12 Forged in Ebon

I glanced up, my brow rising, "Ah, yeah. No."

Baldag-Ruhl didn't so much as flinch. The insects piled up around me, and Baldag-Ruhl hissed out his words,

"Who do you believe granted you that ability, little lamb?”

I blinked, raising my hands, “What?”

“I know of the system. I am the reason you warped here in place of that...Tutorial as you called it. I did more. I gave you that aura of yours as well. It cannot faze me in the slightest.”

Insects swelled around me. I stomped encroaching beetles, swung at ants, and I mauled spiders. In seconds they smothered me, and their legs clittered around me from all angles. They threatened to crawl up my nose as Baldag-Ruhl simmered,

“They will eat through your skin in seconds, little one. I may smother you as well, if need be. And know this - I have no qualms killing you. I have all that I need. I'll just use one of your friend's bodies instead of yours if you wish to die in this moment."

I smashed my hand into the stone beneath me and roared, "Fuck." I hit the floor again with three blows, cracking the rock. I roared out obscenities of all kinds. Baldag-Ruhl shivered as he loomed over me. He smiled, "Now, kill that aura before I kill you."

I shut off Agony before Baldag-Ruhl waved me over with a twisted limb jutting from his back, "Come, before I chew off your limbs and drag your torso with me."

With a heavy heart, I obeyed. Around the room, the tunnels flooded with water, but every drop funneled into whirlpools around the golem cores. The water swirled into tiny drops of mana that created small streams of the glowing miasma. These eight streams flowed into the center of the room. The bottom tier of the colosseum filled with the shining liquid, and Baldag-Ruhl spread his arms,

"Go there, towards the center."

I walked with a heavy head and slow pace. Like walking towards my own execution, my hands grew numb and my eyes heavy. My throat burned as I pushed down tears of frustration. All of my fighting amounted to this, having myself turned into some kind of shell. Baldag-Ruhl spread out his hands,

"You will first swim in this mana. That will form the blueprint of the shell."

I reached the pool of mana, terrified and desperate. I glanced around, looking for an escape. None met my eye. Baldag hissed, "Into the pool, little lamb." A horde of insects formed a ball that shoved me into the pool. A cool, pleasing sensation wrapped around me from all sides. An earth shattering boom sounded above the liquid, and the mana pulled towards me.

The mana condensed, further and further until it changed into a solid around me. Needles of crystallized mana pierced into my spine, skull, and bones. They read my very being, and in an immutable manner, the energy tied itself to me.

Once it finished its scan, the mana took on a rougher shape, like a frozen fire surrounding me. After a few seconds, the mana leached through to my blood. It swelled into my frame, and a palpable wave of energy coursed through the fibers tying me together. It imprinted every single one of my cells into its every drop.

Pulling away, the mana condensed into a sphere above me. Everything came back as the liquid no longer covered my eyes. All of the runes of the room glowed a fierce white. As I glanced up, the giant blue fire lighting the room had turned into a blinding white light of pure, resonating energy.

The ball hummed from the hidden power within it. Arcs of lightning streaked out in deafening booms, the density of it further mounting. Like a blue sun, the ball grew and grew until it collapsed on itself. An enormous, crystallized hunk of energy fell, strange runes littering its surface.

The implosion it left behind generated a tear in space-time above me, exposing a dark, shifting outline. The formless contour seethed umbral energy out into this plane. My eyes locked onto it, unable to look away. As I gazed into that abyss, the abyss gazed back into me. It peered through me as if I weren’t there.

Baldag-Ruhl pulled up his arms and weaved the leaking miasma into a single point. The slight, seeping flow turned into an unstable, rushing torrent. The flood of black created dilations in time, certain insects moving in slow motion while others sped along faster than normal. The crack in dimensions gushed out with energy unbounded, and it erupted forth with a coursing violence.

The blue sun of before was nothing in comparison with this new blot of black. This was absolute darkness, the embodiment of umbral shade. It took the opposite form of light, and it absorbed the glow around it. Insects nearby died or went insane, the tiny lives driven mad. Their lives helped fuel the sphere as it drained life from the air.

