‘You know, based on the Islamic design of the arches, I’m pretty sure before this building was a monastery, it was-’

Leta’s train of thought was derailed as she crashed into the courtyard wall, bouncing off the stucco before landing on the hard cobblestones with a groan.

“Again!”

Leta hissed out a breath, her chest heaving as sweat dripped off her in rivets and stinging as it soaked into her bloody knuckles. Atreus and Allister’s ‘review’ was taking such a toll on her body that her nanites were in a constant state of repair.

She’d already cracked a rib again when Hayato roundhouse kicked her in the chest so hard she missed the mat and rolled into the courtyard fountain.

Koa had given her a beating by way of weapons as his sword cut deep.

The first time she got tossed out about and nearly dislocated her shoulder in the process, it had given her a surprising reward.

[Host has unlocked Basic Hand-to-Hand combat skill.]

Everyone seemed to watch in morbid fascination as the scrapes and bruises from being tossed around quickly healed, remarking that even for an Arisen, it would have taken them a day or two to recover from a broken rib where it only took her a moment.

Leta took a deep breath, a sweat-covered arm wiping the grim from her face as she returned to the fighting stance Allistershowed her.

Hayato nodded at her before launching another attack, his hand flying at her head. Leta used her enhanced forearms to block the strike with one before throwing a fist with the other. Hayato grabbed her wrist and pulled, causing her to lose her balance as he threw her over his shoulder.

‘Yep, those are totally Moorish Arches.’

Leta could feel her tooth crack as her cheek scraped against the stone floor.

From above, she could hear “ooh” from the onlookers on the second floor as she rolled over and stared up at the fluffy clouds rolled by, mocking her suffering.

“Stop. Let’s take a breath.”

“Oh, thank god.” She sighed, gingerly picking herself up off the cobblestone and limping to the fountain. “Can I just fall into this?”

“No, lass.”

“Tragic.” She moaned as she cupped her hand to pour water over her head and face, wincing as the freezing water stung her quickly healing cuts.

“Fifteen minutes. Then we’ll be back to it.”

Dr. Kudela came down from where she’d been watching on the second floor and knelt beside Leta as she propped herself up against the fountain.

[Warning! A foreign entity is scanning the Host’s vital signatures and gauging overall health. Malicious intent not detected.]

“You’re healing unbelievably fast.” She remarked, her eyes fixed on the skin of Leta’s cheek that had been scrapped partially off. Before her eyes, the skin was smoothing out and scabbing over, the swollen redness subsiding until her face was whole once more.

Leta shrugged, her tongue running over her now-fixed tooth, “It was weird at first, but now I’m getting used to it.”

“Do you mind if I monitor you for a moment? It’ll just be like someone putting a cuff on you at the hospital to monitor your vitals from a distance. I’ve only met a Crown once before and didn’t get a chance to observe them.”

“Yeah, sure.” Leta nodded, surprise in her tone as the woman put two fingers on her wrists and looked at her watch. “You met a Crown before? When was that?”

Dr. Kudela shrugged, “A long, long time ago. I don’t even remember the battle. At that time, there were only three known Kings. Today, when a new king comes or goes, the Crowns meet up and redraw territories, but in the past, it was war. I was, at that time, under the command of the Eastern King. When the Central King suddenly died, I was sent north with a company to confront Timur’s army, which the Western King backed.” Leta nearly choked on air at that statement. “Timur as it Middle Ages?”

“We didn’t call it that at the time.” Dr. Kudela gave her a mischievous grin, “But it would have been towards the later end of that era. The Plague was still a thing, but by then, it had mostly run its course, and kingdoms were back to expanding their territories instead of consolidating their power.”

“I…” Leta opened her mouth as if searching for the words before starting again, “I don’t want to seem rude, but how old are you?”

Dr. Kudela chuckled, “Old enough not to be bothered by silly questions. Only the nobility took note of dates and years. It’s not like we celebrated birthdays or anything anyway. Well…” She paused, her lips pursing as she thought about it. “I was born in Autumn towards the end of the 1300s, so best guess I’d say I’m 670-something years old.”

