Elite does not mean invincible. Elite does not mean invincible. I will not repeat this a third time, because you should understand it by now.
I don't care that you're already an Adept, Mr. Arrow. I don't care who your father is. I don't care how good you are with that bow. I don't care how fast you can fly with those wings. I don't care how tactically aware you are at all times. You lost this engagement because you flew into a nest of enemies. Enemies that you thought would be so awed and overwhelmed by your power that they would just kneel down and give up.
That's not how war works, Arrow.
We are Pathbearers. We know our enemies could be of a higher tier. We know that some fights might be hopeless. We know all these things. And most people have some kind of mental preparation for them. More importantly, this was a training exercise, so your fellow trainees knew you couldn't kill them. And that meant they could fight to the functional death. And on the battlefield, they would fight even harder to the functional death because if they turned around, that's an arrow to the back. And if they turned around, that's leaving their friends to die.
And let me tell you, death might just be nothing. But life after that kind of shame is hell.
But good job. You defeated most of them. They barely got you with that Psychomancy spell at the end. Lisa's still alive. Tennyson's still alive. That being said, they brought you down, and while you beat twenty people, the other two hundred of them smashed into your faction and won the FUCKING WAR!
Trading twenty or so Pathless or Initiates to bring down an Adept, that's pretty good. That's an incredible trade. If I could trade five hundred Adepts to bring down a Master, I would be laughing and crying at the same time because I love my Pathbearers. But I'd be laughing because the trade is so good.
You want to know how many people an Adept can beat if they're just Initiates? If it was just a series of duels? Well, in most circumstances, infinite. You want to know how many Adepts a Master technically could beat fighting one-on-one? Infinite. And a Hero and a Legend and whatever else that follows after, once our world gets a little bit more mana, follows the same logic.
You are not giving me infinite, Adam. In fact, you are not giving me anything near your maximum potential. Right now, you are embarrassing yourself. Right now, you flew ahead of your team and decided that you were going to show off.
You are not going to do this ever again. And more importantly, we are going to do a fun new exercise in class. Everyone, we are going to do something called 'Hunt Adam Arrow.' He is going to try to survive as long as he can. You are all going to try to pound him into submission.
Biomancers, on standby.
Start running, Adam. You wanted to be a solo act. Here’s what it feels like.
-Captain Harry Irons, TacStrat 101, Phoenix Academy
84 (I)
Fall [III]
Deepest Edge > 63
Silhouette > 85
Momentum Core > 91
Striking Proficiency > 37
Dodge > 14
Whip Proficiency > 8
Shiv’s cancer flail crashed down into the Skinthief’s remains just as Adam shot him and Uva drove her shield into the vampire’s skull. By this point, the high vampire was truly dead. Beyond dead. More smear than alive. Brutalized beyond measure. Yet, the three keep bashing away just to be sure, and also to claim credit for the kill.
The surroundings around the Abyssal Gateway could only be described as apocalyptic as well. The heavy blood rain stopped after Adam bombarded all the vampire Biomancers' formations with enough Pyromancy and Necromancy arrows that entire kilometers leading away from the entrance to Gate Theborn now resembled rows of steadily progressing craters. A good stretch of the ebony road leading to the archway was also ripped out from the ground by Shiv. He used it to impale a hundred-meter-tall Teeth Giant, leaving the massive beast pinned to the ground while he focused on getting back into the fight.
It finally died after Shiv’s cancer flail got stuck inside its body, and he ended up using it as a hundred-meter-long club to splatter two Master-Tier vampires and the small army of dimensionals they summoned.
Incoherent wailing sang forth from what few patches of the nearby woods weren’t currently ablaze. Most of the First Blood scouts and Enamel Snipers didn’t make it far before their minds were ground down to broken shells. The stronger ones staggered through the woods, sobbing, drooling. They gradually marched into the flames to end their own mental torment. The weaker ones just screamed and screamed.
With a final swing of the cancer flail, the Skinthief burst apart and redecorated Shiv’s weapon. And as the dirt and debris stopped falling, the only three Pathbearers still alive on the horrific battlefield worked to catch their breath as they stared at each other.
“I think…” Shiv coughed, and he bit by a groan of pain. The left side of his body felt like hell. “I think I got him first.”
“Lying… bastard,” Adam wheezed.
Uva narrowed her eyes. “My shield clearly burst his heart first. I can show you two the memory.”
