Chương 303: Something new and terrifying

Looking up at the temple of Knowledge in Convergence, Kite made sure to once again look inward as he made sure that his spirit was still kept nice and contained.

Having Dragonfly at his side helped, her well-controlled silver rank aura creating a kind of spiritual shadow that would make it easier for him to hide from any casual aura sweeps, and he squeezed her hand as they entered the temple and left a small offering before soon being escorted into the inner part of the domain where the goddess' divine aura laid itself atop even Kite's freshly ascended spirit like a firm but still gentle hand.

"Oh wow! I mean, I do know what gold rank does to people, but still. Dragonfly, you lucky girl~!" a familiar squeaking voice called from among the rafters of the venerable wooden building as a very familiar rat leapt down to land on Kite's shoulder.

"I know!" came Dragonfly's proud response, and the two exchanged a few meaningful glances that somehow had Dragonfly blushing even though no words had been uttered.

"Greetings Wander. How have you been?" Kite greeted once the ladies had finished, keeping himself from peeking into his wife's aura as certain secrets had to be allowed even within a marriage.

"Oh, whatever I have done lately it is obvious that you've had it better, Mister Gold. Oh wait, that's Serene's guy… Golden staff? Nope, too much Will…~."

"Honestly, I would assume that skyship raids, disrupting devastating rituals and being part of multiple engagements where several golds were present while you were still silver weren't your idea of merriment, Wander," Kite retorted before the shapeshifter could continue her line of thought.

"While I did get results, the last few years have been… Intense…" This did cause the rat to pause and look genuinely pensive, before she eventually nodded her little head.

"You know, you're right. That sounds horrible. I've changed my mind. You poor man! Here, let Wander take care of you! Those mean Gauntlet people can't hurt you anymore~!" Wander explained, another two rats dropping down from the ceiling and started fussing over Kite with exaggerated concern as they reached their destination.

Entering the same meeting room as the last time they had gathered like this after the Grand Proving and the revelation of Discord's plans, everyone present paused in their scattered conversations and Kite realized just how long it had been since he had properly seen many of his closest friends and confidants. Anasta Temren met his eyes as soon as he entered, giving him a clear nod of acknowledgement along with Venerable Owl, the gold-ranked high priest of Knowledge who had portaled her in the last time.

Uncle Walker was also present, along with Will, Laevyeth, Braid, Wander - at least most of her - Little Crow, Jarvan and Fantina. After a double take, Kite's perception power helped him notice some shadows moving in a way that indicated Obsidian Crow was present as well, proven correct after the man appeared to give Kite his own nod of approval.

However, Kite did not have time for more than to give most of them a glance as well as note River's absence before a flicker to his side caused him to summon a disc of Heaven-and-Void Warding that met an incoming fist a moment later. The nigh impervious center of the spell held against Soul's fist, especially as it lacked both special attack and true intent, but the impact was still enough to cause a small shockwave that sent loose papers fluttering around the room.

"Good. Your reflexes have kept improving," Soul said without missing a beat as she straightened after delivering the strike, and it was clear to anyone with eyes that she had now also ascended to gold rank as her amethyst hair and eyes seemed to almost glow with barely restrained inner force.

As a celestine, the rank-up had only kept enhancing Soul's natural beauty, but Kite found that there was some other quality there as well that made him feel like he was in the presence of a blade just now returned to its sheath; the aesthetics clearly just superfluous decoration to the true danger and power of her form. Before he could answer though, the presence suffusing the inner sanctum of Knowledge suddenly increased manifold as a female voice rang out through the room."

I would have you keep the peace in my sanctum, Blessed of Warrior. Violence can serve a purpose, but away from my haven of study and planning." For once, Soul even had the sense to look at least slightly chastened as she bowed out into the room even as the presence withdrew, which also gave Kite the opportunity to speak.

"Greetings Soul, and my heartfelt congratulations on your ascent to gold rank. Dragonfly told me that you were a couple of months ahead of me."

"It is merely a step closer to perfection, but it has so far been to my satisfaction," the battle-mad celestine replied with a small smile that was a clear indication of just how pleased she felt with the development.

"The stances and concepts available to me now have been enough that I've started reworking my styles from the ground up, and now that you have returned also a gold I mean to work you properly in my arena. No point in waiting for any longer after this meeting."

