She despised killing, Cypher had learned, but she knew that in this, she was only protecting herself. Cypher was a bit mortified by the magnitude of the spell she had used. Wind was not her element, and he could have never expected such a spell to fly from her lips, especially one so merciless.
He felt somewhat ashamed of himself at that moment, Alex and Melodi were killing without mercy. Obviously, they had to, this was life or death. But he couldn’t help but remember that once upon a time he had tried to take the high road against foes that sought to claim his life.
Had he not stayed his hand against Gelath all those years ago things might have gone quite differently for him. He was different now but a small part of him wished that he had been less obsessed with the so-called ‘justice’ of the heroes he used to read about. In any event, with the plan unfolding as expected, they had only to wait for reinforcements to arrive. However, from the shadows, the trio was being watched and it only took those people another moment to jump into the fray.
Several cloaked figures rushed out of the shadows and slammed their weapons against the Duality Shield. It shook violently, but it held out and remained intact. Cypher’s eyes met with theirs and at that moment he could feel their power. That they were Rank-Three Conductors was obvious. Luckily though, they were only newly advanced. Only their Orriums, and perhaps their minds as well, had broken through to the fourth rank.
Their blows rained down on Cypher’s Duality Shield constantly. The barrier itself was indeed nearly invincible. But that only applied to Conductors within the same level of power as the caster. If these newcomers kept up their attack, his barrier would eventually shatter. If he was one rank stronger than his current self, he was sure that he could resist them forever.
But as things were now, they would break through within minutes. A few small cracks too small for the eye to see appeared on the surface of the barrier. Cypher could only tell due to his innate connection with it. He knew he had to work fast, and there was only one thing he could do.
He dropped to one knee, keeping his hands pressed into the barrier, and started chanting a new spell. This one was designed to work in tandem with his Duality Shield. It was risky though. Every time he tried to use it during his training with Elaine, it would always cause the Duality Shield to flicker and fade away.
He worried that this time, it would happen again. Although, given the circumstances, he refused to accept that possibility. He began sending energy to twelve different spots on the Duality Shield, pinning all their lives on the hope that it would hold up.
If he failed they would likely all die, but if the opponents broke through, the fate would be the same. At least this way, they wouldn’t have to wait for death to come, but if it succeeded…
He continued to chant and his voice grew louder as he invoked the laws he wished to employ. This was different from your standard chant. Normal chants consisted of the rank of the spell, the number of times cast, and lastly the name of the spell. Each step invoked the laws differently and allowed for a specific effect.
However, this chant was longer and held a deeper meaning. The laws weren’t sentient, but they could still react to things that resonated with them on a deeper level. The energy created by the Duality Shield was the base of this new spell of Cyphers.
It consisted of every element, each drawn specifically from the Great Balance Arks. Given that, the laws were already naturally drawn to it which made it the perfect base for his new technique. In this world, there were those who were born with special abilities known as innate talents.
They were somewhat rare, and in a way, different than traits one inherited from their parents. Cypher’s parents had held innate talents like Serenade’s ability to see into the future, or Fenix’s ability to send his consciousness outside of his body. Cypher was no different in that regard. He had long known that he could hear spells, however, while training with Elaine, he discovered that he was the only one who could.
That discussion had been long, and the testing of it had gone on for a few days. Through that lesson, he discovered that these sounds he could hear were not the spells themselves. Instead, they were the very laws of the world being manipulated. This was the truth of Cypher’s unique innate talent.
Not only had he inherited a lesser version of his mother’s ability of foresight, but also this powerful trait. Having conscious knowledge of this ability had allowed him to hone it to a higher degree and had ultimately drawn him closer to the elements themselves and aided in his quick mastery of the Duality Shield.
Through this connection to the elements, he had designed a new spell. One that could make offensive use of the massive energies Duality Shield provided and that his Orrium allowed him access to despite his low rank. This spell would use his own strength to activate, but it would quickly blend with the energy of the barrier itself and become self-sustaining.
As his chanting peaked, a sudden wave of familiarity swept over him. He had been here before! This! This was the place in his dreams, the place where they all died. Cypher’s determination wavered as he prepared to use his new spell and began to fail before connecting with his barrier. His mind returned to the faces of his fallen comrades but he pushed the images away.
This time was already different. He could remember every detail of those dreams from back then and he knew that none of it had gone the way it had originally. He had changed his fate and altered the course of history as he had seen it. He could do this! He had to do this! He began his chant again, this time focusing harder than ever before.
“The Void shines through heaven as darkness engulfs the sun. The world shifts around me, now that the forces are one. Lend me your might in my hour of need, and bend the limits of nature’s embrace! Space. Time. Heaven. Earth. The laws converge to a single point of truth and beckon the birth of new energy! Waltz, Verse 12 Performance of Radiant Chaos!“
As he finished a bright wave of light rolled through his barrier, illuminating each of the twelve points he had chosen. Glowing dark energy began to spray from those points and moved around the outside of the barrier seamlessly. Nothing could stop their movement, it was as if the glowing rays of darkness were dancing around the Duality Shield for all the world to see.
Anything that they passed over was severed or vaporized instantly. Every single one of the nearby acolytes was shredded into steaming pieces by the moving lights, and when they finally came to a stop, only a bloody scene remained.
Cypher huffed as he felt his energy drop to critical levels. The spell was in a class all its own and didn’t fall into the standard categories most spells did. It was a spell of his own design, one of three that he had created during his training with Elaine inside the Anzephelobarrier.
Its power was highly dependent on the energies provided to the Duality Shield by the Circle since his own Zight reserves were far from capable of powering it. Even still, it required a large jumpstart from his end and still took its toll on his body and mind. Even now he could feel the backlash, and his Duality Shield flickered as the spell new spell that had been layered on top ended. But now was not the time to worry about that. As the dust settled, bodies lay strewn on the floor everywhere you looked, and a majority of the crates had been destroyed.
Alex and Melodi looked exhausted, and Cypher was also nearing his breaking point. As the seconds ticked by and no more enemies came for them, Cypher felt certain that they had won. For a moment, he thought that it was all over.
That is until loud metallic clapping came from the back of the warehouse. The man approached the trio slowly, taking his time as he moved closer. His eyes held a series of mixed emotions, but a strong sense of danger radiated from his entire body. For a moment, Cypher was reminded of Louis as he stared down his prey.
However, behind these eyes he now beheld, there was no sign of hunger, only a greedy, destructive ambition. Cypher knew exactly who he was looking at. Between the reddish-orange hair, the silver arm, and the oppressive aura he produced, there was only one man this could be.
Elaine had warned him of this possibility. It was remote, but she had warned him all the same. She had said that if he appeared, the only thing they could do was wait for a miracle. Cypher knew he was no match. He knew that together all of them couldn’t even lay a finger on this man.
Despite that, he stared on with boiling anger in his gaze. He struggled to keep his hands raised against his barrier. He had to buy time for reinforcements to arrive because the man standing before him was none other than the leader of the Usurper Sect of the Order of Eternal Night.
This man was Nuadha himself.
