Tale of Eldramir

Ezekiel couldn’t stop moving. He knew that if he did, he was dead.

The world itself was attacking him as icicles stabbed up at him. Waves rose and tried to topple over him, and his fitting shifted and disappeared in an attempt to drag him down and consume him. After that first massive attack, the cultist he was fighting hadn’t allowed him to get close since.

“Stop moving around so much!” The Glacial Hunter screamed in rage. Her voice shook as she continued to attack Ezekiel. Different constructs forming and breaking one after another.

He didn’t stop, of course, and even as the water and ice beneath him shifted he still managed to avoid the constant barrage of attacks sent his way. Jumping into the air, he even managed to get a few more stickers in. Hammering down with Shine to shatter the ice that the cultist used as a shield.

But even thought this happened time and time again, Ezekiel could tell that his opponent wasn’t truly tired out. The level of skill was also generally greater than most of the other Legendaries he had faced before.

“How about you come up here, and we can fight properly. That way I won’t need to move around so much.” He called back at the Blue clad cultist that refused to leave the iceberg she had created. “I thought that the Cult of Light was filled with those that would do anything to fulfill the Radiant Lord’s desires. Does your lack of ability mean that I’m not the Anathema anymore? Has your so-called Lord finally accepted that I’ve done nothing wrong, or does it mean that you’re just incompetent!?”

“As if a monster like you could ever be anything but a monster!” The icy terrain shifted, and a large number of weapons in a variety of shapes flew at Ezekiel from the force of high-powered pressure jets. The water from the ocean that was forced through the glacier also cut through the air.

“Shit!” Ezekiel started weaving between the shifting icy weapons and avoided the high-pressure water streams.

‘Maybe you shouldn’t be taunting the Legendary Hunter that wants to kill you!’ Shine called through their bond. ‘Especially not when it’s obvious that she has the home field advantage!’

One of the ice weapons got a bit too close, and Ezekiel wasn’t able to dodge. But a burst of [Nothingness] dispelled the mana that was controlling its movement. It didn’t disperse the weapon itself, but the momentum dropped by a significant amount. To the point where Ezekiel could push it away without taking any damage.

‘Dammit! This territory is basically reinforcing her spells by greatly lowering the amount of mana she needs to use for her spells.’ Ezekiel could see that the number of weapons being aimed at him wasn’t decreasing. ‘How can we take her out when we can’t even get close to her? Not even [Jumping] is an option at this point.’

The sheer number of weapons that were moving around the cultist in a protective manner were too much for Ezekiel to maneuver around. The constant movement also meant that he couldn’t lock down an area to safely [Jump] to. Even worse was the fact that he couldn’t [Slingshot] himself either.

He had no desire to skewer himself on one of the many icy blades that stood between himself and his enemy. Especially with the diamond cutting water streams also flying at him.

‘Maybe one large burst would work?’ Shine’s suggestion had merit, and Ezekiel decided it couldn’t hurt to try.

Several spherical barriers formed around Ezekiel. Each one was the size of his fist, and as he moved through the air, and walked across both ice and water, a bright opalescent light filled the orbs. He made some distance between them, which forced the Glacial Hunter to move to stay within range. But never close enough for Ezekiel to land another direct hit.

This went on for several minutes, until he finally felt that the strain was too much for him to maintain. Then he charged directly at the Glacial cultist.

With his first step, one of the orbs dropped, and a wave of force spread and pushed the weapons and water that were flying toward him away. This continued every few steps, with each step taking him several meters closer to his target.

Finally, just as he got within a few meters of the cultist, he sent the last three orbs of force flying. Two in front, and one behind, to soften her up, and take out the weapons flying toward him from the rear.

But it didn’t seem to matter, because even though she was no longer surrounded by weapons and hyper pressurized streams of water, she was able to avoid Ezekiel’s strike by making a hole appear beneath her. She immediately dropped beneath the water, even as he was forced to take to the air in order to avoid falling into the water, which would basically be a death sentence in this instance.

The hole was closed a second later. Only for the cultist to once again appear on the ice a couple dozen meters away.

“That won’t work on me, Anathema!” She called out with a hint of laughter in her voice. The pride she felt at having tricked Ezekiel was obvious, and it grated on his nerves.

He slammed Shine into the ice beneath him, shattering the glacier once again as he screamed in frustration before he was forced to take to the air again. The cracks in the ice were sealed in seconds as the cultist channeled her magic. By this point, Ezekiel was getting tired of this fight.

