Stars and Shadows

Relief washed over Antenor when he found the Celestial Offering still alive.

Had he not added a tracking measure to the spell embedded in the boy's body, it would have taken him too long to find his location. Furthermore, some strange force was blocking any attempt at divining his whereabouts, which had nearly sent the Bishop into a panic.

"It seems like their goal all along was the Honored One," Antenor concluded aloud so his subordinates could hear. "The attack on Priene is merely a distraction. A well-puppeteered charade, only for the sake of ruining the Sacrificial Ceremony."

His Mana flowed like a golden tide as he drew his bow, gazing at the black-robed, veiled woman emerging from the darkness.

"It seems like she's at least a Shadowbinder. Theras warned us about the presence of a magus of the Night Sorceries shortly before his death. We weren't sure why the Court of Shadows would aid the Mysteries currently wreaking havoc in the Divine Capital, but now..."

An arrow of light appeared between his fingers, already nocked.

"The painting assembles itself. A bold move from the Sethian Empire, yet one even the Pontiffs wouldn't have expected."

Emerald-green Mana flared around the woman, dancing in erratic strands that hinted at her state of mind.

She was furious.

"Lyra, Stolos, you retrieve the Honored One and bring him back to the Great Sanctuary. Don't use the underground passageway, as the Shadowbinder knowing about it likely means that her allies do too. In the event of an ambush there, you won't be able to protect him."

"Right!" Lyra replied, her expression troubled. She kept staring at the silver-haired boy, finding something strange.

"Your Excellency, how did the Honored One find himself here in the first place? His injuries don't seem normal... and I can't find any trace of hypnosis magecraft on him."

Antenor frowned, not daring to shift his gaze from his opponent.

"While hypnosis magecraft undoubtedly sees the most common use, there are countless other methods to influence another person that a skilled magus can employ. We were careless and let Maia, a hidden enemy, freely interact with the Honored One without supervision. I assume he's most likely under her control."

"I see." She nodded, gathering Mana in her limbs as she slowly skirted around the Celestial Offering's position.

Stolos followed her cue, moving to the other side to completely encircle him.

As they took formation, quiet stillness settled in the ancient ritual site. The tension was palpable while they surveyed each other's movements, ready to pounce at the slightest opening.

—

Laemno cursed his bad luck, eyeing the magi surrounding him on every side.

An opening. I need a single opening to escape their encirclement. The Temple of Stars' magi won't let the assassin kill me, so they'll naturally hinder each other while I retreat.

He tightened his grip around his knife, glancing back and forth between the black-robed woman and the white-garbed clergymen.

The assassin was the first one to move.

She threw a leaf-shaped dagger at Laemno, coating it with a strange, greenish shimmer that made its trajectory a blur.

Bishop Antenor fired his arrow of light at that moment. It splintered into smaller bolts mid-way through the air, which then further split into more golden quarrels that parried the incoming blade.

Laemno instinctively ducked, but he realized that the projectiles bent around his body, as if animated by a will of their own.

They headed straight for the black-robed woman, who took cover behind a crumbling pillar as the gilded rain destroyed whatever remained of the ancient temple.

To his right, he caught the moving figure of Lyra dashing toward him. He tried to run, yet his legs buckled, and he fell face-first on the ground.

"Lyra, behind you!"

Stolos' warning echoed as the veiled woman's silhouette flickered into existence behind Lyra, twirling a second dagger dangerously close to her neck.

Stolos tried to intervene, but a pitch-black clone of the assassin, born from the shadows, suddenly stabbed him in the back.

"Stolos!"

Laemno took it as his long-awaited cue, melting a black stick in his right hand.

Its dark tendrils spread over his arm, and he slammed his palm on the rock with newfound strength.

BOOM!

The impact lifted him with a mighty blast, opening a crater and flying him across the air with the shockwave.

He punched his way through the stony obstacles of the domed ritual site, landing on his enhanced limb a dozen meters outside.

BOOM!

He threw himself forward with his hand again, exploiting the monstrous force of the spellcraft to launch his body for a few hundred meters at a time.

He dared not even glance back to see whether the magi were on his tail, keeping the same forceful leaps for as much as he could.

—

Antenor fired one arrow of light after another.

They bounced, splintered, danced, and bent in the air while following the trail of the Shadowbinder.

However, she melted into the darkness and emerged at the opposite spot with no pattern, easily evading his attacks each time.

"Accursed wench," he spat, starting to lose patience. "You're turning this into a battle of attrition? Aren't you aware that it's in our favor?"

He gazed over at the sprawled Stolos, an open gash visible in his back from which red ichor was endlessly seeping.

Lyra, who had narrowly escaped death by taking the dagger to her shoulder, was tending to his wounds as much as she could.

"I'm not sure you realize that soon enough, reinforcements will arrive from the Temple of Stars. Once we dispatch you, we'll have ample time to retrieve the Honored One."

"Is that so?" The assassin slowly rose from the shadow of a pillar, her black robe glimmering with Mana.

"Of course, you're free to chase him down if you want. But with your back turned, I doubt you'll escape my arrows."

Antenor's bronze bow, a weapon bestowed by the Astral Eidolon Toksotis, could fire an inexhaustible amount of light bolts as well as control their trajectory. Their power and speed varied and could be balanced as he wished, though even the weakest arrow was fatal if it pierced a vital spot.

"Are you certain you wish for an extended fight, astral magus?" The Shadowbinder said, her tone hinting at a hidden taunt. "In this place? Far from your allies?"

Sweat trickled down Antenor's temple, realizing she had seen through his bluff.

The Celestial Offering had darted east, which would likely lead him to the Valley of Eventide. Such a place, shunned even by the Luminous House, crawled with dangerous entities and creatures that defied the laws of the world. He would surely die at their twisted hands if left alone for too long.

And that was precisely what the Shadowbinder was counting on.

The roles were reversed; now, she was the one biding her time, for she had no reason to hurry so long as the Honored One remained isolated and defenseless.

Antenor clenched his teeth, plunging his hand underneath his tunic. He took out a finely crafted effigy—a maiden holding a quiver filled with lightning bolts.