With the assistance of my new Immortal Guard, I was able to accomplish much more than I had alone. My undead were a powerful workforce but several hundred extra helping hands were somehow able to accomplish more, despite not being anywhere near as coodinated. There was something about the enthusiasm and creativity of a living person that my undead could not match.

The extra help was lifted a weight from my shoulders. In twenty-four hours, I expected the next Demon assault. That was how long I estimated it would take the mirror Demon to recover. Before the attack, I needed to significantly weaken the Ciel forces. Before this, I had been worried how I was going to prepare everything and still have enough energy for my plans tonight but now there was even time for me to take a short nap to recover from my exhaustion.

The Demons were certainly not making it easy on me. They had definitely provided several corrupted seeds to their ‘allies’. When a person awakened a domain, it created an event that could be felt by every other domain warrior nearby. The pseudo-domains created by the corrupted seeds were no exception. Before it was even midday, I had already felt thirty-six new domains awakened within the Ciel army.

When talking with my mom, I had tried to play it off as only a minor problem. If I had access to the forces of the Thirteenth Division, it would be, but while it was true that mature Demonkin were likely more of a threat than these weak domains, it was still an added pressure to the allied forces that we did not have an answer for.

To make matters worse, several hundred Demonkin had left the protection of the blood mist and taken residence within the fortifications of the Ciel forces. Despite undoubtedly putting the human soldiers on edge, these Demonkin made my mission that much harder. I would no longer be able to send rampaging groups of undead into the enemy army unchecked. If I wanted to keep the Ciel soldiers scared and exhausted until the next assault, I needed to be clever. I needed to prove to the enemy that even with their increased power and the help of the Demonkin I could still assassinate anyone I wanted at any time.

To that end, my Immortal Guard had made great strides. One of the recruits knew a very effective method of catching birds, involving a net cage that they could fly in but not out. Within just a few hours, he had managed to catch more than a hundred crows that flew over the battlefield. His effectiveness made me feel embarrassed by the sorry attempt at a trap Charly and I had attempted back when we were fleeing from Irene.

Despite that, I was delighted by the result. Thanks to the explosive effect of combining my two fires, the mobility of birds had instantly become one of my most effective weapons. With these numbers, I would be able to pepper the battlefield with suicidal bombs and easily target the commanders, even if they were protected by thousands of troops.

The only downside was energy. Creating the crystalized form of an innate talent drained my exhausted reserves faster than I could replenish them. This meant that, unfortunately, I would not be able to turn all the birds into explosives. Most of them would have to act as a distraction rather than a powerful weapon.

The constant hammering in my head from being almost completely drained of energy was a constant reminder of how weak I currently was. If only I was at my full strength, I could have crushed the Ciel army and their pathetic pseudo-domain warriors in a single night. Then, we could march on the blood mist in full confidence of victory.

Unfortunately, that was just a dream. Strategy would have to replace my power for now. We had yet to see an opportunity for a counterattack that allowed us to enter the blood mist around the Novus Kingdom. We were saving Mare’s plan to create randomized troop movement for when we were sure Berith and the fake Aevus would be watching. For that, we needed a large, telegraphed, counter-offensive that would draw their attention. That would be our best moment to infiltrate the blood mist. We just needed to hold out until that opportunity arrived. To guarantee we could survive until that opening presented itself, I might need to take a few risks.

I looked at the row of undead Demonkin in front of me with a twinkle in my eye. While there were only thirteen of them, they represented more power than a hundred normal undead. Eleven of them were the mature Demonkin that had died during the first assault, including the one heavily armored beast I made sure to capture. It was the remaining two, however, that I was most excited about. Ten Alpha Demonkin had attempted to attack Bastya fortress this morning, not aware that we had sent Vissna there to patrol the mountains. Without the Demons to interfere, Vissna had been able to show her full might and crushed the surprise attack before it could even reach the fortress. While most of the Alphas were able to retreat, these two were not so lucky.

Though the undead Alphas could not use a domain as they had when they were alive, I was not worried about it. Even without their domains, Alphas were machines of war, greater than any other Demonkin. They were walking weapons born for the sole purpose of slaughter.

Tonight, these thirteen undead would act as the premier assault against the Ciel Empire. Unless the Demons were willing to send stronger forces to protect the empire, my undead would reap havoc that the night before could not even compare to.

For now, these thirteen Demonkin followed me as I walked and acted as my personal bodyguards. The area designated to me by General Arthur for my new Immortal Guard had quickly grown crowded as the men and women worked without rest. It was not, however, crowded with more volunteers but rather a morbid number of corpses.

After some back and forth, General Arthur convinced all of the allied armies to hand over their dead to me. The final tally of the deceased numbered over five thousand after the initial assault. Many more were wounded and unable to fight.

