Book 3, chapter 23

Zee caught the amulet Bastion threw her way, eying it dubiously. Being a test dummy sounded interesting in practice, but it wasn't in fact all that fun. She knew that for a fact, given she was usually the test dummy in her own schemes.

In fact, one such scheme was the reason she was where she was today. If she hadn't had the bright idea to go out during the blood moon eclipse over a year ago, she wouldn't be here today.

Zee cocked her head, having a sudden realization. Wait, was she seventeen now? Huh, maybe. With all the things going on, she had completely lost track of time.

Zee shook her head at the errand thoughts. With a wan smile, she tossed the body of the dead rift walker into a spatial storage they were using to hold all the valuable corpses they had collected.

The ring didn't have many, given Dern wrecked most of the bodies by consuming their souls, but still.

Zee glanced up at the dense yellow smoke covering the sky, forming what looked like a thundercloud. She shielded her eyes, still mildly confused as to how clouds could be so bright.

Even after months in this place, the lack of a day-night cycle was still off-putting. Bastion nudged her shoulder. "Hello. Zee, you there?"

She smiled shaking her head. "Sorry, I got lost in thought, are you ready to go?" Zee asked.

Zee turned her attention away from the bizarre weather patterns and focused back on her surroundings.

"Ya, let's go see if we can catch another rift walker," Bastion said.

Dern climbed back up onto Bastion's shoulder, clinging to his brown cloak like a metal tick.

"Sure, but let's not push too far, no telling how many of these sneaky jerks are lurking in this city," Zee said.

Bastion pointed towards a four-story building that peeked above the others, a tree sprouting atop its crown.

"We will head to that building, then turn back. If we don't lure in another rift walker by then, we will call it quits for the day." Bastion said.

Zee cracked a half smile, sauntering past him down the street, towards the building in question.

"Well, what are you waiting for? I need you and your bumbling to attract the next one." Zee said.

Bastion gave her an affronted look, following quickly. "I'm not that bad," Bastion muttered.

Zee gave him a dubious look. "You are as subtle as a drunken lizard after drinking ten casks of wine," Zee said.

Bastion chucked. "Ouch. Your confidence in my skills is heartwarming."

It took them an hour to reach the building with the tree crown. They hadn't been attacked again and were heading back to camp. Zee was starting to get a little bored, her eyes drifting toward all the buildings that could potentially have valuables.

A wandering mind in this kind of dangerous situation was not a good thing. Her eyes still roved the rooftops, scanning streets, but most of her mind was elsewhere.

It might have been just what the rift walkers were waiting for. Zee was caught almost completely unaware, as space folded in the air behind her.

The amulet Bastion had given her earlier hummed in her palm, the only other warning. On instinct, Zee activated her wayward walk skill but froze. Eyes wide, she looked down as an incorporeal claw punched through her misty torso.

She should have been safe, but much to her horror, she was unable to move, even in her mist.

Dern, riding on Bastion's shoulder noted the attack first, leaping from atop Bastion's back. His form grew at a freighting pace, the cobles cracking under his immense weight as he slammed down in front of her.

His glaive cleaved down towards Zee, passing a hair's breadth from her head. There was a loud whoosh of displaced air as half of the rift walker's face was cleaved in half, Dern's glaive showering the street in gore.

Its grip on her mist form faded, and she collapsed forward, fading back to the physical plane, gasping at the pain blossoming in her chest.

Zee fell to her hands and knees, her body numb, "Thanks, Dern, you saved my ass," Zee said in a raspy voice.

Bastion rushed over and knelt by her side, his eyes darting around them.

"Are you alright?" Bastion asked, worriedly.

"I am fine, I think," Zee said taking deep breaths, the numbness slowly fading as sensation returned to her limbs.

"What just happened? Why didn't you fight back?" Bastion asked, confused.

Zee shuddered, rising shakily to her feet, leaning on his shoulder for support.

"I couldn't move. It paralyzed me."Zee said, turning and poking the dead rift walker with her boot.

Dern had really messed it up, his glaive cutting half of the monster's face off. Her eyes rested on his glaive, pinning the creature to the cobbles, having punched through its chest.

"Well, that was too close. It was a good thing Dern was on guard." Bastion said.

