Millennial Mage Nove Chapter 413: Facing Reality

Chapter 413: Facing Reality

Tala and Master Xeel stood together outside the cell of a Reality Mage.

She was about to face this classic nesis of all Mages, and he was going to be on hand during the process.

Tala gave a hesitant smile. I have so ideas, but youre far more experienced, here. Whats the overarching plan?

Master Xeel gave a small shrug. You go in, keep the Reality Mage on the inside while the Paragon repairs the cell. I will be standing in the entrance, ready to step in to help if I can.

Not if I need?

He shook his head. Please do not mistake , Mistress Tala. I will do what I can if you are in need, and I can probably keep the Reality Mage contained. That said, doing so isnt a gamble that I want to take, even if I were inclined to do so. You are likely to be able to counter her, whereas I would have to overpower her. You should be able to walk into her domain and rebuff her authority. I would have to stand on the edge and fight her back from the outside.

Tala nodded, then made a motion of will to make Kit appear in door form on the side of her units vehicle.

Having a physical manifestation like that would lock the center of Kits range in place, and keep the dinsional storage from automatically coming with Tala into the cell.

There was no reason to introduce such a place to escape into, nor to risk my sanctum, Irondale, or the people within needlessly.

Before them, the antechamber opened up. It looked like a massive, clear do on the top of a wide, low hill. Though, it also seed entirely contained at the peak of the little rise the entrance opened from.

Contracted space once again or is it expanded? Honestly, it was probably a mix of both.

Inside the antechamber, Tala took the ti to look over the information available about the woman that was recorded within.

The info was on large stone slabs written in the common script. So, this Reality Mage hadnt been here since before the unification of language.

It took a bit, but it was worth the slight delay in order to double check what she and Alat had already perused.

Their opponent would be the Reality Mage Re-al. A woman so depraved that shed sacrificed her own familiar, forsaken and hidden her na, and torn her own soul out of the next world for use in horrendous rituals.

Alat, can we do this?

-I think we can, yes.-

Tala found herself smiling as she ca to the end of the information.

Alright then. Her iron and white steel flowed over her, coating the bottoms of her feet as she strode forward, lifting her a bit higher with each step until the armor was complete and fully encapsulating.

Under her ablative armor was a layer of pure iron, just to make sure there werent any cracks or crevices that power could worm its way through.

She also encapsulated herself, star- and stone-ward with iron.

Alat and Tala had considered using their existence shield, but theyd largely dismissed that for several reasons.

One of the main ones was that, the last ti theyd used it, theyd learned that it wasnt very good at resisting true attacks.

Instead, it excelled at blocking connections and attempts to alter her own existence directly.

That also ant that if it was hit by an attack, it could do more harm to her than good. Though, to be fair, she didnt actually know what the murder-eyes attack had been trying to do.

It was possible that having half of her body and magic erased from existence had been the best outco she could hope for.

Regardless, they didnt feel like the existence shield was the right course of action.

That said, she was going to go in, armored for a world-ending threat.

With that in mind, she aspect-mirrored as much void into her elk leathers magical defenses as possible. In doing so, she altered the relatively weak, always active magical defenses around her soulbound garnts into powerful, void-magic barriers that hugged her form just outside the iron and white-steel armor.

She very specifically did not mix the void-magic with the iron, which, because it was bound to her, seed to count effectively as reality-magic.

In that way, she had a layer of protection that was the direct antithesis of Realityvoid-magicfollowed by one that was obliquely opposed to itreality-magic.

All told, there shouldnt be any easy way for power of any kind to get at her.

There was still the danger of physical attacks, but thats why she had the ablative armor on.

She ca to a stop right in front of where the entrance to the cell would be when it was opened.

Standing there for a mont, tall and confident, Tala turned her head toward the Paragon who was waiting for her, and she nodded to him.

The man smiled resolutely. We begin.

Tala took deep breaths, her hands empty.