"Perhaps we should actually hold said meeting first before making any further commitments to our schedule," Anasta Temren interjected, quickly making sure to call for order before Soul could drag Kite away at that very moment.

"Please, everyone, have a seat. It seems like we have much to catch up on and plan for. But I do want to commend and congratulate the both of you for reaching gold rank so young, and hope that you are still amenable to using that newfound strength for our cause."

Everyone present got seated, and Kite noticed that everyone - even those technically his seniors when it came to age and experience - adjusted their seating arrangement to let the five gold-rankers present face each other across the center of the long table while the others gathered around them.

"I believe that it is high time for a report on our preparations which we agreed upon the last time," Anasta began as she took the lead.

"As I imagine that those of you who have spent the most time in the country already know, things have been steadily deteriorating around the kingdom, even though the worst of the damage done is in the kingdom heartlands. Tensions between the sects are at an all-time high as both old and new conflicts are brought into the light. Gold-rankers clash on their borders as many push against the old lines in the sand to gain territory or simply glory which they feel they deserve.

So far things have stayed at skirmishes, but it feels like things are drawing towards a critical level of tension. And given what we know of Discord's plot, it isn't hard to imagine the end goal. This has led to things being quite hard to balance for me as the branch director, as the tenets of the Adventure Society essentially force me to act punitively, even going so far as having to suspend the members of some sects.

Making no official sanctions would leave us seen as weak but every such measure employed only gives further credence to painting us as foreign interlopers."

"What about the King then?" Kite asked, feeling that he was one of the least informed given how much time he had spent outside the kingdom in recent years.

"Has he taken a stance?"

"King of the Pure Firmament has mostly remained disinterested in the squabbles, apparently feeling secure at the top," Anasta replied.

"If those are his true feelings on the matter I do not know, but most of his reign has been one of non-intervention with most of the sects' actions. Given that he actually appeared after Ardent Horizon Seeker took action at the end of the proving, I had hoped for more from his majesty, but alas he remains enigmatic."

"Which is a disgrace," Soul stated with some heat in her voice, a clear shift from her usual indifference.

"He is supposed to be the kingdom's most powerful warrior; the epitome for the rest of us to stride towards. Yet he does nothing substantial while the schemers bring down the parts that were actually true to our heritage? A disgrace." A pause followed, causing the celestine to look around the table at the surprised expressions of the others.

"What?" Kite was the first one to find his words.

"I for one am just surprised, Soul, as you've rarely shown too much overt interest in the goings on in the kingdom beyond your own path towards the heavens."

"A correct assessment overall. I do not care for most of it. But I do care for warriors acting just like that; warriors. Finding their way through clashes and tempering inside the bounds set up for us by honor and tradition. I did tell you of what occurred before I left the Perfected Step Sect some years back."

"Fair point," Kite agreed, indeed remembering the tale of a three-on-one night-time ambush turning most embarrassing for the sect elders in question when a naked, previously sleeping Soul had left them bound and helpless with their feet literally shoved into their mouths.

"Whatever we may think of the King's actions, the fact remains that I doubt that we can count on him," Branch Director Temren added as she continued her assessment of the situation.

"Hopefully we will not find him acting against us, at least. And speaking of, we still have not managed to get a proper count of the enemy gold-rankers arrayed against us. Only one of them has been more active, of which Obsidian Crow can apprise us further."

"Kite has already met her, or at least witnessed her," the red-masked assassin said.

"He was with me during our first encounter when we lured her out. They have been a lot more careful in her deployments as of late, seeming pleased to keep me at bay when my web of influence starts drawing too close to their inner area of operations. From our run-ins, I believe that her essences are water and venom, with potentially potent as a third."

"Wouldn't that result in the desolation confluence?" Braid asked, surrounded by a few of his active weaving projects that floated around him even as the meeting progressed.

"It should, but I am uncertain if that is the case with this agent," Obsidian Crow noted.

"Given her allegiance, she might have a divine essence as her fourth. Nonetheless, she alone is a deterrent enough that my family does not dare make overt moves towards taking back our seat in the capital. The time is not right for that yet. Our other holdings still remain though, even if we have been able to detect the constant watch we have been placed under."

"And yet we are grateful for your services," Anasta noted, turning to Walker next.

