Chapter 87
Ascension of A Sun
Annette looked at her empty hands, trembling.
Aura pushed to the limit as chaos swept the camp.
It’s... just too much.
Dirt trembled under the thundering steps of the two, faceted obsidian elementals charging closer.
Moving with surety and strength missing from the previous golems, their silhouettes–backlit by a building red glow–grew at an alarming rate.
The dread they inspired paled in comparison to what followed behind.
Lava surged under shifting basalt plates.
Heat blasted in a wave across the valley, as the guardian emerged from the Nexus Dungeon.
Two glowing eyes burned with a spark of intelligence in the night.
Dan's bellow cut across the clearing.
“Jimmy! Chris! Distract that thing!”
Dan charged the closest of the black-glass elementals, boots crushing gravel.
Every step sent fire up his thighs, lactic acid had turned his legs into lead hours ago.
Core of Heavy Frost shuddered, pull weakening, its swirling clouds of ice thinning.
Barely enough Qi surged to keep the hammer from dragging him down.
Blood from a dozen scabs cracked open with the motion, warm trails running down his arms and chest.
The cold from his Domain froze them mid-flow, turning red rivers into brittle frost.
The Uhuh Heavy Hammer of Frost? felt heavier than it should.
Not just the stone and gems, it pulled on his shoulders like it wanted to bury itself in the earth.
None of it mattered.
His will was unending.
Dan’s new favorite muscle flexed, Domain surging forwards, ground cracking in a cone.
The obsidian giant trembled, lurching under the sudden weight, one foot sinking into the earth.
That's the opening.
The hammer head swung upwards, trailing a tail of ice, like a comet escaping gravity.
A shadow of a fist descended on the blue-black hammer head.
BOOM.
Glass arm shattered into a cascade of frozen razors.
Shrapnel tattooed Dan's flesh red, dozens of cuts opening in an instant.
He didn't flinch.
Not slowing, just grunting through clenched teeth, he stepped inside the giant’s reach.
The hammer dropped.
Stone hammer-head plowed through its leg, turning it into an explosion of shimmering shards.
The cracked and busted golem crashed to the earth, encrusted with ice.
Chris was circling wide, staying low, eyes narrowed.
I need this.
The temperature only rose as the sun finished setting, as the molten monstrosity grew near.
Heading straight for the camp, it passed by Chris’ hidden position.
Crouched behind sunbaked-stone, he reached, fingers hooked like claws in the air, calling out in his mind.
Heat answered.
Thin orange threads ripped out of the Ember Golem’s seams, searing straight into his chest.
Skin blistered, as his vision swam.
Veins glowed orange, glowing from beneath his skin.
Heart pounded, pumping a raging current.
96… 97…
Jimmy saw the golem tilt, lava eyes narrowing.
Thwak.
Tink.
Not good.
The archer cast his bow aside.
Three ‘Jimmys’ appeared.
Flickering, fuzzy, and barely cohesive.
It didn't stop their grinning.
They danced into the night, like a full body dry heave set to music, kicking and gyrating.
Glowing arm swung, throwing a wave of hot air.
One illusion popped like a bubble.
Another jumped through the air, swinging an obnoxiously large hammer.
A back hand broke it apart.
Then another.
Blood dripped from Real Jimmy’s nose.
More illusions sprung to life, twirling, jumping, dodging.
Shooting finger guns as the molten arm swung through, dispersing it into a cloud of particles.
The flow of blood increased, soaking the front of his shirt, and baking in the heat.
It didn't stop his grinning.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Waving arms weaved yet another holographic masterwork, only for it to be destroyed, once again.
His skin started to blister as the distance closed.
Vision started to blur, Core flickering like a dying star.
His glasses started to melt.
None of it mattered.
Light does not feel pain.
And I do not need eyes to see.
Kim's teeth chattered, a haze of water emitting from every pore.
It swirled, working to cool the air, hissing to hot clouds of steam as it neared the Embergolem.
Droplets collected, battling to grow larger, fusing and rushing down between basalt plates.
Small cracks of superheated water burst in the night, dimming the pulsing glow.
For a fraction of a second.
Its lifeblood of lava flowed, dark blotches dispersing in the raging river.
My Core has never been this empty.
Any twinge sent a lance of agony through her back.
Face a rictus of pain, steam rolled back, fighting for ground.
Everything hurts.
All the hours of training with her spear, of cultivating and practicing manipulation by the Nexus Node…
She shifted, trying to move, only for a spasm to force her still.
And I’m lying here, defenseless…
Her arm reached out, petting the oddly silent Luna.
She sat in between Kim and the mountain of flame, her fur standing on.
Dan ducked the sweeping strike of the second obsidian elemental.
The razored limb grazed his scalp, tearing it open, as he rose up inside its range.
Crack.
Its leg buckled.
The elemental pulled downward, Domain twisting the very air.
Bulging deltoids swelled, straining under the massive load, as the Uhuh Heavy Hammer of Frost? rose to meet it.
With a wave of cold, they collided.
CRACK
Cascading failure emitted from the crushing point of impact.
A hail of razor sharp blades fell all around him, parting his flesh with ease.
Dan stood steaming, flowing rivers of blood slowly freezing.
George dropped to his knees, palms flat to the dirt.
I don't know where to look…
Dan bleeding, Jimmy blistering, Kim fading… Chris burning from the inside out.
Everywhere.
Sweat poured as his hands shook.
Push.
Jaime watched as George fell to the ground, his Aura expanding all around them.
She watched as Belle stood, eyes closed, mouth moving in silence. Static arcs building on her arms.
She watched, in fear, as entirely too much blood poured from her husband.
“No… No. Not anymore.”
Steam blasted away on a wall of force.
The ambient heat receded.
Annette felt the rising swell of determination beside her, the billowing Aura bringing a smile to her worn face, her own spark of hope flaring up.
I can do more.
Her body sagged, as Dan’s shaking knees locked.
George's racing heart settled, as his hands grew steady.
Annette, with a sharp stab of pain, felt another brick in her foundation crumble.
Chris's seed howled.
The streams turned to a torrent of rivers, all flowing home to the sea.
98… 99…
The Embergolem stopped, glowing eyes fusing shut, chest flaring red-hot.
An apocalypse of fire raged, as a concussive ring of flame swept out.
Jimmy dove.
Kim's haze flashed to steam.
Dan staggered from the force.
Chris felt the searing Qi.
It burned through his pathways, slamming into his rumbling seed.
His singed linen shirt blackened even more.
Burnt hair filled his nose as struggling eyebrows incinerated.
The ground baked, cracking under the stifling heat.
And he wanted it all.
…100.
The rumble of an engine came to life.
Congratulations.
The Core of Combustion formed.
The Embergolem paused, as if sensing the shift.
Chris's eyes ignited, twin suns in the dark, as the raging heat settled in his belly.
For the first time, he was excited to see his screens.
A crazed expression sparked to life on his face, teeth reflecting the red light.
“Flame on.”
