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Chapter 85: Damocles’ Sword and Priam's Spear
Chapter 85: Damocles’ Sword and Priam's Spear
Chapter 85: Damocles’ Sword and Priam's Spear
[Mist - Concept] - You have touched on a minor Concept.
Affinity - Your connection now allows you to capture certain truths about Mist.
Harmony - The source of aether is infinite. Allows you to use Aether Mist while expending more energy. Cost [Moon Mist] x10.
[Supremacy - Domain] - A Domain allows its user to control his environment through his mind and one or more concepts. Operating in Stages, Domains are used in every Universes.
You've managed to dominate your environment with your mind - stage 0.
You've successfully aligned your domain with a concept. The Mist permeates your Domain. Your Domain's characteristics evolve. - stage 1.
Current stage: 1 - Concept Imprinted
Bonus: WILL +10 / META (Affinity) +10 / META (Focus) +20 / META (Perception) +20
Bonus (Achievement) - Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 33,34,35,36,37
PERC +20
CHAR +10
META (AFFI) +15
...
The cloud vibrated, acknowledging Priam's effort. Around him, the drops turned to ink. No more light came through as the Tribulation's aura changed. A cold, hard impression bewildered Priam. This cloud was not his friend.
Snorting, Priam activated [Moon Mist]. The cloud of Damocles may have been a Tribulation, but it was, above all, a mass of water vapor and micro-droplets. In short, mist. Though infused with the steel concept, water droplets were still water droplets.
Tribulation didn't think so. Despite his Titles and other improvements, [Moon Mist] encountered difficulties manipulating the mist. Dominating a Tribulation... The task seemed monumental.
As [Moon Mist] continued to fail, Priam was not discouraged. It was time to flex his Domain.
With a thought, the mist bubble surrounding his soul awoke. Microscopic runes ran through it as the Supremacy activated. The next moment, Damocles' rage seemed far away.
Around Priam's spirit body, a sphere with a radius of about one meter - or four cubic meters - had appeared. The bubble was the materialized image of the spherical cloud surrounding his soul. Priam sighed with relief as he felt the erosion of his spirit subside. Although intangible and invisible, the protection was efficient.
Inside the bubble, the Tribulation's influence seemed almost non-existent. With a thought, [Moon Mist] was activated. The water vapor confined within the Domain did not move, but Priam sensed it would be easy to convert. He needed to create a breach in the Tribulation's defenses. Let's start with a molecule.
Unlike his sight, Priam's Domain allowed him to focus easily on the infinitely small. The mist was made up of molecules, and the Supremacy highlighted each of them.
Priam randomly selected one of the molecules floating inside him and locked it. The next second, he threw all his formidable willpower behind [Moon Mist]. Boosted by his Potential, the unbridled skill released its claws.
In just a second, it took control of the molecule. Tribulation was powerful, but it controlled billions upon billions of molecules while Priam focused on one.
Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 38
PERC +4
CHAR +2
META (AFFI) +3
Furious, the cloud rumbled. Thunder without lightning roared. Damocles screamed in rage as Priam struggled. Black cloud masses, driven by violent winds, pressed against Priam's Domain. To no avail.
The Supremacy was a bubble of calm in the storm. Priam gathered his Will, locking and dominating another molecule. Just as he was about to tackle a third, he changed his mind. There were billions of molecules in his Domain, and he had no intention of spending the rest of his short life capturing them.
I must be missing something...
His clones had insisted that he unlock his Domain, and there had to be a reason for this. Priam synthesized his knowledge. The Supremacy largely negated the influence of Tribulation. It was a passive power, the same one Sphinx had used to purge Priam's hold on his mist.
Rather than fighting the Tribulation's influence on every molecule...
Priam concentrated on his Domain. The aethereal bubble floated in the air, imperial, indifferent and... passive. Priam focused on his Supremacy, and activated it. The Domain vibrated, then weighed down the imprisoned molecules. The next second, Damocles' influence was purged. It took only a moment for [Moon Mist] to take control of the billions of now ownerless water molecules.
