"No, I can't die here, not before I've done my duty" He answered to the threat as he tried to match his words, while Alistair simply drew closer, possessed of the same unnerving presence.
Running towards him and leaving a vibrant streak of electric blue light following in his wake, with Shynerai stepping once more into his vivid shimmer.
The two contrasting figures met head-on, with the sensation of the ensuing battle garnering the attention of those above.
Meira was still trying to figure out Erai's instructions as she helped the next group of prisoners out of the Chapel. While she approached the G.A.V with the Notebook in hand, a faint but noticeable glow from what looked like inked-stained pages within called to her attention, inviting her to discover their contents.
By the time she close enough the vehicle for the glowing light to shine brilliantly before quickly fading out, the contents of the mirage writings laid bare.
"Meira you okay…what was that light?"
'An—activation mark...no it's not just that—' Her understanding of the figures and elements that constructed the complex diagram in front of her were not beyond her grasp, but how exactly they would function together certainly was...that was until she remembered their earlier conversation.
"If we manage to get the hostages to safety, contact the school for help and get away as fast as you can" His insistence on their safety and on notifying the school stood out as the primary concern when he suggested the plan.
The darkened skies above gave rise to the feeling that things weren't going to be an easy fight, with the occasional rumblings that erupted from out of the crater in the Chapel being enough to spur her onwards with her mission at hand.
Telling Konnor to take over the recovery effort of the rest of the prisoners while she took care of her task.
Konnor acknowledged his new responsibility as he wished her good luck with an unexpected jab, asking that she not accidentally blow up the G.A.V as he ran back into the rocking building.
Continuing her task, she poured her magic into the diagram before the power jumped from the Notebook towards the inside of the G.A.V, engulfing it in the same glow.
Almost giving her a heart attack at the idea of doing the exact thing she was warned not to but what caught her attention more was what the activation mark actually did.
"Well, now is time for the next step, I really hope Kiara is there to pick up the call" Leaving the glowing G.A.V to contact the Questing Committee.
Several moments pass before the signal managed to get through
"Kiara? Are you there, Ki–?"
"Meira...I'm here, what's going on, why are you using Mr. Astrapordt's Notebook?"
"I'll explain everything later, right now, we need your help. Are there any Student Generals on standby?"
"...." Inaudible murmurs could be heard through the transmission.
"Kiara, you there?"
"It's late in the evening so almost everyone is gone. And I don't think the Student Council President is going to help with the Questing Committee's problem, at least not until the morning. But I can send Lotarim on his way..."
"Ahhh…we really need help, I wish I could explain but if you can send anyone, they need to get here as soon as possible!"
"Hey Ki-Ki. How about I take a swing at it?" A familiar voice interrupted the exchange.
"Kiara, who is that?"
"It's me! Now, where are you, Mi-Mi?"
"You....huh, wait, Reider???"
"Jaret. How long would it take for you to get to Whitewater?" Kiara's voice returned, taking over the transmission.
"Whitewater Port? Hmmm, a few minutes at most...though I'd have to break into the Teleportation stations this late....ah, give me ten...but I don't know how long it would take to cross the Nycerii territory. Unless any of you have an airship, Lo?"
"Not unless we're buying one and that's not in our budget. The Academy has prohibited you from using any personal airships within Falsetti airspace. It seems that the 'incident' over in High City was a bigger deal than you had anticipated."
"No one was killed, besides the real idiots were the ones that decided to have an exhibit for living sculptures on an airship, when the sculptures were Ryddrechian Wyrms. It's been two years and the Academy is still deducting my wages to pay for the damages."
"In any case, ma'am, there might be a way for Jaret to make it in time. I'm not sure how but there seems to be a sort of spatial distortion pretty close to the port."
Meira was surprised by Lotarim's words, turning from side to side in search of the anomaly, though she found nothing…that is until the sight of the glowing seal in the G.A.V finally clicked.
With the realization filling her mind, the conversation occurring over the transmission gave way to her furiously paging until she found what she was looking for, finding a similar glowing seal in one of the Notebook's pages.
