Josh's eyes fluttered open. He felt a deep peace for the briefest moment as he gazed up through the ceiling's transparasteel at the photons the Leviathan passed in hyperspace.

...Where am I?

Sen was kneeled over him. Both of his hands channeled Essence into Josh's Meridians. Blood was everywhere and sweat dripped down Sen's face from the effort. The fierceness in his expression showed he didn't plan on stopping anytime soon—

Mind-wrenching pain exploded into a searing cattle prod of pain stabbing through Josh's right side. Memories of the last few minutes slammed back into his mind.

Wild-eyed. ~Black Eyes?!~ J

osh tried to sit up and spot the feral menace. Sen gently but firmly kept him on the ash bed he lay in.

Pushing Josh down ~Shisoka intercepted her... She's gone.~

Sen's words got through, and Josh's feeble struggles stopped, which was fine. A continuous throbbing in his head was steadily outpacing the agony of being mostly cut in half by a psychotic undead. For a second, Josh thought he was living inside a steelpan drum with three jackhammers pounding on it. Josh clenched his jaw, waiting for the circulating Essence to take effect. Soon, the headache started to recede, but the chest wound only got marginally better.

Pained gasp. ~...Alysa?

Nod. ~She's well and helping Jishin right now... Zurui has fallen.~

Josh swallowed shallowly and nodded his understanding. Squinted eyes. ~Why is this wound taking so long to heal?~

Double nod. ~The attack of advanced undead is toxic to living spirit beings. Particularly those less developed. Given how much more powerful Black Eyes was than us, you are lucky to still be alive...~ Sen dropped his head. ~...You were at negative free Essence. Somehow, a small portion of mine was channeled to you during our flight... Your actions were extremely foolish... and amazing...I am humbled and ashamed that I added nothing to them...~

Josh rolled his eyes into an impatient stare. ~...Sen...You're the one who recognized what was going on... And you're saving my life right now.~ Josh finished with raised brows that asked for Sen's agreement. But his brother didn't look up.

Talking hurt... a lot... But Josh spoke the following words to make sure Sen knew he was serious. "... Listen, Sen... to get where we're going, we both need to bring everything we have every day. Today was my day... But you have never held anything back. Not ever. So I won't either. Deal?" Josh's Eyebrows were both arching again.

Sen nodded sharply once. Verbally or not, their Bond assured only honesty. Josh meant what he said, and Sen accepted it.

Sen moved on to current issues. ~The wound is almost closed. Afterward, you will be weak for several days, and your skills will be almost impossible to propagate. Following that, you should recover fully.~

Josh leaned back for easier breathing. ~Thanks, brother.~

Shisoka soared overhead. His clothing was soot stained and still actively burning in several places. Josh leaned up again on his elbows as the Talan leader touched down. The Talan commander’s face and body were covered with only partially healed slash and claw wounds. He stood uneasily on stiff legs as he spoke. "The Savoy has been dealt with... You are the ranking Kaizuko aboard now that my wife and sons are gone or... unfit to lead." Shisoka nodded a distance past them, and a dark cast covered his marred face. "...What remains of my son Aeneas is over there. Please take command of the Leviathan and see it rejoined with the rest of the fleet. There is much to talk over, but I am not up to it just now—"

Without taking his eyes off them, the battle commander pitched face first into the pile of ash and started snoring. Josh could see his Essence, all seven colors of Spherical Cultivation, cycling through him.

Still cycling Essence to Josh, Sen looked down briefly at the mostly closed wound he was helping heal and then over to Shisoka.

Nod. ~Go check on him! I'm okay for now.~

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

* * * * *

There was nothing they could do for Shisoka. When Sen rolled him over, it looked like he was resting comfortably. When they tried to provide Essence to him, it was like dropping a thimble of water into a swimming pool. Shisoka's Essence volume was on a different level. But through their Aural sight, it was clear that the Talan commander continued to keep his Essence circulating. Ultimately, they placed him under guard in his quarters and checked on him daily. His Meridian flow steadily increased, and the vibrancy of his Essence hues steadily deepened from check-in to check-in. Shisoka's wounds also slowly shrank without any sign of infection.

Alysa had narrowed her eyes minutely at learning that she was now in command of the Leviathan. Without missing another beat, she opened up ship-wide communication, rounded up the Talan's command staff, and got about the business of reuniting the fleet.

