Legacy of the M'Zee Chapter 27

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

After this, I only have 2 chapters in the backlog. I'm working on more, now that I've finished draft 3 of Energy Barons and sent it off to my editor! 

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

“Totally jinxed myself,” I said, looking out from the fifth pillar towards the single one all the paths took me to. I’d stayed on the leftmost path for the last few pillars, completely avoiding every Beast between the pillars. That was apparently a bad idea.

Every single one of them, Air Sharks, Lightning Sparrows, a Flying Bison that was missing its bald, tattooed passenger, and a dozen others that I hadn’t seen, probably from the rightmost paths, were circling the sixth pillar.

The pillar was nearly a hundred meters away, with a whirling tempest of steps in between. Gusts of wind, visible only to my Aether Sight, crashed in the middle. I do mean crashed, as least five steps were erratically jarring back and forth in the turbulence that a dozen streams of Air Aether were creating.

“Okay, so literally every Beast that I avoided on the way here is between me and the next pillar. So I’m not fighting them on the easier paths earlier, but now, with that ridiculous spinning thing in it,” I glared at the ninth step, which was almost ten meters wide, but every ten seconds it would spin vertically three hundred and sixty degrees. “And of course, the one past it spins around too, so I got to time that jump exactly. Some of the Beasts are totally going to attack right there, I know it. Just in time for me to be flung out into the black.”

I grinned, looking back towards the steps that had vanished once I crossed the midpoint of the pillar I stood upon. “No choice except to go on. Though, I can definitely blast a couple of those Beasts well before that quick jump.” I laughed, enjoying the challenge, and leapt to the first step when it got to its closest point.

The next step wasn’t moving, and when I jumped to it, I realized that it didn't have any Metal Aether in its makeup, just Earth. I landed, and the edges started to crumble. I had only three seconds to make the next jump.

I waited, letting the third step slide itself closer, until there was only enough of the platform for one foot. I jumped, pushing extra Aether into strengthening my left leg to get the distance I needed to reach the fourth landing. The next three steps were simple, just a five meter jump with sideways translating steps. They didn’t stop moving, so I had to lead them a bit, but it wasn’t too nerve wracking. I still almost screwed up the second jump, landing with one foot half off the platform and having to throw myself to the side to stop from falling off.

The Beasts were still ignoring me, even though I’d covered a third of the distance to the next pillar. “Of course, you’re in range now,” I laughed. The step I was on moved back and forth, covering about five meters towards the next pillar. The motion made forming a Pride of the Plasma Herald, what I’d decided to name my Plasma modification of Wrath of the Lightning Herald, tricky. I had to grab ahold of the Aether runes I’d formed and drag them with me when the platform moved.

It took me thirteen cycles, a bit over six minutes, to get the technique to gel with the motion. Finally, just as the step reached its closest point to the Beasts flying lazily overhead, I finished. I stepped forward, just reaching the edge, and thrust my hand forward. It was harder to corral the Aether without my trisula to focus it through, but I managed. The overall result wasn’t as strong, the Inscriptions in my Core-level weapons making every attack better, but it was still enough to obliterate an Air Shark at the point of closest approach.

The Beast screamed, Air exploding out of it disrupting the flight of a group of Lightning Sparrows that shrieked at it, then turned towards me. I waved, collecting Air and Fire Aether together around my hand. The tiny birds cried out, diving towards me faster than anything I’d ever seen move, with the exception of the few Primordials or Soul Strengthening gatherers.

Instinctively, I shifted to the side, then gasped in pain when my right shoulder was slashed open. Two of the Beasts were twisting in the air, their tiny talons glistening with my blood. I threw my hand at them, and a wave of burning air shot out at them. The Sparrows burned, having traded durability for offensive strength and speed.

Three more of the tiny Beasts rushed at me, but this time I was able to form a small shield of Metal and Earth Aether, based partially on the platforms I’d been jumping across for the last hour and a half or so. The first birds ran into it, splatting like a bug on a windshield. Only the second one shattered the shield, leaving the third one to slash through my armor on my left side, staggering me. An instinctive backhand, enhanced with similar runes to the Forceful Punch Technique Librarian Narwan had taught me, caused it to explode.

