The ocean surrounding the small island churned with restless waves as violet runes continued to pulse across the barren ground beneath my feet. The massive teleportation formation stretched across the entire island, its intricate structure slowly taking shape under my control.
Far above the horizon the sky had begun to darken as distant storm clouds gathered over Abor’s endless waters.
For several minutes I studied the arrays silently, adjusting a few of the outer runic channels before finally exhaling and straightening.
"That should hold for now."
Through Right to Insight every rune appeared to me as a living structure of relationships and currents, and I followed those lines carefully while guiding the essence that fed them.
Time passed without my noticing.
Another cluster of runes shifted into alignment. The stabilizing anchors were finally holding.
If the next set of spatial conduits integrated properly, the structure would be able to sustain a direct gate to Vaythos without collapsing under the pressure of interstellar distance.
I was already preparing the next adjustment when a voice interrupted my concentration.
"Hey."
I blinked and looked up.
Steve and North had landed beside me near the edge of the formation, both of them watching the glowing runes spread across the island.
"They’ve been waiting for a while," Steve said, jerking his thumb toward the sky.
Only then did I notice the six powerful presences hovering high above the island. Their auras were unmistakable even through the cloud layer, the currents of lightning, shadow, gravity, wind, life energy, and sealing force bending the atmosphere around them.
I straightened slowly and rolled my shoulders.
"Ah... yes."
A small smile crossed my face.
"Sorry. I lost myself in the runes."
North glanced down at the formation again.
"How much is done?"
"About eighty percent."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"That fast?"
"The structure is stable now. The remaining work is mostly refinement."
Steve crouched down briefly to examine one of the larger symbols etched into the stone before standing again.
"And once it’s finished?"
"Direct gate to Vaythos."
Steve gave a low whistle.
"That’s... convenient. It will make things easier later."
North nodded thoughtfully before looking back up at the sky.
"They’ve been hovering there for quite a while."
I followed her gaze upward.
The six summons remained where they were, suspended hundreds of meters above the island like distant stars behind the clouds.
"Alright," I said quietly.
I stepped away from the runic formation and rose slowly into the air, leaving Steve and North standing near the edge of the glowing island below.
Within seconds I broke through the lower cloud layer and arrived at the altitude where the six figures waited.
They spread slightly to give me space as I approached.
I stopped in front of them.
"So," I said calmly, "how are the rifts going?"
Aurora answered first.
"Well, we closed two of them. I did notice an increase in the number of forces the Eternals were pushing through. Looks like they’ve realized we’re targeting them consistently now."
Silver nodded slightly.
"Their commanders are adapting. They’ve started reinforcing the larger rifts with stronger abominations."
Ragnar grinned.
"Which makes the fights better."
"That was expected," I replied.
Lyrate tilted her head slightly.
"Your reputation is spreading faster than the rifts themselves. Most factions in the galaxy are avoiding those sectors entirely."
That was exactly the effect I wanted.
"How is your strength growing?" I asked.
Aurora’s lightning flickered faintly as she answered.
"The constant battles are pushing our laws further. The Eternals are providing excellent training."
Ragnar rolled his shoulders again.
"And smashing their monsters never gets boring."
Ash said nothing, but several faint sealing runes appeared briefly in the air before dissolving again.
I studied all six of them quietly.
The power they radiated had grown noticeably stronger over the past weeks. Continuous combat against Eternal forces had accelerated their development far beyond what normal training could achieve.
For a moment the wind moved silently through the clouds around us.
Then Ragnar finally spoke again.
"So... what exactly were we waiting up here for?"
I smiled faintly.
"Just a small test."
Six pairs of eyes focused on me.
"The rule is simple."
I pointed to the empty space where I stood.
"You win if you make me move from this position."
Ragnar’s grin spread instantly.
"That’s all?"
"That’s all."
Aurora raised an eyebrow.
"All six of us?"
"Yes."
For a brief moment none of them spoke. A faint silver glow flickered around my body before I suppressed it again.
"Begin."
They did not waste a second.
Knight moved first. The clouds around us dimmed as the shadows within them stretched unnaturally. Darkness folded inward before collapsing completely as Knight stepped through it, his presence vanishing from the visible sky as if he had dissolved into the atmosphere itself.
Lyrate attacked at the same moment.
There was no ground for roots to rise from this high in the sky, so she created one. Vast strands of life energy erupted outward from her hands, weaving themselves into enormous twisting vines that stretched across the clouds like living rivers. Entire trees formed from condensed essence in midair, their massive trunks exploding outward before launching toward me like spears.
Aurora followed a fraction of a second later. Lightning split the sky.
A bolt descended from the storm clouds above like a falling star, striking directly where I hovered. The sky filled with blinding white light.
Then the attacks struck something unseen.
Thousands of violet shields materialized around me.
The shields formed instantly from condensed essence, each weapon humming with power as they spun outward in a defensive storm. Lyrate’s living constructs shattered against the shield while Aurora’s lightning scattered across their surfaces in violent arcs.
I remained perfectly still.
The essence responded effortlessly to my will. Every particle of ambient energy in the surrounding atmosphere felt like an extension of my body.
Far below, Steve shaded his eyes while looking up from the island.
"Well that’s new."
North watched the expanding formation of weapons with interest.
The battle escalated immediately.
Silver moved next.
His body surged upward before transforming into a massive bird, wings spreading wide as currents of wind laws roared to life around him. A violent tornado formed in the sky as he climbed even higher before unleashing a barrage of crimson beams downward.
The clouds turned red.
The beams crashed into the spinning barrier of the essence shield surrounding me, detonating across the constructs in violent bursts of fire.
Before the flames cleared Ragnar was already charging.
Gravity collapsed around him as he launched forward through the air, the space beneath his feet distorting from the force of his acceleration. His enormous club swung downward like a falling meteor, the weapon carrying enough force to shatter mountains.
The impact collided with the defensive constructs. The sky exploded with pressure. A shockwave tore through the cloud layer beneath us as the blow met the barrier surrounding my body.
I raised one hand slightly. A massive shield of condensed essence formed instantly. Ragnar’s club struck the barrier with a thunderous impact that sent ripples through the air for kilometers.
Ragnar’s grin widened.
Before he could swing again space folded beside me.
Knight emerged from the shadows directly behind my shoulder, his blade moving in complete silence as spatial distortion sharpened the strike beyond ordinary limits.
I tilted my head slightly.
A thin wall of essence appeared exactly where his weapon was about to pass. The blade scraped across the barrier before Knight disappeared again into the surrounding shadows.
At the same moment Ash moved.
Black sealing runes erupted across the sky.
Hundreds of intricate runic formations spread through the air like constellations, expanding rapidly until they began suppressing the ambient essence surrounding me. Chains formed from sealing energy shot forward, attempting to bind the constructs I had created.
"Interesting."
For a brief moment the surrounding essence resisted my control as Ash’s sealing laws interfered with the environment. The silver glow flickered around my body before I suppressed it again.