Star Bound Sorcerous

Zee stared with wide-eyed horror as Bastion fell from the sky, a bloody hole through his chest. Despite the pain of having her throat squeezed by serrated claws, she was unable to take her eyes off of him.

His eyes were wide open with shock and disbelief, his mouth open in a silent O as he fell towards the ground far below. Zee had thought she had felt pain before, but it was nothing like the pain of her heart breaking. Bastion had always been that rock in her life, unceasing in his support and unwavering dedication.

He was the best man a woman like her could ever ask for, the only constant in her hectic life. Zee had been on the edge of death more times than she could count, and yet when it was Bas, it was different. She had lost a lot of acquaintances and even friends, but never someone this close. 

Somehow, despite all the death around her, she just hadn't even considered she would lose Bastion. It was hard to wrap her mind around. How could this monster do such a thing to Bastion? Those two jagged wounds in his chest would surely kill him even if the fall didn't. 

Zee had a few healing pills inside her spatial storage that might save him, but this hulking monster was in her way. The realization sent her in a frenzy, her mind was a whir of desperation, as she frantically tried to find a way out, a way to reach Bas in time.

Zee was desperate but that didn't magically change the fact her body was not in a good way after her break through. With the current state of her body, she would be lucky to exhibit even half of her potential power. It was not a comforting realization. 

The grip on her neck tightened, drawing her attention to its four bug like eyes. 

"Was that pest someone important to you?" the blood gorger asked, mirth in its voice.

"You are a monster!" Zee spat, gritting the words out through the iron grip on her throat.

"That's quite ironic coming from you. Do you know how many people Julian killed on his rampage through my domain?" The blood gorger let out a loud chittering laugh that grated on her ears. "While I'm here, he is back inside my territory, wiping out my heartland planets. He has undoubtedly destroyed four or five of my most valuable worlds already, but I don't care anymore. After all, once I claim the prize inside the eternal throne, and ascend, ruling the blood gorger's domain will be beneath me," it said.

Zee had guessed this monster was someone important, but it was only now she realized who exactly it was. This wasn't just some random blood gorger. No, it was Elbious Bon Draknus, the Oligark, and supreme ruler of the blood gorgers domain. The realization that she was dealing with someone on the level of the Lorocan emperor, should have terrified her. But strangely it did nothing to cool her rage at what he had done.

So what if this was the so-called supreme Oligark of the blood gorger empire? This bastard had just stabbed Bastion in the back, and that crime demanded retribution. Given the vast chasm in strength between them, it would be quite difficult to get revenge. Or at least they would have if not for one simple fact. Zee had just ranked up, not once, but twice, which meant one thing: she had two new skills she could choose. 

When overcoming insurmountable odds, Zee had always run into weird and powerful skills. Usually, the more powerful the skills, the more downsides they had. Hopefully, something in her status could help her fight this monster.

All it took was a mental prompt before two lists of five skills flickered in front of her vision. Given the claw slowly tightening around her neck, she didn't have time to read each over properly, so she skimmed them. 

(Harvester. Unleash a spiritual domain that draws on the essence of your surroundings)

The first skill was good, but not what she was looking for. 

(Spatial communion. Calm the spatial layers, stabilizing space in your area,) Nope.

(Spirit mend, suffuse your body with the healing waves of spiritual energy) Nope.

(Soul Burn, drain the life force from captured souls, make it your own. This effect will only boost your power based on the strength of the soul harvested. Warning absorbing multiple souls at once will put increasing pressure on your body and soul)

Elation filled her. That was it! Normally, Zee wouldn't have selected Soul Burn, given it was a heretical skill that delved into soul arts, but she desperately needed a berserking skill. Long term consequences of her choice be damned.

The first list flickered and vanished, and a second list filled her mind. Zee skimmed it quickly, her heart skipping a beat as she found what she both dreaded and hoped for.

(Apocalyptic Rage. A wisp of the apocalypse dwells in the depths of your core. Form a gate between your core and true apocalypse, flooding your body with an unceasing stream of power. Warning! The gate in your core will grow in size and become more difficult to close the longer it's open)

The skill sounded absolutely terrifying, and she would have never even considered acquiring it if not for the circumstances. Such a self-destructive skill before could cause more harm to her than her enemies. But times changed, and right now, she didn't give a damn about her own safety. All she cared about was saving Bastion, and she needed to get through this blood gorger to get to him.

