Jiran awoke to dark, density-thick clouds releasing their fury upon the empire in the first densoon of the season. Powerful waves of energy crashed into his body, pressing him into a soft mattress that he barely remembered crawling into. His aura snapped out and solidified, stabilizing him against the buffeting crush of raw density. He could still recall exactly what it felt like when the waves struck him as a kid. Now that his body was significantly denser, the waves were much fiercer.

He spread his mana along the synapses, tasting the chaotic density but not converting any of it. He was only mildly surprised when he noticed the energy being drawn to him like a magnet attracted iron shavings.

The more density in the body, the greater the attraction of chaotic density. So that's why it gets worse every tier. With my aura to stabilize me, and my muscles constantly utilizing mana to move, it doesn’t feel any worse than being underwater.

After withdrawing his mana from the framework, Jiran left the tent. Looking back, he recalled his quick conversation with Olive a few hours ago. She had taken one look at him and chased him out of her command tent toward this bed, where he instantly fell asleep.

What should I do now? With their new weapons, the Forkara and Timberlings should be holding the front well enough. Olive didn't give me a chance to ask why the rooks haven't shown up yet. I really want to see Mayalyn. Not being able to talk to her is driving me crazy.

Now that the thought of seeing her was in his mind, Jiran couldn't shake the desire to fulfill it. He leaped into the air, ignoring the densoon waves that failed to overpower his aura.

He found the People's camp quickly and headed for the Aahmra while his eyes were focused on the beautiful blue haired young woman that struggled to stand tall and strong against the storm.

She wasn't alone. Two others stood next to her on guard duty at the edge of the camp. The waves of energy smashed into them, and since none had an aura, they were pressed into the ground by the overwhelming forces. They joked and shoved, trying to knock each other off balance. Seeing her laughing and playing around with her people instantly put Jiran at ease.

Since the rankers were watching with their auras, he had no choice but to commit to his justification for coming. He dropped down next to the Aahmra, hoping for a quick conversation, “I have a feeling your people will be needed by noon tomorrow. I would prefer we not have to rely on you at all, though.”

The Aahmra bristled at his words, his tail flicking in the same way that Mayalyn's did when she was angry, “I know your words hold no ill intent, but they deliver us an injustice regardless! We are more than capable of fighting alongside our allies. Why have you discarded us? Did you bring us here to mock us?”

“What?! No. I know exactly how strong you are, that's why I'm not revealing your capabilities yet. These beasts aren't stupid. They're watching everything we do and I'm sure when they're ready, they’ll hit us at our weakest point as hard as they can. Their long range units haven't shown up yet, if they're waiting to target a powerful reserve force like yours, the consequences of revealing you early will be disastrous.”

The Aahmra settled at his words, only the tip of his tail still lashing at the air, “Thank you. I first assumed you would use us without consideration. When that time did not come, I allowed the anxiety of my family to affect me. Once again, I've misjudged you.”

“I'm just glad we've—”

Jiran suddenly found himself standing in front of Lostrifar who sat with her legs crossed in a chair made of inky darkness. They were in a purely black space, the only light coming from pinpoints of energy in her aura. He hadn't felt the tug of the framework he associated with Teleportation, nor was there a bubble of mana that shrunk and pulled him into a synapse. The everpresent auras of the rankers and the emperors was nowhere to be found. Only the heavy pressure of Lostrifar’s energy saturated the strange, smooth darkness.

She blinked at him innocently, her violet eyes looking too large for her cherubic face, “Don't be… Surprised, that is. I rendered you unconscious for a split second so you wouldn't cause a scene like you did with Dagris.”

“What? How?” Jiran took a nervous step back, his minds whirling as they struggled to understand the sudden changes.

“I said not to act surprised!” She yelled before looking away with angrily pouting lips, “You're already here, so just accept it.”

Well, I've been dying to talk to her anyway. Might as well roll with it.

Jiran grabbed his errant thoughts and emotions with an iron fist, bringing his entire focus onto the woman in front of him, “Okay, why did you bring me here? Oh, and thanks for helping with that general earlier.”