I threw Aether into my skin meridian, barely following the Aether Shield technique as I sought to protect myself. My pants were ripped open as another of the tiny birds tried to cut me, but they weren’t strong enough to do more than abrade my skin. I shifted my position, following the streak of Lightning Aether they left behind on their paths to see another line up an attack. It shot towards me, and I kicked where it would be.

The eruption of gore was gross. I twisted around another, throwing a plane of hardened Air in front of it. A glance at the rest of the Beasts made me gulp. They were all coming. I don’t have enough space to fight here, I thought, I’ve gotta get back to the platform.

The distraction let the last Sparrow nail me in the solar plexus. It hit me hard enough to break its fool neck, but it blew the air out of my lungs. I dropped to one knee, frantically sending Aether into my muscles to calm the spasms. A narrow stream of water shot where my head would have been, carving into sky. “Light!” I screamed, then turned to find another Air Shark barreling towards me. Two floating octopi, Beasts I didn’t recognize, were gesticulating with their tentacles. A ball of Water floated between them.

I ducked under the Air Shark, using another platform of Air to divert it by a few centimeters. The ball of Water extended towards me, then the octopi both thrust their limbs at me, and another stream shot out at me. With a gesture, I redirected it to hit the Shark. The flying Beast, easily in the middle of level five, was cut in half instantly. Ice freeze it! Gotta avoid that.

Another bulge followed, and the only option I had was to leap to the next platform, flailing wildly to dodge the beam of death. I landed with a roll, only barely hanging onto the platform. I threw my hands at the Beasts, releasing my own beams of Lightning. The ball of Water split, forming two plates of Aether that absorbed my attacks. The Water grew noticeably thinner, but the Octopi floated backward and up, away from me, while channeling more Water into the reformed orb.

Behind them, a group of four Falcons circled, looking at me hungrily. A dozen Sky Piranha were flickering through the room, each twist of their path bringing them closer. I ran, leaping to the next oscillating platform before using the principles of my Dancing Northern Wind technique to create a flat plane of Earth, deflecting a blast of Ice from the Falcons. There were four more platforms before I reached the next pillar.

I threw a Fireball at the Octopi, followed by a Lightning Bolt, successfully dispersing their carefully cultivated shield and weapon, but not injuring them in the slightest. They showed yet again their higher thinking ability as they immediately fell back behind the Piranhas. I saw them approaching, and ran.

The next step wasn’t in the right position, so I created a platform of Air to walk on. My Aether Sight nearly blinded me, as the sky in the distance seemed to flash brightly with Aether. Instinctively, I threw myself forward, creating a shield that pointed towards the Aether surge. A beam of Aether the same diameter as the pillars absolutely demolished everything around where my technique held me in the air. “Alright, message understood,” I panted, laying panting on the next step. “No walking on not the platforms.”

A loud bellow made me jump to my feet to see the massive Sky Bison bounding towards me. It roared at me again, forming an Air Blade that shot out at me. I leapt over it, only to send a quick Aether Slash at an Air Shark that tried to intercept me. It shied away, trying to both dodge my strike while still being able to attack me shortly.

I rotated in mid-air, then kicked off the Shark, Aether Strengthening giving me extra power. Its side collapsed, and I spun over another Air Blade that finished the Beast off. The Bison was nearly upon me, gracefully curving its path to match my new altitude. I formed another platform, this time just under my extended hands rather than my feet. A second before the Bison would have smashed into me, I literally threw myself up. Whatever Inscription or rules that governed the trial didn’t fire off another of the pillar sized death beams, which is what I’d hoped would happen.

I flipped myself around, then ended up landing on the back of the Bison. “Whoa nelly!” I shouted, grabbing its fluffy fur behind its neck and holding tight as it tried to buck me off. I pulled my body close as Air Blades flung themselves around the Beast. With a grunt of effort, I turned its head to point towards the next pillar.

The Piranha swarmed towards me and the Bison. I concentrated and formed a Fireball in front of my face, then sent it streaking off towards the closest one. I tried to send a Lightning Bolt through the ionized channel created, but the Bison was moving too quickly for that. The Lightning splintered only a meter from the Piranha as it left my area of control.

A second Bolt followed with ten times the Aether involved, my skin meridian around my eyes burning as I pushed way more Aether through it than it was used to. My eyes were dazzled and burned, but I forced myself to keep my eyes open. I felt the Lightning flow, and forced it to stay together as long as I could.

