He stared at me in the same way Ventus had, and if Ventus wasn't currently struggling to raise his head, I was sure he'd do the same.

I raised my head again, this time noticing how I was struggling less than Sereza despite her being a whole tier above me. "Fine, as long as it doesn't cost me my life. What do you need me to do?"

His serious expression morphed into the brightest smile, rivaling even Teddy in pure, fulgent smiles. "Good man, felkin. I can delay the monster from breaching through, but that will require me to keep the curse active."

"Why?"

"I will redirect some of the mana from the crystal into a ritual. What I need from you is to free the others. Undo their curse like you did mine."

Another pulse came out, and I accidentally bit my tongue from the pressure pushing me downward. My familiars whimpered, Zharia receiving the worst of it.

Magnus relied on his natural ability to resist and absorb mana to alleviate some of the ether's pressure, while Áine somehow found protection within Callen's hand.

I waited till the pressure eased and let me work my jaw before spitting out the blood. "I need to unleash the mana after he absorbs it. This will be hard on my familiar, so I can't be too fast!"

Callen nodded, walked over to where I was, and placed a hand on my shoulder. He then reached into the front of his robe and pulled something out. With a quick tug, the necklace unclapsed from around his neck, and he quickly fixed it over my head, using one hand to rehook the clasp.

It was a simple thing: a thin silver chain that had a medallion on the end. I didn't get the best look at it, but I saw the brief image of a serpent surrounding a trident with a wave of water behind it.

The moment the necklace settled onto my chest, I felt a blip of mana from the necklace's medallion. Runework lit up and then spread over my body, crawling down each limb. The runes were bright blue with an orange glow that brightened and then disappeared, fading to invisibility.

I moved my arm and was surprised to see that it moved with little resistance. The pressure had faded, not entirely, but it was a significant improvement compared to before.

Standing up slowly, he placed the little fairy on my shoulder, where Áine readjusted herself, seemingly fine from the ether. Then I noticed Zharia was faring much better while Magnus was wholly unbothered.

Callen squeezed my shoulder while standing straight. I noticed a slight tremble in his leg. "You are a fascinating mystery, boy. Not even Ventus here could so easily withstand the ether's effects. Thank you for agreeing to help."

I glanced at Sereza, where she was genuinely trembling on the floor. She raised her head to smile at me before groaning and flopping to the ground. "Ju-just go... I'll be fi-fine."

"What about the mana I need to discharge?" I asked as I turned towards Callen.

"Don't worry about that. Whenever you need to discharge it, launch it into the circle," Callen replied.

I was about to ask what circle, but instead, I shut up and nodded. Stepping back, I grabbed Zharia and held her to my chest. She returned to my soul without saying a word. Next was Áine; while her healing could be helpful, she had pulled from my mana to heal Callen's injury. I was starting to suspect he was beyond a tier two and actually a tier three. The way he held his ground compared to Ventus spoke volumes about the kind of resiliency he had.

Another major factor in that guess was how much mana Áine had used to heal him. She had used all of her own and dipped into a quarter of mine.

When Áine's weight returned to my soul, I lifted Magnus until we were at eye level. "Are you ready, big guy?"

He roared. "Yes!"

Callen was still watching me, so I took another step back, this time away from the others. Closing my eyes, I reached into the lake of mana inside my chest and called to it. The mana flowed unbidden like a raging rapid into my channels.

When Spirit Lord's Invocation activated, I forced my will upon the skill and kept the activation effect to a minimum. I opened my eyes, finding Callen and Ventus staring at me with curiosity, but Callen shook his head and pointed to the fallen elven woman.

"Rescue Giyanni first. She can help ease the ether's effects on your companion over there."

I complied and rushed over. She was a plain woman, pretty but not someone who'd stand out in my memory. The strangest thing I noticed was that she had a pair of glasses resting on her nose. Most people don't need glasses in Inoria, especially with evolutions fixing most minor problems.

Slipping my hand underneath her head, I channeled the mana absorption skill into my hands and pulled. Magnus' memories guided me this time, so I quickly found hold of the curse mana and pulled. My hands actively repelled the ether where they touched her body, making it easier to separate the curse mana from the overwhelming ether.

I felt her curse fill the container that came with the transformation. The skill traveled into the center of my chest, joining the power already resting there, causing me to feel bloated.

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She began to vibrate, and I held on long enough that her head didn't immediately impact the ground after the stone skin fell away.

She looked at me with a look of shock and surprise. I sighed and removed my hands before standing up and facing Callen. I didn't need to ask where to discharge because the man was waving his hands together in large circles. Crystal-clear water trailed upwards, connected to his wrists. The water had formed an actual bubble around the twist in space.

He glanced over and saw Giyanni getting up behind me. With a nudge of his chin, his directions were clear.

I called to the energy inside and let it into my throat, building in power before I opened wide and shot out a wave of grey energy that the sphere of water absorbed. It mixed with the liquid stone there, dissolving and shifting the water grey.

Giyanni swerved around me and slowly trudged her way through the pressure to join Ventus, who began to stand up. When she passed me, I saw her blush before she quickly looked away, leaving me confused.

Huh. That was...unexpected.

