[Tian] 1:28 (Patreon)

I REST A HAND ON THE WEBSMITH’S CORPSE.

Her carapace is cold. Her eyes are shut. The red glow within them is now gone. I stand before her, paying my respects for a quarter of a cycle.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “And I am sorry.”

Then I depart. I hurry up the stairs of ice, coming into the frozen island. My footfalls echo through the massive chamber of lava, until I cross the bridge and enter into the tunnel of vegetation. The roots growing out of the ground do not impede me. My Aspect is surging. A white glow that keeps away the darkness.

I feel it coming from my core. It is a strange power. Not my Qi, but my Aura. An untapped ocean that has always been there, but so difficult to grasp. I hold it now in the palm of my hands, and it became something more.

It coalesces around me as I reach the first chamber. The one I woke up in, injured and bleeding, only for the Websmith to guide me to the Pishitim. There is a sea of red above me, dripping with tiny globules like a light patter of rain. Galgom awaits beyond this barrier. He is probably trying to find a way to break through right now. And maybe he is close. But there is something I must do before I can face him and all his bodies to save the Pishitim.

She has held off against this immortal for a long time even before I arrived in this world; I know she can survive for just a little longer.

I ready myself, grabbing a ginsoul pill from my novacloth pouch. But I pause. Must I really expend my Qi to leave this deep chasm? My Aura wisps off my body, a misty veil that covers my body. I close my eyes, manipulating this energy, controlling it to become the medium of which to carry out my desires.

And it shifts— it twists into ribbons, becoming something more solid. My Aspect draws the Aura out, turning it into feathers that slowly cascade around me. I leap into the air, and a pair of ethereal wings unfurl from my back, carrying me higher and higher into the ceiling.

The pit descends below me. I enter the vast wall of Lifeblood— this red sea parts for me, splitting in half as I speed up, ready to face whatever is waiting beyond, power flowing through my body.

I explode out, moving faster than even when challenging the Forsaken Palace. As expected, a few Galgoms are up here waiting for me. They send red bolts of lightning down my way, reminiscent in power of the heavenly bolts conjured from the test for the Spirit Jade.

My eyes dart between the figures. There are twelve of them. Not the dozens which I anticipated. Good, I think with a grin. That only makes it easier for me.

I do not stay to fight these Galgoms. More will come, swarming out from the Hive. I only have one objective: escape from this pit.

I zip past the red flashes thundering all around me. The Galgoms speak in unison. A confident, arrogant voice. Their universal translators let me understand them. But I pay no heed to their words.

A pillar of red comes crashing down just behind me. It is a massive laser, coming from the combined attacks of three Galgoms. I narrow my eyes, before engaging the three of them. They come at me with their different weapons. A hammer, a sickle, a spear. I evade their strikes, floating at their level, letting them corner me against the rock wall.

Then the other Galgoms fly up behind them. They send blasts of lightning my way once more. I stare in horror as the attack zaps at me, unable to react. It obliterates me, disintegrating me as a blood-curdling scream leaves my mouth.

Of course, it is an illusion. The Galgoms expect it to. They whirl around, looking for where the real me is. The four Galgoms that surrounded me are murmuring amongst themselves. Then one of them blinks.

“She’s—”

I land a fist on his face, smashing through the visored helmet. He screams as I grab onto him and spin around. I use his body to block the oncoming lightning strikes. His body goes limp, and I toss him aside, soaring up and past the other Galgoms.

They give chase. But I am faster than them. I burst up into the dark sky. It is still true night. There is no light, except for the glow coming from my skin. My Aura. My Aspect. My wings flap once, and I am off.

I fly over the remains of a battle as the Galgoms pursue me. The decomposing, rotting corpses of monsters rise up and fill my sense of smell. I shake my head, ignoring it, and continue onwards, avoiding the occasional attacks coming from my pursuers.

They follow me into a dense forest of trees. Some of them went above, while others entered the thicket behind me. Those that hovered over the canopy were lost— I cast an illusion that hid my light. The others do not have that same difficulty tracking me.

But I deal with them too. I snap around a tree, kicking the first Galgom I see, sending him flying back to the others. I use him to propel myself forward. I repeat this a few more times, knocking them back further and further, until only three are left hounding after me.

When it is just three of them, I pause. I turn around abruptly, crossing my arms as I face them with a wild smile.

They halt, casting an uneasy glance between each other. They realize they are alone. It is just me and them. And I pop a ginsoul pill— the same one I had taken out— into my mouth. The Essences gather around me, along with my Aspect. And I descend upon them, wings spread wide, with the fury of the Heavens.

***

There are a lot of things I can do with my Aura— or, Aspect, rather. It does not manipulate the elements, nor does it do what the Essences does. It cannot create an illusion, enhance my body, or even control the monsters that roam the land.

But it can create these projections. Extensions to my body. Unlike Kalmat, who creates a second blade for him to fight with— a better blade. I do not use weapons. I use my hands and legs to fight. And my Aspect acted alongside it.

I strike out with an open palm. A large white, translucent attack lashes out, taking the shape of a palm. It flies at one of the Galgoms before he can even reach me. It knocks him back, flattening the trees around the area, crushing him as I spin around to face the other two.