‘How the hell is this so difficult? Seriously, I can tell that she’s a peak Legendary, but there’s no way she’s a borderline Mythic as well.’ He knew it sounded like he was whining, but he couldn’t help it. This battle wasn’t going the way he had thought that it would. ‘Why couldn’t this bitch be like all the other cultists we’ve fought in the past.’

Taking out some of his daggers, he started throwing those instead of trying to attack directly. Only for them to be harmlessly deflected after the first obstacles were avoided. The enchantments only worked the first time, and the multitude of weapons being too much for them to get past.

‘Maybe we should rejoin the other battles?’

Ezekiel took a moment to think about it, still dodging the barrage of weapons coming from the Glacial Hunter in front of him. ‘I’d love to, but if we leave this bitch alone then she’ll go after Wolken, which will tip the scales in the Cult Mythic’s favor. We can’t afford to lose our Exalt. Not when we haven’t even made landfall. Even if we can’t beat her, we need to at least keep her distracted.’

Sending a few [Void Cutters] and [Void Stabs] flying toward the cultist, he tried to start building up another batch of [Force Orbs], a pulse of light from the Legendary cultist passed over him.

A strange Artifact was held in the cultist’s hand. It glowed with a golden light that seemed to disrupt all the mana in the environment. Even the cultist’s Glacial constructs seemed to waver and fall to the ground for a moment. But it was only for a second before they flew at Ezekiel once more.

“That trick won’t work twice on me!” The Glacial cultist let out a laugh as Ezekiel began dodging once more.

‘This isn’t working. We need some space.’ A second later, he [Jumped] a few dozen meters backward, avoiding the weapons that were flying toward him.

He then flew backward to make some distance between them. This let him get a better look at his enemy, and he saw that she was incredibly well equipped as well. To the point that his own armor and tools seemed second hand.

They also glowed with golden light. The feel of Radiant mana filled the air, but only served to enhance the Glacial magic that his enemy was using. Her spells were incredibly powerful, even for a Glacial magic user fighting in the ocean.

If it wasn’t for his incredibly high [Understanding] of his element, he was certain that the difference between them would be far worse.

“Who are you?” He asked as their battle entered into a minor lull. “There’s no way you’re just a Cultist. You’re far too well equipped for that. You’re also not screaming at me like the usual brainwashed zealot.”

Standing in the air after avoiding a forest of lashing water tendrils, Ezekiel looked down at the woman he’d been fighting for the past few minutes. She paused, as if she was surprised by Ezekiel’s question. But then she smirked.

“I don’t think you can afford to be asking me questions like that.”

For a moment, Ezekiel didn’t understand what she was talking about. He was outside her current range, and the largest threats to his person were far enough away that his danger sense was only a dull buzzing in the background.

But as he took a second to think about it, that dull buzz turned into a ringing alarm.

‘Shine!’ His mental yell was enough to get his partner to throw up a barrier, just as he [Jumped] away.

The next moment, the space he was in was filled with violet lightning. It branched out in every direction. The sheer area of effect was so great that he was certain it could be seen dozens of kilometers away at the other battlefronts.

----------

Over a hundred meters away, Ezekiel shook off the effects of the Lightning that broke through his barrier. His [Jump] got him out of the center of the blast, but the distance had lessened the effects of the magic. Even though it still broke through his barrier.

‘What the hell was that!?’ Shine screamed through their bond. ‘Why didn’t we sense anything any earlier? Something that big should’ve given us plenty of heads up to dodge.’

‘I don’t know! Now help me find out where that came from!’ Spreading his senses outwards, he began reaching through the different levels of space that he could just barely touch upon.

It took several seconds, but he finally found what he was looking for. A crackling sensation that was just at the edge of his range. Yet, the moment he felt it, it disappeared, only to reappear in a completely different area.

‘Evade!’ Shine screamed as Ezekiel’s was pulled back into the present.

Beneath him there was a gaping maw of water rising up to surround him. Flying off to the side, he narrowly avoided the water that closed around his previous position.

His danger sense screamed once more. Yet again, the world was filled with lightning as he [Jumped] away. But this time there was something different. It was as if the lightning followed him through his spell. The moment he reappeared, the barrier that Shine had been maintaining was shattered under the force of the bolt of electricity that struck him.

“Disperse!” Ezekiel cried out as he [Empowered] his [Nothingness] in tandem with Shine.

