The Harvester

Every window overlooking the stage from the Arena was momentarily blinded by a wall of purple flames. They even seeped through the gaps of the cracks previously caused by the supernova and scared more than a few spectators.

 

Enya pursed her lips as she watched her cabin start to be invaded by these flames, and then could only watch as purple flowers began to grow on the very floor in front of her. But despite that, she continued to sit immobile, not bothering to take her distances even just to be safe.

 

She was the Leader of the Wiccan Guild and the Fifth Ranked Host. She knew that she was without a doubt, the strongest mage in all the System. Yet, here she was, feeling utterly inadequate. 

 

Whether it was the werewolf having five tails, devouring divinity with his soul power, and singing his Cōl Lāli to manifest a Soul Marble; or whether it was the Eternal Dragon so easily accelerating time within himself and casting a spell capable of ending creation at its weakest state…

 

She gritted her teeth. ‘What even kind of spell is that…? The Original Bolt of Lightning? Ignula? Are you telling me the Kind Demon created a spell capable of being considered a whole new Origin Magic on its own just like that? Could I even survive it…?’

 

The question was meaningless. Of course, she wouldn’t survive it. If the small tendril of electricity were to even hum in her direction, chances are, she would die without knowing. If she truly had to try and survive such an attack, she would need days of preparation at the very least. 

 

‘And that boy did it with instincts?’ She couldn’t even believe her own thoughts. ‘He dodged what is paramount to an alteration of reality?’

 

The Sorceress Queen couldn’t help herself; she laughed. Much to her guild members’ nervousness and confusion. With a crooked grin, she gripped her armrest and stared at the glass wall, watching as the flames died down.

 

She already could sense both Lunar Energy and Mystic Energy wafting in the air. She would need to be daft not to understand the implications of both. ‘Obsidian… no, did it ever exist? There was no such thing as an exiled or secluded Nine-Tailed Wolf,’ she chuckled.

 

* * *

 

“That’s…” Merlina stood up from her seat with a stunned expression. Even their VIP room had not been spared by the flowers and now, the flames were halfway down, revealing a picturesque sight.

 

A triad of stars, orbited by nine moons. A soul sea of immense beauty, with a diamond mountain erected in its waters. An endless field of purple flowers, trees made of crystal, leaves of gems, rivers of mana, a rain of black petals, shards of obsidian spiraling in the air, a manor on a floating island, and countless beasts roaming the landscape.

 

Caer remained seated next to his wife in a strangely neutral posture. His squinted eyes parted ever so slightly as he observed the scenery. In the middle of it, a torrent of lunar energy was converging into the silhouette of a nine-tailed and six-winged werewolf, standing in front of the Kind Demon’s imposing figure.

 

Even in this new space, the Eternal Night had not disappeared. The shadows and lightning crawled over the ground and crept into the sky. Yet, they shied away from the light of the stars and moons and didn’t dare to approach Rakna.

 

It was as if the soul scape had been separated in two. On one side stood the werewolf, with his soul sea behind him, and on the other, the dragon tried to drown it in his night.

 

“…” Kaelith was unusually expressionless at the sight. With a soft breath, she looked up at the stars and moons, smiling. “So, this is a Soul Marble, huh? First time I see one… As expected, wolfy has a beautiful soul.”

 

Kara glanced at her daughter and giggled, closing her eyes. “Indeed…”

 

“I see…” Kryas snorted in amusement. “As I thought, he was Obsidian all along. And he also was the one who appeared in Zero, wasn’t he? That body of his seems to function like a mass of nanites. He could easily swap appearances and gender.”

 

“EH?! Really?!” Ciel exclaimed in shock, probably the only one right now who vocalized the shock that normal people should be going through.

 

“Céraiste…” Ceresta whispered, a small smile gracing her face. Among the many flowers of Rakna’s soul, she could see a few patches of grayish stems; the flowers he had named her after.

