Unbound

Chapter Seven Hundred And Sixty Eight – 768

Chapter Seven Hundred And Sixty Eight – 768

"Pyreform, huh?" Evie asked, reading the Skill descriptions that hovered in front of her. "So you're an elemental now?"

"It's complicated," Atar said. "Suffice it to say that I am the same as ever, with an occasional radical change."

Felix looked at the Skills himself. It wasn't just one that Atar manifested, but a set of paired Skills that worked in tandem.

Pyreform Revival (Unique), Level 1!

Harness the fire and heat Mana around you, channeling it into your core space in order to transmute it into flesh and blood. Restores your living Body after the eruption of the Urge of Undying Flames. All bonuses associated with Pyreform Undying are ended, as are any Status Conditions or wounds gained in that form. Due to a custom array inscribed on your bones, the absorption of this Skill has increased by 35%. Absorption increases by a small amount per level. Speed of the process is increased per level. Pain of the process is decreased slightly per level.

Pyreform Undying (Unique), Level 1!

Unleash the Urge of Undying Flames! Erupting from your core space, the Urge burns away flesh and blood to render you a suitable Vessel for its power. A shroud of flame surrounds you, granting you incredible control over fire and heat Mana as well as immunity to those same types, as well as a minor resistance to cold and ice Mana. Control over fire and heat Mana increases slightly per level.

"This didn't combine with your Astrum Revelation, did it?" Felix asked.

"No, I still have that. Why?"

"Just curious. I suppose you could combine them and really get a boost to your control over fire Mana."

"I could." Atar grimaced. "There's a danger there, though."

“Mhm.” Felix remembered Atar's change of behavior whenever he used his Astrum Revelation. "You know, I have a Skill with astrum in the name now, too."

"Really?" Atar said. "What does it do?"

"Ah, kinda hard to describe. It's fire-based, but it’s mostly an enhancement for my shaping Skill."

"Shaping Skill?" Atar said, emphasizing the singular. "What happened to the others?"

Felix grinned.

"You combined them all? Damn Unbound."

“Hey, man.” Felix held out his hands in a helpless gesture. "Archie, Beef, and Vess all evolved Skills out there. Interesting stuff happens when you leave home."

Atar clucked his tongue. "Happens at home, too, whether you like it or not."

Felix sobered immediately. "True enough."

Vess stepped closer, looking at Atar like he was a particularly offensive bug. The mage swallowed nervously. "Can I help you, Vess?"

"I am concerned for you, Atar.”

“I'm fine, I assure you. The Skill rebuilds my body completely. It's incredible. Look!" Atar pointed to a scar along his collarbone. "I got this when I was thirteen, after someone dared me into the crystal mines. The Skill put it back exactly where it had been.

"And I feel good, too," he added, releasing the collar of his robes. "My Health is topped off, and I feel full of energy."

"Seriously?" Archie asked. "No side effects?"

"Oh, my Mana is damn near gone, but it's rallying. I'll need to conserve my spells for now, but give me another day, and I'll be back in top shape."

"I am happy you are doing so well," Vess said, a smile breaking through her concern. "Truly. To see you in such a state, well, it pained all of us. I just do not trust the Urge that is hiding inside of you."

"Trust me, then. I know how you feel. I haven’t had the best of luck with Urges in the past. However, Flame and I have come to an understanding.”

we will dominate our enemies!

“I will fight," Atar agreed, "but we are not here to burn everything to ashes.”

we will dominate all who oppose us!

Atar sighed. "Close enough.”

"Why can I hear him? And why does he sound like that?" Archie wiggled a finger in his ear.

"Like what?" Beef asked. He had a large mug of something foaming as he walked up to the edge of the antechamber. "What are we talking about?"

Archie glanced at him but kept speaking. "Sounds like someone that chews on a pack of cigarettes a day."

"Cigarettes?" Atar asked.

"We're just about ready to begin," she said to him.

