The Last 6 Chapters

Author note:

Warning, these chapters end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and they're not edited. But I was reminded to drop them, so here they are.

Chapter 5 - The Wolves

Triswyn and four wolves led Aang and Vivi through the double doors. The four wolves walked in a square formation around Aang and Vivi, blocking their escape. Triwsyn led the group at the front.

Technically, the wolves didn’t have their titles anymore either. Nobody was controlled by Zand right now. But somehow, Vivi couldn’t call Triswyn’s group anything but wolves. Their presence gave her an uneasy feeling.

Vivi wasn’t sure how well Aang knew the wolves. He recognized Triswyn by name. To her, they were all total strangers. Triswyn appeared like the type of man whose actions were decided by personal gain. That wasn’t necessarily wrong—most people were driven by personal gain—but the wolves certainly weren’t friends.

A calm river passed on Vivi’s right. It wasn’t brimming with fish, but Vivi saw one small sardine pass along with the river flow. Nobody was there to catch it. The river was empty. Vivi raised her eyebrows. Weren’t the nimrods struggling for food?

She glanced at Aang, hoping for answers. He said nothing, keeping his eyes ahead. Vivi bit her lip, continuing down. Perhaps the wolves caught everything later down?

The river came back a few caverns later. Nobody was there to guard the rivers or catch fish. A few caverns down after that, a waterfall passed. The same one where Vivi had caught dozens of fishes with Eem. This, too, was left empty.

Vivi couldn’t stay silent. “Why is nobody catching fish?” she asked.

“There’s more than enough food in the forest below,” Triswyn said. He wore a subtle frown, saying that. “Including fishing waters. No reason to fish up here.”

More than enough food? Vivi thought. But people are starving?

She was about to open her mouth to ask more questions, but Aang gave her a look. He subtly shook his head, telling Vivi to stay silent.

Vivi wanted to grimace. They’re doing this intentionally, aren’t they? Blocking access to food sources so that other gangs will struggle more.

“Most likely,” Lucius said. “Any advantages will help down here.”

I had hoped this kind of cruelty would stop after Zand was overthrown.

“These demons have lived in cruelty all their lives. Fighting is all they know. Whether it be fighting monsters or turf wars. They really don’t know any other way to live.”

Vivi walked beside Aang, keeping her frustrations inside. I’m growing accustomed to this, aren’t I? A few weeks ago, I would have been outraged to see food being withheld. Now, I’m barely even surprised. Just disappointed.

“Very few places exist in the world where people genuinely care about each other. Poverty and weakness keep people on edge. And when someone finally escapes that poverty, they do so by taking from others. That’s just how the world goes. You’re just starting to acknowledge this fact.”

Vivi saw Lucius’s point. But she couldn’t agree. The world was cruel, but it wasn’t meant to be that way. Fellwater had never behaved like this. There were bullies, of course, and everyone competed for power within the town’s hierarchy, but the town didn’t kill each other for profit. Excess food was frequently shared. Outsiders were welcome. Fellwater despised Vivi, but they never tried to starve her to death.

The situation forces everyone to work against each other, Vivi thought. There’s not enough food for everyone. Or so everyone believes. Aang said the dungeon should provide enough food for everyone if food is evenly distributed. If everyone was fed, would the demons still fight?

Lucius shrugged. “The nimrods would probably find a new reason to fight.”

Vivi frowned. She was afraid that Lucius was right. Keeping any sort of unity in the dungeon would be close to impossible.

The descent to the main dungeon lasted less than ten minutes. Zand’s dungeon was large, but without monsters blocking the way, it didn’t take long to take the straightest path down. There was no need to worry about ambushes. The group could walk at a steady speed.

Triswyn lit a kerosene lamp as he entered the dark main dungeon. Vivi felt cold against her cheek. Without ether in the air, this part of the dungeon had lost its warmth. It wasn’t quite freezing, but still cold enough that Vivi noticed the temperature through the coating of ether subtly coating her skin.

The first two levels passed swiftly. There were no patrols or guards protecting the wolves territory. The ruins of the main dungeon had no resources to offer. It acted solely as a means of passing between levels.

The wolves, it seemed, didn’t care about protecting every nook and cranny of their territory Even the castle gates were unprotected, letting Triswyn straight inside. The group entered the throne and walked to the Death Tyrant’s arena.

Demons had gathered in the arena. Tables and chairs had been brought in. Five demons were playing cards. Behind them, two demons were examining the Death Tyrant’s skull, which still lay in the spot Vivi had killed it. The remaining three wolves stood near the entrance, acting as guardsmen.

“Tris?” the first of the guards asked. He was a tall man with another stolen runesword.

Looking around, six out of ten demons in the room had a runesword in their scabbards. The wolves had stolen a lot of runeswords from guards. Most of the runeswords were cheap steel ones, but stronger metals were present as well.

“We have visitors,” Triswyn said. “Aang, the Defender of Nimrods, wants to meet boss.”

The guard’s look turned serious. He nodded. “Andorr is on a hunt. He will be back shortly. I’ll ask him if he’s taking visitors.”

A hunt? Vivi thought. But monsters had stopped respawning? How are they on a hunt?

She sensed Lucius’s tail moving. “The hunting season starts again…”

Vivi wanted to sigh. Do you have to start being dramatic again?

“You heard him,” Triswyn said, pointing at a quiet corner in the arena. “Wait there. Andorr will take you if he has time.”

Aang nodded. “I will wait thirty minutes. If I don’t have an answer before then, I will descend on my own.”

Triswyn scowled, but he had nothing to say. Aang walked over to the spot and leaned against the wall. Vivi followed him.

She spoke quietly. “We could be walking to a trap.”

“Likely,” Aang said.

“The wolves have plenty of time to set up an ambush.”

“They do. I was hoping nobody had explored this section of the dungeon yet. But I’m interested to see how they deal with us.”

“That’s it? You’re not worried?” Vivi asked. “I can’t fight right now. You’ll have to defeat all of their maxed out warriors alone.”

“Zand’s wolves aren’t practiced fighting with high ether counts,” Aang said. “They’ve been locked at five hundred ether for their lives in Zand. Some of them could have been frequent breakers, of course, but wolves have a reputation of being obedient. And for good reason—they had a lot more privileges. Even if Andorr has eight maxed out fighters, which is already likely a lie, those fighters will be taken by surprise by your runeswords.”

“I see…” Vivi said. She still wasn’t sure about this. If a fight were to break out, she’d struggle just to defend herself, considering the state of her legs.

“I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong,” Aang said. “Food is what we’re concerned about. Does the new section have enough to feed the Union, or will we have to search elsewhere? If there is enough food, how far wide does the dungeon spread? Is the area suitable to defend if we are to be attacked?”

“You’re already thinking of conquering this place?” Vivi asked.

