Even after the Greater Spirits had disappeared, I spent a long moment just floating in the air, staring at nothing in particular. Only Mior’s careful poke roused me.

I beat the wings I had regrown and let myself drift slowly downwards. Mior was still linked to me, though they currently maintained their own form, and I could feel the extra power I’d drawn on during the fight slowly seeping out of me.

‘Inaris.’ Their tone was unexpectedly gentle. ‘I know this is a momentous occasion and you probably need time to process what happened, but you should get moving. You’re still needed.’

I blinked and shook my head. ‘Right. Let’s get going. How long are you going to stay with me?’

‘Not much longer. Actually …’

I paused, somehow managing to keep hovering in the air with their help. I felt a sensation like a slight tingle in my qi. Although, now that I focused on it, I could tell that Mior was only nudging something I could have found there anyway. Almost by themselves, my eyes slipped closed, and I started breathing deeply.

This breakthrough had crept up on me. If I paused to think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised this was happening, considering I fought an ascended cultivator and Greater Spirit and everything. But now I barely had to guide my qi before it started crashing through my meridians, flushing out impurities. I compressed it tighter in my dantian, shaping it for my next level of progress.

I knew who I was and where I came from, and now I saw what my future held, in more detail and with more certainty than before. I let those imaginings guide me, pushing through a breakthrough not just with my qi, but also my mind, defining myself and setting my path. It was almost shockingly easy.

After a while, I opened my eyes again, realizing that I was resuming my descent. I shook my head to clear it and glanced around. That has to be the quickest breakthrough I’ve ever had.

‘Most likely,’ Mior agreed. ‘You’re welcome.’

I huffed and smiled slightly. I could tell I’d only been out of it for a few minutes, and Mior had kindly ensured that I wouldn’t do myself or my surroundings any harm during that time. And it was a good thing that I wasn’t occupied for longer. As I came closer to the site of the battle, it became clear how much work was still ahead of me.

The walls had been breached and the qi shield covering the city broken, but the city was still mostly unmarred and as yet unconquered. Not that that would last long. The battlefield was a littler harder to assess, considering how cultivator fights tended to end for the environment and any hapless bystanders. But I could tell that the battle was mostly over. A lot of bodies lay in the mud, from both sides. It did seem like the Zarian had started to retreat, though. I could see a few Imperial eighth-stagers flying over or striding across the field. There were also a surprising number of Imperial siege weaponry and our large stationary guns still standing. As I watched, I saw a few minor spirits with qi tasting of something familiar, night and stars, leaving the battlefield.

It looked like my father had decided to help us out a little. How nice of him.

Elia was the first of my companions I found. She hovered pretty close to my current position on a flying sword, looking out over the field and the city. When I approached, she turned and nodded to me. Her forehead was slightly creased and I could read the tension in her posture despite her relaxed stance.

“Are you alright, Nari?” she asked.

“Just fine. And you?”

“Sure.” She smiled a little. “It’s not every day I get this close to my grandmother, but she was very gentle. I think I might even be ready for another breakthrough soon.”

“Good. Do you know where the others are?”

She pointed. “No need to go looking for them, I think.”

I turned and smiled as I saw what she meant. The rest of what I thought of as my group were not too far away and were making their way towards us. Tenira and Lei were in the lead, with Elis, Ceion, and Kajare apparently talking to each other and Yarani at the rear. I nodded at Elia and started losing altitude again, sensing that she followed me.

When I landed, I first had to endure intense hugging from my partners. I was barely done with one before the next got their turn. Elis hugged his sister as well, while Ceion looked a little awkward.

“Alright,” I said, laughing a little. “I’m okay, I’m okay. That was a fight I won’t soon forget, but my father and Mior kept me safe. They’re still here, by the way.”

Mior faded out of my body and nodded at the others. ‘Now that you’re back safely, I think it’s time to take my leave.’ The spirit smirked slightly. ‘Make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble, alright?’

Before I could answer, they started to fade again. I felt a pulling sensation in my midsection, right where my dantian was, and a similar sense in my qi. I grimaced and braced myself, distantly thankful at the contact when Elis laid a hand on my shoulder and supported me. It felt like something was torn away from me and I instinctively wanted to latch onto it and keep it, but I controlled myself and instead hunched in on myself.

Mior’s qi gathered around me, forming again into a more solid person-like shape in front of us, while my companions backed away to give them space. After a few minutes of something close to agony without actual pain, the feeling lessened. I felt like I could finally breathe easier, but at the same time, like those breaths were hollow.

Mior’s arm rose and they gave me a wave before their qi started to dissipate and I felt the spirit’s presence leaving. They probably have a lot to do.

And so did I. I straightened, rolling my shoulders, and grimaced a little. “Alright. Do you mind filling me in on what happened and what our status is?”

I listened closely as my companions, though mostly Tenira with some interjections from Kajare and Yarani, started explaining. It sounded like the battle had recovered pretty well from the presence of two Greater Spirits and continued. My generals did a decent job of controlling it, and with the qi shield over the city gone and some help, they were able to quickly turn the battle around. Now, we were in the clean up phase. A lot of Zarian had died, while a few had been seen fleeing. We’d probably have to hunt down the stronger ones later, but I wasn’t too worried about it, or what remained of the Dominion outside the capital.

Already, Imperial soldiers were forming up outside the city. The wall had been breached in several places, and I could sense that few people remained in its vicinity.

