Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

As there were no other sounds echoing through the crevasse than the occasional clattering of small rocks, remnants after the small rockslide that had occurred just moments earlier, Kite let himself lay back on the barrier separating him from the uneven pile of stone that had become his impromptu resting place. The second barrier of Heaven-and-Void warding kept some of the stones from rolling on top of him, and he could vaguely make out the strip of white sky far above through the semi-translucent barrier and the rubble covering it.

WWJS:

Congratulations!

Your ability [Heaven-and-Void Warding] has reached Silver 0.

[Heaven-and-Void Warding] has received additional effects.

- Heaven-and-Void Warding -

Spell. Cost: Low to Moderate mana Cooldown: None Current rank: Silver

Effect - Iron: Form a temporary barrier around self or ally within range, absorbing damage for a medium duration or until released or shattered. Cost is increased to moderate mana if used on ally.

Effect - Bronze: May adjust size of barrier, increasing its strength by diminishing its size and vice versa.

Effect - Silver: May conjure a second barrier with the same casting.

“Heavens, I really thought that I had it,” he groaned, feeling the echoes of pain even if Immortality had finished healing most of the actual damage he had suffered from that final collision and subsequent plummet down into the rocky ravine. “Didn’t even have the time to properly infuse any equipment either.”

Even though his mind still felt a bit dazed, the memories were clear; the giant club of the ruler above eventually catching him through an unexpected burst of speed. By then, the fight had already progressed for a time, but that single, solid hit had been enough to break through not one, but two of the barriers of the newly improved Heaven-and-Void warding, and still carry enough force to send him flying even through the protection of Unyielding.

The face of a little carp showed itself in Kite’s vision, close enough that one would have to cross one’s eyes to properly focus on her.

“Do not worry, little beauty,” he said, reaching out and stroking her scales. “While the spontaneous flight was not planned, it at least went better than expected. The twin barriers truly helped,” he finished, knocking at the surface beneath him. He let the barrier atop him shift slightly, eventually getting the rocks on top to shift and roll to the side.

“But what concepts do you think that this particular ruler embodies?” Kite asked Glint, more to use the silent companion as a sounding board rather than actually expecting an answer. "Might feels like a given, but force is not out of the question.”

He started making his way through the bottom of the gorge, rounding the plateau above where he had fought the ruler; a huge humanoid over five meters tall with blue skin and what looked like writhing tendrils squirming beneath its surface. It wielded a long crystal club, fighting ponderously for a silver-ranked being but with the strength behind each swing to compensate.

What had caught Kite by surprise had been when the being suddenly started to speed up at irregular intervals. While it was a magical effect which he could dispel, the window to do so was a brief one, and his current location at the bottom of the nearby chasm indicated that it was as challenging to do in the midst of combat as it sounded.

He turned to the officiator floating silently along with him, posing his next question. “Just how many concepts does each ruler embody?”

“The rulers are amalgams of varying degrees, forming a whole greater than the sum of their parts, much like your path is more than the four essences you have absorbed. You would do best to reflect on that, rather than individual pieces,” the officiator answered somewhat cryptically, but Kite nodded. It was more than he had expected.

“I… will take that into consideration,” he mused, turning back to Glint. “But this does mean that we have some more quintessence-hunting to do. I am not beyond tempering myself against a foe such as the ruler at that plateau time and time again, but I would much rather have Immortality available when doing so. Because the teacher that is the tyranny of rank holds a wicked lash indeed.”

“What do you mean that we are out of sweetmeats again?!”

The roar of the irate mistress Pristine sent the poor servant scurrying out of the room, her lashing aura causing the poor girl to wobble on her feet. If Ivory had not stepped in and shielded her with his aura, the normal-ranker might have fainted on the spot.

Sensing his spiritual intervention, the mistress turned her frustrations to her latest temporary addition to the household, but the inner disciple was unfazed by the spiritual assault. He was a silver-ranker like her, after all, and while she as a more political animal was adept at the subtleties of aura manipulation, an adventurer and sect warrior like him was well tempered against more forceful clashes.

