"He's gone. What a handful. But I can imagine he's nothing compared to what I want."
Ether reached down to his chest and took out an armor plate from its socket, before placing it down in front of him.
"Sounds like you're growing ambitious. What do you have in mind?"
Pearl cut a big piece of Abako meat into smaller bits. "I want to connect to a mountain. It has been a dream of mine since I was an icicle. And Digon - Digon calls to me and I want to answer."
"Digon cried. That's where we met and bonded for the first time. Carrying me up the mountain to safety. Is it really urging you to come forward?"
He looked down to the armor plate sitting in front of him. That's when he noticed something. It wasn't silver anymore, it had letters on it. Not only letters, but complete sentences written in the neatest handwriting he had ever seen.
"Yes, and I want to go up there and participate in the Rite of Approval. So me and so many other icicles can become fully grown Thawed," Pearl dreamingly said.
Ether ignored Pearl, he was too busy reading what the message said to him.
[Dear, Undying Revenge
It has come to my attention that you or someone you know has come into contact with the putrid Distorted entities. I WILL NOT LET IT CONTINUE!
As the Nine's selected harbinger and representative of the Servants, it is my duty to bring this to your attention if you don't already know this.
Please, I implore you to heed my instructions and warning.
From the hundreds of years I have dealt with these monstrosities, I have come to an understanding with them. They are not an individual, at least for the most part.
Each creation shares a grander mind known as a 'Distorted Mind.' Such entities are like archives to the victims they prey upon and even those they infected with the Broken Melody.
So what exactly is my goal?
Well, to put it simply, I have sworn to protect Koroth from an invasion. With every Distorted destroyed, Syndicate Dust cleansed, and Broken Melody deafened, I get closer to my goal.
I see great potential in you, UR, let us work together. First, locate the source. Then, destroy it. I will keep an eye on you. And if you ignore my instructions I WILL take this into my own hands.
So don't make me.
From your new stalker,
Yulfinmier.]
"Yulfinmier..?" Ether murmured.
Pearl sat down beside Ether, Orako resting in her arms. "What happened?"
Ether quickly placed a hand over the piece of armor, then hid it to the opposite side of his body. Hoping to protect his family from the possibility of a new threat.
"Sorry, I was too busy studying the worn out paint on my armor... can you repeat that?"
"I want to reclaim Digon and mark it as my home mountain. I desperately need one and so many young icicles in the Legion do, too. Hizentre and Suth's glaciers just received their next generation. We need to mark them," Pearl explained.
This new plan silently played out in his mind. Marching up Digon, claiming the old Legion's hold and wiping out everyone Light.
He could imagine the sounds of Sky Beasts screeching and dominating the skies as arrows swoop overhead and dive into a target. All while Pyroatic Weavers lit up the skies in the might and fury of the Infinus Legion.
Stram would flood the broken gates and tear anyone inside as their Cemtrin rushed behind them and took out the opposing beasts.
It was like a movie in his mind. Everything went according to plan. Infinus flags mindlessly waved in the frigid winds as Digon and the Frosticus glacier get reunited.
"Can we? I will fight alongside you. We can claim that mountain together," her cold voice begged.
"Who are our options now that phase two has begun?" Ether quickly replied.
Pearl hugged Orako tighter in excitement. She understood Ether was handing her responsibility of this assault. Although she wasn't experienced enough to pick and choose who would be best, she had a general idea.
"Valentine and Suth, that was their home, too. Risk is supposedly healed, but with some serious marks. Hedix could do some work out there if we allowed him to. Perhaps Hizentre and Hazen could get out there and fight," she listed.
Orako bit her shoulder, causing her to loosen her grasp on the little Feral. As a way to ask for forgiveness, he went up to her cheek and began licking it.
Instead of feeling mad about that, Pearl began patting his head as a sign of forgiveness. It wasn't his fault for biting; it was hers for hugging onto him so tightly.
"A Feral on the mountain sounds interesting. I should go and see if they are all available before sundown. More specifically, Risk, I saw those wounds, and they were nasty,"
***
After visiting Valentine, Ether got permission to ride Gloria to Hiranes. The mighty Storm Chaser touched down on the gravel path in the heart of the stronghold.
Murmosa Ferals gathered around. They watched the smaller Zesher got off the beast before turning to face them.
Males silently growled as a way to greet Ether. All the noise caught Risk's attention. He looked down from the rooftops, watching his ally stand in the middle of all his Ferals.
"Good evening, Ether!" His raspy voice called out.
"Hey, Risk! How's it going up there?" Ether replied.
The Feral jumped off the roof, landing on his bare feet. He brushed off the impact, then slowly walked up to his commander.
"Man... those wounds. How are you still standing?"
Risk looked down at his torso. Pieces of his skin seemed out of place, such as being in a lighter color than the rest. Melted skin bruised all six muscles that lined his perfectly fit body.
He lifted both hands. "There's a reason why I've earned the name Risk, just as there is a reason why so many know of you as Undying Revenge. By the way, many only know you as that name. Can you believe it?"
Ether chuckled. "No, I can't. It sounds so stupid and I hate it. But I can't change that, unless if I forge my legacy on my own terms. Speaking of..."
Risk's grin got wider. The keywords stood out to him, he knew what Ether was there for before even saying anything else.
"No, no, no! Don't say a word. I know what's happening and I am already going! Can't want to step back on the fields and hunt down some Light Legion prey," Risk daydreamed.
"Haha... ah... ah... about that," Ether paused.
He wanted to make sure Risk was listening to him speak and not listening to his own voice ordering him what explosive to drop and where.
"We are going to Digon. How does getting a bit colder sound like?" Ether asked.
Risk stared at Ether, mouth was straight and gaze seemed disappointed. "I am a basic Feral. No mutations or evolutions. And you want me to go up there and fight?"
Ether nodded in response. He was anticipating everyone there would mock him for wanting to try such a plan. Which came as a surprise when he heard Risk's response.
"I LOVE IT! Hell yeah. Digon's snow will be under our feet. Ah, I can already smell the frigid air overflowing my lungs and causing me to get a cold for few cycles because I didn't wear enough warmth and randomly I am under the care of my mate once again!"
"So in a less wordy response, yes you are joining?" Ether waited for confirmation.
Risk softly chuckled. "Yes."
"Great. Come by in two cycles, the War Room. There we will discuss everything we need for this assault," Ether concluded.
Gloria lowered her head, allowing Ether to climb aboard her with ease. Before Ether got seated and ready to take off, Risk stopped him.
"Wait, can I deploy one of my own tactics during this attack? Explosive perhaps, deadly definitely," Risk called out.
Ether poked his head over Gloria's wings. "Sure. Just make sure it doesn't hurt you or anyone from our side. And also, be careful when the time comes. Don't want you to get seriously injured again."
Risk, along with his other Ferals, laughed. Now with the permission to execute one of their 'best' plans, they knew what came next: gathering Ferals willing to pull this off and resources for the environment.
With that, Gloria lowered herself. Then she leapt up into the air. Her wings began to flap, upper set led the lower set.
The rush of mounting and flying a Storm Chaser Sky Beast came back to Ether, something he missed. On this very beast, he learned how to fly.
And next, they were going to fly into another conflict with the Light Legion.