 

“Well, well, the crazy boy came a long way,” a new voice suddenly startled everyone. They all turned to the source and spotted a large old hat perched atop Flavia’s head, whose face was flushed red. The hat had folds in its fabric mirroring a mouth and eyes.

 

“…Wisdom of Ariv,” Azheim greeted. He had been so engrossed by the battle that he had almost forgotten about Rakna’s request. “I assume you know…”

 

“Yes, yes,” Wis brushed him off. “It’s the Jin family; their current head. He’s not the only perpetrator, but he’s the mastermind behind the downfall of the girl’s family,” he said while Evelyn gritted her teeth, holding her Blackening back down with measured breaths.

 

Azheim’s lips twitched. “I see… Thank you for the confirmation. I will make good use of it.”

 

“You do that.”

 

Flavia grumbled, “You’re done. You can leave now, right?”

 

“…girl, you didn’t even ask me an actual question yet. I already answered this one before. Also, you really need to stop treating me like some old sock.”

 

“Shut up! You’re embarrassing!”

 

“That hurts my feelings,” the hat deadpanned. “Regardless, I would like to watch this. It’s not every day you get to have such a clear view of another’s Soul Marble without being inside of it.”

 

A growl was heard from Cura’s back and Wis turned toward it.

 

“Oh, if it’s not His Majesty,” he greeted politely. “You found yourself a wielder; how long has it been since the last time I’ve seen you in action?”

 

King Gulon let out a sound akin to a harrumph before falling silent.

 

“How grouchy,” Wis snickered.

 

“Say, what’s a Soul Marble?” Lanata asked curiously, tilting her head.

 

“Uh, are you asking me?” The hat blinked at her and she nodded. “…do you even know who I am?”

 

“No? Why?”

 

Wis sniffed. “What is wrong nowadays…? A little girl just wishes I didn’t exist because she feels embarrassed wearing a hat, a crazy boy treats me like a useful nuisance, no one cares about all the knowledge I can give them, and this crazy sheep is asking me a mundane question…”

 

“Crazy? Me?” Lana pointed at herself and the hat blankly stared at her.

 

“…you’re crazier than the crazy girl here,” Wis while pointing at Flavia with his tip, whose eyebrows twitched in anger. “And that is a feat in and of itself. Well… though, I suppose it’s a… healthy sort of craziness?” He sniveled. “What am I even saying…?”

 

While Wis went through his midlife crisis, Nyx answered the sheep girl’s question. “A Soul Marble is the highest achievement a Soul Practitioner can attain. It’s considered a form of transcendence all on its own and is regarded as the ultimate Soul Technique. It involves rewriting the World and overlay one’s Soul Realm onto it; swap out Soul and Reality.”

 

“Oh! It’s like my Rammy!” Lanata struck her palm with a fist while holding her sword up by folding her arm. “But Rakna is doing it without Rammy; he’s amazing,” she smiled.

 

“Rammy…?” Allan repeated dumbfoundedly.

 

“Ouránios Kriós,” Wis huffed jadedly. “The Heavenly Ram; it’s the name of her sword. Since none of you can even be bothered to ask me a worthwhile question, there you go,” he grumbled.

 

“Are you sulking?” Marie asked and the hat harrumphed.

 

“How can we see this though?” Lanata tilted her head as if she didn’t care at all that her sword had been identified by someone else. “Are we inside Rakna’s soul right now?”

 

Wis sighed. “As I said, this is a rare occasion. This is a combination of several factors. One; Rakna Xiorra has a soul potent enough to overwrite the entire spatial layer. Two; the stability has been reinforced along with its viewing ports reflected on the glass. Three; Ahriman’s Existentiality has disturbed the spatial bonds enough to allow Rakna Xiorra’s soul power to creep through them to reach us. Thus, maintaining an anchor for the Arena’s network.” 

 

The sheep girl blinked and defaulted to abruptly saluting. “Yes, sir!”