"And you, Guild Master. How fare your preparations in the north? Jarvan should have some input here as well, no?"

"Well, Branch Director, much thanks to the efforts of Kite, Soul and some of our other silver-ranked members at the time, we have managed to keep the north mostly functioning even with the local sects. Soul's tournaments have been a boon in that regard, helping to alleviate some of the budding conflicts that seem to have the tendency to occur no matter where one might find oneself in this Kingdom of ours.

And now that she has reached gold rank, the tone in everyone's dealings with us has become drastically more respectful. On another front, we have seen an increasing number in both members and silver-rankers since the monster surge, enough that we would need to expand our area of influence further to keep them all properly occupied. With the tumult in the south though, that is becoming increasingly more difficult.

Our two portal users - one of them Grain, who is well known to Kite here - have been able to sidestep this somewhat, but it is only a matter of time before our members start risking discovery. I won't send my members into hostile sect elders lying in wait. But the guild will stand ready, with plenty of members already apprised of the situation. And we have the churches to partially thank for that as well, as many of their adventurer clergy have joined the ranks over the years."

"Given what we are working against, it is not that surprising that the Gods might encourage their mortal instruments to take part," Jarvan noted as he took over some of the explanation.

"The Adventure Society here in Hua-Xi has continued to collaborate between the branches as best as we can, but there have been plenty of instances where we have been forced to root out some undue influences closer to the southern branches. Still, things are progressing as well as we can hope thanks to the way that the guild has managed to bring the former outcasts together. This little idea of yours, Kite and Walker, proved to be quite instrumental now that hindsight has provided some perspective.

Knowledge's kn–" the blonde man started, but managed to realize where he was and catch himself quickly enough, clearly wrestling the words back to a more amenable phrasing as he continued.

"-knowing notebook. Yes, that's it. Knowledge's knowing notebook! Completely what I was going to say. Anyway, with Kite here having had the audacity to race past many of us like that, I would even say that we now have a supreme opportunity to start pushing back. Just imagining him going on crusade throughout the sects and the capital to throw some proud elders on their asses almost brings a tear to my eye."

"That does raise an important question," Kite agreed, looking around the room.

"I might be as early in gold rank as one can possibly be, but it should still be enough to make a difference. Taking the fight to Discord and their interests was the most important purpose behind my intensive last few years, no? Where do you want me, Director Temren?"

"You are a gold-ranker now, Kite," Anasta remarked.

"It becomes increasingly hard for me to order you to do just about anything anymore. I am glad though to hear your willingness to keep cooperating in this cause of ours. Tell me, who outside this room have you revealed your ascension to?"

"My aunties and younger sister, the dryad liaison living on our lands, Dragonfly's student and, of course, my teammates and superiors in the task group," Kite replied, trying to figure out where Anasta was going with this line of questioning. His reply had the branch director exchange a meaningful glance with Obsidian Crow, the red-masked assassin seeming to consider before nodding.

"Then, I hope that you will bear with me when I make this suggestion for our next plan of action," Anasta said.

"I would have you remain hidden for some time yet, a decisive card hidden up our sleeve as we start poking the hornets' nest that have been gathering and preparing in the heartlands. They know of Obsidian Crow, and no doubt of Soul too given her public appearances. But not of you. Not yet. And we can make that count as long as you can agree to refrain from overt action for a while longer."

"But Director," Kite began, unable to stop at least part of the sudden protest from leaving his lips before he forced himself to actually think through her words and the reasoning behind them. Once he managed to shove down that frustration that his wanting to act for so long had given birth to, he started connecting the dots. And from the picture they painted, he had to admit that he saw several very valid points in favour of the branch director's suggestion; potential for his impact to become even greater.

"I… understand," he replied, centering himself.

"How long?"

"Given how they have acted and how careful they have been?" Obsidian Crow mused.

"I would say another three to four months. Given your recent ascension, I would expect that some more time would not hurt either. Because you would need to be as ready as you can be if you are about to step out into the field properly." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Then I will make sure to use that time as wisely as possible," Kite said, his heart settling down slightly as his mind had more thoroughly caught up, desire to make a difference held firmly in place by patient logic.

