CHAINS

Unbound Book Eleven

NICOLI GONNELLA

Copyright © 2025 by Nicoli Gonnella

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To my friend, Artem Sivak, for being a sounding board for some of my craziest ideas, an unapologetic Harn fan, and a hype-man like no other.

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CHAPTER ONE

The streets stank of rain and blood.

Jeneve knew both of them well. Amaranth was often afflicted by southern rains, enough that the streets often ran like rivers in the wettest of months. As for the other—her father was a butcher, and she was a helpful girl.

“Come, dear one,” her father urged. “Only a little farther.”

Her arms were tired, and her legs ached, but she plodded along behind his larger boots. A rucksack hung heavy from a single thin shoulder, filled to the brim with food and a few pieces of spare clothing. The burlap dug into her skin with every swaying step, especially when she walked around the large puddles that soaked the cobbled streets. Jeneve refused to complain, however—it was nothing compared to her father’s burden…and she was a helpful girl.

The streets were filled with folks and their belongings. Carts, wagons, and packs piled high with all that they could carry as everyone Jeneve knew hurried toward the shelters. The midmorning sky was bright, though it was a flat gray that threatened more rain, and it shed light into even the darkest allies—but that only made people hurry faster. It was as if those narrow lanes no longer existed, for all that she had played in them for years. People passed them by, red-rimmed eyes staring straight ahead and hands locked around their precious cargo.

No one wanted to linger over the bodies of betrayers.

“Don’t mind them, Jeneve.” A gentle hand pressed against her back as her father scooted her closer to himself. “They embraced the Night and paid for it.”

“I see the Culvers⁠—”

“I said don’t mind them.” Her father’s voice hardened, as it did more often than not. “They wouldn’t listen to the Lady’s law and reaped what they sowed. We must⁠—”

A hush rippled through the crowd as everyone slowed their maddened pace. It was like they’d been trapped in tar or waist-high water, save that all of their faces were turned—fixed on the narrow join between two storefronts. Not a street nor an alley, barely more than a crack.

A shadowbeast slipped through and into the blessed daylight.

No longer blessed.

Her father had said that before, after the sun had gone dark. When they’d lost…she shook her head. Jeneve was positive her father hadn’t noticed her there while he cursed at the heavens, nor for days afterward as they dealt with the aftermath. Nothing had been the same since then.

The shadowbeast moved down their street. Jeneve clutched her rucksack tightly, crushing a hard loaf of bread against her chest as if it could shield her from the thing. She knew it was unwise, but she couldn’t help but stare. The monster had flesh like black oil, and though its form looked like a prowling hound, it had twisted, half-formed wings sprouting from its back. Lumps like tumors rippled across its body, shifting with every step, and its face angular, like the head of an axe.

Not a hound. That's a beak!

“Malformed monstrosities," her father muttered. "Come, Jeneve, we mustn't tarry. The Priests won't wait forever."

The two of them hustled forward, and it was like a spell had been broken upon the street. The crowd moved, shifted forward in the direction of the shelters, all of them trying valiantly to avoid the beast. Every adult she spied looked away, studiously studying the ground, the air, or the backs of their fellows before them—anything to avoid looking at the shadowbeasts. Jeneve's eyes couldn’t be torn away. The thing was anathema to the Pathless, yet it prowled the city. She still couldn't understand why.

"Will they truly protect us from the Fiend?" she asked.

"You heard it as well as I did. The old gods—" Her father grimaced through his mustache, and his voice croaked like an old frog's. "The Shining Lady has declared them her allies. For now.”

“But you said they were liars and⁠—?”

“Quiet!” His hand clamped painfully across her mouth. His voice dropped to a low rumble. “They are treacherous and foul, but her declaration was clear, dear one. We can do naught but believe her holy word."

Jeneve had heard the announcement, too, put out by the Hierophant or herself only hours before. But so much had changed in the time that it felt like days had passed since then. She glanced down another alley, but her eyes shied away from the crimson mess within.

The dark days were coming, the Hierophant had said. The chosen of the Pathless were to secure their own futures. Her father had said the Shining Lady’s words made him feel safe, but Jeneve hadn't felt safe since her mother had gone. She had died on the Day of Black Sun. Her father had barely survived, his core space only saved by the Hierophant's magic.

Jeneve's mother, though, had only been across the room, but the Shining Lady's power had stopped only a stride from where her mother writhed on the floor. A great huffing cut into her thoughts. The shadowbeast stopped, sniffing in her direction. Jeneve froze, unable to move even as her father tugged on her arm.

He looked fearfully at the beast. "Jenni, we must keep moving—" His words died in his throat as the beast stepped closer.

The creature's slick lips parted, revealing teeth as black as its gums. Thick drool dribbled from between them, and hot breath like a furnace washed over her, stinking like a midden pit.

"We are faithful," her father said, his voice dry as kindling. "We follow the light."

Father. Jeneve couldn't speak; she couldn't even move. It doesn't care for the light.

The creature drew nearer, its eyes dark tunnels into its depthless skull. They looked like caverns, holes into something else—somewhere else. They drew her in, pulling her Mind toward it like the last sweetmeat at the festival. Yet, instead of joy, it offered only the dizzying promise of an endless dark—as if the Void itself were yawning open, ready to swallow her whole.

The shadowbeast growled, and its head whipped upward. Jeneve gasped, her awareness suddenly released, and she took two rapid steps back from the great creature. Her father did likewise, his rugged face pale and hollow-cheeked. The thing tilted its thick neck, and pieces of its slick skin prickled as if it were fur, standing on end. Jeneve followed its gaze.

Wha—What am I seeing?

Above, the clouds had cleared, thinning as if shredded by some terrible hand. It revealed a pale expanse where five moons hung like jewels, bright yet faded by the blue distance. One was of burnished bronze, two of leaden blue, one a dark yellow, and finally, a singular moon of silver white.

A force rippled across the heavens, and the clouds spread open like a gaping wound. Darkness flinched, and a terrible, howling sound ripped across the streets, pouring from the shadowbeast's throat as if it were being squeezed. The creature cowered, its liquid flesh oozing onto the cobbles all around her, and Jeneve clutched at her ears. She fell to her knees as warmth seeped between her fingers.

"Jenni—!" Strong arms gathered her up, and through the ringing in her head, she heard others screaming. People were panicking.

Her father held her, and they were running. The cart was abandoned, and she was unable to tell if she even had her own rucksack any longer. Jeneve couldn't make sense of anything she saw. People were screaming. A family had fallen into the mud, their cart overturned in their mad dash, while others fell atop them, trampled to the ground. Her eyesight was blurry, her ears were ringing, and through it all, there was a trembling tenor in the air—a sound beyond sound she didn't know how to hear, let alone understand.

Her father held her tight, pulling her around a corner and nearly headlong into the chest of what could only be a massive⁠—

Dragon!?

But no, she was wrong. It was yet another shadowbeast. Its angular face and twisted, almost strangled-looking neck was curled upward toward the sky. Its mouth was open, and crimson flashed within its depths as its stunted wings trembled. Her father cursed, almost falling down.

"What is this?"

All of the shadowbeasts, at least a dozen on the street before them, were howling at the sky. His boots miraculously found traction, and he stumbled around the creatures, twisting so that she was far away from their twitching claws.

"The Fiend comes for us!"

"The Ruin⁠—!"

Countless voices lifted around Jeneve as they joined a crushing mass of bodies, all of them straining to enter the shelter a half-block distant. It was madness.

"The sky—it’s torn⁠—!"

She turned, trying to see, but her eyes were still too bleary with tears.

ENOUGH.

The howling went silent. Jeneve blinked, unsure where the voice had come from, but no one else seemed to notice. Their voices were still raised, their limbs outstretched toward the alabaster columns of their salvation. Golden doors hung before them, each twice the size of a normal person and carved with strange, confusing shapes. All at once, they slammed open, and it was like thunder cut across the world.

The crowd hushed.

Crimson-armored paladins marched from within the dark, stomping out until they lined the thoroughfare, hemming in the crowd and calming even the most panicked among them.

"The House of Alabaster welcomes you all. Enter, and leave the worries of the heavens behind."

Her father sighed. "We've made it, Jenni. We'll be safe."

Jeneve swallowed, the ringing finally fading from her hearing, but her heart still pounded. She didn't sense calm from the Paladins.

They're more scared than I am.

The crowd pressed closer to the gold and white doors, her father holding her aloft along with what remained of their supplies. His large hands hugged her close, squeezing a touch too hard on her thin shoulders.

"Jenni, I⁠—"

"Move along," the nearest Paladin shouted. "All faithful are welcome within."

Her father started, and she realized he had been staring up into the sky.

"Fear not, Jeneve," he said, taking a large, unsteady breath. "The Lady holds fast the very heavens themselves for us."

Jeneve loved her father; she trusted him with her life. Still, she couldn't help but blink back her tears and look up—up where the clouds had scattered, where the shadowbeasts still stared, and where five moons had once decorated the faded blue.

Then what happened to the silver moon?

CHAPTER TWO

“The Ruin burns away those who reach too high.

Yet we do not require the Ruin to set our histories ablaze.

Power seizes power, and in that clawed grasp we find excuses and rationalizations.

Skills that are too much for the weak, Titles that cannot be utilized by ignorant peasants, inventions too grand to be trusted to just anyone.

They call it consolidation, but I have studied Dragons.

I know a hoard when I see it.”

-Miera Dayne

dive!

Atar coughed and hurled himself through the dissolving wall just as a beam fell from the rafters. It plunged toward him like a maddened wolf, unmoored by stone or steel, as the violet tower fell apart around him.

"Greater force shielding!"

A blue shell wrapped around Atar only seconds before impact, and the beam shattered upon its surface.

"I've got you, love," Alister said, standing over the fire mage. "We need to watch our step. Everything is coming apart.”

get on your feet! run!

“The Urge is right. We need to get out of this tower immediately.” Alister looked to the side, while helping Atar to his feet. The others were around them, Tern and Elowen leaning against one another, with Zara leading the way.

"We should-" Atar started but was interrupted by a screaming roar. A creature rose from the clouds of luminescent smoke. It was a hulking mass of muscle and scale, its back wider than the tower they stood within. It was clearly twisted and incomplete. Half-formed, the midnight creature ended in tatters just below its chest, where its purple-black form faded into insubstantiality. Lacking legs, it twisted upon massive arms that were far more defined than any other part of it, including the strange, eldritch head.

There, like a specter of power, the half-formed flesh wrapped around a figure hovering at its center just below the maw, where fangs crowned them like thorns. The maw spread, and once more, that voice roared into the sky.

“Gah!” It gripped something vital in Atar's chest and yanked at it, hard.

“That feels awful,” Alister gasped.

Outside, the remnants of a broken fortress—the one that had surrounded the Vent of Levantier—crumbled. Thick fortifications burst into black, greasy smoke that flashed with luminous streams of Mana.

“Is he trying to eat us?” Atar asked through the pain.

that's what i've been saying! Flame squawked, flaring fire through all of their channels until the pressure loosened its hold on his core space. Atar took a deep breath and reached out to Alister with white flame upon his gray hand.

i suppose i can save him, too.

The force mage grunted in pain as fire wound across his arm and palm, but soon his face eased. He smiled wanly. “Thank you.”

you’re still useful.

“Shut it, Flame. Zara, are you—” Atar began, but needn’t have bothered. The Naiad Chanter stood with the other two and held them fast in a barrier of ethereal water. The liquid burst into smoke here and there, but it was swiftly replaced as she resisted whatever it was Felix was doing.

The ground beneath them, however, did not. It burst apart, streaming past them and dropping them all once more. Atar slammed hard, landing on his back on a wide, wooden beam below.

"EUGH! We need to get off this blighted tower!”

He's trapped." Atar frowned up at Zara. Unlike him and Alister, the woman was still on her feet, poised at the edge where the ground vanished and the tower opened up. The water barrier was gone now, but she was still supporting the limping forms of Elowen and Tern, keeping their bloody bodies still standing. The deer mage looked far worse off than any of them.

"How is he doing this?" the antlered lady asked. "That isn't magic."

"It is." Zara swallowed. "But it is far older than I have ever seen. We need to get him out of there."

i'm not going anywhere near that thing.

"Flame has a point," Alister said. "Felix told us to run."

Tern, the old Elf, straightened his bloodied robes and leaned against a wall to support what looked like a swollen ankle. "Let's focus on us first. If we can reach my skiff, then we can flee. From a distance, we can assess the boy's situation far more easily."

Atar stood. "Where's the skiff?"

"There, by the gatehouse. Your man set this Tower down, but it looks like the weight of things started collapsing the outbuildings. It's close, but not nearly enough." The Elf fished out a small, finger-width stone wand. It was set with a monster core at the end and inscribed with a dizzying network of sigils.

“Remarkable,” Atar said, intrigued despite himself. “What’s it do?"

"Modified summoning. I can pull the skiff to us from a distance. Or, I could, if there weren't all this interference." Tern gestured angrily in the clouds of swirling smoke. They were forming now into a large funnel, slowly spinning around the distant monster. "We'll need to get closer, and quick, before the boy eats our getaway."

The behemoth roared again, and the stones around them began to smoke.

run away!

Felix found himself in a quiet place. The last thing he remembered was standing before his friends, telling them to run. Now, he was alone. His body was present; he could see his hands and legs. However, the rest of the world was empty, save for the streamers of luminescent smoke that surrounded him.

"Hunger!" he called into the darkness. "What's happening to me?"

Felix heard nothing back, felt nothing from his dark companion. Frowning, he reached outward, grasping at the power streaming around him. Although he could tell it was pouring into him from somewhere, it slipped through his fingers like oiled glass. He flared his willpower, honing his intent into claws to seize the darkness. Yet as he reached out, puncturing the black and feeling the smoke slide across his intent, something else pressed back. His will was taxed by a force that felt familiar yet vastly different. Like hunger, but terrifying. It roared in his mind, a presence larger than anything he'd ever felt.

Hold…Fast…

Hunger?

Your…Aspects…They Run Riot…

It’s not my Aspects! It’s you! What are you doing to me?

The Cardinal…It Wakes…

That can’t be good. Felix had heard about the Cardinal Beasts more than a few times, most recently from the gods. Both the Pathless and Siva had called him a Cardinal or something like it. But what were they? And how was one waking up?

Felix blinked. Around him, the smoke spun faster as the timbre of vibration shifted upward. A pressure within him and without, driving his spirit forward in his chest, as if something were striking a spark against wet kindling. At any moment, he knew he’d burst alight.

He was Tempering.

Of course he was—he’d just fought and devoured Siva, Goddess of Fortune. Felix shook his head, feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. That fight, vicious as it was, was hazy, as if it had happened weeks ago. But he could still feel the echoes of pain across his Body, remnants of Siva’s brutal assault, a memory encased in flesh that had been broken and reformed without end. The battle had pressed him beyond his limits, and his Body was already Tempering.

He could feel his Spirit was next.

“I can’t escape this place as I am.” Felix glared at the darkness, his eyes burning blue and red. "Grandmaster Tier should fix that.”

Notifications hovered just beyond his awareness, separated from him in the same way he was separated from his real body. Felix strained, pitting his Will and Authority against the strangeness hemming him in. With an exaggerated slowness, a fitful, buzzing window appeared before him.

Astrum Ascendance is level 117!

…

Astrum Ascendance is level 125!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+400 WIL

+300 INT

+...

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Silver Webs]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

Yes.

A bell tolled, resonating with a place deep in Felix’s chest, a place he found very familiar.

Unite the Lost?

The Skill activated within his chest, threading through his pathways and out like a wave of blinding music.

Felix folded, breath driven from his lungs as the dark twisted. System notifications flickered and buzzed, their outlines breaking down and shattering. Significance streamed out of him, torn from the smoke in all directions like a veil of unlight—invisible yet textured, like a cloth as heavy as a mountain.

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

He shook his head once, clearing it of clogging, tinny notes just as new notifications appeared.

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Resurgent Bonds]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence of Resurgent Bonds]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence of Resurgent Bonds]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Renascence - Wake The Sleepers

Covenant - Hold The Dream

Clarion - Sing The Night

Felix blinked, and the darkness unfurled.

A whisper crawled across his ears. Renascence - Wake The Sleepers.

He stood within a chamber laid with glazed green tiles and festooned with tapestries from every towering column. A layer of water rushed across his toes, moving with the faintest of currents between the polished legs of a thousand beds of unalloyed gold. Men and women of all races lay upon the beds, their arms crossed over their still chests, and silver coins laid over their eyes.

"They're dead."

Felix stepped back, his eyes bumping into the corpse behind him.

"What the heck is this?"

Without warning, the corpse before him shifted, coins falling off their eyes with a great clattering ring as milky irises stared upward into the sky. All at once, the corpses took a great breath, sounding like nothing more than creaky, wheezing bellows. Felix turned, watching all of their chests inflate before they gave a groaning exhalation, and magic poured from their mouths, flowing upward before collecting across the facets of a Belais crystal a hundred yards across, set into the vaulted ceiling. Power was there, released from the corpses, who even now clawed ineffectually at their funerary cloths as the beds rattled in the water.

Understanding struck him as he stared at the power.

Renascence is to waken that which is dormant. A magic of awareness.

Water sloshed, and Felix stepped back, but this time, there was no bed behind him. He turned and found himself in a different room, though perhaps in the same structure, judging by the slick, green tile on the floor. The beds were gone, as were the sleepers. Instead, centered within the vaulted chamber, there was a pool.

The water was dark, lapping against the tiled edges with a soft, relentless beat. Felix stepped closer, despite the fissure of unease that settled across his spine. He lifted his chin, arcing his neck just a bit to peer into the depths where an eye stared back. Felix jerked away, but the thing down below did not move, though its pupil contracted as it regarded him.

The features of it were hazy and shadowed, broken up by the rippled surface as it reflected some sourceless light in the chamber. Whatever was below was immense, too large to even fit out of the pool's twenty-foot diameter. Felix shifted his feet, fists clenching tight and ready if it tried anyway…but the eye only closed.

You…aren’t threatened by me at all, are you?

Almost immediately, magic spilled into the water like an iridescent oil. Clouds of it spread within the liquid, rising to the top where it slicked the waves before radiating upward in a sheet of shifting greens, purples, and pinks. Shapes moved through it, not so much projected upon it but rising up from within the colorful magic.

The whisper returned, bubbling as if from a great depth. Covenant - Hold The Dream.

“Dream, huh?” Felix peered at the beast, which seemed to be sleeping now. "May I take some of this?"

The creature didn't answer, but a song rolled through the chamber. It spun with a buzzing tone that rose and fell between jeweled notes. Harmony, Dissonance…and approval.

Felix reached out to the magic, flaring his Will and Intent until a ribbon of greenish purple spun out into his hands. He molded it in much the same way he'd used his shaping magics, and it folded into a small, winged tenku. A tiny version of Pit danced in his palm, cavorting across his fingers before lifting its beak up, as if shouting in joy.

"A power in dreams,” he muttered. It was nascent and unformed, like a mountain that spat out streams of lava, yet with his Will and Intent, he could make use of it. "A Covenant. It means to bind but not in chains. A…bridge between the willing. A Choice made manifest."

The little tenku spread its wings and lowered its head in a tiny bow. Felix nodded, and when he lifted his gaze again, he was somewhere else.

The ground sloped beneath him, and Felix snapped his hand around a copper spike that had risen beside him. He stood atop a copper dome, mounted at the apex of a tower. Below and to the side, he spied windows into another building, where slick, green tile still prevailed.

Whatever structure these visions took place in, he was still there, just on the outside now. The odd buildings sprawled at least a half mile in every direction—perhaps farther, but it was hard to tell in the dark. A vague suggestion of trees and perhaps mountains loomed in the great distance, but the night was a moonless one.

Yet above…

Felix looked up. Stars wheeled above him, as if hours were passing in seconds. Greenish-pink auroras sparked along the horizon in a haze that streaked across the shifting sky.

Clarion, the soundless voice whispered. Sing In The Night.

Harmony and Dissonance returned, spinning around him like a furious gale. It was warm, but it had frigid teeth that bit into his exposed arms before it swept upward. The sky clarified, the black turning into something beyond dark. Nebulae resolved among the distance—deep purples, bright crimson, and dusty smears of ochre, green, and blue. The stars intensified between them all, drawn forward as if the heavens were under a lens.

The song. This one is easy to understand.

Felix lifted his arms, letting the resonance of Harmony and Dissonance coil around him. He cradled them both within his will, not holding them, but allowing them to flit in and out of his grasp.

Clarion is reaching beyond this place, a song that leaves this earthly palace to sail the stars. I see.

Felix's dark hands clenched tight, and a deep bell tolled.

"I choose Clarion."

CHAPTER THREE

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence of [Clarion]!

The stars froze.

They fell.

Great streaks of blue, green, and crimson light dropped from the sky—a rainfall of incandescent starlight. They pelted the copper-domed palace, tearing holes through its shrouded structure where they didn’t ricochet like oil upon a heated pan. Yet the greater portion struck him.

Blast after blast, streak after streak, hurtled into Felix, each bolt from the purpled dark a tonic of power that his flesh drank up like parched earth. Heavenly comets and congealing nebulae swirled around him—through him—until he was suffused with a brimming radiance.

With that illumination…came the song.

Harmony and Dissonance rang out within him, a rousing melody and counter-melody that drew up hidden depths within him as Astrum Ascendance ignited within his chest. The cold flame of amplification burned bright, rolling across his shoulders and down his arms until Felix's hands were pillars of cold flame, distant like the stars themselves.

The night sky opened up before him, even as it fell atop his chest. A distant starfire sang in the dark, a blazing heat surrounded by infinite cold—and something else. A presence…watching from beyond the dark. Felix's feet left the copper dome, his body lifted by a swell of power and music, held aloft upon a raging gale of Harmonics, while Dissonance tore at his clothes and flesh like iron teeth.

That presence stared at him without eyes, though Felix felt that, if he met them, he would recognize them. The dark burned blue and white, as explosion after explosion rioted through his heart, and Felix became aware of his Body, already in the process of Tempering as it clashed against his Spirit, now swelling with [Clarion] power.

It felt different than before. Master Tier had been an order of magnitude stranger than any previous, and Grandmaster felt stranger still.

Felix gritted his teeth, fighting down the chaos that raged within him. Screams tore at his ears, and only when warm blood rushed from them did he recognize his own voice. His Pillars chimed, their powerful foundation holding him steady against the storm of light, even as it tried to carry him off into the cold dark.

All at once, the light faded.

It was done.

The last of the starfire sank into his glowing chest, and he dropped, hands and knees on the ground, the copper dome deforming beneath his weight. He took a breath and looked back up.

The night sky was empty, but he gleamed like the sun.

Two Spirit Skills down. Magus of the Grand Design had Tempered back in his fight with Siva. He only had one remaining.

Let's fucking go.

Adamant Discord is level 125!

…

Adamant Discord is level 137!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+350 AFI

+300 INE

+...

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Covetous Fingers]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

A different Essence and another error. Felix licked his lips. Siva's influence warped them all. It makes sense that her significance would restore them.

Felix selected yes.

Unite the Lost roused within him once more, activated by the System as it rolled through his chest. Significance poured out from him, snatched away from his center, where it had only just begun to settle. The power that he'd stolen from Siva returned to wash away the vile film that coated the essence that boiled at the edge of his Skill.

Layers peeled within his Spirit, and he became distinctly aware of Unite the Lost struggling against the Divine alterations. It surged within him, the pattern of the Skill flexing and shifting as pattern met power—it burgeoned beneath that Herculean effort, expanding even as it changed beneath Felix’s eyes. A certainty wriggled within his heart as the Skill hovered at level 99, teetering on the cusp of something greater.

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

All resistance vanished. Felix’s ears popped, and a new savage wind swept across the empty night.

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Tidal Sovereignty]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence of Tidal Sovereignty]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence of Tidal Sovereignty]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Doldrums - Still Waters Run Deep

Riptide - Rapid Water Will Rise

Maelstrom - Deep Water Will Devour

The night brightened so suddenly that Felix had to squint his eyes before reassessing his surroundings. The copper dome and the dark, rambling ruin of the mysterious palace were gone, replaced instead by a vast expanse of water.

He stood atop a flat ocean, waveless and serene. It was a liquid mirror, reflecting nothing but the leaden skies above. Felix twisted, looking in all directions, but the world was a flat plain of featureless water across a boundless horizon. He touched his chest, where a memory of pain and bright, cold fire still echoed across his nerve endings. He was whole and untouched.

Doldrums, whispered that soundless voice. Still Waters Run Deep.

Out of the corner of his eye, Felix saw movement. He peered down, squinting against the glare of the omnipresent sun. As his eyes focused beyond his own muted reflection, he beheld the green-gray depths. Sunlight filtered through it in hazy beams lit by flecks of detritus and the near-invisible trails of hidden currents.

Unnerving.

There was movement again, this time off to the side, where a shape wriggled past his view. A broad back and spined fin too wide to be seen in full flashed by before it dove deeper. Another swam through a sunbeam, its dozen fins sweeping at the water as its too-long body twisted, and the pallid, milky expanse of an eye blinked up at him.

Felix swallowed and stepped back, while understanding flowed through him like a cold stream. Doldrums was a simple vision, if terrifying. There was a deceptive calm all around him, but danger lurked below, in the hidden depths.

A roar caught his ear, loud enough to be an explosion, and Felix spun, turning toward the source to see the flat horizon now shifted, disturbed, into an undulating wave that surged from the east.

Riptide, said the voice. Rapid Water Will Rise.

Felix ran. The surface of the water actively fought against him, pulling at his feet and forcing him to flare his Strength and Agility to their maximum. Water exploded around him, ripped to either side in a massive wake as he blurred across the sea.

It wasn’t enough.

The wave slammed into his back, the white-capped surf hurling him forward, end over end. Things flashed by him, serpentine, clawed, pale-eyed, and wriggling. Felix fought for breath, swimming for the surface in a confusing tangle of flesh and sea. He shot out into white rapids that hurtled him through standing rocks that had not been there only moments before. Felix sucked in a tight breath. The rocks thrust up from the sea as if they were the blades of a hundred swords, each standing hundreds of feet high, with the bladed edges turned toward him. The waves broke upon them, releasing arcing jets of spume that recombined into churning rapids.

He kicked hard to the side, evading the first and the second sword, but then the chaotic pull was too much for even his Strength. Too close to evade the other stones, he swam into the current, twisting past another handful of obstacles with bare inches to spare.

He was not the only one.

A many-legged creature snared him, grabbing at his legs and pulling Felix down below the surface. It twisted around him, scale and claw and slimy maw pressing against his legs and arms, fouling his mobility as the wild currents smashed them into the broad side of stone. Breath driven from his lungs in great bubbling gasps, Felix slashed outward, his claws tearing open cold flesh wherever he could reach. Yet he couldn't tell where the thing ended or began, whether it was one creature or many. He tore it apart, piece by piece, as the waves bore them down upon stone blades.

He screamed, shoving himself through the water and dragging the monstrous creature along with him.

"I'm too small to cut you up," he bellowed as he surfaced. "But this isn't!”

He twisted, bringing the creature's body around within his clasped legs and dashing it against the stone sword. It split in two and released a gurgling, sonorous cry that made his head swim as he tumbled free of the rock.

He fetched up against another standing stone and dug his claws into the side, climbing up its slick edge. From there, he watched the creatures thrash in the water, bereft of their target. A bright flood of red-gold ichor tinted the waves, and Felix bellowed in primal triumph. More and more of them met their doom upon the rocks, while the others gave up and dove deep below.

Felix understood. Riptide was a Feature fraught with peril. Yet, from that deadly dance came exultation. He grinned, though his heart pounded in his chest. He felt alive.

Until the stone broke beneath him.

He plunged back into the water, the current driving him downward faster than ever before. The serpentine monstrosities were driven away, and he swirled inward, bobbing back toward the surface as the ocean split before him. It was no longer white-capped rapids, but a twisting current that roared into the sky. A massive hole opened up, large enough to swallow dozens of ships all at once: a whirlpool, churning the grey-green water into a black abyss.

Maelstrom - Deep Water Will Devour.

Creatures far larger than before lunged from the spinning sides of it, thrashing outward with hooked tendrils and finned claws. He dove away from them, swimming with the current to speed past before kicking backward toward the edge of the whirlpool.

He failed. Its pull could not be denied.

The creatures came for him, unmoored by the current themselves as they were pulled ever deeper. A many-headed monstrosity briefly surfaced as it was tugged toward the dark center of the maelstrom. And there, where the thundering waves churned, a monstrous maw at least a dozen times larger snapped over the beast. Eyes of electric blue met Felix’s through the thin layer of water as its black scales shone with a midnight purple light. It screeched, a buzzing tear against Felix's eardrums, as red-gold radiance blossomed from between its teeth and its maw stretched wide.

Felix kicked harder, flaring his Strength and Agility with all of his Might as he fought against the maelstrom's pull. Still, he could not escape entirely. Those blue eyes tracked him with an unnatural intensity and Felix gasped for air, more than water pressing against his chest as he tried to formulate a plan—to even understand what he was looking at.

The maw loomed ever closer, each snap like the crash of a landslide.

Deep in his bones, Felix knew the way out. He had to make a choice. Quickly.

Features! Um—the Doldrums were too much like a lie. He paddled, kicking frantically against the current. It was stasis, and I can’t afford to stay still. Not now, not ever. Riptide was an eternal struggle, but one that was worth the fight. And the maelstrom—Felix grunted as a creature slashed at him before slipping past and into the maw of the beast. The maelstrom was inevitable.

Power, he’d been told, came from making each Skill more of what it already was. To deepen and enhance, rather than alter.

As that greedy mouth stretched wide, and those eyes blazed with blue-white lightning beneath the waters, Felix knew what Adamant Discord needed to be—what he needed it to be. He floundered, pulled within those enormous, bone-white teeth.

"I choose Maelstrom!”

Midnight jaws closed, and all things went dark.

CHAPTER FOUR

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Maelstrom]!

The dark imploded, rushing inward in a storm of teeth and flesh as it was absorbed into his chest. Felix couldn’t move or draw a single breath; it felt like his lungs were swelling and shrinking by turns. His bones creaked, and his muscles stretched to bursting as unparalleled heat streamed from the surface of his skin.

The green-gray world boiled.

Flesh, tooth, and claw rampaged through him as blood and waves condensed into a single eye made from red-gold threads and electric blue-white light. Through the heat and the pain, Felix could only stare back into the rippled texture of that immense, unblinking orb. There was no mouth, features to read—just its gaze.

SCION.

Felix’s jerked back, the force of the voice beyond physical. It seared into his Spirit.

YOU CLAIM DOMINION OVER FLESH?

YOU CLAIM DOMINION OVER MANA ITSELF?

Amid the boiling riot, there was no room in Felix to respond. His Mind whirled, his Body tremored, and his Spirit flinched back from the creature.

SHOW ME.

The eye erupted into streamers of ardent blue and scintillating blood-gold, igniting the boiling dark into a sparking vortex that spun inward—all of it poured directly into Felix’s chest.

His skin rippled, scales forming in a rippling wave across his arms and shoulders. They climbed his neck and up his chin and cheeks as his lips split open with sharpened fangs. Spikes studded his forearms and burst from his elbows as midnight scales rose up and over his nose and eyes. Felix bellowed, but pain swiftly turned to sudden relief, and he was left in the featureless dark, hunched over and breathing hard.

You…Are Distracting…

Felix glanced up but saw nothing but streamers of smoke falling from above. The voice was nothing like the one before. “Hunger?”

You Are Using Too Much.

“Too much what?”

Potency. You Strive Too Far.

…We Require…More…

The Beast Is⁠—

Cardinal—

“Talk to me!”

Hunger’s voice lowered, her syllables rolling together into a rumbling growl. I Am Losing Control.

The growl faded into a distant thunder until it vanished entirely.

“Hunger!”

There was no answer.

3 of 3 Spirit Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

The heat in his chest marshalled once again, coiling around his heart like a cage of scalding iron. Felix grabbed at his shirt, reflexively tearing it away and revealing the heavy, dark scales covering his skin. A red-gold brilliance glowed from between the thick plates, pulsating in time with his frantic heartbeat.

A window appeared before his eyes, flickering around the edges with static. It was colored differently than usual, though—this one was edged with red-gold and filled with a hectic, electrical light.

One Aspect Remains.

Do You Wish To Continue?

Wait—what? His Temper had never allowed him to abort the process before. As far as he knew, the relentless inevitability of Tempering grew with each Tier. “How can I stop now?”

Choice Is Paramount.

The Beast Rises From Your Blood.

You May Cut It Out.

“Cut it out?” Felix licked his lips. “Would that kill me?”

Felix Nevarre Will Not Survive.

“That’s…expected.” Felix groaned as light burgeoned from his chest in great bursts. It felt like forge hammers were striking at his heart. “What will happen if the beast is released?”

Felix Nevarre Will Not Survive.

And Neither Will Levantier.

“Levantier…My friends—what’s happening out there?”

Choose, Inheritor.

“My only options are to die or let my friends die, too?” He bared his teeth. “Fuck you.”

All Choices Have Consequences.

“Eat me, System.” Felix hurled his Will and Intent at the empty dark and flared a Skill. Void Sanctuary!

The smoky dark froze, hardening into an opalescent sheen. A massive planet within his core space spun up, its pattern igniting into ribbons of multi-hued light. Hunger, the System, and whatever that thing had been that had his own eyes—they were testing him. He was trapped, while who knows what happened outside in the city.

He was done asking for permission.

“Let me out of here!”

Walls of opalescent Fiendstone rose around a patch of the dark, clamping tight across its smoky expanse, even as the stone sealed itself shut. The shadows bucked against him, fighting his Authority—but he held. They folded away, seized by his Void Sanctuary for the briefest of moments. Felix clenched his Will and shaped his Intent into the only thing that made sense.

He made a window.

Light spilled onto him, brighter by far than the nebulous Void around him but clouded by a veil of purple-black. He blinked, only belatedly recognizing where he stood.

I’m at the bottom of the caldera. Near the Vent. Where— He spun, and the earth shook. Where’s the fortress that was here?

The heavily manned fortress at the center of Levantier, where Siva and Felix had landed during their battle, was gone. Not just destroyed, but obliterated entirely. No stone remained of its imposing structure, only a flat, blasted plain of cracked earth that extended for a half mile in every direction. He looked up and saw where the fortress no doubt had gone.

I did this?

A towering cyclone of luminescent smoke rose up above him. It spun lethargically, flashing like a storm cloud pregnant with lightning—save this was rife with Essence, Mana, and the heavy weight of significance.

The Violet Tower! Felix cast about for it, chest tight, until he spotted it settled at a precarious angle some distance away. It’s broken, but I still⁠—

A deep, percussive roar tore from his chest. It was an aching fury but also more; it sounded through him and the darkness within like a bass drum, echoing within an unassailable emptiness. Thoughts without words fumbled through his burning Spirit, transformed into halting words by his Mind that was already too strained.

I RISE.

The smoke thundered down from on high, pouring into Felix’s open maw. The veil of purple-black shadow parted as red-gold teeth the size of stalactites spread wide, and power flooded into his core space.

“Where…are…my friends?”

Emperor’s Vigilance!

Felix’s gaze penetrated the shell of strange murk around him and immediately zoned in on the broken remnants of the Tower. People fled from its many outbuildings, dozens if not hundreds of them scattering across the rubble and toward the rest of the city around them.

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 120!

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 121!

There!

Zara, Atar, and all the rest were racing through the ruins, a crowd of people following in their wake. Tern, that old Elf, was holding up some sort of stone wand. It gleamed with cascading waves of liquid purple Mana that radiated outward toward the floating shape of a familiar skiff.

They’re getting away… Thank god.

The roar stopped, cut off abruptly as the purple-black flesh around him thickened. The cloud of potency was filtering out into it, shrouding Felix from the world again.

“No! Get off of me!”

PROVE THYSELF.

Its voice was a bolt of lightning, and it hurtled Felix back, shattering his tenuous hold over the dark. Opalescent Fiendstone collapsed into smoking pieces, and Felix lost sight of the city and his friends.

The window vanished.

“Fine then,” he growled. “I’ll play your game, asshole.”

Atar froze. “Did that monster just speak?”

Around him, twenty or so people crowded onto the deck of the skiff, each elbowing for space among the small craft. They’d rescued a number of mages from the fallen Tower, but not nearly as many as he’d expected. Alister was further astern, no doubt helping Tern get the Manaship moving, so it was Elowen who actually heard his words.

“I heard it, too.” She frowned into the cyclone that had taken up residence in her city. “Something about proving ourselves.”

Atar bit his lip. What are you playing at, Felix? Kick that thing’s ass.

The monstrosity was still eating. Its huge arms reached out through its cyclone of dust and pulled everything closer, like a predator consuming its kill.

“Look! The alchemical lab!” someone shouted.

Atar leaned over the railing, Elowen at his side, just in time to see the roof of a lower building tear from its walls. Shingles flew in all directions, and thick rafter beams followed, becoming nothing more than smoke after only a few moments. The walls did not last much longer.

“We need to leave! Now!” Atar bellowed toward the stern.

The only answer he got was a high-pitched chime as Mana thrummed through the planks below his feet. The sails billowed, filled with conjured wind as the skiff lifted off. The thing was slow, at least at first, but for once, there was no air traffic in Levantier.

“Hold onto something!” Tern warned, just as massive blocks of stone tore upward past their starboard side. Curved shields of force flickered around the skiff, conjured moments before impact, and they lurched into the air.

Atar snagged his hand in the back of a young mage’s robes, keeping them from going overboard as they pitched to the left. He shoved their hands onto the railing next to him. “You heard the man!”

“Th-thank you!”

They lifted off, pulling away from Felix and his nightmare cloud with every passing breath. By the time Atar made it to the helm, they were a mile away, far enough that they could make out the gargantuan form sitting beside the hollow chasm at the city’s center.

“You’re insane, woman!” Tern shouted. He held the helm within his old Elven hands and stared up defiantly at Zara. “I’m not piloting this skiff any closer!”

“We cannot lose him to this,” the Chanter insisted. “He’s too important, Vilas.”

“I don’t care if he’s king of the world! We get closer, and we risk everyone on board to that monster.”

“Surely we’re not going to just leave,” Alister said, looking between the two of them. “I owe Felix my life a dozen times over. He may have told us to run, but he wouldn’t want us to abandon the people of Levantier to…this. We must do something!”

“We can’t do anything!” Tern snapped back. “And what’s to stop that thing from devouring us, too?”

“Our lives are forfeit either way,” Zara said, her bright eyes boring into the Elf’s. “Without Felix, the Continent is doomed.”

“Don’t you dare bring the Ruin into this⁠—”

“It is coming for us, if the gods don’t kill us first, that is.”

“Damnation, Zara!”

Elowen put a hand on Tern’s shoulder. “I can help.”

“Fine.” Tern gripped the wheel so hard the wood creaked. “But don’t blame me if we’re chomped to pieces!”

The skiff turned, angling back toward the angry whirlwind of power.

we can’t go back there, atar.

Atar clenched his jaw. We have to. Felix would do the same for us.

that thing isn’t felix. that thing shouldn’t even be possible.

What are you talking about?

The Urge didn’t answer.

“You’re flying back?” demanded a Journeyman mage in tattered robes on the deck below them. “We can’t go back there!”

“You hitched a ride with us,” Atar reminded him. “And we’ve got business with that cloud.”

“This is madness!”

Atar’s white hair began to burn, and the mage blanched in fear. “Feel free to jump off, then.” He looked around at everyone else on the deck. None of them met his gaze. “No? Then shut up and strap in.”

The mages listened, all of them crouching down and securing themselves. Some cast odd binding spells, while others looped their arms through the balustraded railing. It was good they did, because the skiff lurched as they climbed up closer to Felix’s terrible maelstrom.

Clouds of greasy smoke crackled around them, rushing by at speeds their ship couldn’t match. Flashing lights tore through the clouds, bright as lightning but ranging in hue from yellow and red to green and blue. Mana and Essence…and something else.

significance.

Atar frowned. Flame was right; though, now that the Urge had pointed it out, Atar could almost feel the weight of some clouds. Their substance didn’t change, but they pulled at him strangely. Like gravity itself.

They were far above Felix now, looking down on his twisted shape like a child gazing down at an insect. Atar swallowed, and Flame quailed within him, though he suspected for entirely different reasons. From this distance, Felix’s monster looked more than half-formed—as if it had grown portions of its torso since they’d been near it.

It bellowed, releasing a shockwave of power that tore dust from the landscape around it. The half-mile of blasted earth rippled, its edge spreading by hundreds of strides in all directions. Houses and factories burst, crashing into pieces that dissolved into bitter, greasy smoke—and poured right back toward Felix.

“His reach is spreading,” Zara warned. “We need to get closer! I must be within two hundred strides to reach him with my Skill!”

Tern adjusted the wheel. “That’s suicide!”

“Not if I pilot the ship,” Elowen said.

“No. You’ve used your power too much today while under Siva’s control. Pressing yourself further could kill you.”

“I screwed up with Siva and the rest. I can do this, Grandmaster. Trust me.” She gently took the helm from the old Elf, and he let her.

“Don’t get yourself killed,” he said quietly.

“Don’t get any of us killed,” Atar suggested, far louder.

“I don’t intend to.” Elowen closed her eyes, and her antlers glowed with a sudden silver radiance. “Core Manifestation: Tome of the Witness!”

A purple book with radiant, golden pages appeared above her head. It snapped open, pages flipping in the breeze, as light and power rolled off of the mage like a physical force. Atar grunted, stepping back into Alister’s arms, who was bracing himself against a shield of his own Mana.

Without another word, Elowen pressed forward, and the skiff careened into the storm.

CHAPTER FIVE

Void Sanctuary is level 125!

…

Void Sanctuary is level 133!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+400 RES

+375 FEL

+...

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Fettered Carapace]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

Yeah, yeah. Do it.

As before, the Essence resisted its change, but it stood no chance against Unite the Lost. Felix couldn’t see the [Essence of Fettered Carapace]—instead he could feel it, like a bundle of silver roots wrapped tight into a rough orb.

Not roots. Threads. Felix frowned. Oaths.

Unite the Lost burned it away, the calcified layers of the root ball splitting away from a gleaming center. Restoring it to what it once was, before Siva’s hands touched upon it. Potency thundered through him, moment by moment scouring the Essence within him.

Break away the influence of the gods, and it’s all Primordial.

Smoke and power pulled from the black around him, the heavy weight of significance closing onto his chest like a vise as the [Essence of Fettered Carapace] spun faster by the moment. As it did, the dark around him flickered.

Whoa, wait. Unite the Lost is pulling power from this monstrous shell. What happens if I use it up? Will it go away?

The dark around him thinned, and Unite the Lost stilled.

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 122!

…

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 123!

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Inviolate Hide]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence of Inviolate Hide]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence of Inviolate Hide]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Sound - Ring The Bell

Stone - Hold Fast

Scale - Venture Forth

Felix reached out, grabbing at the Features before they could roll over him. He was done waiting for the System. The dark rippled, and he was somewhere else.

“I’m on a wall,” he said, lifting his booted foot. It was metal and very familiar. “An orichalcum wall. Haarwatch?”

It wasn’t, though the wall felt exceedingly similar. He stood at the crenelated top, overlooking a landscape of tall, wind-sculpted rocks and deep chasms. Verdant forests filled those chasms, the shortest of trees easily hundreds of feet high, yet they didn’t come to a third of the wall’s height.

“Ready thyselves!”

The shout came from a figure down the wall. Felix blinked, suddenly aware that the wall was filled with robed mages. They were a variety of Races, but so many bore the horns and antlers of Minotaurs and Kobolds. Others, however, were dusky-skinned, bright eyed, and bearing ornate staffs made from twisting materials Felix couldn’t identify.

Nymean magi…

Sound - Ring The Bell, came that sourceless voice.

A white-haired Nym lifted a staff that looked to be made of dark blood. “The Twinslaves rise!”

Felix snapped his head back toward the green chasms. The canopy shook; trees bent and parted before a pack of rising monstrosities. Enormous, five hundred foot tall, ambulatory flower-things lifted fleshy stems and hurled boulders at the walls. They flew fast and hard, but they burst against sizzling wards, fifty feet before the red-gold orichalcum wall. Felix didn’t even feel the impact, but that was only the opening salvo.

Bells rang out, a clear warning as dozens of the strange flower monsters crawled out of the chasms. Malformed arms swiped through trees, the thorny vines that comprised them acting like wrecking balls as they stomped closer. They had no eyes, but their flycatcher style maws drooled and snapped as metallic blue vines shot outward and slammed into the wards.

Felix felt it that time. Everyone did, if the stumbling mages were any indication.

The white-haired magi rotated his staff into several small circles, and a trail of crimson light followed. “System! Sing the Song of Bastion!”

The wall and mages both lit with a wash of liquid power. It hummed into the air, each figure forming a tone that sang out into a complex melody.

They’re Chanting, he realized, gazing out into the floating sigaldry that doubled in the thin air. And they’re using it to reinforce the Authority of the white-haired guy. You can do that?

Yet it wasn’t reinforcing the entire ward across the miles-long wall. That thickness increased in some places and decreased in others, altering on the fly as the melodies rose and fell among the mages. Metallic blue vines crashed into the wards again and again, faster with each strike—but there, right at the point of impact, was where the mages were focused. Each and every time the defensive wards shifted, deflecting the worst attacks with incredible precision.

They’re adjusting the output of the wall’s enchantments on the fly. Those sounds…they’re resonating in explicit patterns. Like spoken sigaldry.

Magus of the Grand Design is level 126!

…

Magus of the Grand Design is level 131!

The mages’ defenses were immaculate, but the attacks never stopped. Every time they modified their angles of deflection, another blow came from the forests. The metallic blue tendrils were among the most powerful, but hurled boulders came close. Those rattled the wards at first, but soon they began to explode. Great gouts of green algae poured from them, splattering against the wards and growing sudden roots into the magic itself. Explosive charges of life Mana erupted from their centers, setting off a cascade of growths across the flaring sigaldry, as if the plants were searching for weaknesses.

In turn, the mages incinerated them with balls of fire.

This Feature…it’s about being ready at all times. Vigilant against any and all incoming dangers. Felix swallowed. At one point in his life, he would have considered that a very useful trait to have—now, however… To be eternally alert would drive him insane.

The bells rang twice more.

Beyond the tangled, obfuscating growths that still burned, Felix saw movement in the chasms. At first he took it for another plant monster, but its movement was strange. Where the giant plants stomped, this prowled. Instead of clustered thorns and overgrown rinds, this was sleek, scaled, and shadowed.

He flared his Perception, but even his crazy high stat couldn’t penetrate the chaos of the battlefield. Whatever it was stayed low, weaving among the trees and rocks, all but invisible.

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 124!

Their eyes met. A flash of blue-white and red-gold met his, and Felix’s world teetered around him. A new understanding swept through him, and it had nothing to do with the Feature he stood within.

It’s hunting me.

The bells rang again.

“A second wave!” cried a Minotaur, spells leaping to her fingertips. “Steady the line!”

More enemies emerged from the forests, each stranger than the last. Scale and flesh slammed into the wards, sending red streaking up across the magic’s surface, as if the twisted things were too much for the sigaldry.

“Primordial spawn!”

The mages moved like well-greased clockwork, their every spell and step coordinated into a greater defense than they or the wall could achieve alone. Even as he scanned the chasms for signs of the Beast that stalked him, he wasn’t worried for them. They were well-trained and battle-hardened. They would survive.

Plant and Primordial surged forward, and the mages met them with song and spell.

None of them, however, saw the dark creature that rose in their wake—or the vast, tooth-filled maw that rushed for him.

Felix jerked back, arms lifted in defense, as lightning crackled across his hands.

“Ho there! None of that, now!” Felix blinked as thin, brown hands laid over his own. The owner of the thin hands smiled at him. “No need for that yet. Or ever, if our luck holds out.”

He let the magic vanish, and only then did he recognize that he was no longer on the wall. “Where—where are we?”

The Nymean woman’s smile faltered slightly.

“Battle fatigue,” someone said, off to the side.

“Quiet, Cyllane,” said a small, furry figure. A Geist. “You all right, son?”

“I’m…fine.” Felix loosened his clenched jaw and stood up from the battle-ready crouched he’d fallen into. “I, uh, thought I was somewhere else for a second there.”

A whispered call slithered through his hearing. Stone - Hold Fast.

“You’re new to us,” said the Geist. “Transferred in from another front?”

“Something like that.”

“Shame,” said the Nymean woman. She had bright hazel eyes that glowed from within, even when they were creased with concern. “Still, you’ll find it a bit easier here on the eastern border.”

“So long as you do not desire to leave,” said an antlered Theron from a nearby table. They held up a length of metal that heated up red hot between their fingers and, with a single stroke, shaped it into a sword blade. “This stalemate won’t end until the Continent sinks into the sea.”

“Such a joy you are, Thressil,” the Geist said between bites into some sort of pastry.

Felix gave himself a moment to take in his surroundings. They were in a very large room, made of some sort of shimmering wood he’d never seen before and filled with long, ornately carved tables where mages sat eating a meal or working on various crafts. Though the ceiling was at least thirty feet high and vaulted there were no windows at all, though a number of the walls were decorated with detailed tile mosaics featuring charming landscapes and majestic creatures.

I’m in a bunker, he realized, just as the entire place shook. Dull thunder sounded, as if from miles away, and a System notification popped up.

Warning!

A Threat Approaches!

“Tch, every time we mute these notifications, they come right back,” the Geist complained. He poked at the air in front of him before swiping angrily. “Of course a Threat is approaching!”

Felix glanced at the wall behind him. “What’s the Threat?”

The Nymean woman handed him a pastry, still hot from the oven. “The Enemy, of course.”

The Enemy? The gods? Felix had never really interacted with people in his Tempering visions, but he was getting the impression that Grandmaster Tier was a lot different than usual. “Do we have to fight?”

“Do not be afraid. The walls cannot be climbed nor broken.” She patted the shimmering wood, and a ripple of Mana rolled from the contact. “Henaari-sung and Geist inscribed. These will last until the heavens themselves fall.”

“They’ll have to,” the Geist said from the side. “We cannot afford to lose more ground to the Weaver.”

Weaver. Felix licked his lips. “We’re fighting Siva?”

The woman looked up from a projected display on a handheld Belais crystal. It showed a windswept coast filled with immense, floating islands above a storm-tossed sea. Creatures swarmed across the waves, so many that Felix could barely see the water. “Who else? The Twins are occupied on the southern front, thanks to the Hyrellian Accord, and Yyero is caught against Khalheim’s might.”

“The giants and the cold will keep him from coming this far east,” the Geist said.

“May the Shield remain Unbroken.”

Twins in the south? Felix looked between the chatting mages. Was that where I was in the last vision?

“I heard Vellus was defeated,” said a wide-set Dwarf. “The waveline said her moon’s gone.”

The Geist scoffed. “Moons can’t just be gone.”

“Are you suggesting that the Empyrean Halls lied to us, Vvar? There have been reports of tidal surges across every coastline. You know blood Mana, magus. Feel it for yourself.”

“I—” Vvar frowned, and his whiskers twitched uncomfortably. “That could be caused by a number of phenomena, Lohar.”

The Dwarf rolled his eyes. “Can’t ever admit you’re wrong.”

“You—”

“None but the Divine,” the Nymean woman interrupted, “could destroy their own moons. Blood magic hasn’t failed altogether, and the tides still function outside these walls. That means Vellus cannot be dead.”

“Wait. What happens if they really do die?” Felix asked.

“An end to magic,” Lohar said, grimly. “Some say an end to the System itself.”

What.

“Don’t scare the boy,” Vvar snapped. “First Thressil and now you.”

“I only speak the truth. We choose to fight this war, and we must accept its consequences.”

A reverential silence unfolded across all who heard the Dwarf’s words. The Nymean woman held a hand to her heart. “We fight this war so that our descendants may live free of it—for us that have only ever seen war, I imagine losing magic will be far less alien than a world of peace. Yet it is a price I would gladly pay, a thousandfold, to see this all end.”

“Well said.” Thressil set down another sword, still glowing cherry red. “But you forget that there is another force that could eradicate the moons.”

Vvar groaned. “Not this again⁠—”

“The Cardinal Beasts.”

“And you forget that the Supreme Primordials were destroyed before this war was even a twinkle in the eyes of the Divine. The Cardinals are dead.”

Primordials Do Not Die.

Felix started.

“Are you sure you’re alright… Apologies, but I did not get your name.”

“Felix,” he offered. Felix scanned the woman’s face and the others. None of them seemed to have heard the voice. He wasn’t even sure if it had been Hunger or the new presence inside of him. “And yeah. I’m good.”

“I’m Rinella. Make sure you eat that—our cook isn’t from Elysium, but quite skilled. You’ll feel better after.”

Felix took a cautious nibble, and the flaky pastry crumbled into his mouth like melting butter. “Holy crap.”

It was beyond delicious. The meat inside was tender, seasoned with something that tasted like the first warm day after the spring rains had passed, plus some sort of caramelized onion. He ate all of it in two large bites.

Sevenna Pastry Consumed!

+85 VIT

Duration: 1 Hour

Felix almost choked. I can get food buffs in a Tempering vision? Nevermind full conversations with people long since dead and gone. It all felt like the Memories he’d infiltrated before. But whose Memory? Not Siva’s, surely.

He scowled. Right?

The walls shook again, but far harder this time. Vapor poured off the wooden planks like sparkling dust, cutting off every conversation in the hall. Felix glanced between the walls and those around him. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“...No,” Rinella said slowly. “It is not. Vvar, Thressil. Check the northwestern relays. Check for strain on the tertiary orbitals.”

“As you wish, Grand Magus.”

Others stood along with the Geist and Theron, activity returning to the many occupants of the strange bunker. They gathered gear, weapons, and a few extra pastries for the trip as other groups started to break off and pass through hidden doorways.

Rinella smiled at Felix, as if to soothe him again. “A common enough event. The foe is monstrous and legion, but they are no match for our fortifications.”

“Even if they require some maintenance, time to time,” Lohar added.

“True enough, my friend.”

None of them noticed the crack that had formed overhead, nor the clawed hands that uncoiled from within…and struck like serpents.

Vvar, Thressil, and three others went down, their blood pouring onto the shimmering wooden floors in thick gouts as they stared, uncomprehending at the dozens of malformed appendages emerging from their broken chests.

Pale, white, and twisted.

“Siva,” Felix hissed, before hell broke loose.

CHAPTER SIX

White hands slipped through the bloody mess as corpses collapsed to the floor. Quick as lightning, they struck at the rest of them. Claws slashed through legs and bellies as personal shields were shattered, and a riot of sound and motion ignited the air with tumultuous magics.

Felix thrust his own hand forward before the Nymean woman stepped in the way. “Hey! You gotta move⁠—!”

Rinella spat a single shining word, and the claws met a cluster of crystalline shields around everyone in the chamber. They crashed into them, unable to pass.

“Impressive. As expected of a Grand Magus.”

The hair on Felix’s neck lifted as a creature poured through the whisper-thin cracks in the walls. More pale hands clambered out, flowing into a humanoid form that seemed made of them, interlocked and molded into lithe limbs and narrow shoulders. It looked most like a Sylphaen, complete with wings formed of interlocking claws and a narrow, angular face set with sharp ears and too-large eyes. Most notable of all, however, was the familiar golden orb that deformed their chest, small hands holding it aloft in a cavity where their lungs and heart should have resided.

“Vessel of the Weaver,” Rinella said, her voice a low rumble that crackled at the edges. Frost gathered along her back in traceries of wings. “You cannot be here, traitor.”

“I walk wherever the light of my goddess shines,” they said, and Felix heard a sickly Harmony in their timbre. “Fortune smiles upon me this evening, for Her light has spied upon a darkling den of usurpers.”

I killed you already. Felix clenched his jaw. This is her Memory.

The Vessel didn’t move, but silver threads burst from its golden orb. They spread, faster and far stronger than their gross hands. Crystalline shields shattered. Magi and warriors fell back.

It didn’t matter.

Skein of Fate!

Felix seized them all with his Authority…and severed them at the root.

Skein of Fate is level 122!

Skein of Fate is level 123!

The Vessel fell back. “You…” Their eyes filled with silver light, and that orb in their chest pivoted toward Felix. You Severed Them. How.

“This is your Memory.” Felix bared his teeth. “Think about it.”

He rushed forward, flaring every ounce of Agility and Strength he possessed before slamming into the Vessel’s chest. They shot backward, impacting the wooden walls and sending rippling, oilstain flames in all directions.

I Cannot— The pale arms surrounding the golden orb clenched. You!

Those pale hands unfurled, chest and wings latching onto Felix’s arms and legs, as if to prize him loose.

“How sweet,” he snarled. “You remember me.”

Felix tore his limbs free all at once, sundering the Vessel’s flesh easily. “But not everything. That didn’t work last time, either.”

He jammed his black claws onto the golden orb. Empyrean Embrace!

The Vessel was more powerful than anyone in this room, save for perhaps Rinella. They were invested by a full measure of Siva’s very own might, and could not be underestimated.

But Siva was already dead. She just didn’t remember yet.

Empyrean Embrace is level 121!

…

Empyrean Embrace is level 124!

The golden orb shattered, and the Sylphaen Vessel was torn in half. Their pale flesh sublimated, turning into gleaming, silver smoke that he devoured until there was nothing left.

“Merciful Spirits.” Lohar ran his hands across the splintered floorboards where the Vessel had once stood. “They’re gone. The Vessel…and Siva herself. No trace of their Essence remains.”

Rinella looked past Lohar and stared directly at Felix. Her mouth worked silently for a moment before she forced words out. “How did you do this?”

Felix wasn’t sure what to say. He was from the future? Where they’re still fighting, despite her desire for peace? Memory or not, he had no desire to shatter this woman’s dreams. “I learned it from an enemy.”

“From…? Which front did you say you’re from?” she asked, her gaze sharpening. “Who was your commanding officer?”

“About that—” Something crawled across his awareness. He lifted his head just as the world rocked. The bunker tipped, walls lurching sideways, as if he were riding within the belly of a vast ship across stormtossed waves.

“Did everyone feel that?” he asked, looking around. Judging by the blank stares coming his way, they hadn’t.

Maelstrom. We Are Inevitable.

That’s not Hunger.

“Something else is coming,” he said, turning slowly in a circle. “Something worse.”

“You are stalling,” Rinella accused.

“I’ll answer every question you have after this—” He felt a growl, so far away it was just a vibration at the base of his skull. “A Threat approaches.”

“There is nothing worse than a Vessel. Not in this war,” Lohar said. “And it didn’t stand a chance against you.”

“That was just an echo,” he muttered. And already dead. Felix was unsure if he’d be able to demolish a real Vessel so easily. “This is a Primordial.”

Rinella fished out a small Belais crystal and consulted it. “There is no trace of Primordial spawn.”

Felix backed up, hands crackling. “This isn’t spawn.”

“We’ve contained the worst of the Primordials already. The others have all died.”

Primordials Cannot Die.

We Can Only Change.

The sound was coming from the walls. The ceiling. The floor. All of them, all at once, and none of them. It moved between his glances, staying ahead of his Perception like…

Like I’m being hunted.

The others stared at him as he turned in place, but their weapons were drawn as lightning crawled up Felix’s arms.

“Release your Skill, newcomer,” Rinella ordered.

Felix ignored her. He had bigger things to worry about.

A door slammed open, somewhere deep inside the bunker.

You Hide Within These Walls, Hoping That They Will Save You.

Another door slammed, hard enough that the floors shook.

A Feature Of Defense At The Expense Of Courage.

The roof cracked. No one looked up.

A Coward’s Recourse. Walls That Block Out All.

Good Or Ill.

“Who are you?” Rinella demanded of Felix. “By the Will of the Herald, you will reveal yourself.”

He opened his mouth, but the words were snatched out of his throat by a concussive blast. The wall before him sundered, crashing across Nymean mages with shimmering debris. None reacted, not even when chunks of masonry smashed them flat to the floor…nor the dark creature that filled the broken space beyond.

You Know Who We Are.

Rinella gasped.

“Run, lady!” Felix cried.

The Beast leaped upon him.

Felix fell to the ground, but he landed on dirt and moss.

The Beast was gone. He was alone.

Almost.

Scale - Venture Forth. The voice was hot against the back of his neck; yet, when Felix turned, nothing was there.

He stood up, taking in his surroundings once more. Felix was in a jungle now, and judging by the humid, almost tropical feel of the place, it was somewhere far to the south. Jaast, maybe?

It was night, and though his vision was incredible, it was still dark enough to make the shapes of trees and vines into unfamiliar presences. The sky was the kind of dark only available in the deepest of wildernesses, and a spray of unfamiliar stars shone across the firmament.

In the far distance were tall, elegant structures carved from bone-white stone, while close by, the span of an ornate, elevated roadway swept across the landscape. Statues stuck out from their support pillars, alternating between sleek harnoqs and antlered Kobolds.

The bunker is far away from here. How much time passed between this vision and the last? Felix shook dirt from his pant legs. What he couldn’t shake was his worries for Rinella, Lohar, and all the others. That wasn’t how the Memory went. I was never really there. What happened when Siva really attacked?

How many had survived?

“Careful, magus,” a tall, heavily armored Orc said. He held a sword made of frozen green light and watched the jungle around them as if he expected something to leap out at them.

Felix wasn’t going to bet against that, given his track record. Still, this was a new vision. He needed to know what was going on. “Careful of what?”

The warrior twisted his hands, and his sword brightened, banishing some more of the dark. “Our quarry. The Vessel’s guards are wily creatures. Blind, but their other senses are sharper than any mortal’s.”

Beyond his helpful warrior were more sword-bearing figures, all of them armored in that curious mix of robes and platemail that seemed to signify a Magus of the Golden Empire. Many of them were Nymean, at least twenty of the thirty around him, and they moved with a particular grace, as if the jungle parted before their steps all on its own.

It took Felix a second, but his Mind eventually caught up to his ears. “The Vessel’s what?”

The Orc frowned. “The guardians it flaunts in our faces. Are you alright, magus?”

“I’m fine, just clearing my head.” Felix cast out his Perception, hunting for any sign of these guardians they were hunting. Nothing but jungle surrounded them for at least a mile, though every square inch of it teemed with life. “The Vessel they guard. Which Vessel is it?”

“Is this a test?” the Orc asked, gruff voice unsure.

“Could be. Answer the question.”

“Siva’s. After their assault on the Sunaran sanctuary, they were forced south, and our company has been hunting them ever since.”

Sunara. That’s where the bunker was located, I think. “And the sanctuary?”

“It was destroyed, magus. All lives lost.”

Felix closed his eyes, suddenly mad at himself for asking. They were dead anyway, he reminded himself. But I could have gone on pretending.

He cleared his throat. “I’m Felix.”

The Orc bowed. “You honor me with your name, magus. I am known as Dobrak, though I have not earned my Swordname.”

Felix carefully kept his attention spread as they walked through the underbrush. “Swordname?”

Dobrak bowed again. “I forget that magi do not dabble in death as we do. In the days before the War, we would have been the same. We would have kept our Peacename for all our lives, never daring to hold a weapon. Yet the War changed all of us.” Dobrak tightened his grip on his hilt, and his armor shifted silently with his careful footwork as they moved forward. “A Swordname is chosen by our deeds on the battlefield. My granddame was known as Vanna Plagueburn, for defending the north against the Vile Risen of Yyero. I hope only to earn a name that would not dishonor her.”

Felix stared at the guy’s broad back as Dobrak blazed a trail through the jungle. “I’m sure you’ll earn a really good one.”

“May the Spirits allow it, magus.”

His Perception twinged, and Felix shoved his clawed hand forward, snagging a figure out of the shadows by the neck. It was a short, Gnomish woman with skin that looked like ashen dirt, and she kicked ineffectually in the air. “Magus! Please!”

Felix dropped her, and she landed heavily. “Sorry.”

“I—my apologies, magus. I should have signaled my return.” She took a breath, rubbing at her collarbone all the while. “My excitement got the better of me. The beasts reside a half league ahead.”

Dobrak’s sword flashed brighter. “Lead on.”

She vanished into the ground, swallowed whole—like Archie.

The other magi must have gotten the same message, because everyone was suddenly moving twice as fast. Their pace ate up the remaining distance, led through by the occasional emergence of their Stoneswimming scout.

“Don’t you want to put out that sword light?” Felix suggested.

“The guardians are blind.”

“What about the Vessel? I know they aren’t.”

Dobrak glanced at him over his shoulder. “That’s why we are here, magus. The Vessel left them behind. They are vulnerable…and so is Siva’s slave.” He stepped ahead, sword held in a guard position. “We kill them here, and it will leave the Vessel open for the assault to come.”

Assault? “What⁠—”

Dobrak lifted a hand, signing for silence. <We’ve come upon them.>

Ahead, within a circle of upthrust stones, easily a hundred creatures milled around in the dark. They were bent and twisted, all of them walking on four legs, though a few had wings of feathers or flesh. Pale hands stretched across their fur or scales, latched tight enough to draw blood, but also holding closed terrible wounds that bled a slow, white ichor.

Felix flinched, feeling a wash of pain from their collective Spirits that would topple a giant. Yet not a single one moaned in pain, and it was easy to see why: every creature’s mouth was stitched shut with silver thread. The same thread that bound their eyes and throats.

Oaththreads.

<The guardians,> Dobrak handsigned before bowing his head low. <May they have peace in the Ethereal.>

Felix clenched his fists, digging his own claws into his palms. The pain provided a surge of clarity, pushing him beyond the rage that threatened to consume him.

Siva, you sick fuck. I’m so glad I killed you.

The guardians were all Chimeras.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A single point reverberated through Felix’s awareness, rippling through the assembled Nymean host like a warm breeze.

It was a signal.

Every magus lifted their weapons and hands, unleashing a salvo of silent power that filled the jungle basin. The Skills all moved as one, all different but somehow harmonious, as if part of a greater whole. The guardians all glanced up at once, but it was too late. A tide of power swept over them all.

“Spirit’s Cascade!” Dobrak howled into the barrage, hurling himself from the ridge. His crystalline sword burst into furious light, swirling with a chorus of pale forms as he brought it slashing down. A line of light cleaved into the gathered Chimeras, breaking through hasty shields made from tarnished silver thread.

The Chimeras made no sound, but their withered limbs blossomed with argent, and they moved fast.

Felix stood atop the ridge, frozen in place as the battle unfolded before him. Claw, beak, fang, and horn met magic as the magi fought to put down the Chimera. Harnoq and tenku fought side by side, while wyverns lifted into the air to lash their tails at leaping magi. There were even a few strange, giant wolves with six legs and four curling horns rampaging among them, goring at the magi’s shields. Those looked the least emaciated out of all of them, but still silver thread trailed from their broken ribs and patchwork fur. Twisted as they were, Felix couldn’t help but see A’zek and Pit down there.

Real or not, the Chimera deserved more than this.

Unite the Lost!

The Skill spun up within him, sucking in potency from the jungle until the ridge became as transparent as glass. Yet when he tried to direct the power…it went nowhere. It failed.

Right. This wasn’t Ruin. This was done by her.

Below, power splashed off of the Chimera like water on a raincoat, which posed a real threat to the magi. In the moments since the attack began, over a dozen magi had fallen.

Adamant Discord!

Blue-white lightning erupted along Felix’s arms and lines of connection sprang up between him and the magi—and the Chimera. The latter were far thicker, and Felix instantly knew they were fed by his deep link to his own Companion. It echoed inside of him, stretching into a muffled distance he didn’t dare follow at that moment.

Felix seized the lightning.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

He hauled back so fast his arms thundered…and every single Chimera fell, their necks broken all at once.

You Have Killed⁠—!

Felix banished the notification, unwilling to read it. Instead, he leaped down as the bodies of the Chimera turned to tainted smoke.

“Was that you, magus?” Dobrak walked over to Felix, carefully wiping white ichor off of his crystalline blade. “The lightning?”

Felix stared at the nearest corpse and could only manage a nod.

“I am unsure what sort of magic that was. I am not a magus, only Swordsworn to them.” Dobrak bowed. “But you assuredly saved our lives.”

The Orc turned to the corpse Felix stood near and bowed again. “Honor to you as well, fallen brethren. May the Spirits welcome you home.”

Felix swallowed, trying to find the words to thank the guy, when he noticed the other magi and warriors were doing the same. All of them bowed before the Chimera, and more than a few were weeping.

He looked back at the smoking corpse, its feathers and bones almost completely consumed. Felix bowed. “I’m sorry. I hope…” He cleared his throat. “I hope you found peace.”

One of the magi shouted, but Felix didn’t make out the words before a dissonant buzzing assaulted his senses. He stepped back, talons lifted, and flared his Perception. The buzzing intensified, crawling across his heightened senses and raking at his Affinity, but he was used to it. The sound resonated with the same Dissonance in his core space, radiating unpleasant tingles across his chest and limbs.

Without a word, Felix leaped, landing neatly near a clutch of Nymean magi. They stood before a wide, Platinum Chest—the same sort of Chest that one would get for completing a really hard Quest. The chest was opened, and inside was a single object no bigger than Felix’s closed fist. One of the magi lifted it with an inscribed tool that looked like a cross between forceps and giant tongs. The object pulsed with power, leaking Mana in an aurora that swirled around it, solidifying into spikes of crystal before melting back into a liquid flow.

A chunk of bone?

That Does Not Belong To You, Nymean Wretches!

The Sylphaen Vessel of Siva appeared above them all, wings of woven hands stretched wide against the night. They glowed silver, save for the orb in their chest, which erupted in a golden fire that spewed onto the field. Silver threads followed, spearing toward the magi and warriors.

“No.”

Felix lifted his hands, activating Skein of Fate and Sonata of Dominance. Threads sundered, and fire extinguished beneath his Will, and the Vessel jerked backward. They almost seemed insubstantial, as if Felix were staring at a ghost rather than a person, but their rage was nearly physical.

Skein of Fate is level 124!

You Oppose The Divine! How?

“This is getting tiring,” he muttered. Empyrean Embrace!

This time, there was no resistance. The Vessel and Siva vanished, consumed in an instant.

Dark returned, and Felix found a great many magi staring at him in awe.

Mouths opened, but he didn’t have time to wade through their questions. “This bone,” he said, pointing at the artifact. “What is it? Why was it in that Chest?”

The magi holding the tongs traded glances with the others around her. “It is the Vessel’s weakness we have been searching for—but it is useless now. You…you just killed a Vessel of the Divine!”

“Yeah, sure. But how is that a—Nevermind.” He could just check for himself.

Emperor’s Vigilance!

A sensation of pressure jammed against Felix’s head, pushing at his awareness for only an instant before it parted. He’d already taken this Memory; it had no right to hide secrets from him, anymore.

Name: Skull Fragment Of Veridaan, She Who Was Broken

Type: Artifact (Primordial) (Enchanted)

Lore: A piece of Veridaan, known as the Supreme Primordial of Oaths, and the Cardinal of the Unseen Tide. It echoes with a piece of her power, long thought Lost.

Xovak’s Greater Approach - An enchantment designed to reduce the size of an object or creature.

Xovak’s Greater Binding - An enchantment designed to bind an object or creature to one’s Aspect.

Holy shit. The magi had started talking to him again, demanding to know what he had done, but Felix didn’t give them any of his attention. A fragment of a Supreme Primordial…and a Cardinal of the Unseen Tide? He licked his lips and brought up his Race and his Path.

Race: Primordial of the Unseen Tide (Superior)*

Path: Cardinal Fiend

“Shut up!” he snarled, silencing the magi that were still demanding answers. Dozens of questions boiled across his Mind. “You. Who was Veridaan?”

The Nym tucked his chin back like he’d been slapped. “A Cardinal. Lost to Ruin’s Advent.”

“Ruin’s Advent? What does that mean?”

“It was when the Ruin first scoured the Continent, during the first War of Creation.” The man’s face twisted, as if the words were being forced from him. As soon as they ended, he took a great gulping breath and broke out into a heavy sweat. “What are you doing to me?”

“Nothing.” Felix hadn’t even activated a Skill. He looked at another Nym. “Did the Ruin wipe out the Cardinals?”

The woman opened her mouth, but at first, no words emerged. Her eyes bulged, as if she were fighting to breathe, before she forced out a single exhalation. “No!”

“Who did, then?”

She clutched at her throat, confused and afraid. He let the question drop.Something was going on, but Felix couldn’t waste time to figure it out.

He jabbed a finger at the skull fragment. “Why is that connected to Siva? Why would it be her weakness?”

“The gods stole their power,” Dobrak said, stepping up to his side. “They were not always gods.”

Felix’s Mind whirled. Pieces were starting to slot into place, but he didn’t have a full picture. “The Cardinals were the highest kind of Primordial.”

“The very first,” Dobrak agreed.

“And Primordials cannot die,” he repeated.

“We change.”

Felix turned, slowly meeting the eyes of his Orcish ally, and found himself staring into bottomless wells of blinding blue. His armor had split, but there was no blood, only a wash of midnight ink that curled up and away from the man. Purple and red-gold shimmered within it, a hidden fire trapped in the dark, and too-white teeth spread into a rictus grin.

“You—”

The Beast slammed its hand into Felix’s chest, and it was like he exploded. Pain shot through every piece of himself, and a discordant cacophony burst through the center of his being.

Armored, I See.

Felix blinked. He was hundreds of feet away from the clearing, having plowed a wide trail through ridge, tree, and brush. He stood up. Dirt fell off of him, shed at the same time as his clothes, revealing diamond-hard scales across his entire Body.

Now This Is A Feature Worthy Of A Scion.

Armed. Armored. Not Sheltering Behind The Walls Of Your Sanctuary. But Out, Braving The Unknown.

Dobrak stalked forward, more of his humanoid shape discarded as the black ink washed it away. The Beast stalked toward Felix on all fours, its back easily twenty-five feet tall and covered in thick, armored plates. Blue eyes—his eyes—stared Felix down.

You Cannot Run.

Felix squared up, lifting his fists. “I don’t plan to.”

You Wonder, it mused. About Me. Us. Good.

Too many teeth stretched across the dark form, pale against the black.

What Is A Mind Without Curiosity?

It charged, moving faster than anything Felix had ever seen. It was like liquid lightning.

Stride of the King!

Adamant Discord!

The two met, lightning and shadow crashing in the dark jungles of Jaast. An explosion of liquid light shot into the trees, felling them by the dozen as the concussive blast uprooted everything within a hundred yards. The earth cratered, and suddenly Felix screamed as the Beast fell upon him.

Stride of the King is level 126!

…

Stride of the King is level 133!

Adamant Discord is level 138!

Felix pivoted, trying to escape the bulk of the Beast, but it was impossible. The thing was faster than him, and its talons raked bloody ribbons from his back and thigh with a single swipe. He stumbled, unable to walk on severed tendons. He flared Adamant Discord, shoving back at the Beast—but it grasped the same blue threads, and it yanked Felix right back.

A liquid paw slammed him to the earth, pinning him beneath its unsteady shape. The digits thinned, until a pair of too-large hands pressed into his chest. Felix ignited the earth with flame and sent its molten weight up against the Beast, but the shaping did nothing.

You Are Running Out Of Time.

The thing’s maw opened up above him, teeth glinting in the black.

Choose.

It snapped shut.

Yet that wasn’t the end.

Felix was suspended in the dark, crushed by the weight of a vast monster that still seemed to be sitting on his chest, even as threads of blue hooked into every inch of his flesh and pulled. A familiar agony rolled across him, a buzzing burning as pieces of himself were hurled into the black. His thoughts fuzzed, and Felix was dimly aware that even pieces of his Mind were flitting away, scattered from his head like leaves from the crown of a tree.

Crown…

Felix focused, pouring all his remnant Mind into the effort. The thought resounded, gathering pieces of himself into a semblance of order. He reached within… and summoned the Crown of Elysium.

A halo of Crescian Bronze speared into the dark, and something howled in pain. The pressure against him lessened immediately, but he knew it would only be for a moment. The Beast could not be held off for long.

Sound, Stone, or Scale. Which⁠—?

Sound was about being constantly prepared for danger. Stone was about blocking out all things, good or bad. And Scale was…

Scale was about facing the dark, ready to fight.

There was no choice here, but Felix made one anyway.

I choose Scale!

Light blossomed…and the dark approved.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Atar tumbled across the deck as the skiff banked hard to port, smashing his leg hard against one of those rope spool things. He fetched up hard against the far side, gut pressed into the half-wall.

keep holding on, fool!

“I’m…trying!” Atar dug his gray fingers into the wood. It caved slightly beneath his Strength. He wasn’t a frontline fighter by any means, but enough Tempers would make anyone hardy enough. “Stop giving me orders!”

then let me loose!

Atar didn’t even bother responding to that. “Elowen! Keep this wreck still!”

“Impossible!” The Theron was a glowing beacon in the storm of dark Essence that roiled across the decks. Her gleaming purple and gold Core Manifestation flipped through its pages every time she adjusted the helm. “Your friend is shifting his Intent every few seconds! It’s all I can do to avoid it!”

They had descended into the cyclone of power that Felix had summoned around himself, until his scaled back was less than two hundred strides below. Clouds of smoke swirled inward, pulled unceasingly toward its open maw, and avoiding its incredible pull was pulling their ship apart the closer they drew to its midnight bulk. Here and there, crumbling structures tumbled across the sky with a deceptive weightlessness. Cut stone, twisted metal, and broken wood careened past them, each pass nearly tearing through their sails or hull itself. Only Elowen’s preternatural skill kept them aloft, as each turn of the helm’s wheel set them on an unerring course through the chaos.

Her Tome of the Witness pulsed like a sprinter’s heartbeat.

Atar stumbled across the deck as the skiff leveled out once again and gasped as a chunk of Tower grazed the forward sail before collapsing into smoke. “How in damnation did you lose to Felix before?”

Elowen grunted, hauling back on the wheel. Blood was spilling down her chin, as if she’d bitten through her own tongue. “He hits very hard.”

“The prow!” Alister shouted from up ahead. His blue Mana flashed among their passengers, protecting them from a shower of splintered stone that hit the deck like hail. “Elowen!”

The long bowsprit sizzled away, its wooden turning to smoke before igniting with streaks of bright Mana. Elowen adjusted the wheel once more, and the dissolution stopped—but not before a full stride of it was pulled apart.

“We must get closer,” Zara said. She stood next to the Theron, her sea green hair a pop of color atop her stolen white robes. “I cannot reach his Mind from here!”

“I am trying,” Elowen shouted. “Grandmaster Tern! Can you steady us?”

The old Elf didn’t answer, and Atar lurched toward the starboard rail where the man had strapped himself tight. “We have new concerns!” Tern said, pointing below. “It seems we are not the only ones that wish to reach Mister Nevarre!”

Spread out a hundred strides below, just at the edges of the storm of Mana and Essence, were nearly a hundred flying ships. Sails of crimson, yellow, blue, and brown clustered together in a motley rainbow, filled to the brim with figures in corresponding battle robes.

Atar cursed. “The Towers are uniting against him!”

Mana surged, gathering upon those decks in great swathes…before firing at the beast.

Spells thundered into Felix’s strange flesh, exploding and freezing and slicing. Air burst, scattering the clouds as rain condensed into slashing razors. Power released on a scale Atar hadn’t seen before, as Journeymen, Adepts, and Masters unleashed their Skills against the beast devouring their city.

we must leave, atar! let the mages deal with the Cardinal!

You’ve said that before. What is that?

something that shouldn’t exist.

Stop being cryptic! What is happening to Felix?

i don’t know. But that thing he’s become? It is primal and untamed! can’t you feel it?

Atar shuddered. That naked Intent rode the air, invisible save for where it broke apart the world around it. The sensation was like the hot breath of a monster on his neck, and he had to fight down the panic that welled up from the Urge inside him.

The beast roared, and the magic vanished, pulled into its wide, toothy maw with a single breath. It lifted a huge claw, purple-black scales shining in the sun, and swung a single time.

Shields flared, force and earth and ice forming all at once, but they did nothing to stop the devastation. The beast’s claws tore through shield and ship with equal ease, splintering enchantments by the hundreds before plowing ranks of vulnerable mages.

Hundreds died in an instant.

“Now, while he’s distracted!” Zara thrust her hand forward, her magic blasting away an entire roof from their path. “Atar! Tern! Provide support! Elowen—Dive!”

i refuse! flee, you fools!

Spells from the Tower mages blasted outward, falling upon the beast like stars, and Elowen wove between them with an agility Atar couldn’t believe. They shot downward, wind howling in his ears, until Atar could count the individual scales upon Felix’s malformed back.

“Gird your loins, Flame.” Atar put a foot up onto the railing, letting white fire spill across his hands as the skiff tipped forward into the cyclonic swirl. “It is time to pay our debts.”

Pyreform Undying!

fine! we shall burn it all!

Ephemeral Evocation is level 50!

…

Ephemeral Evocation is level 85!

Journeyman Tier!

You Gain:

+20 AFI

+30 FEL

+30 RES

Adept Tier!

You Gain:

+55 AFI

+75 FEL

+75 RES

Power rippled through Felix as the Beast’s maw resolved into a smokier shadow. The restraints against him failed, and he nearly collapsed, but strengthened his spine just in time.

He refused to fall.

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Scale]!

Essence, Mana, and significance poured into him from the dark. It howled against his channels, an acrid potency that tore him apart even as it stitched him back together. Power flowed into his Void Sanctuary, turning it faster by the moment, even as it expanded with newfound music. A sensation of growth and destruction echoed across the Skill, crashing like walls of Fiendstone against the earth. An overwhelming desire to check it rose within him, but he didn’t have the time now.

With some effort, Felix focused beyond the sensation, fixing his gaze upon the Beast’s as it watched him from the deeper dark.

“I see you,” he growled.

The Feature settled into him with a final chime, like an iron file against crystal, and he saw more than the Beast.

He saw beyond the veil.

As his makeshift window had done before, his gaze alone parted the black around him, and Felix was suddenly plunged into a war. Magic hurtled from the sky, exploding against a vast, sweeping Intent that ate each projectile. Ships maneuvered, desperately evading the lightning-fast claws of the Beast.

Many were not fast enough.

Mages of the Towers are attacking me. Idiots! They were going to die, unless they had something far stronger than Felix up their sleeves.

“Get away!” he tried yelling, but he knew his voice could not penetrate the midnight hide he was locked within. “Beast! Let me go!”

You Are Not Complete.

A flash of movement caught Felix’s attention. A skiff shot overhead, and a figure made of charred bones leaped from its deck, their limbs trailing streamers of white fire. A woman with sea green hair followed, lifted atop a conjured wave.

I Will Remove Your Distractions.

“No!” Felix bellowed, but it was too late. Titanic claws swung at the skiff and his friends…just as his vision failed him.

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 125!

…

Emperor’s Vigilance is level 132!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+400 PER

+300 AFI

+...

No matter his rage, the black consumed him.

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Compounded Fear]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

Fuck you!

Unite the Lost burned, and Felix stuffed all the significance he could into the Skill. Rotted layers of stained enamel fell from the Essence, until it gleamed with new facets. A gemstone the size of his head, it flared with unalloyed radiance.

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Undaunted Sight]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence of Undaunted Sight]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence of Undaunted Sight]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Vision - Perceive The Truth

Verdict - Speak The Truth

Valor - Fight For Truth

By the time he swiped away the System notifications, Felix already stood in another place.

Clouds swirled past him deceptively slow, and the sky was lit up by a wash of reds, oranges, and pinks as the sun set over a distant horizon. He was on the deck of a Manaship, though it wasn’t like any he’d seen before. Smooth, almost organic looking structures surrounded him, forming railings and masts and sloping walls set with inscribed doors. Sigaldry was everywhere, though little of it was on the surface. Aside from the floating lanterns that were only just turning on, there was a hum of power that threaded through the seamless deck in patterns that Felix found familiar.

Vision - Perceive The Truth, something said, and this time it brought a flash of pain. Felix jerked forward and spun.

There was nothing there, yet when he put his hand to the back of his neck, he found blood.

Great, it’s getting creepier. He shook himself. Focus. You need to finish Tempering, then you can get out of here.

Around him was an entire fleet of Manaships, perhaps five hundred or more, each packed with magi. Theron, Geists, Sylphaen, Naiads and even Nixies filled the decks, their robes snapping in the rising breeze. Nym, too, of course. There were more of them than any other, and they glowed with mantles of power that were steps beyond what the others possessed.

Will Unyielding. Soul of Fire, he thought. Born to be magi.

Between the ships, serpentine Dragons and varied Chimera flew. Each of them bore a rider, a lance or incredibly long spear braced against their saddles, and the banners of long-dead Houses streamed from poles at their backs.

The ships were flying over some nameless stretch of land he didn’t recognize from any of his journeys. He looked up, studying the stars. He’d learned a bit of navigating during his time on the Continent, but nothing above him looked familiar.

Am I in a different hemisphere? Or have the stars changed? Felix took a calming breath. How many thousands of years have passed since this happened?

A shout went up among the fleet, and suddenly the magi were pointing toward the setting sun. There, hidden among the blinding light, three moons rose.

From them, a black cloud emerged.

Those are monsters, he realized. They galloped across the sky as if it were a flat plain, their malformed Bodies covered in pale strips of flesh, silver cords, and gleaming metallic blue armor. Hundreds of thousands of monsters.

Spells unfurled across his ship as each magus readied their power. Felix shifted from foot to foot, unsure whether he should join in—when he spotted the three figures at the head of the horde.

Two Minotaurs, their heavily muscled Bodies gleaming with metallic blue armor…and a Sylphaen forged from pale flesh and grasping claws.

Vessels of Siva…and the Twins.

Felix wasn’t sure how he knew the latter, but it was as certain in his Mind as the former. He flexed his claws, eager to face them both again. Siva was a ghost of her former self, likely due to him having defeated her so many times, but the Twin Minotaurs were solid and formidable.

A great barrage erupted from the fleet, all at once, and Felix threw his hands up over his face. The kickback nearly sent him to his knees as the Manaships unloaded a salvo of firepower, and the sheer heat from it bit at his skin. Thousands of monstrosities fell from the sky, melted and sliced apart, turning to black smoke before they ever hit the distant earth—yet it was less than a dent in the horde’s strength.

They charged onward, and the magi rose to meet them.

Spells flung, as varied as they were spectacular to witness. Cages of living earth ensnared hundreds, while black tar boiled flesh from bone, and chains of ice punched through hearts and skulls with unerring accuracy. Dragons and Chimera fell among them in waves, trampling the beasts with magic and pure brawn.

Disgusting Creatures, one of the Minotaurs said, before slashing out with a metallic blue hand.

A wave of force rippled across the magi’s line, and in its wake, the Nym and their allies were sliced apart. Blood burst from perfectly sharp wounds as pieces of Chimera and their riders fell out of the sky, dead before they knew what hit them.

Felix flexed his legs, eager to join the fray. The urge to save people, even Memories, was so strong that he shook as he stopped himself. You’re not here for that. Vision. The Feature is Vision, so look!

The Vessels mowed down the magi, cutting through Dragons and Chimera with every gesture of their vile limbs. Felix grimaced, forcing himself to watch it all. The battle was gruesome beyond belief, but his only way out was to finish Tempering. He needed to⁠—

Felix spotted something. It was ghostly and pale, but it shifted among the horde like a serpent. For a brief, terrifying moment, he thought it was the Beast again…but this was too light. Too blue. It almost looked like⁠—

“A connection,” he said, eyes widening.

A pale blue line the size of a dozen football fields shifted in the air, stretching off the backs of the Vessels and the monster horde itself…and connecting to the three, distant moons.

Not chains. They aren’t imprisoned on their moons yet…right? Felix’s Mind whirled. So if they aren’t imprisoned, why are they so deeply connected to the moons?

Words from another Memory filtered back to him like he was hearing them for the first time. Lohar had said Vellus had died, and her moon had vanished with her.

She didn’t die. She’d been imprisoned well ahead of her siblings, for some reason. Felix knew that much. He licked his lips. When I killed Siva…her moon imploded. The gods and the moons are tied together.

Destroy One And You Destroy The Other.

Felix jerked back, but he couldn’t evade the dark claws that slammed him to the deck. A weight beyond mountains crushed him to the sleek boards until they buckled, the bone-white stone powdering beneath him.

A Feature Of Knowledge…At The Cost Of Awareness. White teeth bared themselves from the dark, and Felix could just make it out from his peripheral vision. Useful…But Flawed.

The claw closed around his throat, and Felix strained. Yet he couldn’t breathe, let alone move.

Try Again, Scion.

The Beast snapped his neck.

CHAPTER NINE

“Jesus fuck!”

Felix exploded to his feet, breaking the flagstones beneath him as if they were glass. He put his hands to his neck, tentatively at first, then with growing confidence. It wasn’t broken, and when he pulled his hands away, there was no blood.

He took a breath and looked around. “What new hell did I walk into now?”

Felix blinked.

“Oh. Well, that’s a nice change of pace.”

He stood upon a walkway made of pale blue stone, but around him was a meadow as wide as a city block. The walkway traced along its edges but did not bisect it, leaving the green interior to run wild with grasses and flowers. Insects darted about, highlighted by the early morning sunlight that shone slantwise from the eastern hills. They moved in clouds that ebbed and waned as the lilt of song washed across the air, as if they were dancing.

Which made sense; the singers were dancing as well.

A great crowd of Nymean men and women filled the meadow, armor set aside for flowing robes of pale green and luminescent purple. Wide belts of silver holstered rods of polished wood and stone, while others held staffs made of woven saplings still fresh with green leaves. They stepped in time with one another, pressing together and pushing apart by turns, hands lifted and feet turned just so. Their voices were raised in a bright melody that resonated with the deep portions of Felix’s gut, and somehow it brought forth the scent of fresh turned loam and newborn shoots.

They’re Chanting. Magic was being performed, harnessed and amplified by the Harmonics that rang out into the morning air. But it’s more than that.

Skills were being used, but they weren’t like anything Felix had seen on the Continent. Magic blossomed around the Nym in wavering sheets of green gold, purple-black, and crimson. It flowed into the earth with each descending note, before climbing once again as the melody rose, carried aloft on warm spring winds. Those winds rose up, drawing Felix’s attention toward the nearby mountain⁠—

That’s not a mountain. That’s a Spirit Tree!

Rising beyond the wide meadow, humungous brown roots curled across the landscape, covered in entire towns, walls and houses and even spire-like towers. The distance was deceiving, or perhaps it was the scale that was so offputting, because they seemed to be doll houses at first glance, but Felix could pick out people that walked along those far off thoroughfares. The roots were incredible, and they were nothing to the trunk they connected to—the Spirit Tree’s bulk dominated the horizon, covering more space than Felix could see without turning his head, and it rose at least a mile into the sky. A canopy of dark green leaves spread outward on branches at least twice the thickness of its roots, throwing a shadow over the western countryside as the sun rose slowly into the sky.

“Holy crap,” he muttered. The Spirit Tree before him was probably the same height as the Atlantes Anima, but it was at least twice as wide, and Atlantes was an Elder Spirit Tree.

Verdict - Speak The Truth.

The whisper came and went, traveling on the ceaseless breeze that ruffed Felix’s hair. He didn’t even try to find the source anymore, he just focused on what he was watching.

“What truth?” he asked. There wasn’t an answer. “Show me.”

As if appearing out of the morning dew itself, new figures had joined the Nymean Chanters. Henaari, Korvaa, and Geist were scattered among the Nym in far fewer numbers, their legs taking up the dance as their voices joined the song. Fire sparked, and chill crystals crackled among the ever-shifting pattern, soon joined by rumbling stone, crawling vines, and swirls of near-invisible air as twenty-foot-tall Greater Elementals appeared. They, too, began to move, each according to their nature.

All at once, the power of the song redoubled, and Felix finally recognized it.

It’s the Aria of the Green Wilds. The harmonies of it rolled through him, building up in his chest before it burst into dazzling shapes. Images flitted across his Mind: new buds, wet with dew, rising in the first blush of spring.

“Let sing your hearts, magi. The Green Wilds recognizes your passion for its indelible fecundity.”

A large sloth, easily as big as the largest Elemental, moved slowly among the dancing folks. Its green fur hung from its body like a coarse waterfall, and upon its back grew a forest of moss and fronds that swayed with each careful step. Green vines and golden blossoms intertwined across its forehead, providing a stark contrast for the pure black eyes that stared from beneath its heavy brows.

I know that thing. It had looked different the last time Felix had seen it, but those eyes and its presence were undeniable. Vess had told Felix its name. “Grim Nightshade.”

The Grim looked at him—first with surprise and then curiosity, each emotion radiating from its Spirit. Yet it came no closer. Instead, it lifted its long neck as if rising above the Harmony flowing around itself.

“We sing this dawn of new beginnings as our elder friend takes on a new purpose in their Ages-long life.” It lifted a heavy arm draped in dangling fur, and claws the size of swords drew a slow pattern in the air. Liquid Mana lingered after each stroke, forming a shape. “We honor them with our movements and voices as they end their time of choice.”

The lines and circles finished and flashed, the shape of some sort of sigil activating. At the same time, the dancing magi released their own Mana, and it rose from their suddenly still formations like the ghost of their movements. It burned, turning from vapor to liquid to a sharp crystal as the power congealed, and the Grim’s sigil spread outward on lines of near-invisible power, connecting to the greater shape. It all lifted, straight up, until the crystalline pattern stood on its edge, and Felix could make out its full complexity.

The dance was a sigil, too? He’d never considered that as a way of doing magic. The magi had formed the inscription into the very earth, bending grasses and scuffing dirt with every step. To do what, though?

“We give them water,” the Grim continued. Geysers of water poured from some of the Greater Elementals, soaking into the base of the nearest roots.

“We give them light.” Fire Elementals rose up, spinning their magic until beams of radiance poured down upon the Tree.

“We give them power, to follow their choice to the end.”

At that, the Grim made a gentle gesture with its sword claws, and the crystalline sigil shot forward. It crossed the surprising distance between the meadow and the trunk of the Spirit Tree, finally finding purchase against its coarse bark.

“Let the Green Wilds flow through you, Elder Telamones.”

The power sank into the Tree, and from that point, a change rippled outward. Dark brown bark flattened and paled, smoothing out into a color and texture that reminded Felix of a birch tree. The cream color spread, engulfing the roots and the towns upon them before rising up the trunk. It crawled in time with the melody that the magi still sang, lifting faster and faster across the surface of the Spirit Tree, until even the branches were transformed. From there, the dark green leaves fluttered as if by hurricane-force winds. Between one gale and the next, however, they shifted into a bright crimson that all but glowed in the morning sun.

Elder Spirit Tree Telamones Anima Has Evolved!

It Has Become An Ancient Spirit Tree!

There was only wonder in Felix’s Spirit as he witnessed the transformation, but awe soon joined it as power rippled out into the air, surrounding the Spirit Tree with an aurora of golden-green.

Power Gifted Is Repaid.

Let Sing The Words Of Renewal’s Rise.

A wave of potency rolled from the Tree’s roots, flashing across the meadow and onto the distant countryside like a tide of life. In its wake, the grasses, wildflowers, and trees visibly grew by an order of magnitude. Blossoms the size of doors tilted toward the sun as if to drink in its light, as the shadows of groaning trees stretched over the meadow, even as bright fruit grew heavy upon their limbs.

Even the Elementals were affected, their powers expanding in the wake of Telamones’ gift. Lesser Elementals metamorphosed into Greater, and Greater Elementals grew until they were twice their former size.

Magi sang slower, their chorus resolving as the final touches on the Spirit Tree faded, and the Elementals around them calmed. Silence overcame the meadow until only the creak of wind and crackle of elemental flames could be heard.

Felix exhaled. He felt…cleansed, almost. The power of the Spirit Tree hadn’t touched him, but after all the horrors he’d been forced to face, this was practically a vacation.

Of course it couldn’t last.

Sour Dissonance cut through the sweet Harmony like a chainsaw through wood. A broken buzzing splintered the silence into uncountable pieces as a creature made of writhing tendrils and slick feathers tore through the trunk of the Spirit Tree.

Bark burst in all directions as the tendrils resolved into the malformed shape of a massive bird, easily half the Spirit Tree's width. It was crowned by a halo of shadow that was immediately recognizable—a piece of Felix even resonated with the thing’s Divinity, though he did not recognize its new shape.

The Fathom.

The Divine monstrosity splintered the Spirit Tree, ripping its ancient trunk apart with tendrils of dark blue shadow. A deep hole opened up at the end of its thick neck, like a depthless tunnel in place of anything resembling a face. A dark miasma rolled from it, accompanied by a roar of vicious, bloodthirsty glee.

The Aria of the Green Wilds was dashed, its delicate balance drowned out by the Divine. The Elementals were hurled back by the force of its roar, and the Nymean singers fell out of their organized patterns as panic clutched their Spirits. Shouts filled the meadow, followed soon by the tramp of running feet as people fled the meadow. Above, miniature copies of the Fathom clawed their way down from the canopy and shot toward the earth.

Darkness descended upon the morning, but it was met by a burgeoning gold. The copies were tossed back, their approach met by shields of crystal.

The Fathom bellowed wordlessly.

Felix jolted as the earth trembled beneath him. Nearby, dozens of ten-foot-tall stone constructs stomped out from a nearby structure he’d never noticed. Eidolon Exults marched forward in perfect formation, their Spirits unveiled and exuding the power of Grandmasters. They were led by men and women wearing Crescian Bronze armor and wielding staffs topped by faceted Domain cores. As one, they rose into the air, power radiating off of them in waves as they fought back the tendrils of Noctis' creatures with barriers and spells that shaped the air into chains of crystal.

Chains snapped, blades sliced, and monsters roared.

Felix took a few gulping breaths, unsure what he should do. Should he join? Could he gain greater insight into whatever this was, if he did? Or should he⁠—

“This was the first time they lost a Spirit Tree.”

The enormous sloth was next to him, somehow, despite the fact that the Grim Nightshade was moving further among the meadow, gathering up the scattered Elementals. Felix looked at it cautiously, but the spirit was gazing upon the Fathom as it writhed among the dying remnants of Ancient Telamones.

"They feed upon significance," it said.

"The gods?"

"Yes. Mana, surely, Essence, of course—but it is significance upon which they base their power. It holds them, lifts them aloft.” The Grim dug its massive claws into the walkway, tearing slow furrows into the stone. “The Nym trusted the gods once, and in their naivete, they attempted to broker peace."

The Grim shook its great head, and petals from the golden blossoms on its brow tumbled free.

"The Threnodies of War cannot be culled from the Green Wilds, and none of us can escape our nature. The gods strive to dominate, to claim mastery over the Grand Harmony and all its facets. They broke the peace after a thousand years, striking here first, but it was only the beginning. Noctis infected Telamones' roots, and it spread among the Wilds, harming the guardians at the borders. My creatures."

A rage rose up in the Grim Nightshade, and it was like looking on the fury of a storm contained within those dark eyes.

"The Green Wilds were bent, and they never truly recovered while the Nym fought their war."

In the distance, the Eidolons clashed with the monstrosities that pursued the malformed Fathom-bird. The twin of the Grim rallied the Elementals, ascending into the air and unleashing their vast power against the monstrous creatures. Shadow flesh was sundered, and ichor dropped like rain, but it was too late for the Spirit Tree.

Telamones’ leaves were ablaze, not with fire, but with a dark, smokeless force that could not be extinguished, regardless of the amount of water poured upon it. The not-flame sizzled, consuming the Spirit Tree as if feasting on its very Essence.

Felix's eyes narrowed as he sensed a shifting weight. It wasn't Essence the dark flame was consuming, but significance…and with every piece gone, the Fathom-bird expanded, its tendrils reaching further into the vast battle.

The Grim turned its depthless gaze towards him. "Do not trust the Divine, Felix."

With a great, thunderous crash, the Tree fell. The sky darkened, transforming into a starless expanse, illuminated only by a gleaming yellow moon.

Bear Witness, Scion, To The Start Of A Doomed War.

Remember It.

Speak Of It.

Learn From Their Weakness.

The vision twisted, the war-torn meadow vanishing into stretching mists—but a claw latched onto Felix’s forearm. He jerked back but was unable to move. The Grim’s Strength was incredible.

“Do not trust them, either,” the spirit hissed. “They’re clawing their way out, but you cannot let them con⁠—”

With a sudden pop, purple-black flesh closed over the mossy giant, and it was gone.

Continue Onward, Scion, the Beast growled. You Are Not Yet Done.

CHAPTER TEN

Between one backward step and the next, the dark flesh parted, and Felix found himself in yet another new place.

"Don't trust the Beast, huh?" Felix rolled his neck. It cracked and sent a shudder of relief through him. "I knew that already, Grim."

He looked around. As if the blasted spirit tree hadn't been bad enough. Now, he stood before a wide pit within which boiled a miasmic stew. It took him a minute or so to realize that he was staring at the remnants of a magic city, replete with soaring crystalline arches and beacons of strange energy. The center of the city, however, had collapsed entirely. That miasmic stew bubbled and sloshed, filled by the oozing trails that poured from nearby open windows and gaping doorways.

The remains of living things.

A Primordial raged in the muck, biting through armored warriors that tried and failed to face its strange might. Its body was wild and corrupted, the flesh grown too much across its bony frame.

Flesh curse. Felix could almost see the crimson rot exuding from the Primordial's body, infecting the ground and all things that lived within the radius of its power. The creature was mad, and whenever it wasn’t attacking Nymean warriors, it was snapping at its own limbs as it writhed in the muck, demolishing more of the city as if by accident.

He flared Emperor's Vigilance. Only a single line populated his sight.

Name: Primordial Of Vanished Horizons

Manaships appeared around him—or perhaps they had been there all this time—but now armies of the Golden Empire dropped from their decks. Magi and warriors alike descended, riding Chimeras and Dragons as they sought out the Primordial. Song and magic coiled together, firing from their hands as one.

Mad or not, the creature wasn’t stupid.

It vanished, letting the salvo of power demolish the vile muck instead. Space warped, leaving strange trails of light that twisted across circular points in the air. Felix frowned, eyes tracing across the landscape to find the thing, and only barely noticed it reappear…this time directly above the Manaships.

It’s slipping through liminal space, he realized. Across the horizon.

It slashed out, its limbs spreading farther than they should as its power broke through the Manaships and the wards they contained. The sky exploded.

Engaging With A Struggle You Cannot Win Is Not Valorous.

It Is The Binding Of Pride.

Felix frowned at the voice of the Beast once more. He very much missed Hunger.

The scene shifted, moving hours, perhaps days later, as the Nym bound the Primordial within a mountain fastness. Magical constructs leveraged the coiled, unconscious flesh deep within a familiar Mana Well, before lowering the entire structure into a dark chasm. As the circular seal settled over its top, Felix spied others in the distance—not just two or three, but hundreds, all contained within a vault too vast to comprehend.

The Nym had filled the interior of the mountain with more than one monster. Prisons for creatures they could never kill.

You Must Listen, Scion.

"What are you talking about, Beast? They won this fight."

They Did Not End Their Enemy.

They Merely Postponed Their Own Defeat.

Again the vision switched without warning. Another battlefield spread out before him, and Felix growled at the casual destruction of an interminable war.

He stood before a tall city between two mountain ranges where a dark forest was toppled, and deep crevices had torn the land. The city wasn't as big as he remembered, but Felix could tell it was Shelim. He knew those towers anywhere, and that meant⁠—

A roar split the air.

Felix narrowed his gaze, spying an army of magi that were currently facing down a massive creature. It appeared to be a cross between a prowling tiger and an armored dragon. It had too many eyes and far too many mouths, and its flesh flowed like liquid.

It was the Unending Maw.

"This isn't the same enemy, Beast."

No. It Is Not.

A note crawled up Felix's spine and he turned, just in time to witness the moons as they rose above the mountains. They peeked through the clouds, glimmering every so faintly as Shelim’s fate unraveled. Bronze, yellow, and silver.

Felix bared his teeth at the sky. Siva’s watching.

The Maw moved, its Body splitting into a thousand different barbed shapes that speared through the Nymean army. People died as its jaws crunched. The Maw glowed with power, turning the very earth into smoke as ranks of magi were ripped into Essence and Mana.

A horn sounded, and the Maw froze, its too-many eyes widening.

From the sky came light and fire. A new army arrived, carried upon gilded clouds that resolved into a dozen massive, bone-white ships. All of them were haloed by multicolored Mana, sparking off of them in crystalline arcs. At their center, a figure floated upon the breeze, draped in diaphanous robes but no armor. Instead, she held in her hands a hooked sword, a crown of Crescian Bronze, and two other objects.

The Herald. Felix squinted. With my sword and crown—but what are those?

One object was in the Herald’s off-hand, and the other was strapped to her hip—but in both cases, they were foggy and out of focus, as if his eyes refused to linger on anything like specific details. No matter how he flared his Emperor's Vigilance, all he could sense was that they radiated a halo of power that only added to the Herald's already incredible Spirit. She dominated the horizon, and she was doing nothing.

The Maw froze. The Herald lifted Inheritor's Will and one other foggy item.

"Stay your hunger, Veridaan! Let not the Ouranic slaves bind your Fate.”

The Maw snarled but said nothing. Instead, it grew a thousand vast wings from its twisted form and launched itself to the sky. Madness burned in its eyes.

The Herald lifted her chin, her dark curls catching the light of the setting sun. Her eyes flashed. “Then fall before the Chthonic Host.”

Music swelled, and it was a sound beyond anything Felix had ever heard—so vast he couldn't comprehend any of it, save that it shook him to his very soul.

The vision blurred, moving forward faster than he could track the sounds tumbling across his consciousness. Felix couldn’t halt it any more than the march of time itself, but this dashed away his focus with every passing second. In his bones, he knew that if he lingered too long on the strains of Memory, he’d be torn apart.

Power clashed.

Mountains moved.

In the end, as things resolved once more to his sight, a crater had been broken into the deepest foundations of the earth. The Maw was within it, unconscious, with a towering spike of Crescian Bronze through its heart.

The Herald floated just above it, bloodied, and the host around her broken. Her great ships had been knocked to the ground, their bone-white husks half-consumed as sunset smeared the world into a sanguine orange.

"I know this ending," Felix said between short, panicked breaths. His head still rang from the chaos of the battle, and the song would not flee his memory. "The Henaari⁠—”

Know Nothing.

Truth Cannot Be Saved From The Deleterious Ruin.

The sunset vanished, as did the Maw's captured body and the Herald's host. Shelim was restored, spreading out before him as it never had in real life. Towers rose to the sky, each one so distinct from the other that Felix could easily identify his tower. Vvim's.

The sight was marred by a calamitous thunder. It cracked across the sky as the blue broke open, and purple-black fire rained down. Meteors of it fell out of the charred firmament, each one impacting the earth before erupting into a wave of boiling static. Towns dissolved before it, their domed structures turning to dust as the black heat came close. It rolled over the wilderness like a tsunami, heedless of forests or mountains as it devoured the structures of the Nym.

This Is Your Enemy, Scion.

Remember It Well.

The black wave rolled across him, and his vision glitched. Shapes bent and refracted, turned out of true as reality itself rejected him.

And, through it all, he could see the traitorous moons.

The Chthonic Host.

Learn From Their Failures, Scion.

Deep beneath the earth, a slumbering Primordial twitched within its cage.

You Cannot Forge Power From Flawed Stock.

Valor Is A Lie.

Restored Or Not, Siva’s Stolen Potency Does Not Serve You.

Reject It.

Seek Another Source.

“I don’t have the time!”

You Are The Scion.

We…

Creation Bends To Our Will.

Around Felix, the Ruin flexed, its false image parting like curtains. Felix saw a monstrous hand reach out toward a Manaship, tearing through sigil, ward, and mage with ease.

They died, turned to smoke that poured into the black flame.

Take Their Power, Scion.

Forge Thyself Anew.

New Essences rolled through Felix. Motes of potency that sang of Adept and Master Tier Tempers…even a single Grandmaster.

System notifications blipped into his vision, crowding him as much as the Beast’s insistent monologue. Pressuring him. As if⁠—

Felix’s eyes widened.

As if they were both afraid.

Pieces clicked in his Mind as the Tempering visions settled into place, and Felix’s heart pounded a rapid tattoo across the dark.

The Beast was afraid. Of what? Felix swallowed. It’s afraid of the gods and the Ruin.

It’s afraid of failure.

“No.” He swiped closed all of the notifications, and the System flashed red at him. More came, pressed by the illuminated smoke that overtook the black flames of Ruin. Felix flared his Will, shaping his Intent into a blade that sliced the notifications in half.

They burst, sizzling back into Essence and Mana.

“I choose what I’m Tempering,” he said. “And I’m taking [Essence of Undaunted Sight]!

Felix could sense a resonance with the Essence and with one Feature in particular.

It Has Already Failed Your Task.

It Is Flawed.

You Do Not Know What You Risk⁠—

Fuck off.

His Emperor’s Vigilance needed to complete its own pattern to push itself to Grandmaster. It needed to become more of what it already was…and Felix could see the path.

“An Emperor must be brave,” he said, voice echoing around him. “He must have goals. But without judgment, all those goals and bravery will dissolve away. Without judgment, there is no action. Without action, there is no advancement.”

Truth will lead me to my goals. The Feature burned within him, humming hard enough that his limbs trembled.

All else is smoke and shadow.

“I choose Verdict!”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence of [Verdict]!

System power coursed through Felix's veins, manifesting within him as his Skill took on the essence of a verdict. The Emperor's Vigilance spun to life, the pattern beneath its world shape rippling as a piece of an incomprehensibly complex song resonated throughout Felix's core space. It called up other echoes, quivering within the darkness of his chest. A veritable chorus shook within him as other Skills took up the Emperor's Vigilance's song.

Felix's eyes blazed, turning into founts of lightning and red-gold flame as lines of light spread outward onto his face, burning themselves into his flesh.

Synergy Detected!

Emperor’s Vigilance Resonates With Alchemy, Exploration, Tracking, Aria Of The Green Wilds, Ephemeral Evocation, And Manasight.

Do You Wish To Combine Them?

Y/N

WARNING!

Combining Requires A Great Deal Of Potency!

Failure To Combine Means Death!

Every single Skill under my Vigilant Skill Array? If he combined them all, the array would collapse into a single ability. Was that wise? Felix hadn't a clue, but he hadn't said no to a combination yet—he didn't plan on starting now. Yes.

Mana, Essence, and significance gathered around him, pumping inward from the beast even as it pulled from the depths of his core space. The Skills, the song of the Skills, rang out different melodies, all but carrying a strident note of familiarity. The same one that allowed them to form a Skill array now expanded, stretching a half measure here and there as pieces of their power drew closer. Each pattern pulled tighter, casting off sparks that burned through Felix's chest like hot irons stabbing into vulnerable flesh.

The system sparked across all of them, drawing them closer as the weight of significance fell upon them like a lead blanket. A glissando between Skills formed, shifting the song across their disparate Skill arrays. Felix grimaced, the pain of their movement a hot agony that radiated out through his bones and his blood.

Due To Synergy Among The Primordial Essence And Your Skills, Emperor’s Vigilance, Alchemy, Exploration, Tracking, Aria Of The Green Wilds, Ephemeral Evocation, And Manasight Have Combined Into Unseen Beholder (Divine)!

Level Is Maintained!

Unseen Beholder (Divine), Level 125!

Your eyes have witnessed things no mortal has seen in Ages beyond reckoning. This has changed you, and your bloodline resonates with unrealized potential. None but the Divine and higher beings may evade your sight, and you can freely pierce the veil of magic, rendering all lower Tier illusions impotent. Adjustments to your core space increase in speed and decrease in difficulty per Skill level, and the consumption and identification of Memories is easier per Skill level.

Power thrummed through him as the Skills merged, turning from seven into one, while the pattern itself tripled in size and complexity. A planet formed where once several spun in an easy balance. The Skill Array collapsed, releasing shockwaves that smashed through the Harmony and Dissonance echoing from his cores.

Yet, beyond the pain, Felix's mind sped up. His thoughts whirled onward faster than ever before, even as the System and the Beast seized him once again.

Impudent.

One Last Chance.

Choose Wisely, Scion.

Pyreform Undying is level 15!

Fire rained down on the malformed beast, yet not a single lick of flame touched his midnight hide. All of it was absorbed by the skeleton flying through the air.

finally! some good food!

White-green crescents sliced through the afternoon sunlight, gleaming just bright enough that Atar was able to twist his body to avoid their whistling passage. It was a far easier task due to having very little in the way of flesh, but one still chipped his ulna.

there!

Manaships surged forward into the maelstrom of Essence, while mages slung spells from the decks, trying with all their might to bring Felix down. Now, however, they had spied him.

Several cried out words of warning, their eyes wide as magic danced across their fingertips. "Kill the monsters!"

i believe they mean you.

Clearly.

Atar pivoted, flaring the white fire streaming around his charred bones. It was a strange thing, being a skeleton. He had little memory of his first time in this form, and he'd only used it earlier for a quick battle that morning. Now, he could feel his bones grind against each other as he twisted midair, avoiding the chains of stone and shadow that soared up from nearby ships.

atar! get away from these fools! focus your attacks!

I can't let them close with the skiff.

His friends were circling Felix again, Elowen guiding the ship with her preternatural awareness, and Zara leaning over the side. Her swirling water magics were so close to the monster now. They only needed time.

Time that the mages were unwilling to give.

A ship with red sails charged ahead of the others, covered in crimson-robed mages flickering with orange mana.

The Carmine Tower. If he could have, Atar would have smiled wider. As it was, his skeletal grin flashed as white fire billowed from his jaws.

yes! perfect!

"Loose your rage!" a Master Tier mage howled.

Fire magic hurtled toward Atar from every direction, bolts and beams and swirling explosions all firing off at him at once. But he simply raised his charred hands, and every bit of it was pulled into his bones. Flame hummed happily as each bit was absorbed into their glowing chest—until the barrage faded, leaving mages staring in shock as Atar stood against them, hovering in a plume of white fire.

Pyreform Undying is level 22!

A bearded man in elaborate robes stomped onto the prow of the Carmine ship, his hands covered in enchanted bracelets and rings as he lifted them aloft. "Dark Firestorm!”

Explosions tore across the sky. A dozen all at once before they dropped. Massive, twenty-pace columns of flame that speared toward the earth all around Felix and his beast before twisting the flames connecting into a tornado of fire that mimicked the storm of essence the beast was still consuming.

Elowen jerked the helm, pulling the skiff back away from the firestorm, skimming its edge as it whipped past them. With even that touch, however, the hull caught flame. It burned furiously, charring the whole of the port side keel before Zara's water sizzled against it. Her magic turned to steam, the firestorm’s heat too much for her Skill, but the Naiad did not stop. A layer of water rippled across the ship, boiling where it touched the hull, as Elowen piloted them up and away once more.

Atar turned away from the firestorm, staring down at the smirking Grandmaster.

what are you doing? go absorb it!

Atar ignored the Urge and instead flew forward, landing heavily among the Carmine mages. He wasn't sure if it was surprise or admiration that made them stay their attacks, but they stayed their hands.

"Carmine Tower," Atar said, "listen to me. We are trying to stop this, but you must hold your flames! We have a plan⁠—!”

“It's a trick!” someone cried. “The monster stole a mortal’s voice!”

"Kill it," said the Grandmaster.

The Carmine mages attacked instantly, their fiery power smashing into Atar and hurling him back against the railings of the ship. Flame and heat poured into him, instantly absorbed into his receptive Pyreform, though it did little for the concussive blasts that made his head ring and his teeth ache.

Pyreform Undying is level 23!

"You need to listen to me!” he managed between explosions. “I'm trying to save you!"

The Grandmaster bellowed something that Atar couldn't make out over the roar of beast and flame. All he could feel was the deck heave beneath him, hurling him up into the air and shattering the bones in his left leg.

they are not worthy of your mercy! end them!

"Fine!" Atar made a sharp gesture with both hands. The Carmine Mages gasped, the very air pulling from their lungs as their power was yanked from the air. A river of white fire flowed through him like veins and arteries, gathering within his ribcage like a beating heart where it pulsated, aching to send strength through his bones and dew, even as it repaired the shattered remnants of his femur.

Pyreform Undying is level 24!

…

Pyreform Undying is level 28!

Apprentice Tier!

You Gain:

+10 STR

+10 END

+10 WIL

kill them all, the Urge snarled. show them the consequences of laying their hands upon us!

Atar’s rage climbed his naked throat, distinct from the Urge's, but he swallowed it back down. Flame gave an indignant snort, but Atar lifted his hands away from the mages.

“Stars of the Sovereign!”

Sharp-edged motes of incandescent power shot outward, punching through bright orange searing through the deck and the masts all at once. The massive posts toppled, their sails igniting and burning up in an instant. Guidelines snapped, and support joists cracked beneath the weight, forcing the entire Manaship into a dramatic tilt.

Stars of the Sovereign is level 94!

The helm suddenly lost control of the craft as it careened. Mages yelled out their Skills, sputtering ineffectually as the ship dropped from beneath them. The Grandmaster, however, was not so inept.

“Molten Lash!”

A whip of molten flame emerged from the Grandmaster’s outflung fingers. It slashed across Atar’s ribs, where it did less than nothing. Without skin, he could not bleed, and as it was made of fire Mana, the whip was absorbed entirely.

The Grandmaster gaped at his Skill, now little more than an ember in one hand. He was astounded, that much was clear from his Spirit. He hadn’t expected his whip to fail, just as he didn’t expect the emaciated right hook from Atar’s Pyreform.

The man folded like a house of cards, and Atar watched him and his ship fall from the sky entirely. Glee rolled through his bones just as much as deadly fire, and this time, Atar didn’t bother to keep track of his or the Urge’s.

They deserved it.

they all do.

The ship hit the earth below hard, but somehow the pilot managed to keep it from crushing itself against the nearby deris.

They should survive that. He was unsure if he was disappointed or not. Atar turned, flying back up, white flame trailing in his wake. Let's try it again.

He shot forward, flying faster than ever before as white flame engulfed his body in a nearly opaque barrier. He blasted through the hull of another ship, this one with dusty brown sails. Halfway through, he twisted, tearing across the keel and setting it alight with a hungry flame.

another!

A ship with black sails was close by, and that got the same treatment. Its hull shattered, and the Mana engine within overstrained as both Manaships tried to correct their courses and failed. Smoking, they went down, crashing into the earth with a resounding crunch.

Atar looked up, charred bones utterly wreathed in destructive power. He felt strong, as if nothing could oppose him…and he felt hungry. He desired more fire Mana, despite the absolute rivers of it that flowed through his Pyreform. Unfortunately, the Dark Firestorm vanished just as he approached.

pity. that would have been quite the boost to us.

The monstrous creature rallied, smashing through another ship of mages and devouring them entirely. Ship and mortals screeched in protest and fear…but both ended the same—as smoke, pouring into the maw of a ravenous beast. Yet within it, Atar could see movement.

Felix? The man was there, struggling against the hold the purple-black flesh had on him. Get outta there!

The creature refused to let him go, however, and soon the window into its maw snapped shut. Wordlessly, the monster flailed its spiked and scaled arms, striking another row of fleeing Manaships. It bared its enormous, ivory teeth and roared into the sky.

For an insane moment, Atar thought he heard words among the noise.

you did.

What did it say?

‘more.’

More what?

The skiff came closer, turning to approach the flailing beast once more. Zara called to Atar. “The creature…it’s consuming the mages intentionally.”

“That’s obvious!”

Zara shook her head. “No. A process is beginning. I can hear its shift across the Grand Harmony. It’s consuming them for Felix.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Power rolled into Felix, the pillars of smoke around him joining at his chest before sinking straight through his skin. They didn’t bother with his Mana Gates or channels at all.

Because this isn’t my Body. Felix blinked rapidly, his eyes still overflowing with blues and reds. This is just my Mind.

Empyrean Embrace is level 125!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+400 AGL

+350 VIT

+...

One last time. Felix bared his teeth. Let’s go.

Rare Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Crystalline Facets]!

What? No. The Essence flickered and faded as Felix stared at the notification. What the heck is this? What happened to the power from Siva?

Flawed, the Beast intoned. New Options Are Provided.

Choose.

Where’d this even come from? The words barely formed in his Mind before images unspooled behind his eyes. Mages of Levantier. You killed them? Ate them?

I Provided You With A New Path.

You Must Only Walk Upon It.

Epic Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence of Umbral Cleave]!

Another Essence rose through Felix’s core space, and this time the Beast grasped it and held on, setting it at the crown of his opalescent Tree. The Essence gleamed, alluring and potent, stolen from some Grandmaster mage.

No. Felix rejected the Essence Draughts and reached back out for the one he knew was hidden within the branches of his Divine Tree.

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Skittering Grasp]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

Do it!

This Is Folly, roared the Beast. The Weaver’s Stolen Power Was Not Enough For Her.

What Makes You Think It Will Be Enough For You?

Felix ignored the beast's growl, focusing instead on the divine essence that formed in his mind's eye. It clung to the top branches of his divine tree, coalescing into a bundle of slick, almost sickly looking legs, segmented like chitinous insects. They wrapped around the essence in the crudest of spheres, intertwining like the gnarled hands of a thousand ancient men, clutching it, claiming it. The essence had a lingering sense of deep, possessive covetousness. Felix somehow knew that Siva hadn't wanted to lose this one. Scratch that. Even though she was dead, Felix somehow knew that Siva didn't want to lose this one.

It Is Not Worth It, Scion!

Felix ignored the Beast.

This was important.

Significance burned away from him as Unite the Lost scoured at the legs. Each joint burst beneath its power, only to reveal another segmented appendage wrapped beneath. Layers upon layers, all of them desperately clutched at whatever lay beneath. None of them were enough to best his Skill.

One by one, legs curled up and died, falling free of the Essence. When finally the last leg crumbled apart, light and sound blossomed from within like a secret flower. A series of arcs burst forth, curving across Felix’s vision like lens flares from a clutch of distant stars. Each arc was woven together into a pattern that vibrated against itself, spreading itself in one moment before joining together the next.

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Primal Conjunction]

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence Of Primal Conjunction]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence Of Primal Conjunction]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Legion - Below Lurk The Many

Concomitance - Two As One

Paramount - One Above All

Notifications rolled past him like trilling bells, and the Beast growled at him like furious thunder. Yet it did nothing to stop the first Feature vision from sweeping him up.

Smoky shadow was replaced seamlessly by cool blue skies that spread out in all directions around him. A cold gale pushed past him, not nearly enough to bypass his resistances but far colder than he expected. Felix blinked. He stood upon an elegantly constructed platform, suspended thousands of feet in the air, on a day that looked much like any other. The sun was high in the sky, and the landscape spread out so far beneath him that he could see the curvature of the world. Instinctively, he took a step back, boots drawing a dull thud from the platform at his feet. It was beautifully constructed, but its details flickered in his eyes, glitching as if he were staring through a veil of static.

Flicker…

The vision shifted, and Felix was suddenly at the edge. He jolted, knees almost giving out to the glitching forces pressing against him, and he couldn’t help but stare into the empty sky. Below him, miles of thin air stretched between the platform and the surface of the Continent. There, something moved. Something vast and primal, as if a whole section of countryside shifted to the east.

Unseen Beholder!

The truth was laid bare to his eyes. A Superior Earth Elemental strode the land, crashing across unfamiliar terrain as it was accosted by creatures on the scale of cities. The Elemental was so big that those monsters shouldn’t have affected it at all, but Felix could all but taste the Elemental’s panic. Stone twisted and crushed at the creatures, but they dove through its rocky hide like burrowing worms only to reappear miles distant. Wherever they submerged, the rock and soil bleached, as if something essential was being drained from the earth.

Driven by desperation, the Superior Elemental struck again and again, managing at last to slice the monstrosities into multiple pieces. Yet, as Felix watched, the pieces healed, forming into new, separate horrors that resumed their relentless attack.

"The flesh curse is effective.”

Felix clenched his jaw and turned slowly.

Flicker…

The vision shifted, folding at the edges as static pushed across his sight, just as it had when he tried to examine the floor.

No.

Felix flared his Will, shaping his Intent into pillars that supported the collapsing reality around him. The folding facets of the vision groaned, and Dissonance speared across him, embodied in that wave of static—but they held. Felix turned at a glacial pace, each millimeter of movement accompanied by his immense Will. It was all he could do not to dislodge the precariously balanced pillars he had formed, but by the time he pivoted enough, all he could see were silhouettes. Disjointed things loomed behind him, obscured by shadow and light in equal measure, as if whatever stood near him were too much to capture.

Understanding welled up as his Mind caught up to his predicament. Someone didn't want him to peer too closely into this Feature vision.

Which means there’s something to hide.

Fiendforge!

Void Sanctuary!

Unseen Beholder!

His Skills burned within him, fighting back against the crumbling fabric all around. Felix wasn't sure if he was facing down a piece of the vision itself, or if it was simply the Beast once again messing with his perceptions. It didn't matter either way, though—Felix refused to be kept in the dark any longer.

Fiendforge is level 122!

Unseen Beholder is level 126!

Felix pressed his Intent anew. Backed by the fortress of his Void Sanctuary and the clamping press of Fiendforge, he hammered back a piece of folded reality. It was just enough to hold it in place as his Unseen Beholder pierced through the veil.

Shadow and light split, resolving into the shape of a familiar Sylphaen. Siva’s Vessel. Felix leaned forward, ready to fight, but the first thing he noticed was that the Vessel didn’t react to him at all. The second thing was that they appeared to be far younger than before. Their face and body looked the same, but they possessed an ineffable sense about them, as if the Vessel were lighter.

Their significance. The Vessel has so much less than before.

Beside the Sylphaen’s pale flesh of woven hands was a female Dwarf without a face, wrapped in dark green and silver armor that seemed almost alien in construction. At the Dwarf’s side, close enough that she could touch her, was a sharp-toothed naiad that looked as if she could be a cousin to Zara. Instead of ocher, however, her skin was a saturated pink, and her hair was a dark river of blood that swirled atop her shoulders. Hands marked with blue-white scars all the way to the elbow clutched at a railing of some sort.

Noctis and Vellus. Can they not see me?

Just like Siva’s Vessel, neither of the two reacted to his presence as they had in previous visions. Felix held still as he could, not willing to test the theory. With the amount of effort it took to hold the vision open before him, he doubted he could put up much of a fight.

“—working, but it will take an Age to come to fruition.” Noctis spoke as if Felix had interrupted her in mid-sentence.

“We have the time, and the power is ours.” The Sylphaen spread their hands, and a dozen others detached from their slick forearms to copy the gesture. “There is little else these primitive creatures can do to stop us now, so why not take the long view?”

“They are as immortal as we are,” Noctis pointed out. “What we’ve done has hurt them, but it cannot change that.”

The Sylphaen leaned over the edge of the platform, their wings blocking Felix’s view of whatever craft they were suspended from⁠—

Flicker…

As if it sensed his wandering focus, the vision folded further. Felix gritted his teeth and shored up his grip as the world shuddered through glitching static. Each flicker changed his position, moving him closer and closer to the Vessels, as if their presence possessed a certain gravity. Closer and he could smell them—a primal sense of wrongness that made his skin crawl. Felix opened his mouth, unable to suppress the scream that crawled up from within his lungs.

“AAA—”

Flicker…

“—AAAH!”

His chest ached and lungs burned, as if he’d been screaming for far longer than a mere second. A wetness dripped from his eyes. It splattered crimson on the ground.

Flicker…

Something exploded far below, and waves of magic spewed so far and fast that pieces of them nearly touched their elevated platform. Felix glanced over a specially wrought railing, where the walls of the platform turned to transparent crystal.

Below, the landscape was crawling with corrupted flesh.

Legion, whispered that voice. Below Lurk The Many.

What Unseen Beholder identified as Primordials tore apart entire armies of Elementals, clashing with nature itself as mountains rose up, and waves dropped down upon them.

The Frostfather said the Elementals were allies with the Primordials during the War of Creation. When the gods fought against everyone. He licked his lips, but his tongue was dry leather in his mouth. That’s what I’m seeing here. The end of the War of Creation, when the gods infected the Primordials with the flesh curse.

“—Yyero. Does he still stand?”

“His Vessel is gone, but he remains whole. Our brother has retreated to lick his wounds.”

“He always was dramatic. Still, losing a Vessel is serious. Was the ritual flawed?”

“No, but⁠—”

A dull tone overlaid their words, drowning them out, even as Felix fought to shake it off. He failed. His Will and Intent were too strained by holding the vision together at all.

“—accomplished the impossible,” Siva was saying. The golden orb in their chest gleamed, rotating to view the other two Vessels. “Together.”

Vellus flexed her hands, and those blue-white scars pulsated. “It was not without cost.”

“Nothing is. You will outgrow the scars, my love.” The Dwarf ran her hands across the Naiad’s arms but pulled her hands away when they sparked with bright lightning.

“Careful. The new power revolts in us.”

“It will learn,” Siva assured them. The pale hands that comprised their flesh parted, and from the gaps between them, silver light welled up like a dawning sun. “We must make it learn.”

New power?

A terrible, buzzing Dissonance overwhelmed them all, and Felix flinched. His Intent wobbled, just for a moment, but it was enough.

The world collapsed.

Flicker…

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The world unfolded again, glitching across Felix’s senses with a greater urgency before it locked into place. The sound of it shivered through him, shaking at his ligaments and bones like he stood atop a building-sized subwoofer. Then it was gone—and he was left with a new vista.

I know this place.

A dark expanse stretched out in all directions around him, punctured by beams that could only be described as moonlight. It was like a deep and endless ocean, yet Felix took an easy breath. No liquid moved across his lips or rippled against his skin—but there was a pressure against his limbs. It pushed at him from all sides, restricting his movement but allowing him to float in place. Not water, but Spirit. An Authority so overwhelming that it filled up the endless horizon.

And he wasn't alone.

A slithering monstrosity undulated through the deep dark. It moved in the distance, with only the intermittent shafts of light to give Felix some sense of scale. It swam toward his position, growing larger with every movement, until it was more than simply large. Its long shape was stark against the dark blue vastness, many-jointed appendages clutched together into paddling limbs that swam with an increasing urgency.

Siva.

She dove, writhing between jaws that snapped in her wake. Flesh unspooled, trailing behind her like a banner only to be devoured by the toothy maw that hurtled after her. Vast and even more monstrous than the goddess, it hid in the dark, emerging like a terror from the deep, all eyes and tooth and maw.

A bellow rent the vastness, and Felix recoiled. The pressure increased, clutching at him like a vise. Yet it was nothing compared to what happened to Siva herself.

Strands of blue burst from hidden limbs, snagging Siva in a web of steel lines and forcing the goddess to a standstill. Pale hands clutched, pulled at them until they bled. Mana poured outward from her, forging itself into serrated beams that fell from on high. Vivid blue lines burnt beneath it, but more replaced them almost instantly, growing thicker by the second.

Siva screamed⁠—

Flicker…

Felix was closer.

Or perhaps the goddess and the creature were—it didn’t matter.

The balance had changed.

Gone were most of the steel lines Felix knew so well, caged in criss-crossing beams of pale moonlight. The blue lines that remained were tangled around her like a noose, snagging against every bit of pale flesh that it could grab. Siva and her twisted flesh undulated over a piece of the behemoth, still tiny compared to its incredible breadth. Claws slashed and scales glinted as muscles beneath them twitched and flexed. The beast roared, and a deep vibration welled up from the bowels of Hell itself, but the goddess was unmoved.

You Do Not Deserve It!

Siva reached down, bypassing flesh and scale with an unspooling tail. Hands emerged, fingers clawed and gripping as they drilled into the Primordial’s flesh…and tore free a gleaming piece.

It Is Mine, Siva crooned.

The moment the chunk of flesh was in her many hands, the blue lines around her throat shimmered—as did the vastness around them, until the shadowed horizon was stained with argent.

The Primordial roared, its mouths too wide and gnashing to form words.

Quiet.

Silver threads snapped across the Primordial, arresting the fall of tooth and claw. Siva clutched at the stolen piece, her pale hands pulling it close to her long, narrow chest. Competing Spirits washed over Felix, obscuring his vision with static-laden sparks of power—but through it all, he saw the piece. It was an orb the color of the deepest ocean depth.

Siva brought it to her chest, and pale hands grasped it tight. Power leached the blue away, replacing it with a new, burnished hue. The orb settled into Siva’s chest, now a blinding gold amid twisted white hands that shuddered. Waves rolled through the goddess, folding her flesh into itself as she abandoned her monstrous form and became something akin to what Felix was used to: a winged horror in the shape of a woman.

The creature that it was torn from, however, mutated even further. It became a mess of teeth that surged upward, aiming for Siva's throat just above the orb, only to be slashed open and forced back by a web of silver that split the creature into a hundred lesser pieces. The silver dark rippled, and a rift opened up behind the Primordial.

A gateway through liminal space…to where?

What was left of the Primordial fled into the rift, shedding further pieces of its twisted flesh into the silver dark as it forced its Body into the rift. It grew smaller even as its mouths multiplied and its eyes blinked open like wet bulbs. It ran, fleeing into the verdant forest beyond the rift just as the thing slammed shut.

Siva purred in contentment.

Concomitance - Two As One, the voice whispered, just as the silver dark gathered close.

Felix was plunged into it.

Just as swiftly, he was flung back out.

Felix emerged, splashing out of a stormy sea. Whitecaps fell, crashing over him with a relentless violence only nature could enact.

Adamant Discord!

Felix flew upward, one bolt among many that lashed the sea around him. As he rose, he saw molten lava pouring over the water, boiling the edges of the sea. The steam of it was indistinguishable from the thunderous clouds above. Despite that, the land was aglow with the earth's heat, and it provided a murky definition to the night-drenched world around him.

Where am I?

The storm dumped rain upon him as he rose further, banishing the steam-cooled lava into jagged stone, but not before more erupted violently from a dozen nearby peaks. Thunder crashed almost as loud as the erupting earth, but it was the shapes that drew his attention upward.

Holy crap!

Forms moved among the clouds, backlit by lightning that outlined only the vaguest hints of the truth. He suspected they were Primordials, but what Felix beheld was beyond his conception of the ancient beasts. They were enormous, and each twist and strike was accompanied by explosions that ripped the clouds to shreds, unveiling claws and tails and twisted abdomens that were too big to be acceptable. Felix’s Mind reeled from what he saw, unable to comprehend their sheer size and power.

Yet, among the warring creatures were glowing shadows no bigger than ants. They swung, and the Primordials fell back.

Paramount - One Above All, the voice hissed, and this time it sounded terrified.

Flicker…

Land and sea combined, steam and cloud and lava cut through by blows that could end continents. Felix stood among them, buffeted by mighty winds as he witnessed the memory of something beyond time. The shadowed blurs stood atop a mountain peak. Just off to his side, they overlooked a devastation beyond anything Felix had ever witnessed. It was a world ended by cataclysm. The land and sea were so obliterated that they hung in the air, the laws of physics overturned by sheer strangeness and a power he couldn't grasp.

Flicker…

The shadows spoke.

Felix stood further on the mountain, near the flows of lava as they burst in red-gold rivers from the deepest of stone.

The shadows spoke again, but the words danced away from Felix's Mind.

Void Sanctuary!

Deep Mind!

Unseen Beholder!

Power spooled up within him, hardening his Mind and stretching it outward, only to hit a wall. Unfortunately, that had never stopped him before.

Felix mustered his Will, shaping his Intent into a spike before driving it forward. Hammer met spike—and was broken. Blood burst from his ears, eyes, and mouth as the power fed back into himself, tearing at muscle and bone with a terrible vengeance. His vision sparked as if he’d jammed fingers against his closed eyes, yet they cleared swiftly enough to show Felix that the wall before him was unmarred.

The shadows moved. They reached for something.

Eyeless faces and too many limbs, each ending in claws. The shadows had become grasping talons and wide, eager smiles. Pieces of light broke, and the world sundered. Felix was cast back out into the dark where the world had ended.

Flicker…

The storm lashed at him.

A line between the sky and Felix was drawn in lightning. It struck at him so fast and so repeatedly that Felix appeared to be suspended by a blinding root of galvanic terror, freezing him in place like iron caught between two magnets. Fire and pain followed. It screamed through him, trying to scramble his Mind, but he focused.

I need to⁠—

Binding silver struck at him, aimed at his Body.

Skein of Fate!

The silver lines severed before they could touch him, unable to bypass his Skill. They, of all things, were nothing to him.

FOCUS. Legion was what?

His Mind raced.

Flesh curse. Primordials versus Elementals, with the gods pulling the strings. Below Lurk The Many, it said. Felix wasn’t a fan, no matter what it meant for his Skill. But this was his Empyrean Embrace.

Its whole thing is devouring the many.

Another attack joined the first, but this one rose up from the sea. It speared into him, a pillar of swirling water and slurried earth that hauled back on his limbs like manacles.

Concomitance. Two As One. What—he grimaced, fighting back awareness of the pain—what does that even mean? He’d seen Siva fighting another Primordial. An incomplete Siva, that is…and when she’d torn free that blue orb, it had turned golden…and the area had turned silver. The Pool of the Halcyon Oath. That’s what it was. And that meant—Veridaan. The blue lines of connection had given it away. The Primordial of Oaths. That was Siva stealing its power.

Two As One.

A third force struck him as he pondered in the sky, and it burned at his flesh like nothing else. Lava erupted across the heavens, a wave of fire and earth that he couldn’t avoid if he tried. It clung to him, burning through flesh and scale with a rapidity that spiked terror through his heart.

P–Paramount, he thought, forcing his thoughts into order. One Above All. That one I think I get. I saw…

I saw…

A tempest howled around Felix, tearing pieces of his immobilized form away. His Mind rebelled, despite his Born Trait, refusing to show him what he’d just witnessed. All he could recall were shadows boiling against a blinding light.

Even Dead, She Denies You.

The Weaver.

The Liar.

The Thief.

The tempest raged, lifting Felix higher into its elemental grip. Sea water and lightning flowed through it, pummeling him with char and slicing him with frozen hail. Lava, too, rode those winds, jagged and half-cooled stone slashing at his back and chest, while molten metal burned away his limbs.

Empyrean Embr⁠—!

The Skill skittered from his Mind, its patterned dulled by the storm. Sovereign of Flesh fought valiantly, healing his muscle and bone—but not fast enough.

It Is Not Enough.

You Must⁠—

Without quite knowing how, Felix hurled the Beast’s words away. He seized the Feature before him, letting it burn against the cage of his Intent.

“You’re dead. You don’t get a say anymore.”

Primordials Do Not Die, Scion.

Felix plunged the Feature into his chest and howled into the dark. “I choose Paramount!”

We Merely Change.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The monstrosity raged, the sheer force of its voice alone enough to make Alister's bones ache. Others aboard the skiff fell back, and not for the first time. Blood ran down the ears of those whose eardrums hadn't already popped, and others abandoned their grasp on the straps and ropes to hold their stomachs or else vomited on the deck. It was a heinous sound, but it only intensified as the mages attacked.

Bastards. They need to leave!

The Tower mages swarmed aboard their Manaships, attacking relentlessly despite Atar’s incendiary offensive. His boyfriend speared through ship after ship, the white flames of his Urge burning hotter than any of their wards—yet more arrived, hot on the heels of the fallen. They charged inward, bypassing Atar to bring their power to bear on the Beast below.

They paid the price.

Arms of purple flesh and midnight scales met each and every ship that came within reach. Blue-white lightning danced across prow and mast while red-gold flame devoured hulls by the handful. Manaship after Manship burst between the indelible grip of the Beast, leaving cracked debris and bloody remnants as the only reminders of their charge. Even that turned to smoke and was consumed.

Passengers yelled, and Alister stumbled as the skiff tilted back. They came close to the Beast’s claws, but as always, Elowen somehow managed to keep them just ahead of its grasp. The ship groaned, sails snapping as they billowed with conjured winds that spun in cyclonic circles around the thing’s malformed head.

Alister peered outward again, channels aching and ears ringing as he tried to find some trace of his friend. There was little definition to its head, just a pair of burning blue eyes like fog lamps settled atop a screaming maw of endless teeth.

We can't get close enough. He gestured, pushing Mana out of his left palm. “Greater Force Shielding!”

Sheets of blue force rose up around the starboard side just as a series of stone blades slammed into them. Mages in dusty brown robes drew abreast, their Manaship dwarfing Tern’s skiff as they hollered the names of their spells into the sweltering sky. Alister didn’t bother to listen; the fools had designated them as much a threat as the Beast itself, and it was pissing him off.

"We're not the enemy," he shouted into the wind, but he might as well have said nothing.

Attacks rained upon them, this time in the form of boulders rocketing through the air. Alister tilted his shields, altering the angles just as the projectiles hit so that they were deflected aside. He’d learned that lesson a great many times during their climb up the Violet Tower, and it paid off. A direct hit diminished his Mana stores far faster than a glancing blow, and the boulders were sent careening off toward the ground or, if he was lucky, into other ships.

“Carmine mages!" one of the Violet Adepts shouted.

Alister twisted, holding the starboard barriers even as he released a second set to port. Mana spooled from his feet, rising up in a sheet that thickened from translucent blue to a solid cerulean—just as a torrent of fire hit them. Heat poured across the skiff, searing skin and hair of anyone within a dozen paces. Men, women, and children screamed before their voices were snatched up by the oppressive blaze.

The pattern for Greater Force Shielding screamed in his core space, rattling the pale machinery at his center and setting a great many gears turning in new, uncomfortable ways. Work, blast you!

Linked Hands Beneath Burning Stars.

Worlds Within Worlds Bound By Choice.

Let Sing The Bonds Of Fellowship.

The Fiend Grants His Aid.

Felix?!

Attempting To Establish Sympathetic Link...

Link Established!

Essence Redirection Allowed.

Tier II Link Advanced To Tier III!

A rush of potency shot through Alister’s core space, spinning gears and moving slabs of white-enameled machinery with sudden, frenetic force. Lightning arced between pieces, charging the dark blue with an incredible luminosity that crackled with each driving piston. Alister gasped, suddenly and irrevocably understanding. Force Mana compacted, losing a measure of size as it gained another dimension. Flame splashed across his shields, and for once, the liquid potency of his Skill blunted the heat. It was blocked just as effectively as the physical impact…and all it cost Alister was a massive chunk of Mana.

Even with the help, I can’t keep this up. He pulled the cork out of another Mana Potion and threw it back. The potent mixture restored a bit of his power, but not enough. My Skill isn’t strong enough.

Greater Force Shielding is level 88!

…

Greater Force Shielding is level 95!

That helps! Newfound power rolled through the mage, easing the burden of holding multiple shields of such strength. Maybe we can⁠—

A Manaship careened toward them, their hull hollowed out by a massive, midnight claw. The deck lurched beneath him, nearly sending Alister overboard as Elowen evaded its approach just in time for it to hurtle headlong into the Carmine mages. Wards flashed as they collided, sigils overloading into cascading explosions.

Debris smashed into the skiff, overwhelming Alister’s shields and sending a frisson of pain up his limbs as the power fed back into his bones. He screamed, skidding backward across the deck before fetching up against several of the refugees, while the skiff itself was hurled sideways. Alister gasped for breath as people were thrown into the air…and launched off the skiff entirely.

"No!" Alister slid again, hitting the railing chest-first, driving the breath from his lungs. "Tern!" he gasped. "Do something!"

The old Elf was strapped near the helm, barely holding on himself, but he twisted his thin, elderly arms, and magic poured into the deck. The wooden railings on the far side ripped themselves from the deck and into the air, snagging the falling passengers.

"Force mage!" Elowen cried. "Hold the rest!"

Alister strained himself, pushing out his Mana and hardening it through the pattern of his Skill once more. The remaining people around him grunted, shouting in outrage as they slammed into the deck, but he didn't care.

Elowen gestured, and the lines pulled back, twisting the sails into strange, new shapes before she hauled on the wheel. They twisted, the entire skiff going into a full barrel roll as the railing was reeled back in, and every single lost passenger slammed against the deck once more.

They leveled out, and Alister dropped his shields in disbelief as people groaned. "Elowen, you're incredible!"

The Theron mage grimaced. "Not for much longer." The tome above her head flickered in and out of sight, and Alister's stomach clenched.

Her Core Manifestation was running out.

"Zara, you need to make your move!" Alister turned. "Zara?"

Zara fell through the air, but it was not without purpose.

Water flared around her like a surging tide, guiding her descent through curtains of swirling Essence and the blows of erstwhile mages as they fought against her friends. The roar of the Beast below shook through her, sending shivers across her magic that threatened to disperse it entirely. By then, it was too late.

She landed atop its broad back and crouched low, hands grasping onto lumpy spikes that protruded between sleek scales. She climbed forward, unwilling to stop for even a moment to assess the situation. She could not hesitate.

The Beast bucked, malformed body twisting as it swung toward a new slew of mages, but it was merely an opportunity in disguise. Zara vaulted forward, hands reaching for the next series of spikes, then the ones after that.

She reached its neck in short order…but the Beast was cunning. It sensed her, and its gleaming arms came down against its own ill-wrought head. Claws slashed through purple flesh, tearing furrows that spewed red-gold ichor. Zara rolled away, robes heavy with vile liquid, and slapped her hands down. She released her banked power.

“Challenger’s Sea!”

An ocean of water surged through her channels, swirling outwards from every Gate she had. It congealed into an orb that completely immersed the Beast's head. Talons clawed at it, but the rushing tides were enough to redirect its immense power and Strength fruitlessly.

Zara’s Mind spun inward, rushing along the flow of her own power, back toward the center. A sea rose up, deep and unknowable within her chest—save for the islands that filled its expanse.

Lightning struck down, searing into her visualized form and hurling her back to reality. Zara hissed, becoming aware of herself just in time to see blank eyes twist across the Beast’s shapeless head. Blue-white lightning speared out again, seeking her heart—but her water swirled close, dispersing the blast.

"Lightning will find no path in purified water!”

This Was Never Lightning.

Blue lines sprung up from her own barrier, turning to steel that shoved her upright and against her own sphere of water. Binding cords held her fast, locking down chest, neck, and limb with crushing force.

She couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. Somehow, the Beast's power was overpowering her very channels, stopping her Mana at the source. The water stalled out, its flow halting around her, collapsing.

Interesting.

The brightest of the blue lines was one that speared from her very chest down deep into the Beast's form. Zara tracked the creature’s Intent, and her eyes widened when she spied a struggling figure far below.

Felix!

Your Faith Will Be Tested, Magus.

All at once, the blue connections dropped, and Zara fell to her knees. Her power surged back.

Do Not Fail Him.

She didn't bother to ponder the creature's words, but let Challenger's Sea rise once more. She sent it coursing into the conjured flesh and into the cavity in its chest where Felix still fought. Zara guided it, her Mind riding across great swells as monolithic pillars shot up out of the sea that she visualized. She was there, astride the winds as the waves roared and midnight descended upon the spotless day. The figure within it, however, glowed as bright as the sun.

Zara forced him back between the monoliths into a cage of stone.

She snapped it shut.

A bellow of pain ripped Zara out of her visualization, thrusting her back to reality, where she scrabbled for purchase on the Beast's neck.

"Felix," she shouted, "awaken!"

Gleaming purple flesh sundered before a black fist. Ten talons gripped tight before heaving outward, tearing through muscle and scale—before it all burst into radiant vapor. Scale and spike dissipated into purple shadow, flickering lightning, and the gleam of red-gold flame.

Felix was free.

For a moment, he was suspended, chest heaving as tiny black scales crawled up his neck along with jagged striations of red-gold light. He screamed, and Zara’s power was very nearly wrenched aside. She held tight, however, weaving her water around them both with exacting care.

His eyes blazed electric blue, but she had a feeling he was not seeing her at all.

They guttered out, and together they fell.

"No.” Zara’s Mana rolled around them. “I have you, my boy."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence Of [Paramount]!

The darkness was gone.

Felix awoke.

The Beast… Where’d it go? He blinked at the brightness of the blue sky. Too blue. Wait⁠—

That wasn't the sky.

Water?

“About time,” Zara said. She stood over him, her black robes stark against the swirling shield of water Mana that had formed a protective bubble around them both. “Does the Beast remain?”

“No, I—” Felix tried to sit up, but it was like his abdomen had been sapped of all energy. He could barely move his neck. “I can’t move.”

Zara frowned. “That is a problem.”

Light flashed on the other side of the translucent bubble, and he didn’t need a Skill to identify what was happening. “Mages.”

“They seem to think you're the enemy.” She smiled, baring her sharp Naiad teeth in a humorless grin.

Fire, earth, and ice dropped onto them, and each time, a piece of her shield was blasted away. Yet Zara stood over him like a stalwart sentinel. Her hands wove wrist-thick streams of water in a constant pattern, repairing the blue barrier the instant it was damaged.

3 of 3 Mind Essences Formed!

Tempering Has Begun!

“Can you muster your power?”

Felix grimaced. He didn’t have to move a muscle to spot the storm of energies roaring through his chest. It raged and pushed outward, pressing at his ribs like it was going to burst from him. “Tempering.”

“Damnation.” More weaves of water flowed from her hands, but their bubble was deteriorating now. “More Towers have come.”

Felix flared his Perception, eyes and ears burning as his awareness spread outward through war and water.

Levantier had been torn apart.

Everything that Felix had glimpsed between his Temperings had been true; for a while there, he had wondered if the Beast had been conjuring those visions as well.

No. It’s way worse than that. I did this.

The center basin of Levantier’s caldera had been ripped down to barren earth, and in some places the wounds were deeper. Water welled up between deep ruts, and swaths of the naked mountain lay exposed, peeled away by his ravenous appetite. Far away, too far to be believed, the dusty earth gave way to the splintered remnants of Levantier itself. Mansions, spires, and tall tenements leaned drunkenly against one another, sprouting at the edge of ruin like stalks of corn in a field of cracked clay.

Nearer to hand, Vilas Tern’s skiff had smashed into the ground nearby, its hull ruptured and surrounded by injured mages in violet robes. What he couldn't see, however, was what tore at him the most.

"Where are they?"

"They're alive," Zara assured him. "All of us are alive."

A barrage of golden light and purple-white ice smashed into her barrier, not just peeling, but boiling layers of water into a fine mist.

"However, there are few Grandmasters who would like to argue that point.”

Manaships full of angry mages descended upon them, their Spirits bared like razor-sharp swords. They flew in tight circles around Zara's barrier, not just taking turns, but taking coordinated turns to drop a slew of spells upon them all.

Felix, jellied muscles or not, struggled to sit up, but he only managed to push himself onto a single elbow before it felt like he would rip apart at the seams. His bones felt full of fire, and his muscles ached with a dull agony that was worse than iron knives in his joints. He felt as if one wrong move would cause him to explode from within.

Fire dropped down onto their position, boiling away yet another layer of their barrier, but it stopped swiftly. A charred skeleton interposed itself, wreathed in white flame and wearing charred robes, it absorbed huge swaths of the Mana. The little that made it through met a secondary shield of thick blue force, as Alistair lifted his gleaming rapier into the air and deflected the remaining spells.

"Stars of the Sovereign!”

White, jagged points shot out toward the Manaships, a few finding purchase where they burned ropes and sails, but others were met by mages who lifted staves marked with intricate sigils. Wards turned aside the stars, deflecting them into the dusty earth where they exploded in great gouts of white flame.

"Stand down," boomed a voice from the Manaships. "You are protecting a threat to all of us."

"He's not a threat," Atar said, hovering on his plume of white flame. His naked jaw snapped shut, his eyeless sockets glaring out at the mages assembled before them. "And he's not yours to touch."

"Did you witness a different cataclysm, creature? Do not speak for Levantier, Abomination. Your presence alone demands our retaliation."

"You touch him, and you die," Alistair leveled his rapier at the shouting Grandmaster.

Robed in a bright green trimmed in gold, the man clucked his tongue. "Foolish. The might of Levantier gathers while you stand here, shielding this man with your paltry magics. You may survive us, but you will not survive the Towers; I swear it as Grandmaster Verdant.”

The man paused, as if expecting something…and seemed disconcerted when nothing occurred. Verdant cleared his throat. “So, I will tell you a final time: stand down or face us all."

try it, mageling.

The Grandmaster swallowed. Felix saw his old jowls shake, but his Spirit didn’t waver. "Kill them!"

Sonata of Dominance!

Felix didn't have the energy to marshal his Intent or Affinity, not without setting off the explosion that lurked in his core space. All he could muster was a brute force application of Skill. Earth speared upward, intercepting a hundred different spells as they thundered upon his friends. It burst—freezing, burning, and breaking—but his Mana was not lacking, and the dusty earth could not be torn down for long.

"Don't make me get up," Felix growled, shoving himself onto another elbow and grimacing through the pain. "You won't like me when I'm standing."

The mages didn't listen. Their ships thrummed, rising above his impromptu barrier to rain down their many Skills. Most were Journeymen or Adept, but dozens were Masters, and while Felix might survive, his friends certainly wouldn't.

Alistair threw up more shields, blocking the spells that arced from above. "I can't do this much longer. Atar!”

“On it! Incendiary Vortex!"

The skeletal mage rose up, pale fire spreading from his bony hands until it formed a miniature cyclone that spun around them, encasing the broken skiff and all the rest within its circumference. The flames cut into the ships beyond the earthen barrier, forcing them to pull back. But it could only expand so far.

Atar snapped his teeth together. "Quickly!”

“Greater Force Shielding!"

Blue force Mana surged upward, clasping around the edge of the vortex into a strange funnel shape.

focus, atar! sharpen yourself to the deadliest of edges!

With a scream of effort, Atar clapped his bony hands together. The vortex collapsed upon the funnel.

It fed through it.

A beam of white-hot, condensed flame speared out of their combined efforts and hit the Grandmaster of Verdant's ships head-on. Warlords flared, rippling with rainbow colors before they all turned a deep, unhealthy red.

Before exploding.

Debris rained down, providing them a moment of peace before four more ships rose in their place, firing down with all the Skills they could muster. Felix's Intent was badly bruised by his Tempering, and his concentration was terrifyingly scattered. He could hold the earth all day, but hardening it into something capable of keeping out their enemies was impossible. His friends—he was unsure how long they'd been fighting, but it was clear that they were failing fast.

One wrong move…

Mages shouted, Skills resonating in the warm summer air as rocks and ice fell from above, destined to crush them all—before they were halted in midair.

Elowen stumbled out of this skiff’s wreckage, face bloodied and one of her antlers broken, but her hands blazed with purple and golden light. At her back, the Tern hobbled out, his own purple Mana seizing onto Elowen's power as it trembled. The old mage flicked his wrists, forming pale constructs on the fly that built around Elowen's Skill, reinforcing where her Will and Intent were failing her.

It wasn’t enough.

He could feel them. Just as the Grandmaster had promised, more ships were coming. Soon, they would be overwhelmed.

Felix cast about, looking for something he could use, but everything was gone. Devoured. His forehead hummed, distracting him. He⁠—

"The Crown!" Felix summoned it, letting the Crown of Elysium settle across his head once more, and immediately, that humming turned into a fevered song. A familiar song.

Right! Those purple idiots—The Violet Tower had altered the city, changing the location in an attempt to command more Authority than they could bear. It had backfired spectacularly. But now he could make use of it—It’s here!

Buried beneath the earth no less than twenty feet away, it was covered in hundreds of pounds of dust and debris that had fallen around his Beast's false flesh. That was no obstacle. Not for Felix.

Sonata of Dominance!

The barrier he'd maintained dropped, his attention completely diverted as the earth parted ahead. Mages dove into the gap, their ships cresting the fallen earth as their decks swarmed with unreleased Mana, all of it aimed down upon them.

"Enough!"

His shout tore through the sky like thunder on a clear day, shocking everyone present. It was a trick that could only work once.

Once was all he needed.

At his command, a disc nearly fifty feet in diameter rose through the softened earth, lifting both Felix and a surprised Zara up into the air upon it. Ancient patterns and precious metals glinted across its surface, sparking with gold and silver as it reacted to his supine presence.

The Seat and Seal of Levantier.

Do You Wish To Establish Your Authority?

Y/N

Yes!

Authority Recognized!

Unbound Detected!

Superior Primordial Detected!

WARNING! Authority Cannot⁠—

A familiar pressure skittered across him, and Felix braced against it—but it was over before it ever truly began.

Inheritor Status Recognized!

Inheritor Status Supersedes All Bloodlines!

Authority Granted!

All Hail The Inheritor, Warden Of Levantier, Felix Nevarre!

Authority fell upon him like a mantle, dragging his shoulders down, even as it raised his head higher. His Crown thrummed with ancient power, and Felix sensed a great many things all at once. The edges of the city—the edges of the Territory itself—were clear to him as if a map were laid out before his eyes. Equally clear was the store of dangerous power beneath the mountain—things that slumbered beneath the weight of Ages. They were there, beneath them all, thrumming like a struck chord in a concerto that had long since ended.

His for the taking.

Felix tapped into the barest edge of that power, just for a moment. The Authority of the Warden hummed to life, surging in uncoiling sparks of gold and silver around the Seal.

"Song of Restriction!"

All at once, a great weight fell upon every single Manaship, and the inscriptions powering their engines blasted apart. Master mages and all those below them fell to their knees or simply passed out, crushed by the pressure of the Territorial song. The few Grandmaster mages scrambled to regain control, but their Spirits quailed as their spells fizzled in their channels.

The ships crashed to the earth.

“Enough,” he repeated through tight breaths. “You’re all…in time out.”

The last thing he saw was Zara’s concerned face before everything went black.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Felix smelled pastries.

Warmth came next, a downy heat that smothered his limbs and engulfed the sides of his head, muffling the sounds of gentle rainfall. He opened his eyes, and instead of dust and fire, all he saw were age-worn rafters and a crumbling plaster ceiling. He was in a small, cozy room. A fire crackled in the hearth only feet away, banked to only cherry-red coals and piles of ash, while the distant sound of people talking rumbled through the floorboards.

He was at…an inn? Someone’s house? Felix was tempted to strain his senses to figure it out…but he held back. If he looked, he’d probably have to start moving. Moving felt like a bad idea, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. The sounds below rose and fell like waves, washing against his idle thoughts as he lay there, cradled by the wide bed like a hand made of clouds.

This is nice.

Yet it couldn’t last. An itch wriggled its way into his attention until Felix could no longer ignore it. He reached for it, brushing his claws against his side before he remembered to flinch in pain—yet the pain wasn’t there.

His vision flashed. The warm solitude broke before blue and gold at the edges of his sight, where notifications all but trembled to be noticed.

Felix sighed. Might as well.

He toggled them open.

Fiendforge is level 123!

...

Fiendforge is level 133!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+Decrease Significance Consumed In Forging By Half!

+1000 REI

+500 EVA

Unseen Beholder is level 127!

...

Unseen Beholder is level 135!

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Mind!

You Have Formed: Primarch Mind!

+1000 PER

+700 INT

+500 WIL

+400 INE

+300 ALA

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Spirit!

You Have Formed: Nightfated Spirit!

+1000 WIL

+700 INT

+500 RES

+400 AFI

+300 INE

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Body!

You Have Formed: Cardinal Scion Body!

+1000 STR

+700 VIT

+500 END

+400 AGL

+300 DEX

The Temper seized him, pulling his awareness deep inside his own body, and Felix let it. He appeared within the dark realm of his core space, floating at the very edges of his Divine Tree, where the essence leaves rustled in an unseen wind. In the black, upon a horizon he could not perceive, system energy roared forth. It was a tide that came from someplace far off in the dark, from a place beyond Felix, a liminal realm where he suspected all core spaces touched on the system itself. Clear and unblemished by attunement or type, it poured through the opalescent crystal roots that bounded the edges of his core space.

Undifferentiated power swept across the planet-like skills he had before crashing into the base of his Divine Tree. The opalescent Tree groaned, soaking up the power like water. It stretched, new facets forming across its trunk as it thickened and lifted higher than ever before. New branches sprouted, and existing ones solidified as they spread wide the canopy of essence that gleamed at their summit. Its roots moved, chiming as the ripple of growth extended downward, pushing them out across the gleaming cores before tightening the crystalline lattice around everything.

Essence rained down from the Tree's branches, falling around Felix like leaves to join the influx of system energy as it swirled around the Divine Tree's base, flooding down into his dual cores. The [Thunderflame Core] and the [Cardinal Beast Core] gleamed, rings of liquid flame that expanded under the rush of system energy. And as they did, their liquid flames hardened, still retaining their strange fluid movement, yet gaining new facets, much like his Tree, becoming crystalline.

As always, his dual cores, shaped into hollow rings, ground against one another as they spun counter to each other. Their solid flames now wrapped tight like the teeth of some ferocious gears, and the dissonance and harmony that spread from their strange joining took on the faint echo of shattering glass. That mix of sound flooded him, filling the void of his core space with ceaseless music that buffeted his skills. It rebounded off the edges of his Divine Tree barrier, the roots reflecting things inward, downward, toward a darkness that lurked between his pillars and the resplendence of his power.

It's bigger.

The black hole at the center of himself, where Hunger once lurked, had doubled in size since before his fight with Siva.

That's concerning.

He wasn't sure what it meant, but if his experiences with the beast were any indication, Felix doubted that it was entirely good.

A familiar pain laced through him, burning across every aspect before manifesting as fissures across the distant black. It yanked Felix's attention back up, just in time to witness the fissures filling with red-gold and blue-white light, as well as a deep, midnight purple. They crisscrossed him like scars as his aspects grew, stretching toward new heights. A grandmaster tear settled onto him like a mantle, and then it was gone. The pain vanished just as quickly as it had come, but the changes remained.

The Divine Tree had grown, and his dual cores burned with an internal light that was magnified by their new facets. All of it was held within a net of opalescent roots, like a seam carved out of a jewel by the masterful hands of an ancient artisan. His pillars thrummed, sending a chorus of song up through the dark and into his dual cores, where their dueling sounds carried the chorus outward into his skills. Each responded in kind, their patterns resonating like harp strings in the wind as the power swept outward and around the latticed funnel. It all came back to the Divine Tree, rustling its essence leaves and letting stars rain down into the hungry dark.

It continued, a never-ending cycle that filled Felix with a sense of solidity and power. It was perfect. Almost. Felix looked down, back to the Pillars at his foundation. Nine of them were newly charged with light and sound, while the tenth was a bit slower, a bit duller.

I haven't Tempered Sonata of Dominance yet, he realized. It's not done.

New notifications interrupted his thoughts, drawing him back into the cozy room and the soft, fluffy bed. It felt thinner now, more fragile, as if a single movement from Felix could shatter it into pieces. He held still, daring only to breathe as he reached out mentally. The first notification was a box entirely of silver edged in gold filigree, and it carried a weight that pressed him further into the downy mattress.

New Title!

Silver Moonslayer (Unique)

You have devoured the Moon of Siva, Goddess of Fortune.

+10% Damage To All Moons

Whoa. Felix swallowed. I got a Title for destroying the moon that makes me…better at destroying moons? That’s⁠—

Before he could finish the thought, a second box snapped into place with the tolling of a deep, distant bell. This one was crimson and copper, and it burned into Felix’s vision like the sun.

New Title!

Godkiller (Primordial)

You are responsible for the death of not one but two gods. You are growing adept at this task, Ascendent.

+25% Damage To All Beings Of Divine Or Greater Advancement

-25% Damage Taken From All Beings Of Divine Or Greater Advancement

Felix sat up, ignoring the calamitous groan of his bed. His mouth had gone dry, and his thoughts whirled, but his eyes never left the Title.

“Godkiller,” he said, tasting the words. Savoring them. “Yeah. I like that.”

The Title vanished, sinking somewhere deep inside of himself, before being replaced by another. This one was gold and silver, but a deep blue gleamed beneath its surface.

New Title!

Warden of Levantier (Legendary)!

In the days of the Golden Empire, at the behest of the Empyrean Halls, the Chthonic Temples took on the task of handling those beings it could not reason with nor destroy. The Temples were each converted into Wells that could hold one or two such beings, but the greatest of Threats were imprisoned within the Wellspring here, and the city of Levantier was built around it. The Warden was chosen from among the strongest of the Nym, for they were the first line of defense, should the Wellspring ever fail. Hold fast, Warden, for you guard the world.

+200 WIL, INT, PER

+Increased Authority Within Levantier!

+Complete Access To The Wellspring!

You Have Gained 10 Levels!

You Are Now Level 110!

+200 to STR! +220 to PER! +220 to VIT! +260 to END! +240 to INT! +280 to WIL! +260 to AGL! +290 to DEX!

+200 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 150 Unused Stat Points!

The energy of the level-ups surged through him, igniting his nerves with a joyous sort of pain that soon faded into a quiet warmth. It was very similar to his Tempering process, albeit at a thousandth of the scale.

Felix watched his dark passenger carefully. Neither Hunger nor the Beast rose up from the dark to claim those levels, as they had when he'd killed Siva.

I'm still pissed about that. He carefully swung his feet off the side of his bed, adjusting his weight onto the floorboards below. They creaked just as ominously as the bedframe, but it all held. Warden, huh? That makes how many Territories now? Six?

He opened up his Quests log and found one of them flashing.

Quest Completed!

Empire Of The Fiend!

You have passed the first mile marker on the path of empire, yet your climb is far from over. Claim the Seat and Seal of at least seven Territories to establish your realm.

Rewards:

+Increased Defensive And Offensive Capabilities In Claimed Territories

+Increased Resources In Claimed Territories

+Title

+XP

+Varies

Territories Claimed: 7/7

Felix blinked. “Oh hell yeah. When did that happen? I—” The text flickered.

Territories Claimed: 6/7

“What?”

He kept watching, and each time the total rose to 7/7, the Quest marked itself complete…but it always reset to 6/7. Felix focused on the number, pressing his Intent against it like fingers parting the pages of a book.

NOTICE!

Territorial Authority In Question!

Sunara

See The Current Claimant: Storm Tyrant, Pit Nevarre

Pit claimed a Territory? When did that happen? Felix toggled to his Authority Screen and fiddled with a number of screens before a list of claimed Territories unspooled before him.

Nagast

Ahkestria

Khalheim

Pax’Vrell

Gharion

Levantier

Sunara (Disputed)

Well that’s easy to settle. Pit? Are you there? There was a gulf of distance between them that was greater than anything they’d experienced before, but Felix could still feel his Companion, like a warm presence in the corner of his Spirit. Yet his friend didn’t answer.

Pit? Felix felt nothing, as if the Chimera were hiding. That’s…concerning.

Drumming his fingers against his knees, Felix considered several moves. He could shout harder, find some way to garner his Companion’s attention, or he could race to the Shadowgate and then to Sunara… But if Pit wasn’t answering, it was for a reason.

He just had to trust his friend.

Felix opened his other Quests, checking on them.

Assemble The Empyrean Regalia!

The Crown of Elysium is but the first of three artifacts known as the Empyrean Regalia. Once claimed by the sovereigns of the Golden Empire, the Regalia is designed to reinforce the Aspects of their bearer. It is said the Herald bore all three, and with them was able to contest the very gods themselves.

Crown of Elysium - 1/1

Wellspring Chalice - 0/1

Exalted Bell - 0/1

Restore The Seals!

The true Seals of the Continent were not invented but discovered by the ancient magi. In the present Age, they have been Lost, and those that remain have been placed under false rule. Find them once more and use the Crown of Elysium to restore them to full potency, connecting the Corporeal Realm to the Grand Harmony once more and fortifying the world against the Ruin.

Rewards:

+Increased Protection Against Ruin

+Varies

Felix sat still, staring at the worn floorboards as the rain intensified outside. It rattled off the ceramic roof tiles like a fleet of tiny horses, marching almost as fast as his own thoughts.

The Seals are a priority. I still need to use Unite the Lost on Levantier’s. He was pretty sure he didn’t do that earlier. Things were a touch foggy, but Felix’s memory was powerful. Perfect, usually. I…huh, I remember Pit using Unite the Lost, too. In Sunara. Was that when he claimed it?

It must have happened while he was out, after the Chthonic Star sliced his limbs off. Felix fought the urge to flex his arm and leg, but he glanced down at them just the same. They were still there.

So, if things went properly in Jaast, I just need to find that Seal, fix it, and claim it, too. That’ll give me eight Territories, but only three of those were ever under the Hierophant’s Subordinate Seals. If I plan to increase our defenses against the Ruin, that leaves Andiva, Tavan, Calumb, Sao’Thun, Bos’Vaan, Neer, and Sept. Felix groaned. So many…and now they have the Chthonic Star.

A weapon designed to destroy the chains binding the gods to their moons, and it was in the hands of a zealot—one who hated him, in particular.

Felix had a lot of work ahead of him, and little time to accomplish it.

He’d made little progress toward assembling the Empyrean Regalia, however. They would’ve been nice to reinforce my Aspects before going through all of that. The Crown of Elysium had proven its worth when he’d Tempered his Mind, and he’d had all those gnarly visions. I can’t imagine how it would have gone without it.

If he could get the other two, it would make things a lot easier. The problem was, he hadn’t a clue where to begin looking. Treasure hunters had sought the crown for Ages without success, and he’d only found it after completing a bunch of nearly impossible Quests. He needed a lead. Something to point in any direction, otherwise⁠—

Felix snapped his fingers. That Tempering vision!

He had seen the Regalia in use when he’d Tempered Emperor’s Vigilance—now evolved to Unseen Beholder. The Herald had fought the Maw near Shelim, and she’d worn the Crown of Elysium and wielded the Inheritor’s Will. Two other objects had been on her person, objects that had remained fuzzy and clouded to his sight.

Were they the bell and chalice?

Felix had a method to revisit his Memories, using an array and his own Born Trait. If he set that up, it was possible he could wrest some sort of clue from his Tempering visions. It was something, at least.

Wait. Wellspring Chalice? Felix navigated back to his newest Title. As the Warden of Levantier, I have complete access to something called the Wellspring. That can’t be a coincidence. Right?

He stood up fast, splintering the bedframe and sending down feathers cascading across the floor.

“Time to find out.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Felix made it all off three steps before he smashed straight through a wall.

“Shit.” He pulled his arm free, dropping a shower of dust and splinters onto the feather-strewn floor. “Just slow down.”

The wall collapsed, lath and plaster spreading in small, dusty clouds around his feet. A sharp squeak sounded from the room next to him, and Felix blinked as he stared into the eyes of six people in white-green platemail.

“Sorry about that.” Felix stepped carefully, pulling himself back into his own room. “New stats. You know how it is.”

An Orc woman said something, but he was already pulling up his own Status.

Name: Felix Nevarre

Level: 110

Race: Primordial of the Unseen Tide (Superior)*

Omen: Magician

Path: Cardinal Fiend

Born Trait: Keen Mind

______

Health: 53535/53535

Stamina: 46822/46822

Mana: 61729/61729

______

STR:15744

PER:12885

VIT:10737

END:7806

INT:13305

WIL:23383

AGL:9373

DEX:8002

______

BODY - Cardinal Scion (Grandmaster)

Resistances: Lay of the Unfallen (D), Level 140

Combat Skills: Heavy Armor Mastery (C), Level 15; Wild Threnody (E), Level 99

Physical Enhancements: Stride of the King (T), Level 133

MIND - Primarch (Grandmaster)

Mental Enhancements: Deception (C), Level 49; Meditation (U), Level 80; Negotiation (U), Level 50; Deep Mind (E), Level 97; Manifestation of the Coronach (E), Level 80; Quiet Cacophony (E), Level 34; Empyrean Embrace (T), Level 125; Void Sanctuary (D), Level 133

Information Skills: Unseen Beholder (D), 135

SPIRIT - Nightfated (Grandmaster)

Spiritual Enhancements: Manaship Pilot (R), Level 46; Multi-Cast (E), Level 90; Last Cry Of The Chthonic Host (M), Level 5; Exalted Conjunction (T), Level 98; Sovereign of Flesh (T), Level 145; Unite the Lost (T), Level 99; Fiendforge (Un), Level 133

Spells: Abyssal Skein (R), Level 99; Illusory Double (R), Level 55; Shadow Whip (R), Level 74; Arrow of Perdition (L), Level 52; Rain of Cataclysm (L), Level 81; Skein of Fate (L), Level 124; Void Nexus (M), Level 15; Adamant Discord (T), Level 138; Astrum Ascendance (T), Level 125; Magus of the Grand Design (T), Level 131; Sonata of Dominance (T), Level 124

______

Unused Stat Points: 165

Harmonic Stats

Resonance (RES): 10520

Intent (INE): 14772

Affinity (AFI): 21913

Resilience (REI): 19153

Evasion (EVA): 9428

Might (MIG): 5650

Alacrity (ALA): 6700

Felicity (FEL): 17533

Holy. Fucking. Balls. Felix stared at his Status screen, unsure what else he could say to encapsulate the jaw-dropping amount of stats he’d earned himself.

