Dark Matter Ascension

The Zifran charged forward, and Jace got to the side as he slashed across the leg – but the thing pivoted in its charge and sliced at him with the horn, forcing him to pull back to parry the strike. It then began to duel him with the horn, and he was pushed back on the defense as the thing unleashed a flurry of slashes from all directions – an ivory web of flame-infused strikes that he was able to keep away from him.

"This is just ridiculous!" Jace shouted as he let his rage at this stupid unicorn-thing fighting him with its goddamn horn. Wrath's Embrace (Rank 10) [Focused], he thought. The crackling crimson ignited around him, and he felt all his ire focused on the fucking Zifran before him. Reaching up with his hand, still covered in Void Shield, he grabbed the horn and planted his feet, hefting the monster as he lifted it overhead. Arching his back, he brought it into a slam; hearing cracks and pops echo out as the thing wailed in agony.

He let his sword go and thanks to his bendy skeleton was able to wrap himself around the neck. And he squeezed. Maybe you'll stay down if I don't just cut and chop constantly. The Zifran got up and tried to shake him off – but he held firm. He could feel the muscle and sinew crunching under him and could feel it trying to inhale but he smushed the windpipe shut. "Suffocate already!" Jace screamed at it.

The Zifran ignited with flames that licked around Jace's Void Shield but ultimately did nothing. The thing began running in circles, trying to smash Jace against trees – but he just kept shifting his position around it. It began to slow, and then it collapsed. Jace twisted and with a resounding crack the thing lay still. Summoning his sword to his grip, he cut off the head, kicking it further away. Going along the body, he did the same with the legs and tail. It went still, and he stored it in the TPSB. "That's two," he growled.

"Incoming!" Ollie shouted.

Jace looked up where Ollie pointed, and he saw a Zifran charging on a path of flames through the sky. They can fly? He thought with incredulity. The thing let out a whinny that cracked the trees around Jace and would have pulverized his eardrums if not for the Void Shield. It slammed down into the ground, punching a hole in a large area around it – including Jace. Dark Energy Mine (Rank 1), Detonate, he thought.

His fall was arrested, and the Zifran in the newly formed circular pit manifested flaming, lava tentacles from its back that lashed up to grab him. Using his grapple, he pulled himself out of the way, landing on a wall before pushing off it and driving forth in a stab to the center of the thing's torso. His blade sunk true, and he kicked off as he summoned his sword back.

The Zifran planted its feet onto the ground, dug its large horn into the ground, and the thing glowed with orange and red fury. Jace pushed off the wall and headed towards the sky – just barely dodging a massive geyser of lava that blasted into the sky. He was still floating on an upward trajectory when the Zifran came charging into the skies on a trail of flames and lava, slamming into him and sending him skyward – breaking through the canopy as he shot out his grapple to arrest his skyward ascent.

Using the momentum of the grapple and his swing, Jace activated his Sliver Arc integrated into the Reaper Armor and circled around to deliver another deep stab into the creature. It let out a roar of outrage, and for the first time since meeting this type of creature, Jace was attacked by the tail. It was prehensile, in a way, wrapping around him and crushing his midsection – or trying to, as it came up against the Void Shield.

It let out a whinny, and as Jace tried to get his sword into position to cut through the tail, the thing erupted with orange lightning. Its mane got longer and began to sparkle and crackle with energy, the horn atop its head grew longer and even sharper, and the tail began to grow spikes. "It is going through a power up!" Ollie shouted. "It is breaking through its limits!"

Jace saw his Void Shield pop, and when he tried to reactivate it, got the message like when Deckard had locked him out of his Skill with Anathema – but only for ten seconds. He could feel the crushing weight of the tail, and felt the adrenaline of fear kick in – fear of being injured. "Ollie! Verge Protocol!" His companion flew into his head, and Jace felt the familiar 'too-full' coolness. "Max my anger response!"

Coming right up, Ollie replied.

