Symphonic Odyssey
: Vol. Four: Odyssey’s Outset: Verse Two Hundred and Nine

The Ark Cradle was an amazing device capable of enhancing the power of a Conductor through the endowment of special armor. However, in Cypher’s case, it was even more special. The power of his father, Fenix, still lingered in the material of the armor. Even without the Ark that originally powered it, it could still express Fenix’s previous potential.

The only question was whether or not Cypher’s body could hold up. Back in the warehouse, the armor had been unable to begin bonding with him as it was now. A Rank-One body simply couldn’t withstand more than the basic enhancements the armor provided. However, since his breakthrough, and the armor’s “awakening” he could now channel more of its innate power.

However, he was still unable to use all of his father’s power. After all, Fenix was once a Rank-Five Conductor, while Cypher barely counted as a Rank-Two. That said, its power was able to stack with Cypher’s own Conduction level and boost him into the upper tier of the third rank.

His body could only just barely maintain this level of power before it would give out. Cypher also felt as though he could even surpass those limits and push his body well beyond what it could handle. It was as if a barrier had appeared in his mind and he had but to break through it to access even more power.

This was the armor’s way of keeping things in check and well-regulated. Cypher didn’t need to think about what would happen if he did break through those limiters and fight beyond his level. There was no question, he would either die or cripple his body beyond repair, ending his journey as a Conductor.

Cypher smiled and readied himself into a battle stance. His battle pressure rose and a gleam of confidence flashed in his eyes. Given this sudden increase in his power, Gaizeal’s two remaining henchmen decided to join the fight without a second thought.

Their blades clashed as he fought off their two swords with a decent amount of effort. He stepped to the left, blocking the acolyte on the right, and kicked him away. The man coughed up a bit of blood and tumbled away into a building.

The second acolyte saw his opportunity to attack since Cypher had deliberately left his guard open. He made to strike at Cypher’s waist, but he caught his wrist and bashed the man’s chest with the pommel of his saber. The acolyte coughed and fell to his knees as Cypher backed away with a smile, his attention turning to Gaizeal in case the man tried to attack him as well.

Gaizeal was still on one knee, but now he was laughing. “Hahahaha… HAHAHAHA! Do you think you’ve won you fool?” Gaizeal’s laughter stopped cold, and a serious look engulfed his face. “Think again boy!” The hulking man stood back up and held his hand out to his shattered whip.

The tangled mess of steel rose to meet his grasp and regained its original shape once more. “TAKE THIS!” he bellowed. Gaizeal slung the whip with all the strength of his massive arm. Cypher could barely parry each of the incoming hits, but his armor was continuing to grow more powerful as it fed on the energy around him.

In return, it increased his abilities to the point that the attacks became easier to deflect. However, he had reached the maximum output his body could currently handle, and the armor stopped increasing his power and only refilled his Zight as he fought.

Cypher was focused, but he still taunted the man to try and open up a path to attack. “Is this all you’ve got?” Cypher asked, happy to be in the seat of power against three opponents at once. The two Acolytes had regained their posture and resumed their attack against him.

The armor was impressive and boosted Cypher to an incredible degree, however, it was still three against one. Cypher summoned the Duality Shield again, and this time, he released it outwards to cause a shockwave that blasted all three men back several feet.

The two acolytes were launched through the air, but Gaizeal only slid across the ground as he resisted the force pushing him away. The two underlings slammed into nearby buildings, but Gaizeal only bared his teeth and glared at Cypher.

At the same time, Cypher pulled out the orb containing Spark and summoned his companion. Spark roared as he appeared in a flash of lightning. The Ceraunus was a bit dazed from his time in captivity, but thanks to a stream of information from Cypher, he quickly adapted to the situation and began to fend off one of the acolytes who had regained his composure.

Spark soon found his own abilities matching his master. The two shared a link in more than just their minds. Their power was linked as well, and with Cypher performing at three times his normal capacity, Spark quickly reached the same level. Spark roared again and fired off a stream of lightning.

The acolyte he was facing caught it around his sword and redirected it into the ground. However, Spark wasn’t done just yet. He fired off another round of lightning and this time it caught the acolyte in the stomach. A band of electricity lifted the man off his feet and Spark funneled more power into the attack.

Meanwhile, Cypher had dropped low and swept his leg under the footing of the other advancing acolyte, while blocking Gaizeal’s whip with his saber. The steel whip coiled around the weapon and pulled tight. Cypher held his grip though and dropped his elbow into the gut of the acolyte who had fallen to the ground.

The man coughed up blood from the impact and struggled under the pain of the attack. Cypher then jumped up and over Gaizeal, dragging the man’s whip along with him. Cypher held out his hand and cast a spell. “Trio, Verse 4, Eye of the Storm!”

The spell quickly formed overhead and surrounded Gaizeal. Several lightning bolts soon dropped from the dark clouds and struck the hulking man in several spots. His severed stump of an arm was charred black and Gaizeal gritted his teeth.

Cypher once again caused another shockwave with his expanding Duality Shield, and at the same time, he and Spark jumped away, the three enemies staring them down with frustrated looks of anger on their faces. As far as they were concerned, it wasn’t supposed to go like this.

Cypher and Spark shared a glance, and the two prepared their next attack. Spark opened his maw and a sphere of lightning began to gather there. Cypher sheathed his saber and held out his hands to cast yet another spell. The armor was still providing him with essentially limitless Zight, and he wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip by unused.

“Quartet, Verse 1, Lightning Blitz!” Just as with Spark, an orb of lightning gathered at the point where his two hands met. Another instant passed, and the two partners let loose their attacks. Gaizeal saw the inherent danger of that combination attack and raised his arm to cover his vital spots. He curled into a defensive posture, while his two subordinates tried to cast spells of their own.

The twin streams of lightning met right in the middle of the town square and crashed against a stream of fire, and a geyser of water. The struggle lasted for only a few moments as the spells worked to defeat one another, but it was obvious that Cypher and Spark had the upper hand.

The struggle continued for a few instants longer before Cypher and Spark grunted and pushed the clashing spells across some unseen limit. At that point, the acolytes lost control of the struggle, and the four spells shot backward toward them. Their eyes went wide and they tried to brace themselves, but it was too late.

A large explosion went off and the two acolytes were hit with the weakened lightning bolts as well as their own spells. Their limbs twitched as the energy ran through them, but their bodies were in the third rank and were able to somewhat withstand the energy cooking them from the inside out.

When the dust cleared, the two acolytes were kneeling and panting hard with strained looks on their faces. Their robes were tattered and dried blood stained the sides of their mouths. As for Gaizeal, only a large burn had appeared on his arm. The wound almost went to the bone, but a layer of muscle still covered the limb. The battle was only just beginning, but Cypher and Spark already had the advantage.

Two of the four acolytes lay dead, and the other two were badly wounded. Gaizeal had lost an arm and had taken two devastating injuries himself. If things kept up like this, Cypher would win in no time. But if that was true, why did a feeling of dread chill Cypher to the bone as he looked into the eyes of the raging Order Captain?