Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

The images of spinning white glyphs in that purple demon’s eyes in these shared memories are seared into my mind.

Not only does it match up with the countless demons spawning around the battlefield of the past, it also perfectly mimics the arrays and protection commands that Samir Vanguard uses when activating his armor now in the present day.

I’ve already reacted to the blast and set up defensive contingencies, as I assumed taking a risk and diving in so close would have Samir’s main focus on me.

However, Maria’s attack that annihilated the Tortoise has almost entirely captured this Royal Demon’s attention. All of its main defenses and counters light up the sky in front of it, leaving me with only half a dozen basic primordial orbs.

Maria sees this fact too, and keeps Samir occupied while I easily dodge and hardly lose any ground.

I’m able to release a few more summoned copies of my sword to use these counters as an edge, and throw myself right back in at the unguarded Hydra. It blasts nine beams of rust-colored Celestial Energy my way, but with simple twists through the air, I dodge them all. This is the last line of defense between myself and this Royal Family Head.

As I swing my blade across my body and let two copied swords explode beneath my feet, I slide through every Hydra head remaining in a single movement.

There is a unique pressure that releases as I do, like a soul being released from a prison.

It pours every last memory into my consciousness as a parting gift.

I watch over a million Blue Cored Demons appear in a massive circle around the Citadel above the sea.

Many of them wear black, white, and blue armor with various attributes. They all instantly unseal their bloodlines, revealing enormous fighting forms and soul weapons that erupt with glyphs and high-quality ether commands that should not be possible to activate in this zone.

Yet, my focus in these memories locks onto a single Demon. One out of the many that awaken, this is the only one with Primordial Aura.

As it grows to be almost 3 billion kilometers tall, the Demon stares up at the rift in the sky, receiving orders from its master.

“Thank you for waking me from my slumber. I will do as you say, my Lord. The Imperial’s will is my own. I will create the Vanguard family to solidify the divide between the first generation and the minions born after. It will be my honor to serve as your final line of defense. With these gifts, nothing can defy you!”

He yells as the massive black claws grip the rift in the sky, and the purple-eyed demon recedes into the shadows above. The rift closes at once, and Samir Vanguard stares down at the first quest he’s been granted since he went to sleep for his King.

“You- I remember you! The Dragon that has been trying to keep us from our destiny since the day the Overseer took the throne. It is my duty to hold the line. You have chosen to fall from above, so I will keep it that way!”

Ember stares back at this Demon that towers over his peers and takes in the complex ether commands all over his armor.

The dragon’s eyes sharpen, and he instantly flaps his wings and dives into action. Instead of aiming straight for the loudest and most powerful demon, he begins spraying waves of primordial fire at the closest demons nearby.

Their armor melts, and so do their souls beneath.

Thousands die in seconds, and the dragon starts weaving ether commands of his own while targeting a bronze Tortoise far away, and the very Hydra that these memories are coming from.

It’s locked in a trance, and parts of its soul begin changing like someone is carefully moving around strands of a complex spiderweb to reorganize its efficiency.

Something far more intricate is happening, as I feel the weight of many zones of the upper realm being compacted and toyed with; like whatever Ember is doing now has linked this Hydra to far more than just himself.

The Crimson-eyed Dragon’s battle style is barbaric.

I watch him bite through the necks of a few demons and roar out with rage while melting hundreds in a single wave of fire.

It feels desperate and filled with rage. The Ember I know now has never shown me anything like this. He has always been calm, staring at the universe around him like everything is how it should be.

The strongest Demon here has begun killing everything in its way too, taking out over half of the remaining Hydras and Tortoises protecting their citadel and zone.

The more demons he kills, stacking up to tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, the fiercer he becomes. I start to wonder if he’s really changed this much, or if one of the personalities is all an act… or maybe both are.

I cannot understand why he’s here, or why he’s in almost every memory from the various beasts I kill…

His intricate woven ether commands on the two monsters in the sea stop, then he starts weaving more, but turns to Samir as the Royal Demon has stopped killing natives and has now started chasing Ember solely instead.

“So you’ve finally stopped running, you’ll face your fate!” Samir yells while putting up two palms and charging up the same ether commands as present day.

Ember snarls and uses half his active mind to dodge and send counters back.

Surprisingly, Ember’s wave of translucent fire is just about equal in strength to Samir’s attacks, and when the wave hits his armor, countless white glyphs burst out into the air and deflect the waves of corrosive Primordial Aura.

“This is the Imperial’s tech, so you’re one of them,” he mutters through his tightened sharp teeth, but his eyes still track all over the battlefield as he finishes up his arrays.

