MM - Chapter 187 - UNIFICATION

Raine leaned forward in an all-out sprint through dense jungle. His lungs burned from lack of Discipline, and his health was still strobing orange. The latter would change in seconds thanks to his aspect, but the rest of his worries would not be so easily allayed. Having traveled so far with Returners Privilege, he was no longer in combat, allowing his resources to recover at triple speed.

However, there were more valuable things than recovering from the exhaustion prompted by low Discipline: time and survival. Flawed Conversion directed his regenerating resources into boosting the flow of Discipline through his body. With the Primal Energy in his body above 90%, he was one mistake away from exploding, and the safety of the shrine was still several kilometers away.

Leaves shifting in the breeze stilled as his perception kicked into overdrive. A drop of moisture falling to plop against a root was loud in his ears. Killing intent and Connection were pushed to their limits, leading the way. Racing faster and faster, Raine used the trees as stepping stones, bouncing off their trunks rather than slowing to run around. All the while, the fatigue attacking his thoughts and muscles was driven away with force of will.

It was in this state of absolute speed that the first Fetches found him. More accurately, Raine stumbled into the group of twelve between one step and the next. The instant bloodlust passed over them, spiked gloves covered his knuckles in a flash of light.

Instinct kicked in, and Lunge reversed Raine’s momentum even as his fist smashed into hardened air. Rupture, no longer held back by a lack of gear, devastated the group. [-64,699] [Critical hit! -142,336] Thanks to the Primal Energy stuffing his body, the total damage dealt was nearly 80% higher than it should have been. Still, it wasn’t enough to one-shot the level 42 ancients.

The Fetches were scattered from the force, blasting through trees and skipping across the ground. It was a good thing too, because the fetches were no longer playing nice. Their bodies were completely covered in golden goop, and one of their companions lay dead in the center of where he’d found them. It was torn apart, a sacrifice to the ‘greater good’ of ensuring Raine never reached his destination. The fetches recovered quickly and threw themselves forward in a suicidal attempt to wrap him in an eternal hug.

They were far too slow to have a chance of success. Connection allowed Raine to hop to the side. He circled the group, who were slowly sliding forward as though swimming through water rather than flying through the air. Raine’s spiked knuckles were one of his only weapons without any ranged or AOE functionality, so he sacrificed the little health he’d recovered to swap them out. [-1,087]

Cassidy’s Comet appeared in his grip, its heft a comfortable weight that spelled instant doom for the Fetches. Raine swung without hesitation, his voice loud and clear. “PuriPuri Rainbow Release!” Slivers of Elemental Power tore free from the soil, wrapping around the large group of beasts. Thanks to the Primal Energy massively boosting Raine’s strength, the Fetches exploded into particles before the first round of damage numbers even appeared. [-657,237] [Critical hit! -1,445,934]

Raine scoffed, looking down at the pink and gold weapon’s glistening jewels. “Damn. Even your damage is being boosted by the Primal Energy. Where were you when I was fighting the Patriarch, huh?!”

Not that it would have mattered. Five-minute cooldown, and those roots regenerated in seconds. Would have bought me one solid hit, and even Comet Burst wouldn’t have been enough to bring down its health. All I would have done is send it into a Berserk state and get myself killed.

Raine shivered at how powerful the Patriarch was going to become once it got serious. The thought reignited the blazing desire to take another step down his martial path. Right now wasn’t the time to be killing the Fetches mindlessly. He needed them to sharpen his understanding of unification before it was too late. Tremors in the ground and a deafening roar from behind announced that killing the Fetches had alerted the boss to his location.

Raine resumed his headlong sprint, praying that Selena listened and stayed put at the shrine. He couldn’t afford to search for her in his current state. He needed every available second to reduce the Primal Energy in his body before moving to the next shrine.

The next group of Fetches was pulled apart one at a time with hatchet and staff. Their strategy of coating themselves in the blood of their fallen only heightened the stakes of what would otherwise be a boring fight, which was perfect for Raine. Focusing with absolute intensity, he tried again and again to reach the delicate state of balance between the feedback from Connection and killing intent. Neither wanted to cooperate. The more he focused on one, the less noticeable the sensations from the other became.

