Book 6, chapter 25

With the storm warden corpses harvested, and the plateau below, they decided to investigate. The roiling clouds of Saltarus were vast, but the static area had been around for quite some time. Tens of thousands of cultivators had likely already searched these depths, but given its size and the dangers within, it hopefully still had some treasure to reap. 

And since the dark plateau as they had unanimously named it, was not in the information crystal, it was hopefully unexplored. From what they could tell after a few weeks of exploring, it was a place teaming with life, predominantly ruled by sand skiffs, and shadow phantoms. The phantoms were a pain in the ass to deal with, their bodies made mostly from shadows.

The sand skiffs, though weaker, were the more difficult to kill, mainly because they traveled in the squall of the sandstorms that ravaged the plateau on a daily basis. Due to a lucky encounter several days in, they discovered that the sand skiffs carried their treasures on their backs instead of hoarding their wealth in caves. That small tidbit was a vital discovery, saving them weeks of searching the desolate sand-ravaged plateau. 

To hunt the sand skiffs and harvest their valuable shards, Zee and her team had to brave the sand storms. It was a risky endeavor, but taking the risks were often the only way to get rewards. 

They were feeling lucky after finding a peak quality shadow-attuned treasure only a week after their arrival. With Greg forming his shard and stepping into the D grade, the team's spirits were high. It was looking to be a quick in and out. All they needed to find was a sand-attuned natural treasure and they could move on.

Zee should have known their good fortune wouldn't last. Finding that first treasure seemed to have run their luck dry, as they braved one squall after another. For beast kings, sand skiffs were on the weaker side individually, but they traveled in the sandstorms, and never alone. To make things more troublesome when you attack one, they all joined the fight with suicidal ferocity.

Her team had to flee more than once after running into large packs of the giant eels. By now Zee was getting more than a bit sick of her face getting sand-blasted day after day.

The damned sand was everywhere, in her clothes, her hair, and between her toes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it all out. Sand, lightning, and darkness combined with gale-force wind that could peel the skin from a mortal was enough to ruin one's day. 

Zee pulled her face mask tighter, putting on some etched glass half-spheres Yukna made to protect their eyes. In the distance, a roiling storm of darkness, sand, and the occasional crackle of lightning surged towards them.

"Think we will find anything in this squall? I am getting real sick of having my face sandblasted," Zee said into her collar, the roar of the wind already making normal chatter impossible. 

"Where is your sense of adventure? Sounds like you're scared of a little sand," Malden said, stepping forward, his two handed hammer already held in one paw.

She huffed. "Don't get all high and mighty fuzzy britches. Just because you like the sand in your fur doesn't mean the rest of us do," Zee retorted. 

"Hah, fuzzy britches, that's a good one!" Bastion laughed, the sound soft, but still audible over their comm crystals. 

 Malden's ears flattened in embarrassment at the laugh. 

"Stuff it lover boy, I'll show you who's the fuzzy britches," Malden grumbled, his glare at Bastion making a smile tug at her lips.

Ignoring their banter, Allison's voice echoed through their collars. "Yukna, activate the defensive arrays. The rest of you, get ready, the storm wall is almost here," Allison ordered calmly. 

"On it. Remember, don't stray too far from me, or the array won't protect you from the lightning above," Yukna said. She pulled a metallic half sphere from her bandolier, tossing it onto the ground. Small claws burst from its underside as it burrowed into the sand, latching onto the rock below. Intricate etching lit up along the gadgets surface, mechanical whirring filling the air as it released a pulse of energy that wrapped around each of them.

It was just in time, as the storm wall was approaching like a tsunami of roiling darkness. Like a surging tide, the black clouds were upon them, forcing them to cling to the rock to not be blown away. The sky crackled, the world going black as the ground rumbled. Zee clung tightly to the rock, her clothes whipping around her as she scanned the skies for the tell tale sign of sand skiffs above.

As she watched, a streak of golden light flashed in the distance, making the storm go into a frenzy. It wasn't lightning, but something else.

"What was that?" Yukna asked, her voice static as it came over their collars..

"I don't know, but let's go check it out," Malden said, his aura surging as he shot forward like a rock shot from a catapult.

"Shit. Wait up Malden! Hurry, after him before he gets out of range of our comms," Allison ordered. 

With the screeching winds sandblasting her face, Zee rushed forward in a low crouch, expanding her senses.

In seconds, the others were distant blurs to her senses, the dark clouds of sand messing with her sensory skill. With over a month of experience in this environment, she was used to the lack of sensory input.