 

“…you did not understand a thing of what I just said, did you?”

 

* * *

 

◈

You are reacting to the Full Moon!

---

All Attributes except Luck will be tripled. 

Your tails will continuously gather lunar energy and supply your skills and magic. Your rate is currently set to 4500 LPs per second due to the nine moons.

---

Your Magic Circuits are being widened by the influx of Lunar Energy.

All cooldowns classified under Tier 1 will be reduced by 50%.

All cooldowns classified under Tier 3 will be reduced by 90%.

All cooldowns classified under Tier 5 will be reduced by 100%.

---

The influence of the Full Moon will instill an uncontrollable thirst for destruction within you.

Ego of Lucifer has rejected the mind corruption!

---

Moon Shine of the Nine Moons is reacting! 

All statistics will be doubled! 

Mana & Stamina will be tripled!

Regeneration will be tripled!

---

You will temporarily unlock the Nirvana Skill; Tailed Pearl.

---

You will temporarily unlock the True Royal Luquila Wings. Your flight speed shall not be limited by anything other than the energy you put into it. Space, and to a lesser extent, time, will be distorted by your wings.

◈

 

Thinking back, this was probably the first time Rakna had a proper look at the effects the Full Moon had on him. Everything combined, without even considering his statistics, he could squeeze out attribute values near 3900 after having digested a high-level heart the day before.

 

Of course, such a number couldn’t solely be used on either Speed, Strength, or even Dexterity. But it nonetheless gave him incredibly high burst potential. However, in a sustained battle, constantly redistributing attributes would eventually present openings. It wasn’t a flawless arrangement. 

 

And beings like Roias, who easily surpassed a thousand, if not two thousand, for each attribute in basic form, with no skill activated, was someone who could kill him in an instant even if had 3900 points attributed to his Endurance all at once.

 

However, it was still a devastating ability. And with it, Rakna already had the means to face beings far greater than himself, perhaps even earning him a place near the top in terms of power… though a fair distance away from the standard of the Top 100.

 

Yet… Rakna instinctively knew, he stood no chance against the dragon before him.

 

Arimane whistled in appreciation, admiring the Soul Realm while Ignula kept giving the werewolf panic attacks as it just went around touching flowers and diving into the rivers of all things.

 

‘…I hate that thing. I’m going to be scared of having my chest blown off every second it’s here,’ Rakna grumbled internally.

 

“{You can relax. Didn’t your uncle say so? It cannot target you twice. And while it seems to be able to destroy the creation of more than just you, it doesn’t apply to your Soul Marble whose creation is also yours by extension.}”

 

‘I know… but you have to agree that this spell is too terrifying to just have around like that.’

 

“{…}”

 

“Oh?” Arimane abruptly raised his voice.

 

Rakna concentrated on him and saw where he was looking at; the Crystal Sage’s mountain. The werewolf narrowed his eyes at the feeling of recognition he could sense from his uncle.

 

“I wonder how you got the shiny guy to become part of your soul,” Arimane snorted.

 

“…you knew him?” Rakna scowled.

 

“I’ve met him, sort of. It was indirectly,” the dragon huffed. “How about this…” He grinned and turned to his Eternal Art. “Ignula, how about you try playing with the creation of the one living over there?” 

 

The bolt of origin hummed in excitement and vanished as if it was never there. Rakna clicked his tongue, glancing at the mountain, but otherwise didn’t react.

 

“You’re rather calm,” Arimane commented. “If Ignula kills the Crystal Sage at his creation, the lynchpin he maintains for you will collapse… your Obsidian Star will overwhelm you.”

 

For a moment, the werewolf didn’t respond but when he saw Ignula reappear without the Sage’s mountain suffering any change, he showed a rare smug smile. 

 

“I’m not so sure about that, old man.”

 

“Hm… well, I did expect the shiny guy to resist my spell.”

