In the shadows of the grand cavern, Ori considered multiple strategies. From somehow poisoning the food the demons were currently eating, to slipping into tents unseen and assassinating infernals while they slept. His affinity for Modern Warfare called for long-range, pinpoint artillery strikes to take out massed concentrations of troops, but he was unable to do more than Channel Lightning, which even aspected with his inherent affinity, Ori doubted he could kill more than one of the Greater Demons at a time.
Even if he could bomb them with conventional artillery, the enclosed space and questionable structural stability of the area they resided in raised doubts about whether Ori could survive, even from a distance of a hundred yards. Moreover, even if he did survive, his ultimate goal of progressing through the passage into the celestial prisons would be jeopardised by a potential cave-in.
He thought about employing hit-and-run tactics, leveraging his agility to strike at less guarded sections of the camp before quickly withdrawing. However, while he had no problems outrunning Awakened combatants, it remained an open question whether he could repeat such a feat against Nascent demons, let alone Greater ranked Demons. With only one escape route and no real fallback position, Ori discarded the option as he continued to observe. He imagined deploying diversionary tactics, such as using magic to mimic the sounds of an approaching army or creating phantom lights to draw the demons' attention away from his actual path. He even considered using his enchanting talents to subtly sabotage the demons' weapons and supplies. However, the amount of time and resources needed to properly pull this off only increased the chances and likelihood of his discovery.
He also contemplated bypassing combat altogether by sneaking past the demons, using darkness or his domain to obscure their vision or to create a realm of shadow to move undetected. However, Ori had no idea how enhanced demonic senses or magic-detecting abilities could negate the effectiveness of these spells, potentially exposing him in a vulnerable position. And with demonic hounds likely possessing keen olfactory senses, Ori was certain his meagre abilities to sneak would not get him far before discovery.
Ori considered leveraging his lightning affinity not just for attack but for incapacitation, potentially shocking or stunning enemies to immobilise them temporarily. Given the ten to twenty-second duration of his domain, this would only offer a short window of advantage, requiring precise timing of follow-up actions of which Ori had very few. Also, unless all enemies were incapacitated, Ori didn’t believe he could survive a counterattack. However, despite these concerns, Ori couldn’t discount this option entirely.
Ultimately, relying on a single approach would not work—there was no single silver bullet and Ori recognised that a combination of these strategies—misdirection, control, and direct but limited engagement—would be necessary. Ori formulated a plan that integrated elements of sabotage, direct assault, and magical manipulation. He noticed a small reservoir used by the infernals as their main water supply; it was elevated, much like a water tower. Utilising one of the Sources he had looted from the armoury, Ori planned to re-enchant it to become unstable and explosive upon contact with the rocky pool's edge. This would serve as the initial distraction, causing the structure to burst and water to cascade, soaking the nearby ground and hopefully drowning the hounds chained closest to where the water would fall.
As the initial explosion garnered the attention and confusion of the demons, Ori would then lob additional re-enchanted Sources that were configured to explode on impact, acting as fragmentation weapons.
With the demons reeling from the explosions and the sudden inundation of water, Ori would seize the moment to begin his assault. His Split Mind would channel mana from his two remaining Sources to unleash Chain Lightning, aspected with his own affinity. The area of effect attack would target clusters of demons to maximise damage, hopefully, enhanced by sodden ground to increase conductivity and thus the spell's effective range and lethality. After dealing with as many of the exposed and lesser infernal targets as he could, Ori planned to close the gap between the spellcasters, identifying them as high-value targets whose elimination would significantly weaken the demon ranks, Ori would switch his spell casting towards Channel Lightning to focus on single targets. While under the aegis of Dreamwalkers' Ward, Arcane Hands, aided by his Split Mind, would continue to slash and stab—what his magic could not dispatch, his blade would finish.
He imagined the battle turning into close-quarters combat, with his sword's ability to instantly materialise almost anywhere within his dozens of yards, Flenser, his Awakened short sword bound to his soul and enchanted with a void-piercing enchantment, could cut through the high resistance higher ranks had due to increased lifeforce.
‘Forget what I said about you becoming prudent,’ Freya quipped after the plan was explained in detail.
