Darius, despite being stabbed twice, looked almost like he was uninjured. Though his leather armor had been penetrated, the armor still mitigated enough of the blows to prevent them from doing significant damage. Annabelle saw that Darius had another healing orb on him, but he wasn't concerned enough to use it.

Annabelle decided to slap a stolen prisoner levitation shackle onto Xerxes, levitating him and making him significantly easier to carry. Then, she followed Darius the rest of the way back to the group without another incident.

When they returned to the main group, they found that they were still stunned. Annabelle wasn't sure how much time had passed since they were first stunned, but it apparently wasn't an hour yet.

"You managed to overcome the stunning curse. How?" Darius asked.

Annabelle literally could not reply. She was barely able to talk due to her throat injury, and had no energy left to use telepathy instead.

"Is it some secret that you can share to others?"

Annabelle, after a moment's consideration, shook her head. Her method involved crashing the simulation through an extrasensory method that the dream could not comprehend, something that was unlikely to be possible for the rest of them to accomplish.

They had no choice but to wait almost half an hour until the stunning curses wore off and the rest of them could move again. But even though they could move now, they were slow to get up, and quick to spread fear and panic.

"What they did- is that their worst?"

"No. It's just the prelude. A taste of- of what they can truly do?"

The fear quickly began to spread. Varos, one of the few who wasn't in total panic, attempted to claim that what they had just done was some of the worst torture they could do (a lie, by the looks of it), but it didn't calm anything down.

Annabelle stood a small chance of being able to calm things down if she could yell right now, and a much better chance if she had any energy left to use.

She found Lorso in the crowd, and tried to communicate with her.

"What do you want?"

Annabelle pointed to her injured throat, and made some sort of rasping sound to express her current inability to talk.

"Well that must suck for you."

With a bit of effort, Annabelle managed to whisper, "You're a healer."

"Fine, I'll at least make an attempt." She put a hand on Annabelle's throat, and Annabelle felt a bit of warmth flow through her from Lorso's magic.

"That's the best I can do."

Annabelle tried to talk again. She thought she felt a bit of improvement, but it wasn't enough. "Not… good… enough…"

At this point, Silence opened a telepathic channel to her, connecting her to Lorso in the process. This should help.

Now, why exactly is that all you're capable of? Annabelle demanded.

It was already mostly healed. Healed badly, I think.

Annabelle explained what occurred. My throat got slashed by a Shade just before I could kill him. Darius managed to come in with a healing orb, but I think the healing focused on stopping blood loss first.

At the cost of your ability to speak. Well, you can join Silence's club, Lorso remarked.

Annabelle gave Lorso a death glare for that remark, and even Silence seemed annoyed by that.

I'll just contact another healer.

Silence did just that, opening a third telepathic channel to a mage garbed in green robes.

She needs help. Throat injury.

What's the point? We're all dead anyways.

Annabelle was outraged. No, we're not dead yet. And we're not going to be dead. We have an ally within the Shades' ranks.

The mage didn't respond.

I'm fighting them with everything I have. If we go down fighting, we go down fighting, but at least we fought back. Or do you want that to happen again?

If we fight back, they just treat us worse. If we surrender, maybe we'll be-

No. You won't. I've been inside one of their heads. Surrendering just makes it easier for them.

Fine. I'll help.

The mage came over and analyzed the wound, causing it and his hands to glow green for a few seconds.

That isn't a wound, it's a scar. A badly healed one, at that.

Emergency healing. The kind that kept me from dying to the wound in the field.

I can regenerate the area, restoring proper function. It will take some time, however.

Thank you.

The mage began the healing process. While that was happening, Annabelle looked around at the rest of the mess.

It seemed that there was no more hope among the rest of the survivors. And honestly, Annabelle couldn't blame them. The best they had gotten out of this battle was merely surviving with only one person lost to the Shades.

What else can you do, besides healing? Annabelle asked. She didn't exactly have anything else to do right now.

My specialty was nature magic. But there's no nature here.

As in manipulating plants?

And animals. If they existed here, that is.

Annabelle attempted to figure out some way to make her power useful.

Humans are animals, Annabelle said. We have the same biology. Same with every other sapient species.

Humans have souls, and intelligent brains that can resist the primitive manipulations that I could use to take control of animals. This is all I can do.

