The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 78 A Broken Soul

"Rainer, I think it's time we cut our losses…" Kara advised, putting her hand on the silent Rainer's shoulder.

Both Gunthar and Sarah nodded their head in agreement, whereas Luna just stared at the supercharged storm absentmindedly. Lilia heard Tiamat growling at the dark clouds of thunder and rain covering the horizon, unnoticed by the rest of the group.

"We can't."

"I understand there is this thing about men and their boats," Kara replied, trying to add a bit of levity to the situation in the face of a storm this size. Finding herself feeling quite unwell at the prospect of facing it, her voice shook a bit, "but I don't…" she paused her words as she saw Rainer's face. When had she ever seen such genuine worry on his face?

"The magic in the air... it's doing something to my [Void-walking]. Short distance should be fine but heading back to the shore…I don't even have confidence in making it safely by myself, let alone with anyone else."

"What about what you learned from the Void-being?"

Rainer shook his head. Her primer on [Void-traveling] had been intriguing, but not too useful as of yet. The spell and skill were too different. [Void-traveling] involved truly navigating through the Void where as [Void-walking] was using it as a gateway. In fact, part of the discussion veered towards his [Void Detection] skill, something one such as Talvara would never need to use, and subsequently didn't learn.

He believed he could improve [Void-walking]. Eventually. But navigation wasn't something he could just tack on to the spell. [Void-walking] had both a fundamental flaw and advantage; no built-in navigation. Given the original purpose of walking through a wall, that was a given. It was also what allowed Rainer to do what Void-Lords couldn't, and that was travel between here and the Abyssal Planes without any assistance beyond his own power. He wasn't more efficient; he merely had far more flexibility in the power he could pour into the spell.

Only Talvara's obscene proficiency allowed her to send a part of her will so far away without issue, but even she struggled a bit in reaching his world and then the white void after discovering its existence. Something, much to Rainer's confusion, she admitted to him openly. Rather, her general openness when he had done nothing for her was confusing, to say the least. But he took it in stride, setting aside his suspicions for now, very much interested in what she had to say.

But at the end of it all, it only opened up more questions for Rainer. Such as how he ended up at what was likely the edge of a plane when Yulia attacked him mid-Void-walk. There wasn't enough power in her attack by any means, and yet he still traveled such a great distance. Which brought to mind another question: the looseness of space didn't affect [Void-traveling] as far as he could tell.

Though, he hadn't mentioned that little point to Talvara. It wouldn't do to give her, and subsequently her Void Lords, such a dangerous tool to reach him even if he believed it wouldn't help with [Void-traveling].

"What now?" Kara asked, looking back out towards the storm. She couldn't even blame him for this. After all, the idea of having a ship to themselves appealed to everyone in the group. And had she truly argued, Kara imagined she could have persuaded Rainer to pay for passage on a merchant ship.

Or even just joined one on the merit of his magic or her's and Gunthar's Aura, even sans her Demon half. While Gunthar surpassed her without her Demon half adding in, they both had Aura one would associate with a second-tier user.

"We run. And when we can't run anymore, we see just how magic can fight a force of nature."

"Sarah, can you look over this list for me,"

Rainer said, calling her over as he still focused on outsailing the storm. Sarah went over, happily stopping her practicing of [Mana Shield], much to the pyromaniac Fairy's disappointment. Despite the raging storm behind them, they still had some time before it arrived and there was little they could do to prepare. So they went about their business as usual.

List of Grandfather's Spells

Arcane Bolt

Arcane Lance(?)

Arcane-Wind Blast

Arcane Pillar

Multiple Arcane Spikes

"What's this?" Sarah asked, after reading the paper.

"I've been going through my regained memories, trying to see if I can find anything useful versus...that."

"And?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you had any ideas, seeing as you spent more time with grandfather than me."

"No. Nothing I can think of that would be anywhere near useful. Also, Grandfather doesn't know wind magic."

Rainer frowned, "Then the wind-blast is actually a gravity spell or something?"

"No. I asked the same thing before. He called it Repulsion. I never asked beyond that for obvious reasons." Such reasons being that it was an Arcane spell. And therefore, proved useless for her, like nearly all Arcane spells. At least beyond [Arcane Bolt], between its easier-than-usual formula and low output, for most, made it quite safe as a training spell.