Beside them, a ritual formed in the air, lines of silver, blue, and violet, a hallmark of Dern's ritual. The rift walker's incorporeal soul was violently torn from its body. It struggled with all of its might, but once caught, the soul couldn't escape as Dern dragged it towards the abyss that his maw.

The disturbing ritual was over in only a few seconds, leaving a corps that crumbled into ash, swirling on the breeze.

"Don't you think that was a bit of an overreaction?" Zee asked, tiredly.

Dern sent her a mental shrug. "Anyone who tries to kill you deserves the worst death I can think of," Dern said.

Bastion nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's get out of here before they attack us again," Bastion said. He gestured down the street, towards the edge of the overgrown city.

Still a little raddled, Zee couldn't help but agree. On the bright side, the amulet worked. Thankfully, they arrived back at the building they were using as a hideout without further incident.

Feeling like she had just run a marathon, Zee walked over and plopped down on a chair.

"How did it go?" Yukna asked, walking over and leaning on the stone table.

"It was a success, and we caught two of them. Though, we might need to refine the amulet a bit. Without Dern's quick reaction, I would be dead now," Zee said, tiredly.

"What happened?" Allison asked.

Bastion walked over and plopped down in a chair of his own, letting out a tired sigh. "It paralyzed her and tried to drag her away. I didn't even notice the attack until Dern had already reacted," Bastion said.

"Don't beat yourself up too much Bastion. We can't be everywhere at once." Yukna said.

Bastion tapped the stone table with his knuckle, gesturing to the amulet. "You say that, but you weren't there. These things are fast, and they don't make any sound. We all need one of those amulets, or one of us is going to die in this city," Bastion said darkly.

"Did you get a body?" Allison asked, nodding in agreement to his words.

"I got one rift walker corpse, Dern turned the other to ash," Zee said, tossing Allison the ring that held the corpse.

"Alright. Yukna, can you and Dern make us one amulet each?" Allison asked, after catching the gem-studded ring.

"That's a firm maybe," Yukna said with a wince. "The metals we need to make that amulet are not a component in my usual crafts so I didn't bring much. I only have enough to make two more at most."

"Well, shit. Maybe we can find some by searching the city?" Allison asked.

Yukna shook her head, pushing her glasses up her nose with a callused finger. "It might be worth a shot. In the meantime, we might have to settle for some of the team not having the amulets." Yukna said.

"Not ideal, but we can work with that. We will push deeper into the city once the amulets are finished." Allison said.

For the next four days, they lingered on the edge of the city. Zee mostly cultivated, and relaxed, getting herself back in the right mental space.

Almost dying really made her rethink some of her life choices. It was nice to rest and recuperate, but all good things have to come to an end.

She was starting to get bored, her fear of dying pushed aside by the thought of an ancient city, and ancient treasure just waiting to be found.

The team finally left their hideout, with three detection amulets spread amongst them. It wasn't ideal, but then again, it was better than nothing.

As prepared as they could be, they pushed deeper into the city towards the towering spire looming in the distance.

At first, the houses they walked passed didn't really have much. However, that changed once they entered the more wealthy parts of the middle city.

Zee phased through the wall of what she suspected might have been an alchemist's shop. They could have bashed down the door, but that was just asking for trouble.

She searched the main floor, scanning the room with her spatial ripple skill for something of value.

Everything that was made of wood had turned to dust eons ago, blanketing everything in a thick film.

Finding nothing of note, she searched the lab in the basement. It was an interesting setup, the room was set up in a way that hinted at rows of gardens that were once down here.

All the valuable herbs were long since decayed, a true shame. Lastly, she searched the attic. Zee was going to leave in defeat when she sensed something odd on the main floor.

A wall on the main floor emitted a whisper of energy that tingled at her senses. Her boots tracked through the millennia-old dust to a stone wall, made of brick and mortar.

The wall looked perfectly normal, so plain that most people would simply walk right past. Zee wouldn't have even noticed anything if she hadn't walked past this same wall three times already.

She ran her fingers along the gritty stone testing to see if one was loose. It took her a minute, but one budged. A grin split her face as she shimmied and pulled, gently nudging the brick from its socket, revealing a small cubby with a silver metal box.

The box was covered in time-worn etchings, the once beautiful script leaking energy into the air. Jackpot. She didn't bother trying to open it, throwing the box into her spatial storage.

