Paladin 4: Chapter 50

Darren returned to the Sacred Seas at speed. He soared overhead on his mighty wings, wind whipping past him and hair ruffling in the breeze.

His wings carried him over the stony mountains surrounding Limedeep, now with a significant gap in them after he and the gods of Marsa did battle with that giant ooze.

His flight took him over the Sacred Seas, where the bright sun reflected off the clear blue water and again off his two pairs of shining silver wings.

The calm and earthy smell of the mountains was replaced by that of the salty serf as he looped around toward the nearest entrance to the Seven Hells.

Now that he had everything Laura needed, it was time to return to the deepest depths of the Seven Hells.

Down, down, and further down, Darren descended. The heat rose steadily, and the air filled with the familiar scent of brimstone. Horrors lined the inky shadows as far as Darren’s eyes could see, but it was like a second home to him.

He ran through twisting labyrinthine tunnels and flew over rivers of molten magma.

Like before, the trip was uneventful, save for a few minor demons who foolishly jumped out to attack him here and there. Most were dumb beasts, but one particularly ambitious band of fiends got sheered in half at his passage. His wings cut through them with such speed and force that their silver feathers cut through flesh as easily as sharpened steel.

No demon short of a Prime Sin could halt his descent now, for he had made this realm his own. Gone was the frightened boy who’d stumbled here with his mother, full of fear and jumping at every shadow. When he gazed into this abyss, it was the one that blinked and shrunk back in terror.

Eventually, his hasty descent took him to Laura’s door. He moved to knock, but the door swung open before his knuckles touched wood.

Laura greeted him with a smile on her face. Her long white locks were tied back in a bun behind her two perky horns, and she wore a broad smile.

She had an apron around her neck with a few streaks of red cherry juice. The smell of fresh pastries wafted through the air, and Darren’s stomach rumbled.

“Do you always have something in the oven?” Darren asked curiously.

“Only when you’re coming,” Laura replied. “Come on in.”

Darren followed Laura into her cozy log cabin, which opened into a palatial manor once he passed the doorway. He’d been here often enough to know the way, so he kicked off his boots and followed the soft pad of Laura’s bare feet as she returned to her kitchen. From the smell, whatever she was cooking was genuinely delicious.

“I made chocolate chip cookies!” Laura said as she pulled her tray from the oven. “I can’t take full credit for them though. I checked that gift basket you brought -- there was actually chocolate in there! When did mortals learn to make that again? I forgot how much I missed chocolate.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased. I will bring more next time,” Darren promised as Laura plucked a warm cookie off the tray and stuffed it into his mouth. “I’m here because I’ve completed the quest.” He tried to speak around the mouthful of cookies. He swallowed it down, but the moment he did so, Laura was ready with another.

“Do you like them? Love them? You can be honest.” Laura batted her eyes at him.

They were by far the sweetest and most decadent pastries Darren had ever eaten. He’d experimented back in Limedeep eating out with Cassandra and Morgana by eating strange bread rolls. Still, these cookies of Laura were a different beast entirely. He was afraid they were a little too sweet for him. But when he saw Laura’s hopeful and expectant look, he didn’t dare reply with anything but praise.

“They’re delicious,” Darren said when he finally had room to speak. “But I’m here because I have the things. An Ancient Artifact and the Heart of a Realm.”

Darren opened his Inventory and dropped the exotic quest items on the dining table next to Laura’s cookies.

Laura blushed and smiled. “I’m glad you like them. You know, I had to improvise the recipe a little. I was missing the brown sugar that’s supposed to be in them, so I took some fruits I’ve been growing and separated out the--“

Darren nudged the artifacts on the table a little closer to Laura.

“Right, right, the Genus Loci. Wow. You found them fast. It normally takes a few decades of adventuring to find these items.” Laura let out a low whistle. “I’m impressed.”

“I had help.”

“You were resourceful,” Laura corrected. “Well done.”

Darren found himself a little proud at the praise. However, he quickly schooled his expression back to calm stoicism.

“Well, you finish off these cookies. I’ll get these to my workshop and gather the minor items I’ll need to craft a Genus Loci,” Laura said as she pushed the entire tray of cookies to Darren.

“I will help,” Darren stood to join her, but Laura waved him off.

