Clouds [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV86oKOSp2cr5AjPa_KjqfK706NlfchNZcRk7aBXlZP0bTNTrnb5Hy2eFJl2_O8HPBWji6tIOlHHWRyXx0UP-HLqkm40NO8o-siFqOUuqDVQakP9n9dKNSvLwJtddxeDjpkcvQhzydctAxIDAuKuV152-=w621-h931-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Phoenix was suddenly chanting in a language she had never heard before and that her translation ability seemed to struggle with.
“Soul Hope Entwine Harmony Distance…”
Words poured out of both her and Everin’s mouths as she became entangled in the magic of the advanced ritual. The runes that were floating in the air now glowed and began to move with purpose in an intricate dance around both of them with Paul still lying in its center.
Then he wasn’t. The Paladin’s still body seemed to be lifted up into the air and righted to face her. The stains of the void-tainted blood seemed to be wiped clean by the ritual, though the patches of black void remained. She noticed the snow was also being pushed away by the magic that refused to be interrupted by any outside force at this point.
“Kindred Path Bond Match Destiny…”
Then Phoenix was being lifted and she had the disturbing sensation of no longer being in control of her body as the magic took command of that as well. She was but a puppet observing the inevitability of the moment.
Next, a tiny diagram seemed to break away from the others moving around them to rest upon her chest. A sting of pain struck at her and she saw a bright golden thread get pulled from her chest by the smaller circle of floating runes; seeming to lead it somewhere.
That was when she noticed that a similar diagram was doing the same thing to Paul and connected the two threads together into a single strand from one soul to the other. The golden cord seemed to pull taut and she was pulled through the air to the center until only a half foot of space lay between them. The smell of a cedar fire and warmth of a clear summer day surrounded her. She recognized it as Paul’s scent, which always made her feel safe.
A ripple of rainbow light spread from the center of the golden string and into both of them and she felt her soul… entwine. She noticed Paul glowing with Ruby light before her own vision went white, something in her soul changing; cultivating.
Natural Talent: Lodestar
Deviated from [Beacon of Hope] due to becoming soul entwined.
* Your soul has become entwined with Paul Wayland, one of your Kindred Spirits.
* Your soul will always recognize Paul Wayland’s soul as a Kindred Spirit.
* You share Natural Talents with your Kindred Spirit.
* You have a telepathic link with your Kindred Spirit with the range based on the highest Caste.
* When within your Kindred Spirit’s aura, you have increased Magic.
* When there is a Caste difference between you and your Kindred Spirit, the one with the lower Caste has an increased cultivation rate based on the difference.
* The effects of this cannot be shared.
She felt her book feed the information to her, still outside the ritual circle and she was grateful for it so that she wouldn’t have a complete panic attack about not having any clue as to what was happening to her except the strange shifting signals her currently busy soul was trying to send. Getting information about what was happening to Paul at the same time was even more of a relief.
Paul Wayland has cultivated a Natural Talent.
Natural Talent: Solaris
Deviated from [Combination Disposition] due to becoming soul entwined.
* Your soul has become entwined with Phoenix Wayland, one of your Kindred Spirits.
* Your soul will always recognize Phoenix Wayland’s soul as a Kindred Spirit.
* You share Natural Talents with your Kindred Spirit.
* You have a telepathic link with your Kindred Spirit with the range based on the highest Caste.
* When within your Kindred Spirit’s aura, you have increased Magic.
* When there is a Caste difference between you and your Kindred Spirit, the one with the lower Caste has an increased cultivation rate based on the difference.
* The effects of this cannot be shared.
“Body Strength Magic Dominion Cage...”
The ritual continued, not caring in the slightest that both of its inhabitants had just gone through Talent Cultivations. In fact, she suspected that it was just an expected step in the course of this insane level of soul manipulation, and she hoped it meant they were still in time.
