Three days after the shield island of Mithren had been abandoned, Ezekiel and the various defenders that he had managed to rescue safely arrived at one of the rear support islands. One that was responsible for ensuring that the Shield islands were properly fed, since it was basically impossible to ensure that any food grown on an island with the Rot was truly untainted.
Since word had been sent out several times, both just prior to, and well after, their hasty departure, all the nearby islands were prepared for the eventual battles that were to come.
Yet even though it had been three days since the Broodlord’s joint attack, it was fairly clear that there would be no follow up. At least not by any Broodlords.
“It’s fortunate that you got word out as soon as you did. If not, our and Quintessa’s forces wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of the openings that the Winged Lord and Rotting Matriarch’s absences provided. We managed to take back two islands, and Quintessa reclaimed nearly a full fifth of the territory they lost before the other Broodlord’s stepped in to fill the gaps.”
The Scholars that had greeted and guided Ezekiel and the others upon their arrival were happy to share the information they had regarding the events that occurred around the world.
“Did anything happen in the Empire? Or the region of what was once Morathi?” While most of his curiosity was sated, Ezekiel still wondered if his other enemies had suffered any losses or achieved any gains. “How about the Fjorya? Any word from our frozen friends?”
The Scholar replied in a swift and succinct manner, but there hadn’t been any changes in those regions. At least, none that were confirmed. Though movements from the Empire’s Exalts drew a raised eyebrow from Ezekiel.
‘Why would the Empire send your father to the Morathi region? Don’t they need all hands-on deck defending the border from the Broodlords?’ Shine asked after the Scholar had given their report and left.
‘Given the Cruor’s new creations, it would not surprise me if they managed to get something nasty around the Empire. Even with the Kraken Spirit defending the water.’ Ezekiel leaned back in his recovery bed.
While he had confirmed that he wasn’t suffering any side-effects from straining his soul, something he realized he did far too often, he knew that getting sufficient rest was a necessity. So, he wasn’t going to complain when the medics and healers all insisted that he get some bed rest.
Though, that didn’t stop him from keeping up to date and contemplating the Cruor’s movements and actions. Keeping himself aware was a great help in keeping himself prepared.
‘It’s possible that the Cruor managed to sneak a Broodlord around the north, if they made a Carrier that could survive in the cold up there. Divide and conquer isn’t the worst plan the Cruor have come up with in the past.’ While he didn’t like it, Ezekiel knew that, given the recent revelations of the Cruor’s true development, it was highly likely that they still didn’t know the full extent of what the Broods could gift their servants.
‘...Well, at least with the Broodlords confirmed as having been called back, you won’t have to worry about losing the islands surrounding Mithren any time soon. The Cruor will have to consolidate their control and will likely have to prepare several Spines that will take weeks to finish converting the area to Desolate Land Miasma.’ Shine’s words just drew a frustrated grunt from Ezekiel.
Allowing himself to fall into a meditative trance, Ezekiel expanded his senses, reaching for something just beyond his grasp in the space between spaces.
This mental state only lasted for a few seconds, but as his mind raced with shadowy images and unknown figures, he could tell that something was going to happen.
“Argh” he let out a muffled cry and snapped back into reality.
Holding his head in his hands, the strain on his brain and soul made him curl up into a ball for a few minutes before he finally managed to relax. His moment of meditation had granted him access to an ability that he tended to use sparingly due to the massive amount of information he needed to process.
After taking a few deep breaths, he fell into a shallower trance than before. Just enough to soothe his mind as he allowed everything to flow away. Using it to steady himself, rather than access his magic.
While it wasn’t as accurate as his battle predictions, his skills in prophecy and omens had long since expanded past just his danger sense. To the point that he could make general predictions regarding the near future. Though the results were always vague.
In this case, he wanted to know if there were any pressing concerns that would be coming for him in the next few days. Sensing an urgency from an unknown person, he let his trance fade away with a sigh. Pulling his pillow over his face, he let out a muffled scream.
‘Busy week?’ Shine asked. ‘You only do that when your downtime is interrupted. Given what we just went through. I’m assuming you wanted at least a day to recover?’