Most cultivators would have taken months of careful study before selecting a new skill, but she didn't have that luxury. Both skills were chosen and activated in unison. She used soul burn on a pile of beast shards in her spatial storage, turning them to dust as the skill consumed all the remaining soul essence. Her body was flooded with power, but it was nothing like the floodgates that opened, filling her channels with power when she activated apocalyptic rage.

A blinding gray haze filled the sky as power suffused her body, threatening to rip her apart. Ebious Bon Draknus was thrown away, his claws raking bleeding gashes across her skin as her eyes started glowing with gray light. The pain of overloading her haggard body was shocking.

The blood gorger was hurled away from her as waves of power rippled from her body. She expected it to look concerned, but wasn't so lucky. The blood gorger looked almost excited. 

Wincing, she cocked back her arm, conjuring a small humanoid suit of armor in her palm. "Dern, save Bastion," Zee said, throwing Dern at Bastion's falling form.

 "Focus on killing this asshole, I'll save Bas," Dern called back.

"I will. Tell the others to stay out of it, this bug is mine," Zee proclaimed. 

Looking like a streak of silver, Dern shot downward toward Bastion.

Pushing off the air, the blood gorger moved to intercept, but Zee wouldn't just let him do what he wanted. Flying after Dern, Elbious was suddenly kicked in the side of the head. He was sent sprawling through the air as Zee appeared in a cloud of blue mist to block his path.

The blood gorger tumbled through the air, righting himself quickly. With a laugh that echoed across the plateau, Elbious turned back to face her. "So, you have some fight in you after all!" the blood gorger shouted, more startled than hurt from her kick.

She scowled, her hair dancing around her as streamers of gray power leaked from her body. "I'm right here bug for brains, no need to get distracted," Zee said, her eyes cold enough to melt stone as she glared hatefully at him. 

"I see that hate in your eyes. That's good… Do you want revenge? Well then, come and get me," Elbious shouted gleefully.

Zee wanted to help Bas, but Dern had already caught up, surrounding Bass in a black-silver cloud. It was a huge relief to see that Dern could change forms and fly now that she reached D grade.

That didn't mean Bas was out of danger, but for the moment, she could focus on fighting this monster. Anxiety welled in her chest, but she forcibly pushed it aside. She needed to focus on this battle, as any mistake would cost her life.

Power and surging momentum urged her forward, to kill this bastard for what he did to Bastion. Focusing her energy on her feet, she pushed off the air. In a heartbeat, she crossed the gap between them. In one fluid motion spirit echo coated her sword and was compressed to a fine edge as she slashed the giant bug across its abdomen. 

There was a loud clang of metal on carapace as her sword slammed into the blood gorger's chest. It was like she was striking a solid alloy, stabs of pain shooting up her arms at the recoil.

This oversized bug's carapace was much sturdier than it looked! Seeing the lackluster effect of her first blow, Elbious laughed right in her face, its breath hot and putrid. 

"You are going to have to do better than that!" its claws taking a few locks of her hair as they narrowly missed taking off her head.

Coming out of her mist form, Zee scowled, burning more beast shards in her spatial storage. That simple swing was much closer to killing her than she liked. 

The spike of power from using her soul-burn skill again was immediate. Her already overtaxed energy channels groaned from the torrent of power that rushed into her body. Ignoring the stabbing pain of overloading her pathways, she attacked, her sword a blur of metal as it drew silvery arcs through the air.

Sparks showered around them as Elbious met her every attack head-on, using its spiked forearms and pincers to deflect her attacks. He didn't even seem strained at all when blocking her all-out assault. Elbious was clearly a master of closer-quarters combat, outclassing her in every way. It was like when she dueled Julian. It was like he knew what attack she would do before she did it. She was just a child to this ancient monster.

The fact was infuriating. All this power was at her fingertips and she still hadn't closed the gap in their strength. The blood gorger was just too quick, his carapace so durable that her sword failed to even leave more than a scratch on it. Elbious was unarmed his halberd strapped to his back. He wasn't even using his weapon, as if to humiliate her by showing her attacks couldn't even scratch him.

