18 Chapter 18

I strode onto the eighth floor, immediately stuck by the differences between it and the previous floors. First of all, the height of the ceiling nearly tripled, and the floor was now a short grassy plain beneath my feet. Moss covered the walls like paint on a car, while the light emanating from above was more akin to sunlight than the soft glows of the previous floors. I moved forward, tugging on more strands of the warp to power my body. I kept my hands in their iron form so that I could be better prepared for a surprise attack.

I walked down a short hallway and emerged into the largest room I had been into so far. A dozen Warshadows rushed me as soon as they spotted me. I thought about blasting them with a torrent of bio-electricity, but I settled for moving in close and engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. Questing dark claws sought to rip me apart, but I dodged their advances, stepping into the center of the horde and lashing out quickly in all directions. Shadow forms surged in all directions, avoiding my onslaught. 

However, I caught one of them and clamped my hand around its neck, snapping it in a smooth movement and tossing the corpse aside to fade into smoke. The rest were back on me a moment later, leaping in giant arcs to land on me or running along the ground to strike low. I rolled below those who had jumped and brought my hands down on another creature's skull. It collapsed to the ground spasming as I moved past to engage the next shadow. I picked up speed and ran at a shadow that lunged, claws extended to rip through me.

I ducked low and slammed my shoulder into its underside, tossing it up high. The creatures weighed next to nothing, but they struck with impossible amounts of force behind them. I jumped high, following the creature I sent flying, and grabbed it, tearing its entire being in two with my metal hands. I turned and fell back toward the mob of greedy shadowy claws below me. I couldn't dodge a pair of claws from skewering my side, tearing through my light armor like it wasn't even there, as I fell into the horde. 

I growled as I healed the wound before channeling the power of the Empyrean into the crowd of Warshadows, sapping their vitality with tendrils of warp energy. It wasn't as efficient as when I made physical contact, and they couldn't resist, but it was still something. A few fell to their knees, but the majority kept coming at me. I let the dance carry on for another dozen minutes or so before the Warshadows lost their efficiency. Once they did, I sent bolts of electricity screaming through them, reducing them to nothing. I then drew my sword and swiped it in a large arc, burning all the magic stones on the stone floor. 

With that done, I pushed on, moving deeper. I was drawn by the sounds of battle and shouting, but I didn't want to get caught up in anything. I was about to turn and avoid the area in which I heard the battle, but I felt a knife come to rest under my chin and against my throat. I didn't react. I was fairly certain that I could obliterate whoever was behind me, but if they were a level 2 or higher, then there was a good chance they might be able to rip out my throat before dying.

"Where do you think you're going, friend?" a raspy voice asked from behind me.

"To deeper floors," I replied, causing the man to chuckle.

"Not anymore, you're not. Walk forward," he ordered, forcing me closer to the site of the fighting.

On the surface, I seemed passive, but I was ready to act at a moment's notice. As soon as the knife was moved from my neck, I would act. While I was held at knifepoint, I just followed his direction and walked into a large room where a battle was taking place. A dozen warriors dressed all in black were attacking a party of six. 2:1 odds weren't great for the party, but to make things worse, two of their members were already down. As I walked into the room, I saw another fall under a barrage of arrows. 

"I got another one here, boss," the man who had me called out, drawing the attention of a large man standing back from the combat.

"Good. Does he have anything valuable?" The boss asked, eyeing me doubtfully.

The man behind me proceeded to pat me down, clearly looking for a bag of crystals, only to find nothing. He then turned his attention to the blade on my back. I allowed him to pull it out of its sheath. He laughed heartily as he looked at the exquisitely crafted blade. The laugh drew the boss's attention, whose eye lit up as soon as he saw the sword. He moved closer and took Fateweaver from his subordinate. I could feel the blade's indignation through our bond as the boss grabbed it.

"What's a nobody like you doing with a blade this fine?" he asked, turning it over. 

