Chapter Three Hundred And Eighteen – 318The crushing stomp of Felix's landing sent a peal of sound through the massive chamber. The crystals above them flared with light and rang like giant bells, and Adamant Discord stormed outward, throwing the Archon from his feet.
Manifestation of the Coronach is level 53!
...
Manifestation of the Coronach is level 63!
The Archon Affected By A Crisis of Faith for 3 Seconds!
Willpower Is Reduced By 60%!
"How are you alive!?" the golden giant wailed, trying to stand again. He was annoyingly unharmed. The Archon's chest, where he'd before been torn by Felix's claws, had repaired. Instead there was a dark object half buried in it that Felix thought looked like a vicious dagger. The Archon's eye flames flickered toward the side, where Felix had carelessly hurled the Henaari. "How are they alive!? That was pure, liquid Mana! It should have melted the flesh from your bones!"
"Didn't even burn," Felix growled.
Sovereign of Flesh!
His skin rippled and flexed, changing faster than ever before. His muscles swelled, Strength and Endurance growing beyond their already ridiculous limits, and brutal spurs and spikes of bone erupted from his elbows and knees. Scales, small and large, colored the blue-black of midnight covered him instantly. Cyan and red-gold light limned him, edging the scales across his arms and chest.
Sovereign of Flesh is level 64!
...
Sovereign of Flesh is level 67!
Unfettered Volition!
Corrosive Strike!
Wild Threnody!
Felix's fists ignited with virulently green Mana as he rocketed forward, crushing hexagonal stone beneath every step. The Archon was already on his feet, but Felix's movements were lightning. His clawed fist smashed into the golden giant's torso, throwing the constructed man's body back another five feet.
Wild Threnody is level 55!
...
Wild Threnody is level 59!
Corrosive Strike is level 52!
...
Corrosive Strike is level 58!
"You've grown stronger, Unbound. How? What lies beneath us?" the Archon demanded.
"Nothing," Felix said and closed the distance. "Not anymore."
The wind roared, displaced, as Felix surged forward. The Archon met him, his own limbs now glowing with yellow-red sigils, the golden giant's speed suddenly increasing to meet Felix's own. Felix bared his teeth, now fangs, and struck. Blow after blow, Felix and the Archon traded them, pummeling at each other with strikes strong enough to tear through steel and stone.
Fire bloomed, lightning crackled. Their bodies moved too fast, and more than once the Archon overshot his mark. Yet Felix, with all the benefits of his Third Threshold, never did. His hits were precise and brutal. The golden armor was dented and split in several places, revealing an interior of shimmering yellow-red lights and wounds the gouted flame like blood.
"You dare too much, Felix! You will die here, along with all of your team," the Archon snarled.
"Touch them and I'll do more than kill you, Merodach!"
The Archon flinched. "That name? Wherehow do you know it?"
Felix only grinned and closed once again.
Adamant Discord!
A net of lines caught up the Archon, hurling him up and into the ceiling atop a bolt of brilliant lightning. Yellow-red sparks attempted to oppose Felix's power, but failed. The Archon may have been a genius, but Felix wasn't the same as before. The weight of his significance had multiplied, and his Transcendent Skill finally lived up to its rarity. It was like...it was like gravity, but more. It was everything, all connections, from the smallest to the largest and Felix could access them. Seize them.
The Archon collided with the roof, shearing off giant, dull crystals.
Adamant Discord!
Another flare, another bolt of incandescent lightning, and the Archon hurtled to earth. Smashing straight through the falling crystals, bursting them all into a glittering rain, and right into the hexagonal flooring with the sound of a mountain exploding.
"Haah haaah," Felix panted. "You...stay down."
Felix! Pit warned.
A beam of white-hot light cut up from the crater he'd made, straight for Felix's face. Felix flinched back and pulled. He chomped his teeth over the beam just as it reached him.
Ravenous Tithe!
The heat was incredible, the pain worse. Ravenous Tithe shook, still held in his Bastion, but the Mana streamed into Felix's core without issue.
The Song of Absolution is level 75!
...
The Song of Absolution is level 82!
Adept Tier!
You!
Desperately, Felix shoved that into his Bastion as well, relaxing his Will enough to see his Skills all but combusting with bated revelation. He clamped down, unable to handle it. Not now. Hold on.
The Archon bellowed in rage.
Just hold on.
The golden giant emerged from the ground a fraction of a second later, accelerating toward Felix like a bullet train. A massive clawed hand manifested above him, spun entirely from flame, and slashed down at his position. Felix dodged, leaping aside and then forward, his own Skills burning across his channels.