10 – Attacks & Appraisals

The marketplace had been loud before, but now it had descended into pure chaos.

All around, the cacophony battered at Ari’s compoure.

The clattering of overturned wooden carts, shrill screaming, the roar of the explosions, and the crashing of glass.

So irritatingly loud.

Ari suppressed the urge to cover her ears and first attempted to disrupt the spell with her hands in her cloak pockets. That way, her actions would be sufficiently shielded, and no one could tell what she was doing.

However, possessing the already bonded particles that controlled the wave of destruction proved to be particularly difficult. There were simply too many of them holding each other in place, and the mage in charge had masterful control over his essences.

Ari would either need him to get closer, or she would need to use her hand to strengthen her connection to the essence.

Or perhaps, both.

Ari surveyed the crowd a few times and saw no one staring directly at her. They were focused on the fire that surged forward like a living thing, and the man who rode the rolling crest of flame as though it were an ocean wave made of molten gold and orange.

The inferno carried him down the market, his cloak snapping violently in the heated wind, its edges already burning away into drifting cinders. The flames licked around him but never touched him, bending instead to his will.

Stalls detonated as the wave passed. Hanging fabrics caught instantly, fire climbing the market awnings. Crates of fruit burst open and blackened, the sweet smell of charred oranges and apples mixing with the thick smoke. Barrels cracked and spat steam. Iron lanterns melted into glowing drops that pattered against the ground. Chickens scattered wildly, feathers igniting in brief flashes before disappearing into the smoke.

When he’d finally made enough headway and most people had cleared out of the environment, Ari reached out her hand and connected to one of the orbs.

Finally, it recognized her.

It greeted her, and she greeted back, pulling with her core.

The essence put up some resistance, but not because it rejected Ari’s control. It simply did not want to leave its friends behind.

Ari did not take no for an answer.

She yanked away with her hand, tugging the speel loose.

It promptly fell apart.

The flames died with a stunning thunderclap, followed by a shockwave that smacked the mage into a wall. It pulsed through the air, the excess energy hurling tables and sending wares flying.

Ari put her hand down right as a swarm of birds dove from the sky, their wings thrashing together in a chaotic spiral.

Then they began to take form.

A man.

Tall and lean with a type of face that her sister would cut out and tape on their shared bedroom wall.

It was even more symmetrical than Warrior Fenwick’s son, and he had better qualities like long eyelashes and a mole under his eyes, looking almost feminine in his beauty. He had waist-length white hair, green eyes, and a scar on his eyebrow.

When he turned, she noted that there seemed to be ink peeking out of the open neckline of his blouse.

He regarded her, then turned back to the man on the floor.

He snapped his fingers, and a bird flew out from the tip. One became two became four, became eight.

Dozens surrounded the unconscious Phasewalker, and when they disappeared, he went with them.

Ari was watching it happen until the tall man began to walk toward her. “Girl.” His tone was smooth, honeyed. “Did you do that?”

She almost nodded automatically, but then caught herself.

Her heart raced.

Why was he asking? Had he seen her?

She bit her lip. Elric wasn’t here to save her. She had to lie by herself.

She shrugged, still looking at the space left bare by the Phasewalker. Her sister told her the first step to a proper lie was feigning ignorance. “Do what?”

Luckily, before she could say anything else, Archmage Elric appeared again beside her, with labored breathing and a sweaty forehead.

He stared at the rubble that had once been the market, then glowered at Ari.

“What are you still doing here?” he asked. “Why didn’t you run?”

She blinked at him. “You told me to stay put.”

“Yes, but…” He sputtered for a few seconds, then said, “Are you always so literal?”

“Yes.”

“I see. My mistake then,” he sighed.

Meanwhile, the white-haired man was still staring at them. Though he did not wear a mage robe–clad only in a button-up silken shirt and black formal pants–there was an undeniable command in his expression.

“Gio.”

He inclined his chin. “Elric. Who’s your young charge?”

“She’s my cousin, Ari.”

“Cousin?”

“Yes.” Elric gestured. “Do you have any idea what happened? I caught two more Phasewalkers on Almond Street, trying to escape.”

“Yes, well, I was escorting a small gang of them to the courthouse for a hearing, but then I got hungry. Thought we would stop by for some hearty pork bone soup.” He ran his hand through his hair in a lazy, careless motion. “They promised me they wouldn’t try to escape while I got the food, but then their friends ambushed me.” He tutted. “I suppose you can’t trust criminals these days.”

Elric’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry, you were transporting Phasewalkers and decided it was a good idea to stop for lunch?”

“Yes. I thought they might want something yummy as a final meal before receiving their sentence of eternal damnation.” He yawned. “Anyway, I’ve caught the other six. Well, five. One of them was having too much fun with me and died in the process.” He gestured around the market, where people were tentatively returning now that the threat was suppressed. “Elric, are you going to clean this up or not?”

