Years Since Creation: 3993

Location: Significance Plane, Elemental System, Sanguine

Darvon stepped back from the corpse of the Brob and looked at Maroc for instruction, only to find him shaking with worry while staring at Pyra who was shivering and clutching Joven on the floor.

“What happened to her?” Darvon asked with worry while staring at the bloody pus that had entered her via her mouth and eyes, both of which were now leaking some white foam.

“I don’t know, and I don’t have time to contain it.” Maroc said with a slightly desperate voice as he summoned a bit of healing blood to pour into her body and went to go for more only to stop with anger at another boom rattling the shield. “Fuck, figure out a plan Darvon I need to deal with this.

With that Maroc dug into a pouch in his side and pulled out a white potion which Darvon recognized as a method to treat her panic attacks from before and started slowly dripping it into her mouth which gradually relaxed. Darvon looked towards Saria, though only after he took a second to grab the box from the Brob’s hand and stuffed it into his pocket. Loot first always.

“Alright let’s plan our escape, if they sent two Sovereigns after Busari than they likely sent a couple our way as well.” Darvon said as his mind ran through all of the numbers his mom had reported years ago. “On top of that, if they are already at the gates and intercepted Busari, then it means they likely already conquered the town.”

“So, we need to escape into the wilderness.” Saria said looking south to where the wall leading out was, before turning to Maroc who was wrapping the now unconscious Pyra up in floating blood which faintly glowed with a healing pink. As he did this Joven was loudly hissing at him with bright runes covering his body, only stopping when Maroc whispered a few words to him. The familiar than dug into Pyra’s arms and didn’t resist as the blood cocoon wrapped around him as well. “Maroc do you know of any methods that we can use to escape once outside?”

“Yes I do, I always keep a few emergency measures in my lab.” Maroc said and stood up before pausing as he looked north to where the explosions were only growing stronger with glowing red eyes. “The dome is holding, but we don’t have much time. Let’s hurry.”

With that the scout immediately set the three of them on a run south with Pyra trailing along behind him in an expanding blood cocoon, the extra mass gathered from all the streams of blood flowing along the property. Seeing his uncle preparing for battle, Darvon considered what weapons he had prepared.

He had his Bolt Shoulder packed with six different types of bolts, most physical but a few magical. He had Vigil which he prompted to wrap around his mind just in case, and the two emergency potions he kept on him at all times. And that was it. Sure, he could burn through some of the essence he kept on him for some basic elemental magic, but that wouldn’t do much. Growing nervous at the rather poor state of preparation he had on himself at all times, he promised himself that once they got to safety he would prioritize increasing his weaponry.

“Do we have enough time for me to pick up my things?” Saria asked, her face nervous. “My leftover clothes are the only source of planar essence I can use to form coordinates. If I lose them it will be near impossible to build up more on my own.”

“No, we don’t.” Maroc said with a tense voice. “Only reason we are going to my lab is because I have some things that will help us escape, otherwise we would be flying out right now.”

Saria nodded at that, though her face had turned grim. Darvon could sympathize with her, he was also abandoning all of his own unfinished projects, and those they would for sure take. Not only because they each represented a wealth in crystals, but also because they would want to confirm his ability to wield QE.

“I wouldn’t worry about them destroying your clothes, to them it would look like a simple piece of clothing with some impact, nothing worth slowing down over.” Darvon said with fake confidence, for all he knew they could be very interested in her plane.

“I know it’s just–.”

“Quiet.” Maroc barked out in his commander voice. “Until we reach safety only talk if its relevant to our survival. We can’t afford to get distracted.”

“Yes sir.” Both instinctively snapped out, before putting their head down to run even quicker, their legs devouring the ground under them. With that speed within a short minute, they had reached their destination: a massive solid steel building with a glass dome covered in blood red engravings. Maroc’s elemental lab.

“I will enter and acquire the two elementals I need while setting a few powerful ones free to hold back anyone who would follow after us. All I need you two to do is keep a lookout on our surroundings and take care of Pyra.” Maroc said as he passed the cocooned Pyra into Darvon’s arms and then siphoned off and crunched down ninety percent of the cocoon into an abyssal crystalline armor covered in twitching eyes that wrapped around him. He then pushed open the huge iron doors and entered his sanctum.

“Alright I will keep watch for any material sounds, while you focus on the supernatural.” Saria said before stalking forward with a determined gait. “I’ll also take the opportunity to do a bit of scouting around to see if anyone sneaked in.”

“Wait! Don’t go anywhere! There is no way you would be able to sneak up on them. This isn’t your plane, there are countless ways to be detected.” Darvon said while carefully settling Pyra into a more comfortable hold with Joven clutching onto her chest protectively. “It’s better to just stay together than risk being separated.”

