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OVERCOMING (II)

Titus was currently standing still in front of a massive square populated to a brim with lying, bloodied and mutilated souls . Running among them were three dozen white-clad people carrying bottles full of either pills or some or another liquid in addition to countless bandages . His gaze was dull and empty, his heart faintly cracked, bleeding . He, too, fought, gave it his all, but barely came out of it with a scratch . Meanwhile, all around him, people fell from the high skies to their doom, their bodies never to be recovered .

He wondered silently how many here would ever again be able to don a sword? To hoist a shield? To echo a battlecry and march into a war? Not many, he wagered . Though, he garnered, it was a wakeup call for everyone . He wasn’t an exception; he too had come to believe their little army nigh invincible . They all elevated Lino well and above the high skies, imagining the eternally immortal shield, a guardian that will always hold the sky for them . But, all had just the same forgotten he was but a single man, Empyrean or not .

Today they were reminded they, too, had a role to play – one beyond just resting in his shade . What shook him the most, however, was that the young were the least hit by it all – most members of the Shadows had barely left their teens, yet had fearlessly charged into the fray before everyone else . They threw themselves at the enemy without any inhibitions . Among the masses, he also spotted young Ion leading charge of a small group of cultivators that were yet to turn twenty . He never retreated, not until the last moment . Never winced . Never ceased battling .

However, it wasn’t as though anyone froze and didn’t battle; they all did . With their hearts and souls, they jumped in and fought to the best of their abilities . Sometimes, however, that simply isn’t enough . As was the case today .

"Titus?" a familiar, quaint voice jolted him out of his bitter thoughts as he glanced sideways where a red-headed figure with an exhausted expression stared at him . "You alright?"

"Yeah, I’m fine," he replied with a barely visible smile . "You?"

"Just tired," Val replied, glancing at the square, biting her lower lips . "Which is... barely anything . "

"How many?" Titus asked .

"Initial estimates? Around three thousand are permanently crippled in one way or another," she replied somberly . "Aside from the dead, that is . "

"... good god..." Titus sucked in a cold breath, his lips trembling for a moment .

"At least we paid back just as much if not more . "

"... lives to them hardly matter as much," Titus said . "Does... does His Majesty know?"

"... I don’t know," Val shook her head . "I imagine he does . "

"... will he be alright?" Titus mumbled . "First the Do’r hell... and now this..."

"... he’ll be alright," Val said . "If he didn’t break by now, he never will . "

"... that’s good . " Titus mumbled, sighing faintly . "That’s good..."

Cane and Alex were currently sitting on top of the wall overlooking the drifting abyss around them . By their calculations, they had just crossed into the waters of the Holy Continent, at least its far south-western parts . Both had somber expressions, their eyes shrouded in the misty glimmer . Space between them suddenly ripped open as Ella walked through, joining the duo and sitting down .

"Where’s Cae?" Cane asked, realizing she was alone .

"With Eggor," she replied, smiling faintly . "You’re spoiling him too much, old man . Slow down . "

"Ho ho, children are there to be spoiled, El’," the old man said, stroking his beard with a chuckle . "Don’t ruin it for this old man . "

"Haii... fine, fine . Do as you will . How’s the situation on your end, Alex?"

"Though we suffered some losses, they aren’t too heavy," Alex replied . "If anything, it was an experience we needed . Most of them hardly had any practice when it comes to real-life battles where one mistake can be fatal . "

"The Shadows suffered the most," Cane said . "Aii... my heart hurts when I remember all those youngs just rushing headless into it..."

"What is Lino planning on doing now?" Alex asked following the somewhat lengthy, somber silence .

"... recuperate," Ella said, sighing . "What else? We’re drifting toward the Bridge . I think he’s planning on going to the Isles sometime soon . "

"... I figured," Alex chuckled . "That man can’t give it any rest . "

"It still might be safer than the Holy Continent," Cane commented . "Which is saying something..."

"... do either of you know how he managed to kill Three?" Ella suddenly asked, causing the expressions of the two to harden . "Even though I’m fairly certain I know the depths of his strength, I can’t quite understand how..."

"... neither can we," Alex replied, sighing . "From what I saw, the attack that killed her seemed entirely ordinary . I couldn’t read anything off about it . "

"Same," Cane nodded . "Why don’t you just ask him?"

"I did," Ella shrugged . "He just flashed me one of his playful smiles and fed me that stupid ’man’s gotta have his secrets’ line . "

"Ask Hannah," Alex suggested . "I imagine she probably knows . "

"Good idea," Ella nodded . "Will do once things settle slightly . Seeing as we’ll be completely in the dark of the world for the foreseeable future, you two might join Val and others later on and start writing out scenarios . We need to be prepared for everything . "

Litha and Vyrove were currently racing about the fortress, carrying everything that was thrown at them – from medicine to people . The two volunteered as their injuries were minimal all things considered, and have been at it for three hours now, ever since the battle ended . It was only after Val reprimanded them that the two sat down for a breather on one of the few intact benches throughout the fortress . Both their complexions were slightly pale, though their eyes shimmered brightly .

"It’s amazing how no one recognized us," Litha suddenly mumbled, her sky-blue eyes flashing with a tinge of pain . "I know it’s been a while... but still..."

"We’ve changed, a lot," Vyrove said, smiling faintly as he reached out and caressed her hair for a moment . "It’d be more surprising if they had recognized us . "

"... we really have, haven’t we?" she chuckled, shaking her head as she took a bite out of sweetened bread . "I remember you being a whole lot more of a brooding type than you are today . "

"Ha ha ha, I really was . Though I could still pull it off, I think . You, on the other hand, would have trouble pulling off the super-adorable-yet-awfully-deadly type you liked portraying . "

"Humph, as if," she scoffed . "I’d floor it, regardless . "

"... was it weird for you?"

