Path of Dragons

Nexus Town had never been densely populated. Even a few weeks after the Trial of Primacy had begun, only a few areas had been occupied. However, as Elijah and Dat entered the settlement, a pall of abandonment hung over everything. That wasn’t helped by the sight of occasional fallen buildings or the plumes of smoke curling toward the sky in the distance.

Elijah crept forward, keeping an eye on Dat via One with Nature. According to the Witch Hunter, he had two different stealth abilities. One was the normal sort, which Elijah could bypass – so long as he was paying attention – but the other completely removed Dat from his senses. It was a good reminder that, no matter how powerful he thought he was, there was always the chance that someone would be the perfect counter to his abilities.

Regardless, the pair progressed through the town, passing occasional clumps of hiding people. Some were injured, but as much as Elijah wanted to stop and help, he knew his assistance would be counterproductive in the long run. He was on a reconnaissance mission, and he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a few wounded people. Still, he knew his resolve wouldn’t last if he stumbled upon someone who would die without his help.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Unfortunately, he and Dat did find a few dozen corpses along the way. In the beginning of the Trial, there were more than five thousand participants. But so many had died since then that Elijah couldn’t help but wonder if even a thousand remained. Part of him hoped so, but another part hoped that most of them had escaped through the Branch.

It was yet another reminder that the system and the event itself were never designed to be fair. In fact, Elijah half-suspected that the Trial was there to weed out the people who lacked the resolve to make a real difference in the world. Or that might have been his bitterness making itself known.

In any case, they continued along until they finally encountered a pair of Immortals. The two looked the same as ever, dressed all in black, with similarly colored masks. Elijah didn’t have the benefit of an identification ability, but with his experience, he had developed the ability to judge a creature’s power by its ethereal signature coupled with the way it moved.

And these Immortals were far stronger than they should have been.

But the alarm he felt upon that realization was nothing compared to what he saw via One with Nature. Because of that ability, the Immortals’ black outfits were no barrier to Elijah’s senses. And those told him that, beneath those black clothes, these people were heavily scarred.

Elijah couldn’t suppress a shudder that went up his spine. How much damage must they have endured to look like that? He was no stranger to pain, but even he was aghast as he imagined the sheer agony those Immortals must have been subjected to.

Shaking his head, he moved on. He wanted nothing more than to put those Immortals’ name to the test – as much to put them out of their misery as because they were the enemy – but he was not on a mission of vengeance. Not yet, at least. Instead, he and Dat needed to gather as much information as they could so they could come up with a plan for rescuing Atticus and his people.

Defeating the Immortals was a secondary concern, though Elijah suspected that it would be a necessary step toward accomplishing the primary goal.

As they made their way through the town, Elijah saw signs of the battles Oscar had described. Everyone in the Trial was superhuman – at least in some respects – and as a result of that power, many parts of the settlement had been destroyed.

Eventually, they reached the square, where they saw dozens more Immortals, many of whom weren’t even scarred, surrounding the Branch of the World Tree. New recruits, obviously. People who’d been strongarmed into swearing loyalty to the Immortals’ leader, lest they die to their wounds.

Seeing them, Elijah wondered what he would do in such a situation. Would he have refused the offer? Or would he have taken any chance to survive? Likely, the Immortals had no idea what was in store for them. They only knew that they’d been offered the power to keep going.

Still, when Elijah looked at them, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disgust. No matter what his rational mind said about them being victims, they felt so unnatural that he wanted nothing more than to expel the rot they represented. It wasn’t so dissimilar from what Sadie felt concerning Benedict, though Elijah had a lot more experience pushing those feelings aside.

Finally, after crossing through the square, they found their way to the area the Immortals had commandeered as their headquarters. It was one of the largest complexes in the settlement, comprised of a half-dozen sizable buildings, and they’d added a high wall around it. Or more accurately, the crafters they’d abducted had done so – at least that was Elijah’s suspicions based on the quality of the work.

Either way, it presented a barrier in that Elijah could feel the ethera wafting off of it. Seeing that, Dat led Elijah a few blocks away, and they took shelter on the top floor of an abandoned building.

“It’s enchanted, bro. Crossing it will strip us of stealth.”

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“We need to get in there, so what do you suggest?” Elijah asked.

“Can you create a distraction?”

Elijah smiled and said, “That’s my wheelhouse.”

After that, they established their plan, and once they’d worked out the details, the pair set off back to the headquarters. Once they reached the complex, they split up and went their separate ways.

For his part, Elijah circled the compound, cloaked in the Guise of the Unseen, until he reached the entrance. Once there, he settled down to wait so that Dat had a chance to get into position. After a few more minutes, during which Elijah studied his enemies – finding much the same as he had in the square, which was to say that they seemed to be newly converted – the time to act came.

He stalked forward, and when he came into range, used Venom Strike, Predator Strike, and then, finally, Envenom before darting in and biting the Immortal guard’s leg. Then, he repeated the action – without the Predator Strike – to unleash his fangs on the second guard.

