Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO STUBBING AUGUST 15)

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” said Hu Shui, his voice wistful.

“There’s nothing sweet about it,” Elijah stated, not bothering to hide his disdain for the comment. It had taken nearly a day to fly Sadie back to the Kalki, then return to the forest. And in that time, he’d settled into a horrible mood.

Part of it came from Sadie’s absence. As much as he’d expected her accompaniment to cause problems, there was a piece of him who’d looked forward to spending time with her. He loved her, after all, and that love included her flaws as well as everything else.

But mostly, he found it frustrating because he couldn’t help her. Overcoming her instincts was a journey she needed to undertake alone. He couldn’t do it for her, and even if he could, she wouldn’t thank him for the effort. The value of it wasn’t just in the results, but in the opportunity for personal growth it created.

Elijah also had issues with seeing her so defeated. It would pass. He was certain of that. Even the smallest of victories would allow her to ascend past this particular problem. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel a degree of pity for her. Which only served to make him angrier at himself.

Sadie was not the subject of pity. She was not weak, despite her admission otherwise. And he didn’t like the pervasive thought that contradicted that assertion. During his return journey, he’d done his best to stamp it out, and he wanted nothing more than to move past it so he could focus on the upcoming dangers.

There was a fair bit of resentment there, as well. Not of Sadie, but directed at Benedict. It wasn’t his fault that the nature of his core ran counter to hers. He likely didn’t want to make an enemy of her. No more than she wanted to oppose him, at least. But Elijah well knew the effect one’s core could have on their instincts. Asking the two of them to get along was like expecting Elijah to make friends with a vespiran.

It just wasn’t going to happen.

The best anyone could hope for was for them to coexist, preferably on different sides of the planet.

But what really stuck with Elijah was that she hadn’t even complained about making the trip on his back. That, more than anything, told him just how rattled she was. For a woman who wanted to control everything around her, the idea that her own emotions could overwhelm her good sense was a frightening thing indeed. The resultant shock would not soon fade.

That was a worry for another day, though. He just needed his companions to stop talking about it.

He took a deep breath, then said, “Sadie is not here. I expect everyone to move on.”

Benedict nodded, likely because he could see beneath the surface to the real reason for her absence. Thankfully, Hu Shui was socially adept enough to take the cue and drop the subject.

Though, even as the bulk of Elijah’s attention settled on the upcoming trials, he couldn’t help but wonder how the recent development might affect the future of his relationship with Sadie. At best, she would grow and overcome her issues. At worst, she would steer into them and become the judgmental monster that the combination of her core, class, and attunement had always threatened to create.

Even if she fell somewhere in between, there was a good chance that their relationship had just ended. Or at least changed. A frustrating development because there was nothing he could have done differently. Perhaps there was just no saving it. Maybe that was always the case, and he’d just been too stubborn to see it.

Those depressing thoughts accompanied him as he explained the nature of the asharii to his companions. Benedict was already aware of their abilities to manipulate ethera, but the same could not be said for Hu Shui.

“No direct spells,” Elijah said. “Otherwise, they’ll just dismantle it. Try to avoid the crystals, too. They’ll drain your ethera.”

Thankfully, neither Hu Shui nor Benedict were entirely dependent on attack spells. The former seemed to mostly use his abilities for mobility, while Benedict could simply let the oni-demon fight for him. However, the lack of his debuff spells would surely decrease his viability.

Regardless, they had no choice but to adapt to the asharii, whose abilities to manipulate ethera far exceeded theirs. So, they set out to dismantle the Ethereal Anchors.

“We can’t afford to take our time, either. They will rebuild them,” Elijah advised. He’d spent a few hours flying around and identifying their locations, so he’d already mapped out their route.

When he’d described the pattern, Benedict had helpfully pointed out that it was just a variation of another ritual circle. It wasn’t actionable information, but Elijah couldn’t deny that the more they understood, the better off they would be.

In any case, they couldn’t afford to dally, as evidenced by the notification they received after destroying the first Ethereal Anchor.