Tala’s aura was a manifold shield, wrapped around the opening cell door before them.

Her metals almost seemed to bleed through her skin, coating her all at once, even as she released her suppression of her through-spike.

She was already wearing her armor.

While she always left the iron that lined her inscriptions in the dimensions of magic, she had found being fully coated to be inconvenient when around other people.

Master Abali’s working progressed steadily, the twisted doorframe seeming to become more real, and the first inklings that something lay beyond came into focus, something more than the cavern within which they stood began to appear.

As soon as the beginnings of a true passage started to form and her influence spilled through, Tala launched iron spikes through the doorway, angled outward to embed all around, controlling them and moving them along with her well established aura.

She strode purposely forward, sending out waves of iron, her aura reinforcing and overlaying itself with every spike added.

She was leaning heavily on her training with Master Akra, almost hearing the man’s voice in the back of her mind, “Your aura, more than anything, is a magical representation of your authority and power. It cannot be shaken if you are not shaken. Where you hold sway, your aura reigns supreme.”

That wasn’t universally true, but it did help crystalize some important underlying truths. He had told her that, too.

Iron spikes cachunked into the stone, resonating softly in tones barely audible to her ears.

This was her role.

More spikes and the resonant tone grew.

She was the front-line for her unit.

Still more.

She was the jailer, and she’d come for an inspection.

The tunnel before, around, and behind was filled with the pure note of her precisely identical spikes, having chimed against the stone. Though, the sound was fading as she moved on.

She placed the last ring of iron around the tunnel exit just moments before she felt something slam into her aura, attempting to keep it from extending out beyond that threshold.

Tala was able to feel the nature of what pushed against her influence, magics trying to worm their way through her will to enact their purpose.

Obviously, she had expected this.

The prisoner couldn’t have too many concurrent effects in place due to the nature of his magics. They had been illustrated in great detail in the antechamber, and Master Abali had explained that this prisoner’s workings would disperse through the cell as a whole with time. Thus, he could only leave things in place that wouldn’t inconvenience him.

At least for the most part.

But when you can’t die or be damaged, there’s a lot more potentially on the table.

Sure enough, when Tala walked to the edge of the tunnel and placed the first arc of spikes to secure the area outside of the entrance, she sensed a change to the air, in how it brushed against her bloodstars as they orbited her, granting the mirrored perspectives.

Even so, she couldn’t tell what the change was. She might never know, and she was fine with that.

Tala mentally checked her defenses: She was fully encased in iron and white steel, her scale mail hauberk securely in place over even that.

As protected as I can be in that manner.

Even with the restrictions that she knew the prisoner would have been under with regard to what effects he could leave laying about, she was surprised to not really feel any other direct attack.

Her unit came to the entrance of the tunnel, stepping out just enough to give them all a good view, while Mistress Vanga remained sheltered behind them and within the tunnel.

Tala felt Master Limmestare finish creating the last glass-fiber mesh behind them.

They had agreed to place such a sensory net every two feet down the length of the tunnel, in case the prisoner was able to slip past them.

They would have some ability to resist passage, but their main goal was to alert them if someone made it to those points.

While within Tala’s aura, they shouldn’t be able to be disturbed without the unit noticing.

That confirmed, Tala turned her focus outward.

In this cell, the tunnel opened from the base of a cliff, and Tala’s perspective showed what looked like a solid roof extending from the top of the cliff.

-That means it’s a wall, Tala.-

Seems cliff-like to me.

-Fine; I won’t argue.-

While the cell did appear to be a cavern of sorts, it was large to the point of seeming more like a heavily shielded city district than a cavitation in the ground.

There was a momentary pause as they waited for something to happen. During that time, Tala was able to feel Master Abali’s building magics behind them, at the far end of the tunnel.

Good, the repairs are underway.

“Oh… you’re all human? That’s a pity.”

Tala’s head snapped to the side, her eyes trying to fix on the man who was suddenly standing barely twenty feet from her, mere feet outside her aura’s established boundary. Her eyes were covered, however, so she saw with her perspectives instead.

