Unbound

Gabby was exhausted. She lifted her hands and they shook, but it was only partially due to the strain that burned her Body.

You almost killed those people. If she had hit Archie any harder, the small guy would’ve pulped against the weird barrier the Minotaur had made. Murder wasn’t part of her plan, but then they’d all tried to kill her right back. She’d had to pull her punches to take down the Legion, then amp it right back up when that axe guy came at her.

Sunara was no different, though she only hit two people.

Of course, one of them had been her brother’s Companion.

She stilled her shaking hands, clutching them into tight fists. Calm down. No one died. And most importantly, you didn’t violate your bargain with the gods. That means you’re not dying, either.

She leaned back against a pillar and took a steadying breath. Her muscles quaked, strained too hard, too quickly. Traveling across the Continent using the Divinity's Stair was powerful and relatively quick, but it relied entirely on her own Mana and Stamina to endure it. The gods certainly vanished when she walked it, so they weren’t any sort of help. Powering up the ineffable steps was a chore and a half, not to mention while carrying dead weight.

Not so dead now.

The Kobolds were awake and bound with ethereal chains to a single, bone-white pillar. It was more than large enough to accommodate the tiny guys, and the chain gave them no room to move. Their hands were capped in a similar metal, as were their feet, knees, and elbows, blocking every Mana Gate they possessed. An elision collar finished the job, preventing them from activating any of their Skills.

Around the inscribed circle of gold there were nine total pillars, though every other was empty save one. The Sylphaen was bound there, too, held in the exact same manner as the Kobolds. Her wings, however, had required more care. They were stretched out, and bands of that same ethereal metal were clamped around them every two feet, with chains anchoring them to the pillar's top.

Gabby didn't answer. Just as she hadn't answered the other dozen barbs flung at her by the three Unbound. The darker Kobold twisted his neck, the only part of himself he could truly move, as if it would loosen his chains.

"Let us out of here, lady!”

“Shadow!”

“Fight us fair and square!”

“Devon!"

The dark one snapped his mouth shut, and the other Kobold looked at Gabby with eyes too weary to belong to someone so small. "Just tell us where we are."

"You stand upon the Tower of True Faith."

Everyone flinched, and Gabby struggled back to her feet as a figure in all white descended from a set of pale steps. A lone spire, clad in gold, floated a hundred feet above the inscribed circle, directly in the center of the tower. Ocalla Marzul, the Hierophant, walked down its levitating steps as if she were a queen.

Gabby supposed she was.

She bore an alabaster staff that was made of the same material as the tower itself, and around her brow was an elegant silver diadem. “The ancient Nym called it En'Cridhe, but they were heathens all. It means Star of Heaven, and yet they did not believe in the gods. Foolish. Doomed.”

She stepped onto the inscribed circle, and it glowed beneath her feet—a gentle radiance that only enhanced the terrible beauty she commanded.

"The Pathless is dead," the Sylvaean said, her green eyes intense. "Why worship him any longer?"

The Hierophant pursed her lips. "You know nothing of faith, little Unbound. None of you do." She turned to Gabby. "You have failed us."

"I brought back the weapon and the Unbound.”

“I told you all of them." The woman didn't raise her voice, but it somehow struck Gabby like a slap to the face. "You failed to bring me the Theron and the Lizard.”

“I'm still working on that guy. But Elowen was defended by Felix."

Ocalla raised an eyebrow. "Your brother."

"He is nothing to me," Gabby lied, holding her Spirit as still as she could.

Acting is level 129!

The Hierophant smiled. "He is nothing, yes. Still, this nothing has caused us enough problems. Can you ascend the Divinity's Stair again?"

Gabby swallowed. "So soon would be difficult."

"Then you must rest. We will have need of it soon."

You Have Not Kept To The Bargain.

The voice had too many timbres to count, and it shivered the tower around them like a struck tuning fork. The air above the golden inscription broke into black shadow. The Realm split before them, and from the dark Void emerged five gleaming shadows.

Four and a half, Gabby corrected herself.

The Twins rose up in metallic blue, their lanky humanoid form strange and stretched out, though they seemed to be made of steel. Yyero was behind them, an angular corpse with eyes like burning bronze. Noctis was last, her midnight matronly shape marred by crackling crimson, lightning around her shoulders. Her empty face was still terrifying, but she looked haggard.

Inwardly, Gabby allowed herself a smile.

"The bargain stands," Ocalla said, apparently undaunted by the shadow of gods. "We have captured three of the Unbound."

With Five Remaining Free. Yyero’s mismatched fangs spread wide into a bestial grin. A Failing Grade Under Even The Most Lenient Of Tutors. Can You Be Trusted To Complete This Task?

He leaned forward, his sunken gaze suddenly all that Gabby could perceive. Or Do You Require Breaking?

You Have Provided Our Vessel, the Twins interrupted.

Yyero pulled back, his stooped form almost folding in on itself. Two hands, one blue and the other the faintest of green, reached out and caressed the imprisoned Kobolds. They jerked away, but they couldn't escape the gods' cold touch.

