NOVEL NEXT Chapter 138: A Tiger with Wings
White Tiger and the Avatar of Perception came crashing at me. Those were my enemies. Ann was fighting Eagleeye, Matt was duelling Black Swan, and Olivia and Chris were taking care of the small army Zinnic brought.
My world shifted and changed. Eyes blossomed. The avatar unravelled like a flower, petals of grotesque pupils unfolding in a myriad kaleidoscope around me. The entire world became nothing but eyes, my own perception of it scrambled. My usual ability to see through reflective surfaces overloaded and failed, collapsing in the face of a million perspectives.
I felt veins strain in my eyes, my Qi rushing through me, reinforcing my body. White Tiger crashed into me a moment later. He was like a beam of light, disintegrating into immateriality before his spear came slamming at me.
Just in the nick of time, I brought Astraeus up to block, the blow heavy enough to send me flying before I caught myself on a platform of Qi. Parallel reality me stopped earlier, and I swapped places when White Tiger came to strike me again, teleporting to dodge.
A second passed, and my sense of direction was scrambled. Up and down were meaningless, so were back and forward. The world bent a hundred different ways, and it hurt to even look at. I gave a silent roar, unsealing my gateway.
More power poured into me. I called upon a second version of myself to appear, and she tore free from the gateway inside me. White Tiger apparently wasn't expecting a third hand to claw its way out of my belly, holding a copy of Astraeus. His spear clanged against that of the other me, and I lashed out with my own, making him jump back.
A second hand, then a head and two legs followed in seconds, and then there were two of me. I channelled more Qi into my alternate world ability, and so did the other Fio. There were four worlds intersecting onto each other, now, two versions permanently realized, and two more as shadows of possibility.
"I need a better name," my alternate self said, brushing some hair from her face. She had a grim look to her, veteran-like.
"Pick one quickly," I said, sending a manifested spear of Qi at White Tiger, which he quickly deflected. The world twisted again, and I almost threw up, feeling my stomach twist.
"Ion," she said. "Still part of our name, after all."
Oh divines. Did all alternate versions of me have a terrible sense of humor?
That thought fell apart when I was forced to swap places with the parallel version of me, avoiding a lance of light. "Okay! Ion! Kill him!"
"It'll be my pleasure," she said, angrily. Then, she swapped places with her parallel version, suddenly standing in front of White Tiger. I used the Wanderer's Key, and stepped through space, appearing behind him, then deflecting an invisible spear crafted from intent, while swinging my own back at him.
White Tiger was surrounded by them. A dozen illusions of blazing white light swarmed around him, massive spears acting like angry hornets, wielded by nothing but his will. He was powerful. Unending. Of a higher realm than me.
Qi spilled out of him like an endless waterfall. It stormed around us, trying to rip me apart, tearing at every single thing I manifested, and drawing it back into White Tiger. It was like a singularity, like a black hole, inescapable and inevitable.
And then, there was Eyes. My idea of the world was scrambled yet again, a million pupils tracking my actions, and when I intended to step back, I moved forward. A millisecond later, Astraeus made up for my mistake, barely flinging my hand upwards, catching another attack. A tiny nick appeared on his blade, instantly mended by my Qi.
Matt flew by me, enveloped in a blinding storm of petals, a tornado of pink bigger than any he'd conjured before. Cass fought inside my mind, and my sense of direction righted itself. I stepped backwards, out of Tiger's range, stabbing at his back as my fractal wings unfurled themselves.
But the old man was not without tricks. He, too, grew a pair of wings. They were radiant, feathery, looking divine. And then he grew a second and third pair.
They flapped once, just once, and the world exploded. White Tiger slammed into me a moment before I heard the supersonic boom caused by his movement. A torrent of burning light cascaded over my skin, burning and tearing like acid. I screamed a roar, coating myself with Qi, being ground up, before those wings flapped again.
Ion was his next target, being torn into by half a dozen blindingly bright weapons. She whirled and danced, summoning her will to create invisible constructs and fend him off, superimposed her alternate, healthy self over wounds, and then I stepped in, stabbing at the Tiger's back.
He vanished again. [Above!!] Cass yelled in my ears.
I stepped through the air, and the Wanderer's Key roared to life, tearing space. A moment later, an incinerating pillar of light slammed down where I just stood, eradicating part of the world. A shiver ran down my spine. The fear of death.
My [Precipitous Wings] flared to life, harder than ever before. A million thoughts raced through my head, and the same is true for Ion. She threw me a quick glance, then disappeared mid step. I looked at white Tiger, and my idea of space flipped again. I could barely see the blur of light as he flew at me.
Astraeus helped me again, bringing my hand up and deflecting a blow that should have killed me. My hand was left ringing, but I grabbed the empty air with my left, slamming an invisible spear towards the old man, only to have it disintegrated by the horrible light. My hand burned, my skin bubbling and lifting in flakes of ash.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
I superimposed onto the damage, teleporting with another step. Ion appeared behind him, taking his attention again, and I stepped one more time, teleporting. I needed to find Eyes. The Avatar, not the constantly blooming constellation of Perception above me.
The power of the keeper made my head ring, and I tasted metal in my mouth. My eyes pulsed again, and I could feel the blood flowing through me. More Qi poured into my body, reinforcing it, and I stepped into the sky, sending a lance of Qi upwards.
It caught. One of the pupils got struck, and then popped like a balloon. My lance slammed through another half hundred of them, but then the hole in the sky closed again, more and more eyes blossoming where the others left.
They winked open in empty air like flowers unfurling in the early days of spring. It was horrifically beautiful.