“Are you forgetting your place? Is this how you show your dependability and worthiness?” she hissed, poking a finger into the younger man’s chest.

“I would ask you the same, mistress,” Ivory answered coolly. “Venting your frustrations on the help is not becoming of a woman of your power.”

Mistress Pristine suddenly jerked her finger back with another hiss, this one of pain, as a tiny spark of lightning was seen at her point of contact with Ivory’s chest. “And I will remind you- ,” the adventurer continued, “- that while I have agreed to take contracts for your family to gain access to the gate, I am not your servant.”

The mistress looked torn as to how she would react to his challenge, and seemingly decided to move on. “Well, it is still most suspicious that our larders are being emptied at such a dramatifc rate. Had I not already had the staff followed, I would still expect that we had thieves among the help.”

Kite sat in meditation, as he did during most times of rest. As the light from above was unchanging and constant, he had to use one of his small magical timepieces he had brought with him to keep track of when evening actually came. The device was simple; a magical disc with a slowly moving glowing dot indicating the time of day. As it was rather cheap, he always carried it in a regular pouch at his belt, as keeping it in dimensional storage would make it lose functionality due to there being no ambient mana in the separate dimensional spaces.

And this time, he had been eager for it to indicate that it was time to wind down and rest after spending most of the day hunting down more of the few kinds of monsters who left adept quintessence behind. Because he had a feeling that another of his abilities would breach the limit of silver, the sensation a kind of spiritual ‘fullness’ otherwise hard to put into words.

While Kite was not in a rush per se, it still felt frustrating that he had so far still not been able to defeat any of the rulers of the space just over two weeks into the trial. But each new advancement to silver meant another chance at reaching across the distance and fighting above his rank.

He had barely settled down when the light burst from him, bathing the mottled leaves around him in new light, just a little more tinted silver than the last time. And as Kite explored his new power with his mind, he couldn’t suppress the tingle of excitement at what this particular one meant.

When everything had settled down, he rose to his feet, and dark vortices appeared above him. Three of them.

“Now this…” he mused, getting a sense of their power. “This might indeed open up new opportunities. And one of them in particular comes to mind.”

What remained of his time to rest was a bit more fitful than Kite would like to have admitted. Ever since the advancement a few hours before, there was a ruler of this challenge which suddenly felt as if it had come within reach. The tense excitement eventually made him break camp early, and Kite was soon zooming across the varied landscapes on Glint’s back, just above the treetops of the mottled forest.

The mountain plateau of the blue giant came into view, but he soon passed it by, giving the territory a wide berth so as to not grab the ruler’s attention. Likewise, he made sure to not have Glint float too high, so as to not risk the ruler of the sky trying to ambush him again.

Every more ordinary monster in his way now felt more like a chore, and Kite even made Glint pass most by, at least those she was quick enough to shake off. And eventually, his goal came into view; a certain mountain which Kite knew was no mountain at all. The glacier loomed ahead of him, and at its heart, his target awaited.

The challenge itself manifested new monsters every once in a while, and as it had been a few days since Kite’s last visit to the icy region, he had to fight his way down through the winding, chill ravines and crevasses. The walls of living snow were familiar to him now, as well as the flittering, two-dimensional creatures which tried masking themselves as mere reflections in the ice.

Even through his eagerness to reach his goal, Kite at least managed to take the slow and steady approach needed to deal with the ice-aspected foes, taking one step back for every three he advanced. And finally, he had reached his destination; a large chamber in the heart of the glacier. Only small cracks above opened up to the sky, the rest being blueish-black ice in a jagged landscape looking much like a cave.

After properly resting up and letting a pair of pills restore his reserves, Kite readied himself. He had been in the cavern once before. That time had ended with a steady but sure retreat, but as Kite sensed his newfound power within, he hoped that this time would prove different.