‘So, you don't like the plan?’
‘It's a terrible plan. So bad, I’d hesitate even to call it one,’ Freya retorted.
‘Do you have any suggestions then?’ Ori asked, the veneer of his patience beginning to peel away.
‘You have a newly forged Soul Bound Lightning Elemental, use her. Even if she dies, you can just re-summon her and, with a bit of Mana, restore her nexus. You have also overlooked the mesmer; that succubus. Also, you have no escape plans beyond retracing our steps, or additional survival strategies.
‘Wouldn’t the dreamwalkers' ward handle the Mesmer?’
‘It’s uncertain. They actively prey on one's willpower and can bypass certain wards. They likely have ways to subvert those with high will.’
‘Okay, so I guess all I can do is prioritise them from the start.’
‘And how would you deal with reinforcements?’
Ori sighed, his frustration with Freya's less-than-constructive contributions adding to his own fears and doubts, ‘Well, I don't know Freya, maybe I’ll just curl up into a ball and die?’
"Ori.’ Freya said in admonishment.
‘Honestly, I was hoping to only call on Lysara in case of emergency. I don’t know what she can do, how tough she is; I can’t plan around wildcards.’
‘Lysara?’ Freya called out to the elemental still occupying the ground beneath their feet.
‘Yes, sister?’ Lysara replied in an oddly quick, formal, almost militaristic female voice that Ori was starting to find oddly endearing.
‘How many years worth of combat experience do you have?’
‘Over seventy-two years, sister.’
‘And have you been keeping yourself aware of our plans? You can hear our conversation, can you not?" Freya asked.
‘Yes, and I believe I’d be best deployed at the start. Within a radius of sixty yards, Awakened casualties from my strike would be total, with a falloff of ten yards. Effect radius and falloff would be increased within an area of ground saturation."
‘Could you reach the target area underground, without detection?’ Ori asked.
‘Affirmative.’
‘How likely are you to survive if you commit only to the initial strike before falling back?’ Ori inquired.
‘Likelihood of survival if fallback commences directly after deployment, ninety-nine per cent,’ Lysara confirmed.
‘How drained would you be after, say, channelling Chain Lightning in a radius around you?’
‘Down to five per cent capacity, fallback would allow for complete recharge in five minutes,’ Lysara answered as a new plan formed in Ori’s mind.
‘If you get into a situation you can’t handle, empower your Dreamwalkers’ Ward with your own domain," Freya added.
‘What? How?’ Ori asked.
‘How else? It is the dreaming coming to the waking, Ori. Use intent.’
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Ori rolled his eyes and replied, his tone sceptical. ‘Okay, but what do you mean, empower my Dreamwalkers’ Ward? Do you mean actively extending the range of the ward with my domain? Or by using my domain to feed mana to recharge the Ward? Or something else?"
‘Yes,’ Freya said simply. ‘You’re a dreamwalker, an Astral Adept capable of using a domain. Act like one. And above all else, survive, if, for another minute, another breath, another heartbeat, wild luck always favours the living over the dead.’
In the shadows, Ori brooded in contemplation over Freya’s somewhat cryptic words, feeling at a loss for how to convert her general teachings into specific, actionable advice. In the end, he simply nodded, knowing better than to discount Freya’s wisdom, and got to work with his re-enchanting. Taking a skull, one of the Mana Sources he had depleted in his bonding with Lysara, Ori began to set up the bombs.
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He had never fully tested the range of his Arcane Hands until now, as two hands flew away from his position clutching the ivory skull encased in reshaped iron. Although initially depleted, modifications to the enchantment had significantly sped up the Source's recharge rate, causing smoke to sizzle from overloaded inscriptions and making the entire artefact unnaturally hot.
With the stench of burning bone growing stronger and the risk of the hastily assembled explosive device detonating prematurely in his face, Ori was relieved to begin despite his nerves.
As his hands reached the boundary of his Domain, about a hundred or so yards away, they vanished, leaving the skull on a direct trajectory towards the drinking reservoir's dam.
‘Lysara, deployment imminent.’
‘Copy,’ Lysara responded, her voice reaching him through their bond despite the distance. He watched from the shadows of catacombs and stalagmites into a bowl-like depression in a hall the size of a football pitch. Below, demons milled about like tiny figures, oblivious to the impending massacre.
