Those on the higher orders of power could perceive beyond regional boundaries, though each one pierced was a significant obstacle. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this was possible as Fates existed, though Mavar Helioc was at a disadvantage with his powers still suppressed by a recent resurrection.

  He couldn’t have visually observed the scene that had played out in a courtyard within Pinion’s Point if he was at the height of his power, but the disturbance cast off by the spiritual awakening registered regardless of his current state. Another one? How? he thought, momentarily distracted from the marching army. Ah, the Entropic Agent again. Truly unique. I find myself spurned and charmed by him in turn. I suppose he has not intentionally done me wrong and the work he is doing now… it should be done.

  There was still the problem of rehabilitating a recently reformed soul, allowing it to take in more power through advancement. Awakened monsters were restrained by the Octyrrum regardless of whether it counted them as having a class or not. He’d managed it with Etheric Manipulation when confronted with the awakened ringcat and could attempt true transmutation to address whatever they’d done now.

  But, no. He agreed with the work they were doing but would not compromise the greater mission, even for an absolute moral good. Besides, astral classes were returning to the world and there was every chance someone would awaken the right power. There was no time to make a brief side trip to Threst, this attack had to come today. Word had reached him that the Spiritualists were beginning the next stage of their plan, and so he had made sure communication in and out of Aughal would be impossible for the time being.

  Resolved, Mavar gestured to the distant city and spoke the command. “Go.”

  Hundreds of former mortals, now monsters, broke from their attentive rest and charged across the border. It felt ironic to him, making use of these victims after what he’d praised, but they’d lost any hope of escaping their fate when the one that had twisted them escaped Threst. Now they could at least be put to better use.

  The elite monsters spread out over the sands, following the precise instructions they’d been given. Without any populated villages remaining on the outskirts, the only targets of opportunity would be hunting teams still operating in the desert. Once those were gone or driven back, the full assault would occur from all sides. Mavar did not expect this to topple a Tyrant that had full control of a Spoke yet, without a Fate, they wouldn’t see this coming.

  …

  Daniel was the first to reach Willow after she face planted on the ground. He had a healing potion out just in case, but she had both reached level 1 endurance and was a member of one of the lighter races. A fall from a second story window shouldn’t have broken her-

  “Hunter’s here.” Daniel’s commiseration with Willow’s current position was purged as the Spirit Master spoke in a pained voice, pointing back out to the courtyard.

  “Is there anything else with him?” he asked quickly.

  “No, but I can see him.” Willow’s eyes narrowed as she picked herself up. “It looks like his paws are partway through the courtyard, and he’s at this weird angle.”

  “Hey, be careful!” Tlara chided as she came over, Spinner and a befuzzled Sigron tailing, none having heard what she’d said. “You can’t do that until you awaken Grow Wings, idiot. I told you you should have advanced strength until you got it.”

  “Hunter’s back,” Daniel said quickly, shutting down the side conversation. “Willow, do you know why you can see him now?” He was worried Grave might have done something after finding his dark side or whatever Cloak had meant, but Willow’s next words put him at ease.

  “It could be the improvement to my bond with Tlara, or the fact that the Astral is thinner in this part of the town.” Willow shook her head as Daniel extended the hand holding the potion. Her eyes were fixed on a point and Daniel followed them, seeing nothing. “I don’t think he can see any of us, though. He’s following you, but he’s not reacting to anyone else.”

  He got away from Grave. Thank god. “Does he look alright?”

  Willow hesitated before answering. “No. He isn’t hurt, I’m not sure if he can be physically, but there’s this look in his eyes… he’s afraid.”

  Daniel immediately reached into a bag of holding, he’d pared them down to four now including the original one that had gone to the pavilion, and had the scroll that contacted Zolyra out in seconds. “Zolyra, I need to speak with Soraso now. Pinion’s Point is fine, no monster attack, but this is a matter beyond life and death.” He had more words available through the scroll but nothing else to say.

  “The fuck was-“

  “I’m going to the ruins,” Daniel spoke over Tlara, and that finally broke Khare out of whatever deep thought they’d been in. “And I’m not coming out until I’ve gotten Hunter back. I have one thing I need to enchant and then I’m going.” He tried not to ask the next question but could feel the pressure on his mind put on by the bond. The fact that Hunter was afraid reduced any resistance within him. “Willow, everyone who can come, please, but Willow, you’re the only one who can see him. We need to get him to a rift I control.”

  “Like fuck you’re taking her!” Tlara shouted, Spinner watching and taking notes. “We talked about this. She isn’t going back in there. I’m sure as Crest not. All I have left is a shot wyvern, a weakass shock runner, and that whitespring now that Spinner’s her own person. What’s going to take the hits for her?”

