Chương 270: A veritable paradise

Steps Marked in Fallen Fate had to give it to these adventurers; they were tenacious, but also adaptive. Not only had they managed to sniff out the repeat ambush after seemingly having initially fallen into the trap of him and his subordinates as they had indeed split up to chase after their agents whose activities had been purposefully but subtly leaked.

Fallen himself had even felt more than a little thrill to find the Pathbreaker himself come charging into the ambush, their clashing the previous day still fresh in his memories. The thrill, the mounting pressure, the urge to kill; to use the gift of Discord to scatter this little obstacle to become one with the ambient mana.

This time though, Fallen would not merely trust a lone sniper to act as support but brought one of his own hand-picked operatives whose path lent itself supremely well to a rushing onslaught in close quarters. Combined with their ally from the church of deceit - who had set up the concealing illusions - acting as spellcasting support, Fallen would shatter the Pathbreaker's frustratingly powerful defenses and claim his life. At least that had been the intent.

Instead, Fallen and his two companions now found themselves having placed themselves in a cage with not only the Pathbreaker but also the celestine from the Tengu's brood and another chain-wielding companion of the Pathbreaker of whom Fallen had only heard concerning reports from his operatives. This currently meant that Fallen found himself on the back foot, weaving out of the way from a mass of pursuing chains rather than bearing down on his enemy as had been his intent.

His domain of tranquility did force the conjured bindings to slow down somewhat, letting Fallen step with at least some care and precision. The problem at the moment was more their controller.

"I will shatter your lies, schemer," a flat voice stated from behind a mask of smoky glass as the woman with the chains appeared next to Fallen, a lot less hampered by his domain as she seemed to have speed-enhancing powers of her own. He managed to deflect the first precise strike of gauntleted fingers and dodge the second, but the third managed a hit that sent lancing pain blossoming throughout Fallen's body in a way that he had not felt for very long now, since well before reaching silver rank.

That brief moment of agony almost cost him dearly too, as a few of the winding chains around them suddenly turned and darted in towards him to hunt more directly. Only Distorted World let him escape in time, corrupting the influence of his own domain to speed himself up while his hooked blade severed a few of the conjurations. The powers of Discord had always proven very good at separating what was unified and whole, after all.

At the same time, Fallen's fellow operative - he did not know the man's name, only his skill - did his best to put pressure on the Pathbreaker through a series of brutal punches delivered via his glowing gauntlets, but alone he seemed even less able to wear down the many-armed defense supplemented by moving barriers.

Worse, his gauntlets kept being shattered over and over by his foe's frustrating powers, the brief stunning effect earning the Pathbreaker a solid hit with that chiming staff that sent the operative staggering away briefly before rocketing back in through some assault power. Off in the distance, the onyx-haired celestine was playing chase through illusory landscapes that he merrily tore asunder with those glowing, exploding needles.

A few were even sent Fallen's way every now and then, subtle dull ones mixed in among the brightness for sneak attacks that still detonated as well as their siblings. Only Fallen's domain kept him out of harm's way from those as well, and Fallen found that he could keep his ground against the woman with the chains as the cleansing powers of his serene essence once more proved invaluable against the stamina draining strikes and crippling afflictions.

Had it only been a duel between the two, he would have given in to the instinct to throw himself further into the thrill of the potential kill, finding tempering in sundering this foe. But this wasn't just between them, and Fallen's companions were both struggling.

While he shared no personal sense of kinship with either of them, the guild and the other efforts of the Adventure Society had carved away enough of their agents and assets for it not to be reasonable to sacrifice any more just for a skirmish such as this. So when the Pathbreaker once again broke the guard of Fallen's operative in a burst of glowing shards as his dispelling magic sundered the glowing gauntlets, Fallen himself decided to step in.

Using one of his most potent means from his death essence, he moved between moments of absolute stillness to appear and divert the follow-up blow against Fallen's fellow operative. A failed strike with Pallid Touch sent the Pathbreaker on the defensive, having tasted that particular attack yesterday and therefore being wise to the danger it posed, and Fallen took the opportunity to activate the array stone in his possession.

The change in the surrounding series of formation was instant, as the fields that had previously been used to contain started disintegrating violently, sending crackling arcs and glowing mana-shrapnel everywhere in what was one of Discord's specialties set up by most of the god's agents at one time or another during their career.

While Fallen and his companions weren't completely safe from the sudden burst of ravaging energies, the array stones they carried would at least divert the worse from them while leaving their foes on the defensive. It would be the perfect time to disengage, which his two companions gratefully did as soon as they felt the familiar pull of distorted mana.

