Chapter 39
Sam alighted on the bleak hill, the blazing burn of her all-white eyes slowly fading even as animation returned to her face.
“Sam?” Harald was the first to break the silence. “Are you…?”
She blinked, inhaled deeply, and he realized she’d not been breathing the entire time she’d flown toward them. “It is done.”
Her words rang with finality, were hollow with power.
“He did more than he promised,” said Brianna softly, studying her intently. “You’re like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
“I have…” Sam raised her hand, then dropped it.
“Seen. Much more than I thought it possible to understand. The underpinnings of the dungeon. I have heard the Fallen Angel speak with me through my Cosmos. The connections, between… between scales and Thrones, Angel Seeds and arch angels, the ties that bind, the mistakes…”
Sam fell silent, her eyes still dimming, dimming, dimming.
Harald dry swallowed. This wasn’t the Sam he knew. She seemed other, amplified, simplified into a symbol. “Are you… do you have—sorry. Are we still fighting Eclavistra?”
“We are.” Then Sam smiled, and seemed suddenly to become herself once more.
“And… I understand now how outmatched we were. How hopeless the battle. Like children seeking to batter down a castle wall with sticks. The Celestials, they drink directly from the source, and use Archon Numina to empower their Abilities. Eclavistra would have snuffed us out like candles, despite all our plans.”
“Lovely,” said Vic, tone dry. “So it was a suicide run. But now? Tell me there’s a new development.”
“I have access to Archon Numina.” Sam’s voice was soft with wonder. “Only a little. Exeros—he was the Warden of the Seven Thrones. His understanding of the dungeon’s…. true workings… has allowed me to convert my Angel Seed into an Angel Flower. And through it, I can now drink from the same font.”
Harald’s eyes widened. “You’re… does that mean you’re a Celestial, now?”
Sam considered, and the fact that she didn’t immediately scoff filled him with amazement and fear.
“I stand in the shadow of the Celestials,” she said at last. “I yet have access to my Netherwarden Knight Class, but now I can imbue my powers with Archon Numina. The question is whether it’ll be enough.
Enough to hold back Eclavistra with all of your help. ”
“Shadow of Celestial doesn’t seem like a good match for a demon queen,” said Vic. “How about we call the whole thing off? Eclavistra’s been around for centuries. She can wait another dozen years while we work on our approach.”
“No,” said Sam sadly. “My transformation has been noted by Alabenthos. He might transfer here at any moment, and then all would change. We must act while we still can.”
“Well, shit buckets,” said Vic.
Brianna, however, seemed enthused. “This is far better than I had hoped for. With… Archon Numina? Your defenses will be categorically different. Eclavistra will be taken by surprise, and if we hit her all at once while you protect us—who knows?” She grinned. “We just might ruin her day.”
Sam’s eyes had returned to their normal blue luster.
She seemed herself once more, but preoccupied, her brow furrowed, her gaze passing through them all into some middle distance.
Harald wanted to take her hand, to reassure himself that she was still flesh and blood, to have her focus on him, to smile.
But there was no time.
“Then let’s get ready. Everybody knows the plan. There’s nothing to wait for. I’ll give the count and begin draining Eclavistra directly. Then? Then we do our best.”
“It’s all we can do,” said Kársek quietly. “Before we begin, I would like to say a few words.”
“Karsy, baby, honestly? I hate speeches, especially before something unpleasant. How about you say a few words right after we win?”
“I will keep it short. You all have been boon companions. I had not dreamed of making such friends. It has been an honor to fight by your sides. I regret nothing. I will do my part in this fight, as best as I am able. That is all.”
Harald considered his friend. Always dignified, especially since making DreadRune, there was something final to Kársek’s words that disturbed him. “This battle isn’t doomed. We have a chance. Especially with Sam, now.”
Kársek inhaled deeply and smiled. “I know.” He hesitated. “This is our greatest battle yet. It is wise to speak your mind when facing grave danger. That’s all.”
“In that case, let me speak my mind,” said Vic. “Namely, I’ve been thinking about Tanya’s—”
Nessa smacked him upside the head, and Vic shrank back with a scowl.
“We’re the Throne Hunters,” was all Nessa said, voice firm, gaze steady.
“We’re far greater than we once were. We owe each other everything.
In you all I’ve found a new purpose for my life, and this fight is for something far grander and more important than anything I ever fought for before.
Stay calm, stay steady, and do what you do best. We’re far greater together than even we understand. ”
“Well said, Nessa.” Brianna manifested Wyrmfall and propped its insane length over one shoulder.
