A portal emerged, instantly filling the space with water.
Back when he had gathered them in the hole created by the magic vortex, Dallion had taken the time to cast a spell within the structure of each. Some of the spells were more powerful than others, set to be cast once the item was broken. Dallion had made sure to use items that had no guardians, just as he had used the grafting method Harp had taught him for making magic potions.
Water filled up the space like a tap filling up a thimble. Before anyone knew it they were surrounded by water.
Water! Lux shouted. Of everyone present he was the one that disliked the substance the most.
Without waiting for an order, the firebird disappeared, returning to Dallion’s realm. Gripping the harpsisword, Dallion performed another line attack. Causing the general’s movements to slow down was a good bonus, but there were far better spells still in play. For one thing, there were three aether echoes within some of the other pots.
Void matter spread from the general quickly surrounding the pots in question. The void had no intention of making the same mistake twice.
Simultaneously, millions of black threads, each the size of a hair, gently extended into the water, forming a web to catch Dallion in.
Still the passive approach? Dallion swung his aura sword, creating an ice wall in front of him. The spell was only meant to act as a shield, but in the current reality, it continued to infinity, surrounding Dallion from all sides.
That was entirely predictable, Adzorg grumbled.
There was a time when Dallion would have agreed. Right now, though, this was as much of an advantage as not. If he was surrounded by ice, it meant that the general was as well.
Concentrating, he was just about to do a point attack, when his opponent beat him to it with an attack of his own. A blob of blackness hit the center of all the ice walls within the cube, trying to break through.
Time stretched. Dallion’s mind had gone into overdrive. With Lux gone, he couldn’t afford a hit of such strength. Even if the void didn’t kill him outright, it would make him slower, gradually dragging him down like quicksand. Every instinct told him that he had to respond with a spark infused point attack, purging the void and with luck striking the general. From there he’d continue with a multi attack and—
Dallion stopped. He was looking at things the wrong way. The void—at least this part of it—wasn’t strong on its own. The general had shown that time and time again. His strength lay in making others do what he wanted. Right now, what he wanted the most was to transform Dallion into the Star, which could be achieved only through contact. Back, before the realm of the arena had shattered, the general was able to have void matter shoot out from the ground because he had corrupted the realm itself. But they weren’t in a realm anymore and, ironically, that had sapped the void’s powers.
You’re desperate, aren’t you? Dallion thought, knowing full well the general could read his mind.
The black blobs disappeared, then a moment later struck the ice again, causing cracks to appear in some of the layers. Black substance trickled in, filling them, but it was still not enough to reach Dallion.
You can’t breathe?
That was a laugh. Strictly speaking, the void didn’t need to breathe. It didn’t need to do anything, but the puppet it controlled did. As long as the entity wanted to keep that puppet, it had to follow the rules of the world… and according to the rules, the general never was an awakened.
All that power, the talk of eternity, and I can outwait you.
The void matter pulled back, then struck with the ferocity of a dying being. Clusters of black tendrils shot from all six directions, straight towards their target.
Dallion felt no fear. With perfect calm, he combined his acrobatic and guard skills, avoiding each of the attacks. In the real world, this would have been treated as one strike, but here, it was six—enough for him to take advantage of the guard skill’s bonus.
The ice walls shattered at reduced speed, as more spikes shot out of the tendrils, trying to pierce Dallion. It was already too late, though. Unsummoning his weapons, Dallion evaded the second wave, slowing time even further.
It had been a while since he had resorted to something so simple, making him almost feel nostalgic for the time he’d used the method to fight item guardians.
Three sequences. Four sequences…
Time kept on slowing down until it came to a complete standstill.
Locked in a moment within a moment within a moment, Dallion thought. This was an event worthy of an achievement. Sadly, none such appeared. Regardless, the guard bonus had granted him with an incredible advantage: the ability to perform any action he chose without fearing a reaction. Dallion could easily attack with a spark infused point thrust right in the general’s head. He could cast any spell, or even leave the realm and hope that the general remained trapped until suffocating. However, there was an even better option.
I know you can hear me, he thought.
Extending magic threads from his body, Dallion proceeded to draw a magic symbol.
I finally figured you out, he continued. There were so many times you could have stopped me along the way. Even with the Moons protecting me early on, you didn’t need to give me the armadil shield, but you did. You helped me defeat Arthurows during our first encounter. You used Spike to unlock the door for me in the guildhall so I could enter the realm of the aura sword. Heck, you helped me outright kill your Star.
Steadily, the symbol gained form, glowing bright purple on the general’s head.
You really were changed by the thing you wanted to destroy. You liked seeing people squirm and fail, but even more you liked to watch them succeed—a final show before your inevitable victory at the end of eternity.
More magic threads layered onto the symbol, increasing its strength.
You had managed to infect me and so many others. I’ve no idea how many of the corrupted will become free when I kill you. I don’t know how many other “puppets” you have in the world, but I know that you won’t be able to save this one.
Dallion snapped the thread.
Darude attack, he added.
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The magic symbol came into effect, breaking the time freeze. Time continued as normal for Dallion, though for the general, it was amplified a hundred times.
The entity blurred, struggling to take down Dallion while it still had air in its lungs. Sadly, even with a time boost, its speed remained slower than Dallion’s.
YOU WIN THIS TIME
A black rectangle appeared in the darkness.
WE’LL TALK AGAIN
I’m sure you’ll try, Dallion thought.
VOID DISPERSAL
(+5 Awakening, +5, Body, +5 Mind, +5 Reaction, +5 Perception, + 5 Empathy, +5 Magic)
You have dispersed the embodiment of void. It won’t go after you again, at least for a while.
