Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

The announcement spilled across the air, surprising everyone within the area. It had come only seconds after Walker's decision, telling him it was either because they hadn't fought, or the Council had made some kind of a hidden change. Either way, the name of the 40th-round Boss was confusing.

Boss Round!

Defeat the Cloud of Tyranny and gain the rewards!

The portal changed to a neon purple as a haze of red and purple particulates exited as if pushing through a funnel. It didn't have a face or any real way to identify a creature within it, it was just a hazy blend of colors that immediately zoomed out and toward the nearest lifeforce, Chipper. The Guardian moved into his fighter's pose, but as the cloud approached, it didn't slow down. It flew over the ground and any attempts by the Guardian to strike it with magic were dodged quickly, or holes opened up, letting the pure magic through without taking any visible damage. When it finally reached him, instead of surrounding him as Walker expected, it seeped directly into his nostrils, and against his will, entered his body.

Chipper fell to the ground and grasped his throat, coughing.

"Hrmmm." Virgil hummed in sympathetic feeling.

"What do you mean humm? What is it doing to him?" Walker waved down at the Guardian, "Chipper! Chipper my boy, can you hear me?"

The albino squirrel glowed with magic across his body for a moment, before a strange stutter showed itself and the glow faded away. Chipper tried again as he continued to choke, a glow striking his body all at once, his body looking like nothing but a blindingly bright flashlight, before the stutter showed itself again and it disappeared.

"What's happening?"

"It is likely that the Cloud of Tyranny is eating his magic from the inside. I believe it is trying to surround his kernel in an attempt to dampen the resistance of his pure magic."

"What can he do to fight it?" Rimi asked quickly, a note of anxiousness in his voice and hands as he gripped them together.

"According to my knowledge of magical entities, he would have to take his knowledge of magic to the next stage, and fully internalize it. Currently, as a tier four monster, he has inundated his body and mind with his attunement and gained great benefits from doing so. Strength, speed, and intelligence, as we had planned. Now, he needs to learn to control that same internal flow, and direct it toward an enemy that cannot be defeated with pure force."

"Would he know how to do that?" Walker asked.

"Perhaps, but in his battle right now, I doubt he can hear us. It is best to just watch and hope he succeeds."

So, as always, Walker was forced to stand and watch. It was becoming frustrating, cloying even, to constantly have to stand on the sidelines. He wanted to be down there, helping his friend in his time of need and offering advice or wisdom, but the system wouldn't allow it. All of his abilities were greyed out and he found himself stuck on the platform. Jumping off would only result in his death as far as he could tell, because nothing was attacking him. Suddenly, as he thought his last defender would soon fall, Chipper stopped choking and held very still. His body was slowly slumping over, as if he was about to fall over, when Walker's overlay lit up.

Evolution Occurring.

Chipper is evolving!

.....Scanning.....

.....

Chipper has evolved his Advanced Mage ability to Mage of Mastery.

"Holy shitt. How did he do that?"

"The Monster System allows for abilities to upgrade based upon how they use them." Rimi told him, "You limited the amount and direction of the evolutions, but that didn't mean they couldn't improve through effort. The harder they focus on, and expand their abilities, the more they can evolve. I thought you knew that?" Rimi said with some snark.

"I was not aware of that, no." Walker replied evenly. "Will this affect our evolution task?"

"No, as it is not a new evolution, just an upgraded one." Virgil said.

"While I'm ecstatic that Chipper evolved his ability, that's still crappy for us overall. Will the ability's evolution carry over to him when we return?"

"That is an excellent question." Virgil replied. "I do not know."

They watched as a glow started in one of Chipper's fingers before it crept over to another finger, and another, until his whole paw glowed from within. Because of how bright the glow was, they could see the internal parts of his hands, bones showing through the pale white luminescence. A second glow began on his other hand and spread the same way, then both stretched up and covered both of his arms entirely. Chipper slowly but surely covered his entire body in the glow, from head to toe, with the exception of one still dark portion at the bottom of his chest. Once he fully covered his body in magic, looking like nothing less than a pale glowing skeleton, he stood up. The glow would stretch towards his kernel, recede, and stretch again. Chippers face held a look of pure concentration as his magic pressed inward again and again, until finally, his whole body was covered in his magic. He lit up like a beacon shining in the night sky, illuminating everything around them, before falling to a knee and breathing heavily.

