Though Theo never drove them at a truly reckless pace, Nauda couldn't help but feel his impatience simmering. According to the constant monitoring from Fiyu, their path taking them along the river had helped them get ahead during the early chaos, but now they were moving slowly compared to groups above. He was clearly driven to reach the shore first and felt they were falling behind.

Personally, she enjoyed the more casual hunt for sublime materials along the chasm walls. It was almost nostalgic to walk along the edges, enjoying the flowers clinging to the rocks even while searching for those with cantae, peering into tiny crannies. They didn't find anything as powerful as the sublime materials in the pit of poison gas, but without a sense of constant danger, she enjoyed it more. Yes, she probably should have been more worried about the river, but they usually had firm footholds, so she relaxed a little.

The sublime materials she found weren't anything to ignore, either. Perhaps not the legendary materials that people hoped to find in the Chasm of Lamentations, but still valuable. Certain flowers held very dense cantae and could be used to manufacture dyes or paints. Occasionally she found sapphire-like gemstones in the rocks that would make a valuable addition to many chambers.

When the paths along the side of the river finally extended out to a broader shore, she was almost disappointed. It was rocky at first, but as it expanded to several paces of shoreline under the rocky overhang, Nauda started to understand why Theo had wanted to rush there.

Moisture dripped from the stone overhead, thankfully not harmful. Instead it nurtured a more lively environment than any she'd seen so far in the Chasm, plants growing richly between the sharp cliff face and the river. Any sublime material that managed to survive next to those violent waters clearly had potential, and they'd spent the past years regrowing. Since their group had arrived first, they would be able to find some of the most valuable before they were picked over.

"The only dangers here are the river and the sky," Theo said. "If you see either change significantly, we may need to react. But other than that, you can harvest anything that looks valuable. We're particularly looking for a bush that looks like it's made of spun glass. The bush itself isn't a strong sublime material, but the roots are worth quite a bit."

"What do we do if the river or sky change?" Nauda asked.

"Unfortunately, there are too many different outcomes to cover them all. Just pay attention and listen if I panic. If anything happens to me, use all your safety equipment and hope."

Well, that was better than the presumption he might once have demonstrated. Nauda led the three alongside the river, examining the plants carefully for any that might be worthwhile. She didn't notice any flowers equivalent to those on the chasm cliffs, but there were more than a few that would have sold for a decent amount back in Tatian.

After an hour they found a bush that gave off wispy distortions, and drawing too close produced some sort of reaction. As the light dimmed, Theo urged them all to put on their masks. Nauda felt as though some danger passed them, but since none of them were harmed, they were able to continue smoothly. Once she adjusted to the patterns, the struggle was to remain alert.

They'd found a few of the more valuable plants, and Nauda was just beginning to think that it might become a relaxed exercise in flower-gathering, when she felt the cantae surge above her.

By the time she looked up, three Ruler-tier soulcrafters were already rappelling down the side of cliff. No, not solely rappelling... each had their hands sunk into the cliff itself, sliding through the stone to control their descent. Above them, the atmospheric disturbances were going crazy, as if they'd agitated the mist by passing through. Against that blue backdrop, the gray of the Asplundat Movement armor was quite clear.

"Turn back!" Theo called up, before she'd decided how to respond. "Didn't you see the distortions? You can't just throw yourselves down here!"

The implication of his statement made Nauda check her environment apprehensively... was the river frothing up more than it normally did? But before she could fully analyze everything, one of the Asplundat Rulers turned around, revealing himself to be Homez. "Apologies, but we need to harvest the shore too. Stay there and we can negotiate something."

If they waited until the Asplundat soulcrafters reached the ground, they'd be at a disadvantage. Nauda considered whether or not to strike first, and it seemed that Theo didn't need any time. "Throw a boulder at them," he ordered as he drew cantae from his soulhome.

After only a slight pause, Nauda decided to follow his plan. She tore a large stone from the shore with both hands and then heaved it toward the three climbing Rulers. As she would have expected, one of them released a hand from the cliff, using a stone-covered fist to deflect her projectile. Even thrown with her full strength, it could only briefly halt the group before dropping.

Then Theo's gravitational field caught the stone, sending it plummeting. She saw Theo's hand twist in a familiar movement as the stone hit the water. Whatever he did, the stone hitting the water led to an eruption of the white death.

The column of water forced the Asplundat Rulers to scatter in three different directions and caught one of them in the leg. He cried out in pain and tumbled, barely catching himself by one arm on another rock. Homez pushed off, flipping higher in the chasm, while the female soulcrafter instead leapt straight off the wall.

Toward their position.

While they were in the air, Nauda had a split second to glance back and consider strategy. Fiyu was prepared, as expected. Senka was diving behind another rock and covering her head, which would get her out of the way - she'd been much less annoying than usual lately, Nauda sometimes forgot she was there. Theo had raised his hands facing one another, as if already trying to generate one of his black holes.