Ezekiel just sent a silent feeling of confirmation through his link to Shine. He very rarely behaved like a child nowadays but getting practically double-teamed by Broodlords had put him in a bad mood. The fact that his wife had been put into a psychedelic hysteria that made her lash out at anyone who approached her hadn’t helped matters.
She was clean now, with her system flushed, but was recovering in her own room, as were the other infected Hunters and Mages.
‘Let’s just get some sleep. We probably won’t be getting much of it for the next few weeks if what I’m feeling is accurate.’ With that said, he flipped onto his side, and fell into a state of rest.
Beside him, Shine’s overly large blade sank to the floor, too heavy for most furniture to safely support them, and joined their partner in recovering as best they could.
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Upon awakening while feeling groggy and lightheaded, Ezekiel found that there was a pressure weighing on his chest that wasn’t there when he went to bed. His danger sense hadn’t acted up, however, so he knew that whatever it was wasn’t something he needed to be wary of.
He also knew that it was far too early for him to be waking up yet. His internal clock told him that it was barely after sunrise. A part of him wanted to just fall back to sleep, he also knew his curiosity wouldn’t let this go without finding out what was going on.
Opening his eyes, his vision was filled with long red hair that emitted the scent of a campfire.
The smoky scent was comforting, as was the familiar presence of his wife, who he realized must’ve woken up at some point last night and come to find him. Just out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Celia curled up on the small table off to the side of the room, sleeping heavily.
Apparently noticing that Ezekiel had woken up, even though he had barely moved, Riley opened her eyes and looked up at her husband’s face.
“Good morning, dear,” Ezekiel said with a smile as his mind cleared up while the barely present morning light streamed through the small window of his room. “Have you managed to fully recover?”
Riley closed her eyes and stretched, which drew Ezekiel’s eyes as the blanket covering them slipped off and revealed her medical gown covered form. Letting out a tired yawn, she laid back down on top of him.
“I’m fine now. Though I’ve been channeling my flames through my body to get rid of the slimy feeling of whatever it was that bitch put in my system.” Riley practically growled as she cussed out the Rotting Matriarch. “Even with my body cleared, I can still vividly remember the sensation of Tier five substances being slathered onto my soul. We are all lucky that it had more of an effect on our minds than it did on our bodies. Though, I guess that was the point, else our filters would have blocked them.”
Ezekiel nodded in agreement. One of the reasons he had entertained the Rotting Matriarch with a fight like he had was due to the fact that those infected by her psychedelic spores weren’t actually dying from them.
If they had been, Ezekiel would’ve fought very differently in order to ensure that they survived.
Upon reflection, he realized that this was probably a part of the Broodlords’ plan to keep him busy. He did still wonder why the two hadn’t teamed up to take him out, but for now he would attribute it to the fact that they likely still needed him for something that he wasn’t yet ready for.
“Well, now that you’re feeling better, perhaps you can help me out with a bit of an annoying situation that’s going to be popping up today.” He looked down at Riley while she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “I did a bit of [Divination] last night. All I know is that I’ll be getting a visitor today. One that somehow knew that I would be here, and either left for this island early enough to meet up with us before we left or was close enough already to be able to head here within a day of our arrival.”
Riley’s face scrunched up in confusion, something that Ezekiel thought was incredibly cute. Not that he would tell her that.
“So... either we have a spy in our midst, or someone else can make predictions like you can.” Ezekiel smiled at hearing Riley come to the same conclusion that he had.
“It might not be someone. It could be something instead.” His voice carried a hint of frustration at the thought of who it might be that was trying to contact him.
He saw Riley’s face light up in comprehension, then she frowned as she seemed to realize exactly what Ezekiel was referring to.
“You think that it might be a representative of Quintessa’s Grand Cathedral. That the Remnant within the Void Temple is reaching out to you again.” Riley’s voice was a grave whisper, and her words brought back memories from a few years ago.
“Correct. I know for a fact that they never got over the fact that I rejected their plan to recover their territory back when they first managed to make a dent in the Cruor’s new border. Especially since it was discovered that Void Mages could clear up the Desolate Land’s Miasma at an accelerated pace compared to others.” Ezekiel fondly recalled the fact that this discovery was not made by him and was made by one of the newly ascended Adept Void Hunters that was taking part in the war up in Quintessa.