I really need to work on those reactions. But that was for later.

Her various perspectives saw the speaker as he started talking and not a moment before.

“And you are bodily blocking the way out within a heavily established aura… they were thorough in describing what I was capable of, weren’t they?”

He can negate the ability to perceive him. Seemingly limited until he takes an overt action such as attacking or speaking. Though, it is obviously just something with that effect, or he’d have to be enacting his working within our minds.

“This will be a rather boring time for all of us if you don’t speak. Not that that is unexpected.”

Mistress Cerna responded, then. “Sole, you are a prisoner here, and we are simply maintaining the cell.”

“I don’t suppose any of you have the ability to kill me?” There was a note of hope in the voice, only then allowing Tala to notice the despondency previously in stark evidence.

Mistress Cerna shook her head. “You know that you negated the possibility of your own death, Sole.”

“While that may be true, I am not—and have never been—perfect. A little like you actually. You know it’s a bit rude not to give your name.” There was a bit of fire in the statement, but it sputtered and died as Sole sighed. “But I suppose I’m undeserving of your name…”

The unit shared a look.

This was not like the handling of Khesed’s cell; they had no requirement for silence, and there could be much learned from the prisoner, if he was willing to talk and they could establish a rapport with him.

“I am Mistress Cerna.”

“Mistress Cerna? Good to meet you. I’d say that I’ve been lonely, but that was the first thing I removed from myself after the door slammed shut. Do you know what’s worse than wanting to die and not being able to?”

The shift in topic seemed to almost catch her off guard, but she rolled with the change fluidly nonetheless, “There are many things that are worse.”

He huffed a laugh. “Right. Human. The only thing worse than wanting to die and not being able to is having multiple reasons to want to die, and not being able to.”

“I’m not sure if I agree.”

“I don’t really care?” He glanced up at the ceiling. “Though, saying that is probably rude as well.”

Tala spoke up, then, manipulating an opening in her metal, through which she could speak, “Not as rude as trying to sneak your magic through my aura, tucked inside your voice.”

Sole paused with his mouth open, then grinned.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It was not a human expression.

“Oh… you noticed that? Pity.”

Tala was suddenly aware of Sole’s appearance, unsure of why she hadn’t really considered it before.

He had a green aura, that much was certain, but it was oddly…sparse?

Yeah, that’s the word.

It was as if his aura was somehow being propped up to Honored levels without really having the proper concentrations of power.

Anemic! That seemed to fit the bare edges of his aura that she could see even better than ‘sparse.’

Even so, she didn’t dare even consider that his odd aura would make this an easy task, and his odd aura couldn’t hold her attention for long.

He looked almost human. His ears were oddly shaped, but not outside of what some humans had, but his teeth… They were somehow sharpened in a way that both fit the man and was utterly anathema to what Tala had been expecting.

Still, she couldn’t really place what he was, or what his features reminded her of. The one thing that she was sure of when looking at him was that he wasn’t human.

Is that what that meant?

-He negated his own humanity. Maybe this is just a visible, physical manifestation of that?-

Sole was shaking his head as he spoke, “As humans, you won’t have even the potential for concept magics that could kill me. While a conversation might be diverting—though, I doubt it—I am forced to continue with plan B.”

Mistress Cerna responded to that, “What is plan B, exactly?”

He shrugged. “If I must continue existing, then I will end ‘existing’ as a concept. Then, I shall be free of this wretchedness.”

There was a few heartbeats of silence, followed by Tala's words, echoing through the cavern, “What now?”

He gave her a look like he was explaining an easy concept to an idiot, “I wish to die, but I didn’t realize that until after I removed the potential. I was… more foolhardy in my youth. Thus, the only way I get to cease to be is if there is no longer any place in which ‘to be.’ So, while I am not hopeful as to the positive nature of the answer, I will ask again: Can any of you kill me?”

Tala shrugged. “I can try.”

