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…"

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"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."