Yet as his fingers had stretched forward, the Intent floating in front of him started to shake and tremble…before promptly rushing away at a speed so great…
“Wait, no… that wasn’t speed. It just destroyed all matter between its location and its intended destination. Almost like teleportation, but it is just a negation of distance rather than true teleportation or speed.”
[So that’s the power of an Intent.]
“Indeed.”
Akhenamen’s knees bent down and with a loud booming sound, his body flew forward, creating such a shockwave that even the sand at the edge of Cygislax was blown back, Valencia’s hairs fluttering in the wind, her Hydra Bloodline summoned to stop the three teens behind her from being blown away as she sat down and pulled out a flagon full of beer.
“Sit down, kids. Watch a battle between an Intent and a transcendent. You may all need the small experience you can obtain from just watching today. Sofya, most of all.”
Sofya nodded, and before them, a battle like nothing they had seen happened. Yes, a battle.
***
The moment Akhenamen’s body had reached the Intent, its shape started to change, becoming shaped like a small child, its laugh ringing through the air as its small fist slammed into Akhenamen’s body.
The next second, Akhenamen had slammed into the sand below, its glowing green eyes wide in shock.
“What…?”
{It is sentient. That might explain why none have succeeded in claiming it. Good luck, Hierarch. Do not treat it lightly.}
He lifted himself back up, a small tingle of happiness coming from the back of his mind. Was he becoming a battle maniac? He would think about that later.
“Alright, well done. Let’s play then!”
Another loud boom as his body exploded, sonic booms coming from his body, his Authority level power giving him such a rush of emotions, unaware of the smile taking shape on his once faceless body.
His eyes were glowing bright green as his two GAALs started to roar with energy sending loud bass sounds alongside Gauss Arcs of enough power that they seemed to cut matter itself as it moved toward the Intent.
The power contained within those beams could annihilate an entire city, and yet, the Intent’s childish body smiled widely and spread his arms, summoning the same attack, both lasers slammed into each other, the impact creating a shockwave that literally cracked space around the impact point.
The energy coming from the two annihilating beams was creating a true tempest of sand around Cygislax.
“FUCK HIM UP! SIR AKHENAMEN!”
This scream, coming from the Prothean Fan-Girl, was too small to be heard by anything but a transcendent like Akhenamen, whose small smile started to stretch wider. Moving his GAALs behind him, he propelled himself at least twice faster than before, his speed now great enough that even Valencia could only see a vague, blurry shape.
The only one able to see the fight happening was Orikon, who even from his current position quite a few kilometers away, seemed to smile seeing Akhenamen’s changing face.
“Yes… he has it. He acts like he doesn’t, but I recognise that smile! He will come! Do you hear me! AHAHAH, he will come! Maybe I’ll join you all soon, my friends!”
***
Well below the factory of Cygislax, the glowing red crystal was pulsating with great excitement, watching the fight alongside four small sand golems. Watching the Cygilite rush forward, using one of his beams as a propeller.
Its glaive held in both his hands, the strike was wielding such strength that it was cutting through space anywhere its blade would strike. The Intent weaving between every strike, a childlike laughter coming from it.
Its little hands grab the glaive and suddenly twirl on themselves while diving straight toward the ground. Its fighting techniques were crude, similar to what a child would do if wielding the power of a Transcendent.
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And yet, Akhenamen’s skills weren’t much better. While slightly more refined, it was clear he was unused to fighting. But… Ulgatoth couldn’t help but wonder… Would the Cygilite truly understand how to tame an Intent?
***
The two figures diving toward the ground at a speed that made them look like a simple green line were punching each other with power carrying the might of an Authority, every strike causing shockwaves around them. This wasn’t even a fight; this was a brawl.
The Intent’s voice sounds like a mix of Cygilite’s Binary Language and Common. He didn’t say anything, just laughed. So did Akhenamen. His laugh spreads through Cygislax, reaching the spectators' ears.
It sounded so… pure? As if he were truly having fun! The Intent’s punch seemed to slam harmlessly into Akhenamen’s body… no. It wasn’t harmless, as Akhenamen was using his nanites' healing skill to constantly keep up with the Intent’s overwhelming power and assault.
He had long since understood that trying to fight the Intent in long range was too dangerous. Its ability to just shatter and disintegrate matter seemed to mainly be used at long range or to move around.
Or maybe… it was simply and most likely that the Intent was having too much fun in close range to use his full abilities. It was a child. So Akhenamen was making sure it was having fun!
Every punch or kick landing between them was reshaping their bodies. Akhenamen was ignoring all notifications. A stupid decision. So why… Why was he doing it? Why couldn’t he stop fighting? Why was the Intent’s face looking more and more like his from his childhood?
Why did such happiness fill his mind!?
His Gauss Arcs were now exclusively used to be able to follow the Intent. Its speed is ridiculously fast because of its ability to destroy distance itself. Until, with a sudden burst, the Intent appeared back in the middle of the circle, its smile taunting Akhenamen.
