Aster Fall: Epilogue (Patreon)

The only thing left at the center of the battlefield was the sealed Grand Flaw, gleaming like a pinprick of dark flame in the ice. The shaman, the walls of ice, and nearly all of the Outsiders were gone, erased from existence.

Above, Caelus was just beginning to move out of alignment, and the power throughout the ruins began to fade. Without hesitating, Sam pulled on the remaining threads of energy and ran, disappearing off the battlefield in a blur of water and moonlight. The last vestige of power from the moons boosted his speed and snow flashed past beneath his feet.

Behind him, the church forces were just beginning to pull their attention away from the explosion, and before they could tell what was going on, he was gone, disappearing into the ruins like a fleeting shadow.

Behind him, he heard their shouts rising up as they targeted the remaining Outsiders and started to finish them off. His hand touched the amulet on his chest, searching for his father. When he found him, he activated it, whispering a reassurance to let him know that he was fine. At the same time, he pulled out a message scroll and sent it to Siwasir, telling him the same thing.

As he ran, he let the illusion fade from all around him. The water droplets faded away as the moonlight disappeared, returning his appearance to normal.

He could feel the silvery aura of experience building up around him as the church started to search the corpses, and before that happened, he needed to be hidden. The aura was too noticeable.

As for where he was heading...the peak of Sun’s Rest loomed ahead of him as he ran across the seventh layer and then jumped up to the sixth. Wind and ice flowed around him, forming steps as he ran up the steep wall.

---

It took the better part of an hour for the church and Ice Sylphs to finish cleaning up the battlefield. As they worked, the Paladin Commander stood at the center of the area with her arms crossed.

Senra had a small frown as she watched the auras of Aster Fall seal over the Grand Flaw. Then, with a final snap of displaced air, the dark gash disappeared, leaving just the strange ice block that had surrounded it.

Her thoughts weren’t on the flaw, since she had seen too many of those, but rather on the strange being that had come to their aid. The one who had been covered in moonlight and shadows, with two crescent moons on his head like horns.

He had arrived like a storm wind, suddenly present at the center of the battlefield, and then he was gone again just as quickly, after summoning up some other legend of the world to deal with the shaman.

The Horned Hunter of the Moons.

She could already hear her troops whispering the name, although she had no idea where it had come from.

Without him, their forces would have suffered a devastating blow. They’d underestimated the strength of this Grand Flaw. Even if they’d been able to eliminate the war beasts and deal with the shaman, it was unlikely that more than one in ten of them would have survived.

As for that spirit the Hunter had summoned...she’d only caught a glimpse of the old woman’s bent back, but her white eyes were etched in her memory. Just thinking about them turning as red as blood sent chills down her spine.

This was not something for a little First Evolution like her to deal with. This was in the realm of World Spirits and the highest tier of magic. She would report the appearance to the church and let them deal with it.

Her eyes turned toward the Ice Sylphs nearby. They had gathered around the ice drake in the distance. From the look of it, they were healing his wounds, but he was so large that it would take quite a bit of mana before they succeeded.

She frowned again, but without hesitating any longer she signaled to three of her stronger Priests and headed over. The ice drake was a critical ally in the battle. The least they could do was to help heal him. At the same time, perhaps she could get some answers.

As they approached, it became clear exactly how enormous the drake was. He was as big as a fort, although most of it was his wings. She could sense her people’s nervousness as they got closer. The drake's pure, crystalline eyes watched them come.

The Ice Sylphs and the drake radiated a sense of natural harmony, as if they were part of a different, more primal world, one that was very separate from her. There was something graceful about them. Despite her best efforts, it made her feel a bit out of place. It also reminded her that she was only a guest in these mountains.

One of the Ice Sylphs stepped forward, examining her and the Priests behind her. His movements were fluid, as if he were floating in the air.

“I am Siwasir. The ancient treaty has been upheld and the valley protected,” he said formally, inclining his head. “Elsanar would appreciate your healing.”

Without needing to be told twice, the Priests pushed aside their nervousness as they moved forward, joining the sylphs beside the drake. As they worked on healing him, Senra pushed aside her other thoughts and focused on the main question she had.

“Who was that...the being that came to our aid?” she asked, resting her hands on her hips.

“The Horned Hunter of the Moons?” A serious look passed across Siwasir’s face and his eyes were grave. “A legend of the ruins. It is no surprise that you haven’t heard of him before. Only my people keep those stories. It was surprising to see him here, but he must have sensed our need.”

