Chapter 110: Sanctum XXXV

Chapter 110: Sanctum XXXV

I studied them desperately, searching for patterns. Anything I could use, anything that could possibly be exploited.

It was useless.

They didnt move like mindless sentinels. They moved like massive predators, scouring the barren rock for prey. My mind spun desperately. I turned to Xarmos, who looked equally perturbed. Any chance youve awakened the water element?

He gave me a tired look. Yes. At some point, were going to have that conversation about how you seem to know so much about my family lineage

Later, I waved him off, still focused on the problem at hand. Second stage?

I can freeze things, yes. And your abilities?

Air and fire. Considering the level of incredulity hed show me so far, I wasnt about to specify what kind. Im not particularly talented.

Unfortunate. Xarmos mused. Our best bet against this sort of construct would be void magic. Snuff out the flames, stun the monsters and run. Barring that, an earth magician might be successful at redirecting their path and trapping them within the walls.

I chuckled darkly.

What? He asked.

Just, I came in with a void magician.

You were separated?

Yes. Of course, the test had ripped Bell away from me. I hoped they were okay. My fists clenched at the thought of them going through trials like these alone. Nothing could ever be easy, or even fair for that matter. But the more I thought about it, searched myself, my frustration didnt stem from the current situation. It came mainly from the vision. I had been unable to parse it as anything apart from a memory. But something, like a dark talon, had begun to claw at the back of my mind.

Well, that doesnt help us now, Xarmos said.

Fair enough. But your water element

Ive already considered it. He shook his head. You were considering flash freezing them, yes? Thats why you asked about the second stage?

I know it seems like a long shot.

It is not a bad idea, but I am better with spell casting and precision than with raw elemental magic. Xarmos chewed his lip. I would be hard-pressed to drench a thing as massive as one of those, let alone freezing it after.

Fuck. There had to be a way. Something we werent seeing, some aspect of the trial that wasnt quite so obvious. I just had to think. Stare at the problem for long enough and the solution would come to me. Only, there could be no trial and error this time. Mayas life was on the line. An anxious fist welled up from my gut a pressed against my lungs, making it harder and harder to breathe

Until I saw Xarmos shrug, and walk past me towards the stairs.

What are you doing? I hissed.

I can tell, by looking, that you are the planning sort. Xarmos smiled. Ralakos is much the same. He prefers to sit in his study and analyze data and maps before taking any sort of action. But he also taught me that we do not always get that sort of luxury.

And you expect me to just, what, follow you? I asked incredulously.

His face turned serious. Of course not. But I hope that you will, Cairn the human. There is still much Id like to learn from you. He turned his head sideways and talked over his shoulder. Planning will only get you so far. Eventually, you must learn to improvise.

With that, Xarmos turned and began to descend the stairs towards the serpents. His shoulders were broad, his frame thick with muscle. He looked every bit the hero I pretended to be. I wondered, with a sudden sadness, how he had died in the war. Had his confidence led to his fall? Or was it simply a matter of timethe cruel mathematics of war that would eventually claim all men who stood on the frontlines.

With the resets, Id always been able to cheat, with the assurance that if I did, I could reconvene, at least for a few key moments and find a solution. But the black beast had made it clear that reliance on it was an insidious trap. The people I cared for would always been in peril. And if I continued to rely too deeply on that ability, if the day came I ever lost it, my final death would be a swift and inevitable conclusion.

My solution wasnt perfect. Id infused the rock with much more mana than the spell took to sustain, but I was still actively casting a spell surrounded by creatures hyper-sensitive to magic.

We crossed most of the valley before our luck ran out. A massive fire-serpent lurched in front of us. Its neck flared like a flaming, billowing cape. Xarmos turned around and swore. The fire serpents body had already circled us, pulling tighter and tighter still. We would be enveloped in a matter of moments.

Xarmos scooped a much larger rock from the ground and infused it with mana until it glowed blue, so radiantly it was difficult to look at. He leaned back, throwing it in a high arc, so it traveled over the serpents body.

No dice. It didnt move. Somehow, it knew that it had us.

Im going to try to drench it! my companion yelled over the crackling of the fire. Unless you have a better idea!

I did, though I hated having to use it. The smell of ozone was overwhelming, the heat blistering and unbearable. I pulled the glass marble from my pocket.

If youre ever in a situation that is insurmountable, throw it on the ground and stomp on it. Then run.

Dammit. Persephone had given it to me as a giftand despite her rather obvious connection to the underworld had been unwilling to tell me what it was. That alone told it was likely powerful, highly illegal, and dangerous. Id been unwilling to use it during the botched reset because my friends were in the crossfire and I had no idea what I was unleashing. Beyond that situation, Id wanted to save this for if I got in too deep with Thoth.

Can you get out cleanly? I asked Xarmos.

Yes, but I cant take you with me. He replied. The coils were drawing tighter and his back pressed against mine. I looked up at the massive beast and mentally calculated. It would be close, but with my inscriptions, there was a chance I could clear it.

No need. Get ready. I dropped the marble to the granite ground and stomped on it. The reaction was spontaneous and horrifying. There was suddenly no ceiling, just a thick red mist that covered a massive swath of ceiling.

Youre insane! Move! Xarmos shouted at me, drenching a section of the serpent and pulling himself up and over the scales that had been temporarily extinguished.

I crouched low, my back to the wall of the serpents body, gathering power in my legs. Theyd started to ache terribly, mana burning as it gathered in pathways that were already overworked.

Come on. Come on.

I catapulted myself upwards in a slow high jump Bell taught me, one meant almost exclusively for clearing tall vertical barriers. My legs ached as I arced through the air, and in seconds that passed terribly slowly, I watched a black clawed hand plunge through the red mist at the ceiling. My gut clenched.

What... is that?

Then, Id twisted around in the air to land, and ascended the stairs to the exit where Xarmos waited, watching in awe.

I turned back to look. It looked as if the ceiling was giving a slow, painful birth to a living nightmare. A creature that dwarfed the serpents nearly as much as the serpents dwarfed us, had worked a terrible black arm through the fissure, as well as part of its face. Only its mouth was visible: long thin teeth gnawed against the section of ceiling that had remained firm, making a terrible grinding noise as it tried to widen the hole. Blindly, almost casually, it swiped at the serpents below, sending them flying with as effortlessly as a child throwing toys.

A prime evil. Xarmos whispered.

Seemingly realizing it was making no progress in escapingand that the hole seemed to be narrowing, rather than the other way aroundthe demon reached down and grabbed the head of the most prominent serpent. The snake wiggled in his grasp, but it was meaningless. The demon crushed the snakes skull in an explosion of blood and flame.

Let's go. I said, as the arm rescinded into the hole.

Xarmos kept quiet and followed behind me. The door opened, and I couldnt help but groan. There was another fountain. This one was much more ornate, surrounded by vases and greenery that looked foreign and hand-tended.

Youre not from my time, are you? Xarmos said. It was more of a statement than a question.

I stopped. That was strange. Id always assumed that there was something about my curse that prevented others from thinking in that direction. But it didnt matter. As soon as I acknowledge it, his face would slacken, and he would forget. Best to get that over with.

Howd you figure it out? I asked.

Xarmoss face never changed.