Lord Kenji of the Revenants was having a really bad day, it had started out fine though. First, a perfect ambush of the forces of Verdan and Acacia had seen him gain access to the rift with an army of ghouls, a death knight, and two adepts as well. A small force that should have been enough to comfortably take a rift, what he hadn’t accounted for was the fierce resistance of the cultivators as well as that particular child disciple with an Ethra affinity that burned through his.
He was on a deadline, the pendant given to him by one of the grave keepers, cultivators who specialized in tending to the numerous graves and versed in both offensive and communication techniques. It was his link to his highlord, and it was vibrating at a terrible rate, biting down his irritation and anxiety at the slow push of his mission, he placed it on the ground, piling a few dirt over it.
His shoulder burned terribly where the lord of clan Acacia had cut him with his blade, even with his skin reknitting smoothly, the bite of the water Ethra still lingered. A soft green light came from it, and a bony protrusion shot out from the spot before cracking and spreading on the ground, the surface in front of him shimmering and the very soil itself shaping itself into a humanoid face.
“Report,” a croaky voice said.
Kenji prostrated himself fully before the face, speaking calmly.
“I have successfully infiltrated the rift and on my way to gain control of the crystal itself,” he replied smoothly.
“The absence of the two adepts with you speaks volumes to that Kenji” the highlord replied.
Kenji took that in stride, he would be foolish to assume the highlord wouldn’t note their absence.
“Lost in a confrontation with the forces of clan Verdan and Acacia, two lords, as well as teams of adepts, came along with them, it was expected,” Kenji said.
The face said nothing, effectively dismissing them, to be low-ranked was to be disposable in the cult of undeath.
“Time draws short, our informants at Talahar suggest that the empire and herald are drawing their gazes to the wasteland, perhaps fate has decided once and for all to claim jade peak for the wastelands,” the Highlord said as Kenji froze.
“You mean?” he asked, words left unspoken.
“Indeed, he advances, and the empire simply cannot afford that, significant resources are being thrown to stop that,” the Highlord said.
Kenji cursed silently.
“I do not need to remind you why this rift is of utmost importance to us, do I, lord Kenji?” the highlord asked.
"No, my Highlord” Kenji replied.
“Good, and to ensure the securing of this place, I give you the authority to invoke a link to Necropolis itself,” the Highlord said.
Kenji felt his heart soar.
“Will the Highlord be joining us soon?” he asked hopefully.
“My mission lies somewhere else, be of haste, Kenji,” the Highlord said, cutting off the transmission.
Kenji got to his feet, the pendant ejecting itself from the ground as he grabbed and pocketed it, calmly staring at his surroundings. Left with nothing but himself and access to the limitless resources of the Necropolis now at his beck and call, he produced a nexus key, one of his few most precious belongings, bequeathed to him by the Highlord himself.
He would have to make it count, with only the Acacia lord to bother about, Kenji was determined this time to get the mission over with. Floating skywards with an undeath Ethra crystal in his hand, steadily siphoning it of the rich Ethra of the Necropolis, home itself, he focused on where he could feel the power of gathered cultivators and smiled to himself.
Pushing his still lord-ranked limited flying speed to the limit, Kenji shot for the spot, grabbing the nexus key in his hand, a small rock etched with the word for undeath in the runic language, the tiny item brimming with the borrowed authority of one of the pillars of the cult itself, he arrived above them, crushing it.
A rent tore itself above the skies where they gathered, Kenji searching for the lord of clan Acacia and finding him drawing ever closer to the rift crystal itself where its guardian was just coming to life. Snarling to himself, he felt the power of the Necropolis bloom behind him as it stained the skies above him a sickly green color, the bound wraiths of the realm itself tearing their way into the rift, looking for life forces to consume.
They drained the lifelines of cultivators, something so detested that the cult of Astradriel had at one time actively hunted the cult itself. Ghouls as well, lesser forms of the exalted ghoul king, one of the pillars of the clan fell in their hundreds towards the cultivators below who could only stare up in horror at the sight they saw. When he felt the presence of one last boon, he smiled wide, watching as an Ethra-cloaked skeletal being floated out of the rent before it closed up, the nexus key turning to dust in his hands.
