Chapter Thirty-Seven.

This isn't working.

The thought was spectacularly unhelpful, but I couldn't help thinking it. Telm An’Kaa was bigger, faster, stronger, and now that I'd helpfully pointed out his primary weakness, completely immune to anything I could throw at him. I'd been frantically dodging the giant monster's attacks for barely a few minutes now, slinging the occasional fireball like a spicy mosquito, and I could already feel the burning pain that signaled I was overusing my magic.

The kaiju lunged at me like an oncoming freight train, and I cut [Flight] again while pulsing [Stellar Flame] with one hand to boost myself narrowly out of reach from the titanic snap of its jaws. There was an all-too-brief moment where I could just let myself fall, basking in the short relief from the nerve-searing pain of overuse before I had to will more power into [Flight] again. It was almost surreal, falling through the air with the immense serpent's body rushing past, twisting back around on itself with absolutely no respect for gravity so it could line up another shot at me.

And there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

If nothing else, this ‘fight’ had been an eye-opening lesson on how limited my current toolset had become. It had been a while since I considered how much raw versatility I'd lost in my latest incarnation, but clearly, I had been focusing a little too much on fire magic and not enough on regaining the utility [Cosmos] used to have.

Sighing with frustration as Telm An'kaa finished its turn, I was just about to reactivate [Flight] when I felt something sting me all the way in my soul. Like a hornet had jumped up and zapped me from the inside, sending a minor jolt that threw me just a little bit off.

What the hell was—

There was a rush of wind, and I had the briefest impression of enormous feathers before a tremendous impact slapped me right out of the sky. I completely blacked out as pain blasted through my consciousness, coming to a few moments later in the middle of a muddy crater with brackish water slowly pooling around me.

Ugh…

I didn't have any bones to break, but the chitin armor covering my body was a cracked and bleeding mess that sent lances of pain as I squirmed upright. Trying to work my muddled brain through what just happened, I came to the conclusion that I’d just been swatted like a fly by one of Telm An’Kaa’s wings. The fact that I hadn't just popped like a meat balloon when he hit me was probably all the luck I could count on for this fight.

Trying to levitate myself upwards sent a spike of pain through my battered body that completely ruined my concentration and just made me tumble face-first into the mud.

Come on, Ray! This can't be all you've got.

Another titanic hiss dragged my attention back to Telm An'kaa, who coiled around on himself in mid-air while keeping his head eerily locked on me. One side of its face was blackened by the fiery explosion I'd set off, while the other was drenched in oozing [Blight].

How is it even seeing me? That's just not fair.

Mist began flowing its way up the serpent’s body again, the attack I had interrupted earlier completing itself with a new target. It gathered in a swirling vortex right in front of the kaiju's mouth, and my instincts screamed warnings into my brain that I really, really wished I could do something about but… I had nothing left.

This is it then, isn't it? Failure looming and no options left.

Time slowed down as I sank into my soul-space.

[Cosmos] stretched all around me, stars twinkling brilliantly with the addition of [Stellar Flame]. The crystal forms of my few spells spun around me in lazy circuits, and in the distance, I felt the tug of the ‘Origin Rune’ linking me to every depiction of it on the flotilla. My eyes darted over to one rune that looked like it had been sheared in half, bleeding raw magic as my temperamental Ideal struggled to fix it.

Huh, that's what the stinging was?

Idly, I drifted forward and touched the broken rune with a crystalline hand. An image dimly projected itself into the open space around me, flickering like a broken screen. I saw the deck of one of the flotilla ships, and slowly moving across it was… Lyr'Rael?? She looked like she'd almost recovered from her injuries, which would be great, but it also looked like she was mid-combat with a freaky wendigo-looking thing wearing—

Damn it, that's Nezzick, isn't it? What the hell is going on??

The image sputtered as the rune degraded further, and I drew back in frustration. Looking around the very edges of my soul-space— which took conscious effort given how weird this place was— I could see more runes floating against the black background like the edges of an old-school video game skybox. Scanning through a few of them showed me almost still images from around the flotilla; most sharing a unified theme of people huddled together, cowering from the raging monster in the sky above.

A flicker of light drew my attention, and I saw a new rune being carved out in front of me. Passing my hand through it, I got a brief snapshot of Shani and… was that Teadran? The rune faded out before I could get a clear image, leaving me more confused than anything else.

And then I ran out of time to procrastinate anymore. Telm An’Kaa’s jaws spread open wide, and the swirling vortex of mist began to accelerate with a howl that quickly rose to a deafening pitch.