It didn’t feel that big of a jump just now. Felix lifted an arm, flexing his muscles beneath his dark scales that now extended all the way to his shoulders. They contracted into steel cables, lean and visibly powerful. Or was all the pain front-loaded into the Tempering visions?

Those had been a trip. The visions weren’t normally so intense, but something about devouring Siva’s memories had infected them…or maybe Grandmaster Tier was just that different. He’d have to ask Zara about it later.

For now, he needed to center himself. One wrong step, and he’d⁠—

“—Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!” A gauntleted hand grabbed Felix by the shoulder, tightening but unable to do much more than that. “You—damnation but you’re heavy⁠—”

“Let go of me.”

The Orc smiled at him, jutting out her tusks. “No dice. The Grandmaster gave us instructions to bring you in the moment you woke up, so naked or not, you’re comin’ with us.”

Felix looked down at himself. He was naked, though black scales covered his legs and arms entirely…and spread outward from his belly button like a spiral.

The others gathered close, their weapons drawn and glowing with the soft radiance of air Mana. “Captain, this one is strong. We shouldn’t do this.”

“Ahven, you back out now, and don’t worry about turnin’ in your armor—we’ll carry it back, bloody and cold.”

The Hobgoblin grumbled but lifted their sword again. “Good boy,” the captain purred. “Now you be a good boy too, stranger, and come down to the White Tower.”

“If you don’t take your hand off of me, I’m putting you through that wall.”

The Orc captain’s armor let out a soft, clicking whirr as it was inundated with Mana. Felix’s sense of her thickened, like a stew boiling away its broth, and she pushed a short blade up against Felix’s neck. “There’s six of us, and together our mageguard sets would let us overpower any six Master Tiers, upper rank or no.”

“Good thing I’m not Master Tier.”

The captain’s eyes widened for only a second before his open palm met her chestplate—then she was gone.

And so was the far wall.

You Have Defeated A Captain Of The White Mageguard!

XP Earned!

She survived. Good. Felix looked at the others, lowering his hand slowly as the rain started blowing into their room. “Now’s a good chance to run for it.”

The mageguards traded looks…before the glow in their arms and armor winked out, and every single one of them ran out of the room and into the hallway beyond.

Felix breathed a sigh of relief as the last of them vanished, careful not to shift himself too much in any direction. He glanced at the wall, where nearly twelve feet of lumber, plaster, and glass had been blasted open by an oversized mageguard and a single, gentle shove.

This is crazy. He shifted his stance, only belatedly realizing his heels had sunk an inch into the floorboards—likely due to his attack. If I’m not careful, I’m gonna punch myself through this entire inn.

He’d done worse when he was in Pax’Vrell, and that was with far less stats than he possessed now.

“Deep breaths. Careful movements.”

Felix stepped back into his room, each step plagued by feathers and grainy dust. If he kept his movements fluid and light, the chances that he’d shatter…everything.

He quieted his Mind and stilled his Spirit as much as he restrained his Body. It was harder now than ever before; a Grandmaster Temper was a formidable thing. Still, he’d had plenty of practice.

Meditation is level 81!

The Crown of Elysium settled across his head, and his Void Sanctuary rose up within him, bolstering his Mind as an aurora of opalescent gold glinted from atop his shoulders. Shadows danced around the room, the spindly end table, thinly stuffed armchair, and broken bed nothing more than silhouettes.

Felix frowned as the pattern in his chest, once so familiar, carried a new refrain. Void Sanctuary sang a new song, one that felt far more aggressive than defensive. The walls within his Mind rose high, but they bore spikes upon their battlements, and the gates were wide. They rumbled, as something within himself pushed to get out.

Void Sanctuary is level 134!

The Crown’s soothing blaze sank deep within him, cooling the ardor of his Mind and layering gilded bars across the gates. They rattled, but they held.

His Body and Spirit, however, had no Regalia to reinforce them. Felix simply hoped his Skills hadn’t changed too much.

Stride of the King.

The pattern roused, dancing through his core space as it pulled Stamina and Mana from him in equal measure. Power thrummed through his channels, pushing and pulling at his muscles as if testing them for fight or flight—yet they obeyed his Will. He did not move, and his breathing eased even further. The Skill pulsed, a new verse rolling across his awareness even as his Perception pressed outward. Like a child on Christmas morning, curiosity tingled the edges of his flesh, urging him to get up and explore. To find out where those mageguards went…to see if there were any more.

No. Hold still.

The Skill dimmed, still burning, simply banked like the coals in his dusty hearth.

Stride of the King is level 134!

Fiendforge.

This Skill, unlike the others, was untouched from before. Untempered but uniquely powerful, the Fiendforge rallied across the edges of his Spirit and held them close. A vice designed of Intent and Will, fueled by Mana, Essence, and significance. It steadied himself, stilling the vibrations that had riddled his Spirit since his waking—vibrations that Felix hadn’t even felt until that moment.

Everything went quiet.

Fiendforge is level 134!

Fiendforge is level 135!

Deep Mind is level 98!

…

Deep Mind is level 106!

Master Tier!

You Gain:

+100 AFI

+75 ALA

+75 EVA

Meditation is level 82!

…

Meditation is level 100!

Master Tier!

You Gain:

+100 WIL

+75 RES

+75 REI

Felix smiled as a few final waves of System energy rolled through him, adding to the pile he’d already settled. It wasn’t so much that it upset his newly established control, but damn if it wasn’t close.

“Hoo boy,” he breathed. “I think I’m good now.”

With a single, smooth motion, Felix stood. The floor didn’t crack, and he wasn’t launched straight through the ceiling.

“Success!”

Someone screamed.

He turned, finding a pair of maids standing and staring at him through the hole in the wall. Their faces were bright red, and one covered her mouth in what he assumed was mortified shock. The other one, however, was leering.

Felix covered himself. “Erm…hi.”

He really needed to find his Garment.

Once the shock wore off, the maids were very helpful.

It turned out that his magical outfit had been set upon the nightstand. Someone had stripped it off of him and set it aside to mend. According to the leering maid, it had been a lady with brilliant sea-green hair.

Zara. So my friends put me here to rest. Felix looked back at the hole he’d punched through the wall. But it’s clearly not a secret. How many more mageguards are hiding around here, just waiting to cart me off somewhere?

Felix had no interest in sticking around and finding out.

Leaving the maids the unenviable task of cleaning the two ruined rooms, Felix padded down the hallway. Lights flickered unevenly down its length, as if the Mana feeding them had been halted—as it likely had. Felix had devoured the source in Levantier’s Vent, which had, in turn, fed the enchantments across the entire city. He imagined a lot of sigiladry was going to fail, if it hadn’t already.

He passed ten doors on his way to the stairs. Each of them was closed, and though he worried about it, none of them burst open. Still, Felix flared his Perception, and encountered sophisticated wards woven into each one. The Mana there was fading, too, but he’d have to expend a bit of effort to break through them—effort he didn’t care to waste.

The stairs creaked under his tread, but they didn’t snap, no matter how much he seemed to weigh now. It tracked with the wards and the Manalamps; the place wasn’t cheap. Which made Felix wonder all the more why there was so much talking coming from downstairs.

Down two landings, the stairwell opened up into a wide common room absolutely filled with people. Humans, Goblins, Elves, Orcs, and many others were pressed shoulder to shoulder at long tables filled with bread and meat. The food was hot and plentiful, but it was clear that it had been hastily prepared for these patrons. Everyone was bruised and dusty, and more than a few had streaks of blood across their faces or hands. A minstrel sang something at the far end, where a wide hearth crackled with a massive fire.

It was lively, almost rowdy, but as Felix came down the last few steps, every single conversation stopped. Everyone, from the dirtiest youth to the aged barkeep, stared at him as if he were an unwelcome pest.

Or a monster.

From the depths of the crowd, robed figures squeezed forward. At least four separate groups, each color coded for Felix’s convenience, and flanked by armored mageguards. It was the brown-robed mages that spoke up first, however.

“Take not another step, false king,” the leader snapped. His robes were covered in slashes of deep brown among the creamy off-white. A Master Tier. “You will come with us, Felix Nevarre, and you will answer our questions, or I shall tear apart the very foundations of this inn.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A sword wider than most benches lifted up from the ground, stopping a hairsbreadth from the lead Master mage’s throat.

“Let’s see who’s faster, yeah?” A boulder of a man stood up from a bench, a single hand holding that immense blade. Darius Reed sneered. “You cast your spell, and I’ll cast Slice.”

All at once, purple and blue cloaks appeared at every exit, hemming in the crowded common room as they unveiled their Spirits. Everyone staggered, the majority pressed over tables and against the scratched walls, while the mages and their guards gritted their teeth.

“If you dare, you—you’ll make yourself an enemy of the Umber Tower,” the Master mage choked out.

“I’ll take my chances. Now,” Darius adjusted his grip, pressing the sword against the mage’s throat. Blood welled up across its razor edge. “Make your choice.”

For a moment, Felix was positive the guy was going to make a move, but the mage was smart enough to know when he was outmatched. His Mana cut off, dispersing into wisps of vapor before he lowered his hand. “Very well. We are done here, then.”

Darius dropped his sword, but only by a foot or so.

“You will rue this day.”

“You said that.”

The Master mage pursed his lips and gestured to his people, and in a swish of his fancy robes, he marched out. As did the other mages and mageguards in the room, none of which boasted even a single Master Tier. The Legionnaires at the doors let them all pass, their smiles wide and Spirits smug.

Felix sighed. “Thanks, Darius. I already had to deal with one group upstairs.”

“I saw them come down.” Darius stepped through the crowd, not even bothering to sidle through; they parted for him as the Legion’s Spirit suppression vanished. “They looked whiter than their armor. What did you do?”

“They asked me to go with them. I responded. Very calmly. By the way, how much does a wall cost? Asking for a friend.”

Darius eyed him. “I doubt they’ll charge their new king.”

“Warden, technically.”

“A strange Title.”

“It’s a strange Territory, turns out.” Felix offered him a smile. “Thanks for the save.”

“I doubt I was saving you much, but if they attacked, everyone in this inn would’ve died.”

Felix’s skin prickled, anger rising in him like a hot wave. He clamped down on his Spirit with Fiendforge. “Yeah. It could’ve gotten very bad.”

Darius eyed him. “You’ve finished Tempering?”

“I did.”

“You feel…strained. I heard about your…” Darius gestured vaguely, and it took Felix three whole seconds to realize he was pantomiming a monster. “That’s not… You’re fine, yeah?”

“I am. It hasn’t bothered me since waking up. This is because of my stats. They’ve gotten a little out of control.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll show you later.” Felix nodded at the doors and lowered his voice. “That mage was from the Umber Tower. How many Legionnaires did you leave behind to guard the Shadowgate?”

“Enough to control the entire place. That mage will have a rude awakening when they return to their Tower.”

Felix was impressed. The commander had left Levantier back before they’d approached Tern’s home; the man knew he’d be little more than deadweight against a Tower full of mages, and they’d agreed he would fortify their escape route. “How’d you do that? We didn’t bring nearly enough people to take over an entire Tower.”

“I returned to Elderthrone and brought another two companies back. The Umber mages didn’t have nearly enough Master Tiers to fight us off, and when the Towers all dropped, it disrupted a lot of their wards. Securing Umber was entirely bloodless.”

A piece of Felix was relieved to hear that, but it was a smaller one than he expected. The rest of him just didn’t care. He had too many things on his plate. “Everything good at home?”

“It is. Karys and the Eidolons send their regards. Your Chancellor was concerned that you would have trouble here with the Violet Tower.” Darius smiled. “I told him to rest easy.”

Felix looked around the room. Just about everyone had left, and the elderly bartender wouldn’t meet his gaze. “When’d you get back?”

“Yesterday. A full day after you passed out in the center of town after claiming its Seat and Seal.”

“Shit. I’ve been out for two days?”

“You needed the rest, I imagine. It’s not everyday you kill a goddess.”

Felix could literally feel the swell of emotions from the Legionnaires. Pride and awe rolled over him, enough to drown someone.

“I don’t think it’ll be the last,” he admitted. “Where’s Zara and the others?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Down the block, outside a pleasant cafe and beneath an elegant silk umbrella, three mages sat at a wrought iron table. There were a few other places to sit, but none were occupied. The cafe was barely open, though the smell of baking bread wafted out onto the street in enticing waves that made Felix's belly growl. It was surprising that the place was open at all, as many of the other shops on the street were closed and dark, despite the mid-morning sunlight filtering down through the thick, puffy clouds in the sky.

The Lucent Towers had all fallen only two days ago. He could feel folks hiding. Watching. Everyone’s scared.

Sitting at the cafe were Zara, Tern, and Elowen, the three of them sipping tea as they nibbled on a platter of pastries. As Felix and Darius drew closer, Zara immediately stood and embraced Felix.

"You're well?" she asked, holding him at arm’s length as she ran her sharp eyes over him

"Best as can be expected," Felix said, not moving as she disengaged. He wasn't sure if he should hug her back, or if he even could. Stride of the King increased its tempo within him whenever he moved, echoing his worried heartbeat. "Where's Atar and Alister?"

"In that inn there," she said, pointing an ocher finger toward a red-roofed building two houses down. "With all those mages circling you like vultures, we figured it was best if we kept an eye on you while you rested."

"From a distance," Tern added. "No offense, son, but that monster inside you is terrifying."

"None taken, it very much is."

"Have you finished Tempering?" Zara asked, gesturing to one of the chairs.

Felix sat down carefully. The metal squeaked only slightly. "Yeah, I was just telling Darius about it. I’ve formed my Grandmaster Aspects, and it's come with a significant increase in stats⁠—"

"And you're terrified of destroying everything around you?" Elowen interrupted knowingly.

"Yeah. Did you?"

"I did. Grandmaster Tier was rough on my wardrobe and the Tower's maintenance staff.” The Theron laughed, and Felix noticed that her antlers were strung up with small gold chains. “I kept putting my hooves through doors and cracking tiles. Or worse, I'd move too fast and hurl books from their shelves in the library."

"It was the same for most of us," Tern agreed, sipping his tea. "A Temper is always an immense boon. How much is always dependent upon the rarity of their Skills and, in my experience, anyone daring to reach Grandmaster will have long acquired Skills of exceptional note."

"How is your Hunger?" Zara asked, her bright blue eyes searching his face. "Have you heard its call?"

"No, it's been uncharacteristically silent," Felix paused. "Is that your doing?"

"I believe so. I laid my Challenger's Sea upon your dark passenger. It is a Skill designed to test the limits of my Mind, but I’ve found it quite useful to trap others as well.” She reached out a hand toward Felix’s chest. “May I?”

“Sure.”

Zara touched two fingers just below Felix’s sternum and released a single pulse of sound through him. It pierced him like a gunshot, tearing past his Divine Tree and dual cores before plunging straight into the black hole beneath. The sensation was swallowed whole, as if it had never been, but Zara pulled her hand back and looked surprised. “It has taken hold.”

“What has, exactly?”

“I’ve formed a series of barriers around your Hunger that it must overcome before it can escape again. It should serve you well, at least for a time. I expect it to deteriorate eventually, but by then, we might have a better handle on it."

"Not quite Grandmaster yourself, yet you overcame that monstrosity." Tern set down his tea and took up a small pastry. "How?"

"It let me."

Felix swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "You spoke to it?"

"I did. It seemed very much aware of me, of its surroundings, and of you, most of all."

"Yeah, that tracks. It was very chatty during my Tempering visions."

"Visions?" Zara asked.

"Common enough during the Grandmaster tempering," Tern said offhandedly. "The leap from Master is one of strange portents, as the secrets of our core space begin to be revealed to us."

"Wait, so you both had visions?" Felix asked, looking between Elf and the Theron.

"I did, yes. It is part of why reaching for Grandmaster is not done alone, or without a resource array," Tern drew idle circles in a puddle of spilled tea on the table, and Felix made out the design of several glyphs. "But it seems your Beast did not require such precautions."

"My circumstances are unique," Felix agreed. “What is a resource array?”

“Designed to channel power into the individual situated at the central glyph. Typically via monster cores or artifacts or even other people. The Mana requirements for fully Tempering a single Aspect is staggering and would beggar some small Territories, let alone all three at once.”

Felix shrugged it off. “Things got a little out of hand. So these visions, were they useful? How detailed were they, and were they specific to the Essence Draughts you drank?”

Tern frowned. "Unbound or not, that is a very personal question⁠—"

"They were hazy," Elowen said over the old Elf’s protests. "I never agreed with that old custom of hiding the secrets of advancement, Vilas. You know that."

Tern grumbled something but didn't interrupt any further.

"Experiencing my visions for each feature was like gazing through foggy glass. Everything was slightly dreamlike and full of metaphors and symbols.” Elowen grimaced. “To be very honest, it was barely useful at all, and it was only with Vilas’ help that I managed to eke out a solid set of Aspects."

"Sounds like my Master Tier visions."

"I never had anything of the sort during any previous Tier. Is that because of your—” She gestured vaguely at all of Felix.

“Unusual circumstances?” Felix laughed. “Yeah, probably. You’re Unbound; you know how it goes.”

“I suppose I do,” Elowen said. “But those visions were the same as your Grandmaster ones?"

"No. In comparison, these recent ones were crystal clear and a lot less symbolic." Felix shook his head. "I'm pretty sure most of them were taken directly from Siva's memories."

Darius groaned. "I don't believe I'll enjoy hearing this. I'll go retrieve our wayward mages."

He left, his dark blue cloak flapping in the warm summer breeze as men and women shifted in the shadows beside nearby buildings and beneath lintel beams. Legionnaires, Felix noted, guarding them all. He pretended not to see them. They were trying very hard, after all.

Zara leaned closer. "You took Siva's memories?"

"Sort of. I have a Skill for that, but this was more like I absorbed her Essence and significance, and it formed into Motes of power." Felix grasped for more words to adequately describe it all, but found himself coming up short. "The basics of it are that I was in her memories, real ones, as far as I could tell. From back when she fought the Nym.

“The Golden Empire?" Tern sat up, nearly spilling his tea. "You saw it?”

“Pieces of it. Glimpses of their war against the gods.”

“Incredible.”

“The Beast didn’t think so.”

“Oh?” Zara quirked an eyebrow. “How so?”

“It kept trying to get me to reject Siva’s power and Temper with different Essences."

"Truly. Why?"

"I'm..." Felix shook his head. "I'm still not sure. In the end, though, I Tempered with what I stole from Siva, and it seems to have worked out. But I feel... fragile."

Zara narrowed her eyes, and he felt her Analyze Skill rake against him unsuccessfully. "You're injured?"

"The opposite. Still, my Aspects feel unfinished, somehow.”

“Asleep for two days, and still not done?"

Atar walked up, a smile across his tanned face, his robes black once more, and his white hair done up into a loose bun. Alister and Darius trailed behind him. "I fear you're losing your touch, Felix."

"Atar, Alister," Felix smiled wide. "Glad you’re both still alive."

"Not for lack of trying on your part," Alister pointed out.

"Wasn't me, technically. If that counts for anything."

"It doesn't, but I appreciate the effort.”

“Are we finally done here?" Atar asked. "I've gotten quite sick of this cesspool of a city."

"Ah, just about," Felix said. "There are a few more things to handle, though."

He stood carefully. "How far is the Vent from here?"

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It was only four blocks before the streets began to deteriorate. Buildings showed inexplicable cracks, as if they’d been raked by claws, and they leaned drunkenly into one another, their windows shattered and dark. Where the cobblestones weren’t missing entirely, they were half-covered by stretches of sandy topsoil that shifted with every errant breeze. There were no people, especially as their small procession stepped out onto the blasted expanse of naked stone that marred the city’s center.

The Vent wasn’t particularly far from there.

It was a vast chasm, splitting the center of the caldera in a jagged slash. Once it had been much smaller, but Felix and Siva had put an end to that. Well, and the Beast.

Atar wiped sweat from his brow. “Kind of a hike to get out here.”

“The exertion is good for your Body,” Darius said. He wore layers of heavy armor and several weapons, aside from his door-sized sword. “I’m sure Harn has told you the value of Endurance training, yes?”

“The man wouldn’t shut up about it.” Atar straightened his robes. “I’m a mage. I should not need to exert myself.”

“We could have taken my skiff, but it has gone missing,” Tern grumbled, before he pointed to his left and muttered, completely unsurprised. “Ah, there it is.”

Not more than a hundred yards away, the shattered remnants of the mage’s small Manaship were spread across a stretch of the broken earth. Tattered sails and smashed wood were all that remained of a once tidy little ship.

Elowen patted the old Elf on the shoulder. Her right hand was bandaged. “We’ll build a new one.”

“We have a shipworks in Elderthrone, and my friend Beef can construct a Manaship mostly by himself.” Felix stopped at the base of a swell of stone and looked up. “I can ask.”

“No need. It was a minor thing, useless now that the Towers no longer float on the Vent’s magic.”

“Hm.” Felix came to a stop, dust swirling around his ankles. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

Before them, the Seat and Seal of Levantier rose from the blasted plain like a stout tower. Nearly thirty feet high atop a jagged pillar of sedimentary stone, its top was marked only by the gold and silver fractals of its array, which had glinted in the midmorning light as they approached. Now it was too high to see any details, and there were no stairs to ascend.

Felix turned to Zara. “How’d you get me off this?”

“Young Alister gave them a hand,” Darius answered instead. Zara raised her eyebrow at him, but he ignored her. “Turns out his shields are quite useful as floating platforms. We’ve put him to use in a few places around town already.”

Felix raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Alister grinned. “My Skills evolved during that last battle. Greater Force Shield became Bulwark of the Steadfast. Legendary rarity.”

we are quite proud.

“Ah, thank you, Flame.”

now you are a far better partner for our infernal might.

Alister’s smile withered as Atar closed his eyes. “Flame, I swear⁠—”

i speak only the truth!

Felix patted the mage firmly on the back. “That’s impressive, man. You said ‘Skills,’ though?”

“Oh. Yes. My Grand Impetus and Pillars of the Domineering Sentinel evolved, turning to Legendary rarity as well. They’re now Monolithic Riposte and Palace of the Champion.”

“Extremely impressive, then. All that during my Tempering?”

“It was a chaotic half hour,” Atar admitted.

Alister rubbed at his chest. “Your Link helped. I felt power moving through it, strengthening my core in strange ways.”

Boon of Bonds. Felix reached toward that part of him that connected to his friends and found a new Link sitting between himself and Alister. His smile stretched wider. “I’m glad. That’s what it’s there for. Hopefully it’ll help all of you into Master Tier soon.”

“We’re working on weaving our Pillars already,” Atar admitted with a grimace. “It’s been a grueling few days.”

“They are well on their way,” Zara agreed. “Tern and I have been overseeing their progress, and it’s been smoother than yours, Felix.”

I believe it. They probably don’t have to deal with Primordials and Divinities clawing around their foundations. Aloud, he only grunted, but his smile never wavered. “Happy to hear it. Now, wait here a moment. I have to finish up.”

Without further explanation, Felix looked inward. His Aspects were still trembling, though not nearly as much as before. Carefully walking through Levantier’s streets had done a small amount to acclimate himself to his new stats, it seemed.

Not yet enough, though.

He braced himself, holding the pattern of Stride of the King close before flexing his knees. Felix inhaled and leaped. He soared upward, and in less than a second, he’d crested the side of the Seal of Levantier. Felix landed neatly at the edge of it, his feet gracing the fractal patterns with a fresh blush of argent and aurum.

Felix exhaled and opened his eyes. His pattern had held, and his Body only buzzed quietly beneath his immense Will. He was greeted by gold and silver radiance that washed across his feet and legs like waves hitting a breakwater.

Hello again.

He strode forward, his footfalls marking expanding ripples of light that illuminated the fractal patterns of the Seal. Power mustered, barely contained, much as it did within his own Body. It sang in the background, waiting to be unleashed, and as Felix crossed into the center, he came upon a familiar glyph that was new to the once-empty Seat.

A burning eye surmounted by a crown. The glyph of House Nevarre.

Authority Accessed.

Be Welcome, Warden.

What Song Do You Wish To Sing?

“Felix, my boy!” Zara said, her sharp voice cutting in the stagnant air. “We have eager eyes upon us.”

Felix looked up from the Seal, and his eyes burned. Unseen Beholder!

A burst of information rolled through him, and belatedly Felix remembered his unsteady Mind; yet as Temper, level, and Race of his many targets rolled through his awareness, he remained balanced. A weight upon his brow made itself known, and Felix could practically feel its bronze influence threading through his weary Mind, calming it, even as Unseen Beholder’s pattern spiked vibrations into every corner of his consciousness.

There were mages all around the edge of the blasted area. Many hid among the rubble, spells of cloaking air or earth or simple illusion attempting to fool him—-and failing entirely. Others were walking inward, closing with their party at a steady pace, more than a dozen discrete groups easily distinguished by colored robes. They were entirely afoot, and none had unveiled their Spirits, let alone held a Skill active.

His Affinity caught distant shudders of nervous dread—they were clearly uneasy about what he was going to do, even if they didn’t entirely know.

If he hadn’t claimed the Crown of Elysium, he would have no doubt been on his knees and screaming at that particular moment. Felix put a hand to his temple, feeling the warm, textured metal as it fully manifested.

“It seems the Song of Restriction didn’t last long,” Zara noticed. “I spy several Grandmasters in that crowd.”

Atar laughed, but it was a nervous sound. “It left them all shaking in their boots, though.”

we left them quivering. they were terrified of our might!

“Burning skeletons would terrify anyone,” Alister pointed out.

“Move quickly,” Darius warned. “They will try you again. I don’t fancy fighting a half dozen Grandmasters. We’d lose more than we’d gain.”

Felix agreed. There was a notification that thrummed for his attention, but he brought up his Authority screen instead.

A familiar golden window appeared before him, but instead of many tabs like his other menus, this one only had a single one.

Songs of Authority.

Song Of Restriction - Impair The Spirits Of Targets Chosen Within Your Territory For A Short Period Of Time

Song Of Siege (Unavailable) - Enhance And Modify Fortifications Of Your Stronghold For A Moderate Period Of Time

Song Of Trade - Enhance The Mercantile Array Of All Residents For A Moderate Period Of Time

Song Of Peace - Enhance The Effects Of All Healing For A Moderate Period Of Time

Song Of War - Eject Chosen Targets From The Territory

Song Of Fury (Unavailable) - Enhance The Warden’s Aspects By A Single Tier For A Minute Period Of Time

Felix focused on the grayed-out Songs, shaping his Intent as if splitting open a book. After a moment of resistance, the first spat out an interesting clarification.

ERROR: Unable To Sing Due To Unfulfilled Prerequisites

The Song Of Siege Requires A Stronghold

So if I make a new Stronghold here, I can access it?

ERROR: Unable To Sing Due to Restrictions

The Song Of Fury Cannot Be Sung By Those Greater Than Master Tier

“Damn, that sucks,” he muttered.

“What does?” Darius shouted up at him.

Felix explained.

“Wasn’t that what DuFont used in Haarwatch?” Alister asked.

“It is, yeah. It pushed her from Adept to Master Tier all at once.”

“Has this option been available to you in every Territory you claim?” Atar asked.

“No. The Songs are largely the same, but some come and go.” Felix shrugged. “I don’t know why, and neither does Karys.”

“The mages have stopped,” Zara said, interrupting them all. “They’re simply watching now.”

Felix looked beyond his Authority menu and scanned the thickening crowd that had stopped a half-mile distant. “Then let’s give them a show.”

He accessed the notification he had sensed at the beginning, and it leaped into view like an eager hound.

Felix Nevarre, Warden Of Levantier.

This Territory Has Been Lost!

What Is Your Choice?

Forsake Or Unite?

Now this is what he’d expected. Hoped for, really—if he’d been forced to do it by hand, it would have taken so much longer.

Unite.

Unite the Lost engaged within him, spinning up across all three Aspects equally. Power fled his core space, ripping through his channels and into the Seal before him–Mana, Essence, and great swaths of the significance he’d taken from a Goddess.

Levantier!

That Which Eternal Lies!

Lost No More!

All Hail The Inheritor, Warden of Levantier, Felix Nevarre!

Less than a mile distant, the mages all shifted, as if an unseen wind tore through their ranks. Skills flared up and were snuffed out in an instant as Grandmasters started shouting down their subordinates. Fear rolled outward from them all as a series of deep notes in a minor key, pitching downward toward unsteady oblivion.

Felix didn’t have time for their worries, however.

The earth burst around him, absorbing his power like rain-starved fields. Felix held himself carefully, his three Skills balancing himself against the storm as the earth itself buckled. Walls shot upward, built of a dark metal laced with hexagonal, translucent stone.

“Night’s breath!” Tern shouted.

“Step over here! All of you!” Elowen called out, but by then, Felix lost track of his friends.

Even the riot of breaking earth and chiming crystal faded into the background. His attention became entirely internal, as his Aspects rioted against his control. Felix fell, knees shattering the Seal beneath him, even as Unite the Lost repaired it with a cascading glissando. His Spirit swelled, spilling out of his grasp before flaring into the air like a vast cloak.

He was only vaguely aware of the screams, and soon those vanished from his Perception as well.

Time passed, but Felix couldn’t say how much. It was simply divided between fury and silence, as if all the world passed through a threshold devoid of a vast expanse of chaos, and his Aspects calmed. They retreated, the patterns of his Stride of the King, Void Sanctuary, and Fiendforge rising once more above the glorious cacophony of Unite the Lost.

Felix opened his eyes and found himself in a vaulted chamber, replete with a throne made of translucent green-gold crystal set against a fifty-foot-wide window that overlooked a collection of spires and the caldera beyond.

“Blighted Night,” Atar cursed, and Felix started.

All of his friends were there, standing in the throne room as if they’d been ushered in by some servant.

“How’d you get in here?”

“We followed her,” Darius said, pointing to Elowen.

The Theron shrugged. “I have a knack for seeing where I need to be.”

Felix was happy to see them, especially once he noticed just how sprawling the view outside had become. They stood within a structure that was at least four times as wide as the central Violet Tower had been, and it was surrounded by rotundas built at varying heights and covered in elaborate windows. Those were cut from the dark stone in alluring patterns, forming symmetrical shapes that reminded him of the Seal or even his vibrating Skills.

In addition, the rotundas and spires were all connected by thin bridges and complicated-looking lifts that traversed through corridors of green-gold crystal. They reminded him of the plateau around Ahkestria in many ways, but were more unified in their design. Ahkestria featured a number of ancient styles and technologies that had been adapted over the Ages—but here, in the restored heart of Levantier, it was an ancient time come anew.

“We’re as high as the Violet Tower,” Tern noted with surprise in his voice. “I can see my house from here.”

A screen appeared before Felix with a resounding chime that everyone heard.

You Have Restored The Wellspring Keep!

Be Welcome, Warden Of The Forsaken!

See Authority Screen For New Options!

Felix swallowed as he checked his core space and felt a distinct lack of power there—especially his significance. He still had a lot, of course; a goddess and a Primordial was a stockpile that was hard to deplete, but Felix was making a good run at it. If he were to come up against greater projects that must be restored, he’d need more.

Thankfully, he knew where to get it.

He accessed his Authority screen once again, and this time, the golden window had a number of tabs that had been lacking: Territory, Stronghold, Shipwright, Glyphworks, Storage, and one he’d never seen before.

System. Sing The Song Of The Wellspring.

As You Wish, Warden.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Quest Updated!

Restore The Seals!

Rejoice! The false rule of another Subordinate Seal has been deposed!

Hidden Quest Completed!

Mantle of Levantier!

Against all odds, you have reassembled the Wellspring Keep upon the side of Mount Kestral! As Warden of Levantier, you have proven yourself worthy to inherit the burden of its Mantle. Hold fast, Felix Nevarre, for you stand in the breach.

Rewards:

+Mithril Chest

+Increased Authority Over The Kept

+5 Levels

You Have Gained 5 Levels!

You Are Now Level 115!

+100 to STR! +110 to PER! +110 to VIT! +130 to END! +120 to INT! +140 to WIL! +130 to AGL! +145 to DEX!

+100 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 225 Unused Stat Points!

Felix gritted his teeth and slammed a hand against the crystalline throne. It rang with a confusion of chords that was nearly drowned out by his talons scratching against their surface. System energy rolled through him, igniting his tightly clenched Aspects with painful growth.

“Felix?” Zara’s voice was tight as a drum. “Your Spirit is⁠—”

Fiendforge flared, clamping tight around his Spirit once more. It pulled back from those around him, and his ears were met with a chorus of relieved gasps and grunts.

Fiendforge is level 136!

Void Sanctuary is level 135!

Stride of the King is level 135!

“Sorry about that.” He rose once more, the muscles in his back protesting. “Those levels threw my control out of whack.”

Atar dabbed sweat from his forehead. “Are you gonna be this…unstable forever?”

“That’s a good question. I hope not.”

Tern frowned. “You gained levels? From building all this?”

“Something like that.” Felix tossed his newest Quest notification at all of his allies. “See for yourselves.”

It took them only a moment to read through the Quest details, but Felix didn’t bother to pay attention. His focus was instead on the large Mithril Chest that had thumped into existence at the side of his crystalline throne.

Shiny.

Felix ran his hands over the Chest. The mithril was silver-green and glowing with an ethereal sheen that shifted as he touched it—it was coated with a razor-thin layer of vaporous Mana, thickest around the fist-sized lock on the front. It parted before him, dissolving the mechanism and hurling the lid open. Stormwinds of light gathered around him, drawing the ambient Mana around them toward the Chest like a vacuum, until it manifested into a swirling cloud of radiant vapor. Felix blinked against it before reaching down into the Chest and removing two items.

Emptied out, the Chest vanished.

Unseen Beholder.

The flaring Skill made his head twinge, just a touch, but his Crown steadied him. The items in his grasp shimmered and were laid bare.

Name: Cataclysm of Nine Flails

Type: Weapon (enchanted)

Lore: A flail made entirely of bone-white stone, save that the handle and flails are all fashioned into the links of a chain. Nine smaller chains extend from the end, each of them capped with crescents lined with sharpened thorns. Upon connection with a target—and an application of Will—the crescents will encircle their limbs and restrict them. Extremely unwieldy, this weapon requires Master Tier Chain Mastery to wield fully. Made for the Warden of Levantier or their Champion.

Binding Law XII - Holds fast those enclosed within the grasping cuffs, decreasing their Agility and Dexterity by 25%. As a consequence of this enchantment, the weight of the weapon is permanently increased by 50%.

Expansion X - Nine chains will expand in length as much as three times, borrowing Mana from the wielder to fuel the transformation.

Cognitive Threat V - Manacles will hold creatures of Corporeal or Cognitive nature, even Urges, up to the wielder’s Tier.

Sapping Thorns IX - Drains Stamina of held targets.

Felix hadn’t a clue what the chain weapon was made of, as it resisted his initial efforts at identifying it, and he didn’t want to press his luck with his current Mind. Still, it was sturdy and clearly powerful enough to be used by a Master Tier or higher.

“A stout weapon,” Darius observed. “If a bit chaotic.”

“It’s heavy, too,” Felix admitted. It felt like a feather in his hands, but he was getting a feel for what was normal now.

“May I?”

Felix handed the flail over, and Darius immediately grunted, his biceps bulging from the effort of keeping it aloft. The nine chains clattered to the ground, striking sparks from the polished surface. “Merciful oaths, that is unwieldy. How is someone supposed to use such a thing?”

“I know someone who’d like it.” Felix took the flail back.

“If she can lift it,” Darius muttered. He rubbed at his wrists. “That said, it would be perfect for her.” He nodded at the other item in his hands. “What of that?”

Felix showed the man its details.

Name: Resurgence Cloak

Type: Clothing (enchanted)

Lore: A cloak lined with Willweave and layered with the Authority of a long-passed magi, the Resurgence Cloak was made during the Great War and was designed to keep its wearer in the fight for as long as possible.

Hardening VI - Reduces damage from physical impacts.

Self-Repair X - Uses ambient Mana to repair rips and tears in the cloak.

Resonance Sync VII - Authority has been woven into a 7% boost to Resonance; increases Mana regeneration.

Resilience Sync X - Authority has been woven into a 10% boost to Resilience; increases Health and Stamina regeneration.

“A potent garment.” Darius rubbed the material between his fingers. “Smooth as silk, but it feels hard as high steel, if not better. This is a mage’s defensive item, there is no doubt about that.”

“Agreed.”

Willweave. I don’t see any sigils on the cloak; is it the material that gives those regen boosts? Felix held it up, turning it in his hands. He enjoyed how it shifted colors from dark blue to a metallic green. How does it work?

“—I don’t know what to make of it. How’d he even make this place?” Elowen whispered, and the sharp sibilance snapped Felix out of his distraction.

“Significance, Mana, and Essence,” Zara explained. “It is a Skill of his Primordial heritage.”

“Primordial…does that have to do with the monstrosity?”

Cardinal Beast.

Zara gave Atar a sharp look, but the mage only shrugged.

“Let us keep that name out of our mouths for the time being,” Zara suggested, her eyes intense.

“Right. You heard her, Flame.”

i do not take orders from petty sorcerers— Zara didn’t move, but her Spirit mustered, and the Urge shivered. i never planned on telling everyone, anyway.

“Felix. Your Quest calls this Mount Kestral, but this peak has always been known as Corvander’s Lament,” Tern said, having retrieved a glowing quill and book from somewhere. It scratched across the page, leaving behind a cramped, chaotic scrawl. “Named for the Dwarven surveyor that perished soon after discovering this caldera. We’ve never had a source for a previous designation.”

“That’s what you find interesting?” Atar asked. “Not the magical items or the fortress built from nothing?”

Tern chuckled and adjusted a pair of small spectacles he’d pulled from his pocket. “If I were to goggle at all the miracles around me, I’d lose my reputation as a serious scholar. Now, Felix. What is this Mantle? Why is it a burden? Does it have to do with this Wellspring and why you are called a—what was it—a Warden?”

“I think it’ll be easier to show you,” Felix said, before tossing the Cloak of Resurgence at Alister. “Take this.”

The force mage caught it, his eyes flashing with a Skill before his mouth dropped open in shock. “You’re giving this to me? It’s an incredible piece of equipment!”

“I don’t need the boost. If something is strong enough to overcome what I already have, that isn’t going to help. You can find a use for it, right?”

Alister grinned, already throwing the cloak over his shoulders. “I’ll think of something.”

Atar caught Felix’s gaze and gave him an appreciative nod.

“Right.” Felix tucked the flail under his arm before he examined his awareness of the Wellspring Keep. False memories rose to greet him—a familiarity with the space that had been gifted to him by the Mantle. He flexed a new piece of his Authority, and an expanse of smooth stone wall split open.

Beyond the opening was a large, hexagonal platform inscribed with complicated sigaldry that rivaled the Seal they now left. A series of symbols decorated the wall, reminiscent of the elevator in the Violet Tower but more refined.

“An original!” Tern exclaimed. “The Towers copied these from unfinished schematics.” He ran his hands across the recessed doors and the stone paneling. “This lattice work—stone cut in precise shapes mimicking the notes of the Harmonics.”

Elowen crouched over the fractal patterns on the floor, her hooves clattering against the metal inlay. “Cymatics. I remember reading about it in college. Vibrations translated into physical shape. The Nym were apparently experts at it…and I think the System operates on it.”

“I don’t know the term, but that about sums up my experiences.” Felix marveled at the design of the elevator for a moment. He waved them all in. “C’mon. We’re going down.”

Good Afternoon Warden.

What Floor Do You Wish To Access?

A list of floors appeared before him, blue and gold and hovering in front of all their eyes. The others crowded close to read it.

“Oh, that’s handy.” Felix ran his gaze down the list. “It seems Levantier has quite a few features in its Stronghold now.”

“Shipwright, Glyphworks, and a Storage Facility,” Zara pointed out. “And a great deal of space for growth. The Towers will want access to this place.”

“I’m positive they’re already assembling at the edges of this Keep now, debating the risk of storming this place.” Tern spoke from behind Felix now, his voice slightly muffled as his nose was just about pressed against the latticed architecture.

Darius pursed his lips. “Can we move the Shadowgate from the Umber Tower? It would be more secure here, I imagine.”

“Removing it from the Umber entirely would not be wise. There are complicated arrays within those foundations…but moving the Tower itself here should be possible.” Zara tapped her chin. “A wise notion, Darius.”

He smirked. “I’m known for it.”

“Don’t go too far.”

Elowen glanced up from the floor, where she, too, had started sketching out the designs. “Does this place have defenses?”

“It…does.” Felix blanched as he pulled them up. “They’re not made for people, though.”

Atar and Alister—both of whom were more circumspect in their appreciation of the sigaldry around them—spoke in unison. “Who are they made for?”

Felix didn’t answer. He banished the list of Defensive Arrays and focused on the elevator’s list. He tapped the very bottom. “Here please.”

You Have Selected The Wellspring.

WARNING.

Others Are Detected Within The Lift.

A Breach Is Dangerous To The Living.

Do You Wish To Proceed?

That got everyone’s attention.

“Dangerous how?” Felix asked, before anyone could speak.

There Is A High Risk Of Death And Dismemberment.

“Is there a breach right now?”

No Active Breach Detected.

An image of the Vent filled Felix’s Mind, projected there by the Keep itself. It showed him the shattered remnants where a Mana Well once resided, now nothing more than a dark chasm devoid of even the crystal that lined it.

No active breach. Right. He smiled for his friends. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Descend to the Wellspring.”

The elevator doors closed with a soft thunk, and the ground hummed as Mana flowed through its sigaldry. Power and song coursed around them, lighting up the fractal patterns on the floor as well as the carved stone latticework on the walls. It undulated, moving in waves as if they drifted across a sea of light, ripples of blue, green, gold, and white expanding and contracting.

“The mechanism is so smooth. It doesn’t even feel like we’re moving,” Alister noted.

“Are we?” Atar wondered. “I could half believe this place was rearranging itself around us.”

Tern shook his head. “We’re moving. The force Mana emitted by the sigaldry is increasing the further we descend. You can feel that, can you not, Alister?”

“I…I suppose I can. With this cloak, my Gates are pulling in more Mana than usual, but this feels a bit different.”

Darius unsheathed his sword and ground the point into the polished floor. It didn’t so much as scratch it. “The System called this place Wellspring Keep. Not a palace. Not a stronghold. Keep means ‘to guard.’” He paused. “Guard who, Felix?”

At that moment, the walls fell away, the holes in the latticework growing to form ten-foot-tall by five-foot-wide windows. They descended through thin air, dropping into the heart of a chasm that glowed with a vibrant green-gold radiance.

“I believe you mean ‘guard what’,” Alister said as he walked toward the edge of the balcony.

Beneath them and rising quickly were thousands of crystals thrust through the earth. They ranged in size from only a few feet tall to nearly a thousand, and were each set within the dark stone like jewels encrusted upon a blade.

Shadows stirred within those crystals, nothing more than dark green silhouettes, but suddenly Felix could feel a sense of attention focusing on them all. The Mantle filled him with cursory knowledge of what lay beneath the Keep, and his recent Tempering visions had shown him a glimpse of it all, but the reality was startling.

“Urges, monstrosities, and worse are captured here,” Felix told them. “Like the Temples and their Mana Wells on steroids. Levantier was once the greatest prison the Nym ever had, and the Warden is their keeper.”

They dropped past faceted cells filled with swarming shadows and finally drew close enough to make out other details. Every crystal was capped with a circular, vault-style door, and each door was etched with intensely complicated arrays.

“So the Vent was merely a fraction of what laid beneath us, all this time.” Tern was so flabbergasted that the old Elf seemed to have forgotten his quill and notebook entirely. “The power here…what this city could do with such a source is incalculable.”

“No,” Felix said. “These aren’t for you.”

The elevator came to a stop in the center of a wide platform surrounded by stone statues. A long walkway extended forward, into the heart of the crystalline prisons.

“They’re mine.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Yours?” Tern asked as Felix strode from the elevator’s inscribed surface. He followed, the rest close behind. “What Authority does the Warden hold over these Kept?”

Felix gazed up at the statues that surrounded the circular platform they’d landed upon. Everything was made of the same dark stone, but the platform was bone white with veins of burnished gold, and that material extended up into the statues themselves. “The Warden keeps them locked up. That’s the point of this Mantle.”

There were nine statues, each twenty feet tall and facing outward, away from the elevator. Though their individual faces all looked different, Felix had seen enough of their kind to identify them as Nymean. Necks a bit too long for a Human, features a touch too angular, and eyes a bit too intense. Moreover, each brandished two weapons. Swords, spears, maces, the variety changed without pattern. The star, however, grew only more complicated with its spiky points.

It went from a two-pointed star, shaped like an orb with two spikes at the top and bottom, all the way to a nine-pointed star.

Felix pointed at them. “Those aren’t here for decoration. Those weapons they hold? Those stars? They represent defense against the things that exist here. Not to eradicate, but to contain.”

“Because those Threats that the Nym could not kill were sealed away,” Atar said, nodding along. “We know this.”

Felix continued walking, stepping off the circular platform and onto the long pathway. The moment he did, golden magelights ignited above the grooved edges, burning like small, dancing flames.

mmm.

“Don’t even think about it,” Atar warned his Urge.

surely a single flame would not be missed⁠—

“We have no idea how this place is designed. One damaged sigil, and we could be freeing an unknown terror from its crystal cell.”

“Plus, you’re greedy,” Alister added, poking at Atar’s chest.

“You still haven’t explained why we’re here,” Tern said, hustling after Felix. Elowen was close behind, along with Zara and Darius.

“A couple reasons.” Felix raised a finger. “One, you wanted to see what the Warden’s responsibilities were. Here you go. Two, I spent a good deal of power on pulling Levantier out of the Ruin’s clutches⁠—”

“The Ruin?” Tern’s eyes widened. “Is that how your Skill functions?”

“Unite the Lost accesses something beyond the Ruin’s power to destroy, restoring things to how they were before its touch,” Zara explained. “At the cost of Essence, Mana, and significance—as I said.”

“That’s impossible. Beyond impossible. Nothing can be retrieved from the Ruin.”

“The Primordials beg to differ.”

“Anyway,” Felix interrupted. “I need to restock what I spent here.”

“This place used up all the power you took from a goddess?” Atar asked, looking around in dismay. “Those towers and rotundas are nice and all, but hardly worth that.”

“I’ve still got some left. Plenty, really, if all I intended to do was sit here and rule wizard city—but I’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Felix bared his teeth at the green-gold glow around them. “I have a feeling I’ll be needing all the significance I can get, soon enough.”

“That’s fair. Amaranth awaits,” Alister said.

“Yeah, and that lines up with my third point: I need to finish Tempering into Grandmaster. My Aspects are unbalanced because I have one final Skill left.”

“Your Tenth Pillar,” Zara said, understanding dawning on her.

Felix pointed at her. “Sonata of Dominance. My shaping Skill. I gotta get it to Grandmaster, and that means I need to push myself. What better place than this?”

“So you plan to…” Elowen swallowed, glancing around them as they came to a stop along another hexagonal platform. It was fifty feet wide and contained only three Nymean statues around it. The green-gold crystals towered around them, each squirming with cloudy silhouettes. “You plan to free them?”

“I plan to kick their asses,” Felix clarified.

“The Temples and this place were made to contain these abominations,” Tern said, his bushy gray eyebrows furrowing. “You said it yourself: the Nym couldn’t kill them.”

“The Nym had one critical disadvantage.” Felix banished his tunic and jacket, leaving his scaled chest bare. “They weren’t me.”

He reached out toward a nearby crystal, its nearest facet ten feet wide and twice that in height. A shadow sat within it, filling up more than half of it, though little could be gleaned from eyes alone.

Do You Wish To Release A21?

WARNING!

Doing So Removes All Restrictions Placed Upon The Kept.

The creature within the crystalline cell shifted, writhing about, as if aware of his scrutiny. Along with his Warden’s Mantle came a sense of the creatures locked away in the Wellspring. He knew it was a complicated monstrosity, something more than tinged by a Primordial’s flesh curse. What’s more, he could feel the power within its corrupted Body, Mind, and Spirit in a way he never had before. Empyrean’s Embrace echoed within him, not activated but resonating with Unseen Beholder, until they rang with the same notes

Felix knew, in that moment, that the monster wasn’t enough for what he needed.

None of them, alone, would be enough.

Do You Wish To Release The Entire First Layer?

Yes.

“Felix?” Zara said, her voice rising higher with concern. She could certainly feel some of what he was doing. “What are you doing?”

“Piling on the pressure,” he said, before a sharp crack sounded across the Wellspring. It was followed by another, and another, until a chorus of chiming notes like splintering glass filled the air. “Stay within the ring of statues, and you’ll be fine.”

The topmost layer of crystalline prisons exploded outward, and nightmares rushed free. Lifting himself upon a bolt of lightning, Felix rose to meet them.

Each was the size of a giant, though they varied in shape as often as nature, and the creatures shot upward toward the surface. Felix assessed them all as he flashed upward, his Mind shaking under the strain of it.

A howling abomination, formed of dark winds and snarling flesh, its wide maw was a tunnel into a riot of screaming noise. A crawling inferno of burning metal that slashed into the walls, and a wraith formed of darkened ice that steamed into fog in the warm chasm. Fastest of all, already nearing the upper levels, was a rotting colossus of infested earth, its many arms blurring at speed.

Warden!

A Breach Is Imminent!

Do You Wish To Access Your Arrays?

Felix had Defensive and Offensive Arrays designed to fight the Kept if they ever broke free; they were nasty spells, costing huge amounts of Mana but promising powerful results within the bounds of Levantier.

He had no intention of using them.

Unseen Beholder!

Each abomination before him was composed of many Mana types, and Felix knew them all in an instant—Unseen Beholder and his Authority fed him the information at a glance. Some consisted of three primary types, but that wasn’t an issue. Tern had once told him to only shape multiple types of Mana at once, and that’s what he did.

Sonata of Dominance!

He reached the Frost Wraith first.

It unleashed a numbing barrage of screaming ice that tried to blot out his vision with insidious Status Conditions. Felix altered his Sonata, changing the pitch with his Affinity, even as his Intent shaped his control. Ice met flame and golden light, exploding into searing steam as the shadows fled from his radiance. The Wraith screeched in anger, too dumb to be afraid, and tried to slash at him.

Felix expanded his reach, flaring light and fire at the center of its chest.

You Have Killed A Manawarped Frost Wraith!

XP Earned!

Empyrean Embrace!

He devoured it without halting, and it was like the Wraith simply ceased to exist. No smoke nor residue remained.

The Howling Aberration screeched as it fell from above, dropping its threshing flesh atop Felix’s. Before it touched him, however, Sovereign of Flesh whirled to life. Black plates of scale folded outward across his skin and muscle like the armor of a knight, even as his physical form doubled in size. Essence engorged him, forcing a scream from Felix’s throat just before his face was encased in a featureless black helm. Blades of bone and piercing sound Mana crashed into him, but it did nothing more than shake Felix.

“Get Off Of Me.”

He burned with red-gold, the cracks between his scales igniting like the heart of a furnace, and a deep electric blue burned across his helmet and up his dark talons. The Howling Aberration did not relent, its Mind consumed in its long incarceration.

Felix altered his Sonata once more.

Flesh and sound met fire and lightning and burst apart, ripped away from his armored hide like a cast off cloak. The Howling Aberration managed a final, ineffectual roar—before it was rent asunder and consumed.

You Have Killed The Howling Aberration (Moontouched)!

XP Earned!

The last two did not turn toward Felix; damaged Minds or not, they were intent upon escaping the Wellspring.

Felix came to them.

The Crawling Inferno speared its twisted metal into the walls, climbing rapidly across the dark stone between green-gold crystals. It cared little for Felix until he was practically on top of it, then it lashed out with impressive speed. Flame speared outward, followed closely by sharpened, half-molten metal⁠—

Felix shaped water and ice, blocking the metal even as the torrential chill turned its inferno to steam. The monstrosity skittered farther up, lashing at him in mangled fear, but it was already doomed. Ice encased the thing and, with a flex of his Will, was shattered.

You have Killed The Crawling Inferno (Manawarped)!

XP Earned!

Above, the Blighted Colossus leaped from the wall—but not at Felix. It slammed into the crystalline shaft at the roof of the Wellspring, where the elevator rose to access the rest of the Keep. Its many earthen hands scrabbled for purchase, molding into the stone to anchor itself, before it swung right for the shaft.

“You’re pretty fast for a big guy!” Felix hauled back on Adamant Discord and shot upward on a bolt of lightning, easily intercepting the Colossus. “But not fast enough.”

It belched out a putrescent, green-brown fog that clung to the shaft and Felix like slime. It burned, searing away most of his pants, but otherwise leaving him untouched.

“Really?” He reached for his Sonata. “My turn.”

He sounded it, altering the vibrations until the earthen titan before him trembled. Acid, earth, and rot rolled through the thing, swirling among its variegated hide like ingredients in a cake. He enshrouded it with flowing water, transmuting its flesh into mud and its acid into weakness. Even rot could not compete, as a torrent of Mana washed it all away.

You Have Killed The Blighted Colossus (Moontouched)!

XP Earned!

Felix consumed this one, too, and as before, his Empyrean Embrace snatched it up. Yet when he inspected his core space and his Skill, Felix felt little change.

This is too easy. Felix frowned as he descended back toward his friends. “Are you okay down there?”

“We’re fine,” Alister said. “Nice helmet.”

Felix let it dissolve, the featureless faceplate folding back into his flesh effortlessly. Now that he wasn’t holding his Aspects so tightly, his Tempered Skills flowed almost too easily. He still felt unbalanced and incomplete, but at least he wasn’t worried about demolishing buildings down in the Wellspring.

The others looked a little frazzled, but none of them were hurt. The statues had done their jobs nicely.

“Did you achieve your goal?” Zara asked.

“No.” Felix looked ahead, where the chasm spread into the mountain’s depths. “I need more.”

“I Analyzed those creatures,” Elowen said. “They were somewhere around Master Tier, but they felt…wrong. Unnatural, strange as that is to say for this world.”

“Manawarped and Moontouched,” Atar said. “Nasty creatures.”

Felix grunted in acknowledgment. One of the creatures hadn’t contained much in the way of Lore, merely a minor note calling them “aberrant” and their designations of Manawarped and Moontouched, two things he’d encountered multiple times in the past. The former he’d noticed on creatures that had been altered by an overabundance of Mana in some way, possibly through Primordial means, and the latter were twisted by the Divine.

“You need more than Divine-touched abominations?” Darius still had his wide sword out, the edge of which was gleaming with unreleased air Mana. “What else is down here?”

“A lot worse. That was only the First Layer. There are seven Layers, in total.”

Elowen looked nervously toward the still-glowing crystals farther down the chasm. “You’re going to fight them all? Alone?”

Felix shrugged. “It’ll get dangerous. I won’t blame you if you all want to leave here.”

i saw that crawling inferno. we’re not leaving all this delicious power to you alone, autarch.

“I’ll see if I can save you some.” Felix grinned and let his helmet form around his head.

Atar peered at him. “How do you see in that? There aren’t any holes for eyes or breathing.”

“It’s like it’s not there.” Felix tapped a talon to the hardened, black plane of armor. It had a sharp sound to it, like a knife on pottery. “No idea how it works, but it’s cool as hell.” He looked to them all. “Ready? Now’s the time to leave, if you need to.”

They all exchanged glances, but none moved. “We’ll remain here, Felix,” Zara said. “Ready to aid you if you need help.”

“...I appreciate it, Zara.” He laughed. “I might just take you up on that.”

Do You Wish To Release The Second Layer?

“Brace yourselves. Yes. Release the Second Layer.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The Second through Fourth Layer proved no more challenging than the First. Felix tore through them with little effort—it had barely been more than a half hour since they had started. What’s more, there had been zero movement within his Sonata of Dominance. The Skill still stubbornly remained at level 124.

He and his friends had descended down the path, winding deeper into Mount Kestral with every step. Now they rested within another ward, Nymean statues upright and on guard. None of the Kept had managed to breach the ancient defenses, though that was mostly due to how few ever managed to escape Felix’s attention. Atar and Darius had been forced to employ a few attacks, but mostly, they were silent watchers.

Mostly.

“How long is this going to take?” Atar muttered.

“Just be glad it’s going so fast.” Tern was seated, his notebooks spread out around him and his glowing, magic quill scratching out diagrams. “I’ve counted at least a dozen Tier VII monstrosities in that last Layer. I’d say I’m surprised he’s still able to fight at all, but the man did slay a goddess.”

Felix suspected they knew he could hear them, but that didn’t stop the whispering. He ignored them, anyway, and checked his core space once again.

Huh. He paused in surprise. So much.

Within him, Essence, Mana, and significance was packed tight within the bounds of his root lattice. Though neither Hunger nor the Beast had yet stirred, Felix was leery about sending any of his potency into the dark abyss at his center. He feared strengthening it until he’d settled his Grandmaster Tier—and even then, he hesitated.

For now, his power was hung from the branches of his Divine Tree, filling it up like a dense canopy of leaves. It resembled nothing so much as an earthbound nebula, as ephemeral and colorful as a rainbow set with glittering stars. The results of all the Layers were there, shining within him, while his Sonata of Dominance hummed on down below. Unchanged, but perhaps not for long.

The Fifth felt different.

Do You Wish To Release The Fifth Layer?

Yes.

The nearest crystals burst, shattering once again as their containment failed. Horrors seeped from the cracks, swarming the chasm. Mana-warped Elementals, twisted abominations, and things that were half-Urge and half-beast, not to mention Primordial spawn—all rushed upwards in a horde of monstrous flesh that crowded out the chasm with their fierce and wrathful desire to breach the surface.

Felix engaged them all.

Their varied forms swirled, snapped, crackled, and roared, raging with elemental magics of all sorts. He met them all: earth for water to dry them out and seal them closed, fire to consume storming air, shadow to freeze and bind, and light to blaze through flesh. They fell by the handful and then the dozens, notifications of their deaths rattling across his consciousness, but Felix did not pay them any heed. His Skill, Sonata of Dominance, still sat unmoved. No matter that he fell through their ranks, slashing with elemental power—they weren’t a threat to him.

A great explosion rumbled from beneath, tearing through the earth in a cacophony amplified by the mountain itself, resembling nothing so much as a dozen skyscrapers imploding. Green-gold light welled up, nearly liquid in its thickness, and it swept into other crystals, smashing through the dark stone with punishing force. Rock gave way, and crystal shattered.

WARNING!

An Active Breach Is Detected!

The Sixth Layer Is Compromised!

Far below, a chain reaction tore through the Wellspring. Monstrosities surged upward upon a tide of thickened light. They clawed at the walls or flew under their own power or undulated in viscous streams, all of them headed up—toward the city. Toward freedom.

Felix burned, shifting his Skill’s pitch through his Affinity and Intent until his limbs burst with unfettered might as he growled wordlessly into the chasm.

They would have to get through him first.

They were surrounded by darkness. It wasn't a true dark, however, but a blocking of the light by a league of monster flesh. Atar lifted a hand, rotating two Stars above his palm. Illumination filled their little bubble of safety; and beyond, he watched twisted limbs and blinking, bulbous eyes wriggle past them in a parade of horrors.

"Blighted Night," he whispered.

"Heinous beasts," Darius agreed. "There's no end to them, and they’re potent as well. At least Tier VII."

Elowen looked up, her antlers reflecting Atar's white flame until they seemed to glow themselves. "Equivalent to a low Grandmaster. How could anyone face them all?"

“He’s Unbound,” Atar said. What other explanation was necessary?

Elowen scoffed. “This is not the result of levels. I…I don’t know what this is.”

"You're more capable than you realize," Zara insisted, laying an ocher hand on the deer mage's shoulder. "You must push yourself beyond your limitations."

The Theron pursed her lips and regarded the shorter Chanter. "I suppose you're right. I am Unbound, same as him."

Elowen looked up toward the general direction of chaos and the roaring sound they heard through the layers of abominable muscle and bone. "Though, I don’t know that I'll ever be able to do…this."

"This is not your path," Zara said. "You look ahead—a Seer, yes?"

Elowen nodded.

"Then what you must do is witness. You must press that inner eye beyond the now toward what may be."

"I have done that—far too often." Elowen shuddered, hugging herself. "The Ruin was at the end of every vision. It burned them away with... " She winced. "Something. I cannot remember, but each and every vision of the future is tainted by its presence. I cannot See around it or even near it.”

Zara's attention sharpened. "You said before that you sought the Ruin out. Is there a consistency in its appearance?"

"As I said, I cannot see the Ruin; or if I have, I forget it immediately. It's a hole in my memory."

Zara raised her hand, cutting Elowen off. "No, that's not what I mean. Can you see when it is coming?"

Before Elowen could answer, power cascaded through the dark, splitting monster flesh into bloody ruin as great swaths of their number vanished entirely. More replaced them from below, bulging and wriggling through the voided tunnels of their brethren as they eagerly sought release. But around them, the Nymean barrier flexed and flared, spitting sparks around the statues as the monsters swarmed.

"This isn't good," Alister muttered.

"I would say not," Atar said, burning the creatures that drew too close. His Stars passed right through the barrier thankfully, and the explosions they set off hurled the monsters back, but it wasn’t enough. Soon, they had more than filled the pockets that Felix had created and began to spill outward…into them.

The barrier bulged inward, flaring a bright, cherry red.

Atar backed up. "Now would be a good time to test out that Legendary shield of yours!”

“Bulwark of the Steadfast!"

A shimmering blue dome swept outward, pressing against the Nymean barrier. The statues flashed, but the magic swirled, accepting Alister's Mana into its own ward, reinforcing it. Atar grunted in surprise, and Alister gave a giddy laugh.

"It's working!" His elation faded swiftly, however, and he grunted in pain. “Oh Night, it’s working.”

Atar grimaced. The impacts of the beasts outside the barrier were being transferred to the man, and muted or not, they were mighty. The monsters crowded closer as pressure was applied to them from above, below, and the sides. Soon, the barriers sparked once more, driving Alister to his knees.

"Order Departs!"

Elowen's purple-blue power pushed outward as well, mingling easily with Nymean wards as her will thrust itself outward, steadying Alister's Skill.

"The wards are accepting our might as their own," Tern pointed out. "All of you! Funnel your Mana into them!" The old Elf followed his own advice, pouring a liquid stream of power into the statues directly. The wards bloomed, new ripples of incandescent color filling the air between them and the horde.

Zara followed suit, her water shield rising to mix with the others with the sound of roaring surf. Darius, however, merely grunted, "My magic will not shield you, but if Atar's spells can get through, then... Wind Blade!"

White-green crescents launched from his swinging sword, slashing a deep furrow into a monster as it undulated past. He pivoted, bringing his sword across again and again. Each time he gouged a bit further into the creatures’ thick hides. Soon enough, Atar joined him with his blazing Stars of the Sovereign. Neither of their attacks killed the beasts, but they relieved the pressure, if only a little bit.

Until an abomination of burning blood and thick, tar-like flesh fell atop their shields.

watch out!

"Incendiary Vortex!" Atar shouted, and a storm of white flame seared at the sticky substance. It burned beneath his power, shielding his Alister and the rest from its deluge as the monster’s body washed over the Nymean statues.

Still, his friends cried out in pain as the barrier flexed, its pressure and heat searing into them. The abomination’s power spilled through the barrier as it fell apart, and it was as if the very air caught flame.

atar, we must⁠—!

"I know! Pyreform Undying!"

The Skill took hold in his chest, white flame rising from the obsidian nest within his core space as Atar allowed the Urge to bind once more to his Body. Flesh burnt away, consumed, turned into raw power as his bones were unveiled. Deeply inscribed arrays gleamed like crimson embers atop his skeleton, the marks of sigaldry glowing beneath a layer of black char as white flames shrouded his limbs.

“I’ll take it all, thank you!” Atar embraced the heat and fire, his unique Skillset pulling its Mana directly from the air. It scorched him, overwhelming the white flames with a tinge of bloody crimson.

WARNING!

All Guests Of The Warden, Step Onto The Lift!

Descent Is Authorized!

Behind him, a section of the floor lit up, revealing the glyph of House Navarre.

"Back up, all of you!" Darius shouted, but none were able to move. They were all crippled by pain or pressure or both. “Fah! Disc of Earthly Burdens!”

White-green Mana flashed before a concave disc of power scooped every single one of Atar’s allies. The mages, consumed by their pain, fell back toward the warrior—all save Atar. He remained at the edge, hurling fire as he marshaled the bloody flame away from his friends. Still, it soaked into the statues.

They began to melt.

"Atar," Alister shouted, "get back!"

The wards exploded.

There was a flash of light and a feeling of immense pressure, and the next several things Atar knew were pain. His bones creaked as they bashed against stone, the naked expanse of his ribs, spine, and skull soaked in burning blood and foul viscera.

“Descend!” someone yelled.

The world lurched again as the lift dropped, all of them falling now, faster than ever before. A new, stronger shield locked around them, encasing them in a transparent crystalline tube that plunged into the mountain.

“Are you—ahh!” Alister rushed to Atar’s side but hissed when the blood burned at his hands.

"Stay back," Atar warned through clenched teeth. "Flame, can you consume this stuff?"

you underestimate me.

The burning, bloody tar vanished into his bones, and for just a moment, Atar felt relief. Then he jolted in pain, and a sudden, vicious energy coursed through his center. It rioted across every inch of his channels, scalding flame itself. The pain was incomprehensible and maddening; burrowing worms through flesh that was not there. Atar screamed, and above, a very human voice roared as if an answer.

"A madness burns in that man," Tern muttered, looking up. "This is…no Grandmaster can face this."

Monsters vanished above them into sudden smoke, teeth snapped out of the horde before vanishing as if they never were, as quick and as devastating as a lightning strike. Felix was letting himself loose. Atar could feel it beyond the pain.

yes! consumption! that which binds! he who consumes!

What are you talking about?

feel it, atar! let the sensation roll through our empowered bones. this is our destiny.

Something did billow across his body then, something hot and heavy and deeply unnerving—a binding coal flame, burning with newfound kindling. It grew.

It raged.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The air was filled with the sound of rasping bellows and rushing power. Skills flourished, searing across Felix's vision as the abominations swelled upward toward freedom.

Sonata of Dominance!

Stone peeled off the mountain, assembling outward according to his sharply honed Intent. He brute forced it all, sounding the Skill within him until the light from above vanished. The dark rock congealed into a blockage above him, sealing the chasm for hundreds of yards in either direction…and leaving a single opening above Felix.

A bottleneck.

“Come and face me,” he growled.

Monsters smashed into Felix without stopping, their gaping maws and rippling flesh as inexorable as the tide. Tooth and claw scraped across his scales, sparking across the black plates and tearing what remained of his Garment. Felix struck back, of course, flaring his Sonata to oppose every monster that came against him.

Fire was met with water, air with earth, and light with shadow. Always its opposite, or close enough; always seeking the weakness at the heart of each opponent. They fell, rent by ice and flame and sizzling acid. Felix struck faster, commanding the Mana around them as if wielding a scythe—and the Kept fell like wheat.

Still, there were too many. Monstrosities and abominations slipped through his grasp, his Sonata not nearly as all-encompassing as he required. At the edges of the fight, creatures were seeking out the far ends of his blockage.

Can’t have that! His Sonata wasn’t enough alone. Astrum Ascendance!

Cold starfire surged within him, rushing through his channels and altering the Sonata as it rose out of his Mana Gates. Fire became an inferno and ice a hoarfrost. Monsters fell faster than ever before, retrieved from the edges of his reach and torn asunder.

Vast piles of monstrosities fell, dropping away from him in a thick mist. Hundreds clogged the walls, speared by stone and ice, and the rest were simply floating flakes of char.

Shit. He cursed at himself more than anything. This is pointless if I don't focus!

He cut off Astrum Ascendance. It was a crutch—a powerful one, for sure—but he was meant to utilize the Sonata of Dominance alone. He would never push it to Grandmaster if he cut its influence with an amplification Skill.

Empyrean Embrace.

Clamping his will around the monstrosities, Felix consumed them all in one fell swoop. Every last bit vanished, leaving him alone in the darkened chasm. The Fifth and most of the Sixth Layer was gone…and so were his friends.

Felix frowned. At the center of the circle of statues, there was a void where a platform once stood, and below it a cylindrical tunnel of crystal led downward. He reached toward his Authority as the Warden, and information filtered across his Mind: the platform had activated during the attack, and his friends had been transported lower. Deeper into the mountain.

Right. They'll be safe there. Thunder and a concussive blast of air shook the Wellspring, and stone dust rained down from above. I hope.

Something roared, and lightning danced across Felix’s legs as his connection to the Wellspring trembled.

Or…not.

Creatures rose from the dark, like leviathans in slow spirals toward the surface. Three creatures more powerful than the last hundred he'd faced all together.

The first was a hulking beast on six legs with a wide back, thick with muscle, and covered in golden eyes. Rods of steel speared upward from its spine, and lightning sizzled across it, driving its fur to stand on end. Close behind it, a fleshy abomination covered in pustules and oozing liquids that slipped through the thinnest of air. Around and between the two of them was a billowing fog that contained a figure as elusive as shadow itself.

Unseen Beholder.

Primordial of Blooming Iron - Metal, Lightning, and Blood

Urge of Shifting Plague - Rot and Poison

The Dream Eater - Illusion and Shadow.

Felix could identify their attunements easily now. They weren't like people, hiding their power within a core space. Their Mana boiled across their bodies, pulled from the world as fast as they could manage.

The Primordial roared again, breaking free of the pack. It galloped up the chasm wall leaving a trail of crackling blue-white light. The Urge gave a wet screech, and the shadow fog spread wide across the chasm, both of them speeding up.

Felix tried again, pressing his Unseen Beholder once more, but all he could pull was their names, attunements, and strength. They were all Tier VIII—an equivalent of high Grandmaster.

That’s all I need to know.

The Primordials' gallop turned into a full-blown charge as the pustule latched on, and the cloud streamed behind. Felix’s heartbeat quickened, his blood sounding like deep drums in his ears. His greatest epiphanies had always come in battle. This is just what he needed.

Cutting out Adamant Discord, he plummeted into their midst, face-first, claws bared, flaring Sonata of Dominance alone.

An Elemental abomination, a Primordial, and an Urge. For once, however, the creatures worked together. Poisons sprayed upward, drenching Felix and throwing off his trajectory by the smallest of margins. Just enough for the Primordial's tail to catch him and smash him aside.

Felix impacted the wall, and it shattered. He was buried, lodged more than twenty feet into a crater that disgorged massive chunks of dark stone and remnant crystal. They clattered explosively into the chasm below, and the Primordial batted them easily away.

“You little—” Felix barely even felt the hit, but it was annoying. He pushed up, detaching his body from his own personal crater with a sound like a gunshot going off. The Primordial snarled, it’s golden eyes gleaming, and Felix leaped forward⁠—

And stepped out onto a porch.

What?

It was autumn. The cold was just nipping at his ears as a wind blew bright orange leaves down off the maple tree that stood in his front lawn. He could see mountains in the distance, tall and purple beyond a forest of impossibly tall trees, and a river babbled in the near distance.

Felix turned, spotting the swing that needed more oil on its chains so it would stop creaking and the door to the house that he'd built himself. "That's…odd.”

He remembered building the house, just like he remembered planting most of the forest from the remnants of six seeds. He blinked, examining the trees again. They were Spirit Trees, and they filled the air with a spice that was less scent than it was an aura of pure magic.

“Watch your strikes! Aim for center mass, and you’ll find the target.”

Vess was in the yard, sparring with a number of people he recognized. Legionnaires and alchemists and Chanters. They were using padded spears. He remembered that she had retired her real one years ago, after⁠—

Evie was there, too, laughing at something Harn grumbled as they chopped firewood. Eidolons stood nearby, their arms loaded up with enough lumber to burn for six winters.

It was…nice.

Peaceful.

Felix took a soft breath, and for some reason, his chest hurt.

Claws on the wooden porch made him turn. Pit, smaller than normal, sat on his haunches at his side. His big, golden eyes looked up at Felix.

"You have to wake up."

"I know." Felix smiled softly. “But this was nice.”

“Watch out!”

Felix thrust his arm up, catching the heavy paw of the Primordial of Blooming Iron. It smashed him back, shattering more of the chasm's wall before Felix found his footing. The dark chasm was filled with the scent of blood and poison as the beast roared into his face, its unblinking eyes gleaming, but Felix did not budge.

He punched.

The Primordial’s roar cut off as it was hurled back, out of the crater but not so far that it was outside of Felix's reach.

Sonata of Dominance!

Stone teeth snapped out of the mountain, forged from the bedrock to slam through the Primordial's flesh. They pierced it, tearing its iron hide and releasing a storm of lightning from its searing blood. The monster screamed, and metal coated the earth in response, sprouting from it like razor-sharp flowers that arced with electricity. The metal rushed for Felix.

"Here's something I learned from Zara," he snarled, before shaping water and fire across the encroached metal. Lightning caught it, but the water was heated to steam and frozen almost at the same time, releasing a deluge of distilled liquid across the metal flowers. The lightning fizzled out. "Distilled water isn't conductive at all."

He shoved the water down into the metal, freezing it as it went, turning it brittle before he flexed the earth, shattering it. The Primordial lurched forward, uncaring for the tearing of its bloody flesh—Felix flexed his Intent, and the stone jaws snapped shut, crushing the beast entirely.

"You can't die," he said, "but I've got that figured out, too."

Empyrean Embrace.

The Skill snapped up the Primordial, and for a second, Felix could almost make out phantom teeth in the air.

Plenty of time to test it again.

Before he could turn from the Primordial’s remains, poison and fetid rot splashed across Felix’s shoulders and sizzled against his scales. It sought out his Mana Gates, eager to tear him apart from within, but Felix met it with searing flame. Poison boiled to steam, and the creature screeched.

Felix whirled, spotting the Urge of Shifting Plague as it tried to back off, but it was too late for the monstrosity. He sent fire after it, and the air around the clinging Urge burst into an inferno. Its flesh baked, and its pustules charred before they popped against the crags. Water followed, boiling its red-hot effluvia even as its flesh flaked away.

He devoured it, too.

Yeah. Definitely teeth.

Felix took a steadying breath. His Aspects were truly buzzing, unleashed as they were, and it made him feel dizzy and giddy in equal measure. One more to go.

He perched on the edge of a deformed stone, surveying his surroundings. The Dream Eater was nowhere to be seen, so Felix flared his Perception and immediately spotted it. The elemental abomination was sliding up the walls like a shadow, hiding itself in the earth's cracks.

You can’t hide from me.

Sonata of Dominance!

From a distance, he surrounded it in light. The Dream Eater recoiled soundlessly from the golden radiance, its shadows shriveling and its foggy illusions hemmed in, even as it flung out a dozen spindly limbs to shield itself. It bounced off the cliff, but half those hands snared a ledge.

“No, no.” Felix adjusted the vibrations, changing light to earth as stone arced around its form, sealing it. "Come here!"

The rough orb detached from the wall and dropped. Felix kicked off, shattering the stone beneath him as he shot upward, flame gathering around his limbs in a red-gold radiance. He sent that forward, surrounding the falling stone before melting it into slag. It splattered into the rough cliff, and the Dream Eater burst free, its shadow and fog billowing powerfully from a rent in the molten stone.

Felix brought down a taloned hand against the Eater, but his hands passed straight through it. The thing wasn't physical enough to hurt, and it swarmed up his arm like a surging tide. Dark tendrils of fog stabbed out, through his neck and into his head.

"Wrong move," he hissed.

His Crown flared, casting it back as its spindly limbs contorted into an expression of twisted pain. Bronze light congealed against its ambiguous limbs, hardening them. Exposing them.

In an instant, Felix changed his pitch, turning the stone beneath them into spears of gleaming steel. He drove them up, through the congealing metal of its chest, striking them against one another. A spark leaped from them, and Felix seized it with the strains of his Sonata. Shaped it, until it became a conflagration of light that burned the Dream Eater from the inside out.

Shadow was ripped asunder, and the Dream Eater yowled mentally in agony, but the dark only returned when the light faded. It wasn’t enough.

So Felix reached for the dark.

One of the elements the Sonata had the easiest time shaping, shadow leaped to Felix’s Will as it crashed against the Dream Eater’s. It flexed, straining its strange form with all it had, and for a moment, the abomination held Felix off—but only a moment. The very next, Felix’s powerful Will overcame the Dream Eater, and he seized its being directly.

He tore away its shadow Mana like a pilfered knife from a deranged toddler. The abomination didn't speak, but its Spirit quailed in mortal terror.

With illusion its only weapon, and Felix's Mind a fortress it could not access, it could do nothing but run.

It tried.

It failed.

Felix found the point between light, sound, and shadow where illusion dwelled in the vast spectrum of Harmony.

"There you are," he said, seizing all the bits of its being—before crushing it entirely.

Notification swept over him, there and gone in an instant as Felix swept them aside. His Mind was working too furiously to worry about the System.

The Sonata. He’d learned so much. Facing Mana down with its opposite wasn't the answer, and neither were multiple streams of power. It was like unto like. My Will against theirs.

Dominance.

Like a puzzle piece finally fitting into place, he felt it.

Finally.

Sonata of Dominance is level 125!

…

Sonata of Dominance is level 130!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+300 AFI

+300 RES

+...

Divine Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Woven Machinations]

ERROR!

Essence Has Been Altered!

Do You Wish To Restore Its True Nature?

Y/N

Yeah. I do.

Power ripped through him as Unite the Lost engaged the Essence Mote…but Felix couldn’t focus on it, for a deeper sound shook the depths. A shockwave of power ripped upward through the mountain, and his Authority screamed at him.

WARNING!

An Active Breach Is Detected!

The Seventh Layer Is Compromised!

A vast thing shifted far below, beyond the sight of normal eyes. Thousands of feet below, where a faint crystalline light reflected off of fallen shards.

Unseen Beholder!

His vision blurred, yet the Skill didn’t fail so much as malfunction. The creature that rose against him was so corrupted and twisted that the System couldn’t fit it into its structure at all. Their information was a maze of tangled lines and cryptic symbols. The boundaries of the notification box was broken, smearing azure and gold across Felix’s vision even as the pale letters stretched in unnatural directions. All he could gather was its power.

And a name.

Primordial of Tenebrous Aeon - Tier IX

Low Paragon Tier. The thing was flooded with decay, blood, and shadow Mana. It was a being of ancient properties so big that it filled the bottom of the chasm like a river of flesh and blood. Wounds covered its hide, opening and closing like mouths, but exposing a terrible rot within itself. Limbs uncountable wriggled upon its blubbery sides, bent in unnatural angles as it pushed against the chasm.

It’s attention speared upward at him, and Felix felt its regard like a physical weight. He grunted, and the rock around him exploded into shrapnel.

Divinity Has Been Shed!

True Nature Restored!

Primordial Essence Detected During Formation!

[Essence Of Maestro’s Movement]

Great. Felix grimaced as Unite the Lost faded and a new crescendo began. I’m gonna have to fight while Tempering. Again.

WARNING!

Containment Failed.

All Are In Peril.

The Tenebrous Aeon Is Free.

Flee.

“No chance.” Felix laughed, baring his teeth as he dropped to meet them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Broken Path and Fatebreaker Titles Found!

Grandmaster Tier Bonus Added!

Primordial Nature Resonates With [Essence Of Maestro’s Movement]!

Unbound Nature Resonates With [Essence Of Maestro’s Movement]!

Calculating Effects…

Choose A Feature:

Tonic - Journey's Beginning

Semitone - Journey's Span

Transpose - Journey's Transformation

The Essence Mote unveiled itself as Felix fell, but he couldn’t pay attention to it. As the Features listed out, he dropped fist-first atop the Primordial. The thing was broader than the Ravager King and as slick as any shadowbeast conjured by Noctis. Felix’s claws sank deep into its flesh, tearing away a chunk of its hide and exposing a velvet green ichor within.

The wound healed before his second strike landed.

Visions kindled within him, sparked off by his Tempering, but Felix shook them off. His Crown hummed, playing interference between his Mind and the convoluted, symbolic images. No matter how much they helped him, Felix couldn’t afford to lose concentration in this fight.

I need to aim for its other wounds. Nearby, gashes split the Primordial for dozens of feet, exposing ichor-slick muscle and fat before closing themselves up. They flexed on rhythm, like gruesome gills. Unseen Beholder!

He dove closer, trying to peer past the power that shrouded the monstrosity. Unlike any of the others, its attunement was almost beyond him—but Felix grasped a thrumming of blood, rot, and shadow.

Sonata of Dominance!

Title: Born of Will Is Active!

What Is Beyond You, If You Have The Will?

Timbre shifted and pitch held close, Felix seized upon the least of its power. Shadow unfurled before him, held within his Skill’s domain, and he imposed himself upon it.

NO.

Tenebrous Aeon roared, and the scream blasted him straight off of its back. Lightning flared, and Felix stopped his wild trajectory with lines of connection, but it snapped the joints across his elbows and shoulders. They healed as he settled into place…and the Primordial twisted beneath him. A river of flesh and stunted grasping arms rotated, its blubber turned upon itself as wounds of rot opened like putrid eyes.

Shit. The thing was too powerful. I need to finish this Temper.

He dropped the barrier in his Mind, and the visions rushed toward him.

Tonic, whispered the voice. Journey’s Beginning.

Winds whipped around Felix, tearing at his usual black jacket and faded green trousers. His feet were bare in the wet leaves, and a chill settled into him like knives of ice through his soles. A lake stood not far away, still as a mirror.

A tingling at the back of his Mind compelled him to turn and kick away the leaves…revealing a pathway of translucent green stones. His toes touched the first, and it released a single, glowing note.

“That’s…interesting.” Felix glanced down the path. It wound through the trees along the edge of the lake, mostly covered in leaves and moss. None of it shone with light, however—none but the one he touched.

He took another step.

The next stone glowed green-gold and a crystalline as the note that pierced the autumnal air. It joined the first, making something that wasn’t quite a song…not until he stepped on the third. A chord formed, unfurling into the air and blasting away the leaves from a dozen feet in all directions.

Felix grinned, he stepped again⁠—

The earth sundered. A legion of grasping appendages tore tree and dirt and stone apart, wrenching open the chill night with gruesome strength. Power flared and broke, split before a tide of flesh that interposed itself across the forest.

NO.

The roar split the vision apart, and Felix was flung free—back into his Body, which cratered the chasm’s wall once more.

What the hell?

The vision was gone.

No. No, I still feel it. The Temper is still happening, I just can’t see it anymore.

The Primordial undulated, its clawed arms casually tearing at the mountain around it like a hamster chewing through a paper tube. Somehow, the thing had put itself between Felix and his Tempering Skill—like a wall of dire flesh.

He’d have to choose blindly this time.

Tonic, Semitone, or Transpose. Which one is right?

Before he could make a decision, however, the Primordial folded over itself with the speed of a building collapsing. Felix kicked off the wall, flaring his Agility, but even so, it was impossible to dodge in the confines of the chasm.

He was smashed back into the walls, smeared across the dark stone and crystalline remnants like a bug on a windshield.

WARNING!

Your Health Is Below 75%!

Felix flared his Strength, pushing at the titanic appendage with all his Might, but the mountain failed first. It crumbled beneath their weight, sinking him farther as shards of stone tore at his scales until they bled—and until he shot out of the other side of a crag, pressed through the rock entirely.

Adamant Discord!

Lightning-chased bonds steadied him, holding him aloft for a brief instant—bracing him.

Felix kicked off.

He flared his Agility, his movements immediately shrouded in cones of fog as he trailed thunder. Felix rebounded off the far wall, ricocheting around the Primordial's bulk before he tore loose his Inheritor's Will and flared Adamant Discord. In a flash of lightning and thunder, he stabbed downward into one of the creature's open wounds.

Wild Threnody!

Wild Threnody is level 100!

...

Wild Threnody is level 115!

Master Tier!

You Gain:

+50 WIL

+50 INT

+50 END

Fire and light seared through his blade, cutting into the Primordial's obdurate hide. Shadow Mana boiled in fire and fled from the light as a thunder of drums roused in Felix's core space.

Cold rot retaliated.

Gelid putrescence burst from the split hide of the Primordial. Great green gouts stripped stone before freezing into pillars of fetid pus. Felix dodged away, slicing deeper and opening the wound into a gaping hole that exposed layer after layer of blubbery fat. He twisted his blade, flaring Wild Threnody all the more as Sonata of Dominance marshalled the Mana around him to dive deep into the creature.

As the flesh split deeper, however, he did not expect to see a face. An enormous and mostly rotted skull leered at Felix from within the blubber before skeletal hands burst from the wound to grab at his wrists.

"Holy—!"

His words were cut off as he was pulled into the depths of the monstrosity. Arms the size of a Frost Giant wrapped around him, the bones hard against his scales as they were joined by other pairs, each hauling back with considerable Strength to pull him deeper into the Tenebrous Aeon.

Felix shoved at them, easily shattering their brittle bones, but more rose from the cloying folds like parasites. He tore into them, kicking away as lightning flared around him and drew him up out of the Primordial's flesh. He gasped as his head broke the surface of the wound, green ichor pouring down his face.

Skeletal claws and grinning skulls followed him out, but talon and lightning blasted them apart. Unfortunately, Felix couldn’t bombard all of the pulsating tears in the Primordial's flesh, and those immediately began to disgorge more undead. Covered in bits of rotting flesh, they looked half digested, even as they trailed a blackened umbilical that connected them back to the wounds they'd escaped.

They piled on, attacking Felix in an unrelenting tide. Corpses piled atop Felix, and no matter how much he swung, more were always there to replace the old.

Sonata of Dominance!

He grappled with the necromantic Mana that animated them all and, after a short struggle, severed it with his mighty Will. They scattered in all directions, their corpses falling apart as the umbilicals whipped back into the Primordial's body.

Felix stood, hunched over and panting. Fighting against even a sliver of the Tenebrous Aeon’s Will had been like wrestling a mountain into submission. A moment of sweet relief gusted across him, and he straightened.

Somehow, he’d lost track of the Primordial’s claws.

Claws the size of shortswords stabbed into his shoulders and back, slicing through scale and muscle before lodging against his bones. Thin and deformed as they were, the Primordial’s appendages were strong beyond measure.

The claws raked at him, tearing through his armored scales as if they were paper.

WARNING!

Your Health Is Below 25%!

A scream tried to rip from Felix’s throat, but all he could manage was a strained gurgle. Rot sank into him, putrefying his scales and muscle. It flowed through him in a wave, and his Body began to shut down.

WARNING!

Your Health Is Below 10%!

Felix gagged, bile choking him as he struggled against the thing. But as he turned, skeletal hands reached from opened wounds to snag his feet, tripping him up and driving him to his knees as the Primordial's claws slammed him into its own broken belly.

WARNING!

Your Health Is Below 5%!

With a desperate gasp, Felix brought his Inheritor's Will down upon the Primordial's blubbery hide, tearing open a wound beneath his knees.

Adamant Discord!

The connection between him and the Primordial was strong, and he hauled on it like a lifeline—except this time, he rocketed downward, slipping free into the gelid ichor even as he slipped free of the claws in his back. Green bile surrounded him, cold meat clutched at his sides, and bony hands scrabbled for his ankles.

WARNING!

Your Health Is Below 3%!

Last Cry of the Chthonic Host!

A rush of power filled him, emerging from the dark of the System before sinking into his Body like a lightning bolt of rejuvenation. In less than a breath, his Health and Stamina rocketed back up to 100%. The power pulled him back together, his blood replenishing, his flesh knitting closed, and even the bones in his shoulders and spine reassembling from the crushing grasp of the Primordial.

Last Cry of the Chthonic Host is level 6!

Shit! He'd been saving that skill for his fight with the Hierophant, and now it was out of commission for the next month, due to its cooldown. Now I’m pissed!

Adamant Discord!

Felix blasted back out, through the legion of undead that assembled beside him and out of the Aeon's open wounds. Lightning coursed in his wake, frying flesh and bones alike—but Felix knew now that it made little difference. He was facing a challenge that was well beyond him. At least with the Divine, he got a boost to his Willpower, thanks to his Title. The Primordial he faced now was both too strong and too weak at the same time. So, he did the one thing he could.

Felix ran.

Distance yawned between them as he rose on a bolt of lightning, hoping for time to think, but the Primordial bellowed a staccato roar before it began to twist its lumbering bulk. It was following, but at least it wasn’t fast enough to catch him⁠—-

Sharp, wet explosions sounded from below, followed by the distinct sound of bones clattering against the chasm’s walls.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Undead corpses shot out from the Primordial’s back and sides, each connected by one of those gross umbilicals. They scrabbled after Felix, racing up the chasm walls.

Come on! You've got a weakness somewhere. Unseen Beholder!

Title: Tyros Of The Unseen Tide Is Active!

You Have Begun To Sense The Totality Of That Which Binds All.

Adamant Discord is level 139!

...

Adamant Discord is level 142!

A flurry of pale blue lines erupted around Felix. He sorted through them quickly, discarding some as useless, until he found something odd. A bond of strange strength. The pale blue beam led his senses downward to a piece of the Primordial deep within its chest, where a vile object filled its rib cage beneath an ocean of virulent green blood.

A core.

It was easily bigger than a house, but something about it seemed larger still. The core was drawn into itself, as if a world had laid within its chest. Felix's senses touched against it, and it was like touching a red-hot poker. His Mind was immediately filled with visions of decaying flesh, putrefying earth, and a rot that sought out to destroy all things.

Felix screamed, but there was no sound. The core ate away at it until it was reduced to meaningless noise. Rot infested the creature's core, and the spaces between were packed full of darkness and necromancy.

Death and more death. He jerked back, the Crown of Elysium flaring as it protected his Mind from the corruption he had just witnessed.

What about the core connected them? He had nothing like that inside of him, except that he could control pieces of that Mana. There was nothing between them other than the fact that they were both Primordials. Was that enough?

Still rising through the dark chasm, now devoid of crystalline prisons, Felix was the only light. Blue-white shone upon thousands of undead that streamed up the sides of the chasm. His Temper hounded at his thoughts, still proceeding at the back of his Mind, even as the echoes of that nightmarish core unfolded against him. They were rebuffed, but the assault was harrowing and left a piece of him shaking under the strain.

He needed an edge.

He needed to finish Tempering.

Think! The forest. The lake. The pathway…

It was there, at the edge of his sight, but it failed to assemble in his Mind. The visions were still blocked by the Primordial's influence. Without them, though, his understanding was stifled. He could only rely now on his gut.

So he listened.

The forest didn't matter. Neither did the lake, or the cold breeze, or the leaves on the ground. What did? What was the important takeaway?

Memory stirred, recalled so perfectly he could recreate everything…yet he focused on the sounds. The notes he'd roused with each step before being taken from the vision. The pathway.

It was music. His eyes widened. A pattern.

Tonic was the start. It was the first note after bows were rosined and reeds adjusted when the melody truly began. “Journey's Beginning," he said softly as the song continued at the edges of his Mind.

Semitone. He could hear the notes shifting further, the song lingering before it rushed forward. The interval didn't matter, and yet it did. Felix bit at his lip, his Mind whirling, picking at the edges of what he could hear. Time was nothing to the song. He glanced down as the undead climbed after him. Distance mattered.

"Journey's Span.”

The song lifted, going higher and then lower by turns. It reminded Felix of Semitone, but the melody didn't change so much as shift. It was being transformed into something else.

"Transpose. Journey's Transformation," he said.

Felix licked his lips, his ascent slowing as he reached the top of the Wellspring. He needed to expand his influence over his Sonata. To grasp more than the basic elements of the Green Wilds.

"I need that transformation," Felix spread his hands, and lightning leaped between them. "I need them all."

His gut tugged at him, twisting in fear, but Felix couldn't afford doubt.

"I choose Transpose!"

Congratulations!

You Have Absorbed The Essence of [Transpose]!

A sudden strangeness fell over him. A song that wasn't the same as it was, but shifted into something higher…and lower. A deep bass rocked through his bones just as a sharp tone hove across his blood. It sank into him, deeper than flesh. His core space rang out, and Sonata of Dominance was changed.

Congratulations!

You Have Tempered Your Tenth Skill!

Your Foundations Have Been Strengthened!

The Echo Of Your Foundations Rises Through Your Divine Tree!

New Title!

To Walk Upon The Precipice (Mythic)!

You have proven yourself willing to shape the very songs of Creation, Ascendant! It is a dangerous path you now follow, one that opens before you into a vast chasm with no way across. Will you take the leap?

+5% Leveling Speed Of All Shaping Skills

The song all around him sharpened, revealing strange new sounds to Felix's heightened senses. The harsh noise of undead claws against stone. The clicking rumble of the Primordial shifting beneath. The rush of the wind as it rose, and the faint crinkling noise of crystals falling into a deep darkness.

Wait. What is that?

A fell distortion buzzed through the nightmarish echoes that still assaulted his Mind. Like a toothache, the distortion bored through his nerves until it was a blinding pulse that opposed his heartbeat.

Heart. Blood. Words and images rippled through Felix as the song around him led him deeper. Flesh.

The nightmares parted. His Crown gleaming golden, Felix perceived the whole of the vast core that rose up beneath him. It truly was massive, but more than that, it was deformed. Flesh marred it, piled atop its smooth surface, and threw it in places, holding it tight like a tumor meant to choke out its lifeblood.

Curse.

Felix cut off Adamant Discord, and he dropped. The undead screeched in rage as they, too, leapt from the chasms, falling after him in a wave of undead flesh and bone. But Felix fell faster.

Sonata of Dominance!

Fire burst from his hands and feet, flaring out of his Mana Gates and rocketing him downward toward the approaching bulk of the Primordial of Tenebrous Aeon. It roared, and stone exploded from the chasm walls.

Sovereign Flesh!

Empyrean Embrace!

Felix knew this ailment. He'd cured it before, and he could do it again. Deep within his chest, the darkness shifted as his Empyrean Embrace roused, reaching out toward the Primordial and ripping free the curse from its flesh. He shaped away the tumor, ripping it free in ethereal jaws before swallowing it down into his own core.

It was too much.

Never before had he faced a Primordial so strong nor tried to devour it entirely, and his core space rioted. His channels tore and burned even as his chest felt like it was going to rip open and the Divine Tree within creaked with its impossible weight.

Felix refused to stop.

He fell through the darkness, and the undead followed, leaping into the air as he passed. Felix reached out his claws, flaring Sonata of Dominance as he split the dark with light and split open flesh to dive within. The Primordial did not flinch but rose to meet him, its unsettlingly long neck whipping forward toward him, even as Felix’s power tore open its hide.

I can free you!

The claws of the Primordial seized him. One, then two more, bound his arms and legs between fingers with entirely too many joints. Sovereign of Flesh raged in him, Sonata right behind, but no matter the powers he brought to bear, the Primordial clung tight. He was shaken, or perhaps that was the Wellspring itself, as the ancient horror wedged its bulk once more into the mountain’s chasm.

He was lifted up, held before eyes like pools of endless darkness. Three of them. They blinked with an alien regard.

Scion of the Unseen Tide.

A thrill of silver fear jolted through Felix. The Primordial had him fixed upon the tines of its gargantuan Spirit like a pig set to roast over flame…and it knew him. Those dark eyes blinked at him, slowly, the liquid within them shifting as things swam in its depths.

Cardinal.

You Have Changed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"You know me.” Not him, exactly, but Felix saw no reason to correct the thing.

Lips split open across the end of the Primordial's tiny head, just beneath those three black eyes. Large, flat teeth shone pale against its black tongue.

I Know What You Portend, Scion.

Felix grunted, trying to move his limbs but failing spectacularly. "And what is that?"

The End.

"The end of what?"

The Primordial twisted him, turning Felix about like a toy, examining him from heels to hair. You Are Incomplete. Where Do You Keep It?

"Keep what?" Felix managed through gritted teeth.

Ah. It held him above the eyes and mouth, and for a moment, Felix feared the thing was going to swallow him whole. Rooted And Bound. Fitting.

It means the Beast. Felix licked his lips. This was a chance to get information. He just had to survive.

He cleared his throat. "You're more lucid than I expected for a Primordial."

A Madness Is Within Me, But The Veil Is Parted. Thanks To You, Scion.

Felix blinked. "You know it was me?" The Primordial didn't bother to answer him. Felix supposed that was a dumb question anyway. "I can remove it completely."

No.

"I can. I've done it before⁠—”

To Lesser Beings.

“The Primordial of Withering Dust was strong⁠—”

A Splinter Of A Splinter. Its black eyes narrowed. Weak. Without warning, a wriggling finger pressed upon Felix's Mind. Or, at least, that's how it felt for the instant, before it was rebuffed by his gleaming crown. The Primordial hissed, a sound like a thousand serpents ready to strike.

A Formidable Defense. One I Have Not Seen For Interminable Ages. Black eyes flicked to the side, though the movement within them stilled. That Sword.

Its mouth widened into a smile that was unnervingly human. Primordial And Nymean Inheritor. You Walk A Line None Have Ever Survived.

"Survived?" Felix asked.

The Flesh Curse Devours All, Save You.

“You mean the Nym tried this before?"

Oh, Yes. Tried And Failed. The Path You take…It Was Broken For A Reason.

“The gods broke it."

Yes. They Feared Ascendants Most Of All. Challengers To Their Power.

“The Nym were trying to challenge them by... Doing what? Becoming Primordial like me?”

They Fought The Gods In Blood Battle That Lasted Centuries. The Nym Tried A Great Many Things Before Their End.

Felix licked his lips. "When you touched my Mind, what were you doing?”

Was The Withered Alive When You Cleansed It? Were Any Of My Kin?

An anger gathered in the Primordial, sparking across its Spirit in chaotic bursts. Its teeth sharpened for a moment before they flattened out once more. The sparks didn't vanish, but they were suddenly banked down to embers.

"The flesh curse is growing back," Felix realized.

As It Must.

“Then let me remove it all!"

No. You Are Too Weak To Remove It While I Still Live. It peered at him, each of its three eyes blinking separately. So Small For A Cardinal. It Truly Is A New Age.

Felix licked his lips, trying to keep up with the Primordial's words. He was walking a tightrope now, and on either side, there was only death.

"This Cardinal…It's Veridaan?”

Who Else Commands The Bonds Of All?

“I'm gonna guess and say no one."

Veridaan. Kohsara. Orrinahla. Aatansii. Cardinal Beasts All. None But The Cardinal Of Unseen Tides Could Be Your Progenitor, Scion. Just As Mine Could Be Naught But The Cardinal Of Inevitable Decay.

Wait.

Unseen Beholder is level 136!

...

Unseen Beholder is level 140!

A singular piece of information broke through its vast spirit, clarifying across Felix's mind as if it were a piece of blurry text come into focus.

Race: Scion of Inevitable Decay (Superior)

“You’re a Scion, too.”

A Bond We Share.

“That's what I sensed in your core. Our connection.”

Scions. There Were So Few Of Us. There Are Fewer Now.

“What does it mean? What is a Scion?"

An Heir To The Beasts’ Mantle.

“And by that, you mean the⁠—”

Cardinal Beasts. It Is How All Primordials Are Made. Pieces Of Their Progenitors, Hewn Free So That It Will Grow In Power. We Scions Carry A Piece Of The Cardinal’s Authority…And Are Responsible For Restoring Them.

A thrill of terror flowed through Felix. "Explain that."

Lips split into a twenty-foot smile. Restoration Is A Dream Beyond Us Now. Only Once In All the Long Ages Of Creation Has It Been Done—No Matter What The Divine Suggest.

"When?"

When The Realms First Came To Be.

“And you, you're a Scion for one of the Cardinals?"

In Name Alone. My Task Has Consumed Every Ounce Of My True Strength. A paroxysm of pain rippled across the beast’s immense neck and back. I Bear Now Only A Twisted Echo Of What Once Was.

Jesus. Really? A twisted echo that was impossible to tear apart. He frowned "Wait. What task?"

One That I Have Failed.

One That You Might Complete.

Felix bared his teeth. "I’m not interested in taking up another mantle."

The Primordial laughed. You Think This World Will Allow It? Scion, You Are Already Changed, But The Mantle Is Far From Your Shoulders. The Divine Will Not Allow It, Fragments Of Veridaan Or No.

“The Beast.”

Its laugh turned to a wheeze. No. You Carry A Fragment That Was Once Stolen, But Is Now Returned.

An image flashed through Felix's Mind of a skull covered in sigaldry and buried within a vision. The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan. Was that real?

Without warning, Felix was hurled from the Primordial's grip, impacting the wall as the Tenebrous Aeon roared in pain. That chaos sparked across its Spirit again, turning swiftly into an inferno.

The Madness Returns. It fixed Felix with its triple gaze. You Must End This, Scion.

"You mean kill you?"

The Tenebrous Aeon tilted its strange, oblong head. If You Can.

"You want to die? What about your task?"

It Is Time. I Have Protected It For Ages, But A New Heir Has Come. My Stewardship Has Ended.

"Protected what?"

The Primordial laughed, and it was a whispery, fragile thing. Its teeth sharpened, and new eyes split open across its slick flesh.

Come And See.

Atar and the rest stood in a bubble of light, suspended in a vast darkness.

The green-gold of the crystal prisons had vanished, and for all Atar could tell, the world had vanished with it. He could sense nothing beyond the perimeter of the Nymean shields, and without even a speck of reference, it felt as if they were suspended. Frozen among the black.

His friends stood at the edges of the platform and peered at the sigaldry around them, but Atar found he could not spare much thought for their predicament. He was entirely too busy with the burning in his blood.

this is my domain, oozebag! unhand the architecture!

Within him, Flame raged. The Urge burned as it flew, trailing tendrils of white fire across Atar’s core space. They alighted on the oozing blood that poured from atop his roofless temple, as if to smother the crimson glow with white. The burning blood scoured the dark stone, leaving pitted surfaces and melted obsidian in its wake.

Atar sat in the center of the platform, his face all but locked in a grimace of pain and concentration as he mustered his Will and Intent to keep that abomination's power from corrupting his core space. It was hard, nearly as difficult as establishing his Pyreform weeks prior, but the abomination was dead. This was merely their power.

With a rush of wind and a popping of his ears, Flame ceased his movement, and Atar sucked in a wild breath.

we…are done.

The Urge of the Undying Flame Has Assimilated The Bloodflame Of Rancor!

You Have Learned A New Skill!

Bloodflame (Mythic), Level 1!

Your blood burns, igniting upon contact with the air as it generates a powerful Mana that can be used in place of your own Mana pool. Casting spells this way burns your Health but doubles the spell’s destructive potential.

Flame. What is this?

consider it…a gift.

The Urge was exhausted, though as far as Atar could tell, he'd done little except fly around and shout obscenities at the bloody power that had infiltrated his core space.

Are you alright? Surprise flitted through Atar's chest, his own and the Urge's. They were both confused as to why Atar cared.

tired. i will…be fine soon.

Flame landed back within his nest at Atar's center, and he diminished, his birdlike form shrinking upon his perch until he was nothing more than a collection of slumbering embers. Alive, but quiescent.

Atar opened his eyes, but only glowing wards and empty darkness greeted him.

"Well, what now?" Atar asked.

Far above, something roared.

Felix spun around the Primordial, a bolt of lightning kindled by red-gold flames. The Tenebrous Aeon twisted with him, its blubberous bulk slipping across the chasm as its many arms clutched at the walls in an attempt to follow Felix's wild agility.

The Primordial roared, its eyes filmed over with madness. Its sharpened maw along its thin neck snapped at him, far more flexible than the rest of its body as it chased him down.

Sonata of Dominance!

Shadow and necromantic Mana tore into the beast’s flesh, but no matter what Mana Felix manipulated, his attacks were quickly healed. His shaping magic proved useless against the Primordial, even after his Tempering. So, he relied instead upon an old standard: tooth and claw.

Flaring adamant discord, he launched himself down, winding across the snapping length of its neck directly into its back, where the flesh had split open and new undead spewed forth.

Felix slashed his claws, pulverizing the undead even as he widened the wound straight through blubber, muscle, blood, and bone. He tore deep into the creature's flesh, each blow driving him further inward. Undead grappled with him, clawing at his body and attempting to restrain his limbs, but they were too weak. With casual strikes and slashing motions, he rendered them nothing more than piles of animated kindling.

In moments, he burst through a fibrous wall of ligaments and into a cavernous space filled with murky green ichor. A massive core sat at the center, glowing with a light that resembled a luminescent oil spill. Cancerous flesh clung to it, webbing it to the walls of its mighty rib cage, and growing from it like pustules of repugnant cartilage and thick, slick tendons.

Empyrean Embrace!

Ichor and flesh poured into him, emptying the vaulted rib cage into his core space in a matter of seconds. The Primordial’s core was cleansed once more…but this time, Felix spread his influence wider. Like a bloodhound, he chased down the flesh curse throughout the immense Body he was entrenched within.

Sovereign of Flesh!

His Authority over flesh itself resounded with his Will and Intent. Compared to previous attempts, it was remarkably easy to gather up all that was the flesh curse within the Tenebrous Aeon.

"I have too many questions for you. You're not dying today!”

He consumed it all.

Power poured into Felix, stuffing his already packed core space until it felt like he was ripping apart at the seams. The Divine Tree within him groaned, bending with the weight of power that pressed against it. The latticework boundary of his core space shifted and cracked, slowly breaking under the weight of Essence, Mana, and significance. More vicious than any mauling, pain lanced through Felix like needles in every joint.

I Am Too Much For You Alone! Embrace Your Darker Half!

The Beast? No chance of that!

Felix had done this before without Hunger or the Beast—he just needed his friends. He reached out, stretching his Will toward the Links he’d established with his closest friends: Atar, Alister, Harn, Beef, Archie, Evie, Vess, and Pit. All of them. His Will went out, intent shaping what he needed to happen as the request echoed across the distance between them.

In moments, he had their answers. A single word, echoed eight times.

Yes!

Power poured through their connections, splitting up the dissolved Essence, Mana, and significance from the flesh curse and distributing it among them all evenly. Yet, all too soon, they were full. One by one, his friends cried out, falling back under the onslaught of power. Felix cut off the connection, afraid of hurting them.

Potency still rushed into Felix from an unending font into a vessel that was very nearly at its limits. Yet he couldn’t risk spilling even a drop. There was nowhere for the curse to go but outward, and without the Primordial to hold it within its flesh, it would spread wildly… but first it would infect his friends who were still there within the wellspring.

No. There has to be a way!

A tingling caught Felix attention, one that rippled outward from him in convoluted lines. Connections. The Chanters, the Giants, the Legion. All of the people he'd saved in all of the Territories he'd united. Felix sensed hair-thin connections that spread outward from him like spider silk. Even as he recognized that, pieces of the power he held slipped into those connections, trickling power to everyone he’d ever helped. It was more than Felix could easily visualize in his Mind, yet it was not nearly enough. Rivulets compared to the tidal surge that overwhelmed him. More tried to pour through, but Felix had to hold it back there, too, just as with his friends' Links. His connections to others were too thin to contain any sizable amount of the Primordial's power. A normal person would be torn apart by the sheer weight of it.

Do Not Fool Yourself, Scion.

Undead rose from within, but this time, it was a far bigger corpse that gathered before Felix. It was as if the skeleton of the Primordial had been removed to flow freely within itself. It reassembled into an undulating facsimile of the creature, held together by ligaments and rotting bones.

To Live Is To Change.

It rushed at Felix, swimming through the ichor, mouth wide.

But Death Is A Choice, Too!

Sovereign of Flesh!

Sonata of Dominance!

Empyrean Embrace!

"Fire joins, journey's transformation, one above all." Tempered Skills leaped to his Will and Intent, their Grandmaster Features gleaming among their unique patterns. Sovereign of Flesh and Sonata of Dominance joined in a red-gold conflagration, bound together into something greater than itself. Flesh and bone split at his command, boiling away its Body even as ephemeral teeth swallowed it whole.

Felix seized the power as the undead vanished into a cloud of devoured smoke. He diverted its power through his stuffed core space, down into the dark recesses of his Hunger. The still black disk spun anew, sparking to life with red-gold flame and blue-white lightning at its edges. Essence, Mana, and significance roared through Felix like a waterfall into his center, and each splash threatened to upset the cage that Zara had erected within him.

In order to live, he had to risk it.

Yes.

The Primordial relaxed, even as its Body dissolved around him. The spinning edge of the black hole inside of him gained speed with each rotation, until those sparks became rivers of accreted radiance. It pulled, harder and harder with every turn, until the power could do nothing except bend to its grasp. Every ounce of the Tenebrous Aeon, foul and fair, poured into Felix in an unending deluge.

Rise Up, Scion.

Heir To The Mantle.

Inheritor Of⁠—

Its voice vanished, the last piece to be consumed, then silence joined the darkness within the Wellspring.

Save for far below, where a gleaming star began to shine.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Zara studied the statues. Each one was a work of art. The mastery of form was evident in the clean lines of their limbs and the realistic drape of their robes beneath the armor. Save for its bone-white coloration, the armor could have very well been metal, so convincing was its texturing. But beautiful art or no, what truly captured her attention were the details upon each of their backs.

Embedded in the backs of every statue were a series of Belais crystals. They formed shapes that expanded in concentric circles down the length of what would be their spines, and each one shone with a deep, pinkish-purple light. Belais crystals were truly a mystery to her and to everyone else on the Continent. The composition of them had long been debated, but none had ever been able to isolate their details, let alone recreate them.

Tern grumbled, lowering his glasses as he stepped away from one of the statues. "If only I could figure these out." It had been one of his great goals to recreate a Belais' crystal and one of his few failures. "They're such excellent repositories of power. If we could only replicate them, they would make our Manaships a hundred times more efficient."

Zara nodded. She'd heard the complaint before. There were a few golden goals when it came to the technology of the ancients, and recreating their power storage was high upon that list.

Without warning, a faint humming emanated through the stone at her feet. It was different than before, and Zara glanced toward the central glyph. It lit up just as the lift began to descend.

"I thought we were on the bottom level," Elowen said, turning away from another statue. "How are we going any farther?"

Alister brought up the directory. It manifested from one of the statue's backs, showing to all of them a visual representation of layers one through seven, as well as their own relative location. The blip that represented them was descending well beyond the marking for the seventh.

"I suppose we're about to find out," he said.

Broken crystals surrounded them, forming a tube that the platform dropped between. Pieces of it were shattered, as if damaged in a great battle, and Zara felt the entire thing groan slightly with increasing regularity. It held, thankfully, but it set her on edge. The fighting above had ceased after that last terrible roar, but none of them knew what truly laid out beyond the platform’s barrier. Eventually, however, the lift slowed, and the glyph at the center shimmered before pulsing three times.

Zara studied it. "Harmonics, something has happened.”

Guests Of The Warden.

Please Step Off The Lift.

The ward around them flickered before fading away entirely. Everyone aboard traded cautious looks.

The Warden Has Made His Choice.

All Guests Are Safe.

"I suppose that's as much assurance as we can expect," Zara muttered.

She stepped to the edge of the platform. Just beyond was a raised pathway that ran straight into the dark. It was made of the same bone-white stone that everything else had been made of, though this was inlaid with a patterned edge of gold. It was easily wide enough for ten people to walk across it, arms outstretched, and still have room for more. She could see no more than twenty strides away before the shadows consumed it.

Still, no learning comes without risk.

Zara stepped off the platform and onto the path. The moment her heel touched the bone-white stone, the edging gleamed. Sigils came to life, picked out in various hues that manifested Mana constructs, only a finger span from its surface. Light welled outward, traveling along the entire length of the pathway and illuminating at least several hundred strides of uninterrupted stone. Nothing else, however, was visible. Just the velvet dark.

"Grandmaster, look! The illumination construct is similar to Enna's Spiral.”

Zara turned around to find Elowen once again bent low over the edges of the pathway, her thick fingers hovering above the golden inlay.

"I see it," Tern said. "She derived her works from the study of ruins but was unsure of their provenance. It seems they were Nymean."

"There are hooks here, though," Alister pointed out, "every span or so. Enna’s Spiral was an orbital pathway for glyphs to propagate across a surface. But what do these accomplish?"

Atar reached out a pale gray hand and twisted his fingers. Suddenly, the light spread, illuminating secondary pathways that had been all but invisible.

"They're nodes," he said, "designed to keep the arrays separate until accessed. In this case, they activated wards against sight and sound."

The fire mage blinked. "Excellent. I earned a level in my sigaldry Skill."

To either side of them were further straight pathways, each leading off at least a hundred strides before terminating at large, hexagonal roundabouts. Rising up from around them, now brightly lit, were elaborate structures made of soaring curves and graceful arches. Fluid patterns were shaped into the bone-white stone where metal and gemstones had been worked into the matrix of the rock itself. Trees dangled artfully from cornices, flowers only just budding before doorways of delicately shaped gold.

"Homes?" Elowen said, confusion evident in her voice. "I thought this was a prison."

"As did I, my dear." Tern peered at the nearest structure. "Zara, do you hear that?"

She did. "Harmonic resonance, similar to what we experienced on the lift. The houses, they're transmitting a vibration through their structures."

Atar tossed his head, clearing his white hair from his grey face. "To what end?"

"What does a house do?” Alister asked. “It shelters."

The fourth mage flipped a finger beyond the pathway, and it transmitted across the air as if he'd impacted liquid light. It was nigh invisible, except where it rippled, releasing an ascending glissando that caressed Zara's senses like the hand of a gentle giant. She understood. The houses were constructs meant to amplify the shielding within the crystalline cells. Under the light of the revealed pathways, however, she saw that most crystals were gone now. So what was the point of them? And where was all this resonance coming from?

She turned back toward the center pathway. "I believe there are answers in this direction.” She began to walk. "Atar, illuminate the other pathways as we go. I would like to see more of what this Wellspring has to offer."

"A good idea," he agreed.

As they walked, the golden illumination spread, revealing the chasm walls. They were broken and riddled with deep caverns in place of the green-gold crystals that had once grown from them. Before, she’d thought many of the crystals had been eradicated, but now she saw that there wasn't so much as a shard left of any of them. Zara sniffed. The scent of beasts had all but faded. Now it smelled almost fresh and somehow fragrant, like freshly tilled earth steeped in spices.

As they walked, however, they saw more than just empty chasm walls. A sprawling expanse of complicated ruins surrounded them, spreading along the pathways in increasingly complicated arrangements. They were imposing structures with architecture of looping swirls that were carved with exacting precision. The resonance grew stronger as they moved, and it was clear that these, too, were amplifiers. And the power running through them was coming from the large, hexagonal platform ahead of them. A platform where she spotted a man in a black coat, pale tunic, and simple green trousers.

Felix.

He waved at them all. Zara allowed herself a sigh of relief before walking onward, and the others followed close behind. Their steps were muffled, the clop of her heels nearly as silent as if she trod upon a grassy meadow. The hexagonal platform grew rapidly, detailed now with a fractal pattern that reminded her of a territorial seal. But in the center was a recessed pit. Surrounded by steps inscribed with ancient sigildry, it was a beacon in the dark, and Felix stood at its center.

As did a wide altar of some kind. Sharp obelisks stood at nine spots around it, each carved with innumerable tiny sigils. Magic flowed through them, strong enough for anyone to see it.

"What is that?" Darius asked, pointing atop the altar.

Felix stood before a small cup that had been set at the very center of the altar. It was made of stone or perhaps metal or wood. The exact material seemed to change whenever Zara blinked. Designs were inscribed in its hexagonal sides and along its stem and base, but they shifted constantly, as if the object couldn't quite decide what it was.

"Another piece of the Empyrean Regalia?" Zara guessed, taking a step down into the pit. "It was here all along?"

Felix nodded. "It's called the Wellspring Chalice, after all. I hoped it was here, but honestly I wasn’t sure." He leaned over the altar, not quite touching the sigils that shone atop of it. "The last of the Kept was guarding it. A Primordial so powerful that I’m honestly unsure how the Nym managed to capture it.”

Zara could feel the power radiating from the cup before them. It sang, a vibration so refined that it took her several heartbeats to realize it was mingling with the protective resonances of the ruins around them.

"It was used to hold the prisoners here.”

“A keystone, yeah. My Warden's Authority tells me that this entire prison was designed around it, powered by it. Now, with all the Kept gone, and the Wellspring emptied, I should be able to do this."

He grasped the Chalice around the stem and lifted it. The rings of sigaldry around the altar flickered twice, then went dull, their circuit broken. Felix grunted in effort as he raised the Chalice high.

"Hoo boy, that's heavy."

A groaning bass drum thundered across the chasm, bouncing off the buildings around them in a fury of sound. Wind rose up as if driven by that beat, whipping Zara's robes around her so violently she had to put effort into holding them close. The other mages were little different, driving Alister to erect barriers around them all.

Felix looked up, clearly reading a notification before swiping it closed.

"Yes!" Felix shouted above the wind, and the Chalice in his hands lit up like the sun.

Power spun out from the earthen cup, first in waves of vapor, then in thickened streams of liquid. They rushed around Felix, forming a small cyclone that surrounded him and the altar, weaving between those nine obelisks, as if forming a basket with him at its center. It blocked him from Zara's sight, the power opaque, before the Mana turned crystalline.

"Felix!" Zara cried out.

A rippled cocoon encased the man, freezing him in place for a single horrible heartbeat—before it shattered. Mana burst outward, shards of power hurled away from the altar and Felix's gasping form. Zara summoned her Skill, erecting a wall of water, but before they reached her, the shards were pulled back.

Back into the Chalice itself.

The wind died, the light faded, and the lot of them were left with a deep, resounding quiet. Atar rubbed at his ears. "Bloody ruin, Felix! That just about popped my eardrums."

"My ears are still ringing," Alister said a bit too loudly. He shook his head. "Anyone have a Healing Potion left?"

"Take it," Atar pressed the bottle into his boyfriend's hand. "Just stop yelling."

"What?"

Zara ignored them, focusing instead on the Unbound before her. He still stood at the altar, but she was surprised to see disappointment etched across his face. "Was there an issue? Is the Chalice bound to you now?"

"Huh? Oh, that wasn't a binding." He held up the Chalice. It was still shifting between materials, though its hexagonal shape remained constant. "This thing was still connected to the Primordial of Tenebrous Aeon…or it was bound to the Chalice. It's kind of hazy on the difference. Either way, I had to remove the binding before I could access it."

He swiped his hand, and a blue window rotated into Zara's view.

The Tenebrous Aeon Has Relinquished Its Hold Over The Wellspring Chalice.

ERROR!

The Wellspring Chalice Cannot Be Bound At This Time!

Below that, a series of numbers was displayed, and they slowly ticked downward.

"What is this?"

"That's a timer for a week-long cooldown."

Zara pursed her lips, a spike of annoyance pushing through her control. "I suppose it is to be expected with an artifact as powerful as this."

"I guess." Felix sighed. "I really wanted to find out what the first Set Effect was." He hefted the cup, which was easily twice the size of any normal drinking vessel. "At least it's lighter now, for some reason."

"I would guess that it no longer acts as an anchor for this place," Zara mused, gesturing to the structures around them. "The potency of such a thing would make anything heavy to bear. Do you hear that?"

Felix paused. "No?"

"Precisely. The resonance has ceased, which means the stalwart protections of this place have likely vanished. Unbinding that artifact has effectively rendered this prison useless."

Felix chewed his lip. "Useless, huh?"

Zara watched the man, suddenly wary. He bore an expression she'd long associated with…unexpected revelations. "What are you thinking?"

He grinned. "Just something a monster put in my head. I think it’d be unfair to take this cup without leaving something in its place."

He reached into a pouch in his jacket and extracted an object the size of his palm. It was coated in a thick, fibrous shell, and it all but sucked in the ambient Mana around them.

Zara smiled, joy flitting through her caution. "A Seed of Remembered Light."

Felix tossed it in the air before catching it. "We’re gonna need a lotta dirt.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Grandmaster Lusk of the Carmine Tower hovered on a plume of flame. His mages were arrayed behind him, busy erecting orange-red tents around burning braziers. Columns of sweet-smelling incense wafted on the summer breeze, masking the scent of burnt dust. Behind them, the ground was blasted and barren, the result of a battle he still could not believe had occurred. Ahead of him, however, was a new, miraculously built structure.

The Wellspring Keep. Where did you come from?

Wards had been erected around the perimeter of the Keep, and though they shimmered with rainbow hues they were largely transparent. They were sophisticated, but not nearly strong enough to withstand him if he truly wished to enter. They would, however, keep out Adepts and lower Tiers with little difficulty.

Wards such as these are complicated to build, let alone entire structures. How was this place made, and so swiftly?

If he hadn't been there, the Grandmaster would not have believed the reports that the Keep had been built. That the Keep rose from the earth in a mere fraction of a glass. Just as he wouldn't believe the reports that such a small group had accomplished it.

Or was this always hiding in the earth, he wondered. Waiting for the right person to find it?

It was frustrating to think that such a treasure had been here all along, beneath the city in which he once claimed dominion. But what truly frustrated him was the presence of that vile Atar V'as. A mage that had rendered his Tower's mages moot during their battle. To have one creature best all of the Carmine Tower's flames was an indignity that could not stand. Lusk desired recompense. It was, of course, why he had his mages follow them, watching their every move.

However, the audacity of V'as was outmatched by this monstrous Warden that claimed not just the city, but the entire Territory.

Though he did bring down the Violet Tower. I can appreciate that.

A set of trumpets sounded as the crack and swirl of a Manaship approached his position. The announcement was a formality, of course. Lusk had sensed their coming from the moment she had left her grounded Tower nearly a quarter glass previously. What’s more, he would have been blind to not spy the enormous Manaship in white and blue. As it pulled up, he noticed how fresh it looked—sleek and shiny, untouched from the chaos of recent battles.

He followed its clean lines up as the thing dropped a heavy anchor onto the earth. A woman stood at the prow, framed against the clouds and posing regally in bright blue battle robes, slashed with white. On the deck behind her were over a hundred mages, all of them wearing copies of her outfit and each carrying a spear, staff, or sword.

With a gesture, a wave of water rolled off of the deck, bearing the Grandmaster Aquamarine atop its swirling white foam until she descended to hover beside the burning Lusk.

"Grandmaster Carmine, what a surprise to see you here. I would have thought you'd be cowering in your Tower.”

“As you did when this threat announced itself in our city?"

Laverne, Grandmaster of the Aquamarine, sniffed. "My Master Tiers led our mages into battle, same as yours.”

“Yet you were safely ensconced in your chambers.”

"Overseeing the distribution of my people, as any true leader should."

He snorted, "A leader's place is at the front.”

“How did that work out for you, Lusk?" The Grandmaster Aquamarine grinned as his expressions soured. "How many did you lose to that mad skeleton's attack?"

Grandmaster Carmine stilled his Spirit but couldn't keep the edge from his voice. "Far more than if you had worked in concert with us, as I had suggested."

"Fire and water don't mix," Laverne flicked an imaginary piece of dust off her pristine shoulder. "You cannot expect years of rivalry to set aside in an instant."

He could not argue against that. He felt the same. Too long had their Towers been opposed, fighting over the scraps left by the Violet. With them gone, however, the opportunity to rule over Levantier was open once again.

Or it had been.

"You plan to enter the wards surrounding this Keep," Lusk asked, after a moment, "to face down this Warden?"

Laverne sneered at him. "I am not afraid.”

“You were not there when he laid a restriction against us. He wielded true Authority, Laverne, as in the tales of old. None were unaffected, and there were thousands approaching him."

"A trick. Same as that malformed beast this Warden paraded as. A seeming of shadow and sound.”

“How, then, did he devour entire city streets? That beast was unnatural, immune to even my Analyze Skill—but I do not need the System to tell me the threat it poses. You cannot fake Authority."

Laverne clucked her tongue. "Whatever that boy did may have fooled you, but it is nothing compared to the assembled might of the Aquamarine Tower."

"You are a fool."

"Perhaps, but I shall claim this Keep for my Tower, as well as whatever treasure lies in those conjured halls.”

Lusk clenched his jaw. The Grandmaster Aquamarine was too proud for her own good. If the Warden could summon a palace from the center of Levantier, what else could he accomplish? “You will die in there.”

Laverne sneered at him. "First it’s ‘don’t be a coward,’ and now it’s ‘don’t be brave.’ Make up your mind, Lusk!”

“It’s not bravery when it accomplishes nothing. You enter there, alone, and you will be condemning your entire Tower to oblivion." He paused, a smile curling his lips. “Ah. Perhaps I was too hasty. Feel free to charge ahead.”

“Pissant.” Laverne spat at him, but his flames burned away before it touched his robes.

"Watch yourself, Aquamarine.” He smoothed the panels of his orange-red robes. “Lest you begin a war you cannot hope to finish."

Laverne moved closer, her wave of Mana hissing as it met the aura of heat around him. "Perhaps we should settle this now, once and for all. Let the greater power face the warden."

On the ship, mages began to gather their power around their palms, while behind him, Lusk's own rank and file lifted scepter and staff. He allowed himself a smile as his Spirit marshaled behind his Will.

"Perhaps we should." Fire rose in his channels, spinning outward from his center. His temperate Skills roared, their flames licking upward in unison. “Scouring⁠—!”

Before the words could escape his throat, a wave of invisible force slammed into both of them.

Lusk fell back, his flames guttering beneath a mighty wind. He landed in an ignoble heap on the earth, only to be joined by a sprawling Laverne a half-heartbeat later. The earth quaked beneath them, until the field of barren dust was cast straight into the air, forming clouds so tall that they dimmed the sun. Darkness swept over them, but it did not abate.

That is not a cloud.

Rising above them all, a vast canopy of leaves blocked out the afternoon sunlight, filtering it into an emerald glow that poured atop the barren expanse at the city's center.

No. No, it is far larger than just this place.

Lusk turned, still on his knees, witnessing the rapid expansion of hundreds of branches. Those emerald leaves budded like living jewels, and the bark itself looked chiseled from obsidian. They stretched wide over the entire caldera.

"A tree as big as a mountain," Laverne gasped.

"Not just any Tree," Lusk corrected. "A Spirit Tree.”

“Impossible, they're all but extinct!"

Grandmaster Carmine stood, tracing the branches back to its immense trunk. It rose from the very center of the Wellspring Keep, the many towers and spires of it wound around and through the obsidian bark, as if the Keep were built to flow in perfect balance with its natural form.

“Did the Warden do this, too?” he muttered.

Another force rolled across them again, near-physical in its intensity, but this felt different. It sank into him, bypassing his Aspects, no matter how he tensed the significance within himself. Its nature unfurled before him, and Lusk gasped.

You Have Been Affected By The Ourea Anima!

Two Auras Are Active!

Name: Primordial Shelter

Type: Aura (Passive)

A deep sense of safety permeates the reach of the Ourea Anima, which extends across all of Levantier, growing stronger as you come to the roots of the Spirit Tree. Attuned to the Aria of the Green Wilds, it conveys its gentle power. Here, predators are more cautious, violent storms dissipate before causing harm, and harmful magic struggles to penetrate the zone.

Name: Breath of the Beast

Type: Aura (Active)

He that raised the Ourea Anima has greatly affected its development---his nature is now intertwined with the Tree itself. Renewed are the connections that once dwelled within Levantier. Power flows again, for bonds are the breath of the Beast.

"Lusk!" Laverne pointed to the sky, just as Towers and their outbuildings rose from all around the city. Thick tethers of transparent blue extended between the Trees, branches, and every single structure, even Lusk's Carmine Tower.

"How is this possible?” Wards flickered back into place atop his Tower's walls, sheathing many in panels of deep orange red. "The Vent is gone."

Laverne licked her lips, momentarily unconcerned with the dust that marred her azure robes. "Lusk. For once in your life, you may have had a point. This Warden is dangerous."

The words were enough to punch through the awe that threatened to overwhelm the Grandmaster Carmine. He closed his mouth and mustered some measure of moisture to banish the dust that had coated his tongue.

"Yes," he agreed. "Yes, he is.”

“What do you propose we do about it?"

The sepia-sheathed Umber Tower floated through the air, moved atop pale blue lines tethered to the Spirit Tree ahead. Slowly, it was drawn inward toward the Wellspring Keep. Aboard its grounds and parapets were Darius and a great many blue-cloaked Legionnaires. Many were grinning as they floated across the sky, but most were too busy guarding the sides to keep some of the more curious Umber mages from crowding the edges.

"It is remarkable that an aura’s effect can so easily replicate the tethers of the Vent," Tern said, leaning over the delicately curled railing. "Is the manipulation of this Breath part of the Spirit Tree's Skill?"

"It is," Felix replied. He had only to leverage a small piece of his Will and Intent to direct the Umber Tower to where he wanted it, even from across the entire city. He could feel all of the Towers, in fact, small blips in the Ourea's awareness. She was more animated than the Atlantes, though both retained that slow, careful regard Felix associated with Spirit Trees.

Growing the Spirit Tree at the heart of the Wellspring had been a bit of a risk. There were quite a few moments when Felix had thought he'd killed them all as the rising trunk had demolished entire sections of the fortress. It had been more than worth it, however. Her roots now covered the entirety of the Wellspring Keep, intertwined with spires and courtyards alike, as if the Tree had been growing there since the very beginning. Unite the Lost had bound the two, Tree and Keep, as one.

Plus, he'd gotten a couple of pretty great Titles out of it.

New Title!

Keeper of the Wilds (Legendary)!

You have raised two Spirit Trees from Seed to Elder and saved another from the brink of oblivion. Rare are they who walk with the Green Wilds, and rarer still are those with the aptitude for its gentle violence. Your Aspects sing with the dichotomy at the heart of Creation.

+All Harvests Beneath The Influence Of Your Spirit Trees Provide 400% Greater Yields

+All Effects Of Spirit Trees Nurtured By You Are Doubled

New Title!

Architect of the Lost (Mythic)!

You have pulled back the veil of the Ruin to bring forth wonder long Lost. The Realms shake with your deeds this day, and the ripples of your song will echo for many years to come.

+Decrease Significance Costs By 2% When Using Unite The Lost

+Increases Chance Of Restoring Lost Enchanted Items By 10%

Zara leaned back into a plush chair she had brought onto the balcony. "Your goal to restore your significance. Did this Tree not set you back again?"

"It actually helped me out," Felix admitted, turning away from the Umber Tower. "I was so packed with power that venting some of it through the Tree relieved the tension. I can only offload so much through my links."

"Yes, Alister and Atar both mentioned how they had felt an influx of potency during the hectic aftermath of your battle."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "They're feeling okay?"

"Wonderful, by all accounts, though tired. Atar's Urge pulled a new Skill out of one of the abominations you failed to fully consume. They're both fine," she added quickly, seeing Felix's pinched expression. "Flame is more than capable of defending that boy, it seems."

Felix closed his eyes. "Good."

"Why?"

Felix and Zara both looked at Tern. The old Elf was still watching the Umber Tower as it settled into one of the Keep's spires. Obsidian roots grew outward, wrapping both together before digging deep into its foundations. Soon, it was held as securely as any brick or mortar supports, and Legionnaires streamed off of it and into the Keep.

"Why what?" Felix asked.

"Why can this Tree mimic the Vent?"

"It's not mimicking the vent. It's mimicking me." Felix gestured, and lightning crackled across his fingers as he caressed a number of thin blue lines. Lines that had, until now, been entirely invisible to the others. "It's accessing the connections between things, just like my Skill does."

Tern shook his head. "I don't think you understand quite how impossible that is. The Vent worked as a source of Mana, and it took years of innovation to devise a way in which to elevate us upon its flows. Sometimes I think the sheer amount of sigaldry buried at the root of every Tower would blind a man. But this," he gestured at the other Towers, each floating at varying distances beneath the canopy of Ourea. "This holds them aloft with none of that. There's no fuel for sigaldry, so none of the enchantments should be active. The Tree is simply lifting them up."

"Like I said, connections."

"That is not how magic works, son."

Felix just shrugged. "It's how I do it."

"Spirit Trees are known for drawing influence from their surroundings," Zara said. "That's why they have unique attunements, too."

Felix nodded. Karys had told him something similar once.

"And it was planted in a garden of captured monsters,” Zara continued. “The forces of their influence cannot be completely eradicated, not without clearing out this entire mountain, soil and all. Who knows what having a bunch of abominations and Urges and Primordials would do to a Spirit Tree."

Tern stroked his chin. "And, since you planted the Tree and engendered its rapid growth, you've had an additional impact on it. I see. You nurtured it, provided sustenance through your stolen power, and so it has taken after you."

"Me and the Green Wilds. Makes me curious if this happened with the old Spirit Trees, back during the Golden Empire. Did their keepers influence them?" Felix wondered.

“Perhaps, though I doubt it was so dramatically. What little I know of them indicates that they grew incredibly slowly, across centuries.”

“Maybe.” Felix smiled at a memory that rolled through him. "But the Nym used to sing them from the earth." He shied away from the memory before it reached the end. Felix had no desire to relive that vision again. "Anyway, I figured it'd be a good thing to place in the Wellspring. I'm just glad it's worked out."

He glanced down at the Chalice that hung from a loop he'd formed in his Garment.

Name: Wellspring Chalice

Type: Empyrean Regalia (Enchanted)

Lore: Once borne by the rulers of the Golden Empire, the Wellspring Chalice is far older than the Nym. Grown within the heart of Creation itself, it echoes with the deep strains that once molded all three Realms. It is a symbol of the connection between all living things.

Without binding to it, he couldn't see its other features, no matter how hard he strained Unseen Beholder. It wasn't like pushing against a wall or even a fortress. It was like trying to move the planet beneath his feet by flexing his knees.

"You have five more seeds, do you not?" Zara asked. "What do you plan to do with them all?"

Felix smiled. “I think⁠—”

"Lord Autarch, sir," interrupted a mousy Human. She was clad in silver-green mithral armor and had a blue cloak thrown over her shoulder, bearing a brutal-looking mace at her hip. "The Grandmasters have assembled, as you requested."

"Oh, perfect. Thanks, Hilde. Dismissed." The woman saluted once more before walking back through the doors of the balcony. Felix turned to the others. "Well, are we ready to go change some hearts and minds?"

Zara stood up eagerly, but Tern groaned. "I know they're all tedious, but bringing every Tower's Grandmaster together at once is a recipe for disaster. You should be meeting them one on one."

"I don't have time for that," Felix said, walking to the doors. "And neither do they."

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Alister sat on a balcony above the chamber where the Grandmasters were meeting, sipping tea next to his favorite fire mage. He and Atar had no real desire to be in attendance, but Alister couldn’t help being curious about how it would all go. He knew the complexities of diplomacy were not Felix's strong suit. While he did not wish to impose himself between the powers of dozens of Grandmasters, Alister feared something would go wrong.

"Stop worrying," Atar said between bites of a biscuit.

It was easy enough to say, Alister supposed, but far harder to embody. Felix stood with Zara and Vilas Tern alongside his crystalline throne, waiting patiently as Legionnaires led the Grandmasters up from far below. Apart from being the most obvious place to meet a powerful delegation, it was also the center of the Ourea Anima’s power. While the Breath of the Beast aura did not much matter in this regard, the other, more protective aura did. If the Grandmasters were truly foolish and they tried to escalate things to violence, the Primordial Shelter would fizzle out their attacks.

In theory.

Yet, as they watched the former masters of Levantier settle into the seating in the audience chamber, Alister noticed a distinct calm among their Spirits. None of them seemed willing to start fights, and even noted rivals were, if not cordial to one another, at least tolerant.

"Ignore them," Atar said. "If Felix needs help, we're here. But he doesn't. I'm more interested in how you feel."

"How I feel? Oh," Alister set his cup and saucer down. "You mean because of the Link?"

"Yes, because of the Link. It's new for you, and this was your first influx. How are you handling things?"

"Well enough, I suppose.”

"Is that it?" Atar asked, leaning forward to catch his boyfriend's eye. "Tell me, love, of your Impulsion Engine. Has it changed?"

“Alright. Fine.” With a smile, Alister gave up his sense of the outside world, diving down into his center.

Previously, his core space had taken on the form of a spherical room containing a vast machinery made entirely out of thick columns of force Mana and plinths of white marble. Narrow support structures encased a spinning core, which Alister had fashioned from the ancient diagrams that Vilas Tern himself had uncovered in centuries past. Felix had called it a strange cross between a mechanical clock and a gyroscope. And after explaining what those words meant, Alister supposed he could see it.

Gears and wheels made entirely of blue force had been accompanied by white marble discs and blocks, all of which rotated around one another in a steady dance. All of that remained largely the same.

"I've been trying to incorporate Felix's Boon into the Impulsion Engine, but so far, it has only turned the pristine white and blue gears into something different. Certainly more powerful, but—I’ll admit it’s a bit underwhelming so far."

"It’s still early. More powerful how?" Atar asked. The man's voice echoed from close by as if he were whispering in Alister's ear, though the mage himself was not present in Alister's core space.

"Well, these cylindrical pistons and gears have formed things that I did not visualize, such as these whirling, bladed barrels. They spin beneath the force of my Mana now and are stacked atop the whirling center.” Alister drifted closer, just outside the spinning portions. Blue Mana compressed and expanded inside the stone and metal components, making hardly any noise at all. “Copper’s all over the place, too. Bolted panels and those pistons I mentioned, the ones pumping away with each rotation of my gears—they’re all made of the stuff. Still, the complicated and heavily engineered machinery is mostly unchanged.”

The same was not true for the ceilings and walls.

Once they were solid white, sealed and polished like stone. But now eight immense copper devices sat along the edges of his Engine. They were each a great many sizes larger than his family's manor once was, shaped like a barrel on its side and filled with inscribed gears that turned with a steady, unfailing cadence. Each movement clicked like a tool ratcheting into place and was accompanied by large marble and copper bands that arced overhead. Each band connected two of the great gear homes forming a semicircle above.

"They don't touch," Alister said, his eyes still closed. He was suddenly aware of a loud discussion from the Grandmasters below and almost rose completely out of his core space before he felt Atar's warm hand on his own.

"Ignore them. Tell me more."

Alister smiled and sank away once more.

"The bands don't touch, but each ratcheting moves them a small amount, and I think they’re meant to traverse the whole way across the hemisphere above.” Alister rose, drifting closer to the wide bands of metal and stone. “Stars are carved into the bands, dozens of them, hundreds even. It all reminds me of an orrery I once saw in the Eyrie, a replica of the night sky, they called it. The bands are at least fifty strides across, absolutely massive, and they have more than just stars on them."

"What else?"

Alister looked up, where two enormous gemstones were set into the apex of his core space, where once there was only smooth marble. Now the bands split at the center, forming an eight-sided star shape that was half-filled by each gemstone.

“I can't work out how the metal moves around itself. It's folding," he said, "bending in ways that no natural material could ever manage, all to maintain the shape of that stationary star."

"What about these gemstones?" Atar asked.

"They're brilliant. Literally filled with light. One shines blue-white, and the other is red-gold.”

“That’s Felix’s influence right there. Stars too, I imagine.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. Hmm. Well, Mana courses down from them, filling the inscribed stars along the bands, before it feeds down into the gearhomes and the other parts of the Impulsion Engine. There on the floor, it mingles with my force Mana, driving the machinery to amazing new speeds."

Alister opened his eyes and smiled into Atar's gray face. "It's frankly incredible.”

"No changes to your Skills?"

"They're located within the machinery, as always, though now they're marked by copper panels. Things are still settling, though, so they might change further." Alister wanted to run or fight, exert himself and push his powers to their limits to see what changes those might bring. "I'm eager to train them once more.”

"Felix has that effect on people." Atar smirked.

"What about you? You've incorporated so much into your core space that I cannot imagine it has changed much, but we know very little about any of this. Perhaps this Primordial affects us in new ways."

"That is preposterous!" shouted a man from below. The pair of them glanced over and above the balcony railing, they could only see a man waving his hands about inside voluminous white-green sleeves.

"It's blatant favoritism!" another said loudly, but Alister was already disengaging from them all. Their Spirits were well-leashed, but he'd spent a lot of time listening with his Affinity—none of the Grandmasters were actually angry.

"Posturing for scraps," Atar scoffed. “It seems Felix has incorporated the Umber Tower into the Wellspring as an official guarding force.”

"Ignore them. Tell me about your Midnight Temple.”

“Oh, if I must." Atar sighed, but a small smirk played at the corners of his lips.

As he described it, Atar's Midnight Temple wasn't much changed, though the moons in the sky had grown closer, and the constellations between them were a brighter silver. Pillars of solidified fire filled the black obsidian floor, white tinged by orange and bloody crimson. There was, perhaps, Atar admitted, a touch more crimson than before thanks to their recent acquisition.

The strength siphoned from Felix's struggle had deepened the dark sky and clarified the details across every inch of Atar's Temple. Obsidian shone like glass, chipped into a razor's edge where it was marked with sigils that spread outward in convoluted arrays. Those gathered strongest at the base of his solidified pillars and again all the way inward, around the nest where Flame currently slept in a deep, exhausted slumber.

"It's mostly the same," Atar admitted. “Just a bit more polish. Though I think I might join you in training soon.”

"I wish I could see it myself.”

“What, me training? It’s not so rare as that.”

“Your core space. Hearing the details is fascinating, but seeing it.” Alister sighed. “Seeing what is fundamentally you—that would be incredible.”

“Unfortunately, neither of us have a Skill for delving.”

“But we're Linked now."

"To Felix," Atar corrected.

"Just to him? I seem to recall you complaining about being dragged through Evie's icy wasteland and Harn's Armory."

Atar lifted a finger. "I was not dragged, but yes, that happened. It was Felix's doing, though, not ours.”

“So it's possible.”

“I suppose it is. Perhaps we can figure out a way to do that ourselves." Atar took a sip from his teacup. "It's worth thinking on."

"Explain yourself!"

"What's this now?" Alister asked, sitting forward along the balcony. He peered down at the assembled Grand Masters and saw a woman in blue and white step forward out of the crowd.

Atar clucked his tongue. "Grand Master Aquamarine. Water magics.

keep her away, Flame hissed.

"Oh, you're awake now."

i've always been awake.

“How creepy.”

"What do you mean the Towers are yours?" Aquamarine demanded down below. Her black hair had fallen loose from her elaborate coif, as if she'd been jostled on her way to the front.

"It means what I said," Felix replied. He was calm, almost bored-looking as some of the most powerful mages in the Continent muttered angrily at one another. "The Lucent Towers are no longer independent bodies. That’s why I’ve moved them here under the Wellspring Keep.”

“We have served our Towers for decades, if not centuries, Warden. We will not have them taken from us by an upstart, would-be king."

Rumbles of agreement rolled through the Grand Masters until a man in red-orange robes stood up on the opposite side of the crowd.

"Grand Master Carmine. Fire magics," Atar said.

amateur.

Atar grinned, but Alister focused closer. The two Grand Masters traded a short glance as the newest stepped free of the crowd. A short, conspiratorial glance. He'd seen enough to recognize the signs.

"They're up to something."

Atar shrugged. "Do you think it matters?"

Carmine's jaw clenched, his slender fingers folded across his elbows as if he were finding the perfect stance with which to debate. "I know your Spirit Tree dampens our ability to fight you, Navarre, but not our resolve. You take away our Towers, and you will have blood on your hands. Not a mere schism this time, but a full-out mage war."

Zara and Tern both tensed at Felix's side, but he only watched the Grandmaster. His eyes caught the fading afternoon light. "War," Felix spoke as if turning the word over, inspecting it from multiple angles. "Is that what you’d call this infighting and proud posturing? For what end?"

"Autonomy," Aquamarine spat.

"An interesting choice of words. Do you grant your people autonomy?"

"What?" She looked at the Grandmasters all around her, but they seemed equally confused.

"Do you not bind your Apprentices in Oaths, restricting their words and actions from the very first day of their joining?"

"We grant them power. That gives them reach beyond anything they'd ever achieve without us. By becoming mages, by swearing those Oaths, they are set free."

"They are very much not," Felix said. "The Oaths of this city are tarnished by Siva's influence. I've only recently learned that all Oaths have been. They are no longer to be used."

That, more than anything else, drove the Grandmasters to their feet. Arguing started immediately. Their voices boomed over one another until Atar and Alister had to activate sound wards around their balcony. That muffled their Tempered voices, but only just.

"Without a Tower’s Oaths," the Grandmaster in white-green robes said, "Their secrets will be laid bare to all of our competitors! We would be ruined!"

"That is why you aren't competitors anymore.” Felix’s voice was louder than theirs, cutting through theirs like thunder on a clear day. Felix spread his hands. "The Lucent Towers will be united from now on."

"Kill us then," Aquamarine announced, lifting her chin high, "for you will not take us or our Oaths without a fight."

"It's too late.” The words came from the sole Master Tier in the audience. He stood, his brown robes clutched tight. "Our Oathbinders claim that their Skill is broken."

"Ours as well," a woman in yellow added. Dour agreement rang out through the chamber, followed by a wafting of nonplussed panic.

Felix raised a hand, and silence descended. "Siva, Goddess of Fortune and Oaths, is dead by my hand. You all saw the message." He met their gazes one by one before pointing out the window where one of the moons had already risen. "Even her moon is destroyed. Everything she held domain over is now gone. That includes her tarnished Oaths."

His claws lengthened into curled talons, and Felix grasped at the air. For a terrible moment, Alister was convinced the man was going to tear a hole in the sky itself. Instead, streamers of silver light poured toward him, spiraling from the Towers that floated within their view. The stream soon became a river of liquid silver, marred by flecks of darkness and rust, all of it pouring toward Felix's open maw.

He ate all of it, as the Grandmasters watched in growing horror.

"Those—!”

“You—!”

"Those were the last remnants of your Oaths," Felix said, just as the final wisp disappeared into his mouth. His eyes burned electric blue. "Your Girded Vows are gone. No more coercion. No more lies. From this point forward, we are working together."

Grandmaster Carmine swallowed. "For what purpose?"

Felix turned toward him, and the man quailed. "To save the world."

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

"Are you certain about this, my Lord?"

Felix glanced at Master Tier walking beside him. The man was in his forties, with a splash of gray salting his brown hair at the temples, but he was tall and broad shouldered beneath his dark brown robes and chain of office.

"Did you have somewhere better to go, Caron?"

"Er, no, sir."

Felix made sure to smile. "I know you're nervous, but this’ll work out. It is just so unlike what we've done before. When Grandmaster Umber still lived, he was dead set upon claiming the Violet's throne."

"And you didn't agree with that?"

Caron shook his head. "No. How did you know?"

Felix shrugged. "Just a feeling. The same one that makes me sure that you and your mages will be a great asset to Wellspring Keep." He gestured to the armored guards behind them. "The Umber Hulks, too.”

Since the Umber Tower contained the Shadowgate, Felix was intent on incorporating it into Wellspring Keep. He could have simply forced the issue. After all, he had lifted the Tower from its resting place and attached it to the Keep already. There was little the Umber mages could do against that, mainly because the Umber Tower had no Grandmaster—Not since the Violet Tower assassinated him. Master mage Caron had been running the day-to-day operations ever since.

Thankfully, Caron was a reasonable sort of guy and not much interested in violent confrontation. Felix was glad for that—he’d had his fill of fighting, at least for the day. It had only taken them an hour to hash out a deal between the Umber and the Warden. Felix thought it a fitting proposition and Caron had agreed: earth mages to watch over the mountain as the primary guardians of the Keep. The mages were excited, and the Umber Hulks had even been given leave to recruit for their order, something they hadn't been able to afford for the last decade.

The mages would also be responsible for the care of the Spirit Tree, and Felix took that very seriously. Ourea's primary attunements were to earth, shadow, and life, so Felix saw it as a natural fit. The various Grandmasters, of course, had been fussed about the appointment, but now that they had all agreed to unite as a singular entity under Wellspring Keep, their objections rang hollow.

Those negotiations had been mostly one-sided.

The rest of the Towers, while technically under the auspices of the Warden as well, were to answer to Chancellor Vilas Tern. The old Elf had fought the appointment, but he was clearly the only person for the job. Felix trusted him more than any of the other mages in town, and Tern had a reputation that commanded respect, even from rival Towers.

Formally rival Towers, he corrected himself.

In the end, the negotiations had been the easy part. The managing of the day-to-day factions and tensions, however…that was Tern's problem now.

Hopefully, I scared them enough to make his job easier. Eating all of their remnant Oaths right in front of their eyes had gone a long way to quelling their attitudes.

It had also boosted his Skein of Fate.

Skein of Fate is level 129!

Grandmaster Tier!

You Gain:

+300 RES

+200 REI

+200 FEL

Felix sighed, reveling in the sensation of Aspects that didn't feel explosively tense. He felt so much better and relaxed, his stats more or less under control, that even Tiering up with another Skill into Grandmaster didn't upset his internal balance.

They kept walking, Caron silent at his side, while mages and guards followed behind. They moved together through the Keep's halls, winding through the labyrinthine passages as they made their way toward the fully incorporated Umber Tower. As they went, they passed quite a few other mages. Masters and Adepts of all colors were eagerly checking out the architecture and wards inscribed into the halls all around them, while Apprentices streamed by in long lines carrying boxes and bins of personal items. It was moving day.

All of them noticed Felix as he moved through, some bowing awkwardly as he passed, while others scurried away to hide behind arches and towering columns. Felix didn't care much either way. The only thing he didn't want was people coming up and talking to him. Thankfully, Caron was great at being quiet.

It was nice, even if it wouldn't last.

As Felix approached the vault beneath the Umber Tower, a Legionnaire captain hustled up to his side. "Sir?”

"Captain Tellen. What’ve you found?"

"Sir, as you expected, the other Towers have given some resistance on acquiring their libraries."

"Which ones in particular?"

"Carmine and Aquamarine, mostly, but Cadmium and Verdant have proven reluctant to allow us into their archives as well."

Felix wasn't surprised. He expected pushback when it came to their long-held secrets, but knowledge was something that all of them needed. "I'll make sure to have the Chancellor speak with them. Caron. Can I rely on you to provide backup to the Chancellor, if need be?"

The master mage saluted. "Of course, sir."

"Good. Once that's done, Captain Tellen, you need to make sure that the Legionnaires focus on getting the mages to process the books through the Beacon. It will take a while."

"Of course, sir. Are we looking for anything in particular?"

"Any mention of Cardinal Beasts, Primordials, or the gods. That is the focus. If you find anything with that, coordinate with the head librarian at Elderthrone. She's in the Beacon now."

"In the Beacon, sir?"

"You'll understand when you pass through it."

Ever since Felix had added the last update to his Librarium, he’d received the ability to generate a liminal space of his own. A library within his Primary Beacons, accessible by every Territory and containing copies of every book that passed through it. The Librarium was utterly cool, but other than visiting once, Felix hadn’t found the time to really explore it. However, it was where they were gathering all the knowledge they could. Felix hoped that, aside from hunting down answers to his questions, that it would be a balm…in case the Ruin won.

Felix shook himself as visions of dark skies and bleak flames poured across a phantom landscape. He banished the memory, locking it behind the doors of his Void Sanctuary. He didn't have time to delve into that again. Not now.

With sharp salutes, Caron and his Umber mages left with Captain Tellen. They were all eager to be about their business, and so was Felix.

He stepped into the vault.

The portal in the basement of the Umber Tower was quite secure, seeing that it was formerly a treasure vault for the mages that lived there. Now that it had been incorporated into the Wellspring Keep, the Ourea's roots had wrapped nearly every inch of the vault in dark obsidian tendrils. Emerald leaves sprouted all over, trailing down structures and shelving like ivy the size of dinner plates.

Darius and a contingent of Legionnaires were busy within, most busily moving various items in the storage away while they cleared up a staging ground before the Shadowgate. Now that the shelving was mostly down, the space could easily hold a half battalion as it moved in or out of the Shadowgate on assignment, exactly what they would need in the coming days.

Felix frowned. He had spent too much time resolving his issues in Levantier, and he itched to reunite with his friends. Thankfully, everything was nearly wrapped up—there was only one task left.

He approached the Shadowgate, feeling at the carved edges of the massive circular portal. Power thrummed through its structure, a tangible vibration that almost stung Felix’s fingertips. That same quaking transmitted through the darkness that gathered deep in the construct’s hollow, like a rippling sheet of pure shadow. It was a stark contrast to the gate itself, which was a work of art made to resemble the landscape around Elderthrone.

Everything looks good. I—Felix paused, hand hovering just over the yawning darkness. A quiver ran through his Spirit. What the hell?

Dread poured into his heart, so thick and cold. Icy claws gripping his lungs, squeezing at his chest from below…where the spinning accretion disc surrounded a dark abyss. Hunger…or the Beast—one of them resonated with something beyond the Shadowgate.

There was only one thing that might resonate so well within himself.

Whalemaw.

Was he ready to face it yet?

For some reason, despite having two gods under his belt, that felt a touch too far. Was it fear? Felix checked his own Spirit, and yes, there was fear in there. But far more concerning was the amount of eager bloodlust that was knocking at the gates of his heart.

The idea that the Whalemaw could be within his reach, a source of Primordial power that would easily dwarf the Tenebrous Aeon. What could he accomplish with that power? What could he become? Felix swallowed again, unwilling to follow that line of thought.

I was barely able to defeat the Tenebrous Aeon, and that was only at the start for Paragon Tier. What chance would I have against the Whalemaw? Felix had an advantage against the gods, but Primordials weren't Divine. His Call of Defiance title didn't work against those less than Divine advancement, which put him on a back foot, as it had with the Tenebrous Aeon.

He wasn't ready for the Whalemaw.

Would he ever be?

Felix shoved the doubts away. He would be, eventually. He had to. For now, though, he needed to return home.

So first I need to reinforce the way. I have the Crown, the Pool of Halcyon Oaths, and Atlantes—Felix hesitated, looking at the obsidian roots that clung to the walls. Could that work?

Ourea, do you wanna help? He mustered up his recall for the same process he'd undergone with Atlantes and held it out to the Spirit Tree. This is what I’m asking.

The mental communication passed through into the roots, and all around him, the tendrils of the Spirit Tree creaked alarmingly, wiggling as if in a breeze that was not there. A sensation of swiftly blossoming flowers filled his Mind, while a new type of eagerness brushed against his Spirit.

I take it that means yes.

More blossoms, this time reaching out toward the sun.

"I'm sorry to say that we'll be reaching through the dark before we see the sunlight." Felix put a hand on an obsidian branch. "It will hurt."

That eagerness did not abate by a single iota.

Felix smiled, "Then let's begin.”

Authority Recognized!

Elder Spirit Tree Acknowledged!

Do You Wish To Bind The Ourea Anima To Your Heart Of Darkness?

WARNING!

This Binding Is Irrevocable.

All Choices Have Consequences.

Y/N

Yes.

The notification vanished with the sound of screeching violins and shattering stone, while in the vast distance, cymbals rolled like thunder. Felix gritted his teeth, and needles tore at his skin, pressing into muscle and bone before an arctic chill clung to his marrow. Sharp pain bypassed every resistance he had, and as before, Felix welcomed the agony. It drilled through the center of him as the Shadowgate pulsed.

A high pitched creaking came from all around him, alarming Darius and his men almost as much as the black vapor that poured off of every root.

“Felix!” Darius bellowed. “What are you doing?”

He ignored them all. Instead, Felix’s attention was consumed by the dire sensation of stretching, as if a piece of himself was pressing down deeper through unyielding stone. It broke—him or the stone, Felix was unsure—and his awareness was shaken.

He was not the only one.

Smoking, obsidian roots leaped from the walls, growing fast across the vault before latching onto the edges of his Shadowgate. Black lines on darkness, they grew past the textured gate and into the vast beyond.

There was a sensation across Felix's Mind, Body, and Spirit that felt like compaction. Roots delved into the Shadowgate, into him, like deep, dark soil. They spread through the liminal tunnel that was the Shadowgate, pouring power through root and connection like hands reaching across a vast distance.

A flash of light caught Felix's Mind.

Opalescent, it mingled with obsidian like fingers intertwining, that dark soil pressed tight, bound fast by innumerable roots from both sides. A flower bloomed, dew collected on its petals. A soft breeze sent its fragrance wafting through verdant halls.

Atlantes. She wants to help.

Affirmation filled him like water through parched stalks.

The Atlantes Anima Accepts!

The Ourea Anima Is Now Bound To Your Heart Of Darkness!

The Atlantes Anima Is Empowered!

Your Heart Of Darkness Has Been Reinforced By The Green Wilds!

The Song Resonates!

The Way Is Held Firm!

I…think that means we succeeded.

The pain vanished, and Felix found himself on his knees before the Shadowgate. That was a little bit concerning. He had no recollection of ever falling. He stood and found the Shadowgate…changed. It was still a work of art carved from many precious stones and covered in sigildry, but now it was wrapped up in obsidian roots that bound it to the walls and floor. They melded with the stone so well that, even to Felix's eye, it looked like the Shadowgate had been hewn from the Tree itself.

"Thank you," he murmured to the Tree. He reached out and patted one of its obsidian roots, and a sensation of warm sunlight rolled across his face. "Yeah, you did good."

"That was quite the show," Darius said from behind him. His voice had an edge that matched the sword propped on his shoulder. "What in damnation did you do?"

Felix turned away from the dark gate and smiled. "I cleared the way home. Gather everyone up. We're leaving."

CHAPTER THIRTY

Elowen stood in the warded storage room that had been transformed into a teleportation chamber, marveling at the roots that covered the walls just as much as the Shadowgate that swirled at the far end. Above all else, she was fascinated by the magic involved. Like the Seal before, the sigaldry in around the gate was well beyond her conception of inscription, let alone knowledge. Not to mention the incorporation of the Spirit Tree—Elowen couldn’t wrap her Mind around how that might even be possible.

The enormous plant was endlessly charming, like something out of a fairy tale. It was the kind of magic that Elowen had hoped for when she'd arrived on the Continent, well before she'd learned the cruel realities of life there.

The vault was crowded, mostly by blue-cloaked soldiers that called themselves the Legions of the Fiend. They bore interesting weapons and armor, the latter matching, even if the former was somewhat random. The Grandmasters were there, too, flanked by one or two of their Master Tiers and set off to the side. They were talking animatedly amongst themselves and even smiling, all of them clearly eager to be there. Elowen had enough dealings with them to know why.

He was finally leaving.

The bane of their existence, all because he made them work together. Elowen shook her head. She still couldn't believe what Felix had accomplished in a few short days.

"Was this truly the best decision?" Tern asked her for the tenth time in the last two hours. "I am not a leader."

"Yes, you are," Elowen assured him. "You stuck to your guns when no one else would."

Tern raised an eyebrow. "My what?"

"It means standing your ground, even when the entire Violet was against you."

"El, my dear, I am⁠—”

“As capable as anyone else in this city. Hell, this whole Territory. I lost my head for a while there. I almost got taken by Siva and got you banished from the Violet Tower." She looked down at him, a smile stretching lips that she still wasn't quite used to. "Why did you stick around?"

Tern hesitated before answering. "I couldn't leave my home and my work. Or my students."

"You stayed for me?"

"Not just you. Don't get a big head, young lady. But I raised so many of you mages from Apprentice. What Tiir was doing was reprehensible, even if I couldn't remember why."

Elowen studied the gate ahead of them. "Siva had her hooks on all of us, didn't she?"

"She did.” Tern's old, wrinkled face scowled magnificently. "That boy did us a true service when he ate her."

"Yeah." Elowen laughed. "I still feel a bit awkward around him. Hard to look someone in the eye after you've tried to kill them."

"You could always stay here."

Elowen blew out a surprised breath that was a half-step away from a laugh. "You're serious. You'd want me to? Even after learning that I'm Unbound?"

"You think I care? El, you're the best student I've ever had. And it's not just because you reached Grandmaster more swiftly than any mage in five centuries. Your talents wouldn’t go unappreciated, certainly, but I’m about to wrangle a nest of vipers. I could use a friend."

A wave of affection just about bowled Elowen over. The old Elf before her had been a great teacher, and he'd been a rock she had leaned on more than once since she'd arrived at the Violet Tower. But she couldn't stay.

"I think... I think I have to fix what I screwed up. Mind-controlled or not, I set the Chthonic Star loose on this world. And I'll be the one to take it out."

Tern's scowl lightened into a beaming grin. "I'm proud of you. El. No matter what. Remember that."

Elowen straightened her spine, lifting her a few inches even as his praise made her feel twice as tall. "I will."

She wrapped the old Elf in a giant hug. He fought it for a brief moment before loosing a wheezing chuckle and patting her companionably on the back. When she released him, the murmuring crowd had gone silent.

Felix walked into the vault.

The Legion split before him, and he nodded at them as he moved languidly across the chamber. He wasn't in his armored form anymore, instead wearing the simple jacket and pants she’d met him in. He was shorter, too, at least a foot shorter than her—but there was a coiled power in his limbs that was evident even as he walked toward the Shadowgate.

The Legion watched him reverently, some even mouthing something into cupped hands as he passed. The Grandmasters, however, watched him nervously.

Felix came to a stop near the gate, and the fire mage said something she couldn't catch. The man laughed. Everything about him was dangerous, she knew. But he was kinder than she expected.

She had to remind herself that he was from Earth, just like her. He fit in so well with the people from the Continent, it was easy to forget. That sense of belonging was something she’d never really found in this world. Aside from Tern, her friends began and ended with the woman in the cottage who had found her at the very start. Elowen had been forced to fake her way through everything until she became strong enough that she no longer had to try. But even now, as a Grandmaster, she operated from a place of fear.

Perhaps that was why it was so easy for Siva to get her hooks into her. She still remembered the sweet promises of Grandmaster Tiir and the silvered whispers of the goddess.

Elowen shuddered, pulling herself away from that treacherous reverie, only to notice her Skill within her core space flashing. It hummed to life in a way it had a few times before. It was her divination Skill, the one that made her a Seer.

“Eyes Unclouded,” she murmured.

Before her, the world split. People were the same, and almost everything else was unchanged…save that where Felix stood, there were now two figures. One was laughing with his friend, and the other—Elowen swallowed—the other was a hulking Beast. Twice the size of Felix, and yet seeming as vast as the sky itself, filled with fire and lightning beneath its inky hide.

It was power.

It was hunger.

It looked right at her.

The pattern of her Skill faltered, the vibrations skipping to a stop. The vision vanished.

“El?” Tern put a hand on her forearm. She hadn't realized she'd been shaking until he touched her. "El, are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine." Her mouth was dry, making the words come out as a raspy croak. Ahead, Felix stepped up to the Shadowgate and gestured. It flashed with a deeper darkness, and the sigaldry shone gold and silver against the obsidian roots. There was no sign of the Beast. "I'm fine."

There was a humming rush, as if a bunch of chords were played in quick succession, ambling across Felix's flesh. Silvered notes in the dark.

He passed through them, stepping into his Void Sanctuary.

The moment his heels hit Fiendstone, however, he paused and listened. Things seemed fine, but when his vision cleared from the shadow, he stilled.

Huh. The gate’s changed position.

Or perhaps the city had changed shape.

Before, the portal to Levantier had been at the base of a tall tower made of glittering Fiendstone. Now it was tucked away into a columned portico. Hexagonal pillars surrounded a wide platform, upon which were inscribed a geometric diagram of stars in lines of liquid gold. It wasn't quite sigaldry, but the symbols still hummed beneath his feet as Felix stepped past them and down a short set of steps.

Just outside the triangular roof and down the steps was a wide hexagonal plaza, at least a hundred yards across and filled with still more geometric designs. The Fiendstone was dark here, touched with a piece of shadow from the portals, which only served to accentuate the gold and silver inlay. Surrounding the plaza were eight other porticos, all designed in a similar fashion, save for an exquisitely detailed frieze in the triangular space between column and roof. Each one was an echo of the Shadowgate designs back in Elderthrone, shaped to resemble Gharion, Jaast, and Sunara, among others.

Most notable, though, were the trees. They flanked each portico, one small and one passingly large plant. The larger was clearly a piece of Atlantes, as all the trees in his sanctuary had been on his last trip through. But the smaller was dark and faceted like chipped obsidian.

Felix glanced around, spotting two pathways. Both led to stairs, one up and one down, but the higher structure looked to contain other porticos—other Shadowgates. Did they contain the gates located in the Jaast Heart of Darkness?

He'd have to check that soon. For now, however, Felix flared his Perception and listened. The vibration of his Void Sanctuary in his chest filled his attention as details permeated across his senses.

Golden light shone from the sun far above, more than perhaps mere sunlight might provide, and the sky was a pristine blue, so bright it made his eyes ache ever so slightly. The wind stirred around him, and the scent of spicy jasmine and sweet citrus was carried upon it.

His Skill was as steady as stone. There was no quivering, no sign of a breach.

Felix let loose a pent-up breath. He had gone first because he could get away from the Whalemaw if it had shown up, but his allies couldn't. If I have a part of Veridaan inside me, then the Whalemaw is so much more. A Cardinal Beast with a primordial's flesh curse.

That was goddamn scary.

He shook off that image and stepped over to one of the nearest gates. It was clearly active, but the shadows were thin. Felix tested it, reaching a hand into the dark, but he knew the outcome before his hand passed through without effect.

I can't access them from this gate. Damn. For a moment there, he thought he could get around using the Heart of Darkness. That would have been cool.

Felix retraced his steps, returning to Levantier's portal and pulling out a gold coin from his pouch as he walked. He stopped just within arm's reach of the exit and tossed it gently through. It vanished with a soft, breathy note. He waited.

Less than a minute later, Darius and a company of Legionnaires poured through, splitting around him like a river around a boulder, their weapons drawn as they marched out into the plaza.

"Everything's good?" the man asked.

Felix gave a silent nod, and the big man led his soldiers down to assemble. His other friends soon followed.

"Oh my god," Elowen said, mouth agape, as she cleared the Shadowgate. Her hooves rang out with each step against the Fiendstone platform. "This... what is this place?"

"Mind Skill," Atar said.

"In Felix's core space," Alister added. "The gate co-ops a Mind Skill from the person that activates it."

"For what reason?"

"To traverse the Void."

The Theron swallowed, and the small chains between her antlers jangled as she twisted and turned to look at everything.

"Wow. This is quite different than before," Zara said as Team Magic settled into place once more. "The Ourea's influence?"

"That and hitting Grandmaster Tier, maybe," Felix said.

The Legion had assembled upon the hexagonal plaza now, and Felix swiftly accounted for everyone before jerking his head toward the set of steps that descended into the city proper. "Elderthrone's this way."

They walked just a bit, but at the first landing, where a railing extended across the edge of the square of the plaza, Felix paused.

Whoa.

It was as if he were seeing his Void Sanctuary for the first time. The central palace was still there, but everything else was different. Green was everywhere. Trees and grass and flowers filled the streets and the tops of buildings until they all resembled nothing so much as wild gardens.

Alister paused beside him at the railing, his eyes as wide as his smile. "Incredible. I don't think it's any bigger, but this is a drastically new place."

Atar quirked an eyebrow. "Does it feel different to you, Felix?"

"Yeah, it does. It feels," Felix laughed. "Less safe."

"That's…concerning."

He waved off Atar's worry. "No, it's fine. I wouldn't have brought you through if it was a risk.” He breathed in that sweet spice on the breeze and released it softly. "But I think my Grandmaster Feature has influenced the Skill way more than previous Tempers."

He led them down the steps a bit, passing three more landings before they reached street level. There, it was even easier to see how the boulevards and buildings were truly changed. Felix was swift to notice that the windows and the doors were functional now. Instead of being sealed—the pieces of the buildings themselves being carved facades that did not function or move—now they clearly were hung on hinges and slides, indicated by more than one being ajar or cracked open very slightly.

Leaves, like ivy, poured down the sides of Fiendstone buildings, and in some places, roots extended out of those doors, crawling across the steps, as if the place had been overgrown. And yet, it didn't feel abandoned to Felix.

Strong walls, but open. He reached over to a door they passed close by and turned the latch. It swung inward on soundless hinges. He flared his Perception, but other than the sense of plants, there was no one inside.

They kept walking, following his sense of the place that told him exactly where to go to find the portal back to Elderthrone. They were led on a wide, rambling tour of his Void Sanctuary, and he got to see more of the trees up close.

Previously, small copies of Atlantes had abounded down medians and along sidewalks. Now those same trees were twice the size, and their roots had overtaken several thoroughfares, where the branches now touched in the center of the street. Moreover, as with the porticoes, obsidian saplings were everywhere, rising through Fiendstone like weeds through cement. They had joined his Atlantes, filling courtyards with vines and moss and faceted roots.

There had been parks before, but now they were filled with both types of trees, as well as low shrubs and bright wildflowers. Not faceted and made of stone, either, but real wildflowers. It was from these that the scent of jasmine and citrus emanated, filling the winds that rustled branches. As Felix paused to take a deep breath from them, something flashed away from him, fluttering through a tree. He jerked backward.

"What is it?" Darius said, hand on his sword.

Felix raised his own hand to stop the man, as well as everyone else. "Hold on." He looked closer. On the branches before him were real, living birds.

No. Not birds.

“Are those…” Elowen gasped. “Are those Dragons?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

They were.

Small baby Dragons, no bigger than a songbird, made of opalescent Fiendstone and midnight-black scales.

He reached out a hand, and one hopped closer, edging its way toward him atop a branch. It regarded him with bright blue eyes, like chips of ice, tilting its head curiously before, with a flutter of feathery wings, it alighted on his hand. Its black claws dug into him, and it thrashed a long, sinuous tail that ended with sharp spikes.

"Oh man," he said, "you're adorable."

“Those don’t look like any Hatchlings I’ve seen,” Alister noted. “What’s with the wings?”

“I don’t know.”

“Forget the wings, why are they here?” Atar looked up at the tree. Hundreds of creatures were there, preening their feathers, twitching their spiky tails, or simply watching with bright blue eyes. "I thought there was nothing alive in here.”

The Hatchlings startled all at once, taking to the sky with a rush of feathers. Felix clucked his tongue as the one in his hand took off, too. They all watched as the Hatchlings flew through the air in complicated, shifting shapes. None touched the other, all of them in perfect, strange coordination.

A murmuration, he remembered. The flock swirled and folded on itself, like an amoeba a hundred feet wide.

Zara cleared her throat. "What exactly was that Feature you Tempered with?"

"Scale - Venture Forth," Felix murmured. "To face the dark and fight."

"What does that mean?" Atar asked.

"Just a change in perspective," Felix replied, gesturing to the sky. "This is something else, I think."

"I would say so," Darius nodded down the street. There, stumping out from a side alley, was a hulking creature at least fifteen feet tall and made entirely of chunks of shaped ice.

"Felix?" Alister said. "Why, is there a giant in your Mind Skill?"

Atar lifted a hand, already wreathed in white fire. "I don't think that's a giant.”

The creature lumbered across the thoroughfare, the sun glinting off its ice and the thick iron chains wrapped around its limbs. They were frozen across its forelimbs, wrapped tightly until they were twice as thick as its biceps, while in other places they dangled free, so that the creature jangled with every step.

Their heads weren't like a giant's, either. Each one was formed of a piece of ice that looked sheared off of a larger glacier, its blue-green planes clouded, save where eyes of molten iron gleamed.

Felix stepped forward, curiously. He stopped when a Minotaur followed the constructs out of the alley. It wasn’t a real Minotaur, though—in fact, it looked more like a construct than the ice Golem. Horns and head were of molded gold, while its large hands were no doubt similar beneath its heavy leather gloves. His body was likewise clothed, wrapped in blue-white robes with a thick leather apron strapped with a belt of heavy pouches. Tools stuck from the belt, things that Felix had no name for, but all of which looked exceedingly technical.

