The weapon Grave (Part 4)

This time around the pain was not as bad as the first time as Rowan was able to tangibly feel the improvement after the second platform. Rowan wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled to himself. He flexed his hand and a number of pops ensued while the world around him started to feel different. The weapons in the forest began to emit a subtle hum as Rowan stepped down from the platform. He could feel the weapons throughout the grave calling out to him some were naturally louder then the others, the weapons of higher rank became more noticeable as he continued through the forest. Rowan smiled and kept his pace as he walked towards the new platform where he knew he would be challenged by another member of the union.

The assassination attempt must have only been planned for his entrance based on several factors, mainly though, because everyone was rushing to find a higher tier weapon than their peers and finish the platform before the more powerful contestants arrived. Rowan, on the other hand, found it funny that they all had to wait on him to continue anyway, but at the same time, it allowed him to pace himself and digest all the new information that he had gained since. His sword force had directly evolved and taken on a special trait while he still had not awoken a soul seed for the weapon and everything else was still in the intent stage but very close to the force stage, after the third platform it was highly likely that he would be able to perform force with every weapon in creation.

Rowan held out his hand and spoke aloud as he approached the third platform. "Who among you would like to shine once more?" There was no one by him, but Rowan was not talking to a person. In this case, he was directly talking to the will of the artifacts that decorated the weapons grave. Some of them were hidden, while others just lay in the dirt or impaled in a tree. The first weapon to answer his call was the last he expected, but since it made it to his hand before any of the other weapons, then he would roll with it. Rowan made his way into the clearing and the crowd parted for him to reveal his new opponent. Liam lark stood at the top of the platform while doing his best to imitate the cocky smile that Jason wore, but instead he made a face that made him seem constipated.

Rowan only shook his head while Liam looked at the weapon in Rowan's hand. "Are you serious? You are going to fight me with a boomerang? Do you not see this sword? This great sword is an artifact comparable to a demigod. You won't even know how you died, fool." While he spoke, Rowan lightly stepped on the platform and threw the boomerang that was in his hand. It shot through the air, alight with the milky white soul force before the intent applied itself. Liam slammed the massive weapon towards the tiny boomerang only for it to act like a plane doing tricks as it rolled not only around the blade but around the surrounding force before it reached its target and passed right by him.

Liam froze on the spot while the rest of the crowd began to clamor over the fact that this battle was boring. But then, all of a sudden, the boomerang that Rowan threw slowly started to crumble. It was still not able to withstand soul force. Maybe the weapons ahead would. Liam, on the other hand, began to have changes. The badge slowly fell as two pieces and, with a sickening thud, his body fell apart as two separate pieces. Rowan then turned to Jason. "His father's forces attacked me and my friends. Understand that his death was no accident and the badge won't save you." Jason had changed from previously. Some of the arrogance had faded after the ease with which Rowan had dispatched Liam, despite the weaker weapon among other things.

He would never fathom that Rowan had used the intent just as a cover. He had used the soul force to brute force an attack he knew that Liam would not be able to counter. The boomerang that everyone saw soar across the platform was never more than an after image chasing after the genuine thing. It's show of doing a loop was only that a show. It had moved so quickly that none of the people here could even properly follow it, and before they knew it, Liam was dead. Not eliminated but dead, his fate was the same as Orellias'.

Everyone left and hurried towards the fourth platform, including Rowan this time. There was no more need to digest. When he said all weapons this time, he absorbed the information and set out. His progress was evolving with each step. By the time he reached the next platform, he would have absorbed it all. He grabbed a spear on his way and was surprised when he jumped on the platform and, for once, it wasn't one of the members of the union. Needless to say, he wasn't Rowan's match. Rowan used spear force and batted the young man off of the platform without harming him too much. The knowledge poured in once more and this time everyone was around to hear Rowan say all weapons and the whole crowd went silent.

Feng made his way up and this time the person that stood across from him was Arlo. He used a spear as well. The two fought for a while, with Feng just barely eking out a victory over the young man, but not without sustaining injuries that would make it hard for him to continue. Rowan sat with him and slowly broke down a single point of soul force and used it to heal Feng's wounds. They had one platform left, but Rowan already knew that Jason would not face him. It would be someone else. Jason was going to face him in whatever the final trial was. He wanted to have access to all of his abilities before he fought. Rowan knew it made him much smarter than the underlings that followed him.

Everyone made it to the last platform, and it happened just as Rowan foresaw it. He had used a sword and tried to pry into the weapon soul's ability, to no avail. He had not realized that previously he was already on the cusp of it and his weapons taking that chainsaw form as a normal sword were, in fact, his sword soul exerting itself over his soul force. Rowan was just at a point where he was progressing too fast for even him to notice. Something that could no longer be done after he reached the final platform and said all weapons for one more time. Everyone was slowly teleported out as they finished, but Rowan, on the other hand, began to float off the ground with his eyes closed. He was simultaneously opening weapon souls for every type of weapon in creation and the process was affecting even his soul.The cloud giant inside of him grew more substantial and his transformation bled down to his thighs without his knowledge. When he opened his eyes again, he would be standing outside the weapon grave and in front of the queen.

He opened his eyes and his comprehension blasted out in the form of a rainbow cloud. The queen instantly threw her hand up and erected a barrier around her and Luna as everywhere the cloud passed, space cracked before it returned to his eyes. His eyes quickly returned to normal, but anyone that looked into them felt as if a legion of weapons was being pointed at them. Rowan looked at the queen and smiled, who looked back at him with a look of pure stupefaction on her face. "You are already capable of threatening gods… You really are your master's disciple. To think that your own abilities would be just as perverted as his." Rowan gave her a short bow before looking right back at her, an action that caused her to avoid eye contact with the young man. "Alright, so how about this last test? Any surprises?" The queen shook her head. "No, in fact, they changed the format of the final test thanks to you being ridiculous.

There is no way that anyone can take the first place from you at this point, so the original format of sending you all into the cage and seeing who can live the longest amongst the most heinous criminals of the Ark has been replaced with 1vs1 battles. The loser forfeits half of their points to the winner. It'll be held later today in our battle arena. The contestants will be able to show off their improvements. When the top three are decided, the battle will come to a close."