Three echoes of Dallion mixed with his instances, running down the corridor. All three of them did a point attack, and all three had the attacks deflected back at them. Whatever technique the enemy echo was using, it was superior to anything Dallion had seen. No question about it. If it came to a standard fight, he’d lose.

What happens if an echo kills the owner of its domain? Dallion asked.

Nothing, the old echo said. An echo can’t destroy the realm it’s part of. If it’s an invading echo, it can take control of the realm, but even then, there’s nothing it could do to the owner. Well, nothing other than change his way of thinking.

There was no way the enemy echo was an invader. Dallion would have seen some indication if that were the case.

What about limiting skills? He pressed on. Or delevelling?

Only the Order can do that.

They can switch sides too.

Dallion had seen clerics work for the Mirror Pool. Would it be a stretch to think they would ally themselves with someone capable of destroying the empire? From what he knew, there were three great powers in the world: the Tamin Empire, the Order of the Seven Moons, and the mage Academy. It would be quite convenient if two of those happened to spontaneously implode, leaving the order to mop up things, ushering in a new age of peace and prosperity throughout the world. It sounded plausible, if only it hadn’t been for the echo’s rantings. The Age of the Seventh Moon… that’s what he had said. It was oddly specific, especially uttered by someone who wasn’t a mage.

“Leave my realm!” Raven shouted. “My fight isn’t with you. Let me leave and you won’t be harmed.”

“Will your brother allow that?” Dallion asked.

There was no answer.

“You know he’ll kill both of us. He pretty much said so.” Dallion filled his words with sadness and fear. “He considers you more of a threat than me. I’m just a hunter, but you’re the one who can take his place as your father’s heir.”

As he spoke, Dallion started casting a spell—one rather intricate that he had learned from Harp.

“I never wanted to be heir!” Raven shouted. Dallion’s music skills had had an effect, just not the one he’d hoped for. “Everything I do is in support of my brother! He’s the true heir, stronger than I’ll ever be.”

What were you saying about influencing the thoughts of the realm owner, Nil? Dallion sped up his casting.

The boy was already gone. There was no telling when Raven had the echo added to his realm, but it had done a terrifying job.

Sorry I have to do this, kid, Dallion thought, then cast the water portal spell.

Water burst into the chamber, filling it within seconds. Dallion’s instances faded away as he prepared for an underwater fight. This brought him back to the time Katka had tried to kill him. At the time, they were fighting for the remnants of a cloud citadel. If only he’d had magic at the time, he’d have been able to memorize the spells she used. Instead, he had to make do with makeshift substitutes. An aether sphere surrounded him, providing protection from water and attacks alike. Following it, Dallion cast a series of attack spells, sending projectiles down the tunnel as it was being flooded with water. And just to make things more uncomfortable for his enemies, Dallion bent down, extending his magic threads through the protective sphere to create a heat symbol on the floor.

Going a bit overboard, aren’t you, dear boy? Nil asked.

“Whatever gives me an advantage.” Dallion floated away from the heat source.

New sets of his instances moved to the entrance of the tunnel in an attempt to keep up the pressure. Many of them even ended their protective spell and rushed in. Before any could get even ten steps in, the walls and ceiling of the corridors disappeared.

Reality instantly shifted. Dallion was no longer in an underground dungeon, but on top of a large tower. Sky and stars were all around him, along with six of the seven Moons.

No longer constrained by the walls, the water slammed onto the stone floor, flowing off the sides of the tower.

“What the heck?!” Dallion asked, looking around. Judging by the vast emptiness that surrounded the tower, it was going to take years before the area was flooded.

“Nice try,” someone laughed.

A hundred feet away, standing on the opposite side of the tower’s terrace, were two figures. Dallion instantly recognized the childlike features of Raven. He seemed beyond exhausted, breathing heavily, hands ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice. A large chameleon was sitting on his shoulders, wrapped around him like a giant collar.

That’s why you finish off threats, especially magic ones, Nil said with a sigh. They have a nasty tendency of biting you in the ass later on.

It wasn’t the creature that had Dallion worried, but the person behind Raven, or rather the echo. Never before had Dallion seen the boy’s older brother, but it was obvious he had all the hallmarks of a noble. Wearing a vest of dragon scales over a shirt of sapphire threads, the man rose over two heads above his brother. He seemed rather young, possibly a few years younger than Dallion himself, with a broad frame and flawless pale skin. The knee-length boots he was wearing were entirely made of sea iron, complementing his jade-black trousers.

Seeing Dallion, the echo smirked.

“Catchy spell,” Raven continued. “I’ll have to remember it for later.”

“You’re not the one fighting,” Dallion said. “You’re barely standing.”

“No!” Clusters of spite and shame appeared throughout the boy’s body. Despite being in no condition to fight, he was a lot more frightened of disappointing his brother than anything else. Clearly, he was ready to fight to the death, or even to the loss of his realm.

Nil, can an echo be crazy? Dallion asked.

