Book 4 chapter 34

Zee took most of a day to rest and recover, before joining the others to scout the fringes of the dwindling army. The aintar were extremely busy, not seeming to notice, or care if anyone was watching. With a constant flood of troops entering several massive tears in space, they worked tirelessly.

There were seventy-three-dimensional rifts were lined up in a row, allowing hundreds of aintar to pass through every minute. Each of the dimensional rifts was rimmed in sickly orange fire and drowned in the blood of dozens of prisoners. Mountains of corpses lay in heaps around alters next to the portals. No one was spared. Humans, Allevark, lizard Kin, and even the spider-like Cathul were killed.

They were all butchered like animals, their blood pooling on the scorched rock. Zee had seen a lot of disturbing shit over the last few years, but this kind of butchery was enough to make even her revolted.

Hearing stories of the brutal savagery of the purgatory church was one thing, seeing their mass sacrificial rituals in person was another. 

It was no wonder that no sane faction in the universe would ally with the church. Even the Terlashar, who were undead, saw the Aintar as savage monsters with no morals. That said a lot, given the Terlashar liked to convert entire planets and their populations to the dark and suffocating embrace of miasma.

After seeing the gruesome display, Zee no longer felt bad about sacrificing the Aintar she killed. Feeding their souls to Dern was what they deserved. Church of suffering indeed. For hours, she watched the armies funnel through the rifts, going to inflict their cruel methods on the worlds of the Kelvish dominion. 

It was looking bleak, as there was nothing Zee, nor the others could do to stop it. At first, she thought the Aintar might come after the keystone she had. 

A few small search parties left the army staging base. All the Aintar sent were a few small squads of E-grade warriors, which were easy to deal with. It seemed as though the Aintar didn't much care for the keystone she had stolen. Given they already had seventy-three rifts open, Zee could see why.

Her eyes locked on a single empty archway, one that wasn't lit up with the sickly flames. She assumed the keystone was meant for that archway, and since all the others were working, the Aintar probably had enough problems on their hands.

Zee was no expert on warfare, but she did know that assaulting seventy-plus worlds all at once was a colossal undertaking. And given the dwindling size of this army, it was probably just one of many. 

Crouched atop a stony outcropping, they watched the army from a healthy distance away. They were shrouded by a half dozen of Yukna's portable arrays, and even a few rituals Zee and Dern set up.

Just because the Aintar weren't trying very hard to find them, didn't mean it was a good idea to get complacent. 

For a while now things were calm, and they were discussing how to proceed. 

"I think we should go back and find the archway Zee came through. We might be able to use that keystone to reopen the dimensional rift," Bastion said. 

Malden tapped the haft of his hammer with a curved claw," I disagree. There is no telling if it's still operational. I say we wait until the army is gone, and then take the unused arch to get out of here," Malden said. 

Allison folded her arms and shook her head," I think you are both forgetting something. We don't have any sacrifices to fuel the gateway," Allison said, 

"I mean, we could use bastion," Malden Muttered.

"Malden's right, he would make an excellent sacrifice," Bastion retorted, giving Malden a rude gesture. 

Allison massaged her temples, groaning. Zee smacked Bastion on the shoulder.

" Would you two nock it off? I think you are giving our glorious leader a headache," Zee said. 

Malden and Bastion glared at each other, amusement on their faces. Allison sighed again, "Thanks Zee. Alright, does anyone have a plan that doesn't involve ritual sacrifice," Allison asked. 

She glanced at the others, but her attention eventually settled on Zee.

"What? Why are you looking at me," Zee asked.

"You are the one with the spatial affinity. Can you make a gate for us to leave this place," Allison asked. 

Zee folded her arms rocking back on her heels, as the others looked at her expectantly. 

"You are all crazy. That's insanely dangerous! The last several times I have used my spatial affinity to travel through dimensions I have almost died," Zee said.

"It's worked out, surely you can do it again," Yukna asked. 

Zee vehemently shook her head, as she turned back to Allison. "Didn't you say grandpa would be here to pick us up in two days," Zee asked.