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It had surprised him to see how good it felt to have other Void Mages making discoveries with their magic and spreading them around. He had found that, with the sudden surge of Void Mages breaking through to the middle Tiers, new techniques were also being more widely spread and created as different people who couldn’t use their magic before began to experiment.
He was still the strongest by far, since there were yet to be any Void Legendaries, but his spreading of the means and methods to breakthrough to Tier four, and eventually Tier five, were quickly improving their numbers.
“Regardless, I’m fairly certain they’re here to call me away, for some reason or another. Only this time, I won’t be able to refuse. I’d like you to be there, even if they say you shouldn’t be. Since I know that it will tweak their noses quite a bit.” Ezekiel gave his wife a viscous grin. One she mirrored at the thought of whatever face Quintessa’s representative was undoubtedly going to be making when they met up.
“Of course I’ll join you. But for now,” Riley leaned down as wrapped her arms around Ezekiel’s neck, “I’m still tired, and don’t want to get out of bed just yet. So, sleep.”
Chuckling as his wife used him as a teddy bear, Ezekiel waved a hand at the window, causing the shutters to fully close, blocking out the light that had been shining in.
‘Let me know if anyone approaches and shoo them away if they get to the door.’ Ezekiel mentally conveyed to Shine.
The massive blade lifted into the air and moved to lean against the door instead of lying on the floor. Ezekiel let out a chuckle before closing his eyes once more.
They had a few more hours, and the time to rest would be fleeting in the near future.
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It was midday when Ezekiel and Riley finally left their room. Though neither was particularly pleased when they did. Shine had alerted Ezekiel multiple times that there were several people that were trying to get to them and had been forced to erect a barrier that was like a beacon to Ezekiel’s senses.
Needless to say, Ezekiel barely got any additional sleep, and when Riley woke up to see him so annoyed, her own mood turned sour as well.
Now, they were sitting in a meeting room with trays of food while they waited for whoever it was that wanted to speak with them so badly.
A soft knocking on the door caught their attention, but they didn’t stop their current action of eating their meals.
The person on the other side of the door must’ve taken their silence as permission to enter, as the door opened, and an elderly Legendary Tempest Hunter entered the room.
His face was twisted into a sneer that was practically a mirror of Ezekiel’s. Something that brought a smile to the Void Hunter’s face. Misery did love company, after all.
Behind him, several Scholars, including Fiana and George, looked on in silence. Though the aforementioned friends of Ezekiel fidgeted in place.
“What do you want?” Ezekiel spoke first, not allowing the other man to control the flow of this conversation. “I’m assuming that the Church of Ten wants something from me, like usual, and the Grand Cathedral of the Temple of the Void has an official request from the Void Remnant. Which is why you found my location so easily. So, out with it.”
The old man looked like he had just sucked on a lemon, which caused Riley to giggle in delight. Ezekiel managed to keep a straight face, but also thought it was hilarious.
Rather than say anything, the Tempest Hunter took out an intricately carved black opal pendant. Holding it up in front of him, the man channeled his mana through it, and a pulse of light filled the room.
Everyone else, even the man holding the pendant, seemed to fall into a trance, and Ezekiel realized that the world had slowed down. Just like it did when he was accelerating his thoughts.
Only this time, there was a familiar and daunting figure in front of him. Though one with enough differences to indicate that it was not the Ancient Void.
“Ezekiel.” the voice of the Void Remnant echoed through the room and shook Ezekiel's mind. “Come to the Void Temple in the nation of Quintessa. Insights regarding the Broods’ plan have been discovered. Though it pains us to do so, especially since you have done so much, as a Remnant of the Ancient Void, whom you made a deal with, I am invoking your contract.”
As the words flowed through Ezekiel’s mind, he felt a pulling sensation that yanked on his soul. Even without a map, he could tell that it was pulling him directly to the Void Temple in Quintessa.
Specifically, the shortest route, which would drag him directly through the Desolate Lands.
