Two figures sat in holding cells beneath the deck of a massive ship headed for Quintessa. The exact opposite direction of Sanafalls. Home to the captured Hunters.
Usually, such a vessel wouldn’t be headed away from the frontlines with a full crew, as it currently had. But with the importance that these two individuals had regarding their connection to the newest problem at hand, these measures were considered to be a minimum when it came to precautions.
“So, what do you think big bro got into this time?” Wendy asked, her voice dull and tired from staring at the ceiling above her cot for several hours. “It must be big if they’re taking us away from the fighting. Especially with us having just reached peak Tier three.”
Ezekiel’s sisters were located across from each other, sitting in enchanted cells that kept them from using their magic. Their Spirits were nowhere to be seen, but the connection between them was still strong. So, some communication was still available to them.
Ellen sat with a book in her hands. Her demeanor was calmer, and less restless than her sister’s. A remnant of her time in captivity. The twins’ different experiences had affected their previous attitudes from childhood.
“I’m sure that whatever it is, he’ll figure out something to save himself. Though, from what rumors I’ve heard, it seems like there’s a chance the world will end within a decade.” Ellen’s tone also indicated that she was bored, but she was softer and quieter than her sister. “At least, that’s what Tina told me the last time she spoke with the other Spirits.”
Wendy snorted in derision. The two sisters were inseparable on the battlefield, and their Spirits were some of the best scouting units known throughout the Archipelago, even though they were merely Adepts. Yet, even though they acted together, Ellen was still able to befriend others more easily than Wendy could.
“It’s a shame that there was a battle happening when the Com-Slates started projecting their message. It would’ve been nice to see Ezekiel’s face again. It’s been, what? Almost a year now?”
Ellen grunted in confirmation. “About that. But given the need for him to flit about from place to place, it only makes sense that it would be so long. I do wish that he would send more messages. It’d be nice to know how he’s doing. Though... I think we need to focus more on mom right now.”
The twins both sighed. It was apparent that their brother wasn’t the one they needed to focus on. Evelyn, their mother, had taken a long time to recover after her soul had mutated.
She had eventually become capable of using her magic without it lashing out, but the impact of her emotional state was much stronger than it used to be. To be safe, she had started wearing a magic sealing cuff at all times. One created by Ezekiel, since she didn’t fully trust the Church.
Unfortunately, due to the spread of rumors regarding her state of being, few, if any, outside the family’s closest circle of friends held any trust in her. Almost everyone else avoided her, like she was a bomb that was about to go off.
It didn’t help that her children, all adults and trained Hunters, were headed off for war the moment they returned to her. She had been stable for a while, but there was a chance that she would lose it again.
The fact that Reya was far more protective than she used to be, was even worse.
“Things wouldn’t be so bad if Reya hadn’t tried to kill any and every Light Spirit or Mage that got close to them.” Ellen rubbed her arm. Left unsaid were the few times that the Legendary cat Spirit had lashed out at her when surprised.
Wendy frowned, but her eyes widened for a moment before she closed them. Ellen turned to her, only to do the exact same thing.
The twins remained quiet for several seconds. Silently, they communicated with the Spirits.
“... Damn... so it’s not the end of the world... just humanity, if Ezekiel can’t break through again.” Wendy glared at nothing; a swirling turmoil twisted in her inky eyes after going over the message she had just received from her Spirit. “I don’t think we can stick around while he’s out there fighting for us. Not when the Quintessa’s Church and Void remnant are against him.”
Ellen sighed, the gentle look on her face now gone as her eyes narrowed into a razor-sharp glare. “We won’t be able to break out as Adepts. Not with these cages sealing our magic.”
A ball of light formed in her hand, only for her cage to light up and the mana in her spell to be canceled out. The Runes and hint of Void magic infused in them projected the [Nothingness] that Ezekiel had taught the Void Mages of the Church to use was too strong for mere Adepts to overcome.
“Well, it’s a good thing that the only thing keeping our Spirits occupied is the fact that we’re stuck in here, isn’t it?” Wendy smiled, and a pouch rose up from the shadow cast by the torch outside their cages. It was small, and not even a Void Pouch, but it had the tools that she needed. “Now, do we break through before we break out, or after?”
