Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 72 – Sorcery and Spellcraft – Part Two

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 72 - Sorcery and Spellcraft - Part Two

The Foothold was surrounded by rolling hills and large bushes with temperate woodlands at irregular intervals. Unsurprisingly, the Foothold itself was abandoned. However, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I was drawn toward flickering lights in the distant woodlands.

“They flee the enemy!” Wisp rasped in parting, born aloft and propelled forward as the back of his robes sprouted ephemeral feathered wings of shadow.

Without saying a word, Ophelia raced through the air behind him, sword drawn and blazing with bright amber light.

Gric bowed his back and hissed in pain. In a spray of gore, leathery bat-like wings erupted from the dense musculature below his shoulders. Crouching low, Gric leapt thirty feet into the air and unfurled his wings, shedding torn skin and spattering blood into the cold night air that disintegrated almost as quickly as it lost contact with his body. <I will go ahead, my Tyrant!> With a powerful stroke of his wings, Gric began racing after Ophelia and Wisp.

“So dramatic...” Sebet snickered, already hovering a dozen feet off of the ground, born aloft by wings nearly identical to Gric’s in all but colouration and membrane density. Without saying another word, Sebet raced away to join the others.

“Get the others,” I ordered.

Taking only a moment to slam his fist against his breastplate, the Bodyguard leapt back through the portal.

“Weapon,” I commanded, holding out my hand expectantly.

The closest of my two remaining Bodyguards immediately surrendered his axe.

After pulling off the gauntlet of my free hand by squeezing it in my armpit, I gripped the blade of the axe and sawed it into my skin just deep enough to draw blood. Gathering my MP, I cast an Empowered Ward Spell on the axe.

“You will take the others and see the refugees to safety,” I ordered, returning the axe.

The thunder warrior nodded grimly, his face hidden behind his helmet but body tense with anticipation.

I turned to the other Bodyguard, “You’re with me.”

Lurr nodded, moving his grip up the shaft of the axe and holding it just below the head with one hand.

Replacing the gauntlet, I took a moment to ready myself and then began lumbering forward. Fighting against gravity, I slowly increased my speed, gaining momentum.

Too large for the stone arch of the gate, I crashed into it and then through it, too dense to be denied with so much built-up momentum and mass.

Lurr followed a few paces behind and on my left, a giant of an Orc and seemingly none the worse for the weight imposed by his stone armour.

“Ignore the Beasts!” I commanded, “We go through them!”

A large-scale skinned cat leapt out of a nearby bush, striking my right thigh. Its hooked claws scraped against the stone plates, finding no purchase and becoming blunted for the attempt. Narrowly avoiding being crushed underfoot, the Beast roared in fury and began to give chase.

Two more of the large felines dashed out of another cluster of bushes ahead of us.

The first of the pair leapt at Lurr. However, without breaking stride, Lur jumped, causing the scaled feline to pass harmlessly through the open air.

The second feline slammed into my abdomen and raked its hind claws while desperately clinging to the leather straps of my belt. All these while being battered by my thighs.

Snatching at the feline, I only managed a partial grip on one of its hind legs due to a lack of friction caused by the Beast’s scales. Aware that I probably wouldn’t get a better grip if I tried again, I yanked at the Beast’s leg, pulling it free of my belt and tossing it to the side.

Confident that I had caused the Beast at least some degree of movement-impairing injury, I put the Beast out of my mind.

Another feline nearly blindsided Lurr, causing him to stumble and begin to fall as he barely managed to dodge its claws.

On instinct, I reached out to help him, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to arrest my gathered momentum in time.

Then something strange happened. I felt my Chi leave my body and latch onto Lurr’s armour.

Instead of tumbling into the dirt, Lurr continued falling forward. Body locked in an awkward stumbling pose, the distance between us remained the same.

Confused and still focused on keeping my own footing, it took me a few moments to realise what I was doing.

Dividing my focus as best as I could, I drew Lur closer and righted his body.

I could feel the pressure of his muscles straining against my hold on his armour, and I did my best to give ground without surrendering control entirely. Unsure if the loss of control would result in Lurr tumbling to the ground anew.

More Beasts began sprinting across the hillside, howling and shrieking as competing Species joined the hunt.

With my Chi already invested in Lurr’s armour and aware that the Chi wouldn’t deteriorate, I decided to move Lurr higher off the ground and float along behind me instead.

If we were not in immediate danger, I would have attempted flying in such a manner myself.

Crashing thunder echoed across the hills behind us, signalling the arrival of the remaining thunder warriors and their advance toward the refugees.

Reminded of the refugees, I gradually altered course to avoid leading the Beasts directly toward them.

