BOOK 9: CHAPTER 42: OPPOSING FORCES

Catharsis through healing.

Elijah often neglected his healing abilities, usually reserving them to mend his own wounds. However, he couldn’t deny that focusing on the well-being of others brought with it a healing of its own. It didn’t solve any of his problems. He still felt a potent fury simmering deep beneath the surface of his mind. But it helped soothe his spirit in a way that few things could.

Even so, his every instinct screamed at him that he hadn’t taken things far enough. He shouldn’t have stopped with Breeze. He should have gone straight to Seattle and removed the threat Isaiah represented. And then he could have gone to Hong Kong and finished Nico off and forced Heaven’s Bastion to work with the necromancers for the greater good.

But he knew that would have been a mistake. There were other factors at play. Isaiah was the linchpin binding together the alliance meant to hold the threat of excisement at bay. Without him, it would collapse, and Elijah wasn’t certain that he could – or wanted to – pick up the slack.

And killing Nico came with problems of a different sort. Not only would it make an official enemy of Heaven’s Bastion, but he suspected that Sadie would never forgive him for killing her only remaining sibling.

Thinking of her brought with it a host of other concerns. Would she understand what he’d done? Or would she condemn him for it? He hoped for the former, but in the back of his mind, he couldn’t escape the reality that the latter was probably more likely.

That was if she survived her own foray into the Primal Realm. He wanted to believe she would sail through without issue, but his experiences suggested otherwise. The first Primal Realm had taken Dat from them, and the second had very nearly resulted in Elijah’s death. Believing that she would come through unscathed smacked of false hope.

But healing some people who needed it helped soothe the turmoil in his mind – at least a little. It also gave the group of raiders some much needed respite from the pain they clearly felt.

In the end, though, they were still incredibly wary of him. His reputation had obviously preceded him, and even though they accepted his help, they were not exactly personable. Additionally, they had no information for him, save that they knew who Oscar was and that he had been hunting around the Primal Realm even before any of them showed up in Bogotá.

That wasn’t unexpected. Oscar had remained at or near the top of the power rankings all the way until the Trial of Primacy, so the idea that he’d been hunting in the area around a Primal Realm made sense.

It took Elijah an hour to heal the group, which only increased their wariness of him. So, it wasn’t surprising when they quickly departed after a hasty thank you. He’d never even learned their names.

Sighing, he shifted into the Shape of Venom and proceeded north on foot. He couldn’t cover quite as much ground that way, but it gave him a different perspective. After all, the form traced its origins to a mighty hunter, and he still had all the requisite senses that went with that.

Mile by mile, he continued through the mountains. With his attributes, the terrain was no great barrier, so it only took him a little more than half a day to reach an area of increased ethereal density. It was only barely noticeable, but Elijah recognized it for what it was – evidence that the Primal Realm wasn’t that far away.

More, it gave him some hints as to what to expect. The ethera felt very different than what he’d sensed around the other Primal Realms. Instead of death or mutation, it felt like fire and ice had somehow combined into something greater than either.

It wasn’t wrong – not precisely – but it didn’t feel entirely natural, either. Rather, it felt like some force had twisted the world into something that didn’t quite fit. It was more than a little disconcerting, but Elijah pushed his discomfort to the back of his mind and continued forward.

Expectedly, the ethereal density continued to climb. What Elijah did not anticipate, though, was the precipitous drop in temperature. In the space of twenty miles, he found himself plunging ahead into a blizzard. Snow swirled, reducing visibility to almost nothing while the freezing cold seeped into his bones.

Yet, he felt that it could have been much worse.

Because the cold was magical in nature, much of its detrimental effect was blocked by his combination of Aegis of Elements, the trait associated with Mantle of the Chimera, and his high constitution. Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t uncomfortable – it was, and the feeling was only exacerbated by the rising tide of the ambient ethera.

As a precaution, he embraced Guise of the Unseen. He didn’t know what sort of creatures might spill out of the Primal Realm, but he was fairly certain that they would be hostile. He had no interest in fighting at the moment, so he decided that discretion was in order.

Only a couple of miles later, his preparation proved well-founded when he caught sight of a mammoth-like creature with tusks of solid ice. The thing was bigger than a semi-truck, and, judging by the frozen blood clinging to its tusks, aggressive. Thankfully, it wasn’t ascended, though it wasn’t far from that mark.

The next one he found was much higher level, and Elijah made certain to give it a wide berth.

Over the next few hours, he skirted dozens of other creatures. Some were normal beasts, though like the animals on his island, they’d grown far more formidable. Polar bears, boars, and even snowshoe hares were the most common, but Elijah also saw a wolverine the size of a panther that seemed very much aware of his presence. Knowing good and well that he didn’t want to tangle with such a vicious creature, Elijah circled wide around it.

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There were also monsters.

Elijah had difficulty placing what exactly they were supposed to be. Bipedal and humanoid, they seemed almost like hairless apes. However, they also carried giant, wooden clubs that they weren’t shy about using on anything they encountered. And when they caught something’s scent, they were quick to pounce.

The things clearly weren’t sapient, but the fact that they could use tools suggested a level of intelligence that Elijah found uncomfortable.

Just as Elijah was growing accustomed to the dangers, everything changed.

The blizzard ceased, and the ice disappeared, replaced by hot, ashy wind and lava flows. The change was anything but gradual, and Elijah soon found himself straddling the demarcation line, one pair of feet on ice, and the other on volcanic rock.

After a little more exploration, he discovered that the line extended for miles in both directions, though the effects of both environments faded the further south he went. In his mind, that confirmed that the source was the Primal Realm.