She grabbed the pouch, checking the contents to find a few pure mana crystals. Just enough to activate the locking mechanism to let them out. Something that, usually, only the correct keys would be able to do.
“How do you intend to use that to get out?” Ellen asked, ignoring her sister’s question.
“You forget that mom initially taught big bro how to enchant things. She taught me a bit too, and then Ezekiel taught me all the tricks needed to get out of his own inventions. Just in case they were used against us.” The smirk on Wendy’s face was all anyone would need to see to know that she had used these tricks on more than a few occasions. “The only reason you weren’t taught was because you were still recovering, and there wasn’t enough time for him to tell you directly. After we’re out, I’ll show you what you can do.”
Ellen closed her book and leaned back. “Well, let’s get started then. I would say that we need to break through first. The cages don’t stop mana from passing through the bonds with our Spirits.”
She then fell into a state of meditation, and with a chuckle Wendy followed suit.
The two had long since obtained an [Understanding] of their elements. Their souls having reached Tier four a while ago due to the trials and tribulations that they had experienced.
Being in their early twenties, they were some of the youngest to reach this level in the world. Though that number had been getting higher and higher ever since the start of the war.
Not to mention how far behind their brother and Riley they still were. With those two having broken through before they’d turned twenty.
With all these conditions having been met some time ago, they had simply needed to find an opportunity to gather up the necessary mana to break through. Something that their Spirits were more than capable of. Then, they just needed to discover their fourth Chakra.
They had both been searching for the past few months, and it was just a few days before they’d been brought to this ship that they had both found it. Ellen had found hers a few weeks prior but had waited for Wendy to find hers before she would break through.
Now, it was just a matter of taking the time to break through.
Unknown to the twins, the same cages that prevented their spells from taking form to help them break out also prevented the sudden surge of mana as they broke through from being felt by the rest of the ship.
“Shall we get out of here?” Wendy asked, her eyes fully blackened by her mana, now emanating the pressure of a Legendary being. It took her a moment to settle and suppress her mana.
“... I think I am... To Sanafalls, or do we try to meet up with Riley elsewhere?” Ellen quietly stood up, and her own eyes shone with golden light. “Also, do you think that you’ll be able to get anything else from the storage here before we leave?”
Wendy shrugged and reached out of her cell. She drew a specific pattern on the lock of the cage with the mana crystal in her hand. There was a soft ‘click’ and her cell silently swung open. A moment later, Ellen was free as well.
“I told Kare to gather supplies the first day we got on the boat. I just wanted to wait until we had more information before we broke out.” She dropped the pouch filled with mana crystals back into her shadow and closed her eyes, once more communicating with her Spirit. “It seems like it’s nighttime, so we should be able to sneak away easily enough.”
“Do we have a boat? I’m confident in Kare and Tina’s ability to fly, but a small boat would be helpful.” A large black circle formed on the wall in front of them, and Wendy grabbed the small wooden bench that had been in her cell. “Also, where will we be meeting up with our Spirits?”
Stepping into the shadow, Ellen expected the familiar sensation of the shadow world. The place where Obscure Mages and Spirits stepped into when they shadow traveled. Instead, she felt a sucking sensation, and found herself in a strange bubble.
All around her, the familiar presence of her sister pervaded her senses. She shivered, recognizing the feeling as that of a [Domain]. Something that only Mythics tended to have.
“I didn’t think that you could do this yet,” she whispered as she accustomed herself to the feeling. “Ezekiel will be annoyed. I don’t think he expected you to be this great the moment you ascended to Legendary. You learned this from the archived copies of the Shroud family archive, right?”
Wendy nodded, her figure now a black blob of shadows. “I couldn’t do it before reaching Legendary, but now that I’ve consolidated my [Understanding] of [Shadow Boundaries] into my soul, this spell has become much easier to handle.”
She waved at the strange world that surrounded herself and Ellen. “Oh! To answer your question, I have a boat in my Void Pouch. Kare should be bringing it in a moment.”
