Chapter 263 - Tyr I (1/2)

As Li approached the downtrodden king, the flames on his wings eagerly flickering towards the monarch, Tia stopped him, grasping at his hand. She looked up at him, squinting her eyes through the bright white aura of fire that shone from Li.

”Papa, can we help him?” asked Tia.

”It does not seem like there is much to help anymore,” said Li as he looked to the king, or whatever was left of it.

Tia nodded and said, ”But still, good heart. If I can connect, then I can bring him back. Hard to connect with, though. If papa helps me, maybe we can see?”

”You want me to help you?” asked Li.

Tia nodded eagerly, and through their linked hands, he could sense her intentions. She read his understanding and turned towards the king, staring with her black and green pupils right into the monarch's shadowy visage, no, past it, into his heart, his soul.

And as she did so, Li felt himself linking with her sight, seeing and feeling the same, and he knew what he meant when she asked him to help her. She wanted him to simply be there for her, not only to understand her but also to allow her to better channel power from him, and as she did so, he came to the realization that just as she could draw power from him, so too could he draw from her own unique abilities.

In this case, it was her uncanny ability to read into the souls of others. One that was originally Li's, but he could only express it in the capacity of reading into those linked with him such as his followers. He had done so with Ivo when the man had been crippled. But Tia had taken the ability and made it her own, developing it into something that could universally gaze into others.

Li began to see what she was seeing. The physical world disappeared from his sight as his shared sight with Tia honed in on the king, at first onto his being and then beyond it, into a murky world of fog.

Everything here was muted, dark. There were muffled sounds that managed to permeate the fog: the clattering of metal, a woman's voice, the drone of many people speaking something indistinguishable. There were sights. The flash of sparks. A glance from red, gentle eyes.

But, like Tia said before, it was impossible to make out anything. The dwarf's soul was completely clouded over.

”Nothing impossible with papa,” came Tia's voice, and Li knew she was right. He would always make sure that no matter what happened, that one statement alone, he would ensure would stand true. He focused on the warmth of Tia's hand and began to transfer his power to her.

And as he did so, the world of fog began to dissipate, arcs of green driving away the cloudiness, until, finally, the dwarf's soul became clear to read.

Li recognized this sight. It was where he stood now – the base of Stedheim's three pillars. But this was vastly different. The royal palace he had seen only through its preserved floor and a few sad shattered pillars and supports stood tall and whole.

He found himself in what appeared to be a throne room of vast proportions. It was fashioned of solid, dark stone, indicating a sense of roughness, but the pillars and domed ceiling above were gilded and studded with intricate, curled patterns of precious gems that glittered under a bright orange light.

The light came from the spherical engine fueling the Triforge. Now that Li could see it active in its full glory, he could witness the enormous spherical dome of metal revolving around the pillar of world vein energy that flickered from the earth, seams in the dome opening up ever so slightly in intervals to let out bright bursts of magical light.

From the sphere, lines of solidified light – conduits for channeling magical energy – linked the world vein to the rest of the dwarven pillars of Stedheim. In a way, it reminded Li of a science fiction concept he had seen. About something called a Dyson sphere that encompassed the sun to draw its energy.

In front of the sphere, a throne as tall as the ceiling rose up, its stone carved structure lined with indentations of energy. On the throne, there was the unmistakable figure of king Tyr in his original, unblackened state.