It wasn’t until the fourth group that Raine stumbled into success. Only one enemy remained, its brethren dead and decayed. The jungle air contained only the sounds of struggle between two combatants, Raine and the last Fetch. It dove toward him, arms spread wide. In the middle of pushing back with all his mental might, Raine let go, surrendering to pure sensation.

Like a shy animal, unification came only when he stopped sprinting toward it at full speed. The state of mental awareness snapped into place, and he ducked beneath the diving monster long before it reached him. His body’s instincts were honed from too many battles, and disconnected from the flesh; there was no way to stop himself from blowing a hole in its stomach with several repeated jabs of his spear. In less than a second, he was alone in the jungle once more.

With the death of the last beast came the end of opposing killing intent, and the delicate mental balance shattered. Raine snapped back to himself, already wearing a frown. 

It's not as hard against regular enemies as I thought. The impulses of killing intent are much, much weaker in those without a mental ability, but still barely discernible. Gets easier the fewer enemies there are since there’s less intent in the air. Like a fart in a clean room; sticks right out… 

Yeah, I’m getting delirious. Need to get to the shrine and rest for a second. Feels like I’ve been running for hours.

Raine achieved two more brief bouts of unification in the last few minutes of headlong sprinting. However, they were still just as flawed as when he faced the Patriarch. Without access to skills, the state of hyperawareness was practically useless. He had no idea how to cross the divide between outer and inner awareness. They were such drastic opposites that it was laughable to even consider doing both at once; an apt simile would be looking left and right while also licking both your elbows. It just wasn’t within the human genome to achieve, yet Raine’s past told him that it was possible.

As he tore through the last layer of trees and into the open field of the shrine, Raine wanted to curse. As he’d feared, Selena wasn’t there.

Are you kidding me right now?!

“What did you do?!” Selena’s screech was rife with strain as she peeked from around the back of the shrine’s statue. While it was good that she was still alive and didn’t run off, she wouldn't stay that way for long if he didn't recover before the boss arrived.

Raine was torn between sighing in relief and collapsing to finally catch his breath. Collapsing won. His rolling ended in a slide that left him on his back, staring at the peaceful sky. Despite being just past midnight, the sky was bright blue with soft, gently rolling clouds and a high sun; a stark contrast to the mad rush of the last twenty minutes.

Selena appeared in his view, looking down while wearing a complicated expression. She was back in her armor, looking ready to do battle with her supposed protector. Her tone matched her hands-planted-on-hips stance, “The indefatigable Alaric is out of breath? How quaint… While I can appreciate that what you’ve been through must have been difficult, I need answers, and soon.” Selena’s gaze drifted in the direction of steadily pounding drums; something big was coming, and she very much wanted to know what it was.

Raine took several gulping breaths, chest heaving. He was already feeling better with the Primal Energy dissipating. “Found boss. Pissed off administrators. New quest.”

Selena’s eyes closed. She inhaled deeply, struggling to control her anger. “I gathered much of that from the updated quest. Who, or what, is Zagan the Imperishable? That name is not in the records. And who are these administrators?”

“Boss. Entities.” With his back pressed to the ground, Raine could feel the Patriarch's steps as a slight quaking. They were growing stronger, quickly. There definitely wouldn’t be enough time to fully recover before the world boss arrived. He wasn’t ready to face Zagan again. Achieving his shoddy version of unification, two out of fifty attempts wasn’t good enough.

“Enti—the Ancient Gods?! Are you out of wits?! Please, great lords of all, he does not know what he says!” By this point, Selena’s lips were pressed tightly in an all-out scowl. Her temper swelled until she was yelling down at him. “Do you not realize the true Gods are all that is between you and a terrifying death? Where is your appreciation? Beyond that, you left, alone, when your duty is to protect me! You started a fight with Gods-knows-what, dragging me further into danger for no sensible reason. And still, you continue to spew nonsensical answers to my questions?! Do you not realize what’s at stake here?! I could die! I could really die! I-I don’t want to die.” The ebb and flow of Selena’s emotions was on full display as she fell to her knees, tears staining her cheeks.