  “The danger’s only in the rifts,” Daniel countered. “We fortify one we’ve already cleansed, wall it up with what I’ve made. I will clear them myself if I have to.” He didn’t know if he could but removed any trace of doubt from his voice. “But if I can’t see if Hunter’s following or not. I won’t have any idea if I’m going in the right direction. It’s a maze in there and I don’t have the entire map. Willow, please.”

  “Mistress Tlara, I overhead your discussions of that place,” Spinner said, seeing the conflicted expressions around her and hoping to help. “My webs would detect creatures hiding from your sight so long as they aren’t more powerful than me. Even if I can no longer shield your sister through your bond, I will defend her with my life.”

  “Spinner, when someone disagrees with me you don’t help them!” Tlara said angrily, causing Spinner to shrink away.

  “I’m sorry, Mistress!”

  “I’m not- don’t- This is why I hate this. Aaagh!“ Tlara gave out a sigh-scream of aggravation then blinked as she saw Daniel running toward his room. “The fuck are you going?”

  “All of you know the why and how of what I want to do,” Daniel replied over his shoulder. “You’re coming or you’re not. I have to enchant something and then I’m going. Willow, if you aren’t coming…” He paused in his run and lowered his head. “That’s your choice. I’m not going to make you. At the very least, can you find Shuni and tell her to come here?”

  Willow looked between her sister, Daniel, and the red sparrow that had manifested on her shoulder. “I need to think about it, but I’ll find Shuni.”

  “Thank you,” Daniel replied emphatically.

  “Dut-“ Khare began to say something but cut the word off halfway. Daniel paused, but the gestalt wasn’t more forthcoming and the bond was raging inside of him. He could ask later.

  Daniel jumped through his window like Tlara had earlier. He already had an enchanting setup with a small table in the center of the room, similar to how he’d seen Arpan’s. The scraps of bone stuck on there from his prototyping were swept off as Daniel plonked down the level 4 aetherwood that had been identified for him.

  Of all the materials he’d recovered from the ruins, this had initially been the most disappointing. The other materials had better direct effects for combat. Toxite, the green metal, added poison damage. Unfortunately this didn’t trigger Elemental Onslaught, but he’d crafted some bullets and a set of bone claws with it for variability’s sake. Then there was razorbark, level 3 wood that gave defensive items contact damage on one side of the material. It was a lot like how the crawler’s higher grades worked.

  The most interesting was a level 3 orange metal that was quickly decided to be the most valuable of the batch, despite aetherwood being higher level. Cisitrine enhanced the effectiveness of the strength attribute and worked on anything that it was put into so long as it was worn. The material bonus seemed insane until another Encyclopedia entry clarified that you could only wear a number of items with the ‘[Attribute Enhancement]’ up to your level. Still, there’d been enough for Daniel to make a dozen strength rings cut with wolf bone for the group.

  Aetherwood, however? Its material bonus, beyond being a pretty strong material that all the avianoid Knights in the region were drooling over for their lacquered armor, was that it became translucent when the dull gray planks were used. Not invisible, and not to the degree of clear glass, but you could make things out through it. It sounded like something more useful for building than combat, except Daniel had a very specific purpose in mind.

  He was going to make a case for his phone so he could use it in combat. The basic idea was to take the design of a buckler and fit his phone into it.Daniel had previously been hesitant to take out the item as it was impossible to replace, but after his encounter with the sparrow and the corrupted avianoid, he’d realized how foolish he was to ignore one tangent fact. It was level 10, and so was its durability.

  The shield itself couldn’t measure up to that indestructibility, but it had its own merits. Daniel was forgoing patchwork for this creation in favor of a new affix gained from the sparrow’s body right before its death. The evolved monster had given its initial lore page, as well as the first enchanting drop which turned out to be an affix.

  Echo Durability (Affix: Enchanting, Domain: Enchantment , Level: -):

  Enhances the durability of an Item: Defensive when used in Enchanting. The effect of this Affix scales with the base durability of the item, and the item’s Level.

  Combined with Defensive Craft and the astral aegis formulae and it was potentially a great counter for monsters in the rift. If anything did cut through the main shield, he would do his best to angle his phone to be in the path of the strike. The only downside was that without patchwork, he needed to use a plank large enough to make the entire shield from. The level disparity helped cut down on the requirement, but he only had a couple pieces that would qualify. He had already made a set of wings that would accommodate the basic shape of the shield but had hesitated on pulling the trigger because of this limit.

