Chương 308: A position and power to act

"Verdant Evergreen? I would like to request a moment of your time, please," Kite said, not needing to speak up even though the dryad was ostensibly nowhere in sight among the greenery of the astral space, whose purple sands were now barely visible beneath the lushness of all the plants. Verdant Evergreen was everywhere inside, after all, and as expected she emerged from a nearby tree a moment later while trailing her - by now - rather impressive mass of hair-like strands with its azure leaves.

"Kite? Have you decided on the contractors for your abode?" she asked, to which Kite shook his head.

"A completely different matter brings me here today, one which I cannot truly determine is a fortunate one or not," Kite explained with a rueful shake of his head.

"I have told you of the challenges I face here in this kingdom. We have reason to suspect that a recent victory of ours pushed our foes to act sooner than expected in establishing Discord's divine domain, and I therefore find myself having to make preparations sooner rather than later."

"I see. What is your request for me on that matter?"

"When I met your sister dryad back in Vitesse, she had a means to contact most honored Gaia the Eighth. Can you do the same? And, if so, may I petition you to help me speak to her?" This had Verdant Evergreen regard Kite for a moment, the leaves of the great tree in the distance seeming to rustle in a way that indicated pondering.

"I can. But you should know that great Gaia will not fight for you."

"Understandable, though I assure you that is not my request. I wish to offer her another deal."

"I see. Then that is acceptable. Head outside. I cannot reach her from inside this place," Verdant Evergreen said before turning and heading back into the trunk of a nearby tree. Soon after, Kite's senses started picking up the slight tremors and noise of something rearranging itself beneath the sand and soil of the astral space before he could see a root poke out of the sand near the aperture of the astral space before rapidly growing to poke outside.

By the time he too had exited, it had grown a bit further along the tunnel wall before stopping.

"I will not be able to sustain this growth across the dimensional boundary for more than a day or so," came Verdant Evergreen's voice from inside the new growth even as a flower had started sprouting from it. A stem coated in purple resin ended in an azure bloom which unfurled and started slowly rotating as if searching for something. Minutes passed while Kite waited patiently until a presence suddenly seemed to appear within the flower, growing outward slowly as it hinted of vast - if distant - power."

Little Seedling. One moment you have gone to far away lands to act as our emissary, and now you contact me as a gold-ranker. Remarkable how time seems to fly," the recognizable voice of Gaia the Eight spoke, even the echo of her words seeming to carry an ancient timbre that gave just the smallest hints of how old the verdant dragon truly was.

"Honored Gaia, I have managed a graft that allowed me to ascend. The seed of potential in the tree inside this astral space Kite controls was true," the voice of Verdant Evergreen replied, no doubt spoken aloud for Kite's benefit as the very vessel that enabled the communication was part of her.

"It is upon his request I contact you."

"Oh? Then announce yourself, Kite, and let me feel you." Much like the last time, Kite laid a careful hand atop one of the fronds of the flower, sensing the distant echo of a powerful aura gently pass through his like a drizzling rain falling gently while still managing to seep into every nook and cranny of the lands below." Another gold-ranker has been born too. This has to be quick progress, or I have truly started forgetting things," came the initial response, to which Kite could not help but smile.

"The last few years of my life have been of urgency, oh great Gaia. Urgency which has not yet passed, I am afraid."" Such crises will ever rise and fall as the cycle continues. Is this why you have contacted me and the Grove once more?"

"Indeed. I find myself with much to accomplish in a short amount of time and without the resources to properly do so. Thus, I reach out to you again with an offer and a plea in one."" Then speak, young Kite. The Grove shall listen."

"Our previous accord still stands, but I would like to make the plea for you to purchase the remaining fruits of the tree, as well as an advance on however many you would like reserved for you in the future. My fight against the forces of Discord draws closer much faster than anticipated, thus the need for haste. It might be an audacious request, but I find myself with little room to spare for patience and careful offers at the moment. Thus this offer and plea entwined.""

I see," came the response, fortunately sounding more thoughtful than annoyed or angered by Kite's request." The fruit did indeed cause a bit of a stir among our ranks, with plenty of lineages showing interest in letting their offspring take on new aspects. But while you still have some left over, the prospect of purchasing something not yet grown is another matter. Verdant Evergreen, what are your thoughts on the prospects? When might this tree bear its next clutch of these marvelous treasures?"