Smiling, Priam opened the borders of his Domain. Without being deactivated, it now let the wind through, allowing the molecules to move and leave Priam's sphere of authority. Despite their departure, Priam's hold on the mist he had captured remained absolute. Damocles defended its influence but did not attack Priam's.
Over the next few seconds, the cloud of Damocles pressed ineffectually against Priam's Domain. Fortunately, it seemed absolute, keeping its creator safe.
Periodically - every half-second - new water molecules replaced the old, pushed along by the wind. Priam purged the Tribulation's influence before converting the mist to his cause. In an excellent mood, he wanted to laugh. There was something exhilarating about stealing power from the heavens and making it one's own.
After ten seconds or so, he paused, tired. Each purge cost him mental energy, and the cloud was immense. It would take me hours to convert it all... And for what purpose?
The Domain made him invulnerable to the Tribulation, but it was too small to allow him to convert the whole cloud.
As Priam hesitated, the enraged wyvern sent a terrifying attack of light on the city below. The din of the Damocles storm covered the sound of the explosion, but Priam knew that dozens of people had just died. The number had been in the hundreds since their confrontation began. His ethereal eyes hardened. Damocles wasn't the only Tribulation. He had to deal with the wyvern... without killing it.
Suddenly, he had an idea. Manipulating [Moon Mist], Priam began to spin the mist in his Domain. His sphere wasn't huge, but by rapidly increasing the mist's speed, Priam absorbed and dominated part of the nearby cloud. At the same time, [Moon Mist] held his mist close. The idea was to create a cloud within a cloud.
Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 39
PERC +4
CHAR +2
META (AFFI) +3
Within ten seconds, a vortex had formed, effectively attracting the Damocles cloud. Priam consulted his resources. He had managed to dominate several hundred cubic meters of mist. Now it was time to test his plan.
Drawing his mist to him, Priam condensed it before transforming it into a liquid river. All he had to do was increase the pressure of his steam to change the state of the water. The technique still seemed incredibly complex a few days ago, but [Moon Mist] was now level 39. As a result, the operation came naturally.
If an inhabitant of New Earth had been able to see through Damocles cloud, they would have seen a kind of liquid ring, reflecting the light of the barrier, and rotating around the invisible spirit of a man at death's door.
Priam looked up at the wyvern and guided the ring of liquid water in its direction. The wyvern scurried away as it saw the river approaching. However, only half of its body had managed to pass through the crack in the barrier. Blocked and without support, it was difficult for it to muster the strength to free itself.
The water reached the beast and began to submerge it. Instantly, the wyvern's movements came to a halt. The Domain had purged the Tribulation's influence, but not the steel concept infused within it. Priam could easily manipulate water, but the innocent-looking river concealed metallic properties. For the wyvern, it was the equivalent of trying to swim in a molten steel bath - minus the temperature.
The extreme viscosity of the liquid bound the creature more effectively than any chain. Seconds later, the legendary half-creature was covered. Some of the water vaporized before being covered again by liquid water. The wyvern had tried to fire a laser beam, but to no avail.
Priam, proud of himself, looked at his work for a moment. The monster was out of action, but half of its body was still intact on the other side of the barrier. The Earl allowed the wyvern to enter the dome. He knew he would soon die, and his liquid trap would fall uselessly to the ground, crushing several buildings in the process.
Deactivating the barrier around the wyvern for a moment, it fell. Priam's spirit manipulated his river to guide the monster as it fell.
Seconds later, the monster landed at the bottom of a new crater in front of the Colosseum - a result of the wyvern attack. It dug its own grave Priam guided the monster to the bottom of the crater before filling the hole with infused steel water.
He lacked the eyes to study the wyvern's expression, but his mist - in the form of water - informed him that the monster seemed enraged. The only problem was that the metallic water was too clear, allowing the sun to shine through. The beast was poisoned by carbon dioxide then healed by the sun. Despite its atrocious condition, it would not drown.
