Part 1 –

 

Hours ago –

Exrite and the others arrived at a decisive conclusion. The lives of those fighting in Palvel were unlikely to survive within the next 12 hours. The remaining stretch would take 10 hours at most.

A full day would have elapsed by the time they arrived. The overwhelming odds made it incredibly unlikely for anyone to be left alive by the time they reached Palvel.

The little Priestess clutched onto Exrite’s sleeve. She painfully dragged her rugged gaze up at him from Lizen’s lap, her lips trembling weakly like she was on the verge of giving in.

“Exrite… Can we save them? Hope – Goddess Hope told me you can save them.” Inkshard’s croaked with crushing sadness. “I don’t want to believe they’re already dead. Isn’t there… something we can do?”

“We won’t know until we get there. To be clear with you, the chances they’re still alive is slim. Way too slim.” He admitted apologetically.

Exrite did not want to lie to her. Neither did he want to grant her false hope. Whether she was a child or not did not matter to him so long as he could tell her the truth. However – it was not like he didn’t understand what was going through her mind.

He could tell from Inkshard’s eyes that she wanted to refute. To proclaim that they had a fighting chance. But the memory of Lizen’s mangled body and the slaughter she witnessed in that place caused her tiny paws to tremble.

Frosty instantly grew irriatated and was on the verge of lashing out at him. The least he could do was reassure her. To give them hope. It was after all, the best thing to do for a child. But Exrite did the exact opposite.

Or so she thought.

He gently tapped the little Inkshard on her head with his right hand.

“– But Anoma didn’t strike me as the kind who’d die that easily. She worked me to the bone. Out of all the years I’ve watched people swing their blades at me; none were anything like her. As far as normal people go anyway.” He hinted at White’s proficiency with the blade. “Your friends also have the best chance of survival out of everyone there. Remember Lizen’s miracle? They likely have the same magic that kept her alive.”

His words, while optimistic, were not lies. Exrite truly believed that they did in fact have that chance of survival. To begin with, he never did say that their chances were non-existent. The smallest chance was all they needed.

Lizen was quick to latch onto his optimism, agreeing that her two Otherworlder companions wouldn’t die that easily. Neither Anoma or the Taniawort siblings that watched over them.

“W-What about my mother? She’s still in there fighting with them. What about her?” Inkshard meekly muttered, begging for a hopeful answer.

“She was aboard an airship, wasn’t she? That makes her the safest by far. Still, there’s no knowing what’s going on in Palvel now. Inkshard. The worst-case scenario is that they’re already dead. The best case is that they’ll be able to hold on for another 10 hours until we arrive.”

“Hey. Exrite. Can’t you word it a little better?” Frosty grumbled, following it with a short huff.

“Isn’t there something we can do right now? I’ll keep asking no matter what it takes. Hope told me this was the only way. If she lied, then… then… what’s the point in believing in them anymore?” Inkshard, as the main Priestess of Balance, said something rather interesting.

He could only imagine the faces of the White Knights if they heard this.

Black couldn’t help but to smirk, whereas Uru’s brow slightly twitched in response.

He thought silently for a moment. Despair was by far the one to watch out for Following her lead only led to a fate well suited for the insufferable. Hope on the other hand was the most likely to help, although, given the inverse nature of hope and despair – he wondered if following Hope’s orders would incite despair instead,

But the circumstances wouldn’t make any sense for it to work.

It wasn’t like Inkshard completely believed in their survival, or that everything was going to go back to normal afterwards.

She wasn’t blind or ignorant.

She was just desperate to save them.

And desperate people make for good pawns, as Exrite concluded if he were to observe Inkshard’s situation in the lens of a cruel Deity. It was reminiscent of how his desperation had tied him into this whole mess in the first place.

“I don’t think she lied to you. The proof is that you were able to reach us. But I don’t blame you for doubting the Children of Balance. They’re Gods with goal I can’t even begin to understand. The losses in Palvel won’t matter to them. It’s a drop of water in the ocean. Still… well, it’s not like you can’t trust them.” His hand eventually fell onto her head, gently rubbing it. “Despair helped me in a number of ways. Hope might be doing the same for you.”

