Crimsoncrest (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 10), page 36
Without warning a Stronghold leapt at him from behind and Theo barely dodged. He instinctively raised an arm and his opponent's blade slashed through his sleeve. His armament coat was sliced open and without it he might have lost the arm, then the Stronghold was past him.
The reckless attack had thrown his opponent directly toward the singularity, so Theo returned to trying to guide its gravity. Except his opponent didn't fall in... the man flashed just past the singularity and whipped around it, shooting at him even faster.
This time Theo dodged, but the Tymetronese Stronghold gave a savage grin and shouted as he passed. "Gravity, huh?"
It had been inevitable that he'd run into an opponent who actually understood the concept: gravity bent space-time, drawing mass toward it, but it wasn't a simple sucking force. Someone with enough momentum would instead orbit the singularity, or in this case, perform a slingshot maneuver around it. When the Stronghold came back at him again he was even faster, his blade whistling just past Theo's face and cutting a line through his cheek.
If he'd fully constructed his Stronghold floor, maybe Theo could have controlled the singularity better and fought directly. But in a battle like this, wrestling against a singularity that had grown more powerful than he'd anticipated, he struggled to stay ahead of his opponent.
Theo called for support in every way he knew how, even as he realized that it was probably too late. In his ambition he had advanced away from the Asplundat lines, so the singularity was still supporting them while he was beyond their range.
[Help?] Krikree's pheromones reached him despite the chaos and he saw her hiding below, staring at him intensely.
[No, get back,] he ordered. In her current condition, the chance of her dying was just too high.
But his opponent was getting faster. The next time he flashed past, Theo misjudged his dodge and the blade cut through his side. He heard the laughter pass him by, peak, then flash in the other direction for another arc. His opponent wasn't orbiting like a planet, he was more like a rocket with an immense amount of thrust, capable of nudging his velocity as he saw fit.
If it came down to it, Theo could collapse the singularity. But now that everyone was focused on him he wasn't sure he could form another one before being attacked, and he needed it to keep this battle in check. He'd hoped that he could move it all the way to the barrier and fight back the enemy Dominions as well...
"Just a matter of time!" The enemy Stronghold passed him further away, but his arcs were getting closer to the singularity as his confidence increased. Theo's body was holding together, but how many injuries could he endure before his control faltered?
Then Fiyu stepped out of the singularity and thrust her cantae blade into his opponent's chest.
It happened so quickly that the man was impaled before he knew anything had happened. Even Theo took a moment to catch up: using the protective power they had soulcrafted together, Fiyu was now immune to his singularity. She must have crept up to it and intercepted his opponent when he was in the middle of his slingshot maneuver.
Remarkably, the Stronghold survived the stab through the heart... but his path had been altered. Instead of a slingshot maneuver he plunged beyond the event horizon and into the singularity, which exploded in size again. Theo gritted his teeth, struggling to move it further toward the edge of the battlefield. He'd been concerned for Fiyu, standing so close, but the felinesolar held and she slipped away unaffected.
At first the remaining Tymetronese Strongholds looked relieved, grateful the singularity wasn't threatening them anymore. Then they saw that it was nearing the great barrier their Dominions had erected... and consuming it as well.
The runaway process was almost beyond Theo's power now: the only control he could manage was collapsing it. But he'd pushed far enough, because the barrier was being drained. Some of the cantae had enough momentum to orbit, forming a corona like he'd never seen before, the barrier becoming nothing but a ring for the consuming darkness within.
It seemed that Guchiro had gotten Citizen Dominion away, but the enemy wasn't so cautious. They knew it was a Stronghold-tier technique and one of them scornfully sent out a piercing ray of cantae.
Which vanished into the black hole.
When the Dominions realized that they couldn't stop this technique, they hesitated. As the mass continued to increase, the singularity began affecting a larger and larger area. The woman who had transformed into a giant saw the essence of her Ethereal body began to trail away, sucked into the black hole. It was as if the giant's body was turned into dust and swirling into the abyss.
