Chương 19: The Rift Lord

Kayzen and Vasser almost fell down as soon as they exited the portal. What welcomed them was a cataclysmic scene. The entire sky was dyed grey. Below, the purple-brown earth was cracking and swaying as if it was the skin of a slumbering titan. Far away in the horizon they could see mountain ranges that were sinking down into the earth.

"Reminds me of the Ether collider experiment." Vasser slammed her foot down to stabilize and offered a hand to Kayzen. The chaos was just like that day.

"Indeed. Except this is more… lifeless." Kayzen said after looking around. No one except them was present. Yet. The intensity of earthquakes became weaker and weaker until finally, everything went quiet. Too quiet. Kayzen shifted his focus to observe the underground. To call this an earthquake would be incorrect since what cracked wasn't the ground, but rather, an entire underground city. There was no time to be awed at its sheer scale or to guess what was being done underground.

Acrid stench of chemicals and biological fluids was spreading from the cracked land. One, Two, Four... a total of six fiends crawled out and charged at the duo. There was no time to make any strategy since unlike the rift monsters they had faced so far, these ones didn't have mush for brains.

"They're being controlled. Leave them to me," Kayzen charged ahead without hesitation and started crushing one bone fragment after another, attacking three monsters at once. Now was the time to go all out. Kayzen stretched his perception in a single, meter-wide root to observe as far as he could. Despite going over 300 meters he couldn't find an end to this zone. For Kayzen, this was an advantage since he could hex from afar. The fastest among the fiends was a weasel like monster.

It skirted around the cracked land and lunged at Kayzen from a tricky angle. If he dodged then he would be opening his back to the other two. This was a situation where he was forced to clash head on…. except he had phantom shift. The weasel passed through his body and crashed into the other pig-like creature. Both monsters were caught off guard, and at this moment, Kayzen threw himself over while activating his Phototoxin shard.

It looked more like a disgraceful tumble than a timed attack; yet it served its purpose. In the brief moment when his hands touched the fiend's skin he deactivated the phantom shift. The result was a direct hit.

"Crefu-" Vasser's warning came just in time for him to roll sideways. Kayzen barely avoided the third fiend's hoof by a hair's breadth. Before he could reactivate the phantom shift he felt a tearing pain on his thigh. Kayzen sprang up and slammed the bone fragment right into the bull-like monster's face. Thanks to the pumping adrenaline and pain resistance he didn't feel a thing despite having an inch deep gash across his legs. It was fortunate that the fiend didn't have much strength behind that attack.

All of this happened in a single minute. In this short duration he had managed to handle six fiends on his own. Kayzen took out a vial full of sap with his bloody hand and rubbed it over his thighs. He didn't flinch even when his fingers brushed past the torn flesh. Perhaps some warriors wouldn't like such an ability since it dulled their senses, but he more than welcomed it. His greatest strength was his mind. As long as his head was clear he would be able to control Ether and give his 100% throughout the fight.

Vasser narrowed her eyes all of a sudden and almost teleported beside Kayzen, kicking him more than ten feet away. In the exact same instance, an arm popped out from the ground and slammed down on her head. Kayzen activated phantom shift in a flurry and stared wide eyed at the scene. Under that excavator-like arm was Vasser who was forced to buckle her knees. Any more strength and she'd be smashed to the ground. The land beneath her swelled up accompanied by an eerie cackling.

Even the fiends who were squirming under sludge syndrome stopped their movement; too afraid to even let out a whimper.

"hehehehehe….. HAHAHAHAHA." A bed sized palm picked up Vasser like a doll and flung her hundreds of feet away. Two more arms blasted apart the layer of soil, revealing the true appearance of the rift lord. The ravager class monster was ten meters tall, with stubby legs and elongated arms that were twenty feet long. What made them peculiar was the fact that they were a jumbled mess of different organs. Entrails, legs, and even eyes and ears. It was as if someone had sculpted it from a mound of rotting flesh.

Kayzen spat out the dust in his mouth and looked at the third arm that had overpowered Vasser. The limb that jutted out from its back was thick like a pillar, empowered by cable-like taut muscles. What he found most appalling was the rift lord's eyes. Those dark green blobs were rolling and observing every corner of the battlefield.

'I'm not even surprised by the split mouth that extends all the way to the ears.' It looked like people of this dimension had a peculiar sense of aesthetic.

"Damn that hurt." Vasser wiped her bloody lip and grinned at the monster. In her eyes, only foes like these were worthy of glory. She shared a glance with Kayzen and the duo set their targets. The rift lord would be handled by her while Kayzen would finish off the restrained minions.

"In the name of Argia, Shatter!"

