PETRIFICATION EFFECT REDUCED BY 25%

PETRIFICATION NO LONGER IN EFFECT

A purple rectangle popped up, allowing Dallion to move again. It was fortunate that Lux was still able to negate the effect. At least Dallion had a fighting chance now. Or did he? Seeing a mega spell in action was a terrifying event. More and more, it was looking like the dwarf’s prophecy could be true. If Aether could cause this much damage even with the level of restriction placed on him, what was he capable of without them? As unbelievable as it was, the Star hadn’t exaggerated the danger.

Several more aetherbird echoes appeared. What was left of the chainlings in the realm quickly flew in their direction, determined to prevent them from casting another massive spell. Even Dallion did another spark infused line attack, holding the harpsisword with both arms.

What do you suggest? He asked in his realm.

Neither Nil nor Harp said a word.

Harp? Dallion asked.

We’re not allowed to make this decision for you, the old echo said. Restrictions.

Of course there would be, Dallion wasn’t sure whether he should laugh. If there ever was one vital decision he had to make, this was it. If he made the wrong move, a destructive power would be unleased in the world. Both the Star and Aether were destructive in their own different ways. Either choice was bad, but the question was which was the lesser of both evils. The logical response was not to allow either of them out, but that was beyond his capabilities. It was difficult enough to fend against either; even after the help from the general’s artifact, Dallion remained the weakest link in the situation.

“Why do you think the aetherbird would destroy the world?” Dallion asked, giving in to his doubts.

“Just part,” the Star replied, shielding himself from a torrent of feathers raining over him. “That’s what he does when he gets bored or annoyed. It’s his nature. He does it in every era.”

“He’s not done it so far.”

“Only because he was stopped. The hunters a decade ago managed to capture him. Why do you think the Academy would make a deal with me? That was the only option.”

A sphere of blackness emerged around the Star, expanding outwards. One of the aetherbird echoes failed to fly away fast enough, ending up stuck on its surface. The blackness seeped into it like tar, swallowing it whole.

Meanwhile, Dallion flew in the direction of another echo. The creature was busy drawing spell symbols in the air and didn’t even react to him. Possibly, Aether had planned this upon seeing Dallion get petrified.

Spark. Dallion thrust his word forward.

The echo ceased casting its spell. The glowing lines and symbols fizzled out in an instant. That was good, although it also allowed the aetherbird to evade the attack and fly off. Not willing to let things end there, Dallion followed. Targeting the creature’s weak spot, Dallion threw the harpsisword at it. The aetherbird swerved to the side. The weapon, however, followed, striking it right between the wings.

TERMINAL HIT

Damage dealt has been increased by 1000%

The echo disappeared in a cloud of purple particles. Immediately, Dallion unsummoned and re-summoned his harpsisword. Killing off an echo gave him some time, but it did little more. The fight was still tilted against him.

“How did they capture him?” Dallion flew in the direction of the Star.

“I can’t tell you,” Arthurows replied. “It’s not just the restriction, I really don’t know. The hunter was supposed to use the device the Academy gave him, but he didn’t. He managed to keep it hidden from me and everyone else for a decade, though not for long. Aether managed to escape.”

“You mean the phoenix hunt announcement was real?”

“Things sometimes are. Shocking, right?”

While that didn’t provide any practical help, it did put some things into perspective. It explained why the Star had allowed the creation of the plague. The goal hadn’t been creating chaos by killing off awakened—that was just a bonus. The real purpose was to keep Aether in check. Although Dallion wasn’t sure living in such a world was much better than living in no world. Maybe for the un-awakened it was going to be, but even they would be driven centuries back. Those in the cities were definitely going to face difficulties surviving. Even the villages wouldn’t prosper, and if they did, they were going to be taken over by the Star cults—the only remaining power.

“How do we capture it?” Dallion finally asked. As much as he disliked it, the choice had been made. “Defeat the guardian?”

“That would be too simple.” Another black sphere formed around them. Completely opaque, it sealed them off from the purple surroundings. Only Dallion’s blue flames provided light. “Aether’s echoes are also him. Killing them off won’t defeat him, but neither would killing the world either.”

“We must destroy everything at the same time?”

“Cure, but wrong. Well, almost wrong. We aren’t mages.”

“Can’t you use your powers to make a bomb or something?”

“You level capped me! I’m lucky to make a hand grenade.”

“What then?”

There was a moment of silence. Purple cracks appeared in a section of the black sphere, looking like tears in a black sky.

“You have to find his core. Attack his core and all of Aether will merge into one entity. Then I can deal with him.”

Betrayal practically oozed from the suggestion. Dallion could see that clearly. Every fiber in his being screamed this was a terrible plan for everyone else but the Star. The sad part was that it did seem as the only alternative. The Academy must have thought the same, or at least part of the Academy. Someone had probably done a cost-benefit analysis and come to this conclusion. Now, Dallion was going to do the same.

“How do I find the core?”