Her smile encompassed them all. “Archon Numina will surely tip the balance in our favor. I’ve fought my share of hard battles, and I won’t lie, this one tops them all.
But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think the fight worth the risk, and I tell you this true: for the first time since the Fallen Angel fell, I think there’s a real chance that a demon queen may die on this day.
So, be strong, be ready, and be malicious.
There is no room for weakness here. Eclavistra will resist us not only with force of arms and attacks, but with her words. Ignore what she says.”
“That’s the truth,” muttered Vic, still casting angry glances at Nessa.
“I’ll do what I can to mitigate her lies, but honestly, I’m just a peon compared to her silver-tongued insanity.
She’ll find your weakness and weaponize it.
In fact, we should all just puncture our ear drums right now and find a way to heal them later. ”
“Not a bad suggestion,” mused Brianna.
Vic stared at her, taken aback.
“But impractical in a battle that’ll require coordination and communication,” continued Brianna.
“Phew,” said Vic.
Harald felt the tension mount. The moment was at hand.
“I love you all.” The words surprised him, and his eyes prickled with tears.
Emotion welled up as if from a thousand miles away, raw and sudden, and his breath caught.
The numb coldness of the abyss broke just enough for some of his old feeling to return.
“Seriously. You all are everything to me. I’ll do my best, as well. ”
“Group hug?” asked Vic.
“Group hug,” confirmed Kársek, and stepped in, arms wide.
“The angels wept,” sighed Nessa, moving in as well.
They clasped each other tight, Brianna wrapping her arms around them all like a surrogate mother, and for a moment, a precious second, they were united, hale, whole, and alive.
Then they broke apart.
“Time to fuck up a demon bitch,” said Vic cheerfully, striding off to the side. “Nobody die!”
“Nobody die,” agreed Nessa, moving to the other side of the hill.
Brianna, Kársek, and Sam formed a triangle around Harald, who lowered to his knees on the hardscrabble rock.
He knew they couldn’t affect the battle, but there was no reason to not use his every tool, so Harald summoned the Thunder Lizard into the burning sea before the island, where it reared up massive and jet black.
High above he placed the Twilight General, its wings blurring immediately and filling the air with its droning buzz, and Shadowpaw and the Gauntlet Golem appeared by his sides.
Shadowpaw whined and thrust his muzzle into Harald’s neck, his great blunt snout wet and familiar, before pulling back and pacing to one side.
Before he closed his eyes, he sought Sam’s gaze, and finding it, tried to put all his emotion into that one look.
She smiled, her expression one of weary pain, vulnerability, experience, and compassion. “Let me establish my Covenant of the Brightest Star. Then begin.”
Harald’s eyes widened as he felt a connection open between them. It felt like an invisible ray of sunlight emanating from her essence and shining full upon his soul, warming him, embracing him, and enveloping his thoughts and Cosmos.
Harald inhaled deeply, held his breath for a moment, and then smiled. “Thank you.”
Sam inclined her head, even as the Circlet of Quiet Dominion appeared upon her brow, the Aureate Master on her arm, and the Judgment Slats in her hand.
Her force of will became palpable, her gaze endlessly profound and self-assured, her confidence legendary.
The sight heartened him beyond measure.
Then he closed his eyes, fists on his thighs, and allowed the Well of Starless Dominion to open.
Within the very fabric of his soul, nestled into the weft and warp of his spirit, the conduit to the abyss yawned open wide.
Its pull was subtle at first, undirected. There were no enemies within its range to consume. To drain. No wounds through which to siphon essence. As such, it merely filled the air with an aching hunger, a desire for sustenance that kept its pull minor and thin.
But there was nothing, Harald realized, with which he identified more powerfully.
Crown of the Abyssal Tyrant was something he projected. Abyssal Imperium was a field he established. Form of the Black Throne was an ongoing transformation whose terminus he didn’t yet understand.
But the Well of Starless Dominion was what he was.
The abyss was hungry.
It was waiting to be fed.
Harald turned his attention inward.
Focused on his Cosmos, and just as he had with the Soul Needles, brought the Crown of the Eternal Court to its attention.
The Crown hung in his mind’s eye, dark and rapturous, gleaming with purple shimmers, a terribly powerful Artifact turned into part of the architecture of his Cosmos. Through it came Eclavistra’s power, an erstwhile Throne he could tap at will.
Its function was to act as a conduit.