Echos Chapter 4

Echos Chapter 4

Echos Chapter 4

Duke Waters spun through the emptiness of space and launched a dozen [Water Scythe]s at the squad of generals who were trying to stop him from massacring their troops. It was quite rude of them. Hed so much rather be back with Liz, Matt, and Aster, congratulating them for a job well done and messing with them back in the home base, but the Republic just had to launch a deep strike. Honestly, didnt they know how this sort of thing was done? You had to give the newbies a few softballs, and not pull aside their senior Ascender to answer a stupid invasion. And then another, and another, and another.

It was just rude.

Sure, normally it wouldnt be that much of an issue. It was an easy enough mission of the sort he usually liked, just enough pressure to be fun. But damn it, he was missing all the good parts of watching a new pair of Ascenders being brought into the fold.

He couldnt even slap the kids around a bit to keep their heads from getting too big.

Oh well.

General Grotesques fired off an array of decay needles. They slammed into his side with almost no resistance and began to liquefy his flesh.

Oh no. However might a water mage manage to survive being turned to liquid?

Water flowed from his side, carrying the poison with it and coalescing into a clone of himself, an Edgier And Cooler Abyssal Duke Waters complete with all kinds of murky water and glowing red eyes. It charged at the people responsible for its creation, meting out proper justice while the main Duke Waters called upon his Anchor, letting the ocean inside him refill the tiny amount of water that had splashed away.

What kind of mortal could harm an ocean? They were all hopeless before its overwhelming might. No attack could do more than cause a few ripples.

Not that he was fighting mortals, but hey, it wasnt like he was always an ocean.

The other two generals, Tivus and Regta, outflanked and tried to destroy his clone, but hadnt accounted for the incredible pressure of the abyssal ocean. Tivus sword crumpled like paper as it passed through the black water, while Regtas bullets just vanished into the inky depths.

Then the water exploded and coated them, and they began to feel the unending pressure of the ocean. The surrender notice came, and he relented.

Danger rang out from behind him, and Duke Waters twisted just a moment too slowly.

A searing bolt of pain punched through his chest, sending the ocean within into turmoil, but he leashed the power before it could spiral out of control. Instead, he locked on just who had landed the blow.

Yuvgret. Now leading a bunch of discount Graduates instead of the normal flunkies he liked to boss around. Figured.

Fucking assholes had been hiding in a spatial fold or something and used the rest of the army as bait.

He had suspected something like that might be up when he heard a Tier 35 army had jumped over the established line of battle. He had just assumed he was wrong when they didnt appear after he killed the first of the generals. Waiting until after the surrender came in was impressive dedication. Not against the rules of war, because this attack group clearly wasnt part of the army, but it was just kinda cheap.

Not that Duke Waters was a cheap date. Hed make them pay full price.

Of course, before he killed them, he had a few questions. While normally he might have asked out loud, his lungs were quite inconsiderately not healing, and it wasnt the same to talk using just his Domain if he couldnt accompany it with an appropriately menacing laugh from his own lips.

So he settled for sending it on his AI.That stung. What was it?

Rugrat and Blake, the team's melee fighters, rushed forward with earthen shields raised.

Seriously, the Republic had just lost all sense of proper procedure in this war. The quips were half the fun! But noooo, apparently President Janet wanted to take this seriously and the elites were actually listening to her. Bah, at least Maya had kept her head about all this. Hed gladly take her or On The Last Line, they appreciated the importance of proper mid-fight banter.

Hell, even Light could get chatty if you hit the kids right buttons. Because he knew how it was done!

The InSects were always a laugh with their grandiosity, the Feddies couldnt stop themselves from yelling out hilarious insults, but these punks? They just kept refusing to have a philosophical conversation with him during the middle of a life-or-death battle! No self-important last words, not even a good old For the Republic!

Shameful.

