The Pillar of Enera

[Chapter 30] Lily – Burning the Worm

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“I’m bored.” Lily gazed at the Isle’s shadow on the Blue Abyss. The sun had just risen, and she was sitting on the Inner Palace’s docks, feet dangling over a bottomless drop. Technically, only eight miles. If one fell here, they’d plummet straight to the new crust. Heights mean nothing once you can fly.

“Wake me up when she gets close.” Yawning, Lily fell back and closed her eyes.

“Is that why you brought me? To be your lookout?” Lily peeked to see an irate, grouchy Kate. She’d woken her daughter without explanation and dragged her here. Hehe, I’m a bad person.

Kate was mostly right. Lily didn’t know when Astra would arrive and had no desire to waste time scanning for her. It was common sense for immortals to offload menial tasks. Of course, helpers were normally rewarded. Lily often forgot with Kate. It’s a bother.

“Remind me to compensate you for this.” Lily relaxed.

Kate was partly to blame. She’s fun to tease and way too forgiving. Lily almost unconsciously took advantage of her. That’s why Silver’s words had stung so hard. They made me flee. Lily didn’t like thinking too deeply. Unpleasant thoughts would invariably creep up.

I become immortal too young. It wasn’t just her physical form. Every child had fantastical dreams of their adult selves. For Lily, these aspirations would never fade. Her naive, idealized version of herself was always there, right under the surface, to remind her of what she’d never be.

The Dark Age had let her rack up accomplishments quickly. Reaching the wall at the unthinkable age of twelve. Appearance played a powerful role in shaping a person’s sense of self, the reflection in the mirror always on one’s mind. Behaving maturely looking like this… She silently cursed the HEAVENLY DAO for the billionth time.

“Can you at least explain what I’m waiting for?”

“Keep your eyes on the horizon. You’ll know when you see it.”

Astra was the cause of this. She’d warped to the Twisted Lands last night with Legonas to clean up the leftover mess. Lily had agreed to await her return at daybreak. I did these favors for Arther too.

Lily winced. Again. Arther’s death was an aching sorrow which pierced her at every reminder. The Isle felt empty. Even as her ‘children’ came and went, he’d always been there, a pillar among changing tides. Now that millennia-spanning friendship was gone. Losing something so basic, something you took for granted… the grief was paralyzing. HEAVILY DAO, give me a chance to burn that man, and I promise to curse you less.

“I see something.” Kate said.

Rousing herself, Lily enhanced her vision. She’s back. Astra was racing across the Blue Abyss leaving a trail of ice behind. It’s crazy every time I see it. That body of water was dangerous even for immortals, yet her comrade chose to travel its surface. I guess for someone excelling in martial arts, running is faster than flight… Although she’s moving slowly on purpose this time.

Lily got up and stretched. What shall I use? Lightning was a no-go due to the water… Should I feed it salamanders and cook it from the inside? No, too elaborate. It’d be a pain to summon that many. If she was facing a stationary target, it’d be easy. She’d just drop a meteor and be done. She pondered. You know what, for a worm, a ball of fire should be enough.

This was what she’d been roped into. The giant beast Emerit had reported needed to die. Astra had announced she’d lead it to the Isle and Lily would fry it. It was a sound plan, so she hadn’t objected.

On the cliff around her, red magic circles began appearing. For large scale casting, it was important to anchor yourself. That done, time to construct the containment sphere.

“Godly Reach.” Lily activated her first Sublime Vagary. Thanks to the foolishness of youth, the entire world knew so she never bothered hiding her trump cards. Lily felt the world shrink as her senses sharpened. She channeled so hard the air trembled, and dozens more circles appeared three hundred feet out. They arranged themselves into an enormous glowing globe. Now to fill it. Flames streamed inward, converging into a fiery mass.

Astra was closer. With her enhanced awareness, she felt the thing chasing her under the waves. It’s massive. While trusting Emerit, she hadn’t fully grasped its size. I aimed for overkill, but it’ll barely be enough.

Evaluating, Lily glanced back a Kate, who stood nervous and confused. Showing off in front of my daughter every once and a while isn’t a bad idea.

“Infinity Engine.” Lily spoke her second ability. Her channeling grew from a stream to a river, and the flames pouring out became torrents. Her circles were pushed back as a miniature sun formed besides the Isle.

Lily sensed Astra had nearly arrived. I must prepare the trigger. While she’d love to throw her pyrotechnics right at the creature, the shockwave would cause damages. This must be a controlled detonation. Lily concentrated and materialized enormous symbol-filled disks on her side of the wild ball of magic. Layered on one another, they rotated in sync. Perfect.

Below, Astra leap, spreading icy wings. A second later her pursuer splashed out. That worm could swallow a palace wing. It honestly made no sense for something that size to bother hunting Astra or airships. The HEAVENLY DAO is to blame. When the Blue Abyss was transformed into a death zone, all its denizens were gifted a compulsion to hunt intruders. Having drawn the beast out, Astra swerved towards the Isle. Nice job.

Lily released her magic as Astra dodged. A brilliant beam of yellow shot into the gaping mouth. The colossal body began to glow, flames bursting out in several places. Whatever brain it had possessed must have roasted because its maw never closed as Lily’s sun emptied into it. She observed the blazing carcass crash back with satisfaction. Giant fins were already circling. They’ll have consumed it within the hour.

This was when Lily realized that, despite her anchoring, she was moving. What? Impossible! Pivoting, she discovered the hangar perfectly still except for her daughter wavering back and forth with a stunned look. Oh, it’s the Isle that’s swaying. The range of movement was about two feet.