At that Saria turned around with flushed ears and joined him in waiting, her head twitching at every explosion in the distance, which were now happening in staccato. One strong blast, then three short in a constant stream of power, with the dome above them now rippling from the blasts.

“It seems they have one Sovereign and three paragons invading.” Darvon said with some relief. “That’s horrible, but not as bad as it could have been.”

“That’s only the vanguard though, there’s no way they haven’t set up at least as many sentinels around the estate.” Saria said. “We will definitely have a fight before we can escape, of that I can assure you.”

Darvon nodded in acceptance, prepping his mind for the battle ahead only to freeze and turn to his familiar who was jumping from foot to foot, each hop sending her a solid foot up, her eyes geared up for a fight.

“How will you fight them though? I know your body is strong, but that’s nothing in comparison to the enemies we will face. It might be better for you to simply stay back with Pyra.”

“Don’t count me out just yet, my mods are significantly stronger than what they look like on the surface.” Saria said, and then dug a hand into her robe to pull out an incredibly sharp knife which he could see was covered in engravings. “I also bought this earlier today.”

“Can you even use a dagger? Seems a little a primitive for your plane.” Darvon asked with worry, only to immediately shut up once Saria started doing some dagger forms in quick and brutal movements, the blade turning into a quick blur. Darvon had to admit it was impressive if a bit worthless in front of real power. “Why would you ever spend so much time learning that? I though you guys had stronger weaponry than some basic dagger.”

“I didn’t, I learnt it this afternoon prior to coming. Part of the whole god brain package.” Saria said with a faint smirk which disappeared as the door behind them slammed open.

A waft of bloody smell accompanied Maroc as he stepped out, one armored hand clutching onto a rope which dragged alongside an eight-meter-wide bird bone elemental covered in black runed skin and the other hand holding onto a small wooden box. He tossed the latter to Darvon who snapped it out of the air to put in his robes alongside the Busari box. Maroc then crouched down next to Pyra and had part of his bloody armor slide off him and tie her to the front of the elemental under a blood crystal dome.

“Alright the rest of you hop on.” Maroc said before jumping onto the back of the bird himself, settling comfortable right behind the cocoon as he formed a saddle of sanguine crystal along the birds back.

Hooking his leg under the left-wing Darvon threw himself on top with ease, his scout body stabilizing his balance immediately. Saria did the same on the right and within moments of her clutching onto the saddle Maroc had the bird lift off and fly straight towards the elemental fields, in the opposite direction of the explosions. He then tossed a small crystal ball down onto the lab below them which destroyed the building with a massive boom.

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Darvon’s third eye flashed orange as he stared at the ruins below him and he then gasped as he saw a couple hundred angry elementals of all types of escape, most of them altered by Abyssal energies in some ways. Luckily, or perhaps intentionally, not a single one of them could fly after them and they instead all mobbed towards the booming sound in the distance.

Grasping onto the reins tighter Darvon smiled at his uncles present, before turning to face the dome before him with grim eyes as Saria’s earlier warning rang through his mind.

“We will likely be attacked the moment we exit so prepare yourself for battle.” Maroc said while sending a wave of blood to form a shield in front of them which crashed into the dome and tore a hole big enough for them to pass through into the dark blood moon lit elemental fields. At first Darvon held some hope they would get away without combat when he saw no one floating in the sky ahead of them, but that dream was quickly squashed when he glanced down and caught sight of two enemies.

There was a golden armored figure clutching onto flickering black chains, and a steel armored figure riding a black panther covered in electricity. The moment the enemy saw them exit the panther let out a piercing roar which Darvon knew would alert everyone nearby. This would have to be a quick battle.

“Ok, they have a sovereign and a paragon.” Maroc said as the blood armor covering him turned pitch black and massive serrated bones started forming along the edges before falling out and hovering next to him. He then started pushing the bird to begin diving down closer to the ground. “We will need to separate for this, I will handle the sovereign while you two stall the paragon. I have a technique that should tie them down long enough for us to escape.”

The pair nodded, and hopped off the elemental the moment they were twenty meters away from the ground, Darvon tearing open his robe and Saria pulling out her knife as they fell. Darvon saw that Maroc got off the now vertically climbing bird, and continued flying forward under his own power, streams of blood flowing off him into a massive eye-catching blood blade which he stood on. It was amazing to see his uncle actually let loose though Darvon forced himself to turn his attention back to the armored paragon when he heard the panther growl again. It would not do well to be distracted in combat.

The steel figure had waved their hand and summoned a couple dozen fist sized bats through a flash of blue light in the few moments they were falling, all while having the panther stroll them backwards as they continued pouring out the crackling creatures.

“Ok, here is the plan. You deal with her minions, and I’ll attack her directly.” Darvon said as soon as they got ground under them.