He flushed himself with mana and willpower, trying to reset his body to regain access to his lungs and glorious voice. Unfortunately, whatever stupid attack theyd hit him with wasnt so easily washed away, but he tided himself over by reassuring himself that the attempted Domain damage he could sense had just splashed harmlessly off him.

If that was the best the Republic could do as an anti-Duke Waters opening shot, it was fucking embarrassing.

Involuntarily, he coughed up some blood and noticed there was actually a curse hidden inside whatever he had been inflicted with.

Ok, so maybe it wasnt a totally awful attempt. If the Domain portion had worked, which it couldnt because he was the best at Domains, he would have been in serious trouble.

Rugrat cast some earth based spell that tried to ensnare him, but a [Washing a-Wave] dispelled it, the stone ending up very firmly lost at sea. While normally the dispel would have ended there, he called on his Concept to keep it running, rushing over to the next attack.

A flurry of molten blades was eaten by his spell at the cost of a negligible amount of willpower, but he must have surprised Yuvgrets team, as they werent reinforcing their spells with their Domains beyond the basics.

Interesting. So they had really expected that initial bolt to disable his Domain. How fascinating. How foolish.

He manifested a bubble as a spell focus, overcharged it, and popped it. Torrents of water flooded forth, blasting into the pitiful fire and air-based walls Yuvgret, Kimberly, and Dlassa were sheltering behind. He enhanced them with his Domain, and fire and air gave way to the superior element.

Currents of power, unleashed through his Intent, ripped and tore at his opponents, and while Kimberly and Dlassa only lost an arm and leg respectively, Yuvgrets body was torn outright in half, already being crushed from the overwhelming pressure of the ocean.

Drowning wasnt the only danger in the depths.

Annoyingly, magic flared and she began to be put back together. A quick query to his AI told Duke Waters the name and identity of the healer responsible Ethan the chronomancer? Time-based healers were always a pain in the ass to fight.

He wasnt able to do anything else quite yet, as the melee duo of Rugrat and Blake were already on top of him.

Aiden wasnt a melee fighter, and while he was happy to test his mediocre skills against weaker troops, he wasnt dumb enough to treat these two with such contempt.

A wash of seafoam stopped a massive incoming spell, a whip of water pulled their blades to the side, and two more attacks bounced off a bubble shield he created around himself. [Water Armor] brought a cloying, sticky orange spell to a near halt, but it still brushed his skin and drained itself into his body, giving a really weird sensation.

That only heralded even more spells, and he found himself hard-pressed to keep any level of control over the battlefield, but he began counting down as the tide slowly turned in his favor.

Ten.

He dodged a blade and took a crossbow bolt to the shoulder as payment. It didnt over-penetrate, but it shattered and sent shrapnel into his shoulder that locked it up. It attempted to send off a series of biological failures cascading through his body, but he called on his Anchor to keep him in one piece.

To his surprise, it took some effort to do so, but nothing he wasnt able to handle.

Nine.

He dodged a bolt of dark purple mana that his spiritual sense suggested had some amount of void in it, but took a blade to the leg that suffused his body with a caustic green energy that smelled of pinecones. No, that wasnt right. It was reacting with the Domain-inhibiting curse and somehow increased its strength. That was less than ideal.

Eight.

The torrents of his Aspect dragged six blows just enough off-track for him to avoid them, then he used that opening to shoot a [Riptide Hook] at Kimberly.

It pierced her thigh and dragged her off into the distance.

Seven.

A bubble-shield popped, and his attempted dodge was insufficient to stop the sword to the gut, but instead just provided extra leverage as it tore up his chest.

Man, you guys are heartless, he sent. Or maybe I am. Is there a difference?

Eh, he could do better. Come on guys, stop ignoring me. Youre breaking my heart!

Six.

A bubble was a funny thing. Below the water, it was the only source of air. But above water, it could either be a prison made of the best element, or simply a solitary refuge for the ocean in the form of a droplet. And any droplet preceded a rainstorm.

