My mind was overloaded.
Arlo, a Tier Five, was concerned about surviving pairing with a Mantle of the Gods and I was the backup if it failed.
I had to blink a few times before the world didn’t seem so far away. I realized that I’d taken a few steps back.
“You think I could pair with that thing if he can’t?!” I realized that I was breathing fast so my voice came out high pitched. I closed my eyes and tried to slow down the panic, “Wouldn’t that mean that this thing Desolated? Wouldn’t I be dead?”
“Desolation isn’t instantaneous.” Trent had his hand on Aryne, “There will be a few seconds that we can try to extinguish it with Rix’s Godslayer, but I would have to channel Magic through her to raise the Tier of the attack. If that doesn’t work, then hopefully, it will be weak enough that you can pair with it.”
“Wait!” My mind was racing, “Don’t I need to know what to do if that happens?”
“I just said…” Irritation filled Trent’s voice, “I’m going to thaw him out. When I do, I’ll try to drain the rest of this artificial bonding fluid out of him. That should separate him from the Mantle. Arlo is going to be holding the Mantle and try to pair with it. The hope is that the Mantle is still looking for someone to pair with since it was forcibly paired and it will start to pair with Arlo’s Mantle.”
“What do I do if I have to pair with it?”
“Grab the Mantle and use your Siphon skill. That should be enough to connect with it, then charge as much of your Mana as you can into the Mantle. It should feel like you’re casting a spell. Once you charge it up enough, then it should pair with you and overlay your Mantle.” Trent had his eyes closed. “Please, I need to focus.”
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I backed up as the ice started thawing and Arlo walked behind Aryne and grabbed the unconscious man’s shoulders.
I moved over to where Rix was standing, “Do you think they can do it?”
“I hope so.” There was fear on her face.
I’d seen her sad, irritated, bored, angry, and even concerned, but I’d never seen Rix afraid. She usually attacked problems blade-first, but this was one she was scared of.
“It’ll be okay.” I put my arm around her, “It’ll work.”
“But what if I can’t do it?” The redhead looked at me, “What if he can’t do it and I’m not strong enough…” Rix looked in the direction of the docks, “They’ll…”
“Hey.” I squeezed her. “Tell you what. If Arlo can’t do it, I’ll be plan B.”
Rix shook her head, “No, you…” She looked at me, “You can’t do that unless it’s weakened first.” She put her hand on my shoulder, “You have to go after me.” She seemed a little more confident. “You have to do it if I can’t.”
“It’ll be okay.” I looked back at the men, “It’ll be okay.”
It didn’t look okay. Aryne had been completely thawed out. Trent was covered in the purple ooze and Arlo was on his knees. Wind started to pick up around them and the air was getting warmer. It almost felt like there was a sour taste in the air.
I didn’t know what was happening, but it did not look like it was going well.
“RIX!” Trent held out his hand, “IF WE HIT IT NOW, MAYBE HE CAN FINISH!”
If she did it, it would kill her. If she didn’t, then it would kill everyone else and her. There was no reason why she shouldn’t do it, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. It was enough that she was out of reach of Trent as I grabbed on to Aryne with my left hand.
“SIPHON!!!”