"I already have some options in mind. But first of all, I believe that a spar awaits me," he finished, glancing towards Soul, who in turn seemed quite pleased at how Kite had prioritized properly. But as there was still much to discuss and reports to be made, those gathered threw themselves back into the meeting once more, planning out their first steps in what would hopefully be the campaign to put an end to Discord's ambitions for their kingdom.

"The court is restless," was the first thing that King of the Pure Firmament said as the doors to his personal quarters closed behind him and Ametrine, the statement seeming to linger between them. Sensing her King's annoyed mood, Ametrine kept her calm facade while making sure to sway her hips in that way she knew to be a surefire way to catch his eyes as she moved to take a seat at the edge of the bed.

"Is that not always the case? Or even as it is supposed to be?" she replied, her long thin pipe casting a shimmering haze that slowly spread around the room, serving the dual purpose of being aesthetically pleasing as well as shielding them from any would-be observers.

"Your court is a representation of your kingdom and what your might has brought you, my King. And ours is a land of struggling for supremacy."

"And yet I find myself feeling that this is - and perhaps has always been - your domain, my love. I find myself longing more and more for simply stepping down there and bringing back some order through the sword and my path. There are so many golds out there fighting and clashing these days that I find myself growing envious."

"The one at the peak of this Kingdom has no need for envy. You and your position are their goal and ambition, not the other way around," Ametrine consoled, making sure to keep her body language as inviting as possible. This had the intended effect as her King eventually stopped his pacing and sat down beside her.

"You are right, as you tend to be, Ametrine," the King eventually stated, eyes still more forlorn than Ametrine wished for.

"It is during moments like this when I recall the vow we made to one another all those years back, and consider myself fortunate. Because while much of the way here could be paved through my sword, it is through the grace of your wits, cunning and politicking that we have remained in power."

"To share our ambitions, letting our paths intertwine to guide us to the very peak of his kingdom. To trust no one but each other, and that our actions would forever be to facilitate the ambitions of both," Ametrine recited, which caused her King to smile.

"Important words. Without them I would not be here today. Those are the reasons that I may ask freely; do you truly believe that we are on the way to an even stronger Hua-Xi? That these feuds and clashes now freely unleashed are but another step in our story? To me, the future feels distant and obscured, filled with smoke and mist."

"I do, my king. with all my heart," Ametrine replied, and she was indeed honest. Strife had ever been the bringer of strength, and Hua-Xi would soon be a churning cauldron whose flames of Discord would keep tempering so many souls climbing towards the heavens even as the purview of her god finally found itself a bastion in the world.

"Good," the King eventually replied as he seemed more and more lost while gazing into Ametrine's eyes.

"Then I will once more keep trusting you with our future, Ametrine. Even though I keep hoping that it will lead to me putting some of the more uncivil people of the court in their place in a more… direct manner."

"All in due time, my king," Ametrine smiled, slowly leaning closer in a way she knew would drive her King mad in just the right way, mouthing her final words just before their lips met.

"All in due time."

"Wait, where are the elders going?"

"To deliver a formal invitation to the intended officiator for our local tournament."

"Huh? So they're bringing in someone from the outside this time? From which sect?"

"None."

"None?"

"From what I heard, they mean to ask the Blessed of Warrior from the Autumn Wanderer's Guild."

"What? Have they gone mad? She's an outcast! Why would they willingly make sure our sect lose face like that– Ow! What was that for?"

"For you to shut your fool mouth! Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"The Blessed of Warrior returned as a gold-ranker around two months ago. Good. You paling like that shows that you can at least understand the gravity of the situation. You know what our sect did to her in the past then, no? Our elders aren't costing us face. They're trying to make very sure that there will be a future for the Perfected Step Sect at all. And we'd all best follow suit and be on our best behaviour around that guild."

"But–""Best. Behavior." Kite took a moment to properly center himself as he let the rustling of the manifold exotic trees, bushes and other kinds of greenery that spread out beneath him soothe the slight nervousness in his spirit where he stood upon a small layer of conjured barrier in the air inside this astral space.

"Fortune preserve me." The brief prayer was followed by Kite pulsing outward with his aura, his spirit easily covering the whole dimensional pocket before another aura pushed outwards with equal strength to meet his. Then a third aura followed, this one silver and feeling weak compared to the power of golds, but it was still as significant as it marked the beginning of Kite's first time truly unleashing his freshly ascended power in earnest.