He himself couldn’t believe what he was saying. After his fateful encounter with Despair in the Trial – both his disdain and, somehow, his gratitude towards her had swelled, because he himself had grown as a result of his plunge into that void of despair.

Regardless – that didn’t mean he felt indebted to them. In the end, it was not like it was their choice either to make him the Maiden of Time or the Exrenity.

That fault all belonged to Gaia.

Inkshard’s weakened hands curled into balls by her chest as she struggled to convince herself of their safety. She made a face no child should ever have to bear.

“… they didn’t care that so many of their followers were going to die.” Inkshard whispered. “That’s why I’m unconvinced that they’ll care if… if…”

“Shhh. Inshard. Let’s not lose hope.” Lizen cooed.

Exrite despised having to see Inkshard in such a state. To see someone who was normally a bundle of infectious excitement angered him more than he was willing to admit. He wasn’t exactly as close to her as one would think, but she was still an important person who was there when he was at his lowest point in his life.

He remembered the first time they met. How she argued with him over how to prove he was spoken to by their Goddesses… and the worried face that tried to push him back into the couch in fear for his health…

Yes. She really did fear for the wellbeing of an immortal. If there was any child he wished to see blossom happily from the bottom of his heart, it would be Inkshard.

Second to his own little sister, of course.

But just like when he sought for her help under the advice of the Children of Balance, she too sought for salvation by the very same Gods – and ended up finding him.

There was no telling what they wanted from her when she mentioned that this endeavour was her ‘trial’.

Whatever it meant may be similar to how he was made the Exrenity, so he concluded that she – was in some way – highly important to them.

He spoke again.

“If Hope went as far as to bargain with you just for the sake of meeting with me again, then she won’t let them die. Despair would’ve at least made that obvious to her.”

“Ho? You have a bargaining chip of your own against the Children of Balance?” Uru hummed with intrigue.

“Hope wants to see me in person. They probably knew I wouldn’t ever set another foot back into their Domain even if it killed me. But if they tie my hands like this, then I wouldn’t have a choice. It’s more of a bargain between us than with Inkshard.” Exrite confidently concluded. “Plus, if this is Inkshard’s ‘trial’, then they wouldn’t be so stupid as to make her efforts seem meaningless. They have to survive.”

“Intriguing. Enlighten us on that train of thought of yours – although, I can already see the reasoning behind your bold claim.” Uru spoke as she knelt behind where he sat.

“Hope hasn’t seen me in my other form yet. You’ve seen Auga’s longing for Gaia. How she thought I was her. If Hope really is a creation of Gaia, then she’ll harbour a similar longing for her creator. And if that ends up being true, then she wouldn’t let them die because then I’ll also end up refusing to pay them any piece of my time. Also – think about what it means for you, Uru.”

Uru nearly drooled in pleasure to the thought that wracked her mind with ecstasy. If this were true, then it would be undeniable proof that Gaia, the old Maiden of Time, was the creator of the Children of Balance, and in turn, the Maidens. While they knew this was the truth, they had no concrete evidence other than wild speculations, deductions, and recounts directly from Nav.

If they heard this directly from the Children of Balance on the other hand – then this changed everything for Uru; the Demon who sought for nothing but the truth.

“That’s why a part of me believes they’ll be spared. Both Inkshard and I are the guarantors.” He finished.

Understandably, Inkshard and Lizen had no idea what he was talking about. It was gibberish for all they knew. Phase on the other hand was struck fiercely by this revelation, her movements suddenly becoming rabid before she recomposed herself.

She didn’t know the name of Gaia.

Only Ephyla.

“Gaia? Don’t you mean Ephyla? The one who gave birth to the Children of Balance?” She projected her confused voice into everyone’s mind as Inkshard’s face scrambled to take everything in.

