"You are in need of more convincing, then," the Nashiin said with a sigh, as if the situation was a game he was growing bored of.

Julia's body—Lumenfall's body—tensed, the sword disappearing from her hands, and she lunged forward, the misty white and gold mana around her seeming to solidify into actual limbs, wings, and tail.

She slashed at the purple bubble, still restoring itself after Julia's previous burst of plasma within its confines, and it split, splattering the purple filth everywhere. She dashed back as the bubble ceased repairing itself, instead attempting to grab her and pull her in.

With a series of vrumps and cracks, Lumenfall darted around the bubble, smashing and clawing it with a claw or her tail before disappearing to strike from another angle. The bubble quickly began deteriorating as the Nashiin struggled to keep up, his eyes always arriving where Lumenfall struck an instant after she retreated.

Dozens of arms burst from the bubble, seeking Lumenfall in every direction. She backed away, dodging the arms as they pursued her before jumping into the air, holding both arms out to the side and spinning, the golden glow of her claws creating spirals through the air following her spin.

Whack—vrump—whack—vrump!

Lumenfall warped around the space, constantly spinning like a golden tornado, slicing through any arms that got close before striking the bubble and warping once again. The attack was similar to her previous attack, only with the addition of her outstretched claws, which prevented any arm from striking her body.

The bubble suddenly retracted, pulling back until it was just a finger's length from his sallow, sunken skin before rebounding, pushing outward in all directions.

Lumenfall angled her spin toward the bubble before plummeting from the air. She met the expanding bubble like a corkscrew meteor and drilled straight through it, landing on the floor in a defensive crouch.

The bubble raced toward the walls and ceiling of the massive, cavernous room, sizzling and melting the stone where it impacted.

The Nashiin merely waved a hand, reforming the bubble around him in its original dimensions. He gave Lumenfall a grisly, ghastly grin full of teeth, as though the whole exchange had been a game.

Lumenfall's low growling ceased, and the world seemed to still along with her before a gout of golden plasma burst from the visor, coating the entire bubble with burning fury.

Lumenfall didn't remain stationary, launching into the air and flying around the bubble, still belching golden flames. The air near the Nashiin became so hot that the stone began to glow, as though on the verge of liquefying.

The flames finally ceased, and although the bubble appeared reduced in thickness, the Nashiin within didn't even acknowledge the attack. His eyes were closed, his mouth moving in a soundless chant, and his hands were clasped together, fingers steepled.

Lumenfall jumped into the air as the sounds of tearing filled the space. Portals opened up, and a menagerie of creatures emerged. There were huge, skeletal monstrosities, undulating things with tentacles and spikes, and even mundane skeletons—though far better equipped than the Nashiin.

They emerged in such numbers that they carpeted the floor. There was so little room that many of the smaller creatures were instantly crushed by the larger as they emerged.

This time there was no breath before the plunge. The creatures, whether confused from their sudden summons, or just generally violent, assaulted Lumenfall immediately. Some launched themselves from the ground, others extended their tentacles, and some even threw the smaller creatures at her.

She inhaled deeply and bellowed a roar that shook the air around her. Suddenly, hundreds of Lumenfalls split from the main, descending into the throbbing mass of bodies below and carving bloody paths with shining, golden claws like ants through dirt.

Lightning shot from the main Lumenfall—still floating near the roof—vaporizing those foolish enough to approach or unlucky enough to be thrown. All the while, a storm brewed over her head. Swirling clouds of white, gold, blue, and red mixed and mingled, slowly surrounding her in crackling, multihued plasma, its beauty somehow both undercut and enhanced by its inherent violence, like a tornado swirling threateningly in the distance.

There was a shrill ping in the air, audible even over the battle's chaos, as several Truths and Revelations synced and actualized.

And once again, several things happened at once.

Time slowed to a crawl as a torrent of multicolored plasma descended on the beasts and monsters below. The multitudes of Lumenfalls disappeared, leaving their spatial coordinates embedded in the real Julia's—Lumenfall's—mind, and the plasma jumped from coordinate to coordinate.

The plasma storm's arrival was marked by a detonation, both from the sudden blast of plasma as well as the rapid increase in temperature causing the air to expand almost instantly. Hundreds of summoned creatures were burned and vaporized, and even more were thrown back—or off the Stone completely, falling over the balcony—by the pressure wave.