Having looted the place, she left back the way she came, appearing on the street next to her tense team.

"Let's go, on to the next one," Zee said, a grin splitting her face.

They looted the houses for hours, pushing deeper into the city, their every step cautious. The team made slow progress, but their caution seemed to be paying off as they hadn't been attacked again.

Even with their seeming good luck, Zee wasn't letting down her guard. She could feel it, eyes on her, like she was being watched.

It was a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, that was shared by the others, who furtively scanned the buildings, alleys, and overgrown streets for danger.

Zee was starting to suspect that these rift walkers were a lot smarter than she gave them credit for. After all, she knew they were out there, watching, and yet they didn't attack because her team was on high alert.

Allison gestures to Zee, then towards a building halfway down the street, a weather-worn metal fence still standing even after so many years.

Without any verbal response, Zee used the third step of her wayward walk skill. She teleported over a hundred meters away appearing on top of the roof of the building.

Cracked clay tiles shifted underfoot, making for precarious footing. She crouched low, catching her balance before waving at the princess.

Getting a nod, she phased through the roof, entering a shadowy workspace. Zee stood perfectly still, scanning the building not just with her eyes, but with her spatial ripple skill.

Its most recent effect, gained upon the skill reaching peak F rank, could detect energy fluctuations.

A smile tugged at her lips as she sensed energy leakage in what felt like the basement. After hours of searching buildings, she was getting the hang of finding hidden valuables.

The stairs to the main floor as well as the floorboards were completely gone, rotted away revealing a basement.

A thirty-foot drop with poor footing, and almost no handholds. Climbing down that rickety wall was risking both breaking her neck, and the building collapsing on top of her. It would be precarious for most, but Zee simply activated her movement skill.

Besides, it would leave her exposed to attack, and she didn't like that with sneaky rift walkers lurking about. How their skills worked was still a mystery to her.

Could they enter the buildings through walls, as she could? Or more worrying, mid-air, and if so, what were the limitations?

It was a chilling thought that totally wasn't going to give her sleepless nights. Heh, you know, if she ever slept anymore.

Blue mist swirled around her as she appeared, sinking into ankle-deep dust on the basement floor.

She scanned the room, with both her eyes and sensory skill, finding the thing she had been looking for.

It was large, a beacon to her sensory skill. I was a ten-foot-tall, by ten-foot-wide rusted metal door. She walked over, pausing as her skin pricked. Her eyes traced the tiny markings along the metal surface. It gave off a hair-raising feeling, one that made her want to leave immediately.

"Are you see this Dern?" Zee asked projecting her mental thoughts.

"Ya, I am feeling it too. That is some scary defensive array. Call me out, I will have it open in no time." Dern said, confidently.

Zee called him out, keeping him tiny to conserve energy, holding him in her outstretched palm to give him a closer look.

Several wisps of silvery snaked from his shrunken body, touching the surface of the rusted door.

"What will it do?" Zee asked, not daring to get any closer than a few feet. Anything that put Dern on edge, must be scary indeed.

"Something nasty. It's hard to say what will happen, given that some of the etching are fraying at the edges." Dern said, seeming distracted.

"Can you crack it open?" Zee asked, only then sensing a soft snap, like a rope pulling tough.

"Hold on, I am almost there," Dern muttered, clearly focused.

The dozens of etchings covering the door glowed to life pulsing ominously. Zee was no expert, but that had to be a warning.

"Dern. "Zee said, nervously.

"Hush, I'm busy," Dern said distracted.

The etching on the door glowed a bright, angry red, giving her the feeling that it was about to do something she would not like.

Dern continued his work undaunted, as the door continued to pulse brighter each warning more insistent.

By now it was pulsing every second. What was more troubling was the building pressure behind that door, like it was about to blow.

Deciding he wouldn't stop, Zee set Dern on the ground and fled the building with her movement skill, wildly gesturing towards the team to get back.

At her frantic gesturing, they backed all the way toward the end of the block, watching on with hushed anticipation.

It only took a minute for something to happen. Without any further warning, the two-story building violently exploded, shaking the whole city. It was enough explosive power to kill the whole team twice over if they were caught in it.

The shockwave radiated outwards, knocking over the ancient stone buildings for half a block.

Zee and the others ducked for cover, as the deafening explosion washed past them.

