On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

As the smoke cleared, Shaeula’s wind prison collapsing with one final breath of actinic ozone, sparks of lightning earthing, I had a bad feeling. A silhouette could be seen in the dissipating jade energies, and it was soon to be revealed as Mary Stuart, her face contorted into a gleeful expression, her laughter sounding out across the Boundary.

Her once-fine vestments were rags, the skin underneath criss-crossed with cuts and vivid burns, only a few bells still tinkling softly, attached to shredded cloth. Her face was a mess of blood, her emerald green eyes clearly visible beneath the crimson and silver, and her hair was now a dishevelled mess. Even so, her mirth continued, as she stroked her hand idly.

“Why didn’t you flee?” I asked, trying to interrupt her, genuinely curious. Since she was able to survive Shaeula’s attacks mostly unharmed, she could have fled back to the Material. Beside me Tan, Shaeula and Grulgor were tense, eyeing her warily, waiting for the order to attack, but I raised a hand to forestall them, curious. “We couldn’t stop you getting away.”

The question seemed to amuse her, as her smile broadened. Choking down laughter, she wiped away blood from her face idly, looking unconcerned. Which concerns me. Sarah is down, we’ve defeated her troops, other than the few still trapped in the shield bubbles, and the Angel was destroyed. “Flee? Me? Such an insult.” She scoffed. “I am here to do the work of the Lord, bring the light of the Ninth Heaven to the heathens and sinners infesting this world. I can never abandon my work halfway done.”

“Yes, I expect that you’re worried that you’ll be taken into custody after this.” I said, and she sneered, her amusement increasing.

“Are you insane? I think you must be, to think secular laws apply to us.” She turned to look at Eleanor, who reflexively flinched away, before looking angry at herself, steeling herself to meet Mary’s gaze as calmly as she could. “We are the True Revelation, and our reach is long indeed. No, the only punishment we can receive is from the Lord and his Angels.”

“Your Angel is destroyed.” I pointed out, and Shaeula snorted with laughter at that.

“Yes, you blasphemers destroyed the Principality, though don’t be arrogant. The true might of an Angel is immeasurable, even its visage would shatter you.” Mary said, turning calm, the eerie and swift changes in her mood unnerving me. “Princess, I offer you one final chance. Before I could allow your ignorance as something unfortunate yet forgivable, but… many believers have been martyred, and those of the martyred dead have found their final rest, may they find their way to the Ninth Heaven under the light of the Lord. Now I can no longer show mercy. Either surrender and relinquish the false Grail, or I will be forced to send you to your eternal rest and force the Queen to concede in your place. Surely you would wish to spare an old woman that fate?”

“Is she insane?” Shaeula asked, tilting her head, puzzled. “She has been soundly defeated, and yet-yet she stands so arrogant, making demands. I can only conclude she is not-not sane.”

“Silence, inhuman wretch.” Mary snapped, eyes suddenly frosty. “I will not be called insane by a creature who is not even human, devoid of the grace of God. As for being defeated… I am fortunate indeed. All your blows have done little to me, for I am protected by the fortune of the Lord!” Suddenly a great rush of adherence and ether surged from her, and I immediately called for everyone to stop her. Why doesn’t she know when to give up?

Vivid fire leapt from the hands of Tan, the heat scorching, while Shaeula launched lightning at Mary. Grulgor raised his hands and the ground exploded, great stakes of rock spearing towards her arms and legs, aiming to cripple her, while I hurled a combination of elements at her.

“The servants of the Lord have naught to fear from you who would hinder the path to the Ninth Heaven.” She laughed as the elements barraged her. “Above us there is Power! Descend, oh ruler of the authority of Kings and Queens, those who hold down Evil!” Her voice rose to a shrill cry at the end, and the air shivered, adherence casting aside our attacks. “Behold the Power of the Lord!”

“No, this should not be!” Tan shouted, showing panic for the first time. “A Power is an Angel higher in the hierarchy of the Throne than a Principality. Even a shadow of it should not be possible, unless…”

“You’re well informed for a demon.” Mary said, the blinding golden light of radiance spreading over the battlefield, the fallen Sarah staring up at the sight dumbly, eyes watering with tears. “In fact, this was surely meant to be, my good fortune striking again. The fallen will be pleased to have given their lives for removing a creature such as you from the world. Under the agreements, you should [not be here.]” Towards the end, her words changed, becoming painful to hear, a buzzing undertone matching them.

