The spear went off like a cannonball. Priam weighed about ninety kilograms - the aether had allowed him to put on muscle quickly. A man would free fall at about 70 m/s - his terminal velocity - which meant a kinetic energy of about 220 kJ. Eight kinetic charges added to a twenty-kilogram spear would propel it to about 418 m/s. The Throne Room was about two hundred and fifty meters long, and the projectile took less than half a second to reach the Sphinx.

The weapon penetrated the eyelid of the Sphinx and sank into her right eye. The creature screamed, and the world shook. Literally. The stained glass windows shook with the sound wave, and Priam's vision distorted. He fell to his knees as his eardrums burst.

Holy shit. What the hell just happened?

Priam's instincts screamed, and he looked up in time to see that a disc of air was heading his way. Without thinking, Priam automatically rolled to the side, and the wind attack grazed him before cutting one of the room's doorways in half.

The Sphinx stood up slowly after sending her attack. She calmly watched the warrior with her good eye. The other had been punctured by the hoplite spear - still embedded in it. Sphinx opened her mouth, and Priam, trembling, prepared to dodge.

"A hero coming to challenge me? I am Sphinx, Lord of this Dome. My rule and my mission are authorized by Karma, one of the Seven Concepts," she announced. Despite his perforated eardrums, Priam could hear her speaking in his head. Her voice was human, powerful, but pleasant.

The creature moved her head forward and continued. “Defeating me in a duel would honor you with my charge, but basic rules dictate that you warn me before you attack. Perhaps you have no honor…” she muttered.

Priam stood up quickly and dusted off his clothes, trying not to fall back. His inner ear was a mess.

Lvl Up: [Balance] lvl 3
AGI +1
DEXT +2

He was thinking fast. His most potent attack had not even fully penetrated the creature's eye. One move by the Sphinx had enough power to cut through solid wooden doors a foot thick from over two hundred yards away. There was skill involved, of course, but Priam was no fool. In single combat, he had absolutely no chance. His only advantage was that the Boss thought this was a regulated duel. There must be a solution...

"Pardon me, O Sphinx. Your fame is so great that I was called from another world to defeat you. I was told that the attacker is entitled to the first blow in a duel and that to wake you otherwise would have been rude. I just arrived, and I didn't know your customs..." he said politely as he bowed.

Lvl up: [Acting] lvl 3
CHAR +3

Sphinx glowered at the compliments and raised her left paw. Her eye injury didn't seem to bother her too much.

"I forgive you," she announced magnanimously. "But what are the names of these liars? I must punish them for sullying the honor of your race."

"... The Cult of Revenants, Your Grace, and their leader Claire," Priam replied, his face impassive. I hope you’ll enjoy it, Claire... he chuckled inwardly.

"I will know how to punish them," Sphinx growled. "Now, human, let us duel. My lineage obliges me to give you a choice of weapons."

Her lineage... I wonder if that is the reason for her strength. Sphinx and Galapagos were both Viscounts, but their power was incomparable.

"Could you tell me more about your lineage, your Grace?" asked Priam respectfully.

"Of course! I am a Sphinx, and I will choose a name when I become an Earl. Later, if I become Queen, Karma will allow me to create my own clan," Sphinx announced as she stood up proudly. "The Septs created me to fulfill my mission in the Reunions of Human Civilization, but there are already powerful clans of Sphinxes in the universe. In the mythological hierarchy, the Sphinxes are near the top of the pyramid. One day I will socially elevate the Sphinxes to the level of the Dragons and the like. But today, I am participating in my first duel. Now that you are aware of the honor of dying before me give me your terms."

I'm going up against a monster almost on the level of a dragon... Maya, I hope for your sake you didn't know about this.

Priam bowed again. "I thank you again for the honor you do me. I propose an unrestricted fight until one of us dies. May that death erase any ill will one may have for the other and allow us to befriend each other in the next life. I, Priam, swear to uphold this oath upon my name and lineage," Priam vowed.

"... Strange choice of words, human Priam. I accept. I, Sphinx, swear to uphold this oath upon my name and lineage," Sphinx vowed.

Lvl up: [Manipulation] lvl 3
CHAR +3

Priam smiled.

His first attack had told him that the fight would be challenging, if not impossible. His regular attacks would not have a tenth of the power of the first, and he had barely managed to pierce her eyelid. But she's not going to let herself be passively attacked. I wonder what her specialty is...

She didn’t keep Priam waiting long. "Regularly, I will ask you a riddle. If your answer is correct, the battle will continue. If your answer is wrong, the fight will end. Let the battle begin," she announced.