“A legend?” Senra frowned again, her fingers tightening on her hips. Something about that figure had made her uncomfortable, but she couldn’t place it. At the same time, there had been an echo of the World Law around him, making it clear that he was part of the world. If it hadn’t been for that, she would have a lot more doubts.

She had Analyze as an Epic-tier skill, but despite her best efforts to Analyze that figure when he appeared, all she’d gotten was a piercing headache, as if whatever he was, it was far beyond the level of her skill to understand.

“Who truly understands how ancient these ruins are,” Siwasir raised one graceful hand and pointed up to where Caelus was still high in the sky. “With the alignment approaching, many old beings are stirred by the power of the moons. We can only be grateful that he came to our aid.”

He seemed unbothered by the legend, as if it were only to be expected.

Senra gave him a doubtful look, but she could only shake her head helplessly as she thought about that being of moonlight and shadow.

“Well, whatever he was,” she said slowly, “his legend is going to spread. Before long, people will come to the ruins to search for the Horned Hunter and to ask for his help.”

“Legends move in their own time, which is very different from ours,” Siwasir said quietly, his eyes fixed on the dark horizon, “but who can tell where the wind will blow. Perhaps they will find the aid they seek.”

Senra shook her head and waited for the healers to finish. When they were done, she sent a last look at Siwasir before she returned to her troops, who were still cleaning up the battlefield.

---

An hour later, Sam sat beside the control pillar at the top of the ruins, his hands wrapped around the amulet as he finished speaking to his father and mother. He’d also sent additional messages to Siwasir and Lenei, letting them know that everything was fine.

The silver aura of experience and ringing notifications from the World Law were hanging on his mind and now that he finally had a moment to himself, it was time to deal with them. There had been more than a hundred people in the battle so he had no idea how the experience would be divided, but there had to be a lot of it.

The World Law’s voice rang in his mind, accompanied by a flood of silver light that struck his bloodstream and turned into sparkling bubbles that rejoiced like the celestial spheres as they sank into his spirit.

Guardian, you have used your Class Abilities to eliminate the enemies of Aster Fall. You alone resolved more than half of the battle and it was your direct action that sealed the Grand Flaw.

You have completed the Task you were assigned to investigate this area and deal with the Outsider incursion. The threat from this invasion was far greater than the amount of experience available for it. As a result, you will be rewarded in additional ways.

From the battle, you gain 37,400,000 Class experience.

As an additional reward, you are granted experience for five levels.

You gain 34,319,510 Class experience.

You have gained nine Class Levels. You are now a Level 89 Battlefield Reclaimer.

Total Class Experience: 128,000,000 / 137,000,000

You have gained nine General Levels. You are now Level 89.

General Experience: 128,000,000 / 137,000,000

You gain +9 Intelligence, +9 Aura, and have 27 free attribute points to distribute.

In addition, you are granted an Epic Tier reward. You may choose any Class or Subclass Ability to raise to Epic.

For Sealing a Grand Flaw and killing the Outsider connected to it, your Soul Echo trait is increased by a tier. All attributes are increased by +4.

For killing three First Evolution Outsider War Beasts that significantly outleveled you, your Trait: Dauntless II is increased by three tiers. You gain +6 Constitution and +6 Charisma.

Guardian of Aster Fall, you honor our world with your effort.

Make your Epic reward choice now.

With that, the World Law’s voice fell silent. A whirlpool of energy began to gather, waiting for his decision.

After all of the combat choices he'd made recently, for this one, he chose something else. He was an Enchanter, and his ability to enchant with auras had been falling far behind his battle skills.

He chose to upgrade Imbue Aura.

There was no doubt he would need it for his own work and to repair the ruins.

The torrent of experience rushed through him, accompanied by three vast whirlwinds of power from the World Law that flowed into him as the traits and ability were upgraded.

The boost to Soul Echo raised his Wisdom to 69 and without hesitating, he assigned 21 of the free attribute points to it as well, boosting it to 90.

Then he put the remaining six points into Charisma. The increase to Soul Echo and Dauntless had just raised it by 10, and with this, it reached 73.

He felt the new attributes itching as his spirit strengthened and his features realigned. With the new Constitution as well, the damage he’d done to his meridians by combusting too many auras was swiftly healing.