She wished that they could communicate, in the last instant they had before the battle began. Had Theo been bluffing earlier, or had their arrival actually brought on some sort of danger? Was he just bloodthirsty or did he have a reason to start his most dangerous attack from the beginning?

With no time for any of those questions, Nauda's only real choice was to defend her friends.

The first threat was the female Ruler who landed on the shoreline beside them. Nauda charged at her staff-first, beginning with a binding technique. Though the Ruler's armor managed to prevent her from getting a spiritual grip, Nauda easily shifted her physical grip and struck the Ruler across the face with the forks of her staff. It didn't break through the Asplundat armor, but it did send her staggering much closer to the river.

From the opposite cliff, the third Ruler prepared to push off toward them. Fiyu unleashed a storm of light bolts, which he mostly ignored because they deflected off his armor. But he should have been paying more attention, because a swath of the bolts shattered stones above him, sending them raining down toward his grip.

He barely managed to push away in time, a desperate movement that Nauda was easily able to intercept. She swept her staff into his injured leg as he landed, then kicked him in the chest, driving him directly into the female Ruler before she could advance. Both stumbled closer to the river, unable to move freely with such a threat at their backs.

It could almost have ended then, but at that moment Homez flipped overhead. While upside-down he released two bolts of gray cantae. Nauda knocked the nearest aside, more concerned about Fiyu... and then realized her mistake.

Fiyu had dodged back, but the cantae bolts had been a distraction from the beginning. Homez landed beside Theo, both fists thrusting toward him. Theo managed to leap away, but the spherical stones struck his cantae and dissipated it before it could form a black hole.

Before Nauda could assist him, the other two Rulers struck her simultaneously. She began a spinning defensive pattern with her staff, keeping them at bay briefly before one of them managed to grab it in one rocky claw. The other Ruler formed a sledgehammer around their hand and struck. Nauda was barely able to raise an arm and intercept the blow.

It shot pain through her arm, and the two soon began to overpower her. She was strong, but not strong enough to overpower two competent Rulers simultaneously. Worse, with her staff gripped...

A torsion bolt hit the arm grabbing her staff, sending stone fragments shattering in both directions. The momentary delay gave Nauda time to pull it free and strike each of them a blow to the chest. Just enough to crack their armor a little and knock them back, earn herself some space.

Unfortunately, over her shoulder she saw that the battle wasn't going well. When Theo had assisted her, it had cost him, because Homez nearly had him pinned against the cliff, striking repeated blows he could barely dodge. Nauda realized that Homez had seen the power of his black hole technique and would never give him enough space to complete it. Worse, she wasn't confident in her ability to overpower him, even before the other two Rulers were considered.

Fiyu appeared from the side, unleashing a narrowly focused wave of bolts that slammed into Homez. It barely seemed to slow him and he spun on her, too quickly. Nauda realized that he must have left himself open hoping to lure her out, but it was too late to say anything.

Homez whirled, both fists smashing together and unleashing a spherical shockwave. Theo only winced, but Fiyu wavered on her feet, starting to drop. The Asplundat Ruler immediately moved in, stone sphere flying at her...

Fiyu stopped pretending to fall and her hand swept up, surrounded by dark cantae.

It sliced through Homez's shoulder armor and even drew a little blood. He stepped back, eyes wide within his helm. Though she only caught a glimpse of his eyes... Nauda almost thought that he was smiling. Fiyu's trap had been very well placed, after all.

Unfortunately, it might not matter. Nauda's hesitation had allowed the other two Rulers to move further from the river, which was surging and splashing onto the shore so dangerously that it threatened all of them. In that environment, the three of them would be at even more of a disadvantage.

Before Nauda could decide how to act, Theo leapt between her and Fiyu and cast another of his gravity spells. All three of them began to fall into the air, though not as quickly as usual. Perhaps he saw the odds and intended to flee? As she rose into the air, Nauda realized that the moaning in the chasm around them had increased, as if an entire chorus screamed in the distance... and then she saw the water surging toward them.

The Asplundat Rulers leapt for them, but Nauda threw her binding against them and Theo cast another of his fields, making their jump fall far short. Two of them appeared simply angry, but Homez saw the onrushing flood and began to move.

A wall of pale water deluged the shore, hitting the side of the chasm violently and sending a cascade over the entire gap. Theo's spell only barely lifted them above it, weakening as they rose higher. He managed to move them all to the ground atop the chasm, but as soon as they landed he dropped to his knees, panting for breath.

Had the flood coursing down the river killed all their opponents? Nauda dared to look back, peering into the chasm... and saw a rope wrapped around a nearby rock. Dangling at the end, Homez desperately pulled himself higher, his stone armor burned away in countless places. There was no sign of the others, but he was crawling his way up.

"Cut the rope." Theo still gasped for breath, but he gestured Fiyu toward the tied point. She generated a cantae blade, but hesitated as she reached the edge, watching Homez stare up at them.

