The twin moons above shone ominous light, one silver, the other gold.

Each side of the lake near Sylen's dock reveled in complete opposites. Rune's side, humid mist and watery waves. Calista's end, heated steam, and flames evaporating the constant waters attacking her Domain. The waves crashed into the distant docks, stopped by the other tier 3 beings present.

Unable to be certain of the limits for that devastating shot, Rune started to close the distance. The flare hunter's pride disallowed her from running away as strategy would dictate for a ranged specialist. Or the more proper term—kiting. She was the hunter. What hunter ran away from the prey? Especially as severely injured as this one.

Pride remained a sin for a reason. One Rune exploited ruthlessly. Calista strafed away, firing blazing bolts by the dozen. Lilith attacked, wailing, then sent two tendrils Calista's way, forcing her to pause.

Rune's battle sense honed, every bit demanded to pounce. Black winds arced on his body, Triple Step's appearance while under the Black Metal Mask's influence. The lake's vast distance closed, and since Rune hadn't used the technique except for when they first clashed back at the compound gate, it caught Calista unaware. Xera sundered the side suffering from Vorpal Touch. Black water sliced into the flare hunter. Rune used Ghost Blade to cut into the arm Calista used for firing her crossbow. The Sun Orb near her chest expanded, threatening to explode. Her Flame Domain concentrated its effects onto her front, rebuffing the Reaver's vicious assault.

No you don't. This chance wouldn't come again so easily, Rune forcibly kept it. Two shadowed lances shot out, with all four shards consumed, they punctured into his enemy. Blood spilled out the crossbow user's mouth. Buffeting the Flame Domain against Rune, she used the Sun Orb to undo some of the horrendous damage. Trusting in her natural tier 3 regeneration to handle the rest. She blitzed away from Rune with her dual mobility combination.

She kept onto that undeniable advantage, superior in speed unless Rune used Triple Step, a trick she knew about now, undoubtedly. Their battle continued in earnest. Mist expanded out from Rune cyclically. He refreshed Infusion onto Lilith and Xera. The souped-up speed for Lilith allowed her to land a strike through Calista's back, before flames worked to fill in the new hole. Spitting out blood, the Fourth Pyre laughed in disbelief.

"It's been years since someone outside the family pushed me so far. Die with a smile on your face." She uncapped a temporary battle talent elixir. Lilith attacked to stop her. Rune Triple Stepped to skewer her. The combat-tested woman put up her Inferno Shroud defensive ability, granting enough of a gap to hurriedly drink the elixir. Her Domain's potency skyrocketed, as did every other aspect of her abilities.

Having consumed one of those same elixirs against Nemenoth, Rune knew firsthand how effective they were. He sliced both blades at her. Calistia's Domain blasted out infernos, slowing him down, and searing away most of the defensive black water. The usual elemental advantage was severely reduced until the elixir effect wore off for the Pyrite.

The scars on Calista's face turned vicious as she cruelly smiled. "Did you say I'll have to kill you to find out? Don't mind if I do. You did well—not well enough." Her auburn hair floated with flame licking around her body.

Heenmaris glowed with sun flares, and likely due to the battle talent elixir, Calista's sun Orb reappeared, protectively floating around her. The Flame Domain constantly strengthened. She jabbed at Rune with a free hand, confident it'd be a shattering blow.

Perhaps it would've been, if Rune were out of cards—far from the reality. Spectral Heart thrummed with power, activating Frost Fall Reave. A tidal wave of pitch black water showered the two of them, dousing the hostile flames, stealing away a fraction of attributes from Calista's magical and physical power, gifting Lilith, Ghost Blade, and Xera additional power for its fifteen second duration. In that instant, Rune reviewed his leftover 'abilities' to use.

In this fever-pitch battle, he couldn't afford to drag things out. By the time the battle elixir effect ended, things would be settled between them. Calista used Flame Domain as a forcible divider, clearly beyond her usual abilities. Its immense power seared away the shadows, burning Lilith out of her hiding spot. Rune heard the pained wail.

Sun flares came out of Calista's crossbow, pinning Rune down at the shins and forearms. He calmly blinked, expecting that lance-esque shot ability. Her Sun Orb merged into Heenmaris and herself. Turning her into a miniature sun. All within calculation.

What came next threw all that out the metaphorical window. A Phoenix screech rent the air, settling into Calista's weapon. The blue wisps coming out Rune's mask enlarged. He'd forgotten a small tidbit of information. At tier 3, you gained a slot for a sixth active ability, as if all the advantages that tier granted already weren't enough.

