Elder Cultivator

After four days had passed, the group was getting ready to pack up- not that there was much to the process. Camping out in the Labyrinth was fairly simple, except for the potential packs of roaming monsters. It was a reasonable temperature, there wasn’t really weather to speak of, and they had food. Though it was possible they didn’t all need it anymore. Either way, they had enough comfort for one or two people to rest while the others stayed alert.

Then Catarina appeared. “Here,” she said, handing Timothy a sword. “For you.”

Timothy took it automatically, but when Catarina turned to Vari she just stared. There was a long pause, then Vari took the pair of gloves. “Oh, thank you.”

Alva stared at Catarina for longer, not taking the proffered bracers. Eventually, Catarina tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”

“Were you in some sort of time distortion?” Alva asked.

“I don’t think so,” Catarina said, frowning. “Was I? How long has it been…” she shook her head, “No, I’m pretty sure everything is normal.”

“It’s been four and a half days,” Alva said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Catarina nodded.

“And you didn’t answer a single message.”

“... I forgot about those,” Catarina admitted.

Timothy just sighed, “I hope you learned something near about formations.”

“I sure did!” Catarina nodded enthusiastically. “Fascinating and horrifying,” her eyes swept the area around them. She shoved the bracers into Alva’s arms and tossed boots to Hoyt. “We should be going now.”

“I don’t know why I expected anything else, honestly,” Hoyt admitted.

“... Is there a problem with the boots?” Catarina said. “Oh, I also got us a thing that will be quite useful later, but we need to make our way out of the Labyrinth to meet with the ship, right?”

“I’m sure the boots are great,” Hoyt said. “I trust that you spent our resources appropriately.”

Timothy flicked the sword around a few times, “This feels strangely familiar. Why?”

“That’s the chest I got,” Catarina explained. “It’s currently in storage. I can’t really demonstrate here. I’d need somewhere to set up a grand formation to draw in enough energy.”

“Alright,” Timothy shrugged. He trusted his wife, and her judgment- especially on matters such as that. “So this is…”

“From that nice gentleman we met outside the Great Hall.”

“Ah, yes,” Timothy nodded. “I see.” It was a good sword. At least a step above what his had been. If it were Chikere, it would fall outside of the top handful, but she focused more on that aspect of her equipment than anyone else. Timothy felt his shield at least matched the sword in quality.

-----

As they were now close to the outer parts of the Labyrinth, the challenges were minimal. The days of rest had been valuable as well, allowing people to recover more wounds than they incurred from roaming monsters. They’d avoided being too deeply entangled in the challenge and come out with reasonable rewards- and perhaps some significant value where Catarina’s information was concerned. That was something that only time could tell, however.

When they arrived outside the Labyrinth, it wasn’t too hard to find the group of cultivators waiting for the ship to descend and take them off-world. There was another day for people to arrive, but there were already over a dozen. No doubt some people would arrive late, and some not at all. There would always be other opportunities to leave, but spending prolonged periods of time in the Tomb was a risk.

Vari seemed hesitant to directly voice any complaints, but she still chose to speak. “Are we certain this is the right ship to leave on? This doesn’t take us closer to the Harmonious Citadel.”

“We’re not going back there,” Alva pointed out.

“But-”

Alva looked directly at Vari. “We’re not going back there. If you want to, you can look for other ships. You know where some are already. Or you leave with us.”

“... I don’t understand,” Vari hung her head.

“I’m sure you will if you stay with us,” Alva said with slightly more confidence than she really had. Vari might be too far gone to switch her ingrained line of thinking. That seemed to be the intent of the Harmonious Citadel, at least.

The ship arrived to carry them off to the Bloodsoaked Nebula. Prices were paid, and they boarded. But they would be back. Catarina thought of the formation plate in her bag, and how it connected to parts of the Tomb… or did it? It felt as if there were something else beneath the surface. With some study, she might be better able to see it.

-----

Messages from the upper realms provided Anton with some comfort. His companions were doing well, and gleaning quite a bit of information they didn’t have. Some of that information was about devotion, and though he had no intent to seek it out, some came to him. Including a strangely large amount from directly in the sky.

As far as Anton could tell, devotion took a more or less direct route to its intended recipient. The speed at which it moved varied significantly, from near instantaneous travel in some ways to leisurely floating around once actually in the presence of someone. It might go around the planet or through it, with either option just as likely. As for why it would come from above, he could not fathom. It would have to be from some other world. Perhaps his companions might have some sense of devotion directed towards him, but he was learning to recognize the source and some of it was fully unfamiliar.

Lev had been right about settling in one place, though. When it did not move with great speed, it traveled at a more leisurely pace. Anton found that there was a reasonable amount flowing in at all points, enough that his cultivation speed increased at least twofold. Not that he thought it was particularly fast. It was likely still a matter of a year or two to complete the next star, though that was nothing to scoff at. While a hundred and first star might seem like a small increase, there was also a factor of improving the power each star contained as his cultivation grew. Improving his connection to the sun would be beneficial as well. Though Anton didn’t expect there to be any large jumps in his power anytime in the near future… or perhaps ever again.

