Shanther [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNJfpy-wpYpwSKr6KWS-isEltWX35iZxkekh3SiHDsqj8chkUd3SbphqCtG7_Tx01k2tY6cyd0XlvfTsQLe__s-gJ-Ur1FnuayupBFeLGNmcuw2QHpy4BqxQoanEUKrYbCm8kQS481I1Vl9Sloi8reK=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Saiya had been nervously stroking Wally’s long, scaled body wrapped around her forearm as she waited, bemoaning the loss of Dazien’s communication ability. She felt so much relief when her sister finally rejoined them after making the insane choice to bait that Emerald monster that it was hard for her to try and put into words. Instead, she hugged Rayna tight to her. The Captain had returned earlier but hadn’t wanted to backtrack to retrieve the person she had written off as dead.
Even more surprising than Rayna being alive, though, was that she came back with a fourth tail. Apparently, after fighting for half the prolonged blood moon and in a war, followed by soloing an Emerald Monster, it was enough to push her to Sapphire 5.
Saiya still had a little way to catch up, but she knew she was close as well. She would have to wait to reunite with Phoenix so she could see where her own progress was at. For now, she was just grateful to have her twin by her side again.
For Rayna’s part, she merely complained loudly to Saiya, and anyone else who would listen, that it was so unfair how people with looting powers could ignore Caste differences to loot a monster where if she had done the ritual to loot her kill, she would have died for it.
Saiya, in return, continued to nod along with the rant she was pretty sure she had heard a hundred times now and promised they would look for an Emerald Caste Treasure Spirit Gem once they reached the city.
They had always tried to keep an eye out for one, but it was insanely rare to find one for sale. Rumor had it that they mostly spawned in treasure vaults… which were then kept there until the person who owned said vault used it or gave it to a loved one. Very rarely were they sold or auctioned off, much like many of the other extremely rare gems or Aspects.
She wasn’t sure it would be any different in Serenydi, but since it was known for its wealth and luxury, the city itself was even considered a treasure by some, perhaps they would have some extras for sale. She wasn’t sure when that might be, though.
After another run-in with a pack of Sapphire Caste monsters that reminded her of the Blood Haze Bees they had fought before and that actually did manage to kill one of the Crystal Casters with their swarming tactics, Saiya was wondering if their luck would have them never reach the city… not alive at least.
The turning point in their luck came when they stumbled upon a small fishing town that was still working on rebuilding after the blood moon. It also let them finally know where they were. They had left the land of Avians and were in unclaimed wilds, the villagers themselves were a clan of Wolven Sirens that normally traveled to Serenydi during the blood moon for better protection.
Saiya had never seen these types of sirens before since many had never traveled to the desert of Epa Toivo, and she had only met the Berg Sirens when fighting them in Tulimeir. These Wolven kind were distinct, with their massive jaws filled with sharp, jagged teeth and the sleek dark gray of their skin. They were also much larger than she was, being small even by voxen standards.
Despite their ongoing efforts to rebuild the village, Captain Clisson managed to trade enough Bits and other oddities they all had within their dimensional bags to purchase a boat. Not one nearly as big as the one that had been demolished but large enough to at least fit everyone.
Rayna grumbled to Saiya about having to provide most of the cost, but the patient voxen pointed out that their teammate was the one that caused a significant amount of the damage. Hopefully, they would meet up with Phoenix again, and that would put their money worries at ease, at least for now.
As they watched the Captain run through a ritual ability that bonded the new ship to her and strengthened it in turn, Saiya couldn’t help but think about Phoenix and Camilla missing out on the opportunity to witness such fascinating magic being performed. The feeling was followed by a pang of worry at the fate of her friends and chosen family, but a soft, comforting voice at the back of her mind offered reassurance, “All their paths lead to Serenydi.”
Saiya wasn’t quite used to the presence of her new patron deity, Traveler, taking up residence within her and giving her the occasional whisper, but it was a comfort that she was glad to have and strengthened her resolve about her choice.
From the outside, it might have seemed like her deity was chosen due to Phoenix’s connection, but the truth was far more nuanced. Having that presence now, when she felt most adrift, reaffirmed her decision in ways she couldn’t express.
In this moment, she was simply grateful that she could look forward to arriving in Serenydi within a fortnight going by sea, where she would finally get to see her missing family again.
