Unbound

He was still.

Small and still and hidden. But it wasn't enough.

Something moved, an undulation through thick waters. Too many appendages flicking, twitching. They circled him.

They were close.

He was seen.

Felix woke to darkness.

It wasn't complete, some dim glowing lights he couldn't place proliferated from a low angle, but all he saw was blue-grey mist on black.

Mist? Felix blinked, but the fog didn't dissipate or fade into static. The space above him was absolutely thick with it. He tried to activate his Manasight but...it was already on.

What's going--UUNF.

When he tried to lift his head, an awful spasm of pain rippled through his body, and Felix was suddenly reminded how he had gotten here. He had fallen.

Into the sink hole.

Oh damn. Oh shit am I...? He tried moving his arms and legs, which was like unblocking a dam as a flood of awful sensations rushed into him at once. Shoulder muscles torn, joints yanked and strained, his forearms were bruised and cut, and his ribs...they were sharp daggers in his side. Worse than the gritty grinding of the bones in his chest, worse even than the lightning and flame of his abused muscles and lacerated flesh: the hunger had returned. It came roaring back to life, an empty gnawing that felt like a creature was eating him from the inside out. Felix felt the beast in his gut actively steal his strength as he attempted to sit up; instead he only managed a weak flop which upset his delicate balance on whatever rock was beneath him. He slid sideways from it, landing six inches onto moss covered stone.

Felix could see more of the area at this angle, and he looked to be on a stone pathway, covered in moss and punctuated by odd standing stones. Nearby, to either side of him and close enough that they didn't fade entirely into the fog, there loomed sheer walls. They faded into misty darkness only fifty or so feet up. Faint swirling marks etched into the rocks he could see, twisty and convoluted enough that he found looking at them hurt after too long. He blinked and turned his head away, still stifling the growing pains in his body, and his eyes fell on the raised platform he had fallen off: it was Magda.

She was face up, her arms and legs splayed to the side, and her armor was battered all to hell. Her eyes were closed but after a panicked moment Felix realized she was breathing...barely. Despite feeling like he was going to shatter at any moment, Felix nudged himself just a bit closer, reaching a shaking hand out to nudge her. All he managed was a light touch, barely pushing against her arm.

Wait, I was on top of her? He realized. Then she..? She had saved him. Cushioned his fall with her own body and powers, just like before. She jumped in front of that Mana wave. If she hadn't I would've died. Guaranteed. And Pit...PIT! Shock surged through him as he remembered his friend, even as shame wormed across his mind for forgetting. Unable to move well, even to properly lift his head and look around, Felix instead sent a questing sensation through their bond.

It was faint, but tiny reverberations echoed between them, resounding in his mind more than his ears. Flexing his Willpower and Pain Resistance, Felix dragged himself toward the echo, his body rioting. There. Just beyond the nearest standing stone, he saw a black paw. The paw twitched, and a beak quivered forward.

He's alive! Felix breathed, even though his ribs stabbed him with every inhalation. Is he hurt? Unable to fully see him, Felix instead focused on their connection, searching for anything wrong with his Companion. It wasn't something he'd done before, but the fearsome need he felt drove his instincts, and after a brief resistance he was met with a series of distinct...concepts, he guessed. Self-contained images that also held limited sensations like touch, taste, scent, and of course pain. A lot pain.

Oh buddy. Pit's hip was sprained, if not broken, as were his two front legs and right wing. He was in an excruciating amount of pain. Felix wasn't sure what had happened, but either Magda hadn't been able to shield him completely or he'd tried to slow his fall with his wings. Felix's own memories blanked out somewhere during that fall, despite his perfect recall; that must mean they hit something and got knocked out.

Felix looked up again, trying and failing to pierce through the gloom. For all he could tell, they were beneath a starless night sky. But if that were true, then the sun should be up, right? How long have we been out? A sudden thrill of fear raced up his agonized spine. Are the giant's coming?

Heart hammering, Felix couldn't make out a single sound, other than a soft breeze brushing against rock and moss. He swallowed, the act as painful as everything else, and marshaled his thoughts. He only had one path forward, and that was to advance his formation. It had saved his ass in the past. He took a deep breath, and toggled open his neglected notifications.

Dodge is level 25!

Acrobatics is level 25!

Sigils of the Primordial Dawn is level 4!

Exploration is level 22!

Analyze is level 24!

Deep Mind is level 25!

Bastion of Will is level 32!

Armored Skin is 25!

Shadow Whip is level 24!

Relentless charge is level 5!

Make An Entrance is level 10!

Intimidation is level 8!

Running is level 20!

Cold Resistance is level 17!

Dual Casting is level 19!

Acting is level 10!

Influence of the Wisp is level 25!

Corrosive Strike is level 24!

Unarmed Mastery is level 25!

Pain Resistance is level 31!

Blind Fighting is level 20!

Manasight is level 32!

Companion Pact is level 17!

Reign of Vellus is level 27!

