It was quiet for a moment as everyone in the room exchanged glances.

"Felix," Elowen said, her tone annoyingly gentle, "please do not take this the wrong way. The Ruin is coming. That should be our priority—"

Felix leveled his gaze on the Theron mage and the rest of her words died in her mouth. "The Ruin can wait its turn."

Kevin coughed awkwardly.

"The Ruin may not wait," Paxus said, sweeping closer, his white robes rustling without a sound. He didn't have to walk around the chairs and side tables, but he did. A habit, perhaps, from when he was still corporeal. "Karys and I certainly do not think so. That is why we have been devising ways to organize against it."

Felix’s scowl lightened. "When?"

"The moment Abundance burned."

Karys put his hands on his hips. "We attempted to incorporate you into the conversation, but you were not in the right space for it."

Felix restrained the flush of embarrassment, but he couldn't help the heat that prickled his skin. “What’ve you found?”

"More than we expected."

"Truly?" Elowen asked. “In so little time? I’ve had the entire Violet Tower’s library at my disposal and I found next to nothing.”

"We have what many do not,” Karys said, tapping his temple.

“First hand experience,” Paxus waggled his hand. “Of a sort. Neither of us were at the forefront when the Ruin descended upon the Golden Empire, but its return to our skies has returned some of our memories of those times.”

Felix’s eyebrows shot up. “Karys. Your Mind…?”

“Still full of holes, my Lord, but the edges are clearer now. We haven’t completed a full inventory of changes to our Minds, but Paxus and I hunted down our recollections as best we could. Our first and greatest question was how to defend against the Ruin—on that, we have made some headway.”

Everyone leaned in, drinks and food forgotten on the tables.

“We all know of the Ruin’s disastrous obliteration, but we do not know how it achieves it." Paxus spread his hands, conjuring wisps of light between them. They congealed into a wide cityscape at the edge of a forested mountain range—a Nymean city. Felix recognized some of the architecture. "This is based upon the city of Naevis, drawn from Kary’s memories. This is how it looked during its height, and this,” Paxus flicked his fingers and all at once, the illusion was blasted clean by an invisible force. Buildings were partially destroyed, people were entirely eradicated, until all that remained were the trees and the derelict remnants he’d encountered all across the Continent.

“Fuck me,” Shadow whispered.

“Wait, why is there anything standing at all?” Beef looked around. “Isn’t the Ruin like a massive bomb? Why wouldn’t it just blow it all up?”

“The strangest thing about the Ruin has always been it’s selective nature,” Elowen said, grimacing. “It could leave entire fortresses untouched except the books and advanced technologies stored within them, not to mention the people. I’ve met too many researchers who curse its existence daily. Some tried to work out the Ruin’s powers, but we’ve all failed. At best I have guessed that it is intelligent and possessed an Intent that shaped its power."

"Oh. That's terrifying,” Archie said. Kevin and Shadow huddled closer to one another.

"Is it like a god?” Ondine asked, her wings twitching. "Does it have its own awareness and Will?"

“I don’t think it does,” Paxus admitted. “Or if it does, that doesn’t factor into its targeting. What do you notice about what remained after the advent?”

The illusion ran again, looping through the destruction two more times. Felix stared at it, horrified at even the simulated power of it. The city reappeared, filling the bowl of a large valley with sprawling plazas filled with people, flying buildings, and bright constructs he couldn’t name. In a rush it was gone again, leaving only crumbling archways, empty stone shells, and untouched forest.

Wait.

“The trees,” Felix said, and the thrill of the realization almost made him gasp. “It didn’t touch the trees.”

Paxus grinned. “Yes! What has stood strongest against the Ruin is nature itself. The Green Wilds flows too strongly to be obliterated, but most importantly, it has too much significance. The ruins you’ve found, Felix, in all the Nymean cities you’ve restored, were always the parts that were laden with the most power and significance. Power forms a buffer against the Ruin. Structures imbued with enough of it are those made of stone, hewn from the Green Wilds directly. They are rarely completely eradicated.”

He flexed his hands and the illusion vanished. “We believe the Ruin erodes significance itself."

Most of them made impressed noises, but Elowen was the only one who leaned back, head in her hands. “Of course! In order to burn through memories and knowledge it needs to target significance directly! Everyone always assumed it was a Skill of some sort.”

“It very well might be,” Karys admitted. “This is all guesswork, Magus Elowen. If it is correct, then we can assume that strengthening our significance is the key to our defense.”

“So level up a bunch?” Shadow asked.

Kevin pointed at his brother. “Tier up too.”

Archie blew out a harsh breath. “Listen to yourselves. There’s no way we can advance fast enough, and we couldn’t do it for everyone either. If the uber-powerful wizards from the Golden Empire couldn’t survive the Ruin, what chance do we have?”

