Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 3
“Then yes! Yes, Morgan, I will marry you!”
He reached out, his hand vanishing into a small pocket dimension, and removed a glittering diamond ring. The band was bright and shone silver-blue, much like the Godsteel his spear was made of. It wasn’t actual Godsteel, but he thought it was symbolic, seeing as how the spear had held her soul. The stone itself was completely clear of any blemishes. He’d worked very hard on getting the stone just right.
Wordlessly, Sarah held out her hand, fingers splayed, and Morgan slid the band onto her fourth finger. She held her hand before her, looking down at the ring, as though disbelieving, then back to him. Her smile was wide as ever, and her cheeks held a pink flush.
“How does it look?” she asked, holding her hand out to him.
“It looks wonderful,” Morgan replied. “We probably won’t be able to get married until this whole war thing is over, but—”
“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Sarah said, lunging forward and hugging him. “So long as I know we will, that’s good enough for me.”
She quickly pulled away, swiping surreptitiously at her eyes and sniffing a few times.
“Lean back and close your eyes,” she said, still unable to hide her massive grin. “I need to finish cutting your hair.”
Morgan once again did as she asked, his grin mirroring hers. It took her a few seconds to start again, but when she did, Morgan could feel the small ridge of metal from her engagement ring, and it made him smile even wider.
“Oh, good, you’re back.”
Morgan had had an absolutely wonderful day.
After Sarah had finished with his hair, the two of them had headed out for a day of celebration. They’d gone for a walk in the gardens, headed to the outskirts of City Fifteen to enjoy a nice lunch, and generally just spent time talking about their future.
They’d just returned to the castle in Pinnaclefall when they’d been approached by Bell, Katherine’s aide, who was running the day-to-day of the kingdom in her absence.
“What’s wrong?” Morgan asked, sensing that something was amiss.
“I just received word from Katherine,” she replied, fingering the pendant around her neck. “Apparently, the gnomes are getting ready to make their first move. You’re needed back in Faeland.”
Morgan let out a long sigh. He’d known this day was coming but had secretly been hoping to have just a little more time.
“We’ll head over within the hour,” he replied.
“I’ll let her know,” Bell said.
Her eyes then flicked down to Sarah’s hand, which was looped through Morgan’s arm. They went momentarily wide as they raced up to meet his own, then moved to Sarah’s.
“I guess congratulations are in order.”
“Oh, you saw?” Sarah asked – though she’d clearly shifted her hand so the ring would catch the light of the lamps in the corridor.
“A ring like that would be a hard one to miss,” Bell replied with a smile. “I’m happy for you. You look very good together.”
Sarah and Bell exchanged a few more words, then they excused themselves and headed back to their rooms to pack.
“I’m gonna miss this place,” Sarah said with a wistful sigh.
“I’ve been to the elven palace,” Morgan said. “It does look quite a bit different, but I don’t think you’ll find any lack of luxury there.”
“Yeah,” Sarah said, flopping back onto the bed. “But I won’t have you all to myself anymore.”
Morgan snorted out a laugh at that, and after a moment, Sarah did as well.
“At least I’ll finally get to meet that adorable girl face to face,” she said, twisting a loose strand of hair around her index finger. “Maybe she can help me with a new look…”
“I like you just the way you are,” Morgan said.
“I kinda miss the days where you would make rude and offhand comments about my looks,” Sara pouted.
“Do you really?” he asked. “Because I can—”
A pillow hit him in the face then, ending his sentence.
“No, you can keep complimenting me,” Sarah said as he caught the pillow, then let out a little shriek as he tossed it back at her, driving her back into the bed.
Morgan was by her side in a flash.
“Sorry!” he said as she pulled the pillow from her face. “I didn’t mean to throw it that hard.”
Sarah felt at her nose, then gave him a mock scowl.
“Well, since you hurt me, you’re going to have to make me feel better.”
She turned her face, presenting her cheek, and Morgan immediately flashed back to the first time she’d done this, tricking him into kissing her on the lips.
He hid a grin as he leaned in, Sarah turning her face at the last second to catch his lips with her own. He could easily have avoided the ‘sneak attack,’ but unlike the first time she’d done this, Morgan didn’t mind at all.
3
Wind whipped about them, tossing Morgan’s hair back in streaming waves as he streaked through the night. Sarah snuggled tightly to his back, her arms wrapped around his chest and cheek pressed to his shoulder.
Faeland was visible in the distance. They were perhaps a half-hour from the shoreline and maybe another half-hour from the palace after that. Morgan could have made it there in just a matter of seconds with his new Rift skill, but he’d wanted to enjoy just a little more time with Sarah. They’d emerged from the spatial tunnel over the glowing ocean about an hour ago and had been flying ever since.
Ironically, despite his wanting to spend more time with her, Sarah had fallen asleep almost as soon as they’d begun their flight, the warm, pleasant air combined with the sound of crashing waves below lulling her into the land of dreams.
Morgan didn’t mind too much. Just being close to her was enough for him. However, as he approached the mainland, he could see the true scale of the disturbance.