This is her last ability, and from the looks of it, the type you can only learn after reaching tier 3.

"See the difference, commoner? Something you can never overcome." Calista sneered, certain of her victory. The Phoenix flapped its wings, converting Calista into living flame. Reborn, the strained Flame Domain reforged. An overwhelming power reigned its sovereignty over the Reaver.

Rune tugged on Reaver's Link, sending instructions to Lilith. She'd have to make sure things went smoothly after the clash. He'd likely be in no condition to protect himself.

Breathing in, humid mist trailed white lines from each corner of Rune's body. He triggered Temporal North, two additional shadowed Essence Lances summoned above his head. Rune thought of a new tactic in the face of the unexpected. To balance it, he used both Polar South and Rising West. Both Lances melded into a blade each. Two eclipsed suns obscured by black water set above each of Rune's shoulders. Limitations shattered as Rune's power also spiked well beyond the norm.

"Useless, you all die in the end. All who harm the Pyrites end up as ash." The Phoenix shot forth, vaporizing most of the lake in the process. A Vengeful Wail from Ghost Blade slammed into the Phoenix, halting it, while Calista grew confused at her altered body function, acting similar to a newborn.

Rune streaked toward the Phoenix, water vapor exploding from his soles for speed. Both blades sliced into it as he crossed them.

"Your fire." Ghost Blade punctured deeply into the Phoenix, threatening to shred it apart. A black water stream crept into the new gap.

"Your pride." Xera twisted all the moisture and steam in the air, slamming it into the pained Phoenix. Elemental water flooded the Phoenix's heart.

"Your family." Rune rotated, exploding the water around him to spin, diving in through the Phoenix. Hyper-heated water vapor steamed around him, but kept up. Essence Feedback on both blades evolved the water's durability enough to hold on.

"Your life." The Phoenix cried out in extreme pain, becoming embers as Rune commanded all vapor to fulminate over the entire lake. Encasing the being of flame until it became no more.

"I'm coming for it all."

Tears of blood left Rune's mask. Third-degree burns covered his body. Calista screamed out in soul pain from backlash. She dared to move. To her horror, the altered function proved too difficult to adapt to. Triple Stepping from a misted platform, Rune reappeared right above Calista, whirling both blades. Ghost blade sliced apart her midsection. Xera cut halfway into the Pyrite's neck before the implanted Patriarch's Sun Shard activated to save her life. The full might of a hollow tier 4 struggled against limitless greed for just a moment. Rune felt the Legacy of Greed touch deep into Calista's heart, bypassing the Sun Shard's power, corrupting her in a permanent manner none would discover—could discover.

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"Tricks can't save you." Rune forced Xera in further, about to chop off Calista's head.

Suddenly, a blazing sun tinged with gray came from the dockside, blistering toward Rune to banish him from the realm of the living. He twisted to avoid the ambush, leaving him overextended. Audrey Pyrite forced her way into the conflict, bashing aside Rune and searing shut the otherwise fatal wounds to Calista. With her mocking smile, Audrey unsheathed her saber while pouring a tier 3 health potion onto Calista, specifically at her neck.

"Pyrites don't need tricks." Audrey summoned flames of her own. "Only power." Whipping the saber aside, she clearly prepared to finish the job Calista failed to do.

Getting up, Rune calculated he had five seconds at most, summoning all the water left in the air—as the lake itself vaporized—a spiritual pain struck his brain. Apparently, even elemental humans had limits. Just as he desperately formulated a new maneuver, a soothing palm clasped onto his left shoulder. A concealed aura whisper followed, with a song-like cadence he knew all too well lately.

Remember this, Luke Wallace, should you need to choose sides one day.

Ophelia Cyrn casually dominated the aftermath with her soundscape. Lenardis unfurled around her, sound waves danced. Her black hair undulated as her piercing green gaze landed on Audrey. She didn't speak first.

Flames blazing, Audrey demanded, "What is the meaning of this, City Lord? That man is an enemy of the Pyrites and the city."

Returning a mocking smile, Ophelia said, "An enemy of the Pyrites, perhaps. My city, however? Rune is an instrument of my will. How could he be my enemy? The young, with such overactive imaginations. Tell Lorcan, this matter closes here, only to be revisited after the Tide is dealt with. Your political infighting is of little consequence to royal interests."