"My estimate would be in around eight more years, honored Gaia. Kite here allowed me to graft into the very tree that produces them. My sense of this should be accurate."" Oh? That was quite the show of trust from young Kite here," Gaia the Eighth replied, sounding both surprised and pleased." And so soon too. Anything within a century would have been deemed acceptable. Within this timeframe, I am quite sure that many of the old progenitors among our ranks would be willing to front such a payment.

I myself already have the rights to one fruit as per our prior agreement, of course, but give me a moment to reach out to the others."

That 'moment' turned out to be over three hours, but as Kite felt that there was little point to rush a diamond-ranked being he had set himself down to meditate until Gaia's voice spoke from the azure petals once again.

"After conferring with some of the progenitors of the Grove, we have found your cause and offer to be worthwhile, young Kite. As long as we can have the assurances that the deal will hold true even should you perish in the years to come, we are willing to offer you the same payment for the one remaining fruit as well as the next whole harvest. Twelve diamond ranked spirit coins in total.

The fruits may be more of a known quantity now, but they still hold great value, and the cause you are fighting for in your homeland is a worthwhile one. One needs harmony and balance for life and nature to prosper and grow strong, not merely strife and conflict. Would you agree to those terms, young Kite?"

"That, honored Gaia…" Kite said, feeling a wave of relief and excitement wash through him at the words of the distant dragon.

"That would be most agreeable. Most agreeable, indeed." It was time to make some trips, both within the kingdom as well as around the world.

"Guildmaster. Senior Brother Kite. Lady Knowledge was a bit vague as to why the two of you had called me to this meeting," Clarity of Wit said, the guild's archivist, loremaster and general keeper of everything note-related said as she entered the courtyard where Kite and Walker stood waiting.

"She did imply that it was something that would be better to experience for myself though, so my curiosity is thoroughly piqued."

"Ah, archivist. Good of you to come," Kite replied with a smile while making sure to keep his aura thoroughly under control. While clergy were often somewhat used to spiritual power of a greater magnitude than their own, she was still bronze to his gold.

"I wanted to make an addition to the stores of the merit exchange of the guild as well as add a special opportunity for everyone who has agreed to join the upcoming undertaking."

"I see. Well, the first part is at least nothing out of the ordinary, which makes me curious as to why you called me out here rather than to the guildmaster's office. And what kind of opportunity are we talking about?"

"Given the risk during the upcoming trip south, we want to offer everyone involved their choice of equipment from the merit exchange of the guild without cost, as long as the equipment in question is related to their path and short-term capabilities. You have an excellent record over everyone in the guild and their powers, so it shouldn't make it too hard for you to cross check and make sure that things are distributed somewhat evenly."

"Oh," Clarity of Wit replied, conjuring a notebook as she started rifling through the pages filled with lines upon lines of text in neat script.

"I see… Given the numbers involved though, I shall forewarn you that it might lead to a long-time deficit in our stores. I will of course do as asked though, but believe it was best that you were informed."

"Well…" Kite said, glancing at Walker who chuckled.

"You see, archivist," the older man said with his usual roguish smile.

"We didn't call you out here for your sake, or ours really."

"No, that much I could imagine. Why, then?"

"It was for the sake of the floors. Might have strained them too much, you see." At Walker's words, Kite produced a series of spatial bags from under his clothes that he started emptying onto the courtyard. Swords, shields, gauntlets, throwing stars, helmets and other much more exotic pieces of weaponry started filling up the courtyard, more added for each bag Kite went through as the courtyard soon felt more like the kingdom's least sorted armory or most expensive scrap heap.

"It turns out that my looting power started producing a lot more than expected as of late," Kite replied with a shrug and a smile.

"And we will need someone to help us categorize it all before Peony catches wind of it." WWJS: Congratulations! Your power [Something from Nothing] has reached Gold 0. [Something from Nothing] has gained additional effects. - Something from Nothing (Fortune) - Special ability. Cost: None Cooldown: None Current rank: Gold 0 Effect - Iron: Every time you defeat an enemy, a fragment of their essence is kept in a personal metaphysical space.

When enough fragments have been gathered, they will manifest into a semi-random item. The item will be influenced by the fragments which have constituted it and the amount of fragments needed will vary. Effect - Bronze: Ability can produce bronze-rank items, and results are more in line with subconscious wishes. Gathering more fragments after the threshold for manifestation has been reached will increase the chance of higher rarity items, up to a certain limit.

Effect - Silver: Ability can produce silver rank items. Gathered fragments may now instead be infused to grant a temporary boost to a piece of equipment, raising its power for a time depending on the amount of fragments consumed. Effect - Gold: Ability can produce gold rank items. Provides a limited amount of direction of provided items in regards to rank and shape. Producing items of a lower rank than yourself will lead to a greater amount of items.