Shit. The League she’s giving off is on a par with mine now… maybe a bit higher. The light peaked, and in it I could see a shadow with my Eye. Not good! I moved, Storming Moonlight rising to meet the thrust aimed at Tan. The impact was heavy, and I nearly dropped my blade, as vivid sparks of lightning and golden light scattered.

[You are fast. Curious.] Mary buzzed, and I glanced down to see that my blade was trembling against her left arm, which had transformed into a strange blade of red crystal, the edge keen and shimmering with violet and golden lights. Tan cursed her, throwing her Flames of Thirst and Famine, but blood-red wings enfolded Mary, scattering the fires harmlessly. Grulgor took that opportunity to strike, punching her powerfully, but her wings absorbed it, and she opened her right one, batting him aside like a child. He hit the ground heavily, rising, grinning at the thought of battle, slab-like teeth grinding.

“What… is that?” Sarah managed from where she lay prone, her skin blistering and burning in the light shed from Mary. “An Angel? But it looks…”

I understand. I wasn’t sure how, but Mary had transformed, and her eyes had vanished, no, not vanished, merely become a pure milky white, now blending in with the dreadfully pale skin of her face, which resembled blank paper. Her mouth was a bloody gash, leaking red liquid constantly, and her torn robes also oozed, as if bleeding, forming a red pool underneath her. Hammered into her skull was a crown of blade-like swords, to match her left arm, and the red wings enfolding her were covered in reptilian eyes like the Principality, as well as screaming mouths with dangling tongues.

[The works of God are often unpleasant to mortal eyes and ears. To understand is folly. But evil never rests, never sleeps. Not all of the Ninth Heaven is beautiful, but all is purposeful. Now, Heaven’s Tears!] Her words spiked into painful static, and suddenly the sky above her burst into bright aurorae, but these were fuelled by adherence, not aether. Droplets of water formed, becoming frozen, quickly accumulating mass, and a volley of them fell down towards us, as well as towards Chen Na, Hyacinth, Eleanor and the others, even towards Sarah, who looked up dully.

“Foehn!” I cried, flames blazing, and as I fed it into Prominence Dawn once more, my light overpowered hers for a second. Mary shrieked in pain, flames flickering over her wings and exposed face, but for some reason they didn’t sprout into the usual blaze. The frozen meteorites did burn though, flaring away into mere melting fragments, that Hyacinth was able to protect the others from, her vines forming a canopy overhead.

“To take an Angel into yourself, even a mere shadow…” Tan lamented, thrusting her sword of flames forwards, only to have it knocked aside. Mary yelled some words, the mouths in her wings repeating them, and the beams of light from the eyes similar to the Principality surged out, converging into a shining lance. Tan blinked, unable to react in time, and was thrown back, pierced through the upper body.

“Tan! Shiro!” I cried, Shaeula echoing me as she prepared her own attack, a massive sphere of wind into which she was forcing flames, while her pinwheels were charging up with lightning.

“I am … not well.” Tan admitted. “But it is not a fatal strike, even if the adherence within this is rather poisonous to me.” She wrenched the spear free, burning her palms on the brilliant shaft, and the gaping wound smoked and smouldered. “It is fortunate you now know how to purify such wounds, no?” Tan sneered, before addressing Mary. “This will destroy you. Your network, your spirit, even with the grace of the Ninth Heavens, it will not survive this.”

[Wrong, wrong, wrong!] her response was gleeful. The fiery ball Shaeula was conjuring slammed down on her, exploding, and as the nova drove us back, I saw Eleanor dragging away Sarah by her hair, her own armour heating up from the blast. [Yes, holding Power is foolish, but God… he does not play dice. Such an unpleasant saying, so blasphemous. No, God does play dice, and by his will, he always rolls what he wishes to. All good fortune comes from the Lord! Now, Earth Break!] At her final words the ground exploded in front of her. Grulgor was sent flying, torn into multiple pieces, but his body liquefied, running together and reforming, stone growing out of the water like salt crystals. The injured Tan blocked the attack with her fiery wheel, though the effort sprayed fresh ichor from her wounded chest. With a sigh she placed a hand over the hole, letting her own flames cauterise it, letting out a sharp hiss of pain.

