Shadowbane

"Fifty-two dead, ninety-eight with near-lethal injuries, and forty-two with light or mild injuries... Is five days really going to be enough?" Hera asked.

Lunaria nodded, "With me here? Of course five will be enough. We'll have them fixed up in less than a few hours."

Physically, sure. But both groups have lost their homes and now they've lost fifty-two more people in a single instance. To say they look broken would be an understatement. And we don't even know how much farther we need to go... I can see the large beam of light in the distance, but hell if I know how far away it is. Compared to where I first appeared on Mother it definitely looks larger outside this cave, but according to Tam that portal took us across the entire mountain range which is about sixty-five miles. I feel like it should be more noticeable after warping over sixty miles...

"Undead girl---No, Reimia. Have you found them?" The Tengu asked me.

"Yes. Will it surprise you to hear that they're heading for the crystals in the empty Versha camps?"

"......"

Ooh, I can feel his aura spiking quite hard. I had a feeling that would piss him off.

I looked through the bird's eyes again. Down below there was a large procession of Human's and an alien looking race walking toward the Versha's camps. In the center of the group was a large Eldritch shaped like a centipede that was covered in pustules and dripping ooze everywhere. And there was one other bizarre detail sticking out to me...

"Varuna, did you clearly see the Human's trying to pull the Versha toward us? More specifically, did you see any ooze-like appendages on their heads?"

"Hmm..." Varuna thought on it for a moment, "I can't recall such a detail. And if the snipers saw it, they would have reported it to me. Why do you ask? Is there Humans over there with such an appendage?"

"All of them."

"Come again?"

"All of them have some type of ooze helmet stuck to their heads. It's dark green and transparent, which matches the color of the Eldritch. Which looks like a centipede by the way. I'd say it's about two hundred meters long, and maybe thirty meters tall?"

The Tengu looked at Varuna, "There's no way past them?"

"There is. The mountains continue on the left side, but the right side has a large forest we could use to avoid them. However, traveling through an unknown thick forest on Mother obviously carries its own risks." Varuna replied.

The Tengu went silent as he pondered our options.

While he was doing that I walked over to Alicia who was resting alone on the left side of the cave. Her eyes were closed, so she was either sleeping or meditating.

"Hey, could you always unleash a spell of that magnitude? Why were you only using those light spheres on Rai'ga then?"

"Pfft... You're funny, Rei." She opened her eyes and looked at me with a mocking smile on her face, "I have much more mana than your average person, but even I couldn't have done that alone in less than an hour. Several fairies and three of Varuna's clones were pouring mana into the spell with me. The fairies aside, I'm baffled and impressed that Varuna's clones have their own mana supply. He says they collect ether like everyone else, which is wild to me."

One of Varuna's clones appeared next to us and bowed, "I thank you for the compliment Miss Alicia. And what about my previous request? I don't mean to rush you, it's just that we don't have much time here."

"Don't worry, I asked him a few moments before Rei approached me. Lord Terra'ka is allowing me to bring over a Tetrathon, but five days is much too short. Even six days is cutting it close, so if I am to do this, I need to leave now."

"What's a Tetrathon? And on another note where the hell is Benny?"

"A large chameleon Lord that can spawn all sorts of different Lizardmen. He'll create an army as we move, but it's going to take time, and he'll be defenseless while he's in spawning mode. Even a peasant with no mana will be able to put a bullet through his brain, so we'll need to be vigilant." Alicia continued, "And you're only just now noticing he's not here...? He split off from us after we made our way to Mother's portal. He asked us to take good care of Lady Aresa before leaving for his families home that was near Viktor's lands."

Ahh, I can understand him wanting to return to his family then. It's a shame since his defensive abilities are really useful, but he's free to do as he wishes in the end. And that Lord's description sounds really familiar... I feel like I saw one of those back when I was captured by the Lizardmen. I think it was on the way toward the portal to Thule? That was also when I first met Alicia, funnily enough.

"Can't I just cover it in armor?"