"Yes, he did. But it's passed the deadline. We might be on our own," Allison replied.

Zee paced back and forth. "Allie, I can't believe you are suggesting this. In order to get back to the main dimension, we would have to pass through the Null realm. Have you already forgotten that monster from back in the planar space? I know I haven't. That abomination still haunts my nightmares," Zee said with a shiver.

"It was scary, but what are the odds we run into a Farahar again," Allison asked. 

Zee shook her head rapidly. "Uh, no! I am not doing it. There is no way I am going to become octopus food unless there is a very good reason," Zee replied.

Allison gave her a patient look. "You are underestimating yourself. You escaped the tundra, and even helped us escape Sphedhara when the ritual failed," Allison said. 

Zee winced in remembrance. "Escaping the tundra was pure luck. And I destroyed a celestial-grade artifact to get us off Sphedhara," Zee countered.

Allison twirled a lock of white hair between her fingers.

"I suppose we can wait a while longer. No point in risking our necks when we don't need to," Allison compromised..

Zee sighed in relief.

Bastion stretched his arms above his head. "We could capture a few Aintar to use as sacrifices," Bastion offered.

"No, we already have one crazy heretic on our team, we can't afford more," Allison refused. 

"I'm not crazy," Dern muttered in her mind. 

"Sure you are not, you are a completely rationally soul-sucking monster," Zee replied. 

He grunted in annoyance but dropped the subject. 

"Something is happening," Greg said, his deep voice promoting everyone's attention.

She followed his gesture, her gaze landing back on the army. After a few seconds, she spotted what he was pointing at. One of the bigger dimensional rifts was shuddering, and growing larger.

The march through the huge dimensional rift was calm until the rift suddenly grew to three times its original size. It was like that one time she threw a rock at a willow jacks nest as tens of thousands of Aintar scurried into action. Thousands of auras flared, as they activated defensive skills and arrays.

The E-grade warriors didn't have the energy reserves to cover more than a few dozen in their protective barriers. The D-grade cultivators were much more impressive, covering thousands with overlapping barriers of their own.

Even so, they were a small candle in comparison to the celestial grade warrior that made its presence known. Even through layers of arrays, and over ten miles away, the Aintars aura was suffocating. 

Zee and the others hunkered down, as the dimensional rift undulated and a sleek warship shot through it. In the next moment, chaos erupted.

The plains around the rifts trembled as a ghastly figure burst through the rift right after the ship.

The air ripped apart as a terrifying skill was unleashed. A tower of miasma shot up amidst the Aintar army, killing hundreds as it rose like a profane pillar. 

Made of petrified bone, the tower radiated a purple haze, drenching the sky in an ocean of death. 

Like a ship plowing through water, the sleek spaceship cut through the miasma, narrowly escaping the range of the trap. The tens of thousands of Aintar troops remaining on the ground were not so lucky.

The bone tower shed miasma-like smoke, radiating such dense waves of death that it killed and converted E-grade warriors in seconds. In several heart beats thousands of Aintar warriors who were not at least middle D grade wilted and died. Everyone who didn't die immediately activated all their defensive skills in a desperate attempt to stop their life force from being sucked into the bone tower. 

Not done just yet, a huge ball of death grew atop the miasmic tower. The bones made the spire rattle loudly, and the ball of death burst, releasing a second wave of liquid death.

This time, it was different. The skill avoided the living and instead targeted the dead. Like a burrowing worm, the liquid miasma soaked into the thousands of drained corpses. The withered corpses then started to rise, turning on their nearby living comrades with brutal savagery. It was a scene of absolute slaughter.

A deafening warcry echoed across the army, causing the world to shake as an Aintar pushed through the haze. Radiating the aura of a Celestial-grade cultivator, the Aintar shot toward the tower.

Clad head to toe in resplendent grey armor, and carrying a giant war ax, the aintar was imposing. In a flash, he struck into the tower with enough force to cleave a mountain in half.