In that same instance, mana flowed throughout Kite's form as armor appeared out of gray light to cover his body while metallic tattoos across his face lit up in the same color as Kite began his charge.

The world blurred as he crossed hundreds of meters in a mere few heartbeats, yet Kite's senses could still make out almost every detail in the landscape around him, and this held especially true for the amethyst-haired celestine woman who suddenly flickered into existence to his right before delivering a series of punches quick enough to make it seem like her fist had split into a dozen.

And while that was not the case in a physical sense, it definitely had bearing in the magical as each of the glowing attacks was very real, giving off the feeling as if some multi-armed beast was descending upon him." Ward!" The three barriers of Heaven-and-Void Warding caught a few of the attacks, some partially cracking beneath what had seemed to be mere light blows from Soul while their more impervious centers held.

The rest of the strikes that slipped through were instead deflected by the multiple spectral arms of Kite's mantle, which still wielded Matra's descendants. While the silver-ranked weapons would hold up poorly in a protracted gold-ranked conflict, the temporary conjurations did not need to. They could still withstand enough to be of some use, and given that there were now six of them, they managed to form enough of a barrier in and of themselves to keep Kite from harm. At least for the moment.

WWJS: [Item] Prescient Mantle of the Sage Asura Magical tattoo Gold rank - [Growth] Legendary Soulbound The Sage Asura sees all, each of its myriad arms reaching out to change fate. Through the forging, let its mantle be bestowed upon the one whose path might one day do the same. [Effect] For an ongoing mana cost, manifest a set of spiritual arms. These arms may draw weapons from the wearer's dimensional spaces, and are freely controlled by the wearer. The manifested arms may also use the wearer's special attacks.

Attacks delivered through the arms deal reduced damage, but each set of arms has their own cooldown for said special attack. Destroyed arms may be manifested anew for a cost of moderate mana. [Effect] Gain increased cognitive processing speed and capacity for simultaneous action. [Effect] - Silver: Conjure an additional set of arms. [Effect] - Gold: Conjure another additional set of arms. Once infused into the wearer and bound to their soul, this item cannot be removed or unfused.

No other magical tattoos may be added to the wearer, but this item will persist across ranks and can be upgraded like any growth item through absorbing the right materials. No one had been particularly surprised when it turned out that ascending Kite's mantle to gold rank had led to another set of spectral arms being added, but that did not make it any less impactful, especially as his gold-ranked spirit attribute - further enhanced by the artifact itself - had no trouble incorporating the additional limbs.

As Kite hoped to soon be able to let Matra retire in favor of some alternative more appropriate for his new rank, he suspected that the impact of the mantle would only keep growing. That would not help him out of his current predicament however, as Soul kept up the offensive as she swerved and circled around Kite while proving herself the very embodiment of her onslaught confluence.

While the now four vortices of Spirit Singularity had already locked on to Soul and kept her from further teleportation, the celestine was still quite used to adapting to that particular nuisance with ease. Barrier after barrier fell to her strikes while Soul kept up a ridiculously deft footwork, moving through the air as if on solid ground that let her avoid Kite's attempted counterattacks while not giving away too much mana through her own strikes.

Still, Kite felt a distinct sense of pride in how it took at least eight exchanges before Soul finally managed to find a way past his defenses. Through an impressive series of shifting styles and stances she suddenly ripped apart one last offending barrier with a crossed strike that looks like she was clawing it asunder.

Kite tried to back up a few steps but found that Soul sped up to a ridiculous degree as she crossed the final distance and managed to land a solid punch to his side that sent an icy sensation of transcendent damage through Kite's form while the force of the blow caused a massive shockwave to ripple outwards from the pair that caused leaves across the whole astral space to rustle as if on a windy day. But that was not all, as part of that shockwave was also directed back at Soul. WWJS: Congratulations!

Your power [Unyielding] has reached Gold 0. [Unyielding] has gained additional effects. Unyielding - Special ability. Cost: None/moderate mana. Cooldown: None. Current rank: Gold 0 Effect - Iron: Become highly resistant to all hostile effects that would move or displace you, including physical momentum. Any additional damage that would be dealt to you by the canceled momentum will instead be transferred to the environment. You need to be in contact with a solid object for this ability to activate.