Before he could reply, the apparition of the Void Remnant faded away, and time sped up once more. Other than himself, the rest of the occupants and viewers just looked confused. The man holding the pendant actually brought it to his face to examine more closely.
‘Ezekiel... Do we really have to go?’ Shine’s question filled Ezekiel with dread, but he could tell, any attempts to not go along with the Void Remnant’s demand would be painful at best and maddening at worst. If he was Tier six, he might stand a chance of rebelling, but that would still be a risk.
“Leave,” Ezekiel spoke quietly, but everyone could hear the undercurrent of anger in his voice. The man holding the now dull pendant looked at him in confusion and opened his mouth to speak. “I said leave! The Remnant’s message has been received, but not once did it mention your safety, so leave before I take my anger out on the only remaining cause of my wrath!”
Dust fell from the ceiling as the entire building shook. Ezekiel’s mana did not extend past the confines of the meeting room, but it was clear that the point had been conveyed.
Turning pale and nearly falling on his ass, the representative from the Church of Ten’s Temple of the Void turned and fled. Nothing more than a gust of wind was left in his wake. Expanding his senses, Ezekiel could tell that the man had taken to flying directly back to the boat that had brought him here.
Within an hour or so, he and the crew that had accompanied him would be long gone from the island.
“What happened?” Riley, the only one who was unaffected, due purely to her own quasi-Mythical power, asked in a quiet and gentle voice. “You said there was a message, but all I saw was a flash of light. What did you see?”
Outside the room, the Scholars that remained, all loyal to Ezekiel leaned in to hear what Ezekiel would say. Much to his dismay, he wasn’t going to call them out on it. The secrets of the Void were always of interest to the Scholars of the Church of Ten.
“The Remnant of the Void from Quintessa sent a small portion of itself to give me a message. Invoking a clause in a contract that I made with the Void a long time ago.” Ezekiel kept the fact that he had spoken to the Ancient Void a secret, by implying that it was one of the other Void Remnants he had spoken to that had created the contract. “Even now, my soul is being pulled directly toward the Void Temple in Quintessa. Via the straightest and shortest route.”
While the first few words weren’t that concerning, many contracts had clauses for call to arms, after all, the last words were far more daunting. Everyone in the room knew exactly what they meant, given the geography of the world and their current location.
Nothing was said as everyone knew what was going to happen.
Ezekiel was going to have to cross through the Desolate Lands directly. Passing through the territory of at least three Broodlords in the process.
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It had been a couple of days, as Ezekiel tried to ignore the pull from his contract for as long as possible. But he was forced to give in when he felt his soul impact his magic due to the contract’s bindings. Even Shine was starting to be affected by it.
The mood was somber and silent as Ezekiel was forced to quickly pack up his things. He and Riley had done what they could to get the best transport available for crossing through Desolate waters.
If they were careful, then they would be able to get to Quintessa within a month or so. But the problem was the likelihood of crossing one of the Broodlords. Due to the number of Umbral Beasts and Cruor that were swarming the borders, and the interior areas, it would be practically impossible to get through without being seen. Unless they decided to forego sleep entirely, while maintaining a [Shroud] that totally covered them without fail.
“I could just go by myself. It would take some time, but you would be able to catch up.” Ezekiel and Riley were walking toward where their new ship was supposed to be docked. Both had their Void Pouches filled to the brim with supplies.
Ezekiel also had several Artifacts that he had worked on at the last minute in the Cathedral’s forges and enchanting chambers. They were fairly basic, compared to what he was used to, but would do the trick when it came to support items.
“You know I’m not going to leave you. Not when You’re clearing being targeted, possibly more so than you were before the Cruor started pushing their borders.” Riley had refused Ezekiel’s attempts to get her to stay back several times now. He could hear the exasperation in her voice and decided to back off.
“Alright. I’m just worried. It seems like something has happened in the Desolate Lands. They’re planning something more, and I’m not sure how hidden we’ll actually be once we get there.” Ezekiel held up a hand in front of him.
Focusing his vision just right, he could see a sickly-looking string running along the same path as the one that extended from his soul, indicative of the contract that was tugging on him.
