“Massteeer! Master! Master! Master!”
My back was now several feet into the cold damp ground from the force of Silvia’s unexpected impact, and she was pressing me deeper through the force of her rubbing her cheek into my chest. Her incessant sobbing and the pressure on my ribs made it difficult to get a word in edgewise, but eventually I managed to squeeze out. “Hey! I’m okay! I’m here! You’re okay! You’re alright. You’re alright… .”
Her blubbering died down with an innocent little sniffle, and she looked at me with her glistening gold eyes. “Master Boss? Where did you go? Why couldn’t Silvia sense you anymore?”
I patted her now disheveled hair, and did my best to return it to order. “Oh, ya’know, I just popped into my domain for a little bit. Had a talk with a skeleton, learned time essence magic, and came back. Nothing special.”
She blinked like a fascinated child. “Ooooooh! Master Boss is so great! Now Silvia feels silly for worrying… Silvia… Silvia did a bad thing didn’t she?”
She hid her face in my shirt, and started trembling all over like some kinda frightened rodent, so I lightly flicked the top of her head, and soothed. “I’d be worried if you suddenly disappeared without warning too, so it’s no big deal, okay? I’m not mad, you didn’t do anything bad, so don’t be frightened or sad. Just go back to the castle and keep an eye on Soaria for me while I go and get my staff back.”
Silvia hopped up off of me in a heartbeat, then froze and cocked her head. “Staff? What staff? Master Boss has a staff?”
I got up, dusted myself off, and grinned. “Yeah. I dropped it in the lake before you swooped in to save me, so you haven’t seen it yet.”
She abruptly ripped a branch off a tree and offered it to me. “Master Boss! Master boss! Use this! Use this!”
I took the utterly oversized and totally leafy branch of the poor tree now oozing sap, since she somehow tore off a good bit of the trunk too, and shook my head. “Silvia, that staff was made from a special tree, and was a gift given freely from a friend. I appreciate the sentiment, but this just wouldn’t be the same.”
Now, what do I do with this? I’d probably be able to reattach this with Witness’ power, but I don’t have Witness, or even any mind over nature magic spells, sooo… Oh! Duh! Time to try out, well, time!
“Awwww. Silvia is sorry Master Boss.” She bowed her head and then hugged the tree. “And Silvia is sorry tree!”
I patted her head, then held the branch in place and used my new spell Localized reversal to wind back time around the chunk of trunk.
It was interesting to watch as a bubble ringed in pure black wrapped around the area distorting the space inside. The whole of it twisted around and around stretching and swirling inward like it was being flushed down a toilet, then it suddenly snapped back into focus, the bubble vanished, and the tree was whole once more.
Well. That was… abrupt, if not slightly discomforting at the same time. I think I’ll stick to other methods of restoration whenever possible from here on out.
Silvia gasped. “Wooooow! Master Boss fixed the tree! Master Boss fixed the tree! Silvia is saved! Now the tree isn’t hurt anymore!”
She jumped around clapping and giggling for a few moments while I inspected my work, just to ensure everything was, in fact, fixed, but Uriel informed me that time was rewound successfully, so I let the topic drop. “On that note. Silvia? Don’t you have somewhere to be right now?”
She paused mid jump, forgot to re-extend her legs, and crashed to the ground. “Oops! Silvia got distracted! Silvia is sorry Master Boss!” She beat her massive wings, and once more vanished into the night as quickly and silently as she’d come.
Now then, to deal with Benedict. I shut my eyes and remembered Kalsynthholme burning. Quietly this time. No more tragedy. No more arrogance. Not tonight.
I took out my handy dandy magic coin, and used the scrying trait to take a peek at where Benedict should be.
And I immediately had to swallow the bile that tried to force its way out of me at the sight.
I’ve… I’ve already failed that simple objective… But what…? What has he done?
Eyes wide I stared, slack jawed, at a mess of black sludge strewn all about a small cabin at the far edge of the forest. Benedict was front and center, holding a dark and blighted version of my walking stick, swinging it wildly about as the last of his minions and associates were struck by it, or the ominous energy emanating off it, which caused them to start melting into more goo–and quite rapidly too.
