Chapter 1208: Emergence

Whispering an apology to Fyren and Luke, I collapsed the Shining Aegis. A suffocating pressure flowed in like water pushing through a collapsing dam, causing my chest to tighten. The shockwaves of hundreds of explosions rippled across my wards.

Fatesworn surged across the cliffs, rapidly capturing the nearby peaks. Church soldiers retreated in a complete rout, suffering massive casualties as they fled directly into hordes of infernal demons.

Korra led our small party beneath the cover of explosions at a low altitude, flying through the valleys instead of over them. It was easy to follow the source of the terrible aura. The presence grew stronger by the second, with more and more earth mana suffusing the surface of Enusia.

We slowed briefly as the ground opened up into one of the titanic chasms, skirting the crumbling rim to peer within. Choking columns of smoke twisted up within, the red glow of molten rock visible between the clouds. Korra flew directly over it, surrounding herself in a bubble-like veil of water vapor.

"We’re following this. It should take us right to it," she called.

We flew on, and the earth continued to heave and crack, collapsing sections of the mountain into the yawning abyss. Every once in a while, we glimpsed soldiers, either crushed beneath collapsing rocks or burned alive by gouts of steam or flame.

The walls widened as we neared the epicenter. More chasms opened in the walls, spreading out like the tendrils of a fractured spiderweb. I sensed the beginnings of an extraordinary presence. It was totally alien, unlike any demon, mortal, or arbiter I’d felt before. It almost reminded me of the strange existence of Haven when it had taken the ice demon’s form and power.

The earth bulged upward between the rifts and chasms, driving into the sky. Through Borealis’s eyes, I could see the phenomena extended for miles in all directions, creating slopes that loomed over the natural mountains. A low, thunderous rumble echoed through the earth, causing the stone and earth to vibrate.

"Xiv, unite us," Korra shouted over the roar.

I summoned my mana, soul casting a seventh-level True Nexus. As golden threads spun through fate, weaving the six of us together, their confidence and excitement bled through, lifting my own spirits before the mental bond fully stabilized.

"What is this?" said Grace’s voice in my mind.

Korra replied before I could. "Xiviyah’s signature spell. It links our thoughts, so we can communicate no matter how chaotic the battlefield gets."

Why did she sound so proud? It wasn’t her spell...

With an amused flick of my tail, I wove several spells into the Nexus. Link Ability to grant Adaptive Resistance and the Oracle, another Shining Aegis to ward off physical attacks, and a seventh-level Celestial Grace. The latter, I would have preferred casting at eighth, but heroic souls were heavy--too heavy. Uplifting five of them at once would push into the mana stores I had within the Aethereal Prism, leaving my own soul completely drained and exhausted.

"Xiviyah, can you share my light?" Verity asked.

I pursed my lips, thinking quickly. I hadn’t included Verity in the Nexus because, well, there was nothing to bind to. She had a soul, but no real physical form. She was practically immune to anything Adaptive Resistance couldn’t touch, and any damage she did sustain simply burned through her mana. Once it was gone, she needed only to lie dormant until it recovered.

And yet, somehow, I drew on her foresight, and she on my abilities without the need of a Nexus. If it were with me as a conduit, perhaps it would be possible...

I cast another Link Ability, drawing on the warm, silver glow in my soul. It responded eagerly, and suddenly, my other companions swerved, faltering mid-flight.

"What is this? It’s like...is this you?" R’lissea’s thoughts echoed. "I can see...everything."

"Did it actually work?" Verity asked, faint with surprise.

"So this is how you were able to fight me before," Korra muttered, sounding a touch reproachful. "Everything laid out seconds before it happens. It’s like cheating."

"And summoning twenty versions of yourself isn’t?" Verity asked.

"That’s different. It’s just Gayron," Korra said.

Gayron frowned at her. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

She stuck her tongue out. "That you need a handicap like that. How else are you supposed to compete with the rest of us?"

He grumbled something, but it was lost as the chasm widened sharply, the rumbling earth breaking open to reveal a bulbous formation of earth. At the center of the destruction, and the source of the strange presence, stood a huge bubble, its walls descending until they were lost in the dust, smoke, and gloom below. The surface pulsed like living flesh, its heartbeat thumping in my ears and making my bones ache. It wasn’t just the one chasm, now. Every canyon and ridge led directly to this place. It almost resembled a crater, only the walls were steep and sheer, with veins of shining crystal illuminating the swirling gloom.

