Water fell from the sky in a rainy deluge as the Spirits and cultists slowly stopped fighting. The cultists’ priorities had changed, while the Spirits were confused.
Silence spanned the entirety of the battlefield; most of the cultists had fled by this point, but the sense of danger felt by the Spirits simply grew stronger. To the point where the Spirits were all single mindedly focused on the monster that stood before them.
Next to it was a broadly smiling cultist. One of the Legendary leaders of the cult. A chain leash mode of Radiant light stretched from his hand to a collar around the neck of the cobra-like monster.
Several seconds passed and nothing happened. None of the Spirits were willing to make the first move. Even as they tensed and growled in dissatisfaction at what had happened.
Their disgust at the existence of the abomination in front of them was nearly driving them mad.
Finally, the silence was broken.
“Attack!” The Radiant cultist’s voice was surprisingly gentle, and filled with reverence as he commanded the thing beside him.
There was no time for the Spirits to act, nor for the cultist to take back his order, as the world was filled with Radiant light. The cultist was incinerated in an instant by the monster’s widespread and undirected attack. Beams of light and constructs shaped like different snakes followed as they destroyed everything in their path.
Spirits died in droves, and only those that were at least Legendary in might were able to survive long enough to attempt to strike back.
Words were not exchanged by anyone. Either verbally or spiritually. Only conflict occurred as the Spirits did their best to survive. Slowly whittling down the golden creature that sought to destroy them all.
For a moment, it seemed like the Spirits would be able to turn the tide, and eventually achieve victory. Something that the abomination they fought had realized.
It released an ear shattering roar, and the earth shook as a pillar of light stretched into the sky. A shockwave of mana ripped up the entire region, and when the light faded, nothing but destruction remained.
The monster that was once Norton Kindled and his bonded Spirit observed its surroundings.
Seeing nothing moving around anymore, it turned towards the Spirit Haven. An instinct ingrained in it from a foreign entity directed its path.
Turning into a beam of light, it flew away.
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Charred trees, glassed earth, and melted stone covered the devastated landscape. The remnants of the cult slowly trickled back into the area as the bodies of countless Spirits faded away. Motes of different colored light drifted into the atmosphere.
The sky was still overcast, and the smoke from the burnt trees was quickly fading away in the horrible weather. Lightning flashed every few seconds but didn’t strike the land. Instead, it seemed to bounce back and forth within the clouds.
“Find any survivors and end them. They should all be on the brink of death, so it shouldn’t be too difficult--”
One of the Adept Hunters from the cult began giving orders to his subordinates. But the moment they approached one particular toppled tree, a wooden spike pierced through his chest. The rest of the cultists followed right after.
The other cultists in different areas found themselves wiped out as elemental constructs attacked them. Within minutes, they were all wiped out, and all that remained was silence.
The sound of crumbling stone softly spread as a hole in the ground opened up. A shadow stretched out over the edge of the hole.
“It’s clear.” Feynari said as she stepped out of her shadow.
Half a dozen other Legendary Spirits, including her fellow Legendary birds stepped out into the rain. Each of them had burned and melted feathers, but besides some cosmetic injuries, most of their wounds were superficial.
All the Spirits that had suffered from worse injuries were already dead.
Bringing up the rear was a mole form Cavern Spirit. The one that had created the small hiding spot where they had all hidden in the ground. The only reason that they were all still alive.
Nearby, several more holes opened up and more Spirits stepped back out into the open air. All of them hidden away beneath the ground or tucked away in the broken trees.
From the previous thousands of Spirits of the lower Tier, there were, perhaps, a dozen Legendary Spirits, and a few hundred lower Tier Spirits. Most of which had arrived late to the battle. So, they had avoided the majority of the conflict, only to have been caught up in the attack of that golden monster.
“What in the Brood cursed hells was that?” Spina was gazing in the direction of the Spirit Haven.
It wasn’t far away from them, but no matter how close these Legendary spirits were to their temporary home, none were making steps to move toward it.
“That was a Broken Myth...” Morty’s voice was clear for the first time. The certainty in his words left no doubt in the other Spirits.
“What’s a broken myth?” The Legendary Cavern Spirit that had hidden them asked.
