Chapter 661 (1/2)
In the darkness of her private room, Ophelia Vade, the leader of the Heart School, tapped her finger against the cold obsidian of her small buckler shield. It was something obtained only accidentally from a Danger Zone, hundreds of years ago. It almost made her nostalgic to think of the way the world used to be.
Her memories of before the System were naught but shapes, of course. She had been only a girl when the change came to this world. But she had risen quickly to prominence afterward. And it was only by her hand, and the Oracle, that Tellus had weathered the loss of the Spearman.
When her thoughts turned in that direction, her lips thinned to a frown. Shaking her head, she dispersed those emotions like they were beads of dew. Such emotions would only get in the way of her goal, here.
“Versault, I appreciate that you came all this way.”
Versault Ignis, leader of the Death School, almost seemed amused as he walked into the room and considered Ophelia. The floor of the room was constructed entirely of a very difficult to harvest tongue of a monster. As it dried, it settled into an extremely soft and pleasing surface. Due to its high Level, it also boasted extreme durability. The rest of Ophelia’s office was similarly rare, but she felt no shyness about it.
This was what power could accomplish.
“I did not have a choice. You would have lashed out otherwise,” Versault observed.
Ophelia shrugged. “Fine, we can skip the pleasantries then. No matter what you say, I still remember the truth of your existence; there is no way you do not understand what happened to the spear source. Your power over memory is without peer. Show me what happened.”
Versault considered Ophelia carefully. Then he sighed. “...I am much less than I once was, Ophelia. We both are.”
Gritting her teeth, Ophelia resisted the strong impulse to lash out at Versault. It was a near thing. Her fury seemed to boil over the edges of herself, coloring the air. But as soon as she heard the soft hum of her Skills warping the world around she immediately stopped. Horror spread across her face, and she immediately suppressed her Skill usage.
Versault’s laughter was loud and full of self-hatred. It took him several minutes to control his guffaws. And when he did, his question caught Ophelia flat-footed. “How is the Oracle?”
The pointed question left Ophelia furious, but she wasn’t going to make a mistake with her control twice. “She is a fucking hero. The sacrifices she made- without the Oracle, we would be fighting blind-”
“What has it gotten us, Ophelia? We don’t even know who we are fighting against.”
They stood in silence for several minutes before Versault departed. Ophelia didn’t bother to stop him. Because he was right. The enemy they had been playing cat and mouse with almost seven centuries wouldn’t have struck at the spear source; they had finally reached something like an accord with him.
But if not their old enemy… who was moving…?
*****
Aylwind Sky, leader of the Spearman School, looked up sharply at the news. Almost in spite of himself, he chuckled. “Is it truly so dire that even the Northern Domain has fallen to the Wights? Why would they even bother to invade there? Well, as long as Niergem is held, they will have hope. Let them handle themselves.”
His aide nodded, but after a second Aylwind grimaced and shook his head. “Fuck. It can’t be left to chance. How many escaped?”
“...the numbers are inaccurate. At the top end, almost a million people escaped, split into two forces. At their current speed-”
Aylwind waved her explanation away. “Who are the… leaders of the expedition?”
“Aethon Thai leads the larger portion of the forces in the area. Rumors are that he has broken through to the Master Level, and mortally wounded a Witch King. The smaller group is led by… ah… Aegiant Wyrd.”