Felix nodded and took a breath he hoped was subtle. Judging by the squeeze Vess gave his hand, it hadn't slipped her notice. He met her gaze and smiled.

"Speech time," he said, but stopped short at the sound of swiftly rolling drums coming from his favorite fire mage.

Panic.

"Wait," Atar said, looking around. "Where's Alister?"

Down the long, winding steps beneath them, in the prison Felix had only just become aware of, Alister stood outside Lilian's cell.

"You know, I've been working up the courage to come down here," he said, fiddling with the hilt of his rapier. Lilian had been startled to see him approach, but she hadn't yet said anything. "When I returned, Zara told me everything that had occurred. She didn't tell me you were here, though. Perhaps...she was protecting me."

His cousin simply stared at him, a veil covering her face, and the mage lights above casting her eyes into deep shadow.

"Nothing to say? Really?" Alister pressed closer to the stone lattice work that served as the bars of her cell. "Nothing in your defense, nothing to justify your attack on thousands of people? On Atar?”

“You cannot possibly understand."

Alister very nearly bit off the tip of his tongue, holding himself in check. The rage boiled in him, on the edge of a teakettle’s whistle, but he tempered it. "Understand what?"

She ripped off her veil, revealing scarred features across half her face and neck. He'd been told of her injuries, but it looked far worse in person, and the harsh lighting above made deep shadows crawl across her face.

Alister swallowed.

"When Felix let the tower fall, it cost me everything. My family. My future. My face!" She spat. "None would accept me like this. Children ran from me in the streets while they praised the man who unleashed those Revenants."

"We both lost family, Lilian," Alister shot back. "And then I thought I lost you when you tried to kill us in the square."

"Teine was the only one trying to rebuild what was lost," she said. "Then and now, had we gotten that Nest, the Guild would have been re-established. At the very least, we could have salvaged a piece of what Nevarre destroyed."

"A Domain break brought down the Eyrie," Alister snapped, his rage getting the better of him. "And Teine wouldn't have gotten the Nest because of the redcloaks. How blind are you?"

Alister was almost screaming now, his pulse racing so hard that he felt like he was standing atop a high ledge. He wanted to rip the lattice from the wall.

"Nevarre certainly benefited, didn't he? Claimed a Territory on the back of his deceptions. Teine promised action, and yes, vengeance. I wanted what I was promised!"

Alister clenched his jaw.

"You survived," he said. "I thought I'd lost everyone, Lilian. You never once found me.”

“And do what? Beg for your mercy? Lick the boots of that pretender? When we joined the Protectors Guild, we had dreams, cousin. We were going to claim seats on the council and rule Haarwatch. I gave up my inheritance for that dream, and at the first opportunity, you threw our chances away for a pretty face."

She sneered. "He's not so pretty now, is he?"

Alister's rapier was out of its sheath before the last word left her mouth. Its tip, struck through the latticed cage, a whisper from splitting her scarred neck.

Lilian's eyes widened, but her mouth twisted sourly.

“Do it."

"Lilian, no!" a voice cried out from a nearby cell.

"Quiet, oaf!" she turned her eyes back on Alister, and there was something in them that unsettled him, a light that wasn't being reflected from the magelights, but from somewhere else.

"Be the man you always claimed to be, cousin. End this!"

Silence stretched between them, and Alister heard rustling from the other cells farther in, but Dabney didn't speak again. A terrible ache settled into Alister's chest. It felt like someone had torn out his core space, leaving him hollow.

He lowered his rapier.

"The Autarch will decide your fate. I’m done with you.”

Alister turned to leave.

"What was the point of this then?" Lilian asked, her voice devoid of emotion as she spoke to his back. Alister could only feel exhaustion. Whether it was his or hers, he was uncertain. "To come and gloat that you've won yet again?"

Alister tried to muster even a shred of the rage he'd once felt, but it was as if he were clutching at sundered armor. It fell apart.

“Won?” he asked. "All I've done here is lose the last bit of family I had.”