“Fortune, please have your spirit watch over me even as your gaze is blocked,” he said in soft prayer. Kite would have liked to try his new power more, to heed his mentors’ advice and not rely too much on a power mostly untested. But during his time spent in the trial so far, there was no other monster or ruler there which had so far shown the capabilities where his power would make as much of a difference. None except this one.

His prayers done, Kite advanced into the cavern. Each of his exhalations caused a small burst of fog, and Kite did his best to calm his breathing and enter the combat meditation he had been working on for so long now; the state of clarity where he saw everything around him, ready to react in a heartbeat.

And as one of the small plumes of fog did not disperse behind him, Kite knew that he had gotten his wish. One moment, there was but a faint pale cloud, and in the next, it seemed to swell outwards. Even as the ruler of this region was still in the process of appearing out of the fog, twin pale arms were already descending towards Kite’s back. They each had only two hook-like fingers, with long jagged claws of black ice.

“Ward!”

The barriers of Heaven-and-Void warding appeared behind Kite, the ice-infused claws scraping across the barrier. Immutable Echo jabbed backwards even before Kite had fully turned, but the staff struck only air as his would-be ambusher disappeared into the fog once more. Another flicker of movement further off in the cave heralded several more streaks of fog streaming through the air. Second attack followed, then a third, where Kite remained still and reactive, feet planted.

His assailant seemed to blink in and out of existence around him, clawed hands appearing through the fog to strike before retracting again. Had it not been for the silver-ranked aura he could sense moving around, Kite might have assumed the ruler of this trial to be the fog itself, but his current situation and senses confirmed that the thing was indeed moving instantaneously. Kite assumed that it was some kind of short-range teleportation, like where uncle Walker moved through nearby plants. Only that it seemed to be the spreading fog this creature used as its medium.

Last time he had been here, Kite had swiftly retreated when the fog had spread far enough to cover most of the room, not wanting to be left at the non-existent mercy of the flickering creature. But this time, he persevered, because he was waiting for something.

Claws continued to flicker even as sharp icicles started forming from the haze around him. Kite’s twin barriers and weapon swept around him to deflect what he could, but this silver-ranker was quick. One hit became two, where a pair of icy claws raked his left arm, leaving behind a chilling affliction. But even as those things all tore at Kite’s attention, he managed to hold firm, because he was waiting. And his wait soon came to an end.

The pair of claws had just struck again and were on the way to retract, covered in Kite’s frozen blood, when something seemed to snap in place. The creature lurched as its retreat was suddenly interrupted, and staggered back even further as Kite’s staff hit one of its arms, delivering an empowered Void-Sunders-Firmament, both Potential of Stolen Power and all the stacks available from Spiritual Reprisal used to deal as much damage in return as possible for the one strike that finally landed.

That moment was also the first where Kite got a proper look at his foe, having only seen the swiping claws before that. It was a vaguely humanoid thing, pallid torso crooked and bent as its arms were way too long while its small legs looked almost withered. But there was cunning in its fanged face and nine cloudy eyes seemingly spread haphazardly over its face, and at that moment, said cunning seemed to say that it knew that the situation had suddenly turned troublesome. And it was, Fortune be praised, all thanks to Kite’s recently ascended ability.

WWJS:

Congratulations!

Your ability [Spirit Singularity] has reached Silver 0.

[Spirit Singularity] has received additional effects.

- Spirit singularity -

Special ability (Mana drain). Cost: None Cooldown: None Current rank: Silver 0

Effect - Iron: Create a small vortex hovering above your right shoulder, draining the mana of nearby hostile creatures. Gain a boost to mana regeneration depending on the number of creatures affected. The pace of both mana drain and the boost to mana regeneration is based on your [Recovery] attribute.

Effect - Bronze: Create an additional vortex, increasing the range and area of the ability. Spirit Vortex can now choose to focus its effect on a single target for greatly increased effect.

