While Denku kept fantasizing about his transcended state, Cink was the only one who managed to get a hold of what was happening. He heard Silas's last words before the attack, about how Denku could steal all his senses. There was only one way to stop it: he had to use his power on Silas.

If I could use it on myself, it would be much easier, but no. I have no clue why you made it so Bards can use their power on themselves, but I hate you for it, System!

He took deep breaths, or at least he tried to take deep breaths. He couldn’t tell what was happening outside or what he was doing with his body. He only had control over his own mind.

About six more steps. That was the last time I heard from him before the attack. He couldn’t have gone too far. He’s probably on the ground, wriggling like a worm. If he is unconscious, then we’re all dead anyway. Now, slowly move one leg.

Despite not being able to feel it, Cink knew his mind was still controlling his body. He focused and started to move toward Silas with tiny movements. It was nothing short of incredible. He had to be very careful; the lack of feedback made it impossible to tell if he was moving toward Silas or if he was already touching him.

This should be good. You stole my senses, but I still have my whip. The red whip was still moving like a snake. It could do more than just detect the presence of an enemy or attack. It was connected to Cink’s mind and helped him get closer to Silas. It wrapped itself around Silas' and Cink’s arms.

This way, no matter if he had miscalculated the distance, they were going to connect at one moment. Cink stumbled before touching Silas, but the whip took his arm, and they touched. A light came from the palm of his hand and enveloped Silas. Cink’s true power as a bard was the ability to make an ally immune to any harmful effect.

Silas regained his senses. He could see, hear, and feel everything. His body was sweating, and it took him a long moment to remember what happened. How much time has passed? days, or maybe weeks, in that void. How did I return?

He looked at Cink, who was touching his leg. He deduced that he must have used his power to help him. Is this a buff? I regained all my senses, but he didn’t do it to himself. You said you were a Bard. Did you have the power to protect us from debuffs or other status effects? Scary, if the only requirement is for someone to touch you, then you could give this power to a whole guild for a short fight.

Silas wasn’t even mad that Cink kept this hidden. He would have done the same until he could be sure to trust this new race. He was guessing that a power like this probably consumed a lot of stamina, like Rebecca’s healing shadow or Nadine’s crafting ability. Speaking of Nadine, where was she?

He looked around and saw her on the floor. Everyone else was in a similar situation. On the other hand, Denku was happily dancing and killing the soldiers. He couldn’t waste time. Cink’s power could stop at any second, and he would be back in that void.

The thought scared him. He had felt fear for his life after coming to his world, but the sensation of losing his sanity until the brink of madness was the worst feeling till now. I won’t forgive you. I’m going to kill you!

He moved carefully to not let Denku notice he had regained his senses. He grabbed the red whip from Cink’s hand and aimed. The whip responded to his feelings; it was almost like Cink gave him permission to use it. He cracked the whip and broke the ground with force.

Tch, he dodged. How could he feel it?

"I already knew. I couldn’t ever forget Cink’s power. He saved my life once, thousands of years ago, while we were fighting in the eternal desert. The power to give immunity to a myriad of harmful effects. The fact that he came here with you means he must have some faith in your abilities, but what can you do?" He vanished into thin air.

The same thing as before: he must have gear that gives him invisibility. He held the whip close and looked at his movements. He was focused on any sudden changes when Denku appeared with his sword over him.

He managed to block with the whip, but the sword slapped it to the side, and Denku slashed his arm. He grabbed his green sword with the other hand, but he only cut the empty air. Denku got away and moved around the village, trying to confuse him. The whip was frantically moving all over and changing directions.

Another cut got him in the legs. "Dammit!" he exclaimed as he was nearly knocked to the ground by a couple of attacks. The wounds were growing, and the bleeding too.

This is not a regular attack. I have been cut and slapped around too many times by now. Hemorrhage. His sword can inflict hemorrhage. Does this mean that Cink’s power has a limit? Maybe because it is not a debuff, or maybe because it is a physical attack.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Too weak." Silas attacked in the direction of the voice, but only hit the roof of a house. "You’re too weak. Another weak race is forced to fight for the System. I can’t bear to watch it. It is too sad."

"Am I weak? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You have been playing for thousands of years, and a noob is giving you this much trouble, pathetic!"

"No, I haven’t looked at myself in decades. Actually, I haven’t seen anything in a long time. because I don’t need to. Unlike you, I have transcended to a new state. I don’t need eyes to see." In a moment, he moved right behind Silas and put his sword around his neck.

"Just like that, the difference between us is like the sky and the earth. Do you have any last words?"

