The Second Battlefield

”What in Brymeia’s name is going on!”

“We’re under attack!”

“It’s a Deep Nightmare!”

“Which Nightmare?”

“I don’t know! That doesn’t matter!”

“Everyone, to your groups! Your group leaders will protect you from the influence!”

“Someone tell Atlas Sid!”

“The M.O.B.I.L.E.s aren’t working!”

“Brymeia help us!”

Kristel was left speechless amidst the chaos. She stood, stunned, on the wobbly ocean. Ascensia produced an aura of wind around her, allowing her to be light and buoyant enough to not sink.

At first, the Jump had been going well. Everything had been proceeding as expected. The krakens had retaliated, but the Jumpers had no issue progressing without any casualties. The harvest had gone on smoothly.

In fact, because of how well Katherine and Frein had been handling the situation with the Cloud-Nesting Rocs, some Jumpers had taken the time to appreciate the destruction in the skies.

That was probably their first mistake. While the Princess doubted any of these trained individuals would let their guards down so casually, it didn’t really matter now. Survival first; blame later.

Kristel didn’t know its name, but it surely wasn’t Tentacles Of The Deep. It wasn’t a Nightmare kraken after all. And as always, Frein was right.

It was a whale.

One after another, the krakens and sea serpents that they were hunting were devoured in front of them by a gigantic whale with a disturbing face. For while it sported the giant bowhead of common whales, its teeth were eerily that of a human. Molars, rather than fangs or canines, gave this monstrous oddity a permanent, bloody smile as it chewed openly on prey.

Thankfully, none of them were the Jumpers. At least, that was one good thing. This Deep Nightmare was too busy feeding on the poor sea creatures, but the effects of its mere presence was taking a toll on the group.

The unnecessary chaos was a glaring evidence of it. While most of the Jumpers were training for the Nightmare Lands, none of them—not even Kristel—expected to meet a Deep Nightmare this close to Irista Nation territory. The continued absence of the Western Sanctum had given these cursed creatures uncontested reign over the Great Sea Dividyr.

For Kristel, the objective became clear. Rather than retreat, eradicating this Deep Nightmare was their path to victory. Not only would that be a huge boon for Irista Nation, it would also remove the stigma that Iristans were helpless against Nightmares in general.

Easier said than done.

The sudden meiyal pressure slammed on everyone. It was too akin to Frein’s whenever he unleashed his four-meiyal Siffera. This—along with the fact that the Visitor had literally eaten away the Nightmare inside of her—gave Kristel the edge to fight the influence. Not to mention she was also under Katherine’s protective Void Control Technique.

The rest, however, were not so lucky. Only one, if not entirely none, in each group were able to stay calm like she was. Those who had weaker fortitudes were in a state of panic. If this continued, they would soon turn to Grinding Teeth On Living Flesh, and that would be their death sentence.

“Rally them!” Evanclad called out from within her Mind Palace.

“How would that help them against the Nightmare?” Kristel asked before she even questioned Evanclad’s whispers. The First Monarch was evidently observing through her whenever he wanted. He wouldn’t quite meddle with her affairs too often, but whenever he did, it was usually during times of stress.

“Hope,” he replied. “If they can cling on to hope, that would mitigate the effects of the Nightmare.”

“I’m not sure I can—”

“You can! I can help you!”

Kristel was immediately on guard. “How do I know you’re the real Evanclad, and not just a Nightmare influence?”

There was no immediate reply. The Princess prepared herself for a backlash, but none came. At the same time, Frill appeared beside her, utilizing the same Ascensia Meiyal Art.

“What do we do?” she asked, hiding the desperation in her voice. “None of our Jumpers can fly back to the Atlas Sid. Some who brought their yumas along managed to retreat, but it might take a few minutes before they can reach the grand carrier and alert them.”

They wouldn’t last a few minutes.

Kristel looked to the skies, past the chaos of the aerial battle, and found the grand carrier. The distance had made it far less imposing for the massive, floating landmass that it was. Which was the problem.

