73

Breath of a God

“I can’t believe it.” Sven choked on the words. He was on his arms and knees, sobbing. “She actually beat me, and now…it’s all over?”

Yatagara sighed, blowing smoke, and took another drag from his pipe. They’d landed outside of the Temporal Rift entry location in Aetheria after Sven had lost in the first round of Fata Morgana S—at utterly no surprise whatsoever. His fight had lasted all of thirty seconds.

For someone who preemptively called himself a king, Sven Kaldastor was looking like anything but that. He was currently wailing like a toddler having a meltdown, pounding the ground with his fists. Tears streaked his face.

“My hopes…my dreams!”

“The hell did you think was gonna happen,” Yatagara mumbled askew of his pipe. “Your class doesn’t have any range, moron. You threw your lance and missed, and that was it.”

Sven suddenly arched his back and screamed into the sky as if he were in pain. Which he probably wasn’t—he couldn’t feel pain like Miracians could. He was just being dramatic. Yatagara rolled his eyes.

“Yindra, take me!” Sven screamed. “All I ever wanted was to bury my face in your—”

***

Standing across from Devon in the arena of the First Gate, Rian brought up his gauntlets. Devon hauled up his Bone Sword and took a stance.

“Begin,” Ossyra said.

Lightning cracked in the distance, and neither Rian nor Devon moved. At first they glanced toward the western sky where the lightning had appeared. Then, as they both seemed to realize neither of them was taking the opportunity to attack while the other was distracted, they turned and looked.

Storm clouds were rolling in, and trailing ahead of them were three figures careening through the sky.

Devon mumbled, “What the…”

“What fortuitous timing,” Ossyra said. “It seems our guests have arrived.”

Rian’s jaw dropped as he saw who it was.

Riding the air currents were Katrin, Maia, and Corvis. They descended into the middle of the arena. A wave rippled out as they landed, and both Rian and Devon shielded their eyes.

Kat pushed up the visor on her translucent helm. “Rian!” she shouted with tears in her voice. “I believe you! Everything you said—the coma, the headset—I believe you!”

Companionship Level Up x4! (Lv. 0→4 [MAX])

You and Kat are now Best Friends!

[!] The Companionship System: Best Friends

While partying together, companions of this level (Lv. 4) will receive +10% EXP and +8 to all stats; stamina usage is reduced by 25%. Once per 24 hours, you can revive a Best Friend who has fallen in combat. You can spend 1 Colorless Tesseract to switch physical locations with a Best Friend when they’re in danger of receiving fatal damage.

Rian almost teared up too, his sullen resignation melting away instantly. Kat had listened to him after all. She must’ve looked up his past and seen it for herself.

His regrets, his fears, his anxiety over letting out the truth—it all disappeared. He’d never felt so validated in his life.

But what was also throwing him for a loop was that Corvis had led them here. He was standing among them like he belonged. And they’d gotten here so fast. When had they entered the Rift? What about that quest that Kat and the rest of the guild had been on?

“What’s going on?” Devon said, and again Rian almost said the same thing simultaneously.

Maia and Kat stepped ahead of Corvis.

“We’re here for you, Rian,” Maia said. She brandished her staff, the golden rings upon it clanging like oversized wind chimes.

“We’re gonna take this asshole down,” Kat said. “Together.”

You have joined Kat’s party!

Devon grunted out a chuckle. “You’re too late. The fight’s already started. There’s no interfering in a Sacred Tournament match.”

Maia began casting defensive spells around herself, Kat, and Rian. “Oh, really?” Maia said. “Doesn’t seem that way to me.”

Devon whirled to face Ossyra, who was sitting upon the referee stand and gazing off absentmindedly. “What are you doing?” Devon shouted. “This is supposed to be an instanced fight. They shouldn’t even be able to get inside the ring.”

“I’m sorry,” Ossyra said, looking around despite her blindfold. “I’m afraid I can’t see anything. Is something happening?”

“Nothing,” Corvis said, grinning. “Nothing at all.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Ossyra crossed her legs, then sighed and rested her palm against her cheek. “For a second there, I thought I heard other people. Must’ve been the wind.”

Devon stomped his foot. “Oh come on! Don’t play dumb, Ossy. You really want to let this turn into a one-on-three? How is that fair?”

