Amanda couldn't believe they let Robert get trapped with the enemy like that. The leader of the Cult of the Pail Priestess had stolen the identity of the deputy head of security, almost crippling the man. Marcus Palmer had suffered severe soul injury and whatever other damage he wasn't telling but insisted on coming to clean his name.

Professor Noah Actus threw the door open and Knight Lars Graahaal took the initiative with the opening move.

"Domain of Absolute Devotion!"

It was not the strongest spell for combat but it had a social weight that made it one of the most feared moves by four-star Archs in the Empire. Inside Lars' Holy field, the loyalty of every one of the Empress' subjects was tested. They would gain a buff depending on how loyal they were, and a debuff depending on how vile, treasonous, and dishonorable they were.

Amanda sighed in relief as she saw Robert with the golden glow around him. Not only that but he was also unharmed. On the other side of the room, the cultist posing as Marcus was writhing, covered in golden flames.

"Call of the Void!"

Until he used his own ultimate spell to counter Lars' Domain. A bubble of gray energy appeared around him, reminding Amanda of Robert's liminal void. The man's speed increased tenfold as he rushed and beheaded four teachers in a single move.

"Robert, stop him!" Professor Actus shouted. "You can do it!"

Encouraged by the shout, Robert nodded briefly before vanishing. Everything following that happened in less than three heartbeats.

"Heretic!" The cultist shouted, his voice's pitch raised by two octaves due to the time dilation of his bubble. He started to rush toward an empty spot. Amanda's heart soared. She was sure Robert was protecting the teachers by luring the enemy away!

She saw an apple appear, get split in two by a silver blur, and then fall down to the ground. For some reason, pieces of twine flew like they were tossed by a hurricane.

The cultist grunted in pain, the grunt resounding as a high-pitch holler. Then the bubble of Void energy wobbled and shrunk. It shrunk again the next instant.

"You are making a big mistake!" The cultist whined like nails on a chalkboard, at the edge of a human's audible range. Then he staggered as if stunned.

A dagger tethered to a strand of twine appeared inside the cultist's ear. She recognized it. Amanda forgot to breathe. The dagger vanished in a silver blur, withdrawing to the edge of the weakened bubble.

The cultist screeched a soul-rippling 20kHz D#. She had no idea why. Then a dagger appeared inside his eye, only to vanish in less time than it took to blink an eye.

Next, the man vanished. A few droplets of blood splashed around where he was.

Amanda felt her heart sink. Did the four-star Arch enter the liminal void to fight Robert head-on? If so, Robert was doomed. She felt her legs give and if not for Actus supporting her, she would be on the ground, holy buff or not.

For five seconds, nothing happened. The five longest seconds of Amanda's short life. Her eyes stung and watered. Her heart raced erratically.

"Look into the Netherecho!" A teacher shouted.

Amanda checked. The Netherecho was full of Void vestiges, black creatures in the shape of heinous aberrations. The teachers were slaughtering the creatures, probably Ether constructs created by the fight. What had transpired in the liminal void to cause such a deluge of Ether?

She went back as Noah pulled on her arm. "Don't. It's dangerous in there," the teacher warned. "Trust Noah. Life Archs are the hardest to kill."

Amanda nodded.

Then she heard a loud pop and Robert dropped on top of the meeting table. He was bloodied and his clothes were torn. Amanda screamed and rushed toward him. She felt relief when Golden lights enveloped him, shining as strong as those on the knight, brighter than the teachers. If Lars' Domain was affecting Robert, it meant he was still alive.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Tossing her dignity to the wind and climbing on the table like a desert pilgrim without water for a week, she hugged Robert and dragged him to her lap. She screamed her frustration, her impotence, and her despair at seeing the person who grew to occupy a spot so important wounded.

The golden lights vanished. With her eyes closed, Amanda didn't notice it. Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't care.

"He suffered heavy soul damage," Lars' imposing voice rang in the room. "I can alleviate the burden he carries, but he will need a week of rest, at least. A warrior so true to his virtue, he earned it."

The Knight's words eased Amanda's worries but also sapped her fighting spirit, now that she knew Robert was out of danger. She openly wept.

*

*

Twenty-four hours after the incident at the security council meeting room, an unconscious Robert Blaze entered the liminal void. He'd been in the infirmary, resting to heal his soul damage. It took another week in the void for him to wake up.

