[Omen of the Witchblade] Chapter 133 – Divine Punishment

Mel looked at Charlie’s branch. “Or, and hear me out, you’re out for the count. You could give me your branch and I’ll use mine. Two powers for Mel!”

Charlie gave her a Look.

“Okay, I can see you’re not thrilled with the prospect.”

“I have to ask. Do you think I’m just a glorified, walking health potion? And that my aspect skills do nothing for you?”

Mel looked her up and down. “How about a glorified health potion with a big ol’ dumpy?”

Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.

Charlie stared, visibly unsure how to react to that. She seemed torn between laughing and being even angrier.

Mel rolled her eyes and took out her own legendary branch. One of the reasons she had delayed using it–aside from being busy as hell–was that it wasn’t precisely the type she was hoping for.

At the same time, you don’t just pass up a Legendary friggin’ branch. So she held onto it.

Mel took out her own [Kindling Branch of Enchantment (Violet-Green)].

“I’ll prove to you otherwise.” A whitish glow surrounded Charlie’s recently crippled arm. She continued, growing infuriated. “And yet, what does that say about the rest of us Magi? That you dumpstered us in the trial without ever being healed?”

Mel nodded. “Pretty much. I also hung out with a bunch of normies from Earth for a week or two, then spent another few weeks hunting down their killers instead of training. I didn’t even have [Health Potions] for like a month!”

“The suffering you went through…” Charlie gave her a look of pained sympathy, like Mel confessed to being an abandoned orphan living in a dumpster. A burning dumpster. Sighing, she shook her head. “Maybe you really don’t need me.”

Okay, maybe I went a little too far into Truthsville.

The Necromancer wrapped her arms around Mel and pressed her palms to Mel’s spine.

A shell of ghostly, translucent bones covered Mel’s armor like an exoskeleton. Another health bar overlaid onto Mel’s second bar.

Aspect Skill: [Bone Mend]

Support: [Bone Shroud]

[Bone Shroud]: Erects a galvanizing Shroud of HP fortified against physical and magical damage. Resilience tier is altered and augmented by additional Bone Aspect enhancements and support skills.

Charlie poured additional mana into the [Bone Shroud], conjuring purple tinged skulls, femurs, and ribs that were absorbed into the magical shell.

Aspect Skill: [Osseomancy]

The result enhanced the Shroud by a single tier. It didn’t increase the added health bar. At least not in any way that Mel could tell. However, it increased the shroud’s defensiveness. Mel felt as if she was wearing another piece of Epic rarity armor. One that protected her entire body.

If Mel got struck on the leg, the defenses on her [Frostbite Scorpion Carapace Bracers] weren’t going to do anything for her. They only applied locally.

I could get used to this.

Support: [Bone Shroud (Tier II)]

“Break me,” Mel hissed through her teeth. “No wonder every random dickbag is thirsty for a Champion healer.”

“Most don’t have another chunky health bar like you,” Charlie pointed out, sounding a little too intrigued by that extra health bar from [Sanguine Coat]. “That’s almost exclusively a Shroud effect.”

Mel dusted her shoulders with a smug expression. “Yeah, well…I’m me.”

Charlie gave her a long, hooded look before clearing her throat. “Do you prefer my bicolor branch? It’s Green-White.” She eyed Mel’s with obvious interest. “Your branch is an enchantment type. That’ll suit me very well.”

“What’ll that do for you?” Mel asked.

“Awaken a bolstering aspect skill, I suspect. Hopefully one relevant here, considering this life and death situation.”

Mel looked at their branches. “I sure as hell hope we can’t influence that,” she said. “Can you imagine the min-maxing? Suddenly you need to put yourself in grave danger in a fire-aspected realm surrounded by thirty-two goblins and a single unicorn in order to get a specific type of aspect skill? Screw that.”

“It’s just a theory, though not so extreme as that,” Charlie admitted. “That the context matters.”

“Well,” Mel said, thrusting out her branch, “your theory sucks!”

They swapped branches.

The underground tunnels rumbled, filtering dirt into the air. Two of the skeletons stepped into the wall, pressing through loose areas and disappearing into different passages.

The Iron orc was making progress. They didn’t have much time left.

[Kindling Branch of Divinity (Green-White)]

(Aspect Skill Item)

(Legendary)

A charred branch from the Eternal Tree. Pure white feathers drift upwards from the branch, carried on shimmering green winds, and vanish into the sky. This particular branch is barely burned, its bark resembles marble shot through with gold. The unmistakable sense of divinity lingers within.

Imprint: Use to unlock a divinity type aspect skill of the Green-White variety.

Mel had never seen a [Kindling Branch] with two colors on it before these two. “Here goes nothing.”

Motes of runic power burst into the air from two Legendary branches being used at once. The Green, White, and Violet streams wove together before passing into each Magi.

Please select an aspect skill to awaken: Divine, Mist, Blood, Serpent, Omen.

I wonder if I’ll get some sort of match-bonus if I pair this up with the same type of aspect?

Mel chose Divine. It was her weakest attribute because [Tempest Heart] was difficult to keep up and she didn’t train her strength very much.

Besides, it was her only aspect without two skills. At least this way, she was a little more balanced. Most importantly, however, she was deeply curious if there was some sort of hidden modifier for matching an aspect and a [Kindling Branch] to the same type.

Most aspects didn’t match kindling branches at all, so this was a rare situation.

You awaken the [Crown of Glory] Divine aspect skill.

