Dark Matter Ascension

Greg looked up and saw the leviathans far above watching them. Once Jace had descended to the rocky core, those serpents began to move towards the trio. Crap, he thought. "Down! Now!" he began swimming down and glanced back. Dee and Priam were both following him, and Greg made a beeline for the rocky core.

We can't fight those giant things without Dee's enormous blasts or Jace's overpowered Void, Greg thought. Jace needs to keep the guy busy, while we get to the remains of that stone spire entrance. As soon as he got within five feet of the world's core, he was pulled down to it; and his suit squeezed him from all directions.

All but his passive Skills were disabled, and he couldn't breathe as the pressure was too great to let his chest push out against the armor. He pushed off and got to the point where he was back in the water above. He reactivated his defensive Skills and felt the pressure recede. "Don't go deeper," he warned.

Priam stopped and turned in place, doggy-paddling through the water with Dee right behind him performing broad breaststrokes. "We stay close to it but don't touch it?" the bunny-boy asked.

"Yeah," Greg replied. "The thing disabled my Skills. If I wasn't kitted up with the Indomitable Juggernaut Skill…I would've been crushed like a can."

Priam's face showed shock, and Dee's was just as equally surprised. "You're kidding," Dee stated.

"Nope," Greg replied. "But if we stay close to it, we can probably rely on that keeping those big bastards from getting near." He kept swimming towards the remnants of the stone spire, his allies close behind.

I don't know how to fight hand to hand, Jace thought.

Ollie replied in his thoughts, Edge of Possibility will activate when you engage in combat. Just trust your body. I'll ensure the NICIF and your newfound mastery are fully in-sync. Don't be afraid to use Wrath's Embrace, but don't use the [Focused] Evolution. Try this instead. Quinn?

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[Using Boon: Uncommon (Skill Evolution).]

[Applying to Skill.]

[Skill Name: Wrath's Embrace.]

[Evolution Name: Single-Minded Fury.]

[Effect: When activating Wrath's Embrace, designate a single target. All Rank effects are doubled. All other targets are treated as having 50% damage reduction against your Skills.]

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"That should help," Quinn said over the comms. "The downside is that you can't use that and [Focused] at the same time. But, in a one-on-one? This is a great enhancement. It means at (Rank 10) you'll be hitting twelve times as hard, and have your physical, sensory, and cognitive traits amplified by times twelve as well."

"But I can't use Skills," Jace commented. "Not while I'm standing on this rocky surface."

Huwei laughed, and his voice reverberated through the water, "How about this; I move our battle to an appropriate location. In exchange, you do not use weapons. We only use our bodies and our Skills – cultivated or otherwise."

My Void Shield is shut down, Jace thought. I don't have anything defensive. And this guy is brand-new to his body. It comes down to the simple choice of do I want this to be a straight-up brawl, or do I want to risk him using Skills? I also don't have Dark Matter Dart.

Both routes have their risks and rewards, Ollie replied. Xera has no information on this.

"If Skills are allowed," Quinn stated, "I can use all of my Skills on you which should handily sway the battle in your favor."

Jace nodded and called out, "Let's move this fight; but only if I can return here once I beat you."

Huwei nodded, "We won't be going anywhere." He walked forward, almost in a leisurely fashion, until he was only five feet away from Jace. "I will use my soul-magic to place us in a demiplane."

Ollie informed Jace with a rapid thought, He means a pocket dimension, sort of like what Khrox uses. It will 'spit' you out once the thing powering it fades.

"That sounds reasonable," Jace stated.

Huwei clapped his hands together in front of his chest, holding the palms in line with his pectoral muscles. His deep, blue skin crackled with cascading green energy, and the world went dark. The entirety of existence turned black. A second passed, and Huwei closed his eyes, "One moment, let's make this into a proper field of battle."

Color bloomed to life all around the duo, and Jace was suddenly standing atop a stone platform. An enormous square, raised up from the ground, with smooth, rolling grasslands going in all directions until the horizon. "Much better," Huwei stated as he gestured to the marks near the center of the arena. "Go off the platform, and you lose. No weapons. Any other rules you wish?"

Jace took up his position on the slightly bumpy stone slab near the center of the arena, "Why are you so eager to fight instead of just letting me in?"

"My whole life has been fighting," Huwei replied. "From when I was a tiny leviathan hatchling and devoured my siblings in our spawning pool, all the way until I became the strongest of them all."

Jace didn't take up a combat stance yet, wanting to press for more information. "Anathema…what happened to him? Why do you care about protecting his workshop?"

Huwei shook his head, "I cannot tell you why I protect his legacy. As for what happened to him…he died." The figure met Jace's gaze, "Enough talk. Prepare yourself, Wraith." He took up a combat stance – right foot forward and slightly turned out at an angle, left foot behind in a line and offset at a wider angle for stability. He raised his hands in front of him – front, right hand open, and left hand pulled in near his face, balled into a fist. His body exploded with pink lightning.

