Anima's

Nikolai slumped back onto the throne, lifeless eyes locked on the focus radiating immense power. He could feel it deep in his mind, the connection he'd believed broken after Galicia binding him tighter than ever. The hall was gone, melted in the cascade of Magic Kazimierz had created.

The cascade Nikolai had powered.

The broken throne and a few flagstones around Nikolai were the only reminders that a building had even stood here.

A building where Nikolai had become a Master Mage.

A throne from which Nikolai led a desperate defence.

A hall where Nikolai destroyed an army.

He raised his fist, ready to throw the focus into the vortex of smoke spiralling around him, but its song stayed his hand. It crooned in delight. Like a child having found its parents after being lost for a very long time. Sighing, Nikolai let his arm fall, eyes coming alight with Sight to observe the aftermath of the spell. The Anima was nowhere to be seen, several streams of glittering rainbow smoke the only signs of his presence. Nikolai grunted as he delved deeper into the smoke with his Sight, wading through the dense fog with great effort only to realise there was no clue to explain what happened. He grimaced at the churning smoke which passed through his body and lungs. The thought of breathing in a mass of souls was unpleasant even if they had lost their humanity under the power of the Soul Rend. The power of the ancient Azokarri focus stripped souls from their bodies and then sentience from the souls.

It was why he never finished the spell. He couldn't bring himself to destroy them. Unfortunately his hesitation had trapped them in Galicia and an Anima formed from the mass. Nikolai rolled the focus across his palm, reminding himself there was no way to have known the consequences. Even now it was impossible to tell what broke the links of the dead to the afterlife.

Ancient runes suddenly rose from the ground, and Nikolai blinked quickly to rid himself of his Sight, almost blinded by the influx of power that filled the room. The rainbow smoke was drawn to a rapidly forming spell structure, splitting into a dozen streams that formed vortices of power which drew in the remnant souls at an alarming rate. Nikolai gasped as the vortices slowly resolved into human forms.

It didn't take long before Kazimierz stood before him once more. The Anima was no longer a smoky soul form; he appeared human once again. Rugged, tanned skin like a fisherman; silver streaks in his black hair, Kazimierz looked like a citizen pulled from any of the coastal cities on the continent. Perfectly built and undeterred by the lack of clothes, but human nonetheless. Only the terrifying flashes of light deep in his eyes made him out to be more than a person. Kazimierz stared at his hands in astonishment, pinching his skin and running fingers through his hair in disbelief. Seemingly satisfied, he burst into a deep booming laughter even as a dozen humans appeared around him.

"It worked!" A woman with crimson hair chortled in delight and rushed to grab Kazimierz' hand and shake it.

"Was it worth it?" Nikolai's cold voice cut through their mirth and Kazimierz smiled softly, unperturbed by the question.

"Of course it was." The woman who had to be Zebreski declared. She grasped Kazimierz' arm tightly, bare skin glistening under the sunlight peeking through the dispersing fog.

"How many?" Nikolai was barely whispering, the realisation of what had happened sinking deep into his bones.

"It's impossible to tell. You would have the best idea due to your… authority."

"Why bother explaining anything to him. Imperials never care about us humans." A huge bear of a man thumped his chest to emphasise his words, grinning in delight at the sound even as his eyes promised violence.

"Master Mages are different Lucas. Even Imperial ones." Kazimierz inclined his head, hand over heart. One of the ancient Mage forms of courtesy, essentially a way to apologise for an offense without saying anything.

"I don't see it." Lucas trudged over to aid one of the reformed humans having trouble staying upright.

"I have no right to say anything after all…"

"You don't." Zebreski cut Nikolai off, the sorrow in her eyes far too painful to look at.

"Still. Fuelling your existence with the essence of thousands will draw the eyes of the Avarian Council. They won't let you live."

"It was your spell Master Morales." Kazimierz tapped his nose twice. He grinned like a child with a secret. "Their scrying won't penetrate this city. You saw how the Soul Rend affected the energy distribution last time, let alone now that the spell was cast once more."

"So you get away just like that."

"You made us after all. We just wanted freedom. You Imperials should understand that best of all."

"I didn't bind you."

"An accident. True." Kazimierz waved at the surrounding ruins. "Still, we deserved to be free."

Nikolai's True Imperial blood thrummed in agreement, at least acknowledging the desire.

He clenched his trembling hand tighter, letting the song from the focus calm his mind. Even though it was responsible for everything, Nikolai couldn't hate it. It was only doing what it was designed to, and deep down some part of him wanted to experience the rush of power from the focus once more.

The final wisps of smoke were absorbed and Kazimierz snapped his fingers, summoning clothing in a burst of fog. He faced his companions, and they tilted their heads as if they could hear him speaking. In a few moments they all summoned clothes and armour, complimenting each other on their appearance. Nikolai grimaced hopelessly at the sight. Even if the power of an Anima was divided amongst them, he feared they would bring untold destruction wherever they went. They were a threat to the Empire if not everything with a soul. His knowledge of ancient creatures was limited, but as far as he could remember; creatures based on souls required constant streams of soul essence to maintain coherence. Nikolai regretted his indifference to his Master's lectures on the subject. It was the old Mage's field of expertise.

"What will you do now?" Nikolai's question left the hall in stunned silence. The humans-turned-Anima looked to Kazimierz for guidance and Nikolai's eyes glinted at the motion, but he grunted in frustration after a moment. It looked like time was needed for them to realise their independence and break away from their reliance on the will of Kazimierz. A weakness which could be exploited.

If he had the strength.

"Whatever we want." Zebreski chortled at Kazmierz' response and squeezed his hand in appreciation. How those two developed any sort of affection in their time together as a conglomeration of souls was astonishing, but the death-grip Zebreski had on Kazimierz was a clear indicator of their relationship. Kazimierz waved his hand and pulled a small leather book from some artificial pocket. He weighed it for a moment, eyes flashing in thought before tossing it at Nikolai's feet. "As promised, my research journal on Stardust. You should be able to find whatever you need in it."

"That's it?" Lucas frowned. "We're letting him go?"

"I promised him."

"He caused all of this. We were bound to this Fates cursed city because of him." Lucas' voice rose with each word until he was roaring in anger. "You told us that only he has the ability to deal with us now. We should eliminate him." The humans glared at Nikolai suspiciously, fear flashing in their eyes. Nikolai adjusted his grip on the focus and reached out to draw energy to cast some spells, grimacing at the trickle which passed through his ravaged body. He didn't think there was any way to survive an attack in his condition, but it was better to do something than sit quietly and wait. It was doubtful they would believe him if he claimed to have no thoughts of dealing with them when he recovered.

"Stand down Lucas." The hall seemed to tremble under Kazimierz' presence and Lucas cowered under his glare for a moment. The burly man took a deep breath and raised his eyes, glaring at Kazimierz while summoning a flaming greatsword into his hands.

"You can't dictate what I do Kazmierz. Not anymore."

"I'm not, but I will keep my word. We can't be careless about things like this anymore." They locked eyes for a moment and Lucas stepped back, muttering under his breath. Nikolai chanted quietly while they were distracted, a spark of flame lighting up on his finger that grew with every passing second.

"No Kazimierz. We have to…" Deep black lines sliced through Lucas, shredding him in an instant and turning his body into a hissing mist. The reformed Anima's burst into motion, summoning weapons and magic even as Seven stepped through the smoke, dark magic oozing from his daggers. Unconcerned by their sharp glares, Seven moved in front of the broken throne, eyes flickering as he gauged the threats in the room.

"It would seem that we don't have any choice." A small grin played across Kazimierz' lips and he waved to gather the smoky remnants of Lucas beside him.