Empyrean 24: Evil’s Soft First Touches (Patreon)

Amelia, here! :) Here is a new chapter of Empyrean's Flight. As always, any and all feedback is welcome.

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I shouted at the axeman, but he lay still.

Ignoring my cries, the elf cleaned his daggers and started walking away calmly. I started shooting arrows toward him, but the tears in my eyes were obscuring my view.

Adalinda rushed toward the elf and clamped her jaws down on his heel. The lizard held on and I watched as blood flowed from the rogue’s leg. He whipped around, unable to walk forward any longer, and plunged both daggers into the celestial’s back.

Adalinda has been critically injured. Her health is at 60%.

The weapon embedded in the lizard’s hide and penetrated deep enough so blood started spilling from the mark. She would not give up, though, and continued to hold on. She pulled herself up with her claws and drew more flesh from his leg.

The elf fell down screaming, swiping his daggers at the lizard.

I held my arrows ready and started shooting.

You have injured a level 20 rogue.

You have injured a level 20 rogue.

You have…

Adalinda pulled away from his leg and leapt to his stomach, clawing into his gut and tearing his armor apart.

I felt the heat of anger rise in my chest. Launching more arrows toward the elf, I managed to set his skin on fire above where the celestial continued to hold him down.

You have critically injured a hostile entity!

I walked slowly toward the elf.

“Wait,” he said, holding up his hand. “I was only here for the boy.”

“Who sent you?” I growled.

“Cantos.”

I watched him hold onto his stomach, where blood was dripping slowly.

“Why would Cantos send you for him and not me?”

“I don’t know,” the rogue cried out breathlessly. “I was just told to find him and make sure he dies.”

I balled my hand into a fist. “You came for the wrong people,” I spat. Infusing my dagger with light’s fury, I plunged it into his neck and pulled through to kill him.

You have killed a level 20 rogue.

You and Adalinda have reached level 20, gaining an attribute point.

Congratulations, Elana! You are now a rank 2 player. You have received a Class point and an extra attribute point.

Your fire magic skill has increased to 26.

Your summoning skill has increased to 21, reaching rank 2.

Your light magic skill has increased to 24.

Adalinda’s tooth and claw has increased to 23.

Adalinda’s natural armor has increased to 25.

I rushed toward Alon and shook him, but he would not respond.

“Alon, please,” I wept. “Come back to me.”

None of my pleading would bring the axeman back, though, and I could do nothing but watch as his blood drenched the ground.

“Is he…?” Adalinda started.

“No, he can’t be,” I said. I refused to believe it.

But minutes passed, and still, Alon did not take another breath.

✵ ✵ ✵

“Elana, we have to go.”

Adalinda rubbed her nose against my arm gently. I knew she was right, but I couldn’t leave my friend’s body out here to rot.

“I can’t leave him here,” I said.

“I know, but we have to find Soren.”

Soren. In all the agony of the last few moments, I had almost forgotten that we were on our way to find my brother. How was I going to tell him about this? Soren and Alon had been friends for so long, they were like brothers themselves.

How am I going to tell him Alon’s dead?

I pushed my palms into the wet ground and stood up. Moving closer to the axeman’s body, I tried to lift him, but with no success.

“Adalinda, can you?”

Without saying a word, the lizard pushed her small body underneath the axeman and lifted him up. She was strong enough to do so, but his head and feet were still dragging on the ground.

She couldn’t manage to move him.

Throughout my journey as a player, I had never felt so alone. I had never felt so desperate. Alon couldn’t be left out here like another casualty of war. I owed him enough to give him a proper burial at least.

“Can’t we take him?” I asked, picking up Alon’s axe and turning it slowly in my hands.

“We have to go, Elana,” Adalinda said, panic lacing her voice. “We can’t stay here. There may be more Devils coming to look for us. Or for him.” She pointed her snout toward the dead elf.

I threw down the axe and screamed. I held my face in my hands, my nails digging into my skin, and started weeping. It had all culminated in this. Through everything we had been through, I had been too stupid to see that this was the only end my companions could have in store for them. What was I thinking? Involving civilians in a player’s life?

How could I be so stupid?

