Chapter Three Hundred And Eighty One - 381Evie's Acrobatics (Common) Has Evolved Into Fleet of Foot (Rare)!
Level Is Retained!
...
Fiendforge Active!
Evie's Fleet of Foot (Rare) Has Evolved into Undine Grace (Epic)!
Level Is Retained!
Evie's Scorpion's Tail (Uncommon) Has Evolved Into Silver Stinger (Rare)!
Level Is Retained!
...
Fiendforge Active!
Evie's Silver Stinger (Rare) Has Evolved into Tooth And Claw (Epic)!
Level Is Retained!
Evie's Chain Mastery (Uncommon) Has Evolved Into Chain of Thought (Rare)!
Level Is Retained!
...
Fiendforge Active!
Evie's Chain of Thought (Rare) Has Evolved into Bonds of Dominion (Legendary)!
Level Is Retained!
Felix couldn't focus on the details of his friend's new and repeatedly changing Skillstoo busy with holding the whole of her core space togetherbut he smiled at the elation he felt in her. That mounting joy was a balm after everything else that had happened. And it made him feel a bit better about the fact that his Fiendforge was directly influencing her Skills. Felix only hoped it was a positive change, and vowed to ask her about them later.
The last Skill, however, struck through his split attention.
New Skill!
Chains Of the Protector (Unique), Level 1!
The best defense is a good offense. Forge chains of ice and metal Mana into a floating shield that can protect as well as unravel to entangle and damage nearby foes. Size of shield and length of chains increases slightly with level, damage deflected increases with level, damage dealt increases with level and Endurance.
Is that...that was the thing the Magda construct was doing. Shields of chains...Whoa. Felix jerked his head back in surprise as a new, glowing collection of power was ejected from Evie's core. It flew in a high arc until it landed somewhere further out, at the furthest point of her core space, where it glimmered and uncoiled. Felix had to squint to make it out, but the new Skill looked like all the rest: a ball of frosty chains wrapped around a glowing, watery center. Still, it was cool to see a new Skill form in someone else's core space.
The joy turned complex at the introduction of the new Skill. All the intense emotions Evie had been experiencing during this process were still raw and unprocessed, and Felix honestly felt like a voyeur. He hated eavesdropping on her Spirit, but using his Fiendforge and stats to help Evie made that a necessity. He still wasn't entirely sure how his Skill worked, but Felix had realized that the best results seemed to stem from following the Will and Intent of his target...and that was impossible to do if he shut down his senses.
3 of 3 Body Essences Formed!
Tempering Has Begun!
In the distance, Felix sensed a powerful influx of System energy coming toward Evie's core. More than that, he also felt an abrupt slackening in the pressure against his Fiendforge. As gentle as he could, he eased off his Skill, letting its pattern silence within his core space...and Evie's own held firm.
Oh perfect! She can handle the rest, I think. He pulled back slowly, letting his awareness of her core fade bit by bit. His Mana and Will retracted, until he floated at the edges of her channels. You got this, Evie.
A hand settled on metaphysical shoulder.
Fire blossomed along his entire body and Felix was halfway through a wild-backhand when his arm was caught. Zara stumbled, her shape turning briefly to flowing water before she stabilized. Shock, pure and unfiltered, flitted across her face before vanishing into her usual staid expression.
"Felix, let us talk a moment."
She led them up instead of out, and it was Felix's turn to be surprised.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Somewhere we can speak without interruption."
Smooth as silk, Zara led up beyond the clouds of Evie's core space and into a greater darkness. It reminded him of his own core, though Evie's was less...refined? There were bits of debris floating around, remnants of Mana or inert matter from her visualizations...he wasn't sure which. Reality got hazy in core spaces, after all. But after a short while, Felix realized they weren't in a core space at all. He stopped floating after Zara and looked around in alarm.
"What is this?" he asked.
"We are...adjacent to Evie's core. Not quite attached to her Aspects, but related," Zara said.
"This feels familiar," Felix said, repressing a shudder. The last time he'd been in a similar place, he had been dragged there by an insane goddess. He pressed himself downward, easily phasing back into Evie's core space. A little of the tension drained from his shoulders, but he still looked up at Zara with a frown. "Let's keep this short."
Zara pursed her lips, giving him a look that might have cowed Felix several months ago. When he didn't respond or even alter his expression, Zara floated down to speak to him at the same level.
"Very well. I would ask you how."
"How, what?" Felix asked.
"How did you accomplish that," she said, gesturing below them. Evie's core spun about, a crazy complex ring of multiple Mana types. "I could hear the Grand Harmony interplaying among her being, but yours is...it is opaque to me in a way that I find disconcerting, Felix."
"A little Will and Intent, but mostly it was two of my Skills," he said with a shrug. "Cardinal Flame for the Mana control and shaping, and Fiendforge. It's a Unique Skill."
"Fiend...forge? You spoke of Cardinal Flame, but I do not recall mention of this other, let alone that it was Unique." Zara tapped her lips with a long, ochre finger. Her hair looked like flowing water in the darkness, lit up by the flashes of power below them. "What can it do?"
"It was after I...survived my Omen Path. It allows me to shape the Paths of others, and apparently also means I can influence people's core spaces. I did the same for Atar." He grinned. "Worked so well both times, I hope I can use it on all of my teammates."
"...Impossible. That is not a Skill that should exist, especially not under the System itself. It has...restrictions..." Zara took a breath, and had she been less self-possessed, Felix was sure she would have slapped her own forehead. "Unbound. Right. The impossible does not figure into the calculus of your life, does it?"
Felix just shrugged again.
"How did you know to do this? To form her core in such a way?"
"I didn't," Felix said, nodding to Evie's shining form below. "She did. I just...listened, I guess." He laughed. "It's a lot less impressive in that sense. I'm a...battery, I suppose. Feeding her enough power to achieve what she always would have."