Now I was faced with a choice. Do I raise these soldiers as undead or do I revive them through the golden flame?

The number of undead I could raise and control was still limited but the effect would be immediate. The undead could act as effective meat shields on the front line during the assault tomorrow and maybe lessen our losses.

Meanwhile, I still understood very little about the golden flame. It would take several days before anyone could be brought back through it. I was not sure if there was a limit to how many I could bring back through the golden fire and I still had many doubts and questions about the process floating through my mind but it was still too appealing an option to ignore. If the soldiers learned that I could really give someone a second chance at life, they might fight harder than they would otherwise. That is not to mention how effective the golden flame was against Demonkin.

Ultimately, I decided not to make the decision rashly and approached the only one that knew anything about my ability.

Vissna had just finished patrolling the mountains at the rear of our coalition and was not hard to spot. She flew into the army, still in her dragon form. I approached her hesitantly. My few interactions with the dragon had not gone particularly well. Her unpredictable temperament that switched from polite to violent left me worried that she might once again turn against me if I asked the wrong question.

Vissna had an entire bear in her mouth as I walked up. She swallowed the entire creature in a single bite before turning her head to look at me. “What do you want, little phoenix?”

“I let you have several valuables in Bellator. I think it is time you repaid that debt with a few questions.”

Vissna flared her nostrils in a huff as she lowered her head. “What do you want to know?”

“You said my talent resembles phoenix fire. You should know more about it than what little you told me before. I want the truth from you. I have seen many talents over my lifetimes and one rule has always held true, the more absolute the talent, the more drawbacks it has. I have seen the lifeforce brought about by my revivals. Energy cannot come from nothing. What is the price of this flame?”

“You want to revive the soldiers that fall in battle, don’t you?” Vissna asked as she rested her head on one of her large talons. Her large fangs were revealed as she smiled down at me. “Phoenixes are a similar lifeform to dragons like myself and Adepts. We are the elements given flesh. We can draw energy directly from the world and use it as our own but that does not mean we are without limits. As you have suspected, a price must be paid for this seemingly limitless energy. Your little flame is no exception. On a small scale, your ability is not a major issue but I guarantee you will regret it if you overuse it during this war.”

“Why is that?” I asked curiously.

“As you said, energy does not come from nothing. With every soul you revive, you drain the world of its energy. Do it without restraint and you will disrupt the balance of the realm. This planet will become nothing more than a lifeless rock floating in space and everything you are hoping to protect will crumble to dust.”

I brought my hand to my chin thoughtfully as I considered Vissna’s words. I had thought something similar after Marilyn’s revival but hearing it from the mouth of the dragon gave the golden flame a new weight of responsibility.

“How many people can I revive without disrupting the balance of the realm?”

A frosty mist puffed out of Vissna’s mouth and nostrils. “Energy is not stagnant. It flows from one lifeform to another, from the sun to the plants, from the plants to the animals, and then back into the ground. If you are hoping for an exact number, I cannot give it. The balance of the realm is something that must be felt, not explained. As an Adept, you will learn this with time. It is why I did not warn you of this side effect immediately. However, given the circumstances, some sacrifices can be made without permanent repercussions. Keep the number of those you revive under a hundred at any one time and I will use my power to help keep this region of land from becoming a desert.”

I nodded as I started forming a plan around the new limitations. “If one of my revived dies, does the energy return to the realm? Can it be revived a second time?”

Vissna chuckled. “You caught on quick. No, a creature cannot be revived a second time. I have seen it before. When a creature revived by phoenix flames dies again, the energy returns to the realm rather forcibly. The body crumbles to dust as an effect.”

“I see. I will make sure and let the others know,” I mumbled.

“Do you have any more questions for me? If not, I would like to find another snack. Constantly being hungry is very frustrating. Normally a dragon as old as myself only has to eat once every decade or so.”

“Not unless there is something else about the flame you want me to know,” I said with a shrug, “Though, I would love it if you would tell me more of Mare’s history.”

Vissna paused for a moment as she cautiously looked at the floating island in the distance. “Knowing more of the shadow will only increase the cracks created by her existence. The Preateritum wiped all records of her for a reason. The less we talk about her and interact with her the better. However, I will give you a warning. Dragon’s Nest… That remnant of the shadow… it was not in this realm when I returned to the earth. I am sure of that. And… The personality of a Preateritum structure is always based on the previous master who owned it last.”

I quickly realized the problem with Vissna’s statement. “If the shadow died before you, how did the remnant end up here afterwards?”

Vissna nodded solemnly. “A being like her will not succumb to ravages of age. If the great powers of my time were fooled into thinking the shadow was dead when she was not… You should be wary that every action you have taken up until now is your own choice and not playing into her game. There are more dangerous monsters out there than your Demons, little phoenix.”