I ran towards the edge of the pool and jumped, but a forcefield met me, bouncing me back. Baldag-Ruhl announced his words with the weight of lead,

"Shush, child. Lay down and fall asleep. The spell has your soul carved into it. This new carapace will accept your soul as its own. I will mold you into my own thereafter."

The ball of compressed black suppressed all near it. It crumbled me to my knees, and Baldag-Ruhl was rendered immobile as well. He growled out, his clicking, molded voice piercing across the chasm. The ball condensed and moved. With a deep scream, the ball ebbed out a sound like rupturing steel.

Blood poured from my eardrums as the armor took shape. I didn't have time to watch. My mind raced for anything, any lifeline or way of getting out. None came to mind until I remembered the Corundum of Souls. I glanced at it from my menu screen.

Corundum of Souls | Tier: Legendary Unique - A mythical gem foretold to hold endless mana. The gem will gain life at 1,000,000 creating a living soul, trapped in the container.

998,855/1,000,000 Mana Charged

My mana drained the entire time during the last few days and while we ran. I had to have more, and right now. I reached for my mana, finding my pool full and my current mana regen being pulled into it. I pulled all of my mana into it. The crushing wave of exhaustion passed over me as my mana pool bottomed out.

It wasn’t enough. I drained more into it, blood dripping out of my nose. My body rebelled, my coursing with fire. My head screamed out in pain. My limbs shook with the effort. It wasn’t enough. No extra mana regen coursed out.

I didn’t have the multiple hours I’d need for this gem to fill up. With desperation fueling me, I jerked at the mana with absolute abandon. No more mana came out, but wracking, heavy waves of pain radiated through my nerves. It was blinding and quick, like lightning coursing up my body.

Each time I tugged at the emptied mana, my body disintegrated, yet no mana came to aid me. I peered up, and the black armor took shape. Baldag-Ruhl cackled, "Now, allow me to mold your soul, little lamb. You will become this wolf's skin. You will become this wolf's flesh."

I redoubled my efforts of adding more mana. My hands shook. My knees wobbled. Another vein in my nose burst as blood poured from it. My eyes grew bloodshot. I gritted my teeth. I clenched my fists. Sweat poured down my face as I struggled and struggled and struggled more still.

As the black miasma floated down towards me, veins in my eyes burst from my sheer exertion. My shaking turned into a deep, untamed trembling. I shook in place as veins appeared on my neck and my face turned red. The fingers of my fist dug into my hand, blood pouring from them as I reached for more mana. I found none.

Baldag-Ruhl continued, "Go ahead, child. Let me in. Let me into you."

Blood poured from my eyes and ears and nose. My teeth cracked then broke then shattered. I exerted with a will of steel, pounding against my mana. I demanded more. I commanded for more mana. I willed until the miasma hit me.

The black miasma was a violation, something wrong, something corrupt. It crawled inside the very fabric of my being, bending me to its will. Despite the overwhelming energy and power, it met my soul like a wall of steel. I remained unchanged. Baldag-Ruhl drooled and frothed at the mouth, gurgling his words,

"You cannot stop it. Everything you are will become mine. You will lose yourself and become nothing but a tool of my making."

I surged with a frantic panic. Wild and howling, I fought against the force with more exertion than I imagined I could. I became a pillar of willpower, a monument of human spirit. Baldag-Ruhl laughed at my resistance, but I kept struggling. I calmed, and my panic turned into a heavy resolve.

The howling energies, the ripping winds, and the seething flow of insects fell to a nullness around me. I dipped into serenity, clearing my mind. As the miasma from all sides crawled into me, I defied it. I chose to swallow this darkness. It did not swallow me.

Something within me snapped. A tiny dribble of mana poured out. With it, a raging torment flooded my body. The excruciation tore me apart. That torture was not the end. This was the beginning.