The cogs are already activating to contain the Intent once more.
Akhenamen’s mind started to function hundreds of times more than he was used to. Not caring about losing himself in that fight. It couldn’t end now! Not now! He was having…fun! Real fun! He wasn’t just happy! He was overjoyed!
“No! Not yet! We’re not finished!”
His mind suddenly connected to the matter between him and the Intent, as his body tilted forward, starting to move forward. A loud crack, reality suddenly rippling and crushing itself like a crumpled paper between someone’s fingers as he appeared before the Intent.
“NOT YET!”
***
“What? Did he just-”
“Copy the Intent? Yep. That’s how you learn an Intent. So many people believe you absorb them. Many Transcendents still do. To truly master an Intent, you must understand it, you must learn FROM it.”
***
The Intent saw Akhenamen’s body appear right in front of him, its taunting smile becoming a face splitting grin, it then knew he had found someone worthy of having alongside him. He had so many things to show him! So many tricks!
***
Akhenamen’s glaive headed for the Intent, its smirk just never leaving its face. The moment the glaive was about to slice its body, a thin green line of collapsing matter swiftly blocked the weapon.
It was so thin yet seemed to exist in a completely different realm. His glaive did not stop at the first strike; they kept raining down. The blade tried to pierce through the Intent’s defense, but every strike would be blocked by another thin line.
Akhenamen wasn’t even attacking to harm anymore; he was staring at those lines intently, feeling, knowing that they carried another secret of the Intent’s powers. Inside that line, an impossible amount of particle bonds were being shattered, creating explosions contained within this crack of reality represented only by this thin green line.
This could be used to defend, but that wasn’t its intended purpose. No, he understood this Intent’s personality more and more with every strike. Why do something as boring as defend when you could attack instead? That was much more fun!
Thick Tri-Astromath blue constructs started to appear around him; this time, he was shaping them in the shape of Graphene itself. Hexagonal blue shields springing all around him just as the Intent laughed, releasing its attack.
The thin green lines sped in all directions; there weren’t any targets, and yet it slashed everything, matter itself being sliced apart. Rupturing the bond between everything, sand dunes around them were slashed in thousands of places so swiftly that the sand took a few seconds to start falling down.
Even a black pyramid was sliced in two, swiftly mending itself from some green static lightning. The slashes luckily avoided Valencia and the teens, most likely because of Sofya’s cheat.
As for the target of this attack, Akhenamen, his shield had been torn into too many places to count. Its body of Living Silver cut in dozens of pieces, his shields had been completely useless, the green lines slashed through them like hot knives through butter.
[1/4201 HP]
[DAD! GET AWAY!]
{I advise immediate retreat, Hierarch.}
The Intent was staring at him, this damned smirk still on its face as if daring Akhenamen to fight again. He would have, in fact, stopped this fight if not for a rather insane idea… And from the Intent’s inaction, it was waiting for his next move.
“Ascylla. Can we use my nanites to refine Liquid Silver into Living Silver?”
{I could, but there’s no telling how your body will react.}
“Then let’s try it… I can’t stop now. Look at that smirking thing. It’s too smug to leave it at that.”
{You should give up, Hierarch, there is no shame in retreat.}
“I know. But retreating now… I will lose the Intent’s respect. I’ll never be able to master its techniques. I gave up once, when I believed I had lost everything, so what right do I have to give up now, when I have so many things I wish to accomplish?”
“Does that mean I’ll retreat at the first moment of real danger, that I’ll retreat to save my own skin while letting my friends, family, and people get slaughtered to protect me?”
“I ALREADY GOT A SECOND CHANCE, WHAT RIGHT DO I HAVE TO NOT GRANT THE SAME TO THEM?!”
The silent city of Cygislax started to shake under his loud voice, like a call. The Liquid Silver waterfalls that had been falling into the massive hole at the center of the city started to have their flows reversed, an immense wave of Liquid Silver exploding out of the hole, rushing toward Akhenamen’s body.
His nanites exploded out of his sliced and mending body to gather more and more of the swirling Liquid Silver, refining it with Ascylla’s help into Living Silver, which was injected back into his body. The Intent’s face for once lost its smile as he stared with shock and wonder at the scene appearing before him.
Before him now stood a towering titan of silver, a massive thirty feet tall humanoid shape of pure Living Silver, glowing under the sun. His cloak lazily floating around his body, his body changed.
The next arms below his first pair hung down, ready to unleash all the power they contained. Its eyes burning such a bright green flame that it seemed like matter itself was melting anywhere he looked.
His entire body seemed covered in thin and beautiful green lines full of Gauss energy, shaped like gentle green vines and flowers.
A sleek, thick tail as long as his body now softly moving around, ready to lash it with a speed and strength well above a common Transcendent. Thick yet elegant elk-like horns coming from his forehead. His body is now clearly masculine and muscular, or at least shaped like it.
He lazily held his warglaive, which had grown to fit his new body. His eyes staring at the floating Intent before him with uncaring eyes.