MMORPG: Ascension of the Strongest Spirit Master
Chapter 40: Spirit Convergence

Chapter 40: Spirit Convergence

The flame and poison ate through the giant’s health, but Vlad was not done yet as he quickly selected another explosive and a poison potion from his inventory, making them appear in his left and right hands.

Just like before, flame roared inside the maw of the giant while poison sizzled on the terrible wound on its face.

Vlad was ready to pull the same trick a third time, but the Eclipseborn had had enough. Forcing its fangs past the dark gauntlet protection, the Bear clamped down with bestial strength, crushing and slicing through flesh and bone with a sickening crunch.

The colossus jerked its head upward, tearing Vlad’s left arm clean off just below the shoulder and throwing him up into the air.

Vlad landed nearly ten feet away, barely managing to twist his battered body enough to hit the ground on his feet.

He felt blinding pain engulf his mind, mixed with the calm voice of system notifications that he could barely register. Gasping, Vlad looked up at the dark colossus, hoping his last-ditch effort had done what he needed it to do.

System Notification:

{Due to player health dropping below 30%, Hero’s Echo has taken effect: all stats increased by 20% for 100 seconds.}

{Vessel of Suffering effect has grown, scaling up to +9% physical strength.}

The Eclipseborn stood stunned, shaken by the immense pain, blood, and flames slipping from his slightly agape abyssal maw. His health also dropped below 50%, and with each passing second, it was dropping by more than one percent.

Vlad took out a healing potion from his inventory, douched some on his terrible wound, and drank the rest, his eyes never leaving the dark colossus.

The chances of victory were slim, but not Zero, because while Vlad had lost his arm and had compromised his movement and speed, the Eclipseborn was in no perfect condition.

The Giant Beast stood tall, his condition bad but near perfect compared to Vlad’s. However, he was a mess on the inside, as two minds fought for control of the body.

The spirit possessing the Eclipseborn was very powerful, making it nearly impossible for the Bear to regain control, but possession came at a price.

The spirit felt every bit of the pain inflicted on the body.

The spirit would shrug off a moderate amount of pain, but an intense shock could weaken its grip on the body, and Vlad had not overlooked this detail early into their battle.

Now, the real question was: had he inflicted enough pain to give the Eclipseborn a fighting chance? And more importantly, would the Bear be proud and intelligent enough to inflict damage on itself? If he did not, then Vlad would have only delayed the inevitable.

The Eclipseborn stood still, like a statue of carved obsidian, wisps of poison rising from its wounds, the acid still sizzling deep in its torn-out eye.

Vlad stared intently, barely breathing, hoping that his attempt would work. As if luck were on his side, the beast finally moved.

Its head snapped to one side, jaws grinding, fangs bared in a silent snarl. Then, the other way, as if the beast was experiencing a nightmare.

"Good... good," Vlad muttered, a grin tugging at his lips despite the blood-curdling pain. "Now, it would be perfect if you started tearing yourself apart."

The massive creature stumbled, claws raking deep gouges into the stone as its legs buckled.

"RROOOAARRRRR" It roared, not at Vlad, but at nothing, at the thing inside its own skull. The sound fractured, part rage, part agony, and something almost... helplessness.

Its body convulsed.

One moment, it stood tall, towering, and firm; the next, it jerked violently, slamming its own head against the stone floor in a thunderous impact.

"BOOOMMMM"

"RROOOAARRRRR!" Another gut-wrenching roar, and the Eclipseborn charged into the front wall. "BOOOMMMM" The impact sent cracks snaking through the stone wall, while its health dropped by nearly three thousand points.

Another roar and another slam, with each impact cracking the rock, sending shards of stone flying.

Dark shadows flared around it, then wavered and flickered, showing its internal struggle.

Its hind legs gave out, and the Eclipseborn fell to its knees, the ground beneath it fracturing like glass. It roared again, a sound torn in half between rage and despair.

