Chương 83: And with its passing came trouble

Kite took a deep breath as he looked up at the central rock formation in the cavern deep beneath the sands of the astral space, the mana-laden air feeling weird and potent. A pillar of the purple rock dominated the cavern, seeming as if a stalagmite and stalactite had reached towards one another, bridging the gap only to find something in between them. Roughly three meters above the ground, there was something lodged between the stone protrusions.

Shaped almost like a teardrop, it rested at an angle with the largest parts being roughly two meters across and kept firmly in place by the surrounding stone pillar. The dark object looked almost as if it was sculpted from obsidian with its glossy surface. But contrary to the volcanic glass, the curves were smooth and lacked any jagged edge. It emitted no aura, but as Kite and Phiona walked closer they could faintly feel as if the ambient magic was swirling around it. Into it.

"What is this?" Kite repeated, more to voice his confusion than actually getting an answer. But he did know one thing; this was the object which Sage had picked up on. To his magical senses, it felt like something incomplete, but still on the brink of becoming more. But contrary to the scale of the ordinary manifestations he had triggered, this was a different prospect entirely.

"I… do not know." Phiona said, voice conveying a bit of the awe Kite felt.

"But it feels substantial. Look!" she said, pointing at the closest part where gleaming black met purple stone. Leaning in, Kite could see what she was indicating; there were small cracks and fissures in the stone around it, seeming to emerge from the object. From their depths, the ambient purple light shone just a little brighter.

"Roots." Kite said under his breath.

"It looks almost like it's sprouting."

"If that is the case, it seems to have quite the way to go." Phiona said, nodding.

"You mean to say that this is a seed?"

"Oh I would not claim to know anything of the sort. But it just looked so similar. While growing up, Auntie Dove often showed me how seeds grew and matured. I always loved to see her spells from the plant essence and how the little kernels started sprouting the smallest of roots and the twin leaves which were often the first to appear. This just reminded me of that." Kite said, reminiscing.

"I can see the resemblance." Phiona said, looking over the thing once more.

"And you said that Sage sensed it as well? Can you trigger something?"

"Yes and… I don't know. I don't think so, at least not yet. It feels like watching something close to completion, but 'close' is only used relatively in this case."

"Then try it. It is often worth trusting the instincts of our powers. Speaking of aunts, mine often said that the soul knows more than our minds can comprehend, but that our instincts are what manages to break through." Kite looked up at the object again, dipping into a more meditative mindset to better feel the sensations Sage was giving him from where it was subsumed.

"I believe that you are right. Then may the heaven's witness me." Giving the mental push usually needed, Kite felt Sage's power connect. This was usually enough, but nothing happened. Eventually, Kite started to feel a tug on his own mana as well. Assenting, his own spiritual reserves started flowing towards the thing as well. It was a steady flow, gentle and constant, and Kite chose to press on even though there was no response from the object.

He kept it up, but eventually let the connection go when he neared the end of his mana reserves.

"There is indeed something here. Something vast. I've never needed to supplement much to Sage before, but now I emptied almost all of my mana into it, and it felt like trying to fill a well with a thimble."

"Quite interesting, but unfortunately that means it won't be of much use to us at the moment and our current predicament." Phiona said.

"But it does remind one that there are constant wonders to be found in our world. Come, I believe it's time we returned. You should maybe try returning when you're gold rank. It might have matured enough at some point in the future." Kite nodded, but couldn't help lingering slightly to gaze at the seed, now feeling with some certainty that it was indeed what the object was. And during those fleeting seconds, an idea was born.

"-so if we can create just one other hidden opening here, we should be able to really be a pain in their proverbial behinds and still have a line of retreat should they manage to locate us." Rachel finished, pointing at a spot on the rough map they had managed to piece together through their efforts over the past hours.

"Then we should be able to begin, no?" Vista asked.

"Make some forays, disable some of the alarm traps and make ourselves some hunting grounds?"