Ears ringing, and feeling a bit queasy she scanned the rest of the team who looked fine aside from some hearing damage.

Dern's presence entered her mind a few seconds later.

"Well, that did not go according to plan," Dern said casually as though getting blown into a thousand pieces was no big deal.

Just then a black chunk of Dern's shoulder pad crashed into the street nearby, turning to silver mist a moment later.

"That is an understatement. What the hell did you do?" Zee asked accusingly.

"Hey, don't blame me. That door was booby-trapped. Some cheeky bastard rigged it to blow once it was opened." Dern said impressed.

Zee gestured towards the growing mushroom cloud. "This is not a joking matter Dern, that explosion is going to alert everyone in the city of our presence. Some monsters are definitely going to come to check out what caused that explosion," Zee said.

"I wouldn't worry about that, the monsters are already here," Dern said.

Zee glanced down the street following Dern's mental urging.

Sure enough, there it was. Not a rift walker, but something far larger, and much less stealthy.

The creature had thick brown fur that covered a body bulging with rippling muscle. It ran on all fours, its giant paws thudding on the street as its inquisitive eyes scanned the street for prey.

Zee's eyes followed the giant bear, noting how its fur crackled with each loping stride. It's every step radiated strength, its body releasing a pressure that far surpassed that rhino they caught the other day.

She froze, hoping that the others didn't make any sudden movements to draw the beast king's attention.

The bear loped passed their position, not even glancing over as it rushed toward the mushroom cloud.

Zee gestured towards the others and they slowly backed away crouching low until they were out of sight.

"Well, that didn't go according to plan," Bastion said as they fled the area.

Yukna laughed softly, "That was some explosion, it put most eighty-pounders to shame," Yukna said, with a grin.

"Hey, don't encourage him Yukna, Dern is already reckless enough," Zee said.

Allison glanced over her shoulder, both eyebrows raised.

"You are one to talk," Allison said.

"I am not the one who goes blowing up buildings," Zee said.

"Right." Allison drawled. "Need I remind you of the Tara bridge? Or, the supply depot you just so happened to help blow up." Allison said.

Okay, maybe those were her fault. Zee gave Allison a rude gesture, making her laugh softly.

They snuck away like bandits in the night, letting that bear be someone else's problem.

"Where next?" Zee asked, her heart still racing from the excitement.

The princess leaped over a tangle of roots growing across the street, her silky white hair blowing in a gentle breeze.

Landing softly, the princess glanced over her shoulder, meeting Zee's eyes.

"Let's give this area a wide birth, before pushing further inside the city to make camp," Allison said.

It was a good plan considering the ruckus they caused. By now, the spire loomed large nearby, piercing the clouds like an obsidian spear. Over the next hour later, they moved ever closer and found a defensible building.

It was two stories tall, with a fairly good vantage that they could use to plan out their next move.

They searched the building for threats, before settling in, barricading one of the doors, leaving one entrance. They could escape from the roof onto a nearby building if needed.

Once the building was swept for unwanted guests, Dern and Yukna set up a bunch of defensive formations, to both detect and repel any intruders.

It was fascinating to watch the two work, weaving tightly spun tendrils of energy together into complex patterns.

Weirdly enough, she even understood a bit of what they were doing.

She hadn't been studying etching or anything, no, it was because Dern lived in her head.

Often when he was distracted, his thoughts leaked into her mind, and she just so happened to learn a thing or two. She wasn't an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but that was fine.

Still, it was useful. Her very limited knowledge of etchings was the reason she retreated earlier when Dern was trying to open that metal door. She could sense his uncertainty in opening that door and also knew that decayed etchings could explode.

She knew that Dern hated to admit when he couldn't do something, or even ask for help. He was stubborn like that. She sighed and went back to snacking on some dried fruit.

Zee couldn't exactly get mad at him for it, considering she was the same. She knew it was a mistake to try and fix her cracked splinter alone, but she couldn't bring herself ask for help.

She already caused enough trouble with her antics. This was her problem, and she was going to fix it by herself.

Zee sunk deep into thought wondering how she could accomplish her goal. Using her inner sight she took a brief glance at her splinter, grimacing.

Was it just her imagination, or had the cracks spread further, tarnishing the obsidian splinter with deep lines on its smooth surface?