"Kiara, how close would he need to be to get to lock onto the anomaly?"
"Lock onto it? Well, what do you think?"
"If I tried to jump from the school, I'd be out of magic by the time I got here...but maybe I can get closer...just hold on!" The conversation was cut by the abrupt sound of footsteps in the distance.
"Wait…just...ugh. Lotarim, get a hold of the Student Generals, and let them know that it's an emergency. I'll notify the Headmistress of this. Mi-Mi, you'll have to hold out for a bit. Don't worry, I'll be there soon. Now can you tell me what happened, where's the kid?"
"Oh–Thank you, Kiara. Who knows how bad things are going to get, so I'll try to keep things short..." Completely ignoring Jaret.
With the sudden glow of the Teleportation Seal illuminating the school grounds, Jaret's race to Whitewater Port was signaled with the vanishing flash of light, Meira did her best to relay the events they were facing to Kiara and Lotarim over the call.
Entrusting the rest of the captor's rescue to Konnor, who had begun to show signs of fatigue as he brought another group of prisoners to the safety of the G.A.V, drenched in dirt from the sweat and rubble raining down the shaking halls of the Chapel, but not taking a moment to rest on his fatigue.
"What exactly is that creature?" Shynerai darted towards Alistair hoping to throw him off, with him closing the distance before he could respond.
"Hmmph..." The impatient figure stepped out of Shynerai's path landing behind him with only the sight of his fluttering robes managing to catch his eye, though the cloaked and shadowy aura enveloping him made quick work of his advantage, as he knocked Shynerai into the pile of rubble.
"You interrupt my work, steal my subjects, incapacitate my servants and you expect me to believe that it is all on a whim...Don't toy with me! I know a Guardian when I see one, not that any of you can stop me once I'm finished, little Hero!"
"Nnn...ugh, with...the Northern Calamity. Should I be concerned since by your words, it is incomplete?" Shynerai exclaimed all the while coughing up something that made him more than a little concerned...but after wiping his mouth, he pulled himself up against the fallen glimmering stone before falling into a stance, his lungs wanting for what little air he could grasp.
"Oh, curious. I'm quite certain that was meant to erode your spine" Leaving Alistair to inspect the blue cloaking darkness. Reaching down, he knelt beside a wounded prisoner that was freed thanks to the shower rubble.
With a firm grip, Alistair rose to his feet. From this act, Shynerai was quick to react, rushing towards him when the prisoner was momentarily awash with the blue-black darkness. When the Daumier managed to get passed him, he quickly tried to check their pulse, only for the flesh around their neck to disintegrate…as the rest of its body breakdown in a ashen flakes
Assured of his might, Alistair dusted his hands and once again cloaked his hands with the dark cloak before seemingly having it surge in strength with the last blue vestiges turning pitch.
"Aevum et Mori, It's a decaying spell…" Shynerai expressed the first instance of rage since he arrived in Whitewater.
"A scholar of magic, are we little Astrapordt?"
"Yeah except it only works in contact with living tissue, which makes sense the creator's intention for the spell was trying to find a better way of disposing of necrotic flesh. She wrote that she had seen too many people fall to disease and plagues spawned by the dead, a result of honest and hard work for someone that lived in a terrible time."
"Well she had no real ambition or she would have seen its potential. It is an unmatched power within the right hands."
"No, she simply valued something greater than her own singular ambition." With that short respite filling, he descended the mound of rubble, moving closer to Alistair with the kick of the nearby soot, gripping the floor of the basement before....stepping into his shimmer veil once more.
"Your little disappearing trick won't–" Alistair's words were cut short when Shynerai emerged, landing a blow with enough force to send Alistair off his feet, hurtling towards the looming opening above.
"Nnggh–" As he was thrown into the air, the Forsaken mage gripped tightly against the wound dealt onto him before crashing into the pillar. But before Shynerai could take in the fact that he managed to harm his opponent, the sight above took his attention.