Uru instantly clutched onto Exrite’s shoulders, using his ticking flesh to prevent her from taking immediate, drastic action against the utter heresy she heard the pitiful spirit utter.

“Ephyla must be their false mother. Another lie, this time originating from the lesser species of Hemigale. Ephyla is their deity that dared to bare her fangs against the holy Maiden of Time. Our beloved benefactor who bestowed our race with everything when we had nothing. My ill will extends to her being the natural enemy of my Exrite, and the Goddess of the fetid Beastkin. As the mother of your dearest mother, Phase – I can only despise her before it becomes an insult to my dearest friend.”

Hemigale was the region deepest within the Depths where the Beastkin resided. Ephyla, their Goddess, was also known as Balance – the mother of the Children of Balance. She was a nomadic God from what the world knew. A mysterious being that labelled the Maiden of Time as the usurper, which eventually sparked an endless holy war between the Demons and the Beastkin.

To this day their war still raged on along the desolate region of Truefall, backed by the Demonic Emperors and Empresses of Zeladona, and the Beastkin Champions of Hemistalk. These two regions acted as forward bases for both races – an ultimate line that defended their homelands.

And to think it all began between the Maiden of Time and Ephyla.

As for where the Humanity fell in relation to both these races – Humanity did not believe in the Maiden of Time, and it was believed that the true name and power of Ephyla was stolen by humanity – thus explaining the multi-fronted war between the strongest races in all Eastern Six Point.

The Beastkin blamed mankind for robbing them of their Goddess who had disappeared long ago; and were furious that that the Demons were led by an entity that wished to usurp Ephyla.

Uru explained this in painstaking detail, as if reciting a sermon with every intention to kill anyone that dared to yawn. Black scratched her head, curious about one thing.

“If Gaia’s the creator of the Children of Balance, then why is it well known that your Goddesses are Ephyla’s daughters? I say well known, but this is the first fucking time I’ve heard it. Tch. Not that it matters to us outsiders anyway.” Black scoffed.

Indeed. While Exrite and the others were aware of the name Ephyla, they didn’t know exactly who they were other than being the ancient Goddess of the Beastkin. It was the first time they had heard that Ephyla was the mother of the Children of Balance. In the Enthoric region, as far as Exrite knew, it was widely considered that the name of their so-called mother was never known. More than that, the word ‘balance’ that was derived from their names was believed to be more of an encompassing title, rather than it pertaining to them actually being the daughters of ‘balance’.

Needless to say, it came as a surprise to Exrite to hear the Goddess Ephyla’s name, which was seldomly ever brought up. He had read enough books to house a mental library vaster than most kingdoms. The number of times Ephyla’s name had been mentioned was as low as the number of years he had lived.

“I may have an explanation for that. My Creator was close with the Beastkin long ago. Not to any major extent, but enough to perhaps establish a relationship with their Goddess. I do not recall if the Beastkin had a Goddess at that time, however. The inspiration for the Trial was based on the endless abysses of their homeland, and their culture of descending into its unknown depths. Not all Gods wished to harm her. I vaguely remember the Gods your world knows as the Vevillen High Council offering an oath to defend one of the entrances to the tabletop lands of her birth. I unfortunately cannot recall what she gave in return.”

“Get to the point already.” Black hissed.

“… The point is that Ephyla may have been a front to mask that my Creator is the true mother of the Children of Balance. She was highly sought after by the world, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she collaborated with those willing to aid. For a price at the very least.”

The realisation struck them like lightning. The pieces fell into place neatly in the bizarre puzzle that was the truth of their world. But alas, it was but one corner of the entire picture.

Exrite hoped to gain more from his upcoming encounter with the Children of Balance.

“That makes more sense now. The old Maiden of Time made immense efforts into hiding the Shallows from the rest of the world. But for Ephyla of all beings…” Uru spat, half-satisfied with the answer. “The previous Maiden of Time was Her. For Ephyla to bare her fangs and call Her a usurper...” Her arms slithered over Exrite’s chest as she tried to drown herself in his calming ticking. “My blood can only boil with so much contempt.”