During his final year with Gauntlet before reaching gold as well as the short training excursions Kite had taken part in after, the gold-ranked Something from Nothing had started showing the expansion in scope more than his other powers.

When channeling the power into a gold-ranked piece of equipment, the rate felt about the same as before, but when the same use could produce between four and eight pieces of silver-ranked pieces or even more bronze ones, Kite went from creating the occasional treasure to whole swathes of them. It also allowed him some more control of the projects in question, but it was still vague and very broad in a way that would keep dedicated crafters surpassing the weapons produced in most every way except quantity.

Still, Kite knew enough members of the guild and their paths to give the power a nudge, and he hoped that those following him south in a few weeks might be able to find something to supplement their powers and help keep more of them alive and well through what might be quite the tribulation for most of them.

They still knew little of what awaited them, but Anasta's frequent reports these last days indicated that things kept shifting behind the scenes enough for her people to notice, so Kite had to trust that they were on the right track.

"The lowest-ranked people coming with us are bronze-rankers, but I made sure to add what I could of iron rank too for the other members, both now and in the future," Kite continued, unable to keep from smiling as he saw the archivist having frozen with pen in hand as she took in the sheer amount of equipment now arrayed in the courtyard.

"I… How…" Clarity of Wit began, looking to Kite for explanation even as they all felt the slight presence of a divine chuckle was over them before vanishing as quickly as it had arrived.

"It turns out that a few gold-ranked monsters contained quite a lot of energy for my power," Kite replied with a shrug.

"Who knew? Oh, my apologies, Lady Knowledge. Who except you knew?" This had the bronze-ranker nod slowly before eventually turning towards Walker.

"Guildmaster?"

"Yes?"

"Consider this my formal request for you to add a quartermaster to the guild roster. I don't care if you have to grab someone off the street, as long as I… Wait… Belay that. We apparently have a good prospect here in the city who was just expelled from his merchant company for refusing to look the other way in regards to some unsavoury business of his superiors.

Send someone to this address and give him the offer of work," Clarity of Wit finished, writing down some notes before ripping a page from her seemingly endless conjured notebook that she handed to Walker.

"I shall begin cataloguing while I await his arrival." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"And you are sure he will–" Walker started asking, but fell silent as Clarity of Wit merely tapped the pendant of Knowledge that hung from her neck, already engrossed in her work. Sir Ilmaril Thenston regarded the documents in his hands, raising one eyebrow as he looked at Kite from across his desk.

"I know I shouldn't have to ask, given that you have become very familiar with our organization during the last few years, but I still feel the need to. Are you aware of what you are asking, Kite?"

"I am, Sir," Kite replied calmly.

"And you have secured enough funding for all of this?"

"I hope so, Sir. At least with the going rates I was made aware of during my last training session here at the campus mirage chamber."

"Huh, then I suppose that you do indeed know what you are doing," the gold-ranked elf noted as he put the suggested contract down on the table before him.

"While I suspect that you have plenty of goodwill among our members, Kite, there are still current and planned contracts to take into account. Many of those you have mentioned here might have other assignments lined up."

"I am aware, Sir, and can only pray that Fortune watches over my endeavors. But as my auntie likes to say; if you never scale the hill before you out of fear of failure, you will likewise never get to watch the sun rise from the top."

"A nice sentiment, and you have ever proved the persistent one. I can remember Ryker giving you quite the hard time at the beginning of your stay with us. And that has indeed changed. He even spoke well of you during one of our meetings. But don't tell him I said that. It might ruin his stern facade he's been cultivating for so long."

"The wise man knows which secrets to keep," Kite agreed with a smile, a pang of nostalgia hitting him at remembering his first time visiting the Port Singhni branch, as well as thoughts of his fellow trainees from that time. Amica he knew of, of course, but it had been a long time since Kite heard of Emilio Cardenco or Sztyka Markow.

"Still," Sir Ilmaril said, bringing him back to the present.

"You are one of us, Kite, and while I cannot promise too much in regards to the rates for this contract, I would like to think that I can at least find a way to make this contract a priority, assuming that Sir Darnos approves. Because from this list, I can safely say that most will be happy to volunteer for the change of plans in their schedule."

"Wait, what do you mean that you haven't got anything for me today?" Daybreak Peony asked, eyes narrowing as she regarded Kite.

