Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

[lordanl]

[Ebonique, how are you doing? Can you use some strength?]

As he merged all the platforms of Myst into one, Erik communicated with his trusted spirit while staring ahead with narrowed eyes, gripping his machetes tightly. The dragoness replied with a solemn voice, though traces of anger and frustration were clearly detectable in her tone.

[Nothing beyond what this contract incarnation allows, and I have to use your mana. It's too risky to use my own mana with that bastard collector's aura being so thick.]

[That's better than nothing. Your special ability and affinities will be a great help to me.] Erik responded with a composed tone, then asked.

[But who is this 'collector'? What can you tell me about him?]

[He's a spirit on the same level as Ignis and myself.] Ebonique paused briefly to gather her thoughts before continuing her explanation.

[Though under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pose a threat to either of us, in our current situation, he's the worst enemy we could have. He's an annoying bastard who distracts himself from boredom by collecting all sorts of things. From roadside pebbles to other people's treasures. Mainly because his ability makes it easy for him, and because of that hobby of his, he's sparked countless wars over time.]

[Sounds like a really troublesome guy, but how much damage can he do through this 'aura' you mentioned?] Erik asked with a serious tone. Ebonique replied solemnly.

[The 'aura' is more like a part of our mana, or rather, mana oversaturated with spiritual force—something all living beings, especially the powerful ones, produce unconsciously. Through it, various things can be achieved. For example, detecting others through their aura—though with limitations, allowing others to detect us, but more importantly, it's possible to activate certain abilities remotely through it.]

[…What is his ability?] Erik asked with an even darker expression. Ebonique thought for a moment before starting to explain.

[I don't know the exact details of his ability since no one is willing to fully reveal their weaknesses to others, but in our circle, he's nicknamed 'Possessive Bond.' He can basically create an almost unbreakable connection with nearly anything, and it inevitably returns to him. And when I say anything, I mean anything. I heard that once he 'stole' all of someone's mana in a fight.]

[The golden chains…?] Erik asked, feeling his heart tighten. Ebonique gently shook her head, still hidden within Erik's hair, and explained.

[Although those chains do carry some of his aura, it's not exactly the same as his ability… They're more like a low-quality imitation.]

[Can a spirit's special abilities be imitated?!] Erik asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. Ebonique replied with a composed voice.

[Well, special abilities also use mana to function, and even we integrate them into our affinities, so technically, it's possible to achieve a similar effect with a spell. Though in reality, many have tried, and only a few have had 'relative success.' Even when they manage to create something that works similarly, it's always been pathetically weak and absurdly inefficient.]

[… I think I'm starting to understand how they created the island… They used that 'Possessive Bond' to gather samples from everywhere.] Erik commented with a dark tone. Ebonique nodded and replied.

[It's likely, but there must be more than just a replica of that cunning bastard's ability, because even though his ability is powerful, it has some limitations, and an imitation should have even more.]

[…]

Erik fell silent as he reflected, splitting his focus between his Mystic Awareness and his thoughts, sending subtle guidance to Hiyori to change their route and avoid confrontation with other hunters. But as they neared the 'base,' Erik's attention inevitably shifted to the walls, which were already glowing so brightly that their original black color was no longer visible. Now, only endless runes could be seen moving as if they were lava lamps.

But at that very moment, with just one more intersection left before they could finally see the 'base,' something changed. As if some critical point had been reached, Erik felt the Myst slip entirely out of his control, only able to manipulate it within a one-meter radius around him. Simultaneously, the walls began to shine so intensely that it became impossible to see anything.

"Get ready!!"

As he shouted with force, Erik conjured a massive rune-geometric circle along with several smaller geometric circles. The rune-geometric circle was one of the countless tests he had developed in his attempt to understand the theory behind its functioning.

With a dark expression, Erik felt six angelic light wings materialize, then embrace the entire group, at which point a spherical light barrier formed to envelop them completely. At the same time, several prismatic Myst barriers formed inside the light barrier, offering multiple layers of protection.

