I held my breath as the magic circle appeared on the black and gold marble floor of EDEN’s main lobby. A crowd of over a thousand was waiting to welcome the lost women home. In the center of that great circle, X’lyssa stood wearing a clingy black and gold dress that nearly matched the marble in hue, and gave the impression that she had risen from the floor as though it were a liquid. She held her arms out to the sides with her palms down and her fingers flexed, as though using an invisible force to pull something up from below.
Visible tendrils of dark energy flowed from her fingertips then, infusing the runes of the circle and causing it to spin. The rotations were slow at first, but built speed rapidly until only a field of solid glowing red could be seen. The overfiend herself began to spin as well, dancing in place with unearthly grace. It was a magnificent sight. More and more power flowed out of her, and into the building maelstrom of blood red energy.
It was so subtle at first that I needed to blink twice. She was losing her own color as she gave of herself to the summoning. Her skin had gone from deep sanguine to the vivid pink of a cherry blossom, and then even that color began to drain away until her entire body was as pale as sun bleached bone. The ritual was finally satisfied, and with a final flash of blinding red light, our family was whole once more.
X’lyssa, exhausted, began to collapse. I slid on my knees as I caught her in mid fall. She was pale, and shivering. The usual heat I felt at her touch was now the deep chill of a tomb. She had given her all for us. Her eyes focused weakly on me, and I noticed that even those enchanting orbs had lost their color. What was once glowing gold was now tarnished silver. The sounds of explosive celebration around us sounded miles away. We were in a timeless moment, she and I.
“Y-you could cast me aside now.” She stuttered and ended with a slight cough. Even the effort of speech was proving too much. “With a flick... of those magnificent claws, you could claim all of my power... as your own.” She studied my face as she struggled through each word.
I said nothing, but held her gaze as my free hand navigated my inventory from memory. I held two gaudy, obviously rare vials between my fingers a second later. One was pure white crystal, carved like a huge gemstone. Its edges were ice cold, and its facets were burning hot. It was uncomfortable to even hold in my hand. The other was of smooth glass with a diamond stopper. Violet liquid bubbled inside, thrumming with energy.
The crystal vial was described by many gaming articles as one of the most elusive chase items in EG. It was the fruit of a seven hundred hour grindfest and a massive amount of luck. I owned two of them. They were a mere byproduct of me farming a different, more common item during the same event. I never imagined giving one away, but I knew in my soul that this was the proper reward for her sacrifice.
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*Item: Blood of Kronos - Mythic Consumable
(Item Score: n/a)
-The next consumable you use with a Fortifying effect applies those effects permanently.
-The next consumable you use with a Replenishing effect will apply those effects at (25%) of their value persistently and permanently.
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*Item: Moondrip Elixir- Epic Consumable
(Item Score: 505)
-Fortifies Maximum Soul Energy by an amount equal to your current Maximum Soul Energy for the next (60) seconds.
-Replenishes all missing Soul Energy.
*Replenishes (25%) of Missing Soul Energy/Sec
-Duration: Permanent
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
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I held the priceless vials to her lips one after the other, and she drank them with the last of her strength. It happened relatively quickly, and I doubt many followed what had happened at all.
There was no need to question if it was working. The clamor all around us suddenly ceased. Time was stopped, and she was resplendent in my arms. Her skin was a deeper red than before, almost purple like an aged Merlot. I had a brief moment of panic when I felt how much power she had reaped by effectively doubling her Soul Energy. I could have just given her the Moondrip Elixir after all.
Her eyes locked onto mine then, and all doubts melted away. They were gold once more, but beyond that they were welling with tears.
“You didn’t betray me...” She sounded like she couldn’t believe her own words. “I made myself vulnerable. When you could have taken everything, you gave instead.” The tears burst forth then, and the overfiend bawled.
I lowered my forehead and pressed it against hers. I didn’t know what to say, so I went with nothing. I squeezed her a little tighter and let her have a moment. She must have been betrayed, probably horribly so and more than once. I was grateful that I could be the one to break that streak.
Her cry didn’t last long, and she pulled herself into an embrace of her own. I felt her hot tears wet against my cheek, and couldn’t help getting a little misty eyed myself. I looked around at the frozen scene for the first time. The girls were all back, with wide eyes and beaming grins. What a perfect picture.
“Shall we?” I finally asked, sensing the moment had finally passed its peak.