The Minotaur walked closer to the Golem, taking out some sort of rod with a hook on the end of it. It poked at the creature, prodding it away across the road and toward another group of buildings. The Golem stumped away obediently, and neither one said a word or even glanced in their direction.

Felix jogged ahead to see more, or perhaps determine where they were going—he wasn't sure. However, once he turned the corner, the road descended down a steep hill, and he could finally see the walls that loomed high around his city. They were distant, but Felix's vision could pick out the Fiendstone walls, and the normally opalescent rock was now streaked with strange and arcane layers.

Distinct veins of silver metal were interspersed among translucent blue, pale white-green, purple-white, and orange crystal, all of which gleamed in the ceaseless sun.

"What are we looking at?" Darius asked as he rounded the corner.

"I'm not sure," Zara admitted. "Felix, what⁠—"

“Quiet,” he demanded. He heard something: the sound of boots far ahead. It tingled at the edges of his Perception, and when he narrowed his eyes, he saw the glint of metal at the base of the wall.

"Stay here," he said, before flaring his Agility and rushing ahead.

"Hey—!"

Atar's shout disappeared into the distance as Felix blurred, zipping down the road and around intersections before finding himself at the base of the wall, where soldiers were marching up a set of stairs leading to the top.

What the hell is this?

They were metal soldiers, their bodies formed into moving armor and utterly solid except their joints. Those were made of complicated hinges and blue force pistons that drove their feet up and down onto the Fiendstone steps. Each soldier bore axes and pikes in their hands, and their limbs gleamed with silver light that was layered atop the steel and gave them an ethereal, almost dream-like quality.

Felix watched them march up the wall, where they joined others all around them, watching whatever lay beyond his city.

Once more, his Perception twinged as the faintest of noises made him turn quickly. Just in time, he saw a figure slipping through a doorway.

No, not a doorway. The actual walls. That made him nervous. He had things locked in those buildings that should never get out.

Felix flared his Perception, hunting for the creatures, and found it—but only because it was sitting completely still. It was a child-sized man made entirely of Fiendstone, and it was watching him from the shadows beneath an awning on a balcony two stories above him. It did nothing but stare, ominously.

Shit.

With a burst of speed, he ran back to his friends, but they weren’t where he’d left them. Instead, they had moved farther along, and Felix soon found them near a fountain in a plaza just down the block from his central palace.

"—where'd he even go?" Alister asked, before jerking back in surprise. "Oh, you're back!”

“I went to the wall," Felix explained. "I saw something there."

"Well, we saw something here, too," Atar said before pointing. "Look."

On the opposite side of the fountain were three figures wearing robes of black and blue, each one bearing a halberd made of obsidian and a shield of white marble studded with gems of bright blue crystal. Without even trying, Felix could hear the force emanating from those shields, though the figures were as still as stone itself. Their featureless heads stared straight toward the palace, not acknowledging them in the slightest, which was good, because at the top of their halberds, instead of a blade, there was a fitful white flame.

is that my fire?

“Our fire," Atar turned to Felix. "Is it?"

"Yeah, I think it is.”

that is stealing, autarch.

"Freely given, I'm afraid," Zara explained. When the mages gave her questioning looks, she simply gestured to Felix.

"Links," he explained. He'd figured it out when he saw the Fiendstone creatures slipping through his walls. "These are your links to me…manifested."

They were traces of all his friends, somehow leaking into his core space across their Links. Now they were present in his Void Sanctuary, populating it with... he wasn't sure what they were.

"I don't think these things are alive, but they don't seem to be completely inanimate, either," he said.

"I can sense a thread of life Mana in them," Zara said. "But it's not much. Certainly not enough to consider them truly alive—but they are more than simple constructs."

"Are you sure about that?" Atar asked. "So far, they don't even seem to notice us."

"Perhaps that is because you are welcome here," she suggested.

"Am I? There's one way to test that. Stars of the Sovereign!"

In one smooth motion, Atar manifested and hurled a bright white star of fire at one of the giants nearby. It hit them like a bomb going off. Steam and chunks of ice poured into the sky before the latter clattered to the earth in great shattering chunks. What was left were molten chains and melted ice, exposing a rib cage made of Fiendstone. But that was not all.

The Golem turned toward Atar, its bright iron eyes glowing more ferociously than ever before. It ran toward them, great, loping strides that ate up the distance. In less than a second, Atar stumbled back, and Alister conjured up a brilliant shield to protect them. Felix knew that it wouldn't be enough. It lifted its fist, charging toward the mages, aiming to kill.

"Stop!" Felix's Authority rang out, stopping the Golem dead, its fist inches from Alister's shield.

"Well," Atar said, breathing heavily from under his upraised hands. "Now we know what happens there.”

let us fight! Flame demanded.

Felix clenched his jaw. "Maybe another time. Atar, don't do that again."

"What?" he asked innocently, before Alister elbowed him hard. "What? You, too? It was a simple stress test."

Elowen leaned close to the Golem, hands clasped tight as if restraining herself. "There are no sigils or glyphs on its bones. Are they entirely a construct of Will and Intent?"

“It seems so.” Zara walked around the Golem with calm, measured steps. "How much control do you hold over them, Felix?"

He looked at the Golem. He'd been wondering that himself. "Stand Straight."

The giant did just that.

"Salute!"

An icy hand snapped to its lumpy forehead, clattering as its chains jangled against its ice.

Felix pointed into the distance, where another Golem was lifting boxes next to an open doorway. "Fight!"

This time, he felt his Authority strain. The Golem didn't move. Felix frowned. "I said, Fight!"

With jerking, spasming movements, both Golems began to move. The first dropped its boxes, and the injured one took a halting step, as if its joints were rusted shut and it couldn't move freely. Still, Felix's Authority gripped them tight, even as the Golems started shaking and rattling. The closer he made them draw to each other, the more resistance he felt, like pressing the opposite poles of a magnet together by brute force. At any moment, he felt like his control could slip, and the Golems would rebound off of one another wildly.

"Okay, stop. Return to your duties." The pressure vanished, as both Golems pivoted smoothly before stomping away down the road, one to resume with his boxes and the other to resume whatever exactly it did.

"Looks like there are limits," Felix said.

"They won't fight each other?" Alister asked. "Seems arbitrary.”

“They're defenders," Darius said. "Defenders don't fight one another.”

Felix’s eye widened. The knowledge felt right once Darius said it. “Scale - Venture Forth. It means to stand firm against the darkness. And fight back," Felix shook his head, not quite believing it. "Some combination of my Temper and Links turned this place into something like a real city with a real, or at least sort of real, populace."

"Stolen defenders," Atar said, clearly impressed. “How’d you turn them into…these things?”

“No clue.” Felix gestured down a broad roadway and immediately began to walk, following his gut toward where he knew the exit lay. "The exit’s this way.”

It took only a few minutes before they found it. It was located now inside his Void Sanctuary instead of outside the external gate. In fact, it was at the very center of things, located on a raised platform in the inner courtyard of the palace. The gate itself was surrounded by a frame of gleaming gold fashioned into the form of four enormous wings spread out and around in a circle.

"An enemy ahead," Zara said in warning.

“A defender,” Darius corrected.

A creature leaned over the top, its huge head, tufted ears and hooked beak glinting cruelly in the bright sun. A tenku made entirely of gold and silver perched atop the gate, and it watched them carefully. Felix approached, and the glare it bore intensified until a snarl tore from its metal chest. It had the sound of an engine backfiring, and Felix nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Enough." Felix held out a hand. "I am not here to hurt you."

Instantly, the Chimera's gaze turned benign. The creature's tongue lolled, much like his Companion's might, and a long foxtail swished rapidly on the other side of the gate. "I believe we're good to pass through," he called back, not taking his eyes off the animated metal Chimera. "Go, quickly."

His friends did so, filing through at speed while Felix waited. When the last Legionnaire stepped through the gate, Felix looked up. "Why did you growl at me?"

The metal Chimera regarded him sideways, like any bird peering at a curiosity. A handful of seconds passed, uneventfully, silently, and then a dozen, a half minute. When a full minute lapsed and the creature still did not move or respond, Felix took a single step toward the gate.

"I defend the gate," it said.

Felix swallowed. "From what?"

The creature didn't react, only continued to stare. It was only when Felix had stepped almost entirely into the swirling shadow gate that its jaw opened with a slight squeal.

"From you.”

That was the last thing Felix heard before the Shadowgate swallowed him up.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

The shadows resolved into a wide room, not dissimilar to the plaza Felix had just left. It was far darker, though magelights ran along the ceiling, and the inscribed floors were ablaze with soft gold and silver illumination. The rock was dull, reflecting very little light, and there was no sun to be seen in the Heart of Darkness. Shadow gates surrounded them, connected by sigildry to the large Belais crystal at the center of the room.

An illusory display hung above it, displaying a root-like network of portals across their corner of the Continent. Already, the Legionnaires were arrayed in rows off to the side where Darius and the mages spoke softly together. Elowen was gazing with even more reverence than before as she took in the complicated construction of his Shadowgate hub.

More important, however, was the giant lump of feathers and fur that was currently chatting with Zara.

"Pit," Felix said as he stepped down from the shadow gate, "glad to see you're back."

The Chimera was in his larger form. Normally, he preferred to use his Dire Hound Mask to move around, due to his immense size and general attitude. It was even more of a surprise when Pit looked at him nervously.

"Felix," he said, "we need to talk."

Curious, Felix reached out toward his bond with his Companion, and Pit's Spirit shied away. Felix frowned.

"Darius, take the legion and gather all the rest. We need to prep like we discussed."

"Aye, I'll see them ready." The big man saluted and marched off, Legionnaires in tow.

"Elowen, how about I show you our Glyphworks?" Alister suggested.

"Oh, sure," she said, glancing between Felix and Pit. “It would be fascinating to see what you've done."

"It’s my Glyphworks, actually," Atar corrected. "And it's quite advanced."

Felix jerked his chin at his mentor. "Zara, gather the Chanters."

"I will inform them of their tasks," she said.

"Thank you."

Everyone hurried off, each on their own missions, until it was just Felix and Pit there in the heart of darkness. They had a moment as the footsteps faded, and the hum of the shadow gate to Levantier died away when it was just a careful sort of silence between them.

"Pit, this close, you can't hide," Felix said. "Why’re you afraid?"

"I lost the Sylphaen," he blurted.

Felix closed his mouth, jaw tensing as a sick feeling rose through his belly. He swallowed it back down. "How?"

"Noctis and Vellus assaulted us, subverted the tempest, even the storm wardens." Pit shook his immense head. "They brought everything down, nearly destroyed the entire halcyon hold. We, I couldn't. Gabby, it was Gabby, she took her."

Anger burned through Felix, scouring away the dread in his spirit. Pit flinched from it. Felix wanted to tone it down, to dim its flare, but he couldn't.

Noctis and Vellus. Those names echoed in his mind. Worse than Siva, they had been a pain in his side for almost as long as he'd been on the continent. Just the thought of them attacking his friends sent a tingle of heat through every inch of his flesh, as if his veins were on fire. Imagining that selfish, faceless jerk—if she had hurt Pit…or Vess?

"Felix?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry. I understand why you'd be angry. I should have reached out. I should have told you sooner than now, but I was afraid."

Felix relaxed his jaw. He'd been grinding his teeth together and hadn't even realized it. "Afraid of what?"

Pit dropped his head, "Afraid to admit I'd failed."

Felix sighed before he took his friend's head up in his hands. It was huge, more than twice the size of his own torso, but Felix lifted Pit up so that they were looking eye to eye.

"Buddy, listen to me: I don't blame you."

Pit's eyes widened. "What? I couldn't save her. She was right there, Felix, and I wasn't fast enough."

"It's not your fault," he repeated. "What happened was unavoidable. Gabby came for Elowen, too.”

“She didn't get her, though.”

“Not for lack of trying, man. I snapped Siva's tethers and fought a goddess to keep Elowen safe. I have Skills, stats, and Temper that makes me uniquely suited for that.”

“We share Titles. We share Skills. I could have tried."

"No." Felix's voice came out firm, and that anger in him flared up. Pit flinched again, but Felix softened his tone. "I don't want you to take that risk, Pit. For better or worse, I've got a primordial hunger on my side, and I don't think I could handle you getting hurt again."

Pit pushed his head up until his forehead pressed against Felix's. They stayed there for a while, not talking, just soft, steady breathing as their Spirits slowed to a measured tempo.

"You saved everyone you could, right?" Felix murmured.

"I did, but⁠—"

"No buts.” Felix held Pit at arm’s length. “We make the choice to save who we can. It's not on us to take on the choices of others. It's to teach them the consequences."

Pit sat back on his haunches, all four of his wings twitching. "Did you really eat Siva?"

Felix bared his teeth. "I did. It had some consequences of its own, but I'm better now, more or less."

The bond between the two of them suddenly relaxed. The connection no longer pinched tight on Pit's side. His companion's eyes widened. "I shut you out so much out of fear that I didn't feel any of this. You're like a different person. Is this Grandmaster Tier?"

Felix lifted his hands, inspecting them. They were thick with glossy scales and capped by claws sharper than any blade he'd used. "Early stages of it, yeah, I can catch you up on what happened later, but suffice it to say it was intense."

"So, what happens then?" Pit asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you ate a god. What happens? There has to be something, right?"

"Well, her moon's gone, and so are oaths. Beyond that, I don't know."

"So, what happens when you eat the others?"

"When?" Felix said, raising his eyebrows.

Pit just nodded. "Yeah. When?"

Felix shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe whatever they're in control of stops, too. But I can't let that stop me. The gods are... Well, the gods are the enemy of everyone on the Continent. We gotta do what we gotta do, right?"

"Yeah," Pit said. "Speaking of, you sent everyone off to do things. I assume there's a plan?"

"Hell yeah there is. We're going to Amaranth, and we're getting them all back."

Pit chirruped brightly, his tufted ears perking up. "Really?"

"Yeah, the Hierophant is overdue for an ass-kicking."

Pit crowed a harsh bugle that resonated in the heart of darkness before sobering. "Wait, what about Gabby?”

“She's why we know where to go. She dropped me a hint, Pit. Something's still going on with her, but she isn't under the Pathless's mindwipe anymore." Felix shook his head, trying to toss off the frustration that hung about his shoulders like a lead cloak. "She's still bound by something—the Hierophant maybe. But I'd bet on the gods, and that's another reason why they're going down.”

“Why do you think it's them?"

"Because of how she got around. She teleported into Levantier somehow. No one can do that. That teleportation was Divine. I could taste it."

"Huh. She did the same thing in the Halcyon Hold. It was like silvered shadows."

"Yeah. I’m thinking⁠—"

"Felix, I'm glad you've returned," Karys announced, clanking as he walked in. The enormous Chancellor brought with him light that shone from his golden body. Power glimmered through his internals and through his joints. "Things have been progressing well since we last spoke. Ah, and Pit, as well. Good. I was meaning to speak with you, too. When are the Chimera coming through?"

Felix blinked. "What's this?"

"Thalgrym—the leader of Euphonia—he wanted to help us get Ondine back. Insisted, really. I just didn't know when to bring them through. I assumed we didn't want several hundred tenku and wyverns flying around Elderthrone.”

“That was the right call," Karys agreed. “The populace would have reacted poorly.”

"I agree, but they will be handy. Do we have a way to contact them?" Felix asked.

Pit nodded. "I made Thalgrym my Chancellor, and the Halcyon Hold has a lot of ancient Nymean magics in it. Like this one, in Nagast, but Thalgrym has to reach out to me. He's going to call in a few hours. We set up a daily ring. What should I tell him?"

"To sit tight. We need to organize ourselves a bit first. I wanted to speak on that," Karys said. "Specifically, about the Authority over Sunara and the Halcyon Hold."

"Oh, right." Pit warbled to himself. "I can give it up, I think."

"No."

Pit and Karys both looked at Felix strangely.

"Why? We did all the work. Giving up the Authority should be simple."

"It isn't something I want you to do."

“Your Quest⁠—”

“Can be finished with another Territory. Listen,” Felix looked to both of his friends, one metal and one feathered. “The Authority will only help you. Besides, Sunara is a land of storms and Chimera. Who better to lead it than the Stormlord himself?”

Karys nodded. “I approve.”

Pit opened and shut his beak several times before saying anything. “O-okay. I guess I can…be the Stormlord of Sunara.” He perked up. “Hey, that sounds kinda neat.”

“Hell yeah it does.”

“Ahem,” Karys cleared his throat. “There is the issue of the Quest itself. Felix, your Authority is tangling with Pit’s—I believe it is due to your Companion bond.”

Felix brought up the Quest again. It was still shifting between six and seven Territories claimed. “Yeah I see what you mean. How do we fix this?”

“Luckily, Knowledge has some information on this.”

Karys gestured with a black, leviathan bone arm, and a robed Geist appeared out of thin air beside them. It stared at nothing in particular, even though its eyes were trained on Felix’s face; there was no spark there, only Knowledge.

“Well met, Autarch. Chancellor Karys has instructed me to inform you of a resolution to your tangled Authority.” Lights flickered through the construct's illusory eyes, as if it were accessing something. “The Companion bond affects many things, most notably the Authority of bonded individuals. While some closely bonded Companions might share their Authority, others will find that their power will ‘stick’ to one another, leading to a reduction in potency as the Grand Harmony confuses the significance of each individual.”

Felix waited a moment for more, but the Geist only stared blankly. “Uh-huh. And how is this fixed?”

“Resolution is achieved by the death of one or both Companions.”

“Not an option,” Felix growled.

“Historically, it was the most common of resolutions,” Knowledge went on. “Less common was to make one individual the vassal of the other.”

“Vassal? Like a serf?”

“A bondsman that works beneath another. In this case, one with lesser Authority operating beneath the greater.”

“Oh, like a vice president,” Pit chirruped. “I can be vice-president for sure.”

More like a liege and his sworn lords. Felix almost corrected his friend, but just smiled. “If you’re fine with it, I can make you my vassal. How do we do this?”

Knowledge gestured, and an illusory image formed before him. It depicted two figures reaching out to one another and placing their other hands to their chests. “Touch Mana Gates and gesture to your cores before speaking your Will.”

Pit reached out first, putting his paw out toward Felix before folding his forewing toward his chest. The bend of it pressed against his feathered breast.

Felix copied the motion, settling his left hand against Pit’s paw and putting his right hand just below his sternum. A vibration echoed through his core space, ringing out from the infinite black as unexpected words flowed through him.

“I swear to protect and defend the Territory of Sunara against all threats and to provide for it as I would my own.”

“I swear to pledge my Territory to the Autarch of Nagast,” Pit said, and Felix could tell he was surprised. “If called, I will defend it as I would my own.”

“I accept your pledge of loyalty.”

The soft sound of three bells rang out, each note descending as the resonant sound filled the air between them.

“It is done,” Knowledge said before vanishing entirely.

“That was…weird,” Pit complained. “And kinda anti-climactic, for all those big words. Three bells? Where’re the flashing lights?”

As if in response, sudden trumpets sounded, startling all three of them. A notification soon followed.

Stormlord Pit Nevarre Has Sworn Himself As Your Vassal!

Sunara Is Now A Territory Under The Autarch Of Nagast.

Felix pulled up his Quest. “It’s not flip-flopping anymore. Now it just shows six of seven Territories on my objectives list.”

“Success,” Karys said, clapping his hands together. “Now you must only grasp Jaast, provided Team Kickass was able to find the Seat and Seal.”

“Or one of the others I can reach here,” Felix said, gesturing to the other Shadowgates. Atlantes had opened up a lot of options for them when he bound himself to the Heart of Darkness. “That one goes to Neer, and that one is Tavan. We can grab them both.”

“That’ll take time, Felix⁠—”

WARNING. A Foe Is Attempting To Access Your Shadowgate Network!

Felix spun, the notification coming with a sudden spike of awareness at his back.

The gate toward Jaast pulsed, the darkness now tinged with a faint, alarming red.

WARNING!

A Foe Has Entered Your Void Sanctuary!

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Felix and Pit burst into his Void Sanctuary to find the entire place on high alert. Clouds of Hatchlings plied the sky and metal soldiers were racing through the streets past his palace.

"Get on!" Pit cried.

Felix jumped aboard Pit's back and, with a mighty rush, they soared up into the air. Hatchlings surrounded them, a murmuration that all but clung to Felix. There was no fear from them—there was very little emotion at all, in fact—but they seemed protective. As if guarding against something.

"There!" Pit pointed his beak. From above, they could easily spot the disturbance. Ahead, where the hexagonal plaza opened up near the tiered Shadowgates, there was an altercation. And it was bloody.

A veritable invasion had filled the Shadowgate plaza. A swarm of child-sized praying mantises poured out of the gate to Jaast, flying on buzzing yellow wings and brandishing their bright blue scythe arms at the creatures that opposed them. Metal soldiers that Felix had decided to call Steelarms worked the swarm inward, flanking the insects with their pikes. Axes swung with machine-like efficiency, each movement dismembering a chitinous limb as they worked to control the swarm.

Unseen Beholder.

Name: Chittershade Mantis

Type: Insect (Manawarped)

…

Lore: Originating in hives in the hollowed out trunks of Century Trees, the Chittershade exist in utter silence within their homes. Only when hunting or their hives are threatened do they lash out with sonic magic, attacking in swarms that even higher Tier beasts and mortals may find fatal. This specimen has been affected by an overabundance of powerful Mana, warping its nature and enhancing its aggression.

Strength: Their sonic attacks disrupt the flow of lower Tier Mana.

Weakness: Weak Will, they follow their Queen wherever she goes.

The Mantises jumped, cutting off platoons of the Steelarms before their scythes struck sparks against their metal hides. Their maneuverability would have been a huge problem for the soldiers to deal with, were it not for the mages, the warrior mages bearing obsidian halberds topped with white flame.

Flamebearers, Felix had decided to call them. It was a fitting name, as each thrust of their halberds sent fire coursing through the swarm, popping several of the Mantises like ichor-filled balloons, while others piled atop the blue force wards from their marbled shields.

The Steelarms pressed inward, slaughtering as they went, as the Flamebearers formed a perimeter, and they all pushed back toward the gate. Mantises died, but their powers were not all physical. They bore sonic magic that roared from each slash of their bladed limbs, disrupting the flames as it spread through them. More poured from the gate, and the swarm bulged, the central crowd flexing upward against pike and halberd and shield, until a faint mist the color of pale rot rose up between them, crashing against the soldiers like a wave.

"What's that aura down there?" Pit asked.

"I see it, too. I'm not sure."

The swarm burst apart, Mantises buzzing in all directions, as a massive reptile lunged out of their midst.

Unseen Beholder.

Name: Poisonheart Basilisk

Type: Lizard (Manawarped)

…

Lore: An ambush predator, the Poisonheart Basilisk lives within the deep tropical jungles of Jaast, where it lurks in rivers and swamps, exuding a toxic aura that lures in weak-Willed prey and debilitates them in one whiff. This specimen has been affected by an overabundance of powerful Mana, warping its nature and enhancing its aggression.

Strength: Their jaws are far stronger than the rest of their Bodies, and their gaze can petrify their foes.

Weakness: Slow and weaker in direct fights than something of an equal Tier.

The Basilisk was a massive, six-legged reptile with a heart-shaped crest on its head that glowed with a sickly green light. It leapt out of the crowd of swarming Mantises, its huge jaws snapping shut around over twenty metal soldiers at once. Metal deformed, and limbs were lost, but the Steelarms did not falter.

The Mantises, however, swarmed over them, bashing now against the Flamebearers and their flickering shields, until they were met by fists of chain-wrapped ice. The ice golems stomped into battle, swinging their heavy arms through the Mantises as if they weren't there, shattering them into paste before they waded forward to attack the Basilisk.

They were followed by several golden Minotaurs bearing large, golden hammers. The Basilisk spat a sticky venom at the Minotaurs, slowing their approach and following their footwork, but it did nothing to the onrush of ice golems. Massive fists rained down on the beast, breaking through thick hide and leaving patches of frostburn behind.

The reptile screamed in pain, and its eyes flashed. Even from above, Felix could feel the pressure from its Skill as the world was changed. A whole swath of metallic soldiers turned to stone—only to keep fighting. Their unliving flesh could not be stopped, and their geared joints did not care if they propelled steel or stone.

The Basilisk bellowed once more, its tail caught in the grip of an ice golem as golden hammers found its limbs and crushed its joints.

The battle turned. Mantises fled the destruction, many flying up to escape the plaza.

"Pit! Box them in."

"Already ahead of you. Tempest Fugit!"

Frozen spears dropped from the sky, skewering every Mantis at once. They exploded, the ice tearing through their frail exoskeletons before they were burst apart by frenzied lightning.

The two of them descended, dropping into the plaza just as his odd denizens finished off the Basilisk and the last of the Mantises. Their Queen fell to the ground, her thick carapace crushed beneath cold iron chains and golden hammers.

Felix hopped off Pit's back, but there was nothing for him to take care of anymore. The denizens had handled it all. The moment his feet touched the ground, however, every one of them turned to face him as if standing at attention.

"Uh…Good job.” He cleared his throat, trying to meet each of their gazes. Though it was clear that the soldiers, golems, Minotaurs, and mages could all see him, it was as if no one was there—save for the faintest spark of something he couldn’t define. "Keep it up.”

The Steelarms and Flamebearers both saluted, fists to chest, before marching away in two distinct formations. The ice golems turned and trundled off, the golden Minotaurs nodding with faint smiles across their statuesque faces. They, too, faded away down steps and alcoves of his Sanctuary.

"Well, I didn't expect that.”

"Yeah, these were surprising to me," Pit agreed. "It wasn’t like this when we passed through to Elderthrone."

"Ah, this is a recent change," Felix admitted.

“Those are all you? Did your Skill change?" Pit gestured toward where the soldiers had left with his paw, "Or are they real people?"

"No, they're me, but they're influences from you and everyone that I'm Linked with."

"Oh, that's interesting." Pit chirruped thoughtfully. “Where’s my influence?”

“Back at the palace. We’ll look at it later. Right now, I'm more interested in exactly what's going on here." Felix walked up to the swirling portal of darkness that led to Jaast.

Felix? Karys' voice crackled from the sword at his hip. What’s happened?

“Monsters got in through the Shadowgate, but they're all taken care of now.”

How did they get in? I thought you reinforced the protections.

"I reinforced them against the Void by strengthening the connections to the Corporeal." Felix inspected the gate before him, but nothing seemed to miss. He knelt, running his hands over the Fiendstone ground. There wasn’t a scratch. "Harn was supposed to post guards to prevent this.”

“Which means they all left, or they're dead," Pit said.

Damnation! Do you still need reinforcements? I have Chanters and Legionnaires on standby.

"Keep them that way. Pit and I are gonna check on Jaast."

As you wish, Autarch. The sword stilled, and Felix looked to his Companion.

"You ready?"

"I barely got to do anything back there," Pit complained. "Let's go kill some monsters."

Just as entering his Void Sanctuary, the shadows peeled away from their vision, and they were confronted by bedlam. Over fifty Mantises pressed close to the gate, with the closest only five feet away from Felix. Behind them, a giant plant thrashed, shoving them forward—to Felix, it looked like an evil sunflower made of wet vines and teeth.

"Nimbus of the Moon!" Pit cried.

Beams of silvered moonlight speared into the space, instantly blasting dozens of the insectoid monsters into pulp. Those that survived were limned with a silvery glow as Moonlit Affliction took hold, reducing their agility and ability to use stealth.

All of that mattered very little, however.

Sonata of Dominance!

Astrum Ascendance!

Cold fire of the stars soaked into his channels as Felix seized the sound Mana emanating from the Mantises' scythes. He shaped it inward, shattering their carapaces with its enhanced potency and left nothing but smears against the pitted stone floors. And the enormous plant monster.

The creature bellowed before lumbering forward, faster than Felix anticipated, but still too slow. He seized the root that surged around its limbs and tore it away.

Empyrean Embrace!

He ate through its pieces, forcing the creature's charge to fail as its limbs vanished into ethereal jaws. Its ungainly central stalk fell forward, slamming into the ground of the chamber, screeching all the while.

Unseen Beholder.

Name: Plaguebloom

Type: Plant Abomination (Moontouched)

…

Lore: Born in the depths of the jungle, these abominations are often content to remain in one place for entire seasons. When the rains cease however, they will uproot themselves to find water and prey. They are adept at herding other creatures, though they do not possess the Intelligence to form true communities. This specimen has been Moontouched, enhancing its aggression and natural potency, and as such it bears a Mark of Yyero.

Strength: High-Strength tentacle vines and powerful jaws, its grab and bite is fearsome and wise to avoid.

Weakness: Dry heat and fire.

Seizing the Mana around them once more, Felix bent it to its Will, shaping its vibrations until the world changed. Fire burst, appearing in midair before tightening down around the giant Plaguebloom. It screamed a reedy noise that soon vanished as scorching flames boiled away its moisture—before charring it to ash.

"Fire is their weakness," he said.

Pit sniffed the air before cringing, "They smell even worse when you cook them."

"This is more of a Cajun-style dish." Felix squinted at the walls. "I can sense others nearby."

"Yeah, more monsters like this one, I think." Pit tilted his head. "Just outside the Heart. They're trying to hide."

Felix bared his teeth. "Let's go find them."

It took all of ten minutes to round up the rest of the Plagueblooms and eradicate them. They found other monsters, too, creatures like the Chittershade Mantises that were easily herded by the big plants. None of them were stronger than an equivalent Master Tier, though together they would have posed quite a challenge to almost anyone.

If they had gotten through the Shadowgate and into Elderthrone… Felix grunted, ripping the head off the last Plaguebloom with his bare hands. Moontouched. Yyero had a hand in this.

Felix didn't believe in coincidences anymore.

In a side chamber that had been left partially exposed to the outside, Felix discovered the corpses. Two dozen Legionnaires were piled like cordwood, some partially eaten, but mostly untouched. The sight of their empty gazes hit Felix hard. He stared at the bodies for an uncomfortably long time before Pit shook him from his thoughts.

“So they were guarding this place,” Pit said. “Was Yyero trying to get to Elderthrone?”

Felix grunted. “Maybe. Or maybe he was just trying to send a message.” He looked around at the soiled blue cloaks scattered across the room. "Here, help me."

Together, they separated each corpse from the pile and lined them up along the side of the chamber, their cloaks draped over their wounds. That didn’t stop Felix from seeing them.

As the last one was laid carefully on the ground, Felix leaned back and stared at the wall just above them all. “Pit. Did you know that, if you use an Analyze Skill on a corpse, you can only get their name?” He clenched his jaw. “That’s it, though, because there’s nothing left.”

He would remember them, though. Their faces and their names were burned into his memory, now.

“I’m sorry,” he said, before reaching for his Sonata.

"Felix, look."

Pit's voice pulled him up short, and the Skill fizzled out. At the far end of the room, Pit had pushed aside one of the cloaks. Two of the dead bore a badge of office on their sleeves: a pair of glossy black wings over a burning eye.

They were messengers.

Pit nudged an inscribed leather tube toward him, and Felix snatched it up. The tube was enchanted to keep its contents warm and dry, with minor protections against damage. Despite being buried beneath bloodied bodies, the paper inside was untouched when Felix opened it.

"It's from Harn," he said. He unrolled the parchment and quickly read the surprisingly lengthy account. "Fuck."

Felix put the letter down and closed his eyes.

"What?" Pit asked. Wordlessly, Felix handed the paper to his Companion. Pit fished out a pair of spectacles and perched them atop his beak before reading. "Oh no."

"Yeah." Felix tried to relax his shoulders, but the tension was pulling at him harder than ever before. It was a weight he couldn't escape. "They lost the Kobolds, too."

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Mounted atop Pit, the pair took off into the sky.

Still, the sun blazed in the tropical jungles of Jaast, and the heat was oppressive, clinging to their limbs like a wet cloth. Even the rapid breeze from their flight barely cut through it. Abyssal Skein coated them in its oily embrace, fading them from notice even as they climbed up into the bright morning light. Just for good measure, Pit even summoned his Gloaming Shroud. For all intents and purposes, the pair were practically invisible as they soared.

The jungle blurred below them as they tracked the upraised stone structure that was a strange highway, the same one Felix had pointed out to Harn before he'd left him days ago. Pit flew as fast as he was able, but they stayed just below the speed of sound. Felix could hear the barrier that tried to form into clouds around Pit's four wings, but every time they drew close to breaking it, Pit eased back by a hair.

They'd read the message, but after their reception at the Shadowgate, neither of them knew what they were walking into. If there were more monsters, Felix had no intention of giving them any warning. Before they had left, he’d shut down the gate in order to prevent any monsters from breaching Elderthrone behind his back, but he worried at what Yyero or the other gods might pull. His Mind whirled with ideas as they flew, plans and schemes to keep his Shadowgate safe in the future.

This will never happen again. Ever.

They reached the first turn off of the elevated highway structure, the one that Harn had mentioned they had used to reach the nearby town. Morva, it was called. It was only a short distance away from there, separated by several ravines and thick jungle before things opened up into cleared lands. Acres upon acres of farm cut into the jungle, where people had tamed the wilderness.

A piece of him shifted at the sight of clear-cut hills and tilled rows of earth. It resonated off of his Skills in familiar ways; a song he’d heard many times before. The first few strains of the Aria of the Green Wilds rang through him, before Felix shrugged it off.

He didn’t have time to indulge himself.

Those lands were being actively tilled by small figures far below while wagons rumbled on the rough roadway leading to a walled town. Morva's gates were open, and there were people doing something approaching guardwork. They were mostly portly older folks leaning against their pikes and sweating beneath their armor, but a few were large turtlefolk, complete with spiky shells and rubble-like skin, and others were a type of hairy, bipedal goblins the size and shape of bears.

Spinar and Bugbears, Felix noted through his Unseen Beholder. I haven't seen them before.

Pit descended, drawing closer to Morva’s rooftops, and the guards noticed. They pointed up, clearly startled as the pair of them swooped out of the sky to circle the town. Faint shouts of alarm filtered up through the morning air, but Felix ignored them.

"There," he said, pointing near the center, right at the bank of a winding river that cut its way across the entire settlement. "Land there."

Pit dove, speeding up his descent. That misting fog gathered around them as they shot toward the earth. Screams rang out from the town below, many cowering nearby in the outbuildings of a giant cathedral with mithril-capped spires. The remnants of iron cages were piled high in the front, their bent bars crushed as if by something massive.

Men and women of many Races began to ring bells, shouting at one another as they raised their pikes to the sky. Skills gathered at their tips, glowing bright, before a few fired off prematurely. They pinged harmlessly off of Pit's legs and wings, unable to pierce his fur or feathers.

Pit squawked. "Wow. Rude.”

"People! Stand down!" New figures in sleek armor and blue cloaks appeared from beneath roofs and shadowed doorways. "Calm yourselves!”

Pit's four wings snapped out, slowing them down as the fog around them burst into a roar like thunder, and hurling several ranks of the militia onto their asses. He alighted beside the pile of scrapped iron bars with all the grace of a songbird.

"Lord Autarch!” Mervin Cors, lieutenant of the Fiend's Legion, rushed forward. "Stand down, Morvan militia. Stand down!”

Felix peered around him from atop Pit's back, taking in the terrified crowds and the sweating local guards. "Where's Harn?"

"The Commander is in the Hall of Justice," Mervin said, gesturing to the large cathedral. "I can take you in, sir."

"Good."

Felix dismounted from Pit, and both of them followed Mervin across the short bridge toward the cathedral gates. The militia, gathered not too far off, were held back by a cordon of blue cloaks but that didn’t stop their gazes. Nor the fear and awe that rang out from their Spirits.

"The Autarch…"

"He's the one!”

“Lord Hammer mentioned⁠—”

“The Fiend."

Felix ignored them. He didn't have time to feel uncomfortable with their regard. Mervin led them through the large doors and into a wide antechamber decorated with black steel sculptures depicting two strangely shaped figures, one bearing a sword and the other merely an open hand.

"The Twins," Felix knew almost instinctually. He'd never laid eyes on them, not in this form, but they both made sense.

"Judgment and Mercy," Mervin said. "We've torn down every sign of their influence here, but these statues persisted. As far as we can tell, they're only made of iron, but they turn away any blade that touches them."

Felix frowned, his steps slowing as they passed the statues. "Really?" he said. He reached out his clawed hand and gripped the air.

Empyrean Embrace.

There was a moment of resistance, as if a wall stood between him and his Intent. But then the full might of Felix's Will fell upon it—and the wall sundered. The iron before him dissolved into dark smoke, both statues devoured in a single, ethereal bite.

"Well," Mervin said, "we hadn't tried that."

Pit laughed.

"At any rate, Commander Kastos renamed the place for Justice after we freed it from the Adamants."

"Adamants?" Felix raised an eyebrow and lowered his arm as they continued to walk.

"Devotees of the Twins. They rode giant snakes and had some nasty force-attuned skills. Dead now, though, thanks to Lord Hammer and the Terrible One."

"Terrible One?" Pit chirruped curiously. "Who's that?"

"She—well, you'll see."

Passing through the antechamber, they entered what seemed like the general area of a church, complete with pews and an altar. Felix was tempted to devour every sign of the Twins, but someone had done a good job at defacing nearly the entire place.

“The Commander. Though Lord Hammer helped, too,” Mervin explained again, and Felix was annoyed that he’d forgotten. He was getting frazzled. “Sir, if I may ask: have you heard what happened?”

“I have.”

Mervin winced. “What now?”

Felix sighed. “Now we shift focus.”

He broke down his plan, at least the outline of it—the part Lieutenant Cors would need to know. It was enough to occupy them both as they traversed the series of wide hallways leading further back into the very large cathedral. Mervin guided them through the widest of them, opening the gates with a gentle push as the perfectly balanced doors swung open on oiled hinges.

Inside, there was screaming. Men and women in rough armor faced down enormous, chitin-covered serpents, and they were not doing well.

"Are those the Adamants?" Felix asked.

Figures rode atop the chitinous snakes, likewise garbed in insectoid armor layered over mithril plate. Both theirs and the serpents' eyes glowed with a sinister, blackened green light as they rushed forward, striking fast with lance and fang. The militia fell back, shields raised to ward off the blows they couldn’t handle. All of them were either cast back into nearby walls or pummeled into the thick layer of sand.

"Oh, Felix!" Beef called out, waving at them before setting his icy hammer onto his broad shoulder. He hustled closer. "You're here! I thought Harn's letter said we'd be back tomorrow. Did something happen?"

"Something like that." Felix stepped out onto the training ground, eyeing the beaten and bruised militia. "Looks like you've been busy."

"Oh, we wanted to train them up a bit before we left." Beef swallowed, looking guiltily at Felix before he barreled onward. "There's lots of monsters out there, you know. Morva’s learned the hard way that they need to get strong themselves before leaning on another bandit king or Overlord guy."

Beef gestured to the side. "So me, Hollow, and Fafnir here have been running them through their paces."

Felix eyed the dog-sized Hatchling that prowled among the risen adamants. It was black-scaled, with hints of green across its back and wings, much as she had been when they'd parted ways. Now, however, she was more. Bigger, more powerful, more aware. Chitin sprouted from her elbows, neck, and tail as if it had grown from her bones, making her look like a walking machine of death.

"I can see why they call her the Terrible One."

Beef chuckled. "She bit a guy who tried to pet her when we got back into town. We patched him up, but the story spread fast."

"She enjoys it," Hollow said, voice echoing from Beef's crystalline armor.

"She still has a separate Mind?" Felix asked, somewhat surprised.

"Oh yeah, she's crazy stubborn. Hallow thinks it's because she was a Dragon before, but I think it’s just her personality."

Felix let his gaze wander. The militia fought against the Risen for another round, though Fafnir was busy preening herself on the sidelines, refraining from joining in. His Legionnaires were nearby, too, looking similarly relaxed as they enjoyed the show.

Mervin cleared his throat. "Shall I go inform them of our new orders, sir?"

"Yes. Get them ready to move. You've got two glasses.”

“Sir." Mervin saluted before hustling off toward the Legion, already flagging down a sergeant.

"New orders?" Beef frowned. "Didn't you get our message? We're almost done here. Then we can go help."

Hallow hummed loudly, her four eyes turned upward in concern. "I don't think our message reached the Autarch, Beef."

"What? Then how'd you know to come here?”

Felix frowned. “Where's Harn?"

"Right here, kid."

The grizzled warrior walked out of a set of wooden doors on his right, flanked by Archie and several higher-ranked Legionnaires. Harn dismissed them with a few terse words, and they joined Mervin as the rest of the Legion filed out of the training grounds.

"We gotta talk."

“—then she vanished,” Archie said, wincing at the memory.

Felix nodded. He and the others had gathered in the Hall of Justice’s refectory, sat around a long wooden table in the middle, where a few terrified cooks had set out a meal fit for at least thirty soldiers. They all dug in, Felix hungrier than he expected, the four of them accounting for half of the food while Pit took care of the rest. He’d told them of the events in Levantier, at least the shorter version, and they had filled in the blanks that weren’t covered by Harn’s missive.

The fact that the Kobolds had started their own little army was a bit of a shock, as was finding out that they were heavily involved in forming a resistance against the Twin’s little tyrants. He felt proud of these teens he didn’t even know. The fight against the Adamants and the Overlord was impressive, and more than once, Felix had been caught up by the tale’s twists and turns.

He wasn’t surprised, however, about how it ended.

“So Gabby just grabbed the Kobolds and vanished?”

“Aye.” Harn spat onto the ground, clearly uncaring that they sat within a church of sorts. Then again, the polished floors were already scuffed by boots and profaned by mud and blood, what was a bit of spittle? “Only after pulling the entire swamp on top of us and beatin’ all my soldiers unconscious, though.”

“Unconscious?” Pit tilted his head. “Come to think of it, she didn’t kill anyone in Sunara, either.”

Archie shuddered. “She was just as fast and strong as I remembered…but she didn’t even try to kill me. She had me in her crosshairs, too, but it was like…” The Delven chewed a strip of meat from the haunch in his hands. “I dunno. Like she had a plan, and I wasn’t part of it.”

“If she’s giving you a clue to find her, then her actions here make a mite more sense,” Harn said. “I still don’t understand why she had to take the kids.”

“To keep up appearances.”

They all looked at Beef with varying levels of surprise. “What? It’s obvious, right? She’s out of the Pathless’ control, but she still had Divine influence all over her? That means she’s still in trouble. Maybe she’s under an Oath to them?”

“Can’t be. Felix ate all the Oaths.”

“Clearly not all of them, Pit.” Felix flexed his hands, unsure what to do with them. He settled for resting them atop the polished wooden table. “I don’t know what the gods can do among themselves, but they’ve bound Gabby somehow. The trick is getting close enough to rip her restraints apart. To do that, we need to get to Amaranth.”

Felix pushed himself away from the table and stood. “But first, I need to finish the job here.”

Archie raised an eyebrow. “What’s that mean?”

“The Seat and Seal,” Hallow said from Beef’s chest. “It awaits.”

“Yes!” Pit gobbled down the last of his meal, which amounted to a fifty-pound roasted bird monster. “Showtime.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

It took less than five minutes of flying to get everyone to the crumbled ruins at the center of the poison fields. Harn, Archie, Beef, Hollow, Fafnir, and of course, Pit were there with Felix as he walked the perimeter of the small, rocky island. Archie and Beef had given him a bit more rundown of the fight they had at this place. That conversation had continued, as Felix walked to the edge of the small island where the viscous waters slopped against the rocks.

"So they've been using some herbs grown in these fields to incubate inside prisoners and then they turn them into essence drafts in these giant jars," Archie shuddered. "Epic ones, they said. Like they were justifying how they did it.”

“That’s awful,” Pit said, his tone dipping into sadness.

"The Wyrmkin have been taking care of most of the survivors," Beef added, "the ones that don't have family in Morva or the other nearby towns."

The sun glinted off of an oily sheen on the water, and Felix curled his lip. "Where are the Wyrmkin now?"

"Back at their secret hideout; they've been preparing to go save the Kobolds."

Felix frowned. "They know where they are?"

"No, they're just over-eager.”

“They're reckless and violent, but they'd be a help if we're planning on taking Amaranth," Harn said. "They take orders well enough, though not without some convincing.”

“If we tell them we're going to go save those boys, they'll line up for the opportunity." Archie kicked a rock over the ledge, and it plunked thickly into the poison. "I've seen their type before. They're crazy, but they're loyal."

"Where's the Seal?" Pit asked, before jerking his head to look into the ruined fortress. "Oh, never mind. That's so weird."

Felix glanced back over his shoulder. "Can you feel it now?"

"Yeah, I didn't before, even from the air, but now that we're so close, it's like a bonfire buried underground." Pit took a step closer before Felix's voice stopped him.

"I'll take this one, Pit," he said with a smile. "You already got the last one."

His Companion froze before sitting back in his haunches, tongue lolling in a doggy grin. "Oh, right."

Archie looked between the two of them, and the impatience rolled off his spirit like pale smoke. "I’m not exactly looking forward to assaulting the Hierophant in her own house, but I thought we were in a hurry. What's the holdup?"

"I'm checking something," Felix said. He reached out a hand, tangling it through pale blue lines that flickered in his vision. He could feel something resonate with his crown, something other than the Seal a hundred yards behind him. "There's an artifact under this muck. It's made of Crescian Bronze."

His Crown had a feature that resonated with items made of the metal, which had drawn his attention in the first place. Mostly, though, he found it curious. Instead of some large object buried beneath the swamp, he felt hundreds of smaller pieces, as if they'd been sprinkled across the earth.

Something exploded. He could visualize the arc of the metal pieces deep beneath the surface. They were scattered from a singular point located almost directly beneath their little island. "The poison. It's leaking from something beneath the earth.”

"Huh?" Beef clomped over and looked into the sludge. "From what?"

“I don’t know yet.” Felix clenched his fist. Empyrean Embrace.

The bubbling field of knee-deep poison rippled all at once. Waves rose up, twisting into the air as if dragged up in the wake of some invisible creature, only to congeal into spiraling tendrils that arced inward, toward Felix. In an instant, a hundred thousand gallons turned into smoke, and then into nothing at all as they were consumed entirely.

"Yyero's hairy ass," Harn grunted. "Never seen you do that before."

Beef gaped all around them. The shallow lakebed was bare now, nothing more than piles of mud and scraggly trees. "You ate the whole lake?"

Felix winced as the power spiked through him before alighting on his divine tree. The feeling passed quickly, however. "I've eaten bigger things before."

"By volume? I doubt it," Archie said with a breathy laugh. "That's insane."

Felix huffed a short breath through his nose. "You should have seen the last guy." He cracked his neck before walking into the ruins. "Wait here, but be ready for anything."

"What's that mean?" Archie called after him, but Felix didn't bother to answer.

He strode into the ring of broken masonry, where once there had been a new tower of brick and salvaged stone. It was broken now, burst during the fight against the Overlord. Felix could still smell traces of Divinity in the air, like metal lacing the back of every breeze. The ground was torn apart, rent in crumbling furrows that revealed a wet stone where the poison fields had begun to leak inward. Chunks of rock mingled with pools of thick mud where the poison water settled, and in the middle, at the bottom of a half-blasted hole, was the Seal.

Felix couldn't see it, not with his naked eyes, but he could feel the gathering of dormant Authority. Even without the Crown, it was a solid presence. The moment he focused through the Regalia, however, it blazed like a downed sun.

He hopped into the hole, and as his feet touched down, the ground splashed into a burst of gold and silver light, and bells began to ring in a joyous refrain.

Do You Wish To Establish Your Authority?

Y/N

Yes.

Authority Recognized!

Unbound Detected!

Superior Primordial Detected!

WARNING! Authority Cannot⁠—

Just like in Levantier, pressure skittered across him, only to fade away immediately. His sword buzzed, scattering the pressure in all directions.

Inheritor Status Recognized!

Inheritor Status Supersedes All Bloodlines!

Authority Granted!

All Hail The Inheritor, Felix Nevarre!

A connection formed between Felix and the Seat and Seal, and it gleamed, his sigil etching itself across. Scratch that. It gleamed, burning away the dirt and muck all around him until a circle of complicated sigaldry was revealed. It was huge. At least sixty feet wide, with several pieces extending off of it, its center was blank where someone’s claim once held tight. Now gold and silver lines etched themselves into the earth, forming the glyph of House Navarre.

On the final stroke, a presence settled upon Felix's back. A cloak of Authority that mingled with the rest of what he held, expanding an ephemeral part of him that he still didn’t fully understand…and weighed him down like a mountain.

Felix Nevarre.

This Territory Has Been Lost!

What Is Your Choice?

Forsake Or Unite?

Unite.

Within him, Unite the Lost unspooled, its pattern vibrating with refined energies as significance, Mana, and Essence fed into its complicated arrangement. Power pulled from him, aching as it moved through his core space and channels, but it was the familiar ache of a well-worn muscle, one he'd been using all too often of late.

It was nothing he couldn't handle.

Until the land itself buckled as the Grand Harmony played against the fabric of reality.

"Whoa, hold on!" Pit leaped forward, grasping Harn and Beef by the shoulders while Fafnir leapt aboard his back. Archie slid through the bucking earth, diving across solid structures like an Olympic swimmer before hopping atop a rock that sailed across shifting mud and roots.

"What's going on?" he cried out.

Felix gritted his teeth against the rush of power as it left him, scouring against his channels like sandpaper. Significance fled him, leaving him feeling a touch more empty than before, even as the world changed beneath him.

"Get on, Pit," he cried out. "Trust me!"

He didn't have time to see if Archie listened. Felix gasped, another streamer of significance tearing from him before burying itself into the earth. Beneath him, a pillar of ancient Crescian Bronze rose up out of the muck, reassembling before his eyes even as it lifted him high into the air. Pieces of those scattered fragments reunited into nine hexagonal posts that raised up three separate masses of gold-veined black stone. They were not true circles, or even really discs, more like irregularly shaped slabs that contained heaps of swamp muck, soil, and the remnants of gnarled trees. Yet from each of those rose walls made of bone-white stone and deep golden tones that fed off of Felix's power and the hidden might that had remained dormant within the Seat and Seal for Ages. Each slab was swiftly connected by armored bridges to the others, but Felix lost track of the details. He was preoccupied by the fact that all three slabs rose high above the swamp’s surface until they’d formed a three-tiered mountain of ancient design. All around him, the interior filled with buildings and streets and towers that climbed up into the blue sky.

Felix fell back, his power still rolling through him as the city rose, until he stepped out to where his friends had fled. There, Pit perched, his friends on his back, while behind Felix, the final pieces of Crescian Bronze reassembled, forming a gate into the city.

Wow. The Gate was at least fifty feet high, and its bronze surface was covered in complicated geometric designs and Nymean stars.

A deep, resonant drum crashed against his senses, and everyone there was forced back several steps as the city completed itself.

Hevaan!

The Sword Of The South!

Lost No More!

All Hail The Inheritor, Blade of Hevaan, Felix Nevarre!

Quest Completed!

Empire Of The Fiend!

You have passed the first mile marker on the path of empire, yet your climb is far from over. Claim the Seat and Seal of at least seven Territories to establish your realm.

Rewards:

+Increased Defensive And Offensive Capabilities In Claimed Territories

+Increased Resources In Claimed Territories

+Title

+XP

+Varies

Territories Claimed: 7/7

Defensive And Offensive Capabilities Are Increased Across All Claimed Territories!

Felix's Authority screen opened itself, highlighting the tabs available for Hevaan. Most were grayed out, especially things like population and resources, but there were tabs listing defensive and offensive arrays, basic things like the Field of Infernal Heat and Monsoon Tides, which seemed to play into the nature of the jungle around them.

The Gates, however, were listed as a special feature for defense, and they gained a certain glow as the reward propagated across Felix's claimed Territories. He knew without even delving into them that their power rose far higher and extended far deeper than the physical barrier did.

All Resources Have Increased By A Factor Of Seven In All Claimed Territories!

The tab for resources flickered, its information expanding as people fell into the range of his new city, and the city itself commanded Authority over the entire territory. The gray vanished on both resources and population tabs, and suddenly Felix was inundated with detailed information on the demographics of the area as well as their major crops, imports, and exports. It was a little dizzying to be in, if he were entirely honest, and he closed it.

New Title!

Blade of Hevaan (Legendary)!

Called the Sword of the South, the Gates of Hevaan were the final bastion for all members of the Golden Empire as they traveled into the Continent’s Interior. It stood tall during the Siege of the Gondarii, unmoved by the Wasting Travelers and untouched by the Night of Burning Rivers. All fell before the Chthonic Host, unable to breach the Gates and unable to defend against the Blade That Burned. The Sword of the South is bared once more, ready to defend the Empire of the Fiend!

+200 STR, END, VIT

+Increased Authority Within Jaast

+Access To The Gates Of Hevaan

New Title!

First Of His Name (Legendary)!

You have reached the next step in the path of empire! You have claimed seven Seats and Seals to establish your realm and united a vast array of peoples under your banner. You have ascended the steps to the throne, Felix Nevarre. What shall you do now?

+Leader’s Charisma - All Positive Relations With Allies Increases By 25%

+Regional Lock Removed - All Offensive And Defensive Arrays Can Be Used Across All Claimed Territories

+Emperor’s Aura - Increases allies' damage output and defensive capabilities by 10% when within the same Territory as the Emperor. Adds a chance of inflicting an instance of Regal Dominance, reducing their Will and Perception.

+Song Rearrangement Now Available!

A feeling of pressure gathered behind Felix's eyes, as if a thought were being born in the darkness between his brain and skull. Music swelled, the grand harmony rousing into a strange spiraling crescendo that skittered with dissonance. All at once, it leapt forward, bursting from within his mind to join with the songs resonating all around him.

A notification window appeared, and it was clear that everyone saw it. It was blue-white, edged in gold, and the glyph of House Navarre was set into the top like a burning, watchful eye.

All Hail Emperor Felix Nevarre, First Of His Name!

Let This Be The First Day Of The Empire Of The Fiend!

A glyph etched itself into the sky above the center of Hevaan, visible even from outside the walls. It gleamed red-gold, forming an eye surrounded by a crown, while the center burned blue-white. His glyph.

And then it was done, and Felix took a deep, steadying breath.

"Blind gods," Harn swore. "That notification went out to everyone."

"Like everyone, everyone?" Beef asked.

"I'm sure people even in the Southern Interior got that notice. Same as the one where you killed Siva." Harn ground his teeth together. "Folks will take notice. The Hierophant especially."

“There’s nothing I can do about that,” Felix said, trying to banish his own worries. “We just have to be ready for her.”

Harn grunted in agreement.

“Uh, congrats on becoming an emperor, I guess,” Archie said.

Beef laughed. “This is crazy. Everything you do is flippin’ nuts! You pulled a city of gold from the earth, man!”

Archie reached out toward the massive gates before pulling his arm back without touching them. “Oh man, those are vibrating like nothing I’ve seen before. That’s Crescian Bronze right? Do you have any idea how much this thing is worth? The bounty on Crescian Bronze half this size is enough to buy all the Rimefang Mountain Holds together.”

Fafnir sniffed at the Gates before snorting and clawing at it. Her black claws struck sparks.

“Hey, stop that!” Beef reached down and scooped the little monster up. “Sorry, Felix.”

“How do we get in?” Hallow asked.

Pit shrugged. “Could just fly over.”

“The Gates won’t let you,” Felix warned. “But this place isn’t our enemy.”

He reached out and put his hand back on the Gates. It felt warm, nearly hot, as if they’d been baking in the sun for hours. There was a great deal of significance woven into them—so much so that it practically made the earth beneath his feet feel ephemeral.

What could have broken these apart?

He pressed gently, and the Gates swung open.

Inside, the city of Hevaan was empty. Despite being filled with wide plazas, tall buildings, and lanterns at regular intervals along the streets, it was devoid of life. The nearest structures could have been shop fronts or homes. Many had steep roofs, while just as many boasted golden domes that topped them. The place looked like a mix between a temple and some ancient lost civilization. Felix supposed it was.

Huge stepped wells were dug into each plaza, their pathways spiraling down into the discs that the first section of the cities were built into. The glint of fresh water reflected onto the white and gold structures in rippling lines. Towers were strewn about, some no more than a few stories above the others. A handful soared high above the skyline, piercing the blue with gold-capped domes. Some connected the large black rock foundations of each city structure, or each city district, as they rose in ascending tiers.

Bridges were set at the end of pathways, connecting these places to one another. At the very top, hidden by elevation and the glare of the sun, Felix could make out some sort of palace.

"Look at this," Pit said, walking to the nearest well.

Set along many of the pathways and around each well that Felix could see were enormous statues made of dark black rock. They were masterful creations, seeming almost alive, and depicted large cats standing proudly or lounging indolently. They weren't just cats, however. They looked like panthers, but had the distinct hindquarters of lizards and a segmented barbed tail.

"Harnoqs," Pit warbled in joy. "A’zek will be pleased to see this."

That made Felix smile.

“We need to get the people of Morva moved in here. It’ll provide some protection in the days to come.”

“I can get the Wyrmkin to reach out, and the militia will mobilize pretty fast,” Beef said. “What about the other towns nearby?”

“Invite them, too. There’s space enough for everyone.”

Archie raised his eyebrows. “You know they’ll fight for the best spots, right?”

“No they won’t.” He reached into the list of his Songs of Authority. His title had said “rearrangement” was now available, and Felix had a feeling he knew exactly what that meant. He selected the Song of Restriction and a new option populated.

You Have Selected The Song Of Restriction!

Do You Wish To Rearrange This Melody?

Rearrangements Include Targeting, Exceptions, And Conditional Statements.

Felix fiddled with his options, but it was entirely based off his Intent. He didn’t need to word it perfectly, he simply needed to hold the Intent firm in his Mind while enacting his Authority.

“Give them all fair warning. If anyone tries to jockey for position or fight over freely given resources, then they’ll be restricted and kicked out of the city.” Felix let the new arrangement fall into place, and his Authority hummed, easily accepting it.

Archie tilted his head, clearly listening to the music that swirled around them. “You can do that?”

“I can now.”

“Damn.”

“What next, then?” Harn asked.

Felix fished a Seed of Remembered Light out of his pocket. “Find me a place to plant this.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Gabby adjusted herself on the stone perch she had found. It was dry and cleaner than she expected. With a sigh that gouged out the bottom of her lungs, she lifted her face, catching a stray beam of sunlight that filtered down from far above. They had wandered close to the surface again, it seemed. Fled, in all honesty. After days of the stale, false light of Mana, the natural sunlight was a balm to her spirits.

The tunnels were wet and dark and smelled like the wrong end of the worst sort of monsters. She could do with a little light.

She shifted herself, trying to find a comfortable way to rest. The gash on her leg was healed but still sore to the touch, and her arm felt stapled on, ever since it had been wrenched at the shoulder. Gabby was whole but not hale. Sitting at all felt like hell, but standing was worse—better, however, than the marathon of battle they’d only recently escaped.

The sewers beneath Amaranth were huge and labyrinthine. For every mile that the city ran, the hidden tunnels expanded for ten more, layered atop and through one another in patterns so arcane that Gabby doubted anyone had truly planned them out. They seemed to be built on top of one another over the years, integrated into ancient drainage systems from one civilization to the next.

The same was true in the city above, where some buildings stood upon foundations of sleek, carved stone she couldn’t identify, while others were hewn of wood and slathered with paint. She had often wondered at the age of Amaranth, even in her dullard days as Imara. The trainers that had helped her hone her Body to its current pinnacle were not the talkative type, however, unless those words were curses of “encouragement.” Since regaining her Mind, she’d questioned servants and soldiers as often as she could risk it, but most didn’t even know how to read, let alone anything about history.

Gabby feared asking the Hierophant anything, and the woman was as stoic as any soldier she’d ever met—the same was not true of Hierei Quist, however. When the two of them headed off into the sewers, and before she’d headed off with her own forces, the priest had taken the time to “educate the brute” as she had put it, informing Gabby of a number of details about the tunnels beneath Amaranth. Most were used for waste, but far more were used for runoff.

She paused, a piece of cheese lifted halfway to her mouth. Her muscles tensed, and her blood surged in her veins as the rush of water gurgled through nearby pipes. Despite her powerful Perception, she had no clue which direction it originated, only the danger it represented. Only when it faded away did her muscles loosen, and the sweat beaded on her brow.

Amaranth was at one of the lowest points in the Territory, meeting around with rivers moving close by, and the city was prone to flooding. Much of the tunnel's additional lengths were created to prevent the streets from being awash. It had rained twice in the few days they'd been down in the dark, and the tunnels filled up faster than most could blink.

She popped the cheese in her mouth and chewed. In the near distance, she could hear low voices. If she focused, she could pick out their words, but Gabby had no desire to do so. The Paladins and Inquisitors rarely had anything interesting to overhear—mostly crude jokes and complaints. She led a battalion of Paladins and Inquisitors, and all of them were just as battered and bruised as she was. She had made sure of that.

Their mission to find the Lizard Unbound and bring him back to the Hierophant was unfulfilled. Gabby smiled, her grin sharpening as a couple Paladins swore loud enough to understand. She wasn’t particularly disappointed in their failures so far, but the Orders were infuriated.

Not at her, of course. She was still the Chosen of the Pathless, dead god notwithstanding.

After Quist had left, Gabby's need to hold up the facade of devout Vessel had faded considerably. Now, separated into her own small tunnel to rest, she let it drop entirely. She was exhausted, covered in filth, and without her target. After days of hunting, all she desired now was to sleep.

A Failure And Yet You Dare To Rest?

A powerful fear bolted through Gabby’s spine, and a blade of golden light manifested in her hands. When the shadow detached from the wall, however, she dropped it.

The Skill would do her no good against a god.

For a moment, the shadow remained just that…until power coiled within it. The dark quickened, its slick substance gaining mass until it ballooned beneath the sliver of distant sunlight. A creature pressed from the wall, more of its being slipping through the cracks as it formed into something that resembled a coiled worm covered in thorns.

“Noctis,” she said, forcing herself to calm. “You honor me with your presence."

You Remain Empty-Handed, Child. Its slick flesh parted, its face collapsing into a deep, unending hole where its features should be. It was there that the curt voice emanated, echoing out of that eldritch depth. Where Is The Lizard?

Forcing nonchalance, Gabby took a swig of her waterskin. It was warm and tasted like leather, but it was a sweet relief, regardless. "Got away.”

The shadow regarded her, twisting slightly in ways that were unnerving to think too much about. Do You Recall Our Agreement, Little Unbound?

Gabby stilled, waterskin frozen halfway to her mouth. "How could I forget?"

Your Fate Is Bound To Ours. Why Do You Waste Time?

"I'm not wasting—" Gabby set the waterskin down. "The Lizard is far more slippery than we expected. Even with these soldiers, we were all injured in our last encounter. Catching the guy in the first place has been almost impossible in this maze, and when we do, he’s ready for us.”

I Do Not Want To Hear Your Excuses. We Must Have Him.

Gabby ground her teeth. She was telling the truth. Finding the Lizard had been a chore and a half, and it all started over again whenever he escaped. The Unbound maneuvered through the sewers like he was born there—the guy knew every nook and cranny to hide.

“You all asked me to hunt him down.” Gabby shook her head. The Lizard was strong as hell, and he wielded his swords like a demon. “I’m working on it.”

If it were up to her, she'd never complete the gods' plan. The agreement that bound her, however, forced her compliance. If she didn't, bad things would happen. She touched her neck. There was no scar—her flesh had healed perfectly—but the memory remained strong.

We Are Not Fools, Child. We Know The Hierophant Schemes Behind Our Backs. If You Think Delaying The Lizard’s Capture Will Serve Ocalla Marzul⁠—

"Serve her? I’m just trying to stay alive.” Gabby barked a short, bitter laugh. “I’m not here for anyone but me.”

Noctis tilted her head, as if considering words Gabby hadn’t spoken.

“You give me so little power," Gabby said quickly, hoping to override whatever was going on behind the goddess’ empty face. "Yet you expect me to face another Unbound that has had struggle and opportunity forced on him. The Pathless at least granted me a portion of his Divine might.”

You Are Unfit For Our Power.

“So you’ve said.” Gabby clenched her jaw before shaking her head, as if disappointed. “The Lizard isn't like the Gnome. The guy was afraid and weak. He's more like Felix. Driven and far stronger than he should be."

Acting is level 138!

The shadow jerked at the mention of her brother’s name, just as she’d hoped. Noctis' Spirit, normally so vast and incomprehensible, narrowed to a point before it rippled in agitation. The Boy Who Would Be King.

It was hatred, Gabby recognized. Anger, too. She made a careful note of both. "Does he still cause you problems?"

Nothing You Mortals Attempt Is A Problem For The Divine, Child. Time, After All, Is On Our Side.

Then why rush to find the Lizard? Gabby didn't understand the gods or their motivations aside from wanting to be free. They claimed to be above mortal concerns and mortal fears, but then turned around and demanded tasks be completed quickly. They're on a timetable. I just can't figure out why.

She decided to try a new tack.

"If you want me to succeed—and since you can’t give me more power—you need to keep Yyero's Plaguerats from getting in our way. They're as much a danger as the Lizard's tricks."

The shadows swirled, and the goddess’ Spirit veiled itself once more. Yyero Has A Mission All His Own.

"And what's that?"

The Business Of The Divine.

Gabby pursed her lips. She was fairly certain that Noctis didn't know what Yyero was up to either, but aside from a few instances where her control slipped, the goddess was incredibly hard to read. Just keep her talking. Figure it out.

"His beasts are crowding the tunnels," she said. "There are places I can barely wade through, it's so tight. Meanwhile, the Lizard seems to know these sewers like the back of his hand. If the plague rats could work with us, that's another thing entirely. Or perhaps you could send some of your shadowbeasts down here to aid us."

I Cannot.

"What's the difference between Yyero sending his plague rats around and you sending more of these?" She gestured to the shadow before her.

Even without a face, somehow Noctis sneered. It Is An Expression Of Power Within The Laws That Bind Us All…Too Complicated For A Mortal Mind To Grasp, Let Alone Yours, Child.

Just Know That, Once You Have Grasped This Lizard And Brought Him Into Our Custody, You Will Have Your Power.

“Why not now? You all promised me power for obedience. I’ve complied with your demands again and again, yet I’ve yet to see your end of the bargain fulfilled.

Only When We Have Secured The Flesh Will We Be Able To Truly Enact Our Will.

“A Vessel, you mean.” Gabby narrowed her eyes. “Why do you need a Vessel at all, when you plan to shatter the chains that imprison you?"

Noctis chuckled. It was a dark, rich emotion that flowed over Gabby, nearly suffocating in its rhythms. It was the slow laugh of an indulgent parent speaking to a child too young to know the ways of the world.

All Power Comes With A Price. Laws Bind Us As A Consequence Of Our Ascension. Even Outside Our Prisons, We Are Limited In What We Can Do Without A Vessel Through Which We Can Enact Our Wills.

"What's this, then?" Gabby asked, pointing to the shadowbeast before her.

I Did Not Say We Are Helpless, Child. The Nym Once Assumed As Much, And They Paid For Their Ignorance With Blood. With A Proper Vessel, We Cannot Be Stopped. That Is Why We Have You.

"I'm not your Vessel," she said with a scowl.

Correct. You’re Broken. Your Long Acquaintance With Our Brother Has Tainted Your Spirit With His Light. You Are No Longer Suitable For Use.

“Then how are you going to keep your side of the bargain?”

Trust That We Will.

It took effort to keep from rolling her eyes.

In Gabby’s experience, the Divine couldn’t answer a straightforward question without a dozen prevarications, and when they did…that was the time to start worrying. They didn’t lie, not typically, but they were masters of avoiding the truth. Unfortunately, save for rare instances, their Spirits were utterly unreadable. Too vast and eldritch to grasp, let alone make sense of, the gods could tell her the sky was green, and she’d only spot the lie if she could see the horizon.

Instinct, however, insisted that she was being played.

"So you need all four of the Unbound to free yourselves," she said. "The Kobolds, the Sylphaen, and this Lizard.”

They Will Suffice. They Have Not Been Tainted As You Or Wretched Nevarre.

“Because he devoured Siva?"

And More. Noctis said, a growl emanating from the empty hole of her face. Not To Mention The Foul Abominations That Once Nearly Ended This World. Neither Of You Are Fit For Our Needs, But Fate Awaits You Both.

Her empty face pressed closer to Gabby's, and the light from above bent away from her form like water over oiled steel.

Yours Is To Serve, And His…Is To Die.

Gabby veiled her Spirit with all the affinity and intent she could muster while schooling her face to bland impassivity. "I…see. Let's say I manage to capture this Lizard without killing him. What happens when Felix comes for them? You saw what happened when Siva faced him down, and she was nearly at her full strength. What will the gods do then?"

Noctis went still, but her eldritch Spirit sharpened like the wedge of an axe a mile wide, poised above Gabby's neck. No Matter His Stolen Power, The Boy Will Die. He Cannot Face All Of Us.

The goddess's stolen face twitched, red liquid dripping down into the abyss that stared at her, at Gabby. What Will You Do, Child, When Nevarre Comes Knocking?

"I will serve.”

Moving faster than she could track, Noctis slammed Gabby back into the wall. She cried out, her shoulder screaming in pain as claws of shadow flesh dug into them, but the sound was devoured by cloying darkness.

Will You?

"I will serve!" Gabby held her Spirit as closely as she could and harder than ever before. Those shadow claws dug into her flesh through armor and steel, and the wards that lined both. "I will serve!"

Acting is level 139!

Noctis twisted, filling up the circumference of the tunnel. Those claws pressed Gabby even harder as new limbs secured her arms and her neck, until she could barely breathe at all. You Would Do Well To Remember⁠—

Noctis' empty face snapped to the side. To the west. Her shadow flesh trembled, and the grip she had on Gabby slackened.

No.

The word was a whisper, but it struck Gabby straight through her heart. She could feel something else, too, echoing across the bargain she had made with the gods.

"What is that?"

All Hail Emperor Felix Nevarre, First Of His Name!

Let This Be The First Day Of The Empire Of The Fiend!

The notification was bold and too bright in the dark sewer, casting no light but still nearly blinding.

Felix. You're an emperor now?

Noctis' Spirit boiled, its movements clearer than ever before as the goddess fought to master herself. Find The Lizard, she snapped. Or Our Bargain Is Rescinded.

She vanished, and the beast she inhabited was unmade, collapsing into foul ichor that drained away into the once dry tunnel. Gabby fell back, no longer supported by innumerable claws. She stared at the foul liquid that rolled down the inclined sewer. She had felt something from Noctis that startled her, even as it made her heart thud in anticipation.

Fear.

Gabby touched her neck before inspecting her fingertips. Blood smeared across them. Noctis was on edge, and that meant something about Felix's new empire spoiled their plans. Gabby paused, considering her options.

She could feel the echo of Noctis' departure, much as she had before. It was a path that blazed in her wake, but it was fading fast. Gabby chewed her lip. She needed more information in order to act, but it was a risk.

The worst they could do was kill her. Probably.

"Fuck it." She closed her eyes and followed after.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Gabby sent her awareness questing down into her core space and was inundated with golden splendor.

Within her center, light blossomed. A massive ring of golden light chased by silver was at the heart of her, and each rotating it released waves of illumination. While the Pathless was dead, and his influence over her had ended, it did not change the past. Gabby had become attuned to light while acting as his Vessel, and it filled every inch of her core space—save for the blades.

Massive and forged of silver metal, they were sheathed in crystalline gold, set at angles all around her [Brightblade Core]. Each represented a Skill, or rather, the jewels set into the sword’s pommels did—those varied in shape and size, their facets reflecting back the endless sea of light, even as new sparks gathered within.

Gabby hovered there, her visualized toes just barely outside the ceaseless ripples of radiance. I wish it weren’t so beautiful…almost as much as I wish THAT wasn’t there.

In the middle of the angled swords and waves of light was her [Brightblade Core], a Named core she’d long ago forged into a ring. It spun around an immense weapon forged of bright silver…and which changed with every beat of her heart. Now a greatsword, it morphed into an axe, and then a bow, each emanating a sense of immutable rage. All of it had been visualized by Gabby at one point or another. What wasn’t hers, though, was the cage that surrounded it all.

An orb of thorned bars was clamped around her Named core. It tightened and loosened with each revolution of the inner ring, looking like metal but acting like a beating heart. Its cruel design echoed its creators and the bargain they’d pushed her into. It trembled now, like a tensioned string beneath the faintest of touches.

Gabby pressed closer.

She listened.

As she had done before, she was pulled inward along the thorned cage toward a place beyond herself, where a dark waterfall roared into a blackened world.

A familiar blasted plane spread out before her, and past them were mountains that dwarfed Everest by an order of magnitude. Panic gripped her heart—this was a world where some of her worst memories had been made—but Gabby held herself tight.

The gods had gathered.

They were huge—beings of immense power, puncturing the world with their presences, even as her eyes could not make sense of them. They were composed of shapes too large to be bodies, too small to be continents, and colors that had no real name. Yet, like the gods themselves, they were relentlessly, disturbingly extant.

Gabby hid immediately, scrambling behind a dark ridge of upthrust stones larger than any skyscraper. In turn, they were dwarfed by the mountains and the assembled Divine. They jostled amongst themselves, pressing jagged limbs into angular necks as eyes blossomed and withered across the dark firmament. Their voices interlaced among themselves, becoming little more than thunder to Gabby's ears until she centered herself, all of her Affinity honed into this moment.

Noctis was a dark moon, punctured by a vast crater that had no end. Bloody lightning burned around her in a halo, staining the black clouds even as it struck and scoured the endless shattered plains below.

The Boy Has Not Only Consumed Our Sister, But Now He Has Claimed Empire.

Empire, scoffed a bronze being. Thick, virulent liquid dripped across the plains of its form, rising up against the pull of gravity and twitching membranes that slid over too many slick appendages. He Has No Concept Of What That Means.

I Would Not Be So Sure. Noctis' voice was cold enough that it sent shivers across Gabby's projection. Can You Not Feel It? Already, His Will Spreads Across Eight Territories. Already, the System Aids Him.

…Danger…

The word was a whisper among the Divine's bellowing storm, but it cut through their noise without effort. Yyero and the Twins stilled, their inchoate forms focused on the bloody light that pulsated around Noctis.

My Love Knows Well The Danger The Boy Poses, the dark goddess said. He Must Be Eradicated. He Has Learned Too Well From The Nym.

The Twins stirred, their conjoined bodies all angles and sharp planes. It was the male Twin that spoke, however. I’ll Raze This World To Ash Before I See The Return Of The Chthonic Host.

The Ruin’s Advent Will End All Threats To Our Reign. The female Twin's voice was gentle, but no less pointed.

Unless The Boy Undoes Our Efforts. Yyero burned across the sky like a festering wound. He Is A Threat Left Idle Too Long.

And We Cannot Move Against Him. The Twins clamped their metallic blue across the putrescent flames, extinguishing them. Not Without Vessels.

Then Claim The Unbound! I’ll Find The Lizard Myself.

You Know We Cannot, Yyero, Noctis hissed, and a storm of bloody rain lashed across the landscape. Significance Binds Us Until The Compact Is Voided.

Fah! He Consumed Siva. Her Divinity Is Gone! He Will Come For Us.

No. The Twins held out a hand that wasn't. It had nothing close to the same anatomy as a human appendage, but Gabby could only parse it as a clenched fist. Not All Of It.

It opened, revealing a fallen star that blazed against the blackened sky. Auroras of every color manifested in ribbons around it, rippling and bursting into new configurations with every heartbeat. A halo of prismatic glory.

Strangest of all, however, were the answering glows within each of the gods. Points of brilliance in their convoluted flesh washed outward in riotous gales, lighting up veins through impossible limbs. It spread down like the shockwave of a bomb, blasting into the mountains at their feet where rock and root were thrown up into mile high clouds of dust. They swept outward, down the mountains and across the plains toward Gabby, as furious as anything she’d ever seen.

She slammed her fists into the earth, anchoring herself behind the monoliths just as the shockwave hit. Wind and ephemeral power tried to rip her from the ground, wrenching her already strained shoulders and squeezing a meager gasp of agony from her lips.

Then it passed, and she fell to the earth with a muffled thud.

We Hold The Power Here, the Twins continued, before closing their hand around that blazing light. It faded, as did their answering glows, but Gabby could not forget it. We Have Held It Since We Rectified Creation’s First Mistake. The Cardinals Cannot Return. The Boy Cannot Stand Against The Hierophant.

Even If He Does, The Titan Has Bound Herself To Our Law. To The System Itself. Coiled bands of angular blue sprouted from half of their shoulders like twisted wings. The Twins tilted their heads in unison. She Will Be His Undoing.

A pit opened up in Gabby's stomach, and it felt like she was falling, even as she laced her hands into the dust beneath her feet. Undoing?

That Is Not Enough! I Can Smell Its Stink. How Can You Not? Dissonance Has Woven Through The Harmonics, And Its Source Is Nevarre!

Gabby flinched before she understood what happened. Yyero had moved far too fast for a creature bigger than mountains. The horizon cracked, and pillars of rotted flesh tore into it like a ripe fruit. More light bloomed in the dark, only to be swallowed by the charred skies, leaving only his wheezing howl.

Your Rage Is Useless. The Twins’ voices were flat, and the weight of them pressed out the chaos of Yyero’s emotion. He fell back, his oozing flesh congealing against the vault of the heavens.

My Rage Serves Us. We Must⁠—

The Chains Of Our Complacency Bind Us, the Twins said, and Gabby couldn’t help but cower at the flat anger in its Spirit. It crushed her to the earth from miles away, and even Yyero flinched. We Must Shatter Them First. Nothing Else Matters.

The Ritual Must Be Completed.

Noctis loomed closer, empty and ever watchful. What Would You Have Us Do?

The Twins gleamed, the facets of their impossible anatomy stretching up into the sky. Fortify The City. Your Shadowbeasts, Your Vile Growths—Let Them Swell Across The Shining Palace. Protect The Nymean Weapon By Whatever Means Necessary.

The Twins bled into the horizon, merging with it until the charred skies scintillated with metallic blue. The land shook, peeling away into strips miles wide that exposed an unremitting, blinding white. It spread, splitting across the plains until it sundered the world beneath Gabby’s feet.

She fell, surrounded by nothing, except the words of the Twins.

Felix Nevarre Must Be Kept At Bay.

Gabby gasped, her awareness snapping back to her Body. She opened her eyes,

She Will Be His Undoing.

The words echoed in her ears, louder than the rush of distant drains or the gurgle of her own empty stomach.

Gabby had made her bargain under duress, with the Pathless’ corpse still cooling on the ground in that blasted wasteland the gods called home. They’d dug into her soul and pulled out a promise…but what choice did she have?

They’d layered it with honeyed words and sweet concessions that were anything but—temptations from literal devils. Gabby ground her teeth at the memory. To serve them, they’d offered her Titles, Temperings, and even artifacts from Ages long Lost—power in all its forms. Enough to elevate her to Paragon, they’d claimed.

She’d wanted none of it.

Gabby leaned back against the hard stone tunnel and closed her eyes. She could still remember the agony after refusing their first bargain…and their second. Until all she could do was babble about the only thing she really wanted: to go home.

Their refusal had been swift and absolute.

Why was never clear, but every single god refused to send them away. Gabby couldn't understand it. It was an elegant solution to their problems. Without her brother, who was capable of defying the gods?

Instead, they'd offer her a new bargain entirely.

She could still remember the Twins as they spoke in their eerie, conjoined voices. Enter Into Our Compact, And You Shall See Glory Beyond Mortality. You Will Be Elevated Above All Others On The Continent.

We Will Make You A God.

It wasn't that she had no choice, but the gods made it clear that it was either the bargain or death. Gabby had chosen to live.

Perhaps then she could shift the tide.

Focus. What have you learned today? She ran through the words of the gods, sifting them for meaning. They're protecting Amaranth, but I already knew that. They're afraid of Felix. Why, though? Because he's an emperor? And that means something significant, clearly.

She also recalled them using the term Chthonic Host. And it had been one of the few times she'd ever heard the Twins speak out of unison. Not to mention with something approaching the rage all of the other gods indulged. Still, she had no reference for what it might mean. It sounded vaguely Greek, but other than that, Gabby had never heard the term, either on the Continent or Earth. She filed those details away, perhaps for when they might be useful.

What commanded her attention far more was the reveal that Felix hadn't devoured all of Siva. There was a piece the gods still had in their possession, and it resonated with their cores. The same as the core she’d witnessed the Divine devour when the Pathless fell. Cores that belonged to something else.

What the hell is a Cardinal?

Stone scratched in the dark, loud enough that Gabby instantly knew it wasn’t a mistake. She cursed as she opened her eyes, and her Perception twigged upon creatures just beyond the darkness of her short tunnel. A great many of them.

Plaguerats.

How had they snuck up on her? She hadn't felt them at all until they were nearly upon her, clogging the nearby sewers with their obvious stench.

“Brightblade.”

She stood as light welled from her palms before manifesting into a shaft and blade of golden crystal. A heavy spear. It could be any weapon she wished, but in these tunnels, a spear was her best option.

Keep them at a distance. Training that had been drilled into her bones came to the fore, as it did whenever battle loomed. She let another Skill kindle in her center, and fire roared just out of reach. Flood the tunnel.

"Stay your hand…” croaked a voice, as if coming from a mouth that should not be capable of speech.

It slipped from the dark, and Gabby forced herself to hold her ground, spear at the ready. The thing was huge, easily the match of a grizzly bear. It was definitely a rat, despite its size, with the same long face, sharp oversized teeth, and writhing naked tail. The difference, really, was that the Plaguerat was slick with pus and slime oozing from open wounds. Spurs of bone arose up from its back, hooking out of its gristle, same as the pale claws that stuck from its long fingers. Eyes of yellow on black sclera looked at her with too much Intelligence for a simple beast.

"Titan.”

“Rat.”

“Scathers be my name, and I am sent by the Glorious Affliction.”

“Yyero," Gabby translated. "Why?"

Scathers snickered before he spoke in a sing-song voice. "You were seeeen."

Her face fell. The gods had noticed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do not play coy, Titan. The Glorious Affliction saw you, cowering beneath stone. But He assures us the others were ignorant of your presence.” Skathers giggled, a high-pitched noise that was disturbing to hear from its oozing bulk. “He applauds you. You are far more circumspect than He expected."

Gabby wasn't sure what to say to that, so she settled for a noncommittal grunt. "What do you want?"

The monster lifted its bony hand and pointed at her. "Yyero wants the Lizard, and He tires of the games of the Divine. He offers us—His Plague—to hunt with you."

Gabby narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure what benefits the rats would offer her, save perhaps no longer being in her way. "I assume, if I do not agree to this partnership, you’ll oppose us?"

"No. But we will seek out our own ends, regardless of what or who stands in our way."

Of course. Noctis had said that Yyero had a purpose in the sewers that was “Divine business.” After listening to the gods bickering over the Unbound, she still hadn't a clue what that could be. What else were these rats after, and did she want to help them achieve it? To bring them close where they could betray her? Did it matter? She already endured the questionable loyalty of the Orders. What was one more foe in her midst?

"How many are you?" she asked the thing.

"We number seven hundred, all of us strong enough to best your little men," Scathers sneered in the direction of her sleeping Paladins and Inquisitors, none of which had woken or even sounded an alarm.

"That gives us nearly two thousand, but this Unbound is trickier than we've expected. What can you do other than stink?"

Scathers hissed. "We are rot, Titan. We are pestilence. Wherever decay resides, that be where our power grows, and our senses along with it. We can sniff out the Lizard, no matter where he hides."

"Useful. Why haven't you found him yourself?"

"We have died countless times," Scathers said, shaking his body. Pieces of himself spattered against the walls. "The Lizard has killed us all again and again. Too many times. We hunger for retribution, Titan, and we will have it."

Gabby could believe that. She had barely seen the Unbound in their three encounters. He moved too fast, and those swords of his were brutal. She'd easily lost a hundred soldiers in her time under the earth, but the Lizard was always fleeing. If she did this right, if she could corner him, perhaps she could take care of two pests with one stone.

"Alright, rat.” She lowered her spear but refused to banish it entirely. “Let's go find the Lizard."

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

At the topmost level of Hevaan, there was a garden. Surrounding the garden were low walls made of black stone, veined with gold. Unlike the fortifications around the city itself, these walls were meant to frame what lay within rather than keep others outside of it. In fact, the regular openings invited the opposite.

"Garden" was perhaps a misleading term as well. It was more of a park, set before the sweeping majesty of what was clearly a palace wrought in silver and gold at the very top layer of Hevaan.

Grasses and ferns grew here, along with small clusters of moss and dangling flowers, but it was all untamed. Much of the greenery in the area looked familiar—remnants of the jungles below as they were pulled up from the earth, and it spread over perhaps two entire acres before the pristine walls of the palace hemmed it in. As such, it was easy enough to find the center and easier still to dig a hole and place the Seed of Remembered Light into it.

Felix smoothed the dirt over, summoning water from the air to pour down on top of it until the soil puddled into a granular muck. Then he waited.

"That's anticlimactic," Archie said from behind.

"Give it a sec," Felix muttered. "I didn't add the special ingredient yet."

Felix focused, and from his center, he sounded his Skill.

Unite the Lost.

Mana, Essence, and significance poured from him, spilling into the earth before sinking through and directly into the Seed. Ever so slightly, the earth shook—a beat roused from the depths as if there were drums within the deepest layers of stone—until a melody picked itself out of the gathering tattoo. At first, it was the sound of crystalline bells, sharp and sweet, then the rosened thrum of strings filled the spaces between them, accompanied, at long last, by the soft lilting of woodwinds.

A silver shoot broke through the topsoil.

Name: Altissima Anima

Type: Spirit Tree

Attunement: Processing…

It rose upward, gaining mass by the second. Power poured through Felix's hands and feet, feeding the Spirit Tree. It took from him, but Felix frowned as the Tree rapidly ascended into the air. That's moving slower than the last one, isn't it?

Through no fault of its own, Unite the Lost faltered. The stream of power dropped to a trickle, as if the Tree were refusing anything more than the barest of sips. Felix focused his attention on the trunk, already almost bigger than his arms could reach around but nowhere near the height it should have attained.

Altissima. Can you hear me? Felix put a hand on the smooth, silver trunk. Is there a problem? Are you okay?

His words meant far less than the Intent behind them. Images flitted across his Mind, rushed and hazy as Altissima groped for a connection to Felix. Its burgeoning awareness brushed against him, and where it touched, a bloom of light flowered, thrumming with an intensity that set him back on his heels.

There was a sensation of lurching collapse, as if falling down a vast hole, and power was yanked through Felix’s channels once more. Unite the Lost returned in a roar, sending potency into the bole.

Its roots speared downward faster than its branches spread, only fifty feet above. These quested through the dark soil, pressing through layers of mud, clay, and sediment as they sought something.

A memory rolled through Felix's Mind, one caught from the edges of the Tree's boughs. It was a melody made foggy by time, echoing through the trunk of the growing Tree and into him, like a bolt of lightning.

A beast of many limbs raged through a forest of enormous silver trunks and dangling golden leaves. It screamed, the remnants of ancient swords rusted into its pebbled hide as it snapped boughs with its antlers, even as it crushed lesser monsters beneath its trampling hooves. Golden branches tangled its limbs, but the beast only latched its mighty fangs onto the nearest trunk before wrenching its silver flesh open. Iridescent sap streamed from its wounds, and the beast bellowed, drunk on rage and the heady nectar of a Spirit Tree.

In its glut, it failed to notice that the Trees had grown angry.

Branches wrapped around shoulders and neck, while roots tangled its hooves. It stomped, freeing itself, but only found more tendrils waiting. Silver roots speared up into its belly and limbs, sinking deep into ichor-filled veins as the beast cried out, its rage turned to terror. It struggled and gored and bit, but for every one, another ten rose to take their place. The Trees did not stop, not until the beast was cocooned in silver roots, its many limbs withering, and its mighty roars fading to a raspy squeak.

The beast perished, and the grove of Spirit Trees flourished.

Felix blinked as the memory finished with him, leaving him standing beside the expanding trunk of the Altissima. Was that an ancestral memory?

The Tree didn’t answer. It was entirely too preoccupied with something else, as evidenced by a burgeoning excitement at its center. Through his connection with the Altissima, Felix followed its roots as they broke free of the platform, winding around the Crescian Bronze pillars before plunging deep into the swamp far below.

There is a Temple there!

Felix had sensed a piece of it early on, but he hadn’t been sure. At the base of Hevaan, where the pillars rose from the muck, a structure still lay half-submerged. Altissima’s silver roots spread across its muddied facade in an instant, breaking through gaps in the stone, seeking the Temple's center.

And the Mana Well within.

Flipped by some ancient cataclysm, the entire chamber was overturned and filled with murky liquid that was only lit by the glow of the Tree’s silver roots. Those stabbed forward, seeking out the cracks that riddled the seals on the three Mana Wells that lurked within. The largest of the three had failed long ago, but even now, Felix witnessed thick wisps of poison and acid Mana stream into the water like an oily cloud. The waters practically vibrated with their resonance—the same kind that had filled the swamps above and formed the Poison Fields.

Riding upon the roots as they grew into that cracked Well, Felix jerked in surprise as a withered husk of a creature leaped to sudden life. Its many heads struck out, snapping at the silver incursions ineffectually, even as its thorny crest glowed with unreleased power. Its red eyes gleamed with a long held rage, but it stood no chance.

Name: Rattlehorn Hydra

Type: Monstrosity (Manawarped)

…

Its name echoed among Felix's awareness, but that was all he learned of it before it was drained entirely. As in the memory, the roots cocooned the withering corpse even as they grew outward, filling the Well entirely. Its power fed their rapid expansion, and the Tree sundered the two lesser Wells in the same instant.

The Urge Of Doomed Dereliction

The Urge of Envious Wrath

They stood no chance. Speared upon silver roots, their fleshy, corrupted forms were drained in seconds. Their power fed into the Spirit Tree as a visible light traveling back up the way he’d come. The Urges died before they could do more than bellow with inchoate fury, and even their desiccated flesh began to dissolve as the roots cocooned them in silver.

A thunderous crack brought Felix back to himself, and he opened his eyes to see that the Altissima’s trunk had expanded rapidly. Its bark transformed from smooth silver to something textured and toothsome, while its limbs thickened and spread higher than any Tree he'd ever grown. It had shot up in a gnarled curve, splitting into a dozen thick boughs before budding again and again. Relatively thin branches sprawled outward, arcing over the sky above Hevaan. Far below, the black stone creaked as silver roots climbed from their city plate to the next, spreading as fast as onrushing waves, until the base of Hevaan was as silver as the heights were golden.

Felix was pushed back, riding along the roll of the earth as it was displaced by building-sized roots. His friends scrambled away in panic, but Felix stood still, his hand against the edge of the Tree, staring upward as emerald moss propagated across its textured bark. Above, the smallest of branches drooped and hung like a willow, sprouting with leaves the color of gold.

Attunement Complete!

Altissima Anima Is Attuned To Life, Water, Poison, and Metal!

Huh. About what I’d expected out of a jungle Tree. Ourea attuned to Shadow, Earth, Life, and Fire, which tracks for its environment, too. Felix grinned. Neat.

The Spirit Tree's canopy spread for miles, a roof over the city of Hevaan that gleamed with gold. Even as the bright blue sky of summer peeked its way through, the shadow of it cut into the heat of the jungle, bringing them all a blessed relief.

Aura of Temperance’s Plenty

Type: Aura (Passive)

The Altissima Anima cradles the air and waters under its influence, singing a soft refrain from the verses of the Green Wilds. All things grow faster beneath its boughs, increasing harvest yields and animal populations. All beings are comforted by a sensation of peace that soothes agitated Spirits.

Aura of Seeking Spears

Type: Aura (Active)

Those that seek violence within the Altissima Anima’s influence will be met by its equal. The hatred of the mindless and cunning alike will be answered by the silvered roots, their Health drained to feed the Spirit Tree.

“Whoa,” Felix muttered. “More like Spear of the South, huh?”

From the edges of the upended park, he heard the faint sound of Archie and Beef’s groans, and he grinned.

“You did not come to see me, Autarch,” Mauvim said with a smile that creased her ancient face. “Do I frighten the young so much that you’d rather lift a mythical city from Ages Lost than look at me?”

Felix and Pit stood on a golden-lined street, between tall statues of robed magi and the black stone dome and pillars of some empty municipal building. They’d decided to go on a bit of a tour of Hevaan before they gathered up their people and left, while Harn and the others had returned to Morva.

Felix tensed, shooting a glare toward Pit. You didn't warn me.

She was hidden somehow! Pit looked at the Chanters with narrowed eyes. She’s spooky.

Fixing a smile on his face, Felix turned. "I wasn’t avoiding you, Mauvim. I had planned to come see you and the others as soon as I wrapped up things here. How are you?"

Mauvim’s smile faded, though the Chanters at her side looked as serious as ever. "We have been better. I'm sure the boys have told you already that the Chanters took some casualties during the last battle."

"They did. I'm so sorry to hear that."

"They died saving people—there are few honors greater,” she said seriously. The Chanters at her side murmured in agreement. “We have spent our time these last few days in town, providing healing and our various magical specialties to the locals. Imagine my surprise when I learn that you have arrived in the area and left soon after. It did not match my shock when an entire city rose from the jungle, however."

“Am I required to consult you on all my actions?” Felix raised an eyebrow. “There were things to be done. I did them.”

“You have lifted a city of gold from the wilderness and raised yet another Spirit Tree over this Territory. This is a remote Territory barely worth invading by any but the meanest of opportunists. Why spend resources so frivolously?”

Felix clenched his jaw. This was partially his fault. He’d cut Mauvim and her Chanters out of his council, at least for the most important things. “I have my reasons.”

“I do not doubt it, Autarch.” She ground her knobby walking stick into the smooth thoroughfare. “Would you allow my Chanters to explore your new city? It is no doubt a treasure trove of information and sigaldry we can put to use.”

Felix sighed. "Of course. You and the Chanters are all welcome to explore Hevaan to your heart’s content. If you can see some use for what we have here, then fantastic.”

She inclined her head by the slightest of margins. “My thanks.”

“Hm,” Felix grunted. “Before you head off, however, I need to speak with you. Privately.”

The old woman nodded at him, ambling forward with her knobby cane and waving off her entourage. The other Chanters pulled back, many of them shooting Felix inscrutable looks.

They don’t like me much, he mused. He’d flouted their control a few too many times for some of the Chanters’ liking. Oh well.

Mauvim gestured, and a sound and sight ward rose up around them, distorting their images and trapping their voices within its confines. “There. What would you like to discuss?”

“You don’t have long to research this place. We’re all returning to Elderthrone soon. I’ll need you and the Chanters for what is to come.”

The ancient Chanter eyed him, her rheumy gaze still sharp. “What has happened?”

“A lot. I can tell you more when it’s safer. For now, trust me that I needed to claim the Seat and Seal of this Territory swiftly. Hevaan was just a consequence of that.”

"Hmm, quite the side effect,” she said, frowning. “Congratulations on your new position, by the way, Emperor Nevarre."

Felix waved away the title. "Yeah, that'll be useful for the assault.”

“On Amaranth, I assume."

Felix nodded.

Mauvim clucked her tongue in exasperation. "That is madness, dear boy. The Hierophant is a Paragon with the favor of a god on her side."

"A dead god.”

“Divine just the same. The Pathless may have died, but do not for a second believe that the Hierophant is less formidable because of it. Ocalla Marzul has lived for nearly as many centuries as I have, and she is a force of nature. To underestimate her is to accept your own doom."

"She can be defeated," Felix insisted. "I refuse to believe that, between the god and his priest, the god was the weaker one."

"Believe what you must," Mauvim said, her withered hand waving off his words. "Just know that the Hierophant is more than she seems. There's a reason we have not been able to stop her all these years. She has the Orders, the High Guard, the Hierei, and who knows what else in her back pocket."

"We don't have a choice. There is no other path here, no other play. We need to stop what is about to happen, or else everything falls apart."

"Felix, I do not know the entirety of what has happened, but I know your options might be limited. You might find yourself between death and worse, but it does not matter.” Her cloudy eyes were intense beneath her heavy brows. “There is always a choice.”

She swept away, back toward her coterie of Chanters, leaving Felix alone to think.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

The canopy of the Altissima Anima stretched for miles from the city of Hevaan, casting its shadow over Morva and the other nearby towns. Aside from its sheer size, the effect of its primary aura was undeniable, and as Felix led his people back to Yev Setan—Jaast’s Heart of Darkness—he could spot the difference it made. Temperance’s Plenty was thick in the air—nearly as palpable as smoke to him—a song sung through the Green Wilds that eased a piece of his heart he couldn’t name. His Perception caught on countless creatures, animal and monster both, that seemed less frantic, but otherwise normal. There was no sign of further god-touched monstrosities, either.

When they landed and all leaped off Pit's back, Felix felt better than he had in a while. He knew the Tree was affecting him, but he didn't mind. The peace it brought was momentary—it could never quell the urgency that roiled within him, just beneath the skin.

Felix strode into Yev Setan and unleashed his Skill.

Unite the Lost!

Power rippled through him, pouring into the surrounding structure.

Felix had previously restored Yev Setan, but after his fight with the Plagueblooms, he’d found a few of its outbuildings still in disrepair. If he were to leave Jaast with a fortress city and a Spirit Tree, he figured it was only fair to bring the Heart of Darkness back to full utility. Compared to resurrecting an entire city, it cost him fairly little. The actual Heart of Darkness was in fine condition, the vaulted ceiling still immaculate and designed to look like the night sky, while statues formed next to pillars of gold-veined black stone. What he paid attention to, however, were the structures just beyond his sight.

The outbuildings were built on stepped platforms but were otherwise quite squat, and every right angle had been rounded by the ceaseless wear of time. There, the stone rebuilt itself, rising from the earth to clad itself in fine fronts of carved stone and delicately shaped metals. Even fabric curtains wove out of ancient memory, their fibers snagged upon doorways to billow in the jungle breeze. They unfolded around him like a puzzle box. Ancient weathering was shaped away, proving itself to be merely a facade—a mask layered over their true form, now brought back to brilliant life.

There were even some changes to the Heart of Darkness itself. Subtle things that Felix had not noticed were missing now gleamed in his attention: mosaics of beautiful vistas formed above the intricately carved Shadowgates, similar to how they appeared in his Void Sanctuary. Beneath his boots, upon the hexagonal tiles, a symbol a hundred feet in diameter formed. It was picked out in small bits of glass that rose from nothing at the very center of the chamber, as if they were baubles floating out of an opaque sea. It was a symbol he knew well: the glyph of House Nevarre, surmounted by a golden-leafed Spirit Tree.

"Cool!" Pit crowed, dancing on his paws as the changes around him settled.

You Have Fully Restored Yev Setan And Adjoining Facilities!

Transportation Hub Of Hevaan!

New Options Are Available!

See The Control Node For Further Details.

Felix turned slowly, taking in the gates. Nine of them were there, all in perfect repair. A lot of significance had gone into bringing those back online when they’d first arrived in Jaast, and even still, he could feel that they were only each only half fixed, save for one. That one led back to Elderthrone, while the others were portals into mystery.

"Well," Archie said, "That was pretty cool. Where do these go?"

Harn poked one of them with his axe. When the thin shadows at its center didn’t jump out at him, he grunted. "Nowhere I know. You plannin’ on fixin’ them, too, Felix?”

“I was thinking about it.” He’d already noticed the silver roots of Altissima coiled just outside the base of Yev Setan. They were still well within the Tree’s influence, but it seemed it didn’t want to encroach on the structure, for some reason. Felix walked out and knelt, placing a hand against the textured silver of the nearest root.

Altissima. Do you want to help me? Like your siblings did?

Curiosity met his questing Mind, and in response, Felix sent images of what Atlantes and Ourea had done. Before they had finished rolling out of him, the Spirit Tree eagerly agreed to help. Even when Felix explicitly sent sensations of recalled pain he'd felt both through his own body and his connection to the Trees, the young, newly born Tree did not seem to care.

"Brace yourself," Felix muttered before he reached for the Shadowgates, bringing the Spirit Tree into connection with it. As before, the two slid smoothly into one another, the power of the silver roots intertwining with the magic of the Shadowgates. They split, arcing among all nine gates and the purple Belais crystal that sat at the far end of the chamber.

Altissima screeched in pain, the sound invisible to ears, though all of his friends winced as their Affinity was scraped raw by its sudden agony.

"Jesus, what the fuck is that?" Archie shouted.

"Do they all hurt like that?" Pit whined, burying his head beneath his paws.

"No," Felix said. "This one seems rougher.”

There was a bucking from the Altissima Anima as it sought a place within the complicated construction of the Shadowgate network. The aggressive plant was unlike most Trees he had dealt with, but its commitment to throwing itself into the joining was working against it; the network was rejecting the Spirit Tree like a foreign contaminant. Strained melodies faded and grew, each verse trying and failing to join with the Altissima.

Until a familiar presence spread across the song, and the melody changed. A steadiness entered the magic, settling the chaos as the silver Tree scrabbled for purchase. Atlantes reached out, along with the echo of Ourea, guiding Altissima through the hub’s convoluted system, placing it where it needed to be.

Connections Between Shadowgates Strengthened!

Protections Between Paired Shadowgates Increased By 20%!

Your Heart Of Shadows Has Advanced!

Tier VI > Tier VII

The screaming stopped, and all of his friends hesitantly uncovered their ears.

“It’s done?” Beef asked warily.

Felix turned to the Shadowgates, all of which now had silver roots spread across their frames. “Yeah. It’s done.”

Harn ambled toward the Belais crystal and called up its illusory display. A map of the Shadowgate network appeared, reminiscent of a subway map back home, as each of the gates were outlined in different colors. Surprisingly, the map was laid atop of an image of the Continent, something that Karys and Felix had incorporated back in Elderthrone.

Apparently, the upgrade brought that over, too.

"The gates spread southward," Harn said. "Looks like it goes beyond the jungles and the mountains surrounding Ahkestria." He fixed Felix with a serious stare. "Into the Interior of the Continent."

"The Interior," Beef mused. "I've heard people talk about that before. What does it mean, exactly?"

“It's the rest of the Continent, where several large empires hold sway," Harn explained, "and where, if rumors are true, the average citizens are all Journeymen Tier at the minimum."

Archie grimaced. "I once heard a smuggler say that, in the Interior, Grandmasters fill the streets. I always thought he was lying. So did everyone else."

"It's true enough." Harn gestured toward where eight of the nine Shadowgates led across the top portion of a vast landmass. "The Interior is filled with ancient forces that make Levantier’s Lucent Towers look like a bunch of Apprentices."

Beef swallowed. "Is this... should you have restored these, then? You said those monsters entered the gate trying to get to Elderthrone. Did we just open up a way for a whole bunch of dudes to invade?"

"No. Not unless we open the gates first," Felix said. He walked next to Harn and manipulated the illusory display. "We'll be fine."

He selected a new option that populated his authority screen at the moment Yev Setan was restored.

Priority Locks - These lock the Shadowgates when not in use, providing extra protection to tampering and interference from unaligned parties.

Felix jabbed his finger forward, but before he could select it, a new option manifested.

Due To Binding Two Or More Spirit Trees To A Heart Of Darkness You Have Unlocked New Options!

Dissonant Cadence - By tapping into the powers of the Emperor and those of the Spirit Trees that have joined with the Shadowgate network, the Heart can protect itself from incursions with the power of Dissonance.

WARNING!

This is a fickle power. Not for the uninitiated.

Well, that sounds like just the thing. Felix thought. He selected it immediately.

All at once, the gates changed.

Each were specialized sculptures out of semi-precious stones and minerals, but the outer frame of every Shadowgate was the same shape: a large circle, wide enough to admit a company of soldiers. Where the silver roots tangled among them before, now they shifted entirely, until the circle turned to resemble a metallic bark. Sigaldry flowed across it, fitting between the cracks in the textured surface in fractal patterns that flowed with golden light, while drooping tendrils of golden leaves gathered at their zenith. In seconds, each and every gate sprouted a miniature Spirit Tree sapling from its top.

Before the golden leaves stopped fluttering, there was a ringing of soft bells as everything finalized.

Hidden Quest Completed!

The Stakes of Empire.

To claim an empire is synonymous with having to defend its borders. Many are the Banes that will rise up to breach the sanctity of what you have created. The ruler is beholden to those they rule. To be otherwise is to be stripped of your authority. The threats will end those who are unworthy of such responsibilities. But, by the same token, Boons will aid those that serve their people.

You have passed your first trial. You have defended against the incursion of outside nations..

+Increased Authority

+Upgraded Emperor’s Aura! Bonus is now 15% to all allies' damage output and defensive capabilities when within the same Territory as the Emperor.

Your Empire Is Secure!

For Now!

Seek Out Boons And Banes To Further Augment Your Domain!

Altissima creaked in clear pleasure, its tiny clones rustling in identical joy.

That's ominous, but strangely encouraging. I guess there's more I can do to strengthen things, but also more trials lie in wait. Felix shrugged off the notification. What else is new?

“Harn. Go and retrieve the rest of the Legion and the Chanters. Bring them back to Elderthrone." Felix tilted his head, feeling at that bundle of sensation that was his Authority. "This close to the city, I can practically feel Mauvim poking around Hevaan."

“Aye.” Harn gestured, summoning some of the lieutenants to himself.

"Use the elevated highway," Felix added. "It was part of Yev Setan’s transport hub, so it was partially repaired when I raised the rest of this place. It should provide a boost to the speed of anyone using it."

"Mauvim fiddled with that," Harn grunted. He gave the order. "Wasn’t fully workin’ before. She had to keep the spell runnin’ herself. I'm almost tempted to go check it myself."

"Feel free. I only repaired the highway from here to the crossroads near Morva. My Authority is telling me that there is a lot more roadway, but it's beyond what I'd like to spend right now."

Beef scratched his head. "A magic highway? What for? Trade?"

"Sword of the South," Archie said. "That's what this place is called, right? Gotta imagine they needed to move troops fast."

"Sound thinkin’, and likely right." Harn started walking toward the exit. "Could be useful to install everywhere. I'll get the Legion outpost to make copies of the designs and send them back to our Glyphworks."

"Perfect. Bring the rest back to Elderthrone as soon as possible." Felix gestured, activating the gate back to Nagast. "I'll take everyone else back to prep for the next step.”

“See you soon, kid."

Harn and his soldiers departed, leaving Pit, Fafnir, and the other Unbound alone.

Beef hefted Bedlam on his shoulder, and Hallow spoke from his chest. "Back to Elderthrone, then?"

Felix approached the gate. "Back to training. We have a lot to do."

"And then?"

"Then we beat the Hierophant's ass and rescue those kids." Archie scowled up at the gate. "And the other ones, too, I guess."

CHAPTER FORTY

"So, my influence on you is a bunch of creepy, wall-walking assassins?" Archie stepped out into the Heart of Darkness in Elderthrone, hands on his hips. "I feel like I should be offended."

"Why?" Beef poked at him, nudging the small man with an oversized finger as he, too, slipped from the Shadowgate. "You are a creepy, wall-walking assassin."

"Hey, I'm a thief. I don't do wetwork."

Beef blinked. "Was that an option?”

“In Birchstone? Sometimes. Jobs came up often enough, and a guy that could slip through stone was a tempting hire," Archie frowned. "But I never needed the money that bad.”

“I don't have control over how our Links have affected me. Or you." Felix shrugged. "There's a lot about the process I don't understand, but I'm positive those aren't assassins.”

“They're sneaking up on people with daggers, Felix. What else do you call that?"

"Didn't you notice? They weren't sneaking up on us, they were guarding us." Felix smiled at the man. "They're protectors. All of you are. That's the role you've all taken up in my Sanctuary."

Archie opened his mouth, then closed it. "Huh."

Felix left him to it and considered the gate behind them. The protection from Dissonant Cadence was active. He'd felt it at the edges of things when they'd passed through his Sanctuary, but only now that he was outside of the gate did he feel a distinct barrier.

"I feel it, too," Pit said. "It felt tingly on my feathers. Like a breeze just about to blow.”

With the gate shut down, Felix assumed it was safe. He wouldn't have gotten the quest reward for protecting his empire if it wasn't. With the Shadowgate still running, though, he wasn't so sure.

He shaped a rock into his hand. A simple stone about the size of his palm and dense as any normal rock might be. Felix fixed his Intent on the gate before him. Exclude this stone. Do not let it pass.

He lobbed it softly at the gate. The rock pinged harmlessly off the condensed shadow.

"Looks like it works," Beef said. "Why's it called Dissonant Cadence, though? I didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, me either," Pit said. "I was listening real hard, too."

"I don't know." Felix picked up the rock and walked back a few paces. "Let's try a little harder." He wound up, muscles tensing, and he hurled it as hard as he could. His limb blurred, and there was no sound at all for a single instant. And then there was all the sound in the world. A crash of thunder was met by a buzzing screech as the rock broke the sound barrier. Beef and Archie fell back, screaming silently in the cacophony, and even Pit shielded himself with his wings. The rock shattered, reduced to nothing more than dust as the shadows were undisturbed.

Pit laughed. "That was so loud!"

"A little harder?" Archie exclaimed through his teeth. "I've heard quieter canons!”

“Am I yelling?" Beef shouted. "I feel like I'm yelling." He blinked. "Oh, that's better. My ear drums just healed."

"Wait," Pit said. "How will Harn get through?"

Felix walked closer to the Shadowgate and pushed his hand through the darkness as easily as ever. "Cadence has a whitelist, and Harn's on it. They'll be fine.”

“If you are quite done, my Lord."

Karys, ever polite and graceful, stood at the opening to the Heart of Darkness, where the gold and silver light of Felix's seat and seal gleamed from the chamber beyond. His mismatched hands were folded before him, and he had a look of patience upon his metal face.

“I believe we have some work to attend to.”

"Right, right. Boys, I'll see you later. You've got your books?"

Archie patted his pocket, and Beef waved the thin notebook in his hand. Pit, meanwhile, looked around dramatically, checking under his paws and wings.

"Not you, Goober. You've got other training to get done."

His Companion chuckled. "Oh! That reminds me. I'm supposed to meet up with—" He squawked in alarm before resizing himself into a small Dire Hound pup. "I gotta go." He took off, a russet blur into the adjoining chamber.

"Where's he off to?" Beef asked.

"A hot date," Archie said, tapping his nose. "Said he met with a pretty tenku during his mission."

Beef's eyes widened. "Oooh."

"Focus, boys," Felix laughed. "Study up. We've got places to be soon."

Archie saluted him lazily. "Aye, aye, sir.”

“Go."

“Did you hear?”

Merk burst into the break room just outside the arena, her slight Goblin frame nearly vibrating with excitement.

“We’ve been testing recruits all day, Twinhandle,” groused Cade. The Orc woman was as big as three of Merk put together, but she almost flinched when the Goblin threw up her hands.

“Everyone’s talkin’ about it! Everyone ‘cept you maniacs.”

“We are simply proving our mettle.”

“Oh whatever.” Merk smiled at them all, showing off her sharp incisors. “C’mon! Guess.”

A gong rang out, and Cade stood up with a pained groan. “Next wave, team.”

Stellis stood up easily, barely seeming to be winded after their short rest. Heva pushed off her bench, leaning heavily on her leviathan bone staff. “I envy your Stamina, Stellis.”

“Endurance is a powerful stat,” the Human warrior agreed, checking the mace at her waist before picking up her massive tower shield. “You should have seen some growth there these past few days, no?”

“More than I expected.” Heva waved her Goblin friend closer. “Come, Merk. Fight with us. It will let this round pass faster than before.”

The Goblin laughed. “Not a chance! I’m not the one achin’ about not gettin’ picked by the Fiend’s special parties. Patrol duty’s fine enough for me!”

Cade grunted. “We’ll let you tell us your news when we’re done.”

Merk sighed dramatically and stepped out into the arena, already unsheathing her wands. “Ugh, fine.”

The arena was a wide expanse of cut stone blocks, each ten strides square, ten in each direction. Tall walls surrounded it on all sides, while above them were located rows of seating for observation. No one was up there, not today. The entire place was empty save for them…until the gate at the far end opened up, and the new recruits filtered in.

Heva eyeballed them, letting her Harmonic senses get a read on them before attempting to Analyze. Her Affinity was not her strongest stat, but she was intent on making it grow. It had only been a boon to her Skills, after all. The team before her felt strong, though perhaps a bit…chaotic.

They certainly looked impressive, though. Two mages and two front-liners, same as them—one even looked to be fire attuned. Heva smiled at that.

She liked a challenge.

The gong sounded again, and the testing began.

The front-liners, both wielding swords, rushed forward. They had some sort of movement Skill because Heva found them hard to track, but their weapons flashed with gathering Skills almost at the same time. It nearly distracted her from the sheen of vapor that poured off the fire mage…and the other one dropped, slamming their hands to the ground.

“Watch your toes,” Stellis warned.

Heva already dodged backward, sensing the Mana at her feet a heartbeat before the rock erupted into a geyser of molten stone. It was a sizeable explosion, though, and it upset the flooring in every direction.

Unfortunately for the mages, their front-liners were a lot faster than they expected. Both swordsmen were caught up in the blast, forced to abort their attacks in favor of dodging the molten earth. One even slipped, their left leg sliding into the lava.

Their screams were almost as bad as the smell of charred meat.

“Heat Drain!” Heva thrust her hand forward, and the stone rapidly cooled as the heat Mana was siphoned into her channels. The rock solidified, trapping the swordsman, and she spun toward the other before releasing it all at once.

The second swordsman parried the blast, diverting the condensed line of heat Mana up into the air—but they were distracted.

Stellis clobbered them over the head with her mace, and the recruit dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

“That was disappointing,” she muttered.

Stone shattered, and the other front-liner shouted as he rushed forward, his sword gleaming blue as he thrust. Stellis lifted her tower shield and turned the blow, angling herself to send his weapon skittering off target.

Directly into the path of Cade.

The Orc woman batted the sword aside before bashing the recruit over the skull with a single, gauntleted fist.

“Two down already,” Merk muttered. “You sure you needed me?”

“You handle the earth mage, and I’ll take on the fire,” Heva suggested.

“Fine.”

Heva ran forward, calling upon the flames that dwelled within her. They answered, rising up through her arms like furious serpents eager to bare their fangs. “Scorching Hydra!”

Twin whips of flame burst from her palms and were met with a shield made of swirling fire.

“Impressive,” Heva said, and meant it. “Not everyone can block my Hydra.”

“Thanks!” the Elven man said, but the strain was evident in his voice.

“That was a mistake.” Heva smiled in the same way she did with her grandbabies, indulgent and a bit admonishing. “Don’t let your enemy see you struggle.”

Her Hydra burst from two whips to fourteen, seven in each hand, each tipped with a writhing spearhead. They thrust down, piercing the edges of the shield before constricting and pressing it from all sides. The Elf shouted in alarm, but their voice was soon lost beneath the implosion of their Skill.

They fell to their knees, eye’s bugging, just as Heva brought her side sword up to their throat. “Yield.”

“I–I yield.”

Heva smiled. “A wise choice.”

“You finished?”

Not twenty strides away, the earth mage was already down, her battle robes covered in green-gold sigils that bound her arms to her sides. She was awake, but unable to move or even speak, while Merk stood over her looking bored.

“Took you long enough. That was a new move, wasn’t it?”

Heva put away her blade. “It was.”

“Effective.”

The Hobgoblin grandmother’s smile spread across her crimson skin. “High praise from you, Merk.”

“Can’t say the same for this lot.” She hopped off the earth mage and sauntered back to their team.

Heva followed, letting the fire mage get back to his feet and help his teammate. They were no doubt assembled by the sergeants rather than arriving as a party with a history of fighting together. Still, Heva had seen worse.

“You did good, recruit.” Cade helped the swordsman back to his feet as they neared. “Go see the healers and head back to the sergeants to see how you did.”

“Th-thanks,” he murmured, his eyes still a bit distant. “C’mon, Pem.”

The two swordsmen limped off, joining the mages at the gates they had just entered through.

“Half-glass break!” announced a voice from somewhere up above. Heva knew the tone, if not the speaker. “Half-glass break! Rest up, Legion!”

“Aye,” Merk muttered. “Blind gods, they’re loud. You think they take a shoutin’ Skill?”

“It’s acoustics,” Heva explained. “The Henaari built this place to amplify certain spots by shaping the wood in a certain way. My daughter says that they can almost sing the wood into place, isn’t that something?”

“Mhm sure, fascinatin’,” Merk licked her lips. “Can I tell ya now?”

“After we get some food,” Cade grumbled. “I’m starving.”

“Noctis’ tits!” Merk shouted, all but pulling out her hair. “Why do I bother with you lot?”

“You love us,” Stellis said without a smile.

“I don’t love that one,” Merk pointed at the Orc.

Cade grinned, her tusks bright against her dark green skin. “Maybe we can go ask someone else what’s going on?”

Merk made a sound like a teapot about to boil over.

Heva smiled. “Let the woman speak, Cade. She’s liable to burst if she doesn’t.”

Stellis snorted. “You’re not wrong.”

Merk stopped her strange sound and stuck her hands on her hips. “I am not.”

The three of them simply stood still, sweating in their robes and armor, watching their smallest friend as the unconscious recruits were pulled from the arena.

“Oh, c’mon!” Merk shouted. “It’s the Fiend! He’s back!”

Heva swallowed, and the two warriors straightened their spines. She wasn’t the only one that was sore that they hadn’t been selected to join the special teams. “With everyone else?”

“I spoke to Cev, who talked with Lord Knacht hisself! Cev said they’ve just about all returned now, and they’re hustlin’ about the city.”

“Did Cev find out what they were after?” Cade asked.

“Cev said Knacht wouldn’t say, but he heard mumblin’ from the Glyphworks. A strange voice all scratchy-like. It said somethin’ about the Fiend and an assault.”

“Another mission?” Stellis leaned closer, looming over the short Goblin. “Are they assembling another team?”

“Don’t crowd me, Jor! You and Cade are worse than the giants. At least they give a girl some space.” Merk adjusted her jacket. “No news on teams or nothin’, but I heard that the Fiend’s been goin’ around talkin’ to everyone. Giants, Henaari, even the Legions. That big Golem is followin’ him around.”

Heva swallowed. “The Exults?”

“No, not them. They’re still doin’ that stuff at the school. The other one. Golden Giant.”

“Karys? Did you forget the Chancellor’s name, Merk?”

“Analyze is a waste of a Skill,” the Goblin shrugged. “Anyways, I heard one last thing, and this is a hundred percent real. Got it from Ulfic. He went with the Fiend to Levantier. Can you believe that?”

“I can believe anything of that man,” Heva said quietly. “What did the Autarch do?”

“We all heard what he did,” Cade said quietly. “The question is how.”

They’d all seen the notifications. Best they could figure, the entire Continent had seen it.

The Fiend had killed a goddess.

“Ulfic said he ate the moon, too. Made this monster like a shadow out of his soul, then lifted a golden city out of a jungle, hollowed out a mountain with a single punch, and made the Grandmaster mages kneel.”

Stellis laughed. “How many drinks did Ulfic have when you spoke? There’s no jungles in the mage city.”

“It’s true! Ulfic was stone sober, too!”

“Recruitment Team Number Six!”

All of them went silent, even Merk, as the gates across the arena opened up once again and admitted a huge man-shape. It was made of stone and was covered in strange sigaldry, and its heavy face was as stern as the mountain it had been carved out of.

Eidolon Exult, Heva thought.

“That is us, Exult,” Cade said. “How might we help you?”

“It is me that you’d be helping.” A young Half-Orc slipped ahead of the Eidolon, dressed in dark blue battle robes and the purple cowl of a member of the Fiend’s Claw. An elite unit within the Legion. The cowl was as much a badge of office as the mithril one pinned to his chest. He smiled at them all.

“Lieutenant Loquis?” Stellis asked.

“Captain now, actually,” he said, adjusting the badge on his robes.

“Captain, sir,” Stellis corrected herself. “How can we help you, then?”

“I watched your last testing. That was impressive work. You’ve got a very good team here. Well balanced between offense and defense.” The captain nodded as if he were ticking off items on a list.

“We have worked hard at our Skills,” Cade said, without a hint of pride. For her, it was just a fact.

“Believe me, it’s been noticed.” The captain smiled and held out another cloak and cowl. “How do you all like the color purple?”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Pit’s destination was the Bastion of Atlantes, a fortress that Felix and the people of Elderthrone had built around the huge trunk of the Elder Spirit Tree. It was a soaring testament to the ingenuity of the city’s people and was surrounded by an expansive garden. The Bastion filled the top of the cliff, standing on both sides of the wide river that cascaded off the far edge. The garden was filled with beautiful trees, blossoms, and the enticing scent of growing things in the dark, rich loam.

Pit landed in a clearing with as much delicacy as he could muster, but for all his Agility and Dexterity, there was only so much grace he could pack into a frame the size of three caravan wagons. His wings clipped a few hedges, and his left paw crushed some sort of flower bed, but the green-robed workers around him only smiled and waved. He chirruped at them all, ears twitching uncertainly. He was nervous, but that was no reason to be rude.

Scylla was waiting for him.

The pale tenku was light where Pit was dark, compact where he was bulky, and just…really pretty. She matched the size of an Avum far closer than his gargantuan dimensions, but she did not seem delicate. He knew firsthand that there was power behind those limbs, speed in her wings, and a ferocity in her green gaze that could halt a shadowbeast. A ferocity that made him stumble when she turned those eyes on him.

"Pit. I was just enjoying your garden."

"Yeah?" he asked, looking around. "I like it a lot, too. It's not as full as the gardens in the Halcyon Hold, but⁠—”

“It’s certainly better kept,” Scylla said, nodding at the people all around them.

Those green-robed workers were all over, tending the garden’s various residents, along with several Chanters Pit recognized on sight. All of them had dirt smudging their clothes and sweat on their brows—hard workers, all—but they were clearly paying greater attention to both of them. When Pit met their eyes, they turned and busied themselves, pruning branches and watering garden beds.

"Ahem, well.” Pit clacked his beak together. “Would you, um, would you like to go for a walk?"

"That would be lovely.”

They strolled through the Bastion's gardens, enjoying the summer breeze as afternoon stretched toward evening. The air was wonderful, ruffling his feathers and providing a cool counterpart that did much to erase the memory of thick humidity in the jungles of Jaast. There were others walking the garden paths, too—rich petitioners and common folk alike, all of them enjoying the summer gardens atop the Eye of Elderthrone.

Pit would have rather been alone, but of course, the area was open to the public. Everywhere except for the portions where the gardeners tended to the food for the city. Due to Atlantes’ aura of fecundity, all flora and fauna flourished under its influence, so the harvesting was a frequent requirement. Added onto that, Felix’s Titles and bond with the Tree meant folks harvested more effectively than they would alone. It was a pantry for the entire city.

The paths were fairly wide, though Pit found himself squeezing more than once, as his two sets of wings or swishing tail would jostle a tree or row of shrubbery. It was nice to see that the gardens had grown, though. It sprawled, far more orderly than in his Halcyon Hold, but still vibrant and full of flickering motes of life Mana.

"It smells delightful," Scylla said, sniffing the air. "This in particular. What is it?"

Pit blinked, surprised to see the sapling shooting out of the center of the path. “That…is definitely a Spirit Tree.”

“But not yours,” she said, looking between it and the massive trunk that loomed in the distance.

The Atlantes had brown bark, and though it flickered with brilliant colors at times, it could never be mistaken for the sapling before them. It looked as if it was chipped from pure obsidian, and the small emerald leaves on its thin branches were rounded with serrated edges—very different from the trefoil lobes of the Atlantes.

Pit whistled in confusion. "Oh! Hi there!” He interrupted a passing Chanter with rolled up sleeves and dirt caked fingernails. "Could you tell me when this grew?"

"The Spirit Sapling?" The man smiled and untucked a pair of gloves from his belt. "They sprouted yesterday, but they’ve been growing fast."

Pit poked at the sapling, making it wobble. "Are there others?"

"Yes! This morning, silver Saplings broke through the soil on the eastern edge of the Bastion's gardens." The Chanter smiled, clearly pleased. "The Emperor stopped by earlier and explained that he'd just planted the Altissima Anima in Jaast, and these obsidian fellows are from the Ourea Anima in Levantier. So we should expect some rapid growth in the next few days, perhaps even more Spirit Fruit, if we are lucky!"

"Thank you," Pit said.

"It was my pleasure." The Chanter bowed to them both and left, tugging his gloves on as he went down a separate path.

Scylla tilted her head. "Spirit Fruit?”

"A tasty thing, the size of your head," Pit said, trying not to drool at the memory. "I haven't had one in months, but they use them here to make Essence Draughts. I don't know what the other Spirit Trees would produce, though. Maybe something better."

"Spirit Trees…Spirit Fruit…old legends come alive again." Scylla shook her head, but her Spirit was grim. "The Nymean Empire returned."

A knot of uncertainty twisted at Pit's gut. "Ah, right. Um, would you like to fly? The gardens can be boring. We could do a quick tour of the city!”

The corners of her beak pitched upward. “A tour would be pleasant.”

“Great!”

They took wing over Elderthrone.

Pit led Scylla on a looping tour of his home, and the two of them made for an interesting sight. They flew fast, but not so swiftly that their powerful wingbeats would disrupt those people below—people that pointed in concern and delight, many recognizing Pit’s silhouette against the emerald canopy. Scylla flitted around him like a white songbird around the wingspan of a raptor, and he found himself a touch envious of her grace. She moved like liquid, flowing between the air currents as wind Mana poured from her feathers. Pit simply dominated the air around him, his Skill claiming a mastery of air Mana as all four of his wings beat in complementary patterns.

"So, that's where most people live," Pit said, pointing down to an orderly sprawl of residential buildings. "The Wings. And that is where people trade, called the Scale. And then there's other stuff," he said, forgetting the various terms. "But that icy place right there, that's the Bitterward."

"And who lives there?" Scylla asked.

"Frost Giants."

"Truly?"

"Yeah. They used to be bad guys, but now they're our friends. Felix and I, we made that happen. We're big on making friends."

"So I see."

Pit blushed as her green eyes locked with his, and he swiftly looked away. "Oh, and that right there is the Henaari area, the Ravenshold.”

He pointed with his black paw to a walled compound made entirely of wood carved with feathers, vines, and flowers. The term “wall” was misleading, however—there was a barrier around their district, but it was covered in carved, open archways that allowed anyone access to their areas where they crafted their various goods and performed their shadow plays. Crowds of all sorts were often among the Henaari, which Pit understood to be quite different than in other places around the Continent. Most civilized places despised them, for some reason.

"Oh, and outside the walls, we hunt the forests and harvest the various nearby Domains.”

“And those mountains?" Scylla asked.

"Oh, that's just another range. On the other side is an old ruined city called Shellim. We don't really go there, though. One day, maybe, we'll bring it back. But that's not up to me." Pit shrugged.

Scylla, however, stared at the mountains, her gaze fixed on the peaks. "There is something… odd about them. Do you not feel that?"

Pit followed her gaze. "No, I... Well, one time, we felt something rumbling around those mountains, but... I mean, that was back when the Archon was here doing his whole evil villain thing. We haven't felt anything like that since. Maybe all you're feeling now is, like, aftershocks?"

"Perhaps," she said. "And perhaps I am simply distracted by this." She flew ahead and gestured with a paw at the canopy of branches and leaves that arced high above them. They flew between beams of sunlight filtering through that emerald canopy.

Pit smiled. "Yeah, Atlantes is amazing and has a couple auras that take some getting used to. Oh! Uh, stay here for a sec!"

Pit dove, leaving Scylla hovering in place, her Spirit cloudy with confusion. Can’t believe I almost forgot!

He dropped toward the Eye of Elderthrone, where several purple-cowled Claw members were pushing out a giant satchel as big as a wagon. Two of them shouted as Pit neared, hauling up a pair of heavy leviathan bone handles at the top. Pit swooped down, paws extended, and grasped it before flaring Ouranic Dominion.

"Thank you! Goodbye!"

The claw members were hurled back, tumbling only slightly before fetching back onto their feet. They laughed, waving as Pit ascended into the sky again.

"What is that?" Scylla asked when he'd finally returned, bearing the heavy leather satchel. She sniffed. "That smells... " She cleared her throat. "It smells quite good."

"I thought we could have a meal."

She brightened. "I would like that."

"Great! Follow me!"

They flew ahead, navigating through the twisting branches of Atlantes. Normally, this was quite simple, but with the added weight, Pit found himself even more ungainly than usual. Scylla moved with her usual grace, flying around him in dizzying circles. She seemed quite upbeat with the prospect of food.

"Thalgrym and the Guardian Beasts will be here soon. Do we have their accommodations set?"

"Um, yeah," Pit said, pulling on the satchel to avoid a branch that curled below them as they flew. "We're gonna set them up, uh, here in the Spirit Tree. I already talked to Felix and Karys about that."

"I see. That should suffice," she said, looking around them. "I don’t mean to rush you. You’ll have plenty of time to prepare. There have been some delays due to an argument about the Manaships.”

Pit jerked his head toward her. “Manaships? Those fancy ones? They aren’t thinking of trying to get those through the Shadowgate, are they?”

“No, thankfully. Wonderment convinced them that it was impossible, lest they wish to sunder the bounds of the gate and be deposited into the Void directly. That quieted most arguments.”

Wonderment would know, Pit thought with a grimace. That’s how those particular Korvaa got stuck in the Void in the first place, generations ago. “The Shadowgates are stronger than a Dark Passage, but I certainly wouldn’t risk it. So what’s the holdup?”

“Thalgrym is convinced we need them. He’s provisioning the ships for an overland trip with the less able fliers."

"To meet us in Amaranth?" Pit asked, incredulous. "How long will that trip take them?"

"Entirely too long, I fear.”

“Why bother, then? They should stay and protect the Halcyon Hold and Euphonia.”

Scylla swooped through a twist of branches, tightening her wings before snapping them back outward to slow back to Pit's speed. "The weaponry on those ships are highly advanced. You will face Manaships from the Hierocracy during your assault. We need a counter."

"We're the counter," Pit said, landing finally atop a large, thick branch nearer the trunk of Atlantes. He dropped the satchel onto its nearly flat surface, and its contents bulged. "Those Manaships won't stand a chance. Not against all of us."

Fruit spilled out of the satchel as it tipped, pouring into a small mountain of delicious rinds, leaves, and meats.

Scylla stopped a piece of welka melon with her pale paw before it rolled off the edge. "You have more confidence in our power than is warranted. You forget that they will be bolstered by the Divine."

Pit leaned forward and bit a leafy stalk in half. "I don’t forget anything," he said between bites. "Eat up."

Pit tucked into the meal with abandon, chomping on whole vegetables and fruits in each of his enormous bites. Immediately, however, he slowed, worried that he was grossing out his new friend—until he saw Scylla tear into the mountain of food like a mole burrowing into the earth. Pit's eyes shone, more than impressed as Scylla devoured several roasted Glitterhogs in rapid succession.

Oh no, she's hogging the lurberries, too. Those were his favorite. I can't tell her to save me some, right? Felix says that's rude. She's a guest.

"So your Companion raised this Tree?" Scylla asked, slowing down.

Pit nodded, but couldn't quite ignore the way her tone dripped with disdain when she said the word 'Companion'. "You don't really like him, do you?"

Scylla's crest lifted and her ears twitched. "I don't know him, Pit. I suppose it is unfair to say that I dislike him. I am, in fact, quite impressed that Felix let you keep your Authority." She breathed heavily through her nose. More disdain. "But what right does he have to let you do anything? You are the Stormlord of Sunara and your own person.”

"I mean, yeah, I am. But he's the Emperor."

"Even so.” Her crest lowered, and she shook her head. “I apologize, Pit. All my life I have been taught that the Companion bond is a vile construct. The Nym betrayed us all when they fell to the Divine and their mortal pawns. We Chimera have never forgotten that."

"Wait, mortal pawns? What are you talking about? I thought it was just monsters and the gods until the Ruin happened."

Scylla's eyes widened. "Do you not know of the Descendants of the Deathless?"

"Deathless?”

“An old name for the gods, coined during the war."

"Okay, slow down. Which war? I've heard of the War of Creation, and then there was some sort of elemental thing, plus the Nymean fight against the gods. Which one are we talking about?"

"The War of Creation is something we know little of, so I am not speaking on that. The elemental conflict is entirely unfamiliar to me."

"They might be the same thing," Pit admitted. "Everything is kind of hazy, to be honest. My only points of reference are cryptic comments from a crazy Primordial and this one frozen mountain."

Scylla tilted her head. "Mountain?"

"Long story. Basically, Felix and I kicked the ass of a super elemental.”

“And this elemental told you of another war?”

“Like I said, it might be the same as the Creation one. I don't know. Elementals got beat down by the gods after they sided with the Primordials."

"Punishment for their transgressions," Scylla said with a grim nod. "That sounds like the Divine."

"Sounds like a bunch of buttheads." Pit ate an entire Glitterhog, bones and all. "So, you were talking about the Nymean War, then?"

"I was. The gods were called the Deathless for obvious reasons, but mostly because of their Vessels. No matter how often they were defeated, a new Vessel arose."

"Vessels." Pit's hackles rose at the word. "I thought not everyone can be a Vessel?"

"That's correct. The power of the Divine cannot be channeled by mortals lesser than a Grandmaster, not unless they have something else fortifying their Aspects. The result otherwise is rapid deterioration and gruesome death. In fact, that is often how the Nym would defeat the gods' vessels, through sheer attrition. It was a costly tactic.”

“Were the Descendants different then?”

“Only a little. Our oral records tell us that they would last years as a Vessel if they weren't required to actively channel Divinity. Months, if otherwise, and the gods always pressed their Vessels to the breaking point.”

"Oh,” Pit breathed with a little relief. “I thought you were going to say they were Unbound.”

Scylla pondered that. "I have never heard any conjecture that they were. It's highly unlikely. The gods hate the Unbound, especially the ones that founded the Golden Empire."

"Wait, I heard that before." Pit chewed thoughtfully. "Two Unbound that founded the Golden Empire, but I thought the ritual that summoned them always brought nine. Where did the others go?"

"The legends say that all but two died in the original conflicts, well before the gods were even involved. The founders of the Golden Empire never fought the gods directly—they had long since passed on from this realm. A portion of their power slipped into the bloodlines of the Nym, however, greatly strengthening them." Scylla devoured a green kletan, rind and all.

"Bloodlines?” Pit warbled curiously. “Wait, Descendants… Are they actually the literal children of the gods?"

"No," Scylla said. "Thankfully, that is a lie they told. Something about them, however, some secret lost to time, allowed them to work better as Vessels. And now they're gone, Ruined, same as the Nym, a final act of petty vengeance from the gods for those who failed them.

"My point," she said, pushing aside her food, "is that the Companion bond is as dangerous as it is useful, but it harms us more than our mortal counterparts."

"Yeah, maybe. I can't lie, we've both been hurt by it, but we've saved each other way more often. Without Felix, none of us would be alive. If I couldn't channel his Skills with our bond, then I'd have never claimed the Seat and Seal of the Halcyon Hold."

Scylla sat back. "Perhaps.”

“There's no perhaps about it: Noctis would have killed us.”

“You greatly downplay your own role in things." She looked up at him. "You are a hero, Pit. Shaper of Chaos."

Pit swallowed and threw on his Mask. Instantly, he was no longer a giant tenku, but a small Dire Hound that pawed at the remnants of a Glitterhog. "I couldn't save Rakia or Ondine."

The guardian beast known as Rakia Yeva had been a blind Korvaa Seer, and she had sacrificed her life to give Pit enough time to save the Sylphaean Unbound.

A task he had fumbled at the finish line.

"We all failed, Pit. Do not think that you can claim all the guilt, nor shoulder all the responsibility. I earned both, and I will fight my way to rectify them." She pushed aside the hog carcass, and suddenly her green eyes and white feathered face were there, level with his own. "I am proud that you sit upon the Halcyon Hold."

Scylla bowed her head until her pale yellow beak touched the bark. Pit sat back on his haunches, unsure what to say.

"Thank you." He held up the last lurberry in his mouth. "Are you going to eat this?"

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Felix leaned heavily against the railing, praying that it wouldn’t snap.

He was tired, though it was a weariness of the Mind rather than the Body. Official business with Karys had taken hours of his day to handle. Not having been there for several days, there had been a lot to do in the city, though most of the bureaucratic nonsense was easily handled by his Chancellor. What Felix had needed to get done was a lot more personal and pertinent. He had spent those hours talking to the various groups in his city: Frost Giants, Henaari, the Legion, Chanters, even the Yttin and Nagafolk. Every group had listened as he spun out his tale, explaining what he needed them to do.

Every group had agreed, without hesitation.

Felix’s grip tightened on the railing, sending small cracks across its surface. He forced himself to ease up—shattering his new balcony wouldn’t eliminate his stress or absolve his guilt. He’d given his people the information they’d needed, and they had agreed of their own free will. Felix just hoped he could keep up his end of the bargain.

He was happy to be back in his rooms now, overlooking Elderthrone from a balcony that he had shaped into the cliff no more than an hour previous. For a long time, he hadn't been able to affect the rock that made up the cliff around his Stronghold, but since returning from Levantier, it was as easy as breathing.

Grandmaster truly is a different realm.

Then again, he wasn't a normal Grandmaster, was he?

The balcony stuck out a dozen yards from the cliff, forged from his new Fiendstone. It looked much like the houses several hundred feet below him in the district known as The Foot, but it was more dense by an order of magnitude. Stronger, he assumed, though he'd yet to test it. Felix had taken his time designing it, too. Normally his style was stout and simplistic—as a descriptor, ‘crude’ certainly wouldn't be off the mark. But this one was inspired by the balconies he'd seen in the Wellspring Keep and the Scalebreaker Citadel.

It was graceful, the bottom of it arching outward into a patterned belly before rising up into a balustrade of delicate arches that reminded him of spun glass. He'd even darkened the tiles beneath his feet, turning the normally shimmering surface into a matte texture, separating them into distinct, hexagonal tiles. The more opalescent nature of Fiendstone stayed on the railing and external curvature, and it caught the light of the summer sun like a gemstone. The balcony contained very little, just the two chairs he'd shaped out of wood. They were freestanding and able to be moved about easily, as was the table between them. The remnants of a meal laid atop its polished surface, brought up from the kitchens Karys had established at some point.

Behind him, a tall arched doorway led into his apartments—easily ten times the size of his home back in Florida. It had two sitting rooms, three bedchambers, a study, a feast hall, and even a miniature library. All of it was cavernously empty, though. He spent so little time in Elderthrone that Felix had never had the time to furnish it all.

Will that change, if we survive this?

He'd crafted the balcony out of boredom, but mostly he had wanted to see his city. It was bustling now, filled with people in the streets in the late afternoon sunlight, moving across the Scale, the Wings, even the Bitterward and the Ravenshold. At the far end, the residential and commercial sections spread outward beyond the original Fiendstone battlements. They gathered close around a tall structure on a distant hill, the Euphony. It was a school where Zara and her people taught harmonics to his growing populace. A populace he had to protect.

His Mind raced through ideas, moving pieces around the mental map he and his friends had constructed. He had a lot to organize, so many threads to weave into what they had to attempt. A hand crossed his chest, wrapping around him from behind.

"Breathe, Felix."

He leaned back into Vess' arms and exhaled. "I am."

"You're not. You've been holding that breath for the last two minutes."

He turned. "Really?"

Vess peered into his eyes, and the light caught on the gold ring through her dark brown irises. "You are on edge. Trust your people. We are all working towards the same goal."

"I know." He let himself be led back into one of the two chairs. Vess sat him down in one before she took the other, holding his hand all the while. “Telling folks only fractions of the plan doesn’t sit well with me. They should know everything they’re getting into.”

“They know enough to make an informed choice. We ensured that.”

Vess had foregone her Arcanite armor when they'd met for a late lunch and was now wearing a loose blouse and flowing trousers that hugged her thighs, even as they left her joints free for movement. Her dusky skin did not seem so dark compared to his black scales, nor did her brown hair woven into a thick braid seem less than honeyed loam compared to his midnight locks. “To tell them more would endanger everyone. That plan must remain in pieces.”

Felix scrubbed his face with his free hand and groaned in protest. Vess just smiled at him.

“Why do you have to do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Make me feel better. I had a good brooding session going on and everything.”

Her smile brightened by several hundred watts, cheek dimpling in a way that made him glad he was already sitting down. “You chose to court me, Emperor Nevarre. All choices have consequences.”

A laugh squeezed out of his chest, and Felix felt the last vestiges of his sour mood drift away. “Emperor. Why doesn’t it sound so bad coming from you?”

“Why does it sound bad coming from others?”

Felix chewed his lip. “I dunno. You’d think I’d be used to all the Titles.”

“I think of them as new tools with which we can better serve our people. A hammer, a lathe, a⁠—”

“A weapon.”

She nodded, but her smile faded. For all her casual dress, however, her spear still leaned against the doorframe, easily within reach. “‘In war or peace, a weapon remains to hand, to remind Threats and allies alike.’”

“Who said that?”

“My mother.”

Felix squeezed her hand gently. "How are you feeling since Sunara?"

"Ah, well. We've... After everything that happened, the battles and the Manaships, encountering the Chimera city within the storms, and then the gods..." Vess shook her head. "It has been a lot to take in.”

“The Chimera. I'm still surprised that there were so many. Happy, though," Felix said.

“As am I. They were exceptionally useful during our battle against Noctis and Vellus, as were the Sylphaen and the Korvaa. Their Races were more numerous than I have seen anywhere else. In my studies, the Sylphaen were all but extinct, and even the Korvaa were on the decline. I was happy to be proven wrong."

“Personally, I couldn't believe that Estrid and her children were still there. It was a shock when Pit told me,” Felix admitted. It was more than that, but he didn’t have the words to properly convey how he felt. Guilt featured prominently, of course. Guilt because Bateo had died due to Felix’s failures, but also because he’d never figured out how to return to the Void and save them.

"Do you wish to meet them?" Vess asked.

"No, I don't think I can. Not yet." Felix took a breath. "I’m happy that they survived. It's a weight off my Mind I didn't realize was there."

"Did Pit tell you how they were saved?"

"He did.”

“This Ondine is powerful. If she can breach the Realms with a Skill, then I fear what the gods may do with such power in their Vessel.”

“You're not wrong. Pit mentioned that she took on Noctis directly. That takes power… and guts.”

“I did not have the pleasure of meeting the Unbound, but she was well regarded by literally everyone that knew her. Her Guardian Beasts died for her safety, and Thalgrym and his ilk would have followed suit, were she not whisked away so suddenly.”

“Thalgrym. I’ve heard about that guy. Is he going to be a problem to Pit holding Authority in Sunara?”

“Perhaps, but the Chimera have taken well to Pit. Thalgrym was a bit harsh to start, but after the battle against the Stormwardens, all of Sunara respects Pit a great deal.”

“That's good to hear. He's still beating himself up for losing Ondine.”

“We all lost her. Now we all shall get her back."

Vess squeezed his hand, and he squeezed right back. They both sat there, quietly contemplating the summer sky and the distant purpled mountains as a cool breeze swept the cliffs.

After a long moment, Vess laughed. Felix lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

"I cannot believe that you have Hatchlings in your Mind Skill."

“Oh. I was wondering when you’d mention that.” Felix smiled. "You make quite the impression."

"Oh, I am aware," she said with a sly smile. "Unless you erect statues of all the girls?"

Felix flushed at the memory. When they had traversed the Shadowgate to Sunara originally, they had found the exit portal near a fountain with a golden statue of Vess. Evie still wouldn't stop talking about it.

"Just you," he admitted.

Vess smiled wide. "My father commissioned a statue of my mother when they were courting, you know."

"Really?"

"Truly. Though his family has ruled in Pax’Vrell for generations, my mother was out of his league. She was a decorated Dragoon Captain, known for fighting the hardest of battles and winning the greatest of victories. She had even reached Journeyman Tier before she was twenty years of age."

"Oh, wow."

"She was a force of nature." Vess smiled at her hands, still threaded with Felix's. "I learned the spear from her. She was everything I aspired to become."

Felix lifted her chin. "You're not doing too badly yourself, either."

"I know. I think she would be proud." She blinked away the brightness in her eyes. "Back then, she had many suitors. My father tried many ways to get her attention, and all of them failed. Until he commissioned the statue.”

“Did she just really like sculpture?"

Vess rolled her eyes, but her smile never wavered. "Art is revealing, Felix, and it tells the viewer as much about the artist as it does the subject. While my father did not craft it himself, he chose the pose the artisan was to portray, detailing everything down to the look in her eyes. When it was done, the statue was exquisite. He set it out to be displayed at the training grounds so that all of the dragoons would see it every morning.”

“And that worked?"

"It did. Many in the Order had long told her to court the ducal heir, but they were the sort that were impressed by Titles and fortune. My mother always said that the statue would have fallen flat, as many other attempts had in the past, were it not for the hands."

Vess shifted her grip, moving her hands until they were fixed upon his scaled forearm, as if she were set to toss him. Felix watched, bemused.

"My mother visited the artisan, who insisted that my father had been extremely specific in how the hands were to be placed. That, my mother told me, was when she had decided that he was worth her time."

"Because of her hand placement?" Felix asked.

"Because he noticed how she, and only she, placed her hands upon her spear. It was part of her technique, an archaic one used only by her. She told me later that it was when she started falling in love with him."

"Oh, man." Felix leaned back as Vess released his arm from the same grip that he now recognized as how she held her spear. “That’s pretty adorable.”

“I agree.”

"My mom didn't mention my dad too much. It hurt her, I think. She would only insist that he was a kind man. He never had a sculpture made or anything, but my mom always loved the ocean.” Felix smiled at a slew of memories that tumbled past his Mind. “She’d always wanted to live on the beach, but we could never afford the prices there. When they settled down and got a house, well before they had me and my sister, it was as close as they could manage, but it was still miles from the water.

“My dad worked as a welder for some marine company, doing repairs offshore. He was near the water all the time, but he hated the open ocean. Still, it paid the bills, and every night before he'd come home, he'd walk the beaches near his job, collecting sea glass.”

“Sea glass?” Vess asked.

“Bits of glass that had been tumbled by the waves and sand until they rounded out into colorful pebbles. My mom had told him that the glass was beautiful.” Felix grinned. “He only ever grabbed blue and green because they reminded him of her eyes. Last I knew, she still has them all. Jars and jars of small, rounded glass. A sea, frozen in place on top of her mantle, that she could look at any time she wished.”

Vess closed her eyes. “How beautiful that love is the same, even worlds apart.” She opened them again and gazed into the sky. “How comforting.”

For a long moment, the two of them stared into the sky as it darkened. Felix sighed. Somehow, without his noticing, the tightness in his chest had loosened, as if the weight he’d been carrying rested on the balcony around them.

A peace stole into his Spirit. Perhaps it was because they were reminiscing, but it reminded him of his mother’s house. The sea was bitter, and forested mountains filled the horizon, but despite being nothing like where he'd grown up, Elderthrone felt like home.

"I worry that we are set to lose this place," Vess murmured. Felix turned, and she was already looking at him, her golden brown eyes furrowed as she worried at her lip. "What we plan to do is far more dangerous than what we have attempted before. We are going up against a Paragon.”

"Mauvim said that, too."

"Yes, and she was rude, from what you told me, but not exactly wrong. But we have options. We can overcome our disadvantages, if we do this right.”

“The list, yes. I've already given it to Karys. We're going to see how much we can get done until it's time to bind to the Chalice.”

“Less than a week is not a lot of time," she said.

Felix tipped his head back. The cliff top stretched up a couple hundred feet. "Do you think we're doomed?"

Vess reached back out to him, threading her fingers through his again. He looked back down at her. "We have survived worse than long odds, Felix. I think it is fair to say that we have survived exclusively long odds.” She grinned. "Together, we can handle anything."

Felix leaned forward, meeting her between their chairs, and let go of his troubles for a few glorious seconds.

Until a delicate knocking interrupted them.

He sighed. "We should probably get that."

"Or we can ignore it," Vess suggested.

“I like that idea a lot," Felix said, before groaning. "It's Zara. And Mauvim."

Without another word, the two of them stood up, separating from one another as they straightened their clothing. Vess retrieved her spear. In moments, they were at the door to his apartment. Felix opened it to find Zara and Mauvim waiting there in the large hallway beyond.

Zara blinked in surprise. "Vessilia! I wasn't aware—I apologize for interrupting.”

“I was just leaving." Vess leaned over and gave Felix a kiss. "I'll see you tonight?"

He smiled. "Yes. Don't be late."

She walked out, inclining her head to Zara and Mauvim both, though Felix noticed it was a touch shallower to the old Chanter. She's still annoyed at Mauvim. For my sake.

That only widened his smile.

"We've come to talk," Mauvim said, "about the Hierophant."

Felix's smile withered, but he stepped out of the way. "Let's go to my study."

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Felix's study was as bare bones as the rest of his apartment. There were some chairs and couches that had been hauled down and even a large potted plant in the corner. As nice as they were, set against the cold fireplace and empty built-in bookshelves, they only made the room look more unfinished. Manalamps studded the bare walls, but two large windows looked out over Elderthrone, casting enough light that they weren’t needed.

Zara and Mauvim followed him in, and he gestured for them to sit while he took up position by the fire. With a quick flex of his Will, he shaped wood into place and lit it aflame.

"So," he said, "what exactly about the Hierophant do you have to tell me?"

Mauvim adjusted herself in the chair, leaning against her crooked cane as if she couldn't find a comfortable place to settle. "I came to warn you again, this time with someone you may listen to."

Felix glanced at Zara, but the woman's face was politically neutral. He snorted. "If you want to convince me that this is dangerous, you don't have to. I know. I heard you before. It doesn't mean we can stop.”

“I know her."

Felix paused. "The Hierophant?"

"Yes. Before her rise as the Hierophant—” Mauvim took a fortifying breath. “She was a SorSarir."

Felix folded his arms. "Really?"

"Yes. Her name was Ocallo Marzul, and I met her several times in clandestine choristries around the Continent. Students would gather there to learn the harmonics at the feet of Adepts and Masters.”

“Like the one I met you in, Zara?”

The Naiad inclined her head. “That was the intended purpose of that space, once upon a time. The choristry in Haarwatch hadn’t been used like that for at least a century.”

“And for good reason. Few of the choristries still stand, because their locations were known to all SorSarirs. When I was a girl, there were multiple in every city. This was centuries ago, mind you. A different time.” Mauvim’s face tightened. "When Ocalla turned on us, she made sure that those were the first places to be raided.”

“Why?" Felix asked.

"Personally, I am not sure we'll ever know. Politically, however..." Mauvim studied her cane, twisting it about in her hands. "The K’vell people of northern Andiva have a tradition. The steppes get terribly desolate in the winter, and it requires hard decisions to survive. When the frost gets to be the worst, they place all of their sins done in those dark months down onto paper. They write them out. Those strips of paper are then tied to an Avum that's driven out of the village to starve on the steppes. They believed that this absolved them of all their evil deeds, and in so doing, would bring herald the sun’s return."

Mauvim spread her hands. "Ocalla was a student of history, always was. She knows this tradition well. When she had her opportunity to rise in power, she made use of it. The Chanters are the Avum, a sacrificial pawn for the hierophant to blame for all the ills that plague her rule.”

“We are an internal enemy," Zara pointed out, "meant to rouse the passions of the faithful. Far easier to galvanize them to action that way, while she took control of Territory after Territory."

Mauvim sighed. "Yes, far easier to blame us than to fix anything."

"All right," Felix said, "but how does this help us in our planning?”

“Ocalla is smart. She will be prepared for us, and that means we need multiple avenues of attack."

"I've already planned for that," he said. "Zara, you're aware of this."

"I am. I have told Mauvim as much as I can already."

"Not nearly enough," Mauvim chastised, pointing at the both of them. "Emperor or not, boy, I cannot commit my people to this war if I cannot be part of its councils. Too much is at risk⁠—"

"Do you trust Zara?" he asked, interrupting her.

"Yes, I do."

“With your life?” he insisted.

To Mauvim’s credit, she didn’t hesitate. “I do.”

"Then prove it. Trust that she has your best interests in mind. You couldn't stop Ocalla before, but I will."

The ancient SorSarir rapped her cane on the floor. "You cannot be everywhere, boy. Your bonuses as Emperor will not matter if a Heirei demolishes the entire Legion. We will need more than just multiple fronts. We will need leaders capable of handling the might of the Hierocracy themselves. We will need champions."

Felix frowned. "I have a plan for that, too."

"Truly? Do you care to share where you might pluck such leaders out of the Void?"

"No, not really. You know your part to play. The fewer people who know the whole plan, the better chance we have to pull it off."

Mauvim scowled, but she didn’t dispute that point, at least. "If I know your champions, at least, then we can assist them."

"Zara knows and will make that assistance readily available. I hope that she has your full support."

Mauvim's jowls shook as she tightened her lips. "Of course she does."

Felix smiled, but there was little warmth in it. "Good."

Across the room, a faint blue radiance rippled across the ceiling, like light cast from a pool. Felix flicked his gaze toward the far corner, toward the five-foot-tall pot and the small cutting of mossy bark and tender leaves that sprouted from its center. It was glowing.

Felix raised his voice. "Paxus?"

The spirit's voice wafted across the room, echoing as if shouted down a long tunnel. "Emperor Nevarre, I hate to interrupt you and your…company. I can return at another time."

"No, you're fine.”

The spirit hummed but still didn’t appear. “What I have to say is of a delicate nature."

Zara stood. "That is perfectly fine, Paxus. We will leave you to it, Felix. Mauvim and I can discuss what I can about these champions."

The older Chanter did not move. "The spirit. I have not had a chance to speak with you, Paxus, though my people claim they've tried many times."

"Indeed," the spirit said. He sounded more annoyed than Felix had ever heard.

"Perhaps we could stay and discuss the Fallen Halls. Anything that might help us enhance our records and improve our power for the coming conflict. Advancement is our strongest path through Ruin.”

"I offer what I can," Paxus said, his voice flat. "However, your SorSarirs and I have agreed to a time to speak, and this is not it."

"A glass a day is simply not enough time—" Mauvim started before Felix cut in.

"If I find any pertinent information in our chat, I’ll be sure to pass it along. I want the Chanters stronger just as much as you do—we all need to be our best for what’s to come.”

“I know of several ritual arrays that might be of use. If we can delve into his memories directly⁠—"

“Enough.” Felix gestured and the doors of his apartments opened. “Zara. Mauvim. I will speak with you both later.”

"Of course." The old woman stood, her face pursed as if she’d sucked on a lemon. With sure steps that belied her crooked cane, Mauvim departed, an apologetic Zara on her heels.

Once the doors shut, Felix sighed. "Sorry about that."

The spirit wafted up from the cutting of Abundance Anima, forming swiftly into the shape of a Nymean man. His robes were white with patterns of blue and green worked across the hemline, and his hair was done up in several intricate braids, neatly framing his dark face. He smiled, though his all-blue eyes looked weary as he glanced toward Felix's apartment door.

"I appreciate the privacy," he said.

"Of course. You're looking far more…realistic than usual."

That was an understatement. The Nymean spirit looked as real as the Chanters that had just left, even casting a shadow from the fading light of the windows.

Paxus looked down at himself. "Ah, yes. That is a new development. With Abundance being strengthened by what you’ve restored in Gharion, I've already grown solid enough to affect physical objects while in that Territory. Here in Nagast, however, my reach is only through the cuttings you’ve brought with you. Operating through them costs more power than expected.”

“You used to be a lot more see-through,” Felix agreed. “What changed?”

Paxus smiled. “Do you not know?”

Felix snapped his fingers. "Right. The other Spirit Trees."

"Indeed.”

“I noticed several of them growing up through the gardens. But how does that affect you?"

"The addition of several Spirit Trees to your Grove has greatly bolstered my manifestation as well as my range. From this simple cutting, I can traverse all the way to the base of the mountains without any inconsistency in my projection. I have yet to affect anything physically, however."

"Wait. My Grove?"

"You do not know?" Paxus seemed genuinely surprised before nodding. "I forget how much has been Lost. While connecting the Trees to your Shadowgate network, you've also been connecting the trees to one another. When the roots of Spirit Trees join, they form a Grove, often sharing their power, affinities, and auras with one another to protect themselves and the portion of the Green Wilds they can influence."

"Huh," Felix said. "I had no clue that would happen. Is that why they’ve populated my Mind Skill, too?”

“The one you’ve used to facilitate the Shadowgate network?”

“Not just in the gates,” Felix said, rubbing at his chest. “I checked. The Spirit Trees are still in my Skill when I visit it.”

“Of course they are. Those who sing with the Green Wilds will find that the Green Wilds sings within them.”

Felix pondered that for a moment. “I suppose I’m not opposed to that. Does this Grove have any other benefits?"

"As they grow older, you may see some strengthening of their auras. Not just a combination, but evolution as their power influences one another. Typically, the eldest Trees in a Grove will guide the younger, but you have bypassed much of their early growth. Now it is down to the Spirit Trees themselves and, of course, the Treesinger that brought them together.”

Felix blinked. "Treesinger?" A memory stirred from his recent visions. "That's right. I saw a whole bunch of people singing to a Spirit Tree. Is that what they were called?"

"It is one name for those of us who specialize in the Green Wilds. A venerated position, if highly specialized.”

“Were you one?”

“I was, yes. In my first century, I took care of several Spirit Trees, before I grew more capable with the Chant and found my calling within the greater Harmonies.”

“Is that why you formed a Companion bond with the Abundance Anima?”

“One of many reasons.” Paxus looked fondly at the cutting of his Companion. “She was our protector beneath the waves, and I was her shepherd. By forming the bond with her, I became better able to anticipate and care for her needs, as well as detect issues that may undermine her growth.” His expression soured. “Would that I could have kept her safe from the Creature; instead, she kept me safe.”

“I wouldn’t shoulder too much of that blame,” Felix said, wishing he could pat the man on the back. He settled for shoving his hands into his pockets. “Noctis’ splinter would have escaped eventually. I’m just surprised Abundance kept her restrained as long as she did.”

Paxus’ expression transformed from sour to a beaming smile. Pride radiated off of him like sunshine. “She is mighty and only growing. In the end, I certainly do not regret my choices. Living now as a Mind and Spirit, we’re closer than ever before.”

“Companions are cool like that,” Felix agreed. “Not to change the subject, but why did you refuse to come out with the Chanters here, by the way?"

Paxus sighed, and the light of pride faded away. "The SorSarirs of the Fallen Halls are eager in their pursuit of knowledge. Too eager, at times. Since one of Abundance’s cuttings was placed in the Bastion of Atlantes up above, they have battered me with constant inquiries. Questions I, unfortunately, cannot answer. My memories are scrambled and vague, much like Karys’, and it is painful to revisit some of them.”

“Karys has told me similar things. I’m sorry.”

“You did not send Ruin to burn our people to ash, Lord Unbound. The jagged edges of my memories are the wounds of war, and their shrapnel leaves lacerations on my Mind that take time to heal.” The spirit shuddered. “The Ruin does not leave things neatly in its wake."

"I'm sorry, Paxus. I can ask them to stop."

"No, it's fine. In fact, through their endless questioning, Karys intervened on my behalf. He has instituted a strict schedule for the Chanters to submit questions: one glass every morning. In the meantime, Karys and I have conversed quite a bit, and I’ll tell you that it is refreshing to speak with a learned man.” Paxus folded his hands before himself. “As we’ve both persisted long beyond our allotted time, we have explored many topics as we search our memories. Together, the hurt is not so sharp.”

“Search for what?”

“For whatever we can. Some of it is small things, such as where I lived when I was a boy. Others are far more pertinent and useful to your empire’s endeavors."

“How so?”

"That brings us to the reason I have interrupted you." Paxus gestured, and beside him, an illusory map of the Continent appeared. He pointed at a portion of it that was somewhere along the northern edge of Amaranth’s Territory, near where Levantier and Andiva met in the mountains. "By cross referencing our memories, we have found the Singing Fields, where the Elysian Halls once rested."

Felix strode forward until he was an arm’s length from the map and took in every detail of it. The marker was a blip between the mountains and nowhere near a settlement of note. “This scale is correct?”

“It is.”

If I traveled to Levantier, I could get here within a month. Faster if I could charter a Manaship. “So the capital of the Golden Empire is here?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Paxus dismissed the map. “The Elysian Halls sat upon Etrionn, They Who Hold Up The Sky. It was known as the Walking City, and it moved often. Etrionn would cycle between several locations, walking for months before coming to a rest to accept visitors and trade more easily as it traversed the empire. Here, in these mountains, was the last place I knew it to be when destruction came for me and mine. At the very least, it may provide you the clues to tracking it down.”

“What about the other resting places?”

“We…are still trying to recall them,” Paxus grimaced. “If it still remains here, however, what do you hope to find? According to Karys, it was the epicenter of Ruin’s advent. I do not know what secrets remain within its husk.”

"I’m only looking for one," Felix said. “I believe you’re familiar with the Crown of Elysium.”

He summoned it, and the Crescian Bronze circlet appeared across his brow just as a golden light radiated from him like a halo.

Paxus nodded, a smile on his face. “Of course. One of the Three Treasures. Tools designed to bolster the Aspects of the Herald herself, and in turn, the entire Golden Empire. There is no citizen who does not know of them. If you plan to find the others, though, I must disappoint you. They would have been the first to be consumed by the Ruin⁠—”

"Well," Felix said, before gesturing and flaring Sonata of Dominance. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

The Fiendstone floor parted at his feet, and the shimmering Chalice rose on a platform of shifting hexagonal pillars.

"Ancestors wept! Two of them.” Paxus licked his lips, his expression moving between awe and eagerness in turns. “Have you bonded them both?”

“Still just the Crown. In a few days though, I'll bond the Chalice, too."

Paxus looked between the Regalia pieces, clearly overcome. His realistic form flickered in his excitement, shifting through blue and purple hues as if he were being viewed through a vast distance of water.

"I see now. You hope that the Exalted Bell is in the ruins of the Elysian Halls?"

"I do."

The spirit's eyes flashed, literally, filling with a mixture of shining blue and green gold Mana that lit up Felix's apartments.

"Then we require more investigation," he said. "I will coordinate with Karys to find details on the Halls and check with Abundance to see what she remembers of the Regalia."

"I appreciate it," Felix said. "Any hint of the Bell would go a long way towards preparing for the Ruin."

"You need not praise me, Felix. The recovery of the Three Treasures is paramount. This..." A smile spread across the spirit's face. "This is beyond promising."

"I certainly hope so, Paxus. For now, though, we need to prepare for the war that's on our doorstep."

The spirit inclined his head. "I will help in any way I can.”

“I actually have an idea that might help your reach, actually. But you'll need to ask the Abundance Anima first, to see if she'll agree."

Paxus tilted his head, his expression lighting with interest. "I'm listening."

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

“Finally, we're alone." Felix held Vess closely, ignoring the arcanite armor that prodded at his chest.

"I would not call this alone, exactly," she said, her voice more than dry. Her one arm was wrapped around his upper back, while her other carried her glaive.

“I could get used to flying like this, though,” he said with a smile.

Vess laughed, and her spectral wings sent them soaring through the air. Leaves beat at Felix's head and shoulders, but he ignored them. They were worth seeing her enjoy herself. His smile was undaunted, even as they burst through the thick canopy of the Atlantes Anima—directly into the wild flight path of a hundred Hatchlings.

"Whoa!"

Felix twisted, narrowly avoiding the little Dragons as they zoomed by, in part because of his incredible reflexes, but mostly because all of them swarmed Vess.

A little bugling cheer erupted from the horde, each of them a pocket of brilliant Spirit that radiated joy and a frantic glee as they spotted the Dragoon. They bombarded her, slamming her into a tree branch that creaked ominously. Vess only laughed, reaching for as many as she could, hugging and scratching with wild abandon.

"All right, all right, get off of her," Yintarion shouted, flying down from above. His brilliantly colored scales glinted in the mystical light of hanging Spirit Fruits, which dotted the interior of the canopy like stars across the emerald black. “Took you both long enough to get here.”

“I was detained by my duties,” Vess said, struggling to stand under the press of Hatchlings.

“Same,” Felix added.

“Bah. At least the night time is good for the children. They’re very active once the sun goes down.”

The Dawn Drake looked like a sunrise captured within glinting scales, and his long, serpentine Body flexed as he walked, casting reflections across the leaves. His powerful claws anchored himself to the branch, and his diamond antlers glowed in the Fruit light. He used those antlers to nudge the Hatchlings away from his Companion, forcing them into the air once more before he swam up after them. Vess reignited her spectral wings and followed suit.

Felix found his footing farther down the branch, watching them as they cavorted through the branches. Hatchlings chasing each other and Vess, their joy spilling out into a frantic racing through the twisting boughs of Atlantes' upper canopy.

A thick whoosh of air heralded Pit's arrival before he alighted on the thick branch beside Felix. The thing flexed, shifting beneath his weight, but neither of them said anything. They watched the erratic pathways of the Hatchlings.

"How juvenile,” he scoffed.

"Yes," Felix said in mock severity. "You'd never do that."

"Of course not.”

“You’re far too serious.”

“I am."

Felix rolled his eyes. "You ready to teach these silly children how to fly, then?"

Pit cracked his neck. "Absolutely."

In moments, they were airborne, too, Felix astride Pit's broad back. Flying on channeled currents of air Mana, they blasted past the Hatchlings, nimbly avoiding their weaker frames as Pit bounded across branches and glided and swooped over patches of thick trefoil leaves. The flock of them lifted away from Vess, joining their procession and trailing after Pit.

Felix laughed. If tenku reminded him of puppies at a young age, then Hatchlings were definitely kittens. They flew with a floppy sort of grace, moving faster than they could handle, yet their bones must have been made of rubber. The number of times he watched them collide with branches and bounce off harmlessly was too great to be anything else.

Strangest of all, though, Felix noticed that every single Hatchling had grown. Unlike the ones in his Mind Skill, which were the size of songbirds, these were easily the size of a large dog. Same as Fafnir.

“Pit, didn’t Beef say Fafnir grew on entropic energy?”

“He did.” Pit twisted, bounding after a knot of bright-scaled Hatchlings that scattered in gleeful fear. “The swamps were full of it.”

Hmm. Fafnir had grown as a result of consuming a great deal of entropic energy, something she could only digest because of her connection to Beef. But the Hatchlings had been left alone, with only the Chanters and the Spirit Tree to keep an eye on them.

"Yin!" Felix shouted, and the Dawn Drake came up beside him. "How did they get so big?"

"I'm unsure. I've been testing them much of today, but their growth is unexpected."

“Unexpectedly good or bad?" Vess asked, flying alongside on her spectral wings.

"I suppose we'll see," the Dawn Drake said.

Over the course of the next hour, they attempted to train the Hatchlings. Despite their fondness for following Pit, they rarely maintained any semblance of formation, regardless of how much Vess and Yin commanded them. More often than not, they fragmented into several groups, each rotating in dizzying packs, like enormous murmurating songbirds. If any of them dove into the fray to guide them, the Hatchlings would devolve into a wild chase, some running, some flying, while others wrestled across the trefoil leaves.

Like herding cats.

"Forward face! Fly!" Yin commanded, which only resulted in several of the jewel-bright Hatchlings unleashing their paltry flames on him. Yin roared, startling them into flight once more.

It became a game. Yin would chase them down, while other Hatchlings would sneak behind him and douse his hide with their breath Skill. The effects varied—some splashed like water against his haunches, others like fire, while still more burned with acid or smashed into his scales in a stream of tiny rocks. None of them made a dent in Yin’s Health, but each attack drove the Dawn Drake to greater fury. This, of course, delighted the baby Dragons—even more so when Pit started laughing.

“Stop it, tenku!”

“What? It’s funny!”

Felix couldn't understand the little dragons, but they certainly could understand them, despite pretending not to. Having Pit’s approval drove them wild with glee, and their attacks grew more and more frequent. Vess chased after several, attempting to cajole them into following her instructions, but only a few ever listened to her, and then only for so long. They were very smart, not to mention fast, and with solid Endurances that kept them flying for the entire hour. Even as the second hour started, none looked to be flagging.

Pit and Felix stood to the side, watching the chaos as it unfolded. He considered, not for the first time, using Adamant Discord to snag every Hatchling around them and bring them back, but he worried that he could seriously harm the creatures. Not to mention, he was really enjoying himself. Pit, too, as his large Companion chuckled every time a group of Hatchlings sprayed their meager dragon breath on Yintarion.

"Enough!" Yin cried.

He sped through the air, cutting off Hatchling after Hatchling before he roared. From his jaws, he unleashed a gleaming spray of his own, an ethereal fire that shone like light just peeking over the horizon. The Hatchlings fell, scrambling over one another as the fire surrounded them all in a perfect ring—until all ninety-nine of them huddled atop of a single branch. They stared up at Yin with expressions of nervous fear.

Vess clucked her tongue. "Yin, you didn't have to do that.”

"There was no other way. They must learn."

"What was that?" Pit asked.

"Dawnfire," Yin explained, pushing out his chest and tossing his mane. "It is nothing like it will be once I've evolved into a proper Dragon once more, but still quite strong."

"You didn't have that before.”

"No. I gained enough power to establish the Skill during the wild battle against the Stormwardens."

"Oh," Pit said, a bit quieter. "I suppose there was some good to come from that fight, after all."

Felix tilted his head, his Perception catching something rapidly ascending the branches of the Spirit Tree. "More than a few things, I think. Your friend is here."

Pit's ears perked up just as Scylla burst through the canopy. Her white and russet plumage almost glowing in the light of the Spirit Fruits. As Yin and Vess wrangled the Hatchlings and began talking to them, Scylla landed beside Felix and Pit. She stared at them, and Felix did not imagine the pulse of anger that rippled through her Spirit before she quashed it.

"Good evening, Pit, Shaper of Chaos. And good evening, Emperor Nevarre." She bowed her head, then, after some hesitation, bent a single knee in a deeper genuflection.

"You don't have to do that," Felix said, hopping off of Pit's back. He reached out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Scylla."

The pale Tenku regarded his hand with a tilt of her head before she extended a paw. They shook.

"How have you found your stay in Elderthrone so far?" Felix asked.

"It has been…pleasant. Pit has been more than welcoming.”

“Good. Anything you’ve enjoyed the most?”

Her ears perked up. “The gardens down below are quite amazing. I find myself tempted by the bounty that your gardeners regularly harvest. Far greater than what my home manages."

"Well, you can have whatever you like. I know we have plenty."

"That is…very kind of you," she said.

Even if Felix didn't have his Affinity unlocked, he still would have felt the tension between them. There was a faintly masked sense of dislike and distrust that textured Scylla's Spirit, rippling it with uneven chords that were just shy of hate. Felix could tell the thin layer of civility was an effort on her part, and he had no doubt it was for Pit's benefit, not his.

It made small talk quite awkward.

"Um," he said, clapping his hands. "I understand that Thalgrym is bringing the Guardian Beasts and others back through the Shadowgate. Is there anything we can provide⁠—”

“To help us fight for you better?" she asked sharply. "No, we will be fine.”

Felix, what are you doing? Pit asked through their bond.

I'm not doing anything. She doesn't like me, bud.

I know, but can you, like, fix that?

Felix wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. I can try, buddy, but all I can be is me. She needs to meet us halfway.

I was afraid you were going to say that.

Yin and Vess landed back near the two of them. The Hatchlings were sitting further up the branch, now quietly growling at one another.

Oh, thank God. "Vess. Yin. Is everything good with the Hatchlings?"

"More or less," Yin said, though his long tail lashed angrily. "It will take some time to instill a proper sense of discipline within them.”