The two of them fly through the air, making craters in the sea, and killing massive True Blue Cored ancient beasts with their shockwaves while going blow for blow.

Ember gets hit quite a few times. Massive gaping holes open up in his body, but I watch them heal up just like my arm is slowly doing, but thousands of times faster. He is not even trying to dodge the non-fatal hits, taking the blows to save energy and finish up what he’s working on.

A few of his Primordial Fire waves collide with Samir’s armor, even at point-blank a few times. One of the most vicious blasts melted through his chestplate and scorched his skin, but an enormous amount of ether blew them both backward in time for both sides to heal from the blast.

The majority of Ember’s hits are not aimed to kill, so they don’t even break through his armor.

Samir may be incredibly strong, but I can sense that he is not very battle-hardened for some reason. It feels like all of his attacks and defensive maneuvers are programmed, almost automatic, and not of his own design.

When Ember backs himself into a corner, floating just above the Citadel with the remaining life of the zone behind him, this Royal Demon believes he’s won… not considering at all how such a thing would be much harder to do. Ember could have flown anywhere and directed the survivors to flee while keeping Samir occupied.

Yet, as both of the Royal Demon’s palms charge up with dense Primordial Aura glowing white-hot with ether, so does Ember. The only difference is this dragon is not aiming to attack.

A shockwave of light comes out of Ember, and thousands of purple rifts open in space before the last survivors.

There are some that dive through, but others stay behind out of stubborn loyalty to their home.

Nearly a hundred concentrated orbs of Samir’s Primordial Aura come crashing down on them less than a second later. Ember slips away into the purple zone before impact, and a crater 2 trillion kilometers wide in the sea forms.

The citadel is destroyed, the thousands that stayed behind are evaporated, and Samir’s angry roar echoes out through the zone, causing the entire Celestial Sea to quiver.

The last memories transmitted to me are of this Hydra, as somehow, it and the Bronze Tortoise Ember manipulated moments before the fight were the only survivors of this blast.

–

When my mind comes back to reality, I instantly watch my left arm’s recovery heal in less than a second.

My eyes widen, but the potent memories of watching Ember heal over and over from Samir’s attacks in the past have affected me deeply. It is not that just watching it allowed me to learn something I was missing, it is the weight of the Hydra’s soul that has submitted to me instead of its wielder. I can feel my Primordial Aura maturity increasing, even though I cannot fully understand what it is or where this power comes from.

As I take in another breath of air, I feel like everything around me is slowing down.

Energy from the Hydra is still pouring into my sword and my soul, but my gaze scans the battlefield with a new perspective.

I can feel Samir’s underlying vibrations becoming more confused, and more afraid.

They first wavered when Maria killed his Tortoise, and they’ve started to crack when I effortlessly killed his Hydra and now healed my arm.

Yet, vibrations are only the surface.

I can see the soul ties in the air now clear as day. Thick translucent strands form from my core to my sword, and even more intricate and complicated strands are connecting me directly to Maria’s soul across the battlefield.

They are like inactive Primordial Bonds. Now, as I focus on them, Maria stares my way while our invisible ties flutter with resonance.

I see her own soul ties, connecting her to her sword, and countless ties controlling her wings.

Seeing them is one thing, but being in full control is entirely different….

Yet, when I look deep into Samir, the only soul ties I see are those connecting his armor together. Every time he moves and sends more orbs of Primordial Aura our way, they quickly tether to his flesh, but then deactivate once the movement is over.

This armor is far stronger than the Royal himself, yet it can’t live on its own without him.

There are dissolving soul ties that connected the sentinels to his armor too, and the next burst of invisible death orbs my way are far weaker and slower than before.

I laugh out loud while twisting through them, “You never thought it’d come to this, did you? The Vanguards are the last line of defense between the lesser beings and those you think of as your gods. The Imperials… what a joke!”

Mimicking Ember’s movements in the past, I start to let some of the orbs that aren’t aiming for any vital spots hit me point-blank. Massive holes tear through my Royal Sacred Body… but it doesn’t matter.

The flesh, blood vessels, bones, and energy within grow back in a near instant static chain reaction.

It feels like a sharp electric burn, but the pain is worth it to see pure shock and fear fill Samir’s eyes.

“You’re weak! That armor is the only thing that has allowed you to keep this position. The Imperials are using you as a living tool… just like you used those Sentinels before they were slaughtered.”

Samir fully faces me, as I’ve gained ground the fastest, and sends nonstop orbs of Primordial Aura my way.

I don’t stop staring this Demon in the eyes, watching his false confidence and smugness drain away. He becomes so bewildered by my advance and speed of recovery, he doesn’t even notice the icy angel of death stabbing into his unguarded back.