“Personal significance will likely not inhibit the Ruin,” Paxus said with an apologetic shrug. “Otherwise it would be as you say, Archibald. The Herald herself would still stand among us today.”

“We need a shelter,” Felix said, his Mind putting together disparate bits of their plan.

"Precisely, my Lord. We would require things to strengthen the significance around our people. We’ve come up with two pathways toward that end: the first is to solidify the empire with more Territories, adding to its Authority and significance." Karys cleared his throat. "And the second is to complete the Empyrean Regalia."

Felix snapped his fingers. "I can get us more Territories." With a gesture, he brought up his recently completed Quest.

Lay Low The Golden Sun!

You have defeated Ocalla Marzul, Hierophant of Amaranth and the leader of the Hierocracy. Your Authority has been expanded! You may now claim all Territories formerly under the Authority of the Hierophant!

He flexed his Will against the Quest, and a new window popped up.

ERROR!

Due To System Overload, Authority Cannot Be Accessed Remotely!

This text was taken from NovelBin. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Traverse To The Location Of The Seat And Seal To Claim The Conquered Territories.

Oh.

“Another reason to go back to Amaranth," Felix muttered before sharing his notifications.

Elowen gaped at it, the silver chains around her antlers jangling. "This is... wow! But is the Seat and Seal still there?"

"They cannot be destroyed, not truly. They are a function of the Grand Harmony and exist in perpetuity." Karys folded his arms. "Even the Hierophant could only hide and overwrite them with her vile Subordinate Seal. But it seems those are all failing now, according to this Quest. You need only enter Amaranth and stake your claim, Emperor."

Felix grinned, and Karys scowled, the metal of his helmet deforming. "Yes, it is an undeniable mark in favor of returning.”

“You already got the Crown and Chalice, too, right?" Beef said. "That just leaves the... what was it called?"

"The bell," Archie hopped off the couch, "and you said you had a lead on that."

Felix's grin faded. He’d bonded to the Crown of Elysium and the Wellspring Chalice already, but the Exalted Bell hadn’t been located yet. "I have an idea where we can start our search. It's on the docket, and it's where I'd be headed normally if Vess weren't—Paxus, you're sure that the Omen Path would be affected by the moonfall?"

"I am. Can you not feel it from here?"

As if they were all puppets pulled by strings, everyone turned in the exact same direction: northeast. Black clouds choked the skies, but all of them could feel the disturbance in the direction of Amaranth. It was almost as strong as the cold star descending from the sky.

"The failure of the Ouranic Bindings, whatever those might be, coupled with the unleashed powers of a goddess will have had dire effects on the land around it. The Realms are shaken. Who knows the consequences of the Hierophant's actions?"

Felix clenched his jaw. He wanted to rush out alone if need be, but he knew that was stupid. "Look, we're all in danger so long as the gods roam free. I don't even know if Noctis is free. I figured she would have already come for me now, but we haven't heard a peep.”

"The moons represent the gods," Karys said slowly. "Siva’s disappeared when she died. We saw that happen. This time, Noctis' moon was torn out of the sky while she still lived. One must assume she suffered because of that."

"So she's weakened?" Kevin asked hopefully.

"It's very likely, yes.”

“As will be the very Realm around the impact zone," Paxus repeated. "That dread we sense to the northeast is more than upset harmonics. It is a splitting of the Corporeal Realm itself. The dangers of advancing through such a place are prodigious. Mana will behave unpredictably. Our Skills will twist and turn outside the reach of our Authority. Amaranth is a hole in the world."

"Will it have split open the Omen Path?" Felix asked. When he'd used his Key in the Mana Well in Elderthrone, Felix had escaped the clutches of a half dozen ancient Urges. It had been a refuge during a dark moment. "Isn't she safe in there?"

"If the Realm is split, then the liminal spaces that cling to its edge will be open to disruption as well.”

“If the Omen Path was split open, couldn't they just..." Felix sucked in a breath and whirled on the Sylphaen. "Ondine, your Skill, the Void one. What was it called?"

She blinked owlishly at him. "Corporeal Breach.”

“What’s it do, exactly?”

“It splits open a rift between the Realms. I can control the depth and direction, but not for long. My other Skill, Corporeal Seal, restores them."

"That's very useful." Felix's mind whirled with possibilities. "Yeah, I think…”

“Wait, back up,” Kevin said, holding out his scaled hands. “What is this all about? What are Omen Paths? I've never heard of these things."

Shadow raised his hand. "Neither have I.”

From the side, Elowen quickly explained. "You know you have an Omen, yes?" The twins nodded. "An Omen Path is an advancement of that feature. You receive a Key, which then opens the Door and allows you onto a Path. All of the books I've read say the Path offers many choices that are customized to you and your journey, and the choices you make inside determine your destination. The old scholars claim that an Omen is an indicator of your potential future, and an Omen Path is a solidification of it. I think that’s bullshit.”

