A cluster of roots burst from the ground, piercing through the giant gremlin knight. The damage alone was enough to kill hundreds of cracklings. However, in the grand sche of things, that was insignificant. Barely had the damage been done that the knight split into two, each attacking a different dryad echo. One of the attacks failed, the other succeeded, leaving only a total of seventeen remaining on the battlefield.
anwhile, Dallion kept running towards the key forge. He was fully aware he had minutes to get it all done. Even now, the guardian was at his limit, doing everything possible to grant Dallion more ti. Even the vine whale was having difficulties against the flock of enemies.
Can you cut through walls, Nox? Dallion asked as he leapt from the inner castle wall.
ow the crackling replied. While it was no longer a little cub, the walls were too thick for it to slice through just yet.
The streets were much narrowed there, allowing no more than three people to walk side by side. Even that was wasteful, considering that there were no gremlins or habitable buildings to be seen. Everythingwalls, towers, streets, and buildings includedwere nothing more than a giant decorative shell made for the flas vanity. Like the cracklings that erged from it, the source of the decay also seed to improve, gaining the overall thoughts and emotions of the tribe. It seed that just as the cracklings worked to forge armor capable of providing protection and a touch of vanity, so did the fla, using the city itself.
Vanity, Dallion thought. Having that ant that crackligns were more sapient than people thought. Given enough ti, they could well turn out to be like humans. Enough differences would appear between the different individuals, forcing if not conflict, then at the very least tense coexistence. Opinions would form, and maybe even more. The issue was the overabundance of resources. While there were things to corrupt, the cracklings would grow, moving in unison against anything in their way. At the sa ti, should they consu all the resources, the item would break, collapsing the realm with it.
Youve been here before, Gleam said, fluttering beside Dallion. She had chosen to create an illusion over herself appearing as a flying crackling, rather than remain in his realm.
Are you sure? Dallion asked.
Youre running in circles.
That was what Dallion feared. He had hoped he was wrong. The fact that he was right ant that the fire forge had no entrances leading into it. Even the windows turned out to be fake.
Horns filled the air. Dallion instinctively looked up. There was no telling where the sound ca from, but it was close. There were probably so gremlins within watchtowers after all. That wasnt his major concern, however. The sound of horns indicated that the threat had ended. The dryad echoes leading the attack had been wiped out, leaving the cracklings forces to return.
Crap! Dallion thought. This was faster than he expected. Ti seed to freeze as he focused on the problem at hand. At this point, he was no longer seeking an elegant solution, but rather anything. He could try and fight his way through the walls. With the vast majority of cracklings beyond the city walls. A line-strike probably had the power to slice through the buildings, and maybe harm the fla itself. However, doing so would have significant consequences in the real world. Harp had already warned him that despite his recovery he was in quite a vulnerable stateany further exertion had every chance of ssing up his inner ear to the point that aiming and balance would be off for months.
Harp, can a line-strike cut through this? Dallion asked anyway.
No, the answer ca, short and straight to the point without the possibility of misinterpretation.
Im not going to ask you to. I just want to know whether you can do it, Dallion didnt give up.
No, the harpsisword replied. The material is too dense.
That was to be expected. The guardian had the strength to perform such attacks. If the city walls werent strong enough to withstand the effects, there wouldnt be the need for him to ask Dallion for help. So, walls were a bust as well, and tunnelingconsidering that was even possiblewas going to take far longer than Dallion had. Ultimately, there was one option left however Dallion didnt like it.
Youre on the right track, the mysterious male voice said within Dallions mind. Its risky, but at this point youll have to take so risks if you want to grow fast enough.
Chills ran down Dallions spine. The option he had thought of had been a simple theoretical exercise, half done in jest. Dallion was smart enough to know the dangers involved, as well as the consequences should he fail. If things went poorly, it wasnt just the tournant he would lose.
You dont have to do it, the voice continued. You did quite well as it is. The guardian is already impressed. It will be easy to sneak out now and have a second go in a few days. Maybe the dryad will even help you.
Despite the words of encouragent, the voice was mocking Dallion. He could feel it. He would never get a better chance than this. No matter how many tis he managed to sneak into the central castle of the city, hed face the sa problem. Maybe if he were ten levels higher, or even just five, things might be different, but even then, there was no guarantee of success, just better odds.
Theres a lot to worry about, the voice continued. But its not like you havent done it before.
That ti was an accident, Dallion thought. Ive no idea what I did to achieve it.
Isnt that the perfect ti to learn? The voice laughed, fading away in Dallions mind.
For several seconds Dallion remained in the middle of the street, unable to take a step.
Dal? Gleam asked, alard by his sudden change of behavior. What happened?
Dallion didnt reply. He was still thinking. The only option of success was going to put him at a far greater risk than he had even been so far. However, if what the voice said was true, maybe it would be worth it; not so much because of what the guardian had offered, but the possibility of learning an attack surpassing anything Dallion had seen so far.