The air in the far distance was warped and wild, the fighting World Beasts wreaking pure havoc on the land. In fact, if he weren’t mistaken, they’d moved further away from their starting point about a week ago, toward the elven capital.
Well, that’s not good, he thought, wondering if he should investigate in person to see what was happening.
Judging by the overwhelming feeling of power, Morgan wasn’t so sure it would be a good idea. But if they kept moving, destroying all in their wake, the elven city would need to be abandoned. They might be able to divert one World Beast, but all four? Not even he was stupid enough to think he could do something like that.
His eyes narrowed as he spread his senses wide. He could feel distortions in other places over Faeland as well, specifically in the Arcane Kingdom, the gnomish homeland. There were several blank spots, though, where he could sense nothing at all. He knew people, beasts, or some other form of creature inhabited those places, but for some reason, he was unable to pierce it, even with his Perfect Aura Control.
After a moment of debate, Morgan pulled up his status, running through his list of skills and abilities. He hadn’t so much as looked at them since Sarah’s return – he technically didn’t even need to, as his memory was infallible – but now that he was going to be using them, he figured he could use a refresher.
Name: Morgan
Title: King of Eternity
Pinnacle Supermage: Rank - 80
Energy to Next Rank - 0/750,000,000
Ability - Downfall
RP - 16,500/16,500 (Regen - 156.0 per second)
Strength - 1,750
Agility - 2,100
Constitution - 1,710
Intelligence - 1,650
Wisdom - 1,560
Traits - Eternal Soul, Perfect Aura Control, Devourer, King’s Might
Skills - Gravity Release, Bestial Might, Starforge, Earth Mastery, Expanse, Rift
Superior - Infernal Star, Light Star, Meteoric Downfall, Continental Collapse, Soulstream
Ultimate - Eternity Beam, Sunscorch
King of Eternity: This title was granted to the King of Beasts after bathing in the Eternity Wells.
Effect: All skills cost 25% less to activate.
Traits:
Eternal Soul - Both your body and soul have undergone an evolution, reaching the Pinnacle of power achievable by mortal beings. Your body will perpetually heal itself, fully restoring any injury in the span of a single hour, with lesser injuries healing even quicker. The ravages of time, illness, or disease will not affect you. Your body will passively resist 50% of any damage, and your soul will remain eternally youthful.
Perfect Aura Control - Your gifts of sight and power have reached their Pinnacle. You can sense the energy of the world with perfect clarity and make all in your presence feel your power. You can expand your presence at will, projecting the might of your soul for thousands of miles around.
*The traits that are passed on to those below the Pinnacle will remain as Aura Sense and Aura Flare.
Devourer - The hunger of a beast is never-ending, and the hunger of a King encompasses all. You can tear the power from any in your path and can store the power for later use. Even the power of the gods cannot escape your hunger.
King’s Might - The might of a King cloaks your body, infusing your aura with the light of the divine. The power of all abilities and skills is automatically boosted by 25%.
Skills:
Gravity Release - Gravity no longer claims a hold over you. You may now soar through the skies or even into space itself! This skill will increase in cost, based on speed and height.
Base Cost - 75 RP per second
Base Speed - 200 ft per second
Base Height - 600 ft
Increase Cost - 1 RP per second per additional ft of height/speed
Bestial Might - Tap into the power of your bestial nature and increase your Strength, Agility, and Constitution by a factor of 5. Your body will heal itself 5 times faster while this skill is active.
Cost - 1,000 RP
Duration - 30 seconds
Cooldown - 30 seconds
Starforge - Forge mighty constructs using the power of the stars. You can channel any skill through the constructs, summon them at a distance of up to 50 yards, and change their size and shape at will. The power of gravity and lightning suffuses these constructs upon being summoned and maintains them for a full 5 minutes.
Cost - 500 RP per construct
Duration - Until dismissed
Earth Mastery - The element of Earth and all minerals and materials within bend to your will. You may infuse your body with their strength and power or summon mighty storms of raging sand.
Cost - 250 RP per second
Expanse - Create expansive or narrow pockets of air, which can be controlled, sustained, or unleashed all at once. The element of air is as limitless as the expanse of space itself.
Cost - 500 RP
Sustained Cost - 75 RP per second
Rift - You may travel through space at will, covering vast distances over short periods of time or moving within the space of your spatial control instantaneously. Opening rifts to store items, create tunnels or carry passengers is now well within your power.
Cost - 75 RP per second
Blink Cost - 100 RP
Rift Cost - 300 RP
Spatial Control - 100-yard radius
Superior:
Light Star - Summon a sphere of dense gravity, pulling all light into a single point. The power of pure light is unleashed when it ruptures, burning all caught within its radius of destruction.
Cost - 6,500 RP
AOE - 200 Ft
Cooldown - 4 hours
Infernal Star - Summon a sphere of dense gravity, pulling all darkness into a single point. The power of the infernal is unleashed when it ruptures, disintegrating all caught within its radius of destruction.
Cost - 6,500 RP
AOE - 200 Ft
Cooldown - 4 hours
Meteoric Downfall - A rift opens in the sky, raining down fiery destruction from above.