For the next hour, I went around the room trying to undo the curse and then fire off the energy into the ritual Callen was running. He was right about Giyanni. After joining Sereza and Ventus, she cast a barrier that helped ease the pressure. Sereza was finally able to stand for the first time in minutes.

By the time I undid another two more, the crowd of people had grown to nine. I was ready to collapse, and my entire body ached. Absorbing the heavy chunks of mana took its toll after having to play tug-o-war each time I sought to absorb the curse. And my throat was starting to become raw; the constant discharge made me unable to speak.

I reached the final person left as a statue, a beastkin with a jellyfish cap and jelly stingers for hair. I didn't, and I couldn't say a word as I slapped my hands on their chest and pulled.

The curse came undone, and I stumbled backwards. Catching my breath, I raised my head and unleashed a final breath attack against the circle.

By now, the barrier had turned dark grey, the once crystal clear waters opaque with some small rocks floating between the water.

I felt my chest hurt and my head pound. My actions were enough, and I half-shuffled-half-walked my way over to where the freed people had congregated.

A few kept their eyes on the ritual Callen was running while others glared at the two monsters still trapped in stone.

Ventus reached me and held steady my tired form as I pushed my way into the barrier. Sereza joined on my other side and swung my arm onto her shoulder. Together, they dragged me into the barrier. After passing through, I summoned the chair from my inventory and sunk in with another groan, but this time one of relief.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a crowd of people staring at me. I closed my eyes.

"You did good work there, Cyrus. Thank you," Ventus said as he patted me on the shoulder.

In response, I gave him a thumbs-up.

Realizing I would need to communicate with people, I sent mana into Verdant Healer and summoned Áine. She appeared long enough to slap a hand against my throat and heal the damage from discharging the mana. She booped me on the nose and disappeared.

Sereza lightly tapped my arm with her tail. "The Commander confirmed that he took down the barrier after you freed Giyanni. He didn't want to do it, but I explained how we had an entire crowd of people waiting to find shelter. They'll be without the safety of the barrier, but the buildings here are relatively untouched. And he confirmed that a few have underground shelters strong enough to withstand a night or two."

"Good. Then I can rest," I said wearily.

"Unfortunately, not for long," Ventus interjected. "Captain Callan can keep this up for another hour or two. Come nightfall, we'll have a fight on our hands."

"No rest for the wicked."

"What?" Sereza asked.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. How much longer can we keep this barrier up? I'm fine, thanks to the necklace, but this has to be using up a lot of mana."

Giyanni stepped closer, her face neutral and poised as she kept her chin straight. "Don't worry about that. I can keep this skill up long enough for the Captain to finish the ritual."

"And what is he trying to do? All I know, is that he is trying to delay the cult from breaching into this dimension."

"Sadly, not even I know for sure. Ventus, what about you?"

He shook his head and glanced back to the Callen. "No, the ether crystal was a top-secret subject. I only knew the basics of the emergency protocols."

There was a lull to the conversation. Even the other people resting inside the barrier became silent as they watched their captain. I closed my eyes and tuned out the world, letting myself sink into my soulspace. I appeared above the island and lowered myself, sitting in the middle with my legs crossed.

I sent out a mana pulse, a call inside my soul to its inhabitants. One by one, they appeared, even Chomperz.

The scene was peaceful, to have the wisps of light bounce and hover around me with the two pools of mana shining their glow from above and below.

The pink energy of the rift, the blue mana from my soul, was majestic, whimsical even. And in times like this, where my physical self endured beatings and ran ragged, I could appreciate the moments of true peace I could feel within my own personal world

I guess I can understand why all the people in those cultivation novels would lock themselves away to meditate.

I stood up and reached out a hand to each of the wisps, letting their mana signatures imprint on my mind. Everyone was different, and I recognized them all like a memory I could never forget. And no matter how much I knew these were relatively new impressions, that didn't matter.

I knew them as intimately as I knew my own soul. They were a part of me beyond the cortexes of my brain.

Chomperz slowly approached, and I felt the equivalent of him knocking on my chest. I reached to touch him, but he backed off and flew away. The rest of my familiars left one by one except Magnus.

I did not miss the iridescent tether connecting us together. I smirked. My familiars were telling me it was time.

With one last, long inhale, I exhaled and opened my eyes.

I was back in the physical world, the room dark and bland in comparison.

Before getting up, I stopped to think about what kind of face I wanted to show the crowd of people no doubt stealing glances my way.

I made my choice in an instant. It was funny how stupid I'd have normally felt wearing a mask to show my emotions, but the comfort was there, resting on my face without physical weight.

I made the mask grin, a happy smile with three constantly spinning eyes, the irises in eternal motion.

Even if I feel like an edgy little shit, it's fun to play around with a magic mask.

I tapped Ventus's arm. He turned and cocked his head at my mask's new expression. "Interesting choice."

I stood up. "Do you think we have time to free the rest of your order, the ones in the square?"

He grinned with teeth on full display. "Let us make haste." He turned to where a brown-furred catman was glaring at the towering monster statues. "Presko! New orders."

Presko's eye widened, and he jogged over. "What are we doing, Ventus?"

"We are freeing the rest of my team."