“We have to move somewhere,” Aang said. “It looks like the wolves are the gang keeping food from others. They have more to share, yet they purposefully block others’ access. Something needs to be done about this.”

Vivi agreed. The short conversation in the tunnels came back to her head. Aang had started the Union to help struggling nimrods. He used to pay nimrods out of collection days. He’d grown less altruistic lately, perhaps, but there was still a spark in his eyes. Aang couldn’t just watch people starve.

Vivi sat beside the wall to give her legs rest. They waited the rest of the time in silence. The mood in the air was awkward; the table playing cards was silent, occasionally giving side-eyes to Vivi and Aang.

Luckily, the wait wasn’t long. The guardsman came back twenty minutes later. He and Triswyn talked for a bit before Triswyn walked over.

“Surrender your weapons,” Triswyn said, “and Andorr will meet you.”

“That I won’t do,” Aang said. “My sword is more valuable than my life.”

Triswyn frowned.

“Do you really think I’m here to fight, all alone?” Aang asked firmly. “Please. The sword is for self-defense.”

“Very well,” Triswyn said. “Unsheathe it, you die. Follow me.”

Triswyn led Aang and Vivi to the hole in the middle. The Death Tyrant’s bones had collapsed. Glancing down, the cluttered mess of bones formed a mound at the bottom. A long rope ladder, tied to a sturdy stone nail, led the way down. Twiswyn climbed down first.

Vivi glanced at Aang once more, wondering if this was a good idea. Aang didn’t notice her concern. He stepped onto the ladder without a care in the world. Vivi followed. She still had ether to protect herself from a fall in case the ropes were cut. She descended nervously. The guardsman descended after her.

Halfway down the ladder, the view of a cavern opened up. A wide space was revealed. Vivi paused with her mouth open. Her fears were forgotten as she admired the landscape.

The cavern was as tall the Skeleton King’s throne room and as wide as Aang’s hub. A current of crystal-clear water flowed through the middle, descending in a waterfall as it reached the edge. The walls glowed, not from daylight gems, but from reflective metals. Vivi spotted dozens of rare metals. Raw adamantite, different mithrils, even a dark blue concentration that, to Vivi, looked slightly like jauxite. A metal so rare that it wasn’t ever even sold on the surface.

The guardsman grunted above Vivi. She resumed her step, hurrying down. Her leg muscles protested. Vivi pushed through.

The cavern was surprisingly empty. A lone man wearing a fisherman’s trench coat sat on a rock, watching over the area with sharp eyes. His gaze gave Vivi chills. She ignored him and admired her surroundings.

The cavern was dim and atmospheric, but the surroundings were surprisingly clear. A blue glow radiated from the bottom of the river, illuminating the air overneath. The air was fresh and chilly; a stark contrast from the musty and sweaty air of Zand’s dungeon.

It wasn’t all beautiful, however. Drying bloodstains were left on the ground alongside purple animal bits. Flesh, by the looks of it. Something had been killed here, and it hadn’t disintegrated to ether.

Three tunnels were connected to the cavern on different ends of the cavern. Two were pitch black, leading down. Nobody stood to watch over the two paths. Just as Vivi glanced in the direction, she spotted movement within the tunnel.

A group of wolves ascended from the tunnel. Five of them. The man at the front was grinning. His coat and trousers were covered in blood. His runesword was out for all to see, blood dripping from the outside-carved veins.

Lucius’s tail was wagging. “He’s been hunting.”

Vivi wore an awkward smile. She’d never seen so much blood on a person.

Seeing Aang and Vivi, the man’s grin fell. He walked over to Triswyn and asked, “What’s this? The Union leader? He’s not joining us, is he?”

“He’s a visitor,” Triswyn said. “Andorr will deal with him.”

The bloodied hunter glared at Aang, then shrugged. He and the five others walked past, heading toward the third of the tunnels.

The third tunnel was where the majority of the wolves seemed to be gathering. A bright light escaped from the tunnel. The light’s color reminded Vivi of the sun in Ythar’s Paradise. Blindingly bright, yet strangely colorless. Two men protected the tunnel’s entrance with runeswords.

“You’ve seen the surface,” Aang suddenly said. “Is it beautiful?”

Vivi raised her eyebrows. What kind of questions was this? “It’s vast. With loads of dark clouds. I wouldn’t call it beautiful.”

Aang smiled. He walked after Triswyn toward the tunnel. “I don’t think I’ve ever called a place beautiful either. This place, however… I only saw a quick glimpse. But I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The frowning wolves by the entrance allowed Vivi and Aang into the tunnel. Specks of grass and weeds poked out stubbornly from the stone ground. Bright reflections shone at the end of the tunnel.

The landscape opened up, and so did the awe in Vivi’s eyes. The forest was green.

Chapter 6 - The Forest

The landscape reminded Vivi of Ythar’s Paradise.

Everything was bright like a rare summer day. Vegetation was so abundant and diverse that Vivi couldn’t name most plants. There were colorful flowers, tall grass, and trees. Real trees, ones that had thick bark and confident branches with healthy green leaves—the total opposite of the depressing leafless trees on the fourth level.

In the distance, something red was growing from tree branches. Vivi squinted. Were those red fruits?

These weren’t just regular trees. They were fruit trees. The types of magical trees that grew food.

Vivi had heard tales of fruit trees before. Fellwater’s depressed ether-deprived trees would have never turned into something edible. Having grown up around trees like those, Vivi always struggled to believe fruit trees could even exist. But here they were, in the depths of a dungeon, fruits dangling from trees. Everywhere Vivi looked, something awe-inspiring caught her eyes.

Underneath Vivi’s boots, the soft ground lowered slightly by her weight. Oh, how good that felt. To step on soil for once. Vivi was growing tired of constant stone.

Still, it was very clear they were in a dungeon. The ceiling was rough and faceted, glimmering more on some parts compared to others. This was not the endless sky of the surface. The ceiling reached a hundred feet—not nearly enough to mimic the feeling of a real sky. But it was something.

Vegetation and nature wasn’t the only thing inhabiting the forest, however.

Tents and storage containers had been spread across the encampment. Around fifteen demons were present. A trail of smoke rose to the sky as one of the wolves cooked a thick slab of meat. Near him, a woman was cutting grass with a sickle. A good chunk of the forest was cleared to make space for an encampment.

The wolves continued with their jobs, but everyone noticed Aang’s arrival. They were on edge. Few people were talking to each other. The air tasted fresh, the scent of cooked meat arguing against Vivi’s doubts, but something felt off. She, too, received looks. Which wasn’t surprising. There were still a lot of unsolved rumors spreading about her.

Triswyn and the guard kept Aang by the entrance, until three more demons approached from the forest. The man at the front grinned wide. He was on the shorter side—only slightly taller than Vivi—but his outfit was the most pretentious. His jacket was covered with insignias and badges, all stolen from Zand’s guards. A lot of the insignias were duplicates from guards of the same rank.

