Chương 72: Reach Across The Veil

"Talia! Don't you dare—" Orion never finished. Violet light erupted beneath his feet as chains formed from nothing except Weave. They twisted upward like striking snakes, wrapping around his ankles first, then his legs, waist, chest, and arms before he had time to teleport. The chains tightened before Orion could pull free. He pushed Weave into his movement skill, but nothing came as a suppressive field pulsed out of the chains.

"Damn it!" The chains yanked Orion downward with enough force for one knee to crack the earth beneath it. Across the clearing, Veyra held her staff toward him with both hands. Violet light burned along its length and her face was pale from exertion, though still focused. Teleportation had been Orion's most dangerous advantage - so she'd taken it away. Orion strained again, but to entirely no avail. Then the firelight disappeared from his face. Orion looked up at the shadow that had fallen over him.

The Commander stood several paces away with his sword drawn back over one shoulder. Weave gathered around the blade in dense, dark layers that made the intent obvious. This wasn't detainment anymore. Lightning struck first before the sword fully came down. Thunder exploded through the clearing as the Commander vanished sideways, his body slamming into the nearest tree hard enough to split bark from the trunk. Aegis landed where he'd been standing.

Still human, and still dressed like a man who had been pulled away from dinner rather than a dragon entering a battlefield. Lightning crawled across his arms, and his expression contained none of his usual amusement.

"You." The Commander recovered instantly as Aegis crossed the distance. His fist drew back as electricity condensed around his knuckles, but the Commander thrust one palm forward. Weave detonated between them, and Aegis slid backward several feet, boots carving trenches through the dirt. He looked down, then back up. The Commander had already raised his sword. Aegis smiled without humor.

"Good."

"TALIA!" Aurelia's voice cut through everything as she sprinted into the clearing. She saw Orion, saw the Mage, and she saw the Commander… None of it mattered. Talia lay motionless near the edge of the battlefield, and another body lay only feet away. Aurelia's world narrowed.

"No," she ran faster.

"Talia!" No response. Talia's eyes were open, which terrified Aurelia more than if they had been closed. They stared blankly upward with a horrifying glaze over them. Aurelia skidded to her knees, her perception opening before her hands even reached Talia. Information flooded through her awareness. Dislocated shoulder, a knife wound through the opposite arm, multiple bruises and fractures… But the hole through her chest was the vital one. It had passed almost directly through the heart.

Aurelia stopped breathing for a moment as her hands slammed down on what remained of Talia's chest.

"Talia, don't you dare die on me!" Weave poured out. [Crisis Care] Healing flooded Talia's body with enough force to make it jerk beneath Aurelia's hands. The shoulder snapped back into place, torn muscles knitted, and the wound through her arm closed almost instantly. Those injuries vanished beneath a flood that would have taken another healer far longer to produce. Aurelia barely noticed - her focus remained beneath Talia's ribs. The heart, or what remained of it, had too much missing.

Talia's body had already begun shutting down around the injury. Aurelia forced more Weave into her.

"No…" Across the clearing, steel rang. Aegis had retrieved Orion's fallen axe, which looked almost comically large in his hand. No humor entered the battlefield, however, as lightning raced across the blue blade. He attacked - and the Commander met him. Aegis moved in flashes of raw speed that could've rivaled Orion's teleportation. One moment to the left, the next directly in front. A lightning-wrapped axe descended, and the Commander caught the haft rather than the blade.

He turned his body just enough to redirect the strike into the ground. Aegis released one hand and punched. The Commander ducked and swung his sword upward. Aegis twisted just in time to avoid the worst of it. Steel opened his shirt and a thin line beneath it, but Aegis barely reacted. Instead, he drove his forehead into the Commander's face. The elf stumbled, and Aegis swung again. The Commander retreated, barely avoiding the lightning arcing off the blade like a living extension of the weapon.

For the first time since the battle began, the elf's full attention sharpened. Orion had been dangerous, but this was different. Aegis was stronger, faster, and there was something fundamentally wrong with how his body responded to injury.

