C_Mantis
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Chapter 328
🕑 Added 2024-05-06 18:53:02 +0000 UTCOk so plotting out the rest of the book it looks like this arc/book will end on chapter 340 (the Manny epilogue) which comes out the24th. That means the end of arc/book two chapter break will be on the 28th and 1st. Just FYI for anyone cycling paterons.
***
Chapter 328
General Lucas Darrow sat in quiet contemplation as the endless maelstrom of the infinite realm whirled by outside the viewport. It was an odd sight these days, made all the more outlandish by the realization that he even viewed it as odd. He hadn’t truly realized the degree to which he had become accustomed to Ascender Shadow’s long-distance transportation capabilities, such that if a flight were to take more than a few days with Prima Ace Drifter at the helm, they would often simply teleport to an alternate destination to keep moving at all times.
But with nearly a week of hard-flown pursuit of the Harmony Accords, old habits and memories were beginning to emerge once again. In his last role, such travel time would have occurred in massive troop transport ships, where he and his squad were but one of countless Tier 15 pieces of a whole, being moved from one mission to the next. It would have been time well-utilized, as well. Training, maintenance, group exercises, healing, paperwork, and very occasionally rest.
Now it was mostly idle time.
What few field repairs had been needed, given the astounding degree of self-repair their gear had, was performed in a matter of hours thanks to the combined efforts of Elite Technician Origami and Ascender Titan. There was no training to be done, when his squad was pinnacle elites and outright Ascenders. Nor were there any group exercises which would aid them, and Graduate Bulwark outstripped most of the healers Darrow had met outside of Fort Lightfoot itself. There were no requisition forms to be filled out, nor even a genuine need for them other than politeness. Requests for increases to an operational mana budget were accomplished by asking Ascender Titan for a minute of his time, and none of his team lacked any of the gear needed for them to shine the most. They already outshone him, if he was being honest, so how could he see what might make them burn even brighter?
Therefore, he spent much of the two weeks they stayed in direct pursuit of the Harmony Accords by personal strategizing. There were no weaknesses he needed to compensate for among Team Zero, but the new elites that had joined them did provide additional complexities for their tactics. Let alone the added complexities that all of the Tier 25 pinnacle elites across three Great Powers came with, as well as a substantial number of peak elites. It all brought many new considerations for his leadership. Titan’s passive Concept mana-granting aura meant Darrow could run substantially more intensive simulations, and he put that capability to good use.
Darrow dedicated a portion of his attention as he heard Drifter start complaining.
Mostly it was about how unacceptable it was that they weren’t faster than the Harmony Accords ship with the new engines. They sometimes caught up, which implied they might be faster over a marathon, but it never lasted.
Anytime they got close to the massive ship, it started to blur and would leave their detection range in a few short moments. Drifter, a seasoned pilot, explained in great and excruciating detail when Estelle asked how they kept moving so fast.
Darrow wasn’t certain if he agreed with the woman’s assessment, all told. She might have been an expert in piloting, but he was an expert in harmonizing disparate powers. Coordinating dozens of Talented Aces to merge their capabilities into a warship of that size… it would be a feat on par with assembling the Harmony Accords to begin with. Though Drifter certainly thought much the same of constructing a ship with said capabilities. She complained extensively whenever prompted, primarily out of a sense of jealousy, and Darrow couldn’t in good conscience condemn her for it.
Were it not for the additional boosters that had been fitted onto what had already been an exceedingly fast ship, there was no question the Harmony Accords would easily outstrip them. Even their current speed was accomplished only at phenomenal expense, courtesy of just over half of Titan’s immense mana regeneration, as not even an Ascender team could afford twenty five Tier 25 mana stones per minute simply to travel.
Indubitably, once he ceased working alongside Ascenders, particularly Ascender Titan, Darrow would be in for a harsh recalibration of expected budgets and allotted resources, yet for the time being, he would appreciate the abundance he had been provided.
He also was fairly certain they knew the Harmony Accord’s next destination. Gol’Ru was a Tier 25 supply depot which supported a number of what had become important chokepoints near the Citadel, and a tempting bastion from which their enemies could harass and further attack that most critical of battlefields.
High Command expected the Harmony Accords to hole up in Gol’Ru for the next few years if, like they expected, the enemies were preparing to rush the Citadel with their Tier 35 armies. And he agreed; itt was what his own wargaming said they should do.
He expected them to behave accordingly if Team Zero kept pressure on them. If Team Zero left and started crushing other armies without the assistance of Shadow’s Talent, High Command believed the Harmony Accords would drop off an army or five and then dip into the backlines before wrecking havoc, similar to what they had done.
So long as they kept threatening to retake the Gol’ru system, the Harmony Accords would be forced to sit in place.
Which, all things considered, wasn’t a bad thing. The frontlines were… holding, technically. The Harmony Accords had managed to disrupt a number of important supply depots, and while some creative resource redistribution meant the armies weren’t helpless, it was a very finite situation. Even then, their enemies were pushing hard enough that planets were falling, and they were cutting what seemed to be a supply channel through Empire space, presumably towards the Citadel front. With some luck, Ascender Shadow’s return would help them keep the Harmony Accords penned in, and thus unable to deal additional damage, while liberating planets.
It was a situation that would be impossible under normal circumstances, yet there was nothing normal regarding working with Ascenders.
Another two years, and the war was as good as over.
At least in the Tier 25 bracket.
The Tier 15 bracket was looking more and more like a loss with the million man armies of the other Great Powers simply overwhelming the Empire defenders, slowly but surely. As a General he had a decent degree of command review ability which let him see the reports of near constant losses. A loss there wasn’t too unexpected with just how many soldiers fought in the lowest Tier bracket.
It was immensely challenging for a single individual to have a meaningful impact upon those battlefields. There were just too many soldiers, too many fronts, too limited of transportation. Numbers were often on the Empire’s side, and being outnumbered so starkly was an unfortunate inverse of what the Empire often experienced.
His participation in the rapid ambush would make for a good story when he was able to brag about it. All of the other special operation officers would already be jealous of his leading the Ascenders team, but that single strike would garner more attention than anything else. It was one of, if not the, most decisive strike ever, while also being public enough that he could brag about it.
Then for the Tier 35 bracket, that rested largely upon Ascender Waters. There were backup plans for what should occur if the man were to fail, or Ascenders forbid, be slain, but none of them were preferable or reliable.
Darrow personally felt the Ascender didn’t truly have a plan, just a hope. He’d seen firsthand the sorts of insanity which Ascenders could accomplish when truly threatened, and it seemed probable that Waters assumed that such immense pressure would result in a correspondingly unfathomable degree of discovery. What such a thing could be, Darrow couldn’t imagine.