A second later, two familiar owl Spirits dropped from the ceiling. They quickly flew toward their Hunters, who gently caught and nuzzled their partners. After they connected once more, Wendy’s head seemed to disappear from her body, only to come back a moment later.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“Okay. The coast is still clear. We can go now.” She placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. Then the two stepped out of the [Boundary] that Wendy had made.
This time Ellen was in semi-familiar territory, as she and her sister shadow traveled through the ship, and underneath one of the openings for the cannons on the side of the ship.
Once they were outside, they descended beneath the ship, where they rematerialized, but were covered in Wendy’s Obscure mana, keeping them hidden from any that would try to see where they were.
Using the bench that she had grabbed as a float, the two sisters quietly drifted away from the ship, only ever sticking their heads up for air when absolutely necessary.
They remained like this for nearly an hour after the ship was out of sight, before taking to the sky on Kare and Tina’s backs. They alternated who carried who after the first few minutes in the sky, so as to keep themselves going for as long as possible.
Unknown to them, it wasn’t until the next day that they were even labeled as missing, after one of the deckhands noticed that Kare and Tina hadn’t returned from their flight during the night.
By then, the twins and their Spirits were already nestled on an uncharted island where Kare and Tina broke through. Now, their path to Sanafalls would be much shorter than it would have been the day before.
----------
----------------------------------------
Elsewhere in the Archipelago, an island was currently blazing with blue and white flames. Several figures fought amidst the fires. One was a woman with draconic wings made of the same-colored flames as those that surrounded her.
The others were of different elements, but mostly clad in the blue spirit Armor of the Spirit element. Each of which was in the upper Steps of Legendary. But no matter how much they fought, the outnumbered woman in red armor, wreathed in blue and white flames, couldn’t be brought down.
However, after fighting for several hours, even with preparations made well beforehand, the tides were turning, and a winner would need to be decided soon.
“Legend Riley, you are aware that your actions do not display your loyalties in a positive light, correct?” One of the Glacial Hunters, an elderly woman at the peak of Legendary, yelled over the roaring flames below. “All you need to do is return to Quintessa. The Church of Ten doesn’t wish to harm you! We just want to find the Void Exalt. To make sure he is safe and cannot be taken by the Cruor!”
Riley just scoffed, “I suppose you’ll do that by keeping him within the walls of a Cathedral? Perhaps the Remnant will betray and trap him once again.”
“Slanderer!” one of the other Hunters called out. “The Void Remnant has proven itself time and time again, to be loyal to humanity as a whole! Its actions are not a betrayal.”
Riley waved her hand, and a spout of fire from below flared up, nearly consuming the Hunter in the process. He screamed in pain and tried to flee, but Riley wouldn’t allow it.
She flew forward, her spear brimming with Flame mana, and after she wove past the attacks of the other Hunters, she met her target within seconds. Her spear pierced their chest and cauterized the now gaping hole that was in the middle of his torso.
“You bastards sound just like the Cult of Light. Putting your faith in ancient beings who simply seek to use or guide us to create a future that they want!” The flames that consumed the island rose higher as her emotions grew more heated. “That is no way to live. Subject to the whims of another. Unable to put faith in those that stand with you, those that have proven themselves time and time again, only to forsake them for something older.”
“Legend Riley! You have killed one of our members! Previously we were avoiding lethal attacks to not upset the Void Exalt. Now you have gone too far!” The Glacial Hunter leading Riley’s attackers spread her arms wide. The temperature around her began dropping rapidly, and a small patch of the burning island was extinguished. “For your betrayal of humanity, we shall take you down, and once we get you back to Quintessa, in pieces if needed, you shall face judgment for your crimes and ensure that your husband falls in line.”
No one spoke after the Glacial Hunter’s declaration. She had basically just said that she didn’t fear the wrath of the man who literally held the fate of the world in his hands.
Witnessing the loyalty of these Church sponsored Hunters, Riley recognized something in them that she had seen inside herself. Something she had denied, believing it to be a lingering shard of who she had become when corrupted by the Cult of Light. A thing that she had previously been disgusted by, but now knew was simply a part of her that she could no longer deny.
