Dozens of Dallion’s instances charged at the dryad. The hammer swung, destroying wave after wave of void vines, to no avail. There was no telling what the values of Vihrogon’s traits were, but there was no doubt that he had been a high-ranking noble. At present, a large part of his focus was on keeping Harp and the other guardians in check, yet still he was proving to be a difficult opponent. More than that—he was what Nil would call a strategist, dedicating just the necessary amount of power to achieve victory. If it were anyone else, Dallion would have called him overconfident. In truth, the dryad was far from it.

Dallion grabbed the magic threads of the nearest statue. The boost in power wasn’t necessary, but very much welcomed for what he had in mind.

That’s how you were watching me, weren’t you, voice? Dallion asked mentally.

He had often wondered how the cultists, and especially the Star, knew so much; how he’d figured out Dallion’s location even when he himself didn’t know where he was. All his trips through the wilderness, nearly all of his conversations, his actions, even his awakening trials might as well have been recorded by the shield guardian.

The scariest part was that at no point had anyone suspected.

More vines shot out from the dryad, targeting the timepiece. The protective light was no longer burning them up, like it had before. Two times out of ten, the void elements would even manage to interact with some piece or another before they were destroyed.

“The device won’t work if Adzorg destroys it,” Dallion slid on his blocker ring.

“It’s rather the opposite. That’s precisely when it’ll work. With half of its presence outside of the world, the device is effectively useless. With effort, it can create a problem or two, but that’s about it.” Vihrogon moved even closer to the side of the device, avoiding the rectangular portal. “Oh, it’ll be bad for the local inhabitants, but not on a world aspect. Once all the device is here, it’ll be able to open one last portal.”

“To the void.”

“Yes, the prophecy everyone feared,” the dryad let out a bitter laugh. “The nymphs were big on prophecies. When I was young and naïve, I tried to find as many of them as I could, possibly hoping that would let me change the future. But only the present can change the future. The prophecies are nothing but a skill to see potential echoes of the world. Very useful in the short run, but they can’t last for more than a few hours.”

His left hand hidden, Dallion started composing his spell. Ten simultaneous instances did it, while all the rest continued with the fight.

“I have a way to fix this,” Dallion said, using his music skills to fill his words with hope, understanding, and a touch of sadness. “I’ve done it before.”

“You think that if you defeat me, you can purge the void?” One of Vihrogon’s instances shook his head. “Companion gear know everything about their owners, even before they know it themselves. You’ll try something new and out of the box to fight me.” He glanced at the harpsisword wrapped in black vines. “I’d guess you’ll try to free her. There’s a good chance I’d lose to her in a direct fight, now that you’ve reached an adequate level. Don’t bother. There’s no point.”

“It worked on the overseer.”

“I know you’ll try.” The dryad hesitated. One of his vines had managed to wrap itself around the timepiece. Whatever method the guardian was using, it had adapted to the defenses Adzorg had placed. “That’s one of your best qualities, and your burden. Don’t challenge me, I don’t deserve it.” Another vine shot around the large magic artifact. “And you’re not strong enough to take me.”

“I can, if I use the Moonstone.”

A fragment of fear emanated from the dryad. He had seen firsthand what a Moonstone was capable of. On the other hand, he also knew that Dallion wouldn’t use it unless the situation was dire. Using the stone would mean he’d have to face the Azure Federation battlemage without it.

If Adzorg were here, he’d probably go on a tirade about how Moonstones were not to be wasted for cheap boosts, although given the circumstances, maybe even he would understand.

“Nox,” Dallion whispered. “Not sure you can hear me buddy, but if you can, I want you to attack shield in my realm.”

As he expected, there was no response.

“Don’t get yourself killed, just distract him a bit.”

A faint glow emerged within the portal of the timepiece. Time slowed to a crawl. Everyone knew what would follow: the return of Adzorg, triggering the real clash. Vihrogon would try and activate the device, while Dallion and the old mage were going to attempt and destroy it. Everything was a matter of timing.

Dallion concentrated. The glow became a flickering, which slowed down to regular pulses of light. With each one, he was able to write about twenty symbols, moving closer to the completion of the spell.

Vihrogon had also reacted to the change of the portal in his own fashion, shooting out a lot more vines and roots at the device. All the time, his battle with Dallion continued in the background, hundreds of instances clashing into one another in a game of violent chess. Then, after what seemed like hours, Adzorg emerged.

A flash of purple light swept through the area, destroying all instances in its path.

Now, Dallion thought as he completed the spell. For a fraction of a second, an incandescent glow surrounded him, then moved aside, splitting off into an entirely new entity made of magic.

Gripping his hammer, Dallion charged at the dryad. The light surrounding the entity quickly faded, causing an identical copy of him to become visible. Roots shot up from the ground in an attempt to entangle it, but the second Dallion quickly cast a flight spell, quickly moving out of their reach.

“Destroy the device!” Dallion shouted, able to split into instances once more. His hammer flew right at the head of the dryad, who only stopped it with an armadil shield of his own that materialized on his left arm.

