It needed to be said that what Mum just displayed required not only exquisite control, but a great deal of raw power as well. After all, to push your domain of Influence and essence threads over a mile, no matter how narrow it was, required something special.

She had to be proficient in all three shaper aspects to even attempt something like this. And to succeed as she did... I could not even begin to imagine what it takes.

The speed at which she dragged us increased further the closer we got. Like a moth to flame, the corpse flies chased after the light, no matter how many of the swarming bats ceased to exist in the matter of a few seconds. Even still, there were too many for her to dispatch whilst busy with another vital task.

Thankfully, it appeared she succeeded in the other. As soon as we landed on the sacrarium, golden light spread from the eight columns to form an ethereal net. The formation came together, caging around the hallowed land in a golden bubble.

The relief did not even flood over the mass of people scattered around the place when hundreds of abhorrent flies crashed against the golden dome, causing another bout of panic. That subsided rather quickly, finding the demons failing to pierce the golden barrier.

Of course, the failure did nothing to deter their fervour. More and more joined the assault; even the Devourers hurtled against the hallowed ward, screaming our ears out.

The golden light undulated non-uniformly, like great turbulence on a water surface. But Mum was not done with her work. She floated in the air, the exertion evident on her face. Beads of sweat formed despite the cold winter air as chains of runes kept the ward standing. Where she failed to restore the formation, Mum had to implement her Soulward as a substitute. And as the restoration came to completion, the heavy undulation on the barrier walls diminished greatly, much to the relief of the thousands of people holding their breath.

She exhaled deeply, landing beside me.

"You did well there," she said.

I could not help but flush a little. Compared with her display, what I had done barely amounted to anything. "Are you going to go out?"

Her eyes were already directed at the monsters crashing into the barrier. She turned to me and nodded. "The ward will hold until sunrise. What worries me are the people who failed to join us here in time. I'm going to see if I can help them." With a wave of her hand, the hardwood boxes filled with centurion sets floated up around her. "Also need to deliver these pieces to the militias." She nuzzled my hair, eyes darting to Delric, the Octavius siblings and the others. "Rest now. I'll be back shortly."

Leaving those words hanging in the air, she called up a few of the noble-class augmenters still within the dome. She did not lead them out immediately. First, she forced out hundreds of her threads to the other side of the barrier and flung away all the monsters in her path. When they were out of the way, a window opened in the barrier. All of them dashed out through the path she created.

The barrier closed. The monsters, spotting them, quickly changed their approach and hurtled towards them, not learning their lessons. Once again, corpse-flies and Devourers exploded around her. Mum turned towards me one final time, smiled and led the people away.

I stared at the scene long after her figure had faded into the darkness.

"I'm still not good enough," Aleya said, clenching her fist. She had removed the obsidian helmet, her face white as a sheet. Priam had calmed down considerably and was silently watching the monsters held on the other side.

Thousands of townsfolk sheltering around the chapel had the same sentiment, watching the monsters crash against the rippling barrier with bated breath. There were many common class and some noble class augmenters amongst them, mostly those who were not proficient in combat. I saw Diana in her mother's embrace, where she could not see the horrifying scenes.

Uncle Darlin stood alone, a sword hanging loosely on his back. The magistratus was also there, not far from his children, his face ashen, powerless to do anything about our situation.

My gaze drifted to the demons, feeling the same powerlessness. While my family were putting their lives on the line to save the people, here was I...

Exhaling deeply, I set aside the useless thoughts. My concentration fell inward, into the eight Aether roots and the [Bell of Somnus], which likely restricted my way into Noble Class. It was not necessarily a bad thing, since Mum wanted me to gain a higher Honour or two before advancing.

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I eyed Aleya, or rather the Stormguard set draped on her, and the incomplete vambraces. Since True Swordmanship was still beyond me, I supposed I would have to settle for Journeyman Artisan for now. That would push my noble-class expertise more towards a craftsmanship class, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. Not after what my mother displayed.

Besides, I would still have Prestigious and Fabled class to focus on other aspects.

To become a journeyman artisan, one was required to finish two hundred and fifty fabricators and twenty-five prestigious pieces. The former was achievable through boring work by anyone, whilst the latter required true expertise. I had done most of the hard work, and the Stormguard set remained as the last barrier between me and the Prestigious Honour.

Instead of gawking at the hideous monsters or drowning in my own powerlessness, I decided to use the time here on something productive.

