Icarus Awakens

As discovered by Daniel soon after returning to the world with Hunter, adding Lion Charge onto a ranged attack creates a stream of electrical energy that improves the speed and damage of the projectile. That was simple. More complicated rulings had to be made behind the scenes as Hunter activated the Arcadian's railgun with the intent to use the combination attack resulting from that and Rewind Shot. It would have never worked normally, but bonds.

In addition to combining attacks and spells, Might and Magic ignored normal restrictions such as the type of weapon you had to use. It was a bond benefit with vast potential, as use of different weapons could lead to drastically different outcomes even with the same two powers selected. When it came to the blast bow, it helped channel splitting ammunition into a devastating attack, but only within the short range the lightning could arc to.

Enter the railgun. Unlike some designs from Earth this didn't use an internal track to propel held ammunition, but suspended it through magnetic forces before launching it wholesale. If applied randomly the excess electrical energy could have ruined the internal mechanisms. However, the intent of the power was to enhance, not destroy. Well, not destroy the weapon that was. Magic had an intent of its own in an addition to the user's. Spells were not sentient in any way, but there was a logic to them that only paid partial respect to physics. If it worked blindly, then Bardic Music would affect friend and foe alike instead of having selectivity.

The intent of Lion Charge didn't allow for the weapon it was used with to be damaged, and Might and Magic didn't twist it far enough to change that. The Incarnate didn't have to do anything to nudge factors in Daniel's favor, and in fact it couldn't since it was separated from the Arcadian. Instead of causing the railgun to self-destruct, the energy provided by Lion Charge compounded with the electromagnetic forces already generated when the weapon was fired.

At the same instant, a copy of the railgun's payload appeared just under where the Arcadian was hidden. The range of Rewind Shot wasn't nearly far enough to give a chance at duplicating a hit on Zozar, but that's not why Daniel had rejoiced when he'd awakened the power. One millisecond passed, and the two twin shots had already passed each other. Such weapons made by purely mortal means could fire projectiles at thousands of meters per second, and this one had magic in the mix.

Rewind Shot then resolved its main effect, the generated ammunition becoming simple metal as it rapidly slowed within the railgun to prevent damaging it. While this effectively allowed Hunter to fire again, his padded finger hadn't come off the fire button yet. Less than a hundredth of a second had passed. Meanwhile, the actual ammunition Daniel had Flash Crafted had pierced the sky limit and continued unerringly toward its target.

Zozar was over 30 kilometers away from the railgun, and so it took just under three seconds for the attack to land. Only the two level 6 combatants in the area, not counting Claire who had yet to fully come into her heightened attributes, saw it coming. Neither could dodge, it was simply too fast. It would've cored Aurus itself if Zozar hadn't taken the position he had to benefit from the vertical waterfall.

The railgun shot struck the cloud titan and delivered immense destructive potential. It wasn't entirely kinetic owing to both the abilities used and the advanced design of the weapon, but this was not enough to finish the level 7 monster. The shot continued to travel downward toward the ground limit and began to loop.

Seven seconds after the first shot, Daniel confirmed that Zozar was still alive and worked with Hunter to fire the next shot. In his haste to help his friends, he forgot something. The ammunition currently loaded lost the ability to bypass the sky limit once it fully returned. They used the same combination of Rewind Shot and Lion Charge, intent on unleashing as many as they could.

As before, a second piece of ammunition was generated 100 meters below the Arcadian, angled to return from whence it came, but this too could not pierce. If it struck the sky limit it would instead loop backward, but that was the tricky thing about the time domain. It could only appear beyond that barrier because the initial shot had broken past it.

The very sword Zolyra now wielded was proof that the divine constructs that were the Spokes weren't invulnerable. Aughal's Shroud had been damaged by it, and comparatively Threst's sky and ground limits were less durable. The second shot pierced straight through, allowing the duplicated shot to return and rearm. While the hole in the sky limit quickly closed, the Spoke already strained by its public will being thrown into chaos began to crack. Only two people noticed this, Soraso holding a sword that suddenly trembled, and a man powerful enough to sense such things a region away.

