A suffocating layer of darkness surrounds the academy building. Though Annette cannot see her fellow defenders, her mind's eye paints their positions next to her. She thought that her mind mana would be cut off by the silencing effect of Fury's darkness. To her delighted surprise, that is not the case, though her domain is practically non-existent. Hopefully, her message to the others got through.

Glimmer begins casting a spell, her light mana resisting the dark fog. The light slowly spreads from the paladin's figure until it encases everyone on top of the academy. A small light globe covers the group, allowing them to reassess their mana. No longer under the silencing effect of darkness, Annette can feel her domain covering the entire golden globe. It isn't big, not even a quarter the size of the academy roof. Still, this will give them more room to move and work with.

Now at the desired height of his flight, Fury turns his direct attention towards the academy and races towards them. The air screams to get out of the dragon's way. The distance between Nette and the dragon disappears in an instant. With the dragon comes a burning black flame.

Nette shakes off her disbelief at once. Apper and Fen keep the academy stable. Noth and Bloom, I need your support. Cher, watch our backs. As the commands are given, Nette begins conjuring defenses in her mind to stop the blazing ball headed for them. She firms up the image and makes it manifest with her will and mana.

****

Racing toward the dragon and disaster, Cru watches as death wrapped up in flames shoots from the sky. Nightmares of a burning forest force him to shake off the images of his comrades melting… of his bear dying for him. He should run. He can't win this fight. They can't win this fight. It doesn't matter how strong the defenders are or how many spiders he has. There is no way to stop a dragon.

Despite his doubts and fears, he urges Strider to run faster to their end. Even as the building targeted by the dragon is engulfed by darkness and flame, Cru keeps his pace. This is just one more job he needs to get done. He can get this job done.

Cru and his spiders quickly make their way off the mountain and through the forest. The whole time he keeps his eyes on the large building with the glowing roof that is being bombarded by the dragon. Even after a barrage of powerful fireballs, the building still stands. The small globe battling the darkness is not diminished in the slightest. There may be a chance.

As they get closer, the scouts send him the image of the defenders standing on the building. Lord, our former queen, and her heathen sisters are on the building, Diti informs him. He senses no ill feelings toward the spiders on the building. Instead, Diti's words are filled with concern.

Diti, are you still loyal to the queen? Altogether, his five awakened spiders hiss in disapproval.

Not at all, Diti responds.

We are only loyal to you, Shelby says, enforcing Diti's response.

Yes, Lord. We serve only you, Trish adds.

Before any more devotion can be laid down, Cru digs deeper into the question. So why worry for the former queen? I thought you would want her dead for failing to grow the cluster.

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Annette failed us, yes. But she is the reason we exist. Her voluntary exile led us to you. There is little emotion in Strider's tone. The newly awakened spider has yet to create her own personality. The other four awakened spiders have little character, too. Still, of the five of them, Strider is the most unordinary. She and her heathens are still kin. The last bit was full of emotion, catching Cru entirely off guard. That is all the push he needed.

The spiders were his. If they wanted to defend their family, he would help them protect them. He wasn't nervous about the spiders leaving him for the queen after the fight. He was sure there wouldn't be an after-the-fight anyways. The spiders gave their life to him, fighting to reclaim the forest. He will now return the favor and help them reclaim their own even if this is his end on the island.

Strider continued to dart through the forest, quickly covering the mile between them and the destroyed fortress. Deep, haunting laughter sounds in the distance as they traverse the rubble. Faint at first, barely audible over the explosions and the dragon's Fury, then louder and louder as the trees surrounding the village come to life. The haunting life becomes familiar as trees start waging war on his spiders.

****

Victory tasted so sweet. So… so… very sweet. She licks her lips trying to savor the taste that seems so real. Raptured in bliss she throws her head back and laughs. How could one not rejoice in laughter when overcome with the sweet sensation? Roxi didn't think it possible, so she didn't hold back, not that she ever held back. Life was meant to be enjoyed. So why not laugh? Besides that, nature feeds on the expression of joy. At least, that is what she believes. The thought makes her feel a little saner… not that her sanity is ever questioned.

She is exactly who she wants to be, a vengeful, spiteful dryad just trying to resolve some inner conflict. So she laughs. Her rival Gene will soon beg for mercy, and her stupid bodyguard of a dragon is under her control. After she absorbs a bit more power, she'll return to Draxxo and truly knock the whelp on his ass.

If she is being honest… This is top-tier petty shit. She allowed herself to be so consumed with her drama that she spent years cultivating in isolation and scheming. The thought doesn't damper her delight in the slightest. If anything, it makes her laugh more heartily. So maybe she is a little bit crazy. Who cares? Besides, you only gain power if you are dedicated. Over-the-top revenge schemes over drama that happened years ago just happened to be her driving force through all the stages. No one will even care when they see her power… no one will dare to care now.

So, clad in her golden tree power dress, Roxi laughs as her forest comes to life.

****

We, the dead shadow cat and I, are making great time. Better time than I made with Gene, even with her slightly enhanced time dilation in her shadow. My shadow has some dilation, not as much as Gene, but I have some.

The real reason for our speed is that the dead cat is fast and doesn't care about self-preservation. It gave that idea up when I killed it in the first place. So I'm pumping it full of death energy, urging it to run faster and faster and boosting it with my mind. I don't know if the last part is helping. It doesn't hurt, so I keep doing it. Besides, if I learned anything in the past week. Cultivation is best done when you're on the move.

The last three days or so prove that life doesn't slow down just because you want to meditate in silence in some dark cave. Man… life was so simple back in the cave. Eat, sleep, and train. I had it made. Then I picked a fight with a bunch of spiders, went on a pilgrimage, got involved in some dungeon business, went on a rampage, and haven't stopped fighting since then.

I was supposed to be done with all of this. After the destruction of the stronghold, I was a borderline pacifist, and that lasted all of like two days before I got captured by goblins and had to fight my way free. And now I'm basically flying through the forest toward my next fight. And I wasn't even done with my last fight.

Life is all screwed up.

Explosions in the distance let me know I'm getting closer. I keep reaching out to Nette, hoping to regain connection, with no success. I'm nervous about what's happening. Fury is a devastating force of destruction.

Worry causes me to double down on my efforts to aid my friends… I have friends now. The thought that my friends need help, more than worry, urges me to push my powers more fervently into the cat, causing us to blast through the remaining miles. The explosions grow louder, and accompanying them is bitter and loud laughter empty of all joy.