Determined to maintain his initiative, the dryad darted at the old mage, attacking him with a series of slashes. There was no telling whether Adzorg had figured out what was going on, but he definitely wasn’t going to allow himself to be slaughtered.

All of Vihrogon’s attacks bounced off the old man’s body, causing a momentary glow to surround him.

“An echo?” Adzorg asked as he burst into a dozen copies of himself. “Where did you learn that, dear boy?”

In truth, Dallion wasn’t precisely sure. It was almost as if the knowledge of the spell had popped in there after he’d had his magic trait boosted. Sadly, he couldn’t call his creation fully successful. While he had used magic to create a magic version of himself, draining the magic threads of a statue in the process, he had failed to make it autonomous. Right now, he was controlling it, almost like he was controlling an instance.

Two sets of spells focused on the harpsisword, aiming to loosen the vines, and once again failed to achieve the desired effect. That wasn’t Dallion’s main goal, though. Gripping the hammer with both hands, he attacked the dryad directly.

Sword and hammer clashed as all instances clustered in one single spot. Those with the ability to see would describe thousands of strikes exchanged between them in a matter of seconds. Attacks, evasions, barriers, blocks… There could be no doubt that Dallion had improved tremendously since his experience in the world swords. Unfortunately, his skills were still not adequate to earn him victory.

“Three against one,” the dryad said. “Just like the time you faced Katka.”

“It was three hunters against a mage back then.” Dallion managed to say.

“And now it’s three mages against a noble. Which do you think has a greater chance?”

Dallion’s hammer whooshed an inch from the dryad’s face, slamming into the timepiece. Several segments shot off, flying straight up through the ceiling of rock and metal.

“Careful!” Adzorg shouted, targeting the dryad with spells of his own. “Break it and you’ll cause the vortex!”

“Destroying it was supposed to prevent the vortex!” Dallion shouted back through his construct.

“Only if I dismantle it!”

Finding it a better option than having the dryad activate it, Dallion struck the device again. This time, though, the hit was accompanied by a cluster of roots shooting up from the ceiling and entangling the weapon. For over a second, the spark infused in it would burn them off at contact, until it was overwhelmed by their sheer number.

Vihrogon’s blade descended on Dallion’s shoulder. Slicing through his protective magic barriers, it bit into his flesh, then continued until reaching bone. The scary part wasn’t that the dryad had managed to render all of his defenses useless, but that he hadn’t gone through with the strike. Had he wanted to, Dallion’s arm would have already been on the floor.

“I know you’ll struggle,” the dryad said in one instance. “I wish there was another way, but there isn’t. The Moons will be destroyed and you’ll become the void’s Stars.”

“Stars?”

By the sound of it, it seemed that Adzorg was also included in the deal. Clearly, the void had a twisted sense of humor.

“I’ll use the Moonstone!” Dallion attempted to leap back, but a set of roots shot up from the floor and ceiling, entangling his torso. In over a hundred instances, he tried to evade them, yet in all he failed.

“You might,” Vihrogon said, a flicker of sadness passing through his face. Taking Dallion’s hand, he removed the blocker ring from his finger. “But then you’ll lose the next battle. In the end, the void always—”

“That’s because you don’t know how I’ll use it.”

Vermillion! Dallion ordered mentally.

Incandescent purple light filled the room, as the Moonstone emerged on Dallion’s neck. Even with the shield guardian wrapping all his echoes and familiars in webs of void, there was one creature in his realm that he had ignored: the Vermillion island serpent.

One thought was enough to transfer the Moonstone chunk from Dallion’s realm into the real world. While still on a chain around his neck, the ring remained in contact with his skin, and that proved sufficient. It was a tremendous risk. There was no telling whether it would be strong enough to weaken the void matter with its presence alone. Thankfully, it did.

Roots withered and snapped, allowing Dallion to break three. Taking advantage of the situation, Adzorg and Dallion’s construct also sprang into action. The old mage flew towards the dial of the timepiece, while the second Dallion directed his attack at the vines holding the harpsisword.

Now the sword! Dallion put on the Vermillion ring.

A hilt of silver glass emerged from his left hand. Dallion grabbed it with his right, then infused it with spark as he slashed at Vihrogon’s neck. The attack was successful, sinking half an inch into the dryad’s flesh. It was as hard as wood—something Dallion wasn’t aware that the dryads could do.

Unfortunately, the shield guardian hadn’t remained idle. What seemed to be a step back to move away from the Moonstone’s deadly glow turned out to be the start of an attack that resulted in Adzorg losing both his hands. The old man didn’t yell, he didn’t even flinch, but the damage was done.

“Two can play,” the dryad said with an air of blood-thirst that Dallion had never sensed from him before. “I told you I don’t deserve to be saved.”

Vines wrapped around the sword of silver glass, shattering it to pieces. Thankfully, Dallion had split into instances in time to avoid another capture. Under the protection of the Moonstone’s glow, he leaped back and to the side. His construct, however, wasn’t as lucky. Two feet away from the harpsisword, clusters of roots shot up, entangling it mid-air. Even so, both his hands remained free, which was enough for a quick spell.

“Too bad,” Dallion said, casting a single circle creation spell. “I’ll do it, anyway.”