"We shall adapt. The plans will need to be adjusted. I shall-" Fallen thought to himself as he too started creating some distance from the three adventurers that found themselves assaulted from all sides by the crumbling array. Or at least he thought so." Wall!"

A series of barriers suddenly appeared to block Fallen's path, and even though they immediately started crumbling beneath the chaotic discharges of energy around them they also forced Fallen to weave around a pair and leap above another that came schything in towards his legs. Which in turn led to the chained woman suddenly appearing before him, ignoring blistering arcs of magic that tore into her body to force herself to catch up.

Fallen had felt her powerful aura before, its potency dwarfing that of every other silver-ranker present, but as that immense force suddenly focused to a razor's edge and tore into him, he suddenly got to be forcefully acquainted with an entirely new kind of pain.

The agony searing through his Soul had Fallen's field of view completely white out for a moment, only a fragment of his mind remaining to note how the directed spiritual attack tore through the aura mask that had been carefully and elaborately crafted around his spirit while a gauntleted hand reached out and ripped the grinning, actual mask from Fallen's face, revealing his features to everyone present.

"No!" Panic and fury in equal measure jolted Fallen's systems awake, bringing the situation back to clarity. He was unmasked, in both spirit and body, unacceptable. It was not yet time. It was too early. If they could do this so easily, then everything was at risk. The Mistress must be informed. They could no longer wait, or they would truly risk everything. Fallen let his mana surge in an unprecedented way, activating every power at his disposal that could secure his escape.

A burst of deathly echoes surged from his body, while Distorted Word collapsed his Domain of Tranquility. Normally, the power from Fallen's corrupt essence could let him warp just one concept at a time while still keeping the power active, but with the complete collapse he ripped multiple concepts from the power. The corruption of the stillness gave him speed to escape while the subversion of calm turned to shrieking destruction that pushed back the chain wielder.

Forced to accept the ravages of the collapsing array himself, Fallen just ignored the damage as he shot off like swiftness itself, overtaking his two companions as he left the adventurers behind. The last thing he saw before turning a corner was the Pathbreaker's eyes meeting his as he brought up his shields to protect his allies while that dispelling burst gave the trio a moment to breathe. And rats. Hundreds of them lining the nearby rooftops and peeking at him from the mouth of alleyways.

Silvers all, they now knew his face and would not forget.

"We will have to move our timeline, or risk them actually getting their hands on or unmasking our truly important assets. By Discord's garden, may the Mistress agree with me." Kite watched the would-be ambushers disappear while directing a rotating set of barriers which he continuously channeled mana into to absorb the worst of the violently collapsing array, although not with the same intensity as River.

The scarred woman had retreated to the very edge of his protective bulwark, seeming heedless of the smaller arcs of flickering destruction that seared her. River's urge to throw herself in pursuit of the agents was like a physical force as it leaked from her aura, and Kite did share it to some extent too even though he had an easier time finding the patience needed.

And River surprised him as she, with a shudder of frustrated agony, retreated to join Kite and Little Crow at the center of the protective barriers while the final throes of the arrays died down around them.

"Don't act so surprised. There might just be more ambushers waiting ahead, and charging in would only risk overextension," she stated, a slight hint of annoyance in her usually so flat voice as she apparently sensed the question in Kite's look.

"I… agree," Kite replied tentatively.

"It just seemed to cost you, holding back like that." His comment had River stop, seeming to consider something before she eventually answered.

"It did. It hurt. But I've found that to be another way of serving my God. There are nuances to pain that my father never spoke of. Perhaps I had not yet become worthy of learning them, or…" she trailed off.

"It is… unsettling. I just realized that I have probably surpassed my father by now in terms of power. Perhaps it is possible to do so in perspective as well?" While River was clearly uncomfortable with admitting these insights out loud, Kite was more stunned. Dancer on the Broken River? Sharing something? Showing some kind of vulnerability?

"I… believe that you are onto something there," he eventually said as words returned to him.

"Perhaps something which we all need to reflect on more. Thank you, River. For sharing." There must have been something in his smile or look, because River stiffened ever so slightly before her voice regained its usual flat and carefully controlled tone.

"Do with it what you wish, because we should get moving. Odd one, did you manage to track them?"

"For a while, sure, but they were too quick. These legs of mine might be manifold, but they sure aren't long. But I got a goooood look at that guy's face and actual aura, so if he shows up without a new, fancy mask of some kind, he'll be sorry~!"