Lizen and Inkshard remained silent throughout their conversation, suddenly realising what they had alluded to. The previous Maiden of Time was not all the world had depicted her as, and if they were correct – then it changed their very perspective on almost everything they believed in.

Phase didn’t know this either, her unintelligible ramblings passing through everyone’s minds as two pairs of sky-blue eyes stared up at Exrite in shock.

“Inkshard. Lizen… Phase. Don’t think too hard about it. I didn’t want to reveal anything at all until the time was right. As far as I’m concerned, the world doesn’t need to know about this. But there’s a Demon here who begs the differ. Trust me, I was shocked as you three were the first time I realised this.” Exrite explained with a short sigh. “Knowing this shouldn’t change anything. For now, at least.”

“Shocked is one way to put it.” Lizen let go of an exasperated sigh as she brought the back of her hand to her head. She continued with a small smile. “But if I had to be honest with myself; and don’t take it the wrong way. I believe in them more than the average Truebirth citizen, so of course I’m shocked. But it’s not a bad kind of shock per say.” Lizen spoke in a tone completely unlike her. She was oddly bubbly. Optimistic even. The stoic demeanour suddenly crumbled away as she set her eyes upon Exrite assumingly. “Besides – I’m more concerned about the others.”

“Exrite… you dummy. Does it look like… I’m in the condition to think about… something like that? When my friends and family… and thousands… are in trouble… how can I stop… and worry about… anything else… I’m the same as her.” Inkshard spoke between long breaths. “Our world could be a lie…. but I wouldn’t mind living in… it if it meant that no one had to get hurt.”

A wholehearted smile formed across his face.

“Yeah. I can’t blame you for thinking like that.” He quietly said right before Khaos suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, you said you met with Despair in the Trial, right Exrite? I’m not sure how those eyes work, but can’t Hope do the same thing and talk to you through the Eye of Hope?” He brought up an extremely important point, causing Exrite to lift his hand away from Inkshard’s head and point to his light blue eye.

Everyone suddenly leaned closer, getting a better look before Frosty reminded:

“Don’t you remember what happened in their Domain? He never got an eye from Hope. You can’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about that?”

“I-It’s been a while, haha. H-Hey!?” He was suddenly struck by a stray elbow.

“Idiot. Exrite got that eye from Gaia.” Frosty pointed out as Exrite nodded.

“Exactly. It’s the Eye of Hope as far as I can tell. But it does not belong to Hope at all. In hindsight, that should’ve been the first clue of Gaia having a blood connection with them. But I would also be lying to myself. Hindsight is poisonous. In case you didn’t know, Gaia doesn’t have red eyes like Despair does. Nav, do you remember her having a red eye like this?”

“No. My creator always had a pair of those blue eyes. I don’t remember a fragment of crimson on her irises. My apologises.”

“Then it’s safe to assume Hope has no way of interacting with me outside of her Domain.” He finished.

“What a convoluted mess.” Black muttered coldly. “So – all of this to figure out that those souls won’t die in there. Now what?”

“Now we figure out a way to get there faster.” White announced, seemingly reading the minds of everyone present.

“Huh? With what? Afterburners? Thrusters? We’re already at Mach-fucking-speed.” Black shrugged with open palms before her eyes steadily fell onto White. “That smug look on your face… what the hell do you have up your sleeve? Go on. Surprise me.”

“Surprise us!” Pale chimed in with childish glee.

White set her sights to Exrite. With one fluid motion, she threw him a small vial containing her blood. He inspected the tiny object for a moment before suddenly cracking the entire thing with a single chomp. A second later his body shrunk in Uru’s arms as he transformed back to his Maidenly form. The sensation of having his body morph was odd to say the least. Until recently Exrite had always fallen unconscious between transformations, but with White’s blood – it was a near instant process.