“Aang, old friend,” the demon said. He had a charismatic face and a charming grin.

“Andorr,” Aang said.

“As stoic as always,” Andorr said. “Still running the Union?”

Aang glanced at Andorr’s jacket. “I see you have a new occupation.”

Andorr wore a funny smile. He took off the jacket and tossed it to one of his men. Beneath the jacket, he wore a simple tank top for hot weather. “The wolves have been dreaming of an escape for decades now. Defense duty and outside raids aren’t so great after a few weeks of being kicked in the face by grumpy guards. There was an opportunity, and we took it. The guards are finally where they belong.”

He turned around and walked deeper into the forest. Aang and Vivi followed.

Quietly, Vivi asked, “Do you two know each other?”

“Andorr used to be one of my officials,” Aang said loudly enough for the man to hear. “He left years ago to become a wolf.”

“Fun times,” Andorr said. “We used to argue daily, I remember. We were both just children back then.”

Andorr appeared amused. Aang not so much. The wolf leader had an easygoing air around him, walking with carefree steps. But he was still partaking in a war. His faction was winning by keeping food from others. Others that weren’t supposed to be enemies at all. He wasn’t someone Vivi could easily trust.

“Who could have thought a dungeon like this existed below Zand?” Andorr said. “If the Stewards were aware, I’m certain they would have abandoned Zand’s respawns to explore.”

The encampment wasn’t long. Andorr led them to the end after a thirty second walk. “Our proud little base,” he said.

The main attraction, and the source of Andorr’s grin, was a slave cage, built of thick hardstone bars. Half-naked men had been tied with rope to the bars, one for each bar. There were around forty men. All demons with whip marks on their backs.

“Zand’s remaining workforce,” Andorr proudly proclaimed. “Guards, Stewards, merchants. Everyone that survived has been tied up. Their ether and skills are all with us.”

Vivi took a closer look at the prisoners. With their clothes stolen and heads drooped, she had a hard time identifying anyone as a guard. She recognized a few of their faces.

Then she spotted Grenall.

He was tied up alongside two other guards. His head was low, and he had whip marks on his back. The wolves had abused him just as they’d abused the others. Grenall didn’t look in their direction. Aang spotted him, bit his lip for a second, then ignored him.

“And over here, look at this,” Andorr said.

He led them to a cubicle covered by a black curtain a short distance from the slave wagon. Opening the curtain, a pyramid-shaped device was revealed. The surface was lined with tens of different runes. Mostly utilitarian and scientific runes. The device was connected to two drawing boards.

“The transmission device?” Aang’s eyes were wide in surprise. “Why do you have this?”

Andorr was grinning. “We snatched this device while the guards were busy defending Zand. It’s connected directly to the King’s scribes.”

“Have you called for help?” Aang asked.

Andorr snorted. “Of course not. We’ve told Ingfried that there were minor squabbles outside Zand’s walls as well as an attempted nimrod revolution. We said that the situation has been dealt with. And to make the messages believable, we’re forcing Beligar to write them with his handwriting. He’s the Steward that frequently sent messages to Ingfried. We should be uninterrupted in the dungeon for months.”

“I see,” Aang said. “Clever.”

“You don’t sound impressed,” Andorr said.

“I’m surprised,” Aang said. “I didn’t think the wolves were capable of this. It’s a clever trick, lying to authorities.”

Andorr sighed. “You’re still a weirdo, Aang. There’s a good reason why we’re doing what we are. Our original goal was to overthrow the guards and to steal the Stewards’ skills and ether, escaping with our haul. This dungeon, however, has changed our plans. This place is insane. Let me show you something.”

Andorr headed deeper into the forest. Behind them, more wolves were subtly following. Vivi felt their gazes on her neck. Andorr is telling us alot, Vivi thought.

“Yes…” Lucius said. “He has some sort of proposal planned.”

Andorr turned to the right, walking silently. A small path had formed on the grass underneath from boot traffic. Vivi was starting to get hot underneath her raincoat. The forest was surprisingly hot, as if the sun was shining on her head.

They walked for a minute until they reached the dungeon’s walls. The forest wasn’t endless. Moss grew on the stone, but for the most part, the walls were monotone grey.

One part of the wall was ice-blue. Frost poked out from a small hole in the wall, the air suddenly turning cold. Andorr lowered his head and entered the hole.

The forest continued on the other end. Except, everything was frozen. Trees, flowers, the walls themselves, everything was ice-blue and frozen. The lights above were dim, but the reflective ice made the dungeon appear bright.

“This dungeon isn’t just a forest with food,” Andorr said. “It’s a true dungeon. One with monsters. Real monsters. Nothing like the respawning critters of Zand.”

Ahead of them, three wolves surrounded a monster, pushing it into a corner. The monster was a humanoid with a girly figure and a frozen face. It had blue hair and long pointy ears. Icicles jutted out from its back. Weirdly, the monster was wearing clothes. A silk dress.

The wolves fought cautiously with their stolen runeswords. One of them slashed wide from above. The monster backed further into the corner with a panicked expression. It blocked the sword with some sort of spell—a frozen shield-like barrier materialized in front of it.

The monster couldn’t do anything but defend. It leaned against the wall, back sliding downward, watching in panic as the three wolves hacked down its shield. After five swings, the shield cracked. The monster held its hands over its face, whimpering, crying silently for help.

The wolves pierced a runesword through its chest. Blue liquid flowed from the hole, until the monster died.

Vivi watched in shock. The monster’s actions were so believable, so humanoid. It didn’t disintegrate into ether. Its corpse stayed there, and the terrified expression remained on its face.

The wolves collected its ether. At least three hundred wisps flowed into the man’s core. Even then, the corpse didn’t disintegrate. Blue blood flowed, coating the frozen ground.

“The monsters here are incredible,” Andorr said. “I’ve never seen anything like them. I can’t identify a single one. But everything we kill has dropped incredible amounts of ether. After just one day of hunting, we’ve earned more than every outside raid in Zand did in a month. Down in the caverns, we defeated a slightly larger monster. It dropped a rare skill. A goddamned rare skill.”

Aang’s eyes were on the frost monster’s corpse. Was it even a monster? It looked to Vivi like a scared girl, cornered and then murdered.

“I don’t know if I believe you,” Aang said. “Rare skills don’t drop just like that.”

Andorr smiled. He turned around and lowered his head to exit the frozen cave. “There is no need to believe me. Our strength is easily proven. Follow me. I have one more thing to tell you.”

Aang glanced at Vivi. There was tension in the air. They both felt it. For now, Aang seemed inclined to ignore the feeling. He followed Andorr closely.

The wolf leader lead them to a quiet spot in the forest. On both sides of them were two slight mounds. A perfect spot for archers. In the middle of the opening, Andorr turned around and faced Aang.

