We walked silently at this point, every step carrying us closer to the ambush that Zachary had set. I'd hoped that he would reconsider and change directions after a bit of conversation, but my hope seed wasted on this young man. My few early attempts to steer the discussion toward understanding his reasons were t with a solid wall.
Our pace quickened as we left the powered Circuits of the central city, allowing us full access to our Cards, and we reached the deathtrap in under an hour. I wasn't opposed to being led from the city or into the waiting maw of the combustible warehouse.
At this point, I was confident that the figure before was the cause of Aurora's would-be disappearance. Not to ntion the other atrocities that were sure to follow him in the future.
Still…I would like to attempt to persuade him. He's young, and his life doesn't have to go the way it did before.
"How far are we?" I asked David through our ntal connection. There were at least a dozen abandoned factories in view.
David glided calmly by my side. "It's just there. We'll reach it in a few more seconds… Are you sure you want to go in?"
"Yes." Zachary took a turn, leading us to the closest of the structures and lighting another smoke. "This will likely go south quickly, and I don't intend to conceal it from the Grandhardts for it to nip in the rear later. He's already taken steps to make this look like an accident, so I might as well use it to my advantage."
I sighed audibly, causing Zachary to cast a glance over his shoulder. He didn't look angry, hateful, or even amused. rely…inquisitive. Even so, his curious expression starkly contrasted with the warning bells that Threat Acuity was firing off within as he opened the large rolling door to one of the abandoned facilities.
I glanced around the spacious wooden warehouse, taking note of the giant basins spread throughout. Likely they were once used to mix the liquids held in the upturned barrels. Chains hung from the rafters, rattling as freezing currents and wisps of snow drifted through the decaying wood. tal stairs in multiple sections of the old factory led up to the walkways above the basins.
"Cozy place." I chuckled and observed the area, then frowned as I looked at the youngster now standing several yards away.
Now that's a look I haven't seen before.
"If you have sothing to say, Rowan, I'm all ears." He removed his coat and hat, hanging them lazily from a nearby hook. His expression was strange. Gone was the curiosity and false smile from before. Now there was just…nothing. It was rather unsettling.
I raised a brow, and he continued. "I could sense the changes to your deanor during our stroll. It seems you know precisely what this is…so why did you continue to follow all this way? Surely, you can't be so confident?"
Perhaps a Card that picks up on other's emotions? He should also have a copy of Threat Acuity from the Academy… My intent has likely been leaking off and on with my indecisiveness. Well, he's admitted it now. Maybe he'll be open to talking.
"Have you suddenly found yourself concerned for my safety?" I chuckled, though his expression didn't change from my little joke. Shaking my head at the lack of response, I unbuttoned and rolled up my sleeves, not taking my eyes off him. "Would you at least care to tell why?"
"Keep away from the southern corner if you can," David's voice sounded in my mind. "There are barrels he didn't dump stored there in a locked room."
"Got it. Thank you for being so thorough." I expressed my gratitude, realizing just how great a boon it was that the childish specter decided to travel with . "Would you like to be recalled?"
"Hahah!" David's laughter echoed in my mind. "There's no way I'm missing my first fight!"
Leveling David was the correct move. Had his duration not been extended to four hours, he would have been recalled before discovering this nasty surprise. Am I confident? Of course I am. There was ti to prepare.
Every Card in my Deck that I intended to wield permanently had been Leveled to 3, with a few reaching 4. Between those and the temporary additions, I was assured of my victory, though I didn't expect it to co without effort. With his family's wealth, it was likely that my opponent's Cards were mostly Level 4, with at least one or two Level 5s. I would need to be prudent.
Zachary stared at with those dull eyes, and after blowing another lungful of smoke, he answered. That was sothing I hadn't been expecting.
"I don't understand you," he answered lethargically. "You can take that personally if you wish, but it isn't just you. I don't understand anyone. But you…there was a ti I thought you were like . Not anymore. You sohow attained sothing that I've been seeking for a long ti. Perhaps I'll be done searching after today…"
Without warning, Zachary flicked his still-burning cig toward the ground. The calm rattling of chains and whistle of the biting wind was replaced by a deafening roar as flas erupted from the soil between us. I'd lost sight of my adversary in less than a second, and the tongues of fla licked hungrily at my boots.
