Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The pyramid where my skills were stored loomed before us. The island it was contained in wasnt much bigger than the structure itself, but I hadnt realized just how deep the building went into the ground. How could something so large remain out of sight for so long?

Inside this impressive structure were the focus tables to improve my abilities. Truly one of the most important things in the mindscape.

Not having access to it definitely slowed my progress, so I was determined that we retake this place. But it was also covered in monsters.

Shall we begin? I asked Damien and Ilore.

Open fire! Damien yelled back at the crew.

The battleship rocked as a barrage of magical projectiles were launched from the cannons on the underside. A moment later, two larger cannons mounted on the top of the island fired, utilizing traditional explosives.

The projectiles from the heavy cannons on top were faster, and they slammed into the ground first, a wash of fire sweeping out in growing circles from their impact points. Before the flames died out, the barrage of death cannons hit, peppering the area in waves of death magic across a small section of the massive pyramid.

Figures that had been rendered immobile by the heavy cannons, were beginning to move again.

A surge of motion on the pyramid drew my eye, and hundreds of creatures leapt off into the airsome lacking wings grew them as they tumbled in the air. The turrets mounted along the walls of the battleship were unleashed. Lines of small, fast-moving projectiles ripped through the air, cutting apart many of the incoming monsters.

Damien, when this is done, I said calmly, never taking my eye off the incoming attack, remind me that we need to create some true flak weapons. I hadnt thought about flying monsters.

Will do, boss, Damien said.

A net exploded from Ilores cannons barrel. The net was made of her gray time magic and spread out wide before the island. Flying through the air, it encompassed many of the incoming monsters. Upon touching them, parts of their body would freeze in place. Several wings snapped under the unexpected strain and the monsters cried out in pain, tumbling from the sky.

Nothing would be enough to stop all of them, but wed kept the potential of the battleship being boarded in mind as we designed it.

I remained exposed in a clearing near the front. The idea was that the monsters would be drawn to me, and the crew hidden in bunkers could shred them with bows and arrows. We even mounted a few of the heavy turrets to point down into this area.

The powerful monsters had managed to wipe out most of our horde, and their attention honed in on the massive undead stalking toward them. Bouts of flame burned away at the creature, but with a mighty fist, it pulverized two of the dragon-ogres into mush.

The power of necromancers was frightening. Id been able to do similar things before I was killed. People often thought of necromancers as back line support, and sometimes they were, but when they chose to take the battlefield, the proximity to so much death greatly enhanced their powers.

That being said, these monstrous dragon-ogres were something else. Despite the power of Damiens undead giant, the dragon-ogres were winning. Ilore and I joined the fight, tackling one beast at a time.

There was an explosion behind our foes. Followed by another, and another. A gap briefly opened between the dragon-ogres, showing me something I hadnt expected.

One of my guardians, created by Damien and I to protect my mindscape, was ripping through the back ranks of the dragon-ogres. My guess was this guardian had elected to defend the pyramid and had been inside the focus chamber protecting it from the monsters.

This particular guardian was a fast-moving, bony construct. Each blow it landed resulted in an explosion of death magic. It wasnt the strongest creature physically, but its offensive capabilities were massive. The dragon-ogres, in an unexpected turn of events, broke and ran.

We chased the fleeing monsters down, but when they reached the edge of the top of the pyramid, they leapt into the air, sprouted wings, and flew off into the distance.

Why would they do that? I looked at Damien and Ilore. What do you think is going on?

If I had to guess, Damien said slowly, I would say they serve one of the emotions. We should track them to see where they go. Maybe theyll lead us back to the emotion.

Thats a good plan, I agreed. But first I want to check out the focus chamber.

I moved toward the chamber, but my guardian appeared before me, blocking my progress. I ordered it out of the way with a mental command, but it stubbornly refused to move.

Damien stepped forward, a frown on his face as he began to build up a control spell.

Ilore spoke up, Wait, Ezekiel, you should not enter there. Her face was pale. Something is terribly wrong in there. I will go look. If its time related, I should be fine. She was gone only a moment before she stepped back out. You cannot enter there, not if you wish to remain sane.

Whats wrong? I asked.

Its hard to explain Your focus tables are very different now, and show things they should not. It will take time for me to repair the damage so that you can enter. For now, we should focus on hunting down the emotions.