With the image of the immense column coming into view, Shynerai witnessed Alistair wielding the column with an onyx-cloaked arm before launching himself at him...crashing atop him with a strike reminiscent of his own earlier attempt.
Well aware of the dangers of his opponent's magic, Shynerai grit his teeth as he forced himself to act quickly...
With the force of the clash whipping dust into a storm-column entrapped with black winds rising to the top of the opening, those nearest the Seal were thrown to the ground in their haste to escape.
With the most conscious having cleared out, the weariest laid bound in chains that tethered them to the crumbling Chapel.
"It's going to be alright, I did promise your friends I would return." Meira had taken over with the rescue effort, helping the gaunt and frightened as she loosened their flailing chains that bind them to the walls that were quickly giving way to the thundering quakes from below.
"Konnor, there's only a few left."
"I spoke to some of the prisoners and you're going wanna hear this."
"There's no time! This place is going to come down and most of them are still too weak to stand."
Konnor felt that Meira needed to hear him out but the falling debris and crumbling floor slowly giving way made her point clear.
Pushing himself to stifle his thoughts and fatigue as he started helping them one by one to their feet before walking them out of the Chapel, a blaring and rising vortex of dark violent wind from out the hole pushed them to move faster.
At the center of the storm of chaos, Alistair's blow struggled against the familiar sound of shearing pieces of steel and of gnashing metal.
His pitch-dark cloak enveloped the obstruction in front of him, but with the sight of his opponent coming into view, the jet-black trails extended from his cloak of darkness wrapping around them slowly giving way with each passing moment.
Eventually, the sound of grinding metal pieces died down but that only left the sensation against Alistair's fist was the touch of something cold.
Unsure of what he just did, he moved back, stepping away as the last of the violent winds blew away, leaving crumbled columns and splintered beams raining down around them, the idea of what he clashed with turned his expression raw with seething rage.
Distorted sounds of heavy breathing muffled their way out of a crude helmet rendering of the metal sculpture that faced Alistair.
"I can't let you get past me…" The clicking joints and rattling metal plates scrape past each other as he took root into his stance, motioned the Forsaken mage to bring his next attack, an invitation that Alistair gladly accepted.
Blowing past the surroundings with the reappearing cloak of darkness now taking on a fearsome and untamed form as it engulfed and wrapped itself around him with each step he took towards Shynerai.
Rushing past the rubble-riddle floor and crumbling pillars before unleashing another attack—but again, once the jet-black trails faded, Shynerai stood standing, with only the sound of a persistent loss of breath being the only indication of the metallic statue harboring life.
"Why will you not fall, prole–" Alistair's tone having grown course as he unleashed a barrage of attacks, throwing punch after punch into the metallic frame, matching last the blow with enough force to push him back ever so much, with growing ferocity the force blasted the surroundings away.
Clearing the ground between them as it gave way…with the following strike knocking Shynerai off his feet, and launching him into the structure that stood supporting the skeletal frame of the draconic beast. The impact of his crash forced a deep fissure to run up the support.
"You cannot stop what is being done here. Your kind should know what happens when you try to act beyond your place" He bellowed with the sound of renewed vigor.
"Ha…Ha…humph…cough…cough"
Despite the chasm they were in being filled by the sound of rustling dust and debris, Alistair was well aware of the Shynerai's chuckle.
Said taunt did more than enough to infuriate him, though he did not need much motivation for what came next.
Outstretching his hand, with a raised palm, it took only a moment for the pitch-black cloak that fluttered about him to disappear into smoky wisps before a deep blue flame began sputtering to life. Burning intensely before it jumped from his hands and spread to consume the draconic remains along with Shynerai in a brilliant display of an all-consuming indigo flames.
'Boom! Boom! Boom!' Above the searing firestorm that was spreading that consumed more and more of the structural supports that held the gigantic skeleton in place, the sound of bullets ricocheting off the ground around Alistair caught his attention and drew his gaze to the source of the gunfire…
Coming down the gaping hole above, and atop a stone-like ember golem.