The others were quickly disappearing into the distance, so I had to rely near-entirely on my connection as their Summoner to provide directions.

Now running through the woodlands, my speed slowed as I was forced to make at least some effort to avoid the larger trees. Stamina flagging, I used Lesser Summon Servant to Summon a Kobold to benefit from its Synergies, consuming the mana I had regained in the interim.

Without a will of its own, the small scaly Kobold held itself in place behind my neck. Clutching at the rim of my breastplate and out of harm’s way.

Bolstered against Fatigue and Exhaustion, I redoubled my efforts.

I could feel that the advance force had begun losing mana in earnest, signalling the beginning of the battle. As Summons, every action they took exacted a toll on the mana provided to them by their Summoner and the Spell used to Summon them

It came as no surprise that Ophelia’s projection was absolutely haemorrhaging mana. However, what did surprise me was the sudden termination of Sebet’s projection.

Sebet’s projection had not died, I was certain of that. She had somehow depleted her mana in one go, ending the Summon.

Confused, I continued running through the woods.

I could feel that I was growing closer, but the unfamiliar terrain made it difficult to tell how much ground I had actually covered.

The crashing thunder was growing fainter and less frequent. I could only hope it was because my thunder warriors and the refugees were getting closer to the portal.

It took me a while to notice, but the beasts that had been chasing us were gone and the woods were empty.

An inhuman shriek was carried on the wind and set my teeth on edge.

We were close.

A bright flash of amber light cast long shadows in the surrounding woods and was followed by another shriek.

Ophelia’s projection, already low on mana, had died.

Crashing through one final wall of branches, I stumbled into a blackened smouldering crater. Easily over a hundred feet in diameter, the blackened earth and smouldering trees explained why Sebet’s projection had terminated so abruptly.

Near the centre of the crater, Wisp and Gric were harrying a twisted giant monstrosity.

Easily twenty feet tall, the thing was close to my own height. However, where my body was thick and broad, its limbs and torso were gnarled and emaciated. Which only served to make the jagged broken angles of its bones all the more pronounced and grotesque.

Despite its deformities, the thing was impossibly agile and quick. Lashing out at Gric and Wisp with broken claws and barely coming up short.

Littered with wounds, the thing paid them no mind, fighting with feverish ferocity.

“STAY STILL!!!” The thing shrieked, desperately snatching at Gric’s legs. Only to be denied and wail in fury as Gric kicked at one of the thing's fingers, breaking the digit and very nearly tearing it free of the thing’s knuckle. However, in less than a second, the finger snapped back into alignment. Still torn but somehow unaffected by the injury.

I lowered Lurr to the ground and retrieved my invested Chi.

I was still low on MP but was now able to begin replenishing it in earnest since I was no longer physically exerting myself.

Unsure how we were meant to kill a Spirit, I drew the stone blades from my belt and invested them with as much Chi as I could manage.

Even if the blades couldn’t harm the Awakened Spirit, there had to be a limit to how much damage the body it was possessing could handle.

Throwing the blades in rapid succession, I divided my focus between increasing the speed and force of their rotation and guiding them toward their intended target.

For their part, Gric and Wisp made no changes to their behaviour and continued to bait the thing into chasing them, remaining just out of its reach.

Striking from opposite directions, the stone blades scythed effortlessly through the thing’s midsection, temporarily splitting it into three separate pieces. Just like before, the pieces quickly snapped back into alignment but remained unhealed. However, they appeared less cohesive than they otherwise should have been. Assuming the separated finger represented what was the norm for its Ability.

Having gotten the attention of the other Awakened, I felt a pressure build in my mind as its cold black eyes stared hungrily at me from across the expanse of the crater. Familiar with the aura of fear it was generating, I held firm and pushed back.

The corpse-body of the Awakened flinched, recoiling backwards as if I had struck it in the face. Needle-like teeth bared in its impossibly wide mouth, the Awakened snarled and hissed in pain. “YOU!!! I WILL EAT!!!” The Awakened shrieked, leaping forward and halving the distance between us almost instantly.

Holding my ground, I willed the Chi-infused stone blades to return.

The ground before my feet erupted in a shower of dirt and a barbed stone spear lanced through the corpse-thing’s mouth and continued through the back of its skull.

At the exact same moment, Gric’s projection hurled a bolt of fire at the back of the thing’s head and disappeared.

Striking just as the back of the thing’s skull burst open, the bolt of fire entered the thing’s head and exploded.

Momentum temporarily arrested by the stone spear, the Awakened within barely had time to realise what had happened before the brain of its host erupted in flames.

My stone blades tore through the thing’s chest, sending chunks of rotting putrified flesh and bone flying through the air.