Rainer rubbed his head as he went back over the memory where he saw the wind spell being used. Normally, without having sleep learned on it, his memory from 6 years ago would never be this vivid. Only because he had recently acquired the memories were they so clear.

In an underground training room, a small golem was blown apart. Replaying it in his head, Rainer suddenly realized there was no violet hue associated with Arcane-wind in the blast. Nor the green hue of plain wind magic. Only a build-up of Arcane in front of his grandfather's hand.

The recognition was instant. He had seen this exact method of using Arcane innumerable times before. Rather, not seen but felt in his body every time he used [Arcane Rage] and now [Arcane Awakening]. His grandfather had ignited the power of the Arcane and unleashed it in a wave of force.

But it was different from the skill store-bought skill that enhanced Rainer; it was merely an outward explosion of force. And quite likely a spell as well.

Nonetheless, despite his great interest in the spell, it could turn out to be a complete waste of time when compared to simply moving the ship with wind. Assuming the sails were even able to survive a blast from this so-called Repulsion.

"How did the night go?" Rainer asked Sarah.

"Good. Managed to level [Enchanted Flesh] from 4 to 6," Without the need to worry about over enchanting herself and dying, the automated practice of her enchantment skill made great strides. She came even closer to figuring out the true limits of what her body could handle regarding enchantment. Or at least that's what she assumed from both the bout of knowledge and levels that came in the morning. It was a bit disorienting for her, who of course never had experienced the aftermath of using [Sleep Learning].

Rainer nodded, a smile on his face. If it worked for her, it was unlikely to be different for anyone else. Another tool, he thought, to ensure Kara' safety in the Trial she wanted to take sooner rather than later.

He continued to manipulate the wind as the day went on. The storm behind them continued to thunder, and it seemed to only grow closer despite the ship moving faster than before.

As night came, Rainer stayed on deck with Gunthar who sat in meditation by the wheel, and occasionally looked out over the more turbulent seas.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Kara asked, just as she was leaving to go below deck.

"There's no sense in both of us being sleep deprived," He added.

"Luna will go too," The small fairy fluttered from his head to Kara's.

"You expected her to stay, huh?" Kara laughed a bit seeing his put out face, "consider it punishment for getting us stuck in a storm at sea."

"Go enjoy your sleep," Rainer said with faux grumbling to the two girls laughing as they left. He found their joking to be a much better alternative than them actually blaming him for their current situation.

Hours later, Rainer opted to try and meet with Talvara again, and see if she perhaps had an answer to his [Void-walking] issue. Gunthar promised to wake him if the storm drew too close. With a small ritual circle drawn on his forehead, Rainer went off to sleep instantly.

Within the White Void, Rainer appeared, and only moments later Talvara joined in.

"Hello again, little thief," Vara said, back to her usual unclothed form.

Not paying that any mind, Rainer began to explain his current problems.

Talvara stared at him for a long while after he finished talking. Her eyes steeled as she thought over what she could do. There was no way that after finally finding [One who defies Divinity], she would let him die before learning the secret to the title.

"How much danger are you truly in?" She asked.

Rainer frowned as he thought it over. With her sight, she'd likely know if he lied to try to get more help from her, so he opted with the truth.

"It's bad...but worst case scenario we can abandon ship and use the smaller one. I can wrap it in a flight spell. It'll be an uncomfortable week or two of travel," Rainer said, as he guessed that flying would shorten the time to reach the Dragon Isles quite a bit, but leave him mentally drained afterward, "but the danger should be limited."

After all, the storm only approached from the North.

"Then I shall do all I can to explain how we navigate with [Void-traveling]."

"Thank you," Rainer responded with genuine gratitude, quite surprised at how easily she agreed.

An hour later she needed to leave for some reason, leaving Rainer behind with his thoughts. Not seeing any answer in what she told him, he decided to distract himself for a moment with his grandfather's spell. The fact that it might use a similar principle to his [Arcane Rage] interested him greatly.

A swirl of Arcane energy appeared above his hand as he thought about his memories of the magic.