Thankfully, the sensation wasn’t anything remotely similar to a mana overload. Though at this point he was hardly fazed by that sort of agony anymore. In any case –

“Aren’t you holding me a bit too tightly?” Exrite noted. “I shrunk, didn’t I?”

“Not nearly as much as I wish to.” Uru hummed, slightly tightening her embrace. “Please allow me to indulge myself while you prepare your most exquisite magic. This blessed flesh. The peerless hair. Your forbidden scent –”

“– Huh? For what? You have a way to get us there faster?” Frosty shoved herself into Uru as she perched her face close to Exrite’s, the two struggling for control over Exrite before she answered.

“[Time] magic.” Exrite pointed a finger upwards, like her answer was the most obvious thing in the world. “… why are you looking at me like that?”

“[Time]? Exrite…” Frosty suddenly dropped her head. “Can you at least explain it to us?”

“[Agonised Restoration].” White took over the reins of their conversation. “You’re already aware it’s one part [Healing] and one part [Time]. The [Time] portion is the most important part because what Exrite’s doing is accelerating time. She named it [Time Accelerating] magic when we came up with [Agonised Restoration].” White revealed, folding her arms as Black straightened herself with intrigue.

Indeed. The magic Exrite intended to use was [Time Acceleration] magic. When both her and White conceived of [Agonised Restoration], their combined knowledge and understanding of the natural healing process was hard-limited to the speed the body could feasibly repair itself in such a way.

For example, [From Ashes to Flesh], the [Ninth Tier] legendary equivalent of [Agonised Restoration], took an hour at most to repair an entire body from the most devastation of injuries. The reason was not due to the lack of potency of the magic, but rather how quickly the body could heal before it began to injure itself, consequently cancelling out the healing process.

Blood could only move so quickly before it ruptured a blood vessel, certain organs needed to be constructed before others, less there’d be an agonising overlap or fusion of body parts. Additionally, spontaneously healing someone in an instant would boil their bodies alive. This was only through contemporary [Healing] magic processes, which built the body from the ground up rather than creating body parts from mana at the site of injury.

A [Tenth Tiered] variant was likely to be an instantaneous process, effectively bypassing the stage that Exrite and White had come to call the ‘cooking’ process which resulted from rapid healing. [Agonised Restoration] was a perversion of this; a brute force method that flash-healed and flash-boiled one’s body, completely overriding the literal obliteration of the body.

Of course, only Exrite was able to conceive of such a monstrous process having been subject to it herself. In a similar vein, Exrite was rather adept at [Time Acceleration] magic for the very same reason. The instantaneous destruction of her body, its transformations, adaptations, and newfound abilities as a result of consuming the Geared allowed her to have a sense of what accelerated time was like. The evolving Geared of the Trial also created a powerful visual that aided her in properly harnessing what was now called [Time Acceleration] magic – a true [Fifteenth Tiered] magic that she was able to harness to great effect.

Although, there were some nuances.

But what did this mean for them?

In the same way she was able to combine [Healing] and [Time Acceleration] magic to create [Agonised Restoration], it was entirely possible to also combine it with [Body Enhancing] magic.

A magic she simply called [Accelerate].

When she explained this, a look of surprise befell Black as a long sigh left Frosty’s lips.

“[Accelerate], huh. And you’re just telling us this now? It sounds incredibly useful. Hah… But you know, you really have a terrible naming sense.” Frosty managed to admit, half-annoyed that Exrite experimented on [Time] magic without her knowledge since she was prone to a certain case of chronic recklessness.

“I had a feeling you’d try to stop me. Sorry Frosty. But you know, I’d like to know what a magic does from just reading its name alone. Or at least imply what it’ll do. I don’t need to call it something like [Lesser Time – Acceleration Double or Nothing]. On a more serious note – it’s incredibly dangerous as well.” Exrite added. “I’m speeding up time, but that doesn’t mean the body will play nice. Muscles will tear themselves apart. There’s also the risk of severe whiplash and organ displacement. The body will flash boil as well. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they just… well, exploded. I was lucky enough to maintain it for about a minute before I was hit with a mana overload. And that was at only at two times the normal speed."

