Unbound

Ignoring his notifications, Felix whipped his head up and fixed his gaze on the sky.

The stars had returned. The shadow—whatever it was—had gone.

No. He gritted his teeth against the dark. I know what it was.

The Ruin.

He could remember it now, with all the clarity of his Born Trait. Felix gasped, newfound pain rippling through him.The nameless wave of destruction he’d witnessed would not leave his Mind, even as he flinched away from it. The memory drove at him, stabbing at his Aspects as if to undo itself and Felix flared his Void Sanctuary. The lightless inferno flooded his opalescent walls, stymied for only a second before it rose up like a tsunami to crush his Mind—

It stopped. A golden and silver light clad his defenses in an indomitable radiance that flared into a dome. The liquid darkness was tossed back, hurtled from whence it came, until it was nothing more than the memory of smoke.

What—? He blinked aware of his surroundings once more only to find the gold and silver light had not abated. It shone from between his hands, a molten ring radiating a soft warmth. “The crown is helping me…”

His Memory of the Ruin sharpened, turning from a hazy nothingness to a boiling shadow tinged with lightless flames. To describe it was almost impossible, but it drove a spike of dread into his gut as it blotted out the stars once more in his Mind. Yet the Memory had lost its teeth, for the crown was enhancing his mental defenses against it. In fact, another Memory rose up on its heels, caught in a sympathetic synaptic burst: Felix, standing on the balcony of a tall tower in a city of gleaming structures and surrounded by short, furry humanoids. Geist, he recalled. This is Vvim’s Memory. The one he shared with me—!

In the distance, descending from a charred sky like violet rain came a landslide of ill Will. It consumed the city of Shelim before sweeping over Felix and Vvim as they watched, gripped by a terror so profound it transcended thought. His legs jellied and his skin tried to leap from his bones, but a golden glow dulled it all. Felix stood tall as an everlasting nothingness erased the world.

Felix held up the molten circlet. The Crown of Elysium had let him remember.

“Whoa.”

Quest Complete!

The Path Of Empire!

You have waded through a path of blood and secured a total of four Territories under your banner. True Authority is yours, and the Seat and Seal of House Nevarre sings within their ancestral patterns.

4/4 Territories Secured

You Have Gained A Level!

You Are Now Level 100!

+20 to STR! +22 to PER! +22 to VIT! +26 to END! +24 to INT! +28 to WIL! +26 to AGL! +29 to DEX!

+20 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 15 Unused Stat Points!

Your Companion Pit Has Gained 2 Levels!

Pit Is Now Level 98!

He Gains:

+20 STR, +18 PER, +8 VIT, +22 END, +14 INT, +20 WIL, +40 AGL, +40 DEX!

+20 AFI, RES, and REI!

He Has 100 Unused Stat Points!

Your Authority Has Increased!

New Titles!

Banner Raised (Epic)

You have raised your banner high, announcing to all and sundry that you have claimed dominion over at least four Territories.

+Tier Upgrade For Two Features Of Your Primary Stronghold!

Empire’s Reach (Legendary)

You have taken a step down the Path of Empire and your Authority has increased by leaps and bounds. You have risen, and your Territories follow.

+Tier Upgrade For A Single Feature Of All Secondary Strongholds!

See Authority Screen For More Detail.

Felix squinted against all of the notifications that crowded his vision, each one more vibrant and gilded than the last. A small influx of power flooded his core space from the level up, but it was a side note to the blooming awareness that his increased Authority afforded him. That felt strange and more potent than ever before, like…like he was developing new limbs that were stretching out into the horizon.

The notifications blipped, minimized as another, far larger box dominated his sight. It was gold and silver, and the letters were written in a pure lapis blue.

Hidden Quest Completed!

Restore The Crown!

The Fragments of the Crown of Elysium have been reunited! Lost at the end of the Golden Empire, they have rejoined in the hands of Felix Nevarre, Unbound Autarch of a fledgling empire of his own.

You have proven yourself worthy, Ascendent.

Claim what is yours by right of unification.

New Titles!

Resurrection Adept (Mythic)

To bring back that which was Lost again and again, you have wrestled with the lingering touch of the Ruin and learned much from your endeavors. Significance costs on all Skills is reduced by half.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Remembrance of the Ruin (???)

You have retained your memories of not one but two brushes with the mysterious force known as the Ruin. You have gained a permanent boost to your mental defenses.

A golden glow suffused the blue-green planet within Felix, the same one that the crown had erected around his Void Sanctuary. It sank into his Sanctuary’s foundations, threading across the opalescent walls until that dome became a perpetual fixture. A feeling of warm relief filled him, radiating outward through his chest and limbs to extinguish pains he never knew existed.

Significance cost reduction by half?! Felix leaned back, his breath coming fast. That’s huge. I could use Unite the Lost more and—He sat up straight. If any Divine still clings to Gabby, I can tear it to shreds easily.

Your Authority Has Increased!

Do You Wish To Bind Yourself To the Crown Of Elysium?

Y/N

Felix held up the crown, twisting it in his hands to inspect it. The glow persisted and it was warm to the touch. It sings…something between compassion and reassurance. It’s like it has a Spirit.

Emperor’s Vigilance!

Name: Crown of Elysium

Type: Regalia (enchanted)

Lore: Once worn by the rulers of the Golden Empire, the Crown of Elysium steadied the Mind of the sovereign for the benefit of all.

That’s it?

Sometimes when he used his evolved Analyze Skill Felix would feel resistance from a target. It usually meant that they were protecting their information or too strong for his Skill to reveal. Now, however, information came easily and yet it contained little more than what Felix already knew.

Emperor’s Vigilance!

