A gash appeared on the sludge creature’s face, turning into a grotesque smirk. Yuriko’s sunblade streaked towards its neck, and it bent backwards out of the way. At the same time, one of its lower limbs lashed upwards into a kick, well out of her line of sight. It was a good thing she didn’t just rely on her normal senses…

Yuriko twisted out of the way, but then got blindsided by another strike, one that was completely invisible to her Anima perception, and smacked her on her left, hitting her condensed aura around her arm. That one knocked her off balance for a split second, which she recovered using her kinesis more than anything else. She slammed her foot on the ground, to provide her better leverage, and thrust her second blade at the thing.

Sludgy’s body split around the blade, but as it slithered away, Yuriko unleashed some of the restraint the blade naturally had, releasing a blast of Radiant energy that struck its body, which hissed and smoked even as it yowled in anger.

The creature’s speed was a challenge, and she felt that their agility was matched close to even. It was stronger though, or perhaps she only felt that way because she had been flying and unable to brace when she got hit. Certainly, the strikes didn’t penetrate her condensed aura, but vibration and blunt force still bled through her buffer layer.

She winced as she felt her bruised bicep. She hadn’t really updated her basic defences ever since her Anima expanded. Part of the reason was that it was so recent, but the greater part was that she had no idea how to do so. For once, Damien’s wisdom and advice were of little help. What she gleaned from him was that he relied on his physique, which had been tempered to such a great degree that very little actually managed to harm him. If what she understood was true, no weapon unenhanced with Animus could even break his skin or bruise his flesh. Even so, a strike would need about a hundred lumens invested to actually hurt, and they had to be as dense or denser than his Animus to do so.

Animus density was not something she could just copy from him. Since she departed from the Imperial method, which guaranteed results for a set method, she would have to discover her own way. Damien’s would not work. After she solved her initial Animus reserve problem before her Actualisation, he revealed his method. It was different from hers. He embedded Animus into his body in dense packets to be retrieved at leisure. Although once he advanced, he adapted and changed his methods, they were still rooted in the same initial technique. He told her not to copy what he did, and in truth, she had little desire to. She felt that if she followed in his footsteps, her body would reject the packets, possibly injuring her Anima and body in the process.

No, her method of confining her Animus reserves in runescript lines woven from her Anima was the way she had to go. Besides, she had limited success already. She still had liquified Animus stored within her Anima and body.

Anyway, Damien didn’t utilise his Anima as armour, at least not in the way she did. What he did use was far more precise. He used his Anima to counter an attack with an opposite push of the same or greater force. Using his Anima…

Hmmm, that could have some use for her, right? After all, it wasn’t a technique that she engraved into her body or Anima. It was only a force application technique. Still, it wouldn’t be easy, but then again, nothing worthwhile ever was.

Nothing prevented her from using condensed aura and active defence either way. So she did just that.

While part of her mind was wandering, she still had several strands of consciousness focused on the fight. Sludgy’s rictus grin was unsettling and made Yuriko want to punch it off its fake face. Several tendrils of itself wormed by its feet, and she felt, more than saw the next attack. She countered it with a kinetic thrust, but hit off-centre, deflecting it instead of stopping it cold. That wasn’t bad either, really.

But again, a tendril that she didn’t notice slithered around her foot and snapped tight. Then it tried to pull her off her feet, but of course, she used her kinesis for flight now and was able to keep herself from slamming on the ground.

She sliced at the tendril, severing it easily with her sunblade, but Sludgy didn’t seem hurt by the dismemberment. She lunged towards it, slicing horizontally at head and waist level, with both blades. Sludgy somehow twisted its form, squeezing itself in the gap between, but that was when Yuriko unleashed the Radiant energy, bathing it on both sides and disrupting its evasion. The bottom blade cut into Sludgy’s base, eliciting a squeal.

But then, whatever control the thing had over its massive body, condensed several times over, loosened, and she found herself in the midst of a sludge wave. Her condensed aura kept her dry, but she could suddenly feel the rejection pressure from the thing’s Anima, squeezing her down. She pushed back, and now it was a contest between Anima strength.

She won that one.

Sludgy’s slime wave burst as she careened up and out, then she stopped in mid-air and crashed down, swords spinning.

Squish! Squelch! Squee!

Slime, grease, mud, and oil boiled away from the Radiant energy, and Sludgy’s form retreated hastily, reforming into its humanoid self. It didn't look as solid though. Sludgy didn’t retreat, instead, attacking with berserk fury. But all finesse was gone from its style, and with it, all reason for Yuriko to hold back. Fighting against a strange opponent, matching skill for skill, was a rare and treasured occurrence, and Yuriko had looked forward to a nice fight. But alas, Sludgy succumbed too easily.

As sunshards formed around her, she sent them to surround the creature, then they plunged into its mass. Steam, bubbles, and screams came out of the creature while Yuriko sighed.

Perhaps it was time to use her Facet again. The Golden Silhouette’s skill always matched hers. It was just a pity that since she couldn’t access the dreamscape in Irvalla, she wasn’t able to train with the Silhouette either.

The Radiant energy from the shards was taking a while to burn through Sludgy, so Yuriko decided to work on her new runescript trinity. Her initial attempt had been woefully inefficient and mostly ineffective simply because she couldn’t remember the pattern beyond the first three runescript words. Now that she thought about it, there should have been more to it rather than just the trinity. Where would the energy go after all?

Destroy, harvest, channel.