"And it's not like we don't have more plans. As I assume that they'll have for us. Come, let's regroup with the others and get a sketch of that agent to Director Temren. We need to keep up this pressure in the long run too, so I expect things will only keep getting more intense from here on out."

Vista's twin swords became glowing lines of elemental fury as he deflected and cut into the writhing mass of vines that kept up their toxic onslaught from the massive plant creature which he had spent the last five minutes trying to reach through its frankly ridiculous number of plant minions and other monsters lured in by its mana-charged fluids that doubled as corrosive attacks.

Ever dutiful, Wimmy used their hulking form to guard Vista's back while the fiery breath of the cerberus' three heads kept the plants from regrowing in the greater monster's presence, fires licking at the very edges of the crevasse inside the great forest that had been projected as the environment for this round.

While the forest's more scattered groups of monsters were less ideal for Vista's path of continuous battle, of the three participants in this round of the Proving he had managed to pull ahead through some more risky encounters that Vista had to admit would not be something he would attempt outside the safety of the mirage chamber. Now, if he could only- This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Vista's thoughts were suddenly drawn to Wimmy as a surge of wariness was projected through their familiar bond along with a few other sensations mostly centered around the cerberus' keen senses of smell from its trio of noses. One of the heads - named Ian, after a storybook from some faraway land that Vista had enjoyed greatly - had even paused its flame breathing to sniff the air more thoroughly.

Learning to make some kind of sense of his familiar's sense of smell had been quite the challenge, and while Vista was still learning even years later he had become proficient enough to pick up on what Wimmy was sensing. Something was approaching. And it wasn't a monster.

But unfortunately, even forewarned as he was, Vista could do little to stop what happened next as a golden streak of forceful energies suddenly crashed through a few nearby trees, scattering their mighty trunks like they were nothing before impacting the side of the plant monster with a ferocious detonation that tore the already weakened main body of the monster to sticky shreds that exploded outwards to cover the whole crevasse.

"Thanks, outcast. That was just what I needed. You're pretty good at this!" Victory Carved in Storm and Stone called with a grin as she pulled her massive tetsubo free from the remains of the monster-turned-crater while a small surge of force from within sent the sticky remains sloughing off of her form.

"Do consider the elder's kind offer to join us, too! The Iron Howl Sect could use someone like you! You can even be my favored junior. I'll make sure to treat you well!"

"And this is what your sect teaches you? It leaves me questioning their honor more than anything," Vista retorted, managing to keep his voice cool even through the frustrated anger growing inside. Wimmy had no such compunctions though, a trio of dangerous growls rumbling from deep within as the cerberus stepped up protectively at Vista's side.

"The sect teaches us strength, outcast, the Iron Howl most of all. Victory goes to the strong, and as such we help the strong prevail while the struggles of the lesser gives them the tempering they need to one day attempt to seize the top positions among us as well as the heavens themselves," the inner disciple replied, seeming unfazed by the accusation. Proud even, as she simply ran alongside Vista as he tried ignoring her and moving on with the challenge.

In stealing that monster kill from him, she had taken a decent lead, and the pair of them were already well ahead of the final member in a round where the top two would be advancing to the next.

"That's a lot more than that guild you seem to be associating with," the woman continued, ignoring Vista's attempt at ignoring her in turn while easily keeping pace with Wimmy, her glowing horns seeming to give her some kind of long-distance charging power.

"Honestly, what's up with that? Our sect is so far removed from them, so I had only heard rumors."

"I would pose the same question to you," Vista eventually replied as it seems that the inner disciple would not just leave him be.

"I may not be part of it, but from my point of view the guild does not seem that far removed from the sects. On the contrary, it is a well-established way of cooperating in the wider adventurer world. They just go about it with a lot less of the strict sect hierarchy as well as being more spread out rather than controlling and keeping territory."

"I'm not so ignorant as to not know what a guild is, outcast. I just can't figure out why they didn't just make a sect of their own instead of dragging foreigner business into the kingdom. We of the sect look out for one another while using each other to temper ourselves and teaching the next generation to pass on our martial heritages. These guilds just seem so… vague. Not how things should be done."

"I wonder if your lowest initiates feel the same. I for one do not relish the thought of being lorded over by my fellow students, saying that I'll be provided for yet mostly doing work and sharing my spoils."

"Bah, that's only how it is in the worse sects out in the rural parts," Victory Carved in Storm and Stone scoffed, waving the matter aside.

