Chunks of water flew in all directions, twisting, tearing, then merging again without reason. None of them could hold any form for long, controlled by two forces stronger than gravity. Harp’s natural ability allowed her full control of the magic threads that composed the liquid, while Dallion’s awakening powers granted him control of everything within his domain.

It wouldn’t be the first time he’d make use of his surroundings, raising mountains or hurling chunks of rock about. Only now he realized how deep his control went. Within his domain, he could be treated as a nymph, as a dwarf, as a fury, and a lot more. Every part of the environment could bend to his will. In the past, he had only focused on the obvious, as had many of the domain rulers he’d seen.

The sea beneath Harp and Dallion thrust up, giving birth to waves the size of mountains. Each would slam into the other, attempting to envelop it and steal away as much of its substance as possible.

Just like a tug of war, Dallion thought. Just like combat splitting.

The tip of a rapier thrust towards his chest. Before it could reach it, though, the water it was composed of lost its hardness, dripping away as the nymph’s hand stopped ten inches away, holding an empty hilt.

Dallion could see the relief and pride within her blossoming like sunflowers. She was pleased that he’d reached his current level, though that didn’t mean she was simply going to give up.

“Your grandmother would have defeated me by now,” she said, tearing a chunk of the sea, which she transformed into a giant harp.

Before Dallion could react, the harp played a few chords, filling the air with sounds of destruction.

AVERAGE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 10%

AVERAGE STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 50%

A pair of red rectangles emerged simultaneously. Harp was definitely putting him through the ringer, not sparing her own health just to deal damage.

Going through options in his mind, Dallion focused on the air around them in an attempt to create air currents powerful enough to negate the sounds. His execution was completely wrong, causing two more rectangles to appear in the air.

At this rate, two more seconds and he’d be done for. Harp wasn’t particularly better, but the point of the challenge was for him to defeat her, not have them both lose their health as a result of the nymph’s actions.

You could be quite extreme, he thought. Never giving an inch, even when defeat is likely.

Her latest action had put him in a rather difficult spot. He could probably take control of the water harp—the control over his domain was stronger than her control of water—but that was a temporary measure. All she had to do was form another harp of water and repeat the attack.

“Sorry, Harp.” Dallion infused his sword with spark to the point of shining, then threw it straight at the nymph.

Evading it would be elementary, but that was never the point. The bright glow, while incapable of blinding her completely, obscured just enough for him to use his final two clay cylinders. Within each was a ray of destruction spell that shot at her.

The surroundings turned purple. The rays crashed into the sea, burning through until they reached the bottom and continued a bit further.

REALM DAMAGED

Overall stability 95%

REALM DAMAGED

Overall stability 90%

Red rectangles emerged—a result of self-damaging actions. Dallion split into instances, searching for the red rectangle that mattered. After several fractions of a second, he finally found it.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

ARM SEVERED

GIACCIA will no longer be able to make use of her RIGHT ARM

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The brief moment of joy was quickly replaced by caution. He was certain that such an amount of damage would be enough to defeat her. Apparently not. By his estimates, she couldn’t have over five percent remaining. That and a missing arm would have been enough to ensure victory against most entities. However, nymphs didn’t need magic to control water.

The fingers of both of Dallion’s hands moved wildly about as he set on casting as many seven-circle spells as possible. Three aether bubbles emerged around him, each reinforced with silence symbols. They were fragile enough to shatter at the first major strike, but Dallion was banking that his makeshift soundproofing would be enough to save him from what could be the final music attack. It was a gamble, but one he didn’t regret taking. Based on Harp’s following attack, she’d either join him against the nymph empire or he’ll have to face it on his own.

AVERAGE STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 50%

The outer bubbles shattered in an instant, their aether spreading about like fading dust. The inner one vibrated violently but managed to withstand the force of the attack.

HARPSISWORD Level increased

Dallion caught a glimpse of the coveted blue rectangle. Even in such a situation, his crafting instincts kicked in, making him examine all available improvement materials. The huge majority were no different from the weapon’s current material, but among the hundreds, there was one that caused his heart to skip a beat.

The HARPSISWORD has been improved to MOON PLATINUM

Nothing less than you deserve, Dallion thought.

It could be said that this was the first major fight he’d won on his own. In the past he’s always had assistance, and often faced enemies who were considerably weakened at the start of the battle. While it could be argued that Harp had the constraints of being a guardian, she was among the strongest opponents he’d ever had.

PLATINUM ACHIEVEMENT

(+1 Awakening, +1 Body, +1 Mind, +1 Reaction, +1 Perception, +1 Empathy, +1 Magic)

You managed to improve an item to Moon Platinum. You know you want it, so here it is.

A second rectangle emerged.

“Cute,” Dallion said, undoing his aether bubble.

Waves slammed down below as the sea began the long process of settling down. After everything his realm had been put through in this fight, it was going to be a while before things were back to normal. Gen was going to have a fun time repairing everything, but given the victory, he’d approve of his actions.

