Unbound-Chapter Nine Hundred And Seventy Seven – 977

"It's through here!"

Pit swooped low, down from the spires of the Sovereign's Palace. The wind roared through Felix and Vess' ears. Knowledge had altered Felix's Authority map, adding a dotted line that arced around the palace and down in the direction they were headed. Small sigils flared across the map at intervals—symbols that meant ‘slow’ and warnings for narrow passages that Pit more than exceeded. It was, all in all, like a magical GPS guiding the three of them further toward the Giant's Grove.

Pit banked around a spire and dove down, plummeting toward a patch of greenery beneath a gossamer-thin archway. They shot through its entrance, the tips of Pit's pinions rustling leaves as they passed and Felix couldn’t help the whoop of delight he felt at the speed. Vess joined him, hugging Felix tightly around the waist as the light faded, the twilight air turning into a deeper leaf shadow, until only a thicker darkness of tree trunk and branch surrounded them. The archway continued, filled now with more leaves and stonework. Beams of dusty twilight speared through, wan and dim, in a lattice of leaky incandescence.

“Look at that,” Felix said as sparks trailed from the sunbeams. It was only a few at first but they were soon joined by dozens of small motes of pale blue light, fluttering around Pit’s wings like waves around a heavy stone.

“Just as in Aja Nadir,” Vess whispered above the wind.

She was right. The fortress had been awash in such motes, filled in fact, a sea of stars gathered in its lowest dungeons. These motes were far fewer, mere sprinklings against the muted shadow, flowing in their wake like radiant spray.

What was different, however, were the brighter bits of light. These were less like sparks and more like gleaming stars that joined their flight.

“Sprites!” Pit chirruped in delight. “I love these guys!”

Sprites, palm-sized spirits of the Green Wilds, they were manifestations of elemental Mana itself. A dozen at first and then hundreds joined them, flashing in colors ranging across the visible spectrum. The spirits were angular, like tiny people made of glass with wings that buzzed like a dragonfly, wide iris-less eyes, and a series of spikes surrounding their necks and down their spines. Where they flew, the air hummed. Felix felt it against his skin and deeper as well, where his Sonata roused in sympathy.

They swarmed around Pit's wings, circling out around them as they soared through the forested tunnel. That crystalline hum rolled against Felix’s Spirit ceaselessly, like the purr of some great and gentle beast.

"How lovely," Vess said, lifting her hands as several alighted on wrist and forearm. "I can feel their song."

“They certainly like you.”

She smiled at him. “I’m pact-bound to the Grim Nightshade. Of course they do.”

Felix’s head rocked back as he absorbed that fact. He’d almost forgotten about her agreement all those weeks ago. She’d gained power from the Grim in exchange for feeding a portion of her own significance to the creature. Honestly, it was among her more brilliant moves.

“He’s probably overjoyed at your recent growth.”

“Undoubtedly.” She ran a finger across a Sprite’s head. It leaned into the gesture, rubbing against her like a cat. “My growth only means greater returns for him. Now that my Core Manifestation is in process, I imagine I should consult with the Grim once more.”

Felix sighed. The Grim had been a serious boon to them in recent days, but the creature was unpredictable at best. “We can arrange that.”

She squeezed his middle gently. “What runs through your Mind, Felix?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t obfuscate. Not to me.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Your Manifestation. It seems…dangerous.”

She laughed. “And yours isn’t?”

“...Fair.” Felix shifted on Pit’s saddle and didn’t miss the big golden eye that stared back at him. Shush. I’m just concerned.

She’s a strong lady. She’ll be fine. Be cool.

“Are you talking to Pit?”

Felix lifted his chin. “Uh, no?”

“You have that face you get when you two talk and think no one is noticing.” Vess laughed. “We notice.”

Whoops. Tell her—

Felix rolled his eyes. Dude, you can talk out loud.

“Haha,” Pit forced a laugh. “We aren’t talking about you at all!”

“Mhm. My Core Manifestation is dangerous, I agree. It is far more volatile than Elowen’s, for certain. But I believe, once we have refined the form, it will prove immensely beneficial.”

“Refined. With the Grim’s help.”

“Yes. And Yin’s as well.”

Felix blinked. “Really?”

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“We are Companions, and this struggle is one we share, especially considering the form it will take. Why would we not join our struggles together?”

Pit stared at him, head tilted sideways and a satisfied smile stretching the far corners of his beak. “She’s wise.”

Felix toyed with the mithril handles stuck up through Pit’s barding. He’d never considered involving Pit in his Core Manifestation. “She’s a genius.”

Vess blushed and set her chin against his shoulder. “It is simply worth considering.”

The forested tunnel turned, forcing Pit to bank in a tight leftward spin. "It feels like we're going lower," he said, diving beneath another delicate archway. His wings tucked in for a moment, forcing them to drop before he snapped them out once more, arresting their descent and coasting forward in a wide curve as a veritable bounty of roots and trunks spread across the rocky walls.

The Sprites made small chime-like noises that were not words, but Felix could understand easily enough. They rang against his Affinity with crystalline clarity.

Come. Follow Us.

Sprites rushed ahead, all but bearing Pit forward on a tide of swirling Mana. The tunnel dipped lower again, cutting through the craggy stone and into the mountain the city was built upon. Felix checked his map, and they hadn’t moved from the palace’s location technically, except they were spiraling down deep into its foundations. All sunlight had vanished, save for the Sprites and the glimmering currents that etched themselves in their wake.