“You’re strong, Aang,” Andorr said. “Far stronger than nimrods. You’ve always been. You were never afraid of breaking the rules. I believe I can trust you in on this.

“Our plan is quite simple. We intend to clear this dungeon as quickly as we can, while we’re still tricking Ingfried. We’re not sure how deep the dungeon goes, but we intend to find out. We’ll grow strong. Perhaps earn an exalted skill or two. Then we’ll escape. We’ll defeat the Twilight Shaman and continue our lives as rogue adventurers.”

“It’s a good plan,” Aang said.

“We could use more strong hands,” Andorr said. “It’s true that we’ve gained a rare skill. Our members are constantly growing. But to gain that skill, we lost two. The bosses in this dungeon are rampant. We have limited time. We need more strong hands. Like you, Aang.”

He looked Aang in the eye. “Join me.”

Chapter 7 - Beast Demon

“Join me.”

Vivi stood beside Aang, but she didn’t feel like a part of the conversation. Aang and his old ally had their eyes locked on each other.

Around them, more demons surrounded the position. The wolves stayed hidden from the eye, but they weren’t particularly good at concealing their presence. Their inexperience with channeling ether showed. There were at least five wolves hidden behind the mounds and more behind trees.

This wasn’t an offer. Andorr planned on dealing with Aang right now. Aang’s answer would determine the method.

“I refuse,” Aang said.

Andorr’s brows furrowed. “You’re certain?”

“You have a good plan,” Aang said. “But it would be better if you performed it without letting hundreds of innocents starve.”

“Bah,” Andorr said. “You still care about the nimrods? I thought you’d stopped with that nonsense years ago. Nimrods kill each other. It’s useless to combat inevitabilities. Let’s not pretend like the people up above hold some sort of special value.”

“You’re the one killing nimrods,” Aang said. “You’re tricking them to fight each other. There’s more than enough food for everyone.”

Andorr rolled his eyes and sighed. “This argument is useless. I’m sorry, Aang, but if you won’t join us, you’re an enemy. That’s how life goes on the fourth level.”

He lifted his hand, then formed a fist. “Capture them.”

Everyone activated their auras at once, and the forest became a mess of ether.

A bombardment of attacks rained down on them. Maxed out warriors with runeswords revealed themselves, jumping down the hill. Arrows loosed, and discharges of ether shot down from mages’ staves.

Most attacks were directed at Aang. A few were aimed at Vivi. Lucius! Protect me.

“Sure thing,” Lucius said. He flew from Vivi’s core and slashed arrow bolts in half. Vivi stood still, feeling her legs. She was in no shape to fight.

Aang activated his ascension skill and unsheathed Skeleton Cutter. Runeswords clashed as Aang received everyone all at once. With each contact, the wolves were blown back. Their swings were practiced, and their reserves were maxed out.

But Aang’s sword was made by Vivi. He performed a clean swing, and the first enemy runesword snapped. With it, the wielder ate Aang’s blade, blood spraying everywhere as the crush runes made short work of his skull.

The wolves’ faces went pale, but they didn’t give up. They tried to surround Aang with superior numbers. Quickly, however, Aang went on the offense. The wolves struggled just to keep pace. They desperately defended, their runeswords blinking with each impact.

Don’t mind me… Vivi thought. She stood back with barely any ether in her body, while Lucius swiped down any attack that got close to her. I’m just an injured little girl…

She took a step back. Her leg felt extra painful. “Ow…”

The archers and mages watched the fight in concern. The fight moved so fast—clouds of dirt particles covering the air—that aiming at Aang could lead to hitting one of their allies. They studied the battlefield.

And their eyes quickly found Vivi. Staves turned to her. On the right, the archer Steward’s bow, stolen, charged a metal arrow toward her head.

“Vivi, I can’t block all these!” Lucius shouted.

Vivi winced in her thoughts. She should have stayed in bed for longer. She really wasn’t in any shape to fight. Abusing ether for longer would make recovery even more painful.

She would need to win without moving her legs, or using them for support.

Vivi reached into her void core.

The ten active wisps in the core were already awake, eager to invade her veins. She intended to use just a few. All ten escaped her grip and released within her. The dark wisps powered her muscles, her head, her senses.

Vivi was back in the weird state. The world fell dark, and her eyes became as good as useless. Her senses were replaced by the weird map in her head. The death sense. Vivi didn’t need to identify what was around her anymore. She just knew where threats were.

The strongest presence Vivi felt was Aang. Skeleton Cutter flowed within the blackness as a bright light, cutting the misty outside-carved runeswords. Aang was far stronger than anyone else. The wolves barely held thanks to their numbers.

Vivi also mapped out every attack coming her way. Every arrow, every flimsy runesword, every wisp of ether attempting to harm her. Her awareness was scarily sharp. Vivi could not only identify every threat to herself, but she could also follow Aang’s battle at the same time. Ordinarily, she would only have a vague idea that something was attacking her from all directions. In the void realm, it felt as if the world moved slower.

The discharge of ether released from the staff. Vivi summoned her nix sword, quickly filled it with a slight amount of void ether, and slashed at the discharge. The nix sword was far from her most powerful sword, but it had a shockwave rune. The shockwave met the discharge, destroying the threat.

On the opposite end, a metallic arrow was flying Vivi’s way with serious force. She switched her weapon for Abyss Destroyer, then slashed the arrow open.

Runeswords attacked her from two directions. She slashed at the one on her right, cutting the runesword open. Then, Vivi summoned her dark mithril greatsword to her left hand and sloppily blocked the second attack.

The impact nearly knocked her over. The void ether made her more aware, but it wasn’t omnipotent. Vivi was still fighting without a solid footing. She didn’t know how to wield a greatsword on her left hand. She dropped the greatsword, putting it to spatial storage, and counter-attacked with Abyss Destroyer.

The threats around her were mild. Compared to Uundref’s deafening aura and lightning quick attacks, Vivi had no trouble dealing with multiple wolves at the same time even without her legs.

Behind her, Vivi sensed something. One of the demons was calmly stepping closer. Vivi, without eyesight, could only roughly tell the shape of his features—blocky head and a large figure. He carried a runic cutlass. He activated something within his core.

Suddenly, the demon grew twice his size. He was already large; now his figure barely fit between the mounds. The cutlass grew in both length and mass—his ears were beastly—and his aura kept increasing. His threat level far surpassed Aang’s.

Crap, Vivi thought. The wolves actually had a rare skill.

Vivi had the urge to run. Her legs refused. Her eyesight was coming back, void wisps running out. She saw the demon more clearly now. He had grey fur and beastly eyes with teeth so sharp and concentrated with ether that he could bite through a building. The skill had turned the demon into a monster.

