“Civil war…There is nothing civil about war.

The ingenuity humanity possesses when it comes to finding new ways to destroy seems to be without limit, especially when it comes to the destruction of our own.

There was perhaps some truth to the words of the ancients: Humanity had no future, at least not in the scoop of time measured by the first sentients, the first Awakened.

We had no domain to call our own, we were merely grabbing onto the work of others and stealing what we could.

No wonder we were divided, and no wonder so many fell to the sweet promise of these outsiders claiming to be what was taken from us so long ago.

Lonely on his throne on Luna, Emperor Corwin watched as his empire tore itself apart.”

- Elistar Iscariot, Grand Magister during the second Kingfisher dynasty.

The battle raged on, but I was running out of energy, and by the looks of it, so was Sabina. She had stopped using the ability to send out duplicates, but her style was still solid, and she was making her presence on the battlefield felt among the remdra.

The shifters had created a wedge and moved back to protect the phalanx of spear-wielding kobolds. There was some serious lizard-on-lizard action going on there. Kobolds and remdra seemed to go berserk when they clashed. It was a mess of scales, hissing, biting, and the occasional stabbings, leaving broken and dead bodies in its wake.

While not known for their ability to fight in lines of battle, the kobolds were quick and coordinated, unlike the bigger remdra. Two or three kobolds would take down a remdra in seconds before the next in line could get involved.

There had been some casualties on our side, but the enemy was too disorganized. With the help of our formerly imprisoned friends, we had essentially divided the enemy into two, and neither side was sending in reinforcements to the battle line. While we kept grinding at them, taking down groups as they fell within our reach. At a guess, I would say around five or six hundred of the enemy had already fallen, mostly due to being unorganized at this point.

Despite how well things were going, that didn't take away the need for both Sabina and me to refill our energy. The moment we ran out, the wave would come crashing in again, and the prison escapees would be trapped in the very same wedge they had helped create.

Spotting the big and hairy beast a hundred or so meters away, I started doing something that I knew I would regret later.

In front of me, I drew the circle of a ritual with my spirit. Letting the perfect circle hang there for a moment, I summoned The Book. Maybe not miraculously, but it is convenient nonetheless. I opened it on the exact page I needed.

Painstakingly, I spent seconds drawing in the appropriate glowing glyphs and runes inside and at the four cardinal directions of the circle. Then I copied it, copied my two rituals again and again until thirty-two circles were arrayed between me and the mass of remdra.

Looking around, I saw the entire battle had slowed or even stopped as the warriors on both sides stopped to gawk at what I was doing. The rituals lit up the battlefield in its unnatural light. The smell of ozone and burnt steak hung heavily in the air as the rituals throbbed with power.

Since it seemed the enemy had decided to give me plenty of time by gawking, I quickly shored up the few faults I immediately spotted. That should do it. I was already pushing my luck, and I didn't want to get tackled by the enemy at the moment since my head felt close to exploding.

Trying to be inconspicuous, I pointed at the palace behind my back so that, hopefully, only Sabina could see me making the gesture.

The rank one ritual is by no means powerful, especially when drawing them as I did with my mind without any aids like reagents or permanent ritual circles to help hold the energy.

If I had saved the ritual in my book, I could keep activating it just by remembering the ritual existed and paying the prize in energy. I started to understand that it was not the greatest boon of The Book, which I suspect was something completely different from an actual book, at least as I understood them.

When I stored them on the page of the book, the rituals kept there evolved and improved with time. How or why is still not something I was ready to answer. What I knew was that keeping a ritual there made it more powerful; taking a ritual out and putting it back meant starting the process from scratch. The implications of this over the long run made the sting of only having one ability crystal a lot less painful.

However, this was drawing the ritual raw without any help. That I managed to hold this many with my mind at once was a testament to how much I had grown over the last months. Not that I planned on pushing my mind to this degree anytime soon. Blood was already trickling from my nose and ears from the pressure, and my eyes felt about ready to burst.

Swaying as I took one last look to see if any of our people were too close to the rituals, I took note of Sabina having moved a lot closer to me. Questions burned in her eyes. Those would have to wait.

Raising my right hand, I snapped my finger to start the show, and I let loose the churning energy of the ritual backed by the power of my spirit to enforce my will on this plane of existence.

For a fraction of a second, I heard the sound of thunder, but the ritual burned past that point. I felt like I stood in the wake of an enormous fist; the word sound held no meaning. This was far past the point where I could hear anything. It was too loud for me to register, and I started wondering if I had turned everyone in the cavern deaf.

Unlike Push, Thunderclap was purely based on sound waves and was supposed to stun and confuse a large group of enemies temporarily, which would have been great. What I hadn't expected was the magnitude of thirty-two instances of Thunderclap, a ritual meant to spread outwards in waves, which was instead focused down to a smaller area.

The enemy stood still, some looking confused and others as if they had been stopped mid-stride or mid-action. Then, the buildings behind them on the other side of the plaza crumbled to dust. Row upon row simply fell in on themselves, turning to piles of gravel and dust.