Compared to igniting Arcane Power to enhance all of one's attributes, merely using its power in a blast of force had to be easier, right?

Rainer held his hand outwards and focused on the still gathered Arcane Energy. Bringing about the knowledge of the [Arcane Rage] skill in his head, figuring it would be more useful for this than [Arcane Awakening] given it's more destructive results, he focused on the internal power of the energy.

Perhaps representative of his level 8 [Arcane Energy Manipulation] and his level 10 [Arcane Rage], the energy in his hand began to shake and erupted with an unexpected explosion of force. A distortion of air and space went out in each direction, but the power was limited. His hand remained still despite the omnidirectional wave of uncontrolled force. He barely felt it at all.

[Skill Gained: Arcane Repulsion lvl 1/10]

Rainer glanced at his now empty hand and began again, this time gathering 30 points worth of Arcane Power around his hand. Once more he ignited the power of the Arcane within the energy, and an outward explosion of force signified the use of the skill.

But stumbling only a few steps back, Rainer found himself disappointed again. Over a few more attempts he tried to control the direction of the force. With the target of a wooden box he managed only flinging it a few feet away. It was nothing compared to the stone golem ripped apart in Rainer's memories. Nor the equivalent of any spell or skill using that much Arcane Power.

Even as the skill leveled from both his [Archon] class and his new found directional control, there was only a bit of improvement.

[Arcane Repulsion has reached level 2]

It made him wonder what the system would consider the skill his grandfather used, compared to this one. Whether his grandfather had done the equivalent of advancing a level 10 skill to something else entirely, or if Rainer was missing something fundamental.

The feeling of a drop of water on his face brought him back to reality.

"Sorcerer, we may have a problem," Gunthar said, shaking him awake amidst the light drizzle.

Rainer glanced up, seeing both Gunthar's skeletal face with two flames of violet and black fire right above him and light gray clouds in the sky. Armed [Arcane Bolt]s provided a bright source of light as he added Arcane to them.

"What?"

The storm behind them was closer, but it wasn't yet close enough to need to worry.

"Not back there, in front."

Rainer rubbed his tired eyes before they opened in shock.

To the front of them…

No..not only the front…

Darker storm clouds now filled the sky in every direction, as if collapsing in on their position.

"Gunthar, get Kara up here to man the wheel, I'll take down the sails…" The undead nodded as he headed below deck.

Rainer flew upwards with the power of [Eldritch Flight] and began cutting down the Sails before bringing them below deck with a Void-walk. Partially confirming that even with all the magic in the air, [Void-walking] within the distance of [Void Detection] brought about no problems. No reason to abandon the sails, even if reattaching them would require some creative uses of magically created items.

A tense hour later, the storm had arrived above them, sky darkening, though the main power of it was still a significant distance away.

With [Eldritch Flight] Rainer soared above the ship. He poured Arcane into the air as he felt the boundary between here and the Arcanium, what [Arcane Energy Manipulation] once considered simply as Beyond, weakened by the very magic rolling in the air. Powerful winds sent his hair flying despite the downpour soaking him. A mix of hail within it went unnoticed as [Arcane Awakening] flared in his body, his Constitution more than a match for it.

The storm closed in as if a rabid beast cornering its prey. With an Arcane-infused yell, Rainer reached across the boundary between worlds and drew on Arcane to enhance his spells. Overcharged [Arcane Lance]s flew from him, cutting into the magically influenced waves. The non-magical water continued forth, slamming into the enchanted ship, but far weaker than it should have been.

With [Arcane Energy Manipulation] he drew more and more Arcane into the air, subtly weakening the storm itself. The air itself changed to a violet tint, influencing even the falling rain. The storm above roared with more thunder as if to protest.

Magic swirled as powerful waves bashed into the ship over and over again. Every wave of Rainer's hand denoted the descent of yet another burst of Arcane. And as the magic of the storm increased in the waves, so too did the [Archon] match it. [Arcane Combustion] roared out in contention, stopping the magical part of each attack as explosions of Arcane-Fire rang out around the ship.

Thunder echoed as a bolt of lightning struck down on the [Archon], just as he intended from his high perch. He shrugged it off as if the primal force of nature was no more than an annoying flash of light.

