Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Chapter 92: Book 2: Gauging Your Enemies

I might only have charged up Compounded Mind for a while, but it's surprisingly effective. Whisper's Firmament buildup is slow, maybe because she isn't expecting me to be able to get away in time or maybe just because it's the nature of the skill she's using. Either way, with Compounded Mind running, I have about thirty seconds of perspective-shifted time to figure out what I want to do.

Do I let her kill me? If I try to escape, she'll almost certainly know I'm the Trialgoer; I won't be able to do that without using several skills. Allowing myself to die here leaves me with the information advantage, in theory.

Faking my death is an option, but the problem there is that I don't know what skill she's using. The only way I could fake my death is if she's going to outright vaporize me with her Firmament. Warpstep right as the skill hits me and I'll be safe.

Think.

This loop has mostly been an exploratory one. I've learned a bit about Whisper's abilities and the culture of Isthanok, and I've gotten a head start on the opponents I have to face if I choose to fight in the Craven Arena. I know how to get my hands on imbuement stones, although

Right. That's actually a good reason to reset this loop. The stone I have now will work, but not nearly as effectively as Mari's stones might, if I can get her to lend them to me. Even if I can't, I can at least run my discoveries about imbuement past Virin and see if he has any insights on improving my process.

It feels a bit like a waste to just let myself die, though. Maybe I should find out how well I can hold up against Whisper, first? If I keep her busy enough, she won't have time to send herself a message. All I need to do is to let Ahkelios rail me through the head once I've gotten a good gauge of her abilities.

He'll probably be fine with that. It's not like he hasn't outright told me he'd do it if it was necessary before.

...Am I really doing this?

I am.

Let's take a risk for once. I need to gauge where I am on the power scale. I don't think Naru is a good example, considering his state of mind and the situation when we fought... and by the looks of things, Whisper isn't in an ideal state of mind, either. But it's better than nothing.

Verdant Armor's brilliant green Firmament sprouts from my skin and settles as a suit of armor around my body. I take advantage of the time Compounded Mind gives me to layer six casts of Hexfold Shield, stacking it on top of itself in front of me. A Crystalline Barrier forms just behind it, strengthened from repeated uses into a rock-solid layer of jagged Firmament.

The effect of Compounded Mind fades, and Whisper's Firmament twists into effect. The strength of her Firmament warps the air around it, somehow darkening the room despite its intense glow. I see her eyes widen slightly in surprise.

She didn't even consider that I might try to fight back. There's a realization there, but I don't have the time to ponder it. Her Firmament slams into my Hexfold Shield and shatters it instantly. It lasers into the Crystalline Barrier behind it, and that lasts for a moment longer; the crystalline nature of it appears to reflect and refract her Firmament, but even then, it's cracking.

Yeah, I'm not letting that hit me. Warpstep.

I reappear next to her, an Amplification Gauntlet already materializing on my arm. Ahkelios seems to have gotten the idea, and I feel him drawing on my Firmament, turning into a brighter and brighter spark of fiery energy. Miktik's retreated into the corner it's clear she's not a fighter by any means but Tarin has managed to gather himself and is looking warily at Whisper for an opportunity to attack.

Whisper does not react in time. But she doesn't have to.

The Amplifcation Gauntlet strikes a barrier of Firmament, the force of the impact ringing out like a gong; the sound is a solid barrier of force powerful enough to send me flying back. For a moment, I consider using an Inspiration, but I'm not trying to win, and I don't want to show all my cards in case she does manage to send a message to herself somehow.

"Trialgoer." Whisper finally speaks. She doesn't sound angry or surprised, so she must have at least suspected it. "Your strength is surprising. How many loops has it been? Fifty?"

She makes a gesture as if to pull up the Interface

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I can't give her the time.

I rocket toward her, this time pouring Crystallized Strength and Triplestep into the blow on top of the Amplification Gauntlet; I see her eyes narrowing slightly as she readies herself to take the blow. This time, the Firmament barrier she uses cracks. I feel the solidity of her Firmament give way for just a second before she steps back, and she must have used a skill of some kind, because that single step carries her to the other side of the room.

"You will be still," she Whispers. I feel the Firmament wrap around me, and immediately grab for it with Firmament Control. It's a struggle to get it into the right alignment, but I try not to reveal the effort it takes.