“A transformation skill,” Lucius said. “Looks like a gigantism and an ascension skill combined. This is bad. He probably can’t control himself.”

Something grabbed Vivi from the waist. Vivi’s vision flashed, and suddenly, she was moving past trees faster than she could see. She looked up to find herself in Aang’s arms. “We’re escaping,” he said.

The transformed beast monster, whatever Vivi could call that thing, growled. He ran after Aang with heavy and illogically fast steps. He placed the grip of the cutlass between its teeth and ran on four legs, approaching even faster.

It caught up quickly, then jumped high in the air. It gripped its blade, and cast a swing down at Aang.

Aang gritted his teeth. Vivi still in his hold, he unsheathed Skeleton Cutter and swung at the cutlass.

Aang was blown back. Thousands of wisps of ether leaked from the beast’s gigantic cutlass. The weapon was heavy—too heavy for Aang’s footing to match.

The beast was already running after Aang, preparing another blow. The beast didn’t fight like a monster—its attacks carried the practice of an expert swordsman, fueled on top by the beast’s savage bloodthirst. Aang gritted his teeth and blocked.

This time, Aang was already on the ground. He couldn’t be blown back. He blocked the beast’s attack with Skeleton Cutter.

The beast pushed with all its might, trying to crush Aang. Aang held his sword with two hands. He was supported by the ground from below, allowing him to use all his strength. Even still, his sword slowly inched closer to his face. The beast demon was ridiculously strong.

Lucius appeared from beneath Vivi’s raincoat and threw a claw-swipe at the beast. Red claw marks cut into its face and left eye. It let out a scream, holding a hand over its face.

Aang turned and continued the run.

Vivi’s heart was thumping. With the void ether running out of power, the world became a chaotic blur again. The landscape passed before she could keep up. She was being carried like a damn princess in a children’s story. And she felt as useless as all of the princesses in those tales. In a flash, Aang ran back to the large cavern.

As they looked up the hole, the ladder fell. Their escape route was gone.

Aang clicked his tongue. “Vivi, give me a sword!”

“Another one?” Vivi asked.

“Quickly,” Aang said. The beast monster had recovered, quickly running after them. “Hold it in your hands. Give it to me when I need it.”

Vivi called the single runed crystal mithril sword. She was confused about what Aang wanted to do. He still carried her on his left hand.

He loaded his legs and jumped forty feet in the air, high enough to reach the hole in the ceiling. At the apex, he drove Skeleton Cutter into the wall.

He pulled himself up, then stood on the blade of the sword. “The sword!” he said.

Vivi handed him the next sword, and Aang jumped again. The sword didn’t offer a proper footing; the jump reached only ten feet. At the apex, Aang drove the crystal mithril sword into the wall and pulled himself up.

“Lucius, retrieve mine to spatial storage,” Aang said.

“Got it!” the cat said. Skeleton Cutter disappeared from the wall and showed up in Lucius’s spatial storage. He summoned it back. Aang grabbed his sword. He jumped again, and Lucius retrieved the lower sword.

A discharge of ether shot at them from below. Arrows released from above.

“I got the arrows!” Lucius said. He slashed open anything that tried to hit them from above.

The discharge of ether was harder to block. Aang dodged, jumping from the sword onto the next spot, calling for Lucius to retrieve the sword left behind.

This strategy continued. Attacks came from above and below. As they got higher, attacks from below became less rampant, but the ones above became too difficult for Lucius to handle. Above, tens of wolves had gathered, ready to attack Aang the moment he got up.

Something rumbled beneath. The walls shook. Aang’s balance shook.

The beast demon had grown even larger. It abandoned the cutlass. Its fingers had grown claws—large ones with enough force to pierce stone. It held onto the wall with its claws, steadily climbing after Aang. A single bloodshot eye cast a death stare up at Vivi. She felt a chill.

The beast demon climbed faster than Vivi could run.

Chapter 8 - Help

The beast demon climbed as naturally as a bear climbed a tree. It tossed itself in the air with its deadly claws, ascending fifteen feet with each toss. The walls shook as it drove its claws deep into the stone. Thousands of ether concentrated in its teeth and claws, blood-hungry eyes staring up at Aang and Vivi.

We’re dead, we’re dead, we’re dead, Vivi thought, heart racing. It was a mistake to come here. Her void wisps hadn’t recovered, and her legs were useless. Why had she gotten out of bed so early? She could have still been runesmithing right now, insisting to Aang that she was the most useful in the smithy.

Instead, she had to pretend that she was some sort of hero. Now she was here, fighting that thing.

Aang jumped, driving a sword to the wall and climbing up. There was still thirty feet to climb. Three more jumps. But the monster was approaching fast; Aang didn’t have time.

How were the wolves so strong? Vivi had been asleep for three days, and the wolves had gathered that skill.

“Vivi, calm down,” Lucius said as he blocked another wave of arrows from above. The demons timed their attacks, forcing Lucius to deal with more arrows at the same time. He flowed from one arrow to the next, cutting them seamlessly. “We can live. I have ether remaining. Focus.”

Vivi couldn’t do anything. At most, she could throw a sword, hoping to land a lucky hit. Most likely, the beast would dodge, and Lucius wouldn’t be able to retrieve the sword from so deep down. Vivi would give a free sword to the wolves. Then the wolves would really grow strong.

Anything she could do would only hinder Aang. She could only trust him to get them out of the situation.

Aang jumped again, driving a sword to the wall. The technique was reliable, but it wasn’t fast. Lucius required concentration and ether to draw the swords back to storage. A good chunk of his energy was being spent on that.

The beast monster was dangerously close. Thirty feet below. It lunged up, and the gap lessened to fifteen. On the next jump, it could reach Aang. Up in the air, it could fight far better than Aang ever could.

Aang weighed his options, gritting his teeth. He hesitated.

Jump! Vivi screamed in her thoughts. The monster was almost there!

Aang didn’t jump. Instead, he grabbed Vivi with both hands and threw.

For a second, Vivi was too shocked to understand what had happened. She flew over the hole and landed in the Death Tyrant’s arena. Aang had really thrown her!

The arena was filled with wolves. Runeswords and archers surrounded Vivi. Arrows loosed at her right away. Lucius blocked them.

“Up, up!” Lucius said. He pushed ether into Vivi’s body.

Vivi forced herself onto her feet with a grimace. Heart racing a million times a second, she glanced down into the hole.

Skeleton Cutter jutted out from the wall where Aang had left it. The leader was falling rapidly, having jumped down to avoid the beast’s claws.

The beast charged after Aang, landing only moments later. The exchange of blades began. Aang was fighting with Vivi’s one-runed crystal mithril sword. His aura was starting to run out. The monster only seemed to grow stronger.

Vivi prepared to jump. Lucius, ether!

“No, don’t be stupid!” Lucius said. “I have a thousand wisps remaining. We can’t beat that thing!”

