Ezekiel could feel himself becoming more and more whole once again. A web of mana extended from his consciousness, connecting his broken Spiritual Pathways.
Many of these paths were larger than others and granted him access to the mana that he naturally generated. But his primary core was still cut off from his active control. The dregs of mana that naturally formed within the auxiliary pathways were all he had access to.
Due to his efforts, and other events that had occurred, Ezekiel knew that comprehending further Understanding of his element would accelerate the process, but such things were not common, and while he knew that his knowledge from Earth would help, there simply wasn’t enough time to waste on figuring out a new Spell.
He had thought about trying to Understand the concepts behind the spells that he had innately learned from Shine’s Tier up but knew that that wasn’t going to be enough. Many of the spells didn’t use the physics that he barely knew from his past life’s education. So, he would need to begin comprehending the more esoteric aspects of his element.
‘Click.’
Another path, the largest one yet, snapped into place. By now, Ezekiel had connected enough of his pathways to be able to use Adept level spells once more. Thus, he began strengthening the connection to the parts of his pathways that were directly where his bond with Shine resided.
Checking the amount of mana that he had available, he realized that he had just enough to make an attempt at connecting to his bond once more. He had been putting this off for quite some time now. Unwilling to force the connection back into place without enough support to ensure that nothing went wrong.
He had realized after his first attempt, weeks ago, that even though he knew where his bond was located in his soul, forcing the connection without a strong enough foundation to hold it risked the pressure from Shine causing the threads he was using to pull himself together to snap once more.
Given he had access to just over a Step one Adepts mana, Ezekiel now felt that he was secure enough to try.
Locating the direction of the paths he would need to connect; Ezekiel formed a tunnel of mana once more. Reaching across the distance between the paths he could control, and the paths that were out of his grasp.
Slowly, almost the entirety of the mana he had reclaimed was used up, but the bridge was formed successfully, and the path that held his bound was reclaimed.
“...Ezekiel?” A familiar voice echoed through Ezekiel’s mind once more. Had he been conscious, tears would’ve fallen down his face as the joy he felt from once more feeling the bond between himself and his Spirit overflowed within him.
“I’m here, Shine. It’s good to be back.” Ezekiel felt a rush of emotion that nearly broke the bridge he had just formed between the path with his bond and the paths with his consciousness.
The connection was still fresh, and while it was certainly strong, it had not had time to settle. But that didn’t matter at this point, because Shine realized what had happened, and took steps of their own to ensure that nothing went wrong.
Additional mana flooded into Ezekiel. Not too quickly, but it was more than just a trickle. The mana seeped into the pathways that he had access to. Shine’s will sent the mana into the cracks and seams that Ezekiel was unable to fill in at the moment.
Days of meditation and focus were completed in minutes, as Shine was able to spare far more mana than Ezekiel to reinforce the somewhat tenuous connections.
The mana within Ezekiel flowed much more smoothly thanks to this. But there was still work to be done. Ezekiel had barely a tenth of his mana available to him, even after months of work. It would potentially take years if things progressed as they had before.
With his bond to Shine now accessible once more, the speed would hopefully increase. But as Ezekiel’s soul grew through battles, experience, and the passage of time, the amount of paths he would need to connect would simply grow.
“I think that, when we both recover the mana that we have access to, it will be time for you to break through. Have you Understood what I have by now?” Ezekiel had been waiting patiently for his recovery to reach this point, but he dearly wished to help Shine reach the Legendary Tier.
Prior to their journey into the Fjorya, the odds of Shine breaking through were not the highest. There was a likelihood that they would be able to break through that was more positive than negative. But without Ezekiel’s mana to push them over the limit, it would take a very long time to do so. Especially if they kept on expending their mana like they were.
Now that Ezekiel had access to a full Step of Adept mana, that was no longer a problem.
“I have.” Shine then went on to explain the concepts and ideas of the three Understandings that Ezekiel had comprehended. The ‘FORCE’, the ‘COMPRESSION’, the ‘NOTHINGNESS’.
As Shine explained these Understandings, Ezekiel felt a resonation within his soul. Like a confirmation that Shine was ready. That Shine stood on the same level as Ezekiel.