Lumenfall watched all this with her peripherals, her eyes never leaving the real prey, who floated within his bubble with a look of intense disinterest on his face.

She followed behind the plasma as it bounced from location to location, time slowed so dramatically that she could keep pace with it at a light jog. She cleared the last coordinate as the airburst pushed the chaff away, leaving her path to the Nashiin open.

She shifted a great deal of mass and energy into her right fist, causing it to glow brighter than the noonday sun, so much violence and heat contained within it that the air around it flowed upward like an inverse waterfall.

Lumenfall was always watching Julia, and she was always impressed. True, Julia frustrated her to no end—always insistent on acting like she was still one of the masses. Yet she was always improving, both in mind and body. Lumenfall was particularly impressed by a technique she'd witnessed Julia use several weeks ago. Though it damaged her body significantly, Lumenfall knew immediately that it was a weapon of unparalleled strength.

She aimed to replicate the attack, but she wasn't going to hold back like Julia had.

With a thunderous step, she planted both her feet and swung from her hips. Her fist—paw—split the air as it flew, time seeming to have slowed even more, as if nervous of the attack.

And then—

An unstoppable fist met an immovable barrier.

"Come on! It's alright—just keep facing forward! Don't look back!" Elaine shouted over her shoulder as she ran.

A little girl clutched her arm tightly as they ran, and her mother and father ran in front of and behind her respectively. This child was a half-elf, her mother being an elf and her father being a human. They were one of the few families that managed to live outside of the South Quarter—likely only possible due to the father being human.

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Elaine wasn't up on all the city's politics, so she didn't know what the situation was specifically. She knew, however, that elves faced a great many troubles, even within the South Quarter—'affectionately' called "Tip Town" by ne'er-do-wells and reprobates—let alone outside of it.

As civilians began arriving at the Guild to seek shelter from the conflict, many requests were made to track down family members, friends, or even neighbors. Many parties were sent out across the city to track down missing people and escort them to safety.

Theoretically, both sides of the conflict should respect the Guild's neutrality and not interfere with adventuring parties displaying their Guild badges prominently.

Elaine and her party were just trainees, but they couldn't sit around and do nothing! Technically, only parties of Steel rank and above were being sent out, but she could help too!

She'd heard a poor old woman explaining to one of the Guild reps that her son's family would need protection, and she knew what she had to do. Fortunately, both Rowena and Gareth had felt similarly and were now running alongside her. Gareth was in the lead, his shield held in front of him, and Rowena was bringing up the rear, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Now, Elaine and her party weren't stupid. They wouldn't have gone on their own if it was far. Thankfully, the family lived just a half-hour's walk from the Guild. Such a close distance was manageable for them, but it was also incredibly dangerous for non-Guild members. The Guild was in the center of the trade quarter, and there had been attacks nearby.

Elaine supposed it made sense. If the goal of these attacks was to cripple the city's infrastructure, as she'd heard adventurers around the Guild speculate, the center of trade would be a high-priority target. It certainly wasn't convenient for her party, though.

The group came to a halt as Gareth held up a fist. They were just at the mouth of a road that led into one of the many squares in this part of the District.

Elaine and Rowena traded looks with Gareth, who mouthed "ambush" before motioning backward. They'd need to back up and take a detour—annoying, but it wouldn't cost them too much time—

"Well, what've we got here?" a voice called from the ostensibly empty square.

A squat man with a shiny bald head emerged from behind one of the empty stalls, followed by a group of armored men that had the look of combat veterans. Their armor was a mismatch, but Elaine got the distinct impression that each piece was carefully selected to provide as much coverage for the cost as possible.

That brought a question to her mind immediately: if these guys were veterans, how was Gareth—a fourteen-year-old boy training to fill the Tank role—able to detect them from so far away? Surely professionals would be able to lay a better ambush?

"Before you attempt anything, know that we are adventurers escorting civilians seeking asylum with the Guild. If you interfere with our operation, you will bring the wrath of the entire Guild down on your heads," Elaine shouted with faux confidence.

"Really? I wasn't aware that the Guild allowed kids to join as full members. That must've been a recent update. No matter; you can just show us your Guild cards, right?" he said with a sleazy smile, calling Elaine's bluff.

Elaine glanced back at an insistent tap of Rowena's foot—a signal their party had arranged shortly after forming.

Two large men were walking down the road toward them from the direction they'd arrived. Had these men been tracking them? Did they have ambush forces watching all the roads that converged on this square?