That was when the pain hit. She wanted to scream but the ritual wouldn’t allow for it. She wanted to cry but no tears would fall as the magic held her fast. It was like fire and ice were being pumped through her veins at the same time in opposite directions, threatening to either go numb or shatter from the intense conflict.
Her mana was being forcibly drawn from her in ways it had never traveled before and she felt like her magic itself would fray like Paul’s aura had been as she was pulled apart from within. She couldn’t even clench her teeth to try and withstand the pain.
Then the [Soul Cage] moved, taking both her hands with it, and the black fingers opened wide before slamming the palm to the center of the Paladin’s chest, the magic burning a hole straight through the shirt he wore. Her hands released from holding it in place to fall to her sides as the device seemed glued to him.
As the Wayfarer watched, she was actually a bit grateful that Paul was unconscious for this as she wasn’t sure she could handle watching her mentor endure this level of pain let alone what the device was surely adding as the hand clenched.
The glossy onyx fingers dug into the half-rotted flesh beneath it as though trying to rip the man’s heart out straight through his sternum. The fact that he didn’t seem to react at all however made her panic. Surely if his soul hadn’t left it would be able to feel that?
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The [Soul Cage] then seemed to melt into his chest, vanishing to be covered by freshly regenerated skin. Paul began to glow with Ruby light again and a small flicker of hope rose within her heart as she watched and waited for either a note from her book or those blue eyes to look at her again.
The next message caused her heart to both soar with the joy of victory and shatter with the price that success had cost.
Paul Wayland has cultivated a Natural Talent.
Natural Talent: Caged by Caste
Deviated from [Special Attack Disposition] due to extreme soul manipulation.
* Your body has been Caged to your soul, greatly increasing your attributes.
* Your soul has been Caged to your mind, greatly weakening your willpower.
* Your mind has been overtaken by Phoenix Wayland, granting them dominion over it.
* Your body, soul, and mind are severely out of alignment due to Caste imbalance; until corrected, you will enter a state of regenerative stasis.
* The effects of this cannot be shared.
“No,” she thought in horror.
“Please tell me I’m reading this wrong,” Dazien’s strained voice said in her mind. It seemed like the ability wouldn’t be interrupted by the ritual still swirling around her.
“Please no,” she begged the magic consuming them.
New Title: Soul Tyrant
Your aura has been slightly modified by your accomplishment. The resolve to claim complete dominion over another can be sensed within it. Your aura has slightly increased effects when near those who serve your will.
“No, no, no,” her mind kept chanting as everything seemed to be unraveling around her, “What have I done?”
“You saved his life,” Uriel’s calm voice said over the network, “That’s what matters.”
Phoenix was falling.
Well, not exactly falling but being lowered to the ground now as the ritual seemed to wind down. However, her mana was still draining for some reason. Apparently, the ritual was not done extracting its dues from her and she triggered her tattoo in an effort to stave off the inevitable.
When her feet touched the ground, she felt the magic release its hold on her and she stumbled forward to try to catch Paul from falling to the ground only to find herself collapsing as well. Strong arms caught her as she watched Everin catch Paul, lowering both of them to the ground as the runes seemed to begin shattering in the air like dazzling fireworks.
She would have thought it lovely if it hadn’t hurt every time one seemed to break.
“It’s still channeling more power than you can withstand,” the Avatar of the Scholar explained, “I was able to cover the ritual costs but it was still a Ruby Caste Ritual and this vessel is still Emerald, the same would happen to him. I apologize for the loss of progress but at least your father will live.”
Phoenix winced in pain, both physical and emotional, “And how long will he be in stasis for? I may not know the details or exact context but I understand what that word means.”
The goddess-infused voxen gave a sad smile, “Until you hit Ruby Caste.”
She couldn’t help the sob that escaped from her and she realized it was Dazien holding her as his grip tightened, pulling her closer to him in a hug.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” he whispered.
“No! It won’t! Why do people keep saying that?!” she choked out, each shattering rune causing another hitch in her throat.