With a thought, the starscape in my soul vanished, replaced by the glowing metaphysical seal that kept my Anathema at bay. It was such a dichotomy of images to look at; a towering, all-encompassing wall of pure forbiddance, and the flimsiest scrap of paper. Divine authority, and the ability to completely disregard it. Like most things related to the divinities on Haven, my merely mortal words failed to adequately describe it.

The seal should have been completely impermeable, but I could still see the yawning darkness looming behind it. Anathema gnawed at the divine energies from the inside, only kept in place by both the powerful investiture of will from every god on Haven, and the fact that I consciously avoided messing with it.

Anathema. I could win this fight instantly, but…

My deal with the gods would be broken, and there would be no hiding that from them. Who knows what it would take next from my memories. There was a very real risk it would take something critical from my mind and I would lose control entirely. I could literally kick off the apocalypse and destroy everything. On the other hand…

Death. Failure.

There would be no free ride, no ‘round two’ for me here. If I died now, I would have to make my own way back, dodging the Fisher's Guild in the afterlife until I could maybe— someday— learn how to make my own portals. I had no concept of how long that would take me, but ultimately I knew the time frame was irrelevant; even in the best case, it would be too long to change things.

There were no good options that I could see. I, personally, had failed to grow strong enough to fight this thing on my own.

My soul trembled around me, shaking me out of my reverie. Shaking my head, I reached out with a single hand and rested my palm against the seal.

Is it worth the risk?

I could feel the hungering darkness reaching back to me from beyond. Needing, desperate to be used. Whispering that I could maintain control, that the price wouldn't be too high for just this once.

Sighing heavily, I pulled my hand away.

No. No, it's not.

The soul-space faded, replaced with the real world and the looming specter of my own annihilation by magical vortex. Defiantly, I summoned a single, dinner plate-sized hex shield between Me and Telm An’Kaa, giving it as much of a magical middle-finger as I had the ability to.

I'm not giving up. I don't care how long it takes, I'll be back, and I'll finish this.

The vortex howled, and a concentrated beam of water the width of a bus lanced out with enough force to break the sound barrier, instantly filling my whole field of view until—

“[Where armies broke, I stood.]”

A tremendous roar pummeled me with waves of sound as I stared slack-jawed at the armored figure deflecting the kaiju’s attack, rockets blazing like fiery wings to hold him in the air. The beam split around us, cutting massive trenches in the dirt and sending up violent sprays of water that showered me with the spray. As quickly as it began, the beam ended and Telm An’Kaa cocked its enormous head in wary confusion as it saw I hadn’t been completely obliterated. Cutting his rockets, the steampunk ironman suit of Cael Hakkon landed beside me with a heavy thud.

“Ray.” His voice came out as a mechanical bass. “When I told you to work on your commitment in battle? This—” He pointed at the giant monster in the sky, “Is not what I meant.”

I couldn’t help chuckling, and then coughing when the motion aggravated my wounds.

“You couldn't have shown up a few minutes ago?” I wheezed out.

How he managed to perfectly convey a mix of exasperation and resignation without ever showing his face was a talent I'll probably never have.

“Had to get my armor on, Ray.” He shook his head, “And I wrongly assumed the caravan would have the common sense to run instead of charging straight at an attacking Beast Lord. That’ll show me for thinking a Terlander would back down from a fight.”

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Cael slammed his fists together, the rocket ports on his suit sending up a blast of fire that made me shield my face with one arm.

“This fight is beyond you. You want to change that? Quit wasting time and step forward!”

With that, he blasted off like an anti-air missile headed straight for Telm An’Kaa.

Step forward? What does he— oh. I’m an idiot.

I closed my eyes.

“Took you long enough.”

The world had disappeared again, replaced by endless darkness and a walkway of ancient stone. My Path, [Sojourn Beyond the Stars], stretched out into infinity in front of me. Circling around it in a dance of haunting music was the cosmic dragon I’d seen when I chose this Path— my future self, if it was to be believed.

“Cut me some slack, I have no idea how any of this works. Unlike someone from the literal future who could have given me a heads-up.”

The dragon laughed, spinning around on its golden, scroll-like wings until we were face-to-face.

“This Path is the journey, Kosimar. The lonely road to infinity. What Exemplar would I be, if I gave away the ending? Though I did give you a few hints when you were going in the right direction. Your soul isn’t normally supposed to shake like that.”