Shaeula was quicker, her pinwheels wrapping around Mary, and as the wires struck sparks from her skin, whining, lightning coursing into her with seemingly no effect, Shaeula used footholds of wind to leave the ground, dodging the fury of the attack. I forced Might of the Furious Earth to buff my Fortitude and pushed Body Enhancement to my limit, powering through, focusing wind and flame energy into Storming Moonlight. Blood sprayed as I cleaved into one of her red wings, blinding an eye, but several mouths lashed out with drooling tongues, and though I managed to struggle free, the effort drained me. Shit, she’s strong. I worry…

The sky was starting to crackle with crazed silver lightnings, much like Kyoto. Even as I spread my vision I was attacking, water element beams striking Mary, though her bladed arm scattered the blasts harmlessly, parrying rapidly as though she was some sort of swordswoman.

“Die!” Hyacinth roared, and a fog of spores billowed over Mary. She laughed, breathing them in, and for a moment I thought it was over, only for the light around her suddenly intensifying. [Purify Evil! Dominate Disease!] Her echoed words burned the spores to dust, and then she pointed with her human hand, a beam of light racing towards Hyacinth. Eleanor stepped in front to block it, and light scattered around her, burning dozens of fist-sized holes into the ground and also the wall of the Tower.

“No, I’ll not back down. This is… my Tower, my country…. My allies!” Eleanor said, the cawing of hundreds of ravens echoing, the sky above the tower darkening. Her body was riddled with holes, yet eventually the blast dissipated, and she fell, smiling. “That… hurt. I don’t think I can do… any… more.”

“Princess!” David bent down to look at her, concerned, despite the fact he shouldn’t be moving with his own grave injuries, but she waved her good arm.

“I’ll live. Well, as long as they can defeat her. Don’t you think… we did a bad job?” she laughed bitterly. “Why can’t we all just help each other? We’re all human, right? No, not even that…” she looked at Raidre and Hyacinth, who had a very complicated expression on her face as she looked at the woman who had stepped in to protect her. “…we are all capable of kindness, loyalty, honour. More than some humans.” She coughed, her scorched lungs slowly repairing themselves.

“Is that a dig at me?” Sarah managed, groaning as she tried to sit up, her body still battered from Grulgor’s relentless assault and burned from the incandescent light from Mary. As these conversations were happening, Grulgor, Tan, Shaeula and I were throwing everything at Mary, but she was shrugging off almost all the hits as though they were nothing, and her own counterattacks were piling up injuries on us.

“Of course it is. You betrayed me.” Eleanor said, looking her in the eyes. “And for what? That?”

“She means well, I can promise ye that.” Sarah whispered. “The world is doomed, unless we unite. That’s the truth, and ye can nae change that with wishful thinking, Eleanor. But…”

“But then it’s even more important that we all pull together.” Eleanor said, and it was Tan who answered, her fiery sword shattering again, words from Mary triggering a tornado of sharp wind blades, which would have cut us to shreds if Shaeula didn’t activate her own Foehn, the wind-eating breath devouring the adherence-rich winds greedily.

“The One True Throne does not believe in helping each other or allying for the cause. Even in the realms high above, the Throne stands alone, despite the threat of mutual extinction. Their strength towers above all, like their mountainous Throne, yet… well, even their pantheon is named for their hubris.” Tan growled then, calling upon the fire giant and arming it with a pair of flaming wheels, feeding it further strength. The giant engaged Mary, driving her back a few steps, but she spoke once more.

[You should not be speaking of such matters. Those are the providence of the Book of True Revelation. Gaze Not On The Lord!] Her light was suddenly blinding, and I staggered back, only able to see though my Eye, the other suddenly dark. [You are fortunate to die beneath my blade. For I am one who does the work of God, cleanses with the light of Power, that I am lucky to wield!]

“Fortune, luck. Destiny, fate.” Shaeula spat, her own amber eyes glowing to resist the words our opponent spoke. “All such-such a nonsense. If that were absolute, Shiro and Tan would not-not stand with us now, but instead would have devoured Akio.” Her gaze flickered to the spirit light of Tsukiko-san, she was able to see it, as our Kin Bonding was connected. “Tsukiko would have been likewise extinguished, and Eleanor… she would have died here, to betrayal, her heart-heart shattered.” Eleanor gasped at that, and Sarah once more looked ashamed, her hand on her rosary burnt to the bone from the earlier light.