You're still a skilled healer. Although, Annabelle had to admit, when the enemy's weapons were attacking the mind, there wasn't much for a healer to do.

Nearby, Varos and Diedre were discussing what to do next.

"They will send another assault," Diedre said. "We should scatter, find some hiding spot in the Shaderealm."

If the enemy knew of Annabelle's depletion, the next assault would be coming before she could recover. But hopefully, it was more likely they would wait and prepare a big assault, especially if Omega was able to manipulate them.

"So, I think we should return to our base, rather than trying to make a new one," Varos proposed.

"They'll know we're there, and they'll take us down," Diedre warned.

"They'll be playing seriously after facing a defeat in open combat," Varos replied. "They have the means to track us, but didn't use them before, in hopes of keeping this interesting. Now that we're a legitimate threat to them, they're going to track us down no matter where we are."

"So, we might as well retreat to somewhere that's already fortified, " Darius finished, jumping into the discussion. "And prepare for a fight."

"We're probably dead either way, " Diedre claimed. "But if we're going down either way, I guess we can go down fighting."

Diedre slowly rallied everyone, and after a few minutes, managed to get them to shamble back to their old base. It took long enough that the mage was able to finish the healing effort, restoring Annabelle's voice. As they retreated, Annabelle went through a few vocal exercises. Her voice was still a bit raspy, but it was otherwise normal.

Once they got back, most of the group slumped back into inactivity, either retiring to the sleeping quarters or remaining in the central chamber. Only a few people seemed to be making any sort of preparation effort. This was a dire situation.

Annabelle walked into Varos's workshop and dropped Shadebreaker on the table.

"How much damage did this sustain?" Annabelle asked.

Varos waved his artificer's gloves over Shadebreaker, analyzing its internal structure.

"This is unusual," Varos noted. "Something's disrupted the barrel's structural integrity along a single plane, rendering the weapon barrel nonfunctional."

Annabelle explained what happened. "It… may have been briefly hit by a localized spatial rending attack."

"Luckily, the damage is confined to the barrel, and the arcane power core was not damaged. It shouldn't take me too long to fix."

Varos then proceeded to remove the entire barrel and begin reconstructing it. Granted, with his matter-fabricating glove, it probably was easier to conjure up an entire new weapon barrel than it was to repair the existing one. Especially

While he was halfway through rebuilding the barrel, Darius walked in.

"I went out to see what I could salvage from all the dead Shades."

"I'm busy right now," Varos replied, not looking up from his work. "Can this wait?"

"I've salvaged a dozen warding charms, and eight crossbows. I've left their knives though, they're not useful to us."

"Are they useable?" Annabelle asked.

"I'll need time to break their restrictions, but I should be able to make them useful."

"Then, we'll just have to figure out who gets them."

That would be a complicated problem. Obviously, Annabelle's main team should take advantage of them, but who else among the survivors should be protected against the enemy's death bolts? Should they protect strong mages to keep them in the fight, or give the warding amulets to vulnerable survivors that otherwise wouldn't be able to contribute?

And speaking of protection against bolts…

"So, Silence, how exactly did you take multiple stunning bolts to bring down during the last fight?" Silence was currently sitting at a far corner of the cavern. He seemed to be sleeping upright, but instantly jerked to attention when his name was mentioned.

What do you mean? Silence responded. Now that Silence had opened the telepathic channel, Annabelle switched to using it. It was slightly more convenient.

I have what I believe to be the strongest mental resistance ever known. And yet, a stunning bolt took me out with the first hit. Then, a few seconds later, I see you glow yellow and completely nullify an incoming attack.

You were able to adapt. Silence responded.

I would like to know why I needed to adapt, while you seemingly knew how to resist a few shots from the start.

Silence paused for a bit before responding. I utilized a special technique. Invulnerability.

What.

I can make myself completely invulnerable for short periods. In that battle, the first two shots hit me while I was invulnerable. After it ran out, the third shot dropped me.

Annabelle wasn't sure that was the right terminology, but whatever it was, it blocked stunning hits.

Can you teach the skill? Annabelle asked.

Silence did not reply.

And where did you learn it?

I don't want to reveal that.

Annabelle was slightly infuriated. We are in a life or death situation, likely up against a literal god. If you're hiding something that could potentially give us an edge in this fight… well, she would get the information by force if she had to.