He tried again, but the same information returned. There wasn’t even a hint of resistance, as if the crown was nothing more than old, enchanted metal.

It won’t even tell me what the enchantments are. This is—it’s hiding from me. It has to be.

Do You Wish To Bind Yourself To the Crown Of Elysium?

Y/N

The notification pushed to the fore, pulsing slightly now. Felix lifted the crown to his eye level, looking at the convoluted patterns shaped into its surface. “Yeah. I don’t see why not.”

The crown flared brighter than before but Felix didn’t find it blinding. It sank into his skin like the heat of a fireplace after a snowy afternoon, flowing through him until all he felt was a calming warmth and a gentle clarity. His Mind sharpened, already bolstered by Skill and Title, but now it was as if a faint astigmatism had been wiped from his sight. Across the front of the crown, where the first set of tines spread up and outward, the blank space rippled. The metal lifted, forming itself into a familiar glyph—a burning eye surmounted by a crown.

The glyph of House Nevarre.

“Well, that’s cool.” He twisted it around, looking for any other changes. There were none. “Let’s try this again. Emperor’s Vigilance.”

Name: Crown of Elysium

Type: Empyrean Regalia (Enchanted)

Lore: Once worn by the rulers of the Golden Empire, the Crown of Elysium steadied the Mind of the sovereign for the benefit of all. Made of Crescian Bronze, the Crown of Elysium is a symbol of the connection between the sovereign and their people.

Crescian Resonance XX - Nymean design has imbued the Crown with a deep resonance with other artifacts crafted from Crescian Bronze.

Harmonic Repository XX - The Crown is indelibly linked to the Seals of Elysium and can be used to locate them. Range depends on Authority.

Fortress of the Mind XX - Enhances extant mental defenses and fortifies the Mind of its bearer.

Empyrean Regalia Set Piece - 1 of 3 - Effects will accrue when two and three set pieces are bound to your Aspects.

Set Effect 1 - UnknownSet Effect 2 - Unknown

Once again, there was no sense of resistance as the information populated before him, yet this time there was more. A lot more.

“Empyrean Regalia. Its own classification, huh?” Felix spun the crown between his hands. It was pleasantly heavy but very balanced. “Empyrean, Elysium, Ouranic law, so many ancient Greek words. Or were they from here first?” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter.”

“What’s it mean to resonate with other Crescian artifacts? Fortress of the Mind is clearly what’s reinforcing my Void Sanctuary right now. But Harmonic Repository? Seal of Elysium?” That felt important. Did it refer to the true Seals of Territories or something else?

“Set piece. One of three.” Felix twisted the crown in his hands again. He’d never seen an item that was part of a set before. “Where are the others?”

Sadly that information didn’t present itself. Licking his lips, Felix lifted the crown and placed it on his head.

It fit perfectly.

Immediately it began to quiver, vibrating at a strange pitch that was nearly uncomfortable against his skull. Felix would have torn it off were it not for the answering vibration at his hip. He unsheathed his Inheritor’s Will and lifted it into the air.

The Crown Of Elysium Resonates With The Inheritor’s Will!

The entire weapon was glowing with a white light that sparked with prismatic occlusions along the edge. The brightest spots, however, were the two glyphs by the hilt…and they were soon joined by a new glyph, rising from the depths of the blade just above the others.

The sword flared, burning away the night around them. Without willing it forward, the details for his sword popped up.

Name: Inheritor's Will

Type: Weapon (Long Blade) (Enchanted)

Lore: A weapon known by many names, it was once an instrument of the Herald herself, used to defend the Golden Empire from those that would wrong it. It is made of Crescian Bronze, a material stronger than orichalcum and mithril, yet lighter than both and more welcoming to enchantment. It enhances the Authority of its rightful bearer, Felix Nevarre, when interacting with remnants of the Nym.

Etheric Division - The first of several arrays. The blade may cut through spellforms and Mana formations at the Inheritor's request, but it is gated by the advancement of the Inheritor.

Etheric Unification - Nymean power resonates with the blade, drawing other sources of Nymean sorcery toward itself.

Etheric Empowerment - The blade is an extension of its bearer’s might, and as such the range of all effects of the Empyrean Regalia are doubled.

“Etheric Empowerment. A new power for my sword.” Felix turned the weapon, inspecting it for any other changes but found nothing. “The crown resonated with the sword. Is that because of Crescian Resonance?” He checked the crown’s information again. “But the sword isn’t part of the set. Damn. I wonder if—”

The world pulsed. Felix’s awareness pulsed with it, spreading immediately in every direction as motes of light dotted the horizon. Some were close, but most were miles and miles away, some beyond even that. The world pulsed again, and this time Felix’s senses were pulled back inward, snapping his head back like he’d been punched in the jaw. He stared, eyes unfocused as he processed what he’d felt.

Nymean ruins. Though his senses had retracted, he could still point to where the motes of light had glimmered and even had a vague idea of the danger they presented. Four star. Six star. Thirteen star. All within a week’s travel of this city.

He accessed his Authority Screen, pulling up the Maps of his Territories. The motes were reflected here as well, denoted with the same star rating the Nym used but otherwise unmarked. Looks like sixteen ruins within this Territory. He flipped to Ahkestria, Khalheim, and Nagast. And dozens more in the others.

Felix whistled, plans whirling through his Mind. His Essence store, while vast after the recent battles, was diminished by a significant chunk thanks to his practice. The only things that gave him a challenge and enough Essence to truly tide himself over were creatures at Master Tier or higher…and the Nym were famous for imprisoning monsters in their ruins.

With his sword and the crown, he could find them.

With his Hunger, he could devour them all.

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