“I’ve done this before. It’ll be easiest for me to just do it myself. Besides, you’re still eating.” She nodded at the tray in front of him. “Oh, and also, you need to reach the Sixth Order for this thing to be useful. If you’re still Fifth Order, it’ll be worthless to you. Since you’re under a time crunch, I’ll let you use the Seventh Layer of Hell again. I’d just been preparing it for a spa day and dug into some condensed Demonic Aura crystals. Oh well. You can pay me back by bringing me more chocolate.”

Darren promised Laura a dragon’s weight in chocolate, then headed straight for the entrance to Laura’s private meditation chamber, better known to most as the Seventh Layer of Hell. Each layer of the Seven Hells held progressively more Demonic Aura, which was thickest in the single room tucked deep within Laura’s home.

He’d used the chamber once before when she rewarded him for completing a quest for her. Now he would use it again to reach the Sixth Order.

As an afterthought, Darren grabbed the tray of cookies and took them with him. He got the impression that Laura really wanted him to eat them. He took another bite. They were growing on him.

***

Darren settled into Laura’s meditation chamber. Some new furniture was present, and the center of the room was filled with a large brass bathtub filled with soap and rose petals. He moved the tub aside and pulled the large circular bag filled with beans he’d used before back into the center of the room. It was much more comfortable than sitting cross-legged on the ground. He had to get one of these made for each of his palaces.

Once comfortable, he sat down for a long time looking inward and thinking about what aspect best represented him.

Justice would be nice, though with Kalaziel and Horon laying claim to the aspect, the power he could draw from it would be limited until he overcame them both.

What then? Diligence? Resolve? Determination?

He felt a connection to all those aspects, like tiny threads tethered to his soul. He tugged on them one after another as he weighed their value and the power they could give him.

Here, sitting among all the Demonic Aura that he was converting to Divine Aura with every passing moment, the concepts seemed almost real. The dense swirling mists of magical power reacted to his every thought. With enough concentration, he could sense the powers he could receive by embracing each aspect on his first step to the Sixth Order.

Diligence seemed like it could enhance his training. Reaching out to feel its call, he sensed it would increase his gains from every training session. If he had centuries between him and his coming conflict with Kalaziel, this might be the aspect to choose. It might give him the most tremendous gains of all.

And perhaps Darren would explore it and try to pick it up as a second aspect once he was truly in the Sixth Order, just like Kalaziel and Horon battled over the aspect of Justice. But for now, he needed something that would provide a more immediate boost to his power.

Resolve felt like steel to his mind’s eye, strong and unshakable. Resolve was something he had plenty of, but he’d never felt its iron grip so firmly as when he considered the concept to reach the Sixth Order.

Resolve would let him break past his limits and overcome any obstacle and challenge in his way so long as he had the resources to do it. No mental barrier would stand between him and his goals, and he could shrug off setbacks and mental attacks like they weren’t even there. With Resolve as his aspect, no goal would be unattainable eventually.

But Darren had no shortage of resolve as it was. What would more do for him?

It would certainly bolster his existing abilities, but he needed more than a boost to fight Kalaziel. He needed a fundamental transformation.

He reached for Determination, feeling the same with it as he had for Resolve. If a goal was achievable, it would let him reach for it. But once again, he was faced with the fact that defeating Kalaziel wasn’t attainable, not with the power he had. And as he attuned the Lord of Light’s old genus loci to him, he grew ever more powerful.

Darren needed the biggest immediate boost to power that he could get. And the aspect of vengeance promised just that.

Vengeance was powerful and dangerous, like fire sculpted into the shape of an idea. It burned all who touched it and would burn him, too, if he let it. A focus on revenge would be unhealthy long term. If he chose this aspect, he would want to eventually shift his aspect to something better suited to him.

But despite the drawbacks, it fit what Darren needed perfectly. It promised power, especially against the one who wronged him. Out of all the aspects, it alone would give him the strength to defeat his foe, and it promised that power the moment he embraced it.

Focusing, Darren realized what he needed to do.

Activating Limitless Evolution...

Darren Heavengrace (Fifth Order Champion) is now upgrading to Darren Heavengrace (Sixth Order Unknown)

With one of his other bodies, he got Cassandra to speed the process. So instead of the three days his first evolution took, this time, it only took a handful of hours.

