Morning Star [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNgK2Ky0WCIfwlkXSK1br9oFLWZ3ELnOXiqsRfvvSl2jVYiGsTbYeS4Vj24Mo_IZ_fm_QnoLPdDdOHNzkeE9LoUKJ6dXTxLztT_PvHmhBu8Q_ONBpFibglcIHAEVT4WVvj83CBfbz97b42oZU7Nj1S-=w613-h919-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Kara was feeling strangely ecstatic by the feeling of the Divine power nestled within her, begging to fulfill its purpose. She had heard stories about the Saints before, creating miracles like the one she was likely about to be the instrument for; it was an honor she had never really contemplated actually achieving before.
While she had left in a hurry, it wasn’t to immediately explode the vessel above them, though she was still concerned about the blossom canons reaching full power once again and unleashing even more devastation. Her main concern was making sure that the Obsidian Caster she had momentarily waylaid wouldn’t avoid being caught within the area of her new power.
The Paladin was relieved to find her ability still containing the Bloodmancer, if only barely. He would likely finish the test of courage soon and break free of the dimensional space based on how bright the sphere was currently shining as it floated above the Ruby Caste ship.
Kara reconjured her [Champion’s Morning Star] and prepared to unleash the new ability as soon as the other Caster reappeared or if she felt that same surge of magic from the ship before it fired off its array of weapons. She wouldn’t let them attack again but wanted to break the Obsidian Caster along with it.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long as the sphere flashed and shattered in a shower of sunlight, the felion man’s cat-like eyes instantly narrowing in on her as he snarled in rage, “You abyssal bit–”
His insult was interrupted when she swung her spiked mace overhead –using it to further boost the power she channeled through it– and brought it down directly upon his head as she released the [Divine Supernova of the Hero].
The swirling rainbow light of Radiant magic consumed them, shredding both the already weakened Caster and the Ruby vessel.
It kept expanding, however.
Any blessing of an ability would normally use the recipient’s own Caste level as the base for how strong or effective it was. The divinity portion of it was a rather minor boost on top of that, while most of it went into unlocking the capability in the first place.
At the lowest level of Obsidian, this power was strong enough to engulf the entire city of Tulimeir.
The magic responded to her own will, not destroying any other structures aside from the Soul Reapers’ ship. It instantly annihilated the plethora of monsters that had fallen within the city during their brief chat with deities while healing and shielding every citizen still living within it.
It was an incredible feeling of pure power, and Kara suddenly understood why Phoenix might be tempted to use it as often as possible.
When the ability came to an end and the power completely depleted, thus ending her ability to use it, she was pleased to find there was no ship debris left to fall upon the city below. It had been utterly annihilated.
The Obsidian Caster was also destroyed, his aura having instantly unraveled and dissipated when there was no longer a body to cling to. They had won, and the city had survived, though was still heavily damaged. She moved quickly to the nearest building that was still in the process of collapsing.
Kara couldn’t fix or stop the tower from falling, but she could make sure the people were clear of it and relocated before their temporary barriers wore off. The Paladin wasn’t sure exactly how long that would be, so she didn’t waste any time as she sped through the city.
The amount of damage was extensive but not complete, and she knew they would eventually recover. The biggest saving grace was that the outer city walls appeared to still be intact by some miracle, so monsters roaming in from beyond it wouldn’t be an immediate concern.
While it would likely take years for the city to truly recover, for now, at least, they were safe again.
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Roimeldor stared through the window display in his office at the world of Makera far from their main command vessel, but the magitech in the window itself made it seem much closer. He hadn’t often felt like this in his eons of traveling the cosmos, but he was utterly dumbfounded by the sight of what appeared to be a rainbow nuclear explosion over the city he had sent one of their best combatants to.
“Display the scout sight,” he ordered, having made sure the little Hollyhock Caste devices had gone with them to get a better reading of what was happening on this tiny portion of frozen tundra that kept thwarting their efforts.
The window showed a flash of rainbow light before going completely black, and he growled to his ship, “Replay the last minute with the source of that ability in focus.”
He watched as the scout seemed to focus on a golden voxen woman holding what looked like a spiky sun on a golden rod and watching a large shining sphere, looking like she was waiting for… something. Then he realized it was for Metyadur, his Hollyhock combatant, as the man reappeared only to get smashed over the head by the woman, and the screen went blank again as the scout got caught up in whatever insane ability the city’s defender had unleashed.
The door to his office slid open, and he snapped, “Report.”
Asyamil seemed to hesitate slightly at his obvious bad mood but wisely answered, “Divine Intervention was confirmed this time, sir. It appears the Wayfarer we were made aware of is a Saint of multiple deities within that world. She blessed the Hollyhock Paladin.”