Pure black armor covering a skeletal frame with a green undeath core in its rib cage, the death knight with its cold green burning sockets turned to him.
“You have been blessed with a boon of the revenant king,” it said in its cold emotionless tone.
Kenji could only wish that was true, whatever deals or debts his Highlord had pulled to get a death knight, a lord rank one at that to come to his aid, Kenji knew it must have been steep. He nodded, hesitating on what order to give it, the black blade in its skeletal hand oozing undeath Ethra. Should it accompany him to handle the lord and rift guardian, or send it to make light work of the disturbances below?
He glanced down at the cultivators that had scattered at the presence of the ghouls and wraiths, a smile blossoming on its face.
“Go after the white-haired girl, kill her and all that wear her colors, then kill the rest” he ordered.
The death knight shot towards them with a blast of power, blade swinging, Kenji turned his attention to where the lord of Acacia desperately tried to get away from the rift guardian, trying to go to the aid of the heiress. Kenji threw a circular metal disc etched with inscriptions even he didn’t understand, watching as it expanded as he passed through it.
Akero slammed into a barrier that had encompassed the entire mountain, shock in his eyes even as the rift guardian, a humanoid creature made of vines, rock, and metal attacked him again.
“What have you done?!” he screamed, rage and fear in his eyes.
Kenji produced his sword, smiling at Akero.
“Cut off any disturbance, just us three, now, where were we?” he replied.
He watched with amusement as Akero pitted his entire might against the barrier, Ethra, and aura-covered attacks slamming at it.
“Highlord defensive artifact, even at your level it would take at least ten of you to put a dent in it” Kenji crooned.
The creature lashed at the revenant lord, his blade slicing through its vines that began to shrivel up, the Ethra of undeath eating at it when the creature suddenly burned with elemental flames, becoming a pillar of walking burning vines. Kenji frowned a little, that was going to be a problem, but then he turned to where Akero still pitted his might fruitlessly against the barrier and smiled, it would be worth it.
*********************************************
The floating grey beings of tier 2 and 3 came at Tunde like ghosts, the air around them cold as Elder Joran shouted.
“Aura-based attacks!” he said.
Tunde heard the deadly alarm in the voice of the elder and obeyed immediately, fighting parties suddenly working together. He wrapped his aura around Shadowfang, the blade slicing through the creature as his Ark sent a notification.
[you just killed a tier 2 wraith; the regents give you their blessings in eradicating the filths of the revenant cult]
Apparently, even the regents disliked the cult of undeath, he twisted away from the claws of a wraith, cutting it in two again as the same message popped up.
“They touch you and drain your lifeline!” Joran hissed.
Tunde took it seriously now, his aura flaring up around him as the creatures seemed to recoil from him in fear, the others barely keeping them at bay even with their aura attacks. Elyria’s blade wrapped with silver Ethra clashed with the creatures, barely keeping them at bay. He was at her side, Shadowfang cleaving the creatures in two as she sighed with relief.
“Nothing like having your own adept at your back and call,” she said.
Tunde chuckled, a warm feeling in his chest.
“at least I can protect you back,” he said softly.
She glanced at him for a fraction of a second before large lumpy forms crashed into the ground, falling like light rain. Tunde glanced around him spotting elder Joran at his side, Rhyn, Sorin, Shiro, Thalas, and Jashed as well, Zehra and adept Vaya at her side, all aware that they had to handle the immediate threat of the creatures of undeath.
“Ghouls,” Jashed said grimly.
The lumpy forms got to their feet, looking like decayed humans with rusted weapons attached to them, all leaking undeath Ethra that oozed into their surroundings, the very ground beneath their feet looking sickly grey.
“One cut of that weapon and you might just find yourself slowly rotting away, no rejuvenator nearby,” Joran said.
“I propose a truce, for now,” Zehra said.
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Thalas snorted.
“On behalf of clan Verdan, I accept” Joran replied.
“Traitors do not speak for us,” Jashed said.
Rhyn gripped his blade as jade Ethra formed around him in an imbuement attack.
“Elder Joran, please, lead us with your wisdom,” he said calmly.