The power behind his spell nullified the lightning before it could make contact with his body. This prevented him from being shocked and paralyzed, which would’ve immediately ended the fight.

‘What the hell is going on!?’ Ezekiel frantically sought out the source of the attack once more. But all he could find was that same tingling sensation just beyond his senses. Then he noticed something else. ‘Where’d she go?’

Below, where the Glacial Hunter had been standing, the iceberg that had been acting as a platform had disappeared. Not only that, but the Hunter herself had left without a trace as well. All evidence of her presence was gone.

Just then, the tingling on the edge of his senses moved once more.

Given the events that had happened last time, Ezekiel decided to not take any chances, and immediately [Jumped] a couple hundred meters away. Right before the space he was in was filled with lightning once more. This time, it didn’t follow his spell.

He also saw the branching bolts focus into a single space on the surface of the ocean. As well as originate from a single point in the sky. One that seemed utterly empty.

‘No... There’s something there... Is that a hand?’

He received no response from Shine. They were too confused at what was happening, and too focused on making sure the lightning couldn’t get them again.

Yet, even so, Ezekiel could tell that his befuddled exclamation was correct. Just barely visible within the lightning, and only appearing for a moment, there was a violet Spirit Armored hand that was reaching out of a golden circle of light.

It only appeared for a moment, but Ezekiel could tell that this was the source of his new troubles.

However, he didn’t have any time to think about it, because he could feel the tingling that originated from the hand moved once more. This time, he didn’t even have to think about it, because Shine had already [Jumped] them out of there.

But instead of [Jumping] sideways, they went up, and appeared above the golden circle with the hand poking out of it.

‘Now!’ Shine screamed, and Ezekiel suddenly knew what he needed to do.

Swinging down with Shine, Ezekiel let out a [Void Cutter] and the spell impacted against an invisible barrier. A moment later, a crack appeared in the sky. The edge was gold in color, and he could now sense the Radiant magic that was keeping the person inside hidden.

“Oh? I’m surprised you managed to discover me that fast. Too bad it doesn’t matter.” A violet Spirit Armor clad Hunter spoke with a tone filled with malicious glee. “You got lucky in Quintessa, but this time you have nowhere to run, or hide!”

The Lightning Hunter nearly shrieked in rage as she held up her other hand, and Ezekiel saw that there was an Artifact strapped to her back, with cable that extended toward her hands. There was smoke emanating from whatever it was, and Ezekiel could sense an incredibly dense amount of Lightning mana.

Her chest also glowed from a large Artifact necklace that was shining brightly. It flickered in tandem with the glowing cracks in the barrier.

A part of him wanted to [Jump] again, as he knew that another blast of Lightning was going to be launched at him again. But he knew that doing so wouldn’t solve his current problem.

Instead, he sent a [Void Stab] directly at the smoking Artifact on the woman’s back, just before she could fire off another explosion of Lightning.

There was a loud ‘crack’ as the apparent battery was split open. Only then did Ezekiel [Slingshot] himself away. Just as the Cultist threw the broken Artifact away while she screamed in rage. The crack in her barrier sealed shut as her necklace became blindingly bright.

‘Barriers! Barriers now!’ Ezekiel and Shine both began throwing up as many barriers as possible, even as they flew away faster than the speed of sound as the [Slingshot] spell sent them flying tens of kilometers away thanks to the amount of mana Ezekiel had thrown into it.

Just a few seconds later, the world was filled with a massive dome of lightning that spread in all directions. Water vaporized from the sheer power and heat of the electricity that flowed into it.

A stream of lightning as wide as an elephant also reached out horizontally, flying through the air directly at Ezekiel. It followed the path he had made with his spell, slower than the first time, which had been an instantaneous impact, but it was quickly gaining on them.

But he didn’t have a choice. A normal [Jump] wouldn’t have gotten him far enough away to escape the explosion. Something he had instinctively known when he had cast his spell.

‘Brace yourself!’ Protected by dozens of layers of barriers, Ezekiel and Shine could only pray as the massive bolt of lightning got closer. ‘Get that other spell ready!’

‘But we haven’t practiced it enough! We still can’t keep it stable!’

‘I know, but it’s the only chance we have! Use the crystals if you need more mana!’

Shine fell silent, and Ezekiel could feel several dozen mana crystals be removed from his Void Pouch. The mana inside them was instantly used to fuel the spell that Shine was trying to form.

A large circle filled with stars appeared behind them, moving at the same speed that they were. The circle flickered in and out of existence, but before they could do anything about it, the massive bolt struck them dead on.