The lead Piranha was closer this time, and it screamed as the Bolt blasted apart right in front of it. Two-thirds of the Aether from the Bolt shot into it, and it died twitching. Two other Piranha took splinters of Lightning, their motion stopping as all of their muscles seized up. The others in the swarm ignored their fallen brethren, continuing to shoot towards the Bison and I.

The Bison tried to turn away, but I forced it to keep going. We were only a few meters from the pillar when it decided to rotate one hundred and eighty degrees, making it so I was hanging upside down from its back. It roared and a surge of Air Aether exploded out from it, throwing me down. “Light! I screamed, seeing I would miss the pillar by a meter. Dancing Northern Wind put a platform under my left foot and I leapt forward.

The pillar death beam formed faster, and I only dodged it by a fraction of a meter. The Aether Shield coating my skin broke, letting in a small amount of hostile Aether that sought to burn out my meridians. I threw my own Aether at it, surrounding and isolating the Aether before shattering the bonds holding it together. The absorbed Aether went to fix my meridians before I grunted as my back smashed into the pillar’s top surface.

The dirt under me scraped up as my body slid along the surface. I rolled to my feet, shaking my head at the two meter long gash in the ground I’d made. “Ha, that only mildly bruised me,” I yelled at the Bison as it bounded through the air. “You’ll have to do better than that to hurt me!”

I slapped out and knocked aside a Piranha, the Beasts half a meter wide instead of the palm-size I would have expected from Earth. It was still physically weak, and my blow killed it. The one behind it, though, lunged onward to bite my arm, only for its teeth to spark off my armor. A thought preceded a blast of Fire into its open mouth, and it spasmed away, dropping onto the ground as it died.

The third one, though, latched onto my hand. I fried it unconsciously, Lightning coursing into it, but the spasms ripped apart the meat of my hand. I groaned in pain, then sent a blast of Lightning in a fan at the remaining Beasts, draining myself precipitously to fuel their destruction. The last Piranha dropped to the ground only a minute later, the life electrocuted out of it, and I fell to one knee, panting.

I had dropped over half my reserves in the last few minutes of combat, a ridiculous amount of Aether for someone of my strength and level. I shook my head, and then dove sideways. The Bison clipped my legs, cracking my shins with the strength of its charge. It was a very strong level five Beast, eclipsing some level sixes in capability and threat.

“Yeah, I see you,” I ground out, Aether flowing into my legs. I created a sheath of Wood, Water, and Earth Aether around my shin bones, reinforcing the areas that were damaged by the Bison. It was curving through the Air, bringing its path back towards me. Air Blades curved off it, peeling away to shoot towards me. I coated my hands in Aether and batted them away. The Beast leveled off towards me, and I stepped into the Forceful Punch Technique.

This time, rather than replace the Force runes, I supplemented them with Lightning and Metal, trying to create an electrified spike that would shoot into the Beast’s face. It bellowed again, barreling towards me, as I quickly built up the runes necessary and channeled Aether into them.

The Bison started to glow bright blue, and it picked up speed as a coating of Air Aether flowed over it. The blue quickly changed to a shimmering, metallic color, and the Beast almost seemed to blur, even to my enhanced senses, as it shot towards me. I rushed the last bit of the technique, flowing into a reverse punch as the Beast roared into me.

The collision caused a shockwave that flattened and shredded every bit of grass for two meters around us. I was knocked backwards, shuffling my feet to stay upright for three full meters. The bones in my hand, wrist, and forearm had broken, and my blood vessels and meridians were ruptured all the way to my shoulder. Aether flooded out of my center to reinforce my arm, coating the bones and shielding the ligaments as best I could until I could spend an hour healing.

The Bison was the worst off, though, as it staggered backwards from our collision a dozen meters before dropping off the edge of the pillar, its brain scrambled under the massive impact. Hopefully that means its out, I thought, and I don’t have to deal with it again. I looked around, but other than the circle of trees lining the center of this pillar, I didn’t see anything moving. Those pillars of Aether helped me out more than hindered me. That first one probably took out a dozen Beasts pursuing me. If I wasn’t sure that the next few would end up with me being obliterated, I might try to manipulate it to take out my opponents. Either way, this pillar was the main goal of the challenge so far. Now I just got to figure out what is next.