Over the next few hours, night fell, but Elijah continued his search, and he eventually reached the other side of the tundra-like area. From what he could tell, the region was divided into two distinct halves, presumably with the Primal Realm at the center. One was devoted to the volcanic area, while the other was dedicated to ice.

But still, there was no sign of Oscar.

So, he stuck to the familiar ice region and continued north, following the increasing ethereal density.

By sunrise, he found another change.

The giant was not what he had expected. Certainly, it was huge. Fifteen feet tall and bipedal, it looked a bit like a bearded human. However, its skin was entire blue, and its hair and beard looked like it was made of ice. Its weapons followed a similar pattern, with blades coated in thick rime.

The thing was also ascended, which made the fact that it was clearly hunting for something a little troubling.

Elijah followed it for a while, leaping from rock to rock until he very nearly ran into a trap. Via Soul of the Wild, he sensed the pit only a few feet in front of him. It had been covered by an extremely thin layer of ice and snow, so it was virtually indistinguishable from its surroundings. However, he knew that if he’d put his weight on the ice, he’d have fallen through.

And been impaled by the spikes of ice at the bottom.

Normally, his body was more than durable enough that those icicles would have broken well before they pierced his body. However, there was a note of ethera about them that suggested they’d probably get the job done. And while it clearly wouldn’t be enough to kill him, it would have definitely put him in a bad spot.

From then on, he was far more careful in his pursuit.

Along the way, he sensed dozens more traps. Most were simple, but there were some on the level of what Kurik had deployed back in the Trial of Primacy. Thankfully, now that he knew about their presence, Soul of the Wild was more than enough to keep him in the clear.

Eventually, the ice giant found its way to the line of demarcation between the mountainous tundra and the lava-strewn hellscape. It was not the only one, either. Only a few feet into the fiery terrain was another giant. This one was just as tall as the other, though its skin was coal black, its eyes blazed with fire, and its beard and hair were deep red.

Predictably, its weapons glowed with intense heat.

The second the ice giant came into view, its fiery counterpart let out a volcanic roar and rushed forward. Not to be outdone, the other giant spat a frosty shriek before returning the charge with one of its own.

The two giants collided a few seconds later. Fire met ice, and steam billowed as the two engaged in combat. Titanic blows came in rapid flurries that belied the creatures’ immense size, and the shockwaves sent waves of snow surging in every direction. As they laid into one another, the pair of combatants paid no mind to the environmental destruction.

At first, the two seemed evenly matched, but soon enough, Elijah recognized the truth. The ice giant was winning. Not in a landslide, but he had enough of an advantage that the outcome was practically decided.

For his part, Elijah didn’t dare intervene. The last thing he wanted was to poke his nose into a situation he didn’t understand, only for the pair to put aside their differences and attack him. He felt confident that he could overcome the disadvantage of being outnumbered, but he wasn’t eager to endure that sort of fight.

After all, he wasn’t there to kill giants. He was there find Oscar.

The battle went on for nearly ten minutes until the ice giant overwhelmed his opponent’s defenses. His frost-bladed axe bit into the fire giants shoulder, digging deep and destroying the joint. The blade become lodged in the bone, so the ice giant quickly abandoned it and dragged a long knife – which, given the scale at play, was the size of a sword – and rammed it into his enemy’s chest.

The fire giant screamed in agony as he attempted to fend off his attacker. However, he quickly proved too weak, and the ice giant retracted his blade only to ram it back into place. Again and again, he slammed that rime-covered blade into the other creature’s chest until, at last, the fire giant collapsed.

Placing his foot on the kneeling enemy’s chest, the ice giant grabbed hold of his axe’s haft, then yanked it free in a spray of boiling blood.

It was when he pulled back to finally finish his opponent that Elijah finally struck.

He pounced, leaping upon the creature’s back, and sinking his fangs into the nape of his neck. Envenom activated, flooding the monster with toxin. At the same time, a horde of phase spiders leaped upon it.

Elijah vaulted backward, his toxin delivered. Mid-air, he shifted into the Shape of the Master, bounded off of a rock, and brought his scythe to bear. He blocked a wild backhand, then sent his own blade directly at the ice giant’s knee. The scythe – driven by Elijah’s immense strength – sliced through the joint, severing the leg and continuing on to the other one.

In the space of a second, the creature had been entirely disabled. The giant tipped over, sliding free of its detached lower legs. But Elijah paid it no mind. Instead, he pounced on the other giant. The creature had had time to gather itself and mount its own attack, but with one arm disabled and a dozen other wounds decorating his body, the fire giant couldn’t do much.

Elijah dodged its attacks easily. He leaped, his scythe arcing out before it sliced through the giant’s neck. The creature’s head rolled free a moment later.

That was when Elijah turned to the ice giant. And he made for a pitiful sight indeed. Losing his legs had been quite a blow, but the afflictions coursing through the creature had taken a much larger toll.

The thing tried to speak, but only blue blood came from his mouth.

Then, he died.

Elijah only got a little experience from it, but as important as progression was, he found that he was far more interested in how the giants stacked up to his power. They were ascended, but only just. And with his influx of levels, he’d overwhelmed them easily.

It felt good, too.

Better than he wanted to acknowledge.

Killing shouldn’t have been so easy. Nor should it have felt so satisfying. Even with monstrous creatures like the giants, he shouldn’t have enjoyed it so much.

But that was a worry for another day. For now, he needed to determine if the giants had any loot, then continue his search for Oscar. To that end, he got to work.