Suddenly, the first of the remdra toppled over, the one closest to the center of the ritual. Blood was gushing from their mouths, noses and any other orifice that blood could leave. It was not a pretty sight.

While the center mass was trying out life without bodily fluids by the looks of it, the enemy remdra furthest away from the center shock for a moment before falling over dead.

A flood of power entered me; my domain opened by itself to help my spirit stone so I wouldn't explode.

Looking across the battlefield, It took a few moments, but I realized I had single-handedly killed more than half the remdra army in front of the palace. No, I was not going to complain about not having more ability crystals for a while; it only seemed fair.

Is the ground supposed to be that close to my face?

The first thing I noticed was firm fingers rubbing my scalp, which somehow helped with the second thing I noticed, the blinding headache and that led to the third thing my slow thoughts informed me about. It smelled a lot better now than it did before I decided to take a short nap in the middle of a battle.

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The last thought brought me all the way back. Trying to sit up, I failed spectacularly. It was as if sleep paralysis had its cold hands wrapped around me, except the usual nightmare leaning over me was gently massaging my head instead of consuming my soul.

I heard words being spoken, but they made as much sense as the fingers brushing my hair, so I just ignored them, letting myself fall back into the soothing darkness of nothing.

Opening my eyes, I noticed I was alone; there was no sleep paralysis monster stroking my hair. Gently moving my head, I saw I was in a dark room.

Only a tiny slit in the wall let in a sliver of light, not that it bothered me overly much; the room just looked slightly off to my ability to see in darkness. It is as if the colors are tinted in an unnatural way.

Personally, I think it's my brain trying to cope with things it wasn't meant to cope with and what it translated the information I was receiving into what it would have looked like in light if light didn't exist. It was a slightly confusing theory I was still working on.

Still lying down, I took note of the loveseat I was resting on, which was made of high-quality leather and the woodwork I saw was gilded. In other words, plundered.

For a moment, I considered taking it, but it was just too much for even my expensive tastes.

Gritting my teeth, I gently stood up, and despite my expectations to turn into a human rag on the floor, I managed it, albeit swaying quite a bit, so keeping a hand on the seat was not optional just yet.

Sitting down again, I summoned the few morsels of food that I had left, gulping it down like a beast. It helped; it helped a lot. Energy started filling me almost immediately after the first bites hit my stomach, but it was weak. I needed large quantities of meat and honey. Maybe a few skins of fatty milk and ale to wash it down.

Just thinking of it made me salivate and sent my stomach growling again. A few morsels of food were not going to cut it. My body was eating itself.

Gingerly, I made my way to the only door in the room. It took me a moment since it didn't have any handle but slid into the wall.

Entering a hallway, I could see rooms running on both sides for a couple of hundred meters in each direction. Damn big place, this palace. It was the only place I could think I would be currently not being tortured or guarded.

Reaching for the connection I had to my voidlings, I was distraught to find them all gone, including the one that was supposed to keep close to Mira. That made things a lot more complicated. I could barely muster enough energy to walk, let alone start a summoning ritual.

Using the left rule, I staggered down the hallway, letting my left arm trail along the wall and keeping myself in place at the times when the floor turned into waves and whirls.

It was a fun trip. At the halfway point, I felt drained but was well enough to walk normally. It helped soothe my ego, if nothing else. Who fainted during a battle? Stupid. Stupid, Alucard.

Finally, I made it to the end, a spiral staircase going both ways. Just the idea of walking up the steps sent protests of mutiny shooting through my legs. Nope, down it is.

Round and round we go. Three rotations for one floor. Each subsequent floor looked the same as the one I had left until I finally made it to the bottom, and it was packed to the rafters.

The stench wafting from the crowd of different species competed with the noise to see which one could make me lose what little content my stomach contained.

Silence spread as I entered the large room, an enormous reception hall by the looks of it. Black and white dots were spread along the floor and made from marble tiles. It sent an unwelcome pang of homesickness running through me. The patterns continued until about halfway up the wall, where different statues started lining the room as if crawling their way out of the walls. It was both an incredible feat of stone cutting and disturbing to look at. The statues depicted grotesque daemons in different stages of eating humanoids.

Turning towards the sound of quick steps coming from one end of the room, I soon saw Sabina making her way towards me.

In moments, she was holding my face between her hands, looking at me from all sides and turning my head up, down and from side to side. Finally, she seemed to be content, and scrutiny turned into a suffocating hug.

“We thought we lost you there for a while…I thought I lost you. Blood was coming out of your head, and no one knew what to do. You even stopped breathing.”

From behind me, someone said something in a language that sounded like whistling and bird chirping and to my surprise, a deep, rumbling voice seemed to answer it. I could only guess what they had said, but Sabina seemed to understand it well enough.

“You are right, Bolek. We don't have much time. However, Alucard needs something to eat, or he won't be much help to anyone but the floor.

I need to get back to the entrance. The snakes are preparing for another attack, and we are barely holding on.

