“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” said Hu Shui, his voice wistful.

  “There’s nothing sweet about it,” Elijah stated, not bothering to hide his disdain for the comment. It had taken nearly a day to fly Sadie back to the Kalki, then return to the forest. And in that time, he’d settled into a horrible mood.

  Part of it came from Sadie’s absence. As much as he’d expected her accompaniment to cause problems, there was a piece of him who’d looked forward to spending time with her. He loved her, after all, and that love included her flaws as well as everything else.

  But mostly, he found it frustrating because he couldn’t help her. Overcoming her instincts was a journey she needed to undertake alone. He couldn’t do it for her, and even if he could, she wouldn’t thank him for the effort. The value of it wasn’t just in the results, but in the opportunity for personal growth it created.

  Elijah also had issues with seeing her so defeated. It would pass. He was certain of that. Even the smallest of victories would allow her to ascend past this particular problem. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel a degree of pity for her. Which only served to make him angrier at himself.

  Sadie was not the subject of pity. She was not weak, despite her admission otherwise. And he didn’t like the pervasive thought that contradicted that assertion. During his return journey, he’d done his best to stamp it out, and he wanted nothing more than to move past it so he could focus on the upcoming dangers.

  There was a fair bit of resentment there, as well. Not of Sadie, but directed at Benedict. It wasn’t his fault that the nature of his core ran counter to hers. He likely didn’t want to make an enemy of her. No more than she wanted to oppose him, at least. But Elijah well knew the effect one’s core could have on their instincts. Asking the two of them to get along was like expecting Elijah to make friends with a vespiran.

  It just wasn’t going to happen.

  The best anyone could hope for was for them to coexist, preferably on different sides of the planet.

  But what really stuck with Elijah was that she hadn’t even complained about making the trip on his back. That, more than anything, told him just how rattled she was. For a woman who wanted to control everything around her, the idea that her own emotions could overwhelm her good sense was a frightening thing indeed. The resultant shock would not soon fade.

  That was a worry for another day, though. He just needed his companions to stop talking about it.

  He took a deep breath, then said, “Sadie is not here. I expect everyone to move on.”

  Benedict nodded, likely because he could see beneath the surface to the real reason for her absence. Thankfully, Hu Shui was socially adept enough to take the cue and drop the subject.

  Though, even as the bulk of Elijah’s attention settled on the upcoming trials, he couldn’t help but wonder how the recent development might affect the future of his relationship with Sadie. At best, she would grow and overcome her issues. At worst, she would steer into them and become the judgmental monster that the combination of her core, class, and attunement had always threatened to create.

  Even if she fell somewhere in between, there was a good chance that their relationship had just ended. Or at least changed. A frustrating development because there was nothing he could have done differently. Perhaps there was just no saving it. Maybe that was always the case, and he’d just been too stubborn to see it.

  Those depressing thoughts accompanied him as he explained the nature of the asharii to his companions. Benedict was already aware of their abilities to manipulate ethera, but the same could not be said for Hu Shui.

  “No direct spells,” Elijah said. “Otherwise, they’ll just dismantle it. Try to avoid the crystals, too. They’ll drain your ethera.”

  Thankfully, neither Hu Shui nor Benedict were entirely dependent on attack spells. The former seemed to mostly use his abilities for mobility, while Benedict could simply let the oni-demon fight for him. However, the lack of his debuff spells would surely decrease his viability.

  Regardless, they had no choice but to adapt to the asharii, whose abilities to manipulate ethera far exceeded theirs. So, they set out to dismantle the Ethereal Anchors.

  “We can’t afford to take our time, either. They will rebuild them,” Elijah advised. He’d spent a few hours flying around and identifying their locations, so he’d already mapped out their route.

  When he’d described the pattern, Benedict had helpfully pointed out that it was just a variation of another ritual circle. It wasn’t actionable information, but Elijah couldn’t deny that the more they understood, the better off they would be.

