Dallion felt a sense of serenity as green light surged through him. It was very different from what he imagined—not strength, or power, just the sensation he was part of everything and everything was part of him.

PATRON POSSESSION

The Green Moon has shared its strength.

“Calling a Moon to fight your battles?” the Star asked, its mortal face twisted with anger. “Some things never change.”

“Don’t they?” Dallion looked calmly at his opponent. “I’ll be fighting the battle, only with a bit of help. After all, it was you who gave me the idea. You kept going on and on about how there was a part of you deep inside my mind I could never remove. I have a fragment of a Moon as well.”

“The heart of Felygn,” the Star hissed. “The biggest joke of them all. You should have gone with Berannah. At least she’d be able to talk me to death. Felygn can’t do a thing.”

“He’s still a Moon,” Dallion unsummoned his shield and sword; he wasn’t going to need them for this fight. “You aren’t.” He flew forward.

Dozens of instances flashed into existence, each like a silhouette of smoke. Even with his Mind increase, Dallion didn’t have a hope of matching the number of instances, so he didn’t even try. Stopping mid-flight, Dallion waited, the energy of the Green Moon pulsing through his veins. A few seconds later, just as the instances vanished, the Star split again. This time Dallion was prepared. The split second before the Star’s instances could unfold, Dallion was in front of his enemy, striking at his stomach.

Contact was achieved. Dallion’s fist struck the black t-shirt, sending the Star flying a few feet back. While that happened, all the instances faded away. But that wasn’t the only effect of the attack. As if granted life, the t-shirt Arthurows was wearing stretched out. Threads emerged from it, then spun to create ropes that twisted around the Star.

How did that happen? Dallion wondered.

Before he could get any answer, jets of black in burst through, covering the Star’s entire torso, then drained away, bringing back the t-shirt to its former state.

“Someone’s getting cocky,” the Star hissed, not a hint of a smile on its face.

It was at that precise moment that Dallion received the answer to his question as hundreds of images flickered through his mind, like the images of a game tutorial. He had no idea what the skill was called, or how to activate it, but he was fully aware of what it did: grant complete freedom to a guardian. The moment he had come in contact with the Star’s t-shirt, the Green Moon’s power had set the shirt free and it, in turn, had rebelled against its owner.

The wild chaining Dallion had hunted way back, had similar abilities; or rather, it had the polar opposite ability—consuming everything it touched and making it part of itself. Consuming versus freeing. There was no telling which would be stronger in a hand-to-hand battle, even if the Moons were supposed to be superior to the Star.

A crossbow appeared in the Star’s hands, instantly firing a multitude of bolts in Dallion’s direction. Dallion didn’t falter. The moment the tip of the projectiles touched his body, they instantly changed material, transforming into items of foam. Getting hit remained slightly painful, but no more than getting by a nerf gun.

I have the power to do that? Dallion wondered.

No, the Moon’s voice echoed in his head. I do. But I’m letting you borrow it.

Dallion felt confused. Was this part of the trial? The ability was way too powerful for him to have. And yet, he had just seen its effects twice. It was stronger than the line-slash, stronger than the spark, stronger than anything conceivable.

“You’ll pay for that,” the Star hissed, then burst into dozens of echoes, each flying towards Dallion.

Initially, Dallion thought of summoning his shield and have Lux move him back. Before he could, a new wave of deep serenity and calm swept through him. There was no reason for him to fight in such fashion. He had already asked the Green Moon for help, and the help had been granted. From here on, the only thing he had to do was follow the Path of the Empath, and that simply meant fighting by turning the Star’s guardians against it.

No matter the strength of an enemy, it would never be more than what the awakening trial thought Dallion could handle. That means that his reaction speed was adequate to deal with his current opponents.

Three of the nearest Star echoes performed a series of combined slash attacks, all aimed at his neck. The weapons used were identical scimitars, long enough to ensure that Dallion couldn’t reach them before they finished the attacks.

Instead of evading, Dallion let the attacks hit him, focusing on the moment of contact.

Now, he thought, letting the power of the Green Moon flow through him.

There was no pain. All three scimitars bounced off as if they’d hit industrial rubber. Free of the influence of their previous owners, the swords rebelled, twisting around mid-mid air and slicing the arms that held them. Three loud poofs followed, filling the air of black smoke.

That was the problem with echoes—no matter their strength, they could only last a single hit.

Lux, light, Dallion said.

The blue of the firebird amplified the green glow of the Moon, spreading the smoke away life dust in a hurricane. The three scimitars, however, remained. They were free now—severing their link to the Star and his echoes—and thanks to the power of the Green Moon, also capable of flight.

“Here goes,” Dallion smiled.

