Chapter 413: Facing Reality

Chapter 413: Facing Reality

Tala and Master Xeel stood together outside the cell of a Reality Mage.

She was about to face this classic nemesis of all Mages, and he was going to be on hand during the process.

Tala gave a hesitant smile. I have some ideas, but youre far more experienced, here. Whats the overarching plan?

Master Xeel gave a small shrug. You go in, keep the Reality Mage on the inside while the Paragon repairs the cell. I will be standing in the entrance, ready to step in to help if I can.

Not if I need?

He shook his head. Please do not mistake me, Mistress Tala. I will do what I can if you are in need, and I can probably keep the Reality Mage contained. That said, doing so isnt a gamble that I want to take, even if I were inclined to do so. You are likely to be able to counter her, whereas I would have to overpower her. You should be able to walk into her domain and rebuff her authority. I would have to stand on the edge and fight her back from the outside.

Tala nodded, then made a motion of will to make Kit appear in door form on the side of her units vehicle.

Having a physical manifestation like that would lock the center of Kits range in place, and keep the dimensional storage from automatically coming with Tala into the cell.

There was no reason to introduce such a place to escape into, nor to risk my sanctum, Irondale, or the people within needlessly.

Before them, the antechamber opened up. It looked like a massive, clear dome on the top of a wide, low hill. Though, it also seemed entirely contained at the peak of the little rise the entrance opened from.

Contracted space once again or is it expanded? Honestly, it was probably a mix of both.

Inside the antechamber, Tala took the time to look over the information available about the woman that was recorded within.

The info was on large stone slabs written in the common script. So, this Reality Mage hadnt been here since before the unification of language.

It took a bit, but it was worth the slight delay in order to double check what she and Alat had already perused.

Their opponent would be the Reality Mage Re-al. A woman so depraved that shed sacrificed her own familiar, forsaken and hidden her name, and torn her own soul out of the next world for use in horrendous rituals.

Alat, can we do this?

-I think we can, yes.-

Tala found herself smiling as she came to the end of the information.

Alright then. Her iron and white steel flowed over her, coating the bottoms of her feet as she strode forward, lifting her a bit higher with each step until the armor was complete and fully encapsulating.

Under her ablative armor was a layer of pure iron, just to make sure there werent any cracks or crevices that power could worm its way through.

She also encapsulated herself, star- and stone-ward with iron.

Alat and Tala had considered using their existence shield, but theyd largely dismissed that for several reasons.

One of the main ones was that, the last time theyd used it, theyd learned that it wasnt very good at resisting true attacks.

Instead, it excelled at blocking connections and attempts to alter her own existence directly.

That also meant that if it was hit by an attack, it could do more harm to her than good. Though, to be fair, she didnt actually know what the murder-eyes attack had been trying to do.

It was possible that having half of her body and magic erased from existence had been the best outcome she could hope for.

Regardless, they didnt feel like the existence shield was the right course of action.

That said, she was going to go in, armored for a world-ending threat.

With that in mind, she aspect-mirrored as much void into her elk leathers magical defenses as possible. In doing so, she altered the relatively weak, always active magical defenses around her soulbound garments into powerful, void-magic barriers that hugged her form just outside the iron and white-steel armor.

She very specifically did not mix the void-magic with the iron, which, because it was bound to her, seemed to count effectively as reality-magic.

In that way, she had a layer of protection that was the direct antithesis of Realityvoid-magicfollowed by one that was obliquely opposed to itreality-magic.

All told, there shouldnt be any easy way for power of any kind to get at her.

There was still the danger of physical attacks, but thats why she had the ablative armor on.

She came to a stop right in front of where the entrance to the cell would be when it was opened.

Standing there for a moment, tall and confident, Tala turned her head toward the Paragon who was waiting for her, and she nodded to him.

The man smiled resolutely. We begin.

Tala took deep breaths, her hands empty.

She wouldnt risk Flow with exposure to Reality, not at first at least. She doubted shed be willing to use the sword at all, but she had Flow sheathed at her waist, under her armor, nonetheless.

As the Paragon began his work, rock grew up from the ground within the antechamber, forming an oddly normal looking door frame before the inside of the thing was filled with the darkness of a long tunnel.

Most cell entrances manifested as something akin to a long tunnel.

Her threefold sight showed that the tunnel was more truly through existence itself than any material.

The stone which made up the walls, ceiling, and floor was but a veneer meant to maintain the natural order of things.

After all, people were not meant to stride on the edge of existence.

Tala immediately stepped into the tunnel, Master Xeel coming in behind her and blocking off the outside end of the long tunnel with a field of light composed of interweaving colors.

She almost hesitated as she recognized some of the forms and shapes within the light.

Hed made spellforms with lines of different colored light, and light, itself, was the medium as well.

She hadnt known that was even possible, and she couldnt begin to comprehend what the magics were meant to do.

All that she knew was that they bore the power of a Reforged well on his way to Ascending, and she really did not want to be the target of anything with that kind of magical weight.

The man further added shapes of woven light around himself and along the walls, floor, and ceiling of the tunnel.

He was ready to back her up if required.

Her steps were firm as she strode forward, reaching the inside exit of the tunnel without slowing.

Only once she was fully inside did she stop and look down from the hill she had exited near the top of.

Below her was a walled village, and that alone made Tala suck in a breath.

Tala shook her head. I said no. I am a protector of humanity. She thought of Adrill, Brandon, and Kedva. I am a nurturer of magic.