Her mind whirled. Only one thing of note had happened today, one reason for more cracks. An idea slowly formed in her mind. Was it really so simple? Was Dern dying really the cause of the cracks?

She thought back to all the times his form was destroyed, the connection solidifying in her mind. It was just a suspicion at first, but now she was certain.

She felt like such a fool. As it turned there was a sinister price for Dern's conjured form being destroyed.

Lost in thought, she glanced over as the princess walked over and leaned on the wall beside her.

"You look troubled, Dara for your thought," Allison asked.

Zee took a deep calming breath, her recent revelation filling her with some helplessness.

"Uh, I, I was just worried about what we are going to do next." Zee deflected.

"Is that so?" Allison asked, her tone skeptical. For a moment, she met the princess's piercing grey eyes.

By that look, Allison knew she was hiding something. Zee kept her mouth shut, calming her expression and her aura.

After a long silence, the princess spoke again. "You know, there is no need to do everything by yourself. If you need someone to talk to, about anything, I am here," Allison said.

She bit her lower lip, thinking about the offer. Despite her earlier determination to solve this herself, her confidence in doing so was slowly waning. The cracks across her splinter were more than just a little terrifying.

"Can we talk in private?" Zee asked gesturing out of the room.

The princess nodded and led the way passed a sleeping Bastion, to a small room that might have once been a wine cellar.

Like all the other rooms, piles of dust, cover the floor, interspersed with the occasional rusty nail, or other piece of metal.

Now alone, Zee decided to just come out and say it. "My splinter is covered in cracks that have been getting worse over the last three months," Zee said seriously.

"That's bad. I must admit, I thought you might be still upset about getting rejected by Bastion." Allison said.

"You thought it was about Bastion?" Zee asked, with a raised brow.

Allison shrugged. "What? I have seen the way you look at him with those dreamy eyes."Allison teased.

"I do not stare at him. Besides, he has made it clear that he is not interested in me. Fawning after him would be pointless."Zee said, looking away, a flush creeping up her neck.

Allison chuckled softly. "The way he looks at you would say otherwise," Allison said.

Zee's cheeks flushed bright enough to match her hair.

"We are getting off-topic. About my splinter cracking, what do I do?" Zee asked, clearing her throat in embarrassment.

"First off, we need to find out what is causing the cracks," Allison said, her tone suddenly serious.

Zee grimaced," About that. I suspect the cracks are a side effect of Derns summoned form getting destroyed." Zee said.

Realization dawned In Allison's eyes.

"That's why you looked so worried earlier. The cracks got worse after Dern died." Allison surmised.

"You got it. Nothing I do is working, the cracks just keep getting worse." Zee said.

"What about when Dern consumes a soul, did that help, or make the cracks worse?" Allison asked.

"Nope, I already thought of that. It didn't seem to affect the cracks at all when he ate that rhino's soul," Zee said thoughtfully,

That was a solution she had already considered a few months ago. She had hoped it might help fix the cracks by sating Dern's hunger. Sadly, even after he consumed dozens of monster souls over the last few months there seemed to be no improvements.

"How troublesome," Allison said, folding her arms across her ample chest. "I assume that the reason you were asking me about how to form a fragment is actually a way to try fixing this issue?"

Zee nodded. "I still don't know if forming a fragment is a viable solution, even if we did have a technique that works with my affinity," Zee said.

"That's hard to say. The damage might be worse than just on the surface. Do you know what a splinter actually is?" Allison asked.

"It's the foundation of our power, a piece of our soul made manifest into physical form," Zee said, parading her mother's teachings.

"Exactly. When I evolved my splinter, I was able to take another piece of my soul and implant it into my newly created fragment. If you did, an additional piece of your soul might make the cracks heal," Allison said thoughtfully.

"That doesn't sound safe," Zee said, lightly.

Allison smiled, concern in her steely grey eyes. "It is risky, even if you have a cultivation technique that suits you. Since you don't, attempting that step would be very dangerous, like one in a million chance of survival." Allison said.

"And what are the chances of survival if my splinter shatters?" Zee asked, a pit settling in her chest.

"None. If it shatters, both you and maybe even Dern will die," Allison said calmly.

Zee let out a heavy breath. "I have no choice do I?" Zee asked.

Allison shook her head. "Nope, you will have to form a fragment, and fairly soon depending on how much the cracks have been spreading," Allison said.