  This is going to take an hour at least, Daniel thought as he mentally prepared himself. I’ll have to keep myself calm when Soraso gets in contact with me. He doesn’t know Hunter, but he’ll have to help us right? He definitely would, no doubt about it. Daniel could trust that he would.

  With that, he started the enchanting process. The past weeks had given him noticeable improvements to the point that he felt ready to attempt enchanting items at a higher level than the base material. He’d memorized the patterns for self-repair and patchwork at this point due to how often he’d used the affixes, only needing to figure out how they fit into new combinations of formulae, material, and affixes.

  That, along with getting a sense of what he wanted the buckler to look like, had been the main reason he’d wanted to enchant a prototype with bone first. Now he had to wing it. He only had a few planks of the stuff and it would be all he would have unless they found more in the ruins. Failing, or creating a design that turned out to not work in combat, would be a significant cost of both resources and time. But he had to do it. For Hunter.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  …

  Daniel’s skin was itching by the time the enchantment finished. He didn’t fail, of course. The material level disparity made it a breeze. But, after two hours, Soraso hadn’t gotten in contact with him. He’d wanted to use the scroll to contact Zolyra again, though he couldn’t pause the enchanting process to do so. Daniel spent a few seconds putting the shield on his arm, nodding, before throwing it into a bag of holding. Good enough.

  He opened his senses and sighed in relief when he detected Shuni in the compound. Willow had come through as he knew she would. Whether she, or anyone, was joining him though… Soraso first. I have to get in there. Opening the scroll, Daniel burned its second charge to commit a cardinal sin: double texting. “Zolyra, I’m sorry, but I need to speak with Soraso in the next hour. Tell him I’m going into the ruins with or without him.”

  It was a bluff, Daniel wasn’t sure he could do it, but did Soraso know that? The benefit of sending messages through an intermediary was that his words would carry his absolute conviction without revealing the hesitation the higher leveled Bard might have read on his face. As for the threat, Soraso knew that Daniel had some measure of control over the ruins and a Spoke. It was entirely plausible he could do it. Hell, the Regent might have even found out about him bypassing Aughal’s Shroud if he’d investigated that incident further.

  Either he’d timed it just right or it worked, because a voice entered his mind in less than a minute. This is Fate Silora of, well, we’re familiar. I’m speaking on behalf of Regent Soraso of Threst. It’s been a while, Daniel.

  Daniel shook his head at the vapid shavi’s greeting. I know. Is Soraso ready to talk? This is important.

  Oh, sorry, that last part was him. I think it was supposed to be sarcastic, but not in a mean way?

  I need to get into the ruins. When can he help?

  Alright, everything after this sentence is all him. Gods but this is why I hate being used like a glorified sending stone- wait, that’s still me.

  Silora!

  I can’t let you into the ruins.

  Daniel sharply inhaled as Soraso’s first real reply in this conversation piled weights on his back. We need to go now. One of my friends is trapped in the Astral and the ruins are our only way of getting him out. He’s in danger.

  From what I heard, you weren’t successful the last time you tried. Silora, now fully transmitting Soraso’s words, even added the sigh the Regent put at the end of the sentence. I’m facing extreme scrutiny regarding everything I do, and last week’s attack has left the people rattled. Without me, we wouldn’t have been able to turn away some of the higher level variants before they ran havoc. That’s without considering the pressure Lagori is putting on my backers after I had to use the Zozar gambit to subvert his challenge. If I leave Aurus now, even if for half a day, I could be allowing him to enact a takeover.

  Those were all very well reasoned points. But Hunter needs me, Daniel privately thought, feeling the impulse from the bond growing stronger. He’d delayed enough, risked enough. The ruins were dangerous, but he had enough advantages built up to feel confident facing anything aside from the corrupted avianoid, and he could get away from her. I’m serious Soraso. I’m going with or without you.

  Wait, please. Give me a couple of weeks, perhaps a week. Once Zozar and their former Sojourn arrive Aurus will be more secure. One life isn’t worth the danger you’d put yourself through, Trust Me. There was peace for a few moments, and then a strong sense of unwellness flooded Daniel’s body. His breathing grew short, his heart began to race, and sweat began to bead around his body.

  Alongside the physical manifestations of stress was a turmoil in his mana flow. It felt like he was pushing up against something, the strain from doing so causing his symptoms. As he tried to back off the bond redoubled its mental pressure, practically forcing him to contest this obstacle. Daniel felt a vibration through his new Focus shield and had a hard time reading the words that were displayed on the screen toward his arm.