[Hurricane Arbor] manifested a bubble, and he flooded the rain-seed with mana until it began to glow a vivid, shifting blue. Instantly, a storm-tree sprouted, its trunk ice, its branches clouds.

Its fruit, a storm.

Five.

Rugrat proved himself the smarter of two as he started hacking at the tree, while Blake rushed Aiden down. In response, he shot off a column of water as wide around as his head that tragically missed, or perhaps mist, as it burst into a cloud of white not far behind the onrushing elite.

Four.

Duke Waters harvest had ripened, and artillery-grade rain began to fall. Like petals, or perhaps bubbles, tiny drops of water fell in a meandering pattern beneath the still-growing tree. But instead of landing gently on their targets, they punched holes in hastily-raised defenses and tore into his attackers.

Three.

A bolt snuck through the swirling torrent of raindrops, striking him directly on the open wound in his chest and exploding into a toxic gas. [Cleansing Waters] took care of that, leaving nothing but the scent of freshly-fallen rain.

Two.

Raindrops slowed lethargically as his [Hurricane Arbor] was destroyed, but a wave of his hand collected the water around him into a [Tidal Wave], washing Rugrat and Blake as they came too close, and giving him a moment of respite.

One.

Kimberly re-entered the battle just as her would-be support left it, and Duke Waters released his hold over the compressed water hed deposited in her thigh.

Blood and saltwater spread into a thin mist, and [Salt in the Wound] ensured that pain debilitated Kimberly long enough for him to pull her close to him.

[Calm the Storm].

All water in the woman simply stopped, even her slight twitches freezing instantly.

He smiled a toothy grin, then bodily raised her up, directly into the path of [The Water Cyclone]. Dispersed mist re-coalesced into water and unerringly shot back into his other awaiting palm. That Kimberly happened to be in the way, and was reinforcing her body with her Domain, did nothing to slow it. Still, he made sure that the guts sprayed at him simply washed past him and into the face of Ethan.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

The healer thought he was being sneaky while trying to heal his teammate, but hadnt been prepared for intestines smacking his eye. Even if they didnt do any actual damage, or even truly disorient him- fighting professionals could be annoying- it was at least a moral victory for Duke Waters.

Then, the currents of his Aspect slammed Kimberly into Ethan, and the healer was knocked into an awaiting bubble of water, where he was most vulnerable to Aidens domain and was forced to try and take it on completely solo.

A hasty defense was raised, but Duke Waters simply crushed first the defense, then the Domain, and finally cracked the spirit itself as if it was a child trying to stop a train.

The move took a lot of willpower, but Duke Waters dug deeper and growled as he cast [One With Water] and [Water Swap] to join the still reeling healer in his bubble. He needed to flare his Aspect to break through their spatial lock, but he did so without care for the willpower expenditure.

When he appeared, he didnt attack the healer, but rather Yuvgret, who had made it back to the fight and was trying to stabilize the man.

The bubble was popped, and its pressure redirected into a [Water Blade] that broke through Yuvgrets shields and armor.

She was trying to use her Domain to stop him, but Duke Waters didnt get his title because of his good looks.

You have a job!

Nope!

Ugnud leveled a tumultuous expression at the four of them. I have a quest for you, Legends.

With feel-oof! With feeling! Jack didnt relent.

Ugnud dramatically closed his eyes and sighed before pepping up and actually emoting as he said the line, Brave Legends, I have come to deliver you a quest!

With their cue finally spoken, the four of them popped to their feet.

ARE WE [JOINING THE FIGHT]? Krodag's taunt, specifically named in preparation for this very occasion, just got him a boot in the chest, but it was worth it to get the old man to slip up like that. Now he could say hed taunted a Tier 45, which would get under Ugnuds skin.

Jack immediately pounced, starting to sing-song, Bottle taunted Ugnud! Bottle taunted Ugnud!

Even a squadron of Boneys skeletons dragged themselves off their shelves and began to bob up and down in a mocking dance.

