The Strongest Practitioner
Befall, the Scar of this World, was a significant place not only to Iristans, but to everyone else in the world. Its historical value could easily surpass even some of the most iconic places in the Nightmare Lands.
This vile, uninhabitable place was the sole remaining evidence that the gods had once ruled over Brymeia. Sure, some legends could be considered as proof, or myths like the blood pools of Oh’strol Continent and the protective plateaus of Alvo and Sel’Rindea could also be taken as reminders of the divines’ forgotten existence.
But none could compare to the truth that Befall held openly before the world. The miasma of undeath, the moving corpses, the constant presence of rot. No such necrotic abominations could be found in other places of the world. And nowhere in their fragile, undependable history, had anyone ever mentioned a mortal being raising the remains of the past
True evidence that a malevolent god once cursed these lands. Or so it had been.
Now there were only Nightmares. Ironic was the perversion of life, so chaotic and unknown, that something far worse could be derived than undeath.
For most people, historians, scholars, researchers, even devotees, the corruption of Nightmare over Befall could be seen as a significant and unrecoverable loss. Secrets never to be discovered. Remnants of the Divine Severing no longer to be found. Treasures of unfathomable power lost to all time.
A true shame.
For a Lady of the Void such as Katherine, it was just like any other day. She had seen even more sacred places, significant places, divine places, ravaged and devoured by the cursed Nightmare. Entire populaces, cities, countries, continents, made mad by things beyond the worst thing imaginable. Compared to her other companions, gasping from the oppressive atmosphere and the realization of loss, she was entirely numbed.
They walked, travelling through the shadows and avoiding unnecessary fights. Their objective, Aderis Tower, was far more important than culling a few mindless beasts… She could not even consider them that.
It was difficult to determine if they were stepping on sand or ash. The lifeless color of the place was only worsened by the Incursion. The wind was sharp to the skin, and even meiyal itself, affected by the Nightmare or no, was trying to twist their very essence of life.
It belonged to Brymeia, still, that much she was sure. But whatever god had cursed the land, scarred this land, made sure that life could not find escape through meiyal.
Katherine’s understanding of Brymeia was complicated, and the existence of Befall contributed a large amount to that complexity. But now that she had integrated with a material that the world herself created personally, and had spent time communing with her, the Lady was more confused than anything.
Why let the land remain scarred? Is it because Brymeia’s too weak against a god? Surely not… she’s been bearing the weight of multiple gods since the Divine Severing.
No… for some odd reason, Brymeia chose not to heal herself.
A matter for later.
Katherine, Kristel, Frill, and Xiv found themselves on a foot of a large dune. Looking around, they were finally provided some respite from the roaming Nightmares. With a subtle nod, she allowed the Vyndivalian to scout ahead.
He was the best choice for this task. If things went wrong, the nature of Xiv’s discipline, Meiyal Armaments, wouldn’t risk their position. Since the discipline was an inward oriented method of improving one’s self, as opposed to Meiyal Arts, he wouldn’t easily attract other Nightmares. It was one of the reasons why a lot of Vyndivalians were candidates for the Order of the Void, when compared to Iristans.
Katherine monitored their surroundings while Xiv climbed up the dune. She wanted to use her detecting Void Control Technique, but even if she tried her best to be subtle, there was no guarantee that the Technique would go unnoticed, especially since they did not have a precise census of the Nightmares involved.
The two other girls beside her were silent, observing their surroundings with alert eyes. Katherine pointed at a large boulder, the size of an average house, nesting at the foot of the dune, and directed them there to rest while waiting for Xiv.
As they leaned on the rock, a loud snap came from underneath. Kristel and Frill jumped back, looking around the rock for anything hiding on the other side.
Katherine simply grabbed their attention and slowly, carefully, lifted the rock. She pushed it gently, using as little meiyal on her Siffera as possible to carry the entire weight of the boulder. Underneath were skeletons and crushed bones, mildly shaking and moving now that there was nothing hindering their movements. After showing it to the girls, she settled the boulder down to prevent dismembered undead from moving.