I nodded grudgingly in understanding, still mad at future me, but slightly guilty about what I had to do next.

“And what if that Path isn’t what I want anymore?” I asked.

The dragon smirked, luminous golden eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Then change it.”

Clenching my fists, I took a deep breath, and without giving myself time to hesitate, I put my whole weight into slamming my fists down onto the ancient stone pathway.

It shattered like glass, and it was one of the most cathartic things I’d ever experienced.

“So dramatic.” The dragon laughed, spreading its papery wings wide as an unseen wind began to carry it away into the distance.

I felt myself flush involuntarily with embarrassment before glaring at the receding figure of my impudent— former— future self.

“What will happen to you?” I asked it as the shattered stones began to gravitate back together.

“The journey continues.” It whispered, the sound coming from far away as it faded from sight. “Good luck with your Path, Kosimar.”

Not waiting for the stones to settle, I waved at the distant dragon and stepped forward.

The real world returned, and right away I could feel something different. For once, instead of just appearing in my vision, I could feel a notification pending, waiting to announce a change to my system that hadn’t actually happened yet. Metaphysical potential swirled around me as my Path struggled to solidify again, just needing me to give it direction and purpose.

A series of explosions came from above me, followed by the enraged snarl of Telm An’Kaa as Hakkon blasted the monster much more effectively than I had. He streaked around the flying serpent with near-impunity, the fiery rockets giving him an agility I’d barely been able to mimic in my own fight. On top of that, when he hit the monster, it stuck. The scale of Telm An'kaa meant the overall damage was limited, but even from here, I could see fresh patches of scorched feathers and burnt scales.

I don't think I can top that with what I've got right now.

Mana-burn still had me feeling extra crispy on the inside, which meant even if I could boost myself up by advancing my Path, there was no way it'd be enough to make a difference here. Even with all the practice I had over the last few weeks, it was still just that; a few weeks. My overpowered soul funneled more magical juice than my body was capable of handling, and it wasn't something that could be fixed by anything but time and effort— which I really didn't have right now. What I needed was a direction to grow that would let me use what I already had.

I hadn't even started puzzling out a solution when I caught fire from the inside. There was no warning; just me sitting in moderate pain one second, and the next it felt like I'd been hooked straight to a nuclear furnace. Pure panic filled me as I followed the fresh agony to its source— my soul.

In the space dominated by my [Cosmos], one of the origin runes was burning, putting out enough light to be blinding and overwhelming me with ridiculous quantities of power. I howled in pain as pressure mounted from within me, leaking past my protections and pouring into my body to send searing claws through my nervous system.

There's too much! What the hell is happening!?

But just when it felt like I was about to explode, an idea hit me like a lightning bolt.

I need an outlet for all the energy in my soul, this power is coming from a rune…

With no time to hesitate, I bent every scrap of will I had to the energy building up inside me, forcing it out in rivers of power that flowed towards the thousands of runes suspended in my soul-space. It was like a circuit completed itself as a fresh link snapped into place between me and all the runes hovering in the dark edges of my soul. Pressure eased and each rune started to shine brightly enough that I'd never mistake them for stars in the background again. I still felt magically bloated, but it was a strain I could actually handle.

Ok, what the hell was that, and what the hell did I just do to fix it?

Before I could question further, the potential swirling around me coalesced with a snap that sent shudders through my whole body.

ATTENTION.

CONGRATULATIONS, [CONTENDER]!

YOUR PATH HAS ADVANCED.

[Sojourn Beyond the Stars] (First Step)‐> [Sovereign of the Nascent Cosmos](Second Step)

Few are those who find they walked the same Path from the beginning to the end. Even fewer make such drastic changes right off the bat. You know this usually takes years of self-reflection and experimentation for a reason, right? You can slow down a bit. Grants Authority, providing reinforcement to all of your being. Additional Authority given to actions aligned with your Path.

Ok, so that… helps? Actions aligned with my path…

—Ray!—

I jumped as Shani's voice projected itself straight out of my soul.

“What—”

—I don't know if you can hear this, but I did it! I got your Origin Rune in a circuit with the core!—

There was the briefest impression of her making an absolutely manic grin.

—You've got all the power I can give you, now get out there and kick its ass!—

Her voice faded and my jaw dropped.

Guess that explains why I almost got fried. Little too much faith in me there babe. Now though…

There still wasn't much I could do personally— I hadn't been healed by my advancement. However, I could feel the connection to each of my runes through my bloated soul. My new Path sung triumphantly as my will reached out to the thousands of runes floating around my soul-space.

