AA. 196

Team Forge took off into the fourth sector of the Cleansing, feeling and looking refreshed. Nil was sure he sensed some wariness in Shawn and Zora and respected their attempts to make him feel comfortable. He couldn’t tell whether they genuinely cared or if it was strategic. Ensuring the party members were all on the same page and relaxed with each other was vital for team harmony. He did his best to reassure them by sharing the details of his newest abilities.

Nil couldn’t tell whether reading it directly off the Schema interface reassured them at all. Instead, they all raved about the potency of the ability. Since he received the ability with his Silver Ascension, My Body Is My Domain started at Bronze Realm. It already had the power of two evolutions behind it. Many theorized that abilities gained with later ascensions were also more potent than earlier ones. 

Everyone agreed that the ability was potent and far better suited for someone than anything else they had ever seen in a passive. Zora claimed that it was good enough to be a core ability, if not better. Anyone who got it would automatically start on the cultivator’s path.

• Might: Silver 1

• Finesse: Silver 6

• Mind: Bronze 3

• Spark: Silver 7

Brutal Battery: Silver 0

• Absorb: Silver 0

• Expend: Silver 0

• Toggled Supercharging: Bronze 3

• Anti-Friction Lattice: Iron 9

• My Body Is My Domain: Bronze 0

Source Gauntlets: Bronze 1

• Wield The Source: Bronze 3

• Galvanized: Bronze 1

• One With The Source: Bronze 0

Nil’s Schema interface had changed significantly while he was under the Glimmer’s possession. Most attributes had grown. Toggled Supercharging gained a rank. Energy Instinct’s name changed, and it was no longer connected to his power seed, but it was now one of his Soul Weapon’s abilities. The ability had gone through several iterations since Layla gave it to him. A simple energy detection tool had become one of his most valuable tools. 

Now, it directed his team as they navigated the fourth sector. It was far vaster than the previous three. The beacon was so far away the cylindrical beam of light looked more like a needle than a pillar. Moving as a four also meant their progress was slower, but the pair had already gained two points in the hour and a half since they started. Now, only the best remained, and Nil could feel several of them not far behind him and his companions. 

Ten groups had entered the fourth section of the Cleansing. There was no telling how many would make it through to the final expanse. Nil expected it to be four. Then, there would be only two before the final challenge—whatever was needed to save Eternum from the Void. Nil suspected it would be another dimensional tear that needed fixing. Nil didn’t want to sound too hopeful and say it out loud, but he believed that he and his friends had a chance at victory. 

We can do this. I can feel it. 

After taking down several Cursed Ones and a couple of Void creatures without getting anything in return, Team Forge closed in on a guaranteed source of points. None of them wanted to take on a ritualist’s den, but backpedaling or deviating from the straight line toward the beacon didn’t appeal to them either.

“Should we try our luck here or hole up at the gate?” Zora asked. “We could take out a bunch of them and get the points.”

“Why are you unsure about the ritual?” Selia raised an eyebrow. “Is it the spellcasters, or do you think there might be more of the Glimmer in there?”

“A bit of both.” Zora shrugged. “I know Nil has his new ability, but will it be enough? The Glimmer could fuck over the rest of us too. Shawn and I will be fine, but you don’t have much in terms of psychic protection besides your Mind score. We both have abilities or feats bolstering our mental defenses and—”

“How about we try a different tactic?” Nil asked, interrupting the team’s leader. “We split up into our usual pairs but assault the site together. You and Shawn get in there. Disrupt the ritual and scare the hell out of them. We’ve seen how the occultists function. They’re smart but cowards. Unless they have other Void creatures protecting them, the fuckers usually flee.”

“You want us to flush out everyone, and you take them out here with Selia?” Shawn asked.

“I don’t see why not?” Nil pressed his hand against the homogenous volcanic stone that formed the cave system. It felt like a single piece, and he could sense the energy flowing through it. “I can almost sense all the places through which the magic and Void energies are diffusing. There are three probable exits, and all are close enough for Selia and I to cover together. It should be an easy point, and if either duo gets in trouble, we’ll be a few minutes away from each other.”

“Seconds,” Selia corrected. “I can just grab Nil and phase him to wherever the trouble is.”

“I suppose that doesn’t really count as us splitting up.” Zora sighed. “Fine, let's do it. My weapon barricades will be hard to get around in the caves.”

“Their magical effects will also hit harder,” Shawn said, nodding. “I like this idea. There is no guarantee we’ll find favorable point sources ahead. Enough teams might not make it to the gate, and we’ll have to head out looking for points.”

“And you’re sure you don’t sense anything else within your range?” Zora asked.

Nil shook his head. “There is a mech-hive a bit that way.” He pointed to the left. “And there are the Void lights.” They stood out like beacons now that night had fallen. The party relied on bioluminescence to see the world around them. “We either go for this or try our luck on the way to the beacon. I suspect things will get harder ahead.”