Nonetheless, should the man fail, it would be entirely up to the Tier 25 battlefield, and Team Zero most of all, to earn sufficient warscore to prevent the Empire from being crippled altogether.
That all consuming thought nibbled at him any time he tried to turn his attention to something else.
At least, it did until they entered Gol’Ru just an hour or two after the Harmony Accords ship, and he was able to give the Empire defenders the order to retreat before the Harmony Accords could descend upon them.
There was no purpose behind contesting the planet with what comparatively few forces were stationed there. Their ransom would simply worsen the Empire’s station.
That and they could and surely would be either used to reinforce some other battlefield or merged into an offensive army to help push the frontlines. That however, wasn’t Darrow’s place to decide, even if he believed they would be best utilized on the frontlines to reclaim more worlds.
That just left them and the Harmony Accords.
This was what Darrow was used to expecting in battles even if it was rarely done as a special ops soldier.
Two entities standing off and fighting back and forth repeatedly until one side made a mistake and collapsed.
Darrow, for all that they were outnumbered, expected them to win in the long run so long as they didn’t let themselves get swarmed.
Which meant judicious retreats. With that in mind, he went over his expectations of his team and spent some time explaining why they would need to avoid decisive battles unless he said otherwise.
Darrow expected they would need to fight half a dozen times before they could capitalize on a fight. And frankly, he was more than a little worried about Titan or Legion going off and pushing too far forward and getting enveloped. They were strong, but Darrow expected the Harmony Accords to try cutting them off from the team and then retreating to the ship with repeated engagements.
That was a fairly standard tactic to elites, even if it was hard to teleport someone involuntarily.
Darrow watched the feed of the Harmony Accords deploying ten armies through his eye with more than a little incredulity.
The ship was large. Massive even. But ten armies? That was unlikely. They would surely fit. There was no question about that. The ship was large enough. But from everything they knew about the ship, they never carried more than five armies at a time, and usually less than that. With the eight they had disgorged in their previous sieges, he couldn’t understand the means by which they could have housed eighteen or even more armies.
They must have picked the armies up on their mad dash to Gol’Ru, though Darrow was uncertain about how such a thing would be possible. They were deep within Empire space, and there were no armies for them to have rendezvoused with at any point therein.
Origami had suggested they had some form of portable connection to the Republic’s Between within the ship, but insofar as Darrow knew, that wasn’t how the Between worked. It was more akin to a road system than a teleport system. A portable portion of the Between would be as useful as a slab of train tracks would be in the middle of a forest. Yes, there was much they didn’t know regarding the mechanics of the feat, but that much was fundamental.
If the Republic had figured out how to bypass those restrictions, they might have a larger problem on their hands. It turned the Harmony Accords ship from a thorn in the side to a teleportation formation deep inside their territories, able to spew troops and elites past their defenses with impunity.
Stick pointed out that they had seen Sect and Federation armies disgorged in the last world and the reports said there had been a Sect army deployed in the world before, and there was no way the Republic would allow another Great Power such access to the Between. Sadly, Origami pointed out that the Harmony Accords had more than enough space to hold six armies without anyone being cramped, and more than that if people got cozy.
No one had a rebuttal for that. She was right, but suddenly their mission became a whole lot more difficult if that was true.
It was still possible though, and that was all that mattered to Darrow.
Nothing changed the fact that if the Harmony Accords and their elites left the Gol’Ru system, Team Zero would crush any amount of armies left here. One, ten, or a hundred, it made little difference beyond how long it would take.
Even as the armies moved to take over the fortress world, the elites and Corporation mercenaries set up embankments and cannons. Without Shadow, they were once more forced to fly into oncoming fire but they also encountered something new.
The Harmony Accords had left a minefield in their wake.
Not that it mattered to the [Bulwark]s Titan and Bulwark created, but it helped lend credence to Origami’s idea that the ship had access to the Republic Between network.
Darrow used his third eye to scan for any other surprises, but found none.
Once they were close enough to be dropped off, Drifter bade them farewell before retreating. Not too far away, but far enough away that she wasn’t in danger of being ambushed. She and her ship would be their encampment while they stood off with the Harmony Accords after all.
The battle began as such things did. Darrow managed to relatively quickly identify where Ari Kai lurked, and a hail of projectiles from Bolt forced him out of the melee. Daxton, or at least someone who looked like him, was lurking invisibly near the edge of the battlefield, and he directed Wraith to extend her spirit space near the man, which seemed to keep him at bay. He was a potential threat, though an eminently manageable one. His touch registered as overwhelmingly dangerous to all of his squad, and a few of them - most notably Titan, Tedwin, and Stick - had armor which counted as ‘alive’ to defend against such attacks. Hopefully it wouldn’t come down to that, as killing their armor would drastically undercut their defensive capabilities, but at least the backup existed.
Dao Child Darkness Everlasting was dashing towards Origami in his velociraptor beast form, and Darrow directed Light to reinforce the crafter before the void specialist could cut through her constructs. Dao Child Brilliant Wing had already managed to bring Gan Le within range of Titan, and alongside H’wuit and Dao Child Maven, were already engaging with the Ascender.
That was acceptable. Wraith subtly pushed the four of them away from the main battle, effectively neutralizing Gan Le for the remaining fighters while still keeping Titan, and his mana-granting Concept, in range thanks to the effects of Darrow’s own Domain. Colton was exchanging cover fire with Bolt, complicating things for Queen as she fought off a trio of peak elites.
Torment was steadily losing ground to Archwarrior Sparks, and was forced into outright retreat when Lorlael closed in, pursued by Legion and Stick. Bulwark swooped in to provide a bit of healing to Origami, but the void wound she’d taken wasn’t healing. Light supplemented with a conjured forearm and hand made out of synthetic mana.
Drifter pulled up, pulling the ship up out of the path of a barrage of fire from the massive battleship, forcing Darrow to recover from the momentary change in orientation. Legion had a few bodies come under attack from the Federation runesoldiers, but an assist from Wraith made her keep them in check. Tedwin and Estelle had gotten separated from the main group, under heavy assault from Dao Child Clawed Forge, Long Zhiyuan, and a pair of Republic pinnacle elites. He directed Bolt to provide a bit of cover, but that interrupted her duel with Colton, and Queen was quickly pushed back to the safety of a trio of Legion.
There was no sign of the sniper yet, which was worrying, but Daxton was still on the fringes of the fight. Ari Kai attempted to backstab Stick, but Light turned the man’s invisibility into a stone prison, letting Bulwark crumple the man’s chest and triggering his recall.