Ori felt the explosion through his feet a full two seconds before the shockwave hit. The rock lip holding back thousands of tonnes of water burst, sending water cascading to fill the breach. He watched in fascination as if in slow motion, tiny figures were swept away by the water, gathering speed as it plummeted hundreds of meters onto the open pens of hounds, extinguishing cookfires, mess tents, stone tables, and engulfing hundreds of Awakened demons and their pets.
After the roar of the waters subsided, shouts and cries of confusion and rage erupted from the camp as the demons began to regroup.
‘Lysara, deployment confirmed.’
‘Copy,’ Lysara said before he watched a barely visible spark, due to her size, the distance, and the natural lighting of the hall, emerge from the ground unnoticed by the drenched masses below. Unnoticed, that is, until it was far too late.
Ori winced at the brightness, the light even from several hundred yards away was enough to leave spots in his vision, the prismatic colouring of his normally subdued inherent affinity doing little to dull the dazzling light, and seconds later, the titanic crackle and droning snap of Chain Lightning. Within seconds, imaginary winds carried the silver ashes of hundreds of previously living beings, their souls departing this plane of existence as a storm of Peritia swirled past him.
Joy filled his heart as Bondweaver's awareness informed him of the commencement of Freya’s evolution.
‘Deployment complete, falling back to position one.’
"Copy," Ori replied as Lysara sank back into the earth beyond the reach of any survivors or mages.
Ori rolled back, ducking into the shadows as he collected the final two smouldering, re-enchanted Sources. He ran, Arcane Hands carrying their deadly payload behind him. Covering a hundred meters through rough, winding terrain, Ori slid to a stop and assessed his next target location. Dozens of infernal troops assembled as they were berated by an imp half their size.
Ori wasted no time sending the second Source, using Arcane Hands. His ghostly appendages vanished, leaving the Source, resembling a clockwork egg made of bronze and other valuable materials, to fall in a perfect arc directly behind the oblivious imp's back.
It exploded, turning the imp into a bloody mist as dust erupted from the ground. Awakened demons were shredded, torn apart by the deadly shrapnel before the blast wave tore through the air, one errant piece slicing a gash through Ori’s cheek despite the distance.
Ori watched and waited with the final smoking arcane bomb several feet behind him. Vision of the Progenitor scoured the field searching for any concentration of mages, particularly the succubus Mesmer Freya had repeatedly warned him of. Yet, all he saw was an eerie silence.
‘Where were they?"’Ori wondered to himself. Then he saw a flare of magic, movement, as dozens of demons ran under cover of some sort of dome of hellfire. Wasting no more time with his unstable enchantment, Arcane Hands sent the final bomb screaming into the target.
The final explosion was the largest, with longer to charge and a more unstable enchantment, the reshaped armoured plate encapsulating what was once a spherical astrolabe, disintegrated in a shower of superheated metal. Air condensed into a visible shockwave, as the blast scooped up the ground and shook stalactites from the ceiling. When the dust had settled, there was a crater ten yards wide around the newly set-up demonic fortifications. The fire dome itself looked spotty and soon winked out, causing Ori to wish he’d enchanted an additional bomb instead of relying on their mana regeneration for the next phase of his plan.
He ran, Vision of the Progenitor flaring as he focused on finding and killing every single demon he came across with his soul-bound blade. He slid down uneven rock as he descended into the bowl. An errant spell struck his ward, its energies instantly converting into mana to regenerate it. Seraphine's Beacon summoned to his right hand, the tip of the wand aligning with the enemy mage, and then Ori Channelled Lightning. Spells cast under his own power were weaker than before but came with the added benefit of his new flux affinity and vastly reduced mana cost. The spell leapt across the distance, prismatic white and crackling energy ionising air, burning cloth and skin before cooking flesh, instantly killing a Nascent imp.
He continued to run, using this moment of distraction to strike and pick off as many unorganised and undefended targets as possible. Rarely did he come across anything a bolt of lightning couldn’t deal with, and while he was now able to cast spells once every two or three seconds, Ori still relied on his Arcane Hands and his soul-bound sword to stab and kill in the interim.