"We should." Phiona said, nodding. Kite thought that even the normally controlled Geller was looking a bit eager at the prospect of getting out of the caves.

"But I have one more point of concern." she continued.

"And that is if, or rather when, our foes might consider retreat. Assuming we succeed, that is. I for one would not relish the thought of being sealed inside this space until someone comes looking for us, should our enemies be able to close the aperture behind them."

"Or return with reinforcements." Kite said, nodding along.

"Do you mean for us to strike at them directly then, Nona?" Rachel asked, but Phiona shook her head.

"No, but we will need to scout a bit to get an idea of the forces arrayed against us. Kite, Vista, you will probably be of great help in this regard with your bonded familiars. Should they begin to lose their nerve after we have begun our counter-offensive, we will be sure to be there and capitalize on it." The steel in Phiona's eyes and the faint smile on her lips had Kite shudder slightly, the expression somehow a lot more menacing than Rachel's and Vista's eager focus.

"Then we should plan thoroughly and fight fluidly." Kite said, looking at the map before locking gazes with each of them." Vista, your skill with the blade is beyond anything I have witnessed, and your momentum seems boundless. Rachel, you deal death and life in equal measure in a way that makes the heavens tremble. And teacher, your calm, knowledge and precision has seen us through before, and I have no doubts that it will again. As the junior to all of you, I want to say thank you.

It will be an honor to fight alongside all of you." A silence followed his words, the other three seemingly not knowing exactly how to respond.

But eventually, Vista spoke.

"None of us expected things to play out like this. And I believe that now is indeed the time to let our paths run alongside one another for a time. To survival, and through the storm of enemies that will break upon our prowess and fall before our skill. The honor is mine." Phiona smiled and shook her head.

"Coming here was supposed to get me away from the past and find my own way forward. And now that I happen to find myself stuck in an astral space with what we assume to be blood cultists and monsters out for our flesh and blood, I must say that my expectations fell short of reality. In this, I echo the sentiment; the honor is mine."

"Kite… Didn't you forget something?" Rachel said, looking at him expectantly while Phiona only rolled her eyes. Looking at her for a short moment, it dawned on him.

"Rachel, you are also the fairest of ladies with the elegance and grace of the dancing mists of dawn." Kite said with all the theatrical sincerity he could muster.

"Yes! That's more like it! Now let's go melt some cultists!" Rachel cheered. And as such, they went to work. Big Wood was walking alongside one of his fellow cultists, doing his best to keep his attention on his surroundings through the hours of wandering the alien landscape and herding the trio of Ravager Apes assigned to them as reinforcements.

"They said that bronze rank would be such a leap in power, but I'm just not feeling it." he thought sourly, looking at their surroundings. Still, Wood did his best to stay vigilant, promising himself not to be next in line to suffer Crimson's fate. Not that he wouldn't have minded being the one holding the dagger, as she had been a cursed nuisance and sycophant, lording over her betters just because she was the disciple of Bearer of Sanguine Promise. But being the fuel for such a ritual…

Some thoughts still made Wood shudder.

"But I was still stuck with the weird guy. At this rate, it will be forever before I can prove myself enough to get named." he thought to himself, looking at the other bronze-ranker walking beside him, seeming as if in deep meditation with a slight smile on his face. Wood's thoughts were interrupted as something changed on the horizon. A glowing red pillar suddenly burst upwards, a beacon showing that there was prey to be found. Unfortunately, Wood immediately noticed that the signal was originating quite far away.

By the time they got there, it would all be over, probably not even scraps left to taste. Sighing, he turned to his companion.

"I guess we should still get over there, or else it might mean trouble for us."

"And leave little me all alone? I thought you locals were supposed to be gentlemen." a voice suddenly called from behind them. Wood turned and saw a red-haired woman had leapt up on one of the rocky outcroppings. From her armor and aura, there was little doubt as to her identity.

"Kill her!" he shouted, the rest of their little pack already having turned at her words and sensing her projected aura even over the disturbance.

