In an astounding turnaround, Carmen the solar kraken has manufactured a minor business miracle in the Cazoran markets. Carmen features in our biannual catalog, 30 under 3, as a visionary stage-two entrepreneur capable of turning tarnished silver into manyform-beta crystal. With only a highly leveraged and unstable portfolio of assets, not only has Carmen expanded The Sea Beast Saloon, a lunchtime eatery, across Zone 4, but she has invented an innovative franchise contract business model, expanding her reach into Zones 5, 7 and 12, all while stockpiling military assets on the scale of minor empires. Given this explosive change in fortune, perhaps this solar kraken is the next inheritor of the illustrious Harvard MBA scripture. We will be watching closely as her story develops.
– Cazoran Times, Voidbreaker News
Chapter 17 – The Depths of Enchanting
The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoldering vellum, a mocking incense to the desecration of this hallowed space of knowledge. Shadows danced across the wreckage, cast by the flickering light of torches. There was no harmony to these flames. Toki only felt an inkling of solace knowing that Edgar had swept her aloft in time, bringing her to the relative safety of the chandelier, above all the chaos below.
A pang of dread laced with guilt knotted in Toki's gut. She had been the eye within the storm, while Edgar faced whatever nightmare had befallen this place. The thought spurred her into motion as she quickly assessed her surroundings.
There had been violence here in her absence—amidst the destruction, the tale of the battle unfolded across Toki’s vision. The library had transformed into an arena where ‘Edgar’ had been unleashed. With a fluttering heartbeat, she pieced together the path taken by the intruders. Toki was certain that it was not wolves, yet there were marks of claws and fangs on what was once a beautiful dream. There are also marks of Edgar, [Blade Draw]s and fresh blood.
"Feathers," she whispered, the name escaping her lips as both a prayer and a pledge. Gratitude swelled within her chest, mingling with simmering fear. Edgar, ever the loyal friend despite his own timidity, had once again placed her well-being above his own.
She vaulted down from the chandelier, landing with a muted thud. Toki’s eyes darted across the room, seeking out Edgar. There! A flurry of color and motion held steadfast at the gateway, where he stood sentinel. His bright feathers were a stark contrast to the red flowing from his left arm and wing. Two spectral projections of himself flanked him on either side, their ethereal forms shimmering with an otherworldly light as they barred the doorway. Toki could not see his adversary, but she could hear them. They snarled before Edgar. Hungry. Edgar's stance, though, was unwavering.
"Edgar!" Toki called out, her voice a rallying cry as she surged forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with her friend. “I’m coming! Hold on.” Toki watched as Edgar acknowledged her voice, but there was no time for further words; the battle drew him back in, a whirlwind of katana blades, feathers, and fur.
Toki advanced. Behind a fallen bookshelf lay the still form of an intruder, its fur matted with dark blood. It resembled an Aris howler monkey, but it was three times the size and twice as ugly, with claws as long as knives. A mutation? Did Dutch Eternal bring it here?
Toki stepped cautiously over the prone beast, her eyes catching sight of two more fallen monkeys, their bodies strewn across the path to the door like macabre breadcrumbs. Each bore the precise, lethal artistry of Edgar's blades. Each of these creatures also had distinct characteristics: the first a stinger tail, resembling a scorpion; the second, wings identical to a Horovian Coffee Bat.
She reached the scene of battle and found that each of the three remaining howler monkeys all had different malformed appendages. One was missing arms altogether, but its tail was icy blue, emanating wisps of frost. Toki’s fingers found the familiar leather grip of her hammer within the depths of her bag, the tool's weight reassuring amidst the sight of these Frankenstein horrors.
“Take the chonky one. It’s faster than it looks!”
Toki took advantage of her surprise entrance and dashed through the doorway. She swung her hammer before it could react with the full force of her attributes. Behind her, Edgar, no longer persisting in defense of the doorway, shifted to offense. His projections in turn shifted focused on keeping the final monkey busy, while he faced the armless one. Toki and Edgar were a tempest, two warriors each attuned to the other’s actions, with hours of spars and scraps between them reinforcing their teamwork.
The monkeys howled in outrage.
The chonky one, finally reacting to the imminent hammer strike, emboldened by hunger or perhaps madness, lunged with jaws agape at Toki's throat. The weapon's head crashed into the monkey's skull with a sound akin to the cracking of the earth itself. It crumpled, life extinguishing in its golden eyes before its body even hit the ground.
The two remaining monkeys, surprised by the immediate death of their ally regrouped and shifted their attention to Toki, exposing their backs in the process. Edgar seized the chance to cleave the tail of the ice monkey, but the tail parried the blade like metal on metal. Toki could see the fatigue etched into Edgar’s movements, but his blade was always unusually sharp—it was not lack of effort that resulted in the failed dismemberment. The ice monkey used the momentum of the parry and careened into its partner, using it as an opportunity to make a hasty retreat.
Toki marginally pivoted her follow-up swing causing it to go wide into a crescent arc. The remaining monkey—one with oversized ears—was caught in the trajectory of her swing, having been, proverbially, ‘thrown under the bus’ by its companion. With only a split second of realization before the weapon connected, its eyes went wide. Its body jolted on contact as the shock from the impact ran down its spine. The monkey rocketed backwards. One of Edgar's projections, seizing the moment, sliced the speeding monkey into two pieces.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
[Level up: Level 43]
Without pause, Toki ran after the remaining ice monkey. Toki was certain that there were more than six cages. Many more. Edgar, only paces behind, soon took the lead in pursuit. Toki watched as Edgar ran ahead. He’s not using his wings. Damn it.