Corvis reached overhead and summoned his obsidian staff. When he brought it down beside him, it punctured the ground, sending cracks through the ring with a tremor. “How about a one-on-four?”

Devon sneered, gritting his teeth.

“Corvis,” Rian said, hesitant.

“It’s okay,” he answered. “I won’t interfere directly. But you can count me in on this one.”

Rian gawked. He’d never thought this moment would arrive.

Corvis smiled. “I’ve always had your back, Rian.”

Your trust in Corvis has increased!

Percent progress to level 4 companionship: 50%

“Did you bring Kat and Maia?” Rian glanced at them again, still in disbelief that they were actually here. “How’d you two get here so fast?”

“I’d explain if we had time,” Kat said, holding her staff defensively, “but I’m not sure we do, right now.”

Devon growled. “So what, you think you’re gonna 1v4 me, now? It doesn’t matter. Your Loyalist can’t fight without sacrificing his life, and I’m still strong enough to take on all three of you at once.”

Judging from his reaction earlier, either Devon was hiding that he was panicking or he’d reassessed the situation and believed he could win against the party. There were probably all sorts of tricks and items Devon had at the ready.

Rian didn’t know how powerful Corvis was exactly, though he’d wager that he was at least strong enough to beat Devon single-handedly. But if Corvis died in the process, what was the point? If Rian won this fight, there was just another to go before he could meet Yindra. Another impossible fight with Sven or whoever the fourth entrant was, waiting for him on the other side of the tournament bracket.

It all came down to whether Ossyra would let Rian keep his party or not in the next round. Assuming he won to begin with. He wasn’t sure why she was letting him cheat, but he wasn’t going to question it.

There was only one thing he was sure of: somewhere up there on Yindra’s tower was his mom. He couldn’t afford to lose. Not like this, when he was so close.

Devon spat on the ground. “This ends the same way whether your cringey little friendship party bands together against me or not.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Maia said. “I think you mean based friendship party.”

“Based on what?” Devon said, and Maia nearly keeled over in laughter. “Ugh, whatever! And you—” He pointed at Ossyra. “We’re done after this. You can go find someone else to string along. You’ve done nothing but hover behind me and complain this whole time.”

“Hey, hey, Ogrot,” Maia said, wheezing. “Better watch out for DN.”

Ignoring her, Devon continued reaming out Ossyra. “And now you’re conspiring against me, for the sake of this loser?” He sneered. “When I win this tournament and see Yindra, I’ll make sure she retires you for good.”

“Rian,” Kat whispered. She was glancing at Devon as if to make sure he was preoccupied. “There’s one other thing.”

She opened her inventory and pulled out an ornate vial—the most expensive-looking potion bottle Rian had ever seen, the entire thing plated with intertwining gold and silver, encrusted with jewels. Kat handed it to him, and his stomach fell at the thought of dropping it.

You have obtained (1) Breath of Goam!

“Kat?” Maia said, shocked. “You’re giving that away?”

“Think of it as an apology,” Kat said to Rian. “That’s the fruit of our labor—of Moonlight in its entirety. The reward for the first phase completion of the Sacred Quest. That’s what led us here. It’s really like they say: all paths lead to Yindra.”

A dozen thoughts ran through Rian’s mind at once. There was a Sacred Quest, like a cousin of the Sacred Tournament?

“That’s what you and the rest of the guild were doing?” Rian said.

Kat nodded. “It’s a hidden quest. Almost no one knows about it yet—but it’s like the System actively tries to prevent players from pursuing it or spreading knowledge about it.”

And the only reason she could mention it here, Rian supposed, was that the System’s oversight wasn’t as strong in the Penumbra.

“But you pulled it off?” Rian said.

“Just the first phase. There’s three others, of course, but oh man, it was the most incredible—” Something else caught her attention. “Think I’ll have to tell you the story later.”

Devon seemed to’ve spotted the item. He looked horrified, enough to tell Rian that he knew exactly how powerful the thing was.

“Okay,” Devon grumbled, hauling his sword onto his shoulder. “That’s it. You’re dead, kid, and that’s the end of this.”

Rian struggled to read the item in time. As Devon charged toward him and raised his sword with horrific speed, all Rian could see was that the item was even higher than S-tier.