"Projected?" Wood's mind managed to push the words to the forefront of his mind even as his nails grew into long and thin sanguine claws.

"But that means that she wants us to notice. And the beacon far away… It's a trap!" The final thought escaped his lips in a cry, but it was already too late. Four other silhouettes had already appeared from behind boulders; a swiftly moving blonde woman with a staff, a beautiful young man wielding a pair of whirling blades and another young man running at them unarmed and wearing a cloak which looked weirdly alive. And finally, a three-headed canine creature which swiftly grew in size to charge Wood's group.

"Heavens curse my luck!" Wood snarled, readying himself for blood to be spilled. And he would fight his damnedest to make sure that as little of it as possible was his. Kite was the last to enter the fray, allowing Phiona and Vista to take the lead as he made a more measured advance. He knew his role and would do his best to perform it, already conjuring a barrier to ward off one of three clawed arms which bore down on Vista.

Phiona was giving one of the flayed, red simian monsters a fierce strike over its face when something surprising happened. Kite had assumed the two essence users, a pair of bronze rankers, to let their summoned beasts take the brunt of the initial fighting. One of them had indeed done so, red claws drawing sigils in the air to conjure streams of sizzling blood as the man exchanged projectiles with Rachel. But the other man did not live up to Kite's expectations.

He had worn a pleasant smile throughout the start of the exchange, and still did even as he suddenly dashed to tackle the monster Phiona was fighting out of the way, taking its place in front of the blonde Geller.

"Ah, another master! The heavens truly blessed me! I, Gravedigger of the last Song, will be your opponent this day! Rest easy in that your flesh will become nourishment for-" Phiona did not leave him time to continue any monologuing, a swift thrust of her staff forcing the man backwards as his own weapon appeared in his hand. At that moment, Kite was glad for his expanded vision, as he might otherwise have been left staring in disbelief, unable to take his eyes off the man's weapon of choice.

What collided with Phiona's staff just a moment later was a shovel. A conjured shovel, gleaming silver head and a long handle of black wood. It did his teacher credit that she did not pause at this development, instead deftly dodging a counterattack. Through his magical perception, Kite could see what looked like a potent stunning special attack wreathing the shovelhead, proving true as the trajectory had it blast through part of a nearby purple rock.

"Such a blow might even threaten to knock one such as us unconscious." Kite thought before the battle forced the sliver of his attention away from the duel which was now ensuing. Adjusting according to their plans, Kite left his teacher to handle the essence user and instead moved in to engage one of the monsters. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Up close, remaining in his bubble of calm attention became a lot harder, but Kite continuously strained his mental capacities to remain in that head space as he exchanged blows with the gore-dripping beast. But unlike last time he had faced this kind of monster, expediency was not the utmost priority.

Instead Kite continuously and resolutely started a steady attrition, deflecting and blocking blows as his powers worked on dispelling the exploding clots of blood which had started to grow over the monster's fleshy body. And step by step, he managed his goal; herding it closer to where Vista and Whimmy were engaging a pair of similar monsters. As he deemed their positioning to be correct, Kite called; "Vista, cage!"

"Splendid!" Came the return call, the noble showing a steady glow of power to Kite's magical perception. A glow which would hopefully soon become a bonfire." Wall!" Kite's spell was released, conjuring a series of force walls around the monsters, like a wide box with one site open toward Vista and his familiar. The Cerberus and Vista both responded immediately, both of them unleashing breaths of dark flames onto the now boxed in monsters.

Apparently, Vista had become able to use Whimmy's breath attack as well when their familiar bond ability advanced into bronze rank, and using them in tandem like this became very effective when the flames had nowhere to go but to envelop their foes. The screeching monsters were flailing and staggering under the pain of the searing flames, giving Kite enough time to round the force cage and join his companion and the familiar.

"I'm ready! You may go whenever." Kite said as Vista finished his fiery breath attack.