Not the most optimistic achievement, even with all the boosts it provided. Unlike the previous enemies he had vanquished, this one couldn’t be destroyed. The web of corruption and deceit the general had spun throughout the empire and beyond was likely destroyed. As the void had said, there were other puppets out there. In time, they would grow to hold the position the general had. Hopefully, it wasn’t going to occur in Dallion’s lifetime.
Just take the win, dear boy, Adzorg grumbled. Sometimes I think there’s just no pleasing you.
Sometimes, you’d be right, Dallion replied mentally. After a few moments of hesitation, Dallion summoned the emblem ring. To his relief, there was no void there.
Not to ruin the mood, but I think the Order might be a bit upset with you after this, Adzorg said after a while. More upset than before, I mean.
That I killed the general instead of them?
No. Because of the way you killed him.
It took several minutes for Dallion’s spell to wear off, returning him back to the real world as a result of the realm’s destruction. Upon arriving there, the answer became obvious.
Half of the arena structure was gone, reduced to sharp rubble.
“So, that’s what happens when a realm is destroyed.” Dallion bent down and took a piece from the ground. It had sharp edges, as if it were shattered glass. With enough time and effort, someone maybe would be able to fit all the pieces together and restore the arena. It definitely wasn’t going to be Dallion, though.
A total of three people had emerged from the realm: the innkeeper, March, and Dallion. There was no trace of the furies Dallion had taken into the realm or, for that matter, Spike. Of all the things Dallion had to explain, that was the trickiest. No one would bat an eye if it turned out that the general was involved with the Star cults, or worse. Admitting that a well-known guild member and friend actually never existed, but was one of the embodiments of the void… that would be difficult to swallow.
“I see you’re fine,” Hannah said, looking at the devastation rather than Dallion. “It’s a safe bet that the Order will be here soon.”
Out of everyone, the innkeeper was the only one who hadn’t sustained any wounds whatsoever. In contrast, March had entire segments of her armor missing. As strong as she was fighting, the void remained beyond her.
“Yeah.” Dallion went up to the Icepicker and cast a healing spell. Purple symbols flashed around her, removing all wounds in seconds. “You’d better go to the Timepiece. I’ll deal with this.”
“You sure?” Hannah gave him a look. “There’s quite a lot to explain…”
“I’ll be fine.” He smiled. “I’m a baron now.”
“Yes.” The innkeeper stepped closer. “Which makes you a lot easier to push off a cliff.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go, March. Let’s leave the baron to handle things.”
The woman walked away, March closely behind her. Interestingly, none of them had asked about Spike. Maybe they thought that he’d been killed by the general? Thankfully, it was better that way—a clean and simple explanation that suited everyone.
Making his way through the broken ground, Dallion went up to the gearwheel. Of all the things, it was the only thing that had remained whole, glowing in its perfection, as if in mockery of everything else.
You can keep the materials, Adzorg said. Might be useful when you forge your next intricate weapon.
“Yeah, I could do that.” Dallion drew a seven-circle spell in the air. A pattern of symbols covered the gearwheel, sprinkling the item with glowing red flakes. The metals bubbled, heating beyond their boiling point. “Or I could do this.”
Some would call it a waste, but that was the last thing on Dallion’s mind. Turning around, he went towards the half of the structure that was still standing. Crowds of people had already started to form around what had been the arena. They glanced at it for a few moments, then moved away, accepting the situation. Even the city guards weren’t in the least bit concerned. Dallion didn’t need a kaleidervisto to tell that limiting echoes were being used en-mass. The only question was who had seen to it: the new lord mayor, or the Order’s bishop.
Stepping into the inner corridor, Dallion continued to where the general’s old room had been. The place remained deserted, like an empty shell of what it was. On one occasion, a metalin tried to stop him from proceeding, but a quick slash attack with the Nox dagger reduced the construct to a pile of metal.
Let’s see what you left behind. Dallion opened the door and stepped in.
The room seemed more or less as he remembered it. The collection of creatures had diminished—there were only two dozen of them, kept in sky silver and sun gold cages. Occasionally, there would be something more exotic encased in crystal.
“Don’t worry,” Dallion said as he walked by. As he did, each cage broke to pieces, sliced by a series of slashes faster than the eye could see.
Finding their freedom, most of the creatures instantly fled, eager to get out of their prisons and even the city itself. A few remained where they were, choosing to cling to Dallion instead. It was going to take some time and effort to get them to return to their previous habits. Right now, though, Dallion wanted to focus on the other prisoners: the weapons that had remained there for all that time.
“Feeling alright?” he asked, stopping in front of the shelves.
There was a time when a gold sand garden was located in that area of the room. When Dallion had first seen it, he thought it was meant to impress all visitors. That wasn’t the case. It served as a warning to the items, what could happen to them at any point, should the general get bored or disappointed.
“It’s alright. You’re free now.”
Out of habit, he used his aether vision to examine them. To his relief, there didn’t seem to be any void threads. There was something else—a spot in the room completely deprived of magic.
Curious, Dallion pushed the shelves to the side, revealing the wall. Using his Nox dagger, he carefully cut out a square in it. The section gave in, revealing a hidden compartment. Whoever had made this had taken great care to integrate it into the wall, yet at the same time keep it separate from its realm.
A single metal box lay there, shimmering in an otherworldly fashion.
I’d suggest you leave it, dear boy, Adzorg warned. There’s no telling what could be inside.
“Worse than the void?” Dallion ignored him. Still, he split into several instances before opening the lid.
A divine glow of magic filled the room, emanating from the item inside. To some, it would look like nothing but a rough piece of red crystal. Yet any mage would recognize it for what it really was—a Moonstone.
“Centor’s blessing,” a familiar voice said behind Dallion. “Stolen from the Order two and a half centuries ago.”
“Hello, bishop.” Dallion retrieved the stone, sending it into his realm. Now, he had three. “I thought you’d stop by.”