Powering Through

The shift back to reality was a bit disorienting, but the surge of energy that flowed through Rowan kept her from becoming off balance. As did the odd sensation of someone guiding her movements. Ones that were different from the phantom muscle memory the sword gave her. Those were akin to remembering some long practiced but rarely used movement, the new range of motion starting off rusty before becoming seamless.

Ever since the arch turned into a gateway for unplanned enemies, it felt like there were hands moving her into new positions, new stances and rapid adjustments, along with a general rush of strength running through her. Like some unseen ally was at her side, actively helping in the fight. Even now as the magic of John’s spell caused the ash golems to pause their attack, the presence was behind her, stronger than ever.

In the way one could sense another behind them subconsciously, Rowan could feel them. They were shorter than her, roughly the same height as their enemies. Dimly, she recalled that the relic blade was some dwarven weapon. They stood firmly behind her, ready to move and aid her once the flow of battle resumed.

‘No time to think about what all this means,’ Rowan thought as things began to resume. ‘Stick to the plan.’

It wasn’t all that much of a plan, not all that different then what John had suggested before trying another of his skills. Get him to the arch so he could use his negation magic directly on it. She felt having such a basic plan was a bit disappointing, given the gift the dwarven goddess had given them, but the game of telephone needed to communicate made making a complex plan infeasible.

But there was more strategy than just ‘run in and pray’. With a gentle, cool touch to her back, one that touched her through her armor, Rowan sprang into action. With a refreshed body and the burden of employing her magic lessened, she launched herself into the fight. Her mana sang in ways she didn’t know it could as it enhanced her movements and empowered her strikes.

The ash golems seemed like they were moving through water, their reactions sluggish compared to her, and the relic blade cut through them like butter, scattering ash into the air. But like the flow of a volcanic eruption, they kept coming.

Her phantom ally remained at her side, adjusting her posture, guiding her strikes, warning her in some instinctual way of incoming attacks. With each felled enemy, the rhythm of war became more pronounced, the strength of her swings and the speed of her feet increasing. She felt her sword practically vibrating in her grip and she remembered one of its features. It seemed that knocking the golems into their dust state counted as defeating them for the purpose of increasing her fighting ability.

Which meant she could reach an insane level of prowess if this kept up and that could let her clear the path forward.

Spurred on, Rowan kept up her pace. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her companions weren’t idle. Tok moved like a man possessed of holy fervor, his axe cleaving the golems two at a time, a righteous look on his face. John and Senka moved with a synchronization only a mental link like theirs could accomplish, seamlessly shifting from pressing forward with John’s swordplay clearing the way to holding firm while Senka shielded them from reprisal attacks.

And despite all their progress, the tide of ash kept coming. Felled enemies came back and more formed out of the smoke billowing from the arch. Despite the number of enemies they had beaten, they were still some distance from the arch. The flow of battle had pushed them away from it, driving them past the ring of dialing stones and deeper into the courtyard.

‘Whatever is guiding these things must be smart enough to know we’re trying to reach the arch,’ Rowan reasoned. ‘Might have noticed something when John tried to shut it down too. I don’t think we can fight against the tide forever.’

Just as Rowan was about to yell to her allies about needing something more or they would just get ground down by attrition, a sensation ran up her arms, a spark of a new memory shooting up from the relic blade. The knowledge settled into her mind like she had known it for years, something far more complex than the physical enhancing magics she’d learned before.

She knew intuitively it would cost most of her mana, a gamble larger than John’s use of the spell that gave them a respite, but they needed something large to tip the scales. John couldn’t waste the mana as the goal was to try and close the gate, and Tok did not seem to have anything explosive enough to turn the tide.

Rowan fought her way closer to John, her resolve firm. To be a member of the Order was to be ready to stand against the darkest parts of the Abyss, to the end if need be. If this was the Lady’s will, then she would walk that path with her head held high.

Her stomach twisted a little, and a vague wave of nausea rushed through Rowan, causing her to slow. What felt like a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, the sensation of cold metal on her skin. Somehow, it made her recall when her mother had found her putting in too much work during her training before going off to the Order and the look of sheer disappointment and worry on her face.

