Chương 140: I... guess you would know

As the punch closed in, fist glowing with transcendent light, Kite did not even try to dodge as that option had been taken from him the moment he failed to predict the attack of his much faster foe. Instead, he counterattacked. Not just once, though. No, the days of singular action were now behind Kite, eroded away during the time it took for metallic tattoos to spread throughout his body.

"Ward!" He struck out with a fist of his own as if to dispel it with a Pattern-shattering counter while two of his spectral arms angled their own attacks towards his opponent. That was all a ruse, however, as his main defense was the subtle, easily overlooked blade of the Veiled One's Decree. It flashed downward towards the knee which was also snapping towards him in an attack while a barrier appeared to intercept the fist instead of Kite's own hand. The last few days had been… intense.

Kite had thought his days spent training beneath mistress Dew had been strenuous, but the short time spent with Soul had managed to prove that even his silver-ranked body had clear limits. And while that strain felt like it would be with him for weeks to come, it had also given results. As Kite had predicted, the special attack charged into the fist vanished, transferring through Soul's body while gaining more power.

The spark of transcendent light had just begun to emanate from her incoming knee when the concealed blade struck it, Pattern-Shattering Counter sundering her special attack. Her relentless attack having failed, Soul retreated, turning into a flickering blur as she appeared a step back in a casual stance, making Kite stay his prepared follow-up attack. His mantle dimmed, the four arms fading and allowing his mana to start recovering properly.

"I should have figured that you'd go for mind games with my spirit suppressed. And you're getting better at using all those arms of yours too," the celestine woman said, and Kite couldn't help but feel satisfied at the praise. The staple of their practice together was Kite trying to suppress her different special abilities, forcing her to adapt without any knowledge beforehand.

He usually fared best when aiming for either her increased speed or the ability to shift her attacks around, but this time suppressing her increased reactions and perceptions had paid better dividends than expected.

"But I know you can do better, Pathbreaker," Soul continued.

"Show me an impenetrable wall, with no options. Force me to wade through cursed depths and back just to attempt to hit you. Push my path with all you have." One would think that Kite steadily getting better at pressuring the celestine would have disgruntled some foes, but not Soul. Quite the opposite, actually. The first of the, admittedly few, times where Kite had managed to outplay her in a few engagements in sequence, her expressions had been brighter than the sun.

And then she had proceeded to bring out even more of her path, as if slowly shedding weights which she had voluntarily donned so as to challenge herself.

"As I said before, I will do my utmost, senior sister. Forgive me for lacking your speed of comprehension. Not everyone can be…"

"A monster?" she filled in, eyes twinkling.

"I would have gone with supreme talent, but I will not dispute my senior sister's words."

"Again with the 'senior sister', Pathbreaker. Would it kill you to use my name more often?"

"While you handle your sect with a quite… direct… touch, as an outsider I thought it best to keep to the formalities a bit more. I do not relish the thought of leaving only to be cornered by disgruntled elders."

"Heavens, that was one time. Do I need to actually clash with someone for us to have some privacy so that I can temper my path properly and in peace?"

"Maybe some diplomacy would take senior sister further?"

"Bah, I will not waste words where my path can show that I am right. You know how they are."

"I do, and that's why I choose not to live among them. Even though I can see the benefits. Senior sister is most well funded," Kite said, eyeing the expensive training equipment.

"And literally having contracts delivered to your doorstep sure is convenient," he finished, eyeing the small pile of notes which had grown steadily throughout the five days he had spent with the sect.

"Eh, I can get to those later. Not every day I have you here to actually pressure me. Come on, it's time to get back to it." With those words, Soul attacked instantly. Having weathered such abrupt changes before, Kite at least managed to put up a proper defense this time, even though he wasn't finished with his line of thoughts yet.

"Why won't someone else do the contracts then, if you're busy?" he asked, sending three projected attacks in sequence towards Soul. In reality, it was four, one more subtle than the others when made with the concealed blade of the Veiled One's Decree.

