B3 Chapter 364: Obstinance, Finale

A whistling crack split the air as metal shrapnel exploded behind him. Kaius’s heart slammed in his chest as he crouched low on his platform, clutching it tightly so he didn’t fall as its sudden acceleration ripped him back. The Maelstrom that surrounded him flared — exhausted as it diverted the metal shards that attempted to pierce its whirling winds.

Kaius paid the loss no mind. It didn’t matter he had no more casts of the spell, the end was right there. This was it! He’d done it! The ledge, his target, was right ahead — and he was heading straight for it.

Another spinning platform cut across his flight path — he ducked lower, letting it whistle over his head. Laughter spilled from his throat, manic joy cutting through the ever present fugue of layered memories and the maddening clarity of his Aspects.

Soon. He was almost close enough.

He immersed himself in his song; in the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Deep within him, his Aspects flared. They grounded him deeper in his body and mind, reinforcing him, and making him feel real. It was a spiritual weight that made him more.

The platform beneath his feet slowed and started to drift down — leaving him with a gap of nearly twenty longstrides to his destination. There were plenty of platforms between him and his goal — they were a trap.

Over a dozen attempts, he’d come to know that each and every one was trapped. Swarming destruction, one and all.

Leaping forwards, Kaius hurled himself into the open air. Mid dive, an explosion of force propelled him forward at speed as he twisted and bent — weaving through the tight gaps that appeared in the floating discs of death.

Another burst shoved him right, then down. Crack after crack echoed off the cold stone walls of the trial as Kaius jolted back and forth on a wavering path to victory.

Utter devoted focus consumed him as he tracked the paths of the discs that moved around him, comparing them to remembered openings as he slipped through gap after gap.

Then he was free, a wild laugh escaping his lips as he burst past the final obstacle.

Even burning his last Expedient Shunt to bleed off some of his speed, he hit the ground hard — his armour clanking as he rolled and skittered across the stone to slam into the far wall.

Pain radiated from a dozen different points that had been battered in his tumble. Kaius ignored them, rolling onto his back as he heaved breath after breath. Joy and pride bubbled over as an unbreakable smile split his face.

It was done! He’d won — bested this gods’ scorned hell pit! Through death and mind-breaking repetition, his will had stayed strong — his purpose true.

Gods’, he didn’t even want to think about how long it had taken him. All that mattered was that it was over. There could have been years he’d lost to the dreamlike fog that still clung to the edges of his mind; he didn’t care. For all that time had bled together, for all his constant attempts had blurred into one amalgam of a singular perfect attempt, he was still here.

Body and soul, he had persevered — and his mind had been reborn, connected to his Aspect on a level it never would have been otherwise.

Lying on the hard stone, Kaius let himself rest. Allowed himself to just breathe and think.

Even having seized the succour he had earned, it was impossible not to feel the lethargy of his mind — the smear of his memories, somehow clear and clouded at the same time. He’d long suspected that it was part of the trial, though he knew not if it was yet another obstacle to overcome, or an armour to help him weather the years.

There were oddities, and he had questions — but they could wait.

Kaius chuckled, still lying in the tangled position he’d landed in. It was hard to revel in his success — he was out of practice after such a long ordeal. It was hard to believe it was finally over.

He’d improved so much. Grown his skills, yes — but also in so much more that went beyond simple abilities. His will, his conviction, was a thing of iron now. He knew who he was with a certainty most lacked — felt confidence in his capabilities and his limits, knew what he could endure, and what would break him.

There was only one thing that still frustrated him — the limitations on his skills. They had been limited, that much was obvious. If he’d spent this kind of effort and time in lethal struggle outside of the trial, everything he had would have been long since capped.

His status came into view with a flicker of thought.

Status:

Name: Kaius

Dynasty: Unterstern

Age: 19

Race: Human (Dynastic, Greater Beastblooded) – +1 Con, Str, Wil, and free stats per level

Layer Reached: 25

Class: Runeblade Initiate – +3 Int, +2 Con, +2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Vit, +1 Wil per level

Level: 200

Resources:

Health – 10,620/10,620 (63.6/min)

Stamina – 10,480/10,480 (75.4/min)

Mana – 2387/12,520 (81.8/min)

Free Mana – 2387/11,520

Reserved Mana – 1000

Stats:

Constitution – 1062 (630 + 93 + 47%)

Vitality – 636 (340 + 93 + 47%)

Strength – 1048 (620 + 93 + 47%)

Dexterity – 754 (420 + 93 + 47%)

Intelligence – 1252 (700 + 108 + 55%)

Willpower: – 818 (420 + 108 + 55%)

Stat Points: 0

Aspects:

Pillar Corporus: The Struggler’s Madness

• Reinforcement: Titan’s Marrow

• Seed: Forged in Endless Strife

Pillar Mentis: The Veteran’s Edge

• Reinforcement: Glass Mind

• Seed: Campaigner’s Reason

Pillar Animus: N/A

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Class Skills (10/10):

Latent Glyph of Drakthar (Heroic) – 174 > 200

Initiate’s Glyphic Bladerite (Unique) – 169 > 200

Latent Glyph of Aelina (Heroic) – 159 > 200

Mystic’s Rend (Heroic) – 147 > 176

Latent Glyph of Vyrthane (Heroic) – 75 > 121

Sigil of Vesryn’s Pact (Unique) – 90 > 137

Latent Glyph of Eirnith (Heroic) – 76 > 105

Mercurial Reversal (Unique) – 54 > 108

Runeblade Hymnfocus (Heroic) – 30 > 62

Latent Glyph of Muthryn, Throat of VOS (Heroic) – 1 > 41

General Skills (10/10):

Rapid Adaptation (Heroic) – 200

Liturgical Bladeform: Primus Ordo (Heroic) – 193 > 200

Explorer’s Toolkit (Unusual) – 178 > 200

Tempered by Dissonance (Heroic) – 200

Truesight (Unique) – 173 > 184

Tonal Weaving (Unique) – 161 > 200

Resonance Amplification (Unique) – 165 > 198