  System Alert: The requirements of Oath Bond: Memory have come into Fundamental conflict with an Effect from ???. Physical and Etheric strain will increase until the Power is dismissed or the Bond is broken.

  It hurts, Daniel couldn’t help but think. It felt like someone was stabbing his soul, like- There was a flash of deja vu, just for a moment, before it was gone. The connection to his lost memories hadn’t been strong enough to recover, likely having to do with the spiritual damage he’d taken right before Torch unidentified the memories of it, though it also felt like what the monster god had flashed to him so many times during his torture.

  Daniel? What’s going on? This is Silora, by the way. Are you under attack? He couldn’t respond. The pain continued to grow worse, a feedback loop he could, no, wouldn’t stop. Daniel knew that if he gave up this fight he was giving up not only a chance to bring Hunter back and his conviction to do so, but also the bond itself. No, he would be betraying Hunter. He removed any reservation within him toward what was happening, combining his own will with what the bond was trying to do. He pushed and pushed, nearly blacking out from the pain, until something gave.

  Like a spontaneous clot had formed in his head, the mana flow halted, built up, and exploded through. This came with a doubling headache but no apparent physical damage, and as his mana flow reasserted itself, Daniel felt the malaise dramatically begin to lessen.

  System Alert: The Effect of ??? has been forcibly removed due to your Defense: Wisdom reaching sufficient proficiency through enhancement by Oath Bond: Memory to overcome the aggressor’s Offense: Charisma. Fundamental conflict between Fundamental Law: Balance and Fundamental Law: Karma due to the interaction of Ability: Trust Me and Oath Bond: Memory has been resolved.

  What was… did he? Daniel abruptly stopped thinking about what his mind immediately went to, aware Silora was maintaining some kind of long-range Telepathy on him. He was practiced in screening out private thoughts, but aware at the same time that reading all thoughts someone had was possible according to Lograve’s jokes. Unsure what it would mean if his assumption was correct, Daniel refocused on the matter at hand. Silora, you can tell Soraso I’m going to the ruins.

  The voice of the shavi came to him as he swept up the last of what he’d need from his room before vaulting through the window. Wait! He’s, Soraso’s talking very quickly. We can get you help before you go, just wait-

  No. Daniel pushed, and was able to dismiss Silora from his mind. She’d be able to try again, maybe even while they were in the ruins. If that were possible, why hadn’t Soraso had a Fate tailing them, or hell, doing the scouting themselves? It was a simple question, but it had never occurred to him before now. Because, if he’d considered it, it would have gotten in the way of getting Hunter back. It would have made him question the Regent’s motives.

  It was late evening at this point and Khiat was fully awake, rousing after Daniel began his last enchantment. Almost everyone was here, including Janice, but a certain gestalt was missing. Daniel rapidly tried pinging himself through the bond but no response came. Who else could he have affected? Tlara and Willow were out of the room, but Khiat and Khare… damn it. Was my falling out with Cloak because… no, he’s still an asshole, but maybe I wouldn’t have been so aggressive. Khare wouldn’t betray me like that, would he?

  “Daniel, is everything ok?” Willow asked. “You look exhausted.”

  “Is Hunter still here?”

  “Yes, but-“

  “I’m leaving now. Where’s Khare?” Besides Willow’s confirmation that the Martialist had left right after he had, there was no news. No aura visible either, strangely, despite the fact that they’d had one earlier. Khare, damn it, I can’t wait. “The ruins are an hour’s flight away and I want to be there before nightfall. Spinner, if you want to come I think I have enough spare flight items to get you airborne.”

  “Woah woah woah, hold the fuck on,” Tlara challenged. “This is still a discussion. Crest, you haven’t given us any good reason to go.”

  “Yes, Tlara has explained why it would be better to keep Willow safe here,” Spinner added subserviently. “I am not saying this because she told me to, as she specifically asked me to say, but because I could not possibly argue against her.” Tlara gave Spinner a pained look at that.

  Shuni, someone Daniel had no real idea about, had gotten used enough to the awakened monster to not remark on the fact that she was talking. Instead, she fixed him with a slightly odd look he had a hard time fully reading and said, “Heard that friend of yours is in trouble. Ruins, right? They are a bit dangerous but the advancement’s always nice. Not saying I’d do it for anyone but I guess I owe you for the cloak, and I… it’s just nice to know there are people out there who trust me with stuff like this. You can count me in.”

  Daniel was slightly unsure what she meant considering that’d been part of the trade for her initial help, and there was still something to her voice he couldn’t put a finger on with his thoughts focused elsewhere. He’d take the win regardless.“Who else?” Daniel surveyed the group, seeing a perfunctory nod from Sigron, a dusker head bob, and then turned to the last three holdouts. His eyes bore into Willow’s.