"Is this all you have got whelp?" Elbious taunted, clearly toying with her. She frowned, doing her best to cool her rage. Being a hot head was good and all, but she needed to use her head if she had a hope of winning. Trying to beat him to death with her sword wasn't working.

That was okay though, if his shell was too durable to cut open with her sword, then she could boil him a bit to soften it up. The bloody gorger's nonchalant demeanor faltered as a colossal ball of spiritual fire filled the sky above her, drenching the plateau in its radiance. Powered by the torrential waves of energy flowing through her body, the avatar of dominion had grown leaps and bounds in terms of scale and power. 

Now as large as a warship, its aura expanded hundreds of meters in every direction. The air itself caught fire and started to decay as the area was forcibly drained of its essence by her bloodline talent. 

Her skill even affected people on the plateau below. Noticing she was hurting allies, Zee frantically used the mantle to guide its wrath, directing the avatar to focus solely on the enemy in front of her.

For the first time, Elbious grimaced as a haze of spiritual energy was forcibly dragged from the gaps in its carapace. It looked extremely painful, as its shell started smoking.

The sight made Zee smile. 

"What? Nothing to say?" Zee asked.

Elbious stared up at the roiling mass of blue spiritual fire for a few seconds before huffing in derision.

"Don't get full of yourself whelp. Your bloodline talent is not bad, but it's nothing compared to my heritage. Behold, the pillars of anguish," Elbious proclaimed.

The avatar of dominion shuddered, threatening to implode as the world began to tremble around her. Five ghastly pillars, each a statue of a creature in various expressions of despair rose from a bloody haze. 

The pillars sprouted from thin air growing to loom above, surrounding them from all sides. Each statue emitted a corrosive haze, that quickly suffused the air, making their features difficult to distinguish. Looming large in the haze around her, they were like arbiters overseeing her fate. 

That corrosive haze swept towards her, reeking of corrosion and desolation. It seemed incredibly dangerous, but it was forcibly kept at bay by her own bloodline talent. The world river churned as spiritual fire clashed with the hateful red haze. 

Both of their domains clashed, fighting for supremacy. The fact her bloodline talent held up at all was a testament to the power of her heritage. 

Seeing that the avatar of Dominion didn't crumble immediately was a relief. Her relief didn't last long as she felt a soul-wrenching ripping sensation in the depths of her core. The gate to the apocalyptic domain inside her core had started the size of the tip of a needle but was already the size of a kernel of rice. 

It was flooding her body with increasingly more power, but she could already feel how unstable the gate was becoming. An increasing sense of doom filled her as the gate slowly widened. Somehow she knew that she had a minute or two at most before something very bad would happen.

She needed to finish this fight quickly before her body was destroyed from the inside. Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Why not go all in. 

Soul burn! Another pile of beast shards was turned to dust in her spatial storage, pain shooting through her body as her overtaxed pathways threatened to burst. 

The heart of fire beat like a war drum in her chest, urging her onward. Zee heeded its call, her sword threatening to explode as she channeled power through it.

The sword gifted by her grandfather was made of extremely high-quality materials, but it was still only peak E grade. Thankfully, it held together long enough to finish channeling her favorite skill. A guillotine of pure force shot out, crossing the gap in the blink of an eye.

Space seemed to split in two, as reality was split asunder, the world screaming as a spatial divide formed. The attack was blindingly quick, the guillotine of force giving the oversized bug no time to react. 

That attack carried everything she had and more, leaving a spatial scar that lingered in the air. Space itself was frayed, and yet, that wasn't enough to kill Elbious. The blood gorger shot out from the spatial tear surrounded by a dark red haze. He escaped the attack but wasn't completely unharmed. Ichor leaked from several cracks in his carapace, motes of spiritual essence rising to the avatar above. 

He was injured, but not out of the fight just yet as his body released a hair-raising aura. Her elation was immediately pushed away as his power surged, a lance of energy shooting towards her. Zee's senses were on high alert, and she frantically moved to dodge.

Pain wracked her body as that lance of destruction tore past her, narrowly missing punching a hole through her torso. Blood flowed from the gash between her ribs, despite the attack not even hitting her. 