That was one down, and far, far too many to go.
Eliana and Darkness Everlasting pinned down a Legion body, and managed to kill it, prompting Wraith to sweep through with a wall of ice. Unfortunately, it was met by Dao Child Crashing Tundra’s mountain of ice, and Darrow directed Wraith to disengage and reinforce Tedwin before he was overrun by the Federation runesoldiers, rather than get into an elemental battle with the glacier specialist.
She agreed after a reluctant moment, stripping a thrown spear of its deadly spells the instant before it struck Tedwin’s chest, sparing Darrow from needing to recall the Graduate. The other four new pinnacle elites were also in a fairly bad position, having been separated and pinned down by the combined efforts of Archwarrior Sparks, Long Zhiyuan, three Republic elites, and several miscellaneous peak elites.
Drifter shot a missile to break up the formation, while Darrow contemplated how to rectify the situation. He’d like to send Legion in, but all of her were too distant. Light was close enough he could reinforce, and he unleashed a massive storm of hail he’d stored within his spellbook, originating initially from Titan. The hail turned to pyroclastic flow, and managed to send many of the peak elites back to their ship, but Clawed Forge managed to redirect the flow of the lava to his hands, where it became a massive axe made of obsidian.
Bulwark passed his namesake spell off to a giant summoned by Torment, who deflected the oversized blow. Bolt fired a barrage of brilliant blasts towards Crashing Tundra, only to be struck by a bullet from the hidden sniper. She was pulled back to the ship, and the runesoldiers nearly struck Bulwark and Torment from behind, until Legion interposed and drove them back, killing three of them and pushing them until they were reinforced by a duo of Republic elites and she lost her momentum.
Things were going… acceptably. But maybe not for long.
***
The new pinnacle and peak elites were the weakest links, and that immediately became clear in the first dozen exchanges.
Matt had gotten a feel for H’wuit in their first battle, which meant that, even with Gan Le there to soak up his and everyone else's damage, Matt was able to batter them. Gan Le was also clearly the current recipient of Maven’s old buff, which was making his attacks incredibly strong… by normal standards, anyway.
Gan Le clearly wasn’t used to his overwhelming strength, and he had very few skills to take advantage of it. His most effective maneuvers had been conjuring various forms of shields and trying to bash Matt with them, or creating two walls and trying to crush Matt between them.
They were quite powerful, and plenty of peaks or pinnacles would fall to the overwhelming force, but Matt was plenty tough enough to power through or dodge them outright. Every once in a while, a peak elite would try to get in a shot on him while he was dodging one of Gan Le’s attacks, and he would invariably respond with a [Telekinesis] crush.
After the fifth one had their lifesaving gear activate, pulling them back to the ship, they seemed to give up on that plan of attack.
Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones getting worn down.
Bolt took a sniper shot from inside the Harmony Accords ship's open hull through the chest. It activated her own tether and pulled her back to Drifter's ship.
The Harmony Accords tried to capitalize, but with just Gan Le on Matt, he was easily able to simply drag the other elite along for the ride.
He tried to stop them with his tether, which was, like his physical strength, stronger than usual, but Matt used his armor's ability to make telekinetic platforms. With a foothold for leverage, even Gan Le was no match for Matt’s physical might.
It was slow, but he was able to walk towards the others while dragging Gan Le along.
Unfortunately, when Maven and Brilliant Wing attacked him he was forced to dodge their combined attacks. Violet feathers burned against his armor while Maven brought a fist made of wrought metal and twice as big as Matt was tall down on him. That dodge helped Gan Le pull him back, and the next time he tried to drag himself closer to the fight, he was immediately beset by the combined efforts of the two Dao Children.
The battle dragged on for what felt like hours, and like they expected, the Harmony Accords started to run out of mana while Matt’s side were all still above half capacity. Even his white hole couldn’t keep them full, but they were in a better place than the Harmony Accords. Which was why Matt dropped his Concept for his Intent, locking down space and preventing the Harmony Accords from using their spiritual devices to retrieve mana stones for their rapid converters.
Matt was the only one allowed to give mana. That was his Domain, and he would give or take as he pleased, and it pleased him that the enemies were going without.
That earned him the ire of the collective, and even he couldn’t deal with that without repercussions.
Gan Le summoned a pair of massive golden gates inlaid with emerald and sapphire filigree and began to smash them together, Maven transformed into a dragon and breathed a stream of fire, and Brilliant Wing attacked with a full dozen wings made of burning violet light, forcing Matt to switch back from his black hole’s immobility to his white hole’s repulsion.
As he shifted gears, Matt felt the world slow to a crawl for an instant.
For just a moment as Matt was deactivating his black hole and activating his white hole, he was doing both at once.
Within him, the spiritual halo of his white hole blazed out, yet within the halo was not the normal brilliance of endless mana, but an all-consuming void of pure darkness, an eclipse unlike any other.
It wasn’t an eclipse wherein the moon passed before the sun, no. It was far more profound than that.
The black hole had lost its accretion disk, but blazed with a halo of twisting white light from every angle. The white hole had lost its fore, but consumed all within the perfect blackness of the black hole.
Infinite, impossibly deep darkness paired with blinding white energy in a searing display that caused the entire realm to stop and take notice.
Matt felt a searing in his eyes and felt the white hole manifestation that existed in his pupils had changed. A black hole appeared in the deepest parts of the white hole, creating what almost looked like a normal pupil inside his manifestation-changed pupil.
But that was the smallest change.
As Matt activated his Domain Meld, he felt what the mix of his Concept and Intent was.
It was nothing.
It was him.
It was…
He was…
He was endless.
He was dauntless.
He was unstoppable.
He was inevitable.
He was the white hole, which produced all for eternity. The tide of mana which would reshape the realm in his wake.
He was the black hole, which carved its way through all of reality. The titan whose sword would carve through all leaving not even dust in its wake.
His trajectory was definite. Nothing could alter him from his course, and he would leave his mark, the wake of his passage echoing for all eternity.
It was empty. It was nothing. It was Matt.
There was only nothingness, and the nothingness was Matt.
There was only energy, and energy was Matt.
Matt was both at once, and that was impossible.
He was two sides of the same coin, at the same time.
His mirror Domain had merged, melded, into a singular hole for a brief instant.
And it was everything and nothing.
It reigned supreme because it was there, and it wasn’t. It was both at the same time while being neither, which left no space for anything else.
Matt lofted his left hand above his head, and manifested his anchor. The eclipse blazed forth in all its might, white darkness and dark light shining out, an unstoppable light that drew every eye on the battlefield to its existence, daring them all, challenging them all to submit to the truth of Matt’s existence.