As he opened his weary eyes, he saw a couple of anthropomorphic mice staring at them.

"Hey, champion! I see you are all fixed up! Hot dog!" Mickey cheered.

"I still feel like shit," Robert croaked with a dry throat.

"It will pass," Minnie said, leaning next to him. "Here," she kissed his cheek. "Thank you both for saving me."

Robert smiled. "Don't mention it."

"Golly! You guys are going to make me cry!" Mickey said in his cheerful tone. "We owe you one, Robbie!"

Not only Robert helped rescue Minnie, but he also didn't take advantage of her weakened state to imprison her in a shell. It would take a single act of will and she would go back to being a slave to an Arch until the human died. And Mickey wasn't about to kill a friend, traitor or not. But Robert proved himself over and over as he only had kind words for the freed spirit.

The mouse grimaced for a moment. He missed his friends. All the others, those who were still trapped and the ones who were gone forever. But he made a new true friend and that's what mattered. That they still could forge these connections. His hand found Minnie's. She looked at him with those tender and understanding eyes and nodded.

"Did our plan work?" Mickey asked Robert.

"I think it did. They asked me a few things when I briefly recovered consciousness. I told them exactly what we planned, and Knight Graahaal seemed satisfied."

"Oh, gee. I love it when a plan comes together!"

"Mickey, that one is still copyrighted," Minnie warned, then she snatched the Cuban. "And no smoking cigars in the infirmary!"

"Gosh! Sorry! A single use like that out of context is fine," Mickey waved at Minnie, then looked at you. "I am sure we already lampshaded it enough, Didn't we, friends? And if you think we haven't, you just have to say the magic words:

"Life plus seventy years is enough already! Let my people go!"

*

*

A week later, which was around two years for Robert, the infirmary head nurse discharged him. Three people came to greet him.

Freddy rushed to jump on him and give Robert a good lick on the cheek. He laughed and hugged the camouflaged visitor. He looked ahead, where Amanda was brimming with joy, impeccable in her hair, makeup, and school uniform. Next to her, Noah was also smiling – probably – under his mask.

Once Freddy let go of him to circle around, Amanda approached. She rushed the last two steps and hugged him, feet off the ground.

"Welcome back!" She shouted in his ear.

Robert put his hands on Amanda's waist and placed her on the ground, gently unlatching the girl from him.

It was Noah's turn to approach. The professor tilted his head to the side, then moved his head up and down as if he were taking a good look at Robert.

"All good?"

"All good, professor," Robert grinned.

Noah sighed. "Too bad the villain escaped, eh?"

"Unfortunately. That instant teleportation spell of him is really hard to track."

"Yes, yes. Void Step, it is called. Teleportation is already a can of worms, instantaneous, without a charging time?" Noah whistled. "Impossible to catch."

The sarcasm in Professor Actus' voice was matched only by the pride he had in his students.

"They found a huge puddle of blood by the garbage containers. And the remains of a healing potion. He was probably heavily wounded by you, apported there from his teleport, drank the potion, and used Void Step again. That's the official version. The remainder cultists on the campus were quickly rooted out and... dealt with."

Robert was grinning like a fool. Amanda gently patted his cheek. "They probably are watching us," she warned with a whisper.

"Can you ask people at the HQ to send me another sword and spear? And as many throwing daggers as they can. I lost all my weapons in the fight."

She threw her head back, openly laughing. "For you? I can get them to send an entire armory!"

Robert laughed along with her. He never told them what really happened, not with all the words. How could he? The corpse of Cultist Marcus had been disintegrated by his now fully-formed Void Punch, which Mickey and Minnie helped him perfect before he returned to the meeting room.

Getting him all bruised and covered in blood was Minnie's idea, to his great surprise. She said he should just consider it battle makeup. It helped sell the idea he fought and lost to the four-star Void Arch. Not that anyone would believe him, regardless of what he claimed. Short of presenting the man's head, that was. Which he wouldn't do.

But he still had one thing to do. Robert had a third spatial ring now. Hidden in the liminal void, it awaited him so he could claim his prizes.

"Great, great. Now that we celebrated our small victory in defeat and strengthened our bonds, it is time to get ready. Tomorrow, we are going to dive into a passage and spend five months in the interspace. I am afraid you'll have to teleport Robert's armory, Miss Samson."

"That won't be a problem, professor," Amanda replied.

*

*

[BOOK 1 END - 129,748 words]