Tunde glanced at him, watching as he stared at the creatures of undeath with unbridled fury, looking at him in a whole new light.
“You still side with a traitor?” Thalas hissed.
“The only traitor here is you and your father” Sorin replied.
“Rhyn Sorin, Shiro, Elyria, move with Tunde,” Joran said with a serious tone.
“Lady Zehra, adept Vaya, support them, the rest of you do as you like,” Joran said.
Thalas snarled, his gauntlets blazing to life as Elyria spoke.
“What now, adept Tunde?” she asked with a smile.
Tunde’s aura blazed higher as all attention shot to him.
“Wasting Ethra in a rift, did you teach him anything at all Joran?” Jashed sneered.
Joran was about to reply when a presence settled over them, locking them in place even as Tunde strained under it with wide eyes. Lady Vaya somehow moved, putting herself in front of Zehra and getting completely skewered by a black blade dripping with undeath energy. Elder Joran reeled, tiger’s roar and claps of sound Ethra slamming into the armored form in front of them.
Thalas and Jashed, father and son attacked it at the same time, jade and pressure Ethra slamming into its black armored frame and driving it backward a few steps. It did nothing to help the adept skewered on its blade-like meat, her body shriveling up as the creature visibly siphoned her Ethra and replaced it with undeath Ethra, her eyes showing the pure agony she was in.
“Help, m- “was all she could say before it gripped her head and ripped it off her shoulders.
Zehra let out a scream of anguish, pure pain coming from her throat as she lobbed attack after attack at the creature, a blizzard surrounding her with frost and blade Ethra, swinging her blade she had unsheathed as it slammed into the creature, totally tearing apart the body of the dead female adept but doing little to no damage to her.
When it settled, the creature still stood calmly, its gaze on her.
“It wants her,” Jashed said.
“I say we let it have her” Thalas replied.
“Either of you lay a hand on her and you die,” Joran said.
Tunde glanced at the elder in surprise.
“Tunde, Elyria, head for the mountain and the crystal, there’s a barrier there, barely visible, we need the help of a lord,” Joran said.
“Why do you protect her?” Rhyn asked.
“Because clan Verdan simply cannot wage war on two fronts at the same time” Joran hissed.
The creature shot at them again, Jashed and Joran slamming it with their attacks, pushing it back a few feet as Joran shouted out.
“Rhyn and the rest, to the ghouls and wraiths, Tunde get moving!” he shouted.
Tunde grabbed Elyria, using adept ranked speed to shoot for the mountain as she gripped him tight, the both of them landing at the base of the mountain itself. He drank in more of the untainted rift Ethra around them, staring at the green shimmering and almost invisible barrier in front of them. Elyria’s blades smashed into it and rebounded with no effect whatsoever on it, the disciple hissing in rage.
“It’s a high-grade defensive construct, probably lord grade or so,” she said.
Tunde stared at it for a few seconds before speaking.
“The elder was right,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
He turned to her.
“Do you want to advance to adept?” he asked her.
Elyria looked taken aback.
“Why wouldn’t I want to?” she replied.
“Advancement elixirs to help smoothen the items I have a rare for jade peak, I was hoping- “she said, cutting off mid-speech as Tunde opened his void ring, bringing out a tier 3 advancement elixir.
She stared from it to him.
“Where- “she said as he placed it in her hands.
“We don’t have time, quickly,” he said before taking a deep breath, staring behind him and at their fighting comrades.
Elyria quickly brought out a few items that oozed with metal Ethra, a blade, a rod, a mined metal rock, and a few elixirs. Sitting down right at the base of the barrier, she began cycling, drinking the elixirs, the advancement one as well before drawing the tier 3 metal Ethra from the items she arrayed.
Tunde watched her skin glow with light and then began to shed foul-smelling liquid as he opened one of the void rings filled with the blue glowing water, wincing at the waste of it when he almost slapped himself in disappointment.
“Open your mouth!” he urged her, Elyria deliriously doing so.
He stuffed two of the blue glowing flowers within it, along with a small dosage of the water as she arced her back, her eyes glowing brightly with light. He visibly saw the blue Ethra moving through her veins, complementing her advancement and solidifying it more. When it was over, Elyria breathing hard, clean as well, she got to her feet, hugging him before turning away and changing her clothes, Tunde giving her space.