This was his battlefield, his realm. They would suffer his rule, and fear his judgment.
Under its light, all other Domains snuffed out. Friend and foe, Matt’s assertion of his reality was the only one permitted.
Susanne’s swords started to crumble and fragment, the edges chipping away. Liz’s blood boiled, yet held its shape. Colton’s hat was blown off his head, forcing him to shield his eyes with his hand. The bracelets on Torment’s arms turned to dust and vanished in a puff of smoke, instantly causing his skin to stretch under the pressure of his summons trying to force their way out. Darrow’s communication link broke, like a taut cord pulled too tightly. The runesoldiers all seemed to spasm slightly, Brilliant Wing’s feathers lost much of their brightness, and throughout the battlefield, everyone staggered under Matt’s absolute power. But most importantly, the massive moon that hovered over Maven winked out of existence and the spatial lock that reinforced the ship’s twisting of space vanished.
The pressure was immense. Matt could feel himself directly contesting everyone’s willpower, as they all fought to reassert their own domains. It was less draining than using his mana compression, but not by much. Even as that thought came, the pressure redoubled as people fought against it, and he was forced to drop it within a second. It was then that he lost the understanding that had come over him on just how he had managed the meld and everything unraveled.
And yet within that second, Aster, the best fox in the realm, Matt’s bond, his little sister, acted where no else managed to.
While his Domain meld shut down Domains, it did nothing to stop Talents.
Nothing at all.
A ripple of color swept out across the battlefield, a brilliant aurora dancing through space, and it closed around two people in particular.
Daxton, where he lurked in the wings, ready to dart in and touch someone like they were playing a demented game of tag, vanished in a swirl of green and a puff of ice.
Gan Le, for all his might, guarding against all of Matt’s might, was obscured by a curtain of violet light, and when it withdrew, he was gone.
In his place, a green-skinned blue-haired and a blue-skinned and green-haired pair of men were suddenly forced into reality, a tangle of limbs that they quickly extricated themselves from.
There had always been two names they’d heard as within the Harmony Accords, but never seen.
Synoid and Crastor.
Comments
Nicholas Grey
“Matt was the only one allowed to give mana. That was his Domain, and he would give or take as he pleased, and it pleased him that the enemies were going without.” Another fantastic line, but I’d recommend changing the tense of the last line to “that the enemies would go without”. In its current form, it makes “it pleased him” take the meaning of “it made him happy”. Changing the tense shifts the meaning of “it pleased him” to “this is what he desired to be fact, and thus it was” To illustrate what I mean, try mentally swapping “as he pleased” for “as he wished”, and “it pleased him” for “he wished”. “Matt was the only one allowed to give mana. That was his Domain, and he would give or take as he wished, and he wished that the enemies would go without.”
Nicholas Grey
“Requests for increases to an operational mana budget were accomplished by asking Ascender Titan for a minute of his time” I love this line. A minute of Matt’s time is worth 2.4 *billion* mana, which is probably more than the “operational mana budget” of any other unit - for a *month*.
Julie Smith
Boom! Matt advances and the battlefield crumbles around him.
chest25
I'm pretty sure that's just against regular soldiers
John
Thanks for the chapter!
Jeff Wells
You're overstating the difference between Matt and Waters, but you're correct in principle. MAL dominate tier 27, they aren't middling soldiers. They would be elite for tier 28, but they don't dominate like they do the lower tiers, so they don't ever fight at 28 (why take the risk?). Waters, however, dominates 4 full tiers up, to the point that it takes tier 35 ascenders teaming up to stop him. He's absolutely insane. MAL isn't at that level yet, never mind Matt by himself, but Matt did just take a huge leap forward. Assuming he can recapture that domain in a reasonable time frame, the HA is in serious trouble.
Aaron Hathaway
Yeah, I think Luna will have to say. Also I think Duke Waters will be able to provide valuable insight into what Matt just did.
James Harrison
Personally, I actually agree with the Authority idea when compared to the inspirations. Mainly because it *has* been established that Emmanuel managed to learn/notice some stuff about authority when he met Hastor AND it was specifically mentioned in that chapter to let Duke Water's know.
James Harrison
Well, if we think about this logically with the use of past examples, I think some of those limitations can be trained out/mitigated. From what it seems like, Concepts, Intents and Domains are all basically the same thing to a higher level. You either go top-down (specific to broad like the guy tryna get a Blade/weapon aspect), or bottom- up (basically had a really broad concept that refines into a specific one. So like, a Water concept, to storm intent, to raindrop aspect). But regardless, if we assume the above, then it will likely be a similar situation to Matt's Concept with the mana-giving trait. The domain suppression will have to be trained to have a "white-list".
James Harrison
*Thanos has entered the chat*
Silver Beard
His so called intent brought everyone to a standstill for 1 second. Haven't read anyone doing even close to that kind of absolute domination. See what Author has to say next chapter. But if his 'ownership' affected more than tier 25...
Flamedboy
I dont know how people could compare matt and waters before this? Waters can fight up 4 tiers to peak 35s as a 31! I don't honestly see the comparison between him and anyone as it's been said even Matt is like a elite soldier in tier 26 battles and a common soldier at tier 27 battles or am I remembering this wrong?
Silver Beard
He brought the whole battle to a halt... will anyone let him train that up to it's real potential. Who could stand against it? His mana-regen is at base a utility; but this new domain is direct combat or the absolute absence of it. To my mind it registers on the same order of magnitude if it's allowed to grow/thrive. Absolute dominion of any battlefield he takes. Who won't be trying to wipe him out- every chance they get? We got the 25 tier reactions... I'm wondering if we'll get the higher ups that were watching. Were they impacted as well? That's what I'm getting at.
james drawdy
It’s already been said that when Matt is truely noticed a true war will start, not to say anything about little miss healer that is still out of sight, the fact that his mana generation is not out yet would be the only hope that it doesn’t start.
Silver Beard
I'm wondering what Luna will have to say about Matt's progress.
Silver Beard
Thanks for sharing. Annual was a good investment. Got to wonder though if the other powers won't break the accords over this. He's more than another Waters in the wings. Hope the Emperors bodyguards are paying attention. Titan/Matt just made himself too powerful to let live/grow.
Storyhunter
As something I literally dreamed up...... Would it be possible to.... Run a large living habitat moon scale experiment? Mixing both fire + blood environments. I get that in the lab it's hard to get a grasp on a mix. However if you essentially dropped the environmental from a blood type rift + a fire type rift onto a semi livable moon. It's likely one might see results. Would they be what legion requires... No but it might result in interesting bloodines if nothing else.