"H-holy hell," Felix breathed. The rush of subtle knowledge, usual with each rank up in a Skill, was a torrent. His neck and back muscles screamed in pain as Felix convulsed, his mind near to bursting with unrestrained knowledge, concepts, and the strange system-given muscle memory. They faded, drifting even from his prodigious mind, leaving his head spinning with the vague residue of a series of notes, chords, a string strummed like a sun setting beyond the horizon.

Then his core spasmed. A horrific pain many times the magnitude of his previous agony, dwarfing the blaze of his shredded shoulders and broken ribs. The music distorted, the chords going minor like a mournful howl, and a deep gnawing ache that was so strong and alien that for a moment he couldn't identify it. It was the hunger, primal and utterly contemptuous of his Pain Resistance.

--Apprentice Tier in Dodge!

You Gain The Following:

+3 to AGL...

No! He fumbled at his waist, hands clumsy and numb, that faint pain still skittering down his arms. Then he noticed it.

His satchel was gone.

FUCK!

...

+3 to DEX

+3 to END

Felix felt a surge of power, that same rising concerto that marked all of his stat gains. Energy poured into him from the System, burning through his pathways as even this minor boost remade him in subtle ways.

Clarity came shortly after.

Damn it! With no Essence Draught in him he had wasted the gains from Dodge. Where did it go?

It was nowhere to be found, the ground around him only studded with stones, mist, and moss. He must have lost it in the fall. He grimaced, the flare of pain through his core spearing upward like hell's heartburn. What the hell is this?! This couldn't be normal. This wasn't...he wasn't....

Magda shifted slightly, still unconscious, and Felix's eyes were drawn inexplicably to a rent in her armor. It exposed her neck, and his Perception keyed into the flush there, the thready beat of erratic heartsblood, pumping along her sturdy flesh.

--Tier in Acrobatics!

You Gain the--

The Mana she uses to generate those shields is strong. Her Skills must be...powerful. It would be worth it...right?

She wouldn't feel a thing.

+5 DEX

+5 AGL

+3 PER

"AHH!" Another pulse of power, injected straight into his soul, and the sudden burst weakened the hold of whatever had just grabbed him. "What the fuck was that?" Felix felt Bastion of Will fortify his mind, pushing at the hunger that even now reached for him with greedy tendrils. "What the FUCK was that?!" He found himself only inches away from Magda's bare throat, and Felix threw himself violently away.

Injured, he only managed to push himself as far as Magda's waist, where he scrabbled against her armor, kicking his legs to put as much distance between him and that potentially fatal mistake. As he did, his eyes landed on Magda's belt and the two potions cases she had strapped there. And though it was scuffed and battered, he instantly recognized the bright metal buckles and expensively inscribed leather. Vessilia's potion case! Then that means--!

With zero hesitation, Felix grabbed it and yanked it off the warrior's belt, the clasp breaking and sending bits of metal pinging off into the darkness. He unclasped the top and threw it open. Immediately, the ambient Mana in the area began to gather and roil, drawn toward the jewel bright vials of a ducal heir's personal Essence Draught stash.

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Deep Mind!

You Gain The Following:

With nothing more than a perfunctory Analyze, Felix grabbed the first Mind draught and slugged it back.

+10 ALA

+10 RES

+...

Rare Essence Draught Detected During Formation!

[Draught Essence of Clarity]

Choose a Feature:

Precision

Purity

Incarnation

What do these even mean? As with the poison, Felix found himself at a loss on what to choose. Precision is important for survival. I have a few ranged abilities. Purity...not so much. Incarnation? What would that even be good for? Felix fumbled with indecision, though something told him he only had finite time here. He hovered over Precision for a moment, feeling 98% sure in the decision...but swerved at the last second and made his choice.

Congratulations!

You have absorbed the Essence of Incarnation!

A spear of pain thrust through his mind and body, but after everything it felt like being stabbed after a car crash; it still hurt, but his body couldn't even focus on it. Electricity rolled across his ribs and hips and shoulders, crackling along his broken bones like salt in a wound, until finally it buried itself in his skull. Felix dropped forward onto his hands, his body still mostly prone.

Holy shit, he panted. I've gotta do that...three more times?!

Grunting with effort but finding his body moving somewhat better than before, Felix reached into Vessilia's case and pulled out three more Essence Draughts. Two Body and a Spirit.

Felix felt the rising rush of his next Apprentice Tier Skill, and he gritted his teeth as he tossed back another draught. This one was thick and earthy, with a tang to it like copper.

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Armored Skin!

You Gain The Following:

+5 VIT

+5 END

+...

Rare Essence Draught Detected During Formation!

[Draught Essence of Orichalcum]

Choose a Feature:

Mountain

Red-Gold

Unforged

Again with unhelpful choices. Felix frowned. Orichalcum is a metal right? Mythical. Mountain sounds strong. Red-Gold sounds weirdly specific. Unforged seems bad...unforged metal is just scrap, isn't it? This is my Body, I don't want an Unforged Body.

Felix chose, once again following his gut.

Congratulations!

You have absorbed the Essence of Mountain!

More pain, more strange and minute changes to his body. Something was happening but he couldn't track what. By the end of it, he felt sturdier somehow, stronger maybe. And mother of mercy: his ribs didn't hurt anymore.