Their barriers held for a few seconds, a light flashed and shone from Ezekiel’s eyes, but they ultimately shattered one by one.

----------

Back at the center of the explosion, golden shards of the shattered barrier fell apart. The Lightning Hunter concealed within was steaming as portions of her armor were clearly burnt and broken.

“Let the Radiant Lord annihilate that bastard’s soul and ensure he never gets reborn!” She groaned in pain as she removed the smoking remains of the barrier Artifact that was hanging from her neck. “Thank you, Lord, for your protection.”

She dropped the broken necklace, letting it fall into the sea. Only for an icy blue hand to grab it just before it hit the water.

“I didn’t think that you were the kind of person to just throw away the Lord’s gifts like that.” The Glacial Cultist muttered as she flew up to her apparent partner. “How could you possibly be so ungrateful, Peri? I thought you would’ve to keep a reminder of the tools used to kill the Anathema with you for all time. Oh well, I’ll keep it for myself, I guess.”

Her tone voice took on a mocking and teasing tone as she approached the Lightning Hunter.

“What do you want, Lana? You said it yourself; the Anathema is dead. There’s no longer any reason for you to stay here. Shouldn’t you go scurrying back to the Shroud family? I thought you were doing good work with them.” Peri, the Lightning Hunter, growled out.

“Oh, please. You know that all efforts went down the drain once they found out about our deals with the Kindled family.” Lana, the Glacial Hunter, brushed her hands against her chest plate. “Regardless, they won’t be an issue anymore. Especially with the Kindled family now in our pocket.”

“Are you sure about that? Who's to say that the Tempest Exalt won’t turn the tides?”

Lana just scoffed at her partner’s question. “Even if he escapes from the battle today alive, he won’t survive a battle against two Mythics on his own. Now, let’s go finish this. Even if you’re hurt, that’s no excuse for not taking part in the rest of the battle.”

“Tch! Why should I do a single thing you say?” Peri spat to the side. The pain from her injuries was destroying her usual composure. Her apparent distaste for Lana’s existence only seemed to add to her displeasure right now.

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps because I took the time to leave my station and give both you and Exalt Endaria assistance. I wasn’t ordered to assist you, after all. That request was all on you.” Lana’s posture oozed smugness as she mocked the Lightning Hunter floating across from her.

“Spare me the lies. All you did was distract and hide! I don’t see you suffering the backlash of finally killing the Anathema, so you can go and wrap up the battle yourself. Besides, I’m barely keeping myself in the air right now. A few more minutes, and I won’t even be able to maintain my Spirit Armor.” Peri began floating away, heading in the direction of the combined fleet of cultists, Imperials, and Kindled family Hounds.

A male voice emanated from every direction as Peri jolted to a stop. An opalescent blade stabbed through her stomach. The bloody, bruised, and utterly shredded arm that held it seemed to appear from nowhere then ripped the blade up and out, basically bisecting Peri and causing the light to leave her eyes.

“How...? You... bastard...” The Lightning cultist died with a glare and a pained gasp. But Ezekiel didn’t let it end there. As his [Shroud] faded away, he launched a fist with his free hand.

Peri’s head popped like a grape, and bloody viscera and bone splattered all over Lana’s face. The Glacial cultist was too stunned to move. But she couldn’t take her eyes off Ezekiel. His survival had been the last possible thing to cross her mind, but here he was.

Even though he was incredibly injured, his mana wasn’t lacking. If anything, he had nearly as much as Lana had, only there was something different about it.

Perhaps it was the look in his eyes. The swirling sea of stars that flickered in and out of existence. Visible only due to the cracks that spread through his helmet. Cracks that were slowly closing.

“How...?” She echoed the words of her one-time partner.

Ezekiel didn’t say anything. Instead, he just faded away from view. His [Shroud] took form once more. But Lana didn’t stay to risk another battle. Instead, she retreated as fast as she could.

Ignoring the fleet and everything else that was happening, one of the leaders of the Cult of Light left the battle before it could be finished. With their plan to ambush Ezekiel now a failure, she had clearly decided to live to fight another day, rather than risk taking on whatever new trick he had figured out.

She pulled a whistle from her Void Pouch, even as she kept her senses sharpened for any possible attack directed toward her.

After a moment of examination, as if debating whether or not she should go through with what she was planning, she blew the Artifact in her hand as hard as she could. A shrill note filled the air. It reached even further out than the fleet that was fighting in the distance.

