‘That was a strange set of runescript lines you used on your Animus constructs,’ Legate Segawa commented idly as they pushed their way against the darkness. ‘It cut through Domain barriers like they weren’t even there.’

‘Isn’t it?” Sadeen said proudly. ‘Yuri’s an exceptionally gifted Sorceress! She figured out the combination after observing it in natural phenomena!’

Yuriko had told her Mum of her experiences, and the Trinity Cycle had been part of it. She had been suitably impressed and explained that enlightenment was deeply personal. And when she examined the Trinity pattern, Sadeen couldn’t understand it, much less copy it. It was the same with her Adamant Guardian Seal and was part of why Mum hadn’t taught her more than the basics.

The four of them flew down the pit for a couple of minutes. It was straight so far and headed directly down. Given that the thing was created after a pillar of light burst through the mountains, it was logical. But…Yuriko knew that Chaos was not always logical. Well, mostly it wasn’t, not really, but there were often common twists and turns that can be expected and variations that could be guessed. So it was quite likely that a powerful light pillar might not have left a straight hole on its way out.

And sure enough, they faced their first turn. Nearly ninety degrees and when they passed it, they were heading northwards. She still couldn’t see far, though her Anima perception was spread out, something blocked most of the sensations. The darkness muffled the place, and she could only see, feel, and hear clearly for as far as her normal reach was rather than with Eli’Theria’s amplified state. If she wasn’t in the Colossus, would her perception only go for a fifth or less? A worrying thought.

Before they went too far, the darkness lifted. But there was no relief, for the light coming was another ruinous pillar bent on destroying the plane’s Veil. A wall of green that moved so fast it had almost collided with the party even before Yuriko could blink. Then…

Bang! Boom!

The beam of green light slammed and split upon Legate Segawa’s Domain. Tiny droplets of water swirled in front of him, and while light would bend when it hit the water, the pillar actually distorted and spun aside even before touching the droplets. The Legate took position in front of them, while Eli’Theria, under her Mum’s command, curled down into a ball, and lowered her silhouette. It was just enough for the broken light to avoid them.

The light continued for several minutes, and through it all, Yuriko observed the Legate. At first, it didn’t seem as if he was bothered, weakened, or strained by the effort, but as time flowed on, his brow beaded with sweat. His expression never shifted and his Domain never let up. It was condensed to just around, not even encompassing anyone else, but it created a shadow to the light.

Ten minutes later, the light just ended. Yuriko didn’t recall the pillar lasting that long, and she worried that the prolonged attack would be enough to break the Veil the rest of the way. But as they continued their flight, she didn’t notice any tremors or any other indications of disaster.

They continued onwards, sometimes chatting idly, other times completely silent. When the pressure and apprehension became unbearable, Yuriko would meditate and allow her Mum to control Eli’Theria. Her Anima condensed back into the armour while the animating spirit murmured at her soothingly. Fri’Avgi did so too. The artefact greatsword in ignition mode was needed to use the Colossus which also meant that if Yuriko went out, she wouldn’t be able to use her artefact if Mum continued to pilot.

Idle talk abruptly cut off when the pit-turned-tunnel came up to a dead end. They were roughly a league below the surface, and maybe seven leagues of tunnel since it didn’t go all the way down. Yuriko recalled taking several hours or days to walk from Synkrasia to the surface. The plane of Rumiga occupied quite a few levels in the Chaos Sea, with the surface at Equilibrium, and the bottom at three iarvesh. However, what could be seen outside the plane of reality and what could be seen while in the Chaos did not always translate well. To her, when the Chaos ships dove down, it only felt as though they went ten leagues before reaching the bottom. However, she was sure Synkrasia was more than ten leagues under the surface, and it was nowhere near the bottom of the plane. It was probably just above the center, though that was only a guess.

They floated twenty paces from the end of the tunnel. A wall of grey stone illuminated only by the glow of her Anima mixed in with Animus lights from the other two. Both Legates frowned and Segawa moved forward until he was less than a pace from touching the wall. He didn’t reach out, of course, instead, he inspected the ceiling, the floor, and the walls.

‘It is not a dead end,’ he said grimly. ‘It is… a Fysalli.’

‘Oh,’ Yuriko muttered.

‘Legate Brygos, can you tunnel a different path?’

‘I could if I knew where we’re going,’ Iola said ruefully. ‘And only if we had the time to spare.’

‘I hate having to confront the enemy in their own Dominion,’ he muttered angrily.

‘You can’t bring the Planar Suppression within the plane,’ Sadeen said pointedly. ‘I hope this isn’t making you hesitate?’

‘No, of course not,’ Legate Segawa grumbled. ‘But I still hate the feeling. It looks like we have little choice, but this lowers our chance of victory by quite a bit.’

‘There are different paths to Synkrasia…’ Yuriko began before she cut off. Of course, the path she knew was located in the south, and that one led to another circuitous route that would take even longer to traverse. ‘Sorry, no. It’s too far.’