“Such an insignificant thing is hardly worthy of thanks,” she still hadn't turned back to look at him and he swore her mana was squirming oddly but it was hard to see with how bright her manapool was. “Obviously, I brought you here to exchange information. Those formations you made are impressive, despite your auraic technique being atrocious. I'll… teach you, if you tell me about your mana-draining technique,” their eyes met again and once more Jiran swore her mana squirmed when she hesitated to speak for that split second.

“That would be amazing! I've been wanting to learn from you since the first time I saw a real formation in Mortan.”

“Yes, of course you have… Wait, the first time? That was, I took your, I mean, you've really never seen a formation before two weeks ago?! And you actually managed to make a formation that can create a formation in such a short time? How did you even think to do that?” Lostrifar held her hands in her lap, her whole body quivering as she impatiently awaited his response.

She’s been keeping tabs on me? Or she asked around after our last meeting.

Knowing she perceived events far quicker than him, Jiran tried to answer right away, “I needed to make weapons and armor for several hundred thousand people in a short amount of time, and since nobody else could help, I had to find a way to make it so they could help. It seemed like the simplest solution so I went with it. And yes, the first time I ever saw a real formation was your defensive wards around the city of Mortan around two weeks ago.”

In his rush to speak, Jiran almost gushed about how impressed he had been when he found the administrative functions of the controlling tablets. Lostrifar’s gaze bored into him like a beast finding juicy prey after starving for a decade. A spike of panic shot through his chest and he was unable to keep his minds from replaying the sight of her casually reducing a mountain to a scattering of particles.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Shit! Did she find out that I hacked the cypher on one of her tablets with my Translator? Or maybe that I kinda broke the formations a bit when I first found out how the corruptors were damaging the wards? Why is she still looking at me like that! I don't taste good I swea—

“Are you going to answer me? I asked why you didn't fully split your aura into strands before injecting it into your formations,” she repeated herself.

“Split my aura? What does that mean?” Jiran formed two bulbous arms with his aura and separated them by two meters, “Like this?”

“No, not like that, your aura is too rigid. How does that help with leaving some of it behind in a formation? Your implanted aura will dissipate eventually and your intent will fade. Don’t separate it, tear it apart. You're only leaving the mana behind that was imbued in your aura, not the aura itself. So… tear it apart. Or I'll do it for you,” Lostrifar's gaze turned deadly dangerous as the thick aura in the room writhed with the promise of pain.

Jiran knew with absolute certainty that she would follow through on her threat. Something deep in his subconscious shrieked in terror as he reacted on instinct and fully tore a piece of his aura free for the first time. The panic vanished instantly and he was left baffled by the free-floating ball of aura that remained completely under his control. He received no sensations from it and if not for Mana Omnis, it would have been impossible to even perceive it, let alone control. He moved it around in a slow circle, dazed at the novel experience.

Lostrifar wore a satisfied smile as she praised him, “Marvelous. I didn't think teasing you would be so fu-effective. Make sure you fully form your intent before splitting your aura or it will fail to function inside the formation. Also, only experience can teach you the precise quantity of aura to split for any given formation. The strength of your skills, techniques, and aura will constantly be in fluctuation, therefore altering the perfect ratio.”

“Wow, I don't think I ever would have considered tearing my aura on my own, nor been willing to push through that fear to actually do it. This must have taken you decades to discover.”

Jiran bowed at a full ninety degrees, completely overwhelmed by being taught something in such a straightforward fashion for the first time in his life. His voice was bursting with sincerity, "Thank you, Master Lostrifar!”

“Y-you think I want to hear praise from you! Quickly, tell me how to drain mana from the Graymin. That's the o-only reason I brought you here, after all!” Her mana squirmed once more as she stammered.

image [https://i.imgur.com/LlXURdW.png]

It didn’t take Jiran long to explain the theory behind Mana Siphon. Even though Lostrifar didn’t have the Molding subskill that allowed her to push unaspected mana beyond her skin, she was able to find a method to circumvent that restriction with her, ‘Auraic Technique,’ as she called it.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about the ‘color’ of her mana. Not minding at all, Jiran followed her instructions and created a formation to her specifications.

He watched with fascination as strands of her mana flowed through her aura like an entire troupe of highly skilled dancers. He connected a filament of his mana to hers, allowing her to claim a portion of it before taking it back. They locked eyes, and for a brief moment, a youthful smile of pure joy flashed across her features.