They were both low-level, which meant that they’d normally have no chance of survival. But Elijah knew that, even as they fell, convulsing after only a couple of seconds, they would rise again – and stronger than before. So, he shot through the gate, and just as Dat had predicted, an alarm sounded in the form of a deep, resonant tolling bell.

The Immortals inside the compound reacted instantly, and if he’d meant to fight, Elijah would have been forced to use Shape of the Guardian to deal with the sheer number of enemies. Yet, he had no intention of standing his ground. Instead, he was only meant to be a distraction, so after biting a few more Immortals, Elijah raced away, circling along the inside of the compound’s wall, as dozens of foes chased him.

Meanwhile, Elijah knew that Dat had already hopped the wall and used his superior Stealth once inside. Hopefully, he could remain undetected to gather the information they needed to establish a rescue plan.

Elijah darted back and forth, climbing walls and leaping from one building to the next. The Immortals inside the compound were new enough that they hadn’t lost their classes or abilities, so a host of projectiles, cast spells, and other attacks followed him. However, Elijah wasn’t at the top of the power rankings for nothing, and as voluminous as their volley of attacks were, none of those people could ever hope to catch him.

Perhaps they could have overwhelmed him if he’d chosen to fight them in a straight battle. That would have been monumentally stupid on his part, though, negating his advantage in speed. In addition, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective at keeping the attention off of Dat.

So, Elijah spent the next few minutes leading the frustrated Immortals on a merry chase through their own compound. Idly, he realized that it was the first time he’d really let loose with the increased mobility afforded by his evolved shape. With it, he could move in three dimensions, climbing walls and even hanging from ceilings like it was nothing. Moreover, he was treated to a nice display of power every time he managed to use Envenom.

Because he’d typically used it against much more powerful enemies, he’d begun to wonder if the ability wasn’t a little underpowered. However, those thoughts were put to rest when the Immortals fell, one after another, usually only seconds after receiving his bite. Certainly, they rose soon enough, but Elijah was quite impressed with his new ability.

But one unintended consequence was that each time he brought one of the Immortals down, he inadvertently made them stronger. He had no way of quantifying just how much more powerful they became, but the results were noticeable. They still weren’t fast enough to keep up with him, but they were getting closer with every passing minute.

No sooner had that thought crossed Elijah’s mind when he felt something moving through the compound almost too quickly for him to track. It was only when he caught sight of a black blur that he realized that he’d finally gotten the attention of one of the most powerful Immortals.

He sprang away just in time to avoid a punch that shattered the compound’s wall. He hit the next building, then scrambled upward. The Immortal behind him let out a roar, and the facet of Elijah’s Jade Mind dedicated to One with Nature took stock of the monster.

And monster, it was.

The thing was so scarred that Elijah couldn’t discern any recognizable features. It was just a mass of scar tissue in humanoid form.

It barreled after him, climbing the building as easily as Elijah. Though it used simple Strength to propel it forward more quickly than Elijah would have believed. He knew his attributes weren’t the best – some classes gave ridiculous bonuses at the expense of lackluster abilities – but the sheer physicality of the pursuing creature was enough to strike fear into his heart.

He knew he couldn’t compete with the thing.

Even in his lamellar ape form, he would have been far outclassed, and it was gaining on him with every passing second. Hoping that Dat had managed to accomplish his mission, Elijah made a choice and as soon as he reached the top of the building, he threw himself upward, initiating the transformation into Shape of the Sky.

A second later, his arms had become wings, and he climbed ever higher.

Yet, the monster was not to be evaded, and it leaped, higher and faster than Elijah could believe. And it latched its claws onto his legs. He beat his wings, pushing himself further toward the clouds as the creature squeezed. His bones broke beneath its grip as he rolled, trying to dislodge it.

But the monster was not to be denied.

Its claws dug into his flesh, ripping chunks out of his broken leg, and it was only due to his experiences in the fallen grove that he managed to maintain any sense of rational thought.

One thing he knew more certainly than anything else was that if he didn’t do something soon, the monster was going to rip him to pieces. So, as he reached a height of more than a thousand feet, Elijah shifted back into his human form. The difference in size was dramatic, and briefly, the monster’s grip loosened. Even as they fell, Elijah used Storm’s Fury, and lightning lanced down from the cloudless sky, hitting the monster directly in the chest. He added Nature’s Rebuke, eliciting a howl of pain from the unnatural creature. Its muscles seized, and Elijah kicked free with his uninjured leg.

A moment later, he used Shape of the Sky once again, and after the transformation completed, he beat his wings furiously as he made his escape. The monster, predictably, plummeted to the ground below, collapsing the roof of the Immortals’ headquarters.

But Elijah knew it wasn’t dead, largely because it let out a roar and tried to leap after him. He’d already climbed too high for it to match, though, and he sped away, his leg hanging limp as he left the thing behind.

Hopefully, Dat’s efforts had been fruitful, but for Elijah’s part, he’d discovered one, simple fact – he was woefully outmatched by that monster.

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