CYRUS

  The wind whirled around for a while.

  “Then Zeke and his minions attacked. We had them beat, but Zeke threatened your mom and sister—yeah, Liam told us. I guess the best way to put it is we lost without Liam. I left Selene alive, so it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Kat.”

  “If you'd have just killed her—”

  “No one is to blame but me,” Jules interrupted Envy.

  “There’s plenty of blame to go around, Jules," Cy said. "Zeke for one, because he—”

  “Stop,” Envy said. “Skip that part.”

  Jules isn’t even reacting to that? He sighed.

  “Well, Kat told me to run, so I did. That’s when… It really started.” Jules looked up at them both.

  “What you all witnessed was the Blood of Wrath.” Kaizen approached the group, along with Rukia.

  “Everything’s ready, Cy,” the fox said.

  “Wrath's time in Hell has turned his blood into a poisonous, toxic, and noxious acid. It consumes whatever it touches that's of lesser fury and hatred."

  “Wait,” Cy said. “I don’t know if that’s true. Selene survived it, that rain. Her armor seemed to resist it, or even purify it. I’m not sure if her hatred is greater, or if some type of Holy magic can counteract it.”

  “Zeke was covered in Holy Enchantments and faired the battle with Jules better than most,” Whiskers said.

  “He has a blood feud, though.” Kaizen looked at Rukia, who tucked her tail. In shame?

  “Wait, Whiskers,” Cy said. “Why do you have three tails?”

  “Each time I die, I grow another one.”

  Wow. So I’m the only one who survived.

  “When was the first time you died?” Rukia asked. Oh, maybe Rukia survived, too.

  “The night Katarina was born. Also a story for another time.” The cat glanced at Envy. “Jules. Katarina endured death over and over again—”

  “I said enough, Whiskers!” The cat cocked his head away from Envy and licked a paw.

  “Anyway,” Cy continued, “Selene stabbed me with this dagger. She told me to only have a Healer remove it. And a 4th Rank at that."

  “Is it affecting you currently?” Kaizen asked. The samurai scratched his chin and studied the weapon closely.

  “It’s having bad effects on restoring my Ryoku. Everything is slow, including me and my breathing. It constantly drains me, but I’m gaining one Ryoku every few minutes, so at least it’s a positive sum.”

  “I see.” Kaizen took a seat with them by the fire. Rukia joined in his lap.

  “After Kat got me, we came back here. She…retrieved our armor beforehand." Not gonna bite on that, either. "Listen, the only way we can continue to defend ourselves is with more Vessels,” Cy said bluntly.

  “Not yet, Cy,” Kaizen said. Cy filled with rage. “Jules. How are you?”

  Oh, right. He calmed a little.

  “You have no idea.”

  Kaizen’s expression made Cy suspect otherwise. “I mean physically. There must be repercussions to that battle.”

  Jules opened his shirt and exposed his Seal to them all. It was outlined in a black heptagram. Small dark veins stretched inwards, as if to fill the void with darkness.

  “He’s trying to work his way back in,” Jules said. He covered himself back up. “I don’t know how to stop him.”

  “You’re doing exactly what he wants,” Kaizen said. “He wants you to give up. It’s easier to possess you when you’re in a highly emotional state.”

  Jules ran his hands through his hair. He rubbed his eyes with his palms and pressed his face in, as if to relieve a migraine.

  “It’s OK, Little One,” Rukia said. “You resisted him in the end. You negotiated a deal to save your friends. It’s tough, Jules, but you are handling it well.” Jules looked up at his Familiar.

  “I don’t remember telling you any of that.”

  Kaizen and Rukia exchanged some silent message. “She is your Familiar, Jules," Kaizen said. "She knows everything about you.”

  “I want to run away, too,” Envy said. You gotta be kidding me. She angled her body away from Jules. “But I want to stay. I’m terrified to do either.”

  “I’m sorry, Katarina. For what happened to you.” Cy was surprised to hear Whiskers say it and not Jules. The cat cuddled in her lap.