“Grul says shut up, fool!” His stony fist slammed into her, throwing her backwards a few steps, before she lopped off his arms. With a gurgling grin he regrew them near instantly, striking her blank, pure white face hard enough to rock her head back, blood spilling from her mouth in a red tide.

“Yes, we make our own luck. I can not deny the influence of fortune…” Tan attacked, flames cascading, thicker than ever. Shaeula’s pinwheels bunched up, aiming at the base of a wing, but Mary’s skin was too solid. “… else I would never have had the opportunity to remain here, and take the world for mine own, and for my pantheon. But…”

“But when we work together, we can overturn any ill-chance!” I cried, and suddenly I felt the breath of Shaeula’s fortunate winds on me, weightier than ever. It settled around Tan, Grulgor and Shaeula as well, like a warm breath.

“Well said, Akio.” Shaeula approved. “But there is no-no shame in giving fortune a little push, is there?” she glared at Mary. “You think you-you alone know what is right, what is just? Well, we will show you that you are not-not right, and justice lies with those of us who seek to protect, not-not to dominate!”

[You arrogant inhuman thing!] Mary sneered. [I am Power, none of your attacks do more than mar my skin.]

She’s right. We do have a few trump cards left, but judging by the performance of others… My hand went to the Lantern dangling at my waist, giving off a faint purple glow that I was slowly drawing into my body. “Tan, back off. Let Shiro have control for a moment.”

She cocked her head at me, puzzled, but leapt back, allowing Grulgor and the fire giant to have the lead, while Shaeula continued to blast off a continuous rain of varying elemental attacks. Vines erupted as Hyacinth tried to aid us, momentarily restraining Mary, and Chen Na bubbled her, the energy field starting to bulge outwards as Mary screamed, her mouths wailing in fell harmony.

“What do you need, Aki? Changing your buff?” Shiro asked, her eyes now dark for a moment, and I nodded.

“Yes, there’s more to this than we know. Buff my Eye again!”

“Are you sure? Last time you collapsed. If you go down now…” she said, worried, and I nodded, acknowledging that.

“Yes, I get it. It’s a risk, but I think it’s the best one. The danger of dragging this out is more than just losing…” The Boundary, the Tower, our survival… everything is at stake.

“All right, I trust you, Aki. Just… don’t screw this up, okay?” she said, and a surge of aether flooded me, followed by the knifing pain in my eye, spreading to my brain. I’ve managed this before. All right, I’ll split my thoughts as much as I can, and try and spread the overload and the pain. As I thought that, icy meteors were forming above us again, and Tan was back in charge, her flames spearing them, blowing them apart.

The bubble Mary was trapped in shattered, and I used one thread of my mind to control my actions, blade clashing against her ruby crystal arm. As I did so, I focused my Eye, ignoring the pull on my consciousness, of the large amount of information expanding into my brain. No, I don’t need all of that. All I need is… narrowing my focus as much as I could, shutting out everything else but what I needed to appraise, I observed. My Eye burned, my Split Thoughts shuddered, but as the world seemed to slow down, I focused on Mary Stuart, my Eye peering deep into her.

Linked Seraphim: Class [Imperious] Type [Law] – ????????

Metatron’s Words Of The Lord: Class [Legendary] Type [Law] – ????????

She has two Favours? Or is it just one? It was hard to make out, but in place of her crown chakra, shone the Linked Seraphim, and it was drawing on a huge amount of adherence from elsewhere. Then down by her heart, the brilliant shining golden orb that was the Metatron’s Words Of The Lord was glowing too like a sun, giving off a terrible sense of power.

No, I need to go deeper… forcing myself, narrowing my vision on Linked Seraphim, I felt knowledge filling me as though I was a small cup, threatening to burst me, sending my consciousness spiralling, but even though I could not see them, I knew my companions were still fighting. I can do this…

Linked Seraphim: Class [Imperious] Type [Law] – This Divine Favour is ???????? ???????? ??????? and allows ???????????. ????????? ?????????? ????????? ?????????.

Useless. I need to see more. I strained and pulled aether and even some adherence into my Eye, also drawing upon the winds blowing around me, and the blessing from Shiro.

