Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 61: Zerypha’s Defeat

The remains of Cycle of Ash and Bloom still crackled in the air, threads of flame lingering in circular patterns, searing the skies with crimson arcs, the battlefield had been utterly transformed, a wasteland of melted stone, scorched earth, and vaporized frost, neither fire nor ice held dominance now, the world itself seemed to reel from the magnitude of their conflict.

Zerypha, her veil stained with streaks of golden blood, wavered as she fought to stay upright, the protective crystalline sphere she had conjured flickered, fractured in places, its once-pristine surface webbed with fissures, her pale hand trembled against the shaft of her draconic staff, and her breath came in ragged draws.

Draven wasn’t faring much better; his armor was in tatters, smoke could be seen rising from open wounds, crimson blood running in rivulets down his scorched skin, his sword, still gripped tight, wavered for a moment before he steadied it, his gaze was locked onto Zerypha.

Their eyes met, one filled with incandescent fury, the other with defiant amusement.

"You..." Zerypha spat, her voice a rasp but no less venomous, "You dirty human... you dare force me to this extent?"

Draven grinned through bloodied teeth. "Looks like your nature has gotten the best of you, weren’t you supposed to be a saint for everyone."

A shriek of rage tore from her throat, "I will end you now, Human".

Without warning, she raised her staff high, the crystal skull atop it flared to life, veins of light and frost were crawling through the shattered sky, ancient runes flared beneath her feet, the earth cracked open in a thousand places as a wellspring of energy gathered.

Draven’s grin faded, he turned furious looking at Zerypha’s new attack.

"You Bird bitch, it was agreed, that we will not go past our limits."

A storm of raw power spiraled around her form, a suffocating aura so vile and destructive that the air itself began to fracture, clouds above twisted into a whirlpool of darkness, bolts of silver lightning tearing through the heavens as the earth quivered.

"Filth like you irritate me to no end, I don’t care for the limits," Zerypha hissed, her voice layered with the chorus of countless ancestral spirits, "No matter the price, I will erase you from the face of this land." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Her staff shone with a radiating aura, it was destructive, as it was blinding, as it absorbed more energy than it was meant to hold, pale white flames started to appear, they licked along its surface as a searing aura burst forth from it.

Draven’s expression hardened, sweat rolled down his temple; this wasn’t mere Celestial sorcery; it was the activation of their innate ability, on which they had placed limits.

"Tch...", Draven gritted his teeth, and thought, "Is this bitch crazy, it is not like I cannot remove my limiters, damn these birds have a few screw loose".

But then— it happened.

A suffocating, crushing weight fell upon the battlefield.

A presence, no, five presences, descending like silent storms, each one heavier, darker, and vaster than the last, the air thickened to the point of choking, and even the storm clouds parted, as if unwilling to linger near these forces.

Zerypha’s spell faltered, her eyes widening in stunned disbelief.

Draven took a single step back as the pressure grew unbearable.

And then they appeared.

Five figures, descending through the shattered skies, none of them spoke, yet their mere presence commanded silence, each of them was just spiritual formless figures, yet their identities were known by both Draven and Zerypha as well.

They circled the battlefield like specters, their combined aura suppressing both Draven and Zerypha where they stood.

"Your recklessness will cost us years of waiting and planning," one of those formless spirit’s voice boomed, resonating in marrow and soul alike. "Do you have any comprehension of what your idiocy nearly cost us?"

Another stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Your clash could create disturbances, which we cannot afford for now. Any further use of your power will have severe consequences. If such simple words are beyond either one of your understanding, I swear, we will all erase the one who will cause any disturbance further, before the opportune time."

Another one’s gaze was fixed on Zerypha, his lip curling in disdain, "You Matriarch... you dared remove your limiter, do you have shit for brains, do you think, that we cannot remove our limiter, do you now, how easy it would be to remove someone pathetic like you."

Zerypha’s anger was flaring up once again, and as she was about to raise her voice.

A soothing voice entered between them, it was another of the formless spirits, "Zerypha dear, it is wrong to get angry, is it not?"

Zerypha, upon hearing that voice, suddenly stopped, "It is I who was at fault, I apologize, everyone, I will not be losing my cool in the foreseeable future."

"The balance was already precarious. You know as well as we that even a stray disturbance could undo the last decade’s worth of subtle work, dear," said the one with a calm and soothing voice again.

"I apologize again for my outburst earlier, I will rectify upon my mistakes from earlier," said Zerypha in a sincere apologetic tone.

That formless spirit then approached Draven, his gaze unreadable. "And you, Starfall heir, you’re no less culpable, although I must congratulate you, for going further on your path to power, you have my respect, but please refrain from using such attacks as well in the future."

Draven clicked his tongue in annoyance, but to not present himself as rude, he lowered his head slightly. "I... overstepped."

A long, tense silence followed, the flames around him guttered out, leaving only scorched earth and ash in their wake.

Finally, another one of them sighed, the weight of centuries in that single sound.

"We are aware of your displeasure, but please try to understand it from our perspective too, and it is not like we are the only ones who could benefit from this in the future, maybe either one you could go that final step in the future, who knows, what will happen in the future.

The others nodded once, satisfaction or something close to it flickering in their expressions.

Then the one with a soothing voice looked toward Zerypha, and said, "You can come back dear.".

"Yes," replied Zerypha curtly.

After which, her wings raised, and she flew rapidly and started flying upwards to the sky.

The one with the soothing voice then bowed, and disappeared.

Without waiting for permission, she gathered what power she had left, her figure becoming a streak of silver light vanishing into the skies.

Then another one of them, who hadn’t spoken a word, silently left too disappearing into the void.

The air lightened the moment the three of them left.

One of them let out a breath. "That one will be a problem, she always was."

Another’s voice was distant again. "She’s been fraying at the edges for years now."

They then turned to Draven. "Starfall Heir, your temper is really something, while we had not pointed it out, doesn’t mean we will not be guileless towards you, we know you were purposefully provoking Zerypha."

Draven offered a faint, humorless grin. "No, No, How could I do that?"

One of them nodded, "Hmph, no need to keep up your act, Draven, we have known you for quite longer."

"OK, OK... I get it, we can talk about something else, it’s been quite long since we have last met, hasn’t it?"

One of them sighed, "Yes, it has been quite long since we have had been together, so any new thing at your place Draven, you have married quite many, but their quality is very lacking, look at me, I have just one wife, but my son is incredibly talented."

Draven sighed, "Yeah, I must admit, none of my kids are on par with your kid," and then he moved to the other. How about you, Arthessa, are you still single?"

That formless spirit snorted, "Do not pull me into such vile conversations of yours, but I did adopt a daughter recently, and I can confidently say, she is superior to your kid, Bran."

"Yeah, Yeah brag all you want," chided Bran with a sigh.

After talking for a bit more, Draven then let out a breath, giving them a faint, respectful nod. "Always a pleasure,’ he said dryly, then turned and vanished into the mist."

The other two stayed, when finally Arthessa said, "Draven has something planned, and I feel it’s not so simple."

Bran scoffed and said, "Do you mean his grand-daughter, it’s not like he can hide her from us, he is just a hopeless romantic, that is all."

Arthessa sighed, "If only he were just that."

And then both of them vanished too, leaving behind charred remains of a cataclysmic battle, and to stop these two juggernauts, the other five heroes had to assert their pressure on both of them.