-War Campaign: Renault, Part 5-

Our forces approached what we believed was the end of the eastern wing of the palace—where Renault's so-called throne room was located.

A large door barred our way. The whole wall and entryway were covered in sigils and a sheen of raw magicka.

Our way was blocked by a powerful barrier spell.

"Well, shit." Julius kicked a bloodied weapon away and stared up at the door.

"Got any ideas?" I asked him.

"Blowing it up." He replied in a serious tone.

"Sure, take us down along with the door why don'tcha."

Akari took a few steps ahead of us and held her hand out towards the barrier.

I closed the gap between us and leaned my head down to come close to hers, "Figure something out?"

"Nope!"

I coughed, my throat caught as her quick and simple response took me by surprise.

"Um…" a small voice muttered behind me.

I turned around, finding our blonde-haired tag along nervously playing with her hands.

Oh, duh. Hikita may know something.

"Sorry, we probably should've asked you first, huh? Do you know a way to disable that barrier, Hikita?"

Her face lit up, "Yes—well, no, but I know how to get around it!"

"Works all the same to us, right, Julius?" I shot a look to my companion.

I was relieved to see his expression had cleared up a little. Things had been stressful between us, and by extension him and Hikita, since I'd been warped away.

"Get around it?" he repeated back, "How do you mean?"

"Exactly how it sounds." Hikita smiled confidently, walking toward the northern wall.

She placed a hand over a seemingly bare spot and another one of those blue-lit screens appeared.

Rather than speak some sort of key-phrase, she tapped a series of nodules in order and the wall began to rumble lightly as it pulled away to reveal a hidden corridor.

"She's like a key…" Julius shook his head, "Why in the Aether did they give the kid this kind of access?"

"Dunno!" I replied cheerfully, "Renault's loss is our gain. Fantastic job once again."

I praised Hikita as our soldiers moved to clear the new opening.

The passage was cleared in a matter of minutes. It was quite short, in both length and height, and free of traps or hidden enemies.

A lever stuck out of the wall at the end. According to Hikita it would release the mechanism keeping the wall flush when pulled, giving us access to the entry hall just before Renault's lair.

We organized our raiding parties into strike groups that would begin to clear the immediate area once we breached the passage.

Hikita warned us of where she felt Renault's presence was—apparently she had this sixth sense of his position due to the void magick they both wielded. I assumed it worked in a similar way to my SENSE FOLLOWER ability, so I didn't press it any further.

"Final stretch."

The words slipped out of my mouth.

They were a reflection of both my hope and desperation.

On Julius' command, our forces mobilized and began their push through the passage.

One of the officers at the front called us over the communirune channel and relayed a confusing scene.

They encountered the enemy, but there wasn't an engagement as of yet. Once I crossed through the entryway in the wall, it made more sense.

Renault was here, sitting on a throne. But he was motionless. He sat there holding an ominous gnarled great-staff with a dark-obsidian focus crystal fixed to its head. It was something you'd expect to see wielded by a wizened mage clad in robes, not the regally dressed figure of a king.

At the base of the stairs leading up to his seat of power were some few dozen people—all equally motionless. Lifeless, almost.

I quickly scanned the mass of people, checking for hidden threats.

- - - - - -TARGETS- - - - - -

[RENAULTIAN ROYALIST] HEALTH: (200 / 200) STAMINA: (120 / 120) MAGICKA: (0 / 0)

» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS: VOID SHACKLES

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The majority of those surrounding Renault looked pretty average in their statistics, with moderate HEALTH and STAMINA.

But they all had zeroed out MAGICKA values and suffered from an identical status effect, which I assumed to be related.

I recognized one name, Vincent Dumont, from a report Julius submitted early into our assault on Axio. Some commander-type personality.

- - - - - -TARGETS- - - - - -

[VINCENT DUMONT] <The Pale Rose> HEALTH: (670 / 670) STAMINA: (300 / 300) MAGICKA: (0 / 0)

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» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS: VOID SHACKLES - - - [JOSEF FONTAINE] (Commandant) HEALTH: (150 / 150) STAMINA: (170 / 170) MAGICKA: (0 / 0)

» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS: VOID SHACKLES

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I also felt like I knew this Fontaine guy from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it…

In any case, they both suffered the same status effect as their contemporaries and stood lifeless around Renault's throne.

The terrible mastermind of this whole mess himself was a different story in terms of status numbers. We had intel which pointed to Renault being a spellcaster specialty, but the values of his statistic didn't quite match up.

His HEALTH and STAMINA put him in the highest tier of warriors within the Divisionals, and put some of the powerhouses I'd brought back with us from Umbraedomis to shame.