From there, it was just a matter of waiting for Ezekiel to recuperate his mana. A task that went by swiftly, as his mana regenerated at the rate of a first Step Tier four, but he only had access to a first Step Adept. It only took a little over ten minutes for the mana he had used to regenerate.
From there, it was a simple matter of slowly sharing his accessible mana with Shine. They quickly filled their mana to the brim, and in an instant, the three Understandings that Shine shared with Ezekiel took control of the mana as it breached the one hundred thousand mote threshold.
There was a flash of opalescent light that flooded Ezekiel’s soul. A song of exaltation filled the bond between Shine and Ezekiel. Mana flooded through Ezekiel’s pathways. Strong enough to break the newly formed bonds, had Shine not reinforced them earlier.
In an instant, Ezekiel felt the newly elevated Legendary mana fill his soul and extend beyond. New pathways were reconnected to the greater whole. The Void was found and filled within moments.
A burning sensation accompanied this act, but swiftly dulled to a gentle warmth as the strain faded away. When awareness returned to him, Ezekiel was shocked to find that he had gained another chunk of his mana back. Nearly to the second Step of the Adept tier.
Taking advantage of the mana that still remained, he quickly formed bridges with as many paths as he safely felt he could. Solidly placing himself into the Step two Adept Tier in full.
The connections were still delicate, but they wouldn’t fall apart unless they were unduly stressed. But that would be resolved within a couple of days.
For now, he allowed his consciousness to touch upon his bonded Spirit. The two of them reveled in each other’s presence, and the power of the Legendary Tier.
The tables had turned once more. Now, they felt confident that their mission would be completed soon.
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By the time Ezekiel opened his eyes to awaken from his meditation nearly two days had passed. He had originally only intended to remain until the next morning, but it had already reached nightfall well after the second day since their unexpected ambush.
He noticed Riley was eating some of her rations off to the side. It seemed like she had made some gains as she sat with Celia. The two appeared to be more in sync than before, but it was clear that Celia was still a bit short of a fourth-Tier soul.
But Ezekiel couldn’t help but notice that Riley was smiling as she stared at the small fire she had lit in the cave. A fire that wasn’t letting off any smoke, Ezekiel realized.
“That’s an interesting trick.” Ezekiel stood up and stretched as he loosened up his body. “How are you doing that?”
Riley turned to him, a big smile on her face as she began explaining the details behind her new Understanding. It was obvious that she wasn’t certain of the particulars just yet. Her Understanding was still weak and hadn’t solidified into something that would help her progress.
But it seemed like she had figured something out while Ezekiel had been meditating. Something that he was utterly incapable of understanding for himself.
Apparently, this was visible on his face, as Riley seemed sad for a moment before trailing off into silence. But Ezekiel knew he couldn’t let that slide.
“That’s, honestly, quite amazing... “If you keep this up, then you might surpass me by the time we return to the haven.” Ezekiel grinned at the thought. “Don’t think that you’re wrong, just because I don’t get what you’re saying. Flames are your domain, not mine. I will not be able to comprehend them like you do. No more than you comprehend the Void like I do. At least, not now, anyway.”
Riley looked happy, but also confused for a second, but Ezekiel didn’t elaborate.
He had no desire to create expectations or doubts, just because he had his own suspicions regarding the higher Tiers.
Void mana could be formed from all the elements, after all. So, wouldn’t that mean that, at the higher Tiers, the elements could mix and match?
Of course, Ezekiel had nothing to confirm these thoughts. Just suspicions that had passed through his mind over the years. Too much focus on such things would detract from his progress with the Void. So, it was best to leave things be until later.
As a Legendary being, he had over a hundred years to study such things.
“I know this is a rude question, but are you rested?” Ezekiel suddenly voiced his concern. “If you are, then it’s time we move out. We can’t trust the map anymore. Not until we confirm some things. The forces we’ll be facing will be far greater as well. Hiding may not be an option. So, I need to know if you’re ready to get started. We’ve got too much work to do to keep waiting around.”
“I can head out whenever you want.” Riley doused the fire that was in front of her. Her things had mostly been packed, and she just had a bedroll and her weapons that needed to be packed.
She was already dressed in her combat gear, with her cloak hanging on a melted stone hook on the wall. It took her and Ezekiel just a few minutes before they headed out. But she bit her lip in concern as they exited the cave.
