Tale of Eldramir

The chaos that spread through the Cathedral after Ezekiel purged his mother’s body and soul of the Radiant poison was a welcome change. The patients that were still awaiting treatment were organized into groups depending on the severity of their condition. Though, he still made sure to take care of Reya first, before he started working on anyone else.

The injuries he received before the Spirit realized who he was were annoying, but he didn’t hold it against her. Seeing the sheer relief on her face as she collapsed on her side next to Evelyn’s resting, but much healthier, body was more than enough to make Ezekiel feel relieved.

It was enough to get his mind off the starling discovery he had made. There had been a short time when he thought he should discuss it with someone, but he knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea right now.

While it would certainly help in the political side when fighting the Cult, it would also bolster their fanatics, and possibly make them lash out in a self-destructive manner that would weaken Humanity’s forces. This was the worst-case scenario, since the Broods and their Cruor were obviously on the move.

Instead, he found himself given several medicines and resources as he went about his day. All to ensure that he was in the best condition he could be. All the better to ensure that he was healthy and capable of fixing all those injured during the attack. Even though it was the healers that stepped in afterwards that truly ensured that the patients didn't die.

The effect of his actions spread through the island within hours of his initial act. Something that spread even further, and quickly went from rumor to fact after he purged the poisonous energy from several more victims.

When Wendy found out she immediately charged Ezekiel the moment he got free from his most recent patient. He nearly got sent to the floor when the human missile that was his sister impacted his stomach as he walked down the hall.

“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” She cried non-stop and all Ezekiel could do was comfort her as best he could.

He decided he was done for the day after that and spent the rest of the evening with his woman and his sister. They took the time to catch up since they had only done so a little bit earlier.

While he had sensed it earlier, Ezekiel was still surprised and happy to see that his sister had recently taken her training much more seriously, with both herself and Kare having reached Step seven of Tier two. With her current rate of improvement, it was fully possible that she would reach Tier three within the year. So long as her soul was strong enough.

“Your meditation has grown much deeper. At this rate, you’ll be a Legendary within a decade, so long as you face enough trials and tribulations.” While his inspection wasn’t deep, Ezekiel still felt like he could see so much more now that he was spending time with his family properly. “Have you given any thought as to whether or not you wish to join a Guild?”

Wendy was silent as she thought about it for a moment. Ezekiel could tell that this wasn’t something she had considered much. But given the fact that she had been directly trained by her mother and Scarlet, he knew that there wasn’t much reason for her to do so.

The fact that she had suffered under the effects of so many high Tier beings in the past couple of years meant that her soul had also grown well. To the point where Ezekiel wasn’t worried about her current growth.

“I don’t know if I can...” She looked concerned as she thought about it. “IF I join a Guild... I don’t think they’ll approve of my goals...”

Turning to face her directly, Ezekiel narrowed his eyes in concern. Next to him, Riley looked worried as she looked at the brother and sister.

“How so? What is it you want that would prevent a Guild from helping you achieve it?”

Kare ruffled her feathers as Wendy clenched her fists. A faint pressure settled on Ezekiel and Riley’s shoulders.

“The Kindled family... I want to kill them. All of them... Even if it means a war...” The harsh whisper that escaped the young Obscure Hunter’s mouth was starkly different from the normally quiet and gentle tone she usually had. “Does that make me a bad person?”

He knew that he should tell her that her anger was warranted, but her goal might be too much. That would be the morally correct thing. But given his own experiences, and the fact that he wanted to wipe out the Cult of Light, he couldn’t bring himself to want anything other than to support her.

Glancing to the side, he saw that Riley had an angry look on her face. He could tell that she was lost in thought, likely remembering her own unfortunate circumstances.

She caught his glance, and a silent agreement passed between them. They both nodded in agreement, and Ezekiel turned to his sister, who was waiting patiently with a worried look on her face.

“I wish to kill the Cult of the Light and erase their presence from this world. Riley is the same.” He smiled as he reached out and grabbed Riley’s hand. “Given who they’re working with, I don’t think your goal is bad at all. So, tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to help you.”

Wendy’s face lit up like the sun, a stark change from her previous mood. “Then... Does that mean that you’ll take me with you when you fight the Kindled family?”

A pit formed in Ezekiel’s stomach. He knew that he couldn’t just say no, but it was just as clear to him that bringing Wendy with him was incredibly dangerous.