Renault's MAGICKA didn't match up to what was expected either—but in a way, it did. That ever present value of triple-sixes I saw every time we encountered someone under the influence of the Void…

- - - - - -TARGET- - - - - -

[JACQUES RENAULT] <King of Rena> HEALTH: (1530 / 1530) STAMINA: (1080 / 1080) MAGICKA: (503 / 666)

» TARGET IS MAINTAINING ACTIVE SPELLS: VOID SHACKLES x37 » TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS: [W̴̰̓HIS̶P̶͒ER̶͓͓͗ OF ̵̤̩̈́͐T̵HE ̶͋V̶O̵I̴̳͂D] [CROWN OF THORNS]

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Bringing up his status also confirmed what I'd expected; Renault was the one afflicting the members of this dread council with the VOID SHACKLES effect. I willed up a status window for the spell.

- - - - - -SPELL- - - - - -

[VOID SHACKLES]: [School: Void] Restrains the target's mental capabilities, forcing them to follow the commands of the caster. Requires the caster to maintain a low-level mental sigil.

» SPELL STATUS: ACTIVE

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As expected, it was restricting the people around him and was the cause for the MAGICKA values already drained.

I paused, looking at the strange, twitchy glyphs and symbols obfuscating the negative status effect on Renault. I recalled the sense of dread I felt when encountering the same corrupted readouts when facing the Roses at the Renaultian gate.

This gave me that same feeling.

Creepy and eerie. I don't like this one bit.

I wasn't going to let that feeling keep me from better understanding what we were facing, though.

Not when Renault was sitting quietly on his throne and we had all this time to prepare.

I willed a status window into my vision.

- - - - - -S̶̢̖͉̙̭̠̘̲̈́̉͂̃͊̾͘͝P̷̡̱̜̭̘͓̖͍̜͎̦̀̃̈́́͒̽̐̈̈́̐̏̎̾̒͋͗̚͜E̵̛̳͎̝̊͛̑̾̊̈̚͘̕L̵͈̻̺̠̖̳͕̲̭͉̻̻̪͍̹̳̋̐͌͛̚͜L̷͍̘̹͙͙͌̒͐͛̄̔̅̊͌̽̏̒͑̾̅̚͝- - - - - -