Leta’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Holy…”

The woman shrugged, “Healers are much sought after among the Sects, so I have been well protected and cared for. I’ve also been lucky to work with adept soldiers who taught me how to defend myself.”

She thought back to last night and remembered how skilled the older woman was with her blades, her fearlessness at facing off against literal monsters.

Lost in thought, Leta barely felt the woman pat her shoulder. “You are doing well. Most of the Arisen were in terrible situations and often labeled monsters and demons after our Rising. I wandered for about five years before I stumbled upon another Arisen. With today’s technology and increased numbers, it’s much easier for us to find others after their Rising and protect them.”

“Are you saying that you guys knew about me?”

“About you? No. About your circumstances? Not until De Mar realized what you were. De Mar studies the ancient world, that much is true, but he is also tasked with keeping an eye out for Atlantian artifacts.”

“What kind of artifacts?”

“Everything. Anything that can give us some insights into how we are what we are. Your dig site was flagged as a confirmed Atlantian sight shortly after your Rising. De Mar told me that several items were brought to the surface that were Atlantian in origin, so steps were taken to shut down the site to outsiders so that our people could go in to remove the artifacts.”

“And started a bloody war in the process,” Kaviah growled, assisting the young boy Samuel in installing long metal rods at the corners of the courtyard as she eavesdropped on their conversation.

Dr. Kudela shook her head. “It happens every time, and you know it.”

“And it could have been avoided, and you know it.” The Indian woman shot back as she steadily placed one long pole on top of the other in the ground. Under her hands, the metal glowed red, and the air filled with the scent of ozone and ash. When she pulled her hands away, the two metal rods welded together under her power.

Leta blinked, distracted by the seemingly magical welding job, “What war?”

Dr. Kudela sighed, “While the Chosen may have moved first to close down your dig site, the Blessed weren’t far behind. A marine force stationed with a Sect in Cyprus was sent out to begin going through the ruins and ran into water-based Blessed, who also got wind of the site.”

“Spies.” Kaviah hissed and spat on the stone floor in disgust.

“None among us.” Dr. Kudela soothed, “But there’s constantly confrontations between the two. During the day, the Blessed are weakened, so the Chosen can hold the position, but come night, the Blessed have the advantage. It’s a war of attrition. Neither side is winning, and it only ends when all the artifacts are taken, but that will take a while.”

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“What sort of artifacts are they going after?”

“Whatever they, and we, can get their hands on. Anything Atlantian is priceless and has some importance to us. Not in monetary value but in function. Take Koa, for example.” She pointed at the Warrior, who was sitting on the stone balcony ledge, munching away on a sandwich as one leg swayed back and forth over the side, “Koa managed to obtain a weapon by participating in a site reclamation a few years ago. It’s made of god steel and will forever hold its edge, never tarnishing or breaking. Only a Blacksmith like Kaviah can shape god steel-”

“And it’s a pain in the arse,” Kaviah grumbled as she cleaned her hands in the fountain. “Like no metal I’ve ever smithed. It’s almost as if it’s intelligent the way it fights to fit a form. And to make things worse,” She paused to wipe her hands on a towel that Samuel offered, “Some of the earth-based Blessed are attracted to it. The scent, the taste, I’ve no earthly idea. Someone finds some god steel, then the next thing we know, an ogre’s chewing on it like a dog with a bone.”

Leta remembered the disastrous night in Santorini and that the Minotaur hadn’t been interested in the car or Koa but appeared to be looking for his sword.

“Huh.” She wondered if Blessed might be hungry for Atlanite -or god steel as it was referred to because their corrupted nanites craved it. Perhaps that was also why the Blessed preferred eating Chosen rather than humans. Like cancer cells, maybe their broken systems craved the taste of pure, uncorrupt nanites.

A water bottle was pushed into her face, breaking her from her musings.

She looked up from sitting to see the young boy, Samuel, holding the object out for her to take, his dark eyes wide as he looked at her with uncertainty and awe.