Adamant for execution with a fast-rising threat so near to death, Audrey raised her saber. "Political? This man attacked our estate, and our youngest—"

"My, is that what happened? Surely that isn't the entire story, now is it?" Ophelia flicked her wand. Solid sound melded around Rune protectively, as a Greater Domain expanded, covering the nearest mile.

She hooded her eyes in admonishment, "The underworld cleanser belongs to me. Whether your family is in conflict with him is of no consequence. Begone, or be branded for treason against Sylen and the Cyrn dominion."

Audrey paled at the implications of the City Lord's inadvertent declaration. This escalated far above what she could handle. She silently pressed upon her sigil stone and sent signal to the Pyrite Manor. Answering against the City Lord directly would give casus belli that Audrey couldn't afford to grant. A nova of flame sparked across the sky above Sylen, scarring the nearest Ridge mountain.

Lilith worriedly floated above Rune, her deep-set green eyes shook. Ghost Blade silently teetered in the Reaver's left hand, mirrored by Xera. Only Wayfinder, currently a gray, featureless orb, betrayed no signs of movement. Rune rasped. That fury sparked in the sky was aimed solely at him. Since the City Lord seemed content to let him suffer, the elemental crushed a tier 1 healing potion and let it seep into the worst wounds.

Dawn arrived, ending the night. Lorcan Pyrite blazed toward the temporarily vanquished lake. The vast distance was covered in seconds. He landed like a comet between Audry and Ophelia. His flame-red and deep gray eyes stabbed into Rune's slowly recovering form, then flicked to Calista's pitiful vessel. Her eyes were rolled back, neck barely attached, body more a sieve than anything else. Should she not have been tier 3, by every measure, she would be dead.

"Am I to believe that defending my family is against ducal law, City Lord?" Lorcan began, dangerous sun flames built around him. A Concept powered them well beyond anything Calista released.

Pointing her wand up skyward, Ophelia summoned a shimmering sound barrier. It sliced the ground in between Rune and Lorcan. The City Lord's tome artifact, Lenardis, spewed music notes into the air, settling above Rune. The sentient Numbered floated up and down in a pattern, adapting a defensive posture. Water rushed from the river connected to the evaporated lake, seeping into the parched soil.

"By the way you speak, Fool's Gold, I would think this city belongs to you and not me." Ophelia met Lorcan's sunlit intensity in equal measure. Power crackled between the two of them.

"What good is it to kneel in fealty to royals who expect me to abandon my family for them? The masked man is hostile to my clan, injured my grandson, and attempted to behead my granddaughter." Hellish flames erupted around Lorcan's feet, his three pyres expanded, revolving like stars.

Preparing for the worst, Rune strained to summon elemental water back. The streams melded into him, all consumed to stabilize his overtaxed body. He breathed slowly. Rising West broke limits for a time, but also demanded an equal price. Essence Feedback sealed away Rune's abilities. As he expected, this 'dual feedback' method he used was even worse than the standard use.

[Dual Essence Feedback has ended. The price for stealing mastery far beyond typical limits weighs heavily on your vessel and soul. All Interface cataloged abilities sealed for eight hours. Fatigue clouds your mind, regenerative abilities halved, all human senses crippled for the same duration]

It'd been a while since he felt this helpless, although that message all but confirmed the Interface couldn't actually affect techniques. Lorcan and Ophelia appeared to be exchanging words, but the Mist Shroud, while able to feed back visual information or sensations, struggled immensely to do the same with auditory vibration. His brain felt like mush. Rune tinkered with the mists to 'translate' sound guided by instinct, not experience. It ended up working—quite quickly at that. The words exchanged started as whispers, before gradually tuning in volume. Others spoke. It all sounded like static to Rune. Clearly, his mastery over the Mist Shroud was far from perfected. Its current focus, Ophelia and Lorcan, translated the vibrations enough. Lorcan spoke ruthlessly against Ophelia. Rune cut in, breaking the cycle of justification between the two.

He centered murky sight at the blazing sun ten feet away from him, and laughed. "Your granddaughter attacked me first. Should I die for just standing at your gate?" Rune trembled from exertion and excitement. Bits of mist fed the Reaver information, blatantly against the Interface's influence and penalty.

A pillar of blazing light speared from Lorcan, Rune 'saw' pieces of his skin peel and turn to mist. It should be painful, but his human senses operated to their extreme minimum. Vibrations shattered away the heat, air began to bend like liquid around Ophelia. Three musical note twisters orbited Rune, with Lenardis as its nucleus.