Scrunched up, face lost behind his puffing beard, Ugnud yelled and restarted their beating.

A few minutes later, some real bruises started to form, and Ugnud calmed down. As I was saying. You idiots have a missi-quest.

Jack popped out from a pile of rubble. Is there a mining outpost under attack by sinister forces from beyond the unknown?

From his hole in the ceiling, Boney asked, Do we need to infiltrate a secret cabal of mages who want to summon some kind of eldritch entity that cant exist in a Tier 50 realm?

Lug piped in from where he was dusting off his towel. Is there a planet that descended from a higher realm that landed in the middle of all Great Powers we need to fight over?

Krodag added his own suggestion, seeing the others hadnt managed to fluster their boss. Is there a fair maiden who was captured by an evil lord who needs rescuing?

Ugnud Smiled.

Krodag knew something was wrong upon seeing that. but underestimated how bad it really was.

Ugnud's smile only grew as he spoke. No, no, nothing like that. The Saint felt you four could put your power to better use by training Seasadh with her new skills. She

Boney retreated, pulling his head back into his room. Not interested.

Ugnud flickered, pulling Boney back downstairs just to kick him back upstairs, but the necromancer was unbothered. Not interested. Make Jack do it, shes the one with a Talent for teaching.

Jack shook her head vigorously. Nope, sorry. Teaching is the only thing my Talent doesnt cover. Its about learning, not teaching. I hoard the knowledge. Rawr. My knowledge. No givey.

Ugnud shook his head. You idiots have declined too many missions, this is your last chance before you lose your salaries and I send you on a publicity tour through charted space, with absolutely no hidden grottos, forgotten ruins, or powerful rifts for you to find. The Last Line of The Clans must do its duty.

Lug shook his head as he crossed his massive arms. That's not our name.

Ugnud nodded once like an axe falling. Yes, it is.

Lug shook his head. No, our name is On The Last Line because you told us to write down our name, on the last line right there, or get kicked out of the Legends program.

Ugnuds face started to grow dark again, but he was clearly trying to control it. And you were told that name was rejected. You four, as Mastermind, Lifegiver, Deadlord, and Greathammer are The Last Line. The only optional part of that name is if you want to include of The Unification of Clans to the end of that. Its that or your real names, and I know you dont want that, do you, Brian?

Boney shook a head, sending the skulls loose jaw flying across the room.

Still sounds dumb. Krodag didn't realize he had spoken his thoughts out loud until a boot was flying towards him.

[THE HEALING LIGHT OF HEAVENS RADIANCE ENGULFING THE SKYWARD BOUND]. Shouting with a broken jaw was hard, but Krodag managed, and the healing spell knit himself back together quickly.

Ugnud shook his head. It's either this or a press tour. Your choice, but you are doing one or the other. If you arent at the Inheritors training square in an hour, it better be because youre packing for the trip.

Ugnud wasnt even out the door before the four of them were racing ahead of him.

***

Maya Embers stretched as she woke up. Wiggling her toes, she saw a dozen messages waiting for her in her [AI]s inbox.

One was from Janet, but she ignored that one.

She slept once a year, but her new Tier 50 couldnt wait until she woke up.

Going to her other messages, she growled at the spam messages addressed to Maya, Reality Manipulator Extraordinaire. She was going to make Ellens brains an illusion next time she saw the Legend. How the woman managed to keep sneaking spam through all her filters, she didnt know, but she knew she was responsible. Only Ellen, Gideon, and Max had the technical know-how and drive to actually do it, and the retirees usually didnt mess with the active Ascenders.

Deleting those messages, she looked at the messages in the Ascender group chat.

Aiden had killed Yuvgret and Blake, who had tried to take him out in an ambush.

Well, at least they would have gone out in style.

She conjured a wineglass and toasted to the memories of her former comrades. Theyd had some good fights together, were admirable opponents, and shed make sure to give her consolations to Blakes wife when the news officially broke.