“Oh, thank you.” She gave him a warm smile as she took a sip.

“You’re welcome, your Majesty.” He nervously stuttered, small hands wringing with uncertainty.

Leta grimaced into the bottle before swallowing her drink. “Call me Leta. I’m just your average American college student. Nothing special.”

Allister clapped his hands, calling out, “Breaks over. Leta. Center. Everyone else, either get indoors or get away from the courtyard.”

She let out a breath, her muscles aching as if sensing the oncoming pain she was about to be in. Kaviah held out a hand to help her up, callused fingers deftly pulling her to her feet as if she weighed nothing.

“Thanks,” Leta muttered as the Blacksmith was already walking away and out of sight as if she couldn’t be bothered by what others were doing.

Dr. Kudela patted her arm, “Dr. De Mar is charged with examining what’s brought up, and I hear he is very excited about what’s been found. I can send him a message to get in touch with you. Perhaps you can take some comfort in learning more about the ancient world as you did before.”

Leta smiled at the older woman’s attempt to cheer her up. “That would be nice.”

Dr. Kudela, Hayato, Koa, Yelana, Afra, and young Samuel chose to stay and watch, retreating to the second-floor walkway where the columns and courtyard rods provided some measure of protection.

Atreus stood some ways away from the rods, arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed those watching above before giving the giant a nod to begin.

Allister turned to her with a serious expression like a ship captain about to address his men before battle. “Alright, we’re going to be testing the rods first. Can you hold a charge in your hands and gradually increase its intensity?”

Leta took a breath and raised her head in affirmation. “I can.” “Right then. On my signal.”

Allister about-faced and joined Atreus outside the rods.

“These better hold.” She saw Atreus’s lips form the words, but he spoke so low that she couldn’t hear him.

“Alright, begin!”

Leta filled her lungs with air and slowly blew it out, centering herself as she pulled forth her lightning slowly.

Blonde hair began to lose touch with gravity as the tresses floated around her head with the rising static. Tiny arches of electricity zapped over her arms as she raised her hands, holding her palms in cupped positions like an imaginary ball.

The tiny sparks arched between her fingers, holding for half a heartbeat at a time, then half a second.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

The longer the arches of electricity were sustained, the brighter they glowed until they began to splinter into a spider’s web of crackling light. At the center of the arches started to collect and fuse, the bands thickening until a ball of white-blue light appeared between her fingers.

“Hold it.”

Leta heard Atreus’s command but didn’t look up, afraid that any break in concentration and the lightning would run wild.

She didn’t want to break the rest of the building and the rods if things got out of control.

Focusing on the baseball-sized mass of lightning, she slowly pulled one hand away until it was accessible from the web of electricity holding the ball aloft.

“Good. Put a little more into it.”

Breathing deep, she pulled static from the air around them and channeled it into the ball, watching it swell as it fed until it was the size of a basketball.

Everyone hissed and held their hands up to protect their eyes as the light of a miniature star filled the courtyard.

As she held its size firm in her mind, excess lightning began to discharge and connect with the ground around her, leaving tiny scorch marks on the cobblestone.

“Excellent, Leta. Can you put more in?”

“Y-Yeah.” She grunted, doing her best to focus, holding the mass in place while answering, “But it’s going to start discharging.”

“Okay, everyone, back.”

Distantly, she could hear the group watching above take steps away from the balcony ledge as Atreus and Allister retreated a few steps.

“Alright.” Allister nodded, “Give it a go.”

‘Just a little more.’

The smell of ozone filled the air as she fed the mass. Leta brought her other hand back up to support the mass as it swelled between her hands to the size of a beach ball.

[Warning. The Host has reached the voltage limit to hold a sustained charge. Further increases in voltage may cause harm to the Host.]

Leta grunted by holding firm, her nanites continuously repairing her retinas as the white-hot light of the mass blinded her.

Seconds later, a large arch of lightning cracked through the air, connecting the ball of electricity with one of the rods.

