The Ilem who carried Heziyn and Musa finally grew tired so she gently placed the two on the ground before collapsing.

Using Glass Energy came at both a mental and physical cost since primordial energy would be coursing through one’s body.

If too much Glass Energy passed through a person’s body, their blood would literally boil and they’d probably fry their mind, a problem made worse by the fact that humanoids used their hair to channel Glass Energy.

“Aunty, what’s happening?” A weeping Musa asked while Heziyn glanced at the magic storm which they had just barely escaped. A tornado of fire, driven by gravity, had consumed a large chunk of the skies above Central Hatua.

Heziyn blinked a few times as she averted her eyes from it before turning to Musa and gently placing her hands on his cheeks.

“Musa, I need you to make a very important decision. Do you want to go back to your mother and accept your fate of eventually becoming King or do you want to be free?” Heziyn asked while staring into the boy’s quivering eyes.

He glanced at the storm but Heziyn gently returned his gaze to her with her hands.

“I need you to hurry because there is no turning back for anyone other than you.”

Musa’s eyes widened to their limits as tears continued to fall from them.

“I want to be free! But what will happen to mom?” He asked.

“She’ll be fine. Now run!” She cried while reaching out for Musa’s hand.

Musa accepted it and joined Heziyn in running to the west with the Ilem in tow.

Meanwhile, Ua hurled several buildings at Akili who incinerated them. At this point, his hair was almost white hot but he mitigated any damage to himself by sending any heat to the tips of his hair and ejecting it outward, creating a halo of outward heat around his head.

The way he, Ua and other magicians were able to remotely accessed Glass was pretty fascinating in that they were subconsciously channeling it through me.

I realized this when a Shangazi, who was in the Forest Afor, healed a sick man while having no Glass with her. She clasped her hands and, while uttering a prayer, channeled Glass from far away.

I then saw that one of her Uyil Belts was reaching down to mine and the nearest of my belts reacted to hers and acted as a conduit.

Glass Energy then travelled from the nearest source and move into her via our remote connection.

This, however, was far more strenuous than simply touching Glass or using ambient Glass Energy and would result in quick exhaustion, similar to the technique that Pazia called Uyil Torsion, although that was far more painful.

Akili and Ua were able to keep themselves conscious by drip feeding their bodies with Life Energy and diverting any excess energy to places outside their bodies.

Ua kept her body from being ripped apart by the intense gravitational waves she was generating by forcing them upward and away from her, hence the storm.

I winced upon seeing, for the first time, lines on Ua’s usually perfect face.

That which was once smooth and perfect was now twisted with rage but to a degree I had never seen.

That, plus her glowing purple and orange hair made her seem quite terrifying.

I then noticed that, while Akili’s and Ua’s men were fighting, a group of Shangazi were traveling from house to house, taking with them individuals of various status.

These people then gathered in North Central where they were met by Jicho and Kuhani who asked if they wanted to join them in revolution.

Half of the people gathered said yes and followed them south where they were met by more of Akili’s men while the rest stayed.

Jicho would go on to send some people to Abanafash and there they would gather their allies before joining the Southward March.

Tens of thousands would come to leave their homes and although the warriors who remained loyal to Ua tried to stop them, they had yet to receive any orders and so stood by and watched.

I returned my focus to Ua who had finally grown tired of launching buildings at Akili and so she returned to the ground where Modo helped her stand after seeing that she was in a weakened state.

“Ma’am, we have to get out of here!” The Fire Breaker cried but Ua, who’s eyes were barely managing to stay open, turned to the west and raised her right hand.

Modo’s eyes then widened and he quickly moved his head to the side just as Ua sent forth what I could only describe as a gravity dart.

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Her understanding of space and how it interacted with gravity was so precise that she managed to create a small ovular dart of twisted gravity that shot towards where she had last seen Heziyn and the ball tore everything in came across into shreds.

It continued to do this for kilometers, missing Heziyn and company by a few kilometers but in turn scarring the landscape with a gargantuan valley.

This action was also enough to knock Ua unconscious and this allowed Modo to carry her.

“Men! Push those treacherous bastards back! We need to get the Queen to the palace!” He yelled and his men, who furiously fought while avoiding getting incinerated by waves of fire, finally caught a break as Akili descended.

He too was exhausted but his men ran away from him since the air around him was so hot that it charred anything it touched.

It eventually cooled and he fell to his knees before being taken to a safe place beyond the storm.

“Sir, are you alright?” One of his men asked while but it was clear that his entire body had suffered serious and repeated burns.

He looked up and saw that, although the magic within the storm was slowly fading, the rain had grown heavier and the winds had grown stronger.

“Order a full retreat. We need to join everyone in Kimbilio as fast as possible.” He said through gnashed teeth and his men all flinched as his eyes burnt red briefly but he passed out shortly after.

I returned to my island and inspected my Doll.

