Chapter 223: His Own Way (2/2)

I marveled at the magical constructs, the gravity within them contained as I tilted my head,

”Daniel is rather anchored at the moment, isn't he?”

Helios stood, leaning against a wall while facepalming. In silence, he reflected on this interruption to his day. The Ruler of Worlds called to move a statue man from the most excellent hospital of Belka.

In a word, humorous. In another ludicrous.

I snickered at him before nudging the giant with my elbow, ”So how do you intend to move him? Perhaps a portal leading elsewhere? You'll find that difficult as he isn't actually sitting there. He's pinned in place by his magic. He won't fall down even if you put a portal beneath him.”

Helios stayed there, still brooding over the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. I relished in this more than I'd like to admit, so I continued my teasing,

”Oh, I'm certain we could call in a few more members of the royal family. Perhaps you could use an enormous shard of that void ice to move him. You'd need only rebuild a large section of this state of the art hospital then. It's quite the elegant solution, really.”

Helios lifted his head, ”I was interrupted from my work...for this. Baldowah kill me already. Why lengthen the torment?”

I waved my hand in a circle towards Daniel, ”Perhaps this is a trial sent from Schema to test your will.”

Helios stepped up to Daniel, ”No. This is entropy incarnate. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

I turned towards Helios, ”On a more serious note, would you elect to tell me how long Daniel's been here?”

”Ten days. Perhaps more. The hospital staff didn't discern his stay initially. After several days, it became noteworthy. After that first week, he was an oddity that even local news stations took note of.”

Helios banged the side of Daniel's face with his gauntlet as if knocking on a door,

”Perhaps this idiot will be more responsive to force.”

Helios inspected dents in the metal that composed his gauntlets. I chuckled, ”Perhaps not.”

Helios rolled his eyes under his mask, his emotional state transparent. I locked my fingers behind me, my chest out, ”I shall wait here for him until he returns from his mental odyssey. You may continue with your duties as you were.”

Helios glanced down at me, tilting his head, ”Mental odyssey...Would you mind elaborating, perhaps?”

”His mythical compendium. It shouldn't require much more in the way of time. It's been quite a while for him to still be within its confines. I'll relinquish you of your responsibility in this matter for now. You may attend to what you wish thereafter.”

Helios scoffed, ”Confident, aren't you?” He crossed his mammoth arms,

”What else would explain you giving me permission to continue my duties?”

I waved a hand at Daniel, ”I'm merely informing you that I shall attend to this responsibility. Nothing more.”

Helios turned away, his cape flourishing, ”Then see to it. I will not be as lenient should I be called here a second time.”

I gave him a shallow bow, ”But of course.”

After he left, I leaned forward, inspecting the runic markings over Daniel. I tapped one of them with a bony finger,

”Hmmm...I remember them being a distinctly bloody red. Since when did they become white as snow? Curious.”

I created a physical cloud of dominion mana, sitting beside my disciple. I shrugged, ”The questions mount. I await the answers to my various ponderings.”

I opened my grimoire, ”But until then, it's time I dive into the depths of mind magic.”

I cackled with a bit of glee,

”Perhaps there's more I may learn of it before he returns.”

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That headache evolved into a full-blown migraine about a week back. At this point, blood dripped down my nose, out of my mouth, and even my eyes. I already passed the three-week deadline a while back. I figured this chance wouldn't come often, so I fought using my skills, molding as many together as possible.

I glanced at the side of my view. I gained my mythical skill a while back.

Mythical skill gained! The unique skills Quintessence, Elementalist, and Innundation fuse into the mythical skill, An Endless Flood! 104 treepoints awarded!

An Endless Flood(lvl 10) - From your mind, the torrents of the material world erupt, cascading across all before you in an endless flood. Augments creation skills, transmutations skill, and created elements. Increases ease of use for these types of magic as well.

I hadn't closed the notification out for a long time. I liked the name of it since it reminded me of my first mythical skill, A Boundless Storm. In a way, this new skill emulated those words far better. From my hands, I created vast swaths of elemental carnage. I decimated horde after horde of the enemy, yet my abilities never waned.

I wielded more of my mana, the sheer volume mounting to absurd extents. It changed the nature of my onslaught. I created vast icestorms or fiery hellscapes on my own. I wielded the wind with an utter completion, hurricanes left unbounded.

I used Star Forger, melding the skill into my movements. Water to mist or ice, Star Forger's temperature change made these transitions easier. At times, I glowed like the sun, fire erupting from my every motion. At other times, I slid across the virtualization as a phantom of ice, my movements unreadable. I learned to wield earth, mist, magma, and sand. They molded into An Endless Flood, augmenting the potent skill.

After wielding the might of these forces, a few more weeks passed. I used summons of my own to combat the ensuing hordes. I charged them with quintessence, their bodies strengthened, and their minds emboldened. We wrought destruction, the virtualization cracking at the seams.

They lacked any complex movements, so I spoke out to my forces. I gave orders and commands, shouting out for eternal victory. Using Legion of One, I gave them the spirit to continue despite the undying throngs of monsters. They fought for their own lives as we continued on this path of total annihilation.

Our enemies darkened the skies with their numbers, but we bathed the ground in their blood. My body trembled under the strain of forced time dilation as the endless battle ebbed from weeks into months.

From every surface, I bled, my mind disintegrating. I pushed through this, continuing forth. This was an opportunity to use my skills without any limit or consequence. It was a playground I would rarely return to. At the height of the war, a grin spawned onto my armor. The jagged teeth exposed a haunting white light behind them.

This spurred me forward until the damage to my mind began exceeding my ability to regenerate it. Without my mana pouring forth, I ceased the incoming hordes. As I stood atop a mountain of corpses, my bloodstained summons raised their hands in triumph. They survived. I stood above them as their general, my own hand raised. I thundered with the might of a giant,

”We are legion. We are eternal.”

As I spoke out the words, the simulation died down. The reality around me shifted. My lungs filled with a bit of dust, making me cough. I stood up, more dust falling from me in clumps. I turned around, finding the hospital surrounding me. That's right. This was where I began the compendium. I hacked up the grime in my throat before turning to the hallway.

I found Torix beneath me, a series of booklets in hand. A cobweb was attached to his shoulder, a spider crawled on its surface. He peered up at me, his skeletal face showing no emotion. I hugged around him, picking him up with a chorus of cracks ebbing out. I leaned back, most of his ribcage and spine shattered. I suspended him with gravity, my eyes wide with shock.

I muttered, ”Oh shit.”

He raised a frail hand, ”And here I believed you wished to send me back to my phylactery.” He gestured towards his body, ”As you may have surmised, it lacks the rigidity of my previous incarnation. I shall deal with this as necessary, no need to worry.”

Torix grumbled, ”However, keep the bear hugs to a minimum if you would.”

I shifted my mana to quintessence, The Rise of Eden crossing over him with a subtle white tint in the air. Torix's bones and joints began to heal as he gasped,

”I...what is this? Your new mythical skill?”

I laughed before grinning at him,

”No. It's much more than that.”

I raised a hand, quintessence ebbing from my palm,

”It's a new aura called The Rise of Eden.”