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Chapter 1019: One Hope

They barreled up a large flight of stairs that still retained just a hint of the majesty they mustve had at one point, with hints of marble peeking out from under the black stains and what looked like the smooth remains of reliefs carved into the banisters that the darkness had eroded, and arrived on a landing large enough for a group ten times their size to comfortably stand on. Ahead of them was just one more door, and Leon could sense very little magic warding it against forceful ingress.

So, without a thought, he did as hed been doing for a while now, and launched himself at the door, the desperation of their situation serving to lend him power enough that he cut right through the huge metal doors, lightning racing up and down his body as he did.

The doors melted away under the heat of his lightning, and Leon ripped and tore through with relative ease, letting him and his team spill out into the massive chamber at the top of this tower. The sight that greeted him halted him in his tracks, his mouth agape in surprise.

By Mandys wrinkly balls Mari whispered, she and the rest of the team similarly struck by the sight.

More than a hundred arks of varying sizethough none even half as large as Silver Speararranged in a large grid of arkpads.

After that moment of shock, however, Leon realized that the magical darkness that coated seemingly the entire tower had reached this chamber, too, and the hulls of many arks had turned completely black by the Primal Devils corruption.

But not all of them

Without a word, Leon shot straight for the closest that didnt look completely ruinedan ark that mightve been classified as a corvette in the Thunderbird Clan, being large enough for a crew of perhaps thirty. It was still one of the larger arks in the chamber, and given the sleek, but not particularly aggressive, overall design, Leon thought it was probably some kind of pleasure vessel, like the ark equivalent of a yacht.

He didnt let that thought slow him down, though, as he sprinted for where he thought the main ramp would be. Unfortunately, none of the arks had lowered ramps, and Leon didnt want to treat them the same way that he did the rest of the obstacles in the tower complex for fear of potentially destroying the only way off Arkhnavi that he had left.

How do we get into these things? Nara demanded as he and the rest of the team caught up to Leon.

Therere supposed to be ramps, Leon answered. Usually thered be a runic circle or some other obvious way of opening it from the outside. But arks are usually secure vessels and can be locked from within. If we cant get inside, then

If the gods smile upon us, Tir responded, then we might be able to force our way in without compromising the vessel outright

Leon grimaced. Thats possible. Lets try everything else before that. But if it comes down to it arks should have bulkheads that can seal damaged sections of the hull if need be. Id imagine these arks to have them if they were built to any kind of safety standard.

In war, many quality guidelines are blurred for the sake of just getting something done, Nara replied.

Ugh, an engineers nightmare, Mari whispered.

Lets hope that these werent built during wartime, then, Leon said as he jerked his head at the ark they stood beneath. He gave the arks underside one last inspection before running around it and checking the rest of the hull for any kind of obvious sign of entrance. Then he returned to the underside and began contemplating his options.

Three days

He wanted to take his time and do this right. He wanted to respect these enchanting marvels. But they just didnt have the timehe could spend the next few months trying to get inside just one of these arks, and he didnt even know if any of them were functional.

So, he settled on one idea. He once more called upon his modest command of light magic and did his best to inscribe a new ancient rune in the air to join the ones keeping the darkness of the Primal Devil at bay. This one was a fairly simple open rune, without any kind of specialization that would make it any more effective at what he needed it to do.

He envisioned the ark in front of him in his minds eye, then imagined a ramp beneath it opening, allowing him and his team inside. He concentrated on that image with as much mental force as he could muster, and then concentrated some more. He drowned out all other thoughts and closed off his senses, experiencing the world around him only through the magic that flowed out of his fingers and into the ancient rune, carrying his will with it.

The rune resonated with him, though that wasnt too surprisinghed used open runes before, after all, and knew how they worked. His magic flowed along its lines and was then directed upward, into the hulked of decayed metal above him where it began to poke and prod at the arks exterior.

He could feel his magic teasing through the outer hull, finding every little pore and crack that it could exploit, guided by the open rune. He felt his magic run through the ark, traversing along the near-boundless wires and circuits formed by Titanstone within the ark until it reached what he thought was the ramp.

With redoubled concentration, Leon pushed his magic to do what he wanted it to do, and he thought he could feel something giving way to his will. He pushed even harder and kept pushing until a hand clapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his trance.

Leon jerked back to his senses, finding Tir standing beside him with his hand on Leons shoulder.

Leon, Tir said, sounding a little worried, the ramp is open, thank the gods

Leon blinked, then his head turned so quickly that his neck popped.

Oh that sounded like it felt fuckin good, Mari said. Leon didnt hear her for he was too busy running up the ramp that had opened beneath the ark.

The ark had another door at the top of the ramp acting as an airlock, but this one fortunately still had a flickering runic circle next to itpossibly powered by the remnants of Leons magic, if what he could sense was accurate.

Leon wasted not a second before slapping the rune, and the door filled the air with terrible screeching as the weak magic in it just barely managed to get it to grind open, sliding just a bit into the wall.