Additionally, this ability may be activated for a cost of moderate mana to give increased damage reduction from external sources of damage for a short duration. Effect - Bronze: Some of the damage and movement negated will be stored in a separate reservoir of potential, which you may release to add additional momentum to a leap or stride. Any excess will still be transferred to the environment. Effect - Silver: This ability will take effect even if you are not in contact with a solid object.

You may now use excess momentum to fuel the increased damage reduction of this ability to forego its mana cost. Effect - Gold: You may now choose to convert the negated damage and movement into retributive damage towards the attacker. This damage is further increased the more stored momentum you already possess, as well as by the speed of the attacker.

The force of the retributive blast from the gold-ranked Unyielding was enough to shift Soul's stance slightly at the last second before Kite's staff struck, turning what would have been a block with an impervious fist into a glancing strike on the same arm. The retributive damage would have been even greater if Kite had had the opportunity to store up more momentum beforehand, but against a foe such as a Soul one needed to take any opportunity one could get to stem the onslaught.

As the blow landed, Disrupting Strike made sure to seal Soul's passive speed enhancing ability, something which Kite had found was the most worthwhile use of the alternate mode of the special attack in his many spars with her. At gold rank, Soul's now further enhanced speed had felt like an even more vast rift than usual and thus something Kite wanted to equalize as soon as possible.

But that had not been the only purpose of the attack either, as the shattering sound of Disrupting Strike was followed by a much deeper sound of something breaking. WWJS: Congratulations! Your power [Chakra Implosion] has reached Gold 0. [Chakra Implosion] has gained additional effects. - Chakra implosion (Mana) - Special attack (Combination, mana drain). Cost: Low mana/varies. Cooldown: 2s.

Current rank: Gold 0 Effect - Iron: Strike an opponent to implode part of their mana reserve in addition to the physical effect of the strike. Applies an instance of [Broken flow] Effect - Bronze: Applies an instance of [Broken form] Effect - Silver: Applies the [Stunned] affliction, with effect increased proportionate to the amount of mana drained.

Effect - Gold: May increase the cost up to a maximum of high mana to increase the scope of the imploding mana, dealing rending damage in addition to the mana drain as part of the target's body is torn apart from the inside. This damage is modified by the rank and magical nature of the target, with beings consisting of little magic suffering greatly reduced damage while beings more magical in nature suffer increased damage.

[Broken flow] (affliction, magic, stacking): Each instance of this affliction reduces mana recovery [Broken form] (affliction, magic, stacking): Each instance of this affliction lowers damage resistances by a small amount. [Stunned] (affliction, magic): Briefly be unable to move, use abilities or control already active abilities. Fully reactive abilities and effects can still be triggered.

The duration cannot be refreshed by applying [Stunned] again and being affected multiple times in succession has diminishing returns.

The usual blue cracks of Chakra implosion had appeared and spread from the point of impact, but where they had previously been more illusory, like glowing light that suffused the target's form without actually leaving a physical mark, part of Soul's arm now actually seemed to be split open as blue light spilled out of the cracks that were no longer fully ethereal as the imploding mana had quite the effect on a body that was now consisting more and more of magical matter rather than purely biological.

That sight actually had Soul stopping her tracks in the air for a moment, regarding the injury where it looked like her body had torn itself apart from the inside.

"Well, Pathbreaker. It looks like your ascended path does not disappoint," the celestine said, a smile which Kite recognized tugging at her lips; one whose appearance only filled him with trepidation. Because when Soul got excited during a bout…

"It looks like it is time to go as all out as possible without upsetting the dryad's peace. Prepare yourself! It is time to prove before Warrior - however distant he may feel in this place - that the tempering of our paths will never truly stop." Even as she spoke, Kite could see multiple boons flaring to life within Soul's form, but that was also joined by her assuming a new kind of stance which he had not seen before.

Fingers flexed like claws while her aura started blazing like a solar beacon, and Kite suddenly felt as if aspects of heaven and earth had joined together into something new and terrifying; like a divine tiger of radiant sun was staring down at him.

"Oh Fortune preserve me indeed," was the last Kite had time to think while he readied himself, multiple barriers springing into place all around them like a giant unfurling flower with the pair at its center. Then Soul descended, and Kite got to experience just how much closer to perfection the Blessed of Warrior had come.