Chapter 15 #3
Harald winced. “Right. Those. So the Well, it opens and drains my foes through their wounds. And my Abyssal Imperium constantly wounds them, and sickens them, which feeds the Well even faster. Which then empowers me and my Servitors, and causes Imperium to be even more effective.”
Nessa nodded slowly. “So it’s a self-reinforcing cycle. One feeds the other, around and around.”
“Right. And—well.” Harald gazed out over the demons. “I think my powers were particularly effective against them. Demons. The combination of my Imperium and Crown blunted their effectiveness. Add in your Starfire Bastion, and they found themselves at a huge disadvantage.”
“If they felt even a tenth of what I felt from those… what was that sickening wave that washed over me?” asked Nessa.
“The new form of my Tenebral Surge. That also grows more powerful the more the Well drinks.”
“Nasty.” Nessa shuddered. “I felt hungover and off-balance and concussed all at the same time.”
“What I’m trying to say,” protested Harald, hating the look on Sam’s face, “is that my powers are really good at exactly this situation. Look, Brianna told me she’d probably win but at great cost against all twenty Handmaidens.
But that’s because she’s designed to take down one major foe.
Against twenty smaller ones, she’d be at a huge disadvantage. But me? I’m built for this.”
Harald couldn’t help but look out over the corpses strewn around them once more.
“The longer the fight lasts, the weaker my enemies become. The more I can empower myself, my powers, and my Servitors. Shadowpaw is like twice as dangerous as he first was. And with Grave Concordat folded into Well, I can harvest… well, essences, as I kill our enemies, and bring them back into the fray.”
“So their every loss is your gain,” said Nessa.
“Right.” Harald tried to run his fingers through his hair, but found it matted with blood.
“On some level, each individual power is now less flashy, less potent than it was before, but they all work in tandem without my needing to direct them consciously. They’re…
” He tried to find the right word. “They’re designed, it feels like, to work like this. ”
Nessa nodded slowly, expression bleak. “You’re not so much a fighter now as a walking battlefield condition. A walking disaster.”
“For everyone else,” said Harald quickly.
“That so?” Nessa eyed him. “Those pulses were hitting me hard.”
“I need to work on fine tuning my control.” Harald grimaced. “I’m sorry. And once the power level reaches a certain register, it becomes… hard to think.”
Sam was staring morosely at the decapitated corpses. “You don’t say.”
“Which is why we need you to level up,” said Harald. “We need your influence on the battlefield. Beacon of Hope, Guardian’s Mantle, Starfire Bastion…”
“I did level up,” said Sam, tone bleak. “Finally. I was really feeling helpless there during the fight. Won’t be the case next time.”
“I didn’t,” said Nessa. “Though how you can take part in a fight like this and not level I don’t understand.”
“You did?” Harald beamed at Sam. “That’s wonderful! So did I.”
They both stared at him.
“What?”
“More power?” Sam inhaled sharply and forced herself to sit up straight. “So you’re Level 10 now?”
“Yeah.”
“And your powers?” Nessa eyed him. “I almost don’t want to know.”
Harald blew out his cheeks. “I haven’t had time to check them. Let’s see.”
He summoned the messages.
Active Ability Unlocked: Demoniac Body
Consume your Well's accumulated demonic essence reserves to temporarily reshape your body into a sovereign war-form of the abyss, with vastly augmented Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.
The transformation is shaped by the demonic essences you have assimilated.
Duration and potency scale with the reserves consumed.
When Incarnation ends, the Well is emptied and must be fed anew.
To become the monster, you must first have feasted.
+8 to Strength
+8 to Dexterity
+8 to Constitution
Passive Ability Unlocked: Demonic Assimilation
When the Well of Starless Dominion consumes demonic essence, a portion is siphoned into a permanent reserve within your Cosmos—a wellspring of stolen power that does not dissipate with time.
This reserve grows with each demonic entity drained and scales without limit.
It serves as the fuel source for your Demoniac Body and may be tapped to empower other powers.
The abyss hoards what it takes. So now do you.
Sam and Nessa were watching him intently.
“And?” prompted Nessa at last.
Harald opened his mouth, closed it. Demoniac Body at last. He’d been waiting for it ever since he’d read his father’s body, but…
He reread the powers. They thrilled him, yes, but the second time he read them, feeling the weight of his friends’ regard, he felt a disconcerting weight settle in his gut, a foreboding.
He glanced up at where Exeros’ mote floated just a few yards away.
Before he could answer, a mighty presence dawned on his awareness, like a sun rolling into view.
Brianna Hammerfell leaped easily over the gate to land smoothly on the gravel, Wyrmfall burning white in her fist. She froze, eyes wide, and took in the butchery.
“By the 100 Levels, what the hell happened here?”