"It’s like a heart," R’lissea murmured.

"A prison," Gayron said.

"And there’s the jailers," Korra said, pointing.

Several white-robed inquisitors stood atop the swollen heart of stone, surrounded by a thick magic circle inscribed within the earth. Their souls burned brightly as they channeled their mana into it, and already, it held enough power that if it were released, it would obliterate a small city.

"Gayron, Grace, let’s take them. We might be able to stop this before it starts. R’lissea and Xiviyah, stay back and support. If things get dangerous, you’re much safer at a distance."

The three charged forward, leaving streaks of light and lingering afterimages behind. R’lissea sighed, drifting close to me with a flutter of her wings.

"There they go," she murmured. "Always eager for a fight. But honestly, I’m not sure how much difference hanging back will make. That seal is over a mile across. Just emerging opened this chasm. What does a mile or two of distance mean to something like that?"

I nodded in agreement. The Lava Dragons had been over a thousand feet long. That kind of scale was almost beyond comprehension, even for us who had fought it personally. No matter how strong your sword or spell, it was naught but a prick to something the size of a literal mountain.

The inquisitors noticed our intrusion too late. Grace’s spear arced through the air, crackling in a blaze of lightning. It impaled one of them in the chest, smashing through his wards and pinning him to the earth. They were frozen for a split-second, staring in shock as blood spurted across his pristine white robes. That hesitation might as well have been an eternity for the eighth-level heroes and apostle.

Grace landed first in a dramatic pose. Her hand closed around her spear, and as she rose, the tip slid from the twitching inquisitor’s chest. Gayron’s fires hit hard and fast, consuming two others. Several Flickers emerged from the infernos, swords piercing their flesh before they could recover.

"Stop this at once," Korra said, practically teleporting to the last one, her hand closing around his throat. He gasped and kicked as she lifted him off the ground, conjuring tendrils of water that ensnared his limbs and forced his sword to clatter to the ground.

The inquisitor choked in her grip, managing to spit at her. "It’s too late. It’s already begun. You’re all dead!"

Korra’s eyes narrowed, and her fist clenched, crushing his windpipe. She dropped him to the ground, ignoring his spasms and breathless screams as he fought for a breath that would never come.

"What’s it look like up there?" she asked telepathically.

"Not good. Something is happening to the formation. Cracks are spreading through it," R’lissea replied.

I nodded, scanning the earthen heart. The earth was certainly shifting, but the cracks weren’t black or even empty. They were filled with glowing crystal. They drew in the copious amounts of earth mana flooding the surface. It drove their growth, and the earth shifted as the cracks spread, enveloping more and more of the seal.

"It’s going to break," I said softly, unwavering in the observation. The mana suddenly shifted, and my eyes widened. "Korra, you need to get out of there!"

They responded instantly, flying as fast as they could. It was too slow. The bubble ruptured, releasing all its power at once and shattering into a storm of shrapnel. My mana dropped as shrapnel the size of buildings sprayed across the Shining Aegis, draining so quickly it left me breathless. Smaller fragments reached us over a mile away, embedding themselves in the cliffs behind with enough force to shatter the surface.

"Korra!" I cried as they vanished into rising clouds of dust and debris.

A harsh, bitter light arose within the storm, emanating out with growing intensity. It hurt my eyes to look at, not brighter than the sun, but so much sharper, like the glint of a blade.

Three figures burst out of the clouds, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Korra and the others were scattered, but my wards had held, and now they hovered slowly, scanning the chasms for any hint of their enemy.

It appeared suddenly. An overwhelming aura split the storm with hurricane-force winds, revealing the broken heart. A single figure stood atop it, made entirely of translucent crystal and standing only twenty feet tall. Its shape was irregular, with no discernible features, yet vaguely humanoid. Crude formations of crystal jutted from its body in a manner that resembled armor, though they were made of the same material as the rest of it. Each facet sparkled with light, reminiscent of a Shard of Omniscience.

R’lissea gasped. "Is that an elemental?"