“Ok, let’s do this.” Saria said and ran towards the swarm without hesitation, her body a blur that turned any bat that got near her into a paste. The only moments she would slow down is when a few would freeze for a moment to throw a lightning blast at her.

Seeing she had it well in hand Darvon let her at it and ran along the left of the bat swarm, dodging any attack with careful footwork, all while prepping the appropriate bolt in his chest. He carefully eyed the distance between him and the panther rider whose steed was now glowering at him, and the moment he was within range he fired.

A massive scream filled the air as a bolt escaped from his chest, the light around it glowing in rainbow colors that constantly shifted. It shattered the air around it due to its speed and only stopped once it crashed against a white shield which formed around the target who hadn’t stopped summoning bats. It was clear she trusted her armor enough to deal with any projectile a doyen could shoot. That was a mistake.

The moment the bolt touched the target it didn’t bounce off or even pierce through, instead it started shining in dozens of different colors, with each shift being accompanied by a brief attack. Flames flashed, lightning arched, rage howled, enchantment sang, abyssal screeched. Every type of energy Darvon had been able to pack into one bolt flashed in a single second of screaming chaos. Then it froze and fell with only one hum and color glowing on its surface, the pale pink of enchantment. The cracker had done its job.

Seeing the result Darvon instantly altered his bolt set up, and after a split second of hesitation sent Vigil streaming forward in the form of a large purple gate covered in runes, its shape drifting in and out of reality. The enemy instantly hopped off her steed and had the panther jump towards Vigil, its form attacking alongside a dozens of red glowing fireflies she quickly summoned. Yet it was for naught, for Vigils immaterial form nimbly dodged the panther, and flowed straight through the glowing fireflies and was able to effortlessly reach the summoner.

As the gate grew closer its form expanded, sacrificing density for control. Once it grew to a sufficient size Vigil began sending out waves of purple light which completely ignored the woman’s shield to impact against her real body who immediately grew too distracted to continue summoning more creatures and instead clutched at her helmet with a sob.

Taking the excellent opportunity that it was, Darvon shot out a glass bolt filled with volatile pink gas at her, turning her stumbling into an outright collapse as she let out blood curdling screams. He had successfully stalled the target, yet before he could celebrate he had to jump to the side as the panther gave up attacking the incorporeal Vigil to go after him.

Paw after paw slammed into the ground, with Darvon dodging each by the skin of his teeth. This desperate dance went on for a few desperate seconds, with Darvon gradually growing more confident in his footwork, that is until the panther grew frustrated and stepped back to shoot out a ball of lighting at Darvon whose body instantly seized up the moment it hit him.

The steed than slammed a paw against Darvon’s chest which sent him flying straight into a group of three fireflies who promptly exploded into a wave of flames which scorched his body and threw him another dozen meters away before he finally landed on the sandy dune with a groan.

In that moment all that Darvon could feel was a wave of pain fill his mind from the severe burns covering him, as well as what felt like a couple broken bones who’s shifting nearly sent him unconscious. It was only the sight of the panther loping towards him that forced him to push the pain down and desperately stand up reaching for anything that could help him, only to stop as a smile filled his face at the sight of the slowed world around him. The nanites had finally kicked in.

Using the time they gave him, he commanded his chest to alter his bolt set up again and took the opportunity to glance at the other battles. They were going a lot better than his.

Saria was jumping around like a circus acrobat, her every dagger swipe destroying at least two bats per hit. Yet those were not the real problem, that came from the dozen fireflies which would explode the moment they neared. She had no way to evade them, and so instead would have to twist her body in order to direct the explosions towards less vulnerable areas. She was doing well enough, though Darvon knew that once the Paragon sent more minions in she would likely be quickly overwhelmed.

Thinking of that enemy he turned to see that she was still clutching at her head and letting out violent sobs while inhaling the pink mist, with Vigil still pouring out a constant wave of purple light. The tactic worked well, but the problem was that the elemental was burning mass too quickly. Within just ten seconds he would have to escape, and Darvon would be forced to find a new tactic to stall her, which he wasn’t sure he had. So, with deep worry he turned to Maroc’s battle and smiled at what he saw.

In the air above massive streaks of red light clashed against a net of black chains the Sovereign had created around him, with each strike shattering parts of their defense. Maroc floated above it all, Vortex covering every inch of his body and blocking any chain that managed to get through by throwing out a spike of bone. Behind Maroc was a massive ball of tentacle like blood which writhed in agony every moment. Even from a hundred meters away Darvon could hear the screams echoing out around it. It looked like Maroc’s plan was working, which meant all he had to do was hold on long enough to survive.