“It’s true!” her shield cried out. “I felt him. I felt his heart pop! It was… Aw, I feel sick, but I don’t have a mouth.” Uva stared at the Mind-Shattered Sentinel. “AH! I mean, I love killing people. Nothing gets me more excited than killing people against my will. I love ramming my edges into hearts and popping them. It pleases me. Spiritually. S-sexually?”
And now the Umbral Psychomancer and the others all frowned at the shield.
“J-just spiritually, then.” The shield sighed. “I don’t know what you monsters want. I’m just trying to protect myself from more trauma. Great One, help me…”
“But as I have a witness,” Uva began. “I think this is mine.”
“You know there is a course,” Adam spat, eyeing Uva with disdain. “A course I took back in the capital on Psychomancers and their deceitful ways. It was called Bullshit-101, and I’m calling it right now.”
“It’s your memories against mine,” Uva said. “And your memories are questionable. I am the only one with an enhanced mind here.”
“I have Psychomancy too,” Shiv muttered, slightly offended.
Uva reached out and patted his chest. “Yes. And Hydromancy too. You have many talents. But whose memory is better?” She then gave Shiv a side-eye, placed a hand on her hip, and adjusted her posture. Shiv swallowed as he realized what she was doing and tried to ignore it. He couldn’t. “Shiv. Dear. You saw my shield fall first, right? I killed the Bloodspawn. The credit should go to me.”
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And then she started sending him those memories from a few hours ago. Shiv struggled not to groan. He needed to focus—he had his own stake here, and he couldn’t just… Gods, were her eyes also so deep and blue and—
“Uva!” Adam snapped, outraged. “Release his mind! This—it’s dishonorable.”
“I’m not using Psychomancy to control him,” Uva said coolly. “He’s just having a natural reaction.”
The Deathless was beginning to sweat. “I, uh…”
Adam rolled his eyes so hard he nearly gave himself whiplash. “Godsdammit, Shiv, control yourself. Have you no pride? At least say you killed the bastard. Just say it. Make this a stalemate. Do not betray me! Do not betray yourself.”
The words were right there, but Shiv couldn’t manage to spit them out. Between Adam’s glare and Uva’s smouldering expression and Shiv’s own wants and— “C-Can Hu,” Shiv groaned. “W-what did you see?”
The Penitent made a surprised chime and managed to fake a cough.“I was focused on… freeing the slaves. And I momentarily suffered an optical glitch. That is still ongoing.”
“But I can see out of your sensors just fine,” Shiv muttered.
“It’s on my end,” Can Hu said. “It is a localized point domain service failure. It is a very technical issue. I am sorry that I cannot be of assistance.”
“Shiv…” Uva whispered across their link. She didn’t need to say anything else for him to realize this was a desperate, hopeless struggle.
Comparatively, Adam resorted to the tried and true method of all men everywhere when they realized their brother-in-arms was about to betray them for a woman. “Shiv. Look at me. Look at me. Speak the truth. Say what is right. Do not be your parents right now.”
“Are you felling serious?” Shiv hissed. “You’re using that on me now?”
“Well, I’m not going to out-bloody-seduce Uva, am I?” Adam said.
“Pitiful,” Uva deadpanned. “To give up without even trying. Do seduce Shiv, Adam. Let me see how you might do it.”
“And you stop using underhanded methods, you—you mind witch!” Adam glared at Uva. “There is a way to these things. An honor to the act of confirming one’s kills and claiming loot. And that act is being violated right now. Just like you’re abusing your… your wiles against this poor, helpless man.” Adam gestured at Shiv.
Uva studied Adam for a moment and just smirked. It was the expression of someone who knew they had the advantage. “Poor helpless man?” She regarded Shiv again, and Can Hu warned Shiv that frequent body temperature spikes could be related to a hormonal issue, unaware of what was actually happening on the Psychomancy front.
Mercy finally came as Uva’s brooch suddenly sounded with a note of discordant strings. “Uva? Cherished Sister Uva, is that you?”
“Palbon?” Uva said. The post-battle banter broke at the voice of Palbon—Uva’s Pyromancer. “Sister Palbon! Yes, it’s—what is your situation?”
“We needed to extract,” Palbon said. “We couldn’t stay. The First Blood—they came in force and without warning. A few hours ago, a few caravans came in, but the cave biters—their insides were loaded with mana bombs. They went off, and the attack followed. It was more coordinated and effective than any First Blood engagement I’ve ever seen. Their scouts almost discovered our location nearby, and we had to move. We tried to contact you, but we couldn’t get through. It was like they were interfering with our brooch resonances somehow.”