  In any case, they couldn’t afford to dally, as evidenced by the notification they received after destroying the first Ethereal Anchor.

  It came after a brutal fight, during which Elijah and the oni-demon carried the group to victory. Hu Shui helped, though he lacked the raw strength necessary to easily destroy the asharii ritualists. Meanwhile, Elijah – in the Shape of Spores – could rip them apart with ease, and without using any of his abilities. The oni-demon was similarly successful, showing that it was at least as strong as a melee-focused elite.

  A terrifying realization, considering just how many demons Benedict had at his command.

  But it did beg a very simple question, which Elijah asked as the demon destroyed the next Ethereal Anchor.

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  “Will you be able to bring it with you?”

  Benedict shook his head. “I don’t know. Probably not.”

  “You’ll be vulnerable,” Elijah stated.

  “I’ll just summon another once I’m inside. I’m sure there won’t be a shortage of sacrifices available,” he answered. “And I won’t be quite as vulnerable as you imagine. I can take care of myself.”

  Elijah had seen no evidence of that, though he did realize that no one reached Benedict’s level – or cultivation – without significant benefits. It was unlikely that he could go toe-to-toe with a melee-focused fighter, but he wouldn’t wilt at the first sign of physical combat, either.

  If anything, Elijah was much more worried about Hu Shui. He was no weakling, but without a foundational elder core to enhance his power, he just wasn’t on the same stage as Elijah or Benedict. Coupled with that was the reality that, of the three of them, he was the lowest level, and not by a narrow margin.

  If he was higher than level two-hundred, Elijah would have been very surprised. Meanwhile, Benedict felt closer to the two-twenties. And Elijah himself was level two-forty-nine, though he knew it would take quite a lot of killing for him to progress to two-fifty. That would give the other two a chance to catch up, at least in terms of levels. Regarding raw experience, the gap would remain just as wide.

  Or wider, depending on how things progressed in the Primal Realm.

  It was just further evidence that Elijah was and would remain on a different level than the others. And it was a reminder that his time on Earth would soon come to an end, if only because it couldn’t support him. Even so close to the Primal Realm, he felt the effects of the thin atmosphere. And he hadn’t even reached the demi-god stage yet. Once he did, things would just get worse.

  A good thing, then, that he already had an invitation to the Empire of Scale. However, his impending departure – assuming he survived the threat of excisement – put his relationships in doubt. He wasn’t so na?ve as to believe he would only be gone for a short time, and as he’d already discovered, time did not always make the heart grow fonder.

  In fact, the opposite was usually true.

  Did he expect Sadie to wait for him? Would he wait for her? It was just another reminder that their relationship was doomed to failure. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, love was not always enough. It needed to be nurtured through time and companionship. Anything less, and it would wilt.

  That grim reality remained in the back of his mind as they circled the Labyrinth of Dead Gods, destroying anchors as they went. Elijah lost count of the number of asharii they killed. Hundreds, at the very least. The easiest way to deal with them was to simply rip them apart, though his Mantle of Authority got quite a workout as well. Not only was it useful in breaking down the ethereal crystals weaponized by the djinn, but the creatures themselves were beings of magic. As such, they were uniquely vulnerable to the nullifying effect of his mantle.

  It wasn’t quite enough to dissolve them, but it definitely caused quite a bit of pain and distress, creating an effective distraction that Elijah likened to dumping a vat of acid onto a person. Sure, they might live through it – especially now that people were superhumanly durable – but they couldn’t continue fighting with the same focus. Such was the case when he subjected the asharii to his Mantle of Authority.

  The only problem with it was that it caused a similar problem for Benedict’s summoned oni-demon. The first time it came into contact with Elijah’s mantle, it reacted with aggression, lashing out at anyone in range. Elijah had taken a hit that solidified his previous assumptions about the thing’s strength. Thankfully, he’d done so in his Shape of Spores, which nullified some of the force. The damage the creature managed to inflict healed only a few moments later, courtesy of his increased regeneration and a quick cast of Wild Resurgence.