A warrior fights, a Sovereign commands.

At first, there was no response. But like the first stone tumbling free of a landslide, the rune powering my [Baleful Star] spell swept forward with characteristic enthusiasm. Far above the battlefield, almost hidden by the clouds, a single star burst into being almost unnoticeably. Then one more appeared right next to it. Then another. And another.

In seconds they poured out of my soul-space by the thousands, no longer needing my body as a conduit to the physical world, lighting up the underside of the clouds with the harsh white glow of my [Stellar Flame]. Countless pinpricks of light gleamed down with palpable malice.

Cael broke off his attack on Telm An’Kaa and rocketed back while the serpent glared up at the burning lights with an agitated hiss.

“Let’s see if you like this,” I raised a clawed hand up to the sky, magic twisting in my soul as a new spell solidified. “[Rain of Stars].”

The sky fell.

A near-solid sheet of white fire howled downwards like a waterfall, each [Baleful Star] blasting out a torrential mass of flames in a solid beam of death. Telm An’kaa rushed to dodge, but before he could get clear, it jerked to a halt in mid-air.

“[My hands held back the Tide]!” Cael roared, his skill activating as he grabbed onto the kaiju’s tail, defying anything even close to physics as his comparatively tiny form brought the kilometer-spanning kaiju to a complete stop. Unable to evade, the serpent screamed in rage loudly enough to rattle the mud around me, mist pouring off its body to form a swirling shield above it.

Fire slammed into the misty shield with insane force, the monster’s magic holding for a few tenuous seconds before giving way in an eruption of steam. The [Rain of Stars] hammered onward, finally hitting Telm An’Kaa with a thunderclap of force that hurled the immense creature to the ground and almost buried me in the resulting tidal wave of mud.

Struggling upright again, I could see the serpent writhing in the muck, contorting with pain as the once beautiful feathers and scales were now scorched and covered in filth. But even as it squirmed, I knew it wasn’t enough. I strained my will, continuing the barrage even as I began to feel the runes in my soul going dim one by one.

This has to work! I can do this!

The ground shook, and I felt a fresh burst of alarm before I saw the steel behemoth of the Duchess come thundering past me, pillars of fire blasting out from smokestacks that now glowed white-hot as the ship pushed itself faster than I’d ever seen. The rest of the caravan followed, turning at the last second and starting to circle around the fallen serpent before cutting loose with a roaring broadside of cannons. Spells reached out and pulled at my [Stellar Flame], each of the core tenders adding fresh attacks, never letting the kaiju catch its breath.

Telm An’kaa thrashed furiously on the ground, shaking the earth with every movement of its titanic body as it struggled to escape. Each time it looked like it was about to break free, Cael would rocket straight through the incoming fire with preternatural skill and pin the serpent in place so the caravan could reposition. The kaiju’s movements grew rapidly more violent and desperate, howls of rage shifting to wails of pain and fear. Several times I watched with gritted teeth as the serpent’s wings or tail crashed violently into one of the caravan ships, the force enough to crumple the enchanted armor like it was a tin can. But every time, the ships got back in line and kept firing. Some stumbled as the centipede-like legs were crushed or damaged beyond usability, but this just seemed to spur them on even more, the crews pushing their ships to hound in on the pinned serpent like circling sharks. Through it all, I kept pouring every scrap of my being into [Rain of Stars], the runes blinking out in my soul-space until there were only a few dozen left as I sent wave after wave of fire at the thrashing kaiju.

With a sudden burst of speed, Cael soared above the battlefield, his rockets burning almost blindingly bright until he was almost in the clouds. His angle shifted, then he was hurtling down like a living comet, hurtling forwards so quickly he outpaced my last few [Baleful Star]s. He streaked down in an instant, impacting just behind the great serpent’s head. Just as his fist touched the enormous scales of Telm An’Kaa’s neck, I felt the battlefield grow silent, and somehow despite the cannons and spells all thundering around me, I still heard Cael speak.

“[At my wrath, the darkness trembled.]”

With a shockwave that blew me to the ground, the kaiju’s neck cracked, its deafening wails abruptly cutting off. Suddenly lacking the grace and power it held just moments ago, the creature’s body stiffened, falling to the ground with ponderous slowness. A muted thud seemed to shake the entire swamp as the head of the King of All Rivers hit the ground with terrible finality.

Telm An’Kaa was dead.