No need for you anymore. Dallion glanced at the tattered cliffs sticking out of the water like rusty nails. One thought and they quickly submerged, out of sight.

“You’re the third person to level me up.” Harp appeared a dozen feet away.

Looking at her, Dallion could see no difference, but he knew she had changed. If nothing else, he could tell that she was on his side now, ready to put the past behind her and join the fight against her own sister. In that, he didn’t envy her one bit.

“You said my grandmother was faster,” Dallion replied with a smile.

The nymph waved her hand. As she did, the sea beneath them instantly calmed down to its usual stillness.

“She could never have achieved this. In the previous two times, I fought as a guardian. Against you, I fought as a domain ruler.”

Dallion nodded. This was the final lesson the nymph had taught him—the correct way to fight domain rulers. Coincidentally, Dallion had caught a glimpse of it in his grandfather’s memory fragment, only from the opposite direction.

I must say, I’m slightly disappointed, dear boy, Adzorg said. Thirty-seven seconds of blurriness and splashes. We’d have appreciated something a bit more opera-like. Although, well done. You’ve achieved a rather impressive victory.

One that you’ll keep from the emperor, I hope, Dallion thought.

“Let’s join the others,” Giaccia said. “Everyone deserves a bit of celebration.”

“In the middle of a war? If I don’t stop the nymphs, there’s nothing from—”

“The fight has already made you out of sync with the real world. You’ll gain nothing going out there in your current state. Relax a bit, heal, get some rest. There are many things you need to consider before you return to the real world.”

That sounded just like the good old Harp. With the shadow of her former self put to rest, she was back to being the motherly figure that had guided him since his first steps into the world of awakening. She was right, of course; Dallion did need a moment of rest to reboot before plunging into the fight outside. That was one of the good things about awakening—one could take a pause to let go of it all. It wasn’t a foolproof method. As Dallion had seen, there were cases in which entities could interfere with the time to pause, though now that the void had been dispersed, there was no fear of that.

For the first time in a very long time, Dallion allowed himself to spend some time with the inhabitants of his realm. Looking at them, it was remarkable how many of them there were and how much they had grown. Ages ago, only a small crackling cub had been here, later accompanied by Nil—or what Dallion believed to be Nil—and the strange firebird chick that had become Lux. Gia had later made her way into Dallion’s life—through a series of machinations by the Order and House Elazni—then the armadil shield.

There was also the case of Dallion’s echoes. Reluctant to create any on his own, he converted them from his awakening trials, making them join his realm one by one. Gen, the current caretaker of Dallion’s personal realm, was the first. Then July—the one to tend after the familiar companions of the realm. That one had joined the realm with Gleam, who had been freed from a Mirror Pool’s hand mirror. And finally, there was Ariel—the cold, seemingly distant one, who took on the role of protector against any realm invasion.

Other guardians had also joined in: the shy bowl dryad, Onda—the moody teenage forger, the twin dagger guardians as well once they had been purged of the void that controlled them.

And, of course, there was Gem. The aetherfish remained confused about the entire situation, though not one to say no to celebrating. He floated about, moving from conversation to conversation, always listening in, yet rarely saying a word.

Finally, there was the latest addition—the childhood bully turned friend.

“I have to give it to you,” Veil approached, holding a glass of dark indigo liquid. “You actually managed to improve.” He shoved Dallion’s shoulder. “Remember what a wimp you were back in the village?”

“I doubt you’ll ever let me forget,” Dallion said beneath his breath.

“Full of awakening ego, yet frustrated that you couldn’t get to level four.” Veil took a sip of his drink. “Back then, one level seemed like the entire world. Before the envoy came to Dherma, I didn’t think that double digits existed!”

You have your grandfather to thank for that, Dallion thought. And mine.

“Remember the crazy plan for taking down the chainling?” the blonde laughed.

“Don’t remind me…”

“You were an idiot to think it would work. I was a bigger idiot for following you.”

“We still made it, though.”

“I guess that makes us three lucky idiots.”

There was a pause. Thinking about the first hunt made Dallion think about Gloria, which in turn made him think of Eury. Looking back, both of them had missed a lot of opportunities together, always focusing on other things while time passed by. One of the fallacies about being awakened was that they had all the time in the world. In truth, all the time meant nothing if it wasn’t used adequately. Awakened remained people like everyone else. There was a constant danger of them being killed, sealed, or corrupted by an embodiment of the void.

“I should have given it,” Dallion whispered.

“Huh?” Veil looked at him.

“Nothing. I was just thinking about the battle we’re in. There’s more than one nymph out there.”

“I have faith in you.” Veil gave Dallion a slap on the back. “Because if not, we’re utterly screwed.”

“Famous words of motivation.” Dallion shook his head with a laugh. Still, he planned on winning this. There were too many things he had to do for him to fail here.