"They're, they're destroying it," Soraso said breathlessly, in more than one way. "If this continues, wait, Zolyra!" He'd just lashed out with a portal strike, targeting her. The shield in her hands had been enough to stop the reality tear before, and he hadn't expected it to do anything but buy time. Zozar's will was all but as the cloud titan continued to weaken, so did their grip on their race's Empathic Link. It'd been the only reason he'd been able to shout the warning, yet the draconoid didn't take it. She didn't even move.

"The kid actually did it," she said, bemused, as her eyes picked out the cylinder racing toward Zozar kilometers away and closing fast. "Guess it's time for me to go." The portal opened, and tore her body in half.

Zozar was then impacted a second time, their form suffering more from the tormented air currents flowing around the shot as their wounds grew. Movements slowed by the earth gestalt still fighting for a different future, they remained exposed to the third, then the fourth, then the fifth…

…

Claire hadn't even noticed. Daniel was expecting some kind of reaction when the first shot went out, but she'd only capitalized on Rorshawd's distraction to further wound him. That left the three of them to witness the death of Zozar. Daniel continued to urge Hunter to fire as soon as the railgun was ready, though he noticed a distressing chain of alerts as the process continued.

Arcadian Security Alert

>Aft Starboard Ventral Battery fired.

>Critical Warning! Arcadian power supply critical. Rainbow drive inoperable. Main power core online, estimating power reserves at 84%.

…

Arcadian Security Alert

>Aft Starboard Ventral Battery fired.

>Critical Warning! Arcadian power supply critical. Rainbow drive inoperable. Main power core online, estimating power reserves at 79%.

Each shot took a little over 5% of the ship's energy reserves, with the next alert dropping to 73%. It continued to fall, until finally after draining the ship to 45%, Zozar's flickering aura vanished. It felt different than conquering the main power core had. For one, Claire and Rorshawd remained nearby as an ongoing threat, but it was also… emptier. The lack of any notification giving him advancement potential attested as much. They'd taken down a foe Zolyra must have lost to, yet the Arcadian had annihilated them impassively.

With this kind of power behind them, how had the mortal gods lost in the first place?

"Plan?" Sigron asked. "She didn't attack. But… If it goes wrong, I'll protect."

We could just get away, Daniel thought. There are people in Aurus we could probably help if we get there in time. Who knows who's survived and who hasn't. If Zolyra's dead… But no. If there's a chance, I'm taking it. "We're doing it. Shuni, I can't ask you to stay." That got him hit upside the head.

"Can't ask me to leave either, dumbass. Ride or die. Just letting you know up front this is going to cost you another life debt." She appeared, briefly, just to grin at him. "Already thought of what I wanted to make up for the first one too. Let you know after this is done."

Sigron coughed again, more awkwardly than before. "Now or never. Looks like she's close." His Area Denial faded as, below them, Rorshawd had taken enough damage to be caught. Claire's long body coiled around him, and though Rorshawd tried to breathe fire at her in retaliation, the flames quickly died as his mana ran out. Once it was clear she had won she dismissed the rippermaw hawk. He would only die by her hand.

"Is this what Parduc would have wanted?" Nothing else had broken through to her, but those words, spoken by a familiar voice at a time when her victory was assured, made the difference. Claire turned her wide head and the reptilian eyes focused on Daniel, hovering alone in the air. "Hi, Claire."

She stared at him for a few seconds before hissing, further emphasizing the snake aspects of her nature. "Leave, or you're next."

"You can't kill him."

Claire blinked in disbelief, then tightened her hold on Rorshawd when he tried to speak. "You're here to stop me?" Her voice was that of a giant snake dragon, yet at the same time Daniel could pick out remnants of who she had been. "You? No, not just you." Her large nostrils flared. "Two more. One in that cloud, another… invisible? Her scent and yours, ugh." Nothing but pure disgust there, some of it reflected inward at what her new biology allowed her to sense. "Why? Why now, when he's right here! You should want him dead as much as I do!"

The fact that she hadn't just gotten it over with told him there was still a chance. "No. You've lost yourself to this. If Parduc was here, would he recognize you? I'm not talking about your body either, Claire." Daniel gulped, then nodded to where Sigron was hiding. They'd hoped he could sneak up to Claire, but she'd caught on. At that was left was the direct approach. "Do you remember him at all?"

