Aetherios System: Whirlwind

Chapter 64: Splitting Restraint

[Time Remaining: 602 Days, 07 Hours, 11 Minutes]

Alex stiffened. He didn’t even know her name, but his gut already soured at the sound of her voice. The way she said it, like everything was already decided, like he was already hers.

He hated her.

“No,” Alex said flatly.

The woman, her eyes molten gold, her hair like spun sunlight, tilted her head slightly, as though she hadn’t heard him correctly.

“I am Karsali Erenaeth, Knight Captain of Urhara,” she declared. Her words cut like steel against stone. “And I am not making a request. You will all come with us. Refusal is not an option.” Her tone was final and commanding. Like the words themselves carried law.

Alex tsk’d loudly. He glanced around at his people, his squad, even Ghrukk and his warriors. Every single one had a weapon half-drawn, fingers tense and auras roiling just below the surface. All of them with grim faces, and hard eyes. They didn’t need to say it. Alex knew their answer as well as his own.

“We’re not going,” Alex said again, firmer this time.

Malric sighed, like a teacher disappointed with a student. “Alex, be reasonable. You of all people should know where defiance leads. The Empire doesn’t forget, and it doesn’t forgive. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Alex met his gaze squarely. “Then you already know my answer.”

The memory of chains and uniforms tugged at his mind, of orders shouted at him, freedom stripped away one piece at a time. He’d worn the yoke of subservience in this world once, the weight of authority pressing down on every choice he made. He wasn’t going to do it again.

“I won’t bow to another leash,” he said unyieldingly. “Not yours. Not theirs. Not ever again.”

Karsali’s eyes lit up. She stepped forward, and the air shifted instantly with the movement. Her aether flared like a golden tide, crashing outward in waves. The sheer pressure dropped like a hammer over the campsite, stunning half of them where they stood. Devon’s breath hitched, Allie staggered, and even Sarson’s knees buckled.

But Alex stayed on his feet.

He bared his teeth, forcing his own aether out in a sharp, azure burst. His aura roared forward, clashing with hers in a crackling collision. Golden light and azure flame tore into each other, pressure smashing against pressure.

The storm broke in the middle ground between them, but Alex wasn’t fighting for petty dominance, but he was shielding his friends. His aura wrapped around his squad, holding the crushing weight back. Holly straightened, Eric drew in a breath, and Ghrukk looked up, blinking through the painful feeling of their energies.

Karsali’s brows furrowed, her perfect control flickering for the first time. Alex stood there, shoulders square, meeting her golden gaze without blinking.

“You can try,” he growled, his words calm despite the tremor in his arms, “but you’re not taking us.” The moment Alex’s words left his mouth, the air snapped.

Karsali moved like lightning, her blade already half-drawn before her golden aura condensed around her form. Alex reacted on instinct, his body whipping into motion, arm sweeping up as azure aether burst across his skin, a [Shield] forming just in time to catch the first slash.

CLANG!

The impact rattled him, sparks spraying from the clash as her longsword skidded across his conjured barrier. He pushed back, forcing the shield into her blade with pointed force, and lashed out with his other hand. [Aether Burst] detonated point-blank, a compressed cone of a shockwave slamming into her breastplate and denting the metal inward against her torso. He was surprised it even held up to his spell.

Must be really good quality armor.

She stumbled, but only half a step. Her eyes burned with anger, and then she was on him again, a whirl of gold and steel.

Alex ducked under the next swordslash, pivoted to the side of the second, his own aura surging out like snapping jaws to bite into her aether. The ground cracked beneath their feet as they collided, punches against swordblade, aether shield against slash, shockwaves rippling out with every strike.

All around them, the camp exploded into other battles.

Kate darted forward, clashing with Malric in a furious exchange of steel. Bursts of flames streaked the air between them, Malric’s robe-hem burning as Kate’s strikes forced him back. Zach joined her, his weapon—a literal scythe he had bought from the Dungeon Shop—coming in from the flank. Malric’s eyes lit with smug contempt, spells pulsing to life around his hands as he fought them both off.

The rest of the camp was carnage.

Steel rang, spells cracked, blood hit the dirt. Garret was already roaring, his sword cutting into the thigh of one of the Empire Adepts, sending the man sprawling. Peter and Lance fought side by side against another, blades weaving in tandem. Holly surged through the air like a dart of silver wind, jian-blade striking at eyes and throats.

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A gout of fire streaked across the camp as Doran bellowed, his hammer glowing white-hot, smashing into a Urharan shield so hard the metal cracked. Ghrukk’s roar split the chaos as his halberd cleaved through armor and bone alike.

Eric yelled commands, somehow cutting through the bedlam. “FORM LINES! DON’T LET THEM FLANK US!”

Alex barely heard him.

Karsali pressed him harder, each strike heavier than the last. His arms shook with every clash, her strength was monstrous and her precision flawless. He met her slash with a rising block, then snapped his hand up as azure energy spiraled into his palm and exploded forward.

BOOM!

The blast sent her flying a few feet, golden aura flickering as dust and stone showered down from the fractured cliff wall beside her. But she didn’t fall. She lunged back in, her sword a streak of gold.

Alex’s grin broke through the blood and strain on his face. His heart thundered, his aura burning hotter with every strike.

Finally, he thought. A real fight.

Karsali’s blade blurred. Her attacks were not just steel, they shimmered with fire rolling down the edge like molten rivers, while threads of pale gold light coiled up her limbs. Each strike came with a hiss and crackle, the steel splitting the air with its heat.

