At some point, the city mages began relaying messages to us through telepathy and voice projection, similarly to how Liam usually did it, and we began hunting down priority targets.
Matt and I fought against a humongous creature made from steel chains that whipped around, breaking it apart one slash at a time. Ann incinerated some kind of fast, small beast of ice, by enveloping that entire section of the battlefield in fire. Emilia and Reya wore down another monstrosity by brute force, and Liam assassinated some more priority targets by appearing and stabbing them in their weak points.
By now I was sure he had some kind of ability to target weak spots, because otherwise, with the variety of anatomy we encountered, pinpointing them was hard. But we fought anyway.
Tides of bodies wreathed around us, as usurpers fell by the thousands. Reflectors and Edians died too, though. Sometimes, the ground would shake with a more devastating attack, or the sky would light up in the distance, out where Orvan fought.
Iryel did his best to save the dying, while Chris found a new human body to occupy, mending the wounds on the corpse with a little fleshcrafting until it was presentable enough to walk up to me.
They now wore the skin of a woman with raven hair, the tips of it dyed a patchy blue. Her features were sharp, and her face had wrinkles set into it that indicated she frowned a lot. Which made it somewhat strange when Chris gave me a bright smile from her once-dead face.
Strangely, the paleness of the scar that carried from her right temple in a thick, jagged line down to her left cheek almost looked pretty in contrast to her dark eyes. But I shook off the thought a moment later, focusing on the person inside that body as they spoke to me.
“Fio! Hello there. I appear to have found a new shell. This body is flexible and strong. I find it quite pleasant, though I will still need some more time to adjust to it. Please be so kind and have my back,” they asked, then promptly turned around and fought.
It took me a moment to recognize them as Chris, but with that knowledge, the strangeness was dispelled. As the triz-adu moved, I saw the body they occupied shift occasionally, their shell-crafting taking effect to adjust it.
Arms grew slightly longer, nails a little sharper. The woman’s form became slightly bulkier, and when Chris dodged, the body would twist a little too far, then snap back into place. Their movements were somewhat clumsy, yet refined with mastery.
Every moment that passed, the form adjusted to them as they did to the new shell. It was strange to see, but I snapped out of that thought rather quickly when a bornin leapt at them from behind, threatening to stab their back.
I took the creature down with an effortless flick from my spear, the metal moving to meet my intent before I even finished the thought. My Qi flowed effortlessly, springing forth from my wells and turned instantly into boiling power.
For a little while, I tempered that power. Chris was managing well, and I simply provided a somewhat safe space for them to adjust, but as time went on, they wielded new abilities. Water and wind scythed forward from their thin fingertips, blades and thin spikes, near invisible, staking usurpers through the heart.
Were these the abilities of the shell they now inhabited? Did those mix with their own? I realized I knew little about the way triz-adu functioned. Did they mourn the loss of their last body? Would they have wanted to bury it? Had Marie’s… return taken away their moment of grief?
Once more, I pushed the thoughts aside, [Single-Mindedly] focussing on the fight. Distractions faded away into nothing, and the world dissolved into swinging my spear, over and over.
Blasts of Qi eliminated dangers near me, my vision spread all around the battlefield. I warped space to save others, stepped through reflections to be where I was needed, and walked around like a grim reaper. Usurper after usurper fell in the army.
Minute after minute ticked by. Hour after hour. And eventually, my wells rang dry. All I was left with was the spring of energy that continued to pour out of them, only able to fuel my abilities with whatever Qi I regenerated.
Eventually, my arms became heavier. Impossible to lift. I could no longer reflect blows, and the world stopped warping with my steps as the belt I wore lost its power. And eventually, I was told to step back.
I did not want to. It felt like not enough. More monsters were coming in, just the same as before. Thousands of usurpers pouring at the walls, an endless tide, crawling out of rifts from other worlds. Devouring this one to spawn more of themselves.
Changing the ambient energies to suit them and be more hostile to the Edians.
Still, I moved back. Because otherwise, I was in the way. Other defenders came out. Powerful people of their own right who had the opportunity to rest while we fought instead. And now we would rest while those fought.