Though the rune-geometric circles hadn't been fully tested, making him cautious about using them since they could be dangerous, Erik had no other choice. While his Myst barriers were powerful, without proper control over the Myst, he couldn't create anything too resistant. Therefore, in an unknown situation, the safest option was to use a light barrier.

But at the same time, unable to mobilize the Myst, he couldn't use Mystic Confluence to empower spells with Myst. This indirectly increased the mana cost of an elemental spell for him by a significant margin. This inevitably forced him not only to use the runic-geometric circles but also to push his overdrive to the limit, to the point where he could feel his body greatly straining.

Meanwhile, the team's mages quickly reacted and began conjuring barriers, but before they could achieve anything significant, the very space around them trembled. As a debilitating dizziness washed over them, everyone on the Myst platform felt something grab them by the waist and pull them with force, causing them to crash into each other but grouping them together.

While the world still spun for her, Elara forced her narrowed eyes to study their surroundings. But before she could examine anything, her field of vision was filled with the image of Erik behind her. The young man with starry hair had a dark, pained expression, the veins on his forehead bulging, blood trickling from the corner of his lips, and a strange smoke emanating from him.

"E-Erik!"

Elara shouted with a hoarse, trembling voice as she saw Erik bring a healing potion to his lips, revealing the muscles in his hands twitching violently and the veins in them even more pronounced than on his forehead. After downing the potion in one gulp, Erik gritted his teeth for a moment, and as four magic circles appeared around them, he announced in a rough voice.

"Prepare for battle."

Hearing Erik, Elara hurriedly turned to look around, but what she saw made her swallow hard. Beyond the barriers covering them, Elara could see they were in one of those gigantic halls, and there were hunters recovering from dizziness everywhere, as well as two individuals who seemed to belong to two other factions.

One appeared to be from the Lotus Union and the other from the Boreal League. But even more terrifying, golems began emerging from the walls. At that moment, Myst arrows formed in front of Erik's magic circles and shot out at high speed toward the recovering hunters.

Just then, in the middle of the hall, what appeared to be a hologram of a humanoid figure formed, though it was unrecognizable. Likely due to damage over time or something else, the figure looked like a whitish silhouette with volume. But the instant the hologram appeared, Erik's Myst arrows vanished into thin air along with the magic circles, followed by an almost robotic voice echoing through the space.

[Emergency security system activated due to a critical failure in the facilities. As no 'adult' presence has been detected, evacuation protocol 7854 is initiated. Please, 'little ones,' follow the logistic units to the nearest evacuation portal. Do not worry, you will find responsible adults outside the portal, and the logistic units will handle any intruders.]

Though the voice spoke in an unknown language, somehow, everyone present could roughly understand its meaning. The moment the message ended, the figure disappeared, but to the dismay of everyone present, strange music began to resonate in the area. The odd pattern of the unfamiliar song led Tomás to comment with a hint of disbelief.

"A lullaby…?"

"Let's worry about that later; they're coming for us…" Erik remarked with a solemn voice, then took another healing potion and conjured more magic circles.

With that report, everyone snapped back to reality and gripped their weapons tightly, as the hunters began to gather into two groups, and the two youths from the other factions looked at each other in terror and disbelief. At that moment, the golems, which had accumulated to nearly a hundred, raised their arms forward in unison as glowing runes began to shine on their forearms.

Before anyone could do anything, beams of pure energy shot out from the golems' fists, targeting everyone present indiscriminately. As the beams struck Erik's light barrier, the angel wings around them quickly began to vanish one by one, at which point Elara, who had created several magic circles, announced in a serious voice.

"Phoenix Veil! Fiery Plague!!"

Quickly, a fire barrier covered the group while hundreds of fireballs began to fall from the magic circles above, like an apocalyptic rain. At the same time, an ice barrier formed, complementing the fire one, followed by a whirlwind of ice dust.

"Frozen Aegis!! Chilling Cyclone!"

"Expansive Pressure!"

"Combustible Gas!"

"Twilight Rain!"