You Have The Kobolds And The Sylphaen. We Require Only One More.

“The Theron evaded capture.”

The Theron Is Of No Concern Any Longer. Find The Lizard. With Him In Hand, We May Proceed.

"Only one more?” Ocalla asked, turning her unflappable gaze between the gods. "What of Siva?"

The shadows did not answer. Be Ready.

"No."

Gabby's eyes widened. Even the prisoners looked at the hierophant like she was crazy.

Noctis stepped forward, her empty face crackling with lightning. You Do Not Have The Authority To Refuse Us, Marzul.

"You need me."

The shadows did not answer that, either.

"What happened to Siva?"

As if waiting for the question, a shadow passed over the sun, darkening the sky for a brief moment. Something had changed.

A Divinity Has Fallen!

Let All Upon The Continent Hear This Cry!

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Felix Nevarre, Autarch of Nagast, Has Killed The Goddess Of Fortune!

Gabby spun toward the horizon, where three moons had risen above the distant mountains no less than an hour ago.

Holy shit. Her heart started to race. He did it!

The silver moon, Siva's moon, was gone.

Someone laughed, and Gabby wasn't surprised to find that it was the green-gold Kobold. "You schmucks. I don't know that guy, but I know his friends, and they're gonna kick your ass."

A blast of kinetic force rocked both Kobolds back, smashing their heads against the pillar with a resonant thud. They both fell unconscious.

The Twins lowered their entwined hands. There Is No More Time For Dawdling, Marzul.Find The Lizard, Or Ruin Will Find You.

The dark rift closed, and the gods were gone.

"Intriguing," Ocalla mused, rubbing at her pointed chin. "First the Pathless, and now Siva. How is he doing this?"

The last was directed at Gabby, but she only held her Spirit close and shrugged. "I don't know. He wasn't... He's changed since coming to the Continent.”

“Nevarre has powers I do not understand. He is doing things no Unbound should be capable of. Things that I—" She cut herself off, and for the second time, Gabby saw the woman flustered. "He must be stopped.”

“The gods do not wish me to face him. Not again.”

“Cowards all." She reached up and put her hand on Gabby's face, stroking her cheek. It made Gabby’s skin crawl. "No matter your Oath to them, you are my weapon, Imara. Never forget that."

"Your majesty!" Hierei Quist rushed up the wide steps around the open tower, her priestly robes flapping in the wind. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were wide. "The Lizard has been located. He is within the city!"

Ocalla smiled. "Siva perishes, and fortune visits me. How serendipitous. You have him?"

The Hierei's mouth twisted. “He evades us, but he has retreated into the sewers beneath the tower. He was last seen in the Tanner's District."

"Good." Ocalla turned back to Gabby. "Prove yourself then, Imara. Bring me the Lizard, alive. Show me that you deserve your place at my side when the Ruin comes."

Gabby nodded as the Hierophant marched away, back up the steps to the spire and the weapon within.

"What game are you playing?"

Gabby looked back and saw the Sylphaen glaring her down. "You don't know anything."

"I know that I wouldn't betray my family," she said. Her wings shifted, rattling the chains. "I know that I wouldn't bow and scrape to monsters that want to Ruin the world.”

“You are the monster Unbound,” Quist snapped. "A demon in mortal flesh.”

“And what's she?" the Sylphaen demanded. "A demon is fine, so long as they're leashed?”

“She knows her place. You, however, are not worth the air you steal from our world." The Hierei placed a hand on Gabby's armored back, as high as the woman could reach. "Come, Imara. There is work to be done."

Embarrassed, enraged, and sick to her stomach, Gabby let herself be led off the tower, clenching her Spirit tight. "Yes," she said. "A great deal of work."

Acting is level 130!

The wind howled around them as they fell from the sky, and Atar was pissed.

One day! One day without dying! Is that much to ask?

“This isn’t supposed to happen!” Elowen said, clutching onto a twisted bar of metal. “The Towers cannot fall!”

“The Vent is gone!” Tern shouted. “There is nothing holding them up any longer!”

“Felix,” Atar cursed into the empty air. “We talked about this!”

His gaze caught on the Theron, who was trembling as if she hadn’t just been flying around in the air. “You’re Unbound, too! Do something!”

She lifted her hands, but her purple and gold power failed to do more than spit sparks from her palms. “I—I’m spent! I couldn’t lift a pebble right now!”

transform, atar! now!

“And do what? I can’t carry anyone when I’m a burning skeleton!”

you’ll survive!

“They’ll die!”

gah! so frustrating!

“Ocean’s Embrace.” Zara unleashed her power, and an orb of water enveloped the entire top floor of the Tower, suspending all of them in thick, chill liquid save for a thin bubble of air. “Alister!”

“Greater Force Shielding!” Barrier after barrier sprung up from the mage’s hands, layers of gleaming blue wrapping around the deeper azure of Zara’s power.

The floor broke open, splitting apart as layers of the Tower segmented from one another. A great terrible grinding filled Atar’s ears, louder by far than the screams that seemed to come from everywhere all at once.