Wait. Silence considered something. I think- I think I was being trained to fight gods.

Well, that would certainly be useful. What do you mean?

The first thing I remember is waking up in a facility deep in the jungle. We were constantly trained in both physical might and some form of ability referred to as 'inner strength'.

Training for what?

They never told me outright. But every time we thought we were strong enough, they pushed us to do more, claiming that the things we were preparing to fight were even stronger than we could imagine.

There are other threats on that scale. Daraken, for instance. Maybe some dragons. How do you know you were specifically preparing to fight divine entities?

If they were training to fight something, they would execute drills that would help them fight that enemy. What sort of drills would they be running to fight such a figure?

The day I left, we saw a glowing entity in the courtyard. Our leader said that this was our greatest test yet, a fight against a weak simulacrum of our true targets. But we failed. I fled soon afterwards.

That did sound like they encountered a god of some sort.

What capabilities did it have?

It was almost invulnerable. Our blows did nothing to it, but it wore us down over time. We held out against it for a while, but eventually we ran out of energy, while it still fought at full strength.

So, gods were nearly unkillable. That was useful, if only for killing any hopes Annabelle had of defeating Nyxl in a straight fight. Though, that group didn't have Shadebreaker…

Would you be able to hold off Nyxl, then?

If I was one of our elites, I might last a minute. But I fled because I was the weakest link in the group, a setback to the rest of them. And that's if Nyxl isn't stronger than the so-called simulacrum we engaged, and if he doesn't hit me with more stunning bolts than I can nullify.

"I might be able to give you a better defense against their stunning bolts," Annabelle said. "When my powers recover, that is."

**********

HOW DID YOUR ASSASSIN FAIL? Nyxl actually seemed less angry this time, likely because he was blaming Annabelle's surprise power level and not Cecilian's supposed incompetence.

Xerxes was ordered to assassinate the target at long range, but wasted time gloating, giving his target a chance to fight back. Unfortunately, that chance was all I needed.

DUE TO HER THREAT LEVEL, I AM GOING TO PULL MY INVASION FORCES BACK TO DEAL WITH HER THREAT. Given Annabelle's current lack of energy, a whole army would be overkill; even Cecilian's previous raiding party would likely be enough this time.

Omega quickly proposed the alternative she had thought of. There is no need. If we simply cut all connections with the realm, they will no longer be a threat to us. Then, we can watch them starve.

INTERESTING PROPOSAL. IT WOULD PREVENT US FROM LOSING ANY MORE WARRIORS TO THIS THREAT. HOWEVER, WE WOULD LOSE ANY CHANCE TO RECOVER XERXES, OR INTERROGATE VAROS.

Xerxes is irrelevant now, Omega countered. He failed his job.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN VAROS-

You can resurrect him after he dies. Same with Xerxes, once they stop interrogating him and finish him off. Though, given that Xerxes is a failure, I'd recommend leaving him dead.

Nyxl was silent for some time. UNDERSTOOD.

Also, one more thing. They've found a way to counter our anti-conjuration enchantments, with something that isn't technically edible, yet still provides necessary nutrients.

CLEARLY, OUR MEASURES NEED TO BE REINFORCED.

Omega could have ignored this measure, but by doing this, she could regain some support with Nyxl.

Although, it might be more fun to keep their food supply intact, and watch them gradually fall into psychosis.

LET'S NOT GIVE THEM TOO MUCH TIME. I'D LIKE THEIR SOULS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.

**********

After a few hours, Varos managed to increase the power of Shadebreaker, and combined it with arcane recoil mitigation to prevent the weapon from destroying the user's shoulder when fired. Annabelle tested it by taking it to a distant cavern and firing a fully charge shot down it. The projectile crossed a hundred meters of distance too fast to perceive, and impacted the demiplane wall with enough force to shake the whole cavern. Even ACP's strongest infantry weapons didn't pack this sort of power, and it was admittedly likely overkill against almost anything, but it might actually put some serious hurt on Nyxl.

After that, she finally decided to rest. Anything else she was planning on doing would have to wait until her psychic energy recovered.

She woke up some time later, unharmed. Whatever the Shades were planning, it was taking more than a few hours to plan.

