Chapter 424
CHAPTER 424
OVERCOMING (II)
t.i.tus was currently standing still in front of a ma.s.sive square populated to a brim with lying, bloodied and mutilated souls . Running among them were three dozen white-clad people carrying bottles full of either pills or some or another liquid in addition to countless bandages . His gaze was dull and empty, his heart faintly cracked, bleeding . He, too, fought, gave it his all, but barely came out of it with a scratch . Meanwhile, all around him, people fell from the high skies to their doom, their bodies never to be recovered .
He wondered silently how many here would ever again be able to don a sword? To hoist a s.h.i.+eld? To echo a battlecry and march into a war? Not many, he wagered . Though, he garnered, it was a wakeup call for everyone . He wasn"t an exception; he too had come to believe their little army nigh invincible . They all elevated Lino well and above the high skies, imagining the eternally immortal s.h.i.+eld, a guardian that will always hold the sky for them . But, all had just the same forgotten he was but a single man, Empyrean or not .
Today they were reminded they, too, had a role to play – one beyond just resting in his shade . What shook him the most, however, was that the young were the least hit by it all – most members of the Shadows had barely left their teens, yet had fearlessly charged into the fray before everyone else . They threw themselves at the enemy without any inhibitions . Among the ma.s.ses, he also spotted young Ion leading charge of a small group of cultivators that were yet to turn twenty . He never retreated, not until the last moment . Never winced . Never ceased battling .
However, it wasn"t as though anyone froze and didn"t battle; they all did . With their hearts and souls, they jumped in and fought to the best of their abilities . Sometimes, however, that simply isn"t enough . As was the case today .
"t.i.tus?" a familiar, quaint voice jolted him out of his bitter thoughts as he glanced sideways where a red-headed figure with an exhausted expression stared at him . "You alright?"
"Yeah, I"m fine," he replied with a barely visible smile . "You?"
"Just tired," Val replied, glancing at the square, biting her lower lips . "Which is… barely anything . "
"How many?" t.i.tus asked .
"Initial estimates? Around three thousand are permanently crippled in one way or another," she replied somberly . "Aside from the dead, that is . "
"… good G.o.d…" t.i.tus sucked in a cold breath, his lips trembling for a moment .
"At least we paid back just as much if not more . "
"… lives to them hardly matter as much," t.i.tus said . "Does… does His Majesty know?"
"… I don"t know," Val shook her head . "I imagine he does . "
"… will he be alright?" t.i.tus mumbled . "First the Do"r h.e.l.l… and now this…"
"… he"ll be alright," Val said . "If he didn"t break by now, he never will . "
"… that"s good . " t.i.tus mumbled, sighing faintly . "That"s good…"
Cane and Alex were currently sitting on top of the wall overlooking the drifting abyss around them . By their calculations, they had just crossed into the waters of the Holy Continent, at least its far south-western parts . Both had somber expressions, their eyes shrouded in the misty glimmer . s.p.a.ce between them suddenly ripped open as Ella walked through, joining the duo and sitting down .
"Where"s Cae?" Cane asked, realizing she was alone .
"With Eggor," she replied, smiling faintly . "You"re spoiling him too much, old man . Slow down . "
"Ho ho, children are there to be spoiled, El"," the old man said, stroking his beard with a chuckle . "Don"t ruin it for this old man . "
"Haii… fine, fine . Do as you will . How"s the situation on your end, Alex?"
"Though we suffered some losses, they aren"t too heavy," Alex replied . "If anything, it was an experience we needed . Most of them hardly had any practice when it comes to real-life battles where one mistake can be fatal . "
"The Shadows suffered the most," Cane said . "Aii… my heart hurts when I remember all those youngs just rus.h.i.+ng headless into it…"
"What is Lino planning on doing now?" Alex asked following the somewhat lengthy, somber silence .
"… recuperate," Ella said, sighing . "What else? We"re drifting toward the Bridge . I think he"s planning on going to the Isles sometime soon . "
"… I figured," Alex chuckled . "That man can"t give it any rest . "
"It still might be safer than the Holy Continent," Cane commented . "Which is saying something…"
"… do either of you know how he managed to kill Three?" Ella suddenly asked, causing the expressions of the two to harden . "Even though I"m fairly certain I know the depths of his strength, I can"t quite understand how…"
"… neither can we," Alex replied, sighing . "From what I saw, the attack that killed her seemed entirely ordinary . I couldn"t read anything off about it . "
"Same," Cane nodded . "Why don"t you just ask him?"
"I did," Ella shrugged . "He just flashed me one of his playful smiles and fed me that stupid "man"s gotta have his secrets" line . "
"Ask Hannah," Alex suggested . "I imagine she probably knows . "
"Good idea," Ella nodded . "Will do once things settle slightly . Seeing as we"ll be completely in the dark of the world for the foreseeable future, you two might join Val and others later on and start writing out scenarios . We need to be prepared for everything . "
Litha and Vyrove were currently racing about the fortress, carrying everything that was thrown at them – from medicine to people . The two volunteered as their injuries were minimal all things considered, and have been at it for three hours now, ever since the battle ended . It was only after Val reprimanded them that the two sat down for a breather on one of the few intact benches throughout the fortress . Both their complexions were slightly pale, though their eyes s.h.i.+mmered brightly .
"It"s amazing how no one recognized us," Litha suddenly mumbled, her sky-blue eyes flas.h.i.+ng with a tinge of pain . "I know it"s been a while… but still…"
"We"ve changed, a lot," Vyrove said, smiling faintly as he reached out and caressed her hair for a moment . "It"d be more surprising if they had recognized us . "
"… we really have, haven"t we?" she chuckled, shaking her head as she took a bite out of sweetened bread . "I remember you being a whole lot more of a brooding type than you are today . "
"Ha ha ha, I really was . Though I could still pull it off, I think . You, on the other hand, would have trouble pulling off the super-adorable-yet-awfully-deadly type you liked portraying . "
"Humph, as if," she scoffed . "I"d floor it, regardless . "
"… was it weird for you?"
