Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Chapter 123: Book 2: Loop 15.1 (2)

As powerful as the wave of Firmament heading toward us is, it's not focused. It breaks against my barriers like a tide of water breaking against a dam. The damage it does is still immense enough to shatter all six folds of the Hexfold Barrier, but it can't quite get through the Crystallized Barrier I've set up behind it.

"...Ethan?" There's a note of confusion in Vahrkos's voice, like he's not sure where he is or what he's doing. "Why are you here?"

I glance at Vahrkos. He's confused, but that confusion is quickly being replaced with a sharp focus. "Felt like you needed some help," I say, nodding toward the general.

Vahrkosturns, immediately bristling at the sight. There's nothing physical to it, but I sense the way his Firmament reacts—it ripples within him, almost like it's urging him to fight, to act. Surging toward his limbs, almost trying to fight its way free of his body. There's the smallest hint of physical change before Vahrkos grunts and forces the Firmament back down, his expression tense. "Anhar."

"...You going to be okay for the fight?" I ask, concerned.

"I will be fine." Vahrkos's reply is short, terse. "I've met Anhar before. He'll be a difficult fight."

He says that, but there's a tension there that has nothing to do with Anhar or with the fight. I vaguely recall what he said in the first loop we met—something about not wanting to use his other forms.

I'm not going to question it. Now's not the time, anyway.

"Ahkelios will give you signals," I say. "Keep an eye on him."

It's going to be the first time I'm fighting with Vahrkos, and I'm not going to get many—if any—repeated tries to get this right. There's a chance we'll just get in each other's way. But Vahrkos very clearly has a lot more combat experience than I am, and I'm hoping that'll be enough to make this work.

"If you're here to fight and not just get information, then I'm assuming something went wrong," Vahrkos says.

I grimace. "Integrators," I mutter. Anhar's approach is slow—he's taking his time, unconcerned by me and by the meteorites slamming down into the city. From the intensity of his gaze on Vahrkos, I'm guessing he's barely even registered that I'm here. "It's a long story, but right now we don't have the full advantages of the loop."

"You should make sure Wanders is okay." Vahrkos's reply is nearly immediate. "He's not a fighter. I can handle myself."

In the distance, Anhar laughs, like he heard what Vahrkos said. Now that I look a little closer at him, he's huge for a morphling. Most of them are six feet tall; Anhar stretches up to at least seven.

"This fight's gonna be hard even for the both of us," I say. It's telling that Vahrkos doesn't have an immediate response to this. "...I'll do my best to make sure no one on your team dies."

Vahrkos grunts. It's hard for me to read what he's thinking. Part of me wonders if he'll blame me for the situation, but he doesn't seem inclined to.

Instead, he says two words.

"He's coming."

Anhar bursts forward. A cloud of dust kicks up behind him. The rest of the soldiers have long since either retreated or finally realized that the city's under attack; Anhar's the only one left here to deal with us. Vahrkos dodges to the left, and I Accelerate to the right—

Anhar's suddenly between us. There's a blip in Quicken Mind, and before I can react—in that infinitesimal moment when the skill's flame gutters out—a strong hand grips my neck. Vahrkos is caught just as easily as I am. Ahkelios lets out a shout of alarm, and I see him turning into a streak of blue Firmament at the exact same instant Anhar slams us together.

The impact of an angry, ethereal mantis flying into his face makes Anhar let us go, and both Vahrkos and I collapse to the ground. I'm back on my feet near instantly, calling on the tiniest flicker of Second Wind to—

No. I'm not holding back with Anhar.

Second Wind. Aspect of Regrowth.

This is my first time actually using the newly-acquired Inspiration. I'm not prepared for the painful sensation of roots digging their way through my flesh—and I can feel something similar happening with the core of the skill deep within me. The Inspiration is digging its roots into the skill, altering it.

Fueling it. Making it last, at least for now. Hopefully it won't be permanently damaged after this.

"Ethan," Vahrkos grunts. There's a questioning note in his voice.

"I'm okay," I answer. I don't take my eyes off of Anhar, who is currently busy trying to swat away a very persistent mantis. Ahkelios isn't actually succeeding at doing a lot of damage, but in that same vein, Anhar can't quite seem to hurt him—every time he does, Ahkelios just gets up again. It's not like the guy has any internal organs. He's just fueled by my Firmament.

Speaking of which, we need to end this before I run out of that Firmament.

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"Does he have any weaknesses?" I ask. Vahrkos seems to know him. The morphling hesitates for a moment before he responds.

"...His left arm was badly injured once," Vahrkos says. "He overcompensates when it comes to defending his left. But it is hard to take advantage of—"

Whatever else Vahrkos plans to say, I don't get to hear, because Anhar chooses this moment to decide he's tired of playing Ahkelios's games. Another huge wave of Firmament bursts out of him, this time tuned more for power than range; it's weak enough that by the time it reaches us, Vahrkos and I can just dig our heels into the dirt and weather it.

Ahkelios, on the other hand, is sent flying. I don't have time to look for him—the link between us tells me that he's fine, if a little disoriented. He'll be back in a moment.

