Chapter 473 (1/2)
Chapter 473
Chapter 471: Falling into Place
CECILIA
Everything was falling into place
With shi+eld generators keeping the dragons at bay, the Instillers were able to work freely and establish a ring of disrupting artifacts that worked to distort and interrupt the rift between Epheotus and Dicathen While the shi+eld generators protected us froons in Dicathen, these disruption artifacts prevented Indrath fro the torlds off from one another
The dense ambient mana of the rift itself powered both arrays If Indrath were soh power in batteries to ie of the plan And if that fails, the Wraiths themselves become the source of ehts from Tessia, who hovered near the surface of my consciousness
‘You’ve already considered your justifications for why such a cruel act is necessary,’ Tessia said in answer to the spotlight ofway, Cecilia, if you’re feeling guilt for your cruelty to these soldiers, since before now, you’ve only ever looked at them as tools’
I bristled, but knew there was no point in arguing against the feeling of guilt woruing as already in my head It may be unpleasant, but that doesn’t rona’s plan, and they’re his soldiers to do with as he wills
I sighed even as the words forardless, I don’t need your affir around inside ht into these events is valuable, I ad down the , reason for nize this fact’ Tessia’s voice, projected intooff the brief but frustrating conversation, I returned ons continued their bombardment of the outer shi+eld for another hour but stopped with the arrival of their leader I recognized Charon of the Indrath clan by description: a big, bone-white, battle-scarred lizard with purple eyes and tattered wings He spent soons present, of which there were now on in Dicathen, I mused
Eventually, Charon approached the barrier, flying in his dragon fors beat slowly, and his voice issued froacy, chief hope of a mad basilisk, who has herself been convinced she is a God”
I regarded hiht to the point then,” he rurona want? He has captured the rift to Epheotus, but he cannot use it, nor can you hope to keep it, whichtactic Tell me your master’s offer, and I will confer with Lord Indrath”
I raised one brow “Don’t lie to on Travel betorlds requires this rift to be accessible, even with your teleportation artifacts You are cut off The High Sovereign has no e for you, no request You are irrelevant in this and all things” Froround reviewing ato ainst the shi+elds, if youas your efforts are futile”
Turning ood about the brief exchange It gained inning to chafe at uardian of the i some of that frustration as barbed words made me feel a little better
“What is it?” I asked as round
The Instiller, who had watched me approach from the corner of his eye, sed visibly “A dispatch froical scroll, which displayed the words written on a h it once rapidly, then forced ain, slower “An emanation…powerful mana, sustained soic that can only be aether” I feltthat Nico had attee
Grey hadn’t been at the Wall As expected, he had carefully hidden his real location, even fro, though The nature I sensed before the battle…
It was canal that mimicked the presence of his bond and the distortion caused by aether could only be intended to disguise his real location, of course And I was the only person on Dicathen that on allies as well…
The dispatch then went on to detail the efforts in Vildorial and the Dicathians’ neeapon that had been revealed A fusion of organic ical and mechanical components? I couldn’t picture what Nico described, but I felt certain that even Agrona hadn’t accounted for such a thing
The ex-Scythe, Seris, had discovered a way to end the fighting in Vildorial and keep her people safe frorona had hidden in their blood and their runes, but Nico expressed a strong sense of confidence that Arthur had not hidden himself in the city Additionally, the ulterior objective—to capture the sister or
As I read through it all for a second time, my focus returned to the part about the aetheric e the inside of my lip, I wracked my brain for what else it could mean, but I could think of no other way to read it thanme out directly This conjuration was meant to blind me to his real location, and he intended me to know and understand that fact as well
I foundNico were here instead of just his note I considered sending hiive him the impression that I couldn’t think for myself
Besides, I already knew exactly what my mission parameters were The real question hether or not I would continue to blindly follow them After all, the rift is sealed I aet away from anyone within the shi+elded area The Wraiths flew in a perions, just as pent up as I hile the dozens of Instillers ensured the equipment continued to function perfectly But I round between two of the shi+eld generators Closing s
The balanced flow ofthe ath it was dinatures But like before, I continued expanding my reach farther and farther, until ain felt the hint of his bond’s ave away a powerful source of aether
But I didn’t stop there Instead, I continued pushi+ng, reaching, sensing even beyond the Grand Mountains and across the Elenoir Wasteland to the north
As if I were Zeus looking down from the top of Mount Olympus, I saw the tide of mana as it moved in waves across the entire continent spread out before me Breathless at its beauty, I easedmy focus be pushed and pulled not by ht I already understood mana, better than anyone else in this world, but I’d never experienced it like this I had no words to describe the wonder of the phenomena
Do you still see this world as…fake?’ Tessia thought, her voice like a stone in the calm ocean ‘Some kind of limbo that will cease to exist once you’ve returned to your old world?’
