After Spirit’s grip on his mind vanished, Angar snapped awake, hurtling through the ash-thick sky at blinding speed.
His body slammed into awareness first. Agony roared through him, a wildfire of pain scorching every nerve. His back and spine felt as if he’d been trapped in a rockslide, his skull pounded as if bashed by a hammer, and his ribs throbbed, splintered from the volcano’s wrath.
Then he realized the world was silent. His broken eardrums could no longer miraculously hear as they had when time was dilated.
The earth surged up, a dark smear resolving into a glinting pool of acidic crud. He was going too fast. He’d never survive impact.
He braced, muscles tensing, and smashed into it with a bone-jarring crash, the impact wrenching a silent scream from his throat.
Water exploded around him, stinging droplets searing his flesh, and he sank, stunned, his limbs flailing uselessly, shocked to still be alive.
But the acidic pools of the surface were never very diluted and always caused rapid burns to flesh. He needed to rush out quickly to have any chance of survival.
His chest heaved, gasping for air that wasn’t there, and he forced his eyes open, blinking through the burning haze, forced to, as he needed to see.
Solid land was only five or so paces away. If he was quick enough, he could survive the acid burns.
The acidic pool bit into his skin, a relentless, gnawing burn spreading fast. He stretched his legs down, toes straining for the bottom, but found only void, his feet dangling in endless depth.
His good hand balled into a fist, slamming against the water in frustration as panic clawed up his throat, drowning out the pain for a fleeting moment.
Only the beasts of Vefol could swim through any of the liquid bodies both above and below ground. No human could.
The pool was too deep, the shore was unreachable. Acid would melt him to bone. Or drag him under to choke his lungs. Either way, this was his doom.
He was a dead man. There was no sense even trying. There was nothing he could do. But the instinct to not quit was stronger than the pull of gloom and defeat.
He thrashed, his legs kicking wildly, his uninjured arm flailing through the water with desperate swings.
The lightning-struck shoulder flared with white-hot agony, nearly causing him to cry out, but the acidic pool was pulling him under, forcing him to hold the scream in and close his mouth and eyes as his head submerged.
He sucked up the pain, forcing his good arm to flail harder, legs pumping frantically. His head broke the surface, and he gasped, coughing up acrid water, spluttering as it burned his lips and tongue. Every kick sent jolts through his shattered frame, his ribs grinding, his neck screaming with each twist.
He sank again, then surged, more sinking than swimming, his body a lead weight dragged by exhaustion. His good hand clawed forward, legs thrashing in uneven bursts, each motion a war against the acid’s pull and blind panic.
His vision blurred with tears, from pain or the burning crud, he couldn’t tell. His lungs burned, and the pain caused by movement promised unconsciousness if he didn’t stop. But he pressed on, baffled to still be alive, the acid not yet stripping him bare.
Then his fingers grazed mud. He dug in, his nails scraping earth, and hauled himself forward with a guttural grunt, his torso dragging half-out of the pool.
His legs kicked once, twice, getting him out, his feet still pushing him forward, driving him fully onto ground.
And that was it. He sprawled face-down in the muck. His chest heaved, gasping ragged breaths, the air sharp with acid’s tang. He spat, clearing his throat, each breath now a testament of defiance. He had survived the un-survivable.
He hadn’t just survived the pool’s depths – he survived the eruption’s launch, the lightning’s bite, the blast that followed, the debris-studded sky – all of it, even this brutal impact into the acidic pool.
He had the wounds to prove his ordeals, but he lived. Death should’ve claimed him a dozen times over.
Panting, he lay there, chest rising and falling, and noticed the pain dulling a little.
His hands brushed his sides, and bare skin met his touch. He frowned, patting himself down, fingers tracing nothing but flesh. He was completely naked. His expensive new armor was gone. It wasn’t the acid pool. D’klar were completely acid-proof.