This mana spawned from my blood. I sacrificed myself for it. I poured more of this new mana into the Corundum of Souls. The pain evolved into something sinister. It raged against me, a torment I’d never known. I drenched myself in its cruel embrace. This was my escape, my way out of becoming someone else’s shell.

Pain was temporary, but victory was forever. Finding my path to triumph, I converted my flesh and blood and bone into mana. I trembled in place, my body disintegrating into mush. The bonds holding me together gave way, and blood leaked out of my veins. My gums turned to mush. My hair fell out. My fingernails snapped off.

The pain became unbearable. It mounted into an immovable wall. I wanted so badly to just give in, to let go. I didn't. I shocked myself with my sheer desperation.

And so, the Corundum of Souls was filled.

Corundum of Souls | Tier: Legendary Unique - Holds a pure and uncorrupted soul.

With the last of my strength I pulled the gem from my pocket. The crystals runes aligned into a pristine, innocent being. It rippled outward with a white energy. The miasma poured out of me and into the defenseless soul. It molded under the current, melting under the unimaginable pressure of the dimensional energies.

Collapsing under the strain, I fell down, my face clapping against the stone. Blinking back white lights, the corundum clattered on the ground as the black energy disappeared from around me. Baldag-ruhl gawked, "W-what? What's going on? Why aren't you molding to my spell? How are you still here? What have you done?"

The blueprint he made hovered into the air at the center of the arena. Baldag peered around, trying to uncover what happened. In a blinding flash, his blueprint of me imprinted onto the corundum of souls, drawn to its primeval power.

Baldag-Ruhl pulled his hands up, pus leaking from his broken carapace. He screamed, “I-I will not lose my creation. I cannot lose it. All that I am is this one incantation. This is my only way out of this forsaken hell.”

Tears poured from his eyes as he fell onto his knees. His emotions overwhelmed him robbing him of reason,

“No. It's all gone. All those centuries of waiting, of studying, and of planning...Everything amounted to nothing...I am nothing."

His despair and confusion turned into my opportunity. I looked around, searching for the corundum. My eyes locked in on the now dark stone. I crawled towards it, unable to stand anymore. Forces fought within the crystal’s center before they stabilized.

A ripple coursed through our dimension, time slowing to crawl. A second passed like many minutes before the runes ceased shining any longer. The crack in dimensions snapped shut with a cleaving clash of sound. Baldag-Ruhl’s twitching eyes locked in on the black gemstone, now only inches from my hands.

Baldag-Ruhl bellowed from his depths, "Stop. Do not touch that. It's mine."

He dashed towards me, and his insects coursed from my surroundings. They flooded from all angles as I pulled myself forward. Baldag-Ruhl’s clittering stomps grew in my ears as he came near me. His insects reached my legs, chewing through flesh and bone, coursing under my skin.

Before they reached the crystal, my fingertip touched the floating gem. All went black. An explosive torrent of energy consumed me. The exhaustion of before was replaced with a devastating power, a primal rush. The umbral blot formed around my entire frame, creating a set of armor.

It matched me in a manner nothing else could. I found a missing half of myself, an extension of my soul. It had always been there, I just hadn't known it. If I lost it now, it would’ve felt like losing a piece of myself. In all meanings of the word, the armor around me felt perfect and pristine.

I clasped my fist. Strong. Stronger than stone or steel or this monster in front of me. A lingering aura from the armor’s reformation coursed across my skin. From my surrounding darkness, a slit opened for my eyes and light. From within, an ominous crimson glowed out. My armor flowed across my skin, never turning into flat plates.

It was an organic, living thing. Along my shoulders and back, the dark metal ended with pointed spikes. The edges extended my sense of touch to the limit of those barbs. I reached up, feeling one. It felt back as if it were my own skin, hardened and smooth.

Lowering my arm, I gawked at my wrist and hands. Thickened forearm plates molded there, extra weight added just for me. My arms became clubs, my fists the heads of sledgehammers. The armor would be just right for crushing bones.

Especially Baldag-Ruhl's bones.