Biting back a scream of agony, Zee was forced to meet the blood gorgers' furious charge. He descended like a falling meteor, clutching his enormous halberd in two clawed hands.

Zee frantically raised her sword to block, her arms threatening to buckle as their blades clashed. In a battle of pure strength, Zee was found lacking and was thrown downward from the force. Her vision blurred as she was smacked from the sky, slamming into the rock far below. 

A geyser of rock exploded into the sky, filling the air with clouds of dust. Coughing, she pushed up through the rubble, rocks cascading around her as she rose from the crater her body made.

As it turned out, her body won out in the battle of strength with the stone. That was a happy surprise. Middle D grade wasn't just for show. A bunch of nearby monsters were not so lucky, mangled by the shrapnel from her impact. 

Luckily, all the people in the area were fleeing for safety, aside from one notable group. Dern and her friends, all gathered around Bastion, who was lying on his back, still leaking too much blood from the grievous wounds in his chest.

Taylor was already hard at work, streams of vibrant blood coursing around his hands as he focused on healing Bastion's injuries. Zee was elated to see they were there but didn't have time to share more than a glance with them. 

Zee wanted to go and help, but Elbious wasn't going to just wait around. The blood gorger descended like a falling mountain, seemingly intent on smashing her into the ground like a hammer would a nail. Zee leaped off to the side at the last second, and an explosion of rock shooting up into the air.

The impact was like a bomb going off, dust filling the air around the blood gorger's hulking frame. The blood gorger oligark was like an unstoppable juggernaut, not in a hurry at all as its large eyes locked on her. Zee couldn't help the spike of anxiety that filled her. Was killing this monster even possible? She glanced over its shoulder in the distance, where Bas and the others were. 

Possible? Maybe not, but she had done the impossible before. A stabbing pain inside her core made her stagger.

"Is your skill already wearing out? Don't tell me that this is all you have got," Elbious asked, its claws scraping on the rock as it walked toward her.

Zee didn't answer right away, inwardly grimacing at just how large the gate in her core was getting. Her skill, apocalyptic rage, was channeling a constant stream of power into her body, but at what cost? If this went on for too much longer, she might not even be able to deactivate the skill.

Steadying herself, Zee raised her sword, leveling it at the blood gorger's neck. 

"Worry about yourself bug for brains. I'll crack open your shell in no time," Zee said. 

"Let's see if you are still so arrogant when I rip your arms off," Elbious said. He clacked his mandibles together, each time making the air shudder from the force. Stone breaking underfoot, the hulking bloodgorger leaped towards her, his oversized body moving with breathtaking speed. 

The heart of fire drummed loudly in her chest, time seeming to slow as Zee widened her stance, her opponent moving as if through water. Stepping in to meet his charge, she cut at one of the gaps in its carapace, pivoting as her opponent rushed past. Sparks flew from her blade, her attack doing nothing more than scratching its tough shell. 

The lackluster effect of her sword was alarming but not as alarming as the blood gorger digging its claws into the stone, changing direction in a heartbeat. Her arm was nearly wrenched from its socket as she frantically blocked the counterattack. 

Zee was thrown onto the defensive as a flurry of blows came at her from all angles. Claws mandibles, and polearms tried to rip her apart, pain blossoming across her body as she was forced to take shallow wounds to deflect grievous injuries. 

This fight put everything she had learned to the test, forcing her to fight at her limit to narrowly avoid crippling injuries time and time again. They were a blur of motion, all of her focus on staying ahead of that polearm and those vicious mandibles. Zee was fighting with everything she had, narrowly avoiding being gutted several times by using her movement skills.

She was forced to stay on the defensive, looking for an opening to use her last finisher skill. With the avatar of Dominion being contained by the bloodgorgers bloodline talent above, and her sword unable to pierce its tough carapace, her gravity well skill was her last hope.

This big bug was unreasonably sturdy, as expected of the supreme leader of the bloodgorgers domain. Hopefully, her plan would work.

She franticly defended its assault, waiting for a slip-up, an opportunity. After only a minute of fighting, she was covered in bleeding gashes. Thankfully, that opportunity came, and when the blood gorger finally slipped up she was ready. 

