Cultivation is Creation

Bane charged forward with enough force to leave craters with each footstep. The defensive formations flickered desperately as they tried to contain the raw power he was emanating. His transformed body moved with impossible speed for something so massive, closing the distance between us in an instant.

I dove to the side as his fist crashed into the space where I'd been standing. The impact created a spiderweb of cracks in the floor despite the protective enchantments.

A quick glance confirmed my suspicion – the cracks were spreading outward in a pattern that matched the jagged lines of the Arkos Rune. Whatever that transformation was, it wasn't just enhancing his physical abilities.

"Any insights?" I muttered to Azure as I rolled back to my feet.

"The rune appears to be rapidly consuming his energy to fuel the transformation," Azure replied. "Extremely powerful but time-limited."

That was something at least. I just had to survive long enough for the transformation to wear off. Though judging by the waves of crimson energy still pouring off him, that could take a while.

The vine wrapped protectively around my forearm as Bane turned to face us. His metallic skin gleamed under the training room's lights, and those burning eyes fixed on me with predatory focus.

He vanished.

The displacement of air was my only warning. I threw myself backward just as his massive fist materialized where my head had been. The wind pressure alone from the missed punch was enough to make my eyes water.

But I wasn't just dodging. As I leaped away, I directed the vine to strike at his exposed flank. It shot forward like a spear, its tip hardened into a piercing point.

The vine bounced off his metallic skin with a sound like steel on steel.

"Well, that's unfortunate," I muttered, already moving as Bane's counter-attack came.

His backhand would have taken my head off if I hadn't ducked. As it was, I felt the wind of its passage ruffle my hair. The vine wrapped around my waist and yanked me further back just as his follow-up kick cut through the air where I'd been crouching.

I needed a new strategy. The vine's usual piercing attacks weren't going to work against whatever that skin enhancement was. Time to get creative.

"Try binding his limbs instead," I whispered to it as I circled warily. "Look for weak points in the joints."

The vine unwrapped from my arm and began to flow through the air in a mesmerizing pattern. Bane's burning eyes tracked its movement, but he seemed more annoyed than concerned. Given that he'd just shrugged off its best attack, I couldn't really blame him.

He charged again, but this time I stood my ground. Just before he reached me, the vine shot forward and wrapped around his leading ankle. It wouldn't hold him for long, but it didn't need to. That fraction of a second of interference was enough to throw off his balance.

I sidestepped his stumbling charge and launched a quick combination at his kidney area. My strikes bounced off his enhanced skin, but I felt him flinch slightly. Not completely invulnerable then – just heavily armored.

Unfortunately, my momentary success gave him the opening he needed. His elbow caught me in the chest before I could retreat, sending me flying across the room. Even with the Aegis Mark absorbing most of the impact, the blow knocked the wind out of me.

I managed to turn the flight into a controlled landing, my boots skidding across the floor as the vine helped stabilize me. My ribs screamed in protest, and I could taste blood again. One or two more hits like that and this body would give out completely.

"The transformation isn't finished," Azure observed as I caught my breath. "Look at how the rune's energy is spreading."

He was right. The jagged lines of the Arkos Rune were slowly extending outward from Bane's chest, creating a network of crimson channels across his metallic skin. Whatever this technique was, it was still evolving.

I didn't have time to analyze it further. Bane vanished again, but this time I was ready. As he Blink Stepped behind me, I was already moving. The vine shot out, wrapping around a support pillar, and yanked me out of the way just as his enhanced fist pulverized the space I'd occupied.

"Too slow!" I taunted, hoping to make him angry enough to get sloppy.

It worked a little too well. Bane roared – an inhuman sound that made the very air vibrate – and launched into a berserk assault. His massive fists became a blur as he unleashed a barrage of strikes, each one capable of shattering stone.

I weaved through the onslaught, letting the vine guide my movement. It pulled me this way and that, helping me stay just ahead of the devastating attacks. When I couldn't dodge completely, the Aegis Mark flared to life as it tried to hold off against the tremendous force.

But I couldn't keep this up forever. My energy reserves were dropping dangerously low, and even with the vine's help, I was taking damage from what the Aegis Mark couldn’t contain. The sheer concussive force of his attacks was beginning to wear me down.

Time to change tactics.

"Master," Azure cautioned as I directed the vine to release its grip on the pillar, "your energy levels are critically low. The next few enhancement techniques will completely drain your reserves."

"Then we'd better make them count."

I let myself fall directly toward Bane's next punch. His burning eyes widened slightly in surprise as I seemingly threw myself into his attack. At the last possible moment, I activated Blink Step, vanishing just before impact.

I reappeared above him, the Titan's Crest burning with the last of my energy as I drove my heel toward the crown of his head. It was the one spot not covered by that metallic sheen.

Bane's hand shot up with impossible speed, catching my ankle before the kick could land. Those burning eyes met mine, and I saw triumph behind the madness as his grip tightened painfully.

Then the vine, which had been quietly positioning itself during our exchange, struck. It wrapped around his throat multiple times, its tendrils seeking out the gaps in his armored skin. At the same time, I triggered the last dregs of power in the Titan's Crest, using the enhance strength to wrench my captured leg sideways.

The combined force was enough to throw Bane off balance. He let go of my ankle as he staggered back, his focus split between keeping his footing and dealing with the vine that was tightening around his throat.

I landed in a crouch as my entire body screamed in protest. With my energy reserves completely depleted, the Aegis Mark's protection had failed. Every impact and near miss I'd taken was making itself felt.

But I couldn't stop now. The vine was doing its job, constricting tighter and tighter around Bane's throat. His metallic skin stopped it from crushing his windpipe entirely, but the pressure was clearly having an effect. His movements were becoming less coordinated as he clawed at what was now a noose around its neck.