“What happened to you within this rift?” she asked.
“a lot” Tunde replied.
She stared for a few seconds before nodding.
“We don’t have much time; how do we get through?” she said.
A silver metal blade formed in her hand, her silvery metal hand now looking stronger, Ethra visibly running through it. It clashed with the barrier again, doing little to nothing as she nodded.
“Lord-ranked,” she confirmed.
Tunde summoned the relic blade, watching it take shape in his hand, burning through his Ethra rapidly as it usually did.
“Oh,” Elyria said.
He nodded, driving it with all the force he could into the barrier, the blade pushing into it as the barrier resisted, seemingly elastic before it punctured through it. Tunde went to his knees, feeling the blade draw more than it usually did, cycling as he drew more from the rift, his body becoming a focal point for Ethra. Gripping the blade tight, he drew it down in one slash with a roar, the barrier shattering with a bang that blasted them backward as it shattered like fragments of glass.
*****************************
The moment Akero felt an external pressure pushing at the barrier as well, he added his strength to it, his Ark screen pinging irritably, silently cursing the day it came into his life. Praying to the hegemons that no harm had befallen the daughter of the sea serpent, he doubled his effort, aura and Ethra attacks of the fluid saber style smashed into it, putting more pressure on it.
He couldn't care less about the crystal, he had only one job and that was to ensure the safety of Zehra, there would be other rifts, she wouldn’t die if she didn’t become a lord today, but she would if she stayed any longer within it. Something powerful pushed at the barrier, a strength that was as much physical as it was conceptual, the realm of lord rank still filled with secrets to him.
Was another lord on the other side? Alaric perhaps? he would willingly lay his life if it meant she’d survive. When it shattered and he shot through, surprise etched his face at the two adepts that lay sprawled on the ground, a black blade dissipating to mist in the hand of the male adept he was all too familiar with. For a brief fraction of a second, he considered killing him, and the girl for good measure, but as he caught sight of the tier 4 creature of undeath two adepts were barely holding at bay, he shot for Zehra.
Opening his void ring and grabbing a stone of priceless value, he grabbed her with speed, shattering it as a tier opened, briefly revealing a large castle, their home, Zehra sent through before he did. Akero gave a glance behind him as he went through, staring at the forces of undeath and clan Verdan clashing, seeing the outcome already.
Clan Acacia had edged their bet on the rift, they had poured considerable resources into it and had come out empty-handed, a disgrace to the reputation of the clan. War vessels abandoned with whatever unfortunate cultivators were left on them, adepts and disciples dead, but Zehra was safe, that was all that mattered. As the tear closed, Akero grabbed a free-falling Zehra who sobbed with rage, he prayed for the forces of clan Verdan to receive a swift death, they were all going to die after all.
**********************
Kenji wanted to scream with rage as the barrier shattered, it should have been impossible, it was impossible, and yet, here he fought the rift guardian, watching the barrier shatter around him. Akero fled, the coward, no doubt going to save his heiress if she wasn’t dead already at the hands of the death knight. He felt no presence step into the mountain, wary as he expanded his aura before abruptly stopping when he felt the presence of two adepts. It made no sense as he clashed with the peak tier 4 rift guardian that shot a mouthful of flames at him, his tier 4 defensive constructs flaring to life, deflecting it.
Adepts couldn’t have broken through his barrier, it made no sense, except it was what he was thinking. Straining his senses, his aura recognized the same child that had killed his first adept student and the subsequent ones he brought into the rift, the same one the Highlord suspected could be a spy of the Heralds. Suddenly it all made sense, he had a powerful relic, one that gave him the strength to shatter the barrier, but still Kenji had his doubts.
He called the death knight to him, feeling his connection to it as the knight smashed one of the adepts into the ground, the other miraculously dodging a swipe of its blade before the knight lost interest in him, heading for him. The rift guardian gave a loud screech, its pseudo aura tearing across the mountain as it seemed to dominate the space around them.
