“A 4th Circle, huh?..” Soren could feel the dread welling up in his chest the more he stared at him. The Beyond… It was quivering—the nausea his presence brought upon anyone that could see his visage was much stronger than the rest.
In fact, their anima seemed to be visible. Soren didn’t understand at first how Myrin was able to tell his circle so easily, until he focused his attention on the fine lines surrounding him.
All around the cloaked figure, unnoticeable shimmering strings could be seen, weaving and dancing around the figure as if they were submerged in water.
This… This was the qualitative change of an Evoker. Those in the 4th Circle had honed their mastery of their Three Layers so much that their Channels of Willpower had thickened enough for even regular people to faintly percieve them.
Soren could tell immediately that they stood no chance. The high 3rd Circle enemy they had just faced took everything they had to beat. Myrin might be a high 3rd Circle magus himself, but he had already wasted most of his anima in the earlier battle… And besides the 4th Circle enemy, he had eight other allies with him in the 3rd Circle.
He glanced back at Myrin and Cassia who was still unconscious. His thoughts in disarray.
Should I abandon them? That question played in his mind for what felt like an eternity. And, he wasn’t exactly wrong to have it—after all, that option did exist.
With Fairy Barrier and Violet Mirage, Soren could now enter [The Faerie Court] whenever he pleases. Although, his position in this world would forever be locked in the skies. The moment he returns to this world, he would most likely fall to his death.
In a way, he was lucky to have Myrin show up when he did… The gravity magecraft Cassia had casted on his bubble ran out of anima the moment she went unconscious. If not for Myrin using the white crane he had illustrated to continue carrying them in the skies, everything would have been over by now.
As for his original thought…
No, not yet. He wasn’t willing to give up. Yes, winning was basically impossible in this situation. They had no way to defeat them.
But who said defeating them was the only option?
“Run!” The word raced out of his lips as he resolutely stared into Myrin’s eyes. The blonde young man didn’t wait another second and nodded. Almost instantly, the white crane began to fly away with the bubble in tow.
At the same time, Soren expanded his Soul Realm once again and casted Violet Mirage. He held tightly to both Cassia and Myrin, though he was uncertain it would even work against these foes.
The white crane sliced through the air as it put all its efforts into running away. And yet, strangely, the enemy didn’t move. Soren watched with bated breath as the nine figures remained standing in their original places—as if their attempt at escape didn’t even bother them.
“Why the hell did they show up only after we defeated one of them?!”
It didn’t make sense to Soren. If they always had an advantage in numbers, why did they not attack them directly all at once from the very beginning?
“Because this is just a scouting party,” Myrin said hastily as he continued to heal Cassia. Beads of sweat rolled off his cheek, “Most likely, they are aware that the Aelloran government is on high alert after that last incident with the Whispering Dream… If they all acted at once, their anima would have easily been detected. Sending one of them to figure out our capabilities while the rest remained undetected was their plan!”
“So then why are they acting out now?!” If their goal was simply to gain intel, had they not already achieved that? Albeit, it had to come with the sacrifice of one of their own.
“I… don’t know…” Myrin answered. “Something must have made them not care about their original goal. They are now hellbent on killing or capturing us, even if it alerts the Aelloran government.”
Soren looked back again and grit his teeth. “Shit…” What he saw horrified him.
All nine of the magi were speeding toward them rapidly. Soon, they would inevitably be caught.
“Take care of her for me,” Myrin handed Cassia to Soren and stood up. His Soul Realm had fully expanded.
“What are you planning to do?!” Soren frowned.
“What else?” Myrin chuckled, “We have to fight them of course!”
He pulled out his flute and began to play a tune. One that Soren had heard before back in the Feylith Forest.
Almost instantly, he felt power flowing through him. This melody… It was a soothing one. He could feel all his fears and worries disappearing from his mind. A flood of confidence filled his chest. Even his fatigue was leaving him.
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Then, the timbre shifted, and with it, the atmosphere.
Courage turned into dread.
Hope turned into despair.
Strength turned into exhaustion...
But strangely, these new feelings weren’t directed at him. He could feel the music, and the meaning it was trying to convey. Yet, those negative emotions didn’t reach him. Instead, they reached Myrin’s enemies.
In the distance, Soren noticed their speed slowing down, as if their minds had been muddled by thoughts not of their own.
Scary… This was the true power of Artist’s Wand. A Soul Weapon that could put emotions and visions to life. He had seen its powers countless times before, but nowhere as extensively as this.