"You have been gone forever. Years. Gods, this is even the first time that you've visited us since we made the move to Convergence.

Do your really expect me to believe that your power hasn't produced anythi–""Well I do have this mutable gold-ranked weapon produced specifically for me by the diamond-ranked herald of the Queen of Jade and Sky," Kite quickly interjected before the craftwoman's rising ire, and him producing the War-Seed of the Celestial Tree caused even the silver-ranked Peony to be thrown completely from her disgruntled trail, eyes lighting up at the impressive - if heavily stylized - sword that was the new core of Kite's multi-armed fighting style along with his staff.

"Oh sweet heavens above…" Peony breathed, awe replacing ire as she reached out to let her fingers roam across the weapon for a few seconds before the feedback of touching it became too much to readily endure. She gestured for Kite to put it down on a nearby table before veritably running towards what Kite assumed was her new workshop in the sizeable house near the Convergence guildhall that her family now occupied, only silver-ranked reflexes allowing her to not collide with one of her three children on the way.

"And unlike my wife, I would at least like to lead with welcoming you to our new home, Kite," Patient Sun remarked dryly while scooping up the shy little boy who regarded Kite with fascination as soon as he thought Kite wasn't looking.

"Thank you, Sun. My apologies for not visiting earlier. I have been out of the country for most part of the last four years," Kite said apologetically, before gesturing around the house.

"And while your old home had a lot of charm, it seems like you have been able to make yourself quite comfortable too."

"Given how much time Peony spent catering to the bronzes and silvers of the guild who mostly strike out from Convergence for their contracts, the move started feeling more and more natural," Sun shrugged with a smile.

"It's easier for me to find work for a silver-ranker here too. Odd how you can outgrow a place you previously thought you might never leave."

"It is most fortuitous for me as well, as I might honestly have had trouble staying in Bastion for any extended time," Kite replied while shooting the occasional smile towards the boy in Sun's arm while he made shapes made from conjured barriers dance in the air before the gradually more enthusiastic toddler.

"Oh woe is you, mighty gold-ranker," Sun remarked sarcastically, albeit with a distinct playfulness.

"Honestly though, congratulations. We were very happy for you when we heard the news. Weren't we, my love?" The last part was directed towards Peony, who barely seemed to register her husband as she murmured things about structural malleability and synthetization of life and resolution.

"Peony is happy for you too," Sun said with a helpless shrug.

"Given what you've shown her now, she'll probably have inspiration to last for months. Business has kept booming for us this close to the guild."

"And they'll need every piece of equipment you can make or modify too," Kite replied, worry gripping him again as he thought of the future.

"While you aren't part of it, I am sure that you've heard that a lot of us are leaving for a contract soon."

"I have," Sun agreed.

"Apologies for not joining, but–""But you have a family with small children, Sun. And we need people holding the fort back home as well," Kite finished for him.

"There is no need for guilt. We shall all do our part. But that is also why you can expect an influx of members wanting to modify equipment in the upcoming weeks. Ones which I would be infinitely grateful if you could put as a top priority." By now, Peony seemed to finally have started emerging from her trance, but she was still taking furious notes even as she rejoined the conversation.

"Expecting trouble then?"

"Potentially, quite a lot."

"Hmm… It doesn't feel good that I can't outfit you with equipment anymore," she grumbled, pushing up a pair of magical lenses from her eyes as she regarded Kite.

"But I guess that with this kind of equipment, I would be superfluous anyway."

"Nonsense," Kite assured her, sensing the worry in her aura. Given the armoire Gleam had given him, her words might hold some truth when it came to him personally, but there was a whole guild and city for her to help. Still, Peony had done so much for him over the years that her creations would always hold a special place in his heart.

"Should you ever reach gold rank, Peony, then I shall look forward to wielding the finest that the infamous Scavenger of Bastion can produce."

"Oh, the finest, eh? What makes you think that I would–""And I shall of course show her each and every piece of upgraded equipment I have received from the Queen's gates too, of course. For a dear friend, guildmate and business partner."

"-that I would allow you to settle for just the finest. You would have access to my most transcendent of creations, of course," Peony backpedaled with a smile. Kite felt that she still knew the truth of things, and while it did seem to sting and ache, the dreamy future they spoke of along with her growing family and the many people now relying on her work did seem like ample balm to ego and emotion both.

"That sounds lovely," Kite said, rising from his seat as he gestured for the door.

"Unfortunately, I will soon have to take my leave. But I shall return for a proper visit in the future. By then, the housewarming gift I ordered for you should also have arrived."