Anhar isn't planning on giving us that moment, of course. He seems to have decided that I'm the larger threat, because this time, he's charging toward me. I keep a tight hold on Quicken Mind this time—whatever he did to disrupt it before, I have no intention of allowing it to happen again.

There.

It's barely noticeable, but there's a weak burst of Firmament from him at the exact moment he comes within striking range. It's not designed to hurt. It's designed to disrupt, to break apart Firmament constructs. To break apart internal Firmament constructs, specifically.

Which means this is a skill developed specifically for fighting against Trialgoers. I guess Whisper's been preparing for me for a while.

Phaseslip.

I become ethereal just long enough for Anhar's swipe to pass straight through me. His disruptive Firmament wave strikes me like a physical blow, but that's fine—it's a weak pulse to begin with, and I barely feel it as it bounces off of me. He doesn't expect me to just go immaterial, and the lack of resistance causes him to lose balance.

Something that Vahrkos immediately takes advantage of. The morphling charges in, his Firmament shifting abruptly to form a nexus of power within his fist; he's aiming for Anhar's left side.

He's creating an opening for me. He doesn't signal me except through the slightest of gestures, a quick flick of his antennae. I'm not sure I'm reading him right, but it's good enough for me. I Phaseslip for a second time and step through Vahrkos, crossing over to Anhar's right even as he focuses all his defenses on his left. His eyes widen in reaction, and he tries desperately to course correct.

Vahrkos's blows are efficient. He's not necessarily powerful, but he strikes at weak points and his form is perfect.

Me?

I haven't trained nearly as much, so most of my hits are about raw power.

Crystallized Strength. Amplification Gauntlet. Accelerate. Intrinsic Lightning. Void.

It's probably the biggest number of skills I've ever tried to stack into a single hit; I can feel something within me straining, like a piece of my soul is on the verge of rupturing. Thankfully, it doesn't: the effect of Second Wind keeps everything firmly in place, and the Interface assists in slotting every skill neatly together.

Crystalline Firmament forms within my muscles. The gauntlet that forms on my arm takes that strength and multiplies it tenfold. All that mass is Accelerated, and Intrinsic Lightning gives me that tiniest fraction of extra speed and reaction to strike at the point in Anhar's armor that's weakest in Firmament.

And then the Void Inspiration sucks away all that protective Firmament in a single, powerful gulp.

Boom.

I'm not prepared for the punch to generate an actual shockwave, though, nor for Anhar to be sent flying back, tumbling head over heels and crashing into the wall hard enough to form a crater within the concrete. Ahkelios flies back over to me, his mandibles splayed open with shock.

"What was that?" he asks.

I'm not sure I know myself. I don't think that combination of skills would have been nearly that powerful before, but whatever Gheraa's given me has pushed me close enough to the next phase-shift that I think I'm already beginning to benefit from the quality shift in my Firmament.

"He's not dead," Vahrkos says quietly. I turn my attention back to the battlefield, pushing the questions back to the back of my mind.

"How." I'm almost certain he wasn't protected by Firmament when I hit him. Not after the Void sucked it all away.

"With some help," Vahrkos says.

I tense. The dust is beginning to clear, and I see Anhar standing in the debris, his silhouette marked by a faintly glowing, crumbling object held in the palm of his hand.

"Is that..." I begin.

"It's an imbuement stone," Ahkelios says, a small note of frantic panic in his voice. "Whisper's given him skills—"

I dive out of the way before Ahkelios can finish, and beside me, Vahrkos does the same; a massive burst of Firmament beams out toward me like a streak of solid energy. I recognize the skill as the same one Whisper used to kill me in one of my previous loops.

Vahrkos won't dodge in time. I call on Hexfold Shield, and shape the six shields into a triangular, piercing sort of shape; Hueshift allows me to alter the color of the Firmament into a reflective yellow instead of the usual defensive blue, and the beam splits apart into six, cutting into the ground and walls around us.

"He's used two stones," Vahrkos says. "One to heal. Another one for that."

"Any idea how many he has in total?" I ask.

Vahrkos stays tense. "...A lot."

That's a non-answer if I've ever heard one, but before I can call him out on it, Anhar pulls out a third stone and crushes it in his fist. A golden spear forms, glowing with power.

"Ten!" Vahrkos calls out suddenly. "Seven left!"

I frown. Did he do something to figure that out? I don't have time to ask, because Anhar throws the spear toward us with a tremendous burst of power; it's packed with so much Firmament that I don't even need to see the skill window to know what it does—that spear is going to explode on impact.

Compounded Mind. I need more time to think than Quicken Mind can give me. The small amount of time I have to empower the skill doesn't allow me to boost it as much as I'd like, but any amount helps.

The first thing I notice is the string of Firmament leading from the spear back to Anhar. He's controlling it, even at a distance.

The second thing I notice is a flicker of a vision from both Premonition and Guardian of Fate. He's intending to swerve the spear at the last moment to hit Vahrkos instead of me.

The third thing I notice is that Ahkelios shares my accelerated mind through our Temporal Link.

I grin.

Here's what we're going to do.