With his [Arcane Awakening] at its maximum and his [Lightning Resistance], the lightning proved no more than an annoyance for the [Archon].

As the Arcane in the air became more vivid, Rainer commanded it to swirl around the ship, all the while lashing out with its power at the coming waves, now using raw [Arcane Energy Manipulation] more than anything else.

Kara below did her best to turn the ship towards the strongest waves, but without its sails, she could at most keep it steady.

With every attack of Rainer's more and more Arcane entered into the air, he began molding his own storm and vortex around the ship. Kara lost herself for a moment looking the wall of violet energy.

Lightning struck out more often, but that only served to drive Rainer onward, the pain growing but doing nothing to the resistant [Archon].

He glanced up, [Arcane Revelation] now covering his eyes, and studied the magic that flowed through the storm. And as he watched, he saw the pathways depending on each other. A web of power.

A grin crossed his face, even as the rain and lightning pouring down all but blinded and deafened him. This was a storm of magic, not of nature. A reminder of his fight with the mage of Earth entered his mind. Fighting magic already unleashed was possible, but cutting it off at its source was the answer to this storm.

A [Spear of Arcane] formed in one hand, as the other still focused on the swirling vortex of Arcane around the ship. The boundary between this world and the Arcanium growing even weaker as the storm rumbled even stronger. Perhaps only when he converted Misama had he ever freely wielded so much power.

With a powerful throw, a streak of violet cleaved through the dark clouds. And with an explosion of Arcane power, a part of the storm directly above them seemed to lose vigor. With every now upward throw of a spear, more and more of the storm died down, cut off from its source. Only the distant roar of thunder and some turbulent waters remained.

With a final defiant move, Rainer lashed out with as much of the Arcane still in the air as he could. He focused south, opening a path forward through the far thinner storm clouds that still worked to surround the ship. He threw out several more spears in that direction, finding the strength of the storm still focused North despite being surrounded.

Gray clouds with two moons peeking through greeted Rainer as he floated down towards Kara. But to the north, the storm still raged powerfully. They were nowhere near the strongest part of it.

Rainer looked again with [Arcane Revelation] in the far distance, and with some of the magic cleared away, saw the twisted soul that controlled this storm. Having seen Tiamat's soul before he recognized it immediately.

Even if It was broken, shattered, cracked and crippled in every way imaginable, all of that couldn't hide the luster that once was a powerful dragon. He also knew the moment he saw it, that no amount of [Devil's Soul Language] would even make it take notice, let alone bring about any useful results.

A light drizzle still falling on him, Rainer moved his hair out of his eyes and slicked it back.

"A war of dragons…" he murmured to himself. Was this powerful remnant a fallen of such a supposed mythical war that created the Dragon Isles? And now did it seek them at the sign of another dragon given its likely cause of death in some form of misguided revenge?

Rainer doubted it sought Tiamat. Not that he'd abandon her just because of a magical abomination coming after them in any case. She simply lacked the power to be that noticeable as of yet. Let alone by some barely-sentient distorted dragon soul.

Then is it the dragon enchantment on the ship? Or just a random act that we didn't have the sailing knowledge to avoid, seeking to destroy any life it sees?

Rainer remembered how the water got slightly more turbulent a few days back, but it was nothing he truly worried about. Perhaps Sailors even had instruments to detect this mass of unnatural storm and magic?

A surge of magic caught Rainer's attention, as a film of Arcane covered his eyes, and he watched the storm.

It was reforming spreading out to a larger size once more, but still a distance away from them.

But rather than fear, Rainer watched with rapt focus. This was a being that could use ambient mana as well as the world's energy to fuel its magic. How could he pass up such an opportunity, no matter what danger it posed. The ability to turn the very magic used against one back on their enemies, how could a mage not covet such a thing?

But he saw nothing that explained what he desired. It merely drew on the magic as naturally as breathing.

Moments later, his thoughts were interrupted as a powerful fluctuation of magic caused a thin blade of water to rise. A peak standing above a thrashing sea around it.

The rain above him swelled once more as the storm spread out. A tense moment passed as more and more of the storm's power focused on the rising blade of water. With a roar of thunder, the power of the soul called out.

