When they next met up in person, Anton took a good look at Varghese. “When I first reached Assimilation I came back… crispy. You learned from my mistakes and were able to keep yourself whole, but who would have thought you would return in Enrichment while still aflame?”
Varghese looked down at his arm, flickering like a flame- the structure itself dissipating and reforming. “I suppose you could call this that. Fire wasn’t really one of my focuses… but I suppose now I am tied to it.”
“How does it feel?” Anton asked.
“Well… it’s not painful or anything. But it’s certainly odd. I don’t think I would choose this if I was informed.” Varghese grit his teeth, appearing fully solid for a few moments. “I think it will take me a while to stabilize. Speaking of which, thank you for keeping our mutual stars steady. I couldn’t have handled them all on my own.”
Anton nodded. “Even if it wasn’t necessary for my own benefit, I wouldn’t let my apprentice perish when I could do something. Though I suppose with you being in the same stage now, perhaps we’re equals.”
“Hah! As if I would believe that now. I was vaguely aware of how far Enrichment could stretch before reaching it, but you’re quite far ahead of where I am now. You might even be close to the next advancement, if it exists.”
“Well,” Anton stroked his chin. “I haven’t seen an end to the path of cultivation yet. But whether or not I can make it is uncertain. Then again, what need have I for more power? At best, I’d like to be able to consistently defeat our strongest enemies.”
“Expecting more Domination cultivators?” Varghese asked.
“Not if they know what’s good for them,” Anton retorted. “Though perhaps there is a stage beyond even that. The mysteries are not well known to us, so we have no personal attestations in that regard. Once the Scarlet Alliance gets a Domination cultivator or two, they can let us know what they see ahead. Personally, I see the potential. But just because something is theoretically possible doesn’t mean anyone currently alive will succeed- or anyone at any point in the future.”
“Surely someone would, eventually?” Varghese asked.
“If we continue to thrive and develop our knowledge of cultivation? I should think so. But there’s no guarantee that we will not encounter an insurmountable threat. Either other cultivators, distortion beasts beyond our comprehension, or something new.” Anton glanced at Varghese, flickering again. “Let’s get in some training so that you don’t give anyone cancer by accident.”
Varghese gave a smirk. “I doubt anyone affected would last that long. It’s a good thing I can fly between systems alone because I wouldn’t risk getting on a ship like this.”
-----
News of the approaching victory in the eastern war would not reach Devon for some time, but with another Enrichment cultivator and the greatest threats already defeated there was little worry for them. They simply needed a dedicated force to fight their way to the end.
Dealing with the ascension cannons in the western war was not a trivial task, but the bigger issue they were encountering was related to void ants. Their presence was a risk for the locals as well, but the Alliance wasn’t able to land in certain areas on more than a few planets. It would be possible to scour a portion of the planet- they had mundane weapons that would kill void ants- but they really preferred not to cause permanent damage to planets. Even if some amount was inevitable, they avoided it when possible.
There were a small number of individuals who were not constrained by the same limitations, but Devon wasn’t among them. As an Enrichment cultivator, he was just as vulnerable as a Spirit Building cultivator. His body wasn’t any stronger, though he might be able to overpower their resistance to energy. But if the void ants got to him, his defenses would be useless and he could die far too easily. He kept up proper precautions, avoiding anywhere void ants could reach.
But Nthanda had joined them, as well as a number of others who practiced advanced body tempering. Against void ants, Nthanda was effectively invincible- from what Devon knew, even the Great Queen’s royal guard with insights into cutting attacks couldn’t damage her. Perhaps the Great Queen herself could, but that knowledge would be secret between the two of them.
Devon was relieved that the local void ants all seemed to be young and weak. Inexperienced. They were well coordinated and clever enough to work together with other colonies. The locals only let the void ants out when they were desperate- and though it was usually to their immediate detriment, it prevented the Alliance from gaining as much ground as they would like.
The void ants knew that their captors were their enemies, but they clearly also presumed other human cultivators were as well. With no way to communicate, the Alliance couldn’t dispel that notion. It had been surmised that the void ants might learn to understand human speech from their captors, but so far they hadn’t had much success.
To fully secure planets along their path, they had to eliminate any remaining void ants. They didn’t enjoy it, but it was necessary.
Devon couldn’t see any path to victory for the Exalted Quadrant. It seemed their attacks had been ill advised… though perhaps there was some other goal they had aside from victory. Even as they were winning, he kept alert for any dangers.
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Gabriela could feel it, and that meant the rest of the crew probably could too. She was close to the next step. Enrichment… it wasn’t a mystery to her what she would focus on. Her ship, her crew. Just as the ship itself had sustained many wounds, parts salvaged from other Ascension-class battleships when necessary or produced anew, so too had the crew lost many members over time. But always, there were replacements- and those few who left alive always had greater purposes.
