Hunt

  The moment Zach stepped back into the Real Realm, he pulled out his Far Link-orb and sent a warning to the Twilight Melody Sect. He didn’t know where he was in the world, but he could’ve ended up anywhere, and he didn’t have the time to figure out where he was. So, he used his Ring of True Recall to teleport to the location closer to the Sect.

  He appeared on top of a mountain, in a territory near to Gemheart’s headquarters, where Naha had once taken him to recover after his mental imprisonment. It was the closest to the Sect borders he could get.

  Immediately he took to the sky, his |I Moved and Wind Followed With My Will| gathered the wind and carried him forward. Spiritual Tool — Armor of the Aspect Foundation was filled with Wind Aspect, amplifying everything that he was doing. He didn’t hold back at all, so his passage cracked the air and shook the world around him. His stats far outstripping the Essence of the territory he was in. He climbed as high as he could, so not to actually kill anyone below unfortunate enough to be in his way.

  He blasted through territories like at speeds he had never flown before, not for this long.

  He focused his will, pushing everything as hard as it could go. His mind whirled and knowledge poured in; he adjusted his power output and direction, seeking the path of least resistance.

  Time and Space bent around him as his |I Arrived, Always On Time| skill leaned on the world to make his trip true. Landscape rushed by him, mountains rising before and falling behind him in a span of less than a blink of an eye.

  Then, he was close enough to feel Naha again, the deepness of their connection rising quickly, but was still opaque; she was in the Ethereal, but a portal had to be opened for him to feel her at all. He realized that the Ethereal had taken its price in time; the enemy had already attacked, and Naha was fighting.

  He arrived and with a force of will brought everything around him to a stop. The howling Wind stopped, Time and Space snapped into place. The force of it rocked the territory, the ceiling of the Sky shuddered, cracks spread in all directions with him as the origin point. Wisps of the Void fell through, and all the clouds vanished.

  His arrival couldn’t be missed, and he quickly sent messages to the Sect, making sure they knew he was on their side.

  The battle was raging across the territory. The city had a shield up and was rebuffing attacks on it by Shades and Spirits, while other spirits were rampaging across the plains being hunted by groups of sect warriors or airships. A spirit of the wind had paused in its attack on a small flotilla, Zach’s arrival clearly distracting it enough for it to lose composure and allowing the airships to open fire and vaporize it in seconds.

  There was a large area on the ground that was shimmering, impossible for him to see into or detect anything but a familiar power within. It was domain, Selia’s if he was right.

  Zach turned away and focused on the battle he could influence; he triggered the last of his combat perks that he had left unused in his flight, then prepared for the fight.

  A group of Exalted Empire mechs had just passed through the portal, missiles firing from the pods on their back. Zach let himself drop, his hand shifting into a sword. He dropped next to them, turrets on their shoulders immediately swiveling to target him.

  He whirled and unleashed a Shattering Song from Shade Reaver. The endurance of his targets, the materials used to create them and put them on equal ground as those who followed different paths proved to be their weakness. The metal vibrated, and cracks spread across the mechs surface. Wind rose, picking them up then sending them flying at a towering earth spirit.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The impact caused the mechs to explode, taking the earth spirit with them.

  Another mech exited the portal and Zach turned his attention toward it but then shadows rose from behind grasping it in hundred tendrils. Naha came out of the portal and landed on top of it, then spun a spike made out of shadow over her arm and punched down into the cockpit.

  A moment later she dropped into the shadow and came out of Zach’s own.

  “I couldn’t close the portal on the other side,” she said quickly, speaking at a speed that only someone with high attributes could hope to understand. “I destroyed their equipment, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything.”

  Zach grimaced and glanced at the portal as he let the Essence of Knowledge flow through him.

  “It’s self-sustaining now,” Zach said. “I’ll close it, help the defenders.”

  Naha nodded and dropped into her shadow, and Zach focused on the portal. Shades and Spirits turned their attention on him now, and rushed him.

  He let his Soul Aura out, focusing on his Soul Aspect, reinforcing his aura’s effects on it. All the Shades around him faltered, some just dropped to the ground, other more powerful ones were either frozen or sent running away from him.

  The spirits kept coming, ignoring his aura completely.

  A spirit of fire turned into a blazing bird and flew at him, and Zach’s blade turned blue, switching to Frost. He sidestepped the spirit’s attack, then in a span of a moment slashed a dozen times at it. The Frost killed the Fire, extinguishing it completely.

  Then he saw a flash in the corner of his eye, three shapes coming at him at a speed that he couldn’t quite follow. He whirled his blade signing through the air and missing. And then it was gone, and a sharp pain assaulted his chest. He coughed and blood spilled from his mouth. Zach frowned, then saw his armor having deep gouges but no actual penetration. He took a breath, and pain spread from his nose to his lungs. He coughed, his mind putting the pieces together. Air surged and Wind pushed into him through his mouth and nostrils, scouring all foreign Essence within. He downed a vial of healing potion down his throat, healing the injuries as he turned and acted on instinct.

  He dropped deeper into the Aspect of the Wind, felt his connection to the Plane open, and with it he tracked the next attack. This time when he raised his arm he blocked the attacks.

  What had appeared as three shapes was a single spirit, moving so fast that it left afterimages and made it hard for even him to track.

  It looked like a lithe and crystalline cat. Its body was a work of impossible art, pieces of her seemed hollow, but he could tell that they were filled with pressurized air and tiny flakes of something else. This was a spirit of two Aspects, or something unique. The other Aspect was a crystal, fine like glass, but tough… a type of diamond perhaps.

  He could see it now in the air all around him. Tiny flakes, a sea of invisible microscopic shards. He had inhaled some and they had cut his insides up. Anybody else would’ve been torn to shreds immediately. This was a powerful spirit.

  Zach used his ring and saw its name.

  Sylphara — Diamond Winds (Tier 27)

  Zach’s blade arm twitched. It had been a long time since he had improved the powers his Shade Reaver held. This looked like a good candidate.

  The spirit leaned down, clearly intent on attacking again. The moment she charged, Zach activated Time Stop. Even then, he was too late. It had moved so fast, a mist filled with shards of diamond dust surrounded Zach and its clawed limb was stopped just before it had torn his throat out. He moved out of the way, shards tearing into his armor as he moved through them.

  He used Blade of Aspects infused with the Aspect of Blade, then focused and stabbed with all ten of them and Shade Reaver using Unleash Arsenal to deliver a devastating attack. Time continued, and the spirit reacted even as it was being torn apart. It left images of its passage, but Zach had Wind thrumming in his head, and he heard the song the Spirit sang. He followed with a blink, and found the injured spirit on the ground.

  He dashed forward and attacked, then stabbed Shade Reaver into its body and pulled, taking the spirit’s power for his own replacing his older Venom Aspect.

  He felt it settle and glanced at it for a moment.

  He didn’t have the time to focus too long on it, but he understood how powerful and useful it was. Even he almost fell for it. He turned his attention back to the battle, looking for more suitable targets for his Shade Reaver. There were, after all, many in his way to the portal.