She wouldnt risk Flow with exposure to Reality, not at first at least. She doubted shed be willing to use the sword at all, but she had Flow sheathed at her waist, under her armor, nonetheless.

As the Paragon began his work, rock grew up from the ground within the antechamber, forming an oddly normal looking door fra before the inside of the thing was filled with the darkness of a long tunnel.

Most cell entrances manifested as sothing akin to a long tunnel.

Her threefold sight showed that the tunnel was more truly through existence itself than any material.

The stone which made up the walls, ceiling, and floor was but a veneer ant to maintain the natural order of things.

After all, people were not ant to stride on the edge of existence.

Tala imdiately stepped into the tunnel, Master Xeel coming in behind her and blocking off the outside end of the long tunnel with a field of light composed of interweaving colors.

She almost hesitated as she recognized so of the forms and shapes within the light.

Hed made spellforms with lines of different colored light, and light, itself, was the dium as well.

She hadnt known that was even possible, and she couldnt begin to comprehend what the magics were ant to do.

All that she knew was that they bore the power of a Reforged well on his way to Ascending, and she really did not want to be the target of anything with that kind of magical weight.

The man further added shapes of woven light around himself and along the walls, floor, and ceiling of the tunnel.

He was ready to back her up if required.

Her steps were firm as she strode forward, reaching the inside exit of the tunnel without slowing.

Only once she was fully inside did she stop and look down from the hill she had exited near the top of.

Below her was a walled village, and that alone made Tala suck in a breath.

It was so small, there was no way that she could mistake it for one of the great cities that gated-humanity used in modern tis.

The walls had clearly once been impressivethere were obvious remnants of inscriptions woven through thembut there was no longer any magic about the structure.

In fact, with her threefold sight she could see that there was absolutely no magic within the cell at all.

The dinsions that she generally thought of as those of magic still existed, but they were utterly empty, no matter how she examined them.

With no magic, there was no movent of what wasnt there. So there was no ze, but saying that was like saying there was no breeze in a vacuum.

It should have gone without saying.

The reason it struck Talas mind strongly enough for her to focus on it was simple. There was sothing in its place.

Great tides of iron dust drifted on currents of air.

No that isnt iron. It felt very similar to her, though.

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It felt real in a way that was hard to describe.

It was like how it was hard to rember she was wearing clothing, until it beca uncomfortable, or itched, or pulled wrong.

This was that uncomfortable itch, pulling at her awareness in the worst way.

There was sothing in the air that was an antithesis to magic and sought to fill any void, as pointless as such a venture was.

Tala was grateful that she didnt have to breathe and her solid faceplate remained.

She couldnt imagine the horror that would co from breathing in any of the power that now seed to surround her.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Tala turned to see what had clearly once been a woman looking up at her from the foot of the hill.

That was the only warning she got before what felt like a hamr the size of a buildingslamd down atop Talaseemingly forged out of the all too Real sothing that filled the air.

The strike utterly shattered against her void-magic barrier.

It was like dropping the end of a log on a hardened steel wedge.

The wedgeher defensewas utterly unaffected, and the attack was splintered back into the surrounding air currents.

There was a beat of silence as the woman was clearly surprised to have her attack so thoroughly rebuffed.

What are you? The question was exceptionally ironic, coming as it did from the twisted woman.

Truthfully, calling the Reality Mage twisted was hardly a fair assessnt in any sense but taphorical.

Re-al looked normal to mundane sight, even if her gray-ish skin made her look a bit sickly.

Even so, Talas threefold sight revealed the truth.

The woman had more inscriptions than even Tala, every single line seemingly of iron by the look of them.

That wasnt the end of the oddities either.

Re-al didnt have an aura that Tala could detect, but instead she exuded a realness that wasnt to be denied.

Tala almost laughed at that, but she couldnt describe it any other way.

It was as if most people Tala had seenincluding herselfwere statues artfully created, fragile and painstakingly preserved of cloud and mist.

Re-al was shaped in granite.

But the silence was becoming awkward.

