Chapter 492: 493. Firelight

“Think you can manage a few dozen more line attacks?” Ariel asked.

It was obvious that he wasn’t serious, even if at the present moment there was little else that could deal with the newly emerging swarms of creatures. Unlike before, the bladeroaches hadn’t charged forward, but were gathering above the archways, filling the sky like black clouds.

Dallion could tell there was a strategy behind all their actions. The first wave had rushed with the aim of overwhelming all defenses. They had a secondary objective, however: to exhaust all combat capable echoes within the realm.

“Big sis can cut them up!” Lux chirped. “Let’s get big sis!”

Normally, Dallion would agree. However, the way the clouds of roaches were positioned made that difficult. The shardfly’s domain was a vast bridge that connected the edge of the cove to the isle serpent. A thick layer of invaders blocked the path there, making it impossible to reach.

“In order to reach her, we need to fight our way through,” Dallion muttered. “And if we can do that…” he looked at the three remaining echoes. “How are you, guys?”

“I’ve enough for one last line attack,” one of the Dallions replied. “After that I’m done.”

“I might manage two,” the other one said. “No guarantees, though.”

All looked at Ariel.

“I’m only able to play music,” he said at last. “Not for long, though. In fifteen minutes, I’ll be done.”

“Fifteen minutes is a long time,” Dallion said. If the swarm charged, he doubted that the skill pillars would last even three.

Closing his eyes, Dallion concentrated. There had to be a way to salvage this. If there wasn’t, the voice wouldn’t have bothered giving him advice in the first place. Its silence now, though, suggested that even it had reached its usefulness quota.

The key had to lie in his familiars. Lux had proved more than useful in stopping the first wave. Gleam could well protect the Dallion’s skills during the second. Thinking about it, that was a strategic mistake on Dallion’s part. The optimal solution would have been for him to re-establish as many links as possible after freeing Lux. Whatever was controlling the roaches wasn’t focused on the familiars, so there couldn’t have been a better time. Sadly, that moment was gone.

Lux, how fast can you get to the start of the bridge? Dallion asked.

Very fast! The firebird replied. With you, not so fast, but still fast.

Five seconds?

Yep! I can burst and burn a hole through them.

The firebird’s high-pitched voice only made the eagerness with which he explained how he’d scorch hundreds of insects all the more frightening. He was on the right track, though.

Lux. Dallion chose his thoughts carefully. How long do you need to recover after a flame burst?

Not long!

A very big flame burst?

There was a moment’s hesitation.

If I use all my flame… A bit longer.

Five seconds? Dallion asked.

The slight dimming of the flames surrounding him suggested that the firebird wasn’t at all convinced. Sadly, that had to do.

“Guys, do what you can,” Dallion said. “There might be—”

“We know.” All three replied in unison.

“It’s a long shot,” Ariel said. “But good luck.”

“Thanks. Lux, get me to the lighthouse.”

Almost at the exact instant Dallion rose in the air, the bladeroaches commenced their flight. The air was filled with the flapping of thousands of insect wings. The creatures were far slower than firebird, but their approach was merciless. Unlike the previous times, nothing on their path was going to survive.

A strong force propelled Dallion forward, stopping at the top of Lux’s lighthouse. The one thing of interest was the large light crystal on the top. Similar to the kaleidervisto, it was flawless, capable of containing the firebird’s light. It had one major problem, though: it was meant to serve as a decoration, merely capable of shining in a mesmerizing light. For what Dallion had in mind, he had to make a few improvements.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the metal “cap” covering the top of the lighthouse. Being the ruler of the realm, it was within his power to transform the appearance of anything within, even the lighthouse now that it was linked to the realm once more.

When he opened them, a second later, the metal top was gone, revealing the entire crystal in its glory.

Nice! Nice! Lux chirped. You want me to flame burst in that?

“Not yet,” Dallion replied. He still had to add some modifications.

Summoning all his Earth knowledge about lenses and optical physics, Dallion focused on his writing skills. This was the first time he was going to use them for anything other than languages. Thankfully, the skills didn’t disappoint, creating a layer of copper-colored markers around the light crystal. A transparent sphere emerged, almost indistinguishable from a hologram. Additionally, cones emerged from it, showing the behavior and intensity of the light rays. The angle was fifteen degrees—far too wide for Dallion’s needs. Reaching out into the air, Dallion took hold of the angle marker and pushed it further in until it became a single line. As he did, the construct around the crystal changed as well.

That’s one way of building things, Dallion thought. Such a skill would have been invaluable during his math exams back on Earth.

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“Get in the crystal,” Dallion told Lux. “I’ll grab the ledge.”

The firebird considered the order. A moment later, the blue flames hopped off Dallion, leaving gravity to pull him back down. Expecting that, he quickly grabbed the ledge hanging off the side of the lighthouse.

Now! Appear, Dallion thought. No sooner had he said that than the marker gained physical form. A ball of glass surrounded the crystal, its shape both fascinating and unnatural. Unfortunately, there was no time for admiration. The sound of destruction in the distance indicated that one of Dallion’s echoes had done its final line attack. That meant that the roaches had all but reached the skill pillars.

“Now!” Dallion closed his eyes shut. This better work. “Burst with all your strength!”

