Eric stood with Gabe and Yarila just on the other side of the door from Shaun. He had already made some guesses as to where he was going, he had done his own research into the factions and multiverse, trying to piece together what was going in with Shaun.
When he felt immense power coming form the other side of the door, power that even Shaun was not able to produce, he knew that he had an outside benefactor which he was going to meet. This only confirmed what Eric suspected, he was going off world, he had a powerful backing and it wasn’t any of the factions form the tutorial. That only left one option in his mind, The Alliance.
He had no idea how he had formed a connection to them, The Alliance was a faction made up of Fae and Dragon, the were outcasts in the multiverse and were universally hated by every other faction. But Shaun had also confirmed that everything that ever went on with him was connected, because of that he also concluded that his connection to The Alliance was bigger than just a chance meeting.
He didn’t know how exactly they were connected, but he knew that everything he had done to protect them, even the final warning about being seen with him in the multiverse, all of it connected back to his relationship with a faction that although rarely seen, was still an enemy that every other faction actually agreed on.
“He is gone.” He hadn’t noticed that the power coming form the other room had disappeared, he was to caught up in his own head. He trusted Shaun, and Shaun seemed to be apart of The Alliance. The question in his head now was did he also trust that at some point The Alliance may be the best bet for all of them?
“Yarila, you trusted Shaun, do you trust me?” His question came out of nowhere and it took some time for Yarila to respond.
“We have fought side by side, you have never done anything against me or my people. You welcomed us into the school without a second thought. Shaun trusted you, not just personally but with this entire school. So yes, I trust you, Eric.”
“Good, move your people into the D grade area, all of them. That will solve any issue you may have with Viv. Then, I would seriously consider what Shaun said before, about traveling to other settlements and claiming them. You don’t have to do it straight away, but if its something you think will help your people and give them their own independence, do it. Whatever happens though, I would avoid joining any of the factions on a permanent basis.”
“I….I will propose the change of settlement to my people, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t agree to move into the area. But…..what have you figured out? The warning against the factions……what is it Shaun wouldn’t say that you seem to know?”
“Nothing for certain, but I get the feeling that Shaun won’t stay in the shadows for long. When he does appear again, we all have to be strong enough and free enough that he can bring us into the fold.” He didn’t know exactly when he decided this, but some day he wanted to experience what Shaun was. Trust in a faction, a family. He had people he cared about and so far all he had experienced with the factions was fighting and war and deceit. Maybe The Alliance was different.
“You truly believe that we have a chance to follow him to where he has gone?” Yarila let the smallest but of hope creep into her words.
“I do. I think there are things at play that none of us are capable of dealing with, not yet. We have to grow much stronger if we ever have a chance at fighting by his side again.” He really believed that too. “Go to your people and start the move, I will deal with Viv.”
“I wish you luck then.” Yarila went straight into the room Shaun had just left and went straight to the crystal and used it to go back to her people.
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do? Going against Viv was usually Shaun’s job. Are you ready to take up that mantle?”
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“Yes, I really am. When we finish dealing with her we need to talk about the future and what exactly we want. If we continue growing we will have centuries before we die of old age, longer even if we reach the higher grades. I think it is time we follow in Shaun’s steps and start taking life into our own hands.”
“So you want to push to D grade?”
Eric laughed, mostly because before he though reaching D grade was an incredible feat, now, he had higher aspirations. “I was thinking we go further, why stop at D when we can fight our way right through to A grade?"
They both made their way through the castle, each of them thinking about what their future would hold. It took a while but with Eric’s new control over the D grade it wasn’t hard to find where Viv was. She wasn’t that far from the castle, having spent weeks to get here, so their own trip was pretty straight forward.
When Viv saw them walking towards her group alone she looked frustrated but covered it up when she saw him watching.
“Where is Shaun? I was hoping that we could talk and start over, become friends again. Go back to the days before we had wars to worry about and settlements to run. I would like to start over with the both of you too. I know how much you care for Shaun.” So that’s what this was about, she probably got her ass handed to her by The Empire and was told to make friends with them again.
“Shaun isn’t here any more. Gone out to explore the world. You should have gotten the notifications, I know I did when he passed the D grade area to me.” Seeing the look fury on Viv’s face as he spoke was better than he could have imagined. She had failed, again.
“And when is he expected back?” Viv was barely controlling her rage as she spoke, biting out every word.
“He isn’t. He is planning to leave the planet when the year is up, explore the multiverse on his own. He has already said his goodbyes. As am I. Goodbye Viv. The D grade settlement is not yours and I, as its owner, forbid you or your people form entering it without explicit approval from me. Understood?”
“You have no right to…”
“But I do. It was all agreed between Shaun and The Empire. Now turn around and leave the area immediately, you are not welcome.” He turned his back on her and started to walk away, he didn’t get far before Viv started shouting at him.
“This world will be owned by me and The Empire. If you don’t obey, I will make you outcasts on this planet, factionless. You will not be allowed to join The Empire and as the world will be part of their faction, you will not be able to join any other. Is that really what you want?”
He had expected something like this from Viv, she was throwing around her weight but little did she know how little that would impact him now. “Do what you want. My order is still the same. You are not welcome here. And before you think about taking it by force, you break the agreement and you know the consequences. System contracts are very powerful, you taught me that.”
He went back to walking away from her, Gabe by his side. Viv continued to shout nonsense at him, threats continued but he just ignored her. When he got back to the castle he would look at the settlement crystal more carefully and see what restriction and options he may be able to put in place to drive home his point.
“You really channelled your inner Shaun there, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did, and it felt incredible.”
They both made their way back to the castle, and he found himself at his desk, forming up a plan for the future. He was ready to step up, not just personally but the entire school. He had only months left before the world opened up and things would change, he wanted to make sure he was ready for that. Beyond that though, he had bigger plans he wanted to iron out. He was ready to work hard though, he refused to be left behind the next time he saw Shaun.
He opened one of the draws to his desk and inside was a box he had never seen before with a piece of paper on top of it. When he opened the folded paper he laughed at what he read.
You are going to need this if you hope to fight with me again someday.
He had no idea when Shaun had left the box for him, he hadn’t seen him do it. Taking out the box he opened it up and when he saw what was inside he nearly fainted. A transcendent graded item that was used to train ones affinity to higher levels.
He couldn’t help but start to laugh controllably. Shaun had known he was figuring out his secrets, he even guessed at what his own goals would be when he did. So, he left a parting gift that would help him fulfil them, a gift that, like the instance orb, shouldn’t even be on the planet.
This just solidified his plans for the future, Shaun would not have left something like this if he never planned to see them again. It was also a message, get stronger. He was fully planning on listening to that message but this item would help him get there, would help all of them get to the point where they would be able to fight for Shaun again if they wanted to. Will see you soon buddy.