"Hm?"

"I mean," he mumbled, leaning slightly forward . "I know we’ve been with Lino for a while... but, this was the first time we actually fought for him . Or with him, as he’d probably say . Was it weird for you?"

"... not really," Litha replied after a short thought . "And, yeah, I mean if you stretch it, we fought for him... but, really, I was fighting for those next to us . Andrea, Simon, Tim, Edith, Anna... I guess I just brought my goals closer to home . "

"... well, if it’s like that, then I mostly fought for you . "

"..." Litha blushed slightly as she looked away . "Sly..."

"Ha ha ha, come on, we rested enough," Vyrove got up, stretching . "Let’s go check up on Sylas’ group . They were pretty shaken with everything . "

"Yeah..."

Lino was currently observing the world down below, streets lined with debris and rubble, and countless souls heedlessly running about, carrying the wounded and the dead . The sight broke his heart countless times over, though he didn’t dare look away . It was just one of many reminders in the end, but a rather powerful one . They no longer considered just him the enemy – but everyone even remotely associated with him . It used to be simply to aggravate him and try to flush him out... but this was an outright war call, army against an army .

Though dead are an excepted outcome, it was still hard coming to grips with the reality of hundreds dying within less than half an hour . That number, he knew, however, would only keep growing in the future . From hundreds into thousands... and further up . For all the limits nature imposes upon its inhabitants, there isn’t one for how many can die .

"... you called?" Primul’s voice echoed gently against the four walls as Lino turned around . The familiar man stood slightly leaning forward, black bags under his eyes, face still exuding with exhaustion .

"I called Primul, not his twin brother, Ugly . "

"... pfft—khm, that was pretty hurtful . "

"... let’s drink . " Lino said as he took out two bottles of ale and as the two sat by the window-side table . "Ella tells me you did something quite remarkable . Care to elaborate?"

"The formation?" Primul mumbled, taking a sip . "It’s nothing that remarkable, actually . The only difficult part stemmed from the time constraint if I’m being honest . Let me ask you something first: do you know how the link between Ataxia and Ashtar works?"

"... from what I understand, it’s a primal one," Lino mumbled . "Though, past that, I’m not too sure . "

"No, it’s not primal one," Primul shook his head, surprising Lino . "In effect, it’s similar to the link you have with Grim or Non, only much more powerful, as Ataxia didn’t merely contract Ashtar, but made him into what he is today . "

"..."

"Most links between individuals rely on two things – Talismans and uninterrupted flow of Qi from one end to another . That is why Qi-blocking formations also prevent all standard communication . And that is why, for instance, your Talisman Department is currently researching how to make talismans with reliance on Mana . "

"... so, if their link isn’t reliant on any form of energy, what is it reliant on?" Lino asked, quickly catching up .

"Chaos . "

"Chaos?" he arched his brow, taking a sip of sweet ale .

"It’s similar to how Ataxia always knows where all Primes are," Primul said . "Through so-called Bond of Entropy . However, because it’s a minuscule amount spread thin over virtually incomprehensible distances, you’re still unable to sense them . Even I wasn’t . I theorized, at least, I’d have to undergo the Origin Awakening to do it . "

"... how’d you stop it then? I don’t think I’ve encountered any Chaos-blocking array anywhere, be it books or experience . "

"... hmm, it’s not exactly Chaos-blocking," Primul said . "But more... stalling? I guess . "

"... ah," Lino suddenly exclaimed, his lips curling up into a smile . "You used Time to create the infinite loop?"

"Yeah," Primul nodded . "The link between the two still technically exists, but the moment it hits the fortress, it enters the stretching loop that dissolves the nature of Chaos and simply turns into a form of energy . The link will be reestablished eventually, but we’re probably talking billions of years at least . However..."

"... the moment I step out of the fortress, I’m fucked . " Lino sighed, craning his neck . "I’m just short of Level 30,000 now . How strong do I have to get to be able to endure it?"

"—you should be able to withstand it with your current stats so long as you leave the fortress within a year . " Primul said, not hiding his shock at Lino’s revelation . "How... are you so strong? You were barely in a few thousands when we first met..."

"Well, some idiots decided to feed me," Lino chuckled bitterly . "Honestly, I wasn’t even 15,000 before killing Eight and Three . "

"... wait . You’re a Harbinger? Ah, that makes sense..."

"Were you?" Lino asked .

"No," Primul shook his head . "The most basic requirement for an Empyrean to become a Harbinger is for them to have the ability to control their madness . Me? I’m afraid madness controlled me instead . "

"... it’s hardly the case of controlling it," Lino mumbled faintly . "And more akin to disallowing it to sweep you away . Back when I got trapped in Do’r, the moment I realized what Gaia planned, the best choice was to flee – and I could have . However... well, you know the rest . I can resist it, but sometimes... it just ain’t worth it . "

"... you can still overcome it," Primul said, smiling lightly . "Which is more than what can be said for most of the rest of us . So long as you don’t lose yourself in the black and white, you’re doing just fine . "

"..." Lino remained silent, taking a sip of ale as his mind drifted off for a moment . "Aren’t we all overcoming something?" he glanced at Primul, smiling lightly . "Right now, every single soul in the fortress is overcoming something . Some of them things far worse than me . I’m not better than you, or any one of them Primul," Lino added, getting up . "We’re all just broken souls adrift, forever searching for the missing pieces . I just got lucky that I found mine early on . But, so have you now . Rise above the bitterness and guilt and shame . You’re better than that . "