On and on, until the civilians were safe, and the city was lost. What a miserable display.
I gritted my teeth and retreated, the others following along. Chris’ new shell was right among my heels, carried forward by blasts of their chosen elements, as I pushed the Qi generated within myself to move through the world.
And eventually, we were back behind the walls.
- - -
The city communicated with us again through their mages, but Iryel mainly took charge of filling out the reports for us. We were offered a brief time to use the local temples, but declined. Not enough use yet.
Chris spoke again, following with three of their shells now. They seemed pleased with this one, already attached, and would feel loss when the body died again. But such was the life of the triz-adu, they’d said. Loss was simply part of it.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
We fell asleep in the barracks to the sound of war. The bed was soft, but despite that, the sleep was miserable.
- - -
Only two hours later, when my cores were almost full again, we were woken up. It was enough sleep to make me feel energized, but not enough to be well rested. Energized would have to do.
Some poor page was sent to get us and seemed to shiver in his boots as he spoke to me. A boy, barely older than fifteen, maybe. “Ma’am… your presence is asked for at the keep… a swordswoman saw you and is requesting an audience. She waits for you there. With…” he swallowed heavily, “the archmage Dreyfa.”
I nodded, faintly. “The rest of the team?”
“Required at the frontlines,” he said again, shuffling slightly.
That one, I noted, was not as much of a request. They were needed. So was I, but apparently, this took precedence. “Alright, thank you,” I told the boy. “I’ll be at the keep soon. The others will fight soon, too.”
Hastily nodding, the runner took off to bring that message back. I was unsure if that was necessary, because with me having Qi to burn, I could be at the keep before he was there, even with the head start. Lots of mirrors in a city, after all.
My gaze swept over the group. Iryel, who sat slumped against a wall, tired. He’d poured more healing into Emilia, letting her regrow a bit of her leg. It was slow, and horribly itchy she said, but it was progress. Emilia herself, with deep set eye bags from fatigue and pain.
Ann, barely awake, and already flickering through shapes of mana, hoping to find a little more mastery in the brief moments before she went to fight. Matt, with petals falling gently around him as he sat cross-legged, his eyes closed. Chris, crafting their shell a little more, hardening their skin and toughening up the muscles.
Reya and Liam, too, were relentlessly preparing. It was what war did. I breathed in deeply, slowly. The fact that I would be dealing with a mild amount of politics while they fought was annoying. But, then again, nothing to be done about it.
Once more, I took a breath, then kissed Ann on the head. “Be safe,” I said simply. She nodded, smiling.
“You too, Fio. See you soon.”
“See you,” I nodded.
With that, we both got up. She roused Matt from his meditation, and I took a step through the reflections. Then a second and a third, and then I was in the keep. I was gracious enough to appear out in front of it, the one single guard on duty there, rather than on the walls, looking surprised, since I used her armor as a teleportation node.
“Good Morning,” I said in the long night, “I’m Fiona Bellum. Asked to see the archmage.”
Instantly, she put down her halberd, and gave me a quick nod. “Right,” she said, voice raspy. “Just head on inside. Avoid the hallways with rubble and- oh, who am I kidding. You’ll find your way. Thank you for your service.”
I nodded at her thanks, then strode into the castle. With some Qi, my Wanderer’s Key let me walk through the walls, and quickly find the room I was meant to be in. The fact that I didn’t walk in through the door seemed to somewhat surprise Olivia. She yelped as I stepped in front of her.
Orvan was in the room, too, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. His robes were in tatters, same as my clothes were. His hair was matted with blood, same as mine, and his face looked tired. But still, we were both here, ready to fight.
Before that, I talked to the one-handed swordswoman. “Why am I here?” I asked, curtly.
Olivia looked at me, her blond hair striking even though it was matted with dirt. Her eyes met mine, and there was a mix of emotions in there. Fear and hate and worry and determination and exhaustion and frustration and defiance all at once. And yet, respect, somehow, above all others.
“I wanna learn from you,” she said simply. Her voice still carried that bloodthirsty, uncaring attitude. “Cuz I was thrown away like a broken tool. And that pisses me the fuck off.”