Once there was enough room, Leon darted into the doorway and began pushing the thick door further into the wall. It was only just barely big enough for Mari to squeeze through, so long as it opened all the way. Tir and Nara added their strength to his, and despite the skin-crawling racket, they got the damned thing open, and all four of them got into the ark itself.

Woooow, Mari whispered as Leon, Tir, and Nara stood in the arks main entrance room. It was big enough for all of them to fit, but not by much, and several sealed doors branched into other areas of the ark. What are we lookin for, Lele?

Power room, Leon said. Engine room. Bridge. Unlikely to be wisps still active in this thing, so heres hoping we can use anything here and that we can actually fly the damn thing

He shared a look of commiseration with the other three, and though he couldnt see Maris face, he thought all three were sharing the same expressiondetermination mixed with profound fear.

Three days to save their worldthree days to save themselves. They at least found something promising, but if they couldnt get it to work, then

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Well, Leon didnt know quite what to do. Follow Mbana and Serena, maybe? Wander around and hope that we stumble upon something that will lead us down to the Primal Devil, along with a convenient Devil-killing sword that we can stab it with?

Leon steeled himself. Better not to think in those terms. Better to focus on the here and now and what they could still do. Hed run the others ragged enough that they hadnt yet really talked about their deadline, and he wanted them to keep moving so that they wouldnt think too hard about it and get distracted.

We have a way to open these doors, Leon said as he traced another open rune. Lets explore these arks and see what we can see

---

Im not abandoning this plane! Nara shouted as he and Tir ran through the arkpads carrying some parts that Leon had designated for them.

The gods would look unfavorably upon us if we did! Tir added. They turn their backs on cowards and those who derelict their duty!

No ones suggesting that! Leon shouted back. But this is simply beyond us! The only ones who can stop this nightmare are the Grave Wardens! Our only shot of contacting them is to get far enough away from the plane that they notice us! We need this ark!

No ones disputing that, Leon, Nara insisted as they ran around the last arkpad and arrived at their destination. I just want you to know that. I am not abandoning my people! This whole plane is my home! I will save it or die upon it! And anyone who intends to stop me from doing so will answer to my Cloud Piercer!

Leon fought to keep himself from rolling his eyes. A day had passed filled with frantic searching and desperate evaluations of the arks theyd found even reasonably intact. Of course, reasonably intact in such a place polluted by the magic of a Primal Devil was graded on a steep curve, with many arks only having a few salvageable parts.

The ark theyd explored first was one such ark, with such a mess having been made of its internal mechanisms that even Leon, with his relative unfamiliarity with ark machinery, could tell that they werent getting that thing running ever, let alone anytime soon.

So, after that realization, they ran out of the ark and began looking at the others. Half a dozen other arks looked relatively fine from the outside, though only two had passed Leonsand more importantly, Maris, the Thunderbirds, and Xaphansevaluations.

Leon had knowledge of ark engineering thanks to Nestor and the Ravens, but hed barely even scratched the surface of what he needed to know. Fixing any of the arks they found by himself wouldve been impossible.

Thankfully, he had Mari there to pick up the slack. The woman was a damned genius with magical engineering, taking to it like a fish to water. With what little guidance Leon had been able to provide, Mari had declared with no small amount of uncertainty that she could get one of the smaller arks working if they could only scavenge some replacement parts from the rest of Qo Weylekhs fleet.

Ever since then, shed been doing her best to get the arks power systems back up and running, and bypassing all of the rot and damage between the arks central power storage systems and the engines. Fortunately, there wasnt that much room between them, but it was still a monumental task given the complexity of what they were working with.

At least Leon was more helpful in the replacement part regard. He was a skilled enough enchanter to fix a lot of the more general problems with what few replacement parts they found, and the thunder wood and storm crystal he provided from his stash aided Mari greatly in trying to jury rig something together to provide power to the arks engines.

My home will not fall, my home will not fall Nara repeated again and again as they charged up the arks ramp and made for the engine room with their salvage. They were there in but a moment, all of the doors having been kept open after Leon forced them open. The walls were dark and any decorations had eroded away, but there were at last white runes on at least one wall in every room and hall they were using that staved off the darkness. As a result, Mari was able to work outside of her Ulta suit with relative ease despite only being sixth-tierthe suit was left as compact as it could be in the arks storage room where Mari could get to it quickly if need be.

The woman herself was working diligently on ripping out some gears and other enchanted bits and bobs when Leon and the rest of the team charged in.

What didja get? Mari asked, pausing in her work to see what they brought back.

They opened their soul realms and dropped what few salvageable parts they were able to find.

Shit, Mari said as she took one look at what appeared on the outside to be a L-shaped pipe and tossed it over onto a pile of rejected parts. Trash. Scrap. Wouldnt even use this thing as a riding toy By the end of her quick evaluation, about half of what theyd managed to find had been discarded, either unneeded or not functional.

How much more do you need? Leon asked.

Mari scrunched up her face and stared at the monstrosity of an engine she was working with. Things not an Ulta, Lele, but I think Im gonna get it up and running with what we got. Just need some

She paused as hints of new magic came drifting in from outside. Leon, Tir, and Nara immediately drew their weapons and summoned their power.

