The light of the stars shone down on Zee as she strode down the street, one hand on the book tucked under her belt. As she walked, she tapped the obsidian gem in the pommel of her sword, prompting the death spirit inside to make her sword hum in delight.
First a spirit in her sword, and now, a living book, what was her life devolving into? She glared down at the pesky book that had been acting all innocent all innocent since she left the library.
The little menace was probably waiting until she was distracted to make another move. Weaving down dark alleyways at a casual pace, Zee pondered what to do with her newest companion.
Several ideas, including stuffing it into her spatial storage came into mind. The only trouble was, would that kill the book? Her Spatial storage lacked air of any sort and was even an energy desert on the inside, which might kill the little book.
It was why humans and other living things couldn't be transported using a spatial storage. Even if cultivators could survive without air using arrays, the arrays couldn't function without energy for long.
Zee had once put Dern inside her spatial storage out of curiosity, and that had not gone well. He only survived for a few seconds before falling apart, and returning to her, complaining all the while.
Could the book survive though? The living book was created by Tar, the former patriarch of an ancient B-grade force known as the Heaven Fall empire. Even if he said the book was a failed experiment, she was willing to bet her left boot that the book would be incredibly hard to destroy.
At her side, the book twitched, jarring her from her thoughts. She was walking right passed a small single-story building, with an open window. Taking its chance, the book slipped from under her belt, darting for the gap in the single pain window.
Zee vanished in a puff of mist, appearing right in front of the window, blocking the path of the book. Dern laughed in her head, as the book evaded her attempts to grab it, doing its best to sneak around her.
"Get back here you stupid book," Zee said, grabbing at the book as it hovered a safe distance out of reach.
As if to taunt her, the book bobbed in mid-air, moving side to side, its pages rustling in what she felt was a rude gesture. Zee was far too tired and irritable to deal with the antics of this book. She unsheathed her sword, leveling the blade at the book.
"Get down here or I will stab my sword through that pretty cover of yours," Zee threatened.
The book froze mid-air, hesitant, as if uncertain if she would actually carry through on her threat. She gave it her best cold glare, doing her best impression of a certain princess.
After a few seconds, the book's cover bent, its posture defeated as it floated down and slipped under her belt. She patted the book on its leather cover, "That's better, what a good little book," Zee said.
The book seemed to enjoy her words, its pages rustling in defeat. How she could read its mood was still a mystery, though she suspected it was because of that blood contract Tar tricked her into.
Dern's laughter echoed in her mind once again, which only worsened her already irritable mood.
"Sometimes I wish you would get run over by a cart, it would be so satisfying," Zee muttered.
Dern snickered," Don't be so sour, I think the book is funny," he said.
Zee was going to answer until she sensed several presences nearby. As she walked down the street they entered the range of her sensory skill. One was in an alley the other atop a nearby roof.
"Dern, you sense that?" Zee asked, suddenly on high alert.
"Ya, there are three of them, two ahead, and one behind us," Dern replied.
"Three? I can only sense two," Zee said, focusing on her spatial ripple skill, trying to find the third.
Her brows furrowed, but she still couldn't sense the person behind them, despite focusing her sensory skill on the area. Whoever that was, they were really good at masking their presence, though not good enough to hide from Dern.
She sighed, keeping one hand in the pesky book as she navigated the dark streets. Even the book must have sensed the danger, as it kept still.
On high alert, continued on, in no hurry to get back to the estate they were staying at. They followed, staying at a safe distance while they did so for another thirty minutes.
She was getting a little fed up. If they were going to ambush her, why were they waiting so long? She wasn't sure who was following her, but she was bored of this little dance so she decided to spring the trap.
If they weren't going to attack, she would first. One of the people watching her, a short dark scaled lizard kin by the looks of it blinked dumbly when she vanished from the street in a puff of mist.
A moment later, she rested the razor edge of her sword against his neck, the metal radiating a deathly chill. The lizard man froze, not daring to move as she released her aura, making his knees wobble.
"Why are you following me?" Zee asked, in a cold, predatory voice.
"We, we have been ordered to keep an eye on you, nothing else, I swear," the trembling lizard kin replied.
"And who sent you?" Zee asked.
The little lizard went silent, firming his jaw, seeming to grow a backbone. The edge of her blade bit into his thick scales like they were made of wet paper, his viscous yellow blood dripping onto her sword and hissing.
"If you don't start talking, my hand might slip, and you might lose your head," Zee threatened, her tone menacing.