I took a step back and looked at the bodies lying around me. Bodies, like they’re nothing but a mess I need to clean up, I thought. But this time it wasn’t.

This time it was Alon.

“Elana—”

“I know,” I said, interrupting Adalinda. I shrugged off her concern and walked toward the dead elf, searching his body for anything. Any information on why he specifically came after Alon, or anything I could use for my own player growth.

Player growth, I thought. Because that’s what’s important right now.

I found nothing but a five gold pieces and a moderate health potion on the elf. I pocketed the items and moved back toward Alon’s axe. Picking it up, I rubbed my hand across the metal and swallowed my tears.

“Let’s go,” I said plainly.

✵ ✵ ✵

Adalinda followed me silently to the hidey-hole, where Alon said Soren had taken Eoman. The journey there was quiet, and we ran into no enemies. Thankfully, we didn’t have that far to go, and the sun was peeking over the horizon by the time we reached our destination.

As I approached the familiar hole-in-the-wall building where I expected my brother to be, I turned to the celestial and told her to unmanifest. Eoman wasn’t fully aware of all my abilities and companions, and I wanted to keep it that way for now.

There was no telling who I could really trust.

I walked down the gravel pathway and pushed open the rock-door. I turned my head slowly around the corner of the entrance, listening for any signs of life inside.

But I was met with silence.

I pushed the rock-door open completely and stepped inside the hidey-hole. It was dark inside, and I could still hear nothing. Not even soft breathing of someone sleeping. Closing the door behind me, I conjured light’s fury in my hands to light my way around—and to be ready for anything that may jump out at me.

The light emanated through the room and revealed nothing but the three beds we had slept on. Soren and Eoman, if they were ever here, were nowhere to be seen.

I sighed and walked toward a lone lantern standing in the middle of the room. Pulling out a match from the box that lay next to it, I lit the lantern and walked to the bed I had claimed before.

Alone again, I sat and absorbed everything that had happened since I returned from the city. I tried to feel everything I could, but I was numb. Was there something wrong with me? I had just witnessed the brutal death of my oldest friend, and I watched as the Raccoons were getting ripped apart, and yet I sat here without being able to shed a tear.

Had I overwhelmed myself?

And beyond that, where was Soren? Was he in danger?

I ran my hands through my hair and pulled on the roots in frustration. If there was anything I knew I was feeling, it was exhaustion. Not physically. I was just tired of being kept in the dark. Of not knowing how to keep the people closest to me safe.

Of being a sub-par player.

“El,” Adalinda said, interrupting my chaotic thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“No, I am not,” I said plainly. “But I don’t know how to explain how I feel.”

“That’s okay,” the celestial reassured me. “Why don’t we look at the Game progress? That could take your mind off of everything for a bit.”

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew my companion was right. Focusing on something else, even if it wasn’t inherently positive right now, would help stave off the chaos brewing in my head.

I took a deep breath and turned to the Game alerts I ignored earlier, noticing that I had finally reached summoning rank 2. I knew the first thing I had to do. I pulled out the ability tome I had found in the Devil’s lair and opened it.

You have learned the basic ability: summon elemental. This ability allows you to summon an elemental of fire, light, or air. The elemental will do the bidding of the caster and is immune to the element that it is cast from. The casting time is average and the ability uses average mana.

You have 8 of 10 Magic ability slots remaining.

The usual rush of excitement I felt when a new ability was in my arsenal was notably absent.

But now I was able to summon elementals—and that surely made me a formidable opponent. I looked at the rest of the upgrades I received during the fight and saw that I had my first Class point.

“Ada,” I called to the celestial.

“Yes?”

“What do I do with Class points?”

“You can invest it in either of our Classes,” Adalinda said. “What you can do with it changes depending on who you decide to invest it in.”

I sat quietly for a moment and thought about my options. My own Class was not fully configured yet, and with summon elemental finally in my grasp, I felt strong enough to continue without that kind of upgrade. For now, at least.

If I invested the point into Adalinda, she could become stronger. And I needed that comfort; that she would be okay. She had taken a beating regularly in our fights, and if an upgrade to her Class would help her not be thrown around so easily, I preferred to use it on the celestial.

Assessing player’s suitability for a Class upgrade...

Class points available: 1.