"Who knows," I said with a shrug.

"We have a comedian here, don't we boys," the boss said, causing the subordinates who weren't actively fighting to laugh, "Release him. I'll show him just what we think of comedians around here."

"What enchantments does the blade have, boss?" The knife man asked as he moved away.

"We'll find out," the boss said as he surged forward and swung at me, clearly trying to split me in two.

I didn't even bother trying to dodge. Fateweaver was bonded to me, both physically and psychically, so there was no way it could do any damage to me. All the boss's attack did was make me more confident that I could take them all. His strike was hard and fast, but when it landed, he might as well have hit me with a feather. Taking advantage of his confusion, I ripped the blade out of his hand and kicked him back a few steps. Dozens of weapons were aimed at me immediately, but I was confident.

"You want to see what the sword does?" I asked as the runes and sigils on Fateweaver's blade shone with baleful blue light, "I'll give you a demonstration."

The boss clearly wasn't level 2, but he was a high-level 1 for sure. I pointed my blade at him and reached out with my powers. Warp energies coursed through his body, allowing me to control the temperature of his blood easily. With a snap of my free hand, I began to boil the leader's blood in his veins. For a moment, nothing happened, and a bit of nervous laughter emanated from around me. Then, there was a single strangled scream from the boss.

His corpse collapsed, steaming blood pouring from his eyes, ears, and nose. His entire body let off steam as boiling blood continued to flow. After a moment, he looked like a burn victim, unrecognizable. The laughter died around me as I turned and generated large sheets of electricity. The lackeys around me were frozen and unable to react as I pumped massive amounts of energy through my blade. Baleful blue bolts ripped from my sword and blasted apart whoever they touched before leaping to the next man. As I drew deeply on the warp, I felt like a god of war given physical form. 

I plunged Fateweaver into the floor and summoned Warp tendrils that ripped the vitality from the men as they screamed and tried to run. Their bones snapped as they were no longer supported by young and powerful muscles. Bodies shrunk so much that their armor and clothes slipped off, leaving their emaciated husks bare. Then, their husks didn't even remain as I finished plundering their bodies of vitality. Then, I drew all that power into myself. 

Ecstasy like I had never experienced before shot through every fiber of my being as I absorbed the power. If not for my immense willpower and protected mind, I might have been shattered under the pleasurable onslaught. Even so, I thought I could hear a whisper emanate from the depths of the pleasure. 'This is what you could experience every day if you simply let me in,' the voice seemed to purr in my mind.

Even the barest whisper from that voice was enough to make my body spasm with a mix of pain and pleasure. Arousal washed over me like a tsunami, threatening to rip away my reason, but with my shielded mind and willpower, I was able to beat back the impulses. I groaned as I studied myself from the side effects that came with the use of the warp. Even if I was aided by Fateweaver, there were still consequences. 

"Another brush with chaos so soon?" I muttered to myself as I glanced at the party, which now only had two people remaining.

One was a tall woman in shattered armor, blood leaking from a dozen wounds. The other was a man with four arrows sticking out of his back and chest. They looked like a strong breeze would be enough to kill them. They looked at me with undisguised fear plain in their eyes. The woman raised her blade and pointed it at me, causing me to roll my eyes. 'They don't appreciate your help,' the voice whispered, quieter this time, 'Take her and dedicate the act in my name, and I will give you what you desire most'.

I shook my head free from the carnal through racing through it, "You hold no sway over me, Prince of Pleasure." I said, causing the two to look at me like I was insane.

"What are you?" the woman asked, taking a step closer.

I didn't even bother answering. They had seen my powers and would undoubtedly tell others, but it was too soon. I slashed my sword, projecting a wave of blue flame that consumed everything in the room, including the two adventurers. They screamed briefly before crumbling into ash. Once the flame faded, there was no trace of battle or anything else left in the room.

I turned and walked away, debating whether to go back up to the surface or plunge deeper into the dungeon.