Chapter 78: A New Journey

My announcement is received with minimal fanfare.

Leriva and Mathilda had all come to terms with the fact that they'd die on this soil. 

I'm the only one late to the realization. Late to push the clouds away from my eyes and take off my rose-coloured glasses.

Leriva looks up at us, not at all bothered by the thought of it, perhaps even relieved. Yes, her face, her shoulders and her arms lost a tenseness that had been there since the beginning.

But, that begs the question…

"How are you going to do that? Nothing alive goes in remember?"

I bite my lips at Kaylin's question breathing life into the insecurity of my claim. How would I go about killing them?

Well, to begin with there're many ways immediately available to me. I could find a corpse and toss it down the hole primed to explode in a shower of tender meats and bones.

Or I could simply toss them a blade and have them save themselves from the maw of the Beta above, that's clearly feasible as every bit of an 'object' is not alive.

Or they could bite the bullet and climb on out of the hole; suicide by Cultist. But that's what I'm trying to save them from, now isn't it?

Shaking my head as I spiral through the thoughts, options and their limitations, I arrive at back where I started, with a single theory that hasn't been tested.

"Can mana make it through?" I wonder aloud. The hole seems to be linked to the Beta in a way that it senses any bit of life that passes in or out of it and reacts lethally.

But mana…is mana a living thing? It's part of me, a living breathing organism and everything in me grows and dies in some way or another. In fact, mana grows within me too. I have more mana than I did back at the cave, that counts as growth, right?

But at the same time, mana is outside, in the atmosphere, in the air, rocks and water all around us. These things aren't living. They are matter.

So, what is mana? Is it alive? Or is it just dead matter?

Kaylin shrugs at the question and Leriva is simply waiting to die, a look of grim plastered over her face as she says, "I guess you'll have to test it."

Test it. Well, I suppose I will.

Kaylin gives me a nod and backs away, same as Anselm- even though he should rightfully be protecting me.

Exhaling a deep laboured breath, I wave my fingers and psyche myself up. Should the worse come the Fey Spirits swirling around me should do a good job of taking the first blows while I escape.

Ready, I let my cold green mana flow out of my centre and into my hands as a wispy ball of green death…hopefully.

I ready my most merciful spell, Death Grip. Soul Drain for obvious reasons is far too cruel and the upgrade Summon Spirit attack variation is something I'd rather save for people I don't have an attachment too, and a spell I haven't even gotten around to testing.

With a huff I direct the green wispy hands towards Leriva and all the others down there, once one settles around a neck, I let it split of and jump over to another person.

Within a minute of pure concentration, I achieve my greatest feat of Mana Manipulation yet, near thirty people have green, albeit tiny wispy hands around their necks, ready to let them off to the Spirit Realm.

I open my mysteriously wet eyes and meet those of Leriva and Mathilda. "Are you ready?"

They nod. I nod.

And....snap.

It's the resounding, reverberating chorus of sound that gets me. The sound that claps throughout the land and announces that I've done it. The sound that tells me, that wakes me up to the reality that…that I've killed the ones I meant to save, the ones I meant to have beside me.

The last of Carbina is gone.

Quickly, for one last look, I let go and summon mana into my eyes for one last look.

"Sense Death!" I pronounce a spell I haven't bothered using for a while. It lights up my eyes and gifts me the world in black and white and I search.

Where are they?

Where's Leriva? Where's Mathilda?

It takes a moment, a mere second before my view is lit up with a piercing blue light that descends from above. I recognise this light.

It's Anera.

Following the light, I find them at last. Slowly, they ascend into it, disoriented but far healthier than their bodies are. 

Leriva stares down at hers, a solemn look mares her face and then Mathilda holds onto her, slipping her hand into hers and pulling her away. It's all so silent.

"Leriva! Mathilda!" I call out to them. They notice me, they mutter something to each other and smile down at me. I can't hear anything. "I'm sorry!"

Before I can say anymore, the light, like the face of the Goddess herself shines on me. It isn't hospital.

[Sense Death Has Been Interrupted by a Foreign Force.]

I groan as my eyes sting, temporarily blinded by the intense glare of the Goddess's light.

I'd dare to try again but I know it's far too late, they've gone into her light. They've gone to her embrace.

I let myself crumple to the floor and the flood gates open at last.

***

After a good albeit dangerous session of emotional vulnerability. I regain my sight and meet up with Kaylin and Anselm who weren't that far away at all.

"Are you okay?" Kaylin asks, her voice soft and her touch tender.

I nod dumbly and mutter, "We should get going…"

There's a long silence until Kaylin, curious cat as ever asks, "Go to where?"

Go to where indeed.

What was the plan exactly? To head to the March and swiftly become a noble? And then tackle the system from within?

What was I thinking so long ago?

That everything would go just fine no doubt. 

But now, we're here and the March, the centre, becoming a noble. It doesn't seem like a viable plan anymore. Not with the Synagogue on my tail and the Kingdom being best of buddies with them.

This Kingdom isn't safe for me anymore…was it ever?

But what happens next? What do I do now that Carbina, Leriva, Mathilda and all its people are gone? They were to be the founding blocks of the home I wished to make, the nation I wished to build…even if I didn't know it until now.

Do I still want a nation? A home?

Yes, yes I do.

But…how do I pursue it?

"Asher!" Anselm's yell breaks me out of my reverie and I turn to him, bewildered. "Where are we going, Asher?"

Rather than answer him, I look up, to the Beta Cultist silently floating above the pit. It's a surprise we…I made all that noise and it didn't wake.

It's a surprise, that Anera picked up their souls and ignored the Beta completely. Not even a light, a lightning strike or even an earthquake was unleashed upon it.

Why?

I shake my head. Lotar was right. Gods are not inherently good. They are all just selfish.

"We're going to become strong, Anselm." I reply at last.

"Yes, but where?"

I blink at him. Where? Why…it'd have to be, "Everywhere."

"Everywhere there are Cultist to kill, everywhere there're people hurting, people needing and pleading for acceptance."

Shaking my head I come to a realization.

I've been looking at this the wrong way. This is not a game, this life, my life now. The Gods are nonchalant and the Synagogue is cruel just as this filthy Kingdom is.

This is not an RTS or an RPG. This is more than that and because of that, I don't need one single person or one single place to begin my war, to begin my hunt.

All I need is my will and my power. There're people everywhere looking for something good to throw themselves into and I've got the funds to do help them, to recruit them to my cause and show them the way.

There are people that need saving, people who will be eternally grateful, people who will follow their saviour to the end if only they were to appear and actually save them.

I've been too relaxed, I've been too complacent, going along with the flow of events, getting attached…loving people when what I should really be doing is…securing them, securing their lives and by extension mine.

"Anselm, Kaylin. We're revolutionaries now."

As their mouths fall agape, I laugh. If you want to create a Kingdom, a Nation of Power, you don't become a slimy noble and slither your way to the top or attempt a coup detat, you become revolutionaries!

You shout out a call to arms and the people will hear you.

"What are you talking about? My mother said you'll be keeping a low profile!" Kaylin yells.

I stare deeply into her eyes and tell her, "You can't hide under the table forever Kaylin." 

"Anselm, the treasury. We're going to need all the Tokus we can get!"