The first portion took energy. Animus or Chaos, either way. The second took energy from the result of the first, and the third moved it elsewhere. Her mistake was that she hadn’t given the energy channel a direction. But where would she bring the energy to? Back to the first runescript word?

Yuriko frowned and nibbled her lips. Wouldn’t that create a perpetual cycle of destruction? She had a feeling that simply cycling the energy around would cause it to destroy everything within range. There must be some limit otherwise…wouldn’t such a simple combination result in complete annihilation?

But then again, the ambient Chaos in the environment would eventually erode away whatever Intent there. Without runescript lines to support an effect, it would eventually weaken and collapse. So maybe by looping the trinity cycle, she’d create a faster destruction sequence?

Sludgy was still writhing. It had dozens of shards embedded in its semi-liquid body, each one strategically placed so that it couldn’t escape. Well, she could move the shards faster than it could anyway. She held a sigh. She wanted to experiment with the trinity, but she held back. The dense ambient Chaos here, as well as the fact that she was in a dreamform body, meant that she wasn’t sure how the runescript would affect her and the environment.

Besides, the battle was almost done. Even as she watched, Sludgy boiled away, revealing several thick sphere fragments, almost exactly the amount she needed to complete her prize. She picked them up with her kinesis and brought them close to the whole. The fragments quivered, then shot into the missing places, and completed the sphere. It was only missing a pentagonal piece that looked to be the focal point of the entire thing.

Once Sludgy was gone, Yuriko paced back towards the Colossus’ stricken form. She felt a lump in her throat. The Colossus was a thing of beauty, even though it was heavily damaged. And because she knew what the real thing looked like, it made this sight all the more dismaying. When she came close, the glimmer behind the eyes grew brighter and brighter, until it was practically blinding. A flash of even brighter light actually made Yuriko turn her head away, and then, it disappeared.

“Thank you.”

The words were soft and completely unexpected. Yuriko’s head snapped back towards the Colossus and zeroed in on a smaller, humanoid figure.

It was androgynous. Slender and tall, but just a bit shorter than she was. An Atrhodius? The figure was mostly metallic, but it wasn’t the greyish colour of steel or iron. Instead, the body was covered in smooth cream-coloured plates with a shiny finish. There were gaps along the joints, which did reveal dark metallic tubes and wires, but they looked a lot more aesthetic than functional. The face was a beautiful porcelain mask, with delicate features that were right in between masculine and feminine. Long ribbed tubes served as hair, though Yuriko was sure there was more to its function than simple looks. The figure bowed as it uttered careful words of gratitude.

“Eli’Theria?” Yuriko asked.

The humanoid construct, or perhaps animating spirit, smiled and nodded. “I am Eli’Theria, young Ancient. Thank you for your help. I was afraid that the corroders would have destroyed my consciousness before I had a chance to awaken and fulfil my purpose.”

“What is your purpose?” Yuriko asked cautiously.

Eli’Theria bowed. “To follow the Will of the God-Monarchs. To destroy their enemies, and to defend their progeny.”

“Oh.”

Eli’Theria smiled. “Well met, young Ancient. Might I have the honour of knowing your name?”

“Ah!” Yuriko blushed. “I am Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

“Curious. You follow no known lineage, but I feel you walk closely the Lord of the Dawn’s path.” Eli’Theria’s face blanked when she mentioned the title.

“Perhaps,” Yuriko said softly.

“No matter. You are the first Ancient to return to the Siderious, and I hope, not the last?”

“I don’t know any others, except,” Yuriko hesitated, “maybe the Empress.”

“Who is that?”

“Er, the Verdant Empress of the Eternal Empire?” Yuriko pursed her lips and snapped her fingers, “Er, Eh…Ellana?” There was more to the name, Yuriko knew, but the Empress's given name was not well known, and the only source she knew was Damien’s memories, as well as the connection between the Mishala Progenitor, who was in some of her visions, as well as what was said to her during the True Refraction.

Eli’Theria simply nodded without comment, then said, “As you have done me a favour, then so will I. What do you need?”

Yuriko blinked, then said, “My home, Rumiga plane, has been targeted by a Chaos Duke. None of us has the strength to fight it but with you…we could.”

Eli’Theria nodded, but then said, “You are not strong enough to pilot me. Not alone. Do you have companions who are strong?”

“At what point?” Yuriko asked.

“Dominion. Manifestation, at the very least.”

Yuriko frowned. Mum said she was a Luminous Sorcerer, and not quite the same as Knight Dominus, although the political rank was the same.

“My Mum, perhaps?”

“Maybe, but you have to be inside. An Ancient’s power is needed.”

“I understand.”

“Very well. But you must still acquire a Command Seal, otherwise, I cannot leave the throne. And,” at this, Eli’Theria looked shiftily away, “and a Chaos Converter. Here…” She pointed at the sphere Yuriko was holding, and the last pentagonal piece materialised. “Bind to the Authority and enter my body. You will find where to get the others there.” She bowed to Yuriko again.

“Alright. I will.”

Yuriko nodded, and all at once, she could feel the space around her pushing her upwards. She knew she could resist and stay down here, but there was little reason to. Besides, she wasn’t sure if she actually got rest doing this. She let the Chaos currents bring her back up, and almost in the blink of an eye, she was back in the familiar mist-covered space. Sighing in relief, Yuriko closed her eyes and Willed her Anima to return to her body.

And when she opened her physical eyes, it was to the sight of a thunderously cross Sadeen.

“So…” Mum hissed.

Yuriko giggled nervously, “Ehehehehe…”