"The sects with actual quality aren't anything like that. Trust me, who's worked my way up from initiate myself. I would never have gotten my essences or training otherwise."

"And if you keep bothering me, neither of us will get any more tempering or points out his trial," Vista noted, having long since tired of the woman.

"Will you keep following me around to further steal my hard work or actually do something worthwhile to prove yourself?"

"Ouch. Such a beautiful man hiding such barbs. I'm wounded," the inner disciple laughed, to Vista's growing frustration as the rules forbade actually attacking other contestants.

"I'll leave you be. Good luck, and thanks for setting that one up so nicely. And think on our offer! You'd like it back with us!" Then she veered off, crashing onward through the trees while leaving a trail of broken trunks and other parts of the terrain behind her. It was only once the inner disciple was out of sight that Vista sighed, patting Wimmy's back to stop the familiar's growling.

"Put her out of your mind, my friend," he murmured, too softly for any observers outside to hear.

"They've noticed us and what we can do. Now let's show them that the north can not only impress, but eclipse."

"- and as such, Mistress, I would suggest that we enter the final stages. Activate all assets and let the ensuing chaos run its course, nurturing Discord's garden.

Unless you or one of the others of the council can manage to personally step in and take care of some key members from the guild like that woman with the chains or the swarm-user, I worry that them managing to capture and unmask some of our most important assets poses too great a risk to our plans," Fallen finished where he knelt in Black Wood Mask's secluded garden. He had just finished his report of their encounter, leaving nothing out.

While his two failures in regards to the guild had deeply hurt his personal pride, he trusted his Mistress to see that those shortcomings were all the more reason for them to act. Because repeated failure wasn't usually in his repertoire, and he had been her chosen instrument for too long now to fear that she would simply discard him out of hand.

"A most unexpected variable," Black Wood Mask replied, her mind seeming only partially in the conversation as she no doubt kept fighting her war of influence against the shadows of the Tengu clan gold-ranker.

"While your failure is regrettable, your assessment is correct. While someone from the council eliminating the obstacles would be expedient, I do not believe it wise. We already know from experience that the servants of Justice are watching over the region, and a gold acting so decisively against a silver might just lead to us losing more than we can afford, at least if we do it before we light the spark. Perhaps even during, although the strife we hope to spread might mask it enough…

But you are right, my disciple. We need to act more decisively, however much it might gall me to let that bastard Gold Mask gain on me in the council. With only one week remaining of the Proving, it should be within acceptable limits. You may initiate the final escalation to light the spark. May it become the sun which nurtures Discord's garden into full bloom in the years to come."

"Yes, Mistress," Fallen replied, his smile for once reaching his eyes as plans were set in motion before his inner eye. He then turned and swiftly left. It was time to send a few missives and truly set in motion what they had been gradually working towards for so long. First Morning Rose tried to keep her composure as she sat in the stands of one of the stone-shaped temporary arenas outside of the capital.

As iron-rankers, she and her fellow initiates and disciples of the Pinnacle Zenith Sect were far removed from the actual competition of the Proving, yet to them it felt like they were the true beneficiaries of the events as scores of duels had been fought every day during the Proving. This meant that even more essences and awakening stones changed hands every day, power to further nurture both current and future students of the sects.

And if Rose's friend down in the arena could only win this bout, things might take a turn for her as well. She knew in her heart that calling Golden Reverie a mere friend might not be appropriate and had an inkling that he might even be intending to ask for Rose's hand in marriage if he could secure but one more awakening stone.

And what better way to do so than by seizing a rare awakening stone of vastness from one of the disciples of the Thunderous Soul Sect who had so brazenly offered it as a prize for any challengers who dared come at her.

"Come on, Reverie. Keep up that offensive," Rose prayed silently as she watched the two iron-rankers circle each other in the arena below.

"And watch out for that gauntlet. It feels like she's hiding something." Reverie's opponent, named Moonlight Poured from Hidden Skies, was a contrast in that she possessed a frail beauty and fine features that well belied the brutality of her path. The force behind the strikes of that sword and gauntlet hinted at at least a might essence, but Reverie's more slippery path of flowing water had so far been able to goad the woman into a few exchanges where Rose's companion had come out on top.

This was surely quite galling to their rivals in the Thunderous Soul sect too, heightening the satisfaction. The young man who was the object of Rose's affections even had the audacity to look dashing as he once more repositioned with a jet of water to again strike at the flanks of his foe with his twin blades.