Your skill, Mystic Eye Of The Tree Of Knowledge, has increased from Rank 3 to Rank 4. Your Eye now sees some of the hidden mysteries of the world, drawing on deeper multiversal knowledge the Tree guards. Your ability to observe and understand Adherence has significantly increased, and if you have a grasp of what you are looking at, your understanding of it will increase commensurately.

The pain eased, the knowledge I was pulling down from the Tree of Knowledge settling into me comfortably. With the sudden stress trying to pull me into unconsciousness fading, I forced my sight to go deeper, pushing higher again, Shiro’s blessing from Anesidora dispersing, somehow used up, but allowing me to raise my Eye to the peak of the Rank for a short while.

Linked Seraphim: Class [Imperious] Type [Law] – This Divine Favour is one part of a greater, linked whole and allows access to the ??????????, the great source of Adherence. As the peak of the Linked Angel Favour, the greatest Adherence can be drawn upon, creating miracles and empowering the bearer as long as Adherence can be drawn.

With Mary attacking relentlessly, her strength seemingly inexhaustible, I concentrated on the flow of adherence coming from her replaced crown chakra. It was a heady tide, far more than I would be confident of bearing, even with my strong League and high stats. It was spread around her body, and manifesting this Angel, this Power, within her, as part of her, not entirely dissimilar to the way Tan was bound to Shiro. Though unlike the way we’ve done that, this is crude and reckless. There’s no way she should be able to bear this strain…

[You are becoming tiresome. Then The Priests Will Blast On Their Trumpets!] A blaring blast of noise, dissonant and filled with adherence, radiated outwards, the ground around us shattered and turning to dust. Desperately, I channelled wind energy, creating a vacuum, and seeing me do that, Shaeula added her efforts to mine, and we barely stopped the destructive wave from striking us and the others. As I handled the wind energy, I felt a faint tugging, a feeling, one I hadn’t felt in a while. It’s like that time I won on roulette, or the first time I fought the jorogumo. My luck is going to be perfect…

I let it tug at me, and my eyes were drawn to her hand that was still human, and the gleaming ring of interlocking knots and barbs there.

Anulus Fortunae – Item Class: [Legendary], Item Type: [Fate]

The Ring of Fortune, forged from ????????, gold from ??????? and the refined and processed Adherence of great luck, grants the bearer astonishing good Fortune so long as their belief in such fortune never wavers. The protection of Fortune and the ??????????? shields the wearer from great harm, magnifying existing Fortune dramatically.

So powerful. Even now, my Eye wasn’t strong enough to understand just how the Ring existed, but the gold itself seemed to be impregnated with an adherence that I could see a measure of, as well as energy similar to that which was present amongst the Linked Seraphim, and was now circulating in great tides to the parts of Mary that were functionally an Angel.

“Akio, what-what do we do?” Shaeula said, landing beside me, blood splattered all over her white dress, one leg dragging. Grulgor was fighting bravely, but as water and stone scattered, he was torn in half again, and light flashed, the eyes in her wings blasting him away, where he lay smouldering, not dead, but out of fighting strength for a moment. “She is annoyingly tenacious, I do not-not think we are making much progress.”

[Of course you will fail. Against the Power of the Lord, all is hopeless. You should have repented before this hour, and never denied God, or the Ninth Heaven. Before The Cock Crows Three Times…] She began another incantation, the mouths on her wings howling. She was now entirely crimson, soaked in her own blood, yet somehow the adherence radiating into her wasn’t damaging her, though sheer, impossible luck, seemingly.

“It must annoy you…” I said, taking a deep breath, preparing myself. That feeling of an approaching moment where acting would bring great dividends was whispering to me, the faint jade breaths of Shaeula’s fortunate winds, strengthened by the adherence-laden attack consumed by her Foehn, was telling me that we had one chance. “… spending all this adherence. It can’t be cheap, supporting such an Angel. It’s even damaging the world around us.”

[You are quite right. It galls me, bitterly. But you have all proved greatly troublesome. Spending power now to destroy such great obstacles will only benefit us in the dangerous future.] As I expected, her arrogance made her stop her words to talk down to us haughtily, so sure she was of her eventual victory. [And when we reclaim the false Grail, the adherence we will recover will dwarf my trials here. Now, Before The Cock Crows Three Times, Thou Shalt Deny The Lord. And Denial Of The Lord Is Extinction!]