After catching a glimpse of Shynerai buried under the burning support beams, Meira aimed her approach directly for the Alistair, giving the unsuspecting mage just a moment to respond as he tried to command the violet flames upwards–
"That's not going to happen." Konnor's voice called out accompanying the sound of more gunfire running close enough to the interrupted Alistair to force him back, barely coming unscathed from the bullets ripping through his muddled cloak before regaining his footing and sending a flare of superheated flames at Meira.
The fires lit the cavern below with a violet-blue glow while his magic sent out a burst of a shockwave clearing scene around him. Alistair's magic rushed towards her with enough time to graze the golem, shearing the incoming golem's descending fist with the rising flames blasting and consuming the mouth of the pit.
The ember construct landed in front of Alistair, sending a sudden shockwave, into him, though the monster's approach did very little to shake him, instead prompting him to raise a second hand.
Readying the flames before sending out a scorching torrent of flames raging towards the Meira, who leapt away from the golem, rushing to the crater as the golem stood in place, bearing the brunt of the incoming attack.
The heat was so intense, that the lithic shell of the beast quickly began to glow as it tried to hold itself together.
Summoning a large ax created from the glowing ember shards flecked off the golem behind her. And with it, she hacked away at the collapsed pile of scaffolding, managing to free Shynerai from out the support but he could barely get to his feet, with trembling arms as he raised them to take the hand Meira offered him.
At that moment, she realized that it was the first time she ever took his hand.
'None of that matters right now' Being reminded of his exact words as she helped him up. The sight of flames consuming her construct put great unease on her as she turned her sights to the heaving Shynerai.
With a thought coming to mind, she resolved herself, taking on an expression of certainty before outstretching her hand and creating the same ember parakeet. Doing her best to lower him onto it and sending it off upwards to the entrance, hoping that it could reach Konnor if he had managed to avoid the violet flames.
As the charred bird tried to take flight the last of the golem's strength faded as the glowing rocks of its being began shedding at the intensity of the constant attack, blowing apart piece by piece till the construct in its entirety was blasted into a heaping pile of dust.
With the Alistair now in full view of the escapees, and preparing his final attack, Meira was reminded of her thought before ripping off her cloak and racing towards the Forsaken mage, running past the dirt and stone mounds that littered her path as she conjured ashen blades in either hand.
"Truly this is amusing. First the Daumier, and then the pesky little Human with his gun and now an Elf. It would be my greatest pleasure to collect familial specimens." Alistair sighed dismissively as he unleashed a wave of violet flames rushing towards her before raising his hand to his desired target.
"You're pretty sick if you think we're all related–" Meira sprouted from beyond the violet flames brandishing an ashen shield bound to her forearm, coming close enough to him to swing her blade at his hand–forcing Alistair to change his stance as he narrowly avoided her blade, but in the process losing sight of his target as Shynerai rose up and out of the opening above.
"As if I would take anything you pests spew."
'Too bad…for now you have to deal with me and I told myself I wouldn't be doing much of anything on this quest. Hmph.' Taunting the mage unnerved magician as she returned the form of her shield into a blade once more, preparing herself for what would come next.
Above the ensuing chaos below, Konnor had avoided the flames that suddenly reached out from the opening with the sight of something else following:
"What the hell, that almost looks like–" Konnor had come out of cover but got thrown back after the ember parakeet flew past him before landing beside him and resting Shynerai with its fading wings that turned to ash the moment he got off.
"Erai! Erai! Can you hear me? Where's Meira?"
"K-Konnor?"
"You're in pretty bad shape, you know that?" A smile of relief came to him after hearing his friend rouse to consciousness.
"Mei—ra, she's still in there…I have…I have to help her."
Konnor had him rest against a rock nearby, despite how much he tried to get back up.
"Meira isn't a pushover…and if you're this beat up, I don't know how long she'll be able to keep up. I doubt whoever your people sent is gonna make it here in time"
'The seal, they got it to work…I'm glad.'