Yet she still fled. Not once looking back. Only to run face first into an invisible barrier.

----------

Minutes ago, when Ezekiel was staring face first at the lightning that was charging directly toward him, Ezekiel activated a spell that he very rarely used. Not because it wasn’t useful, but because there was very rarely a need to do so.

‘So, what do we do now?’ Shine asked as Ezekiel stared at the bolt of lightning that had seemingly frozen in the air barely a few inches from his face. ‘Given how rapidly you’re [Accelerating] time for us right now, I’d say we have a few subjective hours before we die from impact with a top Tier four Lightning bolt to the face.’

Ezekiel mentally snorted in amusement. ‘You are acting incredibly blase about this.’

‘So are you, but with how much Void is flooding our minds right now, I can only assume that this is the new normal for us. At least until we snap out of this or die.’ Shine mentally shrugged, but Ezekiel could tell that they were nervous. Even with the emotional effect of their element following their minds.

‘How stable is the [Void Gate] you threw up.?’

Shine sighed, ‘Not enough for me to think we’ll be able to get through it safely. I didn’t manage to get an exit set up, and a portal to nowhere will just rip us apart.’

The fact that ‘safely’ in this situation simply meant that they’d get out the other with lacerations all over their body, rather than exploding into chunky salsa was left unsaid.

‘... How long do you think we can survive in nowhere?’ A part of him couldn’t believe that he was asking this. Shine was certainly surprised.

‘The fact that you think we’d survive for even a second is terrifying. You know how much it took for us to survive the few seconds we were there in the Ancient Legacy. That was with the Ancient Void’s [Laws] dictating what happened there as well.’

The two Void users ignored the invocation of power that accompanied Shine’s words. The weight of the meaning behind what they had said was something that they couldn’t withstand more than a passing reference of. At least for now.

‘We might last, so long as we prepare and lock in all the spells we intend to use in a single go. That way, they’ll still be cast, even if we can’t cast them ourselves.’ This was an idea that Ezekiel had come up with recently but hadn’t really had a chance to try out. ‘Like enchanting ourselves, so that all that’s needed is mana, not [Will].’

Shine thought about it for a second. It wasn’t something Ezekiel had bothered sharing with them, since he hadn’t thought that he’d need to try this anytime soon. But desperate times had brought desperate measures.

‘... It could work. But the best-case situation would be extensive physical damage.’ Shine’s conclusion was the same one that Ezekiel had come up with. ‘If we do this, it won’t be the same as in the Ancient Legacy. We’ll be reappearing exactly where we left. We’ll be going nowhere.’

‘It’d still be better than here.’ Ezekiel turned his attention to the lightning shining in his face. ‘So, do we do this?’

‘... Fine. It’d be better than spending the next few subjective hours doing nothing but waiting for death.’ Shine began running calculations and drawing Runic enchantments with their mana.

There was no actual effect at this time, but it was important to get things ready for when Ezekiel dropped the [Acceleration]. The two spent the next few hours getting things as ready as possible.

‘... I just had a thought... Will this affect your soul?’ Shine paused before they could complete the last Rune for the spell formation they were going to enact. ‘Technically speaking, since your soul is so much stronger now, I don’t think it should be, but I think you’d know this better than me at this point.’

Ezekiel mentally smiled at his partner. ‘I promise you; my soul won’t be hurt by this. After everything we’ve been through, this won’t be more than a tickle. At least spiritually. I’ll even be able to keep your soul safe, which I notice you tried to ignore.’

‘... If you say so...’ Shine placed the final Rune in their spell formation. ‘You’re sure that this will work? It’s definitely a Tier five spell at this point. If not in cost, then at least in effect.’

‘Technically speaking, we’re not doing anything new. We’re just doing something that would come to us more naturally at a higher Tier, that’s all.’ Ezekiel finished his portion as well, and prepared himself to drop the [Acceleration] which would activate the pair’s spell. ‘Who knows, maybe I’ll even figure something out regarding my [Truth] for Tier five.’

The words flew from Ezekiel in a relaxed manner, but there was a weight to them that wasn’t there before. A pressure that settled on his shoulders, since he knew that he only had so much time before he was forced to face a Mythic enemy on his own.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on what he was about to do. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Let’s do this!’

With that last confirmation from Shine, Ezekiel dropped the [Acceleration] spell, and the bolt of lightning flew forward. But all it did was harmlessly impact on a rip in space and time.

Its targets were now nowhere to be found.