"Spritz!" As the blaze fanned out, I shouted out one of the Spells I'd borrowed from Crook, making sure it was enhanced by Incantation. A downpour of water fell from the air just above , drenching my hair and clothing while washing away the flas beneath my feet.
Click.
With one hand, I drew the blade of my cane while Dashing into the air. With my other, I motioned toward one of the large basins as I landed gently on one of the tal walks. From this vantage point, I could get a better look at my surroundings.
The conflagration spread rapidly and had already covered a third of the warehouse. Whatever fluid they'd been crafting in this place, not only was it highly flammable, but it didn't show any signs of petering out, even along the dirt floor.
Water dripped slowly from my clothing, landing on the tal platform and sizzling as it evaporated. The heat was rising quickly. The second Card I'd appropriated from the shop, Heat Resistance, was already proving its worth.
I glanced around the warehouse floor, searching for my foe. It didn't take long to spot him. Zachary was standing in the sa position as when he'd started the blaze, and he was…smiling? The flas danced wildly around him, obscuring most of his person, yet that smile was sothing I couldn't miss.
It wasn't the sa false smile that he'd kept up on our journey here. Instead, even with his clothing catching fire, he looked…peaceful.
Eyes closed, he stretched out both arms, ignoring the hazardous environnt. The flas that threatened to consu him suddenly stilled before being drawn from the earth. They snaked up his leg and wound around his outstretched arms, only stopping when his body was mostly covered.
"Bullocks…" I muttered.
His eyes snapped open, and he looked directly at . The flas on his body began to writhe, and the fire on his arms turned brighter before firing in my direction.
I leaped to the right, narrowly avoiding one of the projectiles as the other collided with one of the platform's supports. It wasn't enough to destroy it, but the tal was warped, and the walkway began to sag slightly in that direction.
How did he spot so quickly? And the control he has at his age… Fire Attunent?
Attunents were elental-based Holy Cards, ones that weren't easy to co by, that allowed their Wielder to form a connection with the elent. In this case, Zachary could detect anywhere within the confines of the burning building.
What a well-laid trap.
I dodged another serpent-like blast and ran toward the center of the warehouse, where the flas were only just beginning to spread. Zachary shadowed my movents from the ground, following below and continuously firing bolts toward the platform. I smiled.
"What an energetic young man!" I laughed and internally added, "Having fun yet, David? Larry, how are things going on your end?"
"Ungh!"
"Look at him go!" I could sowhat make out David's form floating in the rafters, watching the goings-on with intent curiosity. "Oh, and Larry said he's working on it."
You got that from ungh?
I leaped over the banister when Dash ca off Cooldown, throwing myself toward an adjacent walkway just as two more flaming bolts exploded where I'd just been. With Dash still active, I snatched one of the chains and held on tight as it swung around one of the large basins, where I landed directly behind Zachary.
"Affliction!"
My blade lashed out several tis, striking the exposed skin of the boy's arms and legs. A dark mist lood over the sword's edge, and with each impact, the haze would seep into the superficial wounds. I managed to inflict all ten stacks of Affliction before he could react, reducing the effectiveness of his Agility by twenty-seven percent.
Damn it, Rowan. You know what you have to do. Why are you hesitating?
Zachary spun swiftly, one arm raised in preparation to cast another of the flaming bolts. Before he could, I struck his chest with my darkness-covered palm, knocking the lad off his feet as his skin turned pale.
"Hex!"
Between that and Affliction, his Agility would be reduced by over fifty percent, and his other Foundations should be reduced by twenty-five percent. I rushed forward before he could gain his bearings, Pulling the nearby shaft of my cane toward and slamming it into the boy's gut, sending him sprawling to the floor once more.
The intensity of his flas increased, and I had to step back from the sudden rush of heat. He didn't move, only held his stomach and coughed, looking at .
"Phew! You sure know how to give an old man a hard ti!" I chuckled and took a deep breath, casting Spritz above to cool my body and weaken the flas in the imdiate area. My suit was fine, if not ashy, but my hands were red, and I was beginning to feel parched.
"What's with all of this hogwash?" I called while keeping my distance and gesturing around. "How about you tell what it is you want, and we put an end to this?"
"An end?" Zachary coughed and spluttered montarily before spitting out a wad of blood. Though his eyes retained that sa dead look, he looked toward the nearby fla and smiled. "I suppose that would be one way to solve my dilemma."
"Boss! You need to move!"