Simultaneously, Frank, Ethan, and Chen announced their spells, at which point a giant fire rune formed in the air, from which tiny 'fire drops' began to fall. At the same time, several spheres of what appeared to be compressed gas shot out to meet the falling fireballs and 'fire drops' from above.

At the moment of impact, brutal explosions began to occur throughout the enormous hall, creating powerful shockwaves laden with cutting ice dust, capable of piercing through most defenses.

But despite the impressive power, none of those present changed their expressions; all looked incredibly dark and apprehensive. After all, everyone knew how resilient the golems were, and now they seemed even stronger. They had seen how the hunters died like dogs under the onslaught of the golems' lasers, including the pair of youths from the other factions.

As if responding to their thoughts, even as furious shockwaves struck against the barriers, everyone could feel a new barrage of lasers hitting them. As if they were paper, Elara and Christine's barriers were destroyed, followed by Erik's light barrier. But the Myst barriers Erik had conjured managed to halt the onslaught, leaving just two layers of Myst barriers protecting them.

"I'll create illusions to buy time! We have to escape and reach the 'base' as soon as possible!"

As the other mages, along with Erik, conjured barriers with everything they had, Ethan announced in a voice full of urgency. Around Ethan, a large number of runes released a thick mist.

"All knights with me, we'll repel the approaching golems while heading to the third exit on the left."

Tomás announced with a solemn voice as six small magic circles formed on his sword. Erik, who still had smoke emanating from him and veins bulging across his body, announced in a similar tone.

"Hiyori, we'll do the same as before!"

"Understood." The fox spirit replied with an equally serious voice as white flames materialized around her.

Within moments, everyone was on a Myst platform, and Hiyori ran with all her strength, propelled by fire explosions while exact figures of them split into four different directions. But just before the illusions could separate enough, a new rain of attacks hit the group, though the mages noticed a significant difference. This time, it wasn't the laser rain; it was a combined spell striking their barriers.

Due to the brutal onslaught, the barriers weakened significantly, causing Christine to look back in panic, where she could see a group of surviving hunters surrounded by barriers and running toward the opposite exit. At the same time, Christine could see the golems' fists lighting up again, while new golems leaped into the air, heading toward them with an agility they had never shown before.

(Is this the end…?)

[Erik, run!!!]

***

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[lordanl]

[Erik, run!!!]

Suddenly, Erik felt the Myst begin to rush into his body on its own—hurried and disorganized, almost in a panic. Somehow that made the world around him slow down to the point that Ebonique's panic-filled "scream" in his mind sounded like a slow-motion recording—drawn out and elongated.

But instead of panicking, Erik felt completely calm, as if the death before him meant nothing. With a cold, almost calculating expression, Erik watched the beams of light from the golems' fists closing in on them. Then he lowered his gaze to his shadow, about to vanish, where he saw Kaiser and Tiberius begin to emerge in a panic.

With the same calm, Erik looked at his companions' panicked expressions—especially the mages, who were moving in slow motion to conjure barriers. They were so slow that even Tomás, the fastest person there, who was trying to swing his sword forward, seemed to take a full second to move it a few millimeters. Then Erik focused on the Myst around him.

The surrounding Myst, in addition to trying to force its way inside him in a rush, had a portion that remained outside, seemingly "battling" the Myst he couldn't control. This caused the Myst beyond his control to tremble violently, almost as if it were starting to "boil" somehow.

Meanwhile, the Myst inside him began to communicate with him, almost aggressively demanding that he mobilize his mana to follow it. Though a bit surprised by the Myst's "aggressiveness," Erik—already used to being guided by it—followed almost instinctively, and soon his mana was circulating through his entire body, then passing through the mana gathering point in his head and descending.

Soon, Erik could feel it moving through his chest until it found his third mana gathering point—one he had discovered some time ago and which had been the secret to "elementalization." That third point in his chest was known as Jianggong in the Zazen Discipline, Anima in Sacred Geometry, or Hjarteldr in the aegis system.

That mana gathering point, just like the one in the head, had "special functions," as it was the gateway to total connection between mind and body. Although, as he had heard from his masters, "touching" it prematurely could be potentially lethal, for those who succeeded, it translated into a total connection between their minds and bodies. This granted bodily control and mana control beyond what was "humanly possible."