"My Path," Vess said quietly after a moment. Her voice was a whisper into the side of his neck. "It is not what I expected."

Felix went still, immediately flooded with a thousand probing questions but he tamped them down. He set his hands against hers where they clung to his middle and simply held on. She chewed her lip, carefully picking her own words.

"An Omen Key... it is something everyone dreams of at least once, especially as a child. The hope to get an Omen Key—to suddenly become a hero.” Vess laughed into his shoulder. “For me, it was following in my mother's footsteps. She received an Omen Key, you know. One of the few Dragoons in living memory to have done so.” That laugh turned wondering. “Grace and fortune, Felix, but she was a force of nature. She would have loved you."

He smiled gently. "If she was anything like you, I would have loved her as well."

A soft smile played on Vess' lips. “Her Path… I had always thought that I would get the same, given the chance.”

“What was her Path called?"

"The Path of the True Spear. And it had altered her Omen, of course, but it had also given her an advantage to all spear Skills, all of the Skills that were intrinsic to a Dragoon. She was better at them, learned faster. Her Path was what pushed her ahead of so many others. It was part of her, and it soon became part of her legend.”

Pit twisted, four wings moving in alternating patterns, as he slipped through an archway overcome by thick roots. Vess’ grip tightened on Felix, but they barely budged from the saddle.

“When I earned my Key, I had hoped—It is silly, Felix.” She sniffed. “But I cannot help but feel that the System does not think I am worthy of her legacy." Felix opened his mouth, but Vess cut him off. "I know it is foolish."

He twisted around. "I wasn't gonna say that. Our emotions, our thoughts, they don't always have to make sense. I know mine certainly don't. You felt a connection to your mother and the System…well it does what it wants.” He smiled. “Though I admit, the Path of the First Dragon sounds like a serious upgrade."

Vess allowed herself a smile, though her Spirit was coated in a soft, recriminating lilt. "You could say that. The benefits alone are astounding, not to mention how it’s affected Yin as well.”

“I’m real curious about that too.”

“He will be sure to show off once he awakens. His pride cannot help it.” Her smile faded. “In my heart, I know that my Path will take me to places my mother never tread. Places my father, for all his support, still thinks of in fearful tones. The Dragoons are changing. We have made them change," Vess pressed a hand to her sternum, where Yin slept. "But that change is frightening. And I admit, Felix, that there is a part of me that worries that with every step down this Path I take, it will be further from the memory of my mother. And that is all I have left of her."

Felix reached out, his hand cupping Vess' chin softly. "Listen to me, lady. Memories are powerful. They don't just go away because we keep living. Take it from me. Take it from this city I pulled out of Memory and magic. Your mom is still here. Still connected to you. I can see it."

He could. Of all the thousands of blue lines that sprung from Vess' form, there was one that vibrated as she spoke of her mother. It was faint and thin, almost ghostly. But it was there. Strengthened all the more by the spear she clutched and the armor she wore.

"Your connection extends back across the city. And you know what? It joins with another out there, twisting and braiding together before it fades beyond my ability to perceive. And every time you think about her, it brightens. It's a pulse, a heartbeat that keeps your mother's memory alive. Far more living than Aeonis was half a day ago."

He swiped his thumb across her cheek, gently flicking away the tear that ran down her cheek. She leaned forward, hugging him close as they flew. For a moment, they simply rode atop Pit, soaring deeper into the mountain with every bend in their path.

The tenku cooed in his chest, a pleased rumble. That was really good. A+ speech. Did you get a Skill level for that?

Shush, Pit.

‘Talk out loud, Pit. Shush up, Pit.’ Pick one!

“Connections,” Vess mused aloud, cutting them off. “I have you to thank for this Path."

Felix looked away from his Chimera. "What’re you talking about?"

"The instability was eating at the Omen Door. You know this.”

“I do.”

“We fought against it, but the creatures kept swarming from the First Door through the Third and into the choosing of our paths. Yin and I battled them alone then. Did you see?”

“Only a glimpse.”

She nodded. “I thought as much. We ended those vile creatures with a great deal of effort, but they would not stop. In fact, a tide of them approached us near the end. When we'd been wounded and weakened, the choices of my Path flitted away from me as things broke into striations of shattered glass and worse…” Vess shuddered. “I had never heard of a Fourth Door on an Omen Path, and I am unsure if this was simply a scenario unique to our experience, or if this is one of the many reasons those who receive an Omen Key often do not return. It was grim, with Yin and I both pushed to our limits as the very fabric of the Path deteriorated…that’s when I felt you. Your presence. Your power.”

“My Boon of Bonds."

"Yes, but more than that." She touched her breastplate. It was dinged and scratched, but it was still whole. "You burn in us, Felix. Those Links we bear are channels to more than just your Mana. You said I have a connection to my mother, and that comforts me more than you could know. But my connection to you is something altogether different. It's a conduit of flame. Of blinding lightning. You shine through my core space, Felix."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You saved us. Running into you in the Foglands was and continues to be the best moment in my life.” She swallowed. “And before I lose all nerve to say it, I love you, Felix Nevarre."

He couldn’t help his grin. "I love you too, Vessilla Dayne."

Felix leaned into her, and she leaned into him, and for a while there was no more talking. Just the amused and somewhat pleased hum of a tenku flying through a mountain.