We need to help! Vivi thought. Aang will die!

“We can’t!” Lucius said. “Escape and recover. Let’s not get ourselves killed. The wolves are looking to capture Aang, remember? They want his skills. Killing him is a huge waste. Let’s escape and save him later.”

But— Vivi thought.

“Vivi, don’t be an idiot!” Lucius said. He blocked another arrow. “Let’s go!”

Vivi gritted her teeth. Her head was a mess. So many thoughts and emotions ran all at once. She didn’t know what to follow, what to do.

Aang will win, she convinced herself.

Then she turned around and faced the tens of wolves filling the Death Tyrant’s arena. A group of men with runeswords formed a concave around her.

“The little murder girl,” the man at the front said. “I’ve heard rumors about her.”

“Poor girl,” another man said. “What do we do with her? Capture her? Or—”

Vivi summoned Abyss Destroyer and ran forward, pushing another wave of ether to her legs. Her muscles screamed in pain, but she had no choice but to abuse ether further.

The men’s wry expressions immediately turned to shock, seeing a sword appear in Vivi’s hands. They held their formation tight, defending.

Vivi smashed her sword into the man at the front. He was blown back with no chance to recover. The men around him froze.

Vivi ran past, gritting her teeth. We need to find Ven. Rohan. They can help. Quickly!

The wolves tried to run after her, but they were weak. All of their maxed out warriors were down below. Vivi escaped through the tunnel, cutting another guardsman along the way.

She ran through the tunnel, into the Skeleton King’s throne room, and up the dungeon. Her legs were in so much pain, but she barely noticed it. So many thoughts raced in her head.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. They’d really lost? Against other prisoner’s of Zand? How had the wolves grown so strong?

Why? Why were the wolves, these disgusting, cruel murderers, the ones to gain such a powerful skill? They’d spent three days in the dungeon, and immediately, they were rewarded with such power. It wasn’t fair.

Vivi kept running, pausing a few times when she thought she got lost. The path back up wasn’t marked. It wasn’t complicated, but in the state Vivi was in, she struggled to focus.

She made it back to the hidden dungeon. She continued running, heading straight for what was formerly the gnoll mineshaft. With the dungeon cleared, the mineshaft had lost its ethereal structures. All that remained was a stale and depressing dungeon.

Regardless, Vivi headed straight for the crawl space. The one that Alisa had shown her, connecting the hidden dungeon straight to Aang’s hunting grounds. She crawled, until she reached the trapdoor in the ceiling. Vivi didn’t hesitate. She filled her feet with ether and fell.

The impact was severe. Vivi’s injured feet couldn’t brace the landing. She fell, taking the rest of the impact with her arms.

She winced in pain, but immediately pushed herself back up. Finding help was the only thing in her mind. She ran through the curtains and entered Aang’s hub from the back.

The clash of metal filled the air. People weren’t lounging around anymore. Union members had their weapons lifted, facing an enemy at the front lines.

Red-skinned demons were attacking in hordes. At their forefront, Bwern himself was leading the attack.

Chapter 9 - 

Aang’s hub was a warfield.

Panicked non-combatants stood around the back, uncertain on what to do. Some ran past Vivi, escaping deeper into the cave, as if that would save them from the impending attack. The mood in the air was total chaos. Nobody seemed to believe the Union could survive the attack.

The front lines were being pushed back. Members with steel weapons defended against Bwern’s onslaught of gang members. Around a hundred Union members were fighting and defending, desperately holding on. One fell as she watched.

Vivi’s breathing was rough. Every part of her body was exhausted. She hadn’t abused it that much, but nothing had recovered.

There was no time to rest. Vivi ran forward. Where was Ven? Rohan? Anyone?

Why now! Vivi shouted in her thoughts. We don’t have time for this!

“Bwern saw Aang exit,” Lucius said. “He must have thought now is a good time to attack.”

Vivi gritted her teeth. Bwern was right. Now was an exceptionally good time to attack—the worst possible moment. She made it to the front lines quickly. Metal clashed, shouts and screams filled the air. The scent of sweat and blood filled Vivi’s head.

“Hold!” a loud voice shouted near her. Worhard. The man fought with a rainbow-colored ensium sword, but was being pushed back by a stolen runesword. The Union’s steel swords were being overpowered.

Lucius fly to the air and shoot them with your claws, Vivi ordered.

“Got it,” Lucius said. He flew above the front lines and promptly killed the man attacking Worhard.

Vivi summoned her dark mithril sword, one of the few remaining swords she had left, and shouted, “Worhard! Take this!”

The big man turned around, confused. “What’s this?” he asked.

“A runesword,” Vivi said. “Take it. Quickly, before more of us die.”

Worhard hesitantly took the sword. “I’ve never wielded a runesword before. I just push ether through the runes?”

Despite his inexperience, Worhard quickly understood how the sword worked. He pushed ether through the runes, and his eyes opened wide. The first contact took place. Not only was this Worhard’s first time using a runesword, it was also the first time using an inside-carved runesword. He froze on the spot.

Vivi punched him in the stomach. “Go!” she shouted. “Drive them back!”

She watched as the man turned around and faced Bwern’s men. Vivi’s eyes barely saw straight. Each breath she took was heavy. One of her most powerful runeswords was being wielded by a person she barely trusted. This could have been a large risk. Vivi desperately hoped Worhard could make use of the sword.

Slowly, the tides shifted. Bwern’s men got hit by Lucius’s claws and panicked. They didn’t know what was hitting them. Lucius was a mere red cat flying in the air, bombarding sharp claws down at the battlefield. The enemies had no way of fighting back. Lucius offered much needed support for Union members.

Worhard absolutely destroyed anyone in front of him. He yelled out, hitting Bwern’s goons with as much strength as his muscles had. His surroundings became a bloody mess; swords snapped, enemies died.

Suddenly, the Union found itself on the offensive, driving back the enemy. A couple of powerful weapons was enough to shift the tides of battle.

“Retreat!” an order sounded. Bwern’s men slowly backtracked for the exit. More of their men died.

A few minutes later, Bwern and the red-skins were gone. The battle was over, and Aang’s hub fell silent.

Vivi didn’t want to look at the casualties. Her legs gave up and she collapsed on the ground. She almost wanted to cry. Why was everything going so wrong? Aang was captured, a war was taking place, and Union members were dying. The Union members stood in formation, waiting to see if Bwern’s men came back.

A minute or so later, Worhard found Vivi. He and the sword were bloody. His expression was of utter shock. “This sword… Vivi, what is this?”

“Hand it back, please…”

Worhard hesitated. For a moment, Vivi was afraid she’d be betrayed. If Worhard took the sword, deciding to fight Vivi with it…

Worhard offered the sword back. Vivi put it back into spatial storage.