"Veyra!" Aegis's axe slammed into his sword.

"Backup!" Veyra heard, but she could do nothing about it. Orion roared nearby as he tore against the violet chains hard enough for veins to stand across his neck.

"Talia!" The restraints groaned, forcing Veyra to tighten both hands around her staff.

"Stay down!" The chains compressed as Orion's Weave surged. Veyra immediately suppressed it, but not without difficulty. The moment she lost focus, he would teleport. The moment he teleported, she would have another combatant in her face. Her teeth clenched. She couldn't help the Commander or attack the healer. She couldn't afford to do anything except hold Orion in place and buy time. Behind them, Aurelia was losing. Her Weave Reserve was enormous, but Talia's wound was larger. Aurelia drew her wand.

"Come on!" The tool amplified the flow immediately. Warm golden light became almost white around Talia's chest as Aurelia's perception plunged deeper. She found tissue and pulled it together. She forced the edges of the heart toward one another. But they slipping apart. [Talia] [Second Seal: Envoy] [Condition: Deceasing…] Aurelia stared.

"You can't..." The words came out broken. She pushed harder. [Weave Reserve: 86%] Talia's heart twitched - which was a reaction rather than an actual heartbeat. Aurelia forced more. [Weave Reserve: 74%] Still nothing. There was simply too much missing for the wound to actually close. Aurelia's own pulse hammered in her ears.

"Aegis!" He heard. The Commander's sword cut toward his throat. Aegis bent backward as steel passed above him. He kicked the elf in the chest, creating a few precious feet of separation. Aurelia screamed again.

"Aegis!" He spared the briefest of glances. He saw her, saw Talia, and saw the golden light pouring out far too quickly. His face changed as he planted one foot.

"Orion!" Orion looked up.

"I need ten seconds!" Veyra frowned.

"What—" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The Commander lunged after him, but Aegis threw the axe. The Commander instinctively dodged, but something about the throw caught his attention. It wasn't aimed at him… but past him. It spun a handful of times before striking the dirt beside Orion. Aegis followed it. The Commander tried to adapt to the sudden shift, but he didn't have enough time. Aegis passed him, then came next to Orion at full speed.

One hand touched Orion's shoulder, for only a fraction of a second as Aegis continued toward Aurelia. [Overcharge: Brotherly Bond.] Power detonated through Orion, and the violet chains shattered. Veyra screamed as the feedback threw her backward. Orion surged upright, his hand closing around the axe, and then he disappeared. The Commander turned as Orion materialized directly in front of him. The Commander blocked the strike, but the impact launched both men in opposite directions. Aegis never looked back.

He reached Aurelia a moment later and landed one hand on her shoulder. Her Skill recognized what she needed before she did. [Overcharge: Crisis Care] Aurelia screamed as Weave erupted through her; it was far too much. Every channel in her body opened at once. Her muscles seized as something tore in her forearm. Blood vessels burst behind her eyes. Her bones creaked beneath the pressure. Beside her, Aegis's knee hit the ground. Even he felt the strain as the transfer tore through his reserve.

Aurelia didn't care as she forced all of it into Talia. More! Veyra recovered. She pushed herself from the dirt and scanned the field. She saw Aegis kneeling, with a hand on Aurelia that seemed to amplify her healing. Her staff rose.

"No, you don't!" Lightning answered. Aegis's free hand snapped toward her, sending a bolt that crossed the clearing instantly. Veyra abandoned her attack for another shield. Her defense withstood the lightning itself, but not the sheer force. Both Veyra - and her shield - were catapulted into the forest before striking something deeper in with a crash.

"Veyra!" The Commander spared one glance, but Orion was already there. Orion's face was different now; cold and wide-eyed. He wasn't calculating or simply defending anymore - he was hunting. The Commander saw it, and smiled for the first time - although not kindly.

"Very well," He parried Orion's next strike.

