Icarus Awakens

Soraso couldn't fathom why Zolyra had just allowed herself to be killed, but that was no longer his concern. The titanic grip on his soul was gone. Not that he had wholly disagreed with Zozar's aims, but the influence through the Empathic Link would have changed his mind if he had. It was little consolation given that both he and his Focus were slowly being torn apart, and for different reasons. He knew there was no redemption to be found, but there was something to do before he faded away.

The portal he opened looked decidedly unsafe, but what was danger to him now? Soraso flowed through the portal, words already on his non-lips. "I surrender."

Everyone capable of doing so in the room stared at him. It was mostly the mortals as all the monsters were former gestalt now suffering under the aftereffects of Zozar's death. When one as powerful as them died it resonated throughout the link. The only reason he wasn't suffering the same fate is that the removal of the weight that had been placed upon him counterbalanced it.

Despite his words, an arrow still flew threw him. A sword that would have actually done something was blocked by a shield, only for its wielder to slap him across the face. For an air gestalt, that hurt worse than a punch and the draconoid knew it. "You bastard," Murdon growled. "Waited until the last moment, did you?"

"No." Soraso looked at the mortals actively slaughtering his former kin before they could recover from the empathic feedback and mourned, but he knew nothing he said would change their fate. "Ashier almost got me. Zozar used a power to save my life, temporarily replacing my form with a part of them."

"And now they're dead." Murdon turned his head and closed his eyes. "Why, Soraso?"

"A future. Their gods could give it to us, and yours either couldn't, or didn't." The sword at his side began flaking away into dust even as his body drifted further and further apart. His soul did have some grip on the borrowed essence, but not enough to preserve him. Healing would do nothing either, because the body was considered dead. If Zozar had survived he'd have had the time to slowly recompose himself, but it wasn't meant to be.

"You betrayed everyone for this?" His old friend flung out a hand to the bodies around the room.

"Yes. Murdon, you can't understand us. Our struggle." Soraso's voice was growing fainter, yet he had to say this. Whether he owed it to his friend or himself, he wasn't sure. "We're apart from the rest of the world. Literally. If I or Zozar hadn't intervened at Marbleview the entire sanctuary would've been lost, and who in Aurus would have cared? I'm not calling you callous. All I'm saying is that if I were as handicapped as the rest, then I'd have died here without you having a shred of comprehension."

"If that's true, then why did the earth gestalt join us?"

To that, Soraso could only say, "I suppose they found their own future. I wish them well, and you luck. You'll need it, now that our team is down to its last two members." He frowned, the expression barely visible on his fading face. "Where is Lograve? I'd hoped, before I went…"

"Nearly dead," Murdon spat, laying the blame for that fairly at his non-feet. "He may as well be, we're not sure."

Soraso's core froze, which would have somewhat prolonged his life if it had been a physical manifestation as well as an emotional one. "How…" Without further hesitation, he flicked the Sword of Threst in the air. It only summoned a portal a decimeter wide, both because of the damage to it and Murdon disarming him, but it was enough. Soraso used his other hand to grab something on the other side and bring it through. "Potion. If anything can help-"

"That might as well be poison. You did this to him in the first place."

"I did what I had to for the good of my people," Soraso said urgently, feeling his grip on the bottle beginning to slip. "I would have done it all without spilling a drop of blood if I could. I meant what I said when I wished you and Tounaki happiness." He searched again and sighed in relief when he found the Pyromancer alive and mostly unharmed, standing further away with her arms crossed. "Take it. Please. Consider it my last request, for old time's sake?"

Reluctantly, Murdon took the potion and stowed it in his bag of holding. "You're really going to die without getting in one last joke?"

"You know, I tried, but nothing seems funny anymore." Soraso was close, now. Less than a minute left. "Zolyra was fighting me when Zozar was taken down. It looked like she let me kill her, but I don't think that's what actually happened. She used some kind of high-level spell right before that didn't seem to do anything."

"Let you kill her?" Murdon repeated.

"No time. No time." It came out as loud as a sigh the second time, for all Soraso was trying to shout. "The sword, Murdon. Look at the sword."

"After the Thormundz, I have no interest in ruling a region."

"Wouldn't dream of giving it to you." Soraso was all but gone, save for a smile. "Birds would throw you out once they realize you're better at having a stick up your ass than they are. Besides, after today, no one's ruling Threst." He took some pride in the fact that, in the last moments of consciousness, he at least saw that he'd outlasted the blade he'd been forced to carry. The Spoke of Threst was broken, and soon after, he followed it out of the world.

…

The sky wasn't falling. That was about all they had going for them.

System Alert: Critical [Damage] detected to [Spoke: Threst]. Destruction of the [Spoke] is imminent. All [Godpowers] tied to this spoke will cease to function. [Crest Suppression] will remain for a short time due to overlap coverage from [Spoke: Aughal] and [Spoke: Kalical].