Toki watched as Edgar came to a halt ahead. As she watched him while catching up, she noticed his usual joviality was lost, replaced by a steadfast resolve that belied his trembling hand. A gash marred his left arm all the way up through his wings, now dripping blood. He paused as his talon-like feet shifted uneasily at the five-way fork ahead as he gathered a silver stream of mana. Guilt clawed at Toki’s insides—he faced the battle alone. A battle that I started.
The final monkey threw back its head and howled—a mournful, haunting sound. It was a call for kin, a plea for retribution against the interlopers who dared defy the natural order. But Edgar's projection, an ethereal doppelganger, was quicker than any reinforcements that might answer the call. With a swift motion, too quick for the eye to follow, it disappeared from where Edgar stood, into the ice monkey, and then behind it. The monkey’s cry turned from a gurgle to nothing at all as its head slid off, the phantom blade finding its mark.
Silence reclaimed the fork, save for the labored breaths of the two assailants.
“Grab the monkey.”
“What?”
“Grab the monkey. We gotta run!”
Toki ran to another fork as Edgar grabbed the monkey and reunited with her. Together they descended deeper down an unknown escape path. From behind they could hear the crescendo of howling echoing through the cavern like thunder. As if in response, a loud shattering of glass could be heard in the distance followed by a deep rumble of the earth.
In the sudden hush that fell, they continued their mad dash. It was several tense minutes of silence before their sprint dulled into a walk and Toki turned to Edgar. His feathers were covered by dust and splattered crimson. “You gave them hells, didn’t you?”
Edgar smiled triumphantly, then looked back from the direction they came. “Do you want to talk about that?” He pointed his thumb backward.
Toki looked at the illuminated path ahead, currently lit by her Twice fire.
“Fuck. There’s a lot to talk about Edgar. Let’s find a hiding spot first… and Feathers?" she rasped as she eyed his left arm, "You’re good, right?"
“Peachy," he stammered, feigning a bravado undermined by the tremor in his voice. "Don’t do that again. You’re heavy.” He flexed his taloned feet, as if reassuring himself of his unbroken state.
“Edgar Featherstone! I hadn’t planned any crimes tonight, but I might just change my mind.”
He smiled.
Toki returned it. “I owe you one.”
He nodded then sheathed his katana. “What are you packing in that bag anyways? I swear there has to be at least a dozen monkeys in there.” He shifted the monkey on his right shoulder.
“Oh fuck, yeah. Gimme that shitbird.” Toki continued, “I don’t think anyone’s chasing us. Let’s just take a break here for now.”
Toki sat down by the cavern wall. As she adjusted her seating, she observed the passage. It was too narrow for a full-sized dragon. It was completely unlike the passage that the ice monkey was headed into. This passage was meant for humans. Leaning against the cave walls, she could feel the smooth stone, a texture unusual for a typical cave wall. Curious.
“Anyone or anything…?”
“Both.”
Toki started inspecting the monkey for any signs of tampering, trying to identify the root of the mutation.
“What do you mean both?”
“You must have seen the bounty by now.”
After a cursory inspection of the headless monkey body, Toki focused her attention on the tail. She moved her flame closer.
“Yeah, but no one should know we’re down here.”
Toki raised her head, “The Primes do.”
“What’s a Prime?”
Toki hesitated. The words of Elara, Golgheim and Kristina all swirled in her head.
“Damn Edgar, you deserve the truth. Hells, I deserve the truth, too, but I only have pieces.” Toki nodded her head in defeat. “I suppose it’s about time.”
“Time for what?”
“Dutch Eternal wants to consume me. The Twice want to consume me. The Dynasty wants to consume me. Damn it, Edgar! If Aris itself wants to consume me, what would you have me do?!”
“What are you talking about, Toki?”
“I’m done running around waiting and I’m done watching others fight my battles.”
Toki gazed at the beautiful manascript etched on the ice monkey’s tail. There were layers on layers of script—elegant, beautiful, seductive. She could trace the beautiful script all the way back to the beast core.
“I’ll consume them first, Edgar.”
[User Tokyo Twice has claimed a [Dao of Sentience]-tailored master support skill [Lessons, Dearly Departed]]
[Aris Prime Council Speaker has requested a negotiation for purchase and sale of rights to master skill, [Lessons, Dearly Departed], for the Aris Skill Shop]
[User Tokyo Twice has declined negotiation]
[As user Tokyo Twice, has acquired three master support skills as a mortal, user is eligible to purchase a tailored ascendent support skill from the system shop.]
[User Tokyo Twice has purchased [Chronicle Cascade] from the system shop]
[Acquire ascendent support skill as a mortal – title awarded, Mortal Sage]
[Mortal Sage: awarded [Dharma Token]]
[Aris Prime Council Speaker has requested a negotiation for purchase and sale of rights to ascendant skill, [Chronicle Cascade], for the Aris Skill Shop]
[User Tokyo Twice has declined negotiation]
[User Tokyo Twice has been granted access to the Spearbreaker Skill Shop [Elite]]
[[Dharma Token] awards access to: The Immortal Record of The Heavenly Chakra Dragon Fighter Polity]
[Aris planet-wide announcement: A 258 luck bounty has been placed on Toyko Twice [mortal]. Captured dead or alive. No partial bounty will be awarded.]
[Prime Speaker has called upon the Primes of Aris for a meld – agree?]
[Law Cats has called upon Toki Twice for a meld – agree?]