  “Our only choice is to move forward,” Cy said. Somebody, please, back me up. “The only chance we have to stop our growing list of enemies is to get stronger.”

  “I agree,” Kaizen said.

  Finally. “Then we set sail.”

  “Where to?” Envy asked.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “The next Vessel, which we need to decide on. Right now.”

  “First, we need to find someone to remove that dagger,” Kaizen said.

  “We can,” Whiskers said.

  “No. I don’t feel like dying today. None of us are in the right state, even myself included. One mistake, I bleed out. Done.”

  “You don’t trust us?” Whiskers asked. His eyes gleamed.

  “Of course I do. But timing is everything.” With that word—timing—Cy thought of The Painter. “I need to be there to support Kat and Jules, because the reality is that this could happen to Kat, too, so we need to prepare for that.”

  “It cannot.” What?

  “Whiskers is right,” Kaizen said. “Only Wrath exists beyond the Cycles. The rest…” He gazed up at the stars.

  “Why is Wrath the only one?” Envy asked. Kaizen remained silent. “I need to help Jules, too, so snap out of it, you ghost of a moron.”

  "Don't you mean moron of a ghost?" Kaizen smiled at her. "I apologize—You just really remind me of my Envy, sometimes."

  “I need the next Vessel,” Cy said. “To catch up to you two in strength. We set sail for Lighthouse Point.”

  “Zeke and Selene might be waiting for us there,” Whiskers said. “If she withstood the rain, then it’s likely his Enchantments could do the same.”

  “We are weak,” Envy said. “But they’ve got to be weak themselves, or they would have found us already. I need to leave Coralhaven with you all." She traced her left ear. "But I’m not sure that I’m going to continue beyond that…”

  Are you insane!? “You’d abandon us? Now!?”

  “I want to keep fighting, Cy, but I just…don’t know anymore. I feel like all is lost.”

  “Katarina, going with the flow and delaying decisions is no way to act—”

  “I can’t help it right now,” Envy shouted at Whiskers. “You don’t understand. You can’t understand.” She got up to leave, but Jules grabbed her arm, faster than Cy had ever seen him move.

  “I understand, Kat. I won’t judge you if you leave.”

  Envy wrenched away from his grip and stomped away from the fire. Whiskers hissed at her over his shoulder.

  “I’d like to run away, too,” Jules said. “Far away, to another continent. Where no one can find me. Where I can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “You need to train with me to use the Sound.” Kaizen crossed his arms.

  “Damn thing got us here in the first place. It’s better off sinking to the bottom of the sea.”

  Cy knew that, even though they were on a boat, it was an empty threat. At least I hope it is.

  “Jules, I’ll give you some time. I know this is a lot to carry, like you have the whole weight of the world on your shoulders, and that this keeps happening to you, but I need you to snap out of it soon, and forge ahead with me. So, you two.” Cy addressed the Sins. “Do whatever it is that you need to do to contribute to the team again. Rukia, Whiskers, your time for support is here. That should be your only goal, each of you. I will fix this shitty ship, I will sail through the entire fucking night and morning, I will land us in Lighthouse Point, and I will capture that Salvos-forsaken Shrine.

  “In the meantime, Kat, you decide if you’re gonna stay with us. After everything that’s happened with us, your world has been turned upside down. I will respect your decision, so long as you actually make one.”

  The cool land breeze whistled through them all.

  “Jules, you don’t have a choice. The sooner you realize that, the better. When we land, you start your training. First focus on preventing Wrath from taking over, then on how to put Zeke in the fucking ground. In the meantime, I’ll do the same.”

  Cy’s chest throbbed and burned from his tirade. The blade’s edge shifted with each word. He left his broken crew, scattered and fragmented on the deck.

  Two days passed, and the sun rose again. Cy ate beside his crew, though not entirely with them.

  When they’d landed the morning prior, Cy rode his adrenaline as far as it’d take him, which lasted just a few hours more. He scoped out the area they’d landed, and a path that led to the Shrine. When he’d had enough, he sent Kaizen out on a reconnaissance mission. Then he slept for eighteen hours straight.