The Atlas Sid possessed its own Sky Vision and a network hub that connected to its passengers M.O.B.I.L.E.s. But they were currently in the Nightmare Lands, causing a disruption in the network, and the people managing the Sky Vision would most likely see the battle against the rocs first and assume that things were under control. Which meant that Kristel and the other Jumpers would have to survive the Deep Nightmare until the people who retreated with their yumas reached the grand carrier and sent reinforcements.

“We can kill it!” Evanclad urged once again. “Let me prove to you that I’m the genuine Evanclad. You don’t have to enter your Mind Palace, but you can look into it.”

Look was an incorrect term. There was no visualization involved in the process after all. But Kristel felt it. Her Mind Palace was whole again. Not quite completed, but the main foyer and the entirety of the ground floor was now intact. She could feel two presences—Evanclad and Norazzel—inside, hard at work in their mission to fully repair an entire palace on their own.

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What this truly meant for the Princess was more significant than simply having a fully functioning Mind Palace to watch Recollections, or arrange memories, or gain proper access to her Exhibit. Her Mind Palace was unique. She understood this on the day Frein took away the Nightmares inside her broken Dream Realm.

This palace did not form on its own, not through the regular means by which a Meiyal Arts practitioner cultivated their Dream Realm. The enlightenment came naturally for Kristel, almost instinctively, unlike the others who had to go through rigorous training and self-reflection to discover this potential for elevated power.

Yes. It might’ve been because Kristel had spent too much time with people like Katherine and Frein, but a Mind Palace wouldn’t form so nonchalantly for the common practitioner.

Effort was its minimum requirement. Discipline, commitment, and desire for power. To uphold self-improvement above all else. These were all a given, something common in all the practitioners who had the potential to achieve this breakthrough. Even then, only a few would manage to manifest their Dream Realm, and even fewer of those would go through the struggle of investing in the foundations of their Mind Palace..

It wasn’t something most people strive for. Even within the ranks of Cross Irista, whose members were all capable Virtuosos, only Flimeth and Lor had managed to manifest their Exhibit, besides the advisers and Kristel, of course.

But whether Kristel considered herself capable of manifesting her Dream Realm on her own or not didn’t matter. It was Destiny that decided for her.

No, it was Evanclad. The foolish First Monarch who bound his entire bloodline to Brymeia and her Destiny.

“Then you understand,” Evanclad whispered through the Mind Palace. The low rumbling of his voice was that of a soothing father. In a sense, he was. “This is our responsibility, Kristel. This Mind Palace is your Destiny. But I’ve changed it a little bit. I bent the rules a little. Frein mentioned your hesitation for the crown. And I suppose I’ve tortured my bloodline for long enough.

“What you feel before you is no longer your Mind Palace. It’s a meiyal-charged material, the entirety of it. And I will help you instantly integrate with it. But when you do, Destiny will recognize you once more. And those that can see themselves through Destiny will know about you as well.”

Kristel listened well. It didn’t even occur to her until now that reality had stopped. Was it Evanclad’s doing?

“Do you understand what this means, Kristel? If you integrate with this Mind Palace, it means your enemies will know you’ve reestablished yourself with Destiny. You will no longer be able to hide.”

“No longer?” Kristel asked aloud, but no one in this suspended reality heard her.

“Did you really think your father sent you to Minaveil Province just to help govern it? Remember, he’s also part of my bloodline.”

The Princess had all the time to consider the question and the implications it brought. True, the people of Minaveil Province were steadfast and capable of surviving without formal leadership. She had observed enough community efforts led by a variety of people that it seemed the position of Mayor was simply for formality. Even times of crises, like the Battle of the Vanguard, proved how capable each of them were at maintaining order.

Kristel couldn’t help feel like he was pulling her leg, but Evanclad did present a good point. All the more reason for her to consider what it meant to integrate with her own Mind Palace.

“Frein can’t help you forever, Kristel,” Evanclad reminded him. “Remove him from your equations. Remove Frill, remove Katherine, remove everyone else including me. When it comes to Destiny, you can’t rely on anyone but yourself.”