The moment the transformation started, Darren sensed himself growing warmer. The feeling of warmth continued, growing greater with every minute that passed.

Looking inward, it was like he’d lit a fire within himself, and now his soul was burning. The fire tore at his insides, but his sheer force of will kept it contained. He felt a surge of strength flowing through him as the inferno raged. Though it was painful, he sensed Divine Aura flowing through him in endless waves.

Vengeance gave him all the power he was promised and then more besides. His heart pounded so fast it was like a drumbeat in his ears. The blood that pulsed through him didn’t seem like blood at all, but rather liquid steel, hot and viscous.

He grit his teeth so hard that fresh blood dripped from his lips. It spilled on his clothes and burned away anything it touched, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

This power was righteous fury made manifest, and sensing the new strength in his limbs, he felt he could strangle Kalaziel with his bare hands. As the aspect of Vengeance pulsed in his heart, he realized he wanted just that.

Limitless Evolution completed, and he was greeted with a familiar notification.

Congratulations on reaching the Sixth Order!

Error. Prime Saint status not detected.

Darren frowned. He didn’t feel like a Prime Saint, though he’d reached the Sixth Order like a seraph might. But he was no Prime Saint. He was something new.

He thought a while, wondering what to call himself. Previously, he’d been a champion.

He looked down at himself now, skin bare following his transformation. He was still tall and strong, and that hadn’t changed. But it had been refined. His body, already flawless in all human respects, was now even more so. He could not stand in the presence of normal humans undisguised, for even those who didn’t know him would sense the touch of the divine upon his being.

He opened and closed his fist, and the motion felt dream-like and detached. His soul had grown so big it was no longer confined to this physical vessel. His will was so great that reality was what he wanted it to be. The world around him was as much his body as his flesh and bone.

He realized then that the room was illuminated from within and not because of the Divine Energy Constructs he’d created. So he put them all out to find the source of the light, only to discover that he himself was responsible.

His very skin was glowing and casting his radiance in all directions. He truly did have a fire burning within him.

A fire crackled within him, raging against his will and confined only by his strength of will. The power he felt was tremendous, and he knew every skill he used would be far more potent than ever before.

But he also sensed a particular brittle weakness. He was made of glass, sharp to the touch but prone to breaking. Darren knew that if he ever lost his concentration, his powers of the Sixth Order would slip from his grasp and return him to his former order. He had a grip on the Sixth Order, but it was a shaky one.

But he suspected he would have such a limitation before he began. He would just need to live with it until Kalaziel was dealt with. After the final battle was won, he could discard this aspect and choose another that would suit him better. For now, he had preparations to make.

He activated his sigil again to reveal his ability list.

Darren Heavengrace (Human Paragon, Sixth Order)

(Skills: 13 of 20)

Abilities:

Inspiration 10 (Epic)

Lover’s Gift 10 (Epic)

Dimensional Rift 7 (Epic)

Soul Weaving 7 (Epic)

Phoenix’s Blessing 7 (Epic)

Catharsis 10 (Mythic)

Divine Energy Projection 10 (Mythic)

Soul Smithing 10 (Mythic)

Fists of Peace 10 (Mythic)

Hollowed Idol 10 (Mythic)

Skill Shattering 10 (Mythic)

Resurrection 10 (Mythic)

Oracle Sight 8 (Mythic)

Aura Ascendancy 1 (Legendary)

Absolute Analysis 4 (Legendary)

Adamantine 5 (Legendary)

One with the Universe 5 (Legendary)

Vessels of Will 5 (Legendary)

Harbinger of the Apocalypse 4 (Legendary)

Limitless Evolution 4 (Legendary)

Reaching the Sixth Order gave Darren another boost in available skill slots. Besides that, many of his previous abilities had reached the point that they were able to evolve as well.

He wanted to push his skills to their maximum level before confronting Kalaziel again so that his next fight wouldn’t end with another defeat.

Limitless Evolution: Skill Evolution

• Evolve Inspiration (Epic) to Mythic?
• Evolve Lover’s Gift (Epic) to Mythic?
• Evolve Catharsis (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Divine Energy Projection (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Soul Smithing (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Fists of Peace (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Hollowed Idol (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Skill Shattering (Mythic) to Legendary?
• Evolve Resurrection (Mythic) to Legendary?