"Wait." Nauda almost reached out to stop Fiyu and forced herself to do no more than speak. "Do we really need to kill him? He's weakened and without his allies."

"And our enemy."

"Not necessarily, unless you always kill their soulcrafters without mercy. Do you want to see what an empire like the Asplundat Movement will do if it drops the nice act?"

"They won't know if he dies."

Nauda stared into Theo's eyes, again seeing the darkness there. He was no longer the man who had planned to rob Myufuru blind, but she had lost sight of the ruthlessness that still lurked within him. If a conflict emerged between them, a true conflict, she wondered exactly what he would do.

After looking between them several times, Fiyu released the cantae around her hand. That seemed to settle the matter, despite Theo's obvious displeasure, so Nauda bent down to help pull Homez up the rope. He intentionally kept his soulhome inert, taking no action that could be viewed as aggressive.

"Thank you," he said as she pulled him the rest of the way up. "I w-"

"There's no time." Theo was staring down toward the source of the river grimly. "It's about to end. Put in your earplugs... and you, just reinforce yourself as much as you can."

Despite her thoughts, Nauda complied immediately, stuffing the silencemoss plugs deep into her ears. The screams of the chasm immediately faded... only to increase even through the thick moss. As the flood of water passed, it was followed by a scream more intense than any that had come before it, the sounds themselves scraping the walls of the chasm.

For a moment, Nauda was overwhelmed by a sound of pure sorrow ringing deep inside her skull. Then it receded and she took a long, shuddering breath.

Beside her, Theo appeared unharmed, while Fiyu frowned with her hands over her ears. Homez had built a thick stone helmet around his head, but as she watched, it crumbled away. A line of blood trickled from one ear, and he slowly reached up to touch it. Though it didn't seem as though the scream had disabled him, when he spoke, his voice was much quieter.

"We had no intention of fighting you, actually." He stared down over the edge, where the river slowly subsided to its normal raging. "Two lives lost, for nothing..."

"It's easy to preach peace when you have military superiority." Theo stepped up to the Asplundat soulcrafter, thankfully no longer looking murderous. "And you brought that on yourselves, dropping straight into the chasm. I would have expected your Movement to have figured out that those distortions always lead to backlash."

"It would have worked, if we hadn't stumbled across you." Homez sighed heavily and allowed his armor to slough away. "You saved my life when you would have been justified leaving me. I cannot truly thank you, but I'll retreat instead of pursuing this further."

"And how many other soulcrafters is the Asplundat Movement going to send on the west side?" Nauda asked. "That was the plan, wasn't it? Send Rulers pretending to gather materials passively until they could seize control of the central river area?"

"Yes. That was never against the rules we set. Now the process will be delayed, but there are still others coming, and I am not the commander of this operation. I would suggest you hurry."

"Excuse me." Fiyu had slipped up nearby and spoke with absurd politeness. "Can you explain what your Movement wants? Please do not pretend you are not at war with the Ruling Cities."

Homez sighed and ran a hand over his eyes, the lines in his face weighing down his expression. "The three of you are visitors to this world, so I think you don't understand what it's like to live outside the cities. They're nothing but the strongest of barbarian clans, leeching off the land around them. In the Asplundat Movement, all are equal. No Houses, no principalities, no forgotten ghettos in between cities. I don't believe that we should conquer the continent, as some do, but I do believe that Fithe would be a better world if the Asplundat Movement spread across all of it."

"That has less to do with us than you think." Theo waved him toward the other side of the chasm. "I guess you'd better hurry. You only have about a day to gather materials."

"Oh, it will be more than that. Haven't you seen the darkness?" Homez gestured behind them toward the plain, where an entirely different battle still raged. "Our highest commanders knew that the House of the Lost was going to call on its allies. They've established a technique that enmeshed itself in the boundary, preventing it from dissolving. It also prevents anyone from getting out."

"You knew the event would be extended... and you planned for it. What else do you have in store?"

"Even if I would tell you all our plans, my part in this has ended." Homez leapt backward with surprising speed for such a tired man, though he didn't try to jump all the way across the chasm. "Perhaps later we can meet under less violent circumstances. Please think about what I said and look around you."

He turned away and began finding a path south. Though Theo continued to watch him skeptically, Nauda instead turned her gaze toward the battlefield. The unnatural darkness still extended over much of the plain, and now that she was looking for it, she saw how the distortions of the barrier had turned completely black. Even the shimmering blue waves on the other sides of the Chasm had become much darker than they had been before.

"Theo?" Fiyu spoke up very quietly. "What exactly does that mean?"

"It's a technique that keeps the Chasm of Lamentations open for longer, like I said might happen." He frowned as he finally looked back, examining the same darkness. "But this one is stronger than what I saw before, much stronger. Apparently it keeps anyone from getting out, and even after it fades, there will probably be several days to escape."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes. We're going to be here for a while."