A lance of light struck my back, burning a hole as deep as my spine. I screamed, then superimposed an alternate version. That Fio hid, and was never hit, so her health transferred to me, and my worlds collapsed into one.
White Tiger grinned. His face appeared before mine, teeth bared in a snarl. He's as much of a battle maniac as Matt. His spear came towards my face, and I swapped places with Ion's alternate reality. She'd just used it for a heal, so I appeared right on top of her, and we tumbled together in a heap of limbs, but a quick use of the Wanderer's Key set us both upright, and we exchanged another flurry of blows with White Tiger.
His spears are burning hot, blazing fast, and almost entirely unavoidable. A cascade of them crashing into me, unendingly, while I could barely tell what the world is about, stuck with this horrible disorientation. My head pounded some more and Cass just barely fought off the effect before I got sent flying by another blow.
More blood in my mouth. More pain blossoming in my abdomen. Another mend, another version of me. Ion set off for Eyes, and White Tiger slammed into me one more time. "Come on, cub!" he roared, slamming his spear towards me. "Pierce the clouds! Defy the heavens! That is what cultivators do!"
"Fuck off, old man!" I spat, slamming my spear forward. He deflected the blow effortlessly, masterfully, and I felt space twist through my talents. I spun to the side, seeing a blazing tendril of incinerating light burn the air where my heart would have been. Another brush with death, another bare survival.
My wings flared with life, my spear sings through the air, crashing into that of the old man. His hair was blown back, showing me a feral grin. He opened his mouth, and a lance of light shot forward from there. I ducked, and it passed just over my head, making the air smell of burnt hair.
Not that that sensation lasted long when my idea of the world twists in on itself once more. Pain blossomed in three spots on my leg, spears of light piercing through them, leaving round holes. I superimposed myself another time, pushing the horror aside.
Air hissed through my teeth, and the old man laughed. "You're a monstrous cub," he complimented. "But I am an old monster, too. Respect your elders!"
Another stab tore through the air, just barely avoided in the dance of death between us. White Tiger took the lead, forcing me back, and back, and back some more. My parallel selves were sent scampering away, hiding, hoping to live, to be used as expendable heals, or teleports to avoid instant death.
It's not sustainable. It never was. My Qi was running out, declining precipitously. With every drop I spend, my wings flare a little brighter, they magnify all my other talents. Another stab went through my leg, and I could feel my resilience struggle against its limits. My stat increased, and another stab met just a little more resistance.
Each second, each passing moment, the gap between us was closing. I just had to live. To last. To-
White Tiger's wings flared brightly, and a stab came. My arm rose, but it was too slow, my Qi torn asunder by his power. It landed in my chest. My heart pierced, broken, shattered.
My eyes snapped back open, my consciousness one with Ion's. My gateway glowed, and another me crawled out of me. "Ion?" I asked.
"Not quite the same," she said grimly. "Before you ask, you're still Fio. Still just the same as ever. It's weird and fucky, but trust me on this: You are yourself."
The existential dread retreated for just a moment, and I nodded. "Right," I say.
"Let's break Eyes while Tiger is confused," Ion commanded, already shooting forward in a blaze of gold and glass.
I followed, just a second later, looking for the avatar of the keeper, when there's a horribly bright flash and Ion turns to cinders. Tiger stands there, four pairs of wings behind his back. The glow from inside him was so bright, his skin looked translucent, blinding. Like an angel of death.
He laughed. "A monster of many shapes will turn to ashes too!"
Another me crawled out of my chest. "Well, that one was short lived," she commented.
We both stepped to our parallel selves, letting the Tiger's blaze pass between us. Then, once more, my perception twisted in on itself, painfully, worse than ever before. I could feel my wings flaring against the hopelessness, but for the first time, they didn't feel like enough.
Matt flew by me again, bloodied and hurt, his lips stained red. It hurt to see him like that, but the light in his eyes was still on. He trusted me. I needed to win. I needed to-
Black Swam appeared behind Matt, and caught sight of me. It took only a moment, only a look between her and the Tiger, and a torrent of dark wind slammed into me. I spun in the air, confused, disoriented, my world crunched in on itself. Astraeus seemed equally confused, and a blaring conflagration came towards me-
The world twisted one more time, and Ion got lanced through instead of me. Another version of her crawled out of my chest. "Huh," she hummed. "Spared you a helping of horror, huh? Worth it," she said, smiling grimly.
"Must I kill you two at once?!" White Tiger raged. "Fine then! I shall burn you all!"
Light spilled off of him in ever brightening powers, scintillating colours spilling forth from his skin. It was pure, incandescent, and world consuming. A fifth pair of wings grew from his back, and their feathered ends formed almost a perfect circle.
"Witness the skies, cubs!" he said. "See what it takes to defy the heavens!!"
And then, the time came. The light that spilled forth was much too strong, much too right. It was a simple difference in rank. I was endlessly powerful in wellspring, an absolute existence there, but I was, quite simply, not in the realm above. I was found wanting.
So, I did what all heroes do. I asked for help.
Gently, I reached open my inventory, and pulled out a single man. The ring on his finger turned to cinders and ashes as my hand touched him back.
[Rae Mullner has been added to your [Transference] network.]
My master's eyes snapped open. The stasis, inflicted by the ring, vanished. In a single instant in time, his memories returned, easily mended back onto his wounded self, fully restored. My unsealed gateway synchronised his bodies across worlds in the same moment, and his cultivation, all at once, bloomed.
He reached out into the empty air, into his inventory, and withdrew a spear. My master looked at me with a casual smile, and swung it.
Not a drop of radiance touched my skin. Rae, the [Spear God], entered the battlefield.