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“How are we going to attack? If we’re expected and outnumbered, doesn’t that mean that things will be turned into an open fight no matter what?”
Ezekiel paused for a second before turning back to give an answer. Pulling out the map as he did so, and focusing on one or two of the bases that were marked.
“So long as these maps are still accurate, then I have a few ideas that will make things easier for us.” Ezekiel pointed at one camp in particular. It was situated next to a large ravine. Similar to where they had first met Akland. “C’mon. I’ll explain my plan as we move.”
Bending down, Ezekiel readied himself as Riley climbed onto his back. Grasping him tightly, Riley gave her affirmation that she was ready to go.
Shooting off like a bullet, Ezekiel ran through the forest at a speed that was almost too fast for an Adept to catch. Much faster than before, and much more smoothly as well.
As Ezekiel ran, Shine protected him and Riley from the wind, allowing Ezekiel to explain his plan.
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Watching from a ridge several kilometers away, Ezekiel and Riley saw a group of Cultist Hunters making their way toward the edge of a high cliff overlooking the ravine. Amongst them were two Glacial, one of which was Legendary, one Radiant, a Tempest, a Life, and a Flame.
Seconds ago, Ezekiel and Riley had taunted the group into following them. This was a risk, since there was the chance that they would call reinforcements, but Shine, being a proper Legendary, now had the mana needed to make a much larger jump.
Thus, they had successfully led the patrol group into the area near the ravine, which was not too far from their base. But, unknown to them, was the fact that Ezekiel and Shine had come here previously, alongside Riley, and laid a trap that they had concealed from all but a Cavern user.
“Three... two... one!” Ezekiel verbally counted down, and the mana that had been used to construct a series of Void Panes faded away. Each of them was used to contain a massive plume of blue fire that Riley had created for them.
Since becoming Legendary, Shine had realized that their range for maintaining Spells was much larger. But it was still more efficient to provide enough mana to their constructs to essentially make a timer. One that, in this instance, had gone off just as the group of Cultists had stepped over the area they had dug out for their use.
An earth shaking ‘kaboom’ shook the world as the side of the ravine was blown open and upward. The five lower Tier Cultists died in the explosion, since the fire was greatly enhanced by additional Void mana that Ezekiel had left behind.
This mixed with the Flames that Riley had created, and a cataclysmic eruption was the result.
The Legendary Glacial Hunter was somewhat successful in defending herself. She flew into the air, in an attempt to avoid the explosion, but it was too sudden and too swift. The watery shield she hastily threw up to block it turned to steam in an instant, and the vaporized water blasted her in the face.
The shock was so great that she lost her concentration. Falling into the ravine, where the water snapped her into awareness once more. But that damage wasn’t finished just yet. Two more, much smaller explosions occurred, causing the cliffs on both sides of the ravine to come tumbling down.
Thousands of tons of stone fell on top of the Legendary Hunter. The sheer weight being too much for her to redirect or otherwise handle. She was instantly trapped beneath the rock, the water of the river just barely softening the blow. But, while she could breathe underwater due to her element, the weight of the rocks was too much for her to move with the little mana she still had left.
Things weren’t over, however, as a cloaked figure leapt into the air above the mountainous pile of rock that blocked the ravine.
After the first explosion had occurred, Ezekiel had made a mad dash towards the falling Glacial Hunter. Jumping high as he reached the edge of the cliff above the water.
Flipping in the air, Ezekiel felt gravity push down on him harder than before. He fell to the ground like a meteor, landing on the pile of rock with the force of a titan. Using Void Force and Void Compression, he directed the weight of his landing through the stones, and directly into the Glacial Hunter below.
Just like a newton’s cradle, the rocks between Ezekiel and the Cultist didn’t move. But since the Glacial Mage was stuck between the rocks and the ground, the force that was directed directly into her smashed her into the ground with nowhere to go.
Her armor shattered from the force that was applied. Mana was expended as she failed to deflect the weight above her. The rock lowered again. By just a little bit. While water covered the collapsed stone as the ravine continued to flow.
Sensing another group coming their way, Shine ‘Jumped’ them away to Riley’s position. Where Ezekiel picked her up and began running once more.