Only a thousand other pains left. He tipped the next draught into his mouth, grimacing at the scorching heat of it.

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Influence of the Wisp!

You Gain The Following:

+5 WIL

+5 INT

+...

Rare Essence Draught Detected During Formation!

[Draught Essence of Dragon's Fire]

Choose a Feature:

Immolation

Fervor

Rage

Now these are some options! Felix found it in himself to rejoice before paling. Immolation is...isn't that when people set themselves on fire? No that's self-immolation....Fervor is intense passion, and Rage...do I want either of those as a basis for my Spirit? Whatever that even means?

Felix mashed his selection. I hope this is the right one!

Congratulations!

You have absorbed the Essence of Immolation!

A wave of heat burned through him, but it wasn't painful this time, just intensely uncomfortable. The burning spun and coiled up into his chest, just above his core.

One...more!

Felix was dripping sweat, his body visibly steaming in the chill mist, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably. He wasn't sure if taking this many Essences at once was a good idea. Did Harn mention that? Did he ask? Felix shook his head, banishing distractions as he mustered his strength and raised the last vial to his lips. He glanced over at Magda.

And met her eyes, widen open and staring at him.

Oh shit.

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Unarmed Mastery!

You--

"Do it," she whispered, just at the edge of his hearing. Her voice was rough, somehow burred and pinched at the same time. "Do it, you fool."

Felix didn't need any more encouragement. He quaffed it.

+5 STR

+...

Rare Essence Draught Detected During Formation!

[Draught Essence of Wind's Grace]

Choose a Feature:

Liberation

Intangibility

Breath

The energy was building up in him even before he could select an Essence, a billowing power that made it hard to focus. His core flared, while that constant hunger ripped at his guts like a cat in a bag, desperate to be released. Felix pushed it down, harder and harder, until it all gave way. Focus. FOCUS!

Choose!

Felix slammed his choice, and his world spun away into oblivion.

Chitinous legs clacked in the dark, while hooked limbs swam the brackish waters.

"You're almost there, Felix."

Pale eyes watched him.

"Don't give up yet."

A slap to his face woke him up.

"UAGH!" He shouted, half sitting up and throwing his hands over his head. When more hits didn't follow, he risked a glance.

Magda half stood, half leaned against one of the standing stones next to him, smiling wearily with a grim sort of humor. "No more sleeping, princess."

"I wasn't sleeping, I was...my Formation!" Felix quickly brought up his notifications. He'd missed the last bit when he passed out.

Congratulations!

You have absorbed the Essence of Liberation!

3 of 3 Body Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

"Tempering begun? What does that mean, exactly?" Felix asked, risking a look up at Magda.

"Your Body?"

"Yeah," Felix said.

She swallowed then hobbled a few steps back.

"Brace yourself, kid."

Felix heard a rising chord, a deep basso strum that rolled over him like a wave. He felt his skin crackle and tighten, while his muscles and very bones began to quiver inside of him. He bent over and hurled up his breakfast, his sick coming in waves of bile, while his joints swelled and popped, snapping into strange angles. His teeth ached, some hidden pitch shaking the nerves in his body, destroying them and remaking them all at once. He thought he screamed but wasn't sure. Then a foul muck poured from his gullet, and he didn't care. His only thought was ridding himself of the stinking corruption that poured all over the mossy stone beneath him.

Five minutes and an eternity later, he collapsed.

"Siva's breath, that's a lot of impurities, Felix," Magda sounded impressed, if tired. "Ugh, now I have to fish you out."

Felix barely listened, his body still humming at a pitch his ears could barely recognize. Notifications streamed before him.

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Body!

You Have Formed: the Moving Mountain Body

+10 STR

+10 END

+5 AGL

+5 DEX

+15 VIT

"C'mon, up you get. You can finish resolving your Temper on the way." Felix felt Magda grab him and haul him up, grunting with effort. "Seven Hells, you got heavy. What kinda Body did you Form?"

Felix didn't answer, at first distracted by the chiming that slowly faded from his ears, and then by the soft whimper of a dear friend.

"Pit!" Felix ran to where the tenku was laying, still hurt. Pit's gold eyes looked up at him, wide and wet, and his bird beak opened in a soft caw. "Oh buddy, how do I--? The potion case!"

Felix stumbled over to the case, which had been closed and latched again, probably by Magda. He flung it open and rooted out a single red Health Potion. Seconds later, he was back at Pit's side, carefully pouring the liquid down his Companion's throat.

"There you go. It'll be ok," Felix pet the side of Pit's head, skritching his feathers in that way he liked. Felix watched Pit's Health jump up nearly a hundred points, putting him at over 50%. Some gross twisting and cracking sounded out in the dark corridor as bones and muscles realigned in the chimera's legs. His wing, however, was still bent unnaturally.

"We have to go, Felix. That light show you put on will have attracted visitors, and I don't know how close the giants are either." Magda's face was drawn as she looked up into the darkness. "This place is...it's bad. It's very bad."

So Felix scooped up his friend and turned to the Silver Rank.

"Alright. Where to?"

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