Effect - Silver: Create an additional vortex. Focusing all vortices at a single target will inflict it with [Inescapable] for as long as it remains within range of the ability.

[Inescapable] - Affliction, Magic: Subject cannot be affected by teleport or non-damaging dimension effects.

As his opponent was of a higher rank, it had taken some time for the affliction to take hold, hence Kite’s patient and more reactive stance. But as he had felt the three vortices seemingly take hold of the silver-ranked ruler, he knew that the tone of the battle was about to change.

Even as he drew Carmine Sunrise in one hand to project another attack towards his foe, Kite’s fan appeared in his other. In a sweeping motion, he activated its enchantments to send a powerful gust of wind which in turn cleared the fog around the combatants in a wide area.

The ruler of the glacier was very fast, but as Kite started sending out his projected attacks towards it, he realized that a lot of its speed was directed towards how fast it struck. It tried to claw at the ground to drag itself away from his attack, but even its silver rank did not help it evade the slash which detonated inside one of its arms, further hobbling its attempts to scramble out of the way.

“Was it that reliant on its teleportation?” Kite thought, sending another series of attacks towards the ghoulish monster, more of its pale blue blood soon covering the ice in a trail after its several additional attempts to leap into different banks of fog.

Finally seeming to realize that its teleportation would indeed remain unavailable, the monster finally skidded to a halt and turned swiftly, its front claws digging deep furrows into the ice. As it howled towards Kite, he too stopped and braced himself just in time.

Flexing its long arms, the monster flung itself towards Kite like a pallid comet trailing fog from its open mouth. The movement felt almost as instantaneous as the teleportation, further proving that a lot of its silver-rank attributes were focused around its arms. But unfortunately for the ruler, years of sparring with Dragonfly had left him quite used to such tactics. And his favored response had remained the same.

“Wall!”

Thanking Fortune for his shortened incantations and his time spent with master Stone, the weeks with the reclusive master now feeling like a lifetime ago, Kite had just enough time to call upon his walls of force. The pane in front of him was almost immediately turned opaque by the cracks of impacts, with the rest of the walls appearing in his usual favored labyrinthine spread of small wall segments. Kite did not hesitate to shatter the barrier with his staff, wave of resonating force damage washing over the monster who soon came at him again.

What followed afterwards was a furious and brutal melee, the ghoulish monster using ice-enhanced attacks to tear at Kite and his barriers as it relentlessly used its long arms to claw itself after him as he took measured steps among the intervening barriers. Its long arms became more of a hindrance in the tight confines, and while its attributes where greater than Kite’s on most fronts, it remained obvious that its inability to teleport was well and truly hobbling its ability to fight properly.

Still, it had all the resilience one might expect from a silver-ranked entity, and Kite already knew that he was starting to lag behind in terms of damaging special attacks compared to other essence users such as Will or Dragonfly. Even with all his defensive measures, the fight meant that he took the occasional blow, with the charges from Sage steadily spent to cleanse the mounting cold-afflictions. It also did not take too long for most of the barrier-walls to have been shredded or detonated by Kite as they were on the verge of breaking.

“I need to speed this up, or risk things taking a turn for the worse down this particularly foggy road,” Kite thought, his mind calm and almost detached in his combat meditation, and he made a decision. Or rather, a sacrifice.

The aforementioned fog had gradually started creeping closer again, and the haze still seemed to embolden the monster even if Kite’s vortices still negated its teleportation. And said fog was suddenly lit up, a white beacon appearing within which soon focused into the shape of a staff capped with a pair of rings dangling from its circular head.

The ruler was not deterred, which proved to be a mistake. It dove into the gathering fog, claws outstretched, only to be sent flying back out again as if hit by an avalanche. This time, Kite leapt after it by using some stored momentum from Unyielding, Immutable Echo still emitting its fierce glow.

