Chapter 713: Formless and Nameless
[Conditions have been met]
[You can absorb the name of the target]
[Target has been discerned to be human]
[Note that if their name is absorbed, they will be forever nameless]
[Do you want to absorb their talent?]
Looking at the second to the last message and the last message, Northern couldn't help but feel like it was a warning of something dire.
But Josie had resolved herself more than enough; anymore throbbing would just be a bother. He sighed and responded internally.
'Yes.'
[Absorbing Name "The Titan's Reckoning"...]
As the panel appeared after his response, Northern suddenly felt a strong pull, like something very huge was trying to grab hold of him from inside her.
He lost consciousness for a brief second, his eyeballs disappearing as his head fell back.
But in the next moment, Chaos Eyes flared open, its splintered pupils rolling around Northern's sclera. He paused mid-fall-his hand still connected to Josie's head.
Then he straightened, a defiant blue fire burning viciously in his eyes. Whatever it was that just gnawed at him and threatened to swallow him whole, Northern looked like he was ready to turn the tables on it.
Although, at that moment, Northern was not completely aware. The most aware he had been was few moments before he was suddenly knocked out by the humongous entity.
A generous amount of Northern's Void essence sprayed out viciously in the shape of several unstable spikes, seeming to materialize into an almost liquid form.
Bluish-black smoking liquid fell on the ground with a sizzling sound, the color of the nearby leaves snuffed out of them with barely a touch from the viscous liquid.
Josie stayed beneath Northern's hand. The same thing that had happened to Northern seemed to have happened to her. Her head had slightly fallen, her eyeballs also vanished from their sclera.
The strange state of the Void essence danced on Northern's hand, reaching her head. Then it tipped at the edges of his fingers, seeping into her hair. A subtle smoke oozed out of her head as the essence softly sank in.
The pull got stronger and even more powerful, as if he was tussling with the force of a whirlpool in an ocean. He felt almost helpless with it and was slowly losing his grip. Taking the young girl's name had proved to be a more daunting task than anyone had thought.
Although pseudo-conscious, Northern could feel the dangerous grip of whatever force was behind that name on his soul, so strong, the more he tried to resist, the stronger it got.
It was a point where he couldn't even tell what could happen next. Not being able to absorb the name might be the least of his worries at this point.
Massive unseen hands gripped Northern's entire soul so powerfully that he seemed to be shrinking within the grasp. He could feel it vividly-something with an immense strength was preventing him from taking the name, perhaps the force of the name itself. But he could not see anything.
And by the second, the titanic grip seemed to be crushing his soul.
...Until all of a sudden it didn't hurt anymore. It looked as though he had lost the battle and been crushed completely by the force, leaving his soul damaged and broken.
However...
[Passive ability Demon of Change is affecting Formless and Nameless...]
[Names absorbed are being converted into shards to feed Formless and Nameless]
[Formless is growing...]
[Nameless is growing...]
The vivid feeling of the strong grip was gone... it was still there, only that Northern felt unbothered by it. He felt like he was a mass of liquid within the grip; the more it pressed, the more his form slipped out of the grip, like trying to grip water... it was just impossible.
Northern felt strange and slightly bothered about the way he was feeling. But this was his moment; he could not let an opportunity like this slip past him.
Northern pushed more essence towards the tip of his finger, with Void essence backing him, Nameless grew even stronger. It was the force that was affecting the state of the Void essence and giving it this strange form.
The Titan's Reckoning resisted even more fiercely as Northern's essence got closer to its root. It thrashed and thrashed within the young girl, but Northern's form towered over it like a giant, gripping its source with an equally titanic force and pulling it out of its root.
Northern pulled his hand away from the girl's head, dragging out a dark scarlet squirming ball of essence with a tiny radiant scarlet core. He clenched hard on the essence, its radiance slipping through his fingers.
The night around the forge was illuminated with a soft scarlet glow as Northern struggled to keep the stubborn name at bay. It wiggled dangerously, pulling Northern's fingers apart and forcefully breaking them.
Its resistance was strong; it was undoubtedly a powerful name. Northern grinned sinisterly and held on even more powerfully, his fingers instantly repaired almost at the rate the name
was breaking them.
With trembling arms and sweat pooling on his face, he plunged the essence towards his body. The bastard continued to resist, pulling Northern's hand backward.
The grin on Northern's lips widened, a wicked glint lighting his eyes.
'Too bad for you...'
Void tendrils snaked out of his belly and grabbed the essence, absorbing it completely and returning to his stomach.
Northern dropped to his knee, pearls of sweat dropping on the concrete floor in quick succession.
'Crap... just how strong is that bast-'
He suddenly let out a painful groan, grabbing hold of his stomach as a biting pain assaulted him. Northern collapsed and curled on the cold floor, biting down on his lips to stop himself from screaming.
His body became paler, scarlet veins visibly stretching beneath the surface. It started from his face until it had snaked across his entire body.
Then it began to pulsate, growing brighter with a radiant scarlet glow before it suddenly dimmed and faded.
The pain slowly subsided. Northern could not stand yet as his body felt numb and sore at the same time. But he heard and despite his closed eyes could see:
[Your body has evolved]
[Congratulations, Nameless has evolved to Unwritten]
[Congratulations, Formless has evolved to Omniform]
[Congratulations, you have gained a second name]
[Congratulations, you have gained a soul core]
[Congratulations, you have gained a talent]
[You have gained five new talent abilities]