Usually, yes, but that’s not the case here. Raven’s doing this. His unstable state of mind, combined with the power of the Moonstone, has allowed him influence the realm and everything in it. And since the echo is part of the realm… Let’s say that certain buried thoughts might have leaked through.

A likely excuse. Dallion wasn’t in the least convinced. While it was true that acting like a maniac was a certain way to get shunned, as long as a noble had the strength to back it up, everything was possible. If mage Argus was indeed taking his orders from this person, he had to be incredibly strong. Just how strong, Dallion intended to find out.

“You think you can defeat the emperor?” Dallion shouted, looking at the echo.

“I already have.” The echo crossed its arms in an arrogant fashion.

“So, you‘ve said. From my point of view, he’s still standing. And given that Archduke Dreud is still in control of his province, I’d say you’re nothing but another puppet.”

It wasn’t much of a provocation, but it sparked a response. Unfortunately, to Dallion, it also sparked two.

The noble summoned a saber, but before he could do anything, Raven cast a dozen spells. Rings of aether blades and spears emerged in the air. These were no novice spells, they were something a battlemage would use.

Nox, delay him! Dallion shouted as he started casting a new spell.

The crackling divided into a litter of cubs, each of which dashed at Raven. Simultaneously, Lux lifted Dallion upwards.

Aether blades filled the air, flying towards Dallion like homing missiles. Despite the firebird’s attempts at evasion, they refused to let up. If Dallion had his hands free, he could scatter them with a single line attack, but doing so would cause his current spell to fizzle.

Spears struck the ground, focusing on the approaching cracklings. Apparently, the boy wasn’t stupid, taking everything into account. Nox was able to evade most thanks to his current level, but the moment he got remotely close, Raven’s echo did a casual line attack.

 

 

Three red rectangles stacked up, as the line of destruction sliced through crackling cubs. A large chunk of the tower slid off, falling into the abyss below.

“Nox, get out of here!” Dallion ordered just as he finished his spell.

Casting a death ray at a child wasn’t something to be proud of, but it was better than being dead.

Dozens of aether barriers emerged in front of Raven in an attempt to delay the inevitable. The ray effortlessly shattered them, striking the boy’s shoulder.

 

 

With a cry, Raven fell on his knees. His spells had prevented him from losing outright, but even so he had suffered significant damage.

“Thank the Moons I missed,” Dallion whispered.

You didn’t, Nil said. The chameleon shifted reality just enough to avoid a fatal hit.

“Why not completely?”

The creature has its limits, too. Besides, it’s only the boy that was hit, not the chameleon.

Summoning his harpsisword, Dallion performed a series of point attacks, scattering the pursuing aether blades like twigs. Each attack reduced the pack more and more until, a few seconds later, there were none of them left.

“Pitiful,” the echo said, standing above Raven. “You can’t even defeat a mongrel.”

“I’m not done!” The boy insisted. Desperate, he tried to stand back up in an effort to cast a spell, but his hands were shaking.

The effect of the Moonstone had worn off. After receiving that final wound, it was no longer easy to cast spells, even simple ones. Raven made an attempt nonetheless, only to have it fizzle in the air. In response, the echo of his brother slammed him in the back of the head with his boot.

No red rectangles appeared. Knowing what’s best for it, the reality chameleon vanished from the boy’s shoulders, making an attempt to land on the echo’s. The action wasn’t appreciated, resulting in an instantaneous dagger through the torso. The strike was so fast that Dallion didn’t even see it.

“Disgusting creature.” The echo said, brushing it off. “Almost as useless as my brother.”

Possibly the only reality chameleon to be captured, Nil grumbled. Such a waste.

I think we should be more concerned about Raven, Dallion thought. Didn’t you say that echoes couldn’t harm the realm’s owner?

You can’t call that an attack. Granted, I wouldn’t dare try anything of the sort on you.

The old echo seemed remarkably calm regarding the situation. That could only suggest that he had a perfect idea of what had happened, but was unable to share.

A few moments later, Dallion felt the magic within him diminish. The best way to describe it was like a slight draft, taking away the warmth from within him. It wasn’t unpleasant, nor sudden, just a gradual decrease, bringing him back to normal. All the powerful spells that Dallion had been able to cast moments ago could no longer be repeated. Try as he might, he couldn’t recall the symbols or now to draw them.

“Out of juice already?” the echo asked. “And I was hoping to have some fun.”

“I still have my attack skills,” Dallion said.

“Just as trash as the rest of you.” The echo laughed. Mania the size of grapefruit appeared within its body. Even if Raven had brought the initial insanity into his realm, the echo was doing a pretty good job of it on its own. “I’ve no idea how the mage lost. His puppet must have been completely useless to end up defeated by you.”

“Echoes have their limitations.” Dallion summoned the armadil shield to his arm. “One hit is all it takes.”

“Is that right?” The echo tapped the blade of his saber on his boot. The weapon began to vibrate. “I’ve always wanted the weapon you had. Once I’m done with you, I’ll come take it.”