Jace felt his temples throb as the NICIF responded to his adrenaline kicking into overdrive. Dropping his sword, he gripped the tail and ripped it in two with a primal yell of hatred. Keeping a hold of the Zifran, he punched into the stump where the tail once was, eliciting a pained scream from the creature as it spun around to try and get at him with its new, ferocious horn.

But Jace was expecting that, Raging Cleave (Rank 10) [Echoing Cleave], he thought as he summoned Nethaldrim to his hand once more. He brought the blade up in a magnificent sweep, right through the neck of the creature at an upward angle. The body kept moving slightly up and past him, and the follow-up, phantom slice carved more of the creature into pieces.

Jace let out a primal scream of rage as he slashed over and over again into thing's hide – heedless of the flames and lava that spewed out onto his armor before it cooled.

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[We're having trouble keeping your armor intact, boss!]

[Try to dodge more damage!]

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Jace tried to activate Void Shield again, but to no avail as he still was locked out for five seconds. The Zifran's head and the sliced-off chunks began flying back to rejoin the central body, and Jace chose to play tactically and listen to the NICIF. Using his grapple, he ran away from the thing, getting behind a tree. Reaper's Shadowstep, he thought as he used a once-per-day Skill from the Reaper Armor to teleport to another tree. The Zifran went for the tree he had been hiding behind and annihilated it with a surge of molten energy that surged out and set the very air to crackling in flame.

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Jace counted down the seconds, Void Shield (Rank 6) [Reflecting]. The shield popped into place around him, and he ran up, still veiled thanks to Void Stalker, and unleashed a powerful, sweeping blow that chopped right through the rear legs. The Zifran crumbled to the ground, trying to turn with its front legs and get its head into the fray – but Jace kept cutting along the torso, taking off chunks as he kicked the pieces away.

Bit by gruesome bit, Jace dismantled the thing until only the front legs, the front of the chest, and the head were left. He sliced down, vertically, through the thing's head. Good riddance! He thought in triumph.

But his triumph turned to ash in a blur as he was engulfed in a blazing inferno and thrown skyward by a surging pillar of lava. His Void Shield kept him safe, but keeping an eye on his energy he knew he couldn't keep going forever. Below him, the Zifran had reassembled its pieces, and the flaming, red horn turned a shimmering blue. The flames surrounding it also turned blue.

Another limit break! Ollie shouted in his head.

Jace saw the thing rearing its head back, and he raised his hand. Dark Matter Dart (Rank 4) [Exploding]. The invisible projectiles surged forth, slammed deep into the creature, and blew it apart from the inside as gory, meaty chunks blew outward. But the thing still stood despite the holes riddling its body, and a beam of bright, blue energy shot skyward. It impacted Jace's Void Shield and fizzled to nothingness.

"Your stupid power-up can't beat Void!" Jace screamed in delight and satisfaction as he came plummeting down, sword held point-down, as he impaled it through the head – crushing it with the weight of his fall as it went sprawling into the scorched dirt. Jace went to hacking once more, carving it to pieces until all was still and the flames died out.

Good job! Ollie said in his mind.

Jace let out a groan as he let his Skills fade. "That sucked."

But you got it. Let's gather up the chunks and head back to The Cosmic Corridor so Quinn can sell them!

Jace did as he was told, and then he used a series of Dark Energy Mines chained together to allow him to effectively fly as he returned to the portal. Hualong, the green serpent-dragon-thing was there, curled up around it, and she raised her head. "Back so quickly?"

"Just making a pit stop," Jace replied. "Question though; does everything here have a cheat death Skill?"

Hualong laughed smugly, "You really have no clue about cultivators, do you?"

"Not really," Jace replied. "Never needed it. I got Stardust and a System."

"True. Which in some ways is better. But you should expect lots of unexpected power ups and new heights of potential from your foes."

"Any way to stop them from resurrecting?" Jace asked. "This could go a lot faster if-"

"No," Hualong replied. "There is no way to stop a cultivator's resurrection. They earned it. Such is the way of this world."

Jace sighed and nodded with defeat, resigning himself to having to just kill the things repeatedly. "What about being able to turn off Skills?"