All the Spirits turned to Morty, who simply sighed before responding spiritually in order to keep his words clear.
‘A Broken Myth is a being that has forcefully used external means to ascend to a higher Tier.’ Morty looked into the distance. ‘It is something that humans have records of. When Spirits would consume each other in ages past, and in the process, they would forcefully ascend, and lose all sense of reason. Something that has stopped in recent ages, since a better Understanding of magic has grown.’
‘... I thought such things destroyed themselves before they became a threat.’ Spina asked.
‘They can live for up to a week at times. But this thing is different. I’ve never heard of such a thing being created between a bonded Spirit and Hunter before.’ Monty further explained. ‘For now, all we can do is avoid it. For only another Mythic Being, a true one, can face it and survive. All our efforts would do is make it waste its energy, which might cause it to die faster, or might end up doing nothing.’
The surrounding Spirits were silent. Knowing full well that all the desires to continue fighting that monster had faded away. If it was going to die eventually, then better to let it die on its own at this point.
They had lost too many Spirits already.
Above them, unnoticed by all, the lightning that hadn’t stopped for days ceased to be. The sky was still overcast, and it was still raining. But something had changed.
It wasn’t until the rain finally stopped several minutes later that pulled their attention upward.
The sight above them brought back the hopes that were dashed.
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It had been several minutes since Ezekiel and his mother fled from the second camp. He and Shine had spent much of this time trying to meditate and recover their mana at a faster rate.
Beyond that, the moment his mother pulled them all into the shadows, he felt a sense of weightlessness that was similar to his anti-gravity magic. Like he was floating, and there was no sense of up and down. Total inability to determine where he was.
All around him was darkness, with few to no defined shapes or images that he could see. But, if he focused, he could just barely make out an outline of the world around him. Though the only indication of such was a strange sense of depth perception that he didn’t see with his eyes.
He felt it with his soul.
‘This is beyond strange,’ Shine muttered in Ezekiel’s head. ‘I can tell that we’re moving quickly, but I’m worried it’s not fast enough.’
Ezekiel felt the same. By spreading out his senses to their maximum, he could feel the different aspects of the terrain passing them by at nearly his top speed. However, if his memory served him properly, this was still nowhere near fast enough to outrun a pseudo-Mythic.
‘My biggest concern is whether or not mom will be able to sense that thing when it gets too close.’ Ezekiel knew that it was only a matter of time before they got caught. But if they could get a heads up, then they would at least be able to avoid getting wiped out in one shot.
“Ezekiel...” Evelyn’s voice seemed to come from all around. It also felt more like Shone’s mental voice rather than a verbal sound. Even though Ezekiel could clearly hear her, as well as the quiver of fear that she tried to suppress and hide. “I know that you spoke of something like this before... but is there any possibility that you are wrong about what this is?”
Ever since that light had appeared over the edge of the boundary of the haven, Ezekiel had hoped that very same thing. He had gone over his memories and knowledge from years ago to confirm. Over and over again, he had run through possibilities in his mind, but he simply knew that he was right.
Something his mother undoubtedly knew as well.
“... I hope I’m wrong. But I can’t think of anything else right now. Worse, my danger-sense is screaming louder than ever before.” There was an echo in the darkness as Ezekiel spoke.
“That’s--”
Ezekiel felt a sense of panic and fear wash over him as his mother diverted her attention elsewhere. He suddenly knew, even though he couldn’t see it, the thing that was after them was here.
‘We need to go!’ Shine sent thought their bond. Ezekiel wholeheartedly agreed.
“Get away from me!” Ezekiel screamed at his mother, and instinctively forced himself to ‘Jump’ with the little bit of mana he had regained, ripping himself out of the shadows. “Defend yourself and attack from a distance!”
His mother tried to scream something back at him, but it was too late.
A moment later, the world of darkness that surrounded Ezekiel was no more.
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Instead, all he saw was Light, and Lightning.
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Moments before Ezekiel exited his mother’s shadow, Norton Kindled monstrous form flew through the air. His eyes were blank as they were filled with a golden light that shone brighter than the rest of his body. A lethal bent and barbed tail whipped back and forth behind him.