Kristel and Frill took a deep breath. If things would’ve been any less dire, they would’ve all eventually burst out laughing.
As it was, Katherine only afforded a smile. “You two are a little jumpy.”
“Well, yeah,” Kristel shrugged. “Last time I was here, I had a whole team of Guard Knights and Royal Knights. Not to mention it wasn’t under a Nightmare Incursion back then.”
“It’s way too dead now,” Frill said. “Empty, I mean.”
“Well, if these bones underneath are of any clue, I’d say the undead moved somewhere else.”
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“Really?” Kristel asked, a little skeptical. “Just from that?”
“What else is there?” Katherine shrugged. “I’m not saying it’s definitive. But I think the assumption that the Nightmare simply eradicated the undead is pretty much disproven by the moving bones below this rock.”
“What if they combined?” Frill asked. “That’s what Kristel and I came up with.”
“They did, for sure. The problem is, we don’t know the implications of that, and to what extent.” Katherine turned towards the large dune and found Xiv coming down towards them. “Do you have any idea who these undead people were during the time they were alive?”
The two shook their heads.
“It was never pointed out,” Kristel said. “But now that you’re asking, I’m guessing the Order of the Void had some documents?”
Katherine just shrugged again. “Nope. I only have assumptions.”
“Do tell.”
“Well, I think it’s better if Xiv gives us a rundown first.”
The Vyndivalian arrived, carrying a confused expression. “I’m not exactly sure what I was supposed to find out there. It’s just any other Nightmare infested region.”
“Then they really went somewhere else,” Frill said.
“What went?”
“The undead.”
“That’s not good.” Katherine pondered to herself, crossing her arms while in deep thought. “If my theory’s true, we might be in big trouble.”
“What theory?” Xiv asked.
“The undead of this place,” she said. “I don’t have any evidence or proof, but my guess is that they were once heroes.”
“Heroes?” Kristel asked. “From the Divine Severing?”
“Way before that. It didn’t really matter before, so I didn’t dig too much into it. But the only reason I can find to logically explain why they didn’t disappear after the Divine Severing, is because they’re powerful individuals able to push their influence on Destiny.”
“People with high Destiny Adhesion?” Frill asked this time.
“Correct. That’s why when the Divine Severing happened, they were unaffected.” Katherine sighed. “Think about it. There are no other undead sightings aside from the ones here in Befall. Not even in the Nightmare Lands.”
“Could they have already been corrupted?” Xiv inquired this time. “You know, makes it impossible to see the origin of the Nightmare?”
“Possibly, but any mentions of undead in records from any sources doesn’t say any other places aside from Befall. Unless Vyndival has secret texts that we should know about?”
The Vyndivalian thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No. But then again, I don’t pay much attention to that sort of thing.”
“If they are powerful enough to prevent Destiny from affecting them, how come they’re undead?” Kristel asked. She realized the answer a second later. “Something even more powerful…”
“Gods,” Katherine said simply. “My entire point is, this might just be the confirmation we’re waiting for, Kristel, Frill. I’m pretty sure at this point, both undead and Nightmare have combined.”
She turned to Xiv. “These two powers are nothing alike. And to tackle your concern earlier, we might find something more, compared to a simple Nightmare.”
With this, she led the way back to the top of the dune and confirmed Xiv’s sightings. There were too many Nightmares to classify roaming around the barren lands. Both on the ground and in the skies. She was pretty sure there were ones underground as well, just waiting for prey.
Far in the distance, they saw their objective, Aderis Temple.
“This should be near enough,” Katherine said.
“What?” was the response everyone made.
“Hmm?” Katherine turned to each of them, just as confused. “What?”
Xiv gestured, pointing themselves and the tower. “We’re too far.”