"Fairness is not the way of this world, boy. You touched my line, and so you shall suffer for it. A drop of our blood is worth an ocean of yours."

The City Lord transmuted herself partially into shifting sound. Matching the display of power from Lorcan. "That is not for you to decide, Marquise Lorcan."

Lilith settled on the ground near Rune's head. Xera was saying something, as was Wayfinder. With so many frequencies demanding attention, yet limited capacity, Rune tuned to just Ophelia and Lorcan, the ultimate manipulators of his fate. Two additional tier 3s settled themselves, the first from the Pyrite family, the bloodflame tower shield user from before—Auren Pyrite. The other, a stocky, tall, pale-skinned woman, Jordis, one of Opehlia's tier 3 commanders. From a safer distance, various less affiliated ascended remained to watch. At the edges of the Mist Shroud, Rune made out a familiar figure, Iona, acting as disinterested as possible, yet faint tension betrayed her lack of subterfuge. Her eyes darted to Rune's fragmented vessel inches behind Ophelia. Timber pawed the dock's wooden structure, while Lulu hooted in worry, talons clamped.

Lorcan's words, tinged with ire, splashed against Rune's consciousness, "You risk your balance with my family over this weakling? What is his value? Protect him today, and I'll never tire until he's ash in the future."

"Value? That he is mine. Rune is loyal to my influence. His investigations my decree." Ophelia's green eyes shone; gray lines started to stream from them. "Just as you will not stand to see yours hurt, neither will I. To capitulate over my greatest talent is to say the Elarian line kneels to yours."

Searing flames burst against stalwart sounds. The ground beneath the two behemoths in human form dug deeper into a crater. An ascendant Flame Concept sizzled against harmonious sound, a clash of two entirely different paths. Water trickled into Rune, working to restore what was lost. The greater quantity of elemental power infused back into his body, the weaker the penalty for using double Essence Feedback became, shortening the natural duration.

A monic woman unveiling a soft luminosity stepped down from above, walking on the air. Rune used his other scarcely available bandwidth to make her words intelligible through the Mist Shroud method. Crescent moons kissed against her white cheek runes, where sky blue hair covered part of them. She appeared young, counter to the wisdom in her eyes. Her aura carried the same density signature as Lorcan's.

"Having a dockside chat with our City Lord, Lorcan? How rude not to invite my Miel family." She gestured a sleek silver spear at Rune. "Arguing over what's spiced Sylen's underbelly lately? A bore to kill him so unceremoniously, to witness a first ascended shatter a Pyre's phoenix, utterly delectable." She let the next action speak for itself, landing on Ophelia's side. The sound elemental tensed, rapidly deciphering if this was a true show of temporary support or another scheme.

Resting the butt of her spear into the wet soil, the newcomer said, "If you would be so kind to calm yourself, Lorcan, this heat is dreadfully inappropriate for conversation." The twin moons beamed down, sealing newfound territory around the woman—lunar power at its zenith.

Robes fluttering, Lorcan stood against the two most powerful women in all of Sylen. "Morgana." He spat. "Always one to bed any opportunity you see, have you become a lapdog for Cyrn? It is to your fortune Tidal pacts honor that we pause our usual familial conflicts."

Wearing a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes, Morgana said, "Bedding? This is simply to win favor, regain sway," she glanced at Ophelia, "and to remind you of our duty during the Tide. I desire to see the threads in this city continue to spin. What am I to do if I allow you to burn it all down as you Pyrites are prone to? Our squabbles are meaningless if there is no city left to fight over."

The Reaver felt like his soul was in a tug of war between three different sources. This Morgana pressured the metaphysical with her mere presence, as did the other two. It led to a stray thought.

Could it be the Interface can't turn off the sensations bound to the soul? Is that why Elementalization is outside its full structure? This must be that Matriarch that Emalia mentioned, aura's too dense for it to be anyone else.

Switching gears, Rune witnessed Morgana drop the tension. She crouched down, reaching for the Reaver's mask. The monic tugged it, nodding when it stayed attached.

"Redesigns aura signature, clings illusion to yourself and possessions…a crafted marvel. Quaint. To see generational talent prefer to hide his or herself. The Defiers claim they brought you in from another city as an enforcer. Watch your step, Rune," she leaned in to whisper closely, "the strangest thing, that statement from the Defiers, no matter where I look, no Rune is found in any of the town or city hunter registries."

Rune kept his lips sealed, not that they worked properly at the moment.

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