Having just left the remnants of the Spirit Tide in a devastated state of destruction, he crossed the sky as he was pushed forward by instinct; hunting for something he could no longer comprehend. His mind was now utterly blank. A higher power now guided his actions and instincts.
Stopping suddenly, the beast that was once Norton and his Spirit paused and seemed to sniff the air. Turning back and forth and sticking his tongue out. Tasting the mana in the air as it searched for something. Almost as if they were lost and confused, before their focus returned.
His face turned toward the west, where a relatively small shadow, only a few feet in diameter, darted back and forth between shadows cast by other objects.
Flying overhead, the abomination turned into a beam of light. He shot directly toward the shadow as light shone from his body. Blinding anything that looked at it and filling the area with light.
Only for a bolt of violet lightning to strike down from the sky. Knocking the abomination out of sky and sending it crashing to the ground, far away from his intended target.
Changing his focus to the being that had attacked him, Norton lost his focus on Ezekiel. His instincts screamed at him to continue searching for the Anathema. To chase after the shadow as it got further away.
But his survival instincts were louder. At least in the current moment.
Caught between opposing instincts, Norton’s mutated form stopped moving, which allowed a second strike to hit him, creating a glassy crater that spread outwards for dozens of meters.
Bellowing in rage, Norton took to the skies once more. His target changed to the figure in the sky looking down on him.
A clash of light and lighting exploded in the sky.
All while a new figure appeared on the ground, not far from the shadow that was still running from the area. Stumbling and silent, blind and deaf due to the sudden change in their surroundings.
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‘... Ezekiel... Ezekiel!’
It took a moment for Ezekiel to realize that Shine was screaming at him. The feeling of sudden disorientation was too much for him to handle. Only after it had all faded was he able to understand what was going on.
‘CRACK’
The sound of another bolt of thunder striking nearby caused Ezekiel to duck and dive out of the way. Rolling behind a tree as dirt and ash were thrown into the air.
The whole area was bathed in light, and it was obvious that the monster of light that was after him was fighting something. It was also clear to Ezekiel that the fight was not going in its favor.
‘What the hell is going on!?’ Ezekiel mentally yelled. ‘Why are there two of them?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine. But we need to get out of here before we get hit!’ Shine cursed as a bolt of lightning and a ray of light crashed into the dirt next to them. ‘Move!’
Now fully spent when it came to their mana, Ezekiel and Shine both had nothing to offer except Ezekiel’s body. Which he pushed to the limit in order to run away.
“AnaTheMa!!!” The warped and wicked cry from the Radiant Abomination was almost too much for Ezekiel to stand. It was as if a shockwave had struck his soul directly.
Whatever this thing was, it was definitely more powerful than the last one he ran into back in the Archipelago. Which, given it had been around for only a few minutes, and hadn’t spent nearly as much time fighting off those that tried to stop it, made some sense.
Not that Ezekiel was happy to be making that assumption.
A stray rock was blasted in his direction, striking his foot just as he was about to take another step. Losing his balance, Ezekiel fell to his knee. Spitting out a scathing swear, he forced himself back to his feet, but a massive ball of light was aimed straight for him.
‘BZZZT’
Electricity crackled through the air, creating a transparent shield of sorts as a hybrid cobra-human creature dove directly for him. It was forced to stop and took a strike from a bolt of Lightning directly to the back. It spasmed for a few seconds, and the creature was forced back as the shield exploded.
“Run, Ezekiel. I will deal with this abomination!”
A familiar voice called out from above.
Bathed in violet Lightning, and with six wings instead of her previous two, Invera dove from the clouds and sank her talons into the creature that Ezekiel had deduced was once Norton Kindled.
The cobra-like being whipped its tail at Invera’s face. Cutting it open and causing her mana to momentarily disperse in that area.
The once Legendary, now Mythical, bird shrieked in pain, and dug her talons in further.
But Ezekiel didn’t stay to watch what happened next. Instead, he started moving. The landscape passed by in a blur as he made his way away from the battle.
It was a few seconds later, when he had gotten several more kilometers away, that the world lit up once more. The ground rumbled as numerous impacts struck the land.