Cost - 7,000 RP
AOE - 350 Ft
Cooldown - 12 hours
Continental Collapse - Split the ground with a bestial burst of power, detonating the very earth itself. This skill can cause the eventual collapse of an entire continent, so use with caution.
Cost - 9,000 RP
AOE - 100 Square miles
Cooldown - 24 hours
Soulstream - Channel your inner power, calling forth the beast of your past and enhancing your body tenfold. Your injuries all continually heal, and your RP regenerates at ten times the normal speed.
Cost - 9,500 RP
Duration - 15 minutes
Cooldown - 24 hours
Ultimate:
Eternity Beam - Call upon the power gained from bathing in the Wells of Eternity. The skies open up and rain a beam of destruction down upon the world, rendering the area barren and unlivable for years to come.
Cost - 15,000 RP
Duration - Instant
AOE - 1 ft - 500 miles
Cooldown - 1 Week
Sunscorch - Embody the power of the sun, embracing its might and infusing it within your very soul. You cannot be killed while this skill is active.
Cost - 15,000 RP
Duration - 5 minutes
Cooldown - 48 Hours
Now that he’d reread the description for Perfect Aura Control, he found it even stranger that there were parts of Faeland he couldn’t sense. It wasn’t that the strong presence of reiki in the air was throwing him off, rather that there simply seemed to be a hole where things should be. There were several explanations for this, and he didn’t want to even think about them.
His mind, instead, turned to Sarah’s status and her new skills and abilities. Several of them now somewhat resembled those the god-Sarah had used, while still being uniquely hers. The skill she used to conjure those floating arms, for example, called Construct, seemed to be made half of ice and half of frozen blood.
It was why, when she used those skills, her eyes glowed the way they did. He found it strange how, while one eye was naturally red and the other was green, it would glow blue instead. Perhaps it had something to do with her mana, but even Sarah didn’t have an explanation, only guesses.
All they really knew was that her new ability gave her at least partial access to divine power. They hadn’t had a chance to test all of her skills, but they had a pretty good idea of what she could do after facing Octagon. Morgan, however, withheld the fact that Octagon wasn’t nearly as strong as he’d been when they’d faced him last. Before, he had had time to gather power and had gained a tremendous amount of strength and ability, thanks to his army. This time, Octagon had been awoken after being locked up for two years. His power was suppressed, and because of that, he hadn’t been able to muster the same force.
If he had, the fight would have been much longer and probably would have resulted in some injuries on Sarah’s part. Still, he wasn’t going to tell her that for the simple reason of sanity. She’d needed that win, and he wasn’t going to belittle it.
Morgan gave himself a small shake as he finally reached land, streaking past the beach in an instant and flying over the towering trees of the beastman homeland. They should be reaching the elven capital soon, but he would let Sarah sleep if only for a little longer.
4
Grace sat back in the small living room with her feet kicked up on the couch, Lumia curled in her lap. A small book containing the latest hairstyles in the East Kingdom was clutched in one hand, and the other held a small half-eaten flaky pastry. On a couch to her right, Katherine lay similarly sprawled, though in her case, she had a bottle containing a beverage of an alcoholic nature while she stared at the ceiling.
Beatrice, Queen of the South, and Le’vine, Queen of the East, spoke quietly, while Ragnar, Elyssa, and Malachi sat in silence.
Of all the gathered people, both of Faeland and the Five Kingdoms, Grace seemed to be the only one who didn’t really belong, but she had been allowed to stay due to her proximity to Morgan.
There was a single reason why they were all here. Morgan was coming back after an entire week away, and he was returning with a woman he had brought back from the dead. Well, that, and because they were fairly certain that the gnomes would be launching an attack soon and needed to talk strategy.
On the part of most of those here, they were curious to meet her, but Grace and Katherine were far less excited. Katherine, because it meant that she’d lost her only chance with him, and Grace because…well…she wasn’t actually sure why.
Ever since she’d heard of Sarah’s return, she’d had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Of course, distracting herself had been fairly easy, what with her recovery from the battle, followed by endless meetings and daily training. They were at war, so sitting idly like she was now wasn’t something she’d been able to do all that much.
The beastmen, dwarves, and elves were gathering their forces, pouring into the Glimmerlands. At the same time, the dwarven civilians, those who wouldn’t be fighting, were being forced to flee as the World Beasts continued their battle, tearing through their lands and leaving destruction in their wake.
The whole world seemed to be coming to an end, which was why Grace hadn’t really spoken to anyone about how she was feeling. Mainly because it just felt petty. Katherine, to her credit, had been putting on a good public face, but now that she had called Morgan back, citing their need for his assistance, it seemed she needed to fortify herself with some strong drink to face him. Grace didn’t know why she even bothered.
Alcohol would do absolutely nothing for her with her massive Constitution. But perhaps it was just the ritual of it, and she was drinking for no other reason than to consume alcohol.
Grace was actually surprised that she was feeling so calm at the moment, though that probably had more to do with the fact that she was distracting herself with her book on hair than anything else. Hair could always make her feel better, no matter what was happening. Lumia’s presence also helped. The drake, in her smaller form, was napping, completely oblivious to the world around her.