Sole raised his arms to the sides. “By all means. I would prefer a quick end to fighting my way to Sovereignty in order to find my rest.”

Tala turned Flow into a void-knife and threw it at him.

The knife flew true, but the butt of the knife is what thumped off of his chest.

He rubbed the place it had struck. “That was a bit uncomfortable but hardly lethal. Is that the best you can do?”

She blinked a few times in confusion. What?

-What? You threw that correctly.-

Yes, Alat. I’m aware.

Sole looked down at the hole that had appeared in his shirt where Flow’s pommel had struck him. “Void magic?... And do I detect a hint of reality as well? Why didn’t you use that part? That might have worked.”

Tala frowned. “You negated damage to yourself as well, correct?”

“I have. As I said, I was rather foolish in my youth…” he let out a self-deprecating laugh, “I suppose it’s a bit arrogant to assume I’ve grown beyond that.”

Is that why it landed so incredibly badly? Flow flicked back through the air into Tala’s hand.

“That’s a neat trick. A soul bound weapon then.”

Tala shrugged, coating the outside of void-knife-Flow with iron, then infusing that iron with void from Flow and her elk leathers both.

Sole tilted his head to one side, curious. The motion moved his head more than it really should have. “That might work, but do you know how to use it properly? I do hope so, because I can’t provide that education if you are lacking.”

Tala shrugged, and threw the knife again. She watched closer this time. Flow flew straight toward the man, but as it passed out of her aura, it was suddenly facing the other direction, tip pointed back at her.

Rust that. She pulled precisely on one of the orienting bloodstars, forcing the blade to flip around, again.

It hit him properly… and skittered off of his skin beneath his shirt, leaving a ragged tear in the fabric. There was a moment where Flow was about to make a claim on the barest fraction of the man’s iron, but Tala stopped the attempt. It would do nothing but expose that ability. Instead, Tala called Flow back to her hand.

Sole sighed, clearly disappointed. “You still couldn’t scratch me?” He considered. “Well, then I’ll have to—”

Master Clevnis picked up on where the conversation was going and his magic lashed out with a blade that could shave a diamond.

“No.” The word was almost lazy as Sole spoke it, but the air around him resonated with the weight of command.

As soon as the blade of power left Tala’s aura, it simply ceased to be.

“That wasn’t very kind. It wouldn’t hurt me, but it would positively destroy the plants behind me.” Sole shook his head. “Can’t you do better?”

The ground below his feet opened, but before he could fall, he spoke again.

“That didn’t happen.”

There was an odd disjointment.

He should have fallen, but clearly he hadn’t, and once he was done speaking, the ground was closed once more as if it had never opened.

Sole shook his head.

“People always believe they know what to expect, but no one truly understands me.” He walked forward, and Tala felt the entire outside edge of her aura flex inward, all at once.

She held firm, pulling on all of her increased magical weight to do so.

From moment one, she was losing ground. It wasn’t quickly, but it was fast enough that they were in real trouble.

She growled, desperately scrambling to find more leverage, more weight to throw behind her resistance. The line of demarcation was approaching her outer layer of spikes, and if it passed those, they would vanish into the void, leaving her weakened.

I need more weight!

A memory came to mind, from her time in Khesed’s cell. Her reality node was heavier in a sense than anyone else’s.

Would that work?

It was worth a try.

So, she leaned also on the weight that she’d perceived in her reality node.

It wasn’t quite the same as magical weight, and she didn’t think she could use it to back her workings directly, but in establishing her sovereignty over an area, her real weight seemed to matter as much or more than her magical.

-We have to have a better name for that, because your weight, and your real weight sound like the same thing.-

Yeah, but that’s a topic for another time.

“Oh, you’re a heavy one… no… You’re simply well braced?” Sole started laughing, stopping only to make a cutting motion across his body.

Tala was momentarily confused as to what had happened, but then she saw an oddly twisted spellform come into being at the edge of her aura, right as a lance of light fired from Mistress Cerna.

She held a woven ball of gold which blazed with power as it burned itself out to enact the working.