"OF COURSE I DO!" The air reverberated with her words, slightly injuring Daniel's ears from just the volume she could put out. "Every waking moment I've thought of how I'd left YOU to save him. The only family I had left. And this monster killed him."

Sigron appeared out of the clouds and started slowly drifting toward the truewyrm and the struggling dragon in her grasp. "But do you remember him?" he asked.

"Stop asking me that," she seethed. "The answer isn't going to change. What I'm about to do isn't going to change." Her body twisted around Rorshawd's, repositioning without alleviating the pressure on him. Her jaws closed around one of his wings and tore off about half of it. "He's going to suffer for what he did, and so will anyone who tries to stop me."

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"What color were his scales?" Daniel asked, and her head turned back to him.

"What?"

"What was his last gift to you?" Sigron pressed, still approaching with his shield raised. "Yours, to him? When was the last time you laughed or cried together?"

Claire hesitated with that, but snarled as Sigron continued to near. "Stay back!"

"You kept using Calm Emotions, didn't you?" Daniel stayed where he was, ready to react if the situation destabilized any more than it already had. "There were hints, I just didn't see it until now. I've seen someone sacrifice themself for vengeance. I know what those types of bonds can do to your mind. Claire, if all you remember about Parduc is stripped of emotion, then do you even remember who you're doing this for?"

She bore fangs as Sigron made it within ten meters and snapped out, coming just short of the Knight. It was enough to convince him to pause, but he didn't back up. "I see what this is now. Pity." She spat the word, actual venom following it. "Quala couldn't shake my resolve, neither will you. I'm not yours to save."

"Not saving you. His memory." Sigron held out a hand, as if reaching for someone hanging off the side of a cliff. "Is your revenge worth that? Knew him too. Not well. But I did. Maybe better than you, now."

Like Daniel before, Claire blinked as she took a closer look at the Knight's face and finally recognized him. "Sigron? You're supposed to be mute. And half dead."

"You're supposed to be human," Sigron replied wryly. Rorshawd groaned in Claire's grip as something in his body audibly broke under the continued pressure. "Not going to stop you either. Just give you what you lost. If you want it back. Then we'll leave."

By this point he had successfully captured the giant flying snake monster's attention, like any good Knight would do. Daniel didn't doubt for a second that Claire had forgotten about him or Shuni, but it wasn't him she was staring down. "Why?"

"It hurts to see someone hurt. Why I became a Knight. Thought I could've been a Cleric too. Liked shields better." The fingers of his free hand gestured toward himself while still outstretched. "Just a touch. All I'm asking."

Claire's eyes narrowed. "Whatever power you're going to use, it's not going to work. I'm more than twice your level. But if it gets me peace, fine. Stay a second longer and I will kill all three of you." She extended her head, not giving any respite to Rorshawd, and let Sigron touch the furthest point of her face. He laid his hand on her gently, and from within his armor his sole remaining bond hand shot out and mimicked the gesture before Claire could properly react.

She did flinch at that point, knocking Sigron away with a swipe of her head. The Knight survived thanks to a quickly cast buff on his shield, and the damage had already been done. Like Willow before her when Sigron had first discovered this aspect of his bond, the hands of others joined the initial one. Daniel winced as he saw his own touch Claire's scales for a few heartbeats before pulling away.

Of the rest that clung on there were two notable. One of clouds, and another with blue scales. Claire tried to push them off with her two front legs, desperate to remove them. She had constructed a cage of iron around her heart, stronger than anything Quala and those assisting her could break through. It was reinforced by a bond, feeding into Claire's determination to form a vicious cycle.

While what Sigron had done was simple in comparison, it too came from a place beyond pure magic. It cut past deception and excuse to show what those important to someone truly felt, even to those blind to their own feelings. When all others fell away Parduc's blue hand remained, holding on as if to stop her from falling into an abyss. His soul was long departed, but not the impact he'd had on the world. Memory, to fill the shape of a man she'd given up everything for.

Claire writhed as grief ripped open a scar in her heart. She triggered Calm Emotions on instinct, but Parduc's hand held on and cut through the numbing. It might have occurred to her to lash out at Sigron to stop the pain, but she was still wrapped around Rorshawd, and part of her still yearned to see him die on her terms. Trapped, she screamed out, "Why? Everything was so clear! Take it away!"