‘What was that?’ she thought as the emotions and nausea faded as quickly as they came. The only thing lingering from that episode was the cold, metallic hand gripping her shoulder; her phantom ally standing behind her.

‘Are- are you aware of things?’ she questioned. The idea of it was a bit ridiculous. The Order’s sages and armorers had looked over the blade the moment she had returned from John’s insane game themed barrier. Between them and John’s own scrying magic, nothing indicated there was anything more to the weapon than an archive of combat tactics. And yet, there seemed to be something more bleeding through to her.

The sound of Tok letting out a battlecry shook Rowan out of her thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to ponder just what was going on with her sword, but she resolved to get to the bottom of it once they were safe. A sense of relief passed through her and she steeled herself for this gamble.

With purposeful steps, Rowan positioned herself and tensed for her new attack. Her mana flared to life, a rush of power like a landslide welling up from her core. But, unlike her usual invocation of her modest power, this carried with it a current of another power, one that seemed to come both from the blade in her hands and the hand on her shoulder.

It was warmer than her own, but flowed with complete synchronicity, stoking her mana to higher peeks. For a split second, standing between two of the ash golems, she saw the faint image. It shimmered as if behind a wall of pure heat, distorted and wavy, leaving Rowan with only a faint impression of what they looked like: dark skin, vibrant red hair and silver arms.

They vanished before she could make out anything more but Rowan swore she could make out a wide grin on their face. A grin that told her to let loose.

With her mana energised, there was no turning back even if she wanted to. With a cry that channeled all her frustration, anger and confusion, she swung her blade, letting her mana flow into the strike. Driven by an instinctual understanding, her mana flared up with incredible ****, emanating from her sword as a wave of red-orange light.

The arc of mana flew through the air with the thunderous roar of a landslide, the sound bouncing off the walls of the temple. It crashed into the golems ahead of her, pulverising them completely, clearing a large number of them.

The surge of pride that Rowan felt was only dampened by the sudden crash of weariness that fell upon her. Her armor suddenly felt very heavy and her arms shook as she tried to keep her blade steady. Even her unseen companion seemed weakened, becoming barely there to her senses.

But she had blown away a number of golems, filling the air with their dust.

“John, go!” she shouted.

John would have liked to have been able to gawk at the display of power from Rowan, but he could not afford to pass up the opportunity she had given him. He and Senka moved in perfect, unspoken, sync. Only the barest, emotion based thoughts passed between them, no words, just intent. And they moved nearly as one. With Rowan clearing the way, John took the lead in a full on charge, forging ahead toward the arch, Senka pausing only for a moment at a time to launch attacks to keep the pressure off them before seamlessly sliding back into step behind him.

A sudden wave of heat crashed against John’s back. It wasn’t just temperature but burning mana searing against his arcane senses. Despite the trust he had in his companions, he couldn’t help but look back, using Candle’s view from her hidden spot under the overgrown foliage.

The ash sent into the air by Rowan’s attack hadn’t reformed into the golems she had blown apart, but was swirling about like a hurricane, the particles glowing a dull, ember red. Then the whole mass twisted like a serpent and launched itself at Rowan.

John began to twist back, Hex ready to fire, when Tok sprinted between Rowan and the approaching wave, his axe raised high. With a wordless cry, the dwarf brought his weapon down, his mana flowing much the same way Rowan’s had a few moments before. The display of power was a bit less spectacular, but the strike did its job, cleaving the ashen wave in two.

“You are not taking anyone,” he snarled, his tone heavy with controlled rage and defiance. “My people left this conflict behind and you will not drag us back into it! Not like this and not in this place!”

Tok’s blow had disrupted whatever magic was directing the ash and John could feel the magic animating it weakening. Whoever or whatever was attacking them seemed unable to make attacks like that repeatedly. And it was also apparent that the ash wasn’t going to be reforming into golems either, merely hanging in the air like a volcanic cloud.

Secure in the knowledge that his allies were still standing and were watching his back, John pressed forward with renewed vigor. The golems began to converge on him, clearly intuiting his and Senka’s charge toward the arch was something they couldn’t allow.

Despite his and Senka’s best efforts, the golems managed to surround them, forming a circle around them. They struck in perfect unison, keeping John and Senka pinned at the center, **** to parry and block the flurry of strikes from ashen swords, spears and axes.