"I, I was ordered to follow you. Just to keep an eye on you, and report back," He stammered.
"Keep an eye on me, why, and who sent you," Zee asked.
The short lizard kin didn't respond right away, prompting her to tighten her grip on her sword. With some mental prompting, a deathly presence oozed along her blade making the blood on her sword hiss and bubble ominously.
Hot liquid pattered onto the rooftop, though this time it was not blood.
"The patriarch wants to know your relation to Julian of clan Viotti," The terrified lizard replied.
"Why does the patriarch want to know that?" Zee asked curiously.
"I, I don't know, I'm just a scout," The man replied, fearfully.
Given how terrified the three-foot-tall lizard kin was, Zee doubted he would dare lie again.
"Thanks for the information, I am going to go on my way." She retracted her suffocating aura and sheathed her sword," I would appreciate it if you didn't follow me anymore," Zee said, sweetly.
"You won't see me again mam," the man replied, his eyes wide.
"That's good to hear. Have a good night," Zee replied vanishing in a cloud of mist.
Zee felt kind of bad for bullying that poor scout. He was probably just doing his job. She felt bad, though, not enough to lose any sleep over it. Zee was a bit taken aback after that encounter. She had expected the other two people watching to interfere and come to the man's aide, but nothing of the sort happened.
If the first guy was anything to judge by when he pissed himself, these people were not fighters. They most likely specialized in scouting and staying hidden. They certainly hadn't expected her to have such good sensory skills.
Deciding to put the matter to the side for now, Zee used her movement skill, traveling across the rooftops at a brake neck pace.
Atop the roofs, out in the open, she moved with surprising speed, she teleported over a hundred meters at a time, sometimes using her mist form to cross gaps like a spectral ghost.
At full speed, she doubted many people in the E grade could keep up with her. Well, except for a certain cat-like prince and his stupidly unfair sand powers.
Going at full tilt, it didn't take long to return to the mansion. It took only about a half hour to return. By now she was pretty certain she was no longer being followed.
At that speed, it would be pretty hard to follow her, much less follow without being noticed. That thought made her pause, as she stood atop the slanted roof.
Didn't her grandpa say something about sending Sendredie to keep an eye on her? There was no sign of the strange woman, but that didn't mean she wasn't following. Not even Dern could sense even a slight disturbance that would hint at someone being there.
On a hunch, Zee spoke aloud," Sendredie, are you there?" Zee asked.
"What is it, child?" Asked a soft feminine voice, from right behind her.
Zee whirled, and there she was, right behind her, like she had always been there.
"Jeez don't do that, you scared me," Zee said, letting out an exasperated breath.
The tall lanky woman raised an eyebrow, "You were the one who called for me," Sendredie said dryly.
"I didn't think you were actually here. You could have warned me I was being followed," Zee grumbled.
" I could have, but I was curious to see what you would do," Sendredie said, leaning one end of her crystalline black staff on her shoulder. "I must say, watching you interrogate that scout made my night, you scared him so bad he pissed himself,"
Zee scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "I might have gone a little overboard," Zee said.
Sendredie laughed softly. "I am glad I agreed to follow you today, it has been quite amusing. Though I still don't know how I lost you in the library," Sendredie muttered.
Zee cocked her head at that. So, it was as she suspected. That library was a lot more mysterious than it let on. Tarnival must not have wanted Sendredie to follow Zee to his room, so he made her get lost.
Zee had no desire to explain that little detail, so she kept her mouth shut.
Sendredie eyes flicked down to the book at Zee's waist.
"What is that book? I have never seen anything like it," Sen asked.
Zee patted the living book on its smooth cover, making her sheathed sword rattle softly in the process.
"Oh, this little guy? Its name is, uuh, well it doesn't have a name," Zee said, thoughtfully.
"How bizarre. I must say, in all my years I have never seen a book eat another book. Does it always do that?" Sendredie asked, seemingly fascinated.
"I don't know, that's the first time I have seen it do that," Zee replied, shrugging.
"Huh, weird. Why would it want to eat other books in the first place? Is it some kind of monster?" Sendredie asked, peering closer at the suddenly anxious book.
"Uhh, I am not sure. I was actually hoping you or Grandpa could tell me what it is," Zee replied.
Sendredie peered closer at the book tucked under Zee's belt, which tried to squirm away as Sendredie drew closer.
"Can I take a look at it?" Sen asked.
Zee shrugged, proffering the book to the woman. The book must have really disliked the other woman, as it struggled profusely, slipping from Zee's grip and darting behind her.