“Oh!” Katherine almost smacked herself. “No, we’re close enough.”
“You’re saying you can reach it from here?”
“Our job is to be the distraction, right?” she pointed out. “Technically, I’ll be the main bait. From here, I’ll kill all the Nightmares until we reach the tower. Kristel and Frill will fuse and be my backup if we get the catch we’re looking for. And you, Xiv, should make sure no stray Nightmares get in the way of Venry and the others. You can stay in the shadows and move faster. If you need our help, just use a flare. But if you end up meeting with their group, you don’t need to come back for us.”
“Right…” Xiv, in his own time and Frill’s guidance, had begun to utilize his new meiyal core, allowing him a much easier time to practice Meiyal Arts in comparison to Venry who was learning Meiyal Armaments. At this point, the Vyndivalian could use the simple flares that most Guard Knights learned for warnings and communications. He couldn’t Draw any proper Meiyal Arts yet.
“Alright,” Katherine said, nodding towards the two ladies. “You two said that you can make the fuse work, right? Once I start the chaos, you can begin. Make sure I take their attention first, alright?”
As soon as the two returned her nod, Katherine stood atop the dune. She took off her black, long coat, tying its arms around her army pants. She stretched her arms, now that she was only wearing a tank top, to warm them up. Lastly, she pulled a scrunchie out of her Spatiera and tied her hair.
This getup allowed her to focus. The feel of weight from the layers of her bottom clothes contrasted by the freedom of her top. She breathed, preparing herself for battle.
“Frill,” she started, “back at Minaveil Manor, I’m sure you were wondering what I took from that room, right?”
It took the Aria a while to remember. “You never showed us.”
“Before I went as a Seeker on Earth, I had a particularly special Exhibit.” Katherine turned to Kristel. “I was entrusted to inherit Evanclad’s Exhibit. That’s what I retrieved from that room that Schrodie personally made for me.”
“Now the whole security makes sense,” said Frill.
The Princess’s eyes widened. “So that’s why I have my own Exhibit!”
“Not only that,” Katherine said with a smile, facing back towards the mass of Nightmares. “I also have something of his that I’m sure you’re familiar with.”
The Lady of the Void reached out, Displayed her Exhibit, and began to Draw. As soon as her mind settled on the pattern, all the godly meiyal-charged materials she had integrated with suddenly responded. It didn’t matter whether they had been stubborn or not, this was the exact purpose they had been made for in the first place.
This pattern was different from everything else. Not only was it complex beyond normal, it also required Katherine to invoke all the elements related to Meiyal Arts.
“Fra, sia, lia,” she started in a soft whisper. Her Milled meiyal flowed outside her body, turning into motes of flame, wind, and water.
“Tia, gia, nra, kia.” With each invocation, the elements of lightning, earth, nature, and ice appeared as motes as well.
At this point, the Nightmares began to notice her surge of power. They made their approach en masse.
Katherine ignored them and focused, combining all the motes of elements in the palm of her hand. They swirled in a violent vortex, colliding against each other until they were combined, forced to exist despite their opposite natures.
The Nightmares, those travelling from the air, were close now.
She didn’t stop nor hesitate, pouring her meiyal and all the divine authority her meiyal-charged materials provided her into the Art as she closed her hand around the vortex. As if drawing a sword from its scabbard, she pulled.
From the edge of her enclosed fist, a weapon began to manifest. First was the shaft, curved at a miniscule angle that was almost imperceptibly straight. Then came the large, curved blade.
“That’s…” Kristel’s words barely finished.
Katherine flourished the glaive in a resting position to her side, but even just that emitted enough destructive meiyal. It instantly eradicated the oncoming onslaught of Nightmares.
The Lady of the Void breathed, her entire hair turning white. She relaxed her form and held the weight of the weapon that had once slayed Zerax’thum. She needed to declare its existence, provide finality to its form by saying its name.
“Vantera, Glaive of Evanclad.”