Now that she had her powers back, she could interrogate Xerxes, and by proxy Omega. The camp had nothing prepared to hold prisoner, so Xerxes had been chained down and gagged in an improvised cell in the far corner of the base. It was bordering on excessively cruel, but they had no real other way to ensure he didn't escape, commit suicide, or harass everyone with illusions.

"So, Xerxes," Annabelle asked sarcastically, "Are you willing to join us?"

Xerxes tried to talk, but whatever he said was unintelligible due to the gag.

"I take that as a no. Well, in that case, I'll just interrogate you instead."

Xerxes said something else unintelligible.

"Don't worry, I have ways to get information without letting you cast spells."

Annabelle entered Xerxes' mind.

Now, I'll give you one chance to give me the information I need, before I get it out of your mind myself.

Why would I give you anything?

Alright, your call. Annabelle initiated her psychic intrusion, but met strong resistance.

We prepared for mental attack Xerxes managed to respond. It would be a very bad idea to go into the mortal world without a way to resist hostile interrogation measures, especially when failure exposes the whole invasion.

Annabelle suspected his defenses were supported by magic. She couldn't find a flaw in it.

Hello, other me. Omega jumped in using the Matriarchs' communication magic.

So, when's the next strike coming? Annabelle decided to ignore Xerxes for a bit. He wasn't going anywhere, after all.

Actually, I've prevented a strike entirely, but at the cost of your current food source.

How?

Basically, I suggested that they were better off sealing this sector of the Shaderealm and waiting for you to die. But, they've found out about Darius's little trick, and they're working on adapting their countermeasures against it.

So, they would have to resort to Annabelle's last resort, cannibalism combined with healing. That is, if they didn't rush a counterattack.

So, if we're going to be trapped here, how are we going to launch an attack?

I will be able to open a portal to my manor. Which, conveniently, is just a few city blocks from a portal into a cave in Garnoth.

So, you get us through, and then it's just a straight shot to freedom? That is, if they wanted to just escape. If Annabelle could, she would obliterate the entire city.

A straight shot that passes through several rows of Shade-occupied buildings. It'll be a tough fight.

Nyxl will hear of this, Xerxes claimed, interjecting himself into the discussion to taunt them.

He wouldn't believe you, Omega retorted.

Annabelle herself wasn't as confident, but Omega probably knew something she didn't.

Okay, can you figure out what our prisoner is using to block my mental intrusion? I'd like to get some information out of them.

I don't think he has anything useful that I don't also possess.

And now, you're both going to die.

Annabelle heard Xerxes trying to laugh. He was hiding something.

She made another attempt at breaking into Xerxes' mind.

Wait. Break off. Break off now!

Annabelle hesitated for a split-second.

They've given him the magical equivalent of a suicide bomb, Omega explained. It will-

And now, you die.

There was a burst of green energy, blasting out from Xerxes. Annabelle tried to throw herself away, but she wasn't fast enough.

The blast rippled through her, and Annabelle was physically unharmed. But her mind came under attack, a blast of raw energy with no form behind it. The same type of attack that Annabelle would use if she wanted to obliterate someone's mind outright. Her normal mental defenses were overwhelmed, and she rushed to stop the attack before it destroyed her.

Luckily, her initial defenses still weakened the attack enough that a quickly-fortified secondary barrier held it off, but it was still too close for comfort. She hadn't been hit that hard since her psychic battle against the Elders' leadership council.

Due to her previous experiences with a similar trap, she analyzed herself for any sort of traps, curses, or other anomalies. Nothing. So, this bastard's attack was a total failure.

And, if their instant death bolts are using a similar mechanism, I should be able to resist them.

Except…

She went back into Xerxes' mind, and sure enough, he was brain-dead, with nothing left. Luckily, Omega still had a mental link with the corpse.

That could be a problem for me, Omega warned. I tried to convince Nyxl that Xerxes wasn't worth resurrecting, and it would be his word against mine, but it still invites extra suspicion on me.

The good news is that I discovered that I can survive their death bolts. At least, if they function the same way as that magical suicide bomb.

A straight run to escape is still your best option.

If I'm immune to their weapons, I might be able to stay behind, free others, maybe even cause enough damage to cripple their invasion force.

There are other threats, Omega claimed. As well as Nyxl himself.

What kind of threats?

Omega began her explanation.