"Excellent! Ascension of the rising sun! Witness me!" the other young man called excitedly, charging into the box through the remnants of fading fire.

"That name is still stupid!" Rachel called from nearby, currently engaged in some kind of brawl with the other essence user, regenerating through his awkward claw swipes as her arms had turned into serpents wrapping around her foe's body while the hydra heads on her back where gleefully spewing acidic smoke over the restrained man.

"You outlanders just don't have the refined taste required to appreciate proper naming!" Kite called back, a little defensively. He had been quite happy with the name that he and Vista had come up with for the maneuver. But he had to drop the matter, as Vista's twin swords had already begun their deadly dance. In such tight quarters, every strike unleashed the shredding whirlwinds to much greater effect, but the scion lacked much room for maneuvering.

Taking on three opponents in those confines would probably threaten even someone of his skill. But this time, Vista had Kite on his side." Ward!" A barrier appeared to defect a claw aimed at Vista's back while a projected staff-strike forced another monster to flinch backwards. Kite could see Vista holding back his own responses, still working with trusting that Kite would have his back, but as the seconds flew by, the tendencies gradually lessened and Vista's ramping boons were growing at a rapid pace.

Early on, the strain of working both barriers and intercepting attacks were threatening to overwhelm Kite's beleaguered mind. But as Vista grew faster and more powerful, and he got more used to the pace and rhythm of the impromptu cage fight, Kite once more started treading on something close to the path he had felt back when the silver-ranked monster had ambushed the group.

With the other two essence users being handled by the Gellers, Kite could continue to lean into the experience, the dichotomy of a calm mind rapidly executing spells and attacks starting to feel more and more familiar.

"The sun has risen!" Vista eventually called, and Kite saw that he was indeed now aglow with the power of his ramping attributes.

"Then go and brighten the world in your splendor!" Kite called in return, feeling Rachel's aura cringe at their antics. After a final flurry of blade strikes, Vista kicked off one of the monsters, nimbly weaving through the now rather slow attacks of the severely wounded beasts. Landing outside, he shot off towards the shovel-wielding essence user still engaging Phiona with, Kite had to admit, surprising skill.

This left Kite with three quite injured monsters surrounded by his force walls, and he did not hesitate as he leapt forward to swing his staff, its chiming head impacting the outside of the force walls. The sound of a deep gong rang out, before the box of force exploded inwards, waves of resonating force converging on the three bloodied beasts before they could attempt to charge out from the confines.

Flesh ruptured and bones cracked under the reverberations, one of the monsters falling dead while the others still clung to life. They both detonated what clotted blood they had left, the shrapnel forcing Kite to duck behind his personal barrier even as he simultaneously retrieved his blade from his void sheath.

"Dragonfly always loved this one." he thought to himself as he drew the sword to slice, using his accumulated power to further empower the spatial tear which trailed the curved edge of the sword. Part of the way through the swing, the dark tears in space lengthened to surround the blade and extend outwards, Kite's slash now extending several meters in front of him as he sliced through both of the remaining monsters.

A moment later, the enchantments of the sword took effect, the bodies of the bloodied simians rupturing in places from the rending damage as they both fell dead.

"It might have been a bit overkill." Kite thought to himself at the carnage.

"But one has to remember to utilize all powers at one's disposal." His thoughts went to Brook, who would probably be horrified at the gore-splattered battlefield.

"I should probably refrain from repeating that particular show of adventuring life in her presence if possible." His calm inner monologue was made possible by the fact that the fight was over. The two cultists had been pressed enough already, and the addition of a powered-up blademaster had quickly turned the tables. Or rather sliced the tables into pieces.

"Nona, what was up with that guy? A shovel? Really?" Rachel said incredulously as she looked down at the fallen man. Phiona shrugged.

"I must admit that I have never faced someone wielding that particular implement before, but a conjured magical one proved quite potent. And he probably had the master confluence as well, so who was I to underestimate him? Besides, he was rather skilled."