Hope finally bloomed in Ezekiel’s heart, however, as the conflict seemed to be moving away.
He continued to run, getting further and further from the battle, when the ground opened up beneath him. Darkness consumed his senses once more, and the only thing Ezekiel could see was his mother’s angry glare. Her body outlined in different shades of near black colors.
All at once, Ezekiel felt a renewed sense of danger consume him. As well as a sense of guilt as he felt his mother’s fear and disappointment fill the shadow space that they currently resided in.
A beat passed before Ezekiel felt them moving once more. This time they went to circle around and return to the secondary camp.
By this point, even if the cult’s abomination won, and continued to chase them, their chances would be higher if they were in a group. Rather than running away from the fastest element to exist.
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Back in the center of the chaos, Invera let out a sigh of relief as she felt Ezekiel and his mother leave the battlefield. She had been stuck doing her best to hold off the enemy’s attacks rather than use her full power for offense.
She momentarily contemplated keeping them safe, before ducking beneath a beam of light that was aimed for her head.
The close call pulled her attention back toward her enemy. As much as she wished to continue providing aid to Ezekiel for all that he had given her, she couldn’t let her focus waver.
Even as she felt others following behind the swiftly moving shadow space.
A bellowing roar, followed by a barrage of meteoric constructs, made light, flew toward her.
Barrel rolling to the side, the sword shaped constructs flew past her without much fanfare. But she was forced to dodge the large construct that came after. Swinging through the space she had moved into.
A talon bathed in violet lightning met the construct head on, and the air cracked from the force of the impact. Sending a shockwave that ripped up hundreds of trees that were in the general area.
Invera glared at Norton’s disfigured body. A sense of wrongness was nibbling at the back of her mind. Interrupting her thoughts on how to finish this fight as quickly as she could.
A second transparent shield of lightning appeared and blocked the cult-made monster as it tried to run after Ezekiel and Evelyn. After regaining its bearings, faster this time, it charged at Invera once more. Only to run headfirst into yet another shield.
“Worthless lesser spawn!” An overlapping voice that was much clearer than when it had screamed ‘Anathema’ at Ezekiel, called out from the cobra-like creature.
Something clicked in Invera’s mind as she heard these words. A sense of familiarity, anger, and sorrow filled her. But she knew these feelings were not her own. If she had to describe it with words, these emotions felt older. Like the difference between a freshly painted canvas, and one that was worn down by time. A presence seemed to settle over her. Like a friend watching over her shoulder.
She ignored it, for now. Her life wasn’t worth the curiosity that made her wish to find the origins of these feelings.
Instead, she focused on Norton’s magic, and the mana that he wasn’t getting back.
Every spell that Norton cast, every construct that he formed, seemed to cause his body to glow brightly, only to dim right after. It was clear that he was burning through his mana, as well as acting on instinct. As many of his actions were being repeated.
It wasn’t like the skilled Hunters she was aware of, nor the elderly Spirits that dueled for territory.
As one who had now reached the Mythic Tier of magic, Invera could tell, whatever it was that forced this thing to reach Tier five, it wasn’t able to instill the necessary Understanding for the breakthrough to occur naturally.
Rather, the multiple Understandings that were required to form the new and tightly bound core that sat within her chest. Right over where her heart would be, if she were a being of flesh and blood.
With these Understandings consolidated, Invera’s Understanding of who she was, down to her deepest Origins, each one tied to the experiences that had gotten her to this point, had grown to a crescendo, and formed the bases of her Mythic Tier power.
She was a Guardian. A Shield that protected her wards. She would not fall, so long as there was something, someone, that she needed to protect. This was reflected in the spells she now used most.
A clash of Lightning and Radiance happened once more. This time, the light formed an ax shaped construct, and the shield that Invera formed was chipped at the point of contact. The edge now cracked through to the center. Yet it did not break.
Invera’s control was better than her opponent’s. The resulting explosion of thunder and lightning was directed toward Norton. His scales rippled and shattered under the amount of force that flowed directly into his body.
Golden blood painted the ground as the massive snake-man coughed in pain. He fell to the side as his injured body began to give out. Too much mana had been spent fighting Invera, and thought she was also running low, her form was more stable, and her accumulated Understandings granted her more control. If limited in the scope of what she could truly bring to the table.