"You want to lose him?" Sigron asked as a healing potion helped fix his broken nose. Claire flinched at the question, caught in a closing trap. She couldn't avoid the grief without throwing away the very reason she sought vengeance. Hiding it had been enough before, but not when confronted by it directly in a way she couldn't stop.

"No, but I, errgh!" Her eyes squeezed shut, and Daniel bore witness to a truewyrm's tears. "He killed him! For no other reason than he could. I can end him right now and stop anyone else from feeling this pain."

"I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to die. I'm not in any position to judge there," Daniel said, thinking of Zozar but making a clear point not to mention them. "We're here because you don't deserve what will happen to you if you kill him. You've taken this too far."

"If you loved him at all, don't kill for him. Live for him," Sigron added, now that he had mostly recovered from the damage of Claire's incidental attack. "It's not too late."

"Isn't it? We-" She looked to the city, and then her voice cut off as she failed to find Zozar. "What?"

"We won, Claire," Daniel explained softly. "Zozar's dead. I know you cared about them too, and I'm sorry. But we both know the things backing them, the thing that turned you into that, are creatures of hatred. No world they want to make will be peaceful. If you go through with this, you'll be just like them. With us, at least you'll have a chance to stop the next Parduc from dying."

Claire laughed once, bitterly. Parduc's hand was still on her face, trying to guide her as best it could without words or true will. "So, what. What should I do? All I had was his death. Parduc is still gone."

"Remember your brother. As for him?" Sigron's eyes met Daniel's and he tapped his wrist questioningly.

Can't spare the power, Daniel thought, then took a better look at Rorshawd. If it was possible, the dragon was in a worse state than he'd been left in Roost's Peak. Most of his longer bones looked broken, though despite everything Rorshawd had remained conscious. It was only lack of air preventing him from speaking. "Let him go, Claire. Let go of vengeance, but more importantly, just let him go. We'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone ever again, I promise."

The fundamental law of Karma took notice as a connection it had judged significant enough to award a bond flexed. Its rules were capricious, inconsistent at times, though nothing was ever done in its name that wasn't meaningful. Even a bond broken with neglect was symbolic of change, but in this case, something more dramatic occurred. Right at the precipice, right at the point of no return, uncertainty entered the picture where none had been before.

Claire's heart was reweighed and found wanting. The entire point of vengeance was to take from someone who had taken from you. It didn't matter what, be it life or something smaller. The fundamental law didn't care either way, it didn't care if a bond was formed or broken. It only was itself, and unlike a certain world system one event would not reshape its ways. The same was not true for the people whose interactions it judged.

Claire Elsemar had lost her fire, extinguished by the memory of her brother. All the meaning she'd sought from the dragon in her grasp was gone. The knowledge of what he'd done was still there, the anger too, but the drive that had encapsulated her being fled in the face of what she'd locked away. As the bond broke her body slackened, leaving Rorshawd to the mercy of gravity.

Daniel watched the dragon fail to control his fall and then put him out of his mind. The aura he'd placed would remain and once they settled matters elsewhere they'd get to him. Everyone just floated in space as Claire tried to process what she'd just done. When she flew off wordlessly he was worried for a moment, but it wasn't his place to stop her now. What they'd done before was out of empathy, preventing her from making a mistake, like grabbing someone about to throw themselves off a bridge. She was out of immediate danger, and he doubted she was off to kill anyone else. What happened to her now wasn't his business unless she changed that.

Shuni reappeared by his side, a tired look on her face. "Sorry I didn't say anything. Wasn't sure if I should, I'm not good in situations like that."

"What, never talked down a truewyrm before?" Daniel joked, body flooding with relief as he realized it was over, or so he hoped. With Zozar down the Spiritualists had lost their power house, and the fighting in Aurus seemed to have lessened. "I love you, Shuni. You know that, right?"

"Course I do. Love you too." Her face turned into a weary grin, and she put one wing around him as they looked down on the mountain city. "This place is never going to be the same. I never even saw most of it. Maps, sure, but I've lived my whole life here, and would you believe this is the first time I've been to Aurus?"