Since he had allowed the stored power of Something from Nothing to be channeled into the weapon, it was as if every aspect of the weapon, from striking power to the power of its enchantments, had been greatly amplified. As he brought down the staff on top of the prone figure, its head trailing the spatial tears of Void-Sunders-Firmament, Kite marveled at how it suddenly felt like he had grasped a lightning bolt, the hum of power almost painful in his grip.

From earlier experiences experimenting with the power, he knew that it would not last too long with the amount of fragments that had been consumed, but during that time it would become something amazing. The ruler had barely started rising, long arms flailing to find purchase, before Kite’s next blow struck, and then another. Channeling all that he had learned from his time training under Phiona, Kite used every trick and technique he knew to keep the solid blows raining down on the beast, all of his special attacks used as often as possible.

While Disrupting strike did not have the most direct use against this particular foe, it still ensured that the transcendent flashes of Undeniable kept lighting up the chill cave. Accepting a painful gash across his midriff, Kite managed another swing which finally broke one of the monster’s arms, spatial tears severing the last of the flesh to cause the limb to fall to the side.

This meant that as the glow of the infusion of Something from Nothing faded, Kite stood above his foe, it’s aura just having winked out like the flame of a guttering candle just a few seconds before. He was worn and a bit ragged, but nowhere near as torn up as he thought that he would be. Because Kite had just defeated his first silver rank monster all by himself.

“I- did it,” he said, the combat meditation slowly falling away and giving way to elation. “Heavens, I did it!”

He was so caught up in the sense of victory that he completely forgot about the local monsters’ tendency to go up in rainbow smoke very soon after perishing. The mouthful of the foulest of stenches was a brutal reminder, and Kite did not feel as glorious in his victory when he finally managed to stagger back to his feet.

Where the ruler of the glacier had lain, only treasure remained. Piles of quintessence, the shards bigger and more vibrant than those he had previously seen, surrounded a central prize; a deformed, many-eyed skull seemingly made from black ice with fog continuously leaking from between its fanged jaws.

“A ruler slain, a prize claimed,” the officiator said somberly from beside Kite. “Is this one that you will want to incorporate into your path, trial-taker?”

“That remains to be seen, but I do not think so,” Kite said, stashing away the different treasures. He took another look at the skull before it too went into a dimensional pouch. “This just happened to be a target of opportunity after my recent advancement, and I have to admit that Fortune smiled upon me more than I expected, given how weakened it became after losing its ability to shift through the fog.”

“The strength of your path allowed you to conquer. That is all there is to it.”

“While I will not let pride consume my judgment just yet, I do believe that it is a fine start,” Kite agreed. “And I still have eleven to go.”

“I will remind you that only three are required to pass the trial.”

“I do remember, but will admit to some ambition in that regard. Someone truly considerate of their paths would want to gather as many options as possible before letting this opportunity go to waste, no?”

Ivory could barely believe his misfortune as he stood to the side of mistress Pristine, aura under firm control, while she and the young mistress in front of her were discussing something which might jeopardize his whole purpose with having accepted this time of servitude in the first place.

“- will be most sufficient. Your family is truly one of means and dedication, young mistress Pillar. I hope that you can understand our reticence in allowing just anyone to access the queen’s gift?”

The woman seated across the table took her time to sip her tea, copper locks framing the beautiful face of a silver ranker. While she was clad in fine silks at the moment, Ivory had to admit that she very much had the poise of a warrior even though he had yet to see which way her path used to force itself towards the heavens.

“Of course, mistress Pristine. It would be a shame if just anyone could access the queen’s gates and squander her gifts,” she agreed. While she didn’t even glance towards him, Ivory still got the distinct impression that her comment had been directed at him.

“Who are you to set yourself up so high,” he thought, inwardly seething. “I have never heard of your family, so they can’t be all that grand.” It was only through the discipline taught him by his sect that he managed to keep his face impassive. His role was to act according to the whims of the Pristines for a time, and he had to endure. “Besides, her attempting the gate’s challenge does not mean that she will actually conquer it. Most who attempt do not return, after all.”