Every time she piled on yet another deficit of [Acceleration], the faces of Inkshard and Lizen only grew paler. The magic Exrite created was so incredibly crude that it couldn’t possibly be called a complete spell. It sounded more like an incomplete magic as it did more harm to the user than good. No rational, sane person would ever call that intentional. Not even the insane.

But it was a fundamental magic, nonetheless. Just with certain nuances.

“That’s why you’ll absolutely need a powerful form of [Body Strengthening] magic to keep yourself in one piece. Or possess a body capable of handling it. Unless – you can out heal the damage.”

In the blink of an eye, five golden circles formed underneath her. These were the same hoops used to create the glowing spheres of [Agonised Restoration]. Once they were fully formed, Exrite kept them combined in a single, giant ball directly above Phase’s scaly spine.

“You’re going to use THAT on me!?” Phase cried in terror, flailing her wings in sudden protest. “If I lose this form know that everyone’s going to fall!”

“A pathetic parasite like you wouldn’t understand how grateful you should feel for being blessed with the magic of my beloved Maiden of Time~” Uru somehow managed to sound threatening as she nearly sung.

“Well, we have the two conditions present to make it work. White can numb the pain for you, and I can keep your body completely healed. As a dragon you have a better chance of resisting the boiling effects even without my magic.”

Precisely. What made it incredibly appealing to the others was that since both Exrite and White were in their group, it was possible to for them to gain a sudden boost in speed without any downsides… that was so long as they were both around.

But there were other downsides Exrite had yet to address.

“Honestly, you need to word that better. Even I would be reluctant if I heard that from you.” Khaos admitted in a dead-pan voice. “But good stuff. I could use a speed boost myself.” He gave her a thumbs up.

“Wait. For starters, have you even used it before? Aside from yourself?” Frosty suddenly asked the one question Phase wanted an answer to.

“No.” She answered abruptly. “Not on another person yet. But my normal body isn’t as sturdy as a dragon’s so I doubt Phase will have any issues. I lasted only a minute without any [Healing] magic anyway.”

“N-normal… and yet you’re comparing your body to a dragon’s.” Lizen uttered, unable to believe what she just heard. “Seriously… that isn’t normal at all.”

“He wasn’t normal when we first met.” Inkshard sighed. “Seriously… who argues with a child?”

“So – what do you think Phase?” Exrite asked.

“… to tell you the truth, I’m not as afraid as you might think I am. Even if you couldn’t heal me, I’d still ask you to lend me that strength. There’s someone I had to leave behind in there. I have to get back even if it ends up killing me in the process.” She suddenly spoke in a calm, solemn voice.

“Precisely.” Uru agreed, knowing exactly how Phase felt.

With a single slash, Uru opened a small wound along her back. Exrite momentarily froze the spinning hoops as White bit into her thumb and dripped a few droplets of blood inside. Once completed, Exrite resumed her [Agonised Restoration] before suddenly erecting her triple layered [Physical Barrier] all around them, arranged in a spear-like shape. With the speed they were going to proceed with, Phase’s [Barrier] alone would not suffice.

“Get in front of one the spines.” Black instantly ordered. “You two pipsqueaks are going to get left behind unless you strap yourselves tight. Exrite, I have a feeling this won’t just double our current speed. What kind of crazy speed can I expect~?” She tapped her shoulder in passing with sadistic glee.

Exrite presented her hand as the others moved into position. Uru kindly took it upon herself to claw out a large portion of flesh from her own back. From her wounds sprouted black tendrils which wrapped everyone to a spine like they were restraints. A massive web of black strands entangled them securely into place.

Both Exrite and Uru were the only ones who stood in the centre, with Uru acting as her personal anchor.

Once in place, Exrite presented them all a single, outstretched hand.