"Guahahaha…" The chimera mocked at the divine law and met Vasser's gauntlet head on. Air itself compressed and exploded when their fists made contact. The power behind their attack was evenly matched, however, one of them had an extra hand. The right arm of the chimera swatted at Vasser as if she was a fly; but she was prepared this time. She kicked at the approaching palm and retreated by using its momentum. Size had both advantages and disadvantages.

Her moves lacked the power and impact when compared to the chimera, but in return, her agility was a notch above her foe. Kayzen watched them brawl from the side and used his hexes on the immobilized fiends, starting with the weasel. He relied on the bone fragments to deliver the hex and reserved half of his strength. After repeated practice he was now able to shape the hex on an instinctual level. His roots of perception spread across the battlefield, allowing him to sense everything even if he closed his eyes.

'Strength, Mutation, Defense, and perhaps Stamina.' These were all the records he could sense from the chimera. So far it was something Vasser could handle on her own, yet how could someone at the ravager class be limited to this? As per their estimate the number of its abilities should be between five to thirteen. Considering this was a rift of the lowest class, the rift lord should be at the entry level of ravager class. Finally the weasel lost its life after the third hex.

Instead of being pleased, Kayzen furrowed his brows at the pile of ashes. There was no shard.

"Keep an eye out Vasser, something's not right with the fiends."

"Got it." Vasser rolled back and took on a defensive stance, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The chimera had stopped attacking. Two of its hands shaped Ether while the third one was making strange hand signs. This was the first time they were witnessing another world's way of using Ether in a complex manner. Vasser wasn't stupid enough to let it charge the attack. Utilizing the short window she too began channeling her divine laws.

Kayzen, on the other hand, was focused on observing each and every move of the rift lord. He didn't even bother about hiding his perception and directly probed the flow of Ether around it. This was the best chance to figure out its abilities since the enemy had no time to care about him. Apart from the degree of damage they caused, there was another core factor which determined a monster's class. When an animal formed a core inside their body, they were called fiends.

And when those fiends collected Ether in their core and refined their blood with it, they were labelled as ravagers. It went without saying that using Ether from one's own blood was easier than borrowing it from nature, at least for those at the bottom of the power ladder. Green spheres revolved between the chimera's palms and under the guidance of its third hand, they made a basin sized circle of Ether. Compared to Kayzen's hex it had a more raw and primal feel to it.

Everyone within a hundred meters felt a prickling sensation on their skin, and this was the case before the attack even began. Under the intense concentration of Ether Kayzen failed to further probe its abilities. He wasn't disappointed by the fact, as just based on the short observation and analysis he predicted what was the ravager's trump card. No one noticed when the hex on the cow like fiend changed. Rather than triggering the records of ordeal beans, Kayzen chose to store and suppress them inside its body.

"Moooooo!" The fiend was freed as a consequence, and it wasted no time before charging at Kayzen. Its hooked horns passed through his body, and so did its torso and most of its tail before he sidestepped and attacked the lower end of its tail. It didn't deal any damage whatsoever, yet another spike lit up on his bracer. Technically, he had been attacked by a foe. This would've been impossible without the poison of ordeal beans. The fiends had lost close to half of their original strength by now.

Kayzen retreated and further increased the scope of the battlefield. Since he was focusing on the cow so much there was no way he could suppress the other fiends like before. One after another they flailed their limbs and regained their mobility. His red eyes didn't even glance at them since both Vasser and the rift lord were done charging up their attack. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

A torrential current of green light poured out from the chimera's Ether circle. On the other hand, Vasser's attack was more straightforward but just as deadly. Her golden fist collided against the green beam and caused a huge explosion. No matter who or where they were, all were blasted away by the overflowing Ether. One unlucky fiend was directly blasted to pieces and turned into motes of dust. The chimera had the size advantage and thus it managed to stabilize itself after stumbling a couple steps.

Two of its palms were now reduced to fleshy stumps, burning under a golden light. Kayzen clenched his teeth as he looked at Vasser who was bleeding her arm out. He wanted nothing more than to rush at her and see if she was alright, but he didn't move an inch. That was her fight. She had to endure and overcome if she wanted to walk further on her path. He wiped the sour blood that was seeping out from his gums and took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to attack the chimera.

When it came to battle awareness few were better than him. The fact remained unchanged even after he had spent the last two years at Greenford. The chimera grinned hideously and moved towards Vasser, assured of its victory. But would it be so easy to defeat an Eikon of Argia who could use three divine laws?

"O Argia, let thy light reach this realm and repel all that stands against Glory!" summoned by her deep growl, a pillar of light descended from the heavens above and illuminated the entire zone. It didn't matter whether there was a sun or not, for the light was the manifestation of her own belief. This was the power of a divine law. Bloodied and battered she stood her ground and blocked the chimera's attack. Both of them were trading blows for blows with neither coming on top.