[Crown of Glory]

(Divine Aspect)

(Copper, Green-White/Special)

(Grade 1 [0%])

Cost: Modest Mana

Cooldown: Moderate

Egotistical. Powerful. Petty. Caring. These are just a few of the words that describe not only the Divinity, but yourself as well. You, who so gleefully deride the gods, are more like them than you or they would ever openly admit. The Crown of Glory allows you to anoint an ally, providing them (and yourself, of course) with a myriad of enhancements based upon the target’s class, race, and aspects.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Invoke a halo upon yourself and your allied target. You and your target both gain [Twinned Soul]. You and your target can sense each other within a 100-foot radius. Sense abilities gain additional properties.

[Twinned Soul]: You gain attribute enhancements and buffs based on the class of your partner. Healing and enhancing effects placed on one another are empowered.

Mel raised a blonde brow at the description. Getting a bit snarky there, aren’t you?

“[Mythclad]?” Charlie said in astonishment.

“You get something good, Princess?” Mel wasn’t so sure about her own skill. It could be good. Absolutely. However, it could be weak as well. The fact that it didn’t explicitly say what it could do worried her.

Up until this point, every single aspect skill was painfully explicit, as if telling her exactly where she could color in the lines. Now all of a sudden she gained a skill that basically said “go try it out, get random stuff!” as if that was normal.

“Oh, oh yes,” Charlie said hungrily. “You’re not sacrificing yourself here. I won’t lose you again, Mel. Tell me which of my aspects you want.”

That pulled Mel up short. “Excuse me? You’re giving me an aspect?”

“I’m going to enchant you with the power and nature of a single aspect. Greater strength, agility, and so forth, is yours.” Charlie gathered green and purple Mythic aspect in her hands. Tiny, ever-changing esoteric symbols drifted through the smoky mana.

“I’m going to need maximum speed if I’ll have any chance of avoiding a hit,” Mel said. “If I avoid a hit, hopefully I won’t need your Shroud. So gimme whatever is attached to your agility.” She dropped her voice to a bare whisper. “Gotta go fast.”

Aspect Skill: [Mythclad]

Support: [Mythclad: Agility (Fairy Aspect)]

[Mythclad: Agility (Fairy Aspect)]: Bolsters an ally with the myth of Fairy aspected Agility, enchanting the ally’s body and armaments with the power, magic, and affinity of Fairy aspect. Additionally adds a portion of the caster’s Agility to the ally.

Mel looked at the faint fairy fire that coated her body in wispy green and purple flames. “Sick.” She glanced at Charlie as the walls shook and the sound of shattering bone could be heard close by. “Damn, guess I better get a move on.”

Mel lifted her hand, extended two fingers, and drew a circle on Charlie’s forehead. “Be anointed, my blessed priestess of mine!”

Aspect Skill: [Crown of Glory]

For a fraction of a moment, Mel’s eyes glowed like burnished gold as Divine power surged through her. The glow that bathed Charlie’s fair features was reflected on Mel’s face as a second halo made up of swirling fanning light appeared behind Charlie.

These were nothing like the cartoon halos Mel grew up on. They were ethereal and glowed with power. Symbols and runes drifted around the central band.

“Man, this is going to make it so easy to see me,” Mel muttered.

The band of light and glowing symbols perfectly backlit the pair of them, but a single thought hid them easily. They turned translucent, telling Mel that they were still there, but nobody else could see them.

Support: [Twinned Soul (Destined Necromancer)]

[Twinned Soul (Destined Necromancer)]: Joins the facets of Necromancer and Witchblade, awakening the power of [Blight], deepening reserves of mana, and increasing resistance to [Death’s Door] by one level. Healing and enhancing effects placed on one another are empowered.

[Blight]: All sources of afflictions you can inflict are combined within blight. Whenever your target reaches (5) stacks of blight, they gain [Destined Death].

[Destined Death]: Acts like a wound and must be cleansed like one. Increases mana and stamina expenditure.

Charlie gazed up at the halo, fascinated by the manifestation of Divine magic. Her expression reminded Mel keenly of the first time she had seen Charlie. Back then, Charlie was enraptured by an aspect gem on a flying dragon’s back.

Mel understood now that the aspect gem was Mythic.

New Quest: Under Her Aegis

You have sparked a nascent soul calling that is incredibly rare across the vast, many Ringed Shardrune multiverse. Most would choose to embrace such a connection for power, profit, companionship, or even slavery, but you are not so easily swayed. While denial will indulge your self-destructive nature, vulnerability and companionship offer a new journey. One most people only dream of. The path you choose is yours alone to take, but your choice will alter another’s fate.

Should you pursue this, additional quests will be available to advance your soul calling and extend the protection of the World Serpent. Be aware, this quest is time limited, as a sinister secret will claim its due before long. Remember that failure to make a choice is still a choice.

Mel stared at the new quest, then at Charlie. “Did you also…” The look on Charlie’s face suggested she did not get the same quest, so Mel quickly changed what she was going to say. “Get a super affliction skill from a Necromancer buff?”

Charlie shook her head. “No, mine clearly states it’s from a Witchblade. My minions are able to inflict the same afflictions that I can, which is a nice bonus. I have get more mana, resistance to [Death’s Door], better healing and enhancing, and whenever a minion dies, it explodes causing affliction stacks. Pretty sweet deal.”

“That sounds pretty sick,” Mel said. “And here I thought my own buffs were awesome.” She rose to her feet and looked around the room. “All right, change of plans. Sacrifice? That’s rookie shit. We’re going whole hog. This green piggy is getting cooked and we’re going to have ourselves some green eggs and ham. This is what we’re going to do…”