Player rank: 2.

Upgrade requirements met.

You may advance your or Adalinda’s Class to rank 2 by improving an existing Class benefit or by selecting new ones. Note: if any of your Class abilities or traits are lost through a future melding, their upgrades will not carry over to your new blended Class.

Do you wish to proceed?

I bit my lip and willed my decision to the Adjuducator.

1 new Class benefit is available, and 1 of 1 existing benefits are available for an upgrade.

New benefit: Hardened Shell. This benefit makes it more difficult for enemies to penetrate through Adalinda’s armor.

Existing benefits available for upgrade: Manifest.

“Ada, would you prefer an upgrade to your armor or you manifest ability?” I asked my companion. I thought it may be better if she had a say in her own growth.

“Manifest,” she responded, almost immediately.

Commencing Class upgrade…

…

Upgrade complete.

Congratulations, Elana. Adalinda’s celestial Class has been upgraded to rank 2!

You have upgraded Adalinda’s manifest ability to improved manifest. She is now able to physically transform into a Komodo dragon. This upgrade also gives Adalinda a special trait: Acrobat. Your companion can perform complex movements in her new form that would otherwise be difficult or impossible.

“Ada, you have a new form,” I said with a small smile on my face.

“Really?”

“Yep, why don’t you try it out now?”

The celestial took her physical form, and instead of the familiar fire lizard, I stared at the much more intimidating Komodo dragon standing in front of me.

“How do I look?” she asked.

“Stunning,” I said. “You look stronger.”

Adalinda twirled around and flung her tail up and down. “What else did this come with?” she asked excitedly.

“Well, it wasn’t too specific, but apparently you can do more acrobatic feats now too.”

The celestial looked toward the left wall of the hidey-hole and leapt toward it, digging her claws into the wall and climbing along it seamlessly. A primordial sound reverberated from her mouth as she leapt back down and stood on two legs.

“Wow,” I said.

“I know!” Adalinda shouted. “I am excited to try out my new form. Thank you, Elana.”

I nodded toward the celestial and turned back to the Game alerts. Now that she was stronger, I could focus more on my own upgrades with our attribute points.

Your Faith has increased to 10, reaching rank 1.

Your Magic has increased to 12.

Celestial trait triggered! Core skills and attributes mirrored.

Now that I had more than one Faith ability, and one that would serve as protection, I saw the need to upgrade it accordingly. As much as I could, I wanted to try and keep my Faith and Magic on par—as both were seemingly becoming as important as the other in my growth as a player.

“Ada, how do you want to spend your attribute points?”

I watched as the celestial jumped from wall to wall, running between them on two feet. She didn’t respond.

“Ada!”

“Yes? Sorry,” she said, standing still to look at me.

“I asked how you want to spend your attribute points?”

“Strength and Perception.”

I nodded and willed my decision to the Game.

Adalinda’s Strength has increased to 10, reaching rank 1.

Adalinda’s Perception has increased to 5.

Celestial trait triggered! Core skills and attributes mirrored.

I sighed. Now that our levelling had been done, I had nothing to distract me from the events of the day. Nothing except for the pouncing Komodo dragon in the room.

I turned my lips down, slightly jealous of the joy Adalinda was clearly feeling.

“Ada, I think you should unmanifest now,” I said a little bitterly.

“Okay,” she replied. “Can I have a healing potion first?”

I had almost forgotten that we had taken damage from the fights before, and I had to heal up too. I pulled two moderate healing potions from my bag and threw one toward Adalinda, drinking one myself.

With our health looking slightly better, the celestial returned to her resting place. Reminded of the lack of health, I decided to channel mana.

Your mana has been fully replenished.

Your channeling skill has increased to 21, reaching rank 2.

“What do we do now?” the celestial asked.

“I don’t want to walk around aimlessly looking for Soren and Eoman,” I said. “If they aren’t here anymore, my best guess is that they fled to a Raccoon hideout or something.”

“That makes sense,” Adalinda said. “Do you know any?”

“I don’t,” I replied. “But Odenna will. She obviously has ties to Eoman, and she would be able to help us again. Either that, or I will make her help us.”

“To Odenna, then?” the celestial asked tentatively.

“To Odenna.”