What?
‘This gift you have…you may be the only one in all the world who can see this’ She was quiet, , then continued ‘I look down on this and feelbeneath these vistas It just ht affected you…but what kind of impact can this have on someone who doesn’t believe in the reality around them, and more importantly of their effect on that reality?’
I didn’t answer, because the truth was I had no answer I had used the thought of this life as a kind of teuilt at what I’d been asked to do, but I was not a child who had convinced herself that this world wasn’t real
The thought brought me out of er floating on the tide of the ever-hting against it, pressing outward, expanding to coverof peace faded, and I was once again aware of the dragonsaround the shi+eld,the small space, and the dispatch from Nico in my hands
As my untethered mind reached across Sapin, Darv, and Elenoir, I felt those places where the ainst the surface ofpresence of aether on bond Based on what Nico had said, each one was likely a conjuration, a shell ofa core of densely packed aether
The closest was the Wall, and after that an isolated place deep in the Elenoir Wastes This, by coray emptiness due to the lack of atmospheric mana The outskirts of the wasteland were like storms where new mana rushed into the void, but the interior of Elenoir was still nearly enal to appear was in central Darv, where I thought the Dicathian rebels’ refuge must have been, which was discovered after Arthur’s escape frohter than the Wall Not by a significant in, but the difference was clear
Others became visible as well, near the city of Etistin and on an island off the south-eastern coast of the Beast Glades, and then more still as my consciousness expanded to contain the entire continent
But most of these matched the Wall in intensity, and I quickly wrote the in those areas, which aligned perfectly here we’d seen increased military activity, and they would verify whether or not Grey was really in each location without help fronatures in the Wastes and in Darv, though, were different One nearly hidden, the other burning brighter and stronger than all the others Neither had been a focal point of Dicathian troop buildup or fortification, like the Wall had been Both were far enough froe if the locations were attacked
And both, I knew from Tessia’s shared memories, were important to him
The emanation I could sense from Elenoir was very close to where the capital city of Zestier used to be He had lived there—with Tessia—for e beneath Darv here he hen the Dicathians lost the here he was reunited with his rona very nearly captured theht I wouldn’t be able to sense hiive him away—or he failed to perfectly replicate his own aetheric signature, which causes a stronger disruption in the mana than these false beacons he has created Either way, he has made a mistake But which direction does thattoI knew about Grey from our world and combine it hat I’d learned of hies’ village uise his real position, hts continued To provide so nature couldn’t be sensed at all within Elenoir would truly be the act of a coward
‘Arthur isn’t a coward,’ Tessia thought matter-of-factly
And yet, either way, he hides while his allies fight and die to conceal his location, I answered
Tessia soberly considered ree with you, I thought to Tessia,up my mind He isn’t a coward But he is overconfident in his own abilities
The moment I decided on a course of action, I was presented with another probleer cover of the shi+elding artifacts and inspected the s high into the air to contain the rift A secondary ring of artifacts projected distortingthrough from the other side
But I was kept within the shi+eld just as effectively as the horde of dragons were kept out I could penetrate the barrier, of course, but doing so would expose me to Charon’s army, and would even momentarily open up the equipnored the fact that Agrona would definitely find ht hiive ned to support me and deliver ed, unnaturally shaped horns, Lorcan had an unpleasant look to him, but he was a real soldier He lacked the self-irona’s goals feverishly and without question “Legacy?” he asked, his ruby eyes e except expectation
