I collapsed to my knees, panting heavily and staring at the chaotic swirls of discordant mana rebounding around the cavern. The formation was gone, but the only proof I needed was the weight that had left my shoulders. Infernal Shield had vanished with the rest of my enchantments, but there was no burden on my body or soul.

Not from a World Barrier, at least. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The temperatures of the cavern and the crystallized scars of sunpurge reminded me that my struggle was far from over. Every second, the pain radiating across my flesh intensified. I tried to soulcast a simple Flame Shield, but my mana scattered in the eddies of dissonance. My throat grew dry and cracked, my lungs burning with every breath. Blisters broke across my exposed skin, and my hair began to curl, withering in the heat. Tears hissed off my cheeks, evaporating before they could fall.

"Luke..." I croaked, slumping against the shard, slumping to my knees. I couldn’t see him, or anything, really. My eyes vision was too dry and blurry. Nothing more than splattered colors and shadows made it through.

A shape loomed over me, and I shrank back. Strong hands caught me, callouses scraping against my damaged skin. I whimpered as Luke’s scent pierced the haze, instinctively clinging to him as he lifted me in his arms. His muddled whisper caressed my ear, and I closed my eyes. A wave of coolness washed over me, emanating from his skin. I sobbed in relief as his aura wrapped me up, extending whatever art. How nice it must be to directly generate effects, rather than be forced to use delicate circles easily disturbed by the environment.

"You came..." My whisper cracked as I rested my head against his chest.

"I’m sorry." His voice fell, his grip on me tightening. "I...I was arrogant. That warrior above, he was strong, but I...this was all my fault. My hubris."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"I could have defeated him at any time. At the start, that is. It would have been easy to overwhelm a mere eighth-level warrior with pure mana and curses. But he was extraordinary with the blade. Better than any of the mortals I’ve ever seen. So I..." He hung his head. "After clearing the way for you, I fought him on skill alone." His shoulders sagged. "When I felt you fall, it was too late, and I couldn’t break away fast enough. If the Lord of Ash hadn’t appeared when he did, then you might have...I’m sorry. I never should have left you."

I didn’t respond. It should have been easy to brush past it, but right now, exhausted and covered in sunpurge, I didn’t trust myself to say anything. I didn’t blame him, not really, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I was just glad he didn’t promise he wouldn’t do it again. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle that now.

"I should get up there," he said, though he didn’t move. "They’re going to need help against that other ninth-level."

"No, please don’t," I whispered. "The barrier is down, isn’t it?"

"Yeah. That mage died the instant you broke it. Too bad, I would have liked to kill her myself after what she did to you. But are you sure they’ll be alright?"

"Yeah. That warrior wasn’t as strong as Zenith, and if Fyren could match him under the World Barrier, they should be okay without you. But I..." I bit my lip, looking down. "I wouldn’t be."

"Then I’ll stay." There was no hesitation in his voice. "But tell me, who is this Zenith?"

I shook my head, too tired to explain. "Please, take me to Fable."

He frowned, but didn’t argue, carrying me around the shard. The monster had vanished when Lusha had fallen, and now Fable sat on his haunches, a paw resting on Zenith’s chest. The man was alive but unconscious.

"I see," Luke said quietly, his eyes narrowed. "They really placed three here? That’s...how could we have known?"

"I could have handled Lusha, or him alone," I admitted, "But both...with fate sealed from the start, this was as far as we could go. I’m afraid I used everything in this fight. And it still wasn’t enough."

"No, you were enough. How many can fight a level behind when that level is ninth? And you almost defeated two of them."

"I wish I could say so, but Lusha...I didn’t stand a chance, even with half her soul in the World Barrier. And we only got Zenith because they didn’t know I could slow fate. Fable caught him completely off guard."

"Not quite fatal."

Luke shifted me so that he held me in the crook of one arm, my arm around his neck, his arm supporting me beneath my thighs. He drew his sword with his other hand. Fable moved his paw, padding to stand behind us. Zenith groaned, shifting slightly. Most of his wounds had regenerated on their own, save for the terrible hole in his chest where Fable had almost torn him in half.

Luke extended his arm, holding his blade straight down. He stared at the man’s face for a single heartbeat before his lips tightened, and he unceremoniously plunged his blade into his chest. Zenith twitched, a rasping groan slipping between his lips. Luke’s aura curled around him, penetrating his soul. Even as he took his last breath, his mana began to fade, drawn into Luke.

Luke stiffened as the unfiltered essence of a ninth-level soul poured into him, more concentrated and pure than absorbing any shard. His own soul reacted, violently stirring within his chest. He staggered half a step before stabilizing, my heart leaping in my throat as, for a moment, I thought he might drop me.

"Emperor’s below," he groaned, letting go of his sword, leaving it sticking out of Zenith’s corpse. "So hot..."

"Luke?" I asked, concerned, as he began to pant, his face pale.

"I’m okay," he gasped, forcing a pained smile. It faltered as he dropped to one knee.

There was enough time to brace myself before his arms went limp, dropping me, but I still cried out as the rough stones scraped against the sunpurge. That was nothing compared to the worry that blossomed in my breast as I scrambled over him, cradling his head in my lap. I patted his cheek frantically, my tail twitching anxiously. Something was very wrong with his soul. It was too bright, too chaotic. It looked worse than when my soul ruptured at Western University.

"Luke! What happened?"

He groaned, his eyelids fluttering. "My soul is...agh. Just...ignore me. We’ve...waited too long...already."

A knot formed in my stomach, and I shook my head. "I can’t leave you like this. I won’t be able to help if anything happens!"

He covered my hand, his fingers curling painfully around mine. "You have to. Or else everything we fought here could be in vain."

Tears ran down my face as I shook my head again, but he pushed my hand away, turning so his back was to me. "Go!"

His voice stung, and I recoiled slightly, my tears falling anew. My body knew a command when it heard one, and it obeyed. But more than that, in my heart, I knew he was right. It had been almost half an hour since our arrival, and if we delayed too long, our advantage would slip away. This invasion had to work, for all of our sakes.

"I’m sorry," I mumbled, pulling away, feeling sick to my stomach.

"Don’t be." His voice was a growl of pain. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but he doubled over, groaning. His aura exploded, violently filling the cavern. It lashed at everything with mana, and I shuddered as it came for my soul, but Adaptive Resistance warded it off.

Rising, I summoned my staff and rested my hand on the shard of omniscience. My body was weak and damaged, but I’d somehow managed to preserve most of my soul’s strength. Breaking the World Barrier had pushed me far, but with the constant siphon of Adaptive Resistance, I had roughly half of my mana left.

"Come to me," I whispered hoarsely.

My aura brightened, converging in a vortex of stars. This time, uninterrupted, Emlica took shape. She tossed her hair as she formed, rising to float a few inches above the ground.

"Gods, you look terrible," she murmured, looking me up and down. Her gaze lingered on the tear in my side, and her expression tightened. "See to your wounds before you collapse. Grant me the power of your lantern, and I’ll handle the rest."

I nodded weakly and offered her the lantern. She waved her hand, and a current of purple light materialized, curling around it and lifting it into the air beside her, where it bobbed up and down.

"Open the way to Haven," she called, rising into the air, raising her arms outward. "Let the Fatesworn come through and finish the fight. Your forces need reinforcements, or they’ll surely fall."