Peritia still surged towards Freya as her evolution progressed, their familiar contract relentlessly draining his Peritia, even now at the last. Meanwhile, Ori spun, aimed, and channelled, feeling a pressure and fatigue growing behind his eyes with every corpse reduced to ashes, despite the rapid replenishment of his Mana Nexus. His chest heaved with exertion as he seized this opportunity to test his limits, exploring the upper bounds of his speed, agility, and precision. His hands remained steady despite his heart racing at between two or three hundred beats per minute. Aura of the Progenitor materialised as he reached peak exertion—a level he could maintain without rest or degradation of mental characteristics for days—the swirling nimbus of mana, grace, and the dreamwalkers' ward mingling with the aether-saturated air.
Ori's will dominated every step, every incoming spell, every swing and thrust of his sword. With each decision, his condensed aura, thick as soup and coating his skin with an armour of seeming invincibility, tipped the odds in his favour. Chain Lightning leapt from his hands, aspected with his transcendent affinity of light, striking the torso of a troll-like creature within the greater ranks, its limbs as thick as tree trunks and armoured in thick plates of dirty steel.
Ori dodged, his blast of Channel Lightning grazing the flesh of the monstrous humanoid. Its answering bellows and swipe of its mace disturbed the air, forcing Ori to retreat, his momentum stymied by the new challenge before him. His Arcane Hands poked and prodded; a thumb managed an eye gouge, silently cheered by Ori before the rapid regeneration rebuilt the damaged sensory organ. Meanwhile, Flensor continued its bloody regime, its wielding arcane hand stabbing at its spine and backside with abandon. Its effects on the giant were substantial and certainly distracting, but far from fatal as the very narrow wound healed rapidly.
Then Ori switched tactics again. When theorising how to deal with the Warden’s magical resistances, Ori had wondered if non-magical effects spawned by spells, such as water or heat, would still have an effect. Most spells summoned spell-wrought facsimiles that evaporated into un-aspected mana after a period of time without mana permanence. However, with vastly more mana investment and intent, mundane matter or energy could be conjured.
In this vein, Ori altered his next spell. Instead of an arcing bolt of mana imitating plasma, his altered spell caused matter to instantly annihilate. An energy beam of anti-protons was conjured into reality under the greater authority of his new inherent affinity, Flux. The altered version of Channel Lightning resulted in an impossibly bright flash that left after-images in Ori’s vision and a clap of sound he could feel in his chest. The mundane, thermonuclear reaction bypassed the innate magical resistances of the creature and reduced the Greater Infernal Troll to a torso of spitting boiling meat, its hand and shoulders obliterated under the strange attack. The unstable alteration to the spell caused a brief spike of pain to his temple, while exposed skin around his face and torso blistered from the burst of ultra-hard radiation, but this was quickly healed by the Greater Channelling Wand of Light still strapped onto his ankle.
He sprinted towards his target location, sweat streaming from his skin as the ground beneath his feet trembled. Suddenly, a wall of seven-foot-tall Awakened demons charged at him from a pit, pounding the dirt as they rapidly closed the distance, oblivious to the fact that Ori's Chain Lightning was about to seal their fate. For a brief moment, the demons glowed with a soft amber light from subsurface illumination; then the sizzle of steam and the bursting of eyeballs marked their demise. Their armour and weapons clattered to the ground next to Ori's feet, their massive bodies reduced to golden burning ash.
Under the barrage of spells, his almost mystical Aura, which he now realised was part of a burgeoning accolade, subtly supported the Dreamwalkers’ ward while its burning glow simultaneously marked him as a target for all challengers. Ori continued his frantic dash, reaping infernal souls as he sensed Freya’s racial evolution reaching its climax.
Despite things mostly going his way so far, Ori grew frustrated by the absence of mages or their reluctance to confront him directly. As he reached the end of the first phase, Ori faced a critical decision: should he fall back to position two up the hill and near the catacombs and lure them into a guerrilla warfare scenario, or should he charge directly towards the prisons, using this moment of disorganisation and strife to achieve his objective and initiate the jailbreak.
In the end, neither option would have greatly changed what was to come.