The ground trembled beneath him. He tilted his head, squinting through the haze, and caught blinding flashes of lightning, ceaseless and ferocious, paired with skysparks bursting like mad.
He propped himself on an elbow, neck straining as he lifted his gaze, and took in the carnage. The sky was a blackened shroud, ash choking the air, pierced by a towering plume where Shirdis once stood, the mountain crumbled into molten ruin, lava spewing in gouts that torched trees to cinders, blanketing the land in fiery death.
The old mountains’ distance leagues away, far beyond what he’d expected. He had somehow been hurled clear across the valley.
The air hummed, charged and heavy, but the storm’s wrath stayed mercifully distant. He muttered a prayer, lips barely moving, hoping the charged air around him wouldn’t turn into a lightning storm too.
It didn’t look like it was over. All the Ulimuns range of mountains looked fit to erupt.
Guilt stabbed deeper than the acid’s burn. He’d done this. He unleashed this destruction. Every soul around the city of Mecia, friend or foe, was ash now, their deaths staining his hands, including his mother’s.
He forced his mind not to dwell on that, for his own sanity.
He tore his gaze away, head dropping, and rubbed his face with a muddy hand, smearing grime across his brow.
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He began to believe all that had happened, all his visions of the woman named Spirit, were scenes his explosion-addled mind invented. Just hallucinations brought on by one of the madnesses head injuries were known to cause.
If she was real, she’d been wrong – nothing could survive that inferno, not reavers, not the gateway.
To see if it had all been a madness, he tested it, thinking ‘System.’
Light flared from his face and sharp words glowing a pace away.
So, it wasn’t hallucinations, he thought. It all really happened. All of it.
He remembered a word both Spirit and Theosis had used. He thought the word ‘Annals.’
The screen shifted. It worked.
Angar leaned forward, propping himself higher, his broken frame protesting as he studied it, curiosity and necessity focusing his mind.
ANNALS OF SIR ANGAR [NA] ([NA], MECIA, SULFURON 9, ECLIPTICA)
Age: 14 (Minor*)
Social: Holy Knight, [NA], Lay Rank - Minor Gentry (surviving heir and heir apparent of devastated lands controlled by the former city-state of Mecia, located on Sulfuron 9, with few inhabitants or subjects, and no income or apparent imperial value).
Chapter: NA
Tier: 1
Rank: Knight-Novice
Level: 33
Glory Points: 247
ATTRIBUTES, STATS, AND ADROITNESS
(Each Attribute Point increases all Stats governed by that Attribute by 1. Applying 4 Stat Points to the same Stat will increase the governing Attribute by 1. Numbers in (parentheses) include increases from items.)
BODY (Physical Attributes): With 8 AP applied - 11
Physique (Size/Strength): With 8 SP applied - 19
Endurance (Stamina/Health): 11
Toughness (Physical Durability/Resistance): 11
MIND (Non-Physical Attributes): 1
Competence (Skill Points/Insight): 1
Cognizance (Awareness/Perception): 1
Resilience (Non-Physical Durability/Resistance): 1
SPIRIT (Metaphysical Attributes): 1
Power Level (PL) (Ability Damage and Effectiveness): 1
Energy (Resource for Powers shown as Energy Points equal to 3 + (Energy Stat x 3)): 1
Charges (Increases the number of times certain Abilities can be used): 1
ADROITNESS (Finesse/Reaction/Speed): 2
RESOURCES
Current/Maximum Energy Points: 6/6
Current/Maximum Charges: 1/1
CLASSES
1 – DIVINE STORM:
This Class has unknown requirements. This Class is reserved. Hidden requirement 1 met. Hidden requirement 2 met. Hidden requirement 3 met. Description not available. Lightning damage has a chance to stun.
SKILLS
NA (1 Skill Point available)
FEATS
ALACRITY OF ANGULIMALA: Your exceptional agility and swiftness grant you an almost preternatural awareness of impending danger, enhancing Adroitness by 1 point.