Regardless of what happened, the sum total had always grown stronger with time. The ship itself didn’t naturally grow- despite how much Rutera wished their technology got better with age, most of those experiments reached dead ends- but the ship was full of cultivators and with regular upgrades across the centuries it had become something amazing.
There had been several opportunities for Gabriela to take over an all new ship, but even with the option to take her crew it never felt right. There had been lulls in their growth that tempted her, but having reached where they were now Gabriela felt vindicated.
Perhaps some other cultivator would reach Enrichment by swapping ships, but that wasn’t her. The Wayfarer would continue to grow under her command. And while she would have preferred not to have a war since it was happening failing to take advantage of the opportunity for growth would be a waste.
Ascension cannons were a problem. Even if the enemy could only use them irregularly, the Wayfarer had garnered more than a few scars from them during this war. But her own familiarity with the ascension energy involved might provide a solution- as well as the engineers who helped run the barriers, of course. Any time Gabriela thought of her own accomplishments, she considered the whole crew.
She had a foolish idea. It was natural to try to avoid the fire of the cannons, but she really wanted to face them head on and come out on top. She brought the idea up with senior crew, expecting to be talked out of it. Then they brought it up with their subordinates, and soon enough the whole ship was preparing. She’d never declared that it would be done, instead everyone had been filled with similar feelings.
Of course, they were just as aware as Gabriela of the risks. Yet without her even needing to say anything, they also saw opportunity. The path to growth. They accepted it as a challenge to be overcome instead of avoided- or deflected.
It did seem foolish, having experienced how the ascension cannons could take off a section of the ship. Taking such a shot head on was a terrible risk… but it wasn’t as crazy as it sounded. And there was also the subject of a murmuring going around among the crew. If they were really an Ascension-class ship, surely they could face off against a cannon full of ascension energy?
The cannons were basically an Integration cultivator using all of their power in a single attack, but the thought had burrowed its way in. And it became the only option that they would do something about it- when they were properly prepared, of course.
-----
The opportunity came soon enough after they finished their preparations. Knowing there was some risk of failure, Gabriela had informed those who needed to be aware. Devon, among others, needed to be ready to pick up their slack if something failed. And to not block for them, thinking they were unable to maneuver. There were no plans to fail, but they couldn’t risk their allied fleets collapsing if they did.
As always, there was another planet. That was the problem with galaxies- they were far too big, even just the little slice their Alliance was occupying. Too many places for enemies to establish themselves, even centuries before they knew there were enemies.
But enough of that. Gabriela stood at the helm. They intentionally set the Wayfarer out front, to be the primary target. It was a temptation that had never failed before, but usually they tried to deflect the incoming attack.
It was difficult to focus on the surrounding battle, enemy fleets rising up, knowing what they intended. Gabriela did her best to sustain the energy flow of the ship and crew, bolstering them with her own power.
Then the moment came. A rising pulse of energy, then a laser with a beam almost as wide as the bridge. It was meant to cut through even loosely flying formations of ships, but of course it also had the power to take down single large vessels- and perhaps everything behind them afterwards.
Gabriela stared down the incoming attack, and only prompted a slight movement, to make sure the beam was centered directly.
She wasn’t facing the challenge just because she had a big ego, but because there was actually a logic to it. She stood front and center, the core of power on the ship. Their barriers contracted, while the fortified structure of the ship was prepared to withstand the pressure should the barrier buckle.
It was certainly easier to dodge or deflect… but that left others vulnerable. And if one were prepared… taking a hit precisely where they wished to was not bad either.
The beam would last only a few seconds, usually enough to melt everything up to and including Assimilation cultivators and any parts of an Ascension-class ship in the way. Gabriela felt the force, and nearly staggered back.
But she held her position, standing strong for the crew, the ship, and of course herself. Alarms were raised as the barrier hit a critical point, collapsing inward and allowing the outer portion of the hull to absorb a portion of the attack while they refreshed for a fraction of a second.
A brilliant glow lit the prow of the ship- both reflected light from the lasers and the glow of the heat it absorbed. But while it bent and distorted from the rapid heating, it held. Gabriela held too. And the Wayfarer. The barrier snapped back into place, mitigating the last of the assault.
The ship’s batteries were drained. Gabriela felt her dantian running dry. But their ship stood- and the enemy fleets were heavily impacted by the event. The whole battlefield sensed it… and their enemies would learn fear. Meanwhile, their allies were inspired.
Gabriela was supposed to care… but she wasn’t interested in expanding her influence to fleets. The Wayfarer was all she needed. She turned to face the rest of the bridge. “You all did well. Now let’s do that again.”
The glow of their nose rapidly diminished as the ship drained the ambient heat to power their batteries. Devotion flowed freely throughout the ship. Gabriela felt her personal stores of energy being poured into… but she felt empty. Not because she couldn’t recover, but because there was so much more capacity than before. All it took was pushing the Wayfarer hard enough. After this, she’d push for all the upgrades the crew wanted. Nobody could say that the materials wouldn’t go to the best use possible.