"This have something to do with how I'm going to make up my debt?" Daniel guessed, seeing no other reason for her to change topics.

Shuni nodded. "You said we're going to travel the world. So let's actually travel. You know that, well, I haven't had something like this before. Partners, sure, but my class was always hanging over our heads even if they tried to look past it." She took in a deep breath, then continued. "This is what I want. The next place we go to, we take a week to explore. Only the two of us. I like the people you're with, but I'm not dating any of them. I'd like to have time and space where there's just us."

"You want to go camping with me?" Daniel asked with a trace of humor. He spoke quickly before it looked like he was slighting Shuni's wish. "I used to hate it, back on Earth, but that sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."

"Thanks." She lay her head on his shoulder. "I was worried you'd say no because it could be dangerous. There is an entire church out to get you."

Daniel angled his Focus Shield so the active screen, the target designator, was in front of her face. "Railgun. I think I've got danger covered." About 8 more times, and that's if the teleporters don't need any of that reserve power. Or the engines. Why couldn't I have just gotten a god cannon without any drawbacks? "Hey, about something else," he said as his thoughts wandered elsewhere. "I want to have a talk with Hunter. All three of us. Think we need to, actually."

Shuni picked her head up and looked at him seriously. "Ok, I know I say I suck in situations like this but that sounds like opening a can of worms, and not in a good way."

"How would there be a good way to- oh, right." He shook his head, chuckling. "It's only going to get worse if we let it. Hopefully we've gotten the real serious fights out of our system for a while, but it's impacting our performance. I want to resolve this with him, but it doesn't feel fair to do so if you're not there."

"Alright. I have something to look forward to and something to dread, then. Good to keep things balanced." Shuni picked at the sending stone on her head, pulling it out of the mount. "Hey, should we check in with the team? We kind of left them hanging."

"I'll have to get another spear from Bekali before I can let them out," Daniel sighed. "Used the last mana weapon when we left. Since I'm still in contact with Hunter it should be fine, we'll just have to wait until…" He trailed off as he looked back to where the Arcadian should be in the far distance. He hadn't noticed before, but it'd started where the sky limit had been first broken. By now, the cracks had spread far enough to be visible. "Holy mother of…" Hunter, get everyone out of the Arcadian. Now!

…

Fly. Fly, damn it! Rorshawd yelled at his useless body, desperate to get away before that woman changed her mind or someone else came for him. Finally freed, only for this to happen. He was still wrapping his head around how Daniel of all people had saved him but there was no gratitude within for it. No, he knew they still had unfinished business to settle. The one who'd taken over his original body, kept him hostage for over a month, he'd have to die for his sins.

…later. There was no getting around the fact that Rorshawd's body was broken. The changes to his powers Ashier had made hadn't reverted with the Tyrant's death, so he was still missing regeneration. He could revert to draconoid form, but that had almost no ability to control its fall in the air. Given how Threst worked Rorshawd would fall forever like this, or at least until he hit an island. That might just kill him in his current state unless he was aware enough to shift before it happened.

As for how he would repair his form and return to true glory, well, the answer was clear. Vengeance. Look at what that bitch had gotten from swearing herself to that path. If he'd known that sort of bond was possible he'd have prayed to that instead of the Old One when his faith failed, and never found himself trapped by the Tyrant. Yes, yes, he'd swear by all his strength to end those who had wronged him. Pay any price, so long as it got him what he wanted.

They were all fools for letting him live. Arrogant fools.

…

Ten seconds later, Rorshawd looked down and saw the unmistakable signs of the ground limit approaching. He tensed, knowing that danger could be right on the other side without any apparent sign. Some monsters used this point of transition as an ambush spot, though if they were weak enough he might see if they were within jaw reach. He was kind of hungry amidst all the pain and could use a morsel to regain his strength.

Only… the ground limit was looking kind of odd. He couldn't put a claw on it, but the image wasn't right. Normally it depicted a continuous sky, though the illusion would become obviously flat when you got close enough. That had happened, but it was still wrong.

He figured it out right before impact. The sky wasn't moving. The illusion had broken, and as Rorshawd hit a solid barrier, so too did his body for the last time. Blood splattered the ground, and a dragon died.