Having her view limited to just her eyesight was disorienting at first, but she was getting used to it by now. Her spatial ripple skill wasn't completely useless, giving her a vague hint of where the others were around her.

To make tracking the others easier, Kur Zul ventured ahead, traveling under the ground, while she kept Dern back in case she needed him. She was following the others until she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

It was a faint flicker of light visible for only a second. If she hadn't had her senses expanded to their limits, she wouldn't have noticed it. For a moment, Zee hesitated, knowing the sandstorm made her unable to send a message to the others. Should she catch up with the others, or go investigate by herself? 

She only hesitated for a moment, before veering off course, shooting towards that glimpse of light. With each step forward, a sense of unease filled her mind. 

"What is it Dern?" Zee asked.

"I don't know. I can't put my finger on it, but I sense something familiar over there," Dern said hesitantly.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Zee asked, the wind trying to rip her from the ground.

"No idea, but it's probably a bad thing given our track record," Dern said.

Zee nodded, drawing her sword. "Well, let's go check it out,"

As if to encourage her, another glimpse of light lit up the darkness far in the distance. 

With the others fading from her senses, she shot forward, wary of a trap. It was a good thing she was prepared for the worst, as a surge of energy exploded next to her. Zee instinctively activated her wayward walk skill, as the black clouds around her were suddenly pushed away. She appeared two hundred meters away, yet it wasn't enough to escape the radius as a pillar of golden light sprung into existence. 

The domain skill was blindingly bright, the pillar over a hundred meters tall. It was like a golden totem made of light, with a myriad of beautiful faces wrought with various expressions of joy and despair.

Her heart skipped a beat as dozens of golden chains made of light shot out from that pillar, radiating a chilling aura. Each chain was tipped with ruthless barbs gleaming with a deadly sharpness. To make things more concerning, they moved with surprising speed crossing the gap much too quickly for her liking. Zee had no desire to fight whoever controlled this pillar, but they hadn't exactly given her much choice. 

The pillars' domain restricted the range of her movement skill, forcing her to destroy that thing if she wanted to escape its radius. The heart of fire beat in her chest, the thrill of battle filling her. Her perception of time slowed, just as the golden chains dove in for the kill with breathtaking speed.

Instead of retreating, Zee met their charge of aggression. With a humming ping, her sword shattered into dozens of pieces to form a net of razor metal around her. Her weapon released clouds of miasma, the death spirit inside gleefully urging her onward. The loud clang of chains striking metal echoed over the howling storm as she deflected the chains. A dozen more chains collided with shards of her sword, sparks showering the area. The first couple were mere testing strikes, immediately followed by the others, diving in from all angles to skewer her. Zee was like a puppet master, using her omnidirectional spatial ripple skill to guide the pieces of her blade, and deflect attacks from all directions at once. The chains were flung back, but without pause they quickly returned, undeterred by the gashes in their links. 

Her sword clearly won out in a test of durability, but it wasn't enough to sever the chains. With renewed effort the chains attacked, diving in at all angles, attempting to suffocate her. 

It was like the chains had a mind of their own, or were being controlled by someone. All the while Zee was on the move, unwilling to give a static target. Even so, a chain was deflected, with another using the opening to attack from an unexpected angle, forcing her to lurch to one side. Even then, blood oozed from a flesh wound on her arm.

Zee was forced to conjure a sword with spirit echo to keep up, the chains not letting up for a moment. All the while, her real sword created a storm of metal, deflecting dozens of strikes each second. 

It was like she was fighting ten people at once, pushing her sword skills to their limits. Zee faught with speed and precision, years of experience allowing her to narrowly avoid or block the frenzy of attacks. With each second she was forced to use more of her power to defend, expanding her aura, and infusing it with an ember of compression. Immense weight blanketed the area, hindering the chains while enhancing her own strikes. That wasn't enough, as the chains suddenly gained a hair-raising aura, their power nearly doubling, the totem glowing like a radiant star. Compression was quickly followed by her ember of ebb and flow, cashing waves of spirituality blanketing the area. The war of chains and sword raged on the surface, while the war between light, gravity and the spirit raged between them. Zee was like a leaf on the wind, evading the attacks that made it through her net, while deflecting when she had to.

She was holding out, but that was only for now. Zee still couldn't see her opponent, and knew the delicate balance couldn't last. She still hadn't even spotted her enemy, and it was only a matter of time before her enemy made another move. Just sitting around and defending was a good way to die. 

The pillar of light restricted the area, but not completely. She could still do short ranged teleports, though only about twenty meters away. 

Activating wayward walk twice in succession only gave her a second of breathing room, before the chains were on her again. The relatively slow response time was a valuable piece of information that she was going to use.

The status quo could not continue. As fun as it was to fight this pillar and its chains, Zee knew it was a losing battle. If this kept up, eventually she would slip up. Something would have to change, something to force her attacker to show their face. 

"Dern, keep your eyes peeled, I'm going to smash that ugly faced tower," Zee said, her voice cold as ice.

"On it," Dern said with a hint of uncertainty in his usually calm voice. 

Not having Kur Zul with her was a bit of a pain, but she didn't think he was needed to destroy that totem. Zee might not be good at the finer points of cooking or poetry, but she was extremely proficient at destroying things. One might say she was too good at wrecking stuff. 

The cage formed by the totem trembled, as Zee suddenly activated her movement skill several times in succession, well away from the net of chains. Instead of fleeing like she had before, this time she was right in front of the towering golden faced totem, eying a particularly ugly visage. 

A flood of energy entered her pathways, making her body creak as she drew on some power from her inner world. Ignoring the blinding pain, she swung, performing a brutal swing, unleashing her favorite skill. A horizontal guillotine of force crossed the gap in the blink of an eye, striking one of the alien faces right between the eyes. A rent in reality, split the enormous totem pole asunder as a rift in space formed. 

The pressure from the domain skill was shattered as an enormous spatial tear cut the pillar clean in two. Much to her delight, the whole thing turned to motes of light as the totem crumbled. The roiling darkness from the storm rushed back in, crashing around the turbulent spatial chaos of her finisher skill. 

"Sense anything?" Zee asked, heart racing as she scanned the area. 

"Over there!" Dern said. 

Zee's eyes honed in on an area as a golden vortex formed. Her brows rose as an Ashary shrouded in golden motes of light appeared from thin air, and dove into the vortex without hesitation. 

"Go after them!" Dern shouted.

Zee hesitated for only a moment, activating her movement skill in rapid succession. She didn't even have time to study the spatial gateway before she was forced to jump inside. Jumping head first into an unknown gate after someone who had just attacked her wasn't the smartest thing she had ever done, but Dern's tone had been insistent. 

At least Kur Zul was with her friends, which should make finding them again a lot easier. Her skin tingled as she passed through the spatial film, her stomach lurching at the sensation of being transported to god knows where. 

Unlike last time she traveled through a gate in the endless storm, she didn't meet a monstrous fish in the spirit realm. Nothing so calamitous happened. Instead she appeared in an odd forest, falling to her hands and knees.

The urge to wretch was nearly overwhelming, showing that despite the relatively uneventful transition, it was still an unstable gate. Zee swallowed the bile in her throat, pushing herself to her feet while frantically scanning the ethereal trees around her. Looming large, the trees had bark of dark black, with veins of blue, their leaves a bright azure, with blue smoke drifting around them. A dark, hauntingly beautiful sky clouded in a spiritual haze could be faintly seen through the dense canopy. 

The dense waves of spirituality that buffeted her momentarily stunned her. She suddenly felt ravenous, like her body was starved, and this environment held the fuel it needed. Zee pushed down her desire to start drawing the energy in, as movement caught her eye. An Ashary, appearing like a cloud of golden motes, was floating nearby, energy churning around it as it swayed like it was drunk. 

It appeared it wasn't just Zee who had a rough transit through that gate. Remembering her last fight with an Ashary, Zee decided her Gravity Well skill wasn't the right tool for the job. Unwilling to let such a dangerous opponent get anytime for another attack, Zee unleashed the floodgates for Avatar of Dominion. 

Her already overused energy channels felt like they were being stabbed with pins and needles but she gritted her teeth. Activating The Mantle, she instantly conjured the Avatar of Dominion in its full form, the environment empowering her bloodline to new heights. 

Conjuring it instantly like this had its downsides, namely draining a huge amount of her own energy instead of from the environment, but in times like this it was worth it. A small sun formed of dark blue flames lit up the canopy, releasing a heavy pressure as she launched in right at the Ashary. 

The immense pressure of the avatar consumed the barrier enshrouding its form, and a sense of horror filled her mind.

"No, Zee stopp!!" Dern screamed, his voice panicked in her mind. 

Zee wasn't sure what was going on, but she didn't hesitate upon hearing the terror in Dern's voice. Using the Mantle, she reached out and caught her own attack, stopping the small sun moments from obliterating its target. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she pulled it back, the ground and trees withering and dying from its mere proximity.