[W̴̰̓H̷IS̶P̶̞͒͘E̴͝R̶͓͓͗ ̷̝̃O̸F̴̛̠ ̵̤̩̈́͐T̵̆H̴̎̃E ̶͋V̶̲̋͛O̵̪͆I̴̳͂D] [S̷̢̨̙̬͈̤͕͎̲̤̋̔̃̎̇͆̚͝C̴̯̻͙͎̓̿̋̒̎̓͒̕̕͝͝H̴̲̤̭̍͆͋Ǫ̷̗̻̼̘͚̫̲̟͍̮̲̪̾̓͐̂͑́̓͋̋̚͜͜͠Ǫ̵̢̨͔͕̲̤̹̬̠̬͈͉͎͔̞̂̀͝ͅĻ̷̗̺̭͙͙̫̩̯͖̩̏͛̈̒̃͆̈́̽͒̕͝͝͝͠: V̵̲̻̦̻͇͎̣̻̻͖̭̘̹̐͛͋̚ͅơ̸̢̢̖̼̲̳͔̺̗̘̺̝̣̞̱̑͆́͌͜ì̶̢̩̪̳̪̤̪̱̞̽̇͛̾̒̅͋̅̃͘͜͠ḏ̷̨̼͔̯̲̬͓̤̞͚̯̪̜͚͇̈́́̀͌] Ḓ̴̷̶̶̴̵̸̬͂́õ̸̴̸̶̀ ̶̴̶͋n̵̶̴̸̴̵̴̙̲̾͑o̷̶̸̵̷̷͈͂̑t̷̸̵͒ ̸̶̸̷̊f̷̴̴̷̸̱͑ȁ̶̵̷̴̷̷̴̰̯̅i̶̷̶̷̵̍̀l̶̷̷̵̶̷̝̈́̑.̵̷̷̊ ̴̴̶̂D̷̛̖̂o̶̼̤̊ ̸̥̇n̶̖̐̒ŏ̴̡̹t̴̘̄ ̸̕ͅf̴̧̭͑ä̷͉́i̸̯̗̚͠l̷͔̪̅͝.̸̼̽͝ ̵̹̇̀D̵͎̳͆̃o̷̡̪͂ ̴͎́̎n̸̨͆̋ō̷̫͂ẗ̸̨̖́͗ ̸̥̍͜f̵̯̥͋ạ̸̘̾i̷͍̿l̴̺͉̕.̸͙̘̿ ̵̫̥̔͂ D̸̪̓̀o̷̺̪͛ ̸̤͍̍n̵͇̝̎o̴̗̭͒t̴̻̹̏͋ ̵͌ͅf̸͇̽à̸̪i̶̻̳͛̆ľ̴̘̘̾.̵̦̄ ̴̠͋̅D̴̹͕́̾o̷͈͗̏ ̸̼͋͠n̸̠͍͝ö̵̞́ẗ̴͖̫́ ̷̦̔͂f̸̖̄̾a̴̭̹̾̎ì̶̗̔l̷͍̈.̷͈͝ ̵͖̗̐͑D̸̜͈͒ó̴͝ͅ ̴̘̳̍n̶̛̖̖ồ̶̫t̴̲̍͜ ̷̠̯̀́f̵̱̞̉̑ą̴̀i̴̝̗̅l̴̝͝.̴͙̅͒ ̸͇͍̿D̸͍͛̑ͅỏ̶̝ ̸̨̰̿̄n̴̺̠̏͘o̷̲̮̾͝ṱ̶̺͌̄ ̵͔͌f̷̧͇͝a̸̩̋̈́ḯ̸̟̚l̴̻͘.̴̭̀ ̶̡̃̅ D̸̨̗̒̈́o̶̢̎̑ ̶̦̔n̶̮̑o̵͔͚̔̄t̷͍͈͐ ̶͎̍͑f̶̢͉́̂ḁ̶͋i̸̹̒̄ͅl̴̮̓̚.̵̦̄̕ ̸̬͘D̷̻̒̈ͅỏ̸̬ ̸̢̛̙ņ̸͗͝o̷̫̔t̸̹̺̑ ̵̼̻̀͐f̷͉͌͠a̷͉͗̽ì̶̳̳ĺ̷̢̤̍.̶̭̣́ ̵͉̓ Ḏ̸̴̵̸̶̢͇̙̻̯̖̫̹̥̤̻̤͉̹̩͕̤̱̰̥͖̣͓̦̮̌̏̾̔̐͊̋͊̅͗͗̓̏́̉̇͗͑͋͛͛͐̀͊̀̌̓́̊͘̕̕͝o̶̸̸̷̶̵̸̢̧̧̧̢̡̧̠͉͉͕̺̤̠͎̞̗̘͔̖̬̟̰̞͎̙͎̮̘̫̮̘̘̞͎̲̘̻̙̥̻̘͔̙͍̮̙̩̩͎̭̯̘̟̗͉̤̣̭̩̮͋̒͌͊̔̐̔͛͋̓̈̐̈́̏̈́́̋̈̉͂͋͐͊͊̈́͒͂̋̋̋̒̒̈́͋͐̑̀̔͐̉̈͒͑̍͘̕͘̚̕̕͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅ ̴̴̶̵̵̶̧̡̡̡̛̞̹͚̺͔̱̞͙͕͉̞͚͕̦̹̦͓̹͉̳̣̞̠̲̠̮͔̭̪̯̫̻̪̠̲̟͉̠͚̜̟̮̪̝̠̰̻̌̋̌̐̍͂̽̌̅͋̊̽̿͌̾̌͊̆͂̌̈́̓͂͋̉̓̏̋͑̒̈́̓̿̆͗̉̐̍̓̆̎͌̽̔̾̒̈́͗̅̂̀̕͜͜ͅn̷̵̴̶̷̴̨̛͔͇͔̺̞͙̦̙̣̫̭̰̪̫̜͔̭͚̩̤̗̠̼̞̹̫̘̥̱̪̳̼̩̹͔̞̣̜̭͚̞̈́͐