“Fivefold. We’ll be moving at five times the speed of sound. We’ll reach Palvel in under 2 hours.” Exrite proudly claimed.

“T-two… Two hours…” Inkshard nearly passed out again.

“… N-normal…” Lizen fell into a dumbfounded spell.

“Not bad~” Black hummed, already marvelling at the other the sinister uses of [Time Accelerating] magic.

“[Agonised Restoration] already accelerates time by tenfold for each sphere. I am only going to speed you up by five times your current speed. Phase, if something arises let me know immediately. You can communicate telepathically so that makes it much easier for us. But…”

“But?”

“You might become unintelligible. It’ll be extremely difficult to control your body. But since you’re moving in only a single direction – I’m willing to take the risk. I hope you understand. It’s not too late to back down.”

Indeed. Nights prior when Exrite tested this on his normal body, he had experienced staggering difficulty in controlling fine-motor movements. Furthermore, his breathing had become severely impaired; the rapid movements far too inefficient at both drawing air and expelling it.

It was hardly a problem for him since his body had adapted to survive in extreme airless environments, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t an issue for the others. It had its uses, but its downsides needed to be alleviated through mental training to properly perceive their newfound speed, and external aid to stop them from obliterating themselves.

Exrite made a note of these before Phase finally chose her answer.

“Exrite. [Accelerate] me. Losing this form will be nothing compared to losing everything else. Inkshard – please hold on tight!”

“Thank you.” Exrite smiled, and in the next moment, she placed a palm against Phase’s smooth scales.

“White… was there a reason you waited now to hand Exrite the vial?” Frosty wondered why they hadn’t brought this up from the very start, as did the others.

Thankfully, White had a legitimate reason for this.

“There’s a two-hour wait from what we understand. Transforming back and forth using my method is usually instantaneous, especially from male to female. But if he returns to his female form directly after returning to his male body, then – and I’m not sure why – but Exrite ends up losing consciousness for exactly two hours.”

“The Revert to Maiden Cooldown.” Black instantly had a name for the condition. “And here I thought I struck gold by helping Exrite make those tools. Little did I know that our precious White was making gold behind my back~ So it wasn’t just the arm you helped her with. Good to know you’re just as tight-lipped as I am.”

“It was possible because she understands anatomy like the back of her hand. Just for all the wrong reasons, like you.” White admitted, trying to hide her smile as she looked towards the mountains in the distance.

“Hmhm~ What, did you see a bit of me inside of her~? Did helping her bring you back to our humble beginnings?” Black intentionally tried to crawl underneath her skin, but the woman only refused to entertain her, simply adding:

“I’ve been trying to help Exrite grind down the transformation cycle to a consistent method. The last thing we want for the only person capable of killing the Maiden of Realms to fall asleep mid-way through a fight.”

“… or worse.” Frosty looked over to Uru with scathing eyes. The Demon’s mouth deviously curved at the notion of a sleeping Exrite.

In any case –

“Phase – get ready!” Exrite announced before a pulse of light flowed from the palm of her hand straight through Phase’s body like a wave.

Her draconic visage was then enveloped in a faint coat of blue light before suddenly – and without warning –

– Everyone was thrown back against the spines, their faces wincing to the speed that far exceeded anything they had ever experienced. Although, it was only the two humans aboard that struggled to maintain their consciousness.

It felt like their organs were being glued to their backs, their eyes hardly able to remain open as Inkshard struggled to fight its crushing effects alongside her mana depletion.

However, Exrite hadn’t even doubled Phase’s speed yet. If she suddenly multiplied it by five then Inkshard and Lizen would instantly perish. There was also no telling what would happen to Phase. They needed to gradually build speed else they’d be crushed by the spines they rested their backs against.

Thankfully Frosty was by their side, offering support in her fullest capacity to the two most vulnerable people aboard.

They would all have to endure this for the next 2 hours until they reached Palvel. Although, ‘endured’ implied that they struggled with handling the newfound speed.

After all, Exrite’s group was not exactly normal to begin with.