Her opponent wasn't much better off, its form shedding light like it was smoking.

"What is it Dern? What's wrong?" Zee asked, hesitating on what to do.

"I, i know her," Dern replied in a shaky voice.

Her brows shot up.

"You know this Ashary?" Zee asked.

"Yes. Now get rid of that thing before you hurt her anymore," Dern snapped.

It might not be the best idea, but she decided to heed his words. Judging by his tone, there would be a rebellion if she went any further. 

With a force of will, the avatar dissipated, and so did its crushing domain. Despite only being summoned a few seconds, the Avatar of dominion had certainly done a number on this place. The trees around her were withered, the ground still smoking, releasing wisps of spirituality. 

Zee hesitantly approached her clearly injured attacker.

"Are you alright?" Zee asked, uncertainly. 

The Ashary swayed unsteadily in the air, clearly in shock. 

"No i'm not alright, you nearly killed me," It replied in a melodic voice. 

"You kinda attacked me first, soo..." Zee trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

"Stop yapping and summon me you imbecile," Dern said.

"Sheesh, someone is grumpy," Zee grumbled. 

The Ashary hesitantly floated back as Dern formed between them, his armored form reflecting the blue light of burning trees nearby. . 

"Sersies, is that you?" Dern asked, his mental voice filled with nervous excitement. 

Zee didn't understand Ashary expressions, but the way its form roiled, she got the expression Sersies was shocked.

"How do you know my name?" the Ashary asked, confused.

Dern gestured to himself.

"It's me, Dernath," he said.

There was a long pause as the golden cloud bobbed in the air. 

Zee could sense a sensory field, reminiscent of her spatial ripple skill probing him. It took a few long seconds for the Ashary to reply, her form roiling with anger.

"Is this some sort of sick joke? Dernath is long since dead, banished to Null realm about ten years ago," Sersies replied, her tone angry.

Dern gestured toward his chest plate. "No, I didn't die, Sersie. Don't you remember what you said to me just before they cast me out? You told me you would get revenge on Calva. But I'm not dead. I'm still alive and kicking, despite Calva's lies to the high council," Dern said. 

Sersies bobbed a little closer as if to study Dern.

"You say that, but you must be lying. Dernath is dead. There is no way he could still be alive without going insane," Sersies said, her tone accusing, her aura rising dangerously. 

Dern gestured towards Zee, undeterred by the obvious threat. "Well, that is a bit of a long story. I sort of met this human in the Null realm, and fuzed with her soul. Since then we have been through quite a lot," Dern said.

Sersies paused, bobbing uncertainty. "You fuzed with a human and she is still alive ten years later? But that doesn't make sense your very nature would rip her soul apart in mere weeks," Sersies said.

"Her talent for the soul and the spirit seems to be more potent than even the Ashary. Not only is she not dead from my presence, but she has formed an inner world while in the E grade," Dern said.

The silence was deafening as Sersies did a double take, eying Zee once more, like she was a monster. 

"So, you found a human who can survive being your host… That doesn't change the fact that you the human reeks of taboo. I knew you could be rash sometimes, but I didn't think you would practice soul arts to survive. The high council will have an aneurysm if they learn of this. Dernath, how could you be that big of an imbecile?" Sersie asked, appalled.

Dern folded his arms.

"Hey, I didn't have a choice… If i would have done nothing i would be dead by now, or insane, drowning in endless hunger. As far as I'm concerned, the high council can go pound sand?" Dern said folding his arms. 

Sersies flew closer.

"I see you haven't matured since we last talked. If you would have just kept that big mouth of yours shut this wouldn't have happened. And that's not even the worst part, your vessel reeks of taboo. What were you thinking, practicing soul arts and with a human, no less," Sersie admonished.

Zee was more than a bit insulted at this hotty clouds words. 

"This human can hear you loud and clear, and does not appreciate your tone," Zee said, taking a menacing step forward.

Sersie floated back, seeming to just then remember how she almost died not too long ago. 

"Ahh, righttt. Dernath, won't you introduce us?" Sersie asked hesitantly.

Dern gesture between them. "Zee, this is Sersie Choel Mar, a good friend of mine. Sersie, this is Zee Viotti, heir to the Lorrocan throne," Dern said. 

"You found a human princess to make into your vessel? That's quite lucky," Sersie said, her form roiling thoughtfully.