"Wait, what? What gift?" Sun asked even as Kite made for the door while pretending not to hear him.

"It's nothing out of proportion, right? Something reasonable? Kite? Kite!"

"Farewell for now, all of you!" Kite called as Sun's increasingly frantic questions fell on deaf ears.

"I'll make sure to send over my whole stash of materials upon my return. A once wayward Peony needs to keep busy in these times now that she has found her safe haven, after all." While being a gold-ranker definitely had its long and very compelling list of perks, Kite had already started noticing a slight disconnect to parts of the world around him in the months that had gone by since his ascent.

With his mostly silver-ranked family it wasn't as noticeable, but around most other people he had to exert a special kind of care in both the physical and the spiritual so as to not risk injuring those weaker than him. While he assumed it would become more a subconscious habit in time, Kite still found that it created a slight divide from part of his surroundings that might risk growing more pronounced as time went by.

And while that was something for him to ponder and adapt to in the future, his present location did both alleviate and further remind of the potential issue.

"I am most pleased with the options available to us here in Vitesse, my bond," Glint remarked from beside him where she walked while basking in the approving attention of others on the streets of the metropolis.

"It should have all we need."

"Indeed," Kite agreed while he kept taking in the constant - and often spectacular - air traffic between the blooming towers in the vast adventuring capital where even gold-rankers like them blended in to some degree.

"Plenty of the materials needed for the upcoming operations would be hard to source back home."

"Materials? I was referring to the truly important things in life, my bond. Fashion," Glint replied while stopping at a nearby shop window both to admire the shawls within as well as to gaze upon her glittering reflection.

"I suppose that there might be a bit of time for both," Kite conceded with a chuckle, and joined his familiar in crisscrossing the busy streets and vendors. The day passed quickly and - aside from a longer side stay at a tailor's shop where the proprietor proved to have an astounding number of siblings - rather efficiently, but it was as Kite and Glint was returning to the establishment where they had agreed to reconvene with Riz that Kite found himself slow down as his spiritual senses picked up on something.

Or rather someone. One more direct nudge of that aura in a spiritual equivalent of catching someone's gaze while looking for recognition confirmed it, causing Kite to veer off from their intended path with Glint in tow before he found who he was looking for.

"No way!" a familiar voice shouted above the crowd as a familiar red mane of hair started making its way towards Kite.

"Absolutely no way! How? Kite?! When in blessed Fortune's name did you hit gold rank? Does married life give you a boost or something?"

"My greetings to you as well, Lady Geller," Kite laughed as Rachel Geller drew close, only to stop a few meters to gawk at him, as if unable to believe what she was seeing. She looked much like she had when Kite had last met her during his wedding; tall, with red hair and a bright smile. And while she was still silver rank, she was definitely at the very peak of it, judging by the way that her aura felt almost filled to bursting.

"Don't you 'Lady Geller' me!" Rachel called while pointing an accusatory finger towards him before turning and calling over her shoulder.

"Can you believe this guy, Nona?! Acting all humble apprentice for a time only to overtake us?!"

"Cousin, you are as aware as I that years mean less for some in the matter of transitioning to gold rank," Phiona Geller replied a lot more calmly as she caught up to Rachel, her fiancée in tow. Or rather, former fiancée.

"And greetings to you as well, Phiona. And Mikayel," Kite called in greeting to the two.

"Belated congratulations on your wedding. It was a shame that I was away with the task group for an extended time when I got your invitation. But I hope that the gift I sent arrived safely?"

"It did, Kite. Thank you. The folding pagoda remains in use to this day, leaving us quite comfortable during each and every contract," Phiona replied with a smile while reaching out and clasping her husband's arm. The years and stable love of Mikayel seemed to have only continued to soften the hard woman Kite had met back in Bastion back at bronze rank, proof that one needed to care for one's heart as well as one's spirit and body in order to find harmony.

Both Phiona and Mikayel were as close to gold as Rachel, proving that the three had also worked hard in the years since the wedding.

"Don't you think you can just distract us with fancy gifts, Kite," Rachel butted in again, even stepping in front of her slightly shorter cousin to continue pointing her accusatory finger toward him.

"I don't know how you even found your way here to Vitesse, but I need that story out of you sooner rather than later. Oh, and hi Glint! You look absolutely amazing! It isn't your fault that your bond is some kind of cheat!"

"He has his perks," Glint replied in her usual dignified way while preening at the compliment.

"Rachel is right on one point at least," Mikayel Knightfire added in his strong barytone of a voice.

