“I don’t disagree,” Lindon said. “That’s why I’m getting rid of you all.” The Hollow Domain expanded around Lindon, a transparent blue-white dome of energy that covered him from every direction. “Forgiveness, but I was taught to be very thorough when cleaning.”
Reigan Shen tried to say something, but he was blown backward by the pressure emanating from the Dreadgods. The Phoenix’s laughter shook the skies and sounded more and more like the screech of a bird, while the Titan radiated crushing gravity.
“You should have learned to play the odds,” Shen shouted over the chaos.
Lindon looked him in the eye. “You think I wasn’t prepared for this?”
The reborn Wavedancer leaped from his soulspace.
Its blade shone gold and white, like the surface of a thunderbolt. It was surrounded by a corona of blue sparks and heralded by a storm. Storm-clouds gathered overhead.
Four copies of Wavedancer spread out to the left, Forged from the Weeping Dragon’s madra. Then four more, to the right.
Lindon joined his spirit to the Weeping Dragon sword formation, and the pressure coming from him was enough to hold his own against the two Dreadgods.
Then he released his new Dreadgod weapon.
A white halo exploded over his head, stretching to titanic proportions. Dross cackled madly as he felt his capacity expand. This was really Dross’ weapon.
Lindon had left the bow behind, but he wanted to keep some of its abilities.
Not every construct needed a binding. Lindon had made this halo solely with the madra bound inside the Silent King’s corpse.
The Crown of the Silent King didn’t have a technique inside it. It was more of an amplifier for Dross and an extra pool of power. It helped him use his powers more offensively. Dross called it the psychic equivalent of a big stick.
With the Crown and the Sword Formation, Lindon and Dross stared down the two Dreadgods on equal footing.
Dross whispered to Lindon, [Ah, not equal. But enough to fight them a while.]
Lindon heard that information and discarded it. If he meant to keep up alone against a pair of Dreadgods and a Monarch, he had to fight to win.
Void-black began to warp the sky between the scarlet and the gold.
Then the Empty Ghost went to battle.
25
Mercy strode back into Ghostwind Hall, the others following behind her. Now that time flowed normally, their entrance through the doorway was far smoother.
“I’ll need to be stronger if I want my mother to listen to me,” Mercy said. “I’ve absorbed enough of her power that I’m stronger than I should be, but I’m not at the peak. What do we have that can get me there?”
“That’s a question for Lindon,” Ziel said. He looked grim, as though he thought they were doomed without Lindon’s help.
Mercy’s worry for Lindon only made the situation more urgent. “Dross, what do you think?”
Her Dross spun out, taking exaggerated deep breaths. [Worried? I’m not worried. I’m perfectly calm.]
“No one asked if you were worried,” Orthos pointed out.
[Good. That’s because I’m calm.] Dross turned to regard Mercy. [Your body, spirit, and mind are perfectly suited for advancement. Not just from birth, but because of your Book. What you’ve absorbed from breaking down the pages will get you to Herald, if you can digest it. So what we need…] Dross drifted closer to Ziel. […is time.]
Ziel stared into the distance, no doubt focused on his spiritual sense, which Mercy could feel prodding around his own spirit. “Lindon never figured out how to fully repair the Array. It’s patched up a little, but if I push it here, it won’t be much good in a fight.”
“Do it,” Mercy said. “A Herald is worth more to us now than another weapon.” Especially since the Herald in question was her; she needed to be able to trade blows with her mother, just in case.
Though she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Ziel shrugged. “All right. Should be easier to do now that we’re connected to normal time. Dross, can you put her to sleep?”
[I can, yes. I can. That is something I can do.]
They all looked in his direction. Little Blue smacked him on the back.
[Ow! Stop! You’re not six inches tall anymore!] He looked around and sighed. [Mercy won’t be absorbing elixirs. She’ll be actively breaking down and integrating her mother’s power. She can adapt to it while sleeping, but for most of this time, she has to be conscious.]
Mercy stopped on her way to the shadow aura cycling room. Even with her newfound resolve, that thought made her shudder. “How long?”
[A month or two, minimum. Maximum? More like a year.] Dross raised an arm. [Don’t worry! I’ll be with you the whole time!]
“We could start with a week,” Ziel said hesitantly, “but stopping and starting puts a greater burden on the Array. If we end up having to go a whole year, we’ll need to do multiple months at a time.”
Even a week alone in a script, nothing but Dross and her Book to keep her company, terrified Mercy. It was like locking herself in a coffin.
Could she do that? If she did, could she stay sane?
Something whispered to her that she could. A distant sound that she had begun hearing while she fought to save House Arelius. If this was what it took to help, she could carry this burden.
And besides, Lindon would have done it.
Little Blue ran up and threw her arms around Mercy. She shook her head rapidly, telling Mercy not to go.
That almost broke Mercy’s determination, but she patted Little Blue on the back of the head and looked to Ziel.
“Start with a week.”
Mercy sat cross-legged in the seventh page of the Book of Eternal Night. Her will and her spirit suffused the battlefield around her, and the world quaked.
She couldn’t dismantle the space as cleanly as Lindon could. But she’d practiced plenty.
Chunks of will, flickering memories, and dense shadow madra flowed through her. Dross helped her sort the thoughts while the rest soaked into her spirit.
All the while, the spiritual pressure of the Netherworld Empress weighed her down. Now, she felt texture in the makeup of the technique that she had never recognized before. She’d even sampled some of the wishes that Malice had woven into the seventh page.
Her successor should understand the depth of shadow madra, so the spirit of the Netherworld Empress reflected the Shadow Icon.
Her successor should feel the burden of rule, so the Netherworld Empress wore the nobility of the Crown Icon.
Her successor should fight with power unparalleled, so the body of the Netherworld Empress carried the Strength Icon.
Her successor should see far and strike from a distance, so the Netherworld Empress had the sight of the Bow Icon.
Mercy understood these things deeper than she had before, immersed as she had been in her mother’s thoughts. She knew Akura Malice at a level she had never imagined, to the point that it was almost easier to know what Malice would do than to predict herself.
And all that insight led her to one conclusion.
Mercy did not want the same things her mother did.
She opened her eyes and watched the Netherworld Empress as the seventh page dissolved around her. Stern, domineering purple eyes met hers.
“Thank you,” Mercy whispered.
She thought the Empress nodded. Then the page broke down, and the remaining pieces of Malice’s greatest technique flowed into her daughter.
For another time, Mercy couldn’t tell how long, she sat in darkness. She strengthened her spirit with the power of Malice, aided by the elixirs she had prepared for this purpose. Her mind spun for a while with stolen thoughts, but Dross helped keep her head clear.
[Not so bad!] Dross said encouragingly. [I would never, ever wish to do that again, and if I could go back, I would stop you from doing it. But it could have been worse!]