Without thinking, I moved aside. Had I not, what happened next would have caused the needless death of one of my men. Tlaloc’s lone extended finger tracked my position and the ice surged up into spikes; clearly, my hope that she would be hindered by the addition of Wind Element was in vain.
The fresh spikes rushed toward me and, had I not moved, they would have impaled the knights behind me. As it was, the lot of them stood frozen. Not incased in ice, but rather, the brief exchange had occurred well outside the realms of human ability. Even as I struggled to catch my footing on the slick surface I could feel my muscles tearing.
Not as bad as the first time I did this… But this has to end quickly.
“Wait! Please, at least hear me out!” By all the hells, I sounded like I worried Franklin one day might.
Tlaloc furrowed her brow as though angry that her foe had dared avoid an attack. She ignored my plea and once again tracked her finger toward me. Barely staying on my feet as I was, I gave up and surrendered to gravity. Lower on the ground there might be more opportunity to at least change my course. Certainly it couldn’t be worse than being on my feet.
There was another surge of mana; Tlaloc was preparing to attack again. The fact that I could at least sense that much was my only saving grace.
Really, it’s not just the Wind Element, but this is my mana forming the ice! She’s not just manipulating foreign elements, she’s seizing control of someone else’s power through brute force!
Again, the building power released and the ice formed into spikes before launching at my skidding body. There wasn’t time to think about where to go or to perform any fancy maneuvers. A simple mana pulse. Raw unformed energy emitted from my hand. Normally this was something impossibly wasteful. The level of force per unit cost was simply too inefficient. But while disconnected, I had the mana to spare on thoughtless action.
My trajectory amended, and once again the icy death sailed past me. Though she missed by a far lesser margin on the second shot. I grit my teeth.
As much as I hate it, I still can’t fight back, but she’s clearly not listening…
I fixed my eyes on her; in my unrestrained state I might be able to glean some information. Well, it was a possibility at least; appraisal-by-sight had only ever worked on Felicity.
“Stalineechan!”
The pained outcry from only a few seconds ago echoed in my ears. I tuned it out.
I didn’t think I would ever miss [Cold Hearted], but this… This was a lot easier with it.
That small distraction had cost me; my left hand had frozen. Why my mana was naturally inclined to that element was beyond me…
No! Damnit!
The ice had spread to my wrist.
I need to focus on Tlaloc and controlling the mana, or the small chance I can come back will vanish altogether.
My plan bore no fruit; without a connection to her, Appraisal-by-Sight gleaned no information on the Ancient Spirit. But without knowing what I was fighting, there was no chance of beating her back. Far less of actually winning. Then, there was only one thing I could do. I spared a glance at my frozen hand, the ice climbed a bit further up my wrist.
“Alright, fine!”
If Tlaloc could wrest control of my grand magic away, there was nothing to say that I, as the original caster, could not similarly re-shape the spell. Diving into my consciousness, I sent feelers of mana away from my body. Of course, this course was costing me; the numbing pain of frostburn and bite crawling ever further up my limb. Why it was focused in my arm…
No. Focus.
The mana leaking from my body mingled with the mana in the ice sheet, and I began molding it, coaxing a new shape. Even now, I was still gaining distance from where we’d started. That was good for my men, but bad for what I needed to do. The ice began to slope ahead of me, gravity and lack of friction kept me moving with the new topography. A crevice, then up again. Sloping into a wall. Arrest my momentum with physics.
Then, back to Tlaloc.
The wall kept curving, back over itself into a halfpipe. The curvature translated my momentum and reversed the direction; I launched myself back toward the spirit, frozen arm outstretched.
“If you won’t talk, I’ll make you listen!”
I wasn’t sure why I yelled; truthfully there was no way for me to truly force her to do anything.
I’ll take away something small, just to prove I can. That will at least get her attention.
Perhaps my gambit had actually caught her off guard; Tlaloc hesitated. It was only a moment, but given the speeds we were moving at a moment was all I needed.
“Got you! Invoke Authority!”
Then, the world shattered.
Received Request from Recognized Super User. Validating Credentials….Success.
Retrieving Relevant Data on Subject[NULL]....Error.
Subject[NULL] Does not Possess a Class.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Querying Skills Database….Success.
Subject[NULL] Does not Possess any Skills.
Querying Talents Database….Success.
Subject[NULL] Does not Possess any Talents.
Subject[NULL] Does not Exist Within the System: Activating Failsafe…Success.
My vision fractured into a kaleidoscope of random colors and images. My ears heard a thousand voices and screams even while the surroundings were as silent as a graveyard. I could smell the sea, and also the forest back in Ris, a fresh roast bird in the palace, the sweaty stench of the training fields, and a dozen things besides. My tongue was a blaze with a mixture of every spice and seasoning known to mankind, and my body felt every sensation from the fluffy softness of a newborn to the spiny arse of a porcupine. I was everywhere, and I was nowhere.
I wanted to scream out, to add my own voice to the cacophony in my ears. Simply fade away and forget the overwhelming sensations around me…
“Stali….han!”
No… This is fine, isn’t it? I’ve done my best.
“Stalineechan!”
A distant voice, distinct from the rest. Was it memory? No, perhaps something more…
“STAHLIA ONEESAN!”
A shout, and a stabbing pain in my chest and stomach.
ERROR….Reconnecting User to Support System.