Apart from the new crust far below, earthquakes no longer plagued Enera. Instead a new phenomenon had risen: swaying. Battles between immortals or powerful sustained winds would cause smaller land masses to pendulum. However, normally a piece of land the size of the Isle should never move.

I just doomed hundreds of thousands to nausea. Lily sighed. This was because she’d given in to her impulses. Damn it, this never happened on the old Earth. She should’ve flown down and anchored herself lower. It‘s too late now. While there was no limit to how long she could use Infinity Engine, two separate activations would leave her catatonic. It wasn’t worth it for a problem that’d solve itself shortly.

This leaves a serious issue. Lily wasn’t particularly good with motion sickness. Several hours of this would definitely make her ill. I need an excuse to get off-Isle immediately. She faced Kate, “Hope hasn’t visited the Shrines of the Lost or Calin’s Keep, correct?”

“No, none of them have.” Kate responded.

“Perfect. Find everyone and tell them to gather at the gondola. I’ll meet you there after speaking with Astra.”

“Sure,” Kate nodded. “And thank you for letting me see that. It was very cool.”

“You're welcome.” Lily said awkwardly, watching her go. I just wanted a lookout though… Well, if the girl was happy, she’d gladly take credit. Now to escape.

“Let’s talk on the Helix.” Lily called out as Astra arrived. Without waiting, she shot into the sky. Sailing passed the Rose Palace, she found a good-sized rock to land on. Below, the ground undulated back and forth.

“Maybe don’t shake the Isle if you can’t deal with the fallout.” Astra stated, joining her.

She winced, “It was larger than expected. I went overboard and forgot to take the extra force into account…”

They observed the rocking Isle. A crowd which had gathered to spectate the feasting sharks, otherwise there were few people on the surface. They’re traveling lower to where the swaying is lessened. Others were fleeing on airships.

“At least there haven’t been mishaps on the docks.” Astra commented. The top mile was looking increasing desolate.

Sarah is going to give me an earful, isn’t she? Lily thought glumly, imagining the meeting. On the plus side, this is probably making her life hell. That warmed her heart.

“Anyway, besides this,” Astra motioned towards the scenery. “Good job.”

Lily groaned, “Thanks, I guess. How were things on your end?”

“It’s all wrapped up. I took care of the outlaws at Alan’s settlement and left Legonas to escort the survivors. I also stopped by Forstrand and thanked Patrick. The only difficulty was luring that bloody worm. I had to run around for a solid hour.”

“Why?”

“Something else chased me first.” Astra explained listlessly. “Something fast and deadly. I had to lead it away otherwise my prey wouldn’t have shown itself.”

Lily took her word for it. Spending that much time on the surface still seems like madness. “So Legonas is on another thankless rescue mission?”

“Yes, as soon as he heard, he jumped at the opportunity, no hesitation. His selflessness really is…” Astra shook her head. “I stumbled on his backstory among Arther’s crystals… I’m not sure anything can be done about it.”

“Care to share?” Legonas’s abnormal behavior was famous enough that even Lily had heard of it.

“No, I don’t think I can.” Astra apologized.

Too bad. “About Alan Stern… Did you let him live?”

“Yes. The man hadn’t done anything unforgivable. As for the corruption, Radin pointed me to an amulet with an effect comparable to Nero’s book. He’s been reunited with his family.”

Lily listened quietly, frowning. She’d only heard about two death users being spared. Both lived out their lives under supervision in research facilities. Even if caught before they murdered, corrupt souls were difficult to cleanse. What’s more, even then, the problem isn’t solved. The power of commanding the undead was somehow irresistible to those who hadn’t taken the oath. If not monitored, former death users always returned to their old ways.

The price of letting one live is too high. Left alone long enough, a death user would eventually transform into an abomination. With their soul tainted by the abyss, they’d grow rapidly in strength by ‘remembering’, similar to the undead. Every few centuries one of these emerged from the wilderness, and hundreds of thousands died. Preventing this is why the bounty exists.

“It’s a mistake. While I sympathize with his circumstances, Alan must be killed. If you’d like, I’ll do it myself.”

If Alan raised more undead and there were casualties, the scandal would damage Astra’s credibility. If the incident is investigated and the children’s role comes to light… In the eyes of the world, they’d have blood on their hands. There’d be no saving them then. She has to know this.

To her surprise, Astra smiled, “Alan’s days as a death user are over. I used a Sublime Vagary on him. It’s why I had to travel myself.”

What? Astra possesses something which can control others? How did that happen? Those abilities needed a legend or experience to form around. Lily couldn’t think of anything that’d explain it.

“How can you be sure he won’t raise the dead?”

“Because he’ll perish if tries. I made that clear.”

So it’s a type of curse? That’s still powerful… “Since when have you had this?”

“Since the Dark Age. We never shared our non-combat Sublime Vagaries.”

That’s true, but it’s still frustrating. “Tell me this at least, how many do you have now?”

“Four.” Astra answered smugly. She’s enjoying this. “Three combat-related.”

So she does have a new one. Lily pouted, “That’s not fair. I only have the two.”

“You can summon a dragon god.” Astra console her.

“That’s for taking out armies! It takes days and is useless for one on one fights.” Lily snapped back. That’s not entirely true, but I’m keeping that ace up my sleeve. “Anyway, considering your role as Guildmaster, can you really afford to be gallivanting the globe on personal missions?”

“Dealing with that creature was more than enough justification.”

True, Lily admitted bitterly. Astra would come out of this looking good. The outlook was less rosy for her. Nausea was a miserable experience. Overall, the impact should still be positive.

“Unless there’s anything else, I’m going to go greet regional branch leaders.” Hearing nothing, Astra departed. Lily watched her fading figure. Time to play tour guide.