Seemingly unable to act, the thing just stood there, limbs twitching and spasming.

Until this moment, Wisp’s reserve of MP had remained relatively untouched. That changed as Wisp drew open his robes and revealed the withered husk of his borrowed body.

Emaciated beyond gender and little more than silver-white skin stretched over the bones beneath, a pale white flame burned in his eyes and exposed chest cavity. With each passing moment, the flames within him grew brighter, drawing trails of oily black smoke off of the stolen body of the Awakened.

The damaged sections of the corpse-thing’s body began losing its cohesion and slowly fell out of alignment.

Without furious vigour, I set the stone blades to work. Hewing through the corpse-thing with vicious purpose.

Still alight, the corpse-thing began to struggle, slapping at the stone spear impaled in its head. Losing flesh to the thorn-like barbs adorning its length, the thing was seemingly beyond caring.

Before I could react, the thing shattered the spear and fell backwards, its skull was still impaled but it was otherwise free.

Burning MP, I attempted to impale it anew by using the nearby stones. However, the thing leapt clear with unnatural speed, contorting its body with sickening and otherwise impossible flexibility.

I decided to change tactics.

Expending another chunk of MP, which left me dangerously low once more, I Summoned a second projection of Wisp.

Uttering an Unearthly wail, the second projection readied his scythe and charged.

For all its fearlessness up until this point, the corpse-thing baulked at the second projection’s approach.

Critically low on mana, I nearly fell to my knees but managed to arrest my descent with the help of a nearby tree and Lurr’s assistance.

Resisting the urge to remove my helmet and eat, I grit my teeth and pushed through the Mana Fatigue.

“You must leave, Tyrant,” Lurr demanded grimly. “Clan comes first!” He pulled on my arm, trying to draw me back the way we had come.

“I can’t...” I hissed angrily. “I won't!” I yanked my arm free and pointed at the corpse-thing doing battle against Wisp’s projections. “I won’t let that thing run loose any longer! I refuse to let it hurt anyone else!”

Lurr stared up at me silently for several moments and then turned back toward the battle without saying a word. The weight of his silence somehow carried both condemnation and admiration in equal measure. As my Bodyguard, he held Oaths that now came at odds with one another. To obey my commands, and to safeguard my life, even at the expense of his own.

I had forced him into an impossible position, and I knew it. To prosecute one, was to neglect the other.

With Wisp’s second projection taking the offensive so aggressively and my current level of concentration lacking, I withdrew my stone blades from the fight.

Sensing a sudden concentration of mana nearby, my eyes were drawn to the sky above the crater.

A ragged black tear blotted out the stars and three familiar figures appeared shortly afterwards.

Sword and wings blazing with amber light, armed with a divine blade, Ophelia descended like a righteous meteor.

Dodging Ophelia’s surprise attack, the corpse-thing lost its entire right arm at the shoulder.

Completely disconnected from the main body, the limb shrivelled and turned to dust, releasing more of the oily smoke which was promptly devoured by Wisp’s first projection.

Releasing an ear-bleeding shriek, the corpse-thing still hadn’t finished dodging Ophelia’s attack when it was struck by Sebet’s surprise attack.

White-hot flames incinerated the corpse-thing’s midsection, turning it to ash and releasing more smoke.

Collapsing in on itself to try and maintain some sort of physical connectivity, the corpse-thing was unprepared for Wisp’s follow-up attack, losing its right leg below the knee.

Instead of joining the fight, Gric fell back to my side. It took me a few moments to realise it, but his right arm was hanging limp at his side. Covered by his armour, I had no way of seeing what was wrong, and his Group Status information showed he should be at full HP.

“I am fine, my Tyrant,” Gric stated somewhat defensively. “I simply require time to recover.”

A sudden pressure on my mind drove the curiosity from my thoughts.

Blinking my eyes back into focus, I found Wisp’s first projection was now gone and the second had taken to the sky to take his place.

“PURGE THE UNCLEAN!!!” Ophelia howled, lopping off the corpse-thing’s remaining forearm at the elbow and following through its chest, leaving a trail of amber flames in the wake of her blade.

Crippled and barely holding itself together, the corpse-thing abruptly collapsed. However, a towering shadow remained.

The edges of the shadow continued shedding oily smoke just as the corpse-thing had before it. Only now it was from every inch of its body.

Narrowly avoiding Ophelia’s sword, the shadow fled, putting as much distance between itself and Wisp as possible. Incidentally sending it directly toward me.

“Protect the Tyrant!” Gric roared, gathering his mana and charging toward the rapidly approaching shadow. Gric fired several Fire Lances point blank into the centre mass of its incorporeal body.