"Because they thought I was the most fit to do them. Bring honor to the sect, and all that," Soul answered, while ducking through two attacks as she whirled, shattering one more against her palm.

"Also, I think they are adding extra in order to pressure me to abandon this week and go and do my 'duty' ".

"A duty which does involve protecting people from rampaging monsters."

"Oh, please. Not even the elders would leave a monster actually close to going berserk on my table to languish. Besides, silvers stay around for a long time. In the end, it's my path that is important." While speaking, Soul had sped up once more and was currently using her superior speed to dance around him, raining blows upon Kite from every angle. She was especially keen on breaking the manifested arms, so Kite had quickly been forced to learn not to overextend them.

He could replenish them, but landing a steady stream of hits upon Soul was not a likely prospect, meaning that he couldn't afford to repeat that drain too often.

"I'm once more struck that our lives and minds are quite different, senior sister," Kite remarked, sacrificing one of the conjured arms of his mantle to actually land a hit on the celestine. Disrupting Strike clamped down on Soul's power which passively increased her speed, making keeping up a much more likely prospect. Even though she instantly shifted stances, working through one of her many martial styles to compensate somewhat for the lessened raw speed, it still allowed him to try an offensive.

"That's true, Pathbreaker. Maybe you should lean a bit further into the 'breaker'-part of your name and learn a bit from me. You'll find that a bit more directly applied power will do wonders." They continued to push against one another, Kite using every trick in his gradually developing book to keep Soul's speed suppressed.

It allowed him to keep his grip on the conflict longer than ever before, but a slightly fumbled attempt at an attack from three angles at once left him with a shattered barrier and with his head ringing from the blow. Many more such abrupt losses followed, but also a lot more learned. Soul's almost frightening ease at which she took to mastering new ways of fighting or compensating for lost powers forced Kite to adapt as well.

He also got a good demonstration of how little silver-rankers needed to sleep, as Soul meant what she said that she would push him hard.

"Senior sister, in regards to your evolution that occurred when Warrior blessed you…" Kite ventured, seated next to the other silver-ranker at the edge of the terrace behind Soul's house as they ate dinner. It was usually a quick affair, so he had thought to make use of what little time he had.

"What about it? I told you what it did, no?"

"I just wanted to know a little more. You said that it meant that none of your powers could reach beyond your body?"

"That's right," the celestine said between wolfing down her food.

"One of my powers, you know the one which increases my resilience to damage for a while? For most, that power is a boon one grants to others. For me, it just helps me become more perfect."

"But isn't that inconvenient? Surely there are times when reach is paramount?"

"Not if you're fast enough. And you've seen how fast I can be." Kite nodded, acknowledging the point, and Soul continued.

"Besides, it rhymes well with my path," she said, looking at her hand where transcendent light flickered beneath the surface.

"I've always thought that flashy spells and emissions of energy just feels a bit like a waste of potential. As the magic leaves your body, it is already diminished, spending its potential for the mere concept of reach or flashy lights. Me? I keep it all inside. And by doing so, I will one day become perfect. Needing no weapons or armor. No allies or protectors. Nothing but me and my path. Then I might one day be able to face Warrior properly, and show that he did the right thing in blessing me."

Kite was about to ask more, but Soul's chopsticks landed in her empty bowl with a light clatter.

"Well, Pathbreaker, enough break. Try to push me a bit more reflex-wise now. I think there are some inefficiencies in my stance-changes that I need to work through." The final two days of sparring and practicing turned into a blur, and it was Kite who eventually stopped them after a particularly long bout, looking at the setting sun.

"Well, senior sister, while this has definitely been the clash I have been the most content with having lost, I do believe that our karma is now in balance. You asked for a week, and I believe I have provided."

"It seems that I should have asked for a month," Soul noted sourly, apparently still enjoying herself even though the week of constant sparring had started to wear down even Kite's patience.

