Five figures gathered around a pool of Ichor. Their forms were composed of the very substance that ran through their veins. The missing Broodlords would be informed of the situation at a later date but were aware of what would be discussed today.
“Do we know if Rafael and Jillian will be joining us at the next meeting? They are meant to be challenging the human Exalts to the north, are they not?” Serin inquired while looking at the different spots in the group.
“No... given the current plan to draw out this war for as long as possible, they will both be taking hits that will keep them occupied for at least a month. The push in the Archipelago should make up for it, but since the Ocean Spirits and the Exalt of Death have relocated, it is slower going than we had expected.” Tryskan, the Wyrm Broodlord, and next oldest alongside Rafael and Jillian, was currently leading this meeting. “Derrick and Christopher will be informed later as well but given their current mission they do not need to know as much about the situation as you do.”
Serin flinched at the reminder of why they were here. The others all looked toward her.
“It is not my fault that the Herald destroyed the primary nest for the Deep. I did nothing that should’ve brought him as close to the Desolate Lands’ center as we suspect he is, nor do I know what he expects to do when he is merely a Mythical being. We all know that he’s not yet strong enough to fulfill the purpose we are cultivating him for.” Serin’s words were met with grimaces from the other Broodlords.
While there had been reluctance in the beginning, after several years of fighting, they were all hoping that the Herald of the Void would be powerful enough to see their goal fulfilled.
Even if they knew that it would be a difficult thing to achieve. It was still more preferable than the alternative of waging war for a hundred years.
“Regardless, Christopher and Derrick have called for the Herald’s head. Obviously, we can’t do that, but we still need to get him out of our territories. Before he does something that might disrupt the balance we have been developing within our central regions. Creating an entirely original ecosystem from scratch isn’t easy, after all.” Tryskan muttered that last part.
The other Broodlords looked at him in pity, knowing that much of the infrastructure for the new biomes was due to him and the other Wyrm’s work in tilling and reconstructing the land to be more suitable for Ichor reliant lifeforms.
“He’s only reached the middle regions of the Illuminated Fungal Forest, right? If we can just divert him and his group to the east, then we can get rid of him before he causes any problems.” Kereena’s idea had some merit, but it was shot down after some thought.
“That would not work,” Leon said through his bone faceplate, “if we do not threaten his life, he will suspect something is wrong. Yet, at the same time, if we kill his entire party, he might seek revenge before we are ready for him.”
“Perhaps we can ignore him, then? Simply let him go where he wishes? We need him alive, but we can’t be blamed if it is the normal rank and file that swarm him instead of us, right?” Kereena proposed another idea, but it was met with shaking heads once more.
“... It is likely that our only course of action is a limited push. Serin, you will have to come after him with the intent to kill. Feel free to leave the other Hunters and Mages to the regular Cruor. But if your actions can grant them some reprieve to get out of here, let it happen. Just don’t get caught, and don’t catch the Herald either.” Tryskan’s whispery voice proposed the most feasible action for them to take. “For now, work on finding him, but don’t dedicate everything to it. Given the situation, it would basically be impossible for us to not find him eventually.”
“What if he gives up in order to let the others escape?” Serin asked with a hint of worry. “While I don’t think he would necessarily do so, he took risks to remove me from the fight, temporarily, and strained himself to gather his followers to escape. He might try to do something similar, at a greater cost.”
The Broodlords fell silent as they pondered what to do. It wasn’t until several seconds passed that Drake’s amorphous form shifted. The cacophonous whispers that they made when speaking filled the minds of the other Broodlords.
Deep in the pool that lay between them, images began to appear in the swirling colors.
A number of Umbrals Beasts appeared as if they had crossed through an invisible border. Their bodies struggled uselessly as tumors and mutations ripped them apart from the inside out.
Heavy silence permeated the meeting while the Broodlord’s watched. They couldn’t see what had happened beyond the invisible barrier, but they all recognized what had happened. Along with where it had occurred.
“They stumbled upon one of the Seals...” Tryskan’s voice was quieter than before, and a hint of concern filled it. “Forget my previous orders. Find them as soon as possible and drive them out before they can trip any of the other traps laid by the Ancient Void. We cannot afford to allow him to die to things he knows nothing about before we can finish using him!”
“Of course! I will send out my spores personally. It will spread me thin, but I will find them within the next day or so. So long as they are still within the Fungal Forest.” Serin nearly bowed to the older Broodlord as he gave his orders. “At least we know that they won’t be stupid enough to enter such areas moving forward. But I must ask, would such a place kill the Herald? He has the same magic, after all.”
Tryskan bit his lip as he thought about it. “I am not certain. The ways of Void Magic are still strange, even after the developments revealed by the Herald. It might not harm him, or it might take him in as fuel to ensure the seal is further empowered. Perhaps his magic would run wild, and he would explode from forcibly absorbing too much mana. The mutations occur due to the chaotic nature of the strange energy within the area around the Seals, but we don’t know if that’s due to Ichor or not.”