"Once again I am not his vessel. We are partners... This not a host vessel relationship," Zee replied evenly. 

Sersie scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that... A human is nothing but a vessel for an Ashary, even one cast out," Sersie replied.

There it was again, that arrogance that all Ashary seemed to possess. With each passing second, the urge to turn Sersie to ash was returning, a fact that Dern did not miss. Dern took another step to place himself between them.

"Sersie please stop being an ass. Zee is quite hot headed and prone to drastic action against those who piss her off," Dern said, his tone almost pleading. 

"Forgive me if I am just a bit angry. That heratic almost killed me," Sersie grumbled. 

"This heretic was only defending herself. As I recall, you attacked first," Zee snapped.

Dern let out an annoyed sigh. 

"That's enough you two," Dern snapped. "Sersie where are we, and how do we get back to Saltarus?" Dern asked. 

The golden cloud gave Zee what she thought must be a long, angry glare as it bobbed in the air. After a long silence, Sersie spoke.

"I have no idea where we are. My gateway wasn't supposed to bring us here. It was supposed to take me back to my ship, not this place," Sersie replied.

"So much for being a high and mighty Ashary. Can't even target a gate properly," Zee muttered. 

Judging by the way her golden form churned angrily, Sersie heard it loud and clear. Dern pointed a metallic finger at Zee. 

"That's enough!" He gestured at their gloomy surrounding. "Until we figure out where we are and how to get back and rejoin our prospective teams, you two are going to at least pretend to get along," Dern said. 

Zee took a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly. 

"Fine, I can pretend…" Zee said. 

Sersie didn't say anything, but instead bobbed in agreement. 

"Good, now, Sersie, are you alright, you appear to be smoking," Dern said, his tone concerned. 

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Us Ashary are much less feeble than pitiful creatures like humans," Sersie replied. 

Zee felt Dern's annoyance through their connection. 

"Please tell me I wasn't this self absorbed when we first met?" Dern asked in her mind. 

"If I'm being honest, you were worse. You have grown a lot over the years. Maybe if you talk to her, you can knock some sense into her," Zee suggested. 

Dern sighed.

"I guess I can try. Can you scout the area while I have a talk with her?" Dern asked. 

"You sure that's a good idea? Have you already forgotten the ambush from those three Ashary that almost killed you for good?" Zee asked.

"No.. I haven't forgotten. And there's no need to worry. Sersie wouldn't go that far. She is someone I trust with my life," Dern replied. 

Zee scowled over at the Ashary in question. "I don't trust that cloud for brains at all," Zee said. 

Dern sighed. "It will be fine. Just give me some time, I will talk some sense into her," Dern said.

Zee frowned.

"Fine, I will go scout the area. If you need help, just call me i won't be far," Zee said.

She gave a warning glare to Sersie, before vanishing into a cloud of mist, disappearing into the forest. 

It was only once she had entered the shadow of the canopy that Zee could relax. After that interaction, she was on edge, so much so that she hadn't even noticed that the nagging sensation in her mind was much stronger than before. 

Now that she focused on it, it was like a beacon to her mind, urging her to head deeper into the ethereal jungle. She was partly excited by the discovery, but also wary. Suddenly, appearing closer to the key to the eternal throne seemed like a good thing, but once you considered where it was, her anxiety only grew. 

Somehow, when traveling through that gateway, they had been flung far deeper into the endless storm. The forest seemed tranquil at the moment, not a single monster to be found. The towering trees swayed in a gentle wind, the blue veins in their black leaves glimmering against the gloomy sky. It was quiet, with the chirp of birds, and insects nowhere to be heard.

The quiet did nothing to calm her nerves. The lack of normal animals could be explained, but the lack of monsters was another thing altogether. The spiritual energy in the environment was incredibly dense, and surprisingly pure, turning the forest into the perfect habitat to nurture monsters.

The fact she hadn't sensed any in twenty minutes in such an energy rich environment meant only one thing. 

They must be in the territory of something extremely dangerous that didn't take kindly to intruders. She had no proof of her hypothesis, but would bet her left boot on it. The sense of foreboding only grew as she scouted the deathly quiet forest. After a half hour, she headed back to where she left Dern and that distrustful cloud. 

It had only been thirty minutes since she conjured the avatar of dominion, which could have been sensed for miles. That was plenty of time for the overlord of the forest to come check out the commotion. 

She had barely had that thought when a flash of light lit up the sky, and an explosion rocked the forest.

Zee swore under her breath. Damnit, I hate when I'm right.