But while that sounded incredible—and it truly was for an ordinary person—for Erik it had little to no use. Naturally, he had bodily and mana control beyond all norms, as if he had been born with a perfect mind-body connection. But this changed when he tried to circulate elemental mana through the three points.

Somewhat awed by achieving Elemental Synchronization by following Master Jessica's advice and making use of his contract with the wolves, one day Erik tried circulating a combination of elemental mana synchronized with the Myst.

When his mana interconnected across his three mana-gathering points, something magical happened. He became a being of pure energy—a living bolt of lightning—what he now knew was a master-level technique of mana control and harmony with the Myst called Mystical Transcendence.

But although Mystical Transcendence was impressive—making him intangible to physical blows and enhancing his speed and elemental mana control to an absurd level, among other advantages—it was not without problems. Among them, apart from how exhausting it was physically, mentally, and in terms of mana, was the fact that he could still be injured by spells or mana.

Therefore, Erik couldn't understand why the Myst was guiding him to that third point, especially without using Elemental Synchronization—something that wouldn't save him either but would at least make a bit more sense.

But although he didn't understand what the Myst wanted to do, Erik still followed its instructions as he stretched out his hand to touch Kaiser—the only thing that might save him. Since Tiberius had informed him he couldn't create a shadow portal. But just then, Erik realized that his body couldn't follow his mind's speed. He moves painfully slowly.

At the same time, Ebonique, her face full of panic, clenched her jaw hard and took a deep breath while her mind raced at full speed, searching for an escape route. This caused the dragoness to see the world even slower than Erik, but just like him, her incarnation wouldn't withstand moving at the same speed. Even thinking alone was taking a toll on her incarnation, threatening to fade at any moment.

But no matter how much she thought, the dragoness couldn't arrive at a satisfactory solution. Her Erik was about to die, and neither her incarnation nor anyone present had the power to prevent it. Space was sealed, so moving through shadows to another place was impossible; Kaiser was fast, and Erik could move at a terrifying speed with him, but it still wouldn't be enough to escape.

She also couldn't conjure a barrier on her own strong enough to protect him or flee with him in her current state. Therefore, her only option was to flip the table—materialize her true body to destroy the ruin—and to keep that bastard collector from discovering her Erik, she would have to erase any trace of him. In other words, she would have to erase Erik's entire home galaxy from existence without sparing anyone.

After lasting mere milliseconds—which for her felt like hours—Ebonique made a decision and let out a long, heavy sigh, which seemed to make space itself tremble. She was going to destroy everything; even if Erik hated her for thousands or millions of years, as long as he was alive, there would be a chance for reconciliation. Anything was better than letting him die.

(I'll make you pay for this… I'll tear you to pieces and seal them for the rest of eternity while I destroy any trace of what was once yours and those who remember you… Seraphius Archivum, this is a blood debt I will collect until the end of time.)

With the light beams just a few meters from them, Ebonique began to rise slowly into the air, emerging from Erik's hair, while her eyes turned incredibly cold—filled with infinite killing intent. At the same time, Ebonique's body began to grow as dark bolts started to coil around her, but at that very instant, the Myst went mad.

Under Ebonique's incredulous gaze, the Myst moved with such force and in such synchronization that the dragoness could feel a brutal gravitational wave spread through space, scrambling time itself for a few milliseconds. In that instant, the light on the walls dimmed slightly, and around the group there appeared a prismatic Myst barrier that managed to block the lasers just before they struck the group.

But although the barrier was transparent, within it the only thing that could be seen from the outside was darkness. A darkness that seemed to absorb light itself and let nothing escape filled the barrier completely. Soon the golems that had leapt from afar reached it and began pounding on it with fists entirely covered in golden runes from the Zazen Discipline.

After several seconds, the barrier finally couldn't endure anymore and cracked like glass before shattering into pieces. Without the barrier's support, the golems atop it fell to the ground, passing through a dark mist that soon vanished—revealing that there was nothing inside the barrier.