“Let’s not worry about that for now. They were smart enough to turn away, for some reason, so we should focus on pushing them out. Even if most of them die.” Leon’s words were slow and steady, but they also had a bit of worry in them. “Serin, if needed, tell your Brood that only small groups of Cruor will be able to come. Explain it as not being willing to risk more Ichor than necessary, since a fight between you and the Herald would be too destructive for those weaker to survive.”
Sering nodded in agreement. “I will do so. Is there anything else I am needed for at this time, or can I leave to hunt down the Herald and push him out?”
“You are fine to leave. The rest of the meeting will be a status update of the different borders and how we will arrange our current forces. We will exempt you from it for now, since you won’t be changing your battle lines any time soon.” Tryskan’s words made Serin nod before her form fell into the pool of Ichor once more.
The remaining Broodlords were silent as they thought about what they had just discussed. But talks began again, for there was much to do.
Regardless of how worried they all felt about the events surrounding Ezekiel and his Hunters.
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The sounds of battle echoed through the area as Ezekiel and the Hunters approached the area where several scouts had cleared a path for the convoy to travel through.
It had been a full day, or roughly there-about, since they had nearly crossed into the strange dead-zone that he had diverted them from. Since then, things had changed from their initial setup.
Other outriders had taken up the role of creating false trails, and it had been decided that those with stealth capabilities would scout out new paths for the rest to follow.
“Seems like they ran into some trouble. Should we send out some people to ensure that none get away?” A Hunter approached Ezekiel with this question as they finally saw flashes of elemental magic.
Ezekiel stayed quiet while expanding his senses. Bringing an expanded waterskin to his lips, he pushed down the need to gag as the Ichor inside it refilled his mana reserves.
“It’s fine. They’re all here, so it’s just a matter of surrounding and killing them. Go take a team to support the scouts. Then return to my [Domain] we’ll be picking up the pace once I recall the outriders.”
The increase in mana allowed him to expand his [Domain] to cover the enemies to the front. From what he could tell, none had tried to escape yet.
Nodding, the Hunter who had spoken up moved to do as ordered. Several others looked at Ezekiel with a worried expression on their faces. Fiana and George looked particularly concerned, but neither of them spoke up. Only one person really had the right to.
“Are you certain that there won’t be any side effects from consuming Ichor like that?” Riley, who had stayed behind rather than create false trails today, watched him close his waterskin with a look of distaste on her face. “There won’t be much point in reaching Quintessa if you’re in no condition to do whatever it is they called you for.”
Ezekiel waved her off, burning some of his mana to purge the more physical aspects of the Ichor.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve taken in far worse than this before. Besides, so long as Shine breaks through, I’ll be able to stop and still keep up.” He wiped some sweat from his brow, even as his mana made his eyes glow from the exertion it took to keep himself going.
Off to the side, Shine rested in the middle of the transport vehicle that Ezekiel was sitting on. This time around, there was no sphere of mana that indicated they were exercising their soul to grow stronger. Instead, there was an eerie quietness that surrounded them.
They were currently dedicated entirely to the task of determining their [Truth] so as to make the breakthrough to Tier five. Something that would allow Ezekiel to finally take a proper break, rather than just taking the time to recover his mana to continue working.
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“We’ve also come up with several contingencies that will be able to buy us some time to flee, should the need arise. So, please, worry more about how you and the rest will get out of here. Not just what my current condition is. Okay?” While he knew that Riley wouldn’t do so, Ezekiel still felt the need to ask her to stop worrying about him. Even as she glared at the waterskin he reattached to his belt.
Given the ever-increasing strangeness of their surroundings, and the increasing need to be able to move faster, Ezekiel had forsaken all pretense regarding his ability to take in Ichor.
It was well known before this, even though Harras had ensured that nothing leaked from his end, the efforts that Ezekiel had been forced to go through had revealed his Ichor absorbing abilities a while ago. Not that he had to worry about it being revealed.
The biggest problem was the fact that it was another mark that the Cult of Light had begun to use as an excuse to purge Void Mages. Apparently, there were no longer any Void users in the western side of the Continent.
“... We’ll be waking Shine up once we reach our next swapping point. I don’t care what you say, you need time to recover, and to ensure that there are no lingering effects from constantly absorbing Ichor for a full day like you have. Understood?” Riley’s tone left no room for argument.
“Of course, dear. We’ll do so in a couple of hours. For now, we need to-”
Ezekiel whipped his head around to the side. The rapid movement was immediately the focus of all the Hunters nearby. Even the ones that were returning from wiping out the Cruor that were ahead of them.
“What is it? What happened?” Riley, being closest to Ezekiel, was the first to notice the changes in his posture.