Pip will take you to the commissary; it's not far. Bolek and I are needed at the entrance again. They have Awakened with them, so we need to come up with a way to handle the breach when it comes. I know you are tired, but please do not take too long. I doubt we can hold many more attacks.

Do not for a moment think I am not immensely glad you did not die. It would have been an ignoble end to a noble soul. Now go, eat. We have much to discuss when...if we get out of this alive. Now hurry so you can come and rescue me again.”

She said the last part with a teasing wink. Personally, I hoped I never had to rescue anyone in her condition ever again.

When my tired brain had finally worked through all she said, they were gone. Leaving me with a blue-skinned humanoid with far too big eyes and teeth. This was apparently Pip.

“Hello, Pip? Call me Alucard; nice to meet you. Sabina said something about food?”

Pip stood looking at me for a while before its mouth stretched out in what I hoped was a smile and said.

“Foooooodddz!”

The next moment, I had to scurry to keep up with the little blue rascal. It moved between and under people at need, dropping down to use both its arms and legs when necessary.

It didn't take long until I was led into what I imagined had been the grand banquet hall. Tables were decked with what looked like bread, cooked fungus, tubers, and meat, which looked to be the staple. Casks of wine stood along one side.

There was some order in the chaos. Lines of different humanoids were making their way with new food to the table from a door I assumed led to the kitchen. They brought the food and went to the inside of the tables, replacing empty dishes while the group eating was moving in a line on the outside of the table, picking and eating food before hurrying back to the reception hall I had just existed.

What struck me was how everyone looked calm and collected. The different species mingled without any arguing or fighting.

Pip pulled on my sleeve, dragging me to one end of the table. For some reason, the former prisoners parted around me, allowing me to cut the line to the food table. It was strangely disconcerting. Nothing was said, no one looked angry about it. The closest thing someone had to a reaction was a large shifter who was halfway between wolf form and human. He gave me a slow nod before moving out of the way.

The strange silence that had started in the reception hall seemed to be spreading to the dining hall as conversations I didn't understand stopped. If not for the constant group of people exiting and entering the room, I am positive the only sounds coming from the former prisoners were food being consumed.

Spotting a platter of what looked like gigantic chicken, I beelined towards it while grabbing a loaf of bread on the way.

Two drumsticks and a round loaf later and a couple of steps away from the tables, I was looking for my next victim. Any thoughts I had about the strangeness of the situation were gone the moment food entered my mouth.

Stalking a pot of what smelled like fish stew, I wouldn't be denied substance. My first few morsels were rapidly being taken apart in the furnace, which was my stomach. Nothing would go to waste. I was too low on energy.

Not bothering to see If there were any bowls, I scooped out the middle of a round loaf and filled it with stew. Not caring if it was hot or cold. I'm not even sure I tasted it. The only thing I knew was that it was gone, and I needed more.

I barely noticed people moving out of my way as I darted in and out along the table, consuming anything that looked edible to me.

Still starved but feeling slightly better, I looked at Pip, who had stayed by my side for some reason. Pip looked somewhere between relieved and antsy as if it couldn't stay still. The blue humanoid, of undetermined gender, was doing sort of a side-step waltz, never standing still while casting glances at the exit.

Right, I almost forgot, we were under attack.

Too hungry to care, I started sending dishes to my storage. Let them think there was a ghost here or something.

Summoning my four voidlings, I sent one to map the palace, more specifically, a route to the thick stone doors in the cellar. I had not forgotten why I wanted to come here initially. I kept the three remaining voidlings in my shadow.

Pip may have noticed one of them because it kept looking under the table as If something was hiding there, but when it noticed I was walking toward the exit, It made a happy chirping sound before hurrying after me. I wonder what species it is. I have never seen anything like Pip before; then again, I am sure there are plenty of Pip`s people who had never seen an Alucard before either.

The reception hall was still filled to the brim, but groups were being rotated in and out of what I imagine is the palace entrance because wounded kept coming in to be taken somewhere deeper into the palace, and new grim-looking defenders were making their way towards where the sound of battle could be heard. No, they didn't lack fighting spirit, at least. These were people willing to fight, willing to keep on going when others would have broken by the grim determination I saw in some of the shifter's faces.

One of them, waiting to be taken to the infirmary with a mangled arm, caught my gaze. For a moment, I saw shock, but then relief took over his face. Wonder why. I don't think I look that different than I did when I was down with a bad case of unconsciousness.

I was just slightly tired and annoyed that the damn idiots were still at our door. Didn't they have better things to do? Like being dead. Me, I had things to do here.

As more people started noticing me, the same silence spread as the first time I had entered here. It was unnerving. What did they want a speech?

For some reason, the idea of giving a speech to these people who didn't understand a word I would say was hilarious to me. I couldn't help but feel the familiar smile coming to my lips.

I knew I was far gone when I started chuckling. Pip chirped something that could have been a question, so I said.

“No, I don't think I'm crazy just yet. Let's go make these asshats regret coming to tell us about their lord and savior, shall we.”

“Asstzats”

“That's right. Asshats.”