That was what finally broke the Tymetronese. The Strongholds realized that the odds had turned against them and scattered, losing all cohesion and fighting for their own survival. Some managed to weirkey out, others crashed into the Asplundat lines, and a few even fled over physical space.
With their support gone, the three Tymetronese Dominions were no longer the dominant force on the battlefield. The giant fixated on Theo, but Guchiro moved to intercept her before she could even get close. Theo didn't back down as he saw the realizations on their faces.
[Krikree, now,] he emitted. [Get around them.]
[Yes!] She had already retreated to a safe distance but now sprinted along the ground in an arc that would put her behind the Dominions.
A single Authority trying to intercept Dominions seemed suicidal, and in fact they barely noticed her as she ran ahead of them. But as she ran, Krikree hurled the anti-weirkey stones from her soulhome, expanding the area beyond the initial region. Realizing the danger, the Dominions bolted in separate directions.
One twisted away via weirkey before Krikree could fully expand the barrier. The woman who had created the giant burst out of its chest, flashing past Krikree and vanishing. But the third didn't get far enough before a rope of darkness wrapped around his ankle.
As the Dominion was pulled backward, Guchiro and Fiyu fell on him, blades flashing.
Was the battle over? Theo's mind felt stretched to the limit, unable to focus on tactics while it wrestled with the incredible power he had summoned. There was no one being threatened by his singularity at the moment, since it hovered at the edge of the battlefield, but it was stripping the ground beneath it. Theo knew that he should collapse the singularity now and found himself staring instead, admiring the surreal dark beauty of what he'd created.
Then a new figure appeared on the battlefield. Twice the height of a man, clad in twisted golden armor, radiating power greater than Theo had ever felt before.
It could only be Plutalgion, Emperor of Tymetron.
Whatever he was, he regarded the singularity with curiosity. Plutalgion extended a hand and a vast golden hand rose from his body, reaching out in unison as if to grasp the darkness. The golden power broke apart, sucked into the black hole, and Theo dropped to one knee as he felt the surge of new power. That single technique had been so much stronger than anything else he'd previously faced...
Plutalgion himself stood as if nothing could move his feet, but a few fragments of his armor tore off and flew into the black hole. Theo saw a fell light appear in his eyes, then Plutalgion struck. A blade of liquid gold appeared in his hand and cantae lashed out, so intense that it made Theo's cantae look like ephemeral mist.
After it struck, the singularity was gone.
Chapter 38
Nauda wavered atop the marble slab, struggling to remain on her feet. She wasn't contributing much of her own cantae, but the power flooded out of the shadowlamp with such intensity that she could barely wrestle its flow.
By now the Asplundat Movement soulcrafters only stared at her in horror. She had managed to argue some of them into standing down, and those who had attacked her she had pushed aside or neutralized as best she could. What finally stopped them was that they saw it was too late.
The crest beneath her was turning pitch black with a silvery finish. Back in the camp, Nauda had gone to all the House Blacksilver soulcrafters, accepting their contributions of cantae, filling the lamp with more power than any one individual could possibly hold. Now she poured it all back out, infusing the marble slate with the essence of House Blacksilver.
It had changed color, yet Nauda felt that the infusion wasn't done. There was still more cantae pouring out of the lamp, and more than that, she could feel that the stone could absorb more. Unless she infused it all, the crest wouldn't reach its full potential.
She felt a bright point of life moving up the mountain path and hoped that it was Homez, having won his duel with the traitorous Authority. He could make all the others calm down, assure them better than she could that this was the backup plan. Yet when she finally spotted a flash of color moving toward her, it wasn't white or gold... it was red.
Roker of House Crimson walked toward them, fire in his hands and murder in his eyes. She didn't know if he'd been under the barrier from the beginning or not, but he was definitely not here to join the defense. It looked like he'd been fighting... no wonder the other Asplundat Authorities hadn't been supporting them.