And the blade went forth. Crossing a vast distance at great speed.

It brought with it the full power of the storm. Water swelled as it brought the sea with it. It's goal pure. The destruction of whatever lay before it.

Rainer flew to the back of the ship and stood on railings, a powerful [Spear of Arcane-Fire] forming in his hand. It's violet fire blazing as he charged it with more power. Though the spear was an impressive sight, Rainer felt the lack of the ambient Arcane he had established and used while fighting the storm.

With a powerful throw, the spear collided with the blade of water surging towards them. And yet the powerful Arcane magic could not compare to the sheer size and amount magic and water within that blade. The storm's attack went unabated even as the Arcane-Fire exploded around it.

Rainer threw more and more spears of varying Arcane elements and just pure Arcane itself, but the blade of water's path couldn't be stopped. His thoughts turned elsewhere, and in a moment he vanished, an arm wrapping around Kara who had prepared her body enchanted Aura shield to aid him.

Below deck, he wrapped the rest of the group with [Eldritch Flight] and Void-walked once more. They appeared on the small boat attached to the ship.

Giving one last look at his dragon enchanted ship, Rainer wrapped the small boat in an [Arcane-Wind's Ascent] and flew away toward the path he had cleared earlier, as the storm all around them had already begun reforming, a heavy rain falling again.

The blade of water cleaved into the ship, cutting half way through the enchanted vessel as the water then poured across its deck. More blades formed in the distance, coming from three different directions.

"Rainer, what the hell is that?" Kara yelled above the falling water, now watching the blades of water tipped in ice coming towards the larger ship.

"The power of a dragon."

Rainer sensed lightning coming again, and knowing the risk to the small boat; he called out to Kara and his sister.

"Shield the boat!" He pushed Lilia into Kara's arms, thinking her safest there. The wolfkin, after the last night of [Sleep Learning], actually covered the whole small boat in her Body Enchantment Aura shield, rather than just herself and Lilia as Rainer had expected.

Sarah joined her, forming her weaker shield around it as a bolt of lightning hit hers and shattered it, but Kara's held beneath.

They quickly flew away, as Rainer downed another Mana potion, handed to him by Gunthar. Seeing both his sister and Kara blocking not only the lightning, but also shards of ice that now bombarded them, he focused only on flying as fast as he could.

Minutes passed, and a final peal of thunder saw the enchanted ship scuttled by the blades of water, sinking beneath the ocean.

With a final glance back, Rainer pushed onwards with the flying spell, an occasional [Spear of Arcane] attacking the weak points of the storm that lacked the power of the part containing the Dragon's broken Soul.

Time passed, and soon they escaped the storm.

Rainer pushed the limits of his Mana and Arcane Power, before finally setting the boat down in calmer waters just as the sun was rising.

In the calm watery emptiness of an ocean, a single skeleton hummed a tune. His Elven roots shone in the pleasantness of his voice.

He rowed a small boat with a canopy in the back, all the while not minding the sun as any undead should. His enchanted paddles occasionally gleamed with the magic infused in them. Though, it lacked the sheer presence of a draconic enchantment.

The paddles and boat, meant to be manned by two men on each side, was easily handled by the strong undead. An undead who for the first time in the brightness of the sun opted not to cover his bones as he had in the earlier parts of the trip. The sunlight in the Fae Realm was a bit different, and he had only been the in the snowy north since Rainer transformed him with his Arcane Magic.

But now, he fully confirmed the sun no longer felt unpleasant to his undead form. A welcome reminder that one day the Sorcerer would give him his body back even if this current result was unrelated to regaining his elven form.

A bit behind the skeleton, Sarah complained, "Lilia...trade spots with me…"

Rainer himself leaned against the back edge of the boat in a half-awake state. All the while he released a subtle amount of Arcane-Ice as a mist in the scorching and humid weather. Luna and Kara sat to his left and right while Lilia sat on his knees, reading a book, while Tiamat occupied Rainer's hair.

Sarah, sitting on the ground, enviously watched the mist that didn't quite reach her. She didn't even care how embarrassing it would be actually to sit in Lilia's place.