Elric narrowed his eyes.

Then he held out his hand and said, “[Axis of the Unbroken Form]”.

Just like the spell in the field, this one reverberated with significance and spurred an outpouring of essences that spread across the entire market.

Four great lattices formed in the air, glowing and rising to the sky as items began to rise with them.

Shards of glass fused to make mugs. Broken wheels returned to their rightful place. Debris and dust rebuilt the wrecked homes, and every piece, down to a splinter, became part of the whole again, the world coming back together like a puzzle.

Within seconds, the market was the same as it was before the Phasewalker’s invasion.

Ari gaped at Elric. “That was amazing.”

“Thank you.” He gave her a quick smile before he asked Gio, “Where’s the one who caused this?”

“Gone.”

“What do you mean, gone? Is he dead?”

“No, but he was seriously injured by that backlash. It was pretty bad. You would think a Phasewalker would have better control of his spells.” He looked to Ari with that final sentence, and she promptly looked away, surveying everything else in the space but him. “They’re typically good at that.”

“I suppose everyone has an off-day,” Elric responded.

“I suppose.” He was still staring at her, and it was starting to make Ari uncomfortable.

“This is Gio,” Elric said. “He’s the highest-ranked Archmage currently in the system.”

“Oh, you flatterer, you.”

“It’s not flattery. It’s fact.”

Ari frowned.

“Are you sure?” she asked Elric. “He doesn’t look like an Archmage.”

Elric inhaled sharply, and Gio laughed.

“Don’t I?”

“You don’t,” Ari responded honestly. He wasn’t wearing Archmage robes, nor did he have any of the badges. Also, everything about his carefree speech to the way he moved rejected the formality ingrained in Ascendant culture.

Besides, with his floral blouse and his tight pants, he looked more like a courtesan than a warrior.

But then something happened. Suddenly, Ari felt an oppressive weight pushing in around her, so oppressive it robbed her of breath.

Celestial Blessing.

His was so much heavier and more severe than Master Phineas’.

If Phineas’s authority felt like sinking into a moat, Gio’s was like being dragged down into the depths of the ocean.

He really was an Archmage. A really powerful one.

When she dared to meet his eyes for a second, he grinned. “Do I feel like an Archmage now?”

She hurried to bow, and he waved her back up. “Don’t do that. I hate that.”

“Yes, sir.” She straightened. “Were you suppressing your celestial blessing this whole time?”

“Yes, and I’ve only released a quarter of it. I like to practice humility occasionally. Especially around this one.” He jabbed his thumb toward Elric. “But since you’re in such doubt about my legitimacy, I suppose I must gloat a little. Do you want to see my stat screen? Oh, why am I asking? Of course you do.”

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He waved his hand in the air, and black ink stitched together to form words.

 

Subject: Giovanni Li

Title: The Eternal Light

Tier: Archmage

Mage Rank: 4

Level: 1672

Focus: Luxa-Vacu lean

Specialty: Illusions and Illusion Breaking, Curse Removal and Reversal, Reality Manipulation, Pocket Dimensions, [Hidden Abilities]

GRIMOIRE:

The Saint’s Domain [Legendary Tier]

Black Sermon [Legendary Tier]

Prayer of the Severance Spectrum [Archmage Tier]

Edict of the False Doctrine [Archmage Tier]

Revelation of the Shattered Veil [Archmage Tier]

Aperture of the Unseen Testament [Archmage Tier]

 

He waved it away before she could read more, even though his high-level spells kept growing and growing.

“Well?” he asked. “What do you think?”

“You know a lot more spells than Elric does.”

Ari was simply making an observation, but it made Elric choke and Giovanni laugh.

“I wouldn’t say a lot more….” Elric clarified. “You haven’t even seen mine since…”He trailed off.

Ari knew what he was going to say, and she was about to complete his sentence, “Since–”

“Never mind,” he cut her off. “We should go–”

“Not yet.” Giovanna leaned forward with her hands on his knees and tried to meet eyes that skittered away from him. “Show me yours.”

“She can’t,” Elric said. “Her stats haven’t been uploaded yet. We just got her evaluated.”

“Ah.” He straightened. “Shame. I was curious.”

Elric cleared his throat and took Ari’s hand. His hand was sweaty. Unpleasant, but Ari didn’t yank hers back.

“We’ll get going now. I dropped off the other Phasewalkers at the detention center.”

“I appreciate the help.”

“Anytime.” As Elric turned away with Ari, she felt the other man’s knowing gaze on her back.

***

Ari and Elric soon discovered that, unfortunately, they could no longer get ice cream.