The more Kayzen saw this the calmer he became. The fiends didn't leave behind a shard after their death. The rift lord became more aggressive after his hex killed the first fiend. Even though they were able to move, the fiends weren't attacking Kayzen with their full strength nor were they trying to charge at Vasser. Adding in the abilities the chimera had shown and its battle style, it became apparent what its hidden ace would be.

Unlike Kayzen's cat and mouse chase with the fiends, the fights at the center were getting brutal. The chimera lost all three of its palms and one of its stubby legs was limping. Vasser didn't fare much better as well. Her ash grey hair had long since become sticky and tangled with her dried blood. Her leather armor was discarded at the side after being bombarded with the Ether attack. The sole things that remained unaffected were her cape and gauntlets.

"Hhihihihihihi….." the chimera chuckled with a creepy smile and stopped attacking altogether. The fiends finally made their move and rushed at the center, not at Vasser, but rather, towards the rift lord It bent down and engulfed the pig like fiend in one bite. As if this wasn't horrifying enough, the chimera's wounds began to heal at a visible rate. What it failed to notice was that neither Kayzen nor Vasser were surprised by this ability.

Both of them made their moves at the same time: Vasser attacked the other leg of chimera while Kayzen directed the flow of Ether into his bracers, making the three needles bolt towards the last fiend. The synchronization of their attacks was perfect. The chimera had chosen to heal its primary arms first and one of its legs was still broken. If Vasser succeeded in attacking the other leg then it would lose its mobility.

However, if it blocked her attack, then Kayzen's needles would pierce through the fiend and kill it for good, denying the rift lord from healing its third palm. What choice would it make? Losing one palm and one leg would mean it couldn't move around much and recreate the earlier attack. On the flip side, losing both legs would be tantamount to being immobilized as the cost of retaining its offensive prowess. The rift lord used its healed arm to pick up the fiend and threw it into its mouth.

Due to the gap between their positions the needles had yet to reach their target. Thus, they returned to the bracer without doing anything. At the same time, Vasser punched at the back of its knee and broke the chimera's tree thick bone.

"Why don't you laugh now?" Kayzen stared at the rift lord's single eye and walked towards the center of the battlefield. With each step intangible roots of Ether formed and crawled towards the fallen chimera, like tides of ocean crashing against the cliffs. By the time he was within the distance of thirty meters, a gigantic polygonal hex had formed above the chimera's head. The rift lord used its three arms to use the previous ability, yet it was too late. Kayzen had turned the last fiend into medium itself.

He was the source, and the rift lord had willingly made itself the target. The hex was complete.

"Grooarrrr-" The chimera growled at the approaching Kayzen, only to twitch and bite off its own tongue. White froth flooded out from its mouth while its eyes were shedding tears without pause. And this was just the side effect. The source of this hex was Kayzen himself, or to be exact, his records of Phototoxin. He didn't target its heart, brain, or Ether core. No matter what the enemy was still a ravager class, and there was a limit to how much direct damage he could do.

Thus, he opted for a more efficient approach and dissolved its nervous system. On the other end, Vasser was waiting for this exact moment. She roused the last dregs of her power and punched at the rift lord's eye. Rumble The entire zone started breaking apart alongside its skull. Inch by inch the entire horizon was being consumed by an overflowing torrent of grey energy.

"We did itttt!" Vasser grinned and jumped over Kayzen, making both of them fall on the pile of ashes.

"You alright?" Kayzen asked as he focused on her bloodied face. With a closer look he saw that most were just surface wounds and some bruises.

"Never been better. I'm ready to become a Xin!"

"Congratulations in advance then. Was that pillar of light your breakthrough point?"

"Yeah, I learned a different way to use the divine law. On that note, your attack was impressive. The gamble was worth it." Vasser grinned again and patted his shoulder. Any more strength and she'd have dislocated it.

"Easy there Vas. Also, there was no gamble." Kayzen's words caused her eyes to widen. As if he knew what she was going to ask, he continued, "You mean what would happen if the rift lord chose to block your attack, right?"

"C'mon, spill it."

"Heh, nothing would've changed. I've figured out a new way to use my hex. The artifact is considered a part of me, and thus, I am able to use my abilities like phantom shift on the needles. Had the rift lord chosen to block your attack then I would have turned the needles ethereal and let them pass through the fiend. So, the rift lord never had a choice. It would eat the fiend and then be dissolved from within.

""Umbra sure missed out on you. If not for your hair I'd believe it if you were picked up on the roadside." Vasser held the ends of his hair in her fingers. Even after this fight they were just as bright. An envious trait indeed.

"Not that I hate this, but I think we should pick up the loot before we're swallowed by the gray tide."