Raine let her moment of weakness stretch while he regained his breath. By the time he could speak in more than two-word sentences, his voice was iron wrapped in velvet. “I think you’re the one forgetting what’s at stake.”

Selena’s emotion-streaked face snapped in his direction. “What?! How dare you! I—”

Raine had no intention of getting into what and was not a god. Sitting up, he spoke over her, “Why are you here? Why this Mystic Realm in particular? This isn't just a coming-of-age adventure. Much more hinges on your success than your life. You came for something valuable, something important, and the quality of that thing is directly tied to the challenges we have to overcome. Sure, it's more dangerous now, but if we survive…”

“Of course it is a bad thing! I don’t know what you think you know about why I am here, but I assure you, your ignorance is near absolute. There is no reason to strive for perfection in the ordeals. Only survival matters.”

Raine heard the mimicry of tutors and concerned parents in her vehemence. Even if she believed the words she was parroting, the doubt was reflected in her eyes. On his feet, Raine stretched stiff muscles without breaking eye contact. “Let me guess. They told you to play it safe. ‘Don't do anything unnecessary, Selena.’ Be the good little 4th princess, Selena. There’s no need to make a splash; your brother will take care of everything. Just making it back alive is enough…”

Raine’s words had the desired effect. Selena’s eyes grew wider with each phrase as though she had indeed heard them time and again. He snorted, amused and disappointed. “You picked the wrong Traveler if that's what you really wanted. I don’t do easy; if it were possible to take this ordeal beyond Nightmare, I would. And I’ll drag you along all the way to the end if I have to.”

“What… are you? How could you possibly know?” Selena shook her head, flabbergasted, and finally looking at Raine like he’d really come from another planet.

It was a historical fact, at least for Raine, that the Celendine Dynasty’s infighting for succession escalated right along with the external war against the Dantinian Empire. There were multiple forces incentivized to keep the sheltered, naive 4th princess exactly as she was: unimportant. To Raine, she was much more than that. She was a key player in the war to come that could decide the difference between repeating the mistakes of the past and achieving complete victory.

Raine’s considerations had left her question hanging too long. “Just another Traveler making an educated guess. Anyway, it's about time to go.”

“No!” The tear-stained princess shot to her feet, hand cutting through the air. “The Primal Energy in your body needs time to dissipate. If you don’t rest, we won’t make it to the next shrine.”

Raine shrugged. “I’ll be fine. The world boss is almost here. I’m not strong enough to protect you from him, yet. Our only chance is to stay a step ahead.” 

The admission that they were up against a world boss brought terror that seized Selena’s breath. Alaric’s confident declaration that he couldn’t keep her safe from it turned that terror to motivation. The rumbling in the ground made motivation into a demand for action. 

A whole-body shiver swept through the princess as she realized how bad their situation had become. “W-world… boss? No. No, that’s not possible. It takes hundreds of knights to defeat a world boss, and there are always casualties. This can’t be real. You’re lying.”

Raine wished he were, or that he didn’t have to tell her at all. But she needed to know the truth before coming face to face with the Patriarch. Otherwise, she would almost certainly freeze in panic. He grabbed Selena’s arm to stop her from running away. Her skin was cold, fully dilated pupils locked onto his gaze, desperately searching for hope. He was fully aware that talking her down from such a deep state of fear would be impossible, so he gave her something to focus on instead. “I need your help. If what I have planned works, our chances of getting out of this alive will drastically increase.”

Finding just what she had been searching for, Selena returned to herself enough to formulate a few words. “H-help? What, help?”

“I need you to tell me absolutely everything you know about Primal Energy. How it affects muscles, how these shrines purge it, where it comes from, why it's not found in the Mundane Realm, everything.”

Selena opened her mouth to stumble over another response, but the rumbling ground grew stronger and stole her attention. Raine leaned closer for emphasis, forcing her to maintain eye contact. “This is the most important moment of your life, Selena. Right now, is your chance to prove to the Gods that you’re a Celendine. We aren’t dead by a long shot. So don’t give up on me.”

After a moment to process his words, a glimmer of fire returned to Selena’s eyes.