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Ninety-seven steps to the top The first thing Gavin noticed as he came around the corner was that he could see the White Mist froendary Tales of its exact location varied, but all agreed it was somewhere in the middle of the Cerulean Sea Maybe at its exact center, like a spider in theisland doing so close to White Mist Reef?

It could be a coincidence Lots of those, recently

Then his eyes fell on the pillar that shared the top of the spire with hiray to Gavin’s eyes, so he had to believe it was blue There was so inside, but he couldn’t see what it was He leaned close The sun, nearing its zenith, cut through the roiling gases Gavin saw a curve at his eye level

Oh no

The sun reached the peak of the heavens and its pure light illumined the pillar fully That curve at Gavin’s eye level was a shoulder

It was noon

A treround cracked, shooting splinters of crystal into the air at high speed Only the pillar itself didn’t shake In each of the twelve pillars surrounding him, Gavin saw movement But he fixed his eyes on the one central pillar in front of hi inside the pillar Gavin atching the birth of a god

He drafted a yellow luxin sword, painfully slowly sealing it as the half-forod’s eyes flicked open, focused far away, then noticed Gavin all in a rush Light swelled within the pillar, and finally the sas sealed Gavin raod’s chin and out the back of its head

Its eyes flared and exploded goo onto the glass

Well, that was easy

Gavin twisted the sword hard with both hands, feeling bones grind and yield Then he drew the sword out Goo slopped onto the ground at his feet He pulled in intense sub-reds and red into his hand, set it afire, and punched his fist through the broken luxin He found the creature’s neck, grabbed it, and ripped the figure out of the pillar

This was no wight This was Mot hi one with luxin, even the huer shape This giant was i, and Gavin had aborted it

Gavin hacked off the god’s head He hacked off its skeletal arhs still bony He cut the spine--all in quick succession There would be no resurrection He picked up a gold necklace the creature had been wearing, adorned with a single black jewel, tucked it away, and sprayed the creature with pyrejelly, coating every li it with such deep sub-reds that it would be consumed utterly

Mot melted, puddled, evaporated, burned completely away