Her heart already hammered at the thought of him looking at her after his triumph, asking- Crunch Rose's thoughts stopped as the dash that had looked like such a good maneuver was suddenly met by a burst of brutal force from the disciple. Her lone blade swung and impacted Reverie's two with enough momentum to send both weapons wide, but it was the beautiful woman's metal gauntlet striking Reverie's temple with a worrisome crunch that had Rose's blood run cold.

She could already see him falling limp as the officiator - another iron-ranker - started calling the end of the bout. There were healers nearby, and the formations of the arena should- A follow-up burst of force surged from the gauntlet a mere moment after the initial impact, a directed shockwave that hit Reverie's head point blank, causing it to burst like an overripe pumpkin.

The formations surged, but it was either too little or too late, and absolute silence fell over the arena as the headless body of Golden Reverie was sent tumbling over the arena floor.

"Huh. Whoops." Rose was surprised that she even heard Moonlight Poured from Hidden Skies' words over the rushing sound of blood and her beating heart that suddenly roared like thunder. To the snickers and amused murmurs of her fellow sect students in another part of the stands, the woman then turned towards the students of the Pinnacle Zenith Sect in attendance and bowed with obvious sarcasm.

"My apologies. It seems like the formations failed," she said, shrugging as if the death of Rose's intended was no more than a broken pot one had accidentally nudged too hard.

"At least that is one less piece of trash in your sect. I trust that someone will send me my winnings." Rose didn't join in the roar of fury and outrage that followed as her fellow students leapt to their feet around her, unable to look away from Reverie's corpse. Inside, any heat had been washed away by a chill so deep it had her fingers tingling. And in that icy domain, a sliver of something else was born. Vengeance.

Silken Smile lay under the bed where she had thrown herself in the commotion, trying not to breathe, not to move, not to do much of anything. It was supposed to be so simple. Seduce a few initiates or disciples and latch onto them for long enough to fuel Silken's rise to finish out her own set of awakening stones and become a proper iron-ranker. When Disciple Hawk had taken a fancy to her, she had thought she'd been blessed by Fortune herself.

The elven man was a talent to be nurtured by their sect, and both wealthy and handsome to boot. Staying at his side - and in his bed - Silken had learned a lot as well as receiving plenty of awakening stones over the year that had gone by.

It had just been the day before that she had received one that had awakened an aura power of her own, and Silken was currently trying to stretch her all too brief training to the fullest to not let her trembling spirit out even in the slightest as she met the dead, unseeing eyes of Disciple Hawk that stared blankly into the beyond. The other two were still in the room, rifling through his belongings. Silken could see their feet, knowing the faces of the people above.

The visit was surprising, sure, but Disciple Hawk had assured her that their rivalry was a friendly one; one that would carry them all closer to the heavens. Now he was dead, and Silken would be too. She wasn't powerful enough to defend herself and they were bound to feel her aura if not outright remembering her crawling under the bed when the talks had suddenly turned violent out of nowhere. One pair of feet drew closer, stopping just before the bed.

"They must surely hear my heart. It is like thunder," Silken managed to think as she started pondering every single regret of her too short life. The feet started moving again. This was it. This- The foot gave Disciple Hawk another derisive kick before it turned to leave, joining its companions. Silken didn't even dare to shift and look at them departing before sliding the door shut behind them, so afraid that the rustling of her motion would cause them to turn and come back.

She lay frozen like that for well over half an hour, but as nobody came back for her, she eventually found her shaking hands dragging herself out from beneath the bed and stumbling out from the ruined room. The elders. She needed to tell the elders at once! Sleeper Beneath Sight delighted in his own subtlety as he gestured with one hand to distract the group of initiates and disciples who he was currently regailing with the latest gossip while the other dosed one particular cup beside him with the poison.

That the words were all half-truths and poorly veiled implications did not bother him in the slightest. Neither did it concern him that another initiate across the room saw his actions but were trying to hide that they had. Sleeper had set that up quite intentionally, after all, as subtlety was not necessarily doing something unseen but rather doing something that would only be seen by the people you intended to do so.

Serving Deceit had let him work greatly on this art after all, something which Sleeper was most grateful for, even if he suspected that the poor fellow whose face Sleeper was currently wearing would be less so. That did not bother Sleeper though. He was doing the work of Deceit, even if it was at the behest of others. But if his guesses about Discord's plans for this kingdom were even remotely correct, then he would have plenty more opportunities to perfect his craft in these lands in the years to come.

A veritable paradise.