Sphinx raised a paw, and her claws split the air. A disc of wind, the result of her action, flew towards Priam. He stepped into the mist to dodge. The Baron had created a large amount of fog to make it easy to avoid.

The wind split his mist in two, and Priam swore as he lost control of the part of his mist that was no longer connected. This would limit his ability to teleport. He concentrated on creating a large amount of continuous steam and nearly got cut in half by the next attack. He staggered to the side to dodge.

Lvl Up: [Balance] lvl 4
AGI +1
DEXT +2

Sphinx's voice rose, and Priam's body froze in place. "First riddle. Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed? You have thirty seconds," she announced.

Priam smiled. In mythology, the Sphinx asked the same question in Thebes before devouring the passers-by. Oedipus had found the answer, and Priam quoted him. "Man-who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then uses a walking stick in old age."

Sphinx screamed in rage and opened her mouth to bite her right wing. Priam watched in shock. Two seconds later, the Dome Lord had devoured her wing, and Priam understood. I have to pass all her riddles to win!

Sphinx then pulled Priam's spear out of her eye. She flicked it away, and Priam concentrated on his mist. [Bound Weapon] allowed him to link his spear to his skills, and he focused briefly. He quickly found the presence of his spear, which he was now intimately familiar with. As a disc of wind rushed at him, the mist absorbed the spear, and it reappeared in his hand. If he could ride the fog, so could his weapon.

Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 13
PERC +4
CHAR +2
META (AFFI) +3

Priam hurriedly dodged the wind disc with a smile. This is even more convenient than Accio!

Sphinx screamed again and continued to bombard Priam with wind discs.

The Baron dodged to the right and left, [Balance] helping him not fall. Suddenly, as he escaped one disc, a second one appeared. It had followed the first one like a shadow, and Priam had not noticed it. Priam swung to the side, and the attack grazed his hands. Two more discs were coming, and Priam had to straddle the mist to take refuge behind a rock pillar.

A cool sensation came from his left hand, and Priam lowered his head. His eyes widened as he looked at his hand. The second disc had not grazed him. He was missing four fingers, and only his thumb had survived the attack. With his Vitality, Priam knew the attack was far from fatal, but his stomach twisted at the horrific sight. Being suddenly amputated would have done that to anyone. The pillar shook again, and Priam looked up just in time to see cracks running through it.

Priam gasped for a second. He knew he didn't have time to feel sorry for his hand. The fight was intense, and any mistake could be fatal. He gritted his teeth and focused on the pillar in front of him.

The pillar was huge and touched the ceiling far above him. Priam bit down on his spear to hold it up and began to climb it with difficulty. With only one hand, the exercise was complicated. Despite his strength, Priam had problems finding holds. Occasionally he managed to wrap his bruised arm around a decoration to hold on.

Lvl Up: [Climbing] lvl 4
AGI +1

A few dozen seconds later, he was over thirty meters away. Numerous decorations adorned the pillar at regular intervals, facilitating his progress. During his ascent, he almost fell several times as the column shook and cracked under Sphinx's attacks.

Lvl Up: [Climbing] lvl 5
AGI +1

Positioned with his back to the column, both feet on gargoyle heads, and the arm of his mutilated hand around some statue, he was ready to counterattack. With his good hand, Priam raised his spear and prepared his shot. He wanted to attack the Sphinx if only to avenge his fingers. The massive pillar between him and the Boss protected him but also blocked his view. Fortunately, Priam had an idea.

Priam closed his eyes and projected his mind into his mist. The mist filled the entire room, allowing him to see the Sphinx easily. He concentrated on his spear as the pillar shook increasingly from the Boss' attacks. [Meditation].

A moment later, he opened his eyes and threw his spear while concentrating on [Bound Weapon]. The spear disappeared, swallowed by the mist.

The mist began to tremble a meter away from Sphinx's right eye before the hoplite spear reappeared, thrown at full speed. The barrage of wind discs stopped for a second. His pillar was severely damaged and threatened to collapse. Priam jumped to the next one, fifty meters away. At first, he came short, but with four kinetic charges, he managed to cross the distance to reach safety.

At the same time, he noticed two things. The spear had bounced off the closed eyelid of the Sphinx without actually penetrating it. Either she had a titanic constitution or a hardening skill. Secondly, the pillar he had just left was in a terrifying state on the Sphinx's side. It would not survive more than another ten seconds of attacks. Which means I have a time limit. When the eight pillars are on the ground, dodging won't be fun anymore...

