I’m awakened at one in the morning by the sound of sirens blaring outside. My first thought concerns tornadoes— it’s not the season when they’re most prevalent, but around these parts, they can and do occur in every month of the year. The weather has been dry and hot all week, but that’s never stopped an errant storm from moving in on any given summer evening. And that’s before the System arrived. Now, there’s no telling what sort of weather patterns are possible now that the System has changed the planet so much.

And I can’t assume that the cause is natural, either. The Thunderbird we faced in the Tower Gauntlet acted more as a guardian and a trial to be overcome, rather than an antagonistic force to be slain, but there are other deities and spirits of thunder and storm out there. And most of them range from trickster at best to actively hostile and malicious— no need to get into the finer details of all of Zeus’s contemptible actions in the Greek mythos. I don’t think we’re dealing with the work of a thunder god, but some sort of lesser spirit seems plausible.

Chloe rouses from her slumber a moment later, rubbing her eyes as she stretches about. “Should we go get in the closet?” she messages as she lets out a cute moan.

“I don’t know. If it’s just an ordinary storm, we should seek shelter, but if it’s something more dangerous, we should go help.”

Chloe picks up her phone and starts typing with preternatural speed. In the meantime, I drag our equipment out of my [Inventory] and begin to don my armor. I still don’t know what we need to do, but I reason it’s best to be prepared to fight, should the worst come to pass.

“Chloe! Sera!” Mrs. Jacobs calls out. “The tornado sirens are going off!”

Her voice is punctuated by a flash of light outside the bedroom window. Strangely, there’s no patter of raindrops falling on the Jacobs residence just yet. So strange— this is an extremely localized phenomenon, or it’s moving extremely quickly. Or worse, both.

Chloe and I finish getting dressed and suited up within twenty seconds. We make our way down the stairs. Mrs. Jacobs has already cleared out the closet underneath them, empty suitcases and cans of spare food and cleaning supplies now sprawled out into the dining area. Once she sees us, she wraps us both into her embrace before beckoning us inside. We oblige.

All the while, Chloe is still on her phone, texting someone— Alana, perhaps, or maybe Nicholas. Mrs. Jacobs finally notices that we’re both in our adventuring gear, and furrows her eyebrows, her glare pointed on me specifically.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually planning to go out in this storm!” she says.

Just as she does, there’s another clap of thunder that shakes the house. The heretofore absent cascades of water begin, tapping down on the roof with reckless abandon. Even a few thumps of hail fall from the sky. With [Archangel’s Gaze], I’m able to peer out the nearest window. Just nickel-sized ones. Annoying, and more than a little unpleasant, but not the sort likely to cause a lot of major damage.

“That’s what Chloe is trying to find out,” I answer. “If this is caused by a monster, then it’s our responsibility to serve as this city’s first line of defense!”

“Your responsibility? Isn’t it the responsibility of our first responders?”

“I know,” I say. “I know you’ll always see Chloe as your little girl, and me as much the same. This is your way of trying to protect us, right?”

Mrs. Jacobs nods, her expression still stern.

“But right now, Chloe and I are two of the strongest people in the city.” With the barest hint of mental will, I [Hearken] the closet and immediate surroundings. It doesn’t work very well, seemingly because it requires my exerting willpower through my voice. But when I speak aloud, telling her, “You can feel that, right?” it takes effect. If only just barely.

“That soft warmth?” She shakes her head, her eye momentarily flickering over to the corner of her vision, reading and quickly dismissing a System notification. “You just cast some sort of magic spell?”

“I activated a new Skill of mine. When fully utilized, it can turn the tide of an entire battle between massive armies.”

Mrs. Jacobs sighs. “No matter how many times the two of you go off into the world, it never gets any easier, having to let go.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Jacobs.”

“Really?”

I look at her with bemusement. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Not… wrong, exactly. It’s just… You’re dating my daughter, practically engaged to her, living under my roof, and yet, it’s always Mrs. Jacobs this and Mrs. Jacobs that. Don’t you think it’s time to stop addressing me so formally?”

“Then… uh–”

Chloe’s phone dings, and she immediately cuts us off. “I just got word from Alana. They’ve confirmed that whatever is responsible for the weather, it’s definitely not natural. They’re still investigating the exact phenomenon responsible, but they’re scrambling all soldiers in the area and preparing for a city-wide clash.”

“Sera,” Mrs. Jacobs says.

“I– I’ll make sure to protect Chloe,” I say. “And, I know I don’t say this often enough, but I want to make sure that I properly thank you for everything that you’ve done for us, Mrs… I mean, Alicia.”

“Stay safe out there,” Alicia says. “I know you’re strong. You might even be the strongest in the city. Maybe even the whole world for all I know. But being strong doesn’t mean you’re invincible. If it gets too dangerous, I want you both to promise me that you will retreat. The storm will pass one day. Our homes can be rebuilt. Honor reclaimed, if that’s something you care about, Sera. But lives lost can never be restored.”

“I understand,” I say.