“They are strong of Will," Vess added. "Quite literally, their Willpower is quite high compared to the rest of their stats, lagging behind only Agility. It is an enviable quality and will be a great benefit to their Skills—eventually.”

“So long as they live that long,” Yin added with a growl.

Scylla peered at the gathered Hatchlings. "Do they have many Skills?"

"Oh, hello again, Scylla,” Vess said with an easy smile. “They do have a few Skills. Their breath weapon, of course, the ability to fly, as well as some Skills for biting and clawing. The earth-attuned Hatchlings even have a Skill to create rocky clubs with their tails."

Felix hummed to himself, thinking. "Is it normal for so many different attunements in a single hatching?”

Yin bobbed his giant head. "It is not uncommon, especially as their eggs were derived from multiple nests. There is a heavy preponderance of wind and metal-attuned Hatchlings, likely due to the Little Dragoon's efforts in resurrecting them all. The rest are pretty evenly split amongst the common elements of the Green Wilds."

“Given time and training, they will be formidable Drakes,” Vess said proudly.

“A good deal of both will be required,” Yin growled. “But they will make fine Companions, if they choose that for themselves.”

"They’re certainly bigger than I expected, and their Skills are farther along, too. Still, I don’t plan on having them join our efforts any time soon. You know this, right?”

"Of course. I would never put them in jeopardy, Felix. When I speak of Companions, it is a far-off thing. These Hatchlings are my people's future."

"Yeah. Good." Felix said with relief he didn’t bother to hide. "I'm not about to put babies into a fight. They can stay here, under the protection of Atlantes, while we handle the worst of it. Maybe by the end, we’ll have made the Continent a lot safer for them to grow up."

A faint wafting of confusion and relief percolated from the pale Tenku behind Felix, but he tried to ignore it. He also tried not to be annoyed at how surprised she was for his refusing to enlist children in a war.

A crimson-scaled Hatchling flew up from the group, fire puffing around its mouth. It landed at Yintarion's feet, tripping over its own tail before it righted itself with a gurgling snort. It growled and huffed at the Dawn Drake, and Yintarion answered back in a similar tongue.

"What's it asking?" Pit asked.

"He says he's hungry, and I told him that food will be coming soon," Yin said.

The little Hatchling stomped its feet adorably, fire spurting from its nostrils. Vess knelt down beside it.

"You are so big and strong,” she praised the Hatchling. “Is that why you’re hungry?”

It grunted and squealed at Vess, leaning into her caresses as it bumped her knee with its nubby horns. Vess, however, paled. She looked up at Yin, who had a frown fit to shatter iron.

"What's happening?" Felix asked, glancing between the two.

"What fruit are you talking about?" Vess demanded.

The Hatchling shied back, looking worriedly between the two of them, before growling out several syllables.

"Spirit Fruit," Yin said with dread. "They all ate Spirit Fruit. Burning skies!”

"Okay," Felix licked his lips. "We can cleanse them. I did it before for Pit. I just need to know where they ate them and when, so I can test the current growth. Chances are the Spirit Fruits have changed as the Atlantes has matured."

Vess clenched her jaw as she listened to the Hatchling speak. "He says it came from the far end of the tree, near the ‘star building,’ whatever that is."

My Shaper’s Sanctum.

In a moment, he was airborne, though it was only a powerful leap upward. He passed through branches and leaves, pushing himself forward on hands and feet before alighting on the other side of his Spirit Tree. There, in the hollow of branches further down, he found his Shaper's Sanctum. It was beautiful and intricate, woven through the tree itself, as if it were grown and riddled with star shapes cut into the stone and wood walls.

Glowing blue fruit hung all around it, smaller than the white varieties that filled Atlantes’ branches, yet brighter. Felix could feel them, like weights leaning against his chest, even from a distance.

Felix reached up to one, but did not even have to try his Unseen Beholder, for Atlantes offered no resistance.

Name: Nascent Fruit

Type: Food

Lore: Produced by the Atlantes Anima to strengthen the Green Wilds, these fruit contain the nascent power of its affinities as well as a measure of Essence, Mana, and significance.

The others landed behind him, they all gawked at the structure before lifting their gazes to the fruits that lit it up. Scylla batted at one that was lying on the ground, turning it carefully.

"They're powerful," Felix said. "They're packed with Essence, Mana, and significance."

"The Tree's significance?" Vess asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. "Atlantes! Why do these exist?"

A series of impressions rolled through him, filling Felix with the sound of creaking branches and images that were just shy of true language. He saw birds flying, each the color and substance of gemstones, and breathing flames as they grew larger and larger, until they were big enough to swarm around the Spirit Tree itself. The visions kept coming, the images expanding, pulling back until Felix could see multiple Spirit Trees, all sprouted around in an enormous circle, all of them protected by Dragons.

"You wanted to help them grow," he said aloud. "To have them protect the Grove." A rustling affirmation rolled through the branches around them. "Are you saying this is safe?"

The moment he asked the words, it was clear Atlantes did not truly understand Felix's meaning, so he reshaped his Intent. He projected images of the gem birds falling out of the sky, filled with poison, a wasting rot that tore up roots and withered trunks. He imagined the blue fruits, split open and filled with a black corruption. The Spirit Tree recoiled from those images, before a powerful sense of rejection flowed through Felix.

He loosed a heavy breath of relief. "Atlantes says they're safe.”

“Does a tree really know the difference?” Vess asked, her voice tight with fear.

“Well, only one way to be sure." Felix plucked a Nascent Fruit. Empyrean Embrace!

Ethereal jaws snapped around the fruit, and it was gone.

"What are you doing?" Scylla’s Spirit was equal parts panicked and surprised, far more so than anyone else. “What if the Tree is wrong?”

Felix stood there, frowning at his belly as he worked through the sensation of the Nascent Fruit. His core space swirled, the Fruit’s power passing through his Divine Tree and into his rotating cores. They snatched it up, immediately absorbing the power without consequence.

"It seems fine," he said at last. "I'll do some tests in the Alchemical Lab to be sure, but this is like a refined Spirit Fruit. All the issues with raw consumption seem to be gone…if you're a monster, anyway."

"Does that mean I can eat it?" Pit asked.

"No," everyone said, including Scylla.

“Boo!”

"Let me run tests on it first, Pit, but this could be a good thing. Atlantes developed this to provide protectors for him and the Grove I’ve established. If it goes well, maybe we can give this to the Hatchlings more often. The significance alone inside each fruit is decent, though I don’t love that it’s giving up its own power to make them.”

Just as he finished speaking, a fleet of images flickered through his Mind, pressed into him by the sound of creaking roots and breaking soil. He was aware of roaming creatures, varied in size, aggression, and Tier—he saw them perish, struck by dark brown roots.

Felix shook off the images. “You attacked monsters?"

“It can do that?” Scylla asked, shying away from a few dangling branches.

Atlantes creaked, the feeling of sunshine on warm leaves passing through Felix. The Tree was as proud of this feat as he was of the fruits themselves.

"Well, I guess I know where the significance was coming from. Not from Atlantes, but monsters it killed. I gotta talk to Paxus about this.” First, the spearing roots of Altissima, and now this?

Pit chirruped, and Yintarion nodded, clearly impressed. "Let us know what you find, as soon as you can."

"Of course.”

“In the meantime, let us return to training." Yin and Vess took off once again, flying back to the Hatchlings.

Scylla, however, cleared her throat. "I should return."

"Oh, of course," Pit said. "I'll fly you to your room."

"No, Pit, I mean, I should return to Sunara. Thalgrym and the others could use my help. No doubt the logistics of his compromise are holding him longer than they should."

"Pit mentioned what Thalgrym wanted to do,” Felix said, tapping his lips. “If you like, I can send one of my Legionnaire Captains along with you, and they can guide the Manaships across Sunara and then Pax’Vrell to reach Amaranth by a faster route.”

The pale tenku narrowed her eyes. “That route is circuitous at best and would only waste more time.”

“No it wouldn’t. I have a Skill that—the specifics don’t really matter. The captain can act as my Exemplar, using the Dark Passages to shorten the length of your journey by weeks.”

“Can the Dark Passages handle one Manaship, let alone several?" Pit asked.

"Void Nexus has changed them for the better." Felix nodded. "They'll handle a few ships."

"Um," Scylla clearly didn't know how to respond. "I am overwhelmed by that offer. It would solve many of the issues holding up the Chimera and Guardian Beasts, and it would allow my people to feel as if they could be of use in this fight to retrieve our princess. If you are sure⁠—"

Felix inclined his head. “Of course. I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.”

Scylla smiled. "Then yes, I will happily accept your offer on behalf of my people. I'll head back now and let Thalgrym know immediately."

She bowed, and this time she bent her knee until her beak touched the bark of the branch beneath them.

“I’ll have the captain meet you at the Shadowgate in half a glass.”

“Very well. Thank you.” She spread her wings and flew off.

Pit, at his side, gave a cheerful chirrup. "I think she likes you now!"

"I hope so, buddy. But I didn't do that so she would like me. We could use the Manaships."

"That's what she said." Pit clacked his beak. "Are you worried?"

"I'm always worried, buddy. But we'll make it work. Go. I'll let Karys know you're coming and to send a Legionnaire down.”

With a final squawk, Pit flew off, catching up to the pale Tenku and leading her back down to the Shadowgate below.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Felix bustled around the Alchemical Lab for several hours that night, checking on the work of his apprentices and overseeing the testing of the Nascent Fruits. It was a relatively exhaustive process, but the Hatchlings’ health relied on getting this right—Felix left nothing to chance.

The first step was developing a Cleansing Elixir. When Pit had devoured a Spirit Fruit, it had immediately blocked his channels and caused harm to his advancement. To fix it, Felix had to figure out a Cleansing Elixir that would wash the impurities from his Companion’s channels and allow the Fruit to be fully digested by his core. He had, and Pit had gained some minor benefits from the Fruit. The gains were entirely too minor, and the elixir was entirely too expensive to produce for the Fruits to be consumed in that way—besides, they were better off being used to make Essence Draughts instead. The goal, then, was to determine how they could cleanse the effects of a Nascent Fruit without harming the patient. It took several iterations and his entire team’s efforts, but eventually they had come to a final Elixir.

Felix held it up, inspecting it with his Unseen Beholder.

Name: Nascent Cleansing Elixir F

Type: Potion

Lore: Developed by Emperor Felix Nevarre and his Alchemical Laboratory in Nagast, this elixir is one of many designed to completely break down the effects of a Nascent Fruit. However, the cleansing effect is only viable before full digestion occurs.

The Lore was the same as the previous iterations, so that wasn’t as promising as he’d thought originally. Still, the ineffable potency of the elixir was strong. The System didn’t categorize it, but his Skill pinpointed differences between Elixir F and its predecessors.

“I think this one will work, my Lord,” Apprentice Sari said from his side. She was a talented alchemist, though her advancement lagged behind many others, as she’d only recently moved to Elderthrone. “The distillation process was far more refined.”

“Mhm.” He swirled the pale liquid in its glass bottle. These elixirs were different from the previous Cleansing solutions he’d developed, as they had to account for not only Mana and Essence, but also the additional influx of significance. That had been the real sticking point for them all. “Give me the dish, please.”

“Of course.” Sari pushed over a shallow bowl filled with the recently pulped remains of a Nascent Fruit.

Felix pulled it closer and uncorked Elixir F. “Here goes nothing.”

He poured the entire bottle over the Fruit.

Immediately, it began to bubble and fizz, like hydrogen peroxide on a scraped knee. For a moment, that's all it did. Felix watched closely, pushing his Perception as he waited for something very specific to happen. "C’mon. Work this time."

The mashed pulp of the Nascent Fruit held firm…until it didn't. Then, with a soft, bubbling whoosh, the fruit dissolved entirely, leaving nothing in the bowl but a shallow pool of pale sludge.

"Yes!" Felix grinned around as his apprentices cheered. "Good job, everyone!”

“Does this mean they’re safe to consume?” Sari asked.

“No, but at least we’ll have a failsafe in case it goes bad immediately.” Felix lifted a glowing Nascent Fruit from the pile on top of his workstation. “We still don’t know what happens when it’s fully digested.”

The Fruit was about three times the size of his clenched fist, like a glowing blue cantaloupe. The skin had a polished sheen to it, but it was only firm to the touch, not hard like an apple. More like a giant plum. If the power contained within this thing can be utilized safely, then that’ll be a game changer for a lot of people. For the Hatchlings, the power could add up quickly. Still, judging by what his Unseen Beholder could perceive, the Fruits contained enough potency to be a real boon to monsters below their third Evolution. Beyond that, however, it would likely have diminishing returns.

"My Lord."

Felix glanced up from the Fruit to see Sari still standing there. She had another bottle of Elixir F in her hand. "Yeah?"

"Those Nascent Fruits…are they available for any of us to consume?"

He leaned back. “You could certainly try…but we’ve only tested these on monsters, and even then, not on purpose. I don’t know what it would do to you, Sari.”

“I’m willing to accept the consequences,” she said, voice firm. “It would aid our research greatly, would it not?”

Felix nodded slowly. “It would. I could see how the Fruit affected your channels and core space. I just don’t want to see anyone hurt by this.”

“That is why we’ve developed the Elixir, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Felix sighed. “If you’re sure, Sari—What Tier are you?”

“High Apprentice, sir. I’ve been stuck at the edge for months. I’d like to see if this could help.”

“It might.” He handed her the Fruit. “If you’re sure and accept the risks, then we can do this.”

“I am positive, my Lord.”

Felix watched carefully as Sari lifted the Fruit to her mouth, as did a dozen others. His alchemical apprentices leaned in, work forgotten as one of their own took a gamble. For a moment, Felix considered telling them all to back off and continue their important work…but he couldn’t fault them for their curiosity.

"May the Burning Eye bless me," she murmured.

Felix blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Instead of answering, Sari chomped into the Nascent Fruit. In several very messy gulps, she consumed the whole thing. Felix pressed his senses to their limits as he observed the Fruit sublimate within her mouth, becoming a thick vapor that poured into the Mana Gate at the base of her skull. From there, the power of the Fruit flowed into her channels and descended deeper, beyond where casual observation could follow.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

Sari smiled nervously. "It doesn’t hurt?”

“It doesn’t.”

She took a breath. “Go ahead.”

Felix reached out, placing two fingers just below her sternum and cast himself forward. He fell into a river of blue light that poured down twisting gullies before falling into a vast darkness. There, suspended within the black, was a glass house filled with greenery and the smell of damp soil. The river of blue splashed atop of it, soaking the glass panes before catching along gutters and between cantilevered hatches that opened to funnel the power into the greenhouse. It fell like rain upon the accumulated plants on the racks and shelving below, and there was an immediate reaction.

Oh, now that’s cool.

All at once, the plants surged in size. Fronds lengthened and stalks rose, as the power fed the soil. New leaves budded on fresh shoots that broke from darkened loam, and entire empty beds blossomed into a green and blue and yellow carpeting of flowers.

Felix turned, taking in the entirety of Sari’s core space. He was happy to realize that he could sense no lingering residue or impurities blocking her channels. All of the Nascent Fruit’s power had soaked in completely, without exception.

He pulled himself back. He blinked back to awareness of his body to find the woman beaming at him and everyone else.

"It worked! I can feel it," Sari said. "I'm on the cusp of it!” She looked around, a frantic glee limning her Spirit. “Where are my tools? I need to work!"

She rushed off to her workstation, grabbing her implements and immediately activating her Skills. Felix grinned. He knew that feeling, and it was a good one.

"Jed and Wessen,” he said, pointing out two High Journeyman alchemists from the crowd. “Watch over Sari. Keep the Elixir F to hand if she encounters any difficulties…and if she does Tier up into Journeymen, make sure her Essence Draughts are well to hand."

“Of course, my Lord.”

“It would be our pleasure.”

They scurried after her, resuming their tinctures and potion distillations—though not without heavy, continual glances in Sari’s direction.

Felix smiled, considering the bevy of options before him. These will be useful. He lifted up another Fruit, just in time to snatch it away from the jaws of a red-furred dog.

"You can't have any," he said to Pit.

"Aw, man." The Dire Hound sat heavily on top of his white stone workbench. "But that lady just had it."

"It wouldn't do anything for you.”

“Really?”

“Even if you were on your second Evolution, I doubt it would matter much to you… Or to any of our Linked friends.” Felix rolled the Fruit between his hands. Way too many of his friends had soaked up the runoff when he’d devoured Primordials. “Still, these should help the Hatchlings for some time yet. Frost Giants and Nagafolk, too, so long as they’re below their third Evolution. We’ll see how Sari fares before we start handing them out to everyone, though.”

Pit sniffed at the now empty bowl. “Thought you said it was safe now?”

“As far as I can tell, it is. It’d be irresponsible of me to hand them out to everyone when I don’t know the effects.”

Pit jerked his snout toward Sari, across the room. “She seems fine.”

“And will hopefully stay that way. Regardless, we should know more in a few hours. In the meantime, you and I’ve got work to do.”

"Oh, no thanks. I’m morally opposed to work." Pit hopped off the workbench, following Felix as he walked out of the Alchemical Lab.

"Morally—don’t be a butt.”

Pit let his tongue loll out of his mouth in a doggy grin as he hopped down the stairs. “So where are we going? We just got back.”

“Not far.” Felix pointed down at the floor.

“Oooh. Gotcha.” Pit grimaced. “I hate getting wet.”

“Speaking of downstairs, did Scylla get home fine? I forgot to ask.”

"She did. I escorted her right through your Sanctuary, and it was nice and boring. Though she gave the gate guardian a bit of a... confused stare. It's not often you see a giant, bronze version of me lurking around."

"What’d she think of that?”

“She said it was powerful-looking,” Pit said, puffing out his chest as they passed the Primary Beacon. The light glimmered off his russet fire like small bits of thin fire.

Felix smiled wide. “I'm excited to find out what Thalgrym thinks."

Pit groaned. "Oh, no. That'll be so embarrassing.”

“Which captain did Karys end up sending with her?"

"Mervin. Mervin Cors."

"Oh, him? That's a good choice." Felix nodded. "He'll help them out."

Pit followed Felix down, chasing after him with his smaller legs as they walked the steps into the Temple of the Eye proper. "He seemed put off to be sent away again. Apparently, he didn't get much to do in Jaast."

"What? I heard he fought with everybody else."

Pit shrugged.

"Hmm. Well, this is important. I hope he sees it that way." Felix needed someone reliable to help handle things out there. “I have a feeling he'll have his hands full with the Chimera.”

Pit bobbed his head in agreement as they walked across the Eye. There weren’t many people about, thankfully, but still a handful were visiting the recruitment centers at the far end. Most were signing up for smithing. "Thalgrym is coming here, so Mervin won’t have to deal with that. The guy’s a real pain."

"Why should he change his attitude?" Felix quipped as they opened the door to the spiral steps leading further inward. The Claw guards at the sides saluted. "You only saved his entire Territory and the life of everyone in it. Gentlemen."

“Sir,” they said in unison.

The door shut behind them, and they were left with the Mana lit steps into the depths. "Yeah, crazy me, right?”

They walked down the spiral steps deep into Felix's stronghold, all the way to the bottom where the Seat and Seal resided. From there, they stepped across the gold and silver fractals that shimmered beneath their steps and into a room filled with a pale blue light. It emitted from the tiled floor, where sigaldry outlined a wide, rectangular depression that filled the confines of the chamber.

The Pool of Halcyon Oaths.

A figure flickered into existence at the edge. It was five feet tall, wrapped in white and purple robes, and had a face that was furred and narrow, like a weasel and a Human had been mushed together. Its hands were folded together into the sleeves of its robes which were stitched with sigildry that faded in and out of existence, while his eyes gazed at Felix blankly.

Knowledge, memory construct of the Pool, bowed.

“Hail, Emperor Nevarre. Welcome to the Pool of⁠—”

“I know what it’s called, Knowledge.”

The Geist's illusory eyes flickered. Was that annoyance? The construct didn't have a Spirit. It was a bundle of memories somehow woven into the semblance of a person. But did that mean it couldn't feel? Felix wasn't so sure.

"Knowledge, if I pass through the Pool again, will I level Void Nexus?"

"It depends on various factors," the Geist said. "But at your current level, the Mythic Skill Void Nexus will experience an increase in viability."

Felix let out a relieved breath. "Yes. Perfect. I need to improve things before Mervin opens up any Dark Passages."

Pit looked at him in alarm. "I thought you said he could put a Manaship through them?"

Felix winced. "Okay, look. I'm almost positive he can, but it doesn't hurt to hedge my bets." Pit grumbled darkly. “I’m sorry. But it’ll be fine!”

"I assume you wish to enter the Pool, then?"

Felix turned back to Knowledge. "Yeah, obviously. What's my chance of survival now?"

Knowledge's eyes glimmered. "Do you wish for me to scan your foundations?"

"No," Felix said, quickly. "I don't have the time to waste. And that doesn't seem to help, in my case."

The construct pursed its lips in the memory of annoyance, while its eyes changed not at all. "Very well. My best guess, then, would be a 45% chance of survival."

"What?" Pit asked. "What was it last time?”

“Previously, it was 54.1%," the Geist said.

Felix frowned. "And what's the reason for the drop? I'm a Grandmaster now. Plus, I ate Siva, the Goddess of Fortune."

“Yeah! The lady that ran this whole thing. Chomped her right up.” Pit shoved his beak forward at Knowledge’s chest as he shifted into his larger, unMasked shape. The Geist seemed unperturbed.

"Interesting. Those are all factors to consider."

The movement of the construct, always very little, froze. Sigils flashed across its robes and through its pale face, rotating like tumblers spinning across its form. It was clearly moving through calculations that Felix couldn't begin to imagine, yet several long minutes stretched onward. Pit grew impatient, his tail swishing and paws tapping irritably on the stone floor.

"What do you seek from the pool?" Knowledge asked, suddenly.

"What?” That wasn't normal. Knowledge had never asked him that before. And yet, it didn't repeat the question. The construct only looked at him, waiting.

"Well…" Felix thought on it. "I want to strengthen Void Nexus and all my transit-related abilities. I want to increase my connection to my empire, and hopefully that will help. But also..." He sighed. "I need to find out what's down there. Siva ruled in that Pool, right? It was the heart of her power, the stuff she stole from Veridaan. She’s gone now, and I think…"

Felix fixed Knowledge with a glare that crackled with blue lightning. "I need to know what happens when a god dies."

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Felix and Pit were led to the edge of the Pool of Halcyon Oaths, which lay as still as glass before them. Felix took a steadying breath.

"Okay, you ready to go in?"

"Of course I am," Pit said. "But is it just me, or did that guy never give you the calculation?"

"Oh," Felix turned back to Knowledge, who stood only ten feet away. "Hey, you never gave me my survival odds. What are they?"

The Geist folded its small hands into its sleeves. "Judging by your Temper, the potency of your Aspects, and your hand in the death of a Divine, I judge your chance of survival is at five percent."

The construct bowed, flickered, and disappeared.

What?

"Hey!" Pit shouted up at the ceiling. "What's that mean? Get back here! Explain!"

The construct didn't return, no matter what they said or requested. Felix had the ultimate Authority in his stronghold, but Knowledge was a strange creature. He knew it grew smarter and more informed the more Shadowgates he opened, and with all of the influx of new information, perhaps whatever Knowledge had passed for a Mind was being changed. Felix shuddered. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of a super smart ghost-robot haunting his Stronghold, but that cat was already well out of the bag.

"All right, enough shouting, Pit. They're not coming back, but we are going in the Pool.”

“Are we? That little monster said five percent. Doesn't that concern you?”

“I mean, we've had worse odds, right?"

Pit opened his beak and then shut it. "I guess you're not wrong, but knowing the odds makes me feel all queasy."

"Yeah, me, too," Felix admitted. "There's nothing we can do about that. My need to know outweighs the risks.”

Pit let loose a longsuffering sigh. “At least there won't be those centipede spider ladies this time, right?"

"Silver linings," Felix said with a smile.

"Not anymore." Pit splashed at the surface, rippling its mirror sheen. Where before it was like quicksilver, now the Pool looked like normal water, albeit with a distinct blue glow. It was transparent, same as standard water, but as Felix peered into its depths, he realized that he could not see the bottom as it faded into a deep, impenetrable darkness. Even his Perception failed after only several hundred feet.

He wasn't sure which version he liked the least.

"What's the plan then, Mr. One Percent? How deep are we going this time?"

"Well, without Siva there, I figure we can go all the way to the bottom."

"Bottom? What's at the bottom?"

"No clue, but the gods are making moves. I want to max out what I can get from this thing while I still can. This place was the center of Siva's power. Who knows what the gods are going to do with it."

Pit swallowed. "Okay. Then let’s do it. Convergence."

In a flash of light, Pit and Felix joined together, the large tenku disappearing and a heavy weight settling in Felix's Grandmaster Spirit.

"Oh, it's roomy in here," Pit said. "This is way better than your last place."

“Glad you approve. You ready, bud?"

"Always."

Without giving himself too much time to think, Felix jumped in. He slid through the surface with no resistance, almost as if he wasn't touching liquid but smoke that poured around him, cooled against his limbs even as it tugged him deeper. Felix blinked, enjoying the clarity—the tarnished silver hue had vanished, replaced now by that cool blue. While at his feet, dark water moved around him in swirling currents, beckoning him further.

Just as before, he pulled in a deep breath and allowed the not-liquid into his lungs. It filled him up, strangling his throat and chest, and panic coiled across his long limbs. Felix forced himself to calm, stilling his Body and exhaling slowly. On a count of five, he inhaled again, slow and steady. Instantly, the pain vanished, and his breaths came easy, as if he still stood above the surface.

Ugh, I hate that part, Pit moaned.

Feels worse in person, Felix sent back. Here we go.

They dove deep, kicking downward into a thick current that soon gripped them. Considering all the other changes in the Pool, it was almost a relief as the dark rush pulled them deeper. Azure shadows bloomed around them, thickening until Felix could see nothing but his own body—that was lit as if by an omnipresent light, unaffected by darkness as if he were entirely separate from the environment. Yet as they swam further even that faded, and the hold of the Pool slid over them, cold and dark and relentless. Sight gone, there was only the loud silence of his own rushing blood, pounding in his ears.

Light! Pit cried out, but Felix couldn’t have missed it. It was a lone point of illumination in a sea of shadow, as colorless as the water and searing to behold.

They swam for it.

Almost immediately, sound returned. The splashing gurgle of rapids below him, where the bottom of the Pool churned against that faint, blinding light. With a final kick of his feet, Felix broke through it. He fell out into open air, yet almost immediately splashed back down as his sense of direction inverted itself. Felix gasped, spitting up liquids that curled from his lips like smoke. It floated upward, crowding against the surface of a dark tunnel as he hurtled down it, alongside the crash of cresting waves.

Oh! I remember this. Next should be—yep, there it is!

Ahead, the tunnel opened up into a wide basin that poured the rushing river out into a vast emptiness. Felix recognized the tunnel, too, from their previous visits, but it was the view beyond that caught his attention. They shot forward, spat out into that emptiness as if from a cannon, yet they did not fall. Willpower and Alacrity flared, and Felix floated among the dark expanse.

“This is very different,” he muttered.

The gleaming emptiness wasn’t truly empty, but the web of tarnished silver Oaths that once criss-crossed it was gone. In its place were similar lines, but these were ephemeral and cast in the faintest of blue. Even as he watched, they shifted, some fading while others grew thicker and more textured. It extended onward in every single direction: up, down, left, and right. Lines of light, etched across the horizon.

Connections, Pit said.

"Bonds," Felix corrected. "The Beast called them Bonds."

With a minor effort of Will and Alacrity, Felix propelled himself forward. He found no resistance as he had once before. There was no longer any great power pulling him inward, and as he reoriented himself away from the tunnel's basin and its cascading waterfall, he was less than surprised to find that the moon that had once sat here—a moon that was both satellite and somehow Siva’s eldritch flesh—was gone.

Interestingly, though, it had left something behind. To be fair, it was less of a thing than it was an absence—a void where there once was a moon. The blue darkened there, shadowed by the absence of things that once were, and as Felix drew closer, he could hear it. Echoes of a song just beyond his hearing, reverberating across the connections that crisscrossed around but never through that space.

Felix, I don't know if we should go there.

"I don't think we have a choice, Pit. I need to see."

Hnng. Okay.

“I can send you back, if you want me to.

No, Pit snapped. I'm not leaving you.

"Love you, too, buddy."

Pit chirruped, pleased. Then let’s jump into the weird darkness.

"I'll be careful."

Felix thrust them forward, shooting ahead faster than before. He dodged through the connections, but he needn't have bothered. None stopped him. They faded to intangibility as he approached, even the thickest of them. For a moment, Felix considered activating Adamant Discord in that place—but he held back. Later, he promised himself.

He reached the dark absence quite quickly, and it was like stepping from sun-washed waters into a cold current. As he’d noticed before, nothing was within the radius of the former moon’s grave.

Almost nothing, Pit said. Look.

At the very center, there was a crack. Felix drew closer, cautiously floating down through the shadowed emptiness.

Pit shivered within him. It feels bad here.

Felix could feel it, too. It was like a toothache, only all over his body and soul. It was far from the worst pain Felix had felt, but it was insidious as it set off an aching echo throughout his core space…one that was taken up by the grinding notes emerging from his [Thunderflame Core] and [Cardinal Beast Core].

Dissonance and Harmony and…What is that?

The split in the world grew large before them, the edges of it wavering as if it were burning underwater. Through the center, however, was a place so devoid of moisture it made Felix reflexively swallow. Blasted terrain spread out before him, loomed over by burnt skies and sundered mountains. Vast plains extended toward a crooked horizon, every inch of them flattened as if crushed beneath a terrible weight. Thick, chunky plumes of dust rose into the sky—stationary, for he suddenly knew that no wind had ever breathed in that place.

Felix knew the place. It was where he’d witnessed the gods gather, twice before.

We're not going in there, are we?

Felix stepped through the crack.

Of course we are, Pit groaned.

The moment he stepped in, Felix felt weight return to his body. His floating limbs dropped to the earth with a thud, his footfalls crunching against broken grasses and rocks like hammer blows. Vegetation and earth alike crumbled like ash beneath his heels. Stale air filled his lungs, and the world felt simultaneously hot and cold, yet neither.

Eugh, that smell.

“How’re you smelling anything?”

You smell it, I smell it. Pit perked up inside his Spirit. And it feels like we're being watched.

Felix didn't share the feeling of being watched, but he agreed about the smell. Aside from a whiff of char and salt, it had the deadness of winter when all smells died away, yet without the promise of snow. It took him a moment to realize why it crawled up his spine the wrong way.

"The Green Wilds.” Felix looked around, his Affinity flared hard. “They're gone. Absolutely gone. I can’t hear anything.” It was as if the Grand Harmony itself didn’t exist anymore. “What kind of place is this?"

It was utterly empty of all things, save the shell of the Corporeal Realm, as if it were…painted elements on top of papier mache. Felix swallowed, his throat dry. There was no moisture in the air to speak of, no life at all.

But there was movement.

Felix kicked off the crumbling earth, dropping low behind a broken ridge. In the distance, beyond the silhouette of a low mountain, a gargantuan shape rose up. The metallic blue thing shifted, lifting four angular limbs that bent in upsetting ways as they stretched toward the blackened skies.

The Twins, Pit whispered, despite being hidden away.

Angular and metallic, yet upsettingly organic, the Twins were joined as one figure. It wasn’t that they were simply conjoined, but wound through one another. Limbs emerged through rib cages and shoulders at severe angles, yet they moved fluidly as if they were liquid. They were twisted, just like all the gods that Felix had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

His Mind twitched but held firm, despite the cognitive dissonance of simply viewing them. His Grandmaster Temper was thankfully enough to avoid the spiral he’d experienced before in Khasma with the Creature. Now he only grimaced.

Why are they like this? he wondered. It was eerily similar to what the Primordials had become after the flesh curse ravaged them. Was that their punishment? To make the Primordials look like them?

The Twins are doing something, Pit. We gotta see what they're doing, right?

I don't know why you're asking me, Mr. One Percent. You know I’ve got your back.

Felix’s grimace faded. Abyssal Skein!

The Void Skill was a calculated risk—he had no idea what Skills might do in that place—but the cold, oily presence wrapped around him without issue. It was just as dead as the world around him, as if the place had been steeped in the Void’s nullifying powers. Felix sank into the crumbling fabric of the world, his Aspects covered like a blanket smothering a burning flame, and felt a dire sense of urgency. He knew that, no matter if he was extinguished or ignited, the stealth effect wouldn't last long.

He ran and it was hard. Felix found himself panting after only a dozen yards, his chest aching and his muscles burning with greater ferocity than he'd experienced since first coming to the Continent. It was like his stats had been made less effective somehow, or that the world he had invaded was just that much worse.

Felix wasn't sure which frightened him more.

Still, he made it to the mountain’s crushed foothills and across a narrow, rocky defile to where he could see the enormous dual god leaning over a deep chasm. The Twins tore their limbs through it, the four arms with too many joints bending and hauling back on the ashen earth, excavating a vast hole into an unfathomable darkness.

What the hell is it doing? Pit wondered.

Digging, I guess.

Is it looking for something?

Felix stepped closer, trying to get a better angle to view the chasm, when the blackened sky ignited. A comet of bright orange and crimson fire streaked across the heavens. The Twins snapped their heads up, their conjoined bodies twisting in a sudden nightmare of unfurling flesh and creaking bones. Felix ducked low, hiding behind a boulder, and the world rang out with a discordant burr.

The charred skies flared with crimson-orange and for the first time in that place, Felix felt heat wash against him. It vanished only seconds later, along with all trace of its light. When he dared to peek out again, hoping against hope that he wasn’t found, the Twins were gone.

As were all signs of the chasm.

That comet, Pit asked, what was it?

Felix wished he knew. Clearly something that spooked the Twins.

Pit frowned. You think they ran away?

I hope so. The other option was that they were hunting them, but the Twins were too large and noticeable to sneak up on anything in that dead place. They weren’t hiding.

He was ninety-five percent sure.

Nervously, Felix scanned the terrain. From his higher vantage point, he saw the dead and blasted landscape all around him—but he also spotted something new: a piece of the nightmarish land that wasn't grey and lifeless. It was brown and yellowed, sure, as if late autumn had suppressed a piece of the world. Yet even from a distance, he could see there was more to it than everything else.

He sprang down the mountain, trying for stealth, but sliding across several bits of rock as his ungainly limbs struggled in the strange gravity. He stumbled to the bottom gracelessly, reaching the slice of ground that spread outward in a wide cone toward the horizon. The yellowed section of trampled grass cut through the terrain like a scar, part of the empty lands and yet distinct. Separated from the greater whole.

Felix reached down, pulling up the weeds and finding the soil there on the surface to be wet. It was enough of a marvel that he pushed his hands deeper, ripping a hole in the earth. The soil didn't crumble like ash in his hands. In fact, he found the thriving roots of weeds buried deep, at least three feet into the earth there.

What does this mean?

The further he dug, the warmer the ground became. That thick, rich smell of loam poured over him, and it shook through his senses like he’d been hit with a hammer. As if it were the first time he’d ever smelled anything. The scent pulled at him.

There was a glimmer of blue.

At first, he feared the Twins had found him, but even as he sprang to his feet, Felix realized that it was coming from his chest. A connection as wide as the scar of yellowed grass and fertile soil was before him, connecting him to the place. A bond larger than anything he'd ever experienced, the exact size and shape as the wedge of half-living land.

He focused on it.

The bond sang, dissonant and terrible—except for a silence that dwelled below him. Like a negative on film, it lurked in the absence, defined by that emptiness that echoed across Felix’s senses. He squinting through the blinding light, but there was nothing around him, only dead earth and⁠—

He started. The sound of the bond was bouncing off of something else, too, drawing an almost anti-resonance from a spot within his chest.

Pit do you⁠—?

I do!

Taking a breath, Felix reached inside, visualizing his core and joining Pit as the two of them fell down to the roots of his Divine Tree. There, the faceted lengths dangled above the Skill-locked abyss.

Pit squawked. "What the heck is that?"

Tangled in those roots, held so closely that it was easy to miss unless you were truly looking, was the source of silence. It was a chunk of bone the size of a tank, pitted and yellowed with age and entirely encased by opalescent roots.

Name: Skull Fragment Of Veridaan, She Who Was Broken

Type: Artifact (Primordial) (Enchanted)

Lore: A piece of Veridaan, known as the Supreme Primordial of Oaths, and the Cardinal of the Unseen Tide. It echoes with a piece of her power, long thought Lost.

Xovak’s Greater Approach - An enchantment designed to reduce the size of an object or creature.

Xovak’s Greater Binding - An enchantment designed to bind an object or creature to one’s Aspect.

Felix couldn’t believe what he was seeing. "That's…something I found in a vision.”

In a vision?

"My Tempering vision. How could it be real?"

Felix reached for it, but the abyss trembled. The darkness swirled faster and faster, sparking with midnight energies that clawed against his senses. A muted roar echoed from below, and Felix felt more than saw an enormous monolith shatter.

The Challenger’s Sea! Zara’s Skill is failing!

Yet the roar did not last. It faded, and Felix was faced by a buzzing notification.

Primordial Nature Detected.

Scion Of The Unseen Tides Detected.

Beast Awakened.

Prerequisites Met.

Felix swiped it away. Ahead, pieces of the fragment were slowly dissolving as the roots clenched tighter. They dropped like dust into the spinning abyss below.

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan.

Progress: 1%

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Felix jerked away from his core space, returning to his Body and the empty lands beyond the Pool. Felix’s hands were still wrist deep in the warm soil, and the sky was still dead.

What happens at 100%? Pit asked.

I wish I knew. But I don’t like the sound of ‘Beast Awakened’ very much.

Something touched his fingers.

He jerked his arm back, a thrill of fear lighting up his spine as the earth rolled just for a moment—as if something were moving beneath.

Rising.

Felix blinked, and it was gone. Not a single blade of grass was disturbed, and even the hole was gone as if he’d never dug it.

What the shit was that?

The silence within him was still there, impossible to miss now that he was aware of it. The silence beneath the earth remained as well, trapped under near-dead soil and stone. As far as Felix could tell, it was huge—like a cavern that stretched on for miles.

What is it? Pit wondered.

One way to find out, Felix sent back. He reached down and tore up a clod of dirt. He got no more than three handfuls deep before the sky buckled.

Winds howled out of nothing, and pillars of smoke scudded across the blasted horizon. The charred expanse of the heavens themselves bent inward, folding on itself before spitting out a metallic blue abomination. The Twins had returned.

Abyssal Skein!

Felix threw himself back, hugging his body tight to a line of tumbled boulders. With their incredible height and godly powers, he had little hope of hiding forever, but he clung to Abyssal Skein like a life raft.

He Avoids This Place, a male voice said, echoing from one of its angular heads. It had a mouth, but Felix couldn't quite keep track of it. It shifted across its strangely proportioned skull, the angles of its appearance sliding as if bound to a twisting kaleidoscope.

Why Would He Call Our Attention, Only To Run When We Sought Him Out? An Infuriating Cretin, a female voice asked from the other head.

He Is Chaos, Sister. He Needs No Reason To Upset Things.

Yet He Has Them, Brother, And They Are As Nonsensical As They Are Insidious. You Saw What He Did To The Coward. Who Knows Avet’s Motivations?

Felix sidled across the boulders on his elbows and knees, angling himself for a better line of sight. It wasn’t often he got to see a god arguing with itself.

Avet was the one who put the fire in the sky?

Any Of Us Would Have Done The Same To The Remnant, the male Twin said. The Pathless Made His Own End The Moment He Sided With The Nym.

What?

Felix drew up short. He had to have heard that wrong.

Betrayal Has Its Costs, the lighter voice said with a twitching nod. The Law Deems It So.

As Does Arrogance. Our Sister Has Proven That.

The Twins lifted one of their arms, and Felix took a moment to understand what he was seeing. A second arm was wrapped around the first, muscle and bone shifting like liquid so that their dozens of joints interlocked. Two hands, clasped tight, lifted at the end of the appendage and spread its too-many fingers. From between them, a light like a miniature sun flared, casting all of the world into shadow and burning heat.

Felix bit his tongue to stifle his cry as he threw himself to the ground, and the very landscape itself changed. The plains buckled and rolled, hills rising up where ashen flatlands had been and mountains flattening into enormous plateaus. A deep, disturbing Dissonance filled the still air—so thick it rippled Felix's clothing like a stiff breeze as the blaze of light flowed like liquid flame.

Felix gasped, his chest burning and limbs spasming on the ashen ground. A furious roar thrummed within him, echoing with the Dissonance in the air. Desperate, he cast his vision inward, and saw his Divine Tree whipping about in a cosmic gale. His Skills shuddered, their patterns sounding with mad tones and riotous cadence. At the bottom, his abyss spun as fast as a top, its accreting edge red-hot.

He rose back up and stared into the blinding radiance.

Unseen Beholder!

Notifications flickered past him, none of them forming but snatches of distant chords rippled through his Affinity. It wasn’t resistance so much as…overwhelm. The System wouldn’t show him the details.

Or it couldn’t.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. His Unseen Beholder let him see the gleaming object, and Felix’s heart clenched with recognition. He’d seen its like before—but not since he’d torn it out of Siva’s chest.

All at once, the Dissonance vanished. The Twins were standing now, their dual heads staring at the undisturbed plains, no sign of the buckling or collapsing anywhere.

Walk The Deadlands, Sister.

Seek Them, Brother.

Their words rang out in unison as the core gleamed through its fingers. We Will Find What Was Left Behind.

The Twins strode off across the destroyed terrain, their footfalls sending earthquakes that faded ever so slowly.

What was left behind? Felix swallowed, still unable to get past the piece of Siva he’d just seen. From who? Siva? No, that was a piece of her core. He ground his teeth. A piece I missed.

Felix?

Pit’s words echoed, unanswered as Felix stood back up. He peered after the disappeared gods, hunting for some trace of them, fearing that they had simply circled back and would pounce on him and Pit at any moment.

Yet there was nothing. Less than nothing.

Felix. The ground—Look!

He spun around, and just as Pit had warned, the not-quite-lifeless ground had vanished—taking the deep silence along with it. In its place was the same blasted, ash-choked earth as everywhere else. A flat emptiness that contained neither song nor echo.

We need to get out of here, Pit said.

Perception flared, but Felix couldn't find a single trace. Neither the Dissonance nor the silence. He shook his head. Whatever it had been was gone. The image of the Twins and their burning light intruded on his thoughts. Or had it fled?

Felix!

"Fine," he said aloud. He pulled Abyssal Skein tighter around his shoulders and slipped across the rocky ground. "But this isn't over."

Compared to their descent and the findings at the center of the Pool, their return was uneventful. The rift they had entered still stood among the place the Twins called the Deadlands, and beyond it remained the strands of Bonds that filled the deep, dark Pool.

They slipped through.

Felix and Pit propelled themselves back up, Will and Alacrity more than enough to send them hurtling back to the river. From there, they skimmed the top of the turbulent waters before diving down, deep into the dark, empty currents. Shadow stole their senses but never their Will, and in less than a minute, they emerged with a thick splash—back in Elderthrone.

They climbed out, and in a flash of light, Pit separated. The two of them traded a glance.

"Well, that was easier than I expected," the tenku admitted. "Usually, we're attacked the entire way back.”

“I’m glad exterminating a goddess had at least one upside." Felix looked back at the Pool. Despite their recent exit, it was flat and undisturbed as a sheet of glass. There was no evidence of their dive, as even their clothes had shed the thick liquid the moment they were free of it.

A bell rang throughout the chamber, sparking waves of Mana from the fractal array just beyond the entryway.

Knowledge reappeared, bowing to Felix and Pit until his head nearly touched the ground. "Emperor Felix Nevarre, first of his name, Inheritor of the Nymean's Will, you have embraced the Pool of Halcyon Oaths and emerged transformed."

Title Upgraded!

Blessed of the Halcyon Oath XI (Transcendent)!

You have embraced the waters of connection in the Luminous Void and emerged whole for a third time!

Void Nexus has gained 10 levels!

Void Nexus is level 25!

Apprentice Tier!

You Gain:

+22 PER

+22 INT

+22 END

You Have Reached The Bottom Of The Pool Of Halcyon Oaths!

ERROR!

The Pool Of Halcyon Oaths Is Damaged!

ERROR!

The Pool Persists!

Rewards Earned!

New Title!

Chthonic Empyrean (Mythic)!

By traversing the full depth of the Pool, you have proven your commitment to walk the dark paths of deepest commitment. A Bond. As Siva was but a shadow of Veridaan, so too are Oaths a pale reflection of Bonds. The Void Nexus within you stirs as it reaches Apprentice Tier, Promising Greater Glories Ahead.

+Stabilization cost of significance is reduced by 25%

+Stabilization of all Passages are increased by 25%

+Size of Dark Passage rifts are doubled

Hell yeah, Felix grinned. “See, Pit? I told you using the Pool would pan out.”

Empire Established!

Crown Of Elysium Detected!

Title: First Of His Name Detected!

Prerequisites Exceeded!

New Title!

Empire’s Passage (Legendary)!

You have strengthened your connection to your people by traversing the very depths of your vows. The echoes of Veridaan call out through you, Scion, and from your center emerges a Bond none can deny.

+Apprentice Tier Increases Exemplar Limit From Nine To Thirteen!

+Limits On Passengers Greatly Reduced!

+Exemplar’s Gift - Allows all Exemplars to temporarily appoint their own Adjutants—three each—giving them the ability to expand the size, capacity, and speed of Dark Passage rifts.

"There, see?” Felix smiled at his Companion. “Mervin’s job will be a piece of cake.”

Pit sat back on his haunches in clear relief. "Oh, good. Scylla will be thrilled."

Felix was a bit concerned by the fact that the System was calling an error with the Pool, but he supposed he wasn't surprised. Either Siva had powered it, or it was the center of her Divinity, and either way, with her gone, there was a vacuum. Quite literally—the empty space at the center and the rift to the Deadlands proved that there was something wrong, now that the Goddess of Fortune was dead.

Felix chewed at his lip, thinking, "Knowledge, what do you know about the Deadlands?"

The memory construct froze, accessing, but it wasn't a movement of fear. Its eyes flickered side to side as if reading something no one could see, accessing its store of information, no doubt. In a moment, it unfroze, the Geist looking to Felix and holding out one of its small, clawed hands.

"Precious little, your Imperial Majesty.” An illusory stack of tomes appeared above its hands and rose straight to the ceiling. “In your collection, the term 'dead lands' (disambiguation) is referenced in nine thousand, four hundred and eighty-two different tomes, many of which are quite different. However, it is only mentioned as a proper noun in sixteen of them." The books flickered, one after the other, until they disappeared. "Do you want me to list them for you?"

"Give me the shorthand rundown," Felix said. "What do they have in common?"

Knowledge hummed to itself. "Deadlands is most often referred to as a place where souls are destroyed or where the Song is stilled. One particular tome refers to it as a poetic fiction to indicate the Lost knowledge we once held. That one is clearly fallacious."

"Where the Song is stilled." Felix looked at Pit, who bobbed his head.

"Yeah, I can see that, too. Did that one mention more about the Deadlands? Or about the gods?" Pit asked.

Knowledge's eyes flickered as if it were reading once more. "‘The stillness is a bated breath between chords that could never be struck, a place of deadly forbiddance.’ That is the only line in that particular tome about the subject."

"Huh, sounds about right, though," Pit muttered.

"Is that it?" Felix asked.

"That is all I can find on that particular term."

Felix thought through what they had seen—and what the Twins had said. That bright light—a core of some sort—was too familiar to not be associated with Siva. Unless the gods all carried around a similar chunk of power, that was a piece of the Goddess of Fortune that Felix had missed.

His eyes opened wide. "Or, it’s something I never had in my reach.”

"What are you talking about?" Pit asked.

“When I fought Siva, I wasn't fighting all of her. There were parts still up there." Felix pointed to the ceiling and the sky beyond the stone. "I thought, when I destroyed her moon, that I'd gotten everything. The System even announced her death.”

“Wait, why did you think you fought most of her? I thought the gods couldn't manifest down here. Wouldn’t that mean lots of her stayed behind?" Pit waggled a paw at the construct. “Knowledge, back me up on this.”

"It is true. The Divine are prevented by Ouranic Law to manifest upon the Continent. I can find several references to back up this assertion."

Pit chirruped curiously. "Do you know why? Did the book say?"

"No," Knowledge said with a powerful sense of finality.

"Okay, geez.”

“That Law isn’t complete, though. I loosened her chains," Felix said, drawing the Geist’s attention. "So that she could manifest more fully in Levantier. So I could fight her."

Knowledge turned sharply toward him. "That is forbidden!"

Felix took a step back from the small figure. The construct had never raised its voice before. "Loosening her chains is forbidden? Why?"

"The Laws bind them, keeping us safe," it said, eyes glowing brighter now with purple, gold, and a deep, verdant green. "The chains hold the Compact. Never can they be loosened, cut, or cast off. If they are, then Judgment falls upon us all. Consequence."

All at once, the memory construct froze, its eyes ceasing their deep radiance. Knowledge bowed. "If that will be all, Emperor Nevarre."

Without another word, it vanished.

Felix and Pit shared an incredulous look. "What the heck was that?" the tenku asked.

"A warning," Felix was sure of that. "The Compact, whatever it is, must have something to do with why the gods are trapped on their moons. I have a Quest about those, but it involves visiting their Shrines. I can't do that right now. They're either too far away or in enemy Territory."

"Well, we’re headed to En’Cridhe right? Isn’t that the Pathless’ Shrine?”

"That's a good point, but I have a feeling that, once we reach the center of Amaranth, it's going to be a bit too late to put together a plan. We're going to be flying by the seat of our pants."

"What else is new?" Pit said with a nervous laugh. "Hey, the fact that you were able to loosen the chains at all, that's gotta mean something, right? Did it have something to do with what the Twins said? About how the Pathless sided with the Nym?"

Felix frowned, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. Everything I know about the Pathless says that he wouldn't have done something selflessly. There was an angle he had been working. There had to have been.”

“Maybe…” Pit’s ears twitched. “He was called the Coward, right? And the Remnant? Maybe his angle was trapping his siblings?”

“That…makes a lot of sense.” Felix dropped his hands from his face. “But did that mean the Nym were the ones who trapped the gods?"

He recalled the system notice when he'd loosened the chains.

Authority Recognized, Inheritor!

Felix Nevarre, He Who Bears The Sword And Crown!

The Chains Around Siva Are Loosened.

He lifted up his sword. Inheritor's Will gleamed in the light of the chamber. If the sword and Crown could do that, then that suggested the Nym were behind their binding in the first place.

“That must be it,” he muttered.

"Okay," Pit said. "Does that change anything?"

"Maybe not, but things are starting to line up. And, if we can scrape an advantage out of this knowledge, then I damn sure will." Felix sheathed the blade with a single sharp motion. "No time to rest, anyway.”

“What's next?" Pit asked.

"Surprise inspections. Then we're going to put Fiendforge to use."

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Deep beneath the earth, in tunnels where no sunlight had ever touched, an army slumbered. The Orders had posted their guards and scouts, of course—diligent little soldiers, watching out for the evil Unbound that was in their midst.

Yyero had deemed it unnecessary.

His Plaguerats were sleepless and driven to a wrathful delirium that could not be surprised by any Lizard. They were more than enough to hold the tunnels secure. He made sure that the Order found his cluster of mushrooms on that first day and had enticed them immediately with their savory bouquet. Rot was not all foul.

It was insidious, however. Having picked clean his growths, the Order could do naught but eat them with their meals. This led to a gleeful energy that bolstered their attention during their long search, and, upon digestion, an intoxicating numbness that lulled them to a dreamless, rejuvenating sleep.

Yyero preferred the silence.

He prowled the tunnels, a piece of himself hidden with Scathers’ malformed flesh. The Plaguerat did not have the best eyes, but its sense of smell was far beyond any mortal or monster.

I Did Not Expect You Down Here.

Yyero did not turn, for he could smell the dark that gathered at the edges of things. The tumorous mass upon Scathers’ back twisted, and the skull that floated just inside its flesh confronted a flat shadow that slithered from the smallest of pipes. It gained volume and shape as it went, an inky balloon of slick gelatin that was harder than any mountain. A long, serpentine shape slithered forth, propelled by thousands of Human fingers, until one end of it reared up and revealed its utter lack of face.

Noctis. The rat’s blank eyes rolled, and its nose quivered. Why Have You Come?

The Dark Is Mine, As The Decrepit Is Yours. And Have You Forgotten That I, Too, Have Interest In Seeing This Work Completed?

I Do Not Forget. Do You Not Neglect Your Defense Of The Shining City? Yyero guided his putrid Vessel forward, until Scathers’ snout pressed close to his sister’s slick shadow flesh. You Smell Of Offal And Waste. The Northeastern Pipeways.

This Flesh Has Never Been To Such A Place.

No, But You Cannot Hide Its Stink On Your Spirit. The Entropy Within These Pipes Sings To Me, Sister. You May Hop Between Your Shadows, But You Carry The Corporeal With You, No Matter How Many Vessels You Burn.

The empty hole of Noctis’ face lifted up, as if it were looking down on him. Derision? For What?

Wasteful, Yyero growled. Your Power Is Not So Unlimited That You Can Shed Your Darkness For Fits Of Fancy.

And You, Brother? I Have Not Seen Much Of You At All.

My Vile Growths Line The City, As Requested.

Yet You Remain Here. She looked around, as if for effect. This Is Where Your True Attention Lies, And Where You, Too, Burn Your Power.

I Seek My Vessel, Yyero snarled through rat teeth. True And Undying. It Is Mine.

Noctis inclined her head, suddenly magnanimous. That Is Fair. I Will Not Begrudge You A Measure Of Impatience. This Lizard Makes Fools Of Us All.

It Is A Testament To The Power Inside Of Him. Scathers licked its lips. I Long To Sup On His Spirit.

To That End, You Also Burn The Aspects Of Your Creations.

The skull within flesh shifted, staring down at the Plaguerat upon which it grew. Scathers’ eyes were a filmy white, and its mouth was open and drooling. My Plaguerats Give Themselves To Me With All Their Hearts. This, Yyero intoned, voice echoing. The tumor grew, pulsating across the rat’s back. This Is Worship.

Noctis made a sound deep in her throat that was halfway between a laugh and a choke. Worship. I Suppose, For You, It Just Might Be. She slithered her head up and over him, peering beyond the tunnel toward the nearest soldier, snoring away. For What Reason Did You Put Them To Sleep?

They Bore Me, Yyero said. Marching And Watching. Practicing With Their Paltry Weapons. The Sleep Empowers Them…And It Gives Me Peace To Work.

Noctis nudged a cluster of glowing mushrooms, newly budded along a damp rock. They were slimy to the touch, clinging among yellowed moss…and quite large. Touched by her shadowflesh, the whole of the cluster skittered aside, crawling down the tunnel and away from her reach. Very Interesting.

Why Do You Bother Me?

I Seek The Lizard As Well, she said. I Tire Of Fashioning Defenses. I Desire Blood…And If I Cannot Have Nevarre’s, Then I Will Take Whatever I Can.

Ah. Teeth sprouted along the growth on Scathers’ spine, bared into a reckless grin. You Were Always My Favorite, Sister—Even If You Are Not Blood.

We Are Held By More Than Blood, Yyero.

He nodded. There was nothing else to add. It was an immutable truth that clung to his soul as closely as his own power. As undeniable as the Ages themselves. With Your Shadowbeasts, We Could Find This Lizard Easily.

If Only That Were True. His sister keened, a sound Yyero did not hear often from her. It was frustration escaping her Spirit like water boiling upon a heated stone. I Have Sent My Creatures Into These Tunnels, Hunting Every Inch Of Them—And Yet They Cannot Pinpoint The Unbound. Somehow, The Lizard Remains Elusive.

He Is Powerful, Yyero said approvingly. A Fine Flesh For Me To Claim.

Perhaps, said a new voice. If You Survive To Reach Him.

Yyero spun, an uncommon fear clutching at his spoiled Spirit. Scathers’ hackles rose, and Noctis sprouted a dozen spikes as a clicking noise tapped down an adjoining tunnel. A tunnel that had not been there only moments before.

A skeleton stood, draped in broken armor that perhaps was once white. Its ivory bones were green with growths of many strange things, but red and gold power bound itself together in ligaments of divine power.

His rat’s nose twitched. Avet.

The two gods were joined by a third.

What Are You Doing Here?

Golden teeth smiled at them both. To Tender Aid, My Dear Siblings. A soft laugh slipped through his dead jaws. To mortals, it was a grandfatherly sound—to Yyero, it was a precursor to annoyance.

Speak Quickly, Brother Mine, he snapped.

So Impatient. It Is Not A Good Look On You, Lord of Decay. The skeleton clacked its jaws together twice. I Hear That You Are Having Trouble With Vessels. So Here I Am, Draped Within Mine.

The skeleton spread its arms wide, gesturing to its decrepit body. When Yyero and Noctis did naught but glower at him, the fool sighed. Do You Not Like It? I Found It Wasting Away Beneath A Fractured Grate. This Armor Was Once Quite Nice, You Know.

You Wear A Corpse, And A Broken One At That, Yyero sneered. Is This What You’ve Come To, God Of Change? Stealing Corpses To Peddle Your Small Will?

All I Am Is Due To Our Actions, Avet snapped.

Yyero grinned, tumor and rat in perfect sync.

Avet folded his dusty arms. This Is But A Mode Of Transit. A Talwing To Convey Me to You. To Warn You.

Warn Us, Noctis repeated. Of What?

Of Danger, he laughed. The Twins Toy With Siva’s Heart. They Plot Against Us.

The Twins Are Always Plotting, Yyero scoffed.

And We Know They Bear Siva’s Heart. They Showed Us, Noctis said. You Would Have Known It, Too, Were You Ever To Set Foot In The Deadlands.

Do You Not Recall The Last Time He Strayed There? Yyero said, sneering at the skeleton. I’m Sure Our Brother Does.

Bloody crimson flashed through the corpse’s eyes, and liquid gold dripped down its fanged jaws. Always One To Twist The Knife, Yyero.

Always One To Step Into It, Avet.

The light faded from the God of Change’s eyes as suddenly as a year’s ending. I Have No Interest In That Place, But The Twins Have Found It Quite Intriguing.

Yyero opened his mouth to deride the pathetic husk before them, but a slick shadow tendril forestalled his words. Why? Noctis asked.

Avet inclined his skull. The Dig. For What, I Do Not Know. But Is It Not Curious That They Use Siva’s Heart To Light Their Way?

Yyero and Noctis exchanged glances.

They Would Not Dare, he muttered.

We Are Bound Together By Law, Noctis said. I Trust Them.

Indeed. But Do They Trust You? Avet asked. They Are Off, Plumbing The Deadlands, And Leaving You To What? Defend The City? Protect Their Vessels? He leaned closer. Do You Know If You Can Even Withstand An Assault?

We Are Gods, Yyero intoned, his voice so loud it shook stone dust from the tunnels. The Gates Are Protected By Our Power. None May Come Here That We Do Not Will!

None? Truly? He turned to Noctis. Tell Me, Sister. What Happened When You Went Up Against A Paltry Army Of Chimera?

Though she had no mouth, Yyero heard a sound not unlike the grinding of teeth from the goddess. What Is Your Point?

Felix Nevarre. The sound of that name was like a spike of ice across his spine, and Noctis loosed a savage growl. Avet, the bastard, merely grinned. You Couldn’t Stop His Allies. What Hope Do You Have Of Stopping Him When He Arrives?

He Is Mortal, Noctis insisted. He Cannot Overcome Us Together. The Ritual Must Be Protected, So That All Of Us Are Free.

Speak For Yourself, Sister. I Stand Here, Beyond Your Chains. Avet’s grin gained more teeth, shaped from crimson power. You Could Always Follow My Path.

Yyero, if he had lips, would have twisted them in disdain. As it was, his Spirit roiled at the thought of becoming anything like Avet. The god seemed to notice, because he laughed.

Defenses Waste Your Power, Laying Upon Themselves For An Attack That Hasn’t Come. Why? You Snatched The Unbound Out From Under Nevarre’s Nose. Why Isn’t He Here?

He Is Afraid, Yyero said. It was as simple as that. The Boy⁠—

No.

Noctis shook her empty face. Nevarre Is Insane. He Follows Incomprehensible Whims. He Is Slaved To Those That Serve Him. Avet…Has A Point.

He Is Simply Instigating Chaos, Yyero snarled, and his voice bubbled like thick sludge as he turned on the pathetic god. You Do Nothing That Is Not In Your Own Self-Interest. How Does This Benefit You, God Of Change?

Avet put a bony hand to his chest and dropped his jaw, as if gasping. I Am Simply Looking Out For My Siblings. Blood May Not Connect All Of Us, But Our Bonds Go Deeper Than That.

Is That What You Said When You Hamstrung The Pathless?

Avet dropped his hand, his voice flattening. I Gave Him Mercy. Nevarre Would Have Finished Him Regardless, And He Would Have Learned All The Secrets The Pathless Knew. The Coward Was Never One For Pain.

Noctis nodded at that. He Was Poised To Tell The False Emperor All He Knew Before We Intervened.

The Law Would Have Prevented Him, Yyero insisted.

Ouranic Law Only Covers So Much, Avet shot back. Our Compact And Our Power Can Be Sussed Out. That Boy Is Smarter Than You Lot Realize, And I Don’t Know If You’ve Noticed, But The System Is Helping Him.

Yyero narrowed his eyes. Helping Him How?

Quests.

Both of the gods went still, as if they'd become statues rather than living beings. System quests weren't just dangerous—they were anathema to the Divine. Yyero had been on the wrong end of them many times before. At the hands of a far different enemy.

We’ve Known Of His Quests Since He Rose To Our Awareness, If Not The Content, Noctis said. Do You Know More?

Not As Such.

He Will Fall.

And Yet He Does Not…And His Allies Rise With Him. Avet shook his head. Don’t You See? They Will Challenge Us. Not Just One Unbound, But An Entire Nation.

The corpse dripped molten gold from between his crimson teeth, and a crown flashed above his head. The Nym Rise Again.

Yyero scowled, but he could not deny that Avet's words stirred something inside of him. It was foreign, like a stranger he’d seen only once in his youth, now come again into his life. We Have Broken The Path. There Is No Way For Him To Ascend⁠—

He Will Devour You All. Avet's golden teeth gleamed in the sickly light of Yyero's mushrooms as pieces of his paltry Vessel fell apart. He Gathers His Power Now. If You Wait, You Will Fail.

He looked between them as crimson and gold bled away into darkness. You Will Never Get Your Vengeance, Noctis.

Unless You Act.

The last remnants of Divine power leached away, and the corpse crumbled as bones powdered, leaving only his words to echo in the dark.

Rat and shadowbeast considered the dust, each lost in their own thoughts. Yyero felt that stranger again, the emotion that stabbed at his Spirit like broken glass. He recognized it, this time.

Fear.

The Lizard Is Nearly In Our Grasp, Yyero said after a moment. I Will Not Lose Him to Nevarre’s Blasphemy. Sister, he looked at the Shadowbeast, What Say You?

The Twins Will Be Furious.

I See That As A Boon. Avet Was Right. They Profit While We Languish, Waiting On A Strike That Has Not Yet Come. We’ve Dallied Among These Fools For Too Long.

Noctis nodded. When The Twins Have Their Vessel, They Care For Little Else.

So Do You.

Yes, she said, but bloody lightning dripped through the endless emptiness within her face. But I Crave That Child’s Death. For All He Has Wrought.

Destroying Nevarre With You Will Be A Joy. Yyero's rat convulsed, the growth upon its spine crawling back into its open wounds as the god withdrew his power.

Beside him, Noctis shuddered, her serpent's flesh rippling with strange pleasure. And His Little Dog, Too.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Vess tried to relax.

The evening after they’d found the Nascent Fruits had been some of the tensest of her life. She had not been able to shake the bone-deep anxiety she felt for her Hatchlings, and only when Felix gave her the all-clear that morning had she found some measure of peace. A peace that was broken only by the sound of greedy, nibbling Hatchlings.

They fell upon the Nascent Fruits like a storm of empty stomachs.

At first, bellies full, the little monsters were sluggish and clumsy, but as the benefits began to propagate across their cores, their activity increased. Full and happy, they were a lot less stubborn. Yin had spent a lot of time focusing on that, drilling flight formations into the ninety-nine Hatchlings as they navigated the convoluted branches of the Spirit Tree. Every once in a while, he would send an attack their way. He used his Dawnfire to corral and confuse the babies, startling them with a nip of pain like a Palehound herding a flock of Avum. He was always quite careful to never use its full force; such an act would devastate the Hatchlings, and they were not ready for anything approaching a true battle.

Instead, Yin would chase them around, urging them to hold their formations, even as they had to evade his expert flight. It was quite entertaining, and truly, Vess wished that she could be a part of this early training. But after some discussion, she and Yin had both agreed that he, as the sole adult Drake among them all, should be the one to begin their training. Vess would fold in her expertise as they went, and besides, she had other priorities at the moment.

"So, we just need to go down there?" Felix asked.

The both of them stood upon the steps leading up to her core, the enormous, golden Dragon temple. The steps they were on wound around the mountain, traversing its rugged height in a tight spiral. The steps were detailed with curling designs that reminded her of wind and water, but they were almost equally covered in moss and the beading moisture of the clouds that clung so close. Or had clung. A mere twenty paces below them, those very clouds swirled in sedate eddies—but they only looked calm on the surface. Below, they raged, roaring at the edge of hearing, as if those last few strides muted their fury.

"I find myself nervous," she admitted.

"I don't blame you," Felix said. He folded his thick arms, the dark scales catching a blue tint within the strange light of her core space. "The power that I’ve given you, the stuff you've gathered yourself, all of it is down there. That's a lot."

He took her hand. “I can help, if you want me to.”

A piece of the tension across her back and neck melted away at his touch, and even more at his words. "Let us go, then."

They walked down the steps.

Breaching the cloud barrier was as simple as striding through a heavy fog, and yet, upon doing so, Vess was struck by the enormity of what lay below. A storm unlike anything she'd ever experienced was unveiled, its full-throated roar now unleashed. Felix threw up a hand, and the wind parted before them. They descended farther.

Even the mighty Tempest in Sunara paled in comparison to the fury of what lay in the chasms between the mountains. Raging winds and powerful currents of flickering white-green, silver, and golden Mana whipped around her in a chaotic maelstrom. Vess sucked in a surprised breath but found herself choking on the air as it tried to force its way through Felix’s Intent and into her lungs. Felix growled, thrusting his hand forward again, and the wind abated. Vess coughed and caught her breath.

How long had this power been gathering quietly beneath the clouds? How did she not notice this place?

They stood upon a ledge, still high off whatever ground may lay below. The view was obscured by those raging currents and whipping clouds, but there were details aplenty there in the fog. Scales the size of buildings studded the mountain, accompanied by the leg and tail bones of mighty beasts, emerging like trees from the precipices. Far more common, however, were racks of broken crystal antlers that clung to the slopes, and it was these that the wind sang loudest among. A glazed hum among the pieces of Dawn Dragons, scattered on the terrain like detritus.

"I never visualized any of this," she said into the gale.

The more Vess looked, the more she realized that it was an accumulation. Mana swirled through the narrow chasms that threaded the mountains that represented her Skills, and where they touched, those scales blossomed, growing at a slow but almost visible rate. Those crystalline antlers had a great many tines, most snapped free by the winds, but always more were budding and branching.

Far less apparent was the scattering of dark mist, almost invisible in the press of clouds around her. The darkness did far more than the Mana, traveling alongside it and sinking into those features, building out the mountain, fingerspans at a time. If she weren't mistaken, significance was in there, too. A deep sea of something moved just beyond her sight, far below, weighted down by its own immense mass.

"The Primordial power that has overflown from you, Felix. It has run riot down here."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"All of it settles here." She swallowed. “Building upon my core space without my knowledge. Inexorably changing my very center.”

He placed a hand over hers, and she looked at him. Where her hair whipped in the wild breeze, he stood there untouched by the storm, as if he were in a separate room. Held apart. Even the gloom refused to touch him, and his face was as clear as if sunshine were bright upon him.

"Breathe," he said, softly. "You are the master of this place, no one else. Your visualization helped me when no one else could. Your talent there is second to none.”

“This is too much, Felix. Your excess might is reshaping the terrain⁠—”

“My power? This is your power. Freely given.”

Vess clenched her jaw. He was right. She knew that. She and her friends had taken his gifts again and again, to improve themselves as well as save his life.

“Do you regret it?” he asked, so softly that Vess was surprised she could hear it over the gale.

“Never.” He flashed her a relieved grin and squeezed her hand. Ah, but his eyes crinkle so charmingly when he smiles like that. She cleared her throat but did not let go. “How can I make use of my power, then?”

“We have to harness it and to clear out a space within yourself to ground your Pillars.” He gestured at the winds around them. "Can you do that?"

"Yes. This is the moment my instructors had been preparing me for, after all.”

Vess closed her eyes, breathing as she had been taught, isolating her thoughts and quieting her Mind until there was only the roar of the wind. Then even that faded.

She existed within a Void, bereft of influence, before she opened herself up once again to the chasm. Immediately, she sensed something.

Strands. Pieces of power woven together. Around her, the air steadied. The force of it pulled away from her and twisted, strands weaving together into a solid cable of power, Essence, Mana, and a thick weight that pulled at her attention.

"That's it," Felix whispered. “You got it."

Vess opened her eyes and saw that the cable before her was as thick as her wrist, pieces of white-green crystal, diamond antler, scales, and even the light of dawn's sunrise mingled with streaming tendrils of cloud and dark mist. She reached out, shaping her Intent around the strand until it was not her hands that held it, but the claws of a mighty, golden dragon.

"I think I'm ready," she said.

"I think so, too. Holy crap, you're good at this," Felix said with a laugh. "And I need to check on the others. I believe you can do this yourself, but personally, I would love to be here to make sure you're as safe as possible. Is that rude?"

She smiled. "I don't think so."

"Good," he said with relief. "Can you wait until tonight?"

"Of course. I would be a fool not to sharpen every edge I could. Besides," she added as she touched his cheek, "you keep me calm."

Vess rose out of her core space. The moment she did, her sense of Felix vanished, and she opened her eyes to see the upper branches of Atlantes’ canopy. She banished the sense of emptiness and faint dismay she felt with him gone. Vess had not lied to him when she told him that he kept her calm. When he used their Link to appear in her core space, it was like a warmth had been ignited in her chest. A comfort she was now disappointed to be without.

She shook herself, stretching out her muscles as she stood. You're a Dayne. Don't swoon over a pair of eyes and a taut rear end. The words echoed at her as if shouted down a corridor from the past. Words her mother had told her time and again during her early teens. "I think you would have liked him, though, Mother," she murmured to herself. "And his rear end is quite nice."

"Who’s rear end we talkin’ about?"

With a clattering of chains, Evie landed beside Vess, her arcanite armor gleaming in the early morning light.

“No one,” Vess said, her Spirit perfectly veiled. She had far less control, however, over her flushed cheeks.

“Uh-huh.” She flicked her chain, engaging its shrinking enchantments before wrapping it once more around her waist and shoulder. "Why d’you look like you just woke up?"

"I was meditating, Evie."

“Meditating on a certain Emperor’s butt?”

“Evie!”

"You said it, not me." She rolled her eyes. "Meditating, though. Ugh. Harn keeps trying to get me to do it again. Says it’ll help me, you know, weave my Pillars. But you know what? That's boring. So I came up here to see if you want to help me.”

Vess raised an eyebrow. “Help you how?”

“Help me not be bored.” Yintarion flew close, the Hatchlings close behind. They seemed to be chasing him now. “Actually, all of you could be useful.”

"And how would we help with that, Evie?" She lifted a finger. “And keep in mind, I am not pranking anyone. Not again.”

“Blind gods, it was one time. Aenea’s eyebrows grew back, anyway.”

“Evie.”

She held up her hands, as if to ward off a blow. "It’s not bad! Beef and I had an idea."

An intense buzzing noise announced the arrival of the Sharpwing Matriarch, flying up through the leaves below. The Risen creature appeared as nothing more than a Human-sized lizard bearing with four wings that stood straight out from her back. It was an impressive and imposing foe, far more so than it had been in life, thanks to the consciousness that gleamed from behind its blackened-green eyes—and the layers of chitinous armor.

"Good morning, Vess," Hallow said from within the Matriarch’s throat. "Beef and I asked Evie to join us, and she had the idea to approach you and yours.”

“Join you in what?”

“Training. A true spar between our forces. Evie and her Frost Giants, our Risen, and you and your Hatchlings. Do you think they are ready for it?"

Yin laughed as he flew in from above. "They are children, but they are Dragons! We will destroy you and whatever force you can muster, little girl."

"We?" Evie said. "Yeah, sure. You can help too, lizard. Vess needs the handicap.”

Yintarion snorted a laugh through his nose, the smoke bright and silver. “Bold words from someone so diminutive.”

"Bah,” Evie said, waving off the Dawn Drake. “We're doing this on the ground, though. The giants aren't good at heights.”

The Matriarch bobbed in agreement. "Location doesn't matter to my Risen, of course. Beef says that we shall prevail no matter where."

Yin roared in challenge, and Vess smiled as the Hatchlings took it up.

CHAPTER FIFTY

In the Glyphworks, far below where Vess and the others were hashing out the details of their spar, a different sort of chaos reigned. Men and women of all Races rushed around, styluses in hand, working on strange metal and stone shapes brought to their workstations by smiths in thick leather aprons and heavy gloves. Mana sparked from every corner of the glyphworks, power swirling through the hands, feet, and mouths of the apprentices as they inscribed complicated arrays across massive panels of high steel, mithril, and hundreds of pieces of arcanite.

“No, make sure you follow the curve of the orbital here,” Atar said, pointing at an oblong slab of the silvery-crimson alloy. “The inset glyph needs the space for Mana to move. Place it at a forty-five degree angle to the tertiary stabilizing sigils.”

“Of course, Glyphmaster.”

Atar gave a satisfied nod and moved on. The apprentices’ styluses rarely paused, and then only to check the master key for their designs. Pieces of it hung around the Crafting Hall, split along the panels that had been delivered by the Forge.

“They’re turning out excellently,” Alister said as he met Atar near the edge of his workstation, his Spirit swelling with glee. “None of them seem to be having issues with the inscriptions! All the work we did to simplify the ancient sigaldry is really paying off.”

“The work you did,” Atar corrected. “I barely contributed. This is your baby. How’s it feel?”

Alister surveyed the Crafting Hall again. “Unreal. And more than a little nervous. What if the assembly goes wrong?”

“We’ve tested it more than once. With Harn forging the alloy, we’ve solved the stress problem. The assembly is simple, and the parts are numbered. According to Darius, the Legion will be assembling these in their sleep before long.”

Alister nodded, but from the way he bit his lip, Atar knew he was worried. He’d likely stay that way until the assault.

“Come,” he said, clasping his boyfriend around the shoulder. “Let me show you the other assembly work.”

Atar took Alister around to the opposite side of the Glyphworks, where apprentices were feverishly inscribing armor and weapons. Similar to the arcanite slabs, here the apprentices had been arranged into an efficient pattern, allowing each of them to work on some small part of the overall arrays and speed up their output. It also allowed them to target train particular Skills, pushing them to higher levels faster.

The Eidolon Exults Eagin and Iiana were there, too, pointing at various mistakes or places for the apprentices to improve. Despite their unreliable memories, they were fonts of information for the most unexpected bits, and Atar was happy to have them there. The hulking constructs also lifted and held various materials for the apprentices, allowing them to inscribe at increasingly convoluted angles.

They held up newly inscribed maces, swords, and gauntlets, spot checking them for inaccuracies. They never found a single one. Each enchantment worked perfectly, increasing the durability of the weapons and armor while also providing a few specific effects. Harn and Darius had been quite clear on the types of enchantments that they found useful, though Atar had been miffed that his creativity was being stymied. The Commanders of the Legion claimed it was to standardize their equipment and provide them with a reliable foundation to build battle tactics around.

“Too flashy, too costly, and we end up with broken formations and dead soldiers,” Reed had said to him. “You don’t want that, do you?”

Atar had, of course, said no—even if part of him was more interested in seeing how far he could push arcanite.

yes. i, too, regret you listening to that ogre of a man, Flame grumbled. muscle-bound mortals like him do not understand the glory we pursue, nor the might hidden behind the sweep of delicate sigaldry.

Atar’s lips squeezed as if he’d tasted something sour. He hated when he agreed with the Urge, no matter the subject. I told you to stop listening to my thoughts, Flame.

and i told you not to think so loudly. we have both failed.

Bah.

Atar put the Urge out of his Mind, at least for a while longer, focusing entirely on the work before him. Their inspection lasted until he felt the tension flow out of Alister’s shoulders and his Spirit livened up its melody.

“The warding array is exceptionally efficient,” Eagin said to Alister, holding up a set of mithril Legionnaire armor. “How was it done?”

“I stole the idea from the stabilizer fins we found in a Nymean ruin, and Atar modified them to work with our power sources.” Alister hefted one of the many Domain cores they had set along the material shelving. It was bigger than his head, but the lithe mage had packed on considerable amounts of Strength.

“Those are far too big to power these wards,” Iiana said. “How are they transporting them?”

“We ended up chipping the cores into smaller pieces. Turns out they’re still effective at storing Mana, even when broken up; it’s just less.” Atar opened a drawer within the stone storage unit, revealing row upon row up inscribed slivers. They were the size of his fingers and glowed with a faint, almost colorless light. “With a few of these embedded within the array, we can power a number of effects for a few glasses.”

“The Golden Empire incorporated similar techniques. They—” Eagin winced, his stone face creasing along its many folded segments. “The method is unclear. Perhaps they used cores, too, but the jagged edges of my memories suggest another way.”

“Hm, something to consider for the future,” Alister said.

“If we have a future,” Atar muttered, closing the drawer and locking it again. “Let’s hope these work well enough to see it happen.”

incinerate them all and claim what remains, Flame intoned. anything else is begging for defeat.

Iiana hummed. “I knew a great many generals who raged as you do, Urge. They were swallowed by it, in the end.”

i do not rage. i am the undying flame. i burn.

Apart from his Urge’s grim words, the inspection went well. Atar and Alister eventually moved back to his workstation, where the remnants of his many projects were laid out on the counters, and he could watch as Mana flared and flowed among his apprentices. There was also another component fueling their work: the Nascent Fruits.

The Fruit had been delivered to the Glyphworks earlier that day by purple-cowled Claw members; dozens of the large Fruits, each glowing a pale blue that Atar found strangely comforting. After providing an explanation for the gift, they had been swiftly passed around, many of the apprentices encouraged to eat at least one as they worked. Atar watched as a few of his apprentices licked their fingers before diving back into their work.

Atar himself had tried one earlier. They were quite sweet, and he felt a piece of what he supposed the lesser Tiers were feeling.

they tasted of weakness and citrus. i like neither, Flame groused.

Originally, Atar had been ecstatic to see them. Already, many inscriptionists had pushed into Journeyman Tier on several of their primary Skills. What they learned, of course, was that while effective, the Fruits would only be effective for so long. They had diminishing returns on the same person.

For Atar, the effect was essentially nothing. For some of the Apprentice Tiers, they could push up to three of their Skills through Temper before the Fruits had nothing left to offer, at least not without a great deal more.

"They're not weak," Atar said. "I'm sure enough Fruits would push all of their Skills to Journeyman, if we got enough.”

“It's easier just to practice the Skill or learn more about it,” Alister added. “Consuming as many as they'd need would be a task in and of itself."

shortcuts to power, Flame scoffed. we have no need of them.

Atar chose not to mention the fact that Flame consumed heat and fire Mana for the exact same purpose. He didn't do so out of kindness. If he had mentioned it, Flame would go on another tirade, and Atar had better things to do with his time.

"You know," Alister said, chewing through one of the fruits, "they're not that bad. Besides, they got a little zip to them. I can feel it," he said, swallowing. "It’s like a weight in my center, in the spaces between the machinery, you know?”

“That must be the significance acting on you. It does build up," Eagin said, approaching the Glyphmaster’s workstation. He stroked his chin with a stone finger, the sound like a mortar and pestle grinding against itself. "My Pillars, long since Lost with my true Body, were quite difficult to establish. Significance was key to a strong foundation.”

“Do you have Pillars anymore?" Atar asked.

"No. When we are transferred into the Exults, our advancement is frozen. Further growth is not possible within our fabricated Bodies. But I can still remember pieces of what it once was. My Pillars were the standard nine, and they were built from the stalwart Skills of a warrior. Hew The Forest, my axe Skill, was matched by my Roar Of The Earth to fortify my old flesh. Each Pillar was woven with one of those nine Skills that I built up through every single Tier, from Beginner all the way to Master and beyond."

"Yes, that's what the notebooks say," Alister said, tapping his waist, where a buff-colored book was tucked away. "But they do not go into much detail."

"What is most important,” Eagin continued, “is that they were woven with pieces from all of the rest, each one a strand from the other eight. Every Skill matters. That is the key to a solid foundation."

Eagin tapped Alister lightly on the chest, barely brushing his battle robes. "You are who you choose to be, and this is where those choices are made manifest."

"I see," Alister said, "and I think I understand." He picked up another fruit and bit into it.

Atar smiled and considered his own core. It burned with fire more than ever before. Felix had stopped by to help them a few times, guiding them along their way with Fiendforge and his own advice. He was getting all of the pieces in order and had left soon after, but he'd been the one to suggest that the Fruits might help Alister bolster himself.

Atar, of course, didn't need the help. All the fire and heat Mana that Flame had consumed and taken in was there, ready to be used. Burning a hole through his core, as if seeking his foundations, whether Atar was ready or not.

He opened up the book that Zara and Felix had developed and given to them, flipping to the section concerning weaving his Pillars. He just had to check over a few things, then he'd be ready.

yes, Flame said from within, spreading his burning wings, then domination!

"Just hold steady," Atar said, ignoring the Urge's outburst. "I'll handle the rest."

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Beef stood upon a hill in a forest of widely spaced trees just south of Elderthrone. He could see the walls rising up above the forest, and the hill upon which the Chanter's school sat like a witch's castle.

Witch's mansion? Eh. That's not as fun to say.

He looked around, eyeing the forest as he adjusted his grip on his hammer and shifted his shoulders. Hallow clung to him, her crystalline armor like a second skin.

"Remember, Beef: the Giants, led by Evie and Battlelord Ari, are over the hill to the north, nearest the Bitterward itself. Vess, Yin, and all of her flying lizards were to the east.”

“I know, we've gone over this.”

“You just need to protect both directions. That is it. Our Risen will handle the rest."

North and east. The location of their banners and designated strongholds in the game they were playing. Beef had come up with the idea, of course, modeling it after Capture the Flag back home. Evie had altered it, adding kill conditions as well, which made the entire game a bit more hardcore than Beef had anticipated.

He studied the terrain. "How far to the Dragon's Den?"

His armor glowed, a blackened green light welling up within its crystal facets, and off in the distance, a dozen pairs of eyes saw a dozen different views. Beef could see them as well, a gift through his connection with Hallow, but it was hazy and watered down. It was far easier to let Hallow handle those particular tasks. All those perspectives made his head hurt.

"A quarter league from us," she said. "Their banner is planted just beyond that clearing. The Hatchlings lie in wait, however."

Beef adjusted his grip on their banner. It was a simple structure of wood and cloth, with a hammer and horns hastily painted on it.

"What about Evie?” She was someone Beef was very worried about—he’d never managed to beat her in a spar.

“Her and the Frost Giants are engaged with Yintarion near their own banner."

“Oh.” Beef smiled, relief easing the knots in his neck and back. “That’s good.”

Hallow had their Risen spread out over the whole battlefield. Small things like birds made the best scouts, and they were easy to miss, usually. His armor hummed, Hallow's eyes glowing across his breastplate before blinking in shock.

"I've lost sixteen Risen scouts."

Beef turned in the direction of their loss. He could feel the severed connections like contrails of dissipating entropy.

"How far?"

"Three hundred strides and closing. They're in the trees."

Beef flared his Perception. He wasn't as developed in that area as some others. There was chaos all around him as the three armies clashed, but he could hear the hissing whip of concentrated air Mana.

"They're flying fast.” Beef set Bedlam on the ground, grinding it into the green grass. "Hard to target."

Entropic energy flowed through Beef, passively now, soaking into him from the environment beneath his hooves. It felt weird, but it was very useful. He pulled at it, actively hauling it from the world around him. Bugs like gnats buzzed around the fields, but whenever they drew close to him, they died instantly. There was far less entropic energy there in that lively field, but where there was life, there was always death, and his will and intent were more than enough to pull out what he needed.

"Remember," Hallow said, "we're trapping, not killing. Those are the rules of the duel."

"I remember."

The bugs dying was a side effect he hadn't been able to avoid. Extremely weak creatures would perish when he drew on the entropy of an area, but he learned to contain it around himself like an aura or a cloak. Beef didn't like the idea of all the small critters around him dying just to power his attacks—it made his skin crawl. He had more than enough Mana inside his core space to supplement whatever he needed to produce. Right now, he just needed an anchor.

“Entropic Paradigm.”

Chitin rolled through the ground, unseen and unheard, moving faster than Beef could ever run. It surged into the trees, splitting around trunks and low shrubs, rejoining and splitting again until a web of chitin extended out into the forest for a hundred feet.

“C’mon out, you little jerks!” Beef shouted.

A sharp, hissing cry split the air as the sound of two hundred wings flapping shook the canopy apart. Elemental Mana flowed like a rainbow stormcloud, swirling around the Hatchlings as they emerged. After tangling with them twice now, he’d learned that they knew words and had very thin skin.

All at once, ninety-nine Hatchlings shot out of the trees, claws extended.

Beef gestured, and his own claws rose up. Chitinous constructs burst from the anchor points he’d made beneath the earth, each a wide claw that snatched the Hatchlings out of the sky. With an effort of Will, the fingers of the chitin claws tightened, binding their flapping wings.

"Ha!" He said. "Ninety-nine points."

Each opponent they captured or rendered unable to fight earned them a single point in the System duel. Commanders were more of course, with Evie, Beef, and Vess each worth one hundred points a piece. The banners, however, were the real prize. If they could steal a banner and return it to their own base, then that entire team was taken off the field, and their points were won by the thief.

A blur whipped through his cages, shattering every single one with precision strikes from the arcanite spear she wielded without mercy. Beef's display rattled back down to zero.

"No fair!"

"Quite fair, Beef!" Vess soared upward, right into the sun. Beef squinted after her, but he lost her. Only for a second, yet it was enough that, when she dropped, spear first, he was not ready.

Hallow was.

The arcanite glaive skipped, gouged into the extended tail of the Multipede as it rose up around him, and Beef barked a laugh before bringing Bedlam to bear. Vess twisted her glaive, boring a wider hole into his Risen’s hide before leaping backward, just ahead of Beef’s swing.

"Ruinous Ram—!" Before Beef could move, his crystalline armor seized his legs, planting them firmly into the earth. He jolted forward, abs screaming at the sudden switch up. “Hey! Hallow?”

The Multipede rumbled, and the Sharpwing Matriarch whizzed by his head to give chase to the Dragoon. It shot after Vess in a flurry of razor-sharp wings and lashing tail.

"I have her, Beef. Stay here and assist your army," she said through his breastplate.

Gah! Beef twisted the haft of his hammer. He wanted to fight. Straight up. He was sick of waiting.

“You agreed to this plan,” she reminded him.

“I didn’t realize it was gonna be so boring, though.”

“Worry not,” she said, and Beef felt her attention shift toward the treeline. There, the trunks and leaves burst into flame. “Defend us.”

Beef laughed. “Yes!”

The Hatchlings flew forward, their crimson and orange members leading the charge. Their breath was unleashed upon the meadow, the underbrush, and the trees around him, until Beef was surrounded by a field of flames. Even low leveled and before their first Evolution, the Hatchlings were weirdly strong, and the heat alone was punishing.

“It’s not enough. Entropic Paradigm!”

Hatchlings met chitinous walls that speared out of the earth before folding over the burning meadow. Deprived of oxygen, the fires were instantly snuffed out. The Hatchlings squawked in alarm, banking tightly to avoid his structures.

Smart little lizards. Beef sniffed as they fled, flying around the meadow like a flock of birds. They were so colorful, and their magic had a scent to it that punched through the smoke. It was a medley of things, too many to count, but it tingled at the edge of his memory. He tracked them as they circled, magic pouring off them like smoke. It smelled like green things, like⁠—

Like that little mouse monster we fought. It was called Grum or something, right? Why is that? Didn’t Yin make a deal with it to Evolve? Does that have to do with the Hatchlings? Why—Wait, Beef blinked, scanning around himself. Where’d they go?

With a screeching roar, ten Hatchlings dropped down from above, pile driving Beef into the dirt. The dog-sized lizards latched onto his head, shoulders, and arms.

“The same tactic two times in a row, Beef?” Hallow chastised him.

“I was thinking!”

“They have our banner!”

Beef jerked his head up. Sure enough, a white-green lizard was holding onto the crossbar of his banner and was trying to fly up. He threw one of the green Hatchlings off his arm, bashing it into one of his chitin domes, and snatched the banner pole. The white-green lizard screeched at him, and the other nine bit and clawed at him.

“Any time now, lady!” Beef shouted.

"Raaah!"

Fafnir roared, launching from behind a nearby tree and slamming into the Hatchling across his chest. The rest scattered, fleeing from the bigger Risen as she snapped at them with her black jaws.

Beef stood back up, securing his hold on the banner again. “Don’t chase them, Fafnir!”

She, of course, didn’t listen. Fafnir body-checked the Hatchlings, taking down one after the other. Cursing, Beef resolved to chasing after her with his power. He stood by his banner, free arm outstretched as Entropic Paradigm flared across his hidden anchor points. One after the other, he caught every Hatchling that Fafnir downed into chitin cages.

“Don’t hurt them, you willful little—” Beef muttered to himself.

Blackened green breath curled from Fafnir's jaws, nipping at the Hatchlings' tails and driving them to more frantic flight. That didn’t mean that the Hatchlings were just rolling over, though. They fought back hard—while everyone else was pulling their punches for the duel, the Hatchlings had no sense of sportsmanship. They bit and clawed with all they had, gouging for eyes and wings and soft bellies.

Beef wasn't worried, Fafnir could take it. The Risen dragon flew in a spiral around several blue, purple, and white-green Hatchlings, blasting them all with her necromantic breath. They floundered, the cloying flames catching on their wings and crests, and each one dropped to the earth as she bashed them with her armored tail.

Fafnir let loose a bugling cry, and her curious Spirit surged with joy, up until the ground exploded.

A brown Hatchling, lying in wait beneath her, leapt up from beneath the waves of dirt and slammed into the Risen's gut. Fafnir's bugle turned into a startled grunt, then a pained groan as a tail laden with rocks smashed her into a nearby tree.

Beef stepped forward, hammer in his hands before he sensed his little dragon get back up. She snorted in anger and summoned chitinous armor around her black scales and massive, jagged jaws around her face.

"Fafnir, be careful!"

“Rah!”

Beef blinked, his concern popping like a bubble. "Did you just answer me?"

She said nothing else but attacked the Hatchlings with abandon, jaws snapping and tail lashing. Beef watched worriedly, gripping his hammer with one hand and his banner with the other. Should I chase after her? She’s hitting those guys a little too hard⁠—

The buzzing of the Matriarch's wings was the only warning Beef received.

Crimson-silver flashed, dropping down from the sky. The first blow hit his crystalline shoulder, sparking brightly before Beef scrambled his Intent. Entropy answered, swirling up into an arc that carved out a wall above himself and deflecting the other gleaming Spears that dropped down. Vess herself flipped overhead, wind swirling around her as she slashed down with her Dragon-faced glaive. Beef twisted toward it, taking the strike directly on the horns, his orichalcum helmet sparking against her arcanite blade.

“I’m sorry!” Hallow said, her breath coming fast from his breastplate. “She moved too fast!”

Before her words finished, the Sharpwing Matriarch caught up, lunging for Vess’ back. Unfortunately, the woman’s boot caught the Risen in the chest, sending the skink into the treetops. Vess tossed her braid backward out of the way, manifesting multiple Spears all around herself.

“I simply leveraged my advantage against yours,” she said. “It is the key to victory, Hallow.”

Fafnir roared, surging from the left side as she chomped toward Vess, but the Hatchlings had regrouped. They piled atop the Risen—as big and strong as she was, she couldn't contend with a dozen creatures her exact size and weight, and she was driven into the dirt.

Vess thrust her arms forward, sending her Spears launching toward him. Beef marshalled his Will and cocooned himself in chitinous walls. Her Spears plowed through, one after the other, layer after layer that he continually reinforced for the last, and most heavily structured, complete with struts and braces behind it. That one held, at least until she exploded her Spears in a storm of wind and metal.

Beef groaned, gripping the banner against his chest as he threw up his left arm. Hallow expanded her crystalline form, forming a shield around his face and chest, blocking the shrapnel. The Dragoon’s glaive was too strong, even for Hallow’s form, and it punched through with the sound of crunching glass—only to get caught fast by the clenching crystal.

Vess sucked in a tight breath and dropped her glaive immediately, but this time it was she who was too slow. Beef swung his hammer, catching Vess across the shoulder and slamming her to the ground. Yet her damnable speed and Agility proved superior once again, as she was back on her feet before he could follow through.

"Stop being so fast!" he said, whipping his hammer around for a second strike.

Vess met it with her glaive, deflecting his icy hammerhead with the Dragon-styled guard. "Simply place more points into Agility!" she panted, grinning despite what looked like mounting exhaustion.

“But I need Will, Strength, Vitality, Endurance!”

“You Unbound have an unhealthy habit of spreading out your stats.” Vess spun her glaive, parrying Beef’s third and fourth strike. “Some specialization would stand you in good stead!”

“Felix doesn’t specialize.” Beef slammed Bedlam down overhand, splitting the dark loam.

Vess skipped backward, just out of range. “Felix does not count!” She thrust into the gap, catching Beef across his crystal armor. “You already have a lot more Endurance than I do, Beef!"

He grinned, choking up on his hammer. “I do?”

"Of course!"

"Well then, my win is inevitable!" he said with a bright laugh and rushed forward. He thrust his hammer straight ahead like a lance. Vess shifted, but this time he was too fast, and the hammerhead clipped her hip, sending her spinning to the earth once again.

“I did it!" he cheered, only to be interrupted by a calamitous roar from above.

"Unhand her!"

Yintarion dive-bombed from the sky.

Beef flinched back, fear soaking up from the deepest parts of his guts. There was something primal about looking into the eyes of a furious Dragon, and his feet felt rooted to the spot—lucky for him, chains wrapped around the Dawn Drake out of the thin air.

“You’re my opponent, lizard!” Evie shouted, arcing from the treeline. Chains lashed against Yin’s hide and haunches, forcing him to divert his dive-bomb to evade the enormous, icy chains.

Beef groaned. "Why is everyone here?"

From behind their forces came the Frost Giants, flanking Beef against Vess and her Hatchlings. Hallow had warned him time and again that, as strong and fast as Vess and Yintarion surely were, his true foes were the Frost Giants. They were experienced fighters, had exceptional reach, and were truly, monstrously strong. A few in the lead had even become Blood Berserkers, covered now in red ice and swinging heavy axes as they plowed through the woods.

Others, however, the ones that faced down Yintarion, wielded massive chains of frosted black iron. Yin pivoted in the air, flying back at the Frost Giants and unleashing a wave of his own pale breath. It scoured at their ice, melting portions and breaking others.

But then Evie leapt forward, her own twin chains spinning around in strange patterns as she shot for the Dawn Drake. Yin dodged their massive chains with a grace Beef couldn't imagine.

The Berserkers, however, came for him and Vess.

She leapt back, avoiding the blood-red axes before blasting them with her Spears of Tribulation, throwing the Berserkers back and leaving an opening for the massive Battlelord Ari to drop his ice-sheathed club.

Beef cursed, hauling Bedlam up to meet Battlelord Ari's devastating strike. Bedlam's special effect activated, and a wave of cleansing force rippled outward, silencing the power behind the Battlelord's strike. It negated his forward momentum entirely, and the giant’s eyes grew wide as Beef's Strength and the hammer's massive weight came to bear. He was hurled backward, plowing through a dozen other giants and creating instant confusion amongst their ranks.

“Now that's what I'm talking about," Beef muttered.

"Beef, we have Frosted Fen's banner," Hallow informed him, sending a brief impression of his Risen as they ran from a grotto filled with ice and shouting giants.

"Go," he commanded. "Open the way back."

Hallow slipped off of him, removing his armor and leaving him in a simple gambeson and trousers. The crystals of her body formed into a massive, Golem-like shape equal in height with Beef's and filled with a blackened green energy like lightning trapped inside glass.

The Graven Aegis.

“Hold fast, Beef.”

“Just go!”

Hallow instructed as she waded forward, spikes erupting from her crystalline facets. Her form and coloration was striking against the red and blue of the giant's ice, though not nearly as potent as her attacks. Every swing she made shattered their magics as she forced herself through the line, kicking giants down to keep them on the ground as the Risi chased after her.

"RISE!" Hallow cried.

Skeletal Adamant Knights on enormous, chitin-clad Servani corpses burst from hiding, striking at the giants with lashing tails and striking maws. The Risen serpents smashed into the pursuing Risi, breaking their ice armor before wrapping them into cages of coiled armor. The Multipede surged among them as well, bashing the giants aside like bowling pins while the Matriarch buzzed about, evading and tripping up the rest.

Hallow unleashed her Razorhail like a surgeon, firing sword-length spikes of crystal into boots and shields. Ice shattered from their limbs, robbing them of their defenses before pinning their feet to the earth. Others, however, she simply bodied, tackling one after the other as the Battlelord regained his feet.

“Get the Aegis!” Ari bellowed. “Protect the banner!”

Beef, however, couldn't afford to focus on her fight. He still held his banner, and Vess had returned. She struck once, twice, but Beef countered with his hammer and zipped across the terrain with Ruinous Rampage. Vess was right behind him, wings unfurling from her back as the wind surged around her like an oncoming storm.

He forged a ramp of chitin ahead of him and ran up it, leaping into the air and forcing the woman aloft. Yet, even as he jumped, he spun, swinging his hammer with the momentum of his leap. “Deathblow Conduit!”

Blackened green Mana flared across Bedlam, and a screaming song blared through the battlefield. Vess flapped her spectral wings, shooting upward and away from his strike—but not fast enough. He caught her foot—that was enough. His Strength sent her spinning in wild circles, forcing Vess to waste precious seconds righting herself. She slammed into the trunk of a tree, feet first, splintering its trunk in two. She shot back at him, Spear thrusting.

Beef layered structured walls between him and her and stopped her cold. “Hah! Beat that!”

Evie flipped above, and Beef shaped an arc of chitin overhead just before her spare chain slashed down at him. Its spikes tore through the hastily made barrier, but Yintarion was on her, snapping at her heels before she sank her chain into the dirt. Pivoting on it, she narrowly dodged the Dawn Drake.

“Bonds of Dominion!” Evie cried out.

Yin fell to the ground, struggling mightily against an arcanite chain that she hauled around his chest, but mostly against the ethereal purple and blue manacles that extended from nothing. Those bound him in place, freezing his limbs into true immobility.

Like the Holding spell from SwordLore. So cool. That’s 50 points right there.

"Better take care of your friend," Beef snarled at Vess as he barely met her next thrust, turning it aside with a half to his hammer. "She's got a clear shot at your banner."

"Does she?" Vess asked, only to launch her Spears at Evie's back. The chain warrior dodged them, flipping her small Body through the gaps in their strike before smashing them all to the ground with one of her chains.

"Hey, I'm here to help you!" Evie shouted.

Her second chain unraveled from Yin and lashed out, snagging around Beef's arm, the one that held his hammer. She twisted, and it yanked his forearm forward. It didn't hurt at all, but this wasn't a matter of pain or Strength. Beef lost leverage on his own weapon, and his grip failed. The hammer dropped to the ground, only for Evie to catch it and lift it as if it weighed nothing.

“No!” Beef lunged for her.

With a grunt, she pivoted into a spinning swing. All at once, it weighed everything, and it hit Beef straight in the gut.

Beef crashed into the ground, tearing a deep furrow into the earth before smashing through two of his chitin walls. He shoved his hands down when he stopped sliding, forcing his hooves under his bulk. His head rang like a struck bell, though, and his stomach betrayed him—he spewed out his lunch onto the grass. He folded up, abdomen contracting so hard he felt liable to pass out, if only his guts would stop heaving.

With…my own hammer? He gritted his teeth, forcing his hooves against the dirt. I gotta get that back. Gotta fight⁠—

A glaive stabbed toward his eyes, stopping only an inch from skin, so close that Beef could feel the metallic cold from its edge. He looked up, just as a dozen others manifested around him at Vess’ command.

"You lose, Beef,” she said. “My apologies.”

“That's...ugh,” he groaned, sagging toward the earth. “Balls.”

Vess smiled, the gold in her eyes brightening, until a dagger pressed up against her neck.

"Oh, you devious woman," Vess hissed.

Evie laughed. "Please, I'm blushin’."

A notification sounded, just as a series of bells rang out followed by a long, deep gong.

Two Of Three Primary Duelists Are In Mortal Peril.

Duel Complete.

Calculating Points…

Team Frosted Fen Wins!

Evie Aren Wins!

There was a burst of fanfare from the System as all of Beef’s points zeroed back out and vanished from his vision. Evie sheathed her dagger and he stood back up.

"Damn it," he groaned. "I thought I had both of you there."

Evie grinned. "If you'd kept your Hallow armor on, you would have. That's why I had the giants press so hard."

"Really?” He couldn't believe he'd made that mistake. They'd thought by splitting up that they'd be able to grab the banners while he distracted them. He'd overestimated himself again, just like in the Poison Fields against the Titan.

A hand landed on his broad shoulder, and he looked down at Vess.

"You took a calculated risk, Beef. It failed. My own arrogance failed me as well. I thought I could bring you down and guard against Evie's treachery," she said dryly.

Evie simply grinned.

"But this is why we train," Vess continued. "To assess our weaknesses and find a way to compensate for them."

With a gesture, she called her glaive back to her hand. "Now, I need to speak with a certain Drake about our own tactics going forward. Evie, if you could release him."

"Oh, fine."

Vess walked away, immediately joined by several Hatchlings as a grumbling Yintarion got back on his feet. Nursing not a single bruise, Yintarion’s tail lashed angrily, and Beef could hear the injured pride limp through his Spirit.

Evie shot him one last grin. "Remember to keep your armor on."

She walked away, lifting her hands in triumph as her army of Frost Giants cheered for her. "Kyria! Kyria! Kyria!" they shouted, their cheers drowning out the sounds of the woodlands.

Beef considered his hammer and Hallow as she emerged from the press of giants on the far side of the meadow. She had the Risen with her, the straggling members of his crew that weren't destroyed, and was carrying the banner of the Frozen Fen and the Dragon’s Den. Both drooped sadly behind them, pointless now.

Armor, huh?

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Hours later, Beef stood within the heat of the Elderthrone Forge, basking in the ringing sound of crystal on steel. Harn worked beside him at the main forge, shaping metal with a silvery flame that he conjured from his own blood. This flame, a product of his newly-evolved Skills, was apparently exceptionally good for forging.

Harn moved with exacting precision, grabbing a piece of metal and leaving it in the flame to heat up. As it did, he pulled out a crucible full of silver-green liquid. His arms were slick with sweat but steady despite the intense heat and great weight—he pivoted from the forge to his worktable. There, he poured it carefully into a shape set into a basin of sand. The metal filled it to the brim and immediately began to cool into what Beef recognized as mithril, cast into the shape of small ingots.

"What’s the point of this?" Beef asked.

Harn didn't stop moving, but he spoke with the easy casualness of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. "Workin’ on my alloys, tryin’ to make orichalcum work." He pulled that chunk of metal back out of his silvery flame, and it was white-hot. With smooth motions, he placed it on his anvil before lifting one of his many crystalline hammers off the wall. "I don't have much orichalcum, but I'm seeing what mixtures I can make work. Last time I did, I made arcanite. If I push it, I can work orichalcum, too. I knew it. Eventually. My Skill is getting closer to Master with every single day."

He started pounding the metal into shape, each strike ringing out like a bell.

"Think you can make me some armor, then?" Beef asked.

That drew the man to a stop, and he looked at Beef from under his sweating brows. "There's a reason Felix doesn't wear armor. He's tough enough that all my craft is going to do is get in his way. You pose a similar problem.”

“My Strength and Endurance are very high, but my defensive Skills aren't nearly as good as Felix's."

"It's not that.” He put down one hammer and picked up another. It was made of a purple-white crystal. He flipped the metal and starting shaping it again. “Look, it's like startin’ a fire. You put enough friction on somethin’, and it heats up, right? Same thing with armor. Stress it too much, it'll crack and bend, even just melt off your body. You might not be spec'd for speed, Beef, but your stats will push any armor to their limits. Why not just keep wearing your Hallow? She seems made for that stuff."

Beef frowned. He wasn’t wearing Hallow now. She was off training with the Risen after their defeat. "I can't always expect her to stay wrapped around me. Sometimes, we have to split up. And then I'm left with... this." He gestured to the chitin armor he had summoned onto himself in her absence. "If I remember to shape it, at least. It's strong, but it's not... it's not enough."

"Don't be too discouraged, Lord Beef. Your ability to endure is among the greatest of the Unbound we have found." Laur, the Elven Chanter. He was set up inside another workstation and had a number of metal panels arranged before him. "Focus instead on what you can affect. Your Entropic Paradigm, for instance."

"I suppose. Oh yeah," Beef said, snapping his fingers. "We were supposed to be testing fortifications, weren't we?"

"Indeed. You seemed to have a lot on your mind, however.”

Beef waved his hand. “I’m fine. Just—I’m fine. What do you have for me?”

“I have researched a good deal into the disciplines of architecture and siege equipment, and I've come up with a great many suggestions for you."

Beef sat up straighter. "That'd be helpful. What d’you got?"

"Well, these are my primary interests," Laur said, spreading out several schematics onto the stone table.

"A wall, a tower, and a shielded..." Beef hesitated, tapping at one of the drawings. "Is that a Manaship?"

"We aren’t sure what it was once called, but the Pagewrights call it a Spade. It’s meant for short overland travel, but you're right in that it works like a Manaship. The propulsion and limited flight operates on similar principles. I know you're familiar with those."

"I can make ships," Beef said, "but the engines are too much for me. If you're expecting me to do this on the fly⁠—”

“I don't believe they are beyond you," Laur said.

"I tried before. Couldn’t even make sense of the sigaldry.”

“These aren't nearly as complicated as Manaship engines. They don't operate at the same scale, for one thing," Laur waved a hand, "but that doesn't matter. We can have engines prepped ahead of time. The shipwrights can take care of that. The hull, however, and these reinforced prows, those are your domain."

Beef looked at the drawings again. The front of the Spade came to a point, but it was blunt. And the name made a lot of sense, as the thing looked like a shovel from a top-down view—a shovel with panels and a roof that resembled nothing so much as a tank.

"The walls and towers make sense," Beef said. "I can see how we could use those. But if this is just a Manaship, but shittier, what's the point?"

"The point is this," Laur said, before lifting a sheet of chitin off the counter. Beef had summoned them a day previously, at Laur's insistence. It was what the Elf had been testing. Mana washed over its surface as Laur activated a Skill. A ward encircled it, shimmering with rainbow hues like an oil spill. "Your chitin takes to wards very well, so long as the form is proper."

"Proper?”

Laur cleared his throat. "Wards aren't as simple as most make them out to be. They require precision, above all else. Some structures are easier to shield than others, with complex geometries leading to the wards bunching around corners and the like. Lacking a deft touch would result in the wards failing, or worse, exploding."

Beef grimaced. "Yikes."

"The Spade, walls, and tower are all things that the other Chanters and I can ward easily and quickly. That is why I picked these three out of the very many I have researched. If we can break down how to make them quickly on the battlefield, then I can ensure they're shielded when we approach Amaranth."

Harn looked the drawings over and grunted, one of his crystalline hammers in hand. "Don't look too complicated to me."

"Oh no, there's more there than what's obvious," Beef said, scooting himself forward and jabbing one of his meaty fingers at the tower. "This here, for instance, has reinforcements in a mortarless construction, using friction to hold the separate pieces together. Except I shape things whole, meaning I need to alter that…unless that would make the walls too rigid. Plus these internal buttresses here and here. If I have to put this together alone, I need to know it inside and out, and know it well."

“Why not just make them several strides thick?" Harn suggested. "Enough armor could stop any number of strikes."

Beef huffed a frustrated breath. "I could, but it'd cost a ton of energy, unless I made them all a single piece. Is the lack of flexibility okay? Do we know that?”

“We do not.”

“We need to test it, then,” he said. “Even if I can supplement my Mana with entropy, I still have to conserve it. Plus, it’s got these arrays here. That’s for flight, right?”

“More of a hovering function, we believe. These schematics have only ever been built by the Lucent Towers, and those were too expensive to fabricate.”

Beef blinked. “We’ve never made them?”

“No one has. Chancellor Tern deciphered these from scraps left by the ancients. He gifted them to us when the Emperor requested defensive options.” Laur smirked. “I suspect he wanted us to build them, more than anything else.”

“Oh. Felix on point as usual. That guy’s got it all figured out, huh?”

Harn snorted. “The kid’s got ideas, that’s for sure. What’s your verdict on makin’ them thicker, then?”

“I’d guess that thicker chitin would make it harder to move.”

"Agility and Endurance are but facets of our Bodies.” Orun said from the side. The Eidolon Exult, along with Telys, were standing with some apprentices and had slowly meandered in their direction. “True defense requires balance.” He slammed a fist against his stone chest. “But overwhelming Endurance has its own benefits.”

Harn grunted in approval. Beef wasn’t so sure.

“More chitin might mean it’s harder to break, but I just fought Vess, and she plowed through my chitin. If I add a little structure, it holds a lot better, but Vess still blasted through it on pure strength alone. She isn't even Master Tier yet. We're gonna be facing down a lot more than that."

"I'm sure you can do this, Beef," Laur said, patting the Minotaur's thick forearm. "But these are just my ideas for your exceptional Skills. Do you have any?"

At that, Beef’s frown deepened. "Less of an idea and more of a problem, really. I've built up a lot of Risen now. Some have good armor, like the Adamants, but the rest are basically naked. I've learned how to make armor and weapons out of chitin, but they degrade against a strong enough opponent. Like with Vess, right?”

“What’s your point, kid?” Harn asked.

“I think I need weapons and armor from the Forge. Enough for all my Risen.”

“We’re strained as it is. How many can you summon now?”

“A lot. If I’m focused on quantity over quality, I can Raise three hundred.”

Harn rubbed his chin. “No small amount. And you Raise monsters, too, right? So different body shapes. I can’t account for all of that, but I could potentially lay out some basics for each of your mortal Risen to don when the time comes.”

“You would be required to carry the resupply with them, or have the Risen retreat to gear up,” Telys pointed out. “That could waste much time.”

“Dang. You’re right.” Beef dropped heavily onto a thick stool. It groaned, but held. “That won’t work.”

“What about different techniques for the weapons and armor?" Laur suggested. When Beef only frowned in confusion, the Chanter continued. "It's like you said. There's an exacting structure to follow with architecture, things that will reinforce it against the attack of enemies. The same is true of weapons and armor. Is that correct, Master Kastos?"

Harn grunted. “Sure. You gotta fold the material in the right way. It strengthens it, creates flexibility and durability. Do it the wrong way, and a blade can snap in the middle of a fight.”

“I don't think I can make chitin like that," Beef said. "With walls, I can add, you know, structures⁠—”

“But can chitin be forged?" Harn interrupted.

"I don't know," Beef admitted. "I've never tried."

"Huh. Let me see some of those sheets.” Laur passed him a stack of chitin, and Harn handled them like they were made of paper. “Very light.” He bent a piece, and it flexed slightly. “Fairly pliable, but is it malleable? I'll see if I can't fold Mana into the material. If we can come up with something better than what you're making, maybe then we can see about copying it with your Skill."

"Is that possible?" Beef asked.

"Many things are possible beneath the Grand Harmony," Laur said, putting a hand to his chest. "We do not know the limits of what we may accomplish. Not truly. Most of the limits we encounter are the ones we place upon ourselves. So it is worth having an open Mind, Lord Beef. It is also worth mentioning that Mana-folded material provides more anchor points for my wards, allowing them to hold for far longer."

"Really? Okay." With a bit of effort, and a chunk of his own Mana, Beef forged a few more sheets of chitin that Harn's apprentices took over to the forge. Harn stepped after them, calling out orders to stoke the fire and fetch him a specific hammer.

For the first time since the spar out in the forest, Beef was starting to feel a bit hopeful.

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, Laur. My Risen are acting weird."

"Weird how?" the Elf asked.

"Well, it started with Fafnir. She's got a lot of personality, compared to any other Risen. She can ignore direct orders and has been the only one to learn a new Skill. She's even got something like a Spirit of her own."

The Elf tapped his chin. "Isn't Hallow the Spirit for all of your Risen, just as she is yours?"

Beef rubbed at his chest. "Yeah. She is. Hallow controls all the rest, but Fafnir fights back. It's not just that, though. Hallow's saying that the others are growing somehow, too.”

"Growing how?"

"Well, the ones we’ve held the longest—the Multipede and the Sharpwing Matriarch—they're getting stronger by the day, but it’s different than Fafnir. When Hallow orders them about, they respond faster and with less direction. We don’t have to give them all of our attention anymore to carry out even complicated tasks."

“Is that not a consequence of the growing Skill?” Laur asked. “Pushing your Hallow Rise and Call to near Mastery must have exceptional effects on its ability to facilitate your Will.”

“It’s more than that.” Beef struggled with the words to explain it all. “It’s like the magic's changing them.”

"That makes sense," Orun said from the side. "Any item imbued with enough power for a long enough time will change.”

“What is this?” Laur asked. “I am not familiar with this theory. Change how?”

Telys laughed. “The world is alive, Magus. Can you not hear it?”

“Of course I can. The Grand Harmony permeates all—is all.”

“And its rhythm and tempo change with time and effort.”

“Conscious effort,” Laur corrected. “Skills, arrays, and the Chant itself are methods to direct and transform that power.”

“Skills—” Orun winced, and Beef recognized the expression. He’d run into one of the gaps in his memory. “That is my point, Magus. Will and Intent transform the world around us. What happens, then, when a Minotaur fills a corpse with his own Spirit and Will?”

Beef shook his head. “No way. You’re saying I’m changing the corpses just by reanimating them?”

“You think you are not?” Orun shot back. “Do you think the Emperor is the only one who can bestow significance? We all do it. Each and every Skill we use is flecked with it. Infinitesimal, but present. Over time, that adds up, changes things." Orun pointed to the chitin sheets that had been slipped into the Forge flame. "But it ain't just this you're using, is it? No, your Risen were mortal or monster, with significance of their own."

"But they're dead," Beef said.

"You think who we are vanishes after death?" He tapped his own chest. "How do you think the transference works?"

"Wait." Beef held up his hands. "Slow down. Are you saying all you Eidolons are dead?"

Telys rolled her eyes. "No. Our Bodies were destroyed, but our Minds and Spirits live on. What’s more, we can still use our Body Skills."

"Fascinating," Laur said, his eyes glittering in the light of the Forge. "You retain the advancement from your Body. How?"

Orun shrugged. "I haven’t a clue. Wasn't awake for the transference. Eagin says something about echoes and the like, but it's beyond me. Point is this." Orun pushed his hand into the shallow basin of sand near where the mithril ingots still cooled. He removed it and left behind a deep print of squared-off fingers and a chunky wrist. "We leave an impression behind, even if our aspects are gone. Your Hallow Rise fills in the spaces, takes control. That's necromancy."

Beef ran his fingers through the sand, tracing the outline of the handprint. "What's the difference between a Risen and a living creature, then?"

"Good question," Orun said, shaking away sand with a grin. "Can't wait to hear what you figure out."

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

The Golems ran at Archie, swords held high, but he was a ghost.

Primeval Drift flared in his channels as he slipped through their iron limbs and high steel blades. Sparks from his Fanblades struck from the Golems' hide, his Molten Daggers lopping off their limbs one by one—until they were nothing more than twitching torsos upon the solid earth.

A bell rang out, and Archie paused, panting amid inscribed gears and empty, metal torsos.

Training - Round 4 Has Ended.

Do You Wish To Schedule Another?

Archie sheathed his daggers and waved away the notification. Instead he waited, breathing deeply as his Stamina slowly climbed back up. Leather-clad Gnomes rushed out, picking up pieces of the Golems and placing them onto wide carpets.

"You made short work of these," said one, clearly impressed. Archie simply nodded, not really in the mood for conversation, especially among these particular folks. Yet that, apparently, was not strong enough of a hint, because the Gnome kept talking.

"You're really strong for a Gnome. How did you get so close to Master Tier? That's where you are, right? It’s what everybody's saying."

"Yeah," Archie replied, as sharply as he could.

"Wow.” The Makewright didn’t bat an eye at his tone. “The strongest Gnome I know is the Guildmaster, and he's just into Adept. What's it feel like?"

Archie frowned, caught up despite himself. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know—we're Gnomes. Us and Goblins, we're the weakest of any of the mortal Races out there. Strictly on bonuses, right? A lot of us stay away from fighting. We focus on our strengths. I've always been interested in Golems, you know, and working with my hands. I'm not too good with..." He made a gesture, as if stabbing with a sword. "But you, you move those things like you were born with them in your hands. I guess what I'm saying is... I'm envious. And proud. To think, there’s another Gnome out there, and he’s Master Tier." The Gnome laughed. "Anyway, sorry, didn't mean to take up your time.”

“No, it—” Archie swallowed his frown and forced a smile. “It’s fine.”

“What Golem do you need next? More of the High Steel?"

"I think I’m up for a challenge. Send out the Glass."

The Gnome's eyes grew big, and he just about vibrated in excitement. "Yeah! Yeah, we can do that.” He turned, waving his arms at the crew picking up Golem pieces. “Everybody! Hurry up and haul this lot back! We got Glass next!”

The Makewrights were suddenly possessed of a manic energy as they lifted melted slag and sheared off gears onto their carts and wagons at speed. In moments, the area was cleared and the entire group ran off through the gates.

“We'll have them come out,” said the talkative one. “Give me just a fraction, yes? Oh, I can’t wait!"

The Gnome hurried off, carrying the remains of the High Steel Golems with him. In exchange, Archie received blessed silence. He supposed he shouldn't be too angry about them. There was a sort of solidarity among the Gnomes, and they thought he was a Gnome, too. Everyone did, usually, and it was close enough that Archie didn't care to correct them. Taking away that joy they had would’ve felt like kicking a puppy.

Another bell rang out, followed by two shorter strikes.

Training - Round 5 Will Begin.

The doors at the far end opened, and four Golems made of enchanted glass stepped out. Like all Golems, their heads were simple, featureless oblong blobs set on swiveling necks, capped with mithril to simulate a helmet. Their torsos and joints were also clad in silver-green mithril to match their spears. Behind them, a single orichalcum Golem loomed, twice as wide as the rest and fitted with interlocking, red-gold plates across its translucent body. Unlike all the others, this one looked almost like a real person.

"Okay," Archie said, unsheathing his knives. "Let's do this."

Lying on the hard floor of the training hall, Archie wasn't sure which was more embarrassing: puking his guts out after he'd been punched by that orichalcum jerk, or lying there exhausted while the Gnomes that had just looked up to him escorted the untouched Glass and Orichalcum Golems away. He was pretty sure it was a tie.

Damnit! What do I do?

The Makewrights left him alone. Neither they or the System had even bothered to ask him if he wanted to fight again. He supposed they could see that he wasn't really up for it. His Stamina was shot, and his Skill... Archie shook his head. Primeval Drift had refused to work on the Orichalcum Golem, and even the Glass had enchantments on it that stymied his abilities to shift through it at speed. He’d tried, and he’d barely phased through an inch before a mithril fist knocked him into the dirt. Phasing that long was useless in battle, and his molten daggers... they weren't enough.

I need... I need more options. This can't be the limit.

“Are you okay?”

Without moving his head, Archie rolled his eyes toward the far end of the training hall, where the deer woman stood within one of the observation boxes. She waved at him, and he groaned.

“Do you need help? I can help.”

"No thanks," Archie said and burped slightly as the effort to raise his voice shifted something unpleasantly in his gut. "I'm fine.”

"You don't look fine."

The clack of her hooves sounded on the training hall tiles and forced Archie to sit up. The Theran mage walked over, a bit hesitant, but determined to pester him, it seemed.

"You're... Archie, right?"

"Hm. And you're Elowen.”

“Yes. El to my friends."

"Elowen, then."

Her deer-like face fell, much more expressive than Archie would have guessed, though he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Beef could pout like the best of them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I... I heard that a lot of you were... well, you were attempting to reach Master Tier and weave your Pillars. I was looking to help.”

“Really. And you chose to help me?” He narrowed his eyes. “What exactly about me screams ‘help me’?”

"Nothing!” Elowen waved her hands. “You were the first person I could find. The others are all hidden away with their undead and Dragons and giants. I could hear you in the halls of the Temple, though. You’ve been at this a while.”

Archie looked at his Stamina. It was recovering way too slowly, and he’d already drank too many Stamina Potions. “What’s your point?”

“That Skill you used to pass through solid surfaces—is that your main ability?"

"You calling me a one-trick pony?"

"No, no, I... I was just trying to..."

Archie waved a hand. "It's fine. I'm not, and it isn't, but it's one of my best ones.”

“The ability to slip through solid surfaces is something I’ve never seen anyone do. Even the Umber mages could only shift earth around themselves, and even then they needed enchanted artifacts to make it useful in battle.” Elowen sighed. “I’m losing the thread here. I’m at Grandmaster Tier, and I wanted to give my advice on weaving your Pillars.”

"No thanks."

She jerked back as if he’d slapped her. "Why not?"

"I don't trust you. I barely even know you.”

“I... I suppose Felix accepting me here isn’t enough."

"Listen, lady, all I know is that you're an Unbound like me. Oh, and that you nearly crushed the Glow-Eyed King in Levantier. I heard about all the rest, too."

"Ah," she said, folding her hands before her and fiddling with the rings on her fingers. "I see. I thought perhaps you, among everyone else, would be more comfortable with me, seeing that you were previously the newest of the Unbound in this group. I see that I am an outsider. Once again."

Archie rolled his eyes. "I've never not felt like one. You get used to it."

Elowen peered closer at him, those silver chains jangling between her antlers. "What's that mean?"

Archie shrugged. "Stay on the fringes long enough, you find a home there."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Sometimes you don't have a choice."

Archie could feel the big deer studying him, her soft, weird eyes judging and weighing his words. He checked his Stamina again, but it was still below the 50% mark. He had plenty left to go.

"What did you do before this? Before the Continent," she asked.

This is why I hate talking to new people.

Archie gave a tired grin. "You trying to relate to me, lady?"

"I'm trying to get to know you. This is small talk, in case you've never heard of it."

"Small?" Archie's grin vanished.

"I mean, it's casual conversation," she said quickly. "I didn't mean..."

"Whatever," he grunted, pushing himself into a seated position. He had time before he could fight the Golems again anyway. "I used to pull jobs back home."

"Jobs?"

"Burglary."

She jolted a little at that. Nothing more than a lifting of her chin, but those chains gave her away, jangling as she moved. "You mugged people?"

"No, that's robbery. I never used force." Archie leaned his head back, looking up at the ribbed ceiling.

"I was a second-story man, the best in the biz. I fronted as a plumber to get in and make copies of the keys and such, you know. I even got pretty good at pipes and drains near the end. Later on, I'd come back. Maybe that night, maybe in a week. I'd waltz in like I owned the place, key and all." He smiled to himself. "Those were the days, flush with cash from skimming the top off rich bastards."

"You stole even before you came to the Continent?"

Archie gave her a mocking grin. “Guess I’m not the only one listening to gossip.”

She flushed, even through the fur. “The others talk. I listen. I thought you were forced into that situation, though."

He snorted. "What, did you think we're all saints or children? Talk to the boss and the Minotaur for that. Me? I'm a realist."

"A realist," she echoed, considering her hands and the rings on them. "I used to have thin fingers."

"Okay," Archie said slowly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"My mother, she called them the hands of a pianist." She sighed. "I always hated the piano."

"Me, too, but probably for different reasons." Archie paused. "They're very hard to steal. Too big."

Elowen smiled. "I'd have given you mine, had I been able. I was forced to practice for five hours every day, no matter what else I had to do. My mother was a prodigy when she was younger, and she expected the same from her child. I wasn't. It was one of the first things I dropped after I moved away."

"Disappointing parents. I can relate to that."

"Disappointment was an understatement. I ran away from the arts entirely, went to the opposite side of things, partly out of spite, I suppose, and partly because I needed money to live."

"What's the opposite of a pianist?"

"I got a job as a quant."

Archie waggled a finger in his ear dramatically. "Pardon?"

"Quantitative research. I specialized in the implementation of statistical and mathematical methods to understand and forecast the financial markets."

"Oh." Archie's confusion cleared immediately. "You were a criminal, too, huh?"

"What? No."

He laughed. "You were all offended, and now I find out you're dipping your hands in wallets, too."

"It's a legitimate job."

"Uh-huh."

Elowen's mouth pursed in clear annoyance. "My point is that I didn't have much. No family, no time for friends. Then I came here. I found people backstabbing social climbers, but I counted some of them among my friends. I saw this place as a way to do something new, something better with my life.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “I suppose I just find it surprising that you chose to return to thievery."

"Choice?" Archie said, raising his eyebrows. "What makes you think choice had anything to do with it? I arrived to blood and grease in back alleys. It's not too different from what I left, and I didn't have the glory of choice."

"We all have a choice.”

"Yeah, but some choices aren’t shit, are they? In my case, I either froze to death, got stabbed, or I do a job for a Dwarf with halitosis and only eight fingers. Climb the south side of a building, sneak in a window, steal some stuff. Get paid. It's a lot better than freezing."

"I suppose you're not wrong."

"I know I'm not wrong. Life's tough, lady, no matter where you end up." Archie scratched his jaw. "You're not wrong, it was easy to pick it back up. Magic might be real here, but people are the same anywhere you go. I didn’t get any kind old lady to help me out of the fog and teach me magic. I learned what I needed to learn between a cell and a noose. Did what I could, and I don’t regret any of it.”

He pushed himself to his feet. “What about you? How’re your regrets treating you?”

Elowen's eyebrows turned up, and her big, expressive eyes looked extra bright.

Oh, crap. Am I gonna make her cry?

"I hate that you’re right,” she said, and her voice was nothing more than a whisper. “I ended up a slave to Siva's whims because I trusted the Grandmaster Violet. I helped develop a weapon in order to eradicate every rival in a city. That—that’s about as criminal as you can get."

Elowen sagged, hands fidgeting. She looked like she could use a hug. Archie folded his arms in front of his chest and coughed awkwardly. "Don't beat yourself up over it. We all make mistakes. But uh…my Stamina's recovered. I'm gonna go fight now."

"Ah." Elowen stepped back. "I suppose you have to prep for the assault."

"Gotta get those Skills up to Master Tier, right? And I gotta juice up these Pillars I'm supposed to have. Somehow."

"It is strange that Felix is having you all weave your Pillars before Master Tier. I didn't manage it until nearly at Grandmaster."

Archie raised an eyebrow. "Would it have helped to do it sooner?"

"It would have, yeah. No one told me how, however. There were strict rules in the Tower. You had to gather enough power in your core space before they would ever consider it, and even then, they’d never make the attempt earlier than High Master Tier.”

“Why?”

“I suppose because it's an expensive process involving far more resources than any organization likes to spend. The chance of failure is just too damn high. Without the right balance of Mana and significance, even a genius would falter. It's not about level⁠—”

“It's about technique and an overwhelming foundation,” Archie recited, then snapped his little notebook closed. "That's what Zara and Felix wrote, anyway."

"Huh. Well, I see that you have things under control, and I see when I am not wanted. I'll find my own way out." The Theron turned and walked away, her back ramrod straight.

Archie massaged the bridge of his nose, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth. "Hey, hold on."

She stopped, but didn't look back. Archie tucked his notebook back into his sash and let out an explosive exhale. "You can see the future, right?"

"Not exactly," Elowen said, turning.

"But close enough?"

"Close enough, yes."

"Then you can tell if I’m gonna screw up and how? Could you warn me before I do it?" He unsheathed one of his molten daggers. "Mind watching me fight?"

Elowen smiled, her antlers jangling. "Sure."

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

The training halls in Elderthrone were in the upper levels of what the locals called the Temple of the Eye. Elowen thought the name a bit fanciful, but then, the entire structure that Felix had built was nothing if not fantastical. He had Crafting Halls pumping out enchanted armor and weapons and elixirs by the thousands. A manor full of Sorcerers—beings in tune with the mystical Grand Harmony, ones that her teachers had told her only remained in myth. A surprisingly vast following of mortals and monsters that seemed to worship him as a god in his own right. It was an empire built on rebuilding ancient magics even the Lucent Towers did not fully understand.

Strange and stranger.

The Seat and Seal of Elderthrone was like nothing she’d ever seen before. Even the restored Authority of Levantier paled before its complexity, none of which she had been allowed time to study—not now, nor in her days at the Violet Tower. Her masters had always told her it was forbidden to delve too deeply into its workings, that it was something fit only for the leader of the Tower.

No wonder, she groused, walking the empty corridors. It is clearly central to the true power of the Continent. Territorial Authority. Who made these Seals? What power did they tap into to yield such powerful effects? That led her, once again, to a query she’d bashed herself bloody against more than once. Who made the System?

Elowen had never found an answer. If there was one—and she truly believed so—someone had destroyed the records long ago. The Ruin, most likely. She grimaced. Whenever I think I couldn’t hate it more, it proves me wrong.

Her metal hooves clopped heavily against the star-shaped tiles, echoing down the vaulted halls as if no one else remained within the Stronghold. She knew others were there, but it was a vast network of chambers and corridors that the relatively small number of people allowed within barely filled the largest of its rooms.

Still, it feels like I’m being watched. She flared her Perception, but she couldn’t spot a trace of anyone, and her Perception was fairly high. Was it one of the Emperor’s Shadows? Or just that preternatural awareness that suffused the entirety of the Stronghold, one that she was almost positive came from the Spirit Tree.

She shook it off and refocused. Find the stairs. Think about all the weirdness later.

When she received the request to walk down large, spiral steps deeper into the Stronghold, she was more than a little apprehensive. The long walk itself was a bit nerve-wracking, though magelights lit the way, and the faint glowing bark of the Spirit Tree was a warm comfort on her descent. The presence she felt grew stronger with every turn of the staircase until she stepped off of them and into a chamber filled with the roots of the Spirit Tree. Those roots led off into a central arch, beyond which silver and golden light flashed.

She stepped closer, attempting to banish her nerves, and beheld the Emperor. Felix stood in the center of his Seal as the gold and silver gleamed all around him in bizarre patterns. Elowen had witnessed it when they had arrived through the Shadowgate, having had to pass through these same rooms, but now she was able to study them. The sigaldry was laid out in fractal-like patterns, looping outward around a central point before folding in on itself in ever-tightening concentric circles. She had only seen it’s like once before, in Levantier, and that was far less complicated.

Are these even the same type of Territorial arrays?

Elowen couldn’t parse any sort of meaning from the fractals, but she had an eye for patterns and shapes. There were a number of designs within the gold and silver inscriptions that her eyes flagged as similar to Levantier’s Seal. She had no doubt that the two Seals had similar functions, but likewise she was positive that Elderthrone’s was superior in breadth and depth.

Felix himself stood at the very center, atop a glyph, hands poking and prodding at the thin air. He was clearly accessing screens she couldn’t see. The rush and flare of Mana around him was clear, however—with each swipe and tap, magic shot across the Seal, radiating outward to disappear into the walls of intricately carved stone. It was almost elegant, as if Felix were conducting a symphony, rather than interacting with the System.

Is this true Authority?

She'd seen it before when Grandmaster Tiir had used his Authority over Levantier, but that had been a pale shadow to this. Elowen could feel Felix's Authority in the air, that same presence she had sensed as she descended the steps, a presence that was not menacing yet loomed like a shadow between her and a distant sun. A tree’s shadow.

Elowen glanced back toward the roots. From this angle, she could see several inscribed lines leading back toward them from the Seal, glowing like embers of banked gold. She flared her Affinity, listening. Her ears twitched, and she glanced between the softly gleaming roots and the man that stood amidst gold and silver lights.

"Ah! Glad you could make it, Elowen," Felix said, interrupting her thoughts. He had turned toward her, and the lights of the Seal were already dimming. "How have you found things in Elderthrone?"

"Comfortable, surprisingly so. When you mentioned having a city in the far west, I imagined something a lot more rural.”

Felix laughed. "I'm happy to surprise.”

“The sigaldry here is especially impressive."

He looked down at the fractal patterns pulsing with light like a heartbeat. "Yeah, it's something, isn't it?”

“I meant your Glyphworks, actually."

"Oh, yes. Atar and Alister have been exploring every avenue they can up in that hall. They've provided a lot of very cool benefits for the city already."

"I imagine that Seat does its fair share, too," she said, nodding at the floor.

"Absolutely. None of this would work without it."

"Hmm.” She stepped closer. Her hooves passed over the edge of the Seat, and she felt a faint brush of silk against her skin, a tingle that washed across all three of her Aspects. Magic, older than the Nymeans. Ancient when they first discovered the Seats and Seats to bind their Authority to the land. She knelt, putting her hands close to the sigaldry bordering his glyph. "What is it like to use it?"

"Strange and exhilarating. It's like operating a machine as big as a mountain. Most of the time, I'm just checking reports and crafting Quests, the equivalent of adjusting my seat recline on a sports car. The more complicated stuff gets handled by Karys."

“The Golem?”

“Not quite. Eidolon Exult. Formerly. It’s complicated.” Felix clapped his hands. “Anyway. I hope I didn't interrupt you by calling you down here."

"No, I was helping Archie, but he swiftly reached the point where more prep is pointless."

"I saw that."

Elowen raised an eyebrow. "Do you have spies following me?"

"I don't need spies." Felix hesitated. "Also, yes. Sorta."

"What?" She tried not to be upset—Elowen had felt someone watching her after all. Yet annoyance rolled through her like a summer storm. "I thought I'd earned your trust."

"It's less about trust than it is about protection.”

“I would never hurt you or anyone here!"

"No, no. You misunderstand. Not my protection. Yours. The Shadows are watching out for you. They're instructed not to listen in on any of your conversations, but to interfere if there's any sort of threat."

"Oh." She considered things. "Yet they reported my activities."

"No, they didn't. I found that out myself when I visited Archie's core space shortly after you left. He told me how you'd helped him."

That took the wind out of her sails a little bit. "Are these Shadows watching us now?"

"Also, no. If you're with me, they can go take care of other jobs. Like I said, they're not spies so much as overly concerned minders." Felix smiled gently. "Either they bodyguard you folks or they cling to me, and I don't need them for that, either."

"Folks?"

"Yeah. The Fiends' Shadows, as they like to call themselves, are spread out amongst all of my Linked friends."

"Linked. You've mentioned this before, in the Wellspring." Elowen looked back through the chamber's entrance, with the roots of the Atlantes Anima coiled against the cavern floor. “Just like how you and the Spirit Tree are connected.”

Felix rocked his head back a bit, and a small smile teased at his mouth. "Yeah. It's really similar. I never thought of it that way." He shook himself. "Anyway, it's a connection between me and a few others. I don't know if there's a limit to how many I can establish, but it comes with a few benefits. The biggest is that their growth has been accelerated.”

“I was hearing stories of that from some of your Legions. They claim that, since the moment they joined, they've advanced their Skills at crazy speeds."

"I have connections to everyone I meet," Felix admitted. "We all do. Every single being has connections to the things they interact with. Some are stronger than others. I can leverage them in a way I still don't fully understand. Essentially, my power and experience tends to flow outward from me and across all of my connections."

"How is that possible?"

Felix shrugged. "I've thought about this a lot. We're pretty sure it's because I'm a Primordial and an Unbound. The gods seem pretty upset about that combination for some reason, anyway."

Elowen paced across his Seat, her hooves kicking up sparks with every step. "So, you power-level people by simply being around them?"

"I don't have to be physically near them, but that helps more, I think. Connections, or Bonds as they're called, they're kind of magic-y," he said, wiggling his fingers. "They're intangible until they're not, and my influence just sort of slips towards people like water through a drinking straw. Links, though, those are different. If a normal bond is a straw, then a Link is a drainage tunnel. A lot more power can flow through them, which means the people I'm Linked to end up advancing even faster. Most tend to evolve their skills to higher rarities, too."

Elowen could follow the logic of what Felix was saying, even if it all sounded like pure fantasy—which took a lot, considering where they both lived. "This doesn't obey the laws of the System I've studied. Experience is earned by personal actions, not by force-feeding people through a tube."

Felix tapped his chin before he snapped his fingers. "What is experience?"

"As far as anyone has been able to determine, it's a combination of three elements: Mana, Essence, and significance. The exact measurements of them is up for debate, but it is believed that significance plays a larger role than the others."

"Right. So if I could harvest all of those at once, then share it with others, why wouldn't that count?"

Elowen gasped. "That would be cheating."

Felix grinned. "Guilty as charged, then. Monsters do something similar. Not the sharing bit, but the consuming of flesh and cores to empower themselves. It's the same principle. I just have more tools in my kit."

Elowen's mind whirled as she considered the implications and the possibilities. With enough people properly Linked, someone could lift the levels of a great deal of people—especially during a war, so long as you had a set of Skilled combatants. A bunch of scenarios flitted through her Mind, each more unreasonable than the last.

“You alright?” Felix asked.

“Fine,” she said

Her Mind was not at ease. She was not “alright” with the fact that these concepts were each as unreasonable as they were fanciful, and yet, the idea was intriguing.

"So yeah, I called you down here because I thought you might want to establish a Link with me as well."

That brought Elowen up short. "That is—thank you for the offer, but I’ve got questions first.”

“Shoot.”

“WeI heard the benefits, as you listed them. What are the downsides?"

"Yeah, I thought you might say that. First off, I'll know where you are pretty easily. It’s not a GPS tag or anything, but it gives me a general sense of your location and a better window into your emotions, too. Veiling your Spirit from me will be harder.”

“That isn’t so bad. A little Big Brother, but I once shared my location with an ex. Nothing is worse than that.”

Felix laughed, but the joy was short-lived. “The biggest risk of establishing a Link is that it might be dangerous to you. My friends have taken on extraordinary agony for me in the past. I can't guarantee that won't happen again. Going up against ancient gods…we don't even know what they could do with Bonds, or how it could be turned against us."

Elowen chewed at her lip, considering the man's words. Risk was something they were all having to stomach until the Ruin was defeated. She supposed a bit of danger wasn't so bad, all things considered, when the benefits could be quite enormous.

“Oh!” Felix said. “If it helps make your decision easier, I’ll tell you about the Title I recently received. It allows me to be a bit more deliberate with pushing out the power I've stockpiled. It's called Boon of Bonds, and I can only use it on people I've Linked, and even then, not everyone. It requires a certain amount of trust between everybody."

"Why are you offering me this?" Elowen asked. "We only just met. Hell, I tried to kill you, Felix! Whether or not I was in my right mind, why would you offer me this?"

Felix smiled and spread his hands before letting them drop to his sides. "I don't know. I guess because I want to help. It doesn’t cost me anything to establish a Link."

"It does, though. It deprives you of power."

"It doesn’t cost me anything I won’t get back,” Felix corrected himself. “Look. Every time I've pushed my potency onto my Linked friends, it's been for my benefit. Yeah, it helps them. Absolutely. And they've been able to do wonderful things with it. But it's so I don't explode. Consider this selfish, if you want, Elowen. But I figure I could help you and I could help me at the same time. What do you say?"

She was impressed. The earnestness that poured off of Felix was tangible. His Spirit was laid open to her senses in a way that few people who understood Affinity ever did. He was earnest and honest and a bit tired. But most of all, Elowen was surprised to hear the strident song of hope through him. It was strong enough that it made her cheeks ache as they stretched into a broad grin.

"You present an extremely compelling case, Felix. But tell me, why’re you doing this? Organizing everyone, I mean. Fighting for this world that isn't even ours against something that..." she shuddered as her Mind skipped across memories she could not recall. Visions that were barred from her sight. When she spoke again, her voice was a rasp. "The Ruin will destroy us all. Why not run away?”

“Why haven't you?" he shot back.

She considered her hooves. They were chipped and worn, despite the living metal that composed them. "I tried, but there's nowhere to go. I can't outrun what's coming." She looked back up. "You could, though. Something about you... I think, if you ran, Felix, you'd survive."

The man frowned. "Run from the Ruin? I’ve considered it. You’d have to be a special kind of crazy to never want to run away from an obliterating force of…whatever it is.” He considered his feet, too. Not hooves, but still clad in dark metal that had seen better days. “It’s never been a serious option for me, though.”

“Why?”

“If I hadn't met the people I have, or hadn't seen the things I've seen…I think probably, yeah. I could run away. Find a safe corner of the universe to hide in and while away my days farming or selling used cars.” His bright blue eyes met hers. “But I don't think I could live with myself after. I guess…I do this because I choose to care."

He smiled gently, but it wasn't directed at her. His eyes unfocused, as if he were staring at some vast distance—until he cleared his throat, refocusing them on her. "That's not always enough to make a difference, but thankfully, I can also punch really, really hard."

A laugh leaped from her throat, startling both of them. "That’s a really good answer. All right, Florida Man." The chains across her antlers jangled as she gave a firm nod. "How do we do this?"

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

"Are you certain you don't wish to use the arrays I've suggested?"

"I'm sure.” Felix could feel the woman's unease with the plan far more sharply than he had before, now that they were Linked. That process had gone just as smoothly as the others he'd initiated, and now Elowen sat with a Tier III Link to him. It wasn't quite equal to some of the others—someone had to reach Tier IV in order to receive his Boon of Bonds—but it was a start, and he was glad for that.

One thing Felix did hold back from the woman was that, in the process of forging a Link, he got a better glimpse at her Spirit, free of any sort of veiling. Elowen was a kind woman with a good head on her shoulders and a good heart in her chest. The breadth of worry and compassion he heard there were revealing. Coupled with the conversation she had with Archie, Felix was finally sure of her. So he took her repetitive, anxiety-induced questions in stride.

"I understand that the Tower had its particular methods. Tern mentioned that you mages use arrays and monster cores to power the weaving, but we don't need that.” He gestured to the side, where a number of Chanters stood by mithril panels inscribed with dull sigils. "We have them, but they’re precautionary.”

They were all assembled within a chamber down the hall from his, up one level from the Seat and Seal. There, his friends had gathered along with a number of Chanters and Legionnaires. Zara was speaking quietly with them all at the moment, informing them of their particular roles in the hours to come.

His friends were going to weave their Pillars.

"So you’ve said.” Elowen regarded the crates full of lumpy monster cores with a skeptical eye. “I only worry that the supply of cores you have isn’t enough to forge a single full set of Pillars, let alone seven of them.”

“They'll be fine. We have our Link.”

Elowen bit her lip. “Is that really enough?”

Felix turned to his friends. “What do you think?”

The seven of them were assembled across the empty chamber. Evie, nearest the pair, gave an enthusiastic whoop. “I’m fit to burst with all this power in me. This duel champion is ready!”

“I think we should stop wastin’ time,” Harn grumbled. “I got irons in the fire.” The man was, for once, out of his armor, wearing only the blue and black uniforms that had been developed for the Legion’s commanding officers. He cut a fine shape in it, even if it was rumpled from constantly wearing it beneath armor and torn by the edges of axes that he still kept at his side.

Both Harn and Evie were seated on the ground, feet folded beneath them, looking as comfortable as anyone. Alister and Atar, next to them, however, were seated upon a number of plush cushions, the colors of them complementing their robes. Alister had his silver rapier set across his lap while Atar carried his inscribing staff, and a small flame flickered around his head. Unremittingly white, save for where a bloody crimson defined the tips of each licking tongue.

yes. let us finally expand our power. this is our moment, atar!

"Yes, it is, and if you don't let me concentrate, you will ruin that moment."

bah! Flame muttered, but the mote of fire dwindled until it vanished from above his head. Alister simply reached over and took Atar's hand wordlessly.

Beef was next to them, wrapped in his Hallow armor and lounging in a wide chair that he'd made from chitin. "Yeah, I'm a little nervous," Beef admitted, "but excited. What about you, Archie?"

He was in his own, smaller chitin chair, but he sat with aggressively good posture. "I just want it over with."

Next to them sat Vess, who had settled upon the floor much like Evie, her legs folded beneath her. Yintarion was curled around her, his length wrapped around her back and body twice, so that she could rest against his broad, scaled side. He lounged like an enormous cat, smoke curling from his nostrils.

"Of course we are ready," the Drake said. "The Dragoon has been waiting on all of you for a very long time."

"I have not. I am sure there is much still to prepare⁠—”

“You merely chase perfection, my dear. It is laudable, but one can only polish a jewel so much."

She stroked a hand down his white mane, eliciting a purring growl from the Dawn Drake. "You are not wrong.” She met Felix's eyes and flashed him a dimpled smile. "We are ready, Felix."

He grinned right back. "Awesome. Everyone's reached the end of their books?" A chorus of agreement rose up in varying timbres of enthusiasm. "And you performed every task it had asked of you." Once again, confirmation, though it was laced with increasing annoyance. Felix lifted his hands up, palms out. "Just checking off my list. The next step is a little guidance, and then we're off to the races."

"As in, we'll complete our Pillars alone?" Beef asked nervously. His hands gripped the sides of his chitinous throne as if he wished he could grab his absent hammer. "Can we do that?"

"You have to," Zara said, stepping forward. "Not even Felix and his Fiendforge can weave your Pillars for you. It would taint your foundation with someone else's Intent and Will. The ground beneath your feet must be forged by you and you alone, or else it will crumble."

"Yes," Elowen said, "that's why you must all keep your Intent firmly in mind as you weave. As I'm sure you've no doubt been instructed. Keep your Skills, their growth, and the Features that feed them at the forefront of your Mind is imperative as you lay your foundation."

"And you won't be alone," Felix added. "You have to do it yourself, but all of you have advantages that few others have. From Companion Bonds and Urges to the memory of family and your own rock solid Wills. All of you have something to push yourselves forward."

"Not to mention the metric shit-ton of stolen juice you gave us," Archie said.

Felix grinned. "There's that, too."

There was a subtle but distinct sigh of relief in the air from most of them. Harn, however, leveled his gaze on Felix. "How safe is that power?" the man asked. "It's already sunk into my core space more than I'd like, but weaving it into the Pillars seems a bit opposite to what Zara just said."

"That power was filtered through me originally, and then it overflowed into you. I've had a look within each of your core spaces over the past day, and the power is indistinguishable from its surroundings. I talked it over with Zara, and we both agree—by this point, it is your power. Not the creatures it was taken from, and certainly not mine.”

Harn grunted.

Long familiarity with the man made Felix smile. He knew gruff acceptance when he heard it. "I'd say don't worry, but that'd be a lie. Worrying is smart right now. A little fear can hone your edge, so long as you know that I am here for all of you. My Fiendforge will be close to hand, even after I've left."

"Left?" Evie asked.

"I’ll be holding it from a distance. You’ll see. I'm going to delve your core spaces now. Clear your Minds and visualize yourselves there. I'll be close behind."

Alister materialized in his core space within five heartbeats. White marble and blue force enveloped him.

No. He supposed that wasn't quite right.

White marble formed his flesh and blue force his robes. His dark hair clung to him, halfway between stone and liquid Mana, gleaming just as much as his skin, like a statue freshly polished. His core pulsed, spinning with all the complex turnings it embodied, and his focus sharpened. His Mind clarified, and Alister found the well-worn groove of his visualization—he wove marble into flesh and force into cloth and hair. Within the space of another five heartbeats, he was no longer a living statue, but simply Alister.

The surface of his observation deck gleamed beneath his heels and the spinning mechanisms of his gyroscopic machine whirled all around him. Above, jeweled bands of bronze clicked and rotated with every turn of his core, while the dual-toned star flashed with sapphire and carnelian light.

“Oh,” he said to himself. “I see that I’m first.”

That light joined together, pouring from above in a stream. In a flash, it solidified into red-gold bones that spread upward from feet to knees to rib cage and skull, before they were enveloped in blue-white flesh and clothing, scale and claw, formed from nothing. In an instant, far faster than Alister himself, it became Felix, just as he was in the outside world. All but his eyes. Those remained filled with liquid light.

"My God, you made that look easy."

Felix spread his arms. "What can I say?”

“Nothing, it would only make me jealous,” Alister said with an easy laugh. “How does this work?"

"Let’s start with the space you prepared."

"As you wish."

Alister led Felix down a ladder toward the base of his mechanical core. The pieces that were his Skills moved all around them, the swinging arms and moving panels only a few strides from the tops of their heads. Yet they walked a path helpfully marked out in blue—it led them safely between every gear and mechanical arm until they reached a hatch. It was set into the housing around the whirling gyroscope, and as Alister turned the copper wheel, blue force Mana surged through the metal in steady, clock-like pulses. With a click and hiss, the hatch opened, revealing a ladder down into the bowels of the machine.

“Narrow fit,” Felix said.

“Only seems like it. It’s a protective measure, meant to keep people from trying to get in here.”

“That’s clever. So I’ll fit?”

“Easily. Follow me.”

Alister climbed into the hatch and down the long, white marble ladder. Felix followed, huffing in surprise when his scaled bulk slipped without issue through the hatch. Several long moments followed, Alister moving with a mechanical surety he wished he could mimic in the Corporeal Realm. Each step was precise and perfect, ensuring that there were no slips or accidents as they descended nearly five hundred strides to the bottom. Along the way, they passed a complicated series of braces holding the formations up above, as well as a series of pistons that fired off in intermittent bursts. Blue Mana surged through them, feeding into the complicated machinery hanging all around them.

It felt a bit indulgent, but Alister could not help but marvel at the way his core space functioned. The pistons gathered Mana from all around, pulling it from his channels that were represented here as copper piping. It poured through them, the force filling up the pistons before they shot forward, the Mana adding a spin to the gyroscope machinery that whizzed as it sped up, only to slow slightly just before the next piston fired off.

It was there, in the underbelly of his core space, where the sleek white marble and glowing blue came to a point. Beneath the pistons, braces, and moving gears above was an open space marked by incomplete lines of glowing blue. At the very center was his pride and joy, an addition he'd only recently made.

Alister stepped off the last rung of the ladder and spread his arms. "Welcome, Felix, to the control node."

The node was perhaps only five strides across and completely circular, made from a combination of metal, stone, and crystallized Mana. It sat in the very center of the chamber, radiating lines of sigaldry limned in sky blue that spread outward and upward into the core space above. The nodes was furnished with gearboxes, switches, and dozens of levers spread out across the entire interface. The copper flooring was textured so that Alister did not slip, white marble was inlaid into the node’s panels, and the handle of each lever was crystallized force Mana cast into a unique shape.

"What do you think?" Alister asked.

For his part, Felix looked absolutely flummoxed.

"Holy moly, this is gnarly.” He pointed to the open space beneath the core and the engine that fed it. "I can see where the Pillars would go. You’ve prepped these nine spaces here," Felix pointed at the markings in glowing blue arrayed around the central control node. “This is extremely precise and very well prepared."

He turned to Alister, a broad smile on his face. "I'm very impressed."

"Well, thank you, Felix. Tern gave me quite a few pointers in developing the foundational weave while I was in Levantier. I admit, I nearly talked his ear off, but he offered a lot of insight into the mechanics of the ancients."

"That's awesome," Felix said. "So you know what all of this does, all these…bits?"

"I do."

"Good. Show me. I need to be sure how things work so I can hold it all together properly. And this place—" Felix looked at the control node the way some people looked at wild beasts. It wasn't quite fear Alister saw in his gaze, but it wasn't far off. "I have a terrifying urge to press all of these buttons at once."

"No!" Alister stepped forward, putting himself between Felix and the node. "I'll explain quickly."

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Evie landed at the end of a frozen plain, and a tumultuous ocean roared at her back. Not half a league distant, the ocean's waves spat white foam onto the ice, thickening it, growing it a fingerspan by the day. Above her, the sky was black, bereft of any clouds that might hold in some semblance of heat. There was only the cold light of distant stars…and not so distant ones.

Ahead, of course, was her city.

The sky brightened for a single moment. Blue-white and red-gold starlight smeared across the ice, casting reflective glory onto itself before it congealed around ice and chain. In mere moments, all of it turned to flesh and dark clothing. Trousers and a black jacket were emblazoned with a blue eye surmounted by a golden crown.

Felix stood next to her, taller by a full stride. He put his hands on his hips and surveyed her core space. "Not bad at all, Evie.”

She poked him. "Hey, why is your visualized form made from my core space?"

"You noticed. Alister didn't. It's a benefit of the Link. I'm co-opting parts of your core instead of stretching myself through our bond." He dropped his arms from his hips. "It's less of a strain. Every bit helps."

Evie narrowed her eyes. "What's that mean?"

"It means I'm about to use Fiendforge on seven different people, Evie. All at the same time."

"Oh, Noctis’ tits. That's a lot.”

“I can handle it. Besides, it's not like you're actively Tempering while I do this, or anything." He paused. "Right?"

She considered giving him a bit of grief for a moment, but she didn’t want to waste the time. "Nah, I'm close to Master, but not that close."

"Great! Nothing to worry about, then." He extended his arm. "Shall we?"

Evie looped hers through the crook of his elbow before she unceremoniously launched herself forward. Instead of being yanked off his feet, however, Felix followed smoothly, rising into the air with less than a whisper. The bastard.

"You could at least pretend to be surprised!" she shouted over the wind.

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, just as they landed atop the first and closest tower of the enormous palace that spread out around them.

"Welcome to my core space," Evie said, untangling herself from him. She spread her arms wide as if to display the sprawling buildings all around, built out of ice and chains and even flowing streams of water. It was less of a city than it was an enormous palace, built on a scale bigger than even giants could comfortably use.

"I love what you've done with the place." He looked up towards the center of her core space where the tallest tower was like a needle of ice and metal that extended upward into the sky. Even Evie didn't know where it ended, though she had her suspicions that, were she to follow it, it would stretch straight out of her core space.

Her core ringed the spire. It spun around the needle, a massive chain interwoven with links of water and ice through its black metal length. Each rotation it made around the spire pulled on the Skills that clung to it with invisible bonds. Evie could feel them, though not even she could see how they were connected, only that they were.

Each rotation of her ring core forced the Skills to shift themselves. Like a ball of serpents constantly seeking the center, the chains pulled inward, never knotting but always moving as ice and water flowed through them like blood through the chambers of a heart. Bound to each Skill and set beneath them, the buildings slowly shifted up and down, changing elevation as Mana flowed through her passives.

Felix followed her gaze. "Your Skills. They’re tied to parts of the palace?”

"Yeah. They rise and fall, depending on how much Mana they use. The defensive walls are tied to them, too. Makes it hard for any invaders to get close."

"Interesting." Felix didn't mention that no one was really invading her core space. Evie had been worried that he would. Instead, he pointed to the streets below. "Are those giants?"

"No. Why would I use those jerks? Those are Chain Golems," she said. "They kind of live here and just kind of ramble around."

“I see their shields and the chains they've wrapped around themselves. They look a lot like the ones in my Void Sanctuary. Copying me, now?"

"You got it backwards, thief. You stole them from me."

Felix gave a sheepish grin. "To be fair, it was unconscious theft."

"How's that better?"

Felix paused. "It's more innocent?"

"Come on, criminal," she said through a sharp laugh. "The place we're looking for is down here."

With a bit of Will and Affinity, they floated down toward the street level, passing through the arches of several aqueducts carrying full rivers of dark water. There, beneath the central spire, the whole place opened up into a series of massive, fifty-stride doorways, each open to the elements. Figures were carved into the supports on either side of the doorways, their features coated in thick layers of hoarfrost as they stared defiantly into the distance. Evie paused to look at them, as she always did.

"It’s nice to see her, even like this," Felix said.

"Yeah. Magda looks good as a statue." Evie paused, chewing her lip. “It looks like her, right?”

“It does. I’ve got a really good memory, but even if I didn’t, I’d never forget her face.”

"I'm jealous," Evie admitted. "I was thinking my memory wasn't quite so sharp. It's only been a bit over a year, and I already can't quite remember her voice. I can hear it fine, but it’s outta tune and foggy. I put her here so I wouldn’t forget. As long as I got this... well, she's not going anywhere, right? Plus, who better to guard my Pillars than the Shieldwitch herself?"

"It's a good choice. So is the rest of this place," he said, looking further in.

She knew what he saw. The vaulted hollow within the center of the spire. It reached up hundreds of strides into the air, so high that the gathered gloom formed a thick shadow at its top. Each step they took echoed like the cracking of deep ice. Around the room were massive anchor blocks forged of metal and ice, set deep into the frozen earth. They were ten strides across and equipped with a massive black iron hook.

Felix whistled, clearly impressed. "Simple and efficient. I like it."

"Yeah, the Pillars are going to go there, all the way up, connecting to the tower framework," she said, pointing towards the darkness above them.

“Piercing the center of your ring core.” Felix nodded. "Makes perfect sense to me."

"Don't sound so surprised."

Felix turned to face her square. "Evie, you are incredibly hardworking, savagely talented, and exceptionally intelligent, despite what you'd rather others think." He bared his teeth, not a smile, but a challenge. "If you couldn't handle this, I'd have been utterly disappointed."

"Pssh, you're going to make me blush, pretty boy."

"You flirt when you’re nervous. Don’t be," he said, before nudging her with his elbow. "Besides, I know you've got eyes for someone else."

This time, Evie did flush, despite her visualized form. "Shut up," she snapped. "I’m not talking about that."

"All right, that's fair. If I could offer a bit of advice..."

"Advice? Is it to wait a year before making a move?" Felix grinned, but before he could open his mouth, Evie raised a hand. “Nope. Don’t wanna hear it. Not from you.”

Felix laughed and lifted his hands in surrender. "Okay. That’s fair. But I am serious. This is good. You're ready."

"Well," she cracked her neck. "Visualization ain't my thing, but this was simple as gutting a Revenant. Is it supposed to get harder?"

Felix glanced back up at the vaulted ceiling and the deep shadow leading to the center of her power. "It will," he promised, "very soon."

Harn stood at the center of his armory and watched as a massive arcanite hammer smashed into the crystalline anvil before him. The anvil itself was bigger than his house with Palin, and each strike sent rivers of silver flame spreading throughout his core space.

To the untrained eye, Harn knew they looked random. Each flow changed and branched unexpectedly, honing in on the arms and armor assembled in discrete piles between the hewn stone columns. The fire filled them with silver light, heating them without melting, tempering their forms with every flow. The concentric rings around his core turned, a single space with each beat of his hammer, each ring moving in opposite directions as they spread wider and wider from his center.

Harn reached out, running his fingers through a river of silver flame as it passed him, letting its brilliance play over his rough hands. It felt cold to him, like steel stored in a winter-bound shed, and he smiled. It reminded him of hot porridge, the bustle of early morning conversation in a warm tavern, and the battered disrepair of his uncle's old forge. Work that he'd done half a lifetime ago.

A flash of blue and red-gold was all the warning he had—one of the rivers stopped flowing, pooling instead into a too-tall boy covered in black scales and dark clothing. Felix fully congealed next to him in less time than it took for the hammer to spark off of his anvil. He straightened his jacket.

"Taking your time, kid?" Harn asked.

“Evie had a lot of questions.” Felix shrugged. "Each of you has such unique core spaces that I also need to adjust my Fiendforge every time I set it."

"Set it?"

"Yeah. I have to set it to hold tight around your core space.”

“For all of us? Doesn't it tire you?"

"Not yet. But I’ll handle it."

Harn grunted. The kid knew better than to lie to him. He wasn't as good at deception as he liked to think. "All right. If you're sure.”

“I am. Besides, Grandmaster Tier has to count for something, right?"

Harn chuckled. "Suppose it does. No time to waste, then. Sooner started, sooner finished."

He gestured, and the floor at the base of his crystal anvil split open, a concentric ring dropping into a set of stairs that led down into a dark passage. He led Felix down its steps, revealing an undercroft full of shadow, dust, and ancient bedrock. The stone had chips and pockmarks of wear in it, but Harn had made the place as sturdy as it was ancient. There were no cracks or fractures, no faults or stress lines.

“Follow me.”

Without another word, Harn stepped forward and fell nearly five hundred strides in an instant. He slammed feet-first into the floor, raising a cloud of dust all around him. It didn't hurt, not even a little bit—after all, this was his core space. He could do anything within it.

Felix, however, floated down like a leaf on the wind. “I like the entrance.”

Harn shrugged. “It’s faster.”

From above, streamers of silver fire flowed down the walls, pouring in from the crystalline base of the anvil where it protruded from the ceiling. The fire caught along channels grooved beside that crystal, following them down similar troughs that formed labyrinthine paths toward the very bottom…where Harn stood. Light bloomed in their wake, the silver radiance more than enough to fill the vast space.

"Oh, shit," Felix said, floating lower. "You’ve been busy."

Harn beamed, more than willing to take pride in what he'd accomplished. Around him were huge pieces of armor, as if built for giants hundreds of feet tall. "Helmet, cuirass, pauldrons, rerebraces, vambraces, sabatons, greaves, tasses, and gauntlets," he said, pointing to each massive piece of armor. "Nine pieces of armor, each one part of a full set."

"This is extremely cool," Felix said, looking as giddy as Harn had hoped.

Harn grunted, though it was through a wide smile. "So long as it works, I'm happy."

The boy drifted closer to the sabatons. The enormous boots were made of folded metal gleaming in silver but cast reflections of gold and crimson. He reached out, tracing a dark hand against it, and silver fire leaped in the wake of his claws.

"I can sense your Skills here, tied into the shape, but it's hollow," he turned. "All of it is."

"It's just a framework," Harn agreed. “Ready to be filled.”

Felix flared Fiendforge, chest and throat burning with red-gold light as his hands crackled with lightning. "Then let's get started."

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Vess sat cross-legged atop the edge of her core. The Temple to the Dawn Dragons spread out behind her, a vast edifice teeming with details that she had honed to perfection over the course of many months. Rising above it all was the gleaming golden Dragon, its bright wings spread wide and its eerie, uncanny gaze staring down at her back. She knew that there was no consciousness there in the statue. She had crafted it herself after the remnants of Primordial power had affected her.

The first remnants, she amended.

Over the months since then, she had come to know her core space with a new intensity that could not be denied. The mountaintops and their temple structures representing her Skills did not concern her—it was the storm below that made her pause.

In her hands, she wove small strands of golden light, turned claws, reshaped scales, and the coarse hairs of a white mane all together. The braid was loose—merely practice for the final event—but still she had managed to weave an interlocking cable as thick as her pinky finger. With a sigh, she released them all, letting the power snap back into the air around her.

A breeze blew from above, chilling her visualized flesh, even as it sparked with warm power.

Felix.

The breeze whipped itself into a gale of white-green Mana and the gleaming gold of dawn's first light. In the blink of an eye, that power snapped into place about red-gold bones and blue-white flesh. Felix formed from nothing to sit beside her. He didn't speak for a moment, simply existed at her side, staring down into the swirling clouds.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," she admitted, "but confident. Those winds below aren't so terrifying now."

That wasn’t a lie, though it was farther from the truth than she would have liked. They had done a considerable amount of prep work previously on Felix's last visit, and she had seen the fury masked by the thick layers of clouds. Her confidence was tempered heavily by caution.

A roar shook the impenetrable fog—a sound that could have easily been a storm or a Dragon. Just above the cloud line, pieces of the mountain chipped away, flinging like loosed arrows into the gale.

"Not terrifying? I don't know about that," Felix admitted, "but I like your confidence."

Vess nudged him with an elbow, smiling all the while. She enjoyed that about him. He was steady as a mountain, but he let her make her own choices, her own observations, without putting words into her mouth. There was never any resentment or cajoling. Just care.

A bright roar shook the air, quite different from the tumult beneath the clouds as Yintarion landed across the chasm. His beautiful scales gleamed in the dawn's light that coated everything above the clouds, and his white mane rippled majestically in the ceaseless breeze. "Together, we shall weather this storm, little Dragoon."

Vess smiled. "Indeed we shall."

The Dawn Drake was another element of her core that Vess did not need to concern herself over. When first she formed her Draconic Bond with Yintarion, it was a thing of desperation. She sought to preserve his life, and quite pragmatically, needed him to save her own. Since then, they'd grown far closer than she could have imagined. Vess had come to understand the bond that Felix shared with Pit—she’d always known it was a special thing, but experiencing it firsthand was a revelation. For all the danger their closeness risked, it brought about so much more value to her life. Not simply power, but kinship. A family she had never expected from a creature she'd once been taught to hate.

Their bond was even stronger now. Yin could use Convergence, much like Pit could, to join her Spirit, allowing him to help with the weaving that was to come. According to Felix, it was the only way someone else could play a role in weaving her Pillars. As her Companion, Yintarion was her in many ways, just as she was him.

Vess took a breath, calm and smooth. "Secure your Fiendforge, Felix. We shall handle it from there."

Power spooled within her lover's chest, flaring visibly in that place as it traveled his channels, like red-gold, outlining the cracks between the dark scales that were layered atop him.

"Of course," he said, inclining his head to the exact perfect degree an emperor should. "Whatever the Lady wishes."

She smiled, Yintarion roared, and they began the work.

finally! it begins!

Atar glanced at the bird of elemental fire flapping around his dark temple. The Urge’s wings flared with white flame pinions marked by streamers of bloody red. “Don’t get too excited.”

how could i not? this is what we’ve been waiting for, atar! our foundations will be solidified, a basin within which our might will rage! The bird-like Urge laughed, opening its white beak wide. our long-awaited reign will begin! generous and unforgiving…a power born in flame⁠—!

"Shut up," Atar moaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. For all that it wasn't his real body, every word Flame spoke was like a dagger stabbed into his skull. "Can you just give it a rest for a moment?"

my kind does not rest. i am not the Sleepy Fire, nor am i the Quiet Urge. i am the Undying Flame—as are you, atar, though you like to deny it.

Atar clenched his jaw. Unfortunately, he couldn't argue with the idiotic Urge. They were close. Far closer than ever before, thanks to a great many misadventures across the Continent—adventures that Atar would not change the outcome of, even if it had come to this.

He’s useful, Atar reminded himself, chanting it like a mantra. He’s useful. He’s burning useful.

Which, of course, was why the Urge was there at all. Unlike Vess, he had no powerful Companion sharing his Spirit—instead, he had the dwindled remnants of the Highest Flame scorched into his Aspects.

Moonlight flashed above them, and Atar looked up. Felix appeared silently above the pillars of white flame that represented the mage’s Skills, his very flesh forming from their crimson-touched incandescence. His substance swiftly turned dark, of course, fire solidified into glossy midnight scales that stretched over muscles sharply defined even beneath his tunic. The man cut a handsome figure, as much as that annoyed Atar.

Good looks and power. Oh to be Unbound, he groused.

"Looking good, man," Felix said, and Atar started. Had the man heard his thoughts?

No that’s crazy. He’s not a god. “What do you mean?”

Felix hopped to the ground, feet light as shadow and just as silent, before walking down a row of Skill pillars. He looked like a demon, the light sinking into his scales as if it couldn’t touch him. All but his eyes. “Your visualization. It’s improved a bunch since the last time I was here.”

Atar leaned against the burning basin at his center as the man approached. Flame squawked, flying around the room once more before alighting within his ring-shaped nest, his pale fires merging with the rotating power of Atar’s core.

"There are still a few cracks," Atar lamented, lifting an arm to show them off. Chunks of his forearm were still missing, the gray skin split to reveal flesh that was nothing but chipped obsidian and charred bones. "Things have progressed, though. My robes are fully intact, and aside from one or two spots, you can't see my bones anymore."

Atar forced a smile. He never liked anyone seeing him like this, but Felix had witnessed far worse and hadn’t walked away. The mage had to remind himself, every once in a while, that the powerful weren’t all as callous as his former Master. “It could be better, but I’ll take it.”

"That’s a good attitude," Felix said with a laugh.

it is not attitude that serves us, Flame said from the center of the basin. He poked a wing at Felix. your consumption of those primordials, monstrosities, and urges is what fuels our greatest growth.

Felix tilted his head questioningly. "You aren't mad that I ate Urges?"

is the boot angry when it crushes an ant? no. it is a boot, and i am an urge.

"Huh," Felix said. "I guess I'm not surprised.”

urges do not have family or friends, Flame said. only those who serve them or those they choose to serve.

"Serve?" Atar scoffed. "Since when?”

there has never been a bonding of urge and mortal such as this. we are unique, mage. we are equal.

Atar pursed his lips. Flame rarely lied—even at his most…pontifically robust, the Urge was simply grating. Both of them were equally present in Atar’s Body ever since they pulled themselves back from the brink of death.

"Anyway, things are going well, and I wish to retain that status quo. Felix. I assume you need to see the Sepulchre?"

If Felix had any questions, he didn't express them. He merely folded his hands before him. "I do.”

Atar gestured, and the obsidian around them was inundated with sigaldry. White flame filled the recesses of near-invisible inscriptions across the dark floor behind his core. The inscriptions flared outward, illuminating a complex array that Atar had painstakingly devised before perfectly visualizing into his dark Temple. He was quite proud of them. Every single bit was a practical application of true sigaldry. While a core space could represent many things, including the outright fantastical, he had no desire to design sigaldry that wasn’t true to reality. Much like his lover, he sought a deeper truth of the world and wanted to reflect it within his center. Where Alister followed the workings of mechanics, Atar was a Glyphmaster.

Stone ground against stone as a door split open at the array’s very center. “Come this way,” he said, before proceeding into the flame-lit recess. Felix followed.

Down a spiraling path cut into the heart of his Temple, Atar and Felix descended below the nest and core around the edges of a diamond-shaped shaft. Felix looked around in interest, but Atar was more interested in ordering his thoughts. He knew what the man was seeing, anyway; he could envision the space in his sleep—and often did, of late. The basin of the nest above stuck down through the roof of the shaft, the obsidian pieces of it spiraling down into a point that extended to the very bottom. There, another wide stone basin spread out, filling a good deal of the massive chamber like a fountain in a luxury park. Glyphs and sigaldry covered the walls, lighting up with white flame that illuminated the glossy obsidian around them. Flame flew after them, descending in sweeping spirals as they reached the bottom.

Felix looked around, his eyes taking in everything. "This reminds me of the Temple of the All-Burning Flame," he said. "Is that on purpose?"

Atar nodded. "It was a horrible moment in my life, but it was where our bond, however reluctant, was formed." He reached out and put his hand on the wide basin. It was a smaller yet exacting replica of the basin in which the Highest Flame once burned. The difference, of course, was the obsidian spiral extending from the ceiling. And, of course, that it was empty of all light.

this has meaning to us both, Flame said, before landing on the edge of the basin, near to where a number of inscription styluses were laid out.

Atar ran his hands across the basin and made note to devisualize those tools. They were a mental shortcut he no longer needed. "To ignore that its role in our lives didn't sit right with either of us. So, I incorporated it in the overall design."

Flame hummed in clear agreement, and Atar spotted Felix glancing between the two of them, his Spirit veiled and his expression unreadable.

"Anyway," Atar said, coughing slightly, "this is a nest, similar to the basin above where my core burns.”

“I thought he was your core,” Felix said, pointing at the Urge.

i am. i am also myself.

“Makes perfect sense.”