Sphinx looked at the spear on the ground and then at Priam and laughed. "You are very foolhardy to dare to confront me without a domain, human. Second riddle. There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other, and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters? You have thirty seconds," she asked.

Again Priam's body went numb, and only his mouth answered, “Day and Night.”

This one was less familiar but simpler. Priam grimaced. He knew the answer but would eventually lose if riddles got harder and less familiar. If Sphinx was forced to eat herself while she was the one asking the questions, the penalty for Priam might be terrifying. Two wings and four legs. I guess I have to answer six riddles. Only four more!

Sphinx stared at Priam for a few seconds before turning her head to devour her second wing. Priam took the opportunity to concentrate on his fallen spear. He tried to bring it back to his side, taking advantage of his mist.

The mist shook before it came to rest. Priam's mind was at one with it, yet Priam felt himself losing control of the fog around the Sphinx. He could still see the Sphinx with his eyes, but his mist was inaccessible within a five-meter radius of Sphinx.

A few seconds later, Sphinx had finished her meal and turned to Priam. "I just told you, human. Your spear and mist are in my Domain. If you want them, come and get them," she said. Her voice was calm, but there was a threat in it.

A Domain... She can control the area near her! Priam was annoyed. One of his ideas to finish the fight was to teleport his spear directly into Sphinx's gullet. He was ready to attack all the weak points of the mythological beast, even her anus. However, the Domain made the idea obsolete. It seems logical, he thought. It would be too strong if I could attack any Boss with big lungs that could breathe my mist from the inside.

Looking at Sphinx, Priam swallowed. He had no desire to approach the massive monster. He had no chance if even his spear couldn't scratch it. The Dome Lord was not a stupid dog Baron. If I come any closer, I'm dead. Her physical attributes totally dwarf mine...

A moment later, Priam dodged a wind disc in extremis. This one had taken him by surprise. It was twice as fast as the previous disks. Sphinx was getting more serious.

Priam took refuge behind the pillar he occupied as best he could. His head was spinning because of his pierced eardrums and his precarious balance. His right hand, freed from the spear, was now helping him to hold on to the statues. He looked again at his left stump and the blood flowing from it as his pillar weakened. I must answer the riddles. It's my only chance.

Looking at the next pillar, Priam squinted. It was fifty meters away, and Priam couldn't dodge in the air. Sphinx's attention was now focused on him.

[Kinetic Control]. Priam absorbed the tremors of his pillar with one hand. A second later, he made up his mind and jumped. Instantly, Sphinx sent out two discs of wind. As the first came closer, Priam used his kinetic charges to accelerate further into the air and dodged them. Sphinx sent three more discs, but Priam had almost reached the third pillar. The Boss screamed in rage as her attacks failed.

Landing on his feet, Priam reached out with his left arm toward a statue to secure himself. The next moment he tumbled. His left hand had tried to grab the statue's head, but Priam had only a thumb left on that hand. His bruised stump hit the rock, causing Priam to howl in pain as he let go of the grip he held in his right hand.

He fell a dozen feet before activating [Kinetic Control] to break his fall and slam himself against the pillar. His right hand caught a ledge, stopping him completely. Heart pounding, breathless, and aching, Priam hung in the air for a few seconds. The pillar shook as Sphinx bombarded him. The fight was not going as planned and had the effect of a cold shower on Priam.

He had brilliantly defeated Galapagos, but against a Lord like Sphinx, he was still far too weak. His attacks inflicted no damage, he had lost his spear, and Sphinx sent a dozen attacks per second, each capable of cutting him in half. Priam closed his eyes and checked his aether supply. Riding the mist was expensive, and he had only half his energy left. Hanging from a ledge twenty meters above the ground, his eardrums shattered and a mythological beast intent on killing him, Priam sighed, "I suddenly respect Heracles, Theseus, and all the others..."

Only the thought of Claire running away from Sphinx made him smile.

Sphinx's voice rose again as the attacks ceased. "Third riddle. Suppose you're playing a game, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a treasure; behind the others, nothing. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has nothing. He then says to you, 'Do you want to pick door No. 2?' Would you be wise to switch? You have thirty seconds.

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:
Strength 86
Constitution 103
Agility 126
Vitality 164
Perception 196

MENTAL:
Vivacity 135
Dexterity 120
Memory 36
Willpower 76
Charisma 98

META:
Meta-affinity 92
Meta-focus 60
Meta-endurance 4
Meta-chance 40

Potential: 244
Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: A Tribulation is coming.
Time: 50 hours 30 minutes 38 seconds.