For Ezekiel, he could feel a sense of anger and guilt welling up inside of him as he sensed the loss of one of his amulets. Even though it was within the sensory range of his magic.
“We’re picking up the pace. Flame Hunters and Mages gather up around me now!” He released a pulse of mana through his connection to the remaining amulets while the others followed his orders.
A sense of urgency settled over the convoy. The only reason that Ezekiel would be summoning them to his position would be because they would be enacting one of their contingencies.
“Reinforcement circles will be prepared in a moment! Ready your strongest spells, and fire on my command!” A second later, as several [Void Panes] appeared in the sky, all but one of the outriders reappeared within the midst of the convoy.
No one said anything, but a quiet gasp could be heard from one spot near the back. Ezekiel knew it was one of the Hunters that was friends with the outrider that didn’t come back.
There was a slight stirring in the vehicle behind him. Shine seemed to be coming out of their meditation, but Ezekiel could sense that they were right on the cusp of finding something important.
A slight nudge and feeling of reassurance from Ezekiel put them back into the depths of their meditation. Shine had more important things to deal with right now.
In the distance, a figure appeared that began to grow bigger at a rapid speed. The hunters in the area began to fidget when the massive form of Serin, the Rotting Matriarch, came closer.
“Keep calm! So long as you operate as explained beforehand, we will be able to get out of here without even having to fight!” His words helped reassure the Hunters, but only a little bit, as a new danger made itself known to them.
All around them, the forest came to life. Shifting and warping into different shapes. Ready for the Rotting Matriarch to take control and attack them. A burst of [Nothingness] stalled it for a moment.
Fear inducing spores and vapors filled the area but failed to pierce through Ezekiel’s [Domain].
“Focus fire in three,” he took out his waterskin again and took another swig, refilling his mana and further empowering the [Understanding] infused in the [Void Panes] he’d formed, “two, one, fire!”
Beneath the [Shroud] of Ezekiel’s [Domain], a [Grand Spell] was enacted, wherein several Flame Hunters and Scholars released their most powerful spells at once. Cast in conjunction with Ezekiel’s [Reinforcement], via his [Void Panes], the collective flame magic turned into a massive inferno.
A massive fungal halberd struck down on his [Domain], and the magic within was released.
In an instant, the world was consumed by fire.
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For Serin, she had been feeling somewhat exhausted after having spent nearly a day straight doing nothing but searching far and wide for the traces left behind by the Herald and the other Hunters.
A small army followed behind her during her search, but she had quickly outpaced them. Even as she directly intervened and killed the obvious distraction that Ezekiel had sent out for the lesser Cruor to chase after.
It had only taken her a few moments to determine where Ezekiel was after she had killed the Hunter beneath her foot. By extending her senses deep into the Fungal Forest, she was able to determine where there seemed to be a distinct lack of mushrooms and molds.
“There you are!” her cry didn’t quite reach where Ezekiel was, but she knew that her followers would be able to follow after her, even as she ran at top speed.
It would only take her a few seconds to reach her destination, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Ezekiel’s plan was. From what she could tell, neither he nor any of his Hunters were trying to get away from the area.
“Do you think that you’ll be able to simply [Jump] away from me again? Or do you plan to send me flying like you did before?” Serin’s pondering distracted her, even as she tensed up in preparation for a fight. “Either way, I doubt that you have improved so much so quickly that our fight will be anything different than before. Especially since the world itself will be turned against you.”
A wave of her hand sent the mushroom trees and moldy underbrush into a frenzy. Something happened, and her control over the Fungal forest around her target stalled. But it didn’t matter.
She had already arrived at her destination. A massive, hardened, and specially grafted halberd, covered in corrosive fluids and emanating toxic gases. The weapon was raised into the air, ready to strike like a meteor on the enemy she couldn’t see but knew was right in front of her.
For a single moment, she grew concerned. If this attack managed to kill Ezekiel, then all the plans enacted by herself and her fellow Broodlords would be for naught. Their past few years of effort would be worthless, and it would take them decades before they would gather enough power to see their goal fulfilled.
It was only a moment later, when her halberd impacted on an unseen [Domain], condensed and hardened for both stealth and defense, that her enemy’s true plan was revealed.
The sound of glass shattering filled the region, and a wave of force was released from the impact.
Along with the condensed, blue-white Flames of magic that had been prepared just for her.
As the world was filled with fire, Serin screamed in shock and pain. The might of a Mythic level fire spell, built purely for destruction, struck her directly in the face.
Half her body was taken out in one go, and she was forced to retreat and take over her back up body, hidden deep beneath the earth several kilometers away.
By the time she returned to the place that the Hunters and Mages had been hidden by Ezekiel’s [Domain] the fires had spread rapidly. It was as if they were rapidly feeding on the Fungal Forest, and it spread without slowing down.
