The sleek speedboat sliced through the dark, choppy waters of the river, leaving the ruined dockyards and the furious Corpseheart Elder behind them. Darian, Isara, and Lisa huddled in the cabin, wrapped in emergency foil blankets provided by the silent, efficient guard who was piloting the boat. The foil crinkled loudly, a jarring sound in the cabin's tense silence.
Darian was the first to break it, his voice tight with lingering panic and adrenaline.
"We have to get back," he stated, shivering despite the blanket. "Aiden, Tyrel, Dare... they need to know everything. The Nulls are being directed, and the Corpseheart family is planning something massive. Phase Two, the 'Grand Design,' the Constellation nexus... What the hell did she mean by the Constellation nexus?" "We need to hold the fort until Zayden comes back"
Isara, her face pale but her expression resolved, rubbed her arms beneath the foil. "We're on the wrong side of the city, Darian. And she's right, there's no communication. Even if we had a radio, the Aristocrats probably have the spectrum jammed, or they'd track the signal instantly."
Lisa, who had been lying across the back bench, slowly sat up, wincing slightly as she touched the bruise forming on her jaw where the Elder had grazed her. She looked utterly unfazed by the life-or-death scenario, regarding Darian with an almost curious detachment.
"You really worry about those men, don't you?" Lisa asked, her tone light, almost teasing. "A vice-leader, a commander, and a techie... Nanomancy, you said? How charmingly pedestrian."
Darian bristled, pulling the blanket tighter. "They're the Myth Guild. They're my family. And yes, I worry. They need this information to prepare. We can't let the Corpsehearts execute their plan."
"And how exactly did you plan to communicate with them?" Lisa countered, gesturing to the city skyline, a broken silhouette against the night sky. "Carrier pigeon? Telepathy? The apocalypse may have introduced Constellations, but it didn't magically resurrect the internet or cell service for common folk."
"Dare is a genius," Darian argued. "He might have something set up. A private line, a short-burst transmitter, something."
"Ah, the Nanomancer," Lisa mused, tapping her chin. "A useful skill for making tiny bombs or maintaining a clean house, I suppose. Not much use against a Corpseheart Elder, however."
"He's more than that. He keeps our whole infrastructure running," Isara interjected, defending their friend. "Darian's right, we need a way to transmit this information."
Lisa sighed dramatically, running a hand through her immaculate white hair. "Fine. Swiftblade infrastructure is, naturally, superior. Once we reach the pickup point, I can guarantee a message will reach your friends, assuming they answer a burner signal from a family they hate. But that will take time, and it will confirm to the other Aristocrats that the Swiftblades are officially meddling in their playground."
She leaned closer, her blue eyes piercing. "So, let's talk about the 'nexus.' The Constellations choose individuals, correct? And they grant power. The Myth Guild is growing quickly, meaning more contracted individuals, meaning a concentrated pool of Constellation energy. The Corpsehearts don't just want to conquer the city; they want to hijack the source of your power. The more Nulls they control, the more they can feed into that capture process. It's not just an attack; it's an attempted hostile acquisition of your Guild's very lifeblood."
The realisation hit Darian with the force of a physical blow. "They're planning to drain us. To collapse the Guild from within."
"Precisely," Lisa said, a chilling smile touching her lips. "A brilliant, utterly ruthless plan. They don't just want the territory; they want the Constellations your members risked their lives for. All that power, delivered straight to their Lord."
The boat suddenly slowed, turning into the shadow of a massive, deserted suspension bridge. The pilot cut the engine; the only sounds now were the gentle lapping of the water and the distant, low growl of the ravaged city.
"We're here," Lisa announced, tossing her crumpled foil blanket aside. "Now, let's see if my family values protocol over my extremely valuable escapee." She offered Darian a wry look. "Don't look so worried, Envoy. I'll make sure your information gets to your friends. But first, you have to survive my hospitality."
****
Meanwhile...
Valeria didn't wait for Amara to vanish into the gaping maw of the museum doors fully. The instant the dark tendrils of Amara's shadow receded, the ghostly Null, the creature of death energy, let out a piercing shriek of triumph and hate. It sensed the weakening of the cohesive darkness that had bound it, and it lunged, driven by a renewed, terrifying urgency.
"You won't touch her!" Valeria roared, planting her feet on the cracked pavement.
