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283. Back Into the World
🕑 Added 2025-01-18 15:00:06 +0000 UTCThey stepped out of the realm and back into the world. The realm crumpled behind them, crackling down on itself. It balled itself up like a piece of paper, then yanked in on itself, vanished down to a tiny dot, and blinked out.
All around them, dozens of high-Rank mages stepped forward with bated breaths, scanning the faces of the survivors. When they failed to find their apprentices, face after face darkened. More than one reached for their weapons.
“Rufus!” A powerful woman swept forward, attendants following at her heels. She wore the finest robes Ike had ever seen. Gold draped every piece of her, including a relatively simple gold diadem holding a thin black veil over her eyes. She reached her hands out toward Rufus. “My son. I knew you could do it.”
Rufus looked askance. He cast his eyes down.
“Viola. As expected.” A cold woman with a voluptuous figure and tight purple-and-black robes that deliberately showed it off strode forward, appearing out of the shadows without a hint. She exuded no aura, but the powerful man flinched away from her, afraid to draw too near. She glanced at him and harrumphed, eyes narrowing subtly.
“Scar! You did it! That’s my girl!” a rugged-looking woman who was nowhere near as powerful as the other two cheered from the back. Or at least, her aura didn’t shout power. But neither of the other two dared interrupt her path as she rushed past both of them to snatch Scar up in a big bear hug.
The powerful woman in gold drew to a halt. She frowned. “Who of you won the trial? Surely it can’t be all of you.”
Ike glanced at Wisp. At the same time, both of them shook their heads. Now wasn’t the time to admit they’d won the trial. They didn’t have any powerful backers outside the trial. Admitting they’d won it would just encourage all present to attack. And with the skill in its current, unstable state, they couldn’t rely on it to overpower anyone present.
Of course… they don’t know that, Ike added, looking at the crowd.
He didn’t have the skill anymore. It didn’t exist. He couldn’t call it up. He knew Wisp had taken care of it somehow, but that was all the more information he had. That was enough, even if it wasn’t satisfying.
He remembered being The King. It hadn’t been pleasant. Having his will stifled, overridden… and yet, it wasn’t another person taking over. The skill wasn’t a mind, in control. Instead, The King was another version of himself. Pieces of himself that he hadn’t known existed, amplified until they became everything he was. Every thought he rejected. Every possibility he entertained jokingly for a split second, before rationality took over. ‘He’ and The King… to say they were two different people wasn’t incorrect. But it was also correct to call them one person. He was The King, and The King was him. But he wasn’t The King. The King was only part of him—the part the skill liked.
It was terrifying. He hadn’t known skills that powerful existed. Skills that could overtake a mind and direct a body. He didn’t want to use King’s Reign again. Not until he could go somewhere very far from anyone he knew and loved, and practice in seclusion until he was the one with the reins, and The King was merely a skill he controlled like any other skill.
Of course, if these people refused to let well enough be, he would absolutely take the skill back from Wisp and employ it to save his, hers, and Shawn’s and Mag’s lives, too.
Scar patted the shoulder of the woman hugging her. “Should we catch up somewhere away from the crowd?” she hinted.
“Huh? Oh! Sure,” the woman said, beaming.
Scar nodded at Ike. “Come with me.”
Ike hesitated. “Uh huh.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to get power hungry. I’ll get you the hell out of here.”
He glanced at Wisp. She gritted her teeth, as uncertain as he felt. And that was the thing—they couldn’t trust anyone. Everyone had the potential motivation to want his skill. Exactly three people knew that he couldn’t control it, since their underlings had fled long before the final fight kicked off. All three of them were right here. Even if they wouldn’t fight him outright, there were more options on the table. Drugging him, poisoning him. He couldn’t rule out outright battle, either, since some of these people were high enough Rank to fight with the fully empowered King.
Scar sighed. “Here—does this help?” She reached into her robes and pulled out a pendant. On it, a man struck a dragon through the heart.
Ike squinted. He looked at Wisp again, who shrugged. Turning back to Scar, he shook his head. “No…?”
“Oh, you stupid—look at your ring! The one given to you by… well, I’m not sure what name he used, but he has that imperfect snowy owl beast assistant?”
Ike looked at his ring. The same insignia was repeated there. He stared for a second, and then the pieces slowly came back together. After he’d defeated Llewyn, after he’d headed out to this region to get stronger, he’d been intercepted by that snowy owl half-transformed beast lady. She’d given him this ring, and told him to look out for someone else bearing the same sigil. They would help him, or something like that.
Help him… against Lord Brightbriar.
Ike gaped. “You’re… wait, but why?” Scar was from this region, wasn’t she? Why would she care about Lord Brightbriar?
Scar glanced back over her shoulder at all the other people. The powerful man and the cold woman were conversing with Vi and Rufus, and some pointed glances were shooting Ike’s way. “I can explain later. For now, let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” Ike agreed, then froze. “Er, how?”
“Ruby, if you will?” Scar said, turning to the woman with a dramatic flourish.
The woman stretched upward, then kept stretching, and stretching, and stretching. Gem-tone red scales pushed out from under her skin. Her face pushed forward, transforming into a muzzle, as a thick reptilian tail sprouted behind her and massive red wings grew from her back. She slammed down onto all four claws with a thump heavy enough to toss all the mages present into the air for a split second, then spread her wings. She turned back, and a muzzle almost as big as Ike was tall moved. “I shouldn’t allow this, but you’re friends of Scar. So… hop on!”
Ike didn’t need to be told twice. Eyes shining, he hopped atop the red dragon. Scar hopped on after him, while Wisp clambered up and Mag fluttered down, grumbling about the elegance of birds and unnecessarily large dragons.
A moment after they settled, Ike looked at Scar. “You’re friends with a dragon, but the sigil—”
“Like I said. We’ll explain later. Ruby!”
The dragon spread her wings and blasted off. They hurtled into the sky at speeds higher than anything even Ike had experienced before. He clung to her back with all his might, terrified—but also exhilarated.
The wind whipped past. Down below, some of the mages tried to give chase, but there was no hope. Dragons were the lords of the sky. Two beats of Ruby’s wings, and the mages were naught but ants in their wake.
“Where are we going?” Ike asked.
“Far enough.” Scar snapped her fingers. A bubble formed around the five of them, and she nodded. “But first… let me explain.”