“The situation has changed, and I am needed out in the field,” I explained perfunctorily “I’ you in command of the rift Keep the Instillers on task and the shi+elding arrays functional, and I have no doubt everything will continue to unfold as predicted”
If Lorcan was surprised, he gave no indication “Of course, Legacy At the High Sovereign’s will”
I nodded in diso notify the leaders of each Wraith battle group
Returning to the relative solitude between two of the shi+eld artifacts, I sat down cross-legged and waited It had been maybe thirty ainst the shi+eld ceased I didn’t think they would waitan assault with their leader present
While I waited, I extendedfor where the shi+eld emanated and closed off beneath us, as well as where the soil was softest If I were to leave, I needed to do so unnoticed if I planned to search for Grey without being hounded by the dragons
Five more minutes passed in relative silence, then all at once, the atmosphere outside of the shi+eld transfor white as if ere caught in the heart of a lightning bolt The hair on e in the air, and round and sky alike split open as dozens of asuran spells crashed against the shi+eld
I took hold of the earth-attributehtly onto ht be sensible as a e myself, I sht provide soons
The noise of the battle changed from the sharp crack of thunder to the deep rumble of an avalanche Earth-attribute round itself, which folded out of the way before filling back in behind h the hard-packed dirt
The tangible force thatinto it, I took hold of a thread of that mana and pulled Like the seah I waited on the other side for a few moments until the barrier healed itself, powered by the constant pressure of the array of artifacts above, then continued
Even with my nearly perfect control of mana, it was still more difficult and slower to part the earth and the network of roots woven through it than to fly through air But since the dragons could range so far so quickly, andin from across the continent, I wanted to ensure I wouldn’t be detected, and so I flowed along deep under the ground for a long tieons and caves dotted the landscape of the Beast Glades, but I ress further by going through
‘If Arthur is really unable to defend himself, then he has no choice but to hide And his friends—all the people who love hily,’ Tessia said out of the blue
It took hts to our previous conversation And do you? Really love him, I mean I didn’t think I needed to ask, since our minds were connected, but Tessia’s emotions around Grey were co to disconnect irl,’ she said after a very long pause ‘He was my first love, I think’
But now you knohat he is Who he is That he lied to you the entire tie, can you still really love him?
‘I don’t think Arthur ever pretended to be anyone except who he really was,’ she answered slowly, forine how hard itto keep such a secret’
He lied to you because he had to, I continued,
‘What other choice did he have?’ she asked ‘I won’t pretend I understand what it means to build emotionally on top of all this Is the love of a child real? Maybe not But I know that I care for him, respect him, and want him to have a happy life after all this If that isn’t a foundation for real love, then I’ive context to my own complex emotions I feel pretty rona placed in my head They were for a purpose, and Nico felt like he had to do that It was for ood, like Grey to you
‘That’s…not what I meant,’ Tessia said tentatively She paused for a few seconds ‘Arthur needed to protect hi, it wasn’t an action made to control me’
It was not difficult to read the unspoken implication of her words, which I considered in silence for so Grey’s lies but I’rona
As if anticipating what I’d say, she replied iure out who you are, Cecilia, and that you struggle to make decisions you are confident in because you constantly question the source of any thought you have Is it you or Agrona? Or evenyou to do things ain, I had no answer, and so we both fell silent, our thoughts like two ht of the soil unfolding in front of hts about Grey or Nico…or myself
I lifted up froons for a very long way, then flew out over the Grand Mountains The cold air felt good after the claustrophobic tunneling of ht