‘Then there are no other choices. We must forge on,’ Legate Brygos said.

‘Very well.’ Sadeen said.

And with that, the two Legates and Eli’Theria touched the faux wall.

______________

Jiro Segawa suddenly found himself in a bright, blinding place. It was so bad that he couldn’t see anything at all, and his Water Domain flickered, growing even more unstable by the second. It wasn’t until he drew it all back to within his core did the fluctuating power calm and at the same time, his eyes grew accustomed to the bright light. He glanced around, dismay welling up inside him.

He was floating above a desert region, one devoid of moisture, and filled with endless dunes of sand. The Radiant Sun’s reflection amplified the heat and made it extremely hard for him to keep the water liquid. He wasn’t that well-versed with ice or steam, having sacrificed versatility for power. Not that he couldn’t but it would take three times as much effort and resources to utilize water’s other forms. His favourite technique of impossible compression allowed him to save more than could be seen.

Most of his foes wondered if Jiro brought his own water to battle or drew it from the ambient Chaos. The latter technique meant that he would technically never run out, but it also meant he was vulnerable to dry environments. Such as now.

The desert wasn’t difficult just because of the heat and sand. No, it was difficult because this was a Fysalli and the concept of a desert was dryness and heat. Any attempts to alter the place would be met with stiff resistance.

Well, it was a good thing he did both. The condensed water droplets he had before entering the Fysalli had been rejected from passing through the Veil. In the moment of disorientation, the zone’s law managed to overpower his Will. Annoying.

He brushed a finger against his water canteen which hung at his hip. The metal canteen was reinforced heavily, with both material, runescript, and his Domain. Even while he kept most of it within him now, he always had a thin field keeping control over his canteen.

The lid unscrewed and popped open and released a dozen droplets of superdense water. Clicking his tongue, Jiro sliced off a sliver of Intent, wincing at the wound to his Anima which quickly healed over due to his Domain. The sliver divided evenly into the dozen droplets then infused into them.

A moment later, each droplet, which had been quivering from the desert’s law, stabilised into perfectly smooth orbs.

With a flick of his fingers, each droplet shot out in different directions, each eight heading out in a straight line while the remaining four took a search pattern divided by quadrants. The Legate simply hovered in place, waiting.

Time in a Fysalli flowed differently from time in a plane. The fact that this one was inside Rumiga meant that it could not diverge too far. Even so, his Domain resonance will ensure that when he exited, he would remain within a ten percent dilation or expansion. Without the Empress’ Grace, he would not have had the courage to enter a Fysalli here. Who knew how long it would take for the Duke to break down and assimilate the core?

Ten minutes later, he frowned. The water droplets had already crossed a hundred leagues of desert and found no end in sight.

“So this is not a crossing Fysalli,” he muttered. He carefully felt at the silver cord that connected his Anima to the other three. It was inert, but not severed. “If this is not one I have to cross, then it only means I need to find the guardian. Where are you hiding?”

He looked up at the cloudless sky. At the stationary sun. At the endless, undulating dunes.

He uncapped his canteen, smirked, then turned it upside down.

FWOOOOOOOOSH!!!!

A torrential flow of water, which decompressed as soon as it left the spout, slammed into the dunes. The hungry sand absorbed the water, but it was too much, too soon. The Fysalli struggled to impose its law, but it was soon overwhelmed. The pouring water spread out across the sand, slowly filling up to valleys. The water rose and rose even as the canteen continued to spout.

Water covered the nearby dunes, spread out across the hundreds of leagues. Water that soon covered the tips of the sand dune, and at that moment, the Fysalli…cracked.

GRAAAAH!

A pained roar that tapered out.

Jiro’s smirk was wiped off his face. He oriented himself towards the roar even as he extended his Domain. Now, the Fysalli’s law could not hamper him and he took control of the ocean. His senses encompassed the entirety of the water and he zeroed in on the guardian.

It was trashing under the sand, so he still couldn’t see it clearly. But the earth was bulging up and it would emerge soon.

Boom!

It surfaced, but not where he expected. Instead, it emerged behind him.

He spun around and pushed back, barely avoiding the snapping maw of a gigantic sandshark. The creature’s completely dark eyes glittered with hate, but its unexpressive face somehow managed to convey…contempt.

The water around the guardian was wrested from his casual control. Invested Intent was costly to use but can overcome a Domain. However, the Domain was much wider and Jiro simply focused his attention on the sandshark that pushed two hundred paces in length. The water returned to his control and he simply…squeezed.

The fish was caught in midair, wriggling furiously and roaring angrily. Roars that soon turned from anger to pain, and then pathetic whimpers.

Squish!

Reddish blue blood mixed in with the pure water. The Fysalli shuddered and looked about to shatter. Jiro snorted in annoyance then began to collect and compress his portable ocean. This was always the most annoying part of carrying water around. It wasn’t as if he could drain any ocean he found willy-nilly.

Still, the advantage was well worth the pain.