Kene wandered around the garden, connecting to various trees to slowly recover his life mana, and then settled down next to the marigolds and spiritbalm. Before he began to overflow his gates, however, he removed the apple that Mallory had given him, and took a bite.

He slowly chomped away at it as his mana built, and I felt the power sliding out of physical space and into him.

Then, as gently as a spring breeze, it finished. Third gate magic began to slowly swirl out of Kene, and his eyes opened up.

“How was it?” I asked.

“Harder than the last one,” Kene said. “Not as bad as I feared. Third gate is the last easy one to open, as far as I understand it.”

I nodded and proffered my hand to help them up.

“What was using the apple like?”

I was curious. I’d never used an ascension treasure before, so it was new and something I was very much looking forward to.

“Very satisfying,” Kene admitted. “It was at least a month or two’s worth of active growth for my spells, but without the need to prune them, and it did a lot to deepen their strength.”

They flexed their arm.

“I’m a stronger healer than I’ve ever been,” they said. “I could bench press a building!”

I groaned, but it was really only to hide my smile.

“I’m glad you feel good,” I said. “Can you spellbond things now?”

“Yeah, it’s strange. I can feel… an emptiness, I guess I’d say. It’s something that should be there, but isn’t. But I can easy ask for it.”

They shrugged.

“That probably doesn’t make sense. Anyways…”

Siobbhan came darting out of the flowers and leapt into Kene’s lap, then started licking their face. Kene laughed and fell back some, scratching her under her chin.

“Alright, alright, yes,” they said. A wisp of life mana floated out of them, and into the fox-bird creature, who responded in kind with their own blended mana. The link between them grew and solidified, and blue light spun up Kene’s arms, through his tattoos, and then sunk deep into them.

“Well,” they said.

“Well?” I asked.

“Well,” they repeated. After several long seconds, they composed their thoughts. “I’m not sure how to describe it, really. It fit in really well with my nascent truth of succor, and I feel like… Like the hag was pushed back? But not in the same way it usually is. More interestingly, I’m pretty sure…”

They trailed off as blue aura flared over them.

“I can channel the defensive aura,” they said.

“That’s amazing!” I said. Kene’s solar and life mana was an excellent combination, but they hadn’t focused heavily on defense, so it was lacking. This would do a lot to help.

More interestingly, at least from my perspective, the aura seemed to flow from their tattoos and out into the world, like a projection of the defensive power that was normally tuned within.

“Did you bond your tattoos too?” I asked, and they shook their head.

“Not yet,” Kene said. They closed their eyes again and their tattoos glowed a bright white color, then they opened them again. A moment later, the blue aura blazed around them, but a much lighter color, a sky blue, with flecks of gold scattered throughout.

“Impressive,” I said, clapping slightly.

“I’m not entirely sure on its limits or strengths,” they said. “But it’s definitely given me a large boost to my defenses. Spell resistance for sure, as well as general defensiveness? I’m not sure.”

I smiled at them, and we spent a while chatting as Dusk played with Siobhan, and the Peacepyre bobbed around contentedly overhead, but eventually we headed in for bed.

The following morning, I was feeling great, and we met up with Liz, Travis, and Octavian before flying off towards the dragon’s den.

There were a few footsteps in the mud, and I leaned down to examine them. They were all small, all about the same size, too.

Had the assassin been back?

It seemed likely. I just hoped that she hadn’t gotten through the dragon’s den, or something of that sort.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Down the caves,” I said, then glared at Liz. “And do be quiet, the bats will leave you alone if you don’t disturb them.”

Liz rolled her eyes, but nodded, and Travis gave me a salute. I glanced at him oddly, but then we moved deeper in and the light started to go out. Kene called a light to his hand, I called the peacepyre, and Liz removed a glowing stick from her ring.

We pushed through the cave of bats without any trouble, but when we returned to the cave with the drakes, they melted out of the stone again, and I tensed.

Then Octavian strode forwards, Araceli by his side, and third gate mana began to blast out from him. It buffeted at the mind-ring that I’d been given by the Arcanist who ran an orphanage, and it wasn’t even directed at me.

Kene’s tattoos glowed slightly next to me, and one of Liz’s bracelets started to do the same.

Travis, on the other hand, seemed to have no defenses against the mental incursion. He stood stock still, pupils dilated, and then took a half step back, his bright red aura blazing around him and forming into a suit of aura-armor.

The drakes paced forwards and stared at Octavain, who crossed his arms and stared back. The pressure between the two of them built, and Araceli’s mouth began to glow with bright yellow light. The drakes mouths began to glow gray, and Octavian snapped out a warning.