"Guess it can't be helped." Weave poured out of him, and the clearing vanished. To Orion, everything became a black void. The fire disappeared, trees disappeared, and even the ground disappeared beneath him. Orion slid to a stop as though he had just lost both eyes.

"What the hell?" There was nothing in any direction. No silhouette; no movement; not even his own hands. His hearing was all he had, but it didn't make up the difference. Orion tightened both hands around the axe. He did not need to be told that the Commander could still see him. This wasn't a spell meant to blind everyone - it was meant to give one person ownership of the dark. Outside the dome, the effect was even stranger. A sphere of perfect blackness swallowed a section of the battlefield.

Aegis looked toward it.

"That's not good." Aurelia didn't look; her arms were bleeding now. Small tears opened beneath her skin as her body failed to contain the Weave passing through it. Blood ran from her nose, her mouth, and the corners of her eyes. Aegis looked down at her.

"You're hurting yourself." Aurelia said nothing.

"Aurelia!" More Weave. Her reserves fell and refilled almost simultaneously through Aegis while Talia remained beneath her hands - still slipping away.

"You need to stop!"

"Not now!" Her voice cracked as she pushed harder.

"I'm so close…" She could feel it. The edges, the remaining tissue, and the structure that should have been a heart. She knew how it went together; she simply couldn't make life agree.

"I won't let her die!" Her body tore. Something deep inside her abdomen felt as though it split as pain became everywhere. It didn't matter: Talia had spent months with them, arguing with them. Finding a home with them, and becoming family with them. She wasn't allowed to leave now - not like this. Aurelia refused to let something as simple as "not being good enough" be the reason her little sister died. Aurelia poured every feasible ounce of Weave and Life Force she could forward… And something finally answered.

[Sacrificial Intent Acknowledged] [New Skill Unlocked: Caretaker's Retrieval] [Reach across the veil to keep the family together] Aurelia didn't understand, but she didn't need to.

"Activate!" Blood sprayed from her mouth as soon as she said it. Platinum light erupted from her hands and plunged through Talia's chest. For one impossible instant, Aurelia felt a response. Not physical, but something colder. Talia had been slipping somewhere Aurelia could not follow. Aurelia reached anyway. No. The Skill pulled at something already departing. Aurelia dragged with all she had, and the platinum light pulsed. Talia's heart closed completely.

Talia's body jerked, and a rattling gasp escaped her as air tore into her lungs. Aurelia nearly sobbed.

"Talia." Another breath came out. It was weak, but it was alive and real. Aegis looked toward the dark dome.

"There's no more time." Aurelia inhaled once as her body shook. She reached backward through Crisis Care, drawing from Aegis' power one final time. Her Weave Reserve surged upward as her healing immediately turned inward. Torn muscle tightened, internal damage sealed, and blood vessels repaired. She remained battered and weary, but functional.

"Go." Aegis leapt into the air as lightning erupted behind him. Two enormous storm-dark wings burst from his human back, their edges lit by branching blue-white electricity. One beat sent him above the trees, and the second carried him over the dome. Aegis hovered there, lightning building between his fingers.

"Orion!" His voice boomed across the clearing.

"Get out!" Inside the darkness, Orion heard him - as did the Commander. The elf looked upward, his vision entirely unimpaired by his own spell. He could still see Orion, the axe, and his helplessness to avoid the next killing blow. And above— Aegis. A human body held aloft by draconic wings with dark blue-gray membranes. The Commander's expression emptied.

"No..." He knew those wings. Sevrin's reports had omitted many things, since Drakehaven changed too quickly for every small detail to justify a full update. But some facts had been communicated very clearly. A Storm Dragon. Intelligent, capable of humanoid transformation, and protective of the settlement's founders. The Commander looked at Orion again. White hair. Then toward Aurelia beyond the dome. White hair. The pieces slammed together.

"No!" His spell collapsed. Orion blinked as darkness vanished and the world returned. The Commander has been less than three feet behind him, with his blade positioned perfectly to split Orion from shoulder to hip. Orion started to turn and Aegis's lightning gathered - but then the Commander dropped his sword. He raised both hands.