The Tower lurched, and all of them sloshed down into their watery protection. Atar gasped, fighting to stay afloat, and he was the first who noticed the lightning.

ADAMANT DISCORD!

Thick beams of blue-white electricity crawled across every conceivable surface that Atar could see. It spread, less chaotic than lightning and more like guiding hands of crackling light.

They clutched at all things, and the Tower slowed almost to a stop.

“This is—” Zara turned her wide eyes to the blasted-out walls as the spires of other structures came into view. The Violet Tower’s outbuildings surrounded them, equally coated in viscous lightning, and all of them were lowering down into the city below.

She gestured, and the water around them vanished. Atar shouted for a second before falling on his rear. “Hey!”

Zara didn’t listen, so he scrambled to his feet. “What is Felix doing now—?”

His words died in his throat.

It wasn’t just the Violet Tower.

All of Levantier was coated in lightning. A dozen floating islands, Towers all, were guided out of the skies and down into empty market squares, parks, and gardens.

“Blighted Night,” he swore. “How is he doing this?”

The Chanter swallowed. “I haven’t a clue.”

The Violet Tower boomed as it hit the earth far more gracefully than Atar had ever expected. He slipped a bit, and the main Tower groaned in protest…but it held together.

“That…was a workout,” a dark figure said, panting as he landed among them all. A wind swirled around him, but the man had been absolutely silent in his approach.

“Felix?” Alister walked forward. “Blind gods. You’re—different.”

The man loomed over them all, no bigger than before but somehow more. Black armor coated him from head to toe, and he looked more like a knight than the creature he sometimes resembled. Blue-white lightning crackled up his arms and legs, while red-gold shone from beneath the segments of his midnight armor as if his flesh was molten beneath.

With a gesture, the helmet faded into his skin and revealed Felix’s familiar face. He grimaced, as if struggling, and the armor vanished as well, replaced by his usual jacket and trousers.

“Siva’s dead,” he said.

“We heard.” Zara smiled. “I have no doubts that the whole of the Continent did as well.”

He winced. “Sorry about your city, Tern.”

“Don’t-ah–don’t mention it, son.”

Atar licked his lips. “Did you—?”

We Ate Her.

The voice came from Felix’s lips, and it was the scariest fucking thing Atar had ever heard, and he had an Urge in his chest. “What in damnation was that?”

“A problem I have under control,” Felix said, and this time, his voice was normal. “Gabby took the Star. They’re going to use it. We don’t have time to waste here.”

Alister gave the man a close look, but seemed satisfied by what he saw. “We don’t know where she took it.”

“Amaranth.”

“How can you be sure? Do we even know if she’s working with the Hierophant anymore?” Alister glanced around. “The Pathless has always considered the other gods anathema, yet they helped the Titan show up here.”

“‘Look for me atop the star, Bumble,’” Zara recited. “She said that, shortly before she left.”

Felix grinned. “A clue. Only my mom called me Bumble, and the Titan wouldn’t know that. Gabby is back.”

“That’s…alright, that could be,” Atar allowed. “But ‘atop the star’ could mean the Chthonic Star itself.”

Zara shook her head. “It could be, but it would be a useless clue, if so. There is another place, located in the center of the Shining Palace. A tower built by the Nym.”

“En’Cridhe,” Tern said, slapping a fist into his hand. “The Star of Heaven.”

“Then we know where to go.” Felix turned.

Atar grabbed his elbow, and it was like touching a stone. “Wait, what’re we doing when we get there? Charge in, hope we survive?”

easy. kill everyone.

“A whole city? Plus the remaining thousands of her extremely armedfollowers? We need to regroup. To—”

Felix clenched his jaw, and it sounded like a breaking rock. Atar frowned. “What was that?”

The man turned, but his hands were shaking. With a clap of thunder, his black armor snapped back around his form, and Atar fell back with a shout. Alister caught him.

Felix gritted his teeth. Lightning curled from the ends of his hair before a segmented helmet covered his face once more. “You all need to run.”

“What is this?” Zara stepped forward, her power marshaling. “Are you in danger?”

“No.” The Tower cratered around him, metal and stone breaking into motes of dust. “You are. Go.” Fissures burst, tearing through the room. “I’m—”

He stumbled, and the ground rose up to catch him—only to be turned into luminescent smoke and consumed.

“I’m Tempering…but something…is different.”

WARNING!

A Threat Approaches!

Atar spun, looking to the sky, but he saw nothing but scattered clouds.

he is the threat, atar!

Atar had never heard Flame so scared.

Felix screamed, and something else screamed with him. A darkness tore out from his shadow, and its hands were purple claws affixed with red-gold spikes. The rest of its body was vast and shapeless, but it towered as it threw back its monstrous head and roared.

Stone, metal, and even the corpses around it were instantly dissolved into noxious smoke that funneled into a dark maw.

Eyes of blazing blue and red-gold snapped open, and its teeth gleamed.

run, atar! a Cardinal Beast approaches!

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