Bone flew in every direction, as the massive tower was sheered clean in half. The world trembled, as a massive earthquake rippled across the army. The shockwave from his attack formed deep cracks in the rocky landscape that sent hundreds of allies and undead alike falling to their deaths.

Those who could fly, flew away, desperate to escape from the apocalyptic battle. This was a battle that was far beyond any who had not yet formed their inner worlds.

Surrounded by a hailstorm of bone and miasma, Glendale glared down.

"Out of my way you overgrown flee bag," Glendale snarled, his deathly voice echoing over the battlefield. 

Shooting towards him like an arrow shot from a ballista, the axe wielding aintar roared. "Die you bony bastard!"

Miffed at the stubbornness of the brute, Sending a hail of bone to harass the approaching warrior, Glendale cast another devastating ability. It was a skill to rival his bone tower.

Glendale turned to the cloudy sky and in a ghastly voice chanted, "World rot!" 

Vast rivers of miasma drained from his inner world as his skill activated.

 The sky opened to the abyss and thousands of wailing spirits flooded out, dragging the living back to their deathly realm. 

That should keep the overgrown bull busy for a while, Glendal thought.

His deathly gaze snapped back to his quarry, who was retreating with truly commendable speed.

The ship that thieving witch was on flew away, but Glendale pursued. Sendredie would not escape with his world core. 

Much to his growing ire, the bullheaded aintar moved to cut him off instead of saving his army below. 

"Out of my way Bardok," Glendal snarled. 

"Why so hasty Glendal? Are you scared to fight me," Bardok taunted, appearing to block his path in a shower of sickly flames. 

"Just because you were promoted to grand deacon doesn't mean you will fare any better than the last time we fought," Glendale hissed.

"Much has changed in the last hundred years," Bardok shouted, swinging his two handed axe in a wide arc. 

Glendale didn't bother to move as the attack blazed over his head. With a thunderous boom, Glendale's world rot was ripped apart in a blaze of fire and screaming souls.

He narrowed his eyes at Bardok, reassessing his opponent. The bull brain wasn't lying. That attack was enough to make his bones ache.

Glendale's anger rose, as the ship got further away. He really didn't want to admit his failure, but he had no other choice if he wanted to catch the mad witch.

"Bardok, you need to help me catch that ship. They stole the world core from Tartana," Glendal hissed.

"What!" Bardok shouted. 

"You can sense it, can't you? Focus and you will see, it's aboard that ship," Glendale said with forced calm.

Bardok's eyes blazed as he whirled. His gaze locked onto the ship which had stopped just over a nearby ridge.

"We will resolve our differences later," Bardok said, flashing away in an explosion of heat and flames. 

Glendale snorted in amusement. That meat was just as gullible as ever. Hopefully, he could distract Julian while he retrieved his prize.

The long sleek ship stopped directly above Zee, buffeting her in gale force wind. Clutching onto the rock so she wouldn't be blown away, Zee looked up with excitement and trepidation.

Julian stepped from a rift in space next to her, his expression anxious.

"We have to go, everyone in," Julian ordered, gesturing to the portal that opened next to him.

Given the apocalyptic battle nearby no one argued. She stepped through the portal with a lurch, transitioning to the bridge of the starship.

Malden was right behind her, followed by Bastion, Greg, Allison and then Yukna. Julian came through last, and the portal snapped shut behind him. 

"What's going on," Zee asked, eying the console and displays with data scrawling across the screens.

Julian scowled, biting his lip In an all to familiar gesture.

"Our schedule has changed. Brace yourselves we are leaving right now," Julian said. 

Zee grabbed onto a nearby bulkhead while on the displays the view changed. The display changed as the ship turned back the way it came, towards the army, and that terrifying battle. 

"Grandpa, what happened," Zee asked again. 

The display flickered, the ground blurring as ship lurched forward. Julian grimaced. "Sendredie stole the world core and now the Glendale is pissed of," Julian said with a scowl directed towards the woman who was hovering in front of the displays. 

"She stole the world core, how in the hells did she do that," Bastion asked incredulously.

