Chapter 614: A Maddening Start



The conference was utterly silent and oddly depressing as Kieran was the first to return. He had spent hours talking with Alexandria, discussing a few matters of relevance but also some entirely unrelated to Zenith Online.

That discussion was helping sculpt the path forward in Kieran’s mind. He needed to address many things, but he was only one person. An order had to be given to the madness in his mind.

…And the madness was all-consuming.

Thinking about the madness, Kieran’s attention was drawn to his request made to the Zenith Frequency. It had taken its sweet time compiling the list of skills primed for integration, forcing him to leave the results an unknown mystery until he returned.

‘I have returned.’

Kieran closed his eyes and called out to the Zenith Frequency with mind and soul, attempting to stimulate as much of its attention as physically possible. Perhaps it was somewhat rude of him to demand the attention of what was called the Voice of the World, but he was growing impatient.

Eventually, the Zenith Frequency replied.

[During your absence, the list was compiled and completed. If you looked at your logs, you would have known this. Now, if you please, a greater presence requires my attention. Unless it is within the capabilities of my limited functions, you’ll have to wait until I can spare more of my perception.]

Curious, Kieran probed for an answer.

‘What greater presence?’

[…A great one. One who holds the rank of a Paragon and was given a dire duty.]

Kieran’s expression filled with many questions, many of which stemmed from the Flame’s judgment of Argexes’ foe, Grismund, and Hekaina’s comment about the Monarch of Ruin’s power from birth.

Talk of Paragons happened on both occasions. From that, Kieran gathered that a Paragon reached an illustrious and likely almost mythical step in the Way of Ascension.

More than that, the Zenith Frequency’s comment confirmed that the rankings muttered in an ancient Age were still used today. It had maybe even become the standard.

Of course, there was no proof this great Paragon it spoke of was related to those mentioned during the Trial. Who knew how long a Paragon could live.

‘If I had to ask myself a better question, it’d be about Grismund, who clashed with Argexes. Who was he in terms of history? Every character in the Trial seemed to have a place in the War Deity Council’s history, no?’

Kieran called out to the Zenith Frequency to bring up these questions yet was met with an infuriating silence when he asked. Utilizing the Zenith Frequency to glimpse into the past was as much as a moot option as it was with the Compendium.

The archaic book desired qualities in Kieran, and an assiduous thirst for knowledge was high on that list.

With that understanding, Kieran gave a rueful smile, summoning the notifications a second later. The frustration of experiencing constant denial once more triggered scabbed-over wounds from the Trial.

To avoid an outburst, he directed his focus elsewhere.

He hoped pinpointing the skills he wished to integrate could sap the emotions. That was, after all, the purpose of the [Fervor Infusion] Ability attached to Fiend’s Carnage. It could drain the energy of his emotions and convert it into battle power.

But, given the caveats of his unmitigated connection to Madness, Kieran felt there were now glaring flaws in each of his abilities.

‘Not flaws per se… more like challenges and afflictions.’

Kieran grimaced at that thought.

A moment later, he was expanding the list of abilities the Zenith Frequency had made a note of. As expected, not all of his skills could be combined, but there was still a long list nonetheless.

[Manic Integration List:

Active/Action: Fury Rush + Wild Crash, Sanguinem Tempest + Seethe Burst, Crimson Current + Crimson Barrage, Wrath Eruption + Peril Implosion, Blood Bind + Blood Wave.

Passive: Unshackled Ichor + Refined Blood, Burning Ire + Gaze of Carnage.

Note: The listed skills display compatibility, but the combination of their Records relies upon your ability. Integration is a feat fit only for a Fiend and demands your insight.]

“Oh, you slick son of a bitch,” Kieran grumbled, his expression becoming dark and hateful.

Sure, the Zenith Frequency was helpful in parsing which skills were compatible with one another, replacing Kieran’s trial-by-error approach with trustworthy direction, but that wasn’t the hard part.

Kieran vividly remembered how complex an attempted integration was.

Inside the Trial, he had only succeeded after heightening his Mind and Spirit to the level of a Master. And unlike the Trial, there was no shortcut. If he wanted to combine these skills, he’d have to suffer.

However, something told Kieran the timing of Manic Integration being unlocked was not coincidental. Speculation as it may be, Kieran was convinced Manic Integration would play a role in his development as an Adept, even if a minor one.

‘Some of these skills are mere fluff.’

Of course, those skills being “fluff” didn’t discount their purpose or usage. Weiss and Agrianos championed the value of simplicity through their actions. From what he remembered, Agrianos had only used fundamental skills as he journeyed across the Land of

Ruin, eventually arriving at the Chasm of Apogeton.

Luckily, the Manic Integration didn’t rob a skill of its original purpose. Instead, it was a mechanism designed to spew out a technique greater than the sum of its parts.

Kieran hadn’t tested out the limits of Fiend’s Carnage, but he could tell most of the skills sacrificed in improving the skill greatly enhanced its individual abilities.

Gradually, the frustration he felt dissipated. After a few moments of ruminating over the trials ahead, a realization dawned upon him.

“If the integration is up to me… I can potentially make it better by deepening my understanding of my skills. And…”

Kieran turned his attention to the phenomenon in his Realm meant to embody Fiend’s

Carnage.

What would his skills become if he could add hints of his upgraded Innate Ability to the integration process and veer them away from what he assumed was a True Berserker or Blood

Fiend’s general path of progression?

‘Is… is that how you Advance a Skill?’

His eyebrow shot up at the question, but mere seconds later, many minor distortions occurred in the space near his slumped teammates’ heads. And roughly a second or two after that, their

eyes opened, and their bodies came alive.

Thoughts swam in Kieran’s mind, and in those thoughts were many questions. The paramount one was why he could now see the ripples as a character resumed control of their

avatar. Was this a result of his heightened Perception, or were there changes occurring that he

was unaware of?

Either way, Kieran retrieved the Log of the Mad Alchemist. Of the many things on his plate, the journal containing directions to a hidden location felt most promising. “Anyone else up for a journey?” Kieran asked, sliding the tattered journal across the table.

The pages were wrinkled, and the bindings were worn and nearly unraveling, but the ink on the pages endured the wear.

“A journey?” Bastion asked excitedly. “We haven’t been on one of those in well… forever. I’m

up for it.”

“Count me in,” Nemean shrugged.

Ezra raised a finger, as did Lux, volunteering their company.

Alice hummed nearby Kieran, giving it some thought until he ultimately conceded. However, her act didn’t do much to hide the elation gently radiating from her lips’ ever-so-subtle

curve.

Altair leaned against the wall at the fringe of Kieran’s peripheral vision, partially veiled by a comfortable darkness. Without turning his head, Kieran could feel Altair’s sharp regard burrowing into him as if he were being scrutinized and accused.

‘Oh boy… that doesn’t feel too good. What I’d do now?’

Kieran mentally sighed and shook his head, silently turning to the journal’s first page, and

was given a maddening start.

On it was nearly indecipherable garbage.

It was the writing of a lunatic who recorded things in a frenzy. Illegible in Kieran’s humble opinion, for the supposed characters resembled nothing so much as the scribblings of a child! “Great,” Kieran groaned. “This isn’t English!”

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