Disappointed, Priam turned back to the sky. The Tears of Damocles continued to fall on the city. No one was going out anymore, but some of the buildings were beginning to show signs of damage. The rain was eroding them as surely as it was eroding Priam's spirit. Gritting his teeth, he pondered. Every Tribulation could be destroyed. The locusts would be gone in a day. The wyvern had to be killed - and would take its shadow with it. The Tears of Damocles...
In mythology, Damocles was a courtier who envied a tyrant. He realized the trade was dangerous when the ruler offered him his place for a day. Only an authoritative person could survive the sword. To survive... Do I have to be tyrannical?
Taking a breath, Priam hatched a stupid plan. His spirit flew towards the cloud. [Kinetic Control] couldn't propel his spirit body, but it seemed capable of naturally defying the laws of gravity. As expected for a body without mass.
Priam spun towards the cloud and entered it. Using [Moon Mist], Priam extended the perception of his mist in all directions. It enabled him to calculate the size of the cloud.
Compressed by the barrier, Damocles' domain must have measured around 125 000 000 cubic meters. A giant compared to Priam's mind, which had a volume of 0.09 cubic meters.
Priam waited a moment before taking action. His Potential couldn't improve his Domain, but he could use it to alter his perception. Priam decided to do something stupid.
I'd like to connect temporarily to the Mist Concept.
Cost: 1,000 POT per second...
Presence of Harmony - Mist detected.
...
Cost: 100 POT per second.
One thousand of Potential to try and unlock a Concept with the help of the System, Priam noted. In any case, I accept.
The next moment, divine inspiration was released. Not like a trickle or a tiny stream, but like a river. Every second, an almost infinite power coursed through him. Priam's vision changed, and he regained the magical sight that had unlocked his Harmony.
POT -100
Without wasting time, Priam used this connection to get closer to the mist and try his luck. If mist was everywhere and if everything was mist... He too was mist.
POT -100
Priam's spirit body turned to mist and merged with the cloud. His perception encompassed the whole thing. A kind of artificial consciousness was already controlling the cloud. Priam detected it with his Domain.
Damocles - the Tribulation's intelligence - was both everywhere and nowhere in the cloud. In a mental space, the Tribulation spotted Priam. Too late, it had no time to react before the Earl activated his Domain. The Supremacy vibrated, supported by Priam's entire Will. The next instant, Damocles' intelligence was purged.
All he had to do was attack the Tribulation's weak point. His clones had given him the key all along.
POT -100
Tribulation:The Tears of Damocles are vanquished!
Complete your other Tribulations to earn your score and rewards.
In a mental space, Priam smiled. The cloud began to dissipate, the Tribulation drawing to a close. Not so fast!
First, Priam retrieved a kind of white sword, levitating in place of Damocles. The weapon merged with him, disappearing into [Mirror of the Soul]. Satisfied, Priam used [Moon Mist], taking control of the clouds molecules. Its size complicated the action, but Priam's control, boosted by the very concept of mist, was exquisite enough to pull it off.
POT -100
Priam then gathered up the cloud, pulling in all directions to give it the shape he wanted.
POT -100
POT -100
POT -100
The experiment was laborious, but Priam gritted his teeth. Potential was a precious resource, but his current control over his mist was a memory that could enable him to upgrade [Moon Mist] to the gates of legendary rank.
POT -100
POT -100
Secretly, Priam hoped the shape would help him unlock his Mastery later.
POT -100
POT -100
Finally, after eight seconds, Priam was pleased. A liquid spear, eighty meters high, floated in the sky over New Earth. Weighing nearly a thousand tons, the two-meter radius cylinder threatened every city inhabitant.
POT -100
More than a sword of Damocles, the spear was waiting to fall on the wyvern. The spirit of his creator floated a few meters above the weapon, proud of himself. If all went well, the wyvern would be destroyed by the attack, buried underground. Without sunlight, it would die in darkness. Priam planned to eliminate three out of four Tribulations this way - the third Tribulation being linked to the fourth.
His attack lacked just one final touch. A liquid spear was useless now that he'd absorbed the concept of steel.