  After a brief report from Kaizen, and a large breakfast to catch up on his Ryoku, Cy bid his farewells and departed for the long trek to the Shrine, alone. With no Familiar by his side to talk things through, he walked and thought to himself; he always did his best reasoning while walking.

  Jules is still withdrawn. Avoiding me, avoiding us all, but especially ignoring his training. Kat’s pissed at me, which I can understand, but at least she's speaking to me. Maybe I should have gone a little easier on Jules back in Coralhaven?

  Cy shuddered at the thought of his hometown. The shock and desperation of escape, of safety, had worn off, and the sheer horror of his lived nightmare set in. Shake it off. Better not dwell on it when heading into a Shrine. Look where that got Jules.

  But still, I wish I wasn’t going in alone. I’m disappointed Kat stayed behind, but I have to respect her decision. Maybe I should have pushed her more, though.

  No. No. This is part of my path to becoming an Alter, not theirs. I must do this on my own.

  Along his long journey, Cy took in the sights of the island. Lighthouse Point was home to the Salvatica's largest lighthouse, which provided foresight to ships throughout all the Shattered Isles. No matter where Cy stood on this island, he saw it towering over him. Its light even breached the isle of Shinsora, far to the southwest, and several other shores of the Verdant Domain.

  Cy marveled at it. A static beacon of light, of direction. Firm and rigid, unwavering… But it also moves to shine a light on all, and not just one small place. Cy thought about the orphanage he grew up in, about the Tideshapers’ home, and about the spires of Aquilantis. Not sure why'd I think of those now.

  The path brought him up high on a cliff that looked down into the small city. People bustled around, and he wondered who were the types of people that worked and lived in a place called Lighthouse Point, whose sole purpose seemed to provide others with guidance and direction. His gaze fell on one building, which boasted a bronze statue of judicial scales on its front facade.

  Doubt there're any casinos here.

  He enjoyed the cool sea breeze that swept through his hair. For some reason, he thought this would be the last moment of peace that he’d enjoy for a while. At last, Cy arrived at the Shrine. No one was around, which surprised him.

  Stark contrast to the spectacles of the other's I've seen, but Kaizen did claim no one came to visit it during his entire watch, and I guess the type of people that live here have enough purpose as is.

  The Shrine stood three times Cy’s height. The familiar red sheen covered the round pillars that raised its gate up high. There was no waving veil at this Shrine. Cy saw straight through to the other side.

  ******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******

  78

  BONUS CONTENT BELOW

  ******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******

  Books of Salvatica

  Excerpts from 'Factions of Salvatica' by B.S. Snelliott

  The Etherealists

  The Etherealists, headquartered in Whispering Pines, are the sole and sworn defenders of The Ethereal Rift, down at the southernmost tip of all Salvatica. Not much is known about what they actually do, or who they actually are (outside of Whispering Pines, of course), but it is for certain that they do not allow anyone near The Ethereal Rift without intense and serious vetting (which, by the way, if any Etherealist leaders are perchance reading this, I am still awaiting my visa approval for my trip. My Zephyr tickets and lodging were non-refundable, so an expedition of the documents would be appreciated). One rumor that has floated about Salvatica for years, likely centuries and generations, is that the Ethereal Rift itself is one large Shrine. Until your illustrious author has seen the majestic site with his own eyes, he will not be either to confirm or deny these claims…

  The Shinsorai

  The Shinsorai are a Faction comprised of pure-blood families form Shinsora in The Verdant Domain. They are currently regarded as the strongest standing army in all of Salvatica, though they are also the furthest away from any foreign countries, and the most isolated, and largely just protect their own city-state-island of Shinsora, but alas, their legends and lore are a feast for the eyes.

  Their forces are broken into two main branches, with the Spellswords adept in katanas and Earth magic, and the Rogues adept in Illusion magic, Stealth, and mysterious close combat Skills.