BLESSING OF AL-KHIDR: Your intuition blurs the line between the apparent and the hidden, allowing you to discern deeper esoteric truths beyond what is immediately visible, guided by your faithful gut instincts.
RAVANA’S BOON: Your ability to slowly regenerate applies to all injuries that do not immediately kill you. This minor regeneration effect cumulatively enhances (stacks with) most other sources of regeneration.
RIGHTEOUS REBUKER: Your resistance to temptation, reflecting Jesus' obedience to God's will, fortifies against the corrupting whispers, temptations, and influences from creatures of Hell, effectively elevating your Tier by 1 for the exclusive purpose of resisting these influences.
IMPLANTS
NA
CAPSTONES
NA (Tier 1 available)
ABILITIES
(Selected Upgrades Bolded. Cooldown and cost reflect selected Upgrades in parentheticals. Ability description does not reflect selected Upgrades.)
From Divine Storm:
1 – GROUND CURRENT:
Transform into charged particles, allowing near-instantaneous travel through the ground up to 3 + (0.5 x PL) meters. You are mostly immune to damage and effects during this travel.
Cooldown: 30 seconds (15 seconds)
Cost: 2 Energy (1 Energy)
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Increase travel distance to 3 + PL meters.
Enduring 2: Increase travel distance to 3 + (1.5 x PL) meters.
Fervor: Gain immunity to most attacks and control effects for 1 second after exiting the ground.
Merciless 1: Stun all targets within 1.5 meters of your exit point for 0.5 seconds.
Merciless 2: Stun all targets within 3 meters of your exit point for 1 second.
Mighty: Add 0.1 x PL lightning damage to your close weapon attacks for 3 seconds post-exit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halve Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 1: Strike all targets within 1.5 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing PL damage, suppressing any permanent regeneration effect targets may have for 1 second.
(A) Geomagnetic Phenomena 2: Strike all targets within 3 meters of where you exit the ground with a lightning bolt dealing 2 x PL damage, suppressing regeneration for 2 seconds.
(C) Geomagnetic Phenomena 3: Lightning damage from Geomagnetic Phenomena 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage. Additionally, for 2 seconds after use, allows an additional use of Ground Current at no energy cost if a target moves more than 4 meters away, but the cooldown is reset and only Enduring 1 and 2 apply to this use.
2 – TEMPEST:
Hold your hands together or your close weapon with both hands and spin rapidly for 3 seconds, dealing an extra PL physical damage per hit to all targets in range. You can move while spinning.
Cooldown: 1 minute (30 Seconds)
Cost: 4 Energy, 1 Charge
Upgrades:
Enduring 1: Spin duration increases to 4.5 seconds.
Enduring 2: Spin duration increases to 6 seconds.
Fervor: No Charge required, but cooldown increases to 4 minutes.
Merciless: Hit targets are slowed by 50% and your speed is boosted by 50% for 2 seconds. Does not stack.
Mighty 1: Deal 1.5 x PL damage per hit.
Mighty 2: Deal 2 x PL damage per hit.
Rage: Halves cooldown.
Zeal: Halves Energy cost.
Sacred Upgrades:
(A) Thunderstorm 1: Lightning extends 3 meters from the tip of your weapon, dealing 0.5 x PL damage every second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase damage to 0.75 x PL and PL respectively.
(A) Thunderstorm 2: Thunderstorm now starts at 0.33 x PL damage, but lightning damage increases by 0.33 x PL each second and range is extended by 1 meter per second. Mighty 1 and 2 increase initial damage to 0.5 x PL and .66 x PL respectively.
(C) Thunderstorm 3: Mitigate 90% of incoming damage and resist 90% of negative effects while spinning. Additionally, lightning damage from Thunderstorm 1 and 2 forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting half damage, then forks to a new target within 3 meters inflicting a quarter damage.
ITEMS
NA