" I think it's scared of you," Zee said, eying the book as it hovered just behind her.
Sen didn't look upset, in fact, she looked even more curious than before.
"That is fascinating. I wonder if it senses my masked presence?" Sendredie said thoughtfully.
"Does your presence usually make people terrified?" Zee asked curiously.
"You tell me," Sendredie said. Zee's hair stood on end, her palms suddenly sweaty, as an aura, unlike anything she had ever felt radiated from the woman.
The woman's aura positively reeked of taboo, and a bloodlust so thick it was like drowning in an ocean. Zee swayed on her feet, nearly collapsing from the pressure of Sendredie's full forced aura.
It was a mere shadow of Tar's aura, but it was still potent enough to make her weak in the knees. Widening her stance, Zee endured the pressure until the older woman withdrew her aura.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, Zee, said," I think I see why the book is afraid of you, Your aura is terrifying," Zee said.
" Most E-grade cultivators lose consciousness when I reveal the presence. You handled it quite well as if you have experienced an aura like mine before," Sendredie said.
"Not my first time exposed to an aura a lot stronger than myself," Zee replied, with a shrug.
"That sounds like a story I would like to hear something," Sendredie said.
"It's nothing special, was just a slight disagreement with a spectral spirit locked inside of an ancient tower," Zee replied.
"I see, well, It its good to hear that it panned out. You are quite interesting. I am glad I came, this trip has been exhilarating," Sendredie said, with a manic gleam in her eyes.
The level of excitement in that comment left Zee at a loss. She wasn't sure what exactly to say to that.
She was still a bit on edge from experiencing a focused burst of that suffocating aura, so she didn't want to offend the scary lady. Something about that ocean of blood and taboo hidden in the woman's aura just got to her in a way Tar's presence never did.
"Thanks for the chat, I am exhausted, have a good night," Zee said. It might have been a lame way to end the conversation, but she was tired.
Zee slipped into her room through the outer wall, crouching next to her bed. Bastion sat up in bed, raising his fists, the bed sheets flying off him.
"Hold on, it's just me," Zee said, in a calm tone.
Bastion glowered at her, collapsing on his butt on the bed. "I really wish you would stop doing that. One of these times I might attack on reflex," Bastion said.
"Would you prefer I knock on the front door?" Zee asked, unbuckling her sword belt, and leaning it against the bed.
"I would prefer you come to bed like a normal person, instead of super late at night," Bastion grumbled.
Zee gave him a sweet smile, as she tugged off her shirt. "Sorry, I got a little carried away, I didn't mean to be gone so long," Zee said.
Yawning, Bastion pointed to the book as it floated above her shoulder. "Why do you have a floating book?" He asked.
"Oh, you didn't notice I had it before?" Zee asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, and taking off her boots.
"Now you are just messing with me, you didn't have a living book before," Bastion said, the bed creaking as he held a pillow over her face, falling back onto the mattress.
Zee crawled onto the bed. Bastion removed his pillow, giving her the stink eye. She kissed him on the lips, "Sorry, you are probably exhausted. I know a living book is a bit much, but can the explanation wait until tomorrow," Zee asked.
He sighed. "Alright, fine. I can wait until tomorrow," Bastion grumbled.
Zee wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pulling him against her. "Thanks, love," She yawned," Have a good night," Zee said.
The main entrance to the glimmer shroud pavilion was booming with customers of varying sizes and species. It was a mix of mostly Allevark and human, primarily because of its proximity to one of the largest human and Allevark-dominated clan headquarters.
These two clans were the Allevark-dominated Lauraunt clan, and the human-dominated Hather clan, to which Dante once belonged to. Zee supposed that the bald alchemist was still a part of the Hather clan unless he died.
She was still unsure of his predicament, though she doubted it was a pleasant one considering Petrie's penitent for being a sadistic kitty.
Zee pushed aside the unhappy thought, as an arachnid attendant led her toward a back room. Once they entered a cozy room with some soft cots, both parties took a seat across from each other. Well, the arachnid attendant kind of sat, latching on to the back of a chair and peering over it in a manner that creeped her out.
She did her best to ignore it, focusing on the opalescent crystal on the table between them.
"Soo, how may we help the lady Viotti this fine day?" Herald asked.
Zee flinched at those seemingly plain words. The fact that this spider knew she was a part of clan Viotti was definitely a cause for headaches.
Ever since her grandpa showed up in a display of power, people had been speculating as to why he would bother with Zee and her team. Rumors spread like wildfires. Especially when her grandpa had invited Zee and her team to stay in the estate offered by the patriarch.