It’s belly to be specific.

It sat, cross legged in the center of the first floor and it still wore the old Pāttiram gown which hadn’t aged in all this time.

Keeping the pouring rain from pouring into the Temple were the many warped gravity seals I had put up.

I Entered the doll and placed my hands above my belly, above my hope.

I thought about what those who lived on my surface thought about their deaths.

Or was death such a clear certainty that they never even thought about resisting?

I shook my head since their lives were unfolding before me.

I would see what they made of themselves with time.

I looked up and watched as the coming storm continued to brew.

I floated out of the temple and allowed the rain to wash over me as I thought back to all that I was and all I wanted to be.

Here I was.

In this moment.

Determined to see forever.

I just needed to figure out how to save myself.

I would find the answer one day.

I gave myself a nod and flew to Y’shuah.

Night had fallen although one couldn’t tell from inside the Cavern which was endlessly illuminated by the crystals above.

The people within this dim but safe place were all making their beds, including Vah who tucked her daughter into bed.

“Goodnight.” She whispered before kissing a sleepy Tal on the forehead.

She then left the room but just as she grabbed the handle of the door to her room, a knock came from the door.

I looked to see that several men were standing on the other side and Vah must have noticed this as well but she remained composed as she walked up to the door which she opened slightly.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Vah asked although I saw the briefest flash of green in her eyes.

“Ah- forgive us for disturbing you at such a late hour but we just wanted a bit of your time, ma’am.” The foremost man said with a weak smile.

“Well? What is it?” Vah asked as every member of the group turned their visibly nervous eyes to the leader, the same man who was giving speeches in the upper cavern.

“Well, firstly we wanted to ask if you were thinking of challenging Lady Emunah’s rule using your daughter?” The man asked but this made Vah frown a little.

“I will not be using my daughter for anything. She is free to make her own decisions and I don’t plan on further discussing my daughter’s life with strangers.”

“Ah- of course. My apologies but we also wanted to ask you to support Kiynah for we think that he is the leader the people need right now.”

Vah’s eyes lowered for a moment.

She then returned her gaze to the man.

“But I am no longer on the advisory council so I have no sway over what Emunah thinks or does.”

“But were you not close to the late Chief Pele, much like her?”

“You think us knowing the same person meant that we were automatically close?” Vah asked with a raised brow.

“Err… well…”

“If you want Kiynah to succeed, keep supporting him as you are and he will surely gain the footing he needs to have his will enacted but that is all I will say on this. Goodnight.” Vah said before closing the door but she made sure to stand by it and wait until the men left.

This interaction made me turn to Emunah who sat in her room, alone.

Clutched tightly in her hands was one of Amiytz’s shirts and she stared at it unblinking and I watched as her heart alternated between beating really slowly and racing.

A knock shook her out of her dazed state and it was from Kukiyah who entered the room after receiving her permission.

He knelt next to her bed and looked into her eyes.

“How…”He tried saying but no other words left his mouth.

Emunah tilted her head.

“Did you come to ask how I was doing?” She asked.

“Y-yes.” Kukiyah said with a sheepish smile.

“Well… I am doing alright. I just need my heart to accept my current circumstances so that I may think of a way forward. Although, now that I say it aloud, it sounds rather callous, no?”

Kukiyah remained silent although by the way his eyes darted back and forth, it seemed as though he had a lot he wanted to say.

He had been like this ever since he awoke.

A walking ball of uncertainty and anxiety although he offered valuable advice during meetings.

“Mmm… I’m actually thankful that you’ve come. I needed a distraction so tell me, how are you doing?”

“Do you even need to ask? The people are just about ready to charge into this place and push you off the throne themselves. Not to mention the baseless suspicion that hangs over the heads of our daughters-“

“Ha! If you truly believe that their suspicions are baseless then you are alone in that thought. Although I suppose it’s somewhat sweet of you.” Emunah chuckled making Kukiyah frown.

“You think they are guilty?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

“Of course.”

“Then why haven’t you done anything?”

“Because they are our daughters, Kukiyah and I love them.” Emunah smiled making the old chief lower his head.

“That’s why I sit here before you, stuck and unable to act. I know the doubts that haunt your heart. You want to ask me to give the throne to someone else but who else is really the best fit? And above all that, who would have Pele chosen?”

Kukiyah’s eyes widened.

“Yes, my heart may have belonged to Imani for the longest time but I am still Pele’s wife. I do not want what he worked so hard to built to be broken by careless hands and so I will sit on that throne until we find someone worthy and I don’t think Kiynah is the right choice.” Emunah said making Kukiyah lower his head a little.

“So… who else do you have in mind?”

“No one. Vah won’t allow the girl anywhere near the throne and Although he is a good for king, by virtue of being the son of a Chief, Ayit’s son doesn’t seem like the leading type. Although we could talk him into it.”

“We may have no choice.”