"Sure did. We needed it energy to power the ships reactors," Sendredie laughed, drawing all their attention to where she hovered. The mad witch hovered in front dozens of displays intently tapping at the air like a master pianist.

She was like a spider in a web, with hundreds of strands of energy shooting out in every direction. Her dark robes flowed down passed her feet, dancing with each strum of the cords.

Bastion opened his mouth to reply but was cut off. A burning figure shrouded in sickly orange flames suddenly appeared on the display, rapidly approaching. 

Sendredie's finger danced across the air, and the ship hummed with power. In the next moment, a condensed hail of projectiles shot out. 

The air exploded as the projectiles were slapped aside with a wave of fire and a swing of his axe. All the attack did was slowing the Aintar for a moment.

"Julian, would you be a dear, and stop Bardok from cutting the ship in half," Sendredie said casually.

"This is freaking cluster fu," Julian swore, as he vanished. His angry eppithets were cut off, as he appeared well ahead of the ship on the display. 

Zee's hair stood on end, as Julian drew his sword and unleashed a skill towards the approaching fighter. It was like a rift to the Null realm opened, a gash in reality that swallowed everything. 

The ship rocked and the world river trembled, as his attack collided with a coffin made of flames. The skies above parted and a chasm formed in the rock below, dragging thousands of Aintar to their deaths. 

"Holy shit, that's insane! Shouldn't we be heading in the opposite direction," Bastion shouted next to her.

Still tapping at the air furiously, Sendredie spoke, not bothering to turn. 

"Our only exit from this plane is through the dimensional rift. Considering what we have to get passed an enraged bone lord to get there, I would suggest you go and strap yourselves in," Sendredie said calmly.

As if to accentuate her point, the ship rocked again from an errant burst of energy, and Zee was thrown to one side. Scrambling to her feet, she rushed over to where Sendredie indicated. 

The wall paneling came alive, slithering like it was made of liquid as it formed five chairs. She took a seat in the middle, with Bastion on her right and Yukna on her left.

The chair for lack of a better word grabbed her. It was a bit disturbing, but she was thankful for it. The ship rocked violently, and the displays flashed, as her grandpa and the aintar warrior clashed.

The ship blew right passed them, its barrier rippling as it passed through a storm of flames and spatial tears.

Zee watched with bated breath as the dimensional rift grew larger on the main screen. She was worried about her grandpa, but that worry quickly changed to fear for her own safety. 

Bastion gripped her right hand as a figure shrouded in a cloud of bones moved to block their path.

It was the bone lord from earlier, the one that summoned that ghastly tower. They were flying right towards an undead warrior, one who had killed thousands of Aintar cultivators with a snap of his fingers.

Her blood ran cold, her knuckles turning white as the ship barrelled forward. The undead powerhouse raised his taloned fingers to the sky and miasma gathered behind him. The turquoise energy swirled and grew, forming a ghastly raven that flapped its wings. 

The raven stretched its obsidian wings to the sky and unleashed a deafening caw that rolled across the army.

Eardrums burst, and internal organs ruptured as the army below was subjected to the destructive sound wave. Even from miles away, the sound wave blasted right through the ship's arrays, hitting Zee and the others. The attack was heavily muted, but not completely. 

Blood trickled from her nose and ears, and she felt like she might pass out. She swore under her breath, "Is everyone alright," Zee asked, over the sound of ringing in her ears. 

"Yes, I am fine," Malden said wiping blood from his nose.

"We are so dead, just look at that thing," Bastion shouted, his face as pale as a sheet.

Yukna coughed to her left, "I really wish you wouldn't jinx us, I have plans that don't involve dying," Yukna shouted.

"Plans? Like what," Bastion asked, his eyes locked on the colossal raven towering over the army. 

"Well, I kind of wanted to finally get married and maybe even have a kid," Yukna said.

Bastion raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Have a kid? How is that going to work, are you going to find a random guy or something," Bastion asked. 

Yukna frantically shook her head," No that's absurd. I was thinking of adopting," Yukna said.

Zee laughed nervously, glancing passed Yukna to Allison. "Hear that Allie, if we make it out of this, you could be a mother," Zee said. 

