Guilos:
I really should be glad I'm alive.
She starred at her hands as they shook.
But the only thing standing between me and the fate that befell my department, is Yellow – No! can't call that thing yellow. I refuse.
She then turned her head all the way up, facing the ceiling.
That knight thing keeps asking me questions about many things but really, it knew more about souls than our entire crew. But being in its mercy and all – it didn't answer any of my questions. I feal like a fairytale princess stuck in a tower – nothing to do. My fascination always taking back seat to the fear that paralyses me.
She turned her head and looked at Cathina – seating across the room.
That ice girl might just kill me – but I doubt she has it in her.
Then she walked up to the window, sat on the seat, and diverted her gaze outside.
They should just let me go – I'm no pet. I don't even think I can escape. I should just bide my time until I can make sure all of our research is preserved. Maybe then I'll explore the only escape route still open to me.
***
The Knight was on its way to the queen, Xarion. Even after hearing the full story from Forg, she still summoned the Knight. They were in the queen's special palace garden – alone.
"Hello there."
"You called."
"Come on, let's take a walk."
They then began moving along the path going through the enchanting garden.
"For a hero, you should be enjoying the world more. You haven't even taken a peak at anything in my garden since we got here. I think I get it, is it because it's not a gigantic monster terrorising the people?"
The Knight stopped and looked, finding nothing of note. Mugaw spoke "I guess she's right."
She then laughed as she watched the Knights detached gaze wondering around. "I was only kidding. There isn't that many gardens in the world, so I thought you'd be at least interested. No need to try."
She then stopped and looked at a red bush.
"I was about to reward your Banneret, but they refused, saying that my support was enough. When I persisted, she said I should reward you, that is if I'm looking for someone to reward. You have done more for my people than even they know. I heard from Forg that you even refused to take credit for her rescue.
And after so much. I must surely reward you. I even know something most don't; you took down that monster with the endless spells. I couldn't find it, but I can feel when a whole chunk of a tree vanishes." – just as the Knight had felt the void go along with it.
She turned around and stopped, "Even if I had left it in shambles, without your interference, it would have come back after recovering, so you saved us the trouble. I still think you should have told me you found it. So, tell me, what is it that you want?"
The Knight's search had not gone anywhere in a while, especially with Zuri not helping anymore. "I want information regarding anything ancient."
She made a thoughtful expression. "Well, that you can access in our archives."
"No – I want information considered treasure – even."
"I see. You must be referring to our royal archives. That I'm afraid that I can't give. Wouldn't you rather have the people's admiration, value points, or even a rare gift like a sacred tool in our treasury – or maybe you want a battle with me?"
"Unfortunately, I must decline as well. If that will be all – I am taking my leave."
"Wait – Let me put it like this then. I'll think about it… – and if nothing befalls this place within this entire year, and with another probable condition or two – I might just be persuaded to give you access."
The Knight then nodded and left the queen's personal garden.
***
The Knight bumped into Adriel on its way to its room.
"I see you came back before me."
… the Knight wanted to mention the time it found Poli in charge, but it chose to let it go.
"I see you have gotten even stronger haven't you. Well, so have I. Me, Poli, and Paladin Solace are going to training in a few weeks. Would you like to join us – you technically still owe me a sparring match. I heard the others complaining about your training – apparently, it's worse than old man Derell – got me intrigued."
This was time for the Knight to observe the actual use of the power over elemental light -purity. It had been trying to understand for a while. It couldn't quite catch a peek at them during the battles with the void army – so this was a golden opportunity indeed.
"I will join you the next time you all go."
***
Fetching had been left in charge on the ground. The three most paladins and the Knight were high above the clouds.
The precipitation of those trees created extremely thick and heavy clouds. So, a shockwave would not be enough to reach those below them. The Palace was build starting from at the base of these clouds, so this is why the Knight and the paladins were even higher today.
The Knight could not fly though. It could summon the dragons, or try using the void, but it instead used [Desire] to make the air beneath it solid. So, right now it was watching the fight between Poli and Adriel.
***
A sudden gust of wind blew in from all directions. This was the air bullets that Adriel was making – her special skill allowed her to knock anything she was touching back, enough to use the air as projectiles.
But they failed to pierce Poli's shield. Then her shield grew exponentially. Soon becoming as big as one of Red Scorch's dragons. But she easily flung it around like a weightless pillow. This made the air compress to such an extent that it made supersonic slashes. They felt like actual blades that were even sharper and moved so fast Adriel wasn't blocking any of them.
Adriel then reached out her hand. She then felt it, then pulled a string out of nowhere. This was a string she had made out of light and had left strategically in the air. She then tugged on it, and then it wrapped around and pulled the heavy shield from Poli. So heavy the string immediately cut and the shield was sent plummeting at incredible speeds. The shield then disappeared.
It reappeared in Poli's hand having shrunk again. She then flung it. Sending it hurtling towards her. Right before she dodged, it, she appeared as the shield and grabbed her arm and broke it in several places using her shins part of her armour, the greaves.