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Uriel dismissed his [Fortress of Solitude] as he and Camilla began making their way eastward again. It had been slow going for the pair of them traveling on foot, but they were hopeful after finding a trail of footsteps leading from some wreckage on the beach. They had been lucky to avoid any monsters so far among these wildlands.
He had been doing his best not to let his fears over Dazien bleed into his demeanor and make Camilla more on edge around him. After he almost had a panic attack after that first night and waking up to find his partner’s bead broken, he had almost put on his old broken earring just to shut those emotions down.
His new earrings worked much better about only stifling his anger and helping him keep a calm focus during battle, but his anxiety was starting to rear its ugly head at him. The only reassurance he had was Camilla’s knowledge that the bead would have broken like that only if the bracelet itself was destroyed. If Dazien had died while the bracelet remained intact, his corresponding bead would have disintegrated into magical ash.
It allowed him to stay hopeful that his king still lived and would be awaiting him at their destination.
They weren’t sure how far behind the others they were until they reached a small fishing town of Wolven Sirens and were informed that they were only a week behind the others that had traded for one of their boats. Uriel and Camilla didn’t have personal storage spaces like Phoenix, however. Camilla’s little notebook seemed to only hold ritual ingredients and knowledge, which only left the dimensional bags at their sides, but it didn’t matter as they didn’t have nearly enough to trade for a boat of their own. That wouldn’t have helped them, however, since neither of them really knew how to sail anyway.
Instead, they were given directions and a road to follow, which would lead them northeast to the staging port that acted as the gate to the city of Serenydi, which the locals confirmed was where their companions were heading. They did mention that the group was made of an assortment of humans, elves, and voxen, which they assumed were Rayna and Saiya. However, the news that had disheartened them was the fact that none of the villagers could recall a redheaded human-looking woman or a purple-haired gemite man accompanying them.
Uriel and Camilla only stayed in the village for the night, glad to feel relatively safe within the small town still being rebuilt. They began heading out once again the next morning with a better idea of the path ahead of them.
“You, um… I think you d-did well controlling your aura in town,” Camilla hesitantly said as they walked in relative silence like usual.
“I was worried about sleeping,” he confided, giving her a soft smile with the hopes of getting her to relax more. “I think I kept waking up because of it.”
“Do you want to practice more?” she asked.
He nodded, then slowly unfurled his aura once again, feeling for Camilla’s own Sapphire Caste one, which had the strength to overpower his own. They had been going over some of the exercises that he had been practicing more with Phoenix that Kara had taught them.
The exercises helped him become more comfortable with his aura, but he still feared hurting someone with it. No matter how much control he gained over it if he couldn’t keep it from overlapping with someone, they would get hurt. That was one fact about his powers that bothered him the most; none of them seemed to care if friend or foe were caught within them. They would try to destroy everything. The few exceptions to this were mostly his other Passive abilities and the two single target spells he possessed along with his life-draining ability, [Siphoned Vigor], which simply hurt himself.
Uriel vaguely hoped that ascending would give him a few more options with who got affected, but his fears kept assuring him that they would only increase in their destructiveness.
His fears were also screaming that he shouldn’t be practicing like this. That he shouldn’t be trying to get stronger. That it would just lead to more people getting hurt and places getting destroyed. However, Dazien and Phoenix’s words of encouragement pushed him forward. Even Paul had shown support in his own way. Despite the threats toward him, the Paladin had still helped train him and hadn’t warned Phoenix away after she had chosen to party up with them.
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He vaguely wondered how Paul would have reacted now. Would he be proud of Uriel for revealing that secret to his daughter? Did Uriel even want Paul to feel that way towards him? He definitely didn’t see the Paladin as a father figure the way Phoenix and Daze did, but he still respected the man who had saved his life more than once.
Would Paul disapprove of Phoenix claiming him as her best friend? Would Paul disapprove of him if he kept getting closer to her?
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar from the trees to the south of them. It was a roar that he recognized from a low Sapphire Caste monster he was familiar with from their time spent hunting in the southern forests near Vallinsarvi.
A Shanther was a forest-dwelling catlike creature with an affinity for Dark magic. It liked to try to spook its prey into running and giving away their location for it to then chase before devouring. Phoenix’s first death after arriving in this world had even been from one chasing her down and causing her to fall off a cliff.