In point of fact, the sky was cracking. You had to look pretty far up to make it out since they were about 24 kilometers from the sky limit, but the effects were getting so widespread it'd be obvious soon. Daniel wasn't too worried about that given it killed the Spiritualist's plans for good, and the limit wasn't breaking in a way that sent huge shards of godstuff raining down. Whenever a section broke fully it revealed only more sky, though a different one than the illusion that represented the sky limit. There was one major concern, however.

The Arcadian. The massive ship was about to fall as the barrier underneath it broke. He wasn't sure if it would survive the landing, but there was no way in hell anyone stuck inside would. Can't get out through the ground holes here, Hunter thought to him. It's too far to fly to the side. We'll get crushed if we're still under it.

Ok. Oh fuck. Ok. If there isn't a time for this there never is. Daniel froze time, still having a decent amount of mana left. His biggest expenditure after the rift fight replenished him was chaining Rewind Shots together, and the ability wasn't that expensive. That left him with all the time in the world to figure out how to get his friends and family out of a crashing spaceship while reality broke around them.

Fun times. Most of the rifts we've cleared are near the transport line, which is right near you. Haven't seen an exit either. Damn it.

Calm down, Hunter advised. We'll have some time.

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Not when the Arcadian's falling! If Threst's Spoke powers are turning off that means its effects on gravity will too. You'll have ten minutes conservatively, and you'll be in freefall. You want to have fight while flying with that kind of clock on your life?

…ok maybe think faster.

What about Pinions Point? Tak asked, able to contribute to the conversation now that there wasn't a regional barrier in the way. We are far enough from Aurus, but I don't know if we can also stop the ship from falling on the island.

You're far enough away from that, at least, Daniel assured. It's ten by four kilometers, unless it drifts on the way down it won't be close enough to hit it. Might fuck up the land bridge but the town itself will be fine. He spent some time trying to think of nothing in an attempt to reset himself, then returned to the problem. Ok, what part of the ship would have openings along the side? Ideally there'd be windows they could bash open, but I haven't seen any at all. So what…

Daniel resumed time and scrolled through the backlog of Arcadian notifications, extremely thankful that it wasn't as stingy as the Octyrrum. Looking at the list of rifts that had automatically been cleansed, he found what he'd been looking for. Ok, Hunter, Tak, there's a destination you can warp to. 'Lower Hanger Control Room'. It's like a barracks for flying constructs. It's the best option I can give you for something that opens outward. The only catch is that there had to have been an elite guarding it if didn't default to my control until after it was auto-cleansed. He navigated further and found the controls for the node, sighing in relief at one of the options. I can open the doors there, the outer ones. If the team can clear that route, the others can deal with the corrupted avianoids we left in the main power core. Have Spinner zap them into unconsciousness and then drag them to the core, I can remotely purge them. Once everyone's ready to leave through the hangar I can open the outer doors. Sound good?

Evalyn says it is workable, Tak reported cheerily, after a brief delay. Also to warn her before you destroy a Spoke next time.

Me? Hunter fired the thing.

Combo attack, Hunter countered. Your fault too.

That… checks out. Daniel held off from arguing because Hunter had just yielded full credit for killing Zozar without realizing it. Also because they were in mortal danger and didn't need the distraction. He wanted to help, but since their getting out required his control of the Arcadian he had to stay in his body. Hunter could ask if he needed it.

"They're getting out," he assured the two nearby.

"That's good, but we really broke Threst?" Shuni sounded incredulous, as well as a little sad. "Aurus looks trashed, though even with the monsters they could've rebuilt."

"The Origin Beast would've destroyed it eventually. First, considering it'd see this as Soraso breaking his promise." Daniel stumbled in the air and struggled to regain his composure. Sigron and Shuni were having difficulties too. It was like the basic rules governing aerodynamics had been adjusted, and that gave him a sense of the Spoke's flagging health. Hunter, everything ok?

Falling, he complained. Got into the room ok but we have to clear a path. We can see giant doors out of the window in here, is that it?

Yeah! Hurry. Also, sending stones should be working again if anyone else- never mind. "Hey, sending stones should be working again," Daniel repeated over the team's stone. "I have the button to open those doors ready. If I do it now the air currents could make things difficult, so try to wait until everyone's at the door."

"Will do," Evalyn replied. "But we have to be careful. Someone picked our Rogue for the away team so we have to wait for Spinner to spread enough webs. I'm not having something come out of stealth while we're moving Willow and Alex."

"Probably a good idea." He left it there, knowing that easing his nerves by continuing to talk to them would only lead to their distraction. His hand hovered over another stone, but he hesitated.

"It's ok," Sigron said. "Better to know."

"You're right. Also, really talkative now," Daniel added. "Pretty much back to normal?"

"Normal would be not talking. This is better." He scratched the front of his shield in what looked like a self-conscious manner. "I had to find reasons. It was like… wading through a dark bog. Every time I had to say something, there was another light leading me forward." He pointed to the second sending stone. "Do it. Waiting is only worrying now."