"I don't think I'm anything to write home about…I barely–"
"That's not true!" Konnor stopped him, as he stood up and moved towards the opening with a growing look of concern with his stumbling footsteps revealing the various scraps and cuts he received:
"I remember when you bailed me out, they locked me up for sure, but I could still see what you did, to the camp, to those crazed Forsaken, so tell me in your real opinion, can we beat this guy?"
Following his question, Shynerai's gaze turned away from him, staring at his palms that could hold a fist as they trembled…frustration was clear to see despite how much he tried stifling it:
"I fought someone not too long ago. In that fight, I was probably pushed further than I ever have before, and in the end, I still lost. From that battle, I not only saw how far above the bar was from me, but I got the added bonus of nasty scarring to my arms."
"Hmph funny thing is if I listened to the doctor's advice and got some rest I might have had a better shot against that guy…but now, against Khartsphere. It's taken most of what I have not to get killed, I don't think my body could go all out again."
"Well…damn, that definitely sucks for the rest of us."
"I–I'm sorry, Konnor."
"You know–sometimes we want something but because we are too afraid of what we can't do anything, we end up making excuses for why we won't try."
"I wasn't there when you fought that battle, nor do I know why you did what you did, but you're here now, fighting for something completely different, against an enemy you've never faced."
"To protect people with no real chance of doing it themselves, looking down there, with Meira fighting as hard as she can, will you tell me to my face this fight?"
"Is this something you can't do, or something you won't?" Konnor walked back to the seated young man before raising by his collar with the look of worry that gave way to a deep expression of sorrow as he asked him.
The sight of uncertainty and distress in his eyes brought to mind only a single thought, that of his statement when he met Creivolt in the Student Council office
"That's hard when...the 'established order' has done nothing for me–because when someone cries out for help, does the 'established order' protect them, do any of you?"
"That's right, as Heroes, as Guardians, it's not our job to always win…it's to keep getting back up." Those words of which met Konnor following the look of intent gleaming from his emerald eyes, lighting with an unmistakable glow that Konnor had witnessed enough times since meeting him to recognize it…his will.
"Can you do me a favor, could you check the pouch on my side, there should be a bottle or vial of some kind."
Konnor settled him back down with a groan of agony coming from him as he did, before checking each of his pouches until coming across the vial filled with a strange green liquid. Bringing it to him all the same, taking his half-awake response that he found what he was looking for.
Shynerai asked him to help him with it and so though a little hesitant about the fluid, he nevertheless, opened and helped his companion down the solution until the little vial was emptied.
"Thank you, it usually takes about a second or two…"
"Sure, but what for?"
To answer his question, the young Daumier managed to raise a hand in response, surprising Konnor as he helped him to his feet. When he found that his strength had returned, he turned to him, thanking Konnor with a kind smile, an action that didn't do much to eliminate his confusion:
"Don't be so shocked, I doubt this is going to last very long with what I'm planning" Punctuating his statement with a shout:
Word of Power: Mark of a Beast! The command brought out a malicious aura that enveloped Erai before fading from sight, leaving what looked like an unseen flame burning at him.
"Konnor, make sure to get everyone as far away from here as possible." He let out a final request before leaping down into the dark opening and landing between Alistair and Meira, who were about to clash blows.
Throwing them back as they avoided the cratering earth, Shynerai turned to face Alistair while the dust cleared, as Meira cautiously approached the ominous figure that suddenly appeared.
"Don't worry it's still me."
Now standing beside the figure she could clearly make out his snow-white haired rippling about:
"What are you doing down here, you should be waiting for help with Konnor."
"I know. I'm glad you understood the message even when I couldn't be more precise with the details"
"This is certainly curious! I was certain you would not be standing after what I did to you" Alistair rallied his might as his quarry had now returned to meet its slaughter.
The Forsaken mage's statement caught Meira's attention, drawing her eyes to his wounds and witnessing the seemingly charring flesh, with the mirage-ing air around his arms and legs she could tell that something was burning at him, but again there was no flame she could see:
"Shynerai…Erai, what happened to you?"