“And we’ll have to resort to hunting for other sources,” Zora said, completing the thought for him. “Let’s do it.”

The party parted ways once again. Zora and Shawn headed into the cave system, floating on a disk. The form of transport was soundless and would, hopefully, give them the element of surprise. Meanwhile, Selia patrolled the exits, moving around them rapidly. It wasn’t long before the sounds of battle echoed through the cavern exits, and mutated humans started fleeing through them. There were far more than in the previous sites the group had seen. Nil imagined they had little hope of breaking through Shawn’s defenses, and Zora’s overwhelming barrage could strike fear into most, especially in small spaces where there wasn’t a lot of room to find cover.

Nil used hit-and-run tactics, relying on his sensory ability. One With The Source made it easy to detect the ritualists. All brimmed with magic and Void energies. He zipped around, staying low and taking out any that tried to flee. Selia also sowed panic, ensuring none of them regrouped and found a way to turn the tide. Many had proven themselves as summoners during previous raids. They also had the power to cast more powerful spells and open larger dimensional tears moving together.

It was slow and steady, with smooth progress for ten solid minutes. Then, everything changed.

At first, Nil worried that there was an exit he hadn’t detected and the ritualists had found a way around him. He felt a powerful arcane signature bubbling in the arid volcanic tundra just behind him. Nil spun to face the source and threw up a Shiver Shield, expecting a powerful Void-enhanced spell. Instead, the earth trembled, and spikes made of half-molten rocks shot at him.

Each projectile was as wide as a bowling ball, a couple of meters long, and more lava than solid rock. If Nil still relied on the standard Order barriers, he would've only stopped the spikes, robbing them of their kinetic energy. Temperatures would have rapidly increased, and Nil doubted Galvanized would've sufficiently protected him from the heat. Fortunately, he had Shiver Shield.

Adapting Absolute Array to Balance and Order was much easier and less time-consuming than electrifying just Balance. Nil didn't have to figure out concepts beyond him or painfully draw out a biological force. His understanding of physics and thermodynamics was enough. Absorb and Order barriers already stole the kinetic energy of all that touched them. The upgrade accomplished the same, just rapidly at a molecular level. He wasn't good enough to instantly take temperatures to Absolute Zero yet but he did enough to ensure the projectiles did no damage.

The barrage ceased. It took the steam and smoke several seconds to clear. Nil sensed three enemy combatants but only saw two. It was the Wilson Luduses team, and the attacks came from Olaf the Volcano. Lucy followed close behind him, casually carrying her giant hammer over her shoulder. The third was nowhere in sight, and it didn't feel like Lily. Ateeq was a stealth fighter with a soul weapon that presented as a bow. The man had either concealed himself somehow and was lining up the perfect shot or had found another target.

“We've got company,” Nil said. “Two in front of me. Another is missing.”

“Our hands are tied,” Zora said. “We can't come to you. Flee into the caves. We can take them on together in here.”

“Probably not the best idea,” Nil said. He didn't want to say who it was, worried that Shawn's conflicting sentiments would make the fight harder. “It's best if I hold them here until you're done. I'll retreat just within the cave mouth and rely on the bottleneck.”

“You're a Silver Realmer now,” Shawn said, sounding surprisingly chipper. “Show the Bronzies who's the boss. We'll be done here in five. I've almost dismantled the ritual and closed the tear.”

“I've shish-kebabed a good deal of these mutants,” Zora added. “You shouldn't get too many attacking from the rear.”

“Found the slippery fuck trying to sneak to the ritual site,” Selia whispered. “I'll deal with him and be with you in a jiffy.”

“No, rush,” Nil replied, switching to Expend. He manifested knuckle daggers and the lizard tail. The Glimmer had given him the confidence to pull it out in battle, and My Body Is My Domain made controlling it significantly easier. “I got this.”

Nil created an electrified Source Spike and threw it at Olaf just as he started to shape more projectiles. The man dodged, but Lucy stood in place, smiling. She lazily threw up a hand, and Nil felt her ability activate. A locus of energy formed underground just in front of her. The surrounding flora—mostly short, woody shrubs—compressed as if crushed by an invisible weight. Nil’s projectile maintained its trajectory. Unfortunately, his javelin-throwing skills were still lacking. It flew past her, but the crimson lightning danced over Lucy’s coat, disintegrating sections and revealing the sleek armor underneath. The latter remained intact, suffering mostly scorch marks.

The woman recoiled, surprised. Her expression momentarily betrayed fear. The pure energy projectile had ignored the altered gravity. Nil mentally thanked Festus the Curator's audience. They were the ones who suggested that Source constructs would likely be unaffected by gravity. The Source Spheres never lost height and only traveled in a straight line, after all. They refused to accelerate and didn’t travel far, but that was a separate issue. 

Nil couldn’t stop grinning as he shaped two more projectiles. He had developed the Source Spikes specifically to fight Lucy, and they worked.

I have a viable counter!