"Yeah." Daniel raised the sending stone and mentally activated it. "This is Daniel. Are, are you there? Hello? Zolyra?" The silence extended.

"Oh shit. Did they get her?" Shuni looked back over Aurus. "I mean, I don't see any crazy high level powers going off, but she could just be busy?"

"If not…" Daniel pulled out another stone from his bag of holding, thankful that he'd learned the trick behind them in time to spread out a few networks. "Murdon?"

"Daniel. Gods, was that you?" The Knight's voice was strained, but alive.

"Sorry we took so long. There were complications, but we're all ok." Barring the fact that most of the team is still escaping the Arcadian. "I can't reach Zolyra. We can see Aurus but we're over a kilometer out. What's happening?"

Somehow Murdon's voice grew heavier. "Zolyra may be down, it's unclear. We're still stabilizing the situation here. Most of the true elites were affected when Zozar went down, and the fact that the sky is splitting… What did you do?"

"The weapon we used broke Threst's Spoke." Daniel looked down. "I didn't know. At least the islands aren't falling too."

"Small mercies." There was a pause, and when he next spoke the background noise coming through the stone was different. "Daniel, I need you to bring Thomas here as soon as you can."

The three looked at each other as Murdon's voice shook. "Everything alright?"

"Lograve is dying."

The breath left Daniel's body. "What!?"

Quala took over, and he was both glad and terrified that she was speaking. "He took fatal wounds earlier. It triggered my prayer's protection, but at the same time he awakened and used some form of defensive power. No one can heal him while its active, and I have no idea when it will end on its own. What I do know is he is worsening despite everything and won't make it to dawn."

"Damn it!" Moment of Clarity. Hunter, we need to get Thomas to Aurus, now. How close are you to the doors?

Fighting. Spinner found the elite. Annoying, can handle it, but it'll take a minute.

Minute or not, it would take a day or so for us to get there if we fly as fast as we can, Tak added.

We don't have that much time! Lograve needs a Flash Balance or he's going to die. Daniel went back to an earlier assumption he'd made based on what he'd learned while visiting Bekali. I think Zolyra used a Hidden Passage in Cloak's church to get to Aurus. It could've been some army-wide buff power that boosted their speed, but I bet Cloak had set one up before his Proxy died. Go there, tell them I sent you and they'll have to let you use it.

It will still take us at least five hours, Hunter replied grimly. Have to fly to Pinion's Point first. How long does he have?

It was late afternoon, that fact constant across the two skies now present above. Far more than five hours to the next dawn, but that still might not be enough time. If Zolyra had survived she'd be able to teleport back and forth, but she wasn't answering. He hoped that was just because she'd been so injured she had to recover, but it still ruled her out as an immediate option.

Ok. Don't rush the fight, then, he decided. A minute or two isn't likely to make a difference. I'll keep watching your auras though. If you get level with me, you'll need to book it though. The ground limit isn't working and you'll need to slow down before you hit it. Leaving at the last moment won't work.

What about Lograve?

…we'll try and figure something else out, but still get here as soon as you can. Daniel ended Moment of Clarity, wracking his brain for anything they could use to-

As soon as time resumed, someone on his side spoke up. "Where are you? I could try to help."

"Sigron?" Quala exclaimed. Daniel blinked then handed the sending stone over. "Your voice… Later. What are you suggesting?"

"My bond can cleanse." The single spectral hand he had remaining, the one that had reached out to Claire, overlapped with the one holding the stone. "I don't know if it will work. But I'll try."

"We're in the Shattered Falls!" Murdon exclaimed. "Middle altitudes. You need to be careful, there's still some fighting around us. Draw too much attention and those still loyal to the old order may try to stop you. I'll send Tounaki to the roof, she's hard to miss. Hurry, please."

"On it."

Sigron passed the stone back to Daniel, who added, "Flying just got a bit harder with the Spoke gone, but we're still managing. Five, ten minutes out at most. We'll get over the mountain then dive right on top of you. Tounaki can send up a flare when we're in position."

"I was worried this would happen," Shuni said after he deactivated the stone. "Said all those things about how he was a goner. He wasn't always like that, was he?"

"No, I just thought he was joking about an Earth trope. I mean, he probably was." Daniel shook his head. "We'll ask him about his sense of humor after he wakes up. Let's go!" He made to move, only to encounter resistance. Threst's effect on enhancing flight was over, but his boots weren't moving him anywhere. Daniel tried again, then his mind caught up to him. Based on his mana flow it felt like Moment of Clarity had activated again. On its own, even, which made no sense. The last time it had done that…

As he feared would happen, someone he'd last seen at the border between the Thormundz and Aughal walked into his field of view, feet moving in the air as if it were solid. The man wearing iridescent robes every wizard wanted to be when they grew up stared at him, and then asked a grave telepathic question. What have you done?