"For now, let's focus on staying alive, not just for our own sake." He added, raising his arm, and revealing a piece of charred flesh breaking off and falling as ash to the floor.
"I don't have much time but I've got a plan, and I'm going to need your help" Turning her gaze to Alistair and conjuring another set of ember blades, that hung beside in mid-air.
"I'm growing weary of your plans, the more I keep hearing them….What do you have in mind?"
"This one's a little easier, if you can keep him still, I think I could end it."
"Could or can?"
"…"
"Sigh…it doesn't matter, it's not like he's going to give us much time to decide" She pointed at Alistair who had keeled over, doing his best to gather his strength as he clenched his fist, causing his violet flames to die down though not completely.
Taking the chance, Meira and Erai rushed the mage .While still occupied Alistair tried to rid himself of them with a blast of his flames, sadly they were far weaker, noted by how she slid beneath them clearing the attack before aiming to cleave him with both her blades.
Prompting him to pull back his flames, and shielding himself with another blast sending himself reeling back but blasted Meira into the nearby column.
Alistair continued clenching his fist while preparing for the next assailant, hoping to spot Shynerai's shimmer, and catching a glimpse of it with enough time to fire a volley of blue and violet projectiles, much smaller but far faster than his initial attack. But to his shock, he had missed, or rather–
'Just a little longer' The idea of a timer counting down did nothing but fill what little space in his mind that wasn't already consumed by the thought of evasion. Stepping between each violet bolts of destruction, in a display that forced Alistair to send out more destruction the closer he got.
"Almost…just ten more seconds" He huffed under his breath as he drew close enough to see the faint green light emanating from the mage's clenched fist but Shynerai didn't have time to register any thought of hesitation, leaping forward, and sweeping Alistair off his feet but before he could fall.
The mage drove a strike into him that sent out an intense flare of brilliant flames, throwing Shynerai off balance and away from him, landing far enough to see Meira spring from the mound of rubble.
Casting aside the ember blades that quickly turned to ash and instead forging a vast length of ashen chain, growing with multiple ends that snaked around her before ending in cuffs.
While Alistair continued his flurry of flames that devoured everything in their path, she braced and blocked those she couldn't avoid mid-air before seizing the chance and binding both of his legs.
Landing behind him, and restricting his attack, though she managed to miss one of his arms, leaving the mage with no other option but to free himself as the light from within his hand that steadily grew bright enough to illuminate his visage.
With his unbound hand, he turned it on Meira, readying his flames:
"Erai, I got him! Now's your chance–" The sound of her words were cut short when the violet flames were let loose, quickly rushing towards her and engulfing her…
"All right! Word of Power…Beowulf."
By the time Alistair could hear those words over the sound of his blaring flames, Shynerai had already taken flight, being let loose, cleaving into the ground below and tearing a path directly towards him, the golden lightning bolt streaking violently through the underground basement.
With no other option Alistair finally opened his fist….sending out the contained green light enveloping the entirety of the underground space and glowing upwards lighting up the night sky nearby through the gaping opening.
"I'm not going to let that happen!" The golden streak clad in white flames appeared in front of Alistair as the green glow encompassed them, with something surprising of his own.
Drawing closer to the bound and chained mage, Shynerai let loose a destructive blow into him.
The act alone had an incredible result, for the moment the attack became constant and drew all the light into it as if drowning the world in a pigment of absolute darkness, the very light was stripped from all around them as it was drawn into Shynerai.
Gripping all of it– an explosion of white light burst forth, ripping apart the chains that were holding Alistair and extinguishing the violet flames with a blast that pushed outwards rocking the foundation of the Chapel as far as they would run.
The force sending Meira along with everything nearby blown away before finally the opening above was illuminated by the white light, ripping the opening to pieces.
Sending what remained of the Coral Stone Chapel flying every which way, and carved open the hole while what remained on the surface was eclipsed by the blinding light.