Uriel took a few steps to put himself between the sound and his non-combative companion, quickly saying, “Whatever you do, don’t run unless I’m dead. It’ll chase, and you won’t be fast enough. Start casting rituals that can boost an Elemental spell if you have any.”
As soon as the shadowy panther came into view, he drew his sword that he had been lucky enough not to lose in the water. Once he felt Camilla’s ritual activate beneath them, he began an incantation, hoping that his empowered Spell, along with Camilla’s Sapphire Caste aura, would be enough to scare off the beast. “Let the sky wail. Let the world tremble. Let my enemy cower. For I am the eye of the storm.”
A violent maelstrom of wind, rain, embers, and stones whipped up around them, leaving a couple of meters of calm space between him and the inner edge of the wild storm. [Eye of the Storm] was arguably one of his most powerful Spells, but he had rarely gotten to use it during the war with so many allies spread out around him. It had been lagging behind and was currently the last thing he needed to level before he could ascend.
He hadn’t thought about that before he had cast it, though. He had only been trying to protect Camilla in the only way he knew how to: by destroying.
The roars of pain and annoyance as he felt the creature enter the range of his spell and aura let him know that it was at least having an effect on the beast. He had been slightly worried that the monster’s penchant for turning into a misty form might make it more resistant to the effects of his own Spell.
When the Shanther finally broke through the raging storm to enter the inner circle where he and Camilla stood, it looked like it had tried walking through a wood chipper. It was still alive, however, and very angry as it snarled at the pair of them for a brief moment before pouncing at the smaller of the two that wasn’t holding a pointy piece of metal.
As Camilla screamed, Uriel reflexively reached out with his left arm to shield her and grunted in pain as teeth and claws dug into his bicep. His grunt turned into a scream as the monster proceeded to crunch through his weaker bones and tore his entire arm off, leaving only a heavily bleeding stump past his shoulder.
The Shanther seemed distracted enough by its prize as it happily munched down on the detached limb. Uriel fell to his knees, clutching at his wound, but kept incanting. He wouldn’t stop until he destroyed this monster and ensured Camilla was safe from meeting the same fate as his arm.
“A touch of frost and your death follows.”
“Be the bearer of the all-consuming plague.”
He could only assume the reason his spells were landing was from the boost Camilla had given him with her Sapphire Caste ritual. He was grateful either way as frost and black rot appeared on the creature’s hide.
As it turned to growl at him, finishing its last mouthful of flesh that included the bracelet that had been around his wrist, Uriel incanted another spell to try and force it to keep its distance.
“Succumb to the might of the tyrannical winds.”
A blast of wind from his [Microburst] knocked the monster down but didn’t seem enough to deter it from coming back for a second course of cinderen. Uriel wasn’t sure what he could cast next to try and defeat the monster without hurting Camilla with the monster so close to him. His [Rain of Fire] and [Blizzard] would hurt both of them if they stood in it.
When the Shanther rose to its feet again, Uriel waited just a moment for it to get closer and stomped the ground between them, triggering his only Special Attack [Scorch the Shaken Earth]. The ground erupted in spiky rocks and alighted with magic flames that burned anything it touched.
The Shanther didn’t care, though, as it triggered its mist form in response and dashed towards him.
In a panic, he prayed that luck would favor him for once and incanted, “May the seed I sow bloom in beautiful chaos.”
He was just quick enough to toss the little seed he constructed into the maw of the Shather as it reformed to bite at him again.
Apparently, the Gambler smiled upon his momentary insanity as the little seed randomized into the result of bursting into a massive bundle of thorny vines to constrict around his foe… from the inside.
With a strangled roar as its guts were tangled into a nasty thornbush, the monster crashed into him. The momentum and weight were enough to knock him to the ground, covering him in dirt, which had, in turn, been partially annihilated by his aura.
He felt the monster still after a moment and almost worried that his proximity to the chaotic seed would somehow try to entangle him as well. Before he could worry too long, however, the weight was lifted as Camilla helped push the beast off him. Uriel retracted his aura back into his center as he tried focusing on her nervous words, “I c-can’t believe y-you managed to k-kill it. Let m-me try healing your arm. ”
The pain was almost unbearable now that the magical adrenaline muting it was fading. He had never lost an entire limb before. He had plenty of memories of wounds gained while fighting in captivity, but he had been lucky in that regard.