Too close to dodge, half of the shadow’s body was incinerated on the spot. Unfortunately, shedding the greater portion of its mass only served to make it faster.

“NO!” Gric bellowed in rage, spinning on the spot and gathering more mana as he pointed a clawed hand toward the fleeing shadow.

A bolt of fire the size of my arm sped down from the sky, burning away another substantial portion of the shadow but failing to destroy it entirely.

Lethargic from depleting my MP, I barely managed two steps backward before I found the shadow within arm’s reach.

“RAAAAGH!!!” in a blur of movement, Lurr swept in from my left side, his axe thrumming with mana. The edge of the axe cut through the shadow but the Spell within failed to trigger.

Time slowed.

I could see the shadow coiling around the axe, its tendrils hungrily seeking out the hands that held it.

Acting without thinking, I reached out for Lurr with my Chi taking hold of his armour and drawing him back away from the shadow.

But I was too late, the shadow was inside of his armour and I could feel Lurr’s body beginning to spasm in the grips of a seizure.

As quickly as they had begun, the seizures stopped and Lurr grew deathly still.

The notification in my peripheral vision left no room for doubt. No hope.

“HAHAHAHA!!!” A demented laugh echoed from within Lurr’s helmet and I could feel his body begin to move. ‘HAHAHA-hurk!” The laughter was cut short as I used my control to snap Lurr’s arms to his sides.

“Kill it...” I ordered, “That abomination inside of his body. I want it destroyed...” I felt numb, still struggling to process what had happened.

Everything was going our way, and then...it wasn’t...

Levitating Lurr’s armour, just as I had done on our original approach, I began walking toward Wisp in the centre of the crater.

I could feel something besides Lurr’s body pressing against the armour, trying to escape. Like a beast in a cage, it railed against its confines. However, it failed to make any progress.

Unintelligible shrieks continued pouring out from within Lurr’s helmet, growing increasingly desperate and feral as we drew closer to Wisp.

Ophelia said nothing, silently stepping aside and stiffly lowering her head in respect.

Wisp’s second projection descended from the sky, staring at the thing inside of Lurr’s armour with the naked flames burning in his eyes. “You have contained it...” He rasped in what passed for surprise. “It cannot get out...Remarkable...” Wisp traced the armour with a thin delicate finger, leaving a trail of pale silver light in its wake. “I will see the Spirit destroyed,” he promised, eyes burning eagerly in anticipation, “Oh yes...”

“Make it suffer!” Sebet purred excitedly, “Make it scream and beg for mercy!”

“Leave no room for escape!” Gric snarled angrily, “See the will of our Tyrant is done!”

“Destroy it...” Ophelia hissed, wincing and favouring her left side, “Purge it from existence!”

Wisp nodded in response to each demand, but his focus remained on Lurr’s armour.

“The coward returns!...” Gric growled in warning, using his left hand to point toward a shimmering golden feline at the edge of the crater.

“It fled the moment we arrived,” Sebet added disdainfully. “Claimed this was not its fight.”

The edges of the second Spirit’s body coiled like smoke. However, unlike the Awakened trapped within Lurr’s armour, its essence was not drawn toward Wisp but was absorbed back into the majority of its form.

With exaggerated caution, the Spirit slowly made its approach.

Without being asked, Sebet and Gric moved to intercept it.

As the Spirit drew closer, it became apparent that it was injured. Limping badly and bearing patches of discolouration that were close to being entirely invisible, it was clear that battling the Awakened had exacted its toll.

“You will stop there!” Gric barked in warning, making no attempts at hiding his naked aggression.

“On that much, we agree,” Sebet snickered, uncoiling her whip and gathering mana.

The golden Spirit stopped in its tracks and with visible difficulties, settled on its haunches. “I intend no harm to you or your master,” the Spirit claimed in a soft feminine voice.

“And yet you brought harm with your abrupt absence!” Sebet countered venomously. “Do you not see how aggrieved our master is? The death of his servant is on your head!” She accused, pointing a clawed finger toward the Spirit.

“I have a duty to my people...” The Spirit replied calmly with only the faintest hint of what might be regret. “If I fall, those who are remembered will be forgotten...”

“Silence!” Gric snarled. “The fate of your people is yet to be decided!”

The Spirit recoiled as if Gric had struck it across the face. “You would not...”

“Do not presume to know our intentions!” Sebet sneered contemptuously. “We came to your aid and were met with deception and death! For this, there will be a reckoning!”

“You speak of death?” The Spirit replied heatedly, “One life pales before the dozens sacrificed to ensure this victory!”