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Later that night, Ezekiel and Riley sat around another fire. Once more hidden in a cut-out cave. This time beneath a large tree. The smoke was not a problem, as Riley could eliminate it without issue.
“I didn’t think that battle could be fought like this. Combining elements and creating delayed reactions is something that hasn’t been used like this before.” Riley softly spoke as she mentally reviewed the events that had occurred previously.
“I think that’s because no one really cared about fighting behind the scenes like this. Most battles have always been direct, and either large scale or in small groups.” Ezekiel took a bite out of a piece of jerky. “Obviously, either one of those options would be bad for us. So, it’s best if we avoid such scenarios.”
Using mana of different types to get reactions had not been a new idea. Many Artifacts and Relics had such features. As did countless formations and enchantments. But laying traps like this was something entirely different. At least as far as Riley was concerned.
Ezekiel disagreed, however, since he had heard of one or two instances where a Cavern Mage had reinforced a stone structure they had created, but the moment the flow of mana was cut off the reinforcement disappeared, and the structure collapsed. So, it wasn’t like absolutely everything he was doing was new. Just the way he was applying it.
“Besides, this is only possible because Shine reached Legendary. If they hadn’t, then the qualitative and quantitative changes that were necessary wouldn’t have been there.” Ezekiel affectionately patted his partner. “All I did was give the idea and hit something. Shine was the one that did the really hard work.”
This was not an exaggeration. Shine had been nearly wiped out of mana by the time Ezekiel had picked up Riley to run away. At which point, if the timing had been even slightly off, it would’ve been much harder to flee.
“Well, at least we know what to do now. I didn’t think that it’d be possible to kill a Legendary so easily, though.” Riley was still in wonder at how easily a true Legendary Hunter had died. Sure, she hadn’t been much more powerful than them, only being a Step two Hunter, but she was still the most powerful person Riley had ever fought before. Even if it wasn’t really a fight.
“Unfortunately, that’s not true.” Ezekiel muttered, much to Riley’s shock. “More likely than not, the Cult has figured out that we buried a trap, and targeted a team that didn’t have a Cavern Mage. This type of trap only works if you don’t know it’s coming. They’ll probably make sure that all their teams have Cavern Mages in them moving forward.”
Riley bowed her head in understanding and frustration. This was turning into a more and more complicated mess, and it seemed like whenever they got an advantage, it was taken away from them.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ve still got some ideas that should work. We’ll just have to narrow our focus and keep our targets more... manageable.” Ezekiel continued to smile at the thoughts and ideas that flowed through his mind.
Now that he had a much greater range, thanks to Shine’s ascension to Tier four, there were many ideas that he couldn’t go through with that were no longer an issue.
Mixed with the explosive firepower coming from Riley, Ezekiel was certain that the damage they could do to the Cult would be epic beyond all measures.
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The days passed quickly for Ezekiel and Riley. There were several instances where they had a few close calls with the Legendaries of the Cult. But Ezekiel made sure to have Shine restrain enough of their mana to ‘Jump’ in order to escape.
Their days were filled with trap setting, and explosives, as Ezekiel and Shine used their Void Panes to create pseudo guns and cannons that were used to launch projectiles over vast distances.
The force behind the bullets that Ezekiel and Riley created through rudimentary smelting were more than enough to shatter the defenses of the Adept level enchanted armors. So long as the head was not directly protected.
It was slow going at first, since Ezekiel had taken a day to get Riley used to controlling the explosive force of her fire. Fortunately, high heat from the blue fire wasn’t needed. So, a much more easily controlled fire was used instead. Though, creating the explosive force was a new difficulty that Riley had to figure out.
But when mixed with Ezekiel’s ‘Compression’ Understanding, it made things a little bit easier.
The fact that they could use magic to overcome most of their deficiencies with their new attack method was something that Ezekiel was thankful for. If it wasn’t for the enhanced abilities that magic granted them, there was no way that he and Riley would’ve been able to make this work in just a day.
The sheer range that they had was something that only mid to high Step Legendaries were able to use. Though the force was only enough to truly damage an Adept.
“There’s another one. Cavern Hunter. Sitting to the left of the camp. Adjust a little bit. I think there’s a breeze coming from the Tempest Mage.” Ezekiel directed Shine to adjust the position of the Void panes that they had set up.