With that thought Darvon turned back to the charging leopard and let the nanites relax as they were sending screams about overheating to his mind. Instantly the world went from slow to normal, with the leopard jumping forward with a boom of lighting its mouth leaking sparks. Of course, by than it was too late for Darvon had already shot out two bolts, one from each hole in its chest.

The pair shattered against the panther, one after the other, the first coated it in black oil and the second sent out a stream of embers which lit the overgrown cat into a beautiful feline pyre.

A yowl echoed across the landscape, the leopard now desperately rolling around trying to get the fire off it to no avail, no amount of non-magical force would stop that burn. Within just a few moments the cat went from proud and dangerous to a charred skeleton.

“You ratfuck!” A feminine voice yelled out as it died, the collapsed Paragon stumbling forward as they pulsed with a green light which sent Vigil running straight back to Darvon in a purple streak. “How dare you destroy my steed!”

The woman waved her hand and used the collapsed essence around her to form a new circle, which Darvon could sense had instantly connected to the Hollow realm. Within moments a new wave of creatures flew out, this time in the form of large wolves covered in stone armor.

“You will pay for this, Darvon Zhaber. I may not be allowed to kill you, but I can torture you to the brink of death.” The woman said with a voice filled with confidence only to freeze once she glanced at the battle above. “Wait what the fuck?!”

Looking up along with her, Darvon saw what had shocked her so much. Maroc had won. He had turned the writhing sphere into a massive prison made up of hundreds of chomping mouths which devoured any attack the sovereign sent out. He had successfully stalled the biggest enemy, which meant they could leave. The only problem was that Darvon could see a small dot approaching from the other side of the blood dome, which forced him to use his new eyes to enhance the image.The dot was a flying man covered in the same steel armor as the woman in front of him and radiating out waves of green light which was just as strong as the energy of the woman in front of him, which that they were also a Paragon. They needed to leave, now.

“Saria, Maroc! Incoming!” Darvon yelled as he reached into his robe and took out one of the few treasures that his parents had left him. A glowing orange potion with a black stopper in the shape of a leech which was filled with abyssal energy.

Tearing off the stopper Darvon threw the potion at the body of the leopard in front of him, stepping back as the screaming orange liquid within completely devoured the bones, growing larger as it did so. Within moments the liquid went from a mere few inches big to the size of an adult man, its shape turning into a tall biped which started staring around in hunger at its surroundings, flitting from object to object before finally landing on Darvon.

“Kill her!” Darvon said, pointing at the shocked paragon with one hand, and clutching onto the living spell stopper in the other, which was letting out waves of pink light in the direction of the golem.

The moment the order was sent out, the golem turned and jumped towards the paragon who had already taken the chance to send every single one of her wolves charging toward it, each of their claws flashing with earthen light. It was all to no avail, for the elemental merely flowed over the hollows and absorbed their body to grow even larger.

“What the fuck is this?!” The paragon yelled at him, but Darvon was beyond caring as he was already running towards Saria who had managed to quickly dispatch the rest of the creatures around her at the price of being covered in her own blood.

“We need to go.” Darvon said, pointing at the rapidly approaching figure before grabbing her wrist and dragging her along in the direction of the sovereign battle, where Maroc was sending out thousands of blades of crystalized blood at the cage with a roar of fury. “Uncle we got to go!”

Somehow hearing him even from so far away, Maroc turned from his target with an annoyed grunt and let out a piercing whistle. As the sound echoed out the bone elemental dove down from the sky where it had been circling, to float next to Maroc who jumped on it and then steered it towards his two landbound allies. The moment it got within a dozen feet the pair hopped up the rest of the distance to the birds back, grasping onto the saddle as best they could as the bird instantly turned deeper into the elemental fields, its wings flapping as fast as it could.

“You won’t get away Darvon! I will hunt you down sooner or later! There is no escaping Zenith!” The steel paragon yelled out from under them, desperately sending out a small army of hollows of all different types at the Abyssal golem who had already grown as large as a building.

“Uncle there is one more.” Darvon said ignoring the ranting of the summoner as he pointed at the approaching figure which had altered its flight path to intercept them. “We can’t escape far with them tailing us.”

Maroc frowned for a moment before nodding. He pulled out a small box from his pocket which he opened to show a small blood elemental which he tossed into the air. As it started to fall his eyes glowed a deep red and his body withered and then regained vitality as a massive stream of blackened blood appeared around him to pour into the floating elemental. Within moments it had turned into a ginormous, winged abomination covered in eyes, with deep black feathers which devoured all light that hit it.

“Stall and kill them.” Maroc grunted out, to which the abomination let out a screech and flew after the flying figure, its form much faster than their own bird. Within moments it crashed against the figure in a flash of black and green light, stalling them long enough for them to escape deep into the desert with no further pursuers. They were in the clear. For now.