“Because you gave us hope,” the gemite whispered, “You did the impossible and avoided the worst.”
“Don’t fall into the abyss of despair, sweet flower,” Saiya whispered to her from somewhere she couldn’t focus on at the moment, “This is not the end.”
She cried until the ritual finally took more than she had to give, and she died... getting even further from reuniting with her dad.
----------------------------------------
Dazien wasn’t sure what to think at the moment as Phoenix died in his arms while sobbing against his chest. He felt more helpless in that moment than he had in a long time. Unable to do anything but offer words of comfort that only seemed to make her more upset as the incomprehensible ritual devoured her.
It was disturbing to feel her body instantly turn to white ash, looking like the snow that had once been on the now completely dried metal of the ship deck. It felt like too much to process at once. The messages the book gave, the hope followed by despair, the bittersweet realization of a costly victory, and the inevitable death of his immortal sister.
He refocused on Paul, hoping that the message had been mistaken and the man would awaken, but Everin suddenly slumping over distracted him and he moved to assist, no longer having a Wayfarer to fret over instead.
The Defender carefully laid the Paladin on his back and checked on the voxen. Still alive thankfully. He had been worried the goddess might have burnt through the vessel in her determination to finish the ritual. The gemite had read stories of gods pushing their Avatars too far in pursuit of a goal. Many never lasted long because of that.
“Cleric Starlark?” he asked, gently shaking the man who didn’t respond, then glanced over to Saiya who had come up next to him, “Is he alright?”
“Drained but he’ll live,” the darker voxen answered, “He’s not channeling Scholar anymore which is good. I’m not sure he would have lasted much longer. That was the most terrifying ritual I’ve ever witnessed before for so many different reasons.”
He couldn’t argue with the assessment and he was sure that the woman had a much more intimate experience with it all than he had with her particular perception, “Do we take them home?”
She looked at him with those large, warm, amber eyes and gave a small knowing smile as she asked, “And where is home, Dazien?”
The gemite flushed slightly at the faux pas and nodded towards Paul as he corrected, “His home. Where Phoenix will be awaiting us hopefully.”
“We’ll have to carry them back,” she pointed out, “Also, I’m not sure I feel safe enough to risk carrying a Ruby Caste Paladin of the Avenger or an Emerald Avatar of the Scholar through the city. We’ll need the Director’s help to get them back without an assassination attempt happening on the way.”
He paled at the idea of a sudden ambush and losing everything they had just regained but nodded in understanding as he readjusted himself to lift the taller man to carry him over a shoulder. Dazien couldn’t budge him. He forgot how much Ruby Casters were said to weigh and now he was learning about it at the most inconvenient time.
Saiya frowned at him, “What’s wrong?”
“He’s too heavy,” the Defender said in a bit of awe, “The weight of the condensed magic far exceeds my Crystal Strength, even at the peak. We’ll need a couple of strong Sapphires unless you know some kind of ritual or magic item we can use to transport him.”
Laughter tickled his tapered ears as he looked at the Healer, “Imagine getting to this point. Days of warfare with a horde of monsters, a Ruby dragon, a Soul Reaper assassin, a Cleric turned Avatar, and an experimental ritual from beyond this reality and we’re finally defeated by logistics.”
The gemite laughed with her, “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like a ridiculous problem to run into but there it is.”
“Hey, we need to go. There’s still a lot of monsters around that aren’t being scared off with the Ruby Caste magic anymore now that– What in the abyss happened here?” Rayna asked, having just finished climbing over the edge of the deck to join them.
The bard froze for a moment, seeming to process the situation before pointing and asking in a rush, “Is he dead? Are they both dead? Where’s Phoenix? Wait, let me guess, she died, didn’t she?! Why is everyone dead?!”
Dazien glanced back at Saiya as they both burst out laughing despite their mountain of problems. For now, at least, there was hope.