"Go there," Vasser rolled him away and dug through the pile of ashes. With both of them working together it didn't take long before they found three objects buried at the bottom. Before they could observe them, the grey horizon surged upwards and swallowed them whole. The rift was cleared. Interlude: Third Ancestor While the rift closed near the Elgon range, the ones on the other side of Ironheart town weren't as fortunate.

The team sent to clear that dungeon didn't have anyone reliable, nor did they have any prior knowledge of the rift. The result was as expected. A team of fifty had entered the rift, and what returned were a horde of fiends. This part of Erde was lost forever. Yet when one looked down on the entirety of Erde, both events seemed inconsequential. Thousands of rifts were being created, cleared, and assimilated each day. Nonetheless, today was bound to be a historic day.

In the hinterlands of the region controlled by humanity lay a restricted area that stretched for thousands of miles. This was the ancestral land of the human race; a place where the nomadic tribes sought shelter from the harsh environment. There were hundreds of tribes in that era, and not even the history books remembered their names. This was the place where the seven had made their first appearance in the minds of mortals. In that era they were honored as 'Shepherds' who guided them to prosperity.

This was the birthland of seers, the ones who dreamt and peered into the fate of heavens. This was also the graveyard of seers where they sank into eternal slumber. For the first time since thousands of years, this land welcomed new guests.

"This place hasn't changed one bit." The demiurge of fallen skies floated above his rolling sphere, deep in melancholy. The fat on his body had lessened a bit after the Ether collider accident, but otherwise, he looked almost unharmed. A robust man sat down cross-legged and shook his head. The avatar of Gaia was all too accustomed with the old man getting lost in thoughts. Their appearance would have shocked empires outside, but today, they were nothing special.

Sitting, standing, or floating besides them were those who stood at the apex of humanity. The Avatar of Ruzgar, The Demiurge of Twilight and The Demiurge of Crimson Wrath were among the most notable ones. Even some of the reclusive Demiurges and the four great family heads were gathered on this day; all looking at three statues on the peak ahead.

"Damn these old fossils are taking so long to wake up," spoke a man wearing a bamboo hat, while picking his nose.

"Show some respect, brat of Ruzgar. They are the ancestors of humanity." A middle aged man chided with a frown. He was wearing a golden robe worth more than gold itself.

"C'mon, don't be so stuck up. We're like sperms in front of their age. No way they care about some etiquette." The avatar of Ruzgar stuck out his tongue as if to prove the point. He was among the few who could taunt one of the great family heads. Ruzgar, Umbra, and Argia chose their avatar on their will, while the other progenitors selected someone from a specific family. This was the reason why these 'great' family heads were here and the emperors weren't.

Seeing that no one was willing to talk with him, the Avatar of Ruzgar changed its targets and floated besides the white-haired man.

"Yo, has there been any changes in your family? ol' Keb getting fired up with all this apocalypse stuff?"

"No."

"Damn. Must be some pressure huh. Bet some pesky fleas are eyeing your position since it's been a while since The Ashbournes had an avatar. How about your kids?"

"They're doing fine. The eldest is dependable and the youngest…well he's doing his thing. Probably." Ragnar Ashbourne took the gourd offered by his old friend and gulped it down in one go. Even the great family head didn't get to drink the ale brewed by wind fairies very often. Disappointed by not getting any interesting news, the Avatar of Ruzgar changed his target to an old man wreathed with streaks of violet lightning.

"Hey gramps, want some?"

"…"

"Not in the mood huh. Heard there was a prodigy in your family as well? didn't she follow Argia? Any news? It's getting boring with just me and Baldy being Avatars." Upon the mention of his descendent, the lightning around the old man became even more fierce. The Avatar of Ruzgar got fired up and practically jumped over the old man. Now this was interesting.

"Oh oh! Family dispute? Did she run away? With whom? Whe--""Scram." A crimson blot of lightning blasted away the avatar of Ruzgar, but the latter didn't even care. In that split second he had noticed sparks flying off between the Head of Ashbourne and the Demiurge of Crimson Wrath. Before he could mess around anymore though, the third statue on the mountain crumbled apart. Flames, Gravity, Earthquakes, Tornados, all sorts of phenomena manifested since the ones gathered lost control over their will.

The scene was no less cataclysmic compared to when the Akashic records descended. They had expected to receive another revelation like before, yet the reality was different. In front of their eyes the entire statue crumbled apart and revealed a feeble old scholar within. His beard reached all the way to his chest while grey hair swayed behind his wrinkled face. Like a mountain, his presence itself stabilized the various phenomena, returning the land to its previous calm.

However, it didn't do anything to the waves of emotions surging in everyone's hearts. The third ancestor of humanity had opened his eyes after eons.

"At ease, my kinsmen. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about, but before anything else, relay this to all mankind. The Sentient Calamities…have awakened." End of Arc 2: Rift & Reunion