The ship lurched to one side, as the raven on the screen flapped its wings, sending a hail of feathers at them. Each feather was the size of a ballista bolt and exploded in a cloud of miasma as it impacted the ship's barrier. 

Doing her best not to shatter her armrest in a white-knuckled grip, Allison replied. 

"I'm kind of hoping we don't make it out of here. I don't think I'm cut out to be a mother," Allison said, with a laugh.

Allison's nervous tone made everyone laugh. She seemed more terrified of taking care of a child than the celestial grade bone lord blocking their path. Zee couldn't blame her.

 The looming danger on the display grew ever larger as the ship shot towards the rift. With wings the size of fields, and claws that could rip houses in half, the raven dove towards them. Sendredie furiously tapped the air, her aura flaring as the ship hummed with power. Zee's stomach leaped into her throat, as an oppressive domain settled over them. 

The sky turned red, as a crescent moon appeared, bathing the world in its sanguine light. The ravens form frayed rapidly under the suffocating domain, but it couldn't be defeated so easily. Releasing a deafening cry, the raven slammed into the ship with the force of a falling meteor.

The displays flashed red and some of them turned off as Zee was jarred in her chair.

"Stup piece of junk!" Sendredie swore. "If we take another hit like that we might fall from the sky," Sendredie said.

On the display, the barrier crackled ominously, and the ships armor plating groaned.

This was insane! Sendredie was flying the ship and couldn't go out to fight the bone lord. They were going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. 

She felt so helpless. Grandpa was outside, stalling, giving them a chance to escape. Sendredie was amazing to watch, captaining the ship all by herself. Still, it didn't appear to be enough. 

Zee felt like a passenger, useless in this clash. What if her grandpa failed, what if he died trying to save them? 

Zee knew all too well just how fragile life truly was. Julian might be powerful, but he wasn't immortal, far from it. 

A soft voice cut through her racing thoughts, intruding into her mind. "If you work with me, we can buy time for the others to escape," Kur Zul said.

Zee paused, tempted to ignore his words out of hand. The ghost was a schemer, a liar who couldn't be trusted. And yet, if he had a way to help them, she would be a fool not to at least listen. 

On the display, lights flashed a brilliant hue, as the barrier cracked and some of the hull plating was torn off. Bone shards slammed into them, threatening to tear them apart.

No matter how she looked at it, they were going to die if something didn't change. Dern's cautioning voice was drowned out as she replied, "What do you have in mind?" 

The ghost spoke, and her lips turned to a hard line. 

She glanced at the display, and back to her friends who were watching on with a sense of helplessness.

Kur Zul's plan was suicidal, but it wasn't looking like she had a choice. She hardened her resolve. Making sure the others got out of this alive was far more important than her own life. After a moment of thought that felt like hours, she made up her mind.

Zee called out over the sounds of groaning hull plating. "Sendredie, i can buy you ten second," Zee shouted.

Sendredie hesitated for only a moment. "Do it," She replied.

She turned to Bastion and gave him a half smile. "I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me," Zee said. 

"What? What are you talking about," Bastion asked, confusion crossing his face. 

Zee didn't answer, releasing his hand. Her vision lurched as she turned into mist. The last expression she saw was panic on his face as she disappeared.

She felt awful for leaving like that, but time was of the essence. In her mist form, she passed right through the wall plating, and through the ships shielding. 

The ship shot away, leaving Zee hanging in mid-air, the wind whipping around her. There was an odd pressure in the ship's barrier, but it didn't try to stop her as she phased right through. 

Outside the ship's shields, she suddenly felt the full presence of the layered domains in the area. The crescent moon in the sky and the bone lord's aura threatened to rip her body apart. It was suffocating.

Sendredie's domain skill and the bone lord's deathly aura made her feel like a bug, threatening to crush her. Zee really hoped that Kur Zul's plan worked, or she was running straight to her death. Straining under the immense pressure, she activated all four steps of her movement skill. Flashing through the air, she closed the distance between herself and the bone lord. There was no turning back now.