air Mana, so much so that waves of it cascaded off of its lumpy body as it sped upward.

Directly toward them.

Felix spread his arms wide, claws at the ready. "Brace yourself!"

His Companion spread his wings wide, mana swirling amongst them, as the bright King closed the distance fast.

"Nimbus of the Moon!"

Moonbeams pierced through the clouds, twenty of them stabbing downward in quick succession. Yet none came close to touching the Mountain King. Hova wove through the beams as easily as breathing, before shooting past the pair of them so quickly that Pit was knocked aside by the Mana that shunted in its wake. A gale tumbled them sideways, even as Felix felt something stab at him somewhere deeper than flesh.

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Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped To 70%!

Felix clutched at his chest, arm burning like fire. Nothing had touched him, yet the moment the creature passed, his Health had plummeted. "What the hell is going on?"

The creature spun around, coming in for a second shot. This time, Felix caught something from the King---a distinct sense of ferocious anger. It was brutal and animalistic, but it was sharp and bright as the glow from Hova’s back.

“Stay evasive! Don't let it come near us!" Felix ordered.

"I'm trying!” Pit wheeled through the air as the Mountain King pursued them. The creature was incredibly fast, catching up with them in only a few seconds before zipping by once more as if to simply prove that it had the superior Agility. Again, Felix felt the same brutal sting.

Pit screeched. "Ah, that hurts!"

Warning!

Your Companion’s Health Has Dropped To 60%!

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped To 50%!

"Holy hell!" Each hit was reducing Felix by thousands of points of Health---and the thing hadn’t even touched them yet. “Touch of the Sundered Line…that has to be its Skill.”

Pivoting in place to track the shining blip of the Mountain King, Felix recalled its attacks. It was so fast he almost missed it, but perfect recall had its uses. Each time he’d seen the same bloom of Mana---air Mana to propel itself at insane speeds and, when it came close, a surgical needle of life Mana. That was the real danger.

It’s manipulating life Mana somehow. He could almost see it, but the patterns of Mana use were hidden by the chaos of the storm around them. "Push yourself, Pit. We need to hem it in. We can't just keep taking hits like this.”

"I know," Pit replied, already moving slower with the ice and cold, but he could fly with the best of them. “I’ve got an idea.”

Exalted Conjunction pulsed between them, ideas flitting between them faster than words. Felix grinned. Immediately, he leapt from the saddle, summoning a tether of lightning to suspend himself in mid-air as Pit sped onward, vanishing into the whirling clouds.

Alone, Felix stood amid the raging winds and driving hail, staring at the bright King of the Mountain. Hova banked, turning to face him once more before accelerating.

"Mountain King Hova!" Felix shouted, using all the power in his Grandmaster Tier lungs. "You're the last, you know! I killed all the rest, and they died so easily."

Mountain King Hova was not Human. It wasn't even mortal. But Felix knew he had recognized that flare of its Spirit before. It was a rage familiar to him: the same wrath that filled Felix's veins every time his sister was in danger. The Mountain King was pissed, and pissed people make mistakes.

Felix’s voice was louder than the storm, cracking like thunder. "Come on then, last of the Kings. Fight me! One on one!”

The tiny creature blurred, phasing almost completely out of Felix's Perception. If his Title hadn't still tracked the beast, Felix would have lost sight of it entirely. As it was, Hova thundered toward Felix, too fast to catch and too angry to stop. A keening sound tore through the storm as life Mana flared, until the King was a mighty, green-gold star descending upon him.

The Mountain King screeched, life Mana tearing at Felix even from dozens of yards away.

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped To 35%!

Closer. Closer!

For a moment, Felix was inundated by Hova’s wrath---a terrible, gnawing force layered over a simplistic, animalistic pain.

For a moment, Felix regretted what he had to do.

Now, Pit!

An invisible tenku hit the Mountain King from the side, smashing it out of true as green-gold life Mana sparked in a spray of liquid power.

Adamant Discord!

His Companion clutched it close, despite the danger, and Pit's Health dropped precipitously. Hova shoved away, its blocky legs tearing at Pit’s fur. It was fast, but not fast enough.

Lightning tethered around the creature, catching it like a lasso, and Felix hauled it back toward himself. The Mountain King flared its Skill.

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped To 10%!

Lightning wreathed him and the Mountain King alike as Felix reached out and caught the beast between his teeth. Empyrean Embrace!

Hova exploded, bursting into rivers of power that bloomed around Felix in whirling, burning prominences.

You Have Killed Mountain King Hova!

XP Earned!

Abyssal Skein is level 100!

…

Abyssal Skein is level 115!

Master Tier!

You Gain:

+100 INE

+75 WIL

+75 PER

Pit’s Ouranic Dominance is level 125!

Grandmaster Tier!

He Gains:

+Massive Decrease In Mana Consumption

+500 AGL

+200 DEX

Mana, Essence, and significance poured into Felix in a torrent, all but drowning him. Felix gritted his teeth, enduring the onslaught until the relieving chimes of the System beckoned to him.

The Realms Refute But The Crucible Rewards:

+25 STR

+25 END

+25 AGL

+25 DEX

+25 VIT

+5 WIL

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped To 1%!

Sovereign of Flesh!

Newly won Essence burned away as Felix breathed through the aches in his bones. He hovered, still held aloft on a thin tether of lightning, watching as his Health rose slowly. Pit reappeared from Abyssal Skein’s effect, haggard and bleeding in a few places. “You okay?”

“No.” Pit squawked a laugh. "You?”

“I'll live." Felix could feel blood pouring down his sides. He wasn't sure when he'd been cut, but Hova had done something in those last few moments. "It'll heal up soon enough."

His wounds were vanishing beneath the ministrations of Sovereign of Flesh and the glory of stolen Essence. Mostly, he just wasn’t used to feeling pain---not like this, anyway. A sharp burning distinctly different from the agony of freezing, it was just as unpleasant.

His Title pulsed, singing across newfound senses. It was similar in effect to the Mountain King’s presence, only more…sedate. Felix looked down, eyes easily finding the source through the storm. "There’s more to do. Come on, bud."

Together they descended between the two peaks that Hova had emerged. Nestled between them they found his Domain. Unlike the shallow caves of the previous Kings, this one was set within a tangle of trees clustered together along a broken rock face. The trees were bent in such a way that their intertwined branches formed a perfect circle---within that opening, liquid light shimmered.

Felix reached out, and the creatures within shied away just as before. Empyrean Embrace.

The Domain vanished beneath ephemeral jaws and poured through Felix. The Beast lowed in satisfaction.

Empyrean Embrace is level 138!

Title Upgrade!

Rigorous Regicide III!

The last of the Mountain Kings has fallen, and their Queen knows it. She knows you. Fear her.

+Maxed Animosity From The Beasts Of The Sunsend Peaks

+Increased Perception For Tracking All Beasts Of The Sunsend Peaks

Immediately, Felix’s expanded awareness was filled with the presence of thousands of monstrosities. Dozens of Princes and all of their individual swarms still ran amok in the mountains, though most were far from Korsk. They weren’t his concern anymore.

There was another, a point of light that bloomed in the south. It felt like a magnet drawing the iron of his attention. "There you are."

They had finally found the Queen.