“Ahem. This is where the stolen heat and flame go after they’re consumed, but before my Urge can incorporate it all." Atar pointed at the basin’s center. “We’ve been storing the power there, and it’ll be released when we weave.”

Flame flew back up, spiraling tightly around the obsidian construct that extended from the ceiling. His voice echoed throughout the glossy, burning chamber. this is a funnel through which our power is channeled from above, but also where it can be sent back up if needed.

Felix nodded along. "The Pillars will be formed in this room, then?"

the sepulchre, Flame corrected, flying back down.

"Right," Felix said. "Where, though?"

"Along here." Atar gestured around the circumference of the room. Their sigaldry lit up as his attention shifted to them, scrawled over every inch of the flooring. But where he pointed, the nine spots were blank, as if awaiting something. Felix walked closer, inspecting their circumference.

"You're going to inscribe them into place?”

"It was my idea. But—" Atar hesitated, his confidence wavering. "I cannot figure how we are to weave our Pillars from this.”

“That’s up to you. You said you read the notebook.”

“I did.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Atar licked his lips. “I have…doubts.”

He hated admitting that aloud to anyone, let alone Felix. Yet, when Atar mustered the courage to look at the man, Felix was leaning over the empty Pillar ports.

Ignoring him.

“Felix,” Atar said, anger swiftly replacing his discomfort. “I said⁠—”

“I heard you.” Felix stood up. “You have doubts. I don’t.”

Atar blinked.

“This sigaldry makes sense—the elemental fire comes up here, right? And then you’ll be weaving the condensed strands together?”

“...that’s the idea, yes.”

Felix spread his hands. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure I can do it, okay?” Atar admitted. “The complexities of what your notebook suggested were almost incomprehensible. Only by filtering it through my understanding of sigaldry did I come close to being able to grasp it, and even then, only just!”

Felix sighed before walking back toward Atar. “Barely understanding it is a thousand times better than I had it. When I wove my Pillars, I hadn’t a clue what I was doing, and neither did Pit. We just trusted our gut and danced to the music.” He grabbed Atar by the shoulders—not hard, but firmly. “Stop whining.”

Atar’s eyes widened. “You absolute⁠—!”

“That’s better.” Felix grinned. “Use that anger.”

Flame perked up, flapping his wings. you know of the burning? the rage?

“I know that sometimes I need something to eliminate distractions,” Felix said. “I know that anger can focus me as much as calm at times. You’re the same way, Atar. From everything you’ve told me, you’ve had a rough life. From the desert to the Grandmaster of Fire to Haarwatch, it’s all been rough trails and uphill battles. If you aren’t sure of the path ahead, then there’s only one thing to do.”

Felix picked up the stylus from the workstation and handed it to the mage. “Blaze a new one.”

Atar took the stylus in numb hands, staring around his Sepulchre. “What if it’s a bad one?”

"Good and bad doesn’t really play here. Only if it makes sense to you and Flame."

Atar and the Urge shared a look.

Felix noticed. "Look, walk me through the sigaldry, step by step. If there’s anything glaring, I’ll help however I can. Sound good?”

The burning bird hopped excitedly on its metal perch. the eyes of the emperor on things would be…a boon.

“My sigaldry is perfect.”

Felix grinned. “I expect nothing less.”

Atar exhaled sharply through his nose and nodded. “Follow me.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

"Calm down, Beef."

Hollow's voice was as soft and soothing as ever, but Beef didn’t care. He paced nervously across the wild meadow set into his manor, stepping heavily past the statues of his Skills at the edge of the stepped Well. The feature dominated the center of his core space, progressing downward in tiers toward his glowing core. Each chitin statue was bigger than ever before. They gleamed with a blackened green light from every crevice and carving upon their bodies, and even the moss that clung to their bases was lush and vibrant. Surrounded by his visualized success, Beef had hoped he would feel some form of confidence return, yet he couldn't shake his nerves.

He walked closer to the railing. The Well of Skills sat atop of an enormous, sprawling mansion, clinging to the back of the Golden-Bronze Beetle. The landscape swayed with each scuttle of the Beetle’s legs, though not as much as one might expect. There was a sure-footed swiftness that had them almost gliding across the fields of golden wheat. In the distance, the horizon curved, as if he were looking at the Earth from far above—except here, the planet was tiny enough that the Beetle completed a full circumnavigation in an hour.

Winds blew, shifting the golden wheat around and tossing about the small, stunted trees that spread out among them. The beetle's legs moved with a delicate efficiency, never tearing up the land or breaking through the trees, not even so much as disturbing the grain as it moved. Beef took it in, trying to let the precision of it comfort him.

"Your plan is solid," Hallow said again.

“But what if…” Beef shot a look across his Skill statues. Beyond the wide mouth of the Well was another section of his sprawling manor, built from yellow brick and bronze. Set into the nearest wall, however, was an off-white door, covered in scratches.

Beef pulled his gaze away, but it was hard. "What if I don't do it right? What if I screw up?"

"That's why we're here," said a voice, and it was like thunder across his little world.

Beef threw up an arm as light burst from a single point in space. A statue of chitin formed from the earth, mimicking the identical shape of a powerfully built man. As fast as it sculpted itself, the statue cracked, chitin turning to flesh, hair, and the black scales of the monster he called his friend.

"Hello, Felix."

"Hi, Hallow,” the man waved at the Graven Aegis standing nearby. He didn’t take his eyes off Beef, though. “I only heard the last part of that, but listen to your friend here, man. We've got your back."

"I know," Beef said, fully turning back toward his friend and the well, "but what if…”

“Did you change your core space?" Felix asked, looking around.

Beef's mouth snapped shut, and he very carefully didn't look at the scratched door. It wasn't new, but had Felix noticed it?

"A little. Yes, a little."

"I see a bunch of sigaldry all over this house." The man leaned over the railing. "And the big beetle, too. I didn't know you were into inscription."

"It's magic," Beef said, incredulously. "Of course I'm interested. I'm just not, like, good at it."

"He's being modest," Hallow said, stomping closer. Her Graven Aegis form gleamed more brightly here than it ever had in the real world, as if her magic were amplified in this place. "He has been studying forging techniques and inscription for the past day and has gotten a decent grasp of the basics. His Inscription and Manafolding Skills have already hit level 32."

"I had help from Harn and—it doesn’t matter. They're not right," Beef complained, gesturing to the markings across his manor and Beetle. "They don't look like normal sigaldry."

"They don’t. Hm." Felix pointed down at the Beetle's back, where the housing gave way to the grooved contours of its shell. "Those glyphs look more like constellations than anything else.” He turned. “They're on your Skill statues, too."

Beef groaned. “Yeah. I was trying something, but it’s not working. I am proud of my progress, it’s just not where I want it,” he added, holding a hand up to Hallow before she could start consoling him again. She meant well, but Beef couldn’t stand the coddling sometimes. At least she doesn’t look like my mom anymore.

"What's the end goal here?" Felix asked, walking up to one of his Skills.

"I want to make them all move."

Felix blinked. "Interesting. Like the Risen?"

"Nah, I took inspiration from Orun."

Felix looked at the statues again. "Oh, you're right. I thought maybe these were just random sigaldry that you kind of... but no, they look very similar to the inscriptions on the Eidolon Exults. You know those are very complicated arrays, right?"

Beef wilted a bit. "Yeah, I know, I just thought maybe I could... never mind, it's stupid."

"No, it isn't. But you’ve been studying addition and subtraction, and these operate more like calculus.” Felix pointed at the central cluster on the abdomen of the Skill statue. “They're complicated because they use memories."

Hallow tilted her head. "How?"

"We’re not a hundred percent sure, but Karys and I think the memories are extracted as a part of the transference ritual. The memories act as anchors, holding the Exults in a sort of stasis."

Hallow nodded. "Yes, anchor glyphs to bind the Mind and Spirit together with their new Body. That is complicated magic. Orun made mention of the transference."

“He didn’t mention memories?”

“He might have,” Beef said, sheepishly. “A lot of what him and Telys were talking about was a little over my head. Wait. Does that mean I could add memories into these arrays and make them work?

"I’m guessing there's a lot more to it than that, but at its most basic level that’s how they function. I delved into the Exult’s memories this way before, and they’re a cluster of important events from their lives. If you were gonna do that, you’d need a source for the memories, a way to extract them, and to choose the right ones.”

Beef put his hands on his hips and looked down at the grass. Ideas swam through his Mind, slow and hazy at the moment, but there was something at the tip of his tongue. He shook his head, trying to rattle it loose, but only succeeded in driving the elusive thought away. Beef groaned.

“Tell me about your Pillars,” Felix said. “Where will they go? Here, in the Well?"

"Nah." Beef walked away from the Skill Well. The thing descended downward toward his core, shining brighter with the blackened green light of necromancy. But Beef didn’t need a foundation there, in the heart of the Beetle. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

He walked to the railing and pointed over the edge…toward the agile legs that plied their way across his little world. “I’m going to put them there.”

"The legs?" Felix said. "But this is an insect—" The man paused. "You gave your beetle nine legs?"

Beef laughed. "Yeah! It was really tricky, but the Multipede was the key. Big centipede creatures bunch their legs in groups as they move, which makes their movement a little more slithery but keeps it all smooth."

“Fascinating.” Felix peered down at the moving appendages. "You've etched out spaces within them?"

"That was tricky, too. I needed to open up space for the Pillars to be woven across the leg and then through the body, but I couldn't have the Beetle fall apart, you know? So, I had to figure out a bracing structure to make that work. But honestly, I want the Pillars to be part of that movement because that is really what this place is. It's—” Beef paused, groping for the right words. “It's entropy given new life."

He looked at Felix, trying not to wince. "At least, that's what I was thinking."

Felix slapped him on the back hard enough that the breath was knocked out of his lungs. "That’s incredible, dude! The concept you’re establishing is—I can see the vision.”

Beef grinned, and the wind rushed through the wheat fields around them. “You can? Hah! I knew it was a good idea! I told you, Hallow!”

“Yes,” she said, tone flat. “Good job, Beef.”

Felix smirked at the Graven Aegis for some reason, but Beef didn’t care. The sun seemed suddenly brighter. “What do you need to know?” he asked the man.

“Your process. You're going to fill the hollow sections you've made in the legs with the Pillars?"

"I am. The weaving will be through the middle and around the joints, then I’m gonna layer chitin over it all. Give the whole thing some armor plating by layering my entropy through it all and giving the woven leg a denser structure. It should more than compensate for any weakness introduced by hollowing it out.”

Felix scratched his head. "That’s a good plan, and not something I would’ve thought about. Did you learn all this structure stuff from the books in the library?"

"Not really, no. I learned most of it from my dad." Beef smiled, staring out into the golden fields as they swayed in a wind he couldn't feel. Clouds gathered in the sky. "He was a civil engineer. Had all these drawings around the house. He worked on bridges and stuff.”

“Did he teach you a lot?"

"I guess so. I don't remember it like that, though.” Beef scratched his jaw as memories prodded against his Mind, summoned in muted colors and faded soundtracks. “He took me out looking at things all the time. Projects he was working on or just things he admired. Showed me the drawings and all that math." He shuddered. "The math was a bit too much for me, but the drawings—they were beautiful. All the variables accounted for, all the allowances considered. How weight was distributed across different shapes. It's... It's always been so interesting to me.”

The clouds thickened, and the sun dimmed ever so slightly. “And now—I don't know. All this construct work with chitin just makes me think of him." He swallowed. I hope he's alright.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Felix asked.

He started. He didn't realize he'd said that last part out loud. He forced a laugh. "Of course he is. Just, uh, I left suddenly, you know? I was in my room. Lightning. You know the rest."

Felix nodded. "I'm familiar. I left my mom behind, but then, I wasn't a teenager living at home.” The man paused, staring out at the fields. They were still golden, but the color had dulled with cloudy sun. “After this is all over, do you want to go back to Earth? I asked you before, but you never gave me an answer."

"I thought about it a lot. But—" Beef flinched away from memories of rain. Of lightning. A slick roof. Of his dad—falling—just out of reach. All of the Strength in his Minotaur Body seemed to slip away, and Beef felt…small. "I'm afraid to.”

The clouds rolled, bruising the sky purple and all but obscuring the distant sun. On the far side of the Well, the scratched door loomed. He couldn’t see it, but Beef could feel it pressing against his Mind.

"We had a fight," he said, his voice thin. "I pushed him, and he..."

Cold rain fell on them, Beetle and wheat.

The door cracked open.

“There was a storm.”

Lightning flashed—not from above. It had come from inside the scratched room. His heartbeat sped up.

"My dad slipped. He fell."

A crashing sound echoed from out of that door. Hallow and Felix turned toward it in alarm. Beef looked up at the sky, unwilling to look back even as the old wood creaked open farther. He never looked in there anymore—he wanted to pretend he’d outgrown that part of himself—but he knew it was still there. Waiting.

He sucked in a ragged breath. "I left him, Felix. The System took me, and I don't know if... What if he got hurt? I’ve been gone so long…what if I'm too late?"

"Oh, buddy." Suddenly Beef was wrapped in two scaled arms, clutched by claws that could rend steel and stone like butter. Yet all they did was squeeze firmly. Beef jerked away, but he couldn’t fight Felix’s Strength…and he didn’t want to. He leaned in, his muscles melting as something inside of him gave way.

His cheeks felt warm in the cold rain.

The hug felt good. It wasn't like his dad's hugs, but it was close. Despite all of his muscles and the size and power he’d stolen from the Minotaurs, the hug made Beef feel safe.

His throat hurt, and his eyes burned. Sometimes he let himself forget how much he missed his home.

Across the Well, the door opened further—and this time Beef saw it. His childhood bedroom was revealed in the light of a computer monitor and bathed in the crash of lightning through a thin glass window. It remained the same as it had in his previous core space, as it had on the night he had disappeared. The storm shook the windows, and the latch barely held.

Felix glanced at the door, but the guy didn't ask about it. He just held him as his breathing slowed. And eventually, slowly, the scratched door closed again.

"I wish I could give you a better, more sure answer," Felix said after a time. "All I can promise is that, if we make it out of this thing, I'll see what I can do."

He nodded, sniffling. "Okay."

"First, we have to tackle the obstacle ahead of us." Felix pushed Beef to arm's length and locked eyes with him. "Are you up for that? It's okay if you're not."

"No." He wiped his snout and eyes with the heels of his hands. "No, I can do this. I've got a plan."

"It's a good one," Hallow added.

Felix smiled gently. "Tell me."

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Archie sat atop the bell tower at the center of his strange, endless city. He watched as the skyline, filled by vague skyscrapers, was veiled by torrents of dark smoke and falling ash. Below him, and far closer, people flowed through the streets like rivers. Each carried coins that caught the light, no matter how murky the sky might seem. Those coins passed ceaselessly among them. Thieves moved through the crowds, stealing purses here and there, while many individuals walked into shops, buying the items they needed before walking away, their hand carts heavy with materials.

The ash fell like snow, but none of it collected on him. He shivered. It was a pity he couldn’t evade the cold.

“Clever.”

Felix was behind him, walking along the ledge. "Are you using the wind to keep the ash from you, or does it simply not collect on you at all?"

"It's wind,” Archie grumbled. “I don't know how to visualize whatever the hell you're talking about."

Felix looked up at the clouds scuttling across the low sky. He cupped his hand, letting ash fill the dark scales of it. In just moments, he had a decent handful of large flakes. "Just visualize not sharing the same space with it. That should fit your Skill set, right?"

His eyes glowed brighter, blue fire centered by pupils of red gold. The ash slid out of his hand.

No. Through his hand.

"Did you come here to show off, or is that just a side perk for you?" Archie asked.

Felix laughed, and his eyes dimmed. The ash still didn't touch him, though. "Sorry, I just figured you'd find the idea useful."

"It is, but I've been visualizing my ass off these past few days."

"I saw that." Felix walked to the wall's edge, then a bit further, floating upon his Will. "Those star patterns have increased down below. Did you do that on purpose?"

Archie looked outward. "Sort of. The first ones appeared after I took one of your pure Essence Draughts, right? Well, I noticed they kind of helped me with handling all that power you keep shoving at us."

Felix turned around, still floating in midair. "Really?"

"Yeah, see there?" Archie pointed down at his city. Despite the ash clogging up the distance, it was easy to make out the stars marked out in opalescent lines around everything. They cut across buildings and down the streets, forming a pattern that was only truly visible from high up. At the farthest edge was a nine-pointed star, but it didn't stop there. An eight-pointed star was nested within that, and then a seven, on and on until it reached a three-pointed star surrounding the bell tower itself. All of it was picked out in opalescent stone that Archie now knew was Felix's special shaped material.

"All that significance packs in there, inside your Fiendstone. It increases as it goes inward, star after star, until it piles up here, around my core." Archie patted the wall beneath him. "Where I can make use of it."

Felix peered closer. "You've organized your Skills around the stars, too.”

"I did. I also moved them out of tents and stalls."

"I see," Felix said, a wide smile splitting his face. "Shop fronts. Fancy. Very impressive."

"Not just impressive, but there's more variety in the products that each of them offer, and they're harder to steal from."

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that how you activate your Skills? Stealing pieces or the products from your vendors?"

"I said harder, not impossible. Haven't I told you? I'm the best. Besides," Archie waved a hand, "I have thief crews now, visualized and running about the streets. They move where and when I say, and since they're basically little copies of me, well, they get the job done."

Felix continued to stare down at the core space, and Archie could tell the guy was studying things. Frankly, he was more than happy to let him. Archie was proud of what he'd made. It had taken a lot of long hours and Vess' visualization exercises to make all those changes, not to mention making the small copies of himself complete with daggers and the ability to walk through walls.

That one, he'd stolen from Felix. After a walk through his Void Sanctuary had shown him the little ashen Delven assassins creeping through his city, Archie had figured that turnabout was fair play and stole the concept right from the scaly bastard.

"Interesting," Felix said after a while. "The people. Is that new?"

Archie nodded. The people who walked his city streets were no longer blank slates or mere gestures of figures. Now, they all had distinct facial structures. Races were separate from one another, and they varied in height, weight, and age.

"Yeah, it's new, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be."

"Does the detail help?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. It's like, the more I make them real, the more coin they’ve got to spend. The other day, I even heard two of them have an entire conversation."

Felix raised both eyebrows. "Really?"

"It was boring, complaining about the weather of all things." Archie chuckled. "Ash every day."

"That's very interesting."

"It's mostly cosmetics, not like this." Archie gestured back at the bell tower behind them.

Felix walked across the air and peered a bit closer. Unlike a normal bell tower, the place was sealed shut, closed in by thick walls of metal and stone, and capped by a roof of red tiles that was choked in ash.

"What's inside?" Felix asked.

"A circle of bells, all set up to rotate while they ring. My core."

Felix walked around the circumference of the tower. "Not as loud as I figured they'd be, this close, even with these walls in the way."

"Soundproofing," Archie said. "The noise was so annoying. Besides, the sound doesn't really matter that much."

"The Grand Harmony begs to differ."

"I'm not one for music, man. For me, it's all about the vibrations."

Felix’s eyes brightened. "Explain what you mean by that."

"The bells, the way they shake when the clappers hit the lip, the air quivers like liquid, you know? It's like me moving through my targets." Archie gestured with a hand, pushing the flat blade of his hand forward as if through a wall. "It transfers outward through all the streets. You can feel it, but you can only barely hear it."

Felix looked at the bell tower as if he could see through it, his eyes glowing once more with a strange dual coloring. For all Archie knew, the guy could see through it. He had some strange abilities, after all.

"The location for your Pillars is where?"

"At the base of the bell tower." Archie jerked his chin off the edge. “Near those buttress things.”

"Flying buttresses?"

"Whatever they're called. Beef told me about them, so I thought they'd make sense for some supporting Pillars."

Felix nodded along. "Looks good to me. You feel ready?"

"No."

"You gonna do this anyway?"

"Do I got a choice?"

“Always.”

Archie frowned. “If one of the choices is ‘death by god monster’ then that’s no choice at all.”

Felix sat on the wall next to him. He was big and solid and radiated heat like a furnace…more real than the tower he sat on. “Sometimes life or death is the only meaningful choice we get to make.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie.”

Felix clapped a hand to his stomach. “Oh my god. I haven’t had Chinese food in so long.”

“When we get back to Earth, I’ll take you to my favorite spot.” Archie poked his finger at the man’s face. “You just gotta make sure I survive, alright?”

Felix grinned. “With the promise of Chinese food? I guess I’ll have to.”

“Then—” Archie shuddered. The wind was so cold. “Then I guess I’ll be weaving.”

"Good man." Felix patted him on the back before shoving himself off the tower. He floated easily in the air, descending slowly. "I'll do a quick check, then you can show me how it works."

Archie just shrugged and watched as one of the scariest men in the world began to go over the very center of his power. And strangely, Archie didn't feel a single bit of fear.

Archie lingered there a moment, atop his little world, and enjoyed that feeling. Trust, huh? What a weird world this is.

After a while, he realized ash had piled up on his pants and across his shoulders and arms. He'd forgotten to keep up his wind visualization. He went to start it again, but hesitated.

"Visualize not sharing the same space, huh?" Archie focused, emptying his Mind before holding his Intent tightly. In the distance, the crowd rushed toward one of his shops, pressing through the doors of a glass-fronted establishment. Primeval Drift didn't activate, but it shook through him as thieves stole pieces of gold from the register with every transaction.

Just let it flow.

The ash fell away from his limbs, floating free into the empty air.

"Huh.” He gave a small laugh. "That's not so hard."

Felix rose into the darkness between core spaces, moving away, around, and at right angles to the Links he still held gripped within the depths of his Spirit. There, he found Pit, floating motionless in the black, waiting for him.

"Are they all ready?" he asked with a squawk.

"As much as they'll get. What about you?"

"I can handle anything," Pit scoffed. "I'll be ready to swoop in if something bad happens.”

“Remember, you can't help them weave like you did with me. It'll screw them up.”

“Yeah yeah." Pit clacked his beak several times. "Doesn't mean I can't give advice, though, right?"

"If advice is out, then we screwed up bad by making those booklets." Felix lifted his hands, and red-gold fire kindled across his palms.

Fiendforge.

Within his chest, the Skill unfurled like the fingers of a great hand. Felix held that image, shaping it with his Intent as Fiendforge thrummed away. Each piece of his Skill was a claw that he set against one of his friend's core spaces, and now he extended the last of the seven. Like always, it clamped around Archie’s core space and held it fast—like a vise, it secured the dark edges of his space, where the man’s visualization faded into the vast emptiness that connected them all to the System.

The others thrummed in time, each claw holding steady as it spread through the dark. His Links with each of them lit up, thick with red-gold flame around a crackling core of blue-white.

It was a weird feeling.

Fiendforge had grown a lot since the last time Felix had used it. Holding all seven of his friends took effort, certainly, but it wasn’t straining him as it might have in the past. There was a thinness to his Skill, each claw not quite as solid as it was for a single target, but that couldn’t be avoided. They didn’t have the time to weave their Pillars one by one, and if Zara and Karys were correct, weaving them all at once would help them.

He hoped that was true, for all their sakes.

There are too many things that need doing.

Felix could sense the System itself as it passed through his Skill, like a breeze that was by turns scorching hot and blisteringly cold—and that was just the baseline connection.

What'll it feel like when they actually start weaving?

"I might need you to Converge with me later to bolster Fiendforge, Pit."

His Companion tilted his head. "I can do it now, if it'd help."

"No. For now, we need more eyes on them in their core spaces. The hard part starts later."

He checked his Mana and Essence. Fiendforge was a clear drain on his power, but his regeneration was keeping up, and the stock of his Essence and his significance was more than enough. All seven of his friends were held tightly. Securely.

“It’s time,” he said into the dark, and the words resonated outward, spreading along the Links that bound them together. Felix felt it as they all turned their attention toward him. He was represented in different ways in each of their core spaces, and in that moment, he was keenly aware of them. He shone through stars, moons, and gemstones—always some form of illumination in a dark sky.

"Fiendforge is holding you steady," he said. "But it is just a tool. It will provide you with the pressure you need to shape your future. I know some of you are rolling your eyes—Archie—but it's true.”

Someone laughed. Evie.

“This will be one of the hardest things you've ever done. But I know all of you can do it.” He flared Fiendforge, and his power flushed along the Links, gleaming with radiance on the other ends. “Go kick some ass.”

And then together, Pit and Felix rose back into awareness of their Bodies. The both of them opened their eyes, seated next to each other at the head of his seven friends and their various Companions.

"Good luck," he whispered aloud.

CHAPTER SIXTY

"Okay," Felix said, as they stood in an adjoining room near their Pillar-weaving friends. "So I lied a little. A Link with you also makes figuring out my Core Manifestation a bit easier."

"That seemed obvious," Elowen said dryly, reaching for a drink.

The two of them were alone in the room, which was set with a couple of couches and plush rugs on the floor, along with throw pillows for simple seating. Tapestries hung from the walls depicting wildlife and a series of dark ravens flying across a variety of landscapes.

"How would you like to discuss this?" she asked after taking a long sip of her wine. "I know you've Manifested already, so I’m not entirely sure where to start.”

"I haven’t, at least not officially.”

Elowen raised an eyebrow. “I don’t understand.”

"My Core Manifestation has never actually been completed.”

“But I saw⁠—”

“You saw a monster,” Felix said, shoving away the visceral memories of the Beast. “I need to figure out how to do this from square one."

"Okay.” She sat down onto the piled cushions, folding her furry legs within her long robes. Elowen gestured to the other pillows before her. "If I’m going to explain this, I think the easiest path is to show you my core space. Can you delve into mine?"

Felix sat. "I can.”

“Then I’ll see you in a moment."

Elowen closed her eyes and lowered her head. The small chains across her antlers jingled softly, and her breathing came in deep and slow. It was always interesting seeing a person access their core space from the outside—Felix thought it looked a lot like falling asleep. Elowen sort of vanished inside of herself.

Felix crossed his legs on top of a plush green cushion and glanced at the wall separating their room from where his friends were located. Zara and Pit were left there, along with the Chanters they had gathered for support, arrays and monster cores ready to help. Already, Felix could feel his friends gathering their power into thick threads, and the most prepared of them was already weaving them together.

Harn's in the lead, with Vess close behind. How much of each other can they sense? He listened, tuning his Affinity toward his Links. It took only a few seconds before he closed his eyes and took several calming breaths. Pressed so close together on top of being Linked to him was sending out reverberations to them all.

Everyone. This isn’t a competition. Take the time you need to do it right. He squeezed shut his Links for a moment and focused on his bond. Pit, make sure Evie and Beef don’t overdo it.

I’m on it.

That had to be enough. Felix had too many other things to handle. He pushed the sensation from his direct awareness the best he could manage while still holding his Fiendforge, before closing his eyes and sinking down into his core space. He stopped himself just outside the net of opalescent roots, where the unrelenting black extended into infinity. There, if he focused, Felix beheld a series of bright blue threads that extended in thousands of directions. Some were thick, some thin, and others even had shades of color to them beyond the default blue. His Link with his friends were easily distinguishable of course, and Elowen’s most of all for its newness.

With a firm grip, he opened a hole opening into the blackness between his core space and the System, and he walked through.

There, Elowen waited, her oversized hands and forearms crossed nervously in front of her. "Well, what do you think?”

Felix looked around at a library that was, in a word, incredible.

It spread out around him for hundreds of feet—above as well as below. They stood upon a floating platform, in the center of what seemed like an infinite tower of tomes, while staircases and balconies with wrought iron railings moved around the space as if they had minds of their own. Books migrated across the sky like flocks of birds, along with liquid streamers of purple and gold Mana.

Felix tested the ground, finding it firm as anything. "Aside from this floating flooring, this looks like the library in the Violet Tower.”

"It was modeled after it, but I’ve made changes," she said.

"I noticed. The Tower library didn't go down for, what is that, thirty stories?"

"Sadly no. I’ve only managed twenty-two stories down…and twenty-two stories up."

"Whoa, that's..." Felix turned, taking it all in. "This is really good. The details alone are top notch. Did the Tower teach visualization techniques?"

"Thank you. They did, yes. They had their problems, but they were sticklers when it came to teaching their mages."

Together they walked the space, hopping between floating platforms that rose or fell among the stacks. Staircases rotated over and under them, books slipping between their wrought banisters as some of the shelves reorganized themselves. It was like a delicate dance, one that quickly made Felix dizzy.

It’s like Alister’s mechanical precision mixed with Archie’s chaotic crowds. He couldn’t get over how amazing it was to see people’s individualized centers—it was like glimpsing a piece of their soul. This is so cool.

Elowen kept explaining parts of the space to him, calling out which Skills were represented by various sections. As they walked, Felix actively sought out her core, but Elowen led them on a wide, circuitous pattern through her confusing labyrinth. It wasn’t until they’d neared the end of her tour that he caught a glimpse of her center—but instead of a ring core, he found a massive purple book set atop a gilded pedestal. The book was closed, but its pages gleamed from within like layers of gold.

Her core had become the Tome of the Witness.

"Is this what happens during Core Manifestation?” he asked.

“It is.”

Felix touched his sternum. “Where are your Pillars?"

"There.” She pointed down, through the gaps in the floating platforms. Below them, a number of bookshelves extended downward from immediately beneath her Core Manifestation. They were continuous structures, filled with books that were bound in leather and wood and metal, all the way to the distant bottom of her core space.

Felix looked up. “They go to the top, too?”

The nine shelves there in her center threaded through her entire core space, top to bottom, like the framing of a house. The books within them shifted as he watched, and Felix paid close attention. Though they swapped in seemingly random patterns, the books never left their Pillar, only moving up, down, and laterally across the shelving.

Those must be the threads she wove them with. Interesting, and totally different than what I did.

“Cool, right?” Elowen stepped closer, hands on her hips. “I made it so they blend in with everything else, which helps strengthen my mental defense Skill.”

"Smart.” Felix glanced at the pedestal and the enormous glowing book on it. “So if your core is your Tome of the Witness now, does that mean part of Core Manifestation is replacing your ring cores with it?"

"Yes," she said. "That is the final step of the Manifestation." She paused, her chains jangling between her antlers. "I'm sorry, did you say cores, plural?"

"Mm-hmm. How do you decide what to Manifest?"

"I—" She reluctantly stopped herself from asking more questions, though it clearly pained her to do so. "It was part of the process taught to me by the Violet Grandmasters."

"What was that process, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind. When I had woven my Pillars completely and completed my foundation, I was given a task to devise a new organizational system for the library."

"Really?"

Elowen laughed. "Yeah. It surprised me as well, mostly for how incredibly difficult it was. But I had tasted the heights of magic, and they’d hooked me. I needed to explore everything I could. Figuring out my Core Manifestation was the next step, so I was up for the challenge.”

“I had to sort a bunch of books, once. Organizing all of it was a pain in the ass,” Felix said, thinking back on a particular bookstore he’d worked at for a day. “It didn’t help that I couldn’t read at the time.”

“Couldn’t read—then how did you do it?”

He shrugged. “Figured out how to read. Then sorted them by general category.”

“Hah! I bet they hated that.”

Felix groaned. “She did. I still don’t know why.”

“Same on my end. The Violet library used a method that sorted books by binding method, which is incredibly stupid. Who the hell knows binding methods at a glance?”

“Librarians?”

“Basically. No one who walked into the Tower’s library could ever find anything without them. I knew there was a better way. I spent several weeks figuring things out, but ultimately I returned to the old standby," she said with a grin. "The Library of Congress Classification system."

Felix laughed. “What, didn’t want to try the Dewey Decimal?”

Elowen shook her head vigorously. “Absolutely not! Dewey was a racist, homophobic jerkwad and his system was basically an echo of that. God knows the Library of Congress system isn’t perfect, but it’s what’s used in large, academic libraries—and at the end of the day, that’s what the Tower is—was,” she corrected herself with a frown. She shook it off. “I still had to modify it, of course. I was working with a whole new paradigm here. Magic, let alone culture and religion is totally different here—new classifications were needed.”

“Damn. That’s more than I know about libraries. I've used them a ton, but I wouldn't be able to reconstruct one.”

“I spent a great deal of time during my university years working in libraries. It is a familiar place. A comfort, really,” she added, gesturing around them.

"Anyway, I never managed to work out all the kinks, but I presented my brand new organization to them—only to find out I’d wasted my time. Apparently the Grandmasters didn’t expect me to succeed. They were astounded when they realized I had not only given them a new system, but that it was decently effective. Soon after, they revealed that they had already updated their organizational methodology the previous year, thanks to an invention by Grandmaster Tern."

Felix winced. "So, it was pointless?"

"Yes and no. The work wasn't needed, but the act of it, the movement of information into streamlined categories for efficient discovery and understanding, that was the real exercise." Elowen walked over to a wide table, where a stack of books rested. She scooted them off the edge. Much to Felix's surprise, the moment the books hit the open air, they split open, flapping like birds before taking off towards distant shelving.

"I had already established my Skills. I've only ever had a few, despite my Unbound nature. The woman who took me in warned me against overloading myself with too many abilities. She said that they would languish, unused, and that I should be careful in what I picked."

Felix coughed, for no particular reason.

"As such," Elowen continued, "my nine Skills are the ones I began with from Apprentice Tier onward, Tempering them all. This led to several advantages, but most useful was the ability to know what I was building toward."

"What do you mean?"

"They call Grandmaster the Tapestry Stage for a reason. I was taught that we are taking our Skills and weaving them into a new vision, one that resonates with the core of our being. Bolstered by our foundational Pillars, it becomes a Manifestation of who we are."

"Okay, I think I get the concept." Felix nodded along. Things were lining up in his head, but he had plenty of questions. “Why is it called the Tapestry Stage, though? Just because we weave our Pillars? The theming is all off. Actualization, Visualization, Ring, Weaving, Tapestry, Core Manifestation…they just seem to be describing what happens."

"I asked the Grandmasters the same thing," Elowen admitted.

"What did they say?"

"'The ancients were mysterious in their ways.’"

"Boo,” Felix jeered. “What a cop out.”

Elowen laughed. "I know! They passed off other answers on me when that didn’t take, but every single one was different. I tried searching for my own in the library, but there were none to be found. I suspect they were named for purely descriptive reasons without an overlaying meaning."

Felix frowned. He didn't like that at all. He'd put an inordinate amount of time thinking about why the stages were called what they were. Zara hadn't known, either. In fact, to speculate on why things were called what they were was one of her taboos. It was common knowledge that looking ahead and knowing too much about the advancement process would taint his journey.

"I've always thought there was more to it than just description," he said, drumming his claws against the solid table before them. "It may sound crazy, but I feel like there's a pattern here.”

“How so?"

"It alternates. Internal…and external." Felix started pacing as he worked through the idea. "Actualization is the internal becoming true, right? We're forming our channels and creating that kernel of power inside of ourselves."

Elowen agreed.

"So Visualization is the external shaping the internal, right? Our preconceived notions create this formation where our power begins to establish itself into a distinct form.” Felix spun around, pacing back the other way. His head was warm, and his scales felt tight. “Ring Stage is power condensation inside the core space. See, it's back to internal. Then Weaving….Weaving is accomplished by going from outside inward and seizing the threads of external power we’ve made our own, and weaving our Pillars. And Tapestry is..." Felix stalled out thinking. "I suppose it's taking an internal vision and weaving it into another shape, one that complements our foundations. And then Core Manifestation is externalizing again, this time taking the results of the Tapestry and projecting it outward.”

He paused his pacing. “Does that make sense, or am I crazy?"

Elowen nodded along. "That…holds up. Damn, Felix, where were you six months ago when I was struggling with all this?"

Repelling an invasion. Aloud, he said, "Assuming the pattern holds, that means after Core Manifestation is another internal process. Putting aside Tapestry for a moment, I wanted to ask you: what do you know about Paragon Tier?"

"Precious little," she admitted with a sigh. “Not for a lack of trying, though. From what I've learned, there are only a handful of individuals who have ever reached that level of advancement. You'd be better off asking the Eidolon Exults in your service. I heard they were Paragon Tier."

"Once, maybe," Felix said. "The Ruin and being in stasis for literal Ages reduced their advancement and their memories, too. None of them remember how to reach Paragon Tier or what's involved, beyond pushing our Skills up to level 150."

Elowen groaned. "Of course, it couldn't be so simple. The Ruin," she shuddered. "I can't even think the word without my Mind rebelling against memories I don't even have anymore. What sort of nightmare could it be?"

Felix knew that reaction intimately. It had been his whenever he'd thought on the Ruin, up until recently. Now, however, he could recall the look of it. "Words aren't enough to describe it," he said. "A lightless flame that burns all it touches, reducing everything to less than ash. To nothing. But even still, that's not right. It's more than that. An Urge once described it as a being of ultimate jealousy. I don't know if that's true, or if the stupid bird was having fun with me, but it makes sense. The Ruin eradicates everything."

Elowen winced with every word he'd spoken, but by the end, her expression was one of confused wonder. "I can remember what you said. How is that possible? Normally, these things are snatched directly from my memory. I can remember talking of it, but not what was said. How is that possible?"

Felix tapped his temple, and the bronze crown reappeared on his head.

"Ah," she said, "I don't suppose you have another one of those lying around?"

"Fresh out, sadly." He drummed his fingers on the table again. "How did you figure out the vision for your Tapestry?"

"Back to that. After teasing me with talk of the Ruin," she put up her hands. "That's fair, I suppose. I find that topic more terrifying than not. As far as Tapestry goes, it's..." Her expression brightened. "Actually, you might find this useful."

Elowen gestured, and her core space lit up. The bookshelf Pillars glowed, but so did certain configurations of tomes on other shelves within their circumference.

Her Skills, he realized. Each one was made up of at least seven books, though some had twice or even three times that number. The lights from their bindings brightened, and the overhead illumination around them dimmed until they were surrounded by colorful stars grouped together within the dark expanse of the library.

"When I took away the visualization of my core space and looked just at my Skills, I saw them not as one big picture, right? But like an array." Elowen moved her hands, fingertips glowing, and painted with light. With smooth strokes, she formed lines over her Skills, turning them into connect-the-dot drawings, leaving behind shapes that reminded him of sigaldry and glyphs. He didn’t recognize any of them, though, as if they were formed out of a brand new language that shared an alphabet with what he knew.

As Felix watched, the Skills orbited the center, moving around her in a counterclockwise pattern, centered around the Tome of the Witness. Lines moved, twirling overhead as they joined and slid in tandem, leading Felix's vision to the center like a labyrinth spiraling toward the giant book.

"The pieces of your core space are placed around you in a specific pattern. This depends on the rarity, their Tier, even their relative potency. You can even arrange Skills into smaller groupings, and depending on your visualization, you can get an infinite variety. I like to think it's called a Tapestry because you are taking pieces of your power and connecting them to a wider whole, a unification of what your core space is. Once I saw this," she said, gesturing above, "I meditated on it for three months."

Felix almost choked. "Three months?"

"It took a great deal of visualization practice and honing the right, specific Skills to get where and what I wanted.”

Felix clenched his jaw, memories tumbling across his Mind. The Beast, the Divine Tree, his dual cores, and all of his Skills spinning around his center. There isn’t a bit of unity in any of that. He shoved the worry away for now, and focused on Elowen’s words. “You matched your Skills to your Intent.”

“Yes. I needed a way to see ahead. I am a Seer. My Skills are aimed in that direction, but my core space needed to be powerful enough to accommodate my goals.”

“Which were?”

“I need to anticipate what is coming.”

The Ruin.

She gestured to her core, and the pages rustled. "When everything was finalized, and I made my push toward Grandmaster…the Tome of the Witness manifested itself.”

“Just like that?” Felix was sure he was missing something.

"I’m simplifying things. I don’t know if I could convey how horrendously strenuous the finalization of Core Manifestation is—add into things a strange magic I can neither describe nor name. It’s like a hand from the System itself, reaching into my soul. Tern always told me that there is a uniqueness to our deepest selves, and that is what gets reflected in our Manifestations—if you do it right.”

“And if you’ve already screwed up and partially Manifested?”

“If you haven’t fully Manifested, nothing’s permanent. There’s been a lot of mages in the Tower’s history that screwed up their approach. It’s painful and it takes a lot of work, but most fix themselves in the end.” Elowen put her hands on her hips. “The real question you have to ask yourself is: what is your deepest self?"

He frowned. "I don't even know how to begin to figure that out."

"Well, the first step would be to consider how your Skills are arranged in your core space. Placement has meaning. Even when someone decides something on a whim, that decision gains depth with the accumulation of time and significance. It's not about what you were destined to unveil and Manifest, it's about what you’ve chosen.”

Elowen didn’t move, but a shift occurred all around her. Purple radiance flowed from the core space as if all things were made of glass, and a deep gold haloed her antlered head. “All of us choose what we become. A rare few of us are conscious of those moments.”

The Tome of the Witness manifested above her head, golden pages flipping rapidly. “Are you ready to show me who you are, Felix Nevarre?"

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

The sky was black with a storm rolling into Elderthrone from the southwest, out over the Bitter Sea. Heva was wrapped in her enchanted cowl, the only thing that kept her warm and dry despite the downpour. There had been a lot of storms the past few days, and they were getting worse.

Rain rolled over the coast, sizzling against their protective wards. The Bitter Sea was acidic, but it wasn't truly dangerous, not this close to the shore. At most, it would cause some minor burns. Heva had heard stories about people falling overboard when they tried to brave the distant depths and dissolving the very moment their flesh touched the water. She shuddered.

Ahead, perhaps a half-league away, the coast truly opened up before them. Giant waves crashed against massive breakwaters formed of chitin and slabs of massive stone. The mages of Elderthrone had erected the breakwater months ago, going so far as to work a complicated series of wards into their construction. They had been told it was to keep the threat of storms at bay and an attack from the water unlikely. Heva had never truly understood why the Emperor and his Chancellor had decided to build it—no Territory on the Continent ever fought by sea. The risks were too dire.

Now, however, she was seeing the value.

Waves smashed into the breakwater again, a rainbow hue of wards flashing up and over their sizable bulk. The Bitter Sea did not relent, and that was why they were out there. Heva and her team had escorted a number of Legion mages out past the city walls and dense forest in order to check on the breakwater, to make sure the constructs were holding as the storms grew worse.

Six Arclights bent low over inscriptions on a piece of mithril set into the earth. It was called an access pillar, according to Merk, though she didn’t explain how she knew the term; none of their group were particularly knowledgeable about magic, but Merk used sigaldry in her Spirit Skills. She’d explained how the breakwater worked, but Heva didn’t have the Mind for inscription.

I’ve always been more of a fan of smithing, really.

The sprinkling rain poured over the ward that shielded them all from the wet, outlining its shape better than the Hobgoblin’s old eyes could manage. Sigaldry shone beneath the Arclights’ hands as they traced out some sort of problem with the connection. Heva wished she could have been more help, but all of them had their limits. All she could do was wait and protect the mages until they finished their work.

"You know," Merk said from her side, "it's pretty ironic. New ranks, fancy cloaks, all to keep patrolling like we always have."

"Not quite patrol work," Stellis said. "It's not like we're walking the streets in the Scale or the Wings."

"Hey, watching over people's homes is important work," Merk countered, adjusting her purple cloak around herself. "Just not flashy."

"It is," Heva agreed, her tone calm. She could feel Merk getting irritated again with their stoic defender and decided to head off their eventual explosion, for there always was one. "It is also something that many among the Legion can handle and do every day with little complaint or issue."

"No corruption, either," Cade pointed out in her deep voice. Her eyes were constantly scanning the forest behind them, just as Heva was watching the sea. "I'm still surprised about that."

"It's because we all live in the same places we work," Merk said. "All the guards I'd ever encountered, whether it was in Haarwatch or Setoria or even as far as Asterfel, they're all the same. They were made to suck up to the nobles, protecting them, because that's who pays their salaries.”

“A grim reality,” Stellis agreed.

“Someone check my heartbeat, I think I might be dead! Stellis, agreeing with me!” Merk snorted.

The stoic woman frowned farther than usual. “You jest.”

“Of course I do, stick in the mud. Between you and Cade having a gruff-off and grandma over here always talkin’ about her precious family, someone has to have some fun."

I don’t talk about my granddaughter that much? Heva bit her lip. Do I?

“Fun.” Stellis glanced down at the Goblin. “There is little room for fun on the battlefield.”

“We’re always on battlefields.”

Stellis’ lips thinned into something approaching a smile. “So we are.”

“My point is that corruption is rampant everywhere guards are hired. Not here, though. Because, in Elderthrone, there ain't no nobles," she said with a grin.

"Except for the Emperor," Stellis corrected.

Merk shrugged. "Sure, but he doesn't need guards, does he? He has the whole Legion, and he pays all of us a healthy living wage. A healthy wage to protect the Territory. To fight. Besides, he seems to actively discourage all that noble blood malarkey, too, so we don't even have to worry about that. I'll be honest, pretty unexpected, but I'm happy with it."

"He's Unbound,” Cade pointed out. "Everything they do is unexpected.”

"No," Heva corrected. "It's not his Unbound nature. He's kind."

"Are you gonna regale us once again with the time that the Emperor saved your life in Haarwatch?" Merk rolled her eyes.

"No," Heva said. Lips pursing, she could feel the wrinkles tighten across her chin and cheeks, and she smoothed out her expression with effort. "It is simply a good story."

"It's a story we've heard several hundred times about how the blue-eyed fiend fell from the sky, destroying the terrible bug monsters, ripping them apart with his bare hands before flying off to save others," Merk said.

"It's a good story," Stellis said.

"It is a noble event," Cade agreed. "And we all have stories of the Emperor, of what he's done for all of us time and time again. I'd be willing to bet most everyone in the Legion has a story about him. That is why he is worth following."

Heva agreed and was about to say so when Stellis lifted her hand, peering into the distance. "What is that?"

Heva turned to follow her gaze and saw that the black storm had come closer. That wasn’t unusual in and of itself—the storms had been hugging the coast these past few days, as if searching for a way inland. All the wilderness scouts had been talking about it. The way the waves were tossing about, though, that was concerning. At times, the waters stilled, while unexpected chaos sent twenty-foot swells rushing inland. Not ideal when the water was made of acid, weak or not.

“Are the clouds supposed to do that?” Merk asked.

The skies had begun to boil. The black bruised into a deep purple, and lightning lashed among the clouds as it swept forward, releasing new torrents of driving rain. Waves rose from the sea, a league away but building fast.

If they weren’t stopped, they would crush them all.

"Your wards are failing here,” Cade snarled. “How much longer ‘til the breakwaters are fixed?"

The Archlights looked up at the sky in panic. It was true; the storm was leaking through the wards around their work. Their leader licked his lips before spitting out the acidic rain.

"At least a quarter glass," he said. "But this is taking all my concentration. The array node here is overloaded—I can’t get it done if we’re under those acid waves, too.”

“Keep working. We’ll handle it from here." Cade jerked her head towards Stellis and Heva. "You’re both up."

The Hobgoblin grandmother flicked her wrists, letting orange Mana exude from her palms to form whips of smoldering flame. At her side, Stellis hefted her mace and shield, the surface of both already coated with a thin layer of rime.

"You." Stellis pointed her weapon at one of the Arclights. "You’re an earth mage, yes?"

The young man nodded, and Heva immediately understood. She looked to other mages. "Do you need him?"

"No. If he can help, take him!"

"I can help!" He shot to his feet, nearly bumping into the ward above their heads.

"What’s your name?" Heva asked.

"Westin. I’m newly Apprentice Tier and⁠—”

Stellis sliced her hand like a blade, cutting off his words. “Can you use Earthwall or something similar?"

"I"ve got Rocksling. Uncommon rarity."

Stellis nodded before hoisting her shield. "That’ll do. Follow us."

The familiar hole in space opened once again, and Felix walked out of Elowen's immaculate library and into the wide chaos of his own core space.

“What—?” Elowen followed closely behind him, her eyes wide as she took in everything. Her mouth worked for several seconds, but no sound came out as she looked down at the top of his Divine Tree and the strange root-lattice work that surrounded it. “How did—How big is this core space?" She looked at him almost accusingly. "You said the twenty-two stories of my library were impressive."

"Forty-four, right?" He corrected with a grin, before throwing up his hands as if to ward away. "It is! I’m not being glib. I saw how much detail you had packed into that place. This, by comparison—” He shrugged, the words not quite coming to him. "It’s big, but it's not quite the same. Come on, I'll give you a tour."

He flew down, the Theran mage following, trailing after him as he showed her the Divine Tree, the faceted opalescent crystal that the latticework was made from, and everything else.

"Felix…” Elowen floated in place near the roots of his Tree and stared around them in flabbergasted dismay. “I don't know what to say. Skills that look and feel like real planets, all of them arranged into Skill Arrays that look like they're orbiting one another. An enormous Divine Tree filled with Essence and significance. Two Named cores, ten Pillars, all of them strong and impenetrable to my senses. I can't even tell how you made them. They look like solid stacks of crystal."

"Well, I mean, when you put it all that way, I sound like a⁠—”

"A monster," she said approvingly before wincing. "I didn't mean..."

"No," Felix waved a hand. "It's fine. I know what you meant."

The two of them stopped just at the edge of the black abyss where the Beast still lurked.

"I will say, out of everything in your core space, that concerns me the most." She shuddered. "When the Beast had taken over you, it was terrifying, Felix. Are you sure it will stay within there?”

“So long as Zara's Challenger’s Sea holds out, and that's not going to be forever. I'm hoping that, if I can master my Core Manifestation, I can master it."

She frowned. "Do you think the Beast is your Core Manifestation?"

Felix could only shrug. "I mean, what else could it be? You've already seen what I've summoned alone, right?"

She nodded. "I remember. Two hands and forearms, much like your own."

He lifted his arms, flexing his black-scaled hands, and his claws lengthened into razor-sharp talons. "Yeah, just like this. Except in the palms, there are burning eyes. The Manifestation can punch and grasp, or they can just open up, and from those eyes, they unleash a crazy blast of power. But they're just arms. Is the Beast the rest of me?"

"I don't know," she said. "I do know the arms sound a lot like the more physical Manifestations that some of the Tower Grandmasters used.”

“Oh?”

“Most of it is hearsay—mages rarely go about unleashing their ultimate weapons in front of witnesses. But I know for a fact that Grandmaster Aquamarine is able to sheathe her flesh in powerful water Mana, turning her limbs into massive whips to deliver touch-based spells to her enemies. Extremely effective, not to mention the purely physical offensive capability.”

“How’d you find that out?”

“I saw her battling the Grandmaster Carmine once during a Tower gathering. It was impromptu, and I’m pretty sure they were both drunk.” Elowen smiled, clearly enjoying a memory. “At any rate, it was effective, especially in a mage battle. We’re not typically built for melee.”

“Present company excluded,” Felix said.

“True. Theron are strong, but up against a melee-centric Core Manifestation, I’d lose ten out of ten times.” She shook her head. “I get the impression that your power is clearly concentrated in your Body."

"Yeah, that's pretty fair to say."

"Well, then... I don't believe the Beast is your Core Manifestation. It feels central to you, but it's chaotic. Your Core Manifestation should rise easily from a confluence of your Skills and accumulated significance.”

“Last time I tried, the Beast showed up.”

“Only because you haven't reconciled it with your core space and your Skills."

"How would I do that?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "There's no one answer for everybody. I wish there were.”

“So I need to do it myself, just like I needed to weave my Pillars. Intent is⁠—”

“Paramount. Yes.” Elowen put her hands on her hips. “If you do not maintain the proper mindset, the next time the Beast breaks free, I doubt you'll have the power to put it back."

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Acid poured over her feet, and Heva pulled back as her boots started to sizzle. "More! Westin!”

“Y-yes, ma’am!" The young Arclight summoned boulders from the earth, each one six strides across if they were a span, before screaming. He thrust his hand forward, the magic of Rocksling hurling the stones into the breach. Water exploded as they landed, but the massive waves were choked off.

"Rimewall!" Stellis planted her shield, and gleaming ice crystals rushed away from her, rising into a fifteen-stride wall that was easily thirty across. The ice caught up the stones thrown by Westin, incorporating them into the frozen fortification just as the swell slammed past the malfunctioning breakwater.

It’s barely tall enough! Acid sprayed over the top, and Heva dashed aside. Foaming rivulets ran across the rutted ground as she fended off fallen trees and other debris in her attempt to peer past the wall. When she did, her heart clenched in her chest. The breakwater…it’s completely down.

While the Arclights back at the control node were still trying to fix it, she feared it was too late. The acid had slipped through the wards and was corroding the large, chitinous structure, and it was falling apart. Pieces of it were already sizzling beneath the waves.

"Rocksling!"

More boulders shot forward, ripped from the earth to careen into an open section around the waves. Stellis’ ice crawled over them as well, adding to the pile. They’d managed to create a U-shape wall across the backside of the breakwater, but the Rimewall was already breaking. Acid spewed again over the top, forcing Heva to whip her hands about furiously.

"Scorching Hydra.” Whips of brilliant flame condensed and struck the falling water. The many heads of her fire whip weren't normally useful around Stellis' ice magic—the two elements interfered too much with each other—but Heva had spent a lot of time practicing her precision. Her magic burst from one tendril into dozens, each burning an incandescent orange as she wove them into a defensive net.

Vicious steam screamed upward, an immense hissing as if from a great beast, and not a drop of acid fell upon them.

Scorching Hydra is level 67!

“We can't hold for much longer!" she shouted back at Stellis and the young Westin. The defensive warrior nodded and ripped her tower shield from the ground, the spiked prongs of its bottom ringing against stone.

"Return to the breakwater control node.” Stellis was already moving. Heva followed, but Westin shoved his hands down toward the earth. Dusty brown Mana swirled around his arms, and the veins in the boy’s neck stood out stark in the dimming light.

Heva grabbed his shoulder. “Boy! Keep moving⁠—!”

"Rocksling!" Westin jerked his arms up, tossing Heva’s hand from his shoulder as he mustered his earthen talents. With a deep ripping noise, more boulders tore from the ground and Westin hurled his arms forward. Eight giant rocks, each ten strides across, slammed into a secondary line behind the ice wall.

"There," he panted, blood pouring from his nose. He gave Heva a proud grin. "That should give us more time."

"Good," Heva shouted, then grabbed the boy by his collar. "Now we run!"

They took off, fleeing as the black storm above them crashed with new thunder. To Heva, it felt as if the world were shaking apart. Though their improvised wall blocked a solid piece of the Bitter Sea’s fury, waves from the sea surged to either side of them, pouring through the low forest and filling the air with an acrid stink of burning vegetation. Heva thanked the Fiend for the Legion requirement of Physical Conditioning—it burned within her, bolstering her Stamina. Westin was blowing hard, but even he made it to the tree line, where the control node waited for them, just as the smallest pieces of waves started to wash against their feet.

Cade and Merk stood over the Arclights as they furiously inscribed the Domain core powering the node. It was clear to Heva, however, that the acid rain was washing away their efforts. The ward that had shielded them from it had deteriorated entirely, and the storm was in full swing; sheets of stinging rain struck at them sideways. As she drew closer, the sigaldry sparked, sending up a bloom of Mana vapor that tossed the lead Arclight back onto her rear end.

"I can't make it work like this!” She cursed in ways that made Heva's ears burn. No matter her time among the Legion, the grandmother would never get used to such coarse language. "The Glyphmaster himself couldn't make this work!”

“No point in trying, then!" Merk shouted shrilly. “Look at that!”

Fell winds propelled the rain even harder as the black clouds lit up with strange lightning. The storm worsened, and as Heva turned to peer into its fury, she saw enormous clouds boiling above the horizon.

A bolt of lightning surged from above, smashing into the shoreline like a hammer. Heva gasped. Crimson lightning?

A sharp retort echoed in the thunder’s wake—the sound of ice and stone shearing apart. A torrent of acid water shot forward, bearing with it huge, jagged shards of ice, and they were closing in on them fast.

"Get back," Cade warned. "Stellin!”

“On it. Rimewall!" She slammed her shield into the soft earth, and purple-white Mana flashed. Ice burst outward, once again forming into a wall to shield their position. But it wasn't enough. Shards of her previous work slammed into it, sending cracks careening across the barrier. The waves crested over the edge of her fortification, carrying with them more than simple ice, but dark silhouettes.

Monsters in the water.

Heva saw the flash of a claw and a wide-open maw as it came for them. A blush of virulent green met the first thing's strike. Merk’s sigils speared across the distance at the end of her inscription wand, searing into the dark shape and forcing it rigid.

“It’s paralyzed! Kill it! Kill it!” Merk yelled, backpedaling away.

Cade stepped in, lopping off the head of the vile monster and sending its body flopping limply to the earth. It was slick and scaled like a fish with too many fins, and its head gaped at them with eyes the size of dinner plates, now dull in death as its black flesh boiled away.

“Black flesh,” Westin said in horror. “Slick like oil.”

"Snap out of it, kid,” Cade ordered before pointing at the other Arclights. “Get your man in order. We need to go, now!”

There were no complaints.

They ran, towing the Arclights with them. Heva burned at leaving their job unfinished, but there was no time to fix the breakwater anymore. The storm would hit them and Elderthrone within a half glass. All they could do now was warn the city and weather its might.

The pummeling rain made distances harder to judge, but Heva had come to know the area around her new home well. They had only traveled two leagues from the city, which meant that shelter was far off but not unattainable even in these conditions. The Bitterward sat between them and the city walls, but the giants would let them in. There was no question of that.

More waves rolled in behind them, petering out as they drove further inland, but not nearly as much as Heva had hoped. Five-foot swells still carried dark monstrosities upon their waves, and wriggling things were already snapping at their heels. Rimewalls from Stellis trapped some, while Paralysing sigils, elemental blasts, and Heva’s Scorching Hydra did as much damage as they could manage while on the move. Even Westin's Rocksling pummeled their strange foes, but the young man was clever; each boulder he hurled helped to divert the waves, slowing down their advance significantly. Slowly, the Bitter Sea’s fury was stymied, until only a pace-high steam poured after them.

That was when the monsters began to run.

They no longer bore only fins, but leanly-muscled legs that charged beneath armored carapaces. The dark beasts ran after them, snapping and snarling as red light played across their dark hides.

“What are they?” an Arclight cried out, a Stormlance blasting through one of their hides. The creatures kept coming. “There’s no end to them!”

Merk shouted wordlessly as she did her part, her thin green arms pinwheeling wildly as she sent floating sigils backward. They flew like flags on the wind, but were more akin to hidden traps. Each sigil seared with a virulent green, spreading an intense but short pulse of paralysis across all those that touched them. Heva's fire and Cade's sword sliced through those that came too close, burning and dismembering the beasts wherever they charged.

Scorching Hydra is level 68!

Scorching Hydra is level 69!

Physical Conditioning is level 51!

The acid rain intensified once more as thunder shook the world. It felt as if Heva were being struck again and again by massive pillows. Not painful, but the pressure itself threw off her Perception. The forest loomed ahead.

"Blessed Eye!” she gasped. Only a half-league to go before they would reach the Bitterward. She squinted through the rain, above the treetops, and believed she could just make out the blue-white hump of the giants’ fortifications. They crossed the edge of the forest, and there the waters finally petered out, their rage no longer able to reach so far, and even the acid-slick monstrosities were left behind.

"We're almost there," Merk said, relief and exasperation fighting for dominance in her spirit. "I take it all back! Give me the old patrols I used to do; they're way better than this!"

Heva hadn't the presence of mind to laugh, though Stellis chuckled darkly. They kept running, but something didn't seem right. Fire bloomed across Heva's palms, lighting their way as they ran into the dark forest, made darker now by the black clouds that swept over Elderthrone. Her Perception still rang with every strobe of thunder, and her nose stung with the acrid stink of the Bitter Sea…

"Do you smell that?" she asked.

Cade turned, sniffing. She'd always had better senses than the rest of them. "It smells like rot.”

A tree before them fell. In an instant, the bark withered and desiccated before puffing into a rotten pile of soggy pulp. They’re party drew up short, weapons leveled into a defensive circle only moments before strange growths spread across the forest floor. Fungal limbs reached outward, fruiting with ridged caps and gilled bellies. Horrors rose from the earth, followed by liquid shadows that pooled across them.

“Slick shadowflesh and rot,” Westin said, terror clutching at him so hard he was shaking. “They’re here. Oh blind gods, they’re here!”

All at once, the creatures moved, charging toward them. Stellis bashed them all with her tower shield, an icy blast radiating outward around their group. It splattered all three of the strange Horrors across the forest floor. Shadow-drenched and fungal-bodied, they split apart, releasing flecks of dry pieces that burst outward across the undergrowth.

"What in damnation was that?" Merk asked.

"Look!" Cade pointed with her sword. The dry pieces of the monsters sank into the earth, and where they landed, they grew rapidly. They bowed out the ground with arms that reached up, even as their bodies congealed from the fetid, fungal soup they created. Emaciated bodies of more horrors, all of them different-shaped, but all of them vile and dripping with dark secretions, rose up.

Heva seared them in half with her Scorching Hydra. The creatures died without a sound, their flesh burning. This time, their dry insides ignited into pyres.

"Brilliant, Heva! Burn them! Don't breathe in the spores!" Cade twisted her hands, and her sword blazed with a cold light. "Merk, you're fastest! Run back! Sound the alarm!"

“What are they?” Merk asked again.

Another fungal monstrosity lurched for Cade, and she split it open. Its mushroom cap was filled with eyes and teeth and oozing pus as it screamed silently. It died, and Stella's ice coated over its body, freezing its terrible insides to the earth.

“God spawn,” Westin whispered.

"Now, Merk!" Cade ordered. "Elderthrone is under attack!"

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Felix leaned back on his green cushion, fully back in the real world once again. "So. What do you think?"

Elowen was clearly at a loss for words. She laughed. "I still can't quite believe the scope of what you’ve achieved. Your core space is broader than any Grandmaster's I've ever seen, and I have been invited to view both Tern’s and the former Grandmaster Violet’s."

That piqued Felix's interest. "What did theirs look like?"

"Considering he’s your Chancellor in Levantier, I suppose Tern wouldn’t mind you knowing. The Grandmaster’s core space is complicated and dense, fashioned into a giant machine.”

“Oh?”

“It’s based on his many discoveries; it transfers his power around his core space in strange, almost arcane pathways. The machine is a weird combination of technology and magic, and it surprised me to see it. Think of a car engine just a thousand times more complicated and filled with arcane bits and pieces.” Elowen folded her hands in her lap, lost in her recollection. “It was so interesting, you know? A lot of his core space is speculative. It works mostly because Tern believes it should.”

“I get that. I have a little solar system in my chest, and that doesn’t make a bit of sense.”

Elowen laughed. “Admittedly, Tern’s was fabricated based on what we know of the Nym’s technology. He built it on theory and research, only adding parts in that he was certain filled in the gaps of our knowledge. A great deal of technical detail is packed into his core space, and that is his strength.”

"Interesting. That's similar to Alister's core space," Felix muttered. "The guy idolizes Tern quite a bit."

"So I noticed," Elowen said with a smile. The expression didn’t last long. "The Grandmaster Violet…the bastard…his core space was unsurprisingly a tower. The Violet Tower, of course, with his Skills as the outbuildings. All of it floating above a copy of the city of Levantier.”

“A whole city? That’s a lot of detail to pack in. I’m Impressed.”

“You’d think so. I certainly did. When Tiir showed me his core space, I wanted to explore every inch of the place, yet he forbade it. I didn’t learn why until my third visit, when the Grandmaster Violet wasn’t so attentive. I slipped out of his Tower and dropped to the city below, and was met by disappointment. It was like a painting on the wall or an unexplorable backdrop in a movie. Extremely realistic-looking, even having angles and dimensions to it, but nothing was there. Really beautiful in its own way, but like the Grandmaster, it was empty."

Elowen snorted, chains jangling. “Looking back on it now, I'm pretty sure that he created it like that in order to feel superior. The manipulative idiot wanted nothing more than to rule over Levantier. In his core space, he was elevated above the entire city—above the Continent itself. He was a petty man.

“Regardless, the space was still impressive. It was nearly as detailed as Tern’s, but those details were spread out over a greater area. All the rooms of the Tower were intact, even the library. And, I’ll be honest, I stole some of the details from him—a fact that he did not entirely appreciate, but he considered a proper use of resources. The man was nothing if not devoted to the pursuit of power.”

"What was his core manifestation?" Felix asked.

"A sort of telekinesis, but a lot stronger. He could erect this beacon of force that spread outward, claiming control over an area with nothing but his Will."

"Hm. Was he as strong as you are?”

“In terms of pure Will and Intelligence? Yes.”

“Yet you were able to throw me around in our fight. That guy didn’t even try. Why is that?”

"Events from that day are foggy, but I recall that he did try. Then you burned him apart with the Chthonic Star."

"Oh," Felix said. "That's right."

Elowen sighed. “He was affected by Siva’s twisted Will…but I do not doubt that he joined eagerly. His lust for power was always there, even when we first met. I do have some fond memories of the guy, especially from the early days. There were a few months after I joined where he was simply a kind source of encouragement, while also remaining ruthless in his methods to keep power over the city, absolutely." She shook her head. "It's hard to reconcile those two personas. His attachment to Siva, that was his true self. I suppose that’s what I am saddest to discover.

“I’m babbling. Ignore me.” She shook herself. "Have you tried your Core Manifestation since Levantier?"

"No.” Felix folded his arms across his chest.

"Is it because of the Beast?"

"Basically. If I use it, and that thing takes over again… I don't want to be near anyone I particularly like."

Elowen folded her arms, mirroring him exactly. "As someone you seem to like, I appreciate that. Still, from what you told me, the thing is intelligent. Have you tried to reason with it?"

Felix pondered that, thinking back on the visions he had during his Tempering. A flash of perfect recall stole over his Mind before he could push it away. He could still feel the terrible pain the Beast had inflicted upon him over and over again as it spoke its troubling words.

"I'm not so sure that reason is the answer,” he said at last.

Thunder boomed through the chamber, so loud that it was like an explosion had gone off.

A Threat Approaches!

Felix was on his feet in less time than it took for him to read the notification. He burst out into the hall, shattering the doors in his hurry. There, Zara, Pit, and the Chanters were sliding out of the weaving chamber.

"Go back," he commanded. "Keep watch on them. I'll handle this."

"Yeah, you heard him, Zara," Pit shouted, before the two of them raced off, Elowen close behind.

"Be careful," Zara screamed at their backs, but Felix had stopped listening. All of his attention was bent on his city, as alert after alert skewed across his Authority.

A Threat Approaches The Western Walls!

A Threat Approaches The Southern Walls!

A Threat Approaches The Eastern Walls!

Elowen moved quickly, but she was falling behind—until Pit scooped the Theran mage up onto his back. She shouted in surprise, but held on tight.

"You're too slow," Pit said by way of explanation.

That, however, was the last Felix paid attention to either of them.

He ran through the halls, shattering the floor with every footfall, until he leaped into the spiral staircase at the center of his Stronghold. Lightning blazed, hurling him upward as he hauled back, and in less than a second, he reached the top, slowing only to command the doors at the very apex to open. The access tunnel at the center of the Bastion of Atlantes split, releasing him into the open air beneath the Spirit Tree. There, he witnessed chaos.

A Threat Has Come.

The Divine Are Here.

Two moons hung low in the sky as black clouds towered high above, flashing with crimson lightning. The moons were bronze and dark yellow, gazing down through the dark at his city like baleful eyes.

Felix hung in the air, wreathed in blue lightning, as he saw the familiar oil-slick shape of shadowbeasts rushing his city walls. Nightmarish Fungal Horrors rose up, too, an entire wave of bipedal monstrosities that rushed from out of the forests, while literal waves from the Bitter Sea slammed into the Bitterward. Swells crashed across root and hill, easily thirty feet in height as they surged towards Elderthrone.

Godtouched monstrosities. People were down there, fighting against monsters and exposed. They’ll die!

Felix blazed on the back of a bolt of lightning, hurling himself to the west, even as he reached for his power.

"Sonata of Dominance!"

A wall of earth and stone ripped up through the dark forest, a hundred feet high and half that thick, just as the wave crashed against it. The sea’s momentum shattered, but the wall was not unscathed—parts of it cracked and sloughed away from the sheer force of its impact. Shadowy monstrosities within the waves were dashed upon his wall, crushed into bloody pulp. Notification after notification flitted across his awareness, deaths by the hundreds, each bearing paltry experience that he promptly ignored.

Working swiftly, Felix reinforced the wall with braces of Fiendstone. Supports were far easier to craft on the fly than making the entire wall Fiendstone all at once. The moment the last of the braces manifested, the cracking stopped—it would hold, for now. He turned, sweeping his attention across the monsters, attacking his people outside the Bitterward. He knew them there, just as he knew almost all of the Legion.

The Hobgoblin grandmother Heva, her team of Cade, Merk, Stellis, and a number of others gathered together. They all hurled power at the Fungal Horrors that arose again and again from the earth in inexhaustible waves.

With a flex of Will, Felix dropped upon the rotting hordes, exploding dozens as he cracked the earth and sent blue-white lightning flashing outward. The creatures clicked and groaned as they regarded him before lurching into an attack.

"I have no time for you," he said. Adamant Discord!

They were all seized in bonds of lightning and hauled toward him. Felix adjusted the pull, alternating his Intent between push and pull, until he’d conjured a violent cyclone around himself, shredding their bodies and ending their disgusting lives. Spores burst in all directions, forming a cloud around him, but Felix was not done. He seized every piece, their light blue connections clenched in his outstretched claw.

"Empyrean Embrace!"

He devoured it all.

“Emperor! Emperor Nevarre!” Heva cried, while a number of Legionnaires saluted him.

Felix growled at them all. “Get behind the walls!” He looked up. “There's worse on the way.”

The lot of them scurried off, their Spirits once flagging with fear and weariness suddenly bolstered by a familiar ripple of rising song. Hope. Felix had seen it before, but he wondered if it would be enough, this time.

Well Done, Your Imperial Majesty.

The voice boomed from above. Storm clouds riddled with crimson lightning, where a monstrosity made of rotting flesh and fungal growths flew on two massive wings. A sickening light limned its animalistic body, and a gleaming halo surmounted its lion-like head, festooned by sprouting mushroom caps and blood-slick horns.

“Yyero,” Felix snarled. He shot back up into the sky on a bolt of lightning.

A dozen shadowbeasts dropped from the sky, interrupting his ascent. Their slick flesh was almost invisible against the storm, and their claws moved fast enough to shred his tunic and jacket entirely. Lightning burst, savaging a handful of them as they kicked at his chest.

Felix pulled to the side, lightning crackling around his left limb, before he unlimbered his Inheritor’s Will and slashed through them in one strike. They burst into oily smoke, but the blade skittered and sparked as the claws of another shadow forced him back. This time, Felix was sent flying, the force of the parry vibrating through his wrists and shoulders.

He tracked it as the creature flew upward to join Yyero. It was smaller than the God of Rot’s putrescent beast, but just as awful. It bore no wings, simply undulating in the sky, wriggling its many limbs as mandibles clacked before a yawning hole where its face belonged.

“Noctis.” Felix narrowed his eyes. “You guys are idiots for attacking me here.”

You Will Need To Do Far Better Than That To Pierce Our Hide, False King!

“Oh, believe me, I can,” he growled. “Just ask Siva.”

The faceless serpent’s laugh was punctuated by thunder as bloody lightning coursed across the sky behind them. Yes. Imagine My Surprise When You Devoured Our Sister. And Imagine My Delight When You Devoured Her Moon!

Felix, hesitated. The conversation wasn’t going how he expected.

Don’t You See, Little Lordling? This Is The Punishment For Godslaying!

A roar pulled his attention to the side as waves screamed from the west. The Bitter Sea rose higher than ever, now more than forty feet, and they slammed into his wall. Stone broke off in great sheets, the cracks deepening. Felix needed to reinforce it all.

No. We Can’t Have That.

Felix threw himself backward on a cable of lightning, narrowly evading the lion's claw that slashed where his neck once was.

You Do Not Get To Stop This! That lion’s face twisted into an unnatural sneer. Blood poured into the fungal growths across its skull and mane. You Destroy The Moon Of A Goddess, And You Suffer The Consequences! It Is Your Fault The Tides Of This World Are Unmoored!

Adamant Discord!

Felix hauled on the connection to the walls he had just created, shooting towards them once more as Sonata of Dominance mustered within his chest. The song of it burst forth, cladding pieces of his wall in Fiendstone. But only pieces.

Noctis laughed, her undulated form slamming into Felix and forcing him down. He shot to the earth, smashing through building after building of his city before cratering the streets. The gods followed him down, wrathful and gloating by turns as their dark power fueled their might.

Sonata of Dominance!

Stone shot back upward from the crater, spearing toward the Vessels as they dropped. It missed, of course, but hitting them was never the point. The gods flew away, and Felix rose in their absence on a pillar of lightning, straight up into the sky until he was just beneath the canopy of Atlantes.

Shadow and Lion were not so easily fooled, however. Their limbs closed in fast, striking across Felix's chest and face with such incredible speed that he couldn't even consider blocking them. He merely took the punishment upon his scale and flesh, dripping blood from every blow that struck him.

To the west, his shaping began to fail as the water broke through. You Are Ours, Nevarre, Yyero hissed through his Rotted Lion. Leave The Children To Play Amongst Themselves.

Below, the forest erupted with vile creatures that were part flesh and part rotting vegetation. Like the mushroom men that had attacked Haarwatch the previous year, they were meaty, armored, and possessed a variety of disgusting forms. They tore into his defensive teams, their bulk overwhelming the Legion.

"No!” Felix bared his teeth. Empyrean Embrace!

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

The Vessels of both gods darted away from him, but Felix wasn’t aiming at them.

He focused on the city below.

Fungal Horrors, shadowbeasts, and strangely misshapen monstrosities moved among the waves. Many had unique names, but Felix didn’t care to learn them—in the Empire of the Fiend, they were called only one thing.

"Intruders!” he growled. “This place is mine!"

With a snap of ethereal jaws, everything within a thousand feet vanished into his maw.

Power rolled through Felix, and he immediately siphoned it into Sovereign of Flesh, which consumed his Essence at breakneck speed to heal his god-given wounds.

Too Quick For Your Own Good, Nevarre! Noctis bellowed from her faceless chasm. Umbral Sculpting!

Shadow poured from her unnatural limbs, flowing outward like a liquid that sprouted, then cut itself off, sprouting into monsters. Below, the land beyond the walls was filled with their varied forms, each twice the size of a Human. They screeched and rushed the fortifications.

Felix mustered his Will again, but crimson lightning blasted into his back. He grunted and spun away from its onslaught—just in time to see the claws of shadow that dropped atop of him. He lifted his arms, blocking the attacks of some sort of wasp-scorpion, while winged apes bludgeoned him with their cudgel-like limbs.

“You’re all just a distraction!” He swiped his talons through their slick forms, rupturing their Bodies with a roar. Just as quickly as they were obliterated, however, more congealed from the brooding sky, emerging as shadows between the rain.

Sovereign of Flesh.

Stolen power poured through his channels, raging across his flesh until his Body obeyed his shaped Intent. Dark scales sprouted, thickening across his chest and arms as he doubled in size and weight. Knight-like and brutal, he manifested midnight black armored plates whose joints and seams were filled with a red-gold incandescence. His claws extended into talons, slashing through the umbral nightmares, rending shadow flesh with every swipe as his face was covered by a featureless black helm.

How Pretty You Shine, False King.

The faceless goddess slammed herself into him, bashing him upward into the lower branches of the Spirit Tree. The thick appendages dimpled with the impact, too strong to break, but the goddess’ power could not be denied.

You Do Not Deserve The Light!

The leaves of Atlantes shook as if under a gale as shadowbeasts swarmed his location. Malformed and agile, they were custom made to rend and tear. Felix summoned the lightning, flitting among Atlantes’ branches, but the shadows were always there. Their mutable forms countered his speed with a strange fluidness that sought out the cracks in his armor with every strike.

Felix booted them through the skull and chest, ripping his way through just in time to see the faceless serpent that Noctis dwelled within fading into transparency.

"Vessel's not too good, is it?" He asked with a grin she couldn't see, but at least she could feel the pitch of his Spirit.

It Is A Pity, her voice said, emanating from the thickening darkness beneath the leaves. My Shadows Are Too Weak To Contain Even A Sliver Of My Might. But Worry Not, Nevarre. What They Lack In Capacity, They Make Up For In Number.

A ripple of bloody obsidian split the world, and a huge snout framed by a mess of curling tusks emerged from within it. The shadowbeast spread its inky wings wide, lightning crashing around its Body, before its face collapsed into an endless hole, leaving only the tusks to jut out from the cavernous abscess.

She’s gonna keep body-jumping. I need to kill all of them at once to stop her.

You Are Distracted!

The Rotted Lion dropped upon him, smashing him in the back and driving him downward toward the earth. Felix grasped inward, sounding Sonata of Dominance. Fire shaped between his fingers as he reached back and snagged the beast's fur.

“Get bent!”

Yyero's malformed Vessel ignited, burning in a blaze across his head and chest. The Rotted Lion roared in pain. You Dare!

Felix bared his teeth and dug his talons into the muscle beneath. Sovereign of Flesh!

His power skidded across the Vessel's body, unable to grasp much at all. That brown and bronze aura protected it—a mantle that rebuffed his Will.

But not all of it.

Minor wounds split open across the Rotted Lion, and Felix wasted no time. He drove his hands into the rents, talons extended, before tearing outward. Ichor sprayed across the sky, so thick and dark they were like new wings. Yyero roared, his voice choked not with pain but fury. Each wound sprouted with fungal rot, blooming into a wild appendage that slammed Felix straight into the chest.

Like a rocket, he was blasted to the earth, smashing into the ground just outside the walls of Elderthrone. He cratered the ground, crushing Fungal Horrors and shadowbeasts alike with the sheer pressure of his impact.

Damn it. Felix stood up, stone crumbling around him. Dirt and spores drifted in the air like smoke. Those Vessels can hit.

Puppets of decay and night raced toward him, varied feet pounding the drenched and rutted earth. He stood in a No Man’s Land just beyond the city walls, where hunks of ice, boulders, and baked stumps were between him and the horde.

Sonata of Dominance!

Fire answered his call, spinning around him as he summoned an inferno. Everything within forty yards of his position died, scorched to ash.

“Blasted by the Burning Eye!” someone cried.

"It's the Fiend!"

"The Emperor! He's here!"

Other voices took up the chant as Felix climbed from the crater. The Legion lined the wall just beyond the edge of his blazing inferno. Felix let the song of it subside to a distant hum and eyed them all. They looked exhausted and battered. Thousands lined the Fiendstone walls, now splattered with dark ichor and patches of charred fungus.

Farther down the line, around the corner from his position, he heard more fighting. There, more monsters were besieging his city. He looked back up, trying to find the gods.

This won’t end until they’re both dead. I gotta⁠—

"Your Highness, look out!" someone cried.

He turned. Waves of Fungal Horrors and shadowbeasts had emerged from the dark forest beneath the lashing acid rain. Their twisted forms were lit only by the glow of his Fiendstone walls and the crash of crimson lightning across the skies. The shadowbeasts screamed, bellowing in a rage he had no doubt was an echo of their masters, while the Fungal Horrors said not a word, only charged.

Manifestation of the Coronach!

Felix’s power rolled outward, spreading over the fields as far as he could see.

Status condition: A Crisis Of Faith Failed.

He wasn't surprised. The creatures charging him weren't sapient enough to have Wills of their own. They were empty puppets, immune to his debuff. But then, reducing their Will with Crisis of Faith wasn’t the point.

A surprised shout came up from the wall as a brilliant, red-gold light bloomed among every member of the Legion within range. Thousands of them shone in the dark as a deep, echoing chorus shook the battlements.

Status Condition: Rallying Cry.

Doubles Regeneration For All Allies In Range For Five Minutes. Reduced Chance Of Frightened Status By 80%.

Manifestation of the Coronach is level 85!

The power spread outward, Rallying Cry moving across his populace like a wave of red-gold light. The skill had a range that was only determined by his will and intent, and both of his were mighty, for he was the emperor, and this was his city.

Rallying Cry, Really? Yyero landed on the ground, exploding earth into the air. Legionnaires on the walls were blasted back by the shockwave, and Felix’s shaped flames tore through the onrushing horde. Yyero, however, stood unaffected by his power. A Pathetic Salve For A Mortal Wound. Let Me Show You The True Use Of Power.

Blightweave!

Waves of dark entropy emanated from the Rotted Lion, dripping from his wings and spreading like corruption through the air, earth, and every piece of living material. The ground sprouted with fungal growths while trees twisted and rotted away, tumbling into clumps of fetid fertilizer. More Horrors rose from the ground, breeding out of the Blightweave, but the worst were those that were already present.

Entropic energy filled those monstrosities, swelling them in size as their mushroom flesh expanded, splitting into gilled ridges as they grew second heads and barbed tails covered in rotted fangs. Claws the size of wagons burst from the ends of arms long enough to reach the tops of the city walls. Dozens of them grew twice the size of the tallest of Humans, topping Felix by several feet as they charged forward, lashing out. Their strikes screamed through the air, forcing Felix to dodge back as they blasted furrows out of the earth.

Sovereign of Flesh! His skill skittered off the Horrors. They weren't made of flesh.

Yyero laughed. Try Again, Unbound.

“Try us, instead!” A cry was taken up from the wall. Loquis, the half-orc captain stood front and center, a spear raised up. "Legion! Show them what we're made of!"

"Earthshaker Stomp!"

A row of mithril-armored soldiers leaped from the wall, dropping from the sky like bombs. They hit the earth with a calamitous crash, and the Horrors fell over as the earth was upset, staggering them all.

"Bonebreaker!"

A second group leapt beyond the first, each of them conjuring weapons of brilliant blue-white light before swinging them down in a devastating overhead smash. The shadowbeasts and Horrors at the forefront were shattered, their Bodies split wide open by the mighty blow.

“Piercing Crescent!”

A forward slash, gleaming with blue-white light, tore through space Bonebreaker cleared, passing among the horde like a shockwave. The swords of dozens of Legionnaires dripped with liquid Mana before a second Crescent was unleashed.

Loquis lifted his hand into the air, followed by nearly a hundred others, all of them robed in blue and cowled in deep purple.

“Stormlance!”

A crackling spear of lightning shot out from the Arclights, hitting the shadowbeasts before jumping outward into those around them. The monsters were tossed back, the horde broken. All save the biggest and most empowered by Yyero—those surged forward.

Felix met them himself.

Sovereign of Flesh, though he could not touch their hide, could alter his. His hands and claws expanded upon his already massive body, slashing until they were twice the size of great swords. Felix swung his arms, slashing through the mighty Fungal Abominations. Claws and overlong limbs were severed in quick succession, their bodies toppling like wet cordwood. He snapped the teeth of his Empyrean Embrace, and they all vanished, swallowed in an instant as he cleared the entire field of the dead.

Much to his surprise, Yyero had vanished as well.

Felix looked up, watching the retreating speck of the Rotted Lion. More monsters mustered in the forest, growing once again just out of range. He turned back to the wall and the soldiers that were already clambering back through the gates.

"Your Highness," Loquis shouted from atop the wall. "We can handle things here! Go!"

Felix rose on tendrils of lightning and retracted his helm with a flick of his Will. He smiled at the man. "I'll leave it to you then, Captain. Defend the city.”

“Aye, sir!”

Adamant Discord!

He shot upward on a bolt of lightning, leaving the Legion behind…and honing in on the speck of vile bronze light that was the God of Rot.

Up there, well beyond the range of any of the defenders of his city, Yyero and Noctis were unleashing their power. Shadows froze buildings and streets before entropic bombs tore apart walls and structures with equal ease. People screamed, crying out as they fled and bled.

“Enough!” Felix intercepted their strikes, slamming both of his enlarged claws into the Vessels and forcing them to cut off their Skills. He tried once again to bite through their Vessels, but Yyero and Noctis danced away from him in another ripple of crimson shadow. They vanished before appearing a dozen yards away, dropping more of their might upon his city.

Half of a residential block exploded, blossoming with sprawling rot while wood and stone were shredded and frozen in equal measure.

“Your fight is with me!” Felix shaped fire and light at the both of them, but they dodged it easily.

Poor Emperor. Noctis’ voice was sickeningly sweet, but thunder roared behind it. Did You Think You Were Safe Behind These Walls? Did You Think That We Would Leave You Alone To Plot And Grow In Strength Before You Came For Your Unbound Brethren?

Shame On You For Not Moving Faster, Yyero chided. For Licking Your Wounds Instead Of Pressing Your Advantage. You ate a god, Felix! They both cut across him, slicing into his Body in the back and front. Felix bit back his screams. Now You're Letting Mere Journeymen And Adepts Fight Your Battles Down Below.

Felix sped forward on tethers of lightning, claws tearing through the Rotten Lion and severing one of its fungal limbs. He spun, kicking off air he shaped solid and redirected himself into a leap. Shadowbeasts split into smoking ichor—until he was seized across the chest by that winged ape. Claws tore into his scales before he severed the goddess’ arms and fell out of the sky once more.

The Child Has Always Been A Coward, Noctis said as lightning arrested Felix’s fall. Running Away From True Strength, Taking In The Corruption Of A Primordial When He Had The Might Of A God In His Hands. A God He Betrayed With His Accursed Teeth!

Sonata of⁠—!

Shadowflay!

Crimson lightning flashed downward as Noctis struck. Razor-sharp tendrils of darkness lashed out at him from her newest Vessel, accompanied by bloody lightning that sliced through his armored flesh with incredible ease. Wounds sprouted across his chest, arms, and legs, each of them pouring with dark blood that tumbled from between his fingers.

Status condition: Shadow Ichor.

All Wounds Bleed Heavily, Rapidly Draining Health From Target.

Duration: Ten Seconds.

Sovereign of Flesh

Felix flared his power as his body fought off the effects, burning essence to heal him, but not nearly fast enough. Yyero spread his jaws before seizing his left arm.

Carrion Nova!

A blast of decay ripped outward, hurling Felix from the Vessel's jaws. Flesh was peeled from the bones of his arm.

Felix fell back, crackling with Adamant Discord as he fought to right himself in the sky. His Body was strong, and Sovereign of Flesh fought to restore him, but his entire left arm had been ripped to the bone. Agony pierced through him—Mind, Spirit, and Body—shaking him beyond his core, to the very depths of his foundations. Shockwaves rippled through him, chiming as opalescent stone cried out, and his core space clenched.

Fiendforge slipped his grasp.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

The seven claws of his Skill faltered, the threads of power nearly slipping from his grasp as Fiendforge failed. Felix diverted himself away from the agony of his wounds and the pressure of his regeneration, focusing all of his attention and Will upon the unique Skill. Fiendforge reignited, the pattern humming through a skipping Dissonance as visions exploded through his Mind.

He saw Atar standing amidst an inferno that sputtered while Alister struggled beneath spinning gears of copper and blue force. Harn was hammering away at an enormous suit of armor that creaked alarmingly above, and Archie staggered beneath the ringing bells of his tower. Evie was likewise heaving frozen chains atop her back, her skin rimed with ice. Beef strained his furry biceps, entropy pouring between his hands to clad scuttling legs with chitinous barbs, while Vess plied the winds beneath fog-drenched mountains as dawn's light sprang between her fists.

The Skill sang on, steady and sustained. Felix jolted back to awareness of himself, Fiendforge held tightly in his grasp and the gods on his tail. He juked to the side, lightning coursing between his arms as a five-foot-wide paw slashed at him.

Pity. He’s Awake, Yyero purred, his thick voice bubbling in his throat. He put his paw to his lion’s mouth, licking up the dark red blood that flecked it. I Was Just Getting A Taste For Unbound Flesh.

Felix bared his teeth. Below, there was furious fighting amongst the battlements where shadowbeasts and Horrors had climbed atop the Fiendstone walls. The Legion lashed out their powers, exploding in elemental confluxes amongst the horde. Stormlances, earth-shaking stomps, iron-knuckle blows, even the whirling dance of blades as all four Legions worked as one, slaughtering the enemy where they stood. Elowen flew among them, her powers wielded with exacting precision and blasting holes in the enemy forces.

They were holding, for now.

Avet Was Right! Yyero roared. The Bastard.

Felix swiveled toward the god. "What are you talking about?”

You Disgusting Ants. You Walk The Broken Path! And They, Against All Reason, Rise With You!

Umbral Sculpting!

Noctis’ shadow swelled, followed closely by Yyero's Blightweave. Endless waves of shadowbeasts and Fungal Horrors arose from the lands outside his walls. The Legion met them, clashing in bursts of brilliant illumination as Skill met monster. Yet wherever the creatures died on the battlements, more erupted amidst his Legion, slamming back the brave defenders as they fought valiantly to defend the city.

"They breached the walls!" The cry was taken up as bells began to ring amongst the towers of Elderthrone.

They Breached The Walls, mocked Yyero. They Will All Die Because Of You, Nevarre.

Yyero slammed into Felix, checking him with a shoulder, even as Felix snapped the Lion’s wing. It didn’t stop the god, however, as fungus grew over the bone, snapping it back into place. Yyero and Noctis surrounded him, flaying his flesh with shadow and decay, despite his maneuvers out of their reach. They were always there, pressing him into each other's attacks.

Felix regenerated from the wounds they inflicted, but they were accumulating faster than he could recover. His Body strained, joints aching as he turned on tethers of brilliant lightning. He shook as he fought, Fiendforge and Sovereign of Flesh howling through his channels.

They Will Die Because Of You, Yyero snarled. Because You Dared To Think You Could Lead Them!

"Invaders of this place!" cried a voice.

Felix's attention pivoted, even as he blocked another slashing blow of Noctis' twisted ape. Paxus had appeared at the base of Atlantes, gleaming with a deep blue light as his voice boomed outward. "You are not allowed here! You shall be cleansed!"

“Spirit Cleanse!” Paxus called out, and a pulse rippled throughout the city. “Clad The Dead!”

All at once, the Spirit Tree gleamed with power. A swell of peace settled onto Felix, calming his nerves and filling him with a sudden soothing assurance that victory could still be grasped. Atlantes' Spirit Cleanse aura shot outward, rippling against the horde and the gods themselves, tearing away a piece of their power but nowhere near all of it.

The ground throughout Elderthrone burst, filling with spiraling roots that pierced through the chests of shadowbeasts and Fungal Horrors alike. The branches above twisted, slapping the flying beasts from the sky. Ichor rained down upon Elderthrone, more dense than the acid that tried and failed to burn its leaves away.

Those roots that speared through the horde also burst in other places, creating cages of dark brown roots that burst from beneath the horde, trapping dozens of them in a constricting cage before they withered, drained dry by the Spirit Tree. Desiccated, they turned to dust, and the Atlantes gleamed with stolen power.

All around the city, the Legion rallied, their Skills called out into the storm dark. Shadows and Horrors fell back as Paxus strode out from the trunk of the Atlantes. He lifted his hands, and a blue-green light burst from him, radiating through the trunk of the Spirit Tree itself. His voice echoed in the air, heard from miles away.

"Fly, Children of the Grim Nightshade!"

Specks flew from the branches, swooping down from above on wings as varied as the colors of their scales. The Hatchlings flew, unaccompanied by Yintarian or Vess.

And they were glowing.

Pit!

“Let Roar The Beast!” Pit shrieked, his voice rising as he took up the lead ahead of the Hatchlings. The shadowbeasts fell back from the bus-sized tenku, dazed by his cry, but it was clear that the Horrors did not feel fear. Pit dove down, Hatchlings following behind. "Nimbus of the Moon!"

Beams of silvered moonlight tore through the storm clouds, obliterating the enemy wherever they struck. Direct hits burned them to ash and wreathed the rest in bright moonlight. The shadows faltered, the monstrosities moving far slower, allowing the Legion's weapons to cut into their hides. Pit swooped low, Hatchlings following, releasing their breath weapons like streamers of molten light. Soon, they were smeared into puddles of boiling ichor.

Felix laughed, his skin re-knitting. "You can't stop us like this!" He ripped through with a roar, his claws tearing through Noctis' Vessel and jamming his thumbs into Yyero's eyes. "Not here!"

He tore outward, and the Rotted Lion screamed as it was blinded.

Umbral Sculpting! Noctis bellowed, seizing the dark as she shaped more beasts from her power. The act, however, was more than her Vessel could stand, and it shredded itself to pieces.

Bloody shadow rippled the air, and Noctis leaped away.

She reappeared as a ripple of crimson shadows, engulfing a hulking bird that flew by, a shadow bird with the face of a humanoid woman. A face that collapsed the moment she embodied it.

You Are Strong, Child, she said. But Are You Strong Enough? Umbral Sculpting!

A swarm of shadowbeasts surged up toward Pit and the little Dragons, claws outstretched and fangs bared.

Carrion Nova! Yyero roared, and a blast of decaying energy ripped downward.

Sonata of Dominance.

He reached out, his Will hardening, vibrating along the shape of the air as he hardened it into a shield. The entropic energy ripped across it, splintering the air as it was diverted sideways and away from the flock.

It did nothing, however, to stop the shadowbeasts flying up at them.

Felix kicked away from Yyero and once again shaped the air, this time setting it to burning in a grid of light just below the Hatchlings. The shadowbeasts hurtled through it and were sliced into pieces as their foul flesh sizzled.

Sonata of Dominance is level 131!

Impressive. Truly, You Are Strong. Noctis reached up, and crimson lightning speared down into her clawed hand, forming into an almost solid pillar of bloody light. From the dark clouds above, creatures spawned, forming into huge, undulating serpents riddled with spikes and barbs along their cratered flesh. They opened jaws the size of buildings and screamed above the acid storm.

But The Gods Are Beyond Strength.

Sonata of Dominance!

He flared the light, bursting it within the shadow and forcing one of the immense worms askew. They crashed into the cliffs just outside his stronghold, raining rock upon the district below. The rest, however, were barely phased.

The Wellspring had taught him much. He needed to face them with their own might. Felix folded his power toward shadow.

Title: The Call of Defiance Is Active!

+25% Willpower When Contested By A Foe Of Divine Or

Greater Advancement!

His Will and Intent slammed against Noctis', shadow against shadow. For a single, beautiful moment, he overpowered her—and in that moment, Felix split the worms around him in half. They burst, dropping hot ichor down upon his city.

Carrion Nova!

The blast of rot hit him again, catching his legs and feet, fouling his concentration. His shaping sputtered out.

Reign of Vellus!

Crimson lightning blasted down, striking Felix in the chest and hurtling him to the ground. He cratered a market square far below, but the dust had not even begun to rise before a second bolt struck him. Then a third, until it was joined by a dozen more, until a solid pillar of electricity connected Elderthrone and the blackened clouds above.

You! Rejected! This! The broken goddess screamed against his Mind. NOW! TAKE IT! ALL!

The earth was destroyed, streets torn asunder and buildings crumbling beneath the kinetic force and unrelenting heat. Felix, at its center, put his arms up against the power. He shoved against it, the earth breaking beneath him, trying and failing to seize the lightning away from Vellus herself.

A roar filled his ears, a screaming that resonated from all across his city. His Perception flared, and he witnessed the Legion falling back as shadowbeasts overwhelmed them, and Fungal Horrors leaped the walls. He saw the Hatchlings breathing out their magic, but Horrors leapt atop them, too, dragging them to the earth. They fought furiously, Fafnir leading among them as she ripped them apart.

You will fail, Nevarre! Noctis told him, beyond hearing. Her sibilant words slid between the thunderous waves of crimson. If Not Here, Then Upon The Fields Of Amaranth!

Felix raged.

Adamant Discord!

Blue lightning met crimson, blasting it upward as he struggled from his back onto his knees. "You will not stop me here!"

He rose up, planting a single foot beneath himself. The earth splintered, cracks running deeper into the collapsed street, but it held. Felix shoved upward, blue shoving away red.

Shadowflay!

Tendrils of shadow ripped against him from the side, slicing open his withered legs, splitting tendon and muscle down to the bone. Yyero landed beside Felix with a crash, and the Rotted Lion with eyes weeping bloody fungus grinned a savage grin.

Carrion Nova.

Felix's back exploded, scales torn free, and his spine twisted. Blood splattered the shattered cobbles.

The lightning went out. The night went dark.

You Cannot Save These Mortal Wretches, Yyero hissed through bared fangs. Not Your Legion Nor Your Pet. Not Even The Strangers Of Your False Empire. And Why Would You Want To?

He stalked around Felix’s prone form, footfalls squelching. Why Expend Yourself For These Worthless, Impermanent Creatures? You Are Mighty, Felix Nevarre. There Is No Denying That. Why Else Would We Challenge You So? Yyero chuckled. Like Calls To Like.

Felix wheezed breaths through broken teeth and split lips. He could barely see, and his limbs refused to move. Sovereign of Flesh sang in him, but there was too much to fix all at once. Essence burned through him in great swathes, and it was excruciating beyond measure.

We Recognize A Threat When We See It. Congratulations, Yyero purred. In Another Time, You Could Have Been An Equal—Were You Not So…Flawed.

Screams echoed across the city, but to Felix, they were felt rather than heard. His Spirit shook, those blue lines vibrating across his slowly repairing vision. Pain and fear flitted across those connections—too much to bear.

You Devote Yourself To These Pathetic Beings…To A False Empire Of Glass And Sand, Liable To Shatter Beneath The Slightest Blow And Crumble At The Weakest Breeze.

You Are A Fool.

Yyero's claw slammed into Felix’s back, crushing him to the earth. He gasped, his vision going fully white as things popped and snapped that he’d never felt before.

Fiendforge shook.

Fire, light, mechanical structures, all of them trembled across his Links. He could no longer see his city—yet the peril of his friends filled his senses like water in a cup. Their Pillars wobbled, and panic shouts ripped through his Spirit, as pain and uncertainty wafted in both directions.

I have you, he promised, holding tight with whatever Will and Intent he could muster. Sovereign of Flesh roared within him, a crescendo to answer his resolve. Finish the weaving. I have you!

Let It Go, Yyero whispered in Felix’s ear. Let Them Fall.

No!

With a flare of Strength, Felix heaved his broken Body upward, though his vision was clouded by blinding pain and foul rot. The Rotted Lion was thrown back, and Felix sprang to his feet as he reached for Inheritor's Will.

The gods were faster.

Yyero seized Felix in his jaws, snagging his right arm before it could pull the sword free from his waist. Teeth crunched, and Felix screamed.

Let It Go, the Lion commanded again. LET. THEM. FALL.

“I rise with them!” Felix shoved his talons into Yyero's snout and ripped upward, shattering teeth and tearing open the monster's jaw. He lurched away, Sovereign of Flesh singing in his veins. “And you will not stop me⁠—”

Blackened green energy flowed up from around the city, pulled into the Rotted Lion like blood into a heart. Yyero’s jaw healed itself, bone and sinew crawling like maggots across his shattered visage.

We Do Not Need To Stop YOU.

Noctis’ razor-sharp tendrils hit him, splitting open his chest. Felix screamed—and Pit screeched, an echo of his pain half a city away. Fiendforge tumbled out of his reach.

The goddess laughed. I See Them, Brother! The Bonds Of Fellowship!

Shadows flowed from her in a tide, and bloody lightning rode its edge like seafoam.

Let Us Sever Them.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

Atar fell back as Flame screeched in pain. The Urge’s wingspan thinned until the incandescent white of his feathers faded to a pale grey.

atar!

Obsidian cracked all around the mage, revealing a carmine light that poured forth like blood from a wound. Atar stumbled again, catching himself against the thickened braid of fire before him. The Pillar sputtered and flared between his grasp.

Flame fell to the ground, landing heavily on his thin bird legs. this cannot hold! bolster the weave!

"I'm trying!” Atar shoved his hands forward, gray skin flaking away to reveal the glassy black stone beneath. “Help me!”

Alister’s only warning was the sharp ping of stressed metal before it snapped.

Gears flew free, housing cracked and pistons crashing to a standstill as shafts bent beyond their tolerances. Alister dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the jet of liquid force Mana that gouged through the marble and copper flooring.

“No, no, no!” Alister threw his Will against the breaking, forcing the metal shut with the power of his visualized Intent—but it wasn’t enough.

The entire contraption beneath his core spun wild, tilting on its axis, no matter how he tried to correct it. It was spiraling out of his control.

“No, this will not happen! Palace of the Champion!”

The Skill sounded through Alister, a clanking spin of distant gears as something sparked far above him. A sweeping structure of force constructs erupted from around Alister, shielding him from the second cylinder to burst. The translucent walls and towers rose, propping the broken remnants back into position.

The machine groaned, but it held.

Alister wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. "I'm not done yet."

The armor before Harn twisted beneath his hands, bending out of true despite his Strength and focus.

The Greaves turned molten at the edges, softening where the silver metal crumpled. The armored Tasset dropped a full stride, buckling the structure all the further. Harn leaped forward, seizing the molten edges beneath hands of solid steel.

The armor groaned, but he had no words, letting the movement of his Body speak instead. Crystalline hammers materialized in his hands, striking down at the Greaves with a furious precision. Their impact flared with silver fire and a song that rang out into the cavernous undercroft.

Black chains slipped, shedding frost upon her as they fell. Sharp-edged thunder tore through ice and the roar of falling water.

Links burst, black metal shrapnel flung in all directions.

Cursing, Evie leaped for them.

Sound shook Archie’s tower, sending ash spiraling outward in waves.

“Fucking hell!” He staggered to the side, the ground pitching beneath him. “What’s Felix doing out there?”

His bell core rang in ceaseless alarm, and Archie hadn’t a clue how to stop it. He licked his lips, holding a hand to his head as he thought. What can I do? The sound’s gonna rip me apart⁠—!

The cables he’d painstakingly woven kicked out of their anchors, metal whipping outward in savage arcs. He gasped, phasing through the cords before they tore him in half. The walls bore the brunt instead, the cables digging deep lines into the stone.

The bells above went wild, and the pressure crushed him to his knees.

“Shit!”

The Beetle faltered, stumbling in the fields and driving horrible furrows into the earth. Trees were crushed, and the statues around Beef groaned. Deep, glowing cracks crazed their surfaces, and several tipped forward on their pedestals. Hallow ran for them, propping them up with her crystalline hands.

“Beef, you need to visualize supports here⁠—”

A sharp retort cracked above the din. Beef spun in horror as one of the Beetle’s legs buckled.

“Forget that, Hallow!” Beef leaped off the side of his manor, landing with a grunt on the creaking appendage. “Help me!”

He slammed his thick fists into the two pieces of chitin, holding them together through sheer Strength alone.

“Get back up, Beetle!” he pulled, shoulders straining. “Hallow! Please!”

Light splintered between Vess’ fingers, rising in the hurricane that raged across the chasm. She leaned forward, hands held tight around her Pillar even as stone, root, and light itself was snatched free.

Dawn slipped the bounds of the weave as scales and crystalline horns melded into Dragons. They roared into the furious winds, baring their teeth at Vess and regarding her with mad eyes.

“Enemy!” they raged, before leaping for her throat.

"Go! Advance to the next station!" Darius Reed shouted. He picked up a wounded Legionnaire and set them on their feet. "Keep moving!"

A shadowbeast thundered down the street, plowing for the group of civilians he and his Legion were protecting.

"No, you don't! Wind Blade!"

A blazing slash of white-green air Mana burst forth, severing its throat. The heavy beast collapsed to the earth, skidding upon its own slickened shadows before crumpling in a smelly heap at his feet.

The civilians stared in mute amazement and no small amount of horror.

"Keep moving! You! Bring the civilians inside. The rest of you, get those packages up the stairs!"

The Legionnaires rushed by, carrying pieces of complicated metal inscribed with more sigaldry than Darius could ever hope to understand. He followed them up, passing by the huddling civilians as the Blades took up guard positions around the tower. It was one of many Fiendstone towers throughout the city, built only recently at Lord Knacht’s request. A move that bordered on prescient.

Smart man, for a mage.

Here, the metal pieces were brought together and set upon a base that was swiftly bolted to the ground by members of the Bone Legion. "Assemble it," Darius ordered, gazing out at the city.

Monstrosities had leapt above the wall, and more were crowding the skies. While the Legion struggled at the walls, pushing them back in some spots, they had been overrun in the east. Darius gritted his teeth at the losses he was sure they’d suffered, but not all had gone awry.

At first, Darius mistook their aerial saviors for Felix and his strange powers, but then they dove closer, and he saw with mounting horror their true, draconic nature. Glowing bright blue as if lit up from within, they were led by the enormous tenku with brutal effectiveness.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing. He stared out at the storm-dark sky, his heart clenching in uncertain relief. Dragons, coming to our defense.

They were small, mere Hatchlings, but they glowed with a magic Darius didn’t understand. Their claws and breath weapons were murder upon the enemy, and shadowbeasts dropped from the sky like rain…but plenty more poured out of the storm.

He spun back to the Legionnaires. "Is it ready?"

"Two more moments, sir." There was a quick click and a rising hum as pieces of inscription connected to one another. The entire structure bloomed with bright blue Mana.

"It's ready!"

"Perfect," he said. "Out of my way."

Darius seized the weapon’s handles, taking it up as it pivoted on the smooth gears the forge had designed. It ratcheted to the side, aiming at the monsters in the sky now chasing down the Hatchlings.

"Array ready, sir," an Arclight said from his side.

No Dragon is saving my ass without a fight. "Impetus Salvo," he intoned, sending his Mana coursing through his palms and into the weapon’s handles.

The ballista sang, a piece of its sigaldry opening up across the weapon’s center. Blue force Mana swirled through the chambers, humming as it flowed through the arcanite that made it before rapidly launching from the barrel at the end. Five quick bolts of kinetic force blasted forth into the sky like blue flashes. They shot right over the Hatchlings, tearing through shadowbeast after shadowbeast.

“Direct hit!” a soldier cheered.

The dark creatures sizzled into nothing as the blue force bolts hit them, their forms unable to withstand the weapon’s might. Again and again, Darius activated the array, firing bolts in clusters of five, tearing apart the enemy.

"The Domain cores are holding, sir."

"Good," he said, breathing heavily. The weapon didn’t need his Mana, except to activate the array, but it weighed heavily on his Spirit. "Now, we make sure the others are up⁠—”

As if answering his unspoken words, the towers around the city lit up with blue light. Kinetic force blasted from them as Impetus Salvo was activated from six different angles. The force artillery fired off into the horde, clearing the sky as Pit and the Hatchlings flew low.

“Yes!” Darius shouted, his Adept voice louder than the cannons and the thunder beyond. "Kill them all!”

Isla rushed to the balcony of the Chanter's academy, looking out over the wasteland and the half-built residential areas around her. Shadowbeasts and Fungal Horrors swarmed the streets, flowing over the walls atop the ever rising waves.

"Fah! Blight and damnation," she cursed. "Chanters! Chanters! Follow my lead!"

The diminutive Sorcerer lifted her arms, rings glinting in the crimson lightning as illusions rose to her call. A wave of gold and orange rolled forward, sparking through the humming song she sang. It overlaid the buildings and the very earth, until all shone a brilliant golden. The shadowbeasts cried out, covering their eyes as their matter weakened, and their flesh turned translucent.

"Fire now!" Isla commanded.

The Chanters, fledgling though they were, lifted their arms, firing off elemental blasts of fire, ice, earth, and even shadow. Backed by a swell of the Grand Harmony, they tore through the accumulated beasts. The Fungal Horrors were worse, but those spun as the streets were blasted into pieces around them. The fetid monstrosities charged the manor.

Isla sneered at them. "No, you don't. Mazed Mind!"

A new song was taken up from her core space, rising from the soles of her feet through her throat into a crescendo. The earth twisted around them, bending the streets they charged down into labyrinthine corridors. The Fungal Horrors and the taller, clawed Abominations spun, confused, their sightless eyes unable to figure out a way through.

Isla grinned. Her illusions were not only of sight, but of the Mind itself. Die confused.

Fire and ice ripped down those corridors, cleansing the earth of rot in rivers of elemental force. The Hatchlings followed, led by the tenku Pit, dropping crackling spears of ice upon their foes before bathing them in Dragon fire.

"Keep the pressure on!" Isla commanded as the Grand Harmony swelled among her students. "We will defend our home!"

Lightning crashed onto Felix once more, skittering Fiendforge from his grasp as Yyero clawed into his regenerating back.

Stay Down!

"Leave him alone!”

Pit flew on galeforce winds, wings tearing through the monstrosities around him as radiance poured off of his pinions. He slammed into Yyero, and the god fell back, overwhelmed by the tenku’s immense size. They smashed to the streets below.

“Talon of Tumult!”

The Vessel tore, shredding at the hips as Pit's Mantle of the Stormlord crashed through its Body. His crystalline talons raked open the Lion’s rotted guts, releasing a bloom of fungal growth.

Chimera. The Blighted god snarled before those growths formed into clawed arms that grappled with Pit's immense form. They shoved upward, hurling the tenku into the air through sheer, incredible strength.

My Love! Noctis screeched into the night. Destroy That Beast!

The Bloodstorm answered, and a wall of lightning crashed into the Bitter Sea. It surged into a forest of crimson bolts, branching into infinity before it twisted. A bolt as thick as a building speared off of it⁠—

—straight into Pit’s back.

He fell, hurtling through nearby buildings like a wrecking ball.

"Pit!" Felix rose on a column of blue lightning. His arm was in bad shape, and his legs barely worked, but they were mending. He grasped onto the bonds ahead of him, but his hands were bloody and slick. The moment he moved forward, he found shadow and paw binding him in place.

Adamant Discord!

Empty Fowl and Rotted Lion unraveled as the lightning tore through their forms, but they didn’t move, let alone shy away. Their Spirits only conveyed a deep and abiding glee.

Go Ahead. Kill Our Vessels, Yyero purred. It Will Not Make A Difference.

Noctis’ shadows rippled. Watch, False King. Behold The Bloodstorm.

The storm intensified, raining crimson lightning in vast pillars upon the Sea. Waves surged over the land, through the forest to the west. The Bitter Sea ran riot, washing away Legionnaires and Chanters alike with each increasing swell.

Can Your People Not Swim? She twisted her empty face toward him, and in a flash of lightning, he could almost see something deep within, a glimmer of foul light. What A Pity.

A massive wave rose in the distance, the Bitter Sea swelling until it was more than twice the height of the walls. Crimson lightning flashed behind it, wreathing the waters with crackling illumination and highlighting the silhouettes of hundreds of monstrosities within.

Then I Suppose Your Empire Will Drown.

Felix bared his teeth, flaring Sonata of Dominance. His Will cascaded onto the streets below, the Mana pouring from him turning to water as he snagged his people from the rushing flood. The Bitter Sea fought back, his control imperfect, but it was enough…until he reached the monstrous wave itself.

His Will encountered it…and floundered.

Something stopped him.

A piercing bellow tore through the dark storm. At the top of the oncoming wave, a dark monstrosity flashed from within, bigger than all the rest.

What? Noctis spun back toward the sea.

Yyero's eyes widened. No! She’s Dead!

Tentacles burst from the wave, releasing a Dissonant burr upon the air that set Felix's teeth on edge. Those tentacles were barbed and massive, and they ripped through the shadowbeasts as it burst free of the wave's surface. Thousands of orange eyes atop a malformed monstrosity glimmered with an accumulated rage and hatred that could not be matched by any mortal.

The wave halted.

Water receded from the city, pulled in great gouts, as if by an invisible hand. It coursed along the wall, between bewildered Legionnaires, a strange tide that pulled the monster corpses into its relentless rush. All of it flowed back and around the abomination's form.

Felix laughed, a mad cackle that lifted out of his bones.

Barbed tentacles lashing, the Blood Beast screeched, and Dissonance ripped through the city. Shadowbeasts and fungal monstrosities were ripped asunder, those closest rendered into nothing but paste.

The gods reeled back, their forms wavering, tearing under the onslaught of the noise itself.

An Ally Approaches!

The Dread Rallies To Its Master's Call.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

Green light flashed through the air, faster than even Felix could track, and both Noctis and Yyero’s limbs were sliced off. They fell back, yowling and screaming in turn, only for more jets of pressurized seawater to streak across the sky.

Umbral Sculpting!

Water sliced through shadow, but Noctis’ conjurations layered over themselves as they failed, stopping the assault. An obdurate rage soared through both Vessels before their Spirits veiled. To Felix’s astonishment, the Empty Fowl and Rotted Lion tore off after the Dread, soaring ahead on dark wings. Felix was left behind, suspended on a thin bolt of lightning.

Sovereign of Flesh!

Felix flared the Skill, pushing his healing as rapidly as he could. His bones creaked as they mended, and tendons stretched across abused muscles. Beyond, where the sea had stilled, explosions of shadow and rot ripped at the waves as the gods tore into the acid waters. The Dread was not idle, however, for those intense jets of water did not cease, and the Blood Beast’s barbed tentacles moved in whirling blurs, lashing out at the gods and their creations.

The tide was turning.

Just hold them off for a little longer, you crazy squid! Felix focused on Fiendforge. Securing his grasp upon it, he tried to steady the riot that tore through his friend's core spaces. Yet they needed more than simple steadying.

They needed a miracle.

Title: Boon of Bonds Is Active!

You may choose to share a portion of your power for a short time period, granting a Boon to any with a Tier IV Link or greater.

I need to give you more, he shouted into the dark. Please, you need to take it all.

At Felix’s center, streams of Essence, Mana, and significance surged forth from his center, flowing through his opalescent root-lattice and into the darkness beyond. There, in the shadows of the System, they struck the bundle of Links like rainwater through a sewer drain, splitting immediately into eight separate channels.

Some of which couldn’t accommodate his power.

No. Not all of them are Tier IV! But they all need the Boon…and I need them.

He strained, flaring his Title and pulling at whatever he could within reach. His Will trembled, shaped by his relentless Intent, as the smaller Links continued to refuse his Boon.

C’mon!

Distantly, as if it were a song playing in a distant room, words flitted across his awareness. Felix leaned toward the sound, trying to make it out as it repeated again and again.

The Stars Burn.

Stone Trembles.

Their Influence Is Yet To Be Determined.

The Influence Of The Fiend Resonates Within You!

A Boon Of Bonds Is Extended.

Do You Accept?

Are you kidding? Alister groaned beneath the weight of his collapsing gears. Yes!

Lightning burst through Alister's core space, leaping through him as his Palace of Champions struggled to lift the wreck of his Machine. Sudden strength surged through his limbs as his force magic jolted forward, propelled by that crackling blue-white light, the towers of his Palace shoving the gears back into place. The teeth caught, spinning as pistons were clamped tight with new copper, whirring into smooth action as the Machine came back to life.

Do You Accept?

ahh! say yes! yes!

“I already did, you damn bird!”

Flame screeched as he seized the red-gold fire that rained from above, growing huge and fat on it until he was a burning bird to rival even Pit's bulk.

this is incredible! the power⁠—!

The Urge dove down into the Pillars that Atar held between his broken fingers, reigniting them as the cords burst outward in complicated knots. The mage seized them, obsidian bone against burning threads. It was complete agony, enough that Atar couldn’t even scream. It was all he could do to lift those cords in his trembling arms, his dark robes completely aflame.

Then the red-gold might reached him as well, falling onto his shoulders and igniting a wide diadem of flames upon Atar’s brow. Power surged within him, bolstering his arms and straightening his spine as the cracks in his flesh ignited with red-gold light.

He began to weave.

Alright, kid. Harn spat out blood onto the burning floor. Bring it on.

Power swirled through the Undercroft, and Harn let it pool around him, spinning like a tornado of blue-white energy. With a practiced hand, he reached for it, holding it tightly as he sliced open his other palm with his axe. Blood poured forth, and Harn pressed both hands together until the blue-white light mingled with the silver flame.

It poured down over the bent and battered metal beneath him, sinking into its battered surface. Where it traveled, the metal rearranged itself, strengthened and polished until it gleamed.

Damn. This is useful.

Harn lifted his hammers and connected the Greaves to the Tasset in a few short strokes, before turning his burning hands upon the rest of his Armor. There was much to be done.

Yes, you stupid—Gah!

Evie fell, legs frozen, unable to move as the black chains dropped from on high. She flared her Strength, slamming her hands into the frozen floor and hurling herself forward, but it wasn’t far enough away. The metal links dropped⁠—

Chain Golems, three of them, leaped forward. The first took the falling chains to its broad back, falling to their knees as the massive metal links speared through its Body. The others grabbed the rest of the black iron chains, securing them in their immense fists. Evie pulled herself away, but was scooped up by another’s massive arms.

Red-gold light surged through her, melting the frost across her legs in an instant. “Put me down, big guy.”

Wordlessly, the hulking constructs did so, before the others carefully handed her the unbroken chains.

Evie grinned. “Alright, then.”

She leaped into the vaulted ceiling, carrying them upon her back.

“I answer for him! Yes!” Hallow said as she jumped into the fray. “Razorhail!”

Crystalline spears sank into the two ends of the Beetle’s broken leg, pinning their hollowed out sections to one another. Beef groaned in relief, no longer being torn apart as the Beetle floundered on its side.

“What did you agree to?” he asked.

“Wait for it.”

Beef gasped as red-gold light swelled within his chest, and lightning burst from his arms and throat. “Holy crap! What do I do with this?”

Hallow’s crystalline face smiled. “Build.”

Beef gestured, and chitin flowed, burning with light.

“What do you think?” Archie snapped as he leaped between the cables. He phased through the whipping cords, just barely avoiding the gunshot-like cracks as the cables gouged through the bell tower’s walls. “Yes!”

He sank into the earth before he canceled his Skill, sending himself rocketing upward into the ceiling, reactivating Primeval Drift just in time to slip through the final knot of bursting cables. His hands latched onto the half-woven Pillar, and he held on tight.

Shit! Now what?

Power rolled into his city.

Blue-white and red-gold light poured down the streets in a wave of luminescent fog, forcing the people to take cover. Then the fog hit his tower, filling the bottom and blooming upward toward Archie where he hung.

His senses were filled with incomparable details, things he couldn’t describe, but mostly it was the taste of blood and a deep, unrelenting ache in his belly. The light filled him, and ash blasted outward, cleared from the tower in a sudden burst. Until the bells above rang in a new jubilant pattern.

Vess smiled.

The Dragons leapt for her throat, but Yintarion roared, slamming into them and knocking them back against the jagged chasm walls. His Spirit soared, ferocious and protective, as his power fell upon Evie like a mantle.

Added to the might that fell from Felix’s twin stars above, it was like oil upon a flame. Blue-white wind whipped and rolled through her veins, igniting her armor with a blinding radiance as red-gold dawn's light filled her.

As Dragons fought, Vess reached out and continued to braid the storm.

Throughout all seven of his friends, the same message rang out. A declaration more potent than the power it promised.

Linked Hands Beneath Burning Stars.

Worlds Within Worlds Bound By Choice.

Let Sing The Bonds Of Fellowship.

The Fiend Grants His Aid.

The power melded with all of them at once, and Felix felt a shift as his Fiendforge locked into place. It was as if smooth angles had settled, their flat planes touching, squeezing all the tighter as power rippled through his friends.

Alister Knacht’s Tier III Link Has Become A Tier V Link!

Atar V’as’ Tier V Link Has Become A Tier VI Link!

Harn Kastos’ Tier III Link Has Become A Tier VI Link!

Evie Aren’s Tier III Link Has Become A Tier V Link!

Beefhammer’s Tier III Link Has Become A Tier V Link!

Archibald Ross’ Tier IV Link Has Become A Tier V Link!

Vessilia Dayne’s Tier IV Link Has Become A Tier VII Link!

The Stars Align.

Choices Made Manifest.

Rise Ascendants!

An unearthly cry cut through the storm and battle as hundreds of orange eyes blazed in the murky wave. Waters burst, casting back the Vessels of the gods and all their swarming forces. The Dread’s barbed tentacles lifted, and the acid waters of the Bitter Sea followed, cladding and extending them to incredible lengths.

Carrion Nova! the Rotted Lion cried.

Entropic energy tore through the water, disrupted dozens of the tentacles, but not enough. They whipped through the air, crashing down at the gods. Noctis and Yyero easily avoided them, but the same could not be said for the monsters below. A thousand Abominations and shadowbeasts died in an instant.

Shadowflay!

Dark tendrils met the Dread’s, slicing through the water before they crashed up against its obdurate flesh. The Dread screamed, and Dissonance spiked across the sky, forcing even the clouds to flee.

Kill It! Noctis demanded. Force It⁠—

Before the faceless Vessel could move, water tentacles sliced through its Body. Yyero fell back, his form now leaking bronze ichor and sprouting new fungal growths. The Dread did not stop there, however, and the moment Noctis sculpted a new Vessel, it was sliced apart again.

Power crashed across the frozen wave, each clash between Divine and Blood Beast resounding like a collapsing mountain. Dissonance reverberated through Felix, echoing from his Links…and from the Dread itself.

What is this?

A howling rage tore Felix from his interior consideration, but not soon enough to evade the careening Lion that slammed him out of the air. They blasted back at a speed that was nothing short of dizzying. Fog ripped around them, tearing sound away with it as they broke past its barrier.

Felix clawed at the beast’s face, driving his talons deep into the god’s snout. Yyero roared, but there was no noise to accompany it, especially as Felix slashed into the monster's throat. Rotted ichor poured forth, whipping back as the wind tore at them. That was all he had moments to do as he smashed into the mountainside.

Driven deep, a boom ripped through the sky as sound caught back up with them. An avalanche of stone fell on Vessel and emperor alike, crushing them down into the mountain.

You Upstart, Yyero growled in the dark.

Felix pressed up against the mountain, but a deep weakness pulled from his limbs as more power than ever before siphoned away into his Links. Dissonance buzzed against his teeth. His Boon of Bonds was still powering his friends’ rise.

Yyero's claws, unseen in the dark, tore through stone into scale and flesh, and Felix screamed even as his mouth was choked by dust and crumbled stone.

You Will Cease This Blasphemy!

Sonata of Dominance.

Stone parted as Felix reached for what Will he had to spare. He surged forward, carried by stone pillars that shoved from behind. Teeth bared, he burst from the rubble and caught Yyero's throat between his jaws.

Release Me!

Felix sank his fangs into the Rotted Lion’s fungal clotted neck before snapping shut and wrenching his head to the side. Yyero leapt away at the last second, gurgling even as he evaded Felix's Empyrean Embrace.

He wasn’t fast enough. New strength flowed into Felix as the tiniest bit of god was swallowed down into his core space.

“Gotcha,” he said, climbing out of the rubble.

You Ascend The Broken Path, Yyero gurgled, his throat already congealing with gilled mushroom caps, staunching the bleeding but feeding the enormous ridged growth that swelled with dark blood.

Felix emerged from the mountain, stumbling and bloody, but healing as Sovereign of Flesh rolled through his limbs.

"Yeah," he said. "What’re you gonna do about it?"

The Rotten Lion roared before leaping forward, his wings propelling him like a bolt of lightning.

Sonata of Dominance.

The fallen stone around Felix whipped forward, forming into clawed hands that slammed into the god of rot. It pierced Yyero’s broken flesh, ripping limb and wing apart and spilling his rotten blood onto the mountainside. The Rotted Lion yowled, pain and fury mingling into an unreasoning aggression. The god did not stop, slowly inching forward as he crumbled the shaping, while Felix’s power dwindled alarmingly.

"I said it before," Felix croaked between clenched teeth, "Elderthrone is mine, and you are not welcome here."

His Will burst wide, held into shape by his Intent and amplified by his Authority as emperor. He found his people all around him, and among their Spirits was a swell of hope that sang to his senses like a healing balm. Reaching through that, buoyed by its power, Felix snapped his ethereal jaws upon the invaders within his city.

Empyrean Embrace!

All at once, every single monster died.

Carrion Nova!

It exploded between Felix and Yyero like a bomb held close to his chest. Felix leapt out of the way, the rot dissolving scale and muscle, yet he avoided the worst of its blast. He pulled the mountain down, shaping it into rivers of clutching hands that tore at Yyero's wings and limbs.

The god panicked within his Vessel, as the stone hands would not relent, no matter how many he destroyed.

“Get buried, asshole,” Felix snarled, before clutching the Rotted Lion. Stone hands entombed the god of rot, yanking him deep into the mountain.

A dark chuckle pulled Felix's attention upward, where Noctis' form, now entirely different, a winged centipede with an empty face, laughed at him.

Yes. It Is Clear Now! You Dwindle And Flare Like A Bonfire In A Hurricane. Noctis’ empty face twisted, and Felix could somehow tell that she was grinning. I See You, Nevarre.

Crimson lightning crashed behind her, slamming into the Dread as it fought atop its waves. Water swirled upward in immense cyclones, spiraling from the surface of the wave until it coiled around each bloody bolt. Lightning sparked, quelled within the acid, until even portions of the black clouds were pulled down into the confluence. The sea itself was fighting the Bloodstorm.

Behind and above, a new cry was taken up, a shriek of joy that rattled across Felix's bond.

They've come!

His Companion flew from the base of the Atlantes Anima, fur charred but screeching in triumph. Behind him, an army flew out of the Bastion on feathered wings. Thalgrym and the Guardian Beasts bellowed into the air as wind, lightning, and flame burst around them like streaming banners. They charged.

Umbral Sculpting!

Shadowbeasts condensed from the darkness, emerging wet and screaming, webbed wings soaring toward the Chimeric horde. They didn’t even reach the first wyvern; blue bolts of force Mana blasted through their swarm, tearing them apart by the dozen.

Then the Chimera and Hatchlings were upon them.

Pit reached out through their bond. I'll take this!

Fiendforge vanished from Felix’s grasp, and his Companion screeched internally as it settled on his Mind and Spirit.

Go! Fight them! Pit sent. I got this!

Freed of his burden entirely, Felix hauled on his connections in every direction at once. Lightning exploded from him, searing through his space like the birth of a star. Noctis was blasted back, her Vessel torn to pieces in the space of an instant.

GAH! Another Vessel in a flash of bloody shadow—a winged horse with dagger-sized fangs. Where Does This Strength Come From?

It Doesn’t Matter! Yyero burst from the mountain, torn and bloody, his wings hanging limp at his side. Carrion Nova!

Felix dodged aside, nimble and free, now that he was no longer weighed down by the force of his Fiendforge. He evaded the eruption of entropic energy as well as the Shadowflay that sliced in his wake.

Sonata of Dominance!

Shadow met tendrils, and his Will crashed against Noctis’—and his Title engaged once more. Boosted, his Willpower hurled the goddess’ power back.

Die, Nevarre! Yyero raged, his wings clotted with gilled mushrooms and dripping spores. He leaped from the mountain, fangs bared, only to be caught up by tendrils of shadow.

Out Of My Way, Sister!

No, Brother. We Have What We Need.

She turned her empty face upon Felix. Her Spirit was pleased for some reason, and Felix didn’t like that at all.

Leave This Wretch To His Paltry Kingdom. It Shall Be Ours Soon Enough.

With a savage slash, Noctis tore open a hole in the sky. The edges of it wavered like heat haze, but the inside was a rippling pool of pure, inky black. Come, You Fool!

Razor tendrils whipped across Yyero’s chest, hauling him despite his roars. We Can Finish This!

They both vanished into the pool of shadow before it winked shut.

"Oh, no," Felix growled. "You're not going anywhere."

Even without Adamant Discord active, he could feel a connection forming between him and the gods. Wrath and hatred boiled through his Spirit, resonating with the fleeing Divinities, until the blue lines hardened into ten-foot thick cables.

A Bond of Enmity Has Been Formed.

Felix seized it and tore open the dark.

He followed them through.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Felix shot through the darkness. It was a rift in the world that reminded him of nothing so much as the tear at the center of the Pool of Halcyon Oaths, with the same heat-shot haze around its aperture. Still, it was a visceral shock when he slammed to the dusty earth just beyond. Ground crumbled like ash beneath his leaden limbs, and his thoughts were sluggish.

Here again. Felix glanced up at the blackened skies and crushed mountains of the Deadlands. He was surrounded by blasted terrain and empty air. The rift back to Elderthrone was behind him, wavering with incredible heat, and his knees creaked as he pressed himself to standing.

Where is it?

The thought was reflexive, because there was no missing the connection he had followed. The Bond of Enmity arced through the crushed grasses and toppled hills, extending for hundreds of feet before it curved out of his sight. Without a word, Felix took off after it.

Sweat beaded his brow, and his breath came fast as he ran, the ground crumbling at each step as if he were jogging through sand. He passed around a hill, spraying earth in his wake as he skidded down a dusty gully and into what may have once been a small forest. Now it was nothing more than a copse of withered trees, little better than charcoal sticks littered across the barren ground.

In the center of it was another rift, and the Bond led straight to it.

Felix approached cautiously, catching his breath. The Bond of Enmity extended through the rift without issue, but he was not going to just leap through. Angry as he was, even Felix knew that was stupid. He sidled closer, lingering at the edge of the tear, heat pouring off the edges like a blacktop in the summertime. There was a pull at his center. The Bond of Enmity wanted him to move forward, as if beckoning him down a long hallway. He resisted.

Through the heat haze of the rift, the Bond split, heading in opposite directions across a city that spread out for miles. Blue-tiled roofs lined with golden caps, steeples, and weathervanes filled his sight. The buildings varied in quality and craftsmanship, ranging from poor hovels to soaring manors, all of them done up in shades of white. Wrought iron decorated the meanest of homes, while gold filigree and statues of white marble filled the courtyards of sprawling mansions. It was a city Felix had never seen before, but one which had been described to him many times.

What was different, however, was that the streets were swelled with fungal growths, filling wide thoroughfares with a rotting jungle prowled by thousands of creatures that, from his distance, looked no more than ants. He knew them, though, for they were the same as what just attacked his city. Horrors and Abominations and shadowbeasts and more. Things he found hard to describe. Insectoid monstrosities and strange shapes that he could not quite make out skittered through the haze of the rift.

Most of all, the tower at the very center and the palace it rose from, gave its location away.

"Amaranth," Felix whispered.

En'cridhe, the Star of Heaven, rose like a spear into the blue sky. He squinted through the heat haze, trying to make out details of the shining palace. Something about the rift interfered with his Perception, but he was almost certain he could see a bronze smudge across the topmost section of the tower.

The Chthonic star. Has to be.

A new Bond swam into his awareness, one that had remained vague and fuzzy for months. Now it snapped into sharp relief. Purple green, green gold, and seawater blue—all of them folded over a deep darkness. Not quite Links, but not far off, either.

Somewhere atop En'cridhe, the three captured Unbound were being held. Those Bonds of connection led directly to there.

The Kobolds and the Sylphaen are still alive. He tilted his ear toward the rift, and they're untouched.

Something about the connection made him sure of that—but where was the Lizard? That thread was absent, not just veiled as it had been in the past, but vanished entirely.

They wouldn't have killed him. They need him. Right?

Felix delved toward his connections, flaring Adamant Discord once again. He could feel the bundle of potent bonds that were the Unbound, they jutted from his center like a fistful of cables, and he counted them again. Eight were clear, with one thicker by far.

"Gabby," Felix murmured, shying away from the thought of his sister. Getting too close to her might risk her position, whatever her plan might be.

Near to her connection, however, he saw a nub. A nub that faded away as it extended away from his center. Felix smiled. The Lizard was still there, but he'd hidden himself somehow. It was not like Gabby’s own veiling, or even the work of the gods to fog up his awareness of the Unbound—for that had to have been the interference he’d noted in the past. This was something deeper.

Could he have a Void Skill, like Abyssal Skein? It would explain how he stayed hidden all this time. If he’d Tempered with it, a Skill like that could be powerful indeed.

The Hierophant, the Pathless, and now the rest of the gods and their minions had been looking for the Lizard with all the powers they could muster. For weeks, if not longer. Staying ahead of gods and their lackeys was more than impressive, especially considering he was right under their noses—Felix wasn’t sure even he could have held out for so long.

The question remained, however: why hadn't they made the captured Unbound into Vessels yet? The fact that he had no answer to that worried Felix. If they had possessed Unbound Vessels, then Felix wouldn't have won the fight for Elderthrone.

Felix clenched his jaw. I'd have died.

He stepped closer to the rift, not quite touching it, as he peered down into the corrupted city. This is what Elderthrone would have become, had he failed today…what it still could become, if their assault floundered. Even so, it was clear that the gods had held themselves back. They weren’t turning the Unbound into Vessels, and they didn’t come at him with everything they had. What, then, were they waiting for?

Caught up in his study of the distant city below, Felix didn’t notice the strangeness. The Deadlands around him stifled his abilities, and the rift itself was a foggy window at best—he didn’t notice the swell of Harmonies until it was too late.

Interloper!

Felix kicked backward, slipping away from the ashen earth as it fell away into nothingness beneath his feet. Yet again, Felix forgot. His stats were hampered, and he only leaped ten feet away.

Not far enough.

The Deadlands deformed around him, and metallic blue hands thrust from the earth. They seized him, the rift to Amaranth sealed, and those disjointed fingers clenched tight until he screamed.

Foolish Ascendent! You Are Not Our Peer!

Godflesh split his black scales, and two dozen fingers curled around his ribcage. Spears of pain lanced through his chest, echoing across not just his Body, but all of his Aspects at once. He couldn't even scream.

You Are A Parasite! A Pitiful Relapse!

Two heads, spun around each other until they were inseparable, split the mountains. They crumbled as the fierce gaze of the Twins fixed on him. Felix sucked in a ragged breath.

“Eat! A! Dick!”

Felix slashed at the hands, lopping off chunks of metal that bled electric light, and a scream sounded from the depths of that empty world.

BEGONE.

The Bonds of Enmity he'd followed were shoved away until they were as impossibly distant as the stars in the sky. His sense of the fleeing gods vanished, and Felix was hurled backward through the collapsed hill behind him, shattering it against his back as bones snapped in his shoulders and pelvis. That did not stop him, however—he flew onward, tumbling across the crushed plains before he hurtled through the rift back to Elderthrone.

It sealed up the moment he passed through, and Felix rocketed to earth, shrieking across the sky like a dark comet. He crashed into the forest below, punching a furrow miles long into the uninhabited wilds. Animals fled as trees snapped and exploded, rocks shattering beneath him, and even the river bursting around his passage before he was buried into the base of a distant mountain.

He laid there for a time, wheezing into the dirt as everything that had happened to him slowly caught up. Agony consumed Felix’s everything, but a tiny part of him still knew how to survive.

S-sovereign of Flesh…

His Skill mustered, its pattern singing into the infinite dark as Essence was consumed to marshal his flagging regeneration. Flesh and sinew knit back together, bones patching themselves as his limbs reset, and his pulped body reformed.

Time faded to haziness, there in his crumbled crater.

Sometime later, he sat up with a groan. He was more tired than he'd been in a long time. His Stamina and Health were full, but that had nothing to do with it. The Vessels had caused him pain. They'd almost made him lose control of his Skills. Almost killed him, even. But that last hit from the Twins… Felix bared his teeth at the sky. That last hit was the real threat.

The Twins had struck at him with much more power and presence than the gods could muster through shoddy Vessels. The Deadlands was clearly far more dangerous than Felix assumed. Just as his claws had sliced through the Twin’s godflesh, their crushing grip and contemptuous hurl had cut into his significance. Siva had done that, too—an attack that wounded him deeper than flesh. Only his Pillars had kept him stable, and the same was true now. His Aspects were rock steady, but they still rang with the impact.

I feel like shit, but less shit than before. He patted his torso, prodding gently. Reaching Grandmaster Tier must have helped.

Felix winced as he climbed back to his feet. If the unchained gods could mete out attacks like that, then they were all in a great deal of danger. He could last for a while, with his Pillars and his ability to stock up on significance…but anyone else would be cut down at the first strike. Which meant that, if the Hierophant cut their chains, his friends had no chance against the gods at all.

Unless they had Pillars.

Fiendforge! Felix almost slapped his forehead in frustration. He quickly checked his core space for the Skill and was relieved to find it still intact. However, it was in chaos.

"Pit," he cursed under his breath. His Companion still held the Skill, but Pit’s Spirit was in disarray. "Hold on, buddy.”

Lightning crashed, and the crater was left empty, save for the dark remains of an emperor’s blood.

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Felix blasted across the sky, lightning trailing in his wake. The wind tore at his slowly restoring Garment. Pit! Give me Fiendforge back!

Are the gods gone?

They are for now.

Without another word, Fiendforge returned to him. Felix immediately secured it, his Intent and Affinity holding tight to its patterned song. The chaos settled immediately as his indomitable Will clamped down, fueling its music.

Air tore at Felix, a sonic boom shattering the clear skies above his city as he fired across Nagast. He reached Elderthrone in a handful of minutes, and he soared beneath the boughs of his Spirit Tree, dropping into the Bastion of Atlantes before thundering down to the roots like a wild gale. Hall after hall, he blazed like lightning, reaching the rooms where he'd left his friends.

Just as the chamber exploded.

Mana sizzled into the hall—shards of ice stabbing through pillars of rock and blooms of fire. Felix threw his hands up, shielding his face from the blast of concentrated elements. Shards of metal and ice hammered into the walls and beams of force vanished, leaving behind craters in their wake. Felix slid to a stop on the cut tiles.

Elowen, panting and glowing from her own telekinetic magic, showed up behind him. "Am I too late?"

Felix zipped forward, dispersing the smoke in a single movement, stopping only as Beef stumbled out into the hallway. "Felix?”

Felix seized his friend by the shoulders, holding him up until Hallow came from behind him. The Graven Aegis was chipped and broken in places. "You're fine? Did everything work?"

"We believe it did," Hallow said.

Behind them, Karys, Zara, and the Chanters also filed out, all of them looking as tired and as ragged as Felix. A few of the Chanters collapsed in the hallway, their snores rising to the rafters. Yin staggered out, blood pouring from his scales, while Vess held him up, worrying over him even as she looked absolutely wrung out.

"Vess, Yin.” Felix stepped up to them. “How do you feel?"

Yin could only offer a growl, and Vess stroked his mane. "He's hurt, but he will live. He fought bravely for us." Her gaze hardened. "What about the threat?"

"You could feel that?"

"We all could," Harn grunted.

"Feel it? Whatever it was nearly ripped me in half," Archie grumbled. "Do you know how hard visualized cables hurt when they slap you on the face? It's a lot."

The others filtered out of the room, injured and tired, but all of them moving, all of them alive. A knot of tension faded from Felix's chest.

"I'm sorry, holding Fiendforge was difficult.”

“Who attacked?" Beef asked, wiping blood from his snout. Hallow handed him a cloth, and he blew his nose loudly.

"Noctis and Yyero.”

“Two of them?" Evie gritted her teeth, hand to her temple. "I thought they couldn't manifest."

"They used temporary Vessels. Shoddy as hell, but more than enough to overwhelm our defenses.”

"At least at first,” Karys said. “They have been beaten back now, and we are currently assessing the damages to the city and our people."

That comment was for Felix as much as everyone else. He gave his Chancellor an appreciative nod. "Right. Don’t worry about all that. You all need some rest. Weaving your Pillars takes a lot out of you. I'm honestly surprised you're still awake.”

Several of them exchanged pleased glances.

“It was hard work, but I got it done,” Archie said. “My hands feel torn, though the skin’s fine. Why’s that?”

“The external mimics the internal,” Zara said.

“My core space, you mean?” Archie looked to Beef and Yin, both of them sporting actual injuries. “That’s insane.”

Felix didn’t disagree. “Karys, see that they're brought to their chambers and have all the food and healing potions they can stomach. I'll make sure they're taken care of. Send the Shadows for the Menders, too." Felix lifted his hands to forestall the irate glares of half of his friends. "To be safe."

"A wise choice, but perhaps the Menders and their trainees would be better spent on the citizens," Vess said. A chanter came up to her and offered an arm, which she took gratefully. "We can wait."

"No, you can't. And I'm not just saying that because I care about all of you." Felix included all of them in his gaze. "We need to ensure your Pillars formed correctly and that you recover. Quickly."

Shadowy figures materialized out of the corners of the hall, as if slipping from the empty dark. "Yes, my lord?”

“Fetch the Menders.”

“At once, my Lord." They vanished.

"Recover," he commanded them all.

Evie and Archie both opened their mouths, but Harn barked a laugh. "Aye, kid, we can do that."

Felix turned, focusing on his Chancellor. "In the meantime, you and I have work to do."

"Yes, your Highness."

After the battle, Heva and her team walked the streets of Elderthrone. Around them, people were lifting their belongings out of rubble and beginning the process of rebuilding. Drinks were shared, laughter and quick stories exchanged between friends surprised to find each other alive. There was a celebration in the air, Heva could feel it, caressing her Affinity. But there was also a sour note of terror. Fear of the gods and their monsters.

With Cade, Stellis, and Merk at her side, Heva studied the city's outer districts. Such devastation had been wrought by the godslaved monsters. They had passed four healing tents in as many blocks, and not one of their number was without a wound. It had been a hard-fought battle from the very start. Heva was tired. She'd already run herself ragged, ensuring her daughter and grandchild were safe after the battle. Now, given leave, she and her team were fairly unsure what to do with it. It was a reward for their efforts, but none of them felt truly at ease. The skies were clear, but for how long?

"Oh, Heva! Hi!"

The Hobgoblin smiled kindly as she caught sight of the young Human waving her down. "Hello, Westin.”

“Still kickin’, kid? I'm surprised with how often you threw yourself at those monsters." Merk looked him up and down, no doubt noting his lack of bandages. "Not a scratch on ya. How's that for fair?"

"Just lucky, I suppose." The young man looked between the four of them. "You all haven't had dinner, have you?"

"Not as such. No," Cade admitted.

"Good, come and sit. You can meet my friends, er, my teammates." None of them had reason to object. Heva was quite hungry. They all were. Soon after, they found themselves with drink and food, surrounded by a team of Arclights who were also on leave. The same team that they had escorted out to the breakwater.

It turned out that they weren’t going to be fixing that anytime soon. When asked why, Westin merely gestured to the wall of water that still rose above Elderthrone. Heva had been ignoring it as much as she could. It swirled there, towering above the walls, moving ceaselessly yet frozen still, a wave that never descended, filled with a darkness that could not be penetrated. The standing order was to steer clear of it entirely.

"Don't trust that water," one of the Arclights said. "I seen it eat people."

"Oh, yeah? Well, the things I saw it eat weren't people, you get me," another Arclight said. He pointed at the immobile wave. "That thing’s on our side."

"True. I saw it eat Horrors and shadowbeasts aplenty," Westin added, "and it sucked back all the acid water from the city."

"Nah, that was the Emperor. He did his magic and pulled it away from us, same as when he devoured a thousand foes."

They had all seen miracles that day. Some were common enough, such as the walls that rose from the earth, or the ballistas that shot off the Fiendstone watchtowers of the city. New, magical most surely, but not so strange as to be gossiped about on street corners.

Other sights, however, were worthy of the songs that Heva had already heard being composed nearby. A married couple with flute and lyre plucked notes into the air, testing verses as they went. She heard their titles for their cascading melodies: The Charge of the Chimera. The Cages of Atlantes. The Legion Victorious. The Devouring Emperor. Titles that evoked memories Heva would not forget for all her days.

"He fought for us all," Merk said. And, for once, it wasn't sarcasm in her tone, but wonder.

Heva smiled. "He always has."

The troubadours' songs coalesced, and people stilled to listen. The song spread, growing in complexity as they added to it on the fly, and the old Hobgoblin watched another miracle. She watched the people's faith grow. She could not explain it, except as a swelling in her own heart, a sound that defied description.

"Who else would fight for us?" Merk said softly. "Not any lordling I know."

"Aye," Cade agreed. "He's a leader I'm proud to follow.”

“He faced the gods for us!" someone cried in the crowd, and people cheered. The troubadours' song grew more energetic, more hopeful.

"A damn fine start to this war," Stellis said. "The gods were no match for the Emperor. What hope have they when we reach Amaranth?"

"To the Empire," Cade shouted, lifting her mug. "To victory!"

Her cry was taken up by everyone, and even Heva lifted her glass. But above the rim of her drink, the wave loomed. She caught it in her peripherals, the swirling shapes in its depths suggesting something she could not name.

She couldn't help but shiver.

CHAPTER SEVENTY

Vess had promised Felix she would rest, but she never specified when. Shortly after he had departed with Karys, she and Yin made their way up the Spirit Tree. Along the journey, they encountered a few Menders who bandaged them and applied salves, leaving them in slightly better condition than before. Vess' limbs still ached, and her head throbbed with a persistent pain she could not ignore, but Yin had it far worse.

His movements were slow, careful not to reopen his wounds where the fangs of conjured Dawn Dragons had torn into him. They walked the entire way, ascending the Fiendstone steps around the trunk of Atlantes. Neither were able to use their Skills without experiencing a healthy dose of pain. It was not the agony of sundering or of botched weaving, but the pain of overtaxed muscles—a soreness that promised growth and greater strength. Or so she hoped.

"That was a close thing, my friend," she said later, enjoying the strident breeze that wrapped around the stairs.

"It was nothing of the sort," Yin protested. "You had the weaving in hand, just as I held the beasts at bay."

She laid a hand on his side, careful of his bandages. "You have my greatest thanks for that, Yin. Without you, they would have torn me apart."

The Dawn Drake puffed out his chest and lifted his chin, his crystalline antlers catching in the fading light. "Yes, I am integral to our foundation, as it should be. Just as you helped me rise beyond my former limits, I am here to help you. Our bond is deep, and it deepens by the moment, little Dragoon."

Vess smiled, but she could not help feeling her Companion's emotions. The Dragons had brought out a lot of dark memories for him. She could almost feel them swirling on the surface of his Spirit. She didn't press him, even though she had no doubt that his Mind lingered on the last time he saw true Dragons. Back when the Dragoons betrayed them, and when his people were slaughtered. That wound had been fading ever since the Hatchlings had been born, but it was still there. She put a hand to the bandages on her shoulder. Merely scabbed over.

"What is this?" Yin roared.

Vess crested the top of the tree where the branches split outward to cradle the Shaper's Sanctum. Nestled around the elaborate Sanctum were strange, root-like sheaths, clinging to the bark in all directions.

Exactly ninety-nine of them.

No. What’s happened to them?

The two of them split apart, Vess hurriedly using her Analyze against each lump. All of them resisted, giving her little information other than the fact that what the Hatchlings were wrapped within was called a chrysalis.

"They seem healthy, but these roots are powerful,” Yin said.

“Chrysalises. I have not heard of such a thing. What is this?”

The Dawn Drake stood among them, staring in thought. "I do not know…but can you not feel it? They’re Evolving."

Vess jerked her head back. "How?"

The branches around them creaked in the breeze, the large trefoil leaves rustling, like a vast audience roaring their approval. The sound went deeper than her ears, though. It plucked at her Affinity, and for the first time, she heard the Spirit Tree. Images of the Nascent Fruit tumbled through her Mind, followed by flowering buds on strong branches. Those buds turned to new shapes, distinct from any Fruit she’d seen the Tree produce. Vess blinked, and the images changed to caterpillars wrapping themselves in chrysalises before they settled against its trunk and branches.

"Are you suggesting," she said to the Tree, "they're Evolving due to the Fruit you gave them?"

The branches creaked. Somehow, she understood that the sound meant ‘yes.’

"Remarkable," Yin said. "Truly remarkable. But they’ve eaten the Tree’s Fruits before. What changed?"

Atlantes stopped moving. Her Affinity quivered, picking up on something she could only describe as…weariness.

"No," Vess told the Tree sternly. "You can sleep when you explain what you have done to these children. Now."

The branches shuddered, recoiling from around her. A trefoil leaf floated down into her hand. It wavered in her grip, like a miniature flag.

Yin laughed. "You've forced a tree to surrender. Now I have seen everything."

Felix eventually made his way to his Shaper's Sanctum, intent on inspecting his Tree, and found Vess and Yin already there. Vess had her shirt sleeves rolled up her arms and she was busy cataloging each of the chrysalises that surrounded his Shaper’s Sanctum while Yin paced nervously between them. They explained quickly enough to him what had happened, as well as the snippets the Tree had been able to tell.

"So they were fed more of the Nascent Fruit. How much more?"

"A lot," Vess said. "According to your Tree, it provided piles of them."

"Oh, jeez. Wait, Atlantes talked to you?"

"It did," Yin said, proud as any father. "My Dragoon speaks Tree."

"Huh." Felix tapped his foot against the bark. "I thought you only talked to me." There was a tired, grumbling impression from Atlantes, as well as a sensation he'd never really felt before: a distinct wariness.

For Vess.

Felix laughed.

Vess narrowed her eyes at him. "What?”

"Nothing. I'm just wondering what you may have found about their Evolution. Do you know what they're going to become?"

"I haven't a clue," Yin said. "This is not the path I designed for myself, but another entirely new development."

"New isn't always good," Felix said cautiously.

"No, but the power they are radiating is," Vess countered. She sighed and stood back up, her notebook tucked into her waistband. "I'm more concerned with how this affects their growth. Will they become true Dragons, or will they instead be shunted off as something else?"

"A worry we share," Yin growled, "but I find myself trusting your Atlantes. It shares our connection to the Green Wilds."

"Ah, speaking of that. Reminds me why I came here," Felix raised his voice, finding that odd intonation within himself he'd used once or twice. "Paxus."

The air blurred before the Nymean man materialized beside his Shaper’s Sanctum, looking as real as anyone else. Yin blew smoke out of his nostrils, but the hot air passed straight through the spirit. He smiled at Felix. "I am here to serve, your Highness.”

"Paxus, how nice to see you," Vess said, smiling with an unusual edge to her Spirit. "I understand you were the one who sent the Hatchlings into battle.”

“Without us," Yin growled.

The spirit's dusky skin paled. "It was not my inclination, but the Hatchlings themselves were champing at the bit to fight. They would have rushed out regardless, and I could not stop them. However, I was able to augment them."

"Augment?" Felix asked.

"Explain yourself," Vess demanded.

"Atlantes offered a greater piece of itself to them in exchange for the defense of its Grove. As Caretaker of the Grove, I was able to facilitate it."

"Grove?" Vess looked to Felix. "What's this?"

"A collection of Spirit Trees united under the Eldest," Yin explained. "You've connected the others together?"

Felix offered a helpless smile. "I did, through the Shadowgates.”

“An ingenious solution, truly. I've never known a Grove to be spread so far or to have Spirit Trees of such varying lineages unite together. I can feel their powers mingling already, enhancing one another. Soon, they will grow well beyond my wildest dreams."

Vess lifted a hand, calling for quiet. "I need clarity, Paxus. What did Atlantes offer my Hatchlings?"

"You know about the Nascent Fruit. There is a new one, far smaller and more dense. The tree was only able to make enough for your Hatchlings, and even then it pushed itself, consuming a great many resources.”

“This fruit⁠—”

“The Anima Bounty.”

“The Anima Bounty. Right. It empowered them?"

"Yes, it gave them a boost to their stats and a bit of extra protection from the Atlantes. It was an aura that reduced all incoming damage by fifty percent."

Vess and Yin exchanged shocked glances. Felix whistled, impressed.

"They were in as little danger as we could manage," Paxus finished, before placing a hand against his heart. "I swear on the Stars."

Vess' expression softened. "I am sorry for the accusations. Trapped as we were in our weaving, I fear anxiety and anger got the better of us. I still do not like that your Tree has interfered with the children, but I accept it was for the best."

Yintarian curled his lip as he stared down at the many chrysalises. "They are willful and combative monsters, this is true. Would this Evolution serve them well? And will that protection continue?"

"The protection was a temporary boost, the aura only lasting so long as they remained awake. Its power was folded into them, however." Paxus knelt by one of the root chrysalises and placed his hand upon it. Where his illusory flesh met rough bark, it was illuminated by an internal radiance, a golden green that pulsed through the roots. "But I believe this Evolution will be potent."

“Can Atlantes make more of this Anima Bounty?” Felix asked. “Fifty percent damage reduction is huge.”

“The Tree is spent. Frankly, I’m surprised it had the energy to make so many in the first place.” Paxus looked proudly up at the branches. “It is a remarkable specimen.”

"What will they become?" Yin asked, his gruff tone threaded with a nervous lilt. “The children.”

Paxus's solid blue eyes met Yin's matching golden ones. "Something ancient… and something new. The Green Wilds found a deep resonance within the Hatchlings."

"Truly?" Yin sounded suddenly eager. Vess gripped his shoulder, and they exchanged a look.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Felix admitted.

"The aim of my pact with the Grim Nightshade was to empower this Evolution," Yin gestured to himself. "A Dawn Drake can be made no other way. Since I and my Companion were intrinsically involved in the Hatchlings' birth, a piece of our significance was transferred unto them.”

“Providing the connection to the Grim Nightshade," Vess added. “And, by extension, the Green Wilds.”

"Right. The big sloth guy.”

Vess quirked her head. "What?"

Felix waved his hand. "Not important. So the Hatchlings are vibing with the Spirit Tree's magic Fruit because they have a piece of your pact in them. But..." Felix paused. "Let me try something."

Unseen Beholder.

Details filtered across Felix's sight, and for a moment, he could peer beyond the chrysalis' edge to see how the Hatchling's new form was changing. "Huh. Grove Wardens," he read off.

“Grove—” Vess looked at Paxus. "What have you done?”

“They are defenders of the Tree?" Yin asked, a growl making his words hard to understand. "You have enslaved them to the Will of a plant?"

"Let me finish," Felix said, loud enough to cut through their sudden anger. He swiped his hand outward, sharing the notification with them all.

Name: Grove Warden

Type: Dragon

Lore: The Hatchlings have chosen to imbue their cores with the power of the Atlantes Grove. Due in part to their deep connection to the Green Wilds, the Grand Harmony resonates with their cores. In return for protecting the Grove, they are granted great power in accordance with their progenitors: Vessilia Dayne, Yintarion of the Cerulean Skies, the Atlantes Anima, and Felix Nevarre, Emperor of Nagast.

Skills: Developing…

"Great power," Yin muttered, and his troubled spirit seemed mollified. "That is good."

"Power is one thing, but what of their freedom?" Vess demanded. "This Lore entry speaks nothing of their Will. Shall they remain bound to the Spirit Trees for all time?"

"I really don't know," Felix admitted, "but none of the Trees seem malevolent, even if they seem to make decisions all on their own sometimes."

“Their Type. Dragon, not draconic,” Yin grumbled, nudging one of the chrysalises. "Will they be true Dragons when they emerge, in a single Evolution?"

"I do not know," Paxus admitted. "This is beyond anything I've ever experienced, and even Abundance has no recollection of Grove Wardens."

"Perhaps sitting here a while will inform us," Yin said, looking around the Shaper's Sanctum. "There is a vibrancy here that I appreciate. The Green Wilds are palpable."

"That's actually why I came up here," Felix admitted. "My plans have evolved since the battle, and I need to discuss a bit of strategy with you both."

Vess folded her arms. "Strategy? Is that not a meeting worthy of the full Chorus?"

"They'll get their updates soon enough, but this is something you three have the most authority on. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Grim Nightshade. Most specifically," he said, leaning close, "how do we go about summoning it?"

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

As exhausted as the Atlantes was, it couldn’t help but express a certain eager joy to Felix after the last few hours around his Shaper's Sanctum. Felix himself was flush with new ideas, but they had to wait until they could finish mustering their forces over the next day.

"I'm still annoyed at you," Felix said to the bark, as he stood there on the thick bough above his city. "Acting on your own, just like with the Nascent Fruit. You need to talk to Paxus. There's a reason he's your Caretaker."

That eager joy barely dimmed at his admonishment. But what could Felix expect from a plant, even a magical one?

He flexed his hand at his side. It still hurt from where the little bastard took his blood.

Grim Nightshade. More like Jerk-ass Sharpteeth. He smiled, not because his dumb joke was funny, but because of the spirit's expression when Felix had told him his plan. It wasn't every day you could surprise a manifestation of nature.

They’d spent a long time hashing out the details of what Felix proposed, with the Grim offering its own dire opinions. In the end, they’d made a deal. In the end, there was hope.

Felix wasn’t about to waste it.

A swift tether of lightning sent him down the trunk. He landed inside the Bastion, near the collar of Fiendstone that acted as stairs and guardrail against the deep fall to the roots. After a final pat against the brown trunk, he descended the steps, entering further into his Bastion of Atlantes and running headlong into Zara, Karys, Darius, and the Farwalker.

"We have the casualty reports, my lord," his Chancellor said.

Felix's heart fell. "What's the damage?"

"There are many dead, but far more are alive. Civilian casualties are miraculously zero. The Legion, Risi, and Dawnguard took the brunt of the violence."

“Yes, but we paid back every life lost,” Darius said, his voice as flat as his Spirit was angry. “Our warriors did not die quietly.”

Felix put his hand on Darius’ shoulder and squeezed. He hated that anyone had died, even as he was thankful for the shield his warriors had provided. “They helped stave off the combined armies of two gods. They were incredible.”

“They were,” Darius agreed, his jaw tight. “And eager to take the fight to Amaranth.”

“We all are.”

"But you are frustrated," the Farwalker guessed.

"Of course I am. We lost good people in this battle, and all they lost was a few expendable puppets.” The more he thought about it, the clearer it became. “They were simply trying to prove they could get to us. To make us afraid."

“Who’s afraid?” Darius sneered at the ceiling, eyes fixed beyond its vaulted material. “The Legions are ready to ride into battle this very moment.”

“As are the Dawnwalkers and Risi,” the Farwalker confirmed. “Battlelord Ari tells me that the clans will be arriving in a few glasses, and all of them are ready for blood.”

They had proof of concept now. Shadowbeasts and the fungal monstrosities could be torn apart by their weaponry and Skills. Felix now knew he could hold off a few Vessels, if they were as temporary as the Rotted Lion.

"What of the plan?" the Farwalker asked. "Do you think it will still work?"

"I do. Zara, what did Isla find?"

"Her battle against the godslave minions was successful. She's certain she can pull off her part in things, and the fledgling Chanters will do their part, as well.”

“Our tactics were proven this day, also,” Darius said. “Needs sharpening. Our ranks were overrun too many times at the wall, but Harn and I have already implemented new measures.”

“Our assault will also emphasize entirely different tactics to a defensive siege,” the Farwalker noted. Darius tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"What about your task, Farwalker?" Felix asked.

"The shadowbeasts dissolved the moment Noctis withdrew from the field," the cowled man said. "Considering their nature, that was not surprising, but we were hoping to capture one of their corpses. Instead, the Dawnguard have been busy dissecting the remains of the Fungal Horrors we've been able to isolate. Arresting their dissolution was simple enough, but we lost more than a dozen corpses to rapid rot before we realized they needed to be elevated from the earth. Without that, they have remained whole.”

“What’ve you found?"

"The Horrors have rudimentary cores, which allows them to grow and Evolve as we saw, but they aren't true. They are balls of oozing pus and ichor that mimic the function of a monster core. This means, when Yyero hits them with his Blightweave, they absorb the power and grow rapidly."

Felix recalled the giant Abominations well. They had nearly towered over the city walls.

"The upside is, the false cores are weaknesses. Destroy them, and the Horror rots away immediately."

Felix liked the sound of that.

Other factors had ended up working as well. The defensive array Mirk Enclosure had driven the enemy's accuracy down by quite a lot. None of them could see it, not unless they concentrated, but the fog filled Nagast entirely for those who were not allied to its ruler.

"That won't do us any good in Amaranth," Zara pointed out.

Felix hummed to himself.

Mauvim clacked her way into the chamber, leaning heavily on her cane. "I apologize for my tardiness. My Chanters are preparing themselves, Your Highness. We've lost none of them to the battle, though a few were terribly injured."

"I'm happy to hear it, though less so about the injuries. Did they get treatment?"

"They have and are resting as we speak. I heard you speak of Amaranth. What of their tower? Do we yet have a plan to counter it?"

"I'm working on it," Felix admitted. "But I'm afraid countering it would mean destroying it."

"I know you have a knack for destruction, Felix, but that is unlikely to happen," Zara said. "Not only must we worry about the Vessels and their puppets, but the wards surrounding the Shining Palace are not to be underestimated. There is a reason why the Chanters have never attacked the place in any meaningful way. Additionally, the core construct of the tower is an artifact built by methods none have ever reproduced. Tern has tried. It withstands all Skills meant to change or destroy its form."

"What does the tower even do?” Darius asked. "Why do we care?"

"En’cridhe, Star of Heaven," Karys said in that metallic rumble of his. "It's an amplifier. In the Golden Empire, it was one of many. They were used to enact grand magics at a scale impossible to achieve alone. From the reports I have gathered, it has been damaged by the passing of Ages and the hand of Ruin. But clearly, it still works."

"Yes," Mauvim nodded. "It was used to enact the summoning that brought the Unbound to the Continent."

"Magecraft," Darius muttered. "I hate it already."

"The Song of Arrival is potent and requires the talents of at least two Paragons to sing," Karys pointed out. “En’cridhe was their crutch. This is likely how they'll use the Chthonic Star as well."

"And we saw that in use already," Zara said, her face darkening. "Alone, it is a force no ward can withstand. All the research the Violet Tower poured into it barely gave them an understanding of how it worked, only that it drew on some sort of confluence of matter that rendered all barriers no less than slag. Tern and Elowen told me of a test they performed in the early days. They bore a hole into their mountain, and there was no residue save for black vapor.”

“From what I can tell, it operates using dissonance and the Grand Harmony itself. It couples them together somehow, but the method is confusing to me," Felix said, his mouth a grim slash. The combination was different from how he utilized both songs in his core. Within himself, there was a balance, one he maintained by necessity, but the weapon was chaos incarnate. “Elowen’s shown me some recreated diagrams, but sadly, her recall is limited."

"Yes, Siva's influence had overcome her own Mind several times. It's made her memory spotty, at best," Zara said.

"A strong weapon," Karas agreed. "Amplified by En’cridhe, however, that's the real threat. Elowen says, if they strengthen it, that weapon can devastate a Paragon with ease."

"What about a god?" Felix asked.

The others traded looks. The fires in Karys’ eyes burned a bit brighter. "If they can eradicate the chains that bind them, which the gods themselves cannot destroy, then it stands to reason they could best the gods.”

“Then we should destroy it," Farwalker said.

"We should use it," Darius objected, staring down at the Henaari.

"Reed, if it can break the chains, then it is a threat to everyone. Those chains are all that stands between us and a return of the Divine wars that ravaged the Golden Empire. If the gods were fully unleashed and able to exert more of their power through their Vessels…"

Darius nodded. "I see your point, but have you considered just killing them all, anyway?"

The Farwalker laughed. "I believe that is Nevarre's plan, is it not?"

"We'll see," Felix said with an uncomfortable shrug. "As it is, I already tried to destroy the Chthonic Star. It didn't take. Still, I hope we can avoid destroying En’cridhe."

Mauvim seemed relieved. "I had hoped the same. It would be an incredible tool if we could wrest it from the Hierophant."

"Forget the gods," Darius said. "If the two Stars are used together, could they stop the Ruin?"

"Stop? I highly doubt it,” Karys said. “Even wounding seems unlikely. The Ruin is a force that seems beyond even the gods. As Felix has witnessed, even the gods fear its wrath.”

“They also can’t break their own chains. This can.” The Farwalker steepled his fingers. “I find hope in that.”

Karys threaded his fingers together, golden metal with black leviathan bone. "Even if it can’t face down the Ruin, securing En’cridhe and the Chthonic Star would be useful regardless. It’s how the Hierophant has conquered so much of the Continent."

Out of the corner of his eye, Felix saw Wyvora step out of a nearby chamber. She leaned closer to the Farwalker's enchanted hood and whispered to him.

"Judging by the forces we fought today, reaching the tower is going to be bloody," Darius said. "Not to mention the third god that will attend to their defense. And we haven't even accounted for Avet in all of this."

"I do not think Avet will be against us," Zara said. "He has aided Felix in the past."

"He's the god of chaos," Mauvim stated. "We cannot trust the whims of a being such as he."

Zara sighed. "You are likely right. But still, this is a fight that Avet would want us to take. Upsetting the gods, overturning their order. That is all very much like the god of revolution."

The Farwalker hummed in surprise. "Truly?"

Felix looked at them both. "What's this?"

"It seems a wave outside the city still remains. And there's a request from its depths." The Farwalker waved at Wyvora, who turned to Felix.

"The Dread wishes to speak with you, my Lord."

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

A cool wind blew, alleviating the scorching heat of summer. Ocalla Marzul stood atop the Star of Heaven. Statues of venerable humans from lost Ages towered above her, their hands reaching out toward the center of the tower. The pristine floor was set with the complicated folds of a true Seat and Seal. Until recently, it had been the only true Seat and Seal. Ocalla gritted her teeth, feeling her empire slipping further and further away from her grasp.

The Subordinate Seals had protected this section of the Continent for centuries, and now they were almost all shattered, stolen by the Fiend. Her Empress title remained, though for how long was a question which she dared not presume to answer. Thankfully, her claims on the newly conquered Neer and Sept Territories meant her Subordinate Seals still numbered eight.

I can still protect them. Her ability to extend the perks of her power across multiple Territories remained intact, even without the Pathless's blessings. She gripped her alabaster staff and studied the radiant sun carved at the top. It was smooth in her hands, like glass, but it was made of far sterner stuff. A relic from ancient Ages passed down to her. Once filled with the might of her god, now it carried only her own Will. That would be enough.

The sigils around her feet gleamed in the afternoon's light, array upon array layered over the Seat and Seal that the ancients had found hidden in the land all those Ages ago. It was her own genius laid there, atop the stolen fumblings of lesser creatures.

No, not stolen. Repurposed for greater glory. Where the fiend would have murder, she would have a sanctuary unlike any ever seen.

She set her staff down, its end tapping against the smooth stone floor as she stared out over her city. A great many changes had been wrought there by the gods and their plan. Nasty, foul things crawled across her pristine capital, tainting it, defiling it. Ocalla ground her teeth. She hated what had become of her city, but it was necessary. For now the people were safe from it all, and as for what was to come—that would be determined in due time.

Chains rattled, and a garbled voice gave a muffled shout. Ocalla smiled at the nearest figure. "Have I disturbed you, princess?"

The winged Sylphaen was sat against one of the gilded pillars around the tower's top. She was afforded a cushioned seat, and though her arms and legs were bound by enchanted chains to the pillar, it was a comfortable prison. She was provided meals thrice daily and all the water she could stomach. The weather wards even kept rain and chill and excessive heat from her flesh.

It would not do to have her broken before her time.

"My, my, what anger! What was that, dear?" She snapped her fingers, and the muzzle around the Sylphaen's mouth opened, the pieces of it folding into itself with a flare of Mana. "Come now, speak up.”

“There is much fear in you, Marzul."

Ocalla frowned. The winged woman had remarkable poise, for someone that had been kept in bondage for days. Perhaps she had been too accommodating. "Do you sense that with your keen Affinity that I have blocked with those chains? Or perhaps it is your Perception, stifled by your collar until it is even beneath Beginner Tier? Hm?"

"You overestimate yourself," the Sylphaen smiled, though none of the warmth reached her eyes. "You are not very complicated."

Ocalla pursed her lips. "I hold you and your ilk. I am backed by the gods and by a nation I have built with my own two hands. I have no fear, Unbound."

"Then why does your hand shake?"

Ocalla tightened her grip around her staff, and the sun at its zenith flared with passive Mana. "Do you know the restraint I must show, demon?"

The Sylphaen didn't answer, but her eyebrows drew downward.

"I summoned you here, but you were intended to be kept creatures. Bound to me and my empire, you would have saved us. Yet you were set free by meddling fools. Allowed to roam the Continent at your vile whims. And you have nearly doomed us all. You are a threat to this world, demon, and were I a purer woman, I would have long since burned the life out of you."

Blazing light played across the sun staff, its alabaster stone filling as if she'd poured liquid gold into its center.

"Burn us," Ondine scoffed. She was sweating. "I know you cannot kill us. You need us for something."

"Yes," Ocalla admitted. "I do."

She gestured, and the binding snapped taut around the Sylphaen's wings, drawing out a pained cry from the impure monster. Ondine tried to flex them, but there was no give to those bindings.

Ocalla showed her teeth, chin lifting up. "Ah, all that roaming, leveling your Skills, even Tempering with the storm itself. Yet you are still reduced to this."

"Why?" Ondine whispered.

Ocalla leaned forward, tucking her long hair behind an ear. "Hmm? Speak up, demon.”

“You said you brought us here to make us slaves to your empire, but why summon the Ruin, Marzul? Tell me that at least."

"No.” With a flex of her Will, the muzzle snapped back into place, and the chains tightened, pulling the princess back against the pillar. Ocalla straightened, letting a thrill of satisfaction tangle among her quiet spirit. "Would you two have anything to add?"

The two Kobolds weren't far off, chained and muzzled just like the Sylphaen. They rattled their manacles and shouted something that she had no doubt was very off-color. "I suppose it was too much to hope for intelligence from youth," she mused. She flicked her finger, and the chains tightened on them as well, snapping them back against their pillar. They yelped in pain, and the noise soothed Ocalla's temper.

She gestured again, and sigaldry across the tower's surface lit up. It flashed across the columns, startling the Kobolds. The Sylphaen's gaze, however, stayed level. Measuring. Ocalla sneered at her as the three of them sank, along with their pillars, down into the surface of the tower.

Fah! Worthless chaff. She knows nothing of my Will, of what must be done.

The moment the pillars settled into place, and the tower's surface was smoothed and unmarred by their poisonous presence, Ocalla thrust her staff into the air once more. A ripple shot outward from the alabaster sun, nearly invisible to the naked eye, but it screamed across her Affinity. It was a call, and it did not take long for it to be answered.

Shadows and the scent of decay swept up with the wind. A beast that was more wound than lion landed heavily upon the tower. Slithering beside it came a faceless Harpy made of shadow, its wings nearly plucked clean, despite the bloody lightning that played between them.

You Presume Much To Summon Us, As If We Were Pets At Your Beck And Call.

“I felt your rift,” she said simply.

Did You Now? Noctis asked, tilting her empty head. Isn't That Curious?

“More curious is where you have been. You were to hunt down the Lizard, were you not?”

The Servant Dares Question The Master? A piece of mushroom crumbled against Yyero’s eye socket as flesh regrew. The beast seemed filled with wounds, all of them packed with fungal growths that were slowly morphing into fur and flesh. You Forget Your Place, Marzul⁠—

“And you forget your purpose!" she snapped back. "Where's the Lizard?"

Beneath Your City, Hiding In Refuse And Slime. Yyero shuddered, a clenching pleasure fluting through his Spirit. The Titan Hunts Him Still. She Is A Potent One. A Perfect Vessel, Were She Not Tainted.

Order And Light…Worthless, Noctis said, her voice honeyed as she stared at Ocalla. The Titan Will Find Him Soon, I Have No Doubts.

“And where did you go?" The Hierophant asked. "What manner of doorway did you open into the heart of my realm?"

Watch Your Tone, Servant! You Stand In The Presence Of Divinity. Hmph! With Only The Coward Remnant As Your Example, It Is Little Wonder At Your Presumptuousness.

A Visit, Yyero interrupted, licking his paws. To Elderthrone.

"Nevarre," Ocalla all but shouted, though she did not miss the way Noctis stared daggers at her brother. "What has he learned? What have you done?"

Learned? Yyero laughed. Nothing Of Consequence, Save Fear.

As if the word called it forth, the skies darkened, not as when the sun had blackened, but as if the entire world dimmed. A split opened in the air to the left of them, blazing with heat and revealing a blurred landscape beyond. Ocalla could make out little, though she tried until her eyes burned with the effort.

Through it, however, a vast creature of metallic blue strode from an impossible distance. It slipped through that space, making no sense to her eyes as it twisted and spun, contrary to all laws of the world, until the Twins crowded on the other side of the rift. Their entwined bodies creaked, even as the angles of their many joints twisted unnaturally.

Ocalla jerked in surprise. Where the others were shadows, the Twins were substance. The force of its presence, even peeking through the rift, was enough to make Ocalla take a step backward.

They're still bound! Where do they get the strength?

Foolish. The Twins’ four eyes pivoted to stare at the temporary Vessels on the tower. We Play Our Hand Too Soon.