The light struck Sole’s negation and stopped, right at the compressed border of Tala’s aura.

It was an odd thing to witness, as the ripples of the light-based attack made it clear that it was ongoing.

Light flickered across the ground within Tala’s aura, but it was as if there was no source of light from the perspective of everything outside of her authority.

No dancing light, no shadows, nothing to indicate that a brilliant beam of power was only feet away.

He’s not just countering the magic, though that’s how it seems. He’s making it as if the thing never existed where he holds sway…

Tala was hyper focused on what was happening directly outside her aura. That was the only reason she saw the small ripples of something passing through the top of her area of influence.

What happened next felt like the most precisely her perception and thoughts had ever operated, the world around her seeming to slow almost to a stop.

Her voidsight manifested with a flicker, was mirrored to her other perspectives, and through it, she saw something falling toward her own head.

Worse, there were five other somethings falling in perfect unison, each aiming at the head of one of her unit-mates. Even Vanga had one falling at an angle to reach her within the mouth of the tunnel.

-Magically enacted negation of detection on some form of projectile?-

That’s my assumption. No longer magical, though, or it would have vanished at the edge of my aura. It would have at least had to contest me there. Any guess as to the nature of the projectiles?

-Magically inert, ballistic. I would bet my existence that he’s done a working to make them splinter upon impact or penetration for the greatest effective damage.-

Solutions?

-What you’re thinking would be effective.-

Alright.

Tala altered the gravity amplification on sets of three of her scales to target each projectile falling at her unit-mates, carefully staggering them just so.

For her own incoming projectile, she simply began to tilt her head backward while reshaping the white steel on the top of her head to make a deflection easier. Additionally, she allowed more of her iron to manifest to the extent of affecting her body, adding to her inertia and stability.

The slowed moment passed, and there was an instantaneous, synchronized crack-BOOM that resonated through the cell, followed by the rain-like sound of gravel falling to the ground.

Sole actually blinked in obvious surprise at the sound.

The weight that hit Tala in the head would have staggered her had she not been completely prepared for it.

Her unit mates looked around, clearly uncertain what had happened, their focus snapping to the spike of rock that seemed to suddenly appear, having bounced off of Tala’s head.

Sole’s surprise passed with the blink, and his eyes narrowed. “Voidsighted as well as some sort of projectile usage and enhanced durability? Who designed your power-set? A maniac who just decided to go with random things that sounded cool?”

Tala almost moved her metal to allow herself to speak yet again, but then she realized that she had a different means of communicating.

Every one of her unit-mates was hyper focused on her aura, watching for any weakness or fluctuation so they could shore it up or respond as appropriate.

She smiled internally, remembering how Mistress Odera had been able to read her thoughts in her aura before Tala got better at controlling it.

That in mind, she forced her aura to manifest readable thoughts directly before her unit, ‘He’s masking attacks with his ability. Plan eight.’

Plan eight had the unit withdraw into the tunnel while she stood in the entrance. It wasn’t a great position to be in, as it would be harder for the others to support her if he changed tactics, but if he could drop chunks of ceiling on them so stealthily, they weren’t in a good position to begin with.

The others were durable—and had their own methods for defense—but a one-ton stalactite to the head would be fairly lethal to most people, even Refined if they let it land.

And this guy is keeping anyone from noticing the incoming danger. Even their magics aren’t reacting.

Tala knew that Master Clevnis, as just one example, had automatic, defensive blades that should have activated to turn the rock targeting him into dust before it came within ten feet.

Tala had deflected and obliterated it less than a foot above the Refined’s head.

She forced her aura upward, embedding iron up the cliff behind them to give her more anchors from which to strengthen and stabilize.

She needed every foot of warning she could get.

Sole shook his head even as the others of Tala’s unit retreated just a bit.

His eyes locked onto Tala’s face, even though she wasn’t seeing through her eyes at the moment.

His voice had lost all levity, now carrying with it something akin to irritation. “You know what? I don’t think I like you.”