Nero had his cryoflames raging around his body not because he was a fan of wasting aether, but because even when his flames weren’t burning his enemies, it was affecting the surrounding environment.
Many times, the cooling of the environment had played a significant role in his fights, and in this fight, he needed every advantage he could get.
The second, somewhat more significant reason was that his flames protected him from all kinds of influences, both visible and invisible, and against Initiate level opponents he couldn’t afford the slightest risk.
When he began his transition into an Initiate, however, his flames encompassed his body on their own, burning up the excessive aether that was flowing into his body.
Nero, who lost focus of all that was happening around him, could see his two innate cards inside of him. The first was his cryoflame, which had already experienced an evolution once.
Name: Cryoflame
Image: A large, deep blue flame
Type: Innate
Star rank: 0
Ability: [ The Cryoflame burns with a hue of brilliant, deep blue, its flames shimmering with icy tendrils and frosty wisps. Instead of consuming fuel and emitting heat, it consumes only heat and produces aetheric flames, leaving behind a frozen kingdom instead of soot and ash. ]
Flavour text: "The death of a Kolari is written, and it is on the battlefield," - Marilyn Grant
His second innate ability was the one he gained in Lumina: Virtuous Moonlight.
Name: Virtuous Moonlight.
Image: A sleek black silhouette stood out, like a ribbon or some elongated object, its form abstract yet deliberate. Near the base of this figure, there was a small circle, almost like an eye or a focal point.
Type: Luminari
Star rank: X
Ability: [ The light of the Virtuous Aeon graces the world with its brilliance, a flicker of purifying mercy. ]
Flavour text: " When the banners of Grimverge fell, when the armies of the Wardens retreated, when the mysts of Hjorflow spread, all that remained was the memory of a better time," - Karv La Heim
Virtuous Moonlight was dimmed, mainly because it wasn’t the one he was using at the moment. He could only use one innate ability at a time, which would dim the other one.
Cryoflame, on the other hand, pulsed with increasing light as it drew in more aether. Unlike typical cards, innate cards are physical entities existing within individuals. Leveling them up involves a literal absorption process, with 40% absorption marking the transition from Neophyte to Initiate.
The precise reasons behind this evolutionary shift in a Card Master’s journey, much like the initial stabilization process, remained largely a mystery, though Nero suspected this information might be known but not widely circulated.
While the card began to glow ever brighter, its contents beginning to shift, Nero’s body was also flooded by aether.
Originally, human bodies weren’t able to contain nor tolerate much aether. After stabilization they merely became capable of existing stably in an environment full of aether without suffering aether poisoning. However, after becoming an Initiate, their body is baptised in aether, able to not only contain a larger supply of aether, but is able to use aether more effectively as well.
That baptism is the primary reason Card Masters could use higher-level star cards after becoming Initiates, but could only use 0 star cards while they were Neophytes.
After the Initiate realm, however, the progression of being able to use star rated cards becomes more stable. Since the Initiate level is the second level in the progression path for a Card Master, they’re able to use 2 star cards, and naturally 1 star cards as well.
When a Card Master would reach the Arcanist level, meaning the third level, they’d be able to use 3 star cards. Mystics could use 4 star cards, and so on. Naturally, the increased star rating reflected a more complex spell model within the card, and represented a more powerful card itself.
In this pattern, Neophyte, which was the first level, was the only exception as it wasn’t capable of using aether concentrated enough to power a 1 star card. The Initiate level made up for that by directly allowing Card Masters to use up to 2 star cards.
Naturally, the benefits and drawbacks of each star card were unique. Lower starred cards required less aether and were easier to control, but were also less powerful and complex. Higher starred cards were more powerful, but similarly used up more aether and were much harder to control.
As the aether flowed through Nero’s body, through his muscles and organs, transforming them subtly to make them more aether tolerant, as well as more effective and efficient, he could somehow understand why such a baptism was necessary to use higher starred cards.
A mix of cool and warm sensations filled his body, both strange yet satisfying, in contrast to the poison, which was rampaging still, causing incalculable damage.
The agonizing thing was not the mix of pain and pleasure coursing through his body. No, what truly tortured Nero was how long the process was taking. Outside, there was a fight going on that could literally cause his death at any moment, and here his ascension was taking its sweet time.
To be fair, it only made sense that his ascension was taking so long. He had literally trained his body for years to be at its peak, so that when he became an Initiate, he gained the biggest boost. That, combined with the effects of Radix Augmentation, meant that evolving his body required more time and energy to complete. There was also that little fact that he had a whole other innate ability in his body. Nero didn’t know if that would also evolve, so all he could do was wait and see what happened.
For now, even the evolution of his own cryoflame was still ongoing. He could practically feel his flames evolving, changing into something more .
The beasts sensed the change more clearly than any of the people, and suddenly paused. They looked at Nero warily, and began to take steps backwards, as if afraid of the aura they sensed.
Elsewhere within Perilith, the Primal Exarch was sitting in his territory, watching some humans helplessly fighting against a random curse. Even now, he could not understand why such a fragile race could be honoured by the Eldrim, but it was not his place to say.
As if to exacerbate his confusion about the qualifications of the race, he sensed an aura off afar, and turned to look in shock.
How could it be?
He stood up and began galloping through Perilith. This was something he had to see for himself.
Dave, too, sensed a change in Nero and already knew what was happening. He was becoming an Initiate. Dave felt conflicted. His innate ability was telling him to run. It was telling him that the only escape was to actually escape, long before Nero became an Initiate. He wanted to attack - to kill Nero before he became an Initiate, when he was most vulnerable.
But his three defenders stood in front of him dutifully, willing to face death if that’s what it took to keep him safe. Dave would like nothing more than to deliver that death to them, but beaten and battered as they were, they had proved themselves resilient.
Doubt. Hesitation. Fear. Dave was plagued with many emotions. Although he had contingency plans in place, the cost would be great. His life in the army would basically be over.
Precious seconds were wasted, but when Dave finally made a decision, hesitation left his body.
He took out a card, the same one he used to rile up the beasts, and activated it. He wanted to attack Nero and make his life hell, possibly even end it. That did not mean he needed to do it himself.
Since they were stuck in a deadlock, then he needed to do something else to break it. After all, offense was never Dave’s strong suit. It was survival, and subterfuge.
He used the hesitation in the beast’s attacks to escape, even as he provoked them to go wild. Along the way, he would provoke as many beasts as he could, and would lead them back here. He would see how Nero could survive a stampede.
Dave turned back to give Nero one last hateful look, but nearly stumbled when he did. In the flames roaring around Nero’s body there were a pair of furious eyes, staring at him like prey. A screech, as if seething with unquenched rage of some ancient bird, emerged from the flames, as if to declare its will to the universe. Or maybe, it was declaring its return to the universe.
A mist began to gather around the whole region as the temperature began to drop drastically. Ice began to cover the ground as the moisture in the air began to freeze.
The chill carried in those flames increased drastically, and the effects were no longer limited to Nero’s immediate surroundings.
Yet just as things rose to a crescendo, and even the three soldiers defending Nero were forced to move away from him, things changed.
Nero was no longer surrounded by blue flames. His body was suddenly surrounded by a pillar of white light.