“I see... So that’s what I was missing.” Riley ignored the magic being cast before her. Her magic retracted inward, and the fire that covered her form disappeared. “You were right... Stepping away from you did show me just what I needed. Just who I am.”
The Azure Flame Legend just let out a derisive chuckle before turning back to her opponents. For a moment, the world seemed to slow down around her. This wasn’t a spell of any sort, just a sense of enlightenment that had granted her a higher level of [Understanding] that what she had before.
Beneath her helmet, her eyes twinkled with the [Truth] as she realized what was going on, and what she truly was. “The fact that you ignore all claims against you, while falsely standing proud of your actions, merely proves my point.”
Unlike before, when she spoke quietly, and wasn’t even heard by the enemies before her, Riley’s words now spread across the island. Her Flames roared her message for all to hear.
From below, the blue Flames that had spread thanks to her magic coalesced around her. They drew together, and the previously doused land beneath the Glacial Legendary was reignited as the fire beneath them spread and grew once more.
They were not fed by mana, however, and instead, it was as if the world itself was causing the Flames to grow.
“However, I can no longer deny that I am the same. For [I am the Flame that Walks with the Void]”
With that declaration, a change occurred inside of Riley, and the magic keeping her aloft disappeared. Her figure split in two, herself, and her Spirit, before falling into the fires below.
The flames that had gathered around her fell in sync with her body. Spells cast by her pursuers were harmlessly avoided as her body was consumed in the fire. Beside her, it was only due to their bond that prevented Celia from burning up as well.
“Catch her!” The Glacial Legend ordered. “Put out those flames! I don’t know what she did, but her magic had left her. This is our chance to--”
Words failed her, and for a moment, all the Hunters that had come to capture Riley, nearly a dozen in total, had gone silent. Alongside the world around them.
It was also darker, since the flames below had disappeared.
A heavy pressure passed over the hole of the island. Flickers of light traveled toward Riley, who now lay prone on the ground. Her body bare to the world, as even the items enchanted by her husband were destroyed from the sheer heat that now emanated from her body.
At that moment, the Hunters realized that the flames hadn’t disappeared. They had grown so hot as to lose all color, and only the coolest wisps of blue fire could be seen. Yet the heat that should’ve been emanating from it, and ultimately burning them alive, didn’t touch them. All of it was contained to the surface of the island.
Even now, the land on the island cracked, and the charred husks of the forest turned to ash, and were further incinerated, until almost nothing remained.
Something changed. A shift occurred that snapped the Hunters out of their stupor.
“Retreat!” their leader screamed; her voice hoarse from how tense she had become.
But it was too late. Riley had opened her eyes. Now azure in color, with a black sclera.
A blue fire that burned within the Void.
Moments later, the Hunters were covered in her newly formed [Domain]. The standard ability that all Mythical Mages and Spirits had. Not long after, their charred husks fell to the ground.
“So, this is who I am.” Uncaring of her naked form, Riley held up a hand. Blue fire danced around it, before shifting to turn into a variety of shapes.
On the outside, these fires were not that different from the ones she always used. However, the overall cost of making her Flames blue no longer existed. If anything, the mana cost had dropped exponentially.
Not only that, but she could tell that her body was significantly stronger than it was before. If anything, she now believed that she could go toe to toe with the Rotting Matriarch.
A scaled snout as large as her entire body nuzzled her side. Flashes of memories, filled with Ezekiel fighting Broodlords to a standstill or a retreat filled her mind. She nearly stumbled to the ground due to the intensity of her Spirit’s beratement.
“You’re right... I’m still new at this. There’s no way that I could be better than Ezekiel when I’ve only just stepped into this realm.” There was a loving and almost worshipful tone as she spoke of her husband. A frown passed over her face for a moment, and her gaze became forlorn. “Do you think he will be upset with me? He has always told me that I need to find my own [Path], separate from him. Yet, all I want is to continue walking beside him. Wherever his [Path] may go.”