"Hm?"
"I mean," he mumbled, leaning slightly forward . "I know we"ve been with Lino for a while… but, this was the first time we actually fought for him . Or with him, as he"d probably say . Was it weird for you?"
"… not really," Litha replied after a short thought . "And, yeah, I mean if you stretch it, we fought for him… but, really, I was fighting for those next to us . Andrea, Simon, Tim, Edith, Anna… I guess I just brought my goals closer to home . "
"… well, if it"s like that, then I mostly fought for you . "
"…" Litha blushed slightly as she looked away . "Sly…"
"Ha ha ha, come on, we rested enough," Vyrove got up, stretching . "Let"s go check up on Sylas" group . They were pretty shaken with everything . "
"Yeah…"
Lino was currently observing the world down below, streets lined with debris and rubble, and countless souls heedlessly running about, carrying the wounded and the dead . The sight broke his heart countless times over, though he didn"t dare look away . It was just one of many reminders in the end, but a rather powerful one . They no longer considered just him the enemy – but everyone even remotely a.s.sociated with him . It used to be simply to aggravate him and try to flush him out… but this was an outright war call, army against an army .
Though dead are an excepted outcome, it was still hard coming to grips with the reality of hundreds dying within less than half an hour . That number, he knew, however, would only keep growing in the future . From hundreds into thousands… and further up . For all the limits nature imposes upon its inhabitants, there isn"t one for how many can die .
"… you called?" Primul"s voice echoed gently against the four walls as Lino turned around . The familiar man stood slightly leaning forward, black bags under his eyes, face still exuding with exhaustion .
"I called Primul, not his twin brother, Ugly . "
"… pfft—khm, that was pretty hurtful . "
"… let"s drink . " Lino said as he took out two bottles of ale and as the two sat by the window-side table . "Ella tells me you did something quite remarkable . Care to elaborate?"
"The formation?" Primul mumbled, taking a sip . "It"s nothing that remarkable, actually . The only difficult part stemmed from the time constraint if I"m being honest . Let me ask you something first: do you know how the link between Ataxia and Ashtar works?"
"… from what I understand, it"s a primal one," Lino mumbled . "Though, past that, I"m not too sure . "
"No, it"s not primal one," Primul shook his head, surprising Lino . "In effect, it"s similar to the link you have with Grim or Non, only much more powerful, as Ataxia didn"t merely contract Ashtar, but made him into what he is today . "
"…"
"Most links between individuals rely on two things – Talismans and uninterrupted flow of Qi from one end to another . That is why Qi-blocking formations also prevent all standard communication . And that is why, for instance, your Talisman Department is currently researching how to make talismans with reliance on Mana . "
"… so, if their link isn"t reliant on any form of energy, what is it reliant on?" Lino asked, quickly catching up .
"Chaos . "
"Chaos?" he arched his brow, taking a sip of sweet ale .
"It"s similar to how Ataxia always knows where all Primes are," Primul said . "Through so-called Bond of Entropy . However, because it"s a minuscule amount spread thin over virtually incomprehensible distances, you"re still unable to sense them . Even I wasn"t . I theorized, at least, I"d have to undergo the Origin Awakening to do it . "
"… how"d you stop it then? I don"t think I"ve encountered any Chaos-blocking array anywhere, be it books or experience . "
"… hmm, it"s not exactly Chaos-blocking," Primul said . "But more… stalling? I guess . "
"… ah," Lino suddenly exclaimed, his lips curling up into a smile . "You used Time to create the infinite loop?"
"Yeah," Primul nodded . "The link between the two still technically exists, but the moment it hits the fortress, it enters the stretching loop that dissolves the nature of Chaos and simply turns into a form of energy . The link will be reestablished eventually, but we"re probably talking billions of years at least . However…"
"… the moment I step out of the fortress, I"m f.u.c.ked . " Lino sighed, craning his neck . "I"m just short of Level 30,000 now . How strong do I have to get to be able to endure it?"
"—you should be able to withstand it with your current stats so long as you leave the fortress within a year . " Primul said, not hiding his shock at Lino"s revelation . "How… are you so strong? You were barely in a few thousands when we first met…"
"Well, some idiots decided to feed me," Lino chuckled bitterly . "Honestly, I wasn"t even 15,000 before killing Eight and Three . "
"… wait . You"re a Harbinger? Ah, that makes sense…"
"Were you?" Lino asked .
"No," Primul shook his head . "The most basic requirement for an Empyrean to become a Harbinger is for them to have the ability to control their madness . Me? I"m afraid madness controlled me instead . "
"… it"s hardly the case of controlling it," Lino mumbled faintly . "And more akin to disallowing it to sweep you away . Back when I got trapped in Do"r, the moment I realized what Gaia planned, the best choice was to flee – and I could have . However… well, you know the rest . I can resist it, but sometimes… it just ain"t worth it . "
"… you can still overcome it," Primul said, smiling lightly . "Which is more than what can be said for most of the rest of us . So long as you don"t lose yourself in the black and white, you"re doing just fine . "
"…" Lino remained silent, taking a sip of ale as his mind drifted off for a moment . "Aren"t we all overcoming something?" he glanced at Primul, smiling lightly . "Right now, every single soul in the fortress is overcoming something . Some of them things far worse than me . I"m not better than you, or any one of them Primul," Lino added, getting up . "We"re all just broken souls adrift, forever searching for the missing pieces . I just got lucky that I found mine early on . But, so have you now . Rise above the bitterness and guilt and shame . You"re better than that . "