
Once the sentient accursed left and the chains wrapped around Anna loosened, she slowly opened her eyes.
The chain around her forehead similarly lost strength, presumably because it realized it could not do the task it was assigned.
Each of her and Aria’s chains clattered against the ground. They didn’t disperse, which was a prominent indicator of their power.
What was that burn her forehead felt? Was that him activating the ability? It was powerful—she didn’t even feel its effects. Or was it just a corruption accelerator?
It didn’t matter—her plan worked.
“Quickly!” Anna quietly exclaimed, activating her apex sigil. Her vision blackened for only a second before she soared into Aria. “We have to tell Elyanthra as fast as possible!”
Aria’s response was to maximize her enhancements and burst forward. With her Demonification already active, she easily sprinted down the island.
“I don’t feel his aura,” Aria said as she ran, even noting that as she sprinted. “He’s already at the door.”
“A movement ability… we’re not… we’re not going to get there in time,” Anna muttered.
She could make them fly with her imbuement on the wooden platform, but it was nowhere near as fast as Elyanthra’s flight. Getting back to the Titan Forest would take at least ten minutes.
“Yes…” Aria said so quietly that Anna wouldn’t have been able to hear it if she weren’t within her.
It was over.
All of their hard work was gone.
But what else was she to do?
Aria quickly reached the front of the island and immediately stepped on the wooden platform.
Anna released her apex sigil and activated her imbuement on it.
“I’ll do this as fast as I can, but it won’t matter,” she said. She controlled it after, allowing it to carefully lift them into the air.
Why did her mana have to be so damn difficult to control? Soaring through the sky? She could barely hover over a lake, which already took every ounce of focus to maintain.
That began the slow trip back to the Titan Forest.
Even though her aura sense would tell her if someone followed, Aria occasionally checked behind them. Then again, that mattered little when he had movement skills.
Whatever it was, he emerged next to them before Aria even felt his presence.
Eventually, the platform settled on the grass after what felt like the longest ten minutes of Anna’s life.
And they sprinted back to the Library of the Lost.
It wasn’t long until it crept into view, and the gate opened for them before they even reached it.
“Thank god,” Anna exclaimed.
They’d sit there helplessly for hours if Elyanthra wasn’t there! And that would mean risking that accursed coming for them—especially since he would find out they were immune to corruption.
If Anna was an accursed, she’d make finding someone immune the top priority over literally everything else.
Anna stepped through first, with Aria closely behind.
Elyanthra was there on the bottom floor.
“Aria, Anna. What’s wrong? I was just about to—”
“We saw the sentient accursed!” Anna quickly said. She continued as hastily as she could, “He stopped us at the island with some kind of binding chain and took all the keys! All ten of them! He’s probably getting the waypoint stone as we speak! We have to go!” Anna finally breathed after she finished.
“What?” Elyanthra said in disbelief, her brows furrowed. Judging by her position, she was actually just about to leave the Library herself. She began walking toward the gate. “Please explain.”
“No time,” Aria said. “We must leave now if you want any hope of stopping him.”
Anna eagerly nodded.
It was probably already too late, but she could not accept losing everything so quickly.
“You’re right, let’s—” Elyanthra’s ears suddenly twitched, and she stopped shy of the exit. She looked into the air as though someone above had suddenly spoken to her. “M-my lord?!”
Zeruphirin.
Did he see what happened?
Elyanthra’s face fell. A few seconds passed, with her only nodding to herself and shifting through confusion and shock.
“What’s wrong?” Aria finally asked.
“My lord… my lord saw what happened to you, and it is…” Elyanthra sighed. “It is too late.”
“What? He’s gone? That’s… that’s it?” Anna’s last hope collapsed so easily. Even while telling herself it likely wasn’t possible, she was still hopeful… until then.
“He left the island with the waypoint stone right as you entered the gate.”
And Zeruphirin couldn’t stop him? No… that was probably what the sentient meant by saying they could finally move.
They were just too slow? By barely a few minutes…
If only Anna could control her imbuement better! All she needed to do was make the platform fly faster, and they would have been back so fast. The potential was there; she was just weak.
Her palms hurt from her nails digging into them.
“And now, he knows we’re immune to corruption,” Aria gravely said. “What does Zeruphirin say we do?”
That was the question, wasn’t it?
Without that waypoint stone, they could not do a thing. Their plans were frozen right there, and they would not find that Elf. Even Zeruphirin couldn’t feel their presence unless they left their holes.
“He has asked for us to commune with him together.”
“In that cave?” Aria asked.
If it was in that cave, then it meant Anavel would be there, too!
“Yes—immediately.” Elyanthra turned and speed-walked toward the elevator platform. “He will guide us properly.”