"The transformation is weakening," Azure noted. "The rune's energy consumption is exceeding his ability to supply it."

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Looks like we won’t be seeing his final form. The crimson lines spreading across Bane's skin were starting to flicker, their steady pulse becoming erratic. The metallic sheen was fading in patches, revealing normal flesh beneath.

I pressed the advantage, ignoring my body's protests as I closed in. Without my enhancement runes, I couldn't hope to match his strength directly. But I didn't need to. I just had to target the weak points that were beginning to appear.

My first strike found a patch of normal skin at his kidney again. This time there was no armored protection to absorb the impact. Bane grunted in pain, the sound distorted by the vine's constriction. His counter-swing was wild, lacking the terrifying precision of his earlier attacks.

I slipped past it easily, hammering another body shot into an unprotected section of his ribs. The vine continued its work, steadily tightening as more and more of the transformation began to fade.

Bane tried to Blink Step away, but the vine's grip prevented him from fully completing the technique. He rematerialized only a few feet away, staggering. The jagged lines of the Arkos Rune were barely visible now, their crimson light guttering like a candle in the wind.

"Master," Azure warned, "be careful. Cornered opponents are often at their most dangerous."

As if to prove his point, Bane let out another inhuman roar. The Arkos Rune flared one final time, pumping out a massive surge of crimson energy. His metallic skin regenerated completely, and his muscles swelled even further as he burned through what must have been the last of his reserves.

The vine's constriction finally snapped his self-control. He began thrashing wildly, his enhanced strength sending shockwaves through the air with each movement. The defensive formations in the walls were starting to crack under the strain of containing so much power.

I was forced to retreat as he unleashed a berserk rampage, his massive fists crushing everything in their path. The vine maintained its hold, but even its supernatural durability was being tested by his enhanced strength.

"This is the final surge," Azure observed. "The rune is consuming his life force directly now. The transformation will fail completely within moments."

I frowned as I dodged another wild swing. Something about this didn't make sense. Why would anyone burn through their life force in what was essentially just a training spar? The thought genuinely bothered me – I'd read about this kind of behavior in cultivation novels too, disciples ready to cripple themselves just to win a friendly match.

Then I remembered, unlike in the cultivation world, for which there was no explanation that came to mind, this was just how Skybound trained. Here, every spar was treated like a death match, every training session involved pushing each other to the absolute limit. These people didn't know any other way to fight. For them, holding back meant weakness, and weakness meant death.

I could see the transformation eating away at him. Despite the massive power he was displaying, Bane's movements were becoming increasingly desperate. The crimson light of the Arkos Rune was stuttering, and patches of his armored skin were falling away faster than they could regenerate.

But those moments could still get me killed if I wasn't careful. I needed to end this now, before his desperate flailing actually connected. One enhanced hit would be enough to shatter this body.

The vine seemed to sense my intent. It suddenly released its hold on Bane's throat, causing him to stumble forward as the resistance vanished. Before he could recover, it whipped around his ankles and yanked his feet out from under him.

The giant crashed to the ground with earth-shaking force. The vine immediately began wrapping him up like a spider with its prey, taking advantage of his momentary vulnerability to bind his limbs.

I didn't waste the opportunity. As Bane struggled against the vine's entanglement, I circled behind him. A precise strike to the back of his head, one of the few spots where the armored skin had completely faded, knocked him out.

The transformation broke completely as soon as he lost consciousness. His massive form shrank back to normal size, the metallic skin vanishing entirely. The Arkos Rune was now just an angry red scar on his chest, its power completely spent.

I sagged in relief, letting myself sink to the floor as the adrenaline began to fade. Everything hurt. Without my enhancement runes or the Aegis Mark's protection, I was feeling every impact from the fight.

"Magnificent!" Elder Molric's voice made me jump. I'd almost forgotten we had an audience. "Simply magnificent! Such innovative use of botanical warfare! The way you conserved energy and let his own power work against him... yes, yes, beautiful!”

The elder was practically bouncing with excitement as he examined both me and the unconscious Bane. He seemed particularly interested in how the vine had adapted its strategies throughout the fight.

Speaking of which...

I looked down at the vine as it unwrapped itself from Bane's unconscious form and slithered back to me. It curled around my arm in that familiar way, and I felt a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with physical exertion.

"Hello old friend," I thought. "I've missed you."

The vine squeezed my arm gently, though I knew it couldn't actually hear my thoughts or remember our time together in the previous loop. Still, it always did have a way of sensing my feelings and knowing what I was trying to convey.

"A fine victory!" Elder Molric declared, finally remembering his duties as an instructor. "Though perhaps I should have mentioned Bane's... unique capabilities beforehand. Still! The way you adapted to the situation was most instructive! And your connection with my experimental vine is fascinating! Yes, yes, this opens up so many new avenues of research..."

I let his enthusiastic rambling wash over me as I caught my breath.

"Master," Azure said quietly, "while unorthodox, your plan appears to have succeeded. You've obtained the vine much earlier than in the previous loop, and demonstrated enough skill to maintain Elder Molric's interest without raising suspicion."

I nodded slightly, still gently stroking the vine as it wrapped protectively around my shoulders. Things hadn't gone exactly according to plan – I certainly hadn't expected to fight a transforming berserker – but the end result was what mattered.

The vine was back where it belonged, and I had managed to avoid dying horribly. All in all, I'd call that a successful day's work.

"Come!" Elder Molric's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "We must document everything while it's fresh! I want detailed notes on every aspect of the fight, particularly your manipulation of the vine's combat patterns! Oh, and I suppose we should have someone take Bane to the medical wing... eventually."

I climbed to my feet, wincing at various protests from my battered body. The vine shifted to help support my weight, proving that some things really didn't need memory to persist.

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