Alicia shook her head, "He needs light to survive, channel ether, and grow the eggs on his back that'll turn into Lizardmen. And one of your meshes will still block too much light. Also, it needs to be natural light. Otherwise I'd be able to just create a bunch of spheres inside your armor to keep it alive and moving." She looked back at Varuna, "So, am I bringing it over? I assume yes, but just remember that delays our departure by a day at minimum."

"'At minimum' is a worrying phrase. We cannot leave any later than six days. Can you tell me the specific reason you need six days? Warp cooldown? Something related to this 'Tetrathon'?"

"Both. Warping home will be easy, since I haven't used my dagger at all in weeks now, but the return is going to be difficult, especially since I'll be bringing over a Tetrathon in egg form---"

I was interested in where this discussion was going, but I could see the Tengu waving me over, so I turned and made my way back over to him.

"What's the plan?"

"Now that we're not dealing with anti-magic beasts, at least as far as we know, this will be a much easier battle. Although, in hindsight I should've had you take on the Alpha and elites while I cast spells from behind, but I had a hard time believing that such a small creature would be able to handle them, even if you are different. And I thought the regular Versha would be much more resilient to magic. Tam wasn't wrong about the elites, but his estimation of the anti-magic properties of the grunts was pretty far off. Normally I'd suspect foul play, but the Merfolk are unaware of the amount of spells a Tengu caster can weave, so this may have been a blunder on my part."

He continued, "Back to the topic at hand. I'd like to ask you to accompany me to the Versha's camp. Only I, you, and Varuna will go. My warp marks can only be used by me, and I know you two will be able to retreat back to the cave should anything go wrong."

"So we're going to obliterate them huh? Three Versha is my limit by the way. They're way too big but they are more than worth it. But uh, hmm..."

I went silent, thinking back to my ether carriers.

"Go on?" The Tengu said as one of Varuna's clones appeared next to him.

"I have several others summons I can create, instead of the basic warrior types. And one of them collects ether from the atmosphere. It's just that anything sensitive to ether or mana will be able to sense them from much farther away than they normally could. At least three miles minimum. So I technically could create a whole army out of these corpses, but it'd be really risky. Plus, something about my carriers ether signature really makes any Eldritch or Xerath want to absorb them. The amount of ether they have is obviously tempting, but they could get that amount merely doing nothing, it's something else that pulls them in. Something I don't know how to stop." I continued, "Oh, and one last thing, they are very bulky and slow. Which isn't a huge deal since I assume all of these citizens aren't exactly fast either."

The Tengu looked over at my three Versha summons that were standing near the cavern entrance, making sure nothing else entered.

"... Risky indeed, especially on a world teeming with powerful Eldritch. Varuna?"

"I am half-opposed, half optimistic. And with that said; Miss Reimia, I assume anyone can use the ether they collect?"

"I don't know, I've never thought about trying to use them as a battery for others. Want to give it a try? Preferably it should be done with a human body, since a Versha ether carrier's aura will be detectable at a much farther range than three miles."

Varuna disappeared and re-appeared near the lake where all of the deceased were laid out. Skewalla was healing nearby, and he promised to take them back to his city where they'd be buried under the seabed alongside the Merfolks ancestors. It surprised me that everyone had accepted that strange proposal from Tam, but I wasn't entirely certain of where I'd want my loved ones buried, so I stayed out of it. After all, I had left my families bodies right where they died. It didn't occur to me till many years later that I should have done something for them.

Varuna re-appeared next to the Tengu, "Seventeen of the dead have no relatives that would oppose you using their bodies. Will that be enough? Even if the experiment fails, you should still use them to create more Versha warriors. Alerting enemies for three to six miles is a massive detriment, but it is worth it in my estimation." He looked at the Tengu, "Your thoughts, my Lord?"

"Agreed. See it done." The Tengu said.

"That's more than enough, but I don't know which ones are the correct bodies, so please bring them over here."

While Varuna collected the bodies I decided what to do with the Versha souls I had collected. After the battle I was unable to move for a bit, but as soon as they lifted the Alpha off of me I collected as many souls as I could. I was able to retain over half of them before the queen cunt took them.

I had absorbed a grunts soul to see what kind of boost I would obtain, and it was still a decent bump in strength despite hitting my peak already. Godwin was right apparently, there was no end to how strong someone could become. It's just that the people here never have the time required to hit those heights.