It Was A Test. Noctis turned to the bent metal that was the dual god. He Was Growing Too Fast To Leave Unchecked.

And How Many Of His People Did You Kill? How Many Cities Were Burned?

Noctis hesitated. The City…Was Saved, But Dozens⁠—

Hundreds! Yyero shouted.

Yes, Hundreds Of Lives Were Lost.

Though their face did not dimple or furrow, the fury upon the Twins' visage was impossible to deny. Two Gods, And You Managed Nothing More Than A Scratch Against Him.

There Were Unforeseen Setbacks, Noctis admitted. Another Piece Of Veridaan's Blood Was There. It Served Navarre.

The Twins' rage ceased as if it had never been, and it leaned against the rift, silent. Ocalla wasn't sure what their words meant, not exactly, and her anger grew by the moment for being left out.

"What is this? Who is Veridaan?" she demanded. The gods, however, ignored her.

Why Has He Not Devoured It Yet? the Twins asked.

We Aren't Sure, But I Think It Is Because The Boy Is Afraid, Yyero said.

The Twins laughed, a bitter, metallic sound. He Clings To Mortality. Their eyes fixed on the others, pinning them in place. Let Us Hope This Attack Has Not Inspired Him To Make That Leap.

"You claimed that Nevarre would never be a threat to you," Ocalla said, confronting the Twins.

That Is Correct.

“Then why do you sound afraid?"

The silence lasted only a moment before Noctis and Yyero growled and shrieked, their anger followed by the impotent crackling of bloodied lightning. Yet when the Twins spoke, all of them fell quiet.

Nevarre Dabbles With Things He Cannot Understand. Even If He Consumed This Blood Beast, He Would Not Reach The Heights Required To Truly Challenge Us…So Long As The Ritual Is Complete. That Is Why My Focus Is Here. Not On Nagast Or Any Of The Mortal Empires To The South.

To Add Surety To That, Noctis added, her empty face lifted as if staring down her nose at the Hierophant. Nevarre Has Ascended The Broken Path.

The Twins turned toward her, their four eyes burning like fallen stars. How Far Does He Walk?

Far Enough To Be Snared By The Bonds Of Fellowship.

Much to Ocalla's surprise, the Twins laughed again. It was still bitter, hard, and sharp. The Trap Of Divinity.

A pit dropped in Ocalla’s stomach. “You're telling me that this boy is beyond Paragon?"

No. This Is Separate From Your Mortal Advancements, Yyero sneered. If He Is Stepping Toward Divinity, It Is But The Smallest Of Ascents. For All That He’s Devoured Siva, He Retained Naught But A Sliver Of Her Godhead. He Makes Poor Use Of It, The Fool.

“A fool who has successfully warded off two Vessels."

Crude Projections Only, Noctis asserted, gesturing to her shadowfleshed self. The Barest Touch Of Our Power Nearly Overwhelmed His Vaunted Elderthrone. Were We Loosed In True, We Would Crush His Empire Into Dust.

"For all of our sakes, I hope you're correct. If he reaches godhood before he comes for us, I can do nothing to stop him. And I doubt you could, either, true Vessel or no."

We Questioned Before, Yyero said. But Now We Are Certain.

“Why?” Ocalla asked, narrowing her eyes. "What about his nearing Divinity is a benefit to us? What are the Bonds of Fellowship?"

A strange giggle echoed from Noctis's empty face. To Approach The Summit Of The Broken Path Is To Invite A New Weakness Into Oneself.

"Weakness?" Ocalla had never heard such nonsense before. "A god is beyond weakness.”

At Our Start, We Are All Touched By Frailty. Shedding Our Mortality Takes Its Toll.

"Explain."

Felix Nevarre Has Formed Bonds Of Faith With His People. Noctis laughed. They Are A Drain On Him.

"Is the same not true of you?"

Mortals, Yyero scoffed. Their Thoughts And Prayers Are Meaningless Unless We Answer. Nevarre Has Not Yet Learned That Lesson.

Ocalla took a moment to soak up the new information. "Bonds. How do they work?"

Power Accumulated Is Spread Among The Faithful. They Will Hold Him Back, For Not Only Does He Lack A Compact To Order His Bonds, But He Knows Nothing Of Them. Push Him Hard Enough, And His Power Will Falter.

Ocalla was following now. "And what's to stop him from refueling? He can consume power in an instant."

The rotted lion split open, its face shedding fungal growth to bear row upon row of bloody corpse teeth in a rictus grin. Leave That To Me.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

The night was balmy and loud, with the sound of insects chirping across the velvet skies as if nothing in the world were different. Felix knew otherwise. His Body had recovered from the fight with the gods, and so had his Mind, but his thoughts could not quite escape what he’d witnessed.

There, on the balcony atop the Bastion of Atlantes, Felix sought comfort in the susurrant sonata of a summer evening, cut generously with the murmur of voices assembling in the Hall of Songs just below. He ran his fingers over the Chalice strapped to his hip. The lip of the cup was by turns faceted and smooth, sharp and then rounded. It changed with every heartbeat, the nature of it unsettled, chaotic.

It had been four days since he'd found the Chalice. Four days in which he'd prepped and gathered and done everything he could to be ready. Three more days remained until the binding cooldown ended.

It was too long.

The attack on Elderthrone and his brief glimpse into Amaranth made it clear that the gods were not idle. The Unbound might have been safe for the moment, but how long would that last? They would catch the Lizard. It was inevitable.

For the fiftieth time, Felix replayed the conversations he'd had with the gods. Every word was recalled perfectly, even as it drove him to grind his teeth together, yet nothing of what they said revealed a plan. They taunted, pressing him for something he couldn’t pin down. Noctis and Yyero both spoke of the Bonds of Fellowship and his Links to his friends.

They seemed delighted by them and had tried to disrupt his efforts to hold Fiendforge. Was that just to stop his friends from weaving their Pillars? How would they have known? Moreover, why would they have cared? A few more Master Tiers wouldn’t make a difference in the fight against unchained gods.

Unchained. The word loomed large in his Mind. They had the Chthonic Star, but their chains remained. That could only mean they were unable to break them…or were waiting for something.

What was their plan?

Felix cast his attention inward for a brief moment, dropping down to the roots of his Divine Tree to check on the skull fragment that clung above his abyss. He tapped it with his Intent.

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan.

Progress: 12%

Felix opened his real eyes as the chorus of night resumed around him. The absorption had only advanced a single percent when he'd first found the fragment within himself. Yet, after his talk with the Dread, it had leapt up by ten whole points.

“You better be right about this,” he muttered.

The Dread had told him a great many things, most of which he wasn't sure he believed. It was clear, however, that there was more than a little truth in its words—and that was terrifying.

"Felix?" Karys' voice lifted up the steps behind him. "They're ready for you."

"On my way."

The Dread’s words could wait.

He had a war to start.

Felix settled into his Chimera-carved chair, with Pit sprawled behind him in his immense size. A circular table spread out before them, filled with the accumulation of leadership across all of his Territories and allies. He briefly glanced around the room, taking stock of who had answered his summons.

Battlelord Ari was there, of course, as was Chancellor Kimaris of Khalheim. They sat more than twice the size of the largest of their allies, their blue skin and white hair stark against the features of the rest. Karys had provided them both with custom-built chairs, modified for their immense stature. Kimaris smirked at Felix across the wide table, raising her goblet.

Zara and Mauvim sat alongside a handful of their Chanters. The latter leaned against the table, her face quietly considering everyone else, save for when one of her Chanters whispered something in her ear. Zara, meanwhile, chatted animatedly with Harn and Evie, while Vess, Beef, and Atar shared a drink. Alister and Elowen laughed at something Archie said, while the thief himself looked inordinately proud. Yin and Hallow were there, too, though they were set back from the rest, as they were too large to fit at the massive table.

Darius Reed sat just beyond his friends, representing the Legion at the Chorus. Standing attention behind him were the Firsts of Fist, Blade, Arclight, and Bone. They were silent and steady, eyes scanning the room constantly for threats.

Chancellor Klzix—representing the Yttin and Ahkestria—gestured for Darius to eat with him. The wrapped legs on the slender Yttin’s back wriggled in delight as the commander took a leg of some sort of fowl and bit into it. Lavix was beside them, representing the Deepking and Nagafolk, and she had two handfuls of some sort of fish. She laughed at a joke Yin muttered, nearly falling out of her chair. If Chancellor Dayne of Pax’Vrell and the Dragoons was uncomfortable next to the giant snake, he hid it well, merely sipping his tea as conversation flitted around him.

Chancellor Lavin of Gharion sat stiffly in her chair next to the old Dragoon, her face serious and her armor travel-stained, showing signs of wear that made Felix certain she took it off about as often as Harn did. She spoke to no one, though she glanced at Dayne more than a few times. The Farwalker and A’zek represented the Henaari, of course, and the hooded man was trading soft comments with the elderly Elf of Levantier. Tern chuckled, his hands gesturing, and Lavin barked a laugh. She looked just as surprised as the other two, before they all dissolved into smiles.

Notably, there was not yet a Chancellor for Jaast. The jungles were too wild and scattered to have figured all of that out quite yet. None of the Lucent Tower Masters were in attendance either, though they had arrived with Tern. Felix didn't particularly trust any of them enough. Tern would more than suffice for their representation.

“The Hall of Songs resonates with your voices,” Karys said. His dark hand beat against a metal plate set into the table. Instead of a wooden gavel, it rang out like a bell, slicing through idle conversation. His golden metal form was draped in a black stole of office, marked with the House Nevarre crest.

"Let the Chorus be heard.”

Felix forced a grin. “Welcome everyone. I trust your travel through the Shadowgates wasn’t too terrible?”

“No, that little city in there was quite interesting,” Klzix said, his mandible clacking. “So wondrous and strange.”

“An impressive construction to be sure,” Tern agreed. “Though mental Skills are more versatile than reality. This Bastion, however, is quite the structure. Did you pull this from the bowels of history as well?"

Felix smiled. "No. It was a concerted effort by the community here in Elderthrone. I provided the bones, you might say. It was everyone else who made it what it is now."

"It is quite beautiful," Chancellor Dayne said, and there was a muttering of approval and agreement amongst the table.

"Beautiful," Felix echoed, casting his glance upward at the vaulted ceilings, Mana crystal chandelier, and ornate windows. "Yeah, it is that. The Bastion of Atlantes is a perfect example of what we can do together, if we try. I’ve gotten nowhere in this world without my friends and allies."

“We didn’t kill a god, my Lord,” Lavix pointed out. “We didn’t make you an emperor, either.”

“That’s not true.” Felix shifted in his chair, all too aware that it looked very much like a throne. "I united the Territories, I defeated our enemies, and time after time, I restored what was once Lost. But like this Bastion, I didn’t build this empire alone, and I cannot lead it that way, either. All of you are what makes this empire work. Without the people, I am nothing more than a tyrant."

He bared his teeth. "And you know what we do to them."

A sharp cheer went around the table, their Spirits lifting like bloody blades.

“Our first order of business here is an update," Felix began, spreading his hands. "I'm sure you're all wondering about the gods and their armies."

"To say the least," Kimaris interjected, "I wish they would return, so that my armies can bathe in their rotten blood."

"You'll have your chance," Felix assured her. "I've seen Amaranth. Their streets are overflowing with the same minions we face today. And worse."

"You've seen Amaranth?" Dayne asked, folding his thick arms across his powerful chest, crinkling his soft, silken shirt. "How?"

"The Vessels escaped through a rift after our battle. I followed."

"You went to Amaranth? How were you not captured?"

"It's complicated. I followed, but I didn't go the whole way, then I was kicked out." Felix tried not to adjust his posture as phantom pain echoed down his spine. "But I saw enough."

"What is your assessment of their defense?" The Farwalker asked. "Can we reach our objectives?"

"No." Fear shivered through the Chorus, but Felix didn’t care. They all had to know the risks. To accept them. Otherwise, this entire effort was pointless. "We won't be able to do it with the plan as we've discussed. All of you have received my preliminary orders, but in order to survive what I've seen in Amaranth, those have to change. In fact, they already are." Felix leveled his gaze on Chancellors and leaders alike. "The only way to keep another attack from happening is to move. Tonight."

"Tonight?" Mauvim looked aghast at her Chanters. "So soon? So many of us are still preparing."

"Prepare faster," Felix commanded.

"We cannot protect Elderthrone, even if we fill it with an army. The gods will only return, stronger than before," Darius added. "Now even our sea-bound protector is gone."

"I noticed that wave had gone away." Evie scratched her jaw. "Where's the big squid?"

"Like Darius said, Elderthrone is vulnerable," Felix leaned back, forcing himself not to drum his fingers nervously. "The Dread protected us during the attack, but that protection has ended."

Vess looked to him, concern painting her Spirit. "Is it dead? Did you..."

"No. Still, when we leave here, we're leaving the city undefended."

"We don't have a choice," Darius rumbled. "We can't win against the Hierophant if we leave anything in reserve.”

“Aye,” Harn echoed. “There’s nothin’ to be done save attack with all we got.”

Concerned murmurs broke out among the table.

“The commanders are right. All of you must know that." Felix looked across the circular table, meeting everyone's eyes. "We can hold nothing back in this assault. And when we leave, we do so with the knowledge that we might not be coming back."

"Hey," Evie interjected, banging her fist on the table. "We're in this fight."

"Until the end," Beef agreed with a nod. Hallow lifted a crystalline fist, and Harn grinned.

"What the brute said," Alister added, and Alister gave a short cheer.

Archie just looked nauseated.

"Very good," Felix said, fighting down a grin. He saw agreement across every single face at his table. "We’ll be leaving tonight. Forces have already mustered here, and the Chancellors Klzix and Lavin have both informed me that our people are nearly ready in Gharion."

"Why do we head to Gharion?" Battlelord Ari asked, his twenty-five-foot tall body nearly as out of place as Pit's furry bulk. "Why not take the Shadowgate directly to the enemy?"

"There is a Shadowgate in Amaranth," Karys answered, just as they had arranged. "We have identified it, and the way is cleared, thanks to Emperor Nevarre's efforts. But the gods know of the Shadowgates now. Already, Yyero tried to infiltrate through Jaast. We cannot risk opening the one in Amaranth, otherwise we put every life here in jeopardy."

Lavin cleared her throat. "My people are marshalling in the capital, and the Deepking has already sent the majority of his forces north. We are ready, my lord."

"He's left a token force in Haestus Temple," Lavix added, adjusting her scaly body atop her own custom-made seat. "Garox is prepared for our arrival in Haestus.”

“How are we all fittin’ through the gate?” Harn asked. “That place is underwater, not to mention tight as a merchant’s purse."

"It is," Lavix agreed, "but the Deepking has already proffered a solution.”

The former Knight Commander smirked. "He calls it his penance for betraying the Returned God. He will agree to anything you ask of him."

A few people at the table exchanged curious glances, but Felix ignored them. Instead, he nodded at Tern, who was frowning. "You have something to add, Chancellor?"

"How has the plan for assault changed? I will admit the attack on your capital has shaken some of my people. They’ll want reassurances.”

"Tell them to pull on their big boy pants," Pit growled. "It's time to bring the pain."

A’zek and Yin roared in agreement.

"I’ll address all of your fears right here and now. In a glass, however, we’ll begin transfer to Gharion. From there, we’ll proceed with the assault as originally planned." Felix nodded to Tern, his smile wide. "Except for a few…minor adjustments."

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

"I am coming with you," Vess stated firmly and without question.

Felix sighed. They stood by the Shadowgate to Gharion, preparing the final touches before their departure. It had only been an hour since the Chorus had resolved, and things were moving fast.

Legionnaires ran around him, carrying barrels and crates that were lashed down onto platforms fitted with wide, leather-wrapped wooden beams across the top. They were designed to be carried by Chimera, an idea proposed by Beef, of all people. Felix was glad that Thalgrym had agreed to have his people cooperate. It would make transport far easier.

The crates contained basic supplies: food, water, weaponry, the things that an army ran on. But they were also packed full of specialized equipment. Dozens were marked with the colors of the Lucent Towers, while others were sloppily scrawled with the golden peak of Khalheim, indicating that they were intended for the giant's particular kind of magic.

Chanters were frantically sorting their own satchels and bags, which clattered with the sound of stone and metal as they piled them atop yet more platforms. Not everyone was assembling down at the roots of the Tree. There simply wasn't space. The rest were atop the cliff just outside the Bastion's gardens, gathering the rest of what they required for their march through Gharion.

"I told you already, Vess. I need you with the other team. You have to lead⁠—"

"I will lead them when we reach Amaranth. Until then, I am by your side."

"Vess." Felix put his hands on his hips. "I'm not heading into Amaranth alone because I want to. I need to. With what we're facing, I can't have you there."

"You can. Someone needs to watch your back, and you are leaving Pit behind."

"Pit's agreed to this, too. You know the plan."

"I do, and it is foolhardy. Taking on Amaranth alone, even for a moment, is risking more than death. It's risking capture."

"I know," he said, forcing his voice low. A few people had slowed down as they passed, their ears perked and eyes looking anywhere but at them. "I'll be clearing the way, and I can do that far better if I'm alone."

Vess snorted. "You are strong, Felix, but no plan survives first contact. You will need someone to help you."

"I said no.”

“It is lucky that you do not command me, your highness. Otherwise, I might have to listen to that nonsense." She spun on her heel. "I am coming with you."

Vessilia Dayne, Dragoon of Pax’Vrell, stalked away. If she were a cat, her tail would have been bristling. As it was, Felix had a feeling she was moments away from summoning her Spears.

Felix let out a long and worried breath. She cared about him as much as he cared about her, which was why he was so terrified to have her with him. Vess wasn't wrong. He was risking a lot for this plan. But he was used to risking himself. He couldn't ask that of her.

Which was why, he supposed, she didn't give him a choice.

Why do I find that attractive?

I don't know. But if she's going, I'm going, too.

Felix groaned. Not you, too, Pit. You're my point of contact. I need you with the army.

Hundreds of feet above him, through rock and root, Felix could feel the big Chimera stomp his feet in frustration. Fine. But make sure you save some monsters for me.

How about a god or two?

Now we're talking.

Their bond dimmed as Pit turned his attention elsewhere, and Felix squeezed the bridge of his nose. So much for being an emperor. He could barely get his dog to listen to him.

In a small house in the Scale District, beneath the painted eaves and flourishing blossoms planted across the roof, Harn stood studying the dark streets through his front window.

"Are you okay?" Palin asked, stepping from the kitchen behind him.

"Yeah," he said. "Just thinkin’."

"About what?" she prompted, as she always had to. Harn was prone to quiet contemplation. He'd never spoken much, not with anyone, but Palin always had a way of drawing the words out of him.

He grunted. "About war. We just had a battle here, and yet the streets are so peaceful. Can you hear it?"

She stepped closer to the window, drawing up to his side and entwining her hand in his. Her fingers were calloused, but her palms were soft. They were the marks of her trade, as was the surprising strength with which she gripped him.

"I don't hear anything," she said.

Harn did. There was the silence, but it was a layered thing. The quiet of the night, the soft insects chirping between the cracks of houses, the faint swoop of bats, eager for dinner. Beneath that was a stir of wind, and a rustle of the sea that still lingered too close to the city. In the distance though, was a song.

Palin's face changed as she caught it, too.

"They're celebratin’ in the market," Harn said. "Celebratin’ bein’ alive. It's a good sound. I'm glad I got to hear it."

"Now, don't you be getting any ideas, Mr. Kastos. You're sounding too maudlin for my tastes. Here.” She held out a pendant hanging from a fine steel chain. It was shaped like a small golden ball held in a pewter cage. Harn leaned forward, and Palin quickly fastened it around his neck.

"This belonged to my mother. If you're ever in trouble, crush it, and it will heal you up a bit. She called it her second chance."

Harn held it up. The ball rang slightly against the pewter cage, like a tiny bell.

"I'll see it back in your jewelry box when I return," he promised, brushing hair out of Palin's face.

"Yes, you will." She gave him a kiss. "I'll not have more parts of you lopped off. There isn't so much to go around as all that."

"The important parts will come back," Harn assured her with a grin. "I know how you love this ugly mug of mine."

Palin kissed him again. "Yes, I do." She sniffed, stepping back from him.

"And Evie," she called. The girl stepped out of the kitchen where she had been amassing a pile of food into a rickety tower on a lone platter.

"Yeah," she said through a mouthful.

"I want you to have this." From her waist, Palin pulled a knife in a plain leather sheath. It was a heavy blade, curved and wicked. But Harn could tell at a glance how well balanced it was, how sharp.

"This is my favorite blade. I cut a lot of carcasses up with it, so it's got an edge and durability to boot. It'll serve you well."

Evie swallowed and set her platter down, pieces of it falling onto the table. She wiped her hands frantically on her jerkin.

"I, of course, thank you," she said, her voice small. "I'll make use of it." With a few quick movements, she cleared space on the bandolier across her chest and tucked it there, close to her heart.

"Thank you," she said again. This time, Harn didn't need Affinity to tell that she was moved. The girl grabbed her platter and hustled out of the room, retreating back to the kitchen.

"That meant a lot to her," he said.

"She's so much like you. Holds everything close to her chest." Palin sniffed. "You make sure that girl comes back too, old man."

"Why? You need that knife back?"

Palin smacked him. Harn caught the blow against his chest and held her hand there.

"We'll be back."

Outside the garden of the Bastion, the Legion mustered. Arclight, Bone, Blade, and Fist arrayed themselves into wide columns. Their commanders organized the forces and the order in which they were to march. Beside them stood the Fiend’s Claw, all five Talons in their purple cowls, standing separate from the Legion. These were elite forces, capable of handling greater tasks. The least of them were Journeymen Tier, and the strongest had reached Adept.

Felix watched them all assemble from his perch at the edge of the Bastion. He made note of his own Shadows as they prowled around the base of the structure, trying their best to ensure his safety. Soon they too would join the fighting force to act as scouts for the Legion. They were quite capable at that.

The Henaari Dawnwalkers gathered nearby, those who were not a part of the Legion itself, as well as the Frost Giants. Those two groups helped fill the empty field beside the river, freezing sections of it just by their very presence as they mingled among themselves, talking loudly and laughing.

What caught his eye most, however, were the Chimera and the Guardian Beasts captained by Thalgrym and Scylla, and led by the Stormlord of Sunara. As Felix stepped onto the field, Pit wiggled a wing in his direction, beckoning him closer. Felix stepped through his people, and they gave way, bowing deeply as he passed. He kept his expression as pleasant as he could, waving to folks and calling them by their names. A wake of positive emotions rippled behind him, each name remembered earning a spike in their Spirit that earned another and another. He couldn't ensure that these men and women would survive the fight to come, but he would have them know they were appreciated.

"Felix,” Pit said, raising his head up to his full twenty-foot height. “I wanted to officially introduce you to Thalgrym, the leader of Euphonia."

Felix stopped before the large wyvern. The guy was smaller than Pit, but he was still massive. His scales and mane of feathers were darkly colored, and his Spirit hung about him like a granite cliff. “We met briefly at the Hall of Songs. It is good to meet you, Thalgrym.”

"Felix Nevarre. I've heard much about you. Some from your people, most from the Stormlord.” Pit preened at Thalgrym’s words. “They've all spoken of your power, but I must admit to being impressed that you fought off two Vessels at once."

Felix inclined his head. “Thank you. I’m happy your people arrived when they did. You provided me the moment I needed to turn the fight around."

“We only wish we had arrived sooner. We had only just seen off your man Mervin atop our Manaships. Another favor we greatly appreciate.”

"I was happy to. Did he successfully access the Dark Passages with your ships?”

Scylla spoke up, her feathers bright in the small hours of the night. "Yes. Exemplar Mervin opened the Dark Passage within Sunara with ease.”

“And they all fit?"

"Indeed. The Exemplar was required to empower a few of our Guardian Beasts with his might, but once done, every Manaship fit into them. They are headed to Pax’Vrell now, as you ordered.”

A small weight lifted off of Felix’s heart. His upgraded Skill and Titles had expanded the scope of his abilities to traverse his Territories, but he wasn’t entirely sure how it would manifest. The fact that Mervin had managed to fit several massive ships into a Dark Passage was a win.

Thalgrym rumbled. "Pax’Vrell. Why not take the shortest route to the edge of Amaranth Territory?”

“They wouldn’t do us any good there,” Felix said. “If they can reach Pax’Vrell within the day, then we have options.”

“I have heard of your Dark Passages and their marvels. The ships that the Stormlord uncovered in our Territory are remarkably fast. This will be done."

"Good." Felix jerked his chin at the assembled wyverns and tenku. "I noticed that you have far more Chimera than Korvaa or Sylphaen soldiers."

"That is true. While many wish to fight, our people are unused to large-scale battles. The Chimera are born for it, and we have protected the sky for long Ages. I brought with me our very best."

"As have I," Felix said. "What would you say to combining them?"

"How do you mean?"

Felix gestured to the Dragoons that were mustering nearby. A number of captains with plumed helmets led columns of armored spearmen in elaborate scaled armor. At their head was Chancellor Dayne, his own pauldrons engraved with gilded dragons so that they coiled up against the House crest on his breastplate—a swirling design that resembled an upthrust spear.

Felix caught his eye, and the Chancellor stepped forward, entering their conversation. He inclined his head to Thalgrym. "Well met, Chimera."

"Well enough, Human.”

“Chancellor Dayne leads the Dragoons," Felix said. "They're elite soldiers that have trained in aerial combat extensively. Once, they rode dragons. Today, I'd hoped that you would allow them to expand your numbers."

Thalgrym stilled, his large eyes studying the tall Chancellor. "I see. And what if we find this suggestion repugnant? Will you strike me down, Emperor?"

"No, I wouldn’t. But is this because of Vess’ Dragon Bond?" Felix asked.

“That is his daughter, is it not?”

“She is my daughter, yes,” Dayne interjected, lifting his chin. “What of it?”

“Hrm. We mean no disrespect, Dragoon.” Thalgrym clacked his teeth. “Our people do not forget what damage Companions wrought upon our numbers. To stray toward that is an easy path to power and a sure way to extinction."

"Worry not, friend Chimera. The Dragoons do not seek a Companion bond. We have our own complicated history with those." Dayne grimaced, but it was a light thing. A politician's affectation, perhaps, though Felix had no doubt the man was thinking of his daughter. "We do not seek to bind our people to yours. This is a temporary arrangement. And a tactical one."

Thalgrym studied the older man for a time, the feathers on his neck rising and falling with each great breath he took. "Is this an order from the Emperor?"

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Does it have to be?"

"No, but I wish to see if you'd push your Will upon us.”

“I can't make you fight together. I can only suggest what I see as a better path."

The tenku grumbled—a thunderous sound in his great barrel chest. "A fair request. Yes, Dragoon, we can make this happen."

Dayne bowed, bending at the waist entirely, lowering his head. For the first time since the man had taken a knee in front of Felix. "You honor us."

Thalgrym chirruped, curious and surprised.

"I'll leave you to it," Felix said, smiling at them both before stepping back.

"Your Highness, how wonderful it is to see you on this fine evening."

The unctuous tone made Felix's lip curl involuntarily well before he recognized its owner. "Ah, Grandmaster Aquamarine. Carmine. Where are the other Tower Masters?"

"Verdant, Onyx, Cadmium, Rime, and Amethyst are busily organizing our vast and mighty forces," she said, gesturing back toward the wide plain next to the river. "It took some time to muster ourselves and traverse your Shadowgate. A shame we could not reach you during the Battle of the Wave."

"Is that what they're calling it?"

"So we hear. Our mages ache for not being able to show off their might against the baleful gods."

"Mm-hmm," Felix said, noncommittally. "How many have come with you?"

"Master and Adept mages have joined us from all the towers in Levantier." Carmine stroked his goatee. "Not all Towers wished to participate, but we have been persuasive."

"How persuasive?" Felix asked.

"We have two hundred Masters and five hundred Adepts."

"Impressive.”

Carmine puffed up. “Not to mention full companies of our Mage Guards from every Lucent Tower, equipped with all the enchanted armor and weaponry we could find. They number ten thousand."

Felix had already heard these numbers from Tern, but they were still impressive. "I truly do appreciate it.”

"But of course. Levantier stands behind the Fiend," Aquamarine smiled at him. Her slender features were almost Elf-like. "Anything for the Empire."

She was almost good enough to hide her Spirit from him. Almost. Frustration simmered beneath her veneer of agreeableness, along with a rumbling current of greed. Felix supposed they couldn’t all be saints. "I'm happy that Vilas has been able to convince you all. Your help will be needed."

"We had a lively debate, but the matter has been settled," Carmine agreed. "Our strength is yours, your Highness."

The two Grandmasters spoke of a few more details, mostly bragging about how many they brought from their Towers and how strong they were. Then they begged off, returning to their mages and soldiers with their heads held high, soon to be swarmed by the other Tower Masters as they played their little games of politics.

Felix didn't trust the Grandmasters to be anything but power-hungry. That's why he'd authorized Tern to hand out Quests to the Lucent Towers, ones that encouraged them to destroy as much of the enemy as possible, as well as other objectives. In turn, they would receive experience, enchanted items, and even Titles. It was a feature new to his status as emperor.

Perks of Empire I

You can now grant more powerful Quests to your people, offering experience, stats, and even Titles as rewards through the System itself. The reward must be commensurate with the task, however, and the quality of them depends on performance.

It was a powerful tool, and Felix had gone about offering it where it would do the most good: in his army. A carrot to soften the stick that he represented. And it was working.

A Shadow stepped from behind a tree. "Your Highness, the gate is ready for you."

Felix cracked his knuckles. "Send the order."

"Aye, sir."

He would be the first through, then war would follow.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Felix stepped through the Shadowgate and into his Void Sanctuary. As his foot stepped upon stone at the center of his Sanctuary, Felix took a deep, steadying breath. The air smelled of juniper and citrus, and the heat was cut by a breeze that coiled through the courtyard just the perfect amount.

Yet for all of that, there was a strangeness.

It took him a moment to figure out what it was—it felt like a presence wrapped around him, jostling him weakly. Felix dropped his hand to the bag attached to his hip. Inside, the Chalice squirmed, dragging at his hip as if it weighed thousands of pounds. He pulled his hand away quickly. The bag throbbed like a heartbeat.

Ignore it. You expected this.

With a flexing of his Will, Felix lifted off the ground, floating past the enormous bronze tenku that watched over the gate to Elderthrone. He waved at it, and its ears perked up. “You're doing great.”

It settled back down, as pleased as any magic robot he’d seen.

Felix flew out over his city. The Shadowgate was far easier to navigate alone.

As the air parted before him, he sped over the rooftops in a direct path toward the plaza of gates. His Sanctuary was large, easily the size of a small city now, but the miles vanished beneath him, and the sun and wind played against his hair and clothes. It was peaceful.

Which made it all the more jarring when his Perception twinged. He paused in midair, glancing around. Feels like I’m being watched. He scanned the buildings below him. Was it the new denizens? The Gnomes or the Chain Golems? Flocks of Wyrmlings flitted across the sky, parting around him like water around a boulder. No matter how he flared his Perception, he couldn't pinpoint where the feeling was coming from, and he didn't have time to care. Today was an exercise in speed. The faster, the better.

He zipped through his Sanctuary on the final leg, not even landing before he shot through the exit portal into Haestus. A swirl of dark and crushing pressure held him before it relented, and he emerged with a graceful hop onto the other side of the portal.

There, he found the beautifully appointed gate room, replete with murals on the walls and a massive, vault-style door at the far end. He'd spent Essence and significance restoring that room in the past, and it had served them well. Now, people could come and go more freely, but Harn had been right. It would never accommodate his entire army. Not as it was.

The vault door opened with a gesture, revealing a vast chamber beyond that was filled with steaming water and half-sunken statues of Nymean magi. There, Garox waited, floating atop the surface of the water, along with a group of eight other Naga. The man was a large and pale-scaled, appearing almost human, were it not for his long tail. A Spirit Naga, he was an Evolution from their standard, capable of magic and a fearsome talent with his dual blades. Different than normal, however, was the well-crafted mithril armor wrapped around his torso. It was inlaid with blue horses rampant on either side of his chest.

"Hey, Garox, nice armor. Who'd you take it from?"

“Returned God.” He put a pale hand onto his breastplate. "It came from a foolhardy adventurer from the plains of Sept, or so he said before he drowned." He bowed. "You are welcome once again in Haestus.”

“Is everyone evacuated?"

"They are. The nests have been placed into the kelp fields, where our warriors guard them.”

“How far away are the kelp fields?"

"A half-league. Is that enough?"

Felix cracked his neck. "I'll make sure it is. Take me to the throne room."

"It will be done."

Garox led Felix through Haestus Temple on a nostalgic tour. They moved through flooded rooms, down waterfall stairwells, and across toppled statues that reached up from the dark depths.

"I remember the last time you led me through these rooms," Felix said, shaping the water into a wave beneath his feet. It wasn't terribly efficient, but Adamant Discord would have fried his snake friends crispy. His dexterity kept him in balance, though the rapids had been rough.

"I recall you were a surprise, even then."

"You should talk. You tried to kill me."

Garox coughed. "I only delivered you to our sovereign.”

“Who tried to kill me."

"We are here," the Spirit Naga said quickly, the final door parting before his gesture.

They entered the throne room of Haestus. The ceiling was lit by a glowing Mana crystal. Scratch that. The ceiling was lit by clinging chunks of glowing Mana crystal, and the walls were covered in elaborate mosaics, dripping with fungus, moss, and a faintly glowing lichen. The latter clung to the massive statues that crossed curved swords above the nest of repurposed logs, stone pillars, and bronze sculptures. It was more a throne than a nest, built to accommodate the Abyssal Serpent that usually dwelled within the Temple. The Deepking was not present, however.

"If I may ask," Garox said, his voice soft in the vast chamber, "Why did you need this room to enact your Will? Could you not have done this from anywhere?"

Felix made his way over to the throne-nest. "Yeah, I could have. I had the notification pop up several times already.”

Authority Acknowledged, Emperor.

Do You Wish To Begin Restoration?

Warning: Stores Of Essence And Significance Are Detected.

They Will Be Consumed In The Process.

“The problem is, I don't know where these rooms will end up. This chamber, however, is the heart of the Temple.”

Yes, begin full restoration.

Unite The Lost Engaged!

Full Restoration In Progress!

Essence and significance flowed out of Felix. First in a stream, then in a raging river, it fled his channels faster than ever before, pouring into the water before skipping over onto the walls. The water steamed, not with heat, but dark blue vapor that churned beneath Felix's feet like a maelstrom. Spray bucked against the walls, Mana vapor sliding into stone that reassembled itself before their eyes. The flood drained away, dropping all of them lower and lower as Haestus’ ruin was rewound around them.

The walls shuffled, tilting end over end as stone shuffled itself into new puzzling shapes and cracks sealed. Broken pieces long since cast down were raised up, resealed with his power before hurtling off into the distance to return to where they belonged. The throne of logs and statues disassembled, pieces pulled away by the river of Essence and literal waters draining away.

Felix held the Naga close, lifting them on gusts of wind, juggling them as the throne room rotated beneath. A great cacophony sounded, like a shredded mountain tumbling down an infinite staircase, groaning and creaking, snapping and shattering. The sounds were as loud as they were unending.

Essence poured out of Felix in great gouts, tearing through his stores with abandon, though not nearly as much as his dwindling significance. Each piece of it turned back time as the Temple was reclaimed. Murals gleamed, their tiles clacking as they reformed in waves across the tilted walls. Ribbed struts stretched overhead as the room settled with a resounding crash, spreading upward and shattering the crystalline nodes on the ceiling. They met in the center, only for the crystals to regrow, forming into a huge chandelier.

Green-gold light rolled through the crystalline lattice, tossing bright sun-bright shadows through the drying chamber as the last marble slab slammed into place. Felix lowered them all to the ground.

"Sacred depths," Garox said. "It is a miracle beyond anything I would have expected." The other Nagafolk warriors ran their clawed hands over the walls and ridged columns, their slitted pupils dilated in awe.

Gone was the Deepking's throne, replaced by tiered platforms and wide steps leading down to the center recessed area. There, a Seal was inscribed into the floor, a complicated fractal array that was similar yet not quite as complex as a Territorial Seal. It was set between and around five Mana Wells, each inscribed with their own complicated arrays. Two of them were open and empty, the magic released, but the other three were flaring intermittently. As if something struggled below.

"How else has our home changed?" Garox asked.

"We can go check," Felix said, stepping toward the Mana Wells, "but first I need to take care of something."

The Naga were pale and shaking as they exited the throne room, the former throne room. Garox followed a pace behind Felix, his gaze mostly fixed on the surrounding architecture. However, every once in a while, his gaze fell on Felix. Felix could almost feel the weight of it, as Garox's Spirit swelled with something uncomfortably close to worship.

If I'd known they were gonna be weird about it, I'd have made them wait outside while I ate.

The Mana Wells had contained two Urges and one Shambling Abomination. Like the Shambling Horror Felix had devoured on his first visit to Haestus, the creatures were weakened by long incarceration. But unlike the Horror, both the Abomination and the Urges had remained properly sealed in their Wells, and far less of their potency had deteriorated.

Not that it mattered.

Felix had cut through their varied forms with tooth and claw before piercing their cores with his Inheritor's Will. All three had died in less time than it took to tie his shoes. He'd been rewarded with a ton of Essence and significance, more than replenishing what he'd spent on raising the Temple.

Felix grinned at the thought of it. Things were looking up.

"Returned God," Garox gasped as they moved out onto the balcony that had not existed before. "You have lifted us into the sky!"

"Not quite, but this is a surprise.” Felix leaned over the balustrade and peered down at the Temple.

It spread out beneath them, covered walkways fronted by a colonnade, with red-tiled roofs spreading out in a complex, layered stack of buildings. Above and behind them, a bronze dome stretched high into the sky, its sides cut with complex geometric designs. Stars were carved into the bronze, creating wells of shadow in the bright summer moonlight, while more pillars supported lesser spires and domes off to the side. On and on it went, far larger than Elderthrone's Temple, and that was before considering the waterline. Down there, where the lake crashed against the thick breakwaters, the Temple stretched deep into the blue. Other roofs, courtyards, and cloisters were shadows beneath the waves, just as complex as the rest of the Temple.

"It seems this Temple was already always partially underwater," Felix said after a moment. "I wonder if it was used by your people in the past.”

“There are old tales of the gods and their worship amongst my people. Of great pilgrimages to this lake in the times beyond memory, where we would offer up ourselves to the gods of bronze and stone."

Garox looked at Felix, and his eyes shone. Literally, gleaming a bright blue eerily similar to Felix's.

"Were your eyes always—" A twinge caught Felix's senses, and he jerked in surprise. "Oh, right, the Shadowgate! I need to let them all know it's safe."

"We will return to the kelp fields, then," Garox said.

"What? Oh yeah, go get the nests and bring them back."

Garox looked surprised. "My Lord?"

"You think I was gonna take this from you?" Felix chucked the snake man on the arm. "Get those kids back here and settled in. This is their home."

All nine of the Nagafolk stiffened, their humanoid spines standing straight up as they brought their fists to their chests.

"As you will, my Lord," Garox said, bowing deeply.

Felix grinned at them and ran off, urgently searching for where the Shadowgate had moved. He tried not to think too much about how Garox had looked at him at the end, or how all of the Nagafolk's eyes had gleamed bright blue.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

Felix stood on the prow of a Manaship, running his hands admiringly across the railing. "This is very impressive.”

He admired the woven ropes leading up into complicated winches and pulleys that were heavily inscribed, as well as the lacquered railings that gleamed in dawn's strident light. He turned, looking at his companions. Florian Iretus, the young master of his House, stood there, flanked by his sister Mena and Captain Landis, leader of his House army.

"I never took you for a warrior," Felix said to the young man. He was supposedly eighteen, but he looked closer to fifty, all slender elbows and knees. Still, he was fitted in custom armor and was at the high end of Journeyman Tier, which was an impressive advancement from being barely an Apprentice the last time they had met in Ahkestria. His personal guards were also powerful, all of them Adepts, and numbered at least fifty.

"I've always been more of a thinker than a fighter," Florian admitted. "With my father now recovered from the fall of the Highest Flame, he's taken up our shipbuilding operations once more. My thinking has led me here. It has allowed me to spread my wings under Captain Landas, and it is how we made these for you, my Lord." Florian gestured to the ships around them.

Felix clapped the kid on the back. "You've done well."

Floating in the air, just outside of the risen Haestus Temple, were thirty Manaships. They were great behemoths, fitted with side sails and keel sails that made them resemble enormous fish. Each sail was woven of a glittering cloth that oozed Mana. Dark panels formed the length of their hulls, not wood but Leviathan bone, salvaged from the corpses of the ancient giants of the Ahkestrian Sea. Emblazoned on their sides and sails was Felix's House crest surmounting the Ahkestrian wave.

They looked handsome as hell. Plus, each one was a galleon-class vessel, able to hold a thousand. All told, it was just enough, and that was considering that many of their number could fly under their own power.

Harn leaned against the gunwale. "It's about that time, yeah?"

"Yes." Felix clenching and unclenching his fist. "Get ready."

"Aye. Exemplars! To your ships! Ready on the Emperor's count." Harn jogged off, leaping across the gap between Manaships as he organized everyone with his commander's bellow.

"I suppose we'll head astern as well," Florian said. He bowed. "I beg your leave, your highness."

"Keep an eye out," Felix said as they left. "You'll want to see this."

The kid grinned, and his captain nodded mutely.

Felix considered the empty air before them. He stood at the prow of the flagship, so that nothing was before them but the empty sky above the teeming jungles of Gharion. His Territory map of Gharion told him exactly where the various Dark Passages existed, their beginnings and endings, but this was the first time he'd used them since completing the Pool of Halcyon Oaths. He brought up the map from his authority screen.

There are a lot fewer individual passages, but nearly all of them are connected now. He traced the path they were to take, committing it to memory. This will make things a lot easier.

New Title!

Chthonic Empyrean (Mythic)!

By traversing the full depth of the Pool, you have proven your commitment to walk the dark paths of deepest commitment. A Bond. As Siva was but a shadow of Veridaan, so too are Oaths a pale reflection of Bonds. The Void Nexus within you stirs as it reaches Apprentice Tier, Promising Greater Glories Ahead.

+Stabilization cost of significance is reduced by 25%

+Stabilization of all Passages are increased by 25%

+Size of Dark Passage rifts are doubled

New Title!

Empire’s Passage (Legendary)!

You have strengthened your connection to your people by traversing the very depths of your vows. The echoes of Veridaan call out through you, Scion, and from your center emerges a Bond none can deny.

+Apprentice Tier Increases Exemplar Limit From Nine To Thirteen!

+Limits On Passengers Greatly Reduced!

+Exemplar’s Gift - Allows all Exemplars to temporarily appoint their own Adjutants—three each—giving them the ability to expand the size, capacity, and speed of Dark Passage rifts.

The bonuses were incredibly useful for several reasons. They made the Passages safer, cheaper to create, and with his increases to Void Nexus, traversal would be faster than ever.

Most importantly, it meant capacity.

On his mark, his Exemplars lifted their hands, one on every leading boat. They joined with him, each having assigned three Adjutants to expand the Skill. Mervin and three Adjutants had opened up a path large enough to fit nine massive Manaships through them. What would happen with twelve Exemplars and thirty-six Adjutants enhancing his power? He was curious to find out.

From the prow of the lead ship, Felix raised a single hand. Void Nexus.

He slashed downward.

The sound of whispering silk rose from nothing until it thundered through the assembled forces like a trumpet blast. The sky split before his hand, his four talons carving a wound to the skin of the world. A dark rift formed in the emptiness, looking like a patch of night sky in the newborn day, complete with blue stars that dazzled in complex nebulae. It was huge, the rift, bigger than the nearby Haestus Temple, certainly.

More than sizable enough for all thirty Manaships to enter.

Felix withdrew his hand. It tingled a little. "Lord Iretus. Forward, if you please."

Back at the helm, Florian laughed. "As you wish, your highness!"

They made passage through the dark, but no longer found it so cloying. The once shadowed skies and heavy clouds that dominated the Dark Passages had begun to clear, filling the night with stars. They were not just distant across the sky, but near—floating motes that passed by their ships close enough to touch. A few of them had done so, and the motes provided nothing more than a soft shiver of heat through people.

Happily, Felix no longer sensed dire creatures dwelling just out of sight. They had been chased off, or maybe walled away when the Titles and Skill strengthened the Passages.

The distant, enormous islands still floated by, but now they were covered in plant growth that had not been there before. It was still vast and mostly empty, of course, those rock islands few and far between. The ground, if there was one, was still too far away to ever find.

There were even small structures on the islands they passed, nothing Felix could investigate at the moment, but they were definitely buildings of some sort. They all reminded him of the enormous abandoned port city they had found previously. The architecture was very similar, and just like the port, the stone was pocked as if a barrage of projectiles had blasted pieces of it away.

"We must study these Passages," Tzfell said to him as they reached the second hour of their journey north. "What secrets might they hold?”

“If we survive the days to come, I'll be happy to send you back here."

The Dwarven Chanter patted his hand. "That's what I like about you, Felix. You have your eyes set forward, but you don't ignore what's behind."

"The old shouldn't concern us nearly as much as the yet-to-come," Mauvim said, coming up on his left. "But I do lament not having the time to peruse such ruins."

"Grandmaster," Tzfell said, bowing to the older woman.

"Hello, dear. Run along now. I've some words to share with the boy."

The Dwarven Chanter hesitated only a moment. "As you wish." She departed, leaving the two of them alone at the prow.

"A willful girl, that one," Mauvim muttered, staring at the space Tzfell had vacated. "You have her loyalty."

"Hmm," Felix hummed noncommittally. "We fought a lot of battles together. That earns a bit of trust." He studied the old Chanter. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"A pleasure?" The old woman cracked a wrinkle-laden smile. "A descriptor few would apply to me, even in my youth."

"I'm sure you weren't always so⁠—”

“Sour and doddering? I've heard them all, Nevarre, and worse besides." She fixed him with a squint. "What do you think of me, your highness?"

"I thought you didn't care for my descriptors."

"Not my appearance. Blind gods know I don't care about that. I can tell you hold the Chanters in a certain regard. They're not all of us. Zara, Tzfell, and Laur are close to you. Even Isla, woman that she is, seems to be trusted. Yet, I can tell that trust does not extend to all of us."

"I don't know all of you," Felix said. "That was the purpose of the Oath you swore.”

“An Oath that no longer binds us, I'll remind you. Siva's death unraveled them all, yet we have not immediately betrayed you."

"Yet some still did. It was through inaction more than anything, but they bypassed their Oaths and nearly blew up my city." Felix's eyes burned, casting a flickering light across the deck. "Are you asking me to blindly trust you all?"

"No. No, that would be too much." Mauvim sighed, her whole body leaning against her knobbly cane. "I am asking that you trust the Grand Harmony."

Felix's eyes dimmed. "What?"

"The Grand Harmony is the key to defeating the Ruin. That is the purpose of the Sorcerers of the Fallen Halls. To preserve the Grand Harmony and those that can perceive it, and to prepare the world for the Ruin's advent. If we perish before that day, if we're kept from our destiny, all will be lost."

Felix grimaced. "That sounds a lot like prophecy. Like that fate bullshit the gods like to peddle."

"Fate is nothing but a culmination of choices. It can be changed, but sometimes the cost of such changes are more than any can bear. The greatest Seers of the Golden Age witnessed this coming three thousand years ago when the Ruin first washed across the continent. Back when the Fallen Hall still clung to the heavens and called itself Empyrean."

"When they were located upon Etrionn," he said.

Mauvim looked at him sharply. "Zara was right about you. More intelligent than you look."

Felix bared his teeth.

Mauvim looked away. "Ahem, yes. Etrionn. Those Who Hold Up The Sky. The Walking City, filled with wonders no mortal has seen since its fall. Wonders such as the Singing Fields, the home of the Seers. Nothing like those born in this age—these were proper magi, endowed with all the gifts of their Race and privileges of their time. They saw a future beyond the end of their own, when the Ruin would come once more. It would do more than destroy, more than erase. The very skies would blacken, and the land itself would turn to dust."

Felix tried not to react to that description. That sounds like the Deadlands. Is that what the Continent will become?

"The Grand Harmony is the key to saving us. That is what the Seers witnessed. That is why they splintered from the Empyrean Halls, why they fled the last stand of Etrionn. They became the Fallen Halls, magi no longer, but Sorcerers bent on a single purpose: preserve the Grand Harmony and save the world."

"Your own belief system says that the Grand Harmony is literally everywhere," Felix pointed out. "Of course it would be involved in fighting back. It's involved in everything."

"The Seers specify that the Grand Harmony must be wielded against the Ruin. Not just extant. Only that will create the smallest sliver of a chance at survival. This is what we sought out the Unbound for. Why we prevented them from being seized by the Hierophant. To train them in the Chant, to elevate their frightening power through the Fallen Halls so that we might reach the Empyrean once again. Therein lies our salvation."

Quiet and cold, Felix spoke softly, there at the prow of his flagship. "Is there a reason you didn't tell me this sooner?"

"Choice is a thread easily broken. Sometimes it must be guided."

"And you're the Master weavers, right?" Felix laughed bitterly. "No wonder some of your kind turned against me. They were afraid the Big Bad Unbound was dooming the world somehow."

"As she said, you're quite smart.”

“How did they determine that? Which one of my many attempts to save people convinced them that I was a threat?"

Mauvim watched him, her Spirit undetectable and her ancient face unreadable. "I find it interesting, Felix. You do not seek Authority yet find it thrust upon you at every turn. You've grown in power alarmingly quickly, gathering even ancient secrets from the Ruin’s long grasp, and you command loyalty with an ease I've not seen since—for a very long time."

"Since when?”

Mauvim sighed. "Since Ocalla Marzul. It brought back a number of fears among my people.”

“You think I'm becoming another Hierophant?"

"It is a fear we cannot shake. That fear drove the splinter in my Chanters, driving them to side with Ocalla. After all, she has always had a clear plan, while you would not even speak with us."

It was all Felix could do not to tear the railing off in front of him. He’d been betrayed because of what he didn't know, because of what they refused to tell him. He flared his Perception, tracking down every Chanter among his ships. He couldn't sense all of them, but most were within his range. "Why exactly should I trust any of you anymore?"

"Because we still seek the same end, Felix," Mauvim replied. "Ocalla's methods have been rejected by all of us who remain. Those who have betrayed the Seer's vision have been excised. You know this."

Mauvim's weathered voice was steady, but it flirted with the edge of panic.

"Yet you still fear me."

"Yes.”

Felix growled. "I am nothing like her."

"You'd be surprised. No one is born evil. It is the world that shapes them. Their choices. Ocalla was my friend, once upon a time. She, too, wished to help people. She knew of the ancient Seers, and even now I don't doubt that she is trying to change that fate."

Felix opened his mouth, and Mauvim held up a withered hand.

"I know. She has done all the wrong things in pursuit of those goals. She has hunted us, killed millions over her long centuries. She must be stopped. Killed, even. What I must ask you, Felix, is if you have the conviction to save us, no matter what is required of you."

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I cannot predict the Hierophant. She has long since grown beyond my power, and her schemes are long-lived and insidious. Yet what if she is right? She wields the Grand Harmony as well. What if the only way to stop the Ruination of our world…is to let her win?"

Felix took a step back from the old Chanter. He said nothing, but it seemed his expression was more than enough for Mauvim.

"I see that I have upset you. That was not my intent. I merely ask that you think on it, because there will be no second chances."

“For you?” he asked. “Or me?”

A horn was sounded from the crow's nest.

"Port spotted!"

The ship tilted, shifting toward the distant speck across the pale horizon. When Felix pulled his attention away from their destination, he found Mauvim stumping halfway across the ship.

Which is it, lady? You fear me becoming like the Hierophant, or you want me to emulate her?

He found the horizon again and watched as the floating island grew larger.

Let her win? Felix clenched his fist. Fuck that.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

They reached the port city faster than Felix had anticipated. The massive island, floating in the night sky, was filled with blue motes that illuminated it like a halo of blue-white light, similar to his own lightning. As his fleet of Manaships drew closer, Felix was struck by the sheer size of the island. While many of the floating rocks they had encountered were quite large, this one was akin to a mountain range. At its very center was the port city, reminiscent of one they had encountered in the past.

A massive, circular gate was bored through the mountains, which clung in a ring around the city far beyond. Buildings lined the walls of the bore, visible as the Manaships passed through, a channel large enough to contain every single Manaship abreast, though they only passed three at a time. The distant structures were all dark, with flat roofs and elaborately carved walls hemming in excessive staircase-streets between them. The only lighting in evidence was the blue motes that floated around them like a field of stars. What’s more, all of the structures were in better condition than the ruins they’d spotted on previous islands, with very few of them pocked or cracked.

A second circular gate followed the first a mile in, and beyond that was the port city itself. Docks lined a huge, scooped out basin that was filled with motes and shadow, and those elaborate, swirling carvings covered every piece of stone. Even the mooring posts were detailed, littered with designs atop their functional sigaldry. His people murmured in wonder and awe as they passed into the city proper, their ships barely making a dent in the vast emptiness—an army five times their size would have fit easily into the docks alone.

Those look like shop fronts. A smithy here, a cobbler there. A great many inns and taverns, based on the designs alone. The place truly was a city, complete with wide, smooth-paved thoroughfares that led deeper into complex, labyrinthine streets. The buildings themselves were tiered, rising as they went back, each layer built into the mountains behind, much like Haarwatch. Felix checked his map. Yeah. There’s the exit.

The exit rift was situated almost at the peak, located just beneath a massive fortress that jutted over the city like a dark sentinel. There, the blue motes gathered into a veritable stream of radiance, flowing in constant, dizzying patterns across the mountain-struck sky.

The damage of time and weather was nonexistent here in the heart of the city. In fact, as they drew near their exit, Felix realized that, were it not for the lack of wooden doors or glass in window casements, it looked as if the residents had only just left.

"Sir, there seems to be a problem," the First of Arclight gestured at the expanse of dark stone, shaped into a circular gate. "It is not responding to our power."

The woman who spoke was one of his thirteen Exemplars, and she should have been able to open the way out. Entering the Void Nexus was a far greater challenge than exiting it. It only required a single member to open up the way out as the Dark Passages wished to expel them from its clutches. Felix likened it to a sort of pressure, and the Dark Passages were eager to relieve it.

He reached out his own hand, claws curled. Void Nexus.

Blue motes swirled more energetically, as if blasted by an unfelt wind. Though the Skill mustered within his core space, the rift did not open.

"That's a problem," he said. "Florian, dock the ship and spread the word. We need to investigate this city. The answer to leaving has to be here."

It wasn't until Felix approached the exit gate that he realized the blue motes had not merely collected into a stream of lights, but into circular currents that roiled around two enormous blue stars. At least a dozen feet in diameter, they shone like sculptures made of light so thick it was almost crystalline, and they flanked the edifice through which the final rift should be opened, where the Dark Passage ended, and their destination lay.

Huh. They aren’t made of Mana or Essence. Felix reached out, feeling the heat from the spiky shapes. It was enough that he could feel pain through his resistance Skill, Lay of the Unfallen. I’m so tempted to eat these.

That would have to wait, however.

As people explored the city below, Felix stood before the gate and pondered. It was locked somehow. He reached out, tapping the solid stone of the mountain. It was dull, thudding beneath his knuckle, and even when he hit it with greater strength, it didn't crack.

Let's try this again. Void Nexus.

The stone rippled, a wave of distortion following his hand as it flickered with darkness beyond the night that surrounded them. The stars flared and flickered, their lights guttering before resurging as the Skill faded.

Again. Void Nexus.

The stars dimmed, and the shadows thickened across the stone. It fought back, but his Willpower and Intent were hammered into an opening already—he just had to widen the crack.

Void Nexus!

The mountain around them groaned, shivering with tremors that set his people to shouting. They ran from buildings, many covering their heads as pieces of rock tumbled down the avenues. If I break these stars, I can open the way.

He reached out for them, but at the same time, a queasiness sank into Felix’s belly. The rift bucked in his grip, unable to free itself from his Will. The stars dimmed, their crystalline prongs ringing with a sharp hum…and a certainty entered his Mind.

Is that the trick of it? He cut off his Skill. The tremors stopped and the light brightened. Clever.

If he were to break the stars and force the rift open, something cataclysmic would happen to the mountains around them. He knew it as if it were written in front of him, a warning stamped into his Mind and Spirit. The collapsing mountain would mean the rift would open for only a moment, while behind him, his army would die, and the Dark Passage itself would be damaged.

That cold certainty made him turn back to look at the thirty Manaships spread out among the docks. He couldn't risk his people or the Dark Passage. His army needed to get out.

As if in response, the giant blue stars pulsed, and familiar System energy rolled into him from the dark.

New Limited Quest!

Limited?

Cleanse The Dark. Claim The Light.

The Dark Passages were not always abandoned. You stand within a city where people once lived and worked at the edge of the Void. Abandoned since the Ruin’s last true advent, this place has existed long before the Nymean Empire rose in the Golden Age. A fortress built not by the Nym, but by something else. The Dark Passages were once home to those beings. If you wish to restore that home and claim its power, you must find and kill the creature that haunts the fortress, locked behind the Flesh Gate.

Rewards:

Title

EXP

Increased Authority Over Dark Passages

The Treasure Of Starlight’s Rise

NOTE: This is a Limited Quest. Up to two beings may take part.

Treasure? And a creature that haunts this place, possibly related to beings that preceded the Nym? Felix made a face. Why’d it have to be called the Flesh Gate, though?

He hopped down, dropping a hundred feet to land amongst the smooth streets of the strange city. At his request, most of his people had remained aboard the Manaships, but the Claw were spread out around him. They looked up eagerly, watching Felix’s face for what was clearly a new development.

“Sir?” a Fist named Vada asked.

“Go and ask Lady Dayne to meet me at the fortress,” he said. “And tell her to bring Yin.”

“Yes, sir.” They rushed off, and another cleared his throat.

“My Lord? Have you figured out a way to leave?”

“I have. Get everyone back on the ships and be ready to leave at my signal.”

“Aye, sir.”

Every member of the Claw rushed to do his bidding, one Talon telling the next, and in moments the streets of the port city were empty. At least until Vess alighted next to him, her spectral wings fading as her feet tapped to the ground. Yintarion was not far behind her, swimming through the air, just ahead of Pit. His Companion had been the first person he’d contacted after the Quest popped up.

“What's all this, then?” the Drake asked.

“Does it have to do with our exiting this place?” Vess set the butt of her glaive into the stone. “Vada seemed quite intense when she reached us.”

“It does. I'll explain on the way.”

Together, the four of them rose up, following close behind Felix as he approached the dark fortress. It was a squat thing, heavy and built for defense as most fortresses were, but without the usual grace Nymean architecture possessed. It looked out of place among the sprawling port city, but if the Quest were right, then perhaps the fortress was far older than all the rest.

The entrance to the fortress was located at the end of a short bridge, accessible by a winding road at the mountain’s midpoint. Their group bypassed all of that by simply flying to it. There were a few wards to keep people away, but they slipped around his team as if they didn’t exist.

Challengers Detected.

They assembled before the great doors of the fortress. They were carved out of blue marble, heavily veined with white, and featured countless stars set against a mountainous terrain. There were no latches or handles in evidence, and the doors were fitted so precisely Felix couldn’t detect a gap between them and the fortress around them.

Do You Seek To Enter The Fortress Of Starlight’s Rise?

Felix shared a glance with Vess. She adjusted her grip on her glaive and nodded. As one, they flexed their Spirits.

Convergence.

Yin and Pit vanished in flashes of light.

Felix cleared his throat. “Yes. We seek to enter.”

Assessing…

Limited Quest Detected.

Assessing…

Felix clenched his jaw, hoping his plan worked.

Access Granted.

Descend, Challenger.

The two great doors swung outward, and they were beckoned into the dark.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

“I thought this was a Limited Quest?” Pit asked as they walked through the upper levels of the fortress. “Just two people, it says.”

They had mapped out the first floor quickly, and decided to check the higher floors first. The four of them were spread out in the wide hallways, moving cautiously but with a swiftness Felix appreciated. He didn’t want to waste time in this place, tempting as treasure and knowledge might be.

“Yep. Two people. That’s why we had you both Converge with us,” Felix explained.

“Ah. Our bonds are so strong, we are one,” Yin rumbled, a pleased smile curling his long face. “A good plan, Emperor.”

“Quite clever,” Vess agreed. She wore her Dragon helm now, its unpainted arcanite forming a fierce visage over her own as she assessed each chamber they passed. “I did not believe the System would be fooled by such a tactic, but I am happy to be wrong.”

The fortress had proven to be exceedingly boring so far—after the dramatic entryway, the chambers were all uniformly stark and severe. The only thing really remarkable was the size. The Fortress of Starlight’s Rise seemed to be designed to hold thousands, and as they explored the first floor, they found numerous indicators of a once-bustling home.

“Not that I’m complaining, but it doesn’t seem like all four of us are needed. There’s nothing here.” Pit sniffed a statue of some sort of giant pig. “Nothing but all these pigs. Did the owners have a thing for them?”

“No clue.”

The statues lined the hall they currently explored. The boar-like creatures were wide and angry looking, but that was all. Unseen Beholder revealed little else.

Name: Sculpture Of A Favorite Herd

Type: Art Piece

Lore: Commissioned by an unknown patron, these statues were made as a set and intended to show off the prized possession of the master of Starlight’s Rise. A herd of Olfin Boars were once worth entire kingdoms, though are now extinct.

“Expensive pigs. I guess they did like them.” Felix kept moving.

“Olfin Boars. Never heard of ‘em.” Pit prowled ahead of them, his large paws and lashing tail sweeping thick trails of dust in his wake. They were walking through halls that had not seen footsteps for Ages. It was a touch eerie. "What’s this creature look like? You think it’s a big pig, too?”

“That’d be a first. Whatever it is, we have to hunt it down and kill it.”

“A creature that haunts this place. How long has it been here, alone?” Vess looked around, her eyebrows turned up as if saddened by the thought. “What could it be?”

“Not a pig,” Pit said sadly.

“Dead by the time we reach it," Yin rumbled at the same time. The two of them traded glances, one gruff and the other wistful.

“Oh, to have some pork,” Pit moaned.

"Yin,” Felix said, ignoring his Companion’s melodrama. “Do you have any idea of what came before the Nym? Beings that could have built here, between the Realms?"

"Not a clue," the Drake admitted, shaking his white mane. "There are more miracles upon this world than an immortal could ever count. And I admit, I did not study the deep histories as some once did."

Felix, for his part, was extremely curious. As they passed by room after room, following the flow of blue motes as they filtered through the fortress, he tried to gather clues to piece together what they might face. Yet all they spotted were more of those boar statues, small and large, set into alcoves throughout the upper levels. Occasionally there were other sculptures, the only decorations in that severe place that had stood the test of time. The other sculptures were more abstract and…creepy. They resembled nothing so much as twisted ribbons that knotted among themselves.

When they reached the top, they still had found nothing and doubled back down to the entrance hall.

“Clearly, the Nym had a presence here,” Felix said. “According to the Quest, the Ruin ended that presence, and maybe this creature, is related to that. It’s impossible to say. All I know is that we need to move, and to do that, I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“My spear will see us through this,” Vess promised him.

Felix winked at her, and she smiled, flashing that dimple at him. He'd asked her and Yin to come to fool the Quest, true enough, but he could have asked Beef and Hallow instead. The Minotaur and his Graven Aegis would have been incredibly useful in a fight, but he was happy with his choice. A bit selfish, perhaps, but Felix supposed he’d earned a little of that by that point.

The Quest would reward the participants with a Title, experience, and Authority. All three of those were worth sharing with Vess, especially the experience. A Quest of this nature was likely to reward a lot of it, and he needed her to reach Master Tier.

"Look here," Vess pointed out. "These motes are increasing the farther we travel, but their density gets incrementally thicker toward the floor.”

“Meaning what?"

“Follow me,” she said.

In moments, she found the stairs to the lower levels and swiftly descended them. Following Vess' lead, they ignored every floor, trotting down the stone steps level by level. Slowly but surely, the blue motes increased in number, gathering thickly along their knees and shins. After the seventh floor, they began to move visibly, flowing very slowly downward along the stairs.

Felix also noted a distinct scent in the air. Corpses? It smelled similar to rotting corpses, and he hated that he could pinpoint the smell so easily. It made his hackles stand up. Yyero.

Yet there was no sign of the god. The scent was distinctly different, too, lacking the certain sour strength of the god’s creations. This just smelled like decaying flesh.

By the time they reached the bottom, the stench had increased, and the motes clung to the floor like a river of light pouring past their ankles. It shed a faint warmth, like submerging their feet in a hot bath.

“It moves swiftly,” Vess pointed out.

The river had a current now, and it flowed through a labyrinthine hall, leading them unerringly toward the center. There, they found a chamber surrounded by four open archways and filled with a spiraling galaxy of blue-white motes. It was in the shape of an eight-pointed star, and at its center, hidden by a layer of rock dust, was the faint impression of a fractal Seal.

Felix leaned over it, brushing his hands across the surface and squinting through the motes. The Seal barely glimmered on the ground, gray on gray, but he traced the outline of it. "There seems to be four points of input. The empty spaces. You see them?"

"I do," Vess said.

"I need all of you to stand on each one."

His friends listened without further questions, and Felix took his spot as well. "We're going to have to funnel our power into it.”

“Our Mana?"

"No. Unfortunately not. Significance.”

Yin and Vess traded alarmed looks. "To do that would be to destabilize all she has worked for," the Drake protested. "You would be stripping her foundations."

"I know. Yin. That's why I'm going to provide it for you."

Vess's eyes widened. "Boon of Bonds."

Felix gave a tight nod. "Is everybody ready? As soon as the power passes through you, I need you to push it out of your channels and through the Mana Gates in your feet. Alright?"

Yin gave him a scowl as if that was the most obvious thing, and Pit chirruped seriously, ears laid back.

Here goes nothing.

Title: Boon Of Bonds Is Active!

Almost at once, significance poured through his Links, thundering into Pit and Vess and from Vess into her Companion. Felix had not been sure if that would work, but the power flowed more freely than it had with anyone else, save Pit. With remarkable ease, the three of them shunted the significance he fed into them through his Title down and out of their bodies and into the floor.

The Seal ignited. A greenish-blue light filled the ground like a pitcher being filled with water until a symbol formed at the very center. It resembled a monstrous face leering through its massive fangs and snake-like tongue. The moment it completed, a deep bell tolled.

The Entrance Has Been Opened.

Proceed, Challengers.

The sound of the announcement shook the room until dust rained from the vaulted ceiling. The Seal itself split, opening in spiraling sections that dropped down into the ground until it formed a staircase leading into the depths. Those blue motes dropped, falling into the entrance in a hazy river of light.

Felix cut off his Title, and his friends groaned. Yin, most of all. "That felt like molten lava in my veins," he said. "But it seems to have worked. Allow me, little Dragoon."

The Drake hopped down the spiral steps, taking point. Felix followed, flanked by Vess and a transformed Pit. His small Dire Hound form was more suitable for the narrow confines of the staircase, and he rushed ahead of Yin, his golden eyes bright against the blue.

“Blind gods, it smells,” Yin complained.

The scent of rot grew stronger with every step, forcing all of them to adjust their breathing. It was thick in the air, clinging to their lungs as if it were leaving a residue with every inhale. It took no more than ten minutes to reach the bottom, but judging on how far they’d already descended, Felix supposed they were deep in the mountain now. The motes gathered here, pooling into a knee deep swirl that filled yet another star-shaped chamber. Unlike the last, this place was hundreds of feet wide, and it had no archways or doors, just solid walls devoid of even decoration.

A squealing howl was their only warning before the far wall exploded into shrapnel.

Sonata of Dominance!

Felix shaped the stone away, splitting the vast majority of it around his team harmlessly. Through the breach, enormous monstrosities charged on burning hooves. They were lit up from within by blue-white light, nearly indistinguishable from the waves of motes that scattered before their frenzied rush.

“I knew it!” Pit crowed. “Pigs!”

They looked like elephant-sized boars, covered in spines across their shoulders and possessing four enormous tusks. Despite their bulk, their skeletons were visible, lit up from within like glowsticks as blue-white light poured from their squealing maws.

The ground thundered, as two dozen of the beasts came for them, eating up the distance in mere moments. Felix stepped forward, but Yin was faster.

“Prismatic Cyclone.”

A wave of brilliant light, so bright that it was almost blinding, ripped through the enormous boars, tearing them from the earth despite their clear, monstrous bulk. They were all of them spun up violently into a cyclone that roared louder than their voices could ever manage. Yin roared, and with a lunge of his neck, the monsters were cast upon the walls, their Bodies broken.

All at once, the blue light within them guttered out.

You Have Killed A Manawarped Olfin Boar (x36)!

EXP Gained!

You Have Defeated The First Wave!

Do You Wish To Descend Further?

“Shit,” Felix cursed as the scent of rot grew heavier all around them. “Those were Primordial spawn.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

Empyrean Embrace.

Sovereign of Flesh.

Felix ate the flesh curse out of the air. A heavy portion of the rot scent vanished, but not all. He recognized it as the stench of corrupted Primordials.

"You'll all be safe from the curse for now, but it's better if we get through this as fast as possible."

Vess nodded at the broken wall. "Looks like our next step is through there." Neither she nor Yin were fazed by the fact that they faced Primordial Spawn. Felix wasn't surprised at their courage, but he was proud.

Before he took a step, however, a notification appeared with a trilling sound. In fact, it appeared before all of them.

Outer Gate Reward!

Random Epic Item (x1)

You May Claim Your Reward Now, Or Else Defer This Gate Reward In Exchange For A Chance At A Greater Reward At The Next Gate.

Choose.

Felix glanced at the others. "That is an easy answer."

"Defer," Vess said. The two companions nodded vigorously.

"Looks like I got a bunch of gamblers with me," Felix said through a smile. "Defer."

Reward Deferred.

Proceed To The Next Gate, Challengers.

Beyond the broken wall was a staging area that looked more like a nesting ground. It was filled with waste and rubble that had been ground into a fine powder. In many places, the flooring had been worn apart—not just torn and broken by the Boars, but simply missing in large swaths. Chest-high grasses sprouted everywhere, as did low bushes and stunted trees with gnarled trunks. They were cut back in sections of rubble that looked as if they were frequented often by the boars. Felix could sense small creatures flitting amongst the weeds.

He paused. "Everyone get close.” They did, and Felix let loose his Skill.

Sonata of Dominance.

He seized the Mana in the air, shaping its vibrational pattern until it burst alight into brilliant orange fire. It flowed from him, across the wide ring that surrounded the broken chamber, and ignited the grassy fields as if he'd unleashed dual flamethrowers in either direction. Trees burned, ground scorched, and the various creatures fell, dead before they could run.

You Have Killed A Manawarped Dell Vole (x133)!

XP Earned.

You Have Killed A Manawarped Gnarlizard (x245)!

XP Earned.

You Have Killed A Manawarped King Firebug (x3238)!

XP Earned.

Felix kept up the burn until the kill notifications vanished. A trickle of experience fed into him—miniscule compared to his level and Temper. He wasn’t doing this for the experience, though. As his friends coughed at the smoke, he flared his Will and ate it all. Fire, smoke, char, and corpse. It swirled into him, leaving the outer ring barren of all life.

The final remnants of flesh curse on the level were gone.

"Blighted Night,” Vess cursed softly. “Did you get everything?"

"I did. At least everything that was here. The Boars had some sort of food source, and all of them were touched by the flesh curse. It must have been how they'd survived down here."

"Do you think they were put down here on purpose?" Pit asked. "Like, did they get infected, and they were locked away?"

"On purpose, yes. But I am unsure if they were cursed before or after their placement here," Yin said. "This system of prey and vegetation suggests planning. How much cannot be certain."

"We'll find out more as we go, I hope," Felix jerked his chin toward a dark passage that had been blocked by the largest concentration of creatures and trees. "The last bit of Primordial flesh curse I can feel is through there."

Down the short hallway, through a cloying darkness that the blue motes failed to alleviate, they found the beginning of their Quest.

The Flesh Gate.

"This is disgusting," Pit said. He wasn't wrong. The Flesh Gate was exactly as it was described, filling the circular tunnel with strands of tendons and ligaments holding skin and muscle across their path. Tendons pulsed beneath translucent layers, and the whole thing shifted in and out, as if it were breathing. Felix would have mistaken it for an actual beast, had his Unseen Beholder had not identified it as an enchanted barrier. Mana swirled around it and through it, but it wasn't necromantic. Instead, life and blood Mana surged, filling it in waves much like the breaths it took, as if a heart were beating somewhere within its folds.

Felix stepped closer, shoving away his distaste as he inspected a way to pass through the gate. The flesh was slick and upsettingly warm, but that was all he clocked before teeth the size of swords slammed down around his arm.

“Felix!”

The hidden jaws pulled at him, trapping his arm against the side of the gate before trying to yank him off-balance. It failed on both counts. The sharpened teeth cracked against his scales, and its pull didn't budge him in the slightest.

"My turn," he said. Empyrean Embrace.

Ethereal jaws smashed down over the Flesh Gate, ripping it to pieces in an instant as it was rendered into luminescent smoke. In less than a second, it vanished into his core space, taking the heat of its flesh curse with it. The layer of ankle-deep blue motes that had been dammed up against it suddenly flowed freely, spilling down the tunnel and into another chamber only a hundred feet away.

"That was easy," Pit said brightly.

"Your arm⁠—”

Felix waved Vess’ concern away. "I'm fine. It didn’t even crack my scales, see?"

Vess still took the time to run her hands over his forearm and wasn’t satisfied until she found no evidence of wound or breakage. Only then did she let him proceed.

The next chamber was again star-shaped and featured yet another Seal. This, however, lit up as they entered, without need for them to add any sort of power to it.

Stone shifted against stone until, once more, stairs spiraled down into the dark. The blue motes that had been stomped up at the last chamber flowed through and down, like fog pouring into a crevasse.

Felix and his team followed the light.

It was a long way down. Even at a brisk walk, it was nearly thirty minutes until they reached the bottom. There were no traps or features of any note, simply smooth stone and damp steps. Through the archway at the base of the stairs was another chamber, this one hundreds of feet wide and ten times that in height, as if it were an enormous mine shaft. It wasn't circular. Like the previous chambers, it did have its points shaped like a star, but this was so large that it had too many points to count. It was wedged like the teeth of gears around the room as it formed fluted lines straight up toward a ceiling, where they all met before dropping a long set of hexagonal pillars topped by glowing Mana crystals.

There, hanging among the pillars, were monsters.

They roused the moment Felix and his team walked into the room, their crocodile-like heads loosing a hissing sort of roar as they dropped from the ceiling, spreading wings made of the same blue-white starlight as the motes.

Unseen Beholder!

Name: Manawarped Starfall Caiman

Type: Primordial Spawn

…

Lore: Once they were mighty, and the glow of their wings was the brightest in the Soaring Night, but the Caiman here have fallen with their Lord. They have been twisted by the flesh curse that fills this fortress, but only by choice. They hold back their Lord…or they once did. The long Ages have broken their Minds, but not their Bodies. Beware.

"They’re Tier IV monsters,” he told everyone. That was roughly equal to Adept Tier in mortal terms. Felix frowned as they circled above, drawing closer to their group. "They look fast. Twenty-five of them are going to be annoying to handle."

All at once, the Starfall Caiman increased in speed, swooping down past them like the wind before firing what looked like bolts of blue starlight. All four of them scattered, Vess tackling Pit's small form out of the way of a particularly concentrated burst. The explosion hit, bright as flame and cold as ice, close enough that it blew the helmet off her head. She hit the ground and rolled back to her feet, still holding the Dire Hound.

Pit growled from between her hands. "Let Cry The Beast!"

The power echoed throughout the vast room. Felix immediately noticed that the creatures were unaffected by the fear effect.

Target Is Immune To Fear.

“Prismatic Cyclone!" Yin shouted. Waves of radiance surged upward through the shaft, tearing at the Caiman until they formed a tornado of light. However, their gleaming wings remained unruffled, and just like the fear, the Status Conditions slid off them harmlessly.

"They absorbed your light!" Vess cried.

True enough, the Caiman's wings shone brighter than ever before, now interspersed with a sunset-hued blush at the edges of their bright blue feathers. The Caiman twisted and turned before diving down into them, flying through their groupings, forcing them to scatter once more. Felix dodged aside, avoiding them easily, almost as easily as they avoided a swipe of his claws.

They’re getting faster. Something about those wings and the light⁠—!

Sonata of Dominance!

Felix threw a frantic shield of air between his people and the monsters, just in time to oppose a mighty barrage of blue bolts. This time, he spotted their shape: feathers, each one tufted with down and shaped like an arrowhead. They burned cold and moved fast—and weren’t slowed down by his shield at all.

“Shit!” Felix zipped forward, tanking each of the hits before they could reach his friends. He was a lot sturdier than them, but even so, they hurt like hell. He growled. "Oh, you bastards suck.”

"I'm gonna blow them up!" Pit promised. “Nimbus of the Moon!”

Beams of moonlight hit the Caiman, and this time, there was damage. Their scaly bodies sizzled as they were burnt by the light, but it wasn’t enough to kill them. In fact, the silvery moonlight flowed into their wings, and the creatures began to move even faster.

“Uh, whoops.”

"Let me," Vess said, setting Pit down. He sneezed at the blue motes that crowded his face.

Vess leaped into the air, her own ghostly wings unfurling. The monsters swarmed her instantly, fast enough that Felix reflexively seized his Sonata—but she soared through them, her Skill and small size giving her an incredible maneuverability amongst the shining monsters. They banked, flying between one another in a tight, almost too-perfect formation, belaying the rabid look in their crocodilian eyes and the foam that flecked their long jaws.

"Glorybound Gale!” Twenty-five Spears spun into being, rotating around Vess like silver-red quills before flying off in all directions. The Caiman dodged them, spinning their wide wings through the manifested weapons paths, and every single one missed.

The monsters made a mad gurgling noise, their claws reaching outward for the kill as they rushed for Vess just as she reached the far wall. They barely touched her ghostly wings before she flipped and kicked off the wall in a rapid change of direction. She shot backward, her Dragon-faced glaive leading the way. The Caiman scattered, dodging her obvious charge before firing after her with their burning, cold feathers.

Vess took the hits. It was worth it.

Twenty-five Spears shot out from their positions around the chamber, piercing every single monster through their narrow backs. They screeched, but Vess’ voice was louder.

"Final Glory!"

Her Spears exploded into storms of wind and metal, shredding the Caimans from within.

Vessilia Dayne Has Killed A Manawarped Starfall Caiman (x25)!

XP Earned!

"Hot damn," Felix said through a grin.

"A risky maneuver," Yin grumbled, "but worth it in the end. Good job, little Dragoon."

Vess landed among them, her spectral wings fading into nothing. She was bleeding from several points on her face and scalp, but her body was unharmed.

"Thank you, Yin. I should have worn my helmet, though." She knocked against her arcanite breastplate. "The Caiman's feathers couldn't pierce Harn’s craftsmanship."

Felix scooped the helmet off the ground where it had fallen and pulled a Health Potion from his waist. "Take both of these. You handled them perfectly."

"Perfect is not possible." Vess chugged the potion. "But thank you. These were far stronger than the Boars."

"They're approaching Master Tier," Pit said, "and immune to Status Conditions. That was annoying."

Yin backed away from the corpse debris now falling and burning scraps around them. "Emperor, do you not feel hungry?"

"Ah, right.”

Empyrean Embrace. Sovereign of Flesh.

The Caiman corpses vanished, along with the remnants of the flesh curse once again. What didn't disappear, though, were the blue lights from their wings, which bled into the motes that filled the chamber. Those brightened, growing larger and crowding up to their knees.

Pit wrinkled his doggy nose. "The curse felt stronger than before. Like a hot, warm breath.”

“It grows with every step we take,” Yin rumbled. "What is below us?"

"A Primordial. That much I can be sure of," Felix said. He sent them all the notification he'd pulled off the Caimans.

"Then we are to face this Lord of theirs?" Vess asked. "How strong is he, if these are his minions?"

"I suppose we'll find out.”

Flesh Gate Reward!

Random Legendary Item (x1)

You May Claim Your Reward Now Or Else Defer This Gate Reward In Exchange For A Chance At A Greater Reward At The Next Gate.

Choose.

“It's a Legendary-rarity item now," Felix told the others. "Do we still want to roll the dice?"

Pit shrugged. He had little use for most items. “If it were a delectable steak dinner, on the other hand…”

"System seems fresh out.”

“Then roll away.”

Yin tilted his head at the notification. "I am curious where this might lead. Rewards for defeating these creatures. That is passing strange for a prisoner.”

“I imagine the original wardens could not defeat them.” Vess fitted her helmet back over her head. “Likely due to the Primordial flesh curse."

Felix glanced up in the general direction they had come. "Makes sense. Your vote?"

She shrugged. "Do as you will. I have my glaive, and as it was with my mother and her mother before her, it is all I need."

"Well said," Yin laughed.

Reward Deferred.

Proceed To The Next Gate, Challengers.

CHAPTER EIGHTY

They found the Bone Gate down another short hallway. Like the Flesh Gate, it stretched across the entirety of the tunnel, made of numerous bones that looked like the shoulder blades of enormous beasts. Spines, five feet wide, extended from the floor to the ceiling. Each vertebra was thick and blunt, wrapped around their middles by interlocking rib bones. It looked sturdy, far more so than the Flesh Gate did, which made Felix trust it far less.

"This one's mine." Pit ran forward, shedding his Mask as he transformed into the Primordial Storm Tyrant. Skyslaine's Riposte extended in his beak, growing at the same rate as his Body, the blade now wreathed in blue, green, and golden light.

"Executioner's Storm Blade!"

He slammed into the Bone Gate, blade first, and the tunnel shuddered beneath the impact. Cracks spread outward from the blow, crazing the bone in a thousand different ways. Yet even as he pulled back to strike again, the cracks began to heal.

"Oh no you don't!" Sword still wreathed with his Skill, Pit struck again, flipping the blade in his beak as he sliced horizontally and vertically.

"Pit! Watch out!" Felix warned, just as a grip of sharpened ribs struck from the sides, snapping closed on him like the jaws of the Flesh Gate. Pit grunted, blood pouring from where they pierced him.

"Stormlord's Mantle!" Electric Mana flowed across Pit's form, sheathing him in the power of the storm. It burnt at the ribs, charring their lengths before they crumbled as he shifted his body.

Felix, whose heart had jumped into his throat just a bit, breathed a sigh of relief. For just a second, he’d forgotten that Pit benefited from their high Health regen. His Companion would be fine.

With a final leap, Pit thrust his riposte through the center of the spine, twisting as he did. The Executioner's Stormblade sliced through, igniting the cracks that had yet to heal before shattering the Bone Gate entirely.

Executioner's Stormblade is level 65!

“Finally! That Skill's been lagging behind the others." Skyslaine's Riposte shrank, and Pit sheathed it into his barding. "I have a feeling it's going to get worse in there," Pit warbled, bouncing back and forth on his paws. "I got first dibs."

“Have at it, young Chimera,” Yin gestured with a five-fingered paw. The lot of them followed behind the enormous tenku as he strutted down the rest of the short tunnel.

Just beyond the former Bone Gate, stone ground on stone. Ahead, yet another star-shaped chamber was deformed as a Seal ignited and a set of stairs sank into the floor. The flow of motes spread onward, rising almost to Felix's waist now, though the level dropped fast as they rushed audibly into the cavity.

"Dang." Pit shrank down again as his Mask slid home, and the others started to walk down the steps. He shook his floppy hound ears. "I was just getting used to being big again."

The staircase leading downward was taking a long time. They had been cautious at first, just as they'd been every step of the way, but after twenty minutes of staying on guard, Felix was annoyed.

"I don't sense any traps. I don't sense anything, in fact,” he grunted. “I'm going to run now."

"Agreed. This is tedious." Vess tucked her glaive beneath her arm. "Lead the way."

Felix flared his Agility, tearing down the steps fast enough that the walls blurred into blue-lit smears. It took less than a minute to reach the bottom at that speed, and he came to a sudden stop, skidding against a rough, rocky floor. A wave of blue motes preceded him, lifting up thirty feet to crash across a chamber that was easily twice as wide as the last.

Moreover, that wave cleared the motes from the ground for a moment, and Felix saw where the floor dropped away only a foot or two from the archway. The chamber was as tall as the last one, but it was clearly similarly deep, a depth that was now filled to the brim with blue motes. It was so thick and bright that it was as opaque as any dark ocean, and it rolled with waves that spat sparks into the air with every peak.

“This can’t be good.”

Pit grew again the moment he stepped forward, the archway large enough to accommodate creatures far larger than the four of them. "These rooms are boring. Why is this fortress so ugly?"

"It is clear that they valued function over form,” Yin said, arriving just after Vess. “It is another clear indication that the Nym did not make this place. Their kind loved their decorations."

Felix agreed. He'd been to enough Nymean ruins to recognize this as the handiwork of someone else.

"The chamber is not as plain as the rest." Vess pointed her glaive at the nearest walls. There, hexagonal holes honeycombed them, each twenty feet wide and spaced randomly. "I hear something from within."

"Of course you do," Felix groaned.

Over the slosh of the blue mote sea, a click-clack-slide scratched at his hearing. At first, it sounded like there was an echo, so much did it repeat across the chamber. Yet, as the noise increased in volume, it was very much clear that Felix would not be so lucky.

Thirty monstrous creatures crawled out of the holes. They appeared stitched from several other species, as their long forms were elastic yet covered in chitinous legs. Armored humanoid torsos sprouted from the rubbery flesh, their proportions sagging until they fell into the sea of motes. There, in the light that was almost liquid, they regained shape, their limbs buoyed. Only then did their heads appear, twisted cages of silver metal now filled with a brilliant burning blue.

"Manawarped Mollusca Gladius. Low Grandmaster Tier," Felix growled. "Every last one.”

“Damnation,” Yin cursed.

Pit trumpeted a bright note before unsheathing his sword. "They're mine, then!"

The tenku’s fur and feathers ignited with his Stormlord's Mantle, and he dove into the blue mote sea, sword gripped tight in his mouth. For a moment, Felix lost track of his Companion, but only for a moment. The motes exploded upward as Pit forced one of the Gladii up into the air, Ouranic Dominion surging from his four wings. The horrible creature clung to him, its tentacles and chitinous legs gripping and stabbing in turn as its armored torso beat at Pit's face, holding back the blade clenched between his beak. It was not, however, strong enough to keep Pit from slamming it into the ridged walls. Its form tore into the stone, but the stone was strong enough to contain it for all this time.

It tore right back.

Bright green ichor splattered against the wall, dropping back into the sea of motes like rain, as rubbery flesh shredded against stone and chitin cracked. It did, however, manage to knock the Riposte from Pit's mouth. Executioner's Stormblade guttered out, and the Gladius gave a high-pitched shriek of victory. It was premature, for without a sword, Pit still had a beak.

“Maelstrom Maw!”

Pit tore into the creature right where its neck would have been. His beak clanged against the silver metal, and he heaved upward. The Gladius panicked, its limbs scrabbling against Pit, burning against his Mantle. Pit tore free the silver cage from its neck, and the flame of it guttered out.

Pit Has Killed A Manawarped Mollusca Gladius.

Exp Earned!

“Destroy the cage!" he shouted as he cast the body of the creature back down into the churning sea. "It's their weakness."

"Easier said than done!" Yin was already swimming through the air, narrowly avoiding the writhing tentacles of other Gladiuses from the surface of the molten sea. He slashed through a limb, but its rubbery flesh wasn't marred in the slightest. "They're sturdy beasts."

"Yin, follow Pit's lead!" Vess's wings cut out, letting her drop fast beneath a hundred arcing tentacles, only to reignite and boost her forward. “Rip them out of their element!”

“I suppose the boy had a point!” Yin laughed, his mane swirling. "Prismatic Cyclone!"

Sunset winds tore into the motes, ripping two Gladiuses up into the air before Vess sent her Spears to stab into their terrible flesh. They pierced only a few inches before she let them burst. The creatures tore apart, ichor raining back down as they screeched in pain. In the chaos of swirling winds, the two of them, Dragoon and Dragon, landed atop the creature's armored shoulders. Yin gripped a silver cage between his jaws as Vess stabbed her glaive through the other before stomping on the shaft.

Both cages tore free with a wet, sucking noise, audible even over Yintarion's mighty gale.

Another Gladius shot upward, clinging onto Yin before stabbing at his sunset scales with its sword-like legs. The dragon twisted, fighting back as Vess dove back down, her spears ablaze.

Grandmaster monsters, but with an obvious weakness. They can take care of themselves. He stepped to the edge. I’ll handle the rest.

He dove into the blue. The motes parted like liquid, their light so strong now that it splashed against him without getting him wet at all. It was a curious sensation, but one he could not pay much attention to, for the depths below were filled with monsters.

With their humanoid torso on top, swords for legs, and long, undulating bodies, they reminded Felix uncomfortably of the Janus Hydras. Yet, where the Janus Hydra was a terror of thundering proportions, all these were giants of the deep and moved with an agility there that the Hydra had never managed on land.

They swirled around Felix, stabbing at him, lashing with their tentacles as they tried to grab him. He swam through, too fast for them to catch. For all that they contained the power of a Grandmaster monster, they were not a Grandmaster's equal and certainly not his.

The Gladii chased him, fleeing the surface as Felix dove deeper. He could see very little with his eyes, but his Perception pinged the bottom and sides of the large chamber, noting several hexagonal holes in the walls as there were above.

A Gladius swam from one of those holes, far bigger than the rest. The silver bars of its cage were twisted, bent in confusing patterns that didn't seem to make physical sense and constrained a brighter piece of the blue that was all around them. It reached for him, its armored hands grasping just as swiftly as its tentacles. Felix slammed into its armored chest, claws digging deep, even as his other hand reached for the cage.

The Gladius burned, the light it shone intensifying.

You Have Been Afflicted With A Status Condition!

Status Condition: Starlight’s Consequence

Reduces Agility And Strength By 20%

Status Condition: Blue Mote Curse

All Negative Status Conditions Are Increased By 200%

Suddenly his claws failed to pierce their hides, and as the Gladius swiped at him, it hit like a truck, throwing Felix into the blue like a torpedo. He shook his head, the blow more disorienting than painful. His Vitality and Endurance were unaffected by the Status Condition. Unless something changed, the creature's attacks could do nothing more than knock him around.

Felix floated as the Gladii marshalled around him, at least twenty of them closing in to take him down. Blue Mote Curse, huh? We'll see about that. Sonata of Dominance!

He reached out, attempting to seize the motes all around him, but they slipped through his grasp like smoke. While he could dominate the elements, whatever the motes were composed of was not light, lightning, nor fire, and certainly not water. They defied him, and in a moment of enlightenment, he realized that they weren't even Mana.

What the hell are they?

Sonata of Dominance shifted, turned away from a fruitless task. As the creatures sped closer, Felix twisted it toward a more familiar output. Lightning burst from his hands, shaped down the creature's throats in all directions, striking at their bodies in a deadly arcing barrage.

The Gladii jerked and spasmed, their Health dropping, but not nearly as much as Felix hoped. His shaping was blunted by their stitched hides. He reached for one as it drifted close, temporarily stunned, and yanked at their cage, but he couldn't pull it free. His Strength was reduced by 60 percent, and the blue motes crowded him, burning not at him, but something in his center, something that had never been attacked before.

He dodged away from writhing tentacles, still holding on to that cage, as the creature slowly came back to awareness. That larger Gladius reached out its clawed hands, and that burning intensified, hurting him on a level that he hadn't expected. It felt like the attacks against his significance that the gods had done, but targeting something that lay at right angles to the rest of his power. There, but not, like⁠—

Felix's eyes widened. Adamant Discord!

New lightning bloomed from him and skittered away harmlessly. Far more important were the lines of connection that formed around him like a web. They went everywhere, each one as thick as his wrist and connected not to creatures, but the blue motes themselves. The light in the monster cages, however, was the thickest of all.

Felix released the cage from his hands and seized the connection instead.

He pulled.

This was not an action of Strength nor of the Body at all. This was Willpower, and there was nothing within this fortress that could compete with his Will.

The cage ripped free, the Gladius beneath him jerking once before erupting into a conflagration of bright green ichor in the blue. The others backpedaled, suddenly fleeing toward their hexagonal holes.

It was too late.

Adamant Discord!

He ripped them apart.

Bone Gate Reward!

Random Mythic Item (x1)

You May Claim Your Reward Now, Or Else Defer This Gate Reward In Exchange For A Chance At A Greater Reward At The Next Gate.

Choose.

They chose to defer once again, though this time Yin and Pit both paused considerably over the idea of a Mythic rarity item. In the end, however, they let Felix choose. The items kept getting more powerful.

To him, it was an easy choice.

Reward Deferred.

Proceed To The Next Gate, Challengers.

Deep beneath the surface of the mote sea, they found the next gate.

This was easier than they had anticipated. Felix had been too busy fighting to pay attention, but the sea did not drown them. Air passed among the motes as easily as it did above, which made a certain kind of sense. The motes weren’t Mana, and they certainly weren’t water.

Down at the bottom, there was a tunnel filled completely with motes. At the end of it, they found it. The Blood Gate.

It was a liquid red barrier that sat smoothly across the tunnel. Whereas the Flesh and Bone Gates contained facets, ridges, and layers to their composition, the Blood Gate was a single plane of crimson. As they drew close, the length of it bubbled as if it were boiling.

“Careful, Felix,” Vess warned.

He tried to protest that he was being careful—before it exploded. Blood rushed outward toward them, a wave of liquid that punched into Felix harder than the Gladii had managed.

Empyrean Embrace!

Felix consumed it all. The power of it burnt through him, feeding into his core space more Essence and significance than he'd ever expected. The blood simply kept coming. The Gate proved to be far thicker than any of the others before, and when it was over, Felix was left panting for breath, his center full as if he'd just drank the contents of an entire swimming pool.

"That was no simple warding," Yin’s scales were marked with several wounds from the Gladii’s sharpened limbs, but he stood tall as he considered the tunnel ahead. "Someone died to make that Blood Gate."

"More than just one person," Felix agreed. He flexed his hand. "And they gave up all their significance, too. There was a lot in there.”

Vess walked closer, glaive forward. “So whatever has been sealed here was truly a danger. I've not seen protections like this anywhere.”

“The closest I've come has been the Wellspring. But that was way different.” Felix took a breath, trying to find room in his full chest. “What are they hiding in here?"

The motes, for once, did not rush forward. In fact, as Felix and the others stepped forward to where the Blood Gate once stood, the motes simply stopped, as if encountering an invisible wall. Pit poked a paw at the surface of it, and it trembled, retreating from his paw as if it were repelled.

"What does this mean?" he asked.

"Nothing good," Yin said.

Beyond the Blood Gate was another set of stairs. These did not lead into a long, winding stairwell, but simply forward, down into a depressed area that had been carved into the floor of a much wider chamber, forming an eight-pointed star. Yet another Seal was here. But again, unlike previously, this did not light up at their approach, but was always ignited. It cast a deep red light into the room, as if the chamber had been bathed in the blood of the Gate.

At the center of the Seal was a lanky figure. Chains extended from four directions, attached to the figure's wrists and ankles by thick, crimson manacles.

"Challengers," the creature said, its face veiled in shadow. "After all this time. How intriguing."

Unseen Beholder.

Heavy resistance met his Skill, more than Felix had seen in a while. The System trilled, only providing him with a single line.

Name: Castarius, The Primordial Urge of Starlight's Fall

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

Primordial Urge? Felix frowned. Those are two separate things.

“The stench of mortal kin.”

The figure stood, chains clinking. They appeared to be a man with pale hair and paler skin, but there his resemblance to a normal Human stopped. His limbs were far longer than normal, and each was clad in jagged, rusted armor, though his head was bare. Only a tunic covered the rest of him, wrapped in single strips that were crossed in a curious pattern.

“A Human?” The being had a potent Spirit that pressed at all of them, and unlike other powerful individuals, he made no effort to hide his emotions. Suspicion and disdain were laid bare, along with a half dozen other micro-surges of feeling. “Do I dream? Of all the mortals to reach beyond the Blood Gate, a Human could not be guessed. Not by me.”

Vess held her glaive with both hands, knees slightly bent, and Mana coursing through her palms.

Castarius laughed. “And she is fierce.”

Yin stepped forward, angling his body to block the being’s line of sight. “You do not deserve to face the Dragoon, creature.”

“Lo, what have these weary eyes perceived? A fledgling Dragon…and a Chimera? Long have I been denied such…delicacies.” The man grinned, and his teeth were sharp as a wolf’s. “I fear my appetite is a honed blade. Come closer, and let me draw it forth.”

Felix. Pit was shaken, and the feathers around his neck stood up on end. This guy is bad news. Can we handle this?

Instead of answering, Felix walked forward, slipping between the two Companions. “Who are you? Why are you imprisoned here?”

The being leaned forward, and layers of flesh peeled away from his face. It revealed someone different, with duskier skin and crimson hair. His teeth were bright and flat. “You do not know? My my my. How intriguing. Yet, I believe the query most pressing pertains to you. How have you come to be, Scion of the Unseen Tide?”

“You know it.”

“Better than most, Scion. In Ages lost, she was an ally. The greatest of the Cardinal Beasts…now trapped within a Nym. Fah!” Castarius spat onto the ground. The spittle glowed bright blue and sizzled against the floor. “How does mortality taste, Veridaan? Do you savor it? Or do you chafe at the fetters that bind you so?”

Interesting.

“Castarius. The Primordial Urge of Starlight’s Fall,” Felix let his hand play on the hilt of his sword. “An Urge and Primordial. How can you be both?”

“You speak with such ignorance on your tongue, Nym and Cardinal. We are what we have chosen to be.”

Chosen. Felix chewed over that word most of all. “You look nothing like any Primordial I’ve met.”

“That’s the Spirit Tree calling the mountain tall. If I had a hand free for every time I’ve seen a Primordial walking in a mortal’s Body, you’d already be dead.”

“You’ve seen something like me before?”

Castarius laughed, and his face peeled again. His skin turned blue, his teeth lengthening into shark-like points, and his eyes went black. “Once, a mortal inherited the core of a Primordial. They tried to absorb its Essence and significance. They couldn’t do it. The effort burst their heart like a grape, and their Mind cooked under the pressure of their own Spirit.”

The creature shuddered theatrically, rattling his chains. “A gruesome end.”

“And what of you?” Vess asked. “Surely the nature of an Urge and Primordial would be at odds. A creature of the Cognitive and an ancient beast cursed to warp those around itself.”

“You met my erstwhile guardians, I see.”

“We killed them.”

“A pity. Some were loyal, once. The flesh curse has a way of changing things, I fear.”

The creature’s Spirit was chaos, but Felix could plainly hear sorrow leak through the tangle of emotions. It was almost as strong as the rage that did not reach Castarius’ expression. “But not all. The rest were treasure hunters and behemoths seeking the forbidden. It is best that they died in your Quest.”

Vess signed at him. Felix lifted an eyebrow before nodding.

“Surprised? Of course I know of your Quest. Nym and Primordial, Drake and Chimera? Who else would the vaunted System send to murder me?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Vess twisted her grip, adjusting her stance ever so slightly. Felix knew the movement. She was ready for the chained creature to act. Felix just had to do his part first.

Yet Castarius didn’t act, save to fold his armored hands together across his middle. Rust stained the white fabric where it touched.

“Never have I seen a Nym risk their lives to join with a Primordial. And mad Veridaan of all of them. Were you seeking death, magus? Or has the war turned truly desperate?”

“Which war is that?”

Castarius pursed his thin lips. “Who reigns over the Continent, Scion?”

“Which part?” Vess asked.

“Human. Speak when you’re spoken to, or not at all,” the creature snarled. “Nym! What of your people?”

“They are Lost.”

Castarius leaned back, Spirit suddenly still. “Even chained, the Ascendents won.” He cursed. “I told them. I told them!”

“You’ve been in here since the Golden Empire fell?” Yin asked.

“Since the day the Herald and her Thousand Elysians set off to bind the gods.”

Vess frowned. “You were…an ally?”

“Of a sort.” Castarius jangled his chains. “Until I wasn’t.”

“Did the Nym betray you?”

“Ask your leader. Better yet, ask him how he could be here at all, if the Ruin descended upon the Continent.” He thrust his chin toward Felix. “Was it the Cardinal? Did she promise you glory to become her Vessel? Or simply survival?”

Felix knelt at the edge of the Seal, studying it. “You know a lot. You’re strong, too. I can feel it from here—you’re not holding your Spirit back…because you can’t, can you? It’s spilling everywhere.”

Castarius’ face peeled again. He looked like how he did originally: pale haired, pale skinned, with a narrow jaw and a sharp, aquiline nose. Eyes without iris or pupil stared at him, pools of bright silver in a face that was far more alien than familiar. “Too strong to kill. Too weak to be free.”

Felix stood up. “This Seal reminds me of the ones in my Territory, only less complicated. This was inscribed by the Nym, wasn’t it?”

Silver eyes narrowed. “You speak of them like you were never one of them.”

“Answer the question.”

“Yes. The Golden Empire crafted me this gilded cage.”

“Why?”

Castarius fell silent, and Felix waited. The Quest told him to kill this being, but this was an opportunity for information he couldn’t get anywhere else. Felix tried a different tack.

“Primordial Urge. Those are two wildly different creatures. Yet you’re both. I have a feeling that you didn’t start that way.”

“Sometimes there are no good choices.”

That could mean anything. “And what were your choices?”

“An honorable death or a dishonorable life.”

“That is no choice at all,” Yin said, puffing out his chest.

Castarius bared his teeth like a cornered animal. “So the Nym claimed. Even after I bent my flesh beyond their Authority, they came for me. When I tore off the head of two Elysians, however, they learned caution.”

The powerful followers of the Herald, huh? “Is that a warning?” he asked aloud.

“A courtesy…and an explanation. The Primordial’s flesh curse was not taken on lightly, but as a last effort toward freedom. It was a way out… to return to my home among the Ethereal, where my kind once lived as one. I did not expect the madness. The hunger. When the Nym dispatched the Urge of Dark Eclipse to kill me, I did what was in my newfound nature. I consumed it.”

“And it became part of you?”

“You may have conquered your nature, Scion, but to bind yourself to a Primordial is to court Dissonance itself. Transgression is within our nature, and I am what the Nym have made of me!”

The pale figure went from still to moving without warning. One moment, Castarius was held tight by his chains in the center of the Seal, and the next he stepped to its edge, clawed gauntlets slashing.

Vess fell back, arcanite armor ringing like a bell, her entire body spinning with the force of Castarius’ blow.

“Dragoon!”

Yin flashed forward, a streak of sunset in that blood-red place, his talons matching Pit’s crystalline claws. They hit Castarius as one.

The creature stopped them with a mad grin. “I prefer my meals more tender!”

His limbs blurred, the blows coming faster than they could track—all Felix saw was that the two Companions were sent hurtling back, their sides deformed and bloody.

Both of them dropped, wheezing.

“Castarius!” Felix exploded the air around him, letting Wild Threnody and Sonata of Dominance sing together. Fire ripped outward, blue and red-gold all at once.

Castarius did not bother to dodge it. From belly to neck the fire burned him down to the bone, yet the skin remained charred for only moments before it healed. He rubbed his jaw. “Shaping magic. You are a true magus, false Nym.”

Without so much as a word, Vess’ Spears thrust at him from oblique angles. They pierced him clean through, though the shafts bent with the force of their impact. Castarius laughed, slapping the conjured Spears. “And you! So fierce!”

Vess clenched her fist. “Final Glory!”

Every Spear exploded into a storm of metal and air Mana, obscuring the Seal with swirling winds and pasted pieces of torso.

Castarius’ laugh hitched…but it did not stop.

“Exceptional, Scion. Her power is paltry, but your magic is worthy of an Elysian—” His skeleton remained. Like the Boars, it was composed of blue light. A glowing skull fixed Felix with an eyeless stare. He spoke through the wet noise of his flesh knitting together. “But as I’ve said. I’ve killed plenty of Elysians.”

Castarius' form rippled, his human-like appearance becoming thinner and sharper, as if a blade had been transformed into a person. His long limbs dragged him forward, as if he were more monster than man, and savage claws burst from beneath his rusted armor as prominent canines split from between his grinning lips.

Castarius attacked. The rattle of his bindings was nearly inaudible with how fast he moved. The chains didn't hamper him. In fact, they extended as if their length had been hidden all this time.

Felix threw up an arm, Sovereign of Flesh flaring just as the Primordial Urge struck. His scales thickened into true armor, even as his face was covered by featureless midnight plates.

Surprise poured across Castarius' overwhelming Spirit as his claws stopped only an inch into Felix's arm. "You should not be this strong!”

"Sucks for you!" Felix punched him in the face.

Castarius fell back, stumbling before the chains went taut and yanked him to his feet once more. The Primordial Urge's angular face split wide, sharp teeth bared in a wild grin.

"I see now," he laughed. "I see!" He twitched his arms, and the chains slackened once more. "You've tapped into the Beast!"

A flurry of blows rang out in that place, fast enough that the noise of each impact was delayed in reaching Felix's ears. Even his eyes lied to him. The Primordial Urge's movements left after-images, and the creature's strange proportions gave him incredible reach. He flowed with the loping grace of a predator. Tooth and claw, Castarius brought the maddened wrath of Ages upon Felix.

Felix tried shaping magic and even his Empyrean Embrace, but the creature shrugged them all off equally. Only his fists proved useful. Armored with Sovereign of Flesh, Felix could tank Castarius' hits. His Health barely budged except on the worst strikes, and even then, Felix consumed Essence to rapidly heal.

The issue, however, was that Castarius did, too.

"Will we do this forever, Scion?" Between an interchange of blows, they prowled around the edges of the Seal, the bloody light bathing their forms in crimson. “Do you plan to join me here in my prison? Two immortals locked in eternal battle?”

"No," Felix said, catching the Primordial Urge across the jaw. It shattered beneath his blow, but was reassembling even before Felix could hit a second time. "I've got places to be. Vess!"

Castarius' head whipped to the side, his manic grin faltering as he spied the Dragoon at the edge of the seal. Her spectral wings were spread wide as the head of a Dragon formed over her own. "Matriarch's Lament!"

Castarius Is Ennervated!

Stamina, Vitality, And Maximum Health Is Depleted!

Duration: Five Heartbeats!

The Primordial Urge staggered, his silver eyes bugging as Vess’ roar coursed through him. Vess had clocked his weaknesses from the start; the Ennervation effect was secondary. Beneath the dark cry of a bereaved matriarch, it was Castarius’ exposed Spirit that suffered the most.

Emotions surged, woe and agony in equal measure. Castarius’ wept, overcome by something only he could see.

With a sharp blow, Felix beheaded him.

The Primordial Urge’s body dangled, held by chains that had gone taut, while his head thumped unceremoniously to the ground.

“End…this…”

Felix kicked the head over, so that its angular features were staring up at him. Castarius’ mouth still moved, tongue working.

“Send…me…home…”

Felix unsheathed his Inheritor’s Will. “As you wish.”

He stabbed Castarius through the skull.

Immediately, something within the Primordial Urge’s Body evaporated. A silver mist poured from him, rising into the air before it was pulled away into a burst of unbearable light.

Felix flinched away from it, but it was gone faster than lightning. All that remained was a bloody Body. Suddenly, it jerked, the dead limbs fighting against the taut chains.

Right. Primordials don’t die.

The head on the ground howled, and shadow pooled around it like power drawn toward its open mouth. The air sizzled, the flesh curse burning at them all. Even Felix felt its sting.

Empyrean Embrace!

Bereft of Will, the corpse that was Castarius dissolved beneath Felix’s Intent. The curse flowed into him, broken apart by Sovereign of Flesh, even as it tried to infect his Body. It burned him, somehow more powerful than any other he’d consumed, but he forced it down. Essence, Mana, and significance poured into his channels right after, filling his reserves to bursting.

Eventually, the chains fell to the ground, finally empty.

Quest Complete!

Cleanse The Dark. Claim The Light.

You have killed the creature that haunted the remains of Aja Nadir. The Fortress Of Starlight’s Rise is now under your Authority.

You Have Gained 10 Levels!

You Are Now Level 120!

+200 to STR! +220 to PER! +220 to VIT! +260 to END! +240 to INT! +280 to WIL! +260 to AGL! +290 to DEX!

+200 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 150 Unused Stat Points!

New Title!

Nightlord (Mythic)

You have seized the Edge of Night and secured it against the Ethereal. From here, you are mere steps from what lies beyond the dark. Do you dare seek it out?

+Increased resistance to the Ethereal Realm

+Your Authority Has Increased Over Dark Passages!

+Increased attunement to Dissonance

+You Have Authority Over The Treasures Of Starlight’s Rise!

Resistance to the Ethereal? Felix hadn’t heard of that before. Mana types he understood, pain certainly, but a whole Realm? And further attunement to Dissonance. That’s never happened before, either.

You Have Defeated The Final Wave Of The Fortress Of Starlight’s Rise!

Due To Deferred Your Reward, It Has Increased In Quantity!

Random Mythic Item (x2)!

Calculating Bonuses…

You Have Eradicated All Traces Of The Primordial Urge Of Starlight’s Fall!

You Have Eradicated All Traces Of The Primordial Flesh Curse!

You Have Eradicated All Foes Within The Fortress!

Due To Your Accomplishments, The Rarity Of Your Reward Has Upgraded To Unique (U)!

Due To Your Accomplishments, The Reward Has Been Tailored To You!

A long, flat box appeared in a flash of golden azure light, dropping into Felix’s hand from nothing. It was surprisingly heavy, and the black metal it was comprised of couldn’t be identified by his Skill. It was featureless, much like Silver or Gold Chests he’d gotten in the past, though this was no wider than a sheet of paper.

“That is the tiniest treasure chest I have ever seen,” Pit said, wincing as he helped Yin to his feet. They were both bloody, but they seemed Healthy enough.

Felix traded a glance with Vess, and they opened it together. Inside was a hammered sheet of bronze that took up nearly the entire space. It was marked with strange symbols and odd cuts along the edges of the sheet, as if someone had sliced halfway through it a dozen times. Felix had never seen anything like it before.

In the space left, however, was a very familiar item.

“Vess,” he said, heart thundering. He tilted the box to her. “I think this one’s for you.”

Her eyes widened. “Felix…”

“Yeah. I know.”

It was an overlarge, faceted crystal key.

An Omen Key.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

Name: Omen Key

Type: Path (Enhancement)

Lore: Omens are our destinies unveiled, hints at futures yet to come and strength yet to unlock. Not all attain their destiny, but all meet their Chosen Fate. This is the Key to your Path. Walk boldly or not at all.

The blood-red light of the Seal vanished, plunging them into darkness. Yin growled something guttural, and his diamond horns shone with a soft morning radiance.

"Thanks, Yin." Felix held out the box to Vess. "Take it."

She stepped back. "You cannot give this to me. It is too much."

"Are you kidding me? Who else should I give it to?”

“One of the Unbound. Tactically, their growth is more important than mine."

"I'm gonna stop you right there. First off, they're not here. They didn't earn this. And if I know anything about the System, that matters. This was a Unique reward, tailored to us."

Vess stared at the Omen Key, her gaze caught somewhere between eagerness and anxiety. "The Unbound are more worthy to advance their Omens. I am merely happy to help."

"Nope! I'm not gonna listen to you talk about yourself like that. You've done too many incredible things to think you aren't worthy of an Omen Key. Not only have you fought incredible enemies far beyond your own power, you've won. You were the first to bond with a true Dragon in an Age. Hell, you revived a portion of the Dragon Race! Not to mention driving out your longtime enemies from your ancestral home.

“Vess, you're a hero and a force to be reckoned with—and I wouldn't have stopped Castarius without your Matriarch's Lament to throw his Spirit into disarray. His guard was too complete. His regeneration too swift. You've more than earned this."

Felix pushed the open box toward her once more. "Keep it. Maybe you aren't ready to open the door that it goes to, but keep it until you are."

After a long moment, Vess licked her lips, staring at the faceted crystal Key for nearly thirty seconds before she lifted shaking fingers and gripped it tight.

"Very well," she said. Behind her, Yin danced about, his long, sinuous form wriggling as a blaring giddiness shot from his Spirit.

"Yes, little Dragoon. The emperor is right. You deserve this."

Vess grinned at them both. "All right. I stand no chance against the both of you united." She tucked the Key away.

"It's good that you recognize that, little Dragoon.”

“What did you get, Felix?" Pit asked, sidling closer.

Felix turned his attention to the other item in the small black box. Unseen Beholder.

Name: Carved Bronze Sheet

Type: Trash

Lore: A piece of something greater.

“Well that’s…disappointing,” Pit muttered. “I thought this was supposed to be Unique?”

Felix had the same thought. The hammered piece of bronze was unremarkable at first glance. Second glance, too, at least until his head began to hum. Felix frowned, touching his temple. The Crown of Elysium vibrated in a way he'd experienced before. It was resonating with the presence of Crescian Bronze.

Felix lifted the sheet of metal up to the light shining off of Yin. Twisting it this way and that, he could feel the faintest stirrings of a foreign will in the flattened sheet, but it was nearly non-existent. That alone was unlike any piece of Crescian bronze he'd ever touched. All such metal contained its own will. It was one of the reasons why it was so valuable, why it conducted Mana so well, and why it was so hard to work.

Felix turned the sheet over, finding the back of it to be as covered in punched patterns as the front. The markings resembled sigils, but only superficially. None of them read clearly, and it certainly wasn't an array. It was as if someone had started writing a dozen different sigils, only to stop partway, sometimes half, sometimes no more than an eighth of what might have been the original sigil.

He wasn't sure what any of it was supposed to mean, and his Unseen Beholder told him very little. Who would make this?

Prerequisites Met!

Nymean Bloodline Detected!

Omen Path Completed!

Bound Empyrean Regalia Detected!

The sheet twisted, its dimensions shifting sideways until it formed a disk. That disk itself curled in on itself, bending in Felix's hands until it joined, turning into an orb the size of a baseball. Without needing to check, the item information reappeared, now entirely different.

Name: Eye of Tumult

Type: Path (Enhancement)

Lore: All Paths come to an end. Seek the last resting place of the Obsidian Tumult and summon forth your courage, magus. You shall need it.

Felix's mouth went dry. It's the same Type as the Omen Key. He read through the Lore another time. All paths come to an end?

Turning the object over in his hands, he noted that the orb was seamless now. The pieces of Crescian Bronze had melded together, and the previously incomplete markings now formed curious, almost sigil-like patterns across its surface. Yet, they bore no resemblance to the sigaldry he knew.

"Is there a second stage to an Omen Key?" he asked.

"What?" Vess asked, tearing her eyes away from her faceted prize. "Would you not know, from your previous foray into the Omen Path?"

"That's not what I mean," Felix replied, swiping the item's information and sending it to the other three.

Pit tilted his head in confusion and shrugged, clearly unimpressed. Vess bit her lip, as unsure as Felix himself. Yin, however, had a very different reaction.

"This... Emperor, you have earned a reward worth more than most kingdoms," he said, his voice filled with awe.

"Is it what I think it is?"

Yin nodded. "Even in my time, few ever found their Omen Key, but far fewer were granted this final step down their Path. It was known that they would not appear as uniform as Omen Keys are. Instead, it was a cipher, tailored to the person who earned it. To their Path. This Eye of Tumult will lead you where you need to go. More than that, I cannot say."

Obsidian Tumult... That sounds really familiar. He studied the orb, noting how the patterns carved into it not only formed those semi-sigils, but also a continuous looping line across the entire surface, each marking connected to the next. The entire object had a certain heft to it, one that was not accounted for by metal alone. As he rolled it in his hands, it almost felt like there was a liquid inside, which should have been impossible. The bronze sheet had been empty, but the way the weight of it shifted as he turned the orb, Felix grew certain that something was within.

You Have Claimed Authority Over The Fortress Of Starlight’s Rise!

Do You Wish To Extend Your Authority Over The City?

The notification forced him to tuck the orb away into a side pouch. The moment he did so, the black metal chest vanished, and a ripple of light slipped across the Seal beneath his feet.

Felix focused on the notification. Yes. Extend away.

A certain awareness slipped over Felix, rolling outward across the fortress and the city beyond. Just as with the cities and Territories he’d claimed previously, a new sense blossomed within him as pathways across the port city opened up for the first time in Ages.

The City Has Fallen.

What Is Your Choice?

Forsake Or Unite?

No matter how many times the System asked, his answer would always be the same. Unite.

Power fled his core, ripping through his channels and into the Seal before him. Mana, Essence, and a solid chunk of his significance, until the sigaldry glowed a brilliant white-blue and red-gold. The world itself flexed, bowing out at the edges of Felix’s vision, before steadying into something more.

Aja Nadir!

The City At The Edge Of Night!

Fallen No More!

Beyond the mountain fastness, Felix felt the city shift as if it were shedding a moth-bitten cloak. The buildings smoothed, their pocked surfaces replenished as new growth flourished in barren gardens and across rusted iron trellises that were now spotless. Flowers bloomed in the dark, and the sky itself lightened as those massive stars of blue fled the rift exit to merge into one and rise far above the docks. It flared, shining with new light, as if it were a miniature sun.

His Authority experienced it all.

Felix pulled himself back, focusing on his own two feet and the people around him. “It looks like the way out is clear.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, let’s take the treasure of Starlight’s Rise.”

Authority Recognized!

Just beyond the chamber in which Castarius had been imprisoned, they found a pair of wide doors. They were warded, the patterns of it quite similar to the Seal that dominated the center of the room, but these doors responded eagerly to Felix's newfound Authority.

Inside, they discovered a number of rooms that resembled apartments, though their furnishings had long since rotted to dust. Most intriguing was at the very end of the hallway, where it split at an angle, leading to two separate chambers fronted by distinct doors.

One door was carved to resemble wings folded over one another. The join in the center, denoted by carved stone feathers that layered across each other in a delicate pattern, made Felix a bit terrified that it would shatter if he pried at the door with any amount of Strength.

On the right, the door was far more practical. It was stout and marked with geometrical designs that reminded Felix of the Dwarves. The figures carved into the top of the door, just below the lintel, were also vaguely dwarven, their proportions wide and heavyset, their features blocky and almost unfinished.

He let Pit pick the first door to check. Unsurprisingly, he picked the one with the feathers. A ward held these doors closed as well, but it opened the moment Felix decided it should, swinging on ghostly hinges to reveal a short set of stairs. Beyond the stairs was a wide-open room filled with racks and shelving and piles of glittering valuables.

"An armory," Pit said, nearly hopping as he slipped between the shelves.

“More like a treasury,” Yin corrected, eyeing the piles of gold and gemstones inside some of the chests.

The four of them took a look around, finding weapons and armor of quality make, though none were of more rare materials than mithril. Their designs were elegant, as if formed of water or wind captured by a master artisan. Every suit of armor and weapon they found was the work of an artist. They were beautiful as well as functional. All told, there were perhaps three hundred weapons and twice that number of armor pieces.

For a brief moment, Felix entertained the possibility that the Exalted Bell might be within the treasure chamber. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky.

They did, however, find that a number of the suits of armor were barding. Specifically, barding that, according to the pictographs carved above their storage area, were intended for Chimera.

"Now this is useful," Pit exclaimed, moving between the shelved suits like a kid deciding which candy he wanted to eat first. "Look! This one enhances your speed a little, and this one reduces some damage. And—oh my goodness! These have auras! Fire and frost and wind!"

Pit practically vibrated as he explored the shelves. "Scylla's gonna go nuts over this!”

"I don't doubt it, buddy."

Inside the other chamber, however, there were far more fascinating finds. The room was perhaps designed by Dwarves, but Felix didn't think so. He glanced at the door again. He was certain that what he mistook for Dwarves were instead the occupants of the room beyond.

"Eidolon Exults. Grace and Gale," Vess breathed. "There must be two hundred of them here."

The Exults lined the walls, each sat within an alcove marked by beautiful carvings in geometric shapes. A mosaic on the far wall depicted a magus lifting her hand surrounded by the upthrust weapons of stone Exults. There was one problem, however.

None of the Exults were functional.

After much poking and prodding, his party couldn’t get any of the Eidolons to awaken or even respond to their provocations. There was still power in them, but it was a thing rooted firmly in their Bodies. Those held strong—it was their Minds and Spirits that seemed to be stripped bare. Those were no more than a thin varnish holding the ancient constructs together.

It was most apparent in the sigaldry on their chests. Normally, a bright constellation of glyphs bound with memories; some were marred, but the others were simply faded. Felix tried to use Unite the Lost to fix them, but the problem wasn't the Ruin. Time itself had turned on the Exults.

“We should still load them onto the ships,” Vess said. “I am certain there is a use for them all.”

“Really?”

"I am sure."

Felix nodded. "Okay, I trust you. Then we need to get people down here to move everything. Pit, race back to the flagship and organize a team of porters."

“On it!”

Pit vanished in a flash, his wings cutting through the air as he raced back out of the fortress. Felix turned over the Eye of Tumult in his hands, pacing before the stoic visages of the Exults. There was so much to accomplish, and the list kept getting longer. During their exploration of the armory and the Exults' staging ground, he had received a notification that he'd tried to ignore.

New Quest!

A Record Of War

Seek out the remains of the Obsidian Tumult and return the Eye. Walk with courage.

Rewards:

+???

Something to look forward to. After the battle, at least.

He tucked the Eye into his jacket again, but paused as another notification appeared before him.

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan.

Progress: 15%

Felix froze. Immediately throwing his awareness down into himself, he fell into his core space. Dropping to the roots of the Divine Tree, where the fragment was still bound. Beneath it, however, the abyss churned. Felix could still sense Zara’s Challenger's Sea holding in place—yet there was the sound of a rock slide shearing from a mountain's face. Another binding fell apart, and the abyss roused.

The beast took a deep breath before it drifted away. Slumbering or, most likely, waiting.

Felix blinked back to awareness. He caught his friends’ eyes.

"We need to move. Now."

CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

Aja Nadir was bright and shining. The restored buildings were painted white, but many were built with strips of a translucent stone that now shone an unearthly green. Blue motes were everywhere, clustered together over streets like lanterns, until the roadways were as well-lit as any modern city. The place was still bereft of any sign of habitation, yet looking over it now, Felix couldn't help but feel like life had returned to that place.

His people were getting back onto their ships now. A few Manaships were still at the docks as the last of their crews filed aboard. Felix, however, stood on the flagship, already fully occupied and sitting at the blank gateway that was their pathway out. The spiky blue stars were gone now, having risen above the city like a tiny, azure sun. The empty stone expanse before them was no longer cracked and featureless gray. Now it was perfectly smooth and flecked with pieces of that same translucent mineral. They glimmered in the lights of the ship.

"Where's Beef?" he asked.

"Still geeking out over those Golems you brought on board," Archie said.

"Exults.”

“Whatever. Him, Eagin, and the others are down there, fondling sigils."

"You have such a way with words." Elowen leaned over the railing, an unspent laugh in her voice.

Archie picked off a bit of dust from his sleeve. "I'm a regular poet, Antlers."

Felix eyed the two of them. They're getting along nicely.

"The Chimera have distributed the barding," Vess told him. "Chancellor Dayne and Thalgrym are already arranging for training spars once we arrive in Gharion."

"Training? We're about to fight a war," Archie said. "Last thing I want to do is get my ass kicked for fun."

"The armors we found have a number of enchantments on them, each providing effects that will alter how the Chimera do battle. They need to familiarize themselves with those enchantments, otherwise it will be more a hindrance than a help."

"...Oh." Archie scratched his neck. "Guess that makes sense.”

“Glad you think so. We have a day before the operation begins." Archie jumped as Harn walked up to them. He held one of the weapons from the fortress's vault, a heavy dagger that was over a foot long. The edge was lined with that same translucent green stone. He handed it to Archie, who took it reluctantly. "There's time for everyone to get some last minute training in."

Archie groaned.

"I'd relish the opportunity to test my powers on the Legion and other armies," Elowen said. "There's much I don't know about them."

Harn grunted, but his scarred face twisted sideways into a smile. "Knew I liked you, lady. Some of the other Unbound could do with some more learning."

"The ships are ready, my lord," Florian announced from across the deck. "The fleet is ready to sail at your command."

"Excellent. Thank you, Lord Iretus. Time to move, ladies and gentlemen." Felix stepped to the bowspit and lifted his black-scaled hand. "Hold onto your butts.”

Void Nexus.

He slashed downward.

The resistance Felix had felt before was gone as if it had never been. The blank stone before them split into a star-flecked expanse of pure shadow, rippling at the edges with heat haze.

"Forward!" Florian announced before the flagship rolled smoothly through the air and passed into the dark. There was a moment of pressure as the skin of Realms clung to all of them before they were through.

Felix blinked at the sudden light.

The sun was barely up, though its position had changed ever so slightly. The rift opened up above a forest and the remains of a stone ruin surrounded them farther below, long since reclaimed by the wilderness, but ahead of them, Felix spied Gharion itself, the capital city once dominated by the palace of the Prince that ruled it. Now it was a sprawling town, one that would soon grow into a metropolis surrounding the expanse of a wide lake. It was still morning, their six-hour-long trip having taken no more than what seemed a half an hour in the Corporeal Realm.

Travel has gotten a lot faster.

The Water Palace stood tall, but it was no longer draped with the flags of the Ghreldan Princes. Instead, it now flew the banner of the Gharion High Council and above that the banner of House Nevarre. The Palace clung to the edge of the lake, its sprawling towers and spires reaching out a distance into the lake itself on deep-set platforms. It was a beautiful sight in the morning sun, but not so much as the island that sat in the center of the lake. The shores of it had been built up with stones since he’d seen it last, and now it was honeycombed with caves and passages that crowds of Nagafolk swam through.

The island itself was dominated by an immense Spirit Tree, one that he recognized. The Abundance Anima rose now as high as the Water Palace itself, not nearly the size of the Atlantes, but an Elder Spirit Tree nonetheless. It was clear that each research facility that Felix had restored had boosted its growth immensely.

That worked out just fine for him and his plans.

Their ships docked at the stone piers at the edge of the Palace’s lakeside facilities. They were newly built to accommodate the ethericraft, their layers elevated and extended somewhat hastily. His thirty ships were quick to unload, their soldiers and mages pouring into the inner halls of the Water Palace, guided by Legion officers. The Chimera were guided to an open field near the shore, where food had been set out for them to enjoy.

Felix didn’t get to disembark, however. No sooner had his flagship settled into place than the lake churned, parting before a massive serpent whose head was nearly a third the size of the ship. The serpent rose, its scales a green so dark they appeared black, and eyes blazing in the long shadows of the morning. The Deepking rose from the waters, his entourage rising with him. They were powerful Nagafolk, massive beings clutching weapons and armor.

Workers on the docks shouted an alarm, and a few on Felix's ships shifted, not out of fear, but to watch the panicking locals. The Legion knew the Naga were to be trusted. What they didn't know was how people would respond.

You'd think they'd be more used to this, Pit sent to him. Don't they live here now?

Felix sent back a shrug. Even with the Nagafolk as neighbors, having an Abyssal Serpent rise above you was a pulse-pounding experience. The complicated relationship between the Nagafolk and the High Council was not something he cared to investigate at the moment.

Kar’casitrix met Felix as he stepped toward the railing. He bowed his great, wedge-shaped head, closing his luminous eyes. "Returned God. It is most glorious to see you.”

“Hello, Trixie. How are things?"

"Things go apace. Our people have moved here to the capital, and the mortals have proven quite accommodating.” He looked at the dock. Workers let out a few squeals before they were shushed by some Ghreldan Knights. "I sensed the opening of the Shadowgate shortly before dawn, and you are already here. Your powers grow, Returned God. It is good to see.”

“And it's good to see you too, Deepking. How are your people doing?"

"With the forming of the High Council, the Nagafolk have been recognized as members of this Territory. We have begun to settle in Gharion properly, and my people flock to our banner."

Felix blinked. "How many people?"

Trixie looked downright smug. "I have united all of the far-flung clans of my people. They know of your power, Returned God, and they know of your mercy. All of us have embraced your enemies as our own. We will bring twenty thousand Nagafolk warriors to this battle, and our enemies will know fear."

Holy shit. That meant the Nagafolk outnumbered every other faction by an order of magnitude. He bowed to the Abyssal Serpent. "I'm honored."

The Deepking bowed farther, almost lowering his head to the water before he lifted it straight up. "Glory to the Returned God!"

From the water, thousands of sibilant voices raised in response. "Glory!”

“We eagerly await the start of your war against the heavens," Trixie said, a new light in his eyes. It was fervent and heated as much as his Spirit.

"I have a task for you, then," Felix smiled. "I need you to find me a few items."

"It shall be done."

Pit stood on one of the highest walls of the Water Palace, unable to get comfortable.

They'd had a meal with the High Council before the leaders had retired to the heads of their armies. Everyone was rushing about trying to organize their supplies and the influx of new soldiers for their journey toward Amaranth. The city was far away, a lot farther than Manaships could cover in a week, let alone a single day. Pit was fairly certain he could make it to the shining palace in about a day, were he to push Ouranic Dominion to its limits. He'd argued more than once to go with Felix, but he'd been shut down again and again. He understood why, but he didn't love the plan. Leaving Felix to face an army alone was his least favorite aspect of it.

I'm not a fan of this either, Felix!

Pit’s face felt flushed under his feathers. He shifted his wings uncomfortably. Felix had retired to his rooms after hours of meetings…with Vess. Pit had reminded Felix to squeeze shut his bond over and over, but now he was forced to close it as best he could. Unfortunately, he could still sense…echoes.

"Stormlord?"

"Ah! What?" He turned to find Scylla nearby, having landed on the far end of the balcony. "Oh, hey there, Scylla.”

“You seem upset. I can go⁠—"

"No, I'm fine!" A jolt ran through Pit as his bond was finally, mercifully shielded. His awareness of his Companion faded almost entirely. "Oh, thank god."

The pale tenku quirked her head at him.

"Don't mind me, Scylla. I was just distracted. What's up?"

She walked closer. She was wearing a set of Chimeric barding they'd found in Aja Nadir. It hugged her sleek form, armoring her back, sides, chest, and legs with curving shapes and pleasing symmetry. It was made of mithril and that translucent green stone they'd seen in the city, and the hue of it set off her large eyes. They were wide and striking among her white feathers, and for a moment, Pit forgot simple things like his worries and how to breathe.

"That armor suits you," she said. "It is quite impressive."

Pit glanced down at himself. His own set of barding was like Scylla's, but where she had bands of translucent green, he had blue. There had been only a few like his, though he'd picked it for the enchantments rather than the look of it.

"Mine has an aura of wind, same as yours. That, plus the heavy damage reduction, should help us a great deal," she said, lifting a paw to inspect the mithril and stone. "It will give us a great advantage in speed, at least. My practice so far has proven that, though I can't say I'm fully comfortable in it. Thalgrym is sparring with the Guardians." She paused, and Pit glanced aside at her. It wasn't like her to hesitate. "Don’t you wish to join them?"

"I don't know if I'm up for that," he admitted. "I came up here to calm down."

"Calm? What need is there for calm? Do you not feel the energy in the air? The defiance against the skies themselves?" Scylla cooed, shifting her wings. "It is heady. I feel as if I could fight the sun."

"You're not nervous?" Pit asked.

"Why should I be?"

"I don't know." He scratched a claw at the ground. "We're fighting the gods. We could die."

Scylla peered over the edge of the battlements, staring down the thousand-foot drop. "We Chimera are not welcome anywhere, and the storms contained monsters well before the shadowbeasts infested them. I have lived my life knowing that I could die at any moment. This is no different."

"I've fought lots of things. Felix and I, we've made the worst sort of enemies, and they've been after our necks since we met. But nothing's felt quite like this. I don't want to die," Pit admitted. "I like being here."

"Death is another part of living. I cannot say I'm eager to meet it, but I'll trade much to stab the gods in the eye. If that is my end, so be it."

"I don't want you to die, either."

"Death comes when it must," Scylla said, suddenly angry. "Would you keep me from it?"

"If I could, yeah."

"Stormlord, you do not get to make that choice for me. We are warriors. It is up to each of us to face our ends with honor."

Pit didn't have much to say to that. He'd heard it before, from Darius and others. He'd understood it before, too. Now, though, looking at Scylla had him feeling all twisted up.

"I... you're right. You have to make your own decisions. I'm sorry."

Scylla looked him over. "Your tune changed swiftly. Do you lie?"

"What? No, I'm just... I got into a fight once, with Felix, over something a lot like this. He kept trying to protect me, and I told him I didn't need it.” Pit huffed a breath. “It was so important to me. I can't believe I forgot how that felt, even for a second."

She nodded. "Your wisdom befits your station, Pit, Shaper of Chaos."

"I doubt it," he said with a laugh. "But thanks, anyway."

"Your Companion.” She paused over the word. Pit could feel her disdain for it, but it was more muted than usual. "He is different than I imagined. His actions have been even-handed, and seeing him deal with his people equally, even those some might ignore or discard…" She sighed. "He is honorable."

The words were almost forced from her, and Pit didn't say anything. He just smiled. He'd been trying to convince Scylla of that fact since they'd met.

She shook herself, her pale feathers and fur ruffling outward. "I wish to train. I would be happy if you were to join me."

Pit chirruped. "Really?"

She scratched at the stone herself. "Yes, we could teach each other much."

"Yeah!" Pit shouted before lowering his voice with a cough. "I mean, sure, totally. I love learning."

After all the meetings and meals, Felix and Vess had retired to their rooms. Rest was important before the assault, and more so for them than any of the others.

Not that they had gotten much sleeping done.

"I did not miss all the politicking," Vess said, leaning back onto the bed. She was wrapped in a towel, hair still wet from her bath and skin rosy from the heat. "This High Council is mostly fine, but those former Princes are cunning. Was leaving them alive wise?"

Felix toweled off his own hair, his Garment already covering his legs. "They surrendered when I killed their cousins, and their people voted them back into power. I can't exactly go and murder them for convenience."

"No, you cannot. Still, I worry, now that all Oaths are void. What is to stop them from stabbing us in the back?"

"I've warned them."

She chuckled. "That explains why they flinched whenever you moved."

Felix tossed his towel at her. "If they're turning over a new leaf, then I'll let them. They've personally committed three hundred soldiers apiece from their personal armies. If they move against us, they'll learn why that's a bad idea."

Vess sighed and laid out farther onto the bed. Felix admired the length of her leg and the spill of her wet hair against the silken sheets.

"You are staring again.”

He grinned. "Sorry, it's hard not to."

Vess propped herself up on an elbow. She was blushing. "I know the feeling." She stared at his chest and abs pointedly.

Felix put a clawed hand over them, feeling where black scales had covered his normal skin. "The scales aren't offputting?"

"The scales don't concern me. It is what is beneath that matters."

It was Felix's turn to blush. They'd just spent the last few hours together, and he still felt this self-conscious. Vess watched him squirm, a dimpled smile on her face.

Somewhere, a bell began to ring.

Felix closed his eyes, his mood soured. When he opened them, his Garment reformed into a shirt and jacket again. "It's time."

Vess stood. "I'll get my armor." She quickly stepped out.

Pit, he sent, we're leaving.

Their bond, which Felix had squeezed shut some time ago, opened once more. He felt a bit guilty for not shutting it sooner. Pit had been awfully embarrassed. Now, though, it seemed his Companion was the one distracted.

Huh? Oh, sure.

Are you fighting?

Flying. Scylla and I are racing around Gharion. She's so fast, Felix! And graceful as a wind Sprite!

Felix smiled to himself. Glad you're having fun. Remember to stick to the plan. Check in with Zara, Yin, and the Deepking. You're in charge until we meet again.

Pit's attention focused on him across whatever distance separated them. Be safe, Felix. Please.

You know me.

Vess returned, tightening a thick leather fastener across her bicep. Her armor gleamed in the magelights. "Yin is with the Nagafolk. He says that they've found four reagents so far, and it won't be long until they have the full set."

"That's good news." They wouldn't need them for another fifteen hours, but the time to prep was running out. He checked his waist, tapping his pouches, sword, and Chalice, hanging at his hips. "Ready when you are, dear."

She snorted and gestured. Her glaive leaped into her hand, and she set her dragon helm onto her head. "Lead the way, Emperor Nevarre."

In fifteen hours, the war would begin.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Abyssal Skein enveloped them both as they slipped from their room. Felix had been granted the most decadent of apartments in the Water Palace, situated in the highest tower. Which meant he had access to balconies on every side.

His Shadows patrolled the rooms, walking the halls in an effort to protect their emperor. He almost felt bad for deceiving them, but no one could know he had left. They slipped out into the afternoon sun. The sun felt a touch cooler with the oily embrace of the Void on his skin, but it was enough to bake the balcony flooring.

"Follow close," he murmured before leaping from the balcony. He summoned the wind.

Sonata of Dominance is level 131!

It had taken him a long time to get the hang of maneuvering with just the air. At first, he’d tried to manipulate wind currents like Yin, but the Drake moved as fluidly as if he were swimming in water. That had never worked for Felix. Instead, he’d taken inspiration from an old Skill he’d once stolen from an assassin. Cloudstep had hardened the air into platforms beneath his feet, and duplicating that feat proved exceedingly simple with shaping magic.

Stride of the King!

Felix bounded across the bright blue as fast as his incredible Strength and Agility could propel him. Vess, however, had no such limitations. She flew, her Skill On The Wing allowing her to navigate the air Mana around them as easily as a fish in water. It allowed her to keep up with him, even as he flared his stats.

Together, they traveled north, a solid distance from the Water Palace, until Felix found what he was seeking. With a gesture to Vess, he descended onto the surface of a small pond. “It’s here.”

His foot tapped onto the water and it held firm, its substance seized by his Will. Vess landed next to him, alighting on a small boulder sticking from the surface of the water.

"That shaping Skill is quite unfair.”

He laughed. "If it's any consolation, it takes a lot of attention to maintain.”

“And what are your Will and Intent scores again?"

Felix rolled his eyes. Void Nexus.

The world split, another Dark Passage opening before them in a slash of torn reality. Star-flecked shadow extended through it, and without another word, they both stepped into the dark. The rift sealed back up behind them with a soft sigh, and Felix pivoted. They stood on a grassy island surrounded by small mountains festooned with moss-draped trees. Above them was a star-flecked night sky, the way ahead as bright as it was before.

"Will you summon your Sailwhale?" Vess asked, examining where their island stopped and dropped into the endless expanse below.

Felix sighed. He was never going to get away from that name. "No. Manifesting a ship is for safety, and we don't need that here. We'll move faster without it."

"Alright." Vess' Dragon wings returned. He'd always considered them ghostly, but they seemed heftier now than before, a shade more solid, though his hands passed right through them.

"That Skill's gotten stronger. How close is it to Master?"

"A single level."

Felix grinned. "We can fix that.”

“Do you wish to exhaust ourselves on the way to battle?”

“Movement in liminal spaces depends on Will and Alacrity far more than our Stamina, but our movement Skills will help us go that much faster.”

“Then you'll use your Stride of the King?"

"In part. Ready?"

Instead of answering, Vess' wings flapped, and she shot off into the dark. Felix grinned and followed after. Together, they blurred into the night.

Their flight was wonderfully uneventful, and less than a handful of minutes passed before they reached the edge of Gharion Territory. Initially, Felix had wondered if he would be able to tell when they passed through into Amaranth. Dark Passages didn't simply end within Territories; they did not truly respect the Corporeal Realm like that. Yet, when they reached it, the border between Gharion and Amaranth was as stark as night and day.

The organized nature of the Dark Passages that sat astride Gharion shifted. Plant life withered away into nothing on what few rocky islands he could see, and the blue motes faded entirely.

This was a difference of Authority.

Felix had never passed over the edge of Territories in Dark Passages, let alone between a Territory he claimed and one he had not. This was a strange feeling, similar to how Abyssal Skein felt as the cold Void slid over his skin.

The pair of them slipped through a near-physical membrane, and it was immediately apparent to Felix how his Authority thinned. Where Gharion was dominated by an order imposed by his power, in Amaranth, it was left to chaos. Things became unmoored. The featureless black returned, shrouding the distant islands and filling the vast emptiness with an impenetrable fog.

"This is under the Authority of the Hierophant," Vess said.

"Lucky for us, she has no sway over it," Felix said. "Otherwise, this would be far riskier. As it is, we need to focus."

Zara had given him advice before he'd left. She had experience in the wild, Dark Passages and had warned him of their many dangers. Though Felix had many advantages from the Pool of Halcyon Oaths and his Titles and Skills, he was still at risk.

Speed and Intent were key.

Instead of summoning his Sailwhale, they flew on, pushing themselves through the dark. Felix lined up his Intent, forming a tunnel around themselves. His newfound Authority over the Dark Passages ignited within himself, and blue motes sparked back to life throughout the black. They swirled around them, a vortex leading them onward.

“This chaos. I can sense creatures closing in on us already." Vess adjusted her glaive, her eyes sweeping the dark ahead of them. "They're weak, but they'll attract others. Do you wish to continue as we were?"

"Intent shapes reality here," Felix said, floating forward, "and I don't intend on getting caught.”

Adamant Discord!

Vess was swift to follow, her wings flapping in powerful, steady beats. They flew swiftly, but voidbeasts were nothing if not relentless. They came for them, shapeless things, more teeth and claws than proper forms. Mindless, except for a bestial cunning that sought them out over and over, crowding against their swirling path. They were knocked aside by Felix's Intent, the blue motes flaring with their approach, knocking away those that got too close. Vess speared through them, slicing them aft to stern as they passed.

Monstrosities died by the hundreds, but there were always more to fill the breach.

"It's a waste of time taking them all down." Felix sniffed and curled his lip as he scented something. "They're barely more than a mouthful of significance, too.”

“Fly faster, then?”

“Fly faster."

Lightning crackled around Felix, and wind roared through Vess' spectral wings as they shot through the dark. Monsters trailed after them, their multitudinous forms growing stranger and larger, their limbs thinning but lengthening, grabbing at them with every chance they could. A wave of ichor-soaked gristle tipped by ten thousand teeth surged in their wake, trying to catch them as it climbed across one another, slaughtering each other in their thousands, all for a taste of mortal flesh.

Explosions rattled the distance, threatening to shake Felix's concentration on the bonds he pulled against. Ahead, stone islands smashed together, two ships in the eternal night crushed to powder by immense, amorphous creatures that crowded their path, not so much blocking their way as trying to hunt them down.

"We have to kill them!" Vess shouted.

The blue motes shifted, focusing and spinning in the distance. A far island, shaped unlike any other, jumped into Felix's Perception. Tall and squared off, it tapered toward the top, like two disembodied towers at the gate of some great city.

"The exit," Felix said. "It's there, and they can't follow us once we reach it." His Authority rang within those words, bringing a certainty he couldn't pin to any rational thought. A remnant, he knew, of Castarius's stolen power.

The monsters converged, uncaring that their exit was so close. It was a literal tide, smashing into his column of blue motes, scattering even Felix's incredible Intent.

Adamant Discord!

Lightning burst from Felix, brighter than all of the blue motes combined together, searing through monster flesh as Vess tore through the rest with her spears. They pushed faster and faster as that tide closed in.

“Get back, monsters!”

Vess shouted, her voice backed by Adept Tier lungs. Her wings widened, the tips of her draconic webbing fizzling with a gleaming white-green light. The beasts were torn through, their sheer weight blasting through gristle and ichor until Felix and Vess slammed into the squared towers.

He hit shoulder-first, stone splintering beneath him before he flipped and landed with a stumbling step. Felix spun around, claws lengthening and teeth bare as the voidbeast wave fell atop of them.

He needn’t have worried. His intuition had been right.

The voidbeasts splattered against a spherical ward like the outside of a snowglobe. He saw no sigils to indicate some written warding. The power was deeper than that, more primal. It was a forbiddance, an invisible force that simply did not allow their approach. There was a piece of him that echoed with the magic, resonating with the forbiddance and something else farther up the towers.

“Haaah,” Vess breathed, and Felix nearly jumped.

The Dragoon had smashed the earth the same as him upon landing, but she hadn’t moved. She knelt there amid a splintered circle, glaive abandoned, her armor covered in ichor, and her wings nothing more than steaming nubs. Wind Mana poured out into the sky like vaporous blood and veins protruded from her neck, her mouth open in a silent scream.

“Felix! I’m…Tempering!”

He rushed forward, snagging the Essence Draught from a pouch at her waist before ripping the seal off of it. Tilting her head back gently, he poured it down her spasming throat. Some of it spilled, but Vess slung back the rest, and her rigid muscles eased enough for her to breathe. She put a hand to the ground, and the other clutched at her sternum.

“Are we safe enough for this?”

“Yes. I’ll handle anything that comes our way.”

She gave a tiny nod before she no longer saw him. Her eyes glazed over, and power swirled around her, surging inward from the Void in visible bursts, as if she were sucking in all of the Mana around them.

Time passed, nearly an hour of watching monsters bash themselves bloody against the barrier.

Felix stood watch, carefully eyeing the voidbeasts that crowded the edge of the forbiddance, while Vess knelt unmoving and silent as her body shook beneath the effects of her Tempering. Then, like turning off a light switch, it was over.

The flow of Mana ceased, and a soft ring of white-green vapor puffed outward from around her knees. She took a long, shuddering breath and stood, leaning heavily on her glaive.

"Are you good?"

"I am." Her throat was raspy and dry, and she shivered as if shaking off a great weight. A smile dimpled her cheek, though her eyes were bloodshot. "I really am. On The Wing."

Those wings extended from her back once again, only this time, instead of spectral or ghostly, they looked a hundred percent real and twice as wide.

"Dragon wings," Felix whispered. "That’s so cool."

She turned, inspecting them. "You think so?"

"You don't?"

Her smile turned into a grin. "Yin will be so jealous."

He laughed. "What did you Temper with?”

"Manifestation. It's grown them to greater proportions and given them this heft." She touched one of her wings and blinked. "They're hot to the touch.”

“And clawed," Felix said, looking at the topmost joint. The three sharp claws had emerged from the scales there, and they flexed with new muscles and tendons.

"I have a measure of control over them, too," she marveled. "This will prove useful in battle."

"You're not kidding." He turned, looking back at the monsters as they mashed themselves against the forbiddance. "We need to get out of here. The exit's up there."

While she’d been Tempering, Felix had studied the terrain from his location, though he hadn’t moved very far. Behind them, there was a winding path, leading to a platform midway up the two large towers. There, he could feel the exit waiting, like an itch he couldn’t reach.

Without discussion, both of them jumped, pure physicality sending them right to the top. They landed on a smooth platform, as flat as if an immense sword had sheared the top right off. The squared towers extended another three hundred feet in height and half that in thickness, and the platform sat between them—its only feature being an angular altar that resembled a cluster of stars and a curved stone wall that rose behind it.

The stone wall was white flecked with green crystal, and it was spread between two thin pillars of blackened wood that looked a single flame away from charcoal. They hardly seemed capable of holding up an expanse of rock, but the thing was sturdy. Bas-relief sculptures were carved into all of it, with winding vines and leaves up the wooden pillars, while the white stone was dominated by a series of figures that seemed to tell a story. Long-limbed creatures with angular features grabbed stars from a swirling sky before holding them out. Men and women in armored robes took the stars from the long-limbed, seeming to trade nothing for it, before lifting them up over a great landscape of forests, mountains, and lakes.

“That looks like Castarius’ final form, does it not?” Vess asked, pointing to the long-limbed creatures.

Felix nodded. “And those stars are what the Nym use to symbolize their magic in every artwork I’ve seen.”

“Does that mean his people, whoever they were, gave magic to the Nym?”

“That’s the story I’m seeing, yeah.”

Above them all, suspended as if in the sky above the Nym, was a symbol he had never seen before. It was sinuous yet angular, forming four distinct shapes interlocked with one another and set against a large, spoked wheel.

"Felix, I’ve seen these before."

“Really?”

"They resemble the murals I've seen within the deepest vaults of the Scalebreaker Citadel. Those are old, dedicated to recording our knowledge of the ancient Dragons. The murals are largely symbolic, designed as word-images like this.” She tapped on a portion of one of the shapes separated by the quadrants. It was a series of looping swirls that formed what might have been a head and chest of some creature. “It’s a strange shape, but I've seen this word a thousand times. It means ‘beast.’"

“And this one?” Felix asked, pointing to the rear of the shape. Now that she pointed it out, he could see how each creature was formed of two words, but the shape of it was different each time. “What does it mean?”

"I’ve seen it before, too, but not paired like this. It means ‘first.’”

“First beast," he muttered. “Of course.”

Cardinal Beast.

Their little sanctuary shuddered, impacted by one of the colossal voidbeasts as it splattered itself against the forbiddance. A thousand mouths gaped across the invisible expanse, sending tiny tremors through the air.

“Ugh, we don’t have time to study these.” Felix carefully ran his gaze over it all, committing every inch of the altar to memory. If they survived, he would have to come back later.

If he didn’t, none of it would matter anyway.

Void Nexus.

He clawed open the air, splitting again into the usual rift. But halfway through, Felix felt that resistance again—the same as he'd felt in Ajanadir, only weaker. He pushed against it, completing the rift. Around him, the Dark Passage flexed, and the towers shook, the stone rumbling.

Nightlord Title Detected!

Altar Of Night Accessed⁠—!

ERROR!

"Fuck, what now?”

Primordial Detected!

Traces Of The Cardinal Beasts Detected!

Ouranic Protocols Engaged!

Emergency Lockdown!

The rumbling increased to a cataclysmic quake, shaking through the squat towers and sending cracks splintering up their lengths. The Dark Passage around them distorted, and Felix felt it immediately as it happened. The forbiddance faded, and voidbeasts surged. Clawed flesh dropped toward them like a wave, and Felix bared his teeth.

“Voidbeasts!” he snarled. “This is mine!”

Vess tackled him through the rift.

A flash of heat and pressure assaulted them, tearing at their Bodies with jaws of shattered reality. The world rang like a bell before the both of them hit grassy earth, rolling in fragrant grasses, Vess’ glaive tangled up against his legs as she sprawled outward into the dirt. Behind them, the rift winked shut.

"What in damnation were you doing?” She climbed to her feet. “Were you going to fight all of them?"

Felix stared down at his hands. "Yeah. I really wanted to."

"Why? We are short on time. You said it yourself."

“Instinct, I think.” Felix looked up from his hands. Around them were rolling hills covered in fuzzy, four-legged creatures. They huddled in masses, their large spiraling horns sticking up like flagpoles. Several of them trotted away from their sudden appearance.

Meadows and grazing livestock. People had to be around them, but Felix couldn't sense anyone close. “We crossed the border. We're definitely in Amaranth.”

Vess gasped.

"What, am I wrong?"

"No, the sky."

Felix hadn't clocked it when they'd rolled out of the rift. He supposed he'd gotten too used to the Passage. To the dark.

Night had fallen.

"It's... We've lost hours," he said. Panic gripped his chest, but he fought it down. "You've been to Amaranth before, right? With your dad? Can you tell where we are now?"

Vess stared at the sky and licked her lips. "Yes, the stars tell me that we're south of the city, and these lands suggest the southwestern pastures." She looked back at Felix. "That means we're at least ten glasses away by Manaship.”

"And our attack begins in five. That error," he said, working through the issue. "The destabilized Dark Passage screwed it all up."

Ouranic Protocols. Anger welled up next to that panic, galvanizing it. Felix let lightning play across his hands. "We'll need to make it up. You ready to put those new wings to the test?"

Vess' Draconic wings unfurled with a leathery crack. "I'll lead the way."

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE

"Stormlord! Down here!"

The cry came from far below, but its guttural strength reached Pit as he soared high on the breezes above the wet forests of Garion. He banked, spinning in a spiral as he sought out the voice, which belonged to one of the Nagafolk. It was an armored female warrior. Her muscular humanoid upper body was clothed in a hodgepodge of mithril and high steel armor, and a heavy trident was slung across her back. Her heavily scaled tail lashed the water as Pit drew closer, landing on the thick branches of one of many great trees.

"I found signs of life and earth, my Lord."

“What about the rest?”

Another Naga rose from the water. They were wearing at least thirty necklaces of ivory, jade, and gold, many of them studded with glowing Mana crystals. “I’ve sensed all the required elements.” They sniffed, and a puff of vapor was sucked into their slitted nostrils. “It is the one. The Astera is here.”

“And it’s better than the other two?”

The two of them nodded in unison.

"Where?"

The warrior pointed to a cave that was nearly invisible from the air—even from his branch, he had to duck his head to see its opening. Between a bramble thicket and slantwise stone, the water lapped against a rise of muddy earth before disappearing into the dark gullet of a cave.

"How are we supposed to get it out of there?" Pit asked.

The mage Nagafolk lifted their hands, showing him a massive leather bag stitched with Mana crystals and sigils. “We shall help.”

Waterlogged and caked in grime, Pit flew back, paws clenched tight around a heavy burden. His four wings were powerful, but even Ouranic Dominion had to be flared to keep himself and the enchanted bag aloft.

At least it’s not squirming around.

The Nagafolk had been true to their word and helped, slithering down into the cave where Pit had trouble reaching without his Mask. There, they’d found a warren, filled with cracked bones and an alarmingly large cache of seeds and nuts. At its center, however, they’d found it.

A big ball of dirt.

The thing was covered in roots, and the two Naga had been forced to slice it free before they could even attempt to move it. It was too large, however, to fit through the cave’s entrance. The mage said something about the creature shedding the earth when they woke, which let them slip out of the warren with ease, but that didn’t help Pit. He didn’t want it awake, and he certainly wasn’t going to peel off its dirty mud blanket.

So he’d ripped the cave open from above.

The Nagafolk had hissed in alarm, but the creature didn’t wake. The dirtball didn’t even jolt as Pit violently wrenched apart stone and earth to reach its hideaway. After that, getting the bag around it had been simple enough.

Now he flew back across the forests of Gharion, passing over the countless lakes that dotted the wetlands. The dark hours of dawn stretched thin around him, and urgency beat at Pit’s chest with every flap of his wings. The search for the creatures had taken him much of the night—his task, as assigned to him by Yin and Zara. The Deepking had his people hunting down the reagents needed, though had spared a few dozen to help Pit. Those few had uncovered two other possible options for the summoning, but neither had inspired much confidence in Zara or Yin. Unwilling to fail, Pit had gone back out again and again, combing the night-drenched landscape for hours.

He smiled despite the strain of the dirtball. Ahead, the lights of the Abundance Anima spread out into the night, filling it with an ethereal blue radiance. A canopy of leaves drooped downward, trailing like immense vines overhead, as Wind and Water Sprites danced among them. The little creatures flitted around Pit, welcoming him in their shrill almost-voices and blinking their wide-set eyes at him. They swirled about his wings, and a measurable boost of air Mana surged beneath him, reducing the heft of his burden and increasing the speed of his flight.

“Thank you!” he trilled.

The Sprites giggled and flew off.

Moments later, Pit reached the Water Palace and the Spirit Tree that dwelled beside it. Magelights were set around the lake, bobbing on the surface and tended to by Nagafolk wearing golden amulets and iron bangles. Others swam among them, organizing in their many thousands as weapons and armor were passed from scaled hands to armored jaws. The Deepking’s army, readying itself for war.

Pit flew over it all, carrying his bag of dirt to the base of the Abundance Anima, where the roots reached outward to form a hollow against its own trunk. Groaning with relief at a task done, he flew off, heading back to where he’d spotted a few of his friends.

Perhaps two hundred feet from the hollow and bag of dirt, he found Atar and Yin busily inscribing in the mud where the water met the roots of Abundance.

"It doesn't take much to muss these forms," Atar complained. His robes were splattered with muck, and his mouth was drawn down in an almost permanent expression of disgust. "Why aren't we using stone tablets? The surface would be far more conducive to these exacting geometries."

"The summoning must follow the melodies of the Green Wilds," Yin said, floating above. His mane and whiskers rippled in a breeze Pit couldn’t feel from across the path, but the big Drake gestured, and it marshaled to his Will. Wind slashed perfect lines into the mud, splattering none of it before leaving a series of sigils in its wake.

"Melodies? The other one wasn't like this," Beef said, dropping a heavy boulder down and sending a splash outward.

"Oaf!" Atar cursed, holding his hand out to keep the muck from splashing his face. "You ruined my inscription!"

"Ah, sorry, Atar, this thing is heavy." Beef wiped his brow. "Like I said, in the tower back in Fortress Fenwald. We didn’t do all this. Why now?”

“Different summonings require different rituals, Beef. For this, we must increase the sympathy in our preparations, or else it will all be for naught.”

Atar frowned, his inscription staff pausing. “So these big rocks, they’re in these positions specifically? And the mud is the medium because of its connection to the earth element?"

"Yes," Yin flew over to the boulder, his diamond claws gleaming in the magelights. He swiftly scratched a symbol at the top of the boulder, and it glowed with dusty brown Mana.

"But the stone plates wouldn't work," Atar said, his frown deepening. “Why?”

"The patterns of the Wilds follow their own tune. To draw on this summoning, this power, we must align ourselves with the deepest of old magics. That requires thinking of Harmonics, rather than the System."

Atar considered the mud again, his gray face intent. To Pit's surprise, he got back to work without another word.

"I'm glad you all understand it, because I sure don't." Beef clapped his thick hands together. "What's next?"

"Go to Alister," Yin said. "He's tending to the water reagent."

"Water? Ugh, I just got dry." Beef stumped off, hooves squelching in the mud. He waved at Pit as he passed, before vanishing around one of the roots.

Pit stepped closer, watching the people work around his friends. Skilled Inscriptionists were everywhere, building the complex network of sigils and glyphs with a focus that hadn't wavered in almost twenty hours. It was dark now, but dawn was coming soon.

"Ah, Pit. You have the Astera?” Yin asked, swimming closer.

Pit thrust his beak back toward the hollow. "In there. It's still sleeping, though. Are you sure it's the right thing to get for this? It doesn’t look like the others we got."

"Different goals require different materials. I’m positive you heard me explain that just now.”

Pit shrugged. “I'm just worried I spent two hours wrestling that out of a cave for nothing."

"If you're truly worried, go see Zara. She's tending to the center. She can answer your questions."

Yin flew back to the earth reagent, subtly adjusting some of the boulders Beef had laid down before his claws returned to their scratching. Pit held his groan inside and turned back around, returning once again to the roots of the Abundance Anima. They were absolutely massive, even compared to his enormous stature, towering twice his height as they rose to join the titanic trunk of the Spirit Tree.

When he got to the place where he'd left the bag of dirt, drag marks were all that remained. Complicated sigil lines traced around them, framing the gouges as they extended inward, following the protective curl of the roots. There, beyond the bend, a series of sea-green magelights bobbed in the air.

Zara presided over the center. She was alone, floating on a wave of water Mana and extending a hundred tendrils in all directions. Each flicked outward, forming inscriptions with every movement, her wave pivoting smoothly around the roughly circular hollow. At the exact center of it was the big dirtball, bereft of its leather satchel. Sigils were already marked out across it, too many to count, each connected to a different glyph. Eight of them were carved into the dirtball’s sides at regular intervals, matching with the same glyphs that surrounded it on the ground.

Everything was glowing.

"An Astera," she said, glancing at Pit. "You've done well in finding this one. They're a rare breed, let alone one that slumbers so deeply.”

“Why does that matter, anyway?"

"The Green Wilds beat strongest where nature holds the greatest sway. Astera have a powerful connection to the Wilds. They're known as Flowerwilts by local legend. They will sprout new growth as fast as they wither the old. Were it awake, they would have fought us, and we'd be left with our second and third options."

Zara glanced at two eggs tucked high up on a shelf, on a knotted shelf of roots. One was the size of a grapefruit, and the other was nearly as big as a yoga ball.

Pit was proud he’d found a better option. “Would they not have worked?”

"Eventually, perhaps. Had we infinite time, it would be a moot issue."

Right. Timing was at the center of everything. Felix had stressed how it all had to happen exactly at noon. Pit still didn't understand the full why of it all, but he didn't have to. All he had to know was that they wouldn't get a second chance to make this work.

Felix and Vess depended on him.

Zara inscribed a few more glyphs as Pit watched, amending portions of the Astera's dirtball until it glowed brighter than before. "The design here is quite sophisticated, even with Felix's changes. I'm honestly quite surprised."

"He had help." Pit was proud of his Companion, but the words had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. It was something Felix would have said, anyway.

"He certainly did, but his mastery over shaping magic is clearer than ever. Even with the aid of the greatest of mages, this would not be possible without those."

Pit glanced at the domain cores set at the edge of the hollow. Each one was connected to the complicated array, powering it with its own source of elementally attuned Mana: Life. Necromantic. Shadow. Light. Air. Earth. Fire. Water. The standard elements of the Green Wilds filtered into near-crystalline form by a Grandmaster of shaping magic.

"Is there enough time," he asked, "to finish it all?"

"We'll do our part." Zara looked at the ball of dirt. "We only have to rely on Felix to do his."

Five more hours. Then we can start the real work.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

In the nameless hills southwest of Amaranth, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Its vibrant golden light stained the rolling hills, marking the crest of each and gilding the rare copse of trees. Blue shadows stretched in the valleys, filling the spaces between the stone walls and turrets of an encampment.

It was a sturdy structure that had once been a town. Low yields and fleeing farmers had gutted its streets well before the Orders had set up camp. The signs of its recent construction were everywhere among the older, dilapidated shops and residences. From atop the command tower, Paval overlooked his domain. The stone walls were new, freshly risen by earth mages, while the interior was filled with white canvas tents to supplement the rough houses they were converting into barracks.

Paval had only led his Paladins to the outpost in the last week, sent south by the Hierophant, a hundred strong arms sent to secure their borders. They were not alone, however—some Inquisitors had been ordered southwest as well. They were one of many companies pushed from the Shining City and sent to guard the lonesome wilds. Paladins and Inquisitors drilled down below, breakfast having been eaten long ago, and the clatter of their efforts was a balm against the rage in his Spirit.

“You seem especially angry today, Paval,” Commander Kiska said from behind him. She leaned indolently against the interior wall, the door to the command chamber to her left.

"We were sent away to the backwater borderlands. It boils my heart each time I think on it.”

“We were given a task by the Hierophant,” Kiska corrected calmly. “It is our duty to protect the edges of her domain.”

Paval sneered, but his expression smoothed when he faced the woman. The Commander of the Eighteenth Inquisitor Company was not a small person—she easily matched Paval in height if not brawn, and her Intelligence was enough to be considered a mage. She was fully armored, as they always were during waking hours, but her kit was marred with the signs of the road. For all her purported calm, she looked more worn out than him.

Dark circles lay heavy under her eyes, and her hair was mussed from a long night of scouting. She and her company had only just returned, having taken a tour of the surrounding areas. Paval and the Paladins would be next, taking turns to keep this small section of the Hierocracy safe.

"The Hierophant sent us out here because we no longer listened to her,” Paval spat. “We were pushed out of the way.”

"Speak for yourself, Paval. Me and mine are still loyal to the Shining Palace…as are you, deep in that knot you call a heart."

The Paladin Commander didn't have to look around to know that Kiska's hand was on the pommel of her burning sword. They had known each other a very long time. They had gained their Blessings from the Pathless together in the Command Academy. But things had changed in the last few weeks.

"The Pathless is dead, Kiska. That changes everything. The Hierophant does not appreciate those who have taken up the Twins' Armaments.”

“She knows of our loyalty. She knows that we must seek power in order to protect our people. You heard her. She gave her decree. All of us, no matter whose worship we take on, all of us are one."

Paval laughed and turned to face her. "Did you truly believe that? The Hierophant was the Pathless' mouthpiece to the world. He died, Kiska, and took too many of our brethren with Him."

Kiska's mouth flattened to a grim line. He knew what was going through her Mind. They traveled the same paths as his. The memory of soldiers, men and women, young and old, falling to their knees as the sun went dark. So many of their number had died during the Day of Black Sun, when the Pathless had been murdered.

"The Hierophant saved us," Kiska pointed out. "Her power preserved those of us who still stood.”

“And yet she could do nothing for those that have fallen. Nothing for the future.” Paval sliced his hand across the air, and wind rushed between the two of them. “The Pathless is dead. The future now lies with the Twins."

"I do not wish to argue this again, Paval. Followers of all the gods are welcome in the Hierocracy, as was decreed. Those of you who have taken up the Twins' Armament are just as worthy as those who have clung to the old ways."

Paval wished to believe that.

There were two hundred soldiers at this outpost. More still were only thirty leagues east. Many others had been recalled to the capital by the Hierophant herself. Among those were many who followed the Twins. Still others had embraced the Lady of Night, in all her shadowed glory. A few even embraced the Rot Lord Himself. It was a dwindling minority who remained beneath the sundered auspices of the Pathless.

With the god dead, the Hierophant could only do so much to stabilize their core spaces. The old gods had returned. They were the only source of stability any longer.

"The Hierophant may decree one thing, but there will come a time when we must choose whether to pursue the power through the gods…or follow her.” Now Paval did sneer. “And I fear, Kiska, that she will place on us a burden we cannot bear."

"The Hierophant is saving our people, Paval. My family is safe because of the Shining Palace. She has earned my loyalty."

"And she squanders the rest of us." Paval held out a hand, and a blade of blue force extended from his gauntlet, its edge crackling with silver light. "The Twins are the most powerful of the old gods. Look at this Blessing. Look at what I can summon with the merest flex of my Will."

He slashed downward through the air, and the blue blade left a keening note in its wake. "You see the silver?"

"I do," Kiska said quietly. "Is that...?"

"Yes. The Twins revealed it to me in a vision." He touched the center of his breastplate, now limned with a metallic blue light. "Their power is bolstered further by the remnants of Siva herself."

"So it's true," she said. "The Twins took what remained of the Goddess of Fortune. Another casualty to the great Enemy that threatens all of us.”

“The Fiend,” Paval scoffed. “A fiction made for weak Minds.”

“Believe or not, the Enemy must be stopped, regardless.”

"You are correct, Kiska. We must keep our people safe. You seek your way, while I seek mine."

"And what is your way?"

Paval looked up into the brightening sky. Clouds gathered, thin and golden in the dawn's early light. "I will destroy the Fiend and raze his foul people to the earth, before sundering the Seal he dared rebel against. As the Twins command. Only then shall we remain safe."

“A tall order,” Kiska said. She tried to hide it, but Paval could hear the disdain in her voice. "And what if the enemy comes here, as the Hierophant promised?"

"Then we cut them down."

"You expect to cut down an enemy that slew two gods?"

"Lies. All lies. You think the gods can be killed by a mortal? By a rebel out of some backwater Territory? No. It's all a ruse, don’t you see? Pax’Vrell has rebelled. So have the wizards in Levantier. All of it is happening too quickly. Too orderly. Doesn't that make you question things?"

"You mean to say the mages and the Dragoons are allied?"

"Who else could band together to take on the gods? The Pathless and our strongest army was killed outside Pax’Vrell, were they not? What could take down the gods except a coalition of unholy magic? And if that coalition dares set their foot in Amaranth, then we will destroy them. The strong arm of the gods themselves backs us—not one, but four!” He slashed his blade of force, and it keened. “I will cut their hearts out myself.”

"And if they catch us unaware? How would you defend against them?”

“That is what you are here for, is it not, Inquisitor Commander?"

Kiska leaned back against the wall of the command tower. "We found nothing but endless fields of grass and lowing cattle. If you are right, the true attack will come from the east, not here."

"So you believe me?"

"I did not say that, Paval. But your point is compelling. Truly, it boggles reason to think that someone could contest the gods directly. An alliance is far more palatable."

"Hmm. It is good that you see reason. I would that we speak further on⁠—"

A gleam caught his eye, and his tongue stilled. A faint trembling caught the command tower’s stones. Paval looked toward the south, where the sky was still a touch dark. No. He squinted. Not dark. The sun still shone to the south, but clouds had blocked it out. Clouds rising from the earth itself.

Lightning flashed, and a calamitous thunder rolled. Paval's eyes widened.

"It's coming closer," Kiska shouted. "Sound the alarm!"

The warning bell shook the outpost, and Paladins and Inquisitors alike rushed forward. There was no panic in them, only an eager joy in their gait as they gathered their weapons and strapped on their armor. Avum were collected and saddled, readied for the soldiers to mount their enchanted lances, set aside by squires.

Paval leaned against the railing of the balcony, staring at the horizon as more lightning flashed, regular as a heartbeat.

Something's not right. He wrapped himself in another of the Twin's Blessings. “Shield of Domination.” A shield of force hugged him like a second skin over his armor. "Ready yourself, Kiska. Pull on whatever power remains in the Light. That is not any natural storm."

The distant hills were swiftly occluded by clouds of dust, those flashes of lightning skittering off of green grasses, striking fires in their wake.

"Form ranks!" the captains called out below, as the Twinblessed Paladins raised their weapons, and the gates dropped. They charged out of the outpost, headed toward the unnatural storm. Their new magic marshalled within them—a blaze of blue metallic force that gave each of them blades that hung above their head like unspent projectiles. Shields unfurled from the bannermen, domes of protection that glittered like metal, the force-mana infused with an argent gleam.

The storm hit.

Paval lost sight of his men immediately, only to spot their corpses as they shot into the air, their pieces rent like so much meat upon a butcher's slab. In moments, the storm had consumed them all.

It was upon them.

The abandoned town split as bricks and timber were shorn free of their foundations, while stone walls failed, and tents were torn through. Thunder shook Paval, scattering his thoughts and driving him to his knees. The world tilted, and it was a full heartbeat before he realized the command tower had been sundered. He was thrown to the earth.

Paval rolled to his feet, sword swept up into a high guard, only to be blasted out of his hands by a shockwave that ripped apart the earth and set fire to all it touched. Lightning coursed on by, striking through his protective wards, burning his hands until his armor melted against his flesh. Paval screamed, barely able to make out Kiska's shouts of defiance before he saw her head split from her shoulders. Her body followed as debris skewered her to the earth.

No! Not like this!

The wings of a monster spread wide over the rising sun, and scales of purest night blotted out the sky.

Silence followed.

The storm vanished, followed swiftly after by a replenishing breeze that sent the dust clouds to earth. His Paladins rallied, their domes of force reestablishing their felled dominance—just in time to watch the elemental riot carry onward toward the horizon.

Paval stared after it, filled with a numbness that prickled cold against his limbs. Only the hot wash of blood across his brow brought some semblance of reason. Of urgency.

“Captains!” he croaked. A few Paladins and Inquisitors drew near, all of them looking as dazed as he felt. “The Relay! Is it hale?”

“Barely, sir!”

Paval leveraged himself upright, leaning on a broken beam to support his busted leg. A madness gripped him, burning at his center. “Send a message, now! We must warn them!”

An Inquisitor Captain stared after the storm, now a fading speck on the horizon. “Warn them of what? A magical tempest?”

“No!” Paval seized the man by his collar. “Warn Amaranth! The Fiend is coming!”

“We’re flying too low!” Vess shouted over the chaos.

“What? Oh!” Felix adjusted his grip on Adamant Discord, hauling the pair of them higher into the sky. He glanced back. “Did we hit something?”

“I’m not sure!”

She glanced back, but all Felix could see was a cloud of dust and…was that a stone wall? It hadn’t felt like a stone wall.

“Either way,” she said, focusing forward. “We need to be higher.”

Had they drifted downward during their flight? Felix had never experienced that while using the bonds to travel. It wasn’t like jumping or being shot from an arrow. It was more like—Oh.

“I think the land is rising in elevation!”

“That’s good!” Vess’ hair whipped in the mad wind, but her voice reached him as easily as her wings carved the sky. “Amaranth lies at the highest point in the Territory!”

Felix bared his teeth. “Then up we go.”