"What?"
"That basin is filled with—"
Before David could finish, a massive ring of fire burst from around Zachary. I dove beneath the flas and watched as they slamd into the side of the container next to us. The side cracked, and light brown liquid ca flooding out.
Flaming liquid ca rushing at , and I Dashed into the air, barely avoiding the wave and grabbing onto the rail. I watched as the tide of fire swelled slowly outward…and directly toward the southern corner.
"Larry! Get ready!" I cried internally, hauling myself onto the platform and looking around for both the Golem and Zachary. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead, filling my eyes and blurring my vision.
The facility's wooden platforms, desks, and other garbage had caught fire, and the rafters were filled with smoke. I was already holding my breath. The walkways were no longer navigable.
I need to finish this quickly and get us out of here. Where the hell did that boy go?
"Cough… Cough…"
I cast Cleanse, evaporating the smoke in my lungs and clearing the area around long enough to take a deep breath. Lungs full of fresh air, I rushed forward, casting Spritz and Dash each ti either ca off of Cooldown.
The light and dark of the shadows caused my movent speed to constantly wax and wane from Integrate, and I had to pause briefly to control my connection with the Enhancent. Flas crackled around as I concentrated, only just managing to suppress its effects when I heard a cracking noise behind .
I turned just in ti to see a pillar of fla rushing toward . There was no ti to dodge, so I braced for impact, shielding myself with both arms and casting Spritz to help nullify the damage. Luckily, it was weak.
The impact pushed back a few steps, but the attack didn't harm . I looked up to see Zachary standing on another platform just a few yards away, both hands pointed toward . The dark mist surrounding him was fading from existence, and his skin was returning to its usual palate. My Spells had tid out.
Another pillar of fla raced toward , this one much wider. I dodged to the side and pulled a throwing knife from my coat, flinging it toward the caster. He was gone.
"On your right!"
David's warning ca just in ti. I Dashed back and launched another knife without looking. Two flaming spears whizzed by, one catching the edge of my jacket, which instantly began to nd itself.
"Urgh!" I glanced over to find Zachary clutching the upper part of his stomach with one hand. The knife had found its target.
"Boy, listen to !" I tried once more. It looked like the knife had found his liver, and the wound was bleeding heavily. "Stop this madness!"
Just try to see reason.
Zachary raised his free arm toward , the fla beginning to snake toward his hand. I sighed. "All right, Larry. It's ti."
The young man finally noticed that sothing was wrong. He stopped casting and looked over the platform's edge to find the area around us devoid of fla. Larry stood tall below us, a massive boulder in one hand and a cascade of mud flying from the other.
Surprise flickered across Zachary's face…and then his body beca wreathed in fire. Before I could stop my Summon, Larry chunked the boulder toward the bottom of the platform, knocking the walkway back like a teeter-totter and sending the young man away and toward the southern side of the building.
My jaw dropped as the platform's remains clattered to the ground. I turned to look at the Golem disapprovingly.
"Ungh?"
"It's all right, Larry." I sighed and shook my head. "You did the right thing. He made his choice. David, let's at least try to find him."
I leaped off the platform, using Featherfall to gently float to the damp soil. The fire still raged around us, but Larry had been hard at work putting out the fire in the center of the building, away from Zachary's view.
By the ti his Fla Attunent warned him, it was too late. One of the problems with building so heavily around an elent…once it's gone, you forfeit your advantage. To be fair, he'd planned ahead, but he couldn't account for David and Larry.
"Rowan, he's at the southern corner!"
"Thanks, David."
We swiftly followed David's directions and used Larry's Skills to clear a safe path. The southern section of the warehouse hadn't caught fire yet, but the flas were approaching rapidly.
When I saw Zachary again, he was leaning against the storage room wall where David said he'd found the remaining barrels of incendiary liquid. Both of his legs were contorted in ways they weren't ant to be. One of his arms was missing, and he struggled with the other to tap tobacco from his tin into an unrolled paper on his lap.
Larry stood behind , keeping the fire at bay as I approached, frowning at the broken young man before . Holding my blade in one hand, I pointed it toward his throat.
"Are you done fighting?" I asked.
Zachary didn't answer. Instead, he tossed his Deck Box toward my feet with his good arm before rolling his smoke. I blinked in surprise.
"I don't need that anymore," he mumbled, lifting the rolled paper and placing it between his blood-stained lips.