"Where'd it go?" Rimi asked, ever curious about the monsters of the multiverse.

"I believe Chipper burned it out of his system entirely." Virgil commented, as Walker's overlay lit up.

Round 40 Complete.

Rewards Increased.

Congratulations Dante! Your entity completed the fortieth round of the second battle!

Please choose from the below rewards. You may only choose one.

You have seven minutes to decide.

1. Remove all afflictions plaguing your entity and heal them.

2. Forcibly evolve one of your entity's abilities.

3. Gain 225 years in temporal resources.

4. Upgrade one of your subsystem assistants.

"Whoa." Walker said after looking at his choices.

"Yes, that is a new reward choice for me. It seems that when the council made changes to your battle rewards, it left residual alterations within the system's choices. I have never seen that before." Virgil said with a palm on his chin.

"What does it say?" Rimi asked.

Walker skipped the first option as it looked like Chipper could purify himself now and wouldn't need the help, "I can forcibly evolve one of Chipper's abilities, which I won't do because that's too random and seems almost unfair after what we just watched. We can gain 225 years in temporal resources as a third option, or, I can upgrade you."

"You can upgrade me?" Rimi said, eyes shining. "What does that mean?"

"It likely means you would become a standard assistant." Virgil said from the side.

"Yep, that's what I was thinking too." Walker said with a nod. "But, I think there's a big problem here we're not considering. If we upgrade Rimi, there's a chance he won't.... be...Rimi anymore, right?"

"Hrmm, I see your point. It is likely he would be reset and eventually change to be more like myself, yes. Any leftover personality that he has developed in his short life would be lost, and the memories he currently has would be re-absorbed into the assistant system of the alpha protocol."

"So, Rimi, no."

"No?" Rimi asked, his shoulders drooping.

"It would essentially be killing you. So, just no. It's fine bud." Saying so, and not leaving the option up for debate, Walker selected the temporal resources.

Virgil nodded, "We now have three-hundred and fifty-five years in our temporal resources. That is an enormous amount."

"Really? I don't really have a reference for what is a lot here." Walker said.

"A normal Creator tends to leave the second battle with no more than one-hundred years in temporal resources. You have a large enough amount that there is quite a bit we can do moving forward."

"Like what?"

"Well, there is a sys..." Virgil was interrupted by the next announcement, which flashed in the sky quickly before disappearing abruptly.

Boss Round!

Defeat the Anti-Mage and gain the rewards!

A small purple-suited human jumped out of the portal and ran toward Chipper, still on one knee. The Guardian stood up, taking his stance, and prepared himself. He had seen the announcement as well and wasn't preparing any magic for this fight. His hands were balled into fists and his tail was moving quickly behind him in preparation for his opponent's charge.

The Anti-Mage had a metal tank on his back and a dark, thick, single-paned mask. He looked like he was wearing a new-age spacesuit that seemed better-suited for space than it did for a fight. He pulled two swords out of slots on his legs as he ran, moving from side to side in quick movements that were so fast it almost seemed like he was teleporting. Each of his hands held their swords within an enclosed guard, their tips emitting a black shimmering color that seemed to extend their sharp lengths by several feet. As he ran, the swords ground against the earth, tearing a long thin trough behind him.

The Anti-Mage quickly approached Chipper, who tilted his head at him, before his eyes went wide as he ducked his head. Walker wasn't sure what he was doing, but suddenly the boss was behind him, a sword passing cleanly through where the Guardian's head used to be.

"Fucker teleported!" Walker said, uselessly pointing a finger down at the attacker.

"Yes. That is a forbidden evolution. Chipper's excellent feel for magic gave him a bit of early warning. The Council placed that evolution on the restriction list because it can lead to the discovery of long-range teleportation and portals, which are only to be used by Creators. Instilling it in an entity is akin to, pardon my reference, flipping off the Council. For this boss to arrive in an approved and sanctioned round of the second battle, they must be on the approved list, and thus, are one of the Council's Sentinels."

"So they stacked the deck against us? Sent their own people to take us out of the battle?" Walker asked with a grimace.