“Ah, but you have made it clear already!” Sebet crowed victoriously, “Not all lives hold equal value, do they?!”

The feline Spirit remained silent.

“She knows we could take her without effort,” Sebet sneered contemptuously. “Weakened as she is, one solid strike would end it...” She grinned maliciously and bit her lower lip.

“Enough...” My voice was barely above a whisper but it didn’t matter.

Sebet had been about to continue speaking but bit her tongue.

The Spirit took confidence in the changing tide of the conversation. “I thank you, deliverer, for saving my-”

“Shut up...” I hissed, pressing down hard on the rage building inside of me.

It was my fault. I shouldn’t have brought him with me. I was reckless and it was Lurr who had paid the price for it.

“Many lives have been sa-” The Spirit continued.

“I said SHUT UP!” I snarled.

Wisp continued his work in silence for several minutes, very nearly running out of mana. “It is done,” he rasped approvingly, “You need only release the bindings...”

“W-Wait!” The thing inside of Lurr’s armour cried out in fear. “No need to kill! I serve you! Do anyth-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!” The desperate pleas turned to screams as I withdrew my Chi from the armour.

The silver tracings flared to life and the flames in Wisp’s chest and eyes roared with new life.

After less than a dozen seconds, the screaming stopped and Lurr’s armour collapsed to the ground, his body presumably still inside.

“It is done,” Wisp rasped with immense satisfaction.

Lifting Lurr’s body, I opened a Spatial Breach to return to Sanctuary, ignoring the pain as my HP was drained in place of my MP.

Stepping through the Breach, I knelt on the ground and set down Lurr’s body.

He was old. One of the oldest members of Lash’s clan that had survived the Necromancer’s purge.

Unbuckling Lurr’s helmet, I hesitated.

I had seen what the other Awakened had done to its previous hosts and I was afraid of what I might find.

Thunder rumbled overhead and it began to rain.

I stared up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky and felt the anger and guilt inside of me wrestling for control.

My skin felt hot and it was difficult to breathe. So I removed my helmet and cast it aside.

Rain splashed against my face, cold and indifferent to my pain.

Lurr was not the first person to die prosecuting my crusade against the other Awakened. Hundreds of Asrusian soldiers had died fighting the Liche. But Lurr was different. I could have left him behind and it likely wouldn’t have changed anything.

I should have followed my intuition...

I SHOULD have left them all behind...

Anger overcame my guilt and turned to rage.

Thunder crashed and bright flashes of lightning lit up the night sky, casting The Grove in flickering violet light.

I removed Lurr’s helmet and looked down at his cold pale face. His eyes stared back into mine, empty, lifeless and blind to the world around us. There was no judgement, no condemnation or stoic pride in having fulfilled his duty. There was nothing.

A part of me wanted him to hate me, to blame me for what had happened. But it was impossible.

I set down Lurr’s helmet by his head and gently closed his eyes as best as I was able.

What remained of the clan wouldn’t blame me either. I knew this only too well. They would tell me that it was an honour to make such a sacrifice for the common good. That Lurr had few years left with which to serve, and that an honourable end was the best he could hope for.

It changed nothing.

Lurr was dead, and it was my fault.

Making matters worse, it had now set an official precedent. An act that the others would seek to emulate.

I had saved Lash’s people, but only to feed them through a meat grinder.

Brushing the wet hair off Lurr’s face, I could sense that his Manastone was gone. The other Awakened had consumed it when possessing his body. It was almost certainly what had killed him.

Still cradling his head in my hand, I was reminded of the loss of my mother. The circumstances of their deaths were completely different to one another, and in the case of my mother’s illness, I held no blame. Yet I couldn’t shake the forced comparison.

Then there was Ushu...

The first to die fighting at my side against the Awakened’. He had been so young...

The flashes of lightning and crashing thunder grew more frequent, slowly falling into rhythm with the blood pounding in my veins.

Where would it end?

My friends? A memory of Emelia bedridden and clinging to life came unbidden to my mind.

What about Lash? Pete? Suzy?

No, I wouldn’t allow it.

Everything turned white and I felt limitless energy tearing through my body. Every nerve in my body cried out in agony and died, leaving only an echo of the pain in its wake.

Blind to the world, I braced myself just in time for a second surge of energy to burn through my body. Despite my expectations, the nerves I had believed were dead flared with new life. Bringing another wave of indescribable agony.

Screaming into the void, pain tore through my body over and over.

Afraid of losing myself to the pain, I focused my will and fought back, bracing myself in anticipation for each new wave of pain. Little by little, the pain lessened and my sight returned.

Steam rolled off of my body in great waves, the rain evaporating as it struck my armour or unprotected face.