Keep working! Leon shouted at Mari as he shared one look with the other two, nodded to them, and then led them in a charge out of the ark, ready to face the source of the aura they could sense.

The three burst out of the ark and landed ready for battle.

They didnt find something there ready to fight, however. Instead, they found Mbana, the man kneeling in front of their ark, his eyes torn from their sockets and dangling in front of his face. He was covered in blood and battle wounds, and his aura was shaky.

The man groaned a few times before collapsing fully, his attempts to speak stymied not only by his obvious weakness but also by his apparent lack of a tongue.

Stay alert, Leon ordered Nara and Tir as he hesitantly approached Mbana. Hey, he said as he gently kicked the man, looking to see if the man responded to his words or the light kick. Mbana remained on the ground, unmoving and unresponsive.

Leon, after bathing Mbana in his magic senses and looking for any sign that this might be some kind of trick or trap, kneeled next to him and pulled out a few of his strongest healing spells, reasoning that Mbana quite direly needed them. However, as he pressed the spells to Mbanas body, the light magic in the spells resisted healing the man, and Leon had to push much harder than hed ever had to before to get the spells to activate.

As he did, he pulled Mbanas fairly simple shirt off, looking to examine his condition in more detail. As the severity of the mans injuries was revealed, however, Leon almost wished hed left well enough alone, finding ugly black splotches all over Mbanas reddish-brown skin. The man seemed dehydrated, with his skin pulled exceptionally tight, and his veins were bulging far more than Leon thought healthyand that was in addition to the numerous bloody lacerations, burns, and other signs that Mbana had been in a fight with someone.

Terrible shame, the now familiar voice of KhajiYun said from over Leons shoulder.

Leon shot to his feet and turned to face the cultist, Iron Pride brandished with silver-blue lightning arcing across the blade. Nara and Tir responded in kind, though KhajiYun remained standing there, completely unfazed by their hostility.

He attempted to steal from the true gods, KhajiYun said in the same tone that Leon mightve used to comment on the weather. A grave crime, the cultist continued, but not one that the gods are unable to forgive. He ran away from their salvation, but Im happy he made it here. Thank you for saving his life, Leon Raime.

What happened?! Leon growled, noting Tirs slight twitch when KhajiYun brought up the topic of forgiveness.

Will you let me take him? KhajiYun asked, ignoring Leons question. I would like to sit with him for a while. I think I may be able to save his soul just as you saved his life.

Fuck no, Leon responded.

KhajiYun smiled sadly. Very well. I shant bother you any longer, then.

The cultist vanished, leaving them about as alone as they ever were.

As if he were waiting for the cultist to leave, Mbana gasped, and Leon felt his aura weakly pulse as he projected his magic senses.

Mbana, Leon whispered as he crouched down beside the heavily-injured man. Can you hear me?

Mbana-of-the-Thousand-Blades gasped again, sounding barely strong enough to breathe. But after a moment, he whimpered in pain as he pushed himself back up into a kneeling position and grabbed Leons arm, his eyes still dangling hideously out of their sockets.

He mumbled something, clearly attempting to speak, though it was completely unintelligible. After a second try, Mbana showed that he was still fully aware as he mimed for Leon to take off his helmet.

By the gods, be careful, Nara whispered.

Leon nodded to him before grimacing slightly and pulling his helmet back into his soul realm. The rest of his mental defenses remained raised, but once his helmet was out of the way, he could feel a weak, hesitant probe of darkness magic coming from Mbana.

Leon scowled deeply, but Mbana seemed harmless.

Seemed.

Silver-blue lightning raced through Leons veins as he prepared himself for the worst, and then tentatively, slowly, carefully opened himself up to Mbanas probe. He felt their minds connect for but the briefest of moments, and though Mbana didnt manage to tell him anything in words, Leon still felt his fear, desperation, greed, and anger.

The anger was at himself, for indulging his greed. Leon felt like he could guess the object of his greed.

The fear was what awaited him instead of what he sought.

The desperation was directed at Leon, though it didnt regard Mbana himself. What it was directed at Leon wasnt sure, but he thought it might be related to the release of the Primal Devil.

The last thought he received from Mbana was the complete map of the tower, including a vast network of subterranean vaults beneath the tower complex that wasnt included on the map hed given Leon earlier. Special attention, Leon noticed, was placed on the smallest and deepest vault, located directly beneath the central tower.

Where the Universe Fragment was stored? Leon wondered.

He was about to ask when Mbana raised his hand to his own chest and, before Leon could stop him, channeled the last of his magic. Razor-sharp wind punched a hole right through his chest, obliterating his heart and killing him instantly.

Leon stared at the man in complete shock, hardly able to comprehend what hed just seen. The healing spells had been working, and Mbana couldve recovered, despite the severity of his injuries.

But it seemed whatever hed encountered below the tower had left him without any desire to keep living.

And hed left Leon with the knowledge to investigate, and a choice to make