Gene snapped back into his astral form and fell to his knees. Demetrios cackled and redoubled his assault as the veins began to spread and join, tightening their hold on Gene’s barrier. Amara leapt to Gene’s side but her fears proved unfounded. He held the tome of the Forsaken’s programmed memories in front of him but there was no need to read it. He tore open the book and held his hands over its pages as the veins squeezed tighter making cracks spread on the surface of his psionic shield.

  He focused and the pages dissolved, drawing into him and rapidly filling his mind with the profane knowledge.

  Demetrios’s laughing stopped and he exclaimed “Have we given up, hero?! Is this the best you can do?!”

  Amara shook with fear as the Dark Lord’s voice bellowed. Gene reached out to her, taking her hand and saying, “I need you to be brave.”

  She looked at him and struggled to steady her breath before nodding in affirmation.

  Gene smiled and dropped his mental defenses. He looked at Demetrios and stood to the consternation of the Dark Lord.

  They locked eyes and Gene said, “You haven’t even begun to see what I can do.”

  Gene locked eyes with Demetrios. He rose into the air and reached back to reform a barrier around Amara. Layer after layer of psionic energy snapped into place around her and the ground began to rumble. Demetrios grinned.

  He thrust his hand into the ground and a curtain of veins erupted from the ground. They shot forth to ensnare Gene, passing through him harmlessly. Demetrios’s eyes widened in shock and Gene capitalized on the moment. He waved his hand through the air and the ground beneath Demetrios vanished, dropping the Dark Lord into the void of the mind space. Gene rocketed towards him.

  Demetrios cackled, forming spiked veins from his body as he fell. He swung them through the air like a flail but as Gene closed in, none of his attacks found purchase. The world around them shuddered and Demetrios laughed. He was amused by the turn of events.

  “Have we decided to stop holding back?!” exclaimed Demetrios.

  Gene glared in response and said, “No, but we have decided to win.”

  In a world of thought and metaphor, they clashed with their ideals. If Demetrios represented enslavement then Gene would be liberation. He focused on this concept, honing his intent to free the people of New Venturis into power.

  Psionic lightning lashed out of Gene’s eyes as he collected the power of his mind into his hands. Demetrios’s smile dropped and Gene threw consecutive psionic bolts. With a flourish, Demetrios pumped mana into the veins to build a wall but when the first bolt impacted, he was thrown off balance. Sections of his vein wall disintegrated to Demetrios’s horror and he twisted away to avoid the full impact.

  Demetrios spun in the void, bouncing around uncontrollably as Gene rained down a psionic maelstrom on him. He grit his teeth and dropped his shield, lashing out again at Gene to find purchase.

  That time, Gene caught the vein, letting it wrap around his arm. Demetrios smirked, thinking he had him before Gene threw his arm back to reel him in and close the distance. Demetrios’s eyes widened in shock when he caught sight of the psionic hero.

  The psionic bolt in Gene’s hand grew in size and density as they sailed through the void towards each other. He delivered a psionic punch point blank at Demetrios and a torrent of energy exploded in the void.

  Demetrios cried out in horror as his form disintegrated, blasted out of the Forsaken’s mind space on impact. The world around them cracked and Amara screamed. He flew back towards her, stepping into the barrier. She rushed to his side and hugged him for comfort.

  He held her and then pulled away to say, “You were very brave but this time, I need you to trust me. Believe in me.”

  Amara looked up to him, tears streaming her eyes. She wiped her face with her arm and nodded. There had been no time for planning or testing for what Gene had planned at that moment. He went forth with the knowledge that the system would understand his will and intent.

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  Gene focused on Amara and placed a hand on her forehead. Psionic energy arced from her, shooting through the decimated library, drawing in every one of her memories into herself. Overloaded with psionic energy, she dispersed and Gene drew her into his astral form before spreading his consciousness back out into the world as Tir and Melias stepped out of the teleportation door and into the war room.

  He may not have been able to escape the Dark Lord’s cage but he didn’t need to. He was still in control of the Forsaken and with a thought, he directed it to take over the Spire’s controls. Under his instruction, it traced sigils rapidly along the crystal as Tir, Melias, and the Dark Lord within the mind scape all screamed in shock.