She believed that she could keep her at bay in a conflict of violence, but Tala wisely assud that Re-al hadnt really shown the true asure of her power yet.

Thus, Tala would rather delay with words until the ti was right, or she ran out of things to say.

So, Tala decided to respond. Her voice was carried by her through-spike to the air outside of her armor. From there, it acted as sound normally did. I am Tala, here to inspect this existence-cell.

Based on what Tala knew of Reality Mages, Re-al could probably have opposed the sound, scrubbing it from the air because it was created by magic, but she didnt bother. Instead, she just grimaced. I did not ask who you were, foolish child. I also did not ask you why you are here. Are those outside so backward as to not realize such things are obvious? Why have you been conditioned to give useless answers? Listen closely. I asked what you are. I see and recognize iron utterly pervading you, but it is tainted with magic. I sense void as well, but no blended existence. So, I will ask again. What are you?

Tala felt herself straighten. I am a Defender of humanity.

That felt partially true. She was more than just that. Regardless, Re-al scoffed. There is very little real foundation to your claim, girl. Do you not even know what you are, yourself? They didnt even send a Paragon? Fools.

If it makes you feel any better, there is a powerful Reforged waiting outside that you'll never see.

Tala had been trying to throw the other woman off, but contrary to her expectation, Re-al seed to brighten. Really? I would love to remove one of those stains from the world. I just have to kill you to engage the Reforged?

You would have to break out of here after it's been fully resealed.

That seed to confuse Re-al. ...that isnt possible.

Oh, I know. Arent we listing impossible things? You did just utterly fail to harm

with a surprise attack, right?

The older woman hesitated for a mont then burst out laughing. That was actually marginally clever. Nicely done.

She continued to laugh, and Tala let her.

Insanity as a delaying tactic, dont count on it, but use it if its available.

Tala almost laughed as well, but kept the reaction contained to not pull the womans attention from her odd cackling.

After a long mont, Re-al collected herself once again. So then, you arent a total loss. You also have a love of iron that is entirely un-Mage-like. Why not work with ? We can fix the world together and end all this needless suffering.

By killing everyone with a gate. It wasnt a question.

By reuniting broken souls, yes, among other things.

Thats not who I am, and I cannot allow you to do that.

Ahh, but weve established that you dont really know who you are.

Tala shook her head. I said no. I am a protector of humanity. She thought of Adrill, Brandon, and Kedva. I am a nurturer of magic.

Re-al hissed at that, a pulse of whatever her power was radiating outward even as she spoke, A pointless affectation. That is not what you really are.

The power was much sharper and more piercing than the first attack had been. Even so, it rolled harmlessly over Talas extended aura.

I will tell you what you are, oh twisted child. You are a broken daughter of a twisted family. You scratch and claw at the world around you, needlessly causing harm to that which you lack the wit to comprehend. You are a blight on reality.

Tala barely felt a mild strain on her void-magic barrier. The words, themselves, seed to carry the terrible power as it tried to invade and affect Tala.

But she stood firm.

She had magic aplenty and void to spare.

She almost laughed at that.

Void, by its very nature, was always in abundance, and her gate provided magic unending.

She tilted her head to one side and felt herself smile within her helt.

Is this it? Is this all that you have? Feeble attempts to claw at my foundation?

No, but we havent known each other very long. I wasnt going to obliterate you before we talked.

Oh? You want to get to know ?

Why not? Its been lonely in here. Ive missed talking. Talking is great, right? Besides, if Im going to use you against the other humans, I should understand you better.

Yeah like thats going to happen. Im not going to bare my soul to you, crazy lady.

Re-al, of course, simply continued her monologue. I dont detect any soulbond thats strong enough to be to a familiar or husband. Is he already dead? That is one of the great evils of magic, forcing others to live beyond their loved ones.

Tala cocked an eyebrow even though she knew it wouldnt be visible. Says the woman who killed her own familiar.