He pushed one new ability after another to new heights, growing more powerful with every step.

[Inspiration (Epic)] has evolved to [Awakening (Mythic)]

• Your aura awakens the latent potential of all those around you, allowing them to reach new heights and achieve feats of bravery and valor that would otherwise elude them. Provides substantial buffs to all allied health and aura reserves.

[Lover’s Gift (Epic)] has evolved to [Fates Intertwined (Mythic)]

• Your connections to your loved ones deepen to unbreakable bonds. Through this ability, you can sense their moods. When they are in danger, allow you to switch places with them at will or lend them your abilities while also borrowing their abilities in turn. All those whose fates are intertwined with yours will find it dramatically easier to grow in power until they reach your order.

[Catharsis (Mythic)] has evolved to [Order from Chaos (Legendary)]

• Your presence banishes Demonic Aura, instantly killing all entities below the third order and inflicting exponentially increasing damage on all demonic-aligned entities below the fifth. You can now purify even Divine Aura, removing all taint hostile to the user’s presence.

[Divine Energy Projection (Mythic)] has evolved to [Manifest Will (Legendary)]

• The universe itself can be sculpted to your will. No longer bound to control energy alone, sound, matter, and light can all be freely shaped according to your desires. The reality is wet clay in your hands.

[Soul Smithing (Mythic)] has evolved to [Soul Maker (Legendary)]

• Through your intent, you can create new souls for living beings from pure aura, assembling the chaotic and scattered remnants of beings long dead into something with form and function, either to recreate what was lost or to make something new from nothing but power and your will.

[Fists of Peace (Mythic)] has evolved to [Fetters of Fate (Legendary)]

• Your will binds the world and those within it. Manipulate the very fabric of destiny and the universe to bind a target to a predetermined fate. The magical chains are invisible to anyone below the Fifth Order. If not removed, the target will eventually meet the fate you have bound them to.

[Hollowed Idol (Mythic)] has evolved to [Divine Ascendancy (Legendary)]

• The faith of your worshipers flows through you like blood through mortal flesh. Their trust is your resolve. Their courage is your determination. Their hope is the fire that burns within you. So long as a single true believer of yours remains, you can never die. You can draw on all the skills, abilities, aura reserves, and knowledge of all your believers with a thought and take temporary possession of their bodies when needed.

[Skill Shattering (Mythic)] has evolved to [Nullification (Legendary)]

• Your hostile intent cuts through magic as easily as your sword cleaves through your enemies. When activated, nullification destroys all active enemy abilities and energy attacks.

[Resurrection (Mythic)] has evolved to [Divine Resurrection (Legendary)]

• The dead die only if you will it so. Any soul, mortal or divine, can be restored to life so long as a scrap of their essence still remains or can be remade. You may resurrect souls equivalent to the scope and power of your own soul once per day. This may mean one powerful soul or hundreds of thousands of dead mortals simultaneously.

His abilities had taken a significant leap in power, and many new skills would synergize well. Divine Resurrection would let him heal those with only a scrap of power left of them, but Soul Maker would let him create that scrap as he willed it. His mind went back to his mother, trapped within the ophanim. And if he could resurrect her, maybe he could even bring back his father.

He didn’t dare chase those thoughts too long, and his other new abilities were nearly as good. His many bodies and his multiple resurrection skills made him nearly unkillable before. Still, now his close followers throughout the Sacred Seas were yet another lifeline. Anyone hoping to kill him would have to scour the Sacred Seas clean of all human life.

The power to access the abilities of his lovers and his followers would also be a unique boon. It would increase his versatility beyond anything he’d ever known, save for the Archdemon who’d created the Corrupted Sigils.

Fates Intertwined was also something he longed to test. The chance to enhance the capabilities of his lovers was a dream made manifest. He would no longer worry about them falling further behind as he grew stronger.

But with seven mythic skills reaching Legendary and seven more skill slots opened up by his evolution, he had plenty of new slots to fill with abilities. Thankfully, one of his spare bodies had been evolving skill books since his last evolution in preparation for this day. Any new skills would be pale shadows of those he’d fully realized, but it would still be wise to fill up the rest of his slots just in case. He’d long since inscribed each of Kalaziel’s abilities into his mind during their first fight and the one they had after. He prepared another set of countermeasures and a handful of surprises that Kalaziel wouldn’t expect.