Shattered stones littered the blackened soil around me and the rain hissed like angry serpents even as it was swallowed by the roasted dirt.

Looking skyward, I was momentarily stunned upon realising that I had almost certainly been struck by lightning. However it was not this fact alone that surprised me, it was that I had survived.

Before I could even think to act, another arc of lightning lanced through my body.

There was no pain this time, only power.

I felt it travelling through my body, growing ever so slightly weaker in intensity and strength by the time it travelled through my right arm and into Lurr’s body.

Muscles convulsing from the shock, Lurr’s limbs spasmed and seized uncontrollably.

Ashamed that I was unintentionally desecrating his corpse, I tried to remove my hand from Lurr’s face. The nerves in my hand didn’t answer in time, and another bolt of lightning surged through my body and into Lurr’s.

Pressing down on Lurr’s chestplate for leverage I yanked my right arm back, removing my hand from his face and revealing the blackened scorched flesh beneath.

Sickened by my unintended actions, I felt another wave of rage and revulsion boiling up inside of me. Which only intensified as I was alerted to an invader entering my realm.

Rising stiffly to my feet, I pushed the rage down so I could think clearly enough to teleport using my authority. I was responsible for what had happened to Lurr, but that Spirit bore some of the guilt as well, and I would see it paid its share.

Just as I was about to relocate to Sebet’s tower, I saw movement from the corner of my eye.

Looking down at Lurr’s body, I stared in silent horror as the fingers of his right hand twitched and skittered on the blackened dirt like a crazed spider.

Repulsed and enraged at the possibility of the Awakened still being alive, I reached for my mace. However, before I could draw it from my belt, Lurr’s eyes and mouth flew open and his back arched painfully as he gasped for air.

Stunned into inaction, I could only watch as Lurr’s body seized and convulsed for several seconds before laying limp in the dirt.

Panting heavily, his one remaining eye glowed with amethyst light and rolled wildly about in its socket before inexplicably settling on me. “Ty-rant...” Lurr gasped and then collapsed. If it weren’t for his loud laboured breathing, I wouldn’t have been able to believe my eyes.

Somehow, Lurr was alive.

Recognising Lurr as the invader, I cautiously knelt at his side and tore off my gauntlet to take his pulse. Still leary that the other Awakened might have somehow survived and was using some form of camouflage.

Against my expectations, Lurr’s pulse was steady and strong. His skin was also warm to the touch, but a small voice in the back of my mind was only too eager to attribute the returning temperature to the lightning that had scorched his corpse.

The lightning...

Looking at my own hand, I found burns on my fingers and palm. The burns had already begun to heal and were nothing compared to the blackened flesh on Lurr’s face.

Fixated on the burns and Lurr’s fused eyelid, something in my brain clicked and I began acting without thinking.

Using my authority, I relocated us both to the entrance of Sanctuary’s hospital.

Learning that I had relocated Wraithe as well, I didn’t have time to say as much as a single word before the Daemon began shouting orders and calling for her assistants.

In a blur of activity, Lurr was dragged into the hospital and out of my sight.

“He is alive...” I croaked uncertainly, still struggling to believe what I had seen with my own eyes.

I stood there in the rain, repeating it over and over again, refusing to stop until I could understand what had happened. Understand how Lurr had miraculously returned to life when he had been stone-cold dead.

Try as I might, my thoughts returned to the lightning.

Spontaneous resuscitation was practically unheard of, and even CPR had a terrifyingly low chance of reviving someone in ideal conditions. Even so, I couldn’t help but think that the lightning had somehow jumpstarted Lurr’s heart. But it still didn’t explain how Lurr had escaped brain death.

Deprived of oxygen for more than a handful of minutes, the brain would die. All the things a living being took for granted that were carried out largely without their conscious knowledge, would end and without artificial means to replicate their processes, the body would remain dead.

And yet Lurr lived...

He spoke, I saw him breathing and felt his pulse.

He was alive...

The system had declared him dead. I had read the notification over and over again, there was no room for misinterpretation.

Lurr had died.

“My Tyrant?” Wraithe tentatively tapped my arm to try and get my attention.

“I’m listening, Wraithe, continue please.” I pushed my thoughts aside and gave Wraithe my undivided attention.

Reassured, Wraithe stood a little taller. “The burns are largely superficial, limited to discolouring of the skin-”

“Except for his eye,” I predicted.

“Just so,” Wraithe agreed. “The eyelids could be separated, but without the possibility of returning his sight, it may be better to allow the lids to fuse...”

“That’s a question you should be asking him,” I replied cautiously. “Is he conscious? Has he said anything?”