Kelly Bryan
Kain is right, DW mentions that to use an enemy cultivator's essence without harming yourself you need to scrub their domain out of the essence received from them using your own domain, he also complains about how little he gets from each kill calling the realm greedy for not letting him have more of the enemies accumulated essence. Scrubbing domains does not appear to be a widespread skill though.
Coorsbie
Need to fly slower? Yes, also mana beam
Coorsbie
Temporary Mana beam receptacles
Coorsbie
So you are saying 2 essentially support classes are right in front of Matt with no defense…. Time for some mana beams
Kain
What does his animal husbandry have to do with essence absorbance from kills? I’m pretty sure every person can absorb essence from killed enemies dungeon diving or not it’s just incredibly slow in comparison to get it from same or similar tiered sentient opponents like you would be fighting in a war.
Esch
Well I did not say the Ice Cream would suceed only that It would try to eat her lol
C_Mantis
Ice Cream trying to eat Aster? I think you are confused sir. Ice Cream would be hunted by Aster. Insert 'I'm Not Trapped In Here With You, You're Trapped in Here With Me' Meme.
Kelly Bryan
Right, and previously they mentioned this type of suppression being lightly damaging to continued Domain use in the fight even after the suppression is gone. Its not like what Luna did to stop the inspiration, but closer to a bruised domain.
Tommy
“The white hole had lost its fore, but consumed all within the perfect blackness of the black hole.” -> the white hole had lost its core (I think it should be?) “In his place, a green-skinned blue-haired and a blue-skinned and green-haired men” -> this sentence was confusing - maybe “two men, one green haired and blue skinned, the other blue haired and green skinned” or something similar? TFTC!
RedEyeLordofFire
i think it was the truth part of his aspect not his authority.
Hedon____ism
That would be an interesting twist, would deffo prove Aster's ascender material. Although what would Daxton touching her spirit space look like? and what would her coming back to life look like? If I had to guess, I'd say the people trapped in her space would be released, but unconscious, whilst everyone in team 0 and HA would be shocked before frantically trying to retrieve GangLa, Daxton and other priority team members before the rest of the frozen captees. Team 0 would react violently, maybe Mat is shocked because his bond feels empty, where as Liz goes ape shit and might try some unsavoury blood stuff (probably not, but who knows). As for how Aster comes back to life, either some concept/intent/truth/whatever shenanigans about ice being that which death leaves behind once it's done its job in the universe or something about how auroras dance in the darkest and coldest of nights where nothing else but death awaits. Obviously just spitballing but your comment made me think about it.
Esch
Awesome chapter as always Mantis. Aster was the MVP of this battle. Changing the subject; I'm rereading the Minkala arc now that the book is out and I'll never forgive you for not making The Hills have eyes one of the floors the gang encountered. I can't stop thinking about Aster's reaction to Ice Cream trying to eat her.
Kelly Bryan
"Yi Zhelan was with him always, even to the bitter end." This is the last line from his story, my mistake I thought he lost the sword but it seems pretty clear to me that hes dead.
C_Mantis
I think there has been a misunderstanding of inspirations. Inspirations can be had for anything. They don't need to be monumental moments. You can have an inspiration making a pizza, or pooping, or watching a cloud, or watching a kid ride a bike. They can also be making a new mana type, or creating a Domain Meld, or seeing a white hole for the first time, or defeating a opponent a dozen Tiers stronger then yourself. This isn't enlightenment like you commonly see in cultivation novels where it has to be some great understanding of the realm. Its your personal 'eureka' moment and that can come from anything. As for how others sit on a inspiration they often keep the moment of 'eureka' from fully solidifying by not finishing the thought or whatever it was that made the flash. Thats different then Erwin or Matt from before where they are already starting the process. Once you are already in the slip and slide its hard to stop it and takes all your concentration.
austin kutz
I mean, arguably he did both, but if this doesn't count as an inspiration for Matt, that has great implications for his tier 50 and 75 talents, I would think. If he's inherently that which permits or denies the use of magic then I'd say that would have to be reflected in the story in the future. I totally get not pushing him to tier 26 though. How do others "sit" on inspirations though?
austin kutz
I'm pretty sure he survived and decided not to push as hard as he used to and just went wondering. Still equally unlikely to be in the story
C_Mantis
Inspirations are about coming into tune with the realm. What Matt did might be an inspiration for others but ultimately what Matt did was come into sync with himself. Also if he had an inspiration he'd need to leave the Tier 25 battlefield so on a meta level he'd need to interrupt the inspiration. Remember how hard it was for Erwin to push it off a few hours. No way Matt can fight at the level he needs to while doing that.
Uuds
We know Rusty punched his way out of a spirit space. I hope Aster hasn't bitten off more than she can chew by swallowing one touch death guy. Although it'll be quite cool if she dies and comes back from it. That's some Ascender shit right there. No one will question that she's not Ascender level again if she comes back from death.
Drumic
I think it was more that the other domains could not be active while his was in play. That his domain smothered theirs while it was out.
Kelly Bryan
Not just all of HA either, I imagine all of T0 would be pushing a little, especially Legion and Queen.
Kelly Bryan
I believe theyve talked about suppression like this being irritating but similar to being low on will power. Its something like when Aster cracked her domain with the race change, they can function mostly fine but pushing it is more straining
Kelly Bryan
If I recall correctly that guy died to his own reflection.
Kelly Bryan
I am also interested in the consequences of diverting so much of their resources to HA. If the Empire was struggling to supply their Ascender team with supplies (No eta given on their upgrade orbs and slow delivery of skills) while the HA is so much bigger and using more resources to accomplish similar feats as T0's Talents than the cost should be obscene.
Peculiar Oranges
Right, thanks
PoeticSaint
TYFTFC!!! I didn't know how much i NEEDED that moment! My skin still has goosebumps!
PoeticSaint
I could NOT have said that better! All I'm capable of at this moment is a capitalized: OMFG!
Mario Reiman
I would imagine that the generals on HA have a very good understanding how much of a lynchpins gan lee and the twins are to their battle strength. With gan lee kidnapped and twins out on a very dangerous position they should either storm away to regroup or risk it all and try to get some pickoffs from team zero with their sniper + mana cannon + Ari Kai combos. Team zero also got debuffed and it's likely that the ascenders will now go on a blood frenzy, maybe foregoing their own or their allies safety. I hope the twins won't die , but they are really quite naked in front of team zero ATM.
Alex
Need to fly faster? Believe it or not, mana beam.
Ties
Dies this mean that all those domains were broken, so the previously referred 100 year recovery is necessary?
austin kutz
The twin children of a powerful dream cultivator from the sects
C_Mantis
All stages require everything below so yes you need another anchor. Also yes it can be the same anchor.