"Too late." He grimaced as he raised his House's ruby staff. "Well, we're getting it in the end no matter what. Just get out of the way."
While he was talking, Nauda pulled her hand away from the shadowlamp to create a line of wards between them. It was fortunate she did so, because Roker didn't wait for surrenders: he unleashed a beam of fire that shook her wards and left her heated on the other side.
To their credit, the Asplundat soulcrafters leapt into action to try to defend the crest. It wasn't enough, not even with Nauda adding as many wards as she could. Roker seemed to have a soulhome built for brute force and the rod he carried was an immensely powerful armament. When he blew the only Asplundat Authority off the side of the mountain, there weren't many left who could defend.
In the meantime Nauda had generated several layers of wards, but the first blast shattered one immediately. The others wouldn't last long.
"You think you can steal our chance?" Roker bellowed. "This will raise House Crimson to legend!"
Could she abandon the shadowlamp and fight him directly? Even if she tried, Nauda wasn't sure how well she could do, since the experience had been so draining. And the infusion still wasn't done, not yet. At this stage, it felt like all she could do was hold on and hope that Homez would catch up.
"This is the greatest armament of House Crimson! You don't stand a chance against it!"
"Good point," Tythes said. "I'll take it."
Nauda stared in shock as she realized that Tythes was standing behind Roker, grabbing the staff from his hands. She had no idea how he'd gotten there so adroitly, but he had taken the armament and was already backing away by the time Roker reacted.
That wasn't fast enough. Roker bulled after him, slamming a shoulder into his chest and scrabbling for the staff. Tythes managed to keep it away from him, but he took several bruising blows in the process. By the time he staggered away, his face was bleeding and bruised. And still smiling. Nauda could tell that he wasn't hiding any greater strength, yet he was smiling.
"I don't need the staff," Roker shouted at him. "Can you even use it, with your wrecked soulhome? I'll beat you to death with my bare hands and then take it back."
"By all means, be my guest." Tythes placed the ruby staff in his soulhome and raised his arms as if for an embrace. "I've always considered you a brother, ever since my father chose you as his heir. Let's go to our deaths together."
His blithe acceptance seemed to puzzle Roker almost as much as Nauda. Was Tythes buying time? The last of the Blacksilver cantae was infusing the slab, but she felt weaker than before and she wasn't sure how much support she could offer. Yet there was also something shifting in his soulhome, as if he was preparing some sort of technique.
Either way, they needed time, and it didn't seem like they'd get it. Roker balled his hands into fists and gathered up his power.
"Just shut up, Tythes. I've always wanted to punch in those teeth of yours."
"Is that any way to talk to your dear brother?" His smile and his arms widened. "I've idolized you for so long. You're the ideal heir to House Crimson: idiotic, power-hungry, pliable-"
"Enough!" Roker charged him, fists flying.
Tythes brought his hands together, slapping them against either side of Roker's head. The blow was a strong one, perfectly timed, but it wouldn't take down an Authority. Roker kept stumbling forward, ignoring soulhome damage to try to land a blow.
And then Tythes opened.
Nauda struggled to believe what she saw: Tythes and his soulhome seemed to be one and the same, both the tower and his body yawning open. It was as if his body was nothing but folded glass shards, splitting open along unnatural lines at the same moment his shielding wall separated. Beyond it Nauda saw a damaged but rebuilt tower, its side opening to reveal a mass of blades...
The vision only lasted for a moment, swallowing Roker body and soul. Suddenly he was gone and Tythes was standing alone, brimming with new power. Even as she watched, the injuries on his face melted away. Was it her imagination, or were his teeth a little too sharp when he smiled?
When Nauda tried to finish the infusion quickly, her mind rebelled. The power was still hot and unformed, incomplete. It was the most she could do to generate another arc of wards.
Tythes wasn't even paying attention to her, instead tilting his head as if listening to the battle outside. Abruptly he spun back to her with a grin, just like his old expression. Too much like it.
"You said you weren't a warrior," Nauda accused.