The light around her intensified, and Tan raised her flames to their maximum. “This is exceeding what I can handle, without forcing the princess to bear more of me than her body can take.”

“Do it, Tan!” Shiro suddenly took over. “Better just me getting hurt than everyone else!”

“No.” I shook my head. “Chen Na, put everything you have into blocking this…” I shouted, and the woman nodded timidly. “In the moment of greatest despair, we will overcome your belief!” I shouted, and Mary shook her head.

[Useless. Futile. Hopeless. Righteousness and Fortune are on my side…] The light intensified. [I know you think me cruel, that I take pleasure in this. I do not. I offered many chances to cease denying God. But I have been spurned, and now the result is that you will burn under the light of the Power. But I shall raise a grave for you all, and not forget you. Even now, if you repent, your soul will seek the light of the Ninth Heaven, not damnation!]

“Sorry, but if you think your light can defeat me, you’re wrong.” I glanced at Shaeula, and her eyes widened as I quickly whispered something. Nodding, she drew out all her winds, pouring them into me.

[Farewell. Know that the others will join you soon! The Light Of Judgement!] The light surged forwards, a beam so vivid it made the breath of the wyrm I fought back in the early days look like a child spitting. Immediately Chen Na called up her strongest barrier with what strength she had left. It held for several seconds, buying me a little time, spinning up Prominence Dusk, a dark, black hole forming, surrounded by a ring of shimmering light. In addition my other Split Thoughts were drawing energy from the Lantern I had taken back from Ixitt before heading here, adding trickles of spatial energy to my crown chakra. The feeling was painful, the energy threatening to break loose and cause havoc within me, but I was restraining it, fortunately.

The barrier shattered, exploding inwards, and I saw a faint flicker of energy behind it, another barrier. That held for perhaps half a second, scattering light like destructive sparkles. Then Tan roared, her flames, enhanced by the three Favours she had taken from Kyoto, swallowed like a giant fanged mouth, consuming the light. Tan then slumped down, hair fading to silver, eyes turning black, leaving a wounded Shiro behind, gasping. “Shit, we’re done. Guess we can’t handle her cheats…”

True, it’s like she can use Linked Seraphim to never run dry. Although, the adherence shouldn’t be infinite… “Grulgor is not done!” he roared, the ground rising into multiple walls of earth, which were melted through in moments as the light ripped apart the remnants of Tan’s flames, turning them to magma. Shaeula tried to block the blasts with her pinwheels and her own walls of earth and water, but they too crumbled quickly, flashing to burning rock and steam. Hyacinth raised great towering walls of vines, only to see them quickly reduced to ashes. Moments later Eleanor, despite her horrible wounds having barely started healing, was rushing towards the blast to block it.

“I think not-not.” Shaeula leapt, knocking her down to the ground, and the blast passed over her head.

“Why?” Eleanor protested. “I could help…”

“No-no. We appreciate bravery, but that is simply foolishness. Akio has not fought so hard to see you die-die now. None-none of us have.”

Her words were swallowed up, as the beam struck me. No, not me. The dark star of Prominence Dusk greedily consumed the energy, the black void growing, the halo forming a brilliant ring of light. Like an Angel’s…

The force pushed me back, everything happening in a mere instant, the strength of the attack more than Prominence Dusk could bear, ordinarily. But not… if I’m lucky enough, and strong enough… The attempts to halt the attack had sapped it of around a third of its strength, and now Prominence Dusk was confronting it. Even so, it was barely enough. Suddenly, the beam was besieged by a storm of dark shapes plunging into the blast from above, black feathers scattering, as a flock of giant ravens threw their bodies into the path of destruction, each only a cup of water on a raging fire, but after ten, twenty, a hundred cups…

Your Skill, Prominence Twilight, has advanced from Rank 1 to Rank 2. More elemental energy and elementally-flavoured Adherence can be absorbed by both Dusk and Dawn, and just as each carries a trace of the other, Dusk and Dawn two sides of the same coin, so can Prominence Dawn and Prominence Dusk carry each other, though the potency is significantly supressed.