Time froze, then sped up tenfold. Dozens of echoes descended upon him, each attacking with different weapons. Dallion, in turn, would change the loyalty of the weapons, forcing them to attack, or block any attacks he could not. When that failed, he’d focus on the moment of impact changing the nature of the weapons so that they didn’t cause any damage or pain. It was a constant exercise in matching the precise moment with the decision what to grant to the guardians. Everything felt easy, almost natural, as if someone else was guiding Dallion’s body.

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 15%

A series of spikes shot out of one of the swords moments before Dallion could transform it, piercing the left side of his torso in several places. The moment after that happened, the hard material turned back into rubber, but it was already too late, the damage had been done.

It was at that point that Dallion noticed—one of the echoes he was fighting wasn’t an echo, but the Star himself. Also, unlike his echoes, the Star had the ability to consume and change any weapon that Dallion had set free. As if to confirm his point the Star grabbed hold of one of the other levitating weapons that hovered around Dallion. On the second, the sword turned pitch black, then elongated, darting towards its target. Dallion twisted in the air, avoiding the thin long blade by the skin of his teeth, only to have it strike another of the hovering weapons, corrupting it as well. A new series of spikes emerged, catching Dallion by surprise.

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 15%

It’s not just about speed or power, the Moon’s voice said. I’ve granted you some strength, but you still must use it.

The fight continued. There were no more echoes now, just two opponents, each with the power to transform the cloud of weapons swirling between them. On the surface Dallion was supposed to have the upper hand—he had the power to transform every item into an ally, while also granting them the ability to fly. The Star, however, had the ability to corrupt everything he came into contact with, modifying its shape in any way he chose.

A complex game between three-dimensional chess and martial arts took place in which both sides aimed to gain control of as many weapons as possible, while also attacking their opponents directly.

“You’re still new to this,” the Star said, his hands moving so fast that Dallion could barely keep up. “Even Moons could only help so much.”

Arcs and lines were everywhere around, faster than markers could follow. Dallion’s recent mind improvement allowed him to split into a lot more instances than before, although that was only a temporary measure. The Star had proved he had a greater capacity, and that means that in the battle of endurance Dallion would lose.

What is the final piece? Dallion wondered.

There had to be one final thing that would help defeat his opponent and complete the trial. Already he knew that the main point of the trial was fear, something he had been suppressing since leaving Dherma village. The Star had been right in that regard, but that was supposed to be over. Dallion had found the strength inside him to let go of that fear and make use of the Moon’s help. There had to be another reason that was keeping him back, something small and obvious, yet overlooked… something created by achievements, or a new regret that had appeared.

Another red rectangle appeared, this time above the Star’s head. After having his health reduced by thirty, Dallion had finally managed to reduce the Star’s by five.

The problem continued to be the items. They were useful while being on Dallion’s side, but a pain in the neck when corrupted by the Star. And as much as Dallion tried, he was incapable of paying attention to all of them at the same time. All he could do was deal with the damage his opponent caused.

Dallion had tried unsummoning the weapons or even tucking them in his belt. Neither worked particularly well. No matter what he did, the weapons seemed to have a mind of their own, charging at the Star with no regard for the logic of self-preservation.

If only there was a way for Dallion to grow two extra hands, everything would have been resolved by now.

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 15%

Another surprise attack struck Dallion from behind, reducing his health total to half. Four more strikes and the trial would be over and Dallion would continue the trip to the Glass Mounts, one level lower than he should have been.

The more effort he put, the more the Star gained the upper hand. Defeat seemed inevitable. A moment of desperation set in, and in that moment, Dallion got his simplest and most reckless idea yet.

Lux, down, he ordered his familiar.

Instantly, the firebird thrust him down. In that single moment, he was completely out of reach of the weapons, leaving them all within the Star’s grasp. Then Dallion attempted the thing he should have done since the very beginning he freed the weapons.

All of you, give me a hand, will you? Dallion asked.

Right there and then he could suddenly hear all of them. Their voices no longer sounded like annoying background noise; each of them had their own personality, each of them was simultaneously audible individually and together as a whole. There no longer was the need to choose between them.

“I can hear you.” Dallion smiled. “All of you.”

The moment he said that, all weapons simultaneously turned towards the Star and in unison pierced through him. Each hit stacked a red rectangle above the Star’s head in rapid succession, until at one point they all disappeared, along with the Star itself.

Took you long enough, the Green Moon said, as Dallion’s surroundings transformed into a marble covered chamber with a domed ceiling. As long as you follow my path, part of my strength is within you. Just don’t rely on this much help as I gave you now.

You have broken through your thirty-first barrier

Your level has increased to 32

Choose the focus that will serve you best.

Dallion increased his empathy to ten.