Hunt II

  The Shades ran from Zach as he moved across the battlefield, choosing other targets instead of him. His Aura covered a large radius around him, and any of the weaker Shades caught in it just froze or fell over. Instead of fighting him, they joined the other battles in the territory; some even ran, taking the opportunity of the chaos his arrival had caused to slip away from the battle—or at least attempt to.

  He didn’t see them run away, of course, but Knowledge was close to him, and he could read it in their body language, in the glances of their eyes.

  Spirits came at him in droves, and Zach moved through them. None of them were powerful enough to truly threaten him, but they were savage in their attacks. With his skills, Zach had little trouble seeing their attacks coming, seeing their weaknesses and flaws. He parried and danced between them, cutting them down with ease.

  In the distance he could see more and more Spirits, Shades, and Exalted Empire troops, spilling through the portal, and knew that he couldn’t afford getting slowed down for much longer and there were many more Spirits coming at him.

  From within the thrumming in the back of his mind and Soul, he tugged, and three warriors, Spirits of Terra, formed before him. Those that had taught him and helped him master the sword. Musashi, Yiuha, and Salvator, faced the Spirits, and Zach used a power from his Oath.

  Copy Knowledge targeted the three strongest spirits before him, copied their power, and granted it to him. Then Imbue Knowledge flowed out of him and into them, granting them his knowledge of the perks he copied and then assigned to them.

  Musashi burst into flames and jumped to the side, attacking a group of animal-like spirits. Yiuha’s body turned to stone, and she charged forward, yelling a battle cry. Salvator had wings made out of clouds forming on his back, that let him engage the spirits in the sky.

  Zach blinked through the battle, leaving it behind. He headed for the portal, when his path was bared once more, this time by another extremely powerful Spirit.

  A massive, humanoid figure made out of white-hot obsidian stood there. It made Zach blink as he had not noticed its arrival. One moment the way was clear, then it was just there. His Knowledge Aspect churned in the background, putting the pieces together. He felt no mastery of Time from it, but… it was something related.

  Zach didn’t slow; he charged, his blade singing as he exerted his powers to protect himself from the blinding white glow that intensified the closer one got to the Spirit, as well as the heat.

  His Aegis of Titanic Protection cracked as Zach leaped and got within range. His armor heated up, but protected him enough to strike. Blade Augment ran through his sword as it sailed toward the Spirit’s neck.

  The Spirit’s body flared, white light and heat surged. The closer his sword came, the slower it got, until it then just stopped a hairsbreadth away from touching the Spirit. Zach felt the effect spread to him too, his body slowing, striving to force him still.

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  He blinked back out of the range, the single clash enough to demonstrate the danger and the power of the Spirit. As soon as he retreated, other Spirits attacked him, but these weren’t as strong. He used Time Stop and cut them down in a second.

  His eyes never left the still motionless Spirit in front of him. Its Aspects were related to Heat, and something akin to Stillness. He wanted to know what it was; his inspection couldn’t show him anything. It is as if even that type of intrusion was stopped before it could reach the Spirit. His Pursuit of Knowledge triggered by his desire and action, his powers surged, their power growing by 500%.

  Qi moved through his body and his {Learn} technique enforced him, his |I Analyse and Predict| skill focused on the Spirit.

  Knowledge flowed through him, analysis of what he had observed and what he could feel. Then it started clicking inside of his mind. Thermal Lockdown? Freezing of Time and Motion by elevating the energy of an area to a monstrous degree, causing the Essences to be overwhelmed, and just stop.

  More and more enemies were getting through the portal. He didn’t have more time to waste. He charged again, then used Dampen Essence, protecting himself from the effect. Still, even lessened, he could tell that it would eventually get a hold of him. So, as soon as he got close, as his perceptions and Aura pierced through the Spirit, he activated Suppress Knowledge. Zach targeted the core of what the Spirit was, the piece of knowledge that connected it to the Aspect it was made out of.

  He felt pressure build and then snap into place. The effect around the Spirit vanished, and he saw it twitch for the first time. Zach snapped out with his sword, stabbing it into the center of the Spirit, then he pulled, dragging out the core of its power and taking it for his own.

  He turned his attention from the new power, and blinked to the portal. Cthul troops started firing on him immediately, but his Aura hit them with the pressure of a mountain; their Souls crumbled, most of them fell to the ground. The few that weathered his full intent were unable to do much. With a flick of his sword he sent Blades Of Aspect and cut them down.

  He focused his attention on the portal and then used Mind Spirit. He pulled out a construct spirit made out of his own mind. His state of mind was focused on the portal and how to shut it down, and the Spirit reflected that. It formed out of his Planar powers, a hooded spirit with robes covered in symbols, constantly shifting over it.

  Together they quickly dissected the nature of the portal and found the threads keeping it open. He used Arsenal Infusion: Space and then reached out with his Greater Rift Seal. His power met that of the portal and overwhelmed all the threads the cthul had put into place. His Will snuffed the portal out, sealing it closed.

  The effect across the battlefield was immediate. The Spirits wailed in pain, the connections that kept them in touch with the Ethereal Realm now gone and their vessels bearing more of the burden of their power.

  Then the Domain bubble that had been looming over the battle since he arrived burst apart, and Selia was revealed standing alone. A moment later, a great pressure dropped on top of everything; Qi surged through the air, and countless blades formed everywhere in the sky.

  Then they started to fall.