POT -100
Priam, whose mind was waning, opened a second passage for his Potential. Using [Eidetic Memory], he recalled his battle with Orthos. At that moment, he had frozen the air. [Kinetic Control] was able to manipulate all kinetic energy. Thermal agitation had so far eluded Priam, but the creation of his Domain and his Harmony with his Mist would allow him to change that.
For the time being, he decided to use his Potential to fill this gap in his abilities.
POT -156
Slowly, the titanic spear began to reflect the light of the barrier. [Moon Mist] detected the water molecules, and [Kinetic Control] slowed their vibration. The thermal energy disappeared, absorbed by Priam. His mind screamed as he felt the aether invade him en masse. A stupid amount of energy, dozens of times greater than his previous reserves, began to store up inside him.
Lvl Up: [Kinetic Control] lvl 27
VIVA +2
DEXT +3
META (FOCUS) +4
POT -184
Eventually, his reserves were torn apart and Priam lost consciousness momentarily. He was now a cripple, unable to store his own aether. His mind vaporized as the gigantic spear gained in solidity.
Lvl Up : [Erosion Resistance] lvl 20
META (END) +3
[Erosion Resistance] has reached level 20. As a rare skill, a bonus is available...
Lvl Up: [Kinetic Control] lvl 28
VIVA +2
DEXT +3
META (FOCUS) +4
POT -238
Priam's thoughts were fading. His consciousness gradually left his body, and only his will followed his last orders. His tenacious spirit fought to the bitter end.
Lvl Up: [Kinetic Control] lvl 29
VIVA +2
DEXT +3
META (FOCUS) +4
POT -345
Finally, the Earl's mind snapped, letting the spear fall.
With a final sigh, Priam's spirit vanished.
[Spear Throw]...
Guandi was aware that he looked unprofessional. Around him, the special operations group kept a watchful eye on the surrounding area. Despite their loyalty, the five men and women were on edge. Their role - to kill the new Lord - was stressful, to say the least. Prometheus had nothing against Priam - he even admired him - but the Divine King did not wish humanity to have as its Champion a man capable of condemning an entire city to survive his Tribulations.
For Guandi, such considerations were superfluous. He was content to obey.
"But I'm afraid we've underestimated the target..."
In front of him, a colossal spear floated in the sky. Its aura was as sharp as steel and as inevitable as mist. The spear whirled quietly several hundred meters away, ready to strike down its creator's enemy. Guandi had seen the power of the wyvern. He knew he could never defeat such a beast.
But if that spear fell off, the beast's leather would be used as a handbag before the day was out.
Suddenly, Guandi squinted. Was the spear starting to freeze?
Supernaturally, the escaping steam seemed to be heading back toward the weapon. The creator seemed determined not to waste a single drop.
Guandi's heart was beating fast. The sight before him was worthy of a Tribulation. No human should ever have had this kind of power. A smile spread across his face. As a fight fanatic, he really wanted to confront the creator.
The glow of the barrier made the weapon shimmer, then it abruptly dropped. The movement surprised Guandi, who had become accustomed to seeing the giant mass suspended.
Picking up speed rapidly, the weapon hit the ground a few seconds later. The point of contact - a sort of water-filled ditch - exploded, releasing a visible shockwave. Guandi watched, fascinated, as the wave of air blew through the surrounding houses, penetrating the streets, and destroying everything in its path. Two seconds later, the blast arrived.
Raising his weapon, Guandi performed a slashing motion. His Mastery, ready to cut through air, dust and wave, froze. A moment later, the shockwave magically parted. The warrior's eyes widened at his failure before he was lifted and swept away by the attack.
It was hard to cut through the mist.
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 173
Constitution 301
Agility 210
Vitality 319
Perception 414 (+34)
MENTAL:
Vivacity 189 (+6)
Dexterity 245 (+9)
Memory 50
Willpower 376 (+13)
Charisma 189 (+13)
META:
Meta-affinity 216 (+28)
Meta-focus 143 (+32)
Meta-endurance 104 (+3)
Meta-perception 71 (+20)
Meta-chance 114
Potential: 2168 (-2191)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.
[Tribulation]: A Tribulation is coming.
Time: ???
Delayed.
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