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

Around them, the world had been reduced to nothing more than a smear of blue above and a chaotic wash of earth tones below. Clouds rose up around them, dragged by their sheer momentum as wind and lightning snarled across their bodies with every push forward.

"Our speed is too great to see anything!" Vess called out. "What if we run into the enemy?"

Abyssal Skein hadn't held up past the first dozen leagues they had flown. The void skill was useful for disappearing, but Felix was channeling so much power through Adamant Discord that it fell apart and refused to be sounded again while at top speeds. It wasn't truly necessary anyway. Speed was far more important than stealth now.

"We'll handle that when we get there," he called back.

Lightning crackled from his fist, pulling them along while Vess' On The Wing hummed beside him a song of their skills, separating and intertwining in his affinity like a series of chords dancing around each other. Using their skills in tandem, they had been able to press the limits of what they could accomplish alone.

Felix had originally worried about the sheer wind pressure of their flight. Not for himself—his Body could handle far worse—but Vess' safety had been in question. Thankfully, the Master Tier version of On The Wing provided an inherent protection. A visible shield of wind had formed around her, cocooning her and her wings into a bullet shape that narrowed with every bit of speed he could eke out. It was a lot of speed.

With Adamant Discord, Felix could haul back against the bonds that connected him to his goal: the captive Unbound. Ever since his visit to Amaranth through the Deadlands, his connection to them could no longer be kept from his attention. Now, they would be the road he paved to the Hierophant’s destruction.

But Adamant Discord alone wasn't enough. On The Wing channeled air Mana through Vess' manifested appendages, but it also provided an incredible synergy with his Sonata of Dominance. It took him a while to identify it, but it was the song that intertwined with his.

So he made use of it.

Lightning streamed from his clenched fist as he leapt forward, kicking off a thickened pad of air, captured from Vess and suborned to his Will. His Stride of the King, his mighty Strength, and indomitable Endurance fueled each jump, hurtling him at incredible speeds before the bonds ever came into play. Once the hardened cables of connection were hauled upon, the pair of them were sent blazing forward. Every leap blurred the world, sound fading until there was only blue-white light and the pressure of hurricane winds that tried to tear them apart. There was only a brief pause as he landed, his heel barely contacting shaped air before he was off again, his free hand wrapped around Vess’ glaive and hauling her behind him.

Hours passed at this pace, leap after leap. His legs burned, his hands were nearly numb from the coursing electricity, and his every joint screamed from the sheer force of his movement.

Adamant Discord is level 145!

Stride of the King is level 138!

Sonata of Dominance is level 135!

The southwestern pastures were full of rolling hills and grassy plains, interrupted only by the occasional village or town. It would have been idyllic in the early summer sunlight, if it weren't for all the zealots. Now that they had risen to an acceptable height, Felix was able to pick them out in the distance, even at speed. There were encampments on every prominent hilltop across the countryside.

Banners flashed past them far below. His keen eyesight picked out the familiar white and gold sunburst of the Pathless, but also a proliferation of metallic blue and silver, black and crimson, and bronze and yellow. Banners that would never have flown in Amaranth only months ago were hanging from towers and fortress walls, both temporary and longstanding outposts. The standards of the old gods.

Is this your move?

He could sense them, even from on high, like a stench on the wind. It smelled…delicious.

Felix shook that thought away. Inside of him, the Beast stirred. He could feel it uncoiling itself, as if ready to rouse from its forceful slumber—yet it never broached the edges of its containment. The Challenger's Sea still held the line, the last few stone pillars standing tall and binding the creature within the abyss. If he were lucky, it would hold for some hours yet.

If he were not…

He refocused on his journey but couldn't help but notice that the power of the gods accompanied that stench. It laid thick on the soldiers that crawled below like ants, staining their small Spirits with newfound power. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he was positive it was nothing good.

"Felix," Vess warned, pointing with her chin. "Look!"

In the distance, far enough away that it didn't blur with the rest of the landscape, a signal flare burst alight. Then another, and another—each one a column of too-bright light that gleamed stronger than any flame. Moreover, they resonated, shaking across their Affinity like waves across a still pond.

"Mage Relays!” Vess cursed. "Someone noticed us and sent word ahead. What do we do?"

"It's alright.” Felix had never intended to land in Amaranth unannounced. "Let them know I'm on the way."

“They are certainly aware,” Vess said, slicing a ballista bolt that flew too close to their position. "They're firing on us!”

Arrows flew up from the nearest encampment, propelled by potent Skills—but none potent enough. Only the largest of ballista bolts were fast enough to catch them, but they could not contend with their defenses. Vess cut those down with a flap of her wings, the claws on their joints slicing the shafts in two with disdainful ease.

“I should not have been worried. What is the point of these outposts if they cannot stop an invasion of two?”

“They’re just the alarm system,” Felix said. He hauled back on the bond, and lightning coursed around them. “That’s the border patrol.”

To the north, where the morning sky met the rising plane of the earth, a shadow spread. A great cloud formed from below, streaming from the land itself in concentrated funnels, until it undulated like oil upon the winds. The illusion lasted no longer than a few enormous steps before they could see the cloud for what it truly was: Amaranth’s true defense.

Elephantine birds, winged serpents the size of several train cars, and twisted insects filled the sky, rising from various encampments all around them. Joined as one, the cloud of shadowflesh streaked toward the pair of them, tooth and claw bared with a cold, savage glee.

Felix didn't even bother slowing down.

Shadowflesh burst beneath his charge, his scaled fist and burning lightning searing through their ichor. They drove a literal hole in the cloud, cratering those that stood in their way and leaving nothing behind but bloody ruin. Vess cut down the others, her wings and summoned Spears slashing in rhythm with Felix's leaps—then they were through.

The horde followed. Arrows sought them out as they flew over new towns and fortresses, each one getting closer than the last as the pasturelands ended and the farmlands began.

Time marched relentlessly onward, and Felix could give no thought to exhaustion. His Stamina replenished almost as fast as his Mana, but a bone-deep weariness crawled into him after the third hour. The shadowbeasts tried to snuff out their lives with every single step. No matter how often he killed, they returned, manifesting from the disappearing shadows down below.

He and Vess were both far stronger than them, but their relentless assault would wound them eventually. Given free rein, they would eventually wear him down. Vess herself was panting, no longer maneuvering her wings, save to cling tighter to Felix's side. Her Spears spun outward, propelled by her Will alone, but they trailed behind, only able to kill those beasts that dared approach them from their flanks.

Noon slowly approached, and the shadows thinned as the sun sought its zenith. Only then did the beasts dwindle, no longer able to manifest as often as the daylight banished their maker. Until finally, the final wriggling insect fell beneath their onslaught, its shadowflesh sizzling into nothing to reveal their goal.

Amaranth.

It was lifted on a series of hills surrounded by a towering wall of white stone. Outside of those walls, where small towns had once hugged the gate of the Shining City, now there was only desolation. Sundered homes and ruined fields lay trampled beneath the varied feet of an army too vast to be counted. There were no soldiers there, no Paladins or Inquisitors, but the half mile to the city before them was filled with thousands upon thousands of Shadowbeasts, Fungal Horrors, elephantine Plaguerats, and enormous, dual-headed Ettin Wolves.

“Five minutes to go. Are you ready?” he asked over the crack of thunder.

She seized her glaive and summoned her Spears. “Let us end this.”

With barely a hitch in his stride, Felix leaped forward. Arcing over the horde, they shot like a bolt of lightning into its very center, just south of the massive alabaster gate. Spore and fang and dark twisted magic sought them out immediately, but Vess’ Spears landed first.

"Final Glory!"

The horde around them exploded, their attacks consumed by a gale of metal and their bodies torn to shreds, clearing the way for a dozen yards in every direction. Felix landed a split second after, Vess in one arm while the other slammed the earth. Lightning coursed outward, bursting through the brood of Noctis and Yyero and sending the Plaguerats and Ettin Wolves yelping back in pain.

"I heard you were looking for me," he announced, his voice a basso growl. "Come and get some!"

A shapeless howl tore from ten thousand throats as godslaved minions charged all at once. Paw, claw, tooth, and mandible surged for them, trampling one another in their frenetic hatred. And it was hatred—that was unmistakable to Felix. It bore down on him like a thousand forge fires, seeking to melt his bones to slag and quench itself on his blood.

He gave them a chance.

They just had to get past Vess, first.

A dozen explosions ripped around them, each one tearing apart the ground as much as it sundered shadowflesh and spore-riddled meat. Again. Her Spears congealed from her Mana, stabbing through open maws and exposed bellies in the seconds before they burst. A near-constant storm of metal and air Mana raged around them, more furious than the godslaves themselves.

Felix contributed, stomping on the earth and sending his Will coursing across the trampled fields. Sonata of Dominance commanded stone, sending it bursting from beneath their feet in a field a hundred feet in diameter. Godslaves that were already injured fell, and the rest were caught upon razor-sharp terrain, forced to impale themselves by the mad press of the mob.

“He is one man!” came the cry.

Just as it was going so well. He kept his Sonata running, altering the earth in random pulses around his location. Who’s this jerkass?

All the way on the shining walls, above and beyond the bloody blender that surrounded Felix, were the Humans. A dark skinned man with slicked back hair and a sneering expression stood atop the battlements, his white armor radiating a golden light.

Unseen Beholder!

Name: Lar Kodal. Hierei of Andiva and Tavan. Grandmaster of the Inquisitor Order.

“Take heart, you mindless beasts!” the Hierei cried, his bloody cloak snapping in a sudden breeze. “Seek the savage nature within! Let not death nor pain daunt you! Embrace ruination! Drown them in your blood!”

An unnamed Skill pulsed the air, carried upon waves of light. It surged through the horde, and Felix heard the distant, telltale sound of Status Conditions proliferating across ten thousand monstrosities.

Stone spikes shattered beneath bodies reinforced by an incredible swell of sudden Vitality. Vess’ Spears exploded, killing hundreds, but the rest did not even flinch as they charged forward. Their eyes burned a maddened crimson, and a golden halo surrounded every single one.

The Hierei laughed. “Devour the Fiend!”

CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT

Hierei Lar Kodal stood watch atop the shining walls of Amaranth as the godslave minions flooded the Fiend's position. Beside him, filling the battlements with the righteous and pure Light, were rank upon rank of white-armored Inquisitors. They were those who remained faithful to the Pathless despite his death. Faithful to the Light that would not extinguish, no matter the dark.

Faithful to the Hierophant, Kodal added, silently.

Not all held to their convictions, however. Paladins and Priests counted among the occupants of the Shining Walls. Their mottled appearance was unsightly among the purity of the Light, but Kodal could not gainsay the power that poured from their Aspects. The power of other gods, now somehow available to mortal men once more.

Befouling us all. The metallic blue of the Twins, the sickening bronze of Yyero, and the cloying darkness of Noctis interrupted the brilliant, pure white of their defense force.

Kodal tried to put it from his Mind, focusing instead on the fight beyond the wards. His people stood safe as the monsters surged from their dens outside the city. That Dragoon, Vessilia Dayne, fought the godslaved minions with abandon, moving faster than Kodal expected and killing them far easier than he liked. Yet, like their makers, the monstrosities did not die so easily. Each mortal wound was but a pause in their relentless attack, and a killing blow just sent them back to the earth, where their soulless Essence would form once more into a fatal beast.

The Hierei watched as spore creatures crawled out of furrows in the ground with each death, their numbers multiplying as their remnants sank into the fetid soil. The shadowbeasts spawned from the darkness beneath the horde itself, constant and ceaseless in their numbers. The Plaguerats were more temporary, but they had other advantages. Nearly three times the size of a merchant's wagon, the pus-covered rodents charged through the masses, requiring half of the Dragoon's projectiles to bring them down. When they fell, their flesh burst open, releasing Fungal Horrors from its bloated corpse. The Ettin Wolves were the least in number, and they circled their prey, snapping at their flanks with jaws equal to the Plaguerats.

Kodal sneered. The Twins had gifted Amaranth less of their power than any of the other gods. Worthless creatures on their own.

He was certain the Twins were up to something—that all the gods were—but the Hierophant had ordered his cooperation. His hands were tied. All he could do now was watch and find some satisfaction in seeing the Fiend fall.

"The minions have him on the ropes, Hierei," Commander Finks said. Though the Paladin was clad in slick black armor, denoting his newfound allegiance to the Lady of the Night, he had once been a highly decorated officer among the Hierocracy. His sense of duty still shone through the dark. "I don't believe we will have to waste our people on this fight. That woman will exhaust herself just defending against the fodder. Then we will have him, as well."

“You think he cannot fight?” Commander Ranz asked. His hand never left the blue-clad blade at his hip. “This is the man that bested Mivun Tal. It would be wise not to underestimate him.”

“Mivun Tal was overcome by an alliance of fools,” Finks said, sniffing. “His Authority alone would have been enough to handle this Fiend, had he not been taken down by the rebel mages and Dragoons.”

Kodal said nothing to gainsay either one of their arguments. His Inquisitors had suffered terrible losses during the Battle of Pax’Vrell, though not nearly as many as the Paladins. The Pathless had died that day, but the Titan’s reports indicated that the Fiend had more than a little help. She suspected the Dragoons and even the mages of Levantier. Then Levantier had fallen into the Fiend’s hands, and it had all become clear. Kodal’s lip curled as he stared into the thresher of godslaved monstrosities that piled on against Dayne and Nevarre. He’d underestimated the man for too long, and he’d become a genuine threat to the Hierocracy.

It was finally time to rectify that.

Commander Sar, in his bronze armor, scratched at his pockmarked face. Kodal leaned away from the odious man as several of his sores oozed across his cheeks. "The Manaships are marshaling, sir. They'll be here soon."

Kodal nodded. The ships would be enough to end the Fiend. Even the Hierophant would be hard-pressed to defend against Manacannon fire. He drummed his fingers against the battlements, his white-enameled gauntlets ringing like dull ingots. He was confident…but it did not hurt to be safe.

Kodal reached toward his Authority, granted to him by his position beneath the Hierophant and funneled through the Great Seal of Amaranth. Power filled his limbs, radiating from the Mark at his center he’d been gifted by Ocalla Marzul herself. Strength filled him, until it felt like Kodal could lift a mountain upon his back and stomp out every enemy to the Light with a single swift blow. Authority rumbled across his Aspects, forcing his Body to tremble as his Spirit grappled with its might.

He drew on every Subordinate Seal within the Territory, his Authority only slightly less when compared to the Hierophant herself.

"Felix Nevarre," he said, voice echoing through the ward until it thundered from the sky like the sound of oncoming chariots. "Kneel."

The Authority burned through Kodal's throat, smashing across the terrain as if no distance separated him and his target. It dropped, a boot from a god sent to lay low a mortal peasant. A command that could not be denied.

Yet, it floundered, bouncing harmlessly off of the Fiend. He stood motionless at the center of an ever-widening clearing, not a half mile distant. Bright, burning eyes looked up and met Kodal's.

Authority Failed.

The Target Has Authority Greater Than Yours.

Pain fed back into him, hitting the Authority and retreating across his aspects like a wounded dog. "Damnation!” Several of the commanders looked at him curiously, but Kodal did bother to explain. There was no point in letting his people know, not when it would only lead to a weakening of morale.

"Summon the Champions," he rasped, snapping his fingers. "Let us end this properly."

Beside him, the commanders clasped their hands, their powers gleaming about their impure armor as they put out the call to their god's champions. Kodal sucked at his teeth, hands tightening on the white battlements. It took a great deal of his Will to ignore the stain the other gods had placed upon the city. The minions outside the walls were bad enough, but inside—he suppressed a sneer. It was vile.

His three commanders all bowed their heads, their lips moving without a single word issuing forth. Across the city, two leagues hence, the Hierophant's tower blazed in answer.

"There's a disturbance in the Bracewell Market." Commander Sar looked up in alarm, his bronze armor roiling with its unclean light. "Yyero’s champion has been caught up!”

“As have the Twins!”

“What in the Light is going on?” Kodal demanded. “What's the disturbance?"

"The Lizard has revealed himself!" Commander Finks gasped. "However, Lady Noctis has sent her Champion en route to us, but she and the others have bent their attention inward.”

“Damnation, it had better get here quick.”

“The minions will destroy him soon." Commander Sar paused. Swallowed. "What…what is he doing?"

Through the slight distortion of the barrier surrounding the city, Kodal saw that much was the same as before. The Dragoon was doing the majority of the fighting, flying about with her damnable spears and an incredible amount of Strength. Her wings were monstrous and more than a match for the shadowbeasts that tried to pass her. The Fiend, however, stood still in the center of the cleared area—one that had not shrunk in the slightest during the monsters’ onslaught.

"Is he…digging a hole?" Commander Finks asked.

Kodal squinted, flaring his Perception. He spotted it as the Fiend reached into his jacket and pulled forth an oblong shape. A seed?

Mana rushed toward the man, sucked into the object's orbit until it flashed around him like an aurora. Those blazing blue eyes locked with Kodal’s, and he swore that the man smirked before a resounding crash shook the battlefield.

There was a gasp, not from any person or creature, but from the very air itself. Sudden, ethereal jaws opened wide around the Fiend. Teeth that seemed as big as mountains split the air, leading to a darkness that Kodal could not comprehend. The commanders trembled, their knees nearly giving out as pressure slammed against their Spirits. The barrier diffused the effect, but Inquisitors and Paladins and Priests down the line all braced themselves against the wall.

The godslaved minions had no such defenses.

A nigh-invisible beast rose behind Nevarre, an ancient presence that Kodal couldn’t believe or understand. Fear sparked down his spine…and those ethereal jaws snapped shut. Thousands died all at once, their forms overcome by the Fiend's might, rendering them into dark, twisted smoke that poured toward him…and that deep abyss.

The man straightened, his eyes brighter than ever, even a half league distant. He smiled.

"Whatever he’s doing, stop him!" Kodal snarled. "Send out the third battalion!"

The call rang down the walls, and men and a company of Paladins rode forward through the rapidly opening gates. They charged out atop Ettin Wolves, their dual heads snapping and foaming, filled with the defensive might of the Twins. The smoke parted before them and the lances of the Paladins, the Ettin Wolves charging through that gathering, noxious aurora. The godslaved creatures replenished themselves from the earth and shadow, surging forward.

But the Fiend was not yet done. Power had poured not just into him, but into that oversized seed. He lifted it high before hurling it into the hole he'd made in the earth.

The ground buckled, chasms tearing through the ruined township and hurtling the recovering minions back. Several fell between the gaps in the earth, crushed as it shifted. Stone lifted, and sod burst into the air as things moved beneath. The Paladins' charge was thrown, the Ettin Wolves rearing back, though they kept their saddles. The godslaved went mad, their already insane countenances now bent toward true madness. They threw themselves atop the Dragoon and the Fiend.

"Yes!" Kodal shouted, forcing himself to straighten his spine. "Rend him to pieces!"

"Empyrean Embrace.”

Those ethereal teeth snapped shut on the surging monsters, and every single one of the godly abominations in a thousand paces vanished into foul smoke. The earth heaved, and roots rose up, splitting the soil further as they crushed all that surrounded them. Monsters fled, and the Paladins were forced to evade as the roots grew and thickened into building-sized battering rams.

“Unite the Lost!”

A trunk rose up behind the Fiend, growing taller and thicker by the moment as that foul smoke fed into it. The aurora-like shimmer around it surged along every piece of its bark. Branches spread out, leaves sprouting as it shot high. It kept growing until its crown reached double, triple, and then quadruple the height of the Shining Walls.

"No, that's impossible," Kodal gasped.

A deep voice, audible to Kodal and everyone else, rang out.

Territorial Authority Contested!

Atlantes Grove Resonates With The Seed Of Remembered Light!

The Earth Recalls What Once Was!

The Fiend Returns What Must Be!

The Green Harmony Sings!

Authority Acknowledged!

Hidden Conditions Met!

Earthbound clouds poured from the expanding trunk, obscuring the grinning Fiend and the vile, flying wench until all Kodal could see were two points of burning blue.

Territorial Arrays Are Active!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

You Have Been Affected By The Aestus Autus Anima!

One Aura Is Active!

The fog is an aura?

The System message blared through the battlefield, accompanied by the ringing gong of the Fiend’s powerful Authority. Kodal felt it like a slap in the face, even through the multilayered barriers of the city walls.

That fog followed on the heels of the blaring sound, flowing from the base of the enormous Spirit Tree and rolling across the countryside in every direction. It poured like water from the cup of a god, the waves of it washing against the Shining City’s barrier like an angry sea.

The Foglands come to Amaranth. Kodal seized the hilt of his sword but did not draw it. How is this possible?

“I cannot see anything, Hierei,” Finks hissed. He all but pressed his nose against the shimmering barrier. “The third battalion might as well not exist! It’s as if the entire field has vanished!”

“We must destroy that Tree,” Kodal said, before jerking his chin toward his subordinates. “Commander Sar, take the sixth and seventh battalions into that miasma. Join the third, find the Tree—and cut it down!”

The commanders jolted, scorched by Kodal’s incendiary Authority, and the disgusting Sar leaped to action. He dropped nearly two hundred feet to the base of the Shining Walls, his bronze armor blossoming with fungal vines that slowed his descent. The Paladins followed him down the battlement stairs at speed, their putrescent weapons squirming in their sheaths.

Kodal put them out of his Mind. He needed a better vantage.

“Commanders! Join me in the tower. We will peer at the Fiend’s latest desperate attempt.”

“To the left!”

Belloc couldn’t see anything through the accursed fog. His Ettin Wolf snarled with each confused tug of the reins, but it was no better off. The Twinblessed magic that bound their senses blazed in his center, but Belloc could feel it rebounding from the fog.

His battalion shifted to the left, bounding over the low corpses of burst Plaguerats.

Shadows moved around them, harmless to the Wolves but dire threats to those that rode them. The Paladins held their halberds and lances tight, but no tighter than the glittering barriers that sparked with the Twin’s blessings. Noctis’ creatures were mad, flailing their many, ill-formed limbs without rhyme or reason. They were a thresher of jagged edges, churning the fog and mud into a soupy sameness that occluded the Paladins’ path. The Fungal Horrors made it little better, as their frantic, wet clicking forced Belloc’s Perception astray as the gill-capped monstrosities stumped blindly at their sides. For all their hectic movement, however, none were fighting any longer. There was no blood or death. Only muffled silence.

Where in damnation is the enemy?

A deep bell tolled, longer and louder than anything Belloc had ever heard. The fog shivered with the sound, and ahead, the trunk of a vast tree loomed out of the impenetrable miasma. It was immense, a silhouette of verdant vibrancy that was incredibly different from the shadowbeasts. To Belloc, it was a darkness of potential.

At its center, a creature rose up. Dirt clung to its long, almost emaciated limbs, matted into its thick fur and woven with streams of Mana that dripped from its joints. Long ears atop an elongated head twitched, bent by long hibernation, and those ears were matched by massive horns that curled outward. It reared back, skeletally thin and three times the size of his Ettin Wolf. Eyes like black flames filled cavernous sockets, and teeth as bright as stars and sharp as sabers jutted savagely from its yawning jaws. A series of long tails rose up behind it, each as thin as whips…yet, for all of that, it held the shape of a prey animal.

Without a word or cry, the prey became the predator.

The Ettin Wolves and Paladins fell, sundered with lightning speed as those tails lashed out. Blood sprayed in the mist, and Belloc sawed at his reins. His mount leapt over the first lashing and sidestepped the second. Terror seized him, a new pressure now descending upon the field. The weight of it nearly collapsed him, and his mount yelped in pain as the Spirit of the creature and the Tree shoved all its foes back.

It lifted its head, black eyes wide, and howled.

The sound was fear itself.

All around them, the godslaved minions went insane, surging forward through the mist. Belloc himself felt his connection to the Twins sharpen, as if the gods themselves were now paying attention to the battle. Eyes were upon him as he spun his mount and fixed his grip on his weapon, eyes that pierced through the skin of the world itself, staring through Belloc's center at the creature before him.

Derision was all he’d ever felt from the Twins, but now, those four eyes cut through him with a new emotion: Alarm. The sensation shivered through Belloc and carried with it a terror greater than any howling hare could account for. There was a swell in the Twins' blessing, and shielding increased around him, wrapping across Ettin Wolf and Paladin like sheets of divine armor.

Go, he was sent plowing through the mad minions, weapon raised toward the creature. Kill The Grim!

Belloc charged, lance leveled, only to have it smashed from his grip. He was nearly knocked from his saddle, but the Ettin Wolf leaped into the blow and kept its feet.

The howling cut off.

The Roots Of The Wilds Reach To The Center Of All That Is!

All Things Are One In The Green!

All Places Are One!

A Second Aura Is Active!

Belloc's mount's ears perked up. He shouted to those Paladins that remained, "Something is here! Brace!"

Bright blue dots swarmed the dark, each burning like captured lightning. A sibilant call shook the air, phrases that Belloc couldn’t parse, save one.

“Glory to the Returned God!”

Monsters surged out of the mist, crashing toward their line. They were serpents, scaled and fanged, but wielding weapons like men.

“Nagafolk!"

Thousands burst from the mist, sideswiping Belloc's team and sending him careening end over end. He clung to his saddle. As his mount found its feet once more, their protective magics holding beneath the onslaught of vile monsters, he spun, trying to orient himself in the fog, only to spot the racing form of a titanic nightmare.

Its scales were shadows, and bright blue eyes burned in its wedge-shaped skull, bigger than even the foul creature. A maw opened up, fanged and hissing, and Belloc spurred his mount to run.

The shadow was faster.

There was only pressure and pain, then silence.

"The third company is gone, my lord," Finks reported.

“What of Sar’s battalions? Did they make it out?” Kodal asked, his eyes fixed on the monstrous serpent that undulated through the mist.

“The city gates have only just closed. They are among the fog and battling…that.”

Skills discharged in the mist, lighting small portions in sprays of flame and bronze-colored foulness. Serpentine shapes thrashed amongst them, confused amid the shadowflesh and pestilent hide of the godslaved minions. From Perception alone, Kodal could not tell what transpired below. Even his Authority was blunted, as if the fog itself were hampering the Hierei’s power.

“Dear gods in heaven, what is that thing?” someone asked.

The Abyssal Serpent. Kodal grimaced. Its scales were a dark green, so dark they were nearly black. He had heard rumors of such a monstrosity to the south, whispers that it had enslaved itself to the Fiend's Will. He had not expected to see it here, on the field of battle, in Amaranth itself.

Nor had he expected to see the horrors unfolding around the impossible Tree.

Nagafolk were battling the godslaved minions, their numbers obfuscated but clearly multiplying by the moment. Hundreds, if not thousands of the disgusting creatures slithered across Amaranth’s lands, and their tridents and spears were already dripping with ichor and blood in equal measure. Paladins were already falling. He had lost track of the tools he had sent out.

“I am more concerned with what lay beyond the Abyssal,” Kodal said, trying to keep his composure. There, a bipedal shadow waded among the Tree’s growing roots, Mana flowing around it like water.

"What is it, my Lord? It looks like a hare⁠—”

“Have you ever seen a rabbit horned and tall as a building?” Kodal snapped. “No, it's some trick. Same as this Tree. Same as all of it.”

“What should we do, my Lord? Do we send out more companies?”

“No. The Fiend has blinded us with this fog. Sending more men out to die does not serve the Hierophant’s Will."

Suddenly, a new roar split the air, sending a shudder of relief through Kudal's Spirit. A rumbling whine split the tension among his men, and smiles and cheers broke out. “This is what we need.”

Kudal turned to witness the Manaships flying low over the city. A hundred approached the Shining Walls, with twice that number still lifting from the ports at the interior of the city. Most of the first hundred were cutters, smaller ships built for speed over offensive power, but they would do nicely in clearing the chaff before them.

“My Lord Kodal, Captain Kelso of the Lumen Company, reporting for duty, sir.”

The voice scratched out of the miniature Seal worked into the wall at Kodal’s side, flashing golden with the light of the sun. “You are a welcome sight, captain. You have my permission to exit the city and engage with the enemy. Kill them all, and burn that Tree to the ground.”

“Acknowledged, sir.”

The cutters’ engines flared, sending all of them into the dome-like wards of the city. Their hulls flashed as they intersected it, and each captain possessed a key tuned to their Spirit that allowed them to breach their defenses—a hole opened up, allowing each cutter to slip out into the fog-strewn sky. The moment their forward cannons cleared, they fired.

Golden beams splashed down into the horde. It didn't matter to Kodal whether godslaves or Nagafolk died; the gods' creatures experienced only momentary death…but the serpents did not rise again. They hissed and flailed their pathetic limbs as they were burnt to a crisp beneath the Hierocracy’s golden might. Kudal grinned, glorying in the bright light that reflected back onto the city.

It was a light of Strength and Order and of Purity.

The destruction was immaculate. He noted a keen hunger in his commanders’ eyes around him, most especially Finks, as the man thumbed black flesh that had started to grow along his jawline. He seemed perturbed and eager by measures, and that armor of his rippled as if in anticipation of the slaughter. Kudal could not bear to glance at the darkness and focused instead upon the Tree.

Its roots were burning now.

The first volley had carved burning lines into the thick fog, and igniting it into a crimson glow that suffused the field like blood. Kodal watched gleefully as a second volley was fired off, this time by the cutters’ full complement of cannons. More destruction laid the battlefield to waste, but the fog only swirled higher. Kudal could not tell what was being hit. The pure light and fire Mana of the Manacannons dragged across the terrain like swords, their impacts blooming with infernal heat.

Nothing could survive those strikes.

Yet as the shots trained upon the Tree itself, the Fiend rose atop a pillar of jagged stone, his black jacket snapping in the wind.

"FIRE!" came Captain Kelso’s call. A third volley screamed toward the would-be king. A hundred ships at once fired broadsides upon the monster that would bring war to Amaranth.

Nevarre lifted a hand, as if to shield himself.

Kudal leaned forward, his grin eager and sharp. He would relish the sight of Nevarre cowering beneath the Light, though he lamented that his death would be so swift. A filthy Unbound deserved to die a thousand deaths, each slower than the last.

The golden beams dropped upon the Fiend, several hundred all at once, until the land was lit by a new sun. Kodal shielded his eyes, and for a moment, he thought he’d missed it.

The Fiend still stood and the beams…they curved around him. Bent, as if afraid to approach his snapping coat…and the ethereal jaws that loomed around his form. Those closed, and the light vanished.

He ate them…

"You've raised the stakes," the Fiend said. Black scales slid over him like a suit of plate mail, thick across his shoulders and thigh, but even his full, featureless helm didn't muffle the awful volume of his voice. "Let me do the same."

Behind him, the green shadow of the Tree trunk gleamed, and a cascade of Manalights spilled across the fog. A blue bolt fired at the nearest cutter, slicing through its shields and exploding its hull in a rain of apocalyptic fire. It fell to the earth, crushing the horde beneath, and Kudal went pale.

One by one, enemy Manaships poured from the Tree.

"It's a gateway!”

CHAPTER NINETY

Manaships clashed in the air just outside Amaranth, and the fog-strewn battlefield was swiftly becoming a no-man’s land.

“Kinetic Shockstorm!”

Spears of blue force tore through barriers and hulls with equal ease, punching into the Hierocratic cutters like battering rams. Even down on the field, Felix could identify Darius’ commander’s voice from the flagship. The prows of all the ships were fitted with two types of weaponry, each developed from their top Inscriptionists’ personal Skills.

Aboard the ships, Legionnaires manned the cannons on the decks, firing them one after the other into the regenerating horde and the other Manaships by turns. Bright blue force bolts erupted the earth into fountains of stone and dirt, while burning shells of fire ricocheted off the wards across the Shining Walls.

Shadows cut off the sun, filling the sky with godslaved flesh as Noctis’ puppets descended on the ships. They swarmed the decks, only to be cut back by well-oiled tactics. The dark pressed close, maws wide, but the Legion proved a difficult meal.

Dozens of the enemy craft fell in the first few seconds as all thirty of Felix’s ships loosed their cannons, the Hierocratic engines catching fire before careening into the earth or walls.

But the cutters were the least of the ships against them, now.

The Ahkestrian galleons were mighty, but their equals were already pushing their broadsides through the city barriers. The Hierocratic galleons took shelter behind the city's wards, shifting themselves broadside so that only their Manacannons stuck outside of Amaranth's protective dome. Golden beams spat out from the city, raining down on Felix’s ships through the fog, tearing across their enchanted hulls as the pilots of House Iretus engaged in evasive maneuvers. In the seconds since their arrival, explosions tore up the battlefield around Felix, and they would only increase.

Even with the Tree, as long as the ships can cower behind that barrier, we’re at a disadvantage.

The portal had worked just as the Grim Nightshade had promised, bringing his army to Amaranth’s walls, but it wasn’t enough alone. No matter how much counter fire Felix’s people sent off, Amaranth could muster more ships than Felix could count. Their soldiers and the godslaved minions outnumbered them by one to ten at the minimum. His people were dying. The ground was littered with the corpses of Nagafolk. The Deepking smashed against the city, wiping out entire fields of godslaved minions with a swipe of his immense tail. It wasn't enough.

Not yet.

Felix gritted his teeth and shoved his anger back. He needed to change the flow of battle. The Manaships and Nagafolk were handling their tasks. Everyone else had to do theirs.

Yin swooped down from the sky, his eyes unaffected by Murk Enclosure that so confused the enemy.

“It’s time to go.” Vess leaned close, grabbing him by his jacket and planting a kiss on his lips. “Good luck.”

"Right back at ya, lady. Keep those kids alive.”

She grinned at him before leaping astride the Dawn Drake's back. They both joined Beef as he rumbled past, riding atop the subway-sized bulk of his Multipede. Archie, Hallow, and the four Eidolon Exults rode shotgun, and the latter gave Felix a grim salute as the entire creature shimmered with a faint song. Together, they vanished into the fray, heading towards the city.

At his back, Felix could all but feel the Risi rumble out of the Aestus Autus Anima, their preternatural cold announcing them better than the hunting horns they blared. Evie led them, riding at the forefront of a fleet of chariots led by bull-sized Hoarhounds. Battlelord Ari and Chancellor Kimaris were at her heels, followed by Warriors, Witches, Berserkers, Chainslaughters, and Riotrime Charioteers. They plowed into the Putrescents of the rot god, freezing their fungal spores before lopping apart their gooey hides with axes hewn from black iron.

“Freeze and smash, boys!” Evie howled.

The giants howled back.

Felix's first task was to clear the way for the ships.

Felix rushed forward in their wake, letting the ice fog rise up around himself before tearing across the battlefield. Arms lifted, he barreled through monsters, tearing their flimsy hides apart with sheer momentum as his Agility and Strength flared. Fog billowed around him, trailing in streamers after the obliterated parts of godslaved minions that got in his way. His movement was as easy as breathing, Stride of the King flaring in his chest and allowing him to flow like water through enemies and explosions alike.

His intense strength, unhindered by having to hold back for the sake of his friends, was now unleashed around him. He splattered everything that came across his way, his fists driving holes through the hardest of chitin and bursting the stoutest of limbs, until he fetched up against an absolutely huge Ettin Wolf. Felix skidded to a stop, struck by the creature.

“You absolute unit,” he muttered.

The Wolves were strange. He'd seen quite a few across the field, but this one was different. Instead of two heads, it bore three, and it was entirely clad in heavy blue metal barding. Saddled across its back was a Paladin with a long halberd and an impressive-looking plumed helmet, all the same azure hue.

"Fall before the Champion of the Twins!" the Paladin cried.

“Not a Vessel, but a Champion? Interesting.” He took a single step, but before he could move farther, Evie cut in.

"Don't mind me," she cried, her chain flinging outward. It caught the Ettin Wolf around one of its necks before she yanked hard. The creature yelped like a dog reaching the end of its rope and fell forward.

"Bad doggy!"

Spikes on her chain burst outward, striking sparks off its bestial gorget and spraying ichor into the air. The Ettin Wolf seized the chain with its other heads, chewing into the metal fruitlessly before the Paladin leveraged his halberd and hurled it free.

“The gods will be free!” the Paladin shouted, and the spaces in his helmet shone with light.

Evie spun her chain, catching the heavy iron balls the Paladin hurled their way and redirecting them into the ground.

"You handle this." Felix leaped into the sky, cratering the ground behind him.

"Sure will!” Evie was already unsheathing her second chain. "I won't even need to wait for the Berserkers!"

Adamant Discord!

Lightning spiked across his fist as he pulled on the connections he bore to the sky itself.

Shadowbeasts lunged for him, but Felix twisted himself through their grasping talons, scorching them in his wake. He reoriented, hurtling toward the walls. Toward the wards.

The Hierocracy refused to make it easy, however. Felix rolled like lightning between the burning rays of the enemy ships that filled the ground just outside the city walls. Fire bloomed a hundred feet from the earth, washing the afternoon with sunset hues and forcing Felix to kick off shaped air platforms to avoid the worst of the burning sweep.

He couldn’t avoid them all.

Empyrean Embrace!

The Manacannon winked out as he devoured its beam, the wards on the Manaship just beyond the Shining Walls whining and popping audibly. His Will clamped down on the mechanisms, traveling up the beam’s trajectory before it was dispersed by the wards. Smoke poured from the galleon, but the crimson-cloaked crew pivoted every other cannon toward their new target.

Six beams screamed across the sky.

Sonata of Dominance is level 136!

Felix seized the light and the fire, Will and Intent bending them all away from himself—directly into the path of a hundred flocking shadowbeasts. They were consumed by the radiance, and the ship whined before each of its cannons bucked with uncontrollable feedback. The galleon rocked back, its keel riddled with embers beyond the barrier.

The way was clear…save for an absolute behemoth between Felix and the walls.

It uncoiled in the air, revealing a winged form that was a mishmash of too many upsetting bugs to count. Centipede, beetle, and mantis joined together with horned pincers and clamp blades for arms. It was the size and length of a train, its segmented body coursing with bloody lightning. Its shadow-slick carapace caught in the frenetic light of battle, its wings buzzing with the roaring sound of the bloodstorm itself.

It was mighty, pushing toward what Felix understood as Paragon Tier…but its face hadn’t collapsed into itself. This was no Vessel of Noctis, though it bore all the signs of her power as well as Vellus’.

"Fear me, Fiend! For I am the Champion of the Night itself!” The Paladin on the creature's back was wearing a suit of armor that looked as if it had flowed from the enormous bug to hold him, and he bore in his hands a lance of sparkling, blood-red Mana crystal.

"Another Champion?" Felix asked, holding onto a bolt of lightning. “Do I really not rate a Vessel?”

He hurled himself forward, accelerating fast enough that the air puckered and sound burst ahead of him in a wall of condensation. His punch struck the Champion in its chest, sending a rippling impact of blood-red lightning across its twitching limbs. Unlike any other, however, the creature did not burst or break. A bit of ichor dribbled from the impact, but the wound healed in moments.

Huh.

"Is that all you have?" The Paladin snarled before thrusting his blood-red lance.

Felix dodged aside as a rush of liquid light poured past his position, searing the edges of his coat. The Champion's rear end swung toward him, a barbed tail thrusting for Felix's middle. He kicked off another thickened panel of air, interposing it between himself and the beast, and its attack merely shattered his shaping.

They’re stronger than I expected! Felix flexed his hands, his talons growing. It seemed he would have to get a little serious.

"Don't bother!" screeched a voice, and Pit dropped from the sky in a blur of lightning. His bus-sized body slammed atop the Champion of Noctis, and a flurry of claw, beak, and sparking Mantle sent the creature hurtling downward by a hundred feet.

Pit stretched his wings, air marshaling under all four. "I got this.”

Scylla flew down after, wind gathering at points along her pale wings. "We got this.”

"Kick their asses, bud." Felix grasped the connection between him and his distant targets, aiming himself at the wall as his Companion dove down toward the Champion. "Harn! On me!”

Adamant Discord!

Madness had encompassed the Shining Walls. Hierei Kodal stood still within the command tower, observing the reports from what lay beyond the fogged barriers. A few brave scouts had waded into the frenetic battle, and fewer still had returned, but they all told of bloody chaos beyond the walls.

Filthy serpents were cutting down children of Light. The godslaves had gone wild, murdering everything within their reach, including one another, as they surged toward that Tree and the Manaships raining fire from the sky. Despite their numbers, despite their Authority here on the threshold of the Hierocracy…the Fiend was still alive.

Numb, Kodal checked his other reports, handed hastily to him from scouts. Lieutenants sent with small squads had been dispatched farther into the city, each holding requests for reinforcements. Hierei Quist and Kellen weren’t answering—all he had before him were confusing missives about collapsing streets across every district.

We need more soldiers! They needed more forces here immediately. If the Fiend gains a true foothold, the ritual will⁠—

"My lord!" Finks cried. "The roots!"

Above Kodal, the thickened roots of the Spirit Tree rose hundreds of strides above the battlefield, growing so fast it was like they were moving. It stretched, thousands of tendrils clutching against the invisible dome of Amaranth’s ultimate protections, until rainbow hues rippled across its surface.

Kodal flinched back, his Affinity torn by a terrible, haunting wail. It was a sound that he could feel in his bones more than he could hear with his ears.

A dozen Manaships—galleons all—fired upon the roots. Upon the wards. They shivered—flexed—and Kodal half stood up, hand on his sword. Despite the chaos, silence clutched at him.

A single whisper slipped through.

“Empyrean Embrace.”

Ephemeral teeth seized the roots, bolts, and ward all at once. They snapped shut, savaging the wards⁠—

The Shining Walls of Amaranth shattered.

Kodal threw up his arms, a blazing sword lifted in a high guard that cut through the debris. The fog surged inward, rolling over the walls and down into the city like a waterfall, carried by stormwinds that burst their windows and sent the command tower into a treacherous, creaking sway.

All his allies were gone, blasted through walls and along the battlements. Only Kodal still stood, his sword the lone Light among the deepening fog. Ahead of him, lit by the blasphemous Tree, blue eyes burned among the heavy features of a dark knight. Claws of a beast arced from his giant hands, and his gargantuan chest was aflame with red-gold as he stood astride an implacable root.

"Hierei Kodal. Are you stronger than the last one I killed?"

The Fiend landed on the battlements, and the pressure of his Spirit laid low what Inquisitors remained. His fangs were bright against his armor.

"I hope not. I'm in a hurry."

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

The Manaships were the first through the shattered wards. Volcanic Rain and Kinetic Shockstorms launched from the decks of their thirty galleons, destroying the minions below before hitting the Shining Wall's battlements. Hierocratic soldiers fell back beneath the onslaught, their defensive powers turning aside pieces of the Manacannons, but they were unable to defend the streets and buildings that burst into infernos or collapsed into rubble.

The Shining City had begun to burn.

Atar soared above, gesturing at the flames that raced across rooftops. They winked out, their heat and fire Mana pulled into his center, even as his Stars of the Sovereign tore through walls and soldiers like tissue paper. Atar’s task was not to annihilate the city, but to keep it from burning to ash, if he could manage it. So far, it had gone well, and each snuffed-out fire fed his own power.

The Manaships spread out, half their cannons concentrated on the soldiers below, while the other half was focused on the Hierocratic ships that still plied the skies above Amaranth. Atar's second task was to keep those ships at bay and give their fleet room to dispatch soldiers. His Stars of the Sovereign flew amongst the enemy vessels, slicing through hulls, masts, sails, and setting decks ablaze. He burned across the sky, hopping between Manaships on trails of white flame that poured from his gray skin.

There was chaos below, where Felix had engaged with the command tower and the center of Amaranthine defense, but that wasn't his concern.

to the east! i sense a delicious fire burning down upon those across the street. pathless magic swirls among it.

Atar gathered himself up. He was more than happy to consume the fires that broke out below them in the city. He had no desire to hurt the innocent people of Amaranth, if they could help it.

Atar leaped from the deck, his Will burning beneath the movement as fire ignited from the soles of his feet. He floated, the flames simply boosting him for a moment as he described a strong arc between galleons. It was not so much flight, not in his fleshy Body, but it sufficed for their needs. Unfortunately, however, it meant maneuvering was difficult at best.

When the Champion of Noctis dropped upon them, Atar barely avoided the strike.

A barbed tail like a scorpion's dropped on him, followed by a long monstrous body like a scorpion with moth wings and mantis claws. It slammed into Atar, its clamp blade snagging around his dark robes, but pinching little flesh. It hurled him, sending him careening to the ground below.

atar!

Fire burst around them, slowing the descent, but not nearly enough to stop. They impacted the blue-tiled roofs of Amaranth's outer districts, skidding over two peaks before crashing through into a dusty bedroom.

"Blood and ash," Atar groaned, fighting for breath. "At least the floor broke our fall.”

get on your feet, atar. that thing is not done with us.

The roof was ripped away, revealing the buzzing, amalgamated insect hovering just above. Its tail was poised to strike, and a knight in spiky black armor was saddled upon its back. A blood-red lance thrust forward, carrying with it a river of molten light followed by a freezing shadow. Atar scrambled back, but the power consumed the dusty bedroom. Cold clutched at him, freezing his robes against his legs and snatching the breath from his lungs.

"The Stars of the Sovereign," Atar gasped. White, four-pointed stars ignited around him, each a point of considerable heat and light. They tore through the dark before shooting outward, six at a time, slicing into the Champion of Noctis and sizzling through its hardened shadowflesh. Only one he kept for himself, and that Star Atar sent flying through the dark, toward where he knew the wall had once stood. The masonry exploded outward, and Atar made a blind leap.

The moment he passed beyond the building's boundaries, his sight returned, the frigid clutches releasing him as the normal heat of a summer’s day beat down upon him. Atar shot twenty strides into the thin air, and he twisted, summoning sheets of white fire. The Champion followed, shattering the rest of the building in its crazed assault, and Atar sent the sheets roaring toward the bug.

It ignored them entirely. Atar fell, nowhere near the other side of the street, as the Champion dropped down upon him.

"Incendiary Vortex!"

A tornado of flame erupted around him, bursting from the ground in a wide cone that caught up the insect and rider before exploding outward across the rooftops on either side of the street. Freezing cold surrounded the Champion, snuffing the white flames of his Skill, but Atar thought it was hurt.

it isn’t. the shadow is our enemy! focus your power! sear its divine connection into ash!

Atar drifted to the earth, buoyed upon the burning winds of his vortex, and when his heels hit the cobblestones, he could see that the Champion still hovered amidst the flames. The built-up fire and heat Mana within him poured through the Skill, raging out of his channels and into the vortex, pushing the white flame to blinding heights. The black sphere of shadow broke apart with an icy crackle. Atar grinned.

it falls to our might!

Revealed amid the flames, the Paladin thrust his bloodied lance into the sky. A swirl of lights ignited, breaking the fire vortex before lacing it with crimson lightning.

not good!

"Primal Firestorm!" Atar gasped out. The flaming vortex vanished, pulled all at once into his channels by his Skill as his flesh ignited. Once the Skill had turned him completely into ineffable flame, it had grown since reaching Master Tier—now he became elemental fire, but his Body was solid and able to grapple with the world. Heat and light surged inward, fueling a significant boost to his Strength and Endurance. Atar kicked out of the way, dodging crimson lightning with a sudden ease.

The bloodstorm expanded, spreading outward from the hovering Champion and its rider's lance, growing as it ate away at the buildings on either side, collapsing more of them with dusty explosions. A flash of fear and concern shot through Atar's Spirit, but when he heard nothing more than crumbling timbers and cracked stone, his concern turned to curiosity.

There's no one inside these buildings. They must have evacuated all of the citizens to the center of the city.

good! then we can burn it all!

Just beyond the lightning, Atar planted his feet. Shadowbeasts and Fungal Horrors poured from the streets and alleyways around them as if called, racing towards the mage with a savage intent. The bloodstorm swelled, lightning flashing down the street. Atar leapt away, putting the godslaved minions between himself and the attack.

The Paladin had no precision. His attack smeared the minions into ichor and paste. The Champion bug, however, was not hindered in the slightest. It rammed into Atar through the veil of lightning, checking him bodily with its clamped blades and hurling him towards a row of tenements.

Atar flared his power, flames gouting in all directions, but he could not seize his momentum. Boosted Strength and high Adept Body or not, Atar's limbs whipped away from him at the sheer speed of his trajectory, utterly uncontrollable.

stop yourself!

"I'm trying!" Atar shouted back. He tried to curl into himself, but the wind was too great to fight. He could barely clench his arms around his head before the impact. Atar reached into himself, seizing his last resort—his Pyreform.

His bones burned within him—but the flames cut out as he impacted what felt like a soft cushion. A net of air currents swirled around him, slowing him down immensely.

"I have you, Glyphmaster."

Atar snagged his hands on the barding of the tenku that flew behind him, arresting what remained of his momentum. His enhanced Strength bunched across his shoulders and biceps as he pulled himself astride her back.

"Thank you, Scylla," he gasped. "You're my favorite tenku."

“Rude!”

Pit dropped from the sky, dive-bombing onto the Champion's back, tackling both beast and Paladin down into the street. The ground caved, a shockwave tearing through cobblestones and foundations before collapsing four buildings into huge pillars of dust.

"This guy got away from us before and headed right for you, Atar. I think he likes you."

Pit spread his wings wide, flapping a heart against the Champion bug as it tried to stand. A blast of wind smashed it back to the ground, before he slashed at it with his crystalline talons.

"Don't worry, the Chimeras got this one."

Atar looked up just as the rustle of wind and the crash of feathery wings announced a Chimeric rush across the skies. Guardian Beasts attacked swarms of flying monstrosities, including both shadowbeast and the Sporeflies that spread noxious trails of Yyero's power. Tenku and wyverns both piled onto the minions, their superior strength and powerful armor enough to take on the worst of the godslaved, demolishing them beneath their fury. Yet even the Dragoons that rode their backs and summoned exploding Spears were not enough to overcome the godslaves’ sheer numbers. Hundreds filled the skies, and more rushed from the buildings around Atar, bursting from windows and doorways, before they shot into the sky to attack the cavalry.

Blighted Night! We need to clear those skies for the ships. Atar conjured his Stars again, letting them revolve around him like a mobile of concentrated infernos. With a flex of his Will and Intent, he sent them chasing the godslaves, each one burning through an abomination’s twisted flesh.

"You will die to the bloodstorm!" The Paladin thrust his lance once more into the air. Crimson lightning burst in all directions, but Pit met it with his Mantle, absorbing the Paladin's Skill without issue before he tore into the Champion with his Maelstrom Maw. The bug screeched as its wing was ripped from its body, and its legs were trampled beneath Pit's massive paws.

“Take shelter!” Scylla warned Atar, nudging him off her back with her wing. “I must assist the Stormlord.”

Atar frowned. “I am not a bystander⁠—”

“Sanguine Soulsear!”

The Paladin’s lance expanded, crackling as it doubled in size and breathed out streamers of crimson. Scylla shot forward, throwing Atar back with the sheer force of her acceleration. By the time he looked up, the pale tenku had crossed the hundred strides between them and the Champion. The man dropped his lance, aiming it at Scylla, but before he could bring it to bear she smashed into him, claws digging into his black armor and surging upward.

Crimson might washed outward, sputtering apart as the Paladin was carried up, screaming into the sky where the full flock of Chimera raged. His screams faded then cut off entirely as the Guardian Beasts converged.

impressive.

On the ground, Pit and the Champion exchanged blows, claw for claw, shadow against the storm.

Atar crouched on the cobbles, forgotten for the moment.

your primal firestorm is waning; you need to absorb more or take the second stage.

"I'm aware, Flame." Atar put a hand to his chest. "Pyreform Undying."

His flesh burst aflame, burning away until he was no more than a blackened skeleton, lit with sigildry and wreathed in white flame that curled around him like a cloak.

The Champion bucked, knocking Pit on his heels as its mandibles quivered. Its shadowslick flesh was covered in wounds. It screamed, and Pit squawked right back.

"Hold it down," Atar shouted and didn't bother to wait for Pit's compliance. He shot forward, fire bursting around his cloak of flames, launching him through the air as easily as a bird. He soared forward just as Pit wrestled the giant bug to the ground and it screeched its unholy, buzzing rage at him.

Atar flew directly into its open maw.

"Incendiary Vortex!"

Fire burst from within the beast. Eternal shadow versus Undying Flame.

Its body bulged, the white conflagration within bubbling and expanding its shadowflesh before it began to pour from its wounds.

that is the signal, alister! pay attention!

Through the layers of shadow flesh and roaring flames, Atar could briefly hear a familiar voice cry out, "Drop the Volcanic Rain!"

Pit squawked in alarm, a rush of wind following him as he leapt away, chasing the other Chimeras from the area. A beam of molten fire dropped upon the Champion. It met the beast as it screamed and bubbled, its interior consumed by Atar's vortex, until its shadow flesh boiled away, and the two gouts of fire magic met in the middle.

It exploded, ripping apart the street for a hundred paces in every direction. Shadowbeasts and rot monsters were eradicated from the area, wiped clean by the flames and left charred and smoking. With a great inward rush, all of the flames and heat pulled inward, converging on a point at the center…where a dark skeleton stood, bones lit by gleaming sigils, standing in the ashes of what once was a Champion of Noctis.

landing secured!

From above, the first of many ships landed in the open area that once was a city street, a worried Alister standing on its prow. The gangplanks dropped, and the Legion flooded into the city.

“Still alive?” the force mage asked.

“Still alive.” The skeletal mage rose on wings of white flame. "Flame. Find me the next Champion.”

yes! let us crush them all!

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

"Cling tight together!" Archie shouted above the din of battle. Ahead of them, the wards had gone down. The godslaved minions were going wild, but they could not gain traction against the immense bulk of Beef's Multipede. That and its speed were the only thing going for the Risen, at least at the moment—its hide was tough enough, but a few of the minions had landed passing blows that cracked its exoskeleton in more than a few places. In the few seconds they had, Beef considered forming armor around the Multipede, but weight was a concern for their plan. The lighter the better.

“The wall’s coming up fast!” Beef shouted.

“Just stay close!” Archie repeated. “I can’t do shit if you don’t do that!”

The Multipede thundered forward at Hallow’s command, the fog swirling around them, keeping them hidden from the walls. Even still, Skills and ballista bolts fired down at them in near-solid waves.

Vess met the waves atop her Companion. Together, Drake and Dragoon smashed the projectiles from the sky, her Spears spinning in wild defensive formations.

"Now!" Archie cried.

Vess dropped, Yin vanishing in a flash of light as she landed on the back of the Multipede's head next to Beef and Archie.

"Forward," Hallow urged, the blackened green light of necromancy flowering within her crystalline form. The Multipede dove toward the base of the shining walls, and Beef braced for impact.

"Primeval Drift!"

The world shuddered, as if Beef’s eyes were being shaken out of his skull. Everything blurred, and his bones jabbed at him as if trying to press through his muscles. Pained and desperate, he tried to suck in a lungful of air, but it was like trying to breathe through a stone.

The Mulitpede hit the city walls, and everything went dark.

He’d been warned that traveling through the earth was chaos and pressure, but Beef had not anticipated the silence. It crushed against some unknown part of his brain, driving a panic into his Mind that he couldn’t shake. His Will was scattered, his Intent more than unfocused—it was untethered to reason or reality. For a long, terrifying moment, Beef nearly convinced himself that the endless, silent dark was all there was… then they were through. The Multipede pushed into a wide stone tunnel, partially filled with rainwater. The vibrations stopped.

Beef sucked in a desperate, gasping breath, and the others were similarly upset. Vess’ shoulders shook slightly, though her hands were firm around her glaive. Hallow looked rattled. Archie, for his part, wasn't even sweating.

"Yeah, it's terrible the first few times. I couldn't breathe.”

“I told you about that. Did you take a big breath before you went in?”

“No.”

“I warned you. Big breath before you go in, it'll help trick your head into thinking things are going to be okay.”

“Bleh. That was awful. Did we make it?" Beef asked, looking around.

The tunnel was unremarkable, with no sign of anyone having been down there in years. "No, this was just a breather," Archie said. "Is everyone okay to keep going?"

"It doesn't matter if we are ready. We must." Vess paused, listening. "I sense nothing but the rush of water and countless echoes. Do you know the direction we must go, Archie?"

The guy closed his eyes, as if listening, before they snapped open. "Yeah, I got a direction. Everyone, big breaths."

Beef took in a lungful before everything vibrated into shadow.

They stopped twice more. Each time, they found more traces of people's passage through the elaborate sewer systems beneath Amaranth: discarded trash, scrapings along the walls from innumerable boots, and the inescapable growth of fungus along the damp shelf in each tunnel. They avoided those.

On the last stop, they found the unmistakable markings of battle. The corpses of Plaguerats were split open, filling the wide intersection of six different tunnels. The white enameled armor and red cloaks of the Pathless Inquisitors lay on the ground as well, their bodies broken until the sour ichor and their blood mingled in the shallow runoff that spread slowly through the tunnels.

Above them, there was evidence of a collapse. A few more tunnels that had fed into the place were now filled with rubble. The ceilings had fallen apart.

"How far is the surface from here?" Vess asked.

Archie concentrated. "We're near street level here. Whatever collapsed these tunnels must have affected the roads, too."

Beef felt a tingling along his senses, catching the edge of his Perception. "I feel like we need to get through there," he said, pointing at one of the collapsed tunnels.

Archie nodded. "Yeah, there's more noise through there. It sounds like fighting.”

“Move carefully," Vess said. "Archie, get us past that wall."

One breathless jaunt later, they and the Multipede slipped through the hundred feet or so of collapsed rubble and came across a wide chamber filled with platforms built into the walls, hanging from the ceiling and extending downward for hundreds of feet. Water poured from several pipes, thundering down below into a cataract before it was swept off to parts unknown.

Beef spied Plaguerats and Inquisitors again—and the two factions were fighting each other. Beef frowned. His Affinity was the greatest, but their Spirits sounded strange. Bent, as if they'd been folded askew.

"Does anyone else hear that?" he asked. "Something's wrong."

Archie shuddered. "Someone's turned them against each other. I have a Skill that is suggestive, but this is more like a command, like someone’s taken control of them. Whatever's doing it is really strong."

"There's at least thirty Inquisitors and half as many Yyero spawn," Beef pointed out. “That’s a lot of creatures to control at once.”

“A lot to fight at once, too,” Archie said.

"We can't discount more spores in the dirt, either," Hallow added. "Those fungals are hard to kill, and the Plaguerats are carriers for other abominations."

Beef shuddered as he watched the pestilent forms of Yyero's creatures fight against the orderly but dwindling ranks of the Inquisitors. Golden flames assaulted the beasts, burning away the brown ichor that dripped from their wounds and sizzling at the pus that fouled their matted fur and tumorous flesh. Yyero's minions were disgusting, and that was coming from a necromancer.

Beef took a step closer, hiding his bulk behind the rubble. The moment he drew close, however, he felt a sudden heat and pressure across his Mind. A manic glee filtered up from his chest, forcing its way through his blood, burning at his muscles as if they were trying to force him forward. His breath quickened, and for a moment, there was nothing Beef wanted more than to rend and kill the creatures that filled the space below.

"No," Hallow said. "Begone."

A flush of necromantic power flooded through Beef before it radiated outward, centered around the Multipede that clung in the tunnel behind them. Beef pulled back with a start, his awareness returning. Around him, the others looked just as disoriented and flushed.

Beef put a hand to his chest beneath his chitinous armor. His heart was racing, but that manic glee was fading, along with the fading sound of buzzing, atonal chords. "Was that Dissonance?"

"Perhaps. It was definitely a Skill, as Archie suggested," Vess confirmed.

Hallow leaned forward, the Graven Aegis glowing where bits of light formed beneath her heavy crystalline brows. She regarded the fighting rats and soldiers still hurling their individual powers at each other down below.

"Do you wish me to banish it from them as well?"

Vess held out a hand. "There is no reason to waste your power on them, and there's no reason to save them, either. They are all a threat, and if we wish to find the final Unbound, then they must be eliminated."

"That's enough for me," Archie said, pulling a helmet down over his face. Beef had noticed it resting on the top of his head while they'd been traveling, but he'd never seen the design before. It was made of arcanite, clearly the work of Harn, but the helmet was angular and blank without any eye holes at all, leaving only a few slits at the bottom for air. It joined with the arcanite pieces that Beef now realized Archie was wearing beneath his cloak.

The Delven was clad in a set of half plate mingled with chain and leather that was strapped down to him, accentuated only by the large daggers that stuck up from his belt.

"I've got the redcloaks," he said, before he dropped into the ground as if he'd stepped into deep water. He vanished.

"We move once Archie makes the first strike," Vess said. "Get into position."

Beef hunkered down behind the rubble, watching below as the enormous Plaguerats clumped together on the bridges that criss-crossed the chamber. The smallest of them was the size of a grizzly bear, and the largest was close to an elephant in size. Despite their manic aggression, the Inquisitors had a discipline that was absent in the godslaved minions—shields were raised to block mauling claws, and their swords lit with golden fire sliced and diced Yyero's creatures every time they grew close. Ultimately, though, there were too many. The Inquisitors would fail eventually.

C’mon Archie. Let’s turn “eventually” into “right now.”

Archie swept out from the wall faster than Beef could track. The thing about Primeval Drift was that, when it was turned off, it didn't just stick you in the object you were passing through. It forcibly shot you outward toward the nearest pocket of emptiness. This was how Archie had traversed the sewers and all the rubble. He'd enveloped them in his Skill, giving them enough momentum in the direction they needed before he would cancel it, forcing them forward toward the nearest surface. It took an incredible amount of talent—something Archie had in spades.

Beef couldn't help but grin when he watched his friend get to work.

Molten blades swept from Archie's hips, slicing upward as he shot out of the chamber wall twenty feet below. The daggers bit through an Inquisitor's leg, the heated edge slicing through their enameled armor and Adept Tier defenses. The Inquisitor fell screaming, clutching at his Achilles tendons before Archie swept onward, vanishing into a platform before re-emerging from a new angle. His blades stabbed through feet and thighs and hands that reached for him while passing harmlessly through the burning blades that swept for his head. Archie rocketed around into a wall or platform before re-emerging from a new, slightly changed angle.

Beef had no doubt that Primeval Drift thrummed around the man and his eyeless helmet, his Blindsense keeping track of the foes and shifting field as the Inquisitors scrambled. Chaos had overcome the redcloaks, their discipline and organized tactics falling into immediate disarray as he attacked from within—a chaos that the Plaguerats took advantage of immediately. The rotting beasts squealed in bloodlust as they rushed the distracted Inquisitors, knocking over several before golden flame and shields of light arrested their momentum.

“No you don’t! Relentless Charge!”

Beef ripped through the Plaguerats from behind, tearing into them with his orichalcum-clad horns. Hallow was right behind him, her Graven Aegis as tanky as Beef's hide and her crystalline darts preternaturally sharp, punching through the godslaved minions as easily as a blade through snow. The creatures fell, and Beef slammed into the Inquisitors, knocking a handful down on their butts before Archie's molten blades sank into gorgets and groins with savage precision.

“Entropic Paradigm!”

A swell of chitin rushed up from the platforms, building into two expanding pillars that crushed several of the Plaguerats together, leaving only a smear of foul brown ichor upon the wall. Others lunged for him, and he added more pillars, morphing their edges into walls that pinned the creatures against each other as they thrashed, their claws doing more damage to each other than his constructs. Hallow fired off her Razorhail, tearing through their vitals.

"Don't mangle them too much, Hallow!" Beef shouted.

"They're not making it easy!"

Perhaps hoping to catch him off guard, two Inquisitors thrust burning swords for Beef’s neck and chest. He immediately dropped his chitin work and caught their blades in his hands. They sparked off of the chitin guantlets he’d summoned, before the sigaldry on them flared with earth Mana. The power sank into their swords, turning them aside without a scratch on his chitin and allowing him to disarm the confused Inquisitors. A simple seizing of their heads and bashing them together put both Inquisitors down for the count.

A screech tore from one of the tunnels, and a massive Plaguerat rumbled out, racing towards Beef. Quick as thought, he formed a blade of chitin and dropped it from the tunnel's roof, slicing through the creature's neck in a single swift motion. The chitin snapped, breaking apart down the center, but the damage was already done. The Plaguerat fell, skidding to a wet stop on the platform.

A rumbling crash seized Beast's attention. To his left, a piece of a collapsed tunnel shifted, releasing a stream of small rubble. Another Plaguerat slipped free, but it was mangled beyond redemption, oozing pus and ichor everywhere from wounds still filled with the recognizable swords of Inquisitors that stuck up from it like thorns. The rat was huge, but it was hunched and trembling. It took no more than three steps before it collapsed, its flesh sagging and splitting apart, dropping the still-burning Inquisitor blades onto the stone pathway. The Plaguerats were dead.

"Beef,” Hallow warned. "Something's happening."

Before the creature finished deflating, the Plaguerat corpses around it dissolved. Their gooey flesh flowed like streams toward the monstrosity. Others, mortally wounded but clinging to life, climbed atop its sagging corpse, before they, too, dissolved into one another. Bone, muscle, and worse flowed into the fallen Plaguerat. Even the creature Beef had beheaded stumbled forward, its head barely connected by tendons before it dissolved into smoke and loose flesh.

"Life is worthless," said a voice.

A Paladin stepped out of the rubble behind the twitching corpses. He wore a set of bronze armor that shone with a sickening light and carried a halberd made of gristle and bone.

"The Light has faded. Life has failed. All that remains is rot."

The Paladin stepped around the corpse, which, as they watched, shuddered and stitched itself into a greater whole. Its size was far larger than an elephant now.

"There is no point in resisting, heathens. The chains will be broken today." The Paladin lifted his chin, his fully armored head wreathed in that rotten bronze light. "Yyero will return all of you to the ooze from which life first congealed."

"No chains will be sundered this day," Vess declared as she dropped from above, Spears manifesting around her in a wave. "But I shall see to it you return to your god. Immediately."

With a flash of light, a Dawn Drake erupted from her chest. Vess hopped on his back as Yin roared—they charged forward, together.

The Paladin moved faster than Beef could track. It leaped atop its enormous Plaguerat, and the creature, easily twice the size of Yin, lunged for the Drake's throat. Crystalline claws grappled with it, slamming the rotten creature to the side.

The Paladin struck out with its halberd made of bone and gristle. It sliced across Vess's armor, drawing sparks from the arcanite and leaving a deep gouge across her gorget.

Beef lowered himself, readying a Relentless Charge, but before he could activate the Skill, Vess had already grabbed the halberd, holding it fast. The Paladin yanked back frantically but could not best her Strength. She stabbed at him, her glaive severing the bronze knight's armor at the shoulder. The Paladin screamed in guttural pain.

Yin twisted, coiling his long body around the Plaguerat Champion as crystalline claws dug into its flesh. They raked downward, splitting the rat open and forcing a screech from its strained throat. The wounds healed quickly, filling with gilled mushroom caps where the flesh parted, only to be split again as more bone halberds were summoned from within the Plaguerat.

“Corrupted Armory!”

The Paladin thrust a hand forward toward Vess. She leapt away off of Yin's back, contorting through the bones with a fluid grace and bringing her foot down. The Paladin blocked her armored heel—but not the Spears that dropped from behind. He barely flinched before he was run through.

“Final Glory!”

Her Spears exploded, the Paladin's chest bursting open and falling back—split wide. Beef recoiled at the gruesome sight. When the Plaguerat began to consume the Paladin to heal its wounds, dissolving the man into itself, he nearly threw up.

"Vile horror," Yin cried.

The Drake stabbed his claws into the healing cavity and wrenched it open once again before exhaling Dawnbreath into the monster's rotten wounds. Its flesh burned, bubbling and seizing before it, too, exploded in a rush of sunrise.

You Have Killed The Champion Of Yyero!

XP Earned!

Vess landed, twisting her glaive and wicking ichor onto the tunnel floor. "Are they all dead?”

"Yeah." Archie stretched, lifting his helmet. "They didn't stand a chance."

"Keep moving, then. Follow the bodies, and we'll find our target."

Beef stepped closer to the Champion’s oozing corpse, wiping his lips where he'd thrown up. "Get on the Multipede. If we're close, then I'm stocking up first. Hallow Rise!"

CHAPTER NINETY-THREE

Inquisitors and Plaguerats shuffled behind Beef, clinging to the back of the Multipede at his command. He had taken control of thirty or so of the corpses, turning them into his Risen under his direct command. The Inquisitors were battered and bruised, their armor broken in a number of places, but he had coated them in chitin that he’d stamped with simplistic sigaldry for durability.

The Plaguerats, however, were the real concern. Very few of the immense monstrosities were able to be Raised, mostly due to the fact that their flesh had putrefied upon death. Necromantic energy and his Entropic Paradigm shored up what it could, but only a handful had been whole enough to Rise. Still, Beef could make use of them.

“Hallow.”

“Yes, I'm searching now.” The Graven Aegis stood next to him, the glow of her eyes dimmed as she concentrated beyond their immediate surroundings. Beef could feel her Will questing outward, seeking other corpses. Unlike him, she was not hunting for creatures to command in battle, but for reconnaissance.

Tiny blips surfaced in Beef's awareness as, throughout the crushed tunnels and collapsed debris, he became aware of thousands of dead insects. Hallow's Will and Intent spread thin among them as she enacted Hallow Rise herself. A small spark of necromantic energy shot into each of the insects—a tiny piece of Beef’s Mana, yet spread amongst so many, it cut a significant chunk out of his stockpile. He felt the loss like a vague weakening in his chest, but he firmed his Will against it. The Mana would regenerate soon enough, and they needed this now.

"Find them," Hallow commanded.

Beef blinked and the insects spread out, hustling in every direction at once. A swarm of three thousand Minds, each more limited than the simplest of his Risen, but enough to send back snippets of sensation that rolled through Beef like a storm. Hallow handled most of it, processing the disparate feel of wriggling antennae and clenching mandibles. The Graven Aegis huddled low, her bulk folded on itself as she gave all of her attention away.

The bugs slipped through cracks and crevices that none of them would ever be able to fit through, searching for signs of their target. Only a few minutes passed in that state before there was a sharp jolt of familiarity—they’d found something. Hallow straightened, rising to her full, ten-foot height.

"A mass of creatures is ahead of us. Not far," she pointed toward one of the worst collapsed tunnels. "This direction, but we must descend."

"All right," Archie said, hopping atop the Multipede's neck. "Then you can guide me."

They piled on, Yin disappearing once more into Vess' Spirit as they all held tight to the Multipede. Archie dropped them into the earth. Darkness and crushing pressure assaulted Beef once more, but this time he was prepared. There was no fear or panic, and perhaps part of that was because of Beef's knowledge of where they were headed. It shone through the insects' Perception like a faint light in a long dark tunnel. And perhaps the other reason was that he was more concerned for Archie. The man had been using his Primeval Drift a lot during their search, and Beef worried about how much the man was straining himself.

Then again, Beef mused. The Skill has reached Master Tier already. The bastard.

The Delven had trained harder than anyone else among their group, and that was saying something when such a group contained Evie, Harn, and Vess. Archie was the closest to fully reaching Master Tier, with Vess close behind. For his part, Beef had a ways to go—but at least he had a rock-solid foundation, now that his Pillars were formed. Without those, he’d have really freaked out during his first Primeval Drift.

Remember. You’re tough.

They dropped through the solid earth up atop his Multipede, and Beef endured the crushing silence. They slipped through the earth, giving no hint to their approach—yet despite the silence, the longer they traveled, the more Beef began to discern something in the emptiness. Curious, he stretched out his Affinity, and immediately the vibrations of Primeval Drift thundered through Beef. He tried to gasp, but that vise was around his lungs. The empty world around him devolved into shaking lines that rippled, like the surface of a thousand still pools in every direction. Not seen, but felt through his soul.

Restrain your Spirit, Beef, Hallow reminded him. Her voice was the only thing he could really hear thanks to their connection, and it refocused Beef's attention. He pulled back his Spirit, and his sense of the tremors faded entirely as he veiled himself. That had been the plan, after all—there must be no hint of their approach until they were on top of the enemy.

When they emerged from the tremulous dark, the first thing Beef noticed was the sound. Everything was too loud after that emptiness, but this was beyond that—it was similar to the chamber they had recently left. Water rushed in a ceaseless roar through the area, somewhere beyond their cramped tunnel.

<Forward,> Vess signed.

They slipped ahead carefully, leaving the Multipede and its cargo behind. The end of the tunnel had only partially collapsed, leaving the way narrow, but it allowed them to creep through the rubble easily enough. When they reached the edge, Beef nearly laughed. He felt a bit silly covering their footsteps, now that he saw a dozen waterfalls pouring into a chasm.

Beyond the switchback ramp leading down the hewn stone wall there was a reservoir. The immense structure hemmed in a lake of deep, dark waters, lit only by the occasional mage light along the edge. Those dozen waterfalls poured from sluice gates on the other side of the reservoir, thundering down into another underground river that poured through large tunnels extending farther into the city's confusing aqueduct system.

Atop the reservoir were two rounded buildings like squat towers, each six or seven stories high and capped with a conical roof of beaten metal. They flanked the long expanse of the reservoir's wall, which held in the upper lake from the lower one. Paladins crowded on the nearer side of the reservoir, just beyond the gates of one of those squat towers.

Beef held tight to Bedlam as he saw Quist Setti, Heirei of Bos’Vaan, standing at the head of the Paladins. He knew her from their discussions on this attack. She was the leader of the Paladin Order, vaunted for its virtue of Strength. Her armored robes were crimson, as were all the Paladins behind her, at least three hundred of them. None of them seemed touched by the other gods, like some of their foes had been—every single one still bore tabards marked with the golden sunburst of the Pathless.

Far more concerning than the Hierei and her lackeys, however, was the Titan that stood beside her.

Archie bristled. His goatee twitched, and he opened his mouth to shout, but he held himself back. Beef understood. The Titan had hunted Archie for months. Hell, the last time they had faced her, the lady had kicked their asses and stolen Kevin and Shadow. Felix had claimed it was part of a plan, but Beef didn’t intent on trusting the Titan so easily.

The lot of them were facing down only a single figure, situated at the farther end, where the second tower loomed.

The Lizard.

The guy was huge, easily twice the size of Beef. Height wasn’t the Lizard’s only remarkable feature, however—the guy had a heavy jaw bristling with spikes and a snout that resembled a crocodile and a gila monster mixed together. A crest lifted from his head, a frill that was accompanied by more spikes that traveled down his spine and his massive tail. He was covered in orange and blue scales, the striping vivid and slick, as if he were soaked in water, and he was baring a ton of flesh. He wore nothing except a pair of pants that had seen better days and was otherwise covered in scales that looked like armor and was built as if he were a professional bodybuilder, his thick tail moving sinuously with each pacing step he took. Dual swords were in his hands, sized to his gargantuan proportions, one glowing orange and the other a white-green.

Fire and air Mana, Beef noted. A lot of it.

The two groups did not engage with one another. In fact, as they watched, the Hierei and Titan stood stock still, hands folded over their chests while the Lizard paced like a caged animal.

"Surrender, Unbound," Quist shouted, her powerful Grandmaster Tier voice echoing across, over the waterfalls. "This is your last chance."

"You think that'll work?" Beef scoffed.

"You seriously don't think that'll happen, right?" the Lizard asked, almost at the same time.

Archie curled his lip. "He sounds like you."

"The Hierophant has bid us to treat with you carefully. To keep you alive," Quist sneered, bearing a curved blade that burned with golden light. "But you'll survive losing a limb or two.”

“Tell me. Where are the rest of your bargain bin knights?" The Lizard's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right, they got their limbs chewed off by rats."

The Hierophant ground her teeth, and though she was far away from them, that also echoed across the reservoir, like rocks rattling against one another. "Your tricks will not avail you here, monster. The Light protects us. Your Mind Skill will affect us no longer."

So it was his Skill that turned the rats and Inquisitors against each other. Aloud, Beef asked, "What level is this guy?"

Vess shook her head. "I cannot tell. His Tier is clouded, but I have little doubt in his strength. He vibrates with it."

“The Light! I thought your god died,” the Lizard said with a sneer, baring his white fangs. “What Light remains, exactly?”

The Paladins rustled, their discipline clearly taxed by the Lizard’s snide tone. Beef noticed that many of them sported injuries, and their armor was scuffed and bloodied. The Hierei lifted a hand, quelling their unrest. “The Light remains within those that hold fast to it. You’re a demon from beyond the dark…you could never understand what it means to have faith.”

“Faith is a crutch for bullies and idiots. Give me a bridge any day; at least I can prove how those work. I can test it and improve it.”

“Your tricksome words will not avail you, Unbound! Just as your underhanded tactics will see you fall to damnation at the end of your unnatural life!”

"Underhanded tactics?" The big Lizard gave a laugh, and it was loud enough that the lake beside him broke into waves. "This is survival, lady, something I've had to do since I landed on this stupid planet. I've gotten really good at it. So come on, send out your cops, and I'll put them in the ground."

"Okay, I like this guy," Archie said.

"You've done enough damage to the faithful. Titan," Quist called out. "Crush him."

Armoured in patchwork plate, the Titan looked different from the last time Beef had seen her. Pieces of her armour had clearly been replaced by unpainted metal, the bright gilding and white enamel interrupted by a dull reddish haze of orichalcum. Not a weak metal by any means, in fact, one of the strongest and as expensive as all hell. Still, it was clear that she had seen her share of hard battles since they last met.

Against whom? The Lizard? Or maybe the Plaguerats before?

"Titan, I have heard of you. You're like me." The Lizard lifted his chin, "A smaller me."

The Titan walked forward calmly, no words, no rush. Patchwork or not, her armor was heavy, and a dozen weapons bristled from her hip and shoulder. Yet, she still appeared small compared to her opponent. She was like a child next to the Lizard.

"A Gigas," the guy said slowly, eyes narrowed. "Never heard of that Race. Did you pick that yourself, Gabby?"

Beef's eyes widened. The Titan paused, her hand tightening on the mace at her side.

"Where did you hear that name?" she demanded.

"Do not let him speak, Titan," Quist howled from behind, but Beef noticed the Hierei did not get any closer.

"Answer me," Gabby demanded, striding forward. Her footfalls shook the reservoir, louder than the waterfall's roar, sending her own ripples into the man-made lake. "Where did you hear that name?"

The Lizard grinned, lowering himself into some sort of stance, swords held wide. "Come and find out."

The Titan blasted forth, her body blurring with a stream of metallic blue. She moved so fast—way faster than Beef—maybe even as quick as Felix. Thunder shook the room as her mace met the Lizard's swords, and an explosion of liquid Mana erupted around them both. The waterfalls temporarily cut out as the force of the impact hurled water away from their attacks, only for it to resume seconds later. A second strike, a third, fourth landed, until a rapid tattoo of blows shook the reservoir, water splashing in all directions as a chaotic breeze rose up and away from the battle. The two enormous foes threw all that they had into one another.

Beef gripped Bedlam tight, his brows drawn down. He was worried. If Felix was right, then he didn't want the guy's sister to die while he just stood and did nothing, and he definitely didn't want the Lizard harmed.

"Vess, what do we do?"

"What we came to do," she said, jerking a thumb at Archie. "Get Beef to the back of the line."

The Delven rolled his shoulders. "All right, what about you, then?"

"Yin and I will handle the Titan."

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

The Multipede slipped from the earth, as silent as a shadow on the far side of the squat tower.

Go, Beef urged, his voice echoing through his Hallow Call. Attack!

Risen Inquisitors and Plaguerats shot forth, lumbering over the reservoir, getting within twenty feet of the Paladins before they were spotted.

"An ambush!" one of the Paladins cried—moments before they were crushed beneath the weight of a grizzly-sized Plaguerat. Metal groaned and scraped across the stone surface of the reservoir as the Paladins spun, wielding their blades against Yyero's creatures, only to gawp in shock when the Inquisitors followed close behind.

"Our allies are twisted against us!"

Cut them down!

Hallow Call is level 99!

Beef's command echoed through the Risen, and their eyes burned with blackened green light. They tore into the Paladins, savaging their foes with sword, claw, and thick, enchanted clubs. Beef stood back, hands clenched around Bedlam.

"We need to join them," he said.

"Hold on," Archie cautioned. "We need to wait until the right moment."

"Those aren't your allies!" the Hierei shouted, her attention taken from the explosive battle on the far end of the reservoir. "They shine with an unclean light! This isn't rot. It's necromancy!"

"Okay yeah," Archie said, "now's the time."

“Finally! Relentless Charge!”

The Risen parted, and Beef shot forward, horns lowered, and tore through a line of Paladins in a single, devastating move. The warriors fell back, and those that weren’t crushed outright found Bedlam swinging through their defenses. Golden blades and crimson shields were battered aside, crumpled as if they were made of tinfoil.

"Unbound!" Hierei Quist shouted. "Cease your fighting! Kneel!"

The words shook the air with the sense of a command, and for a moment, Beef felt a foreign Will shove against his own, but it lasted for no more than a second before he shook it off. The Authority in the Hierei’s voice fizzled out, melting into the air like an icicle in a furnace.

"No! Someone is contesting my Authority." Quist’s eyes widened. "Someone is contesting the Hierophant’s Authority."

"Yeah," Beef shouted, smashing his hammer through another Paladin's skull. "That'd be Felix."

Quist screamed, and golden light poured from her channels, washing over the Paladins in a liquid wave. A visible wrath clouded their Spirits, pulsating as wine-dark blood, while Strength flooded Bodies that seized up mid-battle. Beef’s Risen struck out at them, but their blows glanced off of the golden radiance that seemed to transmute their very flesh. It shone from within them, emitting from the crevices in their armor before congealing into free-floating plates around them. More and more clanked into place, interlocking in familiar ways, until Beef was staring into the glowing visage of a familiar foe.

"You made light construct mechas? That's unfair!"

Every single surviving Paladin now stood easily at Beef's height, each of the two hundred plus enemies gleaming with translucent golden panels that held their true Bodies in stasis within their centers. Blades, each of them twelve feet long, and bright shields formed in their puppet hands and, with a clanking glare, they surged forward.

They weren’t known as the Order of Strength for vanity’s sake; the Paladins moved with a clockwork precision, their immense weaponry striking all at once along their frontline. The Risen were brutalized. Plaguerats and Inquisitors fell, burnt apart by their magic and sliced to pieces by their immense augmented Strength.

Three came for Beef, hemming him in on all sides. His hammer met their blades, blocking two of the strikes before Hallow's Graven Aegis met the third. They broke through the attack, hurling them aside before Bedlam's icy hammerhead shattered their golden plates.

"Razorhail!"

Crystalline spears blasted their shields apart, over and over, but the light regenerated too fast, reforming the shields and armor plating only moments after breaking. We can't damage them fast enough, Hallow sent.

Now?

No, we must wait. Archie needs to get into place while her defenses are down. We keep fighting. Beef caught another strike, this time on his arcanite shoulder armor. It bit down into the metal, but it did not pierce him. He could tell he was gonna be sore in the morning, though. Come on, Archie! Move your butt!

Ahead, the ground rippled, and a strain of tremoring strings flitted at the edges of Beef's Affinity. He knew that song. Beyond the foes, through the layers of golden light, he saw his friend, Archie, slip ahead.

I think the time is now, Beef sent. Multipede! To me!

Multipede, his enormous desert centipede, rumbled around the tower. It roared above the battle, causing the Paladins to stare up in alarm, before it hurled itself to the reservoir wall.

Beef lifted a hand. “Open!”

The segment just below its head, where its throat was clutched by chitinous folds, split open, revealing a hollow interior packed full of green light. Figures poured forth, thundering down across the reservoir in stone bodies, each an equal to Beef. Led by a screeching black Risen Hatchling, two hundred Eidolon Exults marched. They did not speak, but they blazed with necromantic Mana in their eyes and across their chests.

"Exults! Kill!" Beef dropped his hand.

As one, the Risen Exults charged, their Strength slamming them headlong into the Paladins.

Yin streaked across the empty air dominated by the wet spray of the dozen waterfalls. Air howled past Vess’ ears as Yin pressed his Agility to the limit and bright Mana vapor poured from his scales like clouds among the spray. Ahead and below them, the Lizard and Titan were trading lightning-fast blows, their strikes exploding into golden light and orange-red blossoms that she could feel from hundreds of strides away.

We need to keep them separate, Vess sent.

Yes, I have an idea. Yin opened his mouth and roared. “Adherents of Ophidia!”

Water Dragons poured forth from Yin's clawed hands, each one an equal to his Drake size. They surged forth, eight serpentine creatures dropping down upon the far end of the reservoir. Half of them spun around the Titan while the other four wrapped across the broad body of the Lizard. The mortal foes’ attacks faltered, their limbs bound tight, but only for a moment.

“Body of Light!”

“Molten Scale!”

The serpentine Dragons sundered all at once in a burst of golden radiance around the Titan, while the four on the Lizard flash-fried into steam. They were free—but it had been enough.

“Stop your fighting!” Vess and Yin landed between them. Her glaive and Spears pointed at the Titan while Yin rose up, his mane rippling in the wind as he faced down the other.

"I do not know you, Lizard, and you do not know me, but we are allies⁠—”

“You're Vessilia Dayne, Dragoon of Pax’Vrell."

She blinked. "I am.”

“And you are Yintarion of the Cerulean Skies. A Dawn Drake."

"That is true.” Yin preened despite himself. “Has our fame reached even the decrepit sewers of Amaranth?"

The Lizard ignored the question. "You still fight for the Fiend?"

"We do," Vess said.

"Then yeah, we're on the same side. All of us," he said, staring at the Titan.

Vess raised an eyebrow. Imara—no, Gabby—stared back at the Lizard, seemingly flummoxed. Her greatsword, made of solidified light, wobbled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Gabby," the Lizard said, his voice rumbling, yet somehow slightly reedy. As if he were more used to complaining about inconveniences than threatening people on a battlefield. "I've seen you, just like I've seen your brother and all the rest. I've got Bondsight."

Gabby's sword knocked Vess's spears out of her way, transforming mid-strike into a halberd. Vess pivoted, her Spears rotating around the Titan’s flanks. Gabby grimaced at them. "I don't know what that means, dude."

"It's a Skill. It lets me watch all of the Unbound. It's why I know all of you."

"And it's how you've been avoiding me," Gabby said, realization dawning. "You've been keeping tabs on our movements."

The Lizard grinned. "I couldn't let you get too close, not while my work was unfinished."

"What work?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"You just said you trusted me, that we're all on the same side."

"Yeah, we are. But you're still hiding things."

“The fact that you are both willing to talk is encouraging,” Vess said, forcing a smile they couldn’t see through her Dragon helm. Gabby’s broad face twitched just below her eye. "And lends credence to what Felix has insisted: that you are to be trusted.”

Gabby’s face was stone. “He said that?”

“He did. I trust him as I trust few others…and I’m leery to extend that to you. So tell me, why are you serving them?" Vess jerked her chin toward the Hierei.

Gabby let out a soft exhalation when she saw Quist fighting against Beef and his surprise Exults. "Huh. They're holding their own against a High Grandmaster."

Her Authority is blunted, but they still haven’t finished the fight. Yin seemed worried, though he didn’t shift his posture before the Lizard. We need to resolve this. Now.

"You do not answer us,” Vess said, louder. “Why are you serving the Hierophant?"

"Because I have to. I made a bargain.”

“Siva is dead. All Oaths are broken⁠—”

"This goes deeper than Oaths. I'm here because it's the only option I have. I'm fighting him because—" Gabby bit through the last word as if trying to swallow it back down. "I listen, and I obey. Anything else is blasphemy. Do you understand? Anything else."

Yin growled, but Vess stepped forward, her spears dropping.

"Felix said you were reckless, but not dumb," Vess said, setting the butt of her glaive on the ground. "Was he wrong?"

Gabby licked her lips beneath her open-faced helm. Her eyes flicked to the side as if she were checking the chaos behind them again.

"What I say is weighted against me. As for what I do—" She lifted her halberd, and it glowed so brightly Vess couldn't see beyond it.

"I don't want to kill you!" the Lizard shouted. "You're trapped, same as us!”

“Then you know I don't have a choice here."

Light burst, and Vess leaped away from the greataxe that bit into the reservoir's surface. Stone shattered, splintering in all directions as pieces sheared away, falling into the waterfalls below, and the fight resumed.

Beef tackled through a Paladin, his Exults shattering their armor repeatedly as he brought Bedlam to bear. The ice hammer broke through the inner shell, sundering blood-red plate and revealing the human within.

"Vile monster! You'll die at the hands of⁠—"

"Shut it!" Bedlam silenced him for good, and the golden mecha armor vanished like a popping soap bubble.

"Beefhammer, is it not?"

"Hierei Quist," Beef greeted her as she stomped closer. The Paladins had moved away from him, focused entirely upon the Exults. Quist’s giant golden armor was larger by half than all the rest. She glared down at Beef from within her gilded cocoon, the arms of her mecha-like construct flexing around the haft of a massive greataxe.

"The boy trapped in a Minotaur's flesh. Do you not tire of this fight? Do you not wish for peace?"

"Yeah," Beef said. "I'd love some peace."

"Then join us. Together, we could break the hold your emperor has on this world. Only then can we truly protect the Continent.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The Fiend has done more harm than good with his meddling. He has waltzed into a power balance he knows nothing of and shoved his fist onto the scale—raising an empire around the Hierocracy is reprehensible. Siphoning our Authority and weakening our borders is even worse. The people you put in danger number in the millions. The Hierophant could have kept them safe. What will the Fiend do when the Ruin arrives?"

"We have a plan," Beef said, with his shoulders sagged. "Felix won't tell me details, but I trust him. Right?" he thought. "Felix wouldn't just act without thinking. He wouldn't abandon us. No, no, this is⁠—"

A screech tore the air, sharp and high, and a shadow flashed across his vision. Blackened green fire scorched the Hierei, eating through her golden armor like acid. It spat and sizzled, fighting the Skill’s insane regeneration, and Fafnir curved around to land on Beef’s shoulder. The Risen Hatchling was huge now, and her talons pierced through the gaps in his armor.

Pain shot through him, hot and bright, and Beef gasped. He felt the tendrils of a Mind Skill reaching for him across the gulf of his core space. Alongside the pain, an instant rage ignited in his chest.

"You ass!"

Beef swung Bedlam, knocking through a conjured shield that the Hierei slammed to the earth between them. The ice hammer hit it and rebounded, ringing like a gong. The remnants of interference vanished like fog beneath the morning sunlight. His Mind cleared.

"You're trying to trick me, you jerk!”

Quist sneered. “If you wish not to be fooled, then you should not be so stupid!"

Beef dove desperately away from the greataxe that dropped down onto his position. It sheared through the reservoir, driving a chasm into the high-Tier stone. Beef rushed forward, intent on retaliating, but the lady freed the axe easily and sliced sideways.

“Entropic Paradigm!”

Chitin rose at his command, five-foot-thick walls of it—but the axe burned through it. Strengthened material cleaved before it, melting in the light, forcing Beef to stumble backward out of range.

"Razorhail!"

Crystalline darts screamed into the Hierei, impacting her radiant shield. They stopped, stuck fast in the light, before Quist swung axe and shield in tandem. Hallow’s forearms morphed, the necromantic crystal thickening into faceted, dual shields of her own—but even so, she was swept off her feet and sent careening across the reservoir.

"Relentless Charge!"

Beef shot forward, his horns lowered and Bedlam spinning in his grasp. He shattered through Quist's armor, breaking apart a great chunk of her leg. She cried out.

"Hallow Call!"

Risen Exults raced from the press of Paladins, their fists bringing their mighty Strength to bear against the woman's broken leg. The armor failed there, sending the Hierei toppling onto her back.

"Halt!"

“Again?” Beef shook off the command. "Your Authority is no good anymore, lady."

He brought Bedlam to bear, and at his side, his Exults dropped savage blows onto her as well.

"Impudent fool!" A pulse of golden light threw them all back, and she struggled into an upright position. Beef rolled to his feet, joined by Hallow, but the Exults were slow to rise.

Where is he?

Focus on her, Beef! We need to end this!

"I am a Hierei of the Pathless. I have the strength of my god running through my channels. You will not break me!"

A small shape leaped through her chest, phasing beyond her armor and trapping himself between her golden plates and her actual body. Archie grinned, his molten dagger held up to her neck.

"You talk too much!"

He cut her goddamn throat.

CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE

Vess, Lizard, and Titan saw the attack the moment it happened. Archie leapt from the high-raised shoulders, phasing once more through her light armor before landing with a stumble.

"No!" Gabby heaved against the Lizard, but the gargantuan Unbound wrapped a single hand around her broad shoulders and laid his burning sword against her gorget. She couldn't best his incredible Strength. "That idiot!"

The Hierei’s armor flicker and faded as she fell to her knees, blood pouring out of her wounds.

"The Hierei is down. Ha!" The Lizard laughed. "Serves her right."

Gabby snarled. "Knock me out! Quickly!"

That drew their attention. Vess and the Lizard both stared at the woman.

"What?" he asked.

"He's coming. I can't be conscious when he's here."

"I do not understand," Vess said. "Is this a trick?"

"I can't explain it, or else I'm dead. Please!"

"As you wish." Vess brought the butt of her glaive up into the Titan's jaw. Her head snapped back. Knocking someone unconscious was an art that most could not manage without killing—Dragoons were well trained in its methods. Gabby sagged, and her conjured weapon fizzled away.

You Have Defeated Imara, Chosen Of The Gods!

XP Earned!

The Lizard looked at Vess, then back to the Titan, clearly confused, but he did not release her.

Vess pulled back her glaive. "Felix told me to trust her, and if she's right, we have more things to worry about than the Titan."

A scream tore into the air. Vess spun, weaponed lifted, and saw Hierei Quist scratching at her own throat. Light poured out of her, spilling as much as the crimson blood did from her open wound. Yet now, the inside of her mouth and eyes burned as well.

"Light…abandoned," she croaked. "But…from death…” She dragged in a single, final gasp. "Rebirth."

A new scream sounded, one not from the Hierei, though it poured from her mouth. This was the roar of a lion. The golden light turned bronze and sickly, and Vess held up her hand against a sudden weight of Authority and tangible Intent that flooded the area. Her Affinity howled at her.

Violence. Vengeance. Death.

A call poured across Vess' senses, emanating from Quist as it bubbled up in her chest and followed along with it. Tumors swelled her flesh, followed by fungal blooms across her throat and shoulders. Fetid growth overcame her. Skin split, crawling with it, and her eyes burst into mushroom caps.

The Hierei’s flesh twisted, bones snapping as the dead around her melted. Putrified corpses crawled toward her and congealed into a mass of foul, rotten limbs that joined to her. Quist stumbled back to her feet, sightless and hunched—her body a horror. It twisted again and again until it resembled a beast. A mane of fungus spread around her broken face, eight red armored legs and a dozen mismatched arms grafted together beneath her bulk.

She Was So Desperate, In The End. Yyero laughed, Quist’s face deforming into a nightmare attempt at a lion’s snout. I Cannot Believe She Called On Me. So Much For Faith, Coward In White.

“Kill it!” Beef shouted.

Ah. The Fiend’s Lackeys.

Eidolon Exults surged forward to beset the god’s Vessel. Yyero swatted at them, but they were sturdier than the god expected. The creature grunted as the Exult’s sheer bulk was enough to rip apart its limbs, but it did not seem to panic. For good reason. Those same limbs regenerated before they were fully torn, rendering the attacks all but useless.

No, not useless. Vess firmed her grip on her glaive. It’ll keep the Vessel busy. Yin!

Her Companion roared forward, Dawnbreath spraying onto the Vessel immediately. Those wounds charred and melted great swathes of its hide, but the false lion was quick to counter. It batted aside the Drake's power before striking him directly.

“Yin!” Vess cried. Her Companion spiraled away, skidding over the surface of the man-made lake before he sank with a splash.

"No way we're losing to something as ugly as you! Fanblade!" Archie said, sliding through the earth before leaping out from under it. His Molten Daggers spun, slicing through joints and belly in a single swipe. Putrid ichor dropped down onto the ground that the man just barely evaded. "Oh, disgusting."

Beef charged, Bedlam crashing into the Vessel's side and hurling it off its feet—directly into Hallow’s sights. Razorhail tore into its spongy flesh, the sword-sized crystals lodging deep in its guts. Strike after strike hit the creature, but Vess watched the mounting horror as it healed from everything. Limbs regrew, becoming more and more like the Rotted Lion that Felix had once faced.

I Tire Of This.

It struck at them, but despite its speed, the Vessel couldn’t touch them. Archie melted away into the ground while Beef jumped, the Matriarch Sharpwing clinging to his back and flying him out of range.

Fafnir roared, flying at what was left of the Hierei’s face, now twisted into a malformed lion's snout. She breathed necromantic breath across the Vessel. The severed limbs near its feet jerked to life, possessed by the Hatchling's Will as they turned on the Rotted Lion clawing into it.

You Cannot Think This Is Enough To Stop Me.

“On The Wing!”

Vess shot forward, her wings propelling her and her Spears to the Vessel's side in mere moments. She thrust all of them deep into its pulped hide. “Final Glory!”

They exploded, tearing apart and exposing the creature's bones as more of its awful innards slopped onto the stone reservoir.

You Do Nothing More Than Delay The Inevitable. The Rotted Lion grew, absorbing more of the fallen Paladins. The others returned, Beef, Archie, and Hallow readying their attacks, but the Vessel waved a paw and burst the corpses nearest them, turning the ground into a fetid field of slick organics. It sizzled as Beef tried to step closer.

"Don't," Hallow warned. "It will eat through your armor and flesh.”

“Use the Matriarch." Vess gathered herself to leap over it, her own wings flexing on her back. “We attack from the air.”

Beef nodded.

Come And Die, Then!

"Enough!"

An explosion rocked the space above the Vessel, and the concussive force pushed Vess back to the ground. She landed without issue and swept her glaive through the rest of the wind. The strike cut across it and dissipated the force.

Beyond the fetid field and the Rotted Lion, the Lizard stood tall, his dual swords glowing as he lowered them. Had he made that explosion with the swords?

"Yyero, your fight is with me, you pathetic idiot," the Lizard said.

Lizard! You’re A Big One. Yyero blinked long and slow, looking to the Lizard's feet. And You’ve Taken Down The Titan. Most Impressive.

The woman was still unconscious, now slumped over against the far tower, where the Lizard had no doubt set her down. Vess hadn't hit her that hard, had she?

Powerful Body And Potent Magic. With Multiple Skills At Legendary And Mythic Rarity. The Rotted Lion laughed. I Am Impressed! Join Me. As My Vessel, You Would Wield Divine Power. Enough To Bring About Your Wildest Dreams!

"All I want is something you can't give me."

"Nothing is beyond the Divine."

"Then send me home."

Fah! The Titan Asked For The Same. You Unbound Are Selfish Creatures, One And All. Home? You Would Be Nothing On Your Silent Planet, Beyond Even The Grand Harmony's Reach. Here? Here You Could Be A God.

"No, he would not," Vess said. "He would be a slave to one!"

Silence, Woman! Else I’ll Rend You, As I Did Your Pet.

"Yyero, god of rot, barely even here," the Lizard said, his tone surprisingly derisive. "Just a loser who got chained to a moon."

The Lion growled. You Know Nothing, Child.

"I know the Nym kicked your asses. I know that you got tricked."

The Lizard strode forward, past the Titan's unconscious form, but stopped before the halfway mark of the reservoir wall.

"I know that you're all thieves."

The Rotted Lion stilled.

"That touched a nerve, huh?”

Call Me A Thief Again, And I Will Show You The Meaning Of Wrath. I Need Not Your Permission To Take You As A Vessel—That Is Simply More Convenient. Overcoming Your Will Would Be Work…But I Have Time.

I Will Break You, Boy.

"You want me? Then come and get me."

The Rotted Lion leapt forward with a growl, bounding toward the Lizard as he stood, his swords held before him in a familiar defensive stance.

“On The Wing!” Vess flew forward, her Spears manifesting around her. She couldn't let the Lizard fight alone. She shot ahead, the wind roaring behind her, but she wasn't fast enough. The Lion reached the Lizard, rearing back to slice into him with a dozen savage claws. The Lizard swung his swords. An explosion ripped through the reservoir, sundering the Vessel before him as if he'd set a bomb off inside of its belly.

"Now, Yin!"

Her Companion shot upward out of the water, tackling into the Vessel.

The Rotted Lion reared back, roaring as its wings were shredded by claw and Dawnfire. A barbed tail shot out, but Yin had already swam away, diving back into the water before the Lizard swung his swords again. Explosions bloomed all around the Vessel, tearing through rot and oozing growths with an incredible amount of heat and force. The force threw Vess backward, winds too fierce for even her to advance through.

Down and ahead of her, the Vessel was torn asunder, reduced to a twisted husk and charred arms. As she recovered her balance, Yyero reconstituted. Flesh regrew, not as it was, but rubbery and gilled. He blossomed, fungus and pale shapes rising to mimic a true lion's rugged form.

Yyero laughed. You Cannot Stop Me, Unbound. The Fiend Is Not Here To Save You.

"You think he needs to be? I can take you on myself."

Unwise. You Are No Ascendant. Yyero stalked closer to the Lizard, growing all the while. Each step added another span to the Vessel's height until he neared the Lizard's own massive stature. You Will Join Me, Boy. It Is Inevitable.

The Lizard laughed right in the Vessel's face. "I'm not going anywhere with you. The only place I need to be is home, with my son. But I’ll burn us both if I have to."

I Am A God! A Few Explosions Cannot Stop Me!

"Who said I only had a few? Pinpoint Mines!"

A rumble shook the reservoir—the only warning before the wall exploded.

The roar of it was unlike anything Vess had ever heard. Fire and gale force winds punched at them all, hurling her farther back into the ranks of the Eidolons. They, at least, were hefty enough to hunker through it, and she clung to their shoulders. The heat was incredible, her eyes tearing up instantly, and her Health had dropped by an entire third.

The Rotted Lion, however, was blasted apart.

New flesh had vaporized in the calamitous conflagration before a deluge of water poured through the broken reservoir, pummeling the remains down into the river far below.

You Have Defeated The Rotted Lion, A Temporary Vessel!

XP Earned!

WARNING!

Marked By Rot!

Yyero has Marked you! Be Wary! The Divine watches you closely!

Vess shuddered before shrugging off the notification. There was nothing she could do about that at the moment, and the Atlantes could cleanse it once they got home.

She regained her feet, patting the Eidolons fondly on the shoulder. "Is everyone all right?"

Beef waved a weary hand as he climbed back to his feet, hammer set against the stone. "Yeah."

Hallow ambled to his side. "Come, we must claim the corpses that remain."

"Yeah, good idea."

Archie followed Vess forward to the edge of the crumbled reservoir where water screamed over the side. Both of them peered over the edge.

"Long way down," he said.

Yin rose from the waters, swimming through the air just outside of the waterfalls. "Incredible pressure. The body is obliterated. He will not be making use of that Vessel again."

"He'll be able to follow," Vess said, sharing her notification with her Companion. Yin hissed angrily. "But we should retreat regardless. Lizard!"

Vess looked across the reservoir, but the guy was gone. With a muted thud, he landed next to them.

"Did you just jump that?" Archie asked, mouth hanging open.

The big Unbound grinned. "Yeah, pretty cool."

Archie cursed. "How come I'm the only one that can't do crap like that?"

Vess was more interested in the fact that he held the Titan in the crook of his arm. She dangled, limp and unconscious.

"I can't believe that worked," the Lizard said, staring at the rushing waters. "I'd planned to use this on the Hierei and the Paladins originally. Didn't expect to get a god."

"He's not dead, just injured. He'll form a new temporary Vessel soon enough," Hallow said, coming up behind them. "Beef is clearing up all the remains here, claiming them with our power so he can't use the corpses. But Yyero has too much material on the surface."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Archie asked. "Let's go."

Vess looked at him. "You're coming with us, yes?"

"I am, yeah," the Lizard said. "But we can't go far."

"What? Why?"

"You think I've been twiddling my thumbs down here for the last few months? I've been planning."

"Planning for what, Lizard?"

He firmed his spike-covered jaw, and his eyes glowed yellow. "Revolution." He coughed. "And my name isn't Lizard." He stuck out his hand, shaking Vess’ far smaller one. "Call me Wendell."

Behind them was a crash, as a Paladin's dead body was dropped onto the ground from nerveless hands. Beef stood there, staring as if he'd been knocked on the head.

"Dad?"

The Lizard jolted. "Michael?"

CHAPTER NINETY-SIX

The hinges froze on the third gate of Amaranth. With a mighty blow, the Berserkers shattered it. The Twins' Champion followed shortly after, howling in agony as giants harried its sides with cold iron and blood-red ice. The dual-headed Ettin Wolf leaped back, snarling at them all as the Paladin atop it swung his two-handed bludgeon.

Giants fell back, their blood-red ice cracked by the Paladin’s incredible Strength. Evie dodged beneath a swipe of Ettin Wolf's claws, bending so low she nearly face-planted on the ground. With a quick slap of a hand, she flipped back up, reducing her own mass and sending it arcing to the very tip of her flung chain.

Undine Grace is level 99!

She rose, vaulting up and over Ettin Wolf. They had fought for what felt like ages, ranging across the city as her giants and the Champion of the Twins traded blows while maneuvering through the retreating army.

Evie had hounded the creature, followed by her giants and the Nagafolk as they charged into Amaranth. They had killed every godslave minion they saw, spreading through the streets as they pressed ever inward toward the center. The other godslaves died quickly, frozen and shattered by their Skill and Strength, but the damn Champion refused to die.

It was pissing Evie off.

That mace swung for her again, and Evie shot out her second chain, altering her trajectory and dodging the blow with a fluid grace.

I bet everyone else already killed their Champions. So annoying!

She had considered more than once asking the Deepking for help. Even now, the immense Abyssal Serpent was slithering through the streets of Amaranth, devouring monstrosities as he went. He would most likely make short work of the Champion—but Evie banished the thought as she soared through the air.

I can do this myself!

Harn had taught her well. His lessons had taught her to leash her rage…and when to unleash it. It was cold and brutal, like ice in her heart, and it would not be denied.

Her chain shot outward, wrapping around one of the Ettin Wolf's heads before sprouting hooked blades that dug into its thick, furry hide. The Wolf yelped, hauling back from the weapon, but Evie tensioned the chain and sank the blades into the Champion’s flesh.

Tooth And Claw is level 98!

She yanked hard, pulling herself back towards the Wolf's shoulders, weaving her second chain around herself in a defensive pattern. The heavy chain smashed back the second head of the Ettin Wolf as it tried to snap her up, clearing her way to the saddle on its back, where the Paladin stared at her in baleful surprise.

“Why do you not die!?” he cried.

Her chain dropped on the man, his Twinblessed armor sparking with every hit. The lance he had once carried had shattered several blocks ago, and the mace was useless at close quarters. The Paladin hurled it to the side, and it crunched into the pavers of the road. The chains tightened.

“Justice of the Strong!”

Evie’s hold on him slipped, the chain shunted backward by a flare of force Mana, freeing the Paladin’s arms. He punched forward, his gauntlets sparking with blades of blue force that extended a span from his fists. The blade caught Evie in the side, slicing at her breastplate and striking a shower of sparks from the arcanite.

She twisted, taking only a glancing blow as her heel found purchase on the overextended elbow of the Paladin. Evie pulled the mass from her chain and put it all into her foot—the Twinblessed armor sparked, whining as first its protective coating cracked, followed by the man’s elbow. The Paladin screamed, clutching at his arm, and the Ettin Wolf reared back, nearly throwing Evie from its saddle.

She swung around, her chain biting into its second head as blood poured down. She made a circuit around the Ettin Wolf, swinging free before hurling her weapon back downward. "Loquis, catch!"

The young half-orc captain caught the chain. “Got it!” Evie soared up into the sky, carried forward by sheer momentum as lightning played across the mage's hands. “Levinchain!"

Electricity sparked across her chain and up into the Ettin Wolf, burning across its fur and igniting its ears as it yelped in horrified pain.

Evie could only laugh. The captain was good.

The Paladin jerked, lightning coursing across his armor and blasting apart the blue metallic glow that limned him like sunrise peeking over the horizon.

"Take that, you pompous ass," Evie said, flipping herself around as she brought her second chain to bear. It smashed into the Paladin, bashing him forward into the pommel of his saddle, just as Battlelord Ari and his Berserkers rammed into the Ettin Wolf's legs. Their axes, crimson with blood ice, sliced into its weakened hide like chopping into a tree.

The Wolf howled and fell, its four legs severed, and Evie flung her chain into the second mouth, spikes biting deep into its tongue and gums before she dropped it.

"Seize!" Ari commanded, and the Berserkers leapt up, grabbing the ends of both chains and yanking down with their immense strength. The beast's jaw snapped with a sound like thunder.

Evie landed on the ground, seizing her charred chain and unwound it from the first broken head. "Beef told me about a device, you dumb wolf."

She whirled her chain around herself as the Ettin Wolf lunged forward, despite its broken and hanging jaw. "I don't think you'd like it."

She kicked the chain forward, its weighted end launching down the beast's throat in a single, easy motion. It gurgled in surprised agony. "It's called a blender. Tooth and Claw!”

Minds of the Mad is level 98!

Tooth And Claw is level 99!

Bonds of Dominion is level 98!

Spikes and blades burst from each link, and Evie flexed her Will. The chain spun rapidly, rotating within her grasp and down into the Ettin Wolf's insides, churning it into puree.

The Champion fell, spitting blood.

"Vile unbeliever," the Paladin leapt off of its falling body, seizing the mace that still stuck from the earth. "You will die here today!"

The weapon tripled in size, its form taking on aspects of blue force that gleamed, solid as true metal. Evie dropped her chain and leapt back. With a speed that belied his previous attempts, the Paladin swung for her spine.

“Protective Rage!”

The mace rebounded off of a shield of red ice.

Battlelord Ari grunted in pain, his twenty-span frame hurled to the side by the Paladin's Strength. The man laughed, his voice and Spirit twisted into something visceral and unclean. “Not even your great size matters in a fight of the Divine, beast.”

He strode forward, mace dragging through the flagstones with every step. “Now watch as I kill your little leader.”

The Paladin lifted his weapon in a single, smooth motion⁠—

—and found it stopped, a blue-skinned hand clasping around its ungainly haft. Ari stood over him, chest bloodied and shield abandoned, his eyes burning as if made of smoking ice. "Do not touch the Kyria! Wrath of the Destroyer!"

Ari brought down his own red-ice club, smashing the Paladin into the flagstones, cratering the earth and bursting the man's flesh like a wineskin.

"Fulmination of the Southern Skies!" Loquis cried, hurling his arm towards the earth. A murderous bolt dropped from the heavens, burning through Champion and Paladin alike. They shook, flesh baking, until it charred away into nothing more than cooked meat.

You Have Killed A Twinblessed Paladin!

XP Earned!

You Have Killed A Champion Of The Twins!

XP Earned!

Evie, Loquis, and Ari stood panting around the corpses. "Burn me, that took forever," she huffed.

"We're not done yet," Loquis reminded her. "We need to get down those blocks and connect with the bulk of the invasion. The other ships should have touched down north of here.”

Evie shouldered her chain. "Right. So we⁠—”

“Get down!" Ari cried, throwing his shield above them. A golden light scoured across them, and all three were to the blown side as the earth was rent asunder.

For a time, Evie only saw sparks.

Flashes of white wouldn't leave her eyes, and there was a ringing in her ears that overwhelmed everything. She stood up, groggy, seeing but not comprehending. Ahead of them, the street had been melted to a river of molten stone. The edges cooled rapidly, oozing into hardened slag, and a nearby building was nothing more than rubble lit aflame.

She looked up. Hierocratic Manaships. Blighted Night.

Their cannons fired down into the street, chasing after her people. Bolts of golden light were washing down the avenues, tearing through everything. Giants died. Nagafolk were ripped apart.

Evie tried to swallow but found only what felt like sharp knives in her throat. They were being overwhelmed.

"Blood and ash—run!" she commanded. "Find cover!"

"You want on board?" Harn growled. "You gotta come through me."

A flock of Sporeflies buzzed toward the Manaship where Harn stood amongst the members of his Legion. Shadowbeasts and fungal godslaves attacked them from all sides. Skills and magic sparked all around him, but Harn put them out of his Mind.

There was just him, the enemy, and his axe.

He hurled the weapon. It blasted through a serpentine shadowbeast at the head of the Sporeflies, igniting its flesh with silver flame. With a surge of Will, it shot back, clipping the side of a Sporefly and spilling its rotten ichor. Harn caught it with a grunt.

Starsteel's Descent is level 99!

Sporeflies buzzed at him, their mandibles clacking and claws scraping, but he caught them on his forearm, bashing the strikes away. Even as the men on their backs swung at him with hatchets, short swords, and hooked short swords. Those armored foes were once human, but now they were heavily infested by tumors and slick ichor that obscured their faces into nothing more than bestial rage. They screamed in inchoate fury at him. Harn said nothing. He simply killed.

His axe found joint after joint, severing limbs at elbow and knee, forcing the once-men to fall back in unthinking agony. The Sporeflies, however, would not relent. They came at him in twos and threes, slashing into his arcanite armor, until sparks surrounded him in brighter splashes than his own silver flames.

Flesh of the Wakened Earth is level 98!

With a grunt of effort, he caught their claws on the head of his axe, slicing through their chitinous claws. His axe burnt argent. "More!"

He hit another Sporefly, the blow carrying through a second and third, severing their heads as if he were chopping a rotten melon. Ichor caught flame, igniting into an inferno.

More! Solidify! He struck again and again. Solidify! The flame is a hammered edge.

Harn moved faster. His axes swung in controlled arcs. A Sporefly buzzed at him, and he hurled one of his weapons, the fire trailing like a comet. It burst through its rotten thorax, erupting in tongues of flames that cut through its buzzing wings. It fell.

Blood of the Everflame is level 97!

The axe leaped back, slapping back into his hand as silence fell on the prow. His enemies were all dead. Harn looked around, hopeful, but they were still getting hammered from all sides. The Hierocratic Manaships were beating them back—their fleet had already been reduced to twenty.

Not only that, the godslaves were overrunning their decks. Thousands had died, and the Vessels hadn't even shown themselves.

"We need your help, Felix,” he muttered. “Any time now.”

Behind him, the Legion struggled against the godslaves, but a point of brilliance had Harn throwing a hand over his eyes. A bright orange flame swirled around an elderly Hobgoblin—Heva, he believed.

Rotten, putrescent beasts and shadow-slick monstrosities surrounded her and a dozen others, but her Smoldering Lash sliced up the lead Sporefly in seconds, dropping its rotten ichor onto the deck and fouling the footing of the Vulgar Knights that tried to hack into their sides. Sigils flew, and twisted men and beasts alike froze, paralyzed by magic just as an icy mace and a blazing fast sword lopped off limbs and heads in equal measure.

Harn grunted, surprised that, when the older hobgoblin stood, her normally golden irises glowed a bright blue-white.

What is that? He almost gave voice to the thought, but more monsters charged from the sky. "Look out!"

He ran, but the beasts were faster. They dropped onto Heva, claws extended and strange mouths snapping—and found no purchase. The woman's limbs had lifted and were somehow clad in a red-gold light…a red-gold light that formed scale-like armor around her. The hit carried through, the claws shattering the scales a mere moment later, but it was enough to give them pause.

A small Goblin hit them with a paralyzing sigil, seizing the foes up before the tall one bashed it with the shield before freezing their feet to the deck with her swinging mace. The Orc followed through with her blade, slicing open the hapless creature’s belly.

"No! Kill it with fire or light!" Harn shouted, catching their attention. "Sporeflies aren't the end!”

As one, the Claw members stepped back as the creature they had just disemboweled mutated. Their insides flipped outward, congealing into a new, fetid growth. Fungal Horrors crawled out of it, growing to man-sized within seconds.

They screeched and leaped for them, but the Hobgoblin was fast.

"Five Talon Retribution!" she called. Her Smoldering Lash became five vivid spikes that curved inward, slashing at the deck where the foes stood. In a single motion, she obliterated them all, searing the rot into ash until the entire deck was burned clean.

Harn slowed to a stop as Heva reached down and helped other Legionnaires to their feet. "Stand," she said with a smile, "we have more foes to face." The soldiers got up, pride and determination ringing in their Spirits.

Harn grunted appreciatively. "Good teamwork," he said. "Better technique."

"Thank you, commander," the woman said, suddenly flustered. There was a moment of calm around them as the godslaves had been driven free from their ship.

"What was that Skill?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a Mana Skill I developed," the older woman blushed a bit. "It's based on how Emperor Nevarre fights, but I can't manage shaping magics."

Harn grunted. "I wasn't talking about the fire claws. What was that armor?"

Heva swallowed and glanced at the others who looked equally interested. "I... I don't know.”

“What?”

“It's not a Skill I have, it just happened."

Harn spat to the side. "Be glad it did, I guess. It saved your ass. Don't put yourself in that position again, you hear?"

“Aye, sir⁠—”

An explosion rocked the sky as a Manaship to the port side was torn apart and set aflame by beams of golden light. Harn shielded his eyes as the ship sank, crowded by shadowbeasts that dragged it from the sky. With a splintering crash, a Hierocratic ship rammed through its hull, its heavy, gilded prow gleaming with blood and golden light.

"Damnation," Harn swore. The other ships nearest them were piled onto by more Sporeflies and their Vulgar Knights, as well as a bevy of shadowbeast serpents as thick around as any Avum.

"Pilot, set a heading for that ship!” he commanded.

"Aye, sir," came the ragged cry, and their Manaship turned toward the enemy galleon. "On me, Legionnaires."

Their craft shot forward, their speed boosted by the Mana engines whining below the decks. A hundred span became a dozen in half as many heartbeats, and Harn blurred ahead, running toward the gunwales.

He leapt across the gap.

The man soared through the air, axes burning before he sank them into the side of the Hierocratic ship. He yanked one free, slamming it higher before pulling himself up the gilded hull. Behind him, he could hear Heva and her team shouting.

He looked back, just in time to see the Hobgoblin lead the other Legionnaires into a leap as their ship drew closer. A wave of blue-cloaked soldiers arced across the sky, landing on the deck just as Harn climbed over the banister. They found twisted monsters and redcloaks in equal measure.

"Legion! Kill them all!”

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

Felix had lost the Hierei.

The bastard had put up a smokescreen almost instantly as the command tower fell, vanishing into a burst of light and phosphorescent clouds. Hundreds of godslaves and mortal minions had fallen onto Felix. Killing them all had been simple, but it had given the Hierei time to vanish into the streets.

Felix tracked him now, hunting him by the traces of light magic across the city as he blurred across the rooftops. Those traces, however, were getting harder and harder to track as the cannons had begun firing rampantly all across the city. Bursts of golden radiance inundated the streets, aimed at his people. This frustrated Felix. The Hierei needed to die—they were a threat too big for his people to face alone.

At the top of his next leap, he scanned the rooftops. The traces suggested that Kodal was headed farther into the city, which was a blessing. Felix had to head there anyways. Had the man gone anywhere else, he would have been forced to give up.

He didn't have much time left.

As he dropped from the apex of his leap, Felix grimaced. The afternoon sun was muted as heavy clouds rolled through the skies, and crimson lightning skittered across the distance, but it wasn’t weather that concerned him. Screams of rage, fear, and pain filled the air, and Felix was unhappy to say they weren't just from the Hierocracy.

His empire's Manaships had been whittled down to twenty by the enemy, and though they were releasing their own attacks of fire and force on the godslaves and soldiers, the enemy fleet was firing right back. Those radiant explosions he’d been seeing were melting the thoroughfares into molten rivers. Hundreds of buildings were already ablaze, as if they didn't give a single thought to whether they killed their own in their desperate desire to murder his Legion.

Wait. He flared his Perception. I can't sense anything but monsters and my own people down there. Where was everyone? His Perception found nothing but enemies.

There!

A redcloak flew low through the maze of blue-roofed buildings. Shadows wrapped tightly around them in an effort at stealth. It was enough to miss them at first, but Felix had his sights set now. He ran after, kicking off rooftops with increasing speed. Kodal hunched low on the back of a shadowbeast—some sort of angular bird horror—and the thing was annoyingly fast. It blurred between buildings, moving in a serpentine fashion down alleys and side streets, forcing Felix to reorient constantly to catch it.

Screw this! Adamant Discord!

Lightning burst from his hands as he seized onto the familiar Bond of Enmity. The thickest of it extended into the center of the city—toward the gods—but smaller lines were scattered in every direction. Toward the godslaves. A connection solidified in his hands, the ephemeral blue line turning into a steel-hard bolt of lightning more real than the buildings around him. The angular monstrosity sped up, but the Bond of Enmity couldn't be outrun. He hauled back, launching himself forward in the same motion that shredded its shadowflesh to pulp.

Felix hated hard enough to kill.

You Have Killed A Shadowbeast!

XP Earned!

Kodal fell with a startled yelp, tumbling from the sky as Felix rushed behind him, kicking at panels of hardened air to thrust himself forward—only to see the Hierei caught by another shadowbeast that swooped low to grasp him in its talons.

Felix snarled and flared Adamant Discord once more, hurling himself ahead, but a blaze of light burst against him. His vision was engulfed, but his connection couldn’t be fooled so easily.

“You won’t lose me like that!” Felix howled as Kodal shot off. Yet, before he could catch up, two figures swooped at him, Skills flashing.

Felix was tackled to the side, tumbling through the walls of a tenement. A dark shadowbeast that resembled a bat clung to him, stabbing at his side with some sort of barbed tail. Felix kicked at it as he tumbled, hurling it through a window before smashing through a lath and plaster wall.

What the hell?

He reoriented in the air, catching himself with a bolt of lightning in his off-hand, as two figures rose to confront him.

Both were commanders—folks he recalled standing at the Hierei’s side. The one riding the scorpion-tailed bat was clad in slick black armor and held a spear in his hands. The other was mounted on a lumpy Sporefly and was clad in bronze platemail that roiled with a sickening aura. Unseen Beholder identified them as Commander Finks and Sar, respectively.

“Death to the Fiend!” Sar shouted, his voice booming hard enough to shake stone from the buildings around them.

Finks didn’t speak, he merely vanished—only to reappear inches away from Felix, the bat’s scorpion tail stabbing at him once again. He threw up his hand to swat it away, but the shadowbeast screeched, and the sound pierced his senses hard enough to send Felix reeling. His Affinity shook, ringing in his ears hard enough that his sense of direction went haywire.

You Have Been Inflicted With A Status Condition!

Status Condition: Disorientation (Severe)!

Duration: 1 Minute

Felix's head buzzed just as Sar buzzed by, burping up a cloud of noxious fumes that dropped on him like a fog cloud.

You Have Been Inflicted With A Status Condition!

Status Condition: Flesh Rot (Severe)!

Flesh Rot Has Been Resisted!

Sovereign Of Flesh Makes You Immune!

Felix’s senses spun, that horrible sound still ringing through his ears, throwing off his coordination. Doesn’t matter. All he had to do was kill the bastard.

“You will fall before you touch the Hierei!” Finks cried. The commander's mount attacked, latching onto Felix as its scorpion stinger jutted towards his belly, and Finks thrust out his spear.

Felix kicked back, dropping Adamant Discord and putting a barrier between him and the bat before bouncing off the building behind him. He shot forward, vaulting over the shadowbeast then snatching the spear from the hands of the commander and snapping it in the same motion.

“Heathen!” Darkness exploded from Finks’ mouth like foul breath, hiding him in a sphere of perfect shadow.

You Have Been Inflicted With A Status Condition!

Status Condition: Blindness (Severe)!

Disoriented and blind, the commander no doubt thought that Felix was a prime target. The man attacked, striking out with a pair of daggers that glowed with crimson lightning.

Stride of the King is level 139!

Felix parried, slapping the blades aside. He didn't need to see to fight. He thrust his scaled fist in a sharp jab, and Commander Finks blew backward, a grapefruit sized hole in his chest. He fell back, off the shadowbeast and into the sky.

You Have Killed Commander Finks, Blessed By Noctis!

XP Earned!

The shadow of darkness faded, and the bat beneath him died as Felix drove a heel through its skull.

"You monster!"

Sar dropped down atop the Sporefly, his mount spitting streams of noxious acid. Felix redirected the acid itself, shaping it around himself to drop onto the city below before seizing bolts of lightning in his hands.

Adamant Discord!

Hate flowed through Felix’s veins, singing bright and red in his Mind as he grasped the bonds before him…and ripped the Sporefly out from under Sar. The man fell screaming, and Felix shaped fire into the mount, flooding its fetid body until every bit of the spores inside its rotted flesh were turned to ash.

“You will not kill me so easily!"

Commander Sar had arrested his fall, his forearm having exploded into rotten roots that clung to the buildings around him, holding him in place like putrid net. They flexed, launching the commander back up, a heavy falchion in his hand.

"You want to fight with swords?" Felix unsheathed Inheritor's Will. "Fine!"

He slashed down as the commander rose. The man's scream became a wet gurgle as his Body was bisected, his armor screeching as Crescian Bronze turned its paltry metal into scrap.

You Have Killed Commander Sar, Blessed By Yyero!

XP Earned!

Felix turned, Status Conditions fading, and hunted for the Hierei, but the commanders’ distraction had worked. Kodal had gotten away.

“Shit.” A thousand feet away, the slimy Hierei was slipping into a line of Manaships that had been assembling around the center of the city. Felix watched the angular shadowbeast land at the deck of the largest galleon, heavy with gilded scrollwork and several massive Manacannons on its deck. Hundreds of the ships were lined up beside it, with more arriving by the second.

Beyond them were open parks, sprawling mansions, and a tall hill crowned by the Shining Palace itself—with En’Cridhe at the very center.

Felix let himself down onto a rooftop and cursed. The enemy ships had gathered around the center of the city from the rooftops to hundreds of feet into the sky. They were creating a net of corsairs and galleons, all laden with cannons. From the way they dropped their explosive ordnance, it was clear that they were intent on blocking everyone from getting closer. He scanned the skies. His own dwindling fleet was staying away, harried by the galleons that had yet to join the blockade.

Things weren't going as well as he'd hoped. Felix gritted his teeth. Too many were dying. They'd known that would happen going in, but the reality of it weighed on his conscience, a mountain that threatened to crush him.

Lightning flared around his hand, but he did not rise upon it. Felix’s eyes burned as he considered his options. He could charge through, but it wouldn't solve the issue for his army. The fleet was in danger, and the troops below were going to die unless he did more. But what?

He had options. Shaping magic was versatile in that way, not to mention his Empyrean Embrace and physical Strength. He could take on the blockade. Clearly, they were trying to prevent them from penetrating further into the city, and his job was to get there while removing the big threats his people couldn't handle.

Could they handle the Hierocratic fleet alone, though?

More importantly, if Felix took on the whole fleet, how fit would he be to fight on the other side? The Vessels still hadn't shown up, and that unnerved him more than anything.

What are they planning?

A deep cry in his Spirit alerted him to company. Felix looked up, releasing his hold on Adamant Discord as Pit descended from the sky, followed by a slew of Guardian Beasts and their Dragoon allies. Thalgrym, Scylla, and a few other Chimera he'd met before landed on the rooftops around him. Armored Sylphaen and Korvaa were mounted on the Chimeras’ backs, but the vast majority were Dragoons. Knight Defenders of Pax’Vrell and sworn to Felix. They saluted as they landed.

"Felix," Pit said, "the Champion of Noctis is dead, and I saw Evie chasing down the big wolf of the Twins. All we got left are those ships and all these flying bugs."

"The shadow proliferates in the light," Scylla agreed. "They are weak, however."

Thalgrym nodded his feathered head. His lizard snout creased with a grimace as he stared into the sky. Vess' father, Roland, was on his back, and the man was grim, his armor covered in multi-hued ichor.

"Weak or not, the skies are still contested," Chancellor Roland said. "Guardians and the Dragoons are exhausting themselves, but the godslaves keep repopulating. Where are their makers?"

"They’ve refused to show up," Felix said before pointing. "But they'll have to, once I cross that."

They all looked to the blockade where the fleet congregated.

"Then we must take it down," Thalgrym rumbled. A roar of assent rattled through the Chimeras around the rooftops and those still circling in the skies.

"What do you need us to do, Your Highness?" Roland asked.

"I need you to take down those ships. I need to get to En’Cridhe." He looked to Thalgrym, Pit, and Roland. “Can you all take on the fleet?"

"Are you kidding?" Pit huffed a laugh. "I'll get that half," he said, gesturing with a paw to the right. "You guys get the rest."

Felix patted his friend on the shoulder. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Pit is a mighty fighter," Scylla said with a growl. "He can handle them. And, if I am at his side, he will."

Felix raised his eyebrows before nodding. "All right, then."

"The princess is beyond that blockade?" Thalgrym asked, his deep voice rattling the tiles.

Felix glanced at the wyvern. "She is. That's where I'm headed."

"Then we shall lead the way, then. Guardian Beasts!" The Chimera circling in the sky drew closer, and many of them found a perch on the crumbling buildings. Wyverns, tenku, Sylphaen, Korvaa, and armored Dragoons all leaned into Thalgrym's words.

"The gods stole away our princess, just as they stole away our lives in ancient Ages past. Just as they'll do again, unless we stop them here."

Felix stared at the assembled warriors, and despite the chaos of battle around them, their Spirits were as clear to him as if he stood inside their heads. Fear and pain were there, but it was smothered out by anger and pride, and most surprisingly of all, love.

"I know some of you do not fight for our Princess Ondine. I know some of you do not know the wonder of her mercy, what she has done for us. How she saved us. But we are all of us here, standing for our homes. Euphonia, Pax'Vrell, and Elderthrone alike."

A cheer went up, rivaling the din of exploding cannons.

"Through blood and storm, we fly now into the waiting ranks of our enemies! What shall we give them?"

"Death!"

The sound was a roar, and for a moment, it was all Felix could hear.

CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT

Before the roar even faded, they were flying off toward the blockade. The Chimera poured forward, projectiles of wind, lightning, and water meeting the godslaves that crossed their path. Winds whipped as they crossed the skies. Felix, on the back of Pit, flew just behind them, marshalling the elements within his chest. Sonata of Dominance rolled through his core space, singing a wild song.

“Knights!” Roland shouted above the wind. “Release!”

The Dragoons launched their manifested Spears, many of which were wreathed in additional elemental effects. The Chimera’s Skills and spells followed close behind. A volley of thunderous might struck a ward a dozen feet in front of the lead ship’s prow, but it did nothing more than ripple with the impact.

A barrier. And it’s goddamn strong.

A deep whine cut above the wind, and on the decks of countless ships, Manacannons adjusted their aim as their barrels filled with a heavy radiance.

They fired.

Sonata of Dominance is level 137!

Felix hardened the air with his Sonata, meeting countless beams head-on. They seared against his shaping, boiling the water in the air instantly before exploding.

Sonata of Dominance is level 138!

His control was tested, strained by the superheated air trying to escape in every direction before the beams themselves refracted into diffuse rays. With a bright trill from Thalgrym, the Chimera ranks split, the Guardian Beasts flying in every direction as they sought to reduce the Hierocracy's aim. Felix wouldn’t be able to cover them all, now.

“Stay outta their sights!” Pit shouted. “Bring the chaos!”

Then we go on the offense.

Him and his Companion didn’t change direction. The gilded flagship was before them, larger than all the rest by an order of magnitude. Felix could see Kodal standing on the deck, armor gleaming and ranks of Inquisitors surrounding him. He was protected by layers upon layers, ward, ship, and zealots. He met Felix’s gaze and grinned.

“Fire on the four-winged demon.”

Kodal’s order was drowned out only by the deep-throated whine of a massive Manacannon. In a fraction of a second, it fired—along with a half dozen others.

Felix reached out a hand. Empyrean Embrace!

The golden light vanished into his channels, radiating visibly from beneath his skin. Felix marshaled it immediately, sending it back with the strains of his Sonata—alongside a metric shit ton of his own Mana.

Harder. Sharper. Brighter. Intensify!

The shaped beam burst from his hands, turned to liquid light that carved across the blockade ward. Ripples spread, distorting Felix’s view of the Hierei as he poured more magic on. It flexed, a portion of it bucking as Pit joined his attack with Tempest Fugit, the ice spears exploding upon impact.

The barrier held firm.

The ships fired again, and Pit rolled through the cannon fire, avoiding it with an Agility few could match. But more than just a few fired on him now—at least thirty sent their cannons his way. Dodging was impossible.

Sonata of⁠—

“Chaos Beckons!”

Debris rose from below—a thousand pounds of masonry limned in purple-gold light, forming a curved shell around Felix and Pit. The cannons turned it to slag, but the magic held out for a few moments longer, just enough time for Pit to wing his way out.

“Took you long enough!” Pit shouted.

Elowen dropped from above, her robes whipping in the breeze as purple and gold radiance rolled across her body like the trail of a comet. “I have been busy with these. Order Departs!” She gestured, and crushed godslaved minions launched past her and into the wards like fleshy missiles. The corpses exploded as they hit, forcing several Inquisitors to fall back in surprise.

Pit made a face as he swung around. “Gross.”

leave none of them alive!

Flame cried as Atar blazed past as well. The fires that raged in the city below swirled upward, pulled into the mage’s orbit before absorbing into his bones. Atar was a full-on skeleton now, his charred bones radiating white fire like a fallen star. He raged, the heat of his flames evaporating the godslave minions within a hundred feet of himself.

“I’m on it,” Atar said, eyes blazing. Stars of the Sovereign rotated around him, spinning like blades, slicing through those beyond his heat haze. The wards distorted, the intense white Stars leaving trails that spread in rainbow sparks. “They can’t hit what they can’t see! Alister!”

The Empire's Manaships also drew level. A blue-cloaked Alister stood on the lead ship, manning one of the three ballistae that populated the deck. “Kinetic Shockstorm!”

A series of five bolts ripped forward, clashing into the blockade and fouling the enemy cannonshot. The Guardian Beasts spun around, Sylphaen, Korvaa, and Dragoons on their backs sending their Skills into the same points again and again, their precision as uncanny as their flying abilities. Felix was proud to see them work, even as the enemy's counter fire took more of his people down.

As Pit brought them back in a loop toward the flagship, he allowed himself a moment to think. Vess was still missing, as were Beef and Archie. Had they found the Lizard? And where was Gabby? He shook the concern from his Mind. He couldn't spare the bandwidth worrying about them for more than a moment. Either they would be fine, or they wouldn't. All he could do now was advance.

Wait. What the hell is that?

The Hierocratic fleet began to glow. New arrays formed across their hulls, the sigaldry forming a uniform circuit that crossed from corsair to galleon. The blockade boiled with power, but that wasn’t what caught Felix’s attention.

It sounds…distorted. Heinous.

With a foul noise, a net of light expanded outward from the prow of every ship at once. Felix recoiled. The thing was suffused with a metallic blue that chased across the golden net, flickering alongside a sickening bronze and a chill ebon.

Of course it’s the gods’ influence.

In a rush, the net billowed outward. It hit a line of Chimeras first—and sliced instantly through their protections. They and their riders screamed, some set ablaze, some frozen, while others found their flesh putrefying, and many more were simply knocked out of the sky directly.

“Evade it!” Roland shouted above the din of war. “Do not engage!”

The Guardian Beasts fled, and Felix's ships began immediate evasive maneuvers. Many were too close. They wouldn’t be able to avoid the net.

Faster, Pit!

They jolted forward before the words echoed across their bond.

Already ahead of you!

Ouranic Dominion surged in his Companion, howling in a silent crescendo that sounded like a thousand storm-fed gales rushing past Felix's ears. The two of them soared forward, angling toward the bulging center of the net as it approached the slowest of his ships. Those frantically banked away from its expansion.

"Don't touch it, buddy!"

Pit angled his wings and tucked his legs as they flew closer. Felix reached out.

Empyrean Embrace!

Ethereal teeth snapped over the nearest portion of the net, ripping pieces of it away. It burned going down into his Mana Gate, the mix of Divine influences souring against his channels like battery acid.

Pieces of the net vanished, but it reconstituted itself. Fast. Too fast, in fact.

Empyrean Embrace!

He ripped another chunk free, and the same thing happened again. That sourness increased into a bitter bile that rose in the back of his throat and coated his core space. Felix was getting little power from each bite, as if the opposing flavors of Divinity were spoiling against one another. Rot and force and shadow and light all broke each other apart before anything of worth could be gleaned. Destructive to everything, even itself.

Ceaseless, whining cries punctuated by basso roars filled the air as the enemy fired upon Felix’s people without pause. Beams of golden light cut through the net, leaving it unharmed as they scoured lines across the hulls of his fleeing ships. Several caught flame, and a number of Guardian Beasts fell from the sky, their wings shredded and burnt. His forces were rapidly dwindling.

We need to distract them, Pit! Release everything you have!

His Companion screeched, and silver moonlight dropped from above, blasting into the net. The force of the attack dissolved pieces of it before continuing onward into the barrier itself. The ward shook, rainbow ripples expanding from the points of contact.

Empyrean Embrace!

Felix’s hunger snapped at the barriers again and again, stealing pieces of it, only for it to regrow faster than the net. He could tell the source, however; it surged from the flagship’s rounded belly. If he could reach that vessel, then Felix could break the barrier.

Wait a second. Felix grinned. Sonata of Dominance!

He shaped fire and wind to feed it, sharpened and intensified as Felix breathed outward. It launched from his skull Gate, a beam of fire followed by punishing jets of water and lightning from his palms. Manacannons turned on him, firing after the madman on the back of the giant Chimera. He dropped low as Pit turned up the speed, evading the bolts and beams with a grace that few could match. Felix held on with his knees, his hands weaving shapings of elements around him in a constant dance to keep the ship's attention.

His Perception flared, checking his position. Closer.

Keep paying attention to me! They barrel rolled past the strikes of the flagship, its massive cannon trained on them almost continuously. He needed to be a target as big as possible, because he had noticed a detail that didn't fit.

Luckily, his friends did, too.

Elowen flew forward, a cry on her lips as her power shoved into the Manaships beyond the barrier. The net still expanded, but she spun through it, her body small enough to fit. The ships beyond the barrier, immune to projectiles and damaging spells, had no such immunity to her telekinetic touch. They slammed backward, crashing into one another with enough force to splinter railings and shudder masts, but not enough to take them down.

Still, it fouled their shots, the Manacannons gone wild as the rudders turned, and their orientation spun. Atar followed behind, flying in his cloud of flame, burning Stars spinning around him like a cyclone out of a nightmare. He hurled his Stars into the barrier just as the same time as force ballistae splashed into it as well. The barrier was unharmed, but the disruption tore across it, expanding in a ripple that sent blinding flashes of rainbow colors flaring across its entire face.

Felix understood. Hierei Kodal shouted something unintelligible and threatening at Felix, but he just laughed before hurling bolts of lightning into the barrier and spreading those distortions further. The point wasn't damage. The point was to blind them.

So that none of them could see the Manaship dropping from above.

A mad warrior stood on its prow, axes held wide as the ship flared with sigaldry. Harn laughed, a booming sound that was only accompanied by the sizzle spark of the stolen Hierocratic galleon slipping past the barrier. Its sigaldry acted as a key to allow it beyond the blockade, and that was all that they needed.

The ship careened into Kodal’s vessel, plowing through its decks and hull before a buckling retort crashed across their ears. Golden light bloomed into a wild inferno, as Harn’s Manacannons fired off, point-blank.

Half of the flagship exploded outright.

Kodal screamed, and this time Felix could understand. Disbelief and rage sang through his Spirit as the vessel was ripped apart. The array across the blockade flickered and broke, its centerpiece utterly destroyed—the barrier followed soon after.

Harn leapt onto Kodal, chomping at his arms the man lifted to defend himself. But the Hierei did not reach his position for being weak. Harn's axes were stopped, silver fire ineffective against the man's gilded armor. He kicked the warrior away. Harn took it straight to the chest, grunting as he fell backward, his arm snapping audibly as he fetched up against the splintered balustrade.

"You ruined it!" Kodal cried. "You filthy, monstrous man!”

The Hierei jolted forward but paled as a screech tore at him, physically tossing him back a dozen feet. Chimeras burst through the blockade, attacking the ships directly and swooping across the deck. Kodal dodged aside, armored hands sparking against the dragging talons of savage tenku.

“Impure! Twisted beasts!”

The man’s words were cut off as a claw closed around his head. Thalgrym yanked upward as he beat at the air with his wings, and the Hierei gagged and tore at his talons.

From the saddle on Thalgrym’s back, Roland stabbed his spear at Kodal’s throat.

Light flared, turning aside the spear’s point before expanding outward. Golden radiance burned at Thalgrym’s claw, and Kodal twisted, wrenching it open and breaking one of the talons in the process.

“Lance of the Rising Sun!” A spike of golden light manifested in Kodal’s hand as he fell back to the deck of the broken flagship. It rotated, spinning like a drill just beyond his hand. He wound back as if to hurl it—but found his limbs frozen by a purple radiance.

“Chaos Beckons.”

With a scream, he was yanked back and downward, smashing into the remains of the flagship and cratering the deck beside Harn.

Elowen floated down after him. “Hierei. Not so strong as I was told.”

Kodal stumbled to his feet. "A Theron. Strong, but no better than a monster." The lance had disappeared, but he was suddenly illuminated as if his skin were made of light. "You only delayed their deaths and hastened yours!"

"No," Elowen's hands flared with purple and gold Mana. "I don't think so."

With a groan of effort, she slammed them together, and the Hierei’s screams turned into wet gurgles as his skull caved in. He dropped dead to the deck.

Harn laughed.

The blockade was broken.

Pit tore past, Ouranic Dominion besting even the most agile of Manaships as they slipped past the enemy fleet. His friends would have to deal with the rest, but with their defenses down, they at least had a chance now.

Beyond the blockade were the empty skies of the innermost district. Parks and mansions spread out before him, all of it twisted visibly by Divine Will. Greenery had become rotten fields, and stately homes were dens of shadow and blood. Felix ignored all of it. Flying high on Pit's back, he focused instead on the hill that rose up ahead, the one that held the Shining Palace at its crown.

Pit blurred through the sky, sound vanishing as they broke past it, zooming forward to the tower that sat at the very center of the palace. Felix could see the Hierophant already, and his blood boiled, ready to end this war.

Unseen Beholder is level 141!

"Pit, stop!"

His Companion twisted his Body, obeying the command without question—it was all that saved them. But their sheer momentum could not be denied. Pit’s wings clipped against an invisible wall, one snapping with a sound like a gunshot as his leading paw was mashed. The tenku howled in pain before clenching his beak against it and pushing off the barrier to fly in a shuddering circle.

“This is getting ridiculous," Felix muttered. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Pit spat through his beak. “Healing already.”

Felix grunted. First the blockade, now this. A near-invisible barrier stood ahead of them, reaching from the ground all the way into the sky in a cylindrical dome around the Shining Palace. It completely encased his enemy…and the Unbound.

He could see them, lit by the light of an array that flickered atop En’Cridhe. He also saw a woman in white robes and silver armor, holding an alabaster staff above her head. The Kobolds and Sylphaen were bound to pillars, their faces muzzled.

With a cry of rage, Felix savaged the barrier, his claws slashing with every ounce of Strength he had. It held firm, and unlike the blockade, it did not even ripple under the force of his Body.

Empyrean Embrace!

Ethereal teeth snapped against it, but instead of pieces of power, nothing came back. It was as if it weren't there at all.

He pressed against it, Pit hovering on swirling winds as his fourth wing slowly regenerated. What the hell is this? He reached out, trying to find the edges of it, pushing his vision beyond what was obvious. Unseen Beholder!

Like the blockade, the source of the barrier had to be rooted somewhere nearby. If he could find its generating point, then he could destroy it. Yet Unseen Beholder came back empty.

Adamant Discord!

Connections sprung up all around him, a million lines of light blue—but Felix jerked back in alarm. The barrier before him was an impenetrable cylinder, all of it that same shade of blue, as if the whole thing were a connection. What does that mean? Where's the source? Where could I⁠—?

He didn't notice the lightning.

It hit them hard, dropping from the sky like a hammer from the heavens. Felix and Pit, their senses overwhelmed by pain, dropped several hundred feet. Clenching his beak, Pit held his wings wide, catching the wind. He slowed as Ouranic Dominion marshaled beneath his Will, and he twisted to catch Felix on his back.

"The sky," Felix said, breathing heavily.

It had turned to blood.

A storm formed thick with wine-dark clouds, boiling from a point just inside the barrier itself. Directly above En’Cridhe. Lightning raced through the clouds, across them…and down at him.

Sonata of Dominance!

He met the crimson lightning with his Will and Intent. He diverted it away from Pit, but it seared into Felix regardless. It hurt like hell, damaging not just his Health, but a deeper portion of himself that he recognized. His significance.

"Vellus," he growled. "Pit, avoid the lightning!”

“My Mantle⁠—”

“Won't handle it! Stay away!"

He recognized the Bloodstorm. A piece of Vellus’ prison brought to the Corporeal Realm somehow. Lightning surged again, falling in violent sheets toward Felix…and his people.

CHAPTER NINETY-NINE

The sound of explosions from the surface was muffled, echoing through the sewers as distant, unintelligible noise. Beef, Hollow, Archie, Yin, and Vess all trod through the convoluted tunnels, trailed by the Multipede and its bellyful of Exults—all of them following the broad back of the Lizard.

My dad. Alive and here. Beef still couldn't believe it. Relief and a sour feeling he didn’t have a name for swarmed around his chest.

Are you alright? Hallow’s words echoed up from around him. She’d reverted to his armor once again, and the crystalline panels hugged him close. I am—Your Spirit is in disarray.

I have my dad back, Hallow. I’m freaking out!

They'd had little time to chat since running from the reservoir. His dad was on a mission, and their job was to get the Lizard out. So far, they’d headed farther into the city, which made him uncomfortable, but at least they weren't headed any lower. Beef looked up, as if he could see through the stone tunnels and hundreds of feet of earth to the surface. When the time came, they'd have to move quickly to get out.

"So, you prepared for this?" Vess asked. “How did you know we would attack the city, let alone when?”

Wendell the Lizard grinned and puffed out his broad chest. "Because of our connection.”

"Connection?”

“Yeah, the Fiend had opened it wide months ago. Back before Michael—I'm sorry, Beef—had even met you guys."

"How do you know that?" Beef asked, before answering himself. "Because you were watching."

"More or less. I only got snippets back then." His dad adjusted the Titan over his shoulder. He was so tall that the spikes on his head nearly scraped the ceiling. The Titan's armor-clad back threatened to do the same. "I'd been living in Amaranth for months by that point.”

“You arrived here?” Beef asked.

His dad grimaced. “Yeah. After the lightning took me off our roof, I found myself in a cramped tunnel near the Tanner’s District. It was…unpleasant there, and monsters swamped the sewers. I chose the Lizard Race in order to survive them. I was lucky I landed down here, in some ways. In other ways, it was a nightmare. Monsters everywhere. Death on every side. Alone.”

Beef did understand. “Did any of us land somewhere comfortable?”

Archie shrugged. “Elowen said she found a cozy cottage with a friendly witch in it.”

“I guess the odds meant someone had to have it easy.” His dad gave a grin that, for all its strange new shape, reminded Beef intensely of the kindly engineer who raised him. “When I chose the Lizard, it was because they're amphibious and have bonuses to Strength, Endurance, and Agility. The amphibious quality increases all those stats while in the water. In addition to a Born Trait for gathering heat Mana to keep my cold-blooded Body warm down here, I had everything I needed.”

Beef’s mouth hung open. “You never even looked at RPGs! How’d you put together a build like this?”

“You used to talk about them all the time. You think I didn’t listen?”

Beef’s disbelief widened into a grin as his dad kept talking.

“Without that build in mind, I wouldn’t have picked the Lizard Race. Its biggest flaw turned out to be reducing my ability to interact with almost anyone.” He ducked under an archway, feet splashing into several feet of cool rainwater. “The few times I tried, people thought I was a monster and called the guards on me. I had to resort to stealing from the shops on the surface.” He sighed. “Sometimes I miss my old body, bad knees and all.”

“Tell me about it,” Archie said, phasing through the water before popping up onto a raised walkway on the other side. “I used to be four feet taller.”

“Where did all these monsters go?” Vess asked. “I noticed that there was not much in the way of things living down here. I figured that was the work of the gods or Paladins.”

“I'm sure they helped, but truth be told, I ran out of beasts to fight a few months back. That's why, when I saw a strange ghost made of blue lightning appear in the middle of my sewers, I figured it was a ghost or something worse. I attacked.”

"I remember Felix mentioning that," Vess said. "He said you were one of two who noticed him."

"One of two?" His dad looked a bit crestfallen. "I thought I was special. Who else saw him?"

Vess gestured to the woman unconscious across his shoulder.

"Ah," he said. "Of course his sister would have noticed him. Anyway, when I tackled the lightning ghost, the blue energy infested me somehow, crawling into my channels and core space. I didn't kill him or do anything really, but it woke my Affinity."

"Oh," Beef nodded. “That makes sense.”

"And a Title called Brush with the Fiend."

Archie laughed. "Seriously?"

"I didn't know what to make of it at first. Here," his dad brought it up and swiped, sending it to each of their heads-up displays.

Title: Brush with the Fiend.

You have encountered the Blue-Eyed Fiend, and not only perceived him but interacted with his Essence. You have been changed. The influence of the Fiend lingers with you, mingling with your significance, and grants you bonuses to understanding the nature of Bonds.

"Bonds? Felix talks about those sometimes," Beef said. “Like his Adamant Discord thing."

"Exactly, kiddo. I spent a while trying to figure out who the heck this Fiend guy was and trying to replicate what had happened. In the end, I learned to remotely view Bonds, so long as they're strong enough and tied to me."

Vess adjusted her grip on her glaive. "And that's Bondsight?”

"It is. Mythic rarity. Costs me a bunch of Mana to keep it going, which prevented me from leveling it much in the beginning. Then I got a big experience boost when Felix showed up again, this time through some ritual he was doing in Pax’Vrell. We turn here.”

They traveled up, the tunnel inclining almost forty-five degrees. Beef had to bend over to clear the arched supports on the ceiling, and his dad was just about bent double. “Tight squeeze here.”

At the top, it opened up again, and the giant Lizard groaned in relief. “Anyway, I got an eyeful back then, watched your friend poke around the Continent at the other Unbound. The level boost from that reduced a lot of the initial Mana cost by a solid margin. Now, with all the use it's had, I've got Bondsight all the way up to Adept Tier."

"So you've been watching us?” Beef asked.

“All the Unbound. When I found out how special we're supposed to be, I figured more information was better. Plus, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in this sewer."

"Smart," Archie said, glancing at the enormous Lizard, "If creepy."

"I wasn't interested in invading your privacy. Bondsight alerts me only when things of importance occur."

"How's it know that?"

Beef's dad shrugged. "Magic?"

Archie groaned. “Magic. Bleh."

"I don't typically rely on that as my reasoning," his dad said. "I try to figure out the structure and limits of all my Skills. Bonsight is just a bit too weird. Precision Mines and Structural Strike were developed in my usual way. They're based around my understanding of engineering and scientific rigor. Things that got drilled into me a long time ago.

“I set the top of the reservoir to explode by sabotaging the structure beneath with Structural Strike and placing those Precision Mines deep in the stone's lattice. With my knowledge, it was easy to figure out how to blow the center without demolishing everything. At least, it was easy with the addition of my Skills.

"I also took out the roads up above. I'm pretty proud of those. I set them to go off when you guys attacked the city.”

“You knew about our plan to attack?” Vess asked.

“Of course, I was watching. What's more important than an assault on the Hierophant?" He shook his head. "I tried to use the opportunity to take out the foundations of En’Cridhe as well. I've been working toward all of it for weeks, but I needed a final piece." He patted a hard case strapped to his thigh. "But that's when her net closed." He shrugged his shoulder, jostling the unconscious Titan.

Beef considered her unconscious expression. "You trust her?"

"I do," Vess said.

“Me, too.” His dad smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry, kiddo. I wouldn't carry her around if I thought she'd hurt us. She could have killed me twice during our fight, but she was pulling her punches."

"I'm not worried," Beef said hurriedly, "but we've faced her down a couple times, and it's not ended well for us. Ever. I'm just being cautious.”

“Smart." The enormous Lizard smiled, a remarkably goofy grin for such a vicious maw. "I can't believe how big you are."

Beef blushed. "That's just my Race, Dad."

"No, not that. I mean, you're huge. A Minotaur, right?”

“Right.”

“I recognize it from your games. No, I meant everything else. What you've done. How you've handled problems as they came up. It's..." He cleared his throat. If anything, his dad looked embarrassed. "I'm proud of you. Especially how you stood up to Isla."

"What? You saw that?"

His dad winked. "I told you. I've been watching."

"This is strange."

The two of them looked ahead, and Vess had stopped just at an intersection in the tunnels. She put out her hand, and for a moment, Beef couldn't see anything. But as he drew closer, his vantage angled to the side—a shimmer spread across the center of the tunnel, as if an invisible wall had been placed there.

"It's a ward," Archie said, leaning into the ground. Water poured over his fingers, no more than a few inches deep. "I can hear it. It goes as far as I can sense into the ground. And up, too.”

Vess turned to Beef’s dad. “What is behind this?"

"The foundations of the Shining Palace." His dad walked up to the barrier and put his enormous fist against it, pushing. The bright orange and blue of his scales took on a more radiant hue as veins popped along his forearm and bicep.

"Argh," he grunted. "I can't even budge it. It wasn't here before. They must have erected some defenses.”

“That means Felix is getting close to ending this,” Yin said. “We haven’t much time.”

“He’s gonna have issues if he faces the Hierophant on the tower.”

“Why? What do you know?”

“Nothing concrete, but that lady has been prepping for you guys as much as I have. It’d be stupid not to expect heavy resistance.” His dad dropped his hand from the barrier. “We need to get through this. My work is close."

"Why don't we just leave?" Beef suggested. "We can get back to the main army. Get you out of here."

"This is important, kiddo. What the Hierophant's doing is messed up. She'll do terrible things to those kids she captured, and the winged woman, Ondine. I can't let that happen if I have a chance to stop it."

"All right, but we don't. The barrier is keeping us here. We can't get through."

"I can," Archie said. He stood and walked closer to the invisible barrier. "Primeval Drift."

The man blurred as his entire Body began to vibrate at strange, inhuman frequencies. He slid forward, pressing into the barrier, and for a moment, Beef thought it was just that simple. Archie would slip through, disable the barrier, and they’d be on their way.

The screams were the first clue that didn’t work. The invisible wall lit up, rainbow cascades of color spreading from where his hands pressed into it. Sparks arced from the contact, filling the tunnel with light that Beef had to wince against. A keening whine filled his ears so loud, increasing in volume until it was a roar, like an ocean tumbling upon them.

Archie’s scream overtook it in volume, and the man fell back, smoke pouring from the palms of his hands as he cradled them against his body.

"Holy shit," he said, tears streaming down his face. "I can't—I can't get through it. It's too much."

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED

Undine Grace is at level 99!

Evie twisted away from the strike of the Shadow Leech, its circular row of razor-sharp teeth snapping a fingerspan away from her outstretched leg. She kicked at it, the mass of her chain fed into her heel, and its blind head split wide open.

You Have Killed A Shadow Leech!

XP Earned!

The monster’s flesh evaporated into a gale of acrid smoke, revealing ichor-slicked cobbles…and the horde of its kin. Innumerable shadowbeasts crowded the giants and Nagafolk alike, harrying them with natural weapons twisted into cruel mockeries. Worst of all, the Leeches clung to her dead comrades, mouths working as their bodies pulsed. Feeding.

"Bonds of Dominion!"

Rage spilled through her Spirit, a cold gale that roared through her Skill. Evie spun her chain around herself, flinging it into complicated patterns across her arms and shoulder before snapping it off her armored knee. The chain launched forward, its momentum multiplied by the thrum of her stats and Skill.

"Tooth and Claw!" Blades sprung from their edges, tearing through the Shadow Leeches one after the other, splitting their slick flesh into rapidly evaporating smoke.

You Have Killed A Shadow Leech (x6)!

XP Earned!

She reached out, helping a giant to their feet as the others gathered up around her, nursing their wounds and weapons in equal measure.

"Elixirs!" Captain Loquis said, and the injured slung back brilliantly glowing vials. Their Health replenished, regenerating many of their wounds, but their Stamina wasn’t so easy to keep topped off. “Rest a moment. Those who still hold a few Stamina Potions, save them for the retreat.”

"Blighted Night," Evie whispered to herself. More than a few of the Risi around them hadn’t stood back up at all. They were unmoving lumps of blue skin and black iron, their massive frames stark against the dark scales of the Nagafolk. They had suffered even more.

“What do we do?” Loquis said, low enough only her Adept ears could pick it up. “The godslaves are hemming us in, and those ships are getting closer.”

Evie wasn’t entirely sure. They’d lost the advancing edge of their army when they’d chased down the Champion, and the attack by the Manaships had split her forces up into a dozen bands. Now, no matter how many streets full of monsters they obliterated, she felt no closer to their goal than when they’d started. “Don’t you have a tracking spell or something? Can’t you find the Chanters?”

“That’s not my specialty.”

“Well it’s not mine, neither,” she snapped back. “Where’s that tenku when he’s useful! Ari! We need the Hounds!”

Whatever the Battlelord said was lost in a familiar keening wail. Evie moved before she could think.

“Get back!” She tackled a Naga Warrior into an alcove as a golden beam thundered into the streets where they stood.

How’d that ship sneak up on us?

Its cannon tore into the cobbles, ripping them up and drowning the rest in golden radiance. Her people ran for cover, narrowly avoiding the cannon fire.

But not all. Hundreds perished, their screams boiled in their lungs before they could utter them.

“Chains of the Protector!”

A twenty-span wide shield made of ice-blue chains manifested before her and her people. They immediately turned white-hot as the Manacannon brushed against it. Evie screamed, her hands searing until her core space marshaled.

“Rimefang’s Wrath! Bindings of the White Waste!”

Blessedly cool ice coated her fists, though it fought hard to remain a solid beneath the incredible heat. The shield pushed back. New white chains joined the gauntlets, though, wrapping tight around her up to the elbow and locking her into place.

Chains of the Protector is level 58!

Rimefangs Wrath is level 92!

Bindings of the White Waste is level 97!

Cannonfire rolled over them—but she stopped it. Barely.

Chains of the Protector is level 59!

Rimefangs Wrath is level 93!

Bindings of the White Waste is level 98!

Rock and jagged metal were hurled upward, clashing against the ship’s hull with the Strength of frenzied Berserkers. The ship pulled back, rising beyond the reach of their attacks, and the cannon tapered off. The beam vanished all at once, leaving spots across Evie’s vision, but that didn’t prevent her from witnessing the devastation. The road and several buildings were melted into slag, the edges rapidly cooling white the rest flowed into a riven of molten stone.

She looked up.

“Frostfather’s beard,” a giant hissed.

The ship, now out of their range, was aiming four more cannons at them.

"Get behind us!"

Evie blinked, surprised to see Tzfell the Dwarven Chanter on the back of a wagon-sized construct that floated on the other side of the broken road. At least thirty that she could see, all of them modified with Beef’s chitin and packed with Chanters, were like miniature fortresses. The spades!

"Get movin’!" Evie shouted. "Everyone to the spades, now!"

She didn’t question but leaped across the melted street and landed among several other spades that drew closer, their tall towers of chitin rising above the flattened residential ruins. Her people followed, giants and Nagafolk crossing the gap with relative ease, and none too soon.

The keening whine crescendoed.

“Get down!”

Evie lifted her hands to summon her shield Skill again, but Tzfell held her forearm. “Save your strength. Laur has this.”

All at once, a powerful chorus filled the air. It soared over the Manacannon’s fire, blunting its threat, even as golden light jabbed at Evie’s vision. At the top of the nearest spade, Laur’s agile Elven fingers wove eldritch patterns in the air above him, and the Chanters’ voices turned to bright harmonies.

The Hierocracy fired.

Golden light splashed off of a condensed web of shielding, and Laur grunted in pain. The half-dome shape of the wards became fully visible, driving to flash orange and red as golden radiance pushed them to the edge of failure. Yet the cannons couldn’t fire forever. When they faded, the shielding held.

“Right as rain,” Laur said through a wince. He gestured to the Manaship above them. Their cannons were glowing hot. “It won’t be long before they can fire again. We must move. Quickly.”

“One problem with that.” Loquis pointed at the end of the street, the only non-melted pathway they had to escape. The buildings around them had collapsed into smoldering messes under that last barrage of cannon fire, and debris had rolled into the spades' path out.

Battlelord Ari and his people crowded close. “Then we will handle it.”

Garox, the Spirit Naga leading the Naga Warriors, slithered to the fore. “As shall we.”

Another Chanter tilted their head curiously before jolting. “Godslaves are on the other side. At least a hundred and more coming fast!”

Evie grinned. “Ari! Garox! Start hurlin’!”

With roars of rage and hisses, her soldiers heaved the massive boulders from their path and sent them flying—right into the godslaved minions that had tried crawling over it. Ichor splattered, and notifications started flying as masonry claimed hundreds of lives at once.

“They’re coming from the east!” Loquis thrust two fingers into the sky. “Fulmination!”

Lightning splattered three bat-winged beasts, but hundreds more were descending from the fires around them. Evie unlimbered her chains but was uncertain who to target. They were boxed in, and the ship was beginning to glow again.

"Cover our flanks, please. We shall handle the godslaves ahead." Tzfell told her. "Fire!"

The flash of light made Evie cover her eyes. Damn Mana weapons!

Ballistae, hidden within the armored towers, loosed on the shadowbeast laden rubble. A pulse of five, blue bolts of force smashed through the monsters and into the debris, obliterating the way ahead. Evie wouldn't have been surprised to hear that the Chanters' strange harmonies were enhancing their effects, too. The godslaved minions surged to fill the gap.

“Fire!”

A second volley of force ballistae tore into them as well, and this time, it was accompanied by pulsating fire from a secondary street. What looked like twenty more spades cruised across the charred cobbles on cushions of air, their ballistae firing into the shadowbeasts’ flanks.

The calvary had arrived.

"Clear the sides!" Evie commanded. "Stick close to the spades but keep those legs shufflin’ forward!"

Battlelord Ari repeated the command, and his giants set about crushing any godslaves that rushed down side streets. Enemies fell by the hundreds, as entire buildings were blown away by repeated cannon fire that sought them out. Laur’s shield’s held, and were all the stronger when the second fleet of spades joined their advance.

"I don't like hiding behind these creations," Ari said over the din of battle.

"Would you rather die, big man?”

“It is honorable to die in battle.”

Evie snorted. "Save it for when you're not guardin’ my back, yeah?"

Ari grunted in assent, hefting his blood-red club and shattering the jaw of a Gilled Wolf covered in mushrooms. The enemies didn’t stop, but with the spades to clear the way, their speed increased incredibly. Already, they’d outpaced the Manaship’s cannonfire, as it ran into heavy opposition from their allies in the skies, and every turn brought them into contact with more giants and Nagafolk that had gotten separated. Her army swelled, and they slaughtered the Fungal Abominations and Shadow Leeches that dared attack, splattering them against the streets.

Evie couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. They were finally making headway. She slashed her chains through four enemies—she didn’t bother tracking what kind—and leaped over their smoking corpses. They were coming upon the center of the city, where the real fight was happening. She glanced up. The skies were on fire with discharging Skills and bloody lightning.

"We need to get to the palace,” she shouted at Tzfell in her armored tower. “That's where it's all going down.”

"The battle is happening everywhere," Loquis argued.

"The good stuff is there, and we're missin’ out!”

“These streets are a maze. We've been turned around several times by those cannons," Tzfell said.

"You’ve cleared the way, so I’ll do the leadin’,” Evie said, leaping straight up onto a blue-tiled roof. Immediately, she spotted the cluster of chaos. “There! Due east!”

With soft, slow steps, Hierei Kellis Faer descended into the lower levels of En'Cridhe. The booming sound of battle was distant here, yet his Grandmaster ears could still pick out the chaos. It was so close—just beyond the palace’s barrier—and while it was calm in the halls, it was a nervous sort of quiet. The Inquisitors and Paladins he passed saluted him, but their eyes betrayed them as much as their Spirits. They knew something was coming.

For his part, Kellis Faer was struggling to keep his composure. His friends and allies were undoubtedly in trouble, hurt in the battle happening outside the walls. It wasn’t the first battle they’d fought while he remained safe behind enemy lines—such was the life of a spy, and his entrenchment in the Hierocracy was far deeper than most. For many long decades, Kellis had spied on the Hierophant, feeding information to the Cantus Sodalus to save as many as possible. Preserving life was always his mission.

One task remains.

He approached a door deep in the bowels of En'Cridhe. Kellis had long since mapped out the important places within the Shining Palace, but this was a bit of a blank space in his knowledge. He’d never managed to enter it in the past, though he was aware of what it held. He also knew that the door was reinforced with orichalcum and inscribed with enough sigaldry to burn a village to the ground. A contingent of guards kept the room safe at all times, and, as expected, the contingent had been tripled.

A dozen Inquisitors, ten Paladins, and four members of the High Guard were standing at ease around the reinforced door. Every single one of them still bore the true armor of the Pathless faith, whether that was the white enamel of the Inquisitors or the crimson plate of the Paladins. They had not shed their allegiances with the Pathless' death, and for that, Kellis Faer could respect them. These were true believers.

Kellis considered himself the same. He firmly believed in the light of Order and Strength, if not the drivel about Purity. In another time, perhaps the faith could have done a great good on the Continent…but that was not to be. The Hierophant had crossed a line into madness a long, long time ago.

"Hierei Faer," one of the High Guard said. They stepped forward as Kellis drew closer, and the Inquisitors and Paladins saluted. "You should not be down here. The Hierophant has ordered us to keep everyone away from this place."

“Even the Hierei?”

The man smirked. “Everyone.”

Kellis Faer sighed. “It was to be expected.”

“What?”

“Rising Sun: Order From Chaos.”

The hallway imploded.

Golden radianced filled every span, forcing itself through armor and into the wards with a concussive burst. Fire followed, racing across flesh and floor, devouring the Inquisitors and Paladins in a single flash, leaving only char behind. The High Guards themselves fell back, the wardings in their high-Tier armor whining from overstress.

They didn’t ask useless questions. They drew their weapons and attacked.

Kellis Faer met them, light for light.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ONE

Felix marshaled his Will and Intent before thrusting his Affinity against the sounding strings of the Sonata of Dominance. He took command of water and air, and the boiling clouds stilled for several hundred feet above him, their bloody coloration draining only slightly. With a cry of effort, Felix shoved them away. The Bloodstorm didn't stop so much as split, revealing an unbroken blue beyond it.

The lightning faded, the storm quieting for a single, breathless beat—before the breach was filled with monsters.

Pestilent Abominations congealed against the blue, soaking up the bloody downpour like thirsty plants, expanding into something Felix had never seen. Massive, armor-plated beasts formed, their mushroom heads wide and spotted with jellied poison while they soaring on wretched, rotten wings.

Winged shadowbeasts spawned in the dim light between the Fungal Titans, but they were sleek where the Titans were sloppy, resembling nothing more than gargantuan birds. Thunder crashed with every flap of their wings, drawing out the crimson lightning from the Bloodstorm.

Fungal Titans and Shadowrath Scourges. Master Tier godslaves. Felix swallowed. Shit.

The Bloodstorm itself reignited, its sanguine saturation returning to the clouds alongside furious gales. The air crackled, filled with a thousand bolts of crimson lightning that tore through his Legion and ships with impunity.

Divinity filled the area around the Shining Palace, so thick that it coiled against his skin and burned his Spirit. Below, the parks twisted, the rot infesting them as the mansions crumbled into nests of shadow. Felix turned, half expecting the Vessels to manifest, yet they still were absent. He had expected some form of their resistance, but there had been nothing so far.

Where the hell are they? He wanted to be relieved, but their absence was too eerie. What were they planning?

Pit dove through the body of a Shadowrath Scourge, his Mantle and Talons of Tumult tearing through its slick flesh. Felix lit fire as they passed within it, scorching what remained of its insides to ash.

You Have Killed A Shadowrath Scourge!

XP Earned!

He twisted in the saddle, looking back to the barrier and the Shining Palace beyond. Felix narrowed his eyes, Perception flaring.

Atop En'Cridhe, the Hierophant was beginning something. He could see the Unbound. Tied to columns at the base of tall, cracked statues, their limbs were draped in chains, and their faces were muzzled. As he watched, sigils began to ignite across the tower's top, following the sway of the Hierophant's pure white staff.

Perhaps the reason the gods hadn’t yet shown their faces was because they weren’t needed. The barrier was too complete to bypass.

Fuck that. Back to the barrier, Pit! Now!

His Companion didn't need to be told twice. Rebounding off of dead godslaves falling limply to the earth, Pit sped through the rising wind. In seconds, they crossed hundreds of feet, and Felix let loose with everything he could.

Sonata of Dominance!

Astrum Ascendance!

Multicast!

Wild Threnody!

Affinity and Intent scouring his center, Felix took up his Inheritor’s Will and slashed. Every element he was capable of shaping burst from him, traveling across the hooked curve of his sword and shooting forth as an arc of prismatic glory. Multiplied through his Skills, shaped by his Intent, guided by his Affinity, the arc was empowered beyond its initial form. Like water hardening into ice, the shaping solidified, honed into a razor’s edge of boiling potential.

It hit the barrier.

An explosion rocked the thing, sending deep ripples across the invisible surface. Rainbow reflections gleamed off its upset geometry, and a cloud of vapor streamed back across the battlefield. It enveloped several godslaves, obliterating them instantly before it petered out—and left the barrier untouched.

Nothing. Not a single crack or tear.

It did, however, draw monstrosities to him. The Fungal Titans screeched wordlessly from above while the Scourges attacked from below. Pit flashed with his Mantle, lightning arcing off his four wings as his talons and beak did their bloody work.

Pit’s Talon of Tumult is level 105!

Pit’s Maelstrom’s Maw is level 101!

Pit tore them to shreds, evading their ambush with another burst of incomparable speed. Felix gritted his teeth, hunkered down in the saddle as he tried to find his way through the barrier. Adamant Discord lit his world up in blue lines of connection as he sought out the source, but there was no hint of it. Monsters died all around him as Scylla and the other Chimera made it through, ripping into their foes while dodging the strikes of the Bloodstorm above.

The situation wasn't changing, though. The enemy fleet had not yet been broken, the godslaves were infinite, and he couldn't reach the Hierophant.

The statues on En’Cridhe began to glow. They were running out of time.

He'd fought to keep those thoughts contained, but they shook through him unbidden now, setting his hand to shake on the hilt of his blade. It was only a single moment of uncertainty, but it sent a fissure through his middle like cold lightning. The sound of stone grinding against itself, echoing up from his abyss.

The Challenger's Sea surged, gray swells breaking against the rocky monoliths, and from deep within, a familiar voice rumbled at him.

Strengthen Me, Scion. Accept Me, And Your Enemies Will Not Survive.

“I don't need their death, I need to save the others!"

One Will Accomplish The Other. We Have Learned Our Lesson. A Cardinal Beast Does Not Leave Its Foes Alive. The waters surged. The Barrier Can Be Broken.

"How?" Felix demanded.

The Answer Lies Within You. Within Us.

Unable to resist, Felix peered down into his core space as Pit wove through the skies. His attention drifted to the dark abyss, then through it, to the Challenger's Sea that still lay upon his Spirit. Upthrust stones pierced the surface of the raging waters. All but three of them had shattered. He searched the sea and soon found the blue-white eyes of the creature trapped just beneath the waves.

Ignore that wretch! The Grim commanded, and Felix jerked back to awareness. All around him was chaos, with Pit flying them through titanic foes with a savage grace. Lend me your Authority!

A Twinge accompanied the Grim's request. It didn't originate from the nature spirit, who, by all accounts, was still in Gharion next to the Abundance Anima. Instead, it came from somewhere far closer. It swirled within him, pinching at his Authority—like someone knocking on a door.