“There’s something out there that’s looking for me. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Void Temple wouldn’t join the Cruor for any reason, I would almost think this was a trap. One set for me, to force me into whatever it is the Cruor needs me to do.”
This had been one of his primary doubts. Ever since he’d gotten the message, he knew that the Cruor had reached the point where they could use him; or, rather, that he had progressed to the point where he would be useful to them.
‘Do you think it has anything to do with my progress?’ Shine asked after a moment of silence. ‘It seems like the fact that I’m now eligible for Tier five would be a big indicator of the Cruor accelerating their plans.’
Ezekiel shook his head. ‘I’ve already determined that the message was sent well before your soul broke through. The Cruor’s actions are a separate matter.’ He stopped for a second as something occurred to him. ‘Actually, I think that the Void Remnant likely messaged us because of the Cruor’s actions, not the other way around. Either way, it was stupid of them to alert us here, but I guess we wouldn’t have been in a closer position anytime soon. So, it would be inevitable that we would have to cross through the Desolate Lands.’
The two Void users settled into a contemplative silence as they continued forward.
“Something else wrong? I’m assuming you’re talking to Shine right now. Care to tell me what’s up?” Riley’s voice pulled Ezekiel out of his thoughts.
“Oh, yes, we were just discussing the reasons why the Remnant was calling for us. Along with what the Cruor might need us for. They’ve mostly been content to just leave me be, so it’d be nice to know what changed.” He continued on to explain his and Shine’s thoughts.
Celia huffed, and a frustrated look crossed her eyes. Ezekiel got the impression that she was complaining about the amount of trouble Riley got into because of him. He just smiled sheepishly at her, and she turned her head in a huff.
“Well, hopefully you’ll be able to figure something out. If not, we’ll all be here to help you.” Riley kept moving as she talked, but Ezekiel could see the smirk on her lips.
“... What do you mean ‘we’ll all’? What did you do?” Ezekiel didn’t receive an answer right away. Instead, he got his answers when they turned the corner to see their new boat.
Only to find that it was far too huge for two people to man by themselves.
Fortunately, the crew of a couple dozen Legendary Hunters and Mages would do more than make up for it.
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Ezekiel had nearly dragged Riley into an alleyway to find out what the hell was going on, but she flared her mana to let the others know that they were there. So, it would be impossible to get away without being noticed.
He could always [Jump] but that might raise too many questions that he knew would be annoying.
“What the hell is this? Do you all have any idea how dangerous this is going to be? Why are you all here?” The first thing he did when they got on board was ask Fiana and George, his two oldest friends besides Riley, what was going on.
“It’s simple. While we know that there’s a high chance of death, we also know that letting you go on your own won’t change much. Don’t worry, we won’t be holding you back.” Fiana’s words weren’t the most reassuring, but regardless of the danger, Ezekiel couldn’t say he wasn’t moved by the gesture.
“We’ll be in their territory. There’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to save you if things go wrong. It would be better if I went on my own.” Regardless of his feelings, Ezekiel still didn’t want to put his friends and followers at risk.
“Ezekiel... you’re not thinking things through. Not really.” Fiana was quieter this time, but her voice was still heard clearly. “What do you think the Broodlords in the Archipelago will do once they find out that you’re not here anymore? Who do you think they’ll go after, especially this close to the border?”
Fiana’s words were like a bucket of cold water being poured over his head.
“Ha! Looks like he’s finally getting it!” George let out a bark of laughter when Ezekiel’s face twisted into a look of horror
The idea that his friends would be targeted once he was gone was something he hadn’t thought of. As it was, the Archipelago would have to reorganize so that the Mythical Spirits could be made aware of the territories they would need to cover to prevent the Cruor from spreading too far.
“... What defenses are incorporated into the ship?” Ezekiel’s question was received with smiles all around, and he knew the others realized he had accepted their presence here.
Moving into the depths of the ship, Ezekiel couldn’t help rubbing his chest. The exact spot he was feeling the pulling from his contract.
Silently, he promised himself that the Void Remnant had better have a good reason for doing this, or else he’d see just how far the gap in their power really was.