Lindon had left instructions with the Twin Star Sect, but he hadn’t given them much of his personal attention recently. Since Eithan had ascended to the heavens, the world falling apart had taken up all his time.
He understood their fear. The Twin Star Sect had been founded by scared people seeking comfort in one another. And in his backing.
“Do you still have the resources I left?” Lindon asked.
“They don’t need resources. They need a leader.”
“They have the Sage’s sister.”
Kelsa stiffened again, her foxfire tail standing out straight, and there was heat in her voice. “I can’t lead! I’m a Lowgold!”
“I don’t need you to instruct them on their advancement, and I don’t need you to defend them. I need someone I can trust speaking for me. Do you agree?”
His sister struggled inwardly, but she was honest even with herself. She grudgingly conceded. “Fine, but you owe me a present when you come back. Make me a weapon.”
“Done,” Lindon agreed. “Dross.”
[On it!] Dross coughed once and then transmitted into the minds of the more advanced members of the Twin Star Sect. [Wei Shi Kelsa, sister of the Void Sage, speaks with his voice. Listen to her until he comes back. And to me, Dross, your most reliable guardian.]
Most of the Twin Star Sect would have little idea who Dross was, as the spirit hadn’t been conscious for most of the time Lindon had spent leading them, but they would figure it out.
The number of people saying Lindon’s name doubled.
Lindon sent his sister back and intended to transport Jai Chen as well, but she stopped him hurriedly. “Uh, sorry, I had something else.” She scratched the side of her face in what he took as a nervous gesture. “I wouldn’t have bothered you, I know you’re busy, but I didn’t know who else to ask. You were the one helping me with my Path.”
Jai Chen’s Path was special, being primarily a blend of Stellar Spear, Grasping Sky, and Hollow King madra, uniquely combined by means of a hunger artifact. She had a hard time finding aura to cycle.
“Oh, do you need more natural treasures?” Mentally, Lindon went over the inventory he’d brought. His primary void key would have plenty of treasures in it, but this was a backup.
“No, I can hit Highgold eventually, I just wanted to go…faster than that.” She shifted in the grip of the wind, then met his eyes. “I can’t help thinking that, if I was as strong as my brother was, I could have saved him.”
Fingerling made a crooning sound.
Lindon felt a faint shadow of guilt. He could have protected Jai Long, had that been a higher priority. On the other hand, the man had been killed by the attack of a Dreadgod. Lindon didn’t blame himself too much.
He considered for a moment, then stretched out one hand and called to the labyrinth. A moment later, a long, white, scripted spear appeared in his Dreadgod hand.
He had to wrestle Subject One’s arm into submission to stop it from devouring the weapon immediately.
“Do you know what this is?” Lindon asked.
Eyes wide, she nodded.
He flipped the weapon to her. Fingerling dipped out of the way as she caught it. “You don’t have a way to purge incompatible madra, so you’ll need to make sure the aspects are compatible before you drain anything with it. This is a Truegold weapon, and I can find you a better one eventually.”
Tears welled up as she hugged the spear to herself. Lindon had never thought much of Jai Long, but sympathy still squeezed his heart at the sight of her pain.
She bowed to him. “Thank you. I’ll honor the Sect with it.”
Lindon was considering her personal development more than her impact on the Sect, but he returned the gesture and sent her back.
[Wow, your sister is going to hate that,] Dross pointed out. [Didn’t you just give Jai Chen everything Kelsa wanted?]
Lindon winced as he realized that was true, but he’d make it up to Kelsa later. He turned to his father and braced himself.
“You called for me?” he asked mildly. The moment Jaran said something critical or cutting, Lindon intended to toss him back and leave.
[Drop him,] Dross suggested.
Jaran gripped his cane, shifted on his cushion of wind, and looked here and there with his replacement eyes. Finally, he muttered, “I just wanted to see how you were.”
Lindon hovered in place for too long. “Oh.”
“Big fight and everything. Seemed like a lot, even for an Overlord. A man can wonder about his son.”
Lindon considered pointing out that he wasn’t an Overlord anymore, but he pressed his fists together instead. “Gratitude, Father.”
Jaran grumbled to himself, then shoved his cane in Lindon’s direction. “Be safe, all right? No sense in being the bravest on the battlefield if you don’t make it home.”
Lindon felt lost. “Yes, I…I will.”
[All right, fine,] Dross said. [Don’t drop him.]
Lindon had barely materialized beneath the color-swirling sky of Ghostwind Hall when Yerin leaped onto his back.
“Too long by a sight and a half,” she muttered into his ear. “When I can’t sense you for a minute, it’s forever in here.”
He turned to look into her red eyes from an inch away, and he had to suppress a laugh at how much she resembled Ruby when she pouted.
She saw the half-formed smile and jabbed him in the back. “Don’t make fun of me. I can hear it in your thoughts.”
“No, you can’t. Dross wouldn’t let you.”
“He’s my inside man.”
Dross popped out and drifted behind Yerin. [She’s lying, of course. She’s never asked me. For some reason.]
Yerin turned to look at the spirit. “Wait, would you really…”
[I’m not saying yes or no, I’m just saying you should ask sometime. When…] Dross mouthed Lindon’s name. […isn’t…] Dross mouthed the word “listening.”
“Your stealth needs work,” Lindon said.
Yerin hopped off his back and whirled around in front of him, excited. “How about the bow? Did it make Shen scurry?”
“With his tail between his legs.”
Yerin clicked her tongue. “Would have given my left leg to see that.”
“It’s heavy,” Lindon admitted, “like using a weapon too big for me. It might be easier for Mercy once she’s ready, especially if she has the support of the Bow Icon.”
Mercy, who was leaning out the second story of their barracks, hit the back of her head on the window frame. “I told you, I’m not there yet! Touching an Icon is not as easy as you made it look.”
“She’s almost there,” Yerin said confidently.
“I’m not!”
“She’ll be taking her pick of Sage or Herald. Can’t lie and say I’m not concerned about Orthos and Blue, but I don’t have an ounce of worry about her.”
“Worry about me!”
Lindon enjoyed the conversation and let himself relax, but he heard the subtext of the conversation. Yerin was expressing confidence in Mercy so firmly because she was worried.
While Mercy had the smoothest road to the peak of Archlord, she still hadn’t recovered from the emotional impact of fighting her mother. That could be just as much of an obstacle as a spiritual injury, and one that Lindon had no idea how to heal.
Yerin gave him the ghost of a smile like she could sense his thoughts.
[You see?] Dross said. [It’s convenient when she can read your mind. I don’t have to share everything, just some…choice selections.]
“You and I were sparring when I left,” Lindon said. “I thought we’d pick up where we left off.”
She looped her arm around his and pulled him into the sparring hall. “Worked a few things out, when the Remnant lets me off my leash. Wanted to get your eyes on them anyway.”
Lindon reached out to the pocket world’s controls and turned the time-warping back up. The pressure of their deadline still loomed over him, but that wasn’t the only reason he wanted to spend as long in here as possible.