The Shadowgate? No. That's inaccessible and broken. Then what?

Mortal! Your Authority!

He'd given enough trust to the Grim Nightshade. A little more wouldn't ruin them. "Take what you need.”

As soon as the words left his lips, Felix found himself crushed and squeezed in new, unholy ways. His Authority bashed against the monumental presence that emanated from the center of Amaranth, as the Hierophant's Authority opposed him directly. Whether she was consciously moving it or not, it formed the basis of her power. Felix paled. It was like staring at a wave a thousand feet tall and twice as thick, and it was about to collapse on top of him.

You are not alone.

And from the spirit came a wild power. The song of greenery surged within him. Mile distant, the Aestus Autus Anima expanded and unfurled new limbs riddled with crimson leaves that shone above the press of Amaranth's horizon. Felix’s Authority expanded and deepened, forged by the wild song into something new—a sword, gleaming with potency, set against the Hierophant. Her Authority was pervasive and heavier than a mountain, all but smothering the city in its pressure. He could not shatter what the Hierophant had spent centuries building.

But he found a gap. Felix pressed hard, stabbing through the breach.

There! Look to the skies!

All at once, the godslaves around him were sent reeling by an incredible blast of concentrated wind and lightning. Tens of thousands of them all at once were sundered.

Felix looked up. The world had split open, and there, in the blue gap he’d created in the storm, his Authority had rent the sky. Beyond was a vast landscape of stars, interrupted by nine gleaming Manaships. They poured through the rent, their hulls sleek and organic and their sails shimmering with stormclouds of Mana vapor. At their head, standing astride the flagship’s prow, was a familiar figure that blazed with a red-gold light.

"Get off our Continent!" Mervin howled.

Arrays lit up across all nine ships, and a swirling mass of tidal water crashed onto the enemy fleet, sending ten thousand enemies reeling.

Then the cannons started to fire.

Kellis Faer coughed up blood. It sizzled as it hit the floor, golden sparks igniting along the edges of crimson and black bile. He wiped his mouth, hand trembling with the effort—but refused to let his gaze flinch away from his work. Inquisitors and Paladins were dead all around him. They were charred to nearly nothing, their broken armor the only remnants of what were once powerful warriors.

Three of the High Guard lay collapsed on the marble floors nearby, the holes bored through their breastplates and helmets still gleaming gold with heat and light.

They gave you no choice. Kellis pushed himself to his feet—it took far more effort than before. There was blood on his robes, and a weakness stole through his limbs like an afternoon shadow. He had been an old man even before he managed to reach Adept, and now he was far more ancient than his natural lifespan should allow.

The Light grows.

Unbidden, his Mind called up old memories of a childhood in one of the Pathless' first orphanages. He remembered what the Pathless was, once upon a time: a beacon in the dark for those who had nothing but monsters to face. A source of strength. Order.

He flexed his hands, not bothering to suppress his grimace. They were cracked like parched earth, the flesh charred between rivers of crimson. Unlike the Twins and their sense of twisted Justice, it mattered not whether one was a servant of Order or a pawn of Chaos.

The Light burns.

"W-why?" The last High Guard's voice was a broken whisper. His body was slumped against the warded door, and his limbs shook as he tried to stand. Tried…and failed. “You will die.”

“All must, one day." Kellis straightened his spine. "I would do so with my conscience clear."

"F-fool."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I am simply tired."

The High Guard died, the last syllables of hate unspoken on his lips.

"Yes." Kellis nodded heavily. "Tired."

During their short but eventful fight, an errant blast by a pair of the man's associates had ruined a portion of its wards. The High Guard's combined might had proved enough to foil at least a layer to its protections. Useful, but unnecessary—the Hierei didn't need assistance. He stepped closer, pulling a wardkey from within his robes and waving it a few spans ahead of the orichalcum lock. Bright sigils manifested around it, projected along purple and silver Mana vapor that spun as a combination settled into place. The door itself filled with muffled clicks and clangs until a single pressurized thunk set the hinges swinging inward. The wards flickered once and faded.

Power filled the room inside, enough to flatten a lesser Tier as it sped through the open doorway. Hurt as he was, it still stung against his senses, but no more than that. What was inside struck him far harder.

The control node. The power's sting was cut with cool relief. Bright skies, I was right.

The Shining Palace had several towers around its structure. Seven were arranged in a circle, each one meant for the Hierei once they'd been filled, before the others had perished during the turbulent early years of the Hierocracy. Within each tower, there were control nodes that accessed their personal defenses, among other things. Though no one admitted it, the primary structure of the palace had been designed by the Nym. That meant a profusion of incredibly advanced safety measures, one that the Hierophant had leveraged to her advantage.

The Hierei used the towers to lodge their Orders and secure their very treasures “liberated” from the Territories they ruled. Arrays, information, and a thousand small conveniences were made possible by the Golden Empire.

Most importantly, however, they provided wards.

Here, in all its glory, was the node to affect En’Cridhe itself.

Blood dripping from his hands, Kellis stumbled up the polished marble steps just inside the doorway. Gold was inlaid into the white stone, echoing the sleek sculptures that dominated the chamber on the right and left sides. Twenty-span figures in flowing robes carved from pure gold and bearing severe expressions across inhumanly perfect features, their blank eyes stared at him with an Authority Kellis could feel in his bones. It grew with every step he took, until the man trembled before the node itself.

Made of iridescent Mana crystal, it shimmered across the spectrum with even the slightest of movements, reacting to his proximity. The sides were ridged with crystalline columns, and the surface was angled toward him and jagged, featuring the chisel-edged tips of hundreds of Mana crystals. Kellis waved his hand over it.

Authority Recognized.

Be Welcome, Hierei Faer.

Sigaldry formed across the surface, as if light painted them between the faceted edges of each vertical crystal. Kellis parsed the display easily enough and wove his fingers across it in an irregular pattern.

"Let the Grand Harmony sing once again," he muttered.

They lit up, each one a different hue, until a rainbow spread up onto the ceiling. A single hexagon formed in the center of the node, blinking slowly. Kellis hesitated, hand just shy of touching its perimeter.

Will I survive this? He took a fortifying breath. Blood gurgled in his chest. He had a pierced lung for certain. Did it matter?

Kellis closed his eyes. "Give me strength, Pathless, for this last moment."

"No."

He jerked as a spike of solid golden light lanced through his neck.

"You disappoint me, Kellis. All these years as a spy, and you hesitate." A hauntingly familiar voice clucked her tongue, but there was no one present. "Just know that your final act was pointless."

Ocalla.

The spike retracted. Kellis's body fell, his limbs no longer under his command.

The control node sparked, various sigils suddenly powering down as Mana was pulled from them. Primastic light faded and changed as the sigils altered their configuration. A voice echoed across the chamber. It was loud, but tinny, as if Kellis were hearing it from a long distance away.

Authority Acknowledged, Hierophant.

Barrier Deactivated Remotely.

Wh-what? His thoughts swirled into fragments before stilling. Darkness came to snuff the light, and Kellis drifted, a single sentence ushering him away.

"Let it begin."

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWO

"Damn it!”

Wendell's fist crashed against the barrier. A flashing cascade of light erupted from the impact, but the barrier didn't so much as quiver under his mountainous limb.

“We were so close!”

Vesss pressed her gauntlet to the invisible wall, and Beef could see her shoulder bunch as she shoved. She didn’t even draw a flash from it. “I understand your goals, but they are not achievable anymore. If we cannot get through here, we must return.”

"Yes. Extraction is our first duty," Yin added, stepping closer to the Lizard. "We need to bring you back to the Tree."

"No. No, we need to get through this. We have to figure out a way," Beef's dad shoved a hand into the ground, peeling back one of the large stones. Mortar gave way beneath his incredible Strength, puffing into the air as it was pulverized, but the wall was unbroken beneath the surface.

"You can't do that," Archie shouted over the crash of rock. "The shield completely surrounds the palace like a dome. We can't get in there."

“How do you know?”

Archie tapped his temple. “Blindsense. That thing is like a goddamn klaxon.”

Wendell leaned against the barrier, shoulders sagging. "There are six points strung through the foundations of that tower. For weeks I’ve been getting them ready, strengthening them with my Skills. Weakening the structural supports and sapping the—” He growled. “I was so close. We could have ended this.”

Beef licked his lips and stepped closer to the broad, unfamiliar back. "Dad, why are you so upset about this? We can stop the Hierophant another way.”

He didn’t so much as open his eyes, just kept his forehead pressed against the invisible barrier. "If we can’t get in there, what are the chances the captured Unbound will survive?”

“I–I don’t know. Maybe someone already got in⁠—”

“And if they didn’t? If the Hierophant can just do whatever she wants?”

“They’ll die, or be as good as dead,” Yin rumbled. “Vessels, slaved to Divine Will.”

“Yeah.” Beef’s dad grimaced, but it looked more like a snarl. “If that happens, then we can’t go home.”

"What?” Archie perked up. “What do you mean?"

"I mean just what I said. If you have any desire to get back home again, we need to save the Kobolds and the Sylphaen—if one of us is gone, then we’re all screwed.”

Beef dropped Bedlam to the ground. “No way.”

“What do you know?” Archie demanded.

"I found a record of a way home. It’s a ritual, but it requires all nine of us to be present. If even one of us is dead or missing, it won't work. Beef, I was trying to get back to you. With you here, it's somehow worse. The Continent is no place for any child, no matter how old they are."

“I’m not a kid anymore!”

The Lizard looked pained. “I know. It’s just⁠—”

“I can handle myself just fine. Have been for months now.”

“I get it. I’ve seen you fight. It’s incredible, but this is serious. The gods are coming after us now.”

"All the more reason for us to leave this place immediately," Vess said. "Stand up, we need to go."

Thankfully, Wendell listened. His dad was stubborn, but at least he wasn’t crazy—he could see getting through the barrier was impossible. "If I could have just reached one of my mines, I could have installed this and set off a chain reaction."

Beef tilted his head. "What exactly did you have to install?"

“Oh. Right.” Wendel took his hands from his head and reached into the hardened case at his side. When he clipped it open, Mana gathered around him like a storm cloud, flashing around a piece of old leather. It was stitched with golden thread in complicated designs, but was no more than a well-worn scrap.

Beef flinched as his dad held it up. The power emanating from the leather scrap was visceral and very nearly tangible. Beef held up a hand, shielding himself from it as if that would help. It shone like a miniature sun in the dim tunnels.

Vess gasped. "A piece of the Pathless's Regalia."

"Yeah, I stole it from the church. It's part of why they knew where I was. They came hunting for this, and I exposed myself. But I needed it. It's a catalyst to sunder the foundations of the tower. But now, it's pointless."

With a soft thump and a sudden roar, wind whipped down the tunnel, as if a giant were exhaling in their direction. The wind became a gale, then a roar that nearly tore Archie from the ground. Beef huddled over him, and his dad leaned over everyone else. When the gale ended, Beef stood up, blinking. He reached out.

"The barrier's gone!"

Wendell reached out a disbelieving hand, his crocodilian face splitting into a wide, ferocious grin. "Yes!”

Vess spun on the Lizard. “You said you just needed to reach one of your mines, correct?”

“Yes. Just one!”

“Beef! Get Wendell on your Multipede. Find the first mine, let your father do his work, and get back to the Spirit Tree immediately. Do you understand?"

"I’m on it! Come on, Dad." Beef called to the Multipede, and it thundered through the narrow tunnel, just barely fitting its bulk. Ahead, the path widened into a series of larger chambers—cisterns, maybe? It looked like it spread out wider from there, like the undercroft of some vast chapel. “We’ll move faster on its back.”

"It’ll hold me?"

Fafnir landed on Beef’s shoulder. “Hm. Good point. Fafnir, can you lead the Exults out of here with Vess? Take them all to the surface and the Tree.”

The little Hatchling pouted, its dark features pinching in clear displeasure.

“C’mon.” Beef tapped his chin. “What if I say you can kill as many monsters on the way as you like?”

The dog-sized Risen gave a bright growl and immediately flew to circle around Yin. “I knew that’d work, you bloodthirsty beast,” he muttered. “Hallow?”

“On it. Hallow Call.”

The Multipede opened up, releasing two hundred Eidolon Exults into the tunnels and lining them up like the scariest bunch of soldiers Beef had ever seen. By the time they’d exited, Beef could feel the Multipede’s relief, a subdued emotion to be sure, but strange to feel anything from it at all.

“With our ballast gone, we’ll be able to hold you just fine.” Beef patted the subway sized Risen. “All aboard!”

The big Lizard clambered on, making the Multipede look kinda small for once. His dad was seriously huge.

“You will take care of him, right?" Vess asked, and Beef realized she was talking to his dad.

The man blinked. "Of course I will; he's my son."

The Dragoon gave a tight nod, jaw firming, "Good. I shall hold you to that. Beef, get there, get out.

“I will.” He twisted the grip of Bedlam nervously. “What'll you do?"

"We will take the Titan back to the Tree. Once she is out of here, I will join Felix."

"Um, wait," Beef looked around. He swallowed. "She was just here a second ago, right?"

“Damnation!” Yin spun, mane whipping. "Where's the Gnome?"

I'm an idiot.

The thought echoed in his head as he rose through the dark like a rocket. His blindsense filled in the details of brick and compacted dirt all around him. The empty spaces were tunnels that criss crossed his awareness like echoing voids. It wasn't really sound so much as tangible vibrations, but his vision was filled with them and they guided his ascent. They were like ethereal waves that Archie could swim through by manipulating his own vibrations—like wakeboarding through the sea. It consumed his awareness, leaving little room for anything else.

Even if he were truly blind, however, he wouldn't be able to ignore the Titan clinging to his arm.

The pair of them slipped out of the dark, stepping into a dry chamber lined with metal beams that were riveted into the stone and little else. Archie crouched low, looking around to ensure that there was no one present. The Titan—Gabby—fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

"Stop being so loud," he muttered. "Who knows how many of your stupid zealots are still here."

"You…you could have warned me," she panted, "about the lack of air."

"We're traveling through rock, lady, what’d you expect?"

The Titan grunted. A moment later she found her feet, her armor sliding softly against the stone floor. "This isn't our target. Why did we stop?"

Archie finished scanning their surroundings. There was nothing and no one. "Short bursts work best for other people."

"Why?"

He smirked at her. "You just felt why."

The woman’s expression soured, and she started checking the weapons at her belt and back. When she started loosening them in their sheaths, Archie had to force himself not to run. His gut reactions to this woman were hard to shake after months of being hunted—and he wasn't entirely sure they were wrong.

Yet when the barrier had fallen and she'd grabbed him and demanded he take her up to the tower, he'd agreed.

I'm an idiot, but we need to save those kids.

The tunnels they'd left were close enough to the surface that the Lizard had said he knew a hundred ways out. Beef and Vess could handle the bombs down there and get the Lizard back to the Tree—with all the help they had, it was like porting around a private army. They’d be fine.

The Titan said she'd take on the Hierophant. And Archie? He would rescue the hostages.

He glanced at the enormous woman. "You ready to keep moving?"

"Waiting on you, Gnome."

Archie ground his teeth. "I'm a Delven. It's different."

She frowned, eyes distant. "We're wasting time. I can feel the Hierophant doing something already. Get us moving and no more breaks.”

“You'll burst your lungs."

"I can take it." The woman growled. Her eyes were lit gold from within her helmet, like a sunset trapped between her lids. "Get me to the top. Now."

Suit yourself, asshole. Archie set himself against the nearest iron beam. "Hold on to me. No, not my arm again. I could barely direct our flow with you like that. Hold here."

She grabbed the harness around his shoulders, meant for a pack he'd forgotten on the Multipede. She gathered up all of it in a single fist, her hands nearly as big as Archie’s head. "I'm secure⁠—”

“Primeval Drift!”

They sank into the wall, falling forward until Archie twisted his Skill, pushing them upward through the stone and iron like a fish through water. They rose, the vibrations pushing him aloft, his Blindsense guiding them to stay in simple stone. The Tier of materials increased as they rose, becoming more dense and packed full of Mana, but Archie had mastered most types of matter. It was getting easier and easier to pass through even complicated metals, and he put all that training to use now, slipping upward at a speed far greater than he could run. Faster, he believed, than even Felix could move.

With Primeval Drift, he was untouchable.

Gabby, much to his annoyance, was just as resolute as she'd promised. He couldn't feel a lick of panic from her anymore, and that was more disappointing than he expected.

Blindsense is level 99!

His awareness expanded as the level jumped up, so a burst of power showered across his senses like sunlight. It shone suddenly from one of those voids nearby, a chamber of some sort, the power filling it before seeping into the building around it. It was hypnotic and strange, and it mazed Archie’s senses until he reeled inside the stone.

Blindsense was overwhelmed. He couldn't tell up nor down, and he careened, trying to evade it, but the power sent him into a spin he couldn't control. They both spilled out into empty air and fell.

Archie landed with a crash, air driven from his lungs and body jolted by pain and pure surprise. He groaned, his vision slowly clearing, until he beheld a golden giant staring down at him. "GAH!”

Wait. He blinked. A statue?

There was another one behind him, and both were mounted to the walls on either side of a relatively small room. Between them was a crystalline platform, more like a computer terminal in some technology firm, just fantasy flavored. It was covered in sigils, and the sunlight he'd sensed previously poured from it. That was what knocked him for a loop. Even now, he felt its weird influence. He stood up.

"What is this place? It's definitely not the top of a tower." Gabby was nearby, already on her feet and ignoring Archie. "Hey, lady, I asked you a question."

Something about the way the woman hunched over made him stop talking. Alarm rippled across the back of his neck. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, and Archie swallowed. The Titan reached down, cradling something in her hands. A body.

"Oh hey, I know that guy. He was in Birchstone, Kellen or something." Archie looked around. There were other bodies just outside, a whole slew of them. "A priest of the Pathless, Inquisitors, Paladins, and those guys are High Guards, right? What the hell happened here?"

"Halt!" Came a voice and the clatter of feet against, booted feet against stone. "Put your hands up and exit the control node!"

Through the ornate door at the bottom of the steps, several High Guard rushed into the scene of slaughter. They stopped short, eye’s wide. "The Titan. What are you⁠—?"

A bright flash was the only warning any of them had before their heads tumbled to the ground, followed shortly by their armored bodies.

Holy shit.

The Titan hissed, folding over. Golden light steamed off her back like smoke, and her limbs shook, but she didn't drop the body of the priest.

Archie shifted his feet. After a moment, the Titan stood back up, seemingly no worse for wear, but it was really hard to tell with her.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but we can’t waste time. The thing that kicked me out of the wall is gone. Let’s go.”

“He called it a control node.” Gabby walked up the steps to the crystal terminal. She stared at something he couldn’t see—a System screen, probably. “Someone deactivated the barrier from here.”

“That guy?”

She clenched her jaw. “No. There’s a log.”

Archie stood, waiting to see if she’d say more. She just stared, her eyes gone entirely golden again. “Right. Glad they took it down. Can you smash the thing and keep it down?”

She dropped her Brightblade, now a war club, right onto the crystal. It didn’t so much as dent. “No.”

Gabby set the priest down, metal fingers gently closing his eyes.

“Well shit. Then we gotta move faster, or else more people are gonna end up dead.”

She straightened. “Someone is.”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THREE

All around her, godslaves died, and the Legion cheered.

Heva stared, astounded, as sleek Manaships dropped from a hole in the afternoon sky that resembled nothing more than a patch of starlit night. She leaned over the gunwale, Skills momentarily forgotten, as a wave of water preceded the ship, dropping from above and washing away the monsters that clogged the heavens.

"Stop gawking and fight!" Merk screeched, her wand carving sigils into the air and dropping two large, fungal monstrosities to their knees. Cade followed behind, her sword cleaving them in twain.

"Right." Heva gathered fire in her palms. “Scorching Hydra!”

A dozen threads of forge-hot flame sprang from her fingertips, lashing into the Sporeflies that crowded the deck.

Harn simply laughed, his axes cutting through a black-armored Paladin. "The long haul from Pax’Vrell! Mervin pulled through!” His silver flames spread, sinking into another godslaved warrior that screamed before dropping. “Let's make it worth the effort!”

Mervin! You stole my line!

His grin was wide as the Sunaran fleet tore into the enemy. Just like that, the battle turned in their favor. Just like that, a change overcame Amaranth, as unbridled might was unleashed from above…and a sharp prickle flushed across his senses. The power behind him, the one that had stood resolute against all attacks, flickered twice before dissolving entirely.

The barrier fell.

"Pit!”

“I see it!”

“Go, now!" They shot forward, heading towards the Shining Palace.

Remember, hero, the Grim sent, his voice barely a whisper. This Tree will not last forever. Hurry.

I know. Felix gritted his teeth as Pit pushed them beyond the speed of sound. We're on it.

They shot over the external towers of the palace, bypassing the gossamer bridges and the many hundreds of outbuildings that filled the ground between them all. They were headed straight for the center of the palace, the crowning jewel of its construction, that stretched twice as high as any other. Its outside was covered in a spiral exterior path, decorated by mutilated statues of a hundred different Races, all hacked until only the Human one reamined. Those held up the paths with muscular stone arms, the details between them carved with complex stars and curling vines.

At the very top were four other statues, each raising their hands toward the center, where a floating island clung, featuring a small building at the very top. The flat plane of the tower itself, however, was empty of decoration, save for the glowing sigaldry all around the edges. There, the Unbound were chained to pillars between the statues, muzzled but struggling against the sigils that glowed beneath them. Ocalla Marzul, the Hierophant, stood at the far end beside a mended altar.

She turned as Felix and Pit landed, the tower itself ringing as they stepped upon it.

"Hierophant,” Felix growled. “Let my people go.”

"Felix Nevarre," she said, turning to face him. She was younger than Felix expected. He’d seen her a few times in visions, but never quite so clearly. She appeared no more than thirty, her skin smooth and her hair full and lustrous. She was annoyingly, breathtakingly beautiful, and her wide smile complemented the white robes and silvered armor belted atop of it. Her alabaster staff, topped by a razor-sharp sunburst design, was held across her body, almost defensively. Yet as Felix stepped forward, she relaxed, drawing the staff to the side.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Felix narrowed his eyes. "You heard me."

"Your people," she echoed, lips pursed thoughtfully. "I don't seem to have your people. I brought you all here to this world—I would say that makes them my people."

"Shut up, butthead," Pit hissed at her. “Let them go!”

Without a word, the pair of them separated, prowling in either direction around the circular rooftop.

Ocalla clucked her tongue. "You wouldn't be thinking of attacking me, now would you?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," Felix said. The Sylphaen was nearby, perhaps only fifty feet away, and Pit was closing in on the Kobolds. "If you let me take them, then I won't have to."

"Really? Even if I continue with my little experiment." Above, a terrible whine sounded as Mana gathered onto the pyramid lashed to the statues. From his angle, he could see very little of what sat on top, but the gathering whine was burned into his perfect memory.

The Chthonic Star!

Felix stopped dead in his tracks, the sight of accumulating Mana clouds sending a thrill of fear through him. He looked back at the Hierophant. The woman stood casually, leaning against her alabaster staff as if she were on a hike.

"You recognize it. And I believe you know my intentions. Unsurprising,” she laughed. “You’ve been entirely too smart for your own good since you arrived here, Fiend.”

“You plan to break the chains and use my people as Vessels.”

Ocalla hummed. “Intriguing. Perhaps not so smart after all.” She leaned forward, robes rustling against her armor. “What shall you choose to do, I wonder?"

Felix licked his lips. Pit. When I give the word⁠—

Yeah, I got it.

The Hierophant’s smile sharpened. "Do you think your thoughts are secret from me, Fiend? You will not leave this place with the Unbound. I guarantee that."

"Guarantee this!"

Faster than Felix could track, an armored woman leaped out of the very floor, surprising the hell out of the both of them. She tackled the Hierophant, slamming the woman back into one of the statues. The armored figure fell though, reeling backward as golden steam shot from the cracks in her armor as if they were boiling alive.

They hurled off her helmet, panting, and Felix's eyes widened. "Gabby!"

His sister had fallen to her knees, her limbs quivering as the weapons in her hand fell listlessly to the surface of the tower. She tried to stand, but her leg gave out as more gold poured from the joints. It clung to her, the vapor condensing into a dripping molten liquid that set her wide back trembling.

“You wretched creature!”

In a blink, the Hierophant was at her side. She slapped the woman across the face, a casual gesture that rocked the eleven-foot Titan onto her rear. Just as fast, Ocala seized Gabby’s hair

and wrenched her head back. “All you know is treachery!”

Felix jolted forward, but the alabaster staff shoved to his sister’s throat drew him short.

"You take a single step, Nevarre, and she's done. That goes for you as well.”

A word Felix couldn't understand twisted from Ocalla’s lips, and a golden construct of solid light threads seized a slight figure that was edging around one of the columns. Felix blinked. Archie was inches away from the Kobold Twins, his Molten Blade extended to slash at their chains. He strained forward, the veins in his neck bulging.

Ocalla clucked her tongue. "You’re not worthy of this fight, child… but you will be useful—AGH!” She cried out as the golden threads around the Delven flexed and warped. Pit, talons and Mantle flashing, bore down on the construct—not nearly enough to break it, but it was enough for Archie to stumble free.

"Get out of here," Pit cried.

“No way!” Archie jumped to the Kobolds again, blades sparking as they struck the chains.

Ocalla began to spit another word when Gabby, of all people, thrust her hand out. A shield of golden light slammed into the man, hurling the Delven straight off the edge of the tower. He screamed as he vanished from sight.

"Archie!" Felix hissed before Ocalla's prim voice drew his attention back to his sister.

"Defiance! Fiend! Choose which to save! Your falling friend," she thrust her staff into Gabby's neck, drawing blood, "or your sister."

He wasn’t torn in the slightest.

Stride of the King!

Felix shot forward, claws extended toward the Hierophant as Pit sped in the other direction, wings held close before diving off the edge of the tower.

"You are so greedy!” Ocalla snapped her fingers just as Felix reached her side of the tower. It lit up, the floor seizing his feet as the array unveiled itself, a pattern rivaling the fractal designs of a natural Seat and Seal. “You think you can have it all?”

Felix sturmbled, his movements sluggish as if he tread through waist deep water. His Agility and Dexterity flagged, dimming in his Body as the air ripped at two simultaneous points. Rifts like cracked glass broke through the skin of the world on either side of the Hierophant, displaying a distorted view into a twisted terrain featuring blackened skies and empty, lifeless lands.

The Deadlands.

A wave of familiar weakness rushed through him, this time affecting all of his stats at once. He’d encountered a similar feeling when he’d walked into the Deadlands, but now it was as if that foul place had extended into the Continent.

The rifts thrummed, vibrating against his senses, reaching out toward him in near-palpable waves. Felix tried to straighten up, but his legs wouldn’t work right. Bands of golden light seized his limbs.

"No!" he raged, his legs bunching, scales spreading across his body into armored plates as his form grew. Sovereign of Flesh!

The bands stretched, groaning like distorted chimes as he pushed back to his feet. "You won’t stop me, lady!”

"Perhaps not." The Hierophant pursed her lips. "But what about her?"

Crimson lightning sparked from one of the rifts before crashing past his shoulder and into the distance. A spike of savage pain tore through his bond.

Pit!

His forward momentum stalled as he twisted back toward his Companion—and that was enough to foul his resistance. Bonds of crimson lightning joined the golden threads, and together they slammed Felix to the ground, wrapping across his flesh so that his limbs were held, spread-eagle against the glowing sigaldry.

The rifts cracked wider.

Two figures emerged like silken smoke from a fissure. A woman, older and round, formed to his left. Her arms were thick, and her body was draped in an ancient style of gown that sparkled with discarded starlight, but all of it was made entirely of slick shadowflesh—including her delicately arranged hair and hollow face. It was a familiar and gruesome sight, a collapsed tunnel that replaced her face with a hole that stretched backward into infinity. She towered above Felix, at least thirty feet tall, floating inches above the golden sigils.

The second was a sickly man wearing a bulbous suit riddled with artistic slashes that clearly mimicked a style long since gone from the Continent. Its size only enhanced the figure’s skeletal limbs and bent neck, all of it colored a foul bronze that gave the impression that it was distended flesh around their middle. Sores and weeping wounds covered any place without clothing, and a foul decay hung from his shoulders like a cloak.

Noctis and Yyero.

Felix's Mind tripped, his perfect recall summoning a ghostly mirror for them both. Witnessed during his visions, the shadowy shapes that had talked of stealing Primordial power clarified before his eyes, matching silhouettes with the Divine before him. Noctis and Yyero, as they once looked, before they were gods.

The god of rot looked to the side, and his sharp face twisted into rage. Incompetent Titan! She Fouled My Acquisition Of The Lizard⁠—

“She will face punishment,” Ocalla assured him but didn’t even turn to look at the god. “For that and many other transgressions.”

I Must Say, Felix, Noctis said, ignoring the others as she leaned over his prone form. Her voice was light, airy, and kind. Facing Us Here Is Quite Nice Of You. After All, You Only Faced Us At Our Reduced Might In Elderthrone.

Felix tried to pull his head up but only managed to twist his jaw forward. “Fuck you.”

She lacked a mouth, but that emptiness seemed to grin. Here, We Are Far Greater. It Is A Testament To How Well We’ve Cultivated Amaranth.

The City Is Soaked With Our Power, Yyero said. My Rot Has Spread Into Every Crack And Crevice, And All Of It Feeds Me Now. Temporary Or Not, These Vessels Are Far Greater Than Anything Else.

Now, Brother. We Mustn't Forget About The Ingenuity Of The Nym. Noctis reached out, caressing one of the statues. Built To Amplify Power, Here We Can Exert Ourselves Far More Than In Any Other Location. Chains Or Not. I Know The Intangible Is My Domain, But Here I Am Real. She reached forward, grinding Felix’s head into the ground. His skin broke, smearing blood across the sigils. As Are My Family.

A clarion horn trumpeted into the air, and the sound of glass shattering followed. A third rift opened between the others and directly above where the Hierophant and Gabby stood by the altar. The Twins appeared there, holding out their fist. Just as convoluted and eldritch as the rest, made of metallic blue that bent like flesh, they locked eyes with Felix. Their fist gleamed, a strident, blue-white light emitting from it.

Even Vellus formed as bloody lightning, leashed into a jagged, inhuman shape with too many arms that bent in strange, unnatural ways. She clung to Noctis's side, half her height; she was present but far less so than the rest.

Felix found nothing within him but rage. He struggled to push himself to his knees, his muscles screaming in protest as his Strength and Will contested the bindings that held him. Sigils flared, pulling him tight, but he lifted himself through the golden threads, snapping them one by one. Ocalla cursed something, but it was too quiet against the roar in his ears. First his neck, then his chest and back burst free.

“I’m going to kill all of you,” he promised as his eyes burned bright blue.

I Disagree. The light from the Twins' fist intensified, and its dual hands clenched before thrusting through the rift and out of the Deadlands.

Felix was slammed back to the earth as more crimson lightning coursed across his limbs. New bands held him fast, composed entirely of a bloody gold that had far less give than Ocalla’s golden light.

The Hierophant smirked. "You are stronger than I expected…but you didn't think this would be so easy, did you?" She gestured with her staff, no longer holding it to Gabby's throat. "Golden Reversion."

Light surged away from her, spreading across the sigaldry in the tower's surface and down the sides, so close his senses would have to have been blinded to miss it. They surged towards the base, deeper than the ground, before he felt something shift, then a sound like a chorus of angels rose up.

The barrier returned, cutting them off.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FOUR

"It's here," Wendell said, stepping forward in the chamber.

The foundational pillar was hundreds of strides across, filling the monumentally sized cavern almost to capacity. There were no bricks or mortar that Vess could see, simply seamless stone. If she were to hazard a guess, the entire thing had been shaped from the very bedrock. Few, despite Felix's remarkable talent for shaping magic, could manage a feat like it in this day and Age. Naturally, the foundations were built by the Nym. What was not, however, were the cascade of golden sigils that had been inscribed into the pillar starting at the cavern's ceiling and continuing almost all the way to the ground. Their meaning eluded Vess—sigaldry was not her strong suit—but their angular design and repeated golden sunburst motifs gave little doubt as to who put them there.

"Vess," Yin said, flying above where Vess, Beef, Wendell, Hollow, and all the Risen were gathered at the base of the pillar. "Come here, I need your opinion on this."

She looked to the Lizard. “Are you able to sort this out?”

"Yep." Wendell fiddled with a piece of the golden sigaldry that looked different from the rest. It unfolded, revealing strange veins of near-solid Mana. "I'm nearly done here. I just need to connect this bit of sigaldry here with my Precision Mine and at the Regalia.” He smiled. “Go. I can finish up here."

“On The Wing!” Vess launched into the air, her draconic wings snapping out like leathery sails. Flying felt strange, but also natural, as if it were something she had done a long time ago and simply had forgotten how. She flew after Yin as he retreated back the way they had come.

Moving through the air like the enormous serpent he resembled, they landed in the wide tunnel. Yin lifted up a backpack from the ground. "I found this in one of the side tunnels.”

“Is that Archie’s?”

“It is. And it still contains all of his supplies—Essence Draughts, Health, Stamina, and Mana Potions, as well as a small supply of food and water."

"Why did he leave this behind?"

"I don't know that it was intentional, but he did choose to take the Titan.”

“Neither choice makes much sense. I thought he hated her?"

"Yes, unless he's come around, or the Titan has some sort of persuasion Skill we're unaware of," Yin shook his head. "Her Spirit was not of the sort. Archie, however…"

"Do you think he may have charmed her into obedience?”

“As much as the boy’s bitterness rules him, I deem it unlikely. He is more steady than he portrays. This smacks of the Titan’s doing.”

“Why do I find that less comforting than Archie manipulating someone’s Mind?”

Yin snorted out smoke. “Because you’re a realist, little Dragoon.”

"Tell that to my father—if he could hear you over the laughter.” She scratched her jaw. “Whatever it is, we'll have to find them eventually. Archie was our surest way out, and that stings more than whatever he is doing with Felix’s sister. Once we have finished setting up Wendell's Mines, we shall focus on getting back to the surface."

"Ah, yes. I looked into that as well.” Yin tossed his mane, shaking out rainwater. “The tunnels are decently clear, despite the Lizard’s acts of sabotage. I can smell fresh air already filtering through some of these passages."

Vesss perked up. "Can you really?"

"Yes. Finding the way out will be simple.”

Vess grinned. “Your confidence is contagious. Good. Let's go back to the pillars. There's a few more bits I'd like to look at. The way the Nym created it is interesting. I feel a resonance through my Affinity.”

“No doubt a connection to the powers deep in the Continent itself."

"Interesting. I'm not familiar with how those work."

"They're quite complex, but I can tell you what I know."

"Thanks, Yin."

Vess stepped forward and ran headlong into an invisible wall.

"No. No!" She seized her glaive and stabbed forward, but the barrier had returned. It turned her strike aside without budging in the slightest.

"BEEFHAMMER!" Yin yelled, his panicked voice ripping down through the tunnels. It was only a handful of heartbeats, but it felt like forever before the bulky forms of Beef, Hollow, and Wendell ran back up the passage.

"Wait! Stop running!" Vess warned, pressing her hand into the barrier. The lot of them skidded to a stop, but it was Beef’s eyes that widened in realization.

"Oh my god! You're trapped!"

"No, Beef, you're trapped."

“What?” He looked around frantically. “Wh–what do we do?”

“We can't break it,” Hallow said. “We tried that before."

Wendell said nothing, but his Spirit was troubled.

“First we must calm down,” Vess said, making an effort to steady her breathing. It taxed her Will, but her heart stopped hammering in her chest. “Then we must find out what took it down in the first place and repeat it. We will get you out of here."

Beef nodded, and Wendell put a hand on his son's shoulder. “Son. We have a job to finish.”

"Right.” Beef looked back to Vess and pointed up. "We’ll handle things here. You both need to go, right now.”

“You cannot be suggesting you set off a bomb while trapped inside this ward.” Vess stared at the pair of them, father and son, with mounting alarm. “If you set off those mines of yours while trapped in this ward, you cannot know what might happen to you!”

“I trust my dad,” Beef said, patting the Lizard’s hand on his shoulder. “And Felix—he's in trouble. Can't you feel it?"

Heavens help her, Vess could. Power sounded across her Link to Felix, echoing with untapped potential she recognized from some of her most dire moments. Yet there was more to it than that; it was bundled along with ephemeral strains of song. Melodies that thundered with fear, rage, and most surprising of all, hate.

Vess nodded. “Yin?”

“I am ready to do what you require, little Dragoon.”

She took a breath before nodding.

"Go save the Fiend,” Wendell said. “And take care of the other Unbound. We'll handle this."

Eyes bright, Vess hopped astride her Companion, and the pair tore off into the sewers.

Toward daylight.

Pit!

Felix called out to his Companion, but he heard nothing. Their bond felt squeezed shut, a sensation far more painful than when he or Pit would close it for privacy. It was impossible that he’d do such a thing now, of all times.

Pit!

There was no answer at all.

He thrust his hands into the earth, shoving upward with every ounce of his Will and Strength. The ground buckled, but the sigaldry crawled across it undaunted, unaffected by its busted substrate. Somehow, even the bands of bloody light grew stronger as a fresh wave of weakness enervated his very core.

Foolish. Relying Upon Bonds. The Twins’ voices intermingled in a way that scraped at his Affinity. A Weakness That Plagued The Cardinals, Too.

Felix twisted his head, the only thing he could reliably move, to fix the malformed gods with a glare. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Bonds Of Enmity. Can You Not Feel It? The two heads tilted in the same direction, the four eyes upon their faces narrowing. What Do You Think Holds You Fast?

No. Felix felt at the bloody gold bands across himself, wincing at the spark of crimson lightning flickering around his limbs.

Yes. The Twins had no mouths, but the mad planes of their faces could be nothing except a cruel grin. You Are Connected To Us, But Connections Go Both Ways, Nevarre. Your Enmity Binds You To Us.

His head slammed back to the earth, thunderous despite the scant inches he’d lifted it. A sea of stars sprang before Felix’s eyes but was soon chased away by the glow of an array. It lit up across the tower’s surface, filled with a purer gold than the bindings that held him tight. Nearby, the Unbound rattled their chains, screaming through their muzzles before they, too, were silenced.

Ocalla smirked as she loomed over Felix, tucking her hair behind an ear as she ensured that she caught his eye. Her hands wove golden threads that fell around him in strange, geometric shapes that resembled wire-form models. A construct of some sort.

To do what?

“I appreciate your arrogance, Nevarre. Without it, I could never have lured you here.” The Hierophant gestured, tweaking something, and pain lanced through his body. It felt like all the worst parts of Tempering rushing through his bones all at once. “And you were truly integral to our plan.”

An Unbound Body Held Between Cardinal And Nym. A Liminal Existence. The Twins leaned out of their rift, dual heads tilting now in opposite directions. Their jaws moved, but it was out of sync with the words he heard. Those were noise—nonsense syllables that were sibilant and discordant.

Those That Cursed Us And Those That Chained Us. The Perfect Pawn To Overturn Ouranic Law. Yyero gave a thick, wet chuckle. It’s Like You Were Made To Set Us Free.

Make Your Final Adjustments Quickly, Ocalla, Noctis snapped. I Crave A Proper Vessel After These Long Ages. She ran a feminine hand across Ondine's face. The Sylphaean tried to jerk away but was stopped short by her chains. Your Face Is Too Pretty, Girl. I Would See It Collapsed.

Explosions sounded beyond the barrier, but they were muffled, even to Felix’s Perception. He glanced past the rifts and statues, where the far flung Hierei spires clung to the edges of the Shining Palace. There, the light itself dimmed, but Felix could still make out his people fighting valiantly against the hordes of monstrosities and Hierocratic soldiers.

Ocalla made a dissatisfied noise in her throat while fiddling with a hovering display of golden sigils. They switched places rapidly, manipulated by the woman’s deft fingers. “Would the Divine care to take care of our problem out there? It is distracting.”

We’ve Lent You Enough Of Our Guardslaves. Your People Have Been Blessed. Yyero sneered at her. The Vaunted Hierocracy Should Be Able To Hold Off One Small Army.

Words exchanged among the rest, but Felix couldn’t follow them as a pressure mounted within his Mind. The array around him flared in repeating patterns, oscillating through a strange series of fractal glyphs that seared into him as a familiar and entirely Divine Will dragged in its wake. The Bond of Enmity surged, sparking into crimson arcs that charred the once-unmarred marble.

The Beast roared from within the waves, and the Divine Tree creaked as the lattice barrier around his Skills and cores tightened against the intrusion. Felix had no clue what was being attempted, but his core space rebelled.

The Twins spat something, and it was a discordant burr that tore at Felix’s ears. He Resists! Brother! Sister! Aid The Hierophant! You Know What Must Be Done.

You Already Have Him! Yyero whined. What Use Would It Be To Waste Our Power We’ve Accumulated In These Vessels?

Power That Does Not Matter! the Twins snapped. Its malformed fists gleamed that blue-white light, and it congealed against Felix’s bindings. He was crushed into the tower floor, the Bond of Enmity filled with renewed vigor. You Will Be Free Soon Enough. Spend The Power, Or Lose It Forever.

A Threat? Noctis and Yyero stepped closer to the rifts, their immense forms rising above the Twins and their hunched posture. You Threaten Us?

A Promise, Cretin.

Do You Make Your Claim Already? Yyero demanded. Do You Think Mercy And Justice Deserves The Throne Over Me And Mine?

The Throne Is Not On The Table Now, Noctis warned. Vellus flashed silently behind her. And If It Were, Then The Shadow Would Sit Atop It.

Three gods glared at one another. Or was it five? The crackling form of Vellus flitted around Noctis' shoulders, as did a strange pressure that Felix didn’t recognize. Snippets of song, elongated beyond all measure and pacing—a melodic Dissonance, if that were possible, stretched between the monolithic forms of the Divine.

They’re…they’re talking? Its sound, beyond his hearing, flirting with the edge of his Affinity, but only just. Before he could parse even the smallest piece of it, just as soon as it had begun, it ended.

Very Well, Noctis snapped, her voice descending several octaves. This Bickering Is Useless.

We Will Take Care Of These Interlopers. Yyero bowed to the Twins, his tone petulant but sweet. He caught Felix’s eye and his grin grew genuine. You Will Enjoy This, Ascendent. Fool That You Are.

Yyero and Noctis together gestured, and a wave of sickly bronze light and chill shadow flowed from the tower-top into the barrier and beyond. There, through a sliver of his peripherals, Felix saw the minions surge, a new might entering their forms, evolving them beyond what anyone had faced before.

Kill Them All.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIVE

Half a dozen thread-thin lashes of flame sliced through the Fungal Titan, searing its rotten flesh on the deck of the Manaship. Her people rallied at her side, cutting into its spores with weapons enchanted to burn and freeze.

You Have Killed A Fungal Titan!

XP Earned!

Its death gasp had barely faded when thunder rolled across the sky. The Bloodstorm intensified, whipping into funnels of wine-dark clouds that disgorged new, terrible monstrosities.

Heva drew up short. "Burning ash."

Creatures emerged—so large that they dwarfed the Shadowrath Scourges and Fungal Titans. Vast centipedes undulated from within the cyclones, formed of shadow but with a thousand screaming faces stretching along their bellies. They were easily a dozen times the size of their biggest galleon, with razor-sharp legs that wriggled through the air with all the power of a collapsing mountain.

Emerging beside them, clouds of distended flesh floated atop hundreds of wings lined with the meaty gills of a mushroom cap. Tendrils tipped with hundreds of translucent teeth slashed through ranks of Chimera and Dragoons—their barding strengthened them against the hits, but many were hurled from the sky where they weren’t sliced apart.

“Get back!” Stellis shouted. She pulled Heva back from the railing, just as a deluge of water dropped onto the nearest monstrosities, capturing them in coursing currents. A half dozen Fleshclouds were swept up, the rush of water bursting their distended hides—but that only released hordes of rot-twisted Horrors and Sporeflies. Too many to contain, they swarmed outward into the battlefield.

“Scorching Hydra!” Heva lashed her flames in all directions, splitting her whip to flay the rot away from her allies' flanks. Stellis blocked an attack, an ice wall forming between them and a descending shadowbeast. "We have to break down the barrier!”

“We have to get there first," Merk shouted over the battle. "Who's flying this thing?"

They had all seen the flash of battle atop the Hierophant's tower. The Fiend was struggling against the Paragon and the Divine themselves. Heva had no doubt the Emperor was doing his part in the battle—they must do theirs.

Her team moved like a seamless array, all its parts firing with the surge of their Skills and technique. Mace, sword, sigil, and spell split apart the monstrosities that flooded the ship. Legionnaires hopped atop the Manacannons, loosing beams of golden light from the stolen weapons in nearly every direction at once.

We have to stop the beasts here before they kill anyone else.

A centipede dropped, flying low over them, and Heva lost her breath for a moment at its sheer size and presence. Its legs snapped out, tearing through their etheric sails and setting the entire deck pitching to starboard. Her people scrambled, grabbing onto spars and masts and guidelines as the ship bucked—but too many slipped and fell overboard. Screaming faces in the centipede’s belly howled, spitting out a frigid fog that enveloped the deck entirely. Planks froze into slick patches of ice as the things of interminal length passed overhead, but Heva wove her Scorching Hydra around her people like a net of incandescent threads. The heat cut through the cold, burning the fog until the air boiled.

"Five Talon Retribution!"

Her spell reshaped itself, the fire Mana forging into five claws as she thrust up into the flying shadowbeast. Talons tore through its carapace, the Skill nearly dragging Heva off her feet until Cade grabbed her around the middle, anchoring her.

"Five Talon Retribution," she repeated, her voice breaking. A second claw slashed beside the first. Slick black shadows started to split above them. Godslaves dropped down, screeching as they attacked.

Cade was forced to release Heva as the Orc defended with her glowing sword. Heva could only focus on the centipede, its insane length still passing overhead and spitting out its vile fog. Her Talons tore into it, pressing with every ounce of Will and Intent she possessed. Its faces screamed inhumanly, their expressions of glee turned sour and alien.

Heva shouted, a wordless cry that tapped into something she'd felt before—a well of power that fed into her core space like fuel into a flame. Her center raged, her core stoked to new heights, and her Talons turned a vibrant blue-white.

“Begone!”

Shadowflesh parted, split asunder as ichor poured around them in a deluge. The beast’s thousand faces gurgled and screamed, only to take a thousand Legion Skills directly to their wounds.

You Have Killed A Nadir Child!

XP Earned!

Congratulations!

You Have Earned A New Title!

Faithful Of The Blue-White Flame!

You have proven your devotion to the Fiend! Your access to his Blessings of Fellowship has grown considerably and affected all of your fire-based Skills! They will now burn twice as hot and consume half as much Mana!

Around her, the deck had taken on a blue-white glow. Pieces of the Nadir Child were splattered across the ship, all burning with her newfound flame. They soon extinguished as the shadowflesh turned to acrid smoke. The light, however, did not. Heva looked around. Her allies wore expressions of rage and fear, but their eyes burned blue-white. Some had armor formed around their limbs, familiar red-gold scales, the same ones that had protected her once before.

The power of the Fiend. It flowed through her, even now: the Blessing of Fellowship her Title mentioned. She was filled with a sudden conviction that it flowed through all those who believed. Heva looked up, and the ships and skies flickered with points of blue-white flame, tens of thousands of eyes burning in the Bloodstorm. It spread through the Legion, and the godslaves began to fall from the sky.

The Sunaran flagship soared by, its deck filled with Horrors and a Fungal Titan. Captain Mervin flowed across its deck, fighting.

Another believer!

He gleamed with red-gold scales, and lightning surged across his sword as he cut down Fungal Titans all by himself. They could do this.

They could win.

"Get someone on the helm," she shouted. "Take us to the barrier, now!"

A wave of weakness flooded Felix. Power fled from him in heaping amounts. Mana wasn't an issue; it regenerated faster than it could be depleted. The same was true of the Stamina that followed it. His Essence, however, was dwindling fast, as was his significance.

Your Mistake Was Letting Those Leeches Siphon Your Power. The Twins leaned their faces close. Your Mistake Was Caring.

Felix's core space trembled. The opalescent roots of the Divine Tree, the ones he had woven into a protective lattice around his core space, shook and bent inward as crimson Bonds crashed into him. His Skills jostled, groaning as pain spiked through every one of his Aspects. His vision blurred, overcome by agony, and his focus shook.

Felix could feel his connections to his people strengthening, even as power fled him. Lines he'd once considered ghostly now thickened and turned increasingly opaque. His Links, too, though their strengthening was far more subtle.

His people were fighting back, but they were killing him to do it.

Not Quite A God, Yet You Have Foolishly Forged Bonds Of Fellowship, Noctis crowed. Vellus at her side laughed through a misshapen mouth. Your Faithful Will Be Your End.

"They're here!" Yin called, swimming down through the streets.

Vess followed after. They had reached the surface only moments before, hunting for Archie and Felix's sister, and emerging from the silences of the sewers into the chaos of a battlefield sent a shiver through her Affinity she still hadn’t shaken. Death assaulted her senses, as if her wings were cutting a path through its thick embrace. Fires had sprung up everywhere, roaring beside towering pillars of ice and slick patches of mold that pulsed with its own heartbeat. Compared to its sewers, Amaranth’s streets were like another world.

Vess skimmed the blue tiles of a half-collapsed roof, the liquid sunset scales of her Companion leading her ahead. Amid several flattened and burning city blocks was a wide crater that punched through layers of cobblestone streets to expose water pipes and choked tunnels. At its center was an enormous, unconscious tenku, four wings curled protectively around a Delven man.

"Oh no." She landed next to Pit and brushed back the debris off his face. “Please be alive—Analyze!”

She nearly fell back from relief when the tenku’s information popped up before her eyes. “His Health is climbing steadily, but he’s afflicted with several Status Conditions. Yin? Can you help me?”

The Dawn Drake had already pulled Archie free of Pit’s paws and set him carefully on an expanse of unbroken stone before returning to the tenku’s side. Together, the pair of them pulled Pit up onto firmer ground beside Archie, rotating him onto his belly so that his wings were clear.

“This wound is slow to heal.” Yin traced a claw a span over a deep hole carved through Pit’s back. The charred edges suggested a terrible lightning strike. “I can feel the Divine’s influence on it.”

Vess’ breath caught. “A curse?”

“Nothing so pointed. It’s healing, but I imagine the Divine’s influence is why our friend remains unconscious.”

“Lady Dayne!”

Vess seized her glaive, but it was only a contingent of Legionnaires that flowed over the peak of the destroyed buildings. A whirring sound followed them, announcing the floating chitin siege towers rolling up behind them.

"The spades are here. And Laur with them," Yin said with relief, eyeing the skies. “I’ll ensure they give us cover while we recover.” He swam off toward the Chanters.

“Vess?” Archie sat up uneasily, his eyes barely open. “I thought you were blowing up the tower?”

“Nevermind that. How’d you get here? Where’s the Titan?”

The Delven leaned forward, hunching around his arms which were bloody up to the elbows. His hands were burnt, and he’d lost half his fingernails. “Lost her.”

Vess gritted her teeth before pulling a Healing Potion from her pack. “Drink swiftly. Then you can tell me what in damnation you thought you were doing.”

He knocked the potion back and coughed. “She had a plan. Attack the Hierophant and get the Unbound free. You all had the Lizard bombs under control; I wasn’t needed down there. But I could get those kids free.”

“You could have told me. We could have come up with a plan⁠—!"

"Everything moved kind of fast, and that woman, she... she's a force of nature." He dropped the thick glass, empty except for the dregs. “We fucked up.”

Vess chewed at her lip, looking back up at the palace that was so close to them, and yet interminably far away. The barrier stood between them and its towers. She couldn't see the top of En’Cridhe from her low vantage, but she could see flashes of golden light and other upsetting markers of power.

"Tell me."

"The Hierophant wasn’t ready for us. I sent that bitch a Titan-shaped present rocketing toward her face, and the lady just soaked it. I barely had time to get to the Kobolds before I got thrown off the tower.” Archie held up his hands. His fingernails had not grown back, but the open wounds were closed. “Primeval Drift can let me swim through the air, but not enough to fly. Pit came after me and—well, you see what happened.”

“Lightning?”

“Bloodstorm. From Vellus.” Above them, chaos reigned. Crimson lightning threaded the dark clouds, and vile monsters swarmed the ships that still remained afloat. “Knocked us outta the sky. Now my leg’s broken, and my ankle’s worse.”

"Then we need to retreat, all of us. I will tell the Chanters; they can escort you and the Legion back to the Tree.”

“What’s this about retreatin’? I just got here.” Evie slid down the incline of a shattered roof, followed by a far less graceful Captain Loquis.

“This barrier cannot be taken down. Yin and I have searched for the source of it, but even from below, there’s no access point.” Vess pointed back the way they’d come. “We must fall back.”

“Not a chance,” Loquis said. “The Emperor is in there, right? We can’t leave him alone.”

“Yeah. Who’s fightin’ up there?” Evie jerked a thumb up to the palace.

“Felix and his sister⁠—”

“His sister got tied up like a beef roast in two seconds flat,” Archie spat, hobbling up onto one leg. “Felix is alone.”

Vess closed her eyes a moment. She could feel so many emotions from Felix, but the anger and hate were so strong. Her conviction faltered.

"He's not gonna make it," Archie said, leaning against a broken beam. "It wasn't just the Hierophant up there—the gods showed up. They’ll kill him.”

A sudden bellow drowned out both the battle and storm, and a brilliant, golden light burst from atop En’Cridhe. Shadows flared outward, silhouettes cut against the radiance that loomed larger than any natural creature.

"Blind gods," Loquis said, his voice cracking. "What can we do here?"

"Not much, unless that barrier gets taken down," said a new voice. Mervin, Captain of the Legionnaires and bringer of ships landed next to them, having hopped down from a nearby building. Korvaa and Sylphaen landed next to him. “We’ve come to help with that.”

Vess assessed her options. Legionnaires, Sunaran warriors, Chanters, Risi, and Nagafolk were pouring into their position. They could have been fighting above, but they surrounded Pit, weapons turned outward in a clear attempt at protecting the Chimera. Others moved to the barrier, weapons unsheathed and Skills dancing across their hands.

“It went down before, so there’s a way through,” Mervin continued.

“Coming down and going back up could have left a break in the ward,” Laur mused. “Enough force could, potentially open it back up. ‘Enough’ in this case means the power of a Paragon at least.”

Mervin rolled his shoulder, limbering up his sword arm. “Won’t know until we try, right?”

Vess’ chest tightened, and her breathing quickened—quite aside from the emotions she could sense from Felix. This was a breathy, cautious hope.

Could they overwhelm the barrier?

Light scoured their position, refracting from the barrier up ahead as if it had taken a sudden strike…but Vess saw no cannon fire. A familiar wail followed as Archie fell back, clutching at his hands. Vess leaped over the heads of Evie and the rest, kicking off debris to land next to the downed Delven…even as several Arclights lifted him back to his feet. They fed him a Mana Potion.

“What was that?”

Archie wiped his mouth. “Primeval Drift. I can get through this thing.”

Vess looked at the man’s hands. They were worse than before. The charring had spread to his wrists.

"Vess. Let me try.”

Vess nodded silently. “Captains, organize your battalions! I need the strongest on the barrier, ready to strike on my signal!”

“Aye, my Lady!” Mervin and Loquis saluted and started issuing orders.

“Evie. Yin. You need to defend us.” Vess flared her Perception. “More redcloaks are coming.”

“Killin’ zealots? You don’t gotta tempt me with a good time.” Evie loosened her chains. “After you, skylizard.”

Yin huffed contemptuously before taking off, his scales gathering light like the rising sun.

Vess gestured to the spades. “Chanters! Ready your ballistae! We’re taking down this barrier. And get a healer on this man!”

Archie gave her a slow, delirious smile. He reached out. "Primordial Drift!"

“Fire!”

Skills and weapons unleashed, almost drowning out Archie’s screams.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIX

Thoughts spun wildly through Felix’s Mind, plans and tactics that never got any further than two steps from conception. His Body was stuck, and he couldn't even marshal his Skills. The pressure of keeping the crimson Bonds from his core space kept everything locked down as securely as his limbs against the stone floor. He could risk it—but even if he attempted Empyrean Embrace to chew at the Bonds themselves, Felix would be sacrificing defense for a slim chance. The Divine would break through, and who knew what the gods would do if they gained access to his cores.

He wasn’t willing to find out.

Felix cast about, searching for anything that could help him, but the sigaldry squirmed away from him, moving every time his eyes rested on a symbol. Magus of the Grand Design floundered against its weird construction, unable to scrap even the tiniest understandings from it.

Bonds I can’t break, sigaldry I can’t understand…they weren’t lying. This trap was made for me. And her.

He could see his sister nearby, held to the ground like him by gleaming threads. The major difference was that Gabby could easily escape her bindings with a mere flex of her arms, if she hadn’t been held by far more than a single spell. Her bargain, whatever it entailed, clearly affected her ability to fight the Hierophant and the gods alike.

Ocalla hummed, her robes swishing in a sudden breeze, carrying her melodic Chant higher. As it swirled around her, it thickened the power that she sent above, a golden glow that settled upon the platform that hung above, hanging between the statues. There, the Chthonic Star glowed brighter, its pieces beginning to slowly spin.

"It is almost time," she said, nodding to herself. "Be proud, Nevarre. You'll be part of history. The return of the Divine to the Continent." She grinned down at him. "How exciting."

Around him, the three rifts grew bigger, their edges breaking the air like fractured glass. Heat poured off of them, hot as any furnace, but their centers were frigid. A miasma spilled outward from them like fog, rolling across where Felix was bound to the center of the tower. It clung to him, deadening his senses and setting a tremor through his struggling arms and legs, a bone-deep weariness he couldn't shake.

My stats are being reduced…same as when I snuck in there before—hey!

The Hierophant gestured, and golden threads lifted a blade into the air next to Felix. Too far for him to reach, no matter how much he struggled. The threads gleamed as they wound around the hooked length of his Inheritor’s Will. She smiled at Felix. “System, show us the Ouranic Bindings."

Pain spiked through Felix, a piece of the shifting array tearing at him. He could feel it leech something through the crimson Bonds, pulling a piece away from his Aspects, tapping into a piece of his Aspects he could not defend.

Authority Acknowledge, Inheritor.

Ouranic Bindings Localized.

Warning!

To Tamper With The Ouranic Bindings Is To Invoke The Consequences Of Ouranic Law.

Felix jerked against his restraints. “You ass! That’s not your sword!”

Ocalla smirked but said nothing as the air distorted around them.

A few dozen feet above their heads, five thick, golden chains shimmered into visibility. They were massive, stretching off toward the rising moons as if binding the celestial bodies to the world itself. Each link was absolutely huge and made of more than just metal—they were composed of power itself. The Deadlands pressed too close to sense more than that, but Felix was certain that the chains were on a level he couldn’t comprehend.

The Chthonic Star began to hum.

An impotent rage prickled his skin, until it seemed like heat rolled off of him in waves to combat the chill miasma. He stared at Ocalla's armored back, hate spiking in his chest—only to be yanked farther to the ground. Every flux of his emotions bound him tighter, the crimson Bonds seeking out the cracks in his defenses. Worse, his people were drawing on his power in greater numbers than ever before. What was different now? What exactly were the Bonds of Fellowship? Were those just the connections he formed with his people? The ones that were widening with every passing breath, deepening their draw as if he were establishing Links with thousands. How? What had changed?

"You smell like an Urge,” a Primordial in the depths of Gharion had told him, and the gods had called him “not quite Divine.”

What does it all mean?

Ocalla gestured, and a thousand golden threads revealed themselves, each bound to a separate piece of the island floating above Felix’s head. The whole thing altered its trajectory, rotating the Chthonic Star upon it—before it rocked, and the whirling buzz of the Star stuttered. The Hierophant hissed in pain as the threads were snatched from her grasp.

No.

The Twins had stretched their free hand out toward the island, the golden threads turned a bright, metallic blue. As the rifts grew ever bigger, the splintered fabric of the Corporeal Realm dissolved, the rifts bleeding into one another as the presence of the Divine grew stronger with every passing second.

We Shall Guide This Moment.

Ocalla clenched her jaw, but she stepped back, folding her hands over her alabaster staff. Felix couldn’t even enjoy her obvious frustration, because the Twins were joined by Noctis, Yyero, and Vellus, each of them putting a hand forward to guide the Chthonic Star.

The device’s hum thickened, gaining a dimensionality that spread through a dozen octaves at once. A point of light gathered at the Star’s leading edge, brightening until it rivaled the sun and moons combined, before it speared outward into an unquenchable beam.

Directly toward the first chain.

The beam’s radiance dimmed the earth around it, burning at Felix as if he stood next to an open furnace on the surface of the sun. It tore into the Titanic chains, searing into the metal, and slowly, the golden chains began to char.

The sky darkened, the Bloodstorm intensifying until it rippled with crimson lightning. Thunder crashed, followed swiftly by the unhinged bellows of nightmarish horrors, and the fleshy stretch of the Divine’s Vessels.

Can You Feel It? Yyero asked, his angular face lifted into the air. We Stand Upon A Precipice!

Noctis laughed, and Vellus crackled as if in echo. Soon We’ll Breathe Free Again!

Felix couldn’t let that happen.

The Chthonic Star was taking its time in severing the chains—Ouranic Bindings, or whatever the System called them. That was a blessing. It gave him time to think.

C’mon!

What did he have? He couldn’t move, he couldn’t attack; all he had were his voice, his thoughts, and⁠—

His connections.

Felix could feel his people all around him, spread wide across the city. They drew on his power through their Bond, but a few more than most. His friends were struggling against their enemies, fighting with a fury that Felix could respect. Could he find his answer with them?

He focused. Flicker.

Alister and Atar were fighting in the skies, both of them bloody and burning. A shell of red-gold scales covered Alister from wrist to shoulder as he thrust his Masterwork rapier through the hide of a dozen godslaves. They burst, their bodies cored out by a pillar of blue force, before he whirled on, his blue robes swirling amid the white flames that bloomed around the ship. Atar burst from them, soaring atop a comet trail of incandescence. His skeleton, black as night among the white clouds of flame, slashed a bare hand before the onrushing tide of Sporeflies and Fleshclouds.

listen to our flames, empty slaves! the sky is ours!

A wave of incineration spread from Atar and Flame, gathering steam with every godslave it consumed.

Flicker.

Elowen was on another ship. She had taken to piloting one of the Sunaran crafts and was maneuvering through the chaos while her Tome flipped through luminous pages above her head. Cannons fired, each shot blasting through a godslave's skull or chest as she brought the ship around in elaborate and frankly impossible maneuvers.

Flicker.

Harn was slaughtering his way across an enemy ship, Claw members and Legionnaires at his side as their eyes all glowed blue-white.

Flicker.

Evie and a sweating Loquis fought off monsters in the mansion district with giants and Nagafolk. The spades were at the forefront with Chanters manning them, protecting their back.

Flicker.

Not far off from Evie, Vess stood her ground with Yin and Mervin for some reason. The lot of them were hurling their Skills and spells—not at the enemy, but at the barrier itself. It shook beneath their onslaught, as ballistae and concerted Legionnaire strikes crashed against its impervious surface.

Pit?

Felix saw him, settled into a protected hollow and guarded by a dozen Legionnaires. Bandaged but unconscious, the tenku’s back was stained red where his wound still bled through.

PIT!

His focus ratcheted further, drawing now on his Exalted Conjunction Skill. Felix could tell that his friend was still breathing, even that his Health was slowly rising, but white scars zigzagged across the unbandaged portions of his back, spreading out onto one of his right-side wings. Vellus’ lightning had scourged him.

“Loose!” someone cried.

More Skills were fired off at the barrier, Legionnaires working in tandem as their power smashed into the invisible ward. It shook, but not because of them.

Flicker.

Felix found Archie leaning heavily against the barrier, his eyes bleeding and his fingers torn raw. Claw members tried to pull him back, but he shoved them away.

“Primeval Drift!”

Archie shook, his body vibrating, and the barrier quaked before it flashed, hurling him back several feet. He rolled slowly to his feet, elbows digging into the rubble, and put out his bloody fingers.

“Primeval Drift!”

Flicker.

Felix pulled away. He couldn’t watch his friend hurting himself. He landed on Beef—and the Lizard.

His friend was wearing Hallow as armor, and the Sharpwing Matriarch was latched onto his back, almost melding into the crystalline breastplate. The Lizard was absolutely massive and wore relatively little save for a pair of glowing swords at his waist. His orange and blue scales gleamed in the dim cavern they dwelled within, and he was entirely focused on some sort of Skill.

The pair of them drew him in, a surge of unexpected emotions through the Link. A lot of fear, panic, but most of all love. Felix jerked in surprise, his awareness nearly pulling away from Beef as he looked to the looming Lizard.

What’s going on here?

Before them was a vast cylinder, easily as big around as a dozen buildings, and inscribed heavily in golden sigaldry. The Lizard’s left hand filled with orange Mana, coating it like a thick liquid, and it spread open a portion of the construct clinging to the golden sigaldry. With his other claw, the Lizard pulled out a piece of leather from the pouch at his side. It gleamed, brighter by far than anything else in that cavern.

“Wow, that's bright,” Beef said.

Felix winced against the leather’s golden power. He'd seen its like before in a scrap of cloth that had once belonged to the Pathless. A piece of the Divine’s mortal regalia, imbued with a measure of the dead god’s former significance.

“Hold this open,” the Lizard said, nodding at the yellow and white-green construct. “I need to be very careful here.”

“I—I won’t mess this up?” Beef asked, sounding weirdly hesitant.

The Lizard smiled. “I trust you.”

Together, the two of them placed the Regalia in the center of the complicated construct. Bits of particulate matter hung suspended throughout it, and strange things that looked like veins extended up that massive stone pillar, weaving through the golden sigils and sunbursts inlaid in the foundation.

They're below me, he realized. Below the palace itself. Which meant they were trapped. The same as the others were held outside. What are they doing?

The strange construct hummed as the Regalia settled into place. Its tone turned into a high-pitched whine as power fed into those veins, absorbing the scrap of leather and folding it into itself. The leather sank into the pillar.

"When I activate this, we have to run as fast as we can." The Lizard ran his claws over a portion of his construct, tweaking pieces of it that shifted like the legs of an insect drawing inward. "We'll have about thirty seconds after I hit this. That's as long as I can delay. If we push toward the far tunnels, we might be safe. That structure I mentioned⁠—"

"I know. You explained it already.”

“Can we make it?” he asked. “Are you fast enough?”

“The Multipede is.” Beef swallowed, fear thrumming through him, but there was an iron bar of strength there, too. He put a hand out on the Lizard’s arm. “We need to do it. You can feel it, too. Everyone's in trouble."

The Lizard closed his eyes. “I can.”

“Then get on.” Beef clambered onto the giant Risen’s back, and the Lizard followed. He was so big it was like an adult sitting on a children’s toy. The Multipede shifted, sidling up to the pulsing construct. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The Lizard swallowed. "Precision Mines.”

The construct burst alight, and those veins clenched so hard the stone cracked.

“Hang on tight, Dad! Hallow! Run!”

Dad?

Felix jolted, brought back to himself by the sheer surprise of that word as it echoed across his link. He blinked his true eyes, looking up at the monsters that surrounded him.

The Lizard is Beef’s dad?

The world rocked, and the tower bucked upward. An explosion echoed up from below them like a thousand thunderbolts striking all at once. The force of it concussed the air and the tower dropped dozens of feet, slamming Felix's chin into the hard stone and jolting the gods.

What Is This? Noctis demanded.

En’Cridhe groaned, smoke pouring up from the base far, far below as it listed slowly to the side. For a brief moment, Felix thought the entire thing would collapse, but its fall was halted by the clustering of outbuildings that supported its thick base.

Hierophant! the Twins thundered. Explain This!

Sigaldry all around Felix flickered and failed as Ocalla ran about, her Will thrusting into pieces of the array, trying to reestablish them. The Hierophant spat out a curse, and Felix grinned. "I don't know. Something happened!”

Clearly. Yyero peered off the side of the tower, now tilted at an angle so sharp that Felix might have slid off if he weren’t bound. Blessed Blight. Do The Sewers Pass Beneath This Damnable Tower?

A second explosion sounded, and En’cridhe dropped again, but the angle didn’t change.

The rifts flickered.

What was once a large, singular portal now split back into three as the fractured edges began to heal slightly. Their empowered Vessels, so large and packed with potency, thinned out like glass. The gods’ shouts overlapped one another as Ocalla wove her golden threads.

Unseen and untended, Felix flexed his arms.

There was slack in his Bonds.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVEN

The enemy closed in around them. Redcloaks and godslaves swarmed from nearly every direction, but the Legion met their advance. Evie led the Risi and Nagafolk, stemming the relentless tide with surges of ice and water, while Yin wove above them all, raining dawnfire onto the backs of fleshy abominations and mithril-bound warriors. Frost and flame seared their enemies, but Evie’s unmistakable laugh was as sharp as her bladed chains.

A laugh that promised death before surrender. The horde would find no way through.

"Again!" Archie shouted, hands pressed against the barrier.

Laur was beside him, Chanting augmenting Archie's Primeval Drift. It did nothing, however, for the blood that ran down his arms nor the burned flesh that was once his fingers. "You can't keep this up, Archie!"

"I'm not leaving them. Again!"

The pain was impossible. It seared through his nerve endings with a heat so intense it felt like every molecule of his arms was freezing. Breath stuck in his lungs, and his blood congealed in his veins as the barrier rippled. Vibrations shot between him and the ward, too large and complex for him to master—-but he had to try.

The Chant spun through him, Laur’s buffs spiking the edge of his Drift. Still, it wasn’t enough. The Skill wouldn’t push past the complexities of the barrier—and it refused to level up to Master Tier, despite Archie’s furious push.

I just need to keep trying! I just⁠—

A deep noise pushed at them, even through the barrier. It sounded like vast drums, followed by a thousand of its smaller kin, and the earth broke open. Explosions tore up the earth on the other side of the barrier, and the immaculate walls of the Palace heaved like a tidal wave. High Tier stone and metal rolled into itself before it careened into the invisible barrier, riding high up its edge until masonry crashed down in deadly precipitation.

The barrier rippled far more violently than anything Archie had ever managed, accosted by a thousand angrily colored flashes across its entire lower half. It flickered with a discordant yowl that tore through all of their Affinities and drove many Legionnaires to their knees.

It was weakened.

"Now, Laur! Boost me now!” Archie slammed his bloody hands into the bulging divide. “Primeval Drift!"

Laur’s humming Chant resumed through the verbalization of his buffs. "Wardsmith! Prism Deconstruction!"

His intonations sank into Archie's Body, accompanied by the intoxicating hum that slipped the Chanter’s lips. It cut into the discordance as if slicing with the grain—a force that Archie couldn't quite describe, but one which he could feel.

"There!" His hands slipped into the barrier, and he wrenched wide, punching a single thin hole through. He hauled back harder, his Skill vibrating with every ounce of Mana he could provide. The untouchable barrier trembled, flashing into colors Archie couldn’t even see, as the fullness of its structure slipped into intangibility. A gap tore open, at least five feet tall and half that wide. "I have a hole!"

A blur of motion flashed by him so fast that all he could make out was a spear and sunset scales. Most surprisingly, a young swordsman tumbled after, plunging along headfirst into the chaos on the other side.

WARNING!

Your Health Has Dropped Below 10%!

"Hold it open for us!" Evie cried, tucking her chain around herself. She leapt forward, Loquis close behind, but Archie couldn’t hold it any longer. The barrier snapped out of his control, closing hard enough to blast the lot of them back several feet.

"Vess!" Evie shouted, forcing Loquis to grab her as she slashed her chain at the barrier. “Archie! Open this back up!”

Noticing much beyond that proved difficult. He knew he’d been thrown back, knew that he was injured thanks to more warning messages, but Archie couldn’t be bothered to check how mutilated his hands had become. He simply laid there in the dirt, staring up at the Bloodstorm as a single phrase echoed through him.

I did it.

Felix tensed, trying to decide how to move.

Above him, Ocalla seized the Chthonic Star. Her Will clashed with the gods as the Twins fought to hold the island in place. Ocalla screamed, veins protruding from her neck as she slowly moved the beam away from the chains, several of which had started to soften beneath the char.

The Divine pivoted, their rage focused entirely on the Hierophant.

You Dare Oppose Us? The Twins faded, their form encountering the splintered edge of their rift. That Star Is Meant To Free Us! It Is Not Meant For You!

The Hierophant adjusted her robes, breath heavy. "The situation has changed.”

Nothing Has Changed, Mortal!

Noctis and Yyero reached out for her, but a competing force batted their power aside, rising from the arrays that hadn't yet gone out.

"En’cridhe is failing.” Ocalla set her alabaster staff against the stone, and threads of gold spread from its bottom. They filtered into the sigaldry, and the array strengthened enough that Felix felt its sting against his chest and belly. "Your presence grows thin, and I am not some fool with a Divine bargain. Do not presume to rule me."

The Twins screamed wordlessly, their opposing voices intermingling with high and low discordance that tore at Felix’s Affinity. We Must Be Free! Else Your People Will All Perish!

"The Divine always lie. No, I will keep them safe. Besides, none of you are of use to me free.”

The Hierophant gestured, and golden threads sprouted from among the statues, launching forward to seize the floating island in their woven grasp.

Felix ignored them all. Instead, he focused on his Bonds. The slack was there with the Bond of Enmity, but it wasn't much. He couldn’t reach his sword where it floated several feet away nor make any real moves. Distracted or not, the gods would notice. The slack was barely enough to reach toward the Bonds themselves as they crushed against his core space—enough to interfere, if he were fast and lucky.

He pushed his Will toward the crimson Bonds, but they burned him, spiking through his Aspects and straight into his significance. He wheezed, the pain cutting beyond flesh, as if he’d grabbed a knife by the blade with his soul.

You Cannot Cut Free Your Hatred, Scion.

Felix tensed, but his panic faded when he realized the Divine hadn’t noticed his movements. Instead, the voice rose from the depths of himself. The Beast was speaking.

It Winds Through Your Aspects Like An Invasive Vine. Alone, You Cannot Uproot It. I Can. The voice was deep, but there were teeth at its edge. Free Me. Let Us Unite.

I'm not going to lose myself to you, Beast. Felix was nearly blind to the goings-on around him for all that the gods hurled power overhead. He refocused on the Bonds inside of him. If his hate could be used against him, then—his heartbeat sped up, and a chill alarm rippled across his Spirit. Bonds can be used against me just as easily as I use them against others…everything has connections.

He angled his head, looking up at the chains. The Star had been redirected by the Hierophant’s threads, but already, several enormous links had begun to soften. They weren’t ready to break, but there was a weakness there.

If they can strengthen Bonds, then so can I.

He had enough slack to use one Skill before they’d notice…he just had to make it count.

Adamant Discord!

There was no lightning or faint blue lines turned to steel, he focused entirely on the Ouranic Bindings above. The golden chains crackled where they’d been softened by the Chthonic Star, and Felix felt it all. A depth beyond his understanding of normal connections or even Links…but he didn’t need to understand them for this.

His Skill resonated with the chains, multiplying through their vibrations as his power was added to them. He flexed his Will and shaped his Intent, holding Adamant Discord against the Bindings’ structure. More than that, he pressed his power toward their purpose. These were the chains that held the gods to their prison realms, and they needed strengthening.

The chains creaked, and blue-white electricity sparked off of them. It was not enough.

She Violates Our Agreement! The Twins’ voices thundered across the tower. Obey The Bargain, Titan! Destroy The Hierophant!

As if finally given leave to act, Gabby leapt up, shredding the light construct around herself and tackling the Hierophant in the same moment. They smashed through other light constructs, their blows wild against their powerful Bodies, scattering golden threads in all directions. The Inheritor’s Will was set free, clattering to the slanted ground and skidding toward the fallen edge.

The Chthonic Star twisted as they fell, drawn by Ocalla's distracted Will. The beam sliced down into its own island, dropping it a dozen feet as it spun, before searing into En’Cridhe itself. Sigaldry, stone, and statue were sundered, before the Hierophant righted the weapon once more, twisting it into the distance.

She seethed at Gabby. "You dare touch me?"

His sister attacked again, her fist crashing into the Hierophant's armored chest. The array around them burst with the impact, exploding upward in sparks of golden light as the ritual surrounding the Kobolds and Sylphaen was sundered.

Our Vessels! Noctis’ shadows thickened across the tower, but they were blasted apart by the burst of golden light.

"Oops," Gabby said, her expression flat.

"They'll kill you once you dispose of me," Ocalla hissed at her.

"I know."

The Hierophant breathed a laugh and swung her alabaster staff. It smashed the Titan to the ground, slicing through the arm she raised in defense. Gabby fell back, clutching at her sudden wound as blood gushed through her fingers.

The Hierophant gathered golden light around herself like a cloak and crown. "I will not let the Divine have the pleasure. You will not survive me, betrayer."

She lifted her arm but was inundated by gleaming dawnfire.

With a roar, Yin descended onto the tower, two people riding on his back. They leaped off as he landed with a liquid grace, weapons in hand. Felix started. It was Vess…and Mervin?

"Dragoon and Dragon.” The Hierophant slashed her staff, and the wind blasted away the dawnfire. “Just how did you get in here?"

"Your barrier's not as good as you think.” Yin tossed his mane as smoke billowed from his nostrils. "Slice her throat, Dragoon. I tire of her words."

Vess shot forward, glaive leading the way.

Mervin slid to Felix’s side, his sword poised to hack at the bindings around him. “I’ll free you, sir!”

“No!” Felix jerked his chin toward the Unbound. "Save them first!"

To his credit, Mervin didn't hesitate. He altered course, heading for Ondine.

Felix strained against his Bonds, pushing against the hate that surrounded his core space. It seared him back. There was slack enough to push himself upward a couple of inches, but no more. The Bonds would not budge.

Mere feet away, Vess, Yin, and Gabby fought furiously against the Hierophant. The three of them were no pushovers, but the Hierophant gave them no chances to wield their Skills. She blurred through them, ignoring the slash of claw, spear, and light-conjured blade, to strike the red-gold scales that coated Vess' midsection. Felix felt weakness leech into him as it powered their defenses, but the scales shattered beneath the Hierophant's second attack.

Vess’ elbow bent and snapped like a gunshot. She fell back, biting off her scream.

Ocalla sighed. “Pathetic.”

Gabby rushed in, her conjured greatsword sweeping in a horizontal slice—only to be thrown back by a simple gesture. Threads of gold stretched her limbs taut between two columns, binding her as effectively as any spider.

Felix's skin burned, an immutable hatred reigniting within him. Not at the gods, but at the Hierophant and her casual cruelty. He shoved upward…and to his surprise, was able to stand.

The Bonds loosened? He tried to step away, but his legs and feet were still stuck fast. How? What’s changed now?

“Still trapped?” The Hierophant gave him a sad smile. “A pity. You could have stopped this.”

Golden threads seized the remnants of the floating island, now fallen to En’cridhe’s tilted edge. She gestured, and the mass of it rotated, the Chthonic Star’s beam rekindling into a sweeping arc…directly toward Vess.

"No!" Felix lurched forward, but fell, unable to do more than bend his knees.

The Hierophant’s smile twisted into something wicked. The beam sliced down.

"For the Fiend!"

Mervin leapt across the angled tower, directly over Felix’s head, as lightning trailed behind him. His fists were clenched around the handle of a hooked blade, its bronze blade gleaming with red-gold radiance as he fell.

“Mervin!”

The sword's first glyph burned in the blade, diverting the Star’s eradicating beam in a way that only that powerful artifact could manage. The light burst, slicing through statue and tower alike in uncontrolled arcs as the Legion Captain fell forward, red-gold scales forming around his body. He landed and thrust in the same motion, lodging the hooked edge directly into the Star’s spinning innards.

The Chthonic Star exploded.

A wash of nameless, colorless potency washed across En’cridhe. Red-gold scales shattered, and proud, glowing eyes met Felix’s before they were subsumed in white. The leading edge bashed into Felix, nearly bowling him over as it burned his Garment down to rags. He ignored the pain, hunting instead for the center, where the Star still sat, no longer spinning but unbroken.

The Inheritor’s Will was stuck upright in its center…but Mervin was gone.

The Hierophant growled something in a dialect Felix didn’t recognize. She pushed back to her feet, leaning heavily on her staff. “Born idiots, interfering where they do not belong!”

Vess and Yin struggled back to their feet. They were both bleeding, and Vess’ arm was bent the wrong way, but they helped each other up. Gabby was captured, struggling vainly against her bindings, and the three Unbound were still stuck fast.

Bonds Give Us Strength.

The Beast rumbled like distant thunder, far louder than the surging Bloodstorm. Felix felt it as the Bonds shifted, his hate for Ocalla Marzul burning brighter than anything else. En’cridhe spat and sparked all around him. The array was truly weakened now, no longer holding him but by the barest of threads. He twisted in place, rising to his fullest height.

Empyrean Embrace!

His hunger snapped against the Bonds but could not sever them.

Use Them, Scion! Unite With Me, And I Will Show You How.

No. I have a better option.

He could reach the pouch at his side now. He plunged a hand within, withdrawing the faceted object he had resting within. Mana congealed around his position, storming in swirling clouds above him.

Beware! Vellus’ voice was a crackling wail. Watch His Hands, My Love!

The gods spun toward Felix. The Bonds flared, but the Enmity between them had become too relaxed. It couldn’t stop Felix’s arm from clutching the object to his chest.

Titan! Noctis reached out her shadow. The threads of gold froze and snapped, dropping Gabby back to her feet. Stop Him!

Dark power flooded her, forcing her forward. Felix focused entirely upon the object against his chest. Its power all but spilled over its angular lip, filled to the brim by a familiar source.

Significance Processed!

Authority Recognized!

The Empyrean Regalia’s Cooldown Has Been Reset!

Felix opened his mouth, and the Wellspring Chalice sang.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED EIGHT

Take It From Him Now!

Gabby burned with shadow, her light blinkered to darkness, and she blurred forward. The Hierophant thrust her hand out, sending a wave of golden threads at Felix.

They never reached him.

It was hard to tell at first, but color leeched from the luminous shadows around Gabby, and the golden glow turned grayscale in a whispered instant.

The world slowed. Stopped.

Crumbled.

All at once, Felix was no longer atop En’cridhe. Instead, he stood before an enormous wave, frozen in its ascent, its dark green depths still flecked with white foam. He was outside Elderthrone—a full day before.

A Memory. One of my own.

Felix pivoted and jolted back. His sister was still there, somehow—she’d frozen in place of course, but her armored hand was mere inches from his neck. Black vapor streamed from the joints of her plate mail, shrouding her features until he could barely make out the shape of her nose.

“Emperor.”

A creature swam up from the deep within the green wave, rotating around Felix. It was just as he remembered it, huge and monstrous, a bulbous body surrounded by hundreds of barbed tentacles obscuring its true shape. Dozens of eyes stared at him out of the occluded waves, each a bright orange circle of light larger than his head.

The Dread.

"…Right. You called for me, and I answered.”

“Yes." The voice was waterlogged and sibilant, almost too garbled to be understood, yet it carried a punch of intent that could not be mistaken. Felix could hear it directly in his Mind.

"Why?" The voice came from all around them. It was Felix's, but it hadn’t come from the him that stood there now. Understanding dawned, filtered through the rush of Skill at his center. The Memory was speaking. A day ago, he'd met the Blood Beast, curious as to why it wanted to speak. It never had before, though it always remained close to Nagast's western shores. The last time they'd come close to communicating was when it had almost killed a ship full of Chanters.

The Dread's body rippled in the water, pieces of it fluttering open and closed. Gills, most likely, but they were covered in teeth. Everything was covered in teeth.

"The gods will not cease.”

“I'm aware of that." With every word, Felix slipped into the Memory, becoming the him of the past. Gabby faded further, ghostly and out of phase.

"This is only a portion of their might.”

“I know." Their conversation had gone on like this for quite a while. The Dread had a stilted way of speaking, as if pushing out thoughts was very difficult.

Eventually, the Dread shivered. “Behold.”

The Dread moved its tentacles, revealing thousands of dark corpses in the green water. Godslaves. They were in pieces, ichor still clinging to them like smoke, but there were hundreds held in the Dread's barbed limbs. Thousands more were suspended in the still water like flies in amber.

"You killed all of these?”

“Yes.”

“I appreciate it." Felix paused. "Why did you help me? Is it just because I inherited the Maw's power? Because you were a Blood Beast?”

“Yes. No." Hooked tentacles clenched. "I once lived."

Felix knew that. The Blood Beasts had all been corrupted Geist, a Lost Race of ermine-looking folk that were the architects of many of the Golden Empire’s marvels. They’d been the ones to take on the incarceration of the Maw, building the Labyrinth and all the traps to keep her locked up. And they were the first to be corrupted by the Primordial’s flesh curse, turned into monsters.

He knew the revelation the Dread was about to drop. Still, the Memory kept moving on.

"You’re a Geist.”

“I am Ssev."

The revelation was still as shocking as it had been the first time. Ssev, along with their Nymean partner, Lhel, had been responsible for waking the Unending Maw from her Ages long slumber. The other Blood Beasts were Geists meant to guard the Labyrinth across the Ages, but if he were Ssev, that meant he was infected by the flesh curse at the very beginning. The very first of the Maw’s “children.”

"That’s…heavy,” Felix had admitted. “Why did you save Elderthrone?”

“Because you saved my brothers."

Felix shook his head. "I didn't save them. I killed them."

"Yes," the Dread said, bubbling and burbling. "Saved.”

Felix of the past had been unsure how to handle that, and now Felix backed away. His current self desynchronized as he did, leaving behind an echo of himself—a puppet, still dancing on Memory’s strings.

Felix had brutally murdered all of the Blood Beasts during his time in the Foglands. He felt zero remorse for the first of them, the Seven-Legged Orit, who had killed Pit’s mother and nearly devoured his friend. That thing had been vile and cruel; whatever Geist it had once been was lost entirely to Primordial madness. What pricked at him then—and now—were the two Bloodtainted Guardians that had tried to kill him outside the Maw’s prison. Though they’d been twisted into monstrosities, they’d still been trying to keep the Maw contained. Felix couldn’t fault them for that, not entirely.

"...me more about the Maw,” his echo said. “Was she once Veridaan?”

“Once a Cardinal, yes."

His past self closed his eyes, clearly shocked. "The Maw was corrupted, but she's dead now too—No.” Felix frowned at the fear he saw in his own face. “Changed.”

“You.”

Both Felixes flinched. The Dread moved closer until only a thin layer of water separated them. A tentacle jabbed at him, and Felix started. Orange eyes fixed on him, not his echo.

"You hunger."

His Memory flickered. Felix lowered his stance—unsure where things were going. "Yeah, I do."

Those enormous eyes blinked wetly at him, a hundred at a time. "I remember finding her. I remember so much." Suddenly, Dread was talking to his echo again. There was a pain in the Dread's voice that Felix couldn't begin to piece together. It was large, like a horizon on the sky he's never seen before. He'd heard these words already, but they shook him.

"We sought a solution to war, only to doom our people. To doom myself…but it is not a curse. You are free. Untainted.”

Felix had nodded.

“Her power burns in me. A potency that could be yours, Fiend, if you but—” The Dread stopped, freezing in place, but its eyes swiveled toward the real him again. “We have already had this conversation."

Felix jolted, the Memory shifting around him. The wave rolled backward, then glitched, its occluded depths gone in an instant. The Dread hung there, unsupported in the sky, as pieces of the landscape around them fuzzed and broke apart. As if the sun dropped behind the horizon, the world went dark.

Ssev stared at Felix, ignoring the echo. "Is it time?"

"Yeah, it is.” Felix’s mouth was dry. "Remind me of the price."

"Control."

Felix bared his teeth. "Right. Control. The Beast's control. Gotta be honest, I'm not looking forward to it."

"Life is torment," Ssev agreed. "I cling still in that Chalice. My offering is not enough. I wish to die, Fiend."

"You don't have to—No.” Felix forced a hard breath from his nose. “You rejected that offer before."

"Yes," Ssev once again pulled away, deeper into the green dark. "I do not wish to be anything. I only wish for my end. To return to my family in the Ethereal."

"The Beast, though. Can it be trusted?"

"You cannot control it all. The Cardinal is split. You cannot hold the Tide alone." The words took effort to come out of the Dread. Its body rippled and shook, racked by spasms. Several of its barbed tentacles crushed the phantom dead it had once held. “Seek the One.”

"You never answered me before. What is the One?”

"You are split.”

“We're talking about the Beast, not me."

"Yes," the Dread said. "Oneness. Blood. The last spilt upon ancient Tides that still shake with its waves."

Ssev fixed Felix with every one of its lantern eyes. "The Chalice. I can feel it."

Felix took a half step back, his heels touching the edge of something he couldn't identify in the dark. “It burns at me.”

“Yes. Do you know the Regalia’s purpose?”

“To protect the Golden Empire?”

“It is a weapon, but it is empty. That which grants you strength is fuel to the Empyrean Regalia as well."

Felix blinked. “Bonds?”

Brilliant orange eyes fixed on him, all of them, all at once. "You're binding it now."

The dark glitched, the Dread shifting places as the green wave rose up and fell again. Light swirled around Felix's chest. "This is a Memory. I keep losing myself…”

Felix put a hand to his chest and winced, the heat gathering there too much. "You’re right here.”

“I fed myself to the Chalice then. Primed it."

Felix swallowed and nodded. "Reduced its cooldown to a single day."

The heat increased, searing into him. The light around the frozen Titan brightened as well, her form solidifying. The Memory was starting to fade.

"Fiend, listen. Before this Memory fades, do not let the Beast seize it.”

“You said I had to give up control!”

“No. I said that is the price—I never said you couldn’t haggle.” The Dread began to fade, its shape losing cohesion in the dark. “You are the sovereign of your Body."

The Dread’s tentacular mass shunted forward, swirling down into the Chalice that formed from planes of jagged light against Felix's chest. It was pressed into him, caving in his flesh as if tearing its way through his heart. Pain poured around it, followed sharply by the stretch of barbed tendrils and a single unblinking eye.

"Rise, Fiend."

The world burst apart. An explosion of power expanded around Felix, surrounding him in a swirling blossom of liquid Mana. Gabby was thrown back, and the golden threads of the Hierophant were driven down into the tower’s High-Tier stone.

“Impossible,” Ocalla shouted.

Yes! cried the Beast from deep within. Rise! Rightful Scion Of The Unseen Tides!

Felix gripped the Chalice tight.

RISE!

All around him, the Divine howled, pushed back by a force that thrummed from Felix’s Spirit. It tore at their dimmed forms, and the flesh of their conjured Vessels rolled like condensation on a window.

Stand, Titan, Yyero demanded in a thick, panicking voice. Do Not Let The Fiend Claim It!

Gabby struggled to her feet, the shadow replaced by a burgeoning bronze—only to have that light gutter like a candle in a gale. She stepped forward.

Do You Wish To Bind Yourself To The Wellspring Chalice?

Y/N

Felix clutched at his chest. Yes.

The Chalice flashed and sank the rest of the way into his chest. Heat flowed through him, a humid warmth that filled his body to the brim. Earthen scents blossomed from his pores, and a rush of vitality roared through his blood. He took a breath, and it was like he would swallow the world. He exhaled, and fire flooded from his lips as a cloud of Mana congealed around his head and crown.

Name: Wellspring Chalice

Type: Empyrean Regalia (Enchanted)

Lore: Once borne by the rulers of the Golden Empire, the Wellspring Chalice is far older than the Nym. Grown within the heart of Creation itself by the first Elemental Lords, it echoes with the deep strains that once molded all three Realms. It is a symbol of the connection between all living things.

Threnody's Wrath XX - The riot of flood and fire is greatly empowered. All Body Skills that touch upon Threnody’s violence are twice as effective.

Aria's Caress XX - The vigor of root and rock is greatly empowered. All Body Skills that touch upon the Aria's protection are twice as effective.

Sated Surety XX - Food and drink are no longer required for you to live. You draw sustenance directly through the Chalice itself.

Empyrean Regalia Set Piece - 2 of 3 - Effects will accrue when two and three set pieces are bound to your Aspects.

Set Effect 1 - Vital Aegis

Set Effect 2 - Unknown

Power flooded through his body in ways Felix couldn't comprehend. It condensed, pooling against the branches of his Divine Tree before dripping into its opalescent trunk. It gleamed through the roots, shimmering as it sank into the very base of him, where his Pillars sat among the obdurate crystals. Significance steadied him, filling his Body with a depth and density he couldn’t put to words. He breathed in, and the bindings around his flesh suddenly felt like gossamer threads.

"Beast!” Felix reached into the Challenger's Sea at his center. "Let's fuck him up!"

The last monolith shattered beneath Felix's Will, and the dark water split asunder.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINE

WARNING!

A Cardinal Beast Approaches!

The gods were blasted back.

Vess stood cradling her left arm, staring at Felix in awestruck horror. Where he had been bound was now a pillar of liquid smoke, cast from a purple so dark it was nearly black and limned with flares of red-gold and blue-white. She could still see Felix within it, his head thrown back as his Core Manifestation tore out of every one of his Mana Gates at once. The column of smoke grew, billowing outward and upward until it dwarfed the Divine Vessels around him.

The Twins' heads shook behind their rift, a strange protomouth stretching wide across its inhuman features. Rage poured forth like a furious concerto, so hard and heavy that Vess' Affinity buckled beneath the weight of it—but not before she felt something else.

Fear.

Kill The Abomination!

The Divine surged forward, Noctis, Yyero, and a flickering Vellus leaping for Felix's gathering power. Godly might crashed upon him in waves, throwing Vess back against a statue that cracked beneath her weight. Icy shadow, rotting clouds, and a cascade of bloody lightning collided with the Beast. She straightened, back aching, just in time to glimpse a pair of familiar blue eyes meeting hers before Felix vanished completely.

Felix…

White flashed in her peripherals, and her Perception flared. Vess twisted, wings driving downward to thrust her away—but not fast enough. An alabaster staff crashed into her trailing leg, met by a surge of red-gold scales that formed around Vess’ calf. They shattered instantly, but the sunburst staff was deflected into the gold-inscribed floor.

Vess spun, Spears manifesting around herself and launching in the same fluid moment. Ocalla deflected them all, the weapons exploding harmlessly dozens of feet away.

"Impressive.” She licked her lips. Her smooth, ageless face creased into a wild grin. "But not enough."

Felix's view of Vess vanished as the gods assaulted the Beast.

Felix sat within its gargantuan body and screamed. Red-gold fire poured from his lips, and blue-white lightning sparked from his fingertips, catching within the purple-black shape of the Beast. A familiar potency was there among the Chalice's power. Bloody and raw, it flowed from the depths of the cup where it had been stored. Mana, Essence, and significance were enough to run riot through Felix's core.

You Have Digested Your Target.

The Dread Is No More.

You Have Gained A Memory!

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan!

Progress 15% > 64%

Ssev was gone, and in his place, a wild strength ran through Felix's veins—one that felt unlike any monstrosity he'd consumed before, save one. The memory of that beast uncoiled through him like a serpent. The Ravager King. The twisted Primordial Spawn that had inherited a large mass of the Maw's power.

No wonder the fragment was absorbed by so much. He regarded his sparking hands, talons extended like curved blades from each fingertip. He sat within the Beast, surrounded on all sides by Divine Vessels looking to murder him. Yet, as he acclimated to the pain of the Chalice inside of him, a piece of him could only marvel at the Core Manifestation around him.

In addition to the Beast's highly defined hands and forearms, things that Felix had developed during the earliest stages of his Core Manifestation, a crude head had formed. It was more detailed than previously, bearing a defined jaw, fangs, and the beginnings of cheekbones. The eyes, however, were the true advantage. Felix could see now. Like windows into the outside world, he was surrounded by transparent panels in every direction. He twisted his Body, held fast in the Manifestation's center, but rotating to look at the savage destruction closing in on him.

The gods were trying to kill him.

You Will Not Rise Again, Cardinal!

The Twins’ voices chased after Felix as he and the gods fell off of En’cridhe’s side and through the air, trading blows like rabid animals. Though the Twins did not join them,Yyero, Noctis, and Vellus had all focused on him at once, their varied powers tearing at the purple-black smokestuff that formed the Beast.

You Cannot Stop Us, the Beast rumbled through Felix's lips. Adamant Discord!

Lightning blasted upward, arresting their fall as the Beast seized their connection to the sky.

What the hell? Felix gaped at the lightning that flickered through his shadowstuff containment. Since when could the Beast use his Skills?

The gods followed as they rose, but it was a cautious pursuit. Their fervor dimmed as blue-white lightning played across the stormy skies, tethered to the Beast’s scaled fists. It was Noctis that broke their silence.

Kill It! Shadowflay!

Lashes of darkness sliced into the Beast, stripping the purple-black from its haunches and back. Yyero followed, an explosion of vile ichor tearing across the Manifestation’s chest, and Vellus rained bloody bolts from the sky.

Your Stolen Might Means Nothing Here!

The Beast wasn’t daunted in the slightest. Its maw stretched wide, crooked fangs glowing blue-white while his tongue and throat flared like a red-gold furnace. The Beast lunged, sinking its teeth into Noctis’ shadowy leg.

Empyrean Embrace!

Shadowflesh gave way to fangs both physical and ethereal, and Noctis cried out in a high=-pitched wail as a chunk of her thigh was torn free.

I Deny You! The Twins burst free of the Deadlands, thrusting their closed fist forward into the air. God-flesh was ripped from between the Beast's jaws, drawn toward the Twins' clenched fist. It absorbed instantly into the conjoined god, expanding their presence instantly. Heel, Beast!

Blue-white light overcame Felix and his Beast as a bright cascade of lightning sent them hurtling back into the sky. They slammed into the barrier, back cracking on impact, while steel lines of connection held him a few seconds longer before fading.

What the hell? That was Adamant Discord…

Lingering lightning skittered across his Manifestation, leaving trails of char across its smoky flesh. Pain drew a roar from the Beast, but it only barely touched Felix. The Manifestation was a buffer, like a living suit of armor, and it did its job.

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped Below 50%!

Barely.

The notification faded as his regeneration kicked in, but that was when the new pain settled across his Aspects.

Significance damage again, while the other gods can only dent my Health.

And they certainly did. The Divine followed him to the barrier like hounds on a hunt. Yyero clung to him like the diseases he so loved, his tall, angular form half-fluid as pestilence and fetid auras tried to drown Felix. Noctis flickered through the sky, traveling through shadows cast by her minions as they swarmed their location. She trailed fog and frost, a diabolical cold that made his Manifestation’s unformed body congeal into sluggish billows of ill-formed Intent.

Vellus crashed into them, her lightning tearing the Manifestation apart, which in turn drew more and more Essence and Mana from Felix's cores. The Bloodstorms swirled, joining the fight as cyclones spun around their battle there in the center of the city.

The shield still stood, keeping Felix from fleeing too far, but the Beast wasn't interested in hit-and-run tactics. It ripped and tore at the gods, savaging them with fists studded with spikes and scales. The Divine were pummeled back, again and again, but each time they returned, their forms unharmed and undaunted. Their attacks hurt, but they weren't going to kill the Beast unless the Twins attacked him faster…and the conjoined god seemed reluctant to leave their rift.

The Beast attacked, snapping its jaws over Yyero's grotesque head. Empyrean Embrace thrummed through Felix, sounding from the depths of his ringing core space, only to be thwarted instantly. Lightning hit them, their mouthful torn free and yanked down once again to the Twins.

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped Below 25%!

Felix cursed. "Stop trying to eat them!”

We Cannot Help Our Nature, Scion!

We Feed Because We Must, Or Else Our Harmony Dissolves To Dissonance!

“We need their power to maintain the Core Manifestation?"

The Beast didn't answer. It only raged.

The three Divine defended, barely turning aside the rapid pugilism of the once-Cardinal. Though they were still chained, their rifts to the Deadlands shrunk, and En’cridhe's amplifying effect dimmed; their Divinity could not be denied. They were as immovable and eternal as mountains…unless he devoured them. The Twins wouldn’t allow that, though.

Their weakness to the Beast’s attacks made sense. They’re losing their buffs to manifest here in the Corporeal…but why isn’t that affecting the Twins?

Felix was pretty sure he knew. It glowed, blue-white, within a massive, conjoined fist. The reason the Twins could affect Bonds and use Adamant Discord, and the source of their strange potency.

The last piece of Siva’s core.

The Blood Beast Was Right, the Beast roared, its voice only for him. Bonds Give You Strength. The Unseen Tide Calls To All, But Only the Scion May Truly Command It!

Felix floated within the inky dark, his center a conduit for titanic powers that raged beyond his control. His Mind raced, a Bond between him and the core in the hands of the Twins. It was not Enmity nor Fellowship. He could feel it. Hatred was hot and sour, and Fellowship was a warmth that drained even as it fulfilled. This was something else…the name of it rose from within him, unbidden.

The Bond of Kinship.

Part of Veridaan’s power, it echoed within Felix. A reverberation that touched the deepest part of him, where the Divine Tree joined with his Ten Pillars, and his dual cores ground out Dissonance and Harmony above the endless abyss.

It was there, in his heart.

The Bonds, Scion! Claim Them!

Felix reached out, Adamant Discord surging within him to the sound, following the flow of his Affinity. His core space rang in unison, his Skills igniting, all at once singing an arcane, lilting melody.

A beam as thick as En’cridhe itself stretched down to the rifts far below, and the metallic blue Divine that hunched within. It pulsed, dragging at the Twins, and with every ounce of his Will, Felix hauled back. The Twins yelped, a sound he'd never heard a Divine make, and they were pulled forward, their head and shoulders yanked through the rift and into the Corporeal Realm.

Siblings! the Twins cried, clutching at the core remnant in their fist as it was dragged upward, their arms trembling. Help Us!

Felix pulled back, and the Beast joined him, a manifested arm flexing as lightning sparked between their two points. The Twins were dragged forward, hips free of the rift…until Noctis, Yyero, and Vellus piled upon their kin. The advance stopped.

Harry His Followers! Noctis commanded. Force Them To Draw Upon Their Bond Of Fellowship! Vellus! Drain His Power!

The sparking scrap of Divinity pulled away from the others, lifting her ill-formed face to the heavens. Crimson lightning spat into the sky and outside the barrier, the Bloodstorm roused into a frenzy.

Stormwinds and sheets of bloody lightning crashed into Felix’s fleet like a tidal wave. The godslaves surged, attacking his people with a renewed ferocity. Though he still hauled back with all his Will, a distant awareness intruded on Felix’s single-minded effort. His people were being hurt. They were dying.

Felix clenched his teeth. Take what you need!

The Bonds of Fellowship thrummed within him, drawing his gaze. Blue-white eyes burned across thousands of survivors, lending each of them newfound Strength and Will. Red-gold scales enhanced their Endurance and Vitality, turning aside attacks that would have killed them before. Skills sang from their cores, bursting from their myriad limbs with a newfound potency.

Empowered by pieces of the Fiend.

Godslaves died. Yet, despite all of that, his people were being overwhelmed.

Crown of Elysium Detected!

Set Effect 1 - Vital Aegis - Activated!

Vital Aegis - Empower the Bonds of flesh. You have become a living conduit of protection for all that follow under your banner. For a limited time, you may choose to take on the wounds of those within the same Territory as yourself, suffering the consequences that directly impact their Bodies in their place.

The severing of connections ceased. Wounds that would have ended lives and bypassed their boosted defenses were transferred across their thickening Bonds back to Felix himself. A thousand attacks struck him all at once, blasting against his reinforced flesh so quickly and so tremendously that, for a moment, his breath was driven from him.

Yet, it made little difference. Most godslaves couldn’t touch him, and those that could dent his scales were nullified by his ridiculous regeneration. Mortal blows to his people became a soft wave of impacts that Felix drove from his awareness. Vital Aegis thrummed within him, emanating from the Chalice in his chest. The power was like drinking the sun, and it poured through his core space, across those innumerable connections, as if he were radiating light itself.

The Beast howled, the Bloodstorm concentrating upon them in a hammer of crimson light. It slammed them down toward the outbuildings of the palace, but a laugh echoed from the almost-cardinal as it arrested their fall. This Cannot Stop Us. None Of You Can. Adamant Discord!

The Beast rose up, blue-white lightning combating crimson as they blasted into the sky, taking on the gods. Together, Felix and the Beast hauled upon the Bond of Kinship. The Twins were yanked off their feet, pulled nearly halfway through the rift once more before Noctis, Yyero, and Vellus could leverage their own Wills.

They loomed large, their powers swirling, blood mingling with shadow and sizzling with rot as their powers twined together.

Already You Fail, the Beast gloated, and Felix pulled them closer along the Bond of Kinship.

Their physical forms had thinned as their power reached the limits of what they could touch. Yyero started, staring down at himself. We Waste Away!

Noctis turned her empty face to the tower top. Hierophant! Sunder The Chains!

Ocalla was nowhere to be seen. Still, the Ouranic Bindings above creaked, trembling with flashes of searing, prismatic light. The links were breaking.

Lightning burned across the Beast, tangling deep within to invade the center where Felix was cradled. He bared his teeth. His people were in terrible danger, the gods were moments from being freed…and the Beast thundered through his soul.

That Core Is Ours! The Beast howled in sympathetic wrath. Devour The Thieves Of Ages! Devour The Gods! We Must Be Whole Again!

The chains groaned.

The once-Cardinal pulled all the harder, eager to fight, no matter the consequences—and a piece of Felix quailed. It pushed back at him. A voice that echoed so deep that Felix couldn't tell where it came from.

This isn't you!

He shoved the voice away, but it came back, its connection to him too strong to ignore, even among the thrum of Chalice-borne enchantment.

That thing isn’t you! It has no plan or thoughts! It’s all instincts. Urges.

Above them, the chains shook, the melted links beginning to spread—nearly ready to snap. The Divines’ power surged by the smallest of margins as they reached into reserves they did not possess only moments before.

You need a plan, Felix, please.

It wasn't a voice within him, Felix realized. It was Pit, speaking to him through their Bond. With great effort, he released his hold on the Bond of Kinship. The Twins and other gods and the rest of the Divine fell back, the steel line gone slack. They tumbled, half of them falling back into the rifts and crashing like giant trees in the dust of the Deadlands.

They rose swiftly back to their feet, strange angles and unkempt flesh reknitting as they strode through the rifts once more.

He Weakens, Yyero purred.

He Is Up To Something.

Vellus crackled. Kill Him!

Listen to me, Beast! Listen, and we win! Felix, nestled within the manifested form of the hulking Beast, reached out, and for once, the Cardinal followed him.

The gods flowed forward, halos of their Divine power igniting about their ill-wrought Vessels. Death, writ large behind their unstoppable, riotous strikes.

Adamant Discord.

Lightning burned from Felix, acting like nothing else before. The world itself was their Bond. Felix could touch it all—an ocean at his very fingertips. Lightning in his hands. All connections. All Bonds.

Mine.

He sought out the chains, the golden bindings of Ouranic Law, and layered on his power. He gestured, and the brilliant, blue-white eyes within his palms seared into the chains, the links reforged with blinding lightning, Bonds strengthening as it tumbled out of Felix's control.

Empire Detected!

Nymean Authority Detected!

Authority Recognized, Inheritor!

Ouranic Binding Reinforced!

In a sweeping gesture, the eye in his left hand blasted at the Divine, throwing them back into the rifts. They screeched, their powers pulled away from their control by Ouranic Law itself as they temporarily tumbled out of the Corporeal. With a crackling snap, the rifts vanished.

The Divine with them.

Felix and the Beast roared in triumph.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TEN

The gods were gone. Hope surged anew in Vess as she surveyed their vanished rifts.

At her side, Gabby flexed her hands. "My bargain has loosened. What the hell did he do?"

"It matters not," the Hierophant said, before threads of golden light speared forward, forming into complicated tides of jagged shapes. They slashed into the tower, scouring the stone and sending Vess tumbling back, barely escaping its blast radius.

Gabby took it all straight on. Her armor cracked across the breastplate, light blooming around her in a defensive nimbus, before coalescing into a shield held by her two hands. It immediately splintered across the center.

"Oh, it matters a lot! Now I can do this. Brightblade!"

Her shield burst as she spun to the side, deflecting the threads and charging forward in a blur of gold and metal, gold and steel. Gabby drew close to the Hierophant, a hammer made entirely of golden light shearing upward into the woman's belly.

The Hierophant took the blow, her armor creaking beneath the hammer’s wide head. She fell back a single step. “Pathetic.”

She seized the haft of Gabby's weapon and backhanded the woman to the ground. "All of you resist what must happen. Stand aside, for the Ruin approaches."

"Because you summoned it!" Vess sent her Spears forward to harry the Hierophant. They were knocked aside by those threads again as they wove around her like a thousand arms, bending in strange intervals as if they possessed innumerable joints.

"It was inevitable, Dragoon.” The woman’s threads wove into strange shapes that arced outward, beyond Vess’ sight. “The Ruin was on its way; the Pathless and I simply caught its attention sooner, when we could control the outcome. But then, we should have had the Unbound as a shield. A shield sundered by Mauvim and her wretched insects.”

Vess sent more Spears at her, but they burst well before they reached the woman. "You summoned them as a sacrifice.”

"A necessary one. Nine lives to save my people? A low price to pay."

"Don't let her fool you." Gabby stood back up, her armor repairing itself with solidifying metal Mana. "She was gonna let the Pathless use all nine of us as its Vessels. Puppets for a god to solidify his power on the Continent. And, when that failed, she was just gonna do the same thing for their other gods. All for personal power.”

Ocalla pursed her lips. Threads twitched around her, blocking Vess’ relentless Spears with minimal effort. “Another necessary sacrifice.”

“Necessary? To whom? The Divine would have wrought horror upon this land!” Vess leaped aside from a pair of wound threads that sliced toward her face. “I once foolishly believed in the Grace of Siva, but the truth of their nature is undeniable. The gods are not deserving of their power."

"And that is where we agree.” Ocalla clenched a fist, and threads swirled around her wrist. “Now die⁠—”

"Umbral Cascade!" Yin roared. An orb of shadow congealed around the Hierophant, the golden threads going limp, and it sealed her into a bubble of absolute dark.

"That will hold her for a time." Yin grunted, landing nearby. The strain of his Skill was immediately apparent in his Spirit. It shook audibly, quaking against Vess' senses as the bubble flexed in tandem.

"Luminous Tide!" A wave of dawnfire rolled from the Drake, cascading over the entirety of the tilted tower's surface, splashing into Vess, Gabby, and the three restrained Unbound.

All Status Conditions Are Ended!

Health, Mana, And Stamina Are Restored By 40%!

Vess flexed her arm, the joint restored but tender. "We have only a few seconds."

Gabby stood straighter and wiped the blood from her mouth. "Get ready; we need to crush her the moment she escapes. Brightblade!"

Her bent hammer reformed in a wave of gold, becoming a massive sword—ten feet long and half as wide. Vess raised an eyebrow. Darius would be jealous.

“Bountiful Grace! Warlord’s Blessing! Sealed Sarcophagi!”

Her words were followed by a wash of golden light across all three of them. Vess hefted her glaive. Her Agility had increased, the edges of her weapon were sharpened, and a veil of radiance hardened around her shoulders before fading.

“Impressive.”

“Useful in a fight, and it’ll last longer than that weird buff Felix cast on you two.” Gabby tilted her head. “I can hear it winding down.”

She wasn’t wrong. The Vital Aegis that Felix applied to them was diminishing by the moment. Vess wasn’t certain how long they had, but it wouldn’t last an entire fight. “We shall make the most of it. Ready?”

“Waiting on you.”

"Galebound Glory." Vess' Spears manifested around her. They, too, shone with the buffs that Gabby had laid upon her, but there was something more as well. Blue-white lightning flickered across the haft—faint, but present.

"She’s completed something," Yin warned, just as the darkness shattered. “I’ll hold her down! Prismatic Cyclone!”

“Fang of Havoc!”

“Shatterstar!"

Before the Hierophant could move, a cyclone of dawnfire roared around her, tearing at her Body and inflicting the Stunned and Blindness Status Conditions.

Conjured spears slipped into the gale, spinning with the cyclone to assault Ocalla from strange, almost random angles. Vess guided them as she shot into the sky, moving them in multiple directions all at once. It was easily done with her Will, and when she brought them in close, she let them explode.

“Final Glory!” They burst, exploding against the Hierophant as small storms of metal shrapnel and lightning amid the storm. “Draconic Stormfall!”

She fell like a comet, glaive held downward, and brought her weapon upon the Hierophant’s naked head.

Draconic Stormfall is level 98!

The Fang of Havoc is level 99!

The Hierophant swung her staff once. The cyclone vanished as if the wind were strangled, and the haze of Status Conditions were sliced clean through in the same motion that she met Vess’ downward descent. Vess was sent tumbling back, glaive held crosswise to protect against the woman’s insane riposte. She skidded across the ground, haft smoking, and stared incredulously at the Hierophant.

The explosions had marred the woman's hair, but no more than that. She stood unharmed. When the falling stars landed, she didn't even flinch.

Vess threw up a hand against the blinding light, bracing for an impact that never happened. The golden stars hadn't even touched the woman.

Ocalla Marzul had lifted a single finger, and with that finger, she seized control of the stars. “Begone.”

She flicked her finger, and the stars spun outward in screaming arcs. Vess dodged out of the way, her wings singed as pillars of golden flame exploded randomly across the tower. The burns hurt terribly, but the pain fluttered and faded almost immediately as red-gold light flushed between her draconic membranes.

The Vital Aegis was doing its job.

Yin roared, rising behind the Hierophant like a hidden serpent, grasping her by the shoulders in heavy claws. His jaws snapped down, but the Hierophant gestured and sent the Dragon sprawling. With a second motion, she wove an instant maze around him, forcing his flight to send him crashing into the ground hard enough to shatter the High-Tier stone.

Warning!

Yin’s Health Has Dropped Beneath 50%!

With a wordless snarl, Gabby heaved up stone chunks and hurled them at the woman. Ocalla waved her staff, and those golden threads stopped them all. The stone drifted around her, spinning on tethers of bright light before slingshotting them all back toward the Titan. Gabby dodged out of the way, but the rock honed in on her position. It shattered against her armor three times in rapid succession, deforming her pauldron and sending a spray of blood into the air.

Vess slid aside another stray shot as the Hierophant scattered her strange threads in all directions. The woman's Skills were flexible, potent, and unpredictable. She is also casting multiple spells at once without pause or strain. It was clear that Ocalla’s Body was incredibly strong, not to mention her Mind and Spirit.

Spirit… She’s lost the Pathless!

That was it.

Vess dove forward through the explosive battle between Hierophant and Titan. Her family’s Kata served her well, driving her footsteps through flickering movements as her wings fueled her speed. Spears danced around her, deflecting all that she couldn’t avoid, as she spiraled ever closer.

“Matriarch’s Lament!”

A spectral Dragon’s head formed around hers, crying out in interminable sorrow. Unlike physical attacks, it seemed the Hierophant’s Spirit was wounded from the Pathless’ death. A gap in her mighty armor.

Ocalla flinched as the Ennervation landed, and a vast spray of red vapor poured off the woman’s armored back. Her Vitality and Health would be dropping, and Vess had plans to capitalize on it.

She shot forward, dodging more threads as she thrust her glaive into the woman's back.

The blade sparked against the Hierophant’s armor before the woman's hand reached out, slapping aside the point and grasping the weapon's haft. "I grow tired of this.”

The light, the air around them brightened, but it wasn't golden blue, instead it was blue-white. Vess dropped her glaive, leaping backward as lightning rained down from the sky. It blasted into the tower, shearing away chunks of statues around them before dropping them onto the still sputtering array at their feet.

A roar shook the tower, and the Hierophant staggered. She whipped aside, dodging away from a burning arc of blue-white lightning.

“HIEROPHANT!”

Felix had returned.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN

Vess leapt away, her wings still scorched, but enough to avoid the worst of the onslaught. She had left her glaive behind, sitting there on the ground, but more importantly, the Hierophant was no longer looking at them. She was staring at the Beast as it approached.

Felix was invisible, hidden away in layers of purple-black smoke that rippled in the wind of the Beast’s relentless passage. Lightning dragged from its defined fists and forearms, where the smoke compacted into true flesh, and each pull dragged it closer by hundreds of strides.

“Adamant Discord!”

Its voice was a mingling of monster and Felix’s, and a searing bolt tore across the tower once again. It skittered by, avoiding Vess and the others and homing in on the Hierophant.

For her part, Ocalla stopped running. “You will not kill me!” She lifted her hands. “Core Manifestation: Loom of Light!”

Vess was thrown back as the Hierophant’s Spirit was unveiled. It rose up from behind her like the sun itself, washing the entire tower in gold. Her hands were lifted, palms up as they spread wide and manifested a vast machinery in the air above.

It rotated, slats pumping across its face, and threads blossomed thousands of strides away. Golden cords whipped outward, tangling the Beast by limb and neck. Veins throbbed along Ocalla’s neck as she twisted her hands into arcane patterns, and those massive cables punched through the Beast’s smoky flesh, piercing its hide and hauling it back against the barrier.

The Beast fell back, a thunderclap tearing through the air as it hit the invisible shield around the palace grounds. It struggled, but each movement forced new cables to spawn and tangle its limbs anew.

Vess struggled back to her feet, weapon in hand and teeth bared. She would shatter that loom. “Glorybound⁠—”

Empyrean Embrace!

Ethereal jaws formed out of the sky, luminous teeth clamping down on the golden threads. They savaged them, tearing at the Core Manifestation with a Spirit that matched its ferocity.

No. More than a match.

The Hierophant fell back with a cry, her Spirit flinching. The Beast shoved free of her fading Loom, the structure of which flickered above the Hierophant’s head.

“Lightless Night,” Ocalla cursed.

Lightning tore across the space between barrier and tower, searing against En’cridhe’s side. The woman started, for the first time showing some human emotion aside from derision. She feared the Beast.

"Drive her toward the lightning," Vess commanded Gabby. The warrior didn't answer her, but she maneuvered forward, plowing through the strings of gold to tackle the Hierophant directly.

The woman did not forget them, however. She wove her hands deftly, forming massive walls of threaded light that smashed into Gabby and blocked Vess' attacks before reaching outward. The pair of them floundered, fetching back onto their feet just in time to see the Hierophant's golden threads seize the Chthonic Star.

"No!" Gabby cried out.

The Hierophant's Spirit unfurled anew, and even wounded, it pressed Vess to her knees. Yin roared, his belly grinding into the earth as he fought to even lift his chin. Gabby, however, pressed to her feet, her armor deforming beneath the weight of Spirit before more threads wrapped around her shoulders and yanked her back down.

"Lift your eyes, betrayer, and witness the consequences of rebellion," the Hierophant commanded. She thrust her hand upward, and the Chthonic Star followed her motion.

Vess’ heart leaped to her throat. But instead of pivoting the Star at the chains of the gods, she heaved its screaming beam toward the barrier.

Toward Felix.

A spear of blinding, colorless light shot outward, searing through the Beast's dark form and cutting off a massive chunk of the amorphous Manifestation. Almost instantly, pieces withered away, dispersing like rotting smoke.

Vital Aegis Has Expired!

The Beast's strange face, more smoke than physical form, opened its glowing maw and howled in unmistakable pain. Like an animal, it ran away from the Chthonic Star's beam, and its obliterating ray punched out through the meat of the Beast’s shoulder—directly into the barrier around the Shining Palace. It quaked as a rainbow spectrum spread out from the point of contact, rapidly rising from yellow to orange to red. It bubbled, pieces of the barrier deforming and stretching beneath the colorless beam. The Beast collided with it, clawing its way away from the terrible Star.

The barrier shattered.

"And so the mighty Beast fled.” The Hierophant’s mouth quirked up, though her chest heaved as her Core Manifestation faded into motes of radiance.

Felix, trapped within the Beast, fell onto the corrupted inner district beyond the Shining Palace. It crashed through the Thousandfaced Centipedes, Flesh Clouds, and the Hierocratic Manaships that still plied the skies. They died by the hundreds beneath the Beast's hungry maw.

"Delight yourself with the godslaves, Beast, while your betters change this world!" Ocalla laughed and, with a struggling flex of her shoulders, she altered the trajectory of the Chthonic Star once more. It spun, turning through the city and slashing through Manaships—theirs as well as her own.

She kept turning it upward, aiming for something else.

With a wordless cry, Gabby attacked, slamming her golden hammer down at the Hierophant. For all her power, the woman was forced to abandon the Star. It dimmed, its beam cutting off, as she focused instead on diverting the Titan's blow. With one hand, she drove the woman's conjured weapon into the ground, and with her other, her alabaster staff crushed Gabby’s forearm, driving a cry from her lips.

Ocalla clucked her tongue. “You should know your place, Imara.” The Hierophant hurled the Titan back, and Gabby’s weapon dissolved into motes of light.

Vess caught her but was nearly decapitated by the flamberge that manifested in the Titan's grip.

“Pay attention! I need you to fight her with me."

Vess nodded, seizing one of her conjured spears. "Together."

“Sunbright Colossus!”

“Glorybound Gale!”

Gabby flared with power, growing in size as her Skill took effect. That golden radiance poured from her mouth and eyes, and every Mana Gate she possessed. Soon, she dwarfed the Hierophant by at least three times and thundered forward with her golden flamberge slashing.

Vess moved faster, pressing her Agility with all she could, her Spears blurring into a net of violence, and for once, the Hierophant was on the backfoot. She retreated, defending against their blows, but only barely. She took no damage, but Vess had fought for her entire life. She could sense when an opponent was reaching an edge.

On The Wing is level 99!

Galebound Glory is level 101!

“Shatterstar!”

Stars rained down upon them again, and this time, they pummeled the overwhelmed Paragon. Gabby pressed her advantage through the explosions, flamberge slashing in rapid patterns Vess could not follow. Sprays of gold followed each strike, as if the Hierophant had sunlight in her veins.

Or wasn’t being harmed at all.

"Foul Unbound!” The woman caught Gabby’s sword in her bare hands, stopping it cold. “I preferred you without your Mind!"

She snapped her fingers.

The sound radiated across the tower like thunder, and it tore away the light that suffused the Titan. It pulled from her chest as if the Hierophant were sucking her soul from her flesh. Gabby's mouth opened in a silent scream, before her eyes rolled back, and she fell, like a puppet with her strings cut.

“There. Better.” The Hierophant swung her alabaster staff towards Gabby's throat.

Vess dove into the way, her Spears stabbing en masse to deflect the staff into the stone. The floor exploded, and so did her Spears, shrapnel thrown in a slicing cloud that cast the pair of them back.

“Sunlord’s Raiment!”

The Hierophant's threads wrapped around her arms, tightening into muscle-like fibers that flexed from jaw to toes. She backhanded Vess, sending the Dragoon flying but followed with a kick of her foot. Vess twisted in midair, bringing her glaive to guard even as her head rang from the impact. She wasn’t fast enough. Ocalla drove the sunburst tip of her alabaster staff deep into Vess' midsection.

Or would have, had a shell of red-gold scales not surrounded her torso.

Felix!

“Damnable Fiend!"

Vess barely heard Ocalla as a riotous song rolled through her senses. It was beautiful and terrifying, a melody she’d heard before. It was undercut by a buzzing drone at every beat, like the pulse of a stalking predator. Somehow, in some way, the sounds meshed together perfectly.

It’s you, isn’t it? In the midst of chaos, her eyes found him, across the battlefield where the Beast savaged the enemy. This song is…you.

Power flowed through her. Those red-gold scales sprang across her body armor as multicolored Mana flourished across her form, trailing from her limbs like iridescent oil spills. The Hierophant called down a rain of gold, but Vess moved through it, her feet propelled by more than her family’s ancient kata.

"You will not win this.” Vess met her gaze, and blue light lit up the Hierophant's shocked face. Vess knew then that her eyes were burning a bright, familiar blue.

“We will not let you!” Yin joined in, his dawnfire rolling across the tower and searing at the Hierophant's legs. It was tinged by red-gold, and that thread enhancement around her body began to fray as the fire sank into her. The Hierophant retreated, staff spinning to deflect the flames even as her threads multiplied.

For a brief moment, they were winning.

“Your faith is misplaced, Dragoon.”

The Hierophant appeared before her in an instant. She slammed the blunt end of her staff into Vess' gut again. Red-scale armor formed…and shattered, her arcanite equipment deforming beneath the blow.

"Woven Sunspear!”

A beam of golden light burned through Vess' middle. Red scales formed across her belly once again, but they melted beneath the Paragon’s might. The beam seared through Vess’ gut before ripping out of her back and scoring a deep, burning trail across the tower's tilted edge.

Vess gasped, unable to take a proper breath as blood slopped out of the edges of her armor. Terrible char filled her nostrils. Sound grew dim and strangely echoey as Yin roared, his pain and panic transmitted across their bond.

The Dawn Drake charged, mouth open with flames. Ocalla lifted her alabaster staff, sunlight gleaming off its end.

Through the pain, Vess reached out. "Convergence!"

Yin vanished in a flash of light, just as another Woven Sunspear tore through his position. The Hierophant snorted, setting her heavy alabaster staff into the ground.

"A Dragon reduced to hiding because of your cowardice. Companions. Fah. Worthless relics of a weaker age." She stepped closer to Vess, stabbing the butt of her staff into the hole in her gut. "I'll simply kill you both at once.”

Vess spat blood on her pristine robes, hiding the movement of her hands. “You will not win this day, Marzul."

The Hierophant sneered.

"Am I a child to wait until my enemies have gathered in order to act? I cannot lose because I've already won." Vess tensed, hand gripping something. Ocalla tilted her head, an amused smile playing at the edges of her lips. "Whatever you’re hiding is worthless. It will not stop me. It won’t even wound me. Your mother knew that, in the end."

Vess narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“You’ve followed in her footsteps, no?” Ocalla gestured, and golden threads lifted Vess' dragon-headed glaive and brought it to the Hierophant's hand. “You can die in the dirt, just like her.”

Ocalla stabbed down.

Vess twisted her hand.

A door opened beneath her, dropping Vess into a rectangle of darkness just as the glaive arrived. It sparked off the stone floor, unable to cross the threshold.

“What—” The Hierophant’s face twisted as realization came upon her. “You little—an Omen Key!” The Hierophant cast the glaive aside and summoned her golden threads. “Morning’s Reign!”

An unraveling skein of golden threads surged from her palms, twisting into glittering drills that bored into the earth. Vess scrabbled back, the patches around the doorway immediately stretching beneath the golden onslaught. The veil of the threshold ripped.

Threads surged into the black.

Vess kicked outward, heel catching on the faceted doorway, and slammed the door shut.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWELVE

Felix felt it the moment it happened. Panic and pain surged through his second strongest Link, a vile mixture of terror followed by a sudden silence.

Vess…!

He couldn’t feel her at all.

The Beast roared, swiping at the godslaves that piled onto him without hope of survival. Each bite took out dozens, mouthfuls of Divine morsels that the Twins could no longer steal away. Ravenous glee echoed through the manifestation, enough to set Felix’s trapped limbs to trembling in ecstasy as each snap of the Beast's jaws sent bits of Divinity coursing into his cores.

It was intoxicating.

Only the full force of his Will allowed Felix to wrest his attention away from its voracious appetite, and even then, it was for a few scant moments. Time enough to reach across the darkness toward the bundles of Links that hovered just outside the bounds of his core space. Vess’ grew immense in his eyes, a cable the size of a subway tunnel, larger still, until it dominated his vision. His power funneled through the Link, propelled by his Boon of Bonds, sparking blue-white and red-gold—but it extended no more than a dozen paces.

Sliced clean.

He focused on the Link, but no matter how hard he flexed his Affinity, he couldn’t sense her location or even her Spirit. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't even turn the Beast's damn head to look back at the tower.

Hey! Idiot! I need to get back there! The Beast ignored him, leaping from the ravaged carapace of a Thousand-faced Centipede and tearing through two Fleshclouds before landing on a Hierocratic ship. Cannons fired, but they missed him as they were razed by blue-white lightning. Manifested jaws snapped through enchanted timber and sparking sigaldry, devouring every trace of power that crossed its path.

Each mouthful was glorious, the traces of Divinity bursting like fireworks above the boughs of his Divine Tree. The Beast howled, beyond words now. Fear had driven it away from En’cridhe, and a primal hunger drove it now.

Listen to me!

The command was weighted by every ounce of Felix’s monstrous Will and Intent. The Beast’s raw emotions rattled against his Affinity, shocking his hold over it. Strange muscles quivered within him, strained to the point of failure—but the hurt was familiar.

He’d used them before…back when he’d first summoned his Core Manifestation. Felix dove deep within himself and sought out the roots of his Manifestation.

He needed to understand.

At the start, I could only form the hands. The forearms came after. They were still the most defined portions of the Beast. His control has begun there. He tried to move an arm, but the fist piled forward, tearing into a Thousandface Centipede’s carapace and splattering it into virulent goo.

Come on!

Felix shaped what he wanted, infusing it with his Will and Intent. Move, damn you!

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan!

Progress 67%

The Core Manifestation is simply externalizing the internal.

His own words echoed within himself, spoken by his own perfect recall. Streamers of power roiled around him, pushing up from his core space and all the Skills that lay within. But they weren't streamers. Though they looked like liquid flows of Mana, they were more than that. They were patterns.

Externalizing the internal…!

Felix stared down at his core space and the spinning interplay of his Skills. They danced, bound into tight groupings as they rotated around the opalescent trunk. From above, through the branches and the Essence and Memories that clung to those boughs like starry nebula. His Skills resembled nothing so much as a thrumming constellation. They were a pattern, a vibration moving through space like the weaving of a thousand needles.

The songs of his Skills mingled into one.

The Beast isn't Veridaan. It isn't the Maw.

This is the Beast.

It’s me.

Empyrean Regalia Detected!

Light suffused his mind as a Crescian Bronze Crown sang against his temples, chasing the grief from his senses, even as it sharpened his awareness of the Beast and the battlefield around him. The Chalice at his center sang, bright and bold, embedded now in the trunk of his Divine Tree—a shape carved out of red gold light that filled the opalescent trunk with an undeniable aura of power. His Body swelled, power flowing through him in ways he had not before experienced, reaching down through the roots.

Absorbing The Skull Fragment Of Veridaan!

Progress 70%

Felix could feel himself through every ounce of his Skills. His core space echoed with their song, reverberating with the collective weave of their patterns. For a moment, he could see it all, the totality of his Skills. It immediately began to fade.

What Is This?

This is me. Through a fraying sense of certainty, Felix reached out and seized the Beast by the scruff of its neck. He moved his hand, and the Beast’s arm smashed through a Manaship. You are me.

The Beast pulled at his control, snapping up another mouthful of godslaves, but Felix bludgeoned it with his Will. Back to the tower!

His voice rang out, Chalice and Crown gleaming behind it, lending it weight and significance that bored into the purple-black smoke of the Beast's form. It flinched. With a reluctant roar, lightning surrounded the Beast.

They shot forward, borne atop a bolt. Headed for En’cridhe.

Felix could finally see it as they arced over the city. The top of the tilted tower was littered with fallen statues and crumbled pillars, around which the Unbound were still restrained. He saw Gabby lying in a heap of blood, and the Hierophant stood over her. Of Vess, there was no trace.

The Beast bellowed, and Felix howled with it. Rage, absolute wrath, tore through his center, funneled through every inch of his being.

With a sweeping gesture, the Hierophant threw up wards that sprouted into ten thousand golden threads. They woven together in a blink as an immense machine manifested above the woman’s haloed head. Felix had just enough time to recognize it as the Core Manifestation he saw earlier. A loom made of light.

The Hierophant loosed a discordant scream, and it thrummed across her threads as Felix impacted it. A wave formed across the warding, rippling up and over the Beast—threads surged forward, wrapping around his arms and back with all the savage finality of a python securing its prey. They tightened in the same motion, crushing the Beast and sending cracks spidering across the darkness encasing Felix.

“You’ve outlived your usefulness, Fiend.” The threads split, just enough to show Ocalla’s emotionless regard. “Begone.”

The wave became a scorching claw, each thread now burning with the light of the sun itself. They seared into the purple-black smokestuff of the Beast’s amorphous body, boiling through wounds made by the Chthonic Star mere minutes before. The Manifestation roared in pain and blind rage—and Felix felt it all now.

Lay of the Unfallen is level 144!

The Hierophant’s Loom of Light wove across the Beast’s shoulders and snaked over its neck before tightening like a noose. Soured Harmonies overcame his senses—and were met by another song entirely.

The Chalice and Crown resonated within him and with each other. The Loom quivered, struck from between Felix and the Beast by that new song.

Empyrean Embrace!

Ethereal teeth snapped into the golden threads, chewing through them like axes through logs, as the Beast’s fists pummeled the rest of it apart. Ocalla jerked back, spitting blood as the Loom unraveled above her haloed head, and the light dimmed.

“Damned…Unbound!”

En’cridhe hummed and scattered sigaldry sputtered into a hasty pattern that stretched across its face…all the way to the Chthonic Star. In the space of a moment, the Star spun back to life and fired a beam that speared through Felix’s Manifestation. It cut deep, dissolving a massive chunk of the smoky body. The Beast flinched, howling in pain.

Felix couldn’t care less.

"Ocalla! I'll tear you apart!"

He ripped through the pain, and power stirred within himself—a feeling he had not experienced since he'd intentionally unleashed his Core Manifestation. One of his purple-black and red-gold fists spread open, his massive clawed fingers unclenching, revealing a blue-white eye at the center of his palm. It opened.

It burned.

A blast of concussive force ripped through the array, shattering it into golden sparks before sundering the tower itself in explosive fault lines. Statues tore from the sides, the stairs crumbling apart as chunks of En’cridhe sheared away, falling to the broken palace below.

Ocalla was thrown back, slamming into the fallen statues atop the tilted tower. Their bases shattered, and two of them collapsed atop of her in a thunderous heap. The sigaldry burnt out, and the Star dimmed, still spinning but no longer in the Hierophant's control. His Unbound friends stopped shouting, and the last remnant of the power of the Divine faded.

En’cridhe, the Star of Heaven, was broken beyond repair.

In the distance, their godslaves withered and vanished, puffing into nothing as their presence was no longer amplified by even a little. The Bloodstorm faded into empty clouds, until even they thinned beneath the afternoon sun and the rising moons.

The Beast clawed its way onto the side of En’cridhe, howling in triumph and giddy wrath. Silence The Hierophant, Scion! Hunt Out Her Divine Bonds!

The Will of the Beast faded, its voice similarly toned down. The lack of Divine presence was a calming balm on Felix's Mind.

The Wellspring Chalice Resonates With The Crown Of Elysium.

The Body Bows To The Mind.

Chalice and Crown gleamed within him, head and chest burning with a clarifying potency that bolstered him. Felix.

My Body, my Mind. Certainty overwhelmed him, clarity striking him through like a sword, and he took command of his Aspects. He was the master of his own flesh.

She Must Be Devoured!

This vengeance is mine, Beast!

Pulling himself from the creature's rage was like tearing off his own arms and ripping his skin free by meager inches. Felix screamed. The Beast howled.

You are me! The Body bows to the Mind!

His Core Manifestation gleamed through his center, rippling across the purple-black smoke before it reversed, whipping back into Felix’s core space.

Scion—!

The Beast burnt away in scintillating contrails, leaving only Felix as he stepped onto En’cridhe’s tilted surface. His legs nearly buckled, but he clenched his muscles tight, standing by pure force of Will. With the gesture, the remnants of the bindings on the Kobolds and Sylphaen were snapped up and devoured by ethereal teeth.

Ondine stood, helping the boys to their feet. They immediately started to slip, but Felix flared Sonata of Dominance and formed a makeshift platform of simple stone, anchoring it to the busted tower top.

"Can you carry them?" He looked at Gabby, crumpled against the base of a column. "I'll get her."

Ondine's wings were free of chains, but the multicolored feathers were bloody and dripping. "No. The Hierophant pierced my wings. Until they heal, I cannot even fly myself."

"We can get out of here ourselves," Shadow Lord muttered. He flinched when Felix looked at him. "Sir."

Felix frowned but tossed them a pouch from his waist. It clinked—the sound of tempered glass and sloshing liquid. "Drink those, they'll help you heal. Hold tight for a sec, then I'll help you all down.”

Ondine jerked her chin toward the fallen statue. "Does she still live?"

"Not for long," he growled. The Hierophant was unconscious and trapped under more high Tier stone than even he’d be able to shift. Everything in him wanted to kill her right then and there, but there was more going on than just that.

To the side, a Crescian Bronze artifact spat sparks, and where they landed, they melted the tower itself. A bomb, ready to explode.

Revenge second.

The Chthonic Star came first.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN

The Chthonic Star flared, the metal blocks of its construction rotating into strange shapes as its caustic power spat all around it. Approaching it was dangerous, even for Felix, as those liquid spark-splashes melted stone and metal all around it—but Felix stepped through the arcs carefully, dodging them as they came, until he fetched up against the artifact’s side.

His Inheritor's Will was gone from its top. At first, he thought it might have fallen and gotten snagged at the base of the Star. But when he leaned down, dodging a spatter of colorless power, Felix found a weapon bent and mostly melted down to the hilt. It wasn't his but he recognized it: a sword given to the Legion captains. Mervin's sword. His throat burned, and Felix tucked it into his belt before refocusing on the Star. He'd worry about his hooked blade in a moment.

"So much pain from you.” He reached out to the spinning artifact, not quite touching it. “It's time you work for me."

His Chalice and Crown resonated with the Crescian Bronze it was made from. It echoed through him, vibrating through his bones as much as his Aspects. Just as he had once before, Felix could feel its Will. It was strange. The Chthonic Star wished to destroy—that was clear through the faint light that formed its being. Glimpses of something flashing within the colorless glimmers at its center sparked across Felix's Mind. It, too, spoke of obliteration, but it was tinged by something else.

"Isn’t this enough? You've already destroyed so much."

It pulsed, and Felix knew it wanted more. Just as he knew through some strange sense afforded him by his Crown and Chalice that the key to the artifact's Will was within that colorless light. The knot of its Will emanated from the core of the Crescian Bronze in a way that reminded him of the Eidolon Exults’ somehow.

A burst of colorless energy arced outward from the angles of two metal blocks. It looped up and around, its heat enough to set his Garment ablaze, even as Felix ducked away.

"I can give you more to destroy," he half-shouted. "Something you’ve never had. Together, we can face the Ruin."

The Star’s inner light surged at that, its Will gaining a weight Felix couldn't explain, but he felt nonetheless. He was close.

"No.”

Golden threads slammed between Felix and the star, woven into a wall that cut off his view of the artifact.

“It will not serve you, Fiend.”

Felix stepped back, casting a withering glare over his shoulder. The Hierophant stood, the stone split around her Body, which was far more bulky than he remembered. Golden threads covered her like muscles woven from light, stitched from neck to heels and flexing with unmitigated power. She'd grown twice Felix's size, and her empty hands clenched menacingly.

“Wait your turn, lady.”

“Your insolence is tiresome.” She mashed her fists together. “Face me, Fiend!”

She kicked off a statue, sending its multi-ton stone skidding several feet back.

“Cute.” Felix bared his teeth. “Let me show you mine.”

Sovereign of Flesh!

The Hierophant crashed into him, golden hands swinging in a wild haymaker. Felix met it, fist against fist, as he rose to match her height.

Sovereign of Flesh is level 146!

Armored plates formed and burst beneath the Hierophant’s golden might, only to reform in an instant. Ocalla was fast—faster than Felix expected—and her attacks hit like a truck. The air buckled, a boom rocking the tower and sending the Unbound tumbling away with a cry. The Kobolds shouted something, and vines grew rapidly across the surface between statues catching themselves, Ondine and the still unconscious Gabby. Felix couldn't focus on them.

He didn’t want to.

"What did you do to Vess?"

Ocalla only grinned.

"Fine. I'll pull it from you, tooth by tooth."

Stride of the King is level 140!

He surged sideways, Stride of the King flaring within him as he dodged around arcing golden threads. They speared through him, cutting burning grooves into his black scales that spattered blood onto the dry stone. His claws extended, slashing through her elbow, splitting threads that spilled gold back onto him.

Those threads gleamed, a golden noon against his dark midnight. They stretched and contracted, acting as layers of new muscle and modifying the woman’s Body with every twist and bend. Her Paragon Temper mixed with the Skill she bore pushed her to a realm Felix couldn't quite reach.

Yet speed wasn't everything. Her strikes slashed into him, but they could do little more than bleed him before his Sovereign of Flesh spent Essence to knit up his wounds. Lightning fast as she was, his Grandmaster Body was on par with hers, a fact that put a dour grimace on the woman’s angular face.

“Unbound scum! You do not deserve your power!”

Realization hit him like cold water. His Body was on par with hers, even at Grandmaster. Her Skill was mighty, her Temper greater, but he wasn’t falling behind.

Destroy Her, Scion!

Ocalla rushed him, legs pumping and long arms spread wide for a tackle. Sonata of Dominance sang, and a spear of stone leaped to hand. With a heave, he planted it into the ground, forcing the woman to maneuver around it—directly into a club made of hardened air.

The Hierophant wasn’t a fighter. She was a priest. Powerful, yes. But she didn’t know how to fight.

His near-invisible club slammed into her ankles, fouling her steps into a stumble. In the split seconds between trip and recovery, Felix struck at her knees with a spinning backhand. His fist bent the golden threads, souring the weave with a splash of golden light.

“Nothing you try will work, Nevarre.” The Hierophant caught his wrist, her frown twisting into a sneer. “The Sunlord’s Raiment will not be broken so easily.”

Wild Threnody!

Astrum Ascendence!

Multi-Cast!

Sonata of Dominance!

Elemental Mana surged across his other hand, focused entirely on the tips of his four talons as he drove them up into her shoulder. Fire, ice, shadow, and stone surged from him, slicing between the gaps of her threads and jerking upward. A piece of her shoulder split, the cords deformed, spraying blood as his hand sank home.

The Hierophant hissed in pain.

Empyrean Embrace!

The golden light dissolved, pieces of it at least, funneling into Felix's core. Mana, Essence, and something else flowed along with it. He recognized the taste.

Kohsara!

The Beast reared up within him with unfamiliar words on its tongue. It slathered for more of the Hierophant’s power, surging against Felix’s control—but he held it back. Barely.

Ocalla fell back, throwing off Felix’s grip with an outflung fist. Felix hissed in pain, his forearm snapping under the pressure, but he didn’t miss the fear that slackened the woman’s jaw. With a grunt, the golden threads repaired themselves, sealing off her wound as her expression settled back into condescension.

"You aren’t releasing your Beast.”

“I don't need it.”

She sneered. “You truly do!”

Threads speared toward him again, but Felix deflected them and closed the distance once more. The Hierophant met him, fist to fist, until crimson sprayed in rampant arcs.

“There’s Divinity in you.” Felix panted, catching the woman’s jab between his arms. “How?”

"The Pathless sought Vessels, Fiend. Don't you think we try the obvious option first?” She pulled him close, tangling threads across his legs.

Felix shaped shells of Fiendstone between limb and light—he kicked free, flipping up onto the woman’s shoulders. He drove his talons into her neck, only to be thrown before connecting.

“You?” He breathed heavy, the bones in his leg reassembling. She’d crushed it with her casual throw. “You were primed as a Vessel?”

“Primed and rejected."

Ocalla prowled in a circle, her feet leaving the tower as she flowed through the air, unsupported, her golden bulk shining brighter than the distant sun. “The Pathless deemed me unable to handle the might of Divinity.”

“You disagree.”

“And you ask too many questions!"

Constructs of golden thread slashed at him from his blind spots.

Stride of the King is level 141!

His Agility flared to the limit, Stride of the King only barely keeping him ahead of blades woven from the edge of gold.

Lay of the Unfallen is level 145!

Scale and skin parted beneath their unrelenting edges, but Sonata of Dominance sang within Felix. He moved faster, kicking off shaped panels of air and earth to redirect himself in unpredictable angles—he shut off his brain, letting only his Stride of the King speak through his limbs as she chased the woman’s golden shadow. With every step and leap he drew closer, but his Stamina flagged, wearing down faster than he could regenerate it.

Stride of the King is level 142!

Lay of the Unfallen is level 146!

Sovereign of Flesh is level 147!

His scales peeled from him, slashed by gold, mere paper cuts in the scheme of things, but there were thousands of them every moment as her woven edges split into tiny lashing blades. It didn’t stop him.

The Hierophant dodged his claws, leaping over one of the fallen statues. Felix chased after, and the Beast growled within, equally eager for another taste. He vaulted the robed Nymean, only to find the Hierophant’s woven edges ready for him. They sliced forward, cutting clean through the Nymean statue and Felix’s left leg. He fell as the stone burst apart, liquid gold arcing across its surfaces, a concussive slice that scoured a deep trench into the tower's stone.

Sovereign of Flesh is level 148!

Felix fell, clutching at the stump of his leg. His flesh crawled, his Health jumping up by thousands of points as bone, muscle, and skin regrew in seconds.

Time enough for the Hierophant to act.

She closed the distance, bringing her wide fist down upon him and forcing Felix to scrabble backward. A blade chunked into the riven stone, missing him by the narrowest of margins.

His eyes widened. “That’s mine!”

The Hierophant yanked the weapon back, admiring the Inheritor’s Will. The hooked blade was tangled by golden threads, secured to her huge hand as if tied down. “Is it?”

Felix bared his teeth.

Ocalla smirked and curled a single finger at him. “Come and take it.”

Stride of the King!

He moved just as the Hierophant thrust through his position. Felix anticipated her, dipping backwards before leaping above a low slash and using platforms of hardened air to redirect himself to her left, well within her guard, before raking her side with his dark talons. She hissed and fell back, slashing at his newly healed leg. She missed but drove him back.

"The Dragon tried to save her, you know.” She smiled through clear pain. “He was too slow. A second failure for the foolish beast."

She struck again, but this time Felix tanked the blow, scales ripping open as his significance quaked. Much like the Divine's attacks previously, but this was weaker, less targeted. He seized Ocalla's arm, pulling at her wrist to rip the Inheritor's Will away.

"She died screaming your name," the Hierophant whispered.

"Shut up!”

Shaping magic burst around him, air turned to stone, trapping her head and shoulders. She shattered it with a shrug, well before he could free his weapon from her grasp. Felix dove free, turning the falling stone into water before sending it to congeal around her entire body. She spoke a glimmering word, and it burned away in a conflagration of golden radiance.

"Your sister will not rise again. She tried to use the Light against me." Ocalla laughed. "I stripped it away from her. Her foundations are shattered."

Felix snarled, shaping her own light against her—he drove blades of it back toward her head and neck.

Ocalla dissolved them all with a flick of her wrist. "It seems idiocy is a familiar trait.”

Felix licked his lips. It was pointless to fight her with light, at least directly.

Sonata of Dominance!

He stomped, breaking the stone beneath his feet before sweeping his leg, sending it hurtling through the air. Ocalla swiped her arm through the debris, crushing it all, but Felix shaped it again, transforming stone to water. It splashed across her threaded muscles.

Astrum Ascendence is level 117

…

Astrum Ascendence is level 122!

The song of distant stars poured through him, driving a deep frost into the Skill, even as it burned. The water froze, spiking across the Hierophant’s Body in a way that didn’t pierce or slice as much as spread and twisted. The golden threads at her wrist and hand slackened.

Adamant Discord!

The Inheritor's Will tore from the Hierophant's grasp. She tried to hold onto it, and for a moment she did, fighting his Bond with the blade, but she had no connection to it. Lightning surged between them, frying her hands before she fell back.

The handle of the Inheritor's Will slapped into his palm, and Felix set it between them. “Mine.”

The Hierophant shouted something in a language Felix did not understand. Her golden form thrummed, and her Spirit swelled. Sigils formed around her in a halo of radiance as bands snapped across Felix, trying to weigh his legs and arms down once more.

The Beast resurfaced, purple-black surging around Felix's shoulders, a mantle that was not quite its Body. She Is Attempting To Leverage The Bond Of Enmity, Scion.

I know. He refused the hate, not denying it, but directing it toward a better, more worthy target.

The Hierophant fell back as if she were hauling back on a line that had simply been sliced free. "I killed your lover! I mortally wounded your sister! And I plan to end your empire. How can you not hate me?"

"I never said I didn't.” Felix flexed, and the golden bands shattered from him. “I simply hate myself more.”

Adamant Discord!

He could see his other Bonds, the things he'd been forced to bear witness to by the gods. Bonds of Fellowship and Kinship. Weaknesses—according to the Divine.

Bonds Give You Strength!

He could feel them. Power would filter through those Bonds from him to his people, enough to light up the sky, to support their battles against insurmountable odds.

The Boon of Bonds goes both ways. Power filtered through him from his people. It wasn't a lot. Each person, each connection was only a speck of significance—a drop in an ocean—but it came to him from tens of thousands.

The sky around them lit up with blue motes, the eyes of his people flashing between the fading storm and struggling zealots. Felix drew in a breath. His Chalice and Crown gleamed within him, and his chest expanded as air rushed through him. It roared, a gale through his center that solidified motes of significance across his Aspects. Bonds changed him, altering the shape of his cores and the Tree that shuddered beneath its heavy boughs.

He grew.

"Please,” Ocalla scoffed, "you are no god."

She threw her hand down, and a pillar of golden threads spiraled from the sky. It careened directly into Felix, striking him across his broad back, shattering midnight scales and driving blood from his mouth. He stood beneath it, his head down and shoulders shaking. The spiral pillar pierced him through scale and flesh, but it only ground at his bones, its terrible heat filling his Body. His significance shivered under the assault, split asunder by the Hierophant’s borrowed power.

“Neither are you,” he spat through his teeth. Bonds surged, Felix’s Links with his friends pouring greater power back as he kept his feet.

Warning!

Your Health Has Dropped Beneath 40%!

“Bonds.” The Hierophant spat on the ground. “One such as you should never be able to touch them.”

A song swirled through Felix, the Aria of the Green Wilds and Wild Threnody rousing across his Spirit as the Chalice echoed through his center and scales.

"It’s clear now that I was right, all these many centuries. The Grand Harmony is flawed. You are proof of that.” She twisted her hands, and the spiral of gold drilled through him. Blood poured down the slanted tower top. “It does not encompass all things. It does not account for things like you…but it can be changed.” She prowled forward. "The gods can change it, were they not cowards.”

Felix coughed. “...And you'd do better in their place, I take it?"

"Anyone would. Were the meanest urchin to absorb the power of the gods, they would be better.”

He spared a glance for the Kobolds and the Sylphaen. “So, you’d use the Unbound to become Divine the same way they had, by stealing their power.”

“Is it so different from how you advanced, Fiend?” Ocalla’s expression twisted from anger and derision into something worse. An emotion too complicated to name, but which Felix could only understand as despair. “This is the only way to escape the Ruin. To let it pass us by and cleanse this world.”

He laughed. It hurt. “Fuck that.”

Sonata of Dominance!

Astrum Ascendance!

Wild Threnody!

He shaped Mana all around her, hemming her in with attacks. The woman moved too fluidly to strike, but her concentration lapsed.

Empyrean Embrace!

The spiral spear burst apart, torn by ethereal teeth, just as she fired back with bladed threads and bolts of light. Felix stumble-dodged away, but could not escape them all. It was a hurricane of power, and it burned him, tearing his flesh and boiling his blood. He healed, but his Essence dwindled faster than ever before.

"This is your fault, Fiend! I had a plan! You've taken away my choices! So now all of this to come?” She leaped forward. “It is all on you!”

Threads rose up beneath him like a wave, smashing into the back of his knees before driving him to the ground. Felix rolled free, hurling himself to his feet, but he encountered another wall of her power immediately.

“Primordial scum! You’ve destroyed my ritual, but if I cannot have the gods’ power, then neither can you.” The Hierophant threw another sweeping wave of gold at him. He met it with his hunger. Empyrean Embrace bit through it, but only seized a piece of it again before it drilled through him. Blood and shattered scales hit the slanted stone.

"There are more than just chains in the heavens.” The Hierophant advanced on him. She was unhurt, while Felix still healed from a dozen terrible wounds. "Give me a sharp enough sword⁠—”

Threads snapped up around Felix, caging the sword in his hand.

Nymean Authority Recognized.

Target Accepted.

Felix tore the blade from the construct, shattering it with an effort of Will and Strength—only to notice, too late, that the threads had also latched onto the Chthonic Star.

“And I'll extinguish the stars. Or perhaps—” Ocalla smiled. “A moon.”

Felix jolted forward, Wild Threnody rushing through him.

He was too slow.

For a brief, fateful moment, En’cridhe sang its final song.

Golden threads pulsed, injecting a searing slug of Mana and Essence into the Star. The Crescian Bronze artifact fired up, spinning wildly before it spat an explosion of power straight into the sky. The bloodstorm above them broke, punched through by the beams of the Chthonic Star, revealing the deep blue heavens beyond and Noctis’ dark yellow moon. The skies cracked.

Containment Breach!

Ouranic Boundaries Violated!

Satellite Binding Failed!

Liminal Separation Dissolving!

The moon shuddered.

It broke.

Moonfall Imminent.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Felix held up his sword. “Is Noctis free?”

Nymean Authority Recognized.

Ouranic Bindings Still Hold!

Noctis is still chained up? He looked to the sky, where the yellow moon was surrounded by debris. She’s just…falling?

“Like I said, if I can’t have their power, no one can.” Ocalla cackled, but she fell to her knees as power reverberated through her. Her light flickered, gold dulling. The wind sucked from her lungs, and her laugh turned to a gasping wheeze. “Better…run, boy.”

The beam pulsated, pouring its blinding power into the moon even as it fell. Pieces of it vaporized in the distance—tiny explosions that ripped new craters into the moon’s surface.

The same choice again! Felix ground his teeth. His hands ached to rip the Hierophant apart—instead he threw all of his Will at the Chthonic Star and the beam that speared the heavens.

It fought back. The colorless light inside of it was consumed by a rapturous joy. Trickles of impressions filtered into Felix as the winds of its raging beams crashed against his defenses, the aftereffects burning away scale, skin, and muscle. The joy was relentless. It gloried in its purpose⁠—

Its purpose!

A glimpse of Memory filtered to him, of its earliest development and the hands that touched it, varied and strange. They forged it from the living Continent, imbuing it with a singular purpose. He saw then. Far more than just obliteration, Felix understood it intimately and completely in a single breath.

It was made to destroy that which was Divine.

You already have! he sent, screaming past the thunder of its beam and its giddy, intoxicated Will. You just destroyed one of their prisons!

Quiet. The winds that buffeted him faded though the beam still burned bright. The Will of the Chthonic Star noticed Felix. It trembled, as if digesting his words. The light pulsed, a final jubilation that stretched through every block and seam of its construction.

It was satisfied.

Artif4ct Det0nation Immin3nt!

"Oh, fuck." Felix leaped back, kicking the entire artifact forward with every ounce of Strength he had. It rocked, lifting up two feet at the edge before just enough for him to grasp it with his scaled hands and heave it straight off the tilted edge of the tower. Dissonance and Harmony reverberated through its metal as it flipped over and over, a gyrating top of coruscating light that seared inward, no longer firing into the sky but into itself.

Felix threw himself back, seizing his Sonata. Fiendstone walls stretched high between him and the scintillating Star. “Get down⁠—!”

The Star imploded.

Empyrean Embrace!

His teeth sank into the colorless explosion beyond his shields as it roared like a thousand Dragons all at once. Crescian Bronze crushed together, sparking into a core of heat and light that seared through his Fiendstone like fire through paper. Waves of the explosion rushed into Felix, pulled inexorably into his maw despite resembling nothing so much as liquid magma. Mana and Essence scoured him, flooding his core space as steam poured from between his teeth. Significance followed, but it did more than burn, it scourged Felix—inside and out.

Warning!

Your H34th H#9 Dro99ed Beneath 25%!

Lay of the Unfallen is level 147!

Sovereign of Flesh is level 148!

Potency that rivaled the Divines thundered around him, chewing into En’cridhe and Fiendstone with equal ease. His scales twisted and shifted, torn and healed in the same moment as his Skills metabolized his newfound Essence and Mana to defend against itself. His Divine Tree groaned, its roots spreading as fast as its branches quested outward, tangling with the ephemeral streamers that clung and burned.

A final rush and the sound was gone, replaced by the soft groaning of stone against stone…and the distant thunder above. The sky flashed white, and Felix threw up a hand, staring up as Noctis's moon grew ever closer. It had broken, pieces of it shattered away from the full orb, but all of them were falling down upon the world.

Wa3#ing!

M00nfall Imminent!

Eugh. Felix got back onto his feet, hand pressed to his gut. That tasted like shit.

His Perception flared.

Stride of the King is level 143!

Golden threads launched forward, all of the false musculature around the Hierophant’s Body arrowing toward Felix's unprotected flank. He twisted aside, but he might as well not have bothered moving. Sudden plants bound the woman's legs while bright flowers spat out poisonous darts into her face and neck. Veins pulsed across her temple, and her face turned purple as she clenched her jaw against whatever poison was flowing through her body.

Ocalla trembled in rage. She spat, and a gobbet of acid fell on the vines, tearing through them before she pushed herself back up. Her threads had retracted, no longer reaching toward Felix, but instead pushing herself to her feet. The Kobolds stood ten feet away, trading wide-eyed glances with each other.

"Vile little wretches," she muttered. “Woven Sunsp⁠—!”

A slash of pure darkness cut across the Hierophant’s back, as if the skin of the world had been peeled aside. Beyond it was a textureless black that Felix knew entirely too well. She fell, convulsing, as the slash vanished, but the wound remained—from shoulder to hip, her back was laid bare.

“Stay down.” Ondine stood above her, a dark cast to her angular features as the golden radiance winked out.

"Holy shit," Kevin said.

"Get them out." Felix pointed to the Kobolds. "Take them to the giant Tree."

"I see it." Ondine glanced back at him. "What of you?"

"Go," he commanded. She nodded, spreading her wings. Blood flung outward, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she gestured to the Kobolds, who exchanged nervous glances before clambering into her arms.

"This is embarrassing," Shadow muttered.

Kevin pointed at the sky. "Would you rather die?"

"Hold tight," Ondine told them, squeezing them close to her side. "This will be fast."

Pit looked up between the sky and his friends. Archie was strapped to his back, and all the others were piling into the mana ships that had landed nearby.

Pit! The moon is falling.

What? How? Felix⁠—

You need to run, Pit. His Companion's voice was shaky, but sure. Ondine and the Kobolds are heading your way. Get everyone out.

I don't want to leave you!

I’ll be close behind. Go!

Pit clenched his beak, spreading his wings and testing their strength. He could get to Felix fast enough. The injury on his back was healing slowly, but he could do it.

Chimera. Child of Harmony. The Grim Nightshade's voice was a soothing balm against Pit's troubled Spirit. The Tree will fall before the moon will.

Pit looked out back over the city toward where they had entered, toward the Spirit Tree. The leaves and boughs that had risen above the city skyline were wilting visibly. As he watched, a building-sized branch crumbled and fell.

If you wish for anyone to survive, there is but one choice.

The sound of beating wings caught his ear, and Pit immediately spotted a figure with multicolored wings flying out of the broken palace grounds. She stumbled, losing altitude as she clutched to two ungainly figures. Pit loosed a trumpeting cry and leapt aboard the ship.

"Helmsman, get that Sylphaen and bring us back to the Tree. Now!"

Air blasted across the tilted tower top, blowing back Felix's coat as the Sylphaen shot off into the distance. He hoped they'd make it, but he was already turning away from them, flaring his Perception to search around himself.

"Vess… C’mon, you have to be here.” His senses were a confusion mangle of flashing skies, roaring winds, and the tumble of loose stones as he climbed back up En’cridhe’s destroyed face. Worse, he had to fight his own rising panic. Only his incredible Will kept it in check.

“She couldn’t have died…I would’ve known.”

Yet there was no trace of her or Yintarion. He could only find Gabby, still caught in the knotted vine net that Kevin had woven between columns and fallen statues. Throat aching, he pulled his sister close. She was out and her breath was wheezing, but she was alive. That would have to be enough.

The sky flashed again as fire burned across the blue. The earth shook. He had to go.

Felix hauled Gabby onto a shoulder and spotted his Inheritor’s Will lying on the ground. It was wedged between two stones, and he reached down to grab it as a burst of rapid-fire retorts jerked him to his feet. Vines and flowers exploded, poison and thick acid sizzling across the Hierophant’s body where she stood two dozen feet away.

"Fiend!"

“Shut the hell up.”

Sonata of Dominance!

Felix seized the stone, broken from its sigildry and power. The tower, the end creed, was nothing more than another source of materials. Rock softened, and the woman sank down to her hips before he transformed the lot of it into Fiendstone.

“Do you plan to run? Hah! The moon is falling on this entire Territory!” The Hierophant twisted her hips, shattering through the opalescent Fiendstone as if she were breaking clay. She leaned forward on her arms and pushed herself out. "You cannot escape this fate.”

"Maybe not. But you sure as hell won't."

Felix hooked his foot on his Inheritor's Will and kicked it forward⁠—

Straight into the Hierophant’s chest.

It sank to the hilt. She fell forward, eyes wide and mouth stretching silently.

Adamant Discord! A bolt of lightning yanked the blade back, and it landed in his outstretched hand. “Die mad, bitch.”

You Have D((#@)(($$% 7H3 H!3R)%*#!

@(#4 (*44&!

Sonata of Dominance!

Adamant Discord!

Felix rode lightning across the sky, the wind roaring at his back to push him faster and support Gabby's armored bulk. The sky pressed low, and Felix could almost feel the moon pressing down against him. He didn’t dare look up. The Tree loomed in the distance, miles away across the city.

Focus! He flared his Perception, gathering everything he could around him. The Hierocratic fleet were few and far between, but what ships he saw were headed in every direction, eager to escape. His own people were fleeing, many of the ships already having reached the Tree, which was falling apart rapidly. Branches and boughs withered to dust as a torrent of house-sized leaves fell to the earth.

W4RNIN6!

M00nf411 Immin4nt!

Evacuate The Territory.

The sky went black, and a deep cold settled over him as the sun itself was blocked by the falling moon. Felix flared across an unnatural night, his lightning brighter than ever.

Scion. The Heavens Are Broken.

Against his better judgment, Felix glanced up. Immediately, he knew something was off. The moon…it wasn't an orb at all, but a strange disc that crumbled at the edges as it fell. Like a plate knocked down from a distant shelf. Flashes of chains seared across his vision, and a deep darkness stretched the breadth of its cratered surface. Orb or disc or inch-thin plate, it didn't matter. The size alone would punch a hole through the Continent.

Felix jerked to a sudden stop. "What will that do to everyone else?”

You cannot stop it, Emperor Nevarre.

People are going to die everywhere, Grim.

Felix stared at the strange, twisted moon as it fell. The sky sparked, flickering and stretching in ways that the world was not meant to act. Nature itself will be destroyed.

The Green Wilds will sing on, the Grim said. You will not. Run, Fiend.

The Beast roused within him, flexing within the abyss at Felix's center. Scion. Can You Not Feel It? The Beast stretched itself upward through his center, as if reaching to the sky. The Cardinals Fall To Us.

A sharp ache pulled upward through the roots and trunk of Felix’s Divine Tree. We Do Not Bow To The Divine, Scion. Face The Fallen.

Conquer It.

His Core Manifestation tore at his center, the strands of its woven tapestry pulling at his Aspects. Felix licked his lips. He could call on it. With the Beast to help and two of the three Empyrean Regalia—Could he stop the moon?

Gabby groaned. The moon exploded, pieces of its yellow surfaces flooding with a limitless shadow.

"Fuck." Felix clenched his teeth. His decision was made for him.

Adamant Discord!

He shot off again, lightning and wind swirling around him in bright bursts. The air itself screamed, buckling around him. He skimmed lower, his free arm aching as galvanizing bolts arced from his scales. Lightning skittered off rooftops, setting fires and bursting stone walls.

The sky ignited.

A fireball surrounded Noctis' moon, the yellow now engulfed in blazing red flames. All around him, the heat built to bursting. The city turned into an inferno. Felix shot over the outer walls just ahead of a wave of fire and force that split Amaranth apart entirely.

A roar beyond sound reached him even at his speed, shaking across more than just the world, but through his Spirit, Mind, and Body all at once.

The Tree!

He flared Adamant Discord with all he had until his palms were cut by the searing connections all around him.

The wave hit.

Felix was torn, his hands crushing through Gabby's armor just to maintain his hold as they were hurled forward. They hit the trunk of the Tree. It splintered beneath them, smashing his face and shoulder into unyielding bark—before it and everything else was ripped asunder entirely.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN

Space compacted as the Green Wilds sang to him through the Aestus Autus Anima, hurling Felix blindly through a wild kaleidoscope of color and textures. It pushed and prodded him, squeezing him through strange spaces as he lost track of time and direction. His senses were distorted by the flexing sound of lilting melodies and strident horns. Chaos intruded, cutting through the Harmony as Dissonance buzzed across the Green like a slashing blade.

Fire followed.

A wave of force hit him, hurling Felix forward through convoluted passages and intricate pathways. The path between the Trees of his Grove was temporary…a feature boosted only by the attention of the Grim Nightshade, and it was falling apart.

The edges of the Green strained and cracked. Empty darkness filled the gaps, flooding fire and force alike, blunting it even as it accosted Felix's limbs and tore at him in new, novel ways. Felix gritted his teeth, holding onto his sister with all his Strength. The forces hurling him about tried to rip her from his grip, but he refused to fail at this. The song twisted and broke. The world itself collapsed, but he held on.

All at once, Felix careened out into empty, humid air and down toward a glittering surface.

A lake.

He splashed down, carried at once to the very bottom, bubbles streaming all around himself and his burden. Gabby flailed, her eyelids fluttering. Felix gritted his teeth and kicked his legs, rocketing them both upward toward the surface. They broke through, the splash almost as big as their climactic entry, and Felix twisted in the waves, drawn by a violent inferno behind him. It was raging so hot that the lake was steaming all around him.

The offshoot of the Abundance Anima was aflame.

"Felix!"

A Manaship thrummed as it lowered toward him, and friendly hands reached down toward his treading in the dark water. Paxus, Pit, Evie, and Alister were all there. The force mage reached down to pull him up, accompanied by the sure grip of stone arms. Felix blinked water out of his eyes, and Eagin smiled at him through his rigid face. Together, Eidolon and mage pulled Felix and his sister up onto the deck of the Manaship.

Eagin smiled at him as his stone hands eased Gabby from Felix's iron grip. "We have her, my Lord."

Felix let go.

Paxus stood nearby, wringing his hands and staring at the Tree. His form flickered, pieces of his legs and arms vanishing in time with the crackle of flames. He leaned over the gunwale and shouted at the sky. "Magus, save her!”

“We'll try!”

no promises!

Atar and Flame zipped by them, still a charred skeleton, and closed with the Spirit Tree. With a great heave, the pair absorbed the Mana from the trunk and branches, breathing in streamers of orange, red, and yellow flame. It left the Tree smoldering and blackened, but Felix stretched his Affinity. It was faint, but he could hear the distant thrum of the Green Wilds within its husk.

The sky was in far worse condition.

It was mid-afternoon by Felix's judgment of time, but not by the look of things. Black clouds smothered every inch of blue, locking them into a permanent twilight. Things grew worse as he followed those clouds to their source. Northeast, toward Amaranth, the sky was dominated by a column of dust and smoke hundreds of miles wide.

"The destruction is far less than we expected," Alister admitted, staring along with Felix. "A moon falling on the Continent should have demolished us even here. I don't understand it."

Evie raised an eyebrow. "You wanted us to die?"

"No. But it defies logic.”

“It wasn't a moon." Felix coughed up some water and didn't care enough to wipe it away from his chin. "It's a prison for a god."

“Oh, right. That…well, I don’t know if that makes it better. How does that work?”

Felix didn't much care to explain any of it at the moment. He turned. "Pit, you all right?"

"I'm good enough."

His Companion pushed his head close, and Felix leaned into him. "Did everyone make it out?”

“We caught Princess Ondine and the two Kobolds she was carrying. We made it through, obviously. Far as I can tell, everyone who survived the fight made it out. You were the last."

Felix glanced at Gabby. She was breathing, but still unconscious. "We didn't... Has anyone seen Vess or Yin?"

Evie knelt down and gripped Felix's shoulder gently. "No. Where is she?"

He closed his eyes. "I don't know."

Evie's hand fell away, and Felix couldn't bear to meet her gaze. His head was a mess. Too much had happened. Instead, he looked inward, toward the bundle of Links just outside his core space. The start of Vess' Link was still there, but it ended shortly after it began. Just as before, it wasn’t veiled or hidden, but neatly severed.

"I can't even feel her, Evie. She..." Something twitched. He sat up, glancing closer at the Links, but nothing had changed. Had he imagined it?

The Compact Is Compromised.

The notification blared in all of their senses, loud as a batterman's shout. Paxus and Eagin buckled, screaming as flashes of incandescent white flared around their heads. It sparked and spiked, an aurora of pain and sudden, terrible revelation.

Doom.

The Beast roused, its malformed snout pushing upward from the abyss, toward the blackened skies. Felix stood on shaking legs. Beyond the palace of Gharion and the rolling hills of the Territory, beyond even the monumental clouds of dust and deadly debris, a single dot shone through.

Pit stood up, too. "Is that a star?"

"All the heavens are clogged by the moonfall," Alister said from Eagin's side. The Exult was still bent, but his screaming had stopped. "We cannot see the stars."

It was nothing more than a speck, yet Felix's eyes burned at the sight, blue pouring across the deck in the dark. Ancient memories, ones that few could retain, flashed across his Mind.

"It comes," Paxus said through a gasp. "The Final Rest. The silence at the end of all things."

Evie rounded on the spirit. "What is it?"

"An echo across the Void." Eagin looked up, his eyes burning with recognition as they met Felix's. "The Ruin is nigh."

The End Of Book 11

Continue the epic finale on Patreon.com/Necariin - or preorder the final book in series on Amazon, geni.us/Unbound12.

AFTERWORD

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ABOUT NICOLI GONNELLA

Nicoli Gonnella spent his formative years atop a mountain, breathing deep of the world energy and expelling impurities from his soul. Also he went to school and stuff. He always wrote but now he's abandoned everything to do it full time. Readers give him strength, spirit bomb style, and there's no telling how strong he will become. This isn't even his final form.

He lives with his wife, two kids, and a corgi named Cornelius.

Connect with Nicoli Gonnella:

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Discord.gg/sqQvJQhY8F

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ABOUT MOUNTAINDALE PRESS

Dakota and Danielle Krout, a husband and wife team, strive to create as well as publish excellent fantasy and science fiction novels. Self-publishing The Divine Dungeon: Dungeon Born in 2016 transformed their careers from Dakota’s military and programming background and Danielle’s Ph.D. in pharmacology to President and CEO, respectively, of a small press. Their goal is to share their success with other authors and provide captivating fiction to readers with the purpose of solidifying Mountaindale Press as the place ‘Where Fantasy Transforms Reality.’

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MOUNTAINDALE PRESS TITLES

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The Completionist Chronicles,

Cooking with Disaster,

The Divine Dungeon,

Full Murderhobo,

Year of the Sword, and Damsels of Distress by Dakota Krout

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Ether Collapse and

Ether Flows by Ryan DeBruyn

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Wolfman Warlock by James Hunter and Dakota Krout

Axe Druid,

Mephisto’s Magic Online,

High Table Hijinks, and Brindollan Affairs by Christopher Johns

Dragon Core Chronicles by Lars Machmüller

Pixel Dust and

Necrotic Apocalypse by D. Petrie

Viceroy’s Pride and

Tower of Somnus by Cale Plamann

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