The Brigantine had rejoined the Talan fleet five days after the singularity detonations. They were greeted by Amnaki Wakai, older, wiser, and very grateful to hand the helm back to Jinichi's supervision. The Brigantine had suffered no losses beyond the tragedy of Zurui Danada's death. Alysa had found him lying on his back in a bed of sunflowers a dozen kilometers from Xsias' initial attack. His chest had been crushed, making it likely he had died instantly. Zurui had otherwise looked at peace as if he was resting while awaiting their arrival. Hearing her memory, Jinichi and Amnaki's grief softened at his passing.

As Sen had told him, Josh's weakness was major, and his ability to propagate skills was offline. Leaning on Staska, Josh hobbled back and forth from his quarters to spend his days at Shisoka's bedside. The commander had a certain gravitas, and Josh felt compelled to sit beside him as he reviewed status reports from the Brigantine and Talan fleet. With little else to contribute, Josh did what administrative review he could to take some of the burden off Alysa and Sen's shoulders. It was also a pretty good idea to do his best to try and ensure they returned Shisoka's ships in the same condition they had found them in.

The Talan Clan's crews were as professional as the Brigantine's. Josh gave up on asking them to stop calling him 'y'Excellency' after two days of beating his head against thousands of years of ingrained respect.

Aeneas, who had been in a coma-like state, regained consciousness and complete health late on the third day after the fight. He presented early the next day period to formally pay his respects to Josh and to check on his father.

The smartly dressed and well-mannered young man bowed to Josh. "Thank you for standing vigil over my father while I've been incapacitated."

Josh looked him up and down, not seeing any residuals from Xsias' dominion. "Don't mention it. I'm also recovering from the undead's attack... So, it makes it easier for the physikers to check on us together. Besides, an unconscious man is the best company I could ask for when going through all these..." Josh waived a hand blandly at the stack of data pad reports he had in front of him, and they laughed together.

* * * * *

The seed of Xsias fumed inside its Aeneas host. It would not be stopped by the crippled lump laughing mindlessly before it. The pitifully weak creature hadn't recovered from the progenitor's attack and still could not propagate any Attuned skills.

Xsias' remnant didn't know the exact details of its original's demise. It only knew that Shisoka and the current acting commander had eliminated her. Their deaths would be the perfect place to restart the long crawl back to Xsias' previous existence of dominance. Acquiring a priceless horde of Life Attunement items and gaining control of a legendary capital ship crewed by undead slaves was an excellent second step.

There was also the reality of the remnant's current precarious situation. It had to act now. There was little more than a day before the physical signs of undead dominion began to molder it. It had to move before that, or its plans would fail. The Leviathan was a large ship crewed by millions. It was not inconceivable that what remained of Xsias could dominate the bridge crew and quickly bring the vessel into Savoy-controlled space before the majority of spirit beings aboard knew enough to try and prevent it... But this could only work if Shisoka and the current leadership were first removed. And Xsias’ seed was glad about that! This pathetic creature before me has no idea that the micros remaining in his life are counted on one hand. Undead fire spun up in the host's Core to desiccate the smiling fool—

The human's wide smile fell, and its body sagged back into its seat. The wounded commander's sharp expression pierced the remnant's awareness. Then he looked away and barely whispered into the air. "I can't pretend anymore... Take her, Sen."

With absolutely no gap in time, the seed became aware that the Aeneas host's upper and lower extremities had been amputated. It fell on its back, staring into its assailant's dark and unblinking stare.

The top knotted monk from Mwezi! Xsias' remembrance surfaced with a sneering growl that filled Aeneas' eyes with hate... but nothing more. Without limbs, it could do little else.

The battle commander rose from his chair and bent at the waist to look down at Xsias. "Did you really think we forgot about you... Stupid is as stupid does, I guess. We were just hoping that Shisoka would awaken before you did. But it doesn't matter... I'm sure you know a few things about Dod Stal and the Savoy that will help us down the road. We're going to keep you in a very safe place until Shisoka wakes up to… talk to you."

The commander waved to servants outside of Xsias' view. Hands from the unseen beings placed a cage over the seed's head. Then, they began collecting its fallen limbs.

The commander spoke to the monk. "Are you sure freezing it in carbonite won't hurt it?"

"It's undead, brother. Not much can hurt it."

Realization dawned on the battle commander's face. "...Good point."

* * * * *