Regardless of what he could offer, the feeling of failure wouldn’t be dampened.
The elevator quickly took them to the top floor, where Elyanthra immediately led them to the communion room, and before the stone.
“What do we do?” Aria asked.
“Stand beside me and place your hands on the stone.”
They complied.
Anna’s vision warped as she felt all the mana within her tremble as it did the last time she touched the orb.
Rushing winds hit her ears, and she felt that pull on her being once again.
It only lasted a moment before she found herself in that familiar environment.
A cavern with a large lake in the center, with the only sound being the dripping water in the distance. The air felt heavy, but not like the corruption. It was like standing in a holy place with how it made Anna feel.
His eye was opened in the lake.
Zereuphirin’s deep and powerful emerald-green eye—it was way, way stronger than the disgusting accursed.
Staring at it felt like baring everything.
“I am pleased to find your methods less brutish,” Anavel said.
“Anavel!”
She was standing behind Anna without her even feeling anything!
“Hello.”
“How are you here?” Aria asked.
They were all there. Elyanthra was standing there, her eyes locked onto Zeruphirin’s with a dark expression. Aria was beside Anna, similarly shocked to see Anavel.
“This space is strange, is it not?” Anavel said, her eyes following one of the green whisps through the air. “I did not have to feel a brute tugging on my soul this time.”
“You saw everything?” Anna eagerly asked.
Anavel had long been like an older sister to Anna, and being able to ask for her input felt like seeking wisdom from an elder. It made her feel more at ease.
“Naturally.” Anavel stepped closer so she could look into Zeruphirin’s eye. “If I had a bit of the Radiance stored, I would have used the attempted attack on our soul to make him suffer for his arrogance.”
“What?” Aria asked.
There it was: the confidence and strength to make Anna feel like their situation wasn’t all that bad. Even if it technically meant she was powerless as well.
“He will die; it is only a matter of when,” Anavel said. “How dare he leave us with a mark?”
“A mark?”
She recalled the poking she felt when the accursed tried to corrupted her!
“Likely to track us,” Anavel said. “It is… too powerful for us to remove. If we had Radiant corruption with us…” she shook her head. “It does not matter.”
“What do you mean?!” Anna exclaimed. “He can track us!”
“We now have no reason to leave the Library.”
“That’s…”
That was still a horrible thing to know! Given that Zeruphirin hadn’t said anything, he likely couldn’t remove it either. Did they really just have to kill the accursed first?
“The mark… I cannot feel it,” Zeruphirin said, his voice vibrating the cave despite how exhausted he sounded. He spoke slowly and in an obvious attempt to control his sound. “It is not the work of a spell but of a powerful artifact. I know not its effect, but Anavel Frost may be correct.”
“I will kill him,” Aria confidently said. “We will get it removed.”
“I… I guess.”
She was definitely confined to the Library for the foreseeable future. Unless they wanted to use her as bait, which probably wouldn’t work.
“My lord,” Elyanthra quietly said. “Do you have a path for us to follow?”
“Elyanthra,” Zeruphirin quietly said as his eyelid narrowed slightly. “It is time for the Library of the Lost to see its mission fulfilled.”
“But, my lord…” Elyanthra trailed off.
“How are we going to get the waypoint stone he took?” Anna asked.
“Worry not. They will bring the waypoint stone to the Library in his attempt to seize it for the Taint.”
“And we… want that?”
“It would have happened regardless of his actions,” Anavel said. “This is better—you will not have to sneak through the priests.”
“What?”
“Do you really believe you would have engaged the priests?” Anavel looked at Aria with a subtle hint of mocking—like she was calling her an idiot. “Each one is of higher strength than the one you killed.”
Yeah, Anna knew that. It was a conversation she and Aria hadn’t had, but that would definitely be how it went. The priests were among Sorana’s elite, after all. To think they had a chance in a direct fight was ridiculous.
Even Elyanthra said it was likely going to be a stealth mission.
But it still sucked to have their work ruined.
“Anavel is correct,” Zeruphirin said. “Elyanthra has done marvelous work obtaining the other three waypoint stones. All that remains is the one stolen from us.”
“Wait, what?” Anna exclaimed.
“You already obtained three?” Aria asked, similarly in shock.
“I received the last one earlier today,” Elyanthra explained—but she didn’t look happy. “The only thing that prevented my gathering of them prior was the constant corruption attacking my soul.” She looked gratefully at Anavel. “Without that threat looming over me, it only took a few… somewhat harsh battles to obtain them.”
That was part of what triggered the sentient accursed. It was definitely because Elyanthra had been going out every day and getting the stones. While he couldn’t know she was resistant, it was still a signal to push forward. Then, many things lined up.