Jace felt instinct take over as his body almost moved on its own – Edge of Possibility (Rank 3) pushing him to instantly become a master of close-quarters combat. Ollie…get me angry.

You got it! I'm also pumping adrenaline to really give it some extra oomph!

Quinn's voice came over the comms, "Activating Coordinator's Critical Gaze, Coordinator's Warning System, and Stratagem with every Skill Evolution applied. Don't forget to use [Skip] if you need to get back to the platform, and [Time Lock] if things get dire and you need to recover. You can heal yourself while its active!"

Jace activated Void Brand (Rank 1), and his hands glowed with the white-grey power of the Void. He could not use Void Blade on his hands or feet, as weapons with an edge were the only valid targets for the Skill. Wrath's Embrace (Rank 10) [Single-Minded Fury], Aura of Wrath (Rank 11) [Voidflame Vestment].

The world around him exploded in a crimson nebula with crackling, red lightning arcing throughout. His vision constricted until all he could see was the man before him, and Jace felt an overwhelming desire to absolutely crush the leviathan-turned-person. Arcing lines of Void energy zapped out from him, and began to slowly eat away at the ground.

Huwei let out a battle cry and the pink aura around him coursed with deep blue energy that rose about and arced, the two auras surrounding the figures clashing with intensity as they fought out a battle in the open air. The man rushed forward, delivering a rapid punch.

A punch that Jace simply caught with his palm, imparting the Void Brand onto his foe's body. "Nice try," Jace growled as he saw fear flicker over Huwei's face. "But I'm stronger," Jace said as he pulled the man in close and jabbed him in the midsection.

Huwei let out a gust of air, and then he kicked his foot up close to his body, shoved it against Jace's torso, and pushed off – backflipping as he escaped Jace's grip. The man landed and let out a laugh, "Finally! A worthy opponent! No holding back!" He let out a primal scream. A roar that shook the heavens and the ground below. The call of a warrior of peerless might, finally meeting a challenge they felt could actually contest their strength. Huwei's blue skin shifted to a deep, dark purple and the energy cascading off of him began to physically assault Jace.

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But Jace felt no pain from the rapid jabs delivered by the cascading force. He moved forward with a swift step and delivered a blisteringly fast combination of punches in a rapid-fire flurry. Huwei blocked each one, even to the point that he put one hand behind his back and kept blocking and parrying Jace's dizzying assault.

And Jace felt that heat rising within him amplified all the more at this singular individual. He want to crush. Destroy. Obliterate with every fiber of his being. With a single-minded fury, he put his hands together and brought down a dual-hammer-fist. Huwei crossed his forearms, taking the blow – but the ground beneath him was cracked and he sank a few inches as he let out a grunt of pain.

Jace followed up with a vicious knee, knocking the man's guard up before he then turned around using the omnidirectional knee joint and delivered a spinning torso kick that sent the man to the edge of the platform. He rushed forward while the man recovered and tried to deliver a finishing punch to send him flying. But Huwei dodged at the last second, leaving Jace off balance. The man spun and kicked, sending Jace off the platform.

Skip! Jace thought. Thanks to the Skill being Quinn's, the Wrath's Embrace restrictions did not apply, and he teleported back to the platform, directly behind Huwei. Jace wrapped an arm around the man's neck, locking him in a sleeper hold and lifting him up off the ground by arching his back.

Huwei gripped his arms and pulled, struggling to try and break free – but Jace's strength was far greater, and the man slowly slowed as his various auras faded. Only when he was limp in Jace's arm did Jace crush the windpipe and snap the neck, dropping him. "I win!" Jace shouted.

Huwei's body ignited with a deep, gold light, and his body floated up until he was standing on his feet. Jace was pushed back to the center of the platform by a massive wave of pressure, as Huwei's body healed. His skin turned to a brilliant bronze, his eyes reigniting with literal crimson flame, and four more arms manifested from his shoulders and midsection, giving him six in total. He screamed out in rage, "My last life! Worthy foe, Wraith, let us see if my surpassing of my limits is enough to defeat you!"

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[Warning! You are about to face a significantly stronger foe.]

[This foe is designated as Tier ???]