"Say, you wouldn't want another clash? Me asking for the same price? You can even have something proper if you win. The sect has a lot of stuff lying around." Kite could almost imagine that somewhere, the sect elder in charge of their treasury had a sudden bout of inexplicable dread. He bowed to Soul, hands cupped.

"I am sorry, senior sister, but I need to return to my friends, and then we will return north once we have all advanced. I imagine that I will have a few busy months ahead of me, too, as I'm looking to build a proper compound for my family."

"You're not slowing down, are you?" Soul asked, concern clear.

"Your path is way too useful for you to languish at silver rank the rest of your existence. I didn't picture you as the complacent sort, Pathbreaker. Someone like that wouldn't earn that name."

"I believe that our paces towards the heavens are already quite a bit different," Kite said with a helpless smile.

"And ones of differing means. I have some ambitions too, and each moment spent working towards them rather than on my path will be just that; time spent on something else."

"Sound like you lack focus then," Soul noted, blunt as usual. From their days spent together, Kite had gotten his guess confirmed in that Soul rarely bothered to dig too deeply into the perspectives of others. She continued; "Well, you know where to find me if you come to your senses and want to give some proper focus to being a warrior." As she finished she waved towards the north.

"Your debts are indeed paid, Pathbreaker. Our karma is balanced." For a moment, Kite was a bit taken aback by Soul's sudden terseness, before his mind managed to come to a conclusion. And one that he at least hoped to alleviate somewhat.

"Then I will take my leave," he agreed, half-turning towards the door to her house before he stopped.

"Would the mighty Soul, blessed by Warrior, be offended if this junior brother came by from time to time, begging for her pointers? Even if he lacks the focus of a proper warrior?"

"Why? Our debt is cleared, and you said you didn't have time for another challenge. Or have you changed your mind?" Soul looked almost a bit hopeful at the last part.

"No, but I make the request nonetheless. You are truly impressive, Soul, and while we are very different as people, I believe that I can learn a lot from you. Would a warrior, even one lacking focus, need more reason than that?"

"Well, then I suppose that should be no problem. I'll make sure to inform the sect elders properly this time. They better treat you as an honored guest the next time. Farewell, Pathbreaker." As Kite turned his back to her and left, he couldn't help but smile slightly. While her words at the end had carried their usual bluntness, some of the terseness had definitely left, the hint of a glimmer even returning to Soul's eyes.

"I suppose that one of Auntie Crow's sayings was proven right again," he thought as he left her house and the compound of the Perfected Step sect.

"Sadness wears many, many masks. One for each person." This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Marten was just about to engage the magical locks of the contracts hall when a voice from outside interrupted him.

"My apologies, functionary… Marten, was it?" Marten squinted outside, the gloom of dusk and the light from within making it hard to make out much of the plaza except for the glow stones at their posts and the lanterns of the city. Then, a pink, glimmering carp swam into view, her amber eyes scrutinizing him from just a few centimeters away.

"Uuuuhhh…" was all that left Marten's mouth as he stared at the downright disgustingly pretty fish in slack-jawed incomprehension. It took a few seconds for his brain to connect the dots and realized that he recognized the fish in question, and that the voice had to come from its bonded companion.

"Oh, um… Pathbreaker. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It is quite alright. Glint here tends to catch the attention of anyone with eyes," the armored man consoled with a chuckle.

"Then… Can I help you? As you see, we are closing for the evening."

"Ah, yes. I don't want to inconvenience you too much, and as you are closing you might not be able to check but… do you know if my teammates are out on contract? I just returned to the city, you see, and this was the closest stop. They're a blond elf, a jade-haired celestine who is a priestess of-""Song, a huge bald man and a perky one with the pink, curly hair," Marten finished.

"Trust me, they're hard to miss when you keep the company I do."

"Oh, so you know about them? Then would I be so fortunate that you also know of their whereabouts?" Either the Pathbreaker hadn't noticed Marten's dry tone or simply did not care.