  The Spirit Master opened her mouth, closed it, looked to Tlara who shook her head, and then sighed. “I want to come, but without Tlara… I have responsibilities, Daniel. Wisp and the sparrow are as important to me as Hunter is to you. If I lose them in that place, if I die, I’m not the only one I’m damning. Without Tlara or Spinner coming, I have no idea how I’m supposed to survive.”

  “I got it.” Daniel turned to the real obstacle, feeling he was back to being surrounded by boulders. This time, there was no Kob to help him out. “You owe a debt.”

  Tlara shifted but didn’t back up under Daniel’s increased scrutiny. “You don’t get to fucking play that card by putting me or my sister in any more danger and fuck you for trying. Especially not for this half-cocked mess you’re trying to pull off. Sorry, but if you think I’ll do whatever you want because I owe you-“

  “It’s not me,” Daniel interrupted Tlara. “It is, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Tlara’s hostile expression turned hostile and confused. “Hunter. Day 1 you hated me, but I’d call what you did to him worse. You tried to get him killed multiple times, and the only reason he got infected by the lake monster was that he knocked you out so you wouldn’t be controlled.”

  “Yeah, sure, fine, but are you saying that should be worth more than you bringing me back from the dead?” Tlara asked sarcastically. “I don’t know what you think that fucking changes.”

  “Spinner,” Daniel countered, pointing. “Your whole hold up over her is because of how you treated her when you thought she was just a monster. Is what you did to Hunter any better? Your guilt, or regret, or whatever the hell is going on in your mind right now is going to be a hundred times worse if his soul is destroyed and you just stood by doing nothing.” He’d tried to argue with Tlara before, practically played an entire concert in the process of doing so, but at no time had he felt more confident than now. Steadying his voice, Daniel asked, “You told me you were going to apologize to both of us when you got the chance. Did you mean that, or was it all just bullshit?”

  Tlara was quiet for half a minute, stretching it out to the point that Daniel was nervously looking to the sky, waiting for Soraso’s intervention to come down. Eventually, she shook her head. “Fuck. You realize you’re the one that’s going to die first if we do this, right Willow?”

  “It’s worth it,” her sister affirmed. “I would have suggested we wait too if I couldn’t see how Hunter looks. This needs to be now.”

  Tlara beat a hand into the side of her waist a few times, the other hand holding her forehead as she internally deliberated. Sweeping the feathers on the top of her head back, she gave a quick glance toward Willow before giving her final answer. “Fine. Spinner, you can come, but only if you want to. I don’t mean because you want to fucking please me, or because you feel like it’s what you want to do. Come and there’s a good chance you fucking die. You want to risk your life after you just got it?”

  Spinner broke down Tlara’s words, trying to get a sense of what she wanted her to say before answering. “Mistress, if… if I could be bold, if there is one thing I think I know better than you, solely from my experiences, which may have misinformed me, this is a dangerous world. When I was just a monster I was safer in one location. I could weave my webs and allow prey to come to me, but I would have never Grown to where I am now. I would have never been strong enough to be worthy of your attention, had I not taken risks and left the web.” Her voice grew somewhat distant as she continued. “I remember Hunter, but after gaining this form, this voice, I do experience the world differently. If I had the chance, I would like to speak with him about that. That alone would be worth the risk.”

  “Of course this is the first thing you show some fucking spine for,” Tlara said with grim humor. “Ok, ok. Fine. But this is the last time you bring up the fucking past, you hear me?”

  “I can live with that,” Daniel instantly replied. “And so can Hunter.”

  “What about Khare?” Khiat asked, with some concern. The dusker had keenly found Daniel’s only remaining point of hesitation, but it wasn’t enough to change things.

  “This can’t wait. I’m not going to spend hours combing Pinion’s Point for them while Hunter’s in danger. Especially when they could be underground advancing and not paying attention.” He winced at that, not trying to blame the gestalt for their absence but hearing it come out that way. “Janice, please let them know what happened and tell them I’m sorry. We would have waited if that was an option.”

  “Got it Daniel,” Janice replied slowly. “And good luck. I’d like to see that fuzzball myself considering we never properly met.”

  “You can plan on it.” Daniel looked around, hoping to see either a floating mark racing toward them or a gestalt tunneling up from the earth, but there was nothing. Sorry, Khare. Hunter’s on the line, I can’t wait. I hope you’re ok. “Let’s go get him back.”