By now, the leadership of the army had come closer, as well, and we met up with them. I noticed the looks the generals and eighth-stagers were giving me, but chose not to comment on it. They must have all sensed the fight between the spirits and knew I was involved, but I would rather not discuss it.

At least they picked up on that fact quickly and the conversation focused on the battle and our next steps.

“We should be ready to march into the city,” General Poteri said. “Unless we have to expect further increased resistance from the Storm’s faction?”

I considered for a moment and shook my head. “I suspect that the High Temple will still fight, but we don’t have to be concerned about the Storm himself.”

They all looked relieved at that, although I got even more speculative looks. “Good.” Poteri nodded. “Then we can proceed, with your permission, Your Highness?”

“I’ll leave that to your expert judgment, General,” I answered. If he thinks we should press on as soon as possible, he’s probably right.

From there, the conversation turned to practicalities, and the generals hammered out the details. They all seemed to agree with Poteri about wanting to get this going quickly. Probably because the impact of seeing their deity defeated (people did realize that, right?) should still be fresh for the Zarian.

As the meeting wound down, I took out my trusty flying sword and rose into the air, getting a good overview of the situation and incidentally discouraging people from approaching and trying to talk to me. My friends didn’t go far, but they left me in peace, thankfully. With nothing else to focus on, I noticed more strongly than before the way my qi channels were aching softly. Clearly, channeling that much power through them, with Mior possessing me, wasn’t easy to endure, and the minor breakthrough hadn’t recovered everything. It might have even made it worse. At least I felt confident the effect wouldn’t be permanent, and as long as I didn’t use too many strong techniques in the next few hours or days, it shouldn’t be a problem.

With everyone except the most seriously injured soldiers healed, the bodies collected, and our planes and siege engines ready, the army finally started the assault on Saria, version two point zero.

It was almost anticlimactic. Whoever remained in charge on the Zarian side clearly decided that trying to defend the walls was a lost cause. Considering our planes were free to bomb them with impunity, I couldn’t disagree. It did mean that our soldiers met with minimal resistance as they started advancing into the city proper.

I sighed to myself, watching teams of elites canvass the streets of the outer section of Saria. It felt like all of this was simply wrap up, annoying tasks that had to be completed once the true threat was dealt with. I’d accomplished what I’d really come here for, at least on a personal level.

Of course, there were still a lot of people whose fates hung in the balance. I’d told myself and others that I wanted to make lives better for the common people in the Zarian Dominion. Now it was time to put my money (or my army) where my mouth was.

We waited in silence for a while as the soldiers moved into the city. I sensed the occasional fight, though it didn’t seem to be anything they couldn’t handle. Still, the occasional twinges in my qi sense made me antsy. There were still strong Zarian cultivators around. I knew Aston, who’d been almost forebodingly quiet today, would not want me to enter the city until we were sure it was safe.

I glanced at my bodyguard, who was on a flying sword behind me, looking straight ahead, his face a stony mask. Yeah, I’ll need to have a long talk with him after this is over. Now that I no longer have to worry about Jideia’s assassins.

I sighed, shaking my head softly to myself.

“Are you alright?” Tenira asked. She and the others were coming up.

I glanced at her and made myself smile. “Yeah, of course, I’m just a little keyed up still.”

She didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at me. Beside her, Kajare folded his arms.

“Fine. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this — this.” I ran a hand through my hair. “We won, but …”

Tenira cocked her head to the side slightly. “You feel like the Storm got away with attacking you.”

“Nari,” Kajare spoke up. “We haven’t seen the Pioneer. Is he gone?”

“Yeah. I think so.” I frowned slightly. “Considering how Mior acted, I think he’s permanently stopped supporting Jideia. He’s probably going to go his own way now. I guess with a little help from the Moon, and with Sparky still dealing with the fallout of all this, he’s probably in a position to manage it.”

“And the other Greater Spirits just saw the Storm get beaten down by his old enemy,” he said. “After he must have invested a significant amount of power here.”

“Yes, I suppose.” I scratched at my cheek. When he put it like that, I could see what they were driving at.

“So, you weakened him considerably and took away his strongest supporter.” Kajare smiled. “You could say that you hurt him far more than he ever actually hurt you, considering you survived all those assassination attempts.”

I blinked, then started to grin. “I guess so. Thanks, Kajare. You’re not wrong.” I guess I needed to hear that. Sparky is going to have problems because of this for a long time.

The two of them smiled. Our conversation paused, and we turned to look at the city. After a few seconds, one of the soldiers came up to wave us forward, and we finally started moving in.

“It’s good that we talked about this,” Tenira said quietly. “I hope you got your head in the game, or however that saying goes.”

I glanced at her and nodded seriously. “Of course.”

Smoke was starting to rise from a few points in the city. I heard a crash from what might have been the High Temple’s grounds. None of the soldiers I saw acted concerned, though. Still, there were quite a few high-tier Zarian left in the city. And they’d all know we were coming.

“Because we have yet to deal with the Zarian,” Tenira continued. “The affairs of spirits aside, this is going to be your challenge, I feel. The deciding point of this whole campaign, in a manner of speaking.”

I nodded slowly. I understood what she meant. How I dealt with them now would be crucial. I didn’t have a clear plan what to do. I’d been focused on how to get rid of the Storm.

I knew that would have wide-reaching effects, but it was a little hard to predict what they would look like. I sighed. Why couldn’t Kiyanu be the one who was here?