The Grand Weave

As the sword met my spear, I willed it to wrap around the blade. I pulled, and the guardsman who swung the blade came tumbling forward.

Like a viper, Sturmrorex zipped out and sank his teeth into his shoulder, releasing a burst of electricity from his mouth.

The guard tried to flinch away, but the living tazer zapped him motionless and kept the skill activated long enough for him to sink to the ground.

As Sturmrorex released his bite, a silver dagger pierced the man's leg, followed by another into his arm.

I turned and found Sereza evading the swings of another two guards.

"Aine, heal, stay low," I ordered.

I launched forward, and Sereza jumped up as two stone spikes rose from the ground to impale her. When a third sprouted from the ceiling, she became a cloud of poison mist, and I jumped in front of her.

A fan of blue leaves sliced into my cheek while I blocked the rest with my arms. The kinetic damage transferred through the crystal and down the hairs before entering the receptacle inside my chest.

The crystal along my forearm cracked, and a final leaf managed to sneak through and embed itself into my ribs.

My clothes managed to blunt the blow, but I felt a sharp sting that blossomed into a burning itch. The foreign mana tried to stab deep, and I forced it under control, knocking the leaf aside.

The two guards didn't stop and instead pointed their blades my way.

I crouched and extended my arm, stabbing my spear into the first guard's leg, tripping him. While the second guard raised her arm, I used my free hand to release the acquired kinetic energy and send five nearly invisible lines crashing against her leg.

The guardswoman's legs were blown backward, sending her face first into the temple floor.

Like a ghost, Sereza reappeared and stabbed her tail into the first guard while throwing three daggers into the second.

They both struggled to rise, aiming to stand up, but the felkin rogue used the pommel of her blades and gave both a meaty smack into their temples.

Down they went, and she dropped to the floor. Her tail slid out of the guardsman's armpit while she panted heavily, her head bent low.

I turned and checked on the guard behind us to make sure there wouldn't be a surprise attack, but he lay sprawled on the ground at an awkward angle.

"Cyrus... where the fuck have you... been," Sereza sputtered.

I summoned a stamina potion and unstoppered the bottle, hovering it over her mouth. She didn't even bother taking it and instead opened wide.

Shrugging, I poured it in and let her swallow before pouring the rest. She shuddered and shook her head but nodded thankfully.

"How long have I been gone?" I asked, tossing the bottle aside.

After a deep exhale, she stood up and began removing the daggers from the guards. "Not long, maybe fifteen minutes."

I watched her safely remove each dagger and clean the blood and poison off. Her hair was a mess, and her jacket sported a few holes that weren't there before.

Looking around, the room looked untouched, except for the remnant stone spikes. Even then, they too disappeared and crumbled to dust, leaving the room clean and unmarred by the battle.

"Sorry, I got to meet someone important. Kind old dude, apparently wanted to chat and inform me of my choice."

She paused, her tail going still. When she looked back, I nearly snorted from the look of outrage and disbelief on her face.

"You did what?"

"Had some tea, a good talk, that's all."

"I would stab you if I could."

Sticking my tongue out, I rolled the guardswoman over and inspected her face. Her eyes were wide awake, and she could still breathe, even if her face seemed frozen in pain.

Black eyes, mind controlled. That explains a lot.

Reaching down, I lifted her head and jammed my thumb through her neck, keeping the rest of my claws on her head.

Áine flew over, having healed Sereza of her injuries by the time I knelt. She landed on her head and placed both hands down.

"Ready guys?" I asked my familiars.

Áine nodded, and I felt Magnus agree. Sturmrorex uncoiled and placed his hand atop the woman despite having nothing to do with the process.

I raised an eyebrow, and he raised his head high.

"A good leader participates. Even if only in spirit."

Sereza came up and stood over him. "Really, Little Monarch? Then cheer them on."

"Please don't. Do so in your head, but I need to concentrate."

"Don't worry, Master. I shall mute the link!" he whispered through the thought-speech.

I shut my eyes and felt for the slippery chains. They weren't hard to find, and I began absorbing the mana while Áine attacked from the front. Her mana slipped through the links and attacked its weakest point while I slowed it down and ate away at its strength.

It squirmed, tightening its hold, but that was fine. I didn't need it to move—Áine would have an easier time if it buckled down.

It took a solid minute before I opened my eyes and pushed the guardswoman's head down. Using my claw, I slid through her flesh and poked around, glad that she was unconscious of this.

"No parasite?" Sereza asked.

"Doesn't look like it. Wait, there," I said. I removed my finger and held up a small black bead no larger than ricegrain. "Too new, perhaps? Not enough time to grow."

"You removed it faster than the other time. Was the mana different?"

Briefly closing my eyes, I ran through my and Áine's memory and nodded. "Looks like it. It seemed far weaker, and there were fewer links around her mind. Still a powerful little bugger. Scary."

"Fuck, I really don't want that inside me."

I looked down.

The guardswoman's eyes had returned to a normal dark blue. Her eyes bounced, jerking my way but not quite managing to look in my direction.

"I guess I'll remove the paralysis now. Better to test one guard than accidentally have all three attack again."

Sereza leaned down. "Let me save your mana."