I nodded and picked up the tal box, clipping it to my belt. "Would you like to light that for you?"
"Cough… It'll… Cough…" He moved the cig to the side and spat a mouthful of blood. "It'll light itself."
"David. Could your new Skill ease his passing?" I asked as I bent down and pulled my knife from Zachary's stomach.
"I can try."
David flickered into existence, yet Zachary didn't flinch. He simply stared beyond at the approaching fla. The specter placed his tiny hands on Zachary's temples, and I watched as the young man's blue eyes beca hazy.
"That's the best I can do." David spoke this ti, not using our ntal link. I nodded and gestured to the Golem that it was ti to go. The liquid had slowed, but it still crawled forward faster than Larry could handle.
Looking at the sleeping Zachary, I gave him a light pat on the shoulder and left the fellow to his dreams. There was nothing more to say. I just hoped he'd find peace in his final monts.
Larry paved our way forward, and I left all thoughts of regret behind . Zachary walked down the path he'd chosen. Now, it was ti for to walk mine.
***
Zachary took note of the ghostly figure but didn't turn away from the fla. He recognized it. It was the sa boy he thought he saw following him in the storefront window. Rowan had always been multiple steps ahead of him.
A cool sensation spread through his body as the specter touched him, and the pain vanished. Sothing tried to pull him away from his body, but he fought it, watching as the three figures turned to leave.
The heat intensified as Zachary gazed at Rowan Wilder, who seed to vanish and reappear every ti the fla's shadows covered him. Forcing himself away from the pull, Zachary studied the young man when he was visible, his eyes tracing over the unsoiled brown suit and flawlessly styled hair that never fell out of place.
There wasn't a scratch on him. Zachary hadn't stood a chance.
Leaning his head against the wall to the supply room, Zachary chuckled and shifted his gaze back toward the swiftly spreading fla, admiring how it moved as it closed in. In monts, his legs were burning, and he could feel his skin bubbling beneath the heat, yet he couldn't feel it. The pull was getting stronger.
By now, the paper between his lips had ignited, and he inhaled deeply, a smile forming as he did so. Zachary spat the tobacco from his dried lips and looked toward the ceiling, blowing a perfect smoke ring, which instantly rged with the black smoke of the raging fire.
There was another pull, and this ti, he was too tired to resist. He followed the smoke ring into the dense fog, where he heard laughter in the distance. Looking down, he was stunned. He was completely uninjured and standing in a beautiful field of crimson flowers.
The laughter ca again, and he looked up to see a young girl running toward him. She couldn't have been more than ten, with curly black hair and blue eyes. Her crimson dress was blown by the wind as she rushed forward and took Zachary's hand.
"Big brother!" She smiled and pressed her cheek against his hand, tears running down her face. "I've been waiting for you for so long. I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you, brother."
Zachary felt sothing wet against his cheek and raised his hand to wipe it away. But there was another…and then another. The tears wouldn't stop. And then, he knelt down and embraced the girl, a genuine smile forming as he did.
"Camilla…"
In the warehouse, his eyes beca glassy as the flas overtook him, yet his smile never faded. The liquid continued to push past until the flas crept beneath the door and reached the remaining barrels…
***
Larry burst through one of the burning walls, and I recalled him as I Dashed away, putting as much distance between myself and that room as possible. The explosion that followed shook the earth, toppling two of the nearby buildings and shattering the windows in those several hundreds of yards away.
My ears rang, and I could feel the wave of heat as it washed over . Looking back at the carnage caused, I revised my plans to stay and explain the situation to the Grandhardts. Nope. It was ti to go.
"Condition t. Effect 7."
My Dash was involuntarily cancelled, and I stumbled forward as I looked around frantically. A booming voice sounded in my mind, much like David's link when he spoke with , but louder.
What the hell was that? Wait…is that the sa as—
Before I could finish that thought, the space before rippled, and a radiant, silver light materialized. I watched in awe and confusion as the light began to shift, and a silver Card erged, and at the sa ti…I had an epiphany… No, it wasn't so bold. It was as if I suddenly rembered sothing that I'd long forgotten.
[Effect 7: The Wielder has killed an Anchor. For each Anchor slain by an action of the Wielder, the Wielder will receive one Promotion Relic to support them in their endeavors. Each additional Anchor slain increases the quality of the Relic.]
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