Decisions

While Maya and Exiled Shell searched for any signs of the bodies of the other two combatants, Kael and the others made sure that they were ready to move. He knew that the fleet was still out there, and they couldn't fight them all. Not even with their new weapons and armor, or their Rune writing knowledge.

He only hoped that Berion would be able to keep the 7th Iteration Ranker at bay for long enough. He knew that Berion had reservations, but he trusted that he would never betray him.

The others returned promptly, they couldn't spare too much time on the search.

"There are no signs of any bodies," they reported and Kael grimaced.

"One will have to do," Kael said then turned to Maya. "Send a message to Berion, we need to leave."

She nodded and started to shape the wind to send a whisper when Kael felt that something was wrong. A sensation in his mind alerted him, much like how a danger sense would've. A Ish—Olm rune activated and Kael turned in the direction the awareness pointed him. That was one limitation of runes, they weren't as precise, not unless one created an incredibly complicated and long string of runes, which demanded a lot of power but also knowledge to operate. Kael was not there yet.

The rune only alerted him that there was a disturbance in a direction. He raised a hand and activated the defensive runes on his armor, then carved a three linked runes in the air in front of him, attacking before he even knew what the threat was.

Dor—Ka—Ha

A blast of boosted force exploded out of his hand as something appeared and then—

—His hand raised a hand and activated the defensive runes on his armor, then carved—His mind froze for a moment, he had already done this, he had attacked and now he found himself repeating the same action again.

Immediately, he realized what the threat was and hurried to finish his cast.

A weight of an endless river settled down on top of them all. A willpower like an ancient mountain, looming over everything. It pressed down on them and it was as if the world itself lost its breath. A blur moved through him, through all of them. He saw strikes coming from all angles, blades whirling, and his armor flashing as impacts sent him flying. The ground rippled, and Wind blasted in all directions, raising a swirling dust cloud.

Kael hit the ground, not really hurt, his armor protected him, but more stunned. The attack came so fast that he couldn't even react.

Immediately, he triggered the rune in his helmet, increasing his mind's processing power. Using the armor was less intense than carving the directly on the body or the soul, but it was also weaker. Still, it allowed him to bridge the gap.

He stood, along with the rest of his people, and they carefully arranged themselves around their opponent.

Zacharia Gardner stood in front of the bound Ruler of the Empty Sky, looking down at her, one arm a blade and the other holding a long sword. His armor was pale, the color of bone, it covered all of him from head to toe. It made him seem like a tall titan staring down at ants. He could feel the power coming from it, and see the faint green glow of the formations etched on the plates. His hand rose to touch her, and a rune on her flesh flashed, preventing him from reaching her.

He was the one person that Kael didn't want to meet, he most certainly didn't fit their code, and he was far too powerful to risk fighting, even with the gifts from his teacher. They had also been warned to avoid him, which was why Berion was supposed to keep him occupied.

"Where is Berion?" Kael called, worried about his friend.

The man turned, and through the thin slit in his helmet, Kael saw a glint of light coming from his eye. It almost made him step back, not just the intensity of the man but the feel around him. He couldn't remember seeing him turn, yet Zacharia was now fully turned to face him, it was as if he had always stood that way.

Time, Kael knew better than to try and fight now, they were supposed to get in and take prisoners after the battle had weakened them. They were prepared for the three that were their targets, not for Zacharia. He was fresh, and too powerful to risk fighting now. But he also knew that he might not have a choice in the matter, none at all.

Zach looked down at the power that kept him from touching Tali. He saw the flashing symbols, could feel the energy and the knowledge seeped into his mind. It was powered by her own Soul, and he didn't know enough about it to safely dispel it. What he could tell was that if he pressed, and tried to overwhelm the protection, it would draw the energy to fight him from her own Soul. He could kill her by trying to save her.

Flashes of Knowledge made his thoughts erratic. These symbols were strange and alien to all that he knew about the Framework.

There were no records of it in the Castle of Knowledge, and whatever the Grand Spirit knew, it had not left any physical information behind. But Zach had encountered this before, and with every encounter he had more information. Now it sorted itself through his mind, understanding drawing nearer with every moment.

He turned and looked at his opponents. The Plane of Time was as close to him as it ever has been. His armor thrummed with power, every movement rippled through Time, to him there was no difference, but he could see that from the reactions of others they saw something different.