́̿̑͆̔̋̈́͑́͐̄̊͑̀̈́̿̂̄̾́̀̓̋̑̿͑̔̔͐̈́̈́̓͘̚̕̕͜͜͝͝͠͠͝͝ǫ̷̵̸̸̶̸̷̨̛̛͎̩͓͎̬̼̭͇͇̫̦̼̪͉̝̪̺̱͔̥̤͍̥͚͇̜͙̭̲̦̝̹̣̳̮̬͓̰͈̪̩̙̙̀̅̏͌͛͆̾̀̎̏́͒̇̄͛̿̆͗̃̉͛͑́͐̉͗͌̇͊͋̈́̒̅̽̌͂͗̅͑͌̎̾̅̊̔̅͐̑̋̇̔̂͋͆͐̀͒́̑̅̚͘̕͘̚̕͜͜͝͝͠ͅͅt̷̶̷̶̷̡̧̢̢̛̛̜̯̗̮̦̬͍̟̝̩͈͇̲̖̗̩̝̳̟̫̝̭̺͙͎͎̱̼̬̩̦̥̯̖̹̫̞͑͂̔͗͌̅̉̎͗͛̅̎̎͌̐͌̈̏̓̂̽͋̃̑͌̅͊̍̒̄̕̚̚̚̕͝͠͝͝ ̷̷̶̵̶̢̨̡̢̨̙̭̘̖̘͍̫̪̱͍̜̠̟̙͎̱͇̤̟̹̣͙̝͙̞͕̲̬̯̲͕̲̜̖͖̞̗̰̳͇̤͉͖̻̺̅̉́̾̉̄̑̌͋̆̈́́̏̂̊̑̇̅̀͂̈́̒͑́͗̊́̓͂͐̓͌͊͊̑͌͛̀͘̕̚͜͜͠͝͠͝ͅf̴̷̵̴̶̢̡̨̛̛̳̣̜̞͙̝̘̪̫͔͖̳̟̫̲̯͕̰͂̐͐͒̈̐̋̊̓̉̀͊͆͆͆̾͗̀͛̀̉̆̓̑̉͌͌̎̃͊͐̈́̅̽̕͘͘͜͝ͅẫ̴̴̵̶̷̧̧̨̡̫͍̺͙͔̬̜̭̙̮̞̬̘̖̭̫͔̹̭̠̟̼͕̻͈̜̬̻̞̱̱̬͔͎̝̠̘͚̳̈́̊̄̂̂̌͂͌͊̈́̈́̆̀̅̈̾͌͌̇̑͌̊̒͌̔̍͊͒̀̃̇̇́̿̓̾͗̈́́̓̚͜͝͝͝ͅͅǐ̶̴̵̶̴̴̸̢̡̡̡̢̢̧̢̧̨̬͔͓̰̘͓̯̺̰̳̮̪͕̣̜̙̪̘͚̬̳̼̘̝̫͓̠̱͓͉͓̦̖̩̩͔̜̜͔̭̣͔̼̟̳̪͉̰̮͈̞͍̣̬̮̩̦̼͕̯̪͓͎̤̱̗̩̠̻̂̾̋̓̓̃̀̃͒̅̀͐̄̓̄̈́́͋̿͒͊̇̑̎̈́̾͂̍̂̄̏̎͑̏̈́͒̀̃́̀̕͘͜͠͝͝ͅl̵̸̵̴̶̴̸̢̡̧̨̛̘͖̥͙̗̺̹̱͎̤̳̯͙̹̤̹̯̩̳̲͈̱̫̯̹̦̺̬̲͙̽̉̋̿̾̿͊̋̈́̊̓̃̍̋͋̇̓̿́̿̉͊̈́͘̚͜͝͝ͅ.̸̴̸̴̴̸̸̧̨̨̢̧̢̛̜̮̲͕͙͓͎̮̜͉̖̹̙͉͙̭͈̣̞͎̦̜͇̮͍̠̲̪͙̪̜͎̘͎̟̬̬̯̘̝̪̮̦̝̳̖̂̀̾́͆̂͑̋̌̈͆̓̓̽̈́͋̎̌͐̏̊̍́̽̒̂̏̂͐̇̎̇̏͋͂̿̒̀̅̓̔̓̀̋̇̑̇̉̀̇̌͊̋̌͑͑͋͋͑͘͘͘̕͝͝ͅ ̸̸̴̵̷͍͔̖̮̝̲̞̻̦̝̰̬̘̟̞͍̙̞͎͎͖̮̰̞̱̓̆͂̌̌̀́̓͋̄̈͆̑͑͊̈́́̽̈́̋̒̍͛̇̔̔̐̌̓́̃̅̀̆̈̽̅̂̋͘̕͜͜͠͠͝͝͠͝ͅD̴̶̸̵̴̢̧̛̥͔͍̞̹̦͉̻̩̝̪̣̘̰̜͎̖͉̪͉̩͙̺̼̮̹̭̪̗͙͎̼̯͎͍̙̻̘̤͓͑͛̏̍̈̈͂̒͊̈́͊́̎͌̇͋̏́̀̈́̕̚͜͜͠͠ͅǫ̶̷̷̷̴̴̨̛̛͖̫̥̥̼̩̗̼̙̰͓̦̖͈͚̳͔̖͖̯̯̳͓̠͕͔̺̭̭̻̳̱̬̘̰͈̖̘̳͉̫̥̭̟̯͍̓̎̆̈́̿͗̓̇͒͐́̇̉̌̽͒̿̌͊̔̇̐̈̈̈́̍̃̿̌̌̌̈́̓̇͂̒̾͗́̊̀̐̉́̀͋̏̕͘̕̚͠͝ ̸̷̷̴̶̧̨̨̢̢̢̧̛̛̻̝̗̜̼̼͓̻̘̗̣̭͖͕̹̪͉̟̠̜͎̬̯͚̱̼͈̞͒͗́̾̀̈́̈́͊̊̈͌̂̄̈́̀̈́̑̿̽̀̈́̆̏̄͐̎͒͊̂͌̎͂̀͊͐̅͘͘͜͝͠͠͠͝͠ͅǹ̷̵̶̸̷̨̛̦̮͕̬͎̯̫̯͇̻̗̳̰̖̝̩͕̯̦̥͈̜̘̟͖̜̲̖͈͖̯̲̞̜͔͎͇͎̃̐̆̊̍̄̀̓̀͑͋̀͐̈́́̂̐̀͋̈͜͜͠ơ̶̷̸̵̴̸̧̨̡̧̧͚̘̩͎̲̦̻͍͔̞͈̘̤̫̦͚̳̟͓͉̩̟̲̭͍͍̯̰̻̓̇͛̾͌̐̂̏̐̈́̀̎́̇͐̄́́̓̽̓̿̀̽͐́̑̋̀̈͘̚̚͝͠ͅͅͅţ̴̵̸̴̶̵̷̡̨̡̢̨̧̨̡̨̥̰̥̹̣̼̳̻̣̩̪͇͓̱̟̺͎͙͉̞̙̳͔͕̮̙͓̺̝̱͉͙̹̳̫͇̰̪̝̞͎̩̞̜̬̻̜̰͓͚̦̣̗̱̱̙̣̺͔͔̠̼̂̀́́̒͗̍̑̐̽̂̈́̌́͒͑͋̈́̓͐̌͛̑͋͆̚̚̕͜͝͠͠͝͝͝ͅ ̴̶̸̷̴̵̨̡̨̢̢̞̜̬̱̠̮̞͉͉͙̬̩͇̺̲͍̖̖̦̯̠͎͇̺̖̪̙͚͔͙̻̺̮͓̣̤͉̯̪͈͕̘̟̻̺͍͕͖̺̮̰̻͑̀̎͗̈́̔̌̋̆̈̉͌̒͊̉̄͂̎͑͑̔̉̉͒͂̀̒̀͑͑̈́̄̄̌̀̈̿͛͘̚͘̕̕̕͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅf̴̵̵̴̴̷̨̧̧̛̛͕̣̥͍̲͉̪̳͕̱̖̙̳̘̠̳̗̳̱̯͓̘̠͚̝̣͓̝͈̖̥̳̮̺͕̜̳͙̮̹̦͙̼̭̹͙̳̤̼͑̇̒͌̑̌͗͊́̆͗͋̓̽̽͗͌̂͂̌̑̐́͑̐̊́̋̃̊͗̀̍̃́̍̔͑̐̐̈́̋̑̊̈́̆̂̀̐̊͆̑̊̄̽̃̽̑̋͘͘̚͘̕͜͜͝͝͝͝á̵̴̴̵̴̵̡̡̨̨̯̻̹̠̟̫͖̦̩͙̟̺̼̞͇̜̞̺̮͔̰̟̼̖͎͕̙̳͒̌́͐̈̓̑̀̾̑̒̒̾̄̈́̇̈́̋̀̀̿̏̔̕͘͜͜͜͠͝͠͠ͅͅi̵̷̶̸̸̶̧͔͖̦̼͔̣̗̙̲̼̱̼̩̤̣̮̯̫̮̬̪̺̭̹͖̙̳̜͇̼͕̪̲͓͚͓͖̺̠̹̊͌̀̀͋͛̇̐̂̓͌͌̇̇͆̉̽͂̊̉̄̊̓̊̈́͌̒͒͂̓͒̔̓̍͒͘̕̕͘͜͝͠͝͝ͅͅl̶̶̵̶̸̴̢̨̢̧̢̡̞̥͍̝̥̱̥̪͓̬̖̫͚̻̱͙̬̖̝͇̝͇̱̯̩̙̥͙̳̩̼͕͇̱̮͈͋͋̓̋̄̊̋̇̆́̆̈́̆̄̈́̽͋͌̋͌̋̇̿̐̎̂̿̑͘̕͘͜͠͠͝ͅͅ.̴̵̵̶̴̵̨̨̢̧̧̛̛̫̫̪̗͕̻̜̘̝̮͕͖̥̝̼̣͙͖̘͔̟̫̥͎̞̲̝͋͂̓͗̆̈́̉̾͒̆́̅͒̏̈́̈́͗̑͒̾͛̐̇̊̂̈́͐̀̐̊̓̒̌̒̀͆͗̏̿͘͝͝͝ ̸̶̴̶̵̷̢̢̡̢̢̧̡̢̛̛̮̝͔̺̜̮̰̙̻̟̳̤̙̭̯̼͖̠̮̖̖̩̣̣̲̱̻̭̰̣̘̻͖̻̳̘̤̝̞̥̘̗͖̻̼͚̟̖̭̓̌̋̈́̌̈̐̐̄̈́͛̈̑̐̃͐̇͐́͗̈́͗͆̀̐͛̋̍̄̔̔͊̎̋̆̆͗̾̾̍̊͒̎̇̉̓̐̾́̏̂͂́̾̽͋̌́́͂̚̚͝͠͝͝ͅͅD̷̸̵̶̴̴̡̨̡̢̧̨̧̨̡̧̢̛̛̤͉̘̱̠͇̥͙̪̠͙̻̘̜̘̮̦͉͕͖͓͓͓̼̺̻͍͙̱̬̼̯̭̱͖̦͖̤̖̜͑̑̃̑̑̅͂͌̑̆̄͐̉̽̐́͋͗̓̀̉̔̃͛̐̅͑̋̅́̄͂̑̐͐͆͒̈̎́͊̕̕̕͜͜͝͠ͅơ̴̶̸̵̵̡̡̧̠̮̣̝̝̟̺͔͚̥̤̯̣̹͕͇̗̮͕̹̞̝͓͎̘̘͕̯͚̪̠̱̳͔̲͌́̈́̎̂́́͗̆̊̒́̂̿͌̿́͒͊͌̈́͆͐͘̚͝͠ͅ ̶̵̶̶̶̴̡̨̢̧̛̱̰̰͕̪̪͙͇̣̦̟̣͓̠̥͕͔̯͇͕̘͍͖̲͙̜̱͎̩̘͍͙̯̜̺̟̫̱̩̹̳̽̉̆́͗̓̌̄̌̓̉͛̾͛̓̒̑̈̍͒̋̃̈́́̍̄̔̒̔̚͘͘͘̕͝͝͝͠͠n̶̴̵̵̸̴̶̢̧̧̧̠̟̘̳̝̫̖̗͖̗͎̜͎̪̳̞̖̺̰̘̞̱̹̰̟͕̹̤̩̥̖̬͍̜͔̯͔̮̹͍̭̞͊̈̾͊̆͛̀̈̃̈͌̀̓͒́̑̾̈̈́́̽̈́̿̑͑͗͆̽̏̄̽̀̀̕͘̚̕͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͝ͅơ̵̷̶̶̶̴̡̡̛͙̠͙͎̜͉̣͖̗̱̮̠̖̯̼̮̥͕̟̼̲̣̲̟̳͖̱̲̠̦̗̫̻̜̟͙̼̱̭̻̊̊͛͌̿̈̌́̿̎͒̈́̔̂͊̑̉̿̏̂͋̊̆̑̂͆̂̃͒̅͘̕͜͝͝ṫ̶̸̶̴̴̨̛̩̳̞͇̜͍̩͓̤͙̯͇͎̖̼̹̮̺̞̞͈̫̰̲̩̞̲̰̥͙͚̤̲̳͇̥̈́̃̾͊̌͑̓̉̔̋̓̓̑͒̀͒̈́̆̆̃́̄̆̌̋͌̍̃̈̌̿̓͗̄̀̄͐̈͑͐̈́̊͐̂͒͊͘̕̚͘͜͜͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅ ̵̶̸̸̷̶̶̨̨̨̧̡̧̛̛̛̫̰͚͈̭̦͈̺͓̺̥̰͔̯̫̰̺̟̗̪̙͇̯͕͚͉̞̰̼̭̘͎͇̯̠̣͕͍̱̖̝̪̽̽͐̓͌̌̏̆̒̔̀͋̇̀̆̍̾̾͋͒͌̂̔̾̽̀͗̈́́͐̏̀̀́͂̾͜͜͝͝f̷̸̴̴̶̸̡̧̧̧̬̮̖̰͇͎̘͔̘̞̩̭̟͖̠̱͕̞͍̩͈͙̘̤̭͖̹̼̝̗̲̤̹̣͈͔̺̼͇̬̰͔̮̥̺̦͕̜̲͕͚͕̬͓̭̔̉̔̆͐̒͛͂̀̃̀̍̓̽͐̅͂́͗͐̀̒̐͊͌͂̋́̋̅̓͐̽͒̕̚̕͜͜͠͝͝͝͝͝͠ͅͅą̷̷̸̵̵̵̢̢̡̢̧̧̱̲͈̞̙͎̝͙̮̰̻̟͎͍̹̠̘͚͙͓̙̭̱̬̮̋͂̏͑̏͗̋̔̾͐͊̑̑͒͑̇͂̾́͑̂̓̌̐̔͋̋̔͊̆̊͛̊̈̈́͋̂́́͊͑̈́̓̈́̐͂̑̋͑͋́͒̏͂́̈́͊̋̚͘͘͘͠͝͠͝͠͝͠͠ȋ̵̸̸̴̸̧̢̧͓̹̤͔͈̦͔̯̮̭̭̙͍̲͎̟̰̳̩̹͚̭̭͚͙̫͉͙̣͎̗̲͛̿̀̔̾͆́̐́̾̽̀̈͒̀̒̒̔̋̓̍̕͘͜͝ͅͅl̴̸̵̸̷̷̶̡̡̨̧̛̗̪͕̜̹̰̱̜̲̥͖̬̯̯̤̰͈̦͎͇̩͙̖͈̲̬̖̼͇̱̰͎͈̙̱̺͕͖̜̰̻̭̯̣̹̯̳͔͕̹̝͇͈̩̬͛͆͒̓̇̋̾̀͋͋̃̀̃͒́̾͒͆͊̽̈́̏̇̊̂͗̍̈́́́͆̈́̈͋̉͆̐͂̅̏̆̀͛͆̍̔̀́͑̀̈̓̍̄͗̊͆̒͘̚͘̕̕̚͜͜͠͝͝͠ͅ.̷̶̸̵̶̢̧̛̰͓̙͉͍̬̘̜̤̻̭̯̗̝͖͔̥̝͍͈̪̻̦̣͖̠̺̺̩̝͙̹͓͆̒̂̄͌͑̈̓͋͐̉̿̓͌̈̎̓̃͊̓̍̅̊͑̾͋͘͜͝ͅ ̵̸̵̷̵̷̡̧̨͖͇͙̜̩̦̹̮̯̘̱̟̘͚̰͖̤̬͎̙̰̹̪̭̺͈̗̞͔͙̩̳̣̑̀̆́̂̎͗̊̂͗͊́̃́̓̿̍͐̅́͂̈͑͌͊͊̊̀̉̽̅͌͌̍͗̄͊͗̎̉̚͘͠͝͠͝͠ͅͅ D̸̷̴̵̴̨̨̧̛̰͚͍̠̼̲͕̘͙͙͚̲͍̠͉͈͚̗̻̤̝̪̰̭̠͍͙̣̳̙͍̹̲͍̠̥̟͗̐́̐̂́̿̐͊̑̏̀̂́͛̃͐̀̍̅͛͐͊̾͋͆͑̂̕̚̕̚̕͠͝͝ͅö̷̷̸̷̵̵̡̡̡̢͉͚͚͙͙̫̺̙̭̘͚̯͚͙̰̩̥̮͖̬͈̺͍̫͈̹͚̤̺̣͎̗͚͇́̒̆̈́̅̉̔̈́̄̅̓̏̿͛̓̅̅̔͊̈̃͊͒͐̔̔̀͋̆̅͊̉̈͌̋̏̈́̕̕͜͝ ̸̶̶̷̴̴̷̢̢̥̮͈̯̥̘̜̬̼̗̪̫͇̗̱͔̙̦̭̦͔̞͈̮̺̫͇̳̹̝̤͇̙͍͎̤̤̟̘͎̺̘͕̓̿̀͒̈́́̄̆̏̉̔̌̽̒̀̍̉́̀̊͗̈́̉͆͊̃̀͐̊́͂̋͑̄̀̿̋͒͐̇̅̎̒̍̀̌͛̐̈̕̚̚͘̕̕͝͠͝n̶̸̴̶̴̵̢̨̡̪̞̳̟͓̩̖̣̘̞̘̲͓̳̪̹̪̜̤̬͚̳̜̮̳͎̩͎̘̟̗̫̩͖͓̻͖͎͒͒̓̔̒̈́̀́͒͋̈̇͌͋͛̑̿̇̀̉̄̄́̃̅͛̚͘̚̕͘̕͜͜ͅo̸̷̸̴̵̴̢̨̧͚̖͎̟͇̬̮̘̩̰͔̭̭̱̳̥͉͕͉͈̙̭͇͕̭͈̻͖̣͓͈̰̰̥̭̬̜̍̂́͑͒̉̂͊̀̉̓̅̾̾̆́̂͋͗̽̐̾́̇͒̽̀̉̎̂͒͂̋̃͒̕̚͘͜͝͠͝͠ţ̷̶̵̶̸̴̡̛̯̠̖̝̭̜̬̯͔̜̖̥̘̱̼͈̮̼͉̦̼͉̝̳̳̹͚͎̘̪̺̬͙͓̖͈̞̦̩̳́̅͛́̈̀̒̌̉̀̌͆̉̾́̒̓̿̽̓͑̿̌̆̌́̊͛̐̈̌̏̔͋̉́̐̕̕͜͜͠͠ͅͅͅ ̵̶̵̷̸̴̧̨̡̨̖͈̳̟̩͇͓̠̻͚̣̠͕̼̤̭̝̝̝̪̟̩̦̬͖͓͈̘̰̼̯̩̺̙̮̘͉̜̠̜͎͙͕̯̫̥͈͋̈́̐̿̾̃̀̓̃̈́̉́̍̓̋̍̓̊͑̾̽͒̅̒́̇͂̏̈̉͌̂̍̐̔̚̚͘͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅf̶̵̸̴̸̴̨̡̢̡̢̧̛̘̞͖̻͚̖̹̫͚̝͕͙̝̠͇̣̰͙̻͕̝͍̤̙̬̫̝̣͉̬̲͇̹͎̲̭̬̦̳̞͇̯̹̭̹͓̳̜͈̭̝̘̮̃͒̓́͌͑̂͒̊͂̈́̾̇͊̂̓̃̊̓̽̏̔̉͒͂̆̈́̈́̎̒̂͐̏͋̃̌̍̎̃̒̔̏̐͑́̅̏̀̽͘̚͜͠͝͝͝ͅͅä̵̸̶̶̶̷̢̡̨̢̡̧̺̥͈̞̥̮͙͕̟̳̮͕͈͖̞̱͚̤̗͈͖͓̤͈̪̜̹͕̖̜̪̰̫̹̦̯̻̩̳̠̠̭͙͙̥̮̲̺̣͉̞̳́̍̎͊̑̊̓̄̽̽̑̏̆̅̍͋͒̈́̉̈́͐́͂̓̌̓͋͂͑̂̈́̈́̎̾̓̊͐̈́͑̽̕͜͜͜͜͝ͅͅi̸̵̷̷̷̶̧̧̡̞͍͓͍̳̺͎̫̟̯̥͍͓͍̬͖̖̦͖̭̫̗̫͇̖̬͍͖̝̝͍̘̪̬͈̻͙̟̮͇̙̬̯̿͗͋͋̃͂̍̎̋̔̀͑̏͛͊͐̌̈́̀͂͆̓͋͂͂̃͌̂͊͛͋̈́̓̈́̄̽͂̉̌̈́̀̎̈̕͘̕͜͜͝͝ͅl̶̴̵̵̴̵̨̡̨̛̬͓̫̘̘̙̺̫̪̯̞̻̗̤̞̰͕̮͚̙̬̗̠͎̦̝͎̬͋͌̃̈́̉̂̃̿̌̇̏̓͋̅͂̈́̄͐̃͗̈́̐͗̅̔̏̃̑̅̃́̇̈́͂̀̒̈́̓̚̚̚̕͘̕͘̚̚̕͜͝͝͠͠͠ͅ.̶̵̴̸̵̷̢̛̖̫͙͚̱̬̺͓̬̻̘̫̯̠͚̪͉̞̼̙͎̖̖͎̤̓̒͒̅̏͐̾͂̏̽͛̏̀̐͋̒̋̄͑̓͂̑̅͐̍͂͐̚̚͘͜͠͠͠͝ͅ ̷̸̶̴̸̵̴̡̢̡̧̨̨̧̨̢̨̛̲̝̱̱̺͈̘͓͕͇̣̼̩͍͙̩̹̹̲̭̗͖̙̘̱͉̟̰͙͖̻͎̖͙͎̮̜̞̭̪̣̟͕̘̻̬̙̪͍̞̂̔͒̆̐͒̃̉̽̾͐̆̑̅̔̇̉͗̾͐̈̾͌̈́̀͂̈́͛̽̅́̄̔̂̈̀̑͑̎̇̐̒́͘̚̕͘͜͠ͅͅͅD̶̪͠ǫ̷̔̃ ̷͎̿ń̵̜ö̷̧́͐t̵̢̗̐͠ ̶̪͂͝f̵̳̊̈́a̴͕̒̄i̷̳̠͠ḻ̶̡̽.̵̧̈́́ ̶̱̳͊D̸̨̤́ó̶̘ ̵̧̲̑n̴̟̹̑̈o̷̲̱̕t̸̲̍ ̶͎̠̒͋f̸̧̃͝å̷̘͘í̸͉l̸̹̈́̚ͅ.̶̝̓ ̸̳́͑D̷̹͛ȍ̷͈̔ ̶̺͎̉͊n̸̗̩͘o̷̰̐͝t̶̡̹̕ ̶̰̜̓f̵̦̃͝ẳ̸͙i̵̝͑̂l̴̝̅̃.̵̘̪̾ ̸̨͙̈́͘