You have learned the skill Weapon Proficiency! (Epic)

• Your knowledge of weapons is profound, and your instincts show you how to wield any weapon with competency.

You have learned the skill Divine Resistance (Epic)

• Your aura elevates itself above the rest and resists hostile Divine Aura effects, working as a passive shield against hostile Divine aspect attacks.

You have learned the skill Rapid Regeneration (Epic)

• Your body’s healing abilities are fine-tuned to deal with the rigors of combat, and most wounds heal before the battle is even finished.

You have learned the skill Mental Fortitude (Epic)

• Your mind is strong, and your will is unshakable. You have additional resistance to any mental attacks.

You have learned the skill Agile Movement (Epic)

• You move with well-trained speed and grace, easily navigating even the most challenging obstacles. Moving quickly and efficiently lets you dodge attacks, weave through crowds, and slip through defenses. You have additional speed when changing directions.

You have learned the skill Aura of Courage (Epic)

• Your figure steadies the hearts of your friends and allies and gives them the inner strength to defy any danger. Your presence provides a passive enhancement to allied morale.

You have learned the skill Cleansing Presence (Epic)

• No evil can stain your heart or your friends and companions. Even the ground you walk on will be passively cleansed of all negative effects when you are present.

You have learned the skill Oathbound (Epic)

• Your word is binding, and when you make a promise, others know you will keep it. When others make an oath with you or by your name, they will be unable to break it. Your oaths and promises will be accepted as inviolable as natural laws.

You have learned the skill Radiant Aegis (Epic)

• Your powers are a shield that can defend both yourself and those you care about. Summon a glowing shield that activates automatically to defend against incoming attacks on yourself or targets designated for protection.

You have learned the skill Righteous Fury (Epic)

• When you or those who adore you are attacked or wronged, you can unleash your righteous fury, providing a small passive boost to all base abilities.

You have learned the skill Divine Crusade (Epic)

• You may identify a place or person as the target of a Divine Crusade. Your followers will gain increased rewards for taking actions that lead to defeating or protecting the designated person or area.

You have learned the skill Sanctum (Epic)

• Your presence provides safety and sanctuary, but you can create a Sanctum when that is not enough. Designating an area as your sanctum transforms it into a sanctuary that protects your allies from harm. While resting and recovering within your sanctum, you and your allies receive massive boosts to physical and magical regeneration.

You have learned the skill Borrowed Strength (Epic)

• As warriors flock to your banner, their powers strengthen your own. Call upon their physical might, and the willing will answer. You gain a boost to physical strength based on the combined strength of all your nearby allies.

You have learned the skill Redemption (Epic)

• You inspire fear and awe and the knowledge that no one is beyond saving. Enemies are more likely to see the errors of their ways and join your cause, should you spare their lives after defeating them.

After filling out his skill list for what felt like the final time for a long while, Darren turned to his items. The first he needed to upgrade where his boots. They’d been with him since leaving Hell, and though they were powerful, he’d started outgrowing the epic items.

Checking on them with Limitless Evolution, he discovered he had all the ingredients required to evolve them further, so he did just that.

Would you like to use Limitless Evolution to evolve your [Hell Stomping Legion Boots (Epic)] to (Mythic)?

Now evolving...

[Demoncrushing Legion Boots (Epic)] has evolved to [Hellfire Walkers (Mythic)]

[Hellfire Walkers (Mythic)] have evolved to [Hell-Sundering Stride (Legendary)]

• Your boots render you immune to fire damage and any exhaustion effects caused by prolonged movement. Your agility and movement speed is enhanced while wearing them, and you will be surrounded by purifying flames that cleanse the ground as you walk. When activated, each step taken with these boots can cover one league of distance and take the user directly through dimensional barriers made of Demonic Aura.

He delved through his Inventory, looking for any defensive items he could wear. He rarely wore any, but against Kalaziel he needed every advantage he could get. Digging deep, he found an older armor set that Limitless Evolution said qualified for an upgrade. It was the set he’d gotten after defeating Lich Lord Dagmar and setting his soul free, as well as the death knight he’d raised to serve him.

