Serenity ignored the voice. He knew it was simply trying to get him to lower his defenses. He might have to take down the shield, but he was not going to accept the djinn. Any sort of acceptance made it harder to get rid of attackers that went after the mind or spirit.

Serenity’s will held solid as he scraped at the bits of magic with the knife-copy. A few flaked off, but the knife mostly passed through them without disturbing them. It would have to be his ax, and there was no good way to manage it; bringing the ax past the shield would simply dispel the shield.

Another spell might work, but Serenity didn’t have the magic capacity for a large spell. He had two choices - leave the shield up and return to weakening the djinn with his ax or take the shield down and risk it all on a single throw of the dice. Leaving the shield up wasn’t without its risks; anything outside the shield was vulnerable, and he was fairly confident the djinn was using his arm as a bridge, simply a slower one than if the shield weren’t there.

A much slower one. Serenity didn’t feel like gambling everything on a single throw of the dice; he felt far more like playing with a stacked deck. Serenity tossed the copy away and it dissipated in the air; as with anything, intent mattered. They wouldn’t last long regardless, but it was simple to dismiss them even faster if desired.

He snatched the ax off the ground. This was a strange fight; he hadn’t moved yet. It felt more like dangerous exercise than a real fight. It was too bad he couldn’t take the fight to the enemy.

Or could he? What would happen if he broke the vase? He hadn’t yet since it was made to contain the djinn and he didn’t know if it also had a weakening effect, but his primary problem right now was that he couldn’t get at the creature. Yes, he was damaging its magic and therefore its form, but he didn’t know how much of it there was.

Serenity stepped forward into the middle of the circle and brought his ax down on the vase.

It shattered into several pieces and a cloud of greenish-red smoke rose all at once. It was less than Serenity had feared; he knew he’d already dealt with that much. He just hadn’t dealt with it all at once.

After a short pause, where Serenity swiped the ax through it several times, it rushed towards Serenity and surrounded his shield.

Serenity tried to block the voice out. It was trying to hit on his horrors now instead of his desires, and this time it was far closer. It was harder to ignore, but instead of making him want to give in, it was making him angry. He swung the ax with more force, not caring as much about reserving his energy as long as his opponent fell.

Serenity felt something push its way at his self; he knew it was coming at him through his exposed hand, but he couldn’t attack without exposing himself. He pushed back. It tried to tempt him with the thought that the power would help him kill the djinn, help him stop the djinn from -

From killing his family.

It needed to DIE.

Serenity’s Incarnate flashed into being around him, filling his aura with no more thought than that and Serenity pushed it towards the magic infesting his hand.

The sparks vanished and Serenity turned his attention to the djinn itself, which seemed to have redoubled its effort to breach his shield.

Serenity no longer wanted to take the time to cut the djinn down to size or handle this in a way that didn’t call on his old strengths. He wasn’t the Final Reaper anymore, but the Final Reaper wasn’t wrong about everything. Sometimes things just needed to die.

And anything could die.

Serenity pushed Death out from himself. It wasn’t a cleverly-built spell or any of the other tools Serenity had. Instead, it was nearly pure Intent, backed up with his Incarnate.

Anything could die.

And it was time for Djinn Elatiq to die.

Why didn’t matter. Neither did how. Simply Death.

An ending to everything, without a new beginning.

It wasn’t cleansing or purifying; it didn’t fix things. It simply broke them until there was nothing left to give.

Death.

Serenity’s magical mental shield fell and he dropped his ax. Death did not require a shield or a weapon. Instead, he stepped forward until his aura covered all of the djinn including the vase.

“Anything can die. It is time you did.”

It was a simple statement. A simple action. A simple spell. Nearly pure Intent, shaped by the Incarnate of Death into a pure instrument of Death, powered by Serenity’s remaining Mana and Essence.

It was the second time since his return that Serenity had cast an Intent-based spell, and just like the first, he passed out as the spell completed.

The red-and-green smoke in the air dissipated as he fell.