“This isn’t my only hungry skill!” The last of my Foehn was fed into Prominence Dawn, and the two merged, the darkness of Dusk suddenly becoming black flames, sucking in the light. I was taking damage, scattered motes of the light burning through me, and I felt that if this attack had struck anyone else they would have been annihilated. As the light faded, my skin charred, my body full of bleeding holes, deep enough to reveal bone and my insides, the pain was rather spectacular. A bemused looking Mary Stuart, though it was a little hard to tell, as her face was a blank mask apart from her bloody mouth, leaving me to judge via her body language, spat a curse.

[You survived that? You truly are a powerful…] she paused, as I vanished. Now is the moment. The fortunate winds burst, and at that moment I activated the true Void Motion with the little spatial element I had gathered, moving myself and the Prominence Dusk perfectly, just as Mary raised her hand in annoyance at her failures. I reappeared instantly beside her, sword in hand, my other hand holding the black ball of flames, surrounded by a blazing white aura. That detonated spectacularly, the incredibly powerful light element created by Mary’s Angelic adherence mixed with the darkness element and the bestowed property of Foehn instantly bursting into a lightless sphere, space around us seeming to contort and twist. I screamed in pain, it now truly unbearable, but I had not expected to make this move without some sacrifice.

[You… what… have… you…] Mary said, her arm ripped free, as mine was also torn from my shoulder, our flesh and bone crushed together and incinerated by the sudden incredible force as Prominence Dusk imploded. I was close enough to her face to feel her breath, so I could see her pale, white eyes widening in confused shock, seeing her face twitch in a momentary crisis of confidence. Then her wing was torn off and shredded too, adherence scattering, no, being drawn into the shrinking vortex, though I managed to pull in some of it to feed myself. Seeing a glimmering mote of gold within the fading light-devouring sphere, I let loose with my aether, draining myself to the dregs, activating False Void Motion, and the Ring materialised in my palm, shining softly, having somehow survived the Prominence Dusk unscathed, which now vanished with a final detonation, throwing both of us aside.

I landed, rolling over and over, only to be caught by Shaeula, who had managed to get behind me. As she held me in her arms, looking at my stump with a tender expression, I could see Mary, her body starting to break down, no longer able to support the Power she was manifesting. Her eyes had gone a dull, lifeless grey, and as the other wing turned to red dust and drifted away on the wind, so did her bladed arm, leaving her armless. “Why?” her voice rasped, back to normal, though her throat was filled with blood, choking her. Tears trickled down her blind eyes, and she struggled to move, flopping around like a beached fish. “How could this happen? I only wanted… to serve the Lord, bring the faithful to an eternity of safety… for my grandmother, and for the Lord…”

As I struggled to my feet, Shaeula supporting me, I went to address her, only to see someone else reach her first, a flash of red hair in my vision. It was Sarah, who despite her burned and battered body, had managed to cross the distance to her, kneeling beside her. “I’d hold ye by the hand, but… seems like ye nae have one anymore.” Sarah said softly, also in tears. “It’s over. Ye lost. We lost.”

“In the end… I felt your power. Did you…” Mary asked solemnly, after coughing the last of the blood out of her throat.

“Aye, sorry. I guess betrayal is kind of habit forming, ye ken.” David snorted behind her at Sarah’s self-deprecating, bitter words. “But in the end… this was nae right, was it?”

Eleanor joined them, as did I, Shaeula helping me over. As Eleanor looked at my missing arm, horrified, I shrugged, trying not to show the utter agony I was feeling right now. Ether Healing was working to close my worst wounds, but it would take time for even the pain to stop.

“Don’t look at me like that. I am the Chosen of Tyr after all, and giving an arm to win is pretty much part of the deal.”

Shiro snorted at that, being familiar with the myth, as she was picked up by a regenerating Grulgor and brought over, her body limp, the great spear wound in her body still angry and burned. “Sure Aki, talk like a big shot, like you don’t care. But… it’s over now, right? We won? Princess saved, time for the celebration. Ouch… shit. Feels like I’ve been stabbed… oh wait, I was…”

“I shall-shall attend to you momentarily.” Shaeula grinned. “And as for Akio’s arm. I shall be sure-sure to tell Aiko of this, and I am sure she will have much to say on-on the matter.”

Hyacinth and Chen Na brought over Sir Arthur and Raidre, who was looking at Shaeula with a mixture of horror and fascination. As we were now all gathered together, I nodded, looking down at the silent, listening Mary. “Yes. For now… it’s over.”