"It was probably best that I didn't face him. I'd probably have been brained while rolling on the ground with laughter." Rachel said with a shake of her head before levering a stare at Kite and Vista.

"And you guys! Naming your techniques was so cringeworthy that I almost lost concentration entirely."

"We stand by our cultural heritage." Kite said, haughtily raising his chin a bit.

"Indeed." Vista added without missing a beat.

"Still, the tactic seemed to work rather well, albeit a bit overkill when only two enemies remained. But I would consider it a proof of concept in the right scenario." Phiona said.

"But we should hide the bodies and get going. This is but the first strike today, remember?" As they were moving off from the site of the battle, Kite stopped every now and then and closed his eyes, seeing the purple landscape blur by through another set of eyes. He felt Glint's excitement, and no pain or distress.

"Good job with the distraction, shiny one." he thought, sending the sense of praise through their familiar bond.

"Think you can do it again?"

"-and you will need to concentrate the patrols even further. We cannot sustain this pace if the losses keep mounting up, and you remain unable to locate them in what is essentially a flat landscape." Bearer of Sanguine Promise told his reporting subordinate, the woman barely containing her aura as she had clearly had enough of both him and this astral space.

The small part of him that remained calm and reasonable agreed with her; three days of false alarms and patrols going missing without ever managing to corner their prey had been constantly grating on his and all of their nerves, especially as the task became ever harder as their numbers dwindled.

Even when they had started laying traps and not reacting to the triggered alarms, the blasted adventurers had changed up their tactics and instead ambushed the token force that actually investigated the triggered formations. There were so many plans Promise wanted to enact, systematic rationality denied him by their lack of resources.

"At least what remained of Crimson perked me up. The taste was better than expected from an iron-ranker", he thought, dismissing the frustrated woman for her to start enacting the new patrol schedule. The thoughts of his former disciple had him look to the ritual circle and the opaque barrier covering it.

"Maybe I was too hasty?" Promise thought to himself.

"I might not even need to employ it. Explaining it to her uncle might be-" His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden eruption of a red beacon from the trap formations. Startlingly close by too, just beyond the nearest big dune.

"Are they mocking me?" Promise thought angrily.

"As if we woul-" The second interruption came when he saw a discharged spell from one of his own people arc up into the air, the icicles detonating like deadly fireworks in the air.

"They are here? Truly?" Promise asked aloud, although not to anyone in particular. One of the two guards he had left in the camp came running up to him.

"Master, we need to go and assist-" he began, but Promise cut him off with a curt gesture.

"We need to retreat. Gather the necessities and prepare."

"But master, they look to be right there! We need-""Who of us stands closest to the Red Table?" Promise snapped, his gaze boring into the other bronze-ranker.

"You, master." the man half-growled, his anger clear but his hands remaining still.

"Then do as I say. Gather the supplies. And prepare our retreat." Promise's voice was once more level, but carried a chill.

"Or you will be the next one to become fuel for our cause." With that, Promise himself turned and stormed towards his tent which stood close to the ritual circle and its opaque dome.

"They know something." He thought to himself, mind racing.

"They have a plan. Otherwise, they would not be so reckless. I need to cut my losses and go. We-" Something at the edge of Promise's perception caught his eyes; movement flickering over another nearby dune, a bit removed from where there were still signs of battle.

He sighed in resignation as he looked up from where he was storing key possessions in a dimensional pouch, seeing the vortex of wind accelerating towards their camp accompanied by another humanoid silhouette riding what looked like a big fish floating over the purple dunes.

"Those who say that the gaze of the heavens cannot reach us in an astral space… Naive fools, the lot of them." Promise hissed, walking up to the opaque barrier.

"Well, Crimson, it is time to do some actual work for your master for once."

"Three of them, one just vanished into the barrier." Phiona called to Kite from where she crouched on Glint's back, staff already conjured and held behind her.