The Commander of the Soul Reapers continued staring out the window as he said to the ship, “Replay the last ten minutes with the Daisy Caste Wayfarer in focus.”
They both watched silently as the scout replayed the interaction between the Wayfarer, Paladin, and a pair of blasted deities. He hated concept gods that cared for nothing but spreading their purpose. Too many times he had found them using souls as nothing but pawns in their pursuits, and his people had often suffered from their whims.
It appeared that the ones on Makera were more civilized than the ones on Erythros, its sister planet, but he still didn’t trust their intentions in the slightest. It pained him to watch as the poor redheaded girl seemed to bend to their desires and used the dangerous power of the Soul Mark to become a Saint. He wondered if they even bothered to warn her of the death that would come should her champion fail.
“Wait, did they say she was already immortal at Daisy Caste?” his second-in-command asked, trying to lip-read along with him as the scout only captured visuals.
He frowned and slowly nodded, “They did. Do you think they know already about how we reconstruct people from their souls? I had hoped to keep that under wraps for longer this time.”
“Probably, but it seemed like this Destroyer one didn’t want to risk the boy. Seeing two Chosen together like this… not to mention the number of deities the scout was able to pick up this time from the Wayfarer’s aura signature… Well, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Anything interesting in her titles?”
“Not from just the aura scan. You know it’s not as comprehensive as the soul analysis we can do once we’ve reaped them. I’m not sure we’ll be able to get her particular soul with a Hollyhock Caster and multiple gods protecting her like this.”
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“I’d definitely be interested in seeing that analysis,” he murmured, “I’ve also never seen so many concept gods cling to a mortal like this. There must be something special about her… Should we send–”
The door slid open once more, and a freshly reconstructed Daisy Caster entered, breathing heavily as he stood in the room, trying to catch his breath.
“I know it’s been a while since you’ve had to deal with lungs Haldambar, but you shouldn’t–”
“Sir!” the Void-attuned assassin gasped out, “We found Naira!”
If Roimeldor had a heart, it would have stopped at those words. He almost couldn’t believe he had heard the man correctly, and he clarified, “We found Naira’s soul?”
“Yes, sir,” the man confirmed, getting better control of his breathing, “They’re with the Abyssal Dragoon. Taking shelter in a Reality Rift with the protection of a Hollyhock Caster, but they said they’re willing to parley with you after we explained what we wanted and confirmed the soul signature.”
“Parley?” he repeated incredulously, “You have got to be–” he cut himself off as he rubbed a palm over his face. Trying to keep his hope or doubt from getting the best of him. Then he carefully asked, “What kind of Hollyhock?” not wanting to fall into some kind of trap. Not when he was so close to his goal.
“A Wild Wanderer and Monk of the Hermit, apparently,” Haldambar replied, obviously just as disgusted with the idea of a Hollyhock tied to a deity like that.
Giving up cosmic agency and access to one’s soul in exchange for a sliver of power had become ingrained in their culture as something to be pitied and avoided, yet so many people in so many realities unwittingly did so. They practically crippled themselves should they ever wish to completely leave their original reality and explore the greater cosmos.
That wasn’t really their fight, though, and he focused back on his current predicament. “Well, that’s an odd one,” he muttered, a rare bit of uncertainty shrouding his mind as he tried to weigh the risks of sending someone other than himself for this retrieval.
Asyamil placed a pale hand on his arm as she said softly to him, “Sir, they’re your Soul Mate. This is the last one for us to retrieve before we can all go to our new home. It’s the entire reason we’re here.”
“It feels like a trap,” he replied just as softly, “If this Reality Rift doesn’t have our targeting rituals within it to pinpoint its location, then we won’t be able to reap the souls within properly. That means if they manage to kill Naira or myself…”
“We’ll find you both,” his Second replied firmly, “Just like we have for millennia. You helped every single one of us reunite with our own Soul Mates or other Kindred Spirits. We won’t leave you and yours behind.”
He watched her for a long moment before finally nodding and walking towards the Daisy Caster as he ordered, “Lead the way, I guess. I want to verify this soul signature.”
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Quest: Deal with the Destroyer
Objective complete: Helped destroy the Soul Reaper vessel.
[Abyss Spirit Gem] has been added to your collection.
Quest completed.
30 [Crystal Mana Bit] has been added to your collection.
It was hours after the divine supernova lit up the capital city, and Phoenix received that message for her completed quest before King’s Dream finally stopped to rest. Kara, Veldrix, and Mint –along with the Emerald Casters built around Agility– had done much to aid the rescue efforts. Their speed alone was able to help clear out the buildings that were in the process of collapsing still, along with many of the ones surrounding them, just in case the Sapphire Caste structures couldn’t withstand the massive strain that had been put upon them.