Then she toasted Aiden, for a fight well-fought. Even she would be hard-pressed if a half-dozen elites ambushed her at the conclusion of a battle. Doubly so this deep into a war. Of course, it would take more than that if they wanted to eliminate a Gladiator or one of her ilk, but managing to kill two of Evermores own was never something to scoff at.

Naturally, only time would tell how long Aiden would be out of commission for. If she were to hazard a guess a few months to return to a hospital where he could get treated by an out-of-war-Tiers healer, then somewhere between a few days and a few years for the healing and recovery afterwards.

Sounded like the perfect opportunity to strike back while he couldnt do anything about it. If she was lucky, shed be able to pick off an elite or two of the Empires, get back a bit at Aiden. Of course, it was way harder to actually land a kill on a defender eh, shed manage.

For now she needed to figure out a comeback. Hmmm.

So your smell really is stronger than an Everborn. And here I thought Lila was just joking.

Once she was done sending that message, she again looked at what Janet sent her. After reading it once she read it out loud this time to make sure she wasnt going crazy. I need you to create an illusion of the new Ascenders so a team can practice against them.

Her response was short and sweet. No.

First of all, she was strong, but not that strong. There was no seeker element to it, and she wasnt going to pore over reports that Janet had gotten to try and recreate their styles, and any guesses she had for their hidden tricks would be way off-base.

Besides, she had better things to do.

Putting the Tier 50 on mute, she walked into her shower, where she created a few helpers.

An hour later, she dried off and sauntered to her wardrobe, where she got dressed in a cute little top and bottom combo before she made it her armor.

Her outfit momentarily flickered like an illusion, and then she was all set.

She exited her house to find herself in the middle of a busy army base. Whoops.

That hadnt been there when she started her nap two days ago. She checked her [AI] and sighed in relief when it told her it really had only been two days.

She hadnt overslept in decades.

Checking her orders, she sifted through them before rejecting them en masse.

No, she wasnt going to go work with Yun Me. The Sect woman might be nearly as strong as she was, but she was as boring as one could be. No, thank you.

She was just getting started, and the old fuddy-duddy would just put a damper on it. Once the war was really underway, then sure. But not yet.

That was how things were done, damn it. Not this skipping steps thing Janet wanted to do.

A trooper passed by her, and given his missing arm was likely en route to the healers. But Maya fidgeted with reality for a moment, and her imagination became an illusion and then became reality.

And the man was healed. He jumped as he was startled, but she was already gone before he started thanking the air.

She made a few other minor changes to reality as she walked to the military leaders buildings. Freshly taken fortress planets usually had at least one.

Once she found it, she created a new door for her to enter and slipped through into the meeting room.

The Tier 35 generals were startled and grabbed their weapons, but when they pulled them out, they found they were now bouquets of flowers. Shed put them back later, of course. But for now, the expression on the guy who kept trying to re-manifest his anchor, only for it to keep being a chrysanthemum was too good.

Leaning forward, she sniffed the closest.

It smelled perfect.

Gladiator Maya, what can we help you with?

Maya spun, letting her dress flare up, teasing what was hidden underneath and pulling all eyes to her rear. She ended the enthrallment by sitting on the table they had been using to project things.

I need new orders, She sing-songed.

The oldest looking woman shook her head. We already issued orders, Gladiator Maya.

Shrugging, Maya tapped the table and started shuffling through reports and general information. Yeah, well, I didnt like them. Oh, this one looks fun. A place where the Empires repelled the attackers twice. Oh and its even got a Graduate! I want to go there.

The same woman stood forward and started to speak in the negative, but Maya waved her hand. Wont you please agree? Id really like to go. I would hate to kick up a fuss about it.

That made the general freeze, and finally, she nodded.

As you command, Gladiator Maya.

Jumping down from her perch, Maya blew them all a kiss. Thank you all!

Sauntering through the newly manifested door, she set a new rule.

All paths lead to war.

With a skip and a hop, she set about her way, and woe betide any that crossed her.