And so in the end I absorbed half of the Versha, while giving the other half to Belfos. It increased his strength a little while boosting his resurrection about thirty percent forward. Which was huge since he was still below one percent even after all of this time. At that rate he was going to respawn in ninety-nine more months.

I tried funneling mana directly into his soul as a test, but it was rejected. I guess he needs pure soul energy, and that's why he was tied to the wellspring.

Varuna laid down another body in front of me and looked around the cave, "I'd prefer nobody saw this, and nobody is looking in our direction, so please do it now."

I reached down and thought about creating a Lich but decided against it. Even seventeen human-sized ether carriers would only power four or five of these Versha. Which is still a lot, but a Lich would just add a lot more strain to my resources, and his buffs seemed to require mana based on the size of the target, so having one buff a bunch of massive Versha wasn't even an option.

I poured mana into each of the bodies, telling them to turn into carriers. A few moments later they were born, looking as fat and awkward as ever.

"Give them a minute to charge up, then touch one of them and try to pull ether out of it. If it resists, which is probably will, I'll command it to let it happen. Hopefully that's all it takes."

The Tengu nodded and waited for a minute to pass before touching two of the carriers with his fingers while channeling a sphere of darkness above his other hand. As expected, they rejected his soul, and luckily enough the transfer went through the moment I told them to accept him.

"... 'Batteries', huh?" The Tengu said, smiling. "Mind wrapping these things around me?"

"With my mesh? I'll give it a try." Those wings look like they're going to be a pain in the ass to avoid though.

I pulled blood out of my arm and turned it into a light mesh before wrapping it around his shoulders and fashioning it more like a backpack. Once I created an entrance on the side, Varuna and I tossed the seventeen carriers inside and sealed it shut. And as soon as I told the remaining fifteen carriers to give him access to their mana, the Tengu immediately bolted out of the cave. He was clearly rearing to go.

Varuna was laughing heartily as we ran after him, "Forgive my Lord! He's very frustrated after that last fight, and I'm sure punishing these cretins who attempted to use us as sacrifices to get rid of the Versha is exactly what he needs right now."

Well, it looks like I came for nothing. I, Varuna, and the summons have just been watching the Tengu completely annihilate the centipede's 'army'. Judging by the amount of toxins they're leaking on death, and the poisonous missiles they're firing at the Tengu, I'd expect this centipede to be quite the difficult foe for a regular Humanoid force.

But a spellcasting monster like this Tengu Lord is a really bad match-up for them. They can't get close to him and all of their poison spells are hitting his barrier. They're sticking to it like the acid blood did to Lindon's shield back when we killed that Abyssal cat monster. However, the Tengu told us not to worry about it, and Varuna is merely smiling while watching the carnage unfold, so I saw no reason to be concerned either.

The Centipede was firing a barrage of toxic needles and liquids at the Tengu, but by the time they reached the Tengu he had already repositioned himself. He was too far away and much too fast for the Centipede. Meanwhile, the Centipede was clearly designed to be a stationary menace. He was practically an artillery line all by himself, but just like his followers, he was completely outmatched and he knew it too.

Knowing that his counterattacks were proving fruitless, the Centipede attempted to run, and when he actually reached his max speed is was surprisingly fast, but it's not as if the Tengu was slow and none of the Centipede's followers were able to stop him from pursuing their master.

"Anything?" Varuna asked me.

"Nothing. At least nothing I can see through the bird's eyes. That forest is annoyingly thick, so it's hard to see inside of it."

Varuna and I continued waiting where we were as the Tengu killed the Centipede and then turned his wrath on all of his slain foe's followers.

Yeah... He definitely should have taken a caster role from behind us during the Versha battle. We would've lost far less people if he did, but I suppose I can't blame him for thinking I wouldn't be able to handle the Alpha alone.

After he was killed the last of the Centipede's followers he walked into the Versha's camp and sat down next to the crystal and closed his eyes before yelling out at us, "I'll be fine here until we're ready to leave! Keep an eye on them for me you two!"

So he's going to stay and absorb the lifeblood from the crystal? Might as well I suppose. The more strength we have going forward, the better.