Then the battle began

I teleported behind the drakes and lashed out at each of them with Fungal Lock spells. In the same instant, both of them unleashed their breath weapons. Araceli’s own breath weapon lanced out to meet one in a clash of power, but she was a new third gate, while both of these drakes weren’t. Her power was steadily pushed back, even as runes flew from Kene’s fingers to reinforce her breath attack.

Liz and Travis launched into action then, and I was left stunned by just how effective they were. Whips of shadows appeared in Liz’s hands, imbued with a cutting wave of water, and slashed out before her legacy made copies of them. In seconds, she’d unleashed four spells worth of attacks, which were doubled to become eight spells worth. Her full-gate desolation enhancer let them actually leave long wounds in the armor of the drakes, while my cuts had done nothing.

The drakes weren’t exactly slow, though, so even as her shadows and water lashed them, they were sweeping out with tail strikes and breath attacks, but that was where Travis went into action.

Tail blows were met with blades made from condensed aura, and though the drakes were stronger, they weren’t so far beyond him that he couldn’t at least divert his attacks. He covered for Liz, who used the opportunity to release more crescents of water attached to shadow whips.

Octavian wasn’t slow either, and blue fire lit itself around his hand. It felt like it was, in large part, death mana – will o’ wisp magic?

He thrust his hand out, and it catapulted out in a solid bar of blue fire that struck a drake in their side. As it landed, I felt the drake’s mana beginning to bleed out into the air. Roh launched an equal lance of fire from the other side, and when the drake’s tail swiped through it, it just spun its small body back together. I thought for a second I might have heard some childlike laughter at it.

Then a drake’s tail was headed at me, and I teleported back. I stared at the sight, but I couldn’t figure out any way to really contribute.

Dusk whistled, and pointed out a spot to me, and I teleported there. She released a shockwave at one drake, then I teleported away.

It felt a bit embarrassing to be the transportation for her, but it was the best way I could really help, so I swallowed my pride and did it, flashing around the cavern in quick Foxsteps. Each time I appeared, Dusk would release a shockwave or her hand spells, grabbing onto one limb of the drake, then we were gone again.

In order to not be a total waste of space, I threw overcharged and multi-layered fungal locks over the drakes each time I had the chance, but the drakes mostly broke through them.

Araceli fled to one end of the cavern and started doing something, a conjuration of magic appearing before her. Another thick circle of magic appeared in front of that, then Octavian started retreating to set up a third forged circle.

“Can you two kite one into the center of cavern, then lock it down?” he asked in between short gasps of breath.

“I think so,” I said, nodding.

“Good,” he said, then looked at Kene. “Get behind Araceli, and then release as much light as you can when she lets her breath weapon out.”

Kene nodded, and with the instructions, I teleported in front of the drake that Octavian had been handling. Roh bobbled in the air around me, and spun, drawing more mana out of the drake, then burst another blue fire strike at it. Dusk punched it in the nose with a shockwave, and the drake burst forwards with a surge of its physically enhanced speed and strength.

I spun and teleported to the side, then called out at it with a taunting noise. It turned and roared, releasing a breath weapon.

Whoops!

Roh drained some of the mana from the breath weapon, and I teleported out of the way, then Dusk punched its flanks with her shockwave. I started building up magic, holding it in place to release when I was ready.

Holding spells with the Beast Mage’s Soul spell was interesting, as it felt almost like clenching a muscle, as well as the normal spiritual act of mana control, and adjusting to the new sensation had almost caused me to drop the spell then and there, but I managed to hold it.

Its tail lashed out, and then Roh released a wave of magic that sank into its mind, causing the whole thing to go askew, but I teleported to the center of the room, hoping to both draw it in and get a glimpse of the overall situation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kene’s new aura blazing, and Siobhan’s blue magic forging temporary wards around Araceli, Kene, Octavian, and herself. I really hoped whatever Octavain was planning, it would be worth it…

On the other side of the cavern, Liz and Travis fought together like a well oiled machine, force blades and shadow whips, with occasional ice binding spells, force shields, and other spells. Liz’s legacy really was absurd. She was barely broken through, since she hadn’t rushed through third gate like Travis had, but she was outpacing him, since every lunar spell was effectively a two-for-one supermarket bargain.

That was all the time I had to survey the situation though, as the Drake was charging me. I teleported backwards in several quick hops, then when it got to the center of the room, I released the spells I’d been holding, while Dusk did the same.

Two huge hands made of earth rose up and locked down the drake as I unleashed a three-layer overcharged Fungal Lock, pinning it in place. Roh attacked its mind again, stunning it, and I teleported out of the line of fire.

The entire center of the cavern was suddenly filled with a beam of dragonfyre, so bright it was almost blinding. It smashed into the drake, ripping through our petty binding spells like it was nothing.

The drake glowed brighter and brighter gray, then it used a claw to rip the ribbon holding the key off its neck, and vanished with a pop of magic.

I looked over at Octavian.

“What was that?!”