I glanced up towards him, my gaze menacing and predatory. The blast from the armor’s creation embedded Baldag-Ruhl into the colosseum. Cracks webbed outward from where he sunk six inches into the wall. He pulled himself out, standing with shaking legs. He gawked at me, his eyes fluttering about,

“Who are you?”

I spoke out with my silence. Baldag-Ruhl shook off his confusion before gawking at me. When our eyes locked, he froze in place like a deer in headlights. A tense passed over us before he snapped,

“Is that...My carapace? You...You thief.”

I took a step towards him, and he shook in fear. I cracked my neck before rolling my shoulders. I paced towards Baldag-Ruhl, fury in my steps and iron in my voice,

"Are you ready, Baldag? I'm going to turn your face to slush."

He couldn’t meet my eyes, and he peered away while roaring, "This changes nothing. I will still devour you, just as I devoured the others. I will start anew. I will learn of what you did to avoid the spell. This is not the first time this has happened."

"Oh trust me, this will be the last."

I banged my fists together, a satisfying clunk echoing throughout the colosseum. Confidence oozed from me, a thick veil. Most of his insects nearby were dust from the shockwave earlier, but more poured in from every tunnel. Like a seething pool of limbs, they swarmed towards me. I clasped my hands into fists and activated Agony.

Except, it wasn't Agony. Three notifications appeared.

You have forgotten the skill Agony. One perk point refunded.

Unknown ability unlocked, Oppression.

Oppression | Tier: Legendary Unique Skill - Your body extends its presence beyond your physical form. This ethereal extension warps nearby space, terrorizing your enemies.

Oppression | Damage - (15% of caster’s hp/min + 5000/min) |

When I activated the aura this time, the familiar pain of Agony was gone. Despite that lack of discomfort, my surroundings bent to my will. Baldag-Ruhl howled in pain. His insects pulled back, and the monstrous hivemind did the same. As he reached the arena’s walls, I took a few steps towards him. I bristled,

“It looks like you didn’t make this skill then, You’re not immune anymore.”

Insects nearby began dying under the influence of the skill. Baldag-Ruhl shouted, “This...who did this? You couldn’t have warped my ritual. You know nothing of magic.”

Baldag-Ruhl froze in place. He uttered, “Alfred.”

I nodded, stomping towards him. Baldag-Ruhl trembled in place before roaring out with all his might. He thundered out to me, but his howls fell on deaf ears. I paced towards him, my dominance certain. He reached up his hands, sending wave after wave of insects. They died in droves before they reached me.

As they did, I stomped onto the ground, creating cracks in the rock beneath my feet. The fissures grew underfoot, and the impact knocked the insects away. Before he smothered me, I stampeded towards Baldag-Ruhl like an angry bull. He raised his arms over his face before I threw my fist at him.

He slithered sideways, my fist lodging into stone. My bones hardened, I set myself into my fighting stance. During the process, the armor fit me like slipping on a glove. I stepped forward, jabbing Baldag-Ruhl’s face. As I swung, no spikes or fancy pieces of armor got in the way.

My fist met his shell. It cracked the edge, and he stepped back. I stepped forward. The joints slid like a well oiled machine as I kept pace. I snapped a punch at his gut, and it sunk it. His moldy carapace caved, offering little resistance. My own armor glided like a bird, making no sound.

He swung a clawed hand out. I dipped down, launching an uppercut from my lunged position. The weight of the gauntlets let me sling much more of my body weight into the punch. My strike clipped his face, a mandible dislodging. Blood gushed from the wound before Baldag-Ruhl sliced at me again.

I leaned back, his hand skimming my armor. Sparks cascaded in a flash of light as I pulled myself upright, swinging an overheard right. I turned on my pivot leg, and my fist sunk into Baldag’s collarbone. It snapped, and he gurgled on the blood from his missing mandible.

He spit his green, frothing blood and spit onto my face. My armor closed the slit over my eyes, stopping Baldag from blinding me. A looming sense of power coursed up my spine as I closed the distance between Baldag-Ruhl and I.