  Tir and Melias dived into the teleportation door just as a coruscating wave of purified mana erupted out of the tower, setting off a chain reaction that bounced through the connected towers in the chain. In a matter of seconds, all of the connected Spires overflowed with golden purified mana, killing scores of Forsaken and freeing them from their cursed existences The Forsaken Gene inhabited was vaporized in an instant, shunting him forcefully back into his body outside of the tower.

  On the ground, he writhed in agony and felt like his head was splitting open. He pushed his mind, blood streaming from his nose and sweat pouring from him. He heard people calling his name but he had to focus.

  Hero System Message: You have used a Power Stunt to activate Psionic Backup 8. You are now Exhausted. Further uses of abilities beyond your current selected powers will result in Incapacitated.

  The pressure on his mind only seemed to increase after the system’s message. He opened his eyes, unleashing a psionic storm that scared away all but the members of Silvayn. They crowded around him and Kyrie grabbed his hand, enduring the energy sparking off of him.

  Gene grit his teeth and pushed his powers to their limits and when the system spoke, he realized he had gone beyond.

  Hero System Warning: You have used a Power Stunt to activate Variable Power X. You have pushed beyond the limits of your power level. Hero System compensating through introduction of Complication: Relationship (Amara) - You are intrinsically linked and as a result, her life will be in peril due to your actions. You are now Incapacitated. Further uses of abilities beyond your current selected powers will result in Death.

  Suddenly, the mark on Gene’s forehead began to glow, eliciting gasps from all around. Light spilled out of his head and began to coalesce into a humanoid form. A young girl floated in the air above Gene, held aloft on his psionic energy. Kyrie fell back in shock. Her skin glowed with the same subtle blue-white light of Gene’s power. Her long hair was a shock of blue curls, flowing down the back of her white dress. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked down at him as he looked up at her. The hero system spoke and Gene smiled.

  Hero System Notification: You have completed your mission: Conquer the Spire 1 of 19,998 and earned 4 power points. You have exceeded your primary objective by converting 1000 Spires and earned 3 power points. You have exceeded the limits of the system…reward pending.

  He couldn’t pay attention to the message. He was drained beyond belief but seeing Amara was safe gave him the push he needed to remain conscious.

  He reached out to her and said, “Amara.”

  She reached down to touch his hand and then the voice of the world spoke, booming out across all of reality.

  [System Message…New Race detected: Mentas, new Base Class detected: Constructor. Calculating party experience for major achievement….]

  Gene’s eyes went wide and shocked gasps abounded. Amara drifted from the air, landing next to him and Gene forced himself up, looking around to see everyone’s confused faces.

  “Did..did anyone else just hear that?” asked Kyrie.

  He was in a daze, slowly realizing that he wasn’t the only one who heard that message.

  For the first time since his arrival, the system of New Venturis spoke to him and acknowledged his actions.

  All of the gathered adventurers around him began to glow with a tremendous light. Threads of energy scrawled with runic shapes circled around them, making Gene and Amara gasp. Disoriented, he struggled to reconnect his mind to the adventurers, managing just before the system spoke again.

  [System Message…You have gained enough experience to ascend to the next level. Make your class selections. You have gained enough experience to ascend to the next level. Make your class selections. You have gained enough experience to ascend to the next level. Make your class selections.]

  The message repeated, doubling on itself to the delight of all who heard it. Gene smiles at Amara to ease her tension.

  “Don’t worry. Something amazing is happening,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

  The messages subsided from the minds of all but the members of team Silvayn. They received a different message.

  [System Message…Excess experience not bestowed upon the anomalous being will be redistributed among remaining party members. Please brace for shock.]

  A sudden surge of power ripped through Gene’s team but rather than showing any discomfort, they began to laugh. Kyrie burst forth with maniacal laughter that slowly began to proliferate among the group. Even Liris cracked a sincere smile.

  They all stared in awe ahead at the newly acquired spire of light. For the first time in the history, they had earned an unprecedented victory. Gene fell onto his back, no longer able to maintain consciousness. He fainted with a smile on his face as all the tension on his body melted away.