“Mm.” She reluctantly loosened her grip and I stood up, still holding her princess style for just a second before letting her feet down next to mine.
She wiped her eyes, though the tears had already evaporated from her hot skin. She straightened herself and gave me one last look, showing me alone that gentle, vulnerable girl behind the facade. She was the haughty and ruthless overfiend once more as the world resumed around us in a cacophony of celebration.
As if it had been rehearsed beforehand, every one of the returned girls spun and dropped to a knee before X’lyssa and I. The room fell into a sudden hush, save for the confused fussing of a baby here and there.
“By your grace, we return safely lord Gray.” Leza spoke dutifully, and I was confused as she pulled something from her back wrapped in a familiar tattered black shawl. “A reward from our great goddess for your mighty deeds.”
“No way...” I couldn’t help but tremble a bit as I brushed my fingers against the haft of the object. A smile spread across my face and I gripped it fully.
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*Equipped: Reforged Charon’s Call - Spear
(Item Score 999) Skin: Default
Damage (Physical): 585
Damage (Soul): 780
Indestructible
“And those living souls that would dare parade themselves before the sordid god Charon shall be regarded as the most unfortunate in all of Creation.”
Charon’s Call: Cooldown 24h:00m:00s
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“Best day ever.” I said quietly. I raised the spear over my head and shouted so everyone could hear. “Friends! Tonight we feast!” With that declaration, the party started. We kicked off a festival that spilled out into the budding city, and eventually filled the streets of Ariel’s Gate beyond.
X’lyssa surprisingly kept her distance, drifting alone from table to table, nibbling and sampling from the hundreds of various dishes. I wondered if she might be embarrassed or had perhaps even lost interest since I had tipped my hand emotionally. It was a cold fact that many people were more about the chase than the catch after all.
“You keep quite the eclectic company.” Saet’s voice jarred me from my straying thoughts as she walked up beside me. She too was watching the overfiend as she said this.
I realized how Saet probably felt about the overfiend and felt a sudden urge to explain myself. She held up a hand to cut me off before I could start.
“I don’t dislike that particular demon, you know.” Saet said to my surprise. “We were once comrades after all.”
“Really!?” I blurted. A realization dawned on me then. I did not know the first thing about the woman I had agreed to sleep with and give a biological donation to.
“Really.” She confirmed with a chuckle, looking into her wine glass and watching it swirl as she collected her thoughts. “She was once the queen of fairies and sprites, a being not far removed from the gods themselves. She ruled in the primordial rainforest of Rakashi in the east, I ruled the emerald jungle in the west. We were a united front against the demons and titans of the south. The betrayal by the man she loved and his human ally Kutris led to the near extinction of the fae races, and her rampage that followed is what we now know as the Rakashi Cataclysm. For her failure to protect her people and for the countless lives she took in her madness, she was damned to the hells. If the stories are to be believed, she was later adopted by the Grand Overfiend himself.”
“I see.” Talk about a hard hitting history lesson! “So the one that betrayed her was...”
“Hamathael. The other overfiend you’ve already met.” Saet finished for me. “A bored wretch of a demon that loves nothing more than posing as a mortal to sow chaos and misery. He spent decades manipulating her, all so he could watch her world burn.”
“Guess I really was too soft on him.” I growled through clenched teeth. I sighed the burst of rage away and kept the conversation going. “If you were once friends, why not go say hello?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that I’m afraid.” Saet shook her head. “I was the one that damned her.”
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A group of three travelers walked through the streets of Ariel’s Gate. They were a head taller than nearly any human local. Their flawless bronze skinned faces were aghast, contorted in disgust by their lively surroundings.
“These Unpure rats dare to cavort about so carelessly in our presence?” The sole female of the group with lustrous sea foam green hair said from behind the silk fan she held in front of her face. She spoke in the tongue of The Radiant Empire, and so the locals around them didn’t understand a word of it.
“They’re far too useless and hideous to even be toys.” The bored and long faced man to her left agreed, holding his hand over his nose. “What could lord Ogrun possibly expect to accomplish with such trash?”
“Ignore them. Our orders are clear. We must find the one called Gray and test his might.” This came from the traveler in front of the the other two. He was much broader than his companions, with muscles that looked capable of ripping trees from the frozen earth.
“As if there could be anyone worth testing in this festering termite mound.” The woman retorted.