Zee batted its halberd aside and leaped back, her sword humming with energy as she stabbed at the air. Elbiouses eyes widened with alarm, as it frantically tried to escape the immense gravity of her skill. Sadly for Elbious he was There was a loud crunching sound as the blood gorger was sucked into the gravity well, crushed to the size of a fist.

Zee couldn't help but smile, her chest heaving as she leaned on her sword like it was a cane. She had actually done it? A peak Celestial cultivator, and she killed them. Zee wouldn't have believed it herself if she hadn't seen it. 

Her excitement quickly turned sour, as an amused laugh echoed across the plateau. Above her, one of the five pillars of anguish crumbled. The crushed and mangled form of Elbious seemed to go back in time as it reformed in seconds.

One moment he was a crushed ball of flesh and carapace, and the next Elbious was completely unharmed. Even the cracks from her earlier reality slash were gone. Blood gorgers didn't share human facial features, but she could swear it was grinning at her. 

Elbious let out a chittering laugh at her shocked expression, his mandibles clacking together in amusement. 

"This has been quite fun, but it's probably time I stop messing around. I still have a throne to fight for, and no longer have time to play with my food. Since you put up such a good fight I will kill you and your friends quickly," Elbious said.

A sense of dread filled her as Elbious turned its head towards her friends. "Once I kill you, they will be easy pickings," Elbious said offhandedly. 

Its comment was more than a bit alarming. It spoke with such certainty, its tone utterly confident. Zee hated to admit it, but she could see why. She thought she actually stood a chance, but it appeared this creature had just been toying with her all along. 

Of course it had... After all, even with two Berserking skills active, fighting against a peak Celestial should be beyond her even after forming a core. Celestials were simple in another league of power compared to D-grade cultivators.

Her grip on her sword tightened to a white-knuckled grip as she forcibly pushed aside her growing despair. A constant stream of power still flooded her body, courtesy of a growing apocalyptic gate in her core. She wasn't beaten yet.

Zee had all this energy and nothing to do with it. Her boots slid along the rock as she settled into a defensive stance, taking deep breaths to calm her racing mind.

Gravity Well, and Reality Slash were still on cooldown, meaning she had no more finisher skills to crack this big guy's shell. Grandpa Julian had always warned her that she might run into this very scenario, out of skills and forced to rely on just her sword. Spirit echo wouldn't be enough on its own. 

Back at the academy, sword master Anton had once said that skills were a crutch. Skills were power that was given, not power you earned on your own. There were many paths to power and relying on skills would only get you so far. 

There was another path with potential she knew of. Forming a sword domain. At the height of mastery over your weapon, a true cultivator could unleash unmatched devastation without skills. It was a technique often referred to as a weapon domain and was incredibly difficult to master. The number of people who had truly mastered this technique in the Lorocan empire could be counted on one hand. 

Zee had never experienced what master Anton had tried to explain back then until now. In the heights of battle, a calm silvery haze settled around her. It was like her sword was no longer just in her hands, but all around her. The air itself was her sword, and she could cut anything within it. 

With a sharp breath, Zee gently pushed off the ground, the push shooting her forward, performing an almost lazy swing. She didn't activate any skills, not even spirit echo so caught up in her blade.

Elbious raised his long halberd, intent on deflecting her deceptively simple blow. Her sword came down with the grace of a falling autumn leaf, slipping past the defenses of the blood gorger as if they were not there.

It was perhaps the most beautiful swing she had ever done, a swing honed from a life of practice. Her sword tip itself didn't even touch the hard carapace of Elbious, and yet, a fountain of ichor still gushed from a bleeding gash that formed in his chest. 

Staggering back, Elbious looked down at his torso with surprise, his grip on his halberd tightening. That merciless grin on his bug-like face grew wider as he tapped the but of his pole arm on the stone. 

"A crude sword domain, how interesting. I guess there is a reason you are the heir to the Lorocan throne." Elbious let out a low, mirthful laugh. "Your domain is pitifully crude, let me show you a true domain," Elbious said. 

A silvery domain spread from his hulking body, as if he was standing inside a representation of his polearm. It was a weapon domain far more refined than her own. It was as if his halberd was no longer in his claws, but all around him. 

Their domains clashed, a manifestation of her sword domain fighting for supremacy over his halberd domain. Much to her dismay, her domain was quickly losing ground, feeling as though his blade was descending towards her neck.