Zee wasn't sure how, but the glimmer-shroud trading house had discovered she was related to Julian, or at least to clan Viotti. Then again, she had greeted her grandpa with a hug when he first arrived. It didn't take a genius to infer they were related after seeing that, though guessing she was of clan Viotti was a little bit of a stretch.
Zee cleared her throat, knowing that it was a little too late to lie now, given her poor reaction.
"I would like to buy some things," Zee replied, deciding to not comment.
"Of course, what is the young lady looking for?" Herald asked.
Since she was leaving soon, heading back home, a trip that might take a year or two, she wanted to stock up on everything from healing pills to travel rations.
Grandpa was all for this idea, as this trip was likely to be a dangerous affair. They had to pass through an undead blockade, and a corner of the blood gorgers' domain, which should be gearing up for war with the lorocan empire.
As it turns out, when people think you are related to really powerful people, they go out of their way to gain your favor. Zee left the Glimmer shroud trading house with a lot more supplies than her measly hundred and seventy Ether crystals should have bought.
They gave her a steep discount, though the trading house was not generous enough to offer her an E-grade natural treasure for free. It was a shame, but Zee was starting to wonder if a natural treasure would even help her with the spatial affinity.
Apparently, she had been misinformed this whole time. After mentioning her desire to get a spark of insight into space, her grandpa had kindly informed her that the concept of space didn't work.
Turns out, it was impossible to grasp a spark of incite into space. That's why it was so rare to see spatial cultivators at higher grades. Turns out that the spatial affinity was a pain in the ass to cultivate as it relied heavily on talent, natural affinity, and stubborn determination.
She was more than a little upset about that. Zee had tried so hard to get a spark of insight into the concept of space, and as it turned out, it wasn't even possible.
Even knowing all that, Zee still wanted a natural treasure attuned to the concept of space. It wouldn't give her a spark of incite, but it could improve her spatial affinity. Sadly, after buying all the supplies she needed, Zee had only ten Ether crystals to her name.
Spatial storage filled to the brim, Zee left the trading out, walking down the street. Now that she was no longer inside, she released some mental energy into a ritually bound satchel at her hip. The etched metal clasp clicked open and an irate book flew out. It darted around her head, angrily flapping its pages.
"Look, I know you don't like being locked in there. But until you learn to behave, you will have to stay in there whenever we leave home," Zee said.
The book flapped its pages at her, which she thought sounded like a hiss. "Hey, no hissing. If you are going to be rude, I am stuffing you back inside the satchel," Zee threatened.
The book flew up out of reach, flapping around clearly not liking that idea.
Dern snorted in her mind," Why do you even bother with that thing? It's just a book, keep it inside the satchel, and only let it out when you need to use it," Dern said.
"That sounds an awful lot like slavery to me Dern, and you know feelings on that," Zee replied.
"Slavery, it's just a dumb book," Dern replied.
"The book might not be as smart as the average lizard, but it's still somewhat intelligent. Besides, we are sort of stuck with it until we can figure out how to break a blood contract," Zee replied.
"Tough luck with that. You can't break a blood contract without you or the book dying. I can destroy it for you if you want," Dern said casually.
"No, let's not do that," Zee replied, weaving between the noonday traffic.
"But, it doesn't do anything besides cause trouble," Dern said.
"We just haven't figured out how it works yet. It's only been two days since we got the damned thing, let's give it a bit more time before we resort to drastic measures," Zee said.
After so long together, speaking mind to mind was effortless, taking only a little of her attention. It was nowhere near distracting enough to make her miss the fact that she was being followed, again.
Given the fact she had a flying book following her and bright red hair, she drew the eye of curious people on the street. That was normal, what was not normal was the two people following her at what they thought was a safe distance.
She really hated being followed, though she couldn't think of a reason to confront these two. After about ten minutes of following her, one of them caught up while she was perusing the wares at a merchant's stall.
Their auras were nothing impressive, so she decided to see what sort of ambush they had in store. The first one to approach was a tall, dark-skinned man, with a strong jaw, full lips, and silky black hair. The top-quality stitching on his silken pants and shirt screamed of nobility louder than any banner.
"Greetings lady, may I join you?" He asked, his voice deep and smooth, translated through the amulet at her wrist, his smile inviting. In his early twenties, he was probably one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.
Taken aback by his stunning good looks Zee fumbled over her words," Uh, sure," Zee replied dumbly.