"Indeed. I have a theory, although I am unsure of it at this moment. I believe they need these battles to end."

Chipper had dodged two more attacks while they spoke, and then the Anti-Mage disappeared. The defender looked around, trying to find him, and even sent out a pulse of magic twice that reminded Walker of sonar. Suddenly, the last third of Chipper's tail fell off of his body, and he screamed.

"What happened, I couldn't see it."

"The Anti-Mage is teleporting out of vision, then teleporting back in and above him, so he is never seen. It is apparently a useful tactic against the Guardian."

Chipper's face hardened in resolution, as he seemed to come to a conclusion. He turned around and ran toward the tower, his tail leaking bright pink blood behind him. The tree only had a few shots left, and Chipper seemed determined to use them. When he crossed the line he'd drawn against the multitudes, the attacker teleported into range for a strike. The only problem it faced, was the green shot that fired out of the tree not too far away. The Anti-Mage turned within a heartbeat and used his blade to deflect it, a clean ringing sound coming from it and the attacker not moving back a step. Chipper used that moment to punch him in the face, staggering him closer to the tower as a second shot came out. The attacker barely managed to place his sword in its path as two more punches came, both hitting him in the stomach with all of Chipper's strength.

"Is it me, or is he not hitting as hard as he was." Walker commented.

"It is likely that his tail would help him with balancing his body before striking. With a large part of it missing, his balance is off. If I am honest with you, his grace is remarkable considering his current limitation." Virgil said in a dispassionate voice.

Walker nodded and continued to watch, hoping his friend could get through this. More shots rang out and more punches flew, the Anti-Mage now bleeding from the face, mask cracked, and staggering from every punch. Each time he tried to pull back, wherein Walker believed he was attempting to teleport, Chipper would throw a punch or kick, or a new shot would come from the tower, keeping him in place. Finally, one last shot rang out, striking the attacker before he could recover, and one of the black swords fell from a missing hand. Chipper tried to pick it up, but it burned him badly, and a quickly cut-off scream helplessly erupted from his mouth. The Anti-Mage recovered just enough to brace his sword on what remained of his second arm, and quickly poke Chipper in the stomach. The albino Squirrel took several steps back before falling, his hands glowing and holding his stomach.

"What? That was such a small attack?"

"He struck his kernel Walker." Rimi said, tears falling down his face. "I don't think he's going to make it when it's damaged."

"No! He can do it. You can do it Chipper" Walker yelled out to him, trying to give some last-minute encouragement. He didn't think he heard him, as he knew it wasn't likely with the amount of pain the Guardian was currently feeling, but he had hope.

The Anti-Mage walked up slowly from the side, one eye on the tower and another on the defender, as he was finally ready to finish the fight. As he got closer, the ground began to shudder, and eventually dropped out from beneath him. The formidable fighter disappeared into the darkness below. They heard a loud yell before the ground was sealed back up. Chipper tried to sit up, hands still glowing, but couldn't.

"He used the last of his magic to make that pit and seal it." Virgil remarked, "With his kernel cracked, his magic can't heal him and the monster system and its tied evolutions are stalling as his magic dries up."

"So he won't be able to heal?" Rimi asked, his face a picture of anguish for his monster.

"Correct. I had theorized that because the kernel is the anchor for the monster system, it is also the root of their power and a battery for their magic. Destroy it, and destroy their ability to use their abilities and evolutions. Without the kernel to guide his self-regenerating cells, he will not heal, and will most likely die soon."

Walker stood up straight, not noticing the previous slump in his posture when Chipper had fallen. "So it's a race to see what happens first. The Anti-Mage suffocating since Chipper broke his mask, or Chipper dying from his kernel being cracked." He said in a serious voice.

"No. I believe we win either way. It was never necessarily about Chipper living, but the tower." Virgil said, pointing at the tall tree. "With Chipper's death, the tower is still standing, and as long as the Anti-Mage dies, we win." As he finished talking, some of the ground shuddered and moved, but Chippers hands lit up, albeit with much less power than normal, and it stilled again. "He is trying to teleport out, but without sight, he is blind to where he needs to go. Chipper is using his remaining magic to keep him in place, but...ah, there it is."

Chipper's hands steadily stopped glowing as the magic drained, and, a moment later, his breathing stilled.