“Aviary,” Uva explained in a word. “They were being assisted by Aviary.”
A growl sounded from her booch. “Is there no limit to how many schemes and spies these light-cursed surfacers—oh, are Exalted Guests Adam and Shiv still with you?”
“We’re not exactly a fan of the bastards either,” Shiv said. “But we did manage to bag ourselves an owl if that makes you feel better.”
“And by we, he means Shiv captured the owl,” Adam said, leaning close to Uva. “And that, Sister Uva, is how a Pathbearer recognizes credit.”
Uva just stared flatly at him. “Ah. Yes. Indeed. Pathbearers are children who cannot let things go. Even after the moment has passed.”
“Exac—that’s not what I was doing!”
Palbon continued. “After the initial attack, the First Blood sent a few groups of infiltrators toward Weave. We were ordered by Still Water to aid in the interception and were drawn away. We returned as fast as we could, but the Bloodspawn had already set up a military installation… Or at least they did. Sister… Did… did just the three of you do all that?”
“Four,” Uva said. “Do not forget the Honored Penitent. I will not have its many great contributions to freeing the slaves and assisting Master Shiv ignored.”
“Of course, Cherished Sister. Offer my apologies.”
“It is well,” Can Hu said, though the machine did sound grateful.
“But still… only four…” Palbon sounded awed. “You were always driven and focused, Cherished Sister. I knew you would make Master someday. But I didn’t think you—you honor our city and her Lady Archnae with your prowess.”
Uva tried to hide her pride, but Shiv read the pleasure in her eyes. “We also used the forces within the gate to break the bulk of the First Blood army first. We merely slaughtered their unprotected backline.”
“Still. A near thousand against four… You won’t believe the sounds Sister Ikki made while we monitored the battle.”
“Somehow, I think I can imagine,” Uva replied. “The local perimeter should be secure. We are going to claim Gate Theborn. The Gate Lord has been Desynchronized, and his replacement can be regarded as an ally.” She eyed Shiv, showing her uncertainty, but she pressed on. “Soon, Gate Theborn will be under our control.”
"This is... This is tremendous news, Sister," Palbon replied, voice filled with awe. "To strike this deeply into Compact territory and capture one of the gates… The Lords of Law will not be pleased."
"Indeed," Uva agreed with a huff of amusement. "But the Quest isn't done yet."
"Quest?" Palbon asked, surprised. "You got another one? A third? In the span of..."
"Yes," Uva said with a slight sigh.
“Then… you…” Palbon paused. “I must confess my envy, Cherished Sister Uva. To be System-favored and prevail…”
"I fear that being System-favored comes with its own assortment of issues, Palbon."
Palbon laughed. "Well, I think I might like some of those issues."
Uva hesitated. "Perhaps," she said. "But death is a constant companion.”
"Isn’t it always?" the Pyromancer prompted.
Uva paused as she took in the massacre around her. Truly took it in. She stared at the bloody bits of tissue clinging to the bottom of her shield. “Not like this, Palbon. You drown in death when you are favored. And there is little air besides death.” Then, Uva broke free of the moment and continued. "Sister. Gather the others—go back to Weave and tell the ranking members of the Order what is happening. Tell them to send a detachment. We will be able to station a garrison here soon. But make it subtle. We are still officially absent from this gate.”
“But Cherished Sister Uva, we can—”
“I know you are here, and I know you are willing to fight with me. To the death if you all must.” And Uva’s expression turned almost fearful. She looked at the many dead around her again, and she regarded Adam and Shiv. Finally, she gazed upon the Abyssal Gateway, and her face hardened. "Beyond that gate is the final adversary, the former Gate Lord. I will not risk any of you until he is truly dead. You and the others are brave. I could not ask for better sisters," Uva said, her voice slightly awkward. "But we fight a Hero, and I will not spend your lives in vain. This is no battlefield for just a small team. Go. Get aid. May her song spread.”
Palbon paused for a moment. "I understand, Uva. May her song spread. And… do not die.”
Uva scoffed. "I don't intend to be the one who dies."
"Affirmative," Palbon added. "Oh, and Sister Ikki wants me to ask you… Never mind.”
On the other side, Shiv could hear Ikki loudly moaning his name while pretending to be Uva. Both Shiv and Uva exchanged a look and shook their heads.
"That girl…" Uva sighed. “Come on, let's get back in the gate and finish this. I’ll pull on her ears later when she gets here.”