‘John,’ Senka’s voice rang in John’s head. ‘Can you feel their mana?’

Caught up in the fighting, John had to relay a negative. Large displays like the ash wave were one thing, but the animating power of the golems was outside of his passive perception. In fact, the only constant he could feel was the heat coming through the arch.

‘I thought not,’ Senka remarked after defending against an attack. ‘I took the chance to look deeper when everything slowed down after Tok broke that large attack apart. I don’t think these golems are getting the full amount of power coming out of the gate. Enough to function, but not enough to be fully effective. Look at the ash they tried to attack Rowan with. Just floating there with barely any power.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t think we can take advantage of it,’ John remarked. ‘All Hex did was shut them down for a bit.’

‘I’m thinking that hitting their powersource would be a better way to go about things,’ Senka revealed. 'Remember this?’

Knowledge flooded into John’s head, the words of her unused Spirit Casing ability flashing through his mind. Dark Forest would allow them to drain the golems of mana over the course of using it, but it had two major issues. First, to even cast it would require switching out the skill mod for Spirit Link, ending Overlay and the benefits it gave.

Second, the key requirement to use it was both him and Senka needing to remain in one spot. To pull that off, they would have to open a way for Tok and Rowan to reach them so they could defend them.

His worries were picked up by Senka immediately.

‘I think we’d have an easier time getting Rowan and Tok to us than breaking through this encirclement and reaching the arch,’ she laid out her logic. ‘And if it works, we can clear the way in one move. Plus, the restored mana will help get Rowan back in fighting shape.’

He couldn’t fault Senka’s idea. He was familiar enough with Rowan’s mana to feel it passively and her powerful attack had left her drained. Even if this gambit didn’t completely eliminate the golems, restoring her and Tok’s mana would be a good move to restore balance to the team so they could tackle the remaining golems.

‘We’ll start this, then call them over,’ John declared after weighing every detail. ‘The mana transfer only happens when we end the effect, so weakening the golems first should make it easier for them to reach us.’

‘Sounds good,’ Senka thought. ‘On your mark.’

They fought normally for a few more seconds, waiting for the flow of battle to abate. Through the ranks of the golems, John could see that Tok and Rowan were fighting at the edge of the ring against a small clump of golems. His best estimate put those golems in range of Dark Forest’s effect. It was the perfect set up.

When the rhythm of attacks slowed, John and Senka sprang into action. With a thought, John swapped Overlay for Spirit Casting, his mana shifting instantly back to its default state. Then he and Senka stepped together, pressing their backs against each other.

John felt the cool of Senka’s mana flow into him, and he mixed his with hers in a way different from when she simply gave him some of hers. This time, their powers were combining, building into a new effect altogether.

Dark Forest manifested around them with only a subtle shift, no dramatic wave of power or visible ring of mana denoting the area. But the effect was immediate. The golems caught within the area, which was most of them, all began to lose cohesion, bits of their bodies falling off in clumps as their movements became janky.

For a moment, John wondered if there had been some upgrade to the spell making this more effective, but then the reason for the dramatic shift hit John. These golems were likely being powered by one source, one source that now had their mana being drained at a point every two seconds per golem.

“Tok, Rowan, get over here,” Senka shouted. John knew she wanted to let them in on why they needed them all grouped together, but she knew that revealing they couldn’t move would be a bad play.

Thankfully, it was blindingly obvious they were doing something to the golems and both quickly **** their way to John and Senka. The golems were incredibly brittle, letting Tok and Rowan easily break through the lines and reach the center.

“Whatever you’re doing, keep it up!” Tok bellowed as he cleaved through a golem. “Let’s send these bastards to the dust bin!”

The words had scarcely left Tok’s mouth when several of the golems around them collapsed into piles of inert ash. Only the ones directly between them and the still billowing arch remained, their forms becoming more stable.

And the ash cloud that had tried to attack Rowan began to coalesce. Not into more golems, but into a single form. One taller than the dwarven sized golems and clearly more feminine with large breasts.

“I see you’re going to be annoying to dislodge,” a raspy, grating voice came out of the ashen woman. “Perhaps a parlay is in order?”