Varuna and I turned around and began to walk back to the cave in silence.

I'm feeling a lot better about our odds after seeing that and having some powerful summons under my belt. Hopefully it only takes a few months to reach Gaia, and then I can finally return home...

~287 days later~

"W-Whoa, look at that, Dad!" Hera yelled as we exited the tree line.

I had seen it beforehand thanks to my birds in the sky, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for them. There was a large city sprawled out before Gaia. It was the very first city we had seen thus far actually, so it was kind of amazing to see.

"A city...? The hell? I thought there'd be a bunch of powerful Eldritch waiting for us here or some shit." Godwin said.

The Tengu used a spell to enhance his vision and almost balked when he saw what was waiting for us. "It's bustling with people, and there are flashing lights everywhere... What exactly is a 'casino'?"

"Ahh, yeah, I saw that too, but I've been having a hard time believing there's actually a casino here." I continued, "It's a place where you gamble your money in an attempt to win more money."

The Tengu scratched his head, "Is this an illusion? Why would there be such a thing next to Gaia...?"

"I have a theory." Varuna said, causing everyone to look at him. "I believe the reason we cannot see the end to this city, is because it wraps all the way around Gaia. I would bet anything that Mother approved of such a city because it provides one last respite for any followers of her Eldritch to let loose and relax. That way they enter Gaia ready for anything. You never know where you're going to end up in there after all, or so we've been told."

We've met a few nice Eldritch along the way, and they all said the same thing. Once every two days the place you appear inside of Gaia changes. So if these guys were to enter Gaia today, and I entered two or three days from now, we could end up hundreds of millions miles away from each other. Or maybe only ten miles. It's completely random after all. But that also means that even if I do survive Caedrus and make my way back here, finding them again inside of Gaia is probably going to be impossible. It's honestly so tempting to just go with them, to end it all and find a new life in Gaia with Aresa, Shana, and everyone else here. But I'm...

Everyone began to walk toward the city, so I followed along. Saying goodbye could wait a day or two, and I'd love some good food right now. And I was more than happy to use any excuse to not leave right now.

About halfway to the city Godwin said, "So when are you leaving?"

If I had a heart it would have stopped in that moment. I hadn't expected anyone to realize I was planning on leaving.

"Leaving? Who you talking to, Dad?" Hera said.

"Rei, is it you? Your soul has been feeling weird lately, but I felt like I shouldn't ask you about it..." Luna said from atop my shoulder.

"Ah, yeah, thank you little Luna. I'm just uh..." The words caught in my throat. Some part of me really didn't want to say the rest.

"Bah, just say it, girl. You want to kill Viktor, right? Then don't hesitate and just do it. We'll be fine without you from here on out. So, you know... Thank you."

The way he said thank you was so sincere I almost started crying. I really don't want to say goodbye to all of these guys again, but he's right, I can't move on in my life until I've killed Viktor. I just... I just can't. And while I could survive without knowing the truth behind Caedrus and the machines, there's no denying that I'm dying to see what kind of revelations I'll find while I'm there.

"... You're welcome, Godwin. And I'm going to leave when you all walk through that tall golden light in front of us. It's kind of wild that it's not actually creating light. It looks bright as hell, and yet the city needs its own lighting system."

"True, I expected it be blindingly bright when we arrived here." Jasper said.

I had more I wanted to say to them, but I decided to leave it at that until it was time to really say goodbye. I could tell Hera and Jasper had wanted to say something but they were biting their tongues as well. The others didn't know yet, but they would in time.

We spent four days partying while eating anything we wanted. It turns out you are allowed to stay and eat here for free if you follow an Eldritch who worships Mother and Meiza'thul like Rai'ga did, but the Tengu, well... Let's just say his reception wasn't exactly a welcoming one. But we had plenty to trade and the Tengu decided to have everyone let loose before they jumped into a new unknown world.

"Don't worry, I'll see you again at some point, Xi. I promise!"

I was obviously lying as she hugged me, but even I hoped it was true.

