Clouds choked the sky, and a deepening darkness coated Gharion. At the edge of the lake, it was as if he were staring into the Void, save for the tiny bits of light cast off kindled lanterns and the hearths of a thousand households. Strangely, there was a song in the air. Felix pulled in a humid lungful of air and pressed it back out as he examined the curious melody.

It wasn’t heard with his ears or even his Affinity, but by the whole of him. Felix tilted his head. It was a bright song, golden and warm, but it faded moment by moment until not even a reflection of its melody remained. In its stead was a cold silver wire strung between yellow flickers, like notes plucked from the neck of some vast, inscrutable instrument.

He was hearing the sun set.

That revelation would have occupied him at any other time. But here and now, Felix could spare no more attention.

The water spread out at the base of Gharion's capital city. Docks, still half-built, were normally filled by fishing boats and trade vessels, but now they were crowded by small crafts. They varied in size, some no more than six feet long, while others were triple or even quadruple that. But every single one was piled with a careful arrangement of shorn logs and draped with a thin cloth stitched with sigaldry that glowed faintly against the unnatural dark. They smelled of lilies and spices Felix couldn't name, oils he knew had been anointed upon each craft and the bodies that lay within them.

His people filled the shore. The Legion was at the forefront, but they were outnumbered by the mothers, children, and husbands that had not marched at his back. They crowded around each boat, each one belonging to someone they loved. He could hear that too—the keening grief and wide open reverberation of longing that echoed in each and every person. He wanted to shut himself against it, squeeze his Affinity tight and ignore the music, but he didn’t let himself.

Vess would have listened.

Beside him, a final boat slipped into the water. Captain Loquis leaned over it briefly, whispering something that Felix chose not to overhear. The cloth was stitched just as the rest, though this one bore the sword glyph of the Blade Legion, and the wooden logs were piled a bit higher. There was no figure there beneath its expanse, just the half-melted length of sword that Felix had found atop of En’Cridhe. With a heavy rustle, Loquis produced a purple cloak, spreading it out over the pyre with a soft smoothing gesture. It was stitched with a glyph Felix had only seen once before, on the back of the man that saved his life.

Mervin Cors. Captain of the Legion. Hero of Nagast. Whispers flowed through the crowd like gusts of wind, too many to count. Perhaps his pyre should have been larger than the rest, to represent what he’d accomplished, but Loquis had made this one himself. The Half-Orc leaned forward one last time, and Felix pretended not to notice the tears that dripped down from his cheeks as he pushed the vessel out into the waves.

The captain settled back, Evie at his side. She gripped his hand tightly and he didn’t bother to wipe his tears.

Felix closed his eyes. He breathed.

Words had already been spoken over the dead. A great many, beautiful speeches by Commander Kastos, Commander Reed, Chanter Cyrene, and even Thalgrym and the Deepking. They had spoken of bravery and sacrifice, trite things until you’re walking beneath the blazing Skills of ten thousand zealots. Then, they became something all the more powerful.

Felix hadn’t made any speeches. If Vess had been there, she would have pressed him to say something, anything to help his people along. She wasn’t. All he had managed were a few words here and there among the crowd.

Felix tried not to think of Vess, or of the pyre that he’d refused to make for her. He clamped down on his emotions, walling them off with an effort of Will, as the small ships pushed outward. They were borne aloft by a wave of water magic, his Arclight Legionnaires working their Skills just to the side of the docks.

“Brave warriors all,” Paxus said, his voice echoing across the waters. He stood hovering above the crafts as they sped away from him. “Return now to your ancestors. Embrace the Ethereal.”

Legionnaires lifted arrows bright with Skills that glowed orange in the dark. Darius Reed caught his eye, and Felix nodded.

"Fire.”

Thousands of arrows shot outward, each one falling unerringly upon a cloth stitched in gold. They ignited, flames rising bright and blue from each and every one of them. The black lake glittered, reflections doubling the cool light that surged up into the dark sky. At his side, Pit let out a single mournful cry, and it was taken up by the Chimera all around them. A dirge shook the air and the Nagafolk joined in, their deep bellows churning the lake into lapping waves. The Legion joined in, backed only moments later by the rest of the city, until a song echoed across Gharion. It was loud and off tune, but its melody rose on argent wings through it all, feathered with grief and a blazing, fervent hope.

The pyres spread out, filling the lake now. The farthest of them bumped against the vast roots of the Abundance Anima, the flames rousing a sudden glow from its charred bark. The glow strengthened as the pyres came closer, rising among the trunk to the surviving leaves: a soft blue-green radiance.