Celia snorted, shaking her head and giving her partner a flat look of disbelief.
“... I guess you’re right. This was ultimately who I am, and my decision. He wouldn’t throw me away for doing exactly what he asked me to do.” Riley smiled, once more confident in herself and her power. “If he does, I’ll just knock him down and make him understand that I’m not going anywhere.”
With that said, she turned toward the direction she knew Quintessa was. She stood there for a moment, simply thinking of what she should do now.
Ezekiel had told her to go and protect his family. As well as keep herself safe. But that wasn’t in line with her truth of being one that walks with the Void.
Celia nudged her again, and she laughed at herself.
“You’re right. The best chance for me to walk with him again is to wait for where I know he’ll go.” She turned away from Quintessa, far beyond the horizon, and faced the direction of Sanafalls. “Let’s go protect our family and wait for my husband’s return.”
With unwavering faith in her voice, Riley rose into the air. Celia flew next to her. Mana flowing between them, though at a much more subdued rate than normal.
“I’ll carry you for now. You need to meditate as much as possible. Only after you discover your own [Truth], opening your fifth Chakra, and consolidate your [Understandings] into a [Core], will you be able to fight with me once more.”
Celia huffed in annoyance, but did as she was told, and shrunk down so Riley could carry her in her arms. The newest Exalt paused and looked over herself.
“I’ll also need to get some new clothes... Do you think that Ezekiel will be able to make me something suitably fireproof? He’s the only one that should be seeing me like this, after all.”
Celia didn’t reply to her this time. She just chuckled as Riley complained about how she needed to figure out how to get something to cover herself before others could see her.
They both chose to ignore the presence of the other Hunters and Spirits that were near the island but had never set foot on it. Those that weren’t in their way could be ignored.
Plus, with this, the world would soon know that there was another Mythic roaming the world. One that would stand with the Void in all his endeavors.
----------
----------------------------------------
Back in Quintessa, hidden beneath layer upon layer of natural [Enchanted Formations] Ezekiel now sat with three Mythical Spirits surrounding him. Each one several Steps above him in power.
Yet, none of them were focused on one another. Instead, their heads were turned to the side. A feeling of something new flickered into existence and floated at the very edge of their senses. It remained for a little while, before it faded after heading away from them.
“It seems we have a new peer. You humans are kinda scary when it comes to how fast you grow when you know what you’re doing.” The Tempest dog Spirit said with a goofy grin on his face. “The fact that you can sense that while in the lower Steps is even more impressive.”
Ezekiel remained silent. He recognized the feeling that had been conveyed to him across the space-between-spaces. That heat, those Flames. It all brought a broad smile to his face that spread from ear to ear.
“I am more surprised that you all can feel it. I didn’t think that your senses would reach that far.” Ezekiel’s abilities transcended time and space, but only to an extent that was equal to his own personal power. He knew that the Exalted Spirits in front of him wouldn’t have these tricks, so he was surprised to know that they could feel what he had felt as well.
“It’s what happens when you reach Step five. Your senses will sharpen, and you’ll be able to commune more easily with the world. You wouldn’t know this, since the only Mythical beings you’ve met are the younger ones. The ones born after the Age of Despair. I’m a bit older than that. Also, no, the monkey underground doesn’t count. The nature of that Legacy prevents it from sensing much past the entrances that no longer exist.” The Tempest Mythic spoke with a lighthearted tone, as if it wasn’t teaching Ezekiel very important information. “Usually, I wouldn’t bother teaching this, since you’re not strong enough, and no human ever had the potential to be that strong before. But you’re different, aren’t you?”
The last few words were spoken with a growl, and Ezekiel felt goosebumps form. A sudden sense of death and despair nearly overwhelmed him, and the might of three, much more powerful beings, nearly pushed him to his knees.
“Let’s talk about why that is, and what you can do to get out of here alive.”
The Tempest Spirit continued to grin as it spoke. His tone was lighthearted and kind once more, but Ezekiel knew that this conversation would be anything but safe.
He saw far too many teeth for it to be anything but a harrowing experience.