The grass and trees around him were withered, dry, and dead, and the longer he remained there the further the field of decay spread. I watched as small insects and rodents who were living in the area suddenly melted like the afflicted people just from being near him. And the fact that he stood there cackling the whole time was probably the worst part.
A chill ran down my spine. “I waited too long.” I let my shoulders drop under my growing mental burden. “And now I have to go clean this up.”
I shut off the coin, used feral form to shift into a sparrow, and flitted off in the direction of the blighted base.
I had hoped reason would reach him after my rebuke. That he’d realize that acting the way he did and following the twisted teachings of the Ascendants was wrong, but he didn’t. I felt a chill spread through me from deep within my core. He’s doubled down on madness and chosen an insane grab for power over simply admitting to himself that he could do things differently. Better. The cold grew until my tiny fly body was trembling just as much as my buzzing wings. I knew he wouldn’t come to me, but he had others around him that had to be ready to doubt and try a different path after our encounter, but now they’re all dead. Reduced to inhuman, faceless, slag. Nothing more than a disgusting puddle where beautiful, ever growing, people used to be. The cold froze my veins, and I finally recognized what it was. Sad, callus, resignation. And he’s laughing. Laughing like there’s nothing more entertaining in the world.
It took a disgracefully long time for me to reach the air above where Benedict howled in unhinged ecstasy, I knew seeing it in person would be a different kind of unsettling, but the nearer I got the more disturbed I became, as if there was something foul in the air–and there likely was. Blight. And more of it than even Goldorath was made of… Just being here is… slowly making me tired.
The area below wasn't a clearing like where Soaria was based, but with the trees reduced to tall leafless twigs, it was actually easier to see and maneuver. I got a good look at the simple cabin where they stayed, but my senses reported it empty and the concealing enchantments broken, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.
What worried me was Witness. It pulsed with sinister light, and that seemed to cause the desolation around Benedict to slowly spread.
And before I could assess anything further Benedict raised his head and hollered. “Anon! Finally! You’re here! Show yourself! Face me and submit! Accept your fate at my feet! Do what you should have from the start!”
I recoiled, and wiggled my tiny legs. Hol’ up! He knows I’m here? I felt Uriel start up but I stopped it. No. No. I know it’s probably Witness reacting since it’s mine. But what’s really important is if he can pinpoint my location, and how much danger that blighted power poses to me.
Uriel kicked back into gear, but the system answered first.
Uriel buzzed a second later.
Addition: He will locate you within 73 more seconds.
Wonderful! So I’ve got less than a minute to think up a plan and execute it before I’m put at a huge disadvantage. You’d think with all my mana I’d be set to just blast my way through so why isn’t that an option?
Uriel buzzed again.
Answer: It is an option, however engaging in a protracted battle raises chances of being hit, and thus exposes yourself to needless risk.
Okay, how about turning back time? I can do that now, right? I can just go back and fix everything before it gets out of hand.
Instead of Uriel, the system commented.
I rolled my multifaceted eyes, and crossed my little legs like arms. Okay fine! I get it already! Uriel, how much time do I have left?
A little window appeared.
17 seconds
Oh crap.
16… 15… 14…
I’ve gotta do something!
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13… 12… 11…
I raced downwards from right over top of him, ever wary of the now obviously shifting masses of black sludge, and the business end of my staff. Just getting close to that weird light Witness released caused my exoskeleton to crawl and then burn, but I ignored it, and plunged deeper.
Okay, it was really, really stupid of me to send Silvia away, but at the same time getting her corrupted or reduced to goo isn’t exactly something I want either. Which means I have no choice but to be the idiot that charges in. Why, you ask? Because the closer I am, the less time and space he has to dodge this. Now, Immolate!
I erupted into flames right above his stupid head, creating an intense nova of scarlet that swallowed him up and everything around me–Witness too. The dead trees and grasses rustled before crumbling to dust from the heatwave that followed, and Benedict roared in agony.
I’d use a stronger spell, like Genesis Flare, but I’m afraid he’d notice the mana gathering and counter or dodge, and I don’t have Witness to act as the handle either, so it wasn’t even an option!
The pit of my stomach dropped, and I recognized it was my instinct warning me of impending danger, just as it had during my fight with Goldorath, and I used shifted steps to beat a hasty retreat back into the night sky while quenching my fire.