[Ambit increased]

[Core completed. Initiating selected Evolution]

[Evolution halted: Incomplete Path]

[Risk of Core Overflow Sickness is Elevated due to Paused Evolution]

“I doubt it would have worked.” Serenity shook his head at Russ’s skeptical expression. “Two reasons. First, it was weakened significantly by the ax. It’s hard to say how much, but significantly. I think it was accepting damage since it thought it had a way in anyway, so it probably wasn’t planning to break my shield. Ax-and-shield was a much more energy-efficient way to fight. Second, I don’t think I could have managed the necessary purity of intent to manage that earlier. As for a death spell … I won’t. I just won’t.”

Rissa set her hand on Serenity’s shoulder and squeezed gently. He moved his hand up to cover hers, but didn’t say anything else.

Russ shook his head but softened it with a smile. “I don’t understand why you’ll kill without hesitation but not cast a Death spell, but that’s your choice. You’re sure you’re fine? No aftereffects, no intrusion by the djinn?”

Serenity nodded. It wasn’t the first time Russ had asked, and he doubted it’d be the last. “I’m sure. The djinn is dead. I saw it die. I know it’s dead.”

He also knew that he’d somehow managed to get a 25-point jump in his Ambit, as well as experience for his Path and Progression for his Core. Under other circumstances he’d have counted it as a productive day, but he’d failed at the original goal: not only was Rube not healed, he was still unconscious.

Not only that, but even though the djinn hadn’t gone near him, the warping had spread during the fight. It seemed to have stopped since then, but amputating both arms wouldn’t remove where it had spread on his chest. It was only part of his right side, but that was more than bad enough. Both Rissa and Serenity had checked him; she didn’t feel anything to heal and Serenity didn’t feel any left-behind Essence to work with. She’d tried to “heal” a human shape back into a small patch of skin on his arm, the way she’d once hurt Serenity’s scales, but it’d drained her mana quickly with no visible effect. It clearly wasn’t going to work.

Serenity wished he could have killed the djinn faster. Maybe he could have if he’d smashed the vase earlier?

Rissa followed Serenity’s eyes to the unconscious man. “You couldn’t have known.”

Serenity knew that. It didn’t make him feel better. “I asked him to come out here. I told him I’d help. And I made it worse.”

“It’s still better than leaving him alone. We all know he wouldn’t have stayed himself if you hadn’t intervened. It might have been slower, but it would have been worse in the long run.”

Russ wasn’t wrong, but Serenity knew it was something that would take time to accept unless he found a better solution.

“Why don’t you take him into the Tutorial, get help there. The same way you did with that guy we found in the parking lot? It seemed to work out well.” Russ stared at Rube the same way Serenity was.

Serenity found that oddly comforting. Yes, Russ knew they’d made the best decisions they could, but he clearly still felt some responsibility for the way it turned out. “I can’t. He’s already been; when I asked the Voice about it, he was pretty clear that he’d let me help people jump the queue but not go more than once.”

:Bring him to me.: Aki’s mind-voice was clean and clear, refreshing after the filth of the djinn. :He makes me itch and I want to see why, but he’s too far. If he weren’t unconscious… but he is. So he can come. Oh, and next time you’re going to do a huge explosion like that, warn me first. I’m not prepared for that much at once!:

:Explosion?: Serenity blinked. There hadn’t been an explosion. :Wait, do you mean when I killed the djinn?:

:Tasted of you and of death with entirely too much warped magic. Stuff that strong isn’t supposed to happen when you only have a single floor; I’m having to extend my area and add two new levels. Without time to think about them! So you get your butt here with the itchy guy and let’s get that dealt with before you do something else insane.:

Two new levels?

Serenity was too old for this shit. He’d returned to looking much younger than his actual age, but that didn’t matter; he was definitely too old for this shit.

It did explain why Raz wasn’t there when Serenity woke up. It suddenly occurred to him that Raz wasn’t the only person missing, so he reached out to Aki. :Where’s Ita?:

Ita hadn’t been involved in the ritual, because Serenity was more familiar with mind magic than “contagion” magic. She’d stayed at her new home in the middle of Aki’s dungeon instead.

:She’s helping lay out the upper floor, trying to make it look like hills and natural areas with stuff behind it, while Raz and I work on the lower floor. She’s avoiding monsters, trying to make it a work area as it reaches for the Sun. She said something about a challenge area.:

Serenity picked up Rube. He was prepared to feel the vague disgust he had earlier, but for some reason it was a lot milder; it seemed to be continuing to fade.