"Are you supposed to be perfect or the strongest now?"

"No, this is just the beginning. There are a lot of powerful creatures in this world, among the other races as well. I’m just being merciful and sparing you a brutal and nonsensical death."

"For being such a special and powerful guy, you are too cocky. I already knew I couldn’t beat you in a fight alone. I’m very weak. Even after stealing some of your power, I’m still inferior. If I take your senses away, that isn’t going to do anything. But good thing you’re an idiot who never considered my power."

Denku’s chest was pierced by a green sword. He tried to attack, but it was too late. The sword pierced his organs and then slashed his upper body in two. He already knew who attacked him, but his mind scrambled to find an answer to how.

"How... how did you remove my power, Cink?" His voice was weak from the blood loss.

"You should ask the one who did it." He nodded at Silas, but Denku’s eyes couldn’t move. Life flew away from them.

With that, everyone recovered their senses. The soldiers moved to help those who were in bad shape, while Cink walked to Silas's side and gave him a potion to heal his wounds.

"How did you free me from his power?"

"It was a gamble. I thought, what would happen if I used his power on someone who had already had his senses robbed? I tried on you while he jumped around. I had no way to defeat him alone."

"That is strange. Normally, a Thief can’t steal something another Thief already took."

"I don’t think I was stealing it; more like I was returning your senses to you. I’m not sure, but maybe it's because I was using his power."

"Interesting. I would like to see how your power interacts with other Thieves."

"Sure, if you show me the limits of your immunity power."

They grabbed each other's backs and went to wake Nadine, who was unconscious.

***

After the assaults in the different locations ended, the armies joined forces again, and the Pix-Dawn alliance celebrated their victory. Most battles went well, and they didn’t lose too many people. Mostly because of the three teams that defeated the powerful pix.

Cink was having a reunion with the leaders of the smaller tribes who surrendered. As promised, they were going to be new leaders and in charge of a different part of the land. This was when the ruling council of the alliance was formed.

Cink was one of the representatives, and Jacob was the one in charge of attending by vote.

"Wait, buddy. Why are you also voting for me? I thought you liked to be in charge?" he asked Silas.

"Simple, I like ordering around in guilds, but directing for tribes and attending all meetings is going to bore me. I’m much better off working to find out more about this world like an explorer."

This also worked because everyone else didn’t want to give the other leaders the impression that they were weird like Silas. So, Jacob ended up stuck with that duty.

Meanwhile, Rebecca was following Franco. "Is fine, I don’t need any more help."

"B-but is not a problem. I just need two minutes."

"I already see well; that is enough for me."

"Why are you against me healing the scar?"

For some reason, Franco didn’t want to let her heal the scar that Borka gave him during the fight.

"You let me give you a new eye, but you can't let me heal your skin?"

"Yeah, it is just something personal. I can’t forget it."

"Forget what? H-Hey stop ignoring me."

On the other side of the small house, Silas was watching the sky. The stars above shine almost like those on the planet Earth. He was submerged in his thoughts as one voice brought him back to reality.

"Daydreaming again?" It was Emily. She took a seat at his side.

"Something like that. Where are the others?"

"Nora is playing along, listening to Nathan and Nadine tell their stories about the battle. I needed a moment to breath before those two asked me to join them."

"Right, you said Rebecca and Jacob saved your life?"

"Yeah."

"He told me you were ready to sacrifice your life. That was pretty dumb on your part."

"Oh, and gambling on something like enemy power isn’t dumb?"

"Mmm, let’s call it a draw." They sat under the stars in silence for a while before Emily spoke again.

"What are you thinking?"

"A lot of things; our objective, the victory, and the new domain of this land. Our next move as a guild in the alliance."

"Okay, I’m not that dumb, Silas. You aren’t too complicated to understand; you just like to pretend. Tell me the thing that is worrying you right now."

"Ha, I was thinking about the sky, the stars, and the sun. We’re the fifth race; none of the others have managed to get back to their world. More powerful and better equipped races failed. Doesn’t that mean we—"

"Enough!" She raised her voice. "No one knows if we can return. Only the System, and it could lie. Cink said it himself: he had never seen anything like me before. No one has discovered it yet."

"But."

"Don’t you want to be the first one to find out? That is something to brag about. The first one to discover how to escape from the System's control." Her words were based on assumptions, but Silas felt relieved upon hearing them.

"You are correct; there are still a lot of things to discover. We have a base, supplies, and allies."

"So, what do you think is the next step for Dawn?"

"I want to see the river that divides the continents."