Another giant arch snapped to her left, seemingly drawn to the rod.

“Holding…” Atreus muttered as two more bolts connected with the metal additions.

Suddenly, an arch shot up and branched into two halves, one striking the ivy-covered wall above the war room and blasting the greenery to ash instantly as the other crossed the courtyard to strike the tiled roof.

She heard Samuel scream in surprise and nearly lost control of the energy she was wielding.

“Alright, Leta. Slowly draw energy out of it.”

It might have been easier stuffing a hurricane into a bottle.

Now that the energy was there, it couldn’t be turned off. It had to be channeled into something or release the power simultaneously. The sudden release would probably shatter the windows and everyone’s eardrums, so that option was out.

Leta imagined an arch of energy running up her arms, through her body, and into her feet, dispersing its potential into the earth below her.

At first, it felt like nothing happened, so she tried again.

And again.

After the fifth or sixth time, she could see it slowly decreasing as it shrank from the size of a beach ball to that of a basketball.

Without the mass to give it power, the bolts decreased until the much smaller arches from before were all that remained.

Leta dared to glance up and see the General’s reaction.

Atreus had found a pair of very dark aviator glasses but was still using his hand to protect him from the glaring light of the ball in her hands.

Allister could only close his eyes and feel his face warm as Leta’s miniature sun increased the air temperature around them.

“Well done, Leta.” Atreus called, “Bring it down a little more.”

Steadying herself again, she began pulling strands of electricity through her body and expelling the energy into the ground beneath her. As she painstakingly shrank the mass of lightning, the smell of burning rubber singed her nose as the soles of the sneakers she’d been wearing began to melt with the heat of the discharging electricity.

A minute or two passed before the mass was once more the size of a baseball. Its bright glow was still too much to look at directly, but it was small enough now that those watching could at least see her.

“Alright, now throw it at a rod.” “What?” She nearly lost control of the lightning mass at such a crazy request.

“The rods can take the bolts, but we need to know if they will hold against a heavier attack.”

“Fuck, okay.”

Just as when she used the skill Ball Lightning last night, she compressed the energy together, holding its fragile form together before throwing her hand out and sending it flying.

Unlike last night, the mass of lightning moved almost lazily through the air. As it neared the rod, tendrils of electricity branched off and connected, wrapping around the pole like reaching fingers.

The moment it made contact, the ball of lightning suddenly jerked and shot toward the rod just like metal shavings were dragged to a magnet.

When it made contact, it flashed blinding white like a photographer’s camera light, splitting the air with the loud crack of thunder.

In its wake, the rod glowed red where it had been hit, and the metal scorched back with the direct attack but otherwise unharmed.

Leta breathed and shook the static from her hair as the last electricity was grounded through her feet into the cobblestone and dirt below.

She saw Samuel’s dark eyes peaking over the stone ledge. “Is the coast clear?”

“From me? Yeah.” She chuckled before addressing Atreus. “I think it would be a good idea to put a metal net up and attach to the rods. That would probably keep my lightning from hitting the buildings.”

Atreus was blinking furiously as he removed his aviators, stepping forward again now that the danger was contained, “Agreed. Samuel?”

“On it!” He answered before his smaller feet putter-pattered away.

“You’re going to need some new shoes.” He pointed to her sneakers that had melted slightly, sticky strands of plastic and rubber gluing her in place as if she’d stepped in bubblegum.

“Yeah, it might be best if I just go barefoot from here on out if we just test my skills. I don’t want to end up melting every single pair.”

“We’ll need to research a good pair of shoes for you. If the worst should happen, I won’t have you going into harm’s way without some foot protection.”

“Lineman must have something,” Allister commented. “I’ll see what the good ole’ inter-web offers.”

Atreus bobbed his head in agreement before looking up to the wide-eyed Hearth Maiden, looking around in surprise as if she fully expected another wild bolt to come out of nowhere.

“Afra. You’re up.”

“You want me to face off against this goddamn X-Man? I think fucking not!”