A challenge area? What sort of challenge area would Ita choose to create?

Katya also wasn’t present. Wait, was Katya with Ita? Serenity’s eyes widened in horror. :Not a crafting dungeon!:

Serenity hated crafting dungeons.They took forever and his entire job while he was in there was generally being the unskilled labor. Once in a while he also “got” to pull guard duty; it was simply unpleasant.

:Ask her. I don’t have time.: Aki’s presence disappeared abruptly.

General: Increased Core Progression and Level

Name: Serenity

Species: Chimera

Subspecies: Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Essence Dragon (Hatchling)

Core: Unique

Progression: 100%

Tier: 2

Features: 5/11

True

Crystal

Link

Death

Origin

Path: Magic Dhampir of the Origin

Level: 91 (160/1840)

Tier: 2, 0/91 Spent

Path History:

1: Unbound, Steadfast, Evoker

0: Death-Eater, Battle Adept

Condition: Healthy

Healing Available: Full

Mana: 3000/5000

Essence: 3000/5000

Stamina: 2600/2600

Might: 250

Agility: 250

Phys: 250

Understanding: 250

Will: 250

Mind: 250

Perception: 250

Ambit: 275

Essence

Pure (Innate)

Ev: 446,651 (Purified)

Titles

Previous Supreme Existence

First of A Kind

Named

Ghost in the System

Aspect Pathfinder

Incarnate

Lord

DeathLord

Tyche’s Curse

Worlds’ Friend

Coin

1376 Etherium

Magic

Essence Techniques

Chimeric Alteration

Claim Mana

Devour Mana

Essence Drawing

Purify

Affinities

Energy: 40%

Liquid: 6%

Mind: 32%

Plasma: 42%

Solid: 17%

SpaceTime: 71%

Magitech: 37%

Vapor: 14%

Liminal: 90%

Nihility: 50%

Concepts

Arcane: 80%

Energy: 52%

Essence: 25%

Life: 20%

Mind: 15%

Plasma: 26%

SpaceTime: 42%

Liminal: 37%

Nihility: 35%

Magitech: 51%

Topology: 5%

Aspects

Arcane (Mana): Initiated (Vital)

Essence: Growth (Vital)

SpaceTime: Nascent

Incarnate

Death

Physical: Added Debasement Resistance

Resistances

Chemical: 137+10

Cold: 303+10

Curse: 265

Darkness: 177+10

Debasement: 13

Death: Immune

Heat: 532+10

Life: 417+10

Light: 298+10

Mind: 278

Pain: 641

Poison (Neurotoxin): 486

Pleasure: 32

Shock: 334+10

Sleep: 53

Space: 250

Time: 1000

Unknown

Chimeric Heritage

Pure (Innate)

Essence Dragon (Primary)

Asura

Child of Time, Unbound

Dhampir, Essence/Mana

Draugr, Sage

Elemental, Essence

Elemental, Mana

Godling

Human, Earth

Lich, Paramount (Primary)

Vampire, Daywalker

Void, Sovereign (Subrace)