My expanded senses reported that Benedict was badly burnt, but not seriously enough to be life threatening. In fact, he looked to be recovering quite quickly, and that was thanks to the black goo, which was gradually flowing into him from his feet and replacing the parts of him I’d incinerated.
I hadn’t noticed the puddle as it sat in the shape of his shadow, but with my first strike now spent, I quickly erected a scintillating barrier to defend my tiny body, and just in time too as apparently Benedict didn’t need to chant to command the sludge to strike.
And it proved dreadfully effective too. Shattering my magic shield in only a few strikes. If it weren’t for my instinctual perception of danger I would’ve been smothered.
Cripes! How is he more dangerous than Gretkarn? His mana pool hasn’t grown!
Flustered, I shifted away from the eerily silent streams of shadow sludge again and retaliated with spark shower.
My favored manaless lightning crashed down from on high, but in the instant it reached him the bolt diverted to Witness, and discharged harmlessly into the ground.
Tch. Of course that didn’t work. Guess he’s learned from last time.
Benedict threw back his head, covered his eyes, and laughed. “Pointless! Your resistance is pointless! Just as mine was before! I’ve turned your own power against you! Claimed it as my own! So tell me! How does it feel to be made powerless? To be at another’s mercy?”
I grimaced as best as my fly face could manage, and diligently dove and warped to evade the constant lashing tendrils of gossamer grime. My stamina burned away the longer this was drug out, but they harried me incessantly, heedless of our surroundings, tearing up everything they touched and decaying even the cabin Benedict used as a base. System! Uriel! I don’t care who, but is that what’s happening here? Is that true?
The system reported first.
Then what’s happening here? And is Witness resisting?
Uriel buzzed,
Answer: In your current state you are vulnerable to blight. Blight levels have risen due to the heinous deaths of his subordinates, making this area disadvantageous to you. Aditionally he is using Witness' mana reserves to empower a massive spell array that twists probability in his favor.
Recommendation: Use the traits of the Seal of Solemn Man and the smite ability to counter the blighted biomass, manifest your domain to clear the blight in the air, and cast order, chaos, and time magic to overcome and reverse his probability control.
Further recommendation: Stay calm in battle. Even if your objectives have been lost from the start, even if it's been a long and confusing day, you gain nothing by panicking. You were never short on time thanks to the magic you just learned. You might not be able to travel back or forward, but slowing and stopping it are still options.
then buzzed again.
Analysis: Witness' body is corrupted, however deeper inspection is needed to confirm if it has reached the core and thus the ego of the item.
I was so flabbergasted by the detail of the message that I almost crashed straight into a wave of black grime. I swooped so low and to the side to duck it and the pursuing tendrils that my tiny legs brushed the dead soil and ashy remains of the grass kicking up a tiny cloud behind me. Well shoot! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?
Uriel buzzed almost sarcastically.
Answer: You didn't look, didn't think, and were focused elsewhere. These abilities can process and provide information but only if and when you seek it.
Okay, fine, you got me. I soared up and back until I was around ten feet in front of Benedict, dropped my shapeshift, and landed on the dry and dead ground. It’s time to turn the tables.
He leveled Witness at me like some sorta spear, grinned manically as the light it emitted made me wince, and snickered. “Finally given up have w–”
I didn’t wait for him to finish, since about a dozen tendrils were rushing me from all sides, and snapped my fingers. Stall time.
Nothing happened.
Or rather, everything went dark and got really, really, cold.
Crap! Did I fail!? Did that foul fluid cover me?
I flicked my eyes around, but couldn’t see even with my expanded senses, though I wasn’t in any pain and I could still move so…
Did it work?
The system announced.
A moment later, the darkness lifted and I could see everything exactly as I’d left it. Benedict mid sentence, the tendrils on the attack, the ever growing area of desolation at least temporarily halted, and a border of black a few feet past the several hundred foot wide ring of ruin where I presumed time still flowed normally.
“Neat.”
I spoke, but there wasn’t any sound. I moved, but the dust didn’t cling to my feet or kick up in the air–which was unusually thick now that I thought of it, and I could feel my Divine Unearther ability activate every time I moved. “So I guess I’m technically digging through air right now?” After expelling what was left in my lungs, I noticed I couldn't even breathe, but thankfully I never needed to in the first place–though it was nice to have a moment to rest. “Well, I should get to work. Mana’s a wasting.”
