Problems

Naha moved stealthily through the shadows, getting closer to her target. The vault was heavily warded, but once the guards opened the door light spilled in and with it shadows.

She felt the inside, though not as clearly as the rest of the Shadow around her. Still, she had a connection to the Shadow inside of the vault now. Her Image deepened around her as she called to it. The Nascent Image: Fear and Sanctuary in the Shadow, slipped out of her and into the already present Shadows.

If the people around her were strong enough, they might notice that the Shadows got a lot deeper. If their perception was high, they might see shapes moving inside of them. But most of them were none of these things.

With |I Walked Through All Shadows| she stepped through the protections and into the vault.

Inside, she saw seven guards, or at least that was what they looked like. They wore armor and weapons that were holstered. The vault was filled with many chests, some filled with formations, others with supplies like food and drink, some even had weapons. Their attention wasn’t on any of those things, but rather on a small altar looking slab of stone in the middle of the room.

“Quickly now,” the one that appeared to be the leader said. “Deactivate the containment and grab them.”

There were three objects on the slab, a series of arrays attached to it. Naha couldn’t sense anything inside, but she could see the objects clearly.

They were familiar to her, though she couldn’t exactly figure out why. They looked like small metal chests, rectangular in shape with many tiny arrays all over their surfaces.

They almost look like—

The guards took down the protections around the altar and Naha’s perceptions washed over the three chests, revealing their nature.

She acted immediately. She jumped out of the shadows, her daggers cutting through three of them as if they were grass. Two of her illusionary clones, made by Circlet of True Mirrors did the same to the rest of them.

In a moment, she was the only living thing left in the room. She approached the slab and looked at the three small Reaction Engines. They were… impossibilities, and yet there they were. Reaction Engines were large, bulky. This was… something new.

And that meant that someone had broken the agreements, someone was experimenting, improving.

With a swipe of her hand, she stored them in her ring. Then quickly retreated. This was the last place she had to look. Anataliend wasn’t in this town.

The Reaction Engines were a problem for another day, she sped out of the town, hurrying to join in the fight.

Zach rose out of the crater he had created in the mountain and took in the battle. Erdania had started demolishing the wood titan, and her gravity field had caught Tellisa, forcing her to grow platforms of wood from the mountain and the ground in order to anchor herself.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The flow of battle was turning. Erdania seemed to have the battle well in hand, and Zach turned his attention to the others, trying to see where he could help the most. The biggest threat remained aloof in the sky, even though he had interfered. Yet, Berion hadn’t actually done as much as he could’ve.

That gave Zach hope that there was still time for him to change his mind. For him to choose a different path.

Zach gathered the wind around him and took to the sky. Perhaps he could persuade him.

Berion looked at the battle around him and hesitated. He had been dreading this ever since they had given the woman to the yeti. He had known that they would come for her. The same way that any of his friends would’ve done for him. Or at least he hoped they would. He would’ve been certain before, but ever since Ra’azel…

He helped his side, moving them out of the way when he saw their foes get close. But he didn’t do more than that. He couldn’t make himself do it, join the battle fully. Doubts were clouding his mind.

He saw Kaeliss getting in trouble and moved him out of the way and adjusting the positions of his opponents so that they would hit each other.

They managed to avoid the worst of it, but it gave Kael enough time to act. Berion saw him carving a rune-string, and he winced. That was a Vish string—Obliteration. It was dangerous, especially used here, so close to the town. Their enemies had been considerate enough to come in outside of it, and to keep the fight away from it. And Berion knew that they could’ve just as easily attacked the town directly.

He saw Kaeliss add runes to the string, broadening the scope, layering in runes that would cause incredible area devastation.

Berion raised his hand to caution him, he was putting the town in danger, but Kaeliss was faster. His string activated, and bolts of pure destruction exploded outward. Berion saw their opponents brace below, and prepared his own measures to intercept Kael’s attacks, in case he had to interfere.

He didn’t have the chance to. He felt the world trembling, Kael’s attacks were shaped out of a Soul and the idea of Obliteration. Berion had encountered a few things that could directly oppose something like that.

Yet, he saw Kael’s bolts sputter, and come to a hold. Space and something else were trembling. It fought against whatever it was that came into existence. A will pushed and tried to hold the Space and everything else within it in place.

Berion perceived a great will and something breaking through, growing, evolving. It cascaded against his senses, a breakthrough that was familiar. It was something that he had experienced many times before, an advancement of a skill to its ultimate form.

Kael’s attack froze in Space, and then a man was hovering in front of it—Zacharia Gardner, the one who had mastered Time. A blur of motion and something that made his senses feel unbalanced, and the bolts of rune forged Essence were gone. As if they had never existed in the first place.

The other two took advantage. The woman, Nayra Ornn blazed with black fire as she burned across the sky, while the drake took a step on what appeared to be empty air—only with every step an earthen path shimmered into existence around him.

They headed straight for Kael, and Berion prepared to send them away again. He didn’t get the chance. Six constructs appeared and lances of light struck them, forcing them back.

Berion’s unease grew as Ra’azel appeared in the shadow of the mountain. His armor was of a similar make as the one the rest wore, yet there was no confusion that his was far greater. Constructs orbited around him, glowing with an inner light.

“Ra’azel,” Zacharia spoke.

“Little visitor,” Ra’azel responded, a set of constructs appeared in his hands. “I’ve been preparing for this. I’m looking forward to taking all your secrets.”

“You will not get what you want,” Zach said slowly. “You have made your choices, and now you will suffer the consequences.”

The yeti titled his head and spread his hands wide.

“Are you the one who is going to give me these consequences?”

Zacharia didn’t respond, instead he turned his head toward Kael. In a moment before moments, he was gone, then he appeared next to Kael, his weapon coming down in an attack meant to maim.

Berion reacted, Space met Time, and the clash sent a ripple of Essence in all directions. Kael was thrown back, and Zacharia weathered the storm, his body fading in and out of existence as if he didn’t exist in the same moment as they did.

Ra’azel moved to interfere, but the two others changed direction and headed straight for him. Berion didn’t have the time to think, the battle exploded anew all around him, and he had to focus if he was going to save his friend’s life.

With a heavy heart, he reached for the plane of Space, opening himself up to it fully. Power filled him, and Space around him gently touched his Soul. With a flick of a finger, he drew a rune, enhancing his own skill. A binding of Space fell on top of his foe as he charged at Kael again, but this time Berion was ready to stop him fully.

It was the only thing he could do.