Wraith, Nightmare

Known Heritages

Azata, Lightning

Curse Witch

Healing Light

Hexen

Heavens’ Fire

Jiang-Shi

Knight of Blood

Malevolent Spark

Mote of Decay

Mote of Stasis

Mummy

Remnant Wisp of Life

Revenant, Star

Sea Lion, Earth

Abilities

Monster Biology Eyeless Sight Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect Vital Sight (previously called Life-Sight) Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire Blossoms’ Sleep Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time Runic Shielding Tattoos Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation Claws Hands and feet have claws (all forms) Wings Six-limbed creature; all forms have wings. The wings are strong enough to be noticeable and might assist in gliding, but are not large enough to support actual flight. Scaled Hide Thickened, resistant outer skin layer, covered in most places with scutes Filter Details unknown; so far, Serenity has determined that it will output Essence when fed mana, but it does not seem to have a use at this time. Amplify Aura Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. Increase Link Distance Details unknown; has a Power Reserve that appears to be required to allow it to function, but the method to fill the Power Reserve is unknown. Change Stone Type Details unknown Raw Mana Control (Horns) When in a ley line or other high concentration of raw mana, choose where it flows in the body. Dhampir’s Default When a Dhampir is casually examined, he or she appears to be a normal member of the living population. Amorphous Restoration Why should a cut matter when a body has no fixed form? Turns energy into whatever the body needs, wherever it needs it. Can convert physical mass to energy; increased purity or organization or interest improves the conversion. Path Abilities Loot Core Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana Resilience of the Dead Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations Eat Death Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time. Ability damaged Basic Analyze Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant) Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable Infused strike Infuse your body or weapons with energy to deal additional damage. Replaces Deathstrike. May use any Affinity held. Power of infusion scales with Affinity used. Costs Stamina Far Strike Discharge the magic infused in your weapon to strike a single opponent at a distance. Stamina cost increases with distance Adept Aspect Form Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses Basic Sense Raw Magic Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active Linked Sight You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable Moment of Prescience Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat Time’s Eye Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina (Note: the Stamina cost is low enough that it can be maintained for hours at a time, though that will significantly reduce Serenity’s available Stamina for other uses) Unbound Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you Basic Identify Identify an object to gain basic information on it, such as its name, basic properties, materials, and/or minor enchantments Scale Hardening Use Essence or Mana to reinforce your scales, making them harder to damage and more protective. Costs Stamina to maintain Wait for an Opening Study an opponent’s actions in combat to gain an intuitive understanding of the right time to strike Second Wind Convert some of a more filled resource pool (Mana, Stamina, or Essence) into an empty one. Consumes some of the converted resource Stand Tall Whether you are the last wall between your loved ones and your enemies or you simply love to fight, your ability to take a beating is exceptional. Blood loss, bruises, injuries, and even broken bones will not stop you. You can fight at the full effectiveness your body is capable of despite your injuries Essence Sight You can already sense Essence with your Aura. Sight adds precision and distance to your detection capability. This may be enabled or disabled at will. A visual effect may be present Physical Storage You can store spells inside your own body to be evoked later. Stored spells may be evoked only by you and may be triggered at any time. All variable effects must be determined prior to casting. Stored spells will degrade with time and use of mana or essence in the area the spell is stored. Spell Conversion You can convert the power of any spell you can Evoke into a ranged mana or essence strike. The power of the strike depends on the stored spell power. Store Spell You may temporarily store spells in items to be evoked later. The item must be strong enough to hold the spell, and synergy with the spell will slow spell degradation. Stored spells will degrade with time and nearby mana or essence use. Storage of spells can damage items used. Designate Evocation Conditions You may designate conditions on when a stored spell can be evoked. You can bypass any conditions you set, but you cannot bypass conditions set by other Evokers. This allows you to set conditions that will allow non-Evokers to Evoke stored spells, but spells Evoked by the untrained will be significantly degraded during the evocation. Take Shape Take Shape - You may assume the shape of any Form you know. Your personality and goals remain your own. Number of forms that can be known is affected by Ambit. Accuracy of learned forms will decrease with time; rate depends on Ambit. Current known forms: Chimera, Hatchling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Sterath(?) Merge You may merge with another being. The merge may be contested. Success rate in a contested merge is affected by Ambit. Requires Sovereign of Potential form. Entwined Magic You can mix Mana and Essence magic freely, to achieve effects not possible with Mana or Essence alone. Passive. Gaze of the Origin When you choose, you can infuse your gaze with the power of your connection to the Origin. Effects vary. Power depends on Ambit. Aura of Magic When you choose, you can reveal your Mana and Essence pools with your aura. Passively increases the maximum size and regeneration of your Mana and Essence. Increases the regeneration of others’ mana and essence at a slight cost to your regeneration rate. Easily sensed. Power depends on size and regeneration rate of mana and essence pools. Armor Another In your Sovereign of Potential form, you may envelop someone or something. Instead of choosing to Merge with them, you may choose to Protect them, giving them a layer of armor formed from your physical self. This may also leave a permanent Mark (consent required). Magic Dhampir of the Origin Locked Abilities: Level 100 - Mold Magic - You can alter magic that has been given a steady form. Passive.