 

Rakna’s smile widened. “‘Resist’? Are you sure that’s the right word?”

 

The dragon stilled and then skeptically looked at Ignula. “Were you repelled?” He asked and the small bolt of lightning hummed as if to answer and Arimane’s eye twitched. “What? What do you mean it failed? You couldn’t find a creation point? Even the Sage shouldn’t have just come out of nowhere… that’s not possible.”

 

Ignula replied with another electronic hum and Arimane opened his mouth wide.

 

“Hah… Haha… Hahahahaha!” The dragon burst out laughing, his voice agitating the waves of the soul sea and causing the many beasts living in the realm to stare at him in attention from afar.

 

Rakna rolled his eyes and waited until he was done.

 

“Haha, damn, I haven’t laughed that hard in a while,” the Kind Demon shook his head. “So, you already knew about this?” He asked with an amused tone.

 

“…I did. Hard not to when I’ve met the guy in person.”

 

“I see. Oh well, that’s one mystery I’ve solved today I guess,” Arimane snickered. “All right, kid, we have about fifteen minutes before I go nuclear… Try your best until then.”

 

“Hmph, right back at you, old man,” Rakna retorted and stomped the ground with one leg. A large rune was instantly carved into the field of flowers. In the blink of an eye, dozens more appeared in a circle around the Eternal Dragon and formed a giant array. “[Great Rune Arch – Barzakh.]”

 

On cue, several gate-like constructs made out of marble emerged from within the runes, each with its own unique variations and designs. They surrounded Arimane, creating a barrier of light that promptly began to fight back against the shadow of Nox Aeterna.

 

“Oh?” The dragon smiled. “I didn’t know you were a Rune Master.”

 

Rakna huffed and pointed his palm at the sky. Within a split second, a magic formation had both been formed and cast. “[From Above Cometh, Mystic Natcattira Vīḻcci.]”

 

Dark starlight flashed in the sky, the clouds of lightning banished by the runes and leaving a place for a pillar of obsidian to descend upon the land.

 

Barzakh held the explosion within its confines, compressing the destruction and forcing the sharp fragments of the spell to shred everything within.

 

Then, with a snap from Rakna’s fingers, the gates’ doors opened while Star Fall was still striking the earth. However, even when opened, the barrier still held. On the other hand, there was now a direct path to the inside of the array.

 

“[Star Puppetry,]” once again, the werewolf cloned himself and each reproduction of himself had a palm pointed at one of the gates. Granulated orbs began to form in front of them, crackling with power. This time, Rakna wasn’t using his fingers to concentrate the blast; the resulting orb was at least three times bigger and directly being fed mana from the palm.

 

““[Mystic Slātta Natcattira Raja,]”” they all chanted as one and the rays were fired.

 

They entered the gates, which then closed behind, and the star energy that still lingered inside due to Vīḻcci was reignited with dark purple flames and energy. Per the Obsidian Star’s behavior, the spells started cannibalizing each other through transmutation.

 

Before long, a whole new pandemonium of magic was created and Barzakh shattered, making the entire soul scape quake from the shock. All that was left behind was a disintegrated chunk of land with only a perfectly semi-spherical crater to be seen.

 

And within its center, a pair of red eyes shone through the smoke. “Ignula,” the name was called and in a flash of lightning, every star puppet once again collapsed and dispersed into particles.

 

Arimane emerged from the crater unscathed and grinning. “Nice combo. Anyone else and they would have kicked the bucket right then and there.”

 

Rakna did not even bat an eye. “You can’t target magic formations with your spell,” he stated. “But you can target conjured spells. A spell’s ‘creation’ starts at the magical formation but the puppet itself is birthed at the moment the spell is fully cast.”

 

The dragon silently smirked.

 

“Your Ignula can harm whatever’s already manifested into the ‘World’ but cannot affect something that is yet ethereal… or at least, it cannot do so for its ‘creation hunting’. Your Ignula inflicts damage proportionate to the power it holds in its true form, doesn’t it? Enough to obliterate holes into the heads of my Obsidian Puppets. And it’s probably fast as well. But ultimately physical.”