The creature's speed was terrifying; its form blurred, the black wisps coiling around its translucent body, making it look like a phantom wrapped in smoke. It covered the distance in a fraction of a second, its elongated claws, sharp enough to shear through steel, aiming for Valeria's throat.
Valeria was a master of the sword, a discipline forged not just by rigorous training, but by an unwavering belief in the light she wielded. She met the charge head-on.
Her sword, the Grandmaster's Sword, given to her by Zayden, flashed in the gloom. It wasn't a weapon of pure power, but of absolute sanctity. Valeria didn't block the strike; she moved her sword into the path of the claw, simultaneously channelling her Holy Aura.
The aura burst forth, a dome of brilliant, searing white light that momentarily pushed the gloom back. The creature's claws met the sword, and instead of steel screeching against bone, there was a sound like superheated metal hitting ice, a high-pitched hiss. Smoke instantly rose from the point of contact, and the ghostly Null screamed in pain, recoiling.
The holy energy didn't just repel the death energy; it burned it, consuming the corrupted essence that gave the creature its spectral form.
The Holy Aura provided both defence and immediate offence, forcing the creature to maintain distance. The shadow guards behind Valeria, though terrified, took their cue and began reloading their crossbows, aiming enchanted bolts at the monster's flickering torso.
Valeria didn't wait for the creature to regroup. She knew her power was finite, and Amara needed every second.
"You are a corruption," Valeria declared, her voice firm and ringing with conviction. "And you will be cleansed!"
She took a deep breath, focusing her mind and channelling her energy into the intricate, legendary technique that her constellation offered to her, the Holy Sword Formation. The formation was a five-part sequence, each part an escalation of power and complexity, designed to utterly defeat the highest orders of darkness.
She began with the first stance.
The Holy Sword Formation: Part One - The Sun's Blade
Valeria adopted a low, grounded stance, holding the Grandmaster's Sword directly in front of her. The sword didn't just glow; it seemed to swallow the surrounding light, only to release it in a concentrated, dazzling beam along the length of the blade.
"Sun's Blade: First Ray!"
With a single, devastatingly fast, downward slash, she unleashed a wave of pure, concentrated light energy. The attack was not wide, but incredibly dense, moving like a solid, visible ray aimed directly at the creature's core.
The creature shrieked, recognising the deadly intent. It tried to phase, sinking its legs into the cracked pavement as though it were water, attempting to become fully immaterial. But the First Ray was too fast and too potent.
The holy energy is connected with the creature's lower body. The ghostly Null's form instantly stabilised, solidifying with a sickening thud as the light forced its ethereal components back into a physical, though still corrupted, state. The monster stumbled, smoke rising from its legs as if it had been splashed with fire.
"It works! The light forces it to be tangible!" Valeria yelled back to the guards, then drove her focus back to the fight.
The creature, now fully enraged and partly tangible, ignored the pain. It launched itself at Valeria again, moving with brutal, terrestrial force, aiming a sweeping claw strike that carved a gouge in the pavement where she had stood moments before.
Valeria danced back, maintaining her Holy Aura, which kept the death energy at bay. The creature was powerful, but clumsy now that it was forced to obey physical laws.
She needed to deal debilitating damage. The Sun's Blade was for forcing tangibility; the next part of the formation was for piercing defence.
The Holy Sword Formation: Part Two - The Heavenly Spire
Valeria quickly transitioned her stance. She shifted her weight, holding the Grandmaster's Sword vertically, point up, channelling her holy power until the tip of the blade crackled with concentrated, spiralling light. The air around the sword began to vibrate, creating a low, resonant hum.
The creature, having learned its lesson, circled her warily, launching balls of black, acidic-looking death energy that hissed and corroded the ground where they landed.
Valeria deflected the incoming blasts with swift, minimal movements of her blade, letting the Holy Aura neutralise the acidic effects.
"Heavenly Spire: Cleansing Thrust!"
She drove the Grandmaster's Sword forward. The attack was less about speed and more about penetration. The spiralling light at the tip of the sword became a miniature, holy drill, punching through the air with devastating force.
The creature met the attack with its own defence, generating a shield of coiling black smoke and death energy around its torso.
CRACK!
The Cleansing Thrust hit the smoky barrier. For a tense second, the holy light and the black corruption wrestled, a sickening visual clash of white and black energy. But the concentrated, spiralling force of the Heavenly Spire was too much. It didn't break the shield; it pierced it, punching a hole clean through the centre of the creature's chest defence.