“... If you can reach Tier three without damaging your potential, then I’ll at least take you with me to Morathi.” Ezekiel decided to settle for a compromise, without promising that he would actually take her into battle. But it seemed to be enough, because Wendy’s smile seemed to widen even more as she launched herself forward to wrap her arms around him even tighter than before.

“I’ll reach Tier three before we leave. I promise!” Though muffled, Ezekiel could clearly hear his sister’s words. “How long will you be here for?”

She looked concerned as she realized that there was a loophole that Ezekiel could use. His next words put those worries to rest.

“At least a couple months. I need to reach out to a few people and see what sort of assistance we can get before we head out. I also need to catch up on the news from both Morathi and the Empire.”

The siblings then spent the rest of the night just talking. Doing their best to focus on being together and enjoying being a family. Even if there was an emptiness due to the missing members.

When they finally went to bed, plans and preparations ran through Ezekiel’s mind. Now that he was in civilization once more, there were a few things he needed to take care of.

‘Shine... How many people do you think we can purify within the next three days?’

The Void Spirit thought about it for a second. ‘Maybe all of them. So long as we’re careful not to slip. Why do you ask?’

‘I’ve got a couple of things to prepare. Things that I won’t be able to work on if we owe the Cathedral. So, it would be best to have them in our debt first. The sooner we make it so their injured Mages and Hunters can heal, the sooner we can ask for favors.’

Runic schematics, and multiple Artifacts, and plans for arrays and formations, weapons and armor, and other creations that he could sell for favors and mana crystals ran through his mind.

Before, he was worried about causing too much chaos with the different destructive devices he knew, or at least suspected, he could make.

However, his family had been hurt, in a way that was far worse than taking away his father.

He no longer cared about the consequences.

----------

Four days later, it was apparent that Shine’s estimate was off, as was Ezekiel’s. But, after pushing themselves to the limit, they collapsed onto a cot inside a private room once more as they fully strained their combined souls and [Willpower].

‘That was far worse than I expected it to be...’ Ezekiel laid face down on a pillow.

Riley had gone to help Wendy with her training, at his request, since he knew that his sister would appreciate the act. It showed that he was invested in helping her get stronger. Which meant that she would be more likely to go with him to Morathi.

‘Why were there so many Obscure elements? I didn’t even know Sanafalls had that many Mages and Hunters that used that element.’ Shine was just as exhausted, and they knew that they and Ezekiel would need to be careful and get some proper rest over the next few days.

It hadn’t been a matter of it being too much power for them to face. Ezekiel’s soul was just past Tier five, or so they believed, which meant that there was little he couldn’t face directly, and at least run away. The real difficulty was keeping the patients alive, and not simply destroying their souls as the poison was erased from their being.

Countless factors had to be kept in mind as Ezekiel directed the mana he was using, and the sheer number had stretched his soul in several different directions. This caused his [Will] to be pushed to the limit as his mana tried to escape his grasp and run rampant.

Worse yet, the more he purged the Radiant poison, the more certain he became when it came to what he had felt from the essence within it.

‘It’s still hard to believe...’ A part of him still had doubts, but most had been wiped away thanks to the sheer amount of evidence and confidence he had in his abilities. ‘To think that the Ancient Radiance would... How does such a thing even happen? I thought Spirits couldn’t be corrupted. Just consumed.’

Shine remained quiet. The shock of it all was even worse for the Spirit, who had already had to deal with the fact that, as a Void Spirit, they had no idea if he could be corrupted and turned like Void Mages were.

Before they could delve any deeper, the pair jerked up as a knock on the door filled the room.

“Come in.” Ezekiel moved to sit up and turned to face whoever was coming in.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Scarlet asked as she entered the room. “Heard you looked like you were about to drop dead after the last session. I can see that that wasn’t an exaggeration. Though, you look like you're doing better.”

It was true. When he had first left the last patient after cleansing their body and soul, Ezekiel had been a pale and clammy mess. Sweat had drenched his clothes, and he had shuffled quietly to this room, pushing off any and all who tried to help him. He had just wanted to get off his feet and rest.

Fortunately, his recovery ability was incredibly good, so it had only taken a few minutes for him to at least stop his arms from shaking, and his completion to mostly return to normal. Though there were heavy bags that remained under his eyes. Showing just how tired he still was.

Snorting in amusement, Ezekiel ignored the jape at his expense and decided to address the Grand Scholars directly. “What did you need? I’m assuming you’re not just here for small talk.”

