Enhanced Pinnacle Tethers

[Sapphire Materialization.]

[1. Essentia Form.]

[You can materialize sapphire from your essence and shape it. You can also store your energy on it. You can change the luminescence as well.]

[2. Ascended Form.]

[Your bones are now reinforced with sapphire, stronger and more durable than ever. You can also coat yourself with sapphire, making it a perfect form of armor. You can also coat specific parts of your body as you wish.]

[Your Sapphire Materialization strength has been increased and your sapphire is stronger than before.]

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Veneri now realized why his bones were shattering when his body was morphing.

His bones were reinforced by sapphire. Each movement felt smoother, his durability unmatched, and his resilience against physical attacks soared. He could even coat parts of his body with sapphire.

He imagined himself in the midst of a skirmish, his arm encased in sapphire to block an incoming strike, only for the same armor to shift fluidly into a blade for a counterattack.

The ability to armor selectively allowed for both defense and offense, maintaining his agility while giving him immense protection.

He couldn't do this before because he could summon sapphire out of his hands alone. Now, he could do it mentally on his own body. Although, it would take him some time to adjust to it.

He looked for the best ranking and to be honest, he thought that it wasn't important. But... it was even better than all t Tethers he had.

His Mystic Eyes were unlocked. However, just like Volcano's Resonance and Peccavi's Shard, he couldn't access the details and was left with only question marks.

That only left his Sapphire Bond and Omniphage.

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[Sapphire Bond.]

[Essentia Form:]

[You can check the stats of any of your subordinates and those you are related to whenever you want.]

[Ascended Form:]

[You can talk telepathically to those you can form a link with, your beloveds and your Omniscient. As long as you are in the same world and realm, you can talk to them telepathically.]

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This was already self explanatory so he didn't have to think of how it worked. Although, he wondered why Sapphire Bond was treated like a Pinnacle Tether, since they are the only ones which can have forms.

He activated it and to his surprise, he could only sense Peccavi and Phaenora's presence. He couldn't sense Adelasta or Arletta at all.

Vastarael grinned as he decided to test this out with Phaenora. It was time for sweet, sweet revenge.

With a mental nudge, he opened the link to Phaenora, who was still busy absorbing combat memories from the archers.

Her focus was evident. Her eyes narrowed, hand raised delicately to the next archer's forehead. She was the picture of efficiency, even in her ridiculously seductive outfit that Vastarael had been trying not to notice all day.

But now? Now he had the perfect tool to turn the tables. Sweet revenge was served telepathically.

[Hey, baby girl,] Vastarael's voice purred into her mind, the tone dripping with teasing.

Phaenora froze mid-gesture, her fingers hovering just above an archer's temple.

'Veneri?!'

Her mind scrambled but she quickly realized she couldn't respond back. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she resumed her task, pretending she didn't hear him.

[Oh, ignoring me already? Is it because you're embarrassed? Or maybe it's because you're so distracted by me.]

Phaenora inhaled sharply, her face heating up. The archer she was touching glanced at her, concern flickering across his face.

"Are you alright, miss?"

"I'm fine," she snapped a little too quickly, her voice an octave higher than usual. She pressed her hand back onto his forehead with unnecessary force.

[Aw, don't be mad, baby girl. That archer must be wondering why you're blushing like that.]

Vastarael chuckled in her mind, his tone velvety smooth.

'Why is he so good with that voice of his?!' she screamed internally.

Phaenora's blush deepened and she tried to focus on extracting the memory. But the next moment, Vastarael struck again.

[By the way, that outfit of yours? You're really making it hard for the archers to focus, you know. I bet every guy here is dreaming of—]

'Stop it, Veneri!'' She screamed internally, wishing she could lob a rock or something at him. But her link was one-way and Vastarael was merciless.

This was a side he never knew about!

The archer under her hand shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, should I come back later? You seem...distracted."

"I'm fine!" She repeated, her voice dangerously tight. "Just...hold still."

But Vastarael wasn't done.

[Oh, don't mind me, darling. I'm just imagining what your face looks like right now. All flustered and red, aren't you? Are you biting your lip? You do that when you're annoyed.]

Phaenora bit down harder on her lip, cursing him silently.

The next archer stepped up, a young woman with a nervous smile. Phaenora placed her hand on his forehead, determined to finish without losing her cool.

[So...are you ignoring me because I called you baby girl? Would you prefer sweetheart? Or maybe goddess of thighs?]

Vastarael's mental voice was practically a purr.

Phaenora nearly choked. The archer blinked in alarm.

"Miss? Are you sure you're okay? You're, uh...sweating a bit."

'It's just...hot in here," she muttered through gritted teeth.

The archer was confused. Hot? They're in the middle of a frozen wasteland!

[Oh, yeah, I bet it's real hot. Especially with all those guys staring at you. Can't blame them, though. I mean, those leggings? Absolute genius. Seriously, I'm looking at you now and I can see how incredibly tasty—sorry, beautiful, you are.]

Phaenora clenched her free hand into a fist, her nails digging into her palm to keep from screaming. Vastarael's mental laugh echoed smugly in her mind. She knew that he intentionally said tasty to rile her up.

[Okay, okay, I'll stop. I promise.]

Phaenora exhaled in relief.

[...After one more thing.]

Her heart sank.

[Just so you know, sweetheart, this is exactly why you like teasing me. It's so much fun, isn't it?]

Phaenora slapped her hand against the forehead of the next archer a little too hard, earning a startled yelp.

"I. Am. Fine," she hissed, barely holding it together.

Vastarael finally let her go, laughing quietly to himself.

"Yep, I get it now," he muttered with a giggle. "Teasing really is fun."

The women soldiers who saw him chuckle couldn't help but stare at him for a while. Vastarael sighed as he noticed the gazes, not that he cared. He was used to the maids in the palace staring at him his whole life. Heck, some even had holographic photos of him as he did mundane things like walking in the garden, reading books and looking at the sunset.

And his sisters had many photos than his own mother, who adored him more than them...

He finally looked at his Pinnacle Tether, the one that saved his life twice now; during Stephos' capture and when fighting the first Peccavi.

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[Omniphage.]

[Essentia Form: You can absorb energy from the atmosphere to replenish your own. This activates when you are out of energy.]

[Ascended Form: You can now instantaneously draw Soul Energy from the infinite energy in your Aeterium soul to replenish your own energy. However, this can only be activated if you are completely out of energy.]

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Vastarael knew that the only way this was possible was because his Omniphage forcefully began sucking energy from his soul in the cathedral basement. The process was painful and it made him pass out twice. Now, he could handle it.

Soul Energy is extremely hard to access and extremely fragile. But for Aeterium, it's basically a new energy source. They have the soul as an energy source and a pseudo-core on their physical bodies as a second source to store their energy.

Basically, Omniphage could now access the infinite energy in his soul. He couldn't access Soul Energy yet until he was a Divine and he knew that it would take a long time for him to actually get to that level.

Out of all his divinities, only Protection was unlocked. He saved this for last because it was the one thing he needed to learn if he wanted to become a Divine.