Wraithe shook her head. “I established a connection through telepathy, but the warrior’s thoughts are...somewhat scattered...”

“He was dead,” I stated bluntly by means of explanation. “That will do it to you...”

Wraithe slowly nodded in agreement, and I could tell she was hesitating, deciding whether to reveal something. “There is more, my Tyrant,” Wraithe volunteered nervously, “The warrior’s manastone is gone, I felt no traces of it when establishing the telepathic link...”

“I discovered as much as well,” I agreed.

“And there is something else,” Wraithe hesitated again, her rodent tail flicking side to side nervously and her ears flattening against her skull. “I sensed something else inside of him, something that shouldn’t be there...” She poked at my abdomen, “He carries the same energy I sense in you, my Tyrant...The same energy born by the others in that foreign realm...”

“Wait...” I was struggling to shift mental gears. “You are saying Lurr has Chi?” I demanded incredulously.

Wraithe gnawed at her index finger and became lost in deep thought for a few moments before nodding her head vigorously. “Yes, I think that is what they called it.”

“How?...” I extended my senses and was stunned as I realised Wraithe was right. It was faint, but I could feel Lurr’s presence on the second floor of the hospital. I could feel the rolling thunder in his guts.

Wraithe yelped in surprise, leaping back a step and pointing at my hands, “My Tyrant!”

I stared down at my hands in shock. Small arcs of lightning crackled over my fingers emitting the unmistakable scent of ozone into the air.

I felt no pain, but I could sense the Chi gathered around my hands. It was mine, there was no mistaking that. It was as much a part of me as my own hands and heart.

Wraithe perked up and looked back toward the Hospital. “The Warrior is awake!” She declared excitedly, scampering back through the hospital door without saying another word.

With a thought, I drew the lightning back into myself returning it to an undetermined state as raw Chi. To satisfy my curiosity, I drew it out again. Only this time, I drew to my limit.

Violet and magenta arcs of lightning raced over my body, illuminating the darkness and casting a host of flickering shadows into the night.

Unexplainable power could be just as dangerous to me as it was to my enemies. I needed answers and I only had one person I could ask who had a decent chance of having the information I needed.

***** Yi Gim~ Yi Gim’s Interdimensional Plane ~ Bay of Tranquility *****

Yi Gim sat at his daughter’s bedside and held her hand supportively while a handful of his most loyal retainers continued delivering and organising the supplies demanded by the Tyrant’s mysterious healer.

The fact that the healer had miraculously reversed the worst of So Eun’s ailments in a single visit was nothing short of miraculous. Dozens of Alchemists and physicians had declared her a hopeless case, only prescribing medicines that would draw out her life but nothing more.

Yi Gim had entertained the thought of thanking his ally through the communication token but had ultimately decided against it. He could sense that their exchange felt alarmingly one-sided already and was concerned that unless the scales were righted in the near future, it would cause their mutually beneficial relationship to rapidly unravel.

Any idiot privy to the information Yi Gim had garnered thus far would be able to tell that the Tyrant needed Yi Gim many magnitudes less than he needed him.

Somehow blessed by the heavens, the Tyrant had already demonstrated the richness of his lands and the incredible competence of his retainers. Adding to the fact that he personally possessed dual Affinities, there was no doubting his imminent meteoric rise through the rankings.

Lacking only in knowledge, which he could just as readily gain from anyone else, the Tyrant’s only failing seemed to be his amenable temperament. Unlike just about every other Monarch Yi GIm had encountered, the Tyrant seemed utterly disinterested in doing battle unless provoked.

Yi Gim knew better than to mark him as a pacifist. The Tyrant had far too much-repressed violence in his soul. Like a poorly trained beast, he was simply waiting for an excuse, waiting for a victim to do something that would justify unleashing his savagery.

With a handful of potential Monarchs laid low by his hand before becoming ranked, the Tyrant’s strength and resolve were beyond question. Once provoked, he or his enemy would die.

“Patriarch, our task is completed,” his chief retainer and house steward, Ran Joon, declared dutifully.

“Very good.” Yi Gim removed the sorcerous Summoning stave from within his Storage Ring. “Remember, I will tolerate no violence or provocations toward our guest without proof of a credible threat. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Patriarch!” Ran Joon and the lower-ranked retainers announced in unison.

Yi Gim nodded in approval and gingerly prepared the stave for its activation.

“Tell me again Father, tell me that you did not bargain away your soul for my sake,” So Eun insisted earnestly.

“Not my soul, dear one, and far less than the rings adorning your fingers,” Yi Gim answered honestly. “However, those treasures are far more valuable than what was demanded for them in payment. Twenty territories is a small price to pay to counter a master poisoner’s arts.”