Scarlet winced at the accusation but couldn’t dispute it. “Yes. I’m here to tell you that we’ve received some word from the Empire. It appears as though several of the rebel forces have been driven out, but for the most part, our agents have confirmed that they safely made it to Quintessa by going north. Our friends in the Alkena and Morse families were among them.”

The news was a welcome and pleasant surprise, as it meant that he had one less thing to worry about. If they had had trouble when they had gotten to the east, then that news would’ve been included.

“There’s bad news, however, in that it seems like the Empire is making moves. They’re calling for your head once more. Though, this time it’s clear that it’s the Cult that’s pulling the strings.” Scarlet paused, as if she wasn’t certain that she wanted to tell him what else she had learned.

“What is it?” Ezekiel knew that he wasn’t going to like it, but he also knew he needed to know what was happening in his home nation.”

“... A marriage arrangement has been made between the Kindled family and the Willowbrush Emperor. The woman in question was a recently ‘saved’ bastard that showed great potential, who was brought back into the fold several months ago.”

It took a moment for him to understand what she meant, but the moment he did, Ezekiel nearly snapped, and the sudden pressure he released cracked the walls and floor of his room. Dust fell on them both as the ceiling was also damaged.

His mood only soured for a second, however, as Shine was aware enough to hold him back.

“I see... Then I will be making my requests now, rather than later.” Ezekiel nearly growled as he started listing different materials, mana crystals of different elements, and the return of his old workplace, which he had learned the day before had been the home of his family when not at the Cathedral.

Due to his work cleansing the various victims of the Kindled family’s attack, he hadn't gotten the chance to visit it.

“This is quite a bit. I’m not sure if we can-”

“Here.” Ezekiel cut Scarlet off as he took a book out of his Void Pouch. “A more in-depth breakdown of the different ways in which a person can achieve the [Understanding] necessary for reaching Tier four. With this, and all the discoveries I know you credited to me before this, I should have more than enough merit with the Church to afford this. Now get me what I asked for.”

Knowing that Ezekiel’s research was more valuable than the resources he was asking for, Scarlet fell silent, and retreated from the room.

Sighing in exasperation, Ezekiel fell onto the bed once more. He tried to fall asleep, since he knew that he would need his rest. But Shine reminded him that he wasn’t done just yet.

‘We need to get a few supplies ourselves. The Church won’t deal with them directly after all.’

Rolling out of bed, Ezekiel checked his mana, before he [Shrouded] himself and left the Church, without a trace to be found by anyone who tried to seek him out.

There was something of a panic, as he went through the city, visiting the different people who owed him debts from years ago. But as his Void Pouch was filled to the brim, he knew that the scolding he received from his girls was worth it.

Now, he just had to get started on his next world-shaking project.

----------

After resting for nearly a day, much to his annoyance, Ezekiel finally escaped the confines of Riley and Wendy’s watchful restrictions. They weren’t actually able to hold him captive, of course, but the fact that they were scared for him made him feel guilty, so he held back.

“Good! This is exactly what I needed!” He exclaimed while he examined a bit of construction he had commissioned.

It was an extension to the housing and laboratory that he had previously lived in. The group that was doing the alterations had been paid for by the Guild, and the reinforced, and pre carved, stonework was settling nicely into place.

He greatly admired the speed at which the Mages and Scholars were working. It was enough for him to almost regret the fact that he would only be using it for a few months at most. But the fact of the matter was that he needed a larger amount of space if he wanted to do what he was planning.

“I must say... These plans are certainly bewildering.” Grand Scholar Linette’s voice cut through Ezekiel’s focus, but he didn’t turn away from where he was watching the ongoing construction.

“It’s rude to look over someone’s private work without asking for permission, you know.”

Behind him, Linette was peering over a now opened notebook that was sitting on a table that was acting as Ezekiel’s temporary workstation. It was covered in architectural drafts and plans, as well as detailed depictions of several different Runic formulas meant for some complicated enchanted arrays.

“You could’ve stopped me at any moment, so it’s not like you care all that much.” The Grand Scholar had calmed down somewhat, since the days when Ezekiel had last seen her, at least. “Unless you’re the most worthless Legendary in the world. Because I wasn’t exactly hiding my movement over here.”

Ezekiel grunted in agreement. “Hey! That pillar isn’t meant to be the same height as the others! It’s for enchanting reasons! Stick to the plans!”

The Scholars looked like they wanted to dispute Ezekiel’s instructions. The ones building this pillar were a pair of older men, who likely believed that their experience meant that they knew better than Ezekiel. However, the moment they looked at him, their faces turned pale, and they got back to work, building the pillar to the proper height.

