A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"Why does it look like me?!" Erik exclaimed through his bond with Elora, utterly surprised and not sure what to think of Emily running around with a shadowy clone of him.

Elora felt only amusement at Erik's consternation. "Hehehe," she chuckled teasingly. "It's not so strange for summon spells to take the form of a loved one, especially when that loved one makes them feel safe and protected. Take it as a compliment!"

"I guess…" Erik grumbled unwillingly as he looked at the shadowy version of him with a strange mix of feelings. On the one hand, he liked seeing her happy and knew it was the thought of him that was making her smile like that.

But on the other, he didn't like seeing her in the arms of someone else… even if that someone was just an unliving mass of aetherium, vaguely resembling his general shape, toiling away under her complete control. Although, truthfully, that latter thought was another thing making him a little uncomfortable…

"Don't get distracted!" he suddenly heard Elora cry out in his mind, and Erik immediately whipped back around to face a charging Lilith. Immediately, his free hand lit up with light purple aetherium, and he swiped forward. Lightning claw was one of his weakest spells but had a great reaction time.

Of course, it had no chance of doing anything to Lilith, but she still had taken a moment to defend herself, giving Erik the time he needed to refocus. Flourishing his hammer, he took his combat stance, charged his spells, and prepared to engage her again.

Within seconds, they were once again engaged in an intense struggle for power.

Annoyed her sneak attack failed, Lilith scowled at him while their weapons crossed and abilities collided. "I don't know where they came from, but if you think this changes anything, think again! Now I'll just flay Astrid and the other bitch alive in front of you!"

"Oh, oh, someone's jealous," Erik smirked a lot more calmly than he felt. "Maybe if you weren't such an incorrigible piece of human refuge, you could have become my wife as well."
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"Raah!" Lilith roared furiously and ramped up her attack speed. Fortunately, this time, Erik didn't have to pay attention to his sides, nor did he feel like he had to hurry. He could give Lilith his full attention, and that helped immensely.

His trust in Astrid and Emily was implicit. They may have only just broken through, literally minutes ago, but they were talented, and their affinities were powerful. He had no doubt they'd be a match for the relatively low-tier Arcanists Lilith had brought, especially when teaming up with Ankhur and Enkai.

Besides, if there was a problem, they could instantly let him know through their bond.

Thus, the fighting continued and rapidly intensified. Erik was now far more evenly matched with his opponent than before. He still couldn't go on the offensive much, but he had time now. And time was valuable.

Meanwhile, over at Enkai's battle, Astrid had stormed in like a vampire out of hell. With both blades drawn, she jumped straight between Enkai and his assailants, cutting apart a hail of lava spikes at the same time. She wanted to get a shot at Edda herself, but that meant she had to take care of these people first!

Enkai looked at her with tired yet grateful eyes. He wasn't particularly wounded yet, outside of some scratches and bruises, but he was rapidly slowing down due to fatigue, and the armour Erik made for him was slowly succumbing to the constant onslaught of spells.

The Arcanists, on the other hand, were very stressed but otherwise unbothered. They were perfectly aware they'd been skirting the edges of death during this whole encounter because if they failed even once and let Enkai close the distance, things would get very dicey for them.

Of course, when Astrid entered the battle, they instantly knew things were about to become much more troublesome.

"I see you like to make an entrance…" Enkai grumbled at Astrid, his stance low, club in one hand, claws shining dangerously in the other. "Do you like to see an old man sweat?"

Astrid looked over her shoulder, smirked at Enkai, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's how you want to speak to me? Your saviour? The wife of your emperor?"

Now, usually, Elora was like a true big sister to her fellow wives; her usual callous mischief dimmed down to a bearable degree. She was even happy to help or lend an ear when needed. But there's one thing she made sure they all knew with absolute certainty: Elora was the only empress.

Thus, Astrid, Emily, and Emma, would only identify themselves as 'wives of the emperor' and not empresses. Elora first suggested the term 'concubines', but that was quickly rejected, so they reached this compromise.

Enkai's lionlike eyebrows started to twitch. Suddenly, he was stuck between the death of himself and his people, or acknowledging Erik as his emperor…

He had to think about it for a moment.

But, in the end, he unwillingly opened his mouth. However, before he could say anything, Astrid chuckled and looked back at the panicking Arcanists. "Don't sweat it, old man. I get it. It's okay. Just sit there and remember the glory days while I go take care of this, alright?"

Before he could respond, Astrid jumped into a sprint, her eyes glowing with orange fire. To the Arcanists' horror, two powerful beams of sun fire surged at them, proving she was one of the few Runebound possessing a powerful, long-range ability.

Just barely in time, the mud Arcanists managed to raise a wall, slowing the beams down just long enough for them to get out of the way. But the new flow of combat had been established… because Enkai was already encircling them, his eyes flaring with fury and determination.

"Remember the old days, my ass. I'll show her!" he growled to himself, suddenly filled with a new surge of energy.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Enkai's fight was turning in their favour as well. After arriving, Emily jumped out of shadow Erik's arms, and then the bullying began.

Rapidly, the battlefield was turning in their favour… but would it last?

Outside the dome, that soldier was still spectating events curiously, crimson eyes shining under their hood.