"Oh, yes. That is common as well. But only for short durations – Anathema is the perfected version of the same concept."

That's good, at least, Jace thought as he went through the portal. They can't turn it off for a long period of time. But I still have to play safe and retreat when necessary. Hit and run.

"Offloaded!" Quinn said as soon as he stepped foot in The Cosmic Corridor. "Head back in, and I'll get to selling."

Jace once more did as he was told and returned to the cliff. "I'm going to wait a little," he muttered. "Let my energy refill to full."

Hualong chuckled and used a huge claw to tap the ground next to her. "Sit. Meditate with me while you recover. Perhaps you will unveil more about your own being by being here."

Maybe a new means to gain Stardust or Skills? Ollie suggested.

I mean, just sitting where she is asking me to sit while I wait for my energy to come back isn't a huge ask, Jace replied in his mind. He went over to Hualong and sat next to her claw. "Now what?" he asked.

"Close your eyes." He did so, "Now. Breathe. Focusing on your breathing. Empty your mind of thought. With each exhale, let out stress, anxiety, and all other worries. Let the winds carry them away, leaving you pure and clean. Only then can you begin to delve the wonders of your own being."

Breathing exercises like my mentor- like my dad taught me. Jace took in deep inhales, and with each exhale he loosened his muscles as he had been taught when staying still for long periods of time. Inhale, he tensed. Exhale, he relaxed. His mind was still racing with the combat with the Zifran; and he felt anger at how durable they were and that they could cheat death so much.

Let me help, if you permit. I can block thought processes to help you get to this state of calm she talks about, Ollie offered in his mind.

Do it, Jace thought back.

His worries instantly vanished. All thought vanished except for the here-and-now of breathing in and out. He heard an ethereal voice – something that tickled his inner ear – and he focused on the sounds of what he imagined were distant whispers.

"Good, very good," Hualong said encouragingly. "Now…look into your soul. Envision a sphere in your chest and focus on it."

Jace listened to the distant whisper, and he felt that inner gaze drawn not to his chest, but instead to his left hand, where the Dark Matter symbols floated about, and the inner transparent circle of Void lay hidden at the center. He saw the dance of shapes interplay with the pure nothingness at the center.

He sank down, down into a trance, as he was almost drawn into that inner vision of a circle with dancing shapes all around. All that existed was him, Dark Matter, the Dark Energy accompanying it, and the Void. He floated there, in liminal, limitless space filled with nothing but his Cosmic and Ascended power. And he bobbed there, a tiny speck in the eternity of one's inner self.

But he wasn't just looking into himself, he realized. He saw other Cosmic Power symbols far off in the distance. Other Ascended Power circles ringing all around. Am I in The Cosmic System itself? He thought as he let his mind wander this space.

And then the area became more substantive. He was no longer in blackness alone – but glimmering sparkles of silver and gold appeared around him. The Starlit Sea. Where he first met Ollie all those months ago. Where he chose his Class and Cosmic Power after surviving a harrowing Aspirant Trial. And where he recently chose his Advanced Class and Ascended Power. But this was…different, in a way. Like an older, ancient version. The golden stars were duller, the silver less lustrous. There were no Wayfinders, and the odd, black liquid starlight was still – it only moved around him.

And he heard voices. Whispers. Not the whispering of Hualong that tickled his inner ear. Not the calming, reassuring deep whisper of Ollie in his mind. Not Quinn or Xera talking through his comms. Something primal. Something deeper. He followed those voices, tracking their trail as he swam through the calmed starlight until he came across a large slug-like creature made of crackling, pink energy. Something that was an oddity in this place; that should not exist in that place.

He reached down and poked it – and it jiggled. Like a gelatin standing upright on a platter. He could hear the voices – thousands upon thousands. Millions. Billions – no, trillions. Voice that overlapped. Some screamed, some begged for release, some cried out in agony and others in ecstasy. But one voice stood out to him more than the rest. A voice he had not heard in seven years.

"Jace! Help me!" he heard Chroma scream.