Uriel examined the hidden array while I set up the Seal of Solemn Man’s blight protection trait. A glimmering gold membrane covered me, and I then used the demon detection trait for good measure, and surprisingly got a hit from something in Benedict’s pocket.
Conclusion: The array is large and hard to read as it is covered in blight, however, it appears to be made from the combination of the order essence magic Controlling Command, and the chaos essence magic Warping Will.
“Hold on, I saw him start to use those exact spells at the temple. That means I can emulate them!” I facepalmed. “Which… is why you recommended it since I have more mana and can overpower his magic, freeing me from its influence…” I hung my head. “And now I feel all the dumber for rushing in. Although… If the spell array affects probability, and pushes things in his favor… Did I make poorer choices because of it?” I shuddered and cast off that line of reasoning. “Let’s worry about that later.”
Controlling Command, Warping Will.
I clapped my hands, released time, and in a burst of brilliant purple light born of the opposing powers, broke his array.
Okay, so it took a second and a whole lot of sudden air pressure but his engraved spell couldn’t keep up with my continual stream of mana and caved, causing the whole formation to flare bright then spark out.
The tendrils came right after, but my ring’s warding deflected them. The blight protection was worn down with each strike, and my new defense quickly cracked under the heavy assault, but a steady stream of mana rectified any damage as it came.
Aaand now I understand why people keep thinking I’m some sorta deity. Fighting me must be really unfa– One look at Benedict’s looney, unhinged, smile stopped that thought dead. I broke him, didn’t I? He was absolutely a tightly wound, messed up, piece of work before. But I’m what pushed him over the edge in the end.
I shut my eyes, turned off my expanded senses, and in remorse I unleashed my Smite ability. Warmth left me, and I heard the sizzling pop of the blighted bile being burned away right after.
The impacts of the tendrils slowed to a stop, I heard something heavy drop, and I opened my eyes to see Benedict curled up on the ground silently screaming as the damage the biomass had repaired was undone.
His skin sizzled, reddened, and peeled away. His hair glowed, curled, and withered into dust. His glasses turned red hot, the lenses popped, and the frames slowly drooped onto his face. His body mass shrunk as his inner layers were exposed, and Witness, still unharmed, lay at his side.
The ominous light it emitted faded, and the spreading field of decay was now actually undone, not simply paused. The air was still foul though, and sapping my pretty diminished stamina, so I half-heartedly called up the dreadful domain I’d escaped maybe half an hour ago.
I didn’t want to enter it again, only manifest part of it, so another wave of warmth passed from me, assimilating the area and changing it to more resemble the Edge of Eternity. Which, coincidentally, only really caused the throne and anomaly to pop up on the ledge that broke open behind me.
I grimaced, both at what I’d done to him, and at the smell rising from him. I… I regret burning him now. Then I concentrated my ring’s blight protection on my hand, and picked up my gnarled and blackened walking stick. Uriel. You’re gonna have to explain how this blight stuff works. Why am I weak to it, and yet effective against it?
Uriel buzzed once more.
Answer: Think of yourself as pure water. If someone dips ink into it it is quickly dyed, but if pure water is poured on ink, the ink is washed away.
So the ring is using mana like what? A layer of oil? To create a film to isolate the water from the ink?
Another buzz came.
Correct.
And other people? I don’t get the feeling that they’re vulnerable like me, so what’s the deal there? Is everybody tainted?
This time the system answered.
I pinched my nose, and tried to wrap my head around all this. “Okay. Sure. Got a clear answer for once, and now I’m even more concerned. “But there’s plenty still left to do right now.” I crouched, and prodded the somehow still breathing Benedict with Witness. “Now what do I do with you? Obviously, I need to deal with the demon in your pocket, but since it hasn’t come out I doubt it can, so it can wait. You however, have a lot to answer for, but how much? Do I peek into his head or the past and find out? Do I leave him to the Count? Do I put him out of his misery? Or do I just leave him? I know there’s no right answer, but I have to do something.”
I sighed and tried to ignore the anomaly I knew was watching with great interest. Here I am, once again judging someone in this place as if I have any right to… But I can’t ignore the evil in front of me either, or allow it to continue spreading, so maybe I need to start going for the roots.