As if showing their confusion, the golems looked at one another for a few moments but quickly organized themselves into several orderly groups. Two of the groups began to pursue the hunters' party while the rest moved nimbly down different corridors with the goal of locating and eliminating any intruders.

…

(Did I die?)

With her heart pounding and her short life of less than a century flashing before her eyes, Christine moved her head in the total darkness surrounding her, so confused she even thought she had died. But at that instant, the darkness vanished all at once, allowing her to see her entire team with Erik at the center—but he looked strange.

His green eyes shone so intensely it was hard to look at him, while his starry hair rose against gravity, its tips almost fading into nothing, as if merging with space. But even more impressive were the patterns of stars and galaxies in his hair; they emitted light and moved at great speed, as if it were a true image of the universe.

But that almost divine image soon disappeared; Erik's face grew greatly paler, and his hair and eyes returned to normal—at which point the young man fell to his knees and vomited a great mouthful of blood onto the floor.

""Erik!!""

Elara and Chen shouted in unison as they ran toward Erik, snapping everyone out of their momentary stupor. But before they could touch Erik, a magnificent oriental black dragon a few meters long appeared, coiling protectively around him, surrounded by thick arcs of dark electricity.

"I'm okay… Let's move to the base… We're still on the second floor… Keep straight along this path, Hiyori…"

With a hoarse, broken voice, Erik ordered as he sat on the Myst platform they were still on. Hiyori, who was looking at Erik as if he were a monster, quickly reacted and looked around, realizing they were in a corridor and more golems were starting to appear in the walls—though much more slowly than in the hallway before, and far fewer.

Without a word, Hiyori rose into the air and began to run along it with paws wreathed in white fire, speeding forward near the corridor's ceiling. Meanwhile, Ebonique asked, full of concern, as she could see Erik's veins and muscles twisting violently, looking quite gross.

[What happened to you? Are you okay?]

[I'm fine. The Myst showed me how to force the 'rebellious Myst' in the surroundings to obey me, and that somehow let me use the shadow portal that Tiberius couldn't open on his own. But it's far too draining; my mana system is in rough shape. It's still manageable though. A few potions and some healing spells will do the trick.]

Erik replied through the contract in a calmer voice while moving his trembling hand toward his storage bag. Ebonique took in Erik's miserable state with a sharp gaze and, though she was still surprised by what had happened, decided to focus on something that worried her even more in the moment.

[…Why do you do this to yourself to save these kids? You could have fled alone; I'm sure it would have been less taxing for you.]

[The difference wouldn't have been much. The Myst's abrupt movement let me synchronize with Tiberius for a few moments and activate the shadow portal for an instant, though it wasn't free. Practically all my mana vanished at once just to open the portal; bringing them along didn't really cost me much.] Erik answered calmly, but Ebonique shot back in an angry tone.

[Don't lie to me! Your mana vanished all at once because you opened a portal bigger than necessary!!]

"Erik, let me help—I know some healing spells."

While Ebonique was "scolding," Elara spoke in a voice full of concern, gripping her staff tightly and conjuring barriers around the group with the other mages. Ebonique looked at the young blonde mage, then at the rest as her anger mounted.

Seeing that everyone was watching Erik with different expressions—but all with some apprehension—and given that Erik was struggling even to get his hand into his storage pouch, Ebonique let out a cold growl and spoke in an authoritative voice.

"You two—tend to Erik until he recovers." Ebonique looked at Elara and Zoe, then looked at the rest and continued, letting her killing intent seep out.

"The rest of you, form up around my Erik and say not a word. From this moment on you will breathe only to place yourselves between him and harm. If a single splinter so much as grazes him, I will dismember you piece by piece until you beg to die. Understood?"

The moment Ebonique finished her speech, her purple eyes shone with a dark purplish light while her dark arcs began to spread across her entire body. At the same time, her horns grew, more claws appeared, and her entire being changed from an elegant dark dragon into something closer to the pinnacle of what a dragon was—a goddess among dragons.

***

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