Chapter 25

“He’s been spotted approaching the Blade, sir. I just got report that all warriors have been graced by the Lumen’s statue as well.” Without speaking a word to his advisor, Zilg slammed his hand against the shield generator. It was used primarily for defense, but in the event that the opposition had breached Everblade’s walls, it could be used offensively. It had only been used once before and the concentrated energy had caused almost as much damage to the city as it did the invaders. If Scyris put this much emphasis on attacking Kalex, he wasn’t going to allow any of his weapons to go unused, even if it meant putting his warrior's lives at risk.

During the targeting phase, Zilg was happy to see that his men were not shown as targets and he hoped they’d be safe from the blast. Sweat beaded from his brow as he focused on his target. He could not afford to miss the shot as activating it drained the city’s energy reservoir, causing at least a year of natural replenishment to come back to full power. Only a moment had passed between touching the generator and completing his targeting. Sucking in a shaky breath, Zilg activated the charge and hoped that all he would have to do is clean up the mess afterward.

The sky itself appeared to tear as the clouds boiled away. Kalex felt an almost negligible pull upwards as his clothes and hair lifted slightly before an unimaginable force pushed down on him. Energy more powerful than Kalex had ever sensed pulsed outwards from the circular tear. The flame-like myst around him condensed around his body in an attempt at a barrier in hopes that it’d help protect him from the energy pointed directly at him. Before he could complete another thought, he heard a sound that he wouldn’t soon forget. WOOM! The sound of a beam of oversaturated energy was the last thing Kalex heard before his world went white.

The blast was to last for over three minutes and as soon as it had started, Zilg stared straight into the light to make sure he’d hit his mark. He knew he had aimed correctly and there was no sign that Kalex had moved out of the way, but he still watched with bated breath. There would be no calls to action and no celebrations until he could verify that Kalex had been taken care of with his own eyes.

At the halfway point, The Potentate decided to get to the ground and have a closer look. There was no way anyone could survive the blast as it was gifted to Zilg by his Lumen to help protect her stake in the Realm. Scyris even admitted that she would find it difficult to deal with the defense mechanism unscathed. Zilg took a step and appeared in the front line of the warriors who were standing in wait. With his focus totally on the crackling beam itself, he almost overlooked the destruction of the blast. Or, as he realized with his mouth turning agape, the lack thereof.

Kalex found himself in a crouch with his eyes tightly closed and even through his closed lids, he could see the white-hot myst falling around him in a cascade. At first, he thought the blast would end quickly, but after a minute of his hastily made shield holding up, he dared to open his eyes. Two things became blatantly apparent as soon as he did. Looking towards the ground, Kalex dismissed his myst armor at the sight. The death beam’s energy wasn’t making it to the ground, but instead looping up towards the shining object above him. A beacon brighter than the beam's rampant energy hovered above Kalex’s reach and as he looked upon it, it only seemed to get brighter. Realization hit him harder than even the beam was meant to.

“LEX!” he screamed in fear as his Lexidex was taking the full brunt of the attack. “Stop! You’ll get yourself killed!'' The energy that the beam was producing started to lessen as Kalex heard a voice echoing through his mind. “Do not worry Mr. Wounder, I cannot die and this amount of myst will not render me permanently inoperable. I must thank you. Using the knowledge you’ve gained from taking in the myst of others and fundamentally changing it to suit your needs has been very insightful. I believe I have made strides to streamline the process and counteract the previous issues.”

The myst raining down from the beam waned to the point that Kalex could stand comfortably. His focus was on Lex, however. “I will share my findings with you when I complete the compilation of the data I’ve received.” Lex’s voice got slower and deeper. “Until then, it'll take some time to parse the energy I’ve received.” The voice in Kalex’s head turned into an even deeper and warmer timbre. “I shall return before you take the next step on your quest. But until then…I must...Sleep.”