“You getting them is part of what alerted them to move,” Anavel said. “That, and Zeruphirin’s dwindling influence.”
The other factor—Zeruphirin’s waning life. Anna couldn’t truly understand how bad it was and how much he struggled.
“M—most likely,” Elyanthra agreed. “My lord, do we allow the Library to be attacked? If I fight… most of it will be destroyed.”
“And that’s probably what they’re counting on,” Anna said. “You holding back because you don’t want to cause any damage.”
They could fight below it, but there was no telling what kind of destruction there would be. Plus, it was highly likely they had some way to enter the tower that was unknown to Elyanthra.
“His presence means they are nearly prepared for their assault,” Zeruphirin said. “You will meet them in the forest.”
Oh, god—already. They expected it, but now they had to fight just to get the Library out of Sorana.
“How long do we have?” Aria asked.
“I suspect you will have a week to prepare.”
“You must allow us to make contact with Bastion,” Anavel said. “It is no longer a stalling battle while we activate the waypoint stones—we will have to face them directly for recovery.”
And that was impossible. They were talking about thousands, maybe even millions of accursed ready to advance.
If the sentient accursed wanted, they could have every accursed on Sorana marching toward them.
“But…” Elyanthra paused, instead sighing. “My lord, please allow me to contact those that Anna and Aria trust.”
“Yeah!” Anna excitedly said. “Since we can’t just teleport it with minimal fighting anymore, we really, really need help!”
But also, she really wanted to see Earth again.
“That is a must,” Anavel said. “We cannot fight an army on our own—I will not allow Annabelle to take such a ridiculous risk.”
“Agreed,” Aria said.
All of them looked toward the eye expectantly.
Zeruphirin blinked. “Naturally, I am prepared to make contact with your organization. I have adapted one of the Waypoint Stones for it, though it is highly unstable.”
Anna’s heart sped up.
“Can you send us?” she asked.
“Unfortunately, I can only send Elyanthra—her soul is the only one that would be fine with such a long, forceful teleport without a linking agent.”
“My lord? But I… they will not trust me.”
Before Anna could say anything, Anavel raised her hand to stop her. “A forceful teleportation from that distance left Aria incapacitated for nearly a month.”
“But our souls are stronger,” Aria objected.
“Not strong enough.”
“Anavel is correct,” Zeruphirin said. “The waypoint stone will place immense pressure on your soul, and no other here will arrive conscious.”
“In other words—at the very least—you will not be conscious during the arrival,” Anavel said. She gestured toward Elyanthra. “And she will have no fear of imprisonment.”
“Can Anna use her apex sigil?” Aria asked.
“I would not risk it.”
Anavel was right.
Anna went from the height of excitement to the ground. She was so, so close to seeing her home after so long… yet it was not meant to be.
“Okay,” she sighed. “We send Elyanthra. But how will she get back?”
“I will place a seed of my being within her, and she need only call upon it. This… will be the last direct thing I can do for the coming battle, as I foresee myself similarly being attacked.”
Insurance, then. He was already unable to do much, and an all-out assault on him would likely accelerate his corruption.
“My lord?!”
“Do not fret, Elyanthra.”
“My lord…”
“Useful,” Anavel said.
At least Anna would be able to potentially see Alisha or Gromak again.
“Okay,” Aria said. “But you must only speak to Alisha—no one else, regardless of who they claim to be.”
“Or Gromak!”
Anna recalled that Alisha would often be absent from the academy.
“Understood—do not worry, Anna, Aria,” Elyanthra said, lowering her head. “I will not disrespect your homeland.”
“Do not be afraid of putting some of the arrogant in their proper place,” Anavel said. “Humans tend to let a little power get to their heads.”
“You’re in that box, too!” Anna said.
But she really couldn’t object.
“Really? It is hard to view myself as such.”
That was definitely a conversation for another day.
“I will send Elyanthra immediately so that we may prepare for the coming week,” Zeruphirin said.
“What about us?” Anna asked.
“Training,” Aria said. “For what little time we have.”
“Indeed.”
“Okay…” But Anna had an idea. “Elyanthra! You have to make sure you get Gromak to come with you! He can probably teach me about golemancy.”
Elyanthra smiled. “Understood, Anna.”
“Good idea,” Anavel said.
“Go now, and prepare yourselves—I will watch for their attack, and we will not be caught off guard.”
With that, Anna found herself whisked through space once again, returning to the communion chamber.
Elyanthra was not there. Apparently, that was also something he could do with the communion stone.
“Let’s… go train, I guess.”
“Yes.”
She was still somewhat excited.