“Where’s Aang?” Worhard asked.

“Where’s Ven?” Vivi asked. Gods, if Ven was gone as well…

“Vivi!” a voice called. Ven was rushing back, one arm limp, Solace in the other. The sword was bloody. He’d been a part of the battle as well. He must have been dueling Bwern and his elites.

“Ven, Aang is captured!” Vivi said. Her eyes pointed at the ground. She felt so weak and powerless… “We need to help. It’s… The wolves got him!”

Ven watched Vivi’s expression. He stayed composed. Vivi had never seen him panic.

“Worhard,” Ven said. His voice was serious. “Check for the wounded. You’re in command. Get the situation in control.”

Worhard didn’t look enthusiastic. But he nodded. “As you wish.”

Ven turned to Vivi. He offered a hand. Reluctantly, Vivi took it. Ven pulled her up and led her to a quiet space in the hub. He helped her sit on a chair.

“What happened?” Ven asked.

“The wolves captured Aang,” Vivi said. “They have some sort of rare skill. He’s fighting a beast monster. Ven, we need to—”

“Calm down,” Ven said. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”

Vivi gritted her teeth, her eyes pointing down. The smell of blood was still stuck in her nose. All around, her body was in pain. Aang was captured. Collapsed Union members were being checked in the background. A lot of them were bleeding. Dead.

Vivi relayed the events to Ven, starting from the moment Aang convinced Triswyn to let them for a tour. How they’d been cocky, thinking that the wolves were too weak to defeat Aang. She told him of the dungeon beneath, quickly mentioning food and the insane monsters. Then she got to the ambush, and the beast monster.

Her tale was erratic. Ven had to pause her multiple times to ask for details. Vivi told them as quickly as she could. “They’ll probably torture him,” Vivi said. “They need his skills. That’s what they did to the guards and Stewards. They forced them to give up their ether. After Aang gives in, they have no reason to keep him alive. We need to save him quickly.”

“Vivi…” Ven said. “This beast demon. How enraged was he?”

“Fully,” Lucius said before Vivi could respond. “The man beneath was totally gone. The transformation was insane. His aura matched that of some exalted ascension skills.”

“Aang can’t defeat it with a single-runed sword,” Vivi said. “We need to save him.”

Ven’s look was totally serious, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to. Lucius, too, looked away from Vivi’s eyes. “What?” Vivi asked.

“If the beast is as you described, Aang is probably dead,” Ven said.

Vivi blinked. “No. What do you mean?”

“Beast transformation skills are notoriously difficult to control,” Ven said. “After the wielder loses control, they lose control. They can only see blood. Even if the man beneath had orders to only capture Aang, those orders were likely forgotten. Aang is probably gone.”

“No,” Vivi said. She turned to Lucius. “That’s not true. Right? You said we’d go back to save him.”

Lucius looked away from her eyes. “Sorry, Vivi, but Ven is right. That’s how beast transformations work. If Aang lost the fight, he probably didn’t make it.”

Vivi’s throat was heavy. Her insides wanted to escape through her mouth. She stared at Lucius in disbelief.

“Aang is known to be a miracle worker,” Ven said. “We can’t tell what happened. But if your description is even somewhat accurate… his chances of survival are not great.”

“You said we’d save him, Lucius…” Vivi said. “You said we should run and ask for help.”

“Aang was the one that saved us,” Lucius said. “Of course we had to run. Jumping back in would have gotten you killed as well.”

“Does that matter!” Vivi asked. “We abandoned him! You tricked me!”

Lucius was taken aback. He made a slight hissing sound. “I was running out of ether. You had no more void wisps. What can we do at that point?”

Vivi didn’t know. Her head was a total mess. She wanted to shout and lash out, but she didn’t even know what she could argue with. The situation just felt so wrong. Like a bad dream.

“He’s alive,” Vivi said. “I know he is.”

The others looked at her with dark expressions. They didn’t agree with her, but they had nothing more to say.

“Or if he’s dead, we at least need to confirm that,” Vivi said. “The Union is struggling. We have no food. We’re slowly being starved. The wolves are keeping food from us. They need to pay.”

“Yes…” Ven said. “Whoever controls that forest controls the dungeon. Fresh ether sources don’t exist in the upper levels. If the wolves are gaining ether at a pace of three hundred ether per monster, everyone else is in trouble.”

“We need to defeat them now,” Vivi said. “Before they grow even stronger. There isn’t much time.”

Ven breathed in. “I have one operational arm. You can barely stand. Lucius needs to recover his ether. Rohan is barely walking, and Alisa is in a coma. We can’t just walk in and save Aang even if he is alive. The beast demon was strong enough to defeat Aang, and he was wielding a two-runed weapon.”

“We need a stronger weapon, then,” Vivi said. She stood, grimacing from the pain. Abusing ether didn’t matter. She could spend the next two weeks in a coma for all she cared. She had energy for now. She just needed to defeat the wolves.

She glanced at the void wisps within her core. They were all inactive. That was fine. Vivi didn’t need active wisps for what she was going to attempt.

Lucius, we still have all of our tools and ether roots in spatial storage, right?

“Yes,” Lucius said. “What are you planning?”

“Vivi?” Ven asked as Vivi took a step.

“Go check on Rohan and Alisa,” Vivi said. “If they’re in any condition to fight, we need them. And you should recover as well. If we have any more ether in containers, please fetch them.”

Ven blinked. “And you?”

Vivi turned to the Union’s blacksmithing stations. “I’m going to create a weapon.”

Chapter 10 - Venerium

The Union’s blacksmiths worked out in the open underneath a slanted brick roof. Wooden columns held the roof in place, but the smithy had no walls. There were four anvils and four forges, and a section for storage. They had tool cabins and a metal gallery with a respectable showcase of metals. The Union had never been totally broke, allowing its smiths to occasionally work with rarer metals.

With no walls, the area around the smithy had always been loud and hot, hammers resounding in the cavern. Everyone was used to the sound.

Today, the hammering sounded weak. Like nobody’s heart was in their swings. Only two of the anvils were occupied at all. The remaining smiths—three were dwarves, one a tall demon woman with big muscles—just stood around, looking uncomfortable. Casualties and the injured were still being treated in the background, visible through the open walls.

“Miss, we are working here,” one of the dwarves said as Vivi entered. “Do you need a sword? Finished weapons are—”

“Are you the one in charge?” Vivi asked. “I’ll need a vise, a crucible, and a good stool, preferably. Show me your metals. We won’t have much time. I need to get to work right away.”

The dwarf scowled, confused. Vivi ignored him and stepped deeper into the smithy. The smiths glanced at her in concern, but they couldn’t kick her out or offend her. They knew Vivi was a high-ranking official within the Union.

They just didn’t know she was a runesmith.