Her lips then twisted into a scowl, her voice filled with frustration, “It is time.”

Jiran could feel and see the quivering in her aura. Foresight’s annoying background buzz that hadn’t gone away in days kicked up a notch to a bone-vibrating hum. Jiran’s stomach dropped as adrenaline flooded his body, “W-wait! There’s more I can teach you.”

For some reason he couldn’t explain, he felt like he could trust the seemingly young woman looking up at him with a calm yet quizzical expression. He wanted to kick himself for not taking the time to impart more or what he knew when they had a chance and all he could think about was that his inaction might cause this to be their last meeting.

“I know… That’s why we’re going to do this again when I return. Keep yourself alive, Jiran of Feylon. And remember: Enemies rarely approach from where you expect.”

Is she warning me about Silence, too?

Before he had a chance to ask, he was standing before Olive’s command tent. Feeling his aura out of nowhere, she poked her head out of a flap and looked him up and down, “You're much improved. I'm glad you slept well.” She spoke softly, a radiant warmth in her eyes.

“Thanks for lending me the bed. Did Emperor Dominus say anything? I think the rankers are leaving right now.”

“What?! Already?” She rushed outside and leaped into the air. Jiran followed and they flew high into the sky. Peering to the north, they spotted nearly two hundred men and women. Heroes each and every one, they bravely flew between dark looming clouds above, and a writhing mass of beasts below. Watching them go, the atmosphere between Jiran and Olive was just as heavy as the density suffusing the storm around them.

“Are those collars?” Jiran wondered aloud after noticing the sparkling of reflected light around the necks of nearly half the tier sevens and eights.

“That’s right. The Will-less: Wilders unable to progress to the end of their tiers for fear of going mad. The collars were created by the emperors. If they turn into beasts, they will be killed instantly, lest they cause harm to those around them. Before today, they were living peaceful lives, raising families and fulfilling their dreams. To force them from retirement to serve once more is… a travesty.”

Jiran didn’t know what to say. He had been cautious with the rankers and shared only as much as he thought was safe, but seeing them fly toward what was likely their deaths after being so guarded felt like a betrayal. Olive had her own reasons, and mustering the strength to speak became an impossibility for them both. It wasn’t until the last ranker was out of sight that she finally broke the silence, “They’re really gone… It’s just us now.” She trembled and her voice shook with uncertainty.

Jiran fully understood her anxiety. The weight of thousands of soldiers, and potentially millions of civilians rested on each of their choices. He knew in his bones some of them would not make it out of this alive because of his inexperience. Yet his allies had chosen to follow him regardless, and he had accepted.

That’s right, I chose to bring them. It doesn’t matter how hard it is, I have to succeed, for their sake.

He grabbed Olive’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly, “The defense of the empire is on our shoulders now. So, let's make it easy. All we have to do is make sure we win.”

She squeezed back, a sardonic chortle escaping her lips, “Jerk. You shouldn't make light of a lady's stress.”

Jiran shook his head firmly, “I’m not. I feel the exact same way for the people who followed me here. I’m only saying we have to do more. No, we have to do everything we can. Devise every strategy, account for every response, and prepare for every unforeseeable possibility. Simple.”

“I… honestly can’t tell if you’re trying to comfort, or tease me.”

Not wanting to take the chance that the Graymin had some way to hear him, Jiran shredded the framework, sealing them inside impenetrable, peaceful darkness, “I’m going to make sure we get through this, Olive. I'll be busy preparing formations for a couple days. No matter what comes, I plan to be ready. Since the rankers and their auras are gone, I’ll be taking Mayalyn with me. If you need me before I’m back, hurt yourself.”

“Huh?” She looked at him like he was crazy. Not that he blamed her since his words made no sense out of context.

Jiran glanced at her name in his party window, which showed her health and mana were full, “It’s one of my acclimations. Since you’re in my party, I’ll always know when you’re injured and where to find you. So, you just have to wait for me and I’ll come as quickly as I can.”

“O-oh…” Olive stammered, her skin growing several degrees warmer to match the shade of her cheeks.