"Ahkelios," I hiss under my breath. I need him to be a distraction while I work through the geas.

The little mantis doesn't need any more instruction than that he's been readying himself ever since he realized what I was trying to do. He shoots off my shoulder, aiming directly for Whisper's head, and at the same time Tarin takes the opportunity to blast toward her. Black lightning flickers along his feathers as he crosses the room in the space of a breath, reinforced wings extended for a strike.

I hear a loud crack.

Whatever happens either happens too quickly for me to see it or isn't something I can see. I can feel that her Firmament has done something strange, but I can't tell exactly what. The next thing I know, Tarin's been sent flying backward, his right wing very clearly broken and his left one mangled.

Ahkelios isn't having much luck, either. Whisper's retaliation tears at the link he shares with me, threatening to cut off his source of Firmament entirely; his form flickers briefly before he regains control. His mandibles spread wide before he turns into a streak of Firmament again, launching himself at her like a bullet.

She doesn't even bother directly striking back. Her barrier deflects him, causing him to crash painfully into the wall. Tarin, meanwhile, can barely move from his spot on the ground I see him fighting through the pain, trying to stand.

I grit my teeth and work faster. Firmament Control finally clicks her geas into place, channeling its energy into the stone in my pocket.

"Strong," Whisper notes, walking up to me. Her Firmament begins to fade she clearly considers the fight to be over and she regards me curiously. "But weak of mind. Are you afraid to move?"

"No." My words are curt and veiled with anger. I discreetly test the limits of her command, moving first a finger, then a toe, and then shifting on my feet to see just how much I'm allowed to move before the pain begins to kick in. There is some give to her geases some space left for interpretation. I can still breathe, for example.

Fortunately, Whisper takes my hesitant movement as fear of pain. "Your Trial will be over quite quickly if you cannot handle the pain from a single Whisper," she says, her voice light with a kind of airy amusement. There's a false kindness in her voice, a sincerity that rings hollow. "Perhaps you should give up now? Save yourself the trouble."

I punch her in the face.

Or, at the very least, I make the attempt. I feel her Firmament surging within me as I make my move, wrapping around me and constricting me trying to dig into me and tear into my Firmament with the aim of causing as much pain as possible. It turns into a blistering heat that pours through my veins.

At least until it's drawn into the imbuement stone. The makeshift Firmament sink takes that burning Firmament and transforms it into something more tolerable, leaving me with just enough mind to see Whisper's expression of utter surprise as I take a swing at her.

I let a grin curl up on my lips. There's something satisfying about seeing her facade break. Her barrier still protects her, but she flinches visibly, taking a step back as though afraid I might actually get through her barrier.

Ahkelios capitalizes on this moment, whizzing past her face as a streak of bright Firmament and momentarily blinding her. I follow up with Flashstep, nearly matching Ahkelios in speed as another Amplification Gauntlet forms around my fist; and Intrinsic Lightning crackles through my body. I feel the imbuement stone in my pocket heating up and cracking I'm straining it too much. Whisper's geas is still fully in effect, and the stone can't keep up with all the Firmament it needs to shift.

But it doesn't have to. It just needs to last long enough.

The combination of skills I'm running finally breaks through whatever barrier she has set up, and I follow up the failed initial punch with an actual punch to her face. I encounter something solid somewhere in the midst of the mist that makes up a silverwisp's head, and her head snaps backward at the force of my punch. The stone in my pocket shatters.

Then she slowly straightens, staring at me, fury in her eyes.

"...I think you might have hurt her pride more than you hurt her," Ahkelios comments, finding his way back to the top of my head.

"You think?" My reply is half-sarcastic. Her Whisper binds me tightly now. I can't move without debilitating pain ripping through me. I let my hand fall to my side and mask my pain with a look of amusement.

"Still pretty satisfying, though," Ahkelios says, grinning at her intentionally provoking her. I smirk. I can't help but agree.

"You know what to do, Ahkelios," I say. My intent flows between us through Temporal Link, cleaner and smoother than our wordless communication ever has before; I feel his momentary hesitation, and then his agreement.

For the last time this loop, he flares into a bright spark of Firmament. Whisper's eyes widen in realization, and she reaches out to stop him.

She does not reach him in time.