In the dark, beneath the black clouds, the Tree shone like the stars they couldn’t see. The black surface of the lake rippled, and the crowd’s song rose and fell like the tide, drawing the fallen ever onward.

The hours after the funeral were a blur to Felix. He recalled speaking to a great many people, despite his misgivings about speeches, but what he said was hazy to him. Comforting noises and firm embraces. What he recalled most as he stood in his rooms was that people had begun to eat at the feast that his chancellor had prepared. The Knights Ghrelden proved eager to show off their hospitality with an immense amount of gusto.

None went hungry that night, and the former Knight Commander earned her right to be Chancellor of Gharion. All too quickly the grief had turned inward as the joy of living came to the front. Drink and food passed through his Legion, laced with the Skills of Adept Tier chefs; sorrow wasn’t forgotten, but it was layered over by a swell of good humor and the balm of miraculous survival. Bells were rung from steeples around the city celebrating it. War had claimed their brethren, but they had won.

More than that, they had survived the impossible. The heavens themselves had opened up and rained down upon the Hierocracy. Soon enough, it was all anyone could talk about.

Moonfall.

It occupied Felix's thoughts as well. He sat now, hours later, within the upper rooms of the palace, staring out over the growing city as lights and sounds rolled across the dark lake. The pyres had all gone out, their craft consumed in the blaze, but the Abundance Anima still glowed, its leaves littering the sky with calming light. He took a breath, trying once again to calm himself.

In peace, however, he only found his troubled thoughts. He checked his notifications instead.

There were a lot. After discarding the thousands that told him he’d killed another monster, he found the important ones.

Hidden Quests Completed!

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Empire Defended I!

When war darkened the horizon, you rose to meet it. By facing down and vanquishing the Hierocracy, you have siphoned a piece of all their XP into your own forces.

Lay Low The Golden Sun!

You have defeated Ocalla Marzul, Hierophant of Amaranth and the leader of the Hierocracy. Your Authority has been expanded! You may now claim all Territories formerly under the Authority of the Hierophant!

New Title!

Empire Slayer!

All hail the conquering hero! You and your people gain greater benefits from defeating opposing empires in battle, increasing the XP, Authority, and significance earned by victory! The penalties for losing are increased in equal measure.

New Title!

Master Magus of the Green Wilds!

You have used the Green Wilds and your Spirit Grove in ways none but a Master Magus could conceive let alone accomplish. Bargaining with the Grim Nightshade, the incarnation of the Green Wilds itself, has earned your place as a true Magus, and as such your shaping that touches upon its song are amplified. The potency and accuracy of all shapings of the Green Wilds is increased by 50%.

He frowned. Not because of the latter, though. Being a Master Magus of the Green Wilds would be incredibly useful when he wielded his Sonata of Dominance. It was due to Empire Slayer. A Title like that was…interesting to say the least, not just because it apparently boosted his people.

Felix lifted his head as a cascade of soft bells rang through him. They weren’t his own notifications, but his people’s. The survivors of the assault on Amaranth were leveling up. He focused. Every single one gained at least five levels, with some pushing so far as ten. Already Felix could feel their increased solidity through his Bonds of Fellowship as the significance of their struggles settled into their core spaces.

Joy followed, echoing through the night. Another layer across the wound.

All told, that was good. Great, even. What was weird was the implication that slaying empires was rewarded. Why would that be the case? From what Felix had learned of the System, it pushed significance and Authority as the ultimate form of power. Skills, Titles, even Mana paled in comparison to those two. So this would push for more confrontations between empires…and consolidating Authority?

Why?

Felix shook the question off. He didn’t have the time to care about the answer.

You Have Gained 10 Levels!

You Are Now Level 120!

+200 to STR! +220 to PER! +220 to VIT! +260 to END! +240 to INT! +280 to WIL! +260 to AGL! +290 to DEX!

+200 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 150 Unused Stat Points!

The power flowed through him, almost an afterthought. The surge of his stats was intoxicating, especially as they interacted with his many Titles, but after consuming gods it had lost its shine. The Beast rolled over within him, its attention roused by the mere thought of the Divine.

When Shall We Finish Our Task, Scion? When Shall Reunion Be Done?

Soon enough.

The Beast didn’t go to sleep, but it wasn’t trying to wrest control from him either. There was no Challenger’s Sea binding the proto-Cardinal in place, just an uneasy and unspoken alliance between Felix and his dark passenger.

“—then it exploded!” Beef shouted.