Yes. I did. I will kill anyone and anything who puts their own selfish desires before the good of the entire world. Re-al was visibly angry at the end, but cald herself before continuing. So, your husband is already dead then?

No, weve not married yet. Tala felt herself twitch. Why had she answered like that?

Alat was silent, but Tala could practically hear the alternate interface dancing with glee. Not really the ti, Alat

Re-al barked a laugh. You dont even have the courage to get married. She continued laughing for a long mont after that before her laughter hitched. Oh, the ridiculousness of it is going to make

choke. Reality is broken indeed if they send an iron-tainted, old, has-been in here to try to stall . This will be easier than I thought. But its ti for the big choice, you old girl. Join

or die.

Tala felt herself smile.

Re-al obviously couldnt see the smile, it was just for herself.

I did my best to stall, but if thats over Well, I can do one more thing to gain so ti.

-Ill watch for a good ti to strike.-

Oh, now you join us?

-Do you want to have this talk, now?-

No

All that aside, Tala knew that her smile changed the tone in her voice as she spoke, There has been a misunderstanding, Reality Mage. I am not iron-tainted. I have claid the iron as my own. I am not old, but among the youngest in this generation to advance. I am not a has-been. I am the ravenous, jealous devourer. Magic and void are mine to claim and influence, but I find myself in need of reality. But neither that, nor you, are my eternal aim. You are a re stepping stone.

Tala knew that all of this was true. None of it was even new, but it felt right to say it all together like that.

As such, she wasnt surprised when she moved an almost imperceptible tick closer to Paragon.

Re-al seed to hesitate at that, truly seeming off center for what might have been the first ti in the entire conversation. The womans violent intentions seed to be temporarily cooled as she carefully inquired, A nascent Existence Mage? She shook her head. No, no. That is ridiculous. Success there is impossible.

Tala laughed, then. You speak like you arent a Reality Mage. Isnt that equally impossible?

Re-al waved her off with a curt gesture. You spout the lies spread by those in power. There was real anger in the womans eyes, evident even across the dozens of yards between them. It is forbidden, not impossible.

I disagree. It is impossible for any person to beco a Reality Mage.

Re-al huffed. Then what am I?

Lost and confused. A mockery of the person who used to live behind those eyes. A broken soul, too twisted to die.

The Reality Mage shook her head. You speak folly once more. Id think you were trying to delay , if that had any hope of succeeding.

So, I cannot attempt the impossible? Isnt that the very nature of Existence, to strive for that which was deed impossible by others? Tala was doing her best to engage the woman, but the ti of verbal delays was clearly drawing to a close.

That is the flaw with anything beyond reality. It wastes resources, energy, and effort in the pursuit of that which can never be.

And yet the woman you once were never beca a Reality Mage. She is gone. That woman was dead, and Re-al was just sohow puppeting the corpse. That really doesnt feel in line with Reality.

Re-al huffed a laugh, pulling Talas attention back. Oh, I am still here. I simply gave up that identitythat long-erased nafor power. A human can age and die, but an ideaRealitycontinues, and I will continue even after everything is cold and dead and lifeless.

Well, thats implicative.

-So theoriesassuming she was still aliveinvolved her long life being tied to conceptual magics with her na.-

Yeah, but can we actually use that?

-I have not the faintest idea how-

Those tactics hadnt worked. Tala and Re-al werent fighting yetwhich was good from a delaying perspectiveso it hadnt been a complete failure. Regardless, Tala needed to try sothing else. What would your familiar think of what you have beco?

Hate

utterly, to the point of trying to kill

in my sleep, obviously. Re-al waved that off as well, this ti smiling with obvious malice. If I was going to mourn her, Id have done it centuries ago.

Well, that was useless.

-Still, we have the big one. Should we use it?-

No. Not yet We need her off balance, and we need to be closer to take advantage of any opening. That gave Tala a potentially ga-changing idea.

-We do yeah, but oh. Thats interesting. There is an opening for that now. Make use of it.-

And so Tala did.