All of King’s Dream were both physically and mentally exhausted from both the hours of lifting rubble to help rescue those trapped beneath it and the sight of the numerous bodies of the people who hadn’t survived long enough to be granted the divine healing and shield. It would likely be months until they had the new death toll, but Phoenix assumed it would easily be in the tens of thousands after what she had witnessed.
Phoenix found herself growing angrier as the day turned into night, and more bodies kept being uncovered. The lives they had managed to save didn’t feel like enough to outweigh what she kept seeing as a pointless loss. If she had only known earlier that she could bless Kara like that, could she have prevented all of this?
Finding the Wayland estate still intact did little to lift her mood, despite being grateful for it. She didn’t feel like going to the World Tree when it felt like there was still so much to do here in Tulimeir. The city had already been hurt by the assault that claimed so many beyond the eastern walls. This only compounded that loss, and she wondered if she had lost even more friends and acquaintances this time around.
She had contemplated seeking out Saiya’s soothing aura, but the Healer had seemed especially distraught from the fallout of the massive casualties and mourning city struggling to unbury bodies while failing to bury their grief. So she hoped to leave Saiya to rest without piling on her own worries.
Phoenix found herself knocking on the door that Dazien normally had across from her, expecting both him and Uriel to be inside. As her brother opened the door for her, he gave a gentle smile as he asked, “Don’t want to be alone?”
She shook her head, “I can’t make my mind shut up,” she grumbled, “It keeps blaming me for everything.”
He stepped forward to wrap her in a hug as he said firmly, “Don’t, Princess. You can’t blame yourself for every bad thing that happens around you.”
She felt her throat swell and nose wrinkle as she countered, “But all those people that died–”
“You saved so many lives with what you did today,” he interjected, then stepped back and pulled her into the room. Closing the door behind her, he began to lead her to the couch where Uriel was already sitting in front of the hearth wrapped in a blanket, “We both know that if you had been given the chance to save even more, you would have given everything to do so. It is not your fault that the city was attacked and that people died from it.”
Uriel opened his arms wide in invitation, and she fell into them, taking comfort in the warm embrace of her friend. As he wrapped the blanket back around the both of them, Dazien took the space next to them, leaning his own head against the cinderen’s large shoulder.
“Destruction could have shown himself and made that same deal sooner,” Uriel said to her, “If I had known about it earlier, I could have done the same thing to give Kara the power. It likely wouldn’t have been the same or been able to heal the people, but they wouldn’t have been injured in the first place, and I’m sure it would have destroyed the enemy all the same.”
“Gods play by their own rules,” Dazien sighed, with his eyes closed as he spoke, and she noticed him entwining his fingers into Uriel’s own in a rare display of affection that she actually felt proud that they trusted showing her, “We’re lucky someone like Destroyer even bothered to save lives at all.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try getting some sleep, Princess?” Uriel whispered to her, then added with a smile, “I think King is going to pass out pretty quickly.”
“I’m just resting my eyes,” he retorted, but his body wasn’t moving to indicate otherwise.
“I’m pretty sure if I relax too much, I’m going to ascend,” she said softly, which did get the gemite to peek one of those amethyst eyes in her direction.
“Hero wasn’t joking about that?”
“No,” she confirmed, “I could sense it with that last [Supernova] I cast. That battle pushed me to the limits, and now I just need to cultivate that last bit. I don’t want to be in a coma for the next three days, though, like you, Saiya, and Rayna were. There’s still too much to do.”
“You should still rest,” Uriel said, “It’s not good to push yourself too far. I don’t want to watch you break from it.”
“There will always be more to do, Phoenix,” Dazien pointed out, “Nobody’s going to complain about you being unconscious for a few days because you gave so much and ascended from the effort.”
“And if they do complain, Daze will be sure to shut them up,” Uriel added with a grin, “He can be pretty persuasive when he wants to be.”
“Which is always,” her brother interjected with his own smirk before it turned into a yawn, “So sleep or ascend or simply let Uriel keep you warm, but either way, you should rest now. We’ll have plenty to do once we’re all coherent again.”
Phoenix nodded and closed her eyes, forcing herself to relax but didn’t focus on visiting her little soul library to cultivate her abilities. She wasn’t sure if that effort would be enough to keep her from ascending.
It was only moments later that both Uriel and she sensed Dazien fall asleep, and her mind began wandering again. She found herself regretting a lot of things and ended up mournfully whispering to her friend, “I miss Paul… and my mom.”
“I miss my parents too… and my sister. I know what you’re feeling, Phoenix. Not like Saiya, but from my own experiences. I understand what it feels like to wish you could go back and do things differently.”
“But we can’t.”
“No,” he confirmed, “But like I keep getting told, we can try to learn from it and do better in the future.”
“Knowing that doesn’t seem to help me miss them less…”
She felt his cheek rest on the top of her head as he hugged her tight to him and agreed, “I know.”