"I'm Hernando, an inner member of the Tenku, it is a pleasure to meet you," He said with a beaming smile.
"I am Zee, it's a pleasure I'm sure. How can I help you, Hernando? Surely you didn't come here to buy reed baskets?" Zee asked, gesturing to the stall filled with an assorted variety of high-quality baskets.
"Ahh, straight to the point, I like that. I guess I will follow suit. I was hoping to invite you to the patriarch's party in two days," Hernando said.
Zee blinked dumbly. "Isn't everyone preparing for an invasion? How does the patriarch have time for a party?" Zee asked.
Hernando laughed, the sound deep and pleasant.
"The war preparations are in good hands. This party is to celebrate those who overseeing the preparations," Hernando replied smoothly.
"Ahh, so it's an excuse for the nobility of the dominion to ignore the plight of their people while wasting the people's resources on a party?" Zee asked clear disdain in her voice.
Hernando's confident expression faltered for just a moment.
"It might look like a waste, but these parties are where most matters of state, and country are resolved," Hernando said, his expression tense.
Zee snorted. "That might be the case. Even so, I have no desire to attend any such event. Have a pleasant day Hernando," Zee said, tossing a few Dara onto the wooden counter for the reed basket and leaving, much to the stall owner's amusement.
The man was more than handsome enough, though even if she was single he was not Zee's type. She liked a man with some calluses on his hands, and maybe a scar or two. Bastion might not be near as handsome as that guy, but he made up for it in other ways.
Speaking of her boyfriend, he should be back later that night. Hopefully, he was able to procure more monster corpses from Rin. Zee would have gone herself, but it was more productive to split up.
Now for the other issue, convincing Allison and Yukna to come with her to the Lorocan empire. She had already received a resounding no before, but that was before she blackmailed Tar into protecting Iztara.
Zee wasn't sure exactly how he would go about doing that, but she was confident he would.
"Hey! What's that!" Someone shouted.
"It looks like a meteor shower," another person shouted back.
"That's not a meteor shower you blind idiot, those are warships," another shouted, terror in his voice.
There were some loud shouts, and fear-filled screams around her, breaking through her thoughts. Zee looked around realizing a lot of people were pointing upwards at the sky.
She looked up, noticing several hundred plumes of fire trailing across the sky. They curved unnaturally, each of them wreathed in plumes of miasma as they fell towards the planet.
Each of the undead vessels was heading in different directions, probably other cities on Tartana. As if summoned, Julian appeared beside her. "I guess it's starting a few days earlier than expected," Julian said.
Some of the people in the streets were shouting or just looked a bit pale, but her grandpa was calm as if an undead invasion were an everyday occurrence.
"You don't sound too worried," Zee asked, eying the rapidly disappearing plumes of fire and miasma nervously.
"Sen and I have been tracking their movements since we arrived. An old friend of mine is actually leading the invasion," Julian replied.
"An old friend of yours? Wait, you have friends who are undead?" Zee asked, confused.
Julian nodded.
"I met him a long time ago, when were both in Early E grade recruits. Now he is leading an invasion, the times sure have changed," Julian said wistfully.
"If you know the guy, why don't you get him to call off this invasion?" Zee asked.
"I could try, but I doubt it will work. These planets are pretty valuable for the Terlashar. After all the resources they have spent to take the colic wormhole cluster, they wouldn't just stop the invasion because I asked nicely," Julian replied.
There was a series of ominous flashes of light that bounced off the clouds in the distance.
"If you aren't going to talk, can't you go fight them or something?" Zee asked.
"That sounds like a good way to piss off the Terlashar for no reason. They appear to be leaving us alone for now, so why bother," Julian asked.
"So, you are not going to help these people repel the invasion?" Zee asked, angrily.
"No, we are not. We will provide protection for this city until the repairs on the ship are complete, then we are leaving these people to their fate," Julian replied.
"How can you be so cold, grandpa? Do you not care about these people at all?" Zee asked, glaring at him.
His expression softened ever so slightly," What would you have me do Zee? I am just one man, nothing I can do will really solve anything. My presence will merely delay the inevitable," Julian said not seeming phased by the panicked civilians in the slightest.
"But, Grandpa, you are so strong. If you don't use it, what is the point of all of your power?" Zee asked insistently.
"The point is to keep you, the clan, and those I care about safe," Julian replied calmly.
"I didn't know you were so heartless Grandpa," Zee said, turning on her heel and walking away.
Julian vanished, stepping into a spatial fold, and followed his irate granddaughter without so much as a trace.