His connection to Time coupled with his For Every Second, Two, made them see the result of his actions what appeared before he even made them. He knew from the test he had done with Naha that it was an eerie sensation to fight against. It was an advantage, and he was in a disadvantageous position. He was surrounded by people who all knew how to use those symbols to fight, and even if they weren't as good as Ra'azel was, that was an issue.

"You will release her, and I will give you a chance to leave," Zach said, the only thing that he could say.

Their leader, the one that Zach knew was Kaeliss Cloudwrought, responded. "That isn't going to happen."

All five of them got ready, the symbols on their armors flashing with white color, their weapons raised.

Zach could tell that their weapons were powerful, as unique as his own spiritual tool. He didn't know if he should, or even could pit them against each other. It was clear to his eyes that Ra'azel had made those weapons and armor, he didn't even need the Essence of Knowledge coursing through his head to tell him that.

He knew that their gear would be powerful, as powerful as his own soul weapon perhaps. Zach's armor gave him great power and survivability, and perhaps he could win against them. But his task wasn't to defeat them, it was to rescue Tali.

"You do not need to do this," Zach said holding a tight grip on his willpower and skill. "There is always another way. She has done nothing to you or yours."

When they had talked about the yeti, they had touched on the Unchained, as they had been the ones to help Ra'azel escape the Ethereal Realm. Tali had never encountered them, she had been a slave long before they started operating.

Kaeliss, their leader, shook his head. "She is just as guilty as others. You must see it," he gestured all around them, at the devastation that had been caused. "How many do you think died here, just because they were caught in their fight. She attacked the Golden Phoenix, all for revenge."

Zach didn't react. Knowledge was rolling inside his head, he already knew, the clues were there, he had pieced them together.

"I can't let you take her, you don't want this fight," Zach said, keeping his voice as level as he possibly could. He did not want them to know his doubt, he didn't think that he could take them all on, not in time at least. And certainly not while he kept his skill active. They hadn't noticed yet, or at least they didn't realize what he was doing. He didn't have much time. His |Perfect Field of Frozen Time| wasn't impacting them, but it was all around the area they were in. His armor was boosting his capabilities to their utmost limit, his perks were burning inside of him as he was buying time.

Perhaps he could beat them, if he unleashed everything he had. He didn't know what their gear was capable of, but... He still had the Reaction Engine in his storage. With it, he could kill them all. Tali was one issue, and the other, more important one was what he was using his power and skills to buy time for.

Berion had followed him, and if he joined them Zach's analysis changed drastically. His conversation with the man had made one thing clear, he would follow Kaeliss' orders, he wasn't ready yet to refuse, though Zach saw the cracks. It was ironic, for a man like him who had lived for so long, who could manipulate Time, he always seemed to be short of it somehow.

The only way he could succeed here was if he convinced Kaeliss to leave, Berion would follow.

The group around him looked wary, but resolute.

"We need her," Kaeliss said. "She is the key to us changing the world. Freeing it from the shackless the strong put around the weak."

Zach saw the madness in his words, he recognized it as his own. The obsession with an idea, and a refusal to be moved away from it.

He closed his eyes, and decided. He would have to risk it. With his willpower occupied with keeping the area cut off from Time and Space, he relied on his Class.

He triggered Time Stop from his soul weapon, his armor pulsing and increasing the effects of the ability, he charged across the space, going for the closest person to him—the tall skreen shaped figure holding a large hammer.

His boosts were already active, those that hadn't run out while he faced Berion. He pulled from his Last Sovereign of Terra perk, and manifested three spirits of the old masters, gave each of them an assigned Perk.

Each of them jumped at a different person, unleashing the power he had granted them, while he got close to his target. He swung his blade hand, and unleashed Consequence. It had been a long time since he had spent the perk, the amount of the kinetic energy released created a visible effect.

His blade connected with the armor and immediately all the dormant runes flashed to life all over. Zach suppressed a grimace, he had hoped that the runes would be affected by his Time Stop too. There had to have been some that were sensitive to Time, Ra'azel had been able to sense when he used it somehow.

He knew the yeti better now, he knew him to be a schemer who prepared. He would've built in defenses against Zach for his people, even if just to test their effectiveness.

A shimmering field started to blossom across the surface of the armor, but even though it had detected the attack, it didn't activate fast enough. Zach's blade connected, and the blast of kinetic energy transferred through.