Sumr breeze, Dallion told himself. Blue glow and sumr breeze. Those were the two only two things that he knew about the attack. At the ti, he was rely a double digit, lacking half of his skills, and still he had pulled it off. Since then, though, he hadnt managed to perform anything close and it wasnt from lack of trying.
Combining his athletic and acrobatic skills, Dallion jumped between the walls of two nearby buildings, landing on the top. From there, getting to the roof of the main forge was easy.
You wont be able to cut through the ceiling, Harp said.
I know.
Reaching the chimney, Dallion ran up. There was only one way to reach the black flaa flaw that vanity had allowed it to create. Every fla, even a crackling fla, needed air to burn. However, the reason to create giant chimneys was onepure unadulterated vanity.
Dont! Nil shouted. At this point, even he had grasped what Dallion had in mind. You wont be able to achieve anything. Youll only get lost or turn into a chainling completely!
Sorry, Nil, Dallion whispered as he reached the top of the tunnel. Its sothing I need to do. He jumped in.
The black smoke seed to welco him as he fell in. It was like swimming through water diluted with air. The illusion surrounding Dallion shattered. Dallion could see the surprise of the flasurprise that sothing unknown had appeared, but also eager to consu it. Tendrils shot up, wrapping themselves round Dallion to form a black cocoon. There was no pain, only darkness and an unending hunger to devour everything in existence. In a way, it was similar to the experience the Star had subjected Dallion, but it was also different, less organized.
Lux, surround , Dallion thought.
The firebird instantly did so. A layer of flas surrounded Dallion, separating him from the darkness around him. Dallion could feel the opposites collide: a fla that decayed everything it ca into contact with versus a fla that could only heal and never damage. This was all the buffer that was needed.
Ti to show your worth, Vermillion, Dallion said. Personal awakening!
Dallion expected for the ring to link him to his personal realm. He knew that linking his realm directly was beyond dangerous, risking the spill of cracklings within. Thats why he had resorted to the Vermillion ring. However, things didnt go the way he imagined they would.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
A green rectangle appeared in front of him. Just to make sure, Dallion looked around. His music skills told him that he was still in the crackling fla, as was Lux. However, he could no longer hear any of them, as if the link between Dallion and his realm had been severed.
I want to learn how to slice through cracklings, Dallion said. No! he quickly corrected himself. I want to learn how to slice through decay.
That was the key. He was risking too much to be content with rely learning how to deal with cracklings. Ultimately, he wanted to be able to face the chainlings and the Star as well. Realistically, he knew that there was little chance he would be granted Moon-like powers, but a step in the right direction was sothing he knew he could achieve. After all, he had managed to do it once before, even if it was partially. Back when the Star had used its power to cocoon Dallion in darkness, it was through a clever combination of Noxs claws and the harpsiswords music attack that he had managed to break free, ripping through the darkness. However, that was only part of his success. There had been another wave of power that had made it all possible, and that wave had co from Dallion himself.
WHY DO YOU THINK ITS SOTHING YOU CAN HAVE?
You gave it to already. This ti I want it permanently. I know its within my realm sowhere. Im not sure whether its linked to leveling up or its just hidden sowhere, but I know I have it. Ive used it once before.
There was no imdiate response. By all accounts, it seed that there was yet another power above the Moons, or at the very least parallel to them. It was said that the Moons were omnipotent and set all the rules, and yet it was never claid that they were the ones that sent the rectangles. That was weird, considering they were linked both to stats and races.
YOU WANT TOO MUCH
I dont want all of it now, Dallion said. Just enough to start learning, and it must be strong enough to defeat the crackling fla.
CHOOSE ONE
So thats how it was going to be? The fact that Dallion received the offer ant that it was likely to be granted. Still, he didnt see the reason for the reluctance. Defeating the embodint of entropy had to be a good thing for any realm, the real world included.
If I chose to learn, will you help kill off the fla, or will you let end up being consud by it? Dallion asked.
CHOOSE ONE
A second green rectangle appeared in front of the first. Clearly, Dallion wasnt going to be given any more hints. If that was the case, he had just the response.
I leave you to decide, he said.
Both green rectangles disappeared. Was that the correct choice? Dallion had no way of knowing. Even so, it was better than any of the two alternatives. Back on Earth, Dallions grandfather used to say that nothing happened by accident. The sa was true hereall major events had sothing triggering them. While Dallion believed it was his actions, and the support from friends, guardians, and familiars that had helped him get to where he was, he also couldnt deny that there had been a few instances in which sothing else had granted him abilities he shouldnt have had. The voice was one such example and so far, it hadnt been wrong.
THERES A SPARK INSIDE YOU
A green rectangle appeared. Suddenly, everything went white.
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