Chapter 3253 Real Strike Team (Part 2) "Kid, everyone is fighting to give you this opportunity. Don't waste it." Tessa the Titania said while activating her legendary array, When All Are One. A five-pointed star appeared under the group's feet, forming a circle by connecting the five members of the real strike team. The Titania passed on to the others her muscle mass that matched a Griffon's and her regenerative abilities. Fyrwal shared her elemental affinity and seven heads, making six smaller serpentine necks sprout from her teammates' shoulders. Vastor's superior core flowed into the others, reshaping their cores into a new form that exceeded the power of the bright violet. "Gods!" Among the many body alterations Tessa was undergoing, that was the most painful one to date. "The power of Chaos has grown stronger from the last time and… is this the secret of the white core?" "It is." Fyrwal nodded, gaining insight from Vastor's condition as their bodies produced more auxiliary cores and the boundary between energy and matter thinned. "We are getting a peek at how to reach the next level!" "What are you guys blabbering about?" Vastor considered such a thing his natural state and had missed the subtle changes he had undergone after devouring his Abomination side. "I'm just- Mogar almighty!" Lith passed onto the others his wings, mass, and silvery flames. The other four found themselves wreathed in Dread Flames which made Vastor's power grow even stronger. "My faulty core is reshaping itself after yours!" Vastor cackled as the surging energy filled his body with adrenaline. "I almost forgot you have the life force of an Abomination. A perfect Abomination life force capable of harnessing the full power of a black core!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢 It was the first time that Lith and Vastor shared the effect of the When All are One array and Vastor was reaping the benefits. His body was changing, adapting to fully contain the Chaos and Decay thanks to the Dread Flames muzzling the cursed elements into submission. The Master's mana core split further. Before he only knew Chaos and how to counter it with Decay but with the help of the silvery flames, Vastor could see four more cursed elements take a stable form in his core. "For the gods' sake, shut the fuck up!" Orion screamed in agony. He was just a human violet core. To him, stepping straight into the white core domain, gaining the mass of a Divine Beast, and having his life force reshaping itself to withstand the combined powers of his teammates was torture. Orion writhed in pain, refusing to fall to his knees out of sheer will. Luckily for him, the array was devised to limit and share the burden between its participants. The moment the changes in Orion's body stopped, the different powers naturally balanced themselves and adjusted their flow so as not to burden him. Even better, the When All Are One array granted its users the knowledge to use their newfound bloodline abilities as if they had used them their whole lives. Orion knew Chaos Magic, how to handle the different kinds of Flames, and even Silverwing's spells by instinct. "I'm sorry, Orion." Lith raised his hand, recalling Ragnar?k to his side. Back in the Desert, the angry blade heeded the call of its master and bolted out of the prison room with no care for the damage it inflicted upon Ra'ntar in the process. Ragnar?k flew through the still-open Warp Gate before Salaark's palace, coming out on the border between the Empire and Chalal. The soldiers sounded the alarm and assumed their battle formation against the sudden appearance of a monster screeching in fury. The blade ignored the scrambling humans and followed the trail of its master in a straight line. Ragnar?k used Warp Steps to cut the trip short, uncaring for the toll its power core had to pay. "If you think that was painful, you are in for an awful surprise." The angry blade roared in triumph as Lith's finger closed around its hilt and freed Ragnar?k from the seal of its bloody scabbard. "Clench your teeth, guys, because this is going to hurt for real." Lith closed his eyes and focused on the Void inside himself, plunging as deep as he could, deeper than he had ever gone. 'I don't need heroes. I don't need soldiers. To anyone who is listening to my call, I only need those who have loved and lost. Answer me. Help me, lest you want me to join your ranks and share your sorrow.' 'Why do you-' Vastor and the others listened to the call as it resounded through the black chains connecting them but only the old Professor objected. At least that was his intention until the answer came. Black chains burst in droves out of Lith's chest, quickly followed by more coming out of those linked to him by the array. When All Are One shared with the other four all of Lith's abilities and their burden. The black chains scoured the Fringe in a second before moving out to the rest of Mogar. They found the right souls and dragged the spirits of the dead back to Lith before giving them physical form. Pain like no other burned through the minds and bodies of Orion, Tessa, Fyrwal, and Vastor. They experienced the lives of every soul they conjured, feeling their joy and sadness, facing their struggles and ultimate failure resulting in their death. Those who answered the call had loved deeply and grieved even more deeply still, devoting every moment they were stuck on Mogar crying for revenge. A few were warriors and mages. Most were men and women of all social classes who had fought and died to fill with blood the void left by their loss. Some had come close to success, others had failed miserably from the start but they had all tried until their last breath. Orion fell to his knees, sobbing. Phloria's death was still too fresh in his mind and reliving the anguish of parents losing their children almost drove him insane. Only the grief of those who had lost their spouse gave him the strength to endure. Their pain was going to be his pain if he failed and Jirni died for it. 'My wife is still alive. My unborn baby is waiting for me!' With an inhuman roar he opened his mind and heart to the suffering of the souls and made it his own, using it to strengthen his resolve. Tessa and Fyrwal fared better, but not by much. Their long lives had numbed their feelings and they were not used to deal with such intense emotions anymore. Even the most wizened heart on Mogar wasn't immune to the Call of the Void because it wasn't a matter of what they felt, but what the souls felt. The Emperor Beast and the Fae were forced to relive the events the souls had gone through but also the emotions that accompanied them, both good and bad. Having a jaded mind and a numb heart only made Fyrwal and Tessa more vulnerable to the visceral love and grief that simple minded people had endured. The emotional armor of Valeron's companions was ripped apart as they rediscovered their own feelings and grieved unknown people as well as their long-lost companions over and over again.