Before him, an entire party made up of 3rd Circle magi were trembling in the skies, trying their hardest to resist the irresistible tunes. Only the 4th Circle Fallen that stood at the front seemed unaffected.
Sooner or later, Soren didn’t doubt that the effects would diminish. But for now, it had bought them enough valuable time.
“The goal is not to head toward the Guild Base but above Celestine Citadel itself. We need to rely on the magi stationed across the castle walls for help.”
Myrin nodded while playing his flute.
“Your music has also helped me recover a bit of my anima.” Soren continued, ”I should be able to cast Mesmerize on them once they enter my Soul Realm’s radius.”
However, it was then that their plans fell through.
Soren watched as the magi chasing after them stopped in their tracks. Directed by the 4th Circle magus, they had all decided that the chase wasn’t worth it anymore.
Instead, they began channeling an attack that they knew they could not dodge…
In front of them, a large spatial crack began to form. An opening to the Rift that Soren was familiar with. Its visage… was horrifying…
“Shit…”
What they saw within the void… It terrified them greatly.
It wasn’t a spirit. It was a creature undefined by the logic of this world.
What they summoned… It was otherworldly… And although it could not enter into Yarian, whatever attack it could create most definitely had the ability to cross over…
Soren redirected his attention to the barrier and commanded his anima through his channels. Fairy Barrier was reinforced three more times. And even then, he didn’t stop. He continued to create more and more barriers on top of the already created ones.
At the same time, Myrin changed Artist’s Wand from its flute form back to a paint brush. He created a couple more layers to the barrier as well.
However, both of them knew it was not going to be enough…
“What the hell even is that thing?!” Soren has traveled through the Rift before—it was a necessary part to his journey to and from [The Faerie Court]. But not once did he even spot the visage of something this monstrous. The only things he could see were the massive shadows that dwarfed galaxies beyond the edge of his vision.
Myrin didn’t answer. He simply stared out into the distance, his eyes dilating. “Oh Maiden…”
This was the only thing Soren heard from him before the world turned bright.
Death had embraced them.
“What?...” At least, that was what he had assumed at first.
What reflected in his eyes was the visage of a bright star. One that was entirely white in its color and spun beyond what his eyes could perceive.
Then, it vanished.
The brilliant night sky returned to their eyes as both Soren and Myrin stared at each other in shock. He held tightly to Cassia who was still fast asleep in his arms.
In front of them stood a figure they both deeply admired and recognized.
Mistress Sienna Yvain. She had awoken from her trance.
Her cool, silk white hair blew freely in the wind as she levitated before them. A dazzling array of star light was contained within the shadows of her cone hat. As for her robe, a faint layer of vibrant blue anima could be seen that danced chaotically around her, like the flames radiating from a star.
They held their breaths. In that moment, not even the visage of a dragon would have phased them.
For the woman that stood before them… She was a 6th Circle magus rarely seen in this continent of fantasia.
The Magister of Star Fate.
“Targeting my disciples,” her words shook the air. “How dare you…”
It was then that Soren realized something horrifying.
Everything in the vicinity was already within her grasp. Her Soul Realm… it was big enough to eclipse everything around them. He couldn’t even see where it ended.
In the distance, he could see the nine magi squirm under the pressure. The roles had reversed—it was now their turn to try and escape.
But such a task… It was no longer even possible.
In mere seconds, he watched as the nine shrouded figures lit up brighter than the Silver Moon. Then, Sienna snapped her fingers.
“Star Ignition.”
A series of explosions rang across that silent night. Every one of the Fallen that had stood before them was now gone. In mere seconds, they had all died a beautiful death—forever transformed into brilliant stars.
Sienna stood silently, watching it all unfold. The nine stars flew in her direction and began to orbit around her.
This was all it took—a single 6th Circle magecraft spell. Not even the 4th Circle Fallen could do anything about it. The spatial crack that was forming behind them also fell apart, returning the Beyond back to its original state.
The woman turned around to face them—both Myrin and him stared back at her in awe. In her eyes, an ocean of constellations could be seen, shifting ever so slowly…
Sienna smiled, “I am glad you three are okay…” The nine stars that were once each an enemy of theirs orbited around her figure. She glanced at them for a second and nodded. “These will do for now… I needed a new medium for my divinations anyway.”
Soren gulped. To her, these Vynasians were nothing more than Divination Mediums?! He glanced at the orbiting stars in fear.
Noticing his gaze, Sienna chuckled. “And you, Soren. We have a lot to catch up on, but most importantly, I need to speak to you about something immediately.”
He flinched, “Huh?”
Sienna nodded, “I just obtained a new prophecy… And it pertains to you.”