"Stop!" Both froze"There has been a major misunderstanding!" The Commander looked between them.

"This is not—" A scream came from the forest. Veyra exploded back into the clearing in the direction of Talia and Aurelia. The Mage's robes were torn and blood streaked one side of her face. Her staff was no longer simply a staff; violet Weave had condensed around it, extending from the end into a long spear-shaped blade. Her gaze was locked onto Talia, who had only just begun to stir. Veyra saw it, then saw Keth's body nearby. Dead. Her face twisted.

"You do not get to return when one of ours has fallen!" The Commander spun.

"Veyra, stand down!" She didn't. Perhaps she didn't hear him, or perhaps she did and the words simply could not reach whatever place her mind had entered. Veyra launched herself forward as a burst of Weave propelled her through the clearing. Aurelia saw the spear, and felt Talia barely conscious beneath her. There was no time for a spell. Aurelia stepped in front of her instinctively - the spear driving through Aurelia's torso. Her breath vanished as the point burst from her back. For a moment, everyone stopped.

Even Veyra had paused long enough to stare. Not because she'd struck Aurelia… but because Aurelia remained standing. Aurelia's Status flickered in front of her as blood poured down the violet spear. [Health: 64%] Veyra's eyes widened.

"What?" Aurelia looked down at the weapon through her, then back up. Veyra tried to pull it free, but Aurelia's hand closed around her wrist. Veyra jerked, but got nowhere. Aurelia's grip was significantly more firm that it should have been given the wound.

"How?" her eyes flicked toward Aurelia's Status again.

"Why do you have so much life energy?" Aurelia did not answer. This woman had blasted a hole through Talia, as well as one of her own people. And after Talia had been dragged back from death— she had tried to kill her again. Something hot and ugly moved through Aurelia's eyes. Her wand rose quickly; the tip pressed against Veyra's torso.

"Aurelia—" Someone said her name, but she did not hear who. [Plasma Beam] [Convert Weave Reserve directly into raw destructive force] Aurelia emptied almost everything she had left. Not carefully or intelligently, either. She opened the reserve Lilly had marveled at and poured it forward. White light consumed the battlefield. The beam that erupted from Aurelia's wand was not narrow or elegant. It was wide enough to engulf a horse, and Veyra disappeared inside it before she had time to scream. The beam continued.

Trees vanished and earth tore open. Everything along a straight path through the forest ceased to matter for nearly fifty yards. Then the light ended - and absolute silence followed. Even the forest seemed stunned. Aurelia remained standing, her wand still raised. Smoke drifted from the ruined path ahead. Nothing meaningful remained from where Veyra had been. Aurelia slowly lowered her arm. The staff was still through her, though the violet speartip had vanished. She wrapped both hands around it and pulled hard.

Pain made her vision flash white as the spear came free. It struck the ground as healing immediately surged through the open wound. [Weave Reserve: 4%] Aurelia breathed several intentional breaths. Her hearing returned first. The sounds of steel, lightning, and shouting had all vanished. She looked around as her thoughts slowly made their way back to her. The Commander stood with his hands raised, his sword laying several feet away - his face had lost all color.

Orion stared at Aurelia, almost horrified by what he'd just witnessed. Aegis remained in the air for another heartbeat, wings still spread behind him. His expression was grim, despite the fact he had seen Plasma Beam before. Aurelia looked at the empty stretch of ground where Veyra had stood, then at the Commander's discarded sword. The battle had already stopped before Veyra committed to her final strike - and before Aurelia's retaliation.

The realization settled without fully finding somewhere to go, but it didn't matter yet. She dropped beside Talia, whose breathing was still shallow. Aurelia checked her. [Talia] [Second Seal: Envoy] [Condition: Severe. Recovery in Progress.] Aurelia stared for a moment longer, then smiled.

"Good… I'm glad." The world then tilted as adrenaline left her body. Aurelia barely had time to notice as her arms gave out. She collapsed beside Talia. For the first time since entering the clearing, everything was still.