Michael Rojas
Magic attack? Mana beam. Physical attack? Mana beam. Run away? Mana beam. Magic and physical defense? Unlimited mana beam.
Michael Rojas
I remember that guy fondly lol. I keep hoping that we get an update on him and hope that he continues to not be an evil POS like most everyone else in the sects apparently are
Michael Rojas
I absolutely agree with you. Also, I can't help but wonder exactly how many resources the HA is burning to just keep that monster ship running and going that fast. Like how long can the Great powers keep that up before it by itself, starts to negatively affect their economy's. I'd love to read a chapter or a brief insert on how much they have all screwed themselves on that. Especially as a follow up war and or wars, depending on the terms, is all but guaranteed after this. I'd bet that the Monster Collective is going to absolutely ravage the Feddys as soon as they can. And also refuse to be bought off to avoid a war. Good times ahead haha
Peculiar Oranges
Who are Synoid and Crastor again??
DisgruntleFairy
Definitely fair about Allie being a MVP too. Her and Aster can share the title.
MinE
Does forming an Aspect require an Anchor? I just assumed that you only needed one. P.S I realize even if they do actually need an anchor to form an aspect their is no reason they can't use their original anchor twice.
Jack Norris
Thanos
William Johnson
Gan Le down? Time to mana beam everything!
Ragnoroth
Best line “ And yet within that second, Aster, the best fox in the realm, Matt’s bond, his little sister, acted where no else managed to.”
austin kutz
Well, almost every sect member so far has been depicted as selfish, self interested, and treacherous. We only know they aren't all like that from the one guy in Minkalla that believes his gf/wife reincarnated into his sword
austin kutz
How does this not count as an inspiration? He had a revelation equal to that of Sword Saint Hastor on the battlefield and it isn't part of the standard domain process, shouldn't that make it an inspiration by default?
austin kutz
What's this a reference to?
austin kutz
The arrays can make them physically stronger and make their magic hit harder, but AFAIK they don't do anything with their domain or willpower. Who cares how strong they are when Waters only fights using his domain? He'll just down them before they get close
Thransk
Is is possible that Duke Waters will have some sort of revelation about his Concept/Domain/Aspect that will force him to ascend early? Like he powers up mid fight with a revelation that is normally reserved for those who have ascended to the next realm and the universe forces him to ascend early.
Kelly Bryan
Gosh, the range on that, and the apparent strength? I wonder what kind of resonance he'll have with DW now? and this is the first mention of an Intent manifestation to match Concept manifestations, pretty darn cool Matty, and the phrasing with Aster using her Talent, loved it, Aster is best fox.
EmmieCurls
Yeah English has some funny ways of stating things like this. Like when you say to “turn back” a page in a book, depending on how/where you learned it it either means towards the back of the book or backwards in the story. I wasn’t sure what was meant but just figured the dates were accurate.
Vincent Andrews
Fantastic chapter, the HA are going to have to blitz the 25 worlds to get the 35 and hope that Matt does not fully realize his domain. It took all of the HA just to get him to turn it off…he lives up to the name of Titan!
Kelly Bryan
Id be happy to see them bicker about which one was MVP, we dont even need an actual winner.
Hangwind
Nope, remember, she was powerful before the Harmony accords but not very controlled. It was her ability to control her power that was a nasty surprise in the first Harmony ambush. It seems like the twins add new options as well as boosting power (See Gan Le suddenly able to use his power offensively). Which does make sense for three Talents being synergized.
Snugglebadger
True, but he probably likes the sects because it's his home. He seems like a fairly chill dude who would probably be happy wherever he ended up. If he thinks he's in danger because of the team's failures, he might elect to just not return to the sects after the war. Who knows.
hachetnif
Can't wait for next chapter and seeing enemy and allies perspective of their domain's suppressed by Matt especially the two people that got kidnapped.
hachetnif
It was very taxing on his willpower in a battle with The Pinnacle of power in his tear on enemy sides and on allies side I highly doubt it would be as taxing on one person or maybe just even a couple instead of a whole battlefield full of elites
james drawdy
Matt has always been afraid of being shoved in a box and I can see that fear helping shape his melded domain. Matt is both everything and nothing at the same time, the arbiter of fate within his domain and it is his judgment that forms reality. Where Duke Waters drowns his foes in the depths, he will crush them into nothingness like everything else that falls into a black hole. I can’t wait to see how the HA will act, will they flee from the battle in a panic or attack all out in an attempt to get back there best protection from team zero even being low on mana.
MikeL
I thought he felt his aspect.
MikeL
Ne needs to learn to control the distance for 1v1 fights.
MikeL
Were they helping Maven even before the harmony accords, she had a power up very early??
MikeL
1. Innate Ice Manipulation 3. Better control, power, less mana needed for ice spells. 25 spirit realm
J Andrade
Yeah -- not likely to roll over but PLENTY happy to have them hold him until the end of the war before he gets repatriated.
Kain
A very funny scene just popped into my mind when I imagine Gan Lie flipping and just running away to the empire to escape the war. I just imagined Ari Kai standing in front of him completely unnoticed trying to stab him in the eye repeatedly to no effect. His attitude is well hidden enough sure but I think he could still be on Janet’s list for “house cleaning” because he’s a very powerful member of an opposing great power who is let’s be honest dishonest and treacherous to a certain extent plenty of reason for Janet to dislike him if she has an accurate picture of who he is and taking him out weakens the Sects a win win.
Isley
good chappie
Fake Name
Have you seen the people in charge? They are going to order the Harmony Accords to push harder in an effort to kill him before he gets stronger and lose a lot of people trying to kill Matt.
Kain
I don’t know if they can afford to retreat in this position. They’ve already taken catastrophic losses in this bracket due to operation defang if they just retreat now that cements the tier 25 war as not just a loss but a crushing one. Last fight they lost a peak/pinnacle elite and this one they just lost 2 more pinnacle if Aster can get them on the ship and away to the empire prison. Not only that but Gan Lie is central to the HA’s without him there to tank every engagement going forward will almost certainly involved further losses due to no one else really being able to contain Matt. They have to get Gan Lie back NOW not ransomed later or they are kinda SOL. Honestly, the smart play from team 0 is probably to retreat and pocket their gains but I somehow doubt Matts in the mood for that.