“Thanks for that.” He didn’t have to turn around to know that Linette had done something to scare the workers into doing as they were told.

“Not a problem. You can pay me back by explaining what the purpose of all this is.” Linette tapped the book she was looking at. “I’ve never seen chambers like this before. The enchantments alone will cost a ridiculous sum. One that you’re just barely able to afford, and that’s after you work for us and make a stupid amount of Artifacts for us.”

“Let’s just say that it’ll change the world once more and be done with it.” Ezekiel turned to see the unamused glare of the Grand Scholar. Lightning danced behind her eyes, as if to say she wasn’t too old to shock Ezekiel’s ass back into a hospital bed. “... You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“I want a fifty percent reduction on the number of Artifacts I need to make for you.”

“Twenty-five, and don’t you dare try to haggle with me young man!”

“Fine.” Ezekiel had been hoping for a bit of back and forth, but it seemed like this was the best deal he would get. “Their gathering chambers. If they work the way I want them to, then they’ll increase one’s mana gathering when actively used, and potentially make mana crystals when passively used.”

Linette’s jaw dropped, and she rapidly looked around to see if anyone else had heard. But Ezekiel wasn’t stupid. He had thrown up a sound restricting privacy barrier the moment he had turned around to face the elderly woman.

“How certain are you of this?” Linette calmed down once she saw that their conversation wasn’t being overheard. “Do you have any idea how much this will change things? How far the Cult of Light would go for this?”

“How much the Church of Ten would pay for this?” Ezekiel’s question made Linette pale, as she finally understood what Ezekiel was really asking for.

“You want to buy the Church of Ten’s support, don’t you...” Her voice was barely a whisper at this point. But Ezekiel heard it all the same and smiled.

He could tell that Linette was struggling internally between whether or not she was actually considering this. Especially when she saw the wicked grin spread across Ezekiel’s face.

“This will change the world as a whole, far beyond everything you’ve done before this. How do you even know that it will work?”

Faced with such questions, Ezekiel simply bent down and picked up a rock.

‘Don’t let anyone see this.’ He told Shine.

The Void Spirit vibrated in their sheath for a moment, before the barrier around them shifted, just a bit, to act somewhat like a [Shroud].

A second later, Ezekiel immediately dumped nearly a hundred motes of Void mana into the rock.

Usually, this would cause the small, mundane, stone to shatter and explode. But Ezekiel wasn't just forcing the mana inside the stone. He was [Accelerating] the stone's time, as well as [Empowering] it so that it could withstand such forces being applied to it.

This was something he had only put the smallest amount of time into studying. Yet, once he had made it work, he immediately began working on developing a way to implement the process in a way that would be usable by others. With, or without, his help.

Within seconds, the stone changed color from its gray coloring to something much more bleached white, with the tiniest amount of opalescent shine. The rock was now a pure mana crystal. However, there was a catch to this miracle, but it was one that Ezekiel’s formation would be able to circumvent.

“Unfortunately, due to my [Willpower] being infused into the mana within, it’s not usable by anyone but me. Though, that’s already a massive boon toward my progress. As it means I’ll be able to stock up and make multiple attempts to break through.” He gently tossed the stone at Linette, who nearly fumbled and dropped it. “Of course, since this was achieved by mu [Understanding] of the Void, turning it into an enchantment, thereby removing my [Will] from the equation, makes this a much simpler process.”

Linette was still looking at the newly formed mana crystal in awe.

“... What do you want?” She sounded resigned. As if she knew what Ezekiel was going to ask for.

“The Kindled family extinct, and my family returned to Sanafalls. Safe and sound.” Ezekiel sounded incredibly bored and blase as he stated his demands. As if he hadn’t just consigned an entire family, one whose members numbered in the thousands, to death.

“... I will need to speak with the other Cathedral heads. But I don’t think you’ll find many that oppose you.” Linette pocketed the mana crystal. Ezekiel assumed she would take it back to study in depth later on. “But, Ezekiel, can you really say that you’re doing the right thing in asking for this. You know what will come next if you go through with this.”

Ezekiel took a moment to breathe deeply. He knew what she was referring to. Now that the Kindled family was closely tied to the Willowbrush Empire, wiping them out would create an enmity that couldn’t be swept away without extreme costs.

His request, essentially, asked for the Church of Ten to give up half the Continent. Including the newly built Cathedrals in the Fjorya, since there was no way that the Empire would allow the Church to remain. Especially with the Cult of Light having so much influence on them.