‘Twenty territories?...” So Eun questioned uncomfortably.

“You do not appreciate the state you were in,” Yi Gim replied, his voice strained. “Twenty territories is nothing. Once you are whole again, I will take the cost of those treasures from the Demon of the Fog’s hide!”

So Eun’s face paled. “Father! You cannot endanger your life by entertaining such foolishness!”

Yi Gim’s jaw tightened. “It is not foolishness, Eun’er. Reckless? Perhaps, but not foolishness. With these treasures, we have the chance to make the Demon of the Fog pay for what she took from us!”

So Eun gripped tightly at her blanket, “It won’t bring Hyun back...” Her eyes darkened with rage, “But if you believe it is possible, I would see him avenged!”

“When the time is right,” Yi Gim agreed dourly. “We may yet bargain for other treasures to gain a greater advantage.”

“You believe so, father?” So Eun asked earnestly. “Does our ally possess so many treasures that he can just give them away without poisoning his heart toward us?”

Yi Gim held up the stave. “Our ally, the Tyrant, he made this with his own hands. I saw it with my own eyes.”

So Eun stared at the stave in astonishment.

“Provided we offer something of suitable rarity or value, I do not doubt we could secure further treasures,” Yi Gim declared confidently. “The danger lies in asking beyond our value, positioning ourselves as lesser rather than equals.”

“Then, how do you intend to improve our position?” So Eun pressed, tempted with vengeance and refusing to let it go.

“Upholding the Oaths we exchanged will close the gap,” Yi Gim replied confidently. “Our ally is powerful and has rich resources at his disposal. However, he lacks knowledge and connections. The first I am bound to provide as requested, but the second will be the means by which that knowledge will increase our position and standing.”

So Eun was quiet for a few moments and then nodded in understanding. “He cannot value what he does not know exists, and securing them for trade, leveraging our connections, handling the risks, that is our value.”

Yi Gim nodded approvingly. “Exactly so.”

<Yi Gim?> The deep rumbling voice of the Tyrant sounded in Yi Gim’s mind, connected through the communication token.

<I am here, Tyrant.> Yi Gim replied hurriedly while making sure he didn’t sound overly eager and not to use the Tyrant’s name. A family name had not been given when last they spoke, and Yi Gim was concerned that expressing too much familiarity would be rude.

<I have a question whose answer is not clearly explained within the books you provided.> The Tyrant explained bluntly.

<If it is not dedicated to paper, I am afraid I cannot guarantee an answer.> Yi Gim replied honestly, tempering the Tyrant’s expectations.

<I am aware.> The Tyrant observed dryly. <But I suspect you know the answer. Or at least know enough to satisfy my curiosity.>

Intrigued, and glad for the Tyrant’s confidence, Yi Gim waited for the question.

<What do you know about the Thunder Affinity?> The Tyrant asked.

Yi Gim was somewhat surprised. He had expected a more esoteric subject. <Above all, it is exceedingly rare and very powerful. Only a dozen Monarchs can claim their subjects possess the Thunder Affinity. A small handful possess it themselves.>

<But what does it do?> The Tyrant pressed impatiently.

Yi Gim made sure to keep a mental note of it. He knew that the Tyrant had two Affinities of his own, and if he had a subordinate with the Thunder Affinity, that would definitely be worth remembering.

<It allows the Cultivator that bears such a gift to control the lightning and thunder of the heavens. To imbue its essence into Techniques and even simple martial attacks.> Yi Gim explained eagerly. <However, its greatest value is defying Heavenly Tribulations! Redirecting or even consuming the deadly energies and denying them their intended target.>

The Tyrant remained silent for an extended period, but Yi Gim felt confident that there would be something else.

<Why isn’t there a Lightning Affinity? Why does Thunder Affinity allow control over Lightning?> The Tyrant demanded. Although his tone made it clear he was more annoyed by the subject rather than Yi Gim himself.

<I do not know...> Yi Gim answered honestly. <It is just the way things are. If you are interested in theories, I could locate several prominent works on the subject?>

<No. It doesn’t matter.> The Tyrant seemed distracted. <Thank you for your answers.>

<It was a pleasure honouring our agreement.> Yi Gim replied brightly. <And if you are willing to engage in trade again, I can seek out more rare and valuable material components.>

<I’m interested.> The Tyrant replied bluntly. <I’ll let you know when I am ready.>

The connection was severed before Yi Gim could make a formal farewell. However, he remained aware of the Tyrant’s earlier distraction and chose not to take offence. He knew only too well that the position of Monarch could require abrupt changes in one’s plans.