Fake Name
The agreement is that Duke Waters can't Delve, but since his talents have to do with animal husbandry, he can actually absorb essence from the people he kills and can go around that agreement. He could have an inspiration in his back pocket as well.
mathieu brassard
Mathematics makes all of that complicated. Theoric white hole are not connected to black hole, but produce matter from energy. Black hole are just are just ultra dense point of mass preventing light and matter from escaping, bending time doing it. at the mathematical convergeance point of a black hole and white hole, at a specific timepoint where 2 universes, a black hole and a white hole exist in the same space, everything and nothing exist at the same time while you can see to infinity. it's also the point where Einstein-Rosen bridges are supposed to exist (wormholes), granting passage from a universe to another.
Fake Name
Or in the first few chapters when he touched on his phrase against the orcs.
Shawn
It is a common convention in English for the UK, US, and Canada. It's about context. We're talking about time on a weekly scale so "next" implies the following week. If I say "This Friday", it's pretty clear I mean the 10th. So it doesn't make sense for most English speakers to also mean the 10th when I say "Next Friday".
Sean McClain
I think, if his aspect is similar to this glimpse, it is very powerful but has limitations. Domains turned off for both allies and enemies, that may make it not very useful outside of 1 and 1 fights. And it looks to be a major hit on his willpower. So extremely powerful but with many limitations.
Havokk
Now if Matt can learn to do this on command and targeted or whitelist those he doesnt want it to affect then when Allie comes back all he has to do is remove Mavens moon anytime she tries to call it out and let Aster and Allie just waltz through the battle field plucking elites out and dropping them into the freezer
C_Mantis
Yeah sorry I wasn't perfectly clear. I also just it like josh where this would be the upcoming and next is the following. The break will be the listed dates.
Kain
Creepy twins that have been theorized as the source of the mega buff that’s allowing pinnacle elites to fight and beat ascenders “1”v1. That theory’s basically been confirmed with Gan Lie getting bamfed away while under the buff and those 2 appearing tangled in his place.
C_Mantis
yeah I saw the kyzurect video on them. Super cool stuff.
Abriel Blauer
I think we are about to witness the fastest retreat in History
Alex
Black hole stars are theorized to have existed in the early stages of the universe, but I don't think they're applicable here since Matt is mixing a white hole and a black hole, not a black hole and a star.
Nicolas Maganto
I wonder how she will react when her sons take a laser beam to the face till they die of old age
Dylan Alexander
I’m pretty sure stars with black holes inside them are a real phenomenon.
Roman Terry
If Titan can learn to control that Paradox, and to blacklist the denial effect, he’s going to be a nightmare to fight. Only his side having access to domains even if only for a few moments is a powerful trump card.
Frardowin
That... was ascender shit right there.
Reid Thompson
So hear me out, his anchor will probably be a taiji or something similar because this feels a lot like the basis of the dao. In 1 is two, in two is 3, in 3 is infinity. Or something like that. Idk, the "i am everything and nothing" felt very dao to me.
Reid Thompson
I fucking called it! Kind of. Idk of "I am inevitable" will end being up his words for his Aspect, but i hope it will.
Alex
Gan Le says earlier (in the chapter that went up on RR today) that he likes The Sects, so the chances of him defecting are nil. He just also happens to enjoy being alive, which is why he's unhappy with his present assignment to block Ascender-level threats with his face.
John S Barksdale
I think this display by Matt would push the enemy to simply concede the tier 25 battle having confidence they will win the Tier 15 and Tier 35 battles and the overall war.
adam1
One of the Waters chapters talked about him making a new skill. He could be counting that as his trump card.
Pat Sprehe
It’s not another anchor per se. It’s his original anchor, but it changed to reflect the duality of his concept and intent that he applied through it. Like his eyes. I’m curious if the anchor and eyes will change back if he switches to a single application. My guess is no since the eyes don’t switch to black when he uses his intent.
Alex
I'd give MVP status to Allie, but it was definitely a team effort between her and Aster.
Alex
Spirit space.
Havokk
they are children of a sect ascender who is out of the war due to being to high tier. The current speculation is that they are the ones who have been giving out the massive buffs we've seen to members of the LOE . They havent been seen directly fighting anyone so it seems likely they merge with the person they are buffing
Sean Shivers
Yep, i have the same understanding "this" vs "next"... but it regularly causes miscommunication even among native speakers
Quixotic
What's Aster's talent again?
austin kutz
No, not at all. It was explained in a previous chapter that opposing concepts and intents can be merged to form a unique domain power that isn't part of a standard domain
Schmidt
Just waiting on Gan Le to roll over and give details on everyone for asylum in the empire
Hangwind
Ah. I think we found the source of the extreme power-ups.
Lorevi Q
It was mentioned previously that he could develop an aspect to fuse his concept / intent but that it would be a waste since he could learn to do it himself. Presumably that's what he's just done, leaving his aspect to be something else.
James Faulkner
I made this joke earlier but completely forgot about the Stygian Gossamer 😂
Josh Bullock
Thanks for the chapter! That ending was awesome and I am looking forward to the next few chapters even more than usual!
James Faulkner
I cracked up thinking of the fusion being referred to as just “THE HOLE”
Josh Bullock
I think even in most english speaking countries this is somewhat ambiguous. I would trust the dates we have been given (which is why I imagine they were given!). Personally I would use "this Friday" to mean the Friday coming up and "next Friday" to mean the Friday after that.
James Faulkner
You don’t think that the italicized and bold “inevitable” has any significance beyond his domain meld?
Sean McClain
Matt did it he combined the two gravitational anomalies into one space time abomination and it turned off magic ....kind of Very cool.
Christian Sullivan
It would truly be broken if Matt's aspect fed him unlimited willpower. He would truly be Endless.
skewness7
Thx both of you for answering. Is this some convention about dates in english? Bc I do not think that is what next means. I am not being confrontational, just curious.
DisgruntleFairy
Aster really has been the MVP of this arc of the story. Her talent has allowed her to become the best at grabbing hostages.
Clifford Solonas
two question 1) did matt touch his authority?2) since the whole realm took notice of matt, did the tier 50s feel it as well?
Shawn
This Friday is the 10th. Next Friday is the 17th
IceHeart
I think it's in reference to the Friday of next week where "this Friday" would refer to the Friday of this week
Tim Johnson
They also seem to be the actual source of the super buff. Given that Gan le was the one who was buffed up this fight. So something, talents, intents etc, let's then go into another's spiritual space and provide buffs to the person they are embodying
CottonMod
Awesome moment. On a meta-level, it's great to know that the story is actively moving toward Tier 35 and beyond.
Starfall20
We really have nothing on them barring the fact that they are the Lady of Nightmares kids. I don't think we know anything else.