“The Kindled family nearly destroyed my family... It’s only fair that they be destroyed in turn.” Ezekiel’s voice sounded dead, even to him. “Do unto others what you expect to be done unto you.”

With those final words, Ezekiel dropped the barrier and allowed Linette to leave.

She paused for a moment, but ultimately turned into a bolt of lightning and flew back to the Cathedral with a crack of thunder.

----------

The rest of the month was spent overseeing the construction efforts. Something that Wendy was not happy about, but ultimately, Ezekiel knew that she would greatly benefit from the final result of his current project.

“Okay... time to test it out properly...”

The construction had been completed a few hours ago. The amount of money he had spent on this building was enough to make most commoners in the Empire pass out from shock, and even most nobles wouldn’t be able to afford it.

‘Are you certain that this will work the way we want it too?’

Shine’s doubts made Ezekiel pause, but he knew that they were just being cautious.

‘I hope so... Everything I’ve tried on smaller scales has worked. Even if it wasn’t the most efficient.’ Ezekiel looked around the massive chamber he was currently standing in.

The walls glowed softly as the passive effects of the Runic enchantments took hold. A faint hum in the air made his skin tingle.

‘I think we’ve got this.’

Raising his hands, waiting for the familiar sense of danger he usually felt when things were about to go wrong, he was pleasantly surprised when nothing happened.

“Time to change the world on purpose.” Ezekiel channeled his mana through his hands, waiting until they shone with power before slamming them down onto the heavily reinforced flooring.

A moment later, the chamber lit up with opalescent light, nearly blinding Ezekiel as he reeled back in shock. Then, a heavy pressure settled onto Ezekiel’s shoulders. As well as feeling of comfort: like being wrapped in a heavy blanket.

Sitting down and entering into a meditative state, Ezekiel was amazed to see that all around him were motes of Void mana that slowly formed as the enchantments on the walls gathered, filtered, and condensed mana within the room.

‘It worked... It really worked!’ Shine’s cry of joy broke Ezekiel out of his awe. ‘With this, we can make as many attempts to reach Tier five as we like!’

‘Yeah... but it’s still slower than I’d like...’ Looking around, Ezekiel realized that the motes of mana that were forming were slowing down. ‘The attempts we make will be more often, but still widely spread.’

The formation of mana from the Void was actually much slower than he expected, but given that this was just the first attempt, he quickly accepted it and moved on.

‘We’ll fix it in later versions. As it is... I think that the mana can form at least ten crystals a day, with each one having at least a hundred motes of mana within them.’ Ezekiel’s calculation came from the speed at which the mana condensed. It was useful for the lower Tiers, but for the higher Tiers like him, it wasn’t worth that much.

‘Well... what we’re after is mana stones to buy off the Church’s forces. So, we’ve already gotten what we wanted, haven’t we?’ Shine didn’t understand why Ezekiel didn’t sound as happy as they were.

Realizing that he was being too hard on himself, Ezekiel lightly wrapped his knuckles on his head. ‘Don’t mind me. I’m just giving myself too many expectations.’

Turning to the exit, Ezekiel went to ignite the other Champers. Ten in total, one for each element.

‘Let’s go tell the Grand Scholar the good news.’

Shine cheered in response to Ezekiel’s declaration but fell silent as they both exited the newly expanded facility. An Unexpected guest was standing not far from them.

“So... I hear that you’ve made yet another groundbreaking discovery, but instead of using it to aid the Church, and the world as a whole, you’re bribing them to fight a war.”

Wolken’s voice was bland and carefree, but there was a presence to him that Ezekiel wasn’t very comfortable with. He could tell that the Mythic in front of him was upset with him.

As the Mythic approached, his boots lightly crunching on the ground, the heavy presence grew, but Ezekiel refused to back down. Even as his mana churned within him. Even as Wolken began pressing down on him with his own Mythic [Willpower].

The older man examined Ezekiel closely, and he could tell that the Mythic Hunter was looking for something. He apparently found it, because a moment later, the man retracted his mana, and clapped Ezekiel on the shoulders.

“Good. If your [Will] couldn’t bear that tiny amount of pressure, then I’d be forced to stop you before you left the island.” Wolken broke out into a wide and excited grin. “Instead, I’ll just have to do what I can to keep you alive.”

Hearing the older man’s words, Ezekiel also broke out into a grin. This was an unexpected development, but a welcome one all the same.

The Kindled family’s days were officially numbered.