“I know. I know that.” Kristel took the longest breath she had ever done. From the perspective of those unaware, such a decision was already set, already made for her. To not accept integration was a sure way to be devoured by whatever this Deep Nightmare was, suspended in flailing animation.

But that was, in itself, a decision. Her brief time with Elizzel had taught her much about making a choice, the freedom and the consequences of it. And the time she spent with Brymeia gave her enough perspective about the complications of Destiny and the power held by those who could see it. Let alone the fact that she would be helpless against its whims.

“Integration will only bond you to Brymeia’s Destiny,” Evanclad said, following along her train of thought. “But to see, and even manipulate it to your will, requires more power than you can imagine.”

“Realm of the gods,” Kristel said. “But Kristella—”

“She’s different, Kristel,” the First Monarch interrupted. “If Destiny favors you the way it favored Kristella or Su’karix, then you don’t need me here at all. The fact that your Mind Palace stayed broken should be enough to tell you where you stand.”

“Fair enough.”

“I also can’t hold this suspension much longer. What will it be, Princess?”

Kristel breathed again. Since she was young, the burden of responsibility had always been there. She grew up knowing she would take her father’s place to lead Irista Nation. These last few years were a form of escape. She had thought that maybe, her father’s competition was a way for her to leave, to be able to take her own future to whatever she desired.

Alas, power and responsibility had always gone hand-in-hand. But even with the decision narrowed down to the point that it seemed impossible to choose anything else, Kristel could still grasp some sense of freedom. It would be her taking on the reigns of the entire nation, to carry it over her tiny shoulders. And the consequences of getting crushed under the burden or standing tall and proud by surpassing its trials fell completely and solely into her hands.

Whatever the implications might be, she knew there was one motivation behind all of it. She didn’t want to be left behind.

“Looks like this is the mountain I have to climb,” she whispered to herself.

With her decision made, she pulled on the entirety of her Mind Palace and integrated. Norazzel and Evanclad were quick to assist her, making the process instantaneous.

Time resumed.

The Deep Nightmare soared out of the ocean, casting its shadow over the Jumpers with its massive, weirdly conglomerated body. From its whale-shaped head down was a strange transition into the scaly length of a sea serpent. It had three tails the size of tidal waves and numerous sets of webbed limbs, making it look like a gigantic whale-headed centipede.

It flipped in the air, attempting to slam down its three massive tails on the Jumpers nearest to it.

“Sandai-Kaimera!”

Kristel swung a colossal meiyal blade the size of the serpentine whale. It struck the Deep Nightmare squarely at its jaw, but its sturdy body mitigated the damage. Though the Princess’s extremely potent Siffera allowed her to follow through, pushing back the whale away from the Jumpers.

“Kristel!” Frill exclaimed, appearing beside her once again. She stammered, trying to find the right words. “What…”

Xiv was swimming past the Aria, carrying injured Jumpers onto improvised platforms made by barrier Meiyal Arts. He was also stunned by the powerful display, but he managed to say his question with more clarity. “What’s happening to you?”

Only then did Kristel feel the absurd surge of meiyal flowing through her. Brymeia herself was feeding her with meiyal, as if she was Gathering at twice Katherine’s rate. Her Mill was working overdrive, even with Evanclad helping her.

“It’s just two-meiyal,” the First Monarch added. “But this has every bit of Brymeia’s favor behind it. Now your Meiyal Arts is the same as your ancestors.”

“What do you mean?” Kristel asked telepathically.

Evanclad hummed inquisitively. “Well, to give you an idea. What would you do if no matter how much meiyal you Gathered, or how many Arts you Drew, you would never reach Art Fatigue?”

The Princess struggled at that. “I don’t get it.”

The First Monarch sighed. “At least we know our first hurdle.”

From the way he spoke, Kristel thought he wasn’t talking about the Deep Nightmare.

“It’s not the Deep Nightmare, Kristel,” he said simply.

“Right, we should take care of the people first.” The Princess turned to Frill. “We could use some singing. Gather those who can fight, those who can’t should stay behind. We can survive this.”

She could feel Evanclad shaking his head.

“What I’m trying to say, my dear Princess, is that you will never reach Art fatigue. Go all out.”

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