Alex
Matt said outright that he doesn't want his Aspect to just be a merger of his Concept and his Intent, so I doubt the singular hole is his Anchor. I could see I am Inevitable being his phrase, and I think the revelation he had about being everything and nothing could be related to his Truth.
skewness7
Next Friday is 10th not 17th. I guess you mean 10th. But a clarification would be welcome. Thanks for the chapter
Alex
The A-team and B-team rune kids are meant to be able to empower a single member to Tier 38 power levels; Aiden can't fight up that many Tiers, so he's going to need something or he's going to die. I think he's going to finalize his psuedoskill into a true skill, and in the process he's going to realize what he needs to create his Authority (there's a chance that he'll have back to back inspirations by making the skill and creating his authority, but that would probably be a little too deus ex machina so I doubt it).
Patrick Brennan
Getting his Authority would be too OP. I bet all the other main powers would make him ascend as not even the T50s have one. It would be too dangerous for them to let it go unchecked
Aaron Hathaway
My guess is Waters is sitting on inspirations. And the agreement doesn't block him from Tiering up via inspirations. Be kind of sick if he used it to jump to T35 and wiped and then drowned all the others.
Tetrasimplex
super excited for the next stage of his domain! I wonder if he can control negating all other domains... cause if he can reduce willpower requirements on that in exchange for slightly less power it could be an incredibly power tool against a small number of targets.
adam1
Matt already has an invincible left hand to use as a gauntlet, so now he just needs to turn his skin purple.
adam1
This is the bit that will let Matt start to take over from Waters as the premier Ascender in terms of raw power at a Tier, I bet.
Nate Slattery
I think like what is going to happen with duke waters he is going to lose or be losing and form his authority
SodaBoBomb
That was freaking awesome, TYFC
Patrick Brennan
Good catch
Patrick Brennan
So I think he did manifest another anchor for a second there, the merged white / black hole. And then we had, I Am Unstoppable and I Am Inevitable as Phrase and Truth
Jordan
I need a refresh on Synoid and Castor, I think I remember them from a briefing but other than their names I am drawing a blank.
Serran
This seems to be one of these "Ascender bullshit moves" that have been hyped up. I think it pretty much hit exactly that. Now Matt has something to practice if he gets to sit on his evil throne again. The biggest direct threat and the biggest shield of the Harmony Accords have been taken out. We don't know for how long, but if Aster can keep them contained even for a bit than T0 can really open up. Sure, there are likely backup counters that the HC has to blunt Matts death beam, but they are the backup and now everyone has the worry about getting lasered into the face. And if Aster can keep them on Ice long term than this could be a part of the shift the Empire needs. Not even mentioning that Synoid and Crastor are likely to get lasered into the face. Though I don't doubt that the recall might get them as soon as possible. Matts thoughtprocess is also hilarous in some ways. The guys that have been doing this war business hundred of times longer than he are causally dismissed as the weak link. He is right of course, but still. I find it funny.
Bob Bryan
Killing would have been harder and aster wouldn't of needed to take the bodies. So probably
Havokk
Gan Le yanked right out of the fight........ With him out expect the LOE to be popping life saving treasures like they are tic tacs in every battle going forard
BagFullOfLizards
Yoink!
adam1
He was sucked into Aster's winter spirit space. She should be able to keep him there and locked down until he can be jailed.
adam1
Each Domain piece needs something more than the previous level. Aspect is Image, Phrase, Anchor, and Truth.
JoshCalmick
What a great chapter. Love that Gan Le's time as being the glue keeping the elites relevant against MLA is over.
adam1
They're the chlidren of the Mistress of Ill Dreams and no one wants to get on her bad side.
adam1
A few chapters ago it's mentioned that mirror pieces of a Domain can sometimes create a half step between a Concept and an Intent with its own power, that is not an Aspect.
Alex
I can't tell if Matt is touching on his Aspect or not; it feels like the understanding he's developing might be the nascent formation of a Truth, but it still isn't clear what a Truth is meant to be.
Patrick Brennan
I can't remember, what is needed to create an Aspect. Seems like Matt has, at minimum, touch on his phrase and image but what else will he need to fully form it
MinE
I hope Gan Le was only captured.
IWannaBeATiger
That's gotta put the HA on the back foot since their main check on Matt got poofed
Sam Joy
So good!!
Thomas Todd
In his place, a green-skinned and blue-skinned man were suddenly forced into reality, a tangle of limbs that they quickly extricated themselves from. Might want to add an A before blue skinned, it reads as singular at the moment
mitchell kaiser
Great chapter!
T
Great chapter Do we know of synoid and Castor?
Aaron Hathaway
Agreed, but the phrasing make it seem like he doesn't recall what he did. Sort of like the challenge in Minkalla where he made an accomplishment but had no clue how he did it. In this case he knows what he did which is more than knowing it's possible. Should make it easier to accomplish next time.
Bunny Waffles
Gan Le is nabbed, now those Harmony bastards can no longer no-sell Matt's overpowered attacks.
Jinjitsu
Thanks for the chapter. Was slightly hoping during the Darrow POV he would make any kind of comment about the evil overlord throne. Could be fun.
Derze
Holy shiiiiiit
Bob Bryan
And I am Ironman.
C_Mantis
doing in in the heat of the moment is easier then doing it calmly.
James Faulkner
I think both? The domain meld let him touch on his phrase for his Aspect, and now Matt can be the Thanos we all want him to be 😂
Darune Albane
We accept a fat finger post of the next chapter 😀
Aaron Hathaway
Wouldn't his AI know how he trggered the eclipse merging of his white hole and black hole?
Makromag
Uuuhhh that's interesting
John Sanders
Yes, it was hinted at by BloodHand in one of the HA chapters
John Sanders
Bro let's gooo
Fake Name
Is this the Intent and Concept actually fusing and working together or is he brushing upon his Aspect? Or Both?
Aurora1325
that was alot fun by matt
Captain the Red Beard
In the words of Bob Ross, we will just call that a happy little accident 😁
James Faulkner
Fuck yes that’s so cool! Tftc!!
Max Thomas
Huh, so that's what the buff is, Synoid and Craster subsuming themselves into someone else
James Townsend
Does this mean that synoid and crastor were the people providing the buff that maven had? Since Gan Le was the recipient this time, that's the only variable that changed with aster kidnapping him to force the 'buff' to appear
James Townsend
awesome. super hyped and it felt natural
hachetnif
I thought it started already so this is a bonus
C_Mantis
Patreon changed their layout and I clicked the wrong thing. Oh well. lol
Kasamuri
Thanks for the chapter
Thomas Brusilovsky
Little bit earlier than I was expecting, but I’ve been looking forward to this!
Luna_1001
Thanks