"They left on a contract to hunt down some ridge crawlers and one of their brood mothers. It was two days ago, so unless something has gone wrong, they should be back relatively soon." Marten knew this quite well after listening to Desdemona's constant updates. And he had to admit that he didn't find them as annoying as he used to.

"Fortune has blessed me then in that it was you who was closing up today. Thank you, Marten. I wish for you a pleasant evening. Come on, Glint. Let us go back to our lodgings. We did find a scale for you on the way back, after all, so it's time for you to enjoy it." And with that, the man and his fish turned and departed, a spectral arm appearing to wave over his shoulder to Marten who simply stood and looked after them.

"Well, can't fault him for not being polite at least," he eventually muttered, and closed the door.

"Aaand there. What do you say, Glint? Do you think that they will approve?" Kite asked the carp who hovered at his side as he made the finishing touches to a preservation formation lining the biggest table of the suite of rooms the group shared. The table in question had a veritable buffet lined up, with food from every nearby restaurant and street vendor just waiting to be devoured.

The simple formation made sure to keep the food fresh and hot as long as Kite kept feeding it the necessary spirit coins, which made the rather simple magic a bit too expensive for most ordinary households.

"Celebrating with one's friends should allow some excesses, no? Wouldn't you agree, Sage?" Glint bobbed happily in the air beside him while the astral gatherer floated nearby, engrossed in a brand new collection of calligraphy. Kite could feel the flicker of its attention, but apparently the food failed to catch its interest as the familiar didn't emote anything in response. It did turn out that the preservation formations were necessary.

As he didn't want to miss his friends' return by going out, Kite spent the night in meditation, a bit of sleep, some weapons training in the yard outside, sorting through his dimensional bags and void sheath as well as practicing more with the arms of his mantle.

It was maybe an hour after noon the following day when his group entered their communal living space to find Kite in a bout of intense concentration as he kept three different kinds of quintessence in as many whirling loops as all of his arms, conjured or not, were juggling them with gradually increasing speed. Dragonfly was first in through the door after veritably slamming it open, having sensed Kite's aura inside.

As Kite had been too absorbed in the threefold act of juggling pieces of manifested magic, he didn't notice until it was too late as the manyfold actions were pushing even his enhanced silver-ranked cognition to its current limits. This meant that the new arrivals were showered in quintessence, like a colorful rain of treasure from the heavens, as the surprised Kite lost control of the constant motion.

"W-welcome back," he managed to sheepishly stammer as everyone stood frozen in stunned silence. Will was the first to break said silence, stepping and looking approvingly on the glittering crystals spread all over their common room.

"Well, my friend, I know you are ecstatic over my rise to silver, but even I am humbled by this excess. It's not every day even a city lord's son can walk into a room covered in jewels." As if to prove his point, he reached out and plucked a piece of light quintessence from a nearby potted plant.

"Well, I think that it is the least he can do as he missed the occasion," Dragonfly said jokingly as she went over and gave Kite a hug.

"Indeed. I am sorry for missing it, Will. It is not unexpected, however, that the look suits you." The lean, handsome blonde elf bore the beautifying effects very well, but like many of those already considered attractive before the changes, they were more subtle as they brought the symmetry of Will's features and the luster of his golden hair to new heights.

The group chatted amicably as Serene and Gold joined the conversation, albeit that the latter stayed true to himself that he mostly nodded along here and there. Dragonfly dug into the prepared food with gusto as Kite got to tell them of his week spent at the Perfected Step sect. However, there was something Kite noticed not long after the merriment began; something unspoken which lent the interactions a little bit of tension that wasn't there before.

A glance here and a slightly strained smile there was enough for Kite to start worrying.

"My friends, is… is there something wrong?" he eventually asked after his own story was finished. The silence which followed confirmed his suspicions, and Kite did his best to let patience be his guide as he waited for one of his friends to answer. Dragonfly was giving pointed looks to Will and Serene, who were both giving off the looks of people bracing themselves for something uncomfortable.