Walker sighed and Rimi openly cried.

The earth moved twice more as they watched, before, mercifully, it stopped.

Walker's overlay lit up, but he felt no joy at what he saw.

Round 45 Complete.

Rewards Increased.

.....Scanning.....

Your entity has perished!

Your tower still stands!

Congratulations Dante! You have completed the forty-fifth round of the second battle!

Please choose from the below rewards. You may only choose one.

You have eight minutes to decide.

1. Gain 250 years in temporal resources.

2. Gain a random genus for your entity system.

3. Unlock the Auction System.

4. Choose one standard system to upgrade.

Walker's overlay had been updated, but he wasn't paying attention to it. He just kept staring at where Chipper's body had been. The protocol had transferred him out the moment that the text had appeared in his vision, but his stance hadn't changed.

"Walker, did you see the choices?" Virgil asked.

"Hrmm? What?" Walker replied with a vacant expression.

"I asked if you'd seen your reward's choices." Virgil said with a worried expression tone of voice.

Walker shrugged, "Yeah. I don't know man. I quick-scanned it, but I guess I'm still thinking of how hard Chipper fought for us. There's nothing really there for him."

"You mean a reward that extends outside of the second round?"

"Yeah, it doesn't feel right. He fought, really fought, for us. For the rewards that we would gain for our world. And...it's just. There's nothing there for him. It doesn't feel right."

Virgil patted him on the shoulder while Rimi took one of his hands in his own. Virgil ducked a little so he could look him in the eyes as he said, "Walker, he knew he would eventually fall. It was expected. Please do not get wrapped up too much in it. We are on a timer and it is important that you make a good choice here."

"Yah, I guess you're right." Walker said, looking at the choices again, "Man, we have to make an actual decision on this one too. A lot of what we saw in the beginning was pretty clear-cut on what was important."

"Yes, I am not sure what is best." Virgil said, looking at his own screen.

"What are they?" Rimi asked.

Walker explained the options to Rimi then said, "So, what are we thinking?"

"I vote the random genus." Rimi volunteered.

"Offf course you do buddy." Walker said with a smile as he dragged out the first word.

"I vote for the Auction system. You would unlock it after the third battle no matter what, which I am allowed to say now that it has appeared and the restrictions were removed."

"What pops up in the Auction system?"

"Everything. Rare materials, genus strains, unique evolutions that aren't a part of the standard evolution system."

"Oh wow, that is cool."

"Did you say genus strains?" Rimi said with a smile, recovering from Chipper's defeat. "I've changed my vote!"

"Okay, then I guess there isn't too much of a choice after all." Walker said, selecting the third option.

After he made his choice, the arena...warped. That was the only way he could explain it. The land bounced and rolled, then pieces of it began being sucked into a huge opaque white portal. Rimi and Virgil, who had just been standing next to him, were gone, and Walker was stuck in place for a moment as everything around him disappeared. He looked down but only saw an endless stretch of darkness. His body lit up in a golden light as text the size of a mountain appeared across the sky.

Congratulations Dante! You reached the forty-fifth round!

You have ranked second in the second battle of the Creation Wars!

As you have reached the top ten of all Creators in your rendition, and placed second, you have the second choice out of the following rewards.

1. Gain the Collosi Genus

2. Gain the Dragon Genus

3. Gain the Multimind Genus

4. Unlock the Dimensional Warp System

5. Unlock the Cosmic Genesis System

6. Unlock the Replacement System

7. Gain two Evolution Chambers

8. Gain one Magic Chamber

9. Gain the Self-Regenerating Cells evolution

Whatever was holding him let go, so the first words out of his mouth would be expected by anyone who knew him.

"Oh fuckin come on." Walker said when he saw his options.

A timer popped up in the corner, showing five minutes. Five minutes may not seem like a lot, but he had a pretty solid background in his understanding of different words. Whenever the protocol thought it was throwing him a curveball of randomness, he had a slight edge due to his education. He looked over his options closely, ignoring the evolution chambers and, funnily enough, his own evolution. Thinking over his etymology, he made his choice.

"Time to light this candle." Walker said to the air, as he was teleported back to his tiny planet and the next series of events to impact Symphony. He couldn't wait.