[He will unleash his prized possessions as he sees you slither away,] Dross whispered. [We dance on the razor’s edge.]
Lindon saw the things that would emerge from Dross’ portal. Spears of blood and storms of blades. Monarch-level techniques that had not yet been eroded by the labyrinth.
The timing would be thin as a fallen leaf, but he saw himself slapping his hand on the wall and exerting his will. The stone blurred and he ran, just in time.
Lindon took in all the possibilities, and he made his decision.
I have a better idea, he thought.
Dross laughed madly, and time resumed.
Lindon followed the path Dross had laid out. He dodged the lion’s axe with the speed of the Burning Cloak, dashing through a net of Striker techniques. Gold portals yawned wider as he leaped through the air.
He landed in a crouch on the back of Subject One’s throne. What was left of Lindon’s broken hunger arm rested on its stone.
“Begone,” Lindon commanded.
His authority ran through the labyrinth, but Reigan Shen laughed. His golden portals paused, and he waved a hand casually. “Why don’t you begone.”
In the labyrinth, their wills clashed.
Reigan Shen had spent almost a year living here. He had absorbed the Soulsmith inheritance of Ozmanthus Arelius. He was a Monarch in his own right, and he held the core binding of Subject One. His authority over the labyrinth was strong.
Lindon had grown up here. His Void Icon resonated strongly with the power of hunger in the labyrinth. He was the apprentice of one of Ozmanthus’ last descendants. He was only a Sage, but he had the blessing of the Slumbering Wraith. At least, his echo.
He couldn’t tell who had the greater claim over the labyrinth, but he could feel the balance tipping.
Lindon, after all, had given his word to Subject One.
And Reigan Shen had broken his.
All at once, space shifted all around the labyrinth. Pressure pushed down.
And the Monarch vanished.
How long will that keep him? Lindon asked Dross.
[Will he batter down our defenses, or will he slip away in shame?] Dross giggled in a way that sent shivers down Lindon’s spine. [I can’t wait to see. If he does break down our seals, it will not be soon. He will be locked outside, in the cold and hostile world, for at least a few hours.]
“Plenty of time,” Lindon said.
Then he tore off Subject One’s arm.
23
Yerin walked up to the slowly opening Nethergate with Eithan at her side. She couldn’t sense anything outside, but she’d left a little madra in reserve just in case she had to fight.
“You left Lindon on his own?” she asked Eithan. He had caught up suspiciously quickly.
“We became separated, but he has the key. I have every confidence in him.”
Yerin chewed on her lip. “Can we get back down there?”
“I suspect not,” Eithan said. “I only escaped because my opponent was a very reasonable man.”
“Only left because I thought you’d be with him,” Yerin muttered. “Shame we don’t have a key. Maybe we can—"
She was cut off when the Nethergate swung open enough to reveal a man in black-and-red robes, carrying a sword covered by a Blood Shadow. She almost attacked instantly. A moment later, she saw a second man, carrying a Shadow-wrapped chain.
And the third, a woman, stood over a trio of captives. Mercy, Orthos, and Little Blue.
Not a scratch on them, Yerin thought. That’s a bright spot.
Of course, the thought only occurred to her after she had leaped out of the Nethergate with her blade raised. Her madra was already forming the Flowing Sword around her weapon, and just because she now sensed that the enemy was an Archlady didn’t mean she was about to stop.
The Archlady’s Blood Shadow, in the form of a cobra, let out a hiss like a tunnel full of snakes all hissing at once. But it was the Redmoon Emissary herself who raised a weapon to stop Yerin. A crystal hand-axe flashed out of her soulspace and into her hand as Yerin’s attack landed.
The small weapon stopped Yerin’s blow, but it had her full strength behind it.
The Archlady’s knees half-buckled and the ground beneath her cracked before she managed to turn the sword aside.
Yerin allowed it and let herself fall to the ground, since neither of the Overlords had attacked or even threatened the captives.
“You’ve got about a breath and a half before I stop being friendly.”
“She’s not lying,” Eithan observed. “That was friendly.”
Mercy affected a shocked look. “Oh look, it’s Yerin and Eithan! What are the odds?”
The Archlady straightened herself up. “I am Emissary Kahn Mala of Redmoon Hall. I come on behalf of the Sage of Red Faith and the Redmoon Herald to protect you.”
Yerin had eyes, and her perception wasn’t restricted anymore. She could feel the powers clashing all around Sacred Valley, and could see the four Dreadgod cults positioned over the four peaks. There was a massive battle here, and it looked like the enemy controlled this territory.
Yerin tapped her Goldsigns together, striking up sparks of madra. “Just wants to protect me, does he? That’s more kindness than I’d have bet could fit into his dried-up heart.”
Kahn Mala flinched and her eyes flicked up, so Yerin immediately assumed they were being watched. “The Sage told us that you would attack when you saw us, so he sent enough people to stop you from killing us but not so many as to threaten you. He asked me to tell you that he knows exactly what you saw in the labyrinth, and to remind you that he was a researcher there himself. He requests an audience with you, and said that you have a chance to affect this entire battlefield. Even withdrawing Redmoon Hall is not off the table.”
Yerin considered it a triumph of great personal patience that she let a Redmoon Emissary finish that entire speech, and an even greater victory that she considered the message instead of dismissing it out of hand.
“I’ll match that bet and raise it a step,” Yerin said at last. “I’ll meet him in whatever hole he crawls back into at night, but only after you take us back to our people. Can’t relax until I make sure nobody’s missing.”
Kahn Mala looked hesitantly over her shoulder, and then the air buzzed as the Blood Sage’s voice was transmitted through aura.
“We need an assurance of your sincerity,” Red Faith said.
“Swear on my soul,” Yerin responded casually.
The oath tightened, and then snapped into place as the Sage of Red Faith agreed wherever he was. His voice crawled through the air to them again.
“Escort her wherever she wishes to go, as long as you do not put her in further danger.”
Kahn Mala bowed to a distant point, and then looked back to Yerin. “Where would you like to go?”
“Can we get back down to Lindon?” Yerin asked Eithan. He shook his head. “Then let’s walk the road we’ve got. Where’s the Twin Star Sect?”
“I’ll find out,” the Archlady responded.
Eithan pointed.
Not all squads returned from the battlefield after dark, but theirs was scheduled to. Jai Long began to worry as the sun set, and that worry grew with every passing minute.
Finally, he went to find the Truegold Skysworn coordinating the Blackflame Empire’s forces. The woman was respectful to him, as he was about to advance past her, but she still couldn’t help.