»̴̞̇ ̵̜̺̅S̸̠̠̚P̸̃̍͜E̵̙̅͜L̶̬̗̕L̵̢͙̀ ̸͍͇͂͂S̶̛̟̹T̷̩͔̀̀Á̷̹̪̈Ṱ̶̖͆Ǘ̵̦S̴̻͕̎:̴̧̢̐̄ ̴͎̂̕A̶͉̒C̶͔̊T̷̆̀ͅȊ̵̥V̷̻͒E̴̠̊ͅ

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"Fuck!" I screamed in agony, grabbing at my head.

A sharp, raw pain ripped through every nerve in my body and the status interfaces I'd pulled up in my vision disappeared in a blinding flash.

"Airis!?" "Momma?" "Your Eminence!"

I was swarmed by my attendants, and the clanking of metal indicated the knights had moved into a guarding position around me.

"I'm fine." I strained through clenched teeth, "Little bit of whiplash from void shit. All our Initiators should avoid using any inspection magick on the enemy."

My outburst hadn't gone unnoticed.

Renault was no longer sitting on his throne in a slump, he was now looking at us. His gaze was fully alert, and he looked on edge.

He stood from his seat, "How did you get past the barrier? That entryway should've been sealed, my magick was impenetrable!"

His voice carried through the hall, it sounded dry—hoarse as if from yelling too much.

I shrugged, "Side door was unlocked." I indicated with my free hand in the general area behind us where the wall had closed back up already.

Renault seethed. His expression twisted and contorted in every foul look one could imagine.

Hatred, contempt, disgust, shame, and even something that resembled fear for a split second.

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