I approached the forest, trying to keep the direction the woman fled in my mind. My thoughts wandered as I jogged towards the clearing. Demons were immune to the fla. Its only real practical use was to seal them after they were felled. The creatures of the sanctum lived in a mana-rich environnt and maintained so resistance to magic.
My ti in the enclave, and subsequently, the sanctum, had skewed my perspective on the demon fla. It was a harrowing weapon. Effective, but harrowing. Gaining a reputation as the prince who burned his enemies alive at the slightest provocation wouldnt win any allies.
When there was more ti, I needed to reconsider the best way to use my magic.
Sothing seized the strap that fastened my armor to my thigh, halting mid-stride. Kerai stared up at , his mouth full of leather.
Im coming back. I tried to reassure him.
Leather strap still clenched between his teeth, Kerai shook his head in a gesture that was almost human, urgency radiating through his golden eyes.
What I trailed off. Erebus clearly stated that abyssal panthers were intelligent. If Kerai was trying to stop , there was a reason. I scanned the treeline, wary.
Nothing was visibly out of place. No ambushers lying in wait, no fallen trees or stirring in the mana threads. Whichnow that I thought about itfelt entirely wrong. The Everwood paled compared to the sanctum, but it was still a hotbed of magical activity where monsters thrived. I should have felt sothing.
Further down, there was a corpse. Sothing had sheared him in halfexpensive looking shoes and pants, and the remains of a silk shirt that was sodden with blood and entrails. And a top half that was nowhere to be seen.
Likely a noble that had attempted to flee the battle. If Kerai hadnt warned , Id assu he had died in the chaos.
I drew closer and inspected the body. Whatever dealt the fatal blow was impossibly sharp. I imdiately discounted the possibility a person had dealt this wound. Even a monstrously strong swordsman couldnt make a cut so clean, so perfectly symtrical. My first thought was a monuntally powerful mage with an air affinitySaladius, for example, could use compressed, tightly focused arcs of air to slice through boulders and chunks of stone, though Id never co close to being able to recreate the feat myself.
Kerai was growling, hackles raised. I frowned. The forest was still clear, exterior trees not nearly thick enough to fully hide behind. But Kerai was acting as if the danger was imminent.
Unsure of what else to do, I picked up a small clump of earth and tossed it towards the tree line.
It disintegrated in mid-air with an audible sizzle.
Elphion.
That was why I wasnt feeling anything from the Everwood. There was a magical barrier. A nasty one. The maid noble had likely run headfirst into it, dead before he hit the ground. And if Kerai hadnt stopped , I would have followed in his footsteps and triggered another reset without the slightest clue of what finished .
I backed away slowly.
Another barrier? Maya asked. Shed apparently noticed the detour and caught up to , Eckor in tow.
Though he was obviously still shaken from the battle, Eckor moved forward, fear losing to fascination. Ive seen nothing like this, he mused.
Guessing I already know the answer, but any chance we can go around? I asked.
Eckor reached a hand towards the invisible barrier, his arm glowing violet. The barrier beca visible, its surface an angry, translucent red. Slowly, the red faded as Eckor dropped his arm to his side. Its not perfectly straight. Theres a slight curve. Im guessing it encompasses the clearing, no point otherwise. Still, the amount of mana required to do this
Mayas eyes widened in realization. Ill warn the others.
I nodded. Go.
Grass crunched as her footsteps grew further and further away.
Eckor probed the barrier again. Too big to void. Too much surface area. Maybe I can punch through it? The barrier grew visible again as he focused his magic on it. A small hole, no larger than a pinprick, grew wider until it was almost the size of a fist. The hole trembled, then imdiately refilled as the held back barrier rushed in to fill the gap. Eckor grimaced, then looked over at . Thats the best I can do. Its not anchored to anything, so the mage will run out of mana. When that happens, the barrier will drop. Eventually.
I clenched my fists in frustration. Every second we wasted made it harder to track my quarry.
Suddenly, the mory of attempting to resurrect the rabbit in the sanctum popped into the forefront of my mind. The experint had failed. I hadnt really expected it to work, considering how harsh Veldani had been on the subject. It wasnt possible to bring sothing dead back to life. With enough familiarity with the object I was disassembling, however, it was possible to recreate it.
How far could I take that concept?
If you keep the diater small, can you breach the barrier and hold it? I asked.
Probably. Im not sure what good that would do, unless you intend to get a spark through and set the Everwood on fire. Eckor laughed, then looked at in sudden stark concern. Are you going to set the Everwood on fire?
Wouldnt be the first ti, but no.
What Eckor sputtered.
I focused inwards. This situation was far from perfect. If the idea I was entertaining was even possible, it was high-risk enough that Id prefer weeks, maybe even months, to test it in a vacuum.
But if we gave the drephin a chance to rally, death would follow.
If this killed , Id find another way.
Eckor held both hands out, his face a mask of focus as he breached the barrier. The opening was small, barely large enough to look through if the surface had been solid. It was enough. It had to be.
I sat cross-legged. The spark of absolution blazed on my fingertip. I maneuvered it carefully, keeping the end result in mind. The pain started small. It was novel, in a way. This was the first ti the fire had hurt . Sensitive skin beneath my nail scread as the nail slowly turned black and vanished.
What are you doing? Eckor shouted, his face twisted in horror.
Stay focused on keeping the breach open, I said calmly, giving him a smile I didnt feel. The spark disassembled muscle, then bone. Motes of violet light, each carrying a tiny blueprint, floated through the breach in the barrier to the other side.
The pain was exquisite, all-encompassing, as my hand slowly disassembled. My right arm followed. Then my left leg.
How delightful. A feast.
It was the sa voice Id heard after Id taken Veldanis elixir, when I repaired the gate. I toppled over, no longer able to sit upright.
You bare your neck with hubris, kingspawn.
If it spoke, I could reason with it. I tried to talk evenly, but my voice warbled as the pain crescendoed. Surely you want sothing grander than a simple death.
I do not want. Nor do I intend anything more than the cessation of your damnable existence.
Do you know what I am?
I know all.
Then youre fully aware that my end ans nothing. I lowered my voice to a whisper, careful not to inflict Eckor with the miasma that encompassed anyone who heard speak of my previous lives or resurrections. If you want gone definitively, youll need to get creative. Wait for an ideal mont to strike.
Hubris.
The fire sped up as more and more pieces of myself fell away, carried through the hole by motes of fla.
Either way, youre stuck here. Sa as . So go ahead. Stonewall and accomplish nothing, or aid so we can both move forward to what we truly desire.
It was a gamble. The only card I had. And if my gut was wrong, and the presence could harm on a more permanent levelsuch as reopening the soul-wounds from beforeI was in a world of trouble. My vision blinked out, along with the pain. I brought to mind every ti Id been reborn, the strange undoing of death in the void, and commanded the fla I could no longer see or feel to follow that sa pattern.
The void called to . My grip of the fla felt loose, intangible, so weak I wondered whether it was actually there. Fingers of doubt wrapped around my heart and squeezed. An infinite distance away, in the darkness, the silhouette of the black beast lood over . He drew closer, his presence heavy, all-encompassing. I clung to the loose tether of magic tightly, praying to Infaris that it wasnt already too late.
The beast spoke, his rumbling voice uncharacteristically irritable.
And so, the corruption finds you, yet again.
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