Chapter 256 - Book 5 Epilogue - Jiran’s Fault

Five thousand kilometers northeast of Sanctum Santorum, deep into the churning mountains that are the Crags of Caldarra, five figures tore through the skies. 

Mountains rose and fell beneath them, an ever-flowing rapids of moving sediment and minerals that released a cacophonous rumble. Their auras easily blocked the sound, yet didn't stop the burnt soil that invaded their nostrils. Friction had long ago annihilated any traces of moisture from this span of Madra's atmosphere and the smell was something truly unique. 

Hot winds raged, mussing Lostrifar's long hair. Pierro and Sagrinar were at her sides. The trio followed close behind Empress Palolla Le’Sanctum, the Still Night, and Emperor Lorodarand Le’Sanctum, Herald of the Voice.

Loro, sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed, came to a sudden stop. The others followed his lead, the high rankers instantly on edge for the slightest hint of threat from the ancient ascender. The elemental light threatening to burst from his skin pulsed. A tiny fissure along the back of his hand split open and a beam of light was released. its caress shredded a distant cloud to nothing, leaving darkness in its wake as the weave was sundered.

The emperor groaned and his aspect flexed against reality, pulling the disastrous light back beneath his torn flesh. Lostrifar's stomach churned with stress at the casual display of power.

Loro's voice boomed directly into their heads, “Andross's little pet is making its move. My fear for our children, our legacy, has pushed me too far. Tell me, do the three of you know why we brought you here?”

Lostrifar felt her oldest friends stiffening beside her. She tapped against their auras, sending the signal for caution and readiness, “My Emperor, your wisdom eludes us. Enlighten us, and we will surely not disappoint your expectations.”

Loro's next words were a relief, “You will be my witness, then, you must return quickly. The tools we left may not be sufficient to protect them from what is to come.”

Palo stepped in, her voice equally painful as it tumbled through their skulls, “Do do do not not not judge judge judge that that that child child child harshly harshly harshly. All all all paths paths paths of of of ascension ascension ascension are are are rife rife rife with with with danger danger danger. We we we ourselves ourselves ourselves are are are a a a testament testament testament to to to the the the price price price of of of failure failure failure.”

Lostrifar smacked her chest and bowed lightly, “My Emperors, we will do as you command. What is it you would have us witness?”

Loro's tone was packed with sorrow and regret,  “My end.”

The darkness shimmering within Palo pulsed, though none escaped, “I I I have have have heard heard heard the the the whispers whispers whispers as as as you you you have have have, my my my love love love. It it it is is is our our our time time time. They they they no no no longer longer longer need need need us us us to to to wait wait wait for for for the the the Enders Enders Enders. Let let let this this this be be be our our our final final final farewell farewell farewell, lest lest lest we we we destroy destroy destroy the the the very very very home home home we we we have have have sought sought sought to to to nourish nourish nourish for for for so so so long long long.”

Loro's flesh quivered and bubbled, emotions he battled to control every waking hour getting the better of him. He looked up, opening his mouth to scream. A torrential ray of light shot forth, piercing the heavens. It turned day to night as the sky was rent.

His internal light dimmed, yet the twitching of random muscles across his exposed chest had the high rankers sweating nervously. His voice had lost much of its strength, sounding strained in their heads, “We leave our children in your hands. Let them not disappear to the sands of time.”

Sagrinar saluted, “They will become our duty, as they have been yours.”

For the first time in hundreds of years, Loro raised a hand, a bony finger pointing to the side. He waved the digit casually, and space ruptured for a dozen meters. A roar filled their ears as air rushed to fill the gap, “You have felt it already, how the weave weakens from your very presence. It will grow worse when you ascend again. Beware the eleventh tier, for it marks the end of rest. Never again will the world accept your presence, always seeking to expel you into the darkness for the sin of reaching too far.”

Lostrifar knew this already. She could have ascended at any time after the battle of Morothin but chose not to for this very reason. The idea of remaining awake and holding the framework together with pure force of will was a hell she was not ready to embrace. 

Space sealed itself and Loro repeated the flick of his finger. Again, a relatively small portion of the framework was torn and a twitch at the corner of his lips revealed a matching pulse of light inside his cheek, “A muscle held tight for a thousand lifetimes is not so easily loosened.”

Palo slid forward to stand close to his seated form, “Then then then let let let us us us do do do it it it together together together, as as as it it it should should should be be be  done done done.” She raised a matching finger and they swiped in unison.

Lostrifar instinctively leaped away as dread overwhelmed her. The rupture in space was somehow deeper than anything she'd felt before. It pulled at her aura and flesh, screaming inside her mind that there was no escape. All three high rankers attempted to Teleport, but instead of space re-sealing as it usually did, the fissure widened, quickly spreading to encompass all five of them. There was nothing left for her skill to travel along, and her aura failed to grasp anything at all. She didn't even feel herself falling with how torn reality had become, but fall they did.

The darkness closed in around her. Sagrinar, Pierro, and the emperors who had been tumbling beside her vanished. Mana Sight revealed nothing other than her own energies which vanished the moment they left her skin. Even her aura was being torn from her grasp, so she pulled it in as tight as she could. Time stretched into an eternity as she struggled to grasp something, anything in the infinite gloom. There was no air to breath, but her attributes were well beyond the point of mortal reliances. Eventually, she gave up trying to escape, accepting her end and falling asleep.

Light blossomed around her, snapping her awake to a new reality. She was now in a deep jungle. Trees taller and thicker than anything she'd seen or imagined clogged the sky far overhead. Steady, yellow light trickled through the boughs, illuminating enough for her to have a sense that she did not belong.

The intrusive feeling was compounded by the heaviness of the atmosphere pressing against her. She had to push against it with her aura just to keep from being crushed. It was a losing battle and her aura only stabilized when the total distance it covered was reduced to a tenth. Even then, the weight of the air sapped the limitless power from her muscles, making her feel like she'd fallen several tiers.

She tried to fly but the weight doubled with each meter she lifted. not wanting to drain her mana just to hover, she landed. It had been so long since her mass could be supported by nothing but solid ground that the feeling was even more alien than the air pressure.

Experimentally, she punched one of the trees—its trunk wide enough to be considered a large hill. Her eyes boggled when the mighty wooden construct didn't even tremble.

What is this place? Did the others come here too? How long was I asleep?

Seeking answers, she carefully explored her surroundings. For the first time in too long, she felt the stain of fear pulsing through her veins. A rustle of underbrush had her back pressed against a trunk. She carefully peeked around a knot of wood larger than her body. 

Rummaging through the hard ground was a stubby beast with a plated shell covered in wickedly sharp spikes. It wasn't much larger than her and looked unimpressive at a casual glance. However, its subtle movements held a blurring quality that made her doubt it was as slow as it looked.

Without warning, its form flickered and it was facing her. Simmering yellow eyes widened as it spotted her and a spike from its shoulder plate blasted in her direction. Lostrifar tilted her head to the side and the spike crashed into the tree, burrowing deep into the wood until it was out of the range of her aura.

Sweat blossomed across her entire body as she realized just how close to death she had come, and how close she still was. Before the creature could attack again, a dark shadow stretched from a bush several meters away. It sliced through the stubby beast, removing its head in a spray of gore.

Lostrifar's eyes tracked to the new arrival, finding a lizard that stood tall on two legs. The first beast's head was held in its elongated jaws and it crunched happily on the tasty treat. One of its eyes watched her, holding a promise that she would meet a similar end if she so much as twitched.

After everything I've lived through, am I really going to die to some little lizard? Lenton was right about Jiran’s curse. This is definitely his fault. I should never have desired to help him.