It was that hot.

"I can't," The girl answered before returning to her book.

"Why…" she moaned melodramatically in response.

"It is an apprentice's duty to study their master's magic. How can I properly understand the icy air and cooling mist if I am too far from it?"

Sarah swore she saw a small smirk flash across the otherwise expressionless face of Lilia when she said the words icy and cooling. The [Manaborne] gave up with a huff and lay on the ground. At least she fit under the canopy Luna had made.

Her brother's half-laugh half-yawn at Lilia's words, somehow made the temperature seem hotter.

"Come and enjoy the sun," Gunthar said amidst his humming, far too joyously for her.

A groan of discontent echoed out her obvious response to that.

While the rest of the party slept, Sarah sat out over the front of the smaller boat, looking at the stars and the two moons, both nearly full. The sight truly told her she wasn't on Earth anymore.

Letting out a long sigh, a voice from behind surprised her.

"It does not do for one so young to sigh so deeply," A certain undead spoke.

"Weren't you only 52? Is that even old for an elf?" Sarah asked, hiding the fact that she hadn't even noticed the meditating undead when she had gotten up. Perhaps it was how still he sat?

"No, Rainer would be older than me by that standard. At least, he would have been. That absurd class of his would give him quite a long life even if he were an ordinary man. But that does not change your sigh."

"I can sigh if I want to. Sleeping on such a small boat," She complained. Luna easily created coverings that removed most of the awkwardness of that, and easy access to conjured water and a cleansing flame removed most of the other problems. But being in close proximity for so long with a group of lovers who clearly wished to do more than just be around each other at all hours of the day and night was a bit annoying to Sarah who noticed these things, unlike Gunthar or Lilia.

"If you say so," Gunthar responded, sitting back down in the boat but not returning to his meditation.

A comfortable silence went on for a few moments before Sarah started speaking.

"You know Earth only has 1 moon?" Sarah spoke.

"Vaner…ah my home," he corrected, "had 3," Gunthar offered, "These two make me truly realize how far from home I am," Gunthar mused.

"And out of the frying pan and into the fire," Sarah added, referring to the both of them.

Gunthar was confused for a moment at the words but got the general gist of it from context. A frying pan must have been some instrument one places over a fire.

"It will not be this way forever. You've seen the progress of the Sorcerer, and yourself for that matter. You will be strong enough to live your life as you choose sooner or later,"

"And if I don't want to be strong…" Sarah mused, not taking her words too seriously. Her reaction to Yazir had weighed on her. His fake smile and words gave her an almost instinctive reaction to view him as just yet another mage after her for her genes and his power offered an enticing route to make herself stronger. Something that always weighed on her mind every time she saw her grandfather cough or sleep just a bit too long.

Gunthar stood and placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"There is more than just your brother willing to be strong for you,"

Sarah only nodded in response before heading back to sleep. Not needing to get stronger… It was a comforting thought. But to her, strength was the safety of herself and everyone she cared for. Even if others were willing to be strong for her, she wouldn't let go of her own pursuit.

Though, perhaps learning magic for once in only her own benefit, rather than the safety of her family, could be nice. She had such thoughts as she headed back to sleep.

Gunthar, sitting in meditation as the rest of the boat slept, only realized a moment later after Sarah patted his hand and he went back to meditation, that she had not reacted at all to his skeletal form.

He let out a quiet laugh. If he only went by the reaction of the Nvos brother and sister, he should be able to openly walk down the street as a skeleton.

And the night became quiet once more.

A week and a half went unnoticed, apart from the growing irritation of such close quarters travel, except by at least one member of the party.

Rainer himself did not find his mind all that tired from the daily flight. Partly in thanks to Gunthar taking turns rowing with the enchanted paddles and moving the boat quickly, albeit far slower than flying.

Every night Rainer's party, except Gunthar, would train different things in an Auto-piloted [Sleep Learning], while Rainer tried still to create an enchanted version of Void-walking, finding himself coming up short.

He opted to just Auto-pilot [Sleep Learning] to let his mind rest from the constant aware uses over a longer period, only entering to set the rest of his party and check for Talvara. He focused on just performing Body Enchantments on the Demon's corpse, raising [Demon Body Enchanting] from level 6 to 8 and [Internal Runic Formation] to level 6.

