“It’s too fragile,” Lindon said.
[You were like a rock covered in steel and wrapped in more rocks.]
“Not me, I mean the madra layers in the armor. They can’t handle the resonance, so the armor tears itself apart. Instead of a sacred instrument, it’s like strapping simple constructs all over my body.”
[What’s so wrong with that? You could be the construct man! That would certainly be memorable!]
“If I want to fight once for five minutes a week. Even if we could solve that, I didn’t…like it.”
The armor was too bulky. Not just physically, but spiritually, as though he had to lift heavy weights with both his body and his madra.
“I can’t help but think there’s one technique that would provide the same benefits without being so…complicated.”
[Look at it this way: it only cost you points to make an entire team retreat!]
His pure core was still almost half-full, his Blackflame core virtually untouched. His madra channels were sore, but no more so than after a day of hard exercise, and his body had handled the strain of all those Enforcer techniques unscathed. He could fight another battle immediately, if he had to, thanks to the effects of the Heaven and Earth Purification Wheel.
But the thought only depressed him further, and he gave a heavy sigh. “We still don’t know what happened to Pride. If he…”
He trailed off, but if Mercy’s brother died under his orders, it would be his fault. And the Akura clan had taken him to task over Harmony. If Fury’s nephew was killed, what would his response be?
Charity was supposed to take Lindon back to the tournament in only two days. He couldn’t hide from her. What would she do to him?
Lindon had sent messages requesting updates on Pride’s condition, but no one so far had responded.
So it was with a heavy heart that he stood on his Thousand-Mile Cloud and began drifting back to the camp.
He was surprised to run into Pride halfway there.
He was standing behind the control panel of the small Akura cloudship, racing across the dusty plains. His collar was still smeared with blood, and there was a scar across the side of his throat that looked like it had been healing for weeks.
When he saw Lindon, he pulled the cloudship up alongside him in an instant. “You got away!” Pride said in evident surprise.
“Apologies.” He bowed over fists pressed together.
Pride scowled. “I didn’t think I’d have to tell you not to waste gatestones. What were you thinking?”
That was not what Lindon had meant to apologize for.
“I was trying to save your life.”
Pride gave him a blank look. “Why would my life have been in danger?”
“He had his knife to your neck!”
“And did you see me use my armor?”
“He drew blood!”
Pride stared at him for another moment and then opened a void key. Like some other Akura void keys Lindon had seen before, it was blocked with shadow madra so he couldn’t see within.
A moment later, he emerged with a dagger and stabbed it into the side of his own neck, pulling it out as blood gushed onto the console in front of him.
All the while, he wore a reproachful look.
The blood stopped flowing almost immediately, and Pride wiped the knife clean.
He tried to speak, coughed, spat up some blood, and continued. “A dagger to the neck is only threatening blood loss. Between my Iron body and one of my Enforcer techniques, it is almost literally impossible for me to bleed to death.”
“Well, I…did not think of that.”
Lindon had seen Pride’s abilities before. He should have put that together.
If the Underlord had activated a binding in the dagger that might have cut Pride’s head off, Pride would certainly have sensed that and used his bloodline armor.
So he had been in no danger at all.
[If it helps at all, I remembered all that, but even I didn’t know he could brush off a knife to the throat. It’s good to remember when we end up killing him.]
Pride’s eye twitched. “You don’t have to save me. Remember that. Just worry about yourself.”
Lindon’s own irritation with Pride returned, and he gave an even deeper bow than he had before. “Pardon, but would you mind letting your aunt know? I don’t want to owe her another debt if you die.”
Pride ground his jaw. “Get on the ship.”
When Charity appeared in front of Lindon to take him back to the Uncrowned King tournament, he felt like she was tearing points away from him.
He wanted to see Yerin again, and of course he needed to witness the rest of the tournament, but how much would his team slow down without him around? What would happen to his points?
Charity noticed his hesitation, raising one eyebrow. “Did you enjoy it here that much?”
“Apologies, no, I’m…I’m ready to go.”
“When my father was younger, he would have stayed in battle rather than returning home. Sometimes for months.”
“It’s not battle that concerns me. I just can’t afford to stay where I am.”
And every day he was gone, the Uncrowned would be growing stronger. He would be left further behind than he was already.
The tournament would only remind him how far he had to go.
“I had to visit for my own reasons in any case. If you would like me to leave you here—”
“No. No, my mind is made up.”
If for no other reason, he hadn’t seen Yerin in a month.
Charity nodded, giving him an hour to speak with his team and pack. Only when he was certain that they would all dedicate themselves to earning points while he was gone did he feel any sort of comfort about leaving.
Just like their trip to Sky’s Edge, their trip back took half a day of transporting through seemingly random locations. This time, Charity was in a more talkative mood, asking both Dross and Lindon about their experiences in Sky’s Edge.
“And you haven’t seen any hint of the other Dreadgod cults?”
“Only Abyssal Palace, although other teams may have seen what I haven’t.”
She waved a hand. “No, that lines up with what my father said. It simply concerns me. But how about you? You were placed at the head of a team with no time to prepare.”
Lindon wasn’t sure what kind of answer she was looking for, so he gave a noncommittal answer. “It has been a valuable learning opportunity for me, and a good chance to earn contribution points.”
“I see.” Purple eyes watched him, and he couldn’t read them. “And your team members? Have you grown to know them better?”
“We often work separately, but I have spent time with each of them.”
Less so with the Maten sisters, who seemed not to talk any more than necessary to anyone but each other, or the two lowest-ranking Akura Underlords. Douji and Courage went out of their way to avoid Lindon whenever possible, no doubt worried that he might take revenge for their treatment of him in Moongrave.
Their fear was not improved by Dross, who kept whispering threats into their minds as they tried to sleep.
“Hm.” She raised an arm, and an owl of living madra came down to perch on it. She scratched it behind the head as she asked, “What do you think of Grace?”
Lindon sensed danger, but since he still didn’t know where the Sage was headed, he continued to answer safely. “She has performed admirably, both in and out of combat. I can trust her judgment more than…others.”
He had almost given in to his temptation to insult Pride.
The Sage of the Silver Heart turned and speared him with a gaze that examined him far beyond the point of comfort. “What if we allowed you to marry her?”
They had stopped in a beautiful glade, where Lindon sat on a plush cushion of moss, but suddenly he couldn’t find a comfortable position.
“I…would be…flattered by the offer, but certainly she has better prospects than me.”