It fell onto his back as if all its strength had been sapped away, and then it thrashed, its arms swinging wide, smashing the floor as it tried to get up.

Vlad was engrossed in watching it from a safe distance, away from its sight, knowing he could do nothing to hasten his healing, and attacking the Bear meant inviting death.

So he watched in silence, so focused that he did not even notice the virulent wisps coalescing into a young lady... a lady with wings and horns near his right shoulder.

The little fairy looked around, her eyes stopping on the thrashing giant before quickly snapping to Vlad.

"Master! Master, where are we?" She asked, her voice small and low, too scared to attract the attention of the Black Bear.

Vlad looked to his side, hearing the voice. His smile grew as he saw the little anomaly finally make her appearance, and coincidentally, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

"Well, the usual. An adventure gone bad, and me, minutes away from death," Vlad said, making the little girl shrink as she floated closer to him.

"But, since you are here, I am confident we will be walking out of here alive," he added, smiling as Vel looked at him blankly, as if she wanted to say something but chose to stay silent.

No one would be able to guess that this meek little spirit was the same Death Empress whose mere presence could sap the life from even a Spirit King.

"M... Ma... Master! Wha...what happened to your arm?" She stammered, seeing the bloody arm, her eyes full of worry.

"It’s a little injury that mad bastard gave me, but don’t worry, we are going to repay the favor by taking him down," Vlad said evenly, cracking his neck as he felt the healing potion do its work and mend his injuries.

"So, are you ready for our first Spirit Convergence?" Vlad asked, beaming. Still too startled by the horrific sight of blood and his torn arm, Vel absentmindedly nodded.

The Eclipseborn had nearly stopped moving, and from the looks of it, the spirit was back in control. The good news was that its enhancement skill, Strength of the Colossus, had worn off, and its massive frame was shrinking down, but the dark dome and Coat of Night were still active.

Vlad’s health was also down to 17%, a critical level that wouldn’t hold if he made a mistake. The Eclipseborn’s health was down to 23%, and the effect of the poison was still lingering but slowing down by the moment.

Now, they would have to duke it out physically, and Vlad was feeling good about his chances of victory, even with his left arm missing and his health a single or two hits away from death.

’Spirit Convergence’

Vlad closed his eyes. The noise from the groan of shifting stone and the guttural breath of the Eclipseborn faded into a dull hum in an instant.

A rush of cold swept through his veins as the small spirit beside him unraveled into green and black wisps

Vlad’s heartbeat slowed and then spiked. His body stiffened as two fundamentally different forces, mortal flesh, and spirit essence, collided, merging into something new and stable.

He felt a cold grip on his mana core as Vel’s spirit core seeped into his own like ink disappearing into water. A cold washed over his mind, and For a moment, Vlad wasn’t alone in his head.

He felt two voices, two instincts, two histories, and two natures, as Vel’s being brushed like cobwebs against his own. He felt Vel’s emotions, hesitant, afraid, but willing.

His skin began to pale, a mix of virulent green hues crawling up from his fingertips. Thin black veins etched along his arms like delicate cracks in glass.

His pupils turned pitch dark, a pale gray iris around it, while his white sclera turned pale green. The air around him thickened, heavy with a poisonous aura that clung to him like mist.

Two long, bony wings grew from his back, their skeletal frames shaped like outstretched claws of dark green bone. A thin, ghostly film slowly filled the gaps between them, their edges ridged and jagged, like a serrated blade.

As the transformation reached its completion, Vlad’s dark hair turned rich green at the edges, while the virulent green carapace covered the side of his face and neck and went down to cover both shoulders and sides of his chest.

But this was not the end. Out of thin air, virulent miasma with shades of dark violet gathered and coalesced into a pair of long weapon hilts. From each, curved blades slowly grew, their backs wicked and gleaming in violet, their edges bathing in toxic green.

Meanwhile, tendrils of virulent mist stretched from the end of each hilt, twisting into links that joined to form a five-meter-long chain, linking one sickle to the other.