[Ë̵̤́r̷̻̀ṟ̷̽ò̵̱r̷̤̎!̶̻̃ ̷̳͒C̸͖͘a̵͓͠n̵͎̔ǹ̶̤o̷͕͐t̷̥͆ ̷͇̈p̸̺̔ȓ̵̖ö̴̠́c̴͍͂ẻ̸̗ś̴̨s̸͈̅ ̷̩̊d̶͖͂ư̴̮e̵̠̚ ̷͕̐t̷͎̔o̷̯̓ ̴̪̏p̸̢̈́o̷̙̒ẃ̴̼ę̴̾ŕ̵͈ ̴̧̋e̸͘ͅx̸͙̀c̷̙̎ẽ̶̪ḛ̴̕d̵̜̈i̴̳͝n̸̜̄ġ̷̨ ̸̢̆C̴̗͌o̶̡͐s̸̤͌m̴̹̿i̶̛̻c̵͇̅ ̶̙͒S̴̼̉y̴̳͠s̶͚̚t̵̳͠e̴̡̽m̷̬̈ ̸͖̚p̷̹̈́a̷̩̅r̷̡̽a̵͕̕m̸̲̂e̴̞͊t̴̯̔ě̵͇r̴̢̈́s̴̜̚!̷̲͛ ̴̪͌S̷͇͝t̷͙̂a̷̮͂n̴̮͛d̴̙͐ ̶͍͆b̷̯̄y̶̱̆!̸̡͝]

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Huwei moved forward faster than Jace could ever move and slammed his fist into Jace's solar plexus. Jace lost all breath as it was knocked out of him, and then he was launched back – traveling far past the arena edge. Reflexively, he shot out his grapple and affixed it to space above the arena, pulling himself back. His Wrath's Embrace was literally punched out of him, and the crackling energy no longer surrounded him.

Huwei floated up from the platform, energy cascading off of him in a torrential storm. "Very well! We take our fight to the skies!"

Jace caught his breath once more and activated Dark Energy Mine (Rank 1), detonating it the second Huwei got into reach. The sudden lack of gravity threw the opponent off, and Jace re-activated Wrath's Embrace with the same Rank and Evolution as before. He used the integrated Sliver Arc to propel himself forward from the grapnel point, delivering a savage kick to the man's face.

Huwei turned to face Jace and gripped the foot, grinning, "Come on! Break your limits!" The figure squeezed, and Jace's armored boot cracked – but the Anathema Leg held firm.

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[N̴̡̏ė̷ͅw̵̮̋ ̶̾ͅm̵̤͗e̷̟̚c̵̭̾h̷̩͝ȃ̴̧n̴͐ͅi̶̖͛c̵̮͋ ̵̳͂d̶͇̏e̵͎͆t̵͕̊e̶̤̅c̷̬͝t̴̲̋ḙ̷͗ḍ̸̑.̴̤̄ ̶͙͝S̵̙̋t̸̨͌a̵̠͌ñ̷̪ď̵̤ ̷̏͜b̶̟̎ý̴͚ ̵̾͜f̶̅͜ȍ̸̮ṛ̷̕ ̸̩̑ḯ̵̝n̷̟̈́t̴̗̕ë̵͇g̷̜̚r̶̠̒ȁ̶̺t̶̡̕i̵̲͝ò̴̢ṇ̷̔.̷̫̂.̵̲̕.̴͈͝]

[̶̲̉I̴͓͂n̸̤͗t̶̬̃é̷̠g̸͇͌r̶̗̆a̴̪͆ẗ̸̙ȋ̴̦ṋ̶͌ġ̵̪ ̴̳̇L̶̟͐í̸͎m̷͓̊i̷͍̅ṯ̷̆ ̷̼̄B̶̨͂r̸̛͈e̵͓̎ǎ̶̳k̸͙̔ ̴̗̾M̴̧̃ē̸̺c̷̮̎h̸͔̒a̵̪̓ń̴̝ĩ̷̫c̸͔̄.̸̧͒.̴̓ͅ.̸̺̀]

[Stand by…]

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Jace was thrown down to the arena floor and his body formed an impact crater. He felt no pain, but saw on his HUD readout that he had suffered heavy injury, and the NICIF were hard at work. He kicked off the ground and shot up out of the way as Huwei slammed down into the shattered arena right where he had been laying.

Oh, very interesting, Ollie said in his mind. Now that I have seen this Limit Break in a humanoid, I can reverse engineer it! Give me a little bit. Just survive!

Survive for her, Jace thought as Shhiv flashed into his mind's eye. He spun his body around as Huwei flew up towards him, fist cocked back to deliver a devastating punch. Jace caught the fist in his palm, feeling the armor crack and break – but the Anathema Arm held firm. Huwei brought his other fist into the mix, and Jace caught that with his other hand. Both men were grunting as they struggled against the other, trying to crush their foe's hands to make them useless.

Jace felt his hands bending inward, he could feel the odd, magic-metal substance deforming and despite the NICIF's best efforts to mend it, nothing worked. Jace brought his feet up to his chest and kicked, pulling his hands away as his right foot found purchase on Huwei's neck. With a little distance gained, Jace used his grapple to anchor himself to a point behind Huwei and pulled himself forward, slamming his foot into the man as the two rocketed into the arena.