Finally, after two weeks at sea, they saw signs of a huge island on the horizon. With the far faster travel done with Rainer's flight spell, compared to ordinary sailing, it was a quicker journey.

First to jump out of the boat onto the beach, Sarah plopped down in the sand. Towards the end of the journey, she found herself starting to suffer from sea sickness, among the severe lack of room on the boat. Even worse in her mind, she seemed to be the only one truly bothered by the lack of space.

They opted to search for any signs of civilization in the morning, and went to sleep, much to Sarah's consternation, on the boat once more.

Entering the White Void and setting his party members on their auto-piloted [Sleep Learning] once more, Rainer heard a voice call out behind him.

"Missed me?" The Void-being asked at his surprised face.

"Nope."

"Not even a little?" She asked in faux hurt, moving her void-dark hair over her shoulder.

"I'll admit to a little."

"How magnanimous of you, I forever am in your debt."

"I am quite the generous person."

Talvara glanced briefly at the [Archon]. Beyond her scheme to understand his title, she wondered when she last spoke so much to someone. Even more so, she recently heard a conversation between him and his party as she waited for him to sleep, something she couldn't do for long periods of time. About why a Fae Prince, Laneth, became such a close friend.

She learned very quickly that the [Archon] was a man who honored debts to an absurd level. A bad thing for any who make themselves his enemy, but a great thing for the alternative.

And talking to her followers beyond commands would never do. They would lose the reverence they had for her sooner or later. And while punishing one or two was within her power, being a true ruler to the Abyssal Elves was beyond her so long as the Divine pursued her.

And so, she found a part of her enjoying this liaison. And knowing the mage in front of her likely shared an enemy only enriched the situation. After all, those who directly opposed the Divine were few. Those that did so with success fewer still.

Killing followers didn't really count, as the Void Lords did. So long as they steered clear from Chosen, there was little risk, current situation notwithstanding. And the numerous and minor Divine of the Abyss that they often targeted were not the ones Vara feared. Even though now, many of those followers had the protection of the Elementals.

In the end, she needed a way to hide from the Divine. To finally be allowed into the world beyond the Void after countless millennia. But she knew gaining the knowledge of his title would not be easy. He may even cut off relations with her if she isn't careful around such knowledge.

She needed some way to bring up her opposition to the Divine and get him to at least share his own displeasure. From there, it wouldn't be strange to gradually draw the conversation towards his title sooner or later.

"I've come with a way to connect you to Aurora," Talvara spoke, "Those captors of hers are getting disturbingly more able in their attempts to understand her power."

"How did Aurora get captured in the first place? Or rather what was she even doing in the Southern Empire?" The latter wasn't really important, but a part of Rainer was still leery of being led into a trap. There was no easier way to get her to slip up than by having her talk.

"I can gain power from the power of Divinity being sacrificed to me, from their strongest of chosen warriors," Talvara opted not to mention even ordinary followers worked so long as they were ardent in their belief and had the tiniest slivers of Divinity within them as well. Though, it was so small as be to be inconsequential, gathered in enough number, she could use it.

"And in turn you grant them Void Will?" Rainer responded and after which she nodded, "I'm guessing her actions in sacrificing someone from the Southern empire didn't go as planned?" Rainer admitted to himself to being a little bothered at how she gained her power, but he couldn't see the so called strongest of chosen warriors being free from blood by nature of their profession as combatants.

"Yes. She aimed too high, along with her father who was with her, and ended up captured while he escaped. As of now priests of their Divinity seek to understand her Will abilities, having users of it amongst them."

"So, what now?"

"Next you awake I'll reach out to you and share the connection of Void Will I have to Aurora. It won't last long, but it should be enough for you to find her."

"How exactly am I to sense it?"

"Just grab ahold of it with your [Void Detection]. That should be enough."

"Can you do it now?"

Talvara smirked.

"My how little trust you have. I can, it is a skill of the Void and Soul. As a gesture of goodwill, try simply to sense it from me."

"Where should I take her?"