Adriel looked at the broken arm, it hurt but thinking about the pain would give Poli an opening to switch. Poli was extremely fast, faster than an average person at her level and even those beyond. But outside her impressive healing capabilities, she had a set of skills all focused on illusions.
Poli's goal is not to confuse the enemy but continuously keep them from never adapting to the rate of her fighting which was really fast. Adriel had just lost an arm.
Adriel then summoned her sword, then she began moving around, she couldn't keep up with Poli, but she could do this…
A slash cut though air and a shield broke to pieces. Poli had been hiding it in the air, to use later. Adriel was laying her photon string and trying to feel for disruptions. This was so she could track Poli, but she instead stumbled on the shield – promptly destroying it.
The reason they train up here is because the light from the star above can actually interfere with their skills. Like darkness elemental in the void.
This was like painting a picture on a red canvas – using only red ink. They had to learn to pile the ink up so that at an angle, the shadows would make black lines to draw on the canvas using lighting instead of the ink they were provided. This way they fought while their environment prevented them from reaching their full potential – like the darkness.
This was the kind of thing Avarice had shown the Knight in their battle. The Knights have to fight not just stronger opponents, but in an eternally unfavourable world, against beings with barely any words to describe them.
The battle temporarily stopped, and Solace went up there and explained a few things then flew down. They were all using the power over light to fly, by making the downward force impure, only allowing it when they have to punch each other, or need stable footing, by making themselves impure to the air beneath them thus unable to taint it.
The battle resumed, but now they had pulled their swords out. For Poli – it was just a pink hilt. She had not used her spear today. Then Adriel pulled her sword out. It then vanished in her hands. She even let go – but the sword was there levitating.
They rushed at each other – Poli's armour patterns glowed then for just a second, a pink blade appeared, slicing though Adriel's armour, then vanished. But soon after another similar strike hit Adriel – one made by her own blade, but this one healed her. Then she put her arm on Poli's, and before she broke it using the knock back skill, Solace stopped their fight. The purity – the wound that Poli had placed on Adriel, Adriel had undone it – thus concluding this confrontation.
The Knight then took a few steps forward. It was time for it to face up against Adriel. She still had the strange sword floating around her, still invisible.
The Knight then summoned its spear, its flames roared. The light from simple fire was not enough to reveal the hidden photon strings. So, the Knight created a hammer using the air. Then it struck the air platform it had created.
Then a stab appeared on her stomach – the Knight had made it seem like it was trying to flush out the strings by making them ripple in a shockwave. It had already noted all of them and just as the hammer hit the air platform, it carefully teleported and avoided them. Whilst invisible, it stabbed her with a dagger it had made recently – this was Axis's soul – currently the Knight strongest weapon.
Then the same thing happened. The wound disappeared as Adriel's own blade stabbed her on the same spot. Even after seeing it up so close the Knight still couldn't see what it was. It teleported out and left the Knight there. She then moved but the Knife remained in the exact same locations, opening an even larger wound. This dagger could be fixed into space temporarily like space itself held it there, so moving inflicted more wounds.
The new wound also disappeared – this meant that the Knight was wrong – the wound did not depend on who made it, just that it had been made after she unsheathed her sword. Even though the Knight still felt confused about it.
Then Knight then tried to move but its leg got stuck in the photon strings. It couldn't cut them with the [Flame Bladed] - making it realise just how heavy that shield was, it had snapped these on sheer weight alone.
Then it used [Desire] to make them disappear. Then the Knight went on and made her extremely terrified of that sword of hers. This way she wouldn't get healed. It might not have figured out much about it – but it knew the sword had something to do with it.
Then the Knight teleported above her and sliced the air using the spear...
This sent her flying. Then suddenly the Knight just woke up in Solace's hands – having not seen what happened next.
Poli was giggling. Trying her hardest to not outright laugh.
Then Adriel's blade appeared out of nowhere. She then sheathed it. She also gave the Knight its knife back, she had somehow moved it from place. The Knight then realised something – the entire battle, after it stabbed her, was an illusion.
But not quite – more like it fought her, but she had created a barrier in the Knights soul – one that kept it from realising certain things.
Basically, she had hijacked the Knight processing unit, and edited pictures out of it in real time. It was like a hacker gaining control over your display screen and editing what you could and could not see without adding any new images. And by keeping her mind clear – the Knight didn't even sense her intentions through [Desire].
Now that it had also lost, the Knight stood there on its air platform, observing the next battle. Against the void, this part of the power was little to nothing more than a distraction, but a useful one – especially in heated battles that only last the night.
The Knight took mental notes of their battle. The fact that all four of them had held back during their bouts was amazing but it made the data the Knight was collecting unreliable. This was the most it had gotten to study elemental light, but it didn't mind.
Then the Knight witnessed something even more incredible…
Solace took out her sword and outshone the star. The Knight was even unable to make out their figures in the battle following that. It then heard the shattering of Adriel's blade. But the battle was not over. She then did the unsheathing movement again, but no sword came out of her sheath.
Their bout ended as she realised her barrier had been entirely consumed and was now under Paladin Solace's control – she had been slightly distracted today and missed it.