Kenji activated his dominion as the death knight got close to him, the entire space between him and the rift guardian now cocooned in undeath Ethra, turning the very mountain itself into a focal point for undeath Ethra. It strained his nascent core to his limit, draining it faster than he could replenish it, but it gave the death knight the advantage over the rift guardian that drew power from the rift crystal itself.
“Finish it” he hissed.
The knight clashed with the burning guardian, its blade slashing through it as the two of them, both affinity monsters traded blows with each other, the knight's armor tanking most of the hits. It pushed the guardian on the backfoot, and Kenji withdrew his dominion with a sigh of relief. He turned his gaze to the base of the mountain and the rising adepts before frowning, he wasn’t one to believe much in fate, but it was no longer a coincidence that the child was always at the culmination of his plans, spoiling them.
His core drained but his body still that of a lord, he shot for them, the kid turning to him in alarm, Kenji brought his blade down on him with strength, watching the kid whip a black axe that burned with the same corrosive black Ethra.
**************************
Tunde was still reeling from the drain of the relic when he felt the presence of the undeath lord loom down on him as he whipped Shadowfang to deflect the attack. It drove him to his knees, his hands straining from the attack as he primed resonance in his other hand, dropping a punch on the lord’s body. A hand flashed out, grabbing his fist as the attack exploded, the revenant hissing in pain, staring at his burnt and shriveling hand.
“Herald scum!” he growled.
Tunde watched a skeletal hand made of Ethra form behind the lord, stabbing at him with concentrated undeath Ethra. He breathed out, Ethra discs forming and clashing with the hand even as they shattered, the absurdity of the situation hit him even as Elyria moved to back him up, her fresh adept ranked Ethra shaping her liquid metal into blades, clashing with the lord that lazily slapped them away with his bare hands wrapped in aura. She moved with a grace he hadn’t seen her display as he joined in the battle, Shadowfang flashing as he struck at the lord too.
“You were unwise to not return to your masters' child!” the revenant snarled.
A flash of power clashed with the revenant as Joran appeared, Jashed by his side, the both of them turning to Tunde and Elyria. Thalas was at their side as well, eyes wide with shock as he stared at Elyria.
“How?” he asked.
She forged a long sword in one hand, glancing at him.
“wouldn’t you like to know” she replied.
Rhyn, Sorin, and Shiro appearing too with wide eyes.
“Good, everyone is here,” the revenant lord said.
Joran turned to him, Jashed moving to the side.
“What is it the undeath cult really wants?” he asked.
The lord smiled as explosions came from the mountain above.
“Tunde” Joran said.
He nodded, shooting for the mountaintop where two forces clashed, Elyria and Thalas right behind him. He was aware of the danger of Thalas, aware that they were all working together simply for the threat of undeath itself. The higher they went, the heavier the clashes, Tunde gritted his teeth as he got to the top, aura cloaking his entire form to see the same death knight that had slain the adept of Acacia there battling with a slowly degrading rift guardian.
He was about to attack when instincts had him twisting to the side, slapping a gauntlet-covered arm with resonance that exploded with a crack. He stared into the cold gaze of Thalas, one silver blade at the throat of the adept courtesy of Elyria.
“That was fast,” she said coolly.
“Did you really think I would hesitate?” Thalas replied.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Tunde said.
Thalas chuckled, and an explosion of pressure threw him and Elyria to the side, the death knight and the rift guardian going at it, oblivious to the fight of their lessers. Tunde strapped Shadowfang to his back, Elyria glancing at him in confusion.
“He needs to die” she simply stated.
Silver liquid metal coated her body, aura burning from it as she drank an Ethra elixir potion, staring at Thalas who burned with Ethra.
“This is the way it should be,” he said.
“Your arrival brought nothing but trouble to the clan” he continued.
“you’re setting yourself up for problems when we get back” Tunde warned.
“If he gets back, still want to cut off his head” Elyria replied, test swinging her blade.
Flashes of power came from where the battle of tier 4 beings fought, Tunde aware that they needed to wrap their battle up as quickly as possible.
“Funny you should say that” Thalas replied as he produced a brand-new club from his void ring.
Tunde took a deep breath, cycling his Ethra as he imbued himself, black lines running down his skin, pure aura burning from his body, the moved, three adepts clashing at once.