Aleya was a little shell-shocked from the whole experience. When I asked her about the vambraces, she only looked at me before holding her arms towards me. She did not even ask why as I removed them, though realisation followed on her face soon enough.

The people were mostly silent, with some mumbled prayers amid the clamour of those horrifying cries. Still, I flew up to the roof of the chapel to seek solitude. Many people had taken shelter even there, but I only required a little space for my work and settled on the dark side, only illuminated by the gleaming dome.

The quill shook ever so slightly in my palm as I traced a line on the vambrace. It was hardly detectable without Fractal sight. But since even the tiniest margin of error in rune-work could make the whole formation inefficient, I proceeded with a familiar breathing exercise. After a few minutes, my heart settled down from all the stimulation I received from facing demons.

My heart now peaceful, my grip on the quill-pen became steadier, as I moved into the familiar drawing. It was impossible to forget my surroundings—not when hundreds of sun-cursed creatures shrieked fifty metres away.

Minutes flew by. The vambraces progressed towards completion without a hitch. Even after an hour, Mum did not return shortly as she had said she would. But I already knew that.

[Honour Acclaimed!] [Your honour of Novice Artisan (Noble) advanced to Journeyman Artisan (Prestigious)] [Journeyman Artisan (Prestigious): An accolade only a few could accomplish, and even fewer at such a young age, before advancing to the noble class. +40% to Will. +10% to Influence and Weight. All your attributes are now 10% more effective.]

"Finally," I muttered, and nearly choked.

A hot rush of power flooded through my channels, causing me to sit up straighter. I fell into a trance. The sheer amount of it was unlike anything I had ever had to deal with. Good thing, the power was accommodating, and I had only to breathe and channel the power for it to settle and assimilate with my nascent seed.

Another aether root formed in the centre of the eight radiant emerald roots, exerting such an attractive force that it pulled the others to band towards it.

A frown crept to my brows, yet the unthinkable did not rest there. Before I knew it, the flux of essence congealed through the new aether root rushed at the silver bell resting within my essence seed. The relic shook and vibrated, undulating my essence seed until something within it broke.

An impaling pain struck my core, as though a lance pierced into my gut. My essence revolved at a remarkable pace, though it did not alleviate my agony.

Muffled cries escaped through my gritted teeth, as I teetered on the edge of the excruciating torment, peering at the mystical phenomenon occurring within my nascent seed.

The nine aether roots stitched together in a chaotic rhythm, forming a braided jade rope, brimming with a luminescence so bright that it strained my mind to look at it. Illusory green light blinded me, until a familiar darkness swallowed my mind.

...

A sword slashed through the darkness, aiming towards my heart.

Without knowing, I raised the shield in my left palm to defend. The sword struck in a booming echo, flaring a searing aura all around. The power behind the attack was so strong that it sent me flying several metres.

"You cannot stop me, little brother," a voice rang out, cold and cutting through the gloom like a knife.

Before me stood a man who may as well be a monster. A macabre demonic armour was stitched over his body, akin to a second skin, its edges jagged and rough. Only his pale face was uncovered; sharp, grisly pauldrons hung on both sides, stretching like bone extensions.

Long white hair smeared with dirt and grime swayed in the timeless wind, as the man looked down upon me. He stood close to two metres tall, his face regal, princely even, if not for the morbid shell.

My heart broke looking at him. An inexplicable sensation I did not quite place, settled on me.

"You are—" I managed to say before the man lunged forward with a piercing blow.

My sword almost moved on its own in the form of Walking Mountain. The man felt far more powerful than I, even though the body I inhabited was probably much older than in my previous visions. Had he wished, this man calling me little brother could have ended me.

Yet he seemed to want to prolong the fight, throwing me about like a rag doll with every swing of his sword.

"You never stood a chance in sparring. What makes you think you can stop me now?"

"I... I don't know—"

A crushing blow struck my chest, the sword flying from my palm. The man stood atop me, his glaring eyes filled with madness.

"I thought you hated him more than I did," he roared. "Yet you stand by his side after all he has done? After mother's fall, after..."

An exasperating bitterness stung his face. Yet that only fuelled his animosity. His sword pinned into my shoulder blade, all my strength frozen by his weight.

I tried to access my essence, cast a spell to distract him, but my attempt was hopeless to begin with.

"To Father, you are only another chess piece to keep his kingdom standing. It's better I end you now and spare you the misery."

I could not exert even an ounce of strength, my essence lost in the river of time. The only choice I was given was to let it happen, despite the inexplicable ache in my chest.

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