Infinite Body Prince

Seeing how "close" lys had grown with Baruch, Hadrian had begun having his own suspicions.

"Alia's mother." The rodent Hadrian said, speaking like he'd once spoken through hawk Hadrian with a slightly distorted voice.

Lys' body trembled.

"Even when you expect it, it's still terrifying."

"The mother, yes." She continued, "I'm glad you found a way to hide yourself. Otherwise, I couldn't have kept Jasmine off of you for long."

Rodent Hadrian jumped up the other stone bed opposite Lys, slipping and falling feeling slight disorientation.

Lys' eyes followed with an amused look.

"Why help me after sealing me and wanting to take me to Jasmine?" The rodent asked.

"Don't be too sure." Lys said, waving him off.

The one fire torch made the shadows dance on the walls.

"I did seal you, and I did want to take you somewhere, but not for, and not to Jasmine." She shifted, her gothic dress shuffling.

"I could have simply stayed in Gritjor for that." she added. "But, of course, you didn't let me leave."

"To whom then?" The rodent asked.

Lys smiled. "If you give me the box, I'll show you."

…

Baruch walked through a narrow hallway, the flames of the fire Torches dancing, the sound of battle outside muffled.

Hadrian sent out his spatial sense and a smile tugged on Baruch's lips as he came to a stop.

Footsteps echoed from behind him.

"Is something wrong?" Baruch asked as he turned.

With shadows dancing on his face, Haldon gave him a slight smile.

"Yes," he said, raising his hand where a small fleshy burrowing creature squirmed.

When Baruch had been speaking to Haldon, he'd peered into his essence sea, initiating the early stages of the call.

He then swapped the call to one of the burrowing creatures in the concrete that stayed within range of Haldon.

Eventually, the burrowing Hadrian grasped Haldon's essence, and was why he was disorientated when getting up the stone bed.

He had not tried to hide it, though, and had been only a few inches beneath the concrete surface.

He also got to learn an ability Haldon had, to partially turn a small part of his body incorporeal, and that's how he captured burrowing Hadrian.

That must be how he survived Truston's fire breath with minimal injuries.

Hadrian noted.

Haldon dropped the squirming creature to the floor and crushed it beneath his black boot.

Hadrian swapped the call to Baruch.

Haldon's eyes narrowed on him.

"I had always been suspicious of you." He said.

Baruch staggered back.

Feeling the agitation of the call, Haldon scoffed, flicking his wrist and a rusted sickle appeared in his hand.

"I don't know why that Jasmine fellow has taken interest in me, keeping me up here with the inexperienced mages."

He flaunted the sickle in his right hand.

"I'm not complaining." He said. "I get to be an audience member, and more than that, he got me a present."

Hadrian, feeling the effects of grasping Haldon's essence peered into the rusted sickle.

A sigh escaped him.

A rank three artifact.

Of course, he'd expected Haldon wouldn't come down here without some assurance.

A taunting smile formed on Baruch's lips.

By the aura of the artifact, he could tell it was of the death path, and he'd already faced a fiend before, aware of some of the abilities.

More than that, it surely had its own negative effects and Haldon wouldn't be able to fully utilize it.

However, he suspected the witch might have used sorcery to make Haldon confident to wield it in a fight like she had with the box.

Seeing Baruch's smile, Haldon's pupils shrunk as the sickle's rusted blade took on a black foggy shroud.

…

Rodent Hadrian channeled elemental essence, clasping its paws with the rock as the witch in his vision slightly wobbled.

"I can't do that." The rodent said in that distorted voice. "Actually, the box is why I'm here."

A chuckle escaped Lee.

"I'm not sure how you managed to contain it." She said, "I was surprised when I couldn't even get a general sense of its direction."

She let out a soft sigh.

"But you can't use it, can't you?"

Rodent Hadrian remained silent.

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that. It's a rank five artifact and it's mine."

"That's fine." Rodent Hadrian said. "I could simply turn you into my vessel and learn that way."

Lys' head tilted to the left.

"So, that's what happens." Her left shoulder rose. "If you could, you would have. And you don't have half the time you think you have."

…

Southwest of the cacophonous battle ground, a large stretch of land was covered with fog.

A large fireball came down on Jasmine but he simply flicked his wrist, making it disappear and appear somewhere else.

From behind him, earth shot up in a sharp shape aimed for the back of his neck.

It phased through him and Jasmine leaped some metres away.

Thena materialized from the rock in her green robes.

"You'll reach your limit fast if you keep using that ability." She said. "Your witch didn't help you with an artifact?"

Jasmine smiled. "Only this. Not from the witch, though. Exchanged it with a fellow."

He showed his left pinky finger where a ring was.

"A rank one artifact." Thena scoffed.

"Anything to add to the margin." He said.

Thena frowned. She'd increasingly grown suspicious of Jasmine throughout the fight.

The most formidable ability of the space path was the "carry" ability, but Jasmine had barely used it to summon anything that could hurt her.

Only carrying and redirecting some of her attacks occasionally.

For both of them, sustaining flight was consuming a lot of essence.

The fight had come down to the ground where she held some advantage. Even then, Jasmine seemed to be fighting with restraint.

Still, he used the phase ability that consumed a lot of essence. She was cautious of overusing her own if Jasmine was being conservative with his, but when an opportunity rose, she went all out.

The fog suddenly densed around Jasmine's face and body.

…

Half the time I think I have.

Hadrian thought for a moment as he kept his eyes on the witch.

Of course, time was the reason he chose to confront the witch and Haldon at the same time.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Lys' face took on a serious look.

"What do you think this whole battle is about?"