It took a little while for the changes to settle in, and when they had, he turned toward the seventh layer, looking down at the area where the Flaw had been. With the help of the Guardian Star, he could see the troops leaving the battlefield as they headed back to their last camp.

He darted forward and touched the shield around the peak. A moment later, he was teleported down to the first layer. As soon as his feet touched the snow, he pulled a cloak of snow and wind around him, and then he was off, gliding over the distance.

Wind and crystal flame sped his steps as he headed back toward the battlefield. Since he’d had to leave so quickly, he hadn’t been able to retrieve any of the auras, but there was still essence there.

It didn’t take him long to arrive, and a moment later he was standing on top of the building where he’d activated the water crystal. Corpses were still piled across the area, left for the wind and ice to destroy. All around, the snow was drifting down, covering them over.

Before long, it was likely that the intensity of the elements here would cause the corpses to disintegrate, leaving behind nothing but the odd bone or trait as a sign of the battle that had taken place.

After a quick check around to make sure everyone was gone, his talons slashed through the air as he called to the essence that was slumbering in the corpses. A crackling wave of energy rose up from the bodies, forming into essence stars that flickered like spirits on top of the snow. With a commanding gesture, he pulled them toward himself.

Thousands of essence stars flew across the snow in an undulating wave, as if the stars in the night sky had descended to grace the mortal world. As they approached him, their colors changed, turning sapphire blue, and they sank into his body.

A resonant song of life and destruction played through his mind as the stars flowed into his essence constellation, completing the rune that was the second layer. The remaining ones flowed upward, forming a third layer on top of it as they began to outline a new rune.

The voice of the World Law echoed in his mind, announcing the gains.

Congratulations, Essence Bearer, on reaching the Third Layer.

Your Racial Ability: Elemental Manipulation has been upgraded to Expert.

Essence Constellation (Third Layer): 7,934 / 15,000.

At the same time, the essence he’d just absorbed flowed into his attributes, boosting them.

You gain +11 Strength, +15 Constitution, +4 Agility, +22 Intelligence, and +22 Aura.

As his attributes changed, he couldn't help but glance at his status sheet.

STR: 63

CON: 113 (+2 with belt)

AGI: 40

WIS: 90

INT: 237 (+6 with bracer)

AUR: 237 (+6 with bracer)

CHA: 73

As the essence flowed through his body, there was a tug on his awareness that urged him to battle, whispering a promise of blood and destruction. It assured him there would be joy in tearing apart his enemies with his bare hands. It was a whispering susurration, a promise of the future in his ear.

With his enhanced Charisma, he shoved it back down, pushing it away as he cleared his mind. He would take the power that came with it, but that wasn’t the future he wanted. As the desire for destruction crumbled away, he felt the explosive strength of the new attributes expanding his muscles and essence.

At the same time, all of the battles he’d fought over the past few days flooded his mind in an overwhelming tangle of life and death. All he’d wanted was to find peace with his family and to set up a small shop in the city, but fate had conspired against him. Everything he’d experienced and the battles he’d fought had built up to the point where he needed some way to express it.

Without planning on it, the moonlight aura he’d called up as the Horned Hunter exploded out of his body, blasting out from him in a wave of triple-colored light that reached into the heavens, shining across the ruins for miles around.

As the moonlight surged upward, he tilted his head back and let out a savage roar. It was a combination of fury at the world for its condition, a towering sense of conquest for slaying his enemies, and hope for a better future.

The roar combined with the moonlight and echoed down through the ruins, bouncing from wall to wall as it resonated between the lines of silver energy that glowed from every stone. Each time it encountered a moonlight strand that lit the streets, it redoubled, echoing more deeply as it passed from one part of the ruins to another.

As it traveled, the sound changed, blending with the desolate silver chime of the ruins as it passed up to the peak of the mountain. At the same time, the light of Silvas, Caelus, and Amaris shone across it, turning the sound into a liquid ripple of color. The roar mixed with the concentrated mana at the peak, gaining strength until it poured back down the slopes with the force of an avalanche.

Like an ocean tide, moonlight roared down the mountain and passed over the twelve layers of the ruins before it flooded the valley below. Wherever it passed, people heard the triple-layered song of the roar and turned their heads toward the mountain, their eyes rising to the peak and the three moons hanging in the sky.

In later years, each of them would swear that they saw the Horned Hunter of the Moons standing at the peak of Sun’s Rest, his enormous body covered in shadows and moonlight as he tilted his head back to the sky and roared to the moons.