Huwei had caught the blow on his forearm, and brought his other hand down in a chop, slicing clean through Jace's Anathema Leg. The leg fell to the ground, the NICIF slowly oozing out of it towards Jace.

Jace kicked Huwei off, and moved his stump to the leg – close enough that the NICIF were able to get ahold of it. Jace let Wrath's Embrace fade. Dark Matter Mending (Rank 4), Hope's Edge. He felt all of his wounds heal, and thanks to the still-slowly-spreading Void Brand, Hope's Edge restored his energy gradually. He jumped to his feet, and barely re-activated Wrath's Embrace for the third time during the fight.

Huwei flew into him, grabbing him around the midsection. Lifting him up, the man let out a scream of rage as he slammed Jace into the stone floor of the arena. Over and over again, he slammed down as Jace's back armor shattered and he felt the impacts on his spine. He had to turn just enough to let it impact the muscle – but he felt ravenous as the NICIF ate through all of his body's stockpiled calories.

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[We cannot keep up the regeneration!]

[Boss, you have to eat something!]

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"I can't!" Jace wheezed out.

Huwei must have thought that Jace was talking to him, as the man growled and threw Jace to the side. Jace went rolling end over end before coming to a stop. "You cannot break your limits?! You are no worthy foe!"

Got it! Ollie shouted.

Jace's vision went white for a brief moment, and his body reacted without his control. He was a momentary passenger, his vision returning as he saw his hand come up in front of his face, deflecting the kick that was coming in for his neck. He was pushed back along the arena floor, and almost fell out of the edge, but stopped a few inches shy.

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[Cultivation World Mechanic Analyzed.]

[Mechanic Integrated into The Cosmic System.]

[Classified as closest category = Skill Ascension.]

[Parameters required:]

[ (1) Aspirant/Ascendant is on a Cultivation (soul-magic) world – met.]

[ (2) Aspirant/Ascendant is in a life-or-death situation – met.]

[ (3) Aspirant/Ascendant has Cultivation (soul-magic) Skill or spell-turned-Skill – met via Equipment.]

[ (4) Aspirant/Ascendant has not experienced a Limit Break before – met.]

[Limit Break!]

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[Using Boon: Limit Break (Skill Ascension).]

[Applying to Skill.]

[Skill Name: Wrath's Embrace.]

[Ascended Power applied: N/A – soul override.]

[Soul Energy Coefficient = 100%.]

[Rank Reset forced.]

[Initializing…]

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[New Skill Name: Shattered Limits (Rank 1).]

[Effect: Amplifies the user's physical, sensory, and cognitive traits by x10. Only useable when at 50% health or lower, or when facing a vastly superior foe.]

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Jace felt a surge of energy and he stood up with Huwei's foot clasped in his grip. The crackling crimson of Wrath's Embrace surrounding him turned into a deep silver, and even the white-grey of Void switched color to the cool silvery hue.

He felt amazing. His muscles were barely constrained by his skin and the whole world was more vibrant. He could taste the salt in the air from sweat flung by the exertions of the combatants. He could smell the grassland of this demiplane, and the cracked stone with its chalk-like odor. He saw every tiny fragment of dust on the wind from the shattered masonry.

You can only Limit Break once in your life, Ollie stated with pride filling his voice. But this should even the odds and tip the scales in your favor. You lose out on [Focused] since it is not necessary anymore.

There was still anger there from the [Single-Minded Fury], but Jace was more focused than anything else. Huwei appeared to be moving like a regular human now, not a super-fast blur that Jace could barely keep up with. He let out a laugh at the sudden power surging through his body.

Huwei growled and his body crackled and sparked with vermillion light as he whipped his fist forward – Jace caught it. The explosion of lightning and thunderous report did cause Jace to wince as he felt pain. Downside it seems, he thought, is that now I feel pain while using it.

The benefits are worth that downside, Ollie replied. Oh, also, your hair changes color when you use it! Grey-white just like when you activate a Void Skill. But instead of being temporary…

Jace frowned and pushed Huwei's fist aside, responding with a jab to the man's torso. Do you mean my hair is going to constantly be grey-white? Like I'm old?

Ollie chuckled, Sorry. That is how it shook out.

Jace sidestepped a bolt of blue energy that arced out from Huwei's fingertip. He ran up and delivered a savage punch to the man's jaw, snapping it and sending him slamming into the ground below. He got on top of the man and punched him. Left, right, left, right, over and over until he stopped moving.

Jace felt a weird suction feeling, and he was once more on the stone surface of the planet's core. Huwei's corpse was next to him, lifeless; and it was only as the waters became red did Jace realize how much blood he was covered in. He reached over and dusted the warrior. You fought well, Jace thought. I'll get your soul out of Troxanir, too. Then you can move onto whatever afterlife honorable warriors go to.

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[Stardust Acquired: 400,000]

[Stardust Split: 100,000]

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