Chapter 617: Eight Suns
The Coming Dawn dominated the sky, releasing waves of blistering heat that scorched my skin. Waves of tingles raced through my soul, a last, desperate warning of imminent death.
The Coming Dawn was an eighth-circle spell unlike anything I had faced. It eclipsed Solar Flare in all aspects, the spell that had brought me to my knees time and time again. I had no ability, spell, or ward to counter it, but escape wasn’t an option. I could retreat into Haven, but there was no way I could carry Fable in with me.
Though wracked with shivers and pain, I took a deep breath and laid a hand on my chest, calming my racing heart. I’d survived the deathtrap of the abandoned city and fought through hell itself to save R’lissea. There was no way I was going give in to despair now.
My heart slowed as I gazed up at the descending suns, and my mind reached a place of perfect clarity. It was too late to stop the spell from activating, so all I could do was try my best to survive it. Memories flickered through my mind, reminding me of the first time I met Gayron. He’d attacked me when I was traveling with the Last Light Company to the Fire Gate, using a fifth-circle spell I couldn’t hope to stop.
But, in the end, we’d survived. This time would be no different. I had to stop this spell, no matter the cost. It wasn’t just Fable, but R’lissea and Elise, too, were counting on me.
For the second time in this accursed city, I called for the power hidden in the depths of my soul. It answered in a burst of starlight, bringing time to a standstill. Stars spread across the sky, weaving between the motionless meteors just a hundred feet overhead. Lord Evlon’s face was etched with annoyance, his hands frozen while twisting his staff.
I glanced at Fable, hesitating as I weighed his soul. If I could allow him to enter this timeless state, perhaps I could heal him, and we could slip away together. But scarcely had the thought entered my mind than I shook my head, dismissing it. My soul nearly shattered when I last tried that over the abandoned city. I had even been in peak condition then, but now, after surviving the false soul binder and the constant pressure of the crystal enchantment, I was barely holding on as is. I simply wouldn’t be able to support two seventh-level souls without breaking.
With that option gone, I gazed again at the motionless suns. We’d survived against Gayron with an array, and though I wasn’t sure stopping an eighth-circle spell was remotely possible, attempting it seemed less suicidal than shattering my soul.
With that in mind, I set about weaving several magic circles. Grand Aegis was the only spell I knew powerful enough to give even a sliver of a chance, yet alone, it wouldn’t be enough. I could get away with defending third-circle spells with an aegis, but the difference between seventh and eighth-circle spells surpassed that of even first and fifth.