Behind them, Riley was channeling her fire into a sealed area. Void mana was being kept from mixing with it but was ready to do so at a moment’s notice.
On Riley’s shoulder, Celia, who hadn’t been able to do much so far, was breathing flames into Riley’s to add what little she could. It wasn’t much, but some of the burden on Riley was still relieved.
“Release!”
Shine dropped the pane that kept the Flames from the Void. The two elements mixed and exploded in an instant. The Void panes barely held on, but successfully compressed the fire into a force that launched a reinforced metal slug, created from smelting an enchanted dagger that Ezekiel had on hand, was shot forward with a loud ‘crack’ as the sound barrier was broken.
The bullet flew through the air, faster than some of the slower Legendary Hunters.
Within a couple of seconds, Ezekiel’s enhanced eyesight saw the head of the Hunter he was staring at explode in a flash of blood, bone, and other gory substances.
“It’s a hit. Let’s go.” Ezekiel turned to pick Riley up and began running away from their previous position.
They had realized on their second day that the Cultists had figured out how to track the position Ezekiel and Riley had fired from by looking at the blood splatters.
If it hadn’t been for a quick ‘Jump’ by Shine, they would’ve been forced to fight a proper Legendary head on. Something that neither of the two had wanted to try at this point.
A sudden flash of Lightning from behind them made Shine put up a Shroud that covered them completely. The group had been fortunate so far, in that they hadn’t run into any Legendary Cavern Hunters. But they knew that it wouldn’t be long before that eventually happened.
Especially since they have been targeting Cavern Mages at lower Tiers for a while now. They had the best sensory abilities when it came to discovering them. Even if Shine had thrown up a Shroud.
For now, however, it seemed like their daily quota had been met. They had fallen a bit behind, since there were some days that saw little to no deaths among the Cult. But they had almost gotten half of the month they were promised cleared up. Now, they just had a little bit more to go.
But Ezekiel couldn’t bring himself to smile at this point. Regardless of how well things had gone over the past week. The familiar feeling of a bad omen was begging to settle in his gut. Muted as it was. It was something that Shine could feel too.
It had gotten to the point that Ezekiel was officially considering changing the location of his hunting grounds.
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A stone table was shattered under the massive fists of an orangish brown clad Hunter. Their Spirit armor released a heavy pressure that made the Adepts around him fall to their knees. This was the Hunter that was currently in charge the search for Ezekiel and Riley. Not that he knew their identities.
“Another one! That’s another one of our Cavern Hunters dead without a fight!” The Hunter threw the remains of the desk to the side. Nearly clipping and killing one of the Adepts that was in that direction.
A wall had previously been blown out and was yet to be repaired. Similarly, the door was blasted off its hinges, and the flooring was cracked. The entire office was broken in some way, and the only undamaged thing was the Com-slate that had sent him the messages regarding their losses.
“Over half our original forces in this area have been wiped out in just two weeks. We’ve had to call in reinforcements multiple times to refill our numbers. A third of the territory we were claiming has been lost because those damned wild mongrel Spirits won’t submit to us properly.” The man’s rant shook the air as his hold on his mana weakened. “How can a single tiny group do this much damage, and still keep out of our sights!”
By this point, half of the Adepts had fainted, the pressure having been too much for their low Tier three power. The rest were quivering as the rage from their leader kept them from simply running away.
Not that it would do them any good, as they knew that they would die the moment they even tried.
A soft scratching sound brought the Legendary Hunter up short. Looking over the Com-Slate once more, a toothy grin slowly spread over his face as he continued to read.
A new plan had been sent his way by one of the other Legendaries that had been sent to clear this area up. One that the man felt for certain would finally get rid of the annoying pests that were ruining his glorious faith’s operations.
“Gather the faithful! We’ve got a new plan!” He called out to the Adepts that were still awake.
As the weaker Followers of Radiance tried to awaken their unconscious brethren, the Legendary Cavern Mage doffed his Spirit armor. A large badger now walked next to him.
There was work to be done, Spirits to capture, and targets to kill.
The doubts that things would not go his way didn’t even last a second, as the man’s confidence overruled any sense of caution that might’ve saved him in the coming days.