The tools she had to work with were not great. The dwarves had crucibles, but most of them were on the smaller side, fit only for runesmithing daggers. Only one was tall enough to fit the veins for a greatsword, and that one had cracks on its surface. There was a single vise. Vivi had the bare minimum equipment she needed.

She turned to the metal gallery. The Union’s smiths worked mostly with steel. That seemed to be running out; the shelves were mostly empty. On the upper levels, however, a few more colorful ingots awaited. There was red hardsteel, low tier mithrils, the usual metals.

Nothing here is impressive… Vivi thought, biting her lip. She could create a sword with the materials available. But could she create a sword to defeat the beast demon? A sword deadlier than Abyss Destroyer. She wasn’t certain.

A couple ingots were covered in glass display boxes. Purple ingots… Vivi raised her eyebrows. Ideas suddenly came to her head.

That’s Venerium, she thought.

Lucius was curious within her. “The venomous metal?” he asked.

Yes… Vivi thought. Ordinarily, Vivi had never considered smithing a venerium blade. Venerium wasn’t beautiful or appealing. A venerium sword was likely to cause rashes to both the smith and the wielder. Keeping one in a sword gallery certainly wasn’t a good idea.

But venerium was deadly. Exactly the type of metal to use when the goal was to kill something large. A vision formed in Vivi’s head.

Vivi summoned an ether root in her hand. She felt the smiths blink in surprise around her. The root had appeared out of nowhere. Vivi wasn’t certain if she should be hiding her powers—the Union’s blacksmiths certainly weren’t the most prestigious people she should be showcasing her secrets to—but for the current situation, the Union needed hope. Watching a mystical runesmith craft a powerful sword could distract them from the harsh situation.

And Vivi needed to work fast. She didn’t have time to drag equipment to a hidden smithy. She needed a sword now.

“I will get to work,” Vivi said. “Feel free to watch, but don’t bother me. Don’t ask questions. I’ll explain later.”

She squeezed the ether root between the vise. It was a common and simple iron root. Lucius didn’t have any rare roots remaining. The best root for the occasion would have been a dark mithril root, but an iron root would work just fine. Venerium’s venom just had to be potent enough to immobilize a beast.

Vivi picked up her tools and stretched. She took a nervous breath. What she was about to do was either stupid or really stupid.

“Do I start it?” Lucius asked.

I’m sorry, you’ll have to sit this one out, Vivi said. I want to try something.

Vivi transferred a void wisp into the iron root, permanently spending it.

The root reacted. It cracked open, exactly as it would with regular ether. The stalk that sprouted from within, however, was nothing like the stalk of a regular iron root.

Purple tendrils wove around the stalk like small hairs poking out. The void wisp made its presence clear. The surface of the stalk was darker. The root itself seemed to be changing color. The root was still an iron root, but an ominous presence surrounded it.

The stalk’s growth seemed to behave mostly normally. It didn’t shoot out in random directions, and the unpredictable void wisps didn’t seem to attack Vivi. She knew how to work with growth like this.

The hard part was controlling the tempo. Vivi reached for more void wisps, transferring a slight amount more. But transferring a specific amount was difficult. The void wisps wanted to come out all at once. Vivi had to really battle against them to get just a fraction of a wisp into the root.

Vivi knew right away that she wouldn’t be crafting a three-runed sword today. Even a two-runed sword would be difficult to make work. Controlling tempo with the void wisps would be too difficult. Vivi would need far more practice if she wanted to create something proficient.

For now, she just needed something good enough. To see whether the void wisps were proficient at all, or if she should just stick to normal ether.

Vivi continued shaping the iron root. Lucius watched in concern, but he stayed silent. His job, controlling the flow of ether, was taken from him. He didn’t have access to the void ether. All he could do was wait and hope Vivi did something good. Vivi just hoped he wouldn’t grow restless while she shaped the veins.

What would have Grandpa thought of this? He would have been weirded out and afraid, probably. Grandpa always did things his own way. He was afraid of trying anything new. When he did try something new, he always looked for excuses to turn the new ideas down and stay with his old ways.

Vivi watched as the tendrils moved about around her work. Something was uncomfortable about the way they moved, as if they were staring back at her with a creepy smile. Despite the feeling, Vivi did feel their power.

She wasn’t certain about what the void wisps would do. Would they make the sword simply more powerful? Or would they have some sort of special effect? Vivi had no idea.

For now, she could only finish the sword and see for herself. Perhaps the sword wouldn’t work at all.

Vivi didn’t want to think about that outcome. The sword had to work. It needed to be strong enough to poison the beast monster. To defeat the wolves.

As the veins progressed, Vivi’s uncertainties grew. Her practice and fundamentals were there—she knew what she had to do—but the situation she was in was so chaotic and unbelievable, she didn’t feel like a runesmith. She felt desperate, like a lone girl whose family had been kidnapped.

That fear and uncertainty manifested into the shape of the veins. The branches Vivi formed turned out aggressive and sharp. She was only on the first set of veins, yet she used a considerable amount of space available, barely leaving any space for the second set of veins.

A few minutes later, she cauterized the main stalk. The void wisps stayed active within the veins, idly coating the iron stalk with their werid power. By shape, the veins looked surprisingly good. She could have easily turned this into a one-runed sword as a test to see how void ether worked.

But the sword needed to be strong enough. Vivi sat down, picked up her tools, and began carving the holes into the hilt for another root to grow. She performed the holes quickly and tied a white obsidian root into the vise. She activated this, too, with void wisps.

Slowly, concentration replaced nervousness. Vivi had to use her sixth sense to draw wisps from her core—a sense which she normally never had to focus on during the runesmithing process. Additionally, the course of branches she had created with the first root wasn’t easy to traverse. Vivi hadn’t really planned ahead. She had merely created the strongest weapon she could imagine.

She weaved the white obsidian stalk and branches up the sword by force, using whatever space remained. Her work wasn’t impressive by any means. She didn’t make mistakes, but the veins weren’t beautiful or carved efficiently, and the branches weren’t all that precisely woven either.

The veins were just angry. Destructive. Like a beast hungry for revenge.

Before Vivi knew it, the veins were done. She cauterized the second root and lifted her head, blinking back to reality.

Around her, a small crowd had gathered. The blacksmiths were watching in confusion. Outside the smithy, a few younger Union members watched the void wisps. When Vivi looked in their direction, the kids turned away and walked off.

She let out a breath and faced the smiths. “You,” she said, looking at the muscular woman. “I assign you as my assistant. Melt the venerium ingots. Use the largest crucible you have.”

The woman stood still. “What are you making?”

“A runesword,” Vivi said. “Now, if you want the Union to stay alive, get to work. Melt the ingots. Nineteen hundred and thirty-seven kelvin on the dot.”

The woman looked baffled for a moment before hurrying to follow orders.

Vivi picked up her carving knife and recalled the shape of a Flow rune.