The pair of women continued chatting pleasantly for a while before the young mistress finally put her cup down, clearly indicating that she was to end the conversation. “Then I believe that matters are settled. Fate will not wait for me any longer, mistress. I would like to take on the gate at once.”

“Ah, of course, young mistress. Please, follow me,” the mistress of the house said, rising and giving a small gesture for Ivory to follow.

As they walked through the Pristine family compound, Ivory’s mind couldn’t help but ponder his situation. “I am unsure whether actually running their errands or being paraded around as a bodyguard is the greatest insult,” he thought sourly. While the contracts had seemed decent enough, protecting the family’s investments and sometimes dealing with some underhanded attempts of sabotage from other essence users who were no doubt retained much like Ivory, he still didn’t like the feel of it all. It made him feel used, and he still seriously doubted that the Pristines were only acting this way out of some kind of sense of obligation.

The group entered the fine garden with the gate, and Ivory’s thoughts drifted apart like the fog beneath the morning sun. As always, the gate was magnificent. Possessing the iron essence, Ivory could properly appreciate how exotic and unique the metal from which it was built truly was.

“To see the queen work her wonders,” he thought. “Those from centuries past were more fortunate than they knew.”

At least the young mistress seemed to appreciate what lay before her as well, stopping and gazing in awe at the circular construct which stood like a silent watcher.

“This… this is what destiny feels like,” she breathed, mistress Pristine nodding along.

“I hope that the heavens smile upon you and your path, young mistress Pillar,” the older woman said as she nodded encouragingly.

The young mistress stepped towards the hovering ring, visibly steadying herself before she looked back to the other two.

“Let this day be remembered as the one where Rose among Sheltered Pillars took her first step towards the greatness that would be her future,” she solemnly declared. Ivory could only clench his jaw and watch as she turned back to the gate and slowly but decisively stepped through.

Only for her foot to land on the other side, her body passing through the empty space as if it was just that; empty. Both Ivory and mistress Pristine looked as stunned as the younger woman, who turned with a blank stare towards the gate. She bent down and reached into the earth below, her hand seemingly disappearing into the soil to return clutching a token which Ivory immediately recognized, as he had one of his own as well.

Clutching the token in her hand, the young mistress walked through the gate once more, but with the same result. Three more times she tried the same, and Ivory could sense her getting more and more flustered each time. Eventually she stopped, and turned towards them. Her face was placid, but her aura… Now that was another thing entirely.

Mistress Pristine returned into her quarters after seeing the irate young mistress Pillar to the door. This whole debacle had cost her, both face and resources. While the Pillar’s weren’t a top family by any means, they still had their holdings a lot closer to the capital than the Pristine’s did. They would have been an excellent contact if things had gone well, and their money would always have been put into good use. But said resources had left along with the young mistress, and mistress Pristine was unsure how effective her attempts at placation had been.

During the time after discovering her inability to enter the gate, the young mistress had leveled allegations ranging from the gate being fake to other, more vague plots to slander her good name. Mistress Pristine had apologized and denied such accusations, of course, but she had not shared her own theory as to why the gate would not work.

“Retainer, attend me!”

At her call, inner disciple Ivory entered, his face stoically neutral as usual.

“Yes, mistress?”

“Do you have your token on your person?”

“Pardon, mistress-”

“Your token to the queen’s gate?”

“I- yes, mistress.”

“Good. We go to the garden at once, so I hope that you are prepared. You will use it to confirm my suspicions. Should they prove false, you will have entered the gate, and only the queen’s legacy and the heavens may decide your fate. But should they prove true…”

“Mistress?”

“Only one challenger at a time can enter the queen’s gate, retainer. And if you, like the young mistress, cannot, then it can only mean one thing; someone is already inside.”