"Kite, me and Gold are going away for a time," Serene eventually said, her wispy voice sounding torn.

"I have been offered the mantle of high priestess, and the opportunity to tour the world in my goddess' service. It won't be forever, and I will visit… But…"

"But it won't be the same," Kite filled in.

"You'll have responsibilities here too, I gather?"

"In all probability, yes. I have come so far now… Further than I ever imagined that I would, back when I was an iron-ranker without a voice on a supportive path shunned by most. Things would have been very different if a certain outcast hadn't come knocking at my door those years ago, and I hope you do not think me ungrateful to either of you. Time with you has let me gather strength and purpose that I would not have found had I stayed within the bounds of the temple, singing my days away.

But now, my goddess is calling. And it is a call that I want to answer. Need to answer." As the priestess spoke, Kite stayed silent, only nodding occasionally. When the words stopped coming he gave her a reassuring nod, before he turned to Will.

"And I will hazard a guess that it is the same for you?"

"You heard my father at the meeting within Knowledge's sanctum," Will said awkwardly.

"I am free to choose, but if I am to go out into the world with the family's blessing, I must do it properly. Truly find my path and test it. So my father has arranged for me to go abroad for a time, far from the family's resources. To try myself as an adventurer all around the world, stepping out from the zone of comfort that is my culture and home. While they can't force me to, I trust my father, Kite.

He is a patient man, and while we have had our disagreements, I know that he will act in ways which will help me succeed, lopsided path or not. His words, not mine. I think I have to trust him in this."

"Do you know how long you will be gone?" Kite asked, keeping his voice stable as he looked at the elven scion.

"Honestly, I do not know. One year? More? I suppose that will depend on when I feel that I have learned enough." Kite nodded at Will's words, looking between two of his oldest friends who were now about to leave. Even if only for a time, it was still a time that would no doubt be measured in years. Then he rose and crossed the room, wrapping one arm around each of them into a fierce hug which lingered for a while.

"It's good that Will has had plenty of practice with hugging by this point," part of his mind idly noted even as Kite's eyes were turning a bit misty. Eventually he eased up somewhat, leaning back enough to look at the two of them. Will's eyes were brimming with tears as well, while Serene kept her expression in check with a sad smile.

"Oh you can't expect me to stay out of a hug this long," Dragonfly eventually said, crashing into the trio while Gold and Glint looked on in stoic silence, leaving the friends some space to grieve the upcoming separation which suddenly loomed on the horizon. When they eventually broke apart and returned to their seats, Kite spoke again.

"Then what about the upcoming… event? The one of which we spoke in the temple of Knowledge?"

"I will still contribute what I can, even if that is to act with the purpose of Unity and Harmony," Serene said, the first to answer.

"And when I said that I will return from time to time, I meant it. The goddess knows of and agrees with our plans, and I have her blessing to take part when the time is right."

"Besides, from what I gathered from director Jarvan, this will be an undertaking beyond the scope of weeks and months. Who knows, maybe we'll all be gold rank before I can drive my spear through the last of our enemies," Will mused.

"And besides, would it not be fitting for me to leave the groundwork to the commoners, allowing the Saint of Spears to come charging in when there is a charge to lead and evil to dispatch?"

"Or penetrate?" Dragonfly added innocently, earning herself a withering look.

"What? If you're going out into the world, you're going to hear plenty of that. I'm just helping you acclimatize."

"I suppose that this just stands to prove that with increasing power, life becomes more complex," Kite mused aloud, looking to his gathered friends.

"Now we have the power to actually affect the wider world around us to some extent, and the lifespan to see it done even if it takes decades. We will have to trust in the words of our elders and in the bonds we have forged, so that our friendship will stay strong in the decades to come. Whether there is a world between us, or nothing at all." He then turned his gaze to Gold, who had remained silent as he sat next to Serene.

"Then I suppose that all we have left is for our final member to join us at the lofty heights of silver rank, no?" Gold's brow creased at his words.