“Wake up!” My eyes fluttered open to the sight of a very distraught girl, with little black cat ears on her head. Her face was a strange mix of anger and grief. As I watched her, the girl formed her hands into claw-like shapes. Dark Element mana projected out of the tips creating tiny, but no doubt incredibly sharp, claws. I reflexively moved to cover myself defensively.
“Felicity!” For that’s who the cat-eared girl was, “I’m awake!”
She froze and looked at me through tear-soaked eyes. Then, her tears were replaced with an angry snarl, “Never! Do! That! Again!”
Each word was punctuated with an impact on my ribs; she had at least put the claws away though.
That’s… I thought I was blocking…?
I looked to my left; my arm was laying uselessly on the ice sheet, the skin turned a soft blue.
…Huh?
My memories came flooding back all at once, from the moment I had disconnected up until now. Based on Lord Alriss and my Knights only just now rousing themselves and beginning to run to my side only a few seconds had passed.
“I’m… awake?”
Felicity had started tearing up again after expending her anger in three not-quite-gentle punches, “Yea, Felicity thought Stalineechan was going to die… Claire Oneesama said that you raised a- Eeep!”
My right arm was still functional, if a bit sore and stiff. I wrapped it around Felicity’s head and pulled her into a tight squeeze, “Sorry… I did not want to frighten you.”
She was stiff for a moment, then allowed herself to relax as her hair was gently stroked. My “guards” were a good distance away, so there was a bit of time for me to order my thoughts.
Ok, my arm is probably useless, and I doubt an injury like that will recover… Goddess Drought probably won’t work either, given the cause. If I get some, I’ll try it, but I won’t hold my breath. I didn’t fall into a coma this time, on the contrary my body is stiff but I feel strangely invigorated…
Piecing together the evidence around me painted a picture of the fight from an outsider’s perspective. Namely, Felicity. Residing in my shadow as she had been, she had probably felt the instant I disconnected. That had been her calling out to me then. My promise to her that I would come back had apparently been taken as a death flag of sorts, thanks to Claire. Combined with the recent visions from Leviathan, and Felicity’s developing psyche had come to the worst conclusion.
She hadn’t been able to get out of my shadow during the fight, though considering how short that had been (a matter of moments) she might not have even realized I was fighting. From her perspective and that of the knights, I had probably teleported. The moment she could, Felicity leaped out of my shadow and began trying to resuscitate me. Based on the claw marks on my chest and stomach, she had been far from in control of her emotions.
And most likely, Claire was trying to guide her through compressions based on where the scratches are specifically.
“My Lady!” Lord Alriss slid to a halt on the ice, then pointedly looked to the side, “I am not sure what exactly happened, but please, take this.”
He unfastened his cape, and held it out. That was when I realized the state of my wardrobe. After all, I had just been moving at near the speed of sound across the surface of a frozen ocean. It wasn’t exactly perfectly smooth. My cheeks flushed red, and I quickly accepted the cloak.
Well, I can hear Claire snickering about cliches already, but I should count myself lucky in that respect…
Lucky, in that I was still dressed. Just, not modestly. But nothing that absolutely had to be hidden was revealed. Almost, but not quite.
“Thank you.” Far be it from me to be ungrateful.
“Of course.” He waited long enough for me to wrap the cape around myself before allowing himself to make eye contact again. At the same time the other knights resumed closing the distance and came within the invisible perimeter they had established.
They stopped short until… So they were aware of it…
In spite of the noble intentions, my stomach churned uneasily as specific memories came back. Memories about my last meeting with my former Fiance, and what he had tried to do. It had been a while since I had allowed such things to bother me, but the knowledge these men had seen me that way… it brought everything back in an uncomfortable way.
“My Lady, we need to get back to the ship, Miss Jacqueline and Miss Sasha will wish to see your injuries, and we will send for a representative from the church; we are fortunate a Cardinal chose to come with us…” He trailed off, “Your Majesty, is there a problem?”
“Lord Alriss, why are we on the Ice right now?”
He frowned, “Your Majesty was performing a test of the Mana Enhancer; you tried to freeze the ocean around the ships but it backfired. The spell launched you here…” As he spoke, his eyes widened.
“I see you have begun to realize, ‘the Mana Enhancer is on the Will of the Gods, but the ship in the center of the ice, it the Might of Man.’” I stared intently at a seemingly empty patch of ice, “Stop whatever farce this is, and come out Tlaloc; this is not like you.”
A veil of mist and snow swirled up around the point I was looking at. When it faded, an impossibly beautiful woman was standing there. There were no children playfully dancing around her, and her body was made of flesh and bone instead of mana, but it was most definitely Tlaloc, Ocean’s Mother.
“So you could still see me after all… We were only joined for a moment, and yet you gleaned that much… Congratulations, Usurper; one of this world’s fundaments has by your hand, descended.” She bowed her head gracefully, not in submission or respect, but merely because it was good manners.
I failed to stop a groan from escaping my lips.
Tlaloc raised an eyebrow, “Prithee, is there a matter?”
My gaze turned skyward, toward the metaphorical heavens, or more like the white void that existed somewhere and nowhere, “Lady Tlaloc, between the twelve gods, nine Hell Kings, Monster God, Last Silver Dragon, and now the Ancient Spirits, are there any of this world’s fundaments with which I am not acquainted…?”
She tilted her head, “The last Silver Dragon…? He’s still alive?”
The next time I see Adroni, I’m going to box their self-damned head in.