"There are definitely a few stories in there worth sharing. From what I have heard of the task groups, they can be as intense as they can be rewarding. We have just returned from an extended contract, so perhaps you would like to join us for some drinks? It will probably take us some time to find another where we can really push ourselves." The knight's words struck a chord inside Kite, who did a double take on the three experienced adventurers as he got a calculating look in his eyes.

"I would be delighted to, and I do not doubt that Glint here would not mind some more time browsing the nearby stores," he said, nodding to himself while saying a silent prayer to Fortune for this most serendipitous meeting.

"And in addition to some good stories, I might even have another offer for you. The heavens and gods truly smiled upon me this day."

"Wha– Where–" Grand Elder Sigil of the Flowing Viper Sect sputtered as the light returned to his eyes. Hadn't he been fighting? Why had he passed out? He hadn't passed out in - what? - years? He was a gold-ranker. It should be impossible. He–"Grand Elder," a voice said a moment later, the words causing a surge of memories to come back as Sigil's gold-ranked mind span into overdrive.

"You!" Sigil roared, at first trying to surge back to his feet upon a burst of shaped wind only to be forced to do so by manually pushing off the grassy ground of the open hilly landscape when his senses warned him of there not being enough mana left in his body to activate the power. He did get to his feet, however, coming face to face with the infuriatingly calm face of the outcast upstart called the Sentinel of the Gates.

"Careful there, Grand Elder. You should give yourself some time to recover before you head back home, as you promised to do before Warrior seeing as we had no impartial officiator for this clash of ours," the Sentinel replied.

"I do not know what trickery you employed here, wretch, but if you think I will accept this as a loss then you are sorely mistaken!" Sigil snarled ever while trying to get his once neatly groomed ducktail beard back in shape after his time spent on the ground, although said ground was a lot less churned up than one might imagine after a pair of gold-rankers had fought.

"So the Flowing Viper Sect has started reneging on their promises now too, I see," the Sentinel replied as some steel crept into his voice.

"First you venture north with the explicit intent to attack members of our guild, and now this?"

"Dogs to be put down. You're even worse than those cursed cravens of the Golden Song Sect," Sigil replied, and felt like he did an amicable job in putting up the correct facade so as to not lose face before his subordinates who were standing ready a short distance away.

Sigil had trained most of the half dozen silvers himself, and had thought them quite the force to go up north on a little punitive expedition as his contacts had implied might be a good idea to build some more reputation before the newly announced Heart of Hua-Xi Tournament. That was, until this man had suddenly barred their path, with humiliation following close on his heels.

"Your words won't truly be able to mend an already shattered pride, Grand Elder. Only reflection, acceptance and bettering will ever be able to do that," the man had the gall to reply, speaking to Sigil as if he was a mere initiate again even as he was probably two decades the man's senior.

"At least I shall no longer be forced to merely avoid the whims of you and your ilk. As for the tournament, can you not see it for what it is? Have you not stopped to question why there is a need for such haste? Heed my warning, Grand Elder, and stay away. Because that event shall spell trouble for this kingdom."

"Oh no, you outcast welp! You think to lecture me? Just wait until we report this back to the sect leader. The whole Flowing Viper Sect will use the opportunity to crush your little guild as a warmup for the opportunity the King has provided for us. Disciples! We are leaving this place, but only for now. Mark my words! The next time you see this man, he shall–"" Wall!"

With a surge of mana, a cube of force walls suddenly enveloped the hilltop where they stood, and Grand Elder Sigil wobbled on his feet as that cursed drain on his mana returned in force as the four vortices above the Sentinel surged back into an active state. All of the silver-ranked disciples acted decisively, weapons appearing in hand as they formed a defensive formation all while Sigil could do little else but hold on to his consciousness as words failed him.

"Too many things are at stake here for me to simply allow you to return and act upon such threats, Grand Elder," the Sentinel said, weariness added to the still remaining steel in his voice.

"Not while I am in a position and power to act." As he spoke, a vast glittering form passed above the force cage, coiling around it while tendrils and globes of restraining water started hunting for the disciples, breaking their formation and capturing them one by one. Sigil tried to move, but everything felt so sluggish, his steps stumbling as his magical body was running on its last dregs of mana recovered during the brief conversation. He had to…

He had–"You shall be residing with us for a time, I believe," came the Sentinel's voice as an unseen strike ripped the last mana from Sigil's body, darkness claiming him.

"We'll see how much your sect wants you back after whatever awaits us at the capital has concluded."