[Armor of the Wilds (Epic)] has evolved to [Beastmaster’s Garb (Mythic)]

[Beastmaster’s Garb (Mythic)] has evolved to [Shapeshifter’s Mantle (Legendary)]

• The Shapeshifter’s Mantle contains fragments of the hides of all the beasts you have slain. Each form is accessible to you through the Shapeshifter’s Mantle, allowing you to take on the form of any of them. If you are dealt lethal damage in one of these alternate forms, this armor will deactivate, and you will return to your human form.

The Shapeshifter’s Mantle didn’t look like armor at all. It was more like a pin he could wear on his cloak. But it would take blows meant to wound him, which meant it was armor. So Darren clipped it to his shoulder.

[Cloak of the Mysterious Hero (Mythic) has evolved to [Cloak of the Wandering God (Legendary)]

• The Cloak of the Wandering God carries the aura of its creator wherever it goes. Any who wears it will be reshaped into the image of its creator in form and mentality. The wearer of this cloak can walk unseen through dense crowds as unremarkable as an ordinary person despite their power, garb, or appearance. Or they can walk with all the might of a newly minted god on full display, striking awe and respect upon those who gaze upon them.
• The cloak senses when its wielder is in danger and will intercept incoming attacks by whatever means.

His cloak retained all its former effects, though its name changed, and its upgraded form was even more striking than before when unfurled to its fullest. It didn’t seem to help him in battle much since there was little the cloak could do that he couldn’t do better himself. Still, suppose this ever ended up in the hands of an ordinary person. In that case, they’d swiftly become one of the greatest warriors in the Sacred Seas.

Finally, he came to the last of his items available for upgrading. He’d seen the option to perform the upgrade since he received Dagon’s Scale. The spatial storage artifact was the perfect sacrifice to improve his Inventory.

But he’d held off because his Inventory had been valuable to him for so long. It was a direct creation of his mother’s bag of holding, and besides Melancholy, it had been the best of what he had made in his youth. He’d played with it endlessly for a month when he first made it.

But if ever there was a time to risk breaking it hoping to get something better, it was now. Dagon’s Scale shattered in his hand, and they destroyed the pocket realm within in a swirl of power that vanished as it combined with his Inventory.

[Inventory (Mythic)] has evolved to [Realmvault (Legendary)]

• With limitless storage, the Realmvault’s space is as large as it needs to be. Any item within the Realmvault can be summoned into the real world at will, and any real-world item within the user’s control can be transported to the Realmvault.
• The Realmvault draws upon the forces of order and chaos, and any item that can be sufficiently defined can be drawn forth from the forces of chaos and manifested into an object in the real world. Simple items like swords and armor can be manufactured instantly. More complex items, such as enchanted weapons, take longer to emerge from chaos.

Darren tested the Realmvault, and accessing it was even smoother than using his Inventory. He summoned Melancholy from inside it, and the weapon appeared in his hand instantly.

Curious about the Realmvault’s other abilities, he thought about wielding a long curved scimitar, like the kind he saw wielded in Marsa. He had a few in his Inventory before upgrading it, but he wanted something new. Something he knew he didn’t have.

And yet, despite that, it appeared in his hand. The gently sloping curved blade was perfectly balanced in his hand.

He put it away and focused on a bronze coin. This too appeared in his hand, and his face was looking back at him on its surface. He focused again, and a pile of coins appeared in his hands. It looked like he would never run short of coins again now that he could simply summon bronze coins from chaos whenever he pleased.

He put the coins away, then turned to the exit. First, it was time to see if Laura was done with the Genus Loci, and then it was time to face Kalaziel once again.

<note></note>

Here is the promised bonus chapter for this week!

Might swap the word vengeance for ‘retribution’ during edits. Sounds a bit more Divine Aligned.

We had a lot of upgrades in this chapter! I spent the whole weekend brainstorming for this since this was a ton of items to think up!

In other news, I’m starting chapter 59 today. Probably 4-5 more chapter after that for the ending, depending on how much of a denouncement I go for. Not sure how long it will take, since endings usually take me a long-ass time compared to the rest of the book. There’s a lot of pressure to make endings good! (So much pressure that I procrastinated writing by working on my taxes, of all things.)