Re-al hissed at that, a pulse of whatever her power was radiating outward even as she spoke, A pointless affectation. That is not what you really are.

The power was much sharper and more piercing than the first attack had been. Even so, it rolled harmlessly over Talas extended aura.

I will tell you what you are, oh twisted child. You are a broken daughter of a twisted family. You scratch and claw at the world around you, needlessly causing harm to that which you lack the wit to comprehend. You are a blight on reality.

Tala barely felt a mild strain on her void-magic barrier. The words, themselves, seemed to carry the terrible power as it tried to invade and affect Tala.

But she stood firm.

She had magic aplenty and void to spare.

She almost laughed at that.

Void, by its very nature, was always in abundance, and her gate provided magic unending.

She tilted her head to one side and felt herself smile within her helmet.

Is this it? Is this all that you have? Feeble attempts to claw at my foundation?

No, but we havent known each other very long. I wasnt going to obliterate you before we talked.

Oh? You want to get to know me?

Why not? Its been lonely in here. Ive missed talking. Talking is great, right? Besides, if Im going to use you against the other humans, I should understand you better.

Yeah like thats going to happen. Im not going to bare my soul to you, crazy lady.

Re-al, of course, simply continued her monologue. I dont detect any soulbond thats strong enough to be to a familiar or husband. Is he already dead? That is one of the great evils of magic, forcing others to live beyond their loved ones.

Tala cocked an eyebrow even though she knew it wouldnt be visible. Says the woman who killed her own familiar.

Yes. I did. I will kill anyone and anything who puts their own selfish desires before the good of the entire world. Re-al was visibly angry at the end, but calmed herself before continuing. So, your husband is already dead then?

No, weve not married yet. Tala felt herself twitch. Why had she answered like that?

Alat was silent, but Tala could practically hear the alternate interface dancing with glee. Not really the time, Alat

Re-al barked a laugh. You dont even have the courage to get married. She continued laughing for a long moment after that before her laughter hitched. Oh, the ridiculousness of it is going to make me choke. Reality is broken indeed if they send an iron-tainted, old, has-been in here to try to stall me. This will be easier than I thought. But its time for the big choice, you old girl. Join me or die.

Tala felt herself smile.

Re-al obviously couldnt see the smile, it was just for herself.

I did my best to stall, but if thats over Well, I can do one more thing to gain some time.

-Ill watch for a good time to strike.-

Oh, now you join us?

-Do you want to have this talk, now?-

No

All that aside, Tala knew that her smile changed the tone in her voice as she spoke, There has been a misunderstanding, Reality Mage. I am not iron-tainted. I have claimed the iron as my own. I am not old, but among the youngest in this generation to advance. I am not a has-been. I am the ravenous, jealous devourer. Magic and void are mine to claim and influence, but I find myself in need of reality. But neither that, nor you, are my eternal aim. You are a mere stepping stone.

Tala knew that all of this was true. None of it was even new, but it felt right to say it all together like that.

As such, she wasnt surprised when she moved an almost imperceptible tick closer to Paragon.

Re-al seemed to hesitate at that, truly seeming off center for what might have been the first time in the entire conversation. The womans violent intentions seemed to be temporarily cooled as she carefully inquired, A nascent Existence Mage? She shook her head. No, no. That is ridiculous. Success there is impossible.

Tala laughed, then. You speak like you arent a Reality Mage. Isnt that equally impossible?

Re-al waved her off with a curt gesture. You spout the lies spread by those in power. There was real anger in the womans eyes, evident even across the dozens of yards between them. It is forbidden, not impossible.

I disagree. It is impossible for any person to become a Reality Mage.

Re-al huffed. Then what am I?

Lost and confused. A mockery of the person who used to live behind those eyes. A broken soul, too twisted to die.

The Reality Mage shook her head. You speak folly once more. Id think you were trying to delay me, if that had any hope of succeeding.

So, I cannot attempt the impossible? Isnt that the very nature of Existence, to strive for that which was deemed impossible by others? Tala was doing her best to engage the woman, but the time of verbal delays was clearly drawing to a close.

That is the flaw with anything beyond reality. It wastes resources, energy, and effort in the pursuit of that which can never be.

And yet the woman you once were never became a Reality Mage. She is gone. That woman was dead, and Re-al was just somehow puppeting the corpse. That really doesnt feel in line with Reality.

Re-al huffed a laugh, pulling Talas attention back. Oh, I am still here. I simply gave up that identitythat long-erased namefor power. A human can age and die, but an ideaRealitycontinues, and I will continue even after everything is cold and dead and lifeless.

Well, thats implicative.

-Some theoriesassuming she was still aliveinvolved her long life being tied to conceptual magics with her name.-

Yeah, but can we actually use that?

-I have not the faintest idea how-

Those tactics hadnt worked. Tala and Re-al werent fighting yetwhich was good from a delaying perspectiveso it hadnt been a complete failure. Regardless, Tala needed to try something else. What would your familiar think of what you have become?

Hate me utterly, to the point of trying to kill me in my sleep, obviously. Re-al waved that off as well, this time smiling with obvious malice. If I was going to mourn her, Id have done it centuries ago.

Well, that was useless.

-Still, we have the big one. Should we use it?-

No. Not yet We need her off balance, and we need to be closer to take advantage of any opening. That gave Tala a potentially game-changing idea.

-We do yeah, but oh. Thats interesting. There is an opening for that now. Make use of it.-

And so Tala did.