Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends
Chapter 607: Ryun

Chapter 607: Ryun

Training

One of the more frustrating things that came with his ascension and the changes in his existence was movement. When he unloaded his density and spread his being into as large of an area as possible, he became slow. Not within the area under his authority, but if he wanted to move the sphere of his influence it went at less than impressive speed.

He could mitigate that by creating a vessel, push density into it then move the old fashioned way by running or leaping, soaring. But his vessel’s stats were reflected in the amount of himself that he put into it. To get the full capabilities of his stats, he needed to put all of himself in a vessel, and that defeated the point. He wished to move as his expanded existence, with all of his authority released.

But he had a way to fix that. As the enemy ship prepared to do something that Ryun was fairly certain he wouldn’t like, he focused on his skills again. This time putting all his will on |Pouncing Rush| and his newly learned |Step|.

He expanded his domain authority reaching the ship then pushed within it, his being passing through their protections, becoming the background part of their Essence.

His will narrowed to a singular goal, his skills evolving as he pushed them in the way he wanted. In the back of his mind, he felt the Essences, understanding them as if they were his own. The people inside gave birth to new ones with every breath—anxiety, confusion, fear. They had detected his intrusion somehow, but that was unimportant, detecting and being able to do something about it were two very different things.

He shaped his intent as he formed the skills, forcing them to evolve exactly as he wanted. With the Essence of the End, he erased Space between himself and his target forcing his skill to fill the gap.

|I Arrived|

His main vessel stepped and a moment later he was inside the ship, he felt a moment of disorientation as his domain authority moved with him, the sphere of his influence shifting. His perception and point of view rotated as his other vessels were now behind him.

An alarm blazed all around him, people rushing toward him. He had entered a hangar of some kind, appeared in the middle of a dozen mechs. Their pilots turned their attention to him, their weapons firing up.

He didn’t defend, didn’t react at all. His body was just a vessel, and as they fired he pushed his density out into the world around them, letting the fire hit his body.

The armor and items he wore activated, shields and waves of intercepting force battled the enemy attacks, but ultimately broke under the onslaught, the armor cracking alongside with the almost hollow shell he had left inside. The items were just copies from his armory, replaceable. What he got in return was more valuable by far.

As they fired he focused on the next set of skills.

|Perfect Enhanced Adaptation|and |Power Analysis| evolved, set on collision course by his will. With every repetition of the enemy’s attacks, they grew less effective. He moved slightly, adjusting himself, adapting to the incoming fire as he pushed himself and his skills, using them as tools for his smithing of himself.

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|I Know Your Meaning|

The skill built upon what he already could do with his authority, it just made things clearer, faster. He analyzed the attacks, knew their strengths and weaknesses, he analyzed everything around him, all the Essence that his domain aura authority touched. The meaning of everything on the ship.

It was how he saw what was about to happen. Devices in the walls triggered and target him. Mental attacks, focusing on breaking apart Mind Essence hit him just as the fire of the mechs broke through his shell. It killed the parts of him that could think within his vessel, but Ryun wasn’t his body, his mind surrounded them and they had no idea.

Still, this was an opportunity to practice. He focused on his |Mental Pillar|

skill. End Qi flooded the room as he created a facsimile of a new vessel, a stand in to use as the target of their mental attacks. Then with his intent he shaped a skill.

|I Am Emptied By My Will|

Their attack reached and found a hole in existence.

The core of the ship reached a crescendo. Ryun could feel the power being funneled through the conduits out toward the outer surface of the ship, ready to fire their weapon. The Essences of destruction were powerful, mingled in a way that reminded him of Reaction Engines, only in a different form. He wasn’t going to let it fire. It was time for him to retaliate.

|Perfect Cut: My Foes, Torn Asunder|, one of his oldest skills, one that had gotten him out of many situations. He paired it with a skill similar to his Essence manipulation, one that focused on space itself. Evolutions rang inside his mind, and he narrowed and focused his density, his authority, then unleashed his attack on the ship around him.

|I Carve Out Emptiness|

For a moment, nothing happened, and then the ship collapsed around him. Cut to pieces no larger than a person, each tumbling down toward the ground. Ryun focused his authority and extinguished any violent reaction, he vanished the core of the ship, and everything else that could explode, leaving only inert pieces to fall.

The power of the ship was great, he was certain that the explosions would’ve decimated the territory. Now, only metal fell, crashing into the field below.

That was the signal to the enemy that the tide had turned. Cheers went out from his side, warriors advanced, rushing to attack their enemy.

The Exalted Empire began a slow retreat, but they were too entrenched, and the cultivators too fast. The result was a slaughter with only a minimal number of the enemy managing to get away.

Ryun didn’t move from his place in the sky, he just created a new vessel, had Scorn shape for him a human shell and sat on the air with his legs crossed, looking over his people as they fought.

This wasn’t just his war. It was their chance to advance, to gain Essence, to gain insights and inspiration.

He split his attention between watching over them and out for any threats, and studying the remains of the ship. Some of his people were already all over it, recovering whatever could be recovered.

Ryun’s attention was on the weapon that they were almost successful in using. He had used his authority to prevent any reaction, but he could tell that it was what he had suspected. A Reaction Engine was a combination of Essences that caused any other Essence it came in contact with to violently collapse. It was similar to his End, only somehow not. Which surprised him, and annoyed him.

He knew why, he had been suspecting it for a while. Death was a transition in the Infinite Realm, not a True Death. And even True Death was something more. That was one part of the old Aspect’s contention with the Dealmaker.

He sighed, a gesture that he no longer had a need for but somehow felt compelled to do. His perks had given him a clue too, and he would have to go down this road, but not today. He had a war to fight.

But after, perhaps this would lead him to the path to fulfilling his promise.