His friends had joined Felix in his rooms awhile ago. They’d been talking about the battle since before they’d entered, and it hadn’t flagged since. Felix had only been half-listening as he stared out the window. Beef and Wendell—his father of all people—had been explaining how they'd run from the explosions beneath En’Cridhe. The guy had nearly lost his Multipede and all of the Exults he’d carried inside. It was only with his recently strengthened Entropic Paradigm coupled with Wendell's Skills with heat Mana that had allowed them to survive the explosion beneath the ancient tower.

“But the barrier was still up,” Archie said. “Why didn’t you get crushed against it?”

“Hallow’s fast,” Beef said, tapping his temple. “The Multipede is even faster. We go to one of the service tunnels my dad had picked out. His mines went off, then we got blasted us out of there like a rocket. Shot right up through!”

Elowen leaned in. “Where’d you end up?"

"Ah. Well," Wendell shrugged his massive bulk, actually looking relatively small in the huge rooms of the palace. He was sat on the ground next to their seats. "Where do sewers go usually?"

Elowen covered her mouth. "You can't be serious."

"Yeah," Beef grimaced. "Right up through the bathrooms."

Archie sniffed. "I've been wondering about the smell."

"Shut up."

The Kobold twins snickered and a half-hearted amusement drifted around the room.

Felix watched them all. Beef and his dad sat close to each other on the largest couch while Elowen and Archie shared another, his form almost comically small compared to the rest. The twins, Shadowlord and Kevin, were in individual seats, as was Princess Ondine. Karys was in the corner, going over something with the spirit Paxus. Evie and Harn were out among the Legion, while Atar and Alister were resting somewhere. Neither of the mages were in great condition after the fight, and if it weren’t for the promise of ale he was sure Evie and Harn would have gladly passed out as well.

He glanced at an adjoining door. Through it, bound in spells he’d shaped himself, was a king-sized bed and a very unconscious Gabby. She hadn’t woken up since the fight, but the Menders had assured him she was only sleeping off the worst of her injuries.

She was safe.

For the first time, Felix let that fact sink in. He'd saved her. He'd saved all of them. Every Unbound on the Continent was there, in his rooms. He tried not to let the fact that Vess was gone sour him against that achievement.

"Yeah, I have more of a poison build, you know," Shadowlord explained. A very patient Ondine nodded along, her fingers tangling among the threads of some expensive shawl she’d been given. Shadow puffed himself up. "It’s focused on archery and firing off my poisons from a distance. It's been pretty effective."

"Oh yes, I saw its effect on the Hierophant near the end. It gave her pause, and that's impressive."

"I mean," Shadow scratched his head, a blush creeping across the fur and scales on his dog-like cheeks, "that's nothing compared to what you did. You were like, whoosh, pow, and slashed open like…darkness?" He trailed off uncertainly. "I'm not... what did you do to her, exactly?”

Ondine considered her hands. Her nails were split and broken. Bruises lined her wrists and across her neck, same as what Felix imagined was beneath the Kobold's fur. They'd been held for days. "I split the skin of the Realms."

"Whoa. That's intense. How do you get that kind of Skill?"

"Through very peculiar circumstance," she said with a smile. It cut through the darkness in her Spirit like a pale sun. "Though my Omen may have something to do with it."

“Oh, which one do you have?”

Felix started.

"Oh, my God," he gripped his hair. "Oh, my God. I'd forgotten. How had I forgotten?" It felt like fog had been ripped from his Mind. Hope surged in his chest, pressing against the emotions he held tightly back with his Will, threatening to spill outward. Conversation stopped as everyone turned to look at him.

"Felix, what is it?" Karys asked from across the room. "Are you okay?"

He started pacing. "Did she use it? She would have had to have used it.”

“What is going on, Felix?"

Felix stepped up to the giant, metal man. "Karys. Paxus. Would…would the moonfall affect an Omen Path?"

“Omen Path?” Kevin asked. Everyone shushed him.

"Um, I'm not sure.” Karys looked to the spirit. “Paxus?”

The ancient Nymean spirit licked his lips. “It most likely would affect things somehow. Are you saying there’s an Omen Path in Amaranth?"

“I fucking hope so,” Felix muttered. “We gotta go back. Vess is there.”

Karys held out his mismatched hands, one gold and one the dark black of leviathan bone. “You cannot be serious. Felix, you just returned! A goddess has fallen there! Even if we can reach Lady Dayne, we will have to contend with Noctis herself—"

The Chancellor’s words petered out as he met Felix’s gaze, which burned bright enough to fill the room with an uneasy blue light.

“Fuck the gods.” Felix swept his gaze around the room. “I’m bringing her back. Who’s with me?”