That depended on how long he lived, and whether or not he could continue the Hundred Stars using the same methods. If he could still manage to achieve prime temperings, the next two would be at one-hundred and twenty-nine and one-hundred sixty respectively. Two more leaps was a reasonable assumption for when he might achieve the equivalent of Augmentation. Even to get that point there was nothing to go off of, and his path would be entirely new. Though if he spent a century or two approaching that point, he might be strong enough to significantly influence the next invasion.

It would be the most comforting disappointment if no invasion happened the next time the tides of the world allowed for it. A century and a half, two centuries… depending on when one measured from, that was the timeline that was being looked at. He wanted to be as ready as possible for such an event, while coordinating with those they sent to the upper realms. Those were his lofty plans. If he didn’t keel over and die, first.

It was rather uncomfortable to know that his lifespan had a limit, but not what it was. But since he couldn’t do anything about it, he resolved to simply get used to it. He would put his plans in place, and if he wasn’t there to see them to fruition someone else would. It was a rather poor plan to begin with that hinged on a single person. Besides, he could grow himself along with the world around him, despite the fact that it would be somewhat slower than single minded dedication to himself.

-----

The Bloodsoaked Nebula was rather uncomfortable to approach. The deep red certainly looked like blood, though verifying anything about it was difficult. When up close, the particles that made up the nebula were extremely diffuse, and it was only when there was a system or two thick of them that they could be seen with the naked eyes. But it was a rather bloody red.

The planet that they found themselves disembarking on wasn’t much better. Gaoliv was cracked and pitted, and not from any natural forces. Even those with average energy senses could feel the remnants of battles long past, lingering energy containing violent intent. Mountainsides were melted into murky glass, the seas had boiled away, and life only survived sparingly on its surface. Where they landed was the single city that could be sustained upon its surface, numbering only a few thousands at best and situated next to a lake that had been painstakingly developed for the city’s use. Very few people actually lived there, and for the most part it served as a port linking between different parts of the Scarlet Midfields.

“This planet is terrible,” Vari gave her direct and honest opinion.

“Agreed,” Alva nodded, “But at least it’s obvious why. Some places hide it.”

“Why do you hate the Harmonious Citadel so much?” Vari asked. She had little insight, but Alva wasn’t even trying to slightly hide her intentions.

“Why do you love it so much? Tell me, have you ever spoken to a single one of your precious saints? Have they done anything for you?” Alva jabbed her finger into Vari’s sternum, “And I mean you, the person. Not the planets they control that feed resources to them. You. Or directly to help anyone you know.”

“Well, I mean… I’m not really important enough to…” Vari trailed off.

Alva waved her off. “Exactly.” Alva looked around, catching the eye of the other three companions. “Now I want to find Fuzz.”

“A tall task,” Catarina said. “Though I suppose we should check this system at least. And there’s plenty of free space to set up. You can start asking around to see if anyone’s seen or heard of a particularly large wolf.”

“I hope he’s safe,” Alva said nervously. Fuzz was strong, but all alone. Human cultivators would likely find value in hunting him, even if there wasn’t a reason other than that. Hopefully he was visible enough and intimidating enough to be found but not approached.

-----

Fuzz wasn’t quite as alone as Alva presumed, though he wasn’t exactly in plentiful company. He has Spikes, after all. Even if she said crazy things.

“We can’t be a pack,” Spikes said. Spending more time together had improved their communication significantly. Now he understood at least more than half of what she intended. “We are not the same.”

It was things like that which told him he wasn’t completely getting it. Crazy words. “Of course we can be a pack.” He was part of the same pack as Alva and Anton and Catarina and all of the other humans that were not their kin. “We’re even both wolves.”

“I am a stone wolf,” Spikes retorted. “You are a… rune-and-fire wolf?” Spikes looked unsure of that designation. “We are not the same.”

“If we were the same, I would be you or you would be me,” Fuzz pointed out. “A pack is made up of those who are not the same but are together.”

Spikes didn’t seem to agree with his arguments, and didn’t continue the conversation. Maybe she was thinking about them… or maybe she refused to think about them. Spikes didn’t much like talking anyway. It was too much of a ‘human thing’, even if they were both wolves. Fuzz agreed that it was a human thing, because he was only approximating the results of speech from his attempts. Maybe he was not communicating well on his end. His brain didn’t work like a human, and Spikes was less used to it. She might not want to talk because it was difficult to try. Reading and writing was well out, of course.

But Spikes did not mind having help on a hunt. Spikes was very hungry, which was good. Hunger was for growing, and Spikes was not strong enough to be safe. Fuzz wasn’t sure if he was strong enough either, but that was what his pack was for. He would find them. Or they would find him. Either was the same.

The nearest towns had no scent of any of his pack. Nor did the larger cities, though he could not get close enough to be certain they were not somewhere in the center. But if he understood correctly, they might still be very far away. So he would continue to roam the land until he covered all of it- and if he could not find them, he would find a way to roam other lands until he did.