“Damn you, Herald. How in the world could you have come up with such a thing?”
With the rapidly spreading flames, the only thing that could put them out, in the land without rain, was the fire-retardant molds that took time to grow.
If she wanted to forest to survive, and not spread too far, she would have to personally intervene, and allow Ezekiel and the other Hunters to escape her personal pursuit.
Not even the lesser Cruor would be able to find them, and Ezekiel had [Jumped] away a moment after releasing the Flames.
They had successfully escaped, without even having to fight.
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Over the past estimated day or so, several contingencies had been created for the sake of getting the convoy through the Fungal Forest if they were either swarmed by massive numbers or attacked by a Broodlord.
Most of them would result in the deaths of at least a few, if not half, of their total group. Something that Ezekiel wanted to avoid as best he could.
The current plan was a costly one, and it threw all attempts at keeping somewhat hidden out the window. Yet it would buy them a significant amount of time.
Even if it meant that they would be hunted down even more fiercely later.
“How far did the fire spread?” Ezekiel asked once they created another section of forest.
At this point, the Hunters with flying Spirits were carrying the rest through the sky. Due to the difficulties of maintaining a close enough group, Ezekiel couldn’t cover everybody with his [Shroud] [Domain. So, this was very much a last resort for their transportation.
“It seems like you were right. The Rotting Matriarch did stay behind to deal with the fall out. But if things go right, then the [Understandings] imbued into those Flames should be able to overcome the dousing aspects of the special molds they used to become fireproof.” Riley had a set of binocular Artifacts held up to her face. “It looks like the fire has spread to cover at least a few dozen kilometers of land and is spreading further. It’ll take at least a couple of days for them to put it out. Especially if the surprises we left behind end up going off.”
Ezekiel winced at the reminder of the surprises. They had been forced to jerry-rig some explosive Artifacts that were usually made for blowing up Spines. In this case, they were tweaked to spread fire as quickly as possible.
“Good. I’m going to need some rest after that last second [Jump]. Did anyone from our side get burned?” This had been one of the issues that the convoy had with this plan. Even though it was still the most efficient one they had.
Riley bit her lip but answered after Ezekiel continued to stare at her.
“A few got some serious burns and won’t be walking under their own power for a while, but the Life Mages have said that they should be able to recover within a couple days’ time.”
“So, they’ll be ready to move on their own right when Serin and the Cruor will be able to catch up to us. Dammit!” Wincing in pain, Ezekiel knew that they needed to make more space between them and the Cruor. Serin, in particular.
Waving a hand, more explosives were telekinetically pulled from his Void Pouch. Riley and the other Hunters who witnessed it gaped in shock.
“How many of those do you have!?”
“Not enough,” Ezekiel said before imbuing the altered explosives with mana. “But this will hopefully distract them long enough for us to buy a few more days.”
Snapping his fingers, Ezekiel sent the bombs flying away. The mana keeping them floating would be drained in the Miasma filled sky, but the mana that would ignite the Ichor in the Fungal Forest below would burn for a while after making contact with the ground.
“... The Church won’t be happy about this. These bombs could turn the tide of every single battlefront being fought right now.” This time it was George that spoke up. “Why have you not been sending them out to the different defensive lines?”
Ezekiel just glared at his friend from the corner of his eye.
“Making these things isn’t cheap. This is several years of stock being used up in less than a month. Not only that, but I couldn’t properly create a lasting seal for the mana. The longer these things are outside my [Domain] the less potent they become. Until they eventually go inert or explode into Lightning.” It was a problem that he had been trying to fix, since he knew that bombs of this level, being used en masse, would quickly turn the tide of numerous battles.
There were other problems, of course, but Ezekiel didn’t want to explain his concerns that the Cruor had been holding back. While it was apparent that they could survive without humanity, or Spirits, it was also obvious that they were keeping the war from going too far.
Other than a slow and steady push, no major changes in borders had occurred, nor had any Mythics died. While not something he had been worried about recently, the more he fought, the more Ezekiel had been realizing that the Cruor were planning something.
Something that he knew needed a ridiculous amount of mana. At least, as far as he suspected.
“For now, I’m not sure how many more times I’ll be able to do that. So, for the moment, we need to lay low even more than before. We’ll do a [Sling] this time, and when we stop, we will need to land.” Ezekiel focused inward, on the tugging sensation that had been ever present since his meeting with the representative from Quintessa.
Taking several long pulls from his waterskin, he overloaded himself on Ichor once more. This time, he winced in pain as he felt his soul stretch in a way that wasn’t easy to deal with.
But as he channeled as much mana as he could into a [Sling], he felt something shift in his bond with Shine. Upon disappearing from their current position, a smile formed on his face, even as he felt his mana drain while maintaining the constant movement that brought them far away from the burning fungi.
The opalescent blade of his partner flickered with power as a transformation began to take place.