"Anywhere where she is safely away from capture. And we shall consider our trade done. There is a bit more you need to do to receive Void Will from me, regarding preparations…"

"We can consider the Void I already took as payment," Rainer added.

Talvara looked at him in genuine surprise before hiding it away. She did not expect that.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be visiting when I can. For such aid of saving such a promising follower, I do not mind it. And we have already decided to start anew. There is no need. Besides all, the part of our deal involving [Void-Traveling]", and the secrets of your title, "is not yet complete. Perhaps I can convince you to accept the gift of Void Will, among others," She said moving a bit enticingly, "at a later date. Return here after you clarify the connection worked for you and you've investigated what's at the other end. Then, you can keep up your end of the bargain."

Rainer just raised an eyebrow at her, as if to get on with it.

Talvara closed her eyes, in a needless gesture to signify she was sensing Aurora's location through her Soul and the power of the Void.

Rainer used [Void Detection] and having grabbed hold of it, awoke.

With a use of [Void Seer], still keeping [Void Detection] focused on the connection, Rainer used [Void Seer] towards the source of it. What greeted him was indeed the sight of an Abyssal Elf in strangely carved chains gleaming with Aura and something unfamiliar.

Rainer went to wake everyone up, telling that that Talvara had finally offered a way to reach Aurora.

"What's wrong?" Kara asked, seeing Rainer a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm still not sure it's not a trap. I still have only the connection Talvara gave me; I wasn't able to progress enough to reach her on my own."

"And seeing what lies ahead first?"

"I already did. It's Aurora, I think, locked in a cell." He never did see her face before, "She doesn't even particularly look in that bad of shape," Apart from only having poor and likely uncomfortable clothes to cover herself, she didn't seem all the mistreated. Of course, in their efforts to understand her Will abilities, he had no idea what they could have done mentally to her.

He barely understood Will abilities in the first place nor why they were supposedly incompatible with magic as Talvara said. Said Void-being had mentioned her displeasure over what was being done, so something must have happened that wasn't visible skin deep.

And in the end, Aurora wasn't human in a non-human hating empire.

"Isn't that evidence enough, Rainer? If it was really a trap, why wouldn't they make her imprisonment look more convincing?" Sarah replied. If it was a trap, that seemed like a huge detail to look over.

"You don't have to do this, Rainer," Kara added.

Rainer noticed something strange about her tone when it suddenly hit him.

"If Talvara can contact me, even if it's through the White Void, what if she can contact others through similar methods? Then...the Bounty. Who says her own followers have to fulfill it? She need only tell the Demon Princes Kara's location or even just the Mage Guilds and Kingdoms around the world the existence of a Half-Demon."

Kara nodded. She hadn't wanted to bring this up even though it was on her mind when she learned both about the so-called Bounty and this Void-being talking to him in [Sleep Learning]. But, in the end, it was a large speculation. There was nothing to suggest she could organize such a thing or could even find others to communicate with.

Rainer had already given his theory that it was the Void Will inside him that allowed Talvara to find him in the first place.

"Even just knowing you have a Lady of the Fae with you, Sorcerer, can be used against you quite a bit," Gunthar spoke.

"The barrier around Aurora is weaker than the one that covered the Ruler's Palace in the Fae Realm," Rainer added, looking through [Void Seer] again, "When I go, I'll be back as quickly as I can and I won't be bringing Aurora here. Talvara said to meet her again in the White Void to clarify the connection worked. I think we should first make sure this island isn't deserted, or that if it is deserted, it's not for a reason that's dangerous to us. I can always ask Talvara for more time, she did not seem to be in a rush to help Aurora…"

Despite his willingness to go get Aurora and wipe away any enmity with Talvara and the Void Lords, making sure his party was safe behind him was far more important. Leaving them stranded on an island if his rescue took longer than planned wasn't an option.

They all glanced out over the island they landed on. Its thick plant life was the only thing visible nearby along with the stretches of beach going up and down the coast.

Opting to make sure at least their surroundings were safe before Rainer went back to sleep and contacted Talvara again, their goals of exploration were more immediate. With a plan to stay along the beach, they moved forward, the light of Rainer's armed [Arcane Bolt]s showing their way.