Alex caught the first, deflected the second, but the third attack swept past his guard, fire grazed his ribs, searing flesh before his aura could seal over it. He hissed through clenched teeth, black streaked azure energy rolling across his body, pulling his martial stance tighter.

She’s mixing martial form attacks with timed spells… he realized, watching the smooth arcs of her blade. Her feet barely touched the ground, each motion flowing into the next like a dancer stepping through firelight. She moved with grace and death in equal measure.

Alex’s bones ached with every pivot, every parry, the earlier tribulation’s damage still echoing in him despite the new Meridian Imprints. But he had no choice. He braced himself and pressed back, fists launching out in brutal fashion.

Her armor glimmered suddenly, runic glyphs across the breastplate flaring alive. A low hum rattled in Alex’s ears as the light surged into her muscles, her speed doubling and her strength spiking in a heartbeat.

Shit.

The next slash nearly split him in half. Alex brought up his arms, aether energy wrapping them like plated gauntlets in an overcharged [Shield] spell, but the force still launched him backward. His body slammed into the dirt with a bone-jarring crack, the ground fracturing beneath him. Dust filled his mouth. Pain lanced through his ribs, brutal and undeniable. For a breath, the world swam gray around the edges.

Then he shoved himself upward. Blood trickled down his jaw, sweat stung his eyes, but he spat red into the dirt and grinned through the pain. He felt his [Bloodwrath] igniting in his muscles.

“Not done yet.”

He surged back at her, aura screaming to life, azure fire wrapping his fists and legs. The Demon Asura’s caustic energy flashed outward, black-violet aether snapping through the air around him. Every step burned, but the rhythm of the fight—the clash of aura against aura, will against will—lit something alive inside him.

Karsali’s golden eyes narrowed. Her blade lifted, wrapped in flame and brilliance. His fists clenched, blue aether-fire spiraling tighter around them with a readied [Aether Burst].

And then they collided again.

Steel met bone, aura met aura. The impact thundered across the camp, shockwaves rolling out in rings, scattering people and blood alike. The clash with Karsali blurred into instinct; parry, dodge, strike, retreat. Her blade cut fire-trails through the air, her aura pressing down like the weight of the sun. He smiled as every block rattling his bones, but his eyes weren’t on her anymore.

From the left side of his vision, he watched as Henry went down hard, a spear driven through his thigh before two soldiers swarmed him, shackles of light snapping shut on his neck and arms. Lance roared, swinging wide to shield Holly, but the Knight’s men cut him low, slamming him to the ground. Holly herself took a hammerblow to her stomach, dropping her to her knees before she was dragged back by her hair, screaming defiance until a staff cracked against her skull.

Alex’s stomach turned to ice. Even if he won—even if he killed this Knight where she stood—the others were falling one by one. And overhead, the ship hung like a bomb about to drop on their heads, its belly already opening up and showing more small craft with silhouettes waiting to descend. And everyone was still injured, still missing hands, feet, and pieces of them in various ways. They couldn't fight at peak strength yet. He had to do something, but what?

Karsali’s next strike came wrapped in molten radiance. Alex barely managed to catch it, twisting it aside, his aether channels shrieking as he battered the fire spell off course with a [Shield]. But his gaze lingered past her, on his people, on their grim faces locked between desperation and despair.

“Run!” His voice cracked across the battlefield. “GO!”

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Allie’s eyes met his, wet and wild. Devon hesitated with arcane rifle in hand, he face torn between reason and loyalty. He saw as Ghrukk faltered, tusked jaws clenched with shame.

Karsali pressed in, her blade descending from overhead. Alex blocked, his legs buckling under the force.

“I said GO!” he roared, shoving Karsali back with an [Aether Burst] that split the ground at their feet.

This time, they listened to him. One by one, bruised and bleeding, the survivors exchanged a final glance—guilt, and fury—then began pulling each other away. Retreating into the dark, away from the tightening noose that was the Urhara soldiers.

Alex drew in a sharp breath. Then he tore the last seal on his power open.

[Vita-Surge Cloak] activated.

Blue-white fire erupted around him, a storm of pure vitality swelling in his body as it empowered him. Pain dulled into a distant scream as strength flooded into his limbs. His aura erupted outward like a wall, slamming into the Urhara soldiers who tried to give chase.

“Not them,” he growled, stepping forward. “You deal with me.”

He held the line alone, fists blazing, striking down every soldier who dared step past him. For a moment, it worked as his squad slipped into the dark, Ghrukk hauling two of his own under his arms, Eric dragging Allie, Garret at his side.

Then Karsali came through the aura wall he had erected.

Her blade carved into his shoulder with a flash of searing light, ripping the [Vita-Surge Cloak] apart in an explosion of sparks. The impact tore him from his feet, slamming him into the earth. His spell fizzled and his lungs convulsed.

Alex lay in the dirt, the stars above spinning in his vision. His consciousness faltered, slipping like water through his fingers. It wasn’t the backlash from his spell this time, his body and channels held surprisingly well with that, even giving him a small burst of energy as his Backlash Devourer imprint activated. But, it was Karsali’s attack that swallowed his consciousness.

The last thing he saw was Eric and Garret hauling Tom-Tom back, the little lizard screeching and thrashing, claws reaching for him, fighting to return to his side.

Then darkness claimed him.