Chapter 333. Teacher and Student (Patreon)

An hour passed. Ian took the time to relax. The journey to Soolemar’s lair had been long, and Ian hadn’t dared sleep. He could sustain himself using his practice–had sustained himself for weeks at a time while pursuing greater power. But he couldn’t eliminate the exhaustion in his bones, one exacerbated by Zhuram’s extensive reconstruction of his body.

When he realized that he was nodding off, Ian pulled out the Blade of Revelation and stared at his reflection. Then, he drew the blade across his chest, initiating his transformation and granting him a second wind.

With refreshed focus, he mentally addressed Maria. Maybe he’s not planning to come tonight. I could call him with the transmission artifact and tell him I’m here.

Or you could message him with your new glossY–you should still have his contact information in your old one and can transfer it over.

True.

Another half hour passed without Ian doing anything. He didn’t understand what was stopping him–why didn’t he just reach out to Soolemar? Am I afraid that he’ll tell me my soul is unfixable? What Ian had told Achemiss back in Eternity wasn’t a lie–Ian thought he’d found the crux of his soul weakness. Even if it was harder to fix his soul than anticipated, Ian wasn’t actually worried about succeeding in the effort.

Maria, he finally asked, why am I nervous about seeing him?

She answered him with another question. Why haven’t you called Karanos and Crystal?

Ian frowned.

Or Germaine.

I just… He didn’t know how to explain it.

You want to wait until this business is over before you contact them, Maria posited.

As far as Karanos knows, I’m still in Eternity, Ian replied. What’s the point of calling him now when Achemiss still lives? Germaine is the same. I don’t want to give her false hope that the danger has passed. Hopefully this will all be over in a day or two, if we’re lucky enough that Euryphel finds Achemiss’s End arrows with his fatesight.

These are poor justifications, Maria stated. You could call them now and let them know what has happened. Karanos might even have good advice. Now that Achemiss no longer has his arsenal of artifacts, he’s at a marked disadvantage. Unlike you, he’s alone, without allies.

Even so, all Achemiss needs to do is assassinate me when I’m unable to defend myself or unaware. He’s a peak Dark practitioner, so even though he specializes in offensive disintegration, he can certainly use his power to phase through solid matter. It’s a nightmare.

That’s why we have Regret practitioners, she argued.

Ian grunted his acknowledgment. Yeah, I guess.

You should remember that one of the most powerful Regret practitioners on our world is dead set on keeping you alive, Maria added, the implication obvious. Also, Orion Iucorsu is in the Darkseers. He has peak Regret and Mountain affinities, perfect for detecting future attacks and defending against them. Then there’s always Kaiwen, though I have other plans for her.

Ian recalled his brief encounter with the Regret and Moon dual practitioner during Ari’s descent. He considered asking what kind of plans Maria had in mind, but considered it moot–he’d find out eventually, and he trusted her judgment.

You failed to understand the point of my question, Ian. You have Beginning affinity now, so you’re not simply unaware–you’re being deliberately obtuse.

Not intentionally.

Let me transform, Maria thought.

Ian siphoned the Blade of Revelation’s energy back into himself, forcing Maria to revert to her humanoid form. As Ian sagged, she pulled him to her chest, supporting his torso against her own. He rested his head on hers, the top of her head supporting his jaw.

“Ian,” she murmured, “you don’t like to show people your failures, your weaknesses. You put on a brave front and pretend that all is well. You don’t want Soolemar to see your fragility, don’t want those back in Eternity to hear of your failure, don’t want Germaine to comfort you.” She chuckled. “You didn’t even want to ask for Euryphel’s help yesterday.”

“Is that so bad?”

She hugged him tighter. “It’s not bad–but it’s not exactly healthy.”

They held their embrace for several minutes before Ian disengaged. Groaning, he pulled out his old glossY and powered it on once Maria wrote a small End array on the back that prevented the device from connecting to the distributed network. He manually copied over several contacts, including Soolemar, Euryphel, and Germaine.

His fingers paused their typing when he reached his mother and aunt, “Iolana” and “Julia,” their names adjacent.

He wondered what Aunt Julia thought about his ascension. He hadn’t had the chance to speak with her in years, at least from his perspective.

And his mother… Germaine had avoided mentioning her.

“No more procrastinating,” Maria said, smiling.

Her expression was infectious. Ian smiled back, then made a big show of selecting Soolemar’s information and initiating a projection call.

The old necromancer answered immediately, though appeared to be busy, not deigning to look at the projection. He was tightening a tie around his neck and fixing his collar. “Who is this?”

“Your student,” Ian said.

Soolemar’s head whipped around. “Why–” he cut off, seemingly at a loss for words. “A Datchan phone number?”

Ian shrugged.

“I almost didn’t answer!” Soolemar huffed.

Sensing his distress, Divian–Soolemar’s silvery hound–barked and brushed up against her master, her head arching up toward his chest.

“I have a gala tonight,” Soolemar added. “An important one.” He grabbed and held up a black suit jacket. “I just had this tailored for the occasion. And this tie–new.”