"And I most definitely am not." Tythes shook his head and suddenly he was advancing on her, snapping through her wards. "Sorry about this, but I'm afraid we're out of time."
~ ~ ~
When Guchiro had followed his ward into this conflict, he had known that this moment might come. He had weighed it against all the other factors and decided that it was worth the risk. Now that he faced the Emperor of Tymetron, he reconsidered his judgment.
Enemy Plutalgion was more than a seventh tier soulcrafter, he was a monster. The mangled gold armor seemed to be fused with both his body and soul by some process Guchiro couldn't discern, even with his full senses. Simply standing on the battlefield, Enemy Plutalgion unleashed a terrible pressure that exceeded anything Guchiro had ever felt before.
Citizen Dominion was more confident, or perhaps he saw less clearly. "Be gone!" he commanded. "If Tymetron persists in this invasion, we will consider it an act of war!"
There was no response. Enemy Plutalgion was still staring where the dark mass had been.
Without further warning, Citizen Dominion launched one of his signature attacks. A line of force tore its way through the earth, exploding with raw power... all of it came to an end against Plutalgion. His cantae had undergone a phase shift beyond Dominion, making it so solid that lesser attacks broke against it like smoke.
All the technique seemed to do was draw Enemy Plutalgion's attention. His eyes within his armor appeared to be molten gold and they held no comprehension of mercy.
When he raised a hand, Citizen Dominion reacted by raising a shield of earth. Guchiro leapt first, and even his full speed was barely enough: he grabbed his ally and threw them both to the ground. They bounced and skidded away, barely recovering their footing.
Behind them, there was a clean hole through the earthen shield. Not blasted, simply cut through. Enemy Plutalgion appeared mildly annoyed now, actually focusing on them. If he was pushed to summon the sword of liquid gold again...
Guchiro drew them both into stealth and began moving randomly. This, at least, escaped his opponent: Enemy Plutalgion looked around the battlefield sharply but was unable to detect him. After a moment he waved a hand and gold seeped from his boots, forming a circle around him. Whatever it was, Guchiro did not intend to test it.
These were the sorts of monsters that Guchiro and his allies had prepared so long to fight. This was a demonstration of how right they had been, to seek something greater than conventional soulcrafting. But right now, in this moment, the battle was impossible.
Chapter 39
When the singularity was destroyed, power and control returned to Theo in an instant. He'd been strengthened by the experience... but he didn't feel it. His singularity could threaten all Dominions now, but it couldn't stand up to aeon-class cantae.
What could they actually do against someone like Plutalgion? At the moment it seemed he was fighting his apathy more than any given opponent. Citizen Dominion had tried to fight and the only reason he was still alive was that Guchiro had saved him. Technically this was the very contingency that Theo had been preparing for, but right now that seemed like thin comfort indeed.
"You have two options." When Plutalgion spoke at last, his voice was ancient and withered, softer than should have been created by such a large body. "You can give me the crest, or I will kill everyone here."
No one else appeared ready to answer. Theo looked over the battlefield and saw only Strongholds, most of them battered and drained. In the end, he found himself stepping up.
"Are you really willing to go to war?" Theo called. "Can you leave Tymetron undefended?"
"This is not war, only extermination." Plutalgion's golden eyes fixed on him again and he gave a strange snort. "That ability was remarkable. I will take you back as well, seal you, and add your strength to Tymetron. Cooperate and I will leave some of the others alive."
What options did they really have? Theo didn't think he could truly fight an aeon-class soulcrafter, but he could probably delay via evasion. That would give the others time to evacuate, including taking the Asplundatcrest away. If enough of them left, he didn't think Plutalgion would roam around the Asplundat Movement killing random citizens.
Before Theo needed to make any choice, they were interrupted by a rush of red light. Theo looked back toward the mountain and, to his surprise, saw that the golden light had been replaced with crimson. In fact, it seemed like the barrier was faltering. Everyone else appeared shocked... except for Wiltur.