His blade made a shallow cut before the material stopped it from going further, but Zach's strength and Consequence did the rest. He smashed the skreen away in a strike that bent space, denting the armor in a horrible screech of protesting metal. He felt carapace break beneath it just before his attack sent him flying. He was surprised that the armor was so strong, but he didn't pause for long.

He turned, the three spirits of the masters unleashing their own attacks just as a green shimmer expanded out of all his opponents armors. It felt like Time, and Kaeliss recovered first, the others followed, but his spirits distracted them. He shook his head, as if surprised, and Zach blinked before he could fully recover.

He was in front of him, when the man reacted. His fist coming up on an incredibly fast strike toward the center of Zach's chest as he slashed down with his blade.

Wind billowed around him, twisting his body enough that the strike from Kaeliss grazed his chest instead of connecting fully. The force still sent Zach stumbling to the side, but not before he brought his blade down with Unleash Arsenal—Soul.

He made the choice for that Essence for a reason. He knew that the Armor could protect from Time, he knew that yeti was familiar with the Ethereal, the man was mad so Zach felt like Mind would have a low chance of working. That left Wind and Soul. Wind was mostly physical, and he felt that would've been covered. But Soul... yeti knew the Soul, but it was also the most difficult thing to guard against.

Zach's blade connected with Kaeliss' shoulder, and his strike drove him to his knees.

His blade unleashed the attack in a ripple of Essence, it smashed into the armor and symbols burned with a blinding light, stabbing into his eyes. He heard Kaeliss scream, then a wave of intense calm washed over Zach, but Zach was the master of his own mind. The ground beneath Kaeliss gave way and he sunk into a crater of his own making, waves of attacks and Qi came at Zach's mind, but he paid them no heed. He focused all his strength on his blade and attack. A symbol fractured, and his blade pushed through the armor, just a bit. Another symbol cracked and a crack spread from his blade as it pushed even deeper, cutting into Kaeliss' shoulder, Zach's attack poured into his body, and his Soul.

And... It didn't do as much damage as Zach had hoped. That made him frown, pause, and Kaeliss took advantage. Qi twisted around him, and a surge of strength seemed to fill him. He stood and lashed out, hitting Zach in the chest with an incredibly fast punch, a symbol flashing over his gauntlets that sent him flying back.

Zach twisted through the air, and a chain wrapped itself around his blade arm, a moment later Lightning surged through it, but his armor soaked it all up. He pulled his hand, launching the man attached on the other end toward him. He twisted with the wind, unwinding the chain then lashed out with a blast that hit the man and smashing him into the ground.

A weight pushed over Zach's mind, over his willpower, and just as he was about to reinforce it, Kaeliss appeared next to him punching him in the head. Zach's concentration faltered, and his will lost hold on his skill. Time rippled all around them, and the space around them rejoined real Time, a wave washed over them as Time reasserted itself, and Zach felt space twisted.

Then Berion was there.

Zach reoriented himself in the air and looked down at him.

"You can still make a better choice," he looked straight at Berion. "Our actions shape who we are, if you want to be good, you must do good. I know that you can see the wrong in what you are doing."

Even as he said it, he knew that it wouldn't be enough. The minoutaur's face twisted, but Kaeliss spoke, and the decision was made.

"Take us away Ber, quick!"

Zach focused his will, marshaling it back from being broken. But his mastery was over Time not Space.

Berion's will spread and his powers activated. A moment later space bent, and they were all gone, Tali included.

Zach closed his eyes, his left arm twitching from exertion and... anger. It had been a long time since he felt truly helpless. Since he had felt pushed into a corner with no way out other than to break his ideals.

Berion's face was etched in front of his closed eyes, the pain in his face. The anguish in his Soul. Zach had looked into the eyes of Kaeliss, he had seen the madness, and from his Soul he had felt the broken and misguided ideal that would bring only suffering and death. He had seen in the core of Berion's Soul too, the depths of it, and he knew that there was good in there.

Some battles were worth taking risks for, some people were worth being fought for. Berion could still be saved, he knew it deep inside his Soul. He deserved another chance to make the right choice. Zach only hoped that the weight of his actions wasn’t too large for him to face.

He turned around and flew away. Ra'azel had made his first move, and it wasn't what they had expected. Now it was their turn to respond.

He only hoped that the Twilight Melody Sect would forgive him for failing their people once again.