It is still two against one. I clash with them, parrying their strikes, countering with my own. One of them lands a kick on my abdomen which causes me to stumble. I grit my teeth, drawing my Aura out once more.

The wings behind me dissipate. The Aspect morphs, protruding from my sides, becoming another pair of arms which intercept the Galgoms’ attacks. Then another pair of arms grow out. All four of these hands are white and glowing. But they are as physical as my own two hands.

I stand there, calmly hitting the Galgoms back. They fly around me at fast speeds as I narrow my eyes, carefully watching their flight. One of them rushes it, and I easily step to the side, landing six instantaneous blows to the back of his head. The other tries to strike when I am distracted. But one of my arms reaches out behind me and grabs him. I pull him close to me, wrangling all my hands around his neck. He struggles for a moment— then stops.

I drop him to the ground as the last Galgom staggers backwards. He stares at me, wide-eyed. “H-How have you…?” He turns tail and tries to run.

I quickly catch up to him and finish him off. Cracking my neck, I leave the dead Galgoms behind and continue onward.

“Now, where could the Keepers of the Grove have gone?”

I recognize the landscape— the grassy, green area, lush with vegetation and life. It is dark, but it is clear that I am in the domain of the Grovetender. If Kalmat chose to retreat and fortify Thornthistle, I need to hurry, ensure that Galgom’s wrath does not befall them.

I use some more Essence to track the markings on the earth. I see that a large group of men and women have passed through this area not too long ago. I follow after it until I spot light in the distance. The signs of a city. A settlement. The Lifeblood around the area is more dense than usual. The telltale signs of a battle.

I rush to the city. To Thornthistle. And sure enough, I see fighting. A large gathering of En are storming through the city’s walls. Part of the walls have crumbled down into a pile of rubble. Yellow beams streak across the battlefield as Elementalists exchange attacks with the charging machines.

I spot a familiar face running around, trying to draw the attention of a hundred of the En. It is Herder. I barely even know him; he acts as the scout of the Keepers of the Grove. I unleash a Ray of Esh down at the machines, slicing them all in half in an instant.

The man blinks as I land next to him. He opens his mouth, and I raise a hand. “Save it,” I say, shaking my head. I gesture at myself and let the implication set it.

Herder nods slowly, understanding the situation.I hear the clamoring of En from behind me. I turn around, lashing out with my Aspect. It whips out and dismantles a row of them as they turn the corner.

I turn back to Herder and point at him. He looks at himself, puzzled. Then I point past him, slowly saying the names of the other Keepers. “Nindran, Kalmat, Seiled.”

He says something before repeating their names. Smiling, he ushers me to follow him. I do. There is still fighting. But with the En I destroyed, the tide is turning. The machines are being repelled.

We encounter a few strays, and I easily take care of them. Thornthistle is a mess. From the streets alone, it looks like it has been engaged in non-stop combat for the past few days. And when I had been flying above, it looked even worse for wear.

Herder does not bring me to the familiar spot— the hideout of the Keepers of the Grove. Instead, he leads me to a house. A rather sturdy house. It is large, like the kind of place the Patriarch of a sect would live in.

I spot figures huddled inside through the windows. Herder knocks on the door, and it creaks open almost suspiciously. A figure peeks through— and then bursts out into my arms.

Seiled. The boy hugs me, exclaiming something loud. I chuckle and pat him on the back as he excitedly says something. But Herder cuts him off. While I still do not understand their language, I can tell what goes on before the boy runs off back into the building, gesturing for me to stay put.

I recognize more of the Keepers coming out. Their eyes grow wide as they see me. But the one who halts entirely is an azure-haired woman.

Nindran.

She stares at me as I meet her gaze. Eventually, she steps forward, chuckling and breathing a sigh of relief. I do not know what to say, but I feel glad regardless that she is fine. Although, I am surprised she does not hug me like Seiled did.

The boy returns with a universal translator, handing it over for me to equip. The mindless chatter slowly transitions into something more comprehensible. I glance around, speaking slowly to make sure everyone understands me too.

“It is good to see that you are still alive.” It is rather grim, but it is the truth. “As I am sure you feel the same as me.”

“You had us so worried.” Nindran punches me lightly on the shoulder. “I thought you…” she trails off.

I shake my head, deciding to hold off the news about the Websmith for now. I look around, seeing others appear such as Beihal, Keshiy, and Nelrel. “And you have not given up.” I smile. “The Keepers of the Grove still stand together and strong.” It is meant to be motivating words. The same kind Kalmat would give. But I never realized that he is not present. And the mood immediately turns dour.

“We’re… trying.” The azure-haired woman chews her lower lip, averting her gaze.

“What is wrong?” I blink, now realizing my mistake. “Where is Kalmat?”

“Kalmat is—'' There are two possibilities that I expect Nindran to say: either Kalmat is out fighting the En, or Kalmat died fighting Galgom. What I actually got was entirely unexpected. “Kalmat has run away, Tian. He has left us to fight alone. We do not know where he went.”