 

“…correct,” Arimane said and in the blink of an eye, Ignula disappeared and Rakna tilted his head to dodge a seemingly invisible projectile. In the next instant, the sound of thunder resounded and a large area exploded behind the werewolf.

 

Immediately after, Ignula returned to its owner with an oddly-pleased hum.

 

“Honestly, it seems your senses as a whole are far too much for poor Ignula,” Arimane jested and glanced at his animated spell. “But… don’t underestimate it too much.”

 

Following those words, Ignula shot off at an even faster speed and where the dragon expected his nephew to react even more urgently than before, he widened his eyes when the werewolf decided to stand still and allow the bolt to punch a hole through its chest.

 

“Like I said…” Rakna uttered, the remaining sparks from Ignula fading to reveal that even though the Third Art had managed to pierce him… it had been stopped a few centimeters in, where instead of flesh, a concaved layer of volcanic glass prevented its advance. “It’s fast. But that’s it. What more is there to say? If you can’t dodge something… then don’t.”

 

A black aura burst from the werewolf and Ignula retreated immediately. Arimane watched with a curious gaze as Rakna’s body began to turn into solid obsidian.

 

The concepts of Union, Unison, and Unity Magic were known. However, there is a similar practice that is often much preferred by Hosts, low or high level. It involves combining magic and skills into a spell. Sometimes even Traits and Nirvana Skills.

 

“[Unity Craft – Ōnāy Muṉivariṉ Kavacam.]”

 

Obsidian Star, Prima Alkahest Materia, and Grand Reinforcement joined as one.

 

Rakna’s fur crystallized and then flattened into a smooth surface with bluish tints. His tails were encased in a layer of obsidian, almost glassy in nature. His chest welcomed a purple wave pattern similar to his soul flames and his limbs similarly were covered in a new shell of obsidian. His claws turned into edges and his wings became static and geometrically sculpted, feathers unfettered by movement or wind, and with additions uncannily similar to the blades of a turbine.

 

His head was momentarily confined within a mass of obsidian before it adjusted to his ears and muzzle like a helmet of which the eyes lit up with a flash of purple. Light purple, almost pink lines, similar to a circuit pattern, surged from within the mark on his chest and spread to every inch of his body, from the tip of his tails and wings to the corners of his eyes.

 

The werewolf now turned into a creature more akin to a mechanical and armored golem, raised his arm, and allowed Sonata to transform in his hand, quickly becoming a black and purple scythe bigger than himself.

 

Rakna opened his mouth, eerie scraping noises echoing, and exhaled a purple smoke.

 

◈

Ōnāy Muṉivariṉ Kavacam (T.0)

This is a Craft born from the combination of Grand Reinforcement, capable of converting the Host into raw Star Energy, the Prima Alkahest Materia Physique, immortalized in alchemical history as the apex of all solvents, and the Obsidian Star Magic, possessing characteristics that transcend the body and soul of its user.

The ‘Armor of the Sage Wolf’ completely alters the user’s body into a solid form of Star Energy known as Obsidian. It then shapes itself into an advanced armor featuring mechanical augmentations provided by the Prima Materia and the Symphony Items. It also has pure strengthening effects thanks to the Eion and Ardent Flames powering it.

This armor possesses unparalleled defense capabilities and is deemed to be the Host’s body itself, thus not discriminated by resistance skills. Due to its transmutative trait, it is capable of absorbing energies and, less successfully, physical impacts. The rules of transmutation apply to the edged claws of the armor.

Note: The System is unable to calculate statistical numbers for this Craft. It is also unknown if magic power influences its effectiveness. However, estimations predict Ōnāy Muṉivariṉ Kavacam to provide the equivalent of a 700% increase in Defensive Potential.

◈