Had Ezekiel been there, he would’ve been surprised at the differences between Invera and Exalt Harras. Though, that might’ve been Invera’s own bias regarding what she knew of Ezekiel.
But she couldn’t help it. The man had helped her breakthrough the bottleneck that had kept her bound to Tier four for countless years. Now, she was truly one of the most powerful beings in the world.
Only the Exalted Hunters were more than her. As well as one of two of the much older Spirits. Which she didn’t need to think about right now, as they were very far away.
Invera shivered as the memory of another Mythic Spirit passed through her mind. The sheer amount of devastation wrought by that one battle was something she would never forget.
“I will need to talk to that boy. I’m sure that he will have many questions when we meet once more.” Invera muttered to herself as Norton regained his balance and roared in outrage once more. “If all you can do is scream at me, then perhaps I overestimated the difficulty of this duel.”
As if he could still understand her, Norton fell silent. Instead, he glared and held his hands together. A bright ball of Radiant mana condensed between his hands.
Invera immediately knew what was about to happen. Her instincts screamed at her to run. To make as much distance between herself and the abomination before her as possible.
But she didn’t do that. For those instincts were old. Born from a time when she was just a Legendary Spirit. Before she knew what she was. What she could do. Thus, instead of fleeing the area, Invera sighed, though she didn’t fall lax in any way.
Flying in a wide arc, she interposed herself between Norton’s position and the second camp where Ezekiel and his family were regrouping. Flaring her wings out to the side, she felt words flow from her beak that were, but also weren’t, her own.
“Come, oh fallen brother, let us see whose host, whose descendant, has truly breached the limits of their birth.”
Invera’s voice was layered, and rumbled with a much deeper tone that overlaid her own. The presence that had touched on her soul now using her as a conduit. But she felt no fear, no worry, when this occurred. If anything, she felt a sense of warmth and welcome.
As her eyes shone brightly from the power she was bringing forth, and her wings glowed brightly with jagged lightning shaped patterns that covered her body, Invera’s voice shook the earth from how thunderous it had become.
A violet shield, this time solid in its construction, with a stylized six-winged raptor on its face, formed in front of Invera. Ready to take on anything that the monster-that-was-Norton could throw at her.
As the two spells finished forming, Invera said one last thing. The words, once more, were not fully her own, but the emotions behind them were strong enough for her to empathize with them. This time, though still deeper than normal, there was a gentleness that wasn’t there before.
“It seems my line has won... this time.”
Norton let out a furious howl of defiance, and released his spell as it exploded outwards in all directions. His own body bursting as it burned itself to add just a bit more fuel to the power he had used.
The land was immediately glassed, and the remaining trees and other lifeforms were incinerated as ash and dust took their place. Only to turn to glass as well, not a second later.
This destructive magic spread over the Spirit Haven for tens of kilometers. Norton’s mana had not been nearly as depleted as Meryn’s had been when he had died in the Archipelago. Hence the much larger explosion.
The area was so large that even the second camp belonging to the Morse and Alkena family caravan would’ve been destroyed.
If not for the shield that was in the way.
Shining brightly, even in the face of the stellar golden light of Radiance, Invera stood strong. She did not waver for a moment, even as she felt the presence that had spoken through her fade away. That sensation of support was no longer there.
But the knowledge, the hints pertaining to what was possible, still lingered, and she could see just how far her path still had to go.
Over the course of seconds that felt like hours, Invera defended the haven behind her, and when Norton’s suicidal act.
The only place not glassed in the nearby area was the space directly behind Invera. Angled outwards from where she remained. Bits and pieces of green plants, and soggy earth were still visible, if only barely.
With the sound of shattering glass, Invera’s shield shattered into countless motes of light. The mana fading into the world once more, with only a hint of it being pulled back to refill her reserves.
She knew that she would not be able to repeat that feat for a while. But since she knew it was possible, she would reach it once more; one day.
For now, Invera simply took a deep breath, reared her head back, and let loose a thundering cry that could be heard all throughout the haven, and beyond.
Her victory was now known to all.