Felix shrugged. “It’s complicated. Basically, earning an Omen Path increases your stat gain per level up, and, I suspect, increases your significance too.”

“Okay, so like a bonus level with extra goodies,” Shadow said, nodding.

“More like an upgrade to your current build,” Beef amended. “Didn’t you gain a bunch of Titles in there too, Felix?”

“Some.”

"Has anyone here traversed an Omen Path? Aside from Felix?" Elowen asked. Everyone went silent and still, except Wendell, who raised his immense hand into the air. “Really?”

“Yeah. I found an Omen Key my fifth month in. I used it almost immediately. I didn't really know what it was supposed to do, but I was fighting Yyero's monstrosities all that time. I needed the break."

"What did you see in there, dad?"

"A lot." The giant lizard swallowed. “Too much.”

Felix could imagine the sort of things the guy had experienced. The Omen Path had shown him many alternate futures that could have happened had things been a little bit different. He couldn't imagine what a father, missing his son, would have seen.

Wendell cleared his throat, and he blinked until his eyes weren’t so bright. "It, uh, allowed me to grow stronger in the magic I use, but most importantly, it was where I pushed my physicality. When I emerged from my Omen Path, I'd grown. Since then, I've more than doubled in size, and my Path bonuses have escalated my Strength and Vitality to crazy highs."

“Really?” Kevin and Shadow exchanged excited looks.

"Karys, Paxus, what happens if we break into an Omen Path? Say Vess is completely sealed off, or we have to muscle our way in somehow. Is the Path damaged that way?"

"Yes and no. It does damage the Path, but done properly the damage is minor and easily patched. There was a method I…I remember it.”

Karys shook his head. Usually, when he did that, Felix could sense a good amount of rue and self-recrimination. The holes in his memories were large and gaping, thanks to the Ruin, and it caused his Chancellor no end of grief. Now, however, Felix heard a sort of quiet wonder. “During the war, not everyone could find an Omen Key. It was as rare as earning a Quest from the System. That magi of the Elysian Halls found a way to expand the effects of an individual’s Omean Key.” Karys grimaced. “ It wasn’t particularly reliable, and depended entirely on the individual who opened the original Doorway, but if an Omen Path was breached and entered by another, those that walked this Path would be offered a path of their own.”

The twins gripped the sides of their chairs, as if they wanted to jump up, and even Archie looked interested. Only Wendell clenched his jaw tight.

“It was a dangerous method, but the War called for a great many risks. If the original Keybearer was too strong, those that slipped in would be torn apart, their Paths too great to walk. Too weak, and there'd be little to no benefit to them. Either way, if the Keybearer didn't complete their Path, then none would return at all.”

“How did they do this?" Felix interrupted, before the concerned murmurs could gather momentum.

"Elaborate rituals and the most advanced arrays I’ve ever seen—all designed to break through the barriers between Realms. I saw it happen only once, and it took at least six dozen magi working for a great many glasses to even split open a piece of an Omen Path.”

“But we have you," Felix said, rounding on Ondine.

The princess of Sunara leaned away from his intense gaze. "I can breach the bounds of the Corporeal Realm, and I can seal them back up, but you're talking about entering a specialized liminal space." She shook her head, her wings pulling closer to her body. "If I were able to get people in, I don't know that I could get them out again."

"They get out by finishing the Path," Felix said. When the woman opened her mouth again, he waved her down. "Now, I'm sorry, you're right to be concerned, but you open the dark, and I'll worry about the rest." Felix gripped the hilt of his sword, still sheathed at his waist, "Even if I have to fly in and get Vess out myself.”

Felix whirled through the options they had before them. There weren’t many, and most involved leaving Vess to make it back on her own, but he wasn’t even considering those. She used the Key. She’ll make it out again.

“So, are we doing this?" Shadow asked. Felix looked up and realized everyone had gone quiet and was watching him. “Getting an Omen Path for all of us?”

“I'm down," Beef said, drowning out something his dad said. “What?”

"...Nothing, kiddo.”

“It's a risk." Elowen nervously rubbed her hands together. "I don't know Vess very well, but I know she's strong. We'd be putting ourselves in extreme danger."

Archie looked up at Karys. "Is the danger worth the risk, metal man?”

Karys glanced at Felix, then back to the Delven. "Yes."

Archie looked out the window, where that distant, blurry dot glowed through the heavy clouds. "Fuck it. Yeah, I'm in."

"And what about Noctis?" Wendell asked. "What if she's waiting for us?"

"I'll handle Noctis." Felix needed to address the Divine anyway. All that power, earthbound and wounded. Within his chest, the Beast riled up, its hackles raised as unseen fangs bared to the sky. It had been a long day for all of them. But there was no end to their hunger.

Yes. Let Us Take Flight, Scion.

Reunion Calls.