“It looks lovely with your eyes,” Maria called, leaning against Ian so that she was visible in the projection.

Soolemar graced her with a roguish smile. “Ah, Maria. I have heard so much about you.”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “Are you actually going to this event?”

The necromancer let out a harsh chuckle. “Of course you would ask that still. No, student–it seems that I have a sudden change of plans. A celebration, I’d guess.”

Ian’s smile froze. “Not exactly.”

Soolemar’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you?”

“Your cave.”

Soolemar nodded. “I’ll be there immediately.”

The call ended.

Maria gave him a knowing look. “Was that so hard?””

“Yep.”

She rolled her eyes and gave him a light punch on the arm. “Do you need me to transform into the regalia?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just Soolemar. Besides, I bet he’ll be interested in you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You do realize how that sounds, don’t you?”

“Academically,” Ian clarified. “An academic interest, given that you’re a lich.”

She snickered. “Oh Ian–you’re too easy.”

—

Soolemar didn’t know what to think as he approached his workshop. He hadn’t been able to properly process the situation when Ian called. The ascendant had returned and was alive. That was cause for celebration, given his risky plan to kill Achemiss.

But apparently all wasn’t well.

Soolemar sensed Ian and Maria before he saw them. They had proceeded into the main part of his workshop underground. They should have sensed his approach as well but seemed content to wait for him.

“Soolemar,” Ian called out as the necromancer reached the workshop.

Soolemar was no stranger to Ian’s transformed appearance, having seen it via the transmission artifact. Even so… seeing Ian in person–feeling his altered vitality–left Soolemar momentarily stunned.

“No wings, this time,” Soolemar said, latching onto the smallest, most innocuous detail.

Ian chuckled. “Not this time. That was just to enhance my disguise while in Eternity.”

It was an effort to turn his gaze away. Ian was a terror–possibly the most intimidating person that Soolemar had ever seen, the effect enhanced by Ian’s obvious nonchalance. He wasn’t trying to look intimidating, like a lord of darkness. He just was. His skin was the color of night and rugged, almost warped, enhancing his brow and cheeks. His eyes were pits that glowed with subtle, rainbow iridescence. His vitality was strong, almost impossibly so, as though every inch of him was crammed with Life, and his vital signature was the most unique Soolemar had ever seen, courtesy of the three affinities.

Even Ian’s casual clothing–including the ballcap with the margarita icon—wasn’t enough to dispel the oppressiveness around him.

Soolemar understood why people may have once worshiped returned ascendants as gods.

He turned his attention to Maria, Ian’s lich, and the former ruler of Selejo. Maria was strikingly lifelike, so much so that Soolemar almost couldn’t believe that she was undead. It was more than an illusion–her vital signature was different, unlike the inky, uniform blackness of a typical lich. She was dressed in a set of combat blacks, the only source of color an azure diadem that hovered over her head.

He inclined his head to her respectively. “You look lovely–and remarkably alive.”

Maria beamed. “The pleasure is mine, Soolemar. You look remarkably alive yourself,” she teased.

“I’ve had a millennium to perfect my disguise,” Soolemar said.

“I cheated a bit,” Maria confessed, pointing to the blue circlet. Suddenly, Maria’s vitality shifted, turning black. Her skin took on a preternatural pallor and her eyes glowed. She was enchanting, but no one would mistake her for a living person.

“Can I see that?” Soolemar asked, laser focused on the diadem.

“Sure–but later. The situation is urgent.”

Soolemar’s expression fell. “So you implied on the call. What is amiss?”

Ian explained how Achemiss had escaped. “Do you have any idea how anyone could survive being destroyed so completely?”

If it were anyone else speaking, Soolemar would have doubted their tale. People didn’t simply shrug off being destroyed body and soul–especially when the one who brought such annihilation was a practitioner like Ian Dunai. Ian wouldn’t have made a mistake–he would have utterly extinguished his opponent.

So how did Achemiss still live?

“I know little of Achemiss’s preparations to ascend when he was mortal,” Soolemar began, his brow furrowed in contemplation. “I didn’t even know that he had ascended in Chemissa. But I find it likely that he would have prepared some kind of contingency in the event that he failed.”

“We also came to that conclusion,” Ian said, nodding to Maria.

“If he prepared a contingency a thousand years ago, it’s incredible that it’s still functional,” Maria added.

“If he really prepared this contingency so long ago, it should have dire drawbacks,” Soolemar said, somewhat smug. “Before he ascended, he wasn’t my equal.”

“Will you help us find and end him?” Ian asked, getting straight to the point.

The answer was easy. “Of course.”

Ian smiled. “Great. With that settled, there’s another problem I need your help with.”

“Fixing your soul,” Soolemar guessed. Ian had told him about his difficulties since gaining his third affinity in Eternity. While he’d helped to speculate about possible causes and solutions, he hadn’t been able to help as much as he would have liked.

But with Ian physically present and his soul no longer protected by Eternity, Soolemar thought they had a good chance to fix whatever problem Ian suffered from.

“Guessed it in one,” Ian replied. “Are you ready to start now?”

“Ready if you are.”