The moment the beam stopped, Lex dropped down into Kalex’s awaiting hands. Kalex looked at the glassy stone’s smoke-colored facets with sadness. He had come to talk with the Potentate and he immediately fired upon him. His mournful mood swiftly turned to anger. Noticing the change, he realized that he was not as level-headed as he had been on Diat, but closer to how a teenager would react to the loss of someone close to him. Putting that thought to the side of his mind, he flared his myst once again, scattering the shroud of the death beam’s myst that had obfuscated his view.

Zilg watched on, expecting to see nothing but a charred smear where Kalex had once stood. From his prior experience with the generator, he knew the veil of power it wrought would take a few minutes to clear to reveal the damage. Every warrior took a step back as the Potentate did the same a moment later. The veil covering the area of affliction burst outwards, sending chaotic energy into everything in the vicinity. Within stood a small boy with white hair, and eyes like glistening gemstones.

The glowing myrtle gaze clicked onto the Potentate and he didn’t hesitate to use his trump card. “Oh Lumen, protector of our Realm! Shield us from calamity!” Zilg spoke, not taking his eyes off of the boy. He noticed an odd look from Kalex as he tilted his head slightly. Before he could think too hard about the boy’s behavior, the sky boomed as a light brighter than the sun of the Axiom descended.

Scyris did not take the words of the Ancestor sitting down. Never had she been so debased throughout all her time in the higher worlds. She was an Axiom born to a different planet and brought up by the Lumen and never once had she received anything but praise. She had been granted World Prime of Enternia before her Lumen training had been completed, which was unheard of in the Cabal. And now, because of this meaningless Baseborn, she had been stripped of her title and forced to find her replacement.

She was not going to let this slight go unrectified. Technically, since she was being summoned onto the world where she was still receiving contribution, so taking down the reason for her unwarranted discharge couldn’t be seen as a conflict of her duties. She would take care of this Baseborn and continue the stretched-out process of finding another Lumen to take her place as World Prime. She didn’t think the Ancestor would have any qualms with that.

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Kalex knew exactly what the light in the sky was. He had sent out tendrils of his presence to investigate just to be sure. It was who he’d expected but something felt off with the fluctuations of power he was reading from her. Scyris’ myst felt weak and disorganized and since she was physically here, he pulled up her status to try to uncover the reason for her deficit of power.

Name: Scyris Everblade

Race: Lumen (Cragfont)

Rank: Harbinger

Maturity: 6,807/10,000

Path: Reaping Harvest (Master)

Vitality:31,500 /90,000 (Appointed)

Myst: 11,200,000/32,000,000 (Appointed)

Strength: 983/1,632 (Appointed)

Wisdom: 209/276 (Appointed)

Agility: 1,352/2,349 (Appointed)

Charisma: 402/528 (Appointed)

Luck: 4006

“Appointed?” Kalex thought out loud. “How can someone appoint their stats?” Kalex waited for a response from Lex out of habit but realized one was not going to come. Another spike of anger gripped Kalex just in time to see the Lumen charging directly towards him. These Lumen had done nothing but cause issues and try to control him and the others around him. He was not going to stand for that. He glared at the oncoming Lumen with defiance and saw her reveal her Axiom Armament.

A scythe with a haft longer than she was tall and a blade of midnight luster seemed to cut through reality as she prepared it in a swing meant to cut Kalex from left shoulder to right hip. Almost without thought, his own armament flashed into his hand from his internal storage. Scyris’ eyes went wide for a split second, then flashed in determination as she swung down. The clang of the two weapons clashing emitted a sound that caused the internals of the least powerful people in attendance to liquefy. The attack caused Kalex’s knees to bend slightly as the Lumen used the flash from the clash to move to the side to deliver another attack. As the men around the scene died, the Lumen’s power grew.

Zilg looked on in horror. Not only did the kid block the Lumen’s opening salvo, he looked prepared for a continued battle. The gurgling groans of his men broke him out of the spectacle taking place in front of him. Looking behind him, his mouth went dry at the scene. Liquid viscera poured on the now wet ground as the flailing bodies of the deceased churned the ground into a waterless mud. Zilg lost hope at the sight and attempted to step away from the grizzly event, only to be pinned in place by none other than the Lumen he had put all of his faith into. Sharp words grated on his mind. “You cannot leave. I have use for you yet!” Zilg looked over his shoulder to see the blurry fight between the Broken Axiom and the most powerful Lumen worshiped on Enternia.