Camilla’s ritual wasn’t perfect. It merely managed to stop the bleeding but couldn’t regrow a whole limb instantly. Something like that normally took an Emerald Caste Life Spell to accomplish. His arm would likely regenerate over time since he was still a Caster, but it wouldn’t be very quick or painless.
There was one alternative he had, though, and he didn’t want to voice it aloud until Camilla did it for him, “If you m-meditate, I think ascending will restore your arm at the same time.”
He silently grimaced and nodded.
Uriel knew he shouldn’t put it off anymore.
“Um, I’ll j-just go do a looting ritual on the monster,” she said after an awkward moment and practically fled from his side.
As he sat in the middle of the destroyed road, staring at the mess his storm had made, he contemplated if it would have been better to have let the Shanther eat him instead of giving him the experience he needed to become an even stronger Annihilator.
“Well, are you going to take off those earrings and ascend or not?” a smooth voice asked him, and he looked up from the road at his feet to see the Destroyer sitting across from him.
The god didn’t seem bothered by sitting in the dirt with him, even when dressed in a fancy-looking suit. He didn’t seem smug this time like he had in front of Phoenix. He didn’t seem like a tyrannical cultist like he had in front of his Disciples. He just looked at him with something he rarely saw: patience.
Uriel shook his head, wondering if the god’s demeanor was some sort of trick as he asked, “I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course, I would, but that shouldn’t inherently be to your detriment.” The deity gave an amused smile and asked, “What do you hope to truly accomplish by postponing the inevitable?”
“Less death and destruction?”
“Sometimes those are necessary,” he softly replied, gesturing toward Camilla who seemed completely unaware of the god while she drew out the ritual with her eye beams. “Sometimes, we need to destroy to protect. You did that very well just now. Surely, saving Camilla Saren’s life wasn’t evil, was it?”
“And what about my parent’s lives?” he retorted. “Where was your so-called destructive protection then?”
Destroyer simply raised a brow and said, “I was not the one who killed your parents, Uriel Karislian. I didn’t order it either. I was the one who blessed you when you begged for the power to stop it.”
He paused at that, recalling how the god had appeared when he begged to the void for the power to destroy the enemies that had forced him to kill his parents with his own aura. Phoenix had brought up this point before to him in one of her many attempts to convince him that he shouldn’t hate himself, that perhaps sometimes destroying was a good thing.
“I told you when we first met that, eventually, you would be strong enough to defeat the man who hurt you so much. The man who continually cultivates weapons in my name. My purpose may lie in the destruction his creations cause, but that does not mean I endorse his methods. Like I told your best friend before, I do not seek to destroy everything.”
“Just most things,” he found himself snapping back. It was hard for him to believe that the DOD didn’t have the full support of the god they worshiped. “I bet you get quite a bit of Aetherius from what Puera does. Even if he doesn’t manage to create a monster like me that sows destruction wherever they go, he’s breaking the people themselves. Either way, it’s more power in your pocket.”
Destroyer gave a long sigh, which looked so out of place for any god, let alone one dressed as he was. “I didn’t come here to argue with you about my own motivations. You seem so poisoned against me that I doubt you would believe anything I said currently.”
“Then why are you here?” Uriel asked, gesturing to the area around them. “Why waste your precious power to create a Projection here?”
The deity got the same patient look again as he smiled softly and answered, “Because I didn’t want my Chosen to feel alone while he ascended.”
Silence fell as Uriel stared at the god who was acting so… mortal.
Did all gods act like this normally? He hadn’t been alone while this close to many before and never really talked one-on-one like this. He had thought Scholar acted fairly mortal at times, but she often reminded them with her mind reading tendencies that she was not one of them.
As the god patiently sat there and watched him, Destroyer simply seemed… old. He looked young and beautiful like most gods, but something in his expression and posture made him seem simply tired and ancient.
Uriel wouldn’t thank this god, but he did nod his head and close his eyes.
Letting his consciousness fall into that chaotic space within his soul, he didn’t even need to do anything for the brimming power to wash over the area and turn into the pale blue of Sapphire Caste.