"I would assume that hoping for him to just hide in there is asking too much of the heavens?" Kite responded, gliding over the ground through the power of his war fan.

"Isn't it your people who always praise the heavens for giving you challenges in order to grow?" his teacher asked, her arched eyebrows clear in the tone of her voice. Kite chuckled, even in the face of the danger they were diving towards.

"Then in true Hua-Xi spirit; may this opportunity properly temper our paths!"

"This time, student, I can get behind the sentiment. Good luck!" Phiona called as they grew close to the gathered tents covered in purple dust to the extent that their original colors were barely visible. Two of their foes had already walked up to the edge of the camp, readying themselves for battle. Kite started picking up the trace of their bronze-rank auras, as well as glimpses of the magic that the pair was wreathing themselves in.

The man had already begun some kind of transformation, his neck elongating and red scales growing over his body. He retained his humanoid body, but his head distended into an eyeless face which was mostly just a big maw surrounded by squirming tentacles. His companion had a different approach, fire starting to emanate from her form, although the flame behaved oddly, almost looking as if they were dripping onto the purple sand beneath.

Their auras were probably the best controlled of those foes Kite had yet encountered among this attacking force, but that was a relatively low bar. The opaque barrier and what was hidden inside was what made him the most cautious in this situation.

"I will go as soon as I am in range, for the one with the maw." Phiona said, rising slightly on Glint's back. Before Kite could answer her, she leapt off the familiar only to jab her staff down into the sand at a just the right angle for her momentum to be carried forward, the weapon flexing on its own volition to launch her with even greater momentum. As his teacher shot off like an arrow towards the male cultist, Kite turned to Glint.

"You know what to do, little beauty. Stay safe." The glittering carp twirled once in the air before turning and zooming off towards the other dune of purple sand, bolts of magic still frequently shooting up from behind it. As the magic of his fan was starting to fade, Kite kept it in hand in order to wring the last burst of speed out from the item. With a jerk, he touched ground already at a full sprint as Phiona clashed staff first with the transformed monstrous cultist.

While the woman might have wanted to help her comrade, she ignored his conflict with the blonde Geller and instead kept her full attention on Kite. Flames rising from her shoulders, Kite could hear her spell chant even as her aura clashed into his.

"Attention of the weeping sun!" About a second later, the casting of the spell slightly delayed thanks to Kite's aura, a fiery orb shot up into the sky before it quickly started spraying a cascade of small, flaming motes down over the area in front of her, proving the spell to live up to the words in its chant. Even as he continued running, Kite answered with a spell of his own." Dissolve the patterns of power!"

His dispelling wave expanded upward from him, burning rain winking out before the small sun did so as well. Having only around five meters left before he was within striking range, Kite readied himself as he saw the frustrated hardening of her eyes.

"May the flames set your blood aboil." This time, a thin beam of fire shot out straight at Kite, carrying what he assumed to be some kind of burning blood affliction. Unfortunately for her, Kite had hoped for this outcome, his fan already flickering with silver light even as his other hand reached back to draw his sword from the void.

The thin ray struck the painted lake on the war fan like the first rays of dawn reflected in its serene waters, seemingly held in stasis for but a split moment until the reflection was suddenly and violently completed. The woman hissed as her own attack struck her shoulder, just barely managing to fly backward on a jet of fire in time to dodge the projected slash which was Kite's follow up.

"I will enjoy taking the first bite from you." she hissed, launching a bolt of fire at Kite before following up with something greater.

"Projection of the heart-flame!" A conical swathe of flames tinged with red life force washed toward Kite, the slight delay of the casting once more giving him some more time to react as the fire bolt was deflected on a personal barrier. Trusting his powers by now, Kite swung upward with his staff, its chiming passage parting the wave of fire like a gust of wind scattering falling leaves, draining the cultist's mana twice over as the spell collapsed.

He was just about to advance further, when a pulse could be felt from within the opaque barrier further inside the camp. Then, said barrier dissolved, and with its passing came trouble.