Although Kalex currently didn’t have Lex’s help, he did not get this far in life by not being observant. It was obvious that this Lumen fought with overwhelming power rather than using any finesse. The attacks she used were dangerous at first, but once Kalex was able to see a pattern in the various swipes and kicks, the fight became infinitely easier to deal with. With the tempo set by the Lumen, he was able to see multiple openings that one would not have to worry about if they were quick on their feet or controlled the opponent with immense strength.

Luckily for Kalex, he currently outranked her on pure stats as well as ability. Shifting himself into position, Kalex stabbed at an opening with his ion blade, expecting it to be evaded. The Lumen was not quick enough. Flesh sizzled as a small, deep wound was afflicted upon the Lumen. Scyris moved out of range and crushed an item that materialized from her ring. A white translucent bubble appeared around her form and she immediately uncorked a waterskin and imbibed deeply. The sizzling faded and the wound closed as the bubble of protection popped as if made from soap.

“You dare injure an exalted Lumen! Your death will not be swift, Broken Axiom! I will personally oversee the punishment for your actions!” Kalex was miffed. He knew she was scared and making threats to wait for her wound to heal over. Rolling his eyes, Kalex teleported directly in front of the Lumen. “Enough talk.” Kalex brought down his blade with all of his strength.

To his surprise, Scyris managed to bring up her scythe in defense. The ion blade cleaved through the dense wood of the armament’s handle and although it caused him to miss his mark, he still left a deep scarring gash starting at her scalp and ending at her elbow. A shriek escaped her mouth as she felt her energy being devoured by the injury left by the armament and she moved so quickly, that Zilg thought she had teleported. And her destination was at his side.

“I have given you everything, you would be nothing without me!” Zilg looked into the Lumen’s crazed, unfocused eyes. “Now is your time to show your usefulness to me. I’ll make this as quick and painless as possible. Thank you for your service.”

Zilg felt a cold wave suffuse his body as Scyris finished speaking with a grim smile. Peering down, he was met with the Lumen’s arm elbow-deep in his chest. Zilg looked into the face of the Lumen he’d sworn to follow and whose ideals he upheld. A million thoughts raced through his mind in less than a second. How would the Realm survive without him? Who would protect Everblade City? Who will stand up against the invading Realm of the Forge? He felt his power leave in droves. He knew it was the blessing the Lumen had granted him, returning to its source. He realized he hadn’t been the best leader, but he had done what he had to in order to keep the Realm afloat. All of his inadequacies could be forgiven or forgotten.

In his last moments, he smiled knowing that he had done everything he could for the Realm, and he only hoped it would go on to prosper. He averted his gaze to the side where the white-haired boy stood as his eyes glazed over, a genuine smile still adorning his face.

At that moment, Kalex understood exactly what the Lumen was doing and what her status meant. She had somehow given some of her power to the Potentate and his followers, and now, all of that power was back where it had originated. Although Kalex had the upper hand on the stat front, He knew this wasn’t going to be easy. As Scyris turned to face him, he prepared himself by getting into a stance he hadn’t thought about since his time in training on Diat. The stance was fashioned for the use of a sword, but he was going to have to make do with the shorter blade he now wielded.

Gathering as much ambient myst as he could and adding it to the myst he could exude, the aura of myst around him expanded to cover many feet around him. With a deep breath, he entered a shallow ponder and the myst surrounding him condensed. The energy was a darker shade of blue and instead of looking like flames, it had become more fluid and looked like water dripping in the opposite direction. He was ready for the fight, but as he crouched low to initiate his attack, he was caught off guard by a laugh that seemed antithetical to the beauty it was coming from. “I will return to my place in the Cabal! Do you think you can oppose me? I am a Lumen, you are nothing. A simple Baseborn can only do so much, and I think you’ve done enough. Prepare yourself, for your demise will not be pretty!” A thundering laugh erupted from her throat. “I INVOKE THE MARK OF THE AXIOM!”