This armor, it felt too good. With the added power, I reached Baldag like a coming storm. I kept my arms tight against my sides when I neared him. I stomped my heel, crumbling stone beneath my feet. The force traveled through my hips, then my shoulders, and into my hand. I swung the hook overhead, pulling my punch towards me.

The compact, slicing swing slammed into Baldag's little insect arms. His limbs cracked at the impact of my overhand right. A detonation of sound echoed like a car crash. The blow sunk the hivemind into the earthen wall behind him. Pulling back, I lobbed another strike into his stomach, pivoting as I did so.

Another bomb of sound ripped through the cave. Blood shot from his mandible mouth as my punch dug into his abdomen. His carapace cracked. He lunged out with his clawed hand. Vibrant sparks flared across the air as his claws scraped across my armor, but they didn't pierce it.

He swiped again, shooting off another series of sparks. I twisted my shoulders as I whipped another hook against his insect arms. The blow broke off bits of his insect shell. He lunged out towards my face, but I leaned backwards. His mandibles clapped like two rods of steel above me. As he pulled his face back, I pulled back up with my arm dragging behind me. Inertia built into my fist before I curved another hit onto the arms protecting his face.

Baldag’s limbs didn't hold this time. They broke like cornstalks before I clobbered his disgusting face. His insects reached me, running up my legs. I unleashed a flood of crisp, biting hooks into his Baldag-Ruhl’s face while my hp dipped below half.

The insects ate away at my armor and skin, their claws and teeth harder than rock. I ducked underneath Baldag’s next swipe. While dipped down, I turned my torso, whipping an uppercut into his stomach. My fist impaled him, sinking a foot deep into his chest. Baldag-Ruhl's mouth splurted blood like a fountain. He groaned,

"Wait. Wait."

His insects stopped biting me, so I stopped punching. They crawled away as Baldag-Ruhl lifted his broken arms, "I-I can help you." He gushed blood from his bizarre mouth. "You've already gained the armor. With my help, you can get even greater-"

I slammed my fist into his face. I gave him a nod,

"Sorry. I needed to do that. Alright, go ahead."

He rose up his broken hands again and sputtered, "I-I can give you even greater gifts. This Schema, you will be its enemy. I will give you more help than you can know."

I pursed my lips, considering his offer. In all honesty, I got lucky here. Even if I killed Baldag-Ruhl, it was this Alfred Worm guy that actually beat him. That’s why letting Baldag-Ruhl live was foolish; I didn't trust my ability to outsmart the hivemind. Like the ritual itself, this monster was unbelievably meticulous.

He wouldn’t give me another chance like this. Knowing my limits, I took the simplest, most assured path - I reared my fist back and crushed his face, over and over and over again. He raised his arms at first, scrambling to escape. I kept smashing his face, a grim brutality overtaking me.

He fell apart in my hands as I pummeled him into a thin gelatin. His body went limp. His arms fell to his sides. Baldag-Ruhl had used people, anyone he could get his hands on. That included me, and I would not become his tool. Not again.

I kept beating his broken body after he was dead. I pushed the notifications aside after his death, continuing to pummel his remains. He may have a ritual to revive himself. He may have come up with a way to reconstitute his body. I’d make sure that never happened.

So I left nothing solid remaining. My fists turned into a blender for his corpse. I stood up from the bloodbath and glanced at my health bar. A little over 1/3rd of it still remained after the fight. Not bad.

I took a few deep breaths once I finished. The insects around everything remained still. I stepped up, finding the insects dead after Baldag-Ruhl died. I was in a pile of their carcasses. The bats would feast tonight, that much was certain.

After shaking off some bugs, I walked out of the colosseum like I was walking through snow. The bugs had piled up at least two feet high. I climbed up the staggered steps until I was standing on the outer edge of the colosseum. I laid down, grunting as I collapsed onto the etched stone. With Oppression active, I passed out before I hit the ground. I had done it.

I killed Baldag-Ruhl, of Many.