"What exactly do you want?" Elaine asked, looking back toward the bald man.

"Why, simply to escort you the rest of the way to the Guild, of course! It's dangerous out here, you know? Better to go with my guards and I, lest some criminal with nefarious intentions stop you along the way," he said, hands held out to the side as if the answer were obvious.

"The only one who's stopped us so far is you," Elaine said, her hackles raised—something was really wrong here.

The man's smile slipped from his face as if it were merely pinned on, and his brow furrowed. He opened his mouth, but a loud crash interrupted him.

The whole square, Elaine's group and the man's, turned toward the source, which was a pathway between two vacant stalls. It seemed to have erupted into a cloud of dust and debris.

As Elaine stared, a golden glow began to shine through. As the dust settled, she was both surprised and relieved to see the classy elf lady that Julia was always with—Ithshar, if she remembered correctly—emerge from the haze.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man asked, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

Ithshar walked calmly toward him, her eyes locked on his.

"Another one…annoying, but not surprising," she said calmly, as if talking to herself.

"Do I fuckin' know you?" the man asked, his guards advancing to stand in front of him.

"No, but I know you—your kind: parasites that writhe in the dirt stirred up by conflict," she declared, still advancing slowly, confidently.

"Fuck you just say?!" the man growled, his face turning red. "Stay the fuck back, or my men'll have to make you."

Ithshar didn't respond, merely continuing her advance, a golden glow surrounding her. Two men suddenly rushed her from opposite sides of the square, their swords raised.

Ithshar didn't even glance at them. She stopped and leaned back a little to avoid a swing, grabbed the man's wrist, and drove it toward the other man, who was rearing back to swing at her himself.

The first man's sword pierced the second's neck, and he collapsed to the ground with a strangled gurgle. The first man seemed to be in shock as he stared at his collapsed compatriot in horror, but Ithshar didn't allow him to wallow.

Her fist glowed a shining gold brighter than any fire Elaine could create, and she thrust it into the man's chest. To Elaine's disgust, it dented the steel plate into a concave shape, and the chest underneath made a sickening crunch. The man fell, joining his friend on the ground, though he didn't struggle as long.

Ithshar continued her slow, confident advance.

"Where are they?" she asked calmly.

The bald man's eyes were wide, and he ran back behind a host of five other guards, unable—or unwilling—to answer.

"Where are the ones you have already taken? This conflict is hours-long. These children were not your first victims—where are they?" Ithshar demanded, her tone growing darker.

Suddenly the space was drowned in light brighter than anything Elaine had ever witnessed, brighter even than the sun. She winced as her eyes were stung, lifting an arm to shield them from the searing light.

Wum!

A shockwave ran through the square, kicking up dust, and shattering windows. It knocked Elaine flat, and she felt that she might have screamed, but it was impossible to hear anything over the intense ringing sound filling both her ears.

She sat up. Behind her was devastation. Roofs were thrown from buildings, the vendor carts and stalls were either completely destroyed or embedded in walls, and the blast wind had even sent the shards of shattered glass from windows through the buildings they framed.

"What happened?!" she shouted, but again, she couldn't hear anything above the shrill ring.

Are my ears wet? Why does it taste like I chewed on a coin?

Those chaotic thoughts were interrupted by a sight of stark contrast in the square. It was completely cleared of all but the stone that paved it. No single cart, stall, or bench remained. It was as if the square was newly-paved and awaiting decoration.

Standing in the center of the bare square was Ithshar, completely unmoved by the blast. She stood with her arms to her side, her hands balled into fists as she stared at the Stone.

She was faced away from Elaine, so her face wasn't visible, but Elaine was certain she could feel a complex mix of emotions radiating from her. What exactly was she feeling? Anger? Sadness? Hope? Worry? She felt positive that it was all of those, plus some.

The Stone itself was engulfed in light and smoke. There was a translucent blue barrier surrounding it that Elaine had never seen before, and it was like a clear cup holding a roiling solution of liquid fire. The flames and smoke raged within the barrier, as if desperate for release, and just as she had that thought, a tiny hole in the translucent barrier appeared.

It was nothing more than a pinprick compared to the immense scale of the barrier, but even that tiny hole sent a straight spear of light and fire shooting forth farther than she could see, beyond even the walls of the city. Before the barrier repaired itself, Elaine could swear she saw something strange.

Was that a person entering the barrier? Are they crazy?!

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