  Benedict quickly took direct control of the demon, displaying another of his abilities.

  It also reaffirmed Elijah’s suspicion that Benedict had made strides in his cultivation. There was no way he could have maintained control of the demon while remaining conscious if he hadn’t reached at least the second stage of mind cultivation. Probably the third, unless Elijah’s estimate was way off.

  In truth, it made perfect sense. It would have been impossible to maintain even partial control over his demonic army if he hadn’t reached at least that level of cultivation.

  As the Ethereal Anchors fell, one by one, Hu Shui also showed that he was nothing if not adaptable. By the fourth, he’d become just as effective as the oni-demon at combatting the asharii. In truth, Elijah was impressed by the speed with which he activated his teleportation abilities.

  When he asked about it, detailing his own experiences with the blue dragon, Hu Shui explained, “Moving others is much more difficult than moving oneself. I would have liked to see this blue dragon in action.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Elijah said. “Trust me on that.”

  When Elijah asked for more clarification on teleportation, Hu Shui helpfully detailed the simple hierarchy. Moving inanimate objects was the easiest, followed by moving one’s own body. Then came moving other people. “And finally, there are those who can target pieces within someone’s body,” he stated. “That requires incredible control as well as a level disparity. It’s similar to what it takes to overcome someone’s domain. If the difference is wide enough, you can ignore a person’s bodily autonomy completely.”

  “Have you done it?” Elijah asked as they trekked between Ethereal Anchors.

  “That is not my skillset, Mr. Hart.”

  “But you have seen it done?”

  “I have. Gruesome to behold. Imagine a man suddenly lose his heart,” he answered with a shake of his head. “I do not wish that on my worst enemies.”

  Elijah let the silence stretch between them, and it lasted through most of the day. One by one, the Ethereal Anchors fell. He didn’t need the constant notifications to tell him as much, though he did sigh in relief when the last of the twenty shrines was finally destroyed.

  “A day. Let’s rest for a few hours,” Elijah suggested. “Because once we’re inside, I don’t think we’ll have much of a chance.”

  All three agreed, and they camped near the ruins of the last Ethereal Anchor. Elijah went about his tasks mechanically, taking a shower, eating, and then deploying his tent. However, when he finally climbed inside, he didn’t sleep. Instead, he simply stared at the ceiling, his thoughts making a familiar loop around his relationship with Sadie.

  So it was that he’d gotten no real rest when, nearly seven hours later, they set out for the entrance to the Labyrinth of the Dead Gods. Reaching the structure came only a few hours later, and Elijah found himself staring up at the hundred-plus-foot wall.

  It had grown since the last time Elijah had visited, both in scope as well as power. However, it had changed in one other, far more noticeable way. The gate stood open, revealing a portal to the Primal Realm. It shimmered with blue energy, giving no hints as to what lay on the other side.

  “If you want to turn back, now is your last chance,” he told his companions. “Once inside, you’re in it until the very end.”

  “I will continue,” Hu Shui stated.

  “I knew what I was getting into,” Benedict said. “Nothing has changed.”

  “Then follow me. There’s no telling what’s on the other side, so be ready for anything.”

  With that, Elijah stepped forward. Once he was within a few inches of the shimmering portal, he took a deep, calming breath before stepping through and into the Labyrinth of Dead Gods.

  A second later, he felt a sensation he’d experienced only once before as a piece of his body rolled free. Instead of being ripped in half, this time, it was his head that had been detached.

  An increasingly loud sound of rushing air filled his ears as an otherworldly pressure descended upon him. He maintained consciousness for just long enough to see a massive creature looming over him. The details of its body were lost to his looming death, but he could feel the sheer magnitude of its power as it decapitated both Hu Shui and Benedict in short order.

  The last thing Elijah saw was a descending foot that crushed his head like an overripe melon.

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