“The same way you do in a normal item. Magic is one big exception, but even it followed the basic frame of things.”

The core had to be the realm’s awakening room. That made sense, just as it was inevitable that the aetherbird would try to stop him. In order for this to work. Dallion would have to trust that the Star would be capable, and willing, to provide a distraction while he set off to find the room. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep Aether from going at Dallion at full strength.

“Anything else?”

“Don’t get distracted. The closer you get to the goal, the more temptations you’ll be offered.”

So, he’s just like you, Dallion thought.

“All of them will be real and some of them will seem like a good deal, but you must keep your eyes on the goal.”

“How will I know which one is the goal, exactly?”

“It’ll be the only thing not offered for free.”

The black sphere surrounding them shattered. Dallion split into instances, moving away from the Star as quickly as possible. Good thing too, for a series of purple spears thrust through Arthurows, turning him into a pincushion. This had to have done significant damage. There was a considerable chance it would be enough to cast him out of the aetherbird’s realm.

“Lux, boost!” Dallion didn’t want to find out. His body was propelled forward as fast as the firebird could take him. A few moments later, he was somewhere completely different. Knowing how harsh such flying was on Dallion’s body, Lux came to a slow stop. There was no sign of the crater or the mountain—the only permanent landmarks of the realm.

Find the skill chamber, Dallion thought. No pressure, eh?

The fact that no aetherbird echoes had appeared suggested that the Star was still alive and kicking. That Gave Dallion some time. Given the size and changing nature of this place, it didn’t make things easier.

Dallion looked around. The landscape seemed to shift non-stop, going through every possible time he’d seen. It was a safe bet that the heart of the realm wouldn’t be located on the surface. Taking cloud creatures as a reference, it was probably somewhere below. Dallion still had his thread splitter, though entering solid matter was a lot different from entering a cloud. Clouds didn’t have the ability to spontaneously harden, crushing anyone within. Even if the aetherbird couldn’t control its shifts, sooner or later it was going to happen, causing Dallion to suffer the same fate.

Well, Eury, this is another fine mess I got myself into.

If she were here right now, she’d probably have a few choice words to say. After that, she was going to help him with all her might. The gorgon knew how the game was played far better than she let on. The only reason she hadn’t become a noble was her emotional attachments to people—something she had done her best to keep hidden by putting on various facades: the flirty armorer, the practical hunter, the efficient mercenary. It wasn’t a stretch to say that she had set her sights on the fifth gate to put herself in a position to protect Dallion.

In turn, Dallion intended to do the same. He couldn’t be certain that his actions would save the world, but he didn’t want to take the chance that his lack of action would bring to its destruction.

“Harp, I’ll need your help on this one,” he whispered, raising the weapon above his head. “Can you do it?”

You know I have no choice, the nymph replied. Elements of pride and sadness resonated in the words.

“I know. Spark!” Using every ounce of strength left, Dallion performed a line attack.

The land beneath him split apart. Both sides of it turned into a sea, but that didn’t cause the tear to vanish.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt Damage has increased by 200%

PERMANENT EFFECT – COMBAT SCAR

AETHER’s body has been permanently covered with combat scars. The scars will remain until the status is removed.

Would you look at that? Dallion smiled. With Harp’s help, he had managed to inflict his first permanent damage. Of course, the effects were a lot less harsh than the ones he himself had received. Being magic came with its benefits. Dallion wouldn’t be surprised if the effect wasn’t at all permanent. Regardless, it had provided him with the opportunity he needed.

Lux, he thought.

The firebird propelled him down into the crack of the realm. The terrain kept changing on either side. Shifting water to boiling magma. All that was to scare Dallion. As long as he wasn't in contact with it, it didn’t matter what it was.

PAIN INFLICTOR

(+2 Body)

Inflicting permanent effects look good on other people. Just don’t make it a habit for everyone’s sake.

“Heh.” Dallion laughed. Even the achievements came with a delay. The aetherbird had no intention of making things easy, although it seemed in this case there wasn’t anything it could do.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Dallion combined his zoology and scholar skills. If the entire realm was a mix of one big structure and a living being, the basic organs had to correspond to certain parts. Normally, it would be difficult to pinpoint the organ of a being that shifted like water, but Dallion had one point of reference—the mountain. Given the significance of it in real life, there was only one thing it could be: the highest point of its body—the head. It was a guess, of course, but a good one.

About ten seconds later, Dallion’s suspicions were confirmed. As he kept on flying down in the general direction of the atherbird’s heart, weapons started appearing on both sides of the wall, trapped in the purple terrain like fossils. The bribes had begun. Some of the weapons were more exotic than Dallion could possibly imagine. All he had to do was reach out and grab one of them, and the blueprint would likely become his. Of course, doing so would also allow the aetherbird to affect him, possibly leading to his ejection out of the realm.

“Good start,” Dallion said. “Maybe offer something better?”

Instantly, the weapons vanished.