Chloe and I both give Alicia a hug. Then we share a glance at each other. Far faster than Olympic sprinters in pre-System days, we’re out the door, locking it behind us. The midnight sky is illuminated only by the light pollution creeping up from above. A few giant searchlights and hundreds of thousands, nay millions of house lights, street lights, and other artificial illumination points, a testament to how far humans have tamed our surroundings.

The wind and hail make flying difficult. The rain is fierce, seeping into my clothing. Thank the goddesses that it’s summer— it’s still warm enough, even in the dead of night, that hypothermia is more of a long-term concern. There are no physical signs of what is approaching— even [Archangel’s Gaze] is picking up nothing within its range. But I feel a deep sense of foreboding from deep within. It might not be over the city just yet. But it will be, and soon.

With no other obvious place to go, we decide to head back to the same base where we’d met Nicholas earlier, where we’d been stationed as auxiliary forces, for a time. It’s the largest concentration of high-level combatants in the city, where [Hearken] and Chloe’s [Saintess’s Sanctuary] can do the most good. If we have no chance to flee or win and do make a final stand, that is the unequivocal best place to do so.

We arrive three minutes later. Floodlights are illuminating the base at full blast. Soldiers in full uniform, augmented by whatever gear they have on their person. None that I can see are utilizing an [Inventory], which doesn’t surprise me; I doubt anyone else present is over Level 50. Not even–

My musing is interrupted by the big man himself, his heavy Slavic accent recognizable even within the maelstrom whipping up all around. “Seraphina? Chloe? Is that you?” Alexey asks. “You have changed so much in such a short time; I hardly recognize the two of you anymore.”

“It’s good to see you too, Alexey,” I say. “I wasn’t keen on facing whatever awaits us. I’m still not excited, but I feel a bit more at ease knowing that you’re here as well.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Chloe, meanwhile, has walked right over to the center of the common area. Her eyes are closed and her mouth has begun silently chanting her spell. Not her [Saintess’s Sanctuary], although it would provide numerous benefits. No, this is her new Skill, [Binding Soul Chain].

As she had explained to me yesterday evening, this spell uses her vast reservoirs of [Ether] and spiritual energy to form golden chains that restrict an enemy, greatly restricting their movement capacity and their [Agility]. The perfect weapon to ensnare and defeat creatures that rely on their high [Speed] to evade attacks against them. Or, from another perspective, a way to imprison enemies temporarily without having to resort to killing them. That’s certainly in keeping with her general mindset— undead creatures aside.

I’m not sure why she’s casting that particular spell. Maybe it’s some sort of gut feeling she has? If she thinks that’s how best to use her abilities, I won’t try to convince her otherwise. I trust her at the deepest, most fundamental level, [Angelic Bond] or not.

“So, what do you think we’re dealing with?” another familiar face asks.

“I’m not sure, Anna,” I tell the [Fire Evoker]. Or whatever her class is now.

Despite the pouring rain, her hair and skin remain completely dry, a warm golden aura emanating off her. With each breath she takes, radiant heat escapes her, causing the water drenching my own clothing to sizzle away and evaporate even faster than new water pelts me. I am a little envious on that account. Not nearly enough to want to change classes to become a [Fire Evoker], but the passive radiance she exudes is pleasant.

“Seems like even our [Tacticians] and [Technicians] are getting jammed by whatever this is,” she says. “Radar isn’t picking up anything but the rain and hail, last time I checked.”

“We just have to do the same thing we always do. Adjust, adapt, and overcome.”

Anna nods before strolling off to her own position within the formation.

We don’t have to wait long. Barely half a minute passes before I begin to spot creatures of pure white descending from within the blackened stormclouds. With a crackle of thunder that lights up the entire city, they bellow forth, winnies and neighs trumpeting the arrival of flying equines by the thousands. It’s as if the heavens have seen us, and have come to express their displeasure with our actions to this point.

“Soldiers!” Alexey calls out into the crowd. “Heed now my words! On this fateful morning, forces beyond our station have come to sentence us to annihilation! They want nothing less than to break us, to destroy all that we have worked so hard to preserve and protect! But we have rebuffed every challenge to this point. And we will not succumb today! We are going to fight. We are going to protect! And we are going to overcome!”

A surge of energy flows through me, one that I’ve felt before. Seems that, much like Stefan, Alexey has chosen a command and support class now that he’s long-since passed his first class change. Only, for whatever reason, his Skill is a bit stronger than that the [Stalwart Swordsman], and is on par with my own.

[You are affected by [Rally Cry]. [Vitality] and [Mind] are increased by 30% for 47 minutes (Remaining: 00:46:59)]

I flare out [Hearken], extending it to a radius of a thousand feet. It doesn’t quite cover the entire field, but it should at least cover the people nearest me. More importantly, it’s a second, silent buffing effect affecting a mass of soldiers. And I’ve learned not to underestimate the effect morale has on the field of battle. Knowing that there are so many powerful soldiers with such broad Skills will keep confidence high, preventing the [Fear] effects the opponents might have.

As I finish, a massive surge of lightning collects. Larger and larger, like… the ion cannon on a spaceship, straight out of a sci-fi novel. And it’s aimed right at us.

I sigh. Chloe was right, as she usually is, and it’s our responsibility to buy her the time to bring the titanic creature behind it to heel.