There was something to be said of the destructive force of a firebird. With the exception of its eyes, the creature’s entire body was made of small droplets of flame. In normal circumstances, the bird would disperse the flames, filling even large chambers with a wave of flame capable of causing mass destruction. Dallion had faced a few firebirds when clearing items back in his Icepicker days. In all instances, they used the physical presence of the flame only. Thanks to the kaleidervisto, though, Dallion had used the light aspect as well in order to reveal chainling cubs hiding among the people of Nerosal. This time, the light was used for more than revealing.

Even with his eyes closed from the ledge, Dallion was able to see the blast of blue light. Not only that, but he also felt it envelop his fingers. A normal flame would have scorched them off on the spot. Thankfully, Lux’s flame was meant to heal and only burn Star-spawn, which it did with lethal efficiency. The wave of light spread through Dallion’s domain, reducing the bladeroaches to cinders. Splitting into instances, Dallion looked around. The invasion progression had gone back to twenty percent. That was likely temporary.

“Lux, how are you?” Dallion used his realm forming ability to remove the glass ball, then pulled himself up. “Lux?”

“So tired…” the firebird chirped in a whisper. “Want to sleep.”

It felt bad having to force the familiar to get back to working again, but Dallion didn’t have much of a choice. As one of his instances was able to glimpse, the invasion counter had started increasing once more.

“Lux.” Dallion put his hand on the crystal. It was lukewarm. “I know you’re tired, but you have to take me to Gleam.” And then to a few more places. “Can you manage that?”

“So tired…” the crystal glowed brighter. Gradually, small flames covered the surface. After ten seconds, there was a large enough quantity to jump onto Dallion.

“That’s it.” Dallion said, adding lightness and encouragement to his words. The effect took a few seconds, but soon enough Dallion rose up in the air. “Now, let’s go get Gleam.”

The flight was slower than Dallion was used to. Normally, he’d be there in five seconds, if not less. This time, it took him almost a third of a minute to reach the entrance spot to the shardfly’s domain. Meanwhile, roaches had started to emerge from the archways. They were a lot more cautious now, exiting one by one and gathering in small groups.

Where’s the door? Where’s the door? Dallion looked along the bridge’s surface. It was rather a connection of rooms suspended in the air and connected to one another through a pathway of sky silver slabs. The entrances to all the rooms had vanished. Somewhere, though, there was one entrance that Dallion could open by invading the realm. Ten seconds later, he found it.

“There!” he pointed. “Take me there.”

Lux obeyed, making Dallion’s body swoop down to the precise spot he had asked for. An outline emerged, made visible through Dallion’s use of music skills. A moment later he placed his hand on it again and thought of invading. This time, the process took a bit more effort. For a moment, Dallion felt invisible barriers forming in his mind in an attempt to stop him. Concentrating a bit more, they disappeared, allowing the entrance to be formed.

Before Dallion could say anything, Gleam emerged in her shardfly appearance. That took Dallion a bit back. He was so used to seeing her as a whip blade in the real world that he had started to think of the familiar as one.

“How bad is it?” Gleam immediately asked.

“Roaches,” Dallion replied. “I need you to protect my skills while I try to get the others.” He paused for a moment. “Do I need to wake Vermillion?”

“Don’t! Guardians don’t handle invasions well. Just get Nox.”

That wasn’t what Dallion was hoping to hear. Given that Gleam used to be a guardian before she became his familiar, Dallion had to agree. That severely limited his options.

Without another word, the shardfly flew off. Dallion stayed behind.

“Feeling any better, Lux?” Dallion asked.

“A bit,” the firebird replied with a yawn. “I still feel tired, but I think I can get you to big bro. I just need a little more rest.”

“We don’t have much time, Lux.”

The bladeroaches had already started their next attack. Unwilling to risk another deadly flash, they were banding in small groups before setting off directly at the realm’s awakening spot.

You’re low on critters, aren’t you? Dallion thought. If the mind behind the invaders was confident of its numbers, there would be no hesitation in letting large swarms pour into Dallion’s realm. Unfortunately, even such “small” groups were more than a challenge. If Dallion hadn’t been here, his realm would long have fallen, and Dallion himself likely reduced to a single digit awakened.

“I’ll do my best, but you’ve become so heavy.” Lux lifted Dallion up into the sky again.

“That’s the burden of success, Lux,” Dallion said in an attempt to change the mood. “Just think how proud Nox will be when he learns you were the one who—”

Yeah, yeah, Nox’s voice echoed in Dallion’s mind. A moment later, he emerged on Dallion’s shoulder.

“Nox? How did you get out?”

“I cut through the entrance. How else?”

“But the dagger is indestructible. You’re not supposed to be able to do that.”

“Give me some credit. I’m not a kitten anymore. I saw the part that was added and broke through that.”

There was a lot that Dallion didn’t know about realm invasion, but that sounded wrong. By every logic, Nox wasn’t supposed to be able to do that. That left the possibility that the creature sitting on Dallion’s shoulder was an imposter. However, there didn’t seem to be any deceit or hatred emanating from him. As much as Dallion’s instinct told him to be cautious of Nox, every skill in his possession insisted that was the cubling from the realm of the well, just grown up.

“Are we going to claw some roaches or what?” Nox wagged his tail slowly. Dallion could feel him itching for a fight.

“No. We’re going through the archways to the source of it all.”

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