At that, I shook my head. “And why would I help you?”
“Because you hate Zinnic as much as I do,” she replied.
“So what?” I asked. “There’s an eclipse right now. If you want to get strong, get out there and fight. Save some people for a change.”
She frowned. “I have. Old man can vouch.”
Orvan nodded as I looked over, the faintest motion. “She has.”
With a fiery expression, Olivia turned to me again. “So. Let me learn from you. You’re strong. You fight like me. We’re similar-”
“I have never killed a person, Olivia.”
“Are the usurpers people?” she asked, a quiet hiss. “Because I think saying they’re monsters is a pretty fucken petty excuse.”
Anger crept into my veins as I stared at her. I felt the urge to break her legs again - and paused. I took a deep breath. Then I suffocated that anger, and looked at her, genuinely, for the first time.
She was doing good things. Otherwise, Orvan never would have called me here. “Make your case,” I said slowly, “but try to not insult me too much, yeah?”
With a huff, she nodded. “Fine by me. I learnt a lot about this world recently. Foremost, that the people are real. I knew, before, but I didn’t know. I still don’t care a whit about them, same as on the other side, really, but at least I think they don’t deserve to be killed.
“I also think,” she continued, “that the usurpers are people. An invasive, conquering people, who deserve to be fought back here because they would genocide this world in a heartbeat, but still people. So you have killed, and you will kill again, and so will everyone in this damn eclipse.”
A short look at Orvan and he nodded again. We were killing. It sucked, but I’d already known that and made peace with it.
Olivia continued. “I am not as strong as you. Not even close. But I have potential. I learn fast, and Zinnic recruited me for a reason. I’ve killed enough of the usurpers to even get granted more power by the divines, entered a special contract and all that said they could relinquish what was given if I hurt an Edian again.”
That was shocking. Gifts could never be taken back, but this… was more like a loan. An individual condition. How interesting.
“So I’m gaining power again. I’m advancing. But physical power can only take me so far. I need to learn how to use my Qi the right way. Teach me, so I can kill the usurpers better. So I can get back at Zinnic for how they discarded me. So I can prove to this world that I fucken’ matter!” She was almost roaring by the end, eyes wild.
I looked at her, for a long moment. “I wanna see your Disposition. In your status, your Gift, or your contract. Whatever you call it.”
She frowned. “Fine.”
Then she pulled it up.
[Name: Olivia Tyrdin
Class: Swordswoman (9) - SHACKLED
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Techniques
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Stats
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Disposition
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Covenant
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Worth (Show the world you matter, and who matters to you)
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Temperament
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Ferocious (Your defiance burns quickly and brightly.)
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Equilibrium (No life is worth more than another by default; worth must be proven.)
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Turmoil (Your worldview was cracked and shaken. It is reforming. Guide it well.)
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Disconnected (Physical matters matter little to you.)
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Talent
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Raging Passion (Your desire for growth is hard to match.)
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Swift Learner (You pick up new skills quickly.)
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Warmonger (In the heat of battle, you grow.)
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Connections (Every single ability is connected. Your growth in one direction benefits your growth in others, too)
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Current Status: Determined]
I read through it all, then looked at Olivia. She was an angry woman, who enjoyed vengeance, and would grow quickly as a fighter. I had earned her respect by crushing her in what she should have excelled at. Now… here we were.
She had been wronged, discarded, taken for a fool. Zinnic had made a mockery of her [Burning Passion] and spit in the face of her [Worth]. I sighed. I saw where she was coming from.
And… she was talented. Determined to follow me along. I glanced at Orvan again. Suddenly, I was a little curious about his status, but his eyes remained closed, his breathing flat.
“I’ll have a few conditions,” I said to Olivia.
“Of course,” she agreed. “I imagined.”
“No killing innocents. No harming my party. Follow my orders. Try your hardest,” I said.
She frowned but nodded. “Obviously.”
I nodded, then extended my hand for her to shake. It went against my [Familiarity], but I needed allies, so I would deal with it. “Fine then. Welcome to the team.” She shook it.
Hesitantly, I bound her to one of the spots in my [Transference], grabbing access to her [Connections] talent.