She ran her fingers over the knife holes. When she pulled away, green goop and some congealed blood flowed out of the wounds before collapsing to the floor in a small puddle.

"There, give it a second," she said.

We backed away, and Sturmrorex charged his lightning while Sereza gripped her daggers.

The guardswoman's breathing returned to a more even pace, and her arms twitched until they swung up. She pushed herself off the ground and clutched at her head.

She opened her mouth to speak... and screamed.

Sereza stepped forward and slapped a hand over her mouth while staring bewildered at me. The woman began to thrash, but Sereza held on while I got on my knees to grab her arms. She was damn strong, but I forced them down, and something wet hit my face.

Looking up, I found tears streaking down her cheeks as her deep-blue eyes welled with tears.

Sereza stared and I stared back, equally confused.

"Hey, I'm going to let go now. Can you promise not to scream?" Sereza asked hesitantly.

The guardswoman nodded, and Sereza let go. For a second, her mouth hung open, and I tensed. Thankfully, the woman continued to silently sob into her hands while Sereza backed away, joining me in the awkward staring.

"Master... why... why is the human crying?" Sturmrorex asked.

"I don't know. Give her a minute."

"Hey," I said. The guardswoman looked up, and I tried to smile. "I don't know what's happening, but can you explain why you're crying? Was it the pain?"

Her demeanor cracked, and a look of rage flashed across her face. Another bout of tears ruined the fury, and she wiped them away. "No. No, it wasn't the pain. I'm sorry. Thank you for saving me. And I'm sorry for attacking you..."

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Sereza added.

"I... I was conscious. I could feel my body move, but I couldn't do anything about it. It... It..."

Sereza leaned down and hugged her. She returned it by crying into her shoulder, but if Sereza cared, she didn't protest.

I turned my back on the pair and headed for the nearest guard, looking into his eyes.

Raising his head onto my lap, I placed two fingers into his neck, and my familiars got into position. "Hey, if you can hear me, I'll free you. But you need to not scream. We can't make any loud noises right now; we don't know what's going on."

I paused, waiting a full five seconds before closing my eyes and repeating the process.

Now that we knew the links were twice as flimsy as before, breaking the parasite-baby's control over the guardsman's mind was relatively easy.

Pulling away, I cut the bead out and crushed it, knocking the dust aside. Áine healed the injury, and Sereza came over to remove the poison.

Together, we watched the young man's face droop, and he scrunched his eyes. A single tear slipped free and coated his cheek, but he put on a weak smile when he opened them.

"Thank you, adventurers. Thank you."

As he sat up, he held out his arm, and the guardswoman joined him. We left the two to hug it out while we got into position over the third guard.

I repeated the same lines and cleansed him of the parasite. He didn't flinch, his eyes growing cloudy, a piercing grey glow lighting up from within his pupil.

When he spoke, it came off as anger, the sort of calm rage you watch out for, before it turned into something explosive.

"Thank you," he said.

He stood, picked up his sword, and slid it back into his sheath. He ignored his fellow guards and examined the room.

"Have you found Captain Elanor?"

Sereza shook her head. "I ran into the three of you, and you chased me down the hallway. After that, I spent several minutes avoiding your attacks until Cyrus showed up.

The guardsman whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "And where did you come from? I recall you appearing out of nowhere and my body reacting.

Sturmrorex lit up with a tempest around his scales, his horns flashing a blinding blue. "Try it, and I turn you to dust!"

I placed a hand on his back and commanded him to calm down while keeping my gaze on the guardsman's hand. "That is something above your pay grade. But I'm not an enemy. Otherwise, I would have kept the parasite inside your neck."

"If you so much as draw that blade, I'll pump you full with paralytics," Sereza warned.

The guardsman's eyes flickered between us before he held up both hands. "My apologies."

Sturmrorex tightened his body around my neck, and I stopped the mana flow running through my spear.

"So, now that they are free. What happened exactly? I know where I went, but how did you all get separated?"

Sereza sheathed her daggers, glancing toward the guards before shaking her head. "Don't know. One moment, we were all standing together, and then the world contracted. I assume we're now inside an expanded pocket dimension, but that's it. I came to inside a small dark hallway and explored. Next thing I knew, three guards were chasing me, sending skills flying. Then you appeared, and here we are."

"Right well, apparently the divine is blocked from Helio and its surroundings. And there's something else, but..." I started.

Sereza frowned and then sighed. "What you just said is extremely concerning, but I think we can trust them."

I didn't feel the same, but withholding information would be stupid.

I turned to the guardsman. "What's your name?"

"Orlun," he replied.

"Right, Orlun. If Elanor commanded you not to speak a word about me or what you may learn to anyone, including your friends and family, would you comply?"

He straightened his shoulders and raised his chin. "In a heartbeat."

That remains to be seen.

Sighing, I went to run a hand through my hair, but the crystal covering blocked my attempt, creating a faint ringing.

Shaking it off, I crossed my arms. "Fine. I'll make sure she does that when we're done.... Just a heads up, but apparently, there's some kind of remnant of a dead god creating all these problems. I don't know what that means, so don't ask."

Sereza deeply exhaled and closed her eyes while the guardsman stopped to stare. Even the the two guards, still hugging on the floor, separated and looked at me with open jaws.

Oh come on, it's not that crazy.