"Still a while left. No need to-""Dear Gold, please let Kite finish," Serene gently admonished, and the huge man fell silent, looking to Kite.

"As I said, we still have one left. I can imagine that it would be easy to feel left on the outside, Gold. You haven't been with us as long, and haven't yet had the time to make as many memories together. But you have clearly shown all of us, and Serene in particular, that you are a man to be trusted and that your path is strong. I said before that we have decades ahead of us now, be it together or apart. So there is plenty of time left to make more memories, wouldn't you agree?"

The question hung in the air between them for a while, and eventually Gold nodded.

"I do."

"Excellent! Then it is settled!" Will exclaimed.

"Let us rest and talk, finishing up this finely decorated feast which Kite has so graciously provided for us. And then, we will make sure our dear friend Gold here experiences the progress he deserves. As one of us, together or apart." Marten looked up at the huge man in front of him, his wide frame further accentuated by the heavy suit of armor with bone seemingly grown over and fused into the metal. The looming man didn't say anything, so Marten swallowed once before looking down at the papers in front of him.

"So… eh… Four silver-ranked contracts, huh?" The man nodded.

"You sure are working hard," Marten continued, his hands moving of their own accord to give the contracts the proper stamps and seals to mark them as taken. The man nodded again.

"A-arent you the one on the same team as the Pathbreaker?" A slight pause. Then the man nodded once more.

"I… see… So, is he always that polite?" A nod yet again. Marten guessed he should have expected that by now.

"Then he is an odd one. Not too many of the locals keep being so polite even at silver." Marten, expecting yet another stoic nod, was surprised as the man actually spoke, and equally surprised at the rich, smooth basso of his voice.

"Kite stays true to Kite. Forges bonds." Even though he had no idea what the taciturn man meant by that, Marten still nodded.

"I... guess you would know. Well, these are all done and accounted for. Good luck, and thank you for your hard work." A final nod was given in way of farewell, and then the armored man turned and left. Gold came marching back towards where the rest of the group had gathered to watch his battle with the mudlord river drake; close enough to intervene if necessary yet far enough so as to keep the drake's attention on the huge bronze-ranker.

The river bank behind Gold was in ruins, deep furrows left in the soil and mud by the recent conflict, but he marched back towards them uncaring of the dirt and grime which stuck to every inch of him and his armor. While Serene quickly went to work, her song carrying spells of healing and renewal, Gold continued to march up to Kite. Or rather, to Glint.

Wordlessly, the armored bronze-ranker held up a gauntleted fist to the little carp, where he held a pair of shimmering, pearlescent scales with surprising gentleness. The little carp was, understandably, ecstatic, turning into a small glittering streak around Gold as she made merry loops and twirls. Then, Glint unceremoniously gobbled up both scales, her own becoming more lustrous with ease.

"Glint does convey her deepest gratitude," Kite said, looking at the satisfied fish.

"Although I think that was obvious from context. Would you like for her to wash your armor? That fight sure was… messy. In the most literal sense of the word." Gold looked to himself and then to the frolicking little carp who seemed to be in her own little world as she digested the scales. Then, he turned to gaze at the river next to which he had fought. Finally, he nodded to himself and turned back to the group.

"No need. Plenty of water nearby." Looking to Serene, he continued.

"Help me soar?" Kite was as lost as Dragonfly and Will seemed to be at the request, but Serene quirked a smile." Carried by the heavenly wind." As the chant completed, Gold stretched out his arms as if accepting what was to befall him. Then, with a rush, Serene's wind spell launched him towards the river like a mud-trailed comet.

"I have seen it many times, but the range of your spells has become quite impressive, Serene," Kite noted.

"Is it just me, or does Gold seem to like it?" Dragonfly asked. Just shy of a hundred meters away, an armored man landed in the river with a mighty splash, a burst of joy rippling through his aura as the spray of water glittered in the summer afternoon sun.