Along the way, she, Alicia, and I had become quite close. Cera had been smothering me like a mother which was kind of weird and embarrassing at first, but I grew to like it over time. I lost my mother early on after all, so it was a refreshing experience. She was in the back with her family, just watching me with a smile. I had already said goodbye to most of the people here the night before. It's just Xi who didn't want to let me go at this point.

"Rei, I'm sorry I can't warp you back. I know you'll be okay, but still..." Alicia said.

"It's fine! You already apologized last night, and I'm used to traveling alone. Plus, it'll be much easier to get there by myself."

Terra'ka asked her if she'd continue into Gaia with the Tengu. He wanted to see if he could maintain a connection to her after she established a temple somewhere inside of Gaia, but it was likely impossible. Even so, he finally decided to try and gain some influence inside of that dreamlike realm, so this was a good opportunity for him since she was already here with hundreds of Lizardmen. That Chameleon Lord turned out to be a ridiculously powerful support unit. It was smart of him to send one of those along with us.

I was also given the location of a much closer portal that led to a moon near Aetheria, but I declined. Even if the trek back to Aetheria's portal is annoyingly long, at least I know the way already, and I know exactly how to get to Arcadia from Termia. The only issue is going to be passing those mountains we were trapped in where we fought the Versha. That was a one-way portal, so hopefully I can find some Merfolk that'll show me a way to get around it.

Xi let go and wiped a tear away, "R-Right, we'll be seeing each other soon enough..."

"That's right! Just give me a couple of years and I'll catch up to you guys." I said after reaching out and rubbing her hair.

"Reeei~, take me with, please?" Luna asked.

"Whoa now, hang on." Lunaria said, stomping over toward us before lifting Luna up by her wings. "You're not going to abandon your dear old mother, are you?"

"... This is as good of time as any, I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you name her after you?"

Lunaria's eyes widened for a moment before she smiled at me, but not the usual cunning one. This was an affectionate one as she glanced at the little fairy in her fingers, "She's a Lord. The only fairy-sized Lord I've ever created... She was a pain in the ass to make and I definitely won't be doing it again since I could just make ten normal Lords in the time it took me to make her, but I don't regret it... Oh! Rei, all of my caves are still operating the last I checked and you still have access to them. Most of my children wanted to remain behind, and I graciously allowed them to. They've never left those caves, so it would've been far too cruel to force them to leave, when even the Abyss will struggle to find them there."

I doubt I'll need them since I'll be in a completely different part of the world, but that's good to know regardless.

"But I want to go with her! Come on, we'll be back, she said so herself!" Luna yelled while flailing back and forth, attempting to wring her wings free from Lunaria's grip.

"... Sweetie, she was just saying that and you know it."

"I don't care. Let go."

Lunaria sighed, "Rei, please talk some sense into my daughter."

"Hey, if she wants to come with me, I'm all for it. Any support I can get will be a godsend where I'm going."

"What? You little..."

As Lunaria glared at me I walked over to the cart Aresa and Victoria's crystals were resting on(The scythe was also in there). I placed my hand on Aresa's crystal and watched her sleeping form for a bit while thinking about the time I had met her in Godwin's tent all those years ago.

"... See you later, princess. You better not grow up again before I return."

I pulled away and said my final goodbyes to everyone. And surprisingly, Luna had convinced her mom to let her go, but she obviously wasn't happy about it. Although I could see a faint smile when Luna was yelling at her. She was probably happy seeing that her daughter was no longer a scaredy cat hiding away in a cave every single day.

I watched with Luna on my shoulder as everyone disappeared into the yellow light. They were flanked by the Versha summons, who were given one last order to obey the Tengu above all else. We had a lot more carriers now that were being wheeled around in a cart I made from my blood, and they were now powering the summons in my stead. I was worried that wherever they ended up might be dangerous and attract unwanted attention thanks to the carriers, but it was out of my hands now. All I could do was pray they survived